I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

a/n: Thanks for waiting, here is the yet the next chapter of Pseudo Sanctity. Sit tight guys, this is going to be a much longer chapter than. For that, I'm sorry for those who don't like reading too much at a time. Well, here it is, so I better let you read it without me talking on too much. Reviews are love, they make my day and encourage me to write more/faster, so thanks to all those who do so. Looking forward to seeing you all in the next chapter again. 3

"I figured as much." Hibari looked down at the doctor, showing no sympathy.

Dino placed his palm on his head and let out a deep, long sigh before continuing. "A long time ago, I watched my predecessor. He…saved a lot of people."

Hibari kept silent, but made sure to keep a slight focus on the man to let him know he was listening.

"I would tell him that I wanted to be a doctor, too. But of course, I didn't know a thing back then."

"You're amazing! When I grow up, I want to be a doctor like you who saves the lives of lots of people, too." A young Dino smiled happily at the current head of the Chiavarone family.

"Nah. I'm not as cool as you think." He placed his hand on Dino's head and messed his hair up. "You don't want to be like me. There are lots of other better things out there to be." He smiled sadly.

"Huh? But why?" Dino was confused. He wasn't sure why the 9th Generation boss seemed so solemn all of a sudden.

"Someone with such a pure and innocent heart like you is better suited for the better half of this world…" At that time, those words seemed to fly right over Dino's head. Being a doctor couldn't be as bad as Dino thought, could it?

"Hey, teach me some doctor skills sometime, okay?" The young Chiavarone grinned and ran off.

"Haha," The 9th Generation boss laughed to himself, "he doesn't listen, does he? Well, I guess if he has such a passion to be one, there's no harm in teaching him a few skills and leading him over to the 'brighter' path…"

"The 9th Generation Chiavarone always told me that there were many better things to be other than a doctor. I never listened to him, though, since I looked up to him and had my eyes set on what he did." Dino lowered his voice a little and seemed to ponder a while.

"Go on. I don't have all day."

Hearing Hibari's sharp remark, Dino quickly snapped back to reality.

"Ah, sorry about that." Dino stood up and sat on the side of Hibari's bed, rather than crouching down. "At first, he taught me a few simple skills. First aid procedures and some 'textbook' teachings of a few surgery techniques. I had never actually performed any of it in a real life situation before, though."

Dino swallowed. "However, there did arise a situation where I put the skills he taught me to use for the first time."

"It's an emergency!" A member of the Chiavarone family slammed opened the doors, agitated. "We need to get out of here! The enemy's got us in his sights!"

Romario jolted up. "What? Didn't the Boss and some men go out to take care of them?"

"Yes, but, one of them managed to escape somehow. It's not safe here anymore. We need to go hide out for a little while." He looked over to Dino, who was slightly frightened, then back to Romario. "Please, you must keep the young successor safe. The other men should have evacuated to various places by now; the Boss asked me to take the young successor to a certain place. Please follow me, we must get there as fast as we can."

Dino was sitting on the floor, somewhat stunned. He had been taught the world was not a nice place, not a safe place. He knew that unwanted situations would come to him whether he liked it or not. Being his first time, though, his body reacted in a way his brain did not order. He was shaken, unable to move.

Romario pulled Dino up. "Let's go, Dino. We don't have time, we need to run."

"O-okay…!" Dino scrambled to his feet, mustering up his courage to not look back and be strong. He ran alongside Romario and another member of the Chiavarone family, hoping things would turn out fine.

"Will…will he be okay?" The young boy looked up and asked Romario, while running.

"The Boss? Of course he's okay. He's a trained fighter and doctor. If anything, he'd be the one you should be worrying about the least."

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" He wondered how much more running there would be until they would be able to reach a safe base.

"We're almost there, guys, it shouldn't be mu- Ahrg!" The man took a sudden halt, and fell to the ground.

"Shit!" Romario drew out his gun and shot the unknown enemy, managing to kill him before he was able to get to Dino. "Darn bastard, that was really close…" He shot him a few more times to make sure he was dead.

"Romario…you don't have to shoot so much…" Dino covered his ears, and looked at the dead body, blood profusely spilling from it. It was the first time he'd seen someone killed right in front of his eyes.

"Dino, I don't have a choice. If I don't kill him, he's going to kill you. Or worse, all of us." He diverted his attention to the Chiavarone who was shot. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…he missed my vitals, luckily. Just got a shot or two in my arm…uhg…" He clutched his arm, blood seeping through his clothes onto his hand.

