As of the posting of this chapter, the entire story has gratefully been beta-read by Snowfire the Kitsune, author of the "Waking Up Nana" KHR story and its two sequels. Thanks for the help!

X

Vito could hardly fucking believe it.

The fancy red necktie that had been ruined and drenched in rat blood. That was a subtle sign Vito's Hyper Intuition should have caught. If Vito and Joe were reincarnated into this world, how bad were the odds of another guy they knew being reborn here, too?

Henry Tomasino was everything Vito had wanted to be: made man, slick suit, professional killer, and the attitude that just commanded respect.

Vito has mellowed out a bit since then, but goddamn, did seeing Henry again stir up some old instincts in Vito.

He could still remember the first time they met.

It was at Freddy's Bar. Joe had been having a smoke and a beer when Vito had walked in.

"Hey!" Joe had greeted him goodheartedly. "Where the hell you been?"

Vito had been working over that fat fuck Derek's workers who hadn't paid up what they had owed to him. "I came right over as soon as you called," Vito had said with a wink. He had made more cash in a few hours with barely any bruises than he could probably have ever hoped of making as a guy doing back-breaking manual labor, lifting boxes from place to place for hours and hours like those other schmucks. As Vito had took his seat across from Joe in their booth, Vito had asked, "What going on?"

In hushed, excited whispers, Joe had asked, "You remember the wise-guys we used to see when we was kids?"

With an inquisitive nod, Vito had responded with, "Yeah. Why?"

"The guys we're meeting here is one of them. His name's Henry Tomasino." With a small smile, Joe had conspiratorially added, "I think he's got something big for us."

Vito had been getting a little more interested, too. "Yeah? No shit?"

"Yeah. We're done with the small-time jobs," Joe had resolutely declared. "It's time to make some real scarole." Then Joe had looked at something behind Vito. He put out his cigarette and slipped out of his seat. "Here, he's coming... Don't say nothing stupid." In the same tone he had used when welcoming Vito, Joe had welcomed Henry with the just as much enthusiasm, except with a little more deference put into it. "Hey, Henry! How are ya?"

There Henry was, sauntering confidently in a fancy suit that Vito, once upon a time, could only dream about ever wearing with as much style and finesse. "Hiya Joe," Henry had replied as they sat on the same side of the booth. He had given Vito the typical suspicious and peering once-over stare any higher-ranking mobster would give to prospective new members. "This the guy?"

"Yeah, this is Vito, an old friend of mine."

Wanting to make a good first impression, Vito had quickly spoken up and said, "Good to meet you, Henry."

Like the professional he was, Henry hadn't even acknowledged Vito's words. Instead, he had kept staring at him as he asked Joe, "You vouch for him?"

"Absolutely, Henry," Joe had confirmed without a single lick of hesitation. "Trust him with my life."

Satisfied for now, Henry had leaned forward and rested his elbowed over their table. Vito and Joe had followed suit. "Okay," Henry had said, "listen. I got a job for you."

And with that, the rest was history.

Vito still remembered their last conversation, too.

Vito had been at Joe's place with a couple of their favorite girls and more than a few drinks in their systems. Up to that point, Henry had definitely lived up to his word on getting the three of them richer much quicker than Vito had thought they would. It wasn't a clean, straight journey over the years, but at the time, Vito had thought all their troubles were worth the rewards.

A clueless Vito had been planning on joining his favorite of the gals in the bathtub when Joe's phone had started ringing.

"Barbaro's Bordello," Vito had happily spoken into the speaker. "You got the money, we got the honeys."

"Vito, it's Henry." Vito could remember hearing Henry trying to hide his nervousness by deepening his voice and speaking slightly slower. He had wanted to sound in control. Little did any of them fucking know. "We got a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

Henry had sighed. "Eddie paid me a visit." Eddie Scarpa, the underboss to Carlo Falcone of the Falcone Crime Family. Vito had actually thought he was pretty decent boss – Eddie, that is. Carlo was an asshole. Vito had regularly reported directly to Eddie with only a sparse few meetings with the big Falcone boss himself. Vito still wondered whatever happened to Eddie after Falcone bit it and after Vito left Empire Bay. "Carlo knows about the deal," the deal having been the secret drug trading business Vito, Joe, and Henry had carried out and had kept secret from their bosses, "and he sent Eddie to pick up his cut."

"Uhhh, how much?"

"Sixty grand."

Vito had only had a three or four thousand on-hand after paying his old neighborhood a visit and being a little too charitable with his money. He only had five hundred after what he and the girls had done the night before. "Fuck!" Vito had muttered in frustration. "That much? What're we gonna do?"

"I dunno," Henry had admitted. "We don't even have enough left for Bruno." Bruno, the same loan shark scumbag that Vito's dad had borrowed money from, leaving the debt to Vito's mama and sister. "Meet me in the park," Henry added hurriedly. "I don't want to talk about this over the phone."

"Okay... I'll be right there."

And when Vito and Joe did get there, it was to see those sick dirtbag Tongs slicing Henry into a million thousand fucking pieces with their butcher knives.

Henry was a rat, sure, but a goddamn bullet would've been enough. Why do it like that? And in the middle of the park?

Of all the messed-up things Vito has seen, that moment was one of the ones that Vito could never stop reliving in his nightmares.

The last time Vito saw Henry, his bloodied face was staring absently toward the sky as he lay on the floor, dead. Now, Henry was standing tall and proud as he sent a kind smile Vito's and Joe's way.

"Henry?" Joe exclaimed in shock. Getting back his senses after being tripped up by Henry's seal, Joe's eyes darted to the form of Federico Vongola. Joe caught on quick to the man behind the face. "Holy cow! Henry? Henry Tomasino? Is that really you?"

"Hey, Joe," Henry greeted in the same polite and warm tone he had used with Vito.

"This is – I just – Can't freakin' believe it, man. I mean –" Joe kept on and on stopping and starting. He couldn't get out a clear sentence. Neither could Vito. Vito just clamped his mouth shut.

In the corner of his eye, Vito saw Iemitsu stand resolutely and walk to Reborn's side. Reborn hopped onto Iemitsu's shoulder as the two of them glowered darkly at Henry and Xanxus. On his forehead, Iemitsu's own Dying Will Flame flickered with a harsh intensity. Brasi stayed dutifully beside Vito's side, still pulsating with amber flames as he continued to heal Vito.

"I recovered your remains," Reborn spoke up, unflinchingly flat. "I buried your bones. How are you still alive?"

Henry snickered. "Had a couple guardian angels hovering over my shoulders. Didn't know it till after that day, but they've been rooting for me from the get-go. More than I can say for either of you."

"You tried to manipulate Tsuna into killing Timoteo," Iemitsu growled softly. Vito could see him tightly clenching his fists. "You broke Xanxus free from his confinement. You conspired for Xanxus to murder my son."

"Not exactly," Henry countered. He was smiling like a lunatic, exuding too much of a kind air and approachable outlook for the dire situation at hand. "You were a smart guy when I knew you, Iemitsu. All this time, you really couldn't figure out who your son really was? What he is? Or yours and Lal's student? Tsuna and Basil? Don't be an idiot. Those aren't their real names. They're just like me."

Iemitsu hesitated, risking a look away from Henry to stare at Vito and Joe. Joe was still tripping over his own words while Vito impassively stared back.

"We all could've worked well together," Henry continued, taking a step forward that instantaneously made Iemitsu and Reborn tense and get ready to pounce. "Shame that we had to have our reunion like this, but we always gotta make do with what we got, don't we?"

Iemitsu charged forward, fisting burning brightly in flames, with Reborn hopping off him and firing his Leon gun.

They sped completely pass the both of Xanxus and Henry. Reborn and Iemitsu were running along a path out of Namimori Middle. What the fuck?

Then Vito took a closer gander around them. Jobbers in Varia coats or the Cervello pink hair and domino masks were scattered around them in a circle. The Cervello had been casting illusions during and after the Ring Battles to make the school look like it wasn't getting destroyed with all the Flames spewing around. Now, though, it looked like they were putting an illusion over Vito, Joe, Xanxus, and Henry so that they could have a conversation in private.

