Naoto observed Abby's second attempt, not to analyze Sonya, but this time to see what this new found fire she had could do. It didn't give her any more of a chance to topple the mafia woman but it did give her guts. She persevered through the punishment Sonya was laying on her and cause the slightest flinch from the red head that only the one face to face with her could notice...and Naoto. Mira~ Good job. Naoto informed and removed his track jacket. "If you ask me, I'd say everyone here has lost it. There's better ways to prove yourself useful than joining the mafia. But, somehow I know I can't talk any of you out of it." He told them in response to their answers as he scratched the back of his head. Naoto bright his gaze to meet Sonya's. "Fionn, can you help Abby off the field?" Naoto started out to face Sonya stopping momentarily to wonder if Fionn's last word of encouragement were actually reassuring or just depressing.

Naoto walked by Sonya's small armory and retrieved a soccer ball from the corner of the yard. If Sonya was here to see what he could do he would have to show her with what he knows best. Standing opposite of Sonya, Naoto stopped the ball at his feet and rested a foot on it to keep it from rolling away. "Mind if I do this one without you pressing a gun to my head first?" He said it sarcastically but the question was serious on some level. Sonya's usual stern expression told to shut up and get down to business. "Here goes nothing then." Naoto's eyes became vivid as he effortlessly jumped the ball into the air. "Alright ol' pal, you hit her high..." Naoto caught the ball with swift kick as it came down sending it hurtling at Sonya. As soon as the ball raced off Naoto dated straight at Sonya and dropped with a slide kick at the leg Abby had attacked. "...and I'll hit her low!" There was something strange about Naoto's aim. As if the ball wasn't targeting Sonya and if anyone had seen Naoto play they knew rarely missed a shot.

Fionn flinched when he was suddenly embraced by Jakki, flushing at the unnecessary closeness between the two. Her words... kind of hurt his feelings. He wasn't serious! He was just stating the facts! "U-um... okay?" his voice was shaky and he tried to keep himself from shaking. All of this talk of him being too serious and women was making him uncomfortable. Not to mention that Sonya was older than him! Not that she was unattractive, but... gah, this was getting him flustered. He thanked God that Naoto told him to get Abby off of the field. After a nod in the rosy-haired boy's direction, he walked toward Abby.

He truly felt sorry for the blond haired girl. What Sonya did to her looked extremely painful. Does this woman have no mercy? he shuddered when he thought about his turn. What was he even going to use? He hadn't even picked up a sword or gun before... Fionn grabbed Abby's arm and threw it around his shoulders, hauling her to her feet and turning toward Naoto's home. Maybe he could sit her down and get Naoto's mom to make some tea for her... or better yet, water. That, and he would have to tend to her as well. At least I won't be outside.

Fionn shuddered again as he stepped inside, walking toward the kitchen and setting her down on chair. "Um..." Okay... first thing he would have to do is hand her a napkin. He walked away for a moment before returning to her side with a few of them. "Are you okay?" he asked calmly. "You put up quite a fight. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't last half as long." he smiled softly at her, holding out the napkins and waiting for her to take them.

THE WEEK BEFORE

"You know, even after ten years you still look creepy with that smirk of yours, Tsuna."



"You're still lacking on the Italian department, as well. Let's just speak Japanese like back then."

Across the mahogany table sat Tsunayoshi Sawada, the tenth generation boss of the Vongola Famiglia and sworn successor to Giotto, otherwise known as Primo. It had been nearly two decades since Hajime departed from the mansion and set his destination for Japan, with a mission now lost and failed from the corruption that led him into the heart of the Yakuza.

Having arrived before the sun greeted them, Hajime had feared the verdict of his Boss as he was shocked to see his old friend in such a condition; barely able to walk on his own, his health deteriorating. It struck the leader of CEDEF heavily, pushing him to a tearful regret and plea for forgiveness, of which his friend had accepted to his surprise. Quietly, the man had sworn his eternal oath of loyalty. After catching up for hours and hours, the one topic that he had sought to rid of surfaced.

"In my opinion," Hajime started, cupping his hands together as he stared down at his ghastly reflection, the embers of the cigarette in his mouth dancing across the tabletop like snowflakes. "Naoto Alato is not a candidate of Sky. The boy isn't even related to you; you've never had any siblings or relatives."

"That is a chance that we'll just have to take," Tsuna replied, closing his eyes briefly with an expression of apathy before re-opening them to look at Hajime. "If it's true that he possesses Vongola Blood somehow, then there's no question of it."

Hajime scoffed, exhaling a puff of smoke from the opposite end of his mouth. "I haven't sensed a single hint of a Sky Flame in the boy since I came here to observe all of the candidates," the man sighed. "Every other candidate has, or can use Flames, though."

