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

Fratellanza

"Oh my..." I muttered under my breath next to Romario. "They're going to destroy this forest, aren't they?" The poor tree Dino used to protect himself from Kyoya was sliced in half by him.

"Is it okay for you to be here Miss?" I shrugged.

"I asked Arro to go to the fights in my place and sum it up for me. I'd rather make sure Kyoya doesn't cause too much troubles."

"Hum...so you want to make sure the Boss doesn't die."

"I mean I feel like it would be too much paperwork for me, and he'd find a way to come back to haunt me, blaming me for not doing anything," I agreed with a big nod.

I almost winced when Dino was hit in the stomach. I knew my brother had developed muscles over the years but still...it probably hurt.

It lasted a few more hours until Dino decided there would be a break for dinner when the night had already fallen. It was pretty silent as we ate. The one funny thing though was how Dino was clearly trying to keep Kyoya and I to have any kind of interactions, probably because his protective big brother brain was seeing him as a threat, but Kyoya seemed slightly irritated.

Meh, he would evacuate his irritation in training anyway.

"By the way, how was it to...see him?" Dino asked me. I stopped chewing my sandwich and shot him a quick look before swallowing.

"Awkward." I took my pendant between my fingers. "It was just...he...I don't know. He was a completely different man with me and with his men or when they introduced themselves to Tsunayoshi and his group." I sighed. "He asked me if I remembered anything and I said 'no', he...he was sad about it." Dino ruffled my hair under my purple wool hat.

"Nobody remembers stuff from when they were a toddler."

"But he remembers me and I don't and he's my brother it's..." I dropped my pendant. "It sucks!" I whined like a brat. "And it's not as if I could focus on that because we're not on the same side!" I stuffed the rest of my sandwich in my mouth in a second and barely caught the tonfa aimed at my head. "Hmphfgt!"

"Up, now." He got up and I followed him, his tonfa in my hand.

Obviously, I used it to defend myself when he attacked me, his strength actually making me step back. Damn, he had more than before.

He was also faster than before.

"Shit," I cursed when I lost my balance after a vicious kick to my ankle. I used my hand to jump back but he caught my arm thanks to a chain hanging from his tonfa, which brought me back to him.

I was down with a beautiful tonfa print a second after.

"It's not even entertaining," he noted dully, laying down next to me. He crossed his hands behind his head as a pillow.

"Shut up," I grumbled under my breath. The stars were shining brightly in the night sky. "Has it been busy when I was away?"

"Not much." Good. "Are you really free?"

"In a way. If the Vindice ask me to do something, I have to do it like it happened a few weeks ago, hence Arro's broken wrist." I turned my head to Kyoya. "I know you don't like talking about your father, but do you know of a possibly Spanish Family he knows?" Kyoya frowned and looked at me from the corner of his eyes.

"Spanish you say?"

"The trial had to be suspended for some time because Alaric brought my birth certificate and the name didn't match with mine. Luciana is the third one. They checked, it was really me but my birth last name is Spanish and I'm..." I swallowed bitterly. My father being in a work relation with the Estraneos and how he was definitely the one to send me there… "I'm the heiress of a Mafia Family." I sighed. "There was too much shit going on in Italy and it moved to Japan. My family...is complicated."

"Hn." I raised a brow when he closed his eyes.

"You're not going to sleep here, right? It's October Kyoya."

He didn't reply and I gave up.

He would freeze to death one day.

On the morning of the third day away from Namimori, I read Arro's text describing the previous battle. Ryohei had won the first one but Lambo lost his. I wasn't that surprised, he was five, even if he had that bazooka of his. However, Tsunayoshi had to intervene to save Lambo's life, Xanxus arrived out of nowhere and the half Sky Ring was given to him. Tonight was the Storm fight, aka Hayato against the tiara guy...Belpehgor I think.

Arro told me I should call Iemitsu though, weird.

"I get it, we'll leave right away." I turned around to see Dino heading toward me quickly before giving me his phone. I took it.

"Luciana."

"Iemitsu. Arro told me I should call you."

"Yes, I had to go back to Italy. Xanxus implied things about the Ninth I had to check." I frowned. Bad, bad, bad, it was very bad.

"I told you him making Xanxus successor was weird."

"I know. Anyway, I need you back in Namimori. Basil is helping Tsuna training and he can't stop. I need you to watch the battles in my name." I widened my eyes.

