"We had you. And I realized I couldn't run. Not with you, our son, in the line of fire.

"But...you activated your Flames as a child. Nana and I agreed to seal you, with the hope that you would never be a part of the world we had grown up in."

XXX

Italy

There was a knock on Iemitsu's office door.

"Come in," Iemitsu responded.

Turmeric entered. He closed the oak door behind him, then stood in front of Iemitsu's desk. A folder was in his hands. "Cayenne sent a 'gift', or, that's how he phrased it. It's really his report and the photos. We've already copied and put them in the Family's file."

Iemitsu idly flipped through the stack of photos. Hallways, rooftops, various rooms, tunnels, basements...He nodded. "Send Cayenne my thanks. He has done well. You're dismissed."

"I will, Boss."

Iemitsu started Operation: X-Ray several months ago.It was simple in principle, send spies into all major European Families and gather information on their Headquarters. The CEDEF Agents were all equipped with high tech gear to help them take the photos.

XXX

Japan

"Nana!" Iemitsu happily greeted.

"Iemitsu!"

They hugged. Iemitsu picked his wife up and they spun around. Nana laughed.

XXX

Iemitsu stumbled as he spotted a man walking by. He hadn't expected to see Yamamoto.

"What is it?" Nana asked. She noticed the stumble and his stare.

"I know that guy over there. I worked with him a few times." Iemitsu chuckled.

"Ah," Nana muttered. "The man with the bandana? Should we leave?"

Iemitsu smiled. "Yeah, we should. I wouldn't want to cause him trouble."

Yamamoto was supposed to be dead. It looked like he had managed to fake his death and retire successfully. Iemitsu wasn't going to ruin that.

XXX

Japan

Iemitsu cried only twice in his life. The day his parent's died and the day his son was born.

Sobbing, Iemitsu pulled out his phone and called Reborn. "I'm a father. I'm twenty four...twenty four...I have a wonderful wife...and a newborn son. I thought I'd be dead before twenty, Reborn. I'm so...I'm so glad I'm not."

Iemitsu could almost feel Reborn's smirk soften into a secret smile.

"Well, then...Let me be the first to congratulate you two," the hitman quietly stated.

"Thank you." Iemitsu scrubbed tears off his face with the back of his hand. "Reborn...I need to ask you something. Do you want to be my son's Godfather?"

Reborn didn't answer for a long time. Iemitsu spent the silence gripping his cellphone tightly and wondering if he should have even asked.

The hitman spoke up, voice steady yet sounding inexplicably raw. "...If you want me to be, I do not have any objections."

Iemitsu grinned.

XXX

The reality of Iemitsu's current postion hit him in the morning. But he did not cry.

He couldn't run. Nana couldn't run. Not now. He, they, were stuck. They had a baby son. This fact sealed their fates.

What could he do?

A normal childhood, Iemitsu determined. He would give his child the closest thing to normal childhood as possible.

A house, school, and food in Namimori, Japan could be easily provided with Iemitsu's pay. He would stay away as much as was needed. He might not ever meet his son at all, if that what was needed.

XXX

In the next few months, Iemitsu stabilized Europe's criminal underworld. He used disguised Vongola forces to take out the small enemies and constrained the larger Families through blackmail and negotiations. If an enemy Family refused to cooperate, they would disappear rather quickly.

This span of 72 days was known as the CEDEF Purge.

Things quieted down and Iemitsu handed the reins of the CEDEF over to his trusted team.

He visited his family. Iemitsu walked in the door and declared, "I'm home!"

He hugged Nana. She laughed and passed Tsuna to him. He smiled and carefully carried Tsuna to the kitchen.

Yes, Iemitsu was home.

XXX

Japan

A year later, Iemitsu was back home. With Tsuna and Nana on a shopping trip, he was bored. Iemitsu stared at the living room ceiling. What could he do? Or, who could he visit?

Iemitsu smirked. It had been a while since he had payed Ryuusaki Hibari a visit.

The place hadn't changed. A traditional Japanese estate with a tint of Western style from remodeling.

The servant led him to the garden. Iemitsu patiently waited there, at a small table with a cup of steaming tea. The scennery was quiet splendid, particularly the small pond and stream that flowed nearby. He had always loved water, it was ironic that he was a Flame user.

"Mr. Sawada," Mr. Hibari politely stated as he sat down. The black haired man was in a well fitted black suit. He had likely just returned home from a business meeting, of the illegal sort. A red scar trailed over Mr. Hibari's ear. Whether it was from a run in with a knife or a bullet was hard to say.

Iemitsu inclined his head towards his ally. "Mr. Hibari. How have you been?"

The small talk continued for several minutes. Apparently, Mr. Hibari had a son now, around the same age as Tsuna. Iemitsu was even shown a picture after he showed one of Tsuna painting. Little Kyoya Hibari was cute and undoubtedly excited as he play fought with his father. Iemitsu inwardly allowed himself to coo at the adorable child. Nana might be rubbing off on him more than he expected.

