Rachael Hertz & fanfiction: CloudGateau

Passing reference to The Varia's Hiring: Expresso-Latte.

Katekyo Hitman Reborn concept: Akira Amano

Pairings: None

Living in Sin

Intro .:One Dead, one broken:.

It's about time we got some new members…

Every person on Earth has or will have experienced a life changing event (unless of course, the person dies an untimely death). When and how each person experiences his or her life-defining moment, differs from person to person. Some encounter it early on in life and others at the brink of death. Most people however, do not realize when they come across it.

Fran wrinkled his nose as he glanced up at the poster.

Class ended a while ago at Turin Academy and Fran was on his way home when he spotted a hiring poster outside a hair salon.

"Recruiting members for the Varia," Fran read monotonously, "Dissatisfied with life? Stuck at a dead end job? Then wouldn't you prefer the thrill and excitement of working in the mafia?"

.::.

Elsewhere in the glamorous, metropolitan city of Milan, Rachael Hertz read the exact same advertisement in the job section of the Milano Times.

"Dominate the masses with an iron fist. Learn the art of assassination from the best of the best! Hone and sharpen your dodging and survival skills. Look badass kicking butt wherever you go!" Rachael murmured to herself.

Rachael uncurled her legs from the crouching position she assumed atop a threadbare chair. She picked up her bowl of Milanese risotto and shoveled the rest of it into her mouth.

Rachael chewed thoughtfully as she glanced around the tine, cluttered apartment space.

The space contained only two rooms, a living room and bathroom. To accommodate the small space, Rachael slept on a futon. The table she currently hunched over doubled as a workspace and dining table. It partially barricaded her clothing packed closet. In a corner of the room were a rusty but sturdy bicycle, a few boxes of Instant Ramen, and a duffle bag.

Rachael sighed. A month ago, the Arma dei Carabinieri fired her because she mortally injured her coworker and arch-rival, Achille Lombardi.

The incident wasn't entirely her fault.

Achille and another moron got into an argument and so everyone proposed a 'Third Party Ro Sham Bo'. The judge elected her the 'kicker', unaware that she shared a long history with Achille. And so, she fulfilled her duty as kicker with much gusto and rendered Achille a pitiful mess on the floor.

Nurses rushed him to the infirmary and after they discharged Achille, he made sure that Rachael paid for the relentless pain and humiliation he suffered.

A week later, Rachael received her pay and was dismissed from the 3rd Carabinieri Battalion of Milan.

.::.

Requirements: strong, preferably small in size, experienced in killing, independent, efficient, and extremely durable," Fran listed off.

He looked down at his petite frame and skinny legs, "Check."

Fran itched to get rid of the ridiculous sailor uniform Turin Academy forced boys to wear. The beret made the costume a hundred times worse. He hoped, prayed, and wished from Santa, that once the Varia accepted him, he'd never wear another stupid hat, ever again.

.::.

"Well, I don't know about 'cute,' but I'm a size six and I'm single so yeah, I'm pretty much a shoe in" Rachael chuckled. "Experienced in killing? Well I'm positive I killed something when I kicked that damn Achille between the legs…" Rachael's smile vanished. "But, do I really want to go this route? I'm not technically in poverty…"

.::.

A clock chimed nearby, its gongs eerily disembodied through the foggy streets. Fran hastily jotted down the phone number and address before he rushed home, the fog growing thicker.

.::.

"Ah Scheiße!" The water she boiled bubbled out of the pot and shorted out her mini-stove. Rachael scrambled off her seat and wrenched open the windows which tore one of the panes out of the wall.

Panicking, Rachael quickly dropped the smoking stove out the window. For once, Rachael felt happy that the apartment dumpster that stood below her window accomplished something, other than waft rotten garbage past her window.

As Rachael stood in silence before the frigid air that stole in through her window, she sneezed. "I… need a job. And a new stove. And someone to fixed this hole in my wall."

.::.

Fran reached up and pushed the ceiling tile to the side. Ever so gently, he slid his worldly possessions from the cavity and packed them in his school bag.

He thumbed the 1300 Euros he saved from over the years, replaced the ceiling tile and hopped down from his bed. Fran lifted the window pane of his bedroom, took one last survey of his bedroom and slid outside, left 16 years of miserable life behind him.

.::.

Making up her mind, Rachael tossed on a coat, wrapped herself snuggly in a scarf, and hefted the duffle bag onto her shoulder. She tucked her passport into her breast pocket, rolled out her creaking bike and swung a leg over it.

Her breath turning to vapor in the chilly, bitter air, Rachael grinned to herself.

"I'm off to Sicily."

(AN: The following information pertaining to this fanfiction is historically/culturally/geographically etc. accurate. Cited from Wikipedia and Google Maps)

1. Turin: Northern Italy, Piedmont region. During the winter and autumn months banks of fog become thick. (Fran=Varia Mist=Fog)

2. Milan: Northern Italy; renowned as one of the world capitals of design and fashion.

3. Milanese Risotto: a rich and creamy, traditional Italian rice dish. It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy.

4. Arma dei Carabinieri: the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both the military and civilian populations. Rachael belonged to the 3rd Carabinieri Battalion "Lombardy" in Milan before she was given the boot.

5. Third Party Ro Sham Bo: When two men kick each other repeatedly between the legs until one of them gives up. In the third party version, a third person is nominated the "kicker". The kicker is used to equalize kicks enabling a sense of fairness to degrees of pain endured.
(The Kickers kicks are equal in caliber of force as opposed to standard RSB which puts the man with stronger legs in favor, as well as leaves kicking force unregulated.
The third party kicker must be unbiased towards the two opponents or hate them both equally.)