First Words:


Guest - While I acknowledge that my Author's Notes (and this section) are really long (I'm sorry! ;_;), I will disagree with you on them being longer than the actual chapters; that is not the case. Even so, I will try my best (better than I already was?) to shorten them! Admittedly, it's hard for me not to write a lot... Either way, thank you for reviewing!

LollyLolita - Thank you! ^^ I also love Mammon, so I'm enjoying this idea; I'm glad you also are! And omg I'm so flattered, you complimented my writing ;_; Hopefully you'll like this chapter (and the next ones) as well! Whatever the case, thank you for reviewing!

This story got 15 favorites, 22 followers and 7 reviews since the last target; thank you very much! This isn't even supposed to be my main story, but it already has more followers... ^^' Seriously, these are really big numbers for just Target 2, it truly amazes me! Anyway, before, I was complaining about feeling pressured, but I'll retract that: I was just in an unstable mood so now that I'm normal again, I feel more confident so there's no need to worry... though I still find the amount of people following this kind of scary (and amazing, thank you again!).

Mammon's speech patterns = From "Mu" to "Hm" and from "Yare yare" to "Good Grief" respectively, just so it doesn't sound too unatural in English

So, enjoy!


Target 2: The Illusionist Tutor Makes his Entrance


At the Varia's Headquarters, quieter than they used to be, Belphegor was bored, and it wasn't due to the lack of missions: he had gotten used to that in eight years, as boring as it was. With that much time, he had found other ways to entertain himself, like, for example, using low-ranking members of the Varia as target practice.

... However, his main source of entertainment, Mammon, had mysteriously disappeared; needless to say the prince was not in a good mood. With that in mind, he decided to head over to wherever Squalo happened to be to ask him about it, walking through the Varia's dark hallways: he assumed Squalo would be in Xanxus' office (that the latter had barely used), stabbing old paperwork with his sword out of boredom.

Truly, the Varia's Headquarters had become a dull place. Belphegor, reaching the room, opened its door, only to find Squalo doing exactly what he had guessed. "Vooi, you got some business here, Bel?!" Squalo, immediately noticing him, shook off the papers stuck in his sword and scowled at him.

Belphegor grinned. "I've got some business with you: you're the leader now, so you should know about Mammon's whereabouts," he said, getting straight to the point. "Where is he?"

He noticed Squalo's expression turning more serious instead of angry; he definitely knew about Mammon, Belphegor noted. "Him? He's on a mission right now," Squalo answered, "so he won't be coming back any time soon. I was gonna tell this to you all tomorrow, but you just had to be impatient, didn't ya?!"

"On a mission? That's rare," Belphegor remarked, his grin widening at the thought of being on one. "But if you need to tell everyone about that, then it's no normal mission, is it? Shishishi, what is it? Did you finally find a way to break the Boss free?" That was a mere hypothesis that Belphegor knew wouldn't be true, but wished it were so things would get interesting again: whatever the case, he was sure that Mammon was on some sort of special mission.

Did it have something to do with his duties as an Arcobaleno... or was it something else? That was the most important question. "Hah, you wish," Squalo immediately responded, dismissing that completely, "For the time being, that trashy boss will still be a block of ice; Mammon's doing something completely different."

"Which is...?" Squalo could tell his words piqued Belphegor's interest, especially because it had something to do with Mammon. The two would get along surprisingly well, so it made sense for Belphegor to be curious about him; the fact that he was fairly bored further reinforced this.

Even so, Squalo also found it understandable for him to be bored: as it was, without Xanxus around, the Varia had lost some of its 'life'. "If you really wanna know..." Squalo grinned, knowing that Belphegor, no matter how much of a genius he was, wouldn't be able to guess what he was going to say. "Mammon's in Japan tutoring some shitty brat to become the next Vongola Boss."

. . .

... While Belphegor kept his grin, a sweat drop trailed down his face. "Huh?"


. . .


It had been done: the letter had been sent, and he saw Tsuna's mother find it, taking it with quizzical eyes. She had definitely read it too, and seemed surprised... pleasantly surprised.

Some minutes later, Mammon had gotten a call. He couldn't help but smirk at how successful his plan had been, even if it involved him technically offering his services for free (but he decided not to think about it, as that would displease him greatly). Mammon told her, in the phone call, that he would appear right on the same day of the call, earning him praise from her for his dedication.

... 'Dedication'. He was already near the house, but, to make it seem more realistic, Mammon idled for a while so as to make it seem like he travelled over. His plan had succeeded, making the backup plans he thought up unnecessary: Varia Quality prevailed as always.

While waiting for the right time to appear, Mammon felt a presence. "Hm?" Someone was spying on him, and he was sure of it. He turned to where he thought that person was, only to see someone flinch.

