Chapter 17

And Assassins keep on killing

Whoopsie guys lost track of time there. I really need to put a reminder up somewhere. And don't you love it when teachers give you assignments right at the end of the year? Yay, lucky me! But enough of me and excuses, this Phantom is going to leave in a cloud of smoke before rabid fans attack, leaving one shiny jewel of a chapter and one cute Tsunayoshi in my place to placate said fans.

Enjoy

*poof*

Little note: ages for them are the following: X14, S12, Lus15, Lev13 B6.(I'd just die imagining a chibi Bel)

To A Random Human: This is Reborn, anyone can pop up anywhere and anytime. If Lal's students think they have it bad, then they don't want to be Tsunayoshi. Thanks for the input.

When Tsuna woke up the next morning, sleeping next to Skull, he found a note on the bedside table. It was addressed to him. He opened it up, but couldn't understand anything since he hasn't learnt to read yet. Verde hadn't had enough time to teach him. Deciding not to wake Skull, he slipped out of bed and walked downstairs, dragging Natsu after him. Like he suspected Lal was already awake, her gun and rifle disassembled on the table top as she cleaned the parts.

"Lal, could you read this for me please?" he asks waving the piece of paper at her. She takes the piece of paper, reads it before snorting slightly.

"Ha, It's from Reborn. It says: Don't show fear. Good advice considering who we are going to see." She turns to the little boy, eyes sharp. Tsunayoshi decides it's best to pay attention. "You cannot show these people any form of weakness. If they scare you, don't show it. Don't be afraid to defend yourself either. Anything Fon, Colonnello, Reborn or I have taught you can and should be used against these guys. Not that we're going to let them lay a hand on you, but you should know just in case."

Tsunayoshi remembers that as he stands outside the gate. Viper unlocks the gate herself before turning around to face him. "Welcome to Varia Headquarters" This house was between the houses of the Vongola and the V3. Tsunayoshi suspected that they were the only ones willing to have the Varia as neighbors if they were as scary as the stories say.

As soon as the gates open he can tell it's not a fun and happy place. There is a dangerous and creepy aura cast over the whole house. Lal follows directly behinds Tsunayoshi, Viper smiling at the pair. Through whatever instinct Tsunayoshi had, he was walking around all of the traps placed in the garden. These traps kept a lot of worthless people out of the house and stopped them from annoying the residents. If they even dared to enter that is.

As they enter the main hall, Viper isn't surprised to find on one waiting for them. Viper stops Lal from following the little boy though. "You know they hate it when crowds arrive. He'll be a lot safer alone."

"What on earth are you saying?" hisses Lal back to Viper. Did she want the child to end up dead?

Viper shakes her head "I'm not that stupid, we'll be following, but I'll hide our presence, that means no talking until I tell you too alright." Lal huffs but agrees anyway, Viper worked with these people so she would know best.

Looking backwards Tsunayoshi couldn't see Viper or Lal but he just knew they were there. So happy with that knowledge, he tiptoes around the house. It was really quiet and he hadn't seen anyone yet. Until he turns a corner. Immediately he is met with a rather mad looking grin and blond hair.

"Heeii" is his first reaction, jumping back a step before taking a look at the person before him. Reborn had said not to show fear, so he wouldn't. "Wow! So pretty!" he shouts, pointing at the tiara on the blond's head.

"Ushishishi~" the boy laughs. He didn't seem that much older than Tsunayoshi "You like the Prince's crown?" he asks, smile widening. Tsunayoshi nods his head.

"Yeah, I do. Oh, you're a prince?" he says tilting his head. He realises what that means and quickly bows before the boy. "Nice to meet you!"

If possible the boy's grin widens even more. He flicks a knife into his hand and places it under Tsunayoshi's chin, using it to tilt the boy's face back up.

What the boy doesn't know is that there is a sniper rifle aimed at him from the side, ready to shoot at the slightest sign of attacking the precious boy. Viper has told Lal that this was just what the blond was like, but even so, Viper was crouched directly behind Tsunayoshi, arms either side of him, almost like a hug but without touching. She was ready to pull the boy back and to make him disappear if the blond showed any signs of his usual madness.

