Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, to that Amano Akira has every right. I'm merely borrowing them for my own entertainment and make no money out of it. I do, however, own Arica D'Angelo, yay! (And any other characters you don't recognize.)

A/N: (Please read) Thanks for all the support you guys, it really motivates me to finish this story up =D, but… there's something that's bothering me and lowering my motivation a little, though. I don't want to sound mean or bitchy or anything, but there's just one thing I want to ask: please leave the plot to me? I know everyone has their expectations and their own standards and what they want from this fic, and I'm sorry if I don't live up to them, but this is the plot that came to mind and I'm sticking to it.

Honestly, I don't believe a story like this has been written before and I promise, no matter how cliché this might seem right now, there will be some unexpected turns taken in the future. Arica's past is not all about abuse and ignorance, even though it is a little dark, but this chapter will skim a little of that just to give you all the main idea – detail will follow gradually.

I invite you all to point out my grammar and spelling mistakes, give tips on how I can phrase stuff better or improve my writing style, etc. but please leave the plot in my hands, I beg of you. Otherwise I'll get confused and doubt myself and…yeah, bad things will happen to this fic. Thank you!

Okay, I'm done ranting, sorry about that, ehehe. I feel so guilty about ratting people out, but I just had to say that. Arica is based off of my own personality, so by reading this you'll sort of get to know me too, I guess… But anyhow, I've been keeping you waiting long enough!

Chapter 5

Saturday. Arica hated the weekend. It meant she had to look at Ricardo's stupid face the whole day. At least she had somewhere to go on Sunday…if he'd let her that is; she hadn't told him about it yet. Maybe he'll be in a good mood today since the ring tracker was nearly finished – 'Just a few more days' he had told her the previous day. Arica wondered what they were going to do once they took out the enemy because there's no way they can stay here… Well, maybe, but she didn't think Ricardo would take that risk. Groaning, Arica rolled out of bed and trudged over to her closet. The sun was shining brightly through her window since the maids had come to draw the curtains earlier.

Her room was large, but not too much so. The large window took up half of the outside wall directly across her bed and had black curtains. A portion of the remaining piece of wall was occupied by a sliding door that led out onto a small balcony. The room was only furnished with a queen-sized four-poster bed and a desk which stood against the opposite wall; pens, pencils and paper neatly arranged. The closet was situated on the remaining wall and, like the window, took up half of it. The bathroom door sat next to her desk, near the balcony.

Picking out a nice little indigo colored sundress and some sandals to match, she quickly got dressed and went to the bathroom to brush her hair and teeth. She looked at the dark faded bruise under her eye and decided to skip the concealer since it was the weekend and she wasn't planning on going anywhere that day. There was no use in hiding it while at home; everyone there knew how she was treated. Finishing up, she headed downstairs to see if there was anything good for breakfast.

When Arica arrived in the dining room, the table was laden with food, like every weekend. Arica didn't want to burst Ricardo's bubble or sound too full of herself, but she knew the kitchen staff only did this when she was home. On weekdays when the brunette had school, she wouldn't be able to stay long enough for a well-prepared breakfast like this, so they only prepared what the occupants of the house asked for that morning. When she was home it was an entire buffet.

No one else except for Arica, Ricardo, and a few other important Family members ate at this table, like Andrew, her 'right-hand man', Joshua, Ricardo's right-hand man, and two more close and trusted subordinates both from Rick's side. It's not like she didn't trust any of her other men – on the contrary – but she just didn't feel the need for them there; she wasn't a coward like Ricardo. She would rather have all her subordinates in the other dining hall should something happen. The rest of the united Famiglia had their own dining room/hall, because there were too many for Rick's tastes – approximately fifty all together, twenty-five in each Family.

"Boss! Buon guerno,"* Andrew greeted brightly, ignoring the glare the other boss sent him as he stood to pull out her chair for her. He so did that on purpose, Arica mentally sighed.

"Ah, grazie, Andrew," she replied, smiling lightly at her most trusted subordinate and friend. He knew she hadn't fancied coming to Japan and would sometimes speak Italian to give some comfort. He just knew her so well, and for that she was glad. "Ricardo. Everyone," she added with a fake polite nod towards the other occupants at the table, who greeted her in turn before digging into their food.

