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Chapter 7: The day we parted.

"This is rubbish…" Giotto glared at his father, his words still floating in the air of his office. Sacrifice? Scapegoat? Vongola blood?."It's the truth." Said his father. And Giotto shook his head, the truth being too ridiculous to even contemplate as real.

"No other family decides its boss by blood. Only the Vongola, and this is the reason." Said Timoteo, Giotto felt numb. He had, trough the years, made himself appear anything but boss material. Only to find that the very thing that marked him as such was something he couldn't change: his blood. "That is the reason why you can never be the Decimo Xanxus." Said Timoteo with his tired voice.

"You cannot believe this shit old man!" Said Xanxus in his deep 'I'm about to kill you' voice. "You can't tell me that the foundation of the Vongola is this..shitty superstition." Growled Xanxus, his eyes burning a hole in the other. Timoteo stared hard at his adopted son and calmly continued his tale. "I'm sure you remember when Lussuria went blind? You remember those months?"

Xanxus felt himself twitch at this. Of course he remembered those months. Everyone did. "I and every active member do. Who doesn't remember the 'devil's months´" He shivered at the memory of the days full of failed missions, hurt idiots, broken weapons at the most inconvenient times, failed communications, inexplicable accidents left and right. Xanxus himself had almost lost a hand at the time. It had been hellish months full of fucking… bad luck."Y-you… it can't" Xanxus felt himself doubt his own beliefs. He could not deny that perhaps one or two days where acceptable. But day after day of uninterrupted accidents could not be normal.

The ninth sighed and touched one slim fingertip to his eyelid. "Two, tiny, metal splinters that managed to pierce the eye nerve and principal artery of both eyes… completely by accident. A rare case. Bad luck." Said his boss, his pseudo-father. With a heavy gaze and the same tired and sad eyes he had directed at him. Guilty…"We, the Vongola, ever since Primo, never obeyed the rules of the mafia, we recruited foreigners, we have ties with the police and the church, we only obey our own codes, our very existence is a crime in the eyes of the mafia."

'Traitors'

'Fools'

"As such, the Vongola was the object of hate, envy and most of all a fervent desire for revenge." The ninth frowned and stared at his two sons, one by blood, the other by choice."Somehow, either intentional or unintentionally, this hate started to change in bad luck, we don't know how."

He got up and retrieved a worn diary from his desk, he let the worn diary on the coffee table and tapped it with one finger."Until one year. As Primo wrote in his journals, the Cervello family contacted him, they offered him a way to shield his family, for a price…" Giotto felt his head hurting. He felt guilt at those words, as if he was being reminded of his own wrong doings even thought they were not his. Right?

"He denied them thrice, but accepted at the end. That power was embedded into the Vongola and tied to two people: the boss and the Capro Espiatorio. The last one being a Vongola member who pleads his or her life to safeguard the Famiglia and its people from bad will and hate."

"I find it hard to believe that one person can survive all the shit from all these idiots" grumbled Xanxus.

Timoteo smiled in amusement at him but nodded warily. "Perhaps… but it's more complicate than that, it only shield us from outside interferences, our own actions determine our fate, the shield only prevents from outside forces meddling with us…" He tried to explain, but his sons didn't look too pleased with his words. "Bad will?" Mocked Xanxus, still trying to deny such concepts. The ninth nodded at him gravely. "In a nutshell, yes, karma, bad luck, curses, retribution, however you may call it, it had destroyed empires and civilizations, this is the truth however fantastical it may look."

"You should not be so skeptical about curses, since you have seen the Arcobaleno." Said a small voice from the door. "Welcome back Reborn, is everything allright?" Said the ninth and the hitman frowned and slowly shook his head."The lockdown is still in place, we are running a headcount. The head of the Varia is dead." Said the baby in a controlled and practical tone, Giotto shivered and Xanxus frowned more deeply. "Boss, I request permission to search the lower levels, there are some things bothering me."The ninth stared at his best man and nodded. "Keep me informed Reborn." He said finally and the hitman bowed in respect, leaving the room in a black blur.

