I don't own KHR.

"Alright," Elena said as she whipped open a thin red cape-like object. "Who's first?"

It was about half an hour since lunch and Mukuro, Chrome, Lambo, and Ryohei were now standing in a light gray room with two swivel chairs, two wide mirrors, and two big sinks.

Elena had said this was their own private hair salon.

Mukuro knew that the Vongola were rich but the fact that they made sure their mansion had a room like this was frankly kind of ridiculous.

"You're gonna be cutting our hair to the extreme?" Ryohei asked as he absent-mindedly played with one of Lambo's baby hands.

"Of course sweetie, who else is going to do it? G?" Elena replied before shuddering a bit. "Don't get me wrong, that man has plenty of talents, but cutting hair is not one of them."

"I think Ryohei was trying to ask why don't you have one of the um, servants do our hair?" Chrome clarified as Mukuro filed the new information about G away for later. Though how it was going to be useful he had no idea. "Not that we don't have a problem with you doing our hair."

Oh, dear sweet Chrome. He knew that she was just trying to make sure Elena wasn't offended but...he did have a problem with this whole situation. When Elena first came to the bedroom to tell them that she wanted to give them haircuts, his immediate reaction was to straight up tell her no. He liked his hair as it was and the less time his family spent with the mafioso, the better. Especially after what had happened earlier today.

Not to mention, he was just about to leave the room to do something much more important and urgent.

But then Chrome agreed, her voice eager and her purple eye sparkling. Ryohei also agreed before Mukuro could put in his two cents. Then Kyoya, who had been previously playing with Lambo, stood up. However, any hope that Kyoya would support him completely died when he put the playful baby in his arms, and told him to bring him along before Lambo woke up Hayato and Tsuna (everyone else had been keeping their voices pretty quiet but Lambo obviously didn't have the self-control for that yet).

Then, after a whispered order to Mukuro and telling Elena that he would have his hair cut later, he climbed into bed and promptly fell asleep beside their two sleeping brothers.

Mukuro had never felt so betrayed.

"Oh I thought about that," Elena answered Chrome, not seeming the least bit offended. "But I decided that I wanted to spend some more time with you guys so here I am! And don't worry, I'm pretty good with hair if I do say so myself. So who wants to go first?"

"Yea!" Lambo chimed in with his hand high in the air. Despite his...mood, Mukuro couldn't help but smile at Lambo's cute, oblivious behavior.

He was a baby, he really didn't know any better.

"No little brother, I go," Mukuro said with a sigh as he plopped the baby into Ryohei's lap, who wrapped his arms around him without hesitation. He might not feel like a hair cut was necessary, but if he was forced to get one, he might as well get it over with.

That and just in case Elena was actually planning to cut open their throats with that pair of scissors on the counter, then Mukuro was going to enter the trap first and not his younger siblings.

Though he didn't actually think Elena was going to do that-wait. Did he just...think the best of Elena? No, Mukuro just assumed that Elena wasn't the type for that kind of bloody murder.

Yeah, that's it.

"That works for me!" Elena exclaimed with a clap of her hands, which was a bit muffled due to the red hair cutting cover she still held in her hands. "I don't think Lambo's hair is quite long enough anyway."

Lucky baby.

Mukuro then stood up and without a word or sound walked to the chair and climbed onto it. He looked at his sister and brothers and despite a part of him knowing he should at least smile a little or something to let them know that he was more or less alright, he just frowned.

There was just somewhere he would much rather be.

"Now let's see," Elena mused as she wrapped the red cover around Mukuro so gently that he didn't feel like he was being choked at all, which he admittedly was kinda afraid of.

In fact, if anything the cover fitted him...snugly.

"Do you want to keep the same haircut or go for a different one?" Elena continued as she turned the chair so that he faced the mirror, bringing Mukuro out of his observational thoughts.

"The same," Mukuro quickly replied. There was no way he wasn't putting his foot down on this. He had this hair style for as long as he could remember, and he liked it, so he definitely wasn't going to change it now. Especially not for a mafioso.

"Keeping it the same as Daemon's, got it," Elena replied with a soft coo, making Mukuro scowl. Like he needed another reminder of how similar he and his doppelganger were.

At least Mukuro could pull the look off, unlike Daemon.

Maybe Mukuro should leave a note telling Daemon exactly how bad the hairstyle looked on him before he and his family left this blasted mansion forever.

