First off, I'm terribly sorry for making you wait so long for this chapter. Secondly, I'd like to thank each of you who offered wishes and hopes of my safety and quick return. Third, I give my infinite gratitude to my beta and bff who was my source of canon/fanon knowledge and made this chapter possible (and who is an excellent theory-crafting buddy, as well).


Tucked away in a well-organized corner of their borrowed manor and armed with a carafe of fresh Italian-roast coffee, Viper pored over the files and memos that had been gathered on Iemitsu and forwarded to the Mist Master. It wasn't a complete collection, as some of the pertinent files only existed in hard-copy in Vongola's Headquarters - in Italy. Regardless, a surprisingly thorough record had been gathered on the Sawada family's presence in Japan - and their connection to the Vongola Family. It had taken most of the day just to sift through and separate the relevant pieces of information from the excess data most bureaucracies insisted on documenting.

Seeking an answer to why a predominantly (and proudly) Japanese family had such strong ties to Vongola, the Mist dug through various document collections and stumbled across an unexpected bit of family history. Viper had guessed at Iemitsu's roots in Japan, given the family name and his Japanese wife, but hadn't expected multiple generations of this Japanese family to be connected with Vongola in some way.

As the image of Iemitsu's early life slowly came into focus, it became clear that the head of CEDEF's connection to Vongola ran deeper than a simple ruffian making a big name for himself. Sawada's parents also had ties to Vongola, and though neither were as highly ranked as Iemitsu himself, they had both served the Vongola Family from an early age. That lineage of loyalty went a long way to explaining why a foreigner had been allowed to take up such a high position so early in his life in the first place.

It made sense for that tradition to continue on with the youngest member of the Sawada family. They were a highly predictable and loyal family in that way, but that still didn't explain why young Tsunayoshi had been inserted into the Inheritance Battles. Some no-name adolescent from halfway around the world had no standing to challenge a rightful heir. If the boy had been older and more formidable, Viper would be more willing to believe he'd been added as an actual challenge against whom Xanxus could have been tested and proven his skills. As it stood, it was a waste of their time at best, and an insult at worst.

Beginning to suspect some kind of conspiracy, Viper pulled up a travel log from Vongola records, and filtered the results for Japan, to see if anyone else had ever gone on a trip to visit Iemitsu or his family. If there was any evidence of favoritism, the first hints of it would show up in vacation time and trips made on personal time.

To Viper's deep surprise, it didn't take much time to find evidence of friendship between the two Vongola leaders. This wasn't unheard of, as the syndicate would run better when the CEDEF was on good terms with the Family Head. Still, Viper dug deeper for more concrete evidence. One such trip record indicated that Iemitsu and Timoteo had been in Japan at the same time. Japan was a large place, and so the Mist user took the time to track it down even further. Surprisingly, their flight details hadn't been concealed under very many layers, and it only took a few minutes to confirm that their trips had overlapped just enough that both of them had been in Namimori on the same day 8 years ago.

Namimori wasn't that large, and if they had both been here, it was very likely they had crossed paths on purpose. Viper didn't believe in coincidences. However, a mere friendship wouldn't be enough to explain why Iemitsu's son was being inserted into the mix. Suspecting something more meaningful, the Intelligence Specialist made a note of that trip and dug deeper into Iemitsu's connection with Timoteo Vongola.

The next discovery nearly had Viper sputtering in shock. Luckily, the Mist Master had better control of their reactions, and was able to reel in the disbelief into undisturbed silence. There, buried in a pile of meaningless routine exchanges, lay a smoking gun. It was a contract, between the Vongola Nono and Reborn, with a third-party-inclusion clause with Iemitsu's signature. The contract itself had been sealed and filed in hard copy at headquarters, but Viper could connect the dots well enough without seeing the particulars. It certainly explained why Reborn had been hovering around, which probably should have been Viper's first clue that something deeper was going on.

It was no secret that Reborn was Timoteo's favorite and most trusted, for all that the hitman was technically unaffiliated with the Famiglia. Reborn's specialty lay in assassinations and training, as Dino's legendary transformation could attest to. Reborn hadn't killed Tsuna yet, and that only left one option - he was there to train the boy. Close on the heels of that realization came the epiphany that Reborn is the one you send to train your actual heirs, not the one you send to keep up appearances. Tsuna had the general appearance of a pitiful decoy, but for the presence of Reborn himself.

There must be something I'm missing, Viper hissed privately, the child must have some kind of potential beyond what is visible. Even Reborn can't make miracles happen.


Squalo breathed out a sigh of relief when he stepped back onto Japanese soil. It felt like coming home, for all that the land itself was completely foreign to him. The private jet he'd borrowed for the trip hummed behind him and a few more people followed him to the ground.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Xanxus on his private line. He didn't want to risk the Cervello's interference (or interference from Vongola High Command), but he still had to check in. The line rang twice and picked up.