"Ha-hahii?!" Mammon noticed it was a girl in a school uniform different from Namimori Middle School's; in other words, no one he should care about. However, she was, for some reason, spying on him, so Mammon needed to know why. She peeked at him from the corner she was hiding, only to get back again as Mammon was still staring at her.

He hadn't turned into an illusion of someone else, so there was no way the girl knew him or thought he was an entirely different person: was it out of worry from seeing an infant alone on the streets? That could not be the case, as the girl's actions did not imply that. "Who's there?" Mammon asked.

"Hahii, so I've really been found out...!" the girl exclaimed while seemingly sobbing, but it didn't seem like she was crying as she got out of her hiding place with an energetic smile. Another annoying person, Mammon concluded, but didn't move so as to see what the girl would do. "He-he-hello there! Good morning!" She seemed flustered for some reason as she ran over to Mammon, annoying him further. "My name is Haru! It's nice to meet you! Uh..."

... Mammon contemplated on whether he should simply disappear or scare her off, since it looked like she didn't know him at all: that meant the reason she had for introducing herself to him was nothing serious, and that she was only a normal girl. She was shyly looking at the ground before slowly raising her head, asking, "Can... Can I hold you tight, like this?" She squeezed both arms against her chest so as to exemplify her point.

"Of course not," Mammon bluntly answered, no discernible emotion in his voice. He already had enough of such actions from Belphegor, who liked to pinch his cheeks from time to time: "They're puffy," he'd say, as if Mammon cared about his reasons for doing so rather than the fact that he was doing it in the first place. Needless to say that he didn't like it at all, so he would trick Belphegor into thinking he was pinching his cheeks when it was actually an illusion... which, afterwards, would cause him to chase Mammon down with his knives, a sadistic grin on his face.

... In the end, Mammon decided to just charge him for that, tolerating his antics: Belphegor, being the rich prince he was, didn't particularly mind that, though he sometimes expressed how much he missed using Mammon as target practice before. At the unpleasant memories, Mammon felt even more like just disappearing on the girl but since he was waiting for the right time to appear before Tsuna and his mother, he had nothing better to do anyway. "Hahii, I got flat out rejected...!"

"That's nothing you should be surprised about," Mammon retorted, "Anyone with common sense would respond the same way." His words made Haru seem even sadder, as if she were about to cry; Mammon didn't care.

Haru stared at him for a while, only for her eyes to suddenly widen in surprise. "Ah, I see! It's because we barely know each other, right? No wonder you said no, I'm so sorry!" She bowed at him. "Then, let's start over!" Her expression shifted from apologetic to cheerful fast, which Mammon didn't like. Overall, Haru seemed really childish, and, as he had reasoned before taking the mission of tutoring Tsuna, he was no nanny: he was an assassin, so he had no business with kids beyond what was strictly necessary.

"Hello! My name is Haru, and I'd like to become friends with you! What about you, what is..." As Haru spoke, she realized something very important: Mammon was no longer in front of her. "Hahii...?! Where did that cute baby go?!"

Mammon had actually just moved over to the front yard of Tsuna's house while Haru was distracted, making himself look like a bird so as to not be found out, seeing as she was looking around for him. Hm, what a troublesome girl, Mammon thought while checking the time: Tsuna would have to go to school in at least 20 minutes; that seemed convenient enough.

. . .

. . .

After confirming that Haru had gone away (she was very persistent, he noted), Mammon dispelled his illusion and replaced it with another. When coming up with his plan, he knew that it would be hard for him to be taken seriously by Tsuna's mother in his accursed form, so he made himself seem like an older, completely different individual, carrying no traces of his actual form like his Varia uniform, cloak and triangular markings under his eyes. Overall, with his illusion, Mammon expected to look more... not like an assassin, and certainly not too shady either.

With that in mind, he knocked on the door.


. . .


When his mother, Nana Sawada, had told him she had gotten a home tutor for him, Tsuna didn't believe her or rather, he didn't want to believe her. Although he was, admittedly, no-good, that didn't mean a home tutor would suddenly make him better, and the idea of having a stranger teach him anything in his own house just didn't sit well with him.

So, he obviously protested, but his mother had already given him a call: there was no going back. Not only that but, according to her, he offered to tutor him for free, as long as he could live in their house; there was no fishier offer than that! Tsuna pointed it out, but Nana apparently found no problem with that; Tsuna could only sigh dejectedly. A home tutor, huh...

He wondered how such a person would be like as he changed into his school uniform, not wanting to be late to school again. I mean, I shouldn't be complaining, but I really don't want one... He frowned, the situation still not sitting well with him. Taking his school bag, he reminded himself of the events of yesterday: he still couldn't wrap his head around them. Who was that anyway? And how did he know Kyoko-chan? No one can disguise themselves as someone that well, too! But that clearly wasn't Kyoko-chan either...

