Nine

"Harashi! Young master! Itou Harashi!"

A boy ignored the faint shouts of his name in the distance, and laid down onto the grass, resting the book he was reading on top of his face. He put his arms under his head, and closed his eyes.

He sighed a heavy sigh, complaining inwardly. He was tired of his lessons. He was tired of his tutors. He was tired of school. He was tired of the mansion. He was tired of everything in his life. Why wasn't there anything interesting to spice up his daily routine?

The wind blew, rustling the lush leaves of the trees over his head. What a nice sound that he hadn't heard in a long time. Possibly because he had spent most of his days locked up in a building, studying and preparing to take on his father's line of business. Sure, being rich gave him many things, but a feeling of vanity and shallowness never leaves, no matter how many books he buried his nose in.

What a cliche future and life he led. It was like something straight out of a fanfiction story written by two girls obsessed with anime.

Itou Harashi took the book off of his face, and stared up at the blue sky, which was laced with fluffy white clouds. Staring, he watched as a cloud drifted lazily across the sky. Suddenly, he let out a yelp and squeezed shut his eyes. The sun had caught him in the eye as the edge of the cloud gave way.

"Itou-san! I've finally found you! It's time,"came a familiar rushed voice between heavy pants.

Flinging his book onto the ground, Harashi heard the footsteps coming for him. Pushing himself up from the soft grassy ground, he looked up.

"It's no good to dress like that, sir," His guard urged. "Your father won't be pleased to see you like that…" He scanned Harashi up and down, a look of disapproval written over his face.

Harashi knew how he must have looked. A simple white graphic t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, with pieces of grass sticking out of his hair. There was nothing wrong with his clothing, but of course, he was expected to wear a suit and tie everyday as if he was living in the 19th century.

His guard was dressed in his usual black tuxedo. Izan was a tall, thin man, who looked and acted more like a butler than a bodyguard. How he got the job as Harashi's personal guard, the boy didn't know. Harashi let out another sigh. "Yes, Izan. Remind me, what do I have to do again?" He ignored the suited man's irritated look, instead directing his gaze to the opposite of where the mansion stood, pretending to be in thought. However, Izan knew him better than that.

"You have a meeting, sir, with your father. We should hurry – you will be late."

"Ah, yes. He just came back from his business trip, didn't he?" Harashi asked in a curt voice. His voice contained no tone of joy. "Let's go then – don't worry about my clothing. I'll only be seeing him for a second anyways." Harashi stood up, straightening the t-shirt. "Guess my freedom's over." He muttered as he allowed himself to follow Izan.

…..

"K-Kazuto? Onii?" Karina exclaimed, looking at her dad with excited eyes. During the past few days, Karina had missed her brother more than usual. However, the words sank in a little deeper and her eyes darkened. Her brother did not support the mafia. He would be annoying her if he came. He could very possibly mess up her whole competition.

"Yup. Isn't that nice?" Tsuna responded. His eyes wrinkled at the ends, formed by many years of smiling. Karina looked away.

"Yeah. Great." The lobby they were in was empty except for the two. The silence cried out the moment Karina finished. His dad had informed her of Kazuto's arrival in around three hours. He said that his brother had come to see how they were doing while dropping off some school work. Karina scowled, not wanting the silence to last.

Finally, Tsuna's hands moved to his temples. "Don't tell me you're still angry at him. I know you really aren't." Karina started, face full of venom. However, she stopped. What's the point in putting up that hot-tempered mask up in front of her own father? What's the point of lying to him? He already knew that she really isn't that rash. He knows. 'You don't always have to act like the strong one.' She told herself. Drawing in a shaky breath, Karina dropped her blazing eyes to the ground, their fire dying out.

"...No. You're right. I'm not. It's just…" Karina clenched her fists, eyes darting to check nobody was there to listen to their conversation. "I just wish that he would understand. I wish he could change his mind… I wish-" Karina caught herself. Her true feelings were burning at the tip of her tongue. Karina squirmed. It was the truth that she had been trying to hide herself from. It was the truth that Karina had been rejecting. She wished that her brother would join them. Had joined them. Even though she'd been telling herself that he'd then be the boss and would likely make her look bad, Karina knew from the deep tingles that she really wanted him here. Catching her dad's quizzical glance, Karina forced herself to continue. Saying it out loud would make it true, but it already was true. "I wish he would join." Tsuna said nothing for a time. Then his face softened even through the stone face he was supposed to keep in order to not get biased because of their relationship. He lifted a corner of his lip, taking off ten years of age. Karina fidgeted. It didn't feel bad, saying it out. Not at all.

