I've decided to place this story after the Shimon arc, with Mukuro being out of Vendice, since this actually works with what I have in mind.

Disclaimer: I do not, repeat, do not own KHR!


Chapter Two: Of Canines and Singing Canaries

"I'm telling you, that girl is an assassin!" Gokudera exclaimed for what to have been the fiftieth time as he, Tsuna, Kyoko and Hana walked down a street. Yamamoto had stayed after school in order to practice for an upcoming game—something that Gokudera was glad for—and Ryohei had a boxing club meeting for an hour or so. Chrome, who hadn't been at school due to a bad cold according to Kyoko was also absent.

"Come on, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna said. "Just because she can jump like a gymnast doesn't make her a bad person."

"Then what about those books, Jūdaime?" he asked. "Who reads books like that?"

"You do," Hana growled, having become tired of the white-haired boy's ranting.

Gokudera shot her a fierce glare. "I do not," he mumbled angrily, "and more importantly, why is he tagging along!"

Jabbing his thumb over his shoulder, Gokudera referred to the silent being that was Hibari that was currently a good few yards away from them as to avoid crowding. Kusakabe had also come along, mostly to make sure that Hibari didn't murder anyone, though the prefect was usually good when it came to his behavior at a student's home.

"I don't know," Hana snapped. "Maybe because someone mentioned that we were dropping off the new kid's stuff!"

After lunch, Kyoko had informed the teacher that Veronica had left early due to a family problem. The teacher, strangely, didn't appear concerned and had asked Kyoko to deliver Veronica's homework and supplies.

As it turned out, Veronica's house wasn't too far from Tsuna's so the boy offered to come along and was currently carrying the school bag, or trying to with the amount of thick books packed inside. Naturally, Hana and Gokudera joined them and the Prefect joined sometime later after catching Gokudera complaining about doing a delivery and attempt to take the bag off of Tsuna's hands as, according to the Storm Guardian that Jūdaime shouldn't have to carry such a heavy bag, though ceased after Tsuna ensured his friend that he was alright.

"Please, you guys," Tsuna begged. "No arguing."

Gokudera shot Hana one last glare before looking ahead with a huff; he really didn't trust the new kid and didn't want Jūdaime anywhere near her if he could help it, since he still thought that this Veronica—if that was her real name—was an assassin from a rival family. Gokudera wondered if he should question Reborn about this, but shook it off. There was no way that he was going to ask for that guy's help, since that would mean that he was unable to protect the Tenth.

"Oh, Tsuna-kun," Kyoko said then. "Where is Reborn-kun?"

"Reborn?" Tsuna asked when he suddenly realized it; Reborn hadn't made any sort of appearance all day, something unheard of for the hitman.

"I'm not sure," he admitted sheepishly. "He was at my house when I left this morning."

"Maybe he's sick?" Kyoko suggested.

"That guy sick?" Gokudera laughed. "Now way; not that guy!"

"Still…" Kyoko said before turning her attention to the names on the mailboxes. "Oh, this should be it."

The house looked like any other house on the block, except for that there was another name plate reading 'Breen' next to one that read 'Oshiro'. The gate appeared to be closed and there was clearly activity coming from inside the house.

"This is definitely the place," Hama grumbled. "Let's get this over and…"

"BAWOO!"

Just then and before anyone could react, two masses bounded out the once thought to be locked gate and plowed straight into Tsuna, knocking the poor boy onto his back.

"Jūdaime!" Gokudera exclaimed as the two shapes, now seen to be dogs, began to vigorously lick Tsuna's face.

"Haha…Someone…haha…Help me!" Tsuna screamed, though the licking was causing more laugh than panic.

"You're really pathetic, Dame-Tsuna," a childlike voice said then.

"Oh, Reborn-kun," Kyoko turned to where the fedora-wearing baby was sitting on the fence. "Have you been there long?"

"Just arrived," the Sun Arcobaleno said, his black eyes focusing on his student's feeble attempt to remove the canines from his person with Gokudera's help. And to think that he didn't have to unlock the gate this time.

"R-Reborn!" Tsuna screeched. He did this didn't he? So much for having a normal day without being tortured!

One of the dogs, a white and apricot Akita, was struggling in its place with a much larger dog that had a long coat with brown and black patches against a white background. Having easily been pushed off to the nth time by his pack brother, the Akita began to search for a new target.

