Chapter 3: First impressions

"Ushishishi the prince will not approach anything that dirty"

"VoOIII you fucking boss! why'd you bring home something useless?!"

"mou… won't you please quiet down squalo-dear or you'll wake the little bunny"

He heard voices he does not recognize, for a moment it scared him but still he refused to wake up. For the first time he felt comfortable in his sleep. The floor is not cold and hard but warm and soft. Actually he felt warm all over, his body feels light and he can no longer feel the sore throbbing in his back. He felt comfortable, as comfortable as…. As what? He can't compare this feeling to anything he had ever felt.

Had he… had he finally died? Is this death? He remembere hearing screams and seeing flames beforehe... he died in the fire? No…. though vague he remembers looking at red angry eyes. Then realization hit him as he remembers the man. Xanxus, the person called Xanxus came last night. The wash of relief that flooded his whole body when he heard that gruff voice was real. And so was this comfortable feeling. He wish to thank the man but he's dead. Visiting as a ghost will not bode well for the two of them. And so the child decided to just thank the man in his head.

'Thank you' he smiled. Death is so warm and comfortable. There is no nagging feeling in his head, no nervousness, no dread and most of all no emptiness.

"VOIIIIII!-" but is death really this noisy?

"You fucking frog why'd you push me?!" He was jostled from his comfortable position when he felt the place near his feet dip and he was lightly bounced by the sudden weight that fell on the thing he's lying.

"I nearly squished the brat because of you! You fucking idiot!" Light seem to sip in his closed lids, peaking at him, mocking him. 'no'

"sorry shark-sempai" It was a different dread from before, it did not threaten him but... he's not.. 'I'm not...No'

"now…now calm down everyone or the little bunny might wake up" 'NO!' panic begun to surge inside him. He can't be alive. That can't be. Xanxus… Xanxus had killed him. That person will definitely kill him. 'I don't want to live…. No… I don't want!'

Crash!

"Pipe down scum, it is waking up" Suddenly he felt the familiar darkness, calming his senses.

'I'm still alive' he thought broken heartedly as the darkness consumed him again, breaking him to oblivion.

"VOIIIIII!" Xanxus stared at his guardians, boredom and lack of interest etched in his every feature. His rowdy famiglia no longer faze the irate man. After all the years they've 'unwillingly' spent together, he had learned that ignoring their antics is the best approach. He would have continued ignoring them if not because Squalo, 'the fucking scum', almost crushed the thing lying on the king size bed.

"I nearly squished the brat because of you! You fucking idiot!" Xanxus became irritated, for some reason the child's raising a protective streak in him. There was something familiar about the child that he can't pinpoint. Suddenly a cold shiver ran down his spine. His intuition's telling him that something's wrong. He can feel it tingling in his whole body.

Unrest… panic… denial… these emotions that his guardians and him will never feel is surging throughout the room. It was coming from it like a surging wave. But suddenly, it vanished. It just suddenly disappeared like it was never there, but instead of placating his intuition, its disappearance just made him more apprehensive. Something is terribly wrong.

Crash! He threw his wine glass to the nearest wall with annoyance.

"Pipe down scum, it is waking up" he said, and surely seconds after he said that it sat up making his guardians look at it with interest.

Squalo was internally panicking. It is understandable since he's the closest to the child. He can't understand why their cruel, heartless boss decided to save the child. They've saved hostages before, albeit involuntarily, but not once had his boss expressed any interest in them. For him, hostages are weak and weak people are worse than trash. But really, that's not of his concern, because what he's most worried about at the moment is making the child cry. If it were any other child then he would just threaten them to shut up or kill them, but if this thing is something important to the boss. Squalo shivered. Everyone knows how possessive their boss can get.

Belphegor on the other hand is calmly sitting at the corner. With the back of his velvet chair facing the child and elbows resting at the back rest. He eyed him while tossing his knives high and then catching it, he might not look interested but Xanxus can feel that behind the nonchalant façade hides his sickening interest.

"Ushishishi" Bel can't comprehend what pushed their boss to save the peasant but if he can play with it then he won't complain. Tortur- I mean, playing with a child can be added to his hobbies.

Mammon who was floating by the farthest corner stared at the child apprehensively. There was something familiar about him, and he can guess that's the reason why his boss took interest on the young experiment. When he's not busy he'll just read the child's mind and look at his memory to see why he seemed so familiar.

Flan just stared at the child, waiting for anything to happen. He's curious but not that much. He's not fond of children especially those that were obviously tortured. -If the wounds, bruises and lashes all over the child's body is not evidence enough then he don't know what is.- They tend to be squeaky, overly cautious and they tremble like they're standing in the north pole- naked. And worse of all they tend to be dangerous when faced with an unfamiliar environment while surrounded by unfamiliar child might do something stupid -like maybe attacking them- and its bye bye.

Lussuria was ecstatic, he loves children especially cute ones like this. The child had long brown hair, it was tangled and hard first but after some hair care from the one and only, the child's hair proved to be a nice fluffy caramel. The child looked so innocent in his sleep especially when he snuggled in the blanket. Fine, Lussuria confess. He's taken in by the cute child. He'd be really glad if the child will be all scared and trembling so he can nurse him back to health. Ohhh he can't wait to become this child's mother figure.

