Sawada Tsunayoshi, otherwise known as Tsuna to those familiar with him, was a healthy man of twenty-one though his stature sometimes had people wondering if that were true. Currently, the man could not help but stare at the sight before him in clear disdain and annoyance. Once again, he was faced with an inordinate amount of paperwork stacked in neat high piles, with even more placed on the once clear coffee table. How in the world could his empty desk have transformed to such a monstrosity? He had only gone out to eat a small snack, a mere fifteen minutes! There was no way that this was humanly possible.

After another minute of staring, he let out a heavy sigh and went to his seat. Well, there went any ideas of having a relaxing afternoon all to himself. Tsunayoshi fell into his chair with a small thump and began the tedious task of reading, sorting, and signing papers. Seriously, he would not have agreed to this had he known that there would be so much paper work.

The amount was ridiculous. But why paper work you may ask? Well, it turns out that he was the lucky holder of the highest position of a greatly renowned business corporation. This company was otherwise known as the Vongola. With this elevation of status, were multitudes of responsibilities like overseeing business transactions and an avalanche of paper work.

The paperwork, by itself, usually left him tied to his desk for hours. Between that and regular meetings with his men and business partners, Tsunayoshi rarely had any time to himself. Sometimes, he was completely booked to the wee hours of dawn. This was definitely not how he envisioned his life of mediocrity to be.

He could not help but scoff as he signed a reimbursement form. Who was he kidding? This was probably as close to mediocrity as it was going to get. Hell, he was lucky that he was even alive. The corporation aspect was just a guise, a facade that hid a more sinister side that the business also partook in: the Mafia. Through a series of rather twisted luck, Tsunayoshi had been pronounced as the Tenth generational leader of the Vongola.

By no means was the mafia a make-believe fairy tale that parents told to scare children at night. It was every bit real and just as dangerous. Over the years of adolescence, he had paid dearly, learning just how treacherous it could be. Thankfully or luckily, he had the mentoring of his tutor, the infamous Arcobaleno, Reborn to get through most of it.

There were many things in those years that he had done that many would have deemed impossible and unbelievable. He had traveled to the future to protect the world from utter demise, defeating a Mafia family that had nearly annihilated the world. He also possessed the ability to use the dying-will flames. These flames were not something to be trifled as they had the capacity of causing massively destructive damage. The ability of the flame was greatly feared and admired by in battle, a tide turner in many fights. Suffice to say, he was not the only one with the coveted ability. His seven guardians, as well as many of his acquaintances possessed the skill as well.

Looking at the papers before him, Tsuna let out another sigh, wistfully thinking back to the beginning, before things got out of hand. He had remembered when they were all just students; where the most worrisome things were tests and getting the next assignment done. Back then, they simply enjoyed the daily routine of going to school and hanging out, peaceful and carefree.

However as time passed, he, as well as all of his friends, became further entrenched in the mafia. It was particularly after their trek to the future that he could say that they had all changed, less naive and innocent. They had a firsthand taste of reality and violence; the idea of dying lingered closely behind them.

Even though they returned home victorious, many had a hard time readjusting; especially the girls. He knew that even though they had tried very hard to hide it, the excursion left a deep mark. Kyoko no longer smiled as much as she used to while Haru seemed to become less talkative and more introspective. It was not noticeable to their family and friends, but he could see it when they thought no one was looking. It always made him guilty.

Though he tried to talk to them about it, they would simple brush it off and tell him not to worry. Through the rest of the school years, the two girls were constantly together. During that time, they were joined by Chrome as well. More than once, he had seen the three go off together into a café and, as they got older, to the bars. But they would never tell what they spoke of.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a flying projectile heading straight to his head. It was purely out of reflex that he caught the object, an apple. Tsunayoshi raised his brow before turning to the culprit who stood at the doorway, Reborn.

"You know, that could have knocked me out." admonished the brunette with a mild glare. He placed the fruit onto the cluttered table and stretched, "Though that would probably have gotten me at least a hour of extra sleep."

"A shame you caught it," said Reborn smirking at the male's train of thought, "Next time, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsunayoshi could only roll his eyes at the infant. The two had gone a long way together, creating a bond solely based on trust and belief in one another. Granted, the road to achieving this point was filled with plenty of protest and more explosions than Tsuna could possibly count. However, the brunette would be a fool to say that he had not learned a great deal from the Arcobaleno.

"Get back to work. The papers aren't going to finish themselves," ordered the hit-man. And with a quick flick, aimed a pen at the young man who winced in pain at the impact, "We do not need day dreamers."