Soon, his brownish-gold eyes caught sight of a boy with black, shaggy hair with a small, yellow fluff sitting on one of his shoulders. The young Akita liked the energy he was receiving from the boy; it was very similar to his owner.

Kusakabe stiffened in fright as the Akita padded their way; he feared for the dog, not Hibari, and prayed that they wouldn't have to explain to the owner about their dog being dead. He watched as the canine stopped in front of the Prefect and stared right up at the boy's face with its opening in a smiling pant.

The Akita, with eyes locked with the steel-gray of the youth, sat down with its tail wagging slightly in a clear friendly greeting. It had clearly forgotten about the other youths who were trying in vain to remove its brother from the boy that was currently pinned beneath him.

Then, the oddest thing happened; Hibird took off from his place on Hibari's shoulder and landed on the snout of the canine. The Akita didn't move a muscle and stared at the bird, though the attempt gave the appearance that the dog was staring cross-eyed and it took great will power for Kusakabe not to laugh at the sight.

It was when Hibird started to sing that things became chaotic.

While the dog that was acting as the rest for the yellow bird remained so, the larger dog let out a low yet loud howl, leapt off of Tsuna and proceeded to dart about the group, nearly running into a few, and careening over Tsuna repeatedly as the boy attempted to stand up.

"What's with all this racket?" a gruff voice asked. "What in the world? Yumi, you forgot to latch the gate again!"

"Forgot to latch the gate! Forgot to latch the gate!" Squawked a raspy voice that sounded like a parrot.

Stepping on the road was a man of almost sixty years with graying hair and hard brown eyes. He was dressed in casual attire and sitting on his shoulder was a red macaw.

"Winston, cease that racket!" the man barked and the large canine immediately quieted.

"You alright, Jūdaime?" Gokudera asked as he helped his boss to his feet.

"Y-Yeah," Tsuna breathed, some of his hair standing straighter than before thanks to the dog's saliva. His clothes were also a mess thanks to the dog's prints and were badly creased in some areas. How was he going to explain this to his mom?

"Terribly sorry about that lad," the man said. "We try to keep the gate locked, but Yumiko always forgets to latch it."

So it wasn't Reborn? Tsuna thought as he glanced over at his living nightmare of a tutor.

Reborn merely smirked.

"I'm not that forgetful, Takayu," a woman said, walking out of the house. Like her husband, her hair was also graying though hers was long enough to be put into a bun with brown eyes and was dressed in a casual kimono.

"Sure whatever you say, dear," Takayu said sarcastically and laughed. "Now, what are you two fellows doing down there?" he asked, looking down to where Hibari and Kusakabe was standing. "And with Benkei too?"

Upon hearing its name, the Akita stood up, causing Hibird to take flight, trodden over to Takayu and took a seat in front of the old man. Hibird, however, not wanting to lose its new perch and friend, followed the canine and once Benkei had sat, the bird settled on the dog's head.

Takayu laughed. "Looks like you got yourself a new friend, Benkei."

"Hibari! Hibari!" Hibrid chirped.

"New friend!" screeched the parrot.

"Please, Pip, be quiet," Takayu said.

"Um, excuse me," Kyoko said, stepping forward and retrieving the dirtied school bag from Tsuna. "Is Veronica-chan home? We brought her school bag home since she forgot it."

"You're friends with Veronica?" Yumiko asked with an almost surprised tone.

"Guess you could say that," Tsuna said with a nervous laugh, stealing a glance toward Hibari, who was quietly standing by.

"Thank you so much for bringing Veronica's stuff home," Yumiko began, "but I'm afraid Veronica isn't home at the moment. There was an accident and one of the family's in the hospital, but she should be back soon."

"Accident," scoffed Takayu. "You don't call five twelve-year old boys beating up on a ten year old boy who doesn't know how to defend himself an accident. It's an ambush!"

"A member was beat up?" Kyoko asked with concern.

Yumiko nodded. "That poor boy has already been through enough without bullying. Oh, listen to me babble about family problems and we haven't invited you in yet."

"Oh, it's alright," Kyoko said. "We just came to drop off Veronica-chan's bag."

