A/N: I'm sorry for the super late update and at the same time, thank you for the reviews. I also wanted to thank Skilvh and Shilvh for giving me such a wonderful title. To the others who contributed, I thank you too; your titles might be of good use in the near future! :D

WARNING: If you people understood the situation of the world, you will understand why I wrote this chapter. After all, I am writing this with a purpose. There will be violence against children in the latter chapter. So think first before commenting, okay?

BETA'ED BY: Azahkhiel

THE RAINBOW'S GUIDANCE

© Danielle Luna Soulhart

November 2012

GUIDE # 3: Following

…:[]:…

"Colonnello, dear, are you all right?"

Colonnello didn't respond. He was looking down at a letter with his name on it. It has been three days since his coach called. He frowned. He was torn in between choosing what he really wanted – sharp shooting or track and field. He loved doing the two sports and it always brought him in high spirits, but with the upcoming Olympics, he had to choose what sport he'll be giving up. Three years was a long time to train, and if ever he choose sharp shooting, he had to give up coaching his track and field team.

Luce sighed. She knew too well how Colonnello loved running as much as he loved shooting. She knew the burden of choosing between two things because she has experienced it too. She had been there when Colonnello mastered holding the usage of various kinds of guns just like Lal and watched the two of them hunt like no tomorrow. It was a good memory. Ah, but it seems preferences change over time…she thought. Preferences, indeed, changed. Smiling, she placed her hand on Colonnello's shoulder.

"I know you're troubled, but you know what you love most at the moment." That one simple sentence made Colonnello face Luce, trying his best to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. The blonde-haired coach didn't respond, he only nodded vigorously and crumpled the piece of paper in his hand.

He had his final decision made.

…:[]:…

The vendor was not pleased.

He was certain that he allowed the child to have a month's worth of free food and drinks, but he had no recollection of letting the child sleep anywhere near his stall. He noticed that his supposed customers were already walking away because of the child that was currently sleeping under one of the tables he had set up not too long ago. He didn't notice the child coming because he had been busy preparing the hotdogs and the bread buns. He stopped. I didn't even see him yesterday, he thought, leaning a bit over the ledge of his stall and looked at the sleeping child. Tch. He's ruining my business. I should think of a way to get rid of him. Just after that thought, an idea popped out of his mind and he grinned.

Perfect.

…:[]:…

"Good morning, Professor Reborn."

"Good morning, sir."

"Have a great day, sir."

Reborn simply ignored the greetings of the students loitering at the hallway, his fedora hiding his eyes. It was not that he disliked the greetings, but he knew all too well why they were greeting him – he was popular. And he hated it. Sometimes he wondered why the hell he chose this profession, but his mind couldn't produce any recollection that made him decide. He inwardly sighed.

"Are? It's Reborn-sensei." A student said and walked towards Reborn.

Instinctively, Reborn looked at the student and nodded, "Ah, Kobayakawa. What are you doing here?"

"Sensei, this is a school, so I have to be here." Kobayakawa replied.

Reborn sent a glare.

Kobayakawa raised his hands in defense, "I am just answering the question, sensei," But when the glare became murderous, he gulped and sighed nervously, "F-Fine. I went to the student council because the president wanted to talk to me."

"During classes?" Reborn asked, muttering a quick 'let's step aside' after realizing that they were both talking at the middle of the hallway.

"I heard my name called through the intercom," the student reasoned out, struggling on holding the rim of papers in his hands. "Then, I was asked to deliver these to the other faculty."

"I see."

A loud dinging sound from the speaker emerged all throughout the hallway, before a female voice was heard after, "Calling Professor Reborn to the Dean's Office. I repeat, calling Professor Reborn to the Dean's Office. Thank you."

"Ah." Is all Reborn could say.

"Oh well, as much as I want to stay and chat with you, sensei, I can't. I'll see you some other time then." Kobayakawa said and bowed.

"It will be better if you won't show up in the near future." Reborn retorted.

The student chuckled, "I doubt that." Then the student went away.

"Troublesome students." Reborn muttered and went towards the Dean's Office.