"Maybe he is related to one of the other previous Vongola bosses?" Tsuna suggested. "Or, perhaps, he may be like Xanxus-"

Hajime shook his head. "Don't even bring up that man's name," he seemed frustrated at the mention of Xanxus.

Tsuna nodded. "Regardless, once Sonya arrives in Trespiano, I've ordered her to shoot him with the Dying Will Bullet like Reborn did to me twenty years ago."

"I can't say I agree with you when it comes to picking Naoto Alato, Tsuna, but I refuse to elect a fake. I'm sorry."

Tsuna seemed to understand as Hajime finished the cigarette, gently twisting the burning end into the ashtray. "Why did you choose Vincente Cleto, Tsuna? Surely, you've heard of all those rumors..."

"I have," Tsuna interrupted him. "But with the family at its weakest point right now, I need a strong Storm candidate like Vincente to uphold the Vongola and be a worthy successor to Gokudera." the Boss paused for a moment, frowning as his eyes trailed down to his lap. "You know, he's also..."

Hajime cringed at the mention of the name. "Damn, even he's sick, too?" he shook his head, wondering what was going on with the tenth family. "Vincente Cleto is said to work as a hitman behind the scenes, not just killing mafioso, but also innocent civilians. Do you really want a murderous person like him to be a Guardian?"

"Explain to me what you have done for the last two decades as a high-ranking member of the Yamaguchi-gumi." Tsuna suddenly snapped, realizing his outburst and calming down quickly. "Sorry, Hajime. I lost my temper..."

Hajime shrugged. "No need to apologize, Tsuna. I deserve all of what the world has to offer when it comes to ridicule, and I'm grateful that I'm still able to be your friend after all the trouble I've caused."

"Now, for your pick," Tsuna smiled warmly. "Cyril Leggieri, was it?"

"Yeah..."

Abby could barely hear anything over the blood thumping in her head, but she heard what sounded like Naoto commanding someone. The next thing she knew, she felt someone grab her arm and lift her off the ground. It was that blond boy she was supposed to be competing for the Sun Guardian position. What was his name again...?

The blond boy dragged her out of the yard and back into the Alato household before sitting her on a chair. By then, the pounding in Abby's head had begun to subside and she was able to process things more clearly. She silently watched the boy grab a couple of napkins before returning to her side. He asked if she was okay as he offered them to her. Abby grabbed one and began to dab her nose. "Yeah, I think I'm okay. Nothing feels broken." She stated as she tested out the knee that hit Sonya's knee. A jolt of pain shot through her body and she quickly returned her leg back into a more comfortable position.

"I think." She mumbled while looking up to face the boy once more, "Thanks for helping me out. Um, what's your name again?"

Back outside, the final assessment match was beginning between Sonya and Naoto. The red-head watched as the pink-haired teen grabbed, of all things, a soccer ball from behind her armory. He was going to fight her with a soccer ball? It didn't help that he tried to joke around with her but the moment he kicked the ball at her face, she immediately thought about changing her mind. She hadn't expected the ball to move towards her so quickly, nor did she expect Naoto to have a legitimate plan as he ran for her as well, sliding on the ground like a true soccer player with his foot aimed at her bad knee. Looking at both things headed for her direction, Sonya hurriedly decided to take on the ball instead of the boy and jumped up over Naoto as she placed her arms in front of her face. The soccer ball collided with her forearms and she was surprised to feel a hearty sting from the impact. A second later, she pushed the ball away just before landing behind Naoto's head as he continued sliding a few more feet down the yard. She spun back towards him, ignoring the tingling sensation on her arms and gave him a bored look.

"Is that all?"

Well, at least Abby looked better. She was able to take the napkins and dab them on her nose. Her words further reinforced his assumptions, and he sat down across from her. She didn't know his name... hmm. It wasn't uncommon that someone would forget his name, not to mention that he didn't even speak to Abby yet. He knew Abby's name because... well... Abby really wasn't a difficult name to remember. His name, however... "My name's Fionn." he replied after a moment's hesitation. "I'm supposed to be competing with you for the position of the Sun Guardian, but... I really don't know how I feel about fighting for such a big role."

In fact, Fionn didn't know how he felt about even being in the Mafia. He told Naoto a few things that would surely make him confident- or depressed, which ever- but... how did he feel? Was he nervous or afraid? Or was he confident that he could get through things? The blond haired boy tipped his head at her, a frown coming across his face. "... Hey, Abby... what do you think of all of this Mafia business?"

Cyril was about to die from laughter.