Seeing as the new topic he brought up was not helping his sour mood, he just resigned to not thinking about anything in particular as he went downstairs. When he did so, he heard his mother's voice from the kitchen, but that wasn't all.

... Someone else's voice could be heard as well, and he was positive it was his first guess. My home tutor's already here?! he thought incredulously, and peeked at the dining room. As he had guessed, there was a stranger there, eating breakfast with a somewhat stoic expression. Tsuna's breakfast was also on the table, at a seat next to his supposed home tutor. This isn't good...! "How about you come in and eat instead of sneaking around in your own house?"

At the words of the stranger, Tsuna jumped back, startled. How did he find me out, his back is turned to this area! "Oh my, Tsu-kun, you were there?" Nana said, surprised at the fact that her son was right there; she hadn't noticed him at all. "Come on in! You do need to eat, don't you? And you also have to meet your home tutor; he'll be living with us from now on." She was smiling, but Tsuna did not feel like doing the same.

He reluctantly entered the dining room, staring at his home tutor nervously: in terms of appearance, he seemed to be a young (or at least very young-looking) man with short, black hair and blue eyes who was wearing a striped shirt and black pants; nothing too showy. He had a mysterious aura to him that Tsuna couldn't quite place, which intimidated him further. "My... home tutor?" Tsuna asked, despite having no doubts about that; even so, he found it hard to process.

"What else would I be? Now sit down and eat your food before you arrive late to classes again; punctuality is important," the stranger answered, his words sharp and blunt. He's harsh...! Tsuna commented, feeling even more scared of him. Unfortunately, his breakfast was right next to him, so he had no choice but to hesitantly sit down, giving him various nervous glances as he did so. But wait, how did he know I was late yesterday?

He did say 'again', implying he knew Tsuna had been late before. At that thought, Tsuna couldn't help eyeing his home tutor in a suspecting manner, unsure of whether voice that out loud or not: he was fairly intimidating, after all. "Anyway, now that you two are here, we can finally do some introductions," Nana said and pointed at Tsuna, turned to the stranger, "I'm sure you already know, but this is my son, Tsunayoshi Sawada; he's always had a lot of trouble with school and such, but he's a nice boy."

She then pointed at the stranger, making Tsuna stare expectantly: it seemed like he'd finally know his name. "And this young man is Mammon: he's a home tutor from abroad, isn't that amazing? He's just moved to Japan and doesn't really know much about our customs; that's why he wanted to live with a native family!" Despite that, he seems to speak fluent Japanese...! Tsuna remarked in his mind with a blank gaze, seeing his mother describe him in a somewhat excited manner.

After all, Mammon was clearly suspicious, but Tsuna was apparently the only one who thought that. "Yes, something along those lines," Mammon acknowledged, still looking fairly disinterested. One simple glance at Tsuna immediately made him flinch and take a bite out of his breakfast as if he had been focused on eating it, afraid of what Mammon would do or say. "You better start getting used to me right away, since I'll be living with you for quite a long while. I'll also be working you hard, so keep that in mind."

"Oh, how dependable!" Nana commented with a cheerful smile. Dependable? More like scary, why did mom think getting this home tutor was a good idea...?! The fact that Mammon was staring at him as if expecting some sort of response made him even more scared, so he made it look like he was too busy eating his breakfast to say anything.

Nana giggled, noticing that, while Mammon didn't do anything in particular, leaving for quite the awkward mood. "Uh..." Tsuna uttered. "It's n-nice to meet you..." He found those words hard to say, as he was trembling and didn't mean them in the slightest. He finished his breakfast after saying that, glancing around as if to see whether he could leave or not.

"Hmph, just get going; you've only got 10 minutes," Mammon calmly warned, still having his own food to eat. Although he didn't really show it, Mammon thought it was delicious: in fact, he was surprised with how good it tasted; at least Nana was good for something, Mammon reasoned.

Tsuna, not having been aware of the time and having forgotten about classes jumped from his seat, panicked at the prospect of being late again. "Seriously?!" Tsuna turned around and started dashing away from the room, saying, "See you later!" After a while, the sound of the door opening and closing could be heard, meaning that he had left the house.

"Take care!" Nana said, though it was too late now that he wasn't around to hear her. With a smile, she sighed.

Mammon turned his gaze to her. "Does this happen often?" he asked, noticing that, from the window, Tsuna was visible, running to the school.

"Hmmm..." Nana hummed, seemingly deep in thought. "I'd say this happens quite often; he also has a habit of going home in the middle of classes though," she answered, "No matter how many times I scold him about it, he just doesn't listen!"

