Title: Anomalous Days

Summary: Reborn never imagined that a simple screw up during a mission would lead him to the weirdest person he had ever meant. Now he just needs to make sure that this person doesn't learn about his identity while being in an eight-year-old body.

Rating: M obviously

Pairing: Eventual R27

A/N: I think this story will be around 8 to 10 chapters long. Might be longer, depending on how my fingers decide it.

Beta'ed by WhiteAngel128 and Ankou13

Chapter 4

"Juudaime! Welcome back!" Tsuna peered up at his right-hand man, Gokudera, and nodded sharply in greeting. The silver-haired man grinned widely before rushing forward, his eyes drifting over his beloved boss happily. The brunet couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's antics and he reached over to give Gokudera a hug; their customary second greeting. "Has everything been fine for you?"

"Yes, it's been perfect." Tsuna continued down the hallway, making sure that his mask was on correctly. Though he didn't really need it in this part of the Vongola Mansion, he needed to play it safe for now. There was no telling if a spy had snuck in or if someone was watching through one of the windows. He was dressed in his usual tailored black suit with his typical orange undershirt. A long black cape with a red underside was hooked around his shoulders as well, fluttering behind him and Gokudera as they walked. Chains were hooked to his pants and his Vongola Gloves adorned his hands; he was ready to go at any moment. The Vongola Sky Ring rested on his middle finger, uncovered for the world to see, proof that he was indeed the boss of Vongola.

Gokudera, his right-hand man and storm guardian, was one of his best friends and would run the mansion whenever he was absent. Along with his other Guardians, Gokudera and Tsuna had become close during their teenage years. It was through that strong bond they shared that enabled them to defeat their adversaries and make their way up to their current point. Together they had destroyed Vongola from the inside out and pieced it back together to reflect what Primo, the first boss of Vongola, had originally intended it to be. Now Vongola was thriving more so than ever before, its power spreading to the rest of the world. No one dared to go against their famiglia, everyone wanted to be on their good side in an effort to prevent their own from falling into the abyss.

Once Tsuna reached his office and accompanied Gokudera inside, he closed the door behind them. Yamamoto, his rain guardian, was already inside. He was sitting on the couch, smiling at his two friends. "Yo, Tsuna!" The black-haired man stood up and encompassed the brunet in a warm hug. Gokudera looked like he was about to say something but he held back, wiggling his nose instead. "I'm glad to see you're back. Next time you head to Japan make sure to take me with you. I want to see my old man soon."

"I have no issue with that. I saw him when I went to buy some sushi, he's doing very well. He misses you, you know?" Tsuna reached up to yank his mask off; finally free from its confines. His eyes trailed over his left-hand man and other best friend as he chuckled. He watched as his rain guardian rubbed the back of his head, muttering under his breath as he thought back to the man who raised him. Tsuna smiled and continued, "Anyway, back on topic, I met a cute little child in Japan. Apparently, he was being chased by a nasty famiglia for some reason, but don't worry, I took care of it. They were quite easy, never suspecting who I was. As for why they were chasing the child, I'm afraid I could never get the reason out of the boy."

"Ah, that incident." Gokudera nodded his head, having been informed about the cleanup. He knew his beloved boss didn't enjoy killing anyone and liked to avoid such happenings, but when it came to children Tsuna didn't hold back. It was the part Gokudera liked about his boss the most; his desire to protect the innocent.

"Yeah, well, I ended up saving said child and taking him in. And although I don't exactly know what it is, I know he's hiding something important. Still, my intuition isn't going off so it's safe for now." The brunet moved around his desk and sat down, peering over some of the paperwork stacked there. Opening the drawers for a pen, he began signing. He hoped that the child wouldn't return to the mansion while he was gone, it would be terrible if the alarms went off or if Ryan was left outside for the night. Shaking his head, he carried on. "Well, what are the plans for today?"

Gokudera stepped forward, getting himself back into his right-hand man attitude. "Today we're going to interview some assassins. The invites were sent out two days ago, while you were in Japan. This will prevent any assassination attempts from them and will give most of the men a minimal amount of time to head out here after receiving the invite. We're trying to get you your personal assassin to help out around Vongola since it's clear that we can't keep sending the guardians and Varia to do personal requests all the time. With the other jobs that also need doing we are unable to keep up."

Yamamoto laughed nervously and nodded his head. "I agree. It does get hard after a while when there's so much to do."

