"Reborn, you do realize that we're currently in the most dangerous place in Namimori, right?" Tsuna commented anxiously as he followed his tutor through the halls of the hospital.
"It's not dangerous here at all, Dame-Tsuna. Your friends are just here recovering."
'That's exactly what I meant!' The teen quickly thought.
"But we're not here to see them," Reborn continued. "We're here to see Rosetta and you'll be giving her these." He then presented Tsuna with a small get well soon bouquet to give to her.
His student hesitantly accepted it but asked, "Wouldn't this be more appropriate coming from her uncle or Dino though?"
"It's just as fine coming from you too." The hitman tutor stated in response. "The both of you are allies and therefore friends. Rosetta already considers you one at least."
Tsuna was unsure at first but went along with Reborn anyway for he was genuinely concerned for his ally's wellbeing considering what had happened the night before. The two of them continued and when approaching Rosetta's room they could hear some arguing coming from within.
"How could you do something so reckless?!" They heard Dino shout as they got closer to the door. "Going into battle knowing full well that you were pregnant?!"
"Eh?! Rosetta is pregnant?!" Tsuna instinctively exclaimed just as the door slid open, immediately gaining the attention of the two in the midst of the argument.
The two of them blushed and avoided eye contact while Tsuna realized what had happened and clammed up in response.
Finally he uttered quickly, "Sorry for the intrusion!" - he bowed rigidly - "I swear I only came to check on you! I wasn't trying to eavesdrop! Here, these are for you!"
He then shakily offered the bouquet, eventually earning a small chuckle from Rosetta.
"Thank you, Tsuna-kun." She stated with a small smile.
The teen straightened up and smiled awkwardly in response before curiosity got the better of him. "Um, so pardon me for asking, but…is it really true? That you're pregnant?"
The Mezzanotte boss' eyes widened before she blushed and hesitantly answered with a, "Yes."
"Is that…who you were protecting during the battle last night then? The baby?" He suddenly blurted out.
Rosetta gazed at him with shock before narrowing her eyes suspiciously at him. "How did you know about that…?"
Tsuna flinched and nervously stuttered, trying to explain himself but failed.
Suddenly then another visitor walked into the room.
"Sorry but it was I who brought him along with me to observe you last night." Antonio answered for him. "Reborn and I believed he could learn some things by witnessing your battle."
"I thought I asked you not to follow me, and yet you dared to do so after you had gotten so hurt!" His niece exclaimed angrily with concern. "And you brought Tsuna-kun with you?! What if Nero had noticed you were there too?!"
"No one has seen through my mist veil to date, not even your brother." The uncle replied defensively. "We were perfectly safe."
"Wait, that man - the fugitive - is your brother?!" The Vongola boss in training exclaimed with shock.
"He may indeed look like my brother, but that man…is not Nero…" Rosetta muttered aloud in response, earning confused gazes from both Tsuna and Dino.
"What do you mean…exactly?" The Cavallone boss dared to ask slowly after a minute of silence.
"I'm sorry. I…shouldn't have said that aloud." The Mezzanotte boss replied stiffly. "I can't say anything more. By telling you what I know I could expose you and Tsuna-kun to great danger and violate my right as boss for sharing such heavily guarded information with someone who is not an ally."
"But wouldn't it be easier to solve your problem if you had help from those who care about you, even if they're not necessarily an ally in the traditional sense?" Dino suggested.
"No. I refuse to needlessly endanger anyone else!" His friend exclaimed somewhat sadly in response.
"You say that and yet you risked your own life to protect Dino just last night." Antonio suddenly stated. His niece tried to make an argument but before she could say anything he continued, "I think perhaps it is time to tell them. Not everything of course, but at least enough to shed some light on our predicament."
"You know I can't do that. My position as boss would be compromised. Unless…" Rosetta trailed off in thought and then realized what her uncle was insinuating. "Uncle Antonio, you can't! If you take the responsibility your penalty could be as serious as death!"
"That's only if someone were to reveal that I shared sensitive information in such a way." Her uncle smiled. "I don't see anyone who would do that, do you?"