At Nana's answer, Mammon only stared off to the window, no longer being able to see Tsuna. "I see..."

Well, that'll change soon, Mammon thought as he finished his food and left the area. However, Nana did not notice this as the illusion still remained, striking up a conversation with her. Whatever it would be about, Mammon would have no idea, but that didn't matter: he could simply ask later and give some excuse as to why he had 'forgotten' if she had already told him in the morning.

For the time being, Mammon was going to follow Tsuna, his main priority.


. . .


It didn't take Mammon that long to catch up to Tsuna, as expected of someone like him. "Hey," Mammon called, trying to get his attention. While Mammon was simply walking on the fences of houses, Tsuna was apparently too busy running to school to notice the infant right beside him. "Hey...!"

A brick wall suddenly surged right in front of Tsuna, one that he could not dodge since he had been so focused, making his reaction time slow. "Ow!" He bumped into it and fell to the ground, groaning in pain. "Just what..." he mumbled, admittedly finding it more than strange that he hit a brick wall that he had never seen before.

... However, when he stood up, he noticed there was no brick wall in front of him. "Huh?! Then what did I bump into...?!" he muttered, his eyes wide in surprise.

"Nothing," Mammon simply answered, "You just thought you did and hurt yourself."

Tsuna flinched and immediately snapped his head towards the voice he heard next to him. "Hu-huh?! Who are you?!" Finding that it was just an infant, Tsuna wasn't as scared, but was still staring at him quizzically. What did that mean anyway?

"I'm your home tutor; Mammon, remember?" Despite his words, Mammon knew Tsuna wouldn't recognize him: even if he weren't covering his face (which he was), it would seem like him and the illusion were two different people due to his drastic changes in appearance. Not only that, but just the fact that he wasn't even remotely close to an adult was sure to make Tsuna confused.

... And confused he surely was, staring at Mammon intently.

. . .

After a while, Tsuna couldn't even contain his laughter. "Ma... Mammon...?!" Tsuna exclaimed, struggling to speak due to laughing so hard. "You're just a baby...! Are you... a sibling of his or something...?! You can't be my—" Before he could finish what he was saying, blue tentacles stretched out from where Mammon's arm should have been, wrapping themselves around Tsuna's body... needless to say he was more than shocked at that. "HIIIIEEEH?! T-T-T-TENTACLES?! How did you— Get them off, this is gross!"

He proceeded to scream even more in panic ("Help! Someone! Please!") while struggling to escape from the tentacles which kept him in place, annoying Mammon further. "Shut up and listen," he said while making the tentacles hold him tighter in place so as to have him stop moving altogether.

... It worked, but Tsuna looked somewhat pale afterwards. "Ah, I... I can't... I can't breathe..." He couldn't even struggle, and he was starting to look lifeless; Mammon didn't care.

"I'm only loosening those tentacles' grip on you if you keep quiet; unless you want to die, that is..." Just the smirk on the infant's face made him completely freeze, terrified of what else he could have up his sleeve. He's serious, he'll seriously kill me...! How did can he do that anyway...? And why me?! "Hmph."

Seeing as Tsuna had complied, Mammon removed his tentacles from Tsuna, retracting them to his arm as if they had never been there in the first place (which they weren't since they were mere illusions). Tsuna exhaled, and inhaled, recovering the oxygen he was lacking before. He then looked up in utter shock at Mammon, whose emotions were hard to discern due to him covering his face with a hood; at least he could tell he wasn't smirking anymore.

He continued staring... Mammon took this as him doing what he had told him to do (shut up and listen), probably fearing another situation like the one he had just gone through.

. . .

Tsuna pinched his cheek. It hurt, and had no effect like the last time he did so. "Hiii, someone wake me up from this nightmaaaare!"

Suddenly, Tsuna started running away in tears in the fastest speed Mammon had seen from him in the two days he had been in Namimori. How pathetic. After all, there was no way Tsuna could escape from Mammon: Mammon was from the Varia, and Tsuna was... No-Good.

With yet another illusion of tentacles, Mammon restrained Tsuna completely, making him trip and fall to the ground with a loud scream. "Idiot," Mammon muttered, his tentacles tightening around Tsuna: this time, no matter what he would do, Mammon wouldn't release him.

. . .

. . .

Eventually, after many more screams, pleading for help when most people at that hour would be out of the house, Tsuna passed out. Dispelling his illusion, Mammon simply hopped off the fence he was on and walked over to Tsuna. He definitely couldn't go to school in that state but really, Mammon didn't care: the only reason he was insisting on him going was so he could be punctual; as he was, that was no longer a priority.

