"BOSS!"

Daisuke, in his own world, was within a state of emerging disarray. He had been focused on the newcomer for too long, and when he turned around, the boss had vanished into thin air, along with the magician boy. Sure, now might not have been the time to ask for an autograph, but soon the pieces began to click together; the boss wanted an autograph as well, and he beat me to it! Yes, that has to be it! He was a bit jealous at the thought, whining to himself as the rest of the group shouted at each other unintelligibly.

"Uh.." Michael mused, shifting his feet together. "Is this... a bad time?"

Seeing Michael frown slightly, Daisuke shook his head in reassurance. "Not at all!" he shouted in English, extending a hand out towards Michael. It was then that he noticed just how tall the tourist really was, standing four or five inches taller than him - he had to stand on his toes in order to pat Michael's shoulder. "We're all in this together!"

---

"Thanks," Michael smiled upon hearing Daisuke speak English, his attention drifting to his side as someone familiar strode up to him and questioned the Lightning Guardian. After all these years... we meet again, Cyril Leggieri; Storm candidate and traitor. His face briefly shifted into a look of interest upon locating his target, quickly reverting his expression back to normal as he averted his eyes over the shoulder of the Lightning Guardian. It was then that the odor of his cigarette from the past hung in the atmosphere, a smell that only he could detect...

You again.
Michael contained his disdain as he continued to wear the smile, brushing past Daisuke and walking up to Artemis. He found it amusing that she had revealed herself to the Vongola dogs and was now suspected of being a hostile to them, deciding that if he was to stick to the disguise, he would have to help her. Besides, it did not seem like she was able to see through his veil; not once had she turned back to even take a glimpse of his face, and even if she had, he had changed his eye color and his accent was different. It would be difficult to recognize him if at all.

"Hey, I can speak English and Italian pretty well," Michael tapped Artemis on the shoulder from behind, looking over her head and at the Cloud Guardian. Silva, huh... Funny how this trash is here, too. After hearing Artemis freak out, which made Michael want to burst out laughing right then and there, he stood in front of her and looked down at the girl. "Calm down- wait, mafia? Assassin? What?"

Daisuke, on the other hand, was about to rip the hair off of his head. "Damn you, boss!" he roared in jealousy, running after Jak after she announced that she would go look for the boss and the magician.

As Jak began to look through the hidden trapdoors and such, Daisuke did the same. With his head peaked down into the darkness, he called out, "I want an autograph too, boss-" Though, just as he did, his hand slipped off of the stage floor and he lost his balance, causing his body to squirm into the depths of underneath the stage as the trapdoor slammed shut above him. "SAVE ME!" he yelled, banging up against the trapdoor.

Daisuke's loud cry jolted Cyril out of his daydream, who rubbed at the ear closest to the brown haired Lightning Guardian in silent complaint. He hoped that he wouldn't be doing that often... because that scared the living hell out of him. His eyes turned toward the other boy, about to speak before catching his interested expression. What was that? Cyril tried to take a closer look, but the boy was already looking at Daisuke again. Just my imagination... He sighed, rubbing the back of his head and watching the new appearance walk toward the girl who was spouting some nonsense about an assassin and the mafia. Cyril would have tried to help, but it seemed like the boy had it all under control.

Daisuke let out another roar, cursing Naoto and once again catching Cyril off guard. "Oh my God, just shut up!" he shouted at Daisuke as he raced by him and went up to the stage. Jak was already there, stomping about the wooden floor as she searched for any hidden mechanisms that could have been used to make both Naoto and Prospero disappear. Now Daisuke was helping her... or had been, until he was swallowed up by some sort of stage trap or whatever. Perhaps he could stay there until they found Prospero and Naoto... because all he was doing was running about and screaming like a banshee. Cyril let out another sigh, trying to keep himself calm as he simply stood there, waiting for someone to find the so called "assassin" or better yet, the two boys who had literally disappeared into thin air. "I think Naoto will be able to handle himself... for now we should focus on finding the assassin." he spoke to himself more than anyone else, but of course, no one would pay attention to him.

Fionn nodded at Jak and turned back to the woman who she deemed to be confused. He didn't know about everyone else but.., she seemed sincere and not like a deranged tourist that had strayed too far from her parents. Not to mention, Trespiano was a small town and it was rather difficult to get lost. The blond haired boy flinched at Daisuke's and Cyril's yelling, and when he turned to see what exactly what was the cause of the screaming, he saw Daisuke trot up to the stage and help Jak with her search. He couldn't help but smile. He liked Daisuke. The American seemed to brighten up the day with his spontaneous outbursts and friendly composure. But before he knew it, the boy fell into the stage, the trap door he had been holding up slamming shut under him.

"Oh no..." Fionn frowned, gazing up at the stage and Jak. If she didn't notice Daisuke had disappeared under the stage, then he would run up and help. He didn't want to get in her way or anything...

Prospero dodged to the side of Naoto's punch with surprising quickness and stabbed out with his cane. Due to the power of illusion he would try and make it seem as though the cane was about to strike Naoto in the ribs before it bent out to strike Naoto's arm instead. If Prospero did hit with the cane, the tip would suddenly spark and crackle as a mild but painful electric shock would pulse from it into the future Mafia Boss's arm.

"Fufufu~ A good effort Undecimo, but your attacks will need to be faster to hit someone like me! Is that really all the speed and power you can summon up? Because if it is you'll never get what you want from me and you'll be answering my demands in no time!"

