Yugen (n.) – a profound awareness of the universe that triggers a deep emotional response

Decimo had failed—but there had already been signs that everything was wrong in the first place.

Verde never warned them of weapons or the Millefiore members on site. (Tsuna could still feel his cold hands in his.)

Skull never arrived at their checkpoint. (Tsuna could only find his broken helmet on the side of the road.)

Viper's illusions over their hideouts weakened considerably before vanishing altogether. (Tsuna could still see his mangled body in his dreams.)

Colonello never responded to Lal Mirch's messages. (Tsuna could only stare at the very alive child underneath the teen's charred body.)

Fon couldn't be reached no matter how many times Hibari threatened him. (Tsuna could still see the dark blood on the other's tattered, red garb.)

Bermuda had disappeared with the rest of Vindice for reasons unknown. (Tsuna could only stare at his orange pacifier and regret never helping the other man like how he helped them.)

Reborn never picked up the phone. (Tsuna could have answered him an hour before if Decimo hadn't decided to go off on his own to meet Byakuran.)

"Tsuna," a soft voice said, snapping him out of his reverie.

Tsuna turned his head slowly to see Lal Mirch standing by the doorway, her face only stoic under the hallway's dim lighting. The red of her eyes wasn't bright anymore. The two were in an underground bunker that Vongola had rarely used, which was now packed with dwindling survivors and solemn guardians—Tsuna wished everything was different.

"I just wanted to check on you."

Tsuna could barely think. He caught the radiation poisoning much later than the others, but had still fallen victim to it nonetheless after collecting their pacifiers. Even though the Arcobaleno curse was broken, it still lingered while their bodies adjusted to growing back to their original forms. The others never made it past sixteen while Tsuna was just barely reaching seventeen on his own.

His throat burned when he spoke, "Thank you…"

He didn't even notice Lal Mirch by his bedside until she raised him with a strong, firm hand and placed a glass of water against his chapped lips.

"Drink, Tsuna."

Tsuna slowly drank the water like a docile child. A shuddering but content sigh left his lips as Lal Mirch slowly eased him back onto the bed.

"How…are you?"

Lal Mirch smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. She held his hand, gently rubbing his pale knuckles with her thumb.

"You don't have to talk, Tsuna," she said in a low voice, carrying a chair over to sit on.

"It's…quiet."

"We don't want to disturb you."

Tsuna just closed his eyes, releasing a shaky breath. The water was only a temporary relief for him. The medication was useless at this point. His whole body still ached when he breathed, which was always. It hurt. Everything hurt…

"I…like noise."

Lal Mirch smiled a bit with a touch of fondness in her eyes. "Yeah. I admit, it's pretty quiet."

Tsuna opened his eyes, a struggling feat nowadays. He knew his time was coming, but he had to hold out a little longer for them—all of them.

"I miss…them."

Lal Mirch tensed but never let go of his hand. Sagging in her chair, she looked down at his bedsheets. "Me, too."

"You came… News?"

Lal Mirch nodded. "They found it and it's destroyed now. Mukuro and Hibari made sure of it."

"Back…?"

"Yeah, they came back."

Tsuna's lips twitched. It even hurt to smile. "Good…"

A small warmth buzzed in his chest despite the pain of moving his other hand up to his neck. His own pacifier rested on his palm, his grip dangerously loose. Still, it had its orange hue, even if it was duller now.

Tsuna chuckled but it sounded more like a wheezing cough. "They're like…Reborn and…Colonello…"

Lal Mirch's grip tightened around his cold hand. "Tsuna, you don't have to talk."

"I need…them."

Lal Mirch understood—bless her. She carefully gathered the other pacifiers from the nightstand beside her and placed them one-by-one in his shaking hands.

"No…time."

Lal Mirch flinched, her eyes widening. She looked terrified, so terrified it made Tsuna's heart ache. But she wouldn't be alone. They'd come back—they all will.

"Don't say that, Tsuna," she said, her voice shaking. "The scientists—They're still working on the cure. They're almost done. They have a good feeling about it."

"No time…"

Tsuna's breathing became labored and raspy; small shocks of pain coursed through his chest, rippling through his lungs down to his toes. Everything hurt…but it would be okay now.

He just had to concentrate. No matter how close he was on death's doors, he had a chance—and it was a chance he was willing to take.

"Lal…don't cry."

Tears streamed down Lal Mirch's cheeks and Tsuna had the urge to wipe them away, but he was too weak and he had no time.

