Exhausted, Tsuna collapsed onto his bed. He didn't go back to school, even though it was still only around 9 in the morning. His mother, seeing his soaked form, only told him to take a bath before he went to his room. The brunette had agreed, and stewing in the bath, he scoffed bitterly. It was deja vu of his first day there. It was only a couple days ago, but it felt so much longer than that. Reborn came, and the sadistic bastard really did make you remember every second of his company, not to mention not only did the tutor have to collect information (its been well-established that his father was a failure as an informant), but so did Tsuna. He was supposed to be no good and pathetic, and his body was as well, but his relationship with his brother and mother? Every moment he spent with his twin, his mind flustered to think of how he should respond. What he's been doing has worked so far, but Tsuna knew it wouldn't last unless he got something concrete.

Sighing, he brought his fist up to his face, a long-time habit he had grown accustomed to that gave him reassurance he was of Vongola and had friends. However, differing from the 13 years since he got both rings, one wasn't there. As the brunette thought about it, the red, chained Vongola Gear he was used to would be back in its lesser form. At this point in time, the sky ring was probably still on the Ninth's finger, as it had been on his, until the time for the inheritance to Ieyasu, the battle that would declare Ieyasu the official heir. Then, the still small ring would be split into two and given to the leader of CEDEF, or his… their father.

Tsuna then realized just what his job entailed. He had to relive the Varia fights, and support Ieyasu through harsh days of training, trying to find the 'ultimate move'. Then, they'd all go into the future. At this, the brunette worried that Shoichi might not even think to bring him, the brother, 10 years in the future with the rest of them. Actually, he was interested in how it would turn out. Perhaps he wouldn't be 'dead', or maybe he actually would be, and had completed his mission of turning Ieyasu into the heir and returned to his own world. Either way, the brunette would have to face Byakuran again, and go through the months of training he himself had to endure. Including proving his resolve to Primo. Tsuna'd just have to stand there. Well, maybe he could fight, as well. Justifiably, of course, if he asked Reborn to train him to assist his brother.

But it still stands that Tsuna would have to push Ieyasu through the turmoil of the future, mentally and literally, ultimately leading to the defeat of Byakuran, and the unsealing of the Vongola ring into it's true form. Of course, Tsuna would also have to make sure Ieyasu was ready. As a fully instated Vongola boss of 8 years, and dead, Tsuna thought that gave him the right to judge his, alongside the 9 previous others, if Ieyasu proved himself. Maybe he would be beside Ieyasu, in the boss lineup that he had seen years ago, or beside Giotto. He would either also have to physically be in Roll, or have his spirit/conscious mind sent to whatever realm that was (probably Hell). He might even take his old form, in which he looked his actual age and not some 13 year old. Heck, not even that. With his current body, Tsuna would probably kill himself he tried igniting a dying will flame on his head. However, he couldn't do anything until all his wounds healed fully and properly.

Almost unconsciously, Tsuna lit a small flame on the one ring he had, and instantly the small sky lion popped out. Frazzled, the brunette immediately scanned the area for Reborn, sighing in relief that he didn't find the Arcobaleno. Smiling, Tsuna let the animal tackle him, having missed his owner, to which the brunette gratefully welcomed him. He was thinking too hard and he knew it. Otherwise, the sub conscious of Tsuna thought, he might think about how he had gotten through all those trials. With his guardians supporting him both mentally and in battle.

Natsu was back in his small form, just as Tsuna was, making the flurry of crying, whimpering, rubbing, crawling, and scratching more manageable than what the brunette was used to, and he was thankful for that. In his current body, a full on love fest could kill him. Chuckling at Natsu's endearing face, Tsuna pet his mane in a soothing motion, slowly calming the animal down. Soon, the lion was a sleeping bundle on his chest, purring to his owner's affections. Neither of them were big anymore, but Natsu was relieved that his greatest friend was still the kindest, strongest, wisest human he knew.

A few minutes after the cub fell asleep, Tsuna followed. His hand slowed, relishing in Natsu's silky fur. With a smile on his face, the brunette drifted peacefully to the unconsciousness.

