Ten years later.

{Millefiore main base, ???}

Knock Knock

"Come in." a raven-haired man called out.

Opening the door, a tall white-haired male was, revealed. Purple meets purple as the two men stared intently at each other, searching for something within the other's gaze. A sense of familiarity, for one, acknowledgment for the other.

Finally, the tattooed male broke into a smile. "Yucca-nii-chan!" he beamed. "It's great, to have you back, I missed you!" he declared, engulfing the older male in an embrace.

Yucca hummed, an adoring look adorning his face as he gently patted his brother's head. "Yeah, me too. Although I was always here you know?" he confessed bashfully.

The younger boy nodded his head absentmindedly, not, really listening to his brother who shook his head in defeat.

"Anyway, Ran-chan, what can I help you with?" Yucca inquired as he detached himself from his brother's embrace to ruffle his spiky white locks lovingly.

Ran purred, enjoying the feeling of his brother, ruffling his hair. "Well, I have a favor to ask of you," he began. "or of him for all it matters," Ran muttered, his voice dripping with hate and disgust.

"Don't be so hard on him, Ran-chan." Yucca tried to reason, his voice coaxing, "I owe him my life after all."

Ran huffed, clearly annoyed by his older brother's point of view. To him, instead of "saving" his brother, this man took Yucca away from him. Because of him, instead of seeing his brother whenever he wanted, he had to deal with this pitiful copy most of the time. Ran frowned, his mood turning sour as he began to focus on that man.

Mentally shaking his head, Ran pouted. "Don't talk about him, brother. I don't like it," he whined childishly. "You should only focus on me when I'm here."

"Sure thing, Ran-sama." Yucca chuckled, sitting on the room's couch and patting his lap. His eyes full of unhidden obsession as he looked at his brother.

Ran complied, smiling, to his silent request and laid his head on his brother's lap. Extending his hand up to his brother's head, Ran played with his brother's raven locks.

"You should dye them," he stated absentmindedly, earning him a low hum from the older man. "You would look better if you dyed them in white, back," he confessed, trying to convince the other.

Yucca laughed, not answering his brother who sighed in defeat.

"So," Yucca called out, ending their bonding time. "what did you want to ask us?" he asked, tilting his head childishly to the right.

Ran who was pouting, suddenly had a gigantic grin adorning his face. Sitting up, he faced his brother. "Nothing serious," he stated, "just something I want to check."

Yucca hummed, "Why so?"

"A hunch!"

Yucca chuckled, affectionately ruffling the younger's white locks. "Sure then, how could I ever refuse my dearest little brother?"

Ran beamed at the positive reply, standing up, he took his brother's hand into his, dragging him outside of the room. "Come, we'll call Sho-chan!" he declared.

::

{Melone base, Japan}

Two days later.

Shoichi stood in his office, his thoughts complicated. Yucca's presence wasn't part of their plan. With his apparition, things were bound to get complicated.

Thinking, Shoichi didn't notice the shadow approaching behind him.

"Irie-san?" a voice suddenly called out from behind him. Startled by the sudden apparition, the redhead turned around a gun in hand, ready to shoot at the intruder.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, realizing the other's identity. "I'm so so sorry uhm..." his voice trailed off, not knowing how to address the man in front of him.

"Aster..." the raven head whispered. "Ran calls me Aster. It doesn't matter though. What you call me." he stated disinterestedly.

"I-I see... then I'll apologize in advance for jumbling your names up in the future Aster-sama." Shoichi confided, bowing.

'Aster' gave a somewhat sad smile, "Yeah, we don't mind."

Looking around, Koro observed the Melone base's central cube. He didn't know who thought of making the Melone base a "living" base, as its form could change whenever, but he had to admit this idea was pure genius. The one who managed to execute de idea was even more impressive.

Standing not too far from the two men were the Cervello. Koro gave them a small nod in acknowledgment before once again facing the sun guardian.

"Ran must have told you," he started, casting a small but heavy glance at the redhead he continued. "the reason for our visit."

Shoichi nodded, pushing his glasses back. Aster was unnerving, his gaze was. It made one feel remorseful, guilty. His gaze was, filled with something indescribable. It wasn't an all-knowing look. On the contrary, it was the look of someone who didn't want to comprehend anything else but was bound- forced to know more. It was a tired look.

