Who Says You Can't Go Home Again?

by JKrlin

Italian mobster Vito Scaletta is reborn as mafia heir Tsunayoshi Sawada.

4. Our Loyalty to the Family -

Where the fuck were Vito's pants?

No, seriously. One minute, Vito was walking to school with Reborn by his side when he caught Kensuke Mochida cornering what looked like an uncomfortable Kyoko under the shadow of a tree. Vito was contemplating how to approach the situation when Reborn put a pistol to Vito's face and fired. The next thing Vito knows, he had Mochida pinned to the ground, the kendo captain's face horribly black and blue, and Vito was wearing nothing except for his boxer shorts.

Vito looked up. He and Mochida were in the middle of the front yard of the school. A crowd of students surrounded them. They looked on in shock and awe, whispering to themselves. Vito spotted Takeshi and Hana hovering beside Kyoko. Kyoko was covering her mouth in what was probably pure astonishment.

"Um sah-wee," Mochida moaned through a dislocated jaw as he helplessly clutched Vito's forearm. "Um sah-wee. Uh didn't nuh shay add tuh give puh-mission tuh talk tuh her. Uh on-eh wanted tuh talk with her. Thazz all. Thazz all..."

This had to be the weirdest fucking dream Vito's ever dreamt in his life.

But then Vito saw Reborn observing from his perch atop a distant light pole. With an Arcobaleno and more of this world's mafia bullshit at play, this probably wasn't a dream.

Well, Vito can at least try to salvage this mess.

Pulling at Mochida's shirt, Vito leaned to his ear and whispered, "Any and all transgressions between us are forgiven." Vito patted Mochida's cheek only somewhat mockingly. "I pay you, make sure you get a nice long vacation while you recover from this little episode, and you become one of my guys. You work for me, now."

Mochida nodded hurriedly. "Uh-kay. Uh-kay. Uh'll do whuh-ev-uh yuh ask."

"I wasn't asking," Vito said as he forcibly pulled Mochida to his feet. Mochida wobbled as Vito supported him and dragged him to the nurse's office.

Once Vito had Mochida squared away on a bed cot (without his shoes, pants, or shirt - so that Vito could wear them and not get heckled by anyone for public nudity), Vito exited the infirmary and ran into Reborn.

"What the fuck was that?" Vito snapped. "What the hell did you shoot me with?"

Reborn had a despicably cute and innocent smile on his face. He held up an oddly colored bullet. "This bullet is the Dying Will Bullet. A person that is shot with this bullet will resurrect and enter Dying Will Mode. Your Dying Will is based on whatever you were regretting at the moment of death, wherein you will then do everything in your power to complete your dying wish."

What a fucking weird-ass power-up. "So why did you shoot me with that bullet?" Vito asked. "It sounds like a last-resort kind of thing to use."

"The Dying Will Bullet is actually fairly common in the Vongola Family," Reborn said. "Since it lets you unconsciously and instinctively make active use of your innate Dying Will Flames, the bullet is ideal for conditioning your body for conscious and controlled manipulation of your Flames as your training progresses."

Flames. Right. Vito had forgotten about the non-burning fire the mafia world seems to run around. "And you couldn't tell me this before you popped a round right in my fucking face in the middle of broad fucking daylight?"

Reborn aimed his handgun for Vito's temple again. "I can always shoot you with an actual bullet, if that makes you happy."

Vito felt his temper quickly waver off. Reborn was holding an actual gun and not the green shapeshifting lizard one. The chameleon gun just looked silly to Vito, but real guns always warranted careful attention toward. "What exactly did I do after you shot me the first time?"

Thankfully, Reborn, still smiling a smile that could give Takeshi a run for his money, holstered his weapon. "When I shot you, you resolutely declared that you would 'make Mochida learn to respect Kyoko with your Dying Will,'" Reborn recited. "You beat Mochida a dozen times over until he vowed to show respect to the girl, at which point your Dying Will Mode deactivated."

God, Vito was going to have to talk with Kyoko one-on-one later. She wasn't very comfortable at being a direct witness to the unlawful things he and the rest of their friends regularly participated in, so seeing Vito turn Mochida into mincemeat must be really eating at her.

"It's good that you hold those within your junior crime family and their loved ones in high regard," Reborn complimented. "Your bloodlust leaves something to be desired for, however."

"You said I was fulfilling my dying wish," Vito pointed out as he crossed his arms. "Are you surprised I didn't pull my punches with whatever that wish was?"

"No," Reborn answered. "All of your actions so far have fit with the profile Lal compiled on you. I'm only surprised that your recklessness, even for one as young as yourself, hasn't led you to personally kill someone by now."

A good portion of Vito's guys – the older ones, of course, typically eighteen and up – have already killed at least one person in cold blood. Once Vito's people who were still schoolkids graduated from high school, a promotion to better pay and more trust was gonna cost them a kill. Vito has ordered plenty of hits on plenty of guys, but all the while, Vito hadn't had the pleasure of whacking someone himself in this lifetime quite yet.

