Chapter 15

As Time moves on

To a random human: That quote from chapter 12 is a foreshadowing the next major plot point, well done for noticing and commenting upon it. Lol, well it is Dame-Dino. I've taken your thoughts into consideration and will make it part of the story instead of answering you directly since other people will want to know the answers too, and not everyone reads these. He was taken out when he was a baby and forgot about it, like the shopping trip in an earlier chapter.

To feeling stupid: Thank you for taking the time to review and welcome to Mafia Row. I hope that your name isn't a reflection of that revelation. Don't feel stupid since not everyone has noticed.

Yes, these chapters are writing out a sentence. Take a look at chapter 1-11 titles and then at the sentences at the end of Lal's chapter and they are the same. The same is true of this section. As I introduce every Family, it becomes part of a sentence. So you'll read the whole thing once I've introduced them all.

"Ne, Luce." Says Tsunayoshi one morning during breakfast. Amazingly, for once, everyone was at the table since Viper was up before Noon. Luce looks over at the little boy. He looks rather hopeful and excited; she swears that she could see a little wagging tail. She nods her head to show he's gotten her attention. "Can I have some friends over?"

"NO" The answer wasn't particularly loud, but everyone in the room, Luce, Fon and Skull included, had denied Tsunayoshi's request. The force behind their voices made him widen his eyes in shock, before looking around at them.

"Why not?" he asks, confused. In fact, he didn't ever remember anyone coming to their house. Everyone always met their friends out of the house.

"Tsunayoshi, we are the Arcobaleno, you know what that means right?" asks Fon, leaning forwards to see the boy better.

Tsunayoshi nods his head. "Yeah! It means you're really strong and cool and that you're famous" he replies, beaming at them.

Reborn straightens his fedora before looking sideways at Skull. "Well, most of us are" he mumbles, but everyone still heard it. Skull glares at him, but backs off in fear when Reborn glares right back.

Fon ignores Reborn and concentrates on the small boy. "Yes, we are. Since we are famous, everyone likes to know about us, but that's not a good thing. So we keep our private lives separate from everyone else. This house is a place for us to relax and be ourselves without acting the part that others project on us" Tsuna tilts his head not understanding. "For example, Reborn is really scary at work and likes to act mysterious, but he's not like that at home." Even though Reborn may not like the description, Tsunayoshi had gotten the idea. He had heard stories of Reborn's reputation.

"Because we are the best people in our chosen fields, some people would come into the house to try and look at our equipment, or to steal ideas and use them themselves. So we don't let anyone in the house. Plus this house can be dangerous for outsiders" Tsunayoshi nervously giggled. He'd learnt that the hard way. The amount of times someone had to save him from Verde's mechanical experiments, Colonnello's traps, Lal's bombs, Reborn's security equipment and Viper's anti-theft illusions were numerable. He knows where most of them are now and can get around some of them.

"We never know if those entering the house are going to try and kill us either." Comments Reborn, picking up a slice of toast. Leon wraps around his neck tighter. "Even if we do let those we trust in, there's the chance that they've turned on us" This made Tsunayoshi feel quite sad. "Plus, we don't know if someone is going to take advantage of our distraction to enter the house and assassinate us. Not that they would stand a chance, but I'm sure some would try." Colonnello, Luce and a few of the others all nod in agreement.

"Al-alright then" says Tsunayoshi, disheartened that people could treat his family like that. They didn't deserve that at all. "Can I still go and visit them?" he asks, looking up. Skull smiles at the little boy before ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Sure, as long as one of us comes with you" he informs. Skull knew that there would be more than one person watching over him at any one time, but he didn't want to get beaten up by Reborn for mentioning it. If Reborn wasn't with Tsunayoshi directly, then he was always nearby watching. Just like the incident in the Gesso Family's house. None of the others mentioned Reborn's odd behaviour, not wanting Reborn to be self-conscious of it. Apart from Leon, Reborn had never been this protective over something before. In fact, none of them had really, being rather solitary people.

Viper stands from the table. "Come on, we don't want to be late." She says, holding a hand out for him. He wiggles off the chair and follows her, grabbing her hand in the process. She leads him upstairs, handing him his clothes for the day before he wonders into the bathroom. A few minutes later, he walks back out again, in black trousers and a white button shirt.