Outside the circle, dozens more Varia mooks and lackeys were brawling with Vito's Guardians and his other followers and allies. Some of the main Varia members who could still stand on their own, like Bel and Levi, were joining in on the fight. Vito could see Mochida and Kusakabe jointly suplexing and elbow-dropping Bel. Takeshi was splashed with blood with each Varia minion he sliced open. The older Lambo was back around again and was acting like a miniature, mobile thunderstorm. The lightning strikes plus Hayato's dynamites made for a deafening, deadly combination.

Iemitsu and Reborn were still running out of the way of the battlefield. Viper was shadowing them, hovering right above them as they left. She must be keeping them under their own illusion.

When Xanxus raised his arm to aim his gun, Henry quickly blocked it with his own arm. "We did this your way," Henry said patiently. "You fucked up. It's my turn, now." Scoffing, Xanxusyielded and leaned against a still-standing lamp post that had somehow survived the fight undamaged.

Henry walked up to Joe and Vito, and damn, he was tall. He looked about in his early forties but with already some greying hair, kinda like how Vito was getting to be before Lincoln killed him. Way back then, Henry was only maybe fourteen or fifteen years older than them. In this world, he looked twice that much, a good thirty years older. Vito and Joe were only fifteen in this world, but Vito could still see the weariness with each step Henry took. He's been through a whole lot more shit than Joe's and Vito's miseries combined.

"How?!" Joe blurted out, his shock and surprise giving way to a barely-containable grin. "How are you here? All three of us, too. It's just so freakin' impossible! Heck, weren't you almost a practicing Catholic, Henry? What, did you broker a deal with those guardian angels to give us all a second chance?"

Obviously struck with nostalgia, Henry chuckled and lightly shook his head. "Something like that, actually. It's a long story. Ya see, if you remember back to the Vongola Primo's time –"

Henry might have answers for why they got reincarnated in the first place, but somewhere in the back of Vito's mind, he felt like there were other questions they needed answered first. "How long did you know about us?" Vito interrupted. "About me and Joe? Iemitsu being my dad and Joe's teacher? Reborn tutoring me? What we've been up to all this time?"

Joe lost some of his energy, calming down and nodding in assent with Vito. "Yeah. Iemitsu and Lal have been talking about a third-party maybe compromising Nono and helping Xanxus out from behind-the-scenes. It must have taken you a long time to plan this all out. Vito and I have been working with or are outright related to your old pals. Why didn't you ever try to contact us?"

You couldn't really see it unless you paid close attention, but Henry took in a deep breath. It was a subtle breathing exercise Reborn had decided Vito was a failure at completing. Henry must've been a different story.

"I showed you my memories," Henry solemnly began his explanation. "You know what I've lost, what I've had to go through. After my suicide run with the bomb, it took me a long time to heal, to get my body healthy enough to use my Flames again. When I was able, I wanted to see how everything's been going since I was gone. I did recon, spied on the Vongola, watched Iemitsu have the family he always wanted – having his Tuna-Fish with Nana, adopting Basil. I watched for a while, and it didn't take long for me to figure out who you two were."

"But you never approached us," Vito stated. Henry nodded in affirmation.

"I thought you guys could've had the second chance I never got," Henry said softly. "Sure, Vito, you've got your operation and your family in this city, and you have your friends in CEDEF, Joe. There were plenty of ups and downs for you guys over the years, but you were happy. You were building something for yourselves. You had all the drive and the ambition I had, but you were getting it done on your own terms, damning and ignoring whatever reins your bosses and rivals might've put on you. I didn't want to get in the way of that."

"Get in the way?" Joe questioned incredulously. "How could you get in the way?"

"I ratted Falcone out to the feds," Henry reminded Joe. "I was gonna try to bring you guys in on the deal I made, but then those crazy chinks made sure I never could. What I did must've royally screwed you guys over with the mob families. It can't have been a happy ending for either of you when you guys finally passed. I didn't want to remind you guys of what you lost. Besides, revealing myself to you would've been too dangerous, risking Timoteo to off either of you for being like me. There was just too much baggage to sort through, so I left you alone."

"Too much baggage?" Joe repeated rhetorically. "Are you kidding me, Henry? Screw the baggage. We were friends back in Empire Bay. We were building something there. We were gonna make the big bucks and be big bosses. Then we were dealt shoddy hands and paid for it. Now, we get to start over with completely clean slates. I don't care about you being a rat anymore. You're here, Vito's here, I'm here – We can finally start over together!"

Vito had already started over. He's already built something for himself.

"Call off your people," Vito said to Henry. He could hear Ryohei's battle cries as he uppercut at least four or five mooks in a row in quick succession. "Get them to stop trying to kill my own."

Henry fucking shrugged – just like how Nono had shrugged when he was accused of getting Henry's and Aria's baby killed. "First, you gotta promise me a few things," Henry replied. "First off, Xanxus becomes the Vongola Decimo."

"What?" Joe shot out before Vito could. "Why? Sure, I can see that you worked something out with Xanxus, but –"

"You knew about us," Vito cut in, staring intently at Henry, "and you still let Xanxus and the Varia try to kill my friends, my family. And they're still trying to kill them now."

Henry's formerly relaxed posture gave way to a more rigid stance as he broadened his shoulders. "Just work with me, Vito," Henry requested, in the "boss" tone of voice, no less. "You wanna rule the fucking world just as badly as I do, but you don't gotta be the Decimo to do it. I knew you'd beat Xanxus sooner or later, even if the arrogant little shit didn't believe me. We're done with the old rules, though. Xanxus gets to take the Vongola, blood or no blood. I'll take over the Giglio Nero Family. Joe can take over CEDEF and branch further to cut a bigger slice of the payroll. Vito, you can reconnect with the Simon Family, and your brother and sister. All four of us rule, and no one, not even the Vindice, can stop us."

Yeah, yeah, Henry has this grand plan and these ultimate goals he's been striving towards for years. "What does this have to do with your refusal to tell your people to stand down?" Vito asked hotly. He could hear and see in the corner of his eye Bel having his bloodlust-fueled psycho rampage matched against a bandaged Hibari and his biting boner. Yeah, guess who Vito thought would win that encounter, but it was an entirely avoidable fight if Henry just called for a ceasefire. It was his people who started this entire brawl in the first place.

"First, I need you to tell me that we have a deal," Henry answered sternly. "That you agree with me, and that you'll go along with my plan."

"Come on, Henry," Joe said, losing his smile, feeling some of the tension oozing out of Henry and Vito. "Between Vito's crew, the Varia, the Cervello gals who I'm assuming work for you, and my guys back in Italy, we can probably take over the Vongola easy. Dino's people could help, too. No need to hold Vito's Guardians hostage or anything. Sure, it's gonna take some convincing for Lal and Iemitsu –"

"We don't have to convince them," Henry interrupted. "They'll be some of the first to die."

Joe was stunned to silence, his mouth hanging open. Brasi whined an uncomfortable whimper.

There it is. There it was. What the itch in the back of Vito's mind was looking for. "You're still out for some payback," Vito observed. "You want some insurance – my word – that I won't stand in your way."

"I need to hear you say it, Vito," Henry said, not denying it. "You're a man of honor. You, too, Joe. I know you guys care about some of the higher-ups like Lal and Reborn, but you know what they did to me. What they let happen, whether they knew it or not. How they were just fine following Nono's lead and letting me be nothing more but the loyal little soldier. I need to hear you guys say that you'll let me do what I gotta do to them before we go any further."

Vito still remembered what Reborn had said when he was describing his first student: "He only cared about himself. He would have drowned the world in flames if it meant getting what he wanted."