Now, he wasn't a laugher in the first place. He was a calm kid, only becoming angry when someone provokes him. He rather stay quiet and observe before getting up and leaving... even now, when these people didn't even know how to fight. Cyril had to admit, he was taken down rather quickly by Sonya. But at least he didn't make a fool of himself. Abby had hit herself in the face, Daisuke did the exact same thing, and now... their "boss" was going to fight a skilled Mafioso with a fucking soccer ball. It was at that moment that he couldn't hold back his laughter.

He got to his feet, wheezing between harsh bouts of laughter, and staggered back inside. The blond haired kid looked up at the sound of his cackling, but Cyril paid him no heed as he walked to a chair at the kitchen table and sat down. His forehead rested on the table as his shoulders trembled with hiccups and giggles.

This is bullshit.

Sonya avoided the kick aimed at her leg, choosing to take her chances with her pink haired opponent's spherical teammate. Naoto expected as much from the woman as she leapt over him. After sliding a bit more Naoto maneuvered to his feet as Sonya turned to him seemingly unfazed. "Is that all? Naoto ignored the remark and bored expression. She wanted to rile him up, see how easy it was to make him lose focus. Naoto smirked. "Don't count on it." There was no way her arms weren't hurting. Naoto knew what it felt like taking one of his shots from he used practice his aim and the ball would ricochet- Ricochet! Phew, I was out of ideas there for a moment. Time out's over~

Setting his footing, Naoto took off towards the ball where Sonya had deflected it. Getting there he got into position for a second shot without missing a step. With another kick he sent the ball flying towards Sonya once again. Again he charged Sonya but the soccer ball curved around the red head. Still Naoto continued his approach, stopping hard in front of Sonya and extending his leg in a straight kick at her stomach. Meanwhile, the ball that had seemingly missed collided with the wall behind Sonya and bounced off on a direct path for the mafia woman. C'mon, show me what you can do Sonya. I need you to help me get stronger.

That's right, his name was Fionn. He seemed like a nice guy, especially since he helped her back inside and all. She didn't really know what to make of him since she hadn't seen him fight yet. From what she could see, he was kind of scrawny. Then again, so was she. Were Sun Guardians supposed to be lacking in muscle definition?

His question surprised Abby, causing her to blink a few times. He brought up an excellent point; why was she doing all this? Getting thrashed by some crazy red-haired lady was not her idea of a good time. "Well, I wanna know why these Vongola people are interested in me." She finally said with a simple shrug, "And to see if they're interested in me me or my money. You see, I'm from a rich family. Like, really rich. I wasn't that blind to see I was getting special treatment all my life, but I firmly believed that at least the people I called friends could look past all that and see the real me. Then I got expelled for something I didn't do and no one backed me up. That's how I ended up here in Trespiano, to be taught a lesson about consequences. As much as I hated coming here, it did give me a wake up call. Not about consequences or whatever, but that maybe I'm not as special as I thought I was." Abby said the last part of her explanation with a tinge of sadness as she looked down on the tiled floor.

"I want to see what the Vongolas see in me. If there is anything." Abby looked up, wanting to redirect the conversation from her when she saw a new figure pop into the kitchen. Cyril swaggered in and collapsed on the chair opposite of hers across the table before erupting in a fit of what the blond assumed was laughter. She raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with you?"

He's learning. Sonya thought when she saw the lack of emotional response from Naoto after her retort. She carefully watched the teen rush back to the soccer ball and hit in her direction once more. But it was obvious it wasn't aimed at her like before so she did nothing to dodge, keeping her attention on Naoto. She heard the ball smack the wall behind her just as Naoto stopped in front of her to throw a kick at her stomach. She immediately ducked her head, feeling the ball swish past her head and colliding with Naoto's face. At the same time, she grabbed parried his leg and positioned her foot behind his, allowing the force of the soccer ball to make him trip over it. Once he was on the ground, she stepped on his chest to prevent him from getting up. That wasn't too bad of a strategy, but he needs more education in that area.

"Had enough yet? Or do you need one more round to prove just how tough you are?" She asked.

Jak thought Naoto was doing pretty well with the soccer ball. He managed to hit Sonya once, but it looked more like it stung rather than actually hurt. Then he attacked again, trying to get the ball to ricochet off the wall and hit Sonya. However, the fight was soon over after Sonya landed Naoto on his back and put her foot on his chest. Jak merely watched, hoping Naoto would do the smart thing and surrender. For now, at least, Sonya wasn't out to beat them within an inch of their lives, just to push them to their limits. Unfortunately, their limits were a bit... low. Jak felt a little ashamed to have given up so quickly, but there wasn't a real chance at 'winning' to begin with.

