Chapter 8

His body felt achingly dull and it pained him to move. He just felt so content and relaxed despite the terror around him. Corpses were strewn across the grass with their eyes frozen in fear; the green of the grass could barely be seen due to the massive sea of blood. Body parts and organs were everywhere, spilled shamelessly from their half-mutilated bodies.

Tsuna was lying back against a burnt tree, his body limp. He wanted to sleep, to just drift away and possibly not wake up again.

"That's low, Dame-Tsuna," a voice said.

The brunet blinked blearily and stared at the person in front of him, a tall, looming shadow of a figure. "Reborn...?"

His former tutor placed a foot on his face. "You really went low, Dame-Tsuna. Funny. I thought I taught you better than that."

"There's no point," Tsuna murmured, not minding the boot crushing his nose. "I'm just so tired. So tired..."

Reborn scoffed. "You barely started and you've given up? Pathetic."

Pain exploded in Tsuna's jaw as the man kicked him harshly across the face. Tsuna opened his mouth in a silent scream. Leaking blood dripped onto his tongue and he somehow got the strength to get up, until Reborn slammed him to the ground with his foot on his back.

"Never changed from the pathetic worm you were," Reborn said coldly. "Giving up at the most crucial points. Just like your father. A coward."

Tsuna gritted his teeth as he clenched the clumpy, blood-soaked grass in a tight fist. "My father wasn't a coward."

"But I suppose it ran with the genes," Reborn dismissed uncaringly. "A shame really. You had so much potential."

With each word, Reborn only increased the pressure on Tsuna's back. The brunet was waiting for something to crack.

"Tsuna." Reborn's voice was suddenly quiet, and it caught the brunet's attention. "This isn't the time to wallow. It's not your time yet. You still have a chance."

"A chance to do what?" Tsuna snapped. "I screwed up! Everyone hates us and I'm just tired of everything. I'm fighting for all of these ungrateful bastards and there's not a single person who said, 'gee, Tsuna, thanks for all the shit you went through'. You're nothing, just a damn voice, my imagination! Just leave me alone."

He broke out into tears. "Just leave me alone... No more. No more..."

Silence fell upon them, thick and unforgiving, as Tsuna continued to sob. The small, trembling box inside of him burst out into the open, consuming him whole. All of his pent up frustrations, fears, and anger just seemingly seeped into his veins and into his heart.

All of the efforts he gave into saving humanity, to push it towards freedom, was only a waste. It was selfish, foolish even, to think this way, but he could care less at the moment. No one was there for him to lean on when he really needed it. It was always him by himself on the bitter, faded road. There was just nothing for him at the end, nothing.

This was why he didn't want to become the leader. It was an undesired position, a burden. No one would appreciate his skills or his efforts. They would merely glance over him and speak no words.

"You have the Vongola," Reborn said, walking away. "The Varia. They're all composed of more than one person, aren't they? Isn't that enough for you, Dame-Tsuna? They've been through hell, too. You're not the only one going through shit, you idiot."

Tsuna widened his eyes. Vongola...Varia... They were vague but familiar names. And just like that, his misery and selfish irrationality ebbed slowly into oblivion.

"Vongola," he whispered, realization dawning on his features. "Gokudera, Takeshi, Mukuro, Chrome...everyone."

He slowly got up and looked up at Reborn who looked down at him with the same impassive eyes he had when he lived. "Reborn, are you real?"

"We're all here for you," Reborn said. He sighed but smiled slightly nonetheless. "All of us."

Tsuna looked past him to see all of his past teammates and teachers stand before them. Colonello grinned as he slung an arm around Lal Mirch who looked away with a flush on her cheeks. Skull gave him two thumbs-up with an ear-splitting grin. Fon bowed in greeting and had a gentle smile on his lips. Mochida scratched the back of his head sheepishly, as if embarrassed that he was dead (or was it still his imagination?).

There were more of them, waving and smiling at him. An overwhelming surge of emotion washed over him and he found himself in tears again. "Everyone..."
Reborn placed a rough hand on his head and crouched down to his eye-level. "Take this chance and go back, Dame-Tsuna." He smirked. "Make it count."

Before Tsuna could reach out to him, everyone and everything faded into dust. Their deaths crossed his mind and he closed his eyes to get rid of the horrible images.

Fight, he thought. I will fight.

It was then he had finally woken up - figuratively and literally.

A heaving gasp tore the air. Tsuna felt consciousness return to his body as he bolted out of bed and ran into the bathroom.

"Juudaime?" Gokudera said behind him.

