Smile

A/N: Late update and a freakishly short chapter. I'm SO sorry. I have no excuses other than the fact that I completely lost ALL my ideas for this fic, but I somehow managed to get through this chapter (although it's a little boring). I apologise again, I hope I didn't disappoint you that much.

Summary: The look in his eyes changed, even his voice changed; Tsuna came back bad-ass. His guardians want the old Tsuna back, but it won't be easy with everyday mishaps and enemies. Yaoi/1827

Chapter 15: Gathering respect

Recap:

"...the Vongola have fallen, and my funeral was held a few weeks ago?" said Tsuna disbelievingly, repeating the exact words Squalo had said to him. "This is a dream. It's a dream, Tsuna. Wake up."

"It's not a dream." said Fran, staring at Tsuna's strange behaviour like the others' did. Tsuna blinked. "I didn't say that out loud though..."

"Even if this was a dream, it would only be fair you tell us your 'story' since we did." the green-haired Varia member added in, ignoring the knife that was stabbed into his back. "Right now we're all thinking you rose from the dead."

"Shut up froggy, let the peasant talk already." Belphegor said impatiently, stabbing two more knives into the others' back.

Tsuna opened his mouth, but no words came out, so he closed it again. Repeating that twice more, he finally spoke. "I..." he began, noticing the eager reactions he was given.

He was in a fucking damned complex situation - he was screwed. Nothing made sense and his ability to tell the difference between reality and a dream had disappeared along with half of his sanity.

End of Recap

"I really don't see why I have to be guarded." said Tsuna, rubbing his temples gently as he leaned into the comfort of the leather sofa positioned right in the middle of the Varia's main lounge.

"Neither do I. I'm only doing this because it's part of my job." the so-called 'guard' replied, stiffing a yawn into his hand as he used the remote to change the channel on the TV with the other.

"It's not like I have anywhere to runaway to anyway...I'm not even sure if I should trust you people." Tsuna felt slightly irritated at this point. No, scratch that, he was just tired and homesick.

"Vice versa, so-called boss-san."

"Err...Just call me Tsuna, if you please."

"Then, you can call me Fran. I like being called my name instead of stupid nicknames such as 'froggy' or whatever idiotic name was given to me by that fake-prince sempai."

"Aha..." the brunet said in return, unsure of a proper answer.

The two remained silent, watching the TV as Fran continuously changed channels to escape from mushy soap opera shows that were broadcasted at this time of day. As the action began to become monotonous and make the brunet feel drowsy, a sudden question hit his mind.

"What's the date and year?"

Fran stopped messing with the remote, as he looked up with his usual expression, except with a brow raised.

"Excuse me?"

"What's the date and year?" Tsuna repeated, the look in his eyes unreadable.

Fran didn't respond. Or rather, he didn't need to. Sighing, he pointed to the wall behind the brunet, watching as the man whipped his head around.

All became silent for a moment or two.

"N-no way..." mumbled Tsuna, his eyes widening. "The date...is so close from when I disappeared from...my world."

"It's the truth." said Fran, not bothering to change his tone into a sympathetic one. "Just a month and a half ago, the Vongola was attacked by that famiglia. Every single Vongola base around the world were simultaneously attacked successfully."

Tsuna decided to shut up and listen. Although some information was bound to be repeated, he couldn't miss out on a single detail.

"This struck a conflict, and lots of different names for it were created. Mafia world war I, Underworld war, but the most common name was Midnight Massacre. The main battle between the bosses of both families was hosted in Italy. With none other than you and your guardians as well as the other sides'. During that time, we, the varia, were in Japan, so we couldn't come to immediate aid when the enemies' numbers started dominating you."

"No way. This sounds like something from a TV show or drama..." thought Tsuna, biting his bottom lip.

"By the time we boarded the plane, we received a video call from your storm guardian."

"Hayato?"

"Yeah. He took shelter in one of the basement rooms in the Vongola headquarters by the looks of it, and informed us on the situation. By the time the plane had taken off, we almost had a vague idea of what was going on over there, but, unfortunately for both sides, there was an explosion in that basement and the lines were cut."

"Just like that?"

"Actually, there was something more but I don't think you'd want to hear about it." said Fran, slightly uneasy for the first time in quite a while. Just taking one quick glance at Tsuna's face made his heart ache. He didn't know why - it just did. And he was never the sympathetic type to begin with.

"Tell me. I want to know."

