Disclaimer: I don't own KHR

Betaed by Dremagon & OriksGaming

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It was a cacophonous din around him. Sounds pounded on top of one another, making it impossible to distinguish one from another. Everything was so dark. A soul sucking, all consuming, tangible darkness that seemed to weigh in on him. For a moment, he thought that he was blind. Then, from the corner of his eye, there was a movement, a flash of gold, a thread of reflected orange color. Immediately, he turned, rushing off in the direction in which the colors, the one bit of light, had disappeared.

His heart beat rapidly, his chest restricted in barely restrained panic. Thoughts and conjectures flashed across the front of his mind as he worked furiously to figure out what was going on. The last thing he could consciously remember was dozing off while doing his paper work, but that didn't explain…

It was too noisy- unbearably and skull piercingly noisy. The sounds felt like they were ricocheting around inside his skull and he couldn't think. He couldn't concentrate!

Stop screeching! He shouted mentally, clutching his head, struggling to keep his mind clear against the deafening blare of unintelligible sounds.

Something cool gently wrapped itself around his right palm and pulled his hand forwards a moment after.

"Mukuro? Is that you?" Tsuna asked uncertainly, scrunching up his brow. "Mukuro, if this is your illusion, I don't think it's a bit amusing! Get out of my dream!"

The darkness engulfing everything might have left him as good as blind, but Tsuna could sense something familiar in the presence of whoever was pulling him along. The grip was kind enough and he couldn't sense any hostility, so he didn't resist.

However, all of his questions seemed to fall on deaf ears, much to his growing irritation. His frustration began to peak and he was all ready to yank his hand back and refuse to move until this person that was dragging him along gave him a proper explanation as to what was going on. But just before he could do so, he was distracted by a crack in the darkness.

It was just a small one at first, a small discrepancy in the endless void. Then it began to spread. The cracks branched out, snaking across the darkness. Each was significantly larger and wider, forcing their way open. Rays of light muscled their way through, heading in his direction.

Tsuna didn't even realize that the cool sensation had left his hand. Instead, he was brought out of his shock momentarily when he felt a soft touch on his forehead, as though someone had pressed a kiss there.

"This time, please live a happy, normal life, my beloved descendant," a velvety voice whispered gently, dissipating in the ocean of noises before it could reach Tsuna's ears.

"What-" he gasped, right before the darkness shattered and he was consumed by brilliant white light.

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"We're very sorry Ma'am, but as you can see, he's gone."

"No! NO! My son, my son isn't, isn't…Please, please save him! Doctor, I'm begging you, please...He's my son, PLEASE!"

The sounds were the first thing to fade into his consciousness. His eyelids were heavy and it was slow work pushing them open. Nothing but an expanse of white met his vision when his lids finally peeled back. His entire body was stiff. Every inch of his being felt out of use and begged to be stretched. The cacophony of noises were gone, leaving only the steady beeping of a machine to his right. Tsuna had been in enough hospital rooms in his time to wager a guess as to where he was.

Something in his peripheral vision moved, and he heard a high-pitched voice cry out to him.

"TSUNA! You're…You're alive! Oh my Goodness, you're alive!"

He was taken aback at the sight of two slender arms wrapping around his neck and tugging him back on the blanket beneath.

"…Mom?" His voice was husky, as though he hadn't used his vocal cords for a long time. Why was he even in the hospital to begin with? And why was his mother here? Where was everyone? Tsuna shook his head, still trying to work through the fog in his mind.

"Why am I here, mom?" he asked, putting his thoughts into words. "Where is everyone?"

But his mom didn't answer him. She only cried harder instead. Her grip on his shoulders tightened as if she was trying to squeeze him to death and didn't intend to let go even after that.

Beside him, the man in the white coat was gaping, eyes wide. "Impossible- this is truly impossible!"

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To be completely honest, Tsuna was neither pessimistic nor optimistic. He walked through life balancing on a line between the two.

His motto: Always find a good side in bad situation but prepare for worse.

Not the worst, because he had learned a long time ago, through copious amounts of pain and stress, that there was no such thing in his life. The world seemed to enjoy finding new, inventive ways to screw him over just so it could laugh at his misery. So he really shouldn't have been very surprised or terrified to discover that somehow he had not only been stuck in a parallel world but also trapped in the body of another him who had just committed suicide. Right?

Nope. The twists of fate could still shock him, whether he was a twenty three year old Mafia Boss or a near-death teenager.

