A/N: Thank you to all my new and old followers who have shone interest in this new story! I hope you enjoy this latest chapter


Reborn observed Tsunade curiously, though his features were arranged into a calm façade. She was acting the part quite well, standing across from him with a demure smile on her face, but upon closer inspection, Reborn could see that the smile was plastered on, and she was standing very stiffly. Tsunade's golden eyes were dull, and her mind was probably miles away.

She really does not want to do this, he realized. If I didn't need her to catch The Puppeteer, I would've cancelled the marriage out of pity.

He had been surprised to see her in the wedding kimono. Though she revealed her true gender to him two weeks ago, she still stubbornly used her illusion device whenever they had to meet up. Reborn assumed it was because she was more comfortable in her disguise that she was in her own skin. However, seeing Tsunade now in such a beautiful blue kimono that made it look like she was walking on water, some part deep inside of him stirred as the reality sunk in. Reborn quelled the feeling quickly, but the realization still hit him hard.

He was getting married.

And my bride doesn't look half bad either.

Reborn's brow furrowed slightly at that last thought, wondering why it briefly crossed his mind. He shook it off as a snap judgement, one people made based purely on appearance

I wonder what Luce would think of this fake marriage, he wondered. She would probably claim that it was fate, and that we were meant to be together. Reborn smiled bitterly. There would be no love in this relationship, and as soon as he killed The Puppeteer, the two of them could go their separate ways.

The words of the priest officiating the wedding pierced through his thoughts when the priest mentioned something about exchanging rings and kissing the bride. Tsunade seemed to be shocked out of her daze as well, but she remained calm, determined to put on a good show. However, as Reborn slipped on the ring on her finger and she did the same for him, he felt that her hand was slightly trembling. Her face revealed nothing, but for a split second, her eyes flickered and revealed a parade of emotions, including a unique mix of defiance and fear. Reborn wondered what she was afraid of. Was it the idea of entering the unknown? Or was it knowing that The Puppeteer was closing in?

The fear vanished as quickly as it appeared, and Tsunade faced him with a neutral expression. Reborn lightly cupped her face with one hand, feeling her tense up at his touch, and tilted her head up towards his. He felt the strange twinge in his heart again as he looked at her.

I'll make this quick for both our sakes.

Reborn kissed her.


The ceremony was finally over. Tsunade was standing in a corner of the reception hall, smiling and nodding as various mafiosos congratulated her. Reborn was standing a short distance away, doing the same. She glanced over at him, taking in his aura at a glance.

He's bored, she thought as she shook the hand of some Giglio Nero famiglia member. He's also as irritated as I am with these formalities.

Tsunade didn't know why she had to exchange pleasantries with these people that she didn't know. She could tell that many of them were hostile towards her as well, but they wore fake smiles the same way she did. It didn't matter to her that much, but surrounded by so many people who considered her an enemy, she felt kind of lonely.

"There's my little rose." Tsunade turned around and smiled when she saw Iemitsu, beaming at her.

Finally, a familiar face, she thought. Iemitsu embraced her in a crushing hug and lifted her up.

"I can't believe my little rose is married now," he said tearily. "I still remember the days when you were struggling to take your first steps, or the time when you shot the bullseye of a target on your first try." Tsunade laughed and ruffled his blonde hair.

"I'm as shocked as you are, Papa," said Tsunade, smiling. "I never thought I would get hitched before Tsuna-nii."

"Ah, that boy is married to the job," said Iemitsu, putting Tsunade back down on the floor. "That's why I didn't want the position. I wouldn't have enough time to dream about your mother."

Tsunade felt a twinge of jealousy. Even though she met her mother only less than a decade ago, she knew that Iemitsu and Nana had a love stronger than any earthly force. Iemitsu would talk about her nonstop while training Tsunade, and she remembered dreaming about having that kind of romance when she was little.

Fate is a cruel mistress.