At the sound of footsteps behind Vito, he turned and straightened his back at who he saw. "Kyoko," Vito welcomed with a nod. "Are you okay?"

The girl had a scrutinizing gaze that was scanning Vito's form from head to toe. "I should be the one asking you that, Tsuna. Are you wearing Mochida clothes?"

"I've been having a weird morning," Vito replied as his excuse. He motioned to his new home tutor. "This is Reborn. He's a friend of Lal's, and he's staying at my house for a while. We've been going through a, uh... transitional phase. Been a really stressful time since my dad took my mom on a last-minute trip to Italy." Coming up with half-truthful baloney for the civilian side of Vito's gang had gotten easier and easier over the years. Kyoko wasn't dumb, but she was smart enough to know not to look too deeply at what Vito, Takeshi, and Ryohei did off-campus and after school.

When Kyoko spotted Reborn, she kneeled down and smiled at the baby. "How cute," Kyoko commented cheerily. "That's a nice suit you're wearing."

"Thank you," Reborn said. "Highly respected mafia members such as myself, the World's Greatest Hitman, only accept the best quality suits available on the market."

Though Kyoko's smile persisted, it lost some of its permanence at Reborn's words. Regardless, she nodded her head playfully at him. "You sure do look the part. So, you're a friend of Lal's? Are you Tsuna's new tutor? He really needs all the help he can get."

"I am," Reborn confirmed. "I'm training No-Good Tsuna to become a marvelous mafia boss."

Vito cut in before Reborn could spout anything more about organized crime. "Mochida should also be fine," Vito said. "It'll take a while for him to recover, but he'll live. Now, I didn't mean to react like that out there. Was Mochida really trying to make a move on you, or was it something else, or..."

In another life, Francesca Scaletta, Vito Scaletta's only sister, was married to a scumbag named Eric Reily. Frankie liked Eric, and Eric made sure to pay their bills, so even if Eric didn't bother to ask Vito's permission for Frankie's hand in marriage (since Vito was in jail and all at the time), Vito gave Frankie her space. Then a couple of years later, Frankie comes to Vito's doorstep with admissions that Eric was cheating on her and hitting her. Vito promptly beat Eric half to death, but when Vito promised to kill Eric if he ever touched Frankie like that again, Frankie told Vito to stay out of their lives. "I don't know you anymore," were some of the last words he ever heard from her.

In this life, Vito was more careful in how he treated civilian members of the family. Vito liked Kyoko. The last thing he wanted was for her to tell Vito and Ryohei that she doesn't know them anymore either.

"I think Mochida was trying to be flirty and didn't realize he came off more as creepy," Kyoko said, "but I don't think he was going to do anything that would warrant you beating him up so badly."

"Like I said," Vito began in conciliatory tone, "it's been a stressful time."

"But even if he was going to try something," Kyoko continued, "you didn't have to automatically jump in like that unless I started struggling or screaming or something like that." Faster than Vito could blink, Kyoko whipped out a switchblade in her hand. It was the same one Vito had given her with that cake café coupon for her birthday a few months back. "You taught me how to use this for a reason, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did," Vito conceded as he scratched the back of his head. "I just... worry, is all. Y'know?"

"I appreciate it," Kyoko said in an honest tone. "That you care, I mean, but it won't do you any good getting into unnecessary fist fights like that." Kyoko blushed and looked to the side. "That's not even mentioning the fact that you did it in your underwear. That was really, really weird, Tsuna."

Vito had to admit that Kyoko did look cute when she looked embarrassed like that. "Let me make it up to you. I know some straight shooters who you might like. They're a hell of a lot better than Mochida, let me tell you."

Kyoko waved her hands in a placating gesture. "That's fine. I don't need you playing matchmaker for me. Actually, if you aren't too busy after school, Hana and I have been wanting to try out that gumbo you've been bragging about."

Vito's second-in-command in New Bordeaux, Alma, always hated Vito's gumbo. Lincoln Clay didn't like it much either. "You're gonna love it," Vito said with a forced wide smile. He'll have to skip heading to Kawahira's today, but it was an acceptable sacrifice. "I promise."

"I'm looking forward to it," Kyoko said as she tugged at Vito's sleeve and lightly dragged him with her down the hallway. "We should get to class, or Hana will have our heads."

Vito was more worried about Hibari tearing off their heads, but he let Kyoko guide them to their class without any resistance.

Reborn was smirking as Vito and Kyoko left. If Reborn was planning any bullshit schemes with Kyoko, then he's got another thing coming.

X

Smokin' Bomb Hayato was definitely a freak. No question about that.

"Tenth!" Gokudera exclaimed as he accompanied Vito on his walk to Kawahira's. "I understand that we are making our way toward your primary place of business. With your blessing, I can run on ahead and secure the perimeter. Or, I can also –"

Vito held up a hand. Gokudera shut his mouth immediately and didn't say a word for the rest of their trip.