000000000000

Slowly, Tsuna blinked open his eyes. The heavy warmth on his chest had left him, stirring him from his slumber. When he was fully aware of his surroundings again, he noticed there was another person in his room other than himself and Natsu. The frigid breeze that reached him also announced that his window was open when he was positive he had closed it because of the rain.

Sitting up, his heart stopped.

Across him in the corner with Natsu on his lap, was the Sun Arcobaleno Reborn. He sat there like it was the most natural thing in the world, and it was, in his dimension. Albeit the hitman had been far smaller. Gulping, Tsuna awkwardly smiled, stiffly shifting his body to have his thin legs touch the floor. Although he remained sitting, the Ex-Decimo wanted to be prepared to break into a sprint if need be to get away from his ex-tutor, even though he knew his current body would barely make it to the window before Reborn would have him on the ground writhing in pain.

"A-ah, R-Reborn-san, you let yourself in, I see. Um, s-shouldn't you be with Ieyasu?" the younger of the two stuttered, eyeing the other nervously, and Tsuna really was. Reborn had always been unpredictable, and alternate dimensions were no exception. The raven, Tsuna observed, seemed amused at his actions, fidgeting and stuttering. Pouting slight, the teenager huffed. "Why are you here, anyway?" he asked.

Reborn stayed silent for a while, not because he was thinking of an answer or anything of the like, but merely to see how Tsuna would react. Although annoyed at the hitman, the brunette was far too used to Reborn's sadistic actions, and decided to disappoint him by being unresponsive and patiently waiting. The raven sensed this, and scoffed.

"Fine. I'll tell, since you seem to be so curious. I just never heard you had a lion cub as a pet," Reborn replied. Tsuna held his breath, racking his mind for something respond back with. Luckily, the raven continued. "I was worried and stepped in, but I found this little creature was tame. I'm impressed you, the inferior to your brother, managed to control this beast's natural wild instincts."

He's fishing, Tsuna thought wryly, Reborn wants to know if I actually do have some worth for the Vongola. Although the brunette didn't like that Reborn still thought so coldly, prioritizing the job and Vongola, he couldn't take it out on him. Internally, he chuckled, praying that Ieyasu might be able to change the hitman as he had been able to. His Reborn had become far more playful after being trapped in a 2 year old body, but this one had yet to experience true humiliation. Tsuna didn't feel the need to turn him into a baby, but he'd definitely have to straighten him out if Ieyasu was going to be worthy of the blood stained Vongola title.

"No, Reborn-san, I'm not like Ieyasu who can control beasts. It's just that little one… Natsu… I could tell he was like me. Besides, I only met him a few hours ago, so you can't say I've tamed him. We're just friends," Tsuna explained, smiling softly. Although, as he looked in the lion's eyes, Natsu was confused at the 'just met him' when they've been partners for 13 years. He cheered up hearing his owner declare they were friends, though. The brunette, still apologetic to his companion, could only laugh pitifully at his cursed luck, because if Tsuna noticed it, then Reborn sure as hell did, too.

"Right. Sorry for intruding, then. School ended an hour ago, though," the raven said, standing. Natsu jumped off, happily padding over to Tsuna's side. As Reborn was about to leave, literally one step out the door, he added, "Dame-Tsuna, you shouldn't sell yourself short. I'm sure you'll prove yourself, soon." With that he left, heading straight for Ieyasu's room, and didn't look back. He knew his message had been transmitted.

Tsuna snarled at himself. He really was being Dame again. 'I'll see if your worthy Vongola Style!' That's so like him! Tsuna thought, grumbling as he played with Natsu's ears. Well, the brunette quirked a small smile, It really is like Reborn. Although, this probably means someone's going to show up. Tsuna groaned at his next thought, And at this stage, it's probably going to be him, my dear right hand…

000000000

Calmly, Tsuna ate his breakfast. He didn't look at Reborn as he stole his brother's food. He knew he was being immature, sulking. However, it wasn't because of Reborn. He'd have to meet another of his deceased guardians. Tsuna's chopsticks froze at the word, the omelet in their grasp falling back onto the plate. His mind replayed the memory forever seared on to his conscious.

