RE: Flames of Resolve

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Katekyoshi Hitman Reborn! I just wish I did.

Beta: the lovely Midnight-Kitsune11. Also special thanks to Awesome Bird and MysticalLights to help me out with the plot!

Pairing: At this time there is NO pairing for this fic!

AN: Flames of Resolve started as something of a vague idea. What would happen if…? I never would have imagined how many people would come to love this story. Your support has blown me away! Still, I have been thinking for a while about the plot of this story. Until now, I made things up as I went along, but I was never very happy with the first chapters… Don't shoot me, but for what I have in mind, the beginning it has now just didn't fit… I've been thinking hard and thought if I just rewrote the beginning the problem would be solved, but… It didn't, because other parts didn't fit anymore.

Updates: So, I've been working hard at rewriting the whole thing. By the time I post this, the first 6 chapter have been rewritten (Till the start of the Wave mission), so the updates will be constant. Updates will be the first of each month, my time (I live in Europe). I can't promise anything for afterwards. I hope you guys will this story just as much, if not more as the previous version, because I am very proud of it!

Italics: flashbacks

Waking up in a strange place

Tsuna blinked and immediately closed his eyes when bright light assaulted his eyes, sending a sharp pain to his temples and dotting his vision with hazy white spots. He groaned, nursing his throbbing head.

"My my, Tsunayoshi-kun, what predicament have you found yourself in this time?"

"Byakuran!" Tsuna exclaimed, looking at Byakuran in surprise.

Before him stood, in all his glory, Byakuran, with a pack of marshmallows in his hand, cheerfully munching away. They were standing in what looked like a completely white space. He immediately noticed he had to look up to the other Sky and felt himself panicking. He reached for his hair and ran his fingers through the strands which were noticeably too short. He patted his hair to make sure and reached towards his face with wide eyes. This didn't feel like his face… Not only were his hands too small, his face seemed to have shrunk as well. He could feel the panic rising like bile in his throat. What had happened? What had Byakuran done this time?

"No need to work yourself into a frenzy, my dear Tsunayoshi-kun. Marshmallow?" He held out his bag.

Tsuna ignored the sweets, still feeling too unbalanced by the situation to pay attention to that. "What happened? How did I get here? And how do I get back!? Why am I so small!?"

"Ah… Well, to be blunt… You died. That's your new body now, get used to it." The other smiled cheerfully. He leaned towards Tsuna and patted him on his head. If Byakuran was trying to reassure him, he was failing. If was trying to irritate him or to make him panic, he would get full points!

"What?" asked Tsuna blandly. He tried to stay calm and wanted to avoid becoming hysterical. The other Sky was having enough fun with the situation as it was. It wouldn't be the first time Byakuran had made him panic because he thought Tsuna's reaction were hilarious. Though something told him that Byakuran knew exactly how he felt right now and the older Sky was clearly enjoying his sorrow.

"Yes, you died, quite heroically as well, and somehow ended up here, in this world which is strangely parallel to your own." Byakuran peered through his lashes to watch Tsuna's reaction, chuckling softly.

The guy was just waiting for Tsuna to start freaking out!

Not wanting to give the other pleasure of seeing his fear, he shoved the casually thrown 'you died' to the back of his mind and focused on something else. He crossed his arms over his chest, mostly to keep them from flailing about hysterically.

"How is this world 'strangely' parallel?" he asked sceptically, raising an eyebrow.

Byakuran shrugged, not falling for his calm posture. "Well, it's nothing like our earth to start. One might almost think you got stuck in some sort Edo-period like Japan. With ninja; apparently, there are shinobi everywhere." He smiled brightly. "Somewhere along the way someone discovered chakra in this world and started teaching others how to use it. Flames are still something that exists in this world, but either no one ever found out about them or people forgot. Wars broke out, of course, so no one is really sure what exactly happened and when it happened." He shrugged again. "It was before my time, so your guess is as good as mine." The albino had the audacity to wink.

"And why am I so small, exactly?" he asked with a grimace, dreading Byakuran's answer.

