Title: The Luminosity of Darkness

Rating: M

Pairing: R27 RebornXTsuna

Summary: As Reborn stared at the adorable little creature before him, whose large brown eyes were blinking curiously at him, he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger and finish the job.

Disclaimer: Don't own and if I did then the whole world would be filled with yaoi

This would not leave me alone. Not at all, not until I typed it out and everything…

This is a very strange AU I made a long time ago and just decided to post it up recently. There are three chapters in total. Hope you enjoy it. Also, this is in a different style than my usual so be aware.

Reborn still works in the mafia, Vongola, and everything.

Beta'd by Woopy1

Chapter 1

Reborn grumbled from under his breath and pulled his fedora further downward to cover his eyes but just enough so that he could still see the world that surrounded him. At the moment, he couldn't believe that he had to do such a dirty job. It was ridiculous but he had no choice but to complete it. His boss had previously ordered him to help out a village in the east with their 'problem'. As he took another step forward, his mind replayed the meeting he had been in just an hour and a half ago before making his tracks through the woods and mud.

He remembered his dark eyes staring coldly at the village's leader, whose name he doesn't give a shit for. Both were sitting in chairs on the opposite side with a table between them, watching each other wearily. Reborn had his arms folded and took in his surroundings. The place was dark even though it was sunny outside and had a little bit of light peeking through the holes of the building but it wasn't enough for him to be comfortable with. The type of environment he was in made him feel suspicious especially because of his profession, he was a hit man and the best one after all.

", as you know, we have a problem here in this village that only Vongola can take care of. There is a demon that lives up in the woods, a dangerous little thing." The leader started but was cut off by Reborn.

"A demon?" The hit man raised an eyebrow at the mentioning, his voice filled with disbelief. He was tempted to laugh outright at the person before him, but that would be considered rude. Quite honestly, he knew that there were people that considered him a demon, so whoever this person, that was causing trouble, was, he was probably better than him in many ways.

The leader, however, didn't look deterred from Reborn's skeptical looks. "Yes, a demon, I tell you. It looks human and acts like one too but I swear, it's going to eat us all one day! You have to get rid of it! I don't care how! You just need to get it away from here, away from this village, and away from us!" The man leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table and folded his arms together. "We can pay you whatever amount of money you want!"

Reborn sighed, this was getting ridiculous, that, and he was beginning to think that this entire village was filled with nut jobs. "Well has this person done anything to this village? And he lives in the woods, right? Do you know where his hideout is?"

"Of course, he's done something! He's burned down our houses and crops! He scares my people!" The person yelled, his face turning red with rage, and then slammed his fists into the table. The force was enough to shake the table and rattle any objects that were on top. Reborn blinked his eyes at the reaction. This 'demon' burned down houses? Crops? How? And why? He'd have to investigate this matter further before making any hasty decisions. Then after a few seconds, the leader calmed down enough to answer the last question. "As for where he resides, no one here knows. No one dares go into the woods, it's too dangerous."

'Meaning, I'm going to have to search the entire fucking mountain for him…Damn…' Reborn sighed to himself and pushed his fedora downward. His eyes drifted to his suit, knowing that this mission was going to get it dirty from the mud he'd most likely go through. But he didn't want to take his clothes off and change though, it was his signature and like hell he was going anywhere but in his suit. Everyone in the mafia (where he worked) recognized him whenever they saw him and he liked to see their faces distort in fear when they recognized the person they were talking to. The hit man turned his attention back to the village leader. "What does he look like? Any noticeable features?"

"Brown hair and long nails."

"Long…nails?" Reborn paused when hearing that, wondering if this 'demon' was perhaps a woman instead. But the way the leader was talking about the 'demon', it had to be a man.

"Yes! He has really long nails! About four inches! Ask the villagers, they could probably describe him better!"

And that was what Reborn had done for about thirty minutes after meeting with the mayor. But everyone he had talked to had said the same thing though there were those that had said something different. Some said that the 'demon' had orange hair while another said brown, some said he had orange eyes, others brown. It was becoming confusing and ridiculous that after a while, Reborn gave up and went towards the woods. A couple of the villagers offered words of good luck before he disappeared into the darkness of it.