It wasn't long after Lal and Colonello's onslaught of bullets did they get swarmed with underlings again. There was only a few more turns left, but obviously stronger guards had been placed near the boss. These ones were using boxes, and although they weren't good at utilizing them, they certainly helped in slowing them down. Tsuna was faced with a rain attributed mafioso, controlling a pair of goldfish. He hadn''t faced many female mafioso so far, all of which being significantly stronger than the rest. She probably was, too. The red headed woman jumped on to one of her creatures, moving quickly despite the hallway's tight space. She started attacking, strategically wielding the rain flames in a quick succession of attacks to try and slow Tsuna down to ultimately strike him dead. However, the decimo negated the calm factor of rain with his harmony factor, but purposefully slowed down so that when she sweeped from behind to deliver the final strike, and slowing down in the process, Tsuna easily evaded and hit her in the side. With wind now knocked out of her, the woman fell off the goldfish, struggling to get another breath. She gave a last glare before she smirked. His HI going haywire, Tsuna watched in horror as she let her own box consume her. The rain-class goldfish turned into storm-class, and became one, giant koi. It was even faster than before, and instead of trying to slow him down, it aggressively attacked his vital areas, ruthless trying to weaken him.

Growling, Tsuna did a brief look around. Reborn was facing a lightening-class wasp, a cloud-class skunk, and a mist-class butterfly. He was doing well if only whenever he defeated a box weapon, another wouldn't immediately replace it. Gokudera, on his immediate right, was facing 6 sun users. That was all he could get before the koi continued to assault him even more viciously. After a number of minutes, the boss heard a frustrated cry from his left. Even after all these years, Gokudera would still get annoyed and impatient if stopped or repeating the same thing for a long time.

The storm guardian teamed up with Fon and Bel, and started taking out dozens with a variety of storm class attacks and weapons. Son, the hallway was far less crowded, and everyone was just finishing up their battles, when another group showed. "They don't seem to end," Fon muttered, kicking another mafioso square in the chest, sending him back into several other men. The small space was once again clogged with black suits, as they all tried there best not to kill anyone.

"Juudaime, run!" Gokudera shouted. With barely any hesitance, Tsuna swiftly sped through the opponent he had moved onto after the woman, a cloud spider user, with Reborn and the rest soon following. Seconds after they had just cleared the next corner, a large explosion rang out, shaking the entire building. Alarmed, Tsuna immediately sprinted back to where they had just been, relaxing slightly when he saw his standing right hand man. "Juudaime, I'll take care of all the guys coming this way, so hurry up!" the half-Japanese had told him. "You better come back to me alive, Hayato."

That was the last time Tsuna saw him.

"Nii-san?" Ieyasu asked, touching the older's shoulder. Startled, the brunette looked over to him. He too had stopped eating, most of the food had already taken by Reborn, and his eyes were a lit with concern. Tsuna smiled, reassuring the blonde, and picked up the piece he had dropped.

00000000 First Period 00000000

"Well, everyone, this is your new classmate, Gokudera Hayato," Nezu explained, gesturing to the juvenile teenager at the front of the classroom. The girls swooned at his rebellious appearance, with shoulder length silver hair, piercings, and a glare that intimidated even the prideful Nezu. Snarling, he walked right up to Ieyasu, entirely unaware of Tsuna's existence (to which he was very grateful for) and kicked over the desk. The older twin nearly sighed. He had expected this part.

Ieyasu calmly set his desk back up, none of his school supplies scattered on the floor since it was still only the start of the day. Gokudera glared down at his blonde head with a fireball of rage and maliciousness, and it was further fueled when the Vongola heir defiantly ignored it. Tsuna banged his head against the mental wall that was his brother. He only prayed that the future storm guardian wouldn't task himself unnecessarily just get back at his brother. Although, Reborn was probably betting on his involvement.

