[fic] The Forgotten Time chapter 21

[metamorcy1]

Title: The Forgotten Time
Author: Metamorcy1 or Metamorcy on ff.net (me)
Pairing: Main is R27 RebornxTsuna there is Arcobaleno27, X27 and others
Summary: An incident with the 10-year bazooka leaves Tsuna stuck in the past... What's he gonna to do?
Rating: R/NC17
Warning: Two chapters of adult-content but the rest are PG13


Important note to all my readers: After this chapter, this story will be put on hold due to the fact that I need to finish writing the future chapters. Any future chapters that come out will be very slow. But once I finish getting the future chapters done, the updates will start going back to normal. Also, Timeless will be on a very very long hold due since someone decided to piss me off with a comment.

Another note, I've started a long Fong27 story named 'Ardor', its a little depressing but it'll get better along the way. Its also 'M' rated *winkwink*

By the way, someone PM'd this to me, but do you think I'm the starter of getting R27 big on fanfiction? Any other pairings that I might be included? I know she also mentioned Fong27 too.

"There is no refuge from memory and remorse in this world. The spirits of our foolish deeds haunt us, with or without repentance." Gilbert Parker

Chapter 21: Heed

Saying that Reborn was angry was an understatement. He was furious and was out for blood. Never in his long life did he think Tsuna would ever respond back to him like that. It was just so… so… Reborn cursed colorfully, he had no word for it at all. But he couldn't hide his murderous thoughts on the boy. He so wanted to strangle the teen for what he had the nerves to say.

Tsuna had defended Skull! Skull of all people!

Reborn couldn't wrap his mind around it. Why? And why that idiot of all people? He didn't know nor understand the strangeness of this whole mess. He had a funny feeling bubbling in his stomach since the beginning of the kidnapping yet he couldn't put his finger on it. Trying to get something from Verde was close to impossible but he was absolutely positive that the scientist had a good idea on what the hell was going on. Regardless, even getting Verde just to say a couple of words were too risky and there was no telling if the other would even tell the truth. The green-haired arcobaleno loved to twist his words. Still, the thought of Tsuna and Verde working together made Reborn shiver and his blood run cold. He didn't like it at all.

But what could he do? Verde was now Tsuna's ally, a miracle in the making he'd have to admit, and the scientist had every right to see his student. Not that he was happy about it. Of course, there was to be some protection whenever the two met up but he wasn't sure if that would really help. Verde was someone who was dangerous on his own. How Tsuna trust could such a person, he didn't understand.

And he had once more tried to get information from Tsuna, almost every day now, but yet again that didn't work. As usual, Tsuna kept his mouth shut and eventually remained like that. Reborn kept an eye out as usual to keep watch just in case something happened to slip. Still, even with all that, Reborn's curiosity about the whole thing continued to grow enormously. He knew that there was something going on and he was desperate to find out.

Anyways, back to Skull. He was still angry that Tsuna would dare protect that bumbling idiot. Yet, he didn't know what to say about the whole thing. Why would Tsuna defend Skull? It didn't make any sense. Now that he was thinking about it, Tsuna seemed more… more mature than usual. The teen seemed older, yet that wasn't possible. Reborn knew that, but the thought didn't leave his mind.

The changes had started only a few weeks ago, and it wasn't noticeable, he had barely registered the shift, and had simply put it into the back of his mind never to think much of it again. But now, he was seeing it, the truth.

But what could he do? There was nothing he could at this time. So he would just have to sit back and wait. He only hoped that everything would turn out all right.

Skull feared Verde for many reasons. The green-haired scientist was creepy and quite often scared the shit out of him. Searching for him was the last thing Skull wanted to do, but for the sake of Tsuna, his request, and to find out what the hell was going on, the cloud Arcobaleno had to do it. Though, his legs were still shaking at each step.

Traveling through the forest he had gone through during the rescue, he came up to the old base that had been destroyed by Verde. The remains were still there, the smoke gone, and some moss and grass were starting to grow over the destruction.