And Levi well, he's just curious. A little jealous but more than anything curious.

With all their different expectations they were surprised when dull, blank eyes blinked at them before the child kneeled down with his head touching the mattress. No sound was uttered. The child didn't even flinch when Belphegor threw a knife near his face cutting his cheeks. The child just remained in his submissive position, unmoving.

"mou~ look what you guys had done!" It was Lussuria that was able to snap out first. He immediately sauntered towards the child and push Squalo away. "You scare the poor little bunny, mou" he glared at the still gaping Squalo before smiling at the child.

"Come on little bunny look up, Lussuria-mama will not hurt you" he said in a sugar-coated tone that made Belphegor want to vomit. Anyone else would had been disgusted by the forced sweetness and pitch change in the gay man's tone but the child just stared up at him, still kneeling.

Lussuria tried to force a smile, he was a bit unnerve with the blank eyes staring- no, he mentally shook his head- this boy is not staring at him, he does not even see him. How can a child possess such lifeless eyes thaat can even make a mannequin's eyes expressive? He couldn't help it, before he knew what he was doing, he had enclosed the child in warm a embrace. It was not the bone-crushing bear hug he like to give, he was watching his strength and careful with his arms, as if any unwanted weight will further break the child.

"Oiii, fucking faggot why the hell are you crying" Squalo asked with unusually tamed voice. Lussuria looked confusedly at the long-haired man. Crying? why would he be? But when he touched his cheek, he felt something wet trailing down from his eyes. He really is crying...

But you can't blame him because even Squalo is unusually, I don't know, normal? Is that the right term? The long-haired man was still speaking crudely but he was not shouting nor swaying his sword like usual. Maybe he too was scared? -another shake of the head- No, no one in the varia fears anything, but maybe, maybe the long-haired swordsman felt it too. The feeling that this child, this very precious child, must not be hurt any further.

"Ushishishi~ the gay peasant is acting like an idiot again, your crying face is fugly shishi" Belphegor said from his sit.

"Even shark-sempai is acting weird, why are you suddenly speaking like how a normal person should?" Fran asked in his most bored tone. Lussuria raised his brow? why are they looking at them as if they grew another head. Squalo and Lussuria looked at each other, puzzled. How can the rest of them act normal?

Can't they feel it? This... This overwhelming sadness, emptiness and helplessness the child emits. It's so heavy that it's almost suffocating. He took another look around, even Mammon's looking curiously at them. But why can't they feel it when its flowing inside him, so much so that it feels like it mixed with his blood.

Squalo and Lussuria looked at each other and that's when it hit them. The feeling can only be felt by those who are in close proximity with the child. Only them can feel the protectiveness coursing down even to the smallest fiber of their being.

"Oi scum, how long are you going to suffocate it?" Xanxus' voice brought them out of the weird atmosphere that started to envelop the room.

"mou~ silly boss, I'm not suffocating this cute bunny, I'm hugging him" and once again Lussuria's back to his old self.

It is after 30 minutes of questioning, in which not a single word was uttered by the child, that the Varia deemed it impossible to talk with the child. They can't understand why the child won't take and decided to stick in that submissive-unseeing pose.. They thought that the reason the child's not responding is due to an internal injury. Lussuria might have cured all the external injuries but internal medicine should be something doctors handles.

Immediately after that they called on Vongola's greatest doctor to examine the child.

"He's suffering from a trauma" Shamal announced after checking the child. Lussuria did a good job in healing the wounds but the scars that had accumulated over the years of torture remained. Shamal is no psychologist but he had met a lot of abused children, specially those that were turned into sex slaves, that he can tell just from looking.

"So shamal-kun, does that mean that there really is something wrong with my bunny's brain? is that why he does not respond?" Lussuria asked, already in his mother hen mode. He enclosed the child in a protective hug like what mother's do in dramas.

Shamal lazily scratch his head, this is why he can't stand males they're not elegant "Well yes and no... there's nothing wrong with his brain but-"

"THEN WHAT IS WRONG IS WHAT MY BUNNY!" Lussuria screamed, his hug tightening around the child.

"Well if you let me finish then I'll tell you" Shamal sighed, sometimes Varia is too dramatic. He waited for a few seconds, and assuming that no more interruptions would -hopefully- take place he proceeded with his explanation.

"It's a normal occurrence for tortured children." With the blank look he got he decided to expound.

"Trauma that is- Because they are unable to cope up with the abuse they develop ways to protect their sanity. it's a survival instinct." Lussuria looked at the emotionless child in his arm.'this is a survival instinct? Flan-chan can be emotionless but not as much as this child'

" Some children tend to create new personas or identities to protect them, some turned into a shivering mess that even the smallest of the sound/touch would took them off, some became suicidal, most became wild, untamable, and violent, they would fight off anyone that would try to get close to them and in this child's case" he gestured to the child who's still in his own world before he continued his explanation.