"How much farther until the hideout? We can treat you there."

He glanced in a certain direction "Should be just up ahead…"

"Okay, let's move!" He grabbed Dino, who wasn't able to tear his eyes away from the corpse and dragged him along. Dino periodically looked back, as if the dead man was going to come and get him. Eventually, he was able to return his focus to getting to the hideout as quick as possible.

Soon enough, they were able to reach their destination. Romario scrambled around to find a first aid kit for the man who was shot. He was losing a lot of blood. Romario seemed to find the kit fairly quickly, however, he was unsure of how to treat the man properly. He took out various things in the kit, trying to make head and tail of what to do, a puzzled look on his face.

Dino bit his lip. "…Romario, give me the kit."

"It's okay, I know what to do." Romario lied, he wasn't sure of what to do. He just wanted to keep the young boy from worrying.

"…No, you don't know what to do. Hurry, give me the kit." The man hesitated. Dino glared at Romario. "Romario, give me the kit! That's an order!"

Romario quickly passed the kit to Dino. He didn't know what Dino was planning, but he seemed to know what to do. He watched as Dino took the bandages and tied them around the man's arm in attempt to staunch the bleeding, and use other various techniques to deal with the wound successfully. There was no mistaking it. He was definitely the 9th generation's successor. The successor, of a famed doctor.

"We were under attack by an enemy group, and I was evacuated with Romario and another member of the Chiavarone family. On the way to the hideout, the man with us was shot in the arm. Romario wasn't really a medic back then, so he wasn't sure how to help him. The 9th Generation Chiavraone was at the front line and we had no contact with him. So using the skills he taught me, I saved the man from bleeding to death."

Hibari made a blunt statement. "And after that you became full of yourself because you saved one person?"

Dino ignored his seemingly rude comment, though he knew that in a way, what he said was true.

"After the attack was over and the family members regrouped, Romario reported to the 9th that I was able to save the life of the man who was with us. He praised me for being courageous and putting my skills to use. Foolishly, I asked if he could teach me more about being a doctor and saving lives. He thought for a while, then told me I could watch him perform surgeries on the condition that I would never use the skills I learnt from watching him in my life unless absolutely necessary. I agreed, not knowing what I was getting myself into."

Hibari reinstated his previous comment. "In other words, you became full of yourself."

"Kyouya, don't be rude. Save comments like that until after I finish." He turned his gaze to Hibari, making sure he was silent and wasn't going to say anything else before he continued.

"He had to fly overseas one day. While he was away, there was a war outbreak between two other families. The Chiavarone family was ordered by the 9th to aid the injured and he specifically told me to let the regular doctors and nurses take care of patients and for me to not perform any surgery on anyone if I didn't have to. At that point, I was mad at him for the first time. I yelled at him over the phone and asked why I couldn't help people. His reply was all too true…"

"What do you mean I can't help anyone? How can you expect me to just stand by and watch as people die?" Dino yelled into the phone with distaste at the 9th Generation Chiavarone's orders for him.

"You don't understand. Stay put and do not do anything unless absolutely necessary."

"Don't give me that crap again! Maybe you can watch people die, but I can't. I've got to do something about this. So many people are being taken in as not being able to be saved, but I know I can save them. I watched you save people in even worse condition!"

The 9th Generation boss paused. He decided that at this point, he shouldn't hide anything else from Dino. But it wasn't something he could explain, the only way for him to learn was firsthand experience. He had wished it would never come to this, but it was inevitable.

"Fine. Have it your way. Go ahead and become a 'Saint'. Go ahead and try to treat all those people with your 'skills'. But never, ever, expect that you can save anyone."

"What…? What do you me- Hey! Answer me…!"

"-tooooot-" The 9th Generation Chiavarone had hung up. Dino was confused by what the 9th had told him. Nevertheless, now having permission from the family head, he went to the 'aid' of the 'untreatable' patients expecting that he should be able to save them.

Little did he know, that the names, faces and lives of countless people would be etched into his memories that night…as the people he murdered.

"When I finally yelled at him enough like an idiot to get permission from him to operate on patients, I learned the truth about what he told me from the beginning. I learned why he asked me not to be a doctor. I was so blinded that my skills would surely succeed like his that I didn't even think of such a consequence or how he'd been able to gain them. I tried to save many people, but I ended up killing them all. In the end, they wrote them all off as incurable. But I didn't give up, surely I could learn something from…killing so many people."

