Tsuna was dead. It was a quick death, one someone like him shouldn't deserve. He was, after all, a mafioso. Nevertheless, it was a fast death. One blink, and he found himself in the afterlife, standing before the Judges and awaiting his fate.

They stared him down with faceless solemnity, the area beneath their hoods darker than anything else around. The lesser man may think it was terrifying, the type of fear that stemmed from the knowledge that it would lead to the metaphorical storm. Tsuna, however, was no common man.

Or rather, he was, now that he was dead and had no business pretending to be otherwise. But he thinks it was the terror that froze a part of his now veery dead brain that had him meet these figures in the eye (or lack of) and smirk.

Yes, he now realised that stupidity could be carried on to the afterlife.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," his back straightened. "You are hereby indicted of the second-hand murders of over one hundred men over the course of your life. Do you have anything to defend yourself against these accusations?"

He opened his mouth, but stopped. On one hand, they were hired to kill off his friends and family. He had to do it. But looking at the looming Judges, all he could do was flounder with the words.

He had to kill them, right?

"You are silent. Does that mean that you are guilty of your charges?"

Tsuna took a breath.

"I know what I did, and I truly thought that I had to do so I protect my friends."

"And that is your confession?"

Tsuna nodded. "Yes."

"Very well. You will hereby be sentenced to the lowest level of hell. Your punishment would be-!"

Around them the world began to shake. The Judges were unmoving as the ground quaked beneath their feet. Tsuna stumbled, and his eyes widened when he saw that there was a gaping hole beneath him. He jumped away before he fell. He only managed to catch himself from falling into yet another tear on the ground.

"Someone has reset the timeline." Even as he stumbled around, the voices of the Judges were calm and collected. "Was it you, Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

All at once the memories flooded in. His pact with Irie, the plan they had concocted to defeat Byakuran, and his death.

"Such a shame, Tsunayoshi-kun. We could do so much together. The three Skies of the Tri-ni-Sette, all together. We could rule the world."

"I would never join you, Byakuran. You know you'd be stopped some day."

"I'm afraid not, Tsunayoshi-kun. Even if I fall, you would never get to see it."

Tsuna laughed. "Don't worry. I'd be there."

Byakuran smirked in response. Wordlessly he raised his gun. Tsuna closed his eyes.

Tsuna was dead before he even realised it.

But that was okay.

"We see. That was your plan all along." There was a whoosh of air by his ears that sounded like laughter. "Well played, mortal. Our Lord will hear about this."

The Judges faded into the darkness with their airy laughter. Tsuna missed a step, and he found himself falling through the air.

Tsuna awoke to sunlight that warned his cheeks. He pushed himself up, and found that he was lying next to an open coffin. He slid a fingertip over the cool wood.

He was dead, wasn't he? Though, not really. He had used his death to defeat...defeat who?

His thoughts slid to a stop when he heard the rustle of leaves. His friends came bundling out, tears and joy in their eyes as they ran to embrace their long lost boss. Except...wasn't he always with them? Tsuna was never gone, was he?

The tears were a mixture of joy and confusion. What had happened in a previous timeline seemed so long ago. How many years ago was that future? Nine? Ten?

They couldn't really remember, so they dried their eyes and left it as another strange occurrence, as those were a common occurrence in their lives. They laughed, almost hysterically, in embarrassment. They were grown adults who had nothing to gain by crying after all.

When they walked away, they wondered what they were doing at such a secluded part of the mansion grounds. After all, there was nothing there but trees and long blades of grass surrounding them.

I can see that this might be a bit confusing. Basically this goes with my personal headcannon that Tsuna had actually died in the Pre-Alpha timeline, and hence the first part with the Judges.

When the Tsuna we know (the one that we follow throughout the Future Arc, rather than the Future Arc's own Future Tsuna or the one that died) reconstructed the timeline, the future where Tsuna died was destroyed and hence the scene with the Judges technically did not happen.

But the Judges and their Lord exist beyond time and space and hence would not be affected, and would remember the Tsuna that died. The people that the Tsuna that died had killed were also because of Byakuran, so they are alive (in the changed future) and hopefully not aiming to kill Tsuna's famiglia.

At the end, because Tsuna's plan had succeeded, the coffin and any remnants of use at the grassy plains would disappear.

And hence they are now surrounded by grown out trees and any memory of the future where he was killed would disappear from Tsuna's mind (except the part where he participates, which is the defeat of Future Byakuran)

This might not fit into the anime's explanation, but I've actually never gotten past the Kokuyo arc for that one, so lay off on me.

I felt bored, so I typed this out during work and decided to post it. The name's lame, I know, but review if you have a better title.

I'll just post this and log off now. Ciao ciao!