Wow, it has been forever since I updated. I'M SO SORRY! I have no excuse…except for school and partial writer's block…

Thank you, Yukine27 for the message. I love it and wanted to write again!

Enjoy the chapter!

Seriously, this arc is going to drag out a bit since I have so much stuff to cover. It's going to take forever! I hope it's a good thing.


Li looked upon his fellow classmates with complete hatred. He was the new student last year and now in his second year he was waiting for the next new kid. He didn't care. He hated school. He hated the teachers and especially the students. No one liked him. They should have respected Li but instead they ignored him. Everybody knew it was best to not talk to a mobster. Everybody ignored him. He was all alone until the end of the day when he sees Sakura.

She usually ignored him but always welcomed him. He usually went to her house everyday but couldn't now. His father decided to live in Japan for a while, probably to torment the former Majesty Mai Hibari. They hated each other but acted nice whenever Heiwa was in the room. Li wondered if Sakura like him or not. He understood why but he didn't want to give up. He loved her. That was why he moved to Japan in the first place, to be closer to her and no one else.

"Alright class!" Li's homeroom spoke. Li's cheek was held by his hand. He continued looking out the window, not caring about the new student. He heard the footsteps of the kid walking in. Everybody was loud especially the girls. They were whispering about how hot he was. Li rolled his eyes. This guy couldn't be that hot. Li looked in curiosity and boy those girls were right. He was a pretty boy.

"Hello." The pretty boy bowed. "I'm Yin Roku. I'm 14 years old and yes I do have long hair and do not plan on cutting it." Yin directed his introduction at his teacher was discerned for Yin's long hair. Everybody laughed. Li chuckled. This kid was interesting. Yin noticed Li. Li's face froze. Yin gave him a quick smirk before sitting down in an empty seat. Several thoughts were going through Li's head right now. The obvious one was Yin's beauty being the target of many girls' crushes including Sakura-chan. Li screamed in his head. He looked smugly at Yin. Yin Roku was now Shaoron Li's enemy.

XXX

"Who's the guy?" Sakura asked Li. They stared at Six and Yin.

Li scratched his head. "I have no clue." He was stumped for a few seconds. "Truth is I don't know anything about Yin."

Sakura chuckled. "I knew it. You guys are not really close are you?"

Li was shocked. He clenched his fist. "We're best friends. It's just that Yin keeps secrets from me. I never met his family or his girlfriend."

"Roku-senpai has a girlfriend?" Nami yelled through the intercom.

Sakura took her out immediately. She turned towards the café and gave a frosty glare at Nami. Nami covered her mouth and ducks when Yin heard the yell. He went back to his drink after seeing nothing. Hayate was in the ground beside Nami's side.

"Nami, you have to be quiet." Hayate whispered. "We're a fake couple. Sakura and Li-senpai are watching from across the street."

Nami was puzzled. "Where's Takagi-san?" She realized Hayate failed to mention him.

Hayate's expression was blank. He has absolutely no clue. He clicked his Bluetooth to get an answer from Sakura.

"I don't know." That was her answer.

"We lost my right-hand man!" Hayate shrieked.

Nami covered his mouth to avoid Yin hearing them. A shadow cast over the two guardians. "What are you doing?" They looked up to see a familiar face. Akira was dressed very casually. He wore a white button down shirt and blue jeans. Balthazar was wearing his uniform where as Leon was dressed in all black. Nami nearly gasped as the vampire undertones. Leon's very pale skin went well with his demonic black clothing.

Hayate cocked up a smile. "The question is what are you doing here?"

Akira looked blankly at his butler. "We're going to the art gallery." Balthazar answered.

"What he said." Akira shrugged. "I don't know why though."

"You're an artist Akira. You might get inspirational." Balthazar said with a smile, making the sounds come out through his whiten teeth.

Akira put on his aviator sunglasses. "I don't need inspiration." He looked at Hayate. "So why are you stalking that girly boy?"

Hayate nervously laughed. "He's Li-senpai's only friend. He might be in trouble."

Leon laughed. "That is his only friend?"

"You shouldn't talk." Akira muttered. Leon's face turned red as he glares nastily at his two babysitters. He walked away in a fit. Akira went down and bended his knees to level with Hayate. "You should tell Li to quit while he can. Leon has been very cranky lately due to that bitch Kyoko." Balthazar refrained from making a comment about Kyoko. He sighed in his head. He knew Akira shouldn't hate his stepmother to that degree but he can't say anything. Akira stood up. "I'll see you tonight." He walked away and Balthazar followed. Nami and Hayate looked at their backs turned.

"Akira is hot." Nami mumbled.

Hayate winced. "Do not fall for Akira."

"He was my first crush!" Nami complained.

"I thought Raito was!" He corrected her.