Byakuran hummed. "Think of it as recycling. You're in the body of a child who died and whose spirit already passed on. This happened quite a few years ago, actually. You're only now remembering your last life." He said calmly, chewing on a marshmallow without giving any signs that he heard Tsuna sputtering at that blunt explanation.

"Excuse me?" Tsuna yelled in shock. "Recycling? Did you kill someone for this?" Please no, please don't let him be responsible for the death of a child. He flinched violently at the thought.

"You're such a bleeding Heart, Tsunayoshi-kun. No need to worry. The boy died, due to something that happened on the day he was born, no big deal. And I had nothing to do with it. Honest. The kid being dead is the only reason you are where you are right now. Think of it as reincarnation gone wrong. You've been 'reborn' for years now. You only remember being you now because you got hit in the head. It was a very hard hit."

Byakuran looked way too casual when explaining this, even throwing in a wink at the end again, Tsuna could feel his amusement. He grits his teeth. "That does not make me feel better." He dead-panned while taking a deep breath. "At all!"

Byakuran shrugged without remorse. "Nothing to be done about it. Those injuries killed him before he could heal the most important damage. I managed to shove your soul in his body before anything could happen to throw this world out of balance. The kid had quite the destiny ahead of him. He's not unlike you on that point. This, however, is a world he didn't survive in. We got lucky both you and the body accepted the merger."

"Why would you do this?" asked Tsuna stunned. "And what destiny?!"

Byakuran stopped smiling. The amused air around them quickly fell away as the other Sky turned serious. "You were dying, Tsunayoshi-kun." He started, looking more serious than Tsuna had ever seen him. "You were dying and even three Suns, including the Arcobaleno and strongest sun Reborn, could not help you. One of the three brightest Skies was dying." He paused briefly, as if he wanted Tsuna to grasp the severity of the situation.

Tsuna gulped, his body hunching in on itself, as if to hide from the pain.

"And you really think the other two Skies of the Trinisette would have done nothing? It's only thanks to Yuni seeing you die because of her powers, that we got to you in time. You were dying. You would have died." He paused again and took a deep breath to keep calm. "So, I did what I could to save you. There was nothing to be done in our world, so I did the next best thing. I did not get to choose where you would end up. It's a miracle I managed to get in touch like this. I won't be able to do it again. The chances of finding the right world again, are non-existent. I cannot take you back. You've seen what could happen."

"Like what happened to Ghost." Tsuna gulped, remembering what had happened to Byakuran's alternate self as he was dragged through dimensions. The Mare Sky nodded. "Yuni agreed to this?"

"Exactly. Together the three of us are the Skies of the Trinisette. We weren't going to abandon you. You've been given a second chance. Just like I did, in away… Yes, you're alone, for now. Yuni and I will take care of your family, but know that there is no way I'll be able to do this again. Your guardians will not be able to join you here but that does not mean you can't have guardians again. A bright Sky like yours could never be limited by one set of guardians. Whatever happens, Tsunayoshi-kun, remember you are a Sky, always and foremost. This world is different, but you'll always have that. Good luck! Oh, and just so you know, your name is Naruto now!"

The last thing he saw before the bright white light blinded him again, was Byakuran's soft smile.

He shot up gasping for breath. Still struggling to breathe, he placed his hand on his chest as he tried to calm his breathing. Dark spots were hindering his vision.

He closed his eyes again to help himself focus.

"Uzumaki?"

He could feel himself slipping in Hyper Dying Will mode. It wasn't on purpose but it had become an almost automatic reaction when he started panicking, especially in unknown situations. There wouldn't be any visible flames, only his eyes might briefly change colours and while people around him couldn't see his bright orange flames, he could still feel them coursing through his body and the familiar feeling helped him calm down somewhat.

He blinked as he tried to take in the foreign surroundings. A man in a strange uniform was crouching before him as he sat in the dirt. He didn't look that old, in his early twenties maybe. He wore mostly blue clothes with a bulky green vest. His hair was black and put in a high ponytail. He had dark brown eyes that watched Tsuna with concern. He had a strange horizontal scar on the bridge of his nose and a metal plate with a strange symbol was worn like a headband on his forehead.

A bunch of children stood around them, watching him with wide eyes.

"Uzumaki-kun?" the man asked gently.