Kobayakawa was one of Reborn's best students and was one of the few whose personality greatly interested Reborn.

…:[]:…

Fong was looking at the blueprints laid down on the table with a smile. Art was one thing that he couldn't live without and making beautiful and sturdy buildings made his life more meaningful. For him, art was like meditation. A person must concentrate hard on finding that inner peace in meditation; while in art, the artist concentrate in visualizing his image, for that image will represent his being. And so, when these concentrations were met, he will achieve the highest tranquility – both in mind, heart and soul, and it went the same with art. He looked up at the on-going project, gesturing towards the construction workers onto where materials should be put; instructing them on the exact measures of the steel, the distance, and all that needed to be done. He was too engrossed in his work that he didn't notice was the constant stares that the construction workers kept on sending him.

Fong was undeniably beautiful.

"OI! GET YOUR ASSES BACK TO WORK, DIMWITS!" A familiar female voice echoed all throughout the site, making Fong snap out of his thoughts.

"Lal." Fong said and smiled, "You didn't have to shout, and they are working."

Lal narrowed her eyes, "No, they are not. They kept on staring 'elsewhere'. And I hate slacking." Just when she said that, she noticed one who kept staring on Fong's lithe figure and was about to drop the bricks he was carrying. That made a vein pop on Lal's head, "OI! YOU SCUMBAG! DO YOU WANT YOUR CO-WORKERS DEAD!? DON'T WAIT FOR ME TO GET YOU FIRED!"

The said worker jumped in surprise, finally realizing his mistake, and dropped a few bricks. Thankfully, there was no one beneath him and the bricks smashed on the ground, breaking into little pieces.

Lal was beginning to get furious, only to be patted by Fong. "You shouldn't be too temperamental, Lal."

"Excuse me?! Temperamental? At least, I'm not the oblivious one, Architect Fong." Then Lal stormed out, instructing the other workers to work on the double.

Fong sighed and chuckled. Lal was just too overprotective sometimes.

…:[]:…

The lobby of the Varia Academy for Arts was currently busy. It was being decorated with white flowers put in elegant vases, and white simple streamers pinned with paper roses. The floors were swept and polished carefully by the janitors. There were bust replicas from various well-renowned sculptors, arranged in rows and placed along the aisle. The workers were strictly instructed by an events planner while aspiring artists put their masterpieces in the lobby for display. And so, the whole of Varia Academy was noisy.

Then the large doors opened all of a sudden.

"VOOOIII! WHY ARE YOU PEOPLE NOT DONE HERE YET?!" Squalo exclaimed, effectively stopping the working process.

"Ushishishi," Bell laughed, his signature laugh making the other artist hide behind their artworks. "Peasants will be peasants forever."

"What a self-conceited fake prince." Fran monotonously commented, walking just behind Bel. "Haven't the thought of you being a peasant yourself passed by your mind?"

"Shut up, you frog peasant. I didn't ask for your opinion."

"Tch. Boss will be so angry if he sees you people noisy." Levi, head of the Pottery division, said, shoving away some of the low-hanging streamers.

"Ara~ the place is a mess." Lussuria, the head of the Post-Modern Arts division, commented as well, flicking his red feathered boa as he stopped by Squalo's side. "But I like the flowers~ they are so pretty~" Then he giggled.

Bel and Fran looked at him incredulously.

The events planner walked towards Squalo and reasoned, "We can't just finish these decorations in one day, Squalo-san. There are still so much to do."

"Tch. Just get these things done, because I don't want to hear the boss yapping about noise and mess."

Speaking of the devil, the boss appeared by the stairs. "What 'yapping' are you talking about, scum?" The people sharply turned their heads to the source of the voice and shuddered. The boss was there!

"VOOOOIIII! You lazy boss! What are you doing there?!" Squalo exclaimed once again.

"Hn. Shark-san is noisier than the people here…" Fran commented to himself, only to see a nice sword in front of him.

"Say that again, Frog, and I will kill you." Squalo threatened. Fran just sighed.

