"Sir Mannone?"

Claude lowered his sunglasses, allowing his blue eyes to meet with the Russian Bratva man in front of him. The blond hummed, nodding before repositioning his shades and brushing his curly blond locks back.

With one simple movement, the air around him shifted, going from calm and gentle to composed and ruthless. Mikaël felt himself slightly shiver at the sight, he rubbed his earlobe. His eyes flickered from one unknown figure to another, before going back to his manager.

"Yes," Claude's blue irises focused on the teen in front of them instead of the adult who greeted him, and he gave a small bow. "Sir Volkov, I presume?" he asked in fluent Russian with a courteous smile as he stepped closer to the pink-haired boy.

The teenager gave a curt nod, his face showing a beam as he extended his hand for a handshake. Light and deep blue clashed with one another as the two men silently gauged the other, searching for a weakness, a strength.

No less than five seconds later, Claude let go of the boy's hand. He stepped to the side, revealing his charge's figure to the Bratva delegation.

"This is Mikaël Lamarre," he introduced as he gently grabbed the green head's hand in his own, pulling him to the front, he didn't forget to showcase the peculiar signet ring on his finger.

The group of men and women each wore black attire with a dark blue jewel serving as a breastpin, most probably to show off their belonging to the Rain Guardian's unit. Seeing the indigo gem atop of the ring, they stiffened, standing taller and straighter.

The pink-haired teen, like the others, wore a suit. Unlike the others, he didn't have a jacket and only kept a waistcoat over his white shirt. His hair pulled back with some pretty blue hairpins, he took out a lollipop.

He didn't show any confusion at the sight of the ring and seemed almost relieved to see it. His blue eyes indifferently took in the green's figure, analyzing him with some hidden anticipation. His gaze met Ryota's golden eyes, and he blinked, beaming at the older boy.

Ah, how disappointing.

Not letting his emotion show, he kept a mischievous smile on his lips, his eyes showed no emotion as he calmly signed back. 'We met once already,' noticing how Claude's eyes unnoticeably narrowed, he grinned. 'I am honored to meet the Vongola's future Mist Guardian, again.'

The people who quietly followed the teen's movement narrowed their eyes, showing some discontent and confusion at the mention of the Vongola's Mist Guardian. Evidently, the signet ring on the boy's finger was the Bratva's, not the Famiglia's.

Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, Ryota uncomfortably kept a natural smile on his face. His golden eyes swirled with confused emotions. After all, although he learned some Sign Language in the future while training with Shura, it didn't mean he was fluent. On the contrary, if the words weren't 'pitiful,' 'again,' 'stop,' 'begin,' and the likes, he wouldn't understand them.

Unlike Mikaël, Claude knew Sign Language. He couldn't fluently use it, but when it came to reading it, his skills were far more than acceptable. His perfunctory smile partially stiffened as his fingers minutely twitched, he gave a chuckle, sending the teen an amused look in the process to defuse the atmosphere.

"My, Sir Volkov sure knows how to joke around," he evenly answered, lightly patting his lost charge's shoulder. He wasn't clear on the ins and outs of the Vongola's affair, but from the situation a few months ago in Tokyo, he could guess some of the details.

"Mikaël's involvement with the future Don was akin to a Senior helping out a Junior in the need, it had nothing to do with loyalty and pledging allegiance to the Italian Famiglia."

Shura merely answered the blond's words with an amused smile, his blue eyes crinkling in unhidden laughter before he swirled around, leading the way out of the landing stripe and into the imposing mansion.

Shura who walked in front of the group could hear the people's footsteps behind him. For a second, his smile faltered, and his eyes clouded over to reveal a disillusioned expression.

Ha, of course, the truth would never be as beautiful as the dream.

::

"So this person is the thief?" Aleksey muttered, leaning further into his quilted chair as he crossed his right leg over his left one. His hands joined in front of him quietly rested on his lap, letting the light bounce off the two signet rings which adorned his fingers.

Ryota's eyes twitched at the older's words, but he concealed it, silently sitting on the couch he pretended not to understand Russian as he mutely played with the ring on his fingers, trying to soothe his nerves and find comfort in what he liked to believe was his mother's memento.

