In which Tsuna is related to the Fujimura clan from F/SN through her mother Nana.
Raiga Fujimaru was old, and rather proud of his children and granddaughter. So you could imagine his surprise and delight learning his daughter Nana had returned for a visit with her daughter Tsukiyo.
The little girl was an absolute delight and had most of his men, hardened yakuza, wrapped around her small fingers in less than an hour after Nana allowed her to run around the home to explore. Even if she was slightly clumsy.
She had made sure everyone knew she had a daughter and introduced her to the higher members of the clan. One of the slightly younger men followed the child to insure there was no misunderstanding.
Fortunately there wasn't anything openly illegal like guns or drugs on the premises. Shortly after Taiga was born, Raiga ordered all obviously illegal activities to be done off premises. His granddaughter was a very precocious and enthusiastic child, and he didn't want any accidents to happen like her getting hurt from a gun or coming into contact with any drugs.
Besides, it kept the more delicate operations far, far away from any...mishaps...during the short time period when foreigners would show up and strange incidents would occur. It was about due and Raiga would rather that their operations not end up in the crossfire because of this mystery tournament that happened once every sixty years.
He didn't know what it was about or any real details. He just knew that the priests in the lone church inside the town sometimes asked them for favors and paid them rather handsomely for using their resources since it was easier than dealing with things directly.
Usually that meant they did a bit of discreet corpse disposal for them, on top of lending them tools, men and materials. Mostly the corpse disposal though.
So long as they kept their mouths shut and didn't ask questions about what was really going on, they got paid rather handsomely for a small bit of work.
There was something positively magnetic about little Tsukiyo. So much so that Nana had returned home primarily to ask her grandfather to find teachers for her daughter so that she could learn to defend herself. After all, Taiga had positively thrived in her kendo lessons.
"Honestly papa, I don't know what to do with her. She was never this clumsy before and after Darling's visit she started having trouble connecting with others and having strange fevers," said Nana worriedly.
"How long has this been going on?" he asked, watching little Tsukiyo trip over nothing.
"Well it started shortly after my husband visited us with his boss, Timoteo something. The last day of the visit I went out to get groceries and when I came back darling said that she had tired herself out and she slept through dinner and well into noon the next day. I noticed that her behavior changed slightly after that, as she became withdrawn and far less energetic than before. I also suspect that she might be bullied...she's come home from school with far too many scrapes and bruises."
"How long did you leave them alone?" asked Raiga seriously.
"Twenty minutes, and believe me the first thing I did a week after the visit was take her to the pediatrician for a full examination. It came up with nothing, but something must have happened because her behavior shifted so suddenly. I know nothing of the man my husband brought with him and he took a strange interest in my daughter."
Raiga looked at his adorable little grandchild.
"The man you married. What was his full name?"
"Sawada Iemitsu."
The second she said "Iemitsu", he developed a sudden migraine.
Sawada meant nothing, but when paired with names like Iemitsu and a boss named Timoteo, they took on another meaning entirely.
"Did this boss of his have a very fancy ornate ring that said 'Vongola' or something similar? It's spelled V-o-n-g-o-l-a," asked Raiga. "He would also carry a very over-the-top walking stick that looks more like a scepter."
Nana blinked, but she could recall a rather odd ring the man was wearing...Tsukiyo had been fascinated by it as she remembered. And his cane was rather odd, because he couldn't have been more than fifty when he visited. He certainly had no issues walking around without it.
Raiga cursed. If Tsukiyo hadn't been touched, then there was another explanation for her sudden shift in attitude. Dealing with the Church and the Magi was bad enough...he wished he had some forewarning that his daughter had gotten involved in the mafia!
"Did your husband ever ask about your parents or your family before you were married?" asked Raiga.
Really, it was only prudent that a mafioso, especially the head of Vongola Intelligence do something as basic as a background check before marrying.
Nana shook her head.
"It was more of a whirlwind romance, to be honest. Iemitsu rarely if ever asked anything about my family and seemed to be of the belief I was an orphan for some reason. And after our daughter was born, he started working overseas more. I haven't seen him for over nine months now. Come to think of it, I have one of his postcards with me."
Nana handed it over and Raiga snorted in disgust.