That is...if his family-

"Good news is, I have trimmed Daemon's hair plenty of times so there is absolutely no chance of me messing your handsome hair up," Elena added as she picked up the pair of scissors lying on the counter. Before Mukuro could even begin to react to that, the lady mafioso went to work.

Mukuro forced himself to go completely still as Elena snipped at his hair while humming an unrecognizable tune. The eleven-year-old looked in the mirror and when he saw that the scissors weren't anywhere near his neck (not that he really believed that the mafioso would show her true colors here but still), he looked at his siblings' reflection.

Lambo, of course, was smiling and babbling happily in Ryohei's lap as Chrome played patty cake with him. Ryohei and Chrome looked like they didn't have a care in the world. Like it wasn't only yesterday that their family had two close calls, like a mafioso didn't have a pair of sharp blades near Mukuro's head, like...

Takeshi wasn't spending 'quality time' with a mafioso with no one to watch his back.

"So...what do you think Asari and Takeshi are doing?" Chrome suddenly asked as she looked up at Elena. Mukuro's eyes widened as he then devoted his whole attention to Elena. Right after lunch was over, Asari had pulled Takeshi aside and asked him if he wanted to spend some time together with him since they, apparently, had a lot of catching up to do. Takeshi, much to Mukuro's...chagrin, readily accepted.

And if that wasn't bad enough, everyone else was fine with it and told him that they would see him later. Even Kyoya, while he didn't say anything, nodded with no signs of protest in his gray eyes. Asari and Takeshi then left the room, alone, without asking Mukuro what he thought. Mukuro would have spoken up but Kyoya had put a firm hand on his arm and shook his head.

He was confused and angry at first but then Tsuna yawned and he realized that he should help get the rest of his siblings safely back to the bedroom before going after his wayward brother. So he did that, and he was about to leave once Hayato and Tsuna were settled into bed but then Elena showed up.

And not very long after that, Kyoya's order for his ears alone.

'Don't go after Takeshi, leave him and his cousin be.'

And now here he was, stuck getting an unnecessary haircut with no idea where his little brother was.

At least, not until now.

"Hmm," Elena mused as she stopped trimming Mukuro's blue hair before going right back at it. "Asari loves the outdoors so-"

"Oh, Takeshi extremely loves being outside too!" Ryohei exclaimed. "Right Lambo?"

"Yea!" Lambo exclaimed as he raised both hands in the air this time.

"Then there is a good chance they are either talking or playing some kind of game outside," Elena answered with no hesitation. Mukuro narrowed his eyes but no matter how much he stared and searched, he could not find any signs of deceit in either her face or her blue eyes.

Not that he found any signs of deceit in her expression or eyes before. And that went for the other Vongola mafioso too.

It was like the Vongola actually were decent pe-

Mukuro's eyes went wide and it was only thanks to his great self-control that he managed to not shake his head violently before his mind could go any further down that path.

Even so, his head did tilt a bit to the side.

"Oh sorry, was that too close to your ear?" Elena asked, her voice full of...concern as she stopped clipping. Mukuro looked at Elena's reflection and saw that she actually looked...guilty.

"I..." Mukuro stammered, too bewildered to know how he should respond. Then Elena just patted him on the shoulder.

"Sorry honey, I admit I'm not used to cutting children's hair," Elena apologized again. "But I promise I'll be more careful, okay? Just tell me next time if I'm making you uncomfortable alright? Because I really don't want to accidently cut your ear off. Alright?"

...What the...

"O...Okay," Mukuro ended up muttering as he peeled his eyes away from Elena's concerned and worried gaze.

"Good," Elena replied with a relieved sigh, sounding more like her usual...for lack of a better term, sunny self. The sound of snipping scissors once again filled the air as Mukuro kept his heterochromatic eyes firmly fixed on the countertop, his mind trying to make sense of what just happened.

"Though...yep, we're done!" Elena suddenly exclaimed. Mukuro then looked up just as Elena put the scissors down on the countertop.

"So what do you guys think?" Elena asked as she unwrapped the red cover off of Mukuro.

"I love it!" Chrome exclaimed as Lambo made a happy cheering noise.

"To the extreme!" Ryohei agreed with a firm nod.

"But what do you think?" Elena asked Mukuro as she turned Mukuro around and gave him a handheld mirror. Mukuro silently accepted the mirror and held it up so that he could see the back of his hair in the reflection of the smaller mirror.

