Authors' note: Okay I decided to continue with the growing up with the arcobaleno's story instead of continuing on to 's probably be a seperate story all together. Oh and sorry if my updates are slow, college can be frustrating. I have the worst kind of writers' block right now. Especially for the other story I'm still working on, "Feather feelings". Anyway, I'm probably gonna change the rating to this story, it's not really going to have anything bad in it for a while so might as well. Also, I know there aren't alot of people who like fanfics with OC's in them, neither do I, but I wanted to try it. Reviews are very much appreciated. Ideas too. XD

Disclaimer: I Don't own KHR.


6am, eyes shut and body resting comfortably, a gun with finger on the trigger beneath the pillow, a certain hitman rests in his large mohagany based bed. He doesn't stir; doesn't twitch; doesn't breath heavily or snore. He simply lies in sleep. Until...

(whisper) "Papa?...Papa?...you awake?..." says a cute little girl at the side of his bed. She gets no response.

Stepping as lightly as she can, she slides herself into the egyptian cotton sheets, her long black hair sprawled across the pillow, and her tail falling over the edge of the bed. She huddles into the sleeping man's warmth, her face pressed against his chest, her ears twitching as she makes herself comfortable and wraps her arms around him as best she could. She took comfort in his scent, the smell of cigars and martinis wafting into her nose and stimulating her senses. (Not exactly the best of influences but oh well)

(Whisper) "I'll just wait here then..." Smiles.

5 seconds...10 seconds...15 seconds...

"Victoria...?" Says a now fully alert Reborn has he looks down on the invader in his bed, having propped himself up on one elbow, the girl still clinging to him effortlessly.

"Hmmm...?..." A certain little wolf girl muffles out a sound as she readjusts.

"What are you doing here...?"

Ten more seconds pass in silence...

"Waiting for you to wake up..." she speaks into his chest.

"Well, I'm up now..." says Reborn with a bit of sarcasm, which came as a surprise as he never used sarcasm.

"No you not..."

"And why's that?..."

"Because...I'm comfy...and I like it here..." Reborn cracks a small smile.

"I'm awake Victoria, we should get up..."

"...mmmm...five mo minutes..."

Reborn decides to go ahead for himself.

Shifting his body and wriggling out of her grasp, Reborn gets to his morning routines...

Slipping on a designer suit and signature fedora, he doesn't really take any consideration in dressing in front of the child, who's been staring curiously.

Her tail flips slowly from side to side, waiting for her new papa to direct his attention her way. She waited patiently, though for a seven year old patients was a stretch. Her big round brown eyes shifted from one end of the room to another, looking for something to occupy her interest as boredom quickly set in. Then she had an idea.

A smile popped up on her face as she slunk backwards on the bed, Reborn's back to her as she slipped away. She purposely ran across the wood floor, making sure her feet padded lowdly towards the door and down the hall. Reborn could hear her excited giggling fade into the distant hallway while he was straightening his silk tie.

Hmm...? What's she up to?

Grabbing his fedora and placing it casually atop his head, Reborn set out towards the giggling girl, unaware of what she was planning. He could hear her feet hitting the floor with each step and catch glimpses of his white shirt she was wearing followed by her tail as she rounded corners. She was playing with him.

Having come to a stop in the foyer Reborn realized he could no longer hear the girl running around or giggling. He stood in silence. Where'd she go?

An echoed giggle resounded.

"Victoria...?" Reborn called.

She only responded with another light laugh.

That was when Reborn noticed something. His eyes trailed to the side, a slight movement catching his attention. There beneath a length of curtains draped along the floor, a furry black tail twitched with anticipation. The hitman was having a heck of a hard time stiffling a laugh, and an even harder time sustaining his translucent demeanor.

She just might be the death of me...or at least my reputation...

The little wolf demon giggled again.

By now Reborn had silently begun to approach the curtains, being careful not to let his shoes clack against the wood floor. Inch by inch the hitman came closer, a smile starting to show itself as the distance between them closed in.

"Where could she be?" He teased. (Wow, he's actually playing with a kid! XD)

Having reached his destination he bent at the knee, his face leveled to about the height of the girl behind the curtain. He stayed there for a moment, deciding on whether or not he should just grab her or tease her some more.

She had other plans.

