A/N- I am sorry for any mistakes and differentiations in canon. I only skimmed the one episode for a review of what happened because I haven't seen khr in such a long time. So yeah. I don't really remember much of actual canon. Sorry!

I'm really wonder what would happen if Tsuna's back wasn't healed from being cut in the Millefore arc, the one that made an X shape. What if he was just hiding the pain? This is what I would think would happen. It's only a drabble so it's pretty short.

Sorry if its badly written. I thought some of you would just want something out so I quickly shelved it out and didn't go over it for plot details and make sure it flows together well. Sorry!

"So we're going back to the past?" Tsuna asks, a smile lighting up his face. Reborn nods and everyone else beams.

"You guys will have to come back sooner or later, don't forget," Lal butts in, scowling. A few smiles dim, but are still showing.

"Yeah, but we still get to relax for a while," Tsuna replies; too busy being on a happy high to notice much. He gets to see his mom now! He turns around to go back to the Vongola base. Nothing could get him down now . . .

As he turns around Shoichi stares at his back and asks lightly, "Hey, Sawada-san, what happened to your back? It looks all torn up." . . . Except for that.

Everyone freezes and shifts there gaze to Tsuna, who halted in stunned silence.

"What, Sawada?" Lal asks.

"Jyuudaime, when did you get hurt?" Gokudera exclaims rushing over to him, making Tsuna pause.

Tsuna turns and faces everyone, a light smile twisting into his features. "It's, okay guys. It happened a while ago. It doesn't even hurt anymore."

No one truly believed him when Gokudera slightly brushed his back and he flinched away, backing up a bit. "Honestly, guys. I'll be fine," Tsuna tries to smile, but it looks more like a grimace of pain as he gently grips his shoulder.

"They were awful cuts, Tsuna," Reborn adds unhelpfully, and the stares intensify. Tsuna frowns and looks like he's about to admonish him, when he realizes who spoke.

"Please, guys. It's not a big deal, okay?" Tsuna pleads, knowing he's losing this battle.

Lal marches up to him and towers over him, commanding, "When we get back we are see your back." It wasn't asked or just stated. It was an obvious command. Tsuna looks over her shoulder and sees all the determined gazes and shudders. He nods quickly and scurries away, shrinking into himself.

They all watch him leave; watching as a steady drip of blood slides off his clothes and stain the floor.

They all arrive back at the base and Reborn herds everyone into the living room. They all sit on one side with Tsuna on the other. When Yamamoto wakes up they update him and Tsuna watches as his face goes from smiling to frowning. Might as well just get this over with.

Silence permeates the room for a few minutes until Tsuna can't take it anymore. Tsuna scratches the back of his head asking, "So, what now?" They all sweat drop. They can't believe he just asked that!

Lal bangs her hand on the table before saying, "I want to see that wound, Sawada! And an explanation as to why it hasn't been treated yet!" Tsuna flinches, and then cringes when the flinch aggravates his back.

"Tsuna, why didn't you just tell us you were hurt earlier? We could have treated you," Yamamoto, surprising serious, asks.

"What we were doing was more important," Tsuna replies, frowning like he doesn't understand what he did wrong.

"Jyuudaime, you are the most important, no matter what!" Gokudera scolds. Everyone nods in agreement.

"What?" Tsuna asks, because he doesn't believe so. Gokudera moves forward to explain it to him, when he is cut-off by Fuuta.

"Tsuna-nii, may we see your injury? We need to see the extent of it, first," Fuuta asks, sitting forward a bit. Everyone pauses and waits for Tsuna to say something, but he just smiles faintly and turns around, still sitting down.

Dried blood covers the back of the dark green outfit; no wonder they didn't notice, the cloth is so dark. They watch as his hands come forward and unzip the front of his outfit. He winces as the shoulders and sleeves come down and the cloth rests on his lower back, leaving his back bare his audience.

A gasp and a few curses are heard. They didn't think it would be this bad. Tsuna's back is crisscrossed with deep slash marks, blood still dripping from them; small pieces of flesh were torn off with the cloth, reopening parts of the wound. The blood is a deep red color, slipping to the cream colored carpet- leaving red splotch stains.

Tsuna reaches back and lightly grazes the wounds; letting out soft, tinkling laughter. He closes his eyes for a moment and says, "Do you know what I find fitting about this injury? X equals the tenth leader of the Vongola."

They blink, and then realize what he means. The wound proves what he tried to deny. He will be a part of the Mafia; he will become the Decimo, and he will lose his life for this familigia. There was no changing that, and he accepted it.

"I accepted it a long time ago." Everyone jolts when they realize he read them like a book, but he isn't even looking at them. "I know I will become the Decimo. I know I will die as the Decimo, and I know I probably won't live till I'm 30. But I've accepted that and embraced it."

Tsuna turns back around and smiles at them all. Not a resigned smile, not an accepting smile, but a smile of relief. "I know that when I do die as Decimo . . ."

"I will have protected you all till my last breath."

Owari~