Title: The Consultant

Rating: M

Summary: The Consultant is well known in the underworld, due to his impressive skills in strategy and analysis. One day, the mafia don of Vongola decided to hire him for training the next don of Vongola; the Vongola Decimo. In exchange of the information of his family and origins, Tsunayoshi accepts the job.

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR! This is merely a fanfiction.

Notes: Hello people. Today's chapter is more on Decimo's family and the problem that Tsuna will have to fix! Also, some Reborn interaction, 'cause why not?

That aside, I'm feeling much better about this fanfic. Writing it is not being as hard as I thought it would be. I wrote this all in a day, and hopefully I'll be able to keep up so I can at least update it once a week!

Thank you Natsuki Sawada for being the first one to review!

Observation: ENG is not my first language.

Chapter II - The Dark Sky

Maria was quick and efficient. On the next day, some Vongola staff were already wheeling in his suitcases and boxes. The tenth generation were gawking at the sheer number of things the brunet brought with him. In total, there were at least five suitcases being brought in. And as for the boxes… Well, there were more than he'd initially thought.

Tsunayoshi would make sure to clean some of his library and donate it to someone. For now, the twenty boxes were to be set inside the makeshift office Nono gave to him—as a welcome-gift.

The day had passed without anything suspicious. The tenth generation was left on their own routine—Reborn was still their main caretaker when it came to mafia lifestyle; which meant that the baby Arcobaleno had full control of their lives while they lived inside the Vongola estate. Tsunayoshi on the other hand, was left on his own. There was no routine, no obligation. But the man wanted to check inside the mansion for anything that might compromise him and his identity.

His main concern was Reborn. The Sun Arcobaleno was a problem on itself. However, the situation presented to him was not something he could work on. The contract mentioned his co-partnership with the baby hitman. Timoteo was clear when he explained the relationship between the Vongola heir and the hitman were to continue. Not that Tsunayoshi was particularly upset with it, considering Reborn would be a great tutor for Ienari—combat-wise. But there were a few things that concerned him.

Reborn is a well-known name in the mafia scene. And, fortunately for Tsunayoshi, that meant that he needed to search, live and breathe anything related to the baby hitman. It was part of his job as a consultant. Mostly because he needed to know how far the Arcobaleno would go to get the information he needs—and what kinds of jobs would he be willing to take. It all came into consideration whenever he had a client—he couldn't afford having Reborn in on his tail, disrupting his work.

For all the years Tsunayoshi had worked in the mafia, he had a pretty good grasp on how Reborn worked. Not all of it, because the man was good. But, Tsunayoshi himself was definitely not to be taken lightly.

He knew for a fact that Reborn would trust Timoteo's decision in bringing him into the famiglia—the hitman would never disrespect and old acquaintance. However, he also knew that Reborn would never let this mystery go for too long. The fact that even Ienari brought up the fact that, yes, Tsunayoshi was lying about his real identity, meant that Reborn would come digging onto it eventually.

For now, Reborn would do what Tsunayoshi dubs it as: the assessment. The hitman would be on his heels, watching his every move and action. He'd be judging his every decision and behaviour.

For that reason alone, Tsunayoshi had been wandering through the mansion, slowly gathering a few pieces of suspicious tech. In fact, his whole room had been bugged. A few cameras here and there were also found. But other than that, nothing too dangerous.

After the sweep he did around the mansion—with his own tweaking at its security measures—Tsunayoshi found himself mostly alone. He could hear explosions coming from the training grounds, which meant Reborn's routine was still ongoing. Having almost nothing left to do inside the mansion—besides organizing the books he brought inside—the brunet decides to check on the children.

"Baka-Ienari, don't stand there," Reborn's voice is fierce, but also full of mirth.

"Reborn!" A whine came from the blonde.

Tsunayoshi stared curiously at the group of teenagers. Ienari was wielding double daggers, both of which were embedded with wild Sky Flames. The blonde was sparring against his Cloud Guardian—who had tonfas ready to strike. The clash against the two was impressive, but even Tsunayoshi could see that Ienari was far behind Kyoya, when it came to experience and fighting technique. Still, despite that, the blonde was quite a handful at fighting, using his whole body against the opponent and being full of surprises.

Ienari wasn't entirely useless—the boy had been athletic and from the looks of it, he seems stretchy enough to do anything with his daggers. Kyoya, on the other hand, was a fighting genius, who just happened to be fighting since he was a child. Ienari simply had no chance—specially when the blonde seemed to hesitate whenever he found an opening in the raven's stance.

Soft, that was Ienari's problem. Even in combat his sympathy and naivety was a problem.

