Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated to Reborn or other trademarked ideas.

Pairing-to-be: Chrome/Tsuna/Mukuro and other pairings are still fluid in my planning.

Chapter Three

Tsuna was not hiding in the library. He was skipping out on paperwork and reading kid's manga. He had not felt a (serious) need to hide from his Guardians since they graduated high school. The fact he had been staring at the same page in the beginning of the nine hundred and twelfth chapter of Naruto for the last hour had nothing to do with Chrome kissing him. It wasn't even a real kiss anyway, a mere brushing of the lips. Chrome was probably relieved that he didn't think she caused Mukuro's breakup that she hadn't realized she kissed him.

The large wooden doors creaked open and Serafina walked in. She still wore her blue school blazer and matching pants and she rubbed her sleepy eyes. "Tou-chan? Why are you sitting in the dark?"

"Just too lazy to turn on the lights. What's up?" He put the manga on a side table and motioned for her to come over. Serafina dragged feet over and climbed into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You okay, sweetheart?"

"I don't wanna go to school tomorrow." Her voice had a low hint of a whine.

"But tomorrow is Saturday, you have a shorter day." Tsuna hugged her. He could sympathize a little. Before Reborn, school was emotional torment. (The torment turned physical and mental after Reborn, but the Tsuna had close friends.) "And Luana and Raimondo will miss you."

Serafina pulled back and brought her thumb to her mouth. She didn't chew on it; she grew out of that a couple years ago. Still, the habit came up when she was considered options. A smile stretched Tsuna's face. The only reason he hadn't switched Serafina to a different school was Luana Tempesta and Raimondo Voltolini. The pair had relieved Tsuna's fears that his daughter's temper would alienate her.

Serafina's considering look turned into calculation. "What if Luana and Rai didn't go to school either?"

"Why-" Tsuna stopped and snorted. Luana and Raimondo would have no second thoughts to skipping school and finding a reason to be with Serafina. Add the fact the pair had potential flames and high levels athleticism, many (aka the babysitting Varia) saw them as future Guardians. Tsuna declared them to young to be taught anything dangerous (useful) yet. "Serafina, you can't have Luana and Raimondo skipping school all the time. Signora Voltolini would kill me."

At her doubtful look, he amended, "Okay, she would spread annoying rumors about me around town."

"So can I stay?" She clasped her hands together and blinked large blue eyes at him.

"No." He counted to three, knowing well how Serafina would respond.

She blinked a few times and the pout turned into a furious glare. "But tou-chan!"

Tsuna shook his head.

She slipped off his lap and stomped out of the library.

"Buena Sera, signorina—ah, Serafina-dono, what is wrong?" Basil's voice drifted into the library.

Tsuna sighed and stood up. As he walked out of the library, he greeted Basil. "Buona Sera, Basil. Don't mind her, she is pouting."

From a nearby couch, Tsuna heard Serafina grumble. Basil frowned. "I came to inform you dinner is almost ready."

"Already?" Tsuna pulled his silver pocket watch from his suit jacket. Timoteo, the Nono Vongola, had given the beautiful watch with the Vongola crest engraved upon its lid after his official ascension to Decimo. "Seven already."

"The chef has prepared gnochi alforno and tiramisu in honor of Chrome-sama's arrival."

Serafina's head popped up from the other side of the couch. "Chrome's here?"

"Yes." Dread snuck up on Tsuna; he would have to sit through dinner with Chrome. Please, Tsuna prayed. Let earlier be a weird, one time thing. "Why don't you go find her?"

Serafina deliberated over the idea. Tsuna could practically see her thoughts; she could run up and see Chrome immediately or continue protesting about going to school tomorrow.

"If Serafina-dono would like, I shall go tell—" Basil stopped when Serafinia flew off from the couch and ran towards the stairs.

"Let's go help the chef set up, Basil." Tsuna intended to find out what gnocchi alforno was before diner started.

Basil cocked his head to the side. Sometimes Tsuna wondered if Basil would ever grow out of his (obedient) puppy looks. "Tsunayoshi-dono, Chef Guilio prefers that we do not help."

"Don't you want to sneak a taste of that tiramisu?" Basil, Tsuna had found out after a few years of Basil bringing a dessert every time he visited, had a strong taste for sweets—especially alcoholic sweets. For the longest time, Tsuna tried to convince Basil to stop buying liquor desserts until he realized Basil himself was the one eating most of them.

Basil was the first one in the kitchen.

Gnochi alforno turned out to be potato dumplings, a little heavy but rather good. Tsuna learned a few new curses from the retired Vongola Mafioso Guilio, too. Either Gokudera had been toning down his vocabulary or Gokudera had a bit more to learn about swears and dirty phrases.

