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

Fratellanza

I was quietly sitting in a chair in an empty room, Superbi staring at me. My fingernail was tapping on the sleeve of my jacket and from the vein popping on his forehead, it was pissing him off.

Good.

"Are you done looking at me that way?"

"Vooii you dragged me here to 'talk' and didn't say shit for the past ten minutes!"

"I don't mean that moron, you're looking at me as if it was the first time you were seeing me!" He was taken back and looked away, clicking his tongue. "So, what do you know about Xanxus' past exactly?" He was silent for a few seconds and sighed.

"Born in poverty, the mother saw his Flame and thought he was the Ninth's son, then he was adopted." I breathed in relief. "I didn't find anything about you if that's what you're worried about."

"Yeah, that's good." I stood up and went in front of him, looking down at him coldly. "So, when did you think that going after Tsunayoshi was a good idea exactly? When you were all a bunch of teenagers? Fine, maybe you thought you'd win. But today? Xanxus was frozen for years but none of you were, you dealt with the aftermath and are fucking grown adults and you thought Xanxus was right in going after a bunch of kids!?" Alright, I was angry.

"Tch, you don't know what you're talking about! There's no talking with the Boss, you obey!"

"Well maybe that's a problem you should try to solve, as his second-hand man! Fuck, if he doesn't care about his own men's opinions, didn't you think maybe there was something deeper!? Can't you do your job properly!?" He flushed in anger.

"Shut the fuck up! I've been doing his fucking job all the years he's been gone so it's not a shitty brat who's going to tell me how to do my job!"

"Then why did you let him come in this town!? Why did you let him hurt himself even more he already was!? Fuck, why didn't you protect him!?"

"If you care so much why didn't you do something!?" he spat back, suddenly standing on two shaking legs. "Don't start playing the caring sister now when you didn't even want to hear about him!" I smirked bitterly.

"You mean at the funerals?"

"Yes! I would have told you the truth but you said to never bring it up even again and..." He never got to finish his sentence. My slap sent him back in his wheelchair.

"My birth family..." I said through gritted teeth, flashes of my poor broken mother and of the cold metal of the table in the lab flashing in my mind. "Why would I want to know about a family that abandoned me when I was toddler when I had just buried the man who gave me a life?" Still cradling his bruised cheek, he widened his eyes a little at the emotions I was showing without a care in the world. "Please tell me at what point you thought it was a good idea to bring it up at that moment? When I was not even nine yet? Superbi, who would bring that up to a nine-year-old who just buried her dad!?" He looked down. I rubbed my eyes. "Shit, it's not as if you didn't know how to contact me, you could have tried when I was older and could have understood better, but then I saw you at Federico's funerals and then last year you tried to imply and...do you think I wanted to hear it from you then? I've been angry at you for years because of that you insensitive jerk!"

I took a deep breath to calm down.

"However, you're loyal. You've known for years Xanxus was adopted but you remained loyal. He'll need to see that, to see all of you are still loyal to him and that it wasn't because he was Timoteo's son you started following him. He needs to realize that before getting better, so...do your job." I left the clinic quickly, smoking a cigarette outside.

I didn't have the opportunity to finish it that it was thrown in the ashtray.

"I don't know when it started but you better stop," Dino said with a frown and his angry big brother face. I sighed a little and hugged him. He hugged me back immediately. "Yeah I know, it was a rough week." I nodded against his shoulder. "I'll take you to that restaurant you love in Palermo when we're home, okay?" I nodded and raised my head to him.

"Do you think I will go back to my life in Namimori after?" He patted my hair affectionately.

"I can't say, but no matter what you want I'll back you up. You have friends here after all." I smiled faintly.

"I guess so...I love my apartment here, but I miss home, and my room." He kissed the top of my head. "Even if I was there less than a month ago, it feels like it was an eternity ago."

"Come on, go packing."

Arro almost wept when I told him he had a report to write and email to Iemitsu.

The flight was calm, I was in the plane with the Ninth whereas Dino was in the one with the VARIA.

I slept the entire flight.

