I'm not naming the chapters because I really suck at that! :)
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Mamma said it was rude to stare, she knew the old grannies at the market used to stare too and she didn't want to become like one of them, but the boy with the pretty red eyes was also staring back, so he was being rude too.
She has never seen anyone with red eyes before. Curiously, she wondered what the old grannies from the market would say if they saw them. Will they whisper nasty things like they used to say to her or will they ignore him too because they weren't brown? They were odd, but pretty at the same time. Special, like her mamma said her eyes were too.
It didn't explain what a boy was doing behind the wall though.
"Are you a ghost too?" She asked cautiously, not wanting to get hurt again. Her poor knees were throbbing, but she didn't want to cry in front of a stranger. She was a big girl, big girls don't cry. Big girls don't scream or are naughty, and they are polite and follow orders. Or so she has heard, she didn't really understand the rules that made a big girl.
"Get lost, brat!" The boy sneered and turned away, standing from the big chair and marching towards one of the bookshelves.
"I'm not a brat, I'm Tsunayuuki!"
"Whatever"
"Wait!" She rushed after him "Help me find the exit"
"As if"
"Please! I'll give you… Here"
She offered her pretty flower, not having anything else that might interest the boy in helping her. Unless he was good at drawing, but she didn't want to share her colour pencil… so the flower was her best offer. She wanted to give this flower to her mamma, but maybe she can go and pick another one after she gets out of here?
The boy with the red eyes turned to look at her and her flower with disgust. It was as if he was looking at a bug. He looked way uglier than the old grannies from the market actually, but she wasn't ready for how petty he could be when instead of accepting her gift, he grabbed her flower in a fist, crushing the petals beyond repair.
Yet before she could cry in outrage, she stared in wonder as she watched him burn it with a ball of light in his hands.
No.
Not a light.
Fire.
It was fire.
On his hand.
Power.
Special.
Bright.
And pretty.
It was magic.
And she really /wanted/ that too.
"How did you do that?" She asked in amazement.
"Get lost brat, or I'll burn you too"
Letting the ashes fall from his hand, he used the other to grab an old, heavy tome that opened a secret passage behind the wall and marched inside.
"Wait" She scurried after him before he locked her in the secret room by herself "Teach me!"
"Fuck no"
"But I want to make fire too!"
"You're not worth it"
"Please!" She pleaded and grabbed the tailcoat of his jacket so as to not get lost in the maze that was the hidden walls of the dimora. She almost lost her footing by how fast he was walking and his harsh tugging to get away from her. Was he scared of her? Was his fire a secret she wasn't supposed to know? "But we're friends!"
"Where the fuck did you get that idea?" He growled, but she was angry too.
"I gave you a flower! You accepted it!" She paused before asking "What does fueck mean?"
"What the fuck?" Xanxus said to himself, not understanding how and why a tiny brat was hanging on his leg and giving him sparkling eyes.
He was no one special in this house. His mother, delusional in her faith that he could achieve greatness by being acknowledged by the old man, was the only one who had ever looked at him with admiration and delight. Not out of greed and not with fear, but with open wonder and relief that he would be someone important in this world.
But the illusion faded as soon as he walked inside those carved, mahogany doors.
He was not the only child with Sky flames in the Vongola Mansion and he was the youngest. Meaning that he was the stray, the spare if something befell on the other heirs. His power was nothing special in this family, it was merely a golden ticket to live in a mansion with unlimited bottles of wine and expensive cuisine ready at all times of the day. And he was glad to be out of the streets, if his blood and flames could grant him a bed and riches, then who was he to complain?
But he never saw his mother again and the fire in him kept burning hot.
He was never going to be Vongola Decimo while the heirs lived. Having dinner with the famiglia and shooting scumbags did nothing to cool the flames, if anything, the rage he felt became bigger and hotter. They didn't burn bright like the old man's or felt purer like that idiot Enrico. His flames were fierce and destructive, and yet this brat had the stupidity to follow him and call them pretty.
Was this what his life had come to be? Wandering the secret halls of a dead mansion and giving magic shows to spoiled brats?
He couldn't kill the girl, that was obvious. For a little girl to be wandering the Vongola Mansion hidden hallways must mean she was somebody's spawn. Important enough to allow her freedom but unimportant for the brat to even know where she even was. If he had to guess, he would blame the loud, blond Lion for bringing a civilian into the famiglia. Wasn't that forbidden? Hasn't the old man nagged them all to not bring associates or lovers to the mansion if they didn't belong?
So why the fuck was this brat doing here? Following him? Looking at him as if he was special?
If the flames didn't scare her, will the truth will?
Oh, he knows the old man will be so mad. But after he scolded him in front of the whole inner circle for bringing down a drug circle with ties to them and embarrassing him instead of praising him as he should have done, then this annoyance will be worth it. Omertà? The girl was obviously part of the family, surely she was supposed to know.
He stopped walking and looked down at her.
