A/N: And so begins Part II.

Please enjoy!

XxX

I awoke with a jolt as the jet shuddered, touching the ground. My neck was cramped, and I groaned in pain as I tried to work out the kink. My eyes opened gummily as I peered outside the window to see rolling grass and clear skies.

I'd have to get used to the time change between Japan and Italy soon. The time change messed up my internal clock, and I wouldn't be aware of my surroundings if I was sleepy. I was finally about to begin what I'd been trained for for two years. Two years, with only one goal in mind.

"Matt, Matt, look, we're in Japan!" a hand jostled my shoulder, and I glared up at Toni.

"I'm not blind, Toni," I huffed before glancing out at the sky. "And Japanese, speak Japanese, not Italian! You have to practice if you want to be understood in this country."

"Ah, sorry, sorry," Toni answered awkwardly in Japanese. "I'm just not used to it!" His tongue tried to twist around the words, and he completely sounded a foreigner. If his coloring didn't tip any natives off, his speech would.

"You should get used to it soon, Toni. We'll be here for an indefinite amount of time, until I can train the heir to fill in the shoes of a mafia boss," a squeaky voice said. A head popped up from the row in front of us, a green lizard perched on a yellow-banded fedora.

Reborn, the strongest hitman in the world. The most ruthless, cunning, and daring of all, with the most dangerous kills under his belt and stealthy assassinations to his name. He would be tutoring the new heir, and I would be working alongside of him to protect the heir. Honestly, if Reborn was the one around the kid, I didn't see why my presence was necessary. Reborn could easily protect the heir from anything I could protect him from as well.

"But isn't it exciting, finally being here?" Toni asked, leaning over me to peer outside, just like a puppy.

"Use Japanese!"

"A-ah…sorry."

I mulled over the answer to his question a bit as I leaned my head against the window. My reflection stared back at me.

Here is where it would begin. I would have to keep on my toes from now on, to be vigilant and wary. I would have to be cunning, swift on my feet, ready to take action at any notice. This is where the stage would be set, where I would succeed or fail. My very life, and Toni's as well, could depend on my actions in this country.

On whether I could avenge my brother. On whether I could conceal my intentions from Reborn. On whether I could nip the heir's growth in the bud before he grew to become a difficult foe.

A sharp, predatory smile stretched my lips, and I glanced down at the folder in my lap. I opened it and stared at the photo on the first page. I chuckled.

"Yes, it's exciting. Very exciting."

I'd end the Vongola line right here.

XxX

I stared up at the house. It was in a quaint neighborhood, peaceful and quiet. Well, it probably wouldn't be as quiet once we got here. The moment we'd arrived, rumors that Reborn, the world's strongest hitman, and the heir to the Fava family, Paladins of the Vongola famiglia, had arrived in Namimori to protect a young man, there would be investigations. Any idiot could put two and two together to produce the correct results. And once it became well known that the future Vongola Decimo was residing here, Namimori would become a hotspot for those hoping to end the Vongola line. The information had been kept under wraps before, but now…

"So we're gonna be working with a college student named Sawada Tsunayoshi, right?" Toni asked in Italian (again), shadowing his eyes with a hand.

"Japanese!"

"We will be investigating his life for a week before we introduce ourselves. We need to know his schedule, his habits, who he hangs out with. Do not interrupt with his daily routine, do not interact with him. Report any oddities. Do you understand?" Reborn asked. He glanced at Toni and landed his eyes on me.

I was not surprised. Reborn had been suspicious of me for a while. He knew of my history, of my brother and his death, and how I had withdrawn from interactions with anyone but Toni afterwards, hatred in my heart. He was observant and shrewd. If I wanted to make Tsuna's death seem unrelated to me, I'd have to get past Reborn first.

He had no proof that I was aiming for Sawada Tsunayoshi's life, but one wrong move on my part and he would. And after that, execution would be inevitable.

"I understand," I said, bringing my hand to my chest, where my bracelet jingled quietly. I shook my wrist gently in front of Reborn to remind him of my oath as a Paladin. To me, however, it was a daily reminder of what I had promised myself to do: to protect Toni, and to take down the Vongola.

