"Don't do anything by half. If you love someone, love with all your soul. When you work, work your ass off. When you hate someone, hate them until it hurts."

-Henry Rollins


In life, one generally learns that not everyone will react the way one might expect.

Ashlynn found learning this lesson with front row seats when she witnessed Ran; sweet, charming, and seemingly harmless, Ran, punch Tenma Hiroto in the face with a satisfying crunching sound whilst knocking the offending boy off balance. The incident had been met with varying degrees of shock from the other pupils including Ashlynn herself, though she was sure that she was the only one who felt the male had it coming to him for his taunting and lewd requests ( to Ashlynn) to hand feed him what she had made, and had the nerve to call her (Ashlynn) with no suffix attached to her name without her permission for him to do so.

Ashlynn found herself surprised mostly that Ran had reacted violently and also for making a move before she did. Though Ashlynn watched amused as Ran looked at her own fist in akin to wonder and it made Ashlynn wish that she had been able to take a video or a picture so she could frame the event.

Luckily their Home Ec. teacher had not seen the blow but the woman had seen Tenma sprawled on his back with his hands clasped to his nose with blood dripping though his fingers. It had only taken the voice of their educator to cause the room to explode into pandemonium of voices and people crowding around the fallen male trying to offer assistance.

Ran had immediately been sent to the Principal's office. She had somehow calmly gathered her things and her share of the rice balls that they had made between them and with a small wave farewell to Ashlynn as she exited the room.

Ashlynn sighed and took packaged her share of the rice balls and put them away in her bag and cleaned the workstation before stepping around the group still crowding around Tenma. She didn't have to worry for anyone following after her since it was the last class of the day so she immediately made her way off campus and in a zig zag like maneuver to her apartment to change out of her uniform before she went over to Tsuna's.

Ashlynn waved to Dolly when she hopped down the steps and went forward as the older woman motioned for her to come closer.

"Niamh." Dolly nodded using the nickname that Ashlynn had told them about from her childhood after Birdy had asked if she ever had one to go by. Her Grandma Aine had started calling her that after her first visit in Ireland. Meaning 'bright' in Gaelic and it was also the name of the daughter of the sea god in Irish legends who fell in love with a poet, Oisin, son of Fionn. Then her brother had started calling her that whenever he teased her.

"I going out of town at the end of next week. Can I count on you to watch Birdy while I am gone?"

"Ah, that's fine."

"..."

"..."

"Something happened today."

Ashlynn smiled as they walked out of the complex. "Ran punched a boy in our class in the face."

"The flirty one that doesn't know the meaning of personal space?"

"That's the one."

"Ah. She got in trouble."

"Yeah, it was right when we finished in Home Ec today. Sensei didn't see her hit him but he was on the ground holding his face and Ran was still looking at her fist in shock."

"...Something else has happened. Not today but it happened. Is this all you will tell me?"

"For now, yes. That's all Dolly. I know where to find you if I need you."

Dolly harrumphed but gave a small grin and sent Ashlynn on her way as she went on to pick Birdy up from Elementary school while Ashlynn walked on to Tsuna's. She felt a little bad about not telling Dolly her inevitable involvement in the mafia and though Ashlynn was confident that Dolly could successfully take care of herself and Birdy (Dolly plus a shotgun was terrifying); Ashlynn couldn't squash the feeling of worry. So, for now at least they would be kept in the dark on the matter until she could find a way to gently break the news to them and still have them safe from harm.

With those thoughts she never noticed that she had already arrived and had been standing in front of the boys door staring blankly ahead of her for a few minutes. She pressed her finger to the doorbell and waited to be let inside the house. Ashlynn smiled when Sawada Nana opened the door and allowed her entry.

"Ashlynn-chan! It's nice to see you again dear! Come on inside, come inside!" Nana smiled happily. "I haven't seen you in a while. Why don't you stay for dinner tonight?"

"If it's not too much trouble for you Sawada-san. I'm sorry that I didn't call ahead and I didn't bring anything with me."

"No trouble at all! Really! Everyone is upstairs right now, why don't you go and join them?" Nana waved her hand. 'Such a polite girl! And she's very cute too! Ever since Reborn has started his tutoring, Tsu-kun has been having an easier time making friends. I'm so happy!'

Ashlynn smiled to the friendly Sawada matriarch before going on ahead climbing the stairs to the second story. She paused when she heard Tsuna screech and decided to listen in to find who was there.

"I told you already I don't want any involvement with the mafia! And I don't want to become a mob Boss, So you can go ahead and take Reborn with you! Just leave and don't ever come back!"

'Ouch.' Ashlynn frowned. '..They may be a little...eccentric...but its not very nice to yell that they leave. Now, there's no laughing or any placating words from Yamamoto, no sounds of Gokudera being ill...so it's probably just Tsuna, Reborn, Bianchi inside...'

Ashlynn lifted one hand to turn the knob and the other to knock on the wood as she opened the door and peeked her head in. "Knock knock, can I come in?"