Seeing that he's managed to mess the buttons up, she shakes her head and kneels down to fix it for him. She then lifts his collar up and ties the tie around his neck. Finally, on goes the black blazer. Seeing himself in the mirror at the end of the hall he giggles. "I look like Reborn now! Or Verde!"

However, by the time he's gotten downstairs, the humour has worn off. "Viper, it's hot. Can I take it off yet?" he whines. She ignores him and leads him to the doorway and helps him put his shoes on.

"Stop whining." Says Reborn, flicking him on the forehead. Tsunayoshi scowls before rubbing the spot. All three exit the house and start walking towards the gate.

As the gate opens, Tsunayoshi takes a look outside and really wishes to return back to the house. The world outside looked big and scary. Everything was bigger than him, it was all unfamiliar, he didn't know what to expect. The house was warm and friendly, and even if there were accidents with the traps, Tsunayoshi knew they were there for protection.

Viper and Reborn look down and notice this. They had slightly expected this, but keeping Tsunayoshi in the house until now had been everyone's idea. They had taken him out when he as a baby and no one knew who he was, but the small boy still became famous. Who wouldn't if they were seen with every Arcobaleno? Reborn had expected the whispers and rumours; they were natural in the mafia. But when hitmen started attacking them on their outings with the child as their main priority, well that made Reborn furious. It made them all mad, and these assassins had met some weird, wonderful and hugely painful ends. Luce was getting tired of all the clean-up she had to do, so she decided to put a stop to it. Sadly, that meant little Tsunayoshi's freedom, but at least he was at an age where he wouldn't miss it. As a baby, he couldn't go anywhere without someone carrying him. As a toddler, the house and garden (the highly secure garden that had automatic sniper rifles targeting every inch of the outside. Plus, Viper's illusions stopped anyone seeing anything other than an empty garden anyway.) had been a big enough area to freely explore without feeling trapped. Not that Luce told anyone, but she also considered her little Tsunayoshi to be too cute to share with anyone else. She wanted him all to herself whilst she could enjoy it.

However now with Tsunayoshi becoming more active and intelligent every day, they couldn't keep him trapped for much longer. It wasn't like Tsunayoshi was unprepared though. Just like Luce had feared, as soon as Tsunayoshi had mastered walking, running and basic body control, the others, herself not included, had practically jumped on the poor child. Reborn's bullets were only one such example. Not that Tsunayoshi needed to be pushed into this training. He had been fascinated with everything they did, and his natural curiosity had led him to try out everything the others had offered. Watching Fon practice in the garden had led to Tsunayoshi wanting to learn it too. After seeing Colonnello and Lal's traps- quite often being the victim- he had asked them to teach him. The soldiers had laughed at Tsunayoshi's reason though: to try and capture Reborn so he could play with the Hitman more. After seeing the boy's ambition, even Lal had decided to help. Not that she treated him any differently to her other recruits, but Luce though Lal was less harsh and softened her voice when shouting at the child, which was certainly not only an improvement, but also a miracle.

There were two reasons why the Arcobaleno had decided to introduce Tsunayoshi to the other residents. Firstly, they wanted to widen the boy's knowledge of the world around him. And by world they specifically meant the mafia. If the boy got used to it at a young age, then there would be less shocks and pain later on. Secondly was to show everyone that Tsunayoshi wasn't someone to mess with. Over these four years, they had gotten used to Tsunayoshi's strange feelings and sentences. It had surprised them more when he had started to talk since he could finally tell them what he was feeling without Viper as the medium. However, they wanted to see what Tsunayoshi thought of everyone else. They had had some interesting results already, especially at the Gesso Family's house.

"boy, we don't have time for this. This man is very important and we can't keep him waiting." Both Viper and Reborn had now said this man was important. He didn't want to disappoint either of them, especially not these two. Hearing a gun click, Tsunayoshi immediately pulls on Viper's hand, running from the 'threat'. "Good boy" Reborn whispers, placing a tiny fedora on his head too. Now he really did look like Reborn!

"He's not scary is he?" Tsunayoshi asks, looking up to Viper. She picks the boy up and continues to walk.

"No in general. He's only scary if you've done something naughty." She says. "Otherwise, he can be quite nice."

"He's the Boss of the third most powerful Family on the island." Remarks Reborn. Tsunayoshi's eyes grow wide.

They stopped at the gate to this new Family's house. It was perpendicular to the left of the Arcobaleno house, directly opposite and facing the Giglio Nero's house. On the gate was carved a symbol. There was a shield like shape in the centre with a single bullet. Above that were two crossed riffles, with a winged Clam sitting atop the cross. Underneath was one word: Vongola.

