Palermo, Italy

The market was full of colorful fabrics, intricate trinkets, vibrant fruits, and the salty smell of seafood.

Nana was on a shopping trip, Lal Mirch and Tsuna right beside her. The two women chatted about good but rarely visited tourist attractions and whether the items they looked over were fairly priced or a ripoff.

Lal Mirch turned around. "Tsuna?" The former solider called, a sense of urgency in her question.

"I don't see him." Lal reported. "I don't either." Nana responded with worry.

Lal Mirch started to walk away. The ex-COMSUBIN member's eyes were already sharp and ready to hunt through a ten mile radius. "I'll start searching."

"You think I can shop with my child missing, my friend? We'll search together." The brunette mother insisted. "And I'll call Iemitsu if we can't find Tsuna in an hour."

Lal tilted his head, considering. An hour should be enough time to find the lost child. "Agreed."

The two women walked through crowded stores, overflowing plazzas, and silent alleys. They were desperate for a glimpse of fluffy brown hair or the orange jacket Tsuna wore that day.

The span of an hour passed, Nana and Lal Mirch had come up with nil.

Nana punched in a familiar number. "Hello Darling." Iemitsu greeted. The voice brought a small amount of comfort and a smile to Nana's lips.

The mother took a breath to stop herself from sounding hysterical. "Iemitsu, I can't find Tsuna."

XXX

Iemitsu sat in his office. His elbows propped on the cherry wood desk. His cold hands folded, eyes narrowed, and signature foolish smile missing from his lips. Instead, a dark frown sat, a sign of Iemitsu's unusual seriousness that came with disasters.

Gathered in the room, aside from Mace, were all of his senior members that were in Italy. The members noted the frown and grim aura which their boss gave off.

"Someone has kidnapped my son, Tsuna. He disappeared yesterday afternoon in a Palermo market place."

The blond announced to shocked faces that quickly schooled themselves into small frowns or neutral expressions.

Oregano spoke up. Her gaze had turned steely with the mention of Iemitsu's child being involved. "Suspected groups?" Asked woman with glasses.

Iemitsu nodded in acknowledgment and answered. "The Estraneo, Rosso, Tetarossa, and Families, respectively." Several of those present jotted down the names.

Basil raised a hand. Iemitsu smiles. "Yes, Basil?" "Time of disappearance?" The teenager questioned.

"Four hours and thirty minutes ago. The specifics are in the files on the coffee table. I apologize, I forgot to have them handed out." Iemitsu admitted with a cough to hide his awkwardness.

The files were quickly passed along to all those in the room. Iemitsu closed his eyes while his subordinates did so.

When he opened them, the usual fire burned. The dullness from grief was covered with the confidence of a poker player going all in with a royal flush. "Everyone, the game is afoot. I know that you will do your best."

XXX.

A young teenager attempted to deal with his feelings outside in the office hall. CEDEF members slowly spilled out as they chatted amongst the low murmur of voices.

Basil couldn't squash the feelings of jealousy that continued to well up. He was an orpan who had been taken in by the CEDEF don. He wasn't blood related to anyone around him, the CEDEF wasn't family.

"He looked so worried." Basil bitterly murmered.

Cumin gave Basil a cutting look. "That's because he cares...like he does about you, idiot."

"What?" Basil disbelievingly peered at the apprentice Mist. The girl stuck out her tongue at the older boy.

"You're his apprentice and his son too. He'd go up against anyone if it meant keeping you safe." Oregano affirmed. The women pushed up her slipping glasses with a finger.

"Huh? You're joking." Basil retorted, as politely as he could. The teenager barely managed to keep his tone even, but ranting against Boss's right hand was a bad idea.

Turmeric shook his head. "No. She's not. You're unfairly jealous."

Paprika was not visible nor very loud. Yet everyone in the room heard the Mist. "His love for his wife and Tsuna does not detract from his love for you, Basil." She scolded.

Basil dropped his gaze. "I'm sorry...I just, don't believe you guys. I'm an orphan, I don't have a family. I don't have anyone who really cares for me." The teen stewed in his gloomy thoughts. Those around him flinched, gawked, or frowned in response.

Basil himself flinched, as a firm hand landed on his shoulder. The teen turned his head to see the person.

Iemitsu stood behind Basil, a pained look on the man's face. There was once again that out of place frown and crease between his eyebrows.