It looked like Joe was starting to get the same idea. "Henry–I–but," Joe stumbled out, trying to find the right words to say. "They're good people. Forcing a miscarriage – a thousand times effed-up, yeah. I ain't arguing against that. Shamal and Nono should rot for it, but Iemitsu's a good guy. Lal – she's like a mother to me, man. We can just sit them down, tell 'em what Nono did, and figure things out from there." Joe glanced at the battle around them. Hana screeched in panic as a Varia lackey with a sword slashed repeatedly at her, 'til Dino stepped between them. "We oughtta work together. These are all our people. They shouldn't be fighting like this."

"I agree," Henry said as he extended his hand. "I don't want us to be fighting, so let's shake on it."

"But, we're not gonna go after –"

"Just say yes," Henry insisted, his unwavering gaze glancing between Vito and Joe. "I don't mean to be so dramatic, but if you're not with me, you're against me. Simple as that, so don't be a couple of idiots like Iemitsu was. The old regime's gonna die. I'm gonna be in charge now."

"You mean we're gonna be in charge now," Joe corrected, speaking slowly.

"Yeah. We'll be in charge." Henry gestured with his still outstretched arm. "If you say yes."

And if they didn't, that would make Vito and Joe liabilities. Vito's still got the Vongola blood and the claim to the rings. Joe stood with Vito, and he liked Lal and Iemitsu plenty. Them, Vito's Guardians, and their other allies would be useful in overthrowing all of Nono's supporters, but they'd also be stubborn opponents to go up against if they didn't side with Henry. This entire Ring Conflict was proof of what Vito's crew can do when pushed to a corner.

Giving Henry the benefit of the doubt, Vito prompted, one more time, "Tell your people to stand down, to leave my Guardians, my associates, and my family alone, and then we'll talk."

It looked like Levi was back on his feet. On a distant rooftop, older Lambo disappeared and was replaced by his present self. He would've been shocked into oblivion by another one of Levi's lightning attacks if Mochida didn't jump in and take the bolts for him. Obviously hurting, Mochida powered on through and dashed into the school building with an oblivious Lambo in tow. Levi followed after them, but he was cut off by Kusakabe coming out of nowhere and upper-cutting him off the building.

Mukuro himself didn't make any appearances. All of Vito's Guardians were well into the fighting except for him and Lambo. In Mukuro's place, Chrome stood in front of an entire crowd of Varia and Cervello hitmen. A wide-ranged illusion must be what was causing them all to fight each other in a rioting frenzy. Behind Chrome, a limping Lussuria attempted to attack her. Mukuro's two stooges butted in to keep him off Chrome.

Essentially everyone in Vito's crew was all still in the thick of it. It almost looked like the Varia-Cervello army was limitless. Their numbers just never seemed to let up. Henry really must've prepared his contingency planned on the chance of Vito and Joe rejecting his offer.

Henry had called Iemitsu a brother. Vito had no real idea how Henry came to see Iemitsu as that, but whatever they may have gone through together, it wasn't enough to stop Henry from shooting him in the head with hardly any hesitation. And on his wedding day, too.

"Agree that Timoteo, Shamal, Lal, Iemitsu, and the rest of the names on my list die," came Henry's cold response. "No exceptions. Then your Guardians can take a breather."

Whether Timoteo lived or died, Vito was fine either way. Same went to Shamal, even if it might bother Hayato. Lal was entirely off limits, though. She had Vito's respect, and like hell Vito would okay her death after how she pretty much raised Joe all this time.

Vito has his problems with Iemitsu, but when you get down to it, Iemitsu still cared about his family and wanted to see his son succeed in life. Cutting off any communication with the Kozatos was a maddening move that Vito still hasn't forgiven him for, yet it was still an understandable move on Iemitsu's part. No matter what kind of shit Vito may give him, a voice in the back of Vito's head keeps telling him that Iemitsu still loves his precious Tsunayoshi.

A voice...

"Henry..." Joe pleadingly trailed off. A single small tear was flowing down his face. His adolescence was showing, not in complete control of his emotions. "We can start over together, but ya don't have to be such a dick about it. Come on."

Henry didn't even give Joe a second glance. All his attention was on Vito. "Reborn's on my list, too," Henry added. "The second he gets back here, nothing and no one is gonna stop me from killing him, Arcobaleno and Tri-Ni-Set be damned. I'm sorry, Vito, but you know why I have to kill him."

Brasi instantly hopped onto Vito's arm and morphed into his 1911 Special. Vito fired away.

The speeding balls of fire Vito sent were intercepted by a blast from one of Xanxus' X-Guns. Xanxus was smirking, done sticking to the sidelines as he stepped up beside Henry. "Now, you've fucked up, you shitty boss," Xanxus haughtily said to his older brother. Vito couldn't even tell if Xanxus was jokingly teasing or legitimately insulting him.

"I'm disappointed in you, Vito," Henry said solemnly, and he actually sounded sorry. He turned his hand toward Joe. "What about –"

Joe pulled out his tommy gun. "I don't wanna fight you, Henry," Joe shouted loudly and resolutely, "but I ain't gonna stand by and let you kill Lal or Iemitsu, or even Reborn. They're my family. Vito's family. Our family!"

Henry retracted his hand. Shoving both hands into his pants pockets, he backed away and let Xanxus step in front of him. "I thought you two would be different from the others," Henry said, shaking his head. "Should'a been different. Guess brotherhood's a dying trade these days." With a pat to Xanxus' back, Henry pushed him forward. "Except for you. Go get 'em, kid."

Smiling like a psycho who just got let out of the loony bin, Xanxus shot his guns at the floor to kick off and be propelled toward Vito and Joe.

Vito has kicked Xanxus' ass already. It was a fucking hard-won victory, sure, but did Xanxus think he could take the both of them at the same time?

No, this wasn't really gonna be a two-on-one fight. Vito caught on to that fact the very instant Henry suddenly appeared right in his fucking face and pressed his hand over it.

Presumably, another seal was going to be placed on Vito, but Brasi demorphed from the gun and spread his amber flames all over his body. The Dying Will Flame sprouted on Vito's forehead. His vision gaining the brief orange tint again, Vito kicked his leg out and knocked Henry back a few steps.

To Vito's side, he saw Joe spray and pray with his tommy. Xanxus swerved and weaved around the air to dodge the bullets, but he still got nicked a few times. Joe ducked under Xanxus as he flew past him. Brasi morphed back into a shield to keep the excess Wrath Flames being released from hurting Vito. For his own protection, Joe let his trench coat take most of the heat. Whatever his coat was made out of must have been specially ordered by CEDEF. While his coat was charred and next to useless now, Joe's undershirt and skin didn't seem to get any damage as he removed his jacket, revealing a belt and straps fitted with ammo pouches.

Back to back, Vito and Joe readied their weapons; Brasi morphed back into a handgun for Vito's hands to clutch around while Joe reloaded his tommy. Xanxus landed directly across from Joe, and Henry was standing opposite Vito as he patted dust off his vest.

Henry pulled out a lighter and a cigar. He entered his own Hyper Dying Will Mode as an amber fire spawned over his temple. Vito squinted his eyes at the lighter when Henry switched it to release a wavering indigo flame.

"It didn't have to be this way," Henry said sorrowfully as he lit his cigar and puffed out smoke. "You made the wrong choice. Just remember that."

Yeah. Like hell Vito was making the wrong choice. Vito fired another bullet composed of pure Flame.

But the bullet went right through Henry without leaving any marks. Henry's figure shook and moved as like a ripple in water before fading away completely.

That indigo fire was the Mist Flame. Henry was also an illusionist?

Guess he was. The ruined battlefield of Namimori Middle shifted to Empire Bay's old Lincoln Park; the same place where Henry died. Instead of a cloudy night sky hanging over Vito, it was a bright and sunny day. The park was crowded with folks going about their business, some playing chess or walking their dogs or visiting a hotdog stand. Joe, Xanxus, and everyone else was gone.

With caution, Vito took a few steps forward.