Having no strength or the height to carry Tsuna around (even if he did, he would never carry him anyway), Mammon grabbed his right arm and started dragging him home. The slight alteration in his plans actually proved somewhat convenient, despite the fact that it also involved having to drag Tsuna around: instead of after school, Mammon could explain that he was (according to the Ninth only) the next Vongola Boss and every other thing that came from it earlier.

Mammon didn't need to rush things, but it was better if Tsuna was more aware of everything instead of having to panic at every single illusion he'd throw at him; it would really annoy him otherwise. Mammon wondered if the Ninth had received a bribe from Iemitsu Sawada or something of the sort: that would have been the only reason Mammon, if he were in the Ninth's position, would have had for choosing Tsuna as the candidate for the Tenth Boss of the Vongola.

Besides, he was the son of the External Advisor: even if there were claims of them not being directly part of the Vongola, Iemitsu Sawada's influence was just as big as the Ninth's, and he would undoubtedly hold a bias for his own son. Even so, the Ninth seemed to be aware of just how much of a complete loser Tsuna was, or he wouldn't have ranked his mission accordingly: he knew he was handing the Vongola over to No-Good Tsuna.

Mammon could not ever understand the logic behind that. Reaching Tsuna's house somehow with Tsuna behind him, Mammon knocked on the door, casting an illusion to make himself look like how he had decided to look like as Tsuna's home tutor. Honestly, he still didn't like it, but it was the best way to go about completing his mission, so he accepted it for the time being.

When the door opened, Nana only gasped in surprise, finding that her son was being carried bridal style by his home tutor, seemingly unconscious... or, at least, that was what Mammon made her see, since Tsuna was still on the floor and the only thing Mammon was grabbing was his arm. "Mammon-kun! What happened...?!"

"I went out for sightseeing and found him collapsed in the middle of the street," he lied since, naturally, it wouldn't be a good idea to tell he was the one that knocked Tsuna out, "so, I carried him over here." Nana seemed even more surprised at his words, wearing a concerned expression on her face.

It was understandable: his son had mysteriously passed out, after all. "Oh my...! Could it be that he's ill? He won't be going to school today, at least," she said, gesturing for Mammon go in. He complied, still dragging Tsuna over.

"Well, for the time being, he should at least rest in his room until he gets better." That suggestion was merely so he could rush the conversation, getting right to the point. "Since he's too heavy for you, I'll carry him there." Wanting Nana to have no time to say anything, Mammon had already started walking towards the stairs, actually planning on dragging Tsuna to the first floor.

Nana stared at Mammon curiously as she closed the front door, only to then smile. Hearing the far too loud sounds of Mammon's footsteps combined with Tsuna's body repeatedly hitting the stairs, she muttered, "It looks like things will be looking good for you now, Tsu-kun."

... The irony of Nana's words was so great that Mammon, who had been able to hear her, stopped the painfully slow process of dragging dead weight (Tsuna) up the stairs and smirked. If only you knew...


. . .


To his surprise, Tsuna woke up in his own bed rather than in the grasp of multiple tentacles. He had a clear memory of what happened to him in the morning: he met his home tutor, rushed out of the house so he wouldn't be late and, on his way, hit a non-existent brick wall that was in front of him only to find out it was a hooded infant's doing, claiming to be the very same home tutor he had met before. Afterwards, he could only remember the infant somehow spawning tentacles to restrain him, and him being unable to breathe...

. . .

Tsuna sighed in relief. So that was all a dream, thank goodness...! There's no home tutor, no strange babies and, most of all, no freaky tentacles! "O-ow, ow, ow, ow!" He had tried moving, but found that his entire body hurt for some reason; he also had a terrible headache. "Why...?"

"Hmph, finally." At the familiar voice, Tsuna flinched, only to wince in pain. No way...! "I almost thought you'd sleep through the whole day."

He looked to his side and found an infant he did not want to find: the baby of his dreams, no, nightmares. "Y-You're...!" 'It wasn't a dream after all!' he thought in both shock and depression. "That weird baby...!"

"It's Mammon," Mammon corrected, sitting by his bedroom's table as if he owned it while drinking tea. Nana had made that for him, smiling cheerfully at the fact that he was waiting patiently for her son to awaken: she probably thought Mammon was worried; she couldn't have been more wrong.

The only worry Mammon would have had with that situation was that he could have killed Tsuna by having him hit his head too hard, too many times, but he was a professional: such mistakes would never happen with him. "No, it's not! No matter how you look at it, you can't be Mammon; you're a baby!" Tsuna protested, groaning in pain afterwards.

"That form is just an illusion; this is how I really look," Mammon said with a frown on his face. Despite the fact that he was called a child displeased him, he didn't press on that topic: it wouldn't be worth explaining his circumstances to someone like him.

