Foreword: Welcome back! Some of you may notice I was a tad bit late here…but unfortunately I hit a bit of a block these past two weeks…I wouldn't really call it writer's block as I already know what's going to happen and there for don't have a problem deciding what to do next….I did however have something of a creative block as I was too busy being anxious over real life issues (shame you can't get paid for writing Fanfiction :P) and couldn't even pull myself together to work out/imagine a scene…ironically my imagination was nowhere near dead…and I ended up crafting 3 completely new OC/KHR fic ideas and reworking my Belphegor idea. I have posted them on my bio and I have put up a NEW POLL. It's in my plans to finish "Not On the Menu" this year and as such I'll probably start a new fic sometime this year as well. I'd like you all to decide which one you'd like to read first. It's a multi-choice and you're allowed to pick up to 3…which I think is okay given that I have 7 listed ideas and am open to suggestions for wanted KHR characters. So please, VOTE! Well, enough about that…let's get on to what you people are really here for…I give you: Tooth & Nail…

Disclaimer: …Really? …ya know…one day…I'm gonna publish a book…and then I'm gonna get up here and write fanfiction for my own crap. JUST so I can NOT leave a disclaimer and see what happens…cuz ya know what? ….I OWN THAT SHIT!...however…this is not THAT shit….this…is current shit…and current shit belongs to Akira Amano…not me. Happy, fuckers?

Beta'd as of 3/23/2013 by PhantomHitman1412

Tooth & Nail

Prologue: Problems with the Times

Gokudera Hayato, also known as 'The Smoking Bomb' and in more recent times 'The Right Hand of Vongola Decimo'…was seriously considering killing himself. Anything…anything…was better than continuing to sit through this bullshit. It was times like these that he was hard pressed to regret being the right hand of Sawada Tsunayoshi…almost. Still, as he attempted to focus his dull eyed stare on the rest of his…companions, he found himself in a battle against his own patience. He'd already tuned them out as his sanity desperately cried for salvation; however, it was by sheer will power that Hayato overcame. He knew in both his mind and heart that his duty came first over his sanity, any day. And so it with great anxiety, Hayato allowed himself to not only see the people in front of him, but hear them as well.

"VOIIIIII!"

He clenched his jaw. …perhaps he'd acted too soon.

"Squalo."

He went unheard as the VARIA second in command continued his protest, "You shitty bastards! You had just as much to do with it as I did!"

"Ushishishi. The prince doesn't make stupid decisions."

"Sure you do, senpai."

"Tch! Stay out of conversations involving your betters, brat."

"I don't see any, senpai. …besides…I told you it was a bad idea."

"Why you—"

"Mu…I was away on a mission."

"VOI! Quit making excuses, you pieces of shit!"

Strangely, Lussuria and Levi were quiet…but it didn't matter not when Hayato could see them squirming in their seats. He narrowed his eyes and cut into their spat, "Squalo!"

He concealed the gnashing of his teeth, but was unable to hide the twitching of a nerve near his right eye. Aquamarine eyes glaring heatedly down at the table's occupants, he clenched his fists beneath the table and squashed the urge to fling the stick of dynamite in his sleeve to the opposite side of the room. He took a calming breath as the group of assassins had quieted and were now staring at him with various expressions. Squalo, closest to him on his left, had some time ago stood up in his chair, long white hair trailing down his back and over his shoulder. He had one foot planted on the long conference table, his sword wielding arm still pointed at Belphegor's throat, though his disdainful gaze was centered on the Vongola storm guardian. The prince for that matter seemed completely unfazed. His hands were tucked behind his head and he was slouched in what he would likely call a "princely manner", his feet propped on the table without a care in the world. As always, his eyes were hidden by layers of strawberry blonde hair, but his mocking grin nearly provoked Hayato into reaching for the spare stick of dynamite once more. Beside the insane member of royalty and closest to Hayato's right, the seemingly youngest and smallest of the group of assassins, a figure shrouded mostly from view by a heavy black hooded cloak, his arms crossed over his chest, Mammon was wearing his usual sullen frown. Although given the young, child-like appearance of what could be seen of his face, the frown was far closer to a pout. On the other side of the ripping prince, Flan, currently on sabbatical from his master and therefore on loan to the group of assassins, looked as bored and unaffected as he always did. He was slightly slumped in his high backed chair, his hands tucked into his jacket pockets while his legs stretched out in front of him beneath the table. Mint green hair falling unhindered into his eyes, as he lacked the large frog hat Belphegor had once forced on him in an alternate history, the only sign of curiosity to be found in him was the mere fact that he had turned his vacant gaze in Hayato's direction.

