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

Fratellanza

"Protection?" I repeated blandly, blinking at the two girls in front of me.

"Yes...actually, as the gymnastics club hasn't won competitions in a while now, we were relegated to a gymnasium in town on Thursday nights. But it is occupied until 7:00 p.m., so we can use only from 7 to 9."

"It's already dark at that time." They nodded and the girl with two buns on her head continued.

"Yes, and it's an area where there are annoying guys so when it started to get dark earlier, we asked the Committee if they could help."

"...Hibari-san has been taking care of it and we could go home peacefully but..."

"I get it, I'll go with you," I cut her off. I wasn't aware Kyoya was doing this. I thought he was just doing some extra patrolling on Thursday nights, but he was being a knight in shining armor?

No matter what he'd say about it, it was very sweet of him. It was even nice to know not everyone thought of Kyoya as a violence freak.

"Wait Sini-san, shouldn't you get other people to go with you?" I smirked.

"I'm good, and if I really don't feel like going alone then I won't be alone. Don't worry about it."

"Thank you!" they thanked me, bowing. They left to tell their friends the news.

I'd need the name of the gymnasium though.

After the clubs ended, I followed Arro to the baseball field. There was no practice today, I was wearing a baseball uniform and it was weird. The helmet was heavier than I expected it to be.

The baseball bat flew out of my hand when I tried to hit the ball. I watched it roll away from me in a metallic sound and I frowned.

"Huh, like swords..." I whispered. Arro sighed. "Why can't I be the ball thrower?"

"First of all, it's called a pitcher. Lulu, sorry to tell you like this but you suck at sports apart from running or martial arts."

"I could keep up in gymnastics..." I muttered under my breath, knowing I wasn't that great in group sports.

Even football. Half Italian and half Spanish, yet the best thing I could do in football was watching it.

"Anyway, if you can hit the ball you go from batter to runner and running is the only thing you have for you really."

"Are you done?"

"I swear, I really don't see you doing anything else. Or maybe catch the ball as well! It's good to know the exam is a ten to fifteen-minute match."

When I tried to hit the ball, the bat left my hand once again, but toward Arro by accident.

By accident.

"We've got a lot of work to do," I heard him mumbling under his breath as he picked up the baseball bat.

On Thursday, I followed Arro when baseball practice was coming to an end. Takeshi shot us a surprised look and looked at me up and down, pointing at his head.

I adjusted my helmet.

There was the tall intimidating guy from the Shimons with him.

"What are you doing here?"

"If Lulu fails baseball she's not graduating, so I'm helping her."

"I have to be in town at seven today," I reminded him.

"I know that! I'm already working with terrible fundamentals, don't pressure me!" I frowned at him. I could have reminded him he was the one who wanted to help, but with my level I knew I needed it.

"I can help!" Takeshi suggested with a grin. He shot Kaoru a look. "Do you have something planned?" He stayed quiet and shook his head slowly. "Great! If we help you'll get better in no time Ana!" I deadpanned at him and Arro waved that off.

"Just wait 'til you see how the bat always end up as a throwing weapon." Takeshi blinked in confusion.

"It can't be that bad!"

He changed his mind when I somehow threw the bat in the street.

"Well, it's not entirely bad!" he laughed as he walked my way. "If you hit the ball it will go far!"

"That is if she can hit the ball!" Arro yelled from the pitcher spot.

"I'll show you." I stepped aside and let Takeshi took my spot, a new bat in hands.

My eyes were glued to his hands. Honestly, keeping that stupid bat in my hands was the only issue. I was used to being shot at because of Reborn and Fon was fast, I had no trouble seeing the ball coming my way.

Yet, seeing Takeshi doing it seemed so simple that it was slowly breaking my patience.

"Come on try it!"

I didn't succeed and almost ran away to my duty, leaving them to clean behind us. Takeshi waved at me saying he'd continue to help.

Waiting in front of the gymnasium was less embarrassing than forty-five minutes of baseball with three athletes.