It appeared that everyone else had gone inside, losing interest in the match. It seemed that everyone had already gone, so Jak figured that it didn't matter as much that they weren't watching. However, Vector's show of force earlier with -ah, what did he call them?- Flames? He did more with those than Sonya did with just her fists alone. Whatever those Flame things were, they were definitely bad news. At least Daisuke was okay after he was blasted by that weird bazooka and punched by Vector. Weridly enough, it seemed that Sonya had a specific thing that she was testing during the sparring exercises. Jak figured at first that it was just that she saw something in their personalities, but... testing Daisuke for solidarity seemed a bit... off. However, Jak didn't have anything other than more guesswork, so she'd have to leave it for the moment.

Fionn listened to Abby with open ears. So… she was really rich? And she got blamed for something that she didn’t do… He had to admit, that had been common in his household—he had a ton of brothers that bullied and placed blame on him. That was why he kind of felt sorry for Abby. She had a good reason to be with the Vongola. I wish I had as just a good reason for being in the Vongola. Fionn thought, glancing down at the floor when she finished speaking. She was a good person, and he… what was he? Just a person. He lived a relatively good life so far, even though he was bullied by his older brothers. However, that was common, and he shouldn’t really complain about that. Even though Abby was rich, she didn’t seem happy.

Fionn was about to redirect the conversation to another topic when someone swaggered into the room. He glanced up to see the dull and serious kid from before laughing his rear end off as he sat down in a chair that was close to them. He remained quiet when Abby asked him what was wrong with him, and to his surprise, the dark haired boy raised his head, brandishing a deep grin on his lips.

”What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you?” he cackled, shaking his head as he struggled to hold back his laughter. ”You guys are pitiful. The only two people who actually put up a fight was Benjamin and I. The rest of you guys failed horribly. First, the brown haired Asian caused a big ruckus with that Bazooka thing, and then you came along and hit yourself in the face with a nunchuck.”

Fionn’s shoulders sagged as Cyril spoke. He certainly didn’t have high expectations. Cyril was degrading all of them, and he was laughing about it as well. ”Look who’s talking,” Fionn murmured under his breath, glancing down at the floor again. ”You were put down as quick as a dog.”

The other boy stopped laughing, and Fionn could feel his eyes burning into his head. ”What did you say?”

Okay, I think I got myself into some deep shit.

”At least I did better than most of you.” Cyril snarled. ”You don’t even know how to fight. How the hell are you going to be in the fucking Mafia?”

”I’m sorry, but I didn’t know that people were born to fight.” Fionn retorted, his voice firm—a big feat for him—and calm at the same time. ”You just have to practice. Sonya is judging our abilities. It’s not like we’re engaging in a huge Mafia war or something of the sort tomorrow. Just calm down and you’ll see that everyone’ll get the hang of it, okay?”

He could tell that Cyril was about to flip out. But Fionn knew that the reason he was being like this wasn’t because he felt like being mean. There was another reason, but… he couldn’t put a finger on it. Maybe it was-

Before he knew it, he was suddenly hauled into the hair by the front of his shirt, making him whimper and flail in the other boy’s grip. Fionn’s eyes refused to meet the angry ones of Cyril, remaining planted on the floor of the kitchen. ”So you think you’re smart, then? There isn’t any time to be fooling around.” Cyril snarled dangerously. ”Do you think we’re playing a fucking game? Do you know that anything can happen? If we don’t hurry, we’re going to be slaughtered like pigs on a farm. These people are weak, too weak, in fact. I have to admit, each of them have their abilities. But we don’t have enough fucking time to be weak.”

So he’s concerned, then. But still, he has a five foot pole up his ass. He needs to relax. ”Okay… can… can you let me go now, please?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the boy released him, making Fionn fall to the ground abruptly and having to regain his footing. Cyril however, turned his back on him and was began to walk away, only turning his head to face Abby. ”Are you okay?” he asked dryly, his face falling into a deadpan once again.

Fionn, however, turned away and went back outside. That had been so unlike him... but he was seriously angered over the fact that the jerk laughed at them. It was as if he was one of his older brothers. I have to calm down. he told himself. I mean... what's wrong with me?

When he allowed himself to continue watching the rest of the people, he found that Daisuke was still on the ground. Fionn sighed, walking over to him and grabbing the boy's arms, beginning to drag him back to the kitchen.

