Drawbacks of a mind that remembers

Star Guardian

Timoteo walked down the portrait hall again, to check on Primo's painting—His intuition had been urging him to look at it. It may not be as strong as Tsuna's, but it was still dependable.

Talbot trailed behind him, hobbling on his walking cane. The man had been residing in the mansion ever since Reborn told him about the new colour blotches on the portrait.

With quick steps, he reached the first generation's painting and gasped.

In the empty space on the left stood a man with long dark blue hair, back facing the front, with his head angled to face the artist. His eyes were a deep shade of blue too, like his hair. He even wore dark blue clothes, as if it was his colour coding.

It was obvious who this man was to Talbot.

"My oh my," the old man mused. He moved closer to the portrait and touched the wall. He was quiet for a moment before dipping his head. "So that's what's happening..."

Timoteo looked at the elder with a lifted eyebrow. "What's going on, Talbot?"

The metal craftsman's usual grin fell off his face as he turned to Timoteo. Even though the older man was blind, Timoteo could feel his gaze on him. He never knew how the man navigated his way around, nor did he know why he needed to cover his eyes. He could feel the intensity of the stare.

The old man turned back to the painting. His wrinkled fingers closed tightly into a fist above his chest, nails digging into his skin. His work to hide the two guardians had started to erode. The underground world will soon know the existence of these flames and they will be highly sought after. History could repeat itself.

Talbot simply told Timoteo. "It's time for the night skies to settle over the day. It's been way too bright."

~KHR~

Timoteo contacted Reborn after he returned to his hotel and told him what he saw. He also sent an image to back his claim, knowing how sceptical the hitman could be at times. 

Reborn sighed. He knew what Timoteo was implying. There was no need for words to be said. The Vongola head wanted him to pass the news to his heir.

Pulling on his jacket, Reborn slinked out into the shadows of the dark and navigated to Tsuna's place. With his skills, he unlocked the door with minimal sound and crept to his ex-student's room. 

"What's it, Reborn? It's late."

Of course, the brunet had to be awoken by his intuition. 

Throwing nearly all decorum out of the window, Reborn entered Tsuna's room and made space for himself on the floor. Tsuna yawned, finding himself unable to return to sleep with how loud his head was now, and sat up, slouched. 

"So why are you here, Reborn? I doubt you've come to disturb my sleep for no reason."

Reborn clicked his tongue. He can disrupt his student's sleep for all that he cares. Regardless, he had to put his original purpose for being there first.

"One of the hidden guardian's features are now revealed in the portrait."

That woke the brunet entirely. His eyebrows shot to his fringe. "What?"

Reborn transformed Leon into his cellphone and showed Tsuna what he meant. True enough, a figure stood on the far left of the portrait. It was a familiar man with long dark blue hair. One that he saw for a split second before the image disappeared for good. 

"Him!"

"What about him?"

Tsuna scratched his head, trying to convey what he meant at a go, like how Reborn prefered. "B-Back then, when Kudo-kun left, I saw him in his place. He was bloodied, his eyes were closed as he shuddered in cold. As if he returned from a dangerous mission."

Aku.

"My name is Aku. A Detective."

Tsuna's eyes turned orange, and tips of his hair turned blond–like back when they were against the Corvino years ago. He fell into a trance as a memory hit him like a truck.

Silver eyes glared at him. "Where the hell did you send my brother, Gio?"

"TELL ME!"

"TSUNA!"

Reborn slapped him across his cheek, effectively snapping the boy out of his trance. Tsuna cradled his stinging cheek and sighed gratefully. 

The hitman sighed. After spending two years tutoring him, Reborn knew when Tsuna had those episodes, even though they did not happen for a while now. It was bound to restart, with two new guardians coming in. He watched quietly as the blond faded back to the original colour.

Reborn pulled his face in a tired motion. It was the golden week, but there was no other reason for the two to stay awake any longer. He had done his part, Tsuna now knows what he needs to know. 

"Go to sleep, Dame-Tsuna. We can continue later."

Sleep came for Reborn but it missed Tsuna entirely. The brunet was up all night, thinking back to what he saw–a memory from the past. Someone with silvery grey eyes was shouting at him in fury. It was pure anger and no one was holding him back. Normally, G would be nearby, but for this...

It was like he was being yelled at all alone. 

Before his alarm rang, he was already out of his bed, cleaning up in the bathroom to prepare for the day. He had made plans to meet with G and Ugetsu after Shinichi left. Previously, he thought he would spend a week with his cousin, but it was not even a day later that he had to say his goodbyes. To say he was disappointed was an understatement, but that was an emergency only his family knew how to handle.

He could remember the time when he held Shinichi's hand. The boy was so cold, it was like he was dumped in cold ice. He wondered if the older boy was fine now and fought the urge to call.

When the urges won, Tsuna picked up his house phone and dialled for the Kudo household.

Ring... ring... ring... click. "Hello, this is Kudo Yusaku speaking."

"Uncle! Good morning! This is Tsuna."

"Tsuna-kun, what a surprise! Why have you called?"

The brunet had an inkling idea that Yusaku knew why he called. "How is Shinichi-san? Is he feeling better?"

"Thanks for checking in. He's better now, but we won't be able to come back now. Doctor's orders."

Tsuna heaves a sigh of relief, comforted by the fact that his cousin is fine. "Is it possible if I come over to visit?"

There was a pause.

"...No, it's not. Shinichi has a lot of catch up regarding school, so I believe it's best not to contact him now."

Something about Yusaku's tone struck Tsuna weird. He was not lying, but clearly, the older man was hiding something. A chill ran down the brunet's spine at the thought of Yusaku lying so easily to family.

"I really want to check on Shinichi-san though. Ever since that day, his condition has been weighing on my mind-"

"Sorry, Tsunayoshi, I really cannot allow you to come over. I'm sure you have assignments over the holidays, and I know how busy business courses can be."

"How did you–"

There was a chuckle from the other side. "There were business drafts on your table, and there was a school stamp at the bottom right of each title covers. In addition, your laptop was on."

Tsuna thought back to when the Kudo couple arrived. It was true that he was working on his papers before they came.

"You're very observant, uncle."

"It comes with the job. Well then, I have to go now. Good day, Tsuna-kun."

"But–"

The cold beep of a disconnected call looped continuously.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I was struggling with a chapter-one of the explanation chapters. I'm good now, thank you all for reading!