"Are you sure you don't want to come in and wait," Yumiko said with a small smile. "Veronica and everyone else should be home soon, and it's not often that Veronica brings guests over, or so her parents have told me."

Maybe because she beats them up, Tsuna thought before movement caught his eye.

"A-Are you leaving, Hibari-san?" He asked, causing everyone's attention to shifted to the black-haired boy.

"I don't like crowding," Hibari said coldly. "I'll deliver punishment tomorrow."

"Punishment?" Takayu asked. "Whatever for?"

"For wearing the incorrect uniform and causing a fight," Hibari said.

To the surprise of everyone in the group, Takayu and Yumiko suddenly burst out laughing.

"Looks like we won the bet, dear," Yumiko said with a hand over her mouth.

"Aye, that it does," Takayu said.

"Bet?" Hana asked.

"If Veronica could go one day without anyone giving her trouble about her attire," Takayu explained. "Her folks thought that it wouldn't be a problem, mostly since Mimi spoke to them about it."

"More like threatened them, dear," Yumiko said as she chuckled. "I'm also not surprised that Veronica got into a fight either. She's so much like her mother when Mimi was her age."

"And you as well," Takayu said with a laugh. "So who's the fellow that bothered to take a swipe at Veronica? He isn't in the hospital is he? I'd hate to see what damage Veronica did, since if she is anything like her mother, it can get pretty ugly."

"How ugly?" Reborn asked then.

"Reborn!" Tsuna exclaimed, hoping that the baby wasn't planning on recruiting the new student.

"Interested, are ya kid?" Takayu asked with a grin. "Well, from what Philip and Mimi told us, Veronica can cause serious damage. One time, she dislocated a high schooler's shoulder and broke another's leg in three places—well it was their fault for trying to get Veronica to go with them—and another time she broke a thug's jaw when he didn't leave one of her classmates alone."

And Hibari only got whacked on the head? Everyone thought, wondering what other damage could have befallen the Disciplinary Chairman if that call hadn't come in.

Reborn, however, was greatly intrigued; it wasn't often that you'd come across a woman who was a natural Mafioso. While there were some exceptions, like the Poison Scorpion Bianchi, it was a rare occurrence. He now wished that he hadn't stayed at the house trying to figure out the troubled feeling he had received earlier.

Hibari, on the other hand, made a mental note to keep a closer eye on the so called Herbivore; if what the couple said was true, she could be a danger to the peace of Namimori.

"And she hasn't been arrested?" Hana asked in shock.

"Goodness no," Yumiko said. "Veronica only fights if someone provokes her, or if someone she cares about is in danger. At least, that's how the stories have gone unlike our daughter who didn't even need a reason to fight."

"I knew it; she is an assassin," Gokudera muttered, though only Tsuna and Reborn happened to hear it.

"G-Gokudera-kun," Tsuna said nervously.

The sound of a car approaching then echoed across the road and, turning to the direction from where it came, the group saw a red car coming up the road.

"They're back already?" Yumiko said puzzled. "Perhaps it wasn't as serious as we thought."

Takayu grunted.

The car stopped a few feet away across from Hibari and Kusakabe and the doors opened up, allowing the occupants to depart. The first was a large, muscular man of possibly forty with hair the same red as Veronica's with piercing green eyes; he also had a thick, short blanket of facial hair, was dressed in a casual suit which was slightly ruffled which only seemed to add to his intimidating aura.

The second was a woman of maybe a few years younger that appeared to be the older spitting image of Veronica, with the same long hair that was currently falling freely about her face except hers was a pure black. She was wearing casual attire, as if she had been home all day before being called out to whatever had occurred.

From the back, Veronica stepped out, and it clear to see the resemblance she held with the two older individuals. Her hair wasn't around her neck but instead cascaded down her back till the curled tip gently brushed against the earth. She had changed from her uniform and was now wearing a casual shirt and jeans.

At the sight of their owners, the two dogs dashed to the car, barking happily and jumping about in an attempt to get their owner's attention. The larger one jumped up on Veronica and proceeded to lick her face, causing the girl to laugh.

"Winston, cut that out," she said. "You over-sized walking mop, your breath stinks!"

Benkei, with Hibird on his head, sat obediently in front of the man, who returned his action with a rub on the head.

