Disclaimer – Don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, Amano Akira's.

Aww man assessments are so cruel.

Shout outs: CodeHalo, jadeismycolor, Caroline, Sabbii, scouzwhoIlove8D, FrauleinRose, MikaUchiha666, KizunaCho, ookawa, TheMostObviousPlace, KhAeL, Lal Plaridel, Whitemagic58, iEXIST, Miyusan, KHR LOVER, animelover41195, rei, Sky Vongola princess, eion sairy, Conanfan15, TetsuHideyoshi, Tobi, Akuma no tenshi 666, XxXSkullCookieXxXSlipknot, thecloudguardian, hokkyokusei

Warning for Oocness, I try my best. Did not copy or plagiarize in any way.

Chapter 38

Wherefore art thou Juliet?

How long had it been since he heard her voice? Elsa never called him, she never wrote to him, and she was never at home when he called her. Six dreadful months had passed, and the feud between the Cavallone and Cadavere ended three months ago, and yet still, Elsa was nowhere to be found. Dino tried information brokers, secret organizations, and he even went to the extent of pleading secret intelligence agencies all around the country, but whatever attempt he made to find her was unsuccessful. No matter how powerful his mafia family was, or how much money he had, finding Elsa de Luca – or whoever she was – was like chasing wind. It was like she didn't exist anymore, or never existed in the first place. Luciano's aloofness towards her absence was even more compelling, and Romario seldom mentioned her at all. His men went on with their lives like their boss never had a wild, memorable fiancée.

Once, he even considered giving up, but his mind and body was just too drawn to her, it was like he could just FEEL she was somewhere in this world – a sixth sense he developed just for Elsa maybe? He thought about her so much it made it impossible to simply drop her like nothing. To put it simply – he was obsessed with Elsa. If he didn't see her soon, something was going to crack. If only – If only the Cadavere had kept their dirty little hands to themselves! No, who was he kidding, pointing fingers wasn't going to help, that's how mafia were. He was the one that sent her away in the first place, thinking she'd patiently wait for him to come back to her. Maybe judgement was being passed down on him for letting her suffer.

The door squeaked open, Luciano came in with a worried look on his face. It had been a while since he'd come to visit so casually like this. "You don't look too good, Boss."

Am I that obvious? Dino thought to himself. He smile and shook his head, reassuring his loyal subordinate everything was perfectly fine.

"No, you haven't slept for days, everyone is well aware that every night you're up until early morning looking for her."

The Cavallone boss chuckled, leaning back in his chair he said with relief, "So she does exist. If another month went by without anybody mentioning her, I think I would have gone insane." It felt like a weight had been hauled off his shoulders.

Luciano sighed, "Boss, nobody mentions Elsa because they know you'd just sulk in the corner all day."

"Don't be ridiculous, I wouldn't—" Luciano gave him a look, a stern one. Dino decided lying wasn't going to help, "If I just knew where she was at least."

Luciano could not bear to see his beloved boss in such agony, it was too solemn, cruel to his heart—okay seriously what the shit? Luciano thought. When did his manly Boss disappear to? If he had to go another month watching this cheesy sentimental oh-I'm-so-emo-for-love crap, he would shoot himself with a shotgun. "BOSS!" he started.

Dino sighed, staring blankly into the distance, "What is it?"

"SUCK IT UP LIKE A MAN!" Luciano cried, slamming his fist on the table, "If Elsa saw you like this she'd throw a chair, kick you, and call you a pansy!"

Dino looked incredulously at him, had his subordinate gone insane? He was in need of a deep and meaningful, not a lecture. But he had to admit, Luciano was right, if Elsa saw him like this she'd probably verbally abuse him until no end. Well, if he was going fix his attitude, he'd need answers, and he was going to have to perform a first-hand investigation himself, no point relying on others to do all the work. And that was probably why he never got results, because he sat back in his chair sulking like a wuss.