It...actually looked good. Mukuro hadn't noticed it before but as he kept on looking at his reflection, he realized that his hair had been getting a bit on the unruly side. But now his precious hairstyle looked neat, as well as fresh.

Maybe...he really did need a haircut after all.

"I...I like it," Mukuro finally admitted as he quickly handed the mirror back to Elena, feeling his face burn a little.

He can't believe he just complimented a mafioso.

"Oh good," Elena said with a wide smile. "That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

Mukuro felt a bit startled before he realized that while he didn't voice his protests, he definitely didn't try to act pleased. But even so...Elena still acted pleasant and didn't seem annoyed at all.

It...really wasn't that hard at all.

"So who's nex-"

"Wait," Ryohei suddenly interrupted as his nose turned up. He then lifted Lambo and sniffed his bottom.

"Yep, Lambo needs a new diaper," he stated as he moved the giggling baby down and safely away from his nose.

It was right then and there that Mukuro got an idea.

"Oh, I'll-"

"I'll do it," Mukuro quickly volunteered as he jumped down from the chair.

"Oh you will? Thank you, now Chrome or Ryohei don't have to wait for their haircuts," thanked Elena like it was ever seriously an option that they were going to let her change Lambo.

Well...at least he wouldn't have let her.

"Alright Lambo," Mukuro greeted as he took Lambo from Ryohei, who immediately giggled as he wrapped his little slightly pudgey arms around Mukuro as best he could. "Let's go get you changed."

And find Takeshi. Kyoya may have ordered him to leave him and Asari alone, but if he and Lambo just happened to see the two through a window?

That would just be a coincidence.

"I actually put diapers in all the bathrooms so you don't have to walk all the way back to the one near your bedroom," Elena informed him, making Mukuro stare at her, once again feeling bewildered.

Diapers weren't cheap...so why put in all that effort just to manipulate some orphaned kids into trusting them?

It...it doesn't make any sense...

"Okay," Mukuro said softly as he turned to his sister and brother. Unfortunately, to go look for Takeshi meant leaving his siblings all alone with Elena. But...but Ryohei was practically almost better and Chrome's stamina was normal so they should be fine.

But just in case...

"Chrome, if something happens while I'm gone, alert me okay? I'll come running with a diaperless Lambo if I have to."

That caused Chrome to let out a small but very cute giggle.

"Okay Mukuro-sama."

"What's funny sweetie?" Elena asked while Mukuro nodded, feeling satisfied with that answer.

"Oh, nothing," Chrome answered as Mukuro turned around and left the room, closing the door silently behind him.

"Alright, let's get you changed quickly and then find Takeshi," Mukuro told him as he headed to the nearest bathroom.

"Take!" Lambo cried happily causing Mukuro to nod.

"Exactly."

He may not like leaving Chrome and Ryohei behind with Elena, but Takeshi had been alone with his...cousin for far too long. He needed to be checked on.

It didn't take long at all for Mukuro to reach the nearest bathroom and exchange Lambo's dirty diaper for a clean, soft one. As soon as he was done and was out of the bathroom, Mukuro set his baby brother down on the ground.

"Alright Lambo...go explore."

Lambo made an excited squeal as he quickly set off running as fast as his little legs could go (it wasn't that fast...yet).

"Oh no, he got free," Mukuro said with a smirk as he followed Lambo, his eyes and ears alert for any windows or any noises made by humans. Quite a few minutes passed before Lambo entered a hall that had quite a few windows facing the sunny outdoors.

As soon as Lambo saw the big, tall windows, he stopped and stared at them before he raced towards them.

"Take!" Lambo cried before he planted not only his hands but his full face onto the window. Mukuro instantly perked up as he quickly raced to the window right beside his baby brother.

Sure enough, Takeshi was out in the yard, with a baseball mitt and a ball in his hand. Mukuro only had a second to wonder where he got those from when Takeshi threw the ball right at Asari, who had a baseball mitt in his hand.

For a brief moment Mukuro hoped that the ball would crash right into his face but unfortunately, Asari caught it with no trouble at all.

But that wasn't what made Mukuro frown.

It was seeing Takeshi smile widely before his mouth opened wide as his body trembled slightly with what was clearly a deep and joyful laugh.

