Rachael Hertz & fanfiction: CloudGateau

Katekyo Hitman Reborn concept: Akira Amano

Pairings: None

Extras: Go to my profile to see my references for the story details!

Cloud: … Yes, I know it has been roughly 10 months. -_-'

Living in Sin

Chapter 4 .:Welcome to the family:.

The first time is always the hardest

Rachael woke with a start; not to the sweet song of bird, but to the ear-splitting yells of Squalo.

"Stupid alarm. Ughhh…. No bacon, want sausages."

Eyes still glued shit, her arms shot out to grab the Mickey Mouse alarm clock that usually woke her up with a jovial "Wakey, wakey, Eggs and bakey!"

Instead, her hand collided painfully against something hard and rigid.

"Gah!" Rachael's head appeared from under the covers. "Was---?"

Her face came an inch away from an ornately carved, mahogany headboard. She stared at it, confused as her vision focused and her memories reformed.

Rachael supposedly emerged victorious from the scramble for the position of Varia's Cloud. She befriended Fran, a mist illusionist who also made it into the Varia's elite. Afterwards, they met their squad members Squalo and Lussuria and watched the blow up the castle (it turned out the castle actually belonged to an arms-trafficker the Varia recently assassinated). A driver sent from headquarters picked them up in a luxurious, black Rolls-Royce which Rachael remembered falling asleep in…

Her eyes began to close when an explosion from downstairs rattled the building and bits of plaster rained down onto her bed.

"Never mind, I'm awake anyways," Rachael grumbled as she yanked the covers off. Pulling the curtains apart, Rachael yawned as sunlight streamed into and illuminated the room. She stood there motionless and raised her eyebrows, impressed.

The room overlooked not only the driveway and garden, but a lush valley and mountain range. She could see a large town not far from her room as well as a twinkling lake to the east. Rachael admired the scenic view a while longer, turned around and her awe turned to astonishment, then glee.

"This room… is bigger than my flat."

The room well-furnished room also tripled the size of her previous home. Warm, rosily colored walls complimented the creamy white ceiling and plush carpet. The four-postered bed Rachael slept in could fit at least two people. In the corner, a full body mirror stood alongside a heavy, wood wardrobe. In another corner, a squishy armchair, complete with plump footrest, stood underneath tall lamp and bookshelf. A large desk supported a VAIO laptop computer, printer-scanner, and an assortment of office supplies. A long bench with several posh pillows extended underneath the wide, bay windows. Next to it, French windows opened up to a small balcony.

Rachael peaked into the bathroom. The buttery marble and warm, white ceramic seemed to have a euphoric effect on Rachael for she staggered at the door and mentally cried tears of happiness.

"A bathroom I can actually move around in…"

After she got a hold of herself, Rachael located her boots by the door. She pulled them on and as she turned to find her jacket, she spotted a folded square of clothing on a chair. Shaking the jacket out, Rachael recognized it as the uniform Lussuria and Squalo wore.

She rubbed the jacket against her face, sighing "oh… so fuzzy," before sliding it on and buttoning it up. Rachael stood in front of the mirror, slightly alarmed but marveled by how well the jacket fit her.

Rachael stuck her hands in her pockets for effect and felt two objects, one papery and one metallic. She pulled out a piece of paper and a ring engraved with the Varia insignia. Rachael held the letter up to the light.

"Rachael dear, as you might have figured for yourself, this room is now yours—"

Rachael silently did a victory dance.

"—and the jacket is also custom-made and tailored to fit you (I'm a pro at guessing people's measurements). The ring is the official design for the Varia and it holds a high purity, A-grade gem within. Yours will produce a cloud based flame. Make sure to get your box weapon fitted for the Varia design (if we ever locate that elusive Box-Maker).

Breakfast is at 8:00 am and everyone deals with lunch and dinner on their own. You have the option of eating what the chefs cook up but I wouldn't recommend it (we replace them every day). We will often go without seeing one another the entire week. But on Sunday afternoons, the elite core members absolutely must gather for their traditional dinner get together (it's in the second dining hall to the left of the grand staircase, not the main dining hall).

As for our missions, we are assigned operations by email and paired up according to the difficulty of the task and requirements needed to accomplish it.

Laundry day is on Monday so just leave the hamper out after showering.

I'll be on a mission for the next two days so ask Squalo if you have any questions. Good luck dear!

~Lussuria

P.S Your belongings are in the wardrobe."

Rachael smiled. She took comfort in knowing she could rely on someone to help her. In spite of this, the note puzzled her to no end. What exactly were "cloud-based flames" and "boxes" anyway? As she stared at the ring helplessly and vainly raked through her brain for answers, Rachael did not notice the door open or the figure that slipped in. The figure made his way towards the unsuspecting Rachael and reached out to grab her shoulder.