"You're wrong. You're as much as my son as Tsuna is, Basil. Cumin, Turmeric, Parsley, and all the others are your brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles. You have a family, we care."

Basil had a lump in his throat. He could barely see past the tears that welled up in his eyes. The teenager refused to cry and son like a child in front of the other members. All of those present noted the glisten of tears.

Iemitsu smiled softly. "Don't let your fear distract you from the truth, Basil."

XXX

Lab 1:Oregano, Cumin, and Parsley. Oregano lead the operation, as the highest ranking member (Iemitsu's right hand).

Lab 2:Iemitsu's Cloud had decided to show up for once, most likely because the man had a son himself. Due to his abilities, Trefoil-more likely known to the reader as Hibari-was given Lab 2.

Lab 3:Iemitsu, Basil, and Paprika. Quite obviously, Iemitsu lead the operation. Basil was there to learn how CEDEF conducted raids.

Lab 4:Holly-Iemitsu's Sun and strongest Element-took Lab 4. Tracking down his Sun took Iemitsu a while, the CEDEF had a theory that Holly was actually a Cloud due to the man's aloofness.

Lal Mirch and Turmeric were handling the senior business members of the Estraneo.

XXX

Iemitsu stalked through the laboratory. Mist flames hide him and the two members of CEDEF at his back.

He paused. His HI buzzed slightly to signal the edge of illusion and the figure in it. Iemitsu felt the edges of the illusion and rejected it.

The blond man froze. Three children crept through the hall. One was obviously the Mist responsible for the illusion.

The two CEDEF members looked to their unmoving leader. The man quickly gestured for Basil to 'illusion-Basil-silent-grab-child-three-there'. The teenager gave a quick nod of acknowledgment.

A quick set of gestures were directed to Paprika. The female Mist extended the illusion to cancel out sound in order to account for the undoubtedly scared children.

Basil followed his mentor's instructions and reached out into what looked like thin air. Basil rejected the illusion and grabbed hold of the shoulder of a dark blue haired child. The illusion created by the child broke.

The other two children turned around and whimpered. The blue haired child turned his head and tried to bite Basil's hand.

"We are here to destroy Estraneo. We're not here to hurt you." Basil assured the children. The trio warily looked at the teen.

"We?" One of the children questioned. The leader of the CEDEF gestured to Paprika to allow the children to see him.

"Yes, we." Iemitsu answered, his sudden appearance shocked the children. "Basil, take care of the kids."

"But-" Basil tried to argue.

The blond man sighed. "No, Basil. Now, pineapple, you're the Mist?" The kid in question bristled at the nickname. Iemitsu snorted, a smile twitched onto the his face. "You have enough flames to keep up an illusion?"

The pineapple still looked affronted, but affirmed his status with a "yes."

Iemitsu nodded. "Kids, head to the entrance. Basil will protect you."

Basil bit his lip. "But-"

The leader of the CEDEF looked at his apprentice with mild exasperation. "Basil, enough. You have a job. An important one at that."

"We'll see you later, when we're home." Paprika quietly promised.

"Yeah." Basil mellowly replied.

The teen lifted his head, a steely look had entered his eyes. "I'll take care of them."

XXX

Summary of subject 638

Name:Tsunayoshi Sawada

Age:8

Relatives:Iemitsu Sawada (father), Mrs. Sawada (mom), Ieyasu Sawada/Vongola Primo (ancestor)

Flame:Sky

Venice Lab

Floor:C

Room:24

Note:Transferred from Sicily to Venice

Iemitsu skimmed through the papers. Eventually, the details of daily examinations and minor experimentations grew agitating. The man flipped the last report.

Report XX/XX/XX

Subject 638 escaped. A unit is in pursuit.

Report XX/XX/XX

Subject 638 has evaded capture. According to Unit G-5, subject disappeared in Rome.

Tsuna had escaped and then disappeared. By now he could be dead. Iemitsu clenched the side of the table.

Time to take care of the Estraneo members. The father could use a fight to take his mind off of things. His search could also benefit from loosening the tongues of some researchers.

XXX

The leader of the CEDEF watched the corpses of Estraneo members burn. Black and red crawled along the white coats of the heinous researchers.

Orange flames danced around the unusually solemn man. He had lost his son, so the upper echelons of Estraneo had lost their lives.

Of course, it was all a game being played by many players. Think more of a chess game played between a hundred sides all around the world.

Iemitsu was not a pawn, he was a bit more valuable then that. He was a horse, irregular movements and nonsensical moves with a strategic end.