Once they were at Kawahira's, Gokudera silently and dutifully followed Vito into the lounge. The business was closed for today, so the lounge was empty save for a few of Vito's guys doing janitorial stuff and keeping a close eye on the place. Vito led Gokudera to the usual booth where Vito did his deals and had his meetings. While Vito assumed a relaxed posture, Gokudera sat with more poise and reverence, dutifully waiting for orders.

When Vito began to light a cigarette, Gokudera was quick to offer his own. "Please, tenth! You no longer have to bother yourself with such mundane motions! As your right-hand man, I can –"

Vito held up his hand again. Gokudera retracted his cigarette and lighter and let Vito puff a breath of smoke at his own leisure.

"Let's get something straight here," Vito said after a short while of watching Gokudera's enthusiastic face slowly deteriorate to nervousness. "You aren't anybody's right-hand man. You're definitely not mine, so stop calling yourself that. And stop calling me tenth. I've got a name, y'know."

Gokudera's downcast expression that he now wore was exactly what Vito was looking for. "Of course," Gokudera said, still loud in volume but notably without the same enthusiasm as before. "I admit I was too overzealous in my pledge of loyalty to your cause, ten – uh, Tsunayoshi-sama!"

"Another thing," Vito added. "When we're at school or out in public, call me Tsuna, Tsunayoshi, or Sawada. None of that honorifics crap." Vito never made a conscious effort of using honorifics, though he used them automatically after speaking Japanese over a decade. "When we're on the job, call me Vito."

"I – but –" Gokudera tripped over his words. He really wanted to show respect to Vito, and while Vito found Gokudera's devotion a little endearing if a little off-putting, spouting "Tenth!" all the time wasn't exactly subtle. Eventually, Gokudera bowed his head and said, "I am sorry, tenth, but if I am to prove myself worthy of being your right-hand man, then I must –"

"Then you ought to do what you're told," Vito interrupted, "especially when it's your supposed boss telling you what to do. I'm only giving you simple instructions right now. If you can't follow them right, then what chance do you have in me giving the okay for you to be my right-hand?"

After a moment of hesitation, Gokudera met Vito's eyes with a resolute look. "As you command, Vito."

Good. Now they were getting somewhere. "Let's review what's happened today," Vito announced as he put his cigarette against his lips, "because after I went Dying Will on your ass, the details get a little hazy for me."

"Of course," Gokudera said with another bow. "My conventional attacks proved to be ineffective as you in your Dying Will state put out my dynamite fuses faster than they could set off. I attempted to use my experimental Triple Bombs attack, but that technique is still a work-in-progress. I would have blown myself up completely had you not defused the last of my bombs. You graciously saved my life, your would-be assassin, at great risk to your own life. Therefore, my life is yours to make use of however you see fit."

"And then you spent the rest of the school day arguing with Takeshi," Vito recounted, mostly talking to himself as he tried to piece together the blurry memories.

"I understand Takeshi Yamamoto is one of your soldiers," Gokudera began in an even voice before speaking with vehement contempt, "but he acts so casually around you! How can a subordinate with such an informal attitude and a ridiculous obsession with baseball be deserving to bear such uncaring nonchalance in your presence?!"

"Because he's part of my family," Vito said with a disapproving frown directed at Gokudera. "Not talking about blood, but Takeshi's my friend and one of my best guys. For the most part, he respects me, and I respect him. Takeshi's earned the right to act how he wants around me," within reason, of course. He still messes up when he can call Vito "Tsuna" and when he can call him "Vito." That was still an annoying tidbit. "You've done fuck-all to earn the same treatment."

Gokudera dipped his head down in shame. "I understand. Please, ten– Vito, how can I show that I am a trustworthy and useful subordinate fit to work under your rule?"

Vito suddenly felt a weight sit itself on his shoulder. "Yes, Vito," Reborn said with a hint of sarcastic mocking at Tsunayoshi's street name. "While Gokudera shows all the signs of becoming a competent right-hand man and should already be a loyal underling, as per mafia law, what else would you have him do to prove himself?"

God, Vito was never going to get used to the weird laws that rule the mafia in this world. Some of it was the same as in Vito Scaletta's world, but so much else was different. "I don't know why I bothered to save your life, Gokudera," Vito said, and he really didn't know why. His dying wish would've probably been to kill Gokudera outright rather than going the roundabout route of defusing the dynamite themselves, "but the only reason I'm giving you a chance is because Reborn's vouched for you. No way in hell am I making you my right-hand man after barely a day of meeting you. You're gonna have to work your way up the ladder just like everybody else."

With a snap of Vito's fingers, one of the janitors brought over three bottles of beer. If Gokudera was considered old enough to smoke and kill, then he was old enough to drink. "You're a smart guy," Vito told Gokudera, "at least from what the NDC's managed to find on you."

Kusakabe, fully aware of Vito's liking to Italian culture, had given Vito Gokudera's sparse and severely lacking file. A "professional courtesy," Kusakabe had called it, even if the NDC's connections weren't able to get the fully story on Gokudera. Reborn must have done some interference on that end.

