Fon observed Tsubasa-chan and her brother. Tatsuya acted like a normal boy without any of the same 'tells' his sister gave off. He was clearly a Flame Latent, which really begged the question why his twin sister went active before he did. Tsubasa made a point to include her brother in any activity that would only benefit him...she did her best not to exclude her twin from anything.
Kyouya wouldn't know anything was wrong until the girl slipped up, but considering some of the rumors Fon had heard of the Bovino famiglia and their attempts at time travel, the more a crazy idea started to form in his head.
Tsubasa was a bit too competent for an eight-year-old girl in martial arts. And her grasp on her Flames were too natural to come from anything but long, hard training in how to use them. Not to mention the way she acted around Kyouya.
All of it spoke of years of repeated interaction with his nephew. The only reason Fon didn't act on his suspicions was because there was an open sense of fondness towards Kyouya. And a deep resolve in her eyes that said volumes of the lengths she would go to keep him safe if something happened.
Fon wanted to ask her if she knew the future...except any questions he may have had died when her 'father' showed up and realized she was an Active Sky.
Iemitsu Sawada reacted poorly, to say the least.
Within a few hours he had his two children and his wife bustled onto the first plane to Italy, without telling them anything.
Fon frowned.
"Kyouya, how would you like to go to Italy to find your hime?" asked Fon.
Honestly, how exactly had Iemitsu missed the fact Fon was there watching the entire thing, much less that the girl was Active already? Then again, he couldn't recall a single instance when he had seen or heard Tsubasa and Tatsuya's father in the home, and he had visited a few times already. There were hardly any pictures of the man.
Kyouya frowned.
"Give me one good reason."
"Your hime is in another country full of carnivores that will almost certainly target her the first chance they have if they realize she's there, without anyone to keep them off her," said Fon without hesitation.
Kyouya was already packing a single backpack, while his mother gave a white lie to the school to explain a two-week absence. Hibird was chirping cheerfully while it flew around his head.
In Italy
Tsubasa was on guard the second Iemitsu declared a holiday in Italy. She knew Fon was watching, and hoped he had the sense to bring Kyouya.
Considering he knew full well Kyouya was starting to drift in her Sky, it was almost certain he'd bring his nephew to find her once he figured out something was wrong. She never missed a training session.
Iemitsu clearly realized she was Active and was either planning to seal her, or would alert Nono to get her trained.
Considering the jackass was an idiot of the highest order and hadn't realized she was already gathering Guardians, she was betting on the former.
Still, this was an opportunity she wasn't about to miss.
"Can I hug you?" she asked with wide, sparkly eyes upon spotting Lal Mirch.
The former COMSUBIN trainer glared at Iemitsu for having to endure the indignity of being turned into a living teddy bear for an eight year old. Nana just cooed at them.
Lal was not a happy camper at all. She barely tolerated kids in general.
"Ne, onee-san, where did you get those cool glasses?" asked Tsubasa innocently.
It took Lal a few seconds to register what Tsubasa called her.
"Onee-san?" asked Lal, turning to look at the girl.
"You look like a really cool, responsible older sister," said Tsubasa innocently.
For some reason, Lal felt herself relaxing in the girl's presence. Something, perhaps old instincts as a soldier, demanded that she stick close to the baby Sky who kept her Flames close and didn't let them drift too close to the broken Arcobaleno.
Iemitsu was up to something and she had the distinct feeling it wouldn't be a good thing for his daughter.
So it was with some surprise when she saw the girl expertly sneak out of the Vongola mansion and leave the grounds without being spotted once.
Lal Mirch was on her shoulder in a heartbeat.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Anywhere that jackass isn't," said Tsubasa without hesitation or remorse. Lal raised an eyebrow.
"Where did you hear that word? And who are you referring to?"
"The jackass, aka my 'father'," said Tsubasa, using a very sarcastic tone the second she said 'father'. "I'm not about to trust a man who makes Mama cry so much and is never there."
Lal wanted to defend her boss, almost. Except she knew damn well Nono gave Iemitsu plenty of opportunities to visit his family and he NEVER took them, save for once in a blue moon to prove he 'cared' about them. And he had yet to stay longer than a week, if that.