"I know you said during the trial I was considered as your successor Boss but..."

"You know them, more than I do, and I can't have Dino too involved either because he will have to deal with whoever win this tournament. It's an order. If everything goes well, you won't be under house arrest anymore, you'll be able to stay in Namimori. And you were a Vongola Guardian, you're the best suited for the job."

"Am I now?" I muttered. "When you say I have to watch the battles in your name...am I expected to also act in your name?"

"...yes," he replied after a few seconds of thinking. "You know the rules of Namimori more than anyone in Namimori right now, do as you see fit."

"Understood Boss." If the VARIA had indeed done something to Timoteo, then there was a chance they might try something funny in Namimori too and it was a big no no.

If they tried to harm someone not involved in the Ring Conflict, then they would be enemies of ours and we would take actions. If they tried to harm civilians, then I would have no remorse calling Fon as back-up and I knew he would come.

As I went to Dino, who was telling Kyoya they were going back to Namimori, I couldn't help the feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. I gave my brother his phone back and jumped behind Kyoya on his bike.

"Ana!?" Dino yelled at me in shock.

"He'll be faster than you guys!" I screamed back. He scoffed, basically agreeing with me, and gave me his helmet. "And you?"

"You're more likely to fall than me." I stuck my tongue at him, put the helmet on and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"I don't agree, Ana you're being too close to Kyoya!"

"Chill out bro!" On this note, Kyoya started the bike, the motor roared and we were off. "How long until we reach Namimori!?" I heard him reply something like 'eleven thirty' or something, but with the wind whistling in my ears I couldn't be sure.

It was around fifteen past eleven we arrived at school.

"Tch, illusions?" Kyoya hissed quietly, stopping his bike as I took off the helmet.

"Yep, all around the school." I lighted my Mist Ring for a small second to analyze the size of the illusions and turned it off. "It's only around the school, nothing inside, at least I think. The illusions are just here to fool civilians, nothing too strong." Kyoya was, dared I say, amused at my words. "What?"

"You've done your homework." I averted my eyes.

"I've been trying to get better in illusions ever since Alaric arrived in town, but I've been better in theory so far." He didn't reply and entered the school grounds instead, me following quickly. I watched quietly as he made his way through his territory, biting to death any VARIA in his way.

Kyoya was good, lots of potential, fast growth and anything you wanted.

But damn, the VARIA was supposed to be the elite of the Vongola or some shit like that and a sixteen-year-old was beating up, the low-ranked officers sure, but still. Of course Dino helped a lot.

My poor brother. I was glad to have escaped being Kyoya's punching bag for once but...my poor brother.

"Captain Levi, an intruder..." I sighed as Kyoya hit him in the head with a tonfa and put on my sunglasses. Red eyes were too...outstanding.

"He never saw it coming," I whispered, pitying the whimpering VARIA on the ground.

I put my hands in my pocket and casually caught up with Kyoya. I rolled my eyes behind my glasses when I saw him being stopped by Takeshi.

Not bad.

"Senpai!" he exclaimed when he saw me, before almost being hit by Kyoya.

"Yo." I looked at their side and snickered, pointing at a wounded Hayato with my finger. He flushed in anger.

"What, you wanna fight woman!?"

"I can just flick you dead right now." I looked at the VARIA. The big robot was carrying Belphegor and no sign of the flamboyant guy, Lussuria was it? "Wow..."

"Ciaossu!" I looked down, like Kyoya, at Reborn. "Stay calm for now and I promise you'll have a chance to face Mukuro again." I pinched the bridge of my nose. Really?

"Humph, if that's so..." He turned to Takeshi. "Don't lose before my fight Yamamoto Takeshi."

"Got it!" Takeshi replied with a grin. Kyoya turned around and started walking away.

That easily?

REBORN MADE HIM STOP FIGHTING THAT EASILY!?

"Voooiii katana brat! Your chances of winning just went from zero percent..." Superbi grinned viciously. "...to zero percent." From the corner of my eyes I saw Arro crossing his arms, his eyes closed as he was leaning against the wall. The VARIA jumped out of the window, Superbi being the last one. "See ya!" And gone.

"Dino should be here any second, Romario can take care of Hayato's wounds." I turned around, ready to leave.