At the end of the table, Lussuria, noted by his crowning orange Mohawk and the sweep of green bang that hung over his right eye, though it made little difference considering his eyes were obscured from sight by his ever present sunglasses, was leaned forward over the table, his gloved hands clasped in front of him, a slight frown disrupting his normally jubilant expression. Next to him, Levi A. Than was suspiciously quiet. He was hunched over in his chair, his arms dangling past his lap and his uneasy stare pointed at the floor. It was because of them, that Hayato was nervous.

Guiding his glare back to their commander, he met the shark's unyielding gaze and asked, "And what does Xanxus have to say about this?"

And with that spoken, Hayato narrowed his eyes at their reactions. All of them suddenly tensed, even the normally nonchalant substitute illusionist had trailed his blank stare down to the table. The storm guardian prayed that the feeling rising in his gut was for nothing as he asked the dreaded follow-up question, "He was informed of this decision, wasn't he?" He raised his voice towards the end.

"Tch!" Squalo lowered his sword from Belphegor's throat and gave his fellow second in command a baleful scowl. "Of course he was, trash! He signed the agreement, didn't he!?"

Ignoring the insult, Hayato continued to stare down the Rain commander, waiting for him to continue.

"…it's just…"

It wasn't Squalo, however who told him what he wanted to know.

"Mu…" Hayato shifted his gaze to the former Arcobaleno, "…the boss doesn't always read over the paperwork." …that had been an understatement.

And just like that…all hell broke loose in the once neat and casually elegant conference room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

~18 hours later; Tokyo, Japan~

He was livid. Just the mere thought of the group of assassins nearly made him want to jump back on a flight to Italy, just so he could pick another fight with them. …as it was, he suspected that the Vongola would be receiving a rather pricey bill for the damage done to the hotel. For a moment, he wondered if neutral territory was really worth the cost of the damages…but then he considered the possibility of Xanxus actually stepping foot on the property of the Vongola main house—while Sawada Tsunayoshi was in charge—and then the even less likely possibility of Decimo and his guardians being welcomed on the VARIA's home turf. That thought quickly went out the window. As it was, lawn head and the baseball moron were barely tolerated on the property when they visited their rivals for a simple spar. Anything that dealt directly with Vongola…or more precisely Vongola Decimo's reign…and it was likely to have a hole blasted into it, courtesy of Xanxus' X-guns.

Hayato sighed at the thought of the VARIA leader and quickened his pace for the door, eager to be outside of the smoke-free airport. The moment he was out of range, the first thing he did was light a cigarette. The second thing he did was make a phone call.

"…I've informed Jyuudaime already. Make sure everyone's in attendance." He took a drag on his addiction of choice.

"It isn't that simple. We have a problem."

"As in a possible massive breach in security-problem."

"…Right."

Hanging up, Hayato stared at the phone before looking at the cigarette. Narrowing his gaze on the object, he realized one may not be enough. Sighing heavily, he made his way to the airport parking lot.

~A few hours later~

He navigated the underground base with an undeniable ease that could only be a product from the knowledge that came with being one half the mind that designed the layout. He was on his fifth cigarette of the morning when he stepped into the meeting room and seven pairs of eyes shifted to him. He paused under the heavy scrutiny and after a moment, he inwardly cursed as he plucked the cigarette from between his lips. He knew there was no smoking in the base…but it was a lost thought amongst the chaotic whirlwind his mind had become. Clearing his throat self-consciously, his eyes quickly roamed his surroundings for a spot to put out the still lit tobacco stick. Finally, with an annoyed frown he was forced to stump the butt out on the metal door frame. Meeting the stares of his famiglia, the looks he received ranging from amused to annoyed and finally flat out bored—stupid cow—he moved to the end of the table, the direct opposite of Tsuna.

