Wow this is...so late. I'm sorry guys! I'd like to explain what happened: Writers Block, followed by Preparing to Move, and then Starting College Classes.

Also, I was looking over the reviews, and it seems a lot of you want for there to be more than just Tsuna and Hibari as reincarnations! I've already chosen who I want to be reincarnated other than them now, so hopefully you guys like what I give you?

Anyway, these fights are mostly going to be not really focused on the fighting itself? Mostly cause...other than the way people talk and react to them, there's not much else that's changed. And I don't want to bore you guys by focusing on a fight that you already know about and how it happened.

Tsuna wasn't sure what to do first: text/call Hibari or punch Iemitsu in the face.

For the moment, since Iemitsu was there and fully accessible (and he had absolutely no clue what his boyfriend was doing right now), he decided on the latter and immediately began stomping up to his father as things began winding down. His friends were starting to leave towards their homes (Gokudera and Yamamoto, as he noticed, seemed to be walking home together. He couldn't help but smile a little at the sight) and noticing him, his father only offered one of his carefree smiles.

"Ah Tsuna, those girls were quite nice. Kyoko-chan reminds me of your mother when she was young!"

He ignored the very persistent voice in his head telling him to curl up and scream in pure embarrassment as he reached up to grab him by the collar, pulling him down to his height. Behind him, Basil let out a little yelp of surprise, but Iemitsu put up a hand, obviously telling him to stand down. Tsuna was barely paying attention to Basil as he glared Iemitsu down.

"What the actual fuck is wrong with you?! What fucking possessed you to bring them here?!" He near growled. His father merely put up his hands in a sign of surrender.

"Now, now, calm down…I wouldn't have brought them here if they weren't in any actual danger…" His smile was infuriating as he added, "Besides, other than the Sun Guardian, none of your other Guardians got hurt, right?"

He narrowed his eyes, still wanting to punch his face in, though he did have a point. No one else was really harmed during the battle…but still. He was allowed to be pissed about this.

So, with all the annoyance he could muster, he huffed and stepped away, letting go of his father's collar. He opened his mouth again, (part of him was unsure for what, really. Maybe to demand a better apology than this?) when suddenly he found his arms full with a sleeping five-year-old in a cow onesie.

"Why are you—?"

"Make sure you take care of this boy while you're at it! He's a child that holds a lot of potential power."

Tsuna couldn't help but frown at that statement, the reminder that this child was going to fight in some battle tomorrow was ringing in the front of his mind. Dread filled his stomach, hardly making him acknowledge Iemitsu as he left.

Lambo will have to fight tomorrow. Already, he was getting flashes back to a smiling child who as lonely as him for different reasons, but shared the same dream. He imagined him trying to fight against someone as dangerous and his heart felt like it was in his throat.

"Tsuna?" Reborn's voice pierced through his anxiety again – he could see on his face that he was trying to tell if he was going to have another flashback again.

He shook his head. "…I just…Lambo reminds me of…someone. And this fight is way too dangerous for him!" When Reborn merely gave him one of his looks, he huffed and turned to the direction of home. "I mean, he's five. Fucking five, Reborn! He's younger than Konohamaru was when I first met him! And even he wasn't allowed to fight when we were under attack! Can't he just forfeit –?"

"No, we can't." Reborn interrupted his ramblings with finality.

"Do you want Lambo to fight?!"

"I am not cruel, Tsuna." Reborn seemed to roll his eyes. Tsuna glanced at him, fairly sure that he was that cruel. This is the same baby that set off dynamite in his room to wake him up in the mornings and has shot him enough times that he now reflexively gets ready to die whenever he hears a gunshot. Not to mention, Reborn has watched Lambo play with guns and grenades without even blinking.

"I know when someone is and isn't in trouble, Tsuna, so no, I'm not…that cruel." Reborn cut into his thoughts, making him jump. God, he was still 98% sure Reborn could read minds. "But Lambo really can't forfeit this one. Levi won't care."

Tsuna seemed to freeze, his heart turning cold. "Are you telling me…he'll attack Lambo anyway?"

The hitman let out a small sigh before nodding.

At that second, Tsuna wholeheartedly wished he had chakra back so he could shove a Rasengan into that asshole's face.

"So, we're just going to let Lambo, a kid, fight?"

"…it's not like we have a choice."

