Chapter 11

"Wrong step."

THWACK!

"Ow! Reborn! Stop with the whacking!" Ienari complained as he massaged his abused head after being hit by the Leon Paper Fan. They were currently in the living room studying and making Ienari catch up to the curriculum before midterms came around.

After returning from school with the lessons that the teacher had given him earlier that morning before Byakuran showed up, Reborn took it upon himself to tutor the both of them in academics so that nothing will be untouched.

"Until you learn how to use that formula, I won't stop." Reborn said sternly as he held two materials in his other hand. One for Tsuna, and the other for Ienari.

It had appeared that Ienari knew next to nothing about a fourth of the coverage of the midterms, and Reborn found it right to rectify it. And his methods are something that Ienari would suffer from. The intense tutoring that Ienari thought he had placed back on his past of horrors.

Well, it seemed like it had resurfaced because of his transferring.

"But this isn't supposed to be covered at the academy until this September! This is so unfair! How should I know about this when I was supposed to learn this in September where my supposed first year of middle school should have started?"

Reborn whacked him on the head again, "A mafia boss does not complain. And you were behind this semester. If your test is poor this midterm, it would reflect badly on me, and your physical training will resume and I will increase it tenfold."

"That's not fair!"

"Life is never fair, Ienari," Tsuna said smiling at the fact that Ienari was being picked on.

"You're one to talk…" Ienari said. Reborn must have let him off the hook more than once in his life ever since they met…

Just as he said it, Tsuna also received a thwack. "That equation does not add up Tsuna. Change the formula."

"Yes…" Tsuna said, and looked at Ienari with a face that says: 'see?'

Ienari often wondered which god or goddess he offended to have such a Spartan tutor-slash-step-father like this. His head will discard all the things he learned if he kept on hitting him with the Leon Paper Fan. 'Well, at least it's not the Leon Mallet…'

"Oh? Do you want Leon as a mallet, Baka-Nari?" he asked. Ienari flinched. He forgot that this hitman can read him like an open book.

"NO!" Ienari said as he turned back to his work, trying to figure out which formula he did wrong to his math problem. 'Anything but that damned mallet!'

He had enough of the nightmares that came about in his head at night regarding that giant mallet with beady eyes. There was no way he was going to see that kind of thing ever again! The torture that he has been through were enough to give him a trauma of a lifetime.

Thought it was true that it produced results, it was still something Ienari sometimes wished he had forgotten it instead of the reason he…

'Stop right there.' Ienari thought to himself.

Recently, he has had some brief pangs of pain in his head, and it would always come with remembering things he was sure didn't happen. So where were these 'memories' coming from? He thought that his 'accomplice' Mukuro had something to do with this, but he knew that the Estraneo escapee turned Varia ward is too far to reach his head. Even he was silent. His contact details were still in his phone, but the illusionist has never called him even once right after his hospitalization.

It was as if he had been caught up on something. He better ask Byakuran when he comes over on Saturday.

"Tsu-kun, can you help me with the tarts for a while?" Nana asked from the kitchen.

Placing his mechanical pencil down, he stood from his seat and went to his mother's beck and call. Ienari was sometimes jealous of the fact that Tsuna could cook on par with their mother, whilst when he tried to cook, it either tasted too bland or has too much spice.

"He looks twice as happy today," Reborn commented off-handedly as he looked at Tsuna's retreating back.

Ienari's head snapped towards him, "What makes you say that?"

Reborn sighed and smirked, "He told you, didn't he?"

"Nope. More like he slipped," Ienari said as he leaned back. "I was panicking when Byakuran texted me that he was going to the school, and Tsuna freaked out when Hibari had declared that he would beat up Byakuran. He slipped afterwards." He stated.

A chuckle escaped Reborn's lips, "That sounds a lot like Tsuna, alright." He mused. "He's never one to reveal secrets properly,"

"My only complaint is: why Hibari?"

"Who knows? I'm still figuring that out myself," Reborn stated. "I don't even remember approving of the relationship, but your mother was thrilled, so that was that."

