Foreword: Don't worry people. XD I have not forgotten this story. …just remember I warned you this one would be updated slower. XP …Especially with all the shit I have to keep up with now too. . Although, for the next month or two I will be attempting to update this one regularly. My goal is to finish "Not On the Menu" this year, so bear with me, folks!

Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman REBORN! I do, however, own Camilla Vasquez and family brood…as well as Gokudera's fictional crackhead cousin, Rufus. …-.-;

Not On the Menu

Chapter Two: A Hit & a Miss

"I need you to go to New York."

Takeshi didn't question the request when Hayato stated it gruffly, his teal blue eyes telling him it was more command than plea.

"Who?"

The response he received wasn't verbal, but rather physical as Hayato slid a photo across the smooth marble surface. He sighed at the person in the picture. Roughly five feet-ten inches, in decent shape, of noticeable Italian decent, balding—what remained being jet-black in color—and dressed in a black blazer, a white tee, and jeans. Vincenzo "Vincent" Adriano. Not a bad man, normally speaking…but…the problems he did have made him a liability. Vincent was already known being too talkative, add in the fact that he had a gambling problem and it was only a matter of time that he'd say too much for the right price. And given that Takeshi had just received a hit on him, he'd guess that time had just recently passed.

He tried not to dwell on the fact that he'd be taking the man's life and instead asked, "when?"

"Two days." He wasn't the only one who didn't like to drag out a conversation when it concerned a hit.

He took a moment to mull over the information before giving a sudden nod. "I'll prepare transportation."

He made to leave then, but was stopped when a confused Hayato inquired, "You're not taking the jet?"

"Ah, no. I wanted to make a stop first."

He ignored the sharply raised eyebrow on Hayato's face and made his way out of the room. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he smiled slightly and it had nothing at all to do with Vincent's soon to arrive end, but rather the thought that had crossed his mind when he was given a deadline of two days. If he had to go stateside, he might as well visit a friend.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

…Or at least that had been the plan.

Takeshi stared at the 'CLOSED' sign with an expression that was part amusement, part disbelief. According to the hours of business printed quite clearly on the shop window, the Tiger Bread Bakery should be open for business for another eight hours. Of course, that mattered little when all the lights were off and there was an even larger 'CLOSED' sign in tacky red-orange letters hanging on the inside of the shop doors. He hated to say it, but confusion wasn't anything unusual for him. He'd encountered several new and unusual situations throughout the years since meeting Tsuna and he made it past them with little difficulty, however this particular situation…he found a bit annoying.

He didn't understand what he'd missed. When he asked around, he found out that the shop had in fact been closed for a few days now, which was strange given that he'd spoken to Camilla just four days ago. Surely, in the long conversation that had followed his call, she'd have mentioned closing her shop? Instead, he could quite vividly remember her saying how busy the show would be this week. Frown forming on his face, he dialed her number in his phone. Like most of the numbers he frequently dialed or interacted with, it was memorized and not present in his contact list—not many numbers were. It was a common practice for the high-up members of the Vongola—better to simply lose or misplace a phone over losing the device on top of also giving a possible enemy all of your close contacts' information.

Listening to the phone ring, he tried not to let a thousand or more scenarios run through his head and instead stared back at his frowning reflection in the shop windows. So when it picked up, he was witness to his own eyebrows jumping up in surprise.

"Hello?" Her voice could barely be made out over the sounds of loud music. Was she at a party? Couldn't be a club…it was only one in the afternoon…. Besides, he sincerely doubted she'd close her bakery just to go out.

"Camilla?"

"What?"

"Ca—"

"Wait. Hold on. I can't hear you. Give me a sec." The strained sound of her voice told him that she was raising her voice simply in order to hear herself.

A minute or so passed and the loud music gradually diminished to a dull roar that he'd have to struggle to hear over the phone.

"Hello? I'm sorry, who's this?" He was relieved to her sounding so normal, but at the same time horribly confused.

"Camilla…"

"Takeshi?" She sounded surprised and he could hear the shuffling as she checked her caller ID.

"Yea, it's me. Where are you? Why's your shop closed?"

"…Wait. …How do you know my shop's closed?"

"Ahh…that's because I'm standing in front of it," he couldn't stop the bashful tone in his voice even if he wanted to.

"…You are?" She was downright incredulous.

"I had some business in the states so I thought I'd stop by while I had a layover…but, well…when I arrived, your shop was closed."

"Oh. …ohhhh. Takeshi, I'm so sorry, but I'm not in L.A. now—I'm not even in the U.S. right now."

He frowned. "You aren't? Where are you?"

She sighed, "Okay, well, you remember last week when I told you my mother left to visit my aunt?"

He did. For the past two months they'd somehow made it a habit to talk once a week. And just about anything came up in their conversations—from her brother Danny's questionable hygiene to Hayato's cat—but he remembered being told about her mother's trip especially. She was particularly nervous about her mother traveling such a distance alone.

"So you're in South America?" he surmised.

She laughed slightly, "yep. Rio."

"And just how did that happen?"

A groan preluded her response and he smiled despite the situation. It was all too easy to imagine the expression on her face, "Right. So, three days ago, Gabe calls me right?" Gabriel being the older brother he'd seen at the bar four months ago. "He tells me that mama is in the hospital. So, of course, I pack up my stuff, close the shop, and grab the next flight out. …Only for me to get here…"

"And she's not in the hospital?"

"That fucker lied." Her anger was comical as she stressed her vowels.

