Reborn has always known. he was always supposed to know.
He knew something wasn't right when Haru popped up. how she acted and talked,her way of dressing and how she always seemed happy about everything just struck a...bad cord with him. Tsuna and the rest just saw her personality as full of rainbows and joy but Reborn,as the greatest hitman in the world;knew that wasn't the case...
It was clear that she was acting. he could see the darkness hidden behind her eyes,how she would sometimes smirk arrogantly behind the backs of everyone else and how she scoffed at Gokudera as she joined them one day in their walk to Namimori's middle school. he once again fawned over Tsuna,being the one to talk to him the most. "Annoying asshole..." those words made Reborn twitch involuntarily,to hear that from someone who is supposedly kind and sweet was...jarring. to say the least.
Of course,she was always bickering with Hayato...but the vitriol that came out of her mouth was...terrifying.
It didn't help that he couldn't get any information regarding her or her family,besides a few things...he had searched all records in Italy,Russia and Japan,there was information,but there wasn't enough to classify her as a potential threat. and that didn't help.
And then came that brooch and the cat.
One day,in the last year Tsuna and his friends had of school,Haru went to their school in her normal attire,her hair having grown twice the length that it was when she was 15,what caught the eye of reborn was the brooch that she was wearing in her dress. it seemed pretty normal...until he realized the gem seemingly sucked light itself. a dark aura was always around it as she talked and laughed along the rest and not a single one of them would see it. That day,Reborn followed Haru around like a hound;sometimes having to hold his breath as Haru scanned her surroundings,her pupils sharpening into slits as her eyes turned grey,a dark murderous aura exploding around her. this continued until they reached her house...
It looked normal,but he knew. even the house had a dark feeling to it,every time he looked around while being close to the house he felt like someonewas watching him...
And soon he realized,it wasn't just a feeling. A cat. no,it wasn't a normal cat...compared to Uri,this cat was bigger,his fur was composed of only different shades of grays,black and white;his eyes were dark grey fading to silver,it didn't look like a normal cat at all...and the thing that ticked him off the most is that it wouldn't stop staring at him.
That night,Reborn stayed in the kitchen of the Sawada household,an espresso cooling off on the counter as he looked over papers on Haruka Miura for the 12th time that day.
. . .
The next one that gained his suspicion and distrust was Kyoko Sasagawa. Kyoko Sasagawa!
She had moved in with Hana and Haru to the Vongola HQ,Tsuna had requested this specifically so that he could keep them close and relatively safe. but as tensions started rising between the family and the three of them,both Haru and Hana abandoned the Vongola and left to who knows where;He had to interrogate Kyoko on the matter,but no matter how much he threatened her,she always responded with a deathly aura,eyes sharpened into a icy glare as the room's temperature seemingly dropped...
"No. I can't say where they are." That was always her only answer,he'd always try to beat her insolent behaviour down,but couldn't. no matter what he tried,she never seemed to truly consider him as a threat. she wasn't afraid of him...
She. was. not. afraid. of. him. at. all.
That was when Reborn started to consider her a threat to the Vongola. She was able to expel a deadly aura that even rivaled his. but alike with Haru,Tsuna and his guardians believed she could never do harm. no matter how many times there was proof to her being a down right menace,up to the point in which bodyguards appointed to her were seemingly terrified at how she had taken down two assassins with her own two hands;they didn't believe it. they would never believe it.
Why wouldn't they believe it?...
...
One day,two or three weeks after Tsuna took Vongola's throne,Tsuna officially was going to ask Kyoko to be his girlfriend. Reborn could only chuckle at how long that had taken,how many times Tsuna wanted to ask her out...and it turned out horribly. So he had all planned out. a lunch in the mansion's garden,the best of foods and all the pastries that Kyoko adored;and when the time came,Tsuna popped the question...it didn't turn out as expected.
"Tsu-kun..." She mumbled,her eyes clearly showing how much she was regretting what she was doing. "I can't...we can't. ...it would never work. no matter how hard we both try..."
"B-But,Kyoko-"
she was visibly tense,her lower lip trembling as if she was about to cry. she closed her eyes before scoffing.
"You're a mafia boss. i'm a simple civilian. I can't understand why you're so deluded as to think we would work it out...people have high expectations of you. and marrying or dating a normal woman who was never in the mafia to begin with would break all of those expectations down. what do you want me to become? your mother?"
She stood up abruptly,slamming her hand on the table so hard that almost all people present in the room flinched.
"...I have to go,thank you for the food Tsunayoshi-san..."
Kyoko promptly left in a hurried pace,ignoring as Ryohei and Bianchi called out for her. Tsuna was left heartbroken,making all of the guardians tense and nervous,the news of Kyoko's rejection giving them a plethora of emotions...Gokudera demanded to speak to her,Ryohei and the rest tried to get her to at least open her bedroom door...but nothing got through her..
...
Later in the week,Reborn found her carrying her bags and suitcase out of the Vongola HQ,she snapped her head towards him as he seized hold of her arm,his eyes dark;his fedora covering half of his face. she was leaving. like Haru and Hana she was also turning their back on them. she had only stayed for 4 months.
He scowled. he needed to get to the bottom of this. no more hiding things from him,it was starting to be pathetic.
"Why?" One simple question. that's what it took for Kyoko to pale and tense,her pupils shrinking into dots. "Why are you doing this?"
"...Oh,Reborn-san..." she laughed dryly,gripping the strap of her bag tighter. "if only they could know why...by doing this,we're protecting them. they aren't supposed to know yet."
"what do you mean by that? what aren't they supposed to know?" he asked,his eyes sharpening ever so slightly as he reached slowly for his gun. what were they hiding from him?
She just smiled,walking towards Hana Kurokawa;who was waiting in a car just a few feet in front of them. she placed her bags in the trunk of the car,before turning back to look at him,her eyes more orange than brown;and that's when he saw,that Kyoko had a brooch herself...and it was glowing.
"you'll find out soon."
and he did. when one day,A whole year after; he received 3 very familiar women in his office,all wearing black suits. one's shirt was dark grey,another was white and the last one,who was the one standing in front of him was orange...they all had the same brooches he saw them in before. now in the form of golden regalia. collars,to be exact.
he turned to look at the woman in front of him,she had the same eyes...
"Reborn,we need to talk."
. . .
It was early in the morning, birds chirped as they flew around the spires of a magnificent palace amidst a bustling city. A woman that looked to be in her early thirties sat on a chair, in the balcony of her private suite. She sighed, content, and took a sip of her tea. A knock came at the door.
"Come in."
The doors gently opened, a young woman stepped inside, carrying a tray of breakfast for her Empress. she set it on the table next to her boss before vowing.
"Kyoko."
The woman perked up at the sound of her name, turning towards her boss. "Yes,Sari-sama?" she turned to look at her guardian,smiling kindly.
"You'll see them again,Kyoko. Very soon."