"Alright. Then I suppose you will be able to deal with him trying to convince you back home without hating him," Tsuna said, a tint of teasing in his voice. Karina twisted her face, peering up at him. Tsuna closed his eyes briefly, then straightened. "I've got things to sort out. The competition is starting in two days, including today. Why don't you get your group familiar with the rules?" With that, Tsuna turned and left.

Karina started down the narrow hallway back to their dorm room. Two days left. Karina wondered if they had trained enough. All of them still had trouble lighting their rings up for a long period of time while attacking. She still hadn't tried out her finally decided weapon. She hadn't even seen all of her group's weapons. They were still far off. But it must be the same with the other two groups. The thought jerked Karina. She recalled when she was watching the disqualified team leave, someone- something had hissed in her ear. Karina narrowed her eyes. She had thought about it all night the night before, but still didn't know what possibilities there were. Shrugging it off again, Karina yawned. The morning was still young, and the other girls were still sleeping.

"So that was the urgent matter," Karina muttered to herself, eyeing the clock that read 8 AM.

…..

"You went outside again." His father's stern gaze did not make him falter.

"Yes, but I was in the grounds. And I want to go outside – outside of the grounds. Just for a week. Let me take some time off of my studies." Harashi said. The master of the household inspected his son for some time, before his eyes returned to his newspaper with a bored expression.

"No."

Harashi grit his teeth. As always, his father had rejected any chance of a time off with no reasons provided. Why couldn't he understand? "Why?"

"Do you need to know?" His father answered his question with another. He spoke in a flat tone, making it clear that the discussion had ended, and there was nothing more Harashi could say about it. His father lifted the cream colored china cup, sipping a slow mouthful. However, the boy persisted.

"Yes, I do need to know! Why can't I go outside? You're keeping me pent up like a dog! I've spent my whole life in this place like some cliche rich prince in a book! Locked up, unable to leave, because everything is decided by his parents! Is it that hard to give me a reason as to why I can't go out!?" Harashi stood up. Meetings with his dad were always so full of… rage. It's as if they were magnets, except of the same property. They repel each other, and Harashi hated it. He had tried to get closer to his dad, but his dad was just that perfect business man who had nothing better to do than sit in a chair and work with businesses.

The smooth willow bark desk they were sitting face to face before shook as his father slammed the newspaper onto the brown table, making the creamy teacups dashed with blue swirls rattle, and everyone in the room except for Harashi jump. He took a deep breath, as if to yell, but when he spoke, his voice was as flat as always. "Itou Harashi. Do I need to remind you who the master of this household is? Who rules the prince, who the king is in this room? You are –"

"I don't –"

"Do not interrupt me when I am speaking, Harashi!" The boy's father took another deep breath, and composed himself. He began to speak again, this time in a calmer tone. "You are inexperienced, and do not understand anything outside of the life this mansion has given you. There is poverty, disease, criminals, everything you've read about in your books, but much more real. You won't be able to handle it until you've been prepared. Plus, you are not the only candidate to take on my company. You have to train to become the best, Harashi. That's what I want for you." Waving a hand towards Izan, he stood up and walked to the window, pushing up his golden-framed glasses. "Escort Harashi out, Izan."

"Yes, Itou-sama." Izan responded to Harashi's dad.

As Harashi was guided out the door, his father spoke again. "Oh, and you better catch up on your etiquette lessons. A gentleman is needed for business; not an angry one." Harashi scowled and caught sight of his father walking back towards his mother, who was talking about his cousin, a gentle smile crossing his features – an expression never shown towards Harashi before.

He felt something twist and crush the emotional attachments he had to his father.

…..

Karina strode down the narrow corridor to the main entrance of the building. A figure of a lean person leaning against a side wall outside caught Karina's attention. The figure was familiar. Checking the time, she noticed that it should be the time that her brother arrived. Squinting her eyes, she noticed that the figure looked relaxed. Kazuto was really cute like that, not worrying about everything. Such situations were rare, however, since he was such a worrywart. However, she was sure some girl in the world would like him, for sure, if they saw this side of him. Too bad he was always so insecure and clumsy. That took all of his handsomeness away. Sneaking towards the doors, Karina burst through when she got there and jumped at her brother. She chuckled as she watched her brother instantly tense up and clumsily react. Kazuto nearly tripped over his own feet, and fell to the floor. He got up, groaning and dusting himself off.