I stared silently at the Ninth, who sighed. Iemitsu cleared his throat, Coyote was glaring -when wasn't he- and Ganauche was very close to lose his composure.

"Not that I do not want to give my report but...you're still bedridden." The Ninth waved that off with a smile that wanted to be kind, but I would always react badly to his intentions.

"Don't worry about that Luciana. So, how do you feel?" I felt my brow twitching.

"Like I had to witness my brother with whom there was a chance to have a relationship being frozen again without doing anything because Tsunayoshi bears Federico's will and I will protect that with everything I have." I sighed at the looks I was receiving. "Sorry, it was stressful."

"I have no doubt about it." I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "So, Iemitsu told me he left you and Basil in charge in Namimori. Give me a report about this." I nodded.

"Well, as Basil had been Tsunayoshi's training partner since the beginning, he remained as such and helped Reborn in anyway the latter needed. As for me, I kept an eye on the VARIA and their actions." I looked down. "On the night of the Cloud Battle, I received a call from Alaric saying you were inside of the Mosca so I called Dino as fast as I could."

"Please continue," the Ninth encouraged me, not bothered by the fact he almost died.

"Well, considering this, I was afraid the VARIA might...not agree to a possible defeat. I called Fon immediately, just in case. The Lightning Guardian was in the hospital and other civilians had been seen around Tsunayoshi and his crew, so I wanted to make sure no civilians would end up victims of a Mafia conflict. It seems Mukuro had a glimpse of Xanxus' plans and made Lancia come as well. I went at a different spot to watch the fight, the Cervellos agreed to let me stay for...reasons, and once the rings rejected Xanxus, seeing he wasn't backing down I jumped in. Tsunayoshi had won fair and square and did his part. Superbi Squalo was about to spill the beans about his Boss' family and I wasn't looking for it to be honest." The Ninth nodded. "Between Lancia who beat on his own their fifty members, Fon who freed the spectators and me between him and Tsunayoshi, Xanxus ended up by giving up, especially when I showed him I was ready to fight him. Then they were all taken away and kept under a strict watch until the flight."

"I see, thank you for your hard work. You didn't let your personal involvement with my son get in the way of your work, not everyone can do that." My face remained blank. Stupid old m… "What about the Cloud Guardian? I heard he was quite hard to handle." I smiled faintly.

"He is, but with time he'll be a much better Cloud I would have ever been. I've entrusted him with the Cloud ring, just like I've entrusted Takeshi Yamamoto with the Rain one." He nodded once again.

"Please, I would like to have a word with her in private." They all left. "Did Xanxus come to see you?"

"I'm sorry but what happens between him and I is none of your business Timoteo," I replied bitterly, forgetting he was my superior. His face turned grim. "He's broken. I am thankful to you for taking him in and giving him a home and education, but you broke him with your lies and he will struggle to get himself back on his feet." I kicked an invisible rock. "And he was...we talked, he wanted to take me back to Italy with him. Against my will even but...now he hates me."

"He does not hate you." I frowned at him.

"You weren't there!"

"Maybe, but he does not hate you. He has never stopped mourning you, never gotten over your 'death'. It is true he asked me right away to take you in later and I failed in doing as you went to...them for a few years, but he has never forgotten you." I swallowed with difficulty, my throat dry. "I've never seen that boy showing love about anything but you Luciana, he may have seemed distant, but he will not let you out of his sight again. He's very stubborn." I averted my eyes.

"Whatever...he was trying to prove to himself he was still someone through this conflict I think, so...don't kill him. I don't want that and Federico wouldn't have wanted that either, he wanted to free him from the ice."

"I won't, don't worry." I nodded and left the room.

I stopped quickly in the hallway, next to Iemitsu, Alaric and Lancia. I wrapped my arms around my Mist's right arm. We were all wearing black suits, it was a great sight.

"Miss," Rick greeted me with a quick look. "I heard you did well." I grinned at him.

"I heard you did too, saving my Boss' sorry ass!" Iemitsu raised a weak hand, trying to remind us he was there. I turned my eyes to Lancia. "Good to see you." He smiled back, even if it was small.

"You know too many illusionists kid." I shrugged.