I must have done something really terrible in a previous life, Tsuna thought belatedly. Maybe I murdered a god or something? He sighed loudly, feeling more restless than ever.

It had been only about a week and he was already absolutely exhausted and bored out of his mind.

He had been made to go through a variety of various tests which had been performed by a bunch of devils disguised as doctors who muttered technical nonsense to each other all the while. The doctors tried to hide the odd gleam in their eyes when they looked at him, but Tsuna was far too familiar with that look to miss it. He had become intimately familiar with seeing it in a certain sadistic tutor of his and a certain maniacal scientist. Both always seemed to have that same glint in their eyes whenever their evil minds bloomed with evil schemes and the prospect of being experimented on by people like that... No, he didn't want to be a guinea pig at all, much less theirs, thank you very much.

Tsuna was completely surprised when he was able to persuade his mom to get him out of the hospital as soon as possible…

…Only to realize why as he walked through the door of some therapist named Nezu; the man was very insistent that he suffered from OCD and depression. He had then proceeded to launch into a full on monologue about the beauty of life, sympathy, passion, love, etc, etc…Seriously, there had to be something wrong with the man. He was even worse than Hayato was with his overly complicated teaching methods! More than once, his fatigue and irritation had almost caused him to snap back in his therapist's face- almost caused him to tell the man in no uncertain terms what he really thought about his words and methods. Luckily, Tsuna had managed to hold himself back. After all, dealing with meaningless words was far easier than being thrown in a psychiatric hospital for his other self's attempted suicide. And if all these things helped to assuage his mother's concerns, then they were worth it.

Rolling over the edge of his bed, Tsuna carefully lifted his left arm. Much to his dismay, he still felt a jolt of pain shoot down his body. A groan escaped his mouth and he breathed harshly for a minute as his arm throbbed painfully and the burning feeling intensified. Snatching some painkillers from the brown bag next to him, Tsuna quickly gulped down two of the pills without water. It was difficult swallowing them dry, but he managed- he didn't have the patience to find a drink anyways, not with his arm throbbing as it was.

A few moments later, he slowly and carefully laid down again, face making contact with the soft pillow beneath him. Shifting his body slightly to get into a more comfortable position, he stared thoughtfully at his left arm. The bandage wrapped around his wrist was stained with blood, begging to be replaced. He did have twenty-some-odd stitches in his left arm after all.

Just my rotten luck… Tsuna thought dejectedly.

There were a handful of scars scattered all over his upper arm, no doubt from his other self's past. These pale pink marks told him much more than anyone else could about 'his' life, but he just couldn't bring himself to dig any further.

Because it wasn't his life. He didn't think he should interfere with it. He could just end up making more trouble.

All he wished for was to be able to return to his world, to see his family again.

They must be worried about me, he thought. Surely, they would be searching for some way to come and get him. So, why did he have a feeling that it would never happen? Was this terrifying premonition coming from his fear or…his intuition?

Trembling a little, Tsuna immediately shut his eyes, his head burrowing deeper into the pillow. I miss you guys. I really, really miss you…

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"Tsuna, do you want to go back to school tomorrow?" His mother asked over the dinner table, grabbing his attention immediately.

Tsuna looked up from the pasta on his plate, his expression giving nothing away. He watched as his mother started to fidget on her seat under his gaze. She was clearly anxious; she was trying to hide it, but failing. Even so, his mother's strange attitude wasn't as important as the subject that she'd brought up.

"School?" He repeated uncertainly, putting his fork down next to his plate.

"Yes, school! I-I think it's time for you to go back to school. It's your first year in high school after all- surely you don't want to miss out on too much. A-and you have to keep up with your classmates, right?" Again, his mother avoided his eyes. She tried to sound excited, but Tsuna could tell that it wasn't genuine. "I know your wound isn't fully healed yet, but you're a fast healer. The doctor said so! A-and don't you want to see your friends again after such a long time? I'm sure they've missed you so much!"

Now Tsuna actually quirked an eyebrow at this. Friends, huh?... He recalled the last few days and couldn't remember getting a single phone call, let alone somebody paying 'him' a visit at all. So either 'his' so called friends had coincidentally been too busy to even remember 'him' or 'he' hadn't had any in the first place. Sadly, the latter was much more likely. And here his mother was, telling him that he had friends, people who would miss his absence.

It confirmed some of his suspicions though. 'His' mother hadn't been close with her son. He could see the guilt in her eyes whenever she thought that he wasn't watching her. And her caring behavior seemed forced, as if she wasn't used to showing this type of affection and concern.

