Disclaimer: I do not own any KHR characters…

First, there are a number of things that I have to make clear:

I probably won't put the ten-year bazooka into this story unless I can manage to fit it in so the Future Arc in the anime doesn't exist in my fanfic.

I HAVE NOT read the manga for KHR so I wouldn't know how to add in characters that have not shown up in the anime yet. I might include the Shimon Family sometime in the future but I'm still considering it since I don't really know how to portray them.

I cannot write romance. Repeat cannot. I've never tried and I don't think I'll be very good at it so I'll continue this fic as a family-based story and continue to strengthen the bonds between Tsuna and his Family.

Lastly, once again, this story will concentrate on the connection between the Vendice and the Arcobaleno as the main 'problem'. I'll throw in bits of Tsuna's past but it won't be revealed in this fic.

So, here's the sequel that everyone's been waiting for. Sorry for the long wait but the first chapter sort of turned out longer than I expected it to and it's just to get things going.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1 – Decisions Made

MAIN OFFICE OF VENDICARE PRISON / EIGHT YEARS AGO

"Do you have them?"

"All seven, Boss," A pause. "The Giglio Nero woman came willingly. The rest we had to drug."

"You managed to drug him?" The closest thing to amusement that would ever be heard within the bleak walls of the prison slithered from the monotone voice. "Not so strong then, is he?"

"Again, the Sky boss helped. He seemed to trust her explicitly."

A long, contemplative silence took place before the figure staring out at the dreary silence gave a semblance of a nod.

"Very well, take them down. Do not start until they have all woken up. Make sure to… explain it to them. Whether or not they understand and accept, well, it matters not."

"Hai."

CELL IN VENDICARE PRISON

"Reborn," A soft voice called out. "Are you awake?"

Lethal stillness. And then, "You tricked me."

The voice was impassive, not even a hint of emotion slipping past the impregnable, icy exterior.

"I had to, Reborn." The voice pleaded quietly. "This is for the best."

"That damn stuntman's still a kid. He should have had a choice. We all should have had a choice."

"I had no choice, Reborn. Please understand."

"Everyone has a choice, Luche." The bitterness that had been held back so far finally crept into the dark velvety voice. "You just took it away from us."

Their stilted conversation was broken by a distant scream, half hysterical and full of agony. Silence descended again, and the boss of the Giglio Nero Family stirred once again.

"Reborn," Once again, the voice was soft and imploring. "I know you're angry, but they would have killed me."

"Then you should have asked for help! In the worst case scenario, you should have died! And you call yourself a Sky boss?" Reborn spat out, onyx eyes raging.

"If they killed me, my daughter would have had to take my place!" Luche cried, her voice echoing around the chamber they were in.

When Reborn stayed silent this time, Luche continued, her voice lowered once again. "My daughter means the world to me, Reborn."

"Perhaps the world, Luche," The hitman's stare penetrated sapphire blue eyes. "But is it worth seven individuals' lives as well as your Family's? Your Family, Luche. The Family that would give up the world to ensure you and Aria's survival."

Ocean gaze flickered away, sorrow filling their depths. "It is not just for my daughter, Reborn. I believe this course of action to be the best for everyone's future."

"And who are you to decide that?"

Luche's gaze drifted back up as Reborn continued on relentlessly.

"Who are you to decide the fate of people? You're a boss, Luche, not a god. You have no right."

"What's done is done, Reborn," Defiantly, the Sky boss stared back. "It can't be undone anymore."

A quirk of humorless lips appeared as the sound of their cell door sliding open filtered into their ears. "That's about the only thing you've been right about, Luche."

"You are awake. As expected of the greatest hitman in the Mafia world."

The Vendice soldier that entered the cell stared blankly at them. "Boss wishes the process to be explained."

Reborn snorted and, if his hands hadn't been chained to the cold wall behind him, he would've reached up to tug his favorite fedora down which, now that he thought about it, was no longer on his head.

