Title: Fiamma: The Assassin

Summary: Every assassin have their own rules, yet all follows one golden rule: Never get emotionally involved with your target. Fiamma knows this. Yet, meeting that person, he can't help but break the most important rule of all…

Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Akira Amano

Pairing: Eventual G27

Warnings: AU; Language

Fiamma: The Assassin

Chapter 5

Byakuran smirked as he read through Tsunayoshi's report. The brunette had included a summary of recent events as well as the basic structure of Vongola's system.

"It is good news, Byakuran-sama?" Kikyo asked.

"Yes… Tsunayoshi is doing an excellent job as always." Byakuran smiled. "How goes the preparations, Kikyo?"

"It is going well, Byakuran-sama. The Funeral Wreaths are making their own preparations and so are the others." Kikyo smiled.

"Excellent. You are excused, Kikyo." Byakuran said. The teal-haired man bowed before walking out. "You have better not fail me, Tsunayoshi… You know as well as I do the consequences."

And Byakuran laughed, swallowing a piece of marshmallow.

Tsunayoshi sneezed.

"Is there anything wrong, Signore Renato?" One of the Vongola Famiglia members asked.

"N-Nothing. Thank you for the concern." Tsunayoshi replied quickly, heading down the hallway into the library.

The assassin slipped into the library, finding it not as crowded as he thought it would be. Tsunayoshi shrugged off the glances shot as him as he walked through the aisles, making notes of what books there are and where they were. He also noted that there was a hidden room which he made a note to break in sometime soon. The simple inspection took quite some time –more than what Tsunayoshi estimated– and it was already time for lunch.

Tsunayoshi headed, somewhat unwillingly, to the dining room to meet up with the Vongola Guardians. It took only three meals for Tsunayoshi to find out that the Vongola Guardians ate together while others in the Family ate together separately. Tsunayoshi found it rather awkward to eat with them –even though it was a good way to gather information– but Giotto had insisted that Tsunayoshi ate with them.

He blinked as he found only Giotto, Asari, Knuckle and Lampo in the room.

"Afternoon." Giotto greeted as he took a bite of his lunch.

Tsunayoshi nodded slowly as he sat down. Asari gave a smile, Knuckle grinned while Lampo greeted him lazily –earning himself a quick lecture from his Boss. Tsunayoshi decided to ask about the disappearance after a while.

"Oh." Giotto nodded. "G's out on a diplomatic meeting, Alaude got some criminal to catch, and Daemon's missing again."

"…So, I'm guessing it's usual for him to disappear?" Tsunayoshi asked.

"Pretty much." Giotto replied.

"Renato-san?" Asari called.

"Y-Yes?" Tsunayoshi replied, partially startled at hearing the usually-silent man speak; partially confused at the mix of Italian and Japanese.

"I'm sorry. I really can't help speaking Japanese at times." Asari said.

"Asari, I told you it's alright." Giotto said.

"Well, I'm in Italy. So it's best to speak Italian, right?" Asari smiled. Giotto sighed in defeat and went back to his lunch. "Now, where was I…?" He muttered. "Ahh. Renato-san…? If you're comfortable, could you talk about yourself?"

At this, the three other present Guardians perked up, though they were still enjoying their lunch. Tsunayoshi held himself back from flinching as he looked aside. The brunette surprised himself by answering.

"I… As I told Giotto, I was born in Japan. But… I stayed here for quite some time now." Tsunayoshi said. 'Great job, Tsuna.' "I lived on the streets –that's where I learned how to fight… to survive."

"You've had a tough life, my child." Knuckle said.

"…Thank you." Tsunayoshi muttered, his eyes glazed over as he tried to focus on his food.

"Fight to survive, huh…?" Giotto muttered softly –in fact, it was so soft that Tsunayoshi barely heard it.

"Too bad G's not here." Lampo commented.

The other Guardians stared at him like he'd just grown another head.

"What?" Lampo asked.

"Are you actually missing G…?" Giotto asked. "Am I finally seeing the day that my Storm and Lightning Guardians are getting along better?"

Tsunayoshi raised an eyebrow.

"G and Lampo don't get along well. They bicker all the time." Asari explained.

"…Oh." Tsunayoshi nodded.

"I am not missing that bastard." Lampo growled.

"Language, Lampo." Giotto spoke up.

