His smile was anything but innocent.

The way he glanced at you, the way he spoke; it always seemed that he hid something beneath that happy fascia of his — only that you didn't know what. His jovial personality irked you the most ever since you stepped in his very office... especially when you heard that he was the boss of the family. He related to you about his goals — his ideals. Everything else worked but that.

You wanted to crush him.

His idea of a perfect world was nothing but something he craved for himself; nothing less. It wasn't for the mutual benefit — he wanted this whole world to be fitted to his expectations and demands; his needs. And you were a part of it.

And all because he knew you hated this world.

He could sense that the both of you shared the same goal — to change this world to fit your distorted fantasies. But, you noted to yourself — in your case, in some ways, it'd be better. But for the merciless dictator, it was pure destruction and condemnation through fear and sheer terror.

To you, it seemed foolish. It was simply too idealistic of him, you thought.

But one's thinking often changes through a span of time, and yours did. You realized he held the power to change everything. He had the ability to alter, shape, destroy, and create whatever he pleased. It was enough to understand your current position to put your plan to good use — your plan to undermine him.

"You're too kind, [Y/N]-chan~ "

Kind? You scoffed, grimacing mentally. From that sentence alone, you knew he didn't understand you. Kindness was a weakness to you, and you don't want to be left behind. Being compassionate to others will only burden you and make you sympathize; it'd be a hassle if you were to feel something at this point of time.

Because you knew — each time you helped someone, you were a milestone away from your perfection.

And you weren't about to let it slip.

You were the only one left.

Tsuna...

Gokudera...

Yamamoto...

Mukuro...

Ryohei...

And even Hibari...

Your eyes flickered back and forth; never once did you ever predict that you'd be registering the image of your friends' corpses in your mind.

"Byakuran..."

He cut off your sentence, sighing deeply. He ran his fingers through his hair nonchalantly, then folding his arms. When would people like them learn the correct way to treat the new ruler of this place?

A scornful smile then stretched across his lips. "How would you like to negotiate, [Y/N]-chan~?"

"Negotiate? You? Forget it," you spat. His eyes narrowed, burying his dismay.

"I don't think you want to make me mad, [Y/N]-chan..." Byakuran's voice softened near the end of his sentence, wrapping his cold, slender fingers around your throat.

"Your life is in my hands, after all," he whispered, sinking his fingernails into your flesh as you winced. For a scrawny looking male, his strength was beyond his appearance.

"Now let's see, [Y/N]-chan, if you were to agree to work for me again... I'll promise to revive your friends over there~" He sang; how he could keep that expression on his face made you wonder. But of course, this wouldn't be an appropriate time to question; you wanted to talk, but your lips won't even quiver.

You were already lacking of air; opening your mouth, you tried to suck in some air, trying to get the little oxygen your body needed to survive. A few meager breaths were all you needed. Black threatened to override your consciousness, but you tried anyway. You needed to breathe. But you couldn't.

Byakuran could only smirk as you writhed before him; agree to it or not? You went ahead, choking out his ideal reply.

"I-I'll... work for you, Byakuran... Sama..."

And that was all he needed to hear.

You knew he could easily expel your weakness. Your weakness towards your used to be family members. The Vongola.

There was no need for the others to enter the stage at that point of time, because your charade was already exploited by Byakuran; you should've known that his knowledge and power had enabled him to know almost everything. And by then, any big heist would have already been uncovered.

Everything was pretty much useless.

You recalled the day Tsuna sent you to infiltrate Millefiore — as Byakuran's direct reporter. Your naivety had nearly cost you your life; you hadn't intended on knowing the fact that he was omniscience. That information alone was enough to threaten and destroy your morale.

Then again, on the day of the interview, why did he hire you?

You never failed to ponder on that.

Vaguely, you remembered that day; but there was this... conversation that struck you the most. You didn't know whether it was his expression or the uniqueness of the question, but it was intriguing no less.

"What would be your idea of a perfect world?"

"Everything I craved for and wanted."