For Soul Vrazy, who was the first to guess that Giotto's lover is Alaude in another fanfic~ Reborn and Tsuna will both seem out of character, but Reborn's a teenager in this and Tsuna's a not-teenager.

Edit: Rewrote some parts to fit in with a predetermined plot line, in an attempt to organize my thoughts and finish this once and for all. There is a shift in certain places from how my writing style has changed these few years.

In Italy, there was one specific alley. It was in this one specific alley that a teenager met a man who saved and changed his life. Whether it was for better or worse, nobody was sure.

The teenager was Reborn, a 15 year old already known for his shooting skills. The skills made him a well-known hitman in the underground, constantly being asked to do this or that mission or join this family or that family.

Reborn quietly walked through the mentioned alley near midnight, sticking to one side to blend into the shadows of the night better. Not that he needed to though. The black suit and fedora that made up his outfit were completely black. As he made his way through, his black eyes that were often compared to obsidian carefully watched his surroundings and took note of details. He continued until he met the wall that made the alley a dead-end and frowned. There had been no one at all. He faced the wall, thinking to himself and then realized that it was a trap, but it was too late. The sound of a gun being cocked echoed from behind him. He turned around quickly to see a man also in a suit pointing a gun at him. The teen narrowed his eyes, but couldn't make out the face of the other.

"So much for the renowned hitman, eh?" The man taunted. "Who would've known it would be so easy to corner you? Well, I guess that's to be expected of you cocky teenagers. Here's some advice, not that you'd live long enough to use it, don't leave your guard down."

"Shouldn't you do the same?" Reborn questioned.

"What are you talking about, brat?"

Reborn raised a finger and pointed behind the man, who frowned and glanced behind him. Reborn took that moment to move to the side, hoping to catch the man unaware. Unfortunately, the man pulled the trigger, shooting his shoulder. Reborn winced and glared at him.

"Unlike you, I wouldn't fall for such a simple trick," he sneered.

"It wasn't a trick," Reborn replied.

"Hah! Bluffs don't work."

The man shot him in the shoulder again, but didn't kill him.
"I think I'll torture you, see how you like the pain. As cliche as this sounds, it's true that these bullets wouldn't hurt nearly as much as it did when you took away my boss. Here's my payback," he said, shooting him in the stomach a few times.

By now, Reborn's vision was hazy from the blood loss. He murmured something, probably part of an inappropriate sentence cursing his killer, and stopped moving altogether.

Somehow, he wasn't quite dead. No, he was very much in pain and very much alive. He sat up with a groan. He couldn't see much of his surroundings; he was still light-headed.

"Oh, you're awake. Are you alright?" someone next to him, male, asked him.

He groaned in response.

"I'll take that as a yes," the person continued. "Here, have some water and then I'll get you some dinner."

Reborn didn't have a choice other than taking a few sips of water from the glass held up to his lips. He raised a heavy hand to rub his eyes and blinked. He turned his head, looking around and seeing the room and the person next to him for the first time. The room was plain and kept clean. Likewise, the person sitting beside his bed was dressed plainly with an orange and white hoodie. The only things that really stood out, other than the long spiky hair, were his kind eyes. They were the kind of eyes that wouldn't last in his world.

"Is pasta okay for dinner? It's the only thing I can cook well."

"Sure," Reborn grumbled. "Wait, dinner? It was midnight though. How long have I been out?"

"Just one full day. You actually woke up sooner than I expected, considering how much blood you probably lost."

Suddenly he remembered someone else with kind eyes. An old woman had been the first to take him in and she had the same eyes. Later on, people tracked him back to her and killed her in cold blood for the crime of associating with a murderer.

"I can't stay," he blurted out.

The other person stared at him for a little while, puzzled. Then he smiled, saying, "You can stay for dinner at least, can't you?"

Reborn hesitated. He wanted to refuse, wanted to get out before someone got hurt, but found that he wanted to stay with this person he had just met. He nodded.

"Great! I'll bring some in a bit; it's not quite done yet. If you need anything, my name's Tsunayoshi Sawada, but it's alright if you call me Tsuna."

The pasta was nothing special. Throughout his meal, Tsuna kept telling Reborn about how it would really be fine if he stayed because he lived alone, the house was big, and he still had some clothes from when he was a teenager himself and they would most likely fit Reborn.

At this, Reborn realized that he was only in his black boxers and bandages, blushed, and nearly spilled the last remnants of his food. Tsuna laughed a bit too hard and wound up with a plate of sauce in his face.

"So? Are you staying?" Tsuna asked after he had cleaned up and given Reborn a clean set of casual clothes.

"No, but thank you," he replied stiffly. What if Tsuna gets hurt? What if men like the one that nearly killed him came again and tried to kill both of them? He murmured, "I don't want to put you in danger."

"What is there that could hurt me?" Tsuna asked, sounding quite optimistic.

"Someone tried to kill me and they might-"

He was cut off by Tsuna's sudden dark expression.

"That's why you were bleeding out in that dark alley?"

"Uh. Yes. Did you seriously take me in, not knowing anything about me?"

"Erm… Yeah?"

Reborn facepalmed. He thought, if this guy is this naive, he'll be killed whether or not I stay. With this, he decided that the least he could do was try to help out this nice person who didn't deserve to be taken advantage of and killed.

"I'll stay," he announced.

Tsuna's expression brightened up immediately, and he asked, "What's your name?"

Smack!

"Re- err, Renato."

"Renato, welcome to my life. I mean, house. I definitely mean house."

Yes, this is shorter than previously. Yes, I cut out a very cliff-hangy conversation. Why? Because that wasn't supposed to be until later. Am I going to properly update this anytime soon? UHHHH probably not, honestly. FUCK SCHOOL~