Aster, to Shoichi at least, at this moment appeared to be a dead man.

Seeing the other male nod, Koro gave a small smile. Reaching out to his belt with his left gloved hand, he took hold of a completely black ceramic mask. The mask covered his whole face, only leaving an opening for the eyes. On its left cheek, a small golden crescent moon could be, seen.

Making sure his mask was in place, Koro slightly bowed his head in Shoichi's direction before making his way out of the room and the base.

"I'm going out for a 'walk'" he called out, making Irie slightly tense at the insinuation. "I'll be back by tonight, probably." Koro paused for a moment, halting at the doorstep, he turned around. "Prepare a room for us, I'll report to Ran tomorrow."

With these parting words, Koro went out of the room. Leaving, a helpless Shoichi behind.

::

{Namimori's suburb, Japan}

Silently jumping from tree to tree, Koro made his way through the forest. Today, Aster was going to visit an old "friend." One he wasn't particularly close to but who he appreciated nevertheless.

On his way there, he came across a few Strau Mosca. Each raised their arms when they felt his presence, only to put them down when they identified him.

As he came closer to his destination, Koro's progression got slower and slower. Why hurry when someone was probably already there? It wouldn't be good for him to meet one of their "enemies."

Silently jumping down the tree, Koro began to, calmly walk. Making himself as small and insignificant as possible to lessen the chances of his whereabouts getting found.

::

Tsuna didn't know how, but after getting hit by what seemed to be the Ten Year Bazooka, he found himself waking up in a coffin. His coffin to be precise.

At the moment, Tsuna was panicking. Why was he in a coffin? Was he dead? What were his death's circumstances? So, on and so forth.

Fortunately for him. He wasn't alone, standing in front of him was a flustered ten years older Gokudera Hayato. The silver head wore a black suit with a red shirt and held a small black case. Tsuna could tell at a glance that his friend was immensely tired. His Hyper Intuition was buzzing, telling him something wasn't right in this timeline.

How he wished his intuition was wrong.

Gokudera was warning him. Telling him who to eliminate as soon as he was back to his, own timeline. All these information received as once and the unknown situation he found his older self in, didn't help Tsuna's confused state.

"If it wasn't for people like him, Byaku-" Gokudera interrupted his speech, suddenly standing up to reach behind his back where Tsuna guessed, he hid his weapons. "Who's there!" he shouted, adopting a defensive stance. His green eyes darted from right to left, up and down not leaving an inch of their surrounding forest unscanned.

"Stay behind me Boss," he ordered not turning back. "this time, this time I'll protect you!"

Tsuna was confused, he, hadn't felt anything. Focusing on the unknown forest, he searched for a presence.

A masked man emerged from the shadow. He wore a black trench coat, no insignia or any particular symbols were, seen. Only a small crescent moon on the mask's left cheek could be distinguished.

To Tsuna, the man was a stranger. Never in the past had he met someone wearing this type of mask. Strangely, he also felt a sense of familiarity in the stranger's aura. As if he met him before, but at the same time didn't. It was a strange feeling Tsunayoshi found himself unable to describe.

Kind of similar to when Mukuro would possess another body, but different. For Instance, he didn't feel Mukuro's presence in the man but another. And the presence he felt, although it was familiar to one he knew, it didn't seem complete. As if only a piece of the man's soul was, left in the body. No, saying this piece of soul was controlling the body instead of the whole would have been more precise.

Faced with, the stranger, Tsuna's hyper intuition didn't buzz. Looking up at his friend's older counterpart, Tsuna waited for his reaction. Was the man friend or foe? Only Gokudera could tell him at the moment.

"You-" Hayato shouted when he saw the masked man, both, stared at each other. But before Hayato could utter another word, pink smoke engulfed him. Tsuna's Hayato had taken the older version's spot.

Startled by the sudden appearance, Tsuna suddenly jumped out of the coffin. He still didn't know whether the man was their ally or not, and Gokudera's ignorance of the situation didn't help.

"Wha- Tenth!" Gokudera exclaimed when he saw the silent man in front of him. Trying to stand protectively before his boss, he took out his dynamites ready to attack.

