Chapter 2: To Be Happy

"[She] has not aged. In fact, she appears younger than before. At night, she walks among the monuments in D.C., serene and alone, not even a Secret Service escort with her. Anyone who tries to approach finds themselves pushed back by a faint mist that smells of apple and spice, and feels like thousands of needles. Witnesses claim her feet are not even touching the ground. Her arms seem longer than they used to, as though they were the only part of her body continuing to change."

- Welcome to Night Vale, Episode 92: "If He Had Lived"

I first met Reborn in the garden, the same afternoon he arrived. The way I was sitting, on the edge of the fountain, gently making ripples in the already softly moving water with my finger and head downcast with a blank expression, I would easily be mistaken for grieving over my father's death. And yet, it was quite the opposite.

I was relieved he was gone. Glad, even. He was no longer here for me to catch his suspicious glances when he thought I wasn't looking, or for me to look away from his drunken, spiteful, almost hateful glares that had only increased since our mother died. More importantly, he was no longer there to put so much pressure on Dino. Yet, even with him dead, that pressure was still there; my brother simply wasn't physically reminded of it anymore. I can admit to myself that I was relieved he was dead, and I did not feel guilty These aren't thoughts a good daughter should think about her father's death.

(But I had always been a bit of rebel, hadn't I?)

"You must be Reborn," I said, bringing myself out of my own thoughts and acknowledging the hitman behind me.

"You have good ears," he allowed as I turned towards him to fully. I shrugged; a numb movement without much emotion behind it.

"It's not like you were trying to sneak up on me or something."

He hopped up beside me on the edge of the fountain. I was surprised how calm I was reacting to actually meeting the Reborn for the first time, but after everything that happened, I was just too tired to be excited (Dino would grow strong now, a part of me thought, and was happy because of this).

"So, you're Dino's sister," Reborn mused aloud, blatantly staring at me.

"Cloud," I introduced myself.

"Strange name," He smirked. I sighed, and looked away, his staring beginning to become slightly unnerving.

"Nickname," I said, bringing my knees up to my chest, trying to act unaffected, "But I'm guessing you already knew that. So, you're Dino's new tutor, right?"

"Correct," Reborn answered, not blinking as I called him out, and continuing, coolly, "You look just like your mother." The bluntness of the statement did not startle me.

"Yeah, I know," I said, "Is that why you were staring at me?"

"Was it making you uncomfortable?"

I nodded.

"Okay." He hopped off the edge of the fountain and began walking away.

"Wait!" I pushed myself up and shifted, almost pushing myself off the edge of the fountain to start after him. But I hesitated.

"What was that for?" I asked him, regaining caution.

He shrugged.

"I was just getting a read on my useless student's sister," he answered.

"A read?" I questioned. He stopped and turned around.

"To see what kind of person you are."

"… and what kind of person am I?" The question was hesitant. I didn't actually know whether or not he would answer, but he surprised me when he did.

"You're observant," he began, "and extremely mature for your age. You have a full understanding of death for how young you are, and you already know how to deal with sadness and guilt. You didn't have a good relationship with your father and you know how to put up an act for others, but you care for your useless brother a lot. That's something I can use," He explained. I blinked.

"You got all of that," I asked, "just from watching me sit by the fountain and making me uncomfortable with staring?" I smiled, but it was light and dry: "You are the world's greatest hitman."

"Although that statement is true, I can't take all the credit. Nono told me about you as well," He admitted. "But I do plan on using you in Dino's training."

I shrugged, and responded, "As long as it's helping Dino, I'm fine with that."

"Good," Reborn stated, and there was a warm glow in his eyes before it glinted, mischievous, "It wasn't like you had a choice either way." I made a conscious decision to ignore that for now.

"What is that?" I asked, noticing a small green animal crawling on the small hitman's shoulder.

"This is Leon," Reborn introduced the lizard. Leon blinked at me with wide eyes from his perch.

"He's cute," I admitted with a small smile, reaching out to touch him gently.

"Touch Leon and die," Reborn warned. I retracted my hand, wisely.

"Okay, then."

I never doubted Reborn's declaration to use me in Dino's training. However, I did underestimate the amount of times the Arcobaleno would use me as bait. Which, on my part, went wholly unappreciated. I was no damsel, and I often could get out of distressful situations myself, thank you very much. But through much bribery and many threats, Reborn convinced me that using me as bait and putting his student's little sister in danger was an effective way to bring out Dino's true potential. And as much as I hated to admit it (again, referencing the many, many times I was used as bait), Reborn was right. Dino worked best when the ones he loved were in danger.

And despite my slight annoyance with Reborn using me this way so much (despite my appease after seeing Reborn's results just a few months after his arrival), in a way, him using me so much brought the hitman and I closer. Which Dino, naturally, dreaded. This dread quadrupled once I started suggesting more creative methods for Reborn to use to train Dino. In his eyes, it was almost a betrayal.

Despite this close relationship we had formed, Dino was his main charge and the one who he focused on improving. And it had begun to bother me that I continued to remain evasive, but weak.

The kidnappings didn't help.

"I don't see what I've done to deserve this."

"Cloud," Dino gave me an exasperated look, "You've been kidnapped twice."

"And? I've escaped on my own twice too," I rebutted.

"Cloud, you got hurt last time." My hand immediately went to the bandages on my arm.

"Okay, so maybe I'm a liability," I admitted, "and maybe I got hurt once. But I still don't think I deserve babysitters because of that!"

"You've just proven my point," Dino reminded me. "We can't just let you run around unprotected, wherever you go. It's dangerous for you, and I can't have you getting hurt, or kidnapped," he then added with emphasis, "again. This is for your own good, 'Sis."

"But 24/7 babysitters?" I whined, allowing myself to sound my age for once, "Really? I don't want two grown men following around all day. No offense towards you guys, of course," I said to the two men, Ivan and Bono, my newly appointed attendants behind me. They nodded in understanding, albeit a bit hesitantly.

"Being related to the boss of one of the most influential families is extremely dangerous, Cloud," Reborn inputted with a serious tone. "Dino's right to keep at least some of his men with you to protect you at all times." I opened my mouth to refute, but then thought better of it. It was clear that this discussion had ended.