"Kazuto," Karina started, excited. Then she stopped, making acknowledgment into a single word. After a few seconds of silence, her face had an apologetic expression on it, instead of the anger Kazuto was expecting. "Ugh… Kazuto… I'm sorry. But this is what I want to do. I'm not going back." She looked up at him, with determination written all over her face.

Kazuto bit the inside of his mouth. She had guessed him to the core. He was indeed here to try and stop her again since the competition still hadn't taken place yet. However, Kazuto decided against trying to convince Karina this time when she spoke. "I know, and I'm sorry for how complicated I made things, too. But I don't regret trying to stop you… and that doesn't mean I approve of this business. Even if I'm not trying to stop you anymore," he added the last sentence quickly. He ruffled her hair, earning a look of scorn and distaste. Obviously, Kari didn't like being treated as the younger sister. A silence followed after.

"Onii-chan has a girlfriend!" Yuriko piped up, flying up the steps with double buns bouncing at each side of her head. She took the chance to join the conversation. "She wears cute bunny clothes and pink! And she has light brown hair! And she's from somewhere called Gland!"

Kari raised an eyebrow. "Yuriko? I didn't know you were com-" Her sentence was interrupted by the shutting of car doors. Karina's eyes widened with joy when she spotted her mother calmly paying the chauffeur some bills. "Mom?"

"Yeah. Anyway, did you hear me, nee-san? Onii-chan has a girlfriend!" Yuriko giggled at this.

Though Karina was excited for her brother, she was determined to not show it. "Kazu has a girlfriend? You're kidding me, right? The day he actually gets a girl to like him is the day I step out of mafia-related stuff." She looked towards her brother, expecting an answer.

"She's not my girlfriend, Yuri. And she's not from Gland. She's from England," Kazuto said, patting his five-year-old sister's head. However, his face was flushed red.

"Your face says otherwise. How do you even know so much about that girl, then?" Kari said with an amused expression.

"She came to our house!" Yuriko beamed.

Kazuto shot her a glare. "S-she was just at our house for a history project - which you'll have to make up, by the way - and we just started talking." Desperate to change the subject, Kazuto reached into his black bag and took out a large stack of papers, reaching almost to the ceiling. How did that even fit in his backpack?! Kari thought, stepping back in surprise. He then took out a notebook. "Here. This is the work you'll have to catch up on. I brought extra copies for Yori and Akane as well. Can you make sure they'll get it?"

Karina oggled at the stack in his hands. She wanted so badly to slap them out of his hands. "Dash it! Does our teacher want to kill us or something? We couldn't have had that much homework! We just missed today's class – there's no class on Saturday and Sunday!"

"Great, thanks," Kazuto said, taking her reaction as a yes. "And the notes I took for you are also in the notebook." Karina took both items from her brother and let out an annoyed sigh.

"Hooray. How considerate. Now I don't have an excuse as to how I couldn't understand anything since nobody gave me any notes." Karina huffed.

"You're welcome. Now, where's Yori? I have something to say to him."

Karina ignored him. The sound of approaching footsteps from front and back made Karina tense. Automatic training reaction. Her eyes darted, experienced, from side to side as if investigating her surroundings. She caught the frowning of his brother but relaxed when she saw that it was only their mom coming up the stairs and their dad approaching from behind.

"Father!" A voice called from behind Karina. She turned to see Umira running towards a tall, thin man with purple hair. Umira's father...? Weren't family members not allowed to come? She had guessed that hers had come, saying that they were visiting her father, but Umira's family had nothing to do with the mafia, right? If she was correct, Umira's parents owned a ramen shop.

"Today, we can all come to watch the pretend battle! All families!" Yuriko said, noting Karina's confusion.

"Well then, come in." Karina gestured. Though it was raining slightly, the air was very warm for a monday morning in spring. She had not known about the mock battle, or whatever it was.

"Kari!" Haru greeted, shaking off the water off of her green umbrella. "How's my girl?" She patted Karina's shoulder and gave her a quick… more of a sniff than a kiss.