She might not have had a chance to be a parent or have a normal relationship after being cursed...but even she would openly admit Iemitsu totally had this sort of animosity coming.
Still...
"It's a bit dangerous for a little girl to wander alone around Italy, especially in a big city," said Lal neutrally, settling onto her shoulder properly.
"But I'm not alone," said Tsubasa, looking at Lal fully. "I have Onee-san with me."
Lal almost flinched at the sheer power behind those orange-tinted eyes. The girl was an Active Sky and Lal had the distinct feeling this kid knew what Flames were. There was a large amount of trust and resolve in her eyes.
"Besides, I have the feeling Kyouya-kun will show up sooner rather than later, and we should probably be there to greet him. Odds are his uncle will take him to the air port closest to the mansion," said Tsubasa.
"Who's Kyouya?"
"He's a grumpy guss who's likes to pretend he's a carnivore!" said Tsubasa cheerfully. "He's got this adorable little bird named Hibird that cheers him on when he bites people."
Lal stared. She wasn't even going to try and decipher that.
For several hours, Lal ended up playing an inadvertent tour guide of sorts (Tsubasa apparently spoke Italian, which made things so much easier) and dodging the increasingly frantic Vongola searching for the missing girl.
Lal was openly disgusted when she saw no less than twelve CEDEF agents walk right past them and not even register her presence on the girl's shoulder. She was going to make them all undergo training from hell to make up for such negligence.
Then again she was completely unaware of the fact that to their eyes, she was a rather odd looking bird on the shoulder of a plain looking female that was easily dismissed.
Mukuro would be so proud/amused at the way Tsubasa was making the "dirty mafioso" run in circles trying to find her.
Lal didn't even ask when Tsubasa made a beeline straight for the air port. At least not until her pacifier started glowing.
"Hello little one. I see you've made an interesting friend," said a familiar voice.
"Fon-sensei!" said Tsubasa happily. "Kyouya-kun!"
"Hmph. You better have a good explanation for leaving, hime," said Kyouya unamused.
Tsubasa made a face.
"The jackass dragged us to Italy without even a proper explanation and keeps thinking I haven't figured out he's up to something. Onee-san here has been keeping me company while the men who work with the jackass have been playing hide and seek with us!"
Fon blinked at the way she called her father such a derogatory nickname without even a second thought. Then again, he had yet to see anything that proved Iemitsu was a proper father to begin with. Then he registered what Tsubasa called Lal Mirch and grinned.
"Big sister?" he repeated.
"Shut up! It's not like I could let a kid wander around Italy without keeping an eye on her!" said Lal blushing.
Fon chuckled.
"So you've been playing hide and seek with people who work with your father?"
"They're really bad at it. They keep missing us when we're right in front of them," said Tsubasa with a straight face. "I think Onee-san is going to make them do a lot of running when they finally find us."
Seeing the expression on Lal's face, Fon openly snorted. A lot of running was putting it very mildly from her irritation.
It took the Vongola three hours before they finally found the missing girl.
Lal Mirch was quick to jump on her subordinates for missing the kid when she was right in front of their damn faces with her on the girl's shoulder. They were too busy cowering in the face of the irate woman to dare ask why there was now two extra children with the girl. Fon was very good at disguises, though not as good as Reborn.
It took a lot to surprise the Vongola's Ninth boss...but apparently little Tsubasa-chan was a natural at it.
She managed to disappear for over half a day, evading many, many patrols out to find her...only to reappear near dinner with what could only be her Cloud Guardian. A boy who looked far too much like the Storm Arcobaleno to be a coincidence.
It took him a few seconds to register a second 'child' in her arms. One that was too calm and just the right size for an Arcobaleno.
There really wasn't much of a leap in logic to guess which one, considering the Cloud next to the girl.
"Fon, I take it?" he inquired.
The 'child' removed the hat and glasses, but didn't bother to leave Tsubasa's arms.
"My nephew needed a proper minder...and a translator. We weren't expecting Tsubasa-hime to be waiting for us already at the air port. I must say that it took your men far too long to notice us once we left the air port."
"Can I assume that your...nephew...is Tsubasa-chan's Cloud?"