Reborn didn't change expressions, but he broke eye contact first and turned around after staring me down, black eyes unreadable.

"Good. I will send out a flyer for a personal home tutor in a couple of days."

And with that last parting, Reborn disappeared into a tree, most likely to spy and start setting up a security system.

Toni grinned and bounced on his toes. It was an odd sight to those unused to the tall redhead. A giant Italian with chocolate brown eyes, a wide excited grin on his face, carrying a giant sword and displaying his quite frankly fabulous muscles, bouncing like an excited puppy. He'd tanned significantly during the past two years, and now his red hair was complemented by bronzed golden skin.

"I can't wait!" he exclaimed, and I spared him a small, fond smile.

I glanced back up at the house before turning around to scout the area.

I couldn't wait either.

XxX

I had expected more, quite honestly, but what I was confronted with during my observations left me thoroughly unimpressed. I wondered if this was truly the Young Lion's son.

Sawada Tsunayoshi was, in all, a failure of a human being. Even I hadn't been that incompetent my first time around as a college student.

He was failing his classes. His math and chemistry grades were rock bottom, he was bumbling through his introductory psychology class, he was dead last in his gym class, and he was involved in no extracurriculars. He skipped class often, and even more often he often overslept. He lived with his mother to save money instead of staying at the dorms on campus, but his mother had to take care of him on a daily basis.

It was killing the pre-med inside of me.

He had no friends. People made fun of him for his clumsiness, he couldn't interact with anyone without screaming or stuttering, and his social ineptitude offended me on a level I'd thought never existed before. He had been nicknamed 'Dame-Tsuna' throughout his middle and high school career, and even here, as a freshman, he couldn't shake off the title. He had a giant crush visible from the moon on a rather cute girl named Sasagawa Kyoko, but she didn't seem to notice him other than the occasional greeting when she spotted him. It made me pity him, like a small, pathetic creature. Perhaps if I wasn't dead set on destroying his life, I'd want to help him.

It wasn't him, per se, that I wanted to murder. Perhaps he was even a decent person underneath that fluff of hair and bumbling personality. It was what he stood for, though, what he was destined to be and destined to do (carry on traditions, sacrifice more generations of the Fava family, build an empire on sacrifices, take away husbands and lovers and brothers) that made my fingers itch for my bow, to carve his head from his shoulders.

(And yet, in a strange way, Tsuna himself was also a victim of the mafia. Raised by a father never present, volunteered to become a mafia boss when he should have just been a normal civilian. Tsuna's innocence, his peaceful life had been taken away from him without his knowledge, and all he would have now was a future in leading a criminal organization. I pushed down my pity, because I didn't want to acknowledge the fact that Tsuna was just like me, thrust into the mafia because of family.)

"Um…Matt, he's…kind of a failure, isn't he…?" Toni asked tentatively, and I pinched the bridge of my nose. I was seated on a bench on the Namimori University campus, spying on him through the window of his classes.

"He's worse than you," I responded. Toni squawked in indignation.

Over his shouts of contradictions, I narrowed my eyes and tilted my head.

Sawada Tsunayoshi could not become a mafia boss, would not in a thousand years. He had no motivation, no drive to command a whole underground organization. He was scared of dogs, how would he face against much more intimidating bosses of other famiglias? Nono must have reached very, very far and searched incredibly hard to dredge up this kid.

All the better for me, though. I could kill him easily. The more careless the enemy, the easier it would be for me to off him. But the more careless Tsuna was, the more vigilant Reborn would be, and the more careful I had to be. It was a conundrum. The person I had to focus my attention on if I wanted to kill the Vongola was Reborn.

"Matt? Matt, those girls over there are looking at us weird," Toni tugged on my arm to get my attention, leaning in closely to whisper by my ear (in stuttering Japanese, finally). He was not inconspicuous in his mutterings in any way, and the college girls who were looking at us blushed.

"You're too noticeable. Why the hell are you carrying around your sword, you idiot?" I asked, whacking him on the head.