Without warning, deafening gunfire sounded off. A hail of bullets came at Vito from every direction. Vito hopped over a bench and took cover between it and a short brick wall. Vito's dive for cover wasn't a clean ride as his foot landed wrong and his shoulder skidded on the floor a little too much, leaving some lingering pains. A lamp post was standing directly above him as it was shot up, glass falling with some grazing the side of Vito's face.

Shit, were these even real bullets? Could be completely fake. Could be completely real with Henry ordering his people to fire at will. Could be a mix of illusions and reality with Vito not knowing which barrage of bullets was real and which wasn't.

He should know, though. Vito's broken out of illusions before with his willpower and Hyper Intuition. With his trusty bulldog-gun in his hand, Vito said to him, "Help me out, Brasi. Sniff him out. Where's the real Henry?"

Brasi stayed in his gun form. He didn't growl or make any sound. Instead, Vito was wrapped again in more of Brasi's amber flames sprouting off from the Brasi gun.

In all of Vito's jacket and pants pockets, he felt magazines for his 1911 Special be placed in them. Vito suddenly felt a whole lot heavier because of that, but the amber fire persisted for another second before dispersing. In that extra second, Vito's feet and weight began to feel a whole lot more balanced.

Feeling around his person till something clicked in Vito's mind, he gripped one magazine and reloaded his gun. While gunfire was still going off and still directed at him, Vito kicked the bench to take on one of the volleys. With one hand, Vito used an X-Glove to fire a flame to propel himself upward. He flew fast enough so that only a few bullets managed to make some flesh wounds before Vito was soaring high in the air. Once he was at a comfortable height, Vito aimed his 1911 down and pulled the trigger.

Vito's always been pretty in-sync with Brasi. The removal of Nono's seal was certainly helping with that. Still, when Vito fired his gun with the new magazine, he did not necessarily expect the kickback or the red burn of the Storm Flame to descend and spread across the park in a fiery explosive wave.

The illusion faltered. The sounds and smells of distant traffic and a bustling metropolis disappeared, in turn revealing the ruined middle school battlegrounds. Below Vito, plenty of Cervello and Varia soldiers – including the illusionists – got caught in the explosion of Storm Flames Vito had unleashed. They cried and wailed in pain. Thrusting his palm to his side, Vito fired his normal Sky Flame to reconvene on the side of a school building, the same side where Vito had landed during his bout with Xanxus earlier. In his elevated position, Vito scanned the area.

Vito's crew was still hard at work, still fighting. He could see Joe taking a human shield as Xanxus tried rounding around Joe to shoot him in the back. Vito was tempted to go help Joe, but then he spotted Henry wading through the slowly fading layer of Storm Flames like it was nothing.

Narrowing his eyes, Vito saw Henry light his cigar again. This time, it was a purple fire that his lighter generated.

Henry drew out his own handgun like a sharpshooting cowboy and fired from the hip. With Vito's enhanced speed and reflexes in Hyper Dying Will Mode, he shifted his head just enough so that the bullet only cut off some of his hair strands before hitting the wall behind him.

However, following that one bullet was a seemingly endless stream of more. They all followed the same vector, hitting the wall Vito was a hanging off of. Before long, Vito was forced to hop to another side of the building, lest the next few bullets Henry fired and their infinite purple trail of follow-up bullets hit Vito. It was the Cloud Flame's propagation ability, Vito guessed, making more bullets with each discharge.

The rapid, never-ending steam of projectiles eventually did so much damage across the side of the school building that a wide part of the wall crumbled and fell off from the rest of the structure. Vito just so happened to have just leaped onto that side of the wall as it fell. Vito wasn't expecting to become unbalanced and enter freefall so abruptly.

Following his instincts, Vito's hands went to reload his gun again. Aiming down the sight toward Henry, Vito fired whenever Henry fired. With each long line of bullets Henry sent, Vito's short stream of green lightning either deflected the bullets or cut them in half, sending the pieces off in different directions.

When Vito landed on the ground, now level with Henry, the cigar and lighter were back out again. This time, the fire burning at the end of Henry's cigar was a blue color, and Vito was hit by an epiphany.

Henry and Brasi had the same type of amber flames. Henry's gotta have a Sky Flame, Vito knows he has a Sun Flame like Reborn, and he's been using Mist, Cloud, and now Rain Flames in this fight. Brasi's Sky Flames had meshed well with Vito's own. However, Brasi and the gun and ammo mags he's created have also let Vito use the Storm and Lightning Flames; plus, there was also that other orange-reddish flame from before that had healed him and Joe.

Whatever special flame Henry had that had made Timoteo so driven to make him Decimo, it was one that let him use any of the Dying Will Flames of the Sky. Could it go even further? Maybe use Earth Flames and its derivatives?

Just what the fuck was Henry? Being born with a flame like that... And what the fuck was Leon for that matter? Being able to give birth to Brasi with the same power?

Henry exhaled a cool breath, visible with light blue Rain Flames. Raising his pistol, he blew some of his breath over his gun's muzzle.

However, before Henry could do whatever he was about to do, Xanxus barreled suddenly into his backside. The two of them hit the floor, giving Vito one big fat target to unload his gun on. Lightning bolts streaked at them, and opposite Vito on the other side of the Xanxus and Henry, Joe was firing away with his tommy.

All their bullets didn't do much, though. Henry raised his pistol and fired into the air. A blue inferno came out as a round sphere abruptly expanded to surround him and Xanxus. Joe's bullets slowed to complete stops when they hit the barrier. Vito's lightning struggled against the wall of Rain Flames but ultimately fizzled into nothing.

Xanxus stood up and aimed his two guns at both Vito and Joe, one for each of them. Vito's first instinct was to use Brasi as a shield again, but instead, his hands were drawn to fire his gun downward. Lighting Flames surrounded him and served as his own protective barrier against Xanxus' attack.

Brasi must not be able to shapeshift like normal when he's in this gun mode and spreading multi-flame magazines across Vito's body.

Speaking of those magazines, Vito reloaded again. He went with Cloud Flames this time. Henry's use of the Cloud Flame didn't look too hard to mimic, those flurries of single-file bullet barrages. If Vito gets a good crack in, it might just be enough to break apart Henry's lighter. Vito wasn't sure how much Henry relied on the lighter to use his Flames, but it was the best idea Vito can come up with.

Once Xanxus was done shooting, he took a knee and reloaded. Vito was already looking down his sight and lining up his shot. Unfortunately, Henry stood in the way with the hazy dribble of Mist Flames escaping his lips. He was going for another illusion. With Joe directly behind Henry, Vito didn't want to risk the shot.

Any parlor tricks or apparitions Henry was thinking of showcasing never got a chance to materialize when Joe tossed a Molotov. It burst apart with Rain Flames, their unique properties temporarily immobilizing Henry and Xanxus. Vito took the opportunity to test out his deadeye.

While Vito did manage to hit the lighter out of Henry's fingers, Vito had been under the impression that Xanxus was one of the few people in the world Henry still gave two shits about. Guess he was wrong on that front. Whilst Xanxus was more or less subdued by the tranquil, paralyzing nature of the Rain Flames, Henry fought against it and managed to drag Xanxus to his feet by the collar of his shirt. Henry propped his supposed brother up as a meat shield, letting the scarred psycho take the brunt of Vito's onslaught of bullets as Henry received only a few nicks.

If the utter shock on Xanxus' face was any indication, he wasn't expecting Henry to do that either. It wasn't like the rage at losing control of the situation that Xanxus has expressed before, though. It was just complete surprise, so much that Xanxus didn't at all know how to react.

On the other hand, Henry didn't lose a beat as he dropped Xanxus' body and snatched his X-Guns. Henry went airborne, blasting off into the sky with his own Wrath Flames. Guess the lighter wasn't the be-all, end-all of Henry's arsenal of Dying Will Flames.

With Henry on the retreat, Vito went to check on Xanxus' prone form. Joe had the same idea. While keeping their firearms trained on Henry, they walked to and stood over Xanxus. The bloody body actually brought some morbid nostalgia to Vito's senses. It's been a while since he's been up close to a guy he just riddled with bullets.

