Chapter 2

Is usually the easiest

"Colonnello, you didn't need to kick Skull that hard." Lightly scolds Luce, helping Skull to stand.

"There are more important things to worry about Luce, than our family dynamic." Says Lal Mirch, flicking her head over in the direction of their current topic.

"If you guys keep talking like that, then I'll shoot you where you stand." Growls Reborn.

Everyone turns back to him, who is finally acting like normal again.

"I don't think you should let it get to you." Comments Fon, talking to Reborn "What's more important is what caused this change in you."

"Yeah, kora! What happened to the cold Hitman that you usually are? I've never seen an expression like that on your face." Questions Colonnello, walking over to Reborn.

Reborn shifts the package in his arms, unconsciously holding it tighter, as if protecting it.

"I think I know~!" Sings Luce, wagging her finger. "There is only one thing that can produce a change like this in a man." The others all look over, wanting the answer to the hardest puzzle presented to them yet.

Luce releases a bright smile, looking over at the bundle in the Hitman's arms.

"A child."

There is a collective gasp from the other Arcobaleno. Reborn and a child? Yeah right.

However, a small wiggle and a babyish gurgle reveal that she was right.

"Yes, I am currently holding onto a child. Do any of you have a problem with that?" Reborn asks, eyes glaring at each of them in turn. They all shake their heads, not wanting to face this man's wrath.

Viper smiles. "See I told you something interesting was going to happen on this mission Reborn. Now you owe me that money." She places her hands on her hips, a grin easily visible under her hood.

"Fine, it'll be in your account by tomorrow. But I hardly call this interesting. The mission was one of the most boring yet." Reborn sighs, shifting the bundle to one of his arms.

"I hardly believe in those powers of yours Viper, but I do agree that you were right." admits Verde. "This is an interesting turn of events."

"Reborn, let Mamma Luce take a look." she asks, holding her arms out pleadingly. Reborn sighs at the madness around him, and passes the baby into her arms.

"Reborn-sempai," carefully asks Skull, peeking around Luce for protection. "How did you of all people end up with a baby?"

"What do you mean by that?" Reborn asks. He takes aim and shoots Skull, grazing his upper arm, but making sure to aim as far away from the baby as possible.

"Out of all of us, you are the least likely to return home with an infant, I'm afraid Reborn." Explains Fon "Even Verde and Viper are more likely to return with a child than you are."

"Yeah, one to experiment on it and the other to gain money from them." Mutters Lal under her breath. Said people glare at her, even though it's the truth, but quickly return their gaze back to Reborn.

"Fine. It's not an amazing tale or anything…"

Reborn slid around the corner after checking that no one was there. Without making a sound, he strode down the alleyway, eyes wary and on the lookout for any movement. Leon was a comforting weight in his hand. Finally he came to the next junction, and a smile formed on his face. This was too easy, he could hear the target from here.

Reborn had been hired to clean a company out. He could do missions like this in his sleep. The head of the company had found out that a few of his higher level members were stealing money and supplies from him. And being who they were, these supplies weren't exactly safe. Under the cover of their day job, this Mafia Family supplied their territory with drugs. These men however, were stealing the drugs from them, adding in sugar and a few other chemicals, before handing it out to street thugs. So not only were they making these drugs last longer, they were adding in chemicals that also made them more dangerous. The thugs felt higher than ever before, and became more violent and more of a nuisance than before. Most importantly, the Family's reputation was being tarnished. The Boss wasn't going to stand for that. So instead of leaving the job to his own hitmen, he had decided to hire outside of the Family, and Reborn was the perfect man for the job.

He was on the last of the men he needed to kill. It was pouring with rain, a storm was about to arrive, and Reborn wanted nothing more than to go home. Not that he didn't like working in the rain; it covered his tracks, quietened the sounds of his footsteps and wiped away evidence.

He gave Leon a gentle squeeze, silently asking if he was ready. A small shake in reply was returned before he took in a deep breath. Just as he was about to round the corner, a woman's scream echoed, followed by a crack of lightening and a rumble of thunder.

Immediately, Reborn rounded the corner, gun at the ready. In front of him is the man he is looking for, a smoking gun in his hands. The shot must have been covered by the thunder. He was standing over a woman, blood pouring out of a hole in her forehead.

"Ha, stupid woman. That's what she gets for crossing me. Fredrico, call the cleaners, they can get rid of the evidence before anyone else finds her."

Reborn stepped forwards, purposely smacking his heel on the pavement. Both men whirled around, pale.

"I-It's R-R-Reborn!" stuttered the target.

"Romain Feirro. You've been a naughty boy." Smirked Reborn, gun calmly aiming directly at the man, not wavering in the slightest. Romain paled even further, visibly shaking like a leaf. His eyes were wide, his breathing was deep and laboured, and it's all the man can do to take a step backwards and away from the threat.

"You've betrayed your Family, and I don't like that. Your Boss is disappointed in you, and can no longer find forgiveness in his heart." Reborn prowled forwards, looking like a panther stalking his prey. His shoulders were back and his chin was raised, showing that he had the upper hand, and he knew it.

Fredrico wasn't staying here, not with the famous Hitman Reborn. He would rather be anywhere than here. Hell, even prison was better. He turned on his heels and sprinted down the alleyway, shoes splashing in the rain.