Usually, he sat at Tsuna's right, but as he was currently making the announcement, his seat was left empty. Still, standing directly across from his boss had the added bonus of meeting his gaze head on. …A fact the Hayato found to be rather intimidating despite Tsuna's rather non-threatening appearance. Taking a breath, he noted that I-pin was still away on a mission and Chrome was still absent doing whatever it was that Mukuro had asked of her. …perhaps a blessing in disguise, really. He didn't particularly dislike Chrome and did in fact trust her to a certain degree, however…given the close relationship between her and Mukuro, he wasn't fond of allowing her certain information. And this latest fiasco…was definitely something he didn't want Mukuro catching wind of. Not surprising, Lal was sitting in place of Basil. After Iemitsu retired the previous year, Basil had taken over the leadership of CEDEF as Lal hadn't wanted to deal with the responsibilities of being in charge and had instead settled for the position of second. Naturally, Basil spent most of his time in Italy and as such Lal usually attended in his place when in Japan. Even less surprising was Kyoya's empty spot…it was common knowledge that the Cloud guardian hated to be grouped together. Hayato was, however surprised to see Fuuta seated at the table. Despite having an advisory position in the upper levels of the Vongola famiglia, he was the only one of them with a day job. Hayato had expected him to be somewhere on the surface teaching a class.

At his questioning look, the young man gave him a modest smile and said, "I heard it was an emergency."

He shifted his gaze to Lal who only shrugged in response. She was the one he'd spoken to on the phone. True, this meeting was of the utmost importance, but it wasn't anything so immediately dire that Jyuudaime's younger sibling of sorts needed to leave off of work. Sighing, he realized there was no point in making a big deal of it now. What's done is done. He opened his mouth to speak, but paused. "Reborn isn't here?"

Takeshi answered, "I spoke with him last night. He said he'd be back sometime this evening. One of us will inform him later."

Annoyed, but satisfied Hayato nodded and questioned them all, "I assume you've been told what this is about?"

This time it was Lal who answered, her no-nonsense tone urging him to get to the point, "Just that it has something to do with your meeting with the VARIA."

Grunting in agreement, he continued, "Apparently a little over two years ago the VARIA made a deal—a contract actually—with several of the allied branch families."

There were a few raised eyebrows, but no one seemed too concerned…yet.

"The details of this contract stated that if the VARIA had not found a candidate for the position of their Cloud commander in three years…then the branch families will be allowed to propose their own candidates."

The reactions that followed that particular statement were a lot more noticeable, especially Lal's loud exclamation of, "What the hell was Xanxus thinking?"

Still, Hayato's gaze was locked with Tsuna's. Hands in front of him, his fingers interlaced, the Decimo's previously patient gaze had narrowed in concerned thought. Shifting away to look at Lal, Hayato answered her, "Nothing it would seem. Evidently, the decisions of the VARIA are largely left up to its second in command, with only the more extreme decisions making their way to Xanxus where they are presented to him verbally prior to him seeing the actual paperwork."

"And this wasn't an extreme decision?" The only reason it wasn't unusual for Lal to be this outspoken was because Hayato didn't have the liberty of doing it himself…he was too busy being the bearer of bad news.

"About that…," he looked away from Lal and turned his gaze to the head of the table, "It would seem there was a mix-up in the paperwork. One of Squalo's subordinates made the mistake of including it in what was at the time the latest set of papers for Xanxus to sign. …He signed it without prior knowledge of the agreement. It was filed and copies were sent to the other signers." It went unsaid that the subordinate responsible was no longer living.

"And Xanxus?" All eyes shifted to the seemingly too young and innocent mafia boss, "What has he said about this?"

Hayato's eyes drifted down to the table's surface and a slight twitch made itself known on his face. "That's just it Jyuudaime. Not even the commanders themselves knew that the agreement had been made official until two days ago when a branch family member contacted them about it." Ignoring the bewildered looks on his famiglia's faces, he looked back up at his boss and added, "Xanxus doesn't know. I was…however, assured that he'd be informed within the day." That particular assurance was what caused the damage to conference room. Despite knowing that Xanxus needed to be told, none of the commanders wanted to be the one to do it…and truth be told, Hayato couldn't blame them. However, at the end of the day, someone had to own up to their subordinate's screw up and their disagreement had been particularly violent.