"If you want to learn, you will need to make a blood oath"
"Blood?" She oh so innocently asked "Why? Won't it hurt?"
"Blood is the only power in the Mafia, if you want flames, you need to make a trade"
"Mafia?" She tilted her head and blinked at him "What's that?"
"We're a crime family, we use and kill people to keep our name in power. We're Vongola, the strongest Mafia family, and once you're in, there's no going back. I'm in it, your father is in it, and you'll be too"
It was oddly satisfying seeing the wonder shift to confusion. Her little brain too tiny and innocent to grasp the concepts of death, sins and corruption that made up the Underworld, and especially the shadows that hide in her own happy family.
"K-kill?" She stuttered, and he had to give it to the brat for not bursting into tears right away as she revalued her life and reality. "But the penguins? Are the penguins in the Mafia too?"
"There are no fucking pengiuns! Your father lied" He sneered at her naivety and Iemitsu's stupid attempt to shield his civilian family from his own lies. "That's what people in power do, they lie to make themselves feel better"
"Are you lying too?" She whispered, her lip wobbling.
"I don't need to"
He knew who he was, what he wanted. He didn't need to lie to get what he wanted.
"Does that mean you'll teach me then?"
What the fuck was wrong with this brat? At six he already knew to be wary of people in suits and gunpowder smell, not to mention the suspicion of people wearing the famous flames of the underworld. Was she just too young to understand the machinations of the Mafia or was she just plain stupid?
"Why the hell would you want to?"
"Because it's pretty!"
"You're a dumb kid" He grunted and tugged at his jacket for the brat to release him. Without looking back, he marched towards the hidden entrance to the wine cellar of the south wing, hoping then if this insect kept pestering him to lock her there. The secret handle was too high for her to reach after all.
"I can do magic too!" The brat proclaimed after him "When I touch things they go boom!"
"Then go boom yourself away"
He was not interested in entertaining brainless brats or worse, get blamed if she gets locked in the dungeon no one uses anymore. He was in no position to maintain a defence of innocence, despite actually following the rules to fit in no matter how boring and suffocating they were.
It's not like he flirted with the maids or paraded the mansion covered in blood, he might have lived on the streets but he was no savage. But people were afraid of him still, annoyed, never meeting his eyes and avoiding him at all cost, or sneering down at him and taking his words for granted.
He was the scapegoat of Massimo's pranks and of that fucking Federico's failures. Heck, he hasn't even started gathering his guardians yet, despite the old man's benevolent words of forming bonds and connections. And for an unbonded Sky in the bloody Vongola famiglia, he mattered nothing.
His hands started heating up just at that thought.
So what if he was alone? He didn't need useless trash weighing him down. He didn't need guardians to parade around the mansion, as if that alone would dismiss the gossip and naggings. His flames were enough, he didn't need anything more. Not friends, guardians or the famiglias' approval.
He clenched his fist, frustrated by the line of thought that was becoming an occurrence with the old man's daily arguments. It irked him, the disapproval and misjudgement, and the bitter rage only added fuel to his already volatile flames.
He clenched his fingers to keep the fire from exploding, but just when he thought the brat couldn't get more stupid, she grabbed his hand.
His flames reacted, but instead of burning her skinny fingers, they sparkled in a bright but contained explosion of light. His skin bristled in warmth while his fingers trembled in what he could only explain as harmony settling in.
"The fuck…?"
"I told you things went boom"
She grinned, pleased with herself despite not knowing what she had just done.
He doesn't know what she did either, and he didn't want to.
For a tiny brat to harness such power could only mean more competition for the throne. She was a Sky, there was no doubt about it as his flames were close to purring when in contact with hers, and this was her allure despite no visible ignition from her part.
If the Lion of the Vongola wanted to keep his spawn a civilian, then he was doing a terrible job. With raw power like that, she was either going to be married off to an allied famiglia, be sold as an offering or be a threat to the inner circle. He never met Daniela, but he has heard tales of her cold-hearted decisions and fierce pride. She was born into the famiglia and groomed to be a Boss, while this brat, she was a clean canvas.
He looked at her, considering-
No.
He was not dealing with brats and their unpredictable flames. Whatever fate had in store for her, he wanted no part in it.
Snatching his hand back, he strode towards the left wall where he pushed the third block under an empty candle holder to open a secret passage to somewhere near the drawing-room in the east wing.
"Get in there" He grunted and kept his distance as the brat walked closer in curiosity to peek at the new area.
"Are we playing hide and seek?"
"Yes, now scram!"
He pushed her forwards and closed the wall, hoping to never see her again.
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Famous last words.
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Tsunayuuki hummed merrily as she skipped through the hallways, glad to see the sunlight seeping through the huge windows and breathing fresh air instead of dust and dirt. Her knees pulsed in pain at the bruises there, but she was more fixed on the pleasant tingling in her fingers as she rubbed her hands together to try and save the feeling.