There was a hint of rotting flesh in the air, the corpses of the buried soldiers still there. It had been tragic to lose that many lives at once, even more for Vongola's team, and everyone shared the same sorrow. It had been a flash through that period, screams and yells ringing in his mind, and Tsuna was just standing behind the group staring dully.

Shaking his head to get rid of those memories, Skull noticed that it was oddly quiet in the area, as there were no birds singing and no bugs buzzing around. One would think that the scent of flesh in the air would bring all the predators down for a feast and yet it was empty and voided of life.

He only hoped that this would work since he wasn't even sure if Verde was still in this area. Calling out, he closed his eyes. "U-Umm… V-Verde! A-Are you still here? T-Tsuna sent me!" There was no answer to his call and he opened his eyes to see nothing as well. Maybe Verde was no longer here. Despite that, he continued to call out. "He said that I should find you. I have something important to tell you. S-Something about memories!"

Just as he finished speaking, the ground below him shifted and he jumped back immediately. He cowered behind a broken metal board and watched as the grass was pulled back with a platform underneath it rising up. Verde appeared, standing quietly on the metal sheet, and stared at the cloud Arcobaleno intensely with a smug grin.

"So I take it that you finally remembered the truth as well?" The green-haired scientist smirked, a certain glint appearing in his eyes.

Skull could only nod his head, gulping at the strange look he was given.

"I see. Come in. Quickly, I must have you tell me what you know." Verde reached forward, grabbing Skull's arm, and dragged him onto the same platform. There was a shift and the two disappeared underneath the ground.

School was considered normal to Tsuna, it was just day in and day out. A routine that never really changed at all. He could even predict what would happen for the entire day. It was that boring and easy… Well, easy in a sense that he could predict what he'd be getting. Still, regardless of this, even after a few of weeks, he still felt out of place with the rest of his classmates. He felt different. And no, it wasn't because of the fact that he lost his virginity. No, it was because he saw things differently. He didn't see the world around him how he used to. His intuition helped him greatly in getting around and doing the right things. Tsuna knew he was depending on it more and more and putting his complete trust in it. It seemed funny but it worked for him.

When school ended, Tsuna was given a surprise, one he definitely didn't expect at all. He hadn't even seen the person for a couple of weeks already and in all honesty, he had almost completely forgotten about her.

"Chrome?"

His two guardians next to him were both staring at the female illusionist and immediately formed a guard in front of him. Gokudera yelled a few insults towards her, which she looked unaffected by, while Yamamoto just stood there laughing but Tsuna could tell that he was tense about her appearance. They still hadn't gotten over the incident yet.

"Um…Boss? Could I talk to you for a minute?" Chrome stepped closer, still behind the school gates, and held her bag closely to her body. She looked nervous and tended to stare at the ground for a moment or two before looking back up then down again. Some students passed by her, curious as to why there was a girl from a different school here, then left without saying a thing. It wasn't their problem. Some stopped for a moment, all boys, to stare at her revealing school uniform.

Tsuna blinked, ignoring everyone around him except for his one of his two mist guardians. "Well, sure. Right now?"

The girl nodded her head, tightening her grasp on her bag. "I need to talk to you alone." Her eyes drifted to the two guardians next to the brunet and blinked when they suddenly took a step forward in defiance. Chrome didn't look scared and continued to look ahead through that one eye.

Noticing the act from his friends as well, Tsuna smiled reassuringly at the two and stepped away, going to Chrome's side. "Guys, I'll be right back. Don't worry. Chrome won't do anything to me."

"Jyudaime, it's not that woman I'm worried about! It's that bastard that hiding behind her!" Gokudera growled, tempted to pull out his box weapons or his dynamite. "I bet she's just following orders from that asshole to get you alone!"