Arguing with Reborn was a death wish, after all.

The Princess of the Cavallone had always been a mysterious, almost ethereal creature to those in the family. She was an odd child; polite and quiet when appearing in public, but distant, and almost bored acting. When on the estate, she was either found in the library or the gardens, almost floating between the two, if she could be found at all. An evasive child. Those who tried to force her to do what she didn't want had little luck doing so. To those who knew her personally, she could have a dry humor and a quick wit, not surprising given the amount of time she is seen reading. Intelligent for her age, a prodigy and genius at the age of six. But she cared for her brother, and was happy when around him. But not happy in the typical sense a child would be:

Her smile was kind and soft and nearly flowing, not bright and toothy and grinning like a child's should be. When she smiled like this, she looked like her mother. And perhaps this haunted the family even more. Despite her hair color (blonde and light, but was there an orange tint to it?), there was no doubt that the girl would grow to look exactly like her mother. She had her mother's eyes, and her skin was tanned and freckled from spending so much time outdoors, mirroring her mother's tendencies to spend time in the gardens when she was younger and being courted.

But while the lady of the estate had been welcoming and warm, the young princess (as they lovingly referred to her as, using this title or the nickname her brother had chosen) was distant. Not cold however, as she was kind and clearly cared for her brother and the family. Which is why she was adored. But still, there was something strange, something off, something ethereal about the young girl.

Nearly everyone in the family, staff or Mafioso alike had had a similar experience, a spotting or seeing the younger sibling for the first time:

Walking in the garden and looking to the side only to look again, seeing a blonde, tanned girl sitting casually in a tree, dress torn from the climb, but the wearer seeming uncaring. Light shining through the trees and giving a glow to the scene, the girl's vibrant green eyes scanning over a book, far too large and difficult for someone her age to be reading and yet? She moves smoothly through the pages at the ease of a grown woman, and with the grace of one too. It was ghostly, almost fairy-like, this scene, as if painted by a long-dead artist. And the witness would blink and move along, as if stumbling across a scene that they felt they shouldn't have seen, and yet? It was peaceful, what they had witnessed.

Romario would laugh heartily at this description of the princess, for he was one of the few who knew her better. Peaceful, was a description he would sometimes associate with the young girl, sure, but there was no doubt of her spitfire. Sure, it was reserved at this time in her life, but after the death of her father, and the introduction of Reborn, with the princess spending more time with her brother?

She was becoming more vibrant. And this realization, this happiness exuberating more from the young girl spread to the rest of the family

(It meant hope; it felt like victory)

(Ironic, wasn't it?)

This transition, however, is where Ivan and Bono were introduced to Cloud. Being part of the lower ring in the family, they were unsure of how the young girl would react to them being appointed as her permanent attendants. The men had been surprised themselves when they were informed of their new duties by their young, new boss himself. Some would see this as a downgrade, being taken from their normal duties and placed as babysitters of the youngest child of the Cavallone. But Ivan and Bono were gracious men, and saw this as an opportunity to prove themselves to their boss, and put their life down to protect his dear sister (and their dear princess).

But there was an air of nervousness to them. After all, it was widely known that the girl was against being told what to do, and had ran off her many tutors that were assigned to reign her in.

"You guys don't have to do this, you know."

And the two grown men jumped, looking up at their charge from her perch in the tree, her nose daintily scrunched as she peered down at them.

"Princess," Bono began, frowning, "we're charged with your protection and in order to do that–

"No," she said, cutting him off and correcting, "I meant that you don't have to just stand there. Like," she said, shifting her hand through the air casually, "you can lean or something? Sit down? Just because you have to watch over me doesn't mean you have to be uncomfortable doing it, you know?"

"Princess…" Ivan muttered as they looked up at her, humbled by her care for them. She made a face (embarrassment?) and shifted on her branch once more.

"Look, it's not like I want to be shadowed," she admitted with a small shrug of her shoulders, "but I know that Dino worries, and if this makes him feel better? I can handle you guys hanging around."

And a serene moment followed, and the men smiled, glowing and glad that the girl took this with such grace and ease. However, her face turned to them once more, nose scrunched again.

"Just don't try telling me what to do, okay?"

"Y-yes, Princess."

Even with the added supervision of Ivan and Bono, I still managed to get kidnapped. I suspected that it was due to the construction going on, with some strangers roaming the mansion to fix the room Reborn had managed to damage while training Dino. I shouldn't have been so lax, with so much activity going on around the estate, and yet?

I woke up with the taste of chemicals in my mouth. I barely shifted, feeling unfamiliar fabric beneath me. I dared to open my eyes, and blearily, I noticed I was in an equally unfamiliar room with two others. They hadn't bothered to tie me up, and had simply let me rest on a couch, underestimating me due to my age and stature. I could use that to my advantage.

I pushed myself up, and childishly, I rubbed my eyes, alerting the men to the fact that I had woken up. As I shifted, I brought my leg closer, feeling the small knife I kept in the folds of my boot. With another shift, it was in my hand and hidden behind the folds of my dress.

"Oh?" One man hummed, clearly lax and uncaring. He approached me, and I leaned back, pressed against the couch as he bent down. "The little lady is up?"

"Don't do anything, Cosimo," the other warned, "If she's harmed, we might not–"

"I'm not gonna hurt the kid," Cosimo replied back with a sleazy smile, barely turning his head in acknowledgement. I couldn't help but sneer as he forcefully cupped my face, forcing me to look up at him.

"Who could harm such a cute looking thing anyway? We're gonna get a fuck ton of money off of you, you know?" He said, moving my head mockingly. I was uncomfortable, thoroughly. And the moment there was a commotion outside of the door? I took complete advantage when my kidnapper looked away.

Immediately I bit his finger, hard. Enough so that part of it come off in my mouth (but I was taught not to hold back in these situations, and shifted through the lessons some of the maids had given me for self-defense). He yelled out, and the moment I could, I sent a kick to his crotch for good measure before pulling the knife on the other man. He had risen to aid his partner, but hadn't expect me having a weapon. I stabbed him on the leg, and attempted to run for the door, hearing more commotion outside,

Only to scream out as a hand grabbed my foot and I was roughly pulled back, the man who I had stabbed in the leg managing to grab me before I could run out of his reach, his other hand holding his gushing wound.

