Owl, Horse, Shark!

Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Only this fanfic…

Chapter 8: Approval

"What the hell?!" Dino struggled as Reborn tied him in a chair but leaving his arms free. Reborn placed bombs behind the chair and tied them with Dino. "This is part of your training, Dino," Reborn blankly replied.

"I get it, but what's with the bombs?!"

"If you get a question wrong or don't answer in the given time, I detonate them. Question one, go. You have one minute."

… 40 seconds later:

"I don't get this at all!" Dino ran his fingers through his hair. His focus averted to the voices he heard outside the mansion. He could only make out a few words they said, there was also a girl's voice.

"What business…someone…..Saggezza….here?"

"…Dino's friend, Minerva…..like….see him," he heard Minerva's voice. It wasn't the usual playful one, this time she was serious.

"Only….you….don't trust….you."

Dino suddenly heard Reborn's timer go off as he pushed down the detonator switch. In a split second, there was a loud boom as he heard his window shatter. Smoke escaped out of the room and rose into the sky. Dino fell forward off his chair and on to the floor, crashing his forehead on the edge of his desk in the process. He lost consciousness.

"Fine by m-"she was suddenly cut off by the sound of an explosion. She heard Dino shout and looked up to a window with smoke coming out as glass poured to the ground. She suddenly ran past the men and into the mansion shouting, "Dino!"

"Oi get back here!" the men shouted as they chased her. Minerva ignored them and sprinted into the mansion and up the wooden stairs. The footsteps beneath and behind her made clacking sounds on the wooden stairs as Minerva raced into the corridor to Dino's room – wherever that was.

She dashed past a door but stopped when she heard Dino shouting inside a door. Minerva retracted her steps and walked backwards and slowly opened the door and pushed it open. "Dino?" she called out. She saw burnt walls, carpet and furniture. In the room she saw a baby with a fedora and a yellow pacifier. Her jaw dropped when she saw Dino on the ground.

"Dino!" she screamed and ran into the room as Dino slowly sat up. He turned his head and exclaimed, "Minerva?! What are you doing here?!"

"Dino are you alright?!" he saw the concerned on her face as she asked. "Y…yeah," he stuttered, "I'm fine."

"Who's this?" she heard Reborn ask.

"She..she's just a friend," he replied.

"You're the heir to the Saggezza, aren't you?" Reborn gave an unwelcoming question.

Minerva looked away, "Yeah, even though I don't want to be…."

"You do realise that you're an enemy of the Vongola and Cavallone. What brings you here?"

"I heard…about the 9th Cavallone Boss, Dino's dad…he…" Minerva hesitated before finishing her sentence.

"Young Master!" they heard the other Cavallone men enter the room. "Get away from the girl!" they called out to Dino.

"It's alright," he protested, "She's a friend. Please let her stay."

The men protested until Romario walked in. "Minerva-san, I see you're feeling better."

"Th-thanks, Romario," Minerva smiled.

Reborn starting talking again, still with his unwelcoming voice, "If the Saggezza find out that you are acquainted with Dino, they won't be happy."

"That's why I'm planning on running away." Her reply surprised everyone in the room.

"Then what?" Reborn wasn't the one bit surprised though.

"I'll do what I want. I dunno yet but when it comes down to it I'll think of something."

"Your father won't be too happy. Your current decision may just cause an all out war," Reborn warned her.

"It's not like he cares about me anyway. All he wants is an heir. He won't admit it, but I can tell. Everyone else respects him too much."

Reborn chuckled, "What is there about him to respect him for?"

"Exactly."

…

Romario met all the other men outside the Cavallone mansion. "I think we can trust her," one said.

"No, she's lying about running away. The Saggezza are known for deceiving people," another protested.

"But she's different from the rest of them…."

…

"Do you have a problem with my training method?" Reborn asked Minerva out of the blue.

"No. I don't," she replied.

"But Dino is one of your best friends, why do you approve of me blowing up his room for not answering a maths question in one minute?" he was testing her, testing her to see whether she was like her father and all the other Saggezza bosses.

"As one of his best friends, yes I am concerned of him. But, any other way isn't going to make him strong enough in the given time," Minerva answered without faltering.

"So you don't think I'm super strong?" Dino was slightly hurt. But he knew depending on what her reply was, she might've just broken their friendship.

"No Dino. You're not strong at all." Minerva's answer made Reborn raise an eyebrow.

"But," her voice became sweeter, like the Minerva that he saw in the ballroom. "You're a great guy, you wouldn't be the Dino Squalo and I know without being Useless Dino."

A blush leaked across his face as he turned his face away in hopes of Reborn not seeing it. Reborn let out a smirk, "Alright. I trust you. I don't know if your family will let you visit but if you do come here, we'll let you in."

"And Squalo?" Dino asked him.

"Yes, him too."

The other Cavallone Mafioso walked into the room as though nothing happened. "So," Reborn began, "Do you guys trust Minerva?" They all nodded as Dino smiled at Minerva. She smiled back.

…

Minerva waved at Dino and the others as she walked out the mansion door and walked down the concrete stairs. She saw Amico outside the gates waiting for her. "What did you find out?" he asked right off the bat.

"It's really hard to get into, it's almost impossible. Their security is of top class." She lied, convincingly though. The Saggezza lie. I'm of the Saggezza too and I'm no different from them. They lie for power, I lie for me and my friends.

I'm going to lie no matter how many times it takes. But when they find out, what am I going to say….?

SCHOOL STARTS IN TWO DAYS BECAUSE MONDAY IS A PUBLIC HOLIDAY AND I GO TO A PRIVATE SCHOOL…AAAAAAAHHHH! How many bands have I found over the holidays….MIYAVI (I already knew about him though..), Kra, Called Plan, Girugamesh, Malice Mizer….that's 4 bands in two weeks….

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