"It's been quite good, actually. Except for the fact that I am not a dominant sky flame wielder and that my best friend happened to be the one who is one if we ever pass the competition. Also, we're super behind because I still haven't tried out my new weapon yet because I didn't know which one to choose and I've got this much homework to catch up on." Karina paused, lifting both hands containing the papers and waving them to emphasize the idea. "Our gr-"

"So your indecisiveness finally showed for once." Kazuto stated, eyes shining. He was clearly glad that they had gotten over their fights and grudges and apologies and all. Karina grinned slowly.

"Wow, that's so cool~ I want to have weapons as well - I'm the most powerful mafia in the world, ahahaa!" Yuriko exclaimed, jumping onto a ledge and lifting her head up high. Haru had moved on with their dad.

"Yuriko, that's dangerous." Kazuto's face darkened. Karina knew what he was thinking. Yuriko was starting to like all the mafia stuff. "Come off." Kazuto stretched out his arms, meaning to catch Yuriko. Karina couldn't contain the chuckle that came. Yuriko had gotten big, and even though Kazuto looked muscular and all, a bouncy ball could knock him off his feet. Yuriko jumped down from a head taller than him. Karina rushed forwards to help the catch. Her prediction was true. Kazuto was only able to soften the fall and Yuriko tumbled down from between his arms two seconds later, onto Karina's.

"Geez Kazuto! That's even more dangerous!" Karina said sharply, righting her sister by the elbow as she stood. Kazuto looked mortified for some reasons. "Anyway, let's go in!" Picking up the fallen paper stack tied together by elastics and notebook, Karina led the way into the common guest room.

…..

Harashi flung his clothing around, looking for certain things that he would need. The dim room had no light coming in other than the little glow his barely translucent curtain allowed. Fumbling with the edge of his shirt, Harashi frowned. Today was the day. He was definitely escaping today. Harashi never thought that this day would come, but after his fifteenth birthday, he had been considering an escape plan. He never knew that his father would go so far as to take his freedom. Harashi fell back onto the ground, his legs around what he called the medium sized suitcase. To a normal person, the black suitcase would be humongous. Inside, two neatly piled clean clothes laid beside each other and a jumble of miscellaneous piled next to them. His passport. Money. Phone. Bo-

The door to his room suddenly burst open, and he swiftly pushed the suitcase under his large bed.

"What is it?" Harashi asked, trying hard to hide his surprise.

"Itou-san, I'm here to inform you that your parents have decided on their next business destination."

"What, are they going to Ichiyo's competition?" Harashi humphed, annoyed that Izan hadn't knocked.

"No, sir. They're heading to France." Izan eyed Harashi and narrowed his eyes.

"Cut it with the 'sir's. I've told you many times… I get enough of those," Harashi said, showing no interest in where ever his parents are heading to. Then he froze. Just as always, Izan knew him exactly to the core. The expression on Izan's face told Harashi that Izan knew exactly what he was planning.

"You look ruffled." Izan stated, glancing around the room. "Why don't you open up the curtains?" Izan's eyes landed on the corner of the suitcase poking out from beneath the bed crack. Stupid bed, it just had to be that high off the ground. Harashi tugged down on the cream colored bedsheets in vain. His father had some kind of obsession with cream colored items.

"You're attempting it again. The escape?" Though it was supposed to be a question, Harashi knew that it was more of a statement. Reluctantly, he nodded.

Twisting under Izan's stare, Harashi started. "What? You of all people in this entire mansion would understand! I have to live every single moment of my life within these garden walls, by myself. It's not as if the house isn't big enough, it's enormous. But that's the problem! My parent s- they never live long here. This is basically a station for them to drop me off at!" Harashi felt the blood rush into his head. "The furthest I've been is the grasslands by the river you found me on yesterday. I've never crossed that irking bridge!" Harashi paused. Izan looked at him with a frown.

"Your father is just-"

"My father! My father this, my father that!" Harashi exhaled, full of rage. "What do I care? Don't try to stop me like you did last time. This whole mansion is abandoned. They think a few maids here will be able to take care of me and a few tutors will prepare me. But that's not what I want. They don't even care about me, visiting me between trips like I'm some kind of animal they own."