Meanwhile, Tsuna stared blankly at Mammon, finding the statement ridiculous. "An illusion?" he questioned. "You can't seriously be telling me that you can cast illusions or something like that!" Even so, Tsuna had his doubts: the brick wall, for example, wasn't real; it could've definitely been an illusion. Not only that, but the fact that the tentacles were an illusion seemed more plausible than Mammon just happening to be able to conjure them out of his arm.

However, that would mean his suffering hadn't been real: could his mind be tricked to the point of believing to be suffering pain without having been truly damaged? "It's the truth: you're free to not believe it, but I'll still cast illusions," Mammon said, uncaring of Tsuna's doubts. Sure, it would have been troublesome if he just pretended nothing had happened, but even then Mammon would just do whatever he wanted to him anyway: Tsuna's fate, to him, wasn't to become a mafia boss anyway.

"Don't cast them!" Reminding himself of the tentacles, Tsuna immediately exclaimed that, flailing his arms around and ignoring the pain that caused. "I mean, it's not like I still find it possible, but...!" He seemed to be in denial, Mammon noted. "Well, you get the idea!" Mammon did not understand or care about whatever point Tsuna apparently wanted to make: as far as he was concerned, he just wanted to get the explanations out of his way so Tsuna could bask over the fact that he was supposedly special and continue on with the mission. "So, uh... You're actually Mammon, somehow?"

Tsuna gave Mammon a skeptical look, noticing that he had been able to just enter his room, proudly be at his table and drink tea as if he were some sort of long-term guest, like what his home tutor was supposed to be. Even so, it was still doubtful that someone could just make others think they have another form... or was it? "Don't make me repeat myself," Mammon said, but not in as much of a threatening tone as expected; if anything, he was only slightly annoyed or troubled.

"Wait...!" Tsuna's eyes widened in realization, his mind going over the events of yesterday: someone had been able to take the form of Kyoko and trick him, in the exact same way Mammon claimed to have fooled him and his mother to think he didn't look like an infant. In fact, as he thought about it, the person behind that strange situation had momentarily exposed his voice to Tsuna when he was leaving, and it had an uncanny resemblance to Mammon's.

He was the one who disguised himself as Kyoko-chan yesterday! Tsuna concluded. So that was an illusion...?! "Hm? What is it?" Mammon asked, more out of curiosity than anything. This baby can really cast them just like that?! I got the biggest scare of my life because of him, what the hell?!

"You, you were here yesterday, weren't you? As Kyoko-chan," Tsuna nervously said, still in the middle of accepting the fact that it was possible for Mammon to cast illusions. Why did he do that anyway? He said he got what he wanted, but he only managed to scare the crap out of me and make me think I had a chance with Kyoko-chan...

He inwardly groaned, his eyes cast downwards out of the sheer embarrassment he had felt at the time; even he thought that was a new low in his pitiful life. Meanwhile, Mammon smirked and said, "Looks like you were at least able to find that out; my hint was helpful, wasn't it?" Hint? Tsuna thought, staring at Mammon confusedly.

"What do you mean?" Tsuna asked, finding that Mammon's seemingly amused expression did not give him much comfort. He's covering his face with that hood too... He briefly wondered how exactly Mammon's face looked, but, having other issues to be concerned with, he decided to momentarily forget that topic.

"You're really slow," Mammon remarked, "Or what, did you actually think I revealed my own voice by accident? Those kinds of slip ups don't happen to me." He's really confident... Even so, he had gotten his answer. But wait, that was on purpose? How did he want me to guess from just that?!

Whatever the case, he still had other pending doubts. "Then, why did you do it?" That was the main question, the one he wanted to know badly: after all, he could find no perfectly justifiable reason for such action.

"To test you: you just came off as too pathetic to be true, you see," Mammon sharply answered, no signs of hesitation in his voice. You didn't have to go that far...! Tsuna countered in his mind, staring blankly at him. What could he even test by pretending to be Kyoko-chan?

He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer to that. As Tsuna sighed, a certain thought suddenly struck in his mind. Wait... At first I thought it was because he's my home tutor, but... "Hey, why did you have to test me yesterday? You shouldn't have even known who I was by then, mom only called you today!" He even knew I was late for school yesterday... Don't tell me he was stalking me or something like that!

"Oh, that? That's obviously because I already knew I was going to tutor you: that was my mission from the start," Mammon explained, finding that the conversation was finally progressing towards what he wanted to say in the first place. Even so, he didn't find the previous conversation boring: the fact that Tsuna had been able to find out he was the one behind yesterday's illusion was somewhat amusing, as it seemed he wasn't that hopeless.

