[video/action @ metropolis district]

[reluctant10th]

Well, this is certainly a surprise.

[Not without a certain bazooka. Except, five minutes have long passed. There was no sign of Lambo in the park he was currently exploring.

Definitely not the bazooka's doing. Unless it was broken again. In that case, he should find a certain cow-print pajama wearing kid.

For all of those who know a certain failboat

Comments

[voice]

[caligisti]

Punctuality has yet to become a virtue of yours.

[voice]

[cielo_infinito]

One of the many things I still have to work on, I suppose.

My apologies for being late.

[video]

[caligisti]

[ the bare truth is that mukuro has been hoping for this. call it intuition, if not one so specific as that of the Vongola, but he had a keen suspicion that, were he to supply adequate details about the younger Tsunayoshi's future (cryptic hints, never more), then the piquing of curiosity combined with Splendor's more unusual tendencies --

well, well. what does a man do next when a guess becomes a living and breathing reality? when one long dead is returned to life? a breakdown of illusions, that's what you may call it (so mukuro categorizes), and mukuro shifts the seal to video. ]

Better late than never, Vongola Decimo.

[cielo_infinito]

[Well, he elder Tsunayoshi is now here though whether or not this Tsunayoshi is the one from your world remains to be seen. How long this one will take the place of his younger self is also up to the whims of the city. What will you do now, Mukuro?]

Certainly.

EDITS FOREVER

[caligisti]

[ what does Mukuro always do? test the boundaries, limitations, and breaking points of any situation with which he's been presented, that's what. with his own goals firmly in mind (even if no one but him can be certain of what those are), he acts accordingly.

a meeting in the flesh will be necessary, in all likelihood, and a more thorough sharing of information between -- (grudging, mukuro still deems) associates -- but right this minute, it is enough to begin figuring out the minutiae related to the timeline from which this tsuna hails. ]

And looking healthy, I see. [ expression calm, if with a sardonic shine to the eyes. ] I must admit I'm pleased by this, Sawada Tsunayoshi, for I've no offering of flowers at hand.

my poor inbox

[cielo_infinito]

Much better than I previously looked, I hope.

[Smiles a little. He's a bit of both, really. He shares some of the memories of your world and that of the version that lived here. A bit headache inducing, really]

Flowers were never necessary, I assure you.

B)

[caligisti]

You never did appreciate my gift of a bouquet.

[ regarding tsuna.

and, spoken stoically: ]

I can't fault you, can I? [ a small laugh. ] The dead are generally known for their thanklessness.

[cielo_infinito]

I'm sorry. I would have appreciated them if I could but...

[watching Mukuro carefully, a little chagrined but]

I don't think I ever received them.

[caligisti]

[ do you suppose mukuro did indeed place flowers on that grave?

even illusory ones, vanishing like morning mist with none around to believe in their existence, save Chrome? (but she, too, had vanished with the passing of time) maybe he did, and maybe he didn't. dead men tell no tales. "corpse" to corpse; it's our little secret. ]

My packages have a tendency to become lost in the mail. [ -- except when there's sakura involved, apparently. ] I would have made my offering in the flesh, to be certain, but as you may be aware, I've found myself uncharacteristically preoccupied, of late.

[cielo_infinito]

[But there wasn't a grave, not really. Just a black coffin in the middle of forest. No grave to leave flowers for, no flowers to be left]

You should try fixing that and make sure they don't get lost so easily.

[Ah]

Well, there wasn't much of a place for you to make an offering to, regardless.

[caligisti]

Is that so?

[ it's an almost surreal quietness that follows.

there's no laughter from mukuro, and only the barest wraith of a smile, one which never laces the eyes. a stretched silence, as if a decade of circumstances are sliding soundlessly down an unseen drain. ]

Never underestimate my ability to make due with what I'm given.

[reluctant10th]

Yes.

[Tsuna's smile takes on a concerned quality - he'll never stop worrying about those he considers friend and family - but the warmth in it doesn't dim, as if to make up for Mukuro's smile that is never really a happy one. So much has happened, so much Tsuna has to piece together again. He has the memories of his younger self but...it's not quite enough]

I wont. I should know better than to do that.

[caligisti]

[ hell will freeze over before Mukuro will open up any more than he already has, but if Tsuna is meant to be the leader of Vongola, it's his duty to think for himself, even with those who are less than easy to read. ]

Doubtless you've not taken a visit north in recent times.

[ but you know what's changed. of that, mukuro is certain. ]

[cielo_infinito]

That would have been a bit of a difficult task, considering my former state.

[and Mukuro, of course, is correct]

[caligisti]

Ah, yes. How could it have slipped my mind? [ side glance! ] My apologies for that. Mobility is of the highest value.

[cielo_infinito]

Perhaps I should think of a way around that but--

[smile]

There wouldn't be a next time for it, I should think.