Nevertheless, he responded with a quick nod, "You're right, Mom." He noted how his mother's eyes lit up at that answer and swore he heard a relieved sigh slipping past her lips. You don't want your son to be around that much, mother? Tsuna thought, before abandoning his meal, having completely lost his appetite.

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Despite the outwardly stoic expression he wore on the outside, Tsuna found his stomach flipping up in nervousness and anticipation as he took his very first step through the gate of Namimori High School. It was all just so strange to him! Truth be told, he had never actually had a chance to attend high school.

Tsuna could, however, still recall the day after his graduation from middle school. He had flown straight to Italy and from then on his days had been full of training and preparing for the inheritance ceremony. Even after officially claiming the title of Vongola Decimo, he hardly had any time to think about anything but his Family and how to avoid the endless paperwork at any cost.

There had been no point in enrolling him in high school. He wouldn't have learned anything but mundane subjects there, and Reborn could teach him any of those. There was nothing that he could learn there that would be practical in the criminal underworld. Time was an important factor as well. In terms of necessity, meeting with potential allies was more important than sitting in some boring class, doing nothing but staring out the window at clouds in the sky and counting down the seconds until the bell. It couldn't compare to his job as Vongola Decimo at all. It was time consuming, but well worth the effort when he was with the ones he loved, who he knew loved him back.

Overall, it was… weird to think that he would be going back to a place which held no memories or emotions for him.

Fifteen and a half minutes later, Tsuna couldn't even bring himself to be surprised with the situation anymore. It wasn't like it was rare for all of his hopes to be shattered into pieces. That had happened many times before, under many circumstances. Honestly, he should have seen this coming, considering all the signs that he'd been seeing for the last few days. Still, he felt sadness and, strangely enough, a little nostalgia...

It only took a quick look at 'his' desk for Tsuna to see how dirty it was, with ink-like spots and messy script scribbled and scratched across its surface. The most prominent one was in the center. The word "LOSER" was difficult to miss, written in big letters and highlighted as it was. He could hear faint noises in the vicinity- some mumbling, some sneers, but mostly snickers. Behind him, the voice of his homeroom teacher called out impatiently. "Tsuna, the class is beginning. Quickly take your seat now!"

Tsuna suppressed the urge to roll his eyes upward, before turning back and said slowly lest his words be deemed harsh and inappropriate, "I'm sorry, sensei, but my desk is vandalized all over. May I take another one, please?"

The said teacher disregarded him with a scowl, "How many times do I have to hear the same thing from you? I've already told you to keep an eye out for your belongings; is it that you didn't hear me or is it that your little brain just can't understand it? Now, take your seat!" The teacher grumbled something under his breath that sounded like "stupid" and "trouble," which prompted more snickers from some of his classmates.

But not in the area where Tsuna was currently standing. For some reason, the students all around him trembled slightly as a chill washed over them. It was as if the temperature in the room had dropped several degrees all of a sudden. Only when a certain brunette sat down quietly did the strange feeling gradually disappear, though it was still enough to make everyone's hair stand up on the back of their necks.

So much for first impressions, Tsuna thought bitterly, trying very hard to keep his anger at bay.

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At the sight of four boys surrounding him, each looking insufferably smug, Tsuna couldn't help but wonder whether it was his face that drew bullies to him like flies to honey- did it just scream "Perfect victim?" Or was it some other damn part of him that was flashing a neon sign reading, "Hey! I'm weak! Please come and bully me!" Because, really, a simple walk to go back to class wasn't supposed to be difficult, right? Apparently it was for him.

After the ringing of the bell signaled that the lunch break was beginning, he had succeed in finding a half-hidden bench next to a thick green bush where he could enjoy his bento. Tsuna had picked the place because it looked private and unused, but it looked like he was more popular than he thought….

On his way back to his classroom, he had been accosted by his bullies, again, and shoved to a vacant classroom.

Tsuna scanned the room, desperately searching for a safe escape route. He found none. The bullies were blocking the only way out, and Tsuna highly doubted that they would be willing to just let him walk right past them. Once again, he felt uncomfortable in his currently weak state. While his intuition was still fully active, his body was untrained and too slow to respond as it should have, so he'd had no way to avoid being shoved into the empty classroom.

"Well, well…If it isn't the biggest loser in our school…or our century. Right, Dame-Tsuna?"

