"Mu. Time is money Fon. Do not waste mine," said Viper crossly.

"I have information that might be able to get Nono and Iemitsu in a lot of trouble and possibly give your boss a chance to get out of the ice. If that doesn't work, I have a Sky who would be willing to help free him, no questions asked."

"What's in it for you?" said Viper suspiciously.

"Iemitsu has indirectly pissed me off with his inaction and the Sky in question is also the one who's managed to harmonize with my grandson," said Fon.

"Mu. What's the information?" asked Viper.

"Are you aware that by the Vongola's own laws that the External Adviser cannot hold any post save for adviser, as it would create a conflict of interest?" said Fon.

"What."

"Iemitsu is violating Vongola law as set down by the Primo, as is Nono because he was the one to appoint the fool to both of his posts. Which means that if said information were to happen to reach the ears of the allies along with hints of what really happened to Xanxus and why, it might force Nono to release him to save face and make Iemitsu step down from one of his positions. Federico would be next to useless as Decimo and better served elsewhere."

Viper stared at him, before a smirk appeared. They almost felt the urge to cackle.

This information was worth Fon's original weight in gold!

"I would recommend finding the original laws so that you can cite the source and prove you're not making it up," said Fon.

"Naturally, they won't believe us otherwise," said Viper. They were practically giddy... the Ninth generation had pissed them off enough and this was a very amusing way to strike a blow against them that they would find almost impossible to counter for. By their own actions they were going against laws set by the Primo!

This might be the perfect chance to free their boss and get their Sky back.

Tsukiyo didn't know what Fon told Ieyasu, but he had started to train her seriously in how to use her flames. To be more specific, he had decided to switch off using her Hyper Dying Will mode and focus more on a technique he called the 'Zero Point Breakthrough'.

Which was basically all about reaching a 'null' state with her flames to the point it allowed her to create ice out of fire. It was exhausting, having to switch between Hyper Dying Will mode back to the 'standby' phase until she was able to reach the 'ice' stage.

Giotto was therefor very surprised and rather pleased when she was able to not only pick up on it after a month of intense training on the weekends, but improve on the attack to the point she could absorb his Flames and use them against him.

However it was what Giotto gave her for her fifteenth birthday that had her smiling.

The history books and the Vongola will all say that Giotto split the Vongola rings to keep the power contained.

That was a lie. Giotto managed to track down Talbot and make a second copy of the true Vongola rings that came with their own back door, except he never told his cousin about it. Daemon had no idea that Talbot had confiscated the Mist ring he held and switched it with the new 'copy' ring and gave the real one to Giotto. Lampo hadn't cared one way or another as he stayed in Italy with his family...but he was still Giotto's lightning Guardian.

Giotto had contacted Talbot for a third time...and commissioned something that was both practical and acceptable for a young woman to carry. And, as an added benefit allowed her to use her Flames without her gloves, at least until he thought she was ready to handle them.

After all, his gloves were attached to the original rings and he did not want the idiots currently in charge of the Vongola to learn she had them. Especially since she didn't have even half of her Guardians yet.

Tsukiyo held the watch/music box in her hands with a wide smile on her face that brightened the room.

Though the second she heard the song playing inside she had to punch her brother in the arm.

"I knew letting you play around with my phone was going to haunt me. Why did you pick the 'Song of Healing' from Tangled?" she asked.

Giotto mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that?"

"It was the only one that suited you and fit the space available. Talbot had to borrow the odd device you left here in order to get it made, but as long as it's wound the song will play when the watch opens. It's also nearly indestructible."

"Well I love it. Thank you Ieyasu-nii," she said, kissing him firmly on the cheek.

It was a simple pocket watch that didn't need batteries or flames to run. You had to keep it wound and it needed to be done at least twice a month. The outside of it had an etching of a crescent moon with a branch of Sakura blossoms that looked as though the moon was overlooking a tree. The casing was made from a rust-resistant metal that could channel Flames...or hide them. The watch face itself was made from the same metal and the numbers attached were all Roman numerals. Inside the inner part of 'lid' was a picture of Tsukiyo with Giotto and the others. The chain was made of the same metal as the watch and could be clipped easily to a belt loop.

Once opened, the music part of the watch would begin to play the "Song of Healing" from the movie Tangled (Giotto hadn't seen it but he had liked the song when Tsukiyo let him play around with the music app on her phone) on a loop until the watch closed. However playing it for too long would make it run slow until it was wound again.

All in all it was a very expensive gift considering the materials and not something Giotto could pay for on his own at the moment.

Oddly, Talbot had waived the idea of payment, stating he'd bill the Vongola later for it.

Giotto could only hope Ricardo didn't track him down for that and yell at him for somehow using up so much of the Vongola's funds. Considering what his cousin had done to his group, he could honestly care less if he did track him down.

(On an unrelated note, Iemitsu was hit with a truly impressive bill that came straight from Talbot who refused to elaborate on what it was for, only that the debt owed by his ancestor had given the ring-smith quite a bit of incentive to tack on several fees and fines for waiting to so long to pay up for a simple commissioned piece. Viper, when they found out the full story, would deny losing their cool and laughing their ass off for several straight hours or snickering evilly whenever they even thought of Iemitsu after that.)