And that lead him back to his position. After wandering around aimlessly though the trees, he ended up unable to tell where to head to next since everything looked the same. His shoes left sunken footsteps behind him and the mud was beginning to collect on his pricy black shoes. He grumbled, he was going to have to buy new ones after this. Reborn used the numerous trees that surrounded the area as leverage as he went up small hills that had slippery slopes and then again when he went back down. There were also paths along the way that had pit falls and some that didn't really look too safe to go through.

But he knew that at the rate he was going at, he was eventually going to get lost, no…wait…he was certain that he already was. But he's a hit man, he's Reborn, the number one hit man in the world, he can't get lost. But as he continued to wander the place for about three more hours, that thought couldn't help but come to him. Deciding that it was best to get to higher ground so he could see how far he was from the village, he climbed a tree, the tallest one he could find. He struggled a little on getting up because of his suit but he eventually made it to the top. The wind blew into his face, almost making his fedora fly off if he hadn't placed a hand on top of his hat to keep it down. His black eyes could see the village in the distance, it was obvious by the numerous lines of smoke that was coming from it, and just by looking, he knew he had made quite a distance away from the village and glanced to the opposite side.

That was where he spotted something in the distance.

There was a small line of smoke, a light-colored one, coming from the mass of trees. It was a bit further, much closer to his position, and almost unnoticed.

'Could that be it?' He thought to himself and made his way back down. Quickly making his way towards the general area, he knew it was getting dark if the setting sun hadn't made that any more obvious.

As he made his next step, the mud below his shoes slipped and he managed to catch himself on a tree but not before a branch managed to scratch him along the top of his left hand. He stared at the cut, a small droplet of blood forming before he wiped it off on his pants, and continued on his way. His footsteps got a bit faster as he made his way through the forest, his sharp ears listening to the sounds of animals, and could hear his breathing clearly. He could even hear the pounding of his heart in his chest.

'Where is it? It should be around here…' Reborn thought to himself as he looked around the area in confusion. He was certain he had seen the smoke in this general area.

Then he caught a scent that was drifting in the air.

Reborn took a whiff of the smell and blinked, following the aroma. It wasn't hard to figure out that it belonged to the said place he was looking for. And as he cut through the bushes and trees, he came up to a little house, much smaller than his own back at home but slightly bigger than the villagers. He stepped closer, cautious and paranoid. His eyes caught sight of a small fire that had rocks surrounding it and on top was a metal rod that had a couple of fish cooking over the flame. 'That must have been what I smelled…'

He peered over the general area, there were no traps, no nothing. It looked so peaceful, not a place where a supposed demon was assumed to be staying. He walked closer, careful not to step on anything that might give him away and went up the steps to the house. The place was made of wood, old fashion since his own was made of bricks and stones along with the rest of Venice, Italy. Even the villagers had television and microwaves though very few, probably unable to afford it since they are farmers.

Taking his gun out from his hostler from within his jacket, he inched towards the door and found that it wasn't locked. Smirking to himself, he pushed it open slowly, peeking inside, looking for any movement, and only stepped in when it was clear. Reborn made sure that his footsteps were silent and wandered around the place, searching for his said target. The smell of food was stronger inside and went closer to the general location.

And there his target was.

The person he was supposed to kill.

Reborn's eyes widened at the sight.

The 'demon' was very young looking with baby-like features and had a small smile gracing his lips. He had bouncy-looking brown hair, untamed, that marred his small body. The boy probably didn't look any older than eighteen, maybe even younger, it was hard to tell since he wasn't turned towards Reborn's direction. The brunet was wearing some normal clothes, jeans and a shirt, the latter looking a little too big, and the articles of clothing covered the slender body that might have seen better days. The boy twisted to the side slightly to grab something, revealing the creamy pale skin of his face and his bright honey-colored eyes. He had to admit, the boy was truly memorizing and he couldn't help but wonder how he would look when smiling brightly.

Long nails…

Reborn's eyes focused onto the hands and one word passed through his head. 'Woah…'

The nails were indeed long, so much so that they looked unnatural and they had an orange color on it like it had been painted. But other than that, the boy was completely human. He sighed, he was going to have to kill this boy whether he liked it or not.

"Hello?"

Reborn snapped back into his senses, watching the boy from his spot behind the wall. The other must have heard him sigh. The boy looked around curiously and tilted his head, then peered at his general location. The large honey eyes blinked and he began stepping closer towards the corner. Reborn mentally cursed himself, getting his gun ready if needed.