"I want you working with Hana as a tutor," Vito said as he took a swig from his drink. "You'll get paid at half her rate. One quarter of what you do make goes to her, and half goes to me. I want you doing a good job, too. No blowing anyone up. Hana will have the final say of whether you've been doing a good job or not."

Gokudera took a quick second to process Vito's instructions. "Hana Kurokawa," he muttered, probably recalling that she was a part of Vito's posse at Namimori Middle. "Your mistress, I take it?"

Vito would literally pay to see Hana's reaction to being called his mistress. Hiding his amusement, Vito went on and said, "Outside of school, you'll be working for the Three Crime Brothers. My man Ichiro is in charge of that crew. My say overrides anything and everything, but as far as you'll be concerned, Ichiro's word is law. He tells you to jump, then you kiss his feet and ask him how high. Capiche?"

"Capiche," Gokudera repeated with a nod. "Are there any other stipulations and prerequisites I must fulfill in order to prove myself?"

Vito thought on it for a moment. "Yeah, actually." Vito set aside his beer and cigarette to reach into his book bag and pull out his notebook. "Math has been kicking my ass lately. Help me out, and I'll forgive you for the attempted murder thing."

A look of pure, confident determination spread across Gokudera's face. "I will help you to the best of my abilities," he said, "Don Sawada."

Vito found himself smiling. "Let's go with Don Vittorio. Now, show me what the hell this equation is supposed to do."

Reborn hopped off Vito's shoulder. "You better hope that Gokudera can help you fully understand this equation, Tsuna," the baby said as Leon morphed into a hand-held timer, "because if you can't complete your homework assignment in the allotted time, you may have to invest in a new location for your business."

Looking up, Vito's eyes scanned the lounge. All of his guys were lying on the floor, unconscious. A cartoonish-looking spherical bomb with a long fuse slowly being consumed by a flame sat at the bar.

Vito's learned to stop questioning or thinking too hard about how Reborn accomplishes these ridiculous, convoluted things so fast, but Vito hasn't stopped getting migraines from them.

Gokudera was at Vito's side in an instant. Gokudera started spouting unintelligible mathematical jargon that amounted to complete garbage to Vito's ears. With a tired sigh, Vito resigned himself to his work.

In between all the bullshit that's happened today, Vito had to give Hayato Gokudera points for trying.

X

Vito rapped his fingers against the front door to TakeSushi. It didn't take long for Takeshi to open it up and beckon Vito inside. "Tsuna!" the young Yamamoto welcomed exuberantly. "What are you doing here? It's pouring outside!"

The heavy rainstorm didn't bother Vito too much. Empire Bay has had worst weather. Vito walked into the restaurant, careful to not brush against the cast around Takeshi's broken arm. Folding up his drenched raincoat and discarding it on a small dining table, Vito plopped down on the adjacent chair and let off a deep, noisy breath. He unzipped his bomber jacket to let the warm air-conditioned draft sink in. "Sorry for coming in unannounced," Vito said. He turned his head to look around the closed restaurant. "Where's your dad?"

"He went shopping for groceries," Takeshi answered, saddling on the chair across from Vito. "I offered to help, but with my arm, he told me to stay home. Why aren't you at your house anyway?"

"Power's out," Vito said. Another one of Reborn's oh-so exciting tutoring sessions was the cause of that. "Rain's also leaking through the roof. I didn't want to deal with any of that today, so I came here."

"What about your mom? Is she back from her trip to Italy?"

Vito leaned back so that he could hide his scowl from Takeshi. "No. I guess she's staying there for a bit longer." Whether she was still grilling the Vongola heads for roping Vito in as the Decimo or spending quality time with Iemitsu, Vito didn't know. All that Reborn was willing to tell him was that Nana wouldn't be home until later than expected.

"Ah, that's too bad." Takeshi turned away from Vito at an angle where Vito couldn't see his face. "My dad's been complaining that she hasn't shown up for work in over a week now. I offered to help wait tables, but with my arm, I guess he needs to find another waitress instead."

That was a good opportunity as any to change topics. "Speaking of, how's the arm doing? When's the latest you'll be back to business with baseball?"

Takeshi shrugged. "It won't be long. My arm will heal by the time the next game comes around. I might be a little rusty by then, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem."

Eyes drooping, Vito gave a distracted nod. He hadn't slept too well last night, courtesy of Reborn.

Takeshi misinterpreted Vito's tired movements. "But I can get back to work at Kawahira's sooner if you need me," he said hurriedly. "Even with my arm as it is, I can probably convince some of the other guys to work overtime and –"

"Jeez, calm down, Takeshi," Vito said with a dismissive hand wave. "We all get our sick days. Even without your bad arm, I'd say you earned yourself a vacation. You could use one anyhow. Overworking is what got you a broken arm in the first place. Right?"

"I guess," Takeshi said as he slumped back against his seat. "Can I ask you something, Tsuna?"