Joe kicked his foot across Xanxus' face for good measure. Xanxus was still breathing, however weak it was going, but he wasn't getting back up any time soon. You'd be surprised by the kind of shit people can go through and still be able to survive and tell about it.

A part of Vito was tempted to finish off Xanxus before he bled out.

"Just what in the heck is Henry doing?" Joe questioned with a sigh as he checked the ammo in his drum magazine. "Whose side is he on?"

"His own," Vito answered without pause.

High in the sky, Henry did a one-eighty to start flying downward. He pointed one X-Gun behind him to fire an enormous blast that accelerated his descent. His other gun was poised at Vito and Joe, releasing a narrower stream of Wrath Flames.

Vito quickly clicked the safety on his gun as he shoved it down between his pants and belt, raising his hands in the Zero Point Breakthrough gesture. Vito also gave Xanxus a kick to send the Varia head out of the way of – Wait a second. Why in the ever-loving fuck was Vito trying to save Xanxus' life?

In that short second of indecision of Vito, Joe tackled him so that the jet of Wrath Flames wouldn't hit them.

"Hey, don't lose your cool on me, Vito," Joe warned as Henry landed and abandoned the X-Guns in favor of his own handgun. "We almost got burnt to a crisp right now. Mission's not over yet."

Vito hadn't realized "mission" was a part of Joe's vocabulary. Learning under Lal must've really left its mark.

"Any ideas how to take Henry down?"

As Henry reloaded his gun, he backed up and jumped, avoiding the torrent of dynamite that was thrown his way. The force of the ensuing explosions pushed Henry further up into the air.

Hayato, wearing plenty of makeshift bandages and unbandaged wounds, appeared beside Joe and Vito. He was breathing heavily but proudly smirking. "The traitorous Varia and the deceitful Cervello have been eliminated, Don Vittorio," he reported. The abundance of bodies surrounding them was proof enough of that. Vito could tell a good chunk of them were only unconscious, so he could at least say that his crew weren't quite mass murderers yet. "Mukuro's female double has informed us of the situation. We shall support you as you see fit."

Did Mukuro eavesdrop on Vito's, Joe's, and Henry's conversation earlier? The creep could have probably stepped in and prevented Mammon from steering Reborn and Iemitsu away. He must've wanted to take a step back and consider who to place his bets on winning and taking over the Vongola.

Just as Henry was about to land on the floor again, Takeshi charged at him from behind. Takeshi swung his sword, hitting Henry's wrist. When Henry quickly recovered and pulled his arm down fast to try pistol-whipping Takeshi, Takeshi tried pulling a feint, letting the handle of his blade fall from one hand to his other one. The momentum of Takeshi next sword swing was poised perfectly to slice off Henry's hand. In actuality, Henry fired, the Lightning Flame-coated bullet ricocheting off an overhanging tree branch to pierce into Takeshi's elbow.

His attack went off-course. Takeshi shrieked erratically as his entire body was enveloped by dancing lightning bolts. Henry swept behind him and took Takeshi as another human shield.

Before Vito could try making a plan to save Takeshi, Ryohei was already moving and delivering a punch across Henry's face. At the same time, Hibari was punching with his tonfa, disarming Henry as his gun broke into pieces.

Henry went on the retreat again, releasing Takeshi and backing up. Henry commandeered Takeshi's sword, using it to deflect a thrust from Chrome's trident that suddenly came at him. The sword glowed in Lighting Flames, sharpening the sword enough to break off one of the blades of the trident. Henry slid the sword down the trident's shaft. He might've sliced Chrome's thin body into two if the sword didn't instead go through her without doing any damage. Chrome's entire form was an illusion.

Henry wasn't expecting that. Vito could see him stopping short, hesitating as he realized what just happened. He was reacting, not thinking. Hyper Intuition helped out in situations like that, but going with your gut can only last so long before you get overwhelmed and make the wrong split-second decision that could cost you your life.

As Dino stepped in to drag the twitching Takeshi out of the line of fire, an idea struck Vito. "Joe," Vito said as he changed out his mag again. "You know how to manipulate gravity with your Earth Flame. Right?"

"A little. Yeah," Joe confirmed, eyeing the concrete floor they were standing over. "Whaddaya got in mind?"

"You hit him low, we hit him high." Vito holstered his gun and motioned to Hayato. "Get on my back."

Hayato seemed a little too eager when he giddily hopped onto Vito, but there wasn't any time to dwell on it. Henry stabbed Takeshi's sword straight through Hibari's left upper arm and left forearm. Hibari was bending his left arm to block and parry that strike. He had moved just a little bit too slow.

On the plus side, when Hibari was pulled back into Kusakabe's protective arms, Henry was left weaponless. He only had his bare fists to defend against Chrome and Ryohei. On the downside, however, Henry's hands were consumed by pure, amber Dying Will Flames perfectly resembling the one on his forehead.

Vito took to the air, flying at a curved angle until he and Hayato were directly over Henry. Henry immediately spotted them. After weaving around another trident thrust from Chrome, Henry shoved a charging Ryohei to the side and leaped upward with his flaming fists burning brightly.

Joe punched a brass-knuckled fist into the floor. A narrow shockwave swiftly reverberated across the floor, each burst of energy accompanied by a flash of reddish-brown Earth Flames. The shockwave ended at the spot where Henry had jumped up from. The Earth Flame spiked wildly. Henry stopped moving up and was abruptly pulled downward toward the flame.

Simultaneously, everyone who was still able played their last cards. Hayato dropped an avalanche of dynamite onto Henry. From a good distance away, Ryohei shot his Maximum Cannon punch to fire a barrage of condensed salt crystals. With one arm still disabled and being tended to by Kusakabe, Hibari used his good arm to throw one of his tonfas at Henry. Chrome summoned a mob of illusionary snakes that had the fangs and the bite of the real thing, and Vito fired a blast of burning Sky Flames from his 1911 Special.

Henry's screams drowned out the noise of the explosion. It wasn't a sound Vito got any satisfaction in. Hearing people who have crossed him scream in agony usually brought Vito more contentment. Guys like Derek, Eric, Grecco – with Henry, though, Vito just knew his nightmares weren't gonna stop for a long time after tonight.

Once the Brasi gun rang empty and the blaze went out, Vito landed with a thud. Hayato hopped off him and stood to the side, letting Vito stroll freely to Henry's broken body. Most of Henry's hair was burnt off, along with his clothes. What was left were unflattering, horrible red contortions, sunken bite marks, and the remnants of Henry's black suit meshing with his skin. There were even chunks of bone visible. Henry was struggling to breathe, weakly gulping and opening his desperately mouth for air.

Vito really shouldn't be surprised when Hibari lunged in for the kill. Kusakabe tried to stop him, only to be held back by what looked like a broken leg Vito hadn't noticed before. At any rate, Hayato and Ryohei held Hibari back. The blood loss finally got to Hibari, and exhaustion and their other injuries also got to the other two. All three collapsed in a messy pile. Chrome was supporting herself on her trident, looking more out of stamina and energy as Mukuro's fanboys probably took the brunt of the physical damage while protecting Chrome. Nearby, Dino was towering over Takeshi and checking his pulse. Presumably, Mochida was keeping Lambo and Hana safe out of the battlefield.

Joe approached and stood next to Vito. While Vito forced a straight face on, Joe outright gasped and would have probably cried out a swear if Lal's hardline training didn't kick in. "Freakin' A, Henry," Joe muttered. "What were ya thinking?"

Henry let out a harsh shriek. Everyone around him flinched. It was an almost inhuman scream, unrestrained and abundant with fury.

"84 years," Henry groaned. "84 years of dealing with everyone else's shit. Two times before, I got my ass beat down so badly that I could barely fucking move, and now I'm here again. What fucking bullshit."

"You know what's bull, Henry?" Joe asked as he kneeled before him. "All three of us cheated death plenty of times, and we've just been trying to kill each other. How messed up is that?"