"Senpai!" Tsunayoshi called me. I looked at him and pursed my lips when I realized there was something he was dying to ask me but didn't dare in public.

"I'll be here until the end of the battles, I'll see you tomorrow Tsunayoshi." Then, I set my gaze on Takeshi. "Your fight is tomorrow I guess?" He nodded. "I'll try to come by." He rubbed the back of his head with a...shy grin? Whatever.

On this note, I left. Kyoya didn't wait for me as his bike was gone. With a sigh, I decided to walk home. It was quiet for a few minutes until I heard someone stomping in my direction. I looked at my right and stepped back when I saw the pissed off swordsman heading my way.

"You," he hissed in a threatening tone and I couldn't help but unconsciously shiver at the fury in Superbi's eyes. He was really pissed, wasn't he?

Wait, I was pissed at him too. Don't forget that Luciana, don't forget that!

"Try to grab me in any way and I'll scream someone is trying to rape me." He stopped and glared harder.

"You have explanations to give!" I put my glasses on my head.

"No, I don't. You didn't do your research before coming to this town, you didn't know anything about my life, we knew and used that against you." He gritted his teeth. "What, still bitter about losing?"

"Voooiii I didn't lose against you brat!"

"Right. What do you want then? I have nothing to say to you." He stared harshly at the ground.

"You know...about him, don't you?"

"Yeah, so? He knows too."

"Since when?" I smirked bitterly.

"Don't you already know?" He cursed under his breath and I heard Federico's name. "I went down that basement and Federico told me everything. I saw him in that...prison so when Federico told me he would free him once Decimo, I accepted that ring, it's as simple as that. Now let me ask you something: at my dad's funeral, that question you asked, you already knew, didn't you?"

"I did," he confirmed in a hoarse voice, his eyes not meeting mine.

"We're on different sides, don't come near me." As I started to leave, his voice stopped me.

"These brats, they're going to die. Here against us or later on, but they'll fucking die."

"They won't." I looked at him above my shoulder, my eyes cold and determinate. "This time I'll make sure to die before the Tenth Generation do, because I won't let you have those rings. The VARIA will...Xanxus' will would ruing everything."

"How can you be so sure of that!? Federico's will fucking killed him and you couldn't do shit about it!"

A familiar twist in my stomach appeared as I lowered my eyes. This...this…

"You shouldn't be in the street alone with a man at this hour of the night Miss." I blinked in surprised at Alaric next to me. He shot Superbi an uninterested look before taking my hand in his.

"Vooiii who the fuck do you think you are scum!?" My Mist looked at him, from head to toe.

"Humph, Tyr was defeated by you then?" It ticked him off. "Miss, I'll walk you home."

"You..."

"Thanks," I thanked him, cutting Superbi off. "In case you haven't noticed Superbi, I don't want to talk or listen to you. Alaric is an old friend of mine and Dino knows him too, so drop the protective act already."

On this note, I went home. I didn't want to deal with Superbi right now.

Hell, it wasn't as if we were even friends to begin with.

"Alaric, go to Italy." He raised a brow. "It's an order, something is wrong at the Vongola HQ, Iemitsu went back but having an illusionist can't hurt our side. Please go."

"Will you be okay here?" I smiled a little, unlocking the door.

"Yeah, I'll ask Dino for help." He was conflicted about leaving me here, I knew that, but he nodded nonetheless. "And come back."

"Of course Miss, who would throw away your cigarettes otherwise?"

"I knew it was you!"

"And why are we having a meeting at Alaric's?" Arro asked with a yawn.

"Only Reborn knows about this place, and Iemitsu. It's safer. Basil, did Iemitsu tell you about…"

"Yes, I shall keep my focus on training with Sawada-dono and thou deal with the rest." I nodded. Good.

"How is it going with Tsunayoshi?"

"He is progressing fast."

"I'll come by this afternoon. I have to tell Li about all this and patrol too. And see Takeshi."

"Don't bother Lulu, I can tell him something for you if you want." I furrowed my brows and he scowled, staring at the coffee table. "Don't give me that look, I'll just tell him to not hold back because I'm related to his opponent. Those kids...at least Yamamaoto and Sawada, it's been on their mind since the beginning."

"Can you blame them? I'm worried too." He gave me a look that said 'shouldn't you worry about yourself?' but I ignored it.

