Author's Note:

I wrote this for the first time back in 2013 for one of my friends. She was the one who made up Ami and the basic concept of her, but she didn't like writing so she asked me to make up a story surrounding her. Since then, I've expanded off of her brilliant ideas and made a sequel to this story involving her children. But as I looked back on this story a couple of weeks ago, I hated it. Absolutely hated it. So, what did I do? Decide to completely rewrite this whole story, as a completely normal person would do (sarcasm intended).

Yes, I have many other stories I could be writing, so this isn't really a top priority right now. But, I've decided to do it. And I will in due time. So please wait patiently for me!

Oh, and I'll leave the original up here so you can gawk at how horrible my writing was back in middle school. JK! It's so you can see the changes I've made to the story line.

~Momo~

I was there at the fall of the Estraneo Family. They still performed their inhumane experiments till the very end, and that's a fact.

I would know; I was one of them.

Experiment 0051 was my name back then. The only faces I ever saw where the scientists and my own in the mirror. Even though all of their tests were top-secret, I was classified. Only a handful knew of me because of my immense hatred for everything and everyone. In fact, my hatred for the world was so intense that it warped something in my body and gave me what is called the Dying Will Flame of Night. I even hated the fact that I had this Flame because I would never have been sold to the Estraneo's in the first place.

I tried to end it all before the age of ten at least four times. Eventually, they put me under constant surveillance so I wouldn't be able to leave them so soon.

The last year there was the hardest. They realized that since I didn't want to live anymore, they could push me to near death almost every day for their own goals. But ultimately, they needed me alive because the Flame of Night requires a body for usage. And even if they did kill me, they told me I'd be the one punished. The scientists said I'd be dragged off to the Vendicare Prison after my soul was shoved back into my body by the Grim Reaper and tortured for all eternity.

Even death wasn't an option for me, supposedly.

The last day of my old life was a particularly hard day. I collapsed from exhaustion at the end. All of a sudden, there was a huge boom across the lab. Curious, I struggled to move my head in the direction of the sound. There were four figures all dressed in black. All of the scientists screamed for help. The fight was over in seconds. They were either killed or taken prisoner. And when they were finished with the scientists, the rest were scrambling around trying to burn precious documents. No one paid attention to me, but I didn't care. I was probably closer to death than ever before. I just wanted it all to be over.

A thought crossed my mind... What would happen to me? These people, whoever they were, destroyed the place, so obviously the whole Family was next. Would I be taken too?

Three steps of footsteps walked by me. I squeeze my eyes shut, preparing for the worst, but they just walked past me. It was like I was invisible to them.

"Hold on, Jager," I heard a voice say.

One of the figures stopped. I could've sworn my heart stopped.

I'm either going to die here or leave this place. This person will decide my fate... I thought.

"What is it?" asked a deeper voice.

"The one over there, she has the Flame of Night," said the first.

"That has nothing to do with us," said the second.

"You two, go on, we'll handle things here," the first ordered the others.

I couldn't see the first person, only the second.

"She's not like us," the second said. "We have no use for her."

"But who knows when another one will join us? We could use another fighter," the first rationalized.

Fighter? I thought, puzzled at their words.

"She's a weak girl," the second said, starting to walk away.

"We could train her to be stronger," the first suggested.

"We could, or we could finish our main goal of destroying all of the Estraneo Family, including the girl."

"I've made my decision, Jager. She's coming with us."

A small figure jump to the ground. I couldn't see his face, but he seemed to be a child, an infant almost.

"Keep going. I'll only be a minute," the first said.

"But-"

"I've made my decision," the first and family. "Keep going."

The larger figure took a reluctant step forward, and walked away. My heart was pounding in my chest, I had no idea what was about to happen. The smaller figure walked over to me and asked for my name.

It took a while to answer him because in all honesty, I couldn't quite remember my name. It had been so long since I had used it last.

"Felicita de Luca," I muttered.

"My name is Bermuda Von Vichtenstien. Your new name is Ami. Welcome to the Vindice," he said.

The Vindice? I thought. Those were the Grim Reapers, right? What could I possibly have to offer to them?

...

And why did he give me a new name?

The room they took me to was dark and cold. There was one light above me, but it didn't illuminate the whole place. I sat on a damp and lumpy pillow against the wall with the door to my left, listening as the two yelled at each other.

"She has no business here!" Jager yelled. "She wasn't cursed like us."

Bermuda hollered back, "My decision is final! If I say she stays, she stays. End of discussion."

Eventually, Jager had to give up because Bermuda seemed to be the one in charge.

And that was when I became a part of the Vindice.

Jager and the others eventually came around. There was Jager, Big Pino, Little Gia, Alejandro, and Jack. They all taught me how to fight using my Flames and the special Vindice Chains. They even became my friends.

