A/N: Mostly R27 and Arco27.
Previously: Start of the Curse of Rainbow Arc.
---
第一最好不相见，如此便可不相恋。
第二最好不相知，如此便可不相思。
First, it's best that we don't meet, so we won't fall in love.
Second, it's best that we don't know each other, so we won't have to miss each other.
----
The Third Day
"Reborn!" Tsuna shouted his name as Bermuda's ominous black hole moved towards Reborn to suck him in.
Tsuna's first instinct was to grab onto him, and at the same time Ietsu did the same thing.
The result was that both of them were sucked into the black hole along with Reborn thanks to their fast reaction as the rest of the people there did not react in time to do anything.
The cave was dark and Tsuna frowned – he felt like there was something foreboding that was going to happen. However, he did not feel that there was any danger at the moment and there was not any intention to kill from the Vindice.
When Bermuda and Jager appeared, the whole room lit up, and Tsuna, Reborn and Ietsu could survey the place they were in.
"Well, don't we have some unexpected guests?" Bermuda looked towards Tsuna and Ietsu, "But no matter."
Ietsu exclaimed as he saw the carvings on the wall and pointed out to Reborn, to which the both of them started to figure them out while keeping an eye on Bermuda and Jager.
Tsuna on the other hand, paled in discomfort as he saw the carvings, and he suddenly grabbed his forehead as his head started to hurt.
Reborn noticed it immediately and asked, "Are you alright, Tsuna?"
"The curse of the Sky Arcobaleno." Bermuda took a glance at Tsuna, "The ability to see."
Tsuna nodded his head to show that he was fine to Reborn and Ietsu, "Just a sense of déjà vu."
"Indeed, as you may or may not know, this set of drawings shows the cycle of Arcobaleno," Jager said, "and those remaining of the Arcobaleno after the pacifiers are removed from them become the Vindice."
"What?" Ietsu exclaimed in shock. "What does that mean?" All the effort to free Reborn of his curse for nothing? Is it impossible to save the Arcobaleno?
"I thought that might be the case," Reborn nodded, "It seemed too good to be true. Plus, I didn't really expect a good death."
"Reborn!" Ietsu cried out in disapproval.
Tsuna simply frowned at the turn of events.
"Whether you win the battle or work with me, the Arcobaleno will all die." Bermuda said.
"No!" Ietsu sounded distraught, while Reborn seemed to accept everything calmly, as usual.
"You will know the difference between you and the Vindice. Jager." Bermuda jumped off Jager's shoulder.
As Ietsu fought with Jager, Reborn turned to Tsuna who was standing beside him at the side of the room, "What do you think, Tsuna?"
Tsuna's eyes clouded over, "I don't know."
------
"So, what did the Vindice say to you?" Verde asked as Reborn gathered all the Arcobaleno at the round table.
Reborn briefly summarized what he had heard from Bermuda and gave the shocked Arcobaleno some time to absorb all the information.
"My take is that it is better to perish the Arcobaleno system." Reborn concluded.
Tsuna nodded his head, "I agree."
"No way!" Mammon was the first to disagree. "I don't want to die." Verde expressed the same sentiments. Colonnello, too, didn't want Lal to die.
"I wouldn't want to give up even a chance to be able to live, and winning the representative battle has a higher chance than allying with Bermuda and destroying the whole Arcobaleno system along with it." Verde commented.
"I can't make the decisions for all of you, nor can I force you to change your minds," Tsuna pursed his lips, "But I just want you to know that we are all going to die regardless of what we do. The Arcobaleno system is flawed and no one deserves to become Arcobaleno. We of all people should know that. Instead of living forever the way we are now, sometimes it could be blessing to just end it quickly."
"Not all of us are saints like you, Tsuna." Mammon sniffed, "Furthermore, we all know that Reborn just doesn't want his student to become the next Arcobaleno."
"Can you not be so rude to Tsuna-" Reborn stood up on his chair.
"Well not everyone wants to die like you-" The other Arcobaleno followed suit.
Tsuna felt like a headache was coming as he heard the raised voices and drawing of weapons, and while it is a little nostalgic, it wasn't exactly the good kind of nostalgic that he wanted.
"Calm down, everyone," Tsuna tried to say while raising his arms and trying to pull the fighting Arcobaleno apart.