Tsuna spent all of math worrying over Gokudera and Ieyasu, and even though he had known and cherished Hayat-Gokudera more, the brunette was surprised at the fact that he wished for his new brother's safety as well. Wait, hasn't it always been like this? he asked himself, Whenever I make an acquaintance I usually end up worrying about them and end up protecting them with my dying will. Chuckling, the brunette started doodling in his notebook, mainly the three that were currently causing him problems.

Over the years stuck in an office, Tsuna had developed a prominent artistic ability and sense. Perhaps it was his Italian blood, but the brunette didn't really care. It greatly helped the time pass by. The gentle strokes of his pencil and the image they formed absorbed his attention so much, he didn't realize the evil eye Nezu was giving him. "Dame-Sawada," the teacher growled, earning a yelp from the freshman in question as he immediately jumped up. "Solve the problem on the board," he commanded.

[x(-23)=3.14x/360]

Oh, it's easier than I was expecting. Tsuna thought with only a moment of study. However, he knew too well he was being keenly observed as it is by someone far more experienced than Nezu. The brunette rolled his lips, biting them a bit, and furrowed his eyebrows in feigned concentration.

"U-um, maybe… 12?" Tsuna answered timidly, already knowing it was far from right. Nezu howled at his failure, and the older twin blushed, sitting down in shame. Gokudera scoffed, and continued to glare at his brother. Ieyasu sighed, upset that his brother didn't apply himself more. (Parallel) Tsuna had been very good at analyzing people and understanding them, but he got too distracted in school and flunked most of the time. Ieyasu, though he was definitely not the brightest, could pass with the right amount of studying, but he doubted many people in the room could solve that problem.

The rest of the periods flew by without much happening until lunch period finally arrived. Tsuna stretched tiredly, before hearing a satisfying crack. He regretted it shortly after, since he then had a bad ache in his neck. Groaning, Tsuna stood up, holding his neck while the free hand grabbed the bento perched neatly on his desk.

"Nii-san, are you alright?" Ieyasu asked, raising an eyebrow. Chuckling, Tsuna shook his head. Pausing, the brunette looked around. Gokudera had stormed out in a hurry, probably to hunt down Reborn and confront him, and then, before the end of lunch, Ieyasu should have a storm guardian. Smiling to himself, Tsuna suggested Ieyasu go down to eat with his sports buddies today, since he been wanting to go to the roof.

"But Nii-san! Don't you know who's usually up there?" Ieyasu pleaded, forgetting his own bento, and grasping his brother's shoulders. "Ieyasu, relax! I was invited, so it'll be fine. Besides, I don't want to keep you from your friends," Tsuna argued, his lips making a reassuring grin. Although the heir wasn't totally convinced, the brunette wouldn't let him dwell on the issue, and hurriedly left with a fleeting good bye.

Walking the way to the roof nearly on auto-pilot, the brunette let his mind think. Last time, I fought Gokudera behind the school, but my HI's saying something different, since I did tell Ieyasu to go eat with his baseball friends. Tsuna stopped, eyes processing he was just in front of the door to the roof. Turning the knob, he stepped outside, only for a large gust of air to nearly blow him away if not for his grip on the handle. When he recovered, peeking open his eyes, his face lit up at the sight of the sky. After such a big storm, the air was fresh and cool, and the blue sky broadly stretched over the horizon.

"Herbivore," threatened a deep voice from above him. Looking up, Tsuna saw a ladder bolted to the wall of the small boxlike entrance to the roof. Without hesitance, the brunette climbed up the short distance, and was met with the unsurprising scene of Hibari Kyoya sitting up and glaring at whoever dared disturb his sleep. Noticing it was Tsuna, however, the ferociousness tapered out. The brunette giggled, clearly amused by the other's sudden change of attitude.

The disciplinary chairman growled softly, but ignored it mostly. Tsuna, as he had a mission, decided to just let him be. For now, the 13 year old had to concentrate his HI, which was weird in a different body. Obviously, the Vongola blood was the same, but it was far less active and awakened compared to when he died. However, it was better than he had anticipated. From the little Tsuna had deduced from his original parallel self, even in a different dimension he was a good kid. Better than he was, for sure.