The brunet proceeded to throw up in the toilet, the pungent smell of vomit permeating the small room. He took in deep breaths and vomited again. He felt Gokudera pat his back comfortingly until he gradually calmed down.

Gokudera flushed the toilet and helped him clean up. Tsuna felt embarrassed in the situation he was in and tried to help himself but he felt weak.

"Thank you," he said in a quiet voice. His throat was raspy and it hurt to speak.

Gokudera understood and handed him a cup of water, which Tsuna downed immediately. The cool liquid was pure bliss.

"What happened?" he said.

Gokudera looked away, ashamed. "I'm sorry, Juudaime. I couldn't get to you in time."

"It's fine, Gokudera. But what happened?"

"You fell into the Titan's mouth," Gokudera said seriously. "Yamamoto quickly found a perfect angle to kill the Titan and let it fall accordingly to his prediction. Xanxus got you out."

"What about the plan?" Tsuna said.

Gokudera smiled slightly. "We did it. The kid sealed the hole with the boulder. You should've seen everyone's face, Juudaime."

Relief took over his body. Tsuna clapped a hand on the other's shoulder with a smile of his own. "You did good, Gokudera. Without you or everyone else, it couldn't have gone as well as it did."

His friend smiled until concern flashed through his eyes. "You should rest, Juudaime. You're still not well."

"I'm fine," Tsuna said. "How's everyone else?"

"They're all fine, Juudaime. You don't need to worry about them."

"What about Eren and the others? Did the Scouting Legion come?" The questions just kept coming after one after another. Anxiety started to rise in his chest and he had a bad feeling stirring in the pits of his stomach.

Gokudera looked a bit hesitant but said, "The Scouting Legion did come back, Juudaime, but at the last few minutes. They were held back while coming here and said that the cocky bastard was the first to feel something was wrong. They didn't lost too much of their soldiers, but it a still a handful."

"Gokudera," Tsuna interrupted firmly, "where is Eren?"

"He's... He's going on trial soon."

"Commander! Commander!"

A young woman ran up to Erwin who looked on impassively as she reached him. She panted for breath before giving him a salute.

Erwin smiled pleasantly at her though his eyes shifted towards the clock. "And you are?"

"Miura Haru, sir."

Erwin nodded. "And what do I owe the pleasure of your presence, Haru?"

The name rang a bell though he couldn't quite place her.

She looked at him with intimidating, serious eyes and her posture was straight with her aura nearly demanding respect. "Sir, may I also be present at the trial of Eren Jaeger?"

Erwin raised a brow. "The trial? What trial?"

Suspicion grew in his chest. How could she know about the trial?

"Hanji said to ask you for permission, sir," Haru said. "I am her assistant."

Ah, now he remembered. The "wonderful, ultra-super assistant" that Hanji talked about constantly. Her intellect, he heard, nearly matched the eccentric scientist and she might be useful for what was to come.

He nodded. "You have permission, but please refrain from telling others." His lips quirked into a small smile. "It's not a party."

Haru brightened up as she bowed. "Thank you, sir! I won't let you down! I promise!"

As he watched her retreat, Erwin refrained a sigh as he made his way to the courtroom. Eren Jaeger, a Titan-shifter, the one who plugged the wall. He didn't seem dangerous when he visited him yesterday. He was clearly frightened and the slightly placed him on edge. A trial for the one who saved everyone's lives. Hmm, people never like a bit of change, did they?

He opened the doors and saw the Vongola - Tsunayoshi, was it? - leader with two men by his side. In the courtroom. In the courtroom.

Lovely, he thought.

Tsuna watched the guards drag in Eren and chain him down on a small, thick metal pole. Gokudera and Yamamoto stood on either side of them, all three of them ignoring the disgusted and hateful looks at them. He internally sighed. His catchphrase should be, "We come in peace. We are Vongola. Hello, nitwits." Yes, that would be fitting. Quite nice now that he thought about it. Simple, too, for the idiots.

"Eren Jaeger," the judge said, arranging her papers on the tall podium, "welcome. How are you feeling?"

Tsuna knew this judge. An oddball at best but quick and efficient with a severe edge.

"It's her," Gokudera mumbled.

Tsuna nodded. The judge was none other than Sasagawa Kyoko, a former friend and teammate. However, after she lost a leg to a Titan, she quit her soldier duty and turned towards law to follow her father's footsteps while disguising herself as a man. It was difficult considering the amount of sexism in the field, but another friend, Miura Haru, was skilled in the art of disguises and helped her extensively.