"Ah…" Ienari could only sigh. Reborn may be the one bringing in most of the income, but people would be hard pressed to learn just who wears the pants in their relationship, and it was definitely not Reborn.

"You're doing well these days," Reborn said after a few moments.

"Huh?" Ienari asked him to elaborate.

"You're not so sullen and stressed anymore. It's a good change in you," Reborn stated. "Maybe domesticating you was a good idea from the beginning,"

"Don't make me sound like a wild animal." Ienari grumbled.

"When you put it that way, you weren't one from the beginning until now," Reborn said, "Four years ago, you were so quiet and so distant, I prepared myself to teach a socially-awkward teenager,"

"How did it go?" Ienari asked as he looked at his tutor expectantly.

"I thought you were doing well. You were slowly interacting with people, and you were slowly finding your niche and maybe you almost started calling the Gesso heir and the mechanic as your friends, until…" Reborn didn't need to continue, knowing that Ienari had already caught up to what he was meaning to say.

Ienari looked away from his tutor in shame. True Ienari didn't remember the reason, but it was still a given that he had destroyed what Reborn had been nourishing in him besides his combat abilities. He had destroyed his expectations that he would completely grow out of his shell and face the world with confidence and to give his trust to those whom he feels he could trust. Instead, he had decided to cut his life short, and failed, but the scar will forever remind him of his actions for eternity.

Sensing his depression coming about, Reborn shrugged, "Well, at least when we went back to square one, you managed to flourish in a different way." he commented. "And this time, you have your mother and brother to help you out when you need it, maybe even your brother's friends. You have a lot to learn," he stated.

Somehow, Ienari felt encouraged to just simply live his life as a normal teenager while overcoming his own wallflower tendencies. It was clear. Ienari needed to start his life over as a normal teenager, not as a future mafia boss.

As soon as Reborn said that, Tsuna came back in with Nana carrying a tray of snacks. "Come on boys, it's time for a little break!" Nana said cheerfully.

"Saved!" Ienari said with glee. "I've been starving since I only ate the melon bread Yamamoto-san gave me earlier,"

"What about your bento? Didn't you eat it during your free time?" Tsuna asked.

"I did, but it wasn't enough," he admitted.

Tsuna laughed. "Are you getting back to your black hole of a stomach ways?" he asked as he and Nana set down the trays they were holding. Reborn did the initiative to take the papers loitering the table away.

"Well, it has been a long time since I ate one of Mom's bentos." He complimented.

Nana smiled brightly at his comment. "Haha! It's been a long time since I heard a comment of my food from you Nari! I'm delighted~!" Ienari smiled at his mother's show of happiness. "I'll be sure to cook for you with extras. Tsu-kun rarely finishes his food though, so maybe I'll give you a fourth of his share," she teased.

Tsuna huffed, "No fair!"

"Ara, Tsu-kun, you were always a light eater. I don't see why you have to complain,"

"But I finish it when I have time!" Tsuna defended.

As the talk went on between mothers and sons, Reborn watched his student slowly open up to his family.

He remembered the day he first met Ienari some three years ago, when he had just finished training Dino, and had now been asked a favor by the Vongola Nono to train his grandson as well.

…

Four Years Ago

Reborn didn't know what had gotten into him the moment he accepted the offer of the Ninth to take in Sawada Ienari as his next student after Dino. What is it with mafia boss acquaintances asking him favors about tutoring their heirs to be proper bosses? After this, he will retire from taking on students!

Still, it had him troubled the moment Timoteo had asked that of him, considering that he was now engaged to the mother of his heir, and is now his somewhat future step-father. Dino had told him about Ienari multiple times before.

Since dating Nana, Reborn deemed it fit not to reveal himself to the Vongola Headquarters unless he was invited in by Timoteo himself, to take out any risks of a brawl with the CEDEF boss who was his fiancée's ex-husband, and the young Vongola heir who was supposed to be his younger step-son.

Just thinking about it somehow made Reborn a bit uneasy.

Now he stood at Timoteo's office, now awaiting his new student to come from school.