For now, Xanxus was not my older brother. For now, he was the leader of the VARIA and the enemy.

"I'll stop by to see Hibari too, if the guy hasn't fought for more than five hours he'll go on a rampage." I watched him leaving with a long face.

"Is he okay?" Basil asked me with concern. I sighed, removing my regular glasses to clean them with my shirt.

"I can't say. No matter the resentment he has against his cousin, he still has a lot of memories with him, and I know for a fact it's the only blood relative he still kind of cares about."

"'Kind of'?"

"I'm not in his head...but I know for sure Arro doesn't want anything to do with any of them." He only briefly mentioned an aunt and uncle on his mom's side, so basically Superbi's parents but...from what I understood, the father left years ago and the mother was dead. The grandmother was not even worth mentioning.

Then again, as I knew they were Superbi's parents, I tended to stop Arro when he started to say too much because I was uncomfortable.

When I arrived at the checkpoint, I was relieved to see some Cavallones already here.

"Hey Luciana! What's the meaning of this!?" Li barked at me when he saw me, his long dark green traditional Chinese tunic floating with the wind.

"I sent Alaric in Italy." He opened his slanted eyes. "They're here to fill in for him until he's back."

"I don't even want to know how bad the situation is." His black gaze went on each man. "I can give orders I guess?"

"Yes. Kyoya and I will keep patrolling anyway."

When I arrived at the cliff where Tsunayoshi was training, I was smoking. Reborn threw my cigarette away when he saw it.

"You're asthmatic already Bakana," he scolded me with a frown. I shrugged.

"How is it going?" I raised a brow at Tsunayoshi...waiting. "What kind of technique are you teaching him already?"

"Zero Point Breakthrough." I didn't see anything but anyway… "Tsuna wanted to talk with you."

"I know, that's why I'm he..."

"Good afternoon senpai," the subject of our discussion told me as he joined us. I greeted him back and grabbed his arm when I noticed his uneasiness to take him aside.

"So, what is you want to to tell me?"

"Xanxus, his flame...it's the same as yours, isn't it?" I blinked and nodded. "And he...has red eyes too and..."

"Just say it."

"That brother you couldn't see, is it him?" I lowered my gaze to the ground.

"What does it have to do with anything?"

"Everything senpai! It's...God, Yamamoto feels terrible about fighting Arro-san's cousin and now my opponent is your brother and..." I hit him on the head with the side of my hand.

"If you see them as our relatives and not enemies you have to beat, you'll die. Everybody will die."

"But..."

"Don't think about our family issues, Arro and I can deal with them on our own. Focus on what you have to do: win this shit so that your peaceful days can come back. You...have to win, you have to beat Xanxus otherwise..."

"Otherwise?" he repeated, encouraging me to continue. I took a deep breath.

"If you were to lose, I would need to take measures I do not want to take."

"I...see..." I doubted it but remained silent. I sat on the ground when he went back to training, thinking.

You needed to have the ring to succeed, but didn't Federico said you had to have the blood too? If Xanxus and I were from an illegitimate line of the Vongolas, didn't that mean we, so he, had that blood and could inherit that bloody mess?

Wasn't enough blood in his veins? Not that I wanted Xanxus to be the Decimo but...biologically speaking, wasn't it enough?

Then what made a Vongola Boss...the Boss? What...who said they were worthy of wearing a stupid, ugly, obnoxious ring?

Where did those rings even come from? Arro told me once the Vongola Rings were a whole other level from regular rings, but how so?

I...couldn't really comprehend what I had just seen on the screen. I knew Arro was shaking next to me, on the roof of the school building we were, and Kyoya somehow tackled him to the ground. I turned my eyes to them.

Takeshi had won but now Superbi was...he was…

"A...Arro?" I called him weakly, seeing him thrashing about to get rid of Kyoya keeping him in place. Tears were escaping his blue eyes.

"That...that brother of yours Luciana...that piece of trash he...he took my cousin once and now he just laughs!?" he growled through his tears. "Screw Sawada, I'll kill him myself!" I bit the inside of my cheek when he punched Kyoya in the cheek, hard enough to make him bleed, but Kyoya kept him on the ground.

"You can't, you...it would..." I stuttered but I could only look down with wide eyes when he glared at me.

"He's heartless!"

