Hi awesome people who actually are reading this! This is my first FanFic, so please be nice and review. ^_^ Enjoy!

Blood. It envelopes her with its crimson haze and metalic scent, drips from her fingers like a silent rain, clots her senses and rolls down her cheeks. Her eyes are cold and vacant as she stares across the room but does not see. She remembers the man who once told her that she could only kill if she was prepared to die herself. He is dead now - one of the bodies strewn around her like discarded toys - but she is not. A smile tugs at the corners of her lips as she stalks out the door. Today, another member of the Alliance is gone. Another blow had been dealt to the Vongola. She knows that tomorrow will bring a future where the Scomparsa Family stands at the forefront of the Mafia world.


Chapter 1: Six Guardians - Delivered

Kristine pressed her face against the door and tried not to pant from sprinting home. There was a car parked casually at the center of the driveway, its dark opulence clashing against the modesty of her house. It could only mean one thing. Her father, Tsunayoshi Sawada, Tenth Boss of the Vongola Family, had come home.

Fighting the urge to randomly hide in her friend Michelle Yamamoto's house, she inserted a key and pushed lightly. She almost hoped that door would be jammed.

Something small and leathery flew into her face, and Kristine was just able to catch a whiff of shoe polish before she collapsed onto the floor with a high-pitched "HIEEE!"

"Too slow. You were right, Loser-Tsuna, in calling me here."

Kristine blinked away the black spots hovering at the corners of her field of vision and gulped. Bracing herself, she looked down at the source of the squeaky voice. Her eyes widened slightly as she realized with a start that she was staring at an infant clad in a black suit and lizard-bearing fedora.

"Dad! Who is this baby?" she complained, glaring at her father. She could almost feel the bump on her head growing.

"I'm the Home Tutor Hit-man, Reborn," the infant told her. "Don't ignore me." To prove his point, he leapt up with suprising agility and kicked her so hard that a small shoe-mark was imprinted upon her much-abused forehead.

"OW! No way," she cried, barely conscious of the fact that her voice was an octave higher than usual. "Reborn! Don't be so harsh," interjected Tsuna hastily. In a flurry of movement, Reborn slapped him. Hard.

"You never change," the Vongola boss muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"Ah… Nothing."

Reborn smirked and turned to Kristine briskly.

"Take out your box weapon, Kristine," the baby ordered. Kristine quickly complied and was rewarded with a casual punch.

"I'm glad you didn't lose it," Tsuna told her. "It's the only hope the Vongola have now."

Kristine choked on something had conveniently been stuck at the back of her throat and screamed hysterically, "What? No way! No way, no way, no way!"

The sharp, sweet sound of the doorbell sliced through her panicked protests like Uncle Dino's whip and, Kristine, glad that someone was about to finally stop this horrid conversation, turned and unlocked the door. Her relief melted away like butter on a sunny day.

Silhouetted by the setting sun stood Jayne Hibari and her seeting father. Before Kristine had time to gather her wandering thoughts, she was pushed aside. A half-second later, there was the resonant clang of boot sole against metal.

"Impressive," Reborn commented lightly as Jayne snapped shut her stylized steel fans. "Your reflexes have vastly improved since the last time I fought alongside you."

Jayne smiled tightly and bowed.

"Honor to see you, as always, Reborn."

"Same, Black Rose."

Kristine couldn't stand it any longer. "What the hell? Jayne, what is this? You actually know this guy? And why is your name suddenly Black Rose?"

Jayne laughed. "When I'm not around Nami Middle, I work as an A-ranked assassin for the Mafia."

Kristine felt a bead of sweat boldly making its way down the side of her cheek.

"I have matters to attend to, then. I only came at Reborn's request. See you around, people," Jayne continued. Before anyone could react, she disappeared abruptly like the temperamental and aloof cloud she was. Tsuna stood up and gazed at his daughter solemnly. "You surprise me, Kristine. Hundreds of Families have asked the Black Rose to join, but she's always refused. In fact, the fourth most powerful Family in the Alliance even invited her to be boss."