From the information that Dino told him about Ienari, he was a bit reclusive, and refused to call anyone his 'friends,' just classmates or schoolmates or acquaintances. Dino fell in the latter, even though he reached out to him the moment they met three years back, right after Dino had solved the financial problems of the Cavallone Famiglia. If he gets it right, when Reborn was out on the weekends to 'counsel' Tsuna, Dino always went to the Vongola Castle to visit Ienari at every chance he gets.

"I'm sorry to have given you another tutoring task right after you had finished training the Cavallone Decimo, Reborn," Timoteo apologized to pass the time.

"Not at all. I consider it a part of my job. Though I may be a hitman, I did still enjoy teaching Dino, even if there were things that can't be rid off of him," he stated.

The old man chuckled. "Dino was here a few days after you deemed him worthy of standing on his own. You really did an impression on the young man. He looks up to you like you were his father,"

A somewhat small pride welled in Reborn. It was evident that he treated Dino like a father would, to train him properly, and to nurture him. Considering that Dino became an orphan at the age of sixteen after his father died, Reborn was the only anchor besides Romario to put him back together and to continue on with the training that started when he was fifteen.

The same pride welled in him when Tsuna started calling him 'Papa' after he was engaged with Nana. He could have called him 'Father' or 'Dad,' but that sparked resentment towards the one who should have held that title thirteen years back.

"Well, I do my best to show promising results. Though this is quite a setback on my plans," Reborn stated.

Timoteo was puzzled. "How come?"

Reborn knew that there was no hiding to this old man, but since Tsuna and Ienari were somewhat involved, he figured he should let the one who considers them grandchildren know. "A week after deeming Dino independent, I proposed to my lover, and we were planning on getting married before the year is out," Reborn didn't need to tell him who the woman was, since he had told the man that he had fallen in love with an assignment to monitor the Sumeragi family last year.

"Ah, congratulations are in order then," the man simply smiled brightly that reminded him of Tsuna when he was extremely happy. "Though your choice of a wife will spark some conflict with your former lovers," he joked.

Reborn simply lowered his head to hide his eyes while he slightly smiled. "They would get over it." He assured him. "Besides, I couldn't see myself getting married to anyone but her,"

Timoteo smiled. "I believe I am to keep this a secret from my External Advisor?"

"That would be appreciated. I wouldn't want you to bury your second External Advisor so soon," he half-joked.

Before Timoteo could reply with the same joking manner, the door rapped softly and opened, revealing a twelve year-old boy with blond hair and caramel eyes.

"Excuse me. Pardon my intrusion," The boy said.

Reborn almost did a double take at the resemblance the boy has to Tsuna. True he had seen some photos of an eight year-old Ienari, but that was years ago. The boy was now twelve, and puberty was kicking in. Besides his blond hair, he looked every bit as Tsuna, except for the fact that Ienari's face structure was sharper. Tsuna always had the slightly rounded face that he got from Nana.

"You wanted to see me, Ninth?" he asked.

Timoteo sighed and smiled again, "No need for formalities, young man. This man here is a friend of mine,"

But it seems that the boy had remained to be formal to them, Reborn took note. "Then, may I ask why you called?" he said still with manners, but Reborn could see that the boy simply wanted to be left alone.

'A reclusive kid…' Reborn observed. He must have kept to himself a lot. And that meant that he stress he was accumulating was doing something bad with his mentality.

Reborn stood in front of Ienari and observed him from top to bottom. Ienari's eyes shifted uncomfortably, before looking at him straight in the eyes. He was amused at the change of emotions in the boy, one looking perplexed, and the next, he was putting on a front. "Interesting, kid. You can interact with the adults properly with manners, and with finesse, but when it comes to your peers, you tear yourself from them and keep most to yourself." He observed.

He smirked triumphantly when his eyes widened in surprise for being caught. "Who are you…?" he murmured.

"Really? After Dino had told you all about me, you have no idea who I am?" he stated.