I was idly texting Xanxus when he asked me where I was and what there was for dinner, twenty-four and a half my ass, and he decided to go out in the end. He was old enough to eat outside on his own this big baby.

Yes, big baby. A big, grumpy, violent and rude baby to his wonderful and perfect baby sister.

Eventually, about twenty minutes before the end of their club, my phone screen was shadowed. I looked up to see a guy grinning at me, his hand next to my face against the wall. He was clearly older than me and with bad intentions.

"It's dangerous to be here by yourself when it's dark outside." I cocked a brow. "Especially for pretty gaijins like you." I looked behind him. There were several guys in the area now.

Kyoya's not here and suddenly it's crowded with trash.

I shot my arm a quick look and cursed myself in my mind for forgetting to put my armband back on.

I casually lit up a cigarette and the guy's grin was frozen at my lack of reply.

"Hey, I'm talking to you." I breathed out smoke in the sky. "You're going to say something bitch!?" I smirked.

"Wait a minute Goro, I think I've seen her before..." Well, Goro didn't seem to care.

He tried to grab my shoulder but I was quicker and smashed my cigarette between his eyes. He stepped back with a groan of pain, his hands covering the burn.

I went back to smoking as if nothing happened.

"You fu..." He tried, he really tried to punch me, but I dodged easily. I grabbed his wrist, slipped under his arm and with a kick in his shoulder joint, dislocated his limb.

He screamed in pain. Hopefully the girls were changing now.

Of course his buddies tried to avenge him but a deep hoarse voice called me. I looked on my right and widened my eyes at my annoyed older brother.

"The hell?"

"I don't want to waste money on a shitty restaurant," he said, stopping next to me. He shot the guy at my feet a bored look. "I came to pick you up. You're done?" I shrugged and pointed at the other trash.

"Depends on them." Xanxus glared at them and they all ran away, the tail between their legs.

He grabbed the collar of the guy still on the ground, whimpering in pain.

"Try to pretend you have a big dick by being one again and I'll find all of you and make you pay trash." He threw him away. The guy tripped, got back up, almost tripped again and ran away.

I clapped at my brother in awe.

"Wow..." The door of the gymnasium was opened. From the look of the girls, I had the feeling my murderous borderline evil genius mafioso brother looked like a hero of some kind.

Well...I never though I'd think this for this brother.

"You can go home now, but hurry."

"Sure, goodbye Sini-san!" They left, some of them shooting my clearly annoyed brother gazes filled with awe.

He raised a brow at me and my narrowed eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing..." I trailed off, my eyes not leaving him. "Arro's not home?"

"He's not."

"Where is he?"

"Why are you asking me?" I rolled my eyes and crossed my arm with his as his hands were in his pockets.

"I have a strict diet and apart from Takesushi, I don't really know what I can and can't eat at restaurants."

"Sushi it is then," he agreed casually as I led the way.

There was a nice silence between us, my eyes gazing at the starry night sky. To be honest, what my teacher told me stuck with me.

"Hey Fratello..." I started thoughtfully. "If I wanted to go to university, would you be okay with it?"

"If it's what you want," he replied. "You've got plenty of options in Sicily." I chuckled lightly.

I was living in Japan right now, it was obvious Xanxus would want to me stay in Sicily for a bit. Dino and I grew up close to Palermo. The VARIA HQ was close to Syracuse. The CEDEF HQ was in Enna, pretty much in the center of Sicily.

"What if I don't want to be in Sicily?" He groaned softly.

"Mainland is fine I guess."

"What about England or the Netherlands?" He frowned.

"France and Switzerland." I weakly squeezed his bicep.

"I could benefit from learning French, and the south of France near the Alps looks like Italy anyway. I could learn German as well in Switzerland or in the north of Italy, but what about America and Canada?" He glared at me, even if I knew it was because he was annoyed at me implying going to another continent instead of an hour drive.