"Are you fucking surprised?" Henry barked with a wheeze. "Are either of you two surprised? We're in the goddamn mob. Dying Will Flames or not, this is what happens. Guys like us will say or do anything to get what we want. That's never gonna change."

A part of Vito couldn't disagree with Henry. Another part wanted to vehemently argue otherwise.

All of a sudden, Vito felt the hairs on his shoulders stand up. His Hyper Intuition was acting up. There was another attack coming at them. There was –

Henry's amber Dying Will Flame sprouted again on his forehead. Joe was caught off-guard, instinctively raising his arm to shield his eyes from the light. Vito instantly fired his gun at Henry's throat, but the Sky Flames seemed to hit an invisible barrier and refused to go any further or closer to Henry.

The same flames that Brasi had used to heal Vito and Joe now appeared over Henry's hands. Every person around Henry who wasn't already lying on the floor were jerked by an unseen force and pulled down, their chins making impacts against the ground. While everyone else went down, Henry was slowly rising up. As Vito gritted his teeth and fought against the gravity manipulation, he could see some of Henry's wounds begin healing, burnt muscles reconnecting and covering up his exposed bones.

Vito tried willing a message or mentally communicating to Brasi to stop with the guns and ammo and be able to shapeshift normally again. With the altered gravity keeping him immobilized, Vito could neither line up a good shot or even try making a trick shot. Neither could Joe. Or anyone for that matter. Even Chrome was down and unable to move, and Vito doubted Mukuro would normally let his precious proxy be put in such a vulnerable position to get cut down by Henry.

With heavy, rigid footsteps, Henry inched closer to Vito.

He only managed to sludge through a couple of feet when Vito was struck by strange sense of déjà vu by what happened next.

Henry's sternum exploded with blood and slim bits of internal organs as a fist thrust itself straight through his upper torso.

Iemitsu, wearing his own scrapes and bruises, pushed his arm further through Henry's chest and used his other arm to hold Henry in place. Reborn was standing on Iemitsu's shoulder. Choking on and gurgling out blood, Henry tried turning his head around to look at them. In response, Reborn simply fired his Leon gun and blew Henry's brains out.

Again, Henry hit the floor. This time, there was no denying that he was dead, with half of his head missing.

The Triads cutting Henry up with butcher knives doesn't seem like such a bad way to die now. Back then, at least Vito had still recognized Henry's face.

Tsunayoshi Sawada should have been scared out of his wits at seeing such a macabre image.

At this point, Vito was simply too numb to give a crap.

Iemitsu immediately went to Vito and started asking questions, eyeing him for any extreme injuries. Vito didn't hear a single thing that came out of his mouth. He was too busy staring at Henry. In the corner of his eye, Vito did see some vaguely familiar CEDEF agents, Dino's boys, and a few of Ichiro's button men pitching in to help out Vito's Guardians and restrain the surviving Cervello and Varia members.

Almost inaudible, Joe let out a tired sigh. "I still miss the old days," Joe confessed quietly to Vito, the two of them not caring that Iemitsu was right in front of them. "Having Henry with us would'a been the icing on the giant effing cake that we've gotten for ourselves here. It should've worked out like that. It's a fucking shame it didn't."

Yeah. Vito agreed. Damn shame.

X

Iemitsu used to be able to be able to name at least three moments in which his life had changed forever.

He can now add a fourth to the list: learning that his son had the reincarnated soul of a classic Italian American mobster in him. Reborn's tutelage was meant to mold Tsuna into a mafia boss, and all this time, Tsuna has already lived and prospered as one in another life.

Iemitsu was a fool. He hadn't been able to see what Federico truly was whenever he had let his guard down around him, and he never caught on to why Tsuna was so independent and frustrating to work with. They were too ambitious, selfish, and independent for their own good, Iemitsu had told himself, yet there was so much more to it than simply just that.

When Nana had acquiesced to let Iemitsu and Tsuna talk in his bedroom alone, Iemitsu was half-tempted to bring Nana in with them. She was Tsuna's mother. She deserved to know in totality what her son was, but Iemitsu abided by Tsuna's request to keep her in the dark for now. With the slaughter of the Cervello family, Xanxus' betrayal, and the unstable state of Timoteo, the Vongola and the mafia world was nearing another all-out war. Either more upstarts like Xanxus or the greedy old guard of rival families may make mad grabs for power. Better to ameliorate that entire situation before they seriously bring Iemitsu's precious wife into this mess.

Still, Iemitsu had to know Tsuna's story and had to hear it directly from his mouth. While Tsuna had Reborn's endorsement, Iemitsu had an obligation to personally ensure that whoever "Vittorio Scaletta" was in the past wouldn't steer Tsuna down in the wrong direction.

When Tsuna finally finished his story, Iemitsu draped a hand over his forehead in exhaustion. "You should have told me this before," Iemitsu muttered.

"Why?"

"Because you're still my son, Tsuna." Iemitsu wasn't going to use his "Vito" moniker. "I've worked in this business for a long time. We don't come across reincarnated spirits often, but I have had my share of trappings under illusions. Horrid hallucinations that have long-term effects. Actual, real experiences that still haunt me today. If you had confided with me and your mother, we could have helped you move on pass what you used to be, overcome your nightmares. You didn't have to cope by running away from home, starting your own gang, or doing anything like that."

Tsuna's facial expression was decidedly neutral. There was no resentment or dismissive attitude about him like in their usual interactions. "Maybe you could've helped me see things differently," Tsuna agreed, "but it's too late. I am what I am, and that's never gonna change."

"I didn't say you have to change," Iemitsu quickly replied, "necessarily. It's – It feels odd to know that your life experience exceeds my own, I'll admit, but I've seen more absurdities than you might think while working in the mafia." The mob life had a lot more to do with magical fire and eccentric individuals like Reborn, Shamal, and the Poison Scorpion than Iemitsu had initially thought. "I'm still your father. Your blood is my blood. I've only ever wanted a good life for you. It has never once been a perfect upbringing for you, I know, but despite your feelings toward me, I would never abandon you."

Some people say there is no honor among thieves. By Iemitsu's standards, there has to always be honor among family. Families inevitably conflict, argue, and fight with one another, but a true family would never betray and abandon each other. Not like how Timoteo orchestrated the death of Federico's and Aria's baby. Not like how Federico attempted to murder Iemitsu, Tsuna, and Joe in cold blood.

Tsuna had his Guardians, his friends, and his loyal lieutenants. He had no shortage of family, and they were just as honor-bound to follow him as he is to remain loyal toward them. Yes, Tsuna was the Don the Vongola needed amidst this crisis and for the future.

If only Iemitsu had realized it all so much sooner.

"So," Tsuna drawled out, standing tall with his hands on his hips in a no-nonsense fashion, "what happens now?"

There was much to be done. Too much, Iemitsu would argue. "My flight to Italy leaves within the hour. My CEDEF associates, Basil, and I are escorting Nono home. Lal is doing what she can to keep the peace, but Nono's Guardians are obviously anxious to see their boss. Dino Cavallone is holding Xanxus and the Varia under lock and key, and I have the Poison Scorpion working with some of my people to track down Shamal."

Iemitsu shouldn't have been surprised that Shamal ran off when Federico revealed himself. Shamal had left Nono in the care of Iemitsu's people before leaving and going into hiding. And Iemitsu had trusted the man enough to be in the same space as his wife without any flirtations or groping. Would Shamal have made Tsuna a stillborn if Nono ordered it, despite Iemitsu's years of loyalty? Iemitsu quickly banished the prospect from his thoughts. He needn't speculate about that until later, when things have calmed down, and once Shamal was apprehended and Nono was able to speak coherently.

"As far as everyone is concerned," Iemitsu went on, "you're the Vongola Decimo. However, Timoteo is still technically the boss, so until he recovers, you will continue with your studies under Reborn here."

Tsuna slowly nodded in acknowledgement. "And after that?"