"Well, technically, you are an animal. A mammal," Izan spoke, attempting to soothe down Harashi's anger with a tint of a joke. His sentence was greeted by a groan. Harashi was raging again. Not too uncommon when his father was around. Izan started quickly before Harashi could start again. "And I'm not here to stop you this time."

Running his hand quickly through his hair, Harashi lifted an eyebrow, clearly not believing. "Yeah, like you're totally here just to say goodbye." Pulling out his suitcase again, Harashi squat to zip it up. Izan took a deep breath, catching Harashi's attention. Izan didn't do that very often, and when he does, it's usually when he had something very important to say.

"If you're running away," Izan started carefully. "I'm going with you."

…..

Karina introduced her family to each of the famiglia members, standing akimbo. Her whole team had been ushered into the common guest room. The red carpet under her feet squashed flat as Karina stood. Yuriko tagged behind, looking at decorations and fiddling with the fancy pillows on the couches. Karina humphed with annoyance. It's only been a few minutes, but Yuriko had already started causing trouble. "Go play outside, there's a garden." Karina whispered to Yuriko, urging her. Then she turned. "Where are your parents?" Karina asked, peering at Yori.

"They'll be here when the battle starts," Yoritomo shrugged.

Karina turned to Akane, and before she could even talk, the girl had replied.

"Dad is busy, and I don't really want him to come, anyway. He knows what the trip is about now because of the invitation they sent, but the battle might shock him," Akane said in a sheepish way, smiling. "And he's probably a bit upset since I told him we would be back in time for school. I didn't know that we would have to stay here for so long."

Karina shrugged, then faced Hibiki and their new members, eager to meet their family members. She opened her mouth, but they cut her off.

"They are not coming," Hibiki said simply, giving no reason.

"My family, either," Miyoru twisted a lock of hair around her finger, skillfully averting her eyes as much as possible. "though I kind of wish they could."

"Fat chance any of them will come," Ryuuji said, leaning against the wall. None of their expressions betrayed any kind of hint as to why. Karina internally face palmed at their quick and edgy reactions to her unspoken question. What were they keeping from them, and just how messed up were their families, given that they are messed up at all?

"Ryuuji!" A mellow yet sharp tone called. The boy snapped his head towards the origin of the voice. Kari followed his eyes, and saw a woman wearing a blue tuxedo and high heels waving at them.

"M-mom?!" Ryuuji stuttered. Shock was written all over his face. Obviously, he had not expected this.

The entire team watched as the orange-haired woman ran towards her son, expecting a warm embrace between the two.

Instead, Ryuuji's mother slapped him across the face, her eyes flashing furiously behind her glasses. Everyone gawked, not knowing how to react to the sudden change of events. Ryuuji's mother had struck them as a nice, loving person, and had rushed from work to see her son.

"Ow! Mom, what was that for?!" Ryuuji exclaimed.

"That was for sneaking out of the house! Why didn't you tell us about this?" Ryuuji's mom shot back.

"Why are you here, anyways?!"

Ryuuji's mother held up an envelope between two fingers. "We sent each family a letter explaining everything about the competition."

"What do you mean, 'we'?" Ryuuji rubbed his cheek.

She ignored her son's question, noticing the other families around. An apologetic look came across her face, and she let out a laugh which Karina though had a nervous tone to. "Hi! Sorry for the commotion!"

"Oi, mom! What's with that sudden change in your demeanor!? And you still haven't answered my question." Ryuuji said almost in a pout.

She pinched her son, earning a yelp. The ginger haired woman turned back to the group, a smile filling her face. "Sorry again! I'm this boy's mother, if you haven't noticed already. Just call me Mira!" Her eyes met with everyone in the group, and when they landed on Haru, she bowed deeply, her cheerfulness gone. "Welcome to the Tokyo Vongola headquarters, ma'am," she said, standing straight again. "Excuse me for noticing your presence so late." The team exchanged looks, perplexed.

-End of Chapter-

Important

Ail: Allo again, and sorry for the late chapter. This month has actually gotten very busy for me- well, us. The chapters will still be on-going but the expectation for each chapter has been changed to two weeks per chapter.

Regi: I'll have more time in the summer, but there will also be some complications with Wi-Fi and such. The chapters may be late, but they'll still come. We're not going to abandon this story.

Ail: (Yes, yes. We didn't die at the same time)