The Night Sky

Chapter 2: Night and Day

"Ugh...my he..ad..."

A lone onyx eye blinked open and stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling. The brunet shot up quickly, grunting in pain when his head and arm throbbed. He glanced down at his arm and sighed when he saw the metal gleaming there--his fake arm was present as usual.

Vindice-Tsuna studied the IV that was injected into his flesh arm with bemusement, remembering the void that he was in when he was talking to his alternate self. He then raised a hand up to his head, feeling bandages wrapped firmly over his useless eye.

"...The bandages are new..." He muttered to himself. "...Did my plan work...?"

"What plan?"

V whipped his head around to his left and--

"HIIIIIEEEEE!?"

V fell off of the infirmary bed he was on, yelping in pain when his back met solidly with the ground below.

"Wow," A familiar yet unfamiliar voice drawled. "I haven't heard that screech in a long while."

V popped his head over the bed, black flames dancing along his body, ready to teleport as he looked at a certain hitman who was sitting on a stool, one leg over the other and an eyebrow raised with amusement, arms crossed over his chest.

"You must be an alternate version of my idiotic student."

V swallowed, sweat dripping down his cheek as he quickly pieced things together.

'Oh God. It's the other Reborn! Is he as sadistic as the other one? Oh no, oh no, oh no--!'

"You can calm the f**k down." Reborn cut through his thoughts. "Just get back on the bed and let's sort your thoughts out."

V stuttered an apology and quickly scrambled up to sit with his legs crossed on the bed. He kept his gaze lowered, obsidian eye staring at his hands in his lap as if they were the most interesting things in the world.

"Oi, look at me if we're going to talk to each other, Dame-Tsuna."

The brunet straightened his back and looked up quickly, his one obsidian eye wide with panic.

"P-Please don't shoot me, Reborn-san!" V quickly rushed out through scarred lips. "I-I'm sorry...it's just...it's...u-unusual. Th-this is the first time I've ever gone to alternate universes."

Reborn grunted, looking unimpressed before he turned his head to the side. Just then, the door to the infirmary creaked open. A silveret with equally silver eyes popped his head in, one tan hand on the doorknob while the other was holding a clipboard. He looked up from the papers on his clipboard and blinked at the wide-awake brunet on bed; the silveret grinned widely.

"You're EXTREMELY awake!"

V jolted at the loud voice, but he recognized it from a certain boxing teen he knew in his world...

"...S-Sasagawa-kun?" V stared in wonder at the adult-version of Takehito's friend. "I-Is that really you...?"

Ryoehi tilted his head curiously at the brunet, eyes flickering across V's face with concern. The silveret shut the door behind him and took a seat on the right side of the brunet's bed.

"Yes. I am Sasagawa Ryohei," He surprisingly softened his voice. "How are you feeling, Ot--Tsunayoshi?"

V opened and closed his mouth, still a little shocked at seeing an older Ryohei. Reborn then reached over to whack the brunet in the back of his head.

"Speak, idiot."

V rubbed his head, wincing before he nervously looked over at the silveret.

"Uh, I'm feeling f-fine...Sasagawa-kun..." The brunet then looked away to his metal, right arm, eyebrow furrowing. V then looked up at the silveret with a weak smile. "Er, this is a little urgent...but I must contact Gesso-kun. I-I still need to w-warn...well...myself about my world."