Prospero had no intention of letting himself get taken out so quickly, or of ending his test of the potential Mafia Boss in one strike either. There had to be some reason this guy was being chosen as a potential leader for an Organization as big as the Vongola. No, more than that, if there really was nothing more to him then the path to his goals would have hit yet another stumbling block and that was unacceptable! No, Prospero would drag the potential out of him and then...well, then they would see.

Jak, preoccupied with looking for Naoto, was startled by Daisuke yelling to save him. She pulled open the trap door above him and stared. "You know, I'm not your babysitter. One of these days you're going to do something truly stupid and I won't be able to help." she held out her hand for him to grab. How does he managed to get in this much trouble? He acts like he's five most of the time. "Well, he's not down here at least..." Jak said, noting that if Daisuke had seen him then it was likely he would have run towards him.

I have to hand it to the guy, he's good. I didn't think anyone could make people vanish like that. I should check outside next, but even then it's a long shot. There's a lot of people out there, and I don't think Prospero wanted a crowd. how was he doing this? Something more than cheap tricks was involved, she knew it. She just didn't know exactly what else was going on. Real magic didn't exist, but those flames did. What if they did things other than burn or be like Vector's? This is all just guesswork, I don't even know how those flames are made anyway.

Artemis was, at first, grateful to be able to speak in English. She hadn't heard Prospero's command, but she figured it had something to do with the Mafia. This Michael made her wary, but he was probably part of the Vongola as well. He seemed to get along with the energetic black haired one, anyway. "Okay, so I was... doing some research on the properties of Dying Will Flames, since they seem prominent in Mafia circles, but there's no information as to why. When this guy comes up from behind me with a gun. I think he's going to shoot me, but instead of shootin' me right there and then he asks where this guy, Naoto Alato, lives. So I gave him some really old info and he left. He was definitely an assassin looking for you guys."

The information about the Dying Will Flames was partially true, she was indeed very interested in them. However, she hadn't been researching them when the gun was put to her head. Though, she didn't want them to think she was a stalker or something, prowling their Facebooks and Twitters for information. That would give off the wrong first impression and she didn't want to be on the other side of their weapons. They could all be cold blooded killers, after all. Better to not start with her obsession with their Mafia group's technology. She'd get there -maybe.

Chaos seemed to ensue after Prospero and Naoto disappeared right in front of everyone's eyes. Most of their group rushed the stage to figure out what had happened while Ben and that American geek stayed behind to speak with the verbally-challenged girl. Cyril was with them too, but he was brooding as usual. Abby decided to stay behind as well since Ben had mentioned the girl seemed to speak English. The geek spoke to her first, asking about what she had been blathering about. Something about assassins and the Vongola. Abby wondered if they should be having this conversation in front of civilians, when Prospero's last trick finally clicked.

He said mafia. These new people are here. That must mean they'remafia too! Abby concluded as a look of panic washed over her face. She eyed the two newcomers warily but listened intently when the girl began to describe how she had been contacted by an assassin while researching Dying Will Flames. Was that why she hadn't disappeared? She would have said she was part of the mafia (or would she not?), but maybe just knowing about the Vongola prevented the trick from affecting her. Abby then turned her cautious gaze on the other American. What about him? What was his deal? If there was an assassin running about, he was obviously a part of the mafia. Was it him? She couldn't be too sure. He seemed too geekish to be good at anything but that didn't completely cross him off the list. Dammit, Abby wished she could discuss this with Ben without the others understanding her. Why didn't she take those Spanish classes like she was supposed to?!

Abby then glanced at Cyril standing behind them. He wanted to look for the assassin as well, but again communication was limited with that Michael guy understanding Italian as well.

"Dying Will Flames?" She finally stated in English, "Those are the things that Naoto had on his head when we first met him!" Abby spun around to Ben and Cyril to translate for them.

"This chick said she was researching Dying Will Flames when the assassin confronted her. Would that make her mafia too since she didn't disappear after Prospero's trick?" She asked in Italian, hoping her dumb blond routine wouldn't raise any suspicions.

The magician was unexpectedly fast on his feet, dodging Naoto with little effort. Prospero started his counterattack, moving his cane and aiming it at his pink haired opponent's torso. Naoto was no slouch though. He quickly turned his body just enough to let the cane brush by hits ribs. Using the least amount of movement he intended to catch the masked boy with a point blank strike. With his arms drawn back and ready to be unleashed Naoto's plan was quickly brought to a halt by a sudden pain. His gaze shifted and widened with surprise as the cane had somehow struck his arm. Not only that but it was sending a stream of electricity into it. "Kuh! Agh!" Naoto reeled back and away from Prospero.

Gripping his arm tightly Naoto dropped to a knee. What just happened? How did he get my arm when he aimed for my chest? There's no way I misread his attack...I even felt it graze me! He couldn't have adjusted his aim. Not in that sort space for it to get me the way he did! Ngh! But to mention the taser...this guy's tricky. The flow of electricity had just about ebbed but now Naoto could barely feel his arm. Somehow Prospero had disguised his attack leaving Naoto racking his brain to try and figure out what he missed. This guy made an audience vanish into thin air. Whatever he did just now is the least of his abilities. If only the others were here we could just overpower him with numbers. Though...at the same time I'm glad they aren't. The mafia...this world is much more dangerous than I imagined. Crazy too... He thought as he recalled what Vector did to adult Daisuke and his own venture through town half naked with a flame on his head. Now, there's someone who can make people disappear and hit where he wasn't even assuming for like magic. I didn't want to drag them into this to start and now they're this magic boy's hostages somewhere!