Vito frowned. Takeshi was frowning. Takeshi wasn't the kind of person to frown. He was the kind to always be smiling to the point where he unintentionally pissed people off. "Go on," Vito prompted.

"Am I really doing a good job at Kawahira's?" Takeshi asked. "All I really do is stand around all day."

That was good deal in Vito's opinion, getting paid to just stand around in a not too shabby bar. "Well, you're a popular guy, even outside of Namimori Middle." Girls loved him, boys wanted to be him, and so on. Takeshi's name got around thanks to his stardom in the Namimori Middle baseball team. "People either like you too much to start something or think starting something at all with you would be a net loss for them. It's not your fault that your charming good looks means less work for you."

"But how do you measure my…" Takeshi closed his eyes, pondering on his next words, "success, I think is what you'd call it, if nothing much happens when I'm at the lounge. The other guys deliver things for you, kick the troublemakers out, and do other stuff, too. Sasagawa does his boxing matches, but I haven't done anything like that kind of work in months. How do I know that I'm doing a good job?"

"You're still getting paid, and you haven't been fired. Is that not good enough?" Then Vito remembered that Takeshi got his arm broken because he was apparently overworking at baseball practice. "Listen, man. Just because I don't give you daily reports on your performance at the end of the work day doesn't mean you aren't doing good job. You know me, Takeshi. If there was a problem, then I'd tell it straight to your face, and there aren't any problems that we need to discuss."

Takeshi still looked nervous and unsure. Vito sighed. "Don't try to overthink things. Bottom line: you're a good guy that I know I can rely on if things go south. I didn't get Hayato Gokudera to blow up Nezu's car because I didn't like him. I did it because you asked me for a favor and I wanted to get it done." Vito couldn't say for sure that Takeshi was the kind of a guy Vito Scaletta would have enjoyed hanging out with, but in this life, without Joe or Eddie or Henry around, and without Enma or Mami, Takeshi and the others in Namimori were the next best thing.

Finally, Takeshi smiled again and laughed. "I see your point. Thanks for taking care of Nezu, by the way. He hasn't been hassling me as much as before."

Nezu won't be hassling anyone for the near future. Gokudera made sure of that. "My pleasure," Vito said happily. Saying "pleasure" struck a chord in Vito and reminded him of another reason why he came to TakeSushi. "Oh, and I almost forgot." Vito slipped a hand into the inner pocket of his jacket. He tossed a couple of rolled-up magazines toward Takeshi. "Merry Christmas." When Takeshi opened up the magazines, his face lit up like a bright Christmas light. Vito gave a knowing grin and hopped off his chair. "I'll be in the kitchen. I need a second opinion on my gumbo recipe. I'll call you when it's ready."

Takeshi said nothing as he hurried off upstairs.

Vito didn't know what to think when he found out Playboy mags existed in this world. Regardless, you won't find him or Takeshi complaining about it one bit.

X

Ryohei Sasagawa had a killer uppercut that, even on the boxer's bad days, Vito was hard-pressed to avoid. Even then, if Vito dodged the attack and moved to deliver his own punch, Ryohei would usually end up countering his counter that left Vito more and more wanting to shoot Ryohei in the knee out of sheer frustration.

But no, Ryohei was Kyoko's precious brother and Vito's best fighter. If Vito had to do warm-up spars now and again with Ryohei to keep him pumped for the next boxing match, then Vito was going to get it done without complaint.

Well, maybe a little complaint here and there.

"Fuck this!" Vito shouted after the twentieth goddamn punch to his face. Vito slipped under the ropes of the boxing ring and dragged himself to the water cooler.

"Come on, Sawada!" Ryohei screamed. "Where is your extreme fighting spirit from yesterday?!"

Dying Will Vito was apparently run over by a truck the other day. Or Vito ran through a truck. He couldn't remember. Whatever Vito did, Ryohei had seen it, and it had sparked the always burning fire inside him, and it got Reborn – sorry, Master "PaoPao," that cosplaying tyke – inspired to hold this unscheduled boxing spar at Kawahira's.

"One-minute break," Reborn announced from his perch on a corner of the boxing ring. "Afterwards, the both of you will be fighting with your Dying Will again."

Ryohei exclaimed some extreme declaration that Vito didn't pay any attention to. The fresh, cool water traveling down Vito's throat was too good a revitalizing sensation to ignore. "I agreed to trade love taps, not to have a death match," Vito groaned exasperatedly. "Is this even necessary? Ryohei, you're pumped enough for tonight's fight, aren't you?" Vito didn't wait for the boxer to give his answer. "You are. Good." Vito laid down on a bench. "I'm gonna take a nap."

Reborn kicked Vito off the bench. Vito yelped as he fell with his face flat against the floor. "Should've seen that coming," Vito moaned as he rubbed the side of his head.

"You make a good point, Sawada," Ryohei said thoughtfully, not perturbed in the slightest by Reborn's abuse over Vito. "Your extreme Dying Will was nothing like I've ever faced before. It extremely wasn't your usual style of fighting, but that just made me want to extremely defeat you even more! Now, I will fight my next opponent tonight with all of my extreme Dying Will!"

