Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Akira Amano. I am not profiting in any way from this.

Also, I apologize for any mistakes.

Hello, everyone! How are you doing? Here is the next chapter. Sorry, but I don't really know how the characters refer to each other.

Unfortunately, this may be the last chapter. There might be one more, but who knows haha. I don't know what else to write about for this. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did!

By the way, does anyone know if there's a date for when the Arcobaleno turned into babies? I want to know the general time/era they are originally from.


Chapter 7: Hello, Hello! Reaching Home Base Green

Call from Viper… Mammon?:

"Verde, I want to make an exchange," a voice Verde hadn't heard in a few months spoke. Sounds like Viper?

"Viper?" Verde had to make sure. You can never be too cautious.

"Yes, but I'd prefer it if you call me Mammon as of now," Mammon said with mild irritation. Verde hadn't had contact with Mammon since that time in Belarus. Verde somehow got involved with whatever they were doing at the time. Which was trying to hack into some rich man's security. They wouldn't tell him the details.

Mammon swore Verde has a strange supernatural ability in finding people who are in hiding. Verde nervously laughed that off and ran away.

"Ah, right. I apologize, but I'm not in any business at the moment."

"Can't you help me on the basis of our relationship as the Arcobaleno?"

"You're not gonna leave me alone until I agree, are you." More statement than a question.

"Yes."

"... Can I help you?"

"I need access to the Coniglio Famiglia's security. It's Delta's codes." Straight to business.

Huff. "All right, I'll send over-"

"No, Verde, you're coming with me," Mammon cut him off.

Ah, yes. Contact with the outside world. For a job. From Mammon. How wonderful. Just makes Verde want to lie down for like, ten years. Mm, yes. Touch those cool floor tiles.

"Verde?" Huh. Guess Verde was on the ground for longer than he thought. Time flows so strangely!

"Mammon."

"Be at the Coniglio estate by tomorrow, five o'clock," Mammon ended the call with that. What exactly this exchange entailed, Verde didn't know. But he didn't have time to think about that. Tomorrow five o'clock in Italy was in eight hours. Talk about a serious time crunch!


Call from Colonello:

"-and then they just kept yelling and kicking and screaming at me, like, what was I supposed to do about all that?! And then one of the guys kicked a can or something, and it actually hit someone. And that someone turned out to be some high ranking officer from some famiglia, and then she got involved with everything that just happened! So then I had six people yelling at each other and at me, so I'm like, 'CAN Y'ALL JUST SHUT UP AND CALM DOWN?!' but then they got even angrier, and then the kiosk guy came to tell us that-" Colonello continued to rant on for another half hour. He sure had a bunch of stories to tell.


Call from Reborn:

"Hello, Verde!" Wow, that seriously almost stopped Verde's heart. If it really did stop, does that mean Reborn successfully assassinated (unintentionally) a person from a different country?

"Reborn? Hello?" Verde was unsure of this unexpected phone call.

'He probably threatened Colonello for the number.' The thought flashed through Verde's head but was quickly replaced with more pressing issues.

"Can I help you?" Why was he calling? Did Verde do something wrong? Or something?

"I seem to have run out of bullets for Delta's Second Prototype. You wouldn't happen to have some lying around, would you?" Ah. Of course. Business.

"I apologize, but I don't make weapons at the moment, and no, I don't have any," Verde replied. That last bit was a lie, but Reborn doesn't have to know that.

"There has to be a way to convince you to make more. Is there anything I can do for you? Perhaps there's someone you want gone? Please, I'm a professional at ridding the world of individuals. Just name them!"

'Reborn is offering me a favor in exchange for bullets. Mafia doesn't give favors to just anyone. Think very carefully, Verde.' And then, an idea came to Verde.

"Ilsa-"

"So this world needs one less Ilsa, hm? Child's play, Verde! I accept-"

"No. Please. Don't kill Ilsa. I don't want her dead. Don't do that, please," Verde quickly intercepted Reborn's acceptance to a hit on Ilsa.

He continued, "Ilsa is my supplier. I just need you to go pick up some boxes from her for me."

On the other end of the line, Reborn stood still. World's Greatest Hitman. Runs out of exclusive bullets. Calls for more. Demoted to errand boy…

Meh. Easy job.