One shot zoomed down the alley and Fredrico fell to the floor, the bullet cutting through the muscle of his calf. Not caring how silly he looks, the man crawled away, determined to save his life.

Reborn loves it when they run; it's so much more interesting. He walked past the frozen target and towards the man on the floor. With one swift kick, the man is flipped onto his back, and Reborn stared down at him.

"You're a part of this too." He smiled. The man violently shook his head.

"Please don't kill me," pleaded Fredrico, trying to push himself back up. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

Reborn rose an eyebrow "Oh really?" The man nodded, whimpering at the same time.

"I didn't want anything to do with this!" explained the man. Reborn growled and shot the man's arm.

"Then why is that woman dead, yet you are unharmed?" he asked, shooting a different part of the man's leg. The man screamed at the two new blossoms of pain. "If you didn't want anything to do with this, then why are you here? Even being a bystander makes you involved. You didn't even try to stop him."

Romain freed himself from his frozen state. It was easier to do so with the Hitman behind him. He didn't have to look at those dead eyes that way. He didn't care about Fredrico. At the moment he was a distraction, and a chance to let him escape. His partner didn't have any more worth than that. So he ran.

Not that he got more than two steps.

The moment he moved, Reborn raised his arm, eyes still locked with Fredrico's on the floor, and shot the man, right through the head. Just like he had done to the woman slumped next to him.

"And then there was one." Reborn smiled, all teeth.

"He-He He was your target right? Then you don't need to kill me!" whined Fredrico.

Reborn though had had enough and was considering killing the man just to shut him up. But as the next flash of lightening and rumble of thunder came, a new noise was heard. The crying of a baby.

"You killed a woman carrying a child?" Reborn said, voice as cold as ice, and just as sharp. Fredrico didn't even have time to answer before a bullet ended his pathetic existence.

"Men should always protect women, and children especially." He said to the lifeless corpse.

The crying persisted before changing to a half-cry half-laugh. Reborn looked over to the woman on the floor next to the wall, and saw two little hands reaching for their mother. These hands touched her face, covering themselves in the blood, before drawing lines and circles along her white face. It seemed as if the child liked the colours, but not the reaction he was getting from his mother.

Reborn strode over to the body and picked the baby up. Turning it to face him, he was met with the largest, brightest and deepest brown eyes he had ever seen. The baby stopped making a noise and stared deeply at Reborn, before a smile broke out onto his face and the baby cried in joy. Reborn had the strangest feeling, as if the boy had looked right into his soul. The child reached out for the older male, trying to paint his face pretty colours too. Reborn was shocked for a moment. No child had ever had this reaction before. They always cried and tried to get away from him.

Leon climbed onto his shoulder and ran down his arm to examine the boy. The baby stopped laughing and stared at the chameleon in interest, before very gently patting it on the head, avoiding spreading anymore of the red 'paint' on it. Leon rubbed his head against the hand, before scuttling back down Reborn's arm and settling himself back on his Master's head. Reborn took out a handkerchief and cleaned the boy's hands before settling him in the crook of one arm.

He turned away from the three bodies, before making two phone calls. One was to his contractor, telling the man the job was done and where to pick up the last of the bodies. The second was to a personal contact, asking for the woman's body to be buried properly. Leon changed back before making his way across Reborn's shoulder and sat on the baby's stomach. Reborn looked at the small child to see that he was asleep. Gently he brushed away a few soaked strands of brown hair, before continuing on his way home.

Once home, he found a new blanket for the baby, and wrapped him up, before changing out of his own sodden clothes. He went to the living room and sat on the sofa, the child held in both arms. Reborn looked down at the tiny life before him, and was shocked to feel a smile tugging at his mouth. The baby stirred, snuggling closer to the warmth before going back to sleep. Reborn couldn't hold it back any longer, and a gentle smile brushed his face.

That just happened to be the moment that the rest of the Arcobaleno entered the room. Seeing the smile on his face, they all froze. They didn't even know Reborn could smile like that. Eyes widened and jaws dropped and Reborn looked up. Not liking the stares, he shifted, and unconsciously brought the child closer to his chest. Feeling the movement, the baby awoke and cutely yawned. Reborn looked down at that moment, and another unwanted smile snuck on his face. He brought the blanket up around the child more, keeping him warm.

Unknowingly he had also hidden the child further from sight. None of them knew what Reborn was holding, apart from something wrapped in a blanket. The yawn had been so small and quiet, that they hadn't heard it. Thoughts ran through their minds as to what it could be. Most assumed it was Leon, since the Chameleon was not on Reborn's hat as usual. Some even thought it might be a new gun that had gotten wet from the rain. It would explain the smile, and the blanket could be for drying it off…

Reborn looked back up, and growled, "If you don't stop looking at me like that, you won't have any eyes to be able to look at me with for much longer."

The Phantom is back with a new multi-chapter fic. Apart from my main fic- a DC X Reborn crossover called How a thief changed the Mafia- I've only done one shots. So I decided to do a new story. And my main fic is quite serious in places (and will be getting more so), so I wanted a light fic to work on too. I know that this bit is serious, but the fun is just around the corner- or should I say down the street.

I love the Arcobaleno, especially Colonnello, Viper and Verde. I think that they don't get enough attention- especially Verde- so I'm writing this.

Hope to see you next time

Phantom Hitman 1412

First Published 06 March 2012

Edited 27 February 2013.