"Mah…" Disarming smile in place, Takeshi was the first to comment, a hand scratching at his head, "…that's quite a predicament."

Hayato snorted. It was more than just a predicament. While most of the allied branch families were decently trustworthy, such as in the case of the Cavallone family, there were still quite a few of them that were only allied with them for the purpose of covering their own hides…and most of them were just waiting for the chance to take over. The VARIA's latest screw up gave them the perfect opportunity to infiltrate the ranks and serve as a double agent. And that was the most positive scenario. Worst case was that they could attempt to sabotage the Vongola from the inside out.

Tsunayoshi was silent for a long moment before looking to his Storm guardian. "…What do you have in mind, Hayato?"

A faint, barely noticeable smile appeared on the right hand man's face…which was of course in stark contrast to his inner reaction of a child bouncing for joy as his Jyuudaime recognized his capabilities without prodding. When he spoke, however, he was composed and his tone even, "Thankfully, the wording of the latter half of the contract, which pertained to how the candidate would be selected, was rather vague. While I do have an idea in mind, I would need to go over it with Reborn before presenting it confidently."

Smiling fondly at his second, Tsuna nodded in acceptance. "We'll discuss this particular issue further after you've spoken with Reborn then. I believe, you had another, more…curious issue as well?"

"Ahh," he nodded with his spoken agreement and reached into his jacket pocket. He paused in his actions, however when a figure stepped into the doorway.

All eyes shifted to an abashed Kusakabe Tetsuya. "Pardon me. I was informed rather late that there was a meeting taking place."

Nobody said anything. Of course, he was. Kyoya was likely too busy to be concerned with matters of the Vongola. In fact, he was probably taking a nap and hadn't decided to inform his assistant until he'd awoken. …All of the former, simply being Hayato's imaginations didn't take away from the fact that he was suddenly quite displeased with the Cloud guardian. Glaring at nothing in particular, Hayato removed the thumb drive from his coat pocket and inserted it into the slot in the wall behind him. Immediately the large previously blank screen above it flared to life.

Momentarily turning his gaze on Kusakabe, he quickly informed him. "I'll catch up you afterwards, but for now this is the latest issue."

The video on the screen was slightly grainy, but in color…for all the good it did as it seemed to be a recording of a rather rainy day. It looked to be security footage.

"This video was taken sometime in the last two months at a shipping dock in New York." Turning to gesture to the car pulling up and a small group of suited men haphazardly tugging a body from the back seat, he continued, "a subordinate of mine has informed me that the Russian mob believes themselves to have gotten ahold of a member of ours and that they've taken them in for questioning." It was unnecessary for him to elaborate on the mob's version of questioning.

Noting that he had everyone's attention, he picked up the remote and zoomed in on the body of the struggling captive. "Problem is…I've seen every member of the Vongola famiglia and I have taken great care to memorize every face…and I don't recognize this person." He froze the video on the supposed soon to be tortured informant.

He was only mildly disappointed when no one showed any sign of recognition. If he didn't recognize the captive, then it was unlikely that any of them would…or so he thought.

Again, all eyes were on Kusakabe, but this time it wasn't because he was late. He'd stood up so suddenly that his chair had rolled back into the wall behind him with a noisy crash. The man himself was staring wide eyed at the screen, the twig usually clenched between his teeth was in danger of falling to the floor, but he paid it no mind. He was too busy looking at the same face that he had studied curiously three months prior.

"That woman…"

Afterword: …that's right. …I cliffhanged the hell outta that ending. Deal with it! :P Nya nya nyan nyan nyan nya! XD Ughh…lol, anyway….I'd like to say I'll have chapter 1 up in a few days…but I won't….I know I won't. So I'm aiming for some time during the first half of next week. Also, I've been considering posting the chapter playlists I write to on my tumblr and I was wondering if you all would be interested (at all) in knowing what I write to? As I usually try to find songs that not only balance my current mental mood, but fit the tone of my scenes. …Just a thought. :D Welp! See you all next time and don't forget to VOTE ON THE NEW POLL!

-S.T.