Claude unlike before stood behind the couch, his posture was reverent and full of respect. He didn't dare utter a word of denial or agreement in the face of the blond. His blue eyes didn't meet the Boss' golden irises as he cleverly looked downward in a show submission.

Facing the green-haired teen, on the opposing sofa, was the Bratva's Rain Guardian. The tanned man a Cheshire grin plastered on his face slightly narrowed his brown-golden-tinted eyes. His ear unnoticeably twitched at his Lord's words and he put the cup of sipping hot coffee down on the table.

He stood up, each one of his moves followed by a pair of youthful blue eyes, and gave a bow to the blond Mafia Boss. "It is as you said My Lord," he acquiesced, not batting an eyelash at the dangerous words he uttered. "Lady Alice's belongings, which were gifted by My Lod, were all found within his possession. The ring only serves to testify to our previous doubts."

Aleksey hummed, his golden eyes never acknowledging the half Indian's words as he kept his attention focused on the foreign teen in his study. The boy, from beginning to end since he entered his office, had a polite smile printed on his face.

It wasn't strained, which in itself was a feat, and instead, as time went on, seemed more and more genuine, almost reaching the height of his Sun Guardian's perfunctory expressions. His back was straight, never faltering under the never-ending waves of pressure, and the more Aleksey stared, the more he could decipher some of the teen's aura.

It wasn't anything grand compared to himself or his Guardians of course, after all, the boy lacked the ruthlessness one needed to thoroughly crush others. But it was enough for him to stand out in a crowd, like a diamond in the rough, if polished, he would be able to shine in the underworld.

But similarly to an ant, he at the moment was but a weak insect. Easily crushed and forgotten. Beating him then burying him wouldn't alert anyone and it was much easier than to raise a newborn calf.

Aleksey tilted his head to the side, a profound silence settled in his study, leaving behind the sound of breathing and ice cubes hitting one another as he twirled his glass of vodka in mild contemplation.

Aleksey wasn't a fool. He knew his Guardian was lying, and he knew why. He sipped on his drink, the alcoholic smell of his beverage hitting his nose in the process, he hummed.

To kill or not to kill?

The man's lips lightly quirked up in amusement and Ryota who happened to glance his way felt a chill run down his spine.

When was the last time he felt so close to death? Was it in the Future, against Viper, or perhaps in his former life?

"What do you think?" Aleksey's smooth voice reverberated against the study's many bookshelves as he kept his eyes strained on the green-haired teen.

For a moment, nobody said a word, unsure of what the man meant— Unsure of who he was talking to. Devdas who was still bowing slightly narrowed his eyes, disliking the silence in the room, he interpreted it as the unknown interlocutor ignoring his Boss. It was inTolEraBLe.

"Mikaël was it?" Aleksey spoke up once more, making the teen unconsciously stand taller. At the action, the Russian man slyly smirked, his eyes flashing orange for a second.

"You have a great name," he praised. Despite the compliment, Ryota didn't feel himself relax, on the contrary, it only served to make him more vigilant. He breathed, refraining his hand from reaching his earlobe and betraying his state of mind as he pretended not to understand. He had after all since the beginning acted as if he did not know Russian, suddenly knowing the language would be suspicious.

But then, wasn't it even more questionable for him to act dumb?

Aleksey chuckled. "I am talking to you Mikaël," he reiterated, and Ryota felt as if his name seemed particularly long when pronounced by the man. "Do not play dumb with me, you won't be able to bear the consequences," he threatened, his smile gone as he presented the teen with his usual blank face, only violence reflecting in his red-tinted irises.

Ryota gripped his hands in fists before slowly relaxing them. He wasn't stupid, he knew what his answer would entail. His life rested on the outcome of this talk. Although he had never faced such situations before, his past experiences and life in this realm had taught him a lot.

He rubbed his earlobe, disregarding his previous state of mind and slipping into something similar to his model persona. For now, Ryota was no more, it was only Mikaël. Mikaël Lamarre, Mikaël Levin, son of a Mafia Boss, born to rule.

He carefully opened his golden eyes, in his mind, every one of Seijuro's words repeated themselves. The way to lead a talk, to manipulate others, to make use of his every card while keeping his Ace carefully hidden.