After managing to remove Winston from her, Veronica looked up to see the group and gave a smile and a wave.

"Hey guys," she greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to drop off your bag," Kyoko explained, holding it up.

"Ah, arigato," Veronica said, walking over and taking her bag. "You guys didn't have to; I was planning on running back to the school to get it."

"It was nothing," Tsuna said, with Kyoko nodding and Gokudera and Hana snorting.

It was then that Veronica saw Hibari. "Oh, hello prefect," she said with a small smirk. "You've come to finish off our fight?"

Hibari's eyes narrowed and Tsuna noticed how his hands twitched, as if aching to grab hold of his tonfas and finish it right there and then.

"This the lad you had a scuffle with, Veronica?" The man asked.

"Yes, Athair," Veronica said with a grin as she looked at him. "He even managed to land a hit on me too." Her hand, the one Hibari had struck, now had a bandage on it.

Why is she complementing Hibari? Tsuna wondered.

"I thought his name was Philip," Hana whispered to Yumiko.

"Philip's half-Irish, dear," Yumiko said with a smile. "'Athair' is the Irish word for 'Father'."

Tsuna had to fight the urge to shrink away from the man; the man sure had to have been a police officer with the way he carried himself. It reminded him a little of Xanxus, though it wasn't as bloodthirsty and felt more like a protective aura.

To everyone's surprise, he stuck out a large hand to Hibari. "Glad to meet you, boy. Good to see there are some boys who can keep their ground around my daughter."

Hibari stared at the hand as if contemplating whether to take it or not, then reached out and clasped the larger one in a hand shake.

"Pleasure to meet you," was all he said, though there was evidently a strain in his voice. "I'm Hibari Kyoya."

"Hibari?" the woman asked, coming up alongside Philip. "You wouldn't happen to be a relative to Hibari Chiko, would you?"

Hibari nodded while everyone else stared puzzled; the woman smirked slightly. Unlike her husband, this woman carried around a slightly wild aura, much more than Veronica, though there was also a tinge of a motherly protective nature as well.

"Oh everyone," Veronica said. "These are my parents: Philip and Mimi Breen."

Everyone excluding a few gave a welcoming hello while introducing themselves.

"Hmm?" Veronica then noticed Reborn. "Hello there, I didn't see you right there. Is this a relative of yours, Tsuna?"

"I'm Tsuna's tutor," Reborn stated before Tsuna could answer.

"Reborn!" Tsuna exclaimed. "Don't mind him, Veronica-chan."

Veronica raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything else.

"Oh, Veronica-chan," Yumiko said, drawing her granddaughter's attention. "How's Byaku-kun? From the way Mimi dashed out, I thought he was in serious trouble."

Veronica sighed. "The most he suffered was a few broken ribs, a black eye, and a fractured wrist. He would have come with us, but the doctors wanted to keep him overnight to evaluate his health and make sure that nothing was punctured."

The group of students stared; they had thought that it had been a simple beating, but for someone to have come out of it that way was a little too much.

"Umm…Veronica-chan," Kyoko said, "who's Byaku?"

"My little brother," Veronica said with a smile. "That's just his nickname though. If you guys want to, you can come over and meet him tomorrow. I'm sure he'd appreciate it."

Most of the group agreed and after saying their good-byes headed off to their respective homes.

"Tsuna," Reborn said as they turned the corner. "Call your guardians over to your place."

"Huh? Why Reborn?" Tsuna asked.

Reborn took on a darkened look. "There's something we need to talk about."


"So, what is it that you wanted to tell us, Reborn?" Tsuna asked from his place at the Kotatsu.

After the rest of his Guardians had arrived—Chrome had come in place of Mukuro—they had waited for about five minutes for the tiny hitman to tell them what they needed to know.

Well, more like ten with Yamamoto and Gokudera getting into another one-sided argument about something that the Rain Guardian had said, and Lampo running around with I-pin chasing him. It was only when Reborn spoke that everything settled down.

"I received word from the Ninth this morning," Reborn said, his face blank as ever. "About a week ago, someone attacked Vendicare Prison."

Everyone stared at Reborn in silence; someone attacked the Mafia Prison?

"T-That's crazy!" Gokudera said in shock. "Isn't the Prison supposed to be impossible to attack? Besides, who in their right mind would want to do that? And how come they didn't know about it sooner?"