More drops of sweat joined the first at Kristine's chin. "Okay…"

"Anyways, I should explain things now. In a nutshell, there's a family that is able to challenge not only the Vongola but the entire Alliance. If you don't defeat it, it could mean the end of the Mafia world as we know it."

Kristine glared at Tsuna incredulously. "Real inspiring."

There was a stinging pain in at the back of head. Out of the corner of her eye, Kristine glimpsed the sole of Reborn's already familiar shoe as she reeled into the nearest couch.

"You must respect your elders at all times," ordered the hit man who, for some reason, was wearing the flowing robes of an elderly monk."

"Reborn?"

"Who are you talking about? I'm the starter of the Reborality religion, Rebuddha," chastised Reborn.

"What has the world come to? I'm hearing this from a baby?"

"So as I was saying, the enemy Family's name is Scomparsa. Your mission is to attack their Headquarters and kill everyone. That's all!" continued Tsuna.

"You want me to just charge into a highly defended headquarter of a Family even you can't beat and you're saying 'that's all'?" Kristine wailed.

"If you think this is hard, you'll hate to hear about what happened to me when I was a kid..." he told her reassuringly. "I'm confident you and your family will be able to deal with this threat. After all, I was only fourteen when I fought Mukuro and you're sixteen now."

"Mukuro Rokudo? Leah's dad? You actually fought him once? Who won?" Kristine asked, aghast.

"Kufufufufu," someone laughed eerily behind her. "That's a story to be told another day." Kristine sighed and prepared to confront her father's Mist Guardian and his daughter. The pineapple headed pair was always randomly disappearing and reappearing, like the thick mist that obscured truth.

"Leah! Why the hell are you here?" Kristine wished that people would stop intruding.

"Kyoya Hibari," stated Mukuro, calmly ignoring her.

"Pineapple herbivore."

"Guys, please stop," begged Tsuna. "If this house is ruined, Kyoko will have my head!"

Hibari growled softly, and left without another word.

Mukuro, on the other hand, was intently studying Kristine. "Someday, I'll possess your body," he whispered.

"That sounds wrong on so many levels," said Kristine. "Don't you already have a wife?"

"Kufufufufufu."

A voice outside suddenly cried, "Shigure Shoen Ryu, Stance Eight, Pouring Rain!" Abruptly, the front door dissolved into a pile of sharp wooden splinters.

Everyone gaped at the tall, grinning girl framed in the doorway.

"Maa, maa, sorry everyone."

"Kyoko's really going to let me have it now," groaned Tsuna.

"Now, now, Michelle, let's calm down." Yamamoto Takeshi laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"Tennis Freak! How dare you cut down Eleventh's door? You will never be the Right-Hand Man!"

"You're funny, Tanvi. What are you talking about?"

Tanvi felt a vein pop on her forehead. The silver-haired Storm Guardian behind her frowned.

"Cloud Guardian, down, Mist, down, Rain and Storm, both down. Let's see… we're only missing Sun and Lightning," Reborn mused, counting off the titles on his pudgy fingers. Groaning, Kristine wondered if he could possibly be the one behind this gathering.

"Sorry! We're late to the extreme," yelled an energetic voice.

"Here comes the Sun Guardian. One more to go," exclaimed Reborn happily, sucking on the large yellow pacifier that Kristine suddenly noticed hung on his chest.

"Hi! Wow! This gathering is extreme. If Jayne were here, she would be extremely annoyed and bite everyone to an extreme death!" A girl with short, choppy brown hair pushed her way past everyone and gave Kristine a very… extreme… hug.

"God, Allie, can't breathe," Kristine managed, writhing.

"Sorry to the extreme."

"Honestly, Allie, your use of "extreme" is extremely annoying. Damn, I just said it. I'm getting infected with your alien extremity," Tanvi grumped.