The Vendice soldier moved forward, arm extending towards the other, still unconscious, prisoners. Reborn's eyes widened imperceptibly as he noticed what their captor held and almost snarled when the taser touched the stuntman bound next to him.

Skull's whole body jerked and convulsed and amethyst eyes flew open as a pain-filled scream was ripped from his throat. Reborn let out a string of brutal curses as he could only watch helplessly from his place.

But the soldier barely spared the stuntman a glance before moving on to wake up the other captives. Each one woke up with a start, Lal Mirch letting out a pained cry while Viper's uncloaked face twisted into a grimace as he realized his situation. Fong only gritted his teeth and endured the electric current coursing through his muscles as Verde's face paled but stayed calm.

"Very good," The Vendice soldier intoned. "You have all woken up accordingly."

Reborn had to bite back an uncharacteristic 'no duh' as he turned a stony stare on their captor.

"You have all been chosen," The soldier continued. "To become the sacrifices needed to protect the Tri-Ni-Set, the ultimate power that is stored within seven pacifiers. It is your duty to become the Arcobaleno and become the Vendice's… vessels."

"And you think we'll just accept this?" Lal Mirch's voice cut through the prison cell, loud and angry.

"You have no choice," The soldier replied. "Each generation, seven are chosen to serve the Vendice. You are all bound by Vendicare's law to serve us. You cannot break the law."

"Screw your damn law!" The bluenette barked, body straining against her bonds. "We would never obey something like that!"

The Vendice soldier made a slight motion that could have been a shrug. "You have no choice. In the Mafia world, the Vendice are needed to maintain order. For us to be able to do so, seven vessels are needed to bear the weight of our responsibility."

Reborn's features darkened and his gaze slid over to the Sky Guardian who had, so far, been completely silent.

Did you know about this? Reborn wondered.

Luche didn't seem all that perturbed for someone who had just witnessed her friends being electrocuted, and the black-haired hitman wondered grimly why he had fallen so completely for this boss' charms. His jaw clenched. He had forgotten the most important rule of a Mafioso:

Never trust anybody because everybody is an enemy.

"Now, you will all come with me."

Another device appeared in the soldier's hand and the stone wall that they were bound to suddenly started to move forward, shifting out of the former cell with a slow, ugly, grinding sound. A minute later, the seven of them found themselves in a different room, a large gun-like device in the center.

Reborn glanced surreptitiously at Verde further down the wall and caught a flash of anxiety in the scientist's eyes, quickly shadowed again by the gleam of his glasses. So the crazy genius at least had some semblance of an idea as to what the machine in front of them was, which, Reborn was loath to admit, was better than what he could come up with. He had absolutely no idea what the device would do to them. Almost unconsciously, he flexed his arms, trying to figure out a way to break the chains' hold on his wrists.

"They won't come off no matter how much you pull at them, Reborn."

Onyx eyes narrowed and the hitman continued to tug at the chains, if only to show Luche that there was no way in any heaven or hell that he would listen to her again.

"The Sky boss is correct, hitman."

Reborn pinned the soldier with a dark, icy glare but the cloaked figure didn't even flinch.

"Well," Viper, from Reborn's left, cut in with his usual drawl. "What does this piece of junk do?"

The soldier only turned his back on them, monotone voice drifting to their ears as he started the machine. "You'll know soon enough."

At first, nothing visible happened. Viper's voice, derisive as ever, floated its way to Reborn's ears.

"Maybe it's broken. Wonder if this idiot will let us all go home if it is."

Reborn's lips thinned. He knew the other six in the room well enough to decipher whatever they said. Viper's ironic bravado, a mere front to disguise any fear, was almost palpable as the words hung in the air like wet laundry.

A low humming sound jolted Reborn out of his thoughts and he watched pensively as seven points of light began to grow from the tip of the gun. An almost soundless whimper slipped out of the stuntman chained next to him. Without hesitation, the raven-haired hitman shifted to the side as much as he could so that at least half of Skull was shielded from the rays. Just in time too as the gun fired off seven beams straight towards them. Just before they hit, Reborn's sharp eyes caught a flash of blond hair rushing towards the soldier and flooring him with one blow before sweeping past him, ocean-blue eyes glinting with determination.