At a certain point, the conversation tapered off. Mr. Hibari leaned back and seemed to scrutinize his visitor for a bit. Iemitsu went along with it, a calm, placid look on his face as he sipped his tea.

"There's a problem with one of the nearby gangs. This problem needs to be solved soon. However, most of my men are deployed elsewhere," Mr, Hibari idly revealed.

"And?" Iemitsu prompted in an unhurried manner.

"And, you owe me a favor," Mr. Hibari observed. His tone was diplomatic. His features were just as calm as Iemitsu's. He could have been replaced by a statue and few would have noticed the difference in face movement.

Iemitsu wryly smiled. "That I do. Are you saying you want to call it in?"

Mr. Hibari nodded.

Iemitsu poured himself another cup of oolong tea. "Alright," he agreed. "What do you want me to do?"

XXX

It was going to be a two man operation. They were going in as a representative of the Hibari Clan and his bodyguard.

The club entrance was small, but the inside was big. It was dimly lit and yet bright from the strobe lights that flashed around the dance area. Smoke and man made fog mixed in equal measure. The music pulsed in their ribcages, deep and happy.

They slipped through the crowd, towards the office on the second floor.

Hibari slipped his gun out of his jacket. It was a silver Smith Wesson .460. It only held six bullets, but Hibari only needed three for this job.

The two guards at the door were taken care of quickly. They barely had time to react before a piece of metal rammed into their brains.

One of the best things about night clubs was that they were loud. A scream or a gunshot couldn't be heard above the music that blared through most of the place.

Iemitsu guarded the hallway while Mr. Hibari opened the office door. The latter's hand held his silver gun, four bullets still in the chamber.

The man they were looking for sat at his desk, engaged in whatver was on his laptop screen. He had only the time to look up and pale from fear before his death. The blood trickled onto the desk and keyboard of the laptop, creating small pools of crimson. Larger pools had already formed underneath the guards outside.

Mr. Hibari put his gun away and transferred the guards from the hallway tile to the office carpet. He closed the door. Then turned to Iemitsu and offered a calloused pale hand. "Thank you for your help in this endeavor, Mr. Sawada."

"Of course." Iemitsu grinned as he clasped Hibari's hand. "Cleaning the streets of scum is a reason I completely understand."

The two men shook hands, firmly. Iemitsu departed soon after. The Hibari Clan would handle the clean up, likely with a local contractor.

XXX

Italy

Iemitsu folded his hands. "Suggestions?"

"We could attack the front as a feint," Oregano replied.

Turmeric shrugged. "Or, we launch two full assaults. It'd be more costly, but more likely to succeed."

"Or, we trust in our agent's stealth, the thing they are paid to be good at," Marjoram subtly snarked. "And have them infiltrate and take over the base."

Iemitsu sighed and flipped to another page. "What if we..." A knock came at the door to the conference room. "Come in."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Boss," Cilantro politely apologized as he opened the door. He had been guarding the hallway.

Iemitsu nodded. "What'd the message say?"

"According to Dill: Nono's eldest son, Enrico de Vongola, died in a gunfight."

Everyone in the room had a frown on their face.

"That's a shame," Iemitsu commented. "Who was the fight with?"

"The Lucianos'," Cilantro promptly replied.

"Nono will likely want me to look into them. Cilantro, have a message sent to our Luciano Family spy. I think their name was Pepper?"

"Will do, Boss." As a joke, Cilantro gave a sloppy salute with a smile.

"Do you want remedial training?" Iemitsu questioned.

"No, Boss. I won't do it again."

XXX

Japan

Nono came to Japan for a visit. Iemitsu hovered nearby like a wraith.

Iemitsu told Tsuna that Nono was his grandfather. Tsuna bought it. Nono willingly played with Tsuna for an hour or so before dinner.

Nana offered fake smiles and amiable chatter to their guest.

The next morning, the three adults felt the unmistakable warmth of Sky Flames. Tsuna ran into the living room, crying. He had an orange flame on his head.

The adults all had a sharp intake of breath at the sight.

"Mom," Tsuna whined. "I fell down the tree. Mom, what's wrong?"

"Come here," Nana coaxed. She murmered reassurances to her son. Tsuna calmed down, his Sky Flames went out, and was told to wash his hands to get the dirt out of the cuts.

Meanwhile, Nono noticed Iemitsu's stony stare, aimed right at him. He took a few moments-during which he ignored the faint sound of water from the bathroom-and studied the tearful expression of Nana and Iemitsu's blank slate of one. "If you want, I can seal him," Nono offered.

Iemitsu slipped his hand into his wife's. He gave a gentle squeeze and she squeezed back. "Do it," the couple agreed in unison.