Xanxus moved away from his spot and walked towards the aisle, scrutinizing every detail that was already done – the paintings, sculptures, mosaics, everything. He looked up to see the simple decorations, then the flower arrangements, and looked down to see the floor shining. Hm. Not bad for trash, he thought. Then, he stopped in front of Squalo.

"Trash. You are fucking noisy."

Squalo flinched and a vein appeared on his temple. Why was his fucking boss calling him fucking trash now? He didn't do anything. "Bastard boss."

"Oooh. So, Xanxus-taichou is the only one who can shut Shark-san up." Fran said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Xanxus and Squalo glared.

But even before Fran could retort, Lussuria interjected, "Where is Mammon-chan again?"

The whole lobby went silent, until one student raised her hand, "I saw Mammon-sensei at the digital room"

Bel snickered, "So, the Psychic came to her senses that Digital Arts is a lot awesome than her Classic Art."

"Bel-senpai, Mammon-shishou will kill you if she hears that." Fran said.

"Ushishishi, who cares?" Then Bel walked away towards the Digital room. Fran, the ever expressionless guy, sighed.

…:[]:…

A couple of hours passed and finally, the child awakened. His scrawny dirty, little hands rubbed the corner of his eyes to remove the remnants of his sleep, and looked around. The place was rather dark, narrow and malodorous, not that he really minded since he grew up in that kind of environment. He tilted his head to the side, his mind telling him that there was something odd in the place. He took another round of observation and noticed the broken furniture, pictures that were seemingly slashed and clothes that were scattered everywhere. He stood and cautiously moved around. The place was indeed cramped and only one person could live here. Just when he was about to turn around, his foot caught something, and it created a noise.

"Oh. My little guest is finally awake." A man spoke. He was covered in dirt like the child.

The little guest did not speak.

"What? Are you awed by this wonderful place?" The man asked, raising his arms sideways and twirling. He was grinning madly, and after that motion, his hands moved up and down, telling the broken furniture to bow down before him. "These are my minions. Aren't they obedient?"

The child still didn't speak.

And because of that, the man was irked. The expressionless face of the child made him think that the child was belittling him. He stomped forward and yanked the child's arms harshly, "YOU PIECE OF USELESS BRAT!" Then he shook him strongly.

This brought the child to tears. He wanted to stop this. He didn't want to be like this – a child in the streets – anymore. But what could he do? Nobody liked him. He was always avoided by the people who saw him. He was like a walking trouble in their eyes. He tried looking up at the stranger, but his eyes couldn't focus. He was getting dizzy because of all the shaking the man was doing. After a minute of harsh treatment, the man finally let go of the child, sending him to the other side where the child's back collided to it with such force. It made the child cry.

The man snickered, "So, the little kitty is crying. How cute." He said and walked towards the child and hovered above him, a sick grin plastered on his face, "You know what? We can do something much more fun." He pulled the child's hair and practically threw him on the makeshift bed. He removed all of his clothing and climbed on the bed, "Shall we enjoy ourselves, little one?"

The child was backing away from the smelly man, but his arms were caught and his body was pinned in place. Having such a small body was a big disadvantage in these kinds of situations. His tears rolled down his cheeks as he struggled more and more from the serpent grip of the man. He saw the man above him leaned down towards him and onto his neck, biting down in the process. He yelped and in instinct, he pushed his left knee hard at the man's crotch, making the man scream and curl in pain. He used that moment to run around the small house and not long after, he found the exit.

…:[]:…

Verde was typing on his laptop in the living room, deciding to leave his study for a moment since there were no other people present in the mansion except him and Luce. Besides, his study was filled with new books, new medical equipments and not that he wanted to admit, but his study was currently in disorder. The life of being a scientist at the same time a doctor was not a fun thing for starters. Right now, he was typing the results of his research and later on, sending it via e-mail to one of his colleagues for further analysis, when he saw Luce coming down from the stairs carrying her own laptop and a bunch of papers.

"Are you going to write again, Luce?" He asked, pausing at his work as he looked at Luce.

Luce smiled at him as she put down her things onto the table where Verde worked and replied, "Yes. I have to create another book."