Tsuna flinched as a brief but bright memory assaulted him.

"My dream is to become the greatest Hokage, that way the whole village will stop disrespecting me and treat me like I'm somebody. Somebody important."

"Shut up! Why do you think we're fighting? Because we're still gonna have a snowball fight and watch fireworks together! That's why we're fighting! That's why we're getting stronger! I still want to laugh with everyone, BUT IF YOU DIE IT'S USELESS!"

Memories from what could only be both his lives assaulted him. Even if he only felt familiar with some of those brief memories, and they had to be memories because he could recall that last one in detail, he knew they were real…

He felt dizzy. His hand came up to cradle his head, but he quickly brought it back down before his eyes as both his head and fingers felt sticky. Blood… His hand was covered in blood.

"Can you stand, Uzumaki-kun?"

"Uzumaki, get back here! Stop causing trouble all the time!"

"I consider everything that happened to be precious moments of my life. The pain. The suffering. The fun… And I am here right now, because everyone was there for me. I couldn't have accomplished anything by standing still, without anybody's help. I treasure every moment I have spent here. Unlucky? I feel pretty lucky. This is my resolve."

He was going to assume Uzumaki was his new name…? Byakuran had mentioned the name Naruto, if he recalled correctly. Uzumaki Naruto? Was that him now?

"Monster."

"I don't need this kind of power. If you want me to inherit such mistakes then I will wipe out the Vongola!"

"I don't want you around that child, son. Stay away from him."

"W-what?" Tsuna stuttered, not completely sure what he wanted to ask. What was happening?

"You got hurt during a spar, Uzumaki-kun." Replied the man before him.

A spar? What? Why would he…?

One of the children spoke up, but Tsuna couldn't make out which one. "Iruka-sensei, shouldn't you take Naruto to the hospital? He's losing a lot of blood…" It sounded like a boy and Tsuna turned his head to see if he could spot him.

"Of course, Nara-kun." The man addressed as Iruka-sensei replied. "Once I'm sure of the gravity of the head injury your classmate received, I'll know if I should take him to the school nurse, or the hospital."

Tsuna started blinked excessively, mostly to help clear his vision from the memories.

"They never should have let that thing enter the Academy."

"Do it with your dying will!"

"Why isn't he answering, sensei?"

Tsuna startled.

"It might be best to take you to the hospital, Uzumaki-kun. Try to stay awake now." Tsuna felt himself being carried, but he still lost the fight for consciousness not much later.

-00-

Tsuna sighed as the last of the nurses left the room. They finally left him alone.

Tsuna stared at his small hands. He was a kid again…Ten years old, if he could make sense of those memories he seemed to have. Ten years old, and a student in the Ninja Academy, where he had taken part in a spar with another student, and had hurt his head in an unfortunate series of events…

A lot of different nurses – or had they been doctors? - had come in one after the other to put him through tests. Some had done tests he recalled from his last life, but other had used a green energy to examine him. Or at least, that was what he had assumed they had done. At least his headache was almost gone…

They had taken his clothes and he had had to pull on a hospital gown. And what the hell had he been wearing anyway?

Tsuna wearily eyed the outfit one of the nurses had cleaned of blood and laid in the cupboard with his other personal belongings. There was also a strange green pair of goggles and a green frog purse. Both had been gifts he had received for his birthday a while back. Neither packages had had a card, so he didn't know who had send them. But he treasured both items greatly. Even now, feeling more Tsuna than Naruto, he felt very attached to them.

His clothes, on the other hand… were bright orange. Sure, he liked the colour. Since meeting Reborn, the colour orange had represented everything he had gained, his friends, his family, and the growth he had made as a person.

But to dress completely in orange was a bit much even for him…

The jumpsuit he wore wasn't damaged. There had only been a lot of blood on the vest.

He wiggled his toes. Why had he been wearing sandals? He had started paying attention while in the room, and it seemed most people in this strange world wore them. Even the doctors and nurses in the hospital.

"Uzumaki-kun? May I come in?" An older woman was standing in the door opening of his room. She wore a white lab coat, much like the nurses from before. It was probably some uniform. Her long white hair was pulled up in a high pony tail and while she was obviously old, she had a youthfulness about her. She looked serious but her blue eyes were smiling at him.

