Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman REBORN! was created by Akira Amano

Claimer: I own the OCs and plot; nothing more, nothing less.

Warnings: takes place before Gola Mosca is attained

Pairing: BelOC; and if you squint there is VERY VERY VERY VERY SLIGHT Belphegor X Mammon... if you pray really hard

She couldn't get anything out of his mouth.

Aria had spent some time trying to get Beto to tell her what he told Belphegor. She tried hinting at it, she tried to dance around the subject, and then she flat-out asked. All of her attempts were shot down and she couldn't find out anything from the tight-lipped older Italian.

Beto offered to go to lunch with Aria, but she was too angry, so she declined. Since she had a soft spot for Beto, she would've been thrilled and accepted, but she just couldn't forget the fact he didn't want to tell her anything. The only person Aria could rely on for getting information would be Belphegor.

There was no way would she know anything now.

When Aria heads down the stairs she can see Belphegor staring at her with a wide grin. He wasn't showing his teeth like he usually does, so this grin made Aria feel like she has a need to be alert. The two older Italians say good-bye, but the youngest between the two isn't angry enough to keep from saying good-bye at least three different times.

When they leave and are safely out of view of the house, Aria glances at Belphegor. He's still grinning with self-satisfaction. Maybe he already knew that he could hold this secret above Aria and control her with it. She wouldn't have to allow it, that's for sure.

"Beto wanted to pay me to kill you, and even pay extra to be quiet about it."

The girl stops walking. She feels her eyes widen as she stares at Belphegor. He continues to walk a few steps before he stops and turns to Aria. He's now flashing his teeth at her, but in a way, he looks very serious.

Belphegor waits for a feature of his toy to react to a button he pushes. So far, all he's getting is nothing but staring. He just had to be patient. Eventually, Belphegor's favorite toy—for now—ends up blinking at him.

"W-What?"

"Ushishishi, are you deaf? I didn't stutter," Belphegor tells Aria, not wanting to repeat himself.

The girl feels like her innards are being twisted painfully in her stomach. She feels like her heart is punched twice as if Belphegor's words had become solid, but was transparent enough to go through her ribs. How could this be? Aria was sure that Beto wouldn't stoop down to something so low as to hire someone to kill her, let alone the person she's doing this mission with.

But it suddenly made sense. Aria had been blinded with infatuation for that charming man. The fact of the matter was that she was a debt collector, and Beto had a debt he needed to pay. No one wants to give money after they start gaining it back. It would make sense that he would try to wipe her out before she collect all the money.

How could she fall for something as stupid as Beto's charms? What kind of assassin was she?

Unlike other circumstances, Aria isn't important. If she died on this mission, Xanxus would find another way to get the money. This Italian girl didn't make a big difference to the one person she had to prove her worth to. How could she have been so blind, so confident, and so arrogant?

Another sudden thought occurs to Aria. She looks up to Belphegor who is patiently waiting. He can tell that she's connecting different dots together. If he wanted to see what other features his toy would have, he would need to be patient. Belphegor wasn't a very patient person in the first place. It didn't matter, though.

"Why did you tell me this…?"

There we go, that was the right question to ask.

"Ushishishi, that's a good question," Belphegor says. "I don't think Boss would appreciate the wait for his money."

Aria accepted that reason quickly. What mattered was that Belphegor wasn't necessarily planning on killing Aria anytime soon. Aria can't necessarily say that she likes the idea of that when it's HER that needs to kill Belphegor. She wouldn't accept the fact that it might be the other way around. She had a legit reason to want to kill Belphegor, while the Prince would've killed her for money.

Aria continues walking again. Before she can pass by Belphegor, he slips behind her. Aria is forced to stop walking when she feels a small line of cold silver press up against her neck. She can feel the warmth of Belphegor's body against her back. Her body stiffens when she feels Belphegor's hot breath dancing down her neck, making her hair move and tickle her neck.

