I lay there, half dead on the table. He didn't care, not one bit. The scientist that kept me in that wretched place didn't give a rat's ass if I died or not. It was all for his 'secret project' and I was only a test subject for it. What was I to him other than a guinea pig?It was a couple minutes later when I saw three, blurry figures. One was very small, almost like a baby, and the others were very tall. I tried to scream for help, but my voice did not come. I wasn't even sure I was actually seeing these people or if it was another illusionary savior my sub-conscious had conjured up in my injured state. I could barely move, but I turned my head toward the figures and the scientist. It seemed something trying to grab him. The things finally caught him and wrapped themselves around his hands, but my vision was too blurred to make out any details. Two of them escorted the scientist away, one stayed behind. I saw one of the two who had the man that held me here beckon the small figure over to him. The small figure just stared at me. I'm either going to die here, or be free. This person will decide my fate, but really I couldn't care less... I just wanted to be done with this laboratory and the tests that it puts me through. The small one walked over to where I was laying.

I woke up with a scream. I've been having those nightmares haunt me ever since Papa Bermuda saved me from the lab, which was two years ago. Papa Bermuda was the one that saved me. He cared for me and treated me as his own daughter, despite him being a baby... Papa Bermuda says he wasn't always a baby though. He was put under a curse by an evil man named Checker Face. I don't like evil things... and I especially don't like the man that made my Papa turn into a baby.

Papa let me join the family called the Vindice, since I have a special type of flame in my body called the Dying Will Flame of Night.
This flame was the reason I was in that lab. I don't remember much of my childhood since I bounced from one abusive foster home to the next, and finally that horrible scientist. I do know my real name which is Felicta de Luca, but papa gave me a new name to match my new fate. I am now called Ami. I live in a town called Namimori located in Japan, which is very far from my home in Italy. Papa lives near the town so I can still visit him whenever I want! I don't go to school, but I've been talking to Papa about it and he says he'll think about it.

I got up from my bed and I turned on all the lights in the house. I decided to take a shower to get all the jitters and anxiety out of me. Even though I hate taking all the bandages off myself to get clean, I did it anyway. I have these bandages on my whole torso, my whole left arm, most of my right, and on my legs to hide my scars and burns from all the years in abuse. After I took a shower, I re-wrapped all of the bandages and put on my favorite shirt and shorts. I put my messy, blue hair into a pony tail, and I put on my only pair of boots and threw on a hoodie and went out of my apartment to go to the cake shop where I spent a lot of my time. I just adore sweets! I love all of them! Cake, ice cream, crepes, cookies, marshmallows... You name it! I eat it!

Once i got there, I got a slice of vanilla cake with strawberry icing and ate it outside on the patio sitting area. I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. "Lal-san? Is that you?" I turned around in confusion and saw that it was brunette girl,about the same age as me that had tapped me.

"My name is Felicta de Luca, not 'Lal'." I said to the girl. Papa Bermuda always said to use this name when talking to people. She was with two of her friends, one of them had orange hair and the other purple haired.

"Oh, sorry . You look a lot like one our friends. My name is Kyoko Sasegawa and these are my friends, Haru Miura and Chrome Dokuro," said the orange haired girl. "Would you like to join us? We bought some extra cake if you would like to share..."

"Sure," I said. I took the remnants of my cake and sat down with them. "Who is this 'Lal' you were talking about?"

"She is a very strict person who was my friend Tsuna-san's training tutor, she isn't anymore though," said the girl named Haru.

"Oh, I see. Does she look a lot like me?" I asked.

"Yes! She does! It's almost scary how much you two look alike, though Lal-san is a baby..." said Haru.

"I look like a baby? Interesting..." I said sarcastically. This sounded like Papa Bermuda... She was a baby would could train someone... Maybe she was part of the mafia too...

"Eek! No, I didn't mean it like that-"

"It's ok," I said.

"Lal-san is actually visiting Tsuna-kun right now. Would you like to meet her?" asked Kyoko.

"Sure," I said. "I want to meet my look-alike!"

We finished our cake and I followed them to their friend Tsuna's house. We walked in and we were greeted by a woman who I assumed to be his mom. "Oh! Haru-chan! Kyoko-chan! Chrome-chan! what a nice surprise! And who is this? I don't think I've met her before."

"This is Felicta de Luca. We met her at the cake shop and thought she's want to meet Lal-san. They look so much alike. We actually thought it was Lal-san!" said Kyoko.

"Oh really? That's nice! Why don't you all come in and I'll go tell Lal-san!" the mom walked away and we all took our shoes off and came inside.

