In the previous chapter,

Gokudera didn't take long explaining the circumstances to Hibari Kyoya. The man knew Namimori like the back of his hand and he seemed pleased to accept the task. After Gokudera left the two guardians to their duty he sought out for the Vongola Familia manor situated in the outskirts of Namimori Town.

Ways on how to win a woman's heart, chapter three: (bachelor's version)

Gokudera Hayato

Orange and yellow flames illuminated the sky above, painting it with bright colors. Near the embankment, a man suited in black denims and a snug crimson shirt, hid behind a thick tree trunk. He took shallow breaths as he listened to the perpetrator's footsteps. They were close. There was a brief moment of silence, both sides anticipating each other's movements. The deafening silence was broken with a snap of a branch, betraying the intruder's location. With unfathomable speed, the man pivoted, his left arm directed at the intruder, a blazing crimson crossbow perched atop.

"Gokudera"

"Get down!"

Gokudera Hayato released the crossbow. The arrow shot through the wind whistling past several branches until it hit its target. The man yelped in pain and landed with a loud thud.

"Thanks"

Gokudera looked at the tall figure before him. He shook his head in disappointment. Yamamoto Takeshi's strong features were marred with scars, the blue shirt previously worn beneath his blazer was drenched in blood while said blazer was nowhere to be seen.

"What happened to you?"

Yamamoto smiled, Gokudera's old habits were showing, "20 hitmen, that's what happened"

Gokudera's hard features softened to a smirk, "And…?"

Yamamoto didn't bother to answer the question. Instead, he pivoted and unsheathed his sword flicking the golden bullet aside with an accurate swing. The bullet fell a few feet from where they both stood. A second after, they heard a silenced gunshot and a scream the next.

"Amateurs"

Gokudera's hand shot up to his receiver, "Reborn?" In response, Yamamoto looked around searching for the famous Hitman.

"How long do you plan to stand there while your boss is fighting?"

Bovino Lambo

The teen shook his head, dismayed. In an attempt to calm his nerves, he nonchalantly brushed his hair with his hand. He was the last man standing amongst a clutter of bodies lying on the floor. The disheveled lightning guardian looked at his suit in disgust. Releasing the powerful lighting wave did little to help his appearance. His shirt was torn, revealing his torso while his pants were torn in a few places, luckily it wasn't damaged enough to offend anyone. He sighed at the thought, can't have that.

"Lambo"

"Decimo" Lambo acknowledged with a nod. Vongola Decimo was fresh from battle, judging from his glowing gloves and the dying will flame still lit atop his forehead, it seemed like an intense one at that. Lambo guessed the tortured screams in the other room was his doing.

"Call Hibari, give him the go ahead" Lambo recognized the tone however he took the risk to ask, "Decimo, what happened?"

Sawada Tsunayoshi had already turned when Lambo asked the question, "It's not like you"

"Contact Hibari and have Ryohei take a head check, I'll take care of the rest"

"What's this about a head check?"

Sasagawa Ryohei moved what was left of the double doors to the side. His wide frame barely slid through the narrow spaces through the fallen debris. He casually held his blazer by the end, slinging it on his back. Sawada Tsunayoshi glanced at his sun guardian before taking off, his actions silencing them both.

Lambo reached in his pocket, scavenged what was left of his receiver, and threw it to the bleach haired guardian. Ryohei caught it with ease, "What's this for?"

"Tell Hibari he has the go ahead, I'll take the head check" Lambo said in a rush before leaving the room, he did not want to be the focus of the cloud guardian's irritation

Irie Shoichi

It was a day in hell. Irie Shoichi was dressed for success or at least for a better day then what he just went through. Sporting a black coat and tie with matching pants, Irie sat down at his usual station thinking to supervise the new security head. She was a female of Asian descent her eyes were a deep onyx, her hair a light brown, her figure small and petite. She wore the standard coat and tie.

However, the burgundy haired technician wasn't there to direct the skilled men and woman. Rather, he was there to assist them on the new surveillance equipment he installed around the Vongola famiglia base. It was difficult, to say the least but doable. At this, Vongola Decimo was more than willing to give him the day off. He promised himself, just one last check and he'd be off.

He'd regret those words.