Xanxus was looking at his father with a calculating gaze, a half smirk in place. "Who is it?, who is the Capro Espiatorio in this generation?" Said the man. Half frowning, half smirking. "No, I know who it is… all this time, all those talks about mercy and compassion and you offered your own wife to the slaughter. I'm impressed old man, so very fucking impressed."

Timoteo flinched at the accusation and nodded slowly, tiredly."Alessandra Edmonda, she is the eight one to take on this curse. The first being the wife of the first mist guardian. Elena." He said looking in the horrified face of Giotto and the cruel, mocking one of Xanxus' "The boss cannot nominate the shield. It's the shield who offers itself… the boss only accepts it or denies it." The ninth stared at his sons, not apologizing, not denying, just stating the cold truth. "Her cousin, the last shield, nominated Alessandra herself. A week after our marriage, a week before I became the ninth boss."

Giotto clasped his trembling hands and frowned, his head was pounding in synchrony with his heart, he just wanted to sleep for a while, just rest for a couple of hours. "…This is wrong…" He Whispered, and didn't reacted at Xanxus's snort. He was completely numb from the overload of the events. He barely reacted when Coyote; his father's guardian, came into the room. He just reacted at the siren blaring trough the speakers in the hallway. He blinked, when he caught the last words.

"…intruders in the infirmary and lower levels!"

He just felt the rest of his world crashing down.


-One week latter-


Timoteo remained still in front of the beautifully carved sepulture that confined the body of his wife. His beautiful, strong wife. The man's face was hard as stone, eyes dry and his spine perfectly aligned. Untouchable. "Until we see each other again my beloved." He murmured and knelt in front of the grave, leaving a cheerful, multicolored bouquet of flowers. He rose to his feet, his face hardened a little bit more. Part of his humanity and soul left behind with the flowers.

At the door of the mausoleum his storm guardian remained silent and watchful, completely alert to their surroundings. He followed his boss to the car and signaled to the driver to return to the main house, he allowed himself to take in the visage of his boss, who had gained at least five years in one week, he looked frail and hard at the same time. "Boss. The council has determined Xanxus's punishment, as 'a foolish and impressionable follower of his superior'…" Said the guardian with a sneer, he had wanted to kill or at the very least exile the traitor son, but he had been vetoed in the spot."And what they want for this sentence?" Asked the ninth already making plans in his head.

"After the dead of Signora Alessandra they understand the necessity of the family to be united, but they wish for an exile of sorts… and him for being under close surveillance."

Timoteo nodded and continued to look at the road."Mmmm… and Giotto?" The guardian hesitated a second, and then answered carefully. "He is still with Tsunayoshi… he refuses to leave his bedside" The Vongola were about to enter a very dangerous period. And the two candidates were anything but ready or in optimal positions.

"Please arrange a meeting for tomorrow, we must make plans for the future, and call Iemitsu once more. Is he still ignoring the calls?" Asked the Ninth, already knowing the answer to his was clearly uncomfortable with the theme and just nodded. "He… he is as efficient as ever boss, but he request to be given some… space"

"Call him, no excuses, we cannot have this meeting without him."

"Yes boss..."


Giotto changed the flowers in the bedside table with fresh daisies and smiled at the child in the bed. "This are from the cook Tsuna?... Yes I though you would like them!" He conversed happily with the child. "G, promised to come today, he is still nagging me about ditching training and all that, but I don't care. How long it has been since we spent some time alone, uh?" He reached and took a small pale hand in his and squeezed it gently. "I'm sorry Tsuna… so sorry…" He whispered, looking at the sleeping face of the child and clenched his teeth in frustration.

They had detected a second series of attacks by a unknown enemy, who infiltrated alongside with the Varia. They had aimed for the secured vaults on the lower levels and also attacked the medical ward, searching for one of the doctors. Whom was later discovered to have been involved in shady medical trials with the Gesso. The man had been killed by a bomb that had also destroyed half of the wing.

They had found his mother's body covered in dust and debris. The autopsy declaring the cause of death a cardiac arrest. Tsuna had been found not too far away. Bruised and barely alive. He had been stabilized, but remained asleep. The doctors were starting to talk about brain injury and long term coma.