Clearly Iemitsu thought his wife was a complete civilian. Raiga would have taken notice if someone had been investigating his daughter's past, but he had been completely blindsided by this entire thing.
Still, seeing that face on the postcard only confirmed his suspicions. Which meant something had happened to his granddaughter, just not what Nana feared.
If he was right, then they could easily stick a needle in the eye of the Vongola and insure his granddaughter wouldn't be married off by that idiot.
"Nana, how opposed would you be to making Tsukiyo a full member of the clan?" asked Raiga seriously.
Nana flinched.
"I don't want my daughter to be a yakuza."
While there were female bosses, most of the yakuza were men and tended to look down on women as leaders. It didn't help that there was a cultural preference to the "Yamato Nadeshiko" type, which some of her father's men had jokingly called her on occasion.
Raiga shook his head.
"No, I mean to make her one of the heirs to the Fujimura clan, but not a direct one. That way she's protected from the nonsense your husband is trying to pull and he won't be able to marry her off to one of his famiglia's allies without my approval first. Otherwise we could have the unofficial law keepers of the underworld coming after him and his group for interference."
"Why?"
"I suspect Tsukiyo has something called 'Dying Will Flames', which is a fancy term for soul fire. If I'm right, then it's possible her power went active during their visit and they placed a special seal on her."
"Is that a bad thing?" asked Nana upset.
"In a way, it could be seen as their attempt to keep her a civilian. But if they did seal her, then it's possible they used the wrong one or screwed up the application. Placing a seal on her means they're cutting off her access to her very soul, and it's Iemitsu's fault she even has the power to begin with."
"What do you mean 'keep her a civilian'?" repeated Nana.
"It's an unspoken rule that actives are either drawn into the underworld, or killed off. The only way to avoid that is to be very, very careful about not letting anyone know you have flames in the first place, but there are those who are sensitive to actives and alert whatever group they're affiliated with. The mafia in particular takes a dim view of active flames saying 'no' to joining a famiglia and tend to hunt down the ones they know about unless they are skilled enough, have a strong reputation or the backing of someone who does that can make any attempting to use force into backing off."
Nana was visibly upset at this news.
"So if my daughter has these...flames...then she would be drawn into the underworld regardless?"
"Unfortunately. However I can provide some protection so long as she's part of the clan. She will receive proper training, and as long as it's known she's part of a clan they won't have any reason to bother her. At the most she would be considered a back-up heir in the event something happens to your brother. She could still have a normal life, she would just be a little more aware of what we do compared to your niece."
Taiga was going to live as a full civilian. Like Nana, she was considered a 'spare' in the event the actual bosses were killed or incapacitated. She knew what her clan did, but she wasn't obligated to get involved.
Considering her age, being made an heir wouldn't openly affect her daily life. She would just receive extra lessons and if asked could openly claim that her family was a bit...traditional. She would not learn the in's and out's of the actual clan unless something happened to the head and his heir presumptive.
Nana didn't like it...but if she had to choose between her husband and her child, her daughter would come out on top every time. Especially since Iemitsu didn't have the balls to come out and tell her the truth before he got her pregnant.
She would come to her decision shortly after her husband finally came back for a visit...and active dismissive of his daughter outside of some fairly suspicious behavior. The air almost felt cloying, like he was trying to assert some sort of dominance over her or their daughter.
Now that she was aware he was a mafioso, Nana's mental barriers had gone up. It was as if Iemitsu had some sort of ability that allowed him to bypass people's natural distrust and make them like him.
And now that she knew what was happening, it was pretty clear that he had been using it on her from the very beginning. Nana hid her fury behind her well-crafted civilian mask of a perfect house wife.
However once he left she contacted some of her father's informants and had them discreetly track Iemitsu. If she was right and he had only married her to have a legitimate heir, then it was possible he was being unfaithful to her. It didn't escape her notice that the hand he wore his wedding ring on didn't have the natural indent caused by wearing it properly. It looked more like he had slipped it on once he was on the plane and fully intended to slip it off once he left Japan.
Her fears and suspicions were quickly proven...the informant caught Iemitsu with other women, some of which he was very...friendly...with.
A few discreet inquiries revealed said women to be high-class escorts, and that Iemitsu was a regular client.