Basil was also the first into the dinning hall but from his guilty look and the cursing Tsuna could hear in the kitchen, Basil managed to get a taste of the tiramisu. He took his normal spot, two chairs down from the end of the table, where Tsuna sat, and on the right side.

Serafina bounded into the dinning room with Chrome, Ken, and Chikusa behind her. She stopped as she saw Tsuna and seemed to remember belatedly that she was mad at him. She glared and she sat next to Basil, leaving an empty chair between Basil and Tsuna.

Tsuna motioned Chrome to sit there. He wished they could eat at the smaller table in the kitchen. Chef Guilio would likely shoot at him, Vongola boss or not, for invading his kitchen again.

She gave him a peck on the check, like normal, before sitting down. Tsuna breathed a sigh of relief. "Feeling better?"

Ken and Chikusa sat on his left side, Chikusa right next to Tsuna, silent as normal.

"Yes, thank you Boss." She chirped.

"Of course she is," Ken snapped, earning a glare from Basil. "She's got Mukuro—"

An elbow from Chikusa stopped him. Everyone stared at him as he sat silent. With a frown, he finally said, "Mukuro-sama has agreed to come here."

"Oh yeah! Chrome said that earlier." Serafina added and then leaned on the table to see her Tsuna. "Tou-chan, can I please stay home tomorrow? Chrome and Mukuro don't stay often. Please?"

Tsuna looked from Serafina to Chrome. "He'll be here tomorrow?"

Chrome nodded. "Yes, Boss."

"Alright, Serafina." Mukuro would not stay long and Chrome would likely choose to go with Mukuro when he left. Serafina did not often get to see her Guardian aunt and uncles. "We'll all hang out tomorrow."

Serafina cheered and Chrome beamed at him.

Basil, quietly and apologetically, ruined their fun. "Tsunayoshi-dono, you have a meeting with Byakuran tomorrow."

"Oh." Tsuna cursed himself for forgetting Byakuran. "Chrome-chan, could you and Mukuro possibly hang out with Serafina for me?"

"Boss…" She seemed to want to protest. Instead, she nodded.

"Tou-chan, that's not far! You and Byakuran saw each other on Tuesday. Can't you ask Byaku to see you later?" Serafina pleaded.

Tsuna bit his lip. Byakuran promised that tomorrow's meeting would be all business, without any of the usual side trips he took. How Byakuran every got anything done Tsuna did not know. The other boss never seemed to have grown up, always wanting to go out and do something more interesting than running his Famiglia. Maybe he should try to request a meeting with Uni. "I will call him about it after dinner."

Serafina's concentrated looked returned. She likely was thinking of excuses to use against Byakuran.

Guilio pushed a cart laden with salad greens, tomatos, gnocchi alforno, pitchers of water, and bottles of the local wine.

Just as Guilio was about to pour Tsuna's wine, his cell buzzed in his pocket and played the Jaws Theme. At the chef's dirty look, Tsuna held up his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry. I will be right back. Please, eat without me."

He hastily exited the room and went for the library. He shut the doors behind him before flipping open his cell phone. "Ciaossu," he said with a grin.

"Hey Brat."

"How are those grey hairs, Squalo?" Tsuna smirked at the string of curses insulting his ancestry. He really shouldn't tease the swordsman, Squalo's blood pressure was high enough, but Squalo being to far away to attack him for such a comment made it tempting. When the cursing died down to unintelligible ramblings in Italian, Tsuna asked, "What happened?"

"We took down the Scarpa easily. Too easily."

"What is wrong with easy?" Tsuna preferred when his people called missions easy. 'Easy' usually meant less injuries he had to worry about and less property damage he had to pay for.

"We judged this as a ninety five point eight percent chance of success with the whole group."

Tsuna felt like he was missing something; the statement had no real meaning to Tsuna. Tsuna once convinced Squalo to explain how the Varia judged job success rates. Tsuna was more confused after the explanation. "And?"

"Anyone of us could have defeated that weak trash. Without using a single ring box."

"I thought our informant said the Scarpa had high class rings and boxes?" The informant was a member of Hibari's Italian faction of the Disciplinary Committee. They prided themselves on accurate and up to date information. Faulty information rarely came from the Disciplinary Committee; it would piss Hibari off and no one wanted to do that.

"They did, all A and B classes. Mammon says the rings used too much of their energy."

A warning, the familiar but recently absent Bad Feeling, sent a chill down Tsuna's spine. Energy had to be forced through a ring and box to make them work. For someone to use too much, the user still had to force the absorption. "They were that desperate?"

Squalo snorted. "The trash believed they could take us on, even offered us a bargain to switch sides instead of being killed. Terminal cases of stupidity."

Tsuna couldn't see any of the Varia reacting well to such an insult. "Did you leave any alive?"