Eren, stupefied by the rather surprising greeting, blinked dumbly as he stared at the orange-haired lady. Her eyes were blank and gave nothing away as she continued to organize the many files in front of her. The teenager didn't know what to say.

Tsuna smiled. He couldn't help but feel proud for her, even though it was his fault that she lost her leg. She had forgive him and even thanked him for making her "wake up" as she called it.

"Well," Kyoko said in her soft voice, folding her hands in front of her, "may I call you Eren?"

The teen shook out of his stupor and stuttered out a "Yes".

Kyoko nodded. "I've heard quite interesting stories about you and would like to ask you two questions before anyone presents us their case. Is that fine?"

She raised her hand immediately to silence the people present. This was her domain and no one could go against her. The protests were momentarily stuck in their throats before it slowly entered their demise. They all grumbled under their breaths but ultimately kept quiet.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. One, what happened to your parents, Carla and Grisha Jaeger?"

Eren flinched. He looked up at her with devastating eyes. "M-My mother was murdered by a Titan." Fury soon raged in his eyes. "She was eaten in front of me! And - And my father... I don't know where he is to be honest."

"He's a traitor!" a man said.

One of the Military Police shouted, "Your father is probably why we're in this mess, you little bastard! He's a scientist, Your Honor! An enemy against mankind! He must have something to do with this - this monstrosity!"

As insipid as they are, the soldier brought up a pretty good point. Tsuna's thoughts wandered to the nape of the neck and he stored the information away for Hanji when they meet.

Kyoko gave the soldier a swift glare and he shut up instantly. She glanced at a file next to her and, as if nothing happened, said, "Second, why did you become a soldier?"

"To eradicate the monsters," Eren said through gritted teeth. "They killed my mother and my friends and the reason why we can't live as freely as we want. If anything, I want to take revenge by having them all destroyed and lead everyone to their uniform goal: freedom!"

Kyoko nodded. "Thank you for answering, Eren. Now, everyone else, present your case. Reginald."

The one who spoke up before from the Military Police nodded and eagerly took out his case. His eyes skimmed the content as he read, "Eren Jaeger, we, the Military Police, highly believe that your sole existence is a high danger to everyone here and outside the other walls. We have reports and eyewitness accounts about your rampage two days ago in the Trost District and we are sorely displeased with the damages you have made. We do not trust you with our resources, our men, and the power of mankind."

Tsuna frowned a little. That wasn't a strong case, was it?

"Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman," the man continued, directing them both, "were ten-year-olds who killed three robbers with their bare hands. It was purely an act of self-defense. However, the lack of humanity in their actions trouble us very much when they attacked the men with cold blood and murderous intent."

Oh, that was...interesting.

"That's right!" someone said, pointing an accusing finger at the stunned girl. "What if she's a monster, too? There's no doubt that they must be working together!"

"They were probably like that in the beginning, as children!"

"We should dissect her, too!"

"Both of them have to die!"

Eren looked at them with wide eyes before he said, "No! She has nothing to do with this! I'm the monster, not her! She's innocent!"

"Don't talk to us, you filthy beast," Reginald said in disgust. "You have no right to - "

"Shut up!" Eren screamed as he pulled on his binds.

Everyone looked at him in shocked silence as the loud clang echoed in the still air.

He glared at them almost frighteningly. "You're just having things go your way! You're one-sided perspective makes me sick! Remember - Remember that I'm the only one who could possibly save you from those monsters! Have you seen any of those things at all? You cowards don't know what it's like to lose a comrade or a friend in battle! You don't know any fucking thing about fighting them. So just leave me to take the burden of your cowardice! Don't hinder me from helping everyone else when you can't even help yourselves!"

Reginald gaped at him for a for a few seconds until he regained his senses. "Ready?"

"Oh, um, yes, sir," the man next to him said, aiming his rifle at the teen.

Tsuna felt a small sense of dread when Rivaille hopped over the railing and walked over to Eren. He slightly winced when the man kicked the teen harshly across the face. It reminded him of Reborn. Was that a tooth...?

He saw Mikasa bristle and start to move forward until Armin pulled her back by the arm.

"Wait, Mikasa," the blonde said.

The girl could only look helplessly at the scene. Rivaille grabbed Eren's hair and and slammed his knee into his check before kicking him in the stomach. Everyone watched in stunned silence as the man continued to beat the gasping teen even more. Blood poured down his face and from his nose and mouth. He was, simply put, a wreck.

Rivaille placed his foot firmly on Eren's bowed head. "It's just a personal preference though I believe pain is the best discipline. You need training. You've fallen quite low to be kicked around anyway."