Finally, the brunette got a ping on the Eastern side of the school, a little ways from the baseball fields. His brother, to whom his HI was already highly tuned to, wasn't in any danger at the moment. Estimating that in his body, he could get to where he needed within a minute, Tsuna saw no need to keep on look out. Instead, he decided he should take the 10 or so window gap he had and eat his lunch.

Hibari discreetly observed him, feigning sleep as Tsuna happily ate his specially prepared meal, not minding his cloud guardian's antics very much. He even forgot the raven had been staring at him for a good few minutes before Hibari finally spoke. "Tsunayoshi Sawada… Why are you here?"

The brunette jumped at his name being said by Hibari, but after the initial reaction, he answered, "Well, as you said, it's a good place to get away." Tsuna, surrounded by memories of the past and the newness of the current dimension, didn't remember to look skyward enough and he should. It really did calm him down. Besides… "You're here," he mumbled out loud, his face flooding with nostalgia, blissfully ignorant of Hibari's keen ears and eyes. "Hn," was the raven's only response before Tsuna felt a sudden throb in his head. Stifling a gasp, the brunette immediately jumped down, abandoning his bento, and sprinted to the eastern edge.

He arrived a little late, and by the time his head was peering over the edge, Gokudera was on Double Bombs. The remains of the normal amount of dynamites was evident, small craters littering the ground and school wall, singe marks blackening the crators' borders. To Tsuna's immense surprise and respect, Ieyasu still hadn't gone into Dying Will mode. He was physically fit enough that he didn't need any added speed or strength.

Gokudera was further enraged that Ieyasu was effortlessly dancing through his waves of dynamite, silencing their fuse with a snap of his fingers. He threw dozens of tan colored sticks of explosives, lighting then with his cigarette. Ieyasu, although annoyed at first, began to understand the other just from the way he looked at him, the way he used his weapon. He didn't know if this was the HI Reborn was talking about, but he couldn't explain where he was getting these reasonings.

The delinquent obviously reacted most strongly to Ieyasu ignoring him. This led the heir to believe he had been largely ignored already. When he threw the explosives, they were aimed at him, but Gokudera was oblivious to the small burns he received from his careless way of holding them too close to his face and clothing. This explained why even though the movements were ingrained into his body, Gokudera was still somewhat amateurish in his actions.

Sighing, Ieyasu, after the most recent onslaught, was a good several meters away, easily within the opponent's range. However, this time, Gokudera attempted Triple Bombs. The number of dynamite in his hands unfortunately exceeded his capacity of holding them. His hesitation in throwing them, and the eventual tumbling of the sticks down to his feet was so shocking he forgot to move. His body taking over for him, Ieyasu darted to the other in record time, hooking the other's body with his arm and hurdling them both into the fountain only feet behind Gokudera. They dunked head first into the tub of water as the bombs exploded, shaking the very school.

Ieyasu quickly sat up, his shoulders out of the water as he choked out the water in his lungs, simultaneously gasping for air. Within seconds Gokudera joined him, silver hair matted to his face. Although Tuna couldn't hear them, especially after that impact, He could lip read pretty well. Not that he needed to, since he lived it as well.

"Why would you save me?" Gokudera demanded, angry at his target and himself. The one before him, who's breathing slowly eased into only labored, looked at him. Even after fighting him, facing bombs and death, the future decimo remained composed, inspecting Gokudera for any serious injury.

"Because, you deserve to be saved," he answered quietly, standing up. Staggering, the blonde stepped out of the fountain, drenched, but unharmed. Turning around after a pause of hesitation, Ieyasu faced him with soft smile, so slight one could have easily missed it. He held out his hand for the past enemy. Gokudera, his mind screaming questions in a rabid mass of chaos, couldn't stop the tears welling up in his eyes. His brain was going miles with the heir's simple gesture, but Gokudera shakily took the hand.

Tsuna sighed happily. Talk about reliving your life. He was about to go back and collect his forgotten bento, since the period would be ending in five minutes, when he felt Hibari's presence. More specifically, he felt his chest as he stood up. Looking up, it appeared Hibari had come to see what the explosion was about and coincidentally was right behind Tsuna, for the sake of seeing better, of course.