"Indeed. It's good to see you again, Shorty. I've really missed your wallet and your beating sessions ... OUCH!"

One of the boys doubled over from the force of Tsuna's sudden, rough kick. His plan was simple: knock down one and while the others were in shock, quickly rush to the door and escape the perilous situation.

At the end of step one, Tsuna looked in satisfaction at the stunned faces of his bullies and how they gaped at him like goldfish. Surprise factor rocks!

However, step one was the easy part. Step two, escaping at all costs, was where his plan failed him. As he put part two into action Tsuna soon realized that he had neglected to account for a very important factor- his infamous clumsiness! At the last minute his own legs betrayed him and Tsuna tripped over his own feet, falling to the floor. He let out a yelp as he registered the pain, clenching his teeth tightly. His injured arm was the most painful, especially where the wound was.

He heard derisive laughs coming from behind him and sucked in a sharp breath as he was pulled up by his hair. He automatically angled his head a bit to lessen the pain and catch sight of his attacker.

It was the one he had kicked. Shit.

"Now, somebody must be feeling gutsy today. But Dame-Tsuna will forever be Dame-Tsuna. Tripping over his feet? Wow, how stupid can you get!"

"Hey, wrist-slit freak, are you dead?"

He couldn't tell who said that, because his attention was solely on the bastard whose hand was pinning him down at the moment.

How dare he? No one deserves to be treated like this! Damn it to hell, I will not let this to happen to me again, not now! A growl slipped out of his mouth as his barely controlled anger flared.

"Don't touch me," he said icily.

His face was calm, he wasn't shaking with anger, and his eyebrows weren't even furrowed. But he suddenly looked so threatening, even in his current position, that the boy on top of him began to feel extremely uneasy. When the boy looked into his eyes, the image of honey-orbs mixed with a blazing shade of orange made him shudder for reasons he couldn't quite understand. Tsuna didn't need to be outwardly angry; the fury behind his eyes was enough to make the boy want to shrink into a corner and disappear.

The pressure on his back vanished as the boy quickly moved away, retracting his hand. Tsuna sat up instantly and was about to stand when another voice cut in.

"Whoa, whoa. What happened? You can't handle this pathetic failure? You gotta be kidding me!"

"Ignore him," the third boy chimed in, "We can have all the fun!"

Tsuna managed to dodge the first punch thrown at him, barely, but with attacks coming from so many angles at once, he had no choice but to curl up in defense. The assault didn't stop, and gradually he lost consciousness.

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When he opened his eyes again, he found himself staring at a familiar white ceiling and his mother sleeping by his bedside. Oh crap.

He sat up reluctantly; the pain in his chest bothered him a bit.

I look like a mummy, Tsuna sniffed with dry humor as he saw more bandages wrapping around his arms and touched the band-aid on his cheek. Well, he thought, at least I don't have a broken rib this time.

His mother still slept peacefully, not stirring, despite all the noise he'd made. She must be very tired, Tsuna thought, hand reaching out to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye. The moist liquid lingered stubbornly on his fingertip, as though it was trying to linger on his heart as well.

A sudden feeling of guilt assaulted him, left him no room to even breathe properly.

He shouldn't be here.

He shouldn't be the one who received all 'his' mother's love while her rightful son had had none. He didn't know why, but he was completely sure that the Tsuna of this world hadn't received any.

Tsuna stared through the open window. The sky was falling into dusk now, the fiery hue of the sun fading behind the city. The sunset painted everything red, casting long shadows behind the tall buildings. For some reason, his chest tightened at the sight. His mind slowly drifted to the thought of his Family. The more he dwelled on it, the lonelier he felt. Over the past years, he had completely forgotten what it felt like to be completely alone.

His life had changed so much since his first encounter with Reborn.

But this Tsuna had never had a chance like his.

Even having been 'him' for only a short time, he knew that 'his' life was hell. People pushed 'him' around and made fun of 'him'. People disregarded 'him,' greeting him with cold shoulders, cruel words, and malicious intentions. 'He' had no friends, and his only family, 'his' Mom, had only started to show affection to 'him' after the suicide attempt. But by then, it was too late. 'He' had disappeared, replaced by a stranger.

Him.

He had to wonder why he was here of all places. He wanted to think that there was a real reason and that it wasn't just a twisted turn of Fate. Maybe now he had finally found that reason.

To make 'his' life better.

Then, he could surely go back home, couldn't he?

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Edited on Nov 18, 2016 by OriksGaming