Foreword: ….Now…before I begin this….I just want you all to know…just how annoyed I am by Mukuro….honestly…I can't stand the guy! In fact…if he were real…I'd probably hate him. But! …I can not, however, deny the fact that Mukuro was in fact, not only Katekyo Hitman REBORN's first real villain, but one of it's most memorable. Rokudo Mukuro is not just a true through and through villain-always blatantly on no one's side but his own no matter who he's fighting alongside—but he's an INTELLIGENT villain. And, I, a person with a great love for well done villains….for all my dislike and annoyance of Mukuro and his laughter….admit my great respect for both his character and his intellect…AND AS SUCH! ….I will do everything in my power as fanfiction authoress to craft him as closely to his true nature as possible in a work that will undoubtedly cause transformative changes over time. …phew…well….not that that's over…. Ladies & Gentlemen…I am pleased to present you with the second installment of my "Summer Tease" event: "Matte Black."

Disclaimer: Once again….much like in "Possession," I have no intention of repeating myself (there's only so many times I can make up amusing ways to state this particular message), so I will only be saying it once for the duration of this fic: I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN! OR ANY OF IT'S AFFILIATED CHARACTERS. The only things that I own are the things that allow for this piece of fiction to be transformative in nature, everything else….is creative property of Akira Amano.

Matte Black

Prologue: The Beginning of the End

She was hardly aware of the door opening. She was too busy chasing a laughing child around to take note of the tall, strange haired male who'd entered her small shop. So when he cleared his throat, she nearly stumbled over her own feet as she came to a sudden stop and spun to face the source, her skirt swirling about her calves with the motion. It was no surprise that the clumsy stomping of feet ceased as well. She pressed her lips together and had the decency to look abashed as she fought down an embarrassed grin. "I'm so sorry. I hope you haven't been waiting long."

A smile pushing easily onto his face, he replied with a smooth voice that made her take further note of her visitor, "It's not a problem."

"I see." She returned the smile with a small grin of her own, "Well, then. If it doesn't trouble you to ask, how may I help you today, sir?"

A laugh, deep and low in tone, but no less smooth than before, "It doesn't. In fact, I think I may be the one troubling you."

"Oh?" She raised a brow in slight curiosity.

"Yes, you see I'm looking for—" A muffled, but no less audible snort of laughter came from her side and he cut himself off to look at his interrupter.

A boy, somewhere between the cusp of puberty and the end of childhood, probably appearing younger than his actual age, hovered next to the woman, but his dark mirth filled gaze was entirely directed at the man. Another snort and the woman gave the boy a bit of a scowl, who only gave her a sheepish look as he whispered, "Mom…mom…his—"

"Rocco, what did I say about making fun of people?" The woman, apparently the boy's mother, although there was no physical resemblance to see, hissed back.

"But, mom!" He whispered urgently and his caretaker directed an apologetic smile to her guest who only watched with subtle amusement, "his hair!...It looks like—"

"Rocco—"

"—it looks like that thing we ate yesterday!"

"Rocco, it…" She paused then and blinked for just a moment before sparing her guest a glance from the corner of her gaze. And as she directed her attention to the man's specific styling of his hair…she realized…that the upper portion of the man's hair had indeed been pulled back and styled in a manner that strongly resembled the crown of leaves atop a pineapple. …A fact that only added to the fact that the man's hair was a very strange shade of indigo. …She was unable to stop the snort of laughter and the twitch at the corner of her lips as they fought to curve upwards. Horrified, she turned a wide eyed stare upon the man and her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my god. I am…so, so very sorry." The boy, Rocco, was laughing over her apology and she turned to slap him one good, "Stop laughing! It's not funny!" She hissed to him irritably, her agitation showing through her apologetic expression. Conveying full remorse once more, she continued, "I'm sorry that I laughed. It wasn't right of me. I—"

She was silenced by the hand that rose to halt her words, "It's quite alright, Ms. In fact, I'm rather used to such reactions—from children, especially." At her mortified expression, he added with a placating smile, "It's alright. Just think of it as being young at heart."

Her shoulders slumped as she sighed heavily, "Nevertheless. That was incredibly rude of me…as well as rude of Rocco," she shot the named boy a sharp look and he fidgeted, although the smile on his face went nowhere. "So," she straightened and a pleasant smile replaced her forlorn expression, "let me start again by saying, 'Hello and welcome to my shop. How may I help you?"

He laughed again and while she thought the sound a bit strange and noticeably gruffer than the first time, she didn't react to it. "I'm looking for a specific flower, but I'm afraid it's a bit rare."

"I see. Well, if I don't have it in stock, I'll certainly see if I can help you find it."

"Thank you."

"It's not a problem, sir."

He smiled and the short strange laughter that seemed to start in his throat and come to an end just beneath his breath, emphasized his next words, "Please, just call me Nicolas."

She returned the courtesy with a grin, "Alright then. Of course, if that's how you want it, I insist that you call me, Daniela."

"It would be my pleasure."

…all in all, Daniela found him to be quite easy on the eyes…still…she was sure she could go without the weird "kufufu" laugh.

Afterword: Yeaaaa….that's right, suckers….this shit is short as a muthafucker! XD Hahahaha….but that's because this is most definitely a prologue! *shrug* Sorry, but that's just the way the cookie crumbles! :D Hahaha. Lol…but don't grab your pitchforks just yet! The first chapter will be up before the summer's over. ^^

-S.T.