Nami giggled. "He's second." She noticed another shadow. "Who is it?" She smiled sweetly only to see Sakura's annoyed face. "Sakura." She squeaked.

"Can you be serious for a minute?" Sakura quietly yelled.

"Where's Li-senpai?" Hayate asked, ignoring Nami's cry for help.

Sakura looked up at the outside café. "He's talking to Yin-senpai. I swear none of you knows how to correctly stalk someone."

Hayate pulled her arm, making her fall her butt to the chair. "Let's listen." Hayate whispered. They looked at the two upperclassmen talking across from them.

"Hello Yin." Li said nervously.

"Hello Li." Yin said without any emotion. He sipped his drink.

Li scratched his hair. He looked at Sakura who signaled him to ask questions. He put his hand down and into his pocket. He nervously touched a silver coin. "Why are you here?"

"I'm meeting a girl." Yin answered.

Li's jaw dropped wide open. "Is it Nagi-san?" He asked with hope. Li always wanted to meet the girl woman Yin spoke of with high regard. It was one of the few things Li know of Yin's personal life.

Yin smiled. "No." His words broke Li's heart into pieces. "I'm meeting someone that is equal to Nagi."

Li smiled. "Who is it?"

Yin was about to speak until a teenage girl interrupted him. "Yin, I'm so sorry I'm late!" Li turned around and was immediately in awe of the beautiful stranger in front of him. It was a young teenage girl around the age of sixteen.

She was of average size with a very slim and slender figure. She had long indigo hair with shaggy layers. Bangs were split in the middle on top of her thin eyebrows. She was dressed in not-so-modest clothing, wearing a teeny tiered black skirt, a midnight blue corset top revealing much of her chest and a crop black blazer on top. Her shoes were a pair of wedges with a black ribbon which was wrapped around the ribbon. Her eyes were a nice color of blue.

Li looked back and forth at Yin and his company. "Who is she?" He slammed the table.

The girl innocently looked at Li. "I'm Kuromu."

"Hi." Li couldn't help but answer. He shot a look at Yin. "She's young. That's a first. I always see you with an older woman. I was starting to think you were an escort."

Yin lean his upper body forward to whisper into Li's ears. "So that's why you and Hibari-san were stalking me?" Li's ears started to burn. "And I thought you were actually getting somewhere." He blew.

Li shrieked and covered his ear. "Don't do that again!"

"Bye." Yin said in an orderly tone. Li knew what he meant. Get the fuck out.

Li walked in defeat to see his three underclassmen watched in shock.

"That girl is hot." Nami spoke.

"I agree." Hayate answered. "Ka-ching! Roku-senpai is awesome."

Sakura stared at the girl. "She looks familiar. Have I met her before?"

"You met a hot chick and never told me." Hayate stared intensely. Sakura punched him. "Sorry."

"Well, I guess I was worried for nothing." Li laughed. The guardians stare at him. "What?" Nami and Hayate's eyes were speaking to him. We want to spy on him! Li sighed. "Go right ahead. I'll pay for the drinks." He grabbed a seat next to Sakura. Sakura immediately gets up to leave. Li looked away in agony. "No…" His cry went unheard.

Sakura walked out the café and walked over to the store that sold gelato. She grabbed a seat and sat down to where Zero and Hiro were at. "I never saw you come in." She said.

"We just got here." Hiro answered, not taking his eyes off the menu.

"Level Zeros are the top expert in recon. You can never see us." Zero added.

Sakura took out the menu and started looking through. "Where's Angie-san?"

"Futa-san picked her up a while back when Li-senpai was talking to Roku-senpai." Hiro replied. "I told Zero to go but he wouldn't."

"I'm watching you." Zero said without taking his eyes off Yin Roku.

"I don't need a babysitter." Hiro said with annoyance.

"Yes you do." Zero told him. "You always lose control of your arm and ends up hurting someone. I'm the only one that can calm you down."

"I have been controlling it with mediating. I'm not the Hulk." Hiro frowned.

Zero looked at him. "Do you want me to get started on our powers?"

"NO!" Hiro flatly answered.

"Can you hear what they saying?" Sakura asked them.

Hiro shrugged. "Zero can read lips." He pointed out. Sakura looked at Zero with an ounce of niceness. It was not true though but Hiro hoped it was so.

Zero looked back at his target. "Ok, here is what he's saying…"

Back on Yin and his date…

"So Yin, how you been?" Kuromu asked with a bright smile.

"So-so." Yin sipped his drink.

The waitress came in with a bowl of chocolate ice cream. She placed it on the table and looked at Kuromu. She examined her and huffed. Kuromu shot a look. The waitress shot a look back and smiled at Yin. She walked away angrily mumbling very hurtful words about Kuromu.

"That bitch!" Li said as he heard Zero talked through the phones.