"Arica. Are you going somewhere today?" the blonde at the head of the table asked before taking a bite of his pancakes.

The girl in question took a bowl and got herself some fruit, adding some yogurt as well. "Not that I'm aware of; maybe I'll change my mind later if I get bored here. Maybe I'll go look for some clues on the enemy," she replied, taking a bite of her breakfast.

From the corner of her eye she saw Andrew glance at her, his brow furrowed slightly. She darted her eyes to his for a brief split second, sending a look that said, 'Don't worry; I'm not.' As she continued to munch on her fruit she caught the subtly relieved expression on his face. He had asked her about that one plan to escape that involved the enemy and she had confirmed that she had already thought of it. If she found the enemy and gave them over to Rick, everything would be ruined. Maybe that was why the others were acting so strange, now that she thought about it…

Arica knew he was up to something, and he knew that she knew. What exactly it was, she didn't know – at least not in full detail – but she knew it had to do with that freedom plan. She wondered if Ricardo or any of his men had noticed anything strange from her own people – they had never really been the most subtle or stealthy of people…

"Oh, that reminds me: I won't be home tomorrow for the majority of the day; I have to be at a friend's house," she informed him when she recalled her duty as Tsuna's temporary tutor at the question of what her plans were.

"Is that so?" he asked, feigning interest. "Who is this friend?"

"Tsunayoshi Sawada, but he goes by Tsuna. He's really bad at school so I offered to tutor him. We have a test on Monday and the poor kid could use the help." She saw the spark in his eyes and mentally rolled her eyes. "And don't jump the gun like you always do; I don't like him or any of the others that way and nor do they like me. He likes a girl in our class called Kyoko."

"Well, that's good then," Ricardo said, visibly relaxing as they continued eating. After he swallowed he turned his head towards his right-hand man and asked, "Anything new to report on the tracker, Josh?"

"No, Boss; everything is going as planned. Just a few more days and it'll be up and running. We're just installing all the needed programs now," the dark haired and permanently scowling man told the blond proudly. "We'll go over all the smaller details when it's done; should anything go wrong along the way, we'll be able to fix it though. No worries."

"Don't jinx it~" Arica muttered in a sing-song voice as she stabbed a piece of strawberry while trying to hide her amused smirk when the man turned a dangerous shade of red. Andrew hid his laugh behind a cough.

"As if I believe in such childish things, you little brat," Joshua growled, completely forgetting who he was talking to. He instantly shut his mouth in fear though as a fork impaled itself in the wooden table a mere centimeter from his left hand that had been resting on the table.

Ricardo was glaring daggers at the man, who swallowed nervously. "Use that tone on the lady again and you will lose more than just that hand, understood?" he said in a dangerously calm tone. Joshua nodded his head in a blur, blurting out a string of apologies, but Ricardo just ignored him, retrieved his fork and finished his food. The entire table was quiet and cowering away from the menacing-looking blond.

Arica may hate Ricardo's guts and he might hate her just as much, but there was one thing she could always be sure of: he would never let anyone other than him hurt her. As far as he was concerned, she was one of his possessions, not his equal like her father intended upon engaging them. One thing was for sure and everyone knew it, that the Mariani boss didn't let anything or anyone touch or come near his possessions. He might hurt her, but at least she was used to it by now and knew what to expect, unlike should any other person do so. And for that she was strangely grateful. Many times had one of his men snapped at her and tried to advance but Ricardo was seemingly always there to punish them before they even got within a few feet of her. She could protect herself, but he insisted it seemed. When he had said that he wouldn't be happy if those hoodlums had killed her, it was his way of saying he wouldn't allow anyone but him to do so.

Arica finished the last bit of her breakfast and stood to leave before being stopped once more by the subject of her thoughts. "Oh, Arica, could I ask you a favor?"

The girl gritted her teeth and hissed, "Do I have a choice?"

"No, not really," was the too happy answer. "Would you come to the study when you have some time? There's something I need your opinion on relating to the tracker."