Everything happened fast. There was the sound then the red light began flashing on the screen, the woman beside him ordered a visual of the situation. What flashed on the screen sent the room in a hurricane. Armed men, probably numbering to hundreds were running towards the main house. After that there were a lot of shots fired here and there.

Irie Shoichi no longer controlled his body, he was certain there was another force acting on his behalf. His fingers moved relentlessly on the keyboard as he barked orders through a receiver on his ear. The normal Shoichi would never have achieved such a feat. There was definitely divine intervention.

A gunshot caught Irie's attention. He abruptly turned on his heels and ran. He jumped and hit the floor hard. Another gunshot was heard. Shoichi grabbed the nearest gun he could get his hands on and fired, once, twice.

"Irie Shoichi! Irie Shoichi!"

Said man opened his eyes to see a panicked female fussing over him. She was saying something about a wound, but Shoichi couldn't be sure. He tried moving his arms but pain prevented him from the action. The woman said something about a medic. Irie closed his eyes and tried to focus on the woman's voice alone, maybe he could hear her then.

"Irie! Don't you dare close your eyes!"

That shook him up, "What?"

"Do you recognize me?"

"Miss Avery Lee"

The woman sighed in relief, "Thank goodness you're alright, the medics will be here shortly"

"The situation?"

"Sir Sasagawa has secured the premises along with Bovino Lambo" Avery said in a single breath, "But more importantly, why did you do that, sir!"

Irie smiled for the first time in weeks, "Can't say why I did it, but I can say that I don't regret it"

The petite woman before him looked flustered at the remark, "Anyways, you can't just jump in front of a bullet! You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"That was the point"

"What?"

"The point was to get myself killed and not you" After saying the short sentence Shoichi paused, for some reason it didn't turn out the way he wanted it to.

"A-Anyways, thanks" Avery said averting her eyes, "T-The wound doesn't look too bad, you took it on the shoulder I think it's jammed between your shoulder blades, it might be the cause of your immo-"

"Avery"

"Y-Yes sir?"

"Your cute when your flustered" The small remark evidently shut her up and to Shoichi's amusement, Avery's face burned a brilliant red.

Yamamoto Takeshi

Darkness had embraced the horizon leaving a cold chill in the air. Yamamoto Takeshi led the wide search for survivors at the northeastern part of the territory. His calculated eyes searched high and low for any signs of life. It was a difficult task, but he was a driven man.

"Sir we've got notification from the northern group. 2 survivors"

Another cold breeze swept the leaves from their branches the group voiced their condition in response with a few murmured comments here and there. Yamamoto unsheathed his sword and in a quick swipe, plunged it through a tree. The action had merit, it silenced the entire group.

"50 of our comrades are freezing to death with nothing more than the hope of survival fueling their drive to live" Yamamoto supplied with anger, "If none of you give a damn then leave"

Reborn

"Having a little fun?"

The fedora wearing Italian chanced a glance at the woman, "Are you?"

The woman smiled, though it never reached her eyes. She took a step down from the stool her heels giving off a distinctive click. The hitman closed his eyes, a small smirk working its way to his lips. The woman had long blond hair reaching far down to her delicate hips, eyes a mesmerizing onyx, and lips a lush red.

"Depends…"

Reborn tipped his hat and removed it the next, "Have a seat"

The woman gladly took the empty seat next to him, "Hmm. You haven't had a drink"

Reborn looked at the woman, raised his hand the next, and ordered whatever the woman next to him was having. This earned him a smile, "Not very original"

"I could say the same thing" Reborn said as he thanked the bartender, "Most hitmen prefer to weaken their hit, makes the kill easier"

The woman's lips slightly parted in pure shock, "You…?"

In response Reborn brought the margarita drink just bellow his nose and took a whiff, "Excess alcohol and a sleeping drug" At this discovery Reborn raised an eyebrow.

The woman shrugged, "Worth a shot"

"Then tell me, what were you hopping for?"

"What every good woman wants in a bar"

"And what's that?"

"A good drink and a handsome guy in bed"

Reborn chuckled, "Too bad, you won't be getting either"

The woman looked at Reborn with a raised eyebrow that is until the room began to spin, "Hmmm…got me there" The woman murmured in understanding

Reborn caught the woman before her body hit the ground, "Didn't catch your name"

"It's…Esther…" The woman gave a small appreciative smile before closing her eyes

Reborn laid the woman on a nearby couch. Another day, another hit. It was too bad though, the woman had the skills. A normal hitman would have barely noticed the trick. His guess was that most of the drinks were drugged without the bartender's knowledge. Could be one of the reasons why the substance wasn't anything fatal. Having to clean up more than one body for just one accurate kill would be bothersome.