Tsuna glared at the ground. Because yeah, it did seem pretty hopeless right now. But he knew one hundred percent, from his past, that there was always a way to fight through impossible odds.

…speaking of impossible odds…

"Reborn? Do you…happen to know where Hibari might be?" He asked, worry edging into his voice. With Lambo in his arms, he couldn't check to see if Hibari had texted or called.

Reborn merely tilted his head and gave an uncaring shrug. "He's probably training."

Tsuna merely made a small noise and quickened his pace. The sooner he got home, the sooner he could check his phone and call Hibari to make sure he was alright.

O~O~O

School had ended when Dino had suddenly sprung on him his idea to go to other areas for their training. The argument was something about how they would just end up destroying the school roof in their efforts – something Hibari definitely didn't want – and the surroundings were just…too boring. It was flat, with a couple of walls. It didn't have the obstacles of any other environment that could be used and avoided in battle.

And, honestly, Hibari easily agreed. His past memories were filled with training fields that were mostly just forests, with plenty of obstacles to use as he used his weapon. It would be a welcomed shift to go back to what he used to train in.

Before he even knew it, Dino was talking his ear off as he walked him home, and waited for him outside (on Hibari's insistence, considering he wasn't sure if his mother was home or not) while he changed out of his school clothes and packed a bag. He found himself in Dino's car and they began heading to who-knows-where.

Maybe he should have asked a couple more questions before he was whisked off like this.

…though at the same time, it's not like he's asked many questions in the past when he was taken somewhere new during the years he trained with that snake-man. Hell, he was given medicine by his assistant at the time, and only consumed it with little questions because with them, it was easier and less draining to just take it and allow yourself to curl up in pain for a while.

"Hey, Kyoya!"

That caused him to jolt and turn to the older man, who merely grinned, then put his hands up in surrender at the glare of distain he gave him, He was fairly sure no one has ever used his first name (even Tsuna, which, on some level, upset him just a little). And it was strange and just a bit uncomfortable just hearing it.

"Sorry! I was trying to get your attention for the past couple minutes."

"Oh."

He didn't feel sorry, but he still wondered why that somehow warranted the excuse of using his first name.

"I was asking you if you had training before all of this." He leaned back in his cushioned chair, his body language relaxed, but his eyes sharp.

At the mention of "prior training" Hibari couldn't help but tense a little, his mind immediately sent him back to the time before the Chunin Exams, where he snuck out of a hospital to shove a lightning covered hand into a rock over and over. His mind shifted to the three long years with Orochimaru and despite getting stronger, he definitely had extra scars from it.

He tried to relax himself outwardly, though Dino had obviously already caught the shift in body language by the way he frowned in concern.

Dammit.

"I didn't have any training." He bit out harshly. "I fought whoever disrupted the peace and that's it." It wasn't exactly a lie. When he was left practically alone for most of his childhood, it gave him the freedom he needed to become a better fighter. Though, without chakra, he wasn't exactly near where he was at this age in his past life.

Dino watched him for a moment, as if trying to gauge him, before relaxing in his seat. "I was just impressed. The way you fight made me think you had more experience than just street fighting."

A couple memories popped up in the back of his head – being ten, covered in cuts and bruises with a gang sprawled around him. Not having any weapons, so for a while he used whatever he stole from gang members. (He still had a collection of them hidden in his room – knives, bats, nails, etc. It just felt…nice. To have them. For whatever reason.)

"Street fighting" felt like such an odd way to put it, even though it is pretty true. That's what it was.

Perhaps having 11 (near 12) years of formal ninja training under his belt (in a way) just made the term feel…off.

Instead of arguing it (because he really wasn't in the mood to get into any in-depth conversations with Dino at the moment) he merely turned to the window, humming in a non-committal tone. The trees were comforting. Familiar. It almost made him wish he was wearing a cloak, walking down a dirt road with a smiling blonde at his side—

A flash of red pulled him out of his daydream – too fast to get that good of a look but just slow enough he could recognize there was a tail (or more than one?) and fur…

Was that a fox?

O~O~O

Xanxus's little "trip" took a little longer than he really planned. Mostly because in any of his fox forms, he usually had to steer clear of any civilization that happened to be nearby. After all, he was pretty sure bright red foxes with glowing eyes wasn't exactly native to the area.