"Take this, Reborn! I've disliked your arrogant self for a long time now." Mammon cried as he threw his flames at Reborn but the latter dodged it with ease. Tsuna, on the other hand, was more unfortunate as he tried to grab for an Arcobaleno but lost his balance instead.
A loud thud as something – or someone – fell to the ground.
"Stop it!" Reborn hissed.
Everyone froze in their tracks and Verde was in the midst of digging his chemicals or weapons, Colonnello was holding his gun in position while Mammon was still floating around. They all watched as Reborn carried what was on the floor onto the sofa, with a dark aura surrounding him.
"..." The rest just looked at each other like they were children who were caught red-handed doing something they shouldn't have done and now they realised their mistakes and were feeling guilty about it.
Colonnello pointed his chin at Mammon and made some weird faces, as if to say 'you were the one who made the mess, so clean it up'.
"... Normally Tsuna would have avoided that direct weak blow." Mammon muttered.
The other three mentally face palmed because sure, that was going to make Reborn less angry.
The dark aura around Reborn was getting scarier, and all people present kept a wide berth between Reborn and themselves except the unconscious Tsuna who was currently lying on the sofa, unaware of the situation that was brewing around him, and Reborn was standing on the armrest of the sofa like a guard.
Of all the people they had to hit, it was Tsuna. Poor Tsuna who had done nothing wrong in his whole life.
If Colonnello had fainted, for example, no one would have cared. Reborn might actually start a party to celebrate. Tsuna, on the other hand, was an out-of-bounds for everyone. It was like everyone had a secret agreement to move their fights away from Tsuna, especially after they became Arcobaleno as Tsuna had lost his flames. (Also, it was mostly because Tsuna was too innocent and faultless and likeable for them to fight, and the only way Tsuna would be involved in an Arcobaleno fight would be him trying to break the fight, and that, sadly, was what happened most of the times. So, in the end, even though they tried to keep their fights away from Tsuna to avoid him getting hurt, Tsuna would still be involved in some way or another.)
Moreover, especially for Reborn, Tsuna was someone who could not be touched.
"Sorry." Mammon lowered his head and finally said softly.
"Tell that to him when he wakes up, not to me." Reborn bit out, his face as black as the suit he always wore.
Fon frowned, "But Mammon is right, normally Tsuna would have been able to avoid that blow."
Reborn threw his fedora on the floor in frustration and ran his hands through his spiky black hair. "What makes you think that he would not have been weakened like the rest of us? All of us felt that it was getting uncomfortable, what makes you think that it would not be the same for him?"
"He's not god, you know. Neither is he undefeatable." Reborn leant down to touch Tsuna's pale unconscious face. "Despite how he has won all the battles in the past and was all powerful, one day he might just collapse."
There was a thick silence that settled amongst them.
"I thought we had proposed to leave this chance to Tsuna? If we had to." Fon suddenly reminded everyone. "Have all of you forgotten what he did for us in the Future world?"
"It's a parallel universe..." Mammon said weakly.
"But you know he would do the same thing no matter in which universe. And even in this scenario, if given the chance to save all of us in exchange of his life, you know that he would done it again in a heartbeat."
Mammon remained quiet.
Subconsciously he knew what everything Fon said was true, but he just wanted to live in his own denial. Tsuna would do anything to protect them. He would, probably, give up his own chance to live at the heat of the moment if that would help Tsuna. He just didn't really want to admit it because that wasn't what he was used to doing.
The Arcobaleno all turned to look at Tsuna who was still lying unconscious on the sofa. He had gotten noticeably skinnier when he was already skinny, and he probably wasn't sleeping well, given the eyebags under his eyes, most likely due to the visions and dreams he always had.
What had Tsuna done for them? There were so many things, and they didn't know where to start counting. In the past, even when they first met, even if Tsuna was reluctant to be part of the mafia, he had gone out of his way to help them and bring them together, leading them and cleaning up their mess after them, always trying to protect them and always taking the heaviest loads on himself and doing the things the other Arcobaleno did not want to do. In the future, he had sacrificed his life for them, and beaten himself up for not protecting them. Now, he was willing to give up the chance of breaking the curse to them because he felt that they wanted it more.
Looking at Tsuna now, they did not remember the last time they saw Tsuna so weak and vulnerable. At least, not in person. They were reminded of the memories they had gained from their future selves, and perhaps Tsuna was similar to that. What had it been like for him? To watch all of them die one by one but had no power to stop it?
Maybe, only when they started losing each other then would they start to miss each other.