"We're very happy for you, your mother and I," said Iemitsu, still grinning like an idiot. "I know these are less-than-desirable circumstances, but Reborn is a good man. If he gives you any trouble, though, let me know and I'll be there."

A good man who's in love with someone else. Tsunade gave Iemitsu a strained smile. Though Iemitsu knew this was a political marriage, she didn't have the heart to tell him she was merely bait to Reborn. She had a feeling he wouldn't be happy with the idea of his daughter purposely luring in The Puppeteer. "Thanks, Papa. I can handle any problems myself though. I'm not so little anymore."

"You'll always be my little rose, Tsunade," he replied seriously. "I put on a suit for you today, you know. It better not be in vain."

Tsunade laughed, and Iemitsu gave her one last hug before walking away. "You can come over here now, Tsuna-nii," she said to the figure lurking behind her.

"I really can't hide from you, can I?" said Tsuna with a sigh. "Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt."

"You know, Papa isn't a bad person," chided Tsunade. "He left you with Nana for your own good because he didn't want you to get embroiled in the chaos of the mafia world before you were ready."

"Yes, I know," muttered Tsuna. "It's just hard for me to interact with him after he's been absent in my life for so long. It's the same reason why you're so jumpy around Nana."

"I am not jumpy!" snapped Tsunade.

Tsuna snorted. "You look like a mouse around a cat whenever she visits. You hide it well, but I can tell that you're extremely uncomfortable around her."

"I guess you're right," admitted Tsunade. The two of them watched the other attendees in silence for a little while before Tsuna spoke up again.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.

"You ask me this after I sign the marriage certificate?" replied Tsunade, raising an eyebrow. "If you really need an answer, then yes, I will follow this through until the end."

Tsuna chuckled. "You've been like this since I've met you: stubborn and relentless."

"Better than being weak-willed like you were when I first met you."

"Hey!" Tsuna frowned at her, but it quickly gave way to a laugh. Tsunade smiled as well.

"Don't worry about me Tsuna-nii," she said softly. "I'm fine."

"I'm your older brother. It's my job to worry about you," said Tsuna, his tone quickly becoming serious. "I know you didn't want to become involved with The Puppeteer again. If you ever feel like you're in over your head, I won't hesitate to end this mission."

Tsuna squeezed Tsunade's shoulder, and then he left to talk to Yuni. Tsunade looked down at the wedding band on her left hand that now bound her to her new husband. It was a simple gold band dotted with tiny black and white diamonds. The black diamonds perhaps symbolized her signature black rose while the white diamonds probably symbolized Reborn's Sun Flames based off the way it clearly reflected the sun's rays. Tsunade sighed deeply.

What have I gotten myself into?


Reborn was ready to shoot someone. Literally. Though Leon was currently disguised as a tie clip, the chameleon was prepared to transform at any moment because Reborn was about to burst.

"If I have to smile and nod another time, I will put myself out of my misery," he muttered under his breath. He found these useless conversations with people he didn't know a waste of his time. There were better things he could be doing with his time, like training at a shooting range, or watching paint dry. Anything was better than this.

"Renato Sinclair!" Reborn looked up and saw Lal Mirch stomping towards him. He breathed a sigh of relief. Lal Mirch's bluntness was a welcome escape from everyone else's frivolities.

"I've got a set of ground rules for 'chu, Ren," said Lal Mirch, swaying a little.

"You sound like you've had one drink too many, Lal," said Reborn with a smirk.

"Shut up!" snapped Lal Mirch. "Listen to me, you better take care of Tsunade! I didn't spend over a decade training her for her to pine away acting as bait for your own ends!"

"I'd do anything as long as my revenge is complete," said Reborn.

"I'm going to rip your—"

Reborn held up a hand to calm her down. "You didn't let me finish. I will use her as bait, but I have no intention to make our time together more painful than it has to be. Did you really think I would lock her up in my house like some obsessed psychopath?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it beneath you," mumbled Lal Mirch.