Toni whined and held his head with both hands, tears in his eyes. I really doubted it'd hurt that much. He whined, "You're carrying around your weird sword bow thing and a quiver full of arrows! How am I any less noticeable than you?!"

I easily ignored him.

XxX

A week flew by quickly, and before I knew it, I stood in front of the Sawada household. I shifted my duffel bag as Toni pressed the doorbell, Reborn perched on his shoulder like some overgrown bird.

The door opened to reveal a woman that resembled Tsuna quite a bit. It seemed like the boy had inherited little physical traits from his father and more from his round faced mother.

"Ah, you must be Reborn the home tutor and his two assistants! Come in, come in, Tsuna is just upstairs," the woman greeted cheerfully, looking at Toni. My eye twitched in annoyance. Just because Toni was taller, broader, and looked older didn't mean he was in charge. It was a mistake others often made that Toni rubbed in my face when he was addressed as if he were the older one. My pride stung. "My name is Sawada Nana, but you can just call me Nana!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Nana-san," Toni said, somewhat awkwardly. He pointed his finger at Reborn. He halting tried to explain in Japanese, "But, ah, I think you've made a mistake. This is Reborn."

Nana blinked in surprise but rolled with the information quite admirably. "Ah, my mistake then! I apologize, Reborn-san!"

"It's no problem," Reborn replied gallantly. My eye twitched even more. Now that we had an audience, somehow, Reborn had evolved into a sweet angel. It was an abrupt one-eighty from his analytical, hitman side. "This is Toni and Matteo. We'll be bringing your son's grades up."

I bowed, as per Japanese custom. "It's nice to meet you, Nana-san." My Japanese was much less accented than Toni's and flowed more smoothly. "We will be in your care. Thank you very much for your hospitality."

Nana beamed happily. She was a pleasant woman, accommodating and compassionate, and quite capable as a person, if the fact that she had single-handedly raised Tsuna was true. From what I'd heard, Iemitsu was never around his home and instead worked with the CEDEF tirelessly. It irked me that a father didn't spend much time with his wife or kid. Yet more sacrifices in the name of the Vongola name.

"Welcome, and I hope you enjoy your stay!" she said, and we all bowed again and left our shoes at the doorstep. We headed up the stairs quickly.

Right before we reached his room, Reborn paused. He glanced over his shoulder, and I could see the glint of threat in his eyes.

"I cannot stress how important your jobs are. I will have my hands full teaching Tsuna, but you two will have to be vigilant as well. Toni, although you have only just graduated from school, Matteo trusts your judgement. I hope you live up to his expectations," he said, seriously. Toni nodded, his face lacking its usual good humor. Reborn then turned to look at me, and I stared back, impassive. "Matteo, I understand that you have a rocky history with the Vongola, but I am under orders by the Nono to teach Tsuna and keep him safe. I hope you will be able to set aside all differences."

My face didn't change expression. We stared at each other, silent and tense. I inclined my head in surrender.

"Good. Then let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

XxX

Tsuna was even more pathetic in person.

"You? A tutor?" Tsuna asked incredulously before snorting in laughter. Now, I wasn't Reborn's biggest fan either, but even I found his attitude annoying. "What kind of name is Reborn anyways?"

Reborn smiled, and it was really too bad that Tsuna couldn't feel the waves of sadism wafting off of the hitman. I grinned in anticipation.

"Oh, yes, I'll be tutoring you to become a mafia boss," Reborn stated matter of factly. He drew a gun and examined it leisurely before pointing it at Tsuna. "I'm the strongest hitman in the world, and these two are competent assassins in their own rights. Want to test that out?"

"You expect me to believe that that's a real gun?" Tsuna asked, still chuckling. "You shouldn't threaten adults. Shouldn't you be in school anyways?"

I drew my bow and ran my finger along its blade. I tilted it so the finely honed and polished surface reflected the light of the room. I was acting it up, so sue me. This would probably be the most fun I'd have in years.

"Oh, so you think we're joking, do you?" I asked nonchalantly before, in a movement too quick for Tsuna to register, brought the blade to rest against the other man's collarbone. I noticed, with some amount of irritation, that Tsuna was only slightly shorter than me. Of course I'd still be short even in my second life. Someone up there hated me, so I took solace in watching Tsuna's face pale, and I grinned sharply. "I could try chopping off your head. Or maybe planting an arrow between your eyes. What do you think of that?"

