Disclaimer: I own the OCs, the rest is Akira Amano's work.

Fratellanza

"It's stalking Dino."

"Federico has other things to do than stalking you Ana." I frowned.

"Then why is he just always there when I look?" He chuckled.

"Don't you have a crush on him?" I rolled my eyes.

"Geez, bye brother." He started to say something but I hung up on him.

As always, Federico found me in the hallways, smiling at me. I rolled my eyes and ignored him, on my way to training. The mission where Lal, Turmeric and I had to retrieve a kid name Fuuta had gone well, but it wasn't enough for Lal, who had the kindness to list every little things I did wrong during the mission.

Training was okay, as usual. They said Basil and I would learn how to drive a motorbike soon, which was strange because, yes I was thirteen and a half, but Basil was like, eleven or something? Lal was always finding things we were doing wrong, but it was also her perfectionism speaking.

However, for some reasons, Iemitsu decided to send me to Russia to make a deal with an American Family specialized in weapons and...who was developing something with Flames?

Whatever, I was sent as Federico's bodyguard as he was the future Decimo. Why not one of his Guardians? Good question. In any case, Moscow was a pretty city and Federico told me we would visit later.

He was nice when he wasn't being a creepy stalker.

"You look so grown up!" he exclaimed with a fake tear at the corner of his eye. I felt my left eye twitching.

"Let's just finish this." We entered the room and my eyes found intense azure eyes, framed by short ruffled...silver hair? It reminded of someone but who…

Huh, why was he glaring at me?

"You!" I blinked and stepped back when he pulled a sword out of nowhere and charged at me. Federico put me behind me and drew his gun.

"Kid, do not attack her like that."

"She killed my dad!" I frowned my brows. Wait what?

"Arroganza De Luca!" The man in his fifties screamed at me, grabbing him by the collar of his suit. "We are here to negotiate!"

"She killed my dad John!" Then, he pointed his finger at me. "I remember her eyes!"

"De Luca..." I muttered quietly, my brain going back to the time where I was with Alaric. "Oh right!"

"Wait, don't tell me he's right," Federico whispered to me. I gulped under his harsh gaze.

"I...was kind of a wannabe hitman before I was adopted, and one day I thought another hit would be good and picked a guy named Silviano De Luca." The boy, Arroganza, froze and I shuddered at the fury toward my person. "It was the only thing I knew to do to have a roof above my head. But when I got here, it was a bloodbath."

"Liar!" I bit the inside of my cheek. His reaction was totally normal after all.

"I am not lying, he was dead already! I heard sobbing in a closet, went to it but left because I received some weird electric shock!" Federico raised an eyebrow.

"Electric shock?" I shrugged and he sighed. "Anyway, I don't think we will know who's right and who's wrong today. Let's just proceed." Wow.

Federico had just swiped away that boy's accusations as if it was nothing, and from his face, he didn't like it one bit.

He glared at me during the entire negotiations. Basically, they were the Weaponry Family, and if Federico was the one sent, it was because they had somehow found a way to use Dying Will Flames through stones in rings. Well, they could ignite a flame and knew what their attribute was, nice. They had not actually discovered really 'how' to use it. But as the Dying Will Flame was something very Vongola, they had to get involved. No way they would let the other side of the Atlantic cross them.

Right now, Federico was negotiating to have a right of inspection with everything Flame related. Obviously, it was quickly done.

"Can I just go look around? I'm bored." Federico sighed.

"Alright fine! Just stop pestering me!" I grinned and left the hotel, my cellphone in the pocket of my coat.

Moscow was a very pretty city.

What made it less pretty was when I received a freaking dart in the neck. I pulled it out, looked at it weirdly, then at the man coming my way and passed out.

My arm was bleeding. As in, bleeding way too much and I wasn't sure if I really wanted to know what was injured in my arm. I somehow managed to run away from the man who had tied me up by using my flame and making a hole in the wall.

By now, I was shooting the random mafiosi there were in that maze of a mansion with a gun, the same kind as any CEDEF agents had. They were speaking to each other in Russian. They were probably panicked or angry, but I couldn't understand a word.

"The mouse is running," I heard a deep, hoarse voice saying in a broken English behind me. I looked around and widened my eyes.

Shit. The weird doll mask on his face and typical Russian hat…

Why would I be kidnapped by the Giegue Family!? The Vongola and them were not allied, but they were not hostile either!

