Yay, I was able to get chapter 3 posted before school starts! The mood of the fanfic is starting to get a lot more serious. Please enjoy, and all rights to Katekyo Hitman Reborn belong to Akira Amano-san.

It didn't take Kikyo long to decide who he was going to attempt to recruit to his side. The residential Millefiore Mist Guardian seemed like the best person in Kikyo's mind. He was positive that the masked man would be thoughtful enough to listen to what he had to say before making his final decision. There was a chance that Torikabuto would refuse him, but Kikyo was a decent smooth talker. He was on his way to Torikabuto's quarters when he happened to spot the masked man down the hallway.

Kikyo waved his hand to catch Torikabuto's attention. The masked man stopped walking, and patiently waited for Kikyo to catch up to him. The mint haired man would have greeted Torikabuto, but the masked man always used minimal words so the gesture would be wasted on him. Instead, Kikyo got straight to the point he wanted to make.

"How would you like to help me get rid of Mukuro Rokudo? You might even have the chance of making him yours if you're interested." Kikyo proposed the idea.

As if Torikabuto would be interested in such a man. On the other hand, he had not told Kikyo that he wasn't interested in helping him out. That was only because he had yet to hear the full story.

"Aren't you worried about the Vongola Mist Guardian taking your place? Byakuran-sama does fancy him an awful lot. He might decide that he has no use for two Mist Guardians."

Torikabuto had to admit that he never thought about that. He assumed the blue haired man was only considered to be arm candy for his boss. The masked man didn't even know the capabilities of the other Mist Guardian. As far as he was concerned he believed himself to be the stronger of the two.

"You shouldn't underestimate him. I've heard that cursed eye of his got him very far in life. However, he's never witnessed your powerful illusions. Meaning you could probably get the upper hand on him."

Kikyo had an interesting point. This proposal could prove to be beneficial to Torikabuto. It wasn't that the masked man disliked Mukuro he just liked the idea of being able to prove himself worthy of his boss. He also didn't have a reason to like the Vongola Mist Guardian either. If Torikabuto caught on to why Kikyo was really asking him for help then he didn't bother to say anything about it.

"What is your decision?" Kikyo asked.
Torikabuto finally spoke up to voice his answer, "You have convinced me to go along with your plan."
"Excellent." Kikyo smirked, "We will have to discuss a few details before we can set this plan into motion."

Sunlight was streaming in through one of the many windows in Byakuran's office. He slowly opened both of his eyes, and straightened himself out into a proper sitting position. He noticed some drool on one of the documents that he was resting his head on only moments ago.

'How unprofessional.' Byakuran thought to himself as he used the back of his hand to wipe away any remaining drool around his mouth.

He looked ahead to see that Mukuro lay curled up in a tight ball on the couch that was located across the room. Part of him wanted to wake the blue haired man up, but the other part of him wanted to let his lover rest a little longer. Before Byakuran could decide on what to do Irie Shouichi stepped into his boss' office. He set a hot cup of coffee on Byakuran's desk, and replaced an empty marshmallow bag with an unopened one.

"Glad to see that you're awake." Shouichi smiled.
"Last night was a lot of work, but somehow I managed."
"I believe that would be thanks to Mukuro-sama."
"You're right Shou-chan, I'm not sure what I would do without him." Byakuran said before taking a sip of coffee.

Mukuro stirred in his sleep, but showed no signs of waking up.

"Can he hear us?" Shouichi whispered.
"I don't think so. Although, I should probably get him up soon."
"Then I'll go prepare another coffee." Shouichi bowed and took his leave.

Byakuran strode over to the couch. Fortunately enough for him, Mukuro was no longer curled up in a ball. The Mist Guardian must have straightened himself out when Byakuran was conversing with Shouichi. There was a mischievous shine to Byakuran's eyes. He leaned down to grope the front of Mukuro's pants. The blue haired man below him let out a moan, and then quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

"You're definitely up now." Byakuran grinned.
"Wouldn't a simply kiss have sufficed?" Mukuro was giving Byakuran a little bit of attitude.
"That comes next."