Ashlynn fully opened the door and saw Bianchi with her back turned to her as she looked at Tsuna. She didn't seem to take offense at Tsuna's earlier words and spoke as if she never heard him screech his protests.

"I shall be tutoring you in home economics and art. I will hold a class session today so I will be in the kitchen preparing for your tort- I meant to say tutoring, yes tutoring. With mine and Reborn's help you will have a solid education when you take over the family." Bianchi turned towards the door to leave but paused when she saw Ashlynn standing next to the now open door. "...I've seen you before with Sawada Tsunayoshi..."

Reborn smirked. "Bianchi this is one of the promising members of Tsuna's family, Meagher Ashlynn. Ashlynn you remember Gokudera Bianchi when she was here earlier this week? She is known in the mafia as the Poison Scorpion."

"Meagher Ashlynn. You're name is derived from 'Aisling' which means 'dream' or vision' in Gaelic, isn't it? Opposed to the English 'ash-lyn' which is a combination of Ashley and the name suffix lyn. Am I correct?"

Tsuna was shocked when Ashlynn nodded with a pleased nod. "How- how did you know that?"

Bianchi gave Ashlynn a calculating glance as she answered the question. "It is mere deduction; her surname, Meagher, is Gaelic, an old language of Ireland, and it means 'Majestic Fire'. Meagher Ashlynn, you may join in on Tsunayoshi's lessons if you wish."

"That is acceptable, Bianchi." Reborn stood from his seat on the bed. "But today she will be outside with me learning to wield her weapons in combat.

"Ah. Very well then. Tsunayoshi, I shall call for you when preparations have been made." Bianchi flipped her hair over her shoulder and left for the kitchen.

Tsuna took the moment to whine. "Reborn! I don't want her to be here! Kick her out, please! At this rate I am going to be killed for sure!"

Reborn ignored the boys pleading and left the room with Ashlynn following his lead. "Ashlynn, we shall be conducting our class in the back yard. I trust that you brought the chakrams along with you today?"

Ashlynn wiggled her wrists that held the days many bracelets and the concealed weapon bracelets that she had taken to wearing (The chakram bracelets, she hid the small sharp rings in her bag while not in use) every day and had made time at least twice a day to fiddle around with, ie, trying to recreate how Sun Shang Xiang moved when attacking with chakrams. She believed that she made a bit of progress on her own.

She was glad that they were in the form of jewelry otherwise she would have had to find some way to conceal the blades on her person without anyone knowing that she had them on her person since it would give her an element of surprise in case she ever got into a scuffle. Though Ashlynn did think of a contingency plan that if somehow the bracelets broke then she would have some other weapon at her disposal. She was working of getting one soon, because as of right now all she had was a pocket knife.

She sat down with her legs criss-crossed in front of the chalkboard (she had a fleeting thought of why most anime universes used chalkboards instead of whiteboards) and gave a questioning glance to the watermelon that had been balanced to the top of a pole and the small inflatable pool that was slowing being filled with water.

"The Chotta chakkar, War quoit, or chakram, the word comes from the Sanskrit term 'chakra', meaning circle or wheel. In China, the larger ones (yours could be classified into this category) are called wind and fire wheels." Ashlynn looked up as Reborn pointed with a ruler to the picture of a ring on the board. " The earliest records referring to this particular weapon were Indian epics such as Mahabharata and Ramayana where the Sudashana Chakra is the chosen weapon on the god Vishnu and Chaktahaari (meaning 'chakram-wielder) which was another name for Krishna. The chakram was later widely known to be employed by the Sikh's as recently as the days of Ranjit Singh (the beginning of the 1800's) because of the Nihang practice of wearing chakram on their hands and wrists used as knuckle dusters making them equally suited for hand to hand fighting or a stack to be thrown like shuriken, on arms to break or cut the opponants arms while grappling, some large as a shield around the neck, and they were even tied in tiers on a high turban that would be used to rake across an enemy's face while in close quarters."

Ashlynn switched her gaze from the board and some of the notes to Reborn who was now in a robed garb with chakram on his person especially on a high turban like he said the Sikh's had done.

"Now, the combat prowess of the chakram is dependent on its size; the larger wheels for melee combat and the smaller can be used for both close quarter combat and as a projectile, because of its aerodynamic shape it is not easily deflected by the wind and if properly constructed it shouldn't make a sound. Like a modern Aerobie it was usually thrown vertically (underhand) so as to avoid accidentally hitting an ally on the left or right side.

Another method of launching the blade was by twirling on the index finger and thrown with a timed flick of the wrist." Reborn brought out a small chakram and demonstrated that attack by flinging the projectile in through the air and the blade lodged itself deep into the watermelon that had set up. Ashlynn whistled.