"What's bringing that up Ann'?" I shrugged.

"We had an orientation paper to fill the other day at school and I didn't write anything because technically, I could be at the end of my third year of college right now. It's just...sensei said I would do great in university and that if I knew I had a job waiting for me already, pursuing my studies would only bring good things."

"You're better at baseball then?" he taunted me with a smirk.

"Shut up," I muttered, pulling my burgundy beanie a little bit lower.

"If Haneuma supports you Iemitsu won't refuse giving you a break," he said, more serious.

"Dino will support me if it makes me happy," I told him without an ounce of hesitation.

"Of course," he replied in sarcasm. I pinched his ribs. "With everything Sawada put you through, Iemitsu will accept anyway. Finding a successor is too much of a pain to do it all over again." I looked down and slowed down. "Ann'?"

"I don't think I really deserve it you know...or even if I want to. I'm pretty sure the only reason my future self accepted was because of Byakuran."

The only reason I had been chosen was to keep me away from the Decimo position but still remain a part of the Family because of my relation with the Secondo. It was also to be kept in check. However, I never had to go through any selection or anything. Just by being Dino's and Xanxus' sister, I had a better status than many people while I didn't do anything.

I would never be a random nobody. I mean, Tsunayoshi would be the most powerful man in the Mafia soon and I knew him on a personal level, like all of his Guardians and all of the ex-Arcobalenos. I had one of the Tri-Ni-Sette set, but it didn't mean I…

I was smacked behind the head.

"Bu..."

"If you don't feel like it then tell Iemitsu to fuck off. It's as simple as that."

Was it really though?

"You know people Ann', it's easy to get what you want." I raised a brow.

Xanxus wrapped an arm around my shoulders and started walking again. It was true, I knew people, and while Timoteo would not let me leave CEDEF or the Vongolas like that, Tsunayoshi could once Decimo. I did a lot of things for him, so I could just ask him to do that for later on.

Huh…

I guess that saying to get things out of people was his way to show he cared?

Overall, the sushis were good.

"Harder!" A man yelled above the sounds of the crowd. There was a loud, joined scream and the hammers went harder against the wall.

"Nikolaus seems to be having fun."

"Hum...he's a hopeless optimistic," the purple-haired child replied, pressing the baby against him for some warmth. The baby raised their head to their student with a smirk.

"You're right Alaric." They looked back at the crowd of people hammering toward their freedom. "It won't be easy. Freedom has a price and it will be expensive."

Yet, the eight year-old couldn't help but think his brother looked so happy and relieved while he was finally evacuating his, their frustration against a piece of ugly concrete.

He knew that his ten year-old brother was also evacuating all of his anger at the very place their parents died. Like many German people from Eastern Germany, they tried to flee to the West one night. Their mother was killed in cold blood by a border guard and their father, trying to flee for his life without looking back at his sons set his foot on a mine.

There was a lot of blood.

Watching his parents being killed because of their despair of finding a cure for their youngest was what made him hide his brother and him. They were covered by a heavy coat of indigo mist.

They made it back to their modest apartment, identical to all the others in the building and whole block.

Nikolaus hugged his younger brother, big tears rolling down his cheeks. The blood pouring from the cut on his cheek was warm on his face.

They were sent by the state in another family who could not care less about them, especially with Alaric's fragile health. Because of this, they never tried to look deeper in the baby they ended up bringing back with them one day.

They said their name was Viper with an obvious distaste. Alaric whispered the name 'Mammon', which he had heard at church. The baby clearly loved money, and they loved their new name as well.

Nikolaus was grinning all the way back to their house, a big chunk of the wall in his skinny arms. Blue and brown eyes were crying tears of joy.

"I am leaving." They looked up once on their beds.

"What, but Master we have still a lot to learn!" Nikolaus complained.

"Why?" Alaric whispered with conflicted eyes.

"You know enough to handle yourself out there, with illusions or to have enough money to live. I still have to look for a way to get my body back." Alaric averted his eyes.