He then looked to the others in the room and they all shook their heads in reply.
The Mezzanotte boss was silent in contemplation for quite a while before finally saying, "Very well, if you're willing to do so. But only if the others swear not to share this information with anyone, including that Antonio was the one who told you." - she paused and turned to the other three males - "Are we clear?"
Dino and Tsuna tensed up under her gaze but quickly agreed along with Reborn. Antonio then made sure there were no listening devices or people near the room before he locked the door. Once he had finished he turned to face everyone in the room and began with his explanation.
"In order to understand Rosetta's statement about her brother not being himself," he said. "We must start by looking at the Mezzanotte Primo* first."
"This whole ordeal started way back then?" Tsuna asked incredulously, still sounding curious.
"Indeed. As you may...or may not know, Rosetta can manifest most of the Dying Will Flames without needing a physical medium. This was not the case with the first boss, for he was born with no such ability." Antonio explained as simply as he could. "He had two sons - twins, identical in every way except for one thing. One was born with the power to manipulate flames, and the other was entirely powerless."
"I think I can see where this story is going…" Dino commented softly.
Rosetta's uncle only smiled unnervingly before continuing. "It was the elder brother who had developed the powers and of course he was chosen to take his father's place. Once he knew he would be inheriting such a title, his true intentions came to fruition." He stated seriously.
"The Mezzanotte Primo had established the family in the first place to keep peace between other families across Italy and then the whole earth, but his first son tarnished that dream with his selfish actions. His father tried to get him to see the right way but the son remained selfish and condescending, so he had no choice but to appoint the second son, who was selfless and peaceful as his next heir instead."
All who were listening tensed up but remained silent with interest to hear the rest.
"The elder brother was furious and tried to retaliate but was ultimately detained. Time and again he was approached but he refused to change. His father eventually retired and the younger brother became boss as arranged. Still the elder remained bitter and refused any help his brother offered him." Antonio continued with a steady tone.
"In the end he committed suicide, leaving a note that said his dying vow was to come back and erase the existence of the Mezzanotte family himself…" He trailed off, but it didn't feel like the end of the story.
A minute of silence passed and then Tsuna dared to speak. "In what way…does the story affect what's going on now?" He asked carefully, earning steady stares from the rest in the room.
He anxiously continued quickly with, "O-Only if we're allowed to know that is…"
Antonio turned a questioning gaze towards his boss, who after a moment of thought gave a nod of approval.
"Rosetta and I believe that the elder brother died with so much resentment that his spirit attached itself to the family sword he killed himself with," he explained. "So when Nero took the sword in his moment of weakness…"
"The elder brother may have possessed him, which in turn caused the disappearance of your main base." Dino concluded.
"That's what we think, but we won't know until we talk with Nero." Rosetta finally spoke, sounding apologetic. "Honestly I never wanted to withhold this information from you. All I ever wanted was to be with you more. I didn't think my selfishness would cause all of this mess. I'm so sorry!"
In a moment of weakness the Mezzanotte boss began to weep and Dino rushed to her side to comfort her.
"Rosetta, it's okay. It was out of your control and we were just kids." He said to her in a calming voice. "Hey, at least everyone's alive and okay, and you're one step closer to finding out what happened."
Upon hearing his encouraging words Rosetta smiled and wiped the tears away, glad that things were finally working out for the better.
They stayed by her side until she seemed more calm, then Reborn silently turned to leave.
His student quickly noticed this and uttered, "Reborn? Where are you going?"
"We've overstayed our welcome and now we're leaving." The small hitman replied. He saw the confused expression Tsuna was giving him and continued. "Did you forget? We walked in on a somewhat private conversation that they probably want to finish, so I suggest we take our leave."
His student hesitantly agreed, then finally handed Rosetta her bouquet before thanking her and leaving.
Once they had done so, Antonio closed the door behind them and then turned to the other two in the room while asking, "So what will the two of you be doing considering your…unexpected pregnancy?"
The two bosses could only blush in response for they had been called out…
*Primo means first in Italian.