Jak had been off in space when suddenly she heard yelling coming from inside and the blond kid from earlier was being lifted by his shirt. When Cyril calmed down enough to drop Fionn on the floor, Jak was already on her feet and gritting her teeth. She loathed fighting, and she saw no reason for it here and now. Fionn came back outside and sat down. Jak stormed inside, quickly covering the ground between her and Cyril and stared him straight in the eye right before pulling back her hand and aiming a punch at his face. There was no hesitation, no error in her stance, and only rage.

"Like you have room to talk!" Jak yelled. "Here you are yelling at us for growing up in a town where nothing ever happens and so we didn't ever have to fight! You're acting like you're so high and mighty when the same fucking thing will happen to you if you fight! You were taken down so damn quick that I was surprised that you had the guts to tell us that we don't stand a chance. If you're so worried about dying, then just walk out the damn door now, because you clearly don't have the will or resolve to be here."

When she was done, she turned on her heel and walked back outside to sit down next to Fionn. "Sorry about that, I have little patience for people who only whine," she stretched back and reached into her duffel bag. There were a couple extra popsicles stored in her lunchbox, she pulled them out and offered one to Fionn. "Here," she said, "it's sea salt ice cream. It's good, and I think we all need to calm down after something like that. I mean, this is all pretty crazy, but some people need to handle it a bit better." her comment was pointed at Cyril, but she couldn't care less if he was even listening.

She started on her popsicle, mildly upset with herself for losing her temper like that. It wasn't something that would help Cyril be her friend, but it was the hard truth. If he didn't like it, then he shouldn't be here. All she heard him do was whine or yell, and in her opinion, they'd already committed themselves to this mafia junk. There was no backing out now, and there wasn't anywhere else she wanted to be. In fact, when this was over, she never wanted to go home. It would mean her mother would know that Jak had lied to her. Which would probably mean another lecture about how she 'didn't know anything' or 'that she needed to come right home right away'. Not to mention, Jak hoped she wouldn't have to take the guns home. She didn't know how she'd explain taking guns home after baseball practice.

Naoto glared at Sonya from underneath her boot for a good few seconds before finally turning away. "I give." He muttered bitterly. As ashamed as Naoto looked, Sonya knew he had come to a harsh realization that there was no point in continuing this battle. He wasn't a match for her, even with all the strategies he had in mind. Not that it was a bad thing though; self-awareness was a valuable asset for anyone wanting to become stronger. She stepped off of him just as she heard a commotion in the kitchen. Looking through the giant hole, she could see Cyril arguing with Fionn as Abby watched on in a mixture of rage and confusion. Sonya watched silently as Cyril grabbed Fionn's hair, exchanged a few words and dropped him in a matter of minutes. Fionn escaped outside while Jakki, who had also been watching the scene, stormed inside to give her own two cents to Cyril.

Great. Just great. Sonya thought sarcastically. The candidates were never going to get anywhere with such a huge riff between them, even if it was just one person against everyone else. That's when an idea popped in her head and she looked down to the pink-haired boy still sprawled on the ground

"Here's your first lesson in beating someone like Vector. Your most valuable asset is your family, especially a cohesive family. This certainly does not seem to be the case right now. You are the leader so you'll have to figure out how to make everyone get along. Got it?"

Abby wasn't sure how her nice conversation with Fionn suddenly changed into Cyril grabbing said blond boy by the hair and basically shouting at his face. But she knew she wasn't like what was coming out of the brunet's mouth, especially when it was about how weak they were. Luckily, she didn't need to shout back since Cyril dropped Fionn a moment later. Right after, Jakki came in and gave him a piece of her mind (while also a punch to the face) before storming right back out. Abby sat there in silence, considering whether she should still answer Cyril's almost forgotten question regarding how she was. It was painfully embarrassing to hear from him that her performance was laughable, but it wasn't like it was far off from the truth. If she were to be honest, she sucked. And Cyril was being brutally honest about their fighting skills. He obviously had a background in it. Maybe he was worried, in his own dickish way.

"I'm peachy." Abby finally replied, although somewhat bitterly, "What about you?"

Okay. This guy was a lot heavier than he thought he would be. Either that, or Fionn wasn't used to dragging people all over the place. He pulled Daisuke a few more feet until he gave up and sunk to the ground. Even though he hated what Cyril told him, he had to admit, it was sort of true. They were in the mafia and they didn't even have training... he pulled out a napkin and wiped the blood from Daisuke's face. The boy didn't even know what to think anymore. Should he just leave? Or should he stay? Sonya told him that he was needed, and he wasn't one for walking out on someone that needed him. Suddenly, Jak approached him, offering a popsicle.

