Name: Sawada Tsunayoshi

Age: Twenty-Five

Status: Alive. Barely.

Tsuna stared at the knife in his hand. It was a normal kitchen knife, on the cheap side, with a slight serration and a little bit of rust from lack of care. It was positioned over his wrist, just above a prominent blue vein. He could do it this time. He was sure he could. After a moment, he sighed and started to put it down. He just wasn't brave enough.

His foot slipped in some water, and he fell on his leg, which cracked loudly with a sickening snap. The knife in his hand slashed across his bared wrist, which spurted blood. Oops, he thought. Oops indeed.

He tried to stand, to get something to bandage his wrist, but his leg gave out and pain shot through him. The puddle around him was turning pink. This time, he smashed his head against the shower, leaving him dizzy and confused.

Oh… I should get something. For my wrist. But I can't stand. There's too much blood. How much can I lose? I'm going to die. I wanted this, right? He whimpered slightly at the pain. But it hurts. I didn't think it would hurt. I don't want to die. Not like this. Everything's turning black. That's not good. I'm pathetic, dying like this. Shouldn't there be more suspense, more excitement? It feels understated. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want…

The first thing Tsuna saw when he opened his eyes was a pair of completely violet eyes. Whites, iris, and pupil were all a bright purple. "Hiee!"

"Geez. I'm not that scary!" Tsuna could now see the person clearly. He was tallish, with red (real red, not orange) hair that stuck straight up about an inch, and pale skin. If it weren't for the eyes, he could even be considered handsome. "Nice t' meetcha. I'm Sessu. You're Tsunayoshi Sawada, right? Isten can be so stingy with his information."

After a moment of silence, Sessu sighed. "Seriously. Anyway, there's been a problem with one of the other worlds, and I'm sending you in to fix it, since you're available. Don't mess up. I don't feel like explaining everything to you, so all you need to know is that Esru will be with you, and I'm giving you some memories that aren't as pathetic as you are now." He turned to a gate that Tsuna hadn't noticed. "Peta babkama luruba anaku!" Nothing happened. "Argh, peta! Amelatu, Ati me peta babka!

Finally, the gate swung inward, and a deep voice emanated from it. "Suharruru, Sessu. Alka, zini."

"He was talking to you, idiot. He told you to enter. Go!" Tsuna was thrown into the gate, and everything went black for a moment before the same voice spoke.

"Sumsu."

Tsuna was elbowed by Sessu, who had followed him in. "State your name, moron."

"Eto… Sawada Tsunayoshi."

"Asar?"

This time, Sessu answered. "Hursagmu."

There was a period of silence, but the Gatekeeper finally said "Alaku."

Tsuna felt a hard push on his back, and suddenly the world was flooded with light. He was laying on a table covered in a thin layer of cushion, and his body felt sluggish. He slowly raised his hand above his head, only to freeze, as a pudgy, pale hand floated over him. Nearby, beeping started up at a steady pace.

Tsuna waved his hand, and the baby hand followed the motion. He reached up to touch his face, and the hand moved closer. He cried out. "Hiee!"

He heard a cry of relief nearby. "Thank god, he's alive! Someone go get his parents! I'm going to give him a once over." A gigantic doctor in green scrubs and a mask leaned down, feeling for Tsuna's pulse. "How are you feeling, kiddo? You shouldn't scare your mom and dad like that. Looks like you're alright. You shouldn't get into dangerous things like that again, though. You were lucky.

Tsuna tried to say he was not alright, that he didn't know what was going on, but all that came out was a loud "Maa! Waa!"

The doctor leaned back. "No permanent damage. Actually, no damage at all. He's one lucky kid."

"Tsu-kun!" Tsuna heard a familiar voice, one he hadn't heard in years. "Tsu-kun!" He could only lay there, shocked, as his dead mother hugged him to her chest. "Tsu-kun!"

She was dead. He had seen the body. So how could she be here?

"Son!" Tsuna saw another impossible figure over his mother's shoulder. His father, who had abandoned him. Tsuna heard a loud wail, and realized it was him. "Waaah! Waaah!"

"Excuse me, Mrs. Sawada, Mr. Sawada, may I speak to you?" While the doctor explained something about poison aftereffects, Tsuna suddenly found himself bombarded with memories.

In the memories, he was the tenth boss of the Vongola famiglia. Tsuna remembered techniques he'd never learned, people he'd never met or barely knew, and things that never happened. He found himself missing people like Yamamato Takeshi, Gokudera Hayato, and Sasagawa Ryohei. People who had never afforded him a second glance. At the end of the string of memories, he heard Sessu's voice. So you have a reason to live.

By the time he snapped out of his trance, he had been set into a cradle by his mother, and the only thing he could see was the glow of a nightlight. He fell asleep listening to the soft rush of the wind.

When Tsuna was old enough to speak, his father returned from a yearlong trip for a couple days. At the end of them, Tsuna could see his mother hiding tears, so he reached out and grabbed Iemitsu's pant leg, saying his first word(s). "Don't leave."

Both parents just stared at him openmouthed, so he made sure he got his point across by repeating the short sentence. "Don't leave."

Iemitsu started crying proudly. "Look at him, Nana! Isn't he the cutest?" A serious look returned to his face. "Goodbye, Nana."