"All right. When and where. Tell me the details. This, too, is a very simple task that I, of course, can complete."

Small victories. Verde didn't have to venture too far out from his base that month.


Another call from Reborn:

"Ah, Verde! Didn't think you'd actually pick up. Isn't it nighttime where you are?" Reborn's voice rang clearly from Verde's phone.

'Sometimes, I wonder why I do pick up,' Verde thought.

"Reborn, do you need something?"

"The kids I'm watching right now got into some petty argument about the usefulness of lightnings. Hayato got fed up with the cow child, and somehow got into this argument. They've been at it since this morning." Wow, what?

"Cow child?"

"Lambo from the Bovino famiglia." Who are these children whose names sound vaguely familiar?

"What does this have to do with me?" Verde asked the most important question.

"Nothing! Just need an answer for the cow so he stops crying, and who better to ask than the strongest Lightning flame user?" Reborn sounded both pleased and irritated with this cow child's cries. He's probably some sort of sadist. Yeah… Makes sense.

"Nitrogen fixation," and promptly hung up.

"Keiman," Verde turned to Keiman. Keiman looked up at Verde. "It's time I change numbers again." She solemnly nodded along.


Reborn yet again:

"Verde!" Reborn strikes again.

"..." Verde was exhausted. His social quota for the week had already been fulfilled and now, Reborn was calling. Again.

"Verde, are you there?"

"Hhhyeh." Great answer, Verde.

"Good! How does a trip to Japan sound?" ABORT MISSION! HANG UP! HANG UP!

"NO. THANK. BYE."

Click.

Crisis averted! Good work, Verde!

NOT! What have you done, Verde? You just abruptly hung up on someone. And you couldn't even speak properly. Bravo, Verde.

"Keiman, how do I live with this?" Verde turned to his most trusted companion. She wished she could tell him.

At the end of the day, Verde decided to turn off his phone.


Reborn's new hobby was to call Verde for the most mundane questions.

What time does the sun set in Germany today? Why is the sky blue during the day? What happens when a red brick falls off a blue building? How many trains have you ridden in the past five years? Have you seen the news? My target was featured on the front! And so on.


He's not one for bragging (excessively), but the reactions from people make when he tells them that he knows Delta personally is always too amusing to pass.

"Tsuna, impromptu lesson on famous figures of the underworld. Who is Delta and how did they contribute to the mafia?" Reborn asked the child. Sawada Tsunayoshi and his friends were walking home, Reborn strolling along the top of a wall next to them. They stopped at his sudden question.

"Um. Uuhhhhh-" Tsuna began. He didn't know. How could he know? He wasn't all that informed of all the prominent figures and their doings. Give him a break! He's still new at this thing!

"If you don't answer in five seconds, expect an explosion," his tutor added as incentive.

"HHHHIII- UUUHHMM- UUHH IT'S- AAHH-" the poor child panicked.

"Tenth!" Good friend Gokudera Hayato comes to the rescue. "Delta is-"

Boom. Explosion. Debris. Fire.

Chaos.


As the dust settled, Reborn faced them with an "I'm not particularly disappointed but I'm acting the part of a disappointed tutor" expression plastered on his face and simply stated, "No cheating."

"Haha! What was that? A firework? Did it come from your toy?" Yamamoto Takeshi, a… curious human child, asked Reborn, who held a small gun in one hand.

"Yes, it did. Look closely, Tsuna. This is Delta's Fourth Prototype. It's a compact cannon."

"YOU HAVE ONE OF DELTA'S PROTOTYPES?!" Hayato shouted out. He looked like a child seeing Black Rock City's Burning Man for the first time in his life.

"Um, Gokudera-kun, who is Delta?" Tsuna was honestly too afraid of asking his tutor. That baby almost blew them up for cheating. Teachers usually give lighter punishments than death (but what else would you expect from Reborn?).

"Delta is one of the most influential people in the mafia, and maybe even the entire world! They're responsible for the most elaborate security systems and codes, as well as advanced technologies and weapons. They're weapons are the most coveted because he only sells two copies of each prototype. Both of the Fourth Prototypes are said to have gone missing in the late seventies," Hayato dutifully answered.

"Then, how do you have one?" Tsuna turned his attention back to Reborn. "Don't tell me, you stole that or something!"