"I'm not crying, you idiot," she said, wiping her eyes. "I just—I just came back from the kitchen and…" She choked down a sob. "Stop saying bullshit. You're not going anywhere."

"Don't cry…"

"I'm not crying."

"You'll see…them again."

Lal Mirch's breath hitched. "Wh—What are you talking about? Tsuna, what do you mean?"

She gaped when Tsuna's orange pacifier started to glow. His hands shaking, he swallowed hard to brace through the pain. He could do this. He had time.

"Tsuna, what are you doing?"

Muted footsteps clambered outside the hallways, coming closer and closer. Still, Tsuna pulled what flames he had left and slowly pushed them into his pacifier. There was time.

"Lal-san!"

Someone—or two or three—pulled the screaming woman away. Tsuna already missed the warmth of her hand. A bead of sweat slid down the side of his head. More, he needed to put in more.

Soon, the other pacifiers started to glow. It was faint, but the light gradually grew brighter and brighter, casting an almost holy glimmer on his dark room. The colors blurred in his vision. A heavy weight lifted from his chest. They were going to come back… He'd bring them back.

The others' confused and panicked voices overlapped in a dizzying haze in his ears, Lal Mirch's piercing cry the loudest. She'd understand. They all would. He had to do this. They were needed here.

The last trickling of his flames left his body, leaving him hollow. Tsuna's eyes fluttered. Maybe, he could see them one more time. Just one more time…to say goodbye, to say thank you, to say "I love you" (because he knew how it felt when he didn't get one before he could reach them).

But all he saw was a fuzzy but beautiful array of colorful lights before he slowly relaxed against the bed. Sinking—he was sinking now.

As darkness creeped in his vision, his eyes refusing to open again—one more time, please, he thought—the last thing he heard was, "Tsuna!"

He smiled much easier now. That would do, he supposed.

Then, he let go.

He didn't know how long he sank. Was this what death felt like? Was he going to hell? Well, he wasn't exactly a saint.

"Tsunayoshi…"

Wait, he knew that voice. Where did he hear that before? It was faint, only a whisper, but he still heard it.

"You can have one more chance, Tsunayoshi."

A chance? A chance to do what? There was nothing for him to do anymore. He had already taken it and got what he wanted. They were alive again—that was enough.

"You can see them again."

See them…?

"You can."

A hollow ache rippled through Tsuna as if the air in his lungs was sucked out too quickly. He…He wanted…

"Will you?"

Would he…?

"You don't have much time. Decide now."

He…wanted it. Another chance. He wanted to see them again. He wanted…to see them again…

"Find me, Tsunayoshi, and you will know how."

A sudden burst of light enveloped him, and soon, he emerged.

The heavy scent of iron assaulted his nose. Something heavy was lifted above his head but that wasn't what caught his attention. It was the four cowering children in front of him. They wore middle school uniforms.

Tsuna froze.

They gaped at him, faces pale and bruised. One was nursing a terribly angled arm while another was trying hard to not look intimidated but failing horribly.

Tsuna dropped whatever he held in his hand, the loud clang making everyone flinch. It was a hammer—why was he holding a bloody hammer? It was then he realized the abuse on his own thin and much smaller body now, the dull ache pulsing in numerous limbs. His ribs were pain—four were broken. His left leg supported most of his weight; his right ankle was sprained. His mind was hazy as he tried to remember what happened.

He…He had brought them back. He sank then…there was a voice.

He stumbled when four blurs of white and yellow dashed past him. His stiff and aching knees gave out beneath him, sending him to the floor. He hissed when a jolt of pain shot through his spine.

All Tsuna could do was stare at his shaking hands, which were wrapped in dirty bandages.

This…wasn't what he wanted.

A/N …

:^)

So, I blame the song "Surrender" by Natalie Taylor. Beautiful song by the way, but it let a plot bunny escape. :^(

(Also, I wanted to see more Arco27 because who doesn't like Arco27? Ahahaha…)

Funny thing is, I was working on "Our Road to Paradise" until "Surrender" came up on my playlist and voila! Arco27 lovers rejoice! Plus, it's a parallel universe AU, so there's that.

To clear things up a little, the Arcobaleno curse was broken in the universe Tsuna originally came from with the canon method, but I kind of switched things up and made the curse linger until they reached their original forms. I don't know if that makes sense but it was something to get the radiation to work, haha… And the "it" Lal Mirch was referring to was the machine that was leaking the Anti Tri-ni-set Radiation.

Um, so yeah…

Thank you for reading! Haha. See you in the next chapter…?

Have a lovely day~

Little Miss Bunny

Revised: 4/15/2018