Rachael yelped and whirled around to confront her assailant. However, she did not expect in a million years, to come face to face with a giant frog.

"Good morning," the frog said.

Rachael stared.

The frog sighed and tilted its head back. There stood Fran, wearing a Varia jacket much like her own, and looking more somber than usual. An enormous frog hat had hidden him from Rachael who was a head taller.

"Was…?" Fran cut her off.

"I just met the same fallen prince who tried to kidnap me back in Turin. He insisted I wear this ridiculous hat and when I refused, he threw knives at me. Which reminds me, would you mind pulling these out?" Fran added, turning around.

Rachael wordlessly yanked out several strangely shaped knives imbedded in his back. When Fran turned around, he waited to be pelted with the millions of questions Rachael eagerly wanted to ask. Instead, they stood there in awkward silence.

"Breakfast?"

.::.

Fran led Rachael to one of the private kitchens. Squalo was the only person sitting at the kitchen table when they arrived. He scowl worsened when he saw Rachael cringe in response to his glare.

"Um... good morning."

Once they settled into their seats and helped themselves to caffè e latte, hot chocolate and fette biscottate, Squalo lowered his own cup.

"Lussuria and Levi are on missions. Belphegor just left and Boss is in Kiev, killing some testa di merda drug lord who decided to cross into our territory."

"Who?"

Squalo's eye twitched.

"They're your leader and your squad members, fessacchione."

'Bad fortune is a cruel, sadistic bitch,' Squalo thought.

This morning, some idiota brought C4 into the building and it would have blown up half the castle if he hadn't hurled it off the cliff. Squalo continued on to stop Belphegor from chasing Fran around the castle because they endangered the lives of the staff. The Boss fired the head chef for the 5th time this month. (Actually, Xanxus, always the fickle eater, chucked his dish at Squalo and shot the poor chef in the leg.) The chef escaped but nevertheless, Squalo was stuck with the delicate and difficult task of finding a new chef.

And now, Squalo was forced to drill two new members who didn't seem to know their elbows from their asses.

Squalo felt a migraine coming on and he furiously rubbed his temples.

"You know, rubbing your temples actually adds pressure to your temporal bone. You should open your jaw to relieve the pressure," Fran broke in.

"SHUT UP! I don't need you telling me this!" Squalo, "You're on your fucking own. I'm calling in sick. Oh… damn it to fuck, my head is killing me." He slapped a file down on the table, and stomped out, in search of the holy medicine cabinet.

"Pfft, what a drama queen."

"Actually, think she's just going through that time of month."

"Um, I think Squalo's a guy."

"Ah… could've fooled me."

Nonetheless, Rachael slid the folder in front of her:

Mission: Rank B

Event time: 7:00 pm GMT London

Event Date: December 1st

Destination: Royal Armouries Museum, London, England

Brief: Michel Medici, world renowned businessman, art collector and philanthropist, will be holding a Renaissance Art Auction for Haiti at the 20XX Masquerade Ball. However, one of the pieces is a rumored copy and may contain precious information on the Vongola Famiglia. The painter was a spy who sold this painting just before he was killed.

Objective: Infiltrate the ball and switch target painting with a second replica [see building floor plan]. Eliminate any and all obstacles.

Prep: Send personal weapons and box weapons to Alonzo who will hide them in the air duct in the men's main bathroom [see building floor plan].

Detour to Venice for masquerade masks and costume fitting at Carta Alta and Tragicomica - Fabbrica Maschere Costumi [see map].

Fly to London and stay at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel in Leeds City Centre until event date. Access weapons and replica painting in the men's bathroom air duct and them make switch.

Deliver target painting to CEDEF through agent Basil who will meet you at the hotel. Report back to Sicily afterwards and deliver a report to headquarters...

Brushing biscottate crumbs off of the folder, Rachael asked, "Want to leave right after we finish?"

Fran gulped down his hot chocolate and wiped a frothy mustache from his upper lip.

"Sure. It's not like our loud-mouthed commander is any condition to come with us, anyways."

.::.

During the 1 and a half hour flight from Sicily to Veneto, Rachael and Fran watched The Departed. They didn't get to finish however, and the pilot was forced to throw them down the evacuation slide, despite their pleas of '10 more minutes Signor Pilota.'

From the airport, they took a cab across the Ponte della Libertà into the heart of the City of Masks.

Rachael stared up at the weathered buildings and carved bridges with awe as she and Fran passed underneath by gondola. She had visited Venice once as a child but she was no less amazed.

At Carta Alta, Fran picked out an ornately painted plague doctor mask for himself. Rachael's mask was more simply shaped; a shimmery, darker grey, detailed in silver thread with flourishing yet elegant silver wire that branched off from the mask's right.