"Or something," Reborn smirked. "Please, I'm only a year old. How could I possibly steal something that went missing so many years prior to my birth?" At this, Tsuna narrowed his eyes at the baby. With Reborn, who knows where the lies start and end.

"Both original Prototypes were actually broken, and the pieces are lost in the ocean. I got this one custom made by Delta," Reborn carried on, ignoring his student's suspicious look.

Honestly, their reactions weren't as amusing as they could've been. Only Hayato and Lambo were aware of Delta's influence and notoriety. Speaking of, it was then that Lambo decided to chime in, since Hayato looked like his soul momentarily left the physical realm.

"Ah! Lambo heard of Delta, too! The Bovino family used to try to make Delta's weapons!" the cow child exclaimed.

"WHAT?! YOU GOT THAT CUSTOM MADE?! BY DELTA!? DO YOU KNOW THEM!?" Hayato needs to chill.

"Yup!" Reborn cheerfully chirped out. Hayato's reaction was too good to let this moment die.

But a shame. The child's sudden excitement was too much for his body to handle at once and decided to crash.

"Well, why don't we have a short training session. Tsuna, carry him and run back to the house," and add a little gun click here to motivate him.

"HIIEEEE-" He's doing his best.


Later that day, for once, the Sawada household radiated peace and quiet. It was then that Tsuna decided to ask Bianchi about this mysterious Delta (because Hayato could hardly string out a proper, coherent sentence about them. What a nerd).

"Hey, Bianchi. Can I ask you something?" Tsuna cowered a bit from her glare.

"Huh? What is it?" she shot back, her tone clipped.

"HII- Who- who is Delta?"

Perhaps he shouldn't have asked. Bianchi looked like she was about to kill a man. Her grip on her magazine was tight enough to tears holes through it. Yikes!

"Delta… On one of my solo missions, Delta's security scanner somehow picked me out and I almost got caught by the guards. I spent four and a half months on one mission because of them." Poisonous lady with a strong grudge. Scary!

"Ah ha ha, but you were successful in the end, right?" Tsuna quickly changed the topic to her winning moment.

"Of course! My darling Reborn helped me out in the end, which was a shameful moment for me, but I got that pesky target out of the way. For good." Menacing. Very menacing.

"Reborn got past Delta?"

"No, he called a friend to do it. Isn't he great? He's so amazing, with all those connections. If you ever live long enough to get married, pick someone with a powerful status."

"Yup. Thanks for the advice. Good night!" Tsuna bid her farewell and sprinted up the stairs. He only stumbled twice on the way. What an improvement.


"Hey, Reborn?" Tsuna called out.

"What is it, you weak and slow student of mine?" Reborn teased.

"Erm, Bianchi told me your friend got past Delta, but I think Gokudera-kun told me no one ever got past Delta."

"They're both right."

"But, that doesn't make-"

"Oh, my weak and slow student, use your head. I know Delta. No one gets past Delta. I have a friend who can get past Delta. Add those and what do you get?"

"... You called Delta to get past his own security?"

"Yup! Bingo! You're so smart, Tsuna!"

"Please, stop teasing me."

"I'm not teasing you, I'm praising you! So smart! So incredibly intelligent! Even Delta would be amazed by your intellectual capacity!"

Tsuna's dreams that night consisted of tiny hitman babies dancing around him while chanting sarcastic remarks at him.


One morning, Tsuna was rudely awoken by the loud rings of gunshots. He just couldn't get used to it.

"HIIEEEE!" he screamed as he tumbled out of bed and crashed onto the floor. Above him stood his tutor from Hell, Reborn.

"They're only blanks this time, Tsuna. Really, you're so hopeless. Even Verde knows how to properly respond to gunshots," the infant scolded.

"Who's Verde?" Tsuna groaned up from the tangled mess of the blankets that fell with him.

"Verde is Delta." Here comes Reborn's specialty. Nonchalance.

"Is that his first name? You're on first name basis?"

"That's what you ask when I reveal the identity of the mafia's most secretive individual?" What an amusing child.

Mumble mumble.

BANG!

"Don't mumble at me. Hurry up and get to school. You're going to be late."