The boy then stopped a few inches away from around the area where Reborn was waiting. "Um…You can come out you know. I'm not going to hurt you…"

Reborn couldn't help but notice the soft tone of his voice. It was gentle and filled with kindness, how could someone with such a soothing voice be called a demon? He sighed again and stepped out, facing the person that had heard him. He stood over the brunet by a foot or two and had to look down in order to get a better look at the face.

The 'demon' blinked again, peering up at the other, and then smiled softly. "Hello…"

Reborn raised an eyebrow at that. That hadn't been the reaction he had been expecting. He thought that the other would be panicking or demanding who he was or something along those lines. He answered back. "Hello…"

The brunet then eyed the gun in Reborn's right hand and took a step back in fear but had a calm expression. He smiled sadly to himself and closed his eyes momentarily before opening them up. He stared at Reborn and it unnerved the hit man how those eyes appeared like they were looking into his soul. "Are you…here to kill me?"

Reborn didn't answer and lifted the weapon up but his finger wasn't on the trigger. "That's right."

"I see." The brunet tilted his head as if waiting. "Aren't you going to fire?"

The hit man blinked, his curiosity sparked. "Aren't you going to run? You sound like you have accepted the fact that you are about to be killed."

The boy made a small laugh. "I knew that this would happen someday. The villagers down below never liked me so it can't be helped. And I'm not going to run because I have nowhere else to go but here. There's nothing I can do but accept my fate." The person appeared so unnervingly calm and placed his hands together. Still Reborn didn't move and just stared, unable to pull the trigger. The brunet bended his head back into place when nothing happened. "Well, if you're not going to kill me now. Would you like something to eat? I've just made some salad and there's fish still cooking outside. Oh! I better go get that before it gets burned. I'll be right back." He ran off, his footsteps echoing along the ground.

Reborn remained where he was at, standing still. His thoughts were running wild, he didn't get understand why he hadn't just killed the little thing, it wasn't that hard. He had done worse to others and this was just supposed to be a simple death, just a twitch of his finger, and the 'demon' would be dead.

Reborn sighed to himself. "Today is just not my day." He put away his gun and decided to sit down on one of the wooden chairs. His black eyes glanced around the room, finding it neat and tidy. It basically looked like any regular kitchen with the cabinets and drawers. There was a couple of appliances here and there like a microwave and what looked like a refrigerator. Reborn wasn't sure where the guy had gotten those things (as well as the electricity) since they looked even better than those in the village and appeared like the ones he had back at home (he doesn't understand why he keeps comparing other people's homes to his own).

The brunet suddenly came running back with the fishes in one hand and began peeling off the skin, placing it onto separate plates. Reborn just watched as the other worked, leaning against the table that was in the center of the room. He couldn't stop himself especially his eyes that kept drifting downward towards the brunet's waist. Reborn nearly smacked himself for what he was doing. He was having thoughts he wasn't supposed to have. He had just met his target and he was supposed to kill him. Still his eyes remained on the ass, unable to look away, and watched as the hips sway side to side as if tempting him.

The 'demon' glanced back at him with a smile and placed down two plates down and then the food. "Here, eat however much you like. It's not as if I'm going to be able to eat the leftovers, right?"

'There it is again...' Reborn thought, he knew what the brunet has hinting at and his heart clenched at the thought of doing something so horrible to someone so innocent. Sometimes he really had to hate his profession. His black eyes stared at the food and slowly reached over with his fork to stab a piece of fish, dragging it over to his side. The other did the same and munched on the fish willingly before going for the salad. He didn't seem disturb at all that he was sharing a meal with his soon-to-be killer. Reborn eyed the food for a moment before biting it (after making sure it wasn't poisoned or drugged). He licked his lips at the taste. "It's delicious..."

The 'demon' lighted up at that. "Really? That's great! I never knew that it was delicious before, I always thought it was just average."

"No, really, it's delicious, probably one of the best I have ever eaten."

The brunet stared at him, blinking his overly large eyes and broke out into a happy grin. "Thank you." He went back to his food, eating in silence.

Reborn paused for a moment to speak again. "What's your name?"

"Huh?" The other looked surprised and even confused. Why would the hit man want to know his name? It didn't make any sense. "Its Tsunayoshi but you can call me Tsuna for short if you like... What about you? What's your name?"

"Reborn." The hit man took another bite, licking his lips at the simple taste. It was clearly divine. There's no way this person was actually evil, not by the way he cooked. Why would the villagers want to get rid of this person? Perhaps they had mistaken him for someone else? "So tell me, do you know why the villagers want to get rid of you?"