Tragicomica wasn't too far away so they practiced walking with their masks on until Rachael nearly stumbled into a canal.

"Forget getting past security and switching the paintings, I think walking with these things on is the hardest challenge," Rachael grumbled as she released Fran's forearms.

At Tragicomica, the costume shop, Fran easily found a suit that fit him. Rachael, however, had a hard time picking out a dress.

She only wore dresses when she was small. Now, Rachael stood, eyes narrowed, before the selection of poufy, colorful ball gowns. Fran sidled up next to her.

"I'm glad I'm not a girl. Clothing is a lot less complex when you're a guy."

"If you're not going to help, I'm forcing you into one of these."

Fran thought for a second, and then called over an attendant, a pretty, blond woman. Whispering into her ear, the attendant smiled and in rapid Italian, rallied the shop staff.

Rachael stared as the blond attendant clambered onto the checkout desk and into the intercom, began yelling orders.

"Allllright ladies! This is the big one! We gotta find her" She jabbed a finger at Rachael, "a dress for a ball. Whoever finds her dream dress gets…" she paused for dramatic effect, "the feeling of a job well done!"

Rachael furrowed her eyebrows. 'They're not going to—"

But despite the meager winning, Rachael was shocked when shoes clattered across the wooden floors and attendants scrambled for dress racks and shelves. Silk gowns and high heels went flying as the store went into frenzy.

Rachael, too shocked for words, merely stood and gaped.

In the end, they succeeded. With the combined efforts of the entire shop staff, random customers willing to help, and Fran's critical eye, they found a pale blue-grey dress that matched the mask. A customer selected a pair of gun-metal grey flats and a matching necklace for Rachael.

Taking the shoes and dress from the blond attendant, Rachael stuttered a 'thank you' and made her way towards the checkout counter when suddenly; strong arms latched onto Rachael.

"Eh?"

The attendants' eyes glinted.

"You are planning to purchase those without trying them on, are you signora?"

Before Rachael could answer, they dragged her into a dressing room and snapped the curtains shut. After a few minutes of muffled protests as attendants forced Rachael into her costume, she emerged, face flushed and shivering.

Rachael stood, slightly hunched and arms crossed in front of the full length mirror. With the mask on, she would have never guessed her reflection was hers.

The dress strapless, intricately but gently ruched at the bodice and flowed from the hips. It was roughly the same shade as her steely, blue-grey eyes, and the fabric grew lighter at the hem.

The neckpiece consisted of strips of dark grey lace that wound around her neck unevenly. Tiny jeweled keys, picture frames and other trinkets hung from the lace strips, densely at the chest and more sparsely up the neck.

Satisfied, the store staff finally let Fran and Rachael purchase and stagger out of the shop.

"I'm no expert," Fran said flopping into his chair aboard the plane to England, "but I think we should've chosen the dress first, and then matched the mask with the dress."

"Sh—shut up," Rachael groaned, forehead pressed against the window.

(AN: The following information pertaining to this fanfiction is historically/culturally/geographically etc. accurate. Cited from Wikipedia and Google Maps)

1. Was?: What?(German)

2. Rolls Royce: is a British manufacturer of luxury automobiles based inGoodwood, England.

3. caffè e latte: (from the Italian caffelatte, meaning "coffee [and] milk") is a type of coffee drink made with hot milk. It is regularly drunk at breakfast.

4. fette biscottate: a cookie-like hard bread often eaten with butter and jam andbiscotti(cookies)

5. Kiev, Ukraine: is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River.

6. testa di merda: shithead

7. Fessacchione: big idiot

8. Royal Armouries Museum: is a national museum in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. I chose this building because it actually hosts a Masquerade Ball in December.

9. Carta Alta: a Venetian mask manufacturer.

10. Tragicomica: A costume shop located in Venice Italy

11. Holiday Inn Express Hotel: Located in the Leeds City Centre. I chose this hotel because it was the closest to the Royal Armouries Museum.

12. Veneto, Italy:is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Venice is its capital.

13. The Departed: is an American crime film. Fran and Rachael watched the 2006 version.

14. Ponte della Libertà: (the Freedom Bridge) connects the city of Venice to Mestre, on the mainland. The airport Fran and Rachael landed in was the Tessera

Aeroporto di Venezia Marco Polo (translated: Venice Marco Polo Airport).

15. Venice, Italy: is a city in northern Italy, famous because its buildings are built on stilts over water. Venice has been known as the "Queen of the Adriatic "," City of Water "," City of Masks"," City of Bridges and City of Canals.

16. Ruche: A ruffle or pleat of lace, muslin, or other fine fabric used for trimming women's garments.