Tsuna nodded. Going by the white uniform she obviously worked here, so he didn't think he could deny her entry.

"My name is Yamanaka Yukiko." She started as she sat down in the chair next to his bed. "I have the preliminary results for the tests they did earlier."

Tsuna wearily eyed the folder she waved at him. She smiled gently and opened it. "The speed at which your head wound is healing is exceptional, Uzumaki-kun. In every other case that would be a good thing, but head wounds are delicate. The scans show you have at least a severe concussion. Meaning your brain got shook around pretty good. Your healing seems to be that quick that your head doesn't find the time to get everything back where it belongs before the healing is done. This means there is a possibility that your brain will heal in the wrong way. Do you understand what I'm trying to say, young man?"

Tsuna gulped. "Yes, ma'am, but what does that mean exactly? For me?" Was this going to cause permanent damage? The thought scared him.

She smiled reassuringly. "You don't need to worry too much. You'll still be able to become a ninja. Time will show us what the consequences will be. Still there shouldn't be any lasting disabilities. You are very young and resilient."

He noticed she used a lot of complicated words when speaking to a young kid… He wasn't sure if he would have understood a word of what she was saying if he hadn't remembered being Tsuna… Still he felt fine now, and aside from remembering a past life, he didn't think anything was wrong with him.

"Your teacher did mention a slight change in attitude, and you might experience some brief memory loss, but for the moment that seemed to be the worst of it." She was still smiling at him. "There is however one more noticeable change and that is your eye colour. Have you looked in the mirror recently?"

He shook his head in denial. He really hadn't dared to yet. He knew he looked different, but he hadn't felt brave enough to face the changes yet. Maybe later in, when he was sure he was alone. Still a change in eye colour could mean many things… As Tsuna he had had brown eyes, Naruto had... blue eyes? Yes, blue eyes, and in Hyper Dying Will mode his eyes became amber coloured to match his flames.

"Mind you, the changes might go way again or you might be stuck with them. Only time will tell… We'll be seeing a lot of each other, Uzumaki-kun. We'll have regular talks, even when you get discharged from the hospital."

So, they had assigned him a psychiatrist? Or this world's equivalent? It made sense that in a village where a large part of the population are paid assassins, a whole squadron of psychologists were always on standby. But still, it seemed a bit overkill to assign one to a ten-year old who got hit in the head.

"How long will I need to stay here?" he fidgeted in the bed.

"It's too early to tell. We'll keep you till at least tomorrow and depending on how you feel, you might be able to go home then."

He bit his lip, not sure if that answer pleased him or not. He had never enjoyed the hospital, but going home would mean being alone… And while he could use some time to get used to the recent changes, being confronted by an empty apartment wasn't something he was looking forward to.

"I'll be sharing the most basic of this news to your teacher. No details of course, but enough so they know what to expect from you when you go back to class."

He nodded. That made sense.

"For now, what you need most is rest. A nurse will bring you something to eat this evening and I expect you to sleep as much as you can. I'll see you tomorrow morning, but if anything is wrong, please don't hesitate to ask."

He nodded again.

He had slept most of the afternoon after Yamanaka-sensei left. He had been woken by a nurse to eat his dinner. She had left him alone shortly after and he had eaten the strange and formless mass that represented food. It hadn't tasted like much. Putting his plate aside he slowly stood up and walked towards the only window in his room.

It felt strange looking out into the village. Part of him felt calm at seeing the familiar scenery and another part, a bigger part, wasn't sure what he was seeing. Houses built in what reminded him of an old traditional Japanese style, but with electricity poles all over the place. People were walking through the streets and Shinobi were jumping between rooftops. Ninja should be a normality for people raised in a ninja village, but somehow, when he thought of Shinobi he could only recall seeing Reborn in his ninja cosplay with his Leon headband.

Thinking of his old mentor made his heart ache and his soul long. Shaking his head to disrupt those thoughts he turned back towards the village.

There was a huge mountain side at one end of the village, with four faces carved in the surface. There had been a monument like that in his old world, but he couldn't recall where or what it was named. He had never seen it in person, but he vaguely recalled a teacher talking about it…This one was the Hokage monument, named for the faces of the Hokage who had ruled the village.