Did they want something from the Cavallone? Or…

I arrived in a big living-room of the mansion, but the furniture were dusty or covered by white sheets. So that place was not inhabited.

"The little mouse is to be returned to its master." I frowned. What the…"P.I.02."

I almost dropped my gun when I finally understood.

Mice were used as guinea pigs in science, weren't they? Then, that guy…

He was there to bring me back to the Estraneos.

I...I couldn't let that happen. I'd rather die than go back in that hell!

"Little mouse is angry?"

"Little mouse is going to burn you alive trash," I groaned back, my flame burning in the palm of my hand. He muttered something in quick Russian before a chain fell from his sleeve.

He threw it at me. I avoided it and it destroyed a table behind me. I ran to him, dodging his chain as I could even if he was fast himself, focused my flame on my hands and started throwing punch at vital organs. He avoided them, my flames slowly destroying the room around us.

I jumped back when a part of the ceiling collapsed on us. I raised my head and widened my eyes when I realized that Giegue and I were going to be buried under the rubble of the collapsing house. As I was destroying as much rubble as I could with my flame, the Giegue decided it would be nice to throw his chain at me once again. I avoided the first blow, but not the second one and the chain cut me deeply across my stomach.

As if I didn't have enough scars on that area.

Still, it was bleeding profusely, I wouldn't last long this way. I hid in my illusions, fully aware I was leaving a trail of blood on my way, but didn't care. The mansion was collapsing and I was lacking time.

When I was close enough, I caught his wrist and canceled my illusions. Him using this chain was a pain, so I used my flame and blew his wrist off. He screamed in pain, but I grabbed his collar and threw my knee deep in his stomach, before pulling myself behind him by using his shoulders. Then, my hand firmly gripping his shoulder, I pushed a certain point of his spine. I let go of him after hearing a loud crack. I turned his around and straddled his stomach.

"It's incredible," I started, throwing his mask away, "what martial arts can do to you. You learn so much about the human body, including what to break to make someone tetraplegic. You can't feel your limbs anymore, can you?"

"You...you fucking..." I put my finger on his lips.

"Shush shush. Answer that question. Will the Estraneos stop after I kill you?" He laughed.

"That man is too desperate to get you back!" I smirked.

"I see." I put my hand above his heart, gathered my flame on the palm of my hand and sent it to make the heart implode. It was a great assassination technique. Nothing on the outside, however my flame had messed up the inside and the heart was no more.

I got up, made barely three steps before falling. Multicolored dots were dancing in front of my eyes as I was barely hearing the sound of wood breaking around me.

I thought I saw a flash of silver before I passed out though. I felt my right leg breaking under a beam of wood.

Federico was beyond angry, waiting in the hallway of a Russian hospital as Luciana's brother Dino and Reborn were on a plane for Moscow. He had let her out of his sight for a few minutes. She was just out for a walk and she had been kidnapped? For what exactly? The Cavallone Family, although not hers, were keeping information about her before her adoption a secret, Iemitsu had told him it was confidential and his father…

Well, after what his father had done to his younger brother, was it even a surprise he had kept Luciana a secret?

His light brown eyes found the young teenager sitting next to his Boss, the same one who attacked Luciana. Funny enough, he was the one to tell them she was in danger.

However, Luciana was a Cloud, he knew that. Sure, she had the Flame of Wrath, but she was a Cloud more than anything else.

She was his Cloud. It had not taken a lot of time for Federico to decide on this, the face of an angry teenager with red eyes burned in his mind to remind him he had been too late to help him.

He had failed as a big brother and looking at Luciana was a painful reminder of where Xanxus had been kept for years. A bitter smile appeared on his face.

It was just so obvious for anyone who wanted to see the truth. It was obvious they were siblings, it was obvious when you looked at the Ninth and Xanxus that they were not related. It was so irritating when his father kept telling him Xanxus was blood-related to them when he was the last one of his sons alive. He was the last one competing for the title of Decimo with Iemitsu's son, who was safe in Japan, away from the Mafia.

Back when he arrived at the mansion, Xanxus had been waiting for the moment their father would go back to bring his baby sister back. Xanxus was so proud of her when he was talking about her, about how smart she was. The love he had for his younger sister was just so obvious, just like the pain and guilt he had for leaving her behind. So, when his father one day told him she was gone, it was no wonder why Federico saw something shattering in his brother's eyes.

No matter how long it was, that thing remained broken.