Tsukiyo happily returned to her own time...only to be completely caught off guard by the fact Kyouya more or less hijacked her and took her straight to TakeSushi.

"I...what?" she said surprised.

"You really didn't think we'd leave you all alone on your birthday did you?" grinned Takeshi.

"How did you know..."

"Kyouya," said Takeshi, as if it were obvious. "That and Tatsuya confirmed it."

"Happy birthday, Tsu-nee!" said her happy little brother. The eight year old was just glad that his sister finally had someone to remember her birthday properly. Once again their mother had forgotten it.

If her smile at the minor party Ieyasu and his friends always had was bright, this one was significantly brighter.

Of course the fun she had at the party was almost replaced with embarrassment when Takeshi tripped and landed almost on top of her, with his lips against hers.

Takeshi blinked as his dad cracked up.

"Tsuna... you're a girl?"

Tsuyoshi laughed even harder at the baffled tone in his son's voice.

"It's Tsukiyo, actually. And there's a very specific reason I keep my gender quiet," she replied, face red from blushing.

That was a hell of a way to lose her first kiss.

Kyouya growled, and to the open amusement of a laughing Fon and Tsuyoshi, placed a possessive kiss on her lips, causing her blush to completely take over her face.

"Mine."

"Tsu-nee has two boyfriends!" said Tatsuya grinning, which only set Fon and Tsuyoshi off again.

"They're not my boyfriends!" she said quickly.

Kyouya's possessive growl indicated otherwise, either that or he was being really territorial at the moment.

Fon was highly amused for multiple reasons...and also dancing in his head because if this developed any further he was likely to have great-grandchildren to spoil sometime in the future.

He was very much a sucker for kids.

That being said Fon was the one to quietly enlighten Takeshi and his father as to why Tsukiyo went by the name "Tsuna" and hid her actual gender. He was rather pleased by the protective spark in the younger Rain's eyes, even if he wasn't Active just yet.

Tsukiyo had literally saved him from his own crippling depression. She saw the person underneath the mask he used every day and accepted him. She was completely unafraid of the darkness in his soul that created the dark thoughts that kept creeping in his head after a really bad day.

So hearing the slightly edited version of why she pretended to be a boy really pissed him off. Especially since he could openly admit to himself that she did have a valid reason for having that fear, considering how much of a loner she was until recently.

On the plus side, Fon was more than happy to trade numbers and share information...within limits. Nothing too sensitive, but general knowledge was acceptable.

Red eyes opened and they were pissed. For all of ten seconds, before he registered who was in front of him.

"Rico?"

"Hey little brother. When your Mist sets out to completely make someone's life miserable they don't mess around..." said Federico nervously.

He was wearing the patch that stated in no uncertain terms he was the head of CEDEF.

"What the fuck happened while I was out?" demanded Xanxus.

"Um... long story short Nono and Iemitsu have been breaking more than a few of the original laws set by the Primo because no one has bothered to actually read them? Hell, Nonna shouldn't have had to fight both her brothers to take the Sky ring, according to what we found."

Xanxus tried to move. He was still firmly stuck.

"I was only able to melt the part around your head. Viper has a lead on a potential Sky who can do the whole thing, but Fon is being unusually cagey about who it is. They're definitely Vongola though."

Xanxus glared at him.

"So why are you now CEDEF?"

Federico winced.

"Did you know that according to the Primo's own laws, the External Adviser is not allowed to have any post save for that of the Adviser?"

Xanxus stared.

"Apparently when Nono gave Iemitsu both positions to insure he didn't try to stake his own claim in Vongola succession he violated our own laws and someone told Fon about it, who then informed Viper. As a result... well I've been spending the past three months untangling CEDEF since Talbot showed up with a very large bill and told me the rings would only retaliate if I attempted to put them on. Apparently there's another heir that the ghost of the previous Dons like better, and we've been attempting to track down who it is."

"...Why would Talbot come armed with a bill?"

"Apparently the Primo commissioned some sort of special watch for his 'little sister' that came equipped with a looped music box and was made with entirely Flame-treated metal. You know how much that stuff costs, and since Ricardo refused to pay the bill Talbot waited until a descendant of the Primo was part of the Vongola before he decided to spring it on us again. The thing is, since it's been several hundred years there's been all sorts of fines and overdue fees tacked on the bill, and he's made it clear that Nono can't pay up the bill since Ricardo refused to pay it the first time."

Xanxus' jaw gaped.

"Are you telling me that Iemitsu has to pay Talbot an enormous amount of money for something the Primo did? And that old fucker can't bail him out?"

"Mammon hasn't stopped laughing since they were there when the bill was presented, and they still cackle every time someone brings up Iemitsu."

Xanxus began to shake...before a deep belly aching laugh erupted from him. He could only imagine how bad Iemitsu was hit. That metal was fucking expensive and Talbot didn't come cheap.

That was just the sort of thing he needed to snap him out of his mindless rage.

Not only was someone knocking Iemitsu down several pegs, but the ass would have a good chunk of his savings taken out because of the Primo!

"Wait... the Primo had a sister?"

"Fon seemed openly amused when it was mentioned, and I'm pretty sure he knows more than we do on the matter."