"I spent my early childhood with a lot of them, but Mukuro taught me illusions and Alaric trained me to be better at them. There's something good to it." I didn't miss the way Lancia winced at the mention of my dear...oh so kind childhood friend. "What are you going to do now?"

"I will visit the families of those I killed." I nodded.

"Well, you know where the CEDEF is if you need, right?" Iemitsu's arm found itself on my head.

"What is that, inviting people without my consent? Don't let what I said during the trial get to your head, I'm still the Boss."

"Until Lal really gets sick of you and decides the kill you in your sleep." I almost saw an arrow hitting his body, or more like his dignity. Alaric sighed.

"Is it always like that with CEDEF?" Lancia asked Rick, who sighed.

"Kind of from what I've seen so far, I've joined a few days ago." I raised my head to him, Iemitsu giving me some space. "It seems like my help got me in the CEDEF." I pursed my lips and hugged his arm tighter.

"Good. You're staying with me." A gentle smile appeared on his face, golden eyes not cold or indifferent but caring, and he patted my cheek tenderly.

"Of course Miss." His golden eyes went back to their usual blank veil and he looked away, his hand leaving my cheek. I looked at what he was looking, Iemitsu walking away.

The VARIA walked by an adjacent hallway, surrounded by Cavallones and Dino, and didn't miss Alaric and I's moment. I cursed under my breath, especially at someone squealing at the beauty of the scene and how age didn't matter.

It wasn't like that. If anything, Alaric was the first big brother figure I remembered having.

This thought killed the little voice telling me to look at Xanxus.

"Oh my, she looks like the Boss!" a feminine male voice noted. Said Boss didn't comment on it and they left, Iemitsu now next to my other brother.

"You seriously beat all of the fifty VARIA on your own Lancia?" He nodded.

"It wasn't that hard." Wow...that guy was...really strong I guess. "I'll leave now. Take care kid." I waved at him as he left, then let go of Rick's arm.

"So...does Xanxus look like our father?" He pursed his lips.

"The aura around him is similar to the Boss, and the eyes and gaze too. However, his facial features look more like your mother's."

It was...good I guess. Even if red eyes still remained pretty rare.

In the distance, I heard a door closing. I grabbed Alaric's hand and dragged him at the corner of the wall. I peeked at the group of people. It seemed like Xanxus and Iemitsu were inside, but that was all. Dino saw me and I gestured him to come. He did as if it was nothing, even if Superbi noticed him leaving. He shot me a look, saw it was me and turned his head away.

"Hey," my brother said once we were hidden.

"Do you mind if I go see Mom?" I asked him and he widened his eyes. I blinked in confusion and pressed a hand against my mouth. I never called her 'Mom' out loud.

"Well," he started, the shock over, "I can't leave until the Ninth says so and you know I don't want you there on your own." I nodded and pointed at Alaric.

"He's there."

"Wait Ana, you can't just..."

"I don't mind Don Cavallone." Dino facepalmed.

"That's the problem, you're babying her Alaric." I gaped at him, offended, but Rick didn't deny it.

"And you're spoiling her, we're even." Dino blushed, knowing it was true. Here I thought I was independent and becoming more and more an adult...yeah, I wouldn't know what to do without these two.

"Fine then just...I need to have a serious talk with you Ana." I raised a brow. "About boys, Kyoya in par..." I blushed hard, grabbed Rick's hand and left. "I knew it!" my brother exclaimed in my back. "You're not getting out of it!"

I took a deep breath once outside, hoping my face would get back to its original beige color. Xanxus was a lot tanner than me by the way, even in the summer I would not get such a tan.

"Let's g...Rick?" He was staring at me with a deadpan.

"Kyoya huh? Did something happen?" I dropped his hand and walked before him.

Now all I could think of was Kyoya's warm lips on my wrist and his tongue over the marks he made by biting me...fuck my heart was beating too fast, way too fast.

A nurse was pushing a patient's wheelchair in the cold October air, a beam of sun piercing through the white clouds. The wind was softly blowing through the plants in the garden of the institute.