Mukuro felt his heart sink as he unconsciously fell to his knees, as random, precious memories of him and Takeshi ran through his mind. Like the one where Takeshi first hugged him hello and the one where they took a nap together in the cave after a rough night. The eleven-year-old boy gulped as he gripped the front of his shirt as he watched Asari and Takeshi continued to play catch happily. It was then that he was forced to face the fear that he had been trying to push aside ever since he overheard Asari tell Takeshi that he was his cousin.

That Takeshi would end up wanting to stay with Asari instead of running away with them.

Mukuro had never been worried before that his siblings would want to stay here with the Vongola. Worried that his siblings would fall for the Vongola's tricks, sure, but that they would actually want this mansion to be their permanent home?

Never. They were a family, they stayed together through thick and thin because that was what it meant to be family. Right?

But...if Asari was telling the truth (Mukuro didn't really doubt it, the two really did look like family. He didn't want to think what that meant for the rest of them), then Asari was Takeshi's family. Not only that, but they were family by blood. There was a good chance Takeshi was going to want to stay because of that. Especially since it was clear that he thought Asari was a good person.

So if Mukuro tried to remind him that Asari wasn't a good guy, that he was an evil mafioso who was only using him...there was a chance that Takeshi would get mad. And if he got mad and offended, then there was a chance that his other siblings would take his side.

Especially since it was increasingly becoming clear that his sibling had more or less decided to trust the Vongola. Even Kyoya.

Not that...Mukuro couldn't see why. It was admittedly nice to live in a house with a non-leaky roof, to sleep on a comfortable mattress and sheets, and to eat as much food as they want. Not to mention...the Vongola were good.

Not good people, no, Mukuro would never let himself think that, but good actors?Yes. Even Mukuro felt himself wavering and being confused at their behavior, if what happened in the hair salon was any indication. And it didn't help that Mukuro actually felt...a bit pleased when Asari, Elena, and Daemon attacked the goon that held Tsuna hostage and when Giotto headbutted Martina.

But Mukuro wasn't fooled, he knew better than that. He had no idea what their endgame was, but it definitely had to be disgusting and evil, it just had to be.

However...he was afraid that he couldn't convince Takeshi and the others of that. If he was able to convince them, then great, he just would have been worried for nothing. But if he couldn't...

Then there was a chance that they would get mad enough to kick him out of the family.

Mukuro was aware that he might be letting his deepest fears and anxieties get the best of him. That he might be letting the awful nightmare from last night control him. That his siblings while they might get mad at him, they wouldn't even entertain the thought of kicking him out. That his siblings would even be offended or hurt that he had even thought that was a possibility.

But...

But...

"I don't want to be alone," Mukuro whispered as he faced the carpeted floor beneath him. His sight became a bit blurry as he gripped the windowsill and took a deep, shaky breath before letting it out.

He didn't feel better.

"Muku?"

Mukuro looked up to see Lambo looking at him with a very worried and concerned expression.

"Muku?" Lambo asked again, his green eyes watering as he reached his tiny hands towards Mukuro.

"Oh Lambo," Mukuro said, his voice tender as he quickly grabbed his baby brother and gently pulled him close. "I'm okay, don't worry about me, I'm okay."

He wasn't.

But...

"Muku, ah be na?" Lambo asked as he hugged Mukuro tightly, despite his arms not being long enough to wrap around Mukuro's body.

Mukuro let out a choked laugh before he kissed the side of Lambo's forehead.

"All better now," Mukuro lied as he shifted around until his back was leaning against the wall underneath the window, Lambo held securely in his arms.

But at least he was still able to hug Lambo like this.

For now.

Welp...that was emotional. I am aware that this may be a bit OCC for Mukuro, but you have to remember, a lot of stuff had happened in a very short amount of time. I think we all act at least a bit out of character when a lot of stressful things pile on top of us at once.

So I have to admit something, this chapter was originally supposed to be longer. I was actually going to write about the when Mukuro first considered Takeshi to be his little brother but then I realized that the chapter would have been super long and it might have halted the story in a bad way.

So...as a reward for all you wonderful readers out there as well for putting up with this emotional (at least it was for me, my heart to write a certain line) chapter, I am seriously thinking of doing a side story to this one. It would be a compilation of any good and funny times they had at the orphanage, any times where they had each other backs, and of course, most importantly, the times where they all first met each other.

Will any of you guys be interested in that?

Please leave a review about your thoughts on this chapter and I will update sometime this month. Till then, have a good and safe day/night!