Cosimo, his hand also riveting red, sneered at me.

"Fuck what the boss says, I'm taking her fucking fingers too–" but he closed his mouth as the door was kicked in, immediately paling.

I struggled in my captor's grip to turn as well, but yelled out as I was torn away, and a sword easily sliced through the man that once held me. I stared and turned to see the swordsman himself.

Squalo's eyes met mine, but there was a glint in them that sent a shiver through me. He stalked forward, quickly ending Cosimo's life as well, sending his head rolling to the ground before turning back to me.

"The fuck are you doing here, Brat?" He asked, kneeling down when he saw the blood on me, quickly checking to make sure it wasn't my own.

"Kidnapped," I said, wincing when I realized I could still taste the man's blood in my mouth, and then sneering, realizing that I didn't feel bad about what I did (but I turned away from the bodies, feeling a little disturbed when I had looked at them for too long).

"What are you doing here?" I reverted the question, looking up at him as he scanned the room.

"Teaching a lesson," he nearly spat before grabbing my arm and leaving the room, making sure I was walking at his side.

"Varia?" I asked him, glancing at the bodies littering the body as we walked. He simply hummed in response.

"I'm taking you back with me," he decided, "Bronco can pick you up himself when we get back. I ain't wasting my time carting you all the way back." I smiled at this, looking up at him.

"Thanks, Squalo," I told him, and he clicked his tongue in response. We entered a grander room, wide and spacious, and yet? Still filled with bodies and blood, in a far more brutal shape that the ones Squalo left in his wake. A tall, muscular, tanned man, hair dyed and styled waited and brightened considerable seeing Squalo enter. I nearly winced, seeing that the man was covered in blood.

"Squalo! Took you long enough," he clapped and then tutted as we approached. He hummed, tilted his head, upon noticing me, "A hostage?"

"Ally," Squalo said efficiently, walking past the man (Lussuria, I guessed, and knew I was correct, recalling my memories of the series), "Cavallone brat. She got kidnapped and I'm taking her back."

"Oh, Squalo, you do have a soft spot after all~"

Squalo's face grew red and immediately, he dropped my arm that he had continued to hold throughout our walk.

"Voi! Fuck off!"

Lussuria nearly giggled, amused by his reaction. I covered my mouth, hiding my own smile, knowing that Squalo would be further embarrassed if he saw my amusement as well.

Lussuria bent down politely when addressing me, making small talk as we waited to be picked up. Squalo stood the side, face still tinted with pink, and arms crossed, still pissed (then again, when wasn't he pissed?).

"I'm Lussuria, "he politely introduced, holding out a hand, despite it still be bloodied. I shook it, mirroring his politeness, but he seemed to notice my hesitance. "Oh, sorry about the blood, 'hun!" He waved it off dismissively, as if discussing a wine stain, "I tend to get messy when I'm excited~"

I nodded once, accepting this before introducing myself:

"Cloud," I said simply, then added, "Cavallone."

"And how old are you, Miss Cavallone?" He asked. I nearly hesitated again, hearing a strange yearning in his voice as he asked this. And yet, still, I answered (stupidly).

"Six."

"Ah! Perfect!" He said, clapping his hands and then lifting me, nearly spinning me around (despite my squeak of protest. Squalo watched with a cold glint in his eyes, no doubt seeing this as pay back for his earlier embarrassment, the bastard), "You're only two years younger!"

"Than who?" I said weakly, a bit dizzy from the sudden movement.

"Bel, of course!" Lussuria said with a smile, "Now he can finally have a playmate!"

I blinked, processing these words and translating them.

Bel. Belphegor. Prince the Ripper.

The color drained from my face.

(It was that I moment I decided that I was going to die)

In my head, I had built an image of some characters without meaning to. For example, the Varia: shadowy assassins who embodied fear and bloodlust. Ominous figures, and ultimately antagonists, this is mostly because I had been thinking of the first part of the series, before everyone came together in the end.

(The end? But what did that end mean for mine?)

But I realized that I had separated Squalo from this image the moment I met him. Squalo was almost a brother figure to me now; loud and harsh, but caring, even looking out for me and teaching me a few tactics in case I ever got in trouble. And despite him becoming busy with the Varia, we still kept in touch. He had become one of my important people, and I hope he felt the same about me.

(But this proved it, didn't it? He could have left me in that empty mansion with those corpses for me to find my own way back, but he took me with him instead, keeping me safe and by his side)

I was reminded sometimes of how young he was. Fourteen years old and basically leading an entire assassination organization, and a fucking good one at that. And yet,

I found myself surprised with how young Belphegor, Prince the Ripper, was when I met him. Two years older than me, Lussuria had said, putting Belphegor at eight. Eight years old, and already a killer.

But I had been surrounded by killers most my life, perhaps not to the standard these assassins put themselves too. Still, I was used to people whose hands were sullied in blood, and this did not bother me at all.

(Perhaps the fact that Dino would one day dip his hands into blood bothered me, but I pushed that thought back)

"A playmate?" Belphegor drawled in question, Lussuria bringing me to him as soon as we entered the Varia Estate. "Why would I need a playmate?"

I watched almost curiously as he flicked silver between his fingers, easily twirling the knife as the conversation continued.

"I just thought while she's here, you two might want to play," Lussuria said, leaning over the back of the couch, practically cooing at us, "and who knows, this friendship might blossom into something else, hm?"

We both looked at him blankly, our first moment of bonding.

"Be nice, Bel!" Lussuria tutted, dodging the knives lazily thrown his way as he exited the room. Which left me alone with Belphegor. My earlier fear and apprehension had dispersed when I first realized just how young he was. He was a kid, like me. A dangerously armed kid, but who wasn't in this world I was reborn into?

"State your name, peasant," he addressed with a dry grin, flicking the knife and then storing it in his sleeve.

"Cloud," I answered, and then added again, "Cavallone. Yours?"

"You don't already know?" He asked with a tilt of his head, but I could tell he was mulling over my last name.

"It's polite to ask isn't it?" I shot back, leaning back and becoming more causal, mirroring his demeanor. Easily, he picked up on this.