Yet, between Luciana's adoption and Xanxus' coup, there had been a year, almost a year and a half where his father went to the Cavallone mansion to meet her because of her flame. He could have brought Xanxus along, maybe it would have avoided them the coup, but instead he decided she would join the CEDEF and stayed at the Cavallones.

They had been so close yet so damned far and none of them had any idea of that. Xanxus thought his baby, his sweet smart baby sister was long gone, and Luciana simply just didn't know she had another brother than Dino.

So when he saw her, when everything clicked in his mind, he decided she would be his Cloud. He would look after her for Xanxus, and make sure she wouldn't become like him, that she wouldn't unconscionably follow his footsteps.

Yet, when she had been kidnapped by some Giegue, and how Federico would make sure these pieces of shit would submit to the Vongolas, it was some random brat that felt it and not him.

The Cavallone better be here and quickly. He had some serious questions for him, and he would make sure he would answer them.

"Hey," he said to the teenager, who raised his confused blue eyes to him. The boy was familiar, but he couldn't tell how. "Are you worried?"

"I..."he started quietly and Federico narrowed his eyes at him gulping, "I think so yeah."

"You tried to kill her just yesterday."

"I know. I don't know why I'm worried, but I am." Then, he frowned and Federico knew why he looked so familiar.

"You're related to Superbi Squalo, aren't you?" The boy tensing at the name was enough proof for him.

"So what?" he spat bitterly.

"I never would have thought he had a relative." Arroganza scoffed.

"He doesn't even care what I'm doing or where I am anyway." Well, it wasn't as if he had the time to care about another family's issues than his own.

Many hours later, as Luciana was still in surgery, a panicked Dino appeared in the hallway, Reborn's on his shoulder. The hitman jumped down and greeted Federico.

"Cavallone, you better explain to me why a random brat knew my Cloud was in danger quicker than me. Ten seconds." Dino blinked and looked at Arroganza.

"He looks like Squalo." The boy rolled his eyes.

"We're cousins, get it over with."

"Hum...Luciana's flame is constantly changing from Sky to Cloud because of a certain condition." Federico frowned but Reborn was at his feet.

"It is enough explanations, isn't it Federico?" He scowled at Reborn. The Arcobaleno seemed to have a soft spot for the girl he watched growing up.

Then he remembered how Luciana had mentioned an electric shock and Federico facepalmed.

"Hey, De Luca, that day did you feel an electric shock too?" He nodded and Federico cursed as Reborn and Dino were confused. "Well congratulations, you've saved her because you synchronized your flames with her vanishing Sky Flames when you were six." By now, everyone was confused and Reborn's eyes turned to the teenager.

"Her hitman's days?" He got a nod in return.

"I...don't get anything and who are they?" Dino asked, confused.

"We are representing the Weaponry Family," was the adult's accompanying Arroganza answer.

"Just sit Cavallone, so that I explain in details what happened."

"Oya?" I turned around in the clearing to see Mukuro. "My, you are in quite the situation."

"Shit, am I dead?" I asked with wide eyes.

"Kufufu, not yet, but close." I clenched my fists. "I have to admit that man did a real number on you, but that the worst injuries happened once you had passed out."

"Why am I even here?"

"You should thank me, really Ana." I raised a brow and crossed my arms. "If I had not pulled you here, you would have woken up in the middle of a very long surgical procedure." I gulped.

"Huh...thanks Mukuro." He kufufu-ed and his face became serious.

"What did that man want?" I sighed and my eyes took a cold a harsh glint.

"Bring me back to hell." Mukuro frowned too. "Apparently, that man really wants me back for some reasons."

"Well, this is not good news." I nodded. "I guess that you having strong connections in the Mafia is what's best for you at the moment."

"And you? Because after thinking about it, you accepted quite quickly I was fine with mafiosi."

"It can be useful for me later on to have a contact like you." I sighed. Mukuro would use me one day, I knew it. Well, it was not as if I would not do the same. "Oh, and I am in the Vendicare prison." I stared at him with wide eyes.

"Wait what!?" What… "The fuck did you do?"

"I just killed a few Families," he said, shrugging. I face-palmed.

"I swear..."

"Ana." I looked up at him, to see his serious gaze. "I don't know what you might do in the future, but watch out for the Vindice. They...put in jail the Estraneos test subjects way faster than regular mafiosi." I smirked wryly.