Their lips met, and Byakuran's tongue tried to snake its way into Mukuro's mouth. Mukuro was feeling feisty this morning, and did not give Byakuran's tongue immediate access. The white haired man knew the steps to a game like this all too well. However, his coffee had yet to kick in so he wasn't in the mood to play right now. He slid his hand down Mukuro's pants, and passed his boxers. His hand groped affectionately at the Mist Guardian's member.

Mukuro thought the tactic was unfair. All the same he opened his mouth to let Byakuran's tongue in. Once their tongues had tangled together Mukuro could taste a hint of roasted marshmallows. It must have been the flavor of the creamer in Byakuran's coffee. No surprise there.

"How did that taste?" Byakuran asked.

The two of them heard the office door being opened. Shouichi came through to place another coffee on Byakuran's desk. He looked around the room to see where his boss disappeared to. His eyes landed to the two on the couch. Shouichi noticed where one of Byakuran's hands lingered. A blush crept onto his face.

"Sorry for intruding!" Shouichi hurriedly left his boss' office.
"I forgot that he was dropping another coffee off." Byakuran said innocently.
"Could you please remove your hand now?"
"Hmmm, why should I?"
"Because we've had sex two days in a row, and I don't know if my body can handle a third day." Mukuro could feel his face heating up much like Shouichi's had.
"But Muku-chan, didn't yesterday just count as foreplay?" Byakuran teased.
"Go finish drinking your coffee." Came the stern reply.

Byakuran removed his hand from the inside of his lover's pants. He went over to the desk to grab both of the coffees. When he returned to the couch he handed Mukuro the fresh cup of coffee. Byakuran had to get ready soon to attend a business meeting that took place at an allied family's estate, leaving Mukuro to his own devices for at least half the day unless the meeting ran longer than intended. Maybe the Mist Guardian could go out into town for awhile. That would be a good way to avoid Kikyo.

It was kind of lonely being by himself, but the town had enough to offer that Mukuro was sure he would get lost in it all. There were shops of all kinds, ranging from cafes, restaurants, boutiques, antiques, and so much more. He made sure to grab some money before leaving the mansion, but it was more for food rather than shopping.

"He thought that he could stay out of trouble by avoiding me. Hmph, I'll show him." Kikyo muttered to himself.

He was hiding around the corners of alleyways and buildings with Torikabuto trailing behind him. Kikyo watched Mukuro walk into a trendy looking cafe. It was the smell of baked goods that encouraged the blue haired man to step through the doors of the small building.

"What is he? A female teenager?"

Torikabuto had to wonder if they were only here for Kikyo to criticize Mukuro. He wanted to test the skills of the Vongola Mist Guardian rather than stalk him.

"Hurry up. We can't lose track of him now." Kikyo hissed the order at the masked man.

Mukuro was glad that he only ordered something small. Any longer in that cafe, and Mukuro would have purchased more than he could handle.

'Shoot, why didn't I get anything for Byakuran?'

He wanted to kick himself for being so thoughtless. It struck him that he could pick something up for his lover on his way back home. That made him feel a little better. The blue haired man wasn't sure where he wanted to go next. For now, he continued to walk aimlessly.

"His box animal is an owl, right?"

Torikabuto nodded his head in response to Kikyo's question.

"Then how about you use your illusions, and put an injured owl in one of the alleyways up ahead. I'm hoping he'll feel sympathetic enough to take a look at the illusion."

The masked man felt this was a waste of his talents. At the same time he could understand that they needed to lure the Mist Guardian without drawing too much attention to themselves. Torikabuto willed his illusion to appear in an alleyway that was two blocks away from their current location.

Mukuro passed an alleyway that he heard strange noises coming from. His curiosity got the better of him making him go take a look at what the source of the noises were. If he got attacked he was pretty confident that he could take on the attackers. The entrance to the alleyway was very dark, but the further Mukuro walked the more it lightened up. There was a white creature laying on the ground with red pooling around its body.