"Since Lam-pin is lost somewhere, we can start now," Reborn said from his seat on the carpet. "So SHUT UP!" Everybody shut up.

Kristine yawned as the Spartan tutor explained the history of the Scomparsa Family. Suddenly, she felt something rush at her face and ducked just before an angry Reborn sailed over her head. The baby nimbly switched directions in mid-air and propelled himself at Kristine at an even faster pace. This time, the blow was not hindered and the Vongola heir fell to the floor, head ringing.

"Kristine! Pay attention! As I was saying, the Scomparsa boss is extremely ruthless and will kill everyone who opposes her, after stealing their flames, of course. When you fight her, you must be at your very strongest or you will have no chance at all. You guys will first be trained by your own individual home tutors for two weeks before you invade Scomparsa HQ. When you start your mission, you must succeed, or else very bad things will happen to you."

"That's terrible to the extreme!" cried Allie. She had begun to jog in place, no doubt practicing for some cross-country tournament.

"One other thing. Your home tutors will be the 10th generation Guardians, your parents. Jayne is an exception, since her father is currently unavailable. Kristine is also an exception. Since her father is inept, I will train her," Reborn told everyone. To emphasize his point, he kicked Tsuna in the face. Kristine considered fleeing. A training session with Reborn would, without a doubt, be hell on earth.


Jayne idly fingered the side of one silver fan. The warmth of her breath formed small, white clouds that mirrored the ones drifting in the sky. With a yawn, she made her way across the school roof and watched some students file through Nami Middle's doors. A rush of wind caressed the back of her neck. The fan she had been holding snapped open and a small pebble bounced of its amethyst-inlaid surface. "Yo, Black Rose." A lilting voice spoke behind her. Jayne sighed and looked indifferently over her shoulder. "What are you doing here, Saur Cavallone?" the Head Prefect asked coolly with a glare that could freeze fire. It was too bad that Saur wasn't a fire. "Reborn told me to train you to get better. I guess we're just going to spar a little, then, since I really don't have that much to teach you."

"In the Mafia world, there is no such thing as sparring. Besides, I don't need anybody to help me," remarked Jayne. In response, Saur produced a snake-like whip and let it wrap around Jayne's fan.

"Now look, Black Rose, if you can't even best me-" Saur began. She stopped abruptly as Jayne pulled out another fan and, with her left hand, flung it at her face. The eleventh Cavallone Boss impulsively shielded her face with one hand. In a spurt of blood, Jayne's weapon cut across her palm and returned to its owner.

"Who said you were better than me?" Jayne asked with a malicious smile. "Let's start." The two charged at each other in a frenzy of leather and metal. Sprays of red were tossed off the roof, staining the jackets of several unfortunate students. The real fight had begun. Somewhere in Namimori, the hit-man known as Reborn lifted a pair of green binoculars from his face and grinned. He decided that he could leave Jayne's training to Saur.


"LET'S EXTREMELY RUN A HUNDRED TIMES AROUND THE BEACH!" yelled a white-haired man.

"YES! WE EXTREMELY SHOULD!" His daughter's voice every bit as passionate. The pair sprinted away and, in the distance, the sun rose into view against the pink and red backdrop of the morning sky.

An hour later, Ryohei and Allie Sasagawa squatted, panting, on the sparkling yellow sand.

"Allie, boxing is extremely good for you. I extremely think that you should be a boxer," commented Ryohei.

"Maggot! She's a girl, so I got her a more elegant weapon," someone yelled in a voice that was surprisingly similar to that baby at Kristine's house, Reborn. Allie noticed an irregular speck in that sky that was approaching rapidly. Soon, she could clearly see the falcon swooping towards her as well as the baby grasped in its talons.

"Try these on, maggot." The baby landed gracefully and presented her with what looked to be... a stick?