Naoto glared at Prospero and stood to his feet preparing to move again but hesitated. Not only could this guy pull off the impossible but Naoto was facing him bare handed. "How do I beat him...?" Naoto whispered to himself with frustration. "Damn you, boss! I want an autograph too, boss~" Naoto's unsure expression switched over into one of annoyance. Daisuke, you idiot! Would you shut up, I'm trying to think! Daisuke? He just heard Daisuke's voice, loud and obnoxious as ever. But he sounded like he was only a few feet away. Just then Naoto started to hear a few more voices. Cyril yelling at Daisuke, some broken Italian, and English he couldn't understand but could tell it was Abby's voice. It all sounded like it was still near the stage with him and Prospero. And to his relief they didn't sound distressed. At least not about themselves. Could it be? Argh, I'm so stupid! He's a magician and what's the secret to all magicians tricks? Naoto looked at Prospero his uncertainty melting away. "Misdirection."

Grabbing his scarf from around his neck Naoto darted at the magician with greater speed than his first attack. "You wanna see speed huh? Don't underestimate Trespiano's number one soccer star!" Naoto moved towards Prospero looking as if he was going to tackle him. Naoto was trying to draw Prospero into defending the head on attack by striking him with the cane taser again. Somehow, he's making me see what he wants more to see including his attacks. But if I concentrate I might be able to see through his tricks! With his arm wrapped in his scarf he'd stop the current from the current from the taser and push through to get in close with a headbutt.

THE WEEK BEFORE (CONTINUED)

"What is your opinion on your individual selections of the eleventh generation candidates, Hajime?"

Hajime sighed as he took another puff from his cigarette, dismantling the stick of lung cancer into the ashtray and disposing of it. "Well, I've already told you about Naoto Alato. Unworthy contender, but he's the only person who somehow possesses Vongola blood..."

"Cyril Leggieri, Storm. I've met the boy personally on several accounts, but I doubt that he will recall my identity. He's practically a walking, talking Gokudera with no Japanese blood and hair that is not like an octopus," the man joked momentarily before returning to his analysis.

"Though, I believe that he is a more suitable selection over your pick, also the one who will taint the Vongola Famiglia's name with blood like it was in the past."

Tsuna nodded, taking this into consideration as Hajime continued. "Jakkie Dafne, Rain. What's there not to like about her? It was the only selection that you and I agreed on without argument, so you can answer that with your own intuition."

"Unless, she thinks that everything is a role-playing game like Yamamoto did," the two laughed briefly.

"Fionn Breckenridge, Sun," Hajime cleared his throat, hearing footsteps from the hallway just outside of the meeting room. "Might not be as bright as the sun is, but smarter than that American cheerleader you picked that went to school with my son."

"Whoa, whoa-"

"Not being sexist. I'm just saying," Hajime raised his hands up as if he were signaling that he was not guilty of anything. He cupped them together at the surface of the long mahogany table, coughing. "Then, there's my son. Daisuke Honda, Lightning."

Tsuna frowned at the mention of the candidate. "Are you still certain that-"

"Yes," Hajime interrupted Tsuna, apologizing shortly after. "I am not saying this because I'm his father. I'm saying this because it is what I have theorized."

Hajime took a breathe before continuing. "In my opinion, he has the most potential out of the entire guardian candidates, and though I'm sure you remember how Lambo was a five-year old back in the day, you may also recall how that same annoying five-year old has become the third strongest Guardian underneath you and Hibari. And, given how the Vongola Rings are prophesied..."

"The Clam passes down its form from generation to generation," Tsuna added to Hajime's clarification.

"... My son has the potential to become an even greater Lightning Guardian than Lambo himself. The only question remains is if he has the heart and mindset to do it, but he will. I'll make a man out of him."

Tsuna considered Hajime's theory, nodding. "I'll leave that to you, then."

"Now for Benjamin Silva, Cloud," Hajime seemed to be a bit bothered after bringing up the name. "Do not get me wrong, I don't know the kid personally, but from my records and previous observations prior, this kid is not cut out for the role as the Cloud Guardian."

Hajime wiped his tired eyes, looking back at Tsuna. "Once Hibari is well and he finds out that this Silva kid is his supposed successor, he is going to beat the hell out of him. You remember how the version of Hibari in that alternate timeline nearly killed you just to initiate your trial of acceptance as Vongola Decimo prematurely."

"But, I'm still here, and I was able to correct everything in the timeline because of the power I got from that, thanks to him." Tsuna replied.

Hajime sighed. "Still, Benjamin Silva is no Tsunayoshi Sawada or Hibari Kyoya. He may be your selection, and I may not have a contrary selection because no one is worthy enough in my opinion, but take my warning about Hibari into consideration."

Tsuna smiled. "There's no need for that; I'm no exception when it comes to knowing Hibari for a long time, now."

"Reminds me of the time he beat me up for skipping class on the roof," Hajime shook his head at the bad memory. "At any rate, there's Prospero Merlin, Mist; I never liked those types of Flames. It's always the freaks that use them, and illusionists bother the hell out of me."

Tsuna seemed to groan in relief, as if someone had finally agreed with him. "Though he is my selection, I agree with you; I'm not a huge fan of illusionists. Prospero Merlin reminds me too much of... Ginger Bread. And I absolutely hated Ginger Bread."