"Is it even possible?"

"Of course it is!" Mammon yelled in his face. "I'll keep collecting money until then!"

"Why don't you ask your baby friends?"

"None of these guys seem to care! And that Chinese..." They groaned in anger.

"We will meet again?" Mammon floated in front of Alaric's face.

"I don't know. I taught you enough for you to improve, I don't really care about seeing you again."

"I'm sorry we were not lucrative enough Master," Alaric said with a sarcastic smirk.

The next day, they were gone. They managed to get money through illusions and tricking people for a few more months until one day, Alaric saw his brother being grabbed and lifted from the ground in a dark alley by a man. He was dressed in denim from head to toe, black sunglasses on his nose hiding his eyes and straight black hair reaching his shoulders.

"Good trick kid, but I know my fair share about illusions." Nikolaus fought back but the man didn't waver.

Alaric's scream when he was pinned to the ground was muffled by a hand.

"Rick!"

"Nice catch Enrique," the man said. Alaric managed to crane his neck enough to see short dirty blond hair and conflicted crimson eyes.

"Why am I pinning a brat to the ground Guillermo?"

"I was almost mugged."

"They're brats." Guillermo sighed and dropped Nikolaus.

"I know."

"Move!" Enrique did, Nikolaus helping his brother up.

Alaric coughed out blood in his hand.

"What's wrong with him?"

"None of your business!" Nikolaus barked at them, baring his teeth.

He was roughly pushed to the ground by Guillermo, who knelt in front of Alaric. He turned his face from right to left, up and down and pursed his lips in thoughts.

"How old are you?"

"…nine."

"You're barely older than my son then," Guillermo whispered. "You've got potential and I am a doctor."

"You're a brain doctor," Enrique pipped up.

"I'm a doctor, so what if we made a deal?" Alaric blinked, especially when he saw indigo mist at his fingertips. "I use illusions as well, so what if I used them to deal with your heart condition until I find a way to cure you?"

"What do you want?" The grin on his lips had nothing good to it.

"Your devotion to me and my Family until the day you die."

"Wh..."

"What Family?" Nikolaus asked more quietly. Guillermo shot him a look.

"Interested kid?" He spared his brother a look and got up, puffing his chest as much as he could.

"It's my little brother, I'm responsible for him."

"It's the Mafia," Enrique told them. "You're better of..." He never finished his sentence because of his brother's glare.

"Mafia?" the older child repeated. "Alright."

"Nick!" Alaric shouted in alarm. His brother smiled at him and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Don't worry little brother, if it can heal you then I will get way better than you and make sure to do the dirty work for you."

"Now it's settled." Guillermo stood up and stretched his back. "Well, it wasn't what I had in mind when I said 'let's see what the old Communist union has to offer' but I'll take it."

There was not much to take before they were in a private jet for Catalonia.

Guillermo was a neurosurgeon and Enrique his younger half-brother. Guillermo inherited the Family from his deceased mother while Enrique and him were related by their father. They saw him once, an elderly man wandering aimlessly at night with red broken eyes, a Romanian accent faded with time and the faint indigo mist by his side adopting a feminine silhouette.

Guillermo's mother was assassinated and her husband never recovered. Twelve years after the birth of his first son, he had his second one.

Guillermo was looking for ways to enhance the human body permanently through Dying Will Flames. Be it in curing incurable conditions and making a stronger than normal soldier, he was passionate about it.

He was better, his illusions were improving day by day through his training and illusionists' of the Family, but he was not healed. Nikolaus became one of the most devoted men of the Family in exchange for Alaric to be healthy.

Yet here he was in a poor district of Southern Italy. He knew Enrique was close, but for now he was staring at two children sitting in front of a church where a few people were. It was a boy and a toddler. The boy was sitting on the sidewalk, shoulders down and his chin of the toddler's head, who was sitting between the boy's legs. He had his arms wrapped around her waist protectively.