Tsuna sighed, he loved Gokudera's loyalty towards him, but this was too much. Sure he knew that his storm guardian's worry was obvious and he knew why. Mukuro wasn't someone he trusted all that much either and yet his intuition told him otherwise. The events of the future only made that feeling stronger. He wanted to see where this might go and he did want to know how Mukuro has been. It was just like with Verde and Xanxus in the past.

Now he had to follow what those whispers inside his head were telling him that was obviously leading him somewhere. Stepping forward again, he turned to his friends, still keeping his smile on. "Look, you two. I'm going regardless. Chrome is one of my guardians and so is Mukuro despite where he stands. If you like, head to my place and wait there for me. I'll be back, I promise."

That seemed to do the trick as the two went off leaving Tsuna all alone with his female mist guardian. The brunet sighed and turned towards Chrome, leading her off, away from the school and the numerous eyes that were staring. He was certain that there will be rumors spreading around like a wildfire by the time he got back to school tomorrow. As they got further away, Tsuna dropped his smile and stopped moving to peer directly at the girl.

"So, Mukuro, how long are you going to keep that act up?"

Immediately after he spoke those words, mist surrounded the female and a familiar laughter echoed within the area. "Oya, oya, I never thought that you would willingly come out to see me. And by yourself too." Mukuro appeared through the mist as it settled and then faded away. He was holding onto nothing and gave a leer with his usual wicked grin. His multi-colored eyes stared at the other with a calculating look. Stepping closer, Mukuro invaded Tsuna's personal bubble and stared straight into the honey-colored eyes curiously.

Tsuna backed away by instinct, not really liking the other so close. It made him uncomfortable.

"Hmm…" Mukuro tilted his head, looking the brunet over. "You've changed greatly, Sawada Tsunayoshi. You don't appear as…weak as before. If I had to say, it's quite…sudden." Shifting closer once more, the illusionist smirked, his eyes watching as the other took the same number of steps back at the same time.

"I don't know wha-"

"Don't play coy with me. I've been watching you, always. Though I'll admit, I like this change, however, it has sparked my curiosity. I want to know what happened. And I have a feeling that it has something to do with the Arcobaleno." As Mukuro spoke, Tsuna noticed that their surrounding area was shifting as if they were encased by a bubble. People that walked into it never noticed that they were in the middle of an illusion. Mukuro studied the other carefully. Normally, the sky guardian would be freaking out right about now but the brunet looked calm, relaxed even. Tsuna, on the other hand, was doing the same thing as Mukuro, observing the blue-haired teen. He could tell that Mukuro was curious, curious enough that he could risk his energy just to talk to him.

"Well, I can't exactly tell you that. Anyone can hear us after all." Tsuna backed further up, tempted to reach into his school bag to grab his fighting equipment. But he kept hesitating, did he really want to hurt Mukuro?

"Don't lie to me, Sawa-"

"Tsuna." Cutting in, the brunet stood still, watching the other carefully. "Or at least call me Tsunayoshi. What's with people and calling me by my full name or Vongola? I don't like it."

"Don't switch the topic, Tsunayoshi." Mukuro couldn't help but roll his eyes, folding his arms and shook his head. "I know you know exactly what happened to you and that you know very well that we're inside one of my illusions. No one can get in without me knowing. That pet Arcobaleno of yours won't be able to break in that easily either." Mukuro reached forward and grabbed the sky guardian's arm, yanking him closer. They began walking once more, moving quietly down the street. Some people passed by them but the two were unnoticed even though normally Mukuro would stand out quite well among a crowd due to his looks and hair color. That and he was holding Tsuna a little too close to his body.

"Mukuro, have you been watching me all this time? How much do you know?" Tsuna still didn't feel threatened despite how dangerous the other was and allowed the close contact. And as long as they weren't seen, he didn't mind all that much. His eyes peered up at the other in curiosity. Was Mukuro also questioning the kidnapping as well? Tsuna thought it would have stopped by now.

"Enough to understand that something has been going on and that I want to know what it is."

"I see… You're not going to tell anyone else are you?"