"You should rest more." Said a voice at his side and Giotto smiled at the newcomer. "And I was waiting for you to drag me in chains back to train" Said the blond to his so called Tutor. Reborn smirked. "Oh I wanted, but I must leave for a while, Fon and I, we have some urgent business." The small face was half covered by the fedora so Giotto only saw the half grimace, but it was enough to make him shiver. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes, something is happening and I must leave at once, consider this as vacations but make sure to keep up your training or you will be sorry." He warned him in a menacing tone, Giotto nodded distractedly. "Hopefully the little fish will be awake by then." Said Reborn, his face covered by his Fedora. "Hopefully" Answered Giotto and Reborn jumped in a flash effectively kicking his pupil's head.

"Don't you dare to give up on him, I have not. My students never fail. Tsunayoshi will have a hellish training when he wakes up." Giotto stared dumbfounded at his tutor and glared. "You can't be serious!" He said, and Reborn lifted an eyebrow in challenge. "I trust him and I accept him. That is what a family does." He declared and jumped out of the window, in his usual exit.


The promised meeting was rapidly becoming a chaotic one.

"What do you mean?"

"It's stupid!"

Shouts and accusations had been flying from one side to the other for almost an hour now.

"Nobody asked you!"

"Calm down!

"She is dead how can I calm down?"

Fifty nine minutes beyond Iemitsu's current tolerance levels.

"SILENCE!" finally growled the external advisor, his eyes bright and deadly and the large table full of Mafiosi went silent, the man was in a foul mood, in fact an almost visible aura of anger could be seen around him. "Ninth, if I may ask what are your plans?" He asked to the man in barely contained anger. He had fled the mansion as soon as Tsuna had been declared stable, in fear of leveling the building to the ground.

The head of the Vongola however didn't even blink at the turbulent emotions, he took a sip of his cold coffee and looked hard at the heads of his allied families. "The Varia has been suspended until a purge can be done. The CEDEF will be in charge of that. The Vindice has been notified about an odd number of possible new inmates." Pleased sounds were heard around at this and the man continued. "About the members they will be marked with a poisoned device on their bodies, as well as a tracking one. They will be on house arrest and if deemed worthy, will be reincorporated to the Vongola. This is final." He stressed out in a hard menacing voice and the men and women in the table nodded, most of them pacified with the solution.

"What about Giotto? How long is 'until he is ready?'..." Asked an almost bald man with a preoccupied gaze."He doesn't even have his guardians, nor has he finished his training. Also, he must have much more experience until he is ready. A weak boss is much more a treat than the lack of the shield."

Complains and grumbles invaded the room. Accusatory eyes stared at the chair behind Timoteo's. In it, rested a passive, silent Giotto. Who kept his eyes fixed on the carpeted floor, his hands resting in the armrest, relaxed and lax. He listened as the people in the room decided his fate and the fate of his family in a clinical way, he heard his accomplishment and fails being discussed as if he was a well bred dog in need of more obedience training.

"What about Tsunayoshi Sawada?" The question came from one of the new made allies, who didn't understand the grave mistake he had just done."My son" Said a cold, even voice. "Is currently in a coma, I went to speak with the doctor just before the meeting and it is been discovered that his flame has disappeared."

Giotto lifted his shocked gaze and stared hard at Iemitsu, looking for signs of lies in his face. The man stared back and Giotto felt his heart clench."Iemitsu, has it been confirmed?" Said Timoteo in a plain voice. The external advisor nodded. "I checked myself, I could not find even a trace of his flame."

Timoteo nodded and looked at the end of the table, where Shamal was trying not to fall asleep. "Perhaps we should wait for him to wake up, this has happened before with strong trauma." He said while looking at the freelance assassin and doctor for the Vongola. "And the majority of them didn't recovered, Tsuna is an undeveloped child still, his flame was already having trouble before this." Said Tumeric, who was behind his boss. Shamal nodded at this and continued in his drunken stupor.

"We shall wait, we cannot make hasty decisions with him, he will be protected until his recovery." Declared Timoteo and the meeting continued, the costs of repairing, and problems with security washed over Giotto. He could only see Tsuna smiling face when he discovered his flame, the delight he had shown at partially controlling it. The hours, and days invested in his training. All in vain.