Moments later, Ienari's already pale complexion seem to go lighter as he realized who he was. "You…you're Reborn, the Sun Arcobaleno…"

Reborn smirked. "Nice head you have there. I won't have to take it off then,"

"Excuse me?" Ienari asked, rather insulted. It was right to, Reborn thought. When he saw his academic grades, it was one of the best, unlike Dino when he started out. He won't be doing the TNT Tutoring then.

Reborn ignored his outburst, and the Ninth simply watched as Reborn assessed his new student. "Your combat skills are not that good. I wonder what your father has been teaching you, or have you not been to Lal?" he wondered, mentioning his fellow Arcobaleno.

"…Dad is the only one who trains me…there are the occasional spars with Ganauche and Brow, but even those are scarce because of their missions…" he said, mentioning the Ninth's guardians.

Displeased about the news, Reborn frowned. Iemitsu was not around much as it is. No wonder the kid's combat skills stayed average. "Well we won't have that anymore." He said and turned to Timoteo. "Ninth, I accept this tutoring job until I deem him fit like the Bucking Horse." He declared.

"Eh? Tutor? You?" Ienari said with a shocked face. He looked at the Ninth, hoping, maybe, that he was telling a joke.

But the old man simply nodded. "Yes. Since he did well with Dino, I thought that it would also do you good than have Iemitsu train you with how packed his schedule is. I wouldn't want you to go into the world unprepared and under trained,"

"But isn't he my mother's boyfriend?" Ienari asked with a hostile look.

"Ah. So Dino did tell you about my private life." Reborn said.

"No. Mom told me herself in her letter last year." Ienari said straight away. "Dino-san confirmed it later when he came to visit me that following weekend when you went to Japan."

"Smart kid." The hitman complimented. He knew that Ienari's mail was being screened. To nick a letter from Nana, the kid was good in taking what was supposed to end up in the incinerator.

"If I'm smart, then why do I need a tutor?" Ienari asked, clearly uncomfortable of having his mother's boyfriend tutor him. Reborn understands his feelings, but it can't be helped.

"Tell me, how many friends do you have?" Reborn asked. When Ienari was silent and looked away, the hitman knew he hit a bull's eye. "And how many times has your father, and two of the Ninth's youngest guardians complimented you on your combat skills?"

But Ienari knitted his eyebrows and spoke, "I don't need friends who backstabs. I've seen that happen to my surroundings many times before, and all we could ever have are connections and favors. As for my combat skills, I know I lack it and is still in the average side, but I work myself off just to try to land a hit on the people you spoke of." He stated with conviction.

Reborn turned to Timoteo with a disappointed look. "This won't do. At this rate, he won't get his six guardians and he would overexert himself without proper guidance." He stated. "We'll start on Monday. I'll give him the rest of the week to prepare himself for the worst."

"What? I already said I don't need your help!" Ienari said.

Reborn smirked, "Too bad for you, I'm just like Nanny McPhee." He started, "If you need me, but don't want me, then I'll have to stay. But if you want me, but don't need me anymore, then I'd have to go."

"I don't need you." Ienari pressed on.

"Then I will have to stay." Reborn said with a triumphant smirk. "Prepare the rest of your life for hell, Baka-Nari. You will need it for me to make a boss out of you."

…

And true enough, Ienari did need his life to survive his rigorous training regime, and he flourished greatly. Though it took him too much work to get him to socialize with other mafia kids, even if it did end up with him associating with the owner of the Mare Ring and one of the budding mechanics of the mafia world. The Arcobaleno Boss, Luce, had said the moment he met Ienari that he was going to be a lot of work, and a lot of work he was.

He just didn't know to what degree until he was found in the bathroom and rushed to the hospital for attempted suicide.

It felt like he was a failure of a tutor, for letting his student get in danger because of Ienari himself and his insecurities, doubts, and pressure.

"When the time comes for you to find the mistake, start from square one." Luce said to him a week after Ienari's hospitalization.