Although Mammon had tried to make it as obvious as possible (in his standards), he had honestly expected Tsuna to be so slow and unintelligent that he wouldn't have even noticed or given thought to such things. Besides, it looked like his perception wasn't so bad either: Tsunayoshi Sawada was not completely flawed. However, that did not at all mean he was fit for the position of Tenth Vongola Boss, especially in comparison to someone like Xanxus; in fact, he wouldn't be fit for any position as he was. "M-mission?"

"Exactly," Mammon answered, "Having your mother give me a call was only so I could stay in this house: even without her approval, I'd be tutoring you anyway. After all, I was sent from Italy to tutor you by someone else." Italy? Tsuna thought, finding that detail somewhat unnecessary in Mammon's explanation. "And that person just happens to be the boss of the most powerful mafia family in the world."

... That is, until he heard Mammon utter those words. If he were drinking any water, he would have surely spit it out from how shocked he was. "Ma-ma-ma-mafia family?! D-did you really just say that?! You're serious?!" Tsuna practically jumped on the bed he had been lying on, having completely forgotten the pain that he had before.

"I'm completely serious: out of every possible, much worthier candidate for the position," Tsuna had a feeling he was being insulted, but decided to ignore that, "you, Tsunayoshi Sawada, got picked to become the next boss of the Vongola family; its Tenth, to be exact." Mammon's explanation went from one ear and escaped from another, finding that information incredibly hard to believe, much less to process.

... Me? The boss of a mafia? Meanwhile, Mammon took out a piece of paper, unfolded it and put it on the table, showing off its contents: to Tsuna's surprise, the paper was depicting a family tree. "As you can see, the first boss apparently retired early and left for Japan, while the second boss' generation stayed in power for all these years. Instead of keeping it that way," Mammon pointed at a name as he said that, one that he could recognize as, 'Tsunayoshi Sawada', "the Ninth somehow thought it was a good idea to choose you now, who's related to the First."

What...? While he could undoubtedly see how much Mammon seemed to be against it, he could not take in most of the information given to him yet: according to the family tree displayed on the table, that he was observing from sitting on his bed, he was the descendant of a mafia boss, the head of a crime organization! He could not so readily accept something like that, especially when he was apparently supposed to be one as well. "But, since you're completely unfit for the position as you are, I got paid to tutor and train you in basically every area until you become mafia boss quality. Is that clear?"

An answer was expected out of Tsuna; after a while, he noticed that.

. . .

. . .

"No," he started, "no, no, no, no, no, no way, there's— There's just no way I'll ever become a mafia boss, I-I don't even want to be one! I mean, I don't even know if you're serious about that since it's so unbelievable but no!" Mammon found his denial somewhat amusing: he thought Tsuna had some awareness of the mafia, since his father was the External Advisor; that did not seem to be the case. Had he kept it hidden from his family to protect them, or something of that sort? What a fool, he thought. "Why did your boss just have to pick me and set this all up without anyone's approval anyway? Don't I get a choice in the matter?! And why me instead of someone else related to the Vongola?!"

That's what I'd like to know, Mammon thought: surely the only people that would ever approve of Tsunayoshi Sawada as the next boss of the Vongola were the Ninth and Iemitsu Sawada, and maybe even the Ninth's guardians who shared the same soft ideals Mammon couldn't stand; they weren't fit to choose the new boss. In fact, they weren't even fit to be leading the Vongola, but no one else seemed to agree beyond the Varia. "Who knows? I don't understand that old man's thought process either: as far as I'm concerned, you shouldn't be the next boss, but a paid job is a paid job; I can't go against that."

In a way, Tsuna and Mammon were on the same side: Tsuna didn't want to be a mafia boss, and Mammon didn't want him to become a mafia boss either. Even so, that didn't change the fact that Mammon would have to tutor and eventually get rid of him, so there were no benefits to it. "So you don't have any choice either? Y-you really can't just leave and tell your boss I don't wanna be the Tenth mafia boss?"

"Unfortunately, things don't work that way," Mammon simply answered, imagining how badly Tsuna's suggestion would have gone if he were stupid enough to go through with it: it would not only bring shame to the Varia that he had failed the mission (as convincing Tsuna to want to become a mafia boss was probably one of the reasons the mission was SSS-ranked), but it could also make him seem suspicious. After all, the Varia wouldn't want any other person as the boss beyond Xanxus: if Mammon were to announce he had failed the mission just because he couldn't make Tsuna accept the fact that he had to become the boss, that could be seen as some sort of Varia conspiracy.

Mammon knew why Xanxus was out of the question for the Ninth: he had attempted to take over the Vongola once, so it was only natural for that to be the case. However, all of the Ninth's sons beyond him were gone, and the only person that could be the Tenth was the scrawny teen that seemed to fail at almost everything: did he really want to doom the Vongola that badly? Despite being told by him that failing the mission would mean 'the end of the Vongola', Mammon was sure the opposite would happen in that situation. "Seriously...? But—!"