"You're too serious, Lal," said Reborn, laughing. "I'm surprised to see that you care so much about her though."

Lal Mirch scowled. "Of course I care about Tsunade. I practically raised her when Iemitsu entrusted her training to me. She's like the daughter I never had."

"If you would get married to Colonnello already—" Reborn dodged Lal Mirch's half-hearted swing at him with ease.

"Seriously though," said Lal Mirch softly, though her eyes were hard. "You will find it easy to enjoy her company. She's already surpassed me in terms of fighting prowess, and she has a Master's in Chemistry as well. Spar with her occasionally. Discuss mathematical and scientific theories or whatever you do with Kureko. I don't expect any love, but you could at least try to be her friend. God knows she could use some."

Reborn nodded. "I'll do my best." Lal Mirch nodded back, and then she stumbled forward, her cheeks pink from the champagne. He caught her with a sigh.

"Colonnello," he said, beckoning the blonde over from where he was watching them. "You might want to take your drunk ex-fiancée to some place quiet. Maybe to where you've been observing her for the past half hour?"

Colonnello glared at him, but he slung Lal Mirch's arm over his shoulder and muttered, "thanks kora" before leading her away. Reborn watched them, amused.

Though they're taking their sweet time, I never thought I would get married before them, he thought.

"Congratulations, Renato," sneered a cold voice behind him. Reborn frowned and didn't turn around, refusing to face the green haired bespectacled Arcobaleno.

"Verde," he said flatly. "I didn't think you would leave your precious experiments to attend such a superficial event."

"I'm just as surprised as you are," said Verde. "But Tsunade, or perhaps I should call her your wife, is such an interesting subject I couldn't resist."

"How do you know her?"

"We are…acquaintances, you could say. She is quite intelligent, and I enjoy her input on some of my ongoing experiments." Verde sighed. "It's a shame for such talent to go to waste on such brutish activities such as assassination or whatever you hitmen do."

"At least a hitman understands the meaning of loyalty," said Reborn coldly. "Something you could never understand."

Verde circled around to face Reborn. "I do not need such ties," he said, smirking. "I became Yuni's guardian to repay an old debt, but I have no obligation to get along with you or the others. However, I came to your wedding out of respect for Tsunade, and it takes a lot to earn my respect. I even made her a baton out of anti-Flame metal."

"I don't get it," hissed Reborn. "What did she promise you in return? You don't do favors for anyone."

"She promised the greatest gift of all," replied Verde, looking at Tsunade, who was standing across the room. "Her body. Oh, don't look at me that way, Reborn. You know I meant for scientific research. If she is to die acting as your bait, try not to let The Puppeteer cut her up too much. I look forward to the day I can take her apart and find out what makes her so unique from anyone else I've met before. I already have plans for how I'll dissect her eyes and get to the bottom of the secret of her 'Fated Eyes', and I will finally quench my desire to find out why her Flames…" He trailed off, and then Verde grinned eerily.

"There's so much you don't know about your wife, but she is a fine specimen, and this time, I don't mean just scientifically."

With that, Verde walked off. Reborn clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

He really knows how to get on my nerves, he thought angrily. Verde was the only Arcobaleno that he could never, and would never, get along with because Verde valued his experiments over human life.

It doesn't matter what Verde knows about her. If Tsunade is as good as Lal Mirch says, she should be able to take care of herself if The Puppeteer attacked her.

Still, the way Verde talked about Tsunade made Reborn feel uneasy. There was a history between them that he didn't know about, and for some reason, that irritated him. His eyes wandered around and rested on Tsunade. She was staring out of the window, obviously distracted. Reborn didn't understand. Tsunade was his bait, his ticket to avenge the only person he truly loved, so her history shouldn't matter to him.

Right?


A/N: Yay for chemistry and conflict! Please read and review to let me know what you all think!