As light flooded the chamber, Reborn gritted his teeth against the agony tearing through his whole body. He could feel his muscles twist and convulse, as if changing shape. Distant cries of pain all around him told his fading awareness that they were all feeling the same thing.

A moment before he descended into darkness, the strongest hitman only had two thoughts in his mind:

One, if he ever got his hands on the blond lovesick idiot, Reborn would shoot him to death.

And two, there was no way his life would stay the same after this.

And then, almost gratefully, he let himself sink into the comforting hands of unconsciousness.

VARIA MANSION / TSUNA'S OFFICE / PRESENT TIME

"Reborn?"

Unreadable onyx eyes blinked open as the fedora-wearing hitman's gaze calmly swept the room before focusing on his charge.

"What is it?"

Tsuna studied his tutor for a split second longer before shrugging, a small smile appearing on his face. "Don't you think you've slept long enough? It's almost lunch."

As the brunette turned and headed back to his desk again, Reborn's eyes followed the figure, half thoughtful, half suspicious. His student always seemed to have a knack for being able to wake him up whenever his dreams took a turn for the worse, but Tsuna had yet to admit to knowing anything, only claiming that he woke the hitman up because he thought Reborn had 'slept too long'. This time was no different.

Rising to his feet, he jumped onto the brunette's desk from his perch in the hammock attached to the ceiling. Peering down at his student's work, the arcobaleno frowned.

"Tsuna, what exactly are you working on?"

Tsuna looked torn between defiance and guilt. With a sigh, he turned the papers around, surreptitiously shuffling the top sheet under everything else before showing them to the gun-wielding hitman. "I've been talking to Xanxus-nii and we both agreed that getting as much support as we can from other Families would be best right now. You know some Families are drawing away from Vongola because of the rift between us and the Vendice. They're all afraid of getting caught in the crossfire and I don't blame them. But we thought that we should try to talk to the heads of some of those Families and convince them to stick with us instead of turning to Millefiore for protection."

Reborn nodded, features dangerously pleasant. "That sounds like an excellent plan. It's what any boss would do in this situation. But," Tsuna winced as Reborn pulled out the very sheet Tsuna had hastily tried to hide, gaze growing darker by the second as he gave the sheet a through read. "What kind of a boss agrees to a meeting with the very people who are trying to kill him? Alone?"

The teen shrugged, features taking on a sheepish expression. "I'm just meeting with the Lightning Guardian of the Vendice, Reborn."

The hitman glared, gesturing to the piece of paper in his hand. "Clarify something for me, Tsuna. Lightning Guardian of the Vendice. Exactly which part of that promises you your safety?"

Tsuna met the baby hitman's gaze levelly, not giving an inch. "I've met Rui-san before," He defended. "He seemed okay then. Besides, he says that he'll come alone as well."

Reborn had a hard time processing anything the brunette had just said. "Dame-Tsuna! Stop being so trusting all the time! Just because he says he'll come alone doesn't mean he will. And how did he 'seem okay' to you before? He was trying to kill you!"

"He didn't in the end!" Tsuna protested. "And he got punished for it!"

"You don't know that," Reborn pointed out. "That was what Naoto assumed since Rui disobeyed orders. And he assumed that too."

Tsuna frowned. "I doubt the Vendice would ever willingly release one of their prisoners, much less condone the act done by one of their top members. Besides," He argued. "This meeting could be a huge advantage for us, not to mention I do owe him one for not killing me last time. I should at least go and hear him out."

The sun arcobaleno let the piece of paper flutter back onto the desk.

"Does the Ninth know about this?" He asked, features neutral. "Xanxus? Anyone?"

Tsuna's gaze lowered to the note Rui had somehow smuggled on to Varia grounds. He had found it pinned under a rock while walking in the forest near the edge of the estate and, if not for his keen eyesight, would have missed it entirely.