"Honestly, do you think the lives we are living now are worth living?" Reborn asked.
The Arcobaleno once again sank into a heavy silence.
They all knew Tsuna had lived laboriously throughout his own life. As time went by, indeed, for them too, everything seemed a little less significant as they forget how many years they have lived.
Reborn continued, "I always forget that he is human. I always see the strong side of him, and I forget he can't be strong every second. I thought he could be as heartless as me, but I forget that he wasn't supposed to be in the mafia in the first place."
Fon sighed, "Sometimes we all forget that. Sometimes we take him for granted. We always look to him when we're in trouble, expecting him to help us solve the problems, but sometimes we forget that he needs our help too."
"I will consider it," Mammon finally conceded, "If there is no other way... then I'll follow what Tsuna says."
Reborn nodded, "We will end this meeting for today, and discuss this at a later time. I will bring Tsuna home first and let him rest."
----
"Hello, my name is Tsuna, and you?"
The man in black suit looked up, examined the person who introduced himself as Tsuna, before smirking, "Reborn."
...
"Tsuna, Tsuna, Reborn and Colonnello are bullying me again." Skull tugged Tsuna's sleeve.
Tsuna looked up from the papers of their next mission, "Bully them back then."
Skull winced, "You know how horrid they are-"
"Skull, don't be a coward and go running to Tsuna again, kora!" A voice boomed from behind the doors, and Colonnello crashed through right after.
"If you have the guts to annoy us you should have the guts to endure our wrath," Reborn entered after Colonnello.
Tsuna raised an eyebrow at the crowd in his room. "If you guys want to fight, get out of my room," Tsuna waved the important documents in his hand in warning.
"You guys bullied me first!" Skull retorted.
"No, you said something annoying first," Colonnello got ready his rifles.
Tsuna rubbed his temples and asked himself, why on earth did Lal bring Colonnello over again? (No, Colonnello stalked Lal and since then refused to leave.)
"No, you little-"
"Ehem," Tsuna cleared his throat and slammed his hands on the table, before they go and destroy his room again, "You know what? I'm calling a meeting now, and you guys get to the meeting room. Get out! And inform the others."
...
"Hey Tsuna," Reborn suddenly moved closer and helped to guard Tsuna's back, and they stand back-to-back fighting against the guards around them.
"What?" Tsuna asked through his gritted teeth, while throwing flames at those inching closer towards them.
"If we get out of this alive, say, would you go out on a date with me?"
Tsuna shot down another enemy, "Really, you're saying this right now?" Tsuna sounded annoyed.
Reborn didn't seem fazed by his reply, his gun rapidly and accurately shooting out bullets, "Well?"
"Fine," Tsuna replied in an exasperated tone, "Now hurry up!"
"Hello, we are still alive here you know," Viper reminded them, suddenly appearing nearby.
Verde agreed, "We are not going to die from this stupid mission, Reborn, so stop acting like you are in a teenage romance."
"What can I say?" Reborn shrugged, "I've got what I wanted hadn't I?"
Everyone else resisted the urge to turn their weapons at him instead.
...
"Hn!" Tsuna suddenly grunted in pain.
"Are you alright, Tsuna?"
"Yeah, I am," Tsuna said, "You guys take the stuff and leave first, I'll take care of the rest."
Reborn frowned in disapproval, "You just got injured."
"The others are more injured than I am," Tsuna replied, "Hurry before they catch up."
Reborn took one last look at Tsuna before tending to the others.
"I'll come back for you."
...
"Tsuna, are you okay?" Tsuna opened his eyes and saw Skull, "Don't die, Tsuna!"
"If you continue to shake him like that, then he's going to die," Reborn interrupted and squeezed Skull away from Tsuna, before frowning at Tsuna, "What nerves you've got to lose consciousness on enemy's territory, even though you've defeated them all. If I hadn't gone back..."
Tsuna smiled, "Because I know you'll keep your promise."
...
"I can't believe we are celebrating Christmas," Reborn watched as Tsuna placed the decorations on the tree.
"Stop acting like some gloomy old man who's never celebrated any festival before, Reborn, and come help me."
Reborn stood up. "Yeah, alright," he took a ball from Tsuna and randomly hung it somewhere, "But with the rest of them? They will ruin the whole dinner."
Tsuna laughed, "The more the merrier. Plus, didn't they look happy when I said that we were going to celebrate Christmas?"