"Uh… How am I supposed to fight extremely with this stick thing?" Allie wondered out loud, staring at the rifle-hoisting baby in front of her in bafflement.

"It's a scepter! Use it!" said the baby irritably. Doubtfully, the 11th Sun Guardian grasped the handle of the scepter and hoisted it above her head. She began to jog in place.

"MASTER COLONELLO! IT"S EXTREMELY GOOD TO SEE YOU!"

"… That was an extremely late reaction." Allie stared at her father with incredulous eyes.

"Ryohei maggot, it's good to see you too," said the recently identified Colonello, who apparently saw nothing out of order. He turned to Allie. "Maggot, I want you to hit and break this." With a flourish, the baby pressed a button half-hidden in the sand and a granite block appeared.

"…"

"Hey, maggot, give it try!"

"…"

Scowling, Colonello lifted his rife and pointed it at the granite. A blue blast burst out, shattering the obstinate rock. Another block was raised from the sand. "Imitate the shot. Your fist is the gun and your scepter is the bullet. Now, go!"

Resolve filled Allie's chocolate-colored eyes as she readied herself.

"Extreme Shining Punch!"

Pieces of stone flew into the air.

The infant perched on a distant cliff smiled impishly and removed his green Leon-glasses. Colonello was more than capable of training the next Sun Guardian.


Rain poured onto the front steps of the small dojo, washing away all remainders of the previously tranquil weather.

"Shigure Shoen Ryu, Stance 4, Early Summer Rain!" Michelle Yamamoto swung her sword in a quick arc of flashing silver, slicing the wooden block before her into ten perfect cubes. She wiped away the sweat dripping down her temples and hefted her blade for what seemed to be the hundreth time.

"Shigure Shoen Ryu, Stance 8, Pouring Rain," she cried. Another piece of wood was demolished.

Her normally calm demeanor gone, Michelle turned to face her father. Yamamoto watched her from one corner of the room.

"Dad, when are you going to fight me? I'm not getting anywhere with this!" she asked angrily.

"Wow, you sound just like Gokudera! I'll fight you when you're ready," replied her father cheerfully.

In reply, Michelle stalked away. She didn't even heed the rain wetting her clothes as she left to practice by herself. Resolve flashed in her eyes.

The baby peered at Michelle from under his green umbrella. Reborn was not worried; it was easiest to practice the basics of Shigure Shoen Ryu when nobody was watching. His signature smirk appeared. Time to move on.


Tanvi and Gokudera watched as the storm raged outside. A small, black pebble was hurled out of the window. It seemed to dance in the wind. Tanvi growled deep in her throat and bounced a metal tennis ball in her hand. With an irritated cry, she threw it at the pebble. Plumes of smoke wavered in the air for a second. The pebble dropped away front the explosion, intact.

"Throw another one," Tanvi told her father. The next rock spun at the same time as Tanvi's flashing silver ball. The two objects bounced into each other, and, on impact, there was a small boom. Sharp shards of rock flew into the heart of the storm.

The infant who sat on the adjacent window ledge nodded, raising a green shield to deflect anything that might be potentially dangerous. Perhaps Tanvi's marksmanship would surpass even her fathers. After all, anything was possible for a storm.


Lightning shot across the sky, illuminating everything for a single moment. Lam-pin hugged herself beneath the shelter of the wall she was sitting against and watched her mother show her how to properly perform a kung-fu kick.

"I want candy," she wailed over the deafening thunder, shaking her tiny, cow-costume encased body in frustration.

"Kick like this, Lam-pin," ordered I-pin.

"Wah!" Lam-pin protested, clumsily lifting her leg. She lost her balance and crumpled into a pitiful heap on the floor. An abnormal amount of sweat began dripping down her face as she sobbed in embarrassment and nine rosebuds appeared on her forehead. Ding! There were only eight left now. Ding! Seven. Ding! Six. Ding! Five. Ding! Four. Ding!Three. Ding! Two...

I-Pin jumped back hastily, making sure she was out of range.