"Matt, don't be mean," Toni admonished and placed a hand on my arm, guiding the weapon away from Tsuna. I frowned in disappointment.

"These two will be your bodyguards. As I said earlier, we're going to be training you to be a competent boss of the Vongola, so you'll become a target. Meet Fava Matteo, nicknamed the Bladed Archer for his skill with his unique weapon, and Antonio, often called the Juggernaut for his overpowering force. I hope you get along well," Reborn said lightly.

There was a brief pause in interactions before Tsuna shook his head.

"I don't believe you. Whoever you are, whoever sent you, I don't care. You're all joking, this is a joke, right?" Tsuna asked, a hysterical edge creeping into his voice.

"This is no joke. We'll be living with you to train you to become a respectable mafia boss. We begin tomorrow," Reborn said happily. "I'll also be staying in your room, if you don't mind."

"I do mind! Get out!"

I drew near the spluttering college student and leaned forwards. Tsuna, finally noticing my presence (he'd have to be trained in sensing others' presences), stumbled backwards until his back hit the wall (as well as his grace and…well, basically everything). I blocked either side of his head with my arms and leaned forwards, efficiently caging him in between the wall and my body. His eyes widened in fright as I tilted my head dangerously forwards, and I conjured up my most terrifying smile.

"I'm looking forwards to working with you…boss."

XxX

To my immense annoyance, Toni and I had been enrolled in Namimori University as well.

To guard him better, Reborn had chirped. You never finished your college education, did you? Here's your chance!

That excuse would have worked better if I wasn't taking freshmen introductory courses for the third time in my existence. I groaned while Toni beamed, excited that he was about to experience college life.

"This isn't a vacation, Toni," I snapped, sullenly walking beside Tsuna and Toni the next morning.

"But I get to experience college! I didn't think I would, but I am! I'm so excited, Matt!" Toni exclaimed hyperactively. Somehow, he had his sword strapped onto his back, covered up so that it wasn't too obvious that he was bringing a lethal weapon onto a campus full of young adults.

…who was I kidding. With my bow strapped onto my own back, we'd stand out like sore thumbs. There was no way someone didn't figure out what exactly we were carrying. Thankfully, civilians tended to be the most oblivious people in the world. It was the strangest thing I'd found about this world, followed closely behind by flames that one's will produced. Even if a whole building was blown up in front of them or I starting glowing from my nonexistent Dying Will Flames (Toni and I didn't possess flames, which was strange because we were Vongola, notorious for having flame users), most people would attribute it to something else. Willingly blind, like sheep. The mysteries of this world would never cease to amaze me.

"Um…Matt-san?" Tsuna asked beside me, and I turned to glare at the teen.

"It's Matteo, Bakayoshi," I hissed, and he seemed both bewildered and frightened at the sudden display of hostility. He also seemed to be somewhat shocked by my (in my not so humble opinion) clever nickname. I may have to protect him, but that didn't mean that I had to like him.

"I'm so-sorry!" he cried, and I backed off slightly. When he saw that I didn't make any more threatening gestures towards him, he asked tentatively, "Why are you coming to school with me?"

"To protect your ass," I replied, fixing my eyes back on the road. We were getting near campus. "Weren't you listening to Reborn at all earlier?"

"I…"

"'I wasn't taking him seriously'," I mocked. "You didn't believe him, did you? Well you better believe it, kid, because if you don't take us seriously, someone might just get hurt, you know?"

"Matt!" Toni chided and firmly maneuvered himself between us. "Please, Tsunayoshi-san, you must believe us. You've been chosen to become the tenth boss of the Vongola, and you must take this responsibility seriously."

"Crazy," Tsuna muttered under his breath. "I'm not going along with whatever joke you're playing at, and I have no intentions of becoming a mafia boss!"

The teen sped up determinedly, and Toni made a move to follow. I grabbed his arm and shook my head.