As he watched Ienari converse with his mother and brother as they ate some snacks, Reborn knew that square one of four years ago was one of his mistakes. For letting him stay in the mafia world where a lot of betrayal and lies laid ahead. Now, he changed his tactics. The square one he did to Ienari two weeks ago was the right step. To remove him from the mafia world temporarily and give him a taste of being a normal teenager, and to teach himself to give his trust to those his Hyper Intuition thinks is worthy—not to walk past him, or to walk behind him, but to walk beside him through thick and thin.

And judging from the smile and relaxed face of his student, his road to recovery and learning was going faster than Reborn had expected.

…

Somewhere in Italy

"I don't understand, where the hell is he?!" a very irate red headed teenager demanded the teenage girl in front of him.

"We told you, didn't we? He's dead! The cover of him being 'hidden' is just that! A cover! They are already training his older brother to be the next Vongola Decimo."

"No! I refuse to believe that!"

"Explain his letter of goodbye then," the girl challenged. "And the fact that the Sun Arcobaleno went to Japan for an indefinite time."

The red head growled and threw the letter away, "I won't believe it until I see his gravestone personally! That's how much I don't believe this piece of crap!"

"Then be that way. You are exhausting our few resources as it is. And Julie already told you, he died committing suicide!"

"After all this, I don't trust all of you!"

The girl was startled at his statement. "You don't mean that…"

"YES I DO!"

The girl almost wanted to run to the hills with how loud the red head in front of him had shouted. "You would rather delude yourself of him being alive than to believe our words?! I thought we were family!"

"You are my family, but I cannot trust you people after what I learned! Get out."

"Excuse me?"

"I SAID GET OUT!"

Without further ado, the girl simply left with a parting word, "Then be that way. Thinking that he is still alive will just hurt you even more." She said as she slammed the door shut.

The red head was left with his thoughts as he sat on his office chair, looking at the file in front of him. There was a picture of Byakuran, the Gesso heir, boarding a plane with Shoichi Irie, both of them wearing black, and seem to be in mourning. Byakuran might think that he was smart, but Julie can get the resources he needs to find out why they were going to Japan.

And beside him was a recorded audio of the immigration in Narita Airport.

Clicking the play button, the words that the people said in it haunted him.

"What is the purpose of your stay here in Japan, Mr. Grigori?" a woman's voice asked.

"To attend a friend's funeral." the familiar voice of Byakuran said, though his voice was solemn. "His wake is this week, so we went as soon as we could."

"Oh. I am sorry for your loss then."

After that, he couldn't hear more of it, as he pressed the stop button, tears coming out from his equally red eyes. He glanced at the letter beside it, encased in an envelope that had a spot of blood on it that confirmed a person's DNA on it.

It was a letter addressed to him. He scanned the letter again, but his eyes always trailed to the last three sentences at the end of the letter.

I'm sorry. But I can't go on living like this. I'd rather die than see you suffer because of me.

Goodbye, and remember, I love you.

"No…I don't believe it…you can't be dead…" he murmured. "I refuse to believe you're dead…Ienari…"

TBC

Now we see a bit of Reborn insight and a flashback in his point of view.

In this AU, the Arcobaleno, the Strongest Seven, are mere titles without the turning into babies curse, but they are still the guardians of the seven—no—eight pacifiers. They just have a different type of curse (which will be explained later on). And yes, I made Luce live. She is just an interesting character that I can't help not to follow Akira-sensei's canon that she's dead.

June is coming up, and my internet time is once again…cut by my dad. I know I'm already twenty, but I'm still young in the eyes of my parents, and is still in college, so the internet restriction is still in. I can't use the internet during the weekdays unless I do research, but I do my researches in school. So weekend-only restrictions needed to be in place not just to me, but to my siblings as well.

So my last update for this month is this chapter. I'm due to start my semester by the second week of June, so I have to prepare myself for my new classes and fixing my school-related problems. Sorry about that guys. It might even turn out that my updates will only be once a month, and I have no idea which of my three ongoing fanfics should I update first. Yes, three, since the third one is in my AO3 account on the Harry Potter fandom.

But school comes first before fanfic.

Well, until then, see you soon!