Bermuda ended up telling me the Vindice's secret. He and the rest of the Vindice were the strongest in their days, but when someone took notice, it became a problem. A man named Checker Face cursed all of them to be babies, burdened to protect a special pacifier. They called themselves the former Arcobaleno. At the end of their cursed lives, their pacifiers turned to stone and they were filled with so much hatred that they kept on living for the sole purpose of destroying the one who cursed them.

He was the exception, Bermuda told me.

"I created the Flame and filled my pacifier with it so I could keep on living," he said. "I'm still cursed until we can finally kill him."

Despite not being an Arcobaleno, I began to hate the man that cursed my friends as well.

I grew especially attached to Bermuda, thinking of him as the father I never had. He took me in when I was on the verge of death, gave me a purpose, friends, and a place to call home. He even loved me, a feeling I never experienced before. Bermuda adopted me as his own a year after I came to the Vindice and swore he'd never let anything bad happen to me again.

"Ami, a new name to match new fate," he said. "Sounds nice, doesn't it?"

It was almost four years later, when I was fourteen, when my life would change even more drastically.

I woke up screaming from a nightmare about my childhood in my apartment. I wiped the sweat of my brow and eased my breathing.

"It was only dream," I said. "I'm ok…"

I got up swiftly and turned on all the lights in my apartment. After taking off all the bandages across my torso, my arms, and legs, I hopped in the shower to cool off and calm down from my nightmare. Either I was influenced by the Vindice to wear the bandages, or I really wanted to hide the scars and burns from my childhood. Either way, I hated taking them off because it was so time-consuming. But it was necessary to take them off, though. After I rewrapped them and got dressed, I decided to go to the cake shop for breakfast.

Papa hated the fact that I adored sweets so much, but I couldn't help it. I'd never tasted anything so delicious before I came to the Vindice and instantly became addicted.

I wouldn't have to go to work at the prison until noon, so I figured I'd just chill at the cake shop for as long as I wanted and warp to the prison.

I sat outside on the patio under a colorful awning and ate my slice of red velvet cake and blissful silence. All of a sudden, someone tapped me on the shoulder. As I turned around, wondering who it could be, three girls around my age stood there, staring at me. One was a brunette, one had orange hair, and the other had purple hair and an eyepatch.

"Lal-san, is that you?" the brunette asked.

Confused, I looked at them funny and said, "You've got the wrong person, sorry."

"Oh," she said, blushing profusely and bowing. "Sorry to bother you. You look a lot like our friend."

"It's ok," I said, turning back around to enjoy my remaining pieces of cake.

They sat down in the table directly behind me. I couldn't help but overhear them continuing to talk about me.

"I really thought it was her!" the brunette whispered.

"Yeah, I did too," the ginger agreed. "The blue hair and everything."

"That was so embarrassing!" the brunette whined.

I rolled my eyes and stood up with my now empty plate, preparing to throw it in the trash.

"Um!" the brunette sounded. "I'm really sorry! Can we make it up to you somehow?"

"Really, it's fine," I said.

"We have an extra piece of cake if you'd like it," the ginger said.

That got my attention.

"Really?!" I asked, smiling. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! Come sit with us!" the brunette said, smiling warmly.

"My name is Kyoko," said the ginger. "Sasagawa Kyoko."

"And I'm Mirua Haru," the brunette said.

"Dokuro Chrome," the purple haired girl said quietly.

"I'm de Luca Felicita," I said. "Nice to meet you." Papa made me use my old name when meeting strangers.

"Fe-Felicita-san?" Haru stuttered, pronouncing it a little weird.

"It's Italian, sorry," I said, blushing.

"You're not from Japan?" Kyoko asked.

I shook my head. "Not originally, no."

"I would've never known!" she said. "Your Japanese is very good!"

"Oh, thanks..." I said awkwardly. I took a bite of the cake they so graciously offered me. "Mm! Chocolate! Thanks, you guys."

"Our pleasure!" Haru said.

"So who is this 'Lal-san'?" I asked, licking the icing off of my fork.

"She looks exactly like you. It's kinda scary," she chirped. "Though, now... There's a bit of an age gap!"

The three giggled to themselves.

"What?" I asked.

"Well, Lal-san's a baby now," she continued. "I know, it sounds crazy, but she wasn't always a baby."

One of the Arcobaleno? I thought. Must be...

"Interesting," I said.

"Isn't she at Tsuna-san's house right now?" Haru asked.

"I think so," Kyoko said. "Oh! You could meet her!"

"Yeah!" Haru chimed.

"No, sorry," I said. "I have to work after this."

"Oh, that's too bad," Haru said sadly.

"Where do you work, Felicita-san?" Kyoko asked.