At the time, when he had casually asked the redhead, he hadn't expected to one day use those techniques. His eyes flashed with an orangish color that peacefully blended in his golden hues, letting light specks of indigo to burst to life behind the thin veil of red which covered his irises.

Shura who kept an eye on the teen felt himself shiver at those eyes. Satisfaction, temptation, and devotion blended and bubbled in his chest, ready to burst at any given moment.

Dream, dream, it was oh so similar to the vision in his dream.

Mikaël chuckled, it was like clean water on a hot summer day, both beautiful and refreshing, yet intangible and ephemeral. The teen brought a hand to his lips, the gesture smooth and casual, devoid of any ripple or nervousness people displayed in the face of such situations.

Aleksey's eyes flashed, and his lips momentarily quirked up.

"You are mistaken, Lord Aleksey," the teen's cool voice addressed, tone neither disrespectful nor deferent. "Instead of a thief, am I not the one who brought your family's heirlooms back?" he questioned, showing genuine confusion as he cleverly evaded the matter of the underworld, seemingly unconcerned with their plays of power.

"Oh?"

Sensing the man was more open to discussion after his little play, Mikaël's smile deepened. "I, at first, didn't know those belonged to your esteemed family," he confessed, his voice laced with so much sweetness it made him sick in the stomach. "Fortunately, I met your people, and was able to give them the earing at the time," he admitted showing what seemed to be genuine relief as he dismissed the matter of his kidnapping and rash treatment as if it never happened.

Aleksey hummed, his face relaxing in an obviously amused expression as he silently ushered the teen to go on.

"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to give them the ring at the time," he sighed, bringing a hand to his cheek in a display of defeat. He stared at the signet ring on his right hand and carefully slipped it off his finger before placing it in on the wooden low table.

"But Sir Claude was kind enough to bring me to you, allowing me to now stand before you, Lord Aleksey," he confirmed, giving the man a bow from his seat. "I do hope those events didn't inconvenience you too much," he apologized.

Aleksey smiled, waving his hand dismissively as he indicated for his Guardian to retrieve the Mist ring. "The most important is that we recovered them," he said before beckoning for Shura to move. "Bring our guests to their rooms," he stressed before leaning into his seat. "You can ask Natalia for the details."

Shura nodded, gave a low bow before exiting the study, his eyes momentarily resting on Claude and Mikaël's figure as he ushered for them to follow him.

Aleksey sipped on his alcoholic beverage, watching as the group went out. His golden eyes clashed with a similarly colored pair of eyes and he chuckled.

A great smile, he mused, much better than when he acted dumb.

Leaning into his seat, he let his chair turn on itself to face the grand french window and garden below his study. "Should I kill him, Devdas?"

The tanned man's eyes flickered upward, resting on the back of the chair for a moment before he narrowed them. "Whatever Your Lordship thinks, I wouldn't know, My Lord."

Aleksey tilted his head, humming. "Of course," he answered before sipping on his drink. "And what do you think of him?"

Devdas' eyes glinted blue as he remembered the teen's posture and voice. A sly smirk etched on his face, he carelessly licked his upper lip in what appeared to be anticipation. "If I may be so bold, My Lord. I think that in a few years, if not less, he will be worth cleaning after."

The Bratva Boss hummed. 

Thank you for reading, until next time^^

Quick Bratva members recap:

The Boss, Storm Guardian-

Aleksey Levin {Storm, Sky}, 41 y/o

The Sun Guardian, honey pot and liaison, Fourth Heir of a Triad -

Liu Zhihao {Sky, Sun}, 38 y/o

The Ninth Lightning Guardian, secretary and bodyguard, honey pot-

Natalia-Nonna-Ivanov {Lightning}, 37 y/o

The Mist Guardian (non-official), a French contact; The Fool-

Alice Lamarre {Mist}, deceased (22 y/o), 40 y/o

The Second Cloud Guardian, poison master, information dealer; The Rat-

Makariy {Cloud}, 30 y/o

Part of the Cloud/intelligence Departement, Mikaël's manager-

Claude Mannone, 45 y/o

The Rain Guardian, hitman; The Cleaner-

Devdas Volkov {Rain, Storm}, 40 y/o

Part of the Rain/assassination Department, hitman-

Shura Volkov {Lightning}, adopted, 16 y/o