Silence answered him and Squalo took that as a good sign. Deciding to be courteous, he spoke in his guests' mother tongue, "We're back, Boss."

Xanxus's gruff but amused tones answered him almost immediately, "Any complications?"

"Everything went to plan, just like the snake said," Squalo replied cryptically, subtly letting Xanxus know which approach he'd deemed most appropriate. "How are things with you?'

"The snake has been unreachable since your departure, buried in research and intelligence gathering all day, as usual," Xanxus laughed but Squalo easily picked up a few points of tension. "No major changes have been made to the plan, but the snake keeps scowling and muttering about contingencies, so I wouldn't bet on the status quo."

At that, Squalo couldn't suppress a wave of sharp laughter, "That doesn't surprise me in the slightest." He sobered and straightened, knowing he was reaching the safe time-limit for the call, "If something relevant changes, you know how to reach me." Before anything else could be said, Xanxus grunted and ended the call.

The guests Squalo had been sent to retrieve had deplaned while he was on the phone and were giving him calculating looks. Finally breaking the silence, the man asked brusquely, "So, where's this conflict taking place?"

Squalo had to suppress a smile at the curious glances now openly thrown their way by the staff of Namimori airfield; It wasn't every day that they played host to foreign guests. The Rain Guardian sneered at the gawkers and turned back to answer the visiting delegate, "The local middle school."

The man scoffed, "How young is this challenger?"

"He's practically a baby," a feminine voice echoed derisively from one of his companions.

Instead of answering, Squalo risked a furtive glance to gauge the man's reaction. The sharp expressions he saw flickering there were a poor match to the man's easy-going demeanor. He was reminded again that these people represented a very lucrative alliance opportunity, and they were just as much Mafia as Squalo himself was. He'd nearly forgotten on the flight over; with their polite manners and luxurious surroundings, they seemed more like a set of nobility than formidable leaders of the Chinese underworld.

He gestured subtly to the SUV that was waiting for them and it approached smoothly. The driver opened the rear doors for them and they slid into the seats. Squalo breathed deeply as they pulled away from the airfield. It had been a very long day away from his Sky, but he had done the job well and he knew his efforts would be worth it.

They'd made sure of it. After all, no Varia operation was ever executed without extensive assurances that they would succeed.


Chrome didn't need anyone to lead her to the arena, she already knew where she was expected thanks to what Lord Mukuro had already told her.

As she had lain dying in the hospital bed, a voice had come to her; a dark angel sent to save her. There wasn't much to be afraid of, lying in that endlessly white room, except for death. And when nothing else was left for her, a mysterious man had spoken into her mind and returned hope to her. He hadn't had to ask for her to leave her family behind, she'd made that decision herself. Nothing mattered beyond Lord Mukuro. No-one else she knew had cared that she was going to die.

Lord Mukuro taught her many outlandish and magical things, but they were all quite plain in comparison to the life-saving miracle he had performed for her in the hospital. As she improved and became more aware of her powers, she also felt Lord Mukuro's presence more keenly. Sometimes their connection would flare with power as he taught by example, sometimes it would fill with words. Mostly it just hummed silently beneath her breastbone, and Chrome loved every minute of it.

She didn't understand much about her connection with Lord Mukuro, and worse: she didn't even understand much about Lord Mukuro himself. Occasionally, she could feel his focus drifting and Chrome would feel a sharp pull. When it happened, it pulsed through her nerves, radiating from that spot just beneath her heart that connected her to Lord Mukuro. She could feel a keen focus and a vague sense of duty that didn't quite belong to her, but Chrome felt it strongly nonetheless. Soon she began to think of it as her own. If Lord Mukuro had a duty and she could help him fulfill it, then it was her duty as well. More than that: she felt it could be a way to connect to Lord Mukuro, to show him her gratitude, to be closer to him – so she might understand what he felt and why.

So when he finally spoke about a boy in her town just about her age, Chrome nodded and smiled. She was a little jealous of Lord Mukuro's focus on the boy, but she decided it was okay as she was the only one with such a special connection to Lord Mukuro. Besides, he had given her new life and whoever he was interested in was therefore certainly worth her own attention as well.

She was about to join a fight that wasn't hers, Chrome understood that quite well, and she only knew the two charming delinquent boys beside her. Despite all that, the young Mist felt more confident than she had in ages. Standing at the entrance to the school gymnasium with Lord Mukuro's friends at her side, she pushed open the door and set about fulfilling her duties.


I tried posting it sooner but Viper's section did not want to cooperate with me at all... -_-° The good news is that in the struggle, I managed to work out the rough shape of the next (couple of) chapters. I'm hopeful to return to a schedule something like what I began this story with now that real life has settled somewhat and I've made this story a priority again ^_~*