I almost laughed, but I held it in. "A boring place in the middle of nowhere," I said, cracking a smile. "You wouldn't know it."

"Well, what about school?" Haru asked. "I haven't seen you at my school; do you go to Nami Middle?"

I shook my head. "No," I said. "I don't go to school..."

"Oh," Kyoko said, a bit shocked.

"My dad teaches me," I supplied hurriedly. "I'm home schooled."

"Oh, that's nice of your dad!" said Kyoko kindly.

Chrome nodded.

It wasn't a total lie. Papa had had taught me basic math and algebra. Jager knew a lot of biology, but the subject bored me, so I never listened to was droning. I only learned how to read since I came to the Vindice, but that was mostly Italian for the paperwork he made me fill out. He was still trying to teach me Japanese reading and writing, but it wasn't his first priority with the whole prison to run.

"So when do you need to go to work? We don't want to keep you too long," Haru said.

"Oh crap..." I said, standing up. I looked around frantically, searching for a clock and breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the time. "Oh, never mind. I still have, like, thirty minutes before I need to leave."

They all giggled.

"Kyoko-chan? Haru? Chrome?" asked someone behind me.

"Oh, Tsuna-kun, Reborn-kun! It's nice to see you!" Kyoko said smiling up at the one named Tsuna.

"Hello, Ladies," said a high-pitched voice.

I turned around to see a short boy, about my age (maybe younger) with spiky, brown hair. There was something about him, I didn't know what it was at the time, but looking into his eyes made me feel weird inside. And on his shoulder was a baby with a fedora and tuxedo with great curly-cue sideburns.

My eyes widened when I saw the baby. It was Reborn, the strongest Arcobaleno of this generation! Papa always kept an eye on him.

"Do you want to join us, Tsuna-san?" Haru asked, blushing.

I turned around quickly, hoping no one would notice that I recognized Reborn.

"Yeah, Boss," Chrome said. "Come on, sit."

Boss...? I noticed her say. Do they have something to do with the mafia?

"I guess if you want me too," he said, finding a chair to pull up. He sat down next to me.

I could almost feel the eyes of everyone at the table shift to me.

"Hi," said the one named Tsuna shyly. "I don't think we've met before..."

"de Luca Felicita," I said, not wanting to look into his eyes again. I didn't like the feeling he gave me.

"Nice to meet you," he said smiling awkwardly. "I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi and this is Reborn."

"Yo," said the baby.

"Nice to meet you, too," I said. "Maybe I should go..."

"No, stay!" Haru insisted. "You haven't even finished your cake!"

"Yeah!" Kyoko agreed.

"Ok, I guess..." I said awkwardly.

"Well, how did you all meet?" Reborn asked.

"We thought she was Lal-san!" Haru said, laughing.

"Yeah, they look very similar," Chrome further supplied.

I finally looked up and met eyes with both of the boys. I got the weird feeling again. It made my stomach crawl in distress.

Tsuna freaked out and exclaimed, "Whoa! You do! That's creepy..." He quickly realized how his words sounded and tried to make amends. "N-not saying you're creepy...! I just meant, like, that-"

"It's ok," I said, looking away from his eyes. "I get what you meant."

He laughed awkwardly.

It was painfully silent for quite a while. I'd never been with people my age before so I had no idea what to talk about. I kept eating my cake in awkward silence.

All of a sudden, Reborn spoke.

"What's that around your neck?" he asked, jumping from Tsuna's shoulder to the table, facing me. He stared at me with a weird expression. It looked almost like he was worried.

"My necklace?" I asked, looking down at it. "Oh, it's just a charm from my dad."

"Interesting shape..." he said, eyeing it.

My eyes widened in realization.

Oh, shit... I thought.

Papa had given me a fake stone pacifier for my birthday one year. All of the others thought it was funny, except Jager who didn't think it was an appropriate gift. I thought it was thoughtful, like I was finally part of the Vindice because they all had pacifiers as well.

"I really should be going..." I muttered, standing up. "Thank you for the cake, it was delicious. And it was nice meeting you all!"

"Aw, you're going already?" Haru asked.

"Nice meeting you," Tsuna said, smiling.

I felt repulsed by his smile for some reason. His company alone made me feel uneasy and I had no idea why.

"Yeah," I said bowing to them. "Goodbye."

I walked away quickly and headed back to my apartment. But, I was interrupted a couple minutes after leaving the cake shop with the sound of a gun cocking behind me.

"I'll ask this once..." Reborn said. "Are you with the Arcobaleno protecting the clear pacifier?"

I stopped dead in my tracks, blindsided for a split second before regaining my wits.

"Clear pacifier?" I asked. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, I know you're lying," he threatened.

I turned around to face him. Tsuna wasn't with him. He'd come alone. "I don't know what you're talking about..." I said, trying to sound sincere.

