First Person: Mariko

When Lal said that she wanted to test where I was, I didn't think she meant this.

"What is this?" I ask her. Lal is standing on top of a literal small mountain of paperwork. "This is my paperwork. I want you to go through it and sort it into piles based off of importance."If this is yours, then I have no authority to sign any of this. And besides, this will take at least three days. I still have school and a part time job to worry about. Don't even get me started on my network." I say to her. Lal looks curious. "Your network? Explain." I just fold my arms and flair at her. "I said don't get me started on my network. And besides, shouldn't you already know about it? What are you training me for anyways?" Lal jumps off of her Mount Paperwork and walks over to the couch in my room. "To answer your first, I don't know about your network, there was never a mention of it in the reports sent by the spies in Namimori and surrounding areas. To answer your second question, I was supposed to train you into the next leader of CEDEF in case you had more potential than the other candidates currently being trained. However, I now see that you may do a better job as the leader of a different group seeing as you are your brother's Lightning Guardian. Finally, since I answered your questions you have to answer my questions. One, what is your network? Two, how much do you know about the mafia. And three, I want you to introduce me to your animals." I start laughing at her questions, and her answers. CEDEF? Like that'll happen. That's more of Kyo-nii's thing. "Well, first I want to comment on your answers." She nods allowing me to continue. "The reason you haven't heard of my network is because the spies are a part of it. It was the only way to not raid suspicion, the fact that it helped expand my network was a happy plus. Second, the CEDEF? That isn't my thing. I don't know about you, but I would rather have more of a say in times of peace and war instead of just war. That is more of Kyo-nii's thing. He doesn't like to be controlled. And finally to answer your questions. I think I have given you enough hints to figure out what exactly my network is, I know almost everything about Vongola and its allies, as well as its major enemies, and some famiglie that could pose a major threat in the near future and one or two that will pose a threat in the future. I don't know when they will threaten the Vongola Familia." Lal looks slightly amazed, I think. But she nods as if prodding me onwards. "And lastly, since you are so adamant about it, my animals. The calico cat is named Lucky and she has been in the family the longest. The next one two be introduced is a Belgian Malinois by the name of Kenshin, he along with the Briard named Tarou, were the next ones to enter the family. Tsu-nii got them for me as guard dogs when I was jumped about seven I think. He had convinced Oka-san that it would be a good idea. After that are some of the animals that I have rescued over the next six years. There is the Japanese skylark named Kyo, the willow tit named Michi, the Japanese dormouse named Ichirou, the Japanese red-backed vole is named Mei, the Siberian chipmunk is called Mayu, and lastly the speckled padloper tortoise is named Hibiki. I got Hibiki from a passing spy who is now in my network. Hibiki is technically a gift, and not a rescue like the other small animals and cat but considering the circumstances you could also call him a rescue."Tell me how you met the small animals and cat then." Lal asked.