"They don't want freaks running around."

"Kufufufu, indeed."

"Thanks for warning me." We stared at each other in silence. "Seriously, am I going to die?" He shrugged once again.

"Don't ask me, I'm not the one fighting for my life."

The first thing I saw when I woke up was blond locks. There was an oxygen mask on my face, my right leg was lifted from the bed and I could feel all of the bandages on my body.

Damn.

I turned my head a little and blinked at Dino sleeping. His head was resting next to mine.

"You're awake?" I looked at Federico at the door, two cups of coffee in his hands. He shot a quick look at Dino. "He finally fell asleep. By the way Luciana, you have been asleep for a week." I tried to reply something, but my throat was way too dry.

"Hum...Ana?" Dino mumbled in a sleepy tone. I looked at him blankly and wasn't even able to return his hug. "I was so scared," he whispered in my hair. When he let go of me, I was still staring at him blankly and he furrowed his brows in worry. "A...Ana?"

"You're in a hospital in Moscow," Federico told me. My eyes went back to the ceiling. "You should explain to us what happened."

I kept my mouth shut. Be it then or when they removed the oxygen mask on my mouth and they assured me I could talk, I remained silent.

That Estraneo wanted me back. Dino had traveled all the way from Italy to Russia because I had been too weak. I clenched my fist.

I would kill him one day. I would make him look straight into my eyes as I slowly burn him alive.

Nobody would get in my way.

I would get strong and have my revenge on him, and on that trash mafia that didn't do shit when we were all suffering.

I had been quiet for a month. After a few days, it was safe for me to go back to Italy, so I went home where Shamal took care of me. He also made comments on how I was becoming a pretty young woman and it crept me out a little, but Reborn told him off.

Still, except for small talks, I didn't talk. Dino was worried, I knew it, heck I was pretty sure even Reborn was worried at some extent as he would sometimes torture Dino in front of me and I wouldn't say anything. I had had Fon on the phone, but it was short and I hadn't said much either.

Now I was back at CEDEF and had Arroganza, the guy who tried to kill me and Superbi's cousin from what I heard, in front of me.

"You synchronized your flames with mine that day?" I repeated flatly. "Nice."

"Yeah..." he retorted awkwardly. "So...how are you?" I shrugged.

"Like I almost died?" He chuckled humorlessly.

"Sure! That's...sure...Hey, you've known my cousin for a long time, right?" I nodded. "You wouldn't happen to know a little girl who used to piss him off at school? He'd complain about her and I thought she'd be nice." I blinked and nonchalantly pointed at myself. He raised his brows. "Wow, seriously?"

"He's too fucking loud for anyone's good." This he chuckled for real.

"Yeah, that's true."

"I haven't seen him in years though." It was true, the last time I had seen Superbi was at Dad's funerals like four years ago.

"Same here." None of my business. I looked at the paper he was giving me. "My phone number."

"Why?"

"Well since, like, flames seem to be such a big deal in our future, I was told to stay in contact with you because of the synchronization." I took the paper. "Your number is already in my phone."

"Okay." He grinned at me, patted my shoulder and left. I stared at my shoulder and narrowed my eyes.

Humph, it was way too soon for him to be so familiar with me.

"Luciana~!" I rolled my eyes at Federico. "Come with me!"

"Where?" He scoffed and looked at me as if I was behind some kind of new trend.

"Where? I am the heir of the most powerful Famiglia in the world and you're asking me where?" I sighed and turned away. "Fine, fine, I thought it was time for you to go to the big old HQ. Iemitsu agreed, we're leaving...right now!"

Needless to say I was impressed in front of the mansion. I thought the Cavallone mansion was big, but the Vongola one probably could host an entire town. If I knew how to whistle, I would whistle.

Federico guided me through the several hallways, explaining from what they were making for diner to the story behind every old items.

"Okay, now Luciana, do me a favor and use your illusions to slip in between the guards." I raised my eyebrows and Federico took a false severe look. "It is an order." I rolled my eyes and obeyed.

I slipped between the guards easily and walked down the stairs, finding myself in the basement of the mansion.

I had no idea what Federico…

I jumped when his hand landed on my shoulder.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't want to scare you." I scoffed.

"As if you'd scare me." I dissipated my illusion and followed him. "That place is gloomy as fuck."