"Hibari-san," the brunette mumbled. The raven was silent for a long minute, steel eyes unrelenting. Suddenly, a hand came to his the top of his head. It sat there, relishing in the fluffiness of Tsuna's mane. However, the muttering of threats about vandalism escaped from the raven's lips as he glared at the damage below. Mentally cursing, Tsuna hastily covered for his brother. "I'll repaint the damaged wall areas if your people can fill in the holes in the ground."

Hibari narrowed his eyes, testing the other with his intimidating gaze. Tsuna remained undaunted, and after the brunette reorganized his bento, the two went to work restoring Namimori Middle. Hibari supervised his clone-like underlings while Tsuna meticulously restored the paint and damaged plants. It took all 7th period, but the battle zone was hardly recognizable afterwards. Hibari huffed in approval, ruffling the other's locks. It may have been a trick of the light, but Tsuna swore he saw him smile.

Hearing the bell ring, the brunette jumped. He bid farewell to his sempai and ran to his classroom. Using the shortcuts he had found all those years ago, Tsuna managed to make it to class on time. He sighed, exhausted, and flopped into his seat. The science teacher walked in, and immediately dived into the lesson while Yamamoto sent worried glances to both Ieyasu, who was still rugged after his fight, and Tsuna. He was completely wiped out from being under the sun and dealing with the gruff DC members.

Before either of them realized, the last bell cried its toll, and the rush of students interrupted their empty minds. Startled at the sudden shuffling, the siblings straightened, looking around the room. When they found each other's gaze, and their sorry states, chuckles escaped both of their mouths. "Man, you two had me worried," cried Yamamoto, who had just survived a near mauling via his herd of fans. Ieyasu shook his head, smiling easily at the other, to the raven's surprise. "It was nothing I couldn't handle. But, Nii-san" he started, glancing at the other worriedly. "It wasn't much on my end either," he answered. The blonde knew Tsuna wasn't giving him the whole truth, but his younger brother didn't comment.

They walked down the hallways and out the school cheerfully, lit with laughing faces. The sun spread its orange hue throughout all Namimori, and Tsuna was silent as he observed it. He didn't mind the chatty Yamamoto, or the lack of response on his brother 's part. When he finally turned to the two, though, he saw that by then, less than a minute before they would split up, were that Ieyasu's smiles and composure were being forced. His peacefulness was completely natural, like the blood that calmly flowed through his veins. Tsuna doubted Yamamoto was the cause, but the younger definitely wanted to escape.

Tsuna and Ieyasu waved off the baseball star, but just as Yamamoto disappeared, Ieyasu became as quiet and stiff as a statue. Reborn, in the vicinity, noticed it. However, the heir might resist assistance from the hitman. Sighing softly, Tsuna inspected the other all the way to their house, but when the younger should have turned to go into his own room, he continued to follow his older brother. "Ieyasu?" the brunette asked, concerned. The other was unresponsive, so he continued to walk.

Just as Tsuna closed the door did Ieyasu tackled the other. They landed, disoriented, on Tsuna's bed. Ieyasu's arms were around Tsuna's neck, and his let a small sob pass his lips. The gust didn't turn into a storm, but his breathing didn't even, nor would he loosen his grasp. "S-sorry...Nii-...S-san...hic...I-I'm acting l-like...I'm th-three," he croaked. Breathing deeply, Tsuna returned the hug, embracing his brother and rubbing his back.

"Nonsense. I'm here for you no matter the age or time," he answered, smiling. Ieyasu desperately grasped his brother's vest, sprinkling the fabric with his irregular flow of tears. As his younger, usually composed brother shook against his chest, which throbbed in complaint, Tsuna wondered what caused this outbreak. The stress of being an heir? No, Tsuna supposed, It's probably the guardians. They changed me. Change happens very differently for everyone.

Ieyasu eventually cried himself to sleep, while Tsuna took a while longer, barely aware that Natsu had come out to comfort them as well, curling up beside their heads. Smiling softly, Tsuna was lulled to sleep by the lion cub's reassuring warmth with his brother on top of him, clinging on for survival.