Chapter 42

"Will I die, then?"

"No, you won't. You'd need more time holding it and as you will soon give it to Luce, it won't cause too much harm, but it will still affect you."

"Will this help them? I mean, if Kawahira-san gave it to me it means it will help them, right?"

"I don't know what goes through the head of that man. I just know that without something stabilizing you, you will go vegetative."

"… 'Something' stabilizing me? You mean harmonizing."

Daemon pulls a bowl of ramen from nowhere and pushes it in front of him. "I haven't said anything."

"You're not denying it, either," he murmurs, but he's distracted. The food smells nice and he's just realizing how hungry he is. He'll have to make some food for Dimtr when he returns back.

"I did tell you you had a deadline to meet. Luce will soon become the Sky arcobaleno and then she will harmonize with your 'friends'. I don't think you would like that."

He doesn't, actually. Something primal inside him is telling him 'they're mine'. Or at least, about the ones he's met so far.

"If I harmonized with them now, I could—could use the jars." He stands up, ramen forgotten in the sudden epiphany he had before coming here. "The problem in the future was that Yuni hadn't harmonized with the arcobaleno, but if I did it then…"

"A sound plan. Bravo." Tsuna turns around quickly. Daemon looks bored with a hand resting on his chin but he's also wearing a dark smile. "And what will you tell them? 'I've to harmonize with you and then leave you to suffer Discordance on top of being cursed. You just have to wait thirty years'"

And just like that, Tsuna deflates.

"Do you have the heart to leave your Guardians?" He puts his hand to his mouth, feigning mocking surprise. "Wait. You do! That's what you did!"

Tsuna's flames suddenly lits up. He grabs the collar of Daemon's apron and pulls him closer.

"Shut up," he hisses. Mamoru, who's awoken by his flames, slithers around his neck, growing larger as she opens her jaws wide to look more threatening. "You might know about pain, but what do you know about sacrifice?"

Daemon snarls back at him. "And would a kid like you know?"

Tsuna thinks of the cold inside him, gnawing his insides. How he can't sleep well without a flame active by his side. He thinks of his friends, young and not so innocent anymore; of his mom, sweet and clueless.

His grip loosens when he thinks of his current friends, Zaid, Chiara, and the guys from the bar; of the people he was thinking of condemning for a second: Renato, Fong, Dimtr, Mona. They all have dreams and ambitions and he can't—he can't do it.

"Did you have another epiphany, Tsunayoshi-kun?"

Tsuna looks up and meets his odd-colored eyes. "I won't go back to the future," he whispers though he's sure he's been heard with how close they're.

"Oh?"

"I won't go back to the future," he repeats, firmer. "I couldn't do that to them. I'll change the future. They won't suffer discordance. I'll release their curse as soon as they're cursed. I'll talk to Talbot and—"

"What about your friends?"

He swallows thickly as he lets him go, Mamoru settling back around his neck. "They will live without the pains of my past. I'll make sure of it. They'll stay innocent."

Daemon pulls back his apron in place with a huff. "Perhaps you do know of sacrifice, then."

"Shut up," Tsuna says, but it's half-hearted at best. He looks back at his half-finished bowl of ramen and finds himself without appetite. "I'll have to tell them."

"I would recommend you talk to the shaman first. Luce knows more about the future and what it can or can't be done."

"You know where she is?"

"No, but I know where she'll be. The Vongola Ball is known to attract many Skies. Maybe a talk with Ottavia will do you good, too. She knows a lot about the past, after all."

It pains him when Daemon is right. "I'll talk to them first, then."

"You do that. And look at the positive side of things, at least you won't be giving great news as a Christmas present."

"I don't need your sarcasm, Daemon." He yawns as he caresses Mamoru with a hand. "But yeah, I get it. After Christmas."

"Smart of you. Oh. And before I forget, here."

With a click of his fingers, a box appears next to the bowl of ramen. Tsuna is righteously cautious, but he still opens it, slowly and as if he were touching a bomb instead of a black box.

He opens it and finds a suit. It's all black with only an orange tie to light it up. He doesn't take it out of the box, but he's sure it'll fit him perfectly. His intuition agrees with him, too.

"Did you obtain my size while I was sleeping, he wants to ask, what he says instead is, "Thanks."

He'll still need a mask, but that's easier to obtain, here in Italy. A bit expensive though.

As if reading his thoughts, Daemon clicks his fingers again and a mask appears from thin air. It's orange and unlike the many models from Venezia he's seen. It's a hannya type of mask, a not-so-scary one. It doesn't have the usual smile, instead it looks as the mouth is simply open, with two large fangs protruding from the upper lip, with smaller one coming from the lower lip. The horns are not so big, but they're gold like the fangs. Small designs covers the forehead in black. It's simple but smooth to the touch and surprisingly light.

"Thanks Deamon," he repeats, with an honest smile.

"Just progress on your mission so I can be free, Tsunayoshi."

Those words remind him of something. He slowly looks up. "Can you tell me everything you know about harmonization."

"Harmonization?"

"Yeah, especially between to people who hadn't formed an initial bond."

He hums. "I can do that. I'll need a favor though."

Great.