Mukuro huffed at that, yanking himself closer. "Who's there to tell? I only have my small group and if I told anyone else, do you think they would believe me?"

The brunet couldn't help but laugh at that. It was true. No one would really listen. It was well known among everyone he knew that his family members weren't comfortable with Mukuro. And some even openly hated him, like Gokudera. But Tsuna didn't. Sure, they had plenty of dislikes and whatnot, but he never hated the other. That feeling only grew stronger when he found out about Mukuro's past. "That's true. No one would. Probably not even Reborn either."

"That Arcobaleno despises me. He wants nothing more than to lock me away forever and never allow me to get anywhere near you." He gave his usual laughter before continuing. "He's afraid that I'll be a dangerous element to you."

Tsuna smiled, Reborn has always been overprotective of him, many times from the very beginning of their strained relationship of tutor and student. Is it possible that despite forgetting about their time together in the past, Reborn's mind unconsciously came towards him? "But you're not."

That comment made Mukuro pause into his place, his feet freezing against the ground, staring down at the small teen. His grasp tightened and for a moment, the illusion around him flickered.

"I have a feeling that…you're on my side and that the whole body possession thing is just a rouse now. Perhaps it wasn't in the beginning when we first met but now…now, it's something different." Tsuna, realizing quickly that Mukuro has stopped, pushed the other forward, keeping them walking. "I can tell, you can't hide a thing from me that easily anymore. Over my little trip, I've learned that anything my intuition tells me will always be right." They continued to walk and Tsuna knew they were heading towards the buses where Mukuro, or well Chrome, could catch a ride back home. "I'll tell you all about what happened. It'll probably be best if you did know. You see, it-"

"Well, I'm afraid that you'll have to tell me at a later date." Mukuro cut in, his voice trying to hide the disappointment and anger of being forced to leave. "Your pet Arcobaleno is coming after you. I guess I'll have to come by another time. Shame, I was so hoping to get some information."

Tsuna's eyes widened at that, glancing around for the hitman but saw no sight of him. Was Reborn hiding like usual?

"Kufufu, and since you're so willing to tell me what happened to you, perhaps I'll give you some information that you might like to know. Varia is coming here. They're currently finishing up a job for the Ninth before staying here in Namimori for a few days. Apparently, Belphegor wants to eat sushi at Yamamoto's restaurant. He seemed to have enjoyed it last time during the Arcobaleno trials." Mukuro huffed, folding his arms and pulled away from the brunet. Mist started to gather around him. "I'll come back at a later time, until then, bye bye Tsunayoshi."

And he was gone, leaving Chrome in his place. The female illusionist blinked her large eye and peered at Tsuna, hugging her bag closer to her body. "Boss…"

"Everything is fine but I'll need to talk to him again later on. Are you going to be okay? I mean, heading home by yourself?" They were a few feet from the station when they stopped. Chrome gave a nod before she ran off, wanting to catch the present bus before it left, while Tsuna stood at the entrance of the station for a few moments to watch the bus leave.

Turning around, he began his track home, well aware of the eyes that were now watching him from afar. He tried not to shiver, but in the end, he couldn't help it. As he got to the next street, he sighed, not entirely sure on how long Reborn was going to watch and follow him but he didn't say anything to call the other out. He didn't say anything at all and allowed the hitman to stay behind him.

I'm currently desperate to get rid of my things on my sale page since I had used a lot of my money to help further my little scanning of doujinshi. If any of you have anything to spare, check out my things here

Also, as stated above, I'm scanning doujin like G27, 6927, and lots more, you can check it out here However, to view these scans you must be a registered user of Livejournal and be friends with me. To get a quicker responce from me on LJ, leave a comment that you're this username from fanfiction.

I also have set up a Q&A page here so that people can ask me questions. Like updates or future stories or if I enjoy certain pairings. But I'm generally bored so you can ask me almost anything you want and I'll try my best to answer it.

Thanks for reading!