Kyoya took the advantage of it and quickly swept the blonde's legs with his own. The fight was quickly over. Ienari's flame dissipated from his forehead, and the boy was left on the floor wheezing.

Tsunayoshi sat down in one of the benches, ignoring Ienari for a moment. He had an idea of how he'd make the blonde see that being too naïve would be his downfall—a few mind games and one massive beat down would make the boy understand that he wouldn't survive in the mafia world. The question right now was whether his guardians were good.

Hayato, the silver-haired boy, was a good right-hand candidate. If his loyalty was anything to go by. Besides, the boy was known in the underworld as Smokin' Bomb Hayato. Tsunayoshi had heard of him a few times and knew of his abilities. However, he wanted to see if the boy had at least gotten any better from his previous stance.

Takeshi was taking on Hayato, with katana in hands. That boy was another good candidate, considering his sharp instincts. Nevertheless, for what he held on being a natural hitman, the boy was clueless when it came to mafia. It was as if he took everything as a game. It seemed unreal.

The two teens were matching each other's speed. Takeshi moving across Hayato's bombs, slicing them as he went. Good instincts, considering that getting to a close-combat situation would leave the silver-haired in a disadvantage. Tsunayoshi almost allowed himself to smile as Hayato threw a new batch of dynamites toward the Asian boy. Takeshi skidded on the ground, stopping himself from getting close. The bombs immediately on his tail. Impressive.

Except Takeshi had more hidden in his sleeve. The boy turned in a stance, muttering lowly to himself. Then, Rain Flames seemed to coat his sword, as the boy slashed the remaining bombs in a cross shape. Hayato cursed to himself, trying to get a distance while also charging his next batch of bombs. Takeshi was fast, however. The fight was over the moment Hayato had a katana down his throat, threatening to cut him open like a fish.

"I win," the Asian boy chuckled in amusement.

"Shut up, baseball-freak," the other teen cursed.

Both of the boys had good potential. Takeshi seemed to have the spotlight for now, but Tsunayoshi could see how Hayato's brain could be used in fast thinking combat. If only he had someone to push him toward the right spot. Alas, that would have to wait. His focus was Ienari first, guardians last.

Chrome was alone by herself, training some of her Mist Flames. Illusions surrounded her left and right. It was good practice, but the girl needed to learn how to fight against someone. All the while, Ryohei was also by himself, but training enthusiastically, punching the air with remnants of Sun Flames. Both teens training seemed rather useless compared to the rest, since none of them were gathering actual combat experience. One seemed to practice textbook illusions while the other only wanted to waste his massive flames.

"H-Hibari-san!" Ienari called out from his left. Tsunayoshi blinked at the sudden commotion.

Then, a bloodlust Kyoya appeared with tonfas ready, aiming for his head. Tsunayoshi barely batted an eye, quickly grabbing the end of the boy's tonfa, while coating his hand with Lightning Flames. All the while his free hand took the hidden handgun from inside his jacket and aimed it at the boy. Kyoya's eyes widened in surprise, although it was heavily masked by his sadistic smirk. The tonfa was now being pumped by the boy's feverous Cloud Flames, while Tsunayoshi's hands cackled with Lightning.

"Wao," the teen expressed.

"Hibari Kyoya, I suggest you drop your weapon," the brunet replied, adjusting his grip.

"Hibari-san, please stop!" Ienari approached, eyes brighter with his Sky Flames. Kyoya, however, seemed reluctant to obey. "Stop it!"

Only then did the raven drop his weapon. Tsunayoshi inwardly smiled, slightly approving of his new student's action. If Ienari wanted, he could control his guardians. That was good.

"I'm sorry, Morelli-san!" Ienari was quick to apologize.

"Don't worry about it," the brunet waved him off. "I shouldn't have been here in the first place. It's my fault," he explains. Which, technically, it is true. And, sparing a glance at Reborn, he thinks he is correct. The hitman didn't seem that pleased with his presence there.

Although, looking back at the baby's expression, Tsunayoshi could see the linger of curiosity in his eyes. Reborn was just as curious about his abilities as he was about the tenth generation's. It was quite funny.

Ienari's flame dissipate once more, leaving the blonde more soft-looking. The teen looked upset and embarrassed. Tsunayoshi could see where it came from. Obviously, after the introduction they had in the day before, it wasn't that surprising that the blonde would be feeling guilty and wary of his own actions around the brunet. Probably because the soon-to-be boss didn't want his new tutor to know how lame he actually was—which wasn't all true. Despite his naivety, Ienari had the potential, and it had just been proven to him the moment the blonde stepped in to make Kyoya back down.