It was a very chaotic house. There were two kids, (one that looked like a cow and the other was in a Chinese styled outfit) chasing each other. A baby with a suit and fedora was talking to a boy with very spiky hair and a kid with a scarf was pulling at spiky-hair's shirt. Another woman who was in the kitchen cooking... well at least I think she was cooking, it smelled horrible... A man was sleeping on the couch and two more babies were fist-fighting each other. The mother went over to the two babies and talked to them. She pointed at me and they both walked over to me. One of them had the same color blue as my hair and the other was blonde with a camouflage bandana around his forehead. The blue-haired one had dark brown eyes, like me. I guessed that this baby was the Lal-san Haru was talking about. "My name is Lal Mirch," she said.

"My name is Collonello, maggot!" said the blonde. This baby reminded me of the song Soldier Boy... The song immediately got stuck in my head.

"My name is Felicta de Luca." I shook hands with Lal and Collonello. "Wow! We really do look alike... It's almost scary."

"Yes, it is very strange..." she said. They both walked away.

"Well, I'll introduce you to everybody! Tsu-kun! Reborn-chan! Will you come over here for a second?" the mom said. The baby in the fedora and spiky-hair walked over to us.

"Reborn...? A baby? Is this THE Reborn?" I thought. Papa Bermuda tells me stories of babies like him who are very strong, the strongest in the world, he says. Reborn was probably the strongest of all of them, besides Papa of course!

"Lal Mirch?! Why are you a teenager? What happened to you?" asked spiky-hair.

"No, this is de Luca-san! She looks a lot like Lal-san so Haru-chan and the others brought her here to meet her!" said the mom.

"Oh... Sorry de Luca-san..." he said.

"This is Tsunayoshi Sawada, my son, and the baby with him is Reborn, his home-tutor!" she said.

"Hi boss," said Chrome.

"Hello Chrome-san!" he said.

There was something about this boy, Tsunayoshi Sawada... I couldn't put my finger on it, but something about him was special... But what? And why did Chrome say 'Boss'?

"Nice to meet you de Luca-san," said Reborn.

"You, too, Reborn-san!" I said. I smiled with excitement! I couldn't believe the real reborn was standing in front of me! I smiled down at him. He stared at me, confused.

"Hello, de Luca-san!" Tsuna said.

"Hi," I said. Reborn was still staring at me.

"Reborn, stop staring... It's rude!" Tsuna said to Reborn.

Reborn jumped up and hit him on the head with a giant mallet and said, "Be quiet, Loser Tsuna!"

"OW! That hurt!" Tsuna said.

"So, de Luca-san, where do you go to school? I don't think I've seen you at Namimori Middle School," said Tsuna.

"I don't go to school right now, but Papa Bermuda said I might be able to!" Oops... I accidentally said Papa Bermuda...

Reborn still stared at me, no longer in confusion though... It was anxiety... What did I do wrong?

"Ok... That's good I guess..." said Tsuna.

"Ok... Well I'd better be going... I have to run a couple of errands so... Bye! It was nice meeting you all!" I walked quickly towards the door and put on my boots and walked right out the door. I started running... "What if Papa Bermuda is found out?! It will all be my fault! No... I can't know for sure, but Reborn was definitely staring at me weird... Have we met before?" I thought. I ran straight back to my apartment. I had to tell Papa about this... I immediately warped to where he was staying. I ran to him and said, "Papa! I'm sorry!" I gasped for air.

"What? What happened?" Papa said.

"I met some people at the cake shop and they said I look like someone named Lal Mirch. I sat with them and then we went to their friend's house because she was staying with him. His name is Tsunayoshi Sawada and they introduced me to people named Collonello, Lal Mirch and Reborn! I think it was the Reborn you were telling me about! He kept on staring at me and then I accidentally said 'Papa Bermuda'! I'm so sorry Papa!"

Papa's eyes widened... I knew it, I screwed up big time... "Tsunayoshi Sawada? Is that what you said?" I nodded. "This might be a problem... Did Reborn say anything to you?"

"No, Papa. I ran out of the house saying I had errands to run and then I warped here!" I said.

"Well, I don't know anything for sure, but try not to run into him and Reborn for the next couple of days. You are free to go out, but do not, under any circumstances talk to Reborn or Tsunayoshi Sawada. I have something to do this week..." I noticed Papa had a big brief case with him, but he gave it Jager-kun and said something to him. "If it really is Tsunayoshi Sawada, we might be in trouble if he knows who I am..."

"Understood, Papa!" I fake saluted him. I walked up to him and I hugged him. "I'll be going now, Papa! Be safe!" I waved good bye to him as I warped back to the front my apartment.

I opened the door and saw Reborn standing on the kitchen counter. I froze in the middle of the kitchen. I stared at him and he starred at me. He smirked and pulled out a gun, pointed it at me and said, "Who are you and why are you in Namimori?"

I cursed in Italian. "What are you doing in my apartment?! Why don't you answer that!"

"No, I asked you first. This is the last time I will repeat this..." He cocked the gun and put his finger on the trigger. "Who are you and why are you in Namimori?"