"Skull is a kid, and Viper," Reborn raised an eyebrow, "I think he's just happy there's free food."
"..."
Tsuna smiled at the dining table that finally had full attendance. While they had a mansion together that acted as headquarters, they don't normally have meals together.
Verde stared at the table, "I'm just here because I happened to be in the mansion."
Tsuna paid him no mind, because he knew Verde would mostly be dealing with his experiments at this timing if not for today.
Fon smiled as Tsuna handed him his food, "Thanks for cooking, I didn't know you could cook so well."
Tsuna thanked him for his compliments back.
"Here's to another successful mission," Lal raised her wineglass, "And many more to come."
All of them raised theirs in the air.
Tsuna lowered his head to take a sip from his and savoured the taste.
But how many more left till the end?
...
"Checker Face gave another mission," Tsuna stood up and started the briefing, "Something about climbing a mountain..."
The six people sitting at the table in front of him suddenly turned from adults into babies.
"Huh? What happened?" There were panic and chaos and shouts everywhere.
"What? What's happening to my hands?"
"Why am I disappearing?"
Tsuna watched as they turn into dust and cease to exist.
No, don't leave... Tsuna reached out his hand to grab onto them, to grab onto something, anything...
But they just disappeared with the wind.
No... Don't leave me alone...
"Tsuna... Tsuna. Tsuna!" Tsuna heard someone calling his name, and the world disappeared before his eyes.
Tsuna snapped open his eyes, he saw the familiar ceiling of his own room, but a pair of deep, dark eyes was blocking most of it. He turned his head over to the hammock over his bedroom.
"Morning, Reborn."
Reborn raised an eyebrow, "You realised that it's evening now, right?"
Tsuna shrugged, "Well, it's hard to tell when your hammock was blocking the window - even if it wasn't, the amount of light shining through the window right now isn't much of an indication."
"Plus," Tsuna yawned and gave himself a good stretch, "It felt like a good sleep in a long while."
Reborn frowned and leaned forward, "Aren't you getting enough sleep? The dark circles under your eyes are surprisingly prominent lately." Reborn reached out to touch the side of his face.
"I hate to say this," Tsuna rubbed his temples, "But unfortunately no, my sleep quality is not the best recently. I do miss some quality sleep, that's for sure."
"Had a bad dream again? It was unlike you to be so difficult to be woken up." Reborn knew that on some days Tsuna's dreams could get so bad that Tsuna would rather stay awake than sleep.
"Hmm." Tsuna shook his head in defeat, "I mean, I wouldn't have minded if those dreams were useful, but most of the time I can't remember them when I wake up, and even if I did, they seemed like a bunch of gibberish and they weren't worth the effort it took for me to dream them."
Tsuna sighed, "They seem to get worse every time something big was going to happen, but perhaps the timing is not close enough yet for me to see something concrete now."
"Like before we became Arcobaleno." Reborn suddenly said, remembering those nights which were similar to the situation at current.
Tsuna snapped his head up and paused for a while, before nodding his head and acknowledged, "Right, it seems similar to back then..."
----
—Thirty years ago
"Want some coffee?" Reborn walked towards the coffee machine as he got out of bed when he saw that the light outside the bedroom was still on, and Tsuna was once again not on the bed beside him.
"To make me more awake so I don't have to sleep when I'm already not sleeping enough?" Tsuna smiled while looking up from the book he was reading and held out his hand, "Hell yeah."
"Bleh," Tsuna spit out the pure espresso Reborn poured into his mug, "Don't bully me when I'm half-awake by giving me this bitter thing. All coffee and no sugar make Reborn a dull man."
"It's stronger that way," Reborn frowned as Tsuna started dumping spoonsful of sugar into the mug, "You can't call that sugar water coffee, it's a blasphemy to all the coffee beans that went into it." Reborn wrinkled his nose in disgust.
Reborn looked at the clock which showed a 3.40am on the wall while sipping his coffee. "It's like the which – fifth? Night that you aren't sleeping well. Is everything alright? Are you having very bad nightmares?"
Tsuna shook his head to reassure Reborn that nothing is wrong. "It's not really nightmares per se, and I could probably sleep through them, but I have such a bad feeling in my chest while I'm asleep or when I woke up that I'd rather sleep a little less."
"Come 'ere." Reborn walked to the couch and patted on the space next to him.
Tsuna shifted over and snuggled onto Reborn, letting Reborn's arm drape over him while he warmed his hands with the coffee, sighing in blissfulness.