"Don't look so sad, Ienari," the brunet sighed. "I said you have potential to get better. And this was mostly Kyoya's fault," he taps the blonde's forehead. "You were good enough in taming him to back off. Don't worry."

The blonde seemed to be starstruck. Maybe this was Tsunayoshi's fault for being harsh on him in the first day. He didn't regret it, though. Despite it leaving some kind of scarring at the teenager, Tsunayoshi believed that being sincere and realistic helped people realize their own mistakes. In this case, it would help shape Ienari into a decent mafia boss.

"Alright, training is done for the day," Reborn's voice was loud enough to bring everyone's attention to him. "Go back to the mansion."

Ienari spared one last glance at the brunet, almost as if wanting to talk about something—maybe thank the brunet for complimenting him. However, he decided against it. Soon the tenth generation left the training grounds, leaving only Reborn and Tsunayoshi.

The brunet only spared a glance at the hitman and he immediately got the message. They would need to talk. Possibly about their student's routine. Tsunayoshi wasn't looking forward to that.

Not that he was afraid of the hitman, but because he was afraid of him finding out who he really is. There is no doubt that the hitman knows about Leone Morelli being a fake name. And, he personally thinks that, with enough digging, the hitman could find out who he really was in the mafia scene.

Timoteo hadn't said anything about letting the tenth generation know who he is. But, personally, Tsunayoshi wanted some kind of peace. And Reborn was anything but that.

He couldn't help the grimace coming to his face as he watched the baby hitman walk towards the mansion. First day on the job and he already had to confront the Arcobaleno.

~x~

"How was your day, Leone?" The hitman greeted him as soon as they both sat down in his make-shift office. Not that Reborn seemed comfortable with the thought of staying inside someone else's office—he only ever trusted Nono, and no one else.

Tsunayoshi, however, thought it'd be best to make use of this space for important matters. The office was full of boxes—courtesy of yours truly—and pretty much dusty. He would have to clean it and make it seem at least presentable. For now, both of them would have to endure the awkward, unclean place.

"It was great, Reborn," he smiles gently at the baby. "I suppose yours has been good, too, no?"

"It was decent," the hitman grunted.

The small talk was unbearable. Tsunayoshi held in a grimace, while he glanced at his now co-worker. Reborn seemed to think the same. At least they had something in common.

"What is it that you want to talk to me?" He went right into what mattered. Reborn seemed to appreciate it.

"My—our routine," it seemed as though Reborn wasn't pleased in working with another tutor.

"Well, my tutoring is more on the psychological sense," he explained. "I don't particularly need Ienari's time. I just ask that you let me be around trainings and such to serve as a support."

"That sounds reasonable," Reborn nodded. "What do you think of Ienari?"

What do you think of my work?, was the actual question.

"He can be better," the brunet confessed. "Not your fault, though. It's just that the boy is—"

"Soft," the hitman interrupts. Tsunayoshi narrows his eyes, as if challenging the baby to interrupt him again. Reborn smirks. The game is on.

"The naivety from the tenth generation is impressive. I'm sure that in these two years you drilled into their heads each of their roles," the brunet sighs. "But I don't think any of them are prepared to deal with the real world, yet. There's something else too... But I need more time to confirm it."

"Alright. What are you thinking?" Reborn seemed to respect the brunet a little bit more. Maybe it was the fact that both hitman and consultant seemed to understand the situation with Vongola Decimo. It was a bond over their student. A bond between tutors.

"Hands-on experience."

"Nono won't like the idea."

"I don't think he has a choice," the brunet shrugged.

"I can sort that out. As long as you start your job immediately," the hitman smirked, challenging the brunet.

"Of course," Tsunayoshi smiled, however, the smile was cold and cynical. "As long as you keep up with me, we won't have any problems, baby."

Reborn kept a mask over his face, but Tsunayoshi could see the small twitch on the hitman's hand. Annoyance. It was immediately hidden by a frightening smile.

"Don't worry about it, amateur," the hitman spat.

"Oh, is the baby upset that I'm taking his place as a tutor?" The brunet chuckles, getting up from his chair. The talk was pretty much done.

"I'm the only tutor here," the hitman follows the brunet out of the office.

"So mature," the other deadpans.

~x~

"What are you doing?" Ienari peered up, curious. It was his new tutor. Leone was staring at him, with a strange sense of warmth in his glinting eyes. "Your guardians are in the dinner table eating, waiting for you."