"Stop complaining: we're both on the same boat here. I have to tutor you, and you have to suck it up and become a mafia boss: even if you whine about that, nothing will change." Tsuna's train of thought stopped completely with Mammon's blunt words, which made him lack anything to say.

That formed an awkward silence as Tsuna looked down at the floor, still taking in all that he had been told. He knew Mammon was right: he knew they both had no choice, and that Mammon couldn't just go away when he had been assigned that mission by his own boss; he had processed that well. But...

But that doesn't mean I can just accept the fact that I'm supposed to become a mafia boss, I don't want to have that kind of life...! Tsuna shook his head furiously as he thought about it, not even wanting to get a mental image of himself with such an occupation. There's no way I'll become a mafia boss, never!

To Mammon, who was observing him, his answer had been clear. "Hmph, you can think whatever you want, but I'll still be your home tutor," Mammon said, taking the emptied cup that used to have tea and getting away from the table, "so don't expect to be off the hook just because you're in denial." With those words, Mammon made himself look like the stranger Tsuna had met in the morning and left the room with a somewhat disinterested expression.

. . .

. . .

. . .

"What the hell is going on?!" Tsuna fell back on the bed and groaned, his mind having become a storm of various panicked thoughts. Mammon didn't seem to be lying with his words as far as Tsuna could see, and he had just witnessed him cast that illusion so he wouldn't look like an infant and be taken seriously: all of that pointed to Tsuna actually having to be tutored by him, a baby, and becoming a mafia boss, just like he had been told.

... Even so, every single one of his thoughts denied that completely. Damn it, I'm not gonna become a mafia boss, I swear!

Tsuna sighed a long, frustrated and depressed sigh, already feeling very tired: he knew, he just knew that from that day on, his life was going to become much more hectic and complicated than he'd have ever wanted it to be...


Author's Notes:


Striped shirt = Shout out to Bel

Mammon didn't actually give that much thought though ^^' I tried to make it really different from Mammon's adult form, since I'm guessing Mammon wouldn't want other people to know his face; I was a bit nervous when I wrote that.

Bloopers: "Mammon-kun!" God, how he wanted to kill her."

Now if only fanfictions had bloopers... XD I actually wrote that, but erased it for obvious reasons. I mean, I don't hate Nana at all, but I'd imagine Mammon being annoyed by someone like her: even so, he's a professional, so he doesn't let that get in the way of the mission. Really, when I saw the Arcobaleno Trials filler arc, it made me see the Varia in a better light: Mammon and Bel committed pretty well to what they were doing, as if they really were professionals; I wanted some of that to show in this fic too.

... Sure, that came from the anime, but it's practically canon as far as I'm concerned. Anyway, Bel finding out Mammon's mission XD I had almost forgotten to write that, but then I went back and took care of that issue. After doing that, I kind of realized how rusty I am in writing the Varia, and that's really because I've been spending a whole while writing every character but them: I've even written Byakuran and the Funeral Wreaths, but no Varia! It was fun writing Bel: I want to do more of that.

Also, as you can see, I'm kind of making the narrative switch between focusing on Tsuna's feelings and focusing on Mammon's: they're the protagonists, after all. They'll be interacting a lot too, since Mammon basically became the Reborn of this story: this just makes me notice how well Reborn works off of Tsuna, since he's like 'my way or the highway' with everything and actually cares about teaching lessons to Tsuna, even if it's not in the most conventional of ways.

... Meanwhile, Mammon is pretty level-headed and greedy and just wants the Ninth to surrender the Vongola to Xanxus already: it's a totally different combination. However, it might just work, since Tsuna can still point a whole lot of stuff out, like the tentacles... Oh, the tentacles. I'm kind of scared of having left an innuendo or two there by accident, to be honest: truly, the worst part of writing a chapter is making sure you're not writing a trillion innuendos, especially if they involve tentacles...

This chapter was pretty long too, and Mammon explained a whole lot of stuff at the end: you might not know it, but Mammon's a really talkative dude! Seriously, just look at the Varia arc: he was practically the one who talked the most in all the matches, commenting on things with Bel and occasionally Levi or Squalo. So yeah, Mammon was made to explain stuff. Also, I think Mammon's not very easy to anger or enrage, which is why I make Mammon seem annoyed, or even just mildly so: he's most likely the type that only gets emotional when certain buttons are pushed; in his case, it's life not actually repeating itself eternally (Mukuro: u mad bro?) and the Arcobaleno curse, for example.

Anyway, look forward to the next target?