Unbeknownst to the mafia man, the half demon behind the curtain knew he was there. She could sense his movement, smell his scent getting stronger with every step closer, hear his light steps and the rustling of his suit as he moved. She could hear and feel his breathing on the otherside of the dark red cutains, her excitement at an all new high.

A huge smile adorned her face as she readied herself to pounce on her prey.

Having decided on teasing her a bit more, Reborn reached for the curtain between them. He figured he'd pull it back slowly to find a playful little girl pretending to hide herself behind her hands. Though he had no idea where these thoughts were coming from.

What he got was the exact opposite.

At the pull of the curtain, the hitmans' new companion had taken the chance to spring into action, throwing herself at the unsuspecting and defenseless man (defenselss, hah!).

"Hehe, Gottcha!" Victoria laughed out as she once again had managed to tackle her new daddy to the ground and seated herself on his chest.

Within the last twenty-four hours someone had managed to lower Reborn's guard and pin him to the ground twice, and honestly, it didn't really bother him.

He found himself once again lying on the floor looking up at the ceiling, pondering away at the thought of his new little pet/ daughter.

Daughter...?

He'd probably never say it out loud, but it wasn't so bad. I think I could get used to this.

In the midst of his deep train of thought and the young girl that had latched herself to his torso, Reborn could hear what he was sure was a knock at the door. Victoria froze. Still atop Reborn, she stared in the direction of the door, her ears pointing downward and her eyes wide with what Reborn assumed was fear and anxiety.

It made sense that the girl he had just saved from being "hunted" would be wary of strangers. He wasn't exactly sure what to do, but hopefully it wasn't anyone too bad at the door.

"Reborn? Reborn you home, Kora?" He was wrong. (Yeah you guys know..XP)

"Crap..."

Reborn stared at the door in an upside down position, laothing the idea of letting the guy on the otherside in, let alone allowing him near Victoria. He was contemplating the possibility that staying silent would make him go away...probably...hopefully.

He waited for a bit, the knocking had halted momentarily. It was then that he felt the tugging at his jacket, the girl sitting on his chest trying to get his attention. "Hmm..?" He responded.

"Whose that...at the door...?" The wolf girl asked lightly. Her playful self rescinded and had been replaced with caution and question.

Reborn thought for a moment.

He couldn't really keep her from meeting people. As much as he didn't like the idea of her meeting that guy, he also couldn't tell her to stay away.

"No one dangerous...he's a...colleague of mine.." Colleague being about as close as he could get to admitting he knew the guy, unfortunately.

"He's...a friend?" She asked.

"Not really...that's more or less what he thinks..." Which pretty much was the case.

By then the knocking had started again. Now it was more frequent. "Hey Reborn...I can hear you talking..you got a girl in there? Introduce me...hey...Kora" I'm gonna kill him...

Reborn thought menacingly. He layed his head back to the floor, rubbing his temples to ease the sudden headache attacking his brain. What did I do to deserve this...

The hitman breathed in deep and exhaled slowly, instantly realizing that a weight on his chest was no longer there. His head whipped to the side to watch a tail and a shirt drag along the floor towards the door, and a small hand reach for the knob.

Fuck!

Before he could stop her, Victoria had turned the knob and cracked the door only sllightly. (Here it goes)

A tall man, about the same height as Reborn was at the door. He wore camouflage, which Victoria recognized as the clothes hunters would sometimes wear to sneak up on her. Despite this thought she continued her observation. This man before her had a somewhat imature look to him. In other words one might call him a player, or at least that's what she's heard people say. The way he wore his clothes all loose and punk rock styling, and his messy blonde hair which she assumed was on purpose, spelled out that he was more of a fun lovin guy. All in all he didn't strike her as bad, not great, but not bad either.

However, he had yet to take notice of her. His vision was directed forward, above the height of the small girl who had answered the door. Obvious confusion was seen on his face, probably wondering if he'd broken the door or something.

"Helloooo...?" The man sung into the home. Victoria was somewhat annoyed.

"Ahem...down here..." She coughed out.

The camo man looked down.

Their eyes met and they both froze. The taller of the two was obviously stuck somewhere between calm and surprise at the child that had answered what he was sure was the feared mafia hitman Reborn's front door. He smiled.