The king knew just how to order his troops. His heir the queen, two bishops as spare heirs, and the other horse was the Varia.

A new piece had been to the game. A pawn named Tsuna. If it made it, it could become whatever piece it liked.

The pawn was put in a position to be sacrificed by the king. The pawn may be a pawn to the king, but the pawn was not just a pawn to the horse. Thus the horse would not allow the pawn to be sacrificed.

XXX

Nana put the groceries on the kitchen counter. She walked past the living room, planning to walk upstairs.

From the corner of her eye, she saw something that was brown. The dark brown stood out, as all the wood in the room was made of soft maple.

Nana looked into the living room.

A brunette child sat quietly on a grey couch. It had to be a hallucination, right?

The raven in a suit who stood in a corner was unnoticed by the shocked mother.

"Tsuna?" Nana whispered.

"Mom!" The child jumped off the couch and ran over to her.

The two hugged, a hug that assured Nana that her son wasn't a illusion or hallucination. For a solid three minutes, the mother held the child who had almost been lost to her forever, and cried.

"Are you sad?" The curious Tsuna asked, his eyes wide at the tears that streamed down his Mom's face.

Nana shook her head, a beaming smile on her face. "No, I'm happy. I'm just so happy."

Finally, the mother ran out of tears. When she did so, Tsuna squirmed out of the hug and tugged off his backpack. In the small notebook that Tsuna pulled out, were dozens of drawings.

"I saw a lot mom. I drew them so you could see. Lots of trees, it's called a for-forest. A cake, a river, and a cit-cityscape. A butterfly, a garden, and a struh-stream." Tsuna stumbled over some words, but managed to say them correctly.

The little boy looked up. "Do you like them Mom?" A blaze of hope shown in his eyes. "Yes, I do. Very much." Nana replied and hugged the boy.

"Tsuna, how did you get here?" The mother asked.

The child cocked his head. "Reborn helped me."

"Reborn? You mean...Renato?" Nana questioned with puzzlement.

The mother glanced around the living room, her eyes landed on the raven. The hitman spoke up. "Yes. I found him in Rome."

"Why didn't you say anything when I walked in?" The women scolded.

Reborn shrugged. "I didn't want to interrupt."

"Thank you for taking care of my son." Nana sincerely said.

The hitman tipped his hat. "A pleasure to be able to help, Nana."

Tsuna leaned against his mother and promptly fell asleep.

"Would you like some coffee? How are you?" Nana asked hospitably.

"I'm well. I can make some myself, I wouldn't want to wake him up." Reborn waved the question away dismissively.

Nana smiled. "Thank you. The grounds are in the cabinet above the pot."

A swift nod was sent the mother's way and the hitman headed to the kitchen.

Nana pulled out her phone, careful to not bump her son.

SugarSpice:Renato found Tsuna

SugarSpice:He's home and safe.

Lions4Ever:I'll be there in an hour.

XXX

Reborn stood and made his way to the kitchen. He was going to brew another pot of coffee for himself. A gut feeling made him leave his empty cup on the table.

The only warning the hitman had was one hissed word. "Reborn."

The air was knocked out of Reborn's lungs with a solid punch to the hitman's solar plexus. Reborn was then pinned to the wall.

Reborn choked and coughed, his lungs desperate for air. Blood trickled down from the blade of a army knife pressed to the man's throat. One of Reborn's hands had curled around the handle of the knife, but was unable to wrest control from Iemitsu's hand.

"How long?" The blond demanded.

Reborn switched his gaze from the knife to Iemitsu's face. "The past two weeks." The raven admitted.

The hitman twitched, he saw what was in Iemitsu's eyes. Disbelief, pain, and pure hatred burned there for several seconds, strong as the CEDEF leader's Sky Flames.

During those moments, Reborn was certain he'd be grievously injured, if not killed. If Iemitsu was willing to put his life on the line to kill Reborn, Reborn's survival would be up to chance and not skill. These thoughts in mind, the hitman curled a hand around Leon, but the chameleon refused to transform.

The laughter of a mother and child echoed from upstairs. The two men instinctively looked up to the ceiling and then back to each other.

His temper had been cooled by the reminder of his wife and son, regardless this was the reckoning for the infractions Reborn had committed. Iemitsu clenched his jaw. "Why?"

"I had to wait until you destroyed Estraneo and things had calmed down." Reborn replied, his voice remained unchanged regardless of his precarious position.