"I see. I am always interested in what you write, Luce." Verde complimented and started typing again, "What is it about this time?"

Luce hummed and opened her laptop. While waiting for it to boot, she took a piece of paper containing a rough draft of her newest story, "I'm still not sure about the plot itself, but I want to write something about children."

Verde snorted, "You do really like children, don't you Luce?"

"As much as you love your cultured microorganisms." Luce joked.

"A human could never love microorganisms, Luce. Microorganisms do not have bodily structures and organs that function like that of humans."

Luce chuckled at that. She knew how smart Verde was, but when it came to the topic of romance, she noticed that Verde always countered it with scientific facts. "I know that as much, Verde. You're always tackling things in such an objective way."

"Hn."

"Anyway, I have a title already and it's Treasured Memories. I was inspired when I met someone three days ago." Luce said and smiled, clicking the 'My Documents' folder and searched for her file. It was true that she got inspired when she saw the child. She was deeply moved by those honey-colored orbs that looked so innocent from the world he lived in. Yes, it was pitiful, but she couldn't do anything at the moment. Plus, nobody knew who she was talking about. The only person who kept on asking about that was Verde. And just right about now...

"You haven't told us about that person you are talking about, Luce." Verde said while typing. He can't afford to stop now or he wouldn't finish his research on time.

"I wish I can, but it will be a lot interesting if that person comes by again." Luce replied, as she started to type the ideas in her mind.

"That is also a question: when will that person come again? We can't wait forever, Luce."

"I know. But I have a feeling he will."

"Hn. Suit yourself. But I still want to know who that person is."

"You will, in time." And after that, the two worked peacefully, minding their own business.

…:[]:…

"Ah! Such a success. Your acting is wonderful as ever, Skull-san!" Director Matsunagi praised. He was one of the directors of the film wherein Skull starred with his favorite actor, Fujiwara-san.

Skull was too speechless and only managed to scratched his nape in response. Even Fujiwara-san was looking at him in awe. This was one of the dream projects Skull had always wanted to do and with these happening, he was pumped up more to do amazing films with other celebrities. Right now, the filming crew and the celebrities were on a break and they all decided to share a good lunch together. Skull went to his manager to freshen but as he talked to Reika-san, he heard two crew members talking about him behind his back.

"Che, he's just got the role because Fujiwara-sama pitied him."

"He can't even go without being NGed."

"Even though the director was pleased, he was still called in several times. I even saw Fujiwara-sama creased his eyebrows. Probably he got annoyed."

Reika-san heard it all too and patted Skull's shoulder when she saw his shoulders slumped, "Don't listen to them. You did great."

Skull shook his head, "No. They're right. An amazing actor should have no mistakes. Fujiwara-san has only two or three mistakes while I got so many."

Reika-san smiled tenderly, "You know, everyone makes mistakes. You even said yourself that Fujiwara-san made a mistake. Everyone is learning, and so are you. Director Matsunagi is just really the perfectionist type, but look, he praises you, right?"

That made Skull's crestfallen face turn back to normal and he nodded, "Un. Then I shall do my best to make the reapers hate me more!"

"That's the spirit!" Reika-san encouraged Skull and finished wiping off the fake blood that ran on his temples. When they were about to go to the table, Reika-san spoke again, "Do you know why Fujiwara-san asked for you?"

Skull looked over his shoulder and blinked in confusion, "Come to think of it, I don't know."

Reika-san grinned, "That is because Fujiwara-san loves the way you act in action movies. Coincidentally, this is an action film and he was hyped to see you maneuver in air while fighting."

Skull's face turned bright red and tripped from a wire.

…:[]:…

Mammon was furious. She couldn't believe that Lussuria's students would do this to her, and probably was bribed by Lussuria, she thought, controlling herself from destroying the digital arts room. Belphegor and Fran were seated far away from the artist and they could still feel that seething aura coming out from her lithe figure. Nevertheless, the ever trickster Belphegor never learned to shut his mouth and still talked.

"Soooo, Mammon-chan has decided that digital arts is way too awesome than your Classics." Belphegor taunted and his signature "Ushishishi" followed.