He snorted as he held in a laugh.

"Apparently, he talked mama and my aunt into playing along so that they could get me here." She sounded downright irritable.

"And why would they do that?"

"…because…," a heavy sigh, "Gabe has been trying to get me to take a vacation for the last two years."

"Ahh…." That he could see. Camilla was something of a workaholic, she frequently brought work into their conversations—the type to put everything she had into her choice of focus.

"Gabriel, that asshole, he knows I don't take vacations! …At least not during this time of the year!" She amended quickly. "It's the busy season…. Of course, he would chose to celebrate instead of work."

"Celebrate?" He taken to pacing a small circle in front of the bakery, but had come to a stop at that particular word.

"Oh…yea…today…it's kind of my birthday."

He blinked. "Today?"

"Ah, heh, yea. As of today, July 2nd, when someone asks my age, I can just throw a quarter at them."

He heard the smile in her voice and he found himself mirroring the expression, "I see. Well then, h—"

He didn't say more as a distinctly male voice sounded in the background.

"Oh, thank you." Camilla's voice was a bit distant as she was no longer talking into the phone. "Aww, well, actually I'm kind of in the middle of an important conversation, right now."

"Later? Oh, no, probably not then either actually. I'm here with family and I highly doubt they'll let me get away for very long."

"Yea…sorry!"

He was silent throughout the one-sided conversation and had yet to take note of the blank look on his face.

"Hello?"

"What was that about?" He somehow managed to keep his voice light despite the annoyance he felt creeping on.

"Oh. I dunno, some guy wanted to buy me a drink."

He thought as much. "And you said no? …And where are you anyway?"

She laughed, "We're staying at a resort. I was hanging out at the pool when you called."

"Mm."

"Annnd as to your first question, of course, I said no." She snorted as she continued, "I don't believe in flings. Always more trouble than they're worth…plus I tend to feel icky afterwards."

"Icky?"

"Hey! Don't make fun of my dialogue!"

Chuckling, he pressed on, "Well, what about starting a relationship? A long-distance one."

"Hmmmm…I don't think so. I don't date guys I meet on vacation. They tend to get the wrong idea about you."

"Mmhmm…and what about the ones you meet on business trips?"

"…well…that depends."

"On?"

He heard take a breath to speak, but before the words came, a familiar voice came through the phone, "Yo! Tigre! Quit talkin' to your boyfriend! You're on family time! That I'm paying for!" The last part was added with a laugh.

"Pendejo! I told you not to call me that in public!" Despite the interruption, Takeshi found it hard not smile at the sounds of a scuffle as he could only imagine Camilla trying to hit her brother as he laughed in the background.

She growled under her breath, "jackass." She huffed in annoyance, "I'll be there in a minute. Make sure mama doesn't get a cake without my approval!" He could just barely make out the sounds of Gabriel's mumbled agreement.

"…sorry about that."

"It's okay," his tone was as good-natured as ever.

"Still, that's like…what? The third time he's interrupted us?"

"Fourth, actually."

"Fourth?" She sounded incredulous.

"Yep. He interrupted us the first time we met, remember?"

"…He did, didn't he? Ugh…He's such a dick!" She laughed breathily.

The smile that had appeared at her complaint began to fade as he mentioned the unavoidable, "…you have to go?"

"…Yea. Sorry, it's just…you know, family time and all."

He nodded, "I know. It's fine. I can talk to you later."

"Well, yea, but I just feel bad because you actually stopped by and I'm not even there!"

"It's alright, Camilla. There's always next time."

"Next time? You mean in another two months?" She asked with joking sarcasm.

"Ahhh hah, well, I'd hope not, but…if I didn't know better, I'd think you missed me."

"Hmm, well I suppose I could see that."

"Mmhmm…do you?"

"…Anything's possible, Takeshi."

He laughed at her words. "Happy birthday, Camilla."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Oh and Takeshi?"

"Hm?"

"Try to have fun at work. I swear every time I bring up your job, you always get this frown on your face or that weird tone in your voice. Loosen up, enjoy yourself more."

His expression quickly became solemn, "I'll try."

"Good!" The exuberance of her tone faded to something gentler as she ended the conversation, "I'll talk to you later, Takeshi."

"Bye."

He stared at the phone a long moment after the call came to an end. She wanted him to have fun at work. He did…sometimes…when he was with his famiglia…but times like these—the image of Vincent crossed his mind unbidden—he'd prefer to not enjoy himself.

Afterword: OMFG…IT IS HERE! XD I wrote it! DAHAHAHAHAHA! …lol…finally. Anyway, so some of you have notice that there's a lack of detail concerning the rest of the Vongola or rather just about any outside influence, Takeshi or Camilla aside. ….and you're right! XD lol, trust me…it's all intentional and don't worry it won't last forever. For now, I'll just continue to hint at things. Later on, everything will come together with such violent force, you might think of it as a violent fifty car pile-up. XD

In other news, yes for the sake of confirmation, "Tooth & Nail" is on hold for the moment. And it will continue to be on hold until I get this story to chapter 7, after which I'll do some more for "Tooth & Nail." Just keep in mind, that while I am in no way, shape, or form abandoning "Tooth & Nail," the most important story for the moment is "Not On the Menu" and it will continue to be so until I finish it. :D

ALSO! The "SUMMER TEASE" is soon to start. ^^ Hopefully by next week if not this week. I hope you all are ready to be introduced to "Possession" & "Matte Black"!

-S.T.