He rose from his chair when the meeting was over and exited the room behind Iemitsu, with that simple phrase something had given inside of him, his path suddenly seemed clear."Sawada… Iemitsu, may I have a word with you?" He said to the blond man. The one whom he shared blood with, even if it was distant. "I have a proposition for you."

He would change the Vongola.


G stared at the empty bed in the infirmary. The vase filled with sunny daisies clasped in stiff fingers. Besides him, Hayato was gaping in mounting horror at the plain, white bed. "W-here is he?" Asked the child in a terrified whisper. "He… maybe was moved for his security… don't worry, nobody in here would hurt Tsuna…" He said to his cousin, however a tight feeling in his chest made him doubt his own words. The infirmary was the safest place, or so they had believed.

"Let's go to ask Giotto…" He said finally, and Hayato nodded stiffly, his small head still disheveled from the early awakening."And brush your hair for god's sake! You're looking more and more like a punk these days…" He said forcefully trying to arrange his head in a more orderly fashion. "Shut up! Look who is talking!" Said an enraged boy staring at G's un tucked shirt and messy tie. "You look anything but the next right hand of the Decimo!"

"Smart-ass" G just growled at him and pushed the boy trough the door.

They navigated the corridors at a rapid pace, when they finally found Giotto, he was in one of the gardens , calmly sipping tea with the boss Timoteo and Iemitsu, Giotto was sporting his perfectly pressed suit and looked all the bit the mafia heir."G, Hayato, what brings you two here?" Said his childhood friend, and G felt annoyance at the polite greeting."We were in the infirmary, Hayato and I, Was Tsuna moved to another place?" He said directly and frowned when the three men stiffened at this. "You could say so." Said Giotto staring at the lush grass in a detached way."Tsunayoshi is going to be removed from Italy, for his own protection. As such his location is going to be a secret."

"Is he going to another Vongola facility until he recovers then?" Tried again G because he could not fathom the implication of those words."No, he has been removed from the Vongola, he will no longer have any tie with the familia, he has been declared dead."Gokudera advanced a step, and G put a hand in his shoulder to restrain him."WHAT!" G stared at the fuming Hayato, who was looking lost and enraged. "How could you do that?"

"Tsunayoshi was gravely injured several times, and also has lost his flame, for him to remain in the familia is as good as a death sentence." Said Timoteo, and he looked at the two horrified boys in front of him."Giotto!" Said G, seeking for any emotion in his friend."Yes?" Asked a too calm blond."Are you okay with this?" Questioned his friend, staring in anger at Giotto. "Of course, it's the best for Tsuna and for us." Said the blond in calm, steady voice, the same guy who panicked if Tsuna scrapped his knees, and almost went in shock when he learned that the small boy was kidnapped was now calmly sipping tea in front of him.

"How… you know that Tsuna is scared of being abandoned, you know that this is the worst thing you could do to him!" G accused, his mind and instincts declaring the plan a complete error. "He is young he will get trough." Said Iemitsu, he glared at G with a warning countenance. "We know that Tsuna is going to be sad for a while, but at least he will be alive." He felt the small shoulder tense under his hand and he pushed harder, making his cousin stay in place. "Where is he?" Said Hayato still trembling in barely contended rage. "I'm his bodyguard! I have to be by his side!"

"You can barely protect yourself, you think I would put my son´s safety in your hands?" Said Iemitsu in a cold voice. G gaped at him and Hayato paled in fury but kept his mouth shut."That means, that if you approve of me I will go?" Asked the child, trembling in humiliation and anger."Only, If you become the best." Iemitsu glared harder at the willfully boy but nodded sharply. Hayato just glared at the three men who ruled the Vongola and made a stiff bow running away.

"Giotto… this, this is wrong. I understand that this is for his safety, but Tsuna is long past the age to just move on without a care, this may destroy him…"Pleaded G one more time, trying to make Giotto realize his mistake."He is safe…" Said Giotto with a tone of finality and stared hard at his friend begging for him to drop the issue.

"Of course Decimo" He said in a drawl, he inclined his head at the three men. "if you would excuse me." G clenched his hands and departed with a little more dignity that his cousin, just barely.