"But…!" Toni protested, and I looked up at him.

"He'll believe us at the end of the day," I said, and I glanced at where a dark shape had just darted away from a nearby bush. It was nearly unnoticeable, but I had been trained to notice such things, as had Toni.

Toni noticed the shape as well and gnawed at his lip. I quirked a small grin and ruffled his hair.

"Don't worry, Toni. I've got this. All he needs is a good scare and a nice, harsh look at reality."

XxX

I lounged back in the classroom, feet tapping a steady rhythm on the ground and fingers playing with a strand of hair. I twisted it, completely and utterly bored as the teacher yammered on about derivatives and integrals and blah blah blah, Jesus, I'd learned this in my senior year of high school.

I glanced over to see Tsuna gazing outside, daydreaming, and I sighed. This was why the kid wasn't learning anything!

Striking a foot out, I nailed him in the calf. He yelped, drawing the attention of the classroom.

"Sawada-san, is there something wrong?" the professor asked disapprovingly.

"N-nothing..." Tsuna answered, sinking low in his chair in humiliation as laughter resounded around him.

After a while the professor moved on, and Tsuna threw me a sullen glare. I raised my eyebrow and jerked my head towards the blackboard showing example problems and formulas. None of which Tsuna had written down, I might add.

He looked up and reluctantly jotted down notes in messy handwriting.

Toni was entirely too absorbed in the class to notice the exchange. Although sometimes dense and not very smart academically with the memory of a goldfish, he was hardworking. I couldn't say the same for Tsuna, though.

As class ended, Tsuna rushed out of class without us, and I sighed. I was supposed to be his Paladin, but if he didn't want to be protected, then what was I supposed to do about that? Nothing, really. If he rejected my help, it wouldn't be my fault if he died in some wayward assassination.

But it would be, I sulked. I was supposed to protect him no matter what, and if I let him get killed when I could have prevented it, fingers would point at me.

I followed him out and saw him leave campus.

That brat, it was only halfway through the day! He still had classes!

(I was thoroughly ignoring the times I'd skipped classes myself.)

"Matt," Toni prompted, seriously, and I sighed as I glimpsed a dark shadow following Tsuna. The word had already spread that the world's strongest hitman as well as two admirable fighters in their own rights were hanging around a college kid. It didn't take much brains to connect some dots.

"Let's go protect his dumb ass," I said, stalking after the kid. But not without some fun first.

XxX

Well, the assassin should have been downright easy to get rid of. I held Toni back when I saw the dark shadow prepare something that glinted in the sun (throwing knives, often a favorite for those who wanted to get things done quickly and quietly). Unfortunately (or fortunately, but I was sticking to unfortunately), the assassin was only third-rate, and the knives missed.

Barely, I sighed. So close. Of course, if the knives had threatened to hit, I'd have intercepted. However, my eyes were just as sharp as my reflexes were, and I'd predicted where the knives would land.

Tsuna screeched and stumbled backwards, landing on his butt. His face had paled rapidly as the dark figure walked casually out into the open and smirked.

(Mistake number one, assassins never revealed themselves unless strictly necessary.)

"So you're the next Vongola heir, huh? Sorry kid, but I have orders to end your life. Nothing personal, I promise," the assassin sneered, and even I could feel Toni facepalming beside me.

(Mistake number two, never reveal your intentions or the reason you're targeting someone. Hints could endanger the client, or even worse, yourself. Reputation and skills were everything in the assassination world.)

"I'm not, I'm not! I don't know what you're talking about!" Tsuna screeched at a decibel that should have been impossible for a man. I wondered if he could summon dogs with that voice.

"Even if you don't, I still can't let you live. Boss's orders, sorry," the man said, and he rushed forwards.

There was a sharp click, and I rolled my eyes towards the sky. So Reborn finally arrived.

A bullet drove itself perfectly into Tsuna's forehead, quickly and quietly. The college student stumbled backwards at the force, eyes wide and unseeing, causing the assassin to miss his next knife throw.

The assassin was confused and paused in his assault as he watched the kid's seemingly lifeless body.

(Mistake number three, never pause, never stop. Stay in motion, or the prey may turn its fangs on you.)