I swallowed hard. "I'm not obligated to tell you anything..." I said. "You're probably bluffing!"

"Try me," he said. I heard a shot fire right beside my ear.

"I'm not telling you a thing!" I ran out the door and down the stairs. I heard a loud bang and felt I giant force knock me down in by legs. I screamed in pain and warped back to Bermuda instantly. "Papa! Papa! Reborn was at my apartment! I don't even know how he got there... He shot me... It was really scary!" I said.

Bermuda's face turned pale. He cursed to himself and ran over to me. "I got shot in my leg... It doesn't hurt yet, but I know it will soon..."

"Jager! Get a doctor right away!" Papa fumed. Jager-kun warped out and then back in with a man in Jager-kun's chains who looked very confused. Papa had on his bandages around his face so he wouldn't be recognized.

"Doctor Shamal, you have a patient," Jagger said.

The doctor named Shamal looked at him and said, "Why would you need me to treat one of you? You are the so-called gods of death... I only treat women anyway so you are asking the wrong doctor!" I could feel my wound starting to hurt.

"Papa, it's starting to hurt..." I said.

Dr. Shamal looked at me and said, "Is this my patient? OK! I'll get started right away!" He smiled creepily at me.

"Try anything funny, and you die!" said Papa Bermuda.

"Fine, fine!" he said.

I took off my boots and unwrapped part of my left leg's bandages so he could see the wound. "It's a bullet wound..." I could feel the pain growing more and more intense.

"Why did a pretty girl like you get shot in the leg?" asked the doctor.

"That doesn't matter, just treat the wound!" Papa said.

"Well, I'll need my medical equipment or we need to go to a hospital..." he said.

Papa sat on Jager-kun's shoulder and then got off. Jager-kun picked me up and put his hand on the doctor's shoulder. We warped to Namimori Hostpital. Jager-kun set me down and warped back to Papa. The pain in my leg was still growing; it was growing almost unbearable. Shamal put me onto a stretcher and wheeled me into an operating room. I was hooked up to many complicated-looking machines. I was given anesthesia and woke up in bed with my left leg suspended.

I looked around the room, my vision was still adjusting. I was still hooked up to the machines. I heard the consecutive beeps of the heart rate monitor. It was very clean, almost too clean. I looked around once more and saw a small figure sitting at the edge of my bed. "Papa!" I said. My vision adjusted fully. That was not Papa Bermuda... It was Reborn.

"Ciaosu!" he said.

I screamed. "Why does fate have to be such a sadist?! How did you find me? Why are you even here you little devil?!" I yelled at him.

"To finish our talk," he said.

"You call threatening me at gun point then shooting me in the leg a talk!?" I said to him. "Help! There is a sociopathic infant in my room who is trying to kill me!" I yelled.

Reborn pulled out his gun and shoved it in my mouth. "Stop talking so loud!" he said. He looked to see if anybody was coming. I was staring at him with the gun still in my mouth in fear. Just then, the pacifier around his neck started to glow. Papa Bermuda warped in the room.

"Baba!" (Papa!) I tried to say. Papa looked at me. He looked infuriated. Reborn got the gun from my mouth as Papa got out his chains. He chased Reborn around the room. Papa finally caught him around the neck and attempted to strangle Reborn with the chains.

"Bermuda! Stop!" Reborn said. Papa did not let the chains go. "Bermuda, please... Stop! Don't... kill me in front... of her!" Papa Bermuda cursed and let the chains go. Reborn gasped for air. "Let... huff huff... me explain... huff huff!"

"What is there to explain?! You shot my daughter and then shoved a gun in her mouth!" Papa raged.

"That was only to get her to cooperate-"

"Cooperate? You tried to kill her!"

"What's this about your daughter anyway? Who is she?" Reborn said changing the subject.

"She's my adopted daughter. Why do you ask?"

"Bermuda, why did you adopt someone like her?" I felt very offended by this.

"She was about to die in a laboratory and she already had the Flame of Night so I let her join! Do you have a problem with that?" Papa asked.

"She's a kid! The mafia is a dangerous world! She wouldn't last a minute in a real fight, my bullet in her leg proves that! I didn't even aim correctly!" Reborn argued.

"You don't know anything about what she's capable of! How could you? You only met her today and now your lecturing me about what I can and cannot do? What about Tsunayoshi Sawada and his guardians? Huh? They are just children too!"

"Tsuna and the family are more powerful than you realize... You should not underestimate them tomorrow." Tomorrow? What was happening tomorrow? What are they talking about?

"She isn't going to fight in the battle tomorrow! I have no intention of underestimating them. It seems you are underestimating me and my family as well!"

"Papa-"

"Not now, Ami!" Papa shouted at me.