Reborn easily pulled the ring out of the fruit and returned to the board. "The spin is meant to add power and range to the throw while avoiding the risk of cutting yourself on the outer edge. An adept practitioner can twirl the chakram with one hand while using another weapon in the other hand. But I would advise not to throw unless you are sure you will be able to get it back quickly without any struggle or making any detour. In battle every second can and will count against you. Especially if you do not have your weapon.

There are a few martial art styles that handle rings and hoops of course, there is a style of Kung-fu that is sometimes referred to as chicken fighting because of its resemblance to the wings of a fighting rooster that can incorporate the use of the chakram. There is the Wing Chun style that uses a Mook wan or 'wooden ring' though the use of it is rather rare training tool is some of the families of the style, those that do eventually use metals rings as they progress. Wing Chun emphasizes on short range combat famous for its punches and uses quick attacks with kicks and grappling. There is an old legend, " Reborn smirked when Ashlynn visibly perked at the last one. "that Old Irish warriors had a secret style with a flying ring that was capable of some rather sophisticated maneuvers.

All in all, it is a very elegant, versatile, yet simple weapon that is able to flail, shear, parry, and disarm. Even today there is not much one can do to upgrade it."

Reborn waited a few moments to the let the information sink in before carrying on. "With your body type and taking in account to prior training you have received I believe that the Wing Chun style would benefit you as a starting point. Having a correct stance is like being bamboo: firm and tough, but flexible, rooted but yielding. This structure is used to either deflect external forces or redirect them. Balance is important to the structure for a well-balanced body recovers far more quickly from stalled attacks and able to stay on ones feet and even give a counterattack whereas an unbalanced person would fall and take time to recover from the blow.

One of the main principles as that the shortest between two points is a straight line. All strikes are designed to injure or disrupt your target which makes this style effective for street defense. There are two very important things in this particular style: to have a stable stance and to defend the center line as a direct attack to the center line is the most powerful thing.

Stand up with you feet shoulder width apart while standing on the balls of your feet (this is so you can twist around easily) and keep you back straight...good, now bend your knees...more...more... and push your knees together."

Ashlynn did so and was sent falling on her bottom when Reborn struck her off balance. She shook her head and quickly got back up again and sent her 'tutor' a questioning look. Had she done something wrong?

The hitman smirked. "You'll notice that I'm the kind of person to teach you wrong first so that you learn to never do it again. That's just how I roll. By bending your knees you are keep your center of balance low but you don't want it too low otherwise the thigh muscles will fatigue more quickly and you will be knocked off balance. When you push your knees together you are make it harder to walk and move freely. Do it again but now with a slight bend and don't push your knees together. While you are doing this hold your hands over your center line ( The point is to protect the solar plexus), hands are pointed forward up...Ashlynn relax your arms, hands too. Unnnecessary tension wastes energy and will cause you fatigue and tense limbs are less fluid during trapping, not to mention it will provide an easy handle for an opponent to grab or push with and also the maximum punching speed cannot be achieved as the biceps will be opposing the extension of the arm."

He had her hold the position then had her jog around the corners of the yard and would whistle for her to immediately stop into a guarding formation then the basic stance until he deemed it satisfactory enough to move on to the other forms such as the linear strike or the 'sun punch', the dispersing hand, and the fuk sao, the motion of pushing away an attack then using the opportunity for a counter along with a few other Wushu strikes and sweeps. Reborn had her repeat the same process of jogging and falling into the offensive and defensive formations while sometimes he would throw in an attack before he instructed her to first add the smaller metal chakram rings then further progressing to the larger chakram into the mix.

And like Reborn had warned, he taught her the wrong way to perform the stance first then showed her why it didn't work that way with Ashlynn always meeting the ground in some sort of fashion. Then he would proceed to correct the stance and the would threaten with a disturbing smirk and pointing his gun at her that if she ever did it wrong then the cursory strikes from before to force her off balance would seem like love taps.

Bullets being shot at you when you are even about to make a mistake is a wonderful motivator.

"Hey, Reborn?" Tsuna poked his head out from the sliding door. "Can you do a favor for me really quick? Can you beat up Lambo just a little bit?"

Ashlynn nearly paused and gave Tsuna an incredulous glance. Sure she had read that he tried to get Reborn to fight with Lambo so that the Bovino child would use the Ten year bazooka. But seriously? Asking for a child to be beaten up did not sit well with her at all.

"No." Reborn shot down the request. He turned the water off and put on a pair of sunglasses as Leon transformed into a floating inner tube. "I have told you before Dame-Tsuna; It is beneath me to bother with such lower ranking opponents."

"Gyahahahaha! You can only say that until now Reborn! For Lambo-san will defeat you!" The Bovino child himself declared from the top of the roof as if summoned by talking (insulting, really) about him. Ashlynn really paused in her tracks this time wondering how the five year old child got up there in the first place. Lambo reached into the void that was his afro and revealed a stun-gun and leaped dramatically towards Reborn. "Die Reborn! With the stun-gun that Lambo-san got from his boss! Zap, zap, zap!"