Tsuna interrupted Nana's goodbye. "NO! DON'T GO DON'T GO DON'T GO!" He clung to his father's leg. Come hell or high water, he was going to make sure his mother was happy. "NONONONONONONONONONONO!"

His display managed to keep his father for another month. After arguing on the phone with someone, Iemitsu finally sent them a recording of Tsuna. After that, there were no complaints about him staying, although he was often on the phone.

Although he did end up leaving, he promised to come back more often. He (somehow) kept his promise; it was possibly helped by the scene Tsuna was sure to make every time he went out the door. And when he nearly starved himself to death waiting for his father to come back.

When Tsuna was five, the world ended.

Okay, not really. What happened is that he decided to find his guardians. What he didn't count on was getting lost. Everything looked so different from a five year old perspective, and he had no idea where he was, until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, kid, are you lost?" Tsuna jumped, his mind going to stories of pedophiles and perverts—

A pair of large brown eyes entered his field of vision. "What's your name?"

"Takeshi…" he whispered, his mind going to his rain guardian. But that was impossible. This boy was too old.

"Eh, really? Haha, we have the same name!" One of Takeshi's hands went up to scratch the back of his head.

Tsuna shook his head. "Tsuna…my name's Tsunayoshi."

"Oh, sorry. I thought you said Takeshi. My name's Yamamoto Takeshi. It's nice to meet you, Tsunayoshi-kun. What are your parents' names?" Behind Takeshi, Tsuna saw an all too familiar white haired bomber.

Tsuna burst into tears. Of all the things that could have happened, he had been born younger than his guardians. How had that happened? Takeshi frantically tried to comfort him, and Hayato rolled his eyes.

"What'd you do now, baseball idiot?"

"I don't know! He just started crying!"

"Just bring him to Jyuudaime's mom. She can deal with him." Hayato pointed at the house next to them, with a nameplate reading Akamine. Tsuna gasped silently. Jyuudaime…who has taken my place?

As if on cue, a woman opened the door. "Hayato-kun, Takeshi-kun, how nice to see you! Are you here for Daiki?" She was a young woman with kind eyes and dark red hair.

"Akamine-san! Can you come help us? This kid, Tsunayoshi, is lost." Takeshi called, standing up so he could see her better.

"Lost? The poor thing. Bring him over here." The woman stepped into the yard, and Takeshi grabbed Tsuna's hand. Tsuna followed obediently, rubbing at his eyes. He trusted Takeshi and Hayato not to lead him anywhere suspicious.

"Can you tell me your parents' names, Tsuna-kun? I'm Akamine Akemi. We'll have you back home soon, I promise." Now that he was closer, Tsuna could see that she had chocolate brown eyes.

He sniffed and answered "Mama is Sawada Nana. Papa is Sawada Iemitsu."

Akemi smiled. "I see, so you're Nana's son. Let me give her a call. Come on in." Tsuna stepped hesitantly inside, only to be hit with something around his size with a large, curly afro.

"NYAHAHA! ALL THE CANDY IS MINE!" Both of them went crashing backwards, and purple candies went flying everywhere.

Someone Tsuna instantly recognized as I-Pin came running. "Bad Lambo! No stealing I-Pin's candy!"

"Oh?" Lambo finally noticed Tsuna. He tried to look cool, but the image was ruined by his finger picking his nose. "Who are you? Never mind, you may call me Lambo-sama! Nyahaha!"

"Oi…stupid cow…STOP DISTURBING JYUUDAIME'S MOM!" Hayato lunged at Lambo, who squealed and shot away.

"Betcha can't catch me, Stupidera! NYAHAHA!" Lambo taunted, holding a pink grenade in front of him as a shield. Tsuna backed up, watching the suddenly larger-than-life cow-child sling his arm back to throw the grenade.

"LAMBO! NO, DON'T THROW THAT IN THE HOUSE!" A loud voice followed by a crash froze Lambo in his tracks, and the curly-haired lightning guardian hurriedly stuffed the grenade back into his hair.

A red-haired figure had fallen down the stairs, and sat up next to Lambo to finish tying half-tied shoelaces. "Lambo, do NOT throw those in the house. Dad is nearing the end of his patience with the house getting destroyed." The boy turned to Tsuna. "I heard Mom talking to you at the door. Tsuna-kun, right? It's nice to meet you. I'm Akamine Daiki."

Tsuna's eyes traced up the soft, girlish face, past the small nose and wide, golden-brown eyes, to the reddish-orange hair sticking up in the same way that Tsuna's stuck up in.

Like I said. The world ended.

Name: Akamine Daiki.

Age: Fourteen

Status: …

VONGOLA DECIMO CANDIDATE

A/N- The gods(?) were speaking Sumerian. Here's a translation-

Sessu- Sixth

Isten- One, first

Esru- Tenth

Peta babkama luruba anaku!- Open the gate for me so that I may enter here!

Peta!- Open for me!

Amelatu, Ati me peta babka!- Gatekeeper, open your gate for me!

Suharruru, Sessu. Alka, zini. Quiet, Six. Wind spirit, come.

Sumsu?- Name?

Asar?- Where?

Hursagmu- Mountain of the Sky-Chambers

Alaku- Go