Who knows what Timoteo will say when he wakes up. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Inexplicably feeling awkward and out of place, Iemitsu checked his watch. He really should be going now. "I'm still going to keep my word, Tsuna. You're going to be the next boss. Nothing can change that. I'll be home more. Once our businesses in Italy has been settled, I'll make sure we get settled in our new house, Reborn and I will jointly tutor you, and we can –"

"Enma and Mami," Tsuna cut in. His Hyper Dying Will Mode was inactive, but Tsuna gave off the same intensity as if it wasn't. "Stop keeping them away. They're still my family. Let me find them and talk to them again."

Timoteo had kept Aria and Federico separated, and had kept Xanxus from the only brother he ever truly cared for. Iemitsu shouldn't uphold the tradition. "I'll get to work on formally inviting the Kozatos to a family dinner in our new house," Iemitsu said. "I promise."

That answer seemed to satisfy Tsuna. He walked to the door. "I wanna tell Joe goodbye."

And Basil was also a reincarnated soul. Did Lal know as well?

There will be plenty of times for questions on the plane. It was lucky, at least, that the past lives of Tsuna and Basil happened to be the best of friends.

By the Sawada house's front door, Nana was giving a blushing Basil a hug. "Stay safe," Nana told him, pulling back as she straightened Basil's tie. "Make sure to keep my husband out of trouble."

"'Course, ma'am," Basil said as he ducked his head with a light smile. Lal was never one for such physical acts expressing love and attachment, whilst Nana would never hesitate when she wanted to honestly express herself. "You keep Vito – I mean, Tsuna from picking fights with any more psychopaths."

"It's a deal," Nana joked. As Tsuna and Iemitsu approached, Nana watched them with sad eyes. When Iemitsu stepped near her, he reminded himself that he shouldn't be too disappointed that he didn't get a hug. Tsuna and Basil shared a hug, however, clasping their fights together and patting each other's backs.

"Don't get yourself killed out there," Tsuna warned.

Basil snorted. "We'll be back in no time. When we do, I'll be bringing along some of my buddies in CEDEF. You ain't the only one who's been gaining guardians and stuff."

Then, Iemitsu was very surprised when Tsuna graced him with his own hug. It was a very brief embrace, however. Tsuna appeared to realize that his arms were wrapped around Iemitsu and uncomfortably backed off.

A part of Tsuna still legitimately cared for his father, Iemitsu deduced. That, and the follow-up hug and the kiss on the cheek Nana gave Iemitsu, would have to do for now.

After saying their farewells, Iemitsu and Basil adopted a brisk pace to the helicopter parked at the school. Basil was pointedly avoiding Iemitsu's eyes, and Iemitsu was perfectly fine with that.

They passed by Reborn on their way out of the house. He was leaning atop a short lamppost. Reborn gave Iemitsu a sidelong glance. With his typical self-confident tone, he reassured, "I'll look after him."

"I know you will," Iemitsu replied with a nod.

One day, Iemitsu would find a way to repay Reborn for everything he'd done for him. That was another promise.

X

Reborn could immediately tell that something was off about Tsuna.

It wasn't his recent recovery from his injuries, the reunion with Henry, nor Henry's second death (or was it third? Who were those guardian angels Henry had alluded to?) that was the cause of it. No, it was something related to the seal Nono had placed and was now removed. Theoretically, the seal's removal meant Tsuna's confidence and focus should be increased tenfold, more refined. As such, his output of Flames has strengthened, his synchrony with Brasi has been much improved, and his ease with which he entered Hyper Dying Will Mode without stimuli like bullets or pills should be more easily accessible.

Yet, as Reborn sat atop Tsuna's shoulder on their way to Kawahira's shop, the boy's gait was completely wrong. Each step he took was uneven; the attention he gave to his path, distracted. Normally, with the excitement and drama of the Ring Conflict over, Tsuna would have been refreshed and looking forward to the celebrations with his friends and family. However, as Tsuna was now, something was weighing heavily on his mind.

"You have a headache," Reborn bluntly pointed out. Tsuna groaned in response.

"No shit, Sherlock," he retorted.

The routine would have followed with Reborn drop kicking Tsuna for the insubordinate words, but Reborn's personal brand of intuition told him that such a move wouldn't restore Tsuna's facilities to a reasonable level. "You've been having nightmare again."

"Not nightmares, no." Tsuna absently gazed at the late-morning sun rising above a layer of clouds. "Weird dreams. Been having double vision since after the Ring Conflict ended."

Since being freed of Nono's seal, he means. Yet that side effect should have disappeared by now. Nono's manipulation of Dying Will Flames and seal-making must have become more imperfect with age than anticipated.

Kawahira's Antique Shop was outwardly closed, but the front door was unlocked. Tsuna marched inside, nodding in greeting to Kawahira. The older gentlemen was eating a bowl of ramen as he watched a program on an antiquated, compact television. He gave Tsuna thumbs-up. "Good job," Kawahira said distractedly, though Reborn could tell Kawahira was keener than he let on and was perfectly aware of Tsuna's troubled countenance. Kawahira made no inquires on the matter, however, like that aloof recluse that he often was.

In the luxurious bar at the back of the shop, much of Tsuna's family was already there. Takeshi sat on a barstool, the boy's father holding Takeshi's crutches and berating him for walking to the shop without them. Hayato and Ryohei were in a screaming match that Mochida was miserably attempting to end with his own shouts – shouts quite pathetic in comparison. Lambo and I-Pin's own screams and Brasi's barks during their game of tag had a better chance of becoming the most deafening sound in the room, if the two club captains assigned to watch over them failed to catch up to the children and make them settle down first.

Bianchi was in conversation with Haru at a booth. The two young women had struck up a friendship not long after their first meeting. The dynamic they had developed was something Reborn had found quite useful for many of Tsuna's tutoring sessions. On an adjacent booth, Hana was burying her head in her arms with her face flat against the table. She appeared quite weary, likely from all the excitement and life-threatening encounters she had experienced during the Sky Ring Battle. Nana sat beside her and whispered what were presumably calming words of encouragement to coax Hana to relax. Chrome also sat across them, observing quietly alongside a neutral Chikusa and a snoring Ken.

At another table, Kusakabe and Ichiro were playing a game of chess that Fuuta paid careful, undivided attention to. Fuuta would have most likely taken out his Ranking Book at some point if he hadn't spotted Reborn and Tsuna enter the room. When he did, Fuuta ran energetically to his older brother.

With a seamless ease uncharacteristic with Tsuna's previous absentmindedness, Tsuna gave Fuuta a hug. Fuuta had gotten clingier following the end of the Ring Conflict, wanting physical proof that Tsuna was recovering from his injuries at an optimal pace. Reborn foresaw Fuuta developing quite the potent Dying Will Flames one day as a loyal member of the Vongola Family.

Tsuna would need to become an astounding boss first, however. As Tsuna was now, he was a very unfocused and unpredictable boss. Fuuta began babbling about his more recent rankings. Tsuna would normally ignore Fuuta and only pretend to be listening to the childish gibberish. Now, Tsuna paid close attention to Fuuta's words. Then, when people began realizing Tsuna had arrived, his eyes grew foggy as he craned his neck, fighting off the effects of another headache.

"Are you alright, Tsuna-nii?" Fuuta asked worriedly. Nana was by the sides of her two sons instantly.

"We can always have our little celebration later," Nana said as she rubbed her hand against Tsuna's back. "Your health takes precedent."

"No. No," Tsuna said aloud, straightening his back. "I wanna see– I got something to say to everyone. This can't wait any longer."

Though hesitant, Nana stepped back so that the crowd would have an uninhibited view of Tsuna. Tsuna's gaze slowly scanned the room, his eyes meeting each person's at least once. When Tsuna seemed to be comfortable to have everyone's attention, Tsuna said his piece.

"Thank you," Tsuna said.

Then Tsuna sat at the bar, poured himself a glass of water, and stared at it, his back and side turned to face everyone.