Reborn used Leon who had transformed into a large flyswatter and flung the boy right into the pool. Ashlynn winced at the sparks of electricity that came off the gun shocked Lambo and the boy screeched.

"Hiiiiie! Lambo!"

Lambo floated in the inflatable pool, crying and twitching. The he reached up into his afro again and retrieved the ten year bazooka, aimed at his own head and fired and disappeared in a cloud of pink smoke. As it cleared away, Ashlynn walked over waving the smoke out of her eyes and found an older looking Lambo sitting the younger one's in the little pool completely drenched and a little dazed.

"Goodness. Why is there a pool here?" He ran a hand through his hair.

"That's him! H-he's here!" Tsuna cried, he ran back to the sliding door, "Bianchi! Bianchi, come here! Look! Come over here, Bianchi! Hurry!"

Ashlynn went over to the little pool and offered a hand to the older Lambo. The boy took the proffered hand a gave her a smile.

"Younger Aneue, it's good to see you."

"Ah, Lambo you're older right now. It's because of that bazooka you keep shooting yourself with, right?" Lambo nodded affirmative and opened his mouth to say something else when the sliding door opened again with Tsuna leading Bianchi out into the back yard.

"I don't like to be forced into things, but I will be tutoring you soon~~ R-Romeo? Is that you, Romeo?" Bianchi stared in shock at the older Lambo who gave the woman a confused glance. Who was Romeo? His name was Lambo.

Bianchi ran the short distance to the male with tears in her eyes. "Romeo! You're alive!"

'Alright! Bianchi thinks that Lambo is her old boyfriend and will go away with him and never come back! ' Tsuna thought relieved, now he would be able to get rid of Bianchi. Though he never did think of the five minute time limit that that the bazooka had.

"Romeo~~ TAKE THIS! POISON COOKING II!" Bianchi whipped out and slammed a poisonous cake into the older Lambo's face, flinging the poor teenager back into the pool nearly knocking Ashlynn in with him too.

"It seems like right before the two them broke up, they had a horrible relationship together that wasn't working out at all. Every time she even thinks of him, she gets really upset and cannot be consoled." Reborn observed.

"What! That can't be!" Tsuna screamed.

"H-hold…it…in. Come on..." Lambo sniffled trying his best to keep from bawling. Ashlynn reached for him and helped him out of the water and gingerly wiped the poisonous substance from his face, wincing at the stinging sensation at her hands when she touched it.

"T-thank you Aneue." The older Lambo gave her a hug before disappearing into pink smoke, marking the end of the bazooka's effect. The younger Lambo was now hugging in the older one's place.

"Gahahaha! I am the super Lambo-san from the Bovino family! Who are you!"

Ashlynn smiled at the child, "My name is Ashlynn. I am a part of Tsuna's mafia family. He's my Boss."

She ignored the protests coming from Tsuna trying to deny any willing involvement in the mafia.

Tsuna looked around the back gate to where Gokudera was hiding from his sister and apologized that he was of no help to his boss. His face was blank as Tsuna explained what had happened when Bianchi saw the older Lambo and the boys face lit up in understanding then dropped to his knee and began to apologize profusely for his delay of information.

"I-I'm so sorry Juudaime! I should have expected this to happen and to warn you! I heard that her boyfriend had died due to food poisoning but I always thought that it was a rumor...I mean she really did like him when I was introduced...but if Reborn-san says otherwise then it must be true...I'm so sorry!"

"Eh? H-he died of food poisoning?" Tsuna mumbled. 'I wonder what made them have a fallout if she had liked him...poor Bianchi...no wonder she was upset...'

Tsuna turned his head back to the yard as Nana poked her head out of the kitchen window and called them in for dinner and invited Gokudera to join them if he wanted.

Gokudera shook his head and gave a wave goodbye. "You go on ahead, Juudaime. While big sis is still here I will only become a burden to you and your mother. So I will take my leave now."

Tsuna sighed and shook his head as he entered the house and walked straight to the kitchen and found Reborn and Bianchi already eating their meals on one side of the table and Ashlynn was settling Lambo down to eat on the other side and blew on the hot potions of food before she fed it to the five year old Bovino hitman., across from them Bianchi was doing the same for Reborn. Tsuna finally sat down and was thankful that dinner went on in silence.

Dessert was another matter.

When Nana asked Ashlynn what she normally did after school and she had answered that she worked in a bakery, Lambo dramatically leaped onto the table in front of Tsuna (ruining the desert that Nana had placed in front of him) and declared that Tsuna did not deserve to have Ashlynn as a member of his family and claimed her then on the spot as a subordinate of the great Bovino Famiglia and she would make him all kinds of sweets and other goodies while Tsuna and Reborn would not be allowed to have any.

Reborn then smacked the little Bovino into a wall. "Fnn, the very thought of her being a subordinate of the Bovino is laughable. Ashlynn is a member of the tenth generation family of the Vongola. She will become much too important for the likes of a low standard family of the mafia like the Bovino. If that were ever to happen it would be a shameful waste of potential and talent."