Dino's voice wavered a little. "But it wasn't until I couldn't save a certain someone that things began to change…

A surprise attack had been launched on the Chiavarone family, causing immediate action to be taken against it. The head of the family had set out to find the heart of the problems, putting himself right in the thick of a quickly brewing clash. Dino had been ordered to stay back as a medic, despite having no desire whatsoever to operate at all.

Having trust in the 9th Generation Boss and the rest of the family, Dino refrained from going anywhere near medical equipment. A heavy-heart, he did not want to involve himself deeper in a world where he would see only death.

He knew the Chiavarone head was fierce and strong, and because of that he instinctively thought to himself that the 9th's plans would go accordingly with no trouble. He was proved to be very wrong indeed.

"Dino, we need your help now!" A Chiavarone family member grabbed Dino's shoulder, swivelling him around in a panic. He was sweating and his words seemed rushed.

"You need to come with me now!" Gripping Dino's arm, he hurriedly dragged him along with him.

"What's going on? Where are you taking me?" Dino anchored his legs to the ground, stopping the man from pulling him. "If you're taking me to operate, I'm not going!"

Knowing that Dino would not willingly cooperate, the man had to use his wit to convince him. "I do not have time to stand idly by and discuss matters with you! If you would like to know what the problem is…I suggest you follow me now and I explain to you on the way."

"Tch…!" He quickly followed the man to the outskirts of the battlefield. "Hey, aren't you going to tell me what's going on?"

The family member remained silent, and slowed to a halt when he reached a nearby sector with supplies. It was a building which the Chiavarone were able to use as a hideout. People were rushing around frantically all over the building about something. Dino was pushed inside an operation room. He was a bit too far away to make out who it was, but he saw a severely injured man. He walked closer, hoping that he was not who he thought he was.

He now had the man clearly in his sights. Dino dropped to his knees. The person he thought he'd never have to see in this state was before his eyes. He tried to speak, but his words were broken, and audible only to himself.

"9th…ge…ne…ration…?"

The man readied all the operating equipment and placed a hand on Dino's shoulder.

"Please…save him if you can…"

Truthfully, Dino did not want to operate. But at the same time, he didn't want a person which he shared such a close bond with to die. Mustering up his courage, he started to operate on him.

A while into the operation, Dino could already see that his attempt to prolong a life had failed again. There was no way he could heal the 9th Generation's wounds fast enough. Even so, he didn't want to give up yet.

Words slipped from his mouth. "Dino…"

"Don't talk…I'm…going to save you…"

"It's okay; I'm prepared to die…please…let me tell you something…"

Dino clenched his fists and tried to stop the tears flowing out of his eyes. "…what…what do you need to tell me…?"

"…I'm sorry…for dragging you into this horrible medical world…"

"No…it's my fault things became like this…because I was so…ignorant and full of myself… I'm sorry…uhn…I'm…I'm…sor…ry…"

The 9th Generation boss let a weak, yet peaceful smile form on his lips. "… it's okay…you must take this with you… you are strong…my suffering is nothing compared to the future you will bring… it is… not… your fault…"

"No…no…nooooooo!"

Dino watched as the man breathed his last breath. He looked at the lifeless body of someone who was so important to him; he looked at his blood-stained hands.

"I…couldn't save them again…I couldn't save…you of all people…what is this…? Blood stained hands and a corpse…I am…no doctor, no medic…I'm just…a cold-blooded murderer…"

That was the day Dino raised onto himself the title of a murderer. He swore that if he let anyone else die after the incident, he would completely give up being who he was. However, the death of the Chiavarone boss had awaked his true skills. With the many deaths he made erased, he stepped back into the word of being a medic, and became who he is now.

"Another sudden attack had been launched onto the Chiavarone family base. My predecessor raced to the front line to try to resolve the problem, but ended up severely injured. I…I was asked to operate on him…and failed…"

Dino closed his eyes and tilted his head back, reminiscing about the past. "I promised myself that if I ever let anyone die after that, the whole concept of me being a doctor can just be forgotten about. Ironically, the people I started to operate on after that lived. My murderous history was kept a secret and…I've become who I am now."

He opened his eyes and made eye-contact with Hibari. "Well, go ahead and call me a fool and a murderer. You are correct. Thank you for seeing me as something…other than a Saint."

Hibari turned to look out the window. "Why are you thanking me? Thank me again when I have actually done something that calls for it, instead of me just seeing something obvious."

The doctor smiled. "Then, I will keep coming back until you will accept a 'thank you' from me."

As Dino left the room, Hibari grinned to himself. The irony.