Reborn tightened the arm around Tsuna to pull him closer. "Do you remember what you were dreaming about? Are they visions?"
"... I'm not sure myself." Tsuna brought up his legs and squeezed closer, "I just have an ominous feeling that something bad is going to happen."
"Don't worry too much," Reborn rubbed his hand on Tsuna's arm, "I will always be by your side. The rest too."
"Un." Tsuna nodded his head, and Reborn could feel his fluffy hair tickling his face as he moved.
Reborn moved his hand to rub Tsuna's head, "If you can't sleep again and want some company, feel free to wake me up."
"Thanks."
Tsuna let his head rest on Reborn as they enjoyed each other's companionship in silence while sipping their own coffee.
"Hey Reborn." Tsuna suddenly moved his head up away from Reborn's shoulder.
"Hmm?"
"If one day... You turn-" Tsuna opened his mouth but trailed off mid-sentence.
Reborn turned to look at Tsuna, not quite catching what he had said, "I what?"
Tsuna slowly shook his head, his eyelids fluttering down.
"Never mind."
---
—Present
"When did you first know we were going to become Arcobaleno?" Reborn asked as he played with Tsuna's blanket.
Tsuna paled a little, which was a feat as blood wasn't flowing to his face much in the first place. "Perhaps... When Checker Face first came to find me."
Reborn looked up, "You meant he came to find you? Physically?"
Tsuna nodded, "He said, it was either me or another pregnant lady who will get chosen, you know, Yuni's grandmother."
Reborn let out a chuckle, "That is reason enough for you to agree? You chose not to be involved in the mafia for so long."
Tsuna shrugged, his eyes darkening as he reminisced, "That, among other things."
"You knew everything?" Reborn asked.
"Not really..." Tsuna shook his head, "I probably knew about the Arcobaleno part, but not much. I didn't know about the backstory, nor did I know when and how we are going to become Arcobaleno."
"And you never thought to tell us, to warn us about it? When you knew about it all along?"
Tsuna's eyes widened, like a deer caught in headlights, "I didn't know all of you at first, so obviously I didn't plan to tell."
"Really." Reborn gave a bitter laugh, "We have been through life and death missions together, and we trust you with our lives. What about me? We were in a relationship, of all things? At least you could have told me. Don't you trust us?"
Tsuna bit his lip as he considered what to say. "I... couldn't have."
----
—Thirty years ago
Tsuna watched as everything happened before his eyes, before closing them at the final moment. He knew the power of Checker Face and it was futile to fight against him even if he told the rest. They were the strongest seven chosen to protect the pacifiers, and protect the pacifiers they will, as long as they were alive.
But can the other six people accept their fate? Tsuna knew they wouldn't, because he knew them too well. If normal people would not want to be trapped inside a baby's body, for them especially so, and they would even kill some people along the way to vent their frustration, or even plan the end of the world.
Tsuna's expression remained blank as ever as he felt his body shrinking. He was, however, surprised when it stopped at an average human height and he only felt younger by a few years. Weren't Arcobaleno supposed to be babies? The thought was soon pushed to the back of his mind as an unimportant question.
When the blinding light was gone, Tsuna knew something was different when he was still tall while the other people were all smaller. He also saw Colonnello.
As if out of instinct, Tsuna's gaze was attracted to Reborn, only to find Reborn staring straight back at him at the first moment the light was gone too.
Reborn probably saw his calm demeanour, and Tsuna knew that Reborn knew that he knew. Tsuna was being far too calm, and even for someone like him who had seen so much there would still be an element of surprise when one's comrades are turned into babies all of a sudden. There was none on Tsuna's face.
Tsuna slid his gaze onto the others. They were all in complete chaos.
It wasn't that Tsuna felt calm. He just did not know what expression to put on. He felt like something was crashing down onto him at that very moment. If Tsuna were ten years younger, in this situation, he probably would be crying buckets.
Tsuna clenched his fist silently as he watched the crowd. He felt like a coward. He knew that they were going to become Arcobaleno - he knew it was either that or death, so how could he? All of the Arcobaleno's pride can feed the world. He couldn't have said, for fear of losing any of them. He was the boss of Arcobaleno, and in that moment, he decided to be selfish just once, for all of them. Perhaps he had thought too much, perhaps he should have been more honest, but it was that moment when he thought there was too much at stake, and he had everything to lose.