"It is, isn't it?" He stopped in front of four concrete walls attached to each other by chains. From where I was standing, I could see like ice coming from the top. Without saying anything, Federico cut the chains as if they were nothing, and I raised a brow at the orange flames covering the blade of his dagger. The four walls fell on the ground, making a loud noise, and I frowned.

"Man, the Vongolas are weird. You make ice sculptures with mannequins inside?" Federico turned his eyes, not as warm as usual, to me.

"It's my younger brother." I blinked.

"I didn't know you had a younger brother."

"There's a lot you don't know but should know, Luciana." I gulped silently. Federico was not usually this serious. But if the frozen guy was his brother, you bet he'd be serious. "Five years ago, my brother, who was the Boss of the VARIA, staged a coup against our father to take control of the Vongolas by force. Of course, my father had to fight back and this is what happened."

"He...froze him? Wait, if he's your brother, he was fourth in line to be the Decimo so wouldn't killing you and your older brothers would have..." He chuckled sadly.

"Yeah, Massimo said the same thing too. Unfortunately, none of them lived long enough to know the truth." Truth? "My brother, Xanxus, we're not related by blood. He grew up thinking we were half-brothers, and people called him a bastard when they whispered about him. But he was adopted and will never be the Decimo, because the ring I have on my finger will not recognize his blood."

"Is blood that important?" Federico smiled sadly at me.

"Well, to be a family it is not that important, but to inherit something like the Vongolas it is. He...didn't take it that well and attacked, filled with anger and betrayal."

"Why are you saying this to me? I've never heard of that, I just knew the VARIA staged a coup years ago because of Reborn but..."

"Luciana, look at him, look closely at him and his eyes." I did and squinted. His face was frozen in an expression of anger and sadness, almost begging to know why. His red eyes we…

I blinked. Red eyes?

I looked at my reflection in the ice and put a hand under my eyes. My red eyes.

I bit the inside of my cheek.

"What...did he have..."

"He must have been sure of his power with his Flame of Wrath to stage a coup, don't you think?" I widened my eyes in shock.

Slowly, I raised my head back to look at him. Even with the ice, I could picture his raven hair, the same shade than mine. Instinctively, I grabbed my pendant. An 'X', like 'Xanxus' huh?

I reached my hand and put it on the ice, ignoring the cold burn I would get.

"He's...he's…"

"Yeah, he's your biological older brother by eight years." I took a sharp breath. "When I saw you for the first time, I had to look at you twice to believe what I was seeing. I mean, right now Xanxus is frozen, but you look alike. The frown for instance, it's the same. However, you're a lot calmer and more patient than him, that's for sure." My bottom lip was trembling.

This...this man, this man with the broken betrayed look was my older brother?

I had another brother?

"But...but the Ninth came to meet me and the coup had not happened yet!" I almost screamed, my voice almost cracking.

"I know. It was the period where Xanxus started to isolate himself and became the Boss of the VARIA after Squalo gave him the job. Maybe telling him you were alive and well would have changed something, or maybe he would have tried to abduct you or something and be a bad influence on you. Who knows what it would have changed."

"But...we were so close and..."

"I know," he told me with compassion as I was still staring at my frozen older brother. "That's why when I met you I promised myself I would look after you for him and try to do a better job with you than him. He...of course, you were separated when you were a two-year-old toddler so you don't remember him, but he loved, loves you very much. He kept asking our father when you would come too because he didn't trust your mother to take care of you. He told me he was the one doing most of the work because she didn't care." Of course she didn't care, I ended up at the Estraneos. "But he loved you so damn much, you could see it in his eyes and the way he spoke about you, and he was so damn proud of how smart you were. So when our father told him you vanished, he broke. He felt guilty and didn't let anyone see it. You know, when you have a younger sibling, no matter how much you fight with each other, you just want to protect them. For Xanxus...I think that being born in poverty and growing up there...when you were born, you must have been a blessing in way, something that was pure and innocent in such a harsh world. I mean, your name means 'light', there must be some kind of signification behind it."

"Or maybe they just liked the way it sounded?" Tears were already at the corners of my eyes.

It was too much.

"He really...loved me?"

"You have no idea. Once he thought you dead, you became a taboo and anyone who knew about your existence and dared bring that subject in front of him were...beaten up pretty bad." I couldn't help myself and chuckled at that.

"Federico, what are you doing?"

We turned around at the stern voice.

In front of us was a wide-eyed Vongola Nono.

Thanks for reading this chapter! Thanks to for the review!