Ienari bit his lips and turned away. The mansion's garden was far more interesting than being inside. As of now, he didn't want to communicate with anyone. Mostly because of the words there were said to him the other day. Leone had really snapped something inside him—as if waking him up from a long dream. As if this whole mafia was finally turning to something real and dangerous. As if everything they'd been through—Mukuro and Xanxus—were nothing but a warmup.

The young teen didn't want it to get worse. Neither did he want it to become serious. Ienari never took the mafia as a joke… far from it. The moment Reborn introduced himself and explained his actual job as a tutor, Ienari felt as if his whole life shifted and turned a one-eighty. The training sessions he had gone through—the spartan lifestyle his tutor took; the cliffs he climbed; the ocean he swam; the multiple Dying Will bullets he took. He took it all in, because he didn't want to disappoint anyone. And, if he was weak, then he would never be able to protect the ones he love.

His father, Iemitsu, was a useless man. Never present in his life, nor his mother's. Nana had grown more and more distant with everything. Becoming more of an air-head woman, completely oblivious to everything. It was hard to see her act like that. Age seemed to be getting onto her as well—she looked tired. Ienari couldn't afford to be a failure. He needed to be strong. He needed to lead his generation and Vongola to a better spot and take over. He needed to protect those he loved.

Except, nothing seemed to make sense, now. Or rather, things had started to make too much sense.

The reason he would never be at his full potential; the reason his guardians were slowly drifting away. His sky was slowly becoming empty—lonely. It was all his fault. He couldn't meet anyone's expectations. His father didn't care at all, not even looking at him when he finally got to Italy for his camp training. Nono was so disappointed, in fact, that he felt the need to hire yet another tutor to bring him to the right path.

As if everything he'd done, everything he went through, meant nothing at the eyes of everyone. Nono thought he was weak and unfit to rule over Vongola. His father was too busy with CEDEF to actually pay attention to his only son. And Reborn… well, his tutor seemed even more disappointed to have such a useless student.

Everything seemed to fit now. All the pieces were connected.

The reason why Gokudera now looked at him with those strange eyes—no longer worshipping, or admiring; but demanding his boss to do something. As if he wasn't worthy. As if his sky wasn't as strong as he once thought.

The reason why Yamamoto looked at him with pain—not as carefree as he once was. The raven's eyes seemed to hold much more troubling feelings than before. As if Ienari saving him, two years ago, meant absolutely nothing. Because, in the end, Yamamoto was still faking everything.

The reason why Ryohei seemed to be less enthusiastic about things—because his life was finally turning into a nightmare; because Ienari brought him into the mafia. As if his sun suddenly realized that he was shining for the wrong purposes.

The reason why Hibari looked at him with disdain—the boy who once called him 'Omnivore' suddenly changing to his roots and dubbing him a 'weak Herbivore'. As if the cloud didn't recognize its sky's strength.

The reason why Chrome seemed to be more and more distant—because for her, the only person who needed and deserved her was Mukuro and no one else. As if all those days of trying to have a friendship with the girl went down the drain.

The reason why Mukuro didn't trust him, at all—because, Vongola Decimo was turning more and more into the mafiosi he despised; because Ienari was excluding Chrome as his mist. As if the whole fight back in Kokuyo Land wasn't more than just… a fight.

All because Ienari became more and more focused on being the best. Because his whole life was now spinning around him being Vongola Decimo. And, if he wasn't like Nono, or his father, then who would he be? He had no direction. He was just useless.

"I'm not that hungry, Morelli-san," the blonde mutters.

"We're not in Japan, Ienari, drop the honorifics," the older man huffs, deciding to sit right next to him.

"Don't you need to unpack… or something like that?"

"Avoiding your tutor, aren't you?" The brunet smirked, reminiscing Ienari of his other tutor—the spartan one. "Don't worry, I got some time. So, what's on your mind?"

"I don't—"

"Ienari," the older man called. Ienari turned to stare at his new tutor, slightly afraid. Except Leone seemed to be calm, warm and inviting. Accepting. "I'm not Reborn. I'm not here to train you physically. I'm here to help you mentally," he taps on the boy's forehead as emphasis.

"But…" Ienari struggled, trying to understand what was the deal with that man. He first belittles him in front of everyone, and now he is seemingly trying to… befriend him. It's very confusing. And the blonde doesn't know if he can trust it.

"We don't need to be friends," the brunet then turns towards the dark sky. "All I ask you is that you are honest with me, but mostly yourself."

"What does that mean?" Ienari furrows his brows, confused.

"It means that, you don't need to pretend with me," the brunet then smiles. Ienari doesn't know why, but he feels… safer. "I know what I said yesterday. And I still mean it. You are weak. But, as I said today, I do see the potential. You just need someone who believes in you," Leone explains.