"Don't listen to the fake prince, sensei." Fran countered emotionlessly, "Sempai is being an idiot."

Belphegor threw a paper knife at Fran's direction, which the other perfectly evaded, "Shut up, frog. No one asked you to speak."

"And so are you, fake prince."

"Stop calling me that, frog."

"Only if you stopped calling me frog, fake prince."

"Moron frog!"

"Fake grinning prince."

"Idiot Frog!"

"Blind Fake Grinning Prince."

The two continued throwing insults at each other and Mammon was getting annoyed already. She tried ignoring them, but the bickering of the two students grated on her her nerves. With that, she used a bit of her telekinesis and threw a keyboard at the two, effectively catching their attention, especially Belphergor.

"Mammon-chan! Don't you know how expensive keyboards are?!" Belphegor shouted.

Fran stared at Mammon then at Belphegor. He honestly didn't care about them or the keyboard. He just stayed put and watched the scene with interest.

Mammon seethed. "I don't care about your useless keyboard, Belphegor." She said, her voice was laced with pure anger, "You two are irritating and immature."

"Mou, sensei," Fran said monotonously and raised his hand, "Bel-sempai started it."

"I DON'T care who started it first, and Bel, don't you ever compare my division to yours." Then she pointed at the screen, "I want you to explain this. Now."

Belphegor walked towards the screen and smirked. Fran followed suit and peeked behind Belphegor and raised a thumb. Mammon, on the other hand, was glaring at the two and clenched her fists.

"Well?" Mammon asked through her gritted teeth.

"Well what?" Belphegor asked back, "It's marvelous."

"I never thought I would see sensei like this." Fran commented.

Mammon, due to her pouring anger, her psychic power sparked and the computer near them short-circuited. Belphegor and Fran backed away and sweat dribbled down their temple. After that, Mammon stormed out of the room, cursing in all seven languages that she knew. As for the two students, they looked at each other and then at the destroyed computer, silently thanking Kami that Mammon still spared their lives. They decided that they wouldn't speak of this to whoever will ask and lie about what happened in the digital arts room.

What Mammon was angry about was a portrait of her with her hood down and curled like an innocent child at the school garden. It was captured by Lussuria's trusted student and uploaded it in the computer. And of course, with Lussuria's "negotiating skills", he asked one of the best students (next to Belphegor and Fran) to edit the picture to make it more realistic and beautiful. All Mammon knew was Lussuria was behind this betrayal.

Oh, Lussuria's going to be beheaded soon.

…:[]:…

The child was tired, so tired that he could barely move his to mention, he was hungry and thirsty too. His neck was hurting because of the bite the man did and he couldn't comprehend why the man did that to him. He stopped in front of a large tree and there he let his body slumped. He slid down and buried his face on his bent knees against his chest and silently cried. There were passersby who saw him but no one ever dared to give him a penny or food to ease his hunger. No one. After a few minutes of crying, the child stood, wiping away his tears and decided to look for garbage that could be sold to the junk shop. He couldn't stay there sulking all day, right? He had to move on to survive. He didn't care anymore who, all he wanted was to be cared for.

While walking at the sidewalk, he noticed the small grocery store that he frequently passed by. There were only a few people coming in, but most of them were carrying large bags of goods, and it made the child envious. He could see food and drinks inside, and even the leftover food on the tables. He was tempted to go inside, but he remembered he was always kicked out of the store by a guard. Instead, he waited and stared at the glass door. Moments later, the door opened and the child saw a very familiar man whom he always saw coming and going to this store. He was in luck. Probably, this man would give him something now. He could feel that the man he was seeing right now was not truly evil, despite what the man did to him days ago.

Reborn went to the grocery store after his last afternoon class because they were out of milk, thanks to Colonnello. Luce had called him in the middle of his discussion about Napoleon's expeditions and thought of it as an emergency, so he excused himself and went out of the room. But when he heard her, he resisted the urge to palm his face because it would be so uncharacteristic of him, and there were other professors and students passing by. And so, Reborn couldn't say anything more and just agreed, hearing Luce's cheerful 'thanks' after and shut his phone. Aside from the milk, he also bought instant coffee (there were no coffee beans sold in that small store), bread, eggs, catsup, mayonnaise, hotdog, ham and other foodstuffs. He even bought the strawberry jam that Mammon and Verde kept on asking him to buy two days ago. After paying everything, he finally went outside and saw the same child he kicked four days ago.