He kicked Eren's vulnerable head several times and placed his foot on his face when Reginald said, "Wait, Levi."

"What?" Rivaille said blankly.

"What if... What if he turns into a Titan and lose control?"

"What are you talking about? I thought you wanted to dissect him." Rivaille looked down at the bleeding teen. "I was there when he turned into a Titan for the first time. He killed at least twenty or more Titans before he lost the energy to go further. I don't believe any of us were on the list."

He gave one final kick and Eren heaved heavily as he coughed up blood viciously. Tsuna felt the urge to go in and stop this madness, but knew that it was for the best. Rivaille had an interesting (violent) way of plan execution - Hibari was no better - and this was all part of the plan for everyone to see that Eren wouldn't turn into a Titan and that he was somewhat in control. Although, with the way Rivaille was going, Tsuna wasn't sure if Eren could handle it anymore.

"That's enough," Kyoko said, her voice firm. "Reginald, I believe you're not done yet. Continue."

The man blinked out of his stupor and looked back at his paper. "Ah, yes." His eyes hardened. "During the sealing of the wall yesterday, there were reports that you also attempted to injure Mikasa Ackerman and Tsunayoshi Sawada. I have heard that the latter ended up unconscious."
Kyoko glanced at Tsuna who clenched his fists. They misunderstood; he didn't pass out from Eren's sudden attack. He passed out from his special condition, he should say.

"Is that true, Ms. Ackerman?" Kyoko said emotionlessly.

The girl opened her mouth to say something before closing it. She looked away in shame and Eren gasped in a ragged manner. "I...I did?"

Kyoko then looked back at Tsuna. "Is that true, Tsunayoshi?"

All eyes were on him now and most of them were surprised to see him here. He, however, didn't waver or falter when he said, "No."

"Liar! You're on his side, you bastard!"

"The Vongola is useless!"

"Go back to where you came from!"

Reginald looked at him with bitter satisfaction and his lips nearly twitched into a smirk. "Yes, Vongola. Lying to get on his good side, aren't you? Just like the coward you are."

Tsuna raised his hand to silence Gokudera and gave him a small pat on the arm to reassure him. He did the same with Yamamoto and leaped over the rail.

"I didn't pass out from his attack," he said with an airy smile. He walked towards Eren and looked down at him with blank eyes. "He was quite lenient."

Tsuna looked at Reginald in the eye. "I suffer from COPD. If that's a bit complicated for you to interpret, which isn't surprising, it stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. If you noted the time difference, I passed out thirteen minutes after Eren attacked."

"You're lying!" Reginald said.

Tsuna sighed as he leaned on Eren's head casually who struggled to keep it up. He took out his bottle of pills and shook it. "I'm on medication if that's good enough."

He looked at Kyoko. "Vongola would also like to make a case. I apologize for it being out of the blue."

His friend raised a brow. "I will make a small exception for hearing out your opinion, but I will not consider it as a case."

Tsuna nodded. "Thank you. That's enough." He patted Eren's head as if he was a dog. "I do believe that he can help us achieve liberation from the Titans, you know, the large creatures outside the walls?" He gave a pointed look at Reginald who seethed at him. "Quite a useful tool and a once in a lifetime opportunity. Eren here will be our ultimate tool against the Titans and dissecting him will take far too long. By then, I can bet you that our population will be dwindling. That is all I have to say."

Kyoko looked at him calculatingly before nodding. "I will take your opinion into consideration. Erwin?"

The blonde man nodded. "The Scouting Legion proposes to take Eren into their care. Instead of dissecting him, we will train him to hone his abilities and eventually control his Titan side as a means of using him against the Titans. We understand the repercussions but we're willing to take this chance. This is our case."

Kyoko scribbled something on a piece of paper before she stood up and shuffled her papers together. "The Scouting Legion will have the custody of Eren Jaeger and take sole responsibility for any damage he will cause. However - " She looked at Erwin in the eye. " - if anything dire happens under the Scouting Legion's supervision and care concerning any of Eren Jaeger's actions, they will immediately hand him over to the Military Police without hesitation. Trial dismissed."

A loud uproar erupted from the people as Kyoko left the room with a subtle limp in her gait. Tsuna looked down at Eren sympathetically. "Let's get you cleaned up."

Tsuna leaned back against the wall and stared into space for a few minutes. He sighed and shook his head to get rid of the emptiness he was feeling. Gokudera and Yamamoto went back to the inn they were staying in to tell the others what happened. In all honesty, though, Tsuna sent them off to have some alone time for himself to think. Guess it wasn't much help.

