Disclaimer: I don't own KHR.

"Grandpa!" shouted an excited voice.

The long retired Vongola Decimo turned his head, and smiled when he saw his nine year old granddaughter approaching him. Smiling his usual gentle smile, he greeted the girl with open arms. Placing a kiss on her forehead, he said to her, "Hello, Maria. It's been a while since you've come to visit me. You've become even prettier than I remember you."

Maria giggled at her grandfather's kind words and placed a kiss on his cheek. She loved visiting her grandfather in Japan, because every time she came, she got to hear all the cool stories of what he and his guardians had gotten into when he was younger.

"So, grandpa, how have you been doing?" she asked, her voice worried. She was always worried about her grandfather. Ever since Gokudera Hayato, his last living guardian, had passed away a year ago, he seemed to be getting weaker by the day; Maria was always so scared that the next time she visited him, he might not be there to welcome her with his gentle smile.

"Hey dad," said a new voice before the Tsuna, and he looked up to see his son coming into the living room.

"Masaharu!" said Tsuna by way of greeting. Getting up, he went to greet his son, who bent to kiss him on both cheeks as was the Italian way. Then, turning to look at the six young men and women who entered after him, Tsuna nodded to them with a smile.

The guardians, who still greatly respected the Decimo despite how long he had been retired, nodded back.

"It's good to see you again, sir," said the ever respectful storm guardian, bowing deeply.

Tsuna couldn't help but chuckle at this; something about the young man reminded him greatly of his own storm.

Masaharu noticed the longing in his gaze and felt a pang in his chest. He had grown up surrounded by his father's eccentric Family, and when it was time for his first guardian to pass (his rain guardian), Masaharu had been devastated; but he knew, he knew that no matter how much it hurt for him, it had to hurt a thousand times more for his father, it was like a part of the man had died along with his friend.

Over the following years, Masaharu had watched as, one by one, every single one of his father's guardians died until it was only his trusted right-arm left, and then, even he had disappeared. With every passing, Tsuna had become less and less like the man he used to be, and more like an empty husk, and it hurt Masaharu to see him like that.

Nevertheless, the once brunette never failed to greet him with a bright smile, or to ask him how he was doing, and Masaharu couldn't help but smile, because he could still see a hint of the legendary leader his father had once been.

"Where's mom?" he asked finally, once the silence had grown long enough.

"Out with a friend," replied his father.

Masaharu nodded, and before he could say anything else, Maria interrupted them. "Hey, grandpa! Tell us a story!"

"A story?" asked Tsuna in mock confusion.

Giggling, Maria said, "Yeah! From when you were younger! Tell me about . . . when you first met Reborn!"

Tsuna flinched a little at the mention of his late tutor, then smiled indulgently. Sitting back in his chair, the old man looked up at the ceiling with a smile of nostalgia on his face. "Well, it all started on what seemed to be another normal day…"

Later that night, as Tsuna was lying in bed beside his wife, he found that he couldn't fall asleep, and as usual, his thoughts were dominated by his guardians.

Suddenly, he felt a thread of light fall on him, and looked towards the door to see someone peering through.

"Maria," he said in a soft voice, so as not to awaken his slumbering wife.

When she saw that he was awake, the girl opened the door more and tiptoed right up to her grandfather.

Tsuna would have gotten up to greet her, but suddenly, he didn't have the strength.

"Grandpa," she said, holding his hand in hers, tears staining her cheeks.

"What's wrong, dear one?" he asked, freeing his hand from hers to touch it to her cheek, brushing away a stray tear.

"Grandpa, don't leave," she said in a tear-choked voice. She wasn't sure how she knew, but Maria had a feeling that her grandfather was about to leave on a long, long journey, and that she wouldn't see him for years and years.

Tsuna's eyes widened when he heard the words that came out of the child's mouth, then his face relaxed into a gentle smile. "You'll make a wonderful boss one day," he said to her in a breathy whisper. "You've inherited the hyper intuition. Make sure to keep the Vongola on the right path."

"Grandpa!" the girl screamed in response, causing everyone in the residence to wake up with a start.

But Tsuna didn't seem to hear her, his eyes becoming glazed over.

Suddenly, his face lit into the most beautiful smile ever, and he said in a barely audible voice, "What took you guys so long?"

"Sorry we're late, boss."

"Kufufu, it looks like I'll never get to possess that body now."

"You look tired to the EXTREME!"

"Che, whatever, herbivore."

"Bwahaha! Lambo-sama knew Dame-Tsuna would miss him too much!"

"Maa, maa, you look happy to see us, boss."

"Jyuudaime! Forgive me for being so irresponsible and leaving you behind! I will never forgive myself!"

Tsuna let out a satisfied sigh, and closed his eyes for a long, long sleep.

"I'm home…"