"Cloud Cavallone, huh? Nickname?" I nodded once. He snickered, and leaned forward suddenly, taking advantage of my lax position. "So what, you're just a spare, huh?" he asked, dangerously close to me. His words, however, struck a nerve.

My eye twitched once, and before I could stop myself,

I headbutted him. Hard.

Immediately, I regretted this, pain blossoming in my forehead. I rubbed it as I leaned back and let out a light groan.

"Fuck," I vocalized, and then repeated, "Fuck, I should not have done that." Belphegor too has rubbing his forehead, but not as vigorously as I was (stupid hair, getting in the way and softening the blow).

"Why'd you do that anyways?" he asked, flicking his knife again and pointing it at me. But there was amusement, mixed with the irritation in his voice. No, I corrected, curiosity.

"Because," I said, forgoing all formalities at this point, "you implied that my family thought of me like that; a spare, and fuck that. They wouldn't and they don't," I clarified, giving him a hard look, "think about me like that, okay? I'm the goddamn princess of the Cavallone, and I'm not just some weak little girl either. I'm going to get hella strong and become a force to deal with someday, you got that, Prince the Ripper?" I finished with a sneer and looked away, still lightly touching my forehead.

He paused, simply staring at me, to the point where it became uncomfortable. And then,

He grinned, wide and baring all his teeth.

"Oh, I like you," he decided, grin impossibly growing before shooting forward and grabbing my arm, dragging me from the room, snickering.

"Come on, Princess," he turned his head back, still towing me, teeth prominently displayed, "Let's play."

Bel's definition of playing included playing pranks on Leviathan, another Varia member who I had the pleasure of meeting. Although I doubted Leviathan was pleased upon learning that his parabola's were glued shut. I certainly wasn't pleased when he caught us in the act, and Bel fucking abandoned me.

"Some playmate you are!" I yelled out, knowing Bel was nearby, "Traitor!" I swear, I heard his trademark snicker somewhere above me. Unfortunately, I couldn't investigate, due to far more pressing matters.

"Brat!" I dove into another hallway, barely avoiding Leviathan's parabola, which he was now using as lances in order to spear me. "Come back here you little shit!"

One fortunate advantage I had over Levi was speed, which I was using to my advantage at the moment. I dove into a room the moment I was out of his sight,

And immediately I was met with a gun pointed at my face.

Red eyes glowered down at me, and I met them head on. I blinked, and the man, no the teen mirrored this as well.

"The fuck are you?" the tan teen drawled, lowering his gun and looking down at me curiously. I blinked again, and suddenly, it hit me:

"Xanxus?" I questioned, not recognizing the boss of the Varia due to his youth and lack of scarring. He raised an eyebrow, a silent and efficient question. I answered, immediately, thinking off the top of my head.

"Squalo told me about you," I lightly bluffed, only giving a half truth, recalling the few times Squalo had mentioned his 'no-good-shitty-boss'.

Xanxus clicked his tongue and retreated back, setting his gun on the desk and falling lazily into the chair behind it.

"So, you're the Cavallone brat, huh?" He identified, surprising me slightly. Xanxus was a genius, a part of me reminded myself, and it's best to be completely honest and truthful with him. I rose, put kept my back to the door, displaying a casual lean as I continued to listen to the hallway in case Levi came by looking for me again.

"You in trouble or something?" He drawled, noting my actions. I hesitated, shrugged, and then nodded.

"Bel and I glued Levi's parabola's together, and now Levi's trying to skewer me with them," I answered simply and dryly. A moment, and he scoffed, the sound easily passing for a puff of laughter.

"You better scram from here then, brat," he told me with an air of amusement, "He usually comes around here about ten minutes from now."

I paused, registering this. He was helping me? Wisely, I moved on from this thought, and stored it gently.

"Thanks…" I said, my hand moving to the doorknob. I looked back once more, having peeked out into the hallway and seeing that it was clear.

Xanxus nodded. I nodded back, and left, shutting the door gently behind me.

(Xanxus… was weird. But in a good way)

(it was sad, almost, seeing his skin clear, and knowing how scarred it will be later)

"This is Mammon," Bel introduced, later after we reunited. "He has puffy cheeks," he informed me with a grin, reaching over as if to demonstrate. Mammon sighed, putting their book down and looking over after Bel had poked them.

"If you do that again, I'm charging," the small figure warned us.

"They're an illusionist," Bel continued, hopping in the seat opposite of Mammon, who sat on the table as they read, "and they can show us some pretty stuff, right, Baby?"

"I'll charge you for that too," Mammon quipped again, immersed in their book once more.

And that was my experience with Mammon.

Squalo walked past the room with confident strides, only to nearly stumble and back track.

"The fuck?" He asked, and I looked back, half my curls moving with me. Lussuria tutted and gently moved my head back, picking out another strand to curl. Bel lay beside me on the couch, flicking knives into the air out of boredom.

"You're still here?" Squalo demanded, walking into the room.

"I thought you said you were going to call Dino?" I asked him, going to turn my head again, but stopped and sighed as Lussuria grabbed my chin lightly, turning me back.

"You're really bad at staying in one place, darling," he tutted, releasing a curl from the iron, and gently wrapping another chunk of hair around it.

"The hell are you talking about, I told you t–" Squalo stopped immediately however, recalling the conversation we had before Lussuria whisked me away. His mouth formed a hard line, and he turned away immediately, nearly stomping as he did so.

"You going to call him no-"

"FUCK OFF!"

Dino was much more stressed than I thought he would be. Which, I felt rather guilty about. I didn't consider that my family didn't know where I was this entire time I had been (honestly) having fun with the Varia. Given this, I decided to be totally honest with him when he asked what happened.

"Well," I started, taking a breath, "I got kidnapped, bit a man's finger off, got saved by Squalo, got set up with another kid, and I'm pretty sure Lussuria wants us to get together or something. I don't know. Anyway, my new friend and I pranked a loyal and large lap dog, got chased by him, was threatened, but only vaguely by Xanxus, and then Lussuria treated me like a doll for the rest of the time, which was honestly pretty chill? Besides the whole being hunted by Levi thing, it was actually pretty calm and fun…. Can I go back again sometime?" I asked, almost cautiously, but hopefully. "Lussuria says that I could come by anytime."