"Your children reunited after so many years. Isn't that great Dafne?" the man asked her, sunglasses on the top of his head, keeping wavy dirty blond locks from his eyes.

Scarlet was staring into jade without wavering.

"Come on, I'm aware seeing Esperanza...no, Luciana, gave you a bad episode but you acknowledge her and where you are, right?"

"You...why...why did that man say he was her brother?" Dafne replied weakly. "Enrique, why..."

"Hum...probably because he is. She was adopted years ago by a loving family who took care of her." She widened her dull jade eyes.

"Wha...you were supposed to take care of her!" Enrique looked away.

"Yeah well..."

"No, you said you would take care of her when you and...and him came to take her away! You said that Xanxus would be safe with the Vongola, you said you'd protect Luciana! Wh..." The man came closer to her, hands up in surrender.

"Yeah, I know, I remember well. It's just...look, I had not planned for this but my fiancee got pregnant, I looked away for a second and her father...I'm sorry, I failed okay?"

"I should have kept them with me and ran further away," Dafne whispered, hands on her head. "I should have...I should..." A hand landed on her frail shoulder, but she pushed it away with a snarl. "Don't touch me!" Enrique sighed and put his glasses back on.

"I'll stop by again. Take care."

"What happened to my daughter?" Enrique didn't answer and opened the door, freezing at the sight of the two people behind it.

"Yeah, what happened to her daughter?" a teenage girl asked him coldly.

He never saw the punch coming to his nose and sending him in the wall. Through the pain and his hand holding his bloody nose, he watched the angry teenager inching closer to him, arms crossed over her chest.

"You became a beautiful young woman Luciana," he complimented her and she scoffed, clearly not impressed.

"Keep the flattery to yourself, Uncle Enrique isn't it?"

He was sweating of stress. Alaric was silently standing behind me, keeping the door shut behind him.

"So, what happened exactly?" His mouth opened, then closed, and he leaned of the side to look at my Mist.

"Hey Alaric, what's the meaning of this?" I looked over my shoulder. Alaric was looking away as if it was nothing.

"You can't avoid the question forever." He shot Rick a weak glare before getting up.

"You can throw a mean punch." Obviously stupid. "Well...what happened. It's a good question what happened after all, isn't i…" The pillow he received in his head interrupted him. I shot a surprised look at my mother, who was fuming against my uncle.

Her eyes were no longer empty.

"Start talking stupid!"

Huh...okay?

"Seriously, now you're back to your old self you're scaring me a little Dafne." He turned his head to me abruptly when I moved my hand toward the vase. "No! No more throwing things at me!"

"Then start talking!" I ordered him, another female voice joining mine. I gazed at my mother again, but her eyes were stuck on my uncle.

"Fine, fine! He...damn, thanks Alaric," he thanked Rick, who gave him a tissue for his nose. He removed his glasses and my heart skipped a beat at the red eyes. "Okay...not long after Xanxus left, as it had been agreed before, we came to take you to Spain to raise you as you should be raised. Long story short, your dad wasn't happy with your lack of Flame of Wrath and pacifist nature so he...threw you in..." I raised my hand, nauseous.

"Yeah I get that. It worked, congratulations." He gulped loudly.

"After...Alaric found you and he should have taken you to me so I could raise you on my own far from my brother but...it was not safe he said." I looked at Alaric with a raised brow. His arms were crossed and he was staring sternly at Enrique.

"You're still being hunted down to this day and you had a toddler already, Miss would have been in more danger. The Cavallones took care of her and Reborn's reputation was enough protection." He puffed his cheeks. I didn't want to believe that man was doing that, but he was pouting.

"But my niece was adorable as a child and I couldn't dress her up or style her hair like I wanted to!"

...I...didn't have the words…

"But...I'm sorry Luciana. I promised your mother and myself I would protect you, but he took advantage of the one moment I wasn't there to do that. When I found where you were, you were already out." I looked down. That was…

"Where...did he send her?" my mom asked him, fingers creasing the sheet on her legs and I blinked.

She didn't know?

She...didn't know?

"A place I was badly mistreated, but I escaped after two years there," I said and for the first time, she looked at me.