Someone nudged him on the shoulder. "Here."

He looked up to see a familiar girl hand him a cup of coffee. He blinked. "Haru?"

She smiled gently and placed the cup in his hands. "Don't worry about it. Drink. You look dead on your feet."

"Thank you." Tsuna took the cup and sipped the comforting, hot liquid.

He looked at the door that held Eren within the room and sighed. "How are you doing?"

Haru leaned against the wall next to him. "Fine and dandy. To be honest, it was boring before this happened."

She was the adventure-seeker, the one who couldn't stay still until she got her hands on something to work with. A sociopath to be honest (she really was and took pride in the term). He would've taken her into the Vongola but he let her go to the Scouting Legion instead, knowing that life in Wall Sina would practically kill her from boredom.

"I see."

"You know, I thought I would actually have fun or something of the like if I joined the Scouting Legion. Hell, I even became Hanji's assistant just to see if I could get something out of it but...I can't help but feel lonely. I mean, Kyoko isn't a soldier anymore and Chrome is with you and there's no one I really know in the team." Haru chuckled. "Maybe that's why I'm such a loner. Anyway, enough about me, how are you feeling? Are your lungs okay?"

Tsuna smiled. "I'm fine. Though I should work out more."

They both laughed. Tsuna suddenly stopped and looked down at the brown liquid inside his cup. "A lot of things happened though."

"You don't need to tell me," Haru said, stretching her arms. "When you're comfortable, I'll be around."

"How's I-pin?"

Haru tensed and looked down at the floor. Tsuna instantly knew the answer. "She's dead." She smiled bitterly. "It happened when we were coming back yesterday. She got caught in a Titan's mouth. Did you know she had a crush on Rivaille? That girl has poor taste in men. But Fon was nice enough. How is he anyway?"

Tsuna sipped his cup and his senses tingled back to life. "He's dead."

"Oh."

Silence fell upon them. Tsuna heard distant footsteps from the other end of the hall and straightened up.

Haru smiled. "Well, I'm just a bit glad to know that he won't hear about the death of his student."

Rivaille, Erwin, and Hanji appeared along with Mike. Tsuna gestured at the door across from him. "He's inside. Be careful though. He's in a bit of shock."

Erwin nodded and they all went inside except for Hanji who grinned at the brunet. "Tsuna! It's nice to see ya again!"

"Can I speak to you after you're done?" Tsuna said. "It's urgent."

"Sure, sure, no problem. Come on, my lovely assistant! We have a test subject waiting to be tested!"

Haru nodded and looked at Tsuna. "Aren't you coming?"

Tsuna shook his head. "I have to go. It won't look good for me anyways. I'll see you later."

She nodded. "See you later."

After she closed the door behind her, Tsuna walked down the empty hallway and turned the corner. Kyoko was leaning against the wall until she saw him. A brief smile graced her lips. "Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna nodded in greeting. "Kyoko. It's good to see you again."

"I suppose so. I imagined us meeting under better circumstances."

"In this world, there's no such thing," Tsuna said with a chuckle.

Kyoko smiled and pushed off the wall before she turned serious. "Come with me. I have something to talk to you about."

Tsuna nodded and followed her to her office. The sound of her wooden peg echoed in the silent corridors. He felt extremely guilty whenever he looked at it and remembered the event very well, too well.

Kyoko opened the door and ushered him inside. Her office was pristine and simple. There were several bookshelves filled with neatly arranged books and her desk was the only large furniture in the room. The floors were carpeted red while the walls were a rich burgundy color.

Tsuna sat down on a chair and crossed his legs. He sipped his coffee slowly, waiting for what was to come. When Kyoko closed the door, she walked over to her desk and sat down on her chair. She clasped her hands together and her brows were furrowed in utter seriousness.

"Tsunayoshi, do you remember the Cradle Affair?"

Tsuna instantly snapped his attention to her. "Yes."

"Timoteo is out of prison. Simply put, he escaped."

A/N Thank you for the reviews and favorites! Much appreciated!

I apologize if Kyoko and Haru are OOC but I had to do it or else they'd be dead way before this story even started with their given personalities from canon, haha. Don't you think. The Cradle Affair here is different from canon as well.

The poll is closed and the next chapter is when the Female Titan Arc will start. If the choice of the poll is not to your liking, I can only say that I'm not much of a romance writer so it won't be emphasized too much. Check out the poll for the results!

I'll be posting up a new poll with the people Tsuna should be paired up with.

Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you can.

See you in the next chapter.