Whenever her rice bowl shattered when she held it for too long, she would feel cold and tiny bites on her skin.
But now, this was different. It was as if she was holding light, as if he had given her his pretty fire for her to keep. Warm. It felt nice and good. Safe. She didn't know that would happen though, she wanted to show him her own magic and make him look at her; she didn't want to make the boy angry by hurting his hand, but she reached out without thinking.
She was glad that instead of making his fire go boom, it sparkled.
Oh, she stopped in the bright hallway, only then realizing that she didn't ask the name of the boy with the red eyes. Well, no matter. She will ask him as her price once she finds him. But it was already late, and she was hungry and she really didn't know where she was. Or where her father even was. Did he finish his business... His mafia business? And was now searching for her? Maybe she shouldn't have left that room.
But if she didn't, she wouldn't have met the ghost prince and the dying tree.
Or the boy with red eyes hidden behind the walls.
Her mamma has told her not to be shy and make friends, so how can she make one if she was by herself in a big, boring room?
The ghost let her keep a flower so he wasn't that bad, and despite his growls and harsh words, the boy felt warm and fluffy. She couldn't wait to tell her mamma of her adventure, once she finds her way back after winning the game of hide and seek, of course.
She tried following the direction the boy had been going to, but she soon hit a dead end. Feeling as if she was being left behind, she turned back and hurried towards the opposite direction. There were no doors in the hallway, so she tried hitting the wall anywhere she could reach to try and open it. But it wasn't working. Was he cheating?
Before she could yell at him to come out, she was interrupted by loud wails of complaints coming from outside.
Curiosity perked, she ran towards the nearest window and counted on her luck for it to be opened. Which it was! Grinning, she pushed it open before hopping to sit on the edge so that she could look down to jump down. The height wasn't much, it was as if she was sitting on one of the swings at the park so it wasn't scary to jump. Balancing with her hands, she pushed and landed safely by crouching down.
Grinning at her own achievement, she jogged through the huge gardens she found herself surrounded in. And luckily, it didn't take her long to find the source of the noise. There was a blond boy laying on the grass, arms spread wide and covered in black powder. He looked funny like that, and he was also wearing many bandages and bandages on his arms and face.
Maybe he was more clumsy than her?
Tsunayuuki looked down at the fallen boy and tilted her head.
"Are you dead too?"
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He didn't want this.
He has never wanted this, but what else could he do? As the only son of the Cavallone family, he had to be filial to his father, especially now when he was in delicate health and the eyes of every association close to them were on him. Expectant, waiting for a mistake and an opportunity to prey on him. He doesn't like to think about it, there's always a knot in his throat whenever he so much as to think of the reason for his current predicament.
He doesn't know what hurts the most;
His father dying and leaving him an orphan
or
His father's dying wish for him to become the head of the family.
A Mafia Boss.
Him.
Instead of good grades and earning money by working as a newspaper boy like any respectable son, or even waking up at dawn to help in the stables at home and tend to the cattle, his duties were counting bullets and making business with outsiders to solidify alliances and gain recognition to the famiglia.
His father was dying, and instead of mourning and spending time with him, he had to learn the ways of a leader and memorize the etiquette required to be the boss of a mafia famiglia. Mafia school was already dreadful, but now he also had to survive his violent tutor who he swears was hired to kill him.
Even in unfamiliar territories, there was no rest from his schemes. He managed to escape a trap of explosives and hid in the gardens of the Vongola Mansion, but he knew it wouldn't take long before he was dragged back into the game of spartan training. He was supposed to learn the ways of business but he couldn't attend a meeting between the two bosses? All while his father was sick no less, where was the logic in that? Instead, here he was, having been terrorized by a tiny hitman and choked on explosives.
Really, what else could he do?
Be filial to the end, and once he was in power, banish Reborn from his sight.
It sounded like a dream in his mind, one he liked to think in moments like this before he was reminded of why he was dealing with such a nightmare, and his eyes would swell in tears.
He doesn't want to be a Mafia boss.
He doesn't want his father to die.
He doesn't want to be a Mafia Boss because if he did, that would mean his father would be dead.
He couldn't do this.
He didn't want this.
He cursed Reborn and his ancestors for giving him this fate.
But with his father's beliefs and Rebron's expectations, what else can he do but cry in silence when no one was looking?
"Are you dead too?"
Dino blinked his eyes open, having already accepted an afternoon of pain and misery, he wondered if perhaps he was in heaven already for instead of the green gun of his devilish tutor greeting him, a little girl was looking back at him with the brightest eyes he has ever seen.
He wouldn't know it then, but she will become one of the most important persons in his heart.
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Tsuna is 5 / Xanxus is 15 / Dino is 14
Remember, Tsuna doesn't have Vongola intuition at this point in the timeline so there is no siren warning or spidey senses to stop her from doing dangerous/stupid things. She's a child, curiosity can really kill the cat.
Chapters will vary in length, so don't be disappointed if this one is short.