"Not only that, but it just seems like all Mist Flame users are illusionists to some extent - even Genkishit was one!"

"Oh, but I'm not an illusionist, Hajime Honda," a new voice spoke up as the door to the meeting room opened just as brisk as it closed gently. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Vongola Decimo. I see you are faring better than the others."

"Ah, Howlite. Sit down, please." Tsuna said as Hajime gritted his teeth and looked down into his reflection upon the table.

---

Ugh... ten minutes since I put this disguise together, and ten minutes more than I can bear with it.

Though, Michael was a superb actor; it was not difficult to fake emotions in the face of others. Average people did it all of the time throughout their days, pretending to be all happy and jolly, yet, on the inside, truly wish that they could just wring the neck of the person they were speaking to.

That was the exact same feeling that Michael was going through. He could not stand any of them, especially the bitch standing in front of him and the Lightning Guardian. Who the hell with a sane mind decided to pick that retarded kid anyway? And I thought the tenth generation guardian was bad enough... Feigning confusion, Michael pulled back and soon realized that he was the tallest person in the group. Not that he cared, of course; it was just something that he noticed. God, I hate being aware of everything. "I have no idea what you are talking about," Michael told Artemis as he scratched his head, her explanation confirming his suspicion of her having provided him with old information.

Good thing I can pick up her scent from a country away. "You're all part of the mafia, and there's some assassin after you all?" Michael repeated Artemis' words, still unable to register what she said as a valid response. "If you're all mafia, shouldn't you be the ones to.. you know, be the assassins? I mean, I've played enough video games and seen enough movies to know that the mafia are no good..."

The one thing that interested Michael was when Artemis said that she had been delving into information about Dying Will Flames. Ah, yes, the glorious wonder of the mafia underworld. The general public, even after decades of their discovery, were still ignorant to their existence. After Tsunayoshi Sawada had officially taken his position as Vongola Decimo, the boss of the leading mafia family in the entire world, he placed strict prohibitions on the usage of Dying Will Flames for non-conventional purposes, almost like the prohibition of alcohol nearly a whole century from this day in the past-- oh my fucking god, now I'm thinking about American things.

Though many agreed to ratify this new law in accordance to Decimo's wish to mitigate violence and the abuse of Boxes, there were also many that came to oppose it; including his own, which had risen to become the second strongest mafia in the world after detaching itself from the Vongola Famiglia and he paid a visit to just about every other family to... speak to their candidates. Michael laughed nervously, smiling slightly as if to hide his fear which truly did not exist. "B-but, hey... funny joke, right?"

Artemis had screwed up. The American guy had heard the Mafia bit and the Assassin. And why wouldn't he? He speaks English, after all. However, I don't think I should run my mouth like that. He could be the assassin and I'd never know. I need to be more careful, or I could end up swimming with the fish... "Yeah, it's a... game. While I haven't been in town long, I'd thought I'd join in. These are some... electronic pen pals of mine. Dying Will flames are magic powers we invented to make it more interesting. It's a little like LARPing."

As Artemis explained, she inched closer to Abbey, who seemed like the most normal of the bunch. Which could also mean she was the most deadly, but something about the American didn't sit right with her, so she chose the lesser of two evils. The group mentioned the word mafia again, which Artemis assumed was something about her or the American. She whispered, "just play along. I'm for sure not here to kill you, but how much do you trust that American who's still here?"

He made sure to stay near Artemis and Abby, his ears pricked up for anything that the English speaking girl might say. Cyril wasn’t sure about what was going on—there were two strangers that had appeared, and one of them spoke about an assassin. Then it seemed that the Guardians were fretting over who was the assassin. Abby seemed to take a liking toward the girl, but… Cyril thought that she was a bit too… shady. Edgy. She’s been researching Dying Will Flames? What kind of girl researched Dying Will Flames? What if she was just making up the part about the assassin? Cyril took a step closer to Abby, and attempted to shove the girl away from the Sun candidate.

”How do you know she isn’t the assassin? Maybe this is all a ruse? Because that boy knows nothing about the mafia game that we’re playing.” he explained to Abby. ”Not to mention that she’s getting a bit too close to you. If she’s the assassin, then the game’s over for you.” he didn’t want Michael to know about the mafia. And because they had made it seem like they were playing a simple game, he decided that he should play along. It was better to play stupid than make it seem like they were lying.

Fionn however, felt pity for the girl. He frowned at Cyril, tipping his head to the side. ”Instead of pointing fingers, why don’t we actually think about this first?” the blond thought that they were jumping to conclusions too quickly. He had lived in Wales for most of his life, and thus he knew a bunch of English. This girl was hinting that the other boy was the assassin, but he didn’t seem like an assassin to him… he just seemed incredibly lost. Then again, the girl looked terrified. But who were they to trust? It wasn’t as if the assassin was going to make a move right then and there—they would have to keep an eye on the both of them for a while.

Michael ran a hand through his hair, sighing in relief. "Whew..." he breathed, switching to Italian.. "I thought you were all serious for a moment! I've seen so many rumors on forums about the mafia being heavily situated in the nearby city, too, and I got especially scared when I wandered off from my tourist group and realized that they left already..."