From strangers to acquaintances to allies, the six of them burrowed their way up the list of people he was close to.
He only wanted the best for them.
----
Reborn went to find Shamal.
When Shamal saw him, Reborn thought he should have had a camera to record his expression, but he was definitely not in the mood to do so.
"Reborn, is that you?" Shamal frowned at the... baby before him that had an uncanny resemblance to a certain hitman he knew. "What on earth happened?"
"Don't ask me." Reborn sat down on the chair opposite Shamal. "I know nothing."
"... Wait. Pacifiers. Babies." Shamal slowly pieced everything together in his mind. "Do you mean Arcobaleno?"
Reborn nodded.
Shamal's forehead scrunched up even harder, "What are you going to do now?"
"Start anew."
Shamal raised his eyebrow, "Start anew as in?" He took a deep breath, "Are you saying what I think you are saying?"
Reborn nodded, "Just erase it."
"What?"
"Erase everything before this. The Reborn before this is dead now."
"Even him?" Shamal shook his head, "Even if you erase all of your past, can you forget it?"
Reborn's eyes hardened as he looked up. His lips twitched up, yet his eyes were not filled with mirth but full of mockery.
"Especially him."
---
—Arcobaleno meeting 20 years ago from present, 10 years after they turned into Arcobaleno
Tsuna looked at the Arcobaleno sitting around him. The people were still the same (except Lal was switched to Colonnello), but the scene was so different from years ago.
Tsuna let out an inaudible sigh but was glad that they were as 'lively' as ever.
He sneaked a glance at Reborn sitting two seats away and turned away as long as he decided that he looked like he was alright.
Reborn wasn't looking at him; he was staring at the cup of espresso in his hands. Tsuna didn't know whether he should be glad or disappointed.
He recalled the years that had passed since the incident. Ten years were quite some time for him, to try to live without a presence he had gotten so used to.
Tsuna didn't want to admit it, but he hadn't felt his house so cold for a while. He was used to being alone before all this, so why was it so difficult now? Maybe after gaining something and losing it was more difficult than never having it.
He missed those nights where he would come home to someone in the house, he missed late night coffees that weren't good for their health and sleep, he missed the quiet nights where he would stay at home snuggling with someone instead of going out, he missed having a gigantic bed but knowing there is someone at the other side of it, he missed cooking and eating a meal together and simply enjoying each other's presence.
He missed the Arcobaleno too, he missed those days where they could go on missions together and even though he didn't particularly like to do the things they were doing, he would feel contented as he watched them fulfilled and satisfied with their rewards, and their bickering but unspoken understanding and cooperation.
Tsuna wished he never had this ability to see the future. It wasn't a blessing; it was a curse. Sometimes it was better to be ignorant than to know. Furthermore, his head always felt like it was splitting when the dreams haunt him at night.
Tsuna wondered if Reborn was angry, and he still couldn't forget the look Reborn gave him on that fated day. It was a mix of so many emotions, emptiness, questioning, betrayal... Now that Tsuna thought about it, he probably didn't see anger in his eyes.
Regardless, he felt like he had wronged them in some way or another and didn't know how to resolve that. He was never that good with people anyway.
Tsuna hadn't talked to Reborn since that day, other than passing words of greetings, and Tsuna wondered when he became such a coward. When he became afraid to know the truth or understand what Reborn wanted or thought.
The Arcobaleno were all quite okay years later, and now they were all quite the same as before, other than adding more quirks here and there. They probably noticed the change between Reborn and him, but never commented on it. Lal and Colonnello too, weren't seeing each other often either.
Tsuna's eyes subconsciously went to follow Reborn's actions again.
For this second time, their gaze met and Tsuna froze, unable to move his gaze away. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but let his mouth remain shut in the end.
He saw Reborn turning away to say something to the person beside him after a few seconds. Tsuna felt a sharp pain in his lower lip before realising he had bit his lip too hard.
Slowly relaxing his teeth, Tsuna took a deep breath.
"Let's start the meeting," he suddenly said, and the result was stunning, because the Arcobaleno all became silent.
For the rest of the meeting, Tsuna did not look at him again.
---
Reborn stared into Tsuna's listless eyes and wanted to hug him. He looked down at the hands he had at that moment. Yet now he couldn't say 'come here' and pull Tsuna closer, not when his arms weren't even long enough to surround him.