Tsunayoshi does as prompted and looks back up at the Prince. He takes a good look at the boy. A small part inside of him is shivering, telling him to run from here and this house, shouting at him that it's not safe here. Personally, he doesn't think the boy infront of him is that bad, just different, like everyone at home. He didn't sense any ill intent, just curiosity and pride. His eyes are drawn back to the shining tiara and without realising it he whispers "So cool" under his breath. The Prince hears this and removes the knife, laughing loudly like any child would.

"Ushishishi~ Shishishi, Ushishishi~. The Prince likes the Kitty." The Prince declares ruffling Tsunayoshi's hair. He had chosen Kitty on purpose. The boy infront of him looked cute, but he could sense the claws underneath. The boy hadn't flinched once at the sight or touch of the knife, wasn't scared of his laugh and smile and had tensed, ready to attack back if he needed to. And those eyes. They were piercing and steady, yet soft and kind too. It had been a very long time since the Prince had seen eyes like that. And if he was living with the Arcobaleno then he was going to be like a cat in nature too; never being caught or told what to do, coming and going as he pleased.

"What is the Kitty's name?" The Prince asks. Tsunayoshi looks over his shoulder, asking permission from the direction he assumed Viper was in. He could sense her behind and around him. He felt a hug in return and nodded. The Prince watched this with interest before laughing once more "Ushishi. Mammon must be here!" He was a genius after all, and if the Kitty was looking at things that weren't there then it must be an illusionist. The only illusionist who would be with him was Mammon.

She undoes the illusion on herself, still keeping Lal hidden. "I'm playing hide and seek with the rest of the team alright." She says, bringing her hand across Tsunayoshi's body to reach her head which was just above the boy's shoulder, putting a finger to her lips. The Prince was quite surprised by the position, never having seen her get close to anyone before. Not minding the fact at all, he rushes over and pulls on her cheeks. "Mammon's come to play with the Prince!"

The Prince let's go and skips away. "The Prince shall join the game" meaning he'll be quiet about her presence.

"Good boy. Tsunayoshi this is Belphegor. Belphegor this is Tsunayoshi." Viper introduces.

"Why's he calling you Mammon?" Tsunayoshi asks, tilting his head to the side to look at her. Her name was Viper not Mammon, so why was Belphegor calling her that?

"It's my name for when I'm working. I don't let anyone else call me by my true name apart from you." She whispers. Tsunayoshi feels touched at that and hugs her tightly back.

"Mou~ Bel-chan. Where are you~?" comes another voice from down the corridor. Smiling at the two boys, since they wouldn't see her wink, Viper disappears into the mist once more. "Ah, there you are Bel-chan, I was getting worried." A boy in his mid-teens prances over, stopping as soon as he spots Tsunayoshi. "Oh my Heavens, he's so cute!" the teen shouts before leaping over to them and picking the boy up in a bone-crushing hug.

"Ushishishi, The Kitty is the Prince's new subject. Birdy get off of the Prince's property" Belphegor claims, twirling a knife. The teen however doesn't seem to listen. "Ka-ching~" he growls before throwing a knife at the 'birdy's' leg. The teen jumps back, letting go of Tsunayoshi.

Tsunayoshi watches as the feathers on the teens clothes settle back into place, just like the bird Belphegor claims him to be. "Where did you find him Bel-chan?" The Birdy asks.

"He walked in here" says Bel truthfully. He'd watched. The boy had gone around all of the traps as if he had a map. It had interested the Prince greatly.

The teen looks him over, hand on his chin in thought. "Oh~ You're the Arcobaleno's child right. Boss really wants to meet you! Come on, let Lussuria show you the way. " he grabs Tsunayoshi's wrist and proceeds to drag him through the Varia mansion. Tsunayoshi didn't mind, once again sensing no ill intent from this teen either. His gut told him to beware of the teens left knee-cap, and not to get into hand to hand combat with the teen. Well, he wasn't planning on fighting them anyway.

Lal just stares and blinks at the boy being lead off "What is he? A walking peace maker? Am I missing something, like a perfume or pheromones that allow this brat to turn even the scariest people into kittens? He's just been through a conversation with two of the Varia and not even gotten a scratch."