Guilt. Her eyes were submerged by guilt and her bottom lip started quivering. She pressed a hand against her mouth.

"Why...why didn't Xanxus..." I stuttered.

"Well..." my uncle started, pulling on his collar to get some air, but she interrupted him.

"He's a terrifying man," Mom whispered quietly. I stepped closer to her. "He wasn't like this at first, when we met, and we got married. But...but when your brother was born, he started changing, talking about a bright future but what he had planned...I didn't want that for my baby, so I ran away when he was six-month old with Enrique's help. But he found us, he found us even in one of the poorest places in Italy and wanted to take my baby from me so...we came to an agreement...Xanxus had that Flame so...so maybe another child of ours would too and he wouldn't take Xanxus from me...but...but...you were so small and fragile when you were born...and knowing what would happen..." She took a deep breath. "Xanxus...he loved you so much from the very beginning and protected you as much as he could. He named you 'Luciana' even. But because of this, it was too hard to get him away from you long enough for your father to come so...he started saying he would take the two of you and..."

"And I came along and told her that because of his Flame, the Vongolas would be interested in him and wouldn't let him out of their radar. It worked."

"...so basically, you're telling me I was born to keep Xanxus out of the sperm donor's reach?" They both nodded and I exhaled loudly. "I have all the answers I needed."

"Miss..."Alaric started when I left the room.

"Don't follow me."

I plopped down on a bench outside the institute, my Zippo lighter already lighting my cigarette. It wasn't I wasn't expecting something shitty about the past but...it sucked.

How would I even be able to look at Xanxus in the eyes and tell him that? I...basically, it was to protect him I was even conceived so...shit, I didn't want him to feel guilty or anything!

Ignorance really was a bliss huh...why would Xanxus even give me such a name? 'Luciana'? Considering my whole life, it was more a joke than anything.

"Hello lady," a boy said next to me, the faint smell of hot chocolate mixing with tobacco. I blew out smoke toward the cloudy sky.

"I'm smoking," I replied blankly.

"You look sad." I sighed and turned my head to him, widening my eyes a little at the sight of the boy. "Finally you're looking at me!" He was tanned, his brown hair almost the same shade as his skin, and brownish red eyes were looking up at me.

Wait...didn't Rick mention a toddler?

"Who are you?"

"Your cousin Luciana!" I blinked. "My name is Zacarias and I'm twelve turning thirteen in January! You just met my dad."

"...okay..." His smile became sad.

"Do you hate my dad?" I was taken back and rested my arms on my thighs, slumping forward.

"Hating him wouldn't change anything, would it?"

"But you could think it's his fault and all." Did I? If Zacarias was twelve, then during my time under my father's care, his mom was most likely pregnant. It was normal for Enrique to...take care of the mother of his child, no? "You know, our dads are only half-brothers. They have the same dad. When your dad discovered mine tried to keep you from him, he killed my mom." I stayed quiet.

Wasn't it a beautiful family I had?

"Dad's been raising me on his own and Alaric visited sometimes and played with me, but we never stayed at the same place for too long. He talked a lot about my cousins, so I've wanted to meet you for a long time!" I looked at him from the corner of my eyes and stubbed out my cigarette against the sole of my boot, using my free hand to pat his hair. He looked up at me with big, wide eyes.

"Well, sorry to disappoint but none of them are in a good mindset for now." He giggled at that.

"That's okay, the Mafia does that to you!" I saw Alaric and Enrique exiting the building and Zacarias jumped on his feet, kissed me on the cheek before I could react and ran to his father.

Said father waved at me but I turned my head away, listening to Rick's quiet footsteps getting closer and closer.

"You've met your cousin."

"Yeah." I raised a hand to the cheek he kissed. I was used to kissing Dino on the cheek but...it was different when someone younger from your family was giving you a peck on the cheek.

It wasn't a bad feeling though.

"Your mother...she asked me to tell you she would like to see you again. If you want to, of course." I sighed.

"For now...damn, yesterday I was depressed because of Xanxus, but he's the least complicated one..."

"I'll take you home."

"Please. I hope things are better in Japan."

Fratellanza

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

Bye!