"Ah, sorry...must have the wrong house.." He stated as he stood up and turned to leave.

"Hey wait!" The young girl called out.

"Your a friend of papa's right...I mean Reborn...? He's here. Come in."

The man looked back at her. Papa...?

"Huh...?" He found himself at a loss for words.

"And you are...?" He asked, trying very hard to talk casually, only now noticing the ears that twitched at the top of the little girls' head. Are those real?

"I'm Victoria..." She answered, which was followed by silence. Her ears moving upward as if listening intently for his reply. They're real alright...

Are all these guys gonna react to me like this? She thought with a bit of an annoyed expression on her face.

"What's your name...?" She asked in the cutest voice she could muster. First impressions are important. She made sure to twitch her ears to the side too.

The man felt his heart ram into his rib cage. Cuuutttee...! He thought rather loudly. (Sucker)

In an effort to get closer he bent down to meet her height and proceeded with the introduction. He had a goofy smile on his face as he pointed to himself in an attempt to make the girl laugh. "I'm Colonelo..." Hook line and sinker. She thought. Too easy.

"Hehe, your funny..." She giggled. Which only made the guy smile something twice as goofy.

Knowing exactly what to do, Victoria took hold of Colonelos' hand, noting how big it was compared to hers, not unlike Reborn. She pulled him forward so she could close the door behind them, and continued to lead him inside. "Papa..." She stopped.

Reborn was no longer a mess on the floor. Actually, he was gone from the room. She hadn't even heard him get up. "...is around her somewhere..." she corrected.

Far too happy to be led around by this little girl holding onto his fingers, he was more than enthusiastic about walking about the house looking for the hitman. Colonelo was absolutely enchanted by this cute little girl that was pulling him forward. At a new angle, he could now see the tail that complimented her ears, half hidden under an oversized dress shirt he assumed was Reborns'. Way to go Reborn...she's adorable...!

He was way too occupied by her presence to think about what was really important, like the reason he had come to Reborn's in the first place, or why there was a kid in his house calling him papa. The idea of this girl calling him papa sprung in his head. That lucky bastard...

As they continued through the hall, a certain little demon heard a noise. It was her stomach's protests reminding her that she had yet to eat anything since getting up, an important part of the morning she had to take care of. Colonelo was swooning. "You hungry?" he asked, which earned himself an adorable nod.

Temporarily forgetting their goal to find Reborn, they headed for the kitchen to take care of Victoria's stomach growls. She really had no shame in the matter. Where one might be flushing in embarassment at the loud noises coming from their stomach, she had a somewhat emotionless look on her face that also seemed to have a goal, which was to fill her tummy.

On reaching the kitchen the two discovered none other than Reborn at the table. He had fixed himself up and was no longer as desheveled as he was on the floor a moment ago, his regular emotionless demeanor as it once was. Victoria could only crack a smile and a silent laugh, instantly realizing the reason for her papa's sudden mood swing.

"Ah, Reborn there you are, Kora." States a now fully alert Colonelo, finally out of his cute little girl day dream (creepy I know). "I didn't know you had a kid...you sly dog, Kora."

Reborn made no move to reply. He simply took a swig of the black coffee he had in his hand and decided on ignoring the idiotic man before him. His silence said it all (which was "fuck off or die..."). He turned his gaze away from the unwanted visitor, instead trying to focus his attention on the girl who was too short to reach the cabinets but trying hard to do so anyway. Mustn't smile infront of this idiot guy...he thought.

"She's so cute Reborn, where'd you find her? More importantly, can I take her?" The idiot beamed.

Not a second passed by before Colonelo found himself very intimately involved with the barrel of Reborn's gun (hehe, guess where he's aiming...XP). "Hey hey now, no need to get testy Reborn, Kora..." (hah)

Colonelo switched his gaze toward Victoria.

"No need for violence in front of the kid now..." She looked their way.

"Im okay..." she answered back.

In dread Colonelo felt the sudden applied pressure of Reborn's gun. "Hn" Reborn smirked. Colonelo shut his eyes at the last second, he had no idea how he was gonna weasel out of this one.

Feeling a tug at his sleave, followed by the absence of a gun shot, Colonelo cracked his eyes open to find Victoria at his side. She looked up at him and back down towards Reborn.