Viper laughs "I really don't have a clue. But I would pay anything not to have him any other way. We'd better hurry, nothing will save him from Boss if he's in a bad mood"

Viper really did work for the Varia under the name of Mammon. Why? Because even though they may be a load of youngsters, the Varia still pay the highest rates out of all the Families. She'd follow the money. Xanxus was certainly paying her enough, so if he wanted to be called Boss, she'd call him that. If he wanted to be known as King of the World, well, the money said he was. And they weren't that bad to work with either.

"Bossu~" shouts Lussuria as he comes to the open door.

"VROOOIII! Stupid Boss, what are you doing now?" comes a shout from inside the room. A wine bottle quickly makes it's exit and slams against the opposite wall. Tsunayoshi doesn't like that. Luce said it was important not to throwing things, especially food and drink since it was a waste.

So storming over, Tsunayoshi stands in the open doorway, fists on hips, a scowl on his face. "Stop that. It's naughty!" he shouts. There is a stunned silence from the Varia.

"Vrrroi?" A teen with long hair says, quietly and threateningly. "It's naughty? You do you think you are?" he shouts as he runs towards Tsunayoshi. The little boy ducks before running further into the room. Swords weren't his best area of expertise since no one at home used one. It was only basic instinct trained by the others at home that had saved him from that attack. The long haired boy seems to get even angrier and takes another swing. "Get back here brat!"

There is a deep rumbling laugh from the other side of the room and Tsunayoshi just has enough time to notice a fox tail and glowing red eyes before he has to jump back from another sword strike "Bwahaha. Come on Sword Trash, being beaten by a brat. How pathetic"

The swordsman stops his attack to wave his sword at the other man "Vrooii. Shut up Boss. I will strike the intruding weakling down." He turns in his heels to face Tsunayoshi once more, pointing his sword directly at Tsunayoshi's heart. "I will definitely cut you down, for I am Squalo, Superbi Squalo, Sword Emperor"

"Ushishishi~ Not yet you're not, stupid Shark" reminds Belphegor, leaning against the doorway. He wasn't going to stop the fight, he wanted to see the Kitty's claws.

Roaring out loud, Squalo charges. Yet Tsunayoshi can see that his anger has affected the swordsman and the swing will go wide. He ducks under the sword, letting it slide above his head into the empty air before pushing a pressure point on the teen's arm. The sword clatters to the floor.

"Bwahahaha. Defeated by mere trash! Get out of my sight sword scum" orders the man called Boss. Now that Tsunayoshi's not being attacked, he takes his time to look around the room. He sees the Boss sitting behind a desk, his feet on said desk. Next to him there is another teen, waving a fan to cool his boss down from the heat.

"I'll get rid of him Boss" says the other man, who seems to be carrying 4 umbrella's on his back. Vaulting over the desk, the teen stalks up to Tsunayoshi before grabbing the umbrellas. "Levi Volta" The light bulbs in the room crash as the electricity flows from them into the umbrellas. The room goes dark since the curtains aren't drawn, and the glittering sparks of electricity provide the odd flashes of light. When Tsunayoshi realises that he's surrounded by the umbrellas his instinct cowers down. He's not sure if there's a way out of this attack.

He sighs in relief when the umbrellas are shot down before they can release their electric charge. He smiles, thanking Lal without words. A gun becomes visible and he catches it. It's one of Lal's, but he knows that she wouldn't give him a loaded one. This is plan Alpha; to pretend he's stronger than he looks to scare the enemy into submission, quite Lal like in his opinion. So he aims the gun at Xanxus.

The curtains are drawn to let light back into the room and the Varia freeze at what they see. The Boss however, laughs out loud. "Bwahaha, that's some damn good Trash. You've got balls. Who are you?"

"Ushishishi~ That's the Prince's Kitty." The others roll their eyes since that doesn't answer anything except to say Belphegor approves of him.

"This cutie is the child who's been taken in by the Arcobaleno Bossu~" explains Lussuria. The three other Varia members take a look back towards the child, so many things clicking into place now.

"Really." Says the Boss in acceptance. He turns his blood red eyes back to Tsunayoshi and they stare at each other. A shiver of fear runs straight through the boy, his instincts telling him to run as far as he can now. He gets a feeling that he couldn't win against this man, that he'd even lost before. The Boss smiles at the boy, finally sitting up properly in his throne. "Well brat. You gonna shoot?"