"EEH! Why didn't you tell me earlier?! Hibari-san is going to kill me!" With that, Tsuna became a speedy boy that morning, finishing the morning rituals in record time. Still clumsy, but wow. The threat of the prefect can really get someone moving.


There comes a point in an average child's life when their tutor takes them to the great wonder that is Mafia Land. Not really. But it happens to some children. Sort of.

Sometimes, said tutor pretty much sets them up to be sent to the Under Mafia Land. What a dream come true! Thank you, beloved tutor!

'I feel like I'm going to die a lot on this vacation,' was Tsuna's worry. Yup. Accurate assumption. 'Even more than usual. Reborn and that other baby look like they have some sort of… rivalry or something. I'm going to die. I didn't even get to spend the day with mom yet. Aaahhhh, why is this my life?'

"Hey, you!" a shout from that other baby.

"HHII- YES?!"

"This bastard told me he's been tutoring you in everything. COME OVER HERE AND FIGHT ME-"

"Eh?"

"-TO THE DEATH!"

"EEHHH?!"

"GET READY!"

"UAAAAAAAAHHH-"


The "fight" lasted six impressive seconds. Tsuna was left sprawled in a small crater on the floor.

"The most impressive thing about you is your battle cry, and even that's wimpy. You going soft or something, Reborn?" the now-identified Colonello turned his attention away from the injured child on the ground and continued to bicker with Reborn.

"I think it's quite the improvement. You should have seen him at the start. Beyond pathetic!" his tutor defended. Who exactly he defended… A mystery.

Tsuna managed to get his bearing sorted out and asked, "Are all these walls dented because you crushed people into them?"

"No, most of them are from me," Colonello spared him a glance for a quick moment before turning back.

"You mean you were crushed into them?!"

"By Verde, yeah." This time, Colonello didn't even bother to look back and went right back to arguing.

"Verde? Isn't that your friend, Reborn?" Who is this mystery man that crushes people into walls?

"Yes-" Reborn started but was cut off by Colonello.

"What?! Since when? Didn't he punch you through a tree the last time you two met in person?" What to heck! Reborn's friend super-punched him through a tree?!

"I simply caught him at a bad time. Not my doing, mind you," Reborn shot back. And there they go again, shooting words like bullets at each other. Tsuna hoped they would forget about him, but no such luck.


Tsuna thinks he's never been so happy to see his house after coming back from Mafia Land. That was a wild trip. But of course, his life wasn't very simple anymore. Reborn had another surprise planned.

"Tsuna, get ready. You're going to be late. Again," was Reborn's remark.

"How come you never wake me up on time?" Tsuna felt brave that morning through his sleepy haze.

"Your body should be used to getting up at specific times. Don't rely on me for such trivial things like waking up," his tutor reproached him.

As Tsuna hastily made his way out the door, Reborn shouted out to him, "Gather your guardians after school at the park." And then, the baby disappeared to who knows where. Probably off to sneak around in the school's secret passageways to spy on the students. What a weirdo.


Tsuna's morning wasn't going very well. That morning, Takeshi was off on an errand for his father and Hayato went to restock. Tsuna was left to walk to school alone, with no one to defend him from the dog (Reborn would scoff at him, but at least he wasn't there at the time). He ended up taking the long way around, only to come across a construction zone. The workers told him to take another way around, which led him cutting through one of the smaller shopping districts. In the early lights, there were only a few people around. It was easy to pick out the green haired baby half hidden behind a telephone pole.

'Wow, that's a baby in a coat. He's probably somehow related to Reborn. That can't be good. Wait, what is- IS THAT AN ALLIGATOR!?' Tsuna thought. Or so he thought. He actually said all that out loud. What a blunder.

And now, he has the mysterious baby's full attention. Commencing uncomfortable staring competition.

'Should I be doing something? He looks kinda lost, is he lost, I don't know if he's lost,' Tsuna thought and came to the brilliant idea of communication with words. He moved closer to make real, human interaction.

"Um, are you lost?" Perhaps he should've greeted the baby first, but oh well.

He received a blank stare from the infant before him. Maybe he can't speak Japanese?

From that close, Tsuna could make out the finer details. Like the broken, circular glasses and the torn pants. Perhaps this baby bravely fought against a dog. A noteworthy achievement.