His journey took him to his Cave (which he didn't really have a name for. So, it was just Cave with a capital "C") which used to be just at the outskirts of The Land of Fire, but now that it was gone…

Either way, this Cave hold every piece of information Xanxus could find about shinobi history and chakra right as the nations were beginning to fall (good fucking riddance). In one way, it was out of a sense of duty. He knew once he saw the way they had practically begun destroying every piece of evidence that chakra ever existed that they definitely were trying to prevent the devastation caused by the Shinobi System to happen again (honestly, he couldn't help but agree). Sakura had been the one to convince him to create the Cave – but now, looking back on it, it was practically a blessing.

His siblings are pretty much gone after what the Akatsuki did to them – he's the only Bijuu left. He and these books are the only proof that shinobi ever existed in the first place.

(He often wondered, over the years, if this was a blessing or a horrible curse.)

The Cave, as anyone else who wasn't proficient in genjutsu or seals, would see a normal cave, probably with some wild animal family harboring it. It gave off an eerie feeling of stay away, which basically guaranteed that no one would be taking the information anytime soon.

Besides, currently, the only ones who could get in right now is him and Sakura – and Sakura is long dead.

He should know. He saw her die.

On days like this, where he couldn't help but stop and stare at his Cave, letting a wave of memories and nostalgia fill him, he couldn't help but wonder if he should be looking for the whole of Team 7 – at least, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke. But, on the other hand, he knew Naruto. Their souls were intertwined for seventeen years. And Naruto knew Sasuke – they were practically like soulmates. They'd find each other easily. Sakura…he would have to work to find. But, first, he would look for Naruto. Naruto would be able to find her easier than he could.

With a loud sigh, he passed the barrier into the Cave. As he did, he snapped his fingers, letting his chakra flare and dim lights appear. The inside was light an apartment space – big enough to hold the bookcases on both sides of the walls, filled with books and scrolls of history and chakra. A table was at the side – Sakura's old work table that she was adamant on putting there – and a bed he placed there as well. His lips quirked up with fond memories of crashing here when he was too tired to commute back to Konoha. Sometimes, it was his only place to come back to.

With a quick look around (and patting away of dust) he confirmed that the seal really wasn't tampered with and no one had been here since he last stepped inside.

Ignoring the pang of slight disappointment (what did he expect? For Naruto to somehow know this place? For Sakura to be sitting at the desk, giving him that knowing smirk of hers? Or even for Sasuke to be looking among the bookcases, barely looking at him as he searched?) he went over to the bed and flopped down on it.

For the moment, other than the fights, he had no worries. He was in charge of making sure the secrets of chakra didn't make it back out into the world again. And, thinking back to the absolute mess that happened because of it, he figured humanity was much better off without it.

Besides, look at the stupid shit they're doing with Dying Will? That's enough. They'll be fine for now.

Now that he was actually lying down, familiar fatigue hit him like a train.

Ugh. Running around in two-tailed form takes out a lot more than he was used to.

He could take a quick nap before researching into his seal, right?

God, he really shouldn't have overdone it. That was a Naruto move.

Blinking, he could almost see Squalo scowling down at him, a strange, unfamiliar fondness in his eyes as his too-loud voice spoke. "For fucks sake, you overdid it again, didn't you! How the hell are you supposed to be our leader if you can't take care of yourself? Take a nap, idiot, I'll watch to make sure no one kills you in your sleep."

"…you could easily kill me though." He muttered, almost rehearsed, as he turned on his side.

He could almost see the strands of Squalo's hair as he sat in a chair in front of his bed.

(Was it weird that he missed him?)

O~O~O

I hate anxiety. Tsuna decided very grudgingly as he paced his room, just vaguely aware of Reborn watching him. He had just finished a conversation with future Lambo, but it did nothing to curb the anxiety that was currently eating at him. Hibari's sudden radio silence was too familiar. Too close for comfort. It made him want to jump the window and run, run, run until he found him again. Then he would try to ask Kurama what he should do and that emptiness would return because Kurama isn't there. Then it would cycle back to Lambo and imagining his broken little body and he doesn't deserve this he shouldn't have been chosen—

"Tsuna."

Tsuna paused for a moment, looking up to see Reborn frowning.

"…deep breaths. Breathe in, count to 6. Breathe out, count to ten."