But, before he could, the stranger took his black mask off. Gently shaking his head, the man ruffled his black locks. With his left, gloved hand he gently adjusted his mask at his belt.

The two teens widened their eyes in surprise.

"Y-you!" Hayato exclaimed pointing his finger at the raven head.

"Y-yucca?" Tsunayoshi asked no one in particular.

'Yucca' hummed in agreement, smiling. "Although I knew you would come sooner or later, I didn't expect to be the second one to meet you, Decimo," he stated, his voice calm and devoid of any tiredness or alertness the older Gokudera may have had. "You too Hayato," he said nodding in the said male's direction.

Standing in front of them was the older version of the Varia's cloud guardian. What was he doing here? They didn't know. Did he come to attack them? Probably not, otherwise they would be long dead.

Looking around him, Koro rested his gaze on the two teens for a second before turning around. "Come," he said as he started to walk deeper into the forest. "I'll lead you to your 'escort.'"

Tsunayoshi and Hayato looked at each other, confusion evident in their eyes.

The small party of three walked for a few minutes in calm and somewhat comfortable silence, to Koro at lest. None of the two teenagers asked any questions, not sure how to speak with the older male. It was their stomachs' grumbling that broke the awkward atmosphere.

Koro came to a halt, looking at the two boys with wide eyes, a small laugh escaped his lips. He had almost forgotten the two kids had maybe not eaten and weren't grown adults anymore.

"We'll take a break," he stated, sitting down. "I don't have a lot to eat though. I hope you like cereal bars," he asked with a wry smile.

"Ah, wait!" Gokudera said, suddenly remembering the plastic bag he had brought from the past. "I have Yatsuhashi!"

With this, the three males ate. Feeling a bit more confident after witnessing Yucca's gentler side, Tsunayoshi decided to speak up and ask the question he had wanted to ask the older Gokudera. At the same moment, Hayato began to rummage the case the older him carried.

"Um, Yucca-san," Tsunayoshi started hesitantly. "what exactly happened here, in the future?"

Koro halted his chewing for a second before swallowing it all. "Well, you have remarked how you have yet to be, sent back to the 'past' I presume."

Tsunayoshi nodded, he didn't like the turn things had taken.

"That's because the current Vongola needs the younger Vongola who still possess those rings to fight for them," he stated calmly, briefly glancing at the youngsters' rings. "As for, the reason..." he trailed off, pensive. "You could say, it's because most of the Vongola has been, annihilated I guess." Koro shrugged. Not too sure of what he was saying himself.

A heavy silence fell upon Tsunayoshi and Gokudera who had started to listen to the two's conversation.

Standing up, Koro dusted his pants. "There," he said, throwing a small black badge for Tsuna to catch. "this should help you survive the night," he stated, completely detached.

Tsuna looked at the uniform badge for a few seconds, not registering Koro's words. "Wait!" he said his head shooting up, as he understood the hidden meaning behind Koro's words.

"Don't worry your escort will be here soon," he stated, taking his mask and securing it over his face. "Until next time, Decimo, Hayato." with these parting words, Koro disappeared into the forest leaving only a badge behind him.

Tsuna looked at the badge for a few seconds, his thoughts confused. Yucca helped them, that's for sure, but he also abandoned them in the middle of unknown territory. Deep inside his mind, Tsuna's hyper intuition told him Yucca wasn't as "simple" as he was in the past.

Before he could even start to ponder on the question, a caped stranger attacked them. They fired what seemed to be, rockets at the two teens. In an attempt to dodge, Tsuna dived left, letting go of the badge in his hand in the process.

The memento Yucca left behind turned into dust.

Here's the promised chapter, the beginning of the future arc! Yay!

To make things clear, Yucca/Koro wasn't sent to the future, so everything that happens is his future self's actions. The headache in the previous chapter is him receiving the memories. You could say Future arc in kind of a long description of Yucca/Koro's vision.

Also, who here guessed that Byakuran was "Ran-chan," Yucca's little brother? I left tons of hints but maybe they weren't clear enough, I wonder...

Thanks for reading, until next time^^

PS: Things may be a bit confusing for now, don't be afraid to ask questions!