Chapter 1: The Finding of Chiruka

or, the chapter where in Reborn becomes sickened with Iemitsu's idea of parenting

The Greatest Hitman in the World was ready to murder. He had always known the man was an idiot and questioned if he was good enough for the position he held. But this was beyond disgusting. Reborn had been sent to tutor the man's daughter and had found the address on the file to be empty, a foreclosure. More digging showed that the girl in question wasn't even on this side of town anymore and that the man's darling wife had been dead for three years. To make matters worse the girl had dropped out of middle school and the only picture that Reborn had to go off of to find her was one of when she was two years old.

Shadowing his eyes with his fedora Reborn set out. First he talked to the middle school administrators, then neighbors, then apartment managers, then hacked police files and it was there that he got his first lead. His knuckles turned white and he almost broke the keyboard when he saw what the record was for. Prostitution. Reborn knew that Iemitsu had more than enough money as leader of the CEDEF. There was no reason for a girl at the age of thirteen to be on the streets. Resigning himself to the fact he made his trek towards the red light district.

On the streets he heard things about the little girl (each one made him grit his teeth a little harder). The sweet girl who helped the orphans, the one who cleaned for a little old lady, the one who was a favorite at a certain brothel. The last one was all he needed. Reborn soon found himself watching one of the young women at Gyaza Hana, Chiruka.

It sickened Reborn that through Iemitsu's idiocy Tsunahime had been replaced by Chiruka. A trained geisha who was nothing more than a prostitute who had dropped out of high school. A little girl wearing woman's clothes and living a wrong life. Thus an apartment in the residential area of Namimori was suddenly signed for and no longer available. No student of his was going to be in such a place as this. So, at midnight the two souls met just outside the brothel.

"Are you lost?" She leaned in close enough that Reborn could pick out all the covered bruises.

"No. I was sent here to tutor you." A raised eyebrow was his response. "As the descendant of a highly important man it has come to the intention of certain people that you should be trained."

"Who are these 'certain people'?" Chiruka knew this was no child. He was much to articulate and cold to be what he seemed.

"Distant relatives from Italy, and Iemitsu Sawada." Reborn, at this point in time, was quite sure that he would not be known as father to this girl.

"Iemitsu Sawada? I thought he was dead." Her eyes were hard and cold, and Reborn could understand her anger. He was ready to murder the man himself.

"He is alive and well. Also an apartment is ready for you to move into, as my student you are expected to attend school and not have any extra curriculars that would interfere with my tutoring." Her mouth fell open. An apartment? School? These things were so foreign to her now.

"Are you telling the truth?" She had picked Reborn up and stared him in the eyes with her own. Hers were so distant and wary, yet there was enough hope in them that it bruised (because Reborn didn't break) his heart just a (little, a smidgen) bit.

"Yes. I will tutor you until you are ready to re-enter the public education system." Chiruka listened to that part of her that hummed, that part that protected her from the worst things people could throw at her. To her slight disbelief it agreed with the tiny body (because was he really a man or a creature?).

"I will leave at eight in the morning after I settle things." Chiruka set him down but just as his feet touched the ground she had a sudden urge. Yanking him back upwards she held him close to her chest and whispered her gratitude in his ear.