Ashlynn smiled at the compliment but did help Lambo off the floor back to his seat at the table and kept the boy from trying to attack anyone. Luckily there weren't anymore incidents though Tsuna's desert was stepped on so he had to get another but then Reborn stole it from him when he wasn't looking so Tsuna ended up not having anything.

After looking at the clock Ashlynn waved goodbye and started back for her apartment silently cursing herself for staying out so late. The street lights were already on outside. She turned around a corner not even three blocks away from Tsuna's when she nearly bumped into a man coming from around the fence.

"Sorry." Ashlynn moved out of the way of the male she almost walked into and moved around to pass by the group he was with and continue on down the road.

That is, before her hand was tugged from behind her and she turned to actually look at the taller (and rather smelly) and poorly dressed male that she had nearly ran into leer at her. Ashlynn shook her hand out of his grip. The man gave what she guessed was supposed to be a comforting gesture. It wasn't. That action coupled with the fact that the seven other men she counted in the group were snickering as they moved to surround her on all sides. She figured that the man talking was their leader of sorts.

"Hey sweetheart, how 'bout for almost running into me you can come with us for a night downtown? See we're a little new to the area and we happen to need someone who knows their way around."

"...You're lost?" Ashlynn asked giving the man's attire a glance. That was actually believable.

The man grinned again showing off dark yellowed teeth. "That's right. We were lost until you came and found us, babe."

She pointed in the direction that she knew to leave the residential area into the actual city part of Namimori. "You go four miles into that direction past the hospital."

Then she turned and made to go through the barricade that they had made around her. The male that she spoke to chuckled, a dark sound that made the hair on the back of her neck stand in warning.

"Sorry, that's not the right answer~. The correct response is, 'Of course, I would absolutely love a night in the city and since I know my way around I am the perfect person to show you the way. It would be a pleasure to help some fine studs like you. Please allow me to show you the way.'"

Ashlynn shook her head. "No thank you. Please move out of my way."

The men laughed at her again and started moving forward.

'Well,' Ashlynn thought dryly. 'This is a load of baby-back Bullshit...'

"Alright girly listen closely, you're going to come along with us and have a good time and you can go home nice and safe after wards, we'll even escort you. Or we can just steal you away never to return, your choice." The ring leader gave his ultimatum.

"Again, no thank you. I'll be on my way." Ashlynn tried to pass the guy but was stopped again when he wrenched her backwards by the arm.

She didn't think as she dropped her school bag that she had brought along with her to Tsuna's earlier. She didn't exactly have the time to with the obvious threat to her person, Ashlynn slipped one of the smaller chakrams up around her knuckles as she turned and struck the man sideways across the face forcing him to let go of her arm and she quickly followed through with another hit, a punch that made the man fall to the ground with his has grasping at his now broken and heavily bleeding nose.

"Aaaaarghhhh! What're you assholes just stand'n around fer'! Grab 'er!" The fallen ordered and the men started to charge in but hesitated when Ashlynn slipped her wrist through one of the chakram bracelets and activated it to become a large ring of sharp metal and held it front of her.

"Now what is happening here?" A vice asked as a figure came around the corner that Ashlynn had come around not five minutes earlier, the streetlight revealed the newcomer to be the prefect and enforcer of discipline in Namimori; Hibari. The boy tilted his head as he surveyed the scene. "Seven crowding males, fighting and disturbing the peace of Namimori. I'll bit you all to death."

The fallen leader stumbled to his feet with his hands still folding his nose. He snarled at the boy in the Namimori Jr. high uniform. "Stupid punk! You want some too! We'll teach you want happens why you try to be a hero! Get 'em! Get 'em both! I want them dead!"

The leader gave out a roar as he charged with two others at Hibari while the other three moved around to attack Ashlynn. She moved out of the way of one attacker as one charged and as she slipped past him on the side she gave a harsh kick to the back of the man's leg, a loud audible snap resounded from the hit and the male fell to the ground crying in agony. Ashlynn quickly moved the larger chakram upwards to parry a strike from another man who had rushed forward with a knife in his hand. She swung her arm around his and used the hand with the smaller chakram to deliver a punch again but seeing her already do that to his Boss he pulled back and just narrowly missed having his neck slit across the throat from the small blade.

The man with the knife stepped up again to swipe at her stomach but his weapon was hit out of the way when it came to close to slash through her clothing. Ashlynn gave a high kick against his chest and toppled him to the ground. The third attacker in the group against her froze in fear. She had taken down the first man, disarming the second, not to mention that the boss had a nasty gash and his nose was broken. He picked up the glass bottle that he had been kicking across the neighborhood and chucked it at the offensive female who turned just as the bottle was sailing through the air. It smashed on contact on the top of the right side of her skull and while she was momentarily dazed from the blow his partner that she had just kicked down hastily grabbed her arms from behind into a tight lock.