Mukuro walked closer to the creature, and knelt down beside it. The creature was a snowy owl with striking eyes. The pool of blood was coming from the owl's wing because the wing wasn't just broken, it was torn as well. It was strange how much this owl reminded the blue haired man of his box animal. Mukuro had no qualms about getting blood on his clothes, but he couldn't remember if there was a veterinarian nearby.

Torikabuto used his illusions to mask Kikyo's presence. The Cloud Guardian waltzed towards Mukuro with ease. He held a syringe in his hand that contained a drug that would knock the blue haired man out cold. When he was close enough Kikyo stuck the syringe into Mukuro's shoulder. Mukuro felt dizzy and could no longer get a clear view of the injured owl. Once he collapsed the image of the injured owl disappeared.

"We did it. I can finally get rid of him once and for all!" Kikyo tried to contain his excitement.
"What's the next step?" Torikabuto wanted to know.
"We drop him off at the warehouse."

Kikyo never explained that part of the plan to the masked man. He was curious to see what was waiting for them at the warehouse. Torikabuto got conned into carrying the unconscious Mist Guardian. He threw Mukuro over his shoulder, and masked Mukuro's presence with his illusions like he had done for Kikyo. Torikabuto thought they would be walking to the warehouse, but they had only walked about ten minutes before a black car stopped to give them a lift.

"Is that him?" The man that was driving asked.
"Yes it is. You should be aware that I never break my promises." Kikyo said from the passenger's seat.
"He's a nice piece of work. Can't wait to see what he looks like with all the layers removed." The man was looking through the rear view mirror to get a good look at Mukuro.

The masked man had an odd feeling about this whole exchange. He tried to locate any distinguishing features the man might have. All he gathered was that the driver had short black hair, and wore a pair of shades. The black car pulled in around the back of the warehouse.

"We'll need you guys to watch him for a few minutes. We've got some business to take care of on our end first." Shades said.
Kikyo nodded, "That's fine. I don't mind being the one to bind him up."

Torikabuto deemed the man 'Shades' because he hadn't heard Kikyo call the man by a significant name. While the two of them exchanged a few more words Torikabuto busied himself with getting Mukuro out of the car. He carried him bridal style into the warehouse, and set him down where Kikyo told him to. The mint haired man cuffed Mukuro's wrists together, but first he made sure the Mist Guardian's arms were around a steel pole before doing so.

"How am I suppose to fight him when he's bound like that?" The masked man asked Kikyo.
"The point was never for you to fight him. We just needed to get rid of him." Kikyo assured.

This ruined everything. There was no way he could prove himself to his boss when his opponent was rendered useless. Mukuro's eyes fluttered open. His vision was still unclear, and he could feel a massive headache pounding at the back of his head.

"Well, there you go. He's awake now so have at it."
"I'll be taking my leave now." Torikabuto turned to exit the warehouse.
"But I thought you were my accomplice in all of this."
"Not like this...It isn't right."
"Do you plan on telling Byakuran-sama about any of this?" Kikyo had to know.
"I will decide after I return to the mansion for some rest."

The mint haired man couldn't believe how easily Torikabuto left him hanging like that. Kikyo wanted to chase after him, but Shades had finally returned with his group of friends following close behind him. Mukuro wasn't able to process much of the situation in his current state.

"You said that you'll be staying to watch, right?" Shades gently nudged Kikyo in the shoulder with his elbow.
"Correct. I might even film if that's alright with you." Kikyo kept his arms crossed over his chest.
"Sure, just as long as you don't leak it to the cops." Shades joked.
"I would never dream of doing something like that to you guys." Kikyo smirked devilishly.

Mukuro had a small fraction of his vision back when the group of men surrounded him. They were all staring down at him, which told Mukuro that he was laying on his back. He was fully clothed at the moment, but one of the men began tugging his shirt open.

"The suspense is killing me. Strip him boys!" Shades commanded.

I hope someone out there appreciates the name 'Shades' even if that isn't the character's actual name. XD I don't know how I'm going to feel about writing the next chapter. Well, please review. (^_^)