"Ami... So that's your real name... Why did you introduce yourself with an alias?" Reborn said to me.

"Papa said-"

"That doesn't matter! I want you to leave Ami and myself alone. We have things we need to discuss. Please leave now," Papa said. "And don't bother her again."

Reborn looked very angry when he left. It was scary seeing Papa and Reborn-san that way. I had never seen him act like that.

"Papa... What battle were you talking about? How come I can't fight with you?"

"It's called the Representative Battle. Today is the second day in the battle. You aren't fighting in it and that's final. I will not let you become like me..." Papa said.

"Become like you? What? I don't get what you're saying..."

"If you fight in the battle and our team wins, you will become an Arcobaleno. That is out of the question. You are not fighting," he said sternly.

"Arco... what?" I asked.

"Remember how I said I was cursed to look like this by a man named Checker Face? Seven others were cursed and one partially cursed. We have been cursed to be like babies and protect these pacifiers. These babies are the strongest people in the world. But even though we are strong, it doesn't change the fact that we are humans and we will die, so when it gets close to the time when we die, Checker Face holds this battle to find the next generation of the Arcobalenos. Each Arcobaleno picks people to fight for them and if they win, Checker Face lied and said we would go back to our original state. This is nothing but a cruel hoax, a ruse! He just uses us to find the next generation. That is why you are not fighting. I do not want you to live a cursed life and die a cursed death. At the end of the battles, we all will die," Papa said.

"Papa? Your'e going to... die? No... No... There must be another way! You, Reborn-san and the others-"

"There is no other way, Ami. I will die at the end of these battles."

"Papa!" I started to cry. Papa Bermuda came up and hugged me, though it did not help. The tears kept coming and they had no stop in sight. "Papa... You can't die! You just can't!"

"Ami, I'm afraid there's no other way, but I can promise I will kill Checker Face before I meet my end so no other people will be cursed," Papa said.

"But Papa..."

"Hush Ami... It will be alright. You'll be fine without me, I promise. You'll be head of the Vindice and be able to punish bad people! That's what you want, isn't it?" he said.

"Well yes, but I want to do it with you! If you die... In my whole life, you, Jager-kun and the rest of them are the only ones that ever cared about me! I don't want you all to go away!"

"It will be ok..." Papa reassured me. I knew it wouldn't be 'all right' though... A life without Papa Bermuda... I couldn't even think about it.

"Can't you drop out?" I asked.

"I'm afraid I can't... I agreed to this and I need to follow through with my plan to kill Checker Face," he replied. "I have to go now. I need to prepare a plan for the next battle. Good bye, Ami."

"Papa-" He already warped out of my room. I continued crying for a while. When I finally stopped, my eyes were very red and swollen. I heard a knock on the door and Kyoko-chan, Haru-chan, and Chrome-chan came in. I wiped my eyes and said hi.

"We heard you were in the hospital. We came to say get well! What exactly happened?" asked Haru-chan.

"Um..." I tried to think of an excuse... "I fell down the stairs of my apartment and... broke my leg... Ya! That's what happened!"

"Oh dear! It must hurt a lot! Is it bad?" asked Kyoko-chan.
"I guess... They said I may not be able to walk for a couple weeks," I said.

"That's terrible! Well, anyway! We brought you some cake to cheer you up, Luca-chan!" Haru-chan said.

"Luca-chan?" I asked.

"Oh, sorry... Is that ok if we call you that?" Kyoko-chan asked.

"Sure... No one's every called me that before..."

"Well, Luca-chan, you can call me Haru-chan!"

"And Kyoko-chan!"

"Chrome-chan as well."

"Ok! Chrome-chan, Kyoko-chan, and Haru-chan!" I finally had friends! "I've never had many friends so I'm glad we can all be friends!"

"Yep!" they said in sync. We all laughed together. Kyoko-chan gave me the slice of cake. It was red velvet with vanilla icing, my favorite!

"Wow! It's really good!" I said after taking a bite.

"I'm glad you like it!" Kyoko-chan said. They all smiled at me and I smiled back. We chatted as I finished the slice.

"Thanks for the delicious cake!" I said.

"You're welcome!" Haru-chan said.

Kyoko looked at the clock on the wall and said, "Well, I guess we better go!"

"Ok, bye!" I said. They walked out... I didn't want to see them go. It was nice talking to them. They were so easy to talk to and they enjoyed my company, which was a first for me.

No one else visited me that day, so I spent my time staring at walls and thinking about nothing in particular. One thing still stumped me: what was that feeling I got when I met Tsuna-san? That was one of the questions I wanted answered. Soon night fell... I went to sleep before it could get to dark.

(I do not own any of the KHR characters, places or anything related to KHR. I do however own the character Ami for she is my OC. Please do not use her without my permission.)

Please review! I would love to hear feedback and critiques on my writing! Expect the next chapter soon!