"Thanks." Fionn murmured, taking it and beginning to eat it after unwrapping it. "I know. I shouldn't have yelled earlier. My temper just got out of control... I don't like being angry or yelling, you know." he sighed, idly nibbling on the popsicle as he looked down at their Lightning Guardian. "I think he's okay, by the way. At least he's still breathing with all that happened to him."

Cyril had to admit, he was shocked that someone had actually gone up to him and threw a punch at his face. Especially a woman, and especially someone who looked as calm as a cucumber. Jak could deliver a fierce whack, he realized as he held his jaw. Pain seared up and down his cheek, but surprisingly, Cyril did not go after the so called Rain Guardian. The boy turned toward Abby, who had answered his question. "I feel like this has been the best day I've had in a while." Cyril replied sarcastically. "I just want to go home and go to bed, but I don't think that Sonya will let us go that easily."

It isn't like Naoto did foresee this outcome, but it still stung to have to give up the match. As one sided as it was he was glad to have some reasonably well. Plus he somehow felt he understood Sonya a little better. Just then he heard the commotion from inside and turned in time to see Jak punch Cyril. As nice as it was to see the jerk being put in place, Naoto hated to see everyone so worked up. As he sat up Sonya have Naoto his next assignment. "I've already told you I'm not cut out to be a leader. And don't call them that...I hardly know Jakki, not to mention the others." Family. Did Sonya have to use mafia terms? As if Naoto's position wasn't uncomfortable enough. But she's right. We've only just started and already everyone's falling apart. None of us will get stronger like this. And if that's the case and something comes we went stand a chance. We might all end up dead. They...might die. No, I can't let that happen again! Naoto gripped a handful of dirt as memories flashed through his mind. Standing up he walked towards the house silently.

"I just want to go home and go to bed, but I don't think that Sonya will let us go that easily." Cyril told Abby. "Then go." Naoto said bluntly as he walked in on the conversation. He looked at Cyril, not with the asked glare he usually did but with a sorrowful expression. "You obviously don't wanna be apart of...whatever we're supposed to be. You're critical of everybody when in reality you probably did worse against Sonya than anybody else. We don't need someone who's only going to slow us down with his ego." Naoto's gaze became firm. "You're angry at something. I don't know what but...we're not the enemy. Personally, I don't really care if you leave. But Sonya says you're a candidate and if you can help them I do want you to stay. Even if I can't stand your attitude." Naoto turned to head back out to the yard. "If you do go, there's one thing I still want to know: why did you show up?"

"No need to be so rude." Abby was taken aback by Cyril's remark, but wasn't all that surprised by it. From what she had learned so far about the brown haired teen was that he had a nasty demeanor. It was such a shame too since his attitude overrode his good looks.

But... The other thing she had noticed was Cyril's immense hatred for the mafia. He didn't mind hiding that fact after all. Yet here he was, trying to earn a position in what she assumed were the top ranks of the Vongola. As of on cue, Naoto came in and told him to leave. Abby was impressed to see the pink-haired boy act so calmly in front of Cyril. The two had been at each other's throats since they first met.

As he turned away once he was finished with the end of his speech, Naoto voiced the question on Abby's mind. Why did Cyril show up? She glanced at the said boy, quietly waiting for his answer.

Sonya stood away from the teens crowdind around the hole in the wall, silently watching their interactions with one another. For someone who complained about being s leader and what not, Naoto was certainly doing a decent job trying to connect with his future guardians. Her attention then turned to Jakki, Daisuke and.... Crap. She forgot to teat Fionn. It wasn't everyday that Sonya overlooked anything in her surroundings, especially a person. But she had completely forgotten about the other Sun Guardian candidate.

... Ah well. She was too annoyed to partake in another battle. Plus, his unassuming nature gave her some good ideas.

Jesus. Benjamin thought to himself.
He watched the chaos that unfolded before him with a straight face. Each fight revealed a little about each candidate and he was picking up on their personalities easily enough. With his fencing gear stowed away in his bag he sat on a chair, legs crossed and right elbow on the back, to settle and watch. Daisuke was interesting to say the least, in reflection. The Ten-year bazooka brought some questions to his mind. Something that could be so easily exploited, just around. It was danger to play with time. Jak and Abby had seemed fearsome for a moment but they quickly broke their noses, or at least coerced blood from them. He shouldn't have been as surprised as he was at their performance as a whole but he was taken aback that candidates for a family associated with Sonya and Hajime weren't... Already more capable. Not to say he himself was an expert, in fact, that added to the fact. But what interested him very quickly was Cyril's scene. He'd be lying if he said watching the boy get punched wasn't pleasing as all get out. Naoto stepped in and his heart was in the right place but perhaps it wasn't facing the right direction. Cyril wasn't all wrong here. There had been some pitiful attempts and that had to be stated. Just not so aggressively. Benjamin made the executive decision to continue sitting by the hole in the wall and simply listening. Nothing he did or said would calm anyone down, anyways. Not to mention, he'd heard Sonya. This wasn't his task.