"That's—Morelli-san, this is absurd," the blonde narrows his eyes, slightly irritated. "You're contradicting yourself. If I'm weak, then—"

"Then you get stronger," Leone turns to stare at him. Those chestnut, brown eyes glistering with a tint of orange. "I'm willing to help you, but you need to be honest with yourself. So, let me ask you this: what kind of person do you want to be?"

"Huh?" Ienari splutters. Not 'what kind of boss' or 'what kind of Vongola Decimo you wish to be' but 'what kind of person'. A human being. The blonde's eyes widened at the thought.

"Take that as our first lesson," the brunet then gets up. "This feeling you have—this sense of worthlessness—is good. But you can't turn it into negative thoughts. I humiliated you in front of everyone to prove a point," Ienari grimaces at the memory. "All you need to do is take my words and twist it to your own wish. Prove me wrong. Prove everyone wrong."

With that, Leone walks out of the garden, leaving a puzzled Ienari alone. Slowly, the candle of resolve seemed to burn a little brighter inside of the Vongola heir.

Tsunayoshi smiles at himself, feeling the sky flames from his student from miles away.

~x~

The dinner table is full when Ienari comes through the doors. It's impressive, really. Tsunayoshi observes the blonde sitting down at one of the chairs. The air around the guardians is slightly heavy—as if the stakes are higher.

Tsunayoshi had spent the rest of the day watching the tenth generation. After the training session, the guardians and Ienari were free to do whatever they pleased. Which led him to watch their behaviour among themselves.

A conclusion he ended up reaching by the end of the day—which had led him to talk to Ienari a moment ago—was that the Sky was crumbling. The disconnection between guardians and their leader was blatant. Of course, through a light check, they could pass as a normal group of teenagers who just joined the mafia. Hell, even Tsunayoshi thought about that the moment he saw them—far too good to be true, with the way they acted with each other.

At first he didn't realize, but Ienari's guardians weren't close at all. If anything, it seemed that the only bond they had was that they shared the same duty—and their connection with Reborn. Gokudera disliked pretty much everyone besides Ienari—and even that was slightly untrue, considering his slow detachment to his sky.

Yamamoto was too caught up in his own mind, usually pretending to be something he wasn't. He was forced to go through the mafia path, but he never came into peace with that. And he blamed Ienari for not being as encompassing and welcoming as he wished. Ryohei was pretty much a civilian forced into the mafia, just like Yamamoto. But the difference was that the Sun was slowly losing its brightness, due to him leaving his family behind. Ryohei was becoming bitter with each day, slowly regretting his choices.

Hibari was never Ienari's, as much as Reborn wanted it to happen. The Cloud was far too unruly to obey to anyone. And even if the boy had given the blonde a chance, Ienari never took an actual stance. Far too busy with his own problems and expectations, the blonde forgot to bond with his Cloud and provide a sense of freedom with the other teen. The Cloud felt claustrophobic, having to leave the place he loves for the sake of mafia—just because Ienari was entitled enough to bring Hibari with him.

Mukuro and Chrome were their own family. And Ienari neglected it as much as he neglected himself. It didn't matter that Chrome needed a bit more than just boss-to-subordinate relationship. Despite the fact that she needed a friend who she could rely on, Ienari only saw her as an asset to his journey to become Vongola Decimo. And Mukuro, being who he was, despised him. Because, the one boy who had the potential to become something entirely different than those mafiosi who tortured him, was now becoming exactly like them.

Lambo was still too young to understand harmonizing and bonding. But the boy also felt it within himself. The fact that Ienari only dragged him along because Reborn had brought Lambo as his Lightning. There was no bond in there. Because Ienari only ever saw the Lightning as a child. And that also pushed Lambo away.

As for Ienari himself… well, the blonde needed to get off those shackles. Tsunayoshi could see the heavy weight on the boy's shoulder. The number of expectations set by both Vongola, Reborn and himself were killing him. The Sky was bound by limitations and subpar expectations, when in reality, a Sky should be whatever they want—a vast, encompassing Sky, taking in everything and protecting those close, but striking back if needed.

Ienari was being held off by stupid people—i.e., the boy's father and Nono—and being forced to follow the path of the mafia without any consideration. He needed to wake up and realize who he wanted to be. Which was something Tsunayoshi had already started working on.

It had been a small talk, but he believed it would make the blonde realize something. It might take some time, but he believes that the Sky will be freed—and so will be his elements.

Tsunayoshi spared another glance at the table, watching how awkward they were together. It would change. It would change even if Tsunayoshi had to die. And that was his Dying Will.