The boy wondered how long he would remain incognito. Sure, the mission had been to locate and eliminate the straggler from the family, but his mission was to locate and eliminate all of the candidates. Killing just one of them was not enough to satisfy his lust for blood, even if it was the thing that he needed to do in order to become the boss. Why kill just the Storm candidate when you could rid of the entire Vongola Famiglia right then and there?

"And crap, I don't even have my cell phone!" Michael smacked his own forehead after digging into his pocket and sifting through for one that was nonexistent, groaning. For however long it took for him to exploit an obvious weakness in this group, was however long he would remain in this disguise. That, or however long it took for that Vongola dog to initiate their part of the plan. He wondered why the Vongola was helping him with his plan in the first place; the one knew exactly what his intentions were, and yet, they were still eager to help him in killing the Storm candidate. The true face of the Vongola... a bunch of hypocrites, that's what.

---

"I love you!" Daisuke chimed as Jak released him from the dark of the cavernous prison, taking her hand and pulling himself up. He dusted his clothes off before slamming the trapdoor shut, smiling widely. "No more problems from now on! I promise!'

Though, Daisuke felt a wave of dejection sweep over him as his genuine smile slowly died out and was replaced by an empty one. He usually never felt any emotions of sadness or sorrow, but it happened every now and then whenever he said certain things; it incited memories of the past to emerge from the depths of his mind, and those memories had been locked away for a reason.

"When are you gonna be home, dad?"

"How long are you leaving this time?"

"I'm sorry, sir... I didn't mean to make you mad."

"I promise I won't hurt other kids anymore."

"I won't be a problem kid anymore, sir."

Daisuke wondered if his father hated him for being so annoying. After they left Japan and started living in America, his dad became a stranger to him. He started to leave for business trips that started off as only days, until they began stretching to weeks and weeks. The only two consistencies were his dad's short amounts of time home, and the anger that he felt towards him. The truth was that his family was gone; mom, dad, brother. All of them. Four years of happiness, ten years of a lie.

Even after making a lot of friends in America, Daisuke felt alone. For every friend he made, a bully followed. In America, if you were not Caucasian or you did not look the part, it was a living hell. He was one of those kids that, despite claiming to lead such a happy and normal life, suffered through that kind of torment every single day. Some called him the product of a failed system, others told him to go back to China. It was all equally demoralizing as it was derogatory.

Daisuke's eyes flickered back to life as he snapped out of his trance, blinking rapidly as his senses reestablished themselves. His eyes felt warm, prompting him to raise a hand to his face in order to wipe them as he turned back to Jak. "Let's keep searching for Naoto."

Prospero actually saw Naoto's strategy the second he started wrapping his hands, but he had also noticed something much more pressing and interesting. Even if it was only for a few seconds while the young magician was running three deceptions at once, the future Vongola Boss had somewhat pierced the illusions and figured out that both his tactics and the disappearance of his friends had all relied on tricks and misdirection.

Clearly the eleventh Boss candidate was sharper than Prospero had initially given him credit for, and his own ability with illusions was still weaker than it had to be. As a magician who staked his livelihood and his pride on an ability to read and trick others, he considered an error that complete to be both rare and inexcusable. Furthermore whether Naoto had already realized it or not, Prospero had said that seeing through his tricks was one of the possible conditions for a 'victory' for Naoto, and the masked boy intended to stand by his word.

Unfortunately, he had also underestimated exactly how fast Naoto could attack him. Before he could even mention that Naoto had already won, the soccer star was rushing him. While Prospero's training certainly gave him decent reflexes, between preparing to end the fight with an explanation and maintaining the illusions he was totally caught off guard. He flailed with the cane without thinking and got caught in the feint Naoto had set up, ultimately getting knocked flat on his back while painful, painful stars bloomed up in his vision. However, in the end being fooled and losing so thoroughly for the first time in years left just one thought in his head.

That...was really, really fun!

As the illusion faded out and they both returned, Prospero started laughing. Not the sort of low, evil chuckling that he'd gone for before but actual, happy laughter. He had assumed he was in for yet another disappointment with his little test for Naoto, and his expectations wound up being exceeded. Sure, it meant that Prospero himself was much weaker than he'd thought, but for the first time in years he finally had some direction. Better yet he'd gotten to play around with someone interesting while acting like a ridiculous villain, even if they didn't see things like that, plus if everything worked out he would no longer have to work towards revenge alone. He couldn't help but laugh in joy.

"...You know, you're actually a lot of fun! Saying stuff like 'Don't underestimate me!' and charging in all concerned for your friends? Pretty awesome! Anyways, don't go thinking you beat me outright, but I promised you answers if you could see through my trick, right?"

Naoto intercepted the electrified cane and pushed forward carrying the opening he needed to slam Prospero with a headbutt. As the magician fell to the ground Naoto stumbled back, his eyes swirling having been the first time he'd ever did that to a person. "Aw man...skulls sure are harder than a soccer ball..." He regained his balance just in time to see everyone reappear around him. "Yosh, mira~" Naoto grinned.

Prospero began to laugh and Naoto's smile shrunk but didn't vanish. "Oi, what are you laughing about? I guess even magicians can have good sportsmanship." Slumping to a seated position he looked over at Daisuke. If his voice hadn't reached him Naoto might not have figured out Prospero's trick. "Thanks." Too embarrassed to admit he might be starting to like the idea of having them around Naoto left out at that and a quick victory sign. Turning his attention back to the magician, Prospero started to speak.