"The only issue is finding an assassin who isn't already with another famiglia and isn't here to get close to me for information or a betrayal." Tsuna sighed, raising a hand to rub his forehead. The whole mafia world was curious about his identity and people were willing to pay big bucks to find out as much as they could about him. He couldn't blame them though, considering that he hid his identity from everyone except a few close acquaintances and the head bosses of allied famiglia. He was waiting for the right moment to reveal his identity, the time when revealing it wouldn't cause any backlash in his relationships. He continued to sign his papers, trying to finish everything as quickly as possible before needing to meet with the assassins. "What time is the appointment?"

"It's in one hour, Tsuna," Yamamoto informed him. "And we'll be going with you for safety precautions. We have guards already set up as well."

"Good. Well, let me try and finish this as quickly as possible then. Oh, and Gokudera, could you please get me something to eat? And maybe some coffee? The plane ride here exhausted me and I'm still a little wiped out."

"No problem, Juudaime!"

Reborn peered up at the Vongola mansion with curiosity, tilting his fedora to the side as a shade from the sun that was beaming down on his adult body. His eyes trailed over the rest of the area, keeping a lookout for anything suspicious before turning his attention back to the front. This wasn't his first time entering the grounds, but that had merely been to accept a job and he hadn't met very many people. When he entered last time the security had been extremely tight, heavy enough that even he would have a hard time bypassing it. However, since he had clearance, he was directed straight to a lounge to acquire the details for his job. That was how it had always been with Vongola; never further than the lounge. Despite his well-known name of being the number one hitman in the world, unlike the rest of the mafia they had never once tried to bribe him into joining their group. It was a welcomed change.

Nevertheless, today was different; he had come for a singular reason. Today, he, along with several others, were going to meet Vongola Decimo himself with the possibility of being picked as his personal assassin. It was dangerous this way, Reborn knew, but Decimo probably had no choice bar taking the risk. The invite had only been delivered to him just 23 hours ago through his email, forcing him to catch the first flight over to Italy in order to make the event in time. He wouldn't miss this for the world.

He looked over his reflection in the reflection of the car door, double checking that everything was in order. His tall, imposing form was as neat and organized as always. He had transformed back into an adult, wanting to make a good impression and knowing he couldn't make much of one if he was in a younger body. No one would take an eight-year-old seriously much less a teenager, but that was the best thing about those forms after all. That and he didn't want anyone other than those he trusted explicitly to know about his other forms. It made them quite useful for undercover missions.

He noticed a few familiar faces among the small crowd of assassins entering the building. Many of those who recognized him backed away instantly, well aware of his killing abilities, while others respected him. Reborn huffed, continuing to make his way to the front of the mansion and immediately stated his name and purpose to the guard. The man standing there looked at him momentarily as if determining whether or not he was telling the truth before nodding his head and stepping aside. Reborn smirked, already knowing he had everyone's attention from simply stating his name, and made his way in through the front entrance. The rest of the assassins were right behind, going through the same process as him. As he stepped into the familiar entranceway, he peered up at the giant chandelier that was hanging in the middle of a ceiling painted with old, Italian images of Greek men and gods. Whoever had designed the place definitely had taste. Nothing was overly elegant nor so underdeveloped, it was just perfect.

Soon, he spotted a man stepping down a hallway, looking quite important compared to everyone else. He narrowed his eyes as he recognized the person as the right-hand man of Vongola Decimo, Gokudera Hayato. The silver-haired man stopped just before the entire group of assassins, around twenty in total, and respectfully nodded his head towards the assembly. "Thank you for coming. This way, if you please."

Everyone did as they were told, heading deeper into the mansion. Reborn kept one hand within his pocket as he walked, observing his surroundings carefully. 'Video surveillance, lots of it too.' As they moved down the pathway, they eventually came up to an imposing set of large wooden doors. Reborn continued walking and entered the waiting room without an ounce of fear on his features. There was nothing to fear after all, he was here upon request, just like everyone else.

Behind the doors was a large meeting room with a circular table in the center. Such a table was used so that each person sat at it would be visible at any position. This created a fair chance for everyone and encouraged composed meetings. At one part of the table were three chairs that were different than the rest, probably for the head boss and his right and left-hand men. Everyone began to settle into random seats, peering at each other curiously, but no one spoke as they listened to their surroundings. Gokudera went around the room carefully, obviously on guard, and stopped at one of the three chairs. He didn't sit down and instead bowed to everyone as a show of continued respect. It was then that Reborn could hear footsteps, soft footsteps, making their way down the hallway behind the room. The doors they had entered from closed, and another set on the opposite side of the room opened, revealing the head boss of the entire Vongola famiglia, Vongola Decimo.