Timoteo stared at the two men seated in front of him, his intuition was screaming at him that the two of them were into something. "Is Tsuna going to be dispatched to San Marino?" He finally asked and Iemitsu nodded at him."He is, they have strict orders to care for him and to never contact us. Officially Tsuna is dead, until the time he wakes up." He said and Timoteo looked at his son, who continued to calmly sip his tea.

"I have decided to abandon the school as it was proposed father. However I want' something in exchange. I want for the pill in my brother's neck to be disabled. And for the Varia to be instituted as a independent team." Timoteo stared in confusion at his son "Why as a independent team.?"

"Because otherwise they will be limited in their actions, the remaining member are just ten in number, with them Xanxus can start a new force, and also prove his loyalty by his actions. You said that the Vongola will be most vulnerable during the next months, we cannot afford to lose more men." Giotto stared at his father, his face unreadable and completely calm. "I will become the boss without a fuss, but these are my demands."

"Why to give Xanxus leadership of the Varia?" Asked the ninth, in full boss mode. "Xanxus is power-hungry this will only make for trouble in the future." Asked the man in a wary tone."Because, he is my brother and he is the best one for the job." Said the teen and stared at his father with open caution. "If he becomes a problem he will be mine to deal with." Timoteo closed his eyes, considering the ramifications of this, but finally nodded. "Very well…" Sighed the old man, he frowned and then smiled lightly at his son. "Not now but when things calm down a little I promise you that the Varia will be revived."

"Under Xanxus command."

"Under your brother's command decimo."


The most curious thing about luck is its unpredictability, the scariest thing about bad luck is especially that. The unknowns.

The Vongola were once at the edge of destruction by luck. Which made its members to be extremely paranoid and triple check their plans.

It was perhaps a very good idea for Iemitsu not to choose one safe house but five, two in Estonia, Two in San Marino and one in Rome.

It was a bit too risky to be the only one in possession of the way of contact each one and their location.

It was, perhaps, a bit too extreme to enroll people outside the family to care for a kidnapped child who should be kept at all costs unaware of his status in the disguise of an a forced adoption.

It may had been a bad idea to expressly forbid any kind of communication with him, and to tell them not to be worried if the child in question never reached their location, after all he didn't want to kidnap four other children to fill the empty houses.

It was a intelligent thing to hire a professional smuggler to deliver a sealed casket of "delicate china" to the port of Civitavechina and to leave it in certain ship at certain hour at the same time that the same operation was taking place in other four ports.

But…

It was a struck of bad luck that the man he hired to receive the casket in the Civitavechina port suddenly came down with a bad case of a seafood intoxication and could not receive the cargo.

It was an unfortunate event that the smuggler had a chance encounter with an old friend, whom proceeded to demonstrate his appreciation of him by the means of a handy knife in the heart.

It was perhaps a bit too much of a bad thing that such man was also immersed in intercontinental smuggling and took with him the casket full of delicate tea cups.

It was an incredible, most surreal incident that the ship; Ikomasan Maru, with destiny to the port of Hakata in Japan suffered an out of season typhoon and crashed against the mean rocks near the shore.

But… perhaps it was just by luck that only one survivor was found, a child, unconscious, with Asian features and dressed in just white soaked pajamas and with no identification, and almost no injuries to show that he had survived such a tragic event.

But of course all the nation would have been impressed by the miracle survivor… but just by luck he was found by a fisher, almost twenty-five kilometers away from the site of the accident, besides an open and crushed casket. And so, the good man delivered the child to the local hospital.

We, perhaps must assume, that it was just by a chance and an impossible series of events, that the pediatric ward of said hospital was full of children with a epidemic of atypical measles. Because of this, the lonely survivor was sent to the nearest available facility, for his continued care.

Perhaps we just may believe, that it was just by mere luck, that our unidentified Sawada Tsunayoshi was deposited in the general hospital of the little, candid town of Nanimori.

But we may ask, by good or bad luck?


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Just kidding :)

The sequel to this story is already up and it is called The lost lamb :D

So if you liked this story, please continue to give your support to he sequel!