Tsuna turned away and stared at his near empty plate. "They never liked me just because I was different. They blamed everything on me, the bad crops, the fires, it just made it easier for them to blame it on something else than nature or that it…just happened. It made them happy for some odd reason."

"So basically you became their scapegoat."

"Yes." Tsuna tilted his head to the side. "I bet that even after I die, they will still blame everything on me. Claim that it's my vengeance that's come back to haunt them. Stupid, right?"

Reborn tilted his fedora, he had a feeling that that was really what happened. He could tell just by looking at the villagers that they weren't the smartest people in the world and would believed in almost anything. Still, it was a shame to kill someone like this. A job is a job. But that didn't explain one thing. He reached out and grabbed one of the boy's hands and lifted it up to his face, examining the long fingernails and the orange tint that was on them. It was kinda neat and as he ran his thumb over the smooth surface, he wondered what they could do.

Tsuna watched the man before him, he had never seen anyone so interested in his fingers before. Everyone else was always scared of them and they would look at him as if he was some kind of freak. He leaned forward slightly to get a better look at Reborn's expression but no matter how hard he tried to make out what the man's face meant, he couldn't figure it out so he asked. "Are they...scary? Do they make me look really that unnatural?"

Reborn's eyes snapped up with a raised eyebrow. "Not really, I've seen worse in my profession. You are perhaps one of the normal ones I have ever met during my…career."

A twitch came on Tsuna's lips. "You're too kind."

'Kind? Me? That must have been a joke.' Reborn almost laughed. Him? Being called kind? That was a first. He was merciless, a killer, how could someone like that be kind? He snorted at the thought.

Tsuna tilted his head to the side as a silence settled between them and spoke. "Well, aren't you going to do it?"

Reborn froze. He had forgotten all about his job in these few moments he had been with the brunet. His fingers reached for his gun hesitatingly but then as he stared into the honey-colored eyes, he realized that right now wasn't the best time. Biting down on his bottom lip, he pulled his hand away. 'I can always do it later…right? They never did say when it had to be completed.' He got up and turned around, heading towards the front door, ignoring the shock and questioning expression Tsuna was giving him. Suddenly, the brunet quickly ran after him and reached out to grab his arm, keeping Reborn from leaving out the front door.

"W-Wait! What are you doing? It's your job to kill me, right?" Tsuna asked, leaning forward, and tightened his grip on the arm. Reborn winced slightly as the fingernails dug into his skin through his jacket. The 'demon' shifted closer, stepping around so that he was standing in front of the other, and stared into the black eyes. "Why? Aren't you going to get into trouble?"

Reborn sighed. "Well, they never said when I was supposed to kill you. I can wait." He managed to get himself free from the grip when it loosened and began walking again. "I'll come back tomorrow. I better head back into the village while there is still a little bit of light left." He glanced out the window where the sun was quickly setting into the distance. The sky had turned into a mixture of bright red, orange, purple, and blue, almost like a rainbow. It was magnificent and he stepped out onto the porch when a voice called out to him.

"Wait! Reborn!"

Sounds of feet pitter pattering towards his direction caught his attention and turned back to see Tsuna running out the door. Reborn paused and observed the 'demon' carefully, wondering what he wanted.

"You can stay here, it's too dangerous to go out right now. The forest gets confusing even when there is some light left. Not even I go in there unless necessary." Tsuna muttered, grabbing the hit man's arm again, and gave a powerful nudge back towards the house, a push Reborn almost tumbled over. "It's not hard to get lost and the ground becomes pitch-black that you can't see what you are stepping on. It's safer to remain here with me…unless, that makes you…uncomfortable?" Tsuna's face was quickly turning red, he honestly didn't want this stranger to leave yet. This was his first true conversation with a person in a long time, everyone else just ignored him or ran away.

Reborn stared at the brunet for a moment, wondering on what to do. It couldn't hurt, right? He blinked at the desperate expression he was getting from the other and then sighed, giving in. It really couldn't…hurt…right? His fingers grabbed the rim of his fedora and flicked it up. "Fine, I guess I'll have to take your offer."

Tsuna brightened up and instantly pulled him back into the house with strength Reborn didn't know he had, closing the door behind them. "Here, you can stay in my room. You're the guest after all, it's only right."