"And you couldn't send a message?" Iemitsu bitterly mused.

Reborn frowned. "I didn't want to throw Tsuna into this mess."

"I understand not wanting Tsuna in danger." Iemitsu aknowledged.

"But you still couldn't have contacted us, not one text? She's cried herself to sleep for weeks." The blond's voice became pained and shaky.

It was a crack in Iemitsu's mask, not that this entire scene wasn't. It was to be expected, the chink in Iemitsu's armor was his family.

Reborn dropped his gaze to the floor, a rare show of his feelings. Even more rare for Reborn was the stab of guilt. Nana was a good woman, the hitman and many others would hold to her being the kindest person in the world.

"I'm...sorry." The strange tasting words stumbled out of Reborn's mouth.

The two men were both silent for a moment of mutual incredulity. Iemitsu's jaw had dropped at the apology. The hitman was just as surprised, although it did not show on his face.

Reborn seemed to realize that he was genuinely wrong. Harbor a grudge and cut ties? Or forgive and attempt a healthy relationship with his son's godfather? "I.." The CEDEF leader trailed off.

The blond reached a decision. "I forgive you. One more chance, no grudges held. Next time something happens..tell me what's going on, standing alone doesn't help."

Reborn considered the requirement and nodded. He could live with that.

Iemitsu stepped back and sheathed his knife. He ran a hand through his hair, wondering if he did the best thing.

Reborn coaxed a small Sun flame to his fingertips and pressed it to his neck. The scratch healed without a scar. The hitman looked at his hand, several drops of blood lazily moved down his fingers.

"I was about to make some more coffee before you walked in, do you want some?" Reborn offered nonchalantly.

Iemitsu smiled. "If it's not any bother, thank you."

Reborn headed to the kitchen and washed off the blood on his hand and neck.

Both men heard the sound of feet dashing down the stairs.

"Dad!" The boy called out happily.

"Tsuna!" Iemitsu cheerfully replied. The blond man hoisted his son into his arms.

Iemitsu couldn't pick his son up as easily. Tsuna had grown. "You got bigger. Did you have fun with Reborn?" The blonde man questioned.

Tsuna grinned and nodded. "Yup."

The brunette child turned his head and looked at his backpack. Tsuna tilted his head and asked his dad, "can I show you my drawings?"

Iemitsu smiled. "Sure."

Sometime in the very near future, a conversation of what Tsuna experienced with the Estraneo and on the streets would happen. Tears, stammers, and sobs during the account would result in soothing nothings and large warm hugs. Appointments with the best local child therapist would be set. But for now, Tsuna would be allowed to have some fun with his family and ignore the dark memories of half remembered days.

XXX

Later that day, Iemitsu pondered what had happened. Tsuna was back, bigger, more wise, and more confident. His boy was safe, thank God. He thanked God that Reborn passed by and found Tsuna. Who knows what would have happened to his child if Reborn hadn't found Tsuna?

Speaking of Reborn, Iemitsu contemplated what would happen and what had. A hitman had officially joined his family, as an uncle of sorts.

XXX

Later that day, Reborn thought about what happened.

A held grudge between Reborn and Iemitsu could be catastrophic for Reborn's career, reputation, and relationship to his Godson. Iemitsu had the right to hold a grudge, but had chosen not to. Reborn owed the CEDEF leader for several things, the least of which was not the second chance.

XXX

A castle moved because of the pawn's plight. The horse and castle would ensure the pawn makes it to the end of the board.

A/N

Hello! It's been a while. Due to homework, the next chapter will take a long time as well, but it will be long like this chapter.

Iemitsu vs. Reborn

1. In the Arcobaleno representative battles:Iemitsu had already fought Tsuna right before and was not willing to do anything to win. There, Reborn went as far as to dislocate his shoulders. Here, Iemitsu is willing to go all out, which makes him a serious threat.

2. Leon refused to transform which is a severe handicap for Reborn.

3. Iemitsu as a fighter. Although many fanfic writers portray Iemitsu as stupid and weak. In canon, this is untrue. He's one of the strongest fighters in the khr universe and he's extremely smart as well.

4. Is Iemitsu actually scary? He's just a happy go lucky idiot, right? He is head of the CEDEF, the intelligence part of Vongola. In other words they are spies and information gatherers. Seeming not dangerous is what their job is. He's still a mafia don, regardless of his cheerful personality.

-Silver