Dino blinked, opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. Reborn was smiling by his side, which was never really a good sign.

"This a great opportunity to strengthen the relationship between the Vongola, don't you think, Pipsqueak-Dino?"

My brother, however, sighed, letting his head drop in exasperation, lightly falling onto his desk.

"At least you made a friend," he breathed out, relieved and smiling lightly as he reached forward to ruffle my hair, an action which I shooed away, scrunching my nose (but I was happy when doing this). "Who is this new friend of yours anyway?" He asked, happiness in his voice at the notion of me having a friend around my age.

"Belphegor, Prince the Ripper," I answered easily. Dino paled, and once again let his head fall onto his desk, with a louder thump this time.

"Of course you make friends with…." He trailed off as he lifted his head, eyes narrowing as he leaned closer to me, inspecting my hair, "Is your hair curled?"

I barely blushed.

"Shut up."

"Hey, Reborn, I need to as- Shit!"

I ducked as the whip almost nailed me in the face. I rose again, thinking myself to be safe only to have the whip come back and hit me in the back of my head, knocking me down.

"Cloud!" Dino looked back at me, but was forced to return his gaze to the opponent in front of him. I pushed myself up with a groan and looked over at him, this time taking in the details around him. Or rather, one large detail.

"Is that a bear?" It was a rather calm question, considering the situation.

"Of course it is," Reborn jumped down from the rock he was perching on and walked over to me as I shifted into a sitting position. I barely nodded to him as a greeting, focusing on Dino's desperate fight with the bear. "So," Reborn started, "what did you want to ask me?"

"Oh," I muttered, remembering what I came out here for, "yeah, I was wondering..." I scratched my head awkwardly, remaining on the ground as I carried the conversation, "If you could maybe, kind of, sort of teach me a little self-defense?"

He stared at me.

"You know," I lowered my voice and twirled my hand in the air, insecure about this conversation, "so Dino won't worry about me so much." Reborn smirked, making me feel uneasy.

"I didn't know you cared so much." I stuck my tongue out at him, childishly, turning again to watch Dino.

"I care," I defended, then my expression dropped and turned thoughtful as I brought my knees up to hug them. "Look, I know that Dino has a lot on his plate right now with taking over the family so suddenly and having to clean up after Papa for the whole financial thing and I just don't want for him to have one more thing to worry about. I mean, the family and the Varia have taught me a few things, but I feel like I need more. Like at least a weapon I know how to use, and use efficiently," I concluded, I looking the tutor, waiting for him to answer.

He smiled, a complete and shining smile.

(It was terrifying)

"Well I suppose I could take on another Cavallone kid as a student."

Suddenly, I regretted asking.

"This is a semi-automatic pistol."

I nodded.

"Here." He handed me the gun. I took it and gave the hitman a questioning look.

"...so you're just handing a six year old a gun?"

"We both know that you're not a normal six year old, Cloud."

"And you're not a normal baby."

He smirked, but this time, there was an edge of danger to it.

"… Touché."

Ivan and Bono fidgeted uneasily behind me, obviously not comfortable with the fact that I was being handed a fully loaded weapon. I was slightly miffed at this, disappointed that they immediately showed discomfort when they knew me so well, but I brushed this to the side. I often forgot my own age, and was surprised when people treated me like a child. But Reborn never gave me that leisure (or maybe this was an annoyance to me at this point?).

Reborn pointed to a human shaped cut out target a little ways off.

"Hit that target." I nodded again, aiming the pistol at the target. I fidgeted, feeling Reborn's heavy stare.

"Don't you need to make sure Dino wasn't killed by that bear?" I asked hopefully. Reborn's expression didn't change.

"He'll be fine," he dismissed all too easily, "Shoot the target."

I sighed, fidgeting once more. A moment passed. He elaborated:

"Shoot the target, before I shoot you."

I swallowed, aiming once more at the target, feeling sorry that Dino had to deal with this pressure radiating off Reborn every day. A sudden calmness came over me as I focused, aiming for the cut out's chest. I took a deep breath in and as I breathed out, I pulled the trigger. My eyes shifted to the neck next, and another tug at the trigger, then the forehead and another loud bang echoed around us. I focused on the whole target and saw three pretty holes; one in the chest where the heart would be, one in the throat and one in the forehead. Reborn nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. Better than Dino his first time shooting a gun," Reborn noted. "Have you ever shot a gun before, Cloud?" I shrugged, not bothering to explain the concept that it was the calmness that aided me in accuracy. Reborn seemed to accept my silence, and allowed me that. He then frowned thoughtfully.

"You need to practice shooting moving targets," he stated thoughtfully. Bono and Ivan tensed behind us immediately upon hearing these words. I cocked my head.

"You want me to shoot people?" Reborn smirked, an idea forming in his head.

"Yes."

I scowled as I looked through the scope, my target moving again.

"Stay still," I muttered angrily, even though Romario was about 800 meters away from me.

"Princess, are you sure this is good idea?" Ivan asked from behind me. Currently, we were on the roof of the mansion, over-looking the garden. I was carrying out the mission Reborn gave me, and performing quite well if I say so myself.

"It's fine. Chill," I replied, smiling as Romario finally stopped moving and my hand closed in on the trigger. "It's just a paint gun sniper rifle."

I pulled the trigger, watching through the scope as blue paint splattered over his chest. He looked up in alarm, bringing out a gun out of his jacket and trying to zero in on my location. I hummed in approval. Ivan and Bono sighed from behind me.

"24," I said in satisfaction. Reborn had charged me with the task of sniping 30 people with the paint ball sniper rifle. Where he had gotten a hold of a paint ball sniper rifle, I had no idea, but I was nowhere idiotic enough to ask. I spied another maid walking out of the house, and was proud to say that it took less time than usual to focus on her and shoot. She screamed as yellow paint exploded on her back.

"25," I sang. The last three hours of frustration were paying off after all.

"Just 5 more..." Ivan muttered, his statement coming out as a sigh of relief. I scrunched my nose and looked back at him.

"Are you complaining? You know you guys can leave, right?" They chuckled, Bono even shaking his head.