"Reborn—"

"Just do it." He interrupted, in that voice that said there was no room for arguments.

With a sigh, Tsuna tried it.

Breathe in….

Breathe out…

A few moments later, he blinked in surprise, his anxiety had washed away (for the moment at least). Puzzled, he raised an eyebrow at Reborn.

"You…?"

"You're not the only one I've encountered with anxiety." He told him in a completely unimpressed voice.

"Well…thanks?"

"Don't thank me. It wouldn't be good for a mafia boss to let anxieties take him over."

Tsuna rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks."

"See? You're better already." He jumped down from his perch. "Now come on, let's train while we wait for Lambo's match."

Training. He could do training. Punching something instead of thinking of his worries was definitely better than pacing in his room pondering about it.

He took a hoodie with him for the rain starting to pour outside, and followed Reborn out, pushing away flashbacks of waking up and finding Hibari's past self gone. Of fighting him to near-death and then not being able to see him for three years. No one else was panicking, so that definitely didn't happen again. Hibari wasn't suffering in silence again. He's fine.

O~O~O

Xanxus wasn't back yet.

Squalo couldn't help but frown as he stared at the front door, rain pouring outside and Levi's fight coming in an hour. He knew their leader did this sometimes – leave for a few days or a week and then come back and act as if nothing happened. (He tried to stray away from the thought that he usually only tells him when he does bullshit like this.)

The others didn't seem half as worried as he was – not that he was that worried – but despite being one of the strongest men Squalo has ever met, he could be surprisingly uncaring of his own health. (He's lost count of how many times he's dragged Xanxus to his room to sleep, promising him he won't let anyone assassinate him. He ignored the rising heat and the thump in his chest when Xanxus would give him that sleepy smile before knocking out.)

Where in the hell did Xanxus even go?

Part of him was bummed. Completely and utterly annoyed that Xanxus left once again. He wanted to find him and give him a piece of his mind (while, of course, making sure he was ok.) Besides, isn't it safer to go on these "secret missions" with someone?

Couldn't he have taken him with him?

"Hey, Squalo! Shouldn't we be heading out?"

He scowled, turning. "Don't fucking yell at me! We're going so fuck off!"

Xanxus better come back before the end of this fucking fight or I swear I'm gonna kill him.

O~O~O

"SHIT"

Xanxus practically screamed as soon as he saw the time. How fucking long was he asleep?! Why the hell didn't he set an alarm?

Fuck.

He went around the room, quickly grabbing familiar scrolls about seals and sealing (he could research in his room later) and quickly grabbed another scroll to put them in.

Shit, shit, shit!

He probably needed to eat before he ran all the way back, but he didn't bother for the moment. Instead he crouched down, letting his chakra flare as he turned into his two-tailed fox form. God, he was definitely going to be exhausted later but he'd rather face an exasperated Squalo than an angry one.

O~O~O

The fight was going terribly.

No…that wasn't exactly accurate.

It was definitely heading in the right direction at one point. When Lambo, from 20 years into the future, appeared to fight. At the moment, Tsuna was actually getting hopeful that Lambo would end up winning the end of the match.

But, of course, it took a turn.

Again and again, Tsuna watched as Lambo's little body was knocked around. He was already unconscious and Levi had already won. Why did he just keep hitting him?!

"Where do you think you're going?" Reborn's voice rang out from next to him, before he even realized he had moved. "If you help him, you'll be disqualified."

"Do I look like I care?" He threw on his gloves, not taking his eyes off of Lambo as he began stomping over. "I have to protect Lambo."

He didn't see Reborn's satisfied smirk, all he felt was the familiar sensation of dying, and then the rush of Dying Will before he aimed right for the conductors sending the constant electric shocks.

O~O~O

When Xanxus had arrived, after stuffing his scroll in his jacket, the fight was just reaching its near end. Watching Levi beat the shit out of a child didn't leave the best taste in his mouth, but he was too exhausted to even plan to chew him out about it later.

Then, the conductors were destroyed.

In the most Naruto-like fashion Xanxus has seen since the blonde himself died, Tsunayoshi jumped right in with his Dying Will flames, glaring down Levi as he proclaimed he couldn't stand to watch his comrades die right before his eyes, without doing anything about it.