"You're right. Get the car ready, I'm going to visit her hometown," he said.

xxxx

They wasted no time. Luciano just wanted his boss to get out of the dumps as soon as possible and see a cheesy reunion that would make him sigh with envy. Now he knew he was still guilty of not telling Dino what Elsa had told him to pass on (yes, he kept it to himself after that day) but that was only because the Cavallone boss was still in the middle of a war and he didn't want to distract him. Luciano would suicide if a stray bullet hit his beloved superior. But even after the chaos had ended, he still found it hard to utter a word, which was sad considering the things she wanted him to say, so until this day Dino had no idea she'd left him to supposedly 'change' herself.

A car horned from behind, Luciano snapped out of his trance and sped up on the highway. Dino looked warily at him, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Boss. Just spaced out for a second!" Luciano replied. He sped up a little faster, "We're almost there."

When they'd passed the welcome sign, Dino began to feel nervous for no particular reason at all. Something just told him Elsa was nearby, but how was that possible? Even if he'd never come himself, his men would have been aware of it. The car was parked a few blocked away from Elsa's house, Dino decided it would be best to go himself, since Elsa's mother had never met him, and it was possible she'd been lying to his men in order to hide Elsa – improbable, but possible. So Luciano went off to investigate around, even though he'd done so so many times already.

Dino slid past the immovable, slanted gate, and stepped inside the front lawn. The grass was a healthy green, and there were no signs of mayhem – caused by a possibly abusive mother. He knocked on the door and waited. There were some footsteps behind, he held some hope Elsa might open the door. Those hopes were flicked away when her mother Valentino appeared before him. Valentino's eyes widened, impressed by the handsome figure standing on her front porch. She started, "I've never seen you around before. Can I help you?"

"Sorry to bother you. I'm Dino, and I'm here to speak to someone."

"Is it Elsa? Because—"

Dino stopped her, "No, I'm looking for a Valentino de Luca."

She smirked mischievously, and led him into the house, with one hand on his arm. She sat him down on the couch. "Tea or coffee?" she asked.

At first he declined both, but she pressed him to choose until he finally gave in, "Coffee then." When she left to the kitchen, Dino scanned the house thoroughly. From the ceiling to the floor to the photos of a younger Elsa that hung on the wall beside the television. Curiously, he got up to see the rest of the framed photos on the cabinet top, staring at them ever so closely. To the right, where photos of the Elsa he knew, but to the left, were photos of a girl he did not know. She was pale, with green eyes, dark brown hair, she looked much more like Valentino than Elsa did. Dino's interest only grew, when he picked up a photo of Elsa with her mother, standing outside an orphanage with a huge grin on her face. He almost dropped it when he heard the clank of a cup being set down on the table.

"That was when she was still Elisabeth," said Valentino, sitting down with a cup in her hands, "That orphanage closed down just last year."

Dino felt a number of questions fly into his head, he made the effort to ask at least one of them, "Elsa's real name is Elisabeth?"

"Not real name, old name," she corrected, "before I adopted her and changed it to Elsa. I used to remind her every day, but now, I've started to call her Elisabeth again."

"Where is she?"

Valentino smiled, "I thought you came here looking for me?"

Dino didn't say anything. She'd caught him pretty fast, it would be best if he kept his identity to himself. He plopped himself back down on the couch and listened to her tentatively.

"Never mind, I know you're looking for her, just like all those other men that have come knocking on my door. Tell me, who hired you all?"

"I don't know." Dino lied.

"I see," she sipped her coffee, "you can ask me anything but that question."

"Who is Elsa de Luca?"

"My daughter."

"Who is Elisabeth?"

"The girl you're looking for, and the child I adopted to replace my daughter that passed away a few years back."

Dino felt a surge of uneasiness whirl inside of him. He asked again, "Who is Elisabeth de Luca?"

Valentino fell silent for a moment. She grimaced and urged him to drink his coffee before it went cold. He did as he was told, but as he set it back down on the table, he looked at her expectantly. She went on, "She's a replica of my daughter, because I told her to be like my Elsa when I first adopted her."