Tsunayoshi puts a playful smile on his face, before saying "Bang!" What neither was expecting was the bullet that shot towards the Boss. Both Tsunayoshi and the Boss knew he hadn't pulled the trigger. The answer is given when the bullet passes harmlessly through the Boss. It was an illusion.

"Trash" the Boss growls "Show yourself"

"Got you there Xanxus" says Viper materialising whilst sitting next to where Tsunayoshi was standing.

Belphegor runs over and pulls on her cheeks again "Mammon won the game!" he decides

"You touch him and we'll show you what real pain is" whispers a harsh voice in Xanxus' ear. He bristles, going to reach for his X-guns, but stops when a gun is placed against his temple. He growls once more, this time in defeat. Even he wouldn't go against all of the Arcobaleno. None of them could even touch Viper, although that was generally because of her damn illusions.

"Stop it. Bad Lal!" says Tsunayoshi stomping his foot, hands once again on hips. Xanxus burst out laughing once again. He was going to like this brat. He was fearless, and Xanxus liked that. If the Arcobaleno didn't want him then they surely would. Who else would tell one of the Arcobaleno off as if they were a naughty puppy?

"Oy, Brat, come here" he orders. Tsunayoshi walks over to stand next to Xanxus, the opposite side to Lal. "If that lot ever give you a hard time, come and get us; We'll sort them out for you." The rest of the Varia cheer in agreement.

Three bullets then flew through the window to land in Xanxus's desk. One was from an Ex-Mafia-Boss's gun. Another was from a Hitman's gun. The final one was from a Sniper's rifle. "Che, stuck up scum."

"I think it's time to go home" Says Viper- if the three bullets are anything to go by. Belphegor pouts, pulling on her cheeks one last time before running over to Tsunayoshi.

"Bye~Bi~" he sings, petting his Kitty.

"Mou~ Cutie's going home already?" frowns Lussuria before gliding over and hugging the life out of the boy once more. Levi silently comes over and ruffles Tsunayoshi's hair too.

Squalo attempts to take another swipe at the boy before a wine glass crashes into his head. "Vrooii! What was that for stupid Boss?"

Tsunayoshi uses that chance to go to Viper and holds her hand as she guides him to the door.

"Bye bye little bro!" shouts Lussuria as they leave.

The Varia didn't know where the feeling had come from, but they knew that they'd protect the brat. The Varia had laid their claim and nothing was going to take him from them.

That brat was Varia Quality, he just didn't know it yet.

As Tsunayoshi and his two guards exit the Varia Mansion and walk back towards their own house, they don't realises that two figures are high in the trees watching them.

One is a small child, not a lot older than the boy they are watching, with white hair and a tattoo under his eye, munching way on some sweets.

The boy looks to his companion. He had left his house when he had felt a disturbance. Homing in on the source of the disturbance found him this man. This man was like a cross between the boy they were watching and Vongola Primo.

"So Chibi even survived the Varia. It's better that the meeting was done under conditions like these. This should definitely help."

"Help? Help with what?" asks the boy, looking up at the man. The man just smiles a bright smile "I can't tell you that Byakuran, you know how things like that are."

"I thought that rule only belonged to the Clam?" the boys asks, confused.

The man shakes his head. "No, the Clam are the only ones allowed to break that rule. It's all for the better, you'll see"

Byakuran has no choice but to nod his head and watch as the Arcobaleno gates close on another outing.

Cookie to anyone who gets the song I put in here! It's only like 2 lines but still.

It was funny over the weekend, I walked into a clothing shop and they had like 6 different T-shirts with Pineapples on them for the summer. I had a little fangirl fit in the middle of the shop that consisted of something along the lines of "Oh my god LOOK!" followed by some running and squealing. A few people gave me weird looks but it was worth it.

It was hard to do some of the Varia *coughSqualocough* without swearing. But I'm not going to in this story. I had to stop putting swear words in G's sentences last time too, and a few others.

Right. Next update will put everything back on the time track, so it'll be this Thursday.

I hoped you loved my Pet Varia!

Phantom Hitman 1412

First Published 24 April 2012