"About a quarter of the idiots and all the non-combatants." More grumbling in Italian.

Tsuna smiled. Convincing an assassination squad to kill less had been hard but worth it. He did not see the need to wipe out entire Famiglias, especially when he could have them pay for all damages until the Famiglia could no longer operate as a crime family. Money was a muscle, like strong weapons and fighters, of a Famiglia. Tsuna, with the help of Gokudera and the money minded Mammon, developed the fining system to lower death tolls and make a profit. "Thank you."

"You better be grateful, brat. Oh, and went sent those rings and boxes to Hibari. We didn't recognize the make."

Tsuna groaned. While new ring makers were rare and new box makers even rarer, the market for them flared and brought Tsuna nothing but trouble.

Hibari was likely the only Vongola to appreciate the new weapons; each one helped him analyze what worked and didn't. The actual makers often annoyed him (and promptly died). One ambitious and stupid box maker tried to steal data from Hibari. Tsuna didn't even bother asking what happened to the idiot.

"Anything else, Squalo?"

"Give us a raise." The phone clicked and displayed "Call has ended." No duh, he thought before dialing Byakuran's number. The only number programmed into his phone was the local Thai restaurant. He did not store any of his Famiglia or associates numbers. Tsuna refused to endanger his people by keeping their contact information on something as easily stolen or lost as a cell phone.

He did, however, program different songs as ringtones for his people. The ringtones helped Tsuna screen calls when answering the phone wasn't prudent. Answering his mother during a boss meeting was a bad idea but someone on a mission could provide needed information.

"Pronto." Byakuran sounded tired and Tsuna wondered if he was doing actual work.

"Hello Byakuran-san."

"Tsuna-kun!" Byakuran instantly perked up. Tsuna imagine his usual every satisfied grin was plastered on his face. "How are you?"

"Good. And you?"

"Bored but better now that you have called."

Tsuna laughed. "Am I interrupting work?"

"Nice guess." Tsuna heard a soft yawn. "What are you up to? Are you as bored as I am?"

Tsuna shook his head, even though Byakuran could not see him. "Boredom is a luxury when you have an eight year old. Even if I was, Chrome has come to visit and Mukuro should be here tomorrow."

"Oh?"

"Yes. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind me staying here to visit with them. I have not seen them in a long while."

"It wouldn't be fair of me to keep you away from your Guardians, Tsu-chan!"

Out of politeness, Tsuna held back the snort. Byakuran only used the concept of "fair" when it worked in his favor. "Thank you, Byakuran-san.

"No reason to thank me. Your Guardians are likely to come after my blood should I take up so much of your time. Especially that Mukuro Rokudo. He doesn't seem to like me much." Byakuran's voice still held a cheerful sound.

If Tsuna had not known Byakuran well, he would have been freer with his words. Byakuran, for all of his child-like behavior, dug details out of even the most inconspicuous words. Sometimes Byakuran would share Tsuna the things he picked out at meetings with other bosses and how he deduced them. Tsuna had been impressed and slightly unnerved at how oftern Byakuran was correct. Words were easy puzzles for the Millefiore boss to put together.

Tsuna thought carefully about his next words, trying to avoid leaking anything that could trigger alternate memories or potential damage anyone. "The only one we can be sure Mukuro likes is Chrome."

Byakuran hummed an agreement.

Remembering his dinner, Tsuna decided to cut the call. "Buena notte, Byakuran-san. And say hello to Uni for me sometime."

"Of course. Oyasumi nasai."

This time, Tsuna was the one to hang up.

With a sigh, he exited the library.

Serafina was chattering about school, Luana, and Raimondo when he walked in. Everyone else was listening to her while eating tiramisu. She stopped her story and smirked at him. "Hello again, tou-chan."

She held her smirk for a few seconds before breaking off into giggles.

Tsuna sat back down and realized he had no plate. "Serafina?"

She giggled some more. "I told Guilio that you had eaten earlier, so he wouldn't have to leave out some food."

Tsuna wondered if his most horrendous act as a mafia boss will be to secede to Serafina. The mafia world had gotten to use to his mercy. He wasn't sure if his daughter had much. He gave a very fake, forlorn sigh and winked at Chrome. "Perhaps, I should call Byakuran back and say I will go tomorrow after all."

"No tou-chan! Guilio left some tiramisu in the fringe." Her chair fell over and she ran to the kitchen.

Buena Sera—Good Evening

Pronto--What Italians say when they answer the phone. I'm not rather confident in its source though.

Buena Notte—Good Night

Oyasumi nasai—Good Night (Japanese)

From my understanding, Italy has school everyday of the week with shortened Saturday and Sundays. Serafina's private school has a shortened Saturday and Sunday off.

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