She saw Joshua scowl and violently stab at his omelet upon hearing his boss' request. He was probably sulking because he wasn't asked to do the job. Most likely it was something important that needed a little brains and logic. Joshua was feared among the men in the house for his muscle, brute strength and intimidating presence, not for his intelligence or logical and rational decision-making. Ricardo knew very well that she had the entire day free, though. Sighing slightly, the brunette glanced over her shoulder at him and forced an overly polite smile which no one fell for. "I'll be there in about an hour; I still have some homework and studying to do." After receiving the satisfied nod, Arica made her way upstairs, Andrew following close behind.

"I don't like you helping that bastard, Boss," he muttered under his breath as soon as they were out of sight and earshot, but got no answer as they continued up the stairs to the third floor. The house was one of her father's mansions – he owned one in almost every major, important city or state – and had three stories.

The ground floor consisted of the kitchen, two dining rooms, a guest bathroom, and a game room that the younger subordinates used frequently in their free time. There was also a living room but it wasn't used often; Arica spent most of her time in her room and the others were too busy with the tracker. The second story held the men's bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. There were only ten rooms, each shared by a maximum of five men. The top floor was where Arica's room was, along with the rooms of Ricardo, Andrew and Joshua – all the 'important' people. There was also a small library/study where they were currently busy setting up the tracker, along with Ricardo's personal little lounge. She had never been in there but he had one back in Italy so she had a vague idea since she had been in that one once or twice. There was a large garden in the backyard, a pool, the staff dorms and a training room.

Arica entered her room and plopped down at her desk while Andrew closed the door and locked it to make sure no one can hear them when they were talking. The girl took out her math homework as the man came over and perched himself on the corner of the desk, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched her start working. After a few minutes of silence, he broke it. "You still haven't reacted to my statement on the way here."

She started slightly, almost having forgotten her subordinate was in the room. Sighing once more, Arica looked up briefly to acknowledge him before returning to the problem she was working on. "I have to, Drew. It's the only way for me to get what I want – what we all want. I hate the idea as much as you do, but I don't have a choice. Besides, if I don't do anything to help or decline his requests then he'll get suspicious, send men to follow me everywhere I go and beat me even more if they report something and he takes it the wrong way. I wouldn't be able to put my plans into action either if that happens."

The twenty-six-year old man grunted in frustration but otherwise kept quiet. "Would you tell me what your plan is already? I have an idea too, so I'm sure it's the same as yours," he said again when the math book was packed away and the science text book was opened.

"Then you're probably right," was the only answer he received, along with a small smile. His building irritation faded away instantly upon seeing the quirk of the younger's lips, his shoulders sagging and his expression softening. It was one of her true smiles, not those forced or sad or fake ones she always gave. Andrew would bet his life that he was probably one of only a handful – if not less – people to have ever seen it. He doesn't even think her own father had seen it before.

Arica D'Angelo never smiled, at least not after that time she was sent to that lab. Even the ones she gave her friends at school were fake and held no real emotion behind them. It was a true miracle when she did smile, though, which was maybe once or twice a year. And that was the complete and honest truth, no exaggerations. Even her fake smiles were rare and her subordinates considered themselves lucky should they see that happen; they would be stunned beyond belief if it happened more than twice a week. The 'true smile' – as labeled by everyone who had ever witnessed it – could melt even the coldest of hearts with its warmth. Her father had once tried to use that as a trick to persuade the meanest of Mafiosi into cooperation, but it failed miserably as the girl would set her mouth in a permanent-looking scowl on purpose.

The reason she didn't smile like that all the time was because…well, she never had anything to smile about. She had been living and traveling with Ricardo for the past three years, meaning she had been shoved around, accused and beaten for the past three years. Her father had arranged a marriage between them when she turned eighteen in four more years; by that time Ricardo would already be twenty-one and well on his way to making his family a success. He had inherited the Mariani throne at the mere age of thirteen when his father had died and it was convenient, in her father's opinion, that he was so close to her own age so they could marry and thus unite the two allied families.