"Sorry, Boss." Lampo said. Giotto smiled and went on with his meal. "Anyway, I meant that when Boss is moping, only G can get him out of it."

"…I am not moping." Giotto pouted.

All four other occupants stared back at him.

"…Only a little." Giotto muttered.

Asari chuckled softly while Knuckle and Lampo laughed outright. Giotto started yelling at them to stop them from laughing, but that only served to increase the laughter. Soon, the blond joined in with the laughter. Tsunayoshi watched silently, deep in thought.

'…The atmosphere here and there are completely different. It's so… carefree here. Yet there… it's always quiet and tense. I admire them. Too bad, this is just temporary.'

"…Renato?"

"Hmm?" Tsunayoshi blinked.

"Are you alright? You're not touching your food." Giotto asked in concern.

"…I'm fine. Sorry. I… don't have much of an appetite. You guys should continue eating, I'll leave first." Tsunayoshi said as he got up. He left without saying another word.

Giotto frowned as he watched the brunette go.

Tsunayoshi headed back to his room and locked the door, lying down on the bed. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

'Is it possible? For a Mafia Family to be this much like… like… a real family. No, of course it's not possible. Ten years, and it's always been like this. This has to be a fake… It has to be.'

"I wonder how Boss is doing…" Chrome murmured.

"Yeah, me too." Lambo frowned.

"Boss is going to be fine." Gokudera grumbled. "Boss hasn't failed in any of his assassinations and no way in hell he's going to start now."

Chrome and Lambo nodded.

"Still… I guess we're kinda used to Tsuna's presence, huh." Yamamoto spoke up from the couch. "I mean, Tsuna's always only gone for about a night, maybe a day, and not more than that. Then he's around for at least a week or more."

"And now, Mukuro-sama, Aloof Skylark and Maximum Punch are out on missions too." Chrome said.

"But everyone's gonna be back, right?" Lambo asked.

"That's why you're still a kid." Gokudera snickered. "We're assassins. We risk our lives every day. There's always a chance that they won't come back."

"Hayato! That's too harsh!" Yamamoto scolded as Lambo started to whimper.

Gokudera ignored him and walked to Lambo, laying a hand gently on the teen's unruly hair. "But you know what keeps us from dying?" Gokudera asked softly. Lambo frowned and shook his head slowly. "…Trust. Ironic in our line of work, but not-so-stupid-and-silly among Family. Stop crying, Lambo. Boss will come back, like he does every time."

"Gokudera…" Lambo cried as he hugged the older assassin, who returned the gesture awkwardly as Yamamoto and Chrome watched with a small smile on each of their faces.

'If only Tsuna could see this…'

'…Boss would be so happy.'

"Boss."

"Hayato." Tsunayoshi greeted as he placed a finger to his lips. "Did you…?"

"Yeah." Gokudera replied. "I just retrieved it from the shop."

"Thank you, Hayato." Tsunayoshi gave a small smile. "Well, this is so much more helpful than any other weapons when under-cover."

"Forgive me for my rudeness, but isn't this a little…" Gokudera trailed off.

"…a little?" Tsunayoshi prompted. "Go on and speak your mind. I'm fine."

"Well…" Gokudera started. "Isn't that weapon more commonly used by… well, female assassins?"

"…Hmm." Tsunayoshi mused softly. "…Maybe I should torture you for that."

"B-Boss…!" Gokudera stammered, thankfully remembering to keep his voice down. "P-Please tell me it was a j-joke."

"It was a joke." Tsunayoshi replied. "Really, I'm not lying." He added after a stunned silence from the other assassin.

"…Uh… Here, Boss. Try it on. I'll get it fixed if it doesn't…" Gokudera said slowly.

"Hayato, I realize that using wires as a weapon is rather… feminine." Tsunayoshi cringed. "But it's the only thing that I can use easily while I'm undercover. It's not easily to hide weapons, but this," Tsunayoshi gestured. "…I can keep it with me at all times."

"Strapped to your wrists." Gokudera stated.

"Exactly." Tsunayoshi nodded.

"Boss…?" Gokudera called hesitantly.

"…Hmm?"

"…Please be careful. We're… waiting for you to return." Gokudera finished.

"…Ah." Tsunayoshi murmured. "…Hayato… Keep an eye on them for me, would you?"

"Of course, Boss." Gokudera nodded. "Good night, Boss."