"No," The brunette responded evenly. "I didn't want them to worry."

Reborn released a sigh. "You're not even a real boss yet."

Grabbing his fedora from his student's desk, the hitman stared squarely back into chocolate eyes. "Fine, I'll agree with this," He paused, smugly registering the surprise that dawned on the teen's face. "Under two conditions."

Tsuna hesitated briefly before nodding slowly. "Okay. What are the conditions?"

"One," The arcobaleno crossed his arms. "You'll tell your Family about this." Onyx eyes glared when Tsuna tried to protest. "Their job is to protect you Tsuna. I'm not saying you have to tell them every little detail of what you're doing every day, but they should know when you do something like this."

Reborn waited patiently until the brunette nodded. "Good. The second condition is much simpler." He stared calmly ahead. "I'll be coming with you." He stood, waiting for the protests. He wasn't disappointed.

"But Reborn," Tsuna sat up straight, frown marring his features. "Rui-san said to come alone."

"Don't care." The hitman replied bluntly. "You have a responsibility now, Tsuna. Like it or not, you're the heir to Vongola. The Ninth picked you as the next boss so if you go and get yourself killed by an enemy, who's going to be the successor? I'm coming. That's final."

Tsuna stilled before tilting his head forward and letting his bangs cover his expression. A few seconds later, the future Vongola boss raised his head again, smile plastered on his face. "Okay, Reborn. The meeting is in three days. We can both go meet him then."

The baby hitman was instantly on his guard, onyx eyes narrowing. He had seen this expression before, but not recently. He hadn't for a long time. It was the same expression the brunette had often worn when Reborn had first met him, an empty robotic stretch of the lips that had nothing to do with human emotions. It was simply a movement and Reborn absolutely hated it.

Tsuna tilted his head, feeling a familiar wave of empty calmness wash over him. He knew what Reborn was thinking of but he really had no control over it.

FLASHBACK

Reborn glanced sharply at his new charge sitting silently beside him.

"What are you doing?" He asked roughly.

The boy turned to face him. "Colonello-san made a joke."

The hitman's jaw tightened as he continued to observe the fixed features of the brunette. It couldn't really even be called a forced smile.

Tsuna continued to stare blankly at the tiny person in front of him. "This is the correct expression to assume when something is funny."

Colonello and Lal Mirch, as Tsuna had been told, only looked at him with twin expressions of disbelief. On the other hand, Reborn's wine glass shattered in the hitman's grip and familiar raging eyes turned on him. So, Tsuna rearranged his features into something more appropriate; he dropped his smile and stared blankly back at his new owner.

Reborn glared at the boy in front of him before shaking the glass out of his hand. Jumping down from his perch on the sofa, he headed for the door.

"Just stay with Colonello and Lal!" He barked coldly over his shoulder when the arcobaleno felt his charge stand up. An obedient "hai" followed him as he stormed out of the room and down the hallway.

The next day, 80 new recruits had fled the training complex, terrified of another 'training session' with the number one hitman.

FLASHBACK END

Now, seeing that same smile on the teen's face, the sun arcobaleno was not reassured in the slightest by Tsuna's agreement to his terms. If he was completely honest with himself, his student's reaction absolutely terrified him, especially after witnessing the brunette's admission to Mammon on the plane only a week ago. But even as his mind raced to find a solution to this snowballing situation, the mask on Tsuna's face lifted, melting into a genuine, albeit small, smile.

"I know you're just worried about me, Reborn." The smile warmed and the panic that had clenched like a vice around the hitman's heart eased its grip somewhat. "I'll tell everyone tonight at dinner, okay?"

Reborn watched the teen carefully before nodding. "Alright," He replied, jumping off the desk in the process. "Let's go get some lunch then."

While I figure out a way to lock that woman up again for good.

VARIA MANSION / TSUNA'S OFFICE / THREE HOURS LATER

Tsuna looked up as his office door burst open and the boss of Varia strode in, scowl in place.