A part of me wanted to defend him, defend Xanxus because he was my brother but...I didn't know him, I didn't know what kind of man he was and the little I heard from Reborn or Federico wasn't painting him in a good light.

Maybe...maybe he was the kind of mafia man I referred as 'trash' so often.

I didn't want that though. The man I saw in ice and the one I saw at the cabin or in his office...looked so human unlike the man down below.

"That man refused help because of his misplaced pride, nothing more," Kyoya's cold voice said in the already chilly night, making me shiver. Arro stopped moving, wet eyes looking at Kyoya and he tried to punch him again.

Kyoya stopped it easily. Too easily. I barely gave attention to the women with pink hair saying tomorrow would be the Mist fight.

Superbi...Superbi was dead? Just like that? Just...eaten by a shark? What about all of his dreams about being the best at swords and stuff like that?

They were just...gone?

I didn't even want to cry. I just...wanted to scream at that moron for being such a prideful dick. It would be useless though. I couldn't scream at a dead man.

A bitter smirk made its way on my lips.

I did ask him to stay away from me. He definitely would now.

Kyoya stood up and looked at Arro, then me, and scowled deeply.

"You're both pathetic."

Yet, as we left and just followed him, after keeping Arro from diving in that pool, he didn't say anything when we didn't walk back to my place.

He didn't say anything when we reached his house, or when I took Arro to the room I always used when I was there. My best friend laid down on the futon, his back facing me.

I didn't know what to do. I knew he was probably crying, but I felt completely useless. My mouth was so dry I knew I wouldn't be able to utter a word.

"Leave," he said coldly after a few minutes. "Just...leave Luciana."

I did and my legs led me to the engawa. I sat there, my legs crossed and I looked at the sky, listening to the wind softly blowing in the trees, now without leaves. Kyoya's house had always been very quiet, but this place in particular was relaxing. It wasn't a sad, anxious silence. It was a peaceful one.

"Did the termite chase you out of the room?" Kyoya asked me as he sat down next to me.

"Hum..." I was aware of him glancing my way, but didn't comment. "My brother...he's really heartless, isn't he?" I whispered, more to myself than anything.

"He sounded like it." I sighed deeply and hugged my knees to my chest, resting my chin on them.

"What if...what if he's just like those trash that hurt me years ago...or hurt Arro or hurt you too? What if he was so corrupted by the Mafia he stopped caring? He seemed to care about my well being when I saw him but..."

"Trying to forge an opinion of him in the current situation would be useless Luciana." I blinked and looked at him in shock.

He never called me by my name, not that I could remember. He was staring at the small pound, a gleam of the moon giving it an almost silver color.

He seemed...very thoughtful, and nostalgic almost.

"But...what if he's his father's son Kyoya?" He frowned and finally looked at me and my slightly shaking lips. "What if...what if my mom giving him away to the Ninth couldn't erase our father's genes in him?"

"Then you won't need him in your life. You were fine without him in your life, you can keep on living without him too."

I buried my face in my knees. It was...true...even without Xanxus in my life I would have a family but...there was something inside of me begging to have him in my life, something that kept telling me I would never be...totally happy if he was not in my life. I desperately wanted this big brother who seemed so cold and cruel.

Without a word, I took Kyoya's hand in mine and squeezed it. After what seemed an eternity where I thought of myself as stupid, he squeezed my hand back.

The moment was cut short when my phone rang, pretty loudly in the silence, with an N-Sync song. 'Bye bye bye' the moment indeed.

"Yes?"

"Come to the clinic and bring Arro immediately Luciana." I frowned. It was the night where everybody used my full name, huh.

"Wait, the clinic?"

"He's in surgery." I widened my eyes, now understanding why my brother was out of breath before hanging up. I jumped on my feet and ran to Arro. He snorted when I entered.

"I told you that...the hell Luciana!?" he yelled at me as I forced him on his feet.

"He's in surgery." He refrained himself from saying whatever insult was about to leave his lips and just stared at me in confusion, as if I was speaking a foreign language.

"What?"

"Dino just called me, he's in surgery. I don't know what he did but...he's in surgery so..." He grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to him, staring deep in my eyes, almost looking for something, almost pleading to me it was not a lie.

"You're not lying...you're...Superbi is..." He let go of my arms and ran out of the room.

I followed him.

Fratellanza

Thanks for reading this chapter! Thanks to and AutumnBee124 for their reviews!