"I don't know what's going on here but can you shoot him later? I made breakfast." The two men directed themselves to a most decadent smell and the presence of food at the table. "Colonelo...? Sit down.."

"Oh, me too?" Colonelo grinned.

He took a seat and found himself amazed at the spread before them. "I made strawberry peach stuffed french toast, oatmeal apple pancakes, berry cream stratta followed by eggs sunnyside up and hash browns." She said as she took a seat beside Reborn.

The two took in the aroma and the artistic display of what they were sure was supposed to be a normal breakfast meal. How long were we in that gun situation? The two thought simultaneously.

Did I have all the stuff to make this? Thought Reborn.

Victoria had already begun to dig into her creations, fully enjoying the look of surprise on the men's faces. "hehe, eat up guys.." She smiled.

Both Reborn and Colonel snapped back to reality and quickly took to indulging themselves in the meal. Delicious..

How the hell did she do all this..? they thought in unison, their gazes latched on her.

"Hey Vicky? Where'd you learn to make all this, Kora?" asked Colonelo, quick to address her with a nickname.

Not wanting to let Colonelo in on her life of running and being hunted just yet, she avoided that part of the subject and worked around it as best she could.

"I used to like to hide in libraries." she explained.

"I liked the cook books...though the ones about baking looked more fun.."

Both Reborn and Colonelo picked up on her somewhat solemn sounding voice around the word "hide". Reborn knew what she was talking about, however Colonelo chose to ignore it.

"Well your a regular gourmet chef.." Colonelo continued. Victoria beamed.

"She's very independent.." Reborn added.

She was especially happy at the fact that the food was completely devoured. The men she had cooked for didn't leave a moursel behind which only made her feel proud of herself, something she hadn't felt in a long time.

She cook care of dishes, which made time for Colonelo to finally get to his reason for coming to see Reborn. "Oh right! Reborn I came to talk to you about something important, Kora!"

Reborn looked to Victoria, busying herself with dishes. "Fine..."

"Ah, what about your girl, Kora?" Colonelo looked to the girl at the sink. Victoria had just finished with the dishes, now with nothing more to do and obvious curiosity in her eyes.

"I'm gonna go take a bath." she said, fully aware that the grownups wanted to talk.

"You need to talk right? See ya..." She turned down the hall.

The two men watched her leave, keeping their sights on her till she rounded the corner. They were alone now, apparently for some important conversation. Reborn turned back towards Colonelo, a very serious look in his eye.

"You were saying...?" Reborn got no response.

Colonelo wasn't even looking at him. The wild triggered man was looking blankly down the hall that Victoria had just left through. A bath huh...he thought. (Dang, he's really started to sound like a perv huh?)

He pictured a cute little Victoria in a large victorian bathtub, her tail swishing in the water and her ears covered in suds. Yup, it was the ears and tail that got his attention.

"Neh Reborn?" He shoved his face in Reborn's, uncaring for the possible hurt that could befall him.

"Are her ears and tail for real, Kora?" Reborn blinked.

"Yeah. She's part wolf demon, if you could believe that."

Good enough for me! Colonelo thought loudly.

That was all Colonelo needed. Completely forgetting about their important conversation, Colonelo started for the hallway. "Victoria...do you need help washing your ears and tail...Kora?" he called out.

In a split second Colonelo had his face almost fused with the wood floor, Reborns shoe atop his back and his gun pressed against the back of his head.

"Don't...even...think about it..." Reborn said coldly.

"Wouldn't dream of it..." Colonelo answered.

Thinking about the situation, Reborn realized something. Victoria didn't have any clothes. He certainly wasn't going to let her wear those tattered things he found her in.

"Our conversation can wait..." he directed toward his unwanted guest.

Not bothering to step around his hurt guest, rather he stepped all over him, Reborn headed down the hallway. He wasn't really liking the idea he had at the moment, but it was the best he had, given the situation.

Stopping at a door not far from the bathroom Victoria was using, he stepped across the threshold, flicking the lights on as he went.

"What room is this, Kora?" Says a newly revived Colonelo, having made the smart decision of bipassing the bathroom and following Reborn.

"I'm looking for some decent clothes for her..." Reborn answered.