Suddenly, an orange flame sprouted on Tsuna's forehead, and he rose like some zombie freshly resurrected.

"I WILL KEEP LIVING WITH MY DYING WILL!" he roared.

…what the fuck.

I stared in complete disbelief as the kid's clothes came off (and it wasn't even a body worth admiring, it was so skinny and where were the muscles, the muscles!) except for his boxers and he rushed to combat the assassin head on. His eyes held passion and determination, and I caught a glimpse of who Tsuna could become in the future if trained properly.

Dangerous.

But even with the Dying Will Bullet, a mere, untrained college kid couldn't defeat a trained assassin head on. Tsuna was holding his own decently well, but in the long run, he'd run out of steam and fall, easy pickings for the assassin. I sighed and handed my backpack to Toni.

"Hold this. I guess I should do my job now," I muttered, and Toni obediently took my bag. I unstrapped my bow and grabbed an arrow from my quiver. With no hesitation, I lined up the arrow and aimed.

(And mistake number four, never engage in a head-on conflict. Assassins are made for the shadows, not fighting in the light. If an assassin can't kill discretely, quietly, and quickly, hidden at all times, then he is no assassin but rather a bumbling idiot with better fighting skills than the norm.)

I released my arrow.

It sliced through the air and landed right in the assassin's throat. He choked on his own blood and stopped in his assault.

The assassin fell, dead before he even hit the ground. I wrinkled my nose at the blood spurting from the wound in the same rhythm as his dying heartbeat. Messy, but efficient.

Tsuna stumbled, the fire on his forehead extinguishing as abruptly as it came. He blinked before his eyes, previously so determined, landed on the dead assassin. He stared blankly at it before rushing towards a nearby bush and throwing up heavily in it.

I wasn't so surprised. Any grown adult would blanch at a dead body. I couldn't hold it against him, but if he was to become the Vongola boss, he'd have to toughen up.

"What the hell!" he exclaimed, trembling and wiping at his mouth. I raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"That, Dame-Tsuna, was an assassin sent after you to kill you," a voice said. Reborn landed easily on my head, and I huffed in annoyance but endured the treatment. If I didn't, there'd be a world of pain for me. "You're a prime target for anyone wanting to bring down the Vongola. The most qualified of the tenth generation, Enrico, was shot, Matsumo was drowned, and Federico was reduced to bone. There's someone after the Vongola famiglia, and you, as the last heir, must be protected at all costs."

A pained pang shot through my chest at the mention of Enrico, but I swallowed the feeling. 'Last heir'? This was the first I thought of it. Granted, I still couldn't just fling myself at Tsuna and murder him. Firstly, Reborn would undoubtedly stop me before I took a step to hurt even a hair on Tsuna's head, and secondly, well, I had no intention to spend the rest of my life with the Vindice. I tilted my head at the terrified young man. "You're the next one in line. Do you see the danger now?"

"But I don't want to become a mafia boss!" Tsuna shouted before his eyes landed on the assassin again. He clapped his hand over his mouth to hold in another spew of bile.

"That doesn't matter to the Vongola's enemies," Reborn replied, almost gently. "Whether you want to or not, we're going to train you to become a mafia boss. It would be in your best interest to accept it, if only to protect yourself."

"Better accept it, Bakayoshi," I said carelessly, slinging my bow over a shoulder and grabbing my bag from Toni. "Sooner or later, you'll be dragged into it. It's easier fight than to run, and it'll hurt less in the long run."

Trust me, I know, I thought bitterly as I strode towards Tsuna's house.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a rustle in the trees. It had been quite a still day, so unless it was an animal, my gut instinct was telling me that there was someone else. I trusted my gut instinct.

I glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed. Toni and Tsuna definitely hadn't, but Reborn was also side-eying the tree suspiciously. I pretended I hadn't seen anything and continued on. If that was a spy sent to gauge what kind of protections Tsuna had, I'd let him go. His boss's goals and mine were most probably the same, after all.

And thus, our days in Namimori began.

XxX

Sincerely yours,

haplessgrapefrut