Reborn chuckled at how childish the brunet became all of a sudden. He couldn't help but wonder how old Tsuna really was. With what the people at the village had told him, Tsuna had been up here for years. That rose up other questions like how he got all these things. His eyes roamed around the room, finding pictures, mostly of scenery and animals, all over and then went to the furniture. Some of this stuff couldn't have been moved around by a single person and then there was the way Tsuna spoke. If he had been up here for most of his life, how was he able to speak so easily and without much difficulty? But before he could open his mouth to voice a question, Tsuna opened a door.

"Well, this is my room, it's nothing great but it's livable. You can do whatever you'd like to it. I don't really get guests very often so yeah…" He trailed off there and then brightened up again. "I better get you some extra blankets since it's supposed to be cold tonight." He ran off, leaving the hit man all alone. Reborn quickly checked the place out for anything by habit and then finally sat down on the bed when he was done. He had to admit, the room was very welcoming, gentle and nice, a perfect combination. It was the opposite of his place which was dull but somewhat fancy. It wasn't as if he used it often since he remained at the Vongola base most of the time since it was more convenient for him. He picked his head up when he heard footsteps and watched Tsuna enter the room, holding a large thick blanket. "Here you go. If there is anything else you'd like, just tell me, okay?"

Reborn snorted and folded his legs. "You're being way too nice to someone that is supposed to kill you."

"I could say the same to you. You were supposed to kill me long ago but you didn't so we're even." The boy smiled and placed the blanket on the bed before stepping back.

The hit man decided that this was the perfect time to pop one of the questions he had. "So then, how old are you?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm not sure." Tsuna tilted his head, trying to remember. "But I've been up here for a long time, I think more than twelve years and I think I was around six to eight when I got thrown into the forest. I'm a little iffy on how I managed to survive this whole time."

"Are you kidding me? You only look about fifteen." Reborn examined the person over before him again and again and still couldn't believe it.

"Ah, another reason to add as to why the villagers don't like me, they thought it was unnatural that I didn't look my actual age."

"And the fires?"

"Those only happen during the dry season. It doesn't take much for a fire to start around that time of year. The forest doesn't get affected since it's so dark around here and it's wet and muddy as you may already know." Tsuna's eyes drifted to Reborn's dirty shoes that had patches of dry mud on the side. "Since the village is in the open and with all the farming they do, the land gets dry easily and well fires happen because of that."

Reborn nodded to that. That logic made so much sense that this so called 'demon' was actually looking more human than what he had first imagined. He almost wanted to head down to the village and tell them outright at how stupid they were. Next question. "Do you actually scare the villagers?"

Tsuna tilted his head and smiled. "Do I really look all that scary?" He motioned to his body and then glanced to his fingernails. "The only things I can think of are these but I've never attacked a person before except for that one time."

"One time?"

"Yes, well, it was really his fault. He came wandering through the forest carrying a large knife, those types that you use to skin animals. He captured a lot of the animals here and even me by mistake. He wanted to…kill me but then decided to try and skin me alive instead. I won't fight back if you give me a quick death since I've always been prepared for it but I won't stand for something like that and well, I fought back…and killed him." Tsuna brought his hands together looking a little sad at that mentioning. He glanced to the side as if embarrassed and was a little scared to look up to see Reborn's face.

But the hit man didn't care much, he had gotten all he needed to teach those villagers a lesson. But he wondered if they would actually listen to him and not think of something else. Plus as Reborn listened to the story, he couldn't think badly about the brunet. He, himself, has been killing people for a living, what was one measly guy that Tsuna killed compared to his long list. If he had to say, Tsuna was a saint compared to him. "I see. Well don't think much on it, it was in self defense. I take it that right after that, people became afraid to come into the forest."

Tsuna nodded.

"The villagers are idiots." Reborn huffed and began taking off his shoes. Tsuna blinked and then slowly began to back out of the room.

"Well, I better get to bed soon. I'll be in the living room if you need anything. Goodnight." Tsuna smiled and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Reborn, when he was certain that it was safe, took his fedora off and laid it on the nightstand. He ran a hand through his hair and fell back into the bed.

'Just what the hell am I doing?'

Hope you've enjoyed this. Tell me what you think about it.

I was originally going to put the entire thing as a one-shot and its freaken long but then decided to split it up. Why? Cuz I'm evil...maybe...or that I'm just plain lazy.