"Now, just because I told you this doesn't mean I can't change my mind," Belphegor whispers into Aria's ear threateningly. "Ushishishi, I'll have every reason to kill you if you don't appreciate your Prince more than you have been. So if you know what's good for you, you'll do what I say more often."

The Italian girl lets her eyes widen in angry shock. Surely Prince the Ripper had no right to demand such things of her. Aria's head runs through the possible things she can do in order to avoid this situation. She turns around, moving her neck from the edge of the knife barely touching her neck. Belphegor gives a curious and amused smile, not showing his teeth this time.

Prince the Ripper smells good, but at the same time he smelled of metal and blood. The girl-gunman smells like the worn handle of a gun.

Quite suddenly, Belphegor feels something poke and press against the left of his noggin. Like the first time they were threatening each other silently in the car on the way here, Aria presses her forehead and nose against the opposite teenager's own forehead and nose. She lets out the grin that showed up only yesterday.

Oh, how much she wanted to pull the trigger.

"Don't spout that utter nonsense that sounds something like demands. I don't have to do anything you say because I can kill you if I want to, too. Why don't you keep that in mind? I've already tried, haven't I?" Aria says with her own threatening tone.

Belphegor's amused and curious smile breaks out into the largest grin Aria's seen yet.

Thrill. That's what Prince the Ripper was feeling. Never before had he met a girl like this, let alone anyone who would react to him in this way. Mammon might've reacted in this way if they were in this situation, but Belphegor had never tried it. Aria is Belphegor's favorite toy that much is true. Prince the Ripper's heart begins to beat fast, because he's never really had anyone this close to him before, and for a second time. No one would live to try to get close a second time.

He can't put his finger on it, but for some reason, Belphegor is expecting something to happen. What could he expect with someone so dreadfully close to his face? Maybe Belphegor was expecting Aria to pull the trigger and she might've forgotten she didn't load the first shot. Prince the Ripper likes the prospect of punishing Aria.

Gray… Aria could see slits of gray through Belphegor's hair.

"Put the knife away, Belphegor," Aria silently orders with a serious look, her grin having faded away without Belphegor's realizing it.

Prince the Ripper felt a shiver roll down his spine when he hears his name slip out and escape through Aria's lips. So many brand new thoughts, wonders and plans are racing through his mind. He had completely new and radical methods to make his toy work for him.

And that required him putting the knife away… for now.

As soon as the knife is gone, the gun pressing against the blonde's head is put back to where it had come from. The two teens move away from each other, and suddenly feel cold. The warmth radiating from each of them now gone made the wind feel cooler than it originally was.

As for now, Aria is thinking of a way to make Beto pay. He wouldn't be able to get away with trying to kill her after Aria had grown… attached to him. This was the worst kind of betray, and he just couldn't get away with it. He would suffer, that much was for sure.

"Do you know what you're going to do?" Aria asks, pretending that nothing happened at all. Two could play at this game if Belphegor could pretend nothing happened.

"Ushishishi~"

"I'm guessing that's a no. Listen; tomorrow you're coming with me again. You're going to tell Beto that you'll go through with the deal. Did he tell you how he would pay you?"

"He'll pay me when the deed is done," Belphegor replies.

"Alright, I guess that's expected. Tell me when he decides the day you have to do it… or you don't have to, either way it doesn't matter. When it comes down to it, just don't do it. Oh, and let's say that Beto takes the chance and kills me… don't kill him," Aria tells Belphegor with a completely serious tone.

"Shishi, we'll see what happens," Belphegor replies.

Once again, I apologize that this chapter was short. I made it very to-the-point. There's not much that I could do to spice up this chapter. I can assure you, though, readers... the next update will be VERY worth it.

I will admit that Belphegor might be OOC in the next chapter.

To update, I'll need THREE reviews again. I take criticism, but none of that I'll-curse-at-you-'cause-I-think-you-suck. It. Does. Nothing!