Vito gave a thumbs-up. "Yeah, you do that."

"You are really confident in Ryohei's fighting ability, Tsuna," Reborn noted aloud. "His opponent is mostly known by his street name 'Boomer.' Correct?"

"A pissant rich kid with too much time on his hands," Vito reported as he rolled onto his back. "Yeah, I did my homework on him. Ryohei's gonna bring in the big bucks tonight."

"Did you make preparations for Boomer's inevitable reprisal?"

Vito snorted. "What reprisal? The kid might be a decent boxer, but he ain't shit out of the ring."

"Alone, he is nothing, but he has the backing of the local Momokyokai Yakuza."

At the mention of the Yakuza, Vito sat up and stared at Reborn. The Momokyokai gang was supposed to be the NDC's problem, but their people trickled into Vito's turf every now and again. They didn't like playing well with others. "What sort of backing?" Vito asked Reborn.

"His childhood best friend's eldest brother is a lieutenant in the gang. Whenever Boomer loses a street fight, he has the Momokyokai kill his opponent, staging the death as an accident."

Fuck. When Vito had looked through Boomer's background, he had not found anything that indicated that Boomer worked like that. "Change of plans, then," Vito said as he pulled himself to his feet.

"No, Sawada," Ryohei said as he held his hand in front of Vito. "I've spent too long bedridden and healing my injuries. I will have an extreme match tonight, regardless of potential assassins. In fact, let Boomer send his assassins! I will extremely fight them, as well."

"No, you are not going to fucking take them all on alone," Vito snapped. "We talked about this. No more street fights. Only fights that you're getting into are in the ring." Vito's hand went to his cell phone. "I'll make some calls. Fuck the Disciplinary Committee. I'll get some boys, maybe some of your guys from the boxing club, and we'll take out those Yakuza punks before they can try anything."

"A splendid idea," Reborn butted in as he raised Leon in his gun form. "Get to it then."

The last thing Vito remembered was the gunshot, and an uncomfortable shake throughout his entire body that reminded him too much of Lincoln Clay executing him.

When Vito regained conscious, his fucking pants were missing again, along with the rest of his clothes. It looked like he was in the private gym on the south side of town. It was Momokyokai owned, so those must be Momokyokai punks scatted across the floor. Ryohei and Boomer were battling it out in the boxing ring.

Something cold was pressing against Vito's hand. He looked down and saw that he was holding a handgun.

The sound of a cough made Vito look up. Kusakabe was there, standing awkwardly beside him. "So, that was your Dying Will Mode you've mentioned before," Kusakabe remarked. "I hadn't had the chance to witness it for myself until now."

Fuck. "What did I do?" Vito hesitantly asked.

"I was at my office when you barged in," Kusakabe replied as he watched the boxing match. "Ryohei was right behind you, as you literally dragged me across Namimori. When we arrived here, you personally incapacitated all of the Momokyokai members. You took one of their guns and ordered Sasagawa and Boomer to hold their scheduled fight right now. I'm apparently here to act as a neutral third-party to provide legitimacy to this crazy ordeal."

And Vito thought up this whole plan while in Dying Will Mode? When did he have the time to formulate and carry out this insane dying wish?

Kusakabe leaned closer to Vito to whisper into his ear. "I'll make sure the other local gangs know that the NDC has sanctioned everything that's happened today. You'll be happy to know that I won't be billing you for this service. I had placed a bet on Ryohei winning, so that will be compensation enough."

Reborn jumped from out of nowhere and onto Vito's shoulder. "You're getting faster, No-Good Tsuna," he said. "You're learning to better utilize the five-minute limit without wasting time. Instead of going to recruit your underlings for the task at hand, you went out to complete it yourself. I'm impressed."

Just for kicks, Vito aimed his gun at Reborn and pressed the trigger. In return, Vito's arm was dislocated as the bullet hit nothing but air and the back wall. Vito shrieked in pain as he nursed his shoulder.

"I said I was impressed by your progress," Reborn said calmly. "I didn't say anything about tolerating any more insubordination from you."

The words "fuck you" were right on the tip of Vito's tongue, but he held back, reserving himself to watch the rest of Ryohei's fight.

He extremely won, obviously. There was no question about it.

Later, while NDC members moved to drag Boomer and the rest of the Momokyokai gang to jail or the NDC's own private prisons, Vito treated Ryohei and Kusakabe to a home-cooked dinner.

X

Five-year-old Lambo Bovino was really too much of a handful for Vito to seriously bother with. He was a literal child that was more spoiled and annoying than he was endearing and cutesy.

Lambo from ten years later, on the other hand, had a much more interesting story to tell.

"Sorry, young Vongola," Lambo apologized with a shrug of his shoulders and a bow of his head, "but I'm not allowed to tell you much of anything about the future."

"Don't play that 'time paradox' card on me," Vito said as he leaned forward. He and Lambo were sitting at the small outdoor table in Vito's backyard. "What's the point of time travel if you don't use it to your advantage?"