"What are his intentions?" he asked. "Who is he?"

"I really don't know what you're talking about..." I said, sounding confused.

"What's one of the Vindice doing in Namimori?" he questioned further. "Are the rest here as well?"

I could barely hold in my Flames full of hatred. I turned around and took a deep breath before I started walking away.

I heard a gunshot and felt something whizz past my ear.

I stopped immediately.

"I won't miss next time," he said.

"How did you know I'm with the Vindice?" I asked, voice cracking with fury as I turned around.

A smirk appeared under his fedora. "I'll be the one asking questions, not you," he said, walking closer to me.

"You go ahead and do that," I said slyly, narrowing my eyes. "But I don't plan on answering them."

"Oh, really?" he asked, tipping his hat up with his gun.

"Yep," I said, waving goodbye to him as I warped to the prison.

I startled Big Pino, but he realized it was me. "You're here early..." he said. "What's wrong?"

I fell to my knees for some reason, dazed. "I... I don't... Wh-where's Papa?"

"Why're you bleeding, Ami?" he asked, rushing over to me.

"What?" I asked, looking down.

Indeed. There was blood spilling out of my left leg.

"That bastard!" I cursed. "He shot me!"

"What?" Big Pino asked, not understanding. "Who?"

"Reborn, the Sun Arcobaleno," I said. "I need to tell Papa something. It's important, so can you go get him, please?"

"But what about your leg?" Big Pino asked awkwardly. "Shouldn't we take care of it first?"

"I'm fine," I said. "It doesn't hurt yet. Just go get Papa, Pino-kun."

"Ok," he said, lumbering off.

I rolled up my sweatshirt sleeve to rip off the bandages to wrap them on my leg to help with the blood for the time being. When it was all tied up tightly to stop the bleeding, I tried to stand up. That was a huge mistake. It sent a jolt of sharp pains up my leg, so I stumbled back onto my butt, and splashed in the blood puddle I'd made minutes before.

"Great..." I said, annoyed. "These are new shorts!"

Big Pino came back minutes later with not only Papa, but the rest of the Vindice.

"What happened?!" Papa asked, running me.

"I met Reborn, Papa," I said. "And he knows. He knows I'm a part of the Vindice!"

"No, I mean your leg!" he exclaimed.

"Oh," I said. "Well I was going to warp back here, but I guess he shot me in the leg right before I could... Ok, yeah, it's starting to hurt now...!"

"Jager, take her to the hospital," Papa ordered. "I need to think about this for a while..."

"Of course," Jager said.

He scooped me into his arms carefully. Papa recharged his Flames before he warped me to the hospital in Namimori. Because of obvious reasons, he warped back almost immediately after taking me there so he wouldn't cause a scene, being a living corpse and all.

I was rushed into the operating room. They fixed up my leg in no time at all. The bullet went clean through my leg and missed my bones completely, so the doctors said recovery time wouldn't be too long.

Papa came to check on me later that day. I was discharged the next day with a boot and crutch I had to use for the next six weeks.

Ha! Like that was gonna happen.

I got out of the bulky boot and tossed away the crutch as soon as I could, but kept taking the prescribed medicine so it wouldn't get infected. I only needed the occasional Advil when it bothered me more than usual. I had a very high pain tolerance thanks to my childhood.

Papa made me stay at the prison for the foreseeable future to avoid another close-call with Reborn.

A couple days later, Papa seemed rather pleased about something.

"It's started," he said.

"What has?" I asked.

"The Representative Battle to find the next generation of Arcobaleno!" he said. "We'll make our move soon...!"

"We're participating?" I asked.

"Of course," he said. "And when we win, we'll be able to kill Checker Face!"

"Really?!" I asked, excited. "That's great!"

He laughed and said, "Great? No, it's better than great. It's fantastic!" He started to walk out the door. "I need to inform the others of my plan. You wait here."

I looked at him, confused. "Am... Am I not helping?" I asked.

"No-"

"Please, Papa!" I begged. "I'm a part of the Vindice! We're supposed to get revenge! It's literally in the name!"

"Our revenge has nothing to do with you," he said sharply. "And it's too dangerous for you."

That made me angry, angrier than I'd ever been at him. My Flames spilled out from every fiber of my being. "Papa," I said calmly, but boiling with hatred inside for Checker Face. "Let me murder the man who cursed you and my friends."

He looked slightly taken aback.

"It has nothing to do with me?" I asked. "Bullshit. You're my father. It has everything to do with me."

He narrowed his eyes at me for a few seconds before his expression softened.

"I understand," he said. "Then come with me, we have a lot to discuss."

(I do not own any of the Kateyko Hitman Reborn! characters. This was made for entertainment purposes and no copyright is intended.)