Yin glanced at Li, obviously hearing his loud mouthed friend. Kuromo caught him looking. "Is that Li? I saw him around but I didn't know you were friends with a mobster. It's not your scene."

Yin ignored her for a couple of seconds. Yin looked back at her. "How's the chocolate ice cream? Do you want pineapple instead?" He said in a blunt tone.

She kicked his shins hard. "I don't like pineapple." She whined. "How are your injuries?"

Yin was silent. "When did you find out?"

"It was obvious." She answered back. "Was it because of Li-san? People have been after you for a whole year now right after you became friends with him. You're going to get hurt. You're not that strong Yin Roku." She looked at him straight in the eyes.

Yin stole a bite of her ice cream. He held the spoon in his mouth. He looked at her with an unchanged expression. "I can handle it. I have my reasons for staying friends with him."

"Was it because of Nagi?" Kuromu asked.

Yin smirked. "Whatever makes you sleep at night." He noticed Six, Seven and Eight leaving the café. He got up to leave, taking out money for the food. He leaned down to whisper into Kuromu's ear. He knew Li and the others would be listening. He wanted to say something in private, something that might throw them off. "Si prega di dire ciao a mio padre per me, quando si guarda allo specchio." He walked away.

Nami groaned. "What did he say?" Nami didn't know how to speak Italian.

Hayate, being the one fluent in Italian, Japanese and Korean, wanted to show off his skills. "Please say hi to my dad for me when you look at yourself in the mirror." Hayate gasped. "What does that mean?"

"We must stop Yin from leaving!" Li proposed. "I need to talk to with him."

"Then go talk to him." Hayate stated the obvious.

Li cringed. "He's leaving right now! I don't know where he's going!"

"Oh god." Zero yelled. He grabbed Sakura's bowl of strawberry ice cream and threw it at Yin.

Yin sensed it within seconds. He kicked the bowl, making it break into little pieces the first second. His leg was still up as he pulled his trousers to see if anything got on his shoe. He was clear. One second later, chocolate ice cream was thrown at him. He looked at his now dirtied shirt. He looked back at his table where he sat with Kuromu. She was gone. "Who did it?" Yin muttered under his breath. Zero looked at the rooftop where Hiro has jumped onto. He gave him thumbs up. Hiro with his activated right arm felt like punching Zero for doing it so quickly.

Taking this chance Li pounced himself onto Yin. "Oh Yin! You're such a mess! You have to come to my house NOW!" Butler Lee immediately enters with his car.

Yin pushed Li away. "NO!" He shouted. Li sighed in defeat. "My apartment is two blocks from here." He reminded his best friend. Li smiled. "We can go there. You can tell the other stalkers they can come too." Hayate and Nami jumped in happiness.

XXX

If one thing was certain, Li's best friend pretty boy Yin Roku is-wait for it-a very rich boy. As Yin opened his door, it opened up a new but common world for the rich mob elites minus Nami whose father never spent his money. The studio was very spacious with its very shiny and clean wooden floor. There were four walls. The first wall you see as you enter was brick with movie posters hanged according by title. Beneath the posters was a medium sized bookcase full of books written in English. Next to it was a large silver CD player with a mountain load of CDs varied from every type of music. Adjacent to the wall was the balcony side with a sandstone interior. The living room was quite empty with only a black couch and a silver metal coffee table. A large doorway led to the bathroom and bedroom. Far from the balcony and three meters away was a small but luxurious kitchen.

Yin's guests looked in shock. "Isn't your dad a teacher?" Li remembered, trying to get the facts straight. "You are a prostitute!" Sakura sneakily took pictures with her phone as evidence. Zero caught her but ignored it only to look at Hiro's shocked and open expression.

Yin smacked Li on the head. "My dad worked at a private school. He was one of its founding members. We're basically new money." Yin took off his jacket and laid it on the couch. "There's cold tea in the fridge. I don't have any snacks though. Help yourself." He told them. He unbuttoned his shirt as he walked into his bedroom.

"Roku-senpai is so rich." Hiro said.

Hayate nodded his head. He smugly grinned. "He is but I'm richer. My family has houses and apartments all over the world."

"Why?" Nami asked.

"Alone time?" Hayate guessed with a bit of awkwardness. "Well, my mom says if she ever finds anything that could be from a woman and not her in those places, she'll use her triple x gun at my dad and not leave any spot bullet free. She's scary." Hayate shivered.

Hiro sat down. "Shouldn't we be training for the fight? It's in three hours. Doesn't Li-senpai have to finish his training?"

Li shrugged his shoulders. "I'm fighting a little kid. I can him."

"You shouldn't underestimate Leon." Hayate told him. "He's a little sadist and a strong one. He won the Vongola Holiday Battle last year."

"Wasn't it because the usual strong opponents were not there?" Nami remembered. "My dad went but came back early."