Tsuna carefully peered over everyone through his mask, his eyes immediately picking out those that would be a danger to watch out for. Yamamoto was at his side with his weapon strapped to his back and was grinning like usual. Slowly, the brunet made his way in, heading straight towards the seat that belonged to him. However, just before he reached it, he stopped and looked over the entire group once more, clearly about to make an announcement. "Welcome to Vongola Mansion, I am Vongola Decimo."

A few mutters of gratefulness went around while others just kept quiet.

"As you may know, you've all been chosen for a chance of becoming my personal assassin. Many of you come from different famiglias and others are freelancers. If you're not here for the position, I suggest you leave. However, please note that I will choose carefully. There is no doubt that Vongola has plenty of enemies." Tsuna nodded towards the men and sat down in the middle seat, straightening out his cape so that it wouldn't get in the way. His suit was fine-pressed and there was no show of weakness within his body movements. His guardians followed right behind, keeping calm despite the numerous presences.

It was then that Tsuna caught sight of a familiar looking face. He tilted his head slightly in curiosity and narrowed his eyebrows behind the mask, focusing. He was picking out the features carefully, trying to pinpoint where they belonged. Reborn flicked his fedora to the side, noticing the stare directed at him, and couldn't help but be inquisitive. It was strange after all. Perhaps it was something to do with his looks or status? It wasn't that uncommon to be dumbfounded by what they were seeing.

"Excuse me," Tsuna called out, his honey-colored eyes trained on the number one hitman in the world. People went quiet, listening in, while others were interested as to whom Tsuna was speaking to considering this type of meeting. It was hard to tell exactly when the brunet wasn't pointing to anyone. "I'm afraid I don't know your name, the one with the curly sideburns. Who are you?"

'So he is talking about me.' Reborn huffed to himself as he reached up, twisting one of his curls. He kept silent for a few seconds to drag on the suspense, knowing very well everyone's attention had been immediately directed towards him. "It's Reborn."

A few whispers erupted at the name, all recognizing exactly who Reborn was. Others tensed in defeat, knowing it would be hard to compete with the man's ability. The only thing that was preventing them from running away was the fact that Reborn had never allied himself to a specific famiglia and was known for denying requests just because he didn't like them or didn't feel like taking it. Reborn was a loner and extremely paranoid when it came to interacting with other people. It was one of the many reasons why he never allied with a single family, though at the same time it has helped him stay alive and on his toes.

Tsuna narrowed his eyebrows further. That way of speaking, that attitude, those curls and clothes, it was too similar to Ryan. "I see. Then Reborn, do you have a sibling by any chance?"

Now that threw the hitman off. He hadn't expected Tsuna to actually ask such a question; it was far from his list of ideas. Still, he replied without missing a beat. "No, I don't have a younger sibling. Why? Did someone decide to dress up like me?" He smirked, showing his arrogance towards everyone, making sure that no one else dared to venture any further into this topic.

"Something like that. I thought I saw someone that looked like a… younger version of you."

"Oh? Younger version of me?" Reborn smirked. 'He must have seen me when I had shifted my form. It's not uncommon for people to be a little confused.'

Tsuna didn't go any further into the topic and instead glanced towards his right-hand man. It was a signal to get the meeting started and that was what Gokudera did. The silver-haired man went over the details relating to the selecting process while Tsuna sat back against his chair, remaining quiet to observe. His eyes would drift curiously back to Reborn every now and then before going to the other assassins, both male and female, within the room. His mind was already checking off those who wouldn't work immediately or those who were allied with enemy groups.

No matter how much time had passed, he couldn't find a suitable person that would work with him and Vongola. It wasn't all of them of course, but there just wasn't any information he could base his decision on besides his intuition. Sighing silently to himself, he stood up, knowing that all eyes were resting on him. "I believe it might be best to postpone this meeting until a later date since I have another meeting that I need to prepare for quite soon. Gokudera has already informed you of all the information you need to know at this point in time. Any questions you have, please direct them towards Gokudera and Yamamoto. Thank you." Not saying anything much afterwards, he made his way out of the room and into the many hallways that were within the mansion. Despite everything, his mind was still on the raven-haired man.

'Ryan. Could it be that…you're related to the Reborn? Or is it that you are him...' Tsuna walked towards his office and closed the door behind him, knowing he was safe within this area. Taking off his mask, he tossed it over to his desk and flopped down onto one of his couches to relax. His mind was wandering once more, thinking back on those features. 'The best way to know is to ask directly. My intuition would know if he was lying immediately but I didn't sense anything when I asked about him having a younger sibling. So there's so way Ryan could be related... That leaves the other option.'

Done with this chapter.