Behind him, he heard the bartender's audible gasp, "She okay?"

Reborn replied by bringing out Leon and pointing the gun at the middle aged man, "I don't know, you tell me"

"I'll stay in for the night, make sure the lady's up and about in the morning"

Reborn took of the safety of the gun, "A-A-And! I'll make sure no one touch her"

The hitman nodded in approval and placed the lethal weapon back in his coat pocket. He grabbed his fedora on the table and excited the bar in a fashion most people would call fines. The mustang's engine roared to life as it drove past one of the few secluded bars in Namimori.

' Time to see how my student is doing '

Spanner

The blond jumpsuit wearing technician was patiently sitting on one of the conference rooms in the spacious main house of the Vongola manor. Some may wonder what a technician was doing amongst the Vongola guardians, Spanner doesn't know himself.

"We're missing something" Gokudera Hayato, wearing a full black suit with a crimson undershirt, announced

"I agree to the extreme" Sasagawa Ryohei confirmed, "There couldn't be any loop holes in the security system, right Spanner?"

Spanner looked at everyone in the room. Now he remembered, Shoichi was out of commission for the time being, he was the replacement, "Nope, Shoichi and I made sure the system was flawless, the system's ability in detecting the threat is proof of that fact"

"If it wasn't the system, then it means that the enemy was able to move that fast?" Yamamoto interjected "then they must have known the layout of the manor, it's the only explanation"

"And remember, they were definitely heading for the main house" Lambo interjected "Which means that they were aiming for Decimo"

Spanner studied every face in the room. Everyone was tense, but they kept a good hold of themselves. Vongola Decimo was missing as of late and so was the Infant tutor, the only aspect preventing all the guardians from taking on the search themselves was the previous reassurance from Chrome Dokuro. She took on the responsibility of tracking the young Vongola Boss. Everyone in the room knew that Hibari Kyoya was the best, and if Chrome Dokuro said she'd do it, then the cloud guardian could not be far behind.

"Could that suggest a spy in our ranks?"

The question evidently silenced each person in the room.

Gokudera rubbed his temples and cleared his throat, breaking the silence, "We can't go around making accusations, CEDEF has to head an investigation on the matter"

All eyes turned to the dirty blond man across the table, "I shall have CEDEF on the situation once *Sire Sawada has given me the approval to do so"

"By the way, are there any reports on Reborn's whereabouts?" Yamamoto inquired

"At around 7pm the guards saw him leaving with his mustang" Lambo supplied "Its Reborn, I don't think we need to worry about him"

"Agreed. For now we'll have to create counter measures, there's bound to be a next attack, either here or in another base" Gokudera ordered "Yamamoto, contact the Varia, have a representative fly to Japan. Ryohei, contact all the Vongola basses and inform them of the situation, start with those in Japan and the Asian continent. Spanner, you'll be taking over Irie's duties in the meantime, oversee all repairs done to the manor. And Lambo, I want you to make sure anyone with Vongola connections is safe and under surveillance"

The orders were given and the time was set. The Vongola famiglia waited anxiously for a brewing war and for the return of their boss.

*Sire – I had a hard time translating Basil's old language to English and since this word is the next best thing I decided to use it

Author's note: It's been a while since I last wrote sorry haha but I blame college entrance exams for that. LOL. and I just realized (after re-reading the previous chapter) that I sounded like I was a college student, but don't get the wrong idea. I take summer jobs and I am also taking the college entrance exams. Again I apologize for the delay, now I'm sure I have the time to write more considering I only have (counts) 2 more schools to test for. Wish me luck! ^_^ I kinda aimed a little high.

Also, thank you for the reviews! It really makes me smile every time I read a review :D

Next chapter will be on either the bachelorettes Haru and Bianchi (not sure if there are any more..?) or Sasagawa Ryohei and Kurokawa Hana OR the Varia. Still undecided so If anyone wants to make a suggestion then feel free to do so.

Reviews will be appreciated. Thanks!