Now, Reborn was beyond confused. If Tsuna wanted to express his thanks for his family and friend's ferocious loyalty and service, he would have had more tact and charisma than a banal "Thank you" line. He even made the effort to quite all side conversations and become the center of attention. What was wrong with Tsuna?

"Boss," the young Chrome spoke up. "Are you feeling alright?"

Hayato pointed an accusing finger at her. "You! Has Mukuro Rokudo attempted to possess Don Vittorio a second time? Is that the cause for his unusual behavior? Have you–"

"Relax, Hayato," Takeshi cut in. "Tsuna's probably just still tired. Did you get enough sleep, Tsuna? Woke up on the wrong side of the bed today?"

"Bullshit he's just tired," Hana sharply declared. Reborn was only slightly surprised by the girl's crass language. "What the fuck was that, Tsuna? 'Thank you.' Thank you for what, exactly? Specify."

"Hana!" Haru gasped indignantly. "You shouldn't use language like that. You shouldn't use language like that to Tsuna either!"

Incessant arguments were about to break out when Tsuna spoke another few scant words. "For being there for Vito," he said quietly, "and helping him."

Tsuna wasn't speaking about himself when he said "Vito." Reborn could tell that Tsuna was referring to Vito as an entirely different person. Never mind Reborn's attempts to drill the idea into Tsuna's head that his true name is and shall be to his death Tsunayoshi Sawada. Tsuna's words just now were signs of something other than mere defiance.

Perhaps it was something that Henry had briefly suffered in the past: a legitimate identity crisis, wherein he was unable to discern and separate memories of his past life from his current life. It was a very short period of Henry's life, but it was an immensely stressful one for Reborn.

"Tsuna," Nana spoke softly in a motherly tone. She clutched Tsuna's shoulder. "Talk to us."

"Yeah," Tsuna said absently. "I finally can."

Kawahira entered the bar. He slurped on some noodles and muffled something indiscernible. Reading the tension in the room, he swallowed and deadpanned, "Am I interrupting?"

Reborn didn't spare Kawahira a second glance. He was too busy trying to gauge and analyze any telling signs that could be distinguished from Tsuna's misty eyes. "Leave," Reborn commanded. Kawahira, unfortunately, was the independent sort who was unbothered and not intimidated by Reborn's tone.

Suddenly, Tsuna raised himself from his seat. Tsuna rotated his shoulder such that Reborn had to hop off him or would otherwise have fallen to the floor. Reborn landed on the bar top. Tsuna shoved Kawahira to the side as something pink and blurry shot out from the doorway behind Kawahira. A time-traveling rocket and/or age-altering missile signature of the Bovino Family, Reborn presumed. Iemitsu had said he had negotiated for the Bovino Family to send some of their members as precautionary bodyguards for Lambo and –

The rocket hit Tsuna dead-on. Once the smoke passed, an unaged Tsuna was still standing, as still as a statue. Another defective munition?

"Tsuna?" Nana prompted, receiving no response.

Fuuta tilted his head in curiosity and stepped forward. He poked Tsuna's back. "Tsuna-nii, what are you –"

"HIEEEEEE!"

… What was this strange sound that was coming out Tsuna's mouth?

Tsuna jumped in fright, tripped over his own two feet, and somehow managed to slide along the smooth wooden floor from one end of the room to the other without hitting anyone in his way.

Not even Tsuna was this unlucky during the worst of times.

Sitting against a wall, Tsuna moaned as he rubbed the back of his head to alleviate the pain.

"Don Vittorio!" screeched Hayato as he dashed to his boss. "Have any of your wounds reopened? Brasi! Come tend to your master!"

Haru picked up Brasi and held him up to Tsuna's face. "Here, Brasi! Transform to the healing-fire thing again and make Tsuna feel all better!"

Brasi did nothing other than slobber Tsuna's face with a messy lick. Tsuna cringed but chuckled. As Brasi shimmied out of Haru's grip, he cuddled up against Tsuna's abdomen. Tsuna started stroking the dog's back as Brasi wagged his tail.

"The fur's softer than I thought it'd be," Tsuna muttered, talking to himself. "Why doesn't Vito pet you more? He should. We'd have been goners without you."

Takeshi briefly frowned, cleared his throat, and forced a smile. "Are we supposed to be calling you Tsuna now, Tsuna, or do you want us to call you Vito? What's gonna work better?"

The inquiry broke Tsuna out of whatever trance he was in. He stopped moving again, adopting a completely frozen stance. He systematically stared at everyone's faces for a second time before staring at his hands.

"Sawada," Ryohei began lowly, "you are acting extremely peculiar."

"Yeah, ditto," Mochida supported. "What's up with you?"

Tsuyoshi Yamamoto looked down at Tsuna with concern. "Tsunayoshi Sawada," he said, "you are unwell. Please, tell us what –"

"I'm Tsuna," Reborn's student suddenly said, as if to reaffirm the fact to himself. "I'm Tsuna. My name is Tsunayoshi Sawada. That's who I am."

Now, Reborn was truly starting to worry. "You are completely correct," Reborn agreed. "So explain to us plainly what is ailing you, Tsuna."

"I, uh –"

"The Tsuna I know would not stutter out an answer. Explain clearly, or –"

"Vito wouldn't stutter," Tsuna said. He stared at his hands again, flexing his fingers and glancing at his complete Vongola Ring. "Vito wouldn't... No, Vito would have dove in the way there like just now. I saw that it was pink, so I thought it was harmless. He saw the rocket and just reacted. I didn't understand. I just froze. I should've, maybe..."

This was bad. Tsuna truly had no idea who he was. Reborn may have to call back Iemitsu or contact any of his mental health contacts to –

"But now Vito's gone," Tsuna looked up to stare back at Reborn. "He's gone."

Still wearing the forced smile, Takeshi questioned, "So you want to be called Tsuna instead of Vito?"

"I'm not Vito," Tsuna tried clarifying. "Vito – That rocket wasn't from a Ten Year Bazooka. It was something else. I can still remember things. I still have Vito's memories, but him, his soul, its Dying Will – it's all gone."

Most of the people in the room were now beyond confused, but finally, Reborn was finally starting to get a better idea of what has truly transpired.

"You are Tsuna," Reborn observed. "The real Tsunayoshi. Your soul and your Dying Will were locked away behind Nono's seal while Vito had full reign over your body."

"Reborn," Nana spoke loudly, "what are you talking about? Tsuna, stop talking about yourself in the third person with your alias. I don't like it when you use that name anyhow."

"But it's not my name," Tsuna emphasized. "It's Vito's name. It's – It's hard, trying to find the right words. I never really had the chance to talk to anyone before. It was always easier to just go with the flow, just to nudge Vito in the right direction, whenever the seal was broken for a bit. But now I'm on the other side, and I can't just think things out and see them happen, or see Vito make it happen. I have to, to actually do things in real time, all the time now, I guess. Breathing, not knowing what you know, what someone else has seen–"

"You're rambling," Reborn said. "Recompose yourself." Though Reborn understood well enough what Tsuna was trying to get across.

It appeared that Nana and the others will have to be informed of Tsuna's reincarnation status sooner than expected.

"My name is Tsuna," Tsuna repeated, looking like a lost little boy, not at all like the assertive student Reborn has been teaching during all these past months. "This is, I guess, my first time really meeting all of you. It was Vito who you've all known and met and followed throughout the years. I don't know how that rocket did it, but now, Vito's gone."

X

And so the Varia arc ends.

I'd love to get some feedback on any reader's thoughts on the story thus far. What you liked or disliked, what you think could be improved, what you'd like to see more of in the future, etc. I never really expected this story to become my most popular one, but I'm enjoying writing it. I've got a messy outline of more half-baked ideas I want to cover with KHR and Mafia, so I'll keep this story going for as long as I can.

Next time, the KHR crew will be dealing with the fallout of Vito's disappearance and Tsuna taking his place, all in the next arc: Twilight Skies.