The room they had entered was rather large and looked recently used, the sheets from the bed strewn about the room. Reborn had headed for the closet, filled with random pieces of clothing, mostly women's clothing. He found a rather small burgandy colored half shirt that would fit Victoria like a regular shirt, and some jean shorts that would probably be loose but work none the less.

"Oh don't tell me..Kora..." Colonelo wined...

"Your gonne let her wear clothes left behind by your one night stands, kora? That's messed up..." He said in disappointment.

"It's only temporary, until I get her some new clothes."

Colonelo looked annoyed, but it couldn't be helped. Hmm, maybe I'll get 'er some clothes too... he grinned. Something cute, maybe punk rock black and pink..he beamed.

Reborn ignored the obvious fantasizing of the man whom he could only refer to as a tolerable aquaintance and continued on his way to the bathroom.

He knocked...

"Victoria...I have some clothes for you.." he said, followed by her opening the door.

The wolf girl had finished her bath, covering herself with a large towel that dragged along the floor. Both Reborn and Colonelo were a bit surprised at how long her hair really was. It had straightened out, heavy with water, and now reached well down her back side.

She could smell the scent of some random women on the clothes he presented. She was somewhat disappointed at this, but it made sense. The man had no kids so it was only logical that she'd have to wear clothes left behind by his "companions" if you will. Nevertheless, she took the clothes.

"Thanks papa..."

Before he could respond, Colonelo jumped right in on the conversation.

"Hey Vicky, you need help with your hair, Kora? It must be hard to deal with when you have those ears huh?" He said while taking a step forward.

Knowing exactly what he was doing, victoria reacted quickly. "Let me get changed first.." She responded, closing the door quickly and fitting into the door frame only inches away from hitting Colonelo in the face. "She got my nose, Kora!" Colonelo jumped back as he rubbed his nose.

"That's my girl.." Reborn smirked.

On the other side of the door, a little wolf girl held back a laugh, her tail wagging behind her. That's my girl...huh? She thought. I like that...

Reluctantly, Victoria did let Colonelo mess with her hair. She kinda liked the attention, and he wasn't bad at styling either.

"Hey Vicky?" He got her attention.

"Hmm?"

"How about calling me Papa instead of that mean old Reborn, Kora?" He said with a smile.

Victoria didn't even have to think about it. "Your more uncle material than a papa...uncle Nelo." She smirked.

What caught her by surprise was the the sudden hug she got. He tightened his hold on her, absolutely ecstatic. "Uncles' totally fine, Kora!"

Well at least I know he's happy..she thought sarcastically.

Later:

Victoria had fallen asleep on Reborn's large and especially comfy couch. Her head on lay on Reborns' knee and her legs in Colonelo's lap. Her tail swung from side to side in content as she slept. "Nice going, playing with her till she passed out.." says a somewhat more relaxed Reborn.

"Naturally..." Colonelo answers back smugly.

"About that important think you wanted to talk about..."

Colonelo drew a blank.

"...I forgot..what it was,Kora." he said with a stupid and apologetic smile on his face.

Reborn sighed. "Whatever.."

"You know Reborn. Your not exactly the kid type, Kora...What are you gonna do about her?" Colonelo asked seriously, his gaze directed at the girl in their laps.

Reborn layed his head back on the couch. He knew this would come up eventually. "How do you feel about babysitting?"

"Eh, Seriously, Kora?" That wouldn't work.

"I got a better idea, Kora.." Reborn listened intently.

"This kid is smart, a fast learner, and she's got good instincts.." Colonelo continued.

"Where are you going with this?" Reborn asked

"I'm saying we could train her..each of us...the arcobaleno, Kora." Reborn had no reaction. It was true that from what he'd seen of this girl in a short amount of time, she certainly had what it took to learn from him and the other arcobaleno.

"Each of us could have her for a few months at a time. She could learn something from each of us, Kora. It's better than you raising her yourself." Colonelo explained.

Although Reborn didn't like the idea of leaving her for months at a time, with the arcobaleno for whom he never really cared for in the first place, it wasn't a bad idea.

"Fine..." says a somewhat reluctant Reborn.

"I'll ask her when she wakes up. It's up to her."

Colonelo beamed. "Woot! I'm first then..." Colonelo was shut up by a rather harsh strike to his cranium.

"Her choice, I said."

"Right, got it, Kora."