Nana was beyond livid. She was raising her daughter all alone, despite the snide hidden comments of the other house wives, and he was off in Italy gallivanting with escorts when he was married!
When Tsukiyo came home with a broken arm and an unhappy look at the thought of going back to school, Nana had enough. It was time to put her child first.
One month later...
Raiga was unsurprised Nana wanted to divorce her husband and move back in with the clan. However in another few months the 'tournament' between foreigners would start up and he didn't want either of them to accidentally get caught up in it.
Especially since there were rumors of a possible serial killer in the area.
He supposed he should be grateful that the priest in charge of monitoring that mess had given him a head's up it was about to begin again. He didn't need any more details other than that.
However things in Namimori were growing increasingly less pleasant, especially for little Tsukiyo. What had at first seemed like childish bullying had started to include the adults as well. His granddaughter had recently gained the title of "no-good" because the seal on her was poorly applied and interfering with her natural growth as well as her intelligence. She was becoming withdrawn and quiet, which wasn't helped by the snide comments behind her mother's back about how she was a "no-good child" who couldn't do even the most basic task right.
If Raiga ever met that son-in-law of his, he would happily strangle the man for causing this mess.
After Nana heard a "slip of the tongue" from one of her daughter's teachers about what a poor student she was and how it was such a pity the girl was a "no-good child", Nana had enough.
If being a civilian meant that her daughter had to endure such treatment, then she would be better off being an official part of the Fujimura group.
Raiga was nervous, but he hid it well and showed nothing but proper respect to the odd bandaged individuals in his home.
The smallest of them, who looked more like a toddler than anything with an odd pacifier, had been surprisingly claimed by little Tsukiyo who showed not an ounce of fear of them despite the fact that all the adults were scared of them.
Bermuda-san looked rather patient with the small child cuddling with him.
He had immediately noticed the very sloppy seal, and it was clear that it was doing nothing for the girl's flames.
"What is it you wish to accomplish by calling us?" asked Jaeger.
"I merely wish to remove that abominable seal placed upon her and to make it clear in no uncertain terms to the Vongola that by their own actions they cast her out of their famiglia," said Raiga rather bluntly. "As far as I'm aware, only those worthy of being cast out have such seals placed on them."
"This girl is a Sky...a powerful one at that. If she unsealed she will swiftly draw the attention of the larger players. The Vongola will not accept such claim easily," said Bermuda.
Even sealed, he knew Sky attraction when he felt it and this girl was a dead ringer for her ancestor Giotto, only with Asian features.
"I would be willing to act as a sanctuary for those coming from civilian backgrounds who activate their Flames, in exchange for Vindice protection and to act as a neutral party," offered Raiga.
He wasn't an idiot...if Tsukiyo was a Sky then it was doubtful the Vongola would acknowledge their own blunder easily. Not when she could be used to breed more Skies. The Fujimura clan might be yakuza, but they were firmly in the middle ground and only attacked when provoked. Their agreement with the Church meant that they didn't need to get into pointless territorial disputes or worry about dealing directly with the Triads.
Becoming a Vindice-enforced neutral group who acted as a safe-zone for those with active Flames coming off civilian backgrounds would hardly be a problem for them.
It would be rather simple to turn such people into informants, transporters, or fronts for money-laundering, which were relatively harmless compared to other activities.
It was rather pointless to force a complete civilian who had never committed a crime in their life to suddenly become a criminal, all because of a power they never asked for.
Just looked at what happened to the Cloud Arcobaleno, Skull de Mort!
Bermuda listened to what Raiga was offering. Considering his old granddaughter, who he clearly doted on, was stuck in the same position it made sense that he would consider this option.
"A trial period. If you can successfully add on civilian-born flame users into your operations, I will consider your request. As for your granddaughter...the Vongola have made it clear they do not see her as one of their heirs by placing this seal upon her. Otherwise she would have begun her training already. Once the seal is removed, an official notice will be sent to the Vongola and their Intelligence division that one of their heirs has been officially removed from their famiglia and is now a freelance Sky."
"My thanks, Honorable Law Keepers," said Raiga. All they needed to do know was time it so that Nana's divorce papers went through at the same time. It would mean they would have to drop the Sawada name, but that was a small price to pay.
After all, Iemitsu had only married her to insure his child would become "legitimate" from what he could ascertain.