The two of them stared at each other for a while. No one dared to move or to speak. It was as if both of them were studying each other, wanting to understand the other. Some of the passersby were looking at them, but the two could care less. The wind passed by, and it made the two snap back to reality. Reborn was about to leave when he felt the child's hand holding his grocery bag again. He wanted to kick the kid again, but he remembered Luce and he respected Luce's words so he restrained himself. Instead, he shot a murderous glare at the child.

"What do you want from me, brat?" Reborn asked. He tugged his grocery bag so that the child's hand would let go of it.

The child flinched a bit, but he did not let go of the grocery bag. He didn't reply either. The words coming from the taller man were like jumbled puzzle pieces, making his eyebrows crease a bit. The action made Reborn irked.

"You know, if you're not going to answer, please let go of my bag so I can go home."

But the child didn't let go. Instead, he pointed at the French bread. Reborn raised an eyebrow at that.

"You want this bread?" He asked gruffly. The child nodded. Reborn was looking at the child and he could see how malnourished the child was. Now that they were up close, he saw how dirty the child was – grime and different kinds of particles were onto the child's body. He was even surprised that the child showed no signs of sickness, probably got immune at it, he thought. The child looked at the Reborn, earnest of wanting that bread.

Reborn smirked. This child has guts to approach him just for this piece of bread. He saw no fear in those eyes, probably there was, but his courage and determination overshadowed that fear. If it were any children who saw his glare, they would have probably trembled, ran away or worse, peed on their pants. But, it also came to him that of all people passing by this store and buying from this store, why was he the one always being picked by this child?

He internally sighed. He might as well give this to the child and maybe after this, the child will leave him alone. He took out the bread and handed it over to the child, "Here. I don't want to see your face ever again, got that?"

The child didn't move and took the bread. He sniffed it at first, taking in the sweet and salty fragrance of it before taking a bit. Then all of a sudden, he pushed the bread back to Reborn.

"What? How picky you are." Reborn said irritatingly. How rude of the child to return the bread after biting it. He sent the child another murderous glare and saw the child flinch but made no other movement and the bread was still held up to him.

"What do you want from me, really?!" Reborn asked aloud, gaining attention from the crowd. The child, however, made no reaction and pushed the bread higher.

Reborn gritted his teeth and turned away from the child. "You know what? I don't want my time wasted by some annoying brat like you." Then he left.

The child was heartbroken. The bread that he wholeheartedly pushed up was rejected. Was he a bad child for people to reject him greatly? He sobbed for a while as he watched the man's back, leaving him in the cold night. But no, he should not give up. With that, he followed the man.

…:[]:..

"Oh, Reborn, you're back." Luce greeted with a smile. She was still typing her plot on her laptop while waiting for seven o'clock to strike.

"Yeah." Reborn replied and stared at Luce's work, so she started writing again, he thought at the same time. Then he looked around and noticed that she was the only one in the living room, "Where are the others?"

"Verde is at his study room. Mammon is still at school. Colonnello is at the gym upstairs. Lal and Fong are still at the construction site. And Skull might be coming home soon." Luce replied, still typing away.

"I see." Then Reborn turned his heel towards the kitchen.

The doorbell suddenly rang. Luce stood and went to the gate. And when she opened the gate, to her surprise, someone fell to her arms.

It was the young child she saw three days ago.

"REBORN! COME HERE QUICK!" Luce yelled, worry laced in her voice greatly.

A/N: Er…I am sorry people. So sorry. =_=" Well at least there is progress, right? :D Hope you like it!

P.S. My Beta commented on the scene changes of this story. The purpose of this was to show you guys the daily lives of the arcobaleno, and I won't be reiterating them in the next chapters because the story will now focus on Tsuna. :D