"Oh, Hayato. Another thing." Tsunayoshi called. "Tell Mukuro I need to see him ASAP. I'll call, as usual."

"…A-Alright, Boss." Gokudera nodded before rushing off.

Tsunayoshi waited for a while before he started on his walk back to the Vongola estate, taking the time to take in the cool, night breeze and the serene sceneries. As he was not allowed to disclose his mission details, Tsunayoshi had met both Mukuro and Gokudera in the city, albeit in different places. Tsunayoshi gently touched the cool metal strapped on his wrists as he strolled soundlessly back – almost, at least. As his hands touched the metal doorknob, a door behind him opened, and a sleepy occupant stumbled out.

"…Renato…?" Giotto muttered. "…It's late… What are you doing 'ere…?"

"…I c-couldn't sleep, so I went out for a walk." Tsunayoshi replied.

"Ah…" Giotto nodded slowly. " Good night, Renato… Have a sweet dream tonight…"

Tsunayoshi's blush easily went unnoticed in the dark hallway. He swallowed as he felt his heart skip a beat. "G-Good night to you too, Giotto. H-Have a good d-dream." Tsunayoshi stammered out as he dashed into the safety of his room, all the while trying to calm down his rapidly beating heart.

"How the hell did you get here so fast?!" Tsunayoshi hissed. "I just called you about the place fifteen minutes ago!"

The other assassin smirked. "Ara, ara… You were the one who asked me to see you as soon as possible. I am merely… obeying orders.

The two assassins were in a twenty-four hour café due to the meeting time of six in the morning. Unfortunately, in order not to rouse suspicions, Tsunayoshi had to set meeting times at ridiculous hours –either in the dead of the night or the wee hours in the morning.

"First of all, that was a request, not an order. Second of all, you are one of the few who never obeys a request, much less an order." Tsunayoshi replied smoothly.

"I'm hurt." For a moment, Tsunayoshi could swear that the other pouted. "So, what's the emergency?"

"Oh. I need to borrow your Mist Cloak." Tsunayoshi said.

Mukuro arched an eyebrow. "The Mist Cloak?"

"Yeah. I'm very sure there are hidden security cameras around. And I'm… don't really know how to hack security systems. So the next best thing is to avoid security." Tsunayoshi explained.

"You could always request help…" Mukuro mused.

"I am." Tsunayoshi grinned for a moment. "If I ask him, I'll only be digging my own grave. So I need your help. You, who has Mist flames flowing through, Mukuro."

"You really know who to go to, huh." Mukuro sighed.

"I'll take that as a yes?" Tsunayoshi asked.

"…Alright, fine." Mukuro nodded. "I'll lend you the Mist Cloak and Mist Box."

"…Um, as in, literally, the Mist Box, or a Mist-type Box?" Tsunayoshi raised an eyebrow.

"…Literally, the Mist Box." Mukuro sighed softly. "How else are you going to use the Mist Cloak? You do remember that you don't have Mist Flames, do you?"

"Of course." Tsunayoshi nodded.

"I'll store more Mist flames in the Mist Box so you'll have extra in case you need to hide anything else. Luckily for you, that type of flames run through your body, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem to control the Mist flames temporarily. You don't need a tutorial, do you?" Mukuro muttered.

"Of course not." Tsunayoshi smirked.

"Well, I'll bring it the next time you call me. Or I can go to your room, if you tell me where." Mukuro said teasingly.

"Too bad, Mukuro. You know as well as I do that I'm not allowed to reveal mission details." Tsunayoshi rolled his eyes.

"Of course. Assassins' code." Mukuro smirked. "Get some more rest already. You look even paler than normal, if that's even possible." Mukuro let out an irritated sigh.

"Worried about me?" Tsunayoshi chuckled softly. "Don't worry. I'm not about to drop dead… yet."

There was something disturbing about the final word added to the end of the sentence, but Mukuro spoke nothing of it, choosing instead to disperse into the mist once more. Tsunayoshi glanced out at the sky before dragging himself wearily out of the café and on the road back to the Vongola estate.

A/N: I am SO sorry about the late update. I was a little busy with work and a friend's birthday gift, and I forgot to update this.

Well, more interactions between Tsuna and Vongola; as well as a bit of insight of Tsuna's "Family". Thanks for reading, peeps!