Summary: Tsuna was dying and nothing anyone did helped. At the cusp of the 36th hour, Reborn concedes defeat and goes to call the one person he swore to never to: his mother. Post-Future Arc, R27.

Reborn stoically stared at the hospital waiting room. The entire room was filled with most of Vongola's upper echelon. Iemitsu was comforting a distraught Nana; Lal, Basil, Colonnello and Viper were talking in low voices, handling the influx of information and coordination. Xanxus prowled like a caged tiger; his officers, normally rowdy, were quiet and tense. Nono looked calm, but the knuckle white grip on his cane said otherwise. Aria and Gamma were in the other room, where Aria was resting. Fon, Skull and Bianchi were managing to keep the kids entertained and suitably distracted. The lack of smile on (present-day) Byakuran was a surefire sign of how serious the situation was.

Crowding near the surgery door, most of them pacing back and forth, were Tsuna's guardians and friends. They were jittery, flipping through concern, worry, and a general sense of uselessness. Even the two most aloof guardians, Hibari and Mukuro (whom switched with Chrome every other hour) had just the tiniest hint of fear reflected in their eyes.

Two weeks after returning from the hellhole that was 'the-future-that-never-will-be', Reborn supposed he could forgive that. The guardians especially had to cope that ten years into the future (that was never going to happen), that their Sky was death. (Even if it turned out to be a ploy, a trick, they had for even a short time confront the idea of Tsuna dead). Only now, instead of it being a strong possibility in ten years, it was hitting too close for comfort.

Tsuna was dying.

-Seventeen Hours Ago-

"We don't know what's happening,'' Shamal explained. The doctor looked exhausted, a give considering he had been on his feet for the last ten hours, keeping Tsuna together until Vongola's medical team could arrive to help with shifts. Right now they were rotating, to give everyone a chance to rest, breathe and sleep.

Tsuna had just collapsed on the way to school, for no rhyme or reason. His wounds from the fight against future Byakuran had all healed by that point, no underlying cause that would cause him to collapse, not like that.

"His body is falling apart, literally," Shamal continued. "Organs keep shutting down, his heart stops, his lungs give out, his Flames. His Flames are draining away, like they're being absorbed. A transfer of Sky Flames helps; it was a good thing your other student was visiting. Tsuna wouldn't have lasted if we had to wait for the rest of Vongola to arrive. But we're just buying time."

"What's causing it?" Reborn asked.

"I don't know," Shamal said gravely. "As as I can tell, there's no reason for this to be happening. His body is just falling apart."

"Verde said there's no word yet," Lal murmured.

Verde had been more or less forcibly kidnapped to work on the case (something he grudgingly did). A very confused Irie and Spanner was also brought in, their future memories swimming in their head, trying to sort out present and future.

Since their arrival, four hours after Tsuna collapsed and it became evident that Tsuna wasn't suffering a common ailment, they had been working non stop trying to isolate the cause.

It was now the start of the 36th hour and Tsuna was barely holding on, the machines and borrowed Flames keeping his body alive.

"When do we concede defeat?" Lal asked.

Reborn looked at her with a sharp glare.

Lal didn't let it intimidate her. "Look, I don't like admitting defeat either! But we have to face the facts here. It's been a day and a half. We can't keep this up. The amount of borrowed Sky Flames is already starting to take the toll on the other Sky Flame holders, the limited amount of rest they're getting isn't enough to recharge them!"

There was truth in that. Dino was currently in there for a third time already in the 36th hours and the last time Reborn saw his student, Dino looked as if he hadn't slept in a week.

And so Reborn found himself at a crossroad.

One last secret of his to give. Not the secret of the Arcobaleno Curse, one secret that only Reborn and two other people knew (and those two people weren't here, have never meant anyone in this room). Was Tsuna worth it?

He snorted. Of course Tsuna was. The thought of losing his student was unacceptable. After facing a future where Reborn apparently couldn't have done anything; he had the memories of dying from the 7^3 poison, weak and unable to stop Tsuna from going to that meeting that resulted in his (fake) death. Reborn remembered dying, thinking he had failed his student.

"One last option, then," Reborn said softly. Leon crawled down from his hat to nuzzle Reborn's cheek, a small comfort.

"Reborn?" Lal asked, questioningly.

Reborn tipped his fedora, pulling it down to hide his eyes. "I'm going to make a call."

He exited the hospital waiting room, finding a small private spot in the gardens. Punching the numbers Reborn knew by heart, he waited for the person on the other side to pick up.

"Renato?"

Reborn felt his heart squeeze a little at the warm voice he hadn't heard in years.

"Renato?"

"Hello, Kaasan."

Happy New Years!

As 'If There's A Song In Your Heart/A Song Only We Can Hear' winds down to a close, I figured let's start another story off. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this plunny (I have an idea, but how far I want to take it is up for debate at the moment). We'll see, I suppose.