'Think, Tsuna! If he really is somehow related to Reborn, he can probably speak Italian. Think back to your Italian lessons!' The inner turmoils of an average child who got thrown into the convoluted world of Mafia and Flames.

"Hello, how are you?" Tsuna finally managed to get out after a couple minutes of thinking. Wait… That's English!

The baby just looked even more confused now, but thankfully replied anyway.

"Fine, and you?"

"Fine, thank you," Tsuna concluded. That was it. The entire conversation. The baby looked at him for a moment longer, backed away a bit, and eventually walked somewhere out of sight. Tsuna felt like he failed a test of some sort. He couldn't even help a baby in distress.

"Now, I'm even later to school, and death awaits," Tsuna mourned and quickly made his way to school.


Verde was doing pretty fine. Until Reborn called, but even then, he was doing all right. That hitman called to ask him to come to Japan. Reason being, "Help me train the kids as a support. They need the exercise," quote Reborn.

"So, will you come? Or are you preoccupied at the moment?" Reborn inquired.

Verde looked down at the camera in his hand. It was full of pictures of Keiman, his little robots, some trees and flowers, and Miguel.

Ah yes. Good ol' Miguel. The good local farmer who gave him a shit ton of cucumbers.

Normally, Verde would've hung up on the spot after saying goodbye, but during that particular conversation, he looked down at Keiman in his lap. Keiman's eyes pretty much pleaded, "Please, Verde. I'm worried about you. It's been three weeks since you last saw another human being. And the last time was Miguel. You two literally said four words to each other and left. It's time, Verde. Please. Go out."

Of course, Verde can refuse Reborn if he wants to, but how can he betray Keiman?


Here he is. In Japan. With limited knowledge of the language.

'It's okay, Verde. You studied the language. You know enough to get by. Just find Reborn. Simple. I guess. Keiman's here. You can do this. Yeah! I can do this. I can do this. I can-' Verde's mantra was cut off by a child's exclamation.

Heck. That looks like the Vongola candidate child. Heck. Why is he coming closer?

"Um, are you lost?" the child (what is his name?) asked.

Verde was going to answer. He really was. He was just thinking. Thinking about if he comprehended correctly or not. And his word choices. He was thinking very carefully. But the child was not used to Verde's habits and continued on. With a textbook example of English.

So he answered with a very textbook response.

"Hello, how are you?"

"Fine, and you?"

"Fine, thank you."

Yup. That was it. Verde wasn't lost so the child (was it Asada?) didn't need to be concerned with him. Yeah. Just back up. Back up. And walk away. Good.


"Why do you look so disheveled?" Reborn asked.

"It has been quite a day," was Verde's reply. Reborn didn't push since his friend didn't look all that bothered. That meant everything was relatively fine.


"Hey, Reborn, we're here. Where are you?" Tsuna called out to the expanse of grass. Empty grass. Empty of Reborn. Where is that baby?

"Ciaossu," said baby sprouted up from the ground. Like a flower. What in heck? Why is he like this?

They were all gathered. Good. All according to Reborn's plan. Verde also finished setting up. Double good. Everything's set.

"Children, stop fighting and listen to me," he broke up the one-sided fight between the Rain and the Storm. "I called in a friend to help with the training. Don't look so bored, Kyoya. It'll be a real challenge," Hibari Kyoya, Namimori's protector. That bit piqued his interest. This better be worthwhile.

"You see that person over there in the tree?" Reborn gestured to Verde in the tree. His glasses were still broken. Not that he could change them after Reborn took them as hostage. Whatever. The world looked more interesting with the cracks, anyway. "That's Verde, but some of you know him better as Delta-"

"Oh, hey, that's the baby from this-" Tsuna's observation was cut off by a scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH- THAT'S DELTA?!" Hayato. This boy. Has no chill.

"Yes. Stop screaming. He doesn't like loud noises and crowds, so if you want to talk to him, proceed with care. Anyway, he's here to help with your training. One of the robots have his glasses. Go recover it without damaging it. Simply enough, right? Ready? Go!" That was it. All the instructions. Go get it.

Those poor, unfortunate children didn't even have time to think or coordinate anything. With Reborn's signal, Verde commanded his carefully placed drones and minitanks to attack. The park was very lively that day, full of explosions and screams of energetic children.

Verde enjoyed that outing. It was a Good Day.