I dont even have any excuses anymore just that things have been more screwed up than usual. Updates are going to be slow though. I made this chapter extra long as an apology.

I should be on my way to school but I figured I owed you guys at least this much

Enjoy

Chapter 26

Xanxus's sixteenth birthday came that fall, and the Varia, now notorious assassins of the Vongola were invited to his party.

Lussuria told me there was no way I was going to a party without the dress that he generously provided me with. I glared at him for that, stating that I've been forced into enough dresses fOr a lifetime, and I Wasn't happy about it.

In the end, Lussuria won, blackmailing me with the fact that I'd have to cook my own breakfast for the rest of the year, if I dare stepped a single foot out of the Varia without a dress.

Happy I was that this time, the Varia didn't give me anything pink, and instead made me wear blue. The dress was long and reached the floor. That meant it was hard to walk. Lussuria curled the ends of my blonde hair, an inch past my shoulder.

I looked good, because being Caia, I'd never use the words pretty or beautiful to describe myself.

Lussuria asked me if I wanted to put a hairband, a clip or just leave it loose. I gave him Bel's tiara, which he placed on my head. I was happy Lussuria didn't enjoy the idea of tying hair in a bun. I wouldn't have been able to cope with that then. Having no hair to cover my face didn't sit well with me.

"Well, sweetie, you look fantastic, but don't show off your teeth." He reminded me. A few weeks ago, another of my baby teeth fell out. So had Bel's. He was forced to stop grinning like a Cheshire Cat or risk Squalo laughing at us. Hard.

"Okay. Thanks Luss-nee." I told the guy.

Bel was outside my room a few minutes later, while I tried looking for places to hide my weapons. An assassin was always ready. He plopped down my bed, obviously bored.

"What's taking you so long?" He whined.

"You're not a fucking girl, Bel. You don't know how hard it is to hide knives in a stupid dress."

He laughed. "That's because I'm a prince." He said.

I gave up on putting the sharp thingies around corners, simply resorting to tying the gun by my thighs. I wore the mask Luss left me-cause it was a masquerade ball-which was painted blue.

Lussuria cooed at how cute we were and took a picture. The martial artist had stumbled upon the idea of creating a photo album that showed us aging. I wanted to tell him that the idea was stupid, but decided against it because, really, I still owe him his whole collection I had accidentally set on fire.

"Get in the car, brats." Squalo ordered. Then, we had an hour long drive to the Vongola base.

The Ninth welcomed us himself, giving his son a birthday hug and thanking Squalo for watching over his little boy. Bel and I hid our snickers, earning us a glare from Leviathan.

He looked at us, smiling warmly. "It's nice to meet the Varia. The Vongola owes you so much." He looked down at us, "though I had no knowledge the Varia hired such... Young children."

I bowed politely before him, surprising the assassins who had known me as the wild type. "We're talented children, Vongola Nono. You be surprised, if you knew of how we worked."

Gosh. I felt like I was giving everyone the creeps. Maybe I was.

Nono smiled, telling us to enjoy the party and leaving us to ourselves. I turned to the questioning looks haunting me.

"I was raised as a mafia princess. I had to learn pleasantries at one point." I reasoned.

"Pleasantries my ass." Squalo dismissed me.

I stuck with Bel most of the time, earning weird looks cause the party was filled with adults and technically no kids but us. I felt like I was two years old again. I hated being small.

"Oh. Hi. Who're you kids with?" We looked up. He was a man in his early twenties. The face rang bells inside my head telling me I've seen him before. It took me a minute to recall who he was.

"Good evening, signore Federico." I felt Bel's stare asking me how I knew so many influential people.

"Surprising. You're a kid and you know me. Not many kids your age would know me. I just entered this world a good three of four years ago."

I grinned, but the mask I wore covered that. "You were fourteen last we met, signore."

"How old are you then? You can be no older than ten."

"Eight."

"You remember me despite the fact we last met seven years ago? When you were one?"

"I'm a genius." The catchphrase. It's been so long since I last said that.

"That sounds a tad bit too familiar, but I really can't remember who you are. I'm truly sorry... Miss..."