Arica D'Angelo also didn't have any reason to smile even before she started living with Ricardo. Before that, she lived with her father, Silvio D'Angelo, the Ninth boss of Rinaldi and that wasn't any better than her life now. He didn't care for her, he didn't pay her much attention either; she was a girl in the mafia, the only heir to the Famiglia, when he had wanted a son. He thought her weak and in the way, also one of the reasons he had been all too glad to ship her off with Ricardo. She doubted he would do anything even if he did believe what she had to say about the blond. Silvio was a man for power and wanted as much of it as he could get before he retired or died, probably even in his grave he would be hungering after it. Power and status came first; everything else came last, even his own daughter. Arica was merely a tool to give him that power and he used her and ordered her as he pleased; her feelings about it had no place or say in anything.

And then there was that place. That god-awful place that kept people – children – in like caged animals. She still had nightmares, even after six years. It had been six years; it sounded almost impossible but it was true. Had she really been harboring those things inside of her for so long? It had been nothing short of a torturous prison no matter what her father had told her to get her there. She still remembered the piercing screams, the searing pain, the dripping blood. So much blood, both from her and the other children that had been kept there. The screaming had nearly broken her – once again, hers as well as the others' – as well as the pain. Arica's hands curled into fists and she could almost feel the pain in her arms and body both during and after the surgery.

Andrew looked on anxiously as he saw the changes occur in the girl in front of him. The science text book was still open in front of her, but as he watched, her eyes grew unfocused and faraway. He had a suspicion as to where her thoughts had gone, but he really hoped he was wrong. Then his hopes were dashed when her brow furrowed and her hands gripped the book so hard that the pages crumpled and even ripped. Her jaw was clenched and she was shaking slightly, small beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Arica's eyes shut tightly and the book dropped from her hands and thudded to the floor. The man heard strangled whimpers from her throat as she clutched her head in pain. The pain wasn't physical, of course, only psychological torture to herself.

"Arica. Arica, come on, snap out of it," he said urgently, kneeling down beside the girl and shaking her shoulders lightly but firmly. When she didn't respond immediately, Andrew continued to speak. "It's not real, don't think about it; the only one causing you pain right now is you. They're not here, they're gone. Dead. You're not in that place anymore and neither are they; they can't hurt you anymore. You're safe and free now. Snap out of it!"

The traumatized girl blinked slowly, the focus swimming back into her dull green eyes. "Andrew?" she asked in a voice barely more than a whisper. She registered the concern-turned-relieved look on his face and looked around to see her book sprawled on the ground. "I'm sorry. I…don't know where that came from just now. But I'm fine now, grazie." Arica gave him another one of those heartwarming smiles before standing and stretching, glancing at the clock. "Well, we better get going; my hour is up. Ricardo wouldn't be too happy if I'm late."

Andrew stared at her retreating back for another moment before following and closing the door behind him. They moved further down the hallway until they came to the door all the way at the end of it. If he wasn't watching her so closely, Andrew wouldn't have noticed the brief pause when her hand touched the doorknob. She was more nervous than she ever let on. Without making their presence known, Arica turned the polished doorknob after taking a subtle deep breath and stepped into the study.

ENDENDEND

Translations: (though I think it's pretty obvious)

*Buon guerno: good morning

*Grazie: thank you

A/N: I thought about adding the first piece of the next chapter to this one to make it longer, but then I'll have to do it with ALL the chapters I've written so far and that's not going to work so well, unfortunately. But I promise they get longer! I know this chapter probably presented you all with more questions than giving answers, but all will be explained in due time I assure you.

Oh, and this will be the last chapter for a while since my exams start Friday, meaning I won't be able to update for like, two months – the next one may very well be posted in January *cries* yes, that is a long time. But that won't stop you wonderful people from reading and reviewing I hope? Riiiiight? I'll still be reading your reviews even if I'm not able to post so you better review, or else I'll make Kyo-kun hunt you down and bite you death (evil smirk). Haha, just kidding, that guy's impossible to control. But seriously, I would love to hear some feedback (gives puppy dog eyes).

Hopefully you'll have a wonderful Christmas and New Year and birthday – whoever's birthday may be in that time period. Until next time, ciao~