"And risk being sniped by you when we get down there?" Bono teased, holding his hands up in mock defense, "No thank you. I don't think either Ivan or I feel like being 26 and 27." I rolled my eyes and went back to my sniping, ignoring their nervous snickers. I grinned wickedly as I saw an especially interesting target walk into view. My amused hum, louder than the ones before, caused Ivan to raise his eyebrow.

"Who are you targeting now?"

"Dino," I answered. They paled, immediately

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Princess," Ivan stammered, stepping forward and wincing, seeing how easy of a target Dino was making himself. I waved him off with my free hand.

"Fuck off –"

"Language, Princess."

"–I'm fine as long as he doesn't know it's me. And I cursed in German, so it doesn't count."

"I'm pretty sure you're the only one who would be doing something like this, Princess."

"…. And cursing doesn't work that way, Princess."

"...shut it. You guys never support me on these things," I continued before they could speak again, "And as long as he doesn't see me, he can't prove it was me."

I smirked as I focused in. A clear shot. I took it, hitting Dino in the back of his head, tainting his blond hair with green. I looked up from the scope, to fully take in the glory, only to see Dino spin around, rubbing the back of his head. Even from this distance, I could tell he was looking straight at me.

"CLOUD!"

I turned around to face Ivan and Bono.

"Time to change spots," I said hurriedly, packing up the equipment and rushing towards the roof door.

The two men sighed, sparing looks before faithfully following.

("Honestly, I don't think we get paid enough for this.")

"Cloud, repeat after me: I will not snipe family members."

"..."

He glared at me. I sighed, relenting:

"I will not snipe family members," I grumbled, shifting in my seat and crossing my arms.

"Sniping family members is not fun and is not a good past time." I opened my mouth to argue that it was fun and not to mention good training for our family members, but his glare smothered my words of rebellion.

"Sniping family members is not fun and is not a good past time."

"I will never do this again."

"By never do this again, do you mean never snipe again, or never snipe family members? I'm okay with not doing the second one–" even if it diminishes my number of perfectly good targets (but I didn't say this out loud for fear of death) "–but I'm pretty sure that as I get better, my sniping and shooting skills will come in handy, don't you agree?"

Dino sighed and rubbed his temples.

"The second one."

"Okay, then," I made a few popping noises and swung my legs from the chair I was sitting in, "Can I go now?"

"Did you learn your lesson?" I nodded enthusiastically, the movement obviously fake and mocking.

"Family is meant to be loved and cherished, not used for target practice... even though Reborn told me to do it," I recited, saying the last part quickly and quietly, shooting the hitman a quick glare.

"Close enough," Dino said approvingly and with a small sigh, "You can leave."

"Hella."

"Cloud–"

"I know," I said, jumping out of the chair and backing out of the office, "language. Sorry. Blame Squalo." Feeling much like I was running out of a principal's office, I nearly sprinted from the room.

Dino turned to Reborn as I left and stared at him accusingly. Reborn nonchalantly sipped his espresso. The baby raised a questioning eyebrow.

"What is it, Pipsqueak Dino?"

Said pipsqueak's eye twitched.

"You gave my six-year-old little sister permission to shoot at people?" Reborn shrugged.

"She didn't not shoot at people when I gave her permission."

(Dino allowed his head to fall on his desk again. A knot was beginning to form, from the amount of times he did this a day)

(in the end, he did blame Squalo; it was a lot safer than blaming Reborn)

"The prince is bored," Bel stated as he lazily continued throwing knives into the wall, making a crown shape.

"News flash," I sarcastically informed him form the other side of the couch, lightly kicking his knee. "I'm bored too. What do you want me to do about it?"

"Fix it, of course," he answered back as if it were obvious. Before I could ask how I would go about doing this, Squalo walked in. His eyes flitted over me and Bel lounging on the couch, then refocused on me once more.

"Why the hell are you always here, brat?" He asked me with a raised eyebrow. I blinked, then shrugged, having never really thought much on the subject.

"I don't know. Nothing really to do at home; I've read all the books in the library, Dino's too busy for me to bug him, TV is just boring and I've beaten all my video games. So, I thought, 'hey, why not go hang out with my favorite assassination group?' and here I am."

"Why the fuck aren't you guys doing something then?" Squalo asked gruffly, crossing his arms. "You know, kid stuff? Go play outside or some shit like that instead of just taking up space in here!"

"It's raining outside," I informed the swordsman glumly. "And we beat Bel's last video game last week."

"She also doesn't want to come with me to hunt hitmen," Bel added, now done with his wall project and inspecting it with a critical eye.

"I already told you, Bel," she sighed, turning to look at the prince, "that's only fun for you. Killing local hitmen is your favorite past time, not mine." Bel huffed, the air ruffling his bangs. "Plus," I repeated, pointing at the window, clearing showcasing the storm outside," it's raining."

"You're no fun, Princess~" Squalo's eye twitched and he growled in frustration.

"Vooi! What the hell? Aren't you guys kids? Aren't little shits like you supposed to be hyper and running around and all that shit? You guys are pissing me off with your laziness!"

"Then what exactly do you think we should do, Captain?" Bel drawled lazily, laying his head back on the arm of the couch.

"If you're so worried about what we do, then why don't you do something with us?" I asked innocently, blinking up at him sweetly.

"Ushishi, yeah, you could teach the princess something useful. You know she needs it," Bel agreed, his trademark grin slipping onto his face. I smiled widely.

"Yeah, Squaaaaalo," I happily dragged his name out, seeing the regretful look in his eye that he was trying to hide. "Why don't you teach me something?"

"What the fuck could I teach you, brat?" Bel and I looked at his sword simultaneously. Squalo's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, Hell no."

"Why don't I get a real sword?"

"I am not giving you a real sword." I huffed, puffing my cheeks out, glanced at my measly wooden training word, then glared up at Squalo, whose dead-pan stare remained fixated on me.

"Ple-"

"No. Now, ready position." I released the air I was holding, having realized that complaining wasn't getting me, and hadn't gotten me anywhere for as long as we had been practicing. As soon as I readied myself, my sword was, yet again, knocked out of my hands. I sighed and looked after it, rubbing my poorly mistreated hands.

