A/N: A million thanks to SinisteRRRsAngel for beta-reading this! The suggestions you gave were awesome! It helped me clear the entire plot. Even give me a lot of plot bunnies in my head. (And it's a good thing~)
Standard disclaimer process: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
(Oh yeah, I have no idea what should be the title. So, if you have any ideas please share them, ne?)
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Chapter 1
"How much do you know about sex appeal?"
Chrome Dokuro tried her hardest not to gape at the skylark before her.
Earlier this morning, she had been minding her own business until Kusakabe Tetsuya intercepted her in the hallway. The poor man was panting so hard, indicating that he had been looking for her earnestly. Before she had the opportunity to ask what was wrong, the pompadour-hairstyle man blurted out, "Kyo-san is looking for you. He expects you to be in his office, ASAP."Without hesitation, she followed Kusakabe to the skylark's office. She knew that she needed to hurry or else she would be bitten to death.
And now, here she was – getting asked strange questions by the demon of Namimori.
She tilted her head curiously, signifying that she had no clue of what Hibari was trying to tell her.
Hibari Kyoya sighed. "I know you're young and inexperienced," Hibari paused, sighing once again, "but that herbivore wants you to be my partner for the next mission."
Her composure seemed to loosen up a bit. "Bossu?" She uttered softly.
Hibari frowned at her. "The job, on your end, involves infiltrating and gathering data," He said simply.
He then handed her a folder, given to him by Sawada Tsunayoshi, containing the job description. He personally didn't like the idea of having someone with him on a mission. But he knew, in order to complete this mission, he needed some assistance from someone else – someone he wouldn't kill in a matter of seconds.
It was mainly his fault for taking up this mission. After all, he was the one who chose the job when he came across it in a pile of folders on top of Sawada Tsunayoshi's table. The heading, 'Investigating Prostitution Ring in Palermo' had piqued his interest. The entire heading on the folder screamed 'an opportunity to bite everyone and anyone to death.'
It sounded fun to him.
The sub-heading also read, 'Subdue or eliminate if needed'.This only piqued his interest further.
It was like he actually had permission to kill someone. Not that he ever needed permission to kill someone in the first place. But now, he would be able to obliterate the enemy without hearing any complaints from Tsunayoshi.
The only thing that prevented him from going on this mission was that most of the Mafia members' job-involvement descriptions included girl trafficking. He came up with one way to make these Mafioso reveal themselves – fresh bait and the art of seduction
A man cannot seduce another man – in common cases at least.
Although Hibari was confident in his sex appeal, seducing another man was unthinkable. He needed someone to do the seducing job. In other words, he needed a woman. Someone who had the tag called womanin that herbivorous group under the care of that herbivorous boss.
Then, he remembered her – the only woman in that herd.
Chrome Dokuro.
And she just happened to be the vessel of that pineapple-haired illusionist he hates and loathes so much.
He pinched the bridge of his nose as he watched the woman scan through the folder. Now that he looked at her intently, he realized that there was not an ounce of womanin her physique. There was not one single piece of evidence that she was, indeed, a woman. She had shoulder length indigo hair that framed her baby-face. Her amethyst eye was still as wide as saucers, while the other was still covered by an eye patch. But this time, the eye patch was plain – unlike her old one that had a skull design on the front.
She has no curves, average legs, and a flat chest, Hibari noted.
He frowned at the thought. A woman's curves and leg structure are what entice men in the first place, especially the size of a woman's bust.
All in all, she was just you're average, baby-faced little girl.
He sighed wearily.
So much for assessing her womanliness, He thought.
If only she could conjure someone with more womanly attributes - one who would get the job done swiftly.
He knew the name that this girl had created for herself as a top-class illusionist. She was famed as the best illusionist in the mafia. Another great illusionist, who was significantly more skilled than Chrome, was Rokudo Mukuro. After he got out of prison, he clearly stated that he doesn't like being used by the mafia and vanished along with his minions. Not that he knew where they are. Not that he cares either.
"Kumo-san," Chrome said, cutting Hibari from his reverie. "Here."
She then handed the folder to him.
"Then?"
Chrome looked away from Hibari and started to fidget. Although the skylark was always so vague, she knew what he was asking.
It was about the question he raised earlier.
"I'm not really confident about it." Her face flamed.
"Then I'll have Kusakabe Tetsuya arrange tutors for you."
Wait. What?She looked up towards Hibari.
He continued, "All you need to do in this mission is to master creating an illusion of a realwoman."
"Huh?" Chrome looked at him with disbelief.
She pointed to herself. "I'm pretty sure that I am capable of that, Kumo-san."
Hibari shook his head. "You need to learn the proper etiquette of flirting and seducing a man. Without it, no matter how top-notch your illusions are, they will be useless if the caster has no idea what to do. You will only jeopardize the mission. You do understand, don't you, Chrome Dokuro? "
Chrome wanted to scream at the man, but she restrained herself. Instead, she clenched her fists and remained passive.