Something in him flared, reaching out to look for the connection of chakra. Outwardly, he let out a loud laugh – loud enough to attract the attention of those below. He merely grinned down, his eyes flashing and his gaze rested on Tsuna, who looked ready to fight even though the Flames were already dispersing.

This kid is just like you. He couldn't help but think to Naruto fondly.

"That was probably the stupidest thing you could have done! Didn't you hear the rules, idiot?" He taunted, jumping down from his perch, in front of the brat. (Not the Brat, but just brat.

"Of course, I heard the rules! But do you really think I would just twiddle my thumbs while Lambo was getting killed?!" He practically growled. His whole body was tense, like he was ready to spring right at him if he needed to.

For a moment, his furious brown eyes seemed to be blue, his wild hair looked blonde and there were whisker-birthmarks on his cheeks. Instead of on top of the roof, they were in a jail cell – his cell—

With a scowl, he snapped himself out of the memory, turning to the nearest judge and trying to ignore his chakra and the seal burning on his chest. "Just announce the results of the match already."

She winced back just slightly, but overall remained composed. "…Levi-a-than has won the battle. The ring of Thunder and Ring of Sky…will be given to the Varia."

Tsuna's side was in immediate uproar, except for Reborn and Iemitsu, his friends protested Tsuna's ring getting taken.

"Wait! That's wrong!" Basil yelled, "Tsuna didn't officially enter the battlefield!"

"He obstructed the field." She replied calmly. "That counts as obstructing the match."

"Lambo was already unconscious when I destroyed the things." Tsuna grumbled as he pulled off his ring from around his neck, looking Xanxus straight in the eye as he did so. The other necklace, a bright blue stone, poked out from under his shirt.

He grinned as he took the ring, trying to ignore the pang of familiarity. (Naruto loved that necklace Tsunade gave him. He never took it off.) "Well that's boring, don't you agree?"

"Fuck you."

"Oh, shut up, brat!" He held back from hitting the kid over the head like he would do to Naruto. "I was just going to give you an offer. If you can win the battles by majority, you get this ring back and we will fight."

There was a flash in his eyes, something familiar and excited and Xanxus held back a laugh. Turning his back from Naru-Tsunayoshi, he walked directly towards Squalo and the others. Though they seemed to be snickering and smug, Squalo's eyes were narrowed.

Ah shit. He'd almost forgotten about the fact that he pretty much disappeared. Behind him, the next match was announced – Bel would be fighting next.

He glanced over at the kid in question. He…reminded him of other people. His youngest brother, mostly. Shukaku was always a little shit, even more so when he got sealed into Garaa. Bel…had the feel Shukaku always gave off. (Which was, being a piece of shit brat)

"Where did you go?" Squalo immediately asked him as soon as he was close enough.

"A place." He answered shortly, before smirking. "Were you worried?"

"Of course not!" Squalo scowled, turning away just before Xanxus could see the flash of pink on his cheeks.

Tilting his head slightly, he shrugged to himself and walked off, not bothering to check if the others were following. He had a seal to look into after all.

O~O~O

Far enough not to be heard, but close enough to see the results of the battle, an illusionist sighed to himself as he eyed the ring on his finger. Tsunayoshi Sawada hasn't changed at all – in personality at least. He could tell he's become much stronger since their battle…

He chuckled to himself. Odd, how much he was focused on meeting the young Vongola again. Perhaps because he was now positive of the theory he had formed when they first fought.

The young Vongola's soul was like his. It has died and come back.

With a smirk, he turned away from the scene.

"I can hardly wait to see you again…Tsunayoshi Sawada."

You know, funny thing, as I was writing the past Kurama & Sakura bromance, I realized their relationship was hinting at something more romantic by accident. Whoops. I toned down his mentions of Sakura because of that while editing. I already have an idea of how his time, after Naruto's death, went and yeah. But who knows. When I get to the chapter where he explains what happened, I could have said "fuck it" by then and made it romantic.

Either way, my updates are definitely going to be slow because of the moving preparations and my focus on college classes - sorry about that! But I am definitely not planning to drop this story, even as I get other ideas -side eyes my Danny Phantom AU and Blue Exorcist AU-

Oh! And remember, you can always ask me questions and get direct answers on Tumblr pandoradoodlebox I'm not very good at answering reviews on here...mostly because I forget to and I dislike the mobile set up a bit. Plus, I'm always on tumblr and getting notifications on there.

Well, see you guys next time!