"I know." Naoto stars simply in response to the comment about not outright beating him.. "You weren't fighting honestly. You were testing me. I figured it out after I figured out your trick." His voice started to become slightly angry. "Even if it was a test and no one was in danger I still don't like the idea of using others in your little game. Now, why did you set this up?"

As he waited for Prospero's answer Naoto's senses were still heightened from the fight and he was fully aware of his surroundings. He noticed that there were two others here. One, a girl who seemed to be anxious about something. The other...Huh!? Naoto's eyes widened and flickered with a strange glow. He didn't know why but the other unknown person made him uneasy. Even somewhat angry. It was like a gut feeling on overdrive. He'd never experienced something like this before and all he wanted was for the others to get away from that man.

As Jak helped Daisuke back up onto the stage, she smiled at his promise of no more problems, but his smiles faded. Even if it was only for a moment, Jak saw it. The fake smile that only those who had lost wore during funerals. Jak was, of course, quite familiar with this smile. She'd lost track of how to smile regularly, lost in grief or regret. So Jak said nothing about what she saw which was so out of place on the Lightning Guardian's face. "Here's the deal, you help me I help you. We've got each other's backs, okay? Pinkie promise."

Jak smiled and offered up her pinkie in the childish, but still very serious way of sealing the contract of their promise. Her offer was interrupted by Naoto's sudden reappearance, however, and the magician from the stage saying something about fun. Fun? That was fun? What kind of twisted sense of humor do you have?! Jak thought, she almost said something, but thought better of it. Instead she was glad that Naoto wasn't dead, bleeding, or fatally poisoned. While Daisuke would probably explode and yell again, Jak was relieved. Naoto had probably handled the situation like... well... a mafia boss.

"...boss," Jak said more sigh of relief than word. He owed her more than he'd probably ever know, and if he vanished... Jak didn't know what she'd do. Probably not what she did before. Which reminded her that she'd been slacking on practicing lately. Between the sparring, her own training to try to reaffirm her martial arts skills, and all of the craziness, she hadn't trained for softball yesterday. It was a weird feeling, having something more important come along and knock her off balance like that again.

Artemis was no enthused about the magician reappearing. When he'd appeared again he looked like he'd lost it. Add in the fact that there was the pink-haired guy she'd been wanting to meet, she was suddenly less sure about this plan than before. Stupid Arty! Learn Italian then try to join the mafia! Baka! Artemis scooted further behind Abbey.

"I recognize Naoto, but the guy with the mask doesn't... I mean he's not what I expected. Why is he laughing? What is he laughing about?" she said this very quietly, whispering it to Abbey. She recognized the guy in the mask, even though she had said otherwise. Who hadn;t heard of the talented thirteen year old magician who wore a mask and tragedy followed in his wake like a black cat parade. Though... the signs pointed to the mafia killing his father -Arty had followed it as close as she could at that age- so why was he happy about losing?

Never mind him. Win the Vongola's trust, ask Sonya -if she's around- to help Dad and Mum then worry about this nonsense. I'll just have to keep knocking on doors until I'm offered a job. Doesn't matter where, long as they're taken care of. Artemis reminded herself. She'd work like a dog, only bare minimum food and lodging, if that meant her parents would be fine over in England. While the Vongola were the first group she'd approached thus far, she wasn't going to back down easy. The Vongola could dismiss her or bring her aboard, and Artemis didn't want to hinder the Vongola, since they seemed like one of the less awful groups to choose from.

Prospero had stopped laughing by now and picked himself up off the ground, "With the sort of insight you've been showing I'm a little surprised you haven't figured it out yet. But since I did promise and I got fun out of the deal I'll be as direct as possible, 'kay?" after taking a moment to dust himself off and summon up some dignity and seriousness, he turned back to the assembled 11th generation candidates "My name is Prospero Merlin and I'm your Mist Guardian! It's nice to meet you! As for why I set all of this up, well like you just said, I was testing you."

As he continued to explain himself, for at least a second Prospero's light-hearted tone faded away and his eyes glittered cold and hard beneath his mask. "See, I have important goals of my own in the underworld that the various Famiglie call home and I can't afford to serve under the sort of Boss who would only get in my way, or ally myself with the Vongola Family if it chose someone like that as a candidate to lead it. Getting others involved was regrettable but necessary if I wanted to see a real reaction from you and test your limits, nothing more, nothing less."

Prospero brightened up immediately afterwards, the change noticeable even underneath his mask "But the good news is you passed with flying colors and nobody was ever in any real danger from the very beginning! The rest of the audience just filtered away 'cause of hypnosis and a few other tricks while disguised by an illusion. By now they're safe and sound and probably talking about how amazing it is that I could teleport them all out of the show or something. But I don't really know why it didn't work on those two..." He indicated Michael and Artemis with a frown before turning back to Naoto "Now, any other questions from you or the others? I don't usually do Q&A sessions after my shows, so consider yourselves lucky!"

Fionn was getting more and more nervous by the minute. Everyone was all over the place and he didn’t see head or tail of Naoto. A shudder went through him as he thought the worst—maybe that magician was the assassin all along, and whisked Naoto away to who knows where to kill him. Some Guardians they were… weren’t they supposed to defend the boss from this sort of stuff? And yet, how were they going to do that if Naoto just vanished into thin air? They had no idea where he went… and he could be dead by now. This was a minor threat and they couldn’t even gather themselves up and work like a team?