Tsunayoshi is slightly surprised when Reborn and Viper jump over the gate instead of entering through it. He is even more amazed that no one notices them. Some people did nearly walk into them though.

"Illusions" Viper whispers in his ear. "Reborn loves a grand entrance." They arrive at the busiest part of the mansion, where lots of men in black suits were lounging around. Sitting at one of the empty couches, Reborn spreads his arms along the back as if he owned the place. A nod to Viper and the illusion comes off.

"Chaos" Reborn says, voice deep and dangerous yet smooth. There are gasps all around as people realise who is sitting in their presence. Within moments, someone has run off to find the only person Reborn must be here to see. A few seconds later and an espresso is in his hands, a cup of herbal tea in Viper's and a bottle of Cola in Tsunayoshi's. Reborn glances at the boy for any sign of a reaction, but the boy is happily sipping away on his cola. Whilst he knew that Vongola was safe territory due to his connections to their Boss, he couldn't put it past an assassin to poison their drinks. Lal had found out that Tsunayoshi could detect poisons when she took him to train the recruits one day. Again, it was that mysterious feeling that they boy couldn't explain, but it had found every poisoned drink and dish. The recruits though had not been as lucky.

"He will see you in his office." Bows the Boss's Right Hand Man. They stand up and follow the man down a series of corridors before being introduced and bowed into a room.

"Reborn, Viper, nice to see you again" says the man standing up slowly.

Tsunayoshi is surprised at the man infront of him. When Reborn had said he was the Boss of the third most powerful Family on the island he hadn't expected the old man sat infront of him. He must be around 70 years old, with a full head of silvery white hair. He was leaning on a cane too. But there was something in the smile that the old man gave him… it was incredibly warm.

Reborn holds a hand out to the man, stopping him from standing up "It's alright Timoteo"

"And who's this young man?" Timoteo asks, looking at Tsunayoshi, who was still in Viper's arms. Timoteo raises his eyebrow at this but doesn't comment.

Reborn and Viper laugh. "As if you don't already know" Viper says.

"I do know, but I'd still like for one of you to say it, make it official" the old man smiles, eyes glittering with laughter.

"This is Tsunayoshi" they both say, looking at the smiling boy.

Tsunayoshi isn't scared of the man infront of him at all. In fact there is a strong sense of family. So without any fear, Tsunayoshi waves enthusiastically at him "Nice to meet you!"

The man smiles "It's nice to meet you too. I'm Timoteo. I'm also known as Vongola Nono. Nono, is 9th in Italian." he says in introduction.

"Oy, old man. I heard Reborn was here" comes a loud voice from the other side of the door. "I wanted to fight him" the voice says as the door opens. In walks a slightly pudgy male with black hair swept across his face. Noticing the other occupant of the room, he sticks his head back out of the door. "Ne, Rico, Viper's here too if you wanted to practice." A new male walks into the room. This one is tall and lean with spiky brown hair.

"Oh, you're right Massimo" says this newcomer.

"I wouldn't have said it otherwise Enrico" says Massimo, rolling his eyes.

From far off, another new voice, this one sounding rather angry, can be heard. "Enrico, Massimo, you shouldn't barge in like that, even if it is Reborn. What if they had been discussing a mission or something private?"

The two men turn to look at this person outside. "Reborn would have shot me the moment I opened the door of course and I'd have backed off. I'm not that stupid Fredrico." Says Enrico

"Yeah, lighten up Freddie, we know all about what's going on in Vongola anyway, so I doubt that there is much to hide." Massimo huffs and crosses his arms.

Still, the man, Fredrico, grabs the other two by the collar and drags them out with a shout of "Sorry Father, Reborn, Viper"

Tsunayoshi didn't have a clue about those three men. No feelings from his gut came forth. They didn't look as nice as their father, and the first two seemed slightly scary. The third one, who he didn't have a chance to see, sounded nice though. However, he could feel the light hearted family bond between all four of them, even though Nono hadn't said anything.

"Sorry about them Tsunayoshi, they just like it when Reborn come over to… play." Apologises Nono. He had seen the child look scared and press himself closer to Viper. She in turn had moved her body to that the boys couldn't see him either. Reborn smirks at the comment. They hadn't defeated him once yet. Even when all three fought together, they hadn't even landed a touch on his clothes, let alone a scratch or a bruise.