"There are uses to the ten-year bazooka," Lambo said, "but there are still rules I must abide by. Your future self outlined some of those rules for me, you know."

It was too early in the morning for Vito to start up another argument. "At least tell me one thing."

"Of course, you inevitably become the world renowned and official Vongola Decimo," Lambo confirmed with a hint of pride in his voice. "You're a wonderful boss and an even better older brother. I know my younger self can be too childish for your tastes, but I grew up admiring you. I don't think any of us back then knew just how well you fit into the world of the mafia. Not Hayato, not Reborn, not even Yuni or –"

"I wasn't going to ask about that," Vito chimed in. He filed the name Yuni to the back of his mind for later. "Becoming the boss is a given. I want to know if I ever find Enma, Mami, and Makoto again. I want to know how the Simon Family factors into my life ten years from now."

There was a twinkle in Lambo's open eye now. "I'm not allowed to give you any hints on that either."

"Tell me," Vito plainly ordered.

"If you think it's a given that you'll become the boss," Lambo teased smartly, "shouldn't the status of your relationship with the Simon Family be obvious?"

So, Lambo learned how to be a cheeky smart aleck over the years. "Is there anything stopping me from using the bazooka on myself?"

Something thwacked against the back of Vito's head. He glared at Reborn, who was rocking on a hammock by a tree with a snot bubble blowing out of his nose. A twig that wasn't there before was now at the base of Vito's chair, and Leon was suspiciously shaped in the form of a bird's nest on a tree branch beside Reborn.

"I think you have your answer," Lambo said with a snicker. "Reborn and his animal partner are still harsh taskmasters ten years later. Even I still haven't bested him in a fight quite yet."

"What a surprise," Vito said under his breath, ticked off that he wasn't getting anything useful out of future Lambo.

The grown-up cow child was still smiling with amusement at Vito. "Oh, young Vongola," Lambo said almost wistfully, "I've forgotten how selfish of a Sky you once were. You should really stop trying to hog the spotlight and learn to share. The world is more than just about your own ambitions to reunite with your adopted siblings and to rule the mafia with an iron fist."

Sky. Vito was supposed to wield Sky Flames. He was a little rusty on his Sky Flame lore, but from what Vito did know, the Sky tended to the one other flames were naturally predisposed to latch onto and follow. "They say that the sky's limit," Vito said, "so if I'm the Sky of the world's largest crime family, then there are no limits for me."

Lambo closed his eyes and gently shook his head, "There are limits set in place for all of us." Lambo said, "Including you, young Vongola. I cannot tell you much, but please remember that Vito Scaletta's Dying Will alone won't be enough to save your family."

Vito felt his whole body go cold and rigid. The only people he's ever uttered the name Scaletta to were to the Kozatos. Even then, aside from Vito's confession to Makoto, Scaletta was supposed to be a faceless fairy tale hero and not Tsunayoshi Sawada's or Vito Kozato's real name. Did Vito and Lambo really grow close enough for Vito to tell him the truth?

With a puff of smoke, the future Lambo disappeared before Vito could even begin to ask more questions.

X

Vito stood in front of the door to the school's reception room. Takeshi was on Vito's right, and Gokudera was on Vito's left, as per Vito's orders.

"You guys know the deal?" Vito asked one more time.

"Absolutely," Gokudera confirmed as he pulled out his sticks of dynamite, "Don Vittorio."

"Yeah, Vito," Takeshi said with a smile and a nod. He readied his baseball bat. "I'll admit that I'm nervous, but I'm with you."

"Show some more resolve, you baseball freak!"

"Gokudera," Vito said sternly, "shut up. Takeshi, get your game face on. Let's do this." Vito kicked open the door.

Kyoya Hibari was sitting on the back of a couch. He wore a tie and held a tonfa in one hand.

"Herbivore," Hibari said, more as a form of acknowledgement than as a polite greeting. "You're late. And you're crowding."

Gokudera flung his dynamite. Hibari ducked under them, the bombs flying out of an open window and exploding in mid-ar. As Hibari charged the "herbivores," Takeshi swung his bat. Hibari deflected the attack. They exchanged blows for a while as Gokudera readied another set of dynamite.

Before Gokudera lit the fuses, Vito held up his arm in front of him. "Takeshi'll get caught in the blast," Vito said. Gokudera grunted in a mix of annoyance and disappointment.

Hibari went for Takeshi's right arm, and Takeshi was done for and off to dreamland. Gokudera made ready to release his weapons, but Hibari was now dashing straight for Vito. Gokudera dove in the way. With a downward strike to Gokudera's head, the Italian was down for the count, too.

"Are you done yet?" Hibari taunted in a flat voice as he turned toward Vito. Hibari couldn't fully turn, however, since Vito pressed the barrel of a revolver against the back of Hibari's skull.