"And what was your daughter like?"

"Dino, I'm sure you know very well what my daughter was like. I know you would've at least dug that far, she was mentally and physically ill. She fell in love like a normal girl, but was never treated like one. The boys in this town were cruel, torturous and behaved like the devil's spawn. She often went to a psychiatrist, Dr. Lianna Verde a very good friend of mine who's moved out of the country."

"How did she pass away?"

"Hyperventilated in this very room, and died from shock. And you know why? Because I slept with the boy she was crazy about, and I guess she just couldn't take it anymore – being disregarded by all those crushes," she took out a cigarette from her pocket and lit it with her shaky hands, "Still, it was my fault she's dead."

Dino saw her struggling to light the tip of it, so he took the lighter from her hands and helped her. She thanked him and took a breath, continuing on with her story, "This was only three years ago. I slept with him because I was a shit mother. I couldn't forgive myself, so right away, I adopted Elisabeth, thinking I could bring my Elsa back to life and treat her the way she should've been treated. I fed her every single memory of Elsa I could, I tried to make her act like her, dress like her, and of course I forced her to believe that the boys in this town had mistreated her, and that she shouldn't associate with them – it had to be as realistic as possible, I was desperate. I never told her of what I did to Elsa, though, I suppose it wouldn't matter now. What I had tried to do, had only worked on her memories, but her distinctive personality never left her. I think the sharpness of her tongue was what urged me to choose her in the first place, I thought I could change her, but in the end she changed me."

Dino felt relieved that the Elsa (or Elisabeth) he knew was not a fake, and that her personality was genuine, because it was the personality he liked the most. But still, it was hard to comprehend the truth that he was hearing.

"I can see you smiling, obviously you're glad Elisabeth didn't give in her real self to my selfishness. Yes, I couldn't agree more. When she left me abruptly just a little over a year ago, I went mad – literally – but I'm fine now…I think. I had my fair share of rehab, psychiatrists, family talks and so on."

"So…Elisabeth is…fine?"

"What? Is she mental or anything? No, but she probably believes she's my Elsa, don't all orphaned children want to be accepted by a mother and father? Especially since I found her at the age of 15, she was one of the oldest still around."

Somehow, Dino began to feel tight in the chest. All this time he thought he knew so much about her, but really he knew nothing. "Where is she?"

"I thought I told you not to ask that question again."

"I…need to know," Dino pleaded, with a helpless look in his eyes.

She scrutinized him, her eyes wandering up and down. A chiselled face, attractive physique, eyes that melted you with a glance, could he be the root of this goose chase that had been going on for months? Valentino thought. That was impossible, why should a man like this fall for Elsa? There was nothing she could offer him. But that look in his eyes told her he was desperately in love, almost possessive. She admired that, and was almost envious.

"If you sleep with me just once, I'll tell you everything about Elisabeth."

Dino was taken aback, "Excuse me?"

"Everything you want. Easy offer. I'll even take you to her."

He immediately got to hit feet, knocking over his cold coffee, "Sorry!" and tried pick up the shattered pieces.

Valentino sighed, "I was kidding." She told him to stop and collected the pieces into a dustpan from the kitchen. He apologized once more, but as he tried to leave, tripped on his own two feet and fell face flat on the floor.

"Ouch…why does this always happen?" he muttered to himself.

Bemused by this, Valentino let out a laugh. Never had she been so deceived by a man's appearance, she would have never guessed he was this clumsy. She was beginning to see why Elisabeth was so keen on working hard to improve herself for him. She pressed her cigarette into the ashtray on the table and went to help him up. He thanked her and proceeded to leave again, but before he could, she grabbed his arm to stop him, "I'll tell you where she is, but would you be okay with it? What if she doesn't want to see you just yet?"

"I'll make her see me," Dino replied, radiating with his goofy, stupid smile.