The pink haired “boss” and the illusionist reappeared after another while. The magician seemed to be bright and cheery as he spoke to Naoto, and Naoto didn’t seem to be hurt. Fionn ran up to the both of them, his amber colored eyes flicking between the two. He was trembling visibly due to the fact that he had been severely concerned for Naoto’s health. Thank God that he’s okay. Fionn thought, shoving his shivering fists into his pockets. ”Prospero, then?” he asked softly, glancing over at the masked boy. ”You… you gave us quite the scare… you know? We didn’t… even know where you were.”

A blush shot across his face, and he looked away to hide his embarrassment. While Fionn tried to be strong for the rest of the Guardians when Naoto was gone, Prospero still frightened him a whole lot. Especially since he couldn’t get a clear read on him. What did he even mean when he told him that he didn’t want a boss who would get in his way? Did that mean that, if Naoto got in his way in the future, that he would be killed? He tried to keep his words from shaking as he opened his mouth to speak again.

”S-so, you’re the Mist Guardian of the Vongola? How do you know? Aren’t you supposed to be chosen by Sonya or something? he questioned. Even though he wasn’t stuttering as much anymore, he kept his voice quiet. He was never into speaking loudly, anyway. ”And if you know about the mafia, aren’t you afraid that they’re going to hunt you down or something?” I don’t know much about how the mafia world… but I’m pretty sure they work like that.

"Okay, what the fu-" Michael began to freak out in English over the appearance of the midget and other kid, both of whom he recognized. Though the Sky candidate did not truly grab too much of his attention due to the fact that the soccer head was painfully average and nothing special, seeing the magician kid after his father kicked the bucket was about just as much excitement as watching paint dry. He always hated illusionists and their cheap tricks; then again, weaklings who didn't know how to truly fight resorted to said cheap tricks. They lacked the strength to fight with their own hands.

Michael fell back and pointed to Prospero, gasping as he exclaimed in Italian, "What are you talking about didn't work?! You and him just appeared out of nowhere!" Both of his hands ran through his hair, now messy from the previous acts of ruffling. "Does that mean you're an actual assassin?! I thought it was some game!"

---

Daisuke had been about to hop off of the stage when Jak stopped him and said that they would have each others' backs, followed by the offer of a pinky promise. "Sure!" His face lit up and he extended his own to seal the deal, though his response fell short when Naoto and the magician returned. He was happy, though, and it was able to at least restore his smile. He raced off the stage and his eyes trailed up and down the body of the boss, checking to see if he was injured.

"I'm so glad you're safe!" Daisuke said, his arms wrapping around Naoto for a quick hug before he walked over to Michael, who was paralyzed in disbelief on the floor. The boy grabbed Michael's pointed finger and tried to pull him back to his feet, though Michael was much heavier than he thought. Jeez, does this guy lift pineapples?! he thought as he continued to try with as much strength as he could muster, to no avail. His hands soon slipped from around Michael's finger, and he stumbled back.

Daisuke was quick to answer Michael's allegations and the magician's confusion about Michael. "No, no, no!" he waved his hands up and down, a nervous smile on his face. "This is my American friend, Michael! He came here a few minutes after you poofed everyone and he's lost right now!"

"Who are they, then?" Michael replied, tilting his head.

"He's the boss of the game we're playing," Daisuke pointed to Naoto, with Michael seemingly unconvinced. "Then, this is the magician that poofed everyone..." he slowly turned towards Prospero, his expression now filled with enthusiasm as his explanation quickly changed to the plea of a diehard fan. "And I am your biggest fan! Can I have your autograph?"

This kid is really annoying...

Michael sighed, standing back up. And I have to stay at one of their houses, as well... and this kid seems to be the only one with the least amount of suspicion... just fucking great. "I'm so lost on this whole ordeal," he shook his head and spoke in English towards Artemis and Abby, frowning as they were the only other two who seemed to understand English around these parts. Damn that Vongola rat for making me stick to his plan and having to wait it out until the 'time is right' - I could've killed them all right here where they're all gathered together. "At this rate, I don't think I'll ever find my way through this town."

Ignore

Abby had noticed Cyril moving closer to her when she began to speak to the English girl (Abby assumed she was English from her accent). It kind of weirded her out but those feelings were put in the proverbial back burner when Naoto and Prospero suddenly appeared back on stage. "Maybe because he's a crazy weirdo?" She responded to Artemis's question about the magician boy. It was quite a sight, seeing the masked boy just laughing it up like no tomorrow. Naoto looked confused too so Abby safely assumed that it wasn't a "disappearing-into-another-space-dimension-thing".

It was then that the boy named Michael announced his confusion and thought he'd never find his way through town. This little tidbit of info perked the blond's ears. Maybe if they could lead him to where he was staying, they could figure out more about this mysterious stranger. She could use the same tactic with Artemis as well, especially if there was still an assassin afoot like she had claimed. "Why don't we help you?!" Abby announced a little too loudly and a little too cheerfully, "I can't help you with the tour per se, but I bet everyone else here can! And we can even take you back to your hotels if you want since this round of our mafia game has finished." She had to hand it to the two strangers to make the game relation to their mafia business but it only made them that more suspicious.

---

Sonya watched the scene below her with keen interest. Although she couldn't see the battle between Naoto and Prospero, she could tell that he had defeated him when they reappeared. She'd have to speak with Prospero privately about the fight the next chance she got. However, when he announced that he was proud to be Naoto's Mist Guardian, she couldn't help but shake his head. From what she had read up and learned in these interactions, the magician boy's biggest weakness would be his ego. It was still too early for any of them to announce their ownership of those prestigious titles yet. Not with the opponents they have to face to get them...