"This isn't fun anymore," I complained. Bel snickered from his position, leaning against the wall, watching our 'lesson'.

"I think it's hilarious."

"That's because you haven't been getting a wooden sword knocked out of your hands for the past half hour," I pointed out. I squeaked when I felt a light jab in my side.

"Oi, you're the one who wanted me to teach you the basics, brat," Squalo reminded me with a smug smirk, retracting his sword.

"Yeah, because I was bored and thought that this would be fun…" I muttered quietly. Squalo's eye twitched.

"The art of sword fighting it not supposed to be fun!" He argued hotly, "It's supposed to be taken seriously, not treated like a fucking game! Now pick your sword back up and g-"

"What the hell are you doing, trash?" We looked over to see Xanxus leaning in the doorway.

"VOO! I'm teaching this brat how to defend herself! What the fuck are you doing?!" Xanxus raised one eyebrow, looked at me then back at Squalo.

"You're teaching the brat?"

"I'm teaching her how to use a fucking sword, you shitty boss!" Xanxus snorted, seemingly amused.

"That's an easy thing to learn, even with a shitty teacher like you," he muttered, bringing the bottle of tequila he was holding up to his lips.

"Like you could teach her anything," Squalo scoffed. It was a barely a twitch, but I managed to catch it when Xanxus's eyelid moved. He fixated a hard glare on Squalo, then threw down a now empty bottle. He stormed over to us, grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the room, basically picking me up off my feet in the process.

"Voi! What the fuck are you doing?" Squalo questioned, following behind us.

"I'm going to teach the brat something that's actually important," Xanxus muttered darkly. I decided to stay quiet during this argument, instead looking back and mouthing 'help me' to Bel. He snickered quietly and waved happily as we excited the room.

(and once again, I was betrayed by my self-proclaimed best friend, the bastard)

I paled, having no idea what Xanxus was going to teach me.

"You see this wine?"

I nodded, probably a little too quickly. Luckily, Xanxus didn't seem to notice as he was gazing at the wine bottle we had pulled out from under his desk a little too lovingly.

"This is the best fucking wine in the world," he established, then pointed at the label. "Remember this name brat. This will be the best thing you'll ever drink."

"…. I'm six," I stated.

"Was I offering you a drink, brat?" I shook my head again. He scoffed, then proceeded to put the bottle back wherever he first got it from (I was too cautious to look where that was. For all I know, he has a wine cooler under his desk, which he probably does, actually. I would not put it past him), only to pull out another wine bottle of a different brand. I watched as he drank straight from the bottle, shuffling my feet awkwardly.

He seemed to notice my discomfort, which caused him to raise another eyebrow at me (as was his way of communicating with me).

"Is that it?" I asked, deciding to talk first, to end the awkward stare-off we had engaged in. "Is that all you're going to teach me?"

"Was I a shitty teacher?" It was a dangerous question.

"No, it's just that…" I struggled, thinking of a good answer that wouldn't anger him. "I'm just impressed that you could teach me so much in so little time?"

My answer seemed to amuse him. He snorted, then took another drink of his bottle. I stared at him a while longer.

"Okay, then," I broke the silence, beginning to back away. "Thanks for the lesson? I'll be sure to tell Squalo you were a better teacher than him." He nodded in acknowledgement, barely sparing me a glance. I slipped out the door, closed it, and stood there blinking for a minute.

"Well," I muttered, "I guess I can put that on the ever-growing list of weird situations with Xanxus."

(but it was nice, wasn't it? In a weird way)

Walking down the stairs, heading to the kitchen with a sleepy demeanor and bedhead, the last thing I expected to find were numerous very, very, prettily made-up girls in the parlor. I stopped dead in my tracks and stared blankly at them. A few of them seemed to notice me.

"Aw, are you the little sister?" One bent down, cooing.

In normal circumstances, I would retaliate with my little girl charm, especially seeing that the others were beginning to notice me as well, but seeing that it was relatively early in the morning (the ungodly hour of nine) and I was extremely confused, I opted for getting out of the situation as soon as possible.

"Romario," I whined loudly as my face reddened, seeing his familiar face gently pushing his way through the dense crowd of women. His head turned toward me immediately, and he rushed to pick me up. Eventually, after pushing through the crowd once more, we managed to slip into Dino's office; the location where a majority of the girls seemed to have clustered around.

"Will someone please explain," Dino gritted, rubbing his temples and leaning back in his chair, "why all these girls here, saying that they all have a 'date' with me?" I looked around at the other men around me, who I knew were mostly responsible for scheduling Dino's appointments.

"Well…" Lino began, looking away awkwardly.

"This is actually kind of embarrassing boss," Santo inputted from my other side. "You're gonna laugh at this boss!" Santo laughed himself, attempting to lighten the mood. Dino's facial expression didn't change. Lino and Santo shared a glance, then sighed in defeat.

"You know how you told us that you didn't want to be troubled with all the date request from the daughters of small families?" Lino started. "But you also said that Mr. Reborn told you not to say no to those girls 'cause it would be rude?"

"A mafia boss should never be rude to the ladies," Reborn reminded Dino from where he was sitting on the corner of the desk. This caused Dino to grumble even more.

"I don't see where this is going, guys," He reminded them, leading the conversation back on track.

"See boss, we had a real dilemma on our hands," Santo picked up. "We had to say no to them, but we couldn't be rude to them for your sake. But then the princess here gave us a great idea."

I perked up at the mention of me, but then soon became worried.

"She came by one day, and saw that we were stressed. So, she asked about it and we told her our problem." I grew more and more worried as Santo continued, having no recollection of this conversation yet. "She had the great idea to schedule the dates on a day that didn't exists."

"And that day was….?" Dino asked, despite already knowing the answer himself.

"March 31st," Lino answered miserably. All eyes then turned to me.

"In my defense, I don't remember telling them-" I stopped, eyes widening. "Oh. Shit. Okay, I do remember this now. But, I seriously thought that March 31st was not actually a date."

"How did you not know it was a real date?!" Dino groaned, throwing his hands up.

"They didn't know either!" I argued, attempting to throw the blame back on Lino and Santo.