He grimaced as he recalled the need of his younger self to become Hokage, to become a shinobi, a killer in the name of the village. They were ten and already starting to learn how to do that. It disturbed him that anyone thought it was okay to create what would be considered child soldiers in his old world.

Ninja… Shinobi…

In this world, apparently, he would be training to be an assassin for hire. He had been looking forward to it. He wasn't sure how he felt about that… After all, he had taken over one of the most well-known Mafia families in his last life. He hadn't been given much of a choice back then, but in this life, he had jumped at the chance. Not being a shinobi had not been an option for young Naruto.

It should feel strange that he felt like two persons at the same time. It felt like the 'Tsuna' part of him was more in control than the 'Naruto' part. Maybe that was because Tsuna had more experience living in general or because in his previous live he had gotten used to dealing with weird situations, he wasn't sure. He didn't really mind being Tsuna more than Naruto. He had been Tsuna longer than Naruto after all, and all he could associate with Naruto was loneliness.

He turned and went back to sit on his bed. It only took him a moment to gather his resolve before bright orange flames erupted around his hands and lit up his forehead. The feeling was familiar and brought him a sense of peace.

He was so grateful he could so easily access his flames in this new life.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Through meditation, Reborn had taught him to delve in his core, where his flames were created. There was another energy there, but he barely noticed that. What hit him hardest were his bonds, or the lack thereof…

After harmonizing with his guardians, he had created a bond with them. That bond had allowed him to feel their flames in his core even if they weren't physically with him. And now those bonds were gone, ripped apart! He could feel the empty hole left behind and he had never felt lonelier.

Tears streamed down his face and he had to use his hands to muffle his sobs as he cried for his loss. He turned around and shoved his face in his pillow as he clung to it.

He fell asleep again shortly after, exhausted.

-00-

Naruto had always been a lonely boy, Tsuna mused the next day. He had fallen asleep early yesterday, exhausted after all the change, hurt and stress of the day. He had gotten a good night's sleep and consequently had woken up way too early. He had enjoyed watching the sun rise, despite feeling depressed and wondered when the nurses would bring him breakfast.

It hadn't been by choice, but he had been lonely none the less. Tsuna didn't have a clear view on all of Naruto's memories, but let's be honest, no one remembered their toddler years… And he had been/was only ten years old.

Reincarnation wasn't easy. He still felt more Tsuna than Naruto and he wasn't sure that was ever going to change…

Still, he could only gape in shock when someone decided to visit him while he was hospitalised. Iruka-sensei smiled at him as he stood in the doorway.

"It's good to see you're doing better, Uzumaki-kun." The man admitted.

Tsuna bit his lip. "You're my sensei, right?"

The man blinked in shock, but quickly hid his surprise. "Yes, I am. May I come in?"

"O-of course."

The man came in and sat on the seat next to his bed. Tsuna fiddled with his blankets, not sure how to react.

"Your doctor told me." He said after they sat in silence for a while. "That you have some trouble with your memory. My name, is Umino Iruka, but all my students call me Iruka-sensei."

Tsuna nodded. "They're not sure if I'll ever get back to how I was. I heal quickly and apparently in this case, I heal too quickly." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"There is no need to worry, you'll be just fine, you'll see." The man tried to reassure him. "Do you have to stay here long?"

"They aren't sure. Yamanaka-sensei wants to see me later in the morning to see how I am this morning. Since I heal so quickly they want to evaluated me every few hours, I guess."

"Well, I'm glad you're doing better." Iruka-sensei smiled at him.

Tsuna felt a bit confused, because he hadn't gotten the impression his teacher had ever paid any sort of attention to him. If anything, the man had always ignored him.

"Oh, that reminds me, can you bring me my assignments for class, sensei?" Tsuna asked. He had never been an excellent student, and Naruto certainly wasn't either. He wasn't sure about being a shinobi, but he was absolutely certain that Reborn would find a way to travel to this world and kill him if he had but a vague suspicion that Tsuna was failing in school. So, he might as well try to pass his exams in a few months, and if he did decide to become a shinobi, these lessons would come in handy.