When Abby announced (rather loudly) in helping the two strangers, it brought Sonya back to the other problem. Standing up, she dusted her skirt before casually stepping off the rooftop. She jumped down and landed gracefully at the edge of the group.

"All of you aren't required to lead these two through town." She announced calmly, as if she had been there the entire time, "Prospero and Jakki, you two can escort them back to their hotels, or whatever they want to do. Prospero will be Jakki's translator while Jakki is Prospero's guide through this town. The rest of you I'm splitting up into two teams; Cyril, Abby and Daisuke and Naoto, Benjamin and Fionn. Each team has to find where Prospero has placed the missing audience. Whichever team finds them first gets to choose which group gets to train with me first thing tomorrow. And just to let you know, I have wonderful plans for your training." For the first time since they had met Sonya just a few days ago, she graced them with a smile. It made Abby physically shiver.

"You have until sundown or all of you get to participate in the punishment game I've concocted. Now go."

Before Prospero got a proper chance to answer everyone's questions, he noticed the red-haired woman drop down at the edges of the group. The way she acted casually as if she'd been there the whole time was a classic misdirection, meant to make it seem like she either really had been lurking there the whole time or had appeared out of thin air. More important and impressive than that was her presence and the effect she seemed to have on the other Guardians.

Namely, she was really, really intimidating. He'd heard rumors before of the red-headed mercenary and tried his best to research her in preparation, of course. But nothing could have possibly prepared him for this. Sure, he had played the part of a villain while testing Naoto. But that had been a joke, a game, complete kid's stuff compared to how serious this woman seemed. The way she smiled after mentioning punishment games gave him chills and he was glad that his mask might conceal his nervousness a little while doing his best to appear completely at ease.

Prospero hadn't taken orders from anyone since his father's death and he still wasn't sure he intended to become a subordinate of the Vongola. But once Sonya made him part of her training exercise, he found himself wondering if he'd been delusional in thinking he could use them for his own ends even if he was the next generation's Mist Guardian, if they had people like Sonya with them. He refused to outright admit that was a possibility, but he would play along with her training for now. Perhaps he would even become stronger for it, strong enough to achieve his goals. Plus there was always the possibility, distantly in the back of his mind, that he could become friends with these people he was being made to work with.

"Whatever you say then, Bella Doña. I guess it's important for me to get to know the town and the other Guardians."

He wasn't sure what to think of the guy they would be guiding around and that he would be translating for. The boy was much older than him, but other than that he didn't think much either way of just because he was American and Prospero didn't know a thing about him other than his wandering in after his last trick.

"So, shall we get going?" he said in both Italian and English.

Jakki leapt down from the stage, watching Prospero carefully. He had said he was the Mist Guardian, and while it sounded plausible, Jakki remembered that there had been another candidate that hadn't shown up at Naoto's house. The Vongola must work fast... Jak thought as she climbed down to join the rest of the group as Sonya arrived and told them that they were splitting up into groups and that she was going to be guiding the newcomers back to their hotels and that she'd be guiding Prospero around. The last part left a bitter taste in her mouth, but she recalled the brutal takedown Sonya had used on her yesterday. I'd rather not have broken arm...

"Well, I suppose I'm the shepherd for new people around here. My name's Jakki Dafne, but you can call my Jak. Um, I don't speak English very well... I know some words, but I really don't think that they apply here." Jak rubbed her neck and laughed, her smile as fake as ever, and her pretence of kindness flawless. She'd forgotten her true face, though she reckoned that it had been burned clear by the fire and the grief. There was nothing left under the layers of blisters and scars, but she never looked too deeply into the mirror these days, afraid of the mask that she hid behind to pretend that everything was alright. There I go, over thinking things again. It's fine, I'm fine.

As Artemis watched as Sonya -though Artemis reckoned that identifying her by first name verbally would probably equal death- walked into the group and she thought she saw a few people tense up. Note: Do not anger Sonya. If she commands such fear just by being next to these hardened mafioso... I don't think I'll live to see how this all plays out...

She moved slowly, deliberately towards Prospero Merlin and the black haired girl who said a name that Artemis assumed was her own. She waved to Abbey, "well, looks like I'm headed back. Maybe we'll talk tomorrow?" she smiled and was cheerful, but she was waiting for her neck to be snapped at any moment. She took a breath, listened to Mr. Merlin say that they should get going. "Should we wait for Michael?"

Artemis' skin crawled around him, but she had to stuff down the feeling. It was unfounded. She hadn't noticed him earlier, and he was clinging to the clumsy boy so she would have seen him in her sweeps from earlier. She was being ridiculous, and probably a little rude to be shutting out the American like that. However, to say that she wasn't right to avoid him because of his obnoxious shirt and choice in friends was a safe bet. Artemis didn't do loud very well, and those two would be everything but quiet. I just need to figure out somewhere to stay... an electrified jolt of terror ran through her when she realized that she might be going back to her hotel. I left without paying the bill. They're gonna be looking out for me for sure. I'll have to lie, but I don't know the other hotels in the area... and unless I whip out my laptop or rigged IPod, I might make a blunder. Maybe I'll just say that wherever Michael's staying is where I'm staying too. Baka! You should have planned this out better idiot!