"You're the one who said it wasn't a date in the first place," my brother reminded me, "and now I have over 50 dates today, and I can't send them away or Reborn will kill me!"

"Dino, that really sounds like your prob-"

"You're the one at fault here!"

"Boss," Romaria stopped him, putting his hand on his Dino's shoulder. "I think we all should calm down, and face this problem with a cool head." Dino closed his eyes tightly, and let out a deep breath.

"Okay," he said, then repeated, "Okay. Now," He looked back around the room, "how do we fix this?"

"Since you can't say no to them-"

"Because that would be rude, Pipsqueak-Dino," Reborn interrupted Lino, with a malicious glint in his eyes. Dino shivered and Lino continued, shuddering a bit before doing so.

"Right. Since boss can't say no to them, why don't we just shift the responsibility to someone else? Put them in a position to say no."

"But whoever that person is, it would have to be someone that would be impossible to get mad at. The last thing we want is a bunch of angry girls on our hands," Romario inputted, "Which would lead to angry mafiosi fathers."

"So someone who can say no, but will be able to get away with it?" Dino mumbled, sending the other occupants of the room into a moment of deep thinking, excluding myself, simply because I considered myself to be in the clear and no longer involved. Which is why I was surprised to look up and see the others staring at me. I blinked sheepishly, beginning to feel uncomfortable again.

"…what?"

I swung my legs from the chair and stared lazily at the clipboard on Dino's desk, waiting, listening, as Romario acknowledged the large group right outside the door.

"Because he holds his little sister is such high regards and cares for her opinion so much, he will not be seeing anyone for a date until they pass the approval of his younger sister. He views this as important because he values her so."

I snorted and spun around in the chair out of boredom, having stopped listening as Romario began to direct them in some kind of order. I recalled the earlier conversation, describing my job for the day: reject all the dates, and act so adorable and innocent that they can't get mad at me or Dino. We all agreed (myself, reluctantly so) that this solved all the problems:

Dino wouldn't have to deal with anyone, I was cleaning up the mess I had made, and Reborn wouldn't have to kill his student. Although this wasn't the most exciting job in the world, I figured I could do this for Dino. And, there was the small fact that I did cause this whole thing, but I seriously believed with all my heart that the 31st of March did not exist (my bad, I guess).

I stopped spinning as I heard the door open and grabbed the clipboard and a pen, ready to take on the first wave of 'dates' for my brother.

(This, I decided, was going to be a long, long day)

"Do you like cats?"

"I love cats! They're just adorable!"

"Ah? Really?" I glanced up from my horribly drawn cartoon version of Squalo riding a shark. "I hate them." The girl's smile faltered.

"What's your favorite movie?" I moved on, moving on from my completed drawing of Squalo to start on a badly drawn cartoon version of Bel.

"I've always loved Il postino personally, because it truly expresses the beauty of poetr-"

"Sorry," I interrupted, getting another idea for a drawing of Lussuria instead of Bel, "The correct answer is The Rocky Horror Picture Show."

"And how old are you?" I tried not to stare at the obviously older woman sitting in front of me.

"Does age really matter? What truly matters is love!" She said dramatically.

"No," I corrected her, shaking my head. "Age matters. Age matters a lot. Especially since he's just 16. Next."

By the time the last girl came in, I had finished my picture of Lussuria and had added a picture of Bel as Wesley from The Princess Bride. What made me look up from my badly drawn master piece was the attitude of the last girl I was 'interviewing'. While all the others had immediately put off an air of eagerness to impress and win me over, this one was different.

There was a certain casualness and softness about her and the way she held herself; someone you wouldn't notice immediately, and yet were still somehow attracted to her demeanor. She walked with a grace and elegance I wasn't used to seeing, especially around Dino. She had a soft face with intelligent eyes and immediately gave a warm, but apologetic smile when she met my gaze.

"You're Cloud, right?" She was one of the few that had actually used my nickname. I nodded, and she continued. "I'm Gabriela. I'll be honest with you, I have no interest in getting to know your brother in the same way the others do. I came today so my father would stop bothering me about it," she admitted, with a small, ringing laugh.

"I would have left earlier," she admitted smoothly, "but I found an interesting book and began reading it while I was waiting," she explained, pulling a familiar book out from under her arm and putting it on the desk. "I had heard that the younger sister of the Cavallone heir was smart, but I did not expect to see her name on the inside of a medical book." She chuckled, which caused me to smile.

"It was a gift from Dino last year," I explained, grabbing the book and opening it to the inside of the cover, where Dino's (much improved since Reborn came) handwriting scrawled out a happy birthday note. "I asked him for more medical books since I had read all the ones in the library."

"That's very impressive for someone your age," Gabriela commented. "I was not at that level at your age, even though I started studying around that time."

"You study in the medical field?" She nodded gently.

"There wasn't much else for the younger sister of an heir to do. I stayed to talk to you because I thought you would remind me of myself as a child. I was right," She concluded with a gentle shrug, "I'm just glad I had gotten something besides my father off my back when I came here today."

My smile grew wider, and I reviewed the woman again.

"I'm glad you came too."

(A long day, but in the end? I had gained another friend)

(Maybe Dino will be happy that it wasn't a homicidal prince this time)

"The princess has become a lot more vibrant, don't you think?' A maid whispered to another.

"I saw her with a little boy the other day," the other responded, excitedly, "Perhaps the little princess has already found her prince?"

"Oh don't push that just yet!" the first scolded, shoving her friend's shoulder lightly, "Let them be children while they can! It's nice to see our princess acting her age, isn't it? To see her happy?"

(It was nice, to be happy)

AN:

I did not plan to, but I rewrote the entire Varia meeting thing. Why do I do this to myself. Wow, this chapter is so light and happy. Lmao. Old readers know what's coming next. Sorry if there are mistakes, I am hella tired and about to pass out. The Night Vale quote was oddly fitting for this chapter.

Hope you enjoyed!

Fun Fact: Cloud is beginning to curse more (Thanks Squalo) so anytime you see her curse and it's in italics, it's in another language (typically other than Italian).

Review Response:

Guest: Sigh to you too, cryptic reviewer whose review I do not know how to take. Sigh to you too. Thanks for the review!

-Evenly