"Brat! What's with the official summons?" Xanxus barked, waving a piece of paper in the air. "You could've just talked to me at lunch!"

Tsuna smiled, half sheepish, though his eyes conveyed a solemnity that instantly brought a heavier frown onto the crimson-eyed boss. Without another word, Xanxus abruptly closed and locked the door behind him before striding forward and dropping into the chair opposite the brunette with all the grace of a giant cat. Arching a questioning eyebrow, the Varia boss stared straight back into serious brown eyes.

With a satisfied nod, Tsuna pulled out another few sheets of paper, neatly stacked together.

"I'd like you to sign this, Xanxus." He said, pushing the document across the desk.

Red eyes immediately narrowed as Xanxus caught the dropped suffix from his name. Almost pensively, he picked up the document and started reading. He had been taught long ago not to sign anything he hadn't gone through himself.

Across from him, Tsuna sat back, calmly waiting for the outburst he knew would come.

"What the fuck?"

Xanxus slapped the papers back on to the desk before rising to tower over the future Vongola boss.

"Is this a joke?" He spat out, crimson eyes glaring. "Or are you just really stupid?"

The teen sighed before standing up as well and moving over to stand by one of the windows overlooking the Varia estate.

"Reborn said something earlier." He stated, gaze following the raindrops trailing down the windowpane. "And I suddenly realized that, if something were to happen to me, nobody would be left to be the heir."

Brown eyes flashing the color of sky flames finally turned back to meet piercing crimson red.

"So you thought I'd be perfect for the job," Xanxus snapped back half-heartedly, unconsciously letting a slight note of bitterness into his voice. "The man who almost killed you."

Tsuna blinked, genuinely startled. "You're still thinking about that? I already told you I didn't blame you."

Xanxus snorted. "You think anyone else thinks like you?" He snarled. "The old man would never approve."

Tsuna shrugged. "Then it's a good thing this is my decision. The Ninth doesn't have a say in it. I looked it up."

When only silence followed, the brunette moved back across the room to stand in front of the Varia boss, peering earnestly up at him.

"I think you would be good at it, Xanxus. Being boss, I mean."

Tired red eyes stared back. "Why?"

The teen smiled. "Because you care." He replied simply. "And because you're strong enough to protect those that you care about."

Turning his gaze back to the sheets scattered on the desk, Xanxus released an imperceptible sigh. Glancing at the short teen, brown eyes gentle with sincere conviction at what he had said, the Varia boss wondered how anyone could possess so much trust and hand it out just as easily.

Do you even know how much your words mean to me?

With another short sigh, the man reached out and picked up the papers again, shuffling them back together. Continuing to read, one line stood out more than the others, and did not cease to perturb him by the time he had finished reading.

Turning swiftly back to the brunette, Xanxus quickly pointed out the line.

"Take it out," He barked. "What the hell do you mean by this?"

Tsuna lowered his gaze to the line, unsurprised. He hadn't really expected Xanxus to take it lying down. But, he scanned the words, it made sense.

In any situation where the Vongola heir is endangered by figures explicitly from his past, you are required to take over the heir position immediately without investigation, instigation, and/or confrontation of said figures.

"You just said so yourself, right?"

Tsuna's head jerked up as Xanxus' voice cut through his thoughts. The man was glaring down at him with the fury of a thunderstorm.

"That I'm strong enough to protect the ones I fucking care about." He clarified. "You're not going anywhere brat, so those damn 'figures' can just go to hell."

Tsuna's features softened into a smile and he nodded, quickly pulling out a second document from a drawer and handing it to the other.

Xanxus snorted after rereading and not finding the condition. Pulling out a pen, he signed the contract with only the slightest hesitation before handing the document back.

With a curt nod, the Varia boss turned and headed for the door, ignoring the sinking feeling in his stomach at Tsuna's grateful but almost melancholic "thank you". As he closed the door behind him, Xanxus caught a whispered remark that he was sure the brunette hadn't meant for him to hear. A remark that almost sent him tearing back into the office to knock some sense into the future boss.