The infant then grabbed a file from the coffee table and seated himself on a sofa, browsing through the information.

Tsunayoshi glared at him before reluctantly going back to his paperwork. "It never ends," muttered the brunette in annoyance. He already gone through a fourth of the monster of a heap, but it looked as if it hadn't lessened a bit. The brunette bit back the urge to use some swears he heard from Gokudera, his storm guardian.

However, he knew better than to say them in front of Reborn. Who knew what would happen? He, for one, did not care to find out. In the end, the two sat in a comfortable silence that was broken only by the quiet shuffling of paper and the scribbling of a pen. After a couple more reports, Tsuna was interrupted by the sound of a chuckle. That did not bode well.

He looked up from the papers and observed Reborn, who had pulled up another file to read, "The two that you sent to China are coming back."

"Already?" groaned the Vongola in annoyance, "I thought it would have kept them busy for at least another week!"

Reborn put down the report and began stroking Leon, "You, of all people, should know better than that, given their reputation with each other. I'm surprised that there were only so little casualties."

Tsuna rolled his eyes at the comment before taking a bite out of the neglected apple, "It sounds like they were probably concentrating on trying to kill each other than on the mission."

"You're at fault for pairing the two together."

"I had no choice, it had to be Mukuro and Hibari or else I would have needed to send the Var-"

The door banged open, revealing two preteens, Lambo and I-pin.

"TSUNA-NII!" shouted Lambo with an ecstatic grin as he held a rather upgrade bazooka in hand, "Giannini made new modifications!"

"Lambo! They're busy right now!" cried I-Pin. She tried to grab and drag Lambo out, much to the boy's dismay. "No! I want to show this to Tsuna-nii."

In his fight to get out of I-Pins clutches, the boy accidentally pulled the trigger causing a shot aimed directly at Tsuna. Upon impact, a great burst of blue smoke erupted, leaving the occupants in the room coughing. As Reborn cleared the smog around him, he could not help but feel a sense of foreboding, something was not right. He quickly moved to where the Vongola Boss had sat, only to find the seat was empty of the man. Clearly this was not just a trek to the future. Just where did the brunette get sent to? The hitman cursed quietly before turning to the two kids.

"Where's the weapon?" he asked angrily. Lambo and I-pin traded fearful looks before pointing at the altered bazooka on the ground. As Reborn moved to pick it up, the item began to crumble into pieces. What in the world was going on?

"What's going on? We heard an explosion." asked Gokudera from the door way trying to clear away the smoke that still lingered in the room. Behind him were Yamamoto and Ryohei. They had just returned from a small meeting with another family. Having heard the sound of a tell-tale bazooka, the three came to check.

"The idiot cow fired the new weapon," muttered Reborn, his facial expression covered by his hat, "It hit Tsuna."

Gokudera frowned, "So we just wait five minutes and he'll be back right?" Reborn did not reply. Yamamoto and Ryohei traded worried looks.

Suddenly Giannini came running in looking extremely panicked "Lambo, where is the bazooka I gave you? I need it back. That wasn't the one you were supposed to get. That one was a prototype!"

Reborn turned towards Giannini, "Where does it send the person?"

Giannini frowned worriedly before replying "The settings were not made yet. I don't know."

Meanwhile, the missing brunette was taking a rather wary look at his surroundings. Something was off about the place he current was in, really off. Though he was sure that he was still in Italy, many of the shops looked unfamiliar and rather old. After but a moment of hesitation he began walking, melding into the crowd of people.

At least he did not have to think about paper work for five minutes. He might look around and relax. He still held his apple which was only partially eaten and took another bite. As he walked, he began to notice that the people around him wore a style of clothing that was similar his time yet it seemed different for some reason. Their appearance and facial expressions were also more concealed and cautious, as if expecting trouble to jump out to get them.

Ignoring the knot that was forming in his stomach, he took another bite out of his apple. Everything will turn out fine. He had only two more minutes of walking before it was time to return. It was when he noticed something on a bench that made him pause, a discarded newspaper. He looked around; nobody was claiming it.

His curiosity got the better of him as he sat on the bench and took a look brief look at the front page. Upon what was written, he gaped; the apple he held fell out of his hand with a solid thump. He was not in the future.

He was in the past.

Hello, this story still has no plot so it will take time to develop. :T However, I hope you will enjoy it as it comes into place. Feel free to comment and critique as you please.

(Don't hold rights to actual manga or anime) Edit, 2012