" He chose to ignore it all. He created a void in his mind where he can hide everytime he's faced with unwanted situations. There he won't be able to see, to hear, or to recognize anything which in turn makes him unable to feel pain."

Lussuria look at the doctor with furrowed brows. All those explanations are fine and dandy but that's not what he wants to know"So what should we do so we can... erase that void or whatever you're talking about?"

"I don't know" Shamal shrug

"You don't know?! what do you mean you don't know?! you're the doctor here, you should know!" While trying his best not to shake the child Lussuria yelled. It's a doctor's job to know everything about medicine.

"There's no definite cure, psychological treatment differs from person to person" he calmly reasoned out as he took a sit and a glass of water.

"So there's nothing we can do about it?" Lussuria asked with watery eyes. This precious child must not be left in this state, there must be something they can still do for him.

Shamal watched everyone, it seems like it was not only the sun guardian that is concerned, the rain guardian seemed to be the same. Which is in iteslf weird., why would these coldblooded killers be concerned with an emotionless-nontalking-child? It intrigues because for some reason he's feeling the same.

"There is..." he started, he can only think of one way to cure the child " but I don't think you- Varia- of all people is capable of giving it"

"Voii! are you insulting us?! there's nothing we can't do!" Squalo finally said as he brandish his sword towards the doctor.

"ushishishi I hate to agree but they might not be able to do it but I can"

"Voiii what-"

Before the quarrel escalated Shamal chose to interrupt them "TLC"

"what you say?" everyone looked at him curiously.

Shamal sighed, this is the very reason why he thinks Varia can't do it. If they don't even know what the term means then... "It differs from person to person but what every abuse victim need is TLC"

"so there's a cure! something like TLC we can give it whatever it is" Lussuria happily said, no one knows what TLC is but if its a new kind of technology or medicine Varia can easily get it. "just tell us where to buy it-"

"its tender love and care..." he interjected "All abuse victims need love, care, and affection as a starting point. That's the best way to cure their fears and insecurity. And not just simple affection, getting him out of this void will take a lot of time and patience. You have to constantly reassure him with love. It's not an easy process and you can't give up in the middle or you'll risk damaging the child more."

And there was silence.

Everyone looked at the doctor as if he grew another head. Who would in their right mind would ever mention the L word to the Varia? They don't give a shit about those things. If they were capable of giving it then they wouldn't have chosen assassination as a profession.

Belphegor shrugged, "Ushishishi well I guess Varia won't be having a new play thing" as much as he wants a new toy. He can't be bothered by something so tiresome and commoner-ish like TLC.

"I guess it's bye bye bunny-chan" Flan waved at the child. Though it didn't end in a blood bath like he had thought. The child, just like what he expected, is leaving. No one, not even Lussuria is capable of doing something like that. The said sun guardian has a conflicted look in his face, as much as he wants to protect this child. He can't give him the very thing he needs. If it was something as easy as babysitting then maybe he'll do it. But that TLC thing that he need sounded like something only normal people can do.

"If you will, I can arrange for a person to take care of-"

"No."

"Ha?" Immediately everyone whipped their head towards the direction of the voice. Surely they heard it wrong. It can't be Xanxus

"That's unneccessary, you can leave trash" But it really was him, sitting in his ever present throne of doom. Shamal panicked. He thought that Xanxus would readily get rid of the child but for some reason the tenth vongola won't do it. Xanxus doesn't understand. This child cannot be left like this and the only way to save him is to show him how much he's love and needed. That thing requires patience, faith and love.

"Ha? b-but decimo, you don't understand this child -"

Bang! "Fucking shut up! I said you can leave!" Xanxus went towards the still expressionless child and carried him. It... This, can not part with him. This is something only he can save. His intuition tells him that this child must not leave his side.

"Decimo wait!" but no matter what Shamal said Xanxus just walked away with the child in tow, leaving the everyone gaping at the sudden turn of events.

'Something like TLS or whatever it is, can't be that hard' he thought as he tried his best to keep his hold of the child light. Or else he might make a mistake and carry it-him, too tightly.

Well Xanxus will learn the hard way how easy -yeah right- it is to give TLC.

A.N Hello~ sorry for the late update, I didn't notice that a week has already passed. As requested I tried to make the story longer and I'm sorry if it feels a little forced since I usually have 1000-2000 word quota per chapter. It's hard for me to do long chapters. Well enough about that and I'll raise some questions before I proceed.

First question: Would you guys like a longer chapter or a shorter one?

Second question: It seems like I'm not that good with fluff , I will put some fluff and I'm going to try my hardest but I think this will turn into a serious fic, is that all right with you?

Third question: I make a lot of grammar mistakes that I fail to notice, so is anyone willing to become my beta?

Fourth question: Some of you post some questions and really interesting ideas in your reviews. And I would LOVE to respond to them. In my previous fanfics I always put a response corner at the end of the chapter, and I just want to ask if I should do it for this fic? Because some people find response corners annoying.

Fifth question: I feed on reviews... so here's a challenge can I get 10 reviews for this chapter? just curious since this is the most attention any of my fics had ever had. AND I THANK YOU GUYS!

Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo, forgive me for posting this at the end.