The very second Vito pulled the trigger, Hibari was a blur of movement. The bullet only tore off small slivers of hair off Hibari's head as the head prefect shoved his tonfa into Vito's gut. Vito lost his breath and only just managed to pistol whipped Hibari. Vito fired again, but Hibari was not going to give Vito the opportunity to get a better shot. Hibari moved too fast and was to close for Vito do much else than to punch and pistol whip.

As Vito came to the point when he could taste blood in his mouth, Vito eventually realized that Hibari was only using one tonfa in this fight. For one reason or another, the other tonfa was lying on the couch. Vito pressed the cylinder of his revolver to Hibari's head and fired. The noise alone was enough to momentarily stun Hibari. Vito kicked him back a few feet to get some distance. Then, after throwing the now empty gun at Hibari for good measure, Vito lunged for the spare tonfa.

Coming from behind, Hibari tried going for the backside of Vito's neck. The only reason Vito knew that was the case was because he felt the skylark's weapon graze his skin. Fortunately, it wasn't enough to stop Vito from rounding behind Hibari and grabbing him in a chokehold.

Vito was far from in complete control of the chokehold. Hibari thrashed wildly and unpredictably. Vito only tightened his grip and hoped to God it wouldn't take an eternity for Hibari to go down.

Instead of Hibari losing unconscious, Hibari thrust both himself and Vito out the open window. The pair fell down three stories.

They landed in the school pool. Vito had taken a deep breath before they were submerged, but Hibari's mouth was still wide open. Still thrashing around and struggling, Vito discarded simply choking and went for trying to drown Hibari.

The attempt didn't last long. With an embarrassing squeal, Vito was thrown out of the pool. He landed near the base of the pool's small lifeguard tower. Now on solid ground, Vito panted desperately for air.

Hibari pulled himself out of the pool with the most frenzied and wildest smile that Vito's ever seen on the lunatic. He held both of his tonfas now. "Wow," Hibari said. "You're getting more fun."

"And you're a goddamn nutjob," Vito shot back as he reached for the spare pistol he had hid under the lifeguard tower. Vito lined up his shot and fired.

Bubbles blew out of Vito's gun. Both Vito and Hibari stared as the bubbles floated in the air and were whisked away or outright popped by the breeze.

Vito knew for a fact that the gun he had hidden here was a real gun paid by real drug money. It was not supposed to be this shitty, cheap knock-off of a kid's toy.

Looking up, Vito saw Reborn standing on the seat of the lifeguard tower. "That's enough for now," Reborn said. He leaped down to the ground and regarded Hibari was an analyzing gaze. "So, you are strong after all, Kyoya Hibari."

Hibari charged for Reborn. Unflinching, Reborn used a baton-shaped Leon to block Hibari's tonfa. The echo that resounded from the two weapons clashing made Vito wince.

"Wow," Hibari said again. "You're impressive."

Reborn's smile almost mirrored Hibari's. Vito shuddered at the thought of the two of them teaming up to destroy the world. "I'm here to renegotiate the deal between the Namimori Disciplinary Committee and my student's gang."

"I want to fight you," Hibari said, ignoring Reborn's words. However, with one thwack from the Leon baton, Reborn forced Hibari back a step. Reborn sprung to Vito's shoulder.

"From now on," Reborn continued, "Tsuna will provide twice the tribute that he is currently supplying to the NDC." Vito didn't even bother voicing any objections. Reborn would just kick his ass if he even tried. "These four fights a week will be downsized to once per week."

"Unacceptable," Hibari gave his answer. He still had that feral smile on. "Baby. Fight me, now."

"I can't have Tsuna getting constantly tired out from his fights with you," Reborn went on. "One fight a week should suffice. Plus, as my tutorship with Tsuna goes on, strong fighters will come to Namimori in time. They should be more than adequate challengers for you to appease your bloodlust."

Hibari still seemed ready to sink his teeth into something and to bite it to death. Reborn added, "Should you agree to these terms, I will have more time to train Tsuna. He will grow strong enough to give you the most arduous fight you will ever find yourself in."

"And I will get to fight you?" Hibari asked, sounding like he thought Vito was yesterday's news, and that fighting Reborn was the only thing on Hibari's mind.

Reborn didn't say a word. He only smiled.

Eventually, Hibari sauntered off, still wearing his own smile. Vito let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Whatever was communicated between the two animals during the silent stare down, at least it was over.

"Congratulations on putting up a good fight, Tsuna," Reborn said as he faced Vito. "I thought I would have to use the Dying Will Bullet on you at some point, but you did better than I thought you would."

Vito scoffed as he let his body fall flat against the floor. He stared into the sky as he absently shot more bubbles into the air. "I don't think fighting as if I were to die all the time is very healthy," Vito mumbled. If Vito was willing to die while trying to kill Hibari, he'd have probably gone with a suicide bombing rather than bringing guns to a tonfa fight. "No, I was fighting fully with the intention of living afterward."

Faintly, Vito could hear Gokudera and Takeshi shouting his name. They must've woken up not long after getting their asses kicked.

Closing his eyes, Vito let the darkness and exhaustion take him.