His teacher watched him with wide eyes. "The change of attitude is going to take some getting used to. But I'll be glad to help in any way I can."

End chapter: Iruka POV of the fight and Naruto getting hurt:

Something wasn't right. Iruka wasn't sure why he felt that way, but he had been in enough trouble to know he should listen to such feelings when he had them. Years of playing pranks and being on active duty had honed those instincts. He might only be a chuunin, but that was only because he had chosen not to advance any more. He loved teaching, even if those kids gave him migraines more often than not.

Still, there was no indication for trouble on the academy training field. He was supervising a spar between two children, just months before their graduation. Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. The Uchiha was advanced, especially in comparison to his classmates. However, compared to the graduates during the war, most of these kids … Even the clan children seemed to play at being ninja instead of trying to become one. And he still wasn't sure how he could make them understand.

Uzumaki Naruto on the other hand… Iruka still wasn't sure what to think of the kid. In his head, he knew Naruto was just a child like any other, but in his heart, he could still hear the horrors of that night, more than 10 years ago. The boy was full of energy and very loud, always trying to get as much attention as he could. And wasn't that just a stab in the back to realise Iruka himself had acted just the same way after losing his parents?

He was so deep in his thoughts, he only noticed what happened while it did, too late to prevent injury. Naruto… tripped? Or had lost his balance somehow while dodging Sasuke and had gotten hit by the kunai the raven-haired boy had clutched in his hand. Everyone around the training field could hear a crunch, whether it was from where Sasuke hit Naruto or from where Naruto fell to the ground, head first, Iruka would never be able to tell.

He rushed towards the blond, easily making it there before anyone else moved, and gently lifted the boy from the ground in his arms. There was an ugly gash on his forehead, disappearing in his hairline, covering his face in blood. The boy seemed unconscious. Iruka briefly wondered how young the boy looked like this, before he checked his pulse.

"Uzumaki?" He gently spoke to the boy while he checked the wound in his hair. The wound didn't feel that bad, and while Iruka knew that head wounds looked worse than they were, he had heard that crack. The head was very fragile.

"Sensei, is he alright?" asked the Yamanaka heiress suddenly.

He looked up, his other students were gathered around them. "Alright everyone, back up a little. Ino, I want you to go get Mizuki-sensei to take over the class while I make sure Naruto is alright."

The girl pouted briefly, but turned and did as he asked.

"Uzumaki?" he tried to rouse the boy again.

The blond's eyes briefly opened, and kept fluttering as he looked around. Iruka frowned as his eyes tried to focus on him. Did Naruto's eyes always have that colour?

Iruka f's frown deepened when there wasn't even the smallest hint of recognition in those strangely coloured eyes as they studied him. It was almost as if his student saw him for the first time… That couldn't be good.

"Uzumaki-kun?" He tried again.

The boy flinched as one of his small shaking hands came up to cradle his head. Naruto stared almost curiously at his own blood which now covered his fingers.

"Can you stand, Uzumaki-kun?" He needed to know how badly the child was hurt. But it seemed almost inevitable at this point that he'd have to take him to the hospital.

"W-what?" the boy stuttered after a while.

"You got hurt during a spar, Uzumaki-kun." Iruka tried to explain.

The boy looked up at him with huge eyes, clearly asking him what was going on, and Iruka felt his heart clench.

"Iruka-sensei, shouldn't you take Naruto to the hospital? He's losing a lot of blood…" asked Nara Shikamaru suddenly. The Nata heir frowned at his blond classmate.

"Of course, Nara-kun." Iruka replied to reassured the worried boy. "Once I'm sure of the gravity of the head injury your classmate received, I'll know if I should take him to the school nurse, or the hospital."

Naruto started blinked excessively, mostly as if he couldn't see very well.

"Why isn't he answering, sensei?"

Iruka was really worrying now, he had never seen the blond act like that. "It might be best to take you to the hospital, Uzumaki-kun. Try to stay awake now."

He was only vaguely aware that Mizuki had appeared on the training field as he gathered the boy in his arms and shinshuned away to the hospital.

TBC.

AN.: So, what do you guys think? Is this a better start than the original story? Let me know in a review xD