"That is what the Ninth is trying to figure out," Reborn said. "There are no witnesses, since all of the Vendice were killed and all of the prisoners were let loose. No one knew about the attack till someone from the Vongola family went to discuss a transfer and found the place a battleground."

Tsuna gulped; all of the prisoners? That meant that some of the Mafia's most dangerous criminals were on the loose.

"Wait," Gokudera said in confusion. "How can there be no witnesses if the prisoners were let loose? Surely they saw the person who freed them."

"That EXTREMELY makes sense," Ryohei added.

"There reason why there were no witnesses," Reborn's voice became grim, "is because when the criminals were tracked down, they couldn't remember who set them free. In fact, they couldn't remember ever being part of the mafia."

Tsuna felt his blood run cold. "Is that even possible?" he asked softly, not trusting his voice.

"There have been some Famiglias that have attempted to create something to wipe the memories of people," Reborn said, "but this far beyond what they had tried to accomplish. Whoever is responsible not only managed to erase all of the prisoners' memories, but gave each of them an entirely new life with no connection to the mafia."

"Then what's the problem?" Yamamoto asked. "If no one remembers what they did in the past, won't it be less of a problem?"

"You idiot!" Gokudera exclaimed. "Whoever attacked Vendicare surely meant it as a sign to the other Famiglias!"

"There haven't been any other attacks on a large group of people," Reborn said. "But the Ninth wants everyone to be on guard and wants Tsuna to be accompanied by a Guardian at all times."

"What!" Tsuna exclaimed. It wasn't that he had a problem being with his friends, but wasn't that a little over the top?

Reborn smirked. "It was either that or have the remainder of the Vendice do it."

At that, Tsuna went quiet; he didn't know if Reborn was joking, but he really hoped that it wasn't true. The last thing he needed was for the Vendice to follow him around like an unwanted shadow.

"If they disturb the peace," Hibari said then, proceeding to leave. "I'll bite them to death."

"One more thing, Hibari," Reborn said, bringing the Cloud Guardian to a halt. "Chrome," he added, turning to the female. "Have you by chance had any contact with Mukuro?"

Chrome shook her head, a look of sadness flashing across her eyes.

"What does this have to do with Mukuro?" Tsuna asked. He hoped that Mukuro didn't have anything to do with the attacks; that would look really bad and he'd never hear the end of how he couldn't control his own Mist Guardian.

"Sometime after the attack, there were a number of reports of Illusionists being attacked," Reborn said. "No one knows why and again no one knows the identity of them since they only attacked at night. Even Mammon of the Varia was attacked two nights ago and now every Illusionist's whereabouts are being sought for their own safety. The only one unaccounted for is Mukuro and the Ninth is concerned that the perpetrators got to him first. Even with Ken and Chikusa with him, there's concern for their safety."

Everyone was silent, hoping that the Illusionist, even if he was a little sadistic and wanting to destroy the Mafia, was still alive.

"So someone has a grudge against Illusionists?" Gokudera asked.

"That remains to be seen," Reborn said, signifying that the meeting was over.

After everyone left, Tsuna turned to Reborn. "You don't think Veronica-chan is responsible, do you?" It wasn't that he thought it, but the fact that Veronica had moved in barely a week after the attack would probably have been noted by the hitman.

"She brings no means of alarm," Reborn said. "In fact, I think she'd be good for the Family."

"Forget it, Reborn," Tsuna said, heading to the kitchen. No way was he going to ask another innocent person to get involved with the Mafia; Kyoko and Haru were already too involved as was.

"Even if it means changing the future?" Reborn asked, smirking as Tsuna stopped and turned to face him.

"What do you mean?" Tsuna asked, wondering what devious design the Hitman had up his sleeves.

"I had a friend look into Veronica's family," Reborn began, ignoring Tsuna's protest of delving into other people's lives. "It turns out that she has a brother, but I think you'll be surprised on who it is."

Taking a picture from his coat, Reborn handed it to Tsuna who took it to gain a closer look.

His eyes widened and only two words came to mind:

No Way!


Cliff-hanger! Sorry that it didn't seem like much; I've been working on this chapter for a while and this was the best that I could do. Maybe I'll come back and do some revising.

Till next time, please review.