I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment purposes only, no money involved.
"Finally, I found one," Reborn said as he stood in front of a swirling green gateway behind a waterfall in the northern mountains of Japan. "You better be grateful for what I'm doing for you Tsuna," The strange infant said as he walked into the gate.
The world he knew so well had been left behind the moment he stepped out of the other side of the portal. He had left Earth and was standing inside of the Ghost Zone. Though he didn't bat an eye as the souls of the damned swirled about him, moaning and throwing about empty threats. Giant green rocks flouted through the swirling green fog that filled this strange world. The atmosphere was so glumly that it would be suffocating to most.
"I see this place hasn't changed since the last time I was here," Reborn joked rather unimpressed by the dark environment.
"Get out..." One of the soul cried, flying towards the baby. The lizard on Reborn's arm turned into a green gun and he fired a shining green bullet through the spirit's forehead causing it to scream in horror as it started to destabilize. The rest of the spirit scattering in shock at what the living infant had done.
The gun then changed into a green compose. Reborn took a moment to look at the compose before it turned into a green jetpack and he flew towards his destination.
Reborn was a bazaar looking fellow, he had jelled up black hair that looked as if he had stuck a fork in a power outlet that he covered with a black hat. His business suit and side burns would be pretty ordinary, if it wasn't for the fact that he looked like a one year old baby. Around his neck was a giant pacifier, as big as his head, that was bright yellow like the light of the sun.
Most people wouldn't have been brave enough to just walk right into the land of damnation, but Reborn was not most people. He was the greatest hitman to ever live. Though in his resent years he had taken up teaching the next generation of mafia bosses, or at least that's what he was supposed to be doing. Mostly he just liked messing with them, though he did make sure that he taught them everything they needed to know.
Tsuna was his current play thing, the boy had been completely useless; bad at sports, poor grades, no friends. So Reborn took on the job of training the boy as his home tutor. But a resent development had caused a change to Tsuna's right to rule, and if he didn't win the battles over the Vongola rings, then he would probably be killed and a psychotic bastard would take his place as the tenth boss. Something that Reborn could allow to happen.
To win Tsuna would need to gather guardians to represent him and stand by him in his uncertain future. Unfortunately, the soft hearted boy would never willingly ask the people he cared about to risk their lives for him. So it was up to Reborn to find guardians for the future boss. He had found perfect matches for the positions of Storm, Rain, Sun, Thunder, Cloud, and even managed to get an old enemy to stand in as a Mist guardian.
However, there was one more position that remained vacant, and it was the reason that he had gone all the way to the Ghost Zone to began with. To talk to an old friend who would hopefully be willing to help him find a person suitable to be the guardian of Snow.
Just like with the other guardian, the nature of a true guardian of Snow is very particular, and so was their job. The job of a Snow Guardian was to protect the Vongola family from spiritual attacks, so who better to choose the protector, than a spirit.
After some journey, Reborn reached his destination, a tall and spooky clock tower that flouted in the middle of the emptiness. Once he reached the door, it opened before he ever knocked. On the inside of the tower were hundreds upon hundreds of clocks of every type, covering ever visible surface. The sound of the combined ticking was a little unnerving, even to the hitman. "You really need a new interior decorator, Clockwork," Reborn said as he looked around the place. "Maybe some more nature light would help with your skin tone."
"So first you are late in getting here, and then you insult my choice in living arrangements? You wound me, old friend," The ghost of time said as he faded into view. He was like Reborn, nothing but an infant in appearance, but gave off an aura of ancient power. He had blue skin and deep red eyes that glowed from underneath his purple cloak. A smile played at his lips as he looked towards the other Arcobaleno.
Around Clockwork's neck, completely invisible to those who were not already expecting to see it, was a pacifier, one clear than any crystal. For that was the nature of the snow flames, unlike the other flames which produced a light within the visible spectrum, the light from the Snow flames was ultraviolet and could only be perceived as a shimmer in the air around it. That is why it was sometime referred to as 'the phantom flame'.
"Ciaossu. Sorry, but I know you could have just opened up a gate for me at any time if you wanted to. So you can't complain that I am late when you refused to give me a ride. Besides, I had to make sure my hair was in perfect shape," Reborn said, taking off his hat and running a hand through his hair.
"Oh, rub it in why don't you," the undead Arcobaleno said as he touched his own bald head. "You are so very rude for someone who has come to ask me for a favor. And such a difficult one too. I doubt that anyone else in the worlds could give you the information you seek."
"So you already know what I want?" Reborn said with a cheeky grin.
"You know perfectly well that people with Snow flames are rare, almost as rare as Sky flames. But the nature of the Snow flame is tied to death itself, so almost all of the people who possess it become sickly and weak," Clockwork said. "You want; a young child, ages twelve to sixteen, who possesses a Snow flame, is capable of handling themselves in a fight, and would be willing to become a guardian for your choice of the Vongola's tenth boss. Is that a good summary?"
"It is either Tsuna or Xanxus," Reborn said, noticing the sound of disapproval in Clockwork's voice. Strictly speaking, the Arcobaleno were not supposed to get involved in matters of succession for the Vongola family.
"Don't try to lie to me, Reborn. I am not some fool. You and I both know perfectly well that Xanxus is not qualified to become the next Vongola leader, he lacks the right ancestry," Clockwork said, blowing Reborn off.
"So then it is Tsuna or nothing and the Vongola rings would become up for grabs. You know how dangerous that would be," Reborn tried again.
"If Tsuna dies to Xanxus, then the rings would go to that boy, Dino, not that he could use them properly. Even if you did give him knowledge of the flames," Clockwork said, turning his back on Reborn.
"So then, you won't help me," Reborn born said slightly frustrated. "Not even for all of this candy?" He pulled out a large quantity of candy out of seemingly nowhere. Clockwork swallowed hard. "You always had one hell of a sweet tooth, even before we became Arcobalenos. And since you have been forced to stay here in the tower. I would guess it has been a long time since you had any," Reborn said with a smile.
"You always were one for bribery and blackmail," Clockwork grumbled as he tried to resist, but Reborn shook the bag up and down. "There are only two people in the world that fit your request for a guardian of Snow. One is a fifteen year old boy, but he lives in America and is tied down to his duties to his city and family. The other is a clone that was made from the boy's blood. The clone has the appearance of a twelve year old girl. Due to events, she is without a home and travels the world relatively freely. Her name is... Danielle Fenton. You will find her in an abandoned shopping center in Hong Kong."
Reborn grinned and tossed the candy to Clockwork before saying. "Don't suppose you would be willing to give me a ride to Hong Kong, would you?" Reborn asked the ghost of time. Clockwork waved his staff and a swirling green gateway appeared in front of Reborn who walked through it.
Clockwork grinned as the portal disappeared behind the other baby. "Everything is as it should be," Clockwork said softly as he began to eat the candy bribe.
I'm going to be giving this another try, only not jumping straight to the fight this time so that there will hopefully be more character development to work with.
Thus the switch from Danny to Dani, as the clone doesn't have something pulling her to go back to Amity Park. Also she would be in middle school, even if she would be a year or two younger than Tsuna. Will be entering the story between the Mist and Cloud challenges.