AN: Awesomely enough, I have yet another story to post! It seems as though summer pushed the urge to write to the forefront. Also, it turns out I have a penchant for writing KHR fanfiction. It doesn't seem like that'll be stopping anytime soon either. Let me know how you like this one! It's got a cool feature of an original character that I actually learned to really like in the time it took me to write this fic.

Disclaimer: Um... This is the third fanfiction that I've written in the last few months... I don't own KHR any more than I did before...

The Word of Vongola was Law. The Don's Word effectively set the rules of Mafia Conduct and Etiquette. If Vongola forbid an action or type of business, then the Mafia would follow. Vongola Don Tsunayoshi Sawada was a force to be reckoned with and his Will was overwhelming to most people. Shortly after he had become Vongola Decimo, the Japanese descendant of Primo had put his foot down of all kinds of human experimentation and slavery. The commanding presence and Will of Vongola easily changed the Mafia and it's dealings to the point where even without written words, the Law of the Mafia had changed as well.

After losing the Cloud Arcobaleno, the Carcassa Family had become desperate. Not only was a large part of their revenue from human slavery, but with Vongola's Will and Law being against such a trade, it wasn't enough to support the family any longer. The Carcassa had been smart enough to at least pretend to get rid of their human trafficking business, but they were unable to hide the beginnings of their human experimentation. The last ditch effort of the Carcassa, the experiments were quickly revealed to Vongola himself by the Carcassa's own heir, Raphael, who had found the whole thing disgusting.

"Signor Vongola," the young heir approached the man at a Vongola-held Mafia ball. The teen's suit was pristine, but his face held a sorrow and dread on it. "I must confess something about Mia Famiglia to you."

"Speak, young Carcassa. You have nothing to fear from me," the Japanese man smiled at the teen before him.

Raphael took a breath to steady himself and as he did, his eyes found Vongola's Mist Guardians. Each of them had been hurt by people who had little respect for human life. And now, Raphael feared, it was the Carcassa that were losing their humanity.

Lifting his head, Raphael spoke again, "The Carcassa have not yet ceased their human trafficking. But that is not what I am here to confess. On orders from Carcassa Ottavio, my father, the Carcassa Famiglia has begun human experimentation as well. As heir to the Carcassa, I, Raphael, am ready for the consequences of this."

The room seemed to freeze around the Vongola Tenth Generation and the Carcassa heir. All movement in the ballroom had stopped in order for the rest of the mafiosi in the room to listen in.

"You are very brave, Raphael," Vongola praised kindly, not at all the harsh and unforgiving response the boy had been expecting. "The matter will be dealt with. Would you prefer to be involved?"

The teen's fear mostly assuaged with the assurance that the horrors of the Carcassa would stop, he nodded. "If I may."

"Of course. My Mists will escort you to our limo at the end of the night." With that, Vongola smiled once more and turned, walking off to mingle some more. Raphael's shoulders sagged with relief. He had gotten off easy, that much he knew. He also realized that his father would not be so lucky.

Soon enough, the end of the ball had arrived. Sure enough, the two Vongola Mists were waiting for Raphael at the gates.

"Thank you," the teen nodded to the two as they sat in the limo, waiting for the rest of the Tenth Generation.

"We thank you, Raphael. If not for you, we would not have known about the Carcassa and they would have hurt many others." The female Mist-Chrome, if Raphael remembered correctly-gave him a tight but kind smile. It was one of pain but also one of hope.

In the following silence, Raphael's eyes were drawn to the male Mist's frame. The legend of Mukuro Rokudo was one that was still told in Mafia circles, especially now that he was a Vongola Mist, so it was natural that Raphael felt a little intimidated by the man. When he finally allowed his eyes to turn to the man, Raphael found the Mist inspecting him closely.

"Why did you tell us?" The man asks.

The teen is silent for a few moments before speaking, his voice sure but sad, "Because I couldn't watch the victims get hurt. I couldn't watch Mia Famiglia lose their humanity right in front of my eyes. Because I am a human being. And... because I want to live in Vongola's world. His Will and Law has changed things. And I want to see things be changed."

"Then you will," the two Mists nod at each other and suddenly the limo seems to ripple and the rest of the Vongola Tenth Generation is sitting there as well.

"Congratulations, Raphael. We needed to make sure you were sincere. I'm happy to say that there is no doubt at this point." Vongola claps his hands together once, the X on the back of his glove a show of power that should have felt threatening, but in this case, Raphael only felt reassured that things would be dealt with. After all, Vongola had spoken and his Word was Law.