"He's already past the beginning stages of harmonizing with her," said Fon evenly. "Once he's fully Active I have little doubt he'll form a full bond."
Nono hummed. Iemitsu had practically demanded that he seal his daughter the second he learned the girl had active Sky Flames.
However it was much more dangerous to seal a Sky that was already in the process of calling Guardians to her. Especially with an indirect connection to the Arcobaleno.
Tsubasa yawned, as the strain of maintaining the illusions on top of wandering around Palermo with something close to an escort took it's toll on her. Kyouya was looking sleepy as well, since jet lag was starting to catch up to him.
Timoteo chuckled.
"Perhaps it would be best if the little ones ate first before heading to bed. It's been a very...eventful...day for them after all."
It didn't escape him that the little princess stayed very close to her Cloud, even going so far as to cuddle with the disgruntled boy who just let her.
Later that night...
Iemitsu snuck into the room, to drag his daughter before Nono to have her Flames sealed. A civilian didn't need them, and it was better that she wasn't awake for it.
He was not expecting an attack from a pissed off, sleep-deprived Cloud/Mist with a pair of tonfas.
"Fake carnivore, for waking me up I will bite you to death," snarled the brat.
What the hell was this kid doing in the room Nono had told him his daughter was in?!
It took a lot of his skills to avoid having his head caved in, so he completely missed the vindictive and happy look on his daughter's face as she promptly pulled the Storm Arcobaleno closer.
Fon had found himself the impromptu teddy bear of the surprisingly quick Tsubasa who had snagged him while half asleep after she visited the bathroom.
She was smiling openly at the sight of her 'father' having to defend himself from her irate Cloud Guardian for waking him up simply by getting too close.
"Go back to sleep, little hime," said Fon.
"This is why I snuck out and waited for you two to come," she said hugging him close. "I really don't trust that man."
Kyouya came in looking very irritable, but plopped down back where he was before. He tried very hard not to blush at the chaste kiss on the cheek Tsubasa gave him for driving Iemitsu away from her.
Fon smirked.
"Who or what is that brat in my daughter's room?!" demanded Iemitsu. He was bruised and battered, with his right arm broken in two places.
"It would seem little Tsubasa-chan has already begun calling strong Guardians to her," said Timoteo chuckling. It was very clear Iemitsu had gotten on the wrong end of the little girl's Cloud.
"I don't care about that! I want that boy far from my little princess and her Flames sealed!" said Iemitsu irate.
Timoteo frowned at the tone.
"No."
"No?" repeated Iemitsu incredulous.
"Are you really that much of an idiot? I can see why the girl called you a braying jackass," said Lal.
"She what?!"
Timoteo looked at Lal Mirch questioningly.
"The little princess never called Iemitsu her father. She only referred to him as 'jackass' when asked about what she knew of him. She refuses to see him as her father citing that he was never around and made her mother cry far too often," said Lal. She scowled at Iemitsu. "And you're a complete idiot if you think Fon would allow you to seal her Flames at this stage."
Iemitsu blinked.
"What does the Storm Arcobaleno have to do with this?"
"The boy you ran into is his nephew...and last I saw, Tsubasa-hime was cuddling with Fon as a makeshift teddy bear earlier," said Timoteo amused.
"Really?" said Lal with a devious gleam in her eyes. This would totally make up for him hearing the girl's nickname for her!
"At any rate, I'm certain we could reach an...arrangement... with Fon to train Tsubasa without alerting her to the mafia in the process. From what he's told me earlier, he has already begun training her in hand-to-hand combat," said Timoteo.
Iemitsu couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"This is the first I've heard of her meeting him!" he protested.
"Well considering no less than twelve of our men walked right past us earlier without even registering my presence on her shoulder, that doesn't surprise me," said Lal irate.
"What?!"
"I was literally on her shoulder the entire time we were off the grounds and saw a dozen CEDEF agents walk right past us without even noticing the fact I was on her shoulder," said Lal flatly. "I will be putting everyone through remedial training when we get back."
Iemitsu was not happy. Not only was his daughter sleeping in the same bed as two boys (one of which was an Arcobaleno, but still!) but now Timoteo was openly refusing to seal her Flames!
It was only going to get worse from there.