"Caia. Caia Cavallone. Though, I dropped the Cavallone a few years back. M'working for the Varia now."

His face lit up in recognition. "Long time no see, genius brat."

From across the room, he was called by Nono, eyes staring at me apologetically. He offered me a handshake.

I shook his hand, before he left. "Long time no see, Federico."

I felt Bel's stare asking me a lot of questions. I decided to act laconic. "I met them on my first birthday. I guess I left an impression being a talking infant."

"Your brain has had completely zero improvement since then." He commented. "I get the feeling you've been using the same catchphrase the past eight years."

"Belphegor? Shut up."

"Ushishishi."

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Xanxus was brought to the stage, alongside his three brothers who had grown up to be nice, young, men.

It was really weird to see people who I once remembered as fourteen, eighteen and twenty four year olds, become the twenty one, twenty five and thirty one they were. The joking had gone from childish teases to praising shoves.

I didn't want to watch them die. It was like things didn't really change. I was still here, and I still felt the familiar fear of knowing the people I knew would die.

I talked myself out of my trance. People all died... Their time just.. Came earlier than expected.

Federico brought Enrico and Massimo to me that night.

"Oi. Fratello! Do you remember that kid who talked back when she was one."

"The Cavallone heir?" Enrico asked.

"Yes. But, I'd appreciate it if you don't use that to refer to me. I work for the Varia now."

Massimo chuckled. "As expected, you end up becoming one kind of villain in the end, some sort of genius kid assassin."

"Gosh Mas. You've been watching too many movies again!" Enrico scolded his brother.

I nodded at the comment. "Well, geniuses need to do something with the awesomeness given to them, right?"

The three men laughed-men, whose hearts were the same as the boys I had met before.

"Gosh, little brat. You never changed." Massimo scolded me lightly.

"Don't want to lose my awesomeness in the process of changing, Massimo."

"Well, take care of Xanxus for us. He's a little violent, and rude. Not to mention his whole vocabulary seems to revolve around the word trash..." Federico trailed on. "But he's still our little brother, yeah?"

I felt something pinch me, because the favor had been simple, yet the emotion behind it was too complex, too strong and too genuine. Federico knew Xanxus was adopted, and yet the desire to care for his foster brother filled him inside out.

"Xanny's a good person."

They laughed again. "Who would've thought someone could call him Xanny and make it out alive! Last I did that, I barely made it out alive!"

"Xanny is a good person!" I argued, and they laughed again.

Belphegor and Squalo approached us, Squalo looking at me for a moment before ordering strictly as he pointed at me.

"Bedtime, brat."

The three heirs laughed, pushing me off to where Squalo was.

"Treated like a kid!"

"Personally, I believe it's just Squalo's maternal instincts kicking in."

They laughed and we bid them goodnight, Squalo leading us to our bedrooms. The swordsman looked at me and said. "Odd. I didn't know you were so close with the ninth's sons. I don't recall anywhere you could've met them."

"We met before you came along. My first birthday. They had this whole you can talk thing with me."

"Ushishishi, so the princess and the shark knew each other way back?" Belphegor asked.

"Yeah. Squalo here was my brother's best friend. They had a fallout though." I explained. "To summarize the shit up, you could say I pretty much watched him grow up."

"That's interesting, shishishi." Bel commented.

"Sure was. You should've seen Squ as a kid. He had sparkles and a weird fascination with robots. And ponies."

Squalo turned a little red as Belphegor snickered.

"Why'd you and Dino fight anyway?"

"The fourth grade match. The retard said he didn't want to hurt me. I handed his ass to him."

"Kind of remember that part. Dario was furious." I told him. How could I forget? Those were my Byakuran days, distant and a little bit too fictional for the me-now.

"Ushishishi. Let me guess. Princess came to save her brother?"

"Yeah, Bel. I did."

Me-then, was too much of a puzzle for me-now to comprehend.

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Squalo told us to go to bed, but instead, I went to look for Xanxus and give him his birthday gift, a blue necklace I had seen him wear in canon.

I was looking for him down the halls, when I passed by an open interesting room.