"I was in Korea with my mom's side of the family. Thank god we're going to Italy this year. I can't deal with the crazy aunts and uncles." Hayate sighed. "What about you Hiro? How are you spending the holidays?"

"It's not even a month after summer vacation. Why would I be thinking about the holidays?" Hiro bluntly answered.

"He got a point." Zero pointed. "Anyway, Angie told me your parents are looking for people who might want to kill Akira."

Hayate nodded his head. "Yeah, Chronos has been after Akira since he was born. I think they were the one who killed his parents. Maybe that is why Uncle Tsuna has been acting weird lately. My dad said there are already Numbers here in Namimori."

"Didn't one of them attack Aoi?" Zero wondered. Hayate nodded. "What a piece of shit. They should just come out to the open already. It's been too long. It's suspicious."

Hayate put his hands behind his head. "They are going to come after us too in order to lure out Akira. I don't know what they're planning but I don't think their main goal is Akira's head."

"It probably isn't." Hiro added. "What if someone else is on his list? What if the person they want is close to us?"

XXX

"Who's the kid?" Seven said.

"Who are you talking about?" Six asked. He took out a mountain set of keys and scanned through a couple of keys to open the door. After five minutes of waiting, Six finally found the right key. "Welcome to my home." He opened the door.

Seven, Six and Eight entered Six's messy flat. Arts and crafts were everywhere. A bundle of newspapers was on top of the kitchen counter. The sink was full of dirty dished.

Eight looked with disgust. "How can you live in this pigsty?"

Seven ignored the mess. He talked back to Six. "I'm talking about the girly boy at the café. You know him?" Six crossed his arms, thinking very hard for a second. "It's not a hard question." Seven said.

Six smiled. "Roku-san is from my past life."

Seven and Eight stood still for a moment. "What?" They both yelled.

Seven grabbed Six's collar. "You can't see anyone from your past!" Seven yelled. "Once you join Chronos, you have a new identity. It's our law to not see anyone not even a picture. It might distract us from our work. Our former selves are dead!" Seven showed his number tattoo. "This is your identity now! Do not disgrace it!" Six looked at his hand, bearing the number six. He remembered the pain. Getting a tattoo on your hand can freaking hurt! He didn't get why all Numbers have to get a tattoo.

"You shouldn't talk." Six spoke very seriously, butting heads with Seven. "As I can recall, you went back to see a girl from your past. Was she important to you?" Seven was shaken for a bit. No wonder he's number six. Seven let him go. He walked backwards. Six laughed. "Don't worry. I don't care. Number one let you go since it was her funeral. How many years has it been since she died? Has it been 16-17 years old ago? Didn't she have a son? Is he still alive?"

"Yes." Seven answered.

"Are you sure?" Six asked. "You haven't been in contact with him right?"

Eight interrupted before Seven could answer. "Does this Roku boy know you're in Chronos?"

Six grinned. "He has nothing to do with the mob. We lived in the same town before I left. I didn't know he moved here too." He laughed. "It's kind of refreshing to see a familiar face."

"But you do know Number One will order you to take care of him since you broke the rules." Seven reminded him.

Six's joyful face turned into immediately. He dragged his feet to a cinderblock on the ground. He punched the cinderblock down to pieces. Eight whistled. Under all of the dust was a nice and formal letter. "It's from Chronos. Look like I'm the one getting played. It's about the number nine."

"Do you mean the one who came in last year, the newbie?" Eight remembered the solicited meeting where Nine didn't show up. His excuse was for a private and secret life. What a bunch of bullshit? Eight thought.

"He's here in Namimori too." Eight said.

XXX

"There are no pictures." Sakura pointed out. She observed Yin's apartment. Almost every item in here is expensive. Sakura recognized some of the Japanese antiques Yin has. Her mother had the same ones.

Li watched Sakura. "Yin keeps photo albums in his room. Even I'm not allowed to see them." He chuckled.

Sakura stared at Li. He blushed. "Isn't that a little suspicious?" Sakura asked.

It was this again Li realized how much he doesn't know Yin. Maybe it was a good thing. He remembered his conversation with Kuromu.

People have been after you for a whole year now right after you became friends with him. You're going to get hurt.

Li's heart tore a piece. He never knew. Yin never told him anything especially about the people after him. He clenched his fists. He didn't want his best friend to get hurt especially since Yin has nothing to do with the mob. On the other hand, Li couldn't bear the thought of not having Yin as his best friend.

"Excuse me." Li said to the others. Li walked down the hall and opened Yin's bedroom door. Yin turned around, holding a shirt. Li entered the room. Yin put down the shirt. He took off the shirt he was wearing. Li's eyes widened open. There was a large purple bruise on the side of Yin's stomach, right above Yin's tattoo of the number nine. "What in the world happened to you?" Li yelled.

"Work." Yin answered.