The green-haired varia member sighed, "Don't tell me I didn't warn you." he paused, before spilling the beans. "Just before the line was cut, we saw a figure emerging from the smoke with a lightning-coated spear."

"...There's more to it, isn't there?"

"The screen was covered with blood just a split second before the connection got cut. We assumed it was the blood of you guardian, because he was caught off-guard by the explosion." explained Fran, feeling the urge for a glass of water.

"I don't believe you." mumbled Tsuna, his lips trembling as he covered his eyes with an arm, as his head leaned against the head of the sofa.

"Your choice."

Fran stood up and walked out of the room. As his footsteps seemingly disappeared down the hallway, Tsuna uncovered his eyes. Blinking a couple of times to get his eyes used to the blinding light hanging from the ceiling, the brunet subconsciously clenched his fists, burying his face between his legs, which were pulled up against his chest. For a moment or two, Tsuna tried clearing his mind of every thought in order to calm himself.

"Trash."

Tsuna's head shot up, as he whipped his head around to see the person standing at the doorway.

"Xanxus."

Xanxus acknowledged the brunet by giving a low grunt as he walked over to sit down on his throne (seat). Closing his eyes, he leaned back.

"There's more to that story."

Tsuna stared at the man curiously. "What?"

"What the brat just told you, Trash."

"O-oh." somehow, he always felt intimidated by Xanxus's aura, no matter how many times he met the man. For a moment, he thought before asking a request. "Do you think you could tell me the rest of that story, Xanxus?"

The man seemed as if he was thinking for a while. "You're going to regret it." he stated simply, calling over a maid for a glass of high-class wine. "Fran's usually the blunt type that spills absolutely everything, but he must have his reasons for hiding the rest of the story. But then again, he's always been a little soft on this brat."

"I won't." replied Tsuna, boldly.

"Oh?" Xanxus was always amused to no ends, by Tsuna's change of behaviour all the time. "You will, trash."

"I won't." the brunet repeated, something akin to determination visibly burning in his eyes.

Without hesitation, the older boss smirked lightly, swishing the red win is his glass cup in a circular motion.

"Our only downfall was due to one reason and one reason only."

"...and that was?"

"The white-haired trash joined the enemy's side." he stopped swishing his wine, as he put the cup down before he crushed it into small pieces. He was obviously very irritated, no matter how much he tried not to show it through his expressions or voice.

Tsuna's eyes widened, as he began to feel perplexed. Not that he already wasn't. At the word's 'white-haired', Tsuna listed out a number of people who Xanxus could possibly be talking about. First of all, there was Ryohei, but he was a hundred percent sure that the sun guardian would never betray him. The next person he could think of was Squalo. On second thought, he highly doubted that. Then, that left two people. Mr. Kawahira and...

Almost as if he noticed Tsuna's horrified expression, Xanxus concluded.

"Yes, he joined them."

At that moment, Tsuna's whole world collapsed.

Again.

.

.

.

Somewhere else, in a different location somewhat similar to the vicinity of the Vongola headquarters in Italy, a group of hooded people stood tall, looming over a cold, marble bed.

"It's time."said one, earning several nods of agreement.

"Rejoice, my comrades. It is time to show the world our power!"

The marble bed was occupied by the body of a man; his body scarred and burned in every possible place. The people standing around the limp body cheered, as they scattered off into different directions. Only to return a few minutes later.

"Preparations complete."

"Now then, we shall be the only witnesses' of this mans' awakening - The revival of our new god!"

The hooded figures moved around, and within a minute or two, formed a shape, as the floor began to rumble and glow an alluring, mysterious blue in the shape of a hexagon. Each hooded figure started to whisper a low chant in a strange, almost gibberish-like language.

The ritual would go on for an hour at the least.

Somewhere far back behind a giant futuristic apparatus, a lone hooded figure held her breath, spying on the ritual with caution. In fear of getting caught by someone, she bent down, never ripping her eyes away from the scene that enthralled her so much. So much that she momentarily forgot the reason why she was here in the first place.

"Forgive me, Mukuro-chan." she whispered, placing a hand on her chest, as brushed a hand against her head, causing the hood to slip off. As it did, it fell back to reveal a rather young looking girl with short, red hair.

"It's time for a new revolution. It's time for Byakuran to return from his place in the afterlife!" she smirked lightly, before abruptly standing up and scurrying off into the darkness of the damp hallways filled with cobwebs and dim-lighted candles.