How dare he ridicule her like that! Although she may not look like a woman capable of seducing a man – with her being too skinny, too frail, and too ugly for his liking – that does not give Hibari a reason to only use her for her ability to conjure sexy women. He doesn't trust her abilities as a woman! She may not have the qualifications when it comes to seduction, but still! She is a woman!
It makes all the difference!
She shook her head and sighed heavily. This man is impossible.
Arguing with him will only agitate her even more. "No need to hassle Kusakabe-san, Kumo-san. I'll ask Kyoko-chan and the others about it," She said calmly.
"Very well, do as you wish. Your deadline will be two weeks from now." Hibari dismissed her, turning his back to her to resume scanning some papers at his table.
Chrome slightly bowed at his turned figure and whirled around on her heels to leave the god-forsaken room.
.
.
"Vongola, we're deeply sorry for imposing you with such trivial matters," Dmitri Ivaschio, boss of the Neggoroli Famiglia, apologized to Tsuna.
"Don't worry about it, Dmitri-san." Tsuna gave him his signature smile.
Once again, the ten bosses of the main family alliance convened a meeting in secret. It was to discuss the matter of the prostitution ring ran by an unknown famiglia the Mafia underworld growing right under their noses. The issue was supposed to be the Neggoroli's responsibility. However, they already sent their top assassins and Mafiosi, but the suspects continued to be elusive. After nine mafia families tried to take on this job, with little success, it dawned on the suspects that they are being hunted. This caused them to become even more cautious – almost as if they were slowly erasing their presence from the public. This resulted with them becoming even more uncatchable ever than before.
Because of their failure, they decided to turn over this matter to the Vongola.
"All of us failed to catch them. We have no one to turn to but you, Vongola." Carlo Galvaneaux, boss of the Galvaneaux famiglia, returned the smile.
Dino Cavallone patted his little brother's head and chuckled, "So, who did you send on this mission?"
"Hibari Kyoya and Chrome Dokuro."
Dino blinked, dumbfounded.
The bosses in the room blinked with Dino.
And after a moment, they all blinked again.
"W- Why?" Hughes Viottiro, boss of the Viottiro famiglia, tried not to stutter.
Everyone in the Mafia – no, maybe everyone in Italy, as well as Japan, knew just how destructive the Vongola Decimo's cloud guardian could be.
This time, it was Tsuna turn to blink in bewilderment. "Hibari-san chose the mission himself," He said.
The bosses all had one thing scrolling through their minds, "May God protect Italy."
"How did Chrome-chan get into the picture?" Dino asked hastily.
He definitely did not believe that his devil of a student would have partnered up with an illusionist. And not just any illusionist, but someone who was close to the person that Kyoya loathed the most in the entire universe: Rokudo Mukuro.
"Hmm?" Tsuna brought a finger to his chin and looked skyward. "Hibari-san chose her as his partner."
As Tsuna was in his dreamland, the bosses looked at each other and in silence. They all mentally agreed that his was the worst pair ever sent on a mission – ever. But, of course, they didn't have the guts to say that in front of the Vongola Decimo. They didn't want a death wish stuck on their foreheads. They all knew that Vongola Decimo was pretty sensitive when it came to his family.
But Dino thought differently. Mou, Kyoya's getting ahead of me. I should be looking for a wife before he does.
.
.
Chrome walked briskly. The farther she was from the cloud guardian, the calmer her nerves became.
If she were her ten-years-ago self again, she would have blabbered on about how useless she is and how stupid she is. That she used to be convinced that she couldn't lend a hand to the family. But this time, it's different. The day she lost contact with her Mukuro-sama was the day she learned how to stand up for herself.
And there is no way she is going to back down from any adversity – not even the infamously aloof guardian that goes by the name 'Hibari Kyoya'.
"Chrome?"
She stopped in her tracks and turned towards the source of the voice. "Bossu?"
Although she knew that the person walking towards her was the root of the turmoil in her head, she just couldn't get angry at him.
Vongola Decimo smiled at her and said, "Kyoko and the others will be having vacation at Mafia Land for a month. Would you like to go with them?"
"About the mission..." She trailed. Kyoko and the others will be away for a month?! Who will tutor me?
She didn't want to abandon the mission because she knew that the cloud guardian might bite her to death.
Tsuna stared at her, and his mouth formed an 'O' shape. He had the urge to do a face palm right then and there. He scratched the back of his head as he looked at Chrome with a humiliated face. "I completely forgot. Hibari-san must have informed you already?"
Chrome nodded. "Yes, he said two weeks from now is when we start the mission."
"You have to be really careful, Chrome. They are not ordinary criminals. They are the best among their group. You have to be mindful that sometimes illusions might not work on them."
Chrome nodded again.
"Also, it is vital you complete this mission. This is really important. The family alliance pointed this out as a major problem."
Then her mouth curved into a smile. "I'll do my best, Bossu!"
Tsuna couldn't help but feel relieved.
Truth to be told, he could have never seen the possibility of his mist and cloud partnering, much less being side by side with each other. Although, that may just be because of the relationship Hibari and Mukuro have. However, seeing Chrome's attitude about the mission really reassured him.
"I'm counting on both of you."
.
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A/N: R&R please!