Even from the distance, he saw how the boy's eyes were sad at the coffin being placed in the car while the toddler was sobbing silently.

They were Guillermo's children. The red eyes were giving them away. Of course they didn't know, the toddler was only a year and a half after all, but they were. With sunglasses and a hoodie hiding his purple hair, he approached them.

The boy felt his presence and glared his way. Alaric felt the angry flames in the air immediately.

"Who died?"

"Nonna," the toddler replied. She stood up and ran in front of him, her head raised toward him. She had chubby cheeks and big, ruby eyes with two shot pigtails on each side of her head. Her clothes were not new and slightly too big for her skinny form. Dirt was under her tiny nails, just as it was the case for her brother. His clothes were not new either.

Their hair was dirty and Alaric could see some dirt on their face as well.

Poverty.

"Nonna food! Ann' food!" she wailed, tears running down her cheeks.

The toddler was cute, he could not deny it. These big eyes of hers could charm anyone.

Guillermo's daughter was called Esperanza though, wasn't she?

"Luciana," the boy rasped in a hoarse, but young voice.

"Fwatello, food!"

She was too young to understand the concept of death, so maybe she just knew the old woman wouldn't give her food anymore.

"I'll get you something Ann'."

"Fwatello food too!" Her brother sighed and wiped her tears away with his thumbs.

"I'm hungry too, you're right. I'll get us food."

"Mama?" He pursed his lips.

"Us first." He lifted her in his arms and kept her against his hip before walking away.

She had her arms firmly secured around his neck and it was obvious he was not about to let go of her.

He was protective of her.

Alaric blinked when the toddler waved at him. He hesitantly waved back, which made her grin.

When he found Enrique later in the day, he had a grim look on his face.

"Have you seen them?" Alaric nodded.

"Yes. Alejandro..."

"Xanxus. His name is Xanxus now."

"Well Xanxus will not let go of her." Enrique sighed deeply.

"He had to be as stubborn as my brother?"

"He called Esperanza Luciana."

"Yeah I know. He wanted to call her that way so it's her third name. He just doesn't know her official name is Esperanza."

A few months later, when Guillermo brought home a heartbroken Luciana, he wondered if he would ever see the little girl smile one day.

The Boss was not entirely happy though. His son was gone, vanished into thin air.

"Fratello?" she asked him with big, hopeful eyes. He smiled down at her and carefully took her in his arms when she raised hers toward him. "Fratello here?"

"Sorry little Miss." She blinked.

"Miss?"

"Yes. I will be your caretaker, butler, everything and you will be 'Miss'." She patted his cheek with chubby fingers and grinned. He widened his eyes when he felt his flames caught by appeasing ones. "Miss?" Her lips quivered and her ruby eyes were soon filled with tears.

"Don't go like Fratello." He hugged her protectively. Her brother was gone and she was asking him to stay after unconsciously calling for his flames.

"Never."

He failed.

She was bright and advanced for her age. His brother was not fond of her like he was and didn't understand why Alaric cared so much.

"Cristobal!" the Spanish child pouted at Alaric, Luciana on his back.

"You never let me borrow her!"

"She's not an object!"

Yet his Boss was not pleased. She was smart but kind. She couldn't, wouldn't hurt a fly.

One day she vanished. He discovered where at the same time Enrique did and puked. Ever since she had disappeared, his Boss had suddenly found a way to use illusions to create a healthy heart and mixed them with Sun Flames.

He had discovered the right formula through experimenting on his own daughter.

When he found her again after locating her in an orphanage in Milan, she killed someone with the same flame her brother had. He kept her by his side, his brother giving her dirty looks each time he had the opportunity to. His Boss quickly discovered they had found his daughter and ordered them to go back home.

Who knew the atrocity he would put his daughter through just to have a 'good' heiress? He knew her brother was now the Vongola Ninth's fourth son, he knew he could find a way to leave her with him for Xanxus to care for her like he should.

