Reborn was literally her godfather, and has been her caretaker for many years, but he had never told her of his connections to the mafia. She was a natural hitman, a fact which pained him greatly because he had given his word to her father to protect her from the mafia life.

Of course, of course, she would be present when Tsunayoshi met Xanxus. Of course she would inadvertently piss off one of the single most dangerous man in the whole of the mafia world. And live. And of course she would find him fascinating. And vice versa.

As if trying to make No-Good Tsuna into a good Vongola boss wasn't difficult enough.

A/N I'm really sorry about the long wait! I know, I haven't updated in a while, I'm such a terrible author! *hides face in shame*

So! First and foremost, I'd like to thank everyone that favorited/alerted, and a special thanks to BabyShinji, belladu57, Mupfel (Guest), Guest (kind of obviously- Guest), xenocanaan, Marion (Guest), and Loopy (Guest) for the reviews! I really appreciate your kind words.

Secondly... angst. Sorry. This chapter was just bound and determined to be angst-y, there was nothing to be done. That said, remember, this is KHR! It's only a matter of time before hilarious, weird shit starts happening. Promise.

Annnd, yeah. Stuff.

Hope you enjoy the next chapter of The Godfather.

The Godfather

Chapter 2: Pitiful Things

====Story Start====

Reborn had set her up in a nice, little –Yeah, not really so little.- home on the wealthier side of town. She had room for an art studio and a library, and the kitchen was probably big enough to feed fifty people at once. The property was spacious- the house set far back from the street, and was secured by a twenty foot tall cement wall that went all the way around.

It was beautiful.

It was calm.

It was quiet.

It was safe.

...It was also terribly, horribly, lonely.

The silence echoed.

But Citrine was used to that- used to the loneliness she felt whenever Reborn was between visits. Especially when she was put up somewhere large where she lived all by herself. That's why she was always going out and doing things in places with lots of loud people, and making as many friends as she could. She wasn't the sort to discriminate, –old or young, rich or poor, energetic or lethargic, ugly or beautiful- if they were willing to be her friend, she was willing to be theirs.

Unless they set her red alert off.

It was strange, and somewhat hard to describe- her red alert. It was just this instinctual warning she had- it told her when a person or situation was... wrong. It had saved her life on more than one occasion. Reborn always affected an expression that was a mixture of proud and frustrated when she told him about it, so she tended not to tell him.

But when her red alert went off, she listened without hesitation.

It was because she had such keen instincts that she was not even a little bit afraid to go wondering on her own (She'd given her guards the slip almost as soon as she left the house, which was a bit mean of her -Reborn would not be pleased with them at all- but she didn't feel like having babysitters for the day.) in a strange market, in an odd town, in a foreign country. Her uncle would not be happy to find that she'd quickly picked up someone to show her around, even if the person in question was little more than a child.

They'd been in this city for several weeks now, although some days it felt like only yesterday that she'd had to leave her studio behind. To keep the loneliness at bay she made it a point to go somewhere new at least once every four days or so. Today it was a market in the middle class area of town. Citrine had almost immediately attached herself to a messy haired boy who looked completely overwhelmed by the list he had clutched in one hand.

She got the boy to relax by slowly talking to him, pulling details from him like his name (Tsunayoshi Sawada), his age (13), even where he went to school (Namimori Middle). Fifteen minutes into their acquaintance and she had him smiling, blushing, (He was so adorable!) and stuttering through an account of the child who was terrorizing him under the pretense of tutoring him.

She had, of course, quickly realized exactly who the boy was talking about- the curly sideburns, lizard named Leon, and black and orange fedora were all rather obvious giveaways. She would have known who it was even if he hadn't attributed those characteristics to a talking baby. And then there was the fact that they were being followed by a woman whom Citrine was quite familiar with.

She gave no acknowledgment to her godfather's stalker, though she found herself instinctively guiding her new young friend away from certain (suspicious, purple, smoking) things around the market, all while listening to his stories with rapt attention. It was nice, hearing stories about her beloved godfather from someone new for a change.

Citrine had to hide a smile on more than one occasion, not wanting to hurt her young friend's feelings by laughing at his misery. She had, after all, grown up with the influence of Reborn- it was only natural she have a sadistic streak. Some parts of Tsuna's tale brought a darkness to her eyes, though well concealed, for they confirmed things she'd always suspected but never truly known for sure. As always, though, she would say nothing of it until he did.

Somewhere between their shopping and their talking, they'd managed to arrive at Tsuna's street. Citrine gave him a broad, almost sisterly smile- it conveyed compassion and understanding, and it gave the young boy a warm, comfortable feeling in his chest.

"Well, despite everything that's happened, it sounds like you've made some really good friends." That strange -Vongola- insight of his told him that talk of friends made her sad, though he could find no sign of it anywhere on her face. He wasn't sure why he thought it, but he was certain that she was sad. "You should cherish them with all your heart." She stopped then, staring at him with eyes that were suddenly a thousand times more focused than they had been the whole time they'd been shopping together- he felt like she was stripping the soul from his bones and holding it to the light for examination. Then she smiled again -he couldn't quite remember when she'd stopped- and stooped down to give him a friendly peck on the cheek. "This is my number. I don't know how much help I'll be, but if you ever need someone to talk to, feel free to give me a call."

She left then, walking off like she hadn't a care in the world. It was only when the boy, blushing with embarrassment, looked at the paper in his hand and saw the word written neatly beside the number that he realized he'd gone the whole time without knowing her name. He felt a moment of shame in that- for dumping all his problems on her without even that courtesy, but then he remembered that smile and instead of shame, he felt a determination to make it up to her the next time they spoke.

Citrine.

He wondered if this was how it felt to have someone older to actually look up to.

Citrine wasn't much surprised to find him waiting for her when she arrived home, though, for once, she did not immediately acknowledge him. Hearing Tsuna's tale, knowing what she did, there was no doubt the boy had eyes on him at all times. Of course Reborn would be waiting.

She put away the groceries she'd bought in silence, never glancing away from her task. She was waiting for something- an apology, maybe. He said not a word, so her lips twisted into an ironic smile, mirthless, and she turned towards her bedroom without ever glancing at him. She stopped there, hand on the knob, and spoke with a coldness that had never been directed at him before. "Remember that he is also a child."

And the door closed behind her.

He grimaced, it was that oh-so specific grimace that only appeared when her natural hitman talents showed themselves. Also a child, not just; she knew that Tsuna wasn't -couldn't be- just a child. He was to be the Vongola Tenth, and she understood that. She understood it even better than Dame Tsuna did.

He left.

Citrine stood, back pressed to the door, hand mindlessly running up and down the part of the scar that was on her throat. She was feeling old for once, really feeling the weight of her adulthood. Barely twenty-two, she'd been taken care of her whole life- it made it hard, sometimes, to really feel like the adult she was supposed to be. She had a role to play, and some days that knowledge was the only thing keeping her from reaching out for the burdens and freedoms that were just waiting for her.

Odd that she would feel trapped by the love of others- first her father, and then Reborn.

She pitied Tsuna, and for a moment... she pitied herself.