Ashlynn yelped when the class broke against her, little shards had scratched her scalp and there was a throbbing in her ear no doubt that a larger piece had cut it. She didn't have room to use her chakrams as her arms were pulled harshly behind her so she tried the little trick of twirling the smaller chakram and aimed with her peripherals at the man's foot and clumsily launched the small ring of metal onto his foot where it hit and broke through his shoe and lodged into skin. Her captor screamed falling to the ground holding onto his foot in horror as blood gushed from his footwear and called for his friends for help as every time he tried to grab at the ring he convulsed as he nicked his hands on the sharp ring and the movement brought more pain to his foot.

The male that had thrown the bottle fearfully stepped back when Ashlynn laid eyes on him and he scurried another few steps back before turning to flee from the fight, right as he turned int the opposite direction he was smashed into a wall by a glinting steel tonfa in the hands of the prefect.

Ashlynn sighed softly in relief, her adrenaline completely wasted and the stinging that came from the broken glass started to come back to her attention and she gingerly reached to the side of her head to try and assess the damage done. Luckily the glass hadn't majorly pierced her scalp besides some scratches though she could feel that her ear had definitely been cut pretty badly on the top of the lobe though nothing too serious but she would have to make sure that there weren't any miniscule pieces were in the way as she healed. In all she had gotten away from the fight with rather minor injuries compared to the men against her.

Hibari snapped his phone shut after relaying orders to the members of the disciplinary committee to come and get rid of the trash that had dared to disturb the peace. He turned to the female who looked reluctantly at the small metal ring imbedded in one of her attackers feet. She hesitantly reached for the weapon and with a grimace pulled it out of the now unconscious man's foot and rubbed the blood off on the man's coat before moving it around her wrist then quickly looked away from the man and the blood that was still flowing freely from one of the shoes.

"Omnivore, I have seen you before. Explain."

She answered immediately. "I work part-time at Fukano's bakery. You made a purchase there while I was working."

He nodded then approached one of the men she had taken care of and nodded with approval. "Wao. You broke through the bone. And the second one...it is doubtful if he'll have use of that foot any more. Very nice."

Ashlynn stared a moment in confusion before realizing that he was actually giving her a compliment. It was rather surreal. And he called her 'Omnivore'? "...Thank you, I have just recently began to learn."

"Oh? Then we shall fight in the near future. For now, go home."

She nodded grabbing her bag as she maneuvered around the fallen bodies on the ground and broke into a sprint away from the scene. She noticed that her hands had started to shake and there was some guilt creeping in the back of her mind. She had a Frisbee like weapon from Hell capable of taking another person's life away. Even though she tried to justify her actions that they were going to hurt her, rape her, then keep her prisoner where they'd probably abuse her some more until they grew tire of her they'd kill her and her body would probably be found in a ditch somewhere. Not the greatest visual for her future.

Ashlynn nor Hibari noticed the baby hitman perched on a nearby lamppost. He had been able to observe the two combatants battle against the group of men. Reborn smirked. After only a single day of actual instruction Ashlynn had done surprisingly well given the circumstances of being outnumbered and nearly overpowered at one point. Of course he would have stepped in if would turn out to be too much for her to handle by herself.

Though the appearance of the prefect was interesting and they were at least acquainted with each other. The boy, Hibari Kyouya, He seemed strong and was an able fighter. He would make a nice addition to the new generation of the Vongola.

He had quite the lengthy report to make.


"Ow."

Dolly grumbled an apology as she pulled shards of glass out of Ashlynn's hair and scalp. The girl had knocked on the front door a while after she had put Birdy to bed. One look to the blood that was dripping slowly from the girls ear and the shining of glass in her hair had Dolly dragging Ashlynn into the master bathroom and sat her down on the toilet as she pulled out the first aid box she had in the cupboard.

"What happened?"

"Was walking home and almost bumped into a guy and his buddies. They reeked of alcohol and they tried to get me to go downtown with them... I ran but one of them managed to throw a bottle at me before I got away...Ow~."

Dolly used a squirt bottle to spray disinfectant on the scratches then wiped a cloth with bactine over the girls' right ear that had a shallow cut across the top of the lobe and another from the tip forming a diagonal line to the edge of her face. She switched the cloth out for a gauze pad and held the bandage in place with the clear tape that came with the gauze to hold it on.

Ashlynn grimaced then tried to pat her head to see. "Is it okay...?"

Dolly lightly smacked her hands away then moved the now unbound honeyed hair this way and that to make sure that she didn't miss any broken glass, it would be problematic if a tiny shard was in any of the cuts when they healed. She nodded patting Ashlynn's shoulder. "Taken care of so it doesn't seem you'll be needing any hospital care. You're lucky it didn't hit closer to your face. It would have left a nasty scar if it did. You got very lucky tonight you know."

"Yeah.."

"I know that I'm not officially your guardian but I would like you try to be home before it gets dark out and see if you can get any male friends to walk you home when you can't...You seem fine but if you even the slightest stinging I want you to tell me. Now off to bed with you."