Alaric couldn't bring himself to do it. Xanxus had a reputation. Not a good one. He wasn't sure if he was the right person to care for Luciana when she still had a shot at a happy childhood in spite of her father.

It was with a heavy heart he watched her climb a tree and enter Dino Cavallone's bedroom. Reborn was quick to find him, his gun on him.

"Who are you?" Alaric smiled at him.

"Viper's student." Reborn's eyebrow twitched.

"You're a hitman too, Schlang isn't it?"

"I'm flattered you know of me." His lips fell in a flat line. "I have a favor to ask you."

"A favor?"

"My Sky is seven and currently trying to kill your protegee. She won't though, because he has a family and it will make her doubt." Reborn stared at him with unreadable eyes. "Take care of her. She can still have a childhood."

"Why us?"

"Well, the Cavallones may not be very strong but they are known to be kind, especially the heir. Also, I am counting on your reputation and your closeness with the Vongolas to protect her."

"From who?"

"Please take care of her," he repeated before disappearing.

His brother was waiting for him, stern looking.

"Rick, do you have any idea of what you've just done? Do you want to join Enrique and his runt on his run?" Alaric smiled to himself.

"I don't care."

"You're ruining your life!"

"I don't care. As long as she's safe, I don't care."

It was the last words he exchanged with his brother for a long time because after, he was the one being hunted by the Family who took him in and gave him a life. They gave him a life but his Sky gave him a purpose.

He was not surprised Reborn found a way to update him. He could hide but still watch her growing up from the shadows.

His life continued like this for a few years. The moment he learned she was the Vongola Cloud Guardian, he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Reborn told him about her flames, but she was a Sky. Binding her to another Sky as a Cloud was limiting her.

He felt powerless when Federico died.

He felt powerless at the changes in her.

When he heard about her moving to Japan, he was scared. Guillermo's long time friend Hide was living there, in the very town she was moving in his son was living. Hide would recognize her and send her back to Spain.

This man was exhausted from hearing Guillermo complaining about his daughter not wanting to go home.

He was dying to tell her everything when he saw her before she left Italy. He couldn't and was bound to secrecy by the omertà.

He was quick to go in Japan when he heard Hide had told Guillermo about his missing daughter and how she had teamed up with his son, Kyoya wasn't it?

Then, he was locked in Namimori.

"I see," I whispered. Arro was trying to hold back his sobs next to me. We were in Alaric's studio apartment.

"There's no need for you to cry," Alaric told Arro quietly, who sniffed loudly.

"But it's...I knew it would be a sad story when you said 'Berlin Wall' but..." He hid his eyes behind his sleeve.

"Who was the kid seeing me as a toy?"

"Cristobal. He was an orphan your father decided to take in." I frowned. "Miss?"

"Why do I have a weird feeling about it?"

"He's your Lightning." I hit my closed fist in my hand.

"Yeah, it's the same feeling with you, or Arro, or Romain."

"Where is he now?"

"In the FGNE, it stands for 'Fuerza de Guerra Naval Especial' or Special Naval Warfare Force. It's a special unit in the Spanish Navy. You could say it is similar to the COMSUBIN. Cris was the one to send me information about the Boss and his actions, but he enrolled in the Army when he felt he was going to be discovered." I nodded. It was the right thing to do.

I left my chair and without a word, hugged him around the neck. He stiffened.

"Thank you, I don't doubt you anymore." He relaxed almost immediately and hugged me back. He seemed hesitant.

"I feel better, so thank you Miss." Without a word, Arro joined the hug. "Arro, you're heavy."

"Shut up and enjoy the group hug!" my best friend replied, his azure blue eyes still filled with tears. He had an arm around me, the other around Alaric.

Alaric sighed and removed one of his arms from me to put it around Arro and I did the same.

Alaric had finally opened up and it felt good to know his story as well.

Fratellanza

Thanks for reading this chapter!

Bye!