The room was obviously a study. The shelves were filled with all kinds of books, and there was a wooden desk at the center. What caught my attention though, was the raven at the middle of the room, reading a notebook which was probably the Ninth's journal.

His scarlet orbs reflected his rage, and I felt the sudden urge to turn back the way I came. But under that was betrayal, and I couldn't leave Xanxus like this. I couldn't bear to see him torn, and angry at reasons he'd end up regretting. I didn't want him to go through shit alone.

"Xanxus." He glared at me, and I almost flinched. I couldn't do that. Not before this broken boy that could barely match my boss. I took a step closer.

"What's wrong?" My voice echoed through the study, surprising me of its strength when it rang back.

"That's not what you're here for, trash." He said, the glare accompanying that freezing me on the spot.

"It wasn't, originally. But now, you can't go expect me to just leave. Curiosity kills, Xanny." I replied as sarcastic as ever.

Seeing Xanxus let down the glare made me sigh in relief. I knew I said the right thing. Xanxus did not need the comforting pity of a friend. He needed stability, something to remind him that the rest of the world was still as he knew it. My sarcasm was of the world he knew.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I repeated, expecting and completely accepting he would not want to answer it now.

"I'm adopted." The statement came through the room like a hurricane. I chose to stay silent as the atmosphere dropped on us.

"All my life, I was raised as a Vongola. I lived like a Vongola. I believed I was Vongola. I prided being Vongola. And all of it was one fucking shit of a lie."

He roared, the anger clear and true in his scarlet orbs. "I am not his son! I am nothing to this family and I will forever be the Ninth's adopted son! I will never be Vongola! I will never be Decimo!"

I realized he was just sixteen, and that the world he lived on was everything to him. I knew, that if it had been me, I would have done the same.

"Liars... They are all liars!"

He threw the notebook down, shooting at it, leaving holes on the slowly burning pages. I watched him, silently. I did not feel pity. I didn't want to. It was the last thing he needed.

I knew at that very instant what I had to say.

"Xanxus? I don't understand you." I told him. My tone was dead serious. "I don't understand you and I probably never will so I'm not going to pretend that you'll come out okay after this. Because I don't know. I'm genius, but not psychic."

"I don't know how it feels like to be lied to for the whole expanse of your life, or how it's like to lose your place in a home that meant everything to you. I don't know what it's like to consider one thing your whole life, and nor do I know how it feels like to lose the only goal you've ever had. I will never be able to sympathize with you, because I don't know. And I'm sure I don't have to, because I'm not you.

But I do know one thing, Xanny."

"You are our boss. We are Varia and you are our boss. Our lives are yours. You have our loyalty. Our word. You can control our worlds. Just give us the command, and you can sit back and watch us do it for you. The Varia would not be what it is without you, Xan. Fuck Vongola. Fuck the mafia. But no matter what, we'll be here for you. Even when the sky burns itself out and the rest of the world is reduced to ashes."

"Boss." I finished, handing him the present.

I turned back and headed out the door. Because what else was there to say? I said what I needed to. Xanny can take care of himself. All he needed now was time, to make decisions. But I knew for sure, that whatever he ends up deciding, I'll accept it all the same.

This was how our famiglia worked. Our boss, and his loyal subordinates. We understood each other because the world we all lived in had been screwed one way or another. So we knew how it was like to be lost, and as knew that everyone could fend for themselves. And we knew when they needed a break.

And we knew when they needed to kill.

I was not surprised at all, when he told us of the coup the very next day.

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Dino's Regrets Part 1

When Reborn was hired to train the next Cavallone heir, the hitman did extensive research as he always did before accepting a mission.

The request had come from the Vongola Ninth, who apparently saw potential in the Cavallone Don's firstborn, and decided that with the proper guidance, the famiglia would be a valuable asset to the Vongola Alliance.

Reborn could not refuse the ninth. He decided he would simply enjoy teaching his new student. His research had told him that Dino Cavallone was a wimp, and quite the pacifist. Reborn knew immediately he had to torture the boy's naivety away.