It was not that Reborn had not gotten used to being an Arcobaleno. He just definitely didn't like it, because nobody would want to be stuck in a baby's body. Surprisingly, it was as easy to fight with this body now as the one before, perhaps due to the magic of being an Arcobaleno.
Reborn noticed that Tsuna was staring at him for some fleeting seconds before turning away, but didn't want to return his gaze. For the first time, Reborn didn't know how he should respond to him, and decided it was not worth the effort to ponder on.
Reborn didn't hate Tsuna, nor was he angry.
It was the taste of betrayal - Reborn never expected Tsuna to hide something so huge from them, from him. And in the mafia, one thing they cannot tolerate was betrayal.
Reborn knew that they knew each other too well because they were too alike in some ways. They were both too stubborn sometimes and they could forget about the other person. Or maybe they thought that they knew what was the best but it may not be the best for the other.
It was funny, Reborn thought, how they claimed to be so in love, but sometimes they missed each other's feelings so easily. They were too strong headed in their own way, and they only knew how to believe that they themselves were the ones who were correct.
Reborn remembered that Tsuna hated the mafia. He never wanted to join anyway but was instead forced to, unlike the rest of the Arcobaleno. Perhaps he was too hard on him.
But he guessed that didn't matter anymore. What's done is done.
He wasn't the type to dwell in the past anyway.
Reborn toyed with the cup of espresso in his hands. He suddenly remembered that for all of Tsuna's cooking skills, he could never brew a good cup of coffee Reborn was satisfied with.
When one was thinking about someone within one's field of vision, they will subconsciously turn to that person, and before Reborn knew what he was doing, he realised he was seeing Tsuna staring right back at him. Reborn recognized that familiar expression. He always had that look on him when he had something to say but was hesitating about what to say.
Reborn looked away.
A baby and a teenager. What lives could they have together?
----
Thirty years were a long time, maybe not for the Arcobaleno, but for normal people, that could easily be half their lives.
Thirty years were enough time to make feelings not as strong as before, and even fade away into nothingness.
When they met again thirty years later in Namimori, Reborn wanted to just burn down all the walls between them and care about nothing to just be with him. Who cared about what happened in the past? Reborn just wanted to hold on to the person sitting inches away from him, and never let go. That feeling was the one feeling that never changed for a whole thirty years.
Reborn found that after meeting Tsuna his self-control flew out of the window more times than it should have, and there were more 'couldn't help but –' situations than he could count.
He couldn't help but stay close, even though he told himself he shouldn't have. He couldn't help but want to interrupt when he was with someone else, smiling like how he would in the past. He couldn't help but want to protect him and stand between him and any possible harm, even though he knew that he had already survived so many years without him.
Reborn thought that maybe it was time to give up trying so hard to control his heart, and remove all the chains that shackled it down.
Too much time had passed, and they didn't have much time left.
Tsuna stared out the window. It had been so many years that they had known each other. All his memories flew by as he let his mind wander.
At this moment, they were centimetres apart, but it felt like they had the world's greatest distance between them, uncrossable.
He drew his legs close to his chest and hugged them. If they knew what was going to happen now, would they have changed what they did in the past? In another universe, in another life, would they have a better ending?
He guessed everything didn't matter anymore.
Now they were all going to die either way.
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A/N: I've killed them twice; do I have to kill them a third time?
I've finally addressed the summary? Lol. It wasn't meant to be a cliffhanger or anything I just had nothing else to write. I mean really it's not a mystery or not anything deep and surprising cause this story is actually canon compliant (or as much as possible).
LMAO WAIT only at the end I realised I totally forgot about Byakuran LOL the last chapter was enough I guess? I'll remember him for the next chap xD
(I really tried for this chapter to be a little more angsty but I got a writer's block and I don't want to drag this any longer, so...)
Please please stay for the epilogue (the next next chapter) it's super important and sweet. Reborn becomes an adult again and they're finally going to be together!!!
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Omake
Tsuna: (≖ω≖) Reborn's just upset that he's smaller than me.
Me: *slides a coffin* RIP Tsuna.
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第一最好不相见，如此便可不相恋。
第二最好不相知，如此便可不相思。
The whole poem is called 《十诫诗》I think, there's like no official English translation at all, not even the title but it's read as Shi Jie Shi or Shi Jie poem? ... Ok, the one above was my own amateur translation. Google has other translations but hmmmm...
I know it's not accurate but that's how I interpreted the poem lol so screw the other translations HAHA that's why I can't major in translation...