Ding! One. Lam-pin braced herself for what was coming next. Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding! A brilliant, rose-shaped explosion filled the air just as lightning struck again. The twin bursts of electricity gave the sky an eerie, mysterious cast. Reborn watched Lam-pin far away. That Stupid Cow II had so much power, but for some reason, she refused to use it. Why? Grumbling under his breath, the stalker-infant scurried away.


Tendrils of mist snaked around the cave, silent evidence of the previous storm. Leah slammed the base of her staff into the ground, causing illusionary columns of orange fire to shoot up around her. Unaffected, Mukuro watched from one stony corner.

"Not real enough, Leah. Even your mother at this age was better than you," he commented. Leah gritted her teeth and gathered her thoughts for what seemed to be the hundredth time. "Wait! Make sure you have a clear picture of what you want to happen. Doubt is an illusionist's worst obstacle," Mukuro interjected. Leah's staff hit the ground again. This time, a flood of icy water rushed into the cave in swirling, disastrous torrents. Leah could hear coughing, and she grinned in triumph. Even if it was only for a moment, Mukuro had believed her. She had succeeded. The water rocketed on, parting around her, destroying anything in its path. Suddenly, there was a grinding noise, and the ceiling caved in a little. After a couple more seconds, it descended some more.

Desperately, she yelped, "Dad! Stop it!" The water that had been about to crash down on her froze.

"Khufufufufu," Mukuro laughed, "You need more practice still. Try again."

The infant who was standing on the largest branch of the tree outside the cave sighed. Leah had the raw talent and willpower, but she lacked control. It was up to Mukuro to discipline her. Reborn turned on his heel and headed towards Kyoko Sawada's house. His work was cut out for him, and it was finally time to begin.


"Why did I have to be the only one going to school today," Kristine grumbled to herself as she walked into her room and softly closed the door. She lay down on her small bed with her hands over her face, trying to wash out the horrors of the day. To begin with, she had scored another fat red zero on her science test. Then, during gym, her soccer team had been mercilessly beaten because of her. Since all of her friends were elsewhere, she had had to sit alone during lunch and, to top it all of, a member of the Disciplinary Committee had come to tell her that it was her turn to clean the school pool. He had also said that Jayne would be the one dealing with her is she left, so she had fled school. Jayne always was lenient with her friends, unless she was in a I'll-bite-you-to-death-for-being-alive sort of mood. Besides, she had disappeared too.

Kristine suddenly noticed the weight on her fingers and yelped, throwing off the baby who had been looking down at her from there.

"Too late. In a fight, you would have been assassinated by now!" Reborn snapped at her. "Now! Try to capture me with your ribbons." Kristine sighed and reluctantly pulled out her weapons.

"Uhhh... Reborn? I can't fight unless I'm in serious pain or I'm really irritated," she ventured, hoping he would finally let her rest.

"No chance!" the infant exclaimed as if reading her mind. "Instead..."

Slowly, the green lizard on his fedora changed into a large, heavy hammer. Kristine, paralyzed by fear, could only watch as Reborn dramatically lifted the it over her head, then brought it down. Hard.

"OWWWWWWWWWWWW," Kristine screamed, agony spreading through her body from the growing lump at the middle of her hair. A Dying Will flame appeared on her forehead, and she lifted her ribbons to the bright source of energy. They instantly blazed with the intense, orange flames that Tsuna had once said were even more pure than his. Kristine wove her ribbons into a shining network of flames and pounced on Reborn, who nonchalantly dodged them

Reborn stroked Leon. "Hmmmmmmmmmm. You're much worse than I expected, even when you have your Dying Will. Drastic measures must be taken."


So how was it? Please review! If you don't, Hibari will bite you to death, Ryohei will extremely punch you, Mukuro will give you nightmares, Yamamoto will make sushi out of you... you get the idea. SO REVIEW WITH YOUR DYING WILL!