"I might be the one exception to those you can protect, Xanxus-nii."

Stalking down one hallway, he turned a corner and instantly met onyx eyes.

Without thinking, the crimson-eyed boss lashed out, snarling, "Your idea, baby? To make me the next heir if that idiot back there decides to go on a suicidal mission or something?"

Reborn didn't even blink. "Of course not. Tsuna decided to make you the next heir if anything happened to him years ago, right after the Ninth made him his heir. Tsuna was going to do it after he became boss but I guess he changed his mind."

Reborn observed the still figure in front of him, wondering if the man had gone into shock. "I don't know why you're so surprised," He commented, jumping down from his perch and heading off in another direction.

Xanxus just sneered, looking away from the sun arcobaleno. For a moment, the Varia boss was tempted to tell the baby hitman that Tsuna didn't believe anyone could protect from his past, not even his own tutor, but changed his mind almost instantly.

Without a word, he turned and walked away. He wasn't an idiot and he didn't need to be a genius to realize that this fact, if known to Reborn, would crush the greatest hitman in the world like nothing else could.

Dinner Time

"I'm going to be meeting with the Vendice Lightning Guardian three days from now."

There were instant protests from all around the table, voices rising into a jumbled racket.

"Shut up!"

From one end of the table, Xanxus glared warningly at them, waiting for the din to fall before turning his glowering stare onto the brunette across from him.

"Explain." He growled.

Tsuna sighed before describing the note that Rui had delivered to him. "I thought it would be a good idea to hear what he had to say," The brunette concluded. "Since he did say some strange things the last time we met."

A long silence followed his explanation as wide eyes stared back at the future Vongola boss.

"I'll have Reborn with me." Tsuna added hopefully.

"I'm coming too, Jyuudaime!" Gokudera's eyes flashed as his mind cast back to their fight with the Lightning Guardian. He glared to the side as Yamamoto and Ryohei added their voices into the conversation.

"Me too, Tsuna," The swordsman was still smiling but his voice held no trace of laughter. "It could be a trap."

Beside him, Ryohei nodded determinedly, fists half-raised.

The brunette nodded. "I know, but what if it isn't? What if, after this meeting, he agrees to be an ally? Even if he just doesn't want a part this fight, that's still one less Guardian opposing us. That would be a great advantage for the Vongola, and I don't want to pass over a chance like that by bringing too many people with me."

"But you do need protection, brat," Viper pointed out, frowning. "And Reborn's useless in this situation." The small illusionist ignored the chilly stare sent his way from under a fedora. "He's arcobaleno."

Tsuna started before glancing at his tutor beside him. He had forgotten.

"I'll go."

Tsuna turned to blink owlishly at his Cloud Guardian, surprised. "Hibari-san?" He questioned.

Silver eyes met his and the adamant steel in them barred any and all arguments.

With a sigh, Tsuna nodded. "Okay then. I'll take Reborn and Hibari-san with me. That should be enough."

Gokudera scowled fiercely and opened his mouth to protest but Yamamoto quickly cut in with an encouraging comment that had Gokudera seething and reaching for a bomb.

"Boss?"

The teen turned away from the familiar scene in front of him to focus on his only female Guardian. "I'll be fine, Chrome-chan." Tsuna assured, smiling. "And if I really do get into a fight, I can always call for backup, right?"

The frown on Chrome's face eased a little as she nodded.

Satisfied, the brunette's gaze slid to the side to meet mismatched eyes. After a moment, the male illusionist only smirked back at him before continuing his dinner. Tsuna relaxed at this, knowing he had Mukuro's support in this plan.

As he too went back to his food and ignoring the bombs and blades all around him, as well as the heated glare being directed at him from across the table, the teen's thoughts turned to what Viper had said only minutes ago.

"And Reborn's useless in this situation. He's arcobaleno."

What did being arcobaleno have to do with the Vendice?

Finished!

Sorry it took so long; it turned out longer than I had planned.