The dark haired boy perked when their so called leader came into the home and told him to leave. Well.. that surprised him. Cyril turned toward him, a rather stunned look on his features. However, that expression soon vanished as he put on a deadpan. So… he wanted to know why he showed up, right? He didn’t have an answer. Maybe he was curious of their potential? Maybe he wanted to be useful for once in his life? His father had always told him that he was useless. He would take away his paper and crayons and take him to train. That was what made him angry. The mafia were all a bunch of jerks wearing tuxedos and caring only about themselves. Or were they? Maybe the Vongola were different. Maybe they weren’t like his ex-family.

It was then that he realized that he was being stared at. Cyril glanced back at Abby and then at Naoto, feeling tense under all of the pressure. He was being scrutinized and he didn’t like that. They aren’t my enemies. Cyril told himself, heaving a sigh and running his temples. ”I’m not going anywhere.” Cyril directly looked at Naoto now, his brown brows furrowing deeply. ”And I’m here because I’m curious to see how much potential you have. And…” he sighed again, looking to the side. ”Even though your performance was pitiful today, I have to say that not even the Tenth Generation Vongola Guardians were born fighting.”

In his own way, Cyril was apologizing. He began to blush, not used to all of the attention that was coming his way. God damn it. he turned away, looking toward the window to cover up his little embarrassing scene. He crossed his arms, and then raised a hand to rub at the ridge of his nose. ”I need an expresso.” he said to himself, shaking his head. He was beginning to get a headache and felt like his head was going to explode. He hoped that they wouldn’t ask him anything else and leave him alone for the time being.

What disturbed him the most was that he actually thought about his father. He had been a huge jerk, but he hadn’t heard anything about him recently. Even his aunt didn’t hear anything from his mother. Maybe they gave up on looking for him? If so, good. He didn’t want to be found. Because if he was going to be part of the Vongola, he could teach his father a lesson.

"Yeah, I can imagine. I don't normally get upset, but someone needed to stand up to him." Jak said to Fionn as he wiped the blood off of Daisuke. "And, I'm surprised. The kid went through a wall and he's just sleeping it all off. I'd probably have to be rushed to the hospital." Jak smiled at her joke as she bit off another chunk of her popsicle. She wondered what Daisuke had been through that this sort of thing wasn't as painful or that damaging. He was tougher than he looked, that was for sure, and his older self seemed even tougher than he was right now.

It was crazy to think that this lunatic's father was Vector -Hajime, whatever. Jak couldn't care less, she just wanted to give him a sound thrashing, both for the festival and how he treated Daisuke. Dads weren't supposed to act like that. They were supposed to be caring and have your back no matter what. Not... whatever sort of monster Vector was. Jak would make sure he got what he had coming to him later, right now she needed to train to not hit herself in the face with the gun.

---

Meanwhile, in a dark hotel room not that far away from the Vongola, someone was picking through social media, police cameras, and anything else they could get their hands on. The lights were off and the curtains were drawn, one could never be too careful when hunting a powerful mafia family after all. The fingers of the dark shape typed furiously, scanning for something, anything to help them find what they wanted. The noise was insane, the clicking of the keyboard and mouse continued for a minute, then stopped, clicked once more, and the shape stopped tapping at the keyboard.

"It's really amazing the type of things people will post on their Facebook, isn't it?" a voice, female, mumbled to herself. As she sat back in her chair, she drummed her fingers on the table.

The image displayed a red haired woman standing almost out of frame, talking on a cellphone. Further digging brought up an image of a boy crashing through town in his underwear and his hair was on fire? No, scratch that, he had a flame floating just in front of his forehead. It didn't take much more to figure out that he was Naoto Alato, and that he lived alone with his mother. There were bits about a father, but mostly silent.

"So, what are you up to Sonya...?" the figure muttered.

"I wonder if anybody's ever wondered what was spelled if you took the 'itm' out of your last name."

The strident, gruff voice of a boy said as the outline of a shadow emerged from the depths of the looming darkness that encircled the hotel room. Striding a few confident steps towards the light and standing a few feet from behind the chair where his target sat, the boy yawned tediously as a hand left his pocket and hovered above his mouth momentarily before returning to his side. "Oh, well. Might as well get some info outta you while you still got your head."