Ashlynn sighed but relented to the older woman's glare. She grabbed her hair tie and picked up her bag. "Okay Dolly...thanks for getting the glass out. Night."

Dolly nodded and shooed her back to her own apartment.


Duck, dodge, parry, strike, dodge, dodge, barrel roll, strike, strike, duck, strike...

Ashlynn swore as Bianchi landed a hit against her side sending her stumbling back to regain her balance and try to step in for a counter attack before quickly deciding to dodge again instead as Bianchi launched another plate of poison cooking her way followed by a few rounds of a paintball pistol at blank range. three hit her in the chest while another two hit her left leg as she moved in closer with a strike with a large chakram and launching the spinning chakram from her other hand.

So far after a few rounds of training over the week Ashlynn had only been able to successfully dodge most of the attacks from the other woman and return three or four attacks that would actually hit. But she was improving at a nice pace according to Bianchi and Reborn. Soon enough Bianchi would stop using the paintball and BB guns and start using actual handguns with real bullets along with small explosives during the outdoor training sessions.

Bianchi landed another hard hit sending her down to the Earth before offering a hand to help her back up onto her feet. She smiled as Ashlynn grasped her hand. "Very well done. You're instincts are definitely getting better. We just need to get your body stronger and faster to be able to react to them more properly."

"Thanks Bianchi."

"During your runs with the boys, I assume that you have taken the habit of wearing weights?"

Ashlynn nodded. "You assume correctly and I've been adding from five to ten pounds every other week or so."

"Also need to get you used to cheating while in a fight. You won't always come across someone in the mafia who'll play fair or honorably. If you can use it then use and abuse it. Make sure that your opponent cannot get the better of you and have you killed just because you want to make things fair. It's not a pretty world we live in, especially when you're working in the mafia underground."

"Yeah, I'm sorry."

Bianchi patted her head. "Nothing to apologize for. You grew up without the knowledge of those who were born in mafia families. You're learning and you're putting what you learn into use. When this is all done with I'm sure you'll be one of the most dangerous women of the mafia world and you'll be a great credit to your Boss."

Ashlynn smiled as they walked away from the abandoned building on the outskirts of town. They had agreed that it would be best to have their training away from any prying eyes and concerned civilians that would have made a fuss seeing the two fight each other with lethal weapons and force. So they had found the building and Bianchi made a call to some associates to have it fixed up and turned into a training facility for them to use and destroy at their discretion.

"Hey Bianchi?"

"Yes?"

"You know how Reborn shoots Tsuna and he comes back to life in only his boxers and a flame on his head? Do you think you can tell me more about that flame?"

"You're very observant."

Ashlynn shrugged.

Bianchi linked their arms together as they walked the way back to Tsuna's house. "Called the Dying Will Flame, created by one's concentrated resolve and has been likened to the idea of a dense aura. Some can be hereditary, so a family could pass down a certain flame attribute to their later generations. A good example is the Boss' family will pass down the Sky flame to each new generation. There are seven types of flame, each with a color matching the seven colors of the rainbow with a unique characteristic for each flame; orange for Sky, red for Storm, blue for Rain, yellow for Sun, green for Lightning, purple for Cloud, and indigo for mist. A person can have a strong affinity for a flame though it's not too uncommon to find someone who has a secondary or even a third affinity; and the stronger one's resolve is, the purer and more powerful the flame that is exuded. According to Reborn you primarily have strong Lightning flames and he believes that you may have a secondary affinity."

"Does that mean if I get shocked it won't hurt or it won't hurt as bad?"

Bianchi made a thoughtful noise in her throat. "Perhaps. It wouldn't hurt to test it nor would it be a bad idea to get you used to feeling an electrical current. It would be useful to add Lightning to your weapons so that you could shock or crisp your opponent from a block or your own strike."

"So I should stick my finger into an electrical socket and see what happens?" Ashlynn laughed.

"You could do that. It would be much more safer, then say, strapping you to an electric chair and up the wattage every few minutes. I'll run the idea by Reborn and see what he wants to do."

"Alright then."

"For now let us retreat to the kitchens and see how well you can learn to make Italian~. Perhaps you will be able to make it poisonous."


The Ninth Boss of the Vongola Famiglia, The Godfather, The man with the the Scepter, Don Timoteo, was not a person who could easily be surprised and if he ever was, he was more than capable of hiding it. Nearing his seventieth year of life there were things that he had seen and done that required him to adopt a stony facade or the grandfatherly disposition that he showed to the world.

He wasn't even all that surprised by the stunt that Xanxus had pulled some years ago. He wished that it had never had happened but it would have been quite foolish of him to believe that it wasn't possible.

But with his seventy years came the pains and aches of old age: his joints creaked when he moved to sit or bend down, there was the ever knot in his shoulders, and his legs were starting to weaken, limiting his mobility. He agreed with his right hand that it was time to pass along the torch to his successor, so to speak.