It was also through his research that he found out there were two Cavallone heirs, not one. Caia Cavallone, six years younger than her brother. Reborn was deeply intrigued by the girl that didn't seem to have much of a profile.

Reborn knew he should also check the child for potential. Young or not, she was still a legitimate heir.

So when Reborn came to the Cavallone manor expecting to train two heirs, he was undeniably confused when he found out that the heiress had disappeared three years ago. He was even more surprised when he found out that there were next to no effort spared into looking for the young girl.

Everyone said that the Young Miss had ran away of her own accord, but it just didn't fit. Common sense screamed at Reborn that no matter what the parallel world, a six year old leaving the comfort of home was not acceptable to what was considered normal.

He had been told the child had been gifted, miraculous, even, a fascinating existence capable of many things. Reborn believed them. He too had met people that fit the description, but even that reasoning didn't fit.

There was something about the child they called Caia Cavallone that bothered him. He knew that this something was huge.

It wasn't long until his mild curiosity turned into a strong urge to find everything about the child.

He asked Dino, hoping that the teen would give him the information he needed. The servants had told him the young master and young miss had been close as children, so the hitman figured that if there was someone that would know anything about this Caia kid, it would be Dino.

He asked him after a long day of training, where he had shown the teen that he, Reborn, was here for business, and would not hesitate to kick his ass if the situation called for it.

Reborn taught the blonde to fear him, so it was to his surprise, when Dino Cavallone, certified wimp, exploded into anger that he momentarily forgot his fear at the mere mention of his sister.

His brown orbs were full of hate, the feeling of betrayal, and loss. Dino had glared at him, The Reborn, who could easily kick his ass. Dino muttered the words. "Don't ever mention that name again."

Reborn was simply left confused. The teenager harbored too much hatred, for someone who could have only been a six year old last he saw him.

That was why he was very glad when he found someone else who knew of the child, someone who was close with her, even. Romario, Dino's bodyguard, who had been in the family since the heir was six years old.

"She was someone, indeed, as everyone else had told you, special." Romario had told him about his escapades with the Little Miss, how she would worry her mother to no ends. That no matter how she may have acted older than she was, he could still see the tiny child that lived in little Caia.

"What happened?" Reborn found himself asking the reason why Dino seemed to loathe his little sister. Why he had the look of someone who was betrayed by the person he trusted most.

"They had a falling out, after the Lady died. Little Miss had always tried her best to keep him safe from the Master's attempts to ruin his childhood, as she used to call it. Little Boss did not understand at the time why the Little Miss didn't even show emotion when they lost the mother they both loved. She was quite offended when he told her about it. Things had become tense between them." Romario explained.

"But that's just a falling out. It doesn't explain why Dino acted so angry."

"Three days before the Little Boss's, birthday, the Miss disappeared. Little Boss had felt so alone then. He had realized his mistakes, wanted to apologize, but when he woke up that same day, the little miss was gone. He thought she would come back. She had always promised after all that she would never leave him, that he would always be her big brother. A year, and she did not return. The Master told the Little Boss that the Miss had left, that she had only been using the famiglia, and that she had long forgotten about them. He had been so lonely, that he believed all that he was told. His anger grew day after day. He's buried under it now. I'm sure he doesn't remember what he's angry about. Just that he is."

"But it seems worse than that. He knows where Caia Cavallone is." Reborn said. He had sensed it when Dino had glared at him. That he knew something he'd rather forget.

"About a year ago, we received a letter from the Varia. The letter said they had taken the Little Miss in. Dino had felt betrayed then. His old friend after all, Superbi Squalo had sent the letter. Little Boss felt he had been replaced. His anger made him recklessly write a letter to her that must've hurt the Little Miss so much. We've never heard of her since. No one has mentioned her after that."

"Romario, you said that she 'was gone' and not 'had gone'. You believe she did not leave, correct?" Reborn asked, smirking as a smile made its way to the old butler's face.

"I for one, could attest to the many attempts that had been done to eliminate the Little Miss's existence."

And at last, Reborn could finally guess what had truly happened, and how the Cavallone had lost its female heir.

He knew though, that this revelation was something he had to prepare Dino for.