Clad in a blue-grey hoodie, the boy's chin-length black hair hung over the crimson irises belonging to a pair of bored eyes. He easily towered over the girl and her computer desk in height, forcing himself to lean over in order to get a good glimpse of her computer screen as his right hand trailed to a concealed holster at his hip. Upon seeing the contents of the girl's little internet search, the boy's brows raised in a curious amusement. "Actually, I've changed my mind," he said with a newfound interest. "No sudden movements, though, please. Makes this process a whole lot easier."

The boy cleared his throat, kneeling down beside the computer chair and drawing the revolver from his holster. He tapped it against the screen which projected the image of Naoto Alato, looking back and forth between the embarrassing picture and the girl. "You find and give me the location of this one right here, and I won't kill you this time 'round. Capisce?"

---

There were many pineapples.

Daisuke was not entirely sure if he was dreaming or if he was actually awake; all he knew, was that at the very moment when his eyelids opened up, a pineapple with the body of a boy was staring down at him. "MEEP-" he screeched as a second pineapple entered the picture, this time, with the body of a girl. Or was it another boy? He couldn't possibly tell... "Save me!" he screamed as his body jolted upright, coming back to life. He trembled as he blinked rapidly, looking between the blond-haired pineapple and the black-haired pineapple as he began to crawl away from the menace.

Suddenly, four more pineapples came into view, three with the bodies of boys and one being a girl. What... what is this... "THIS IS MADNESS!" Daisuke shouted, his hands running through his messy hair as he felt tears begin to form at the base of his eyelids. "No, this can't be it. The pineapples' conquest for world domination couldn't have possibly started yet! Unless... unless..."

It was then that Daisuke's frightened eyes turned to the scary woman. Or, rather, the scary woman whose head was now that of a pineapple. "Forgive me, humanity," Unable to withstand all of the terror, his nose began to bleed once more as his body fell back to the ground, fainting.

The girl flinched at the sound of another voice. How'd he get in here? I locked the doors and double checked them. Stay calm. the girl didn't want to die, but she could at least do it with some dignity. Then, he saw the monitor and his tune changed completely. He wants information, then he can have it. from the looks of it, the account was old, but from the image she was on currently, you couldn't see that. The question was if she could find the place herself ahead of the crazed psycho holding a gun to her head for almost no reason.

"I memorized the address from his homepage. It's," she gave the old address, falling silent when she finished. This had to work, or she was going to probably kill this kid. She added on, for the sake of posterity, "the information's old, but still viable. Please don't kill me." why did she say that? She sounded uncool and pathetic. Not to mention she was lucky as is that he didn't pull the trigger. She'd have to figure out who wanted her dead. The CIA? She didn't even go near those crazy americans. MI6? No, she wasn't insane. Maybe she stole from a mafia cover? She covered her tracks though, so whoever found her out was very good.

Which only made her more scared. If they were sending assassins and killers after her, what did she steal? She only kept a minimal beat on the underground, and she'd been disconnected from the internet so long that she thought she was going to die. Well, she thought she was going to die right now, but the black haired girl was far too stubborn for that. It was too bad that if he didn't stop holding that gun to her temple she was going to collapse into a puddle of anxious goo.

"Ah," the boy said as the girl gave him the information that he needed, standing upright and digging into his pocket for a cigarette. "You know, you should consider a different choice of occupation. It's not difficult for the world's strongest hitman to track a script kiddie."

Full of himself, the boy laughed as he fit the cigarette between his lips and flicked his fingers, instantly lighting the cigarette with a small crimson flame as red as his irises. He took a quick puff before exhaling deeply, encasing the entire hotel room and the girl with an abnormally different scent than the average cigarette smoke. "I've never been one to actually smoke, 'cause underage and all," he spoke in a nonchalant, sarcastic tone, leaning over the shoulder of the girl once more. "Nobody and nothing else can kill me, but you gotta go somehow. Life's a bitch and then you die, right?"

After only inhaling and expelling the fumes of the cigarette once, the boy allowed it to fall to the computer table, gently landing as the flame disintegrated. "Though, before I call it quits and make my merry way outta this joint," the boy's smile widened as his revolver clicked and the cylinder rolled out of the gun's structure, revealing that it had been unloaded the entire time. "You've been very good, sugar pumpkins. I'll call ya sometime for dinner."

The boy planted a quick kiss to the side of the girl's forehead, laughing as he pushed the cylinder back into place and holstered the revolver. He trotted on over to the closed curtain and set it aside, looking out to the balcony. Before he made his exit, the boy looked past his shoulder and back at the girl. "Also, if you plan on trying to trace my cigarette's origins, you'll find yourself sorely disappointed. These are mine."

And with that, the boy walked out to the balcony, and disappeared off of the edge.