Unfortunately his first choice to pass the mantle of the Boss of the Vongola Famiglia and Godfather, his eldest son Enrico who was the most qualified and in the best state of mind to rule the family, was shot and killed in a scuffle. He had investigations made to see what family had been responsible but there was sadly nothing for his forces to work with.

His second choice was his second son, Massimo was the next qualified but it turned out that he had gotten in some trouble somewhere and was found with cinder bricks tied to each finger, his head, waist, and feet in a river.

His youngest child hadn't wanted to take on the job as the Boss and had been fine with his brothers wanting the role and was perfectly content where he was working. His poor, sweet son Frederico and his lovely wife Irene who had been expecting child had gone missing shortly after Massimo's funeral. Timoteo had been sent a package and a letter not two weeks after that. Inside the envelope had been two pictures: one of them was the missing couple, beaten and bloodied but still thankfully alive. The other had been of bones on the ground of a dark warehouse he did not recognize. Inside the package was a set of bones for two people; testing had revealed that it belonged to the now dead family of three.

That left only one possible candidate left who had Vongola blood though he had hoped that it wouldn't have had to come down to it. So with a great reluctance he set his sights on the son of one of his own subordinates. Sawada Tsunayoshi would become the heir and next in line to take over the Vongola and the title of Godfather and all that it entailed.

The boy was young and with training he could be made up into the perfect candidate to take over the family and allow him (Timoteo) to retire without worry. He sent along the best hitman in the world to train him. If Reborn had been able to make that Cavallone boy into a suitable and respectable Boss then Timoteo would not have to worry about the Vongola being in the boys' hands since Tsunayoshi was showing the same traits that the Cavallone boy had shown before and during training.

According to the first reports that Reborn ha relayed the child was still quite clumsy and lazy as ever and his academics and athletics were beyond abysmal but with Reborn's 'tutoring' he was beginning to show a little promise though it was miniscule. His heir had no ounce of ambition in his bones and it was a wonder if this would be a good thing but he is fond of his guardians (The boy insists that they are only friends) and wishes to keep them from harm which was rather admirable trait to have in a Boss. However Reborn still thought Tsunayoshi had a very long way to go and was still a good for nothing piece of human being. Timoteo took that to mean that Reborn had taken it as a challenge to make the boy in the greatest Boss the mafia has ever seen and that he was having fun torturing the boy.

The latest reports had told of the boys great reluctance to become the Boss but had (no doubt because of Reborn) gathered together some members for his family. The Gokudera boy, the brash, quick-tempered younger sibling of the famed Poison Scorpion Bianchi, had been a bit discertaining and would have to be watched but since Tsunayoshi had accepted him the boy swore unending loyalty, practically worshiped the ground that his heir walked on and claimed the place as the heir's right hand man and would become very argumentative with anyone who seemed to even think of taking the position from him. It was a bit worrying that the boy sought out that role since the right hand helped make any important decisions along with the Boss. The current Don would have to trust Tsunayoshi's and Reborn's judgment for now but he would not hesitate to remove him if the boy proved to be untrustworthy.

Another member and apparent baseball fanatic, a Yamamoto Takeshi. Reborn swears that the boy possesses a natural talent and potential to become one of the greatest hitmen in the world and showed a willingness to be a member of the family. Though cheerful and very friendly, reports have pointed that the boy was incredibly naive in his thinking that the weapons that Reborn used were very 'realistic' toys and anything that was really and truly mafia was nothing more than a child's game of cops and robbers. Timoteo briefly wondered what Yamamoto thought what side he was on.

The latest member, a Meagher Ashlynn (by the way of the Japanese putting the surname before the given name) was actually quite the surprise. Timoteo and his right hand had been secretly working on a certain classified project with the head of another family and one of the last experiments of said project had been a success. They just now had to track down the person that was supposed to arrive in Italy. Luckily a few days after the experiment two of his subordinates in Japan had inquired about the identity of a female in Namimori, then there had been the report form Reborn cementing his suspicions of the female that was now a member of Tsunayoshi's family.

Ashlynn, the girl had been reported to have a uncannily strong flame and when shot by the Dying Will Bullet she had projected a mighty lightning flame in place of the usual sky flame that normally was the state of the flame by being hit with the bullet of the sun flamed creature, Leon. Also she seemed to have an interest in the Dying Will Flames.

She seemed to not be very surprised by the knowledge of the mafia and also showed some promise of being a great hitwoman. After a single day of actual instruction she had been able to perform the techniques in battle though they were a bit sloppy with the help of a now potential member. And by the end of that week the girl had started to spar with Gokudera Bianchi who had taken quite the shine to the girl and the two had found a common ground in cooking, much to the other family members horror especially when Bianchi had proclaimed that she would teach her new pupil (Ashlynn) her art.

Timoteo let go of a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding that Miss Ashlynn has not of yet been able to make her creations poisonous. While it would be an advantage it was a frightening thought that there would be another person with the same abilities as the Poison Scorpion.