"You should send Boss over there. He needs a good fight. Teach them some manors" grumbles Viper. "Tsunayoshi they were Nono's three sons, Enrico, Massimo and Fredrico. You should just ignore them, they are nothing like their father." She tells the boy. Slowly he relaxes in her arms, especially now that they were gone.

"Why don't you two sort them out while I talk to Tsunayoshi?" suggests Nono. Viper looks at the little boy in askance, and he nods. Both Tsunayoshi and Nono settle on a couch on the other side of the room whilst Reborn and Viper go stalk their prey. Both knew that Nono would protect they boy. Plus they wouldn't be gone that long.

"You are always welcome to come and stop by Little Tsunayoshi." Says Nono once they've left. Tsunayoshi looks up at him, tilting his head. "You're part of my family, so you can come and see me if there is anything you want to ask me about, or of you don't want to tell the others. I'm sure living with them can be hard at times"

"Family? Really?" asks Tsunayoshi. Nono smiles a warm smile at him and nods.

"Yes, Family. Viper and Reborn are your family too right" the little boy nods "I've known both of them for a very long time now. I consider them as family. We've helped each other out more times than I can remember." The man laughs a nostalgic laugh "I remember this one time when Reborn was 19…"

Tsunayoshi sits with the man as he tells tales of Reborn and Viper's recent pasts. Eventually there is a knock at the door and 6 other people walk in too. Tsunayoshi has a feeling that these men are okay too. He may not feel as close to them as he does for Timoteo, but he still feels like he can trust them. Timoteo introduces them as his 'Guardians' which Tsunayoshi doesn't quite get, but the old man explains that they are his friends, and that they are as close as family. It's not long before they are sharing even more stories.

"And that's when…" one man laughs. Everyone else is laughing too, already knowing the story.

"Skull shrieks like a girl at the Jack-in-the Box I got him for Christmas and falls backwards into the bowl of punch" finishes Reborn, walking into the room with a slight smile on his face. It's Reborn's satisfied look. Reborn is slightly surprised by the gathering, but knows that Tsunayoshi should have been fine. He'd done some growing up surrounded by these men and was pretty sure they were safe too.

"They should be good now. And don't worry, I made them pay for my services" says Viper nonchalantly. The older men in the room laugh once more at this, fully expecting nothing less from her.

They notice that they were gone longer than they planned. It seems time flies when you are having fun torturing people. Both look towards Nono.

"Did you talk for long enough?" asks Reborn, a stern and sharp look in his eyes.

Nono nods before looking at the child. "Yes I did. He's part of my family, so we had a lot of fun" Tsunayoshi nods from where he was playing with the Lightening Guardian.

"Did you confirm your suspicions?" Viper asks, just as sharp. Nono nods once again.

Nono's warm eyes turn sad, "Yes… I did."

"Did you enjoy your day with the Old Man?" asks Skull, sitting Tsuna on his lap. The boy leans back almost falling asleep. But with determination, he stops his eyes drop dropping.

"Yeah, I did. I played hide and seek around the mansion and no one could find me until they asked Reborn and Viper to. They thought I had gotten lost, but I hadn't even left the room. Reborn played along and sent them running aaaalllll over the mansion. It was really fun. I was the only one to find Viper though. No one else could." And he yawns once again. "Couldn't find… Reborn though. He kept on… moving… cheater" and he falls asleep.

"Rest well Tsunayoshi. Tomorrow is going to be fun" and he giggles to himself "… to the extreme." I just hope that that crazy woman isn't there. She'll eat Tsunayoshi up. Knowing them, her and Luce would start a war over the little boy.

Many people guessed that this chapter was going to be about the Varia, and I can understand why you all thought so, since it's the only people Viper is related to directly. However, I did say a harder hint this time. If I was hinting at the Varia it would have been even easier than Dino's hint. Viper is linked to the Ninth through association. Since I didn't want Reborn taking Tsunayoshi everywhere, I wanted to think of who the other Arcobaleno's would know.

I know this chapter is slightly longer than usual, but that's because I wanted to answer the question about Tsuna not being let out of the house before. And it's not that cute either, sorry.

This is quite an easy clue I think.

I hoped that you enjoyed visiting the Vongola Mafia Family. See you all soon.

Phantom Hitman 1412

First Published 17 April 2012.