"I don't remember much of when Lucky was rescued, I was three at the time, but the other animals I can tell you. Kyo was abandoned my her parents for some unknown reason. I would like to believe that it was because they didn't know that she fell out of the nest, but Kyo doesn't think so. Michi was saved by both Kyo-nii and me. You see, she had broken her wing in a large storm and I found her. Not knowing much about bird anatomy and how to heal them, I took her to Kyo-nii and he helped me. That was when I learned some of the local bird speech, Kyo-nii taught me. After healing Michi, she stayed with us. You have no idea how shocked he was when she started calling us her parents. By this time Kyo had been acquainted with Kyo-nii as well and she also picked up on it. Obviously Michi stayed with us, but we didn't know that she had chosen me until she came screeching into the building looking for Kyo-nii after I had been hit by a car. A story for a different time. But Ichirou is a slightly different story." I walk over to a medium sized doll house in the corner of my room and open it, revealing a mouse, a vole, and a chipmunk. "Ichirou is just mine. He likes to live in here with Mei and Mayu. I found Ichirou in the middle of winter. I don't know what he was doing awake, but I took him in and along the way I found Mei freezing to death as well. So when I got home I asked Zola-san for some rodent food and set the two rodents beside the heater. The doll house was created by Sho-kun so that my rodents could live in a place where any wandering cats couldn't get to them. It has a heated floor so that they don't need to go looking for warmth. Anyways. The last one would be Mayu. Mayu's story is a little different than the other's. You see, she was an experiment that was used to test what would happen with different hair products. You would actually be surprised how much that chipmunk values looks. Anyways, I found her during a raid. The scientists were not just creating hair products. They were also making drugs that had found themselves into Namimori Middle School. Kyo-nii was pissed. Which is why we were attacking hem in the first place. Finding Mayu was a complete accident. But now she lives with me." I finish up my stories to find that Lal had recorded the entire thing. "Please don't tell me that you are going to deny that to my father. Please, don't tell me that." I practically beg her. "I want you to tell me what you are trying to accomplish in this town." Unbelievable! She completely ignored me! I haven't been ignored since my early school years in my last life! I huff and say one thing. "Only if you don't send any recordings that you have recorded to anybody that you are working for. Edited or unedited. It doesn't matter, just don't send them." She nods once curtly. I sigh, knowing that I have yet to win this war. "Tsu-nii wanted to make this place a sanctuary for any retired mafiosi like Take-kun's father among others. You would be surprised just how many there are. Anyways, Kyo-nii agreed with him since that would make Namimori safer than it originally was. Somehow Take-kun and Ryo-kun were dragged into all this. And I followed to make sure that Kyo-nii didn't hurt Tsu-nii too much. And before you ask, no I will NOT tell you about Hong Kong. Not going to relive that catastrophe. Thank you very much!" Lal ends the recording that she had started when I started describing what we were doing. "One last question before you show me just how good you are in combat." She states. "Only if I get one more questions as well." That is my only condition. And she knows it. Her response is a nod. "Are there any others living in this base. There were many desks." I nod. "There are about eleven of us. However, only ten of us are usually here. You didn't get to meet Ryo-kun, Kyo-chan, Ha-chan, Haru-chan, Sho-kun, or Chrome-nee. They are the ones who stay there besides Tsu-nii, Kyo-nii, Take-kun, and me. Now my question. What is the different group that you believe I would be better suited for?" Lal smirks. "Like CEDEF, CSSPV was started by one of Primo's guardians as a source of information in all times. Most don't even know about it. I would say that only the top ranking members of Vongola and the Arcobaleno know about the Collettore Servizi Segreti per Vongola. I will go into further detail later at my own time." And that is that. She then dragged me out to a remote location where we meet Tsu-nii and Reborn. "About time Lal." Reborn states. I scowl at the demon disguised as a baby. He just smirks. "You will fight each other." I deadpan the tiny hitman. "Say what now?" I ask right as Tsu-nii say "What do you want me to do?" Needless to say, the infant wasn't happy that he had to repeat himself. "I said the two of you will fight each other." I continue to scowl at the damn hitman. Opening my mouth to say something rude to the hitman, I get beaten to the punch by Tsu-nii. "Are you crazy? If we fight each other here Chrome will have a lot more work to do. She is already exhausted from yesterday. Do you want her to be confined to her bed for the next week? Are yo-" he doesn't finish his sentence because I interrupt him. "Didn't you already see what we can do last night Mr. I'm-so-good-at-everything-I-do?" Reborn shoots me a dirty look saying that he did, but he just wanted to watch us fight while Tsu-nii sends me a wary look that clearly states he thinks that I am on my period. I'll have to check soon. I was never good at keeping track of that.

Meanwhile Lal smirks. I think she likes the fact that I am so sassy.

~oOo~oOo~

Time Skip

Well, just fucking great. What's great you ask? Bombs. Large fucking explosions that come from small as fuck containers. Thankfully, none have been seat off.

Yet.

So, the first thing I do when break comes around is to literally drag Gokudera Hayato out of the room and too the roof where Kyo-nii is 'sleeping' (Really, he's just playing with Hibird). "Rule number one, I get to confiscate all of your weapons in school. It will go easier on you if you don't fight back. Rule number two, harm any student in this school and your dead meat. Kyo-nii will make sure of that. And rule number three by far the most important rule goes thusly, never harm one Sawada Tsunayoshi. You will wish that you had never been born." I say to him knowing full well that Kyo-nii was listening in. I know that in canon Hayato wasn't dragged off by Tsu-nii's overly protective sister, but you know what? The Plot is already screwed to begin with. Why not change it to the way I like it? I'm just gonna dance on its grave anyways. Why not start now?

"What was that Bitch? Are you threatening me?" Gokudera Hayato asked in as much of a threatening manner as he possibly could. I just laugh in his face. "Bub, I have seen more threatening turtles than you." And it's true. Hibiki is far more threatening. I am not going into Enzo just yet however. Already met him once. And that was enough times. Even if I know that in fact, no it won't be.

Unfortunately.

Gokudera Hayato looks taken aback. Off in the corner of the roof I hear a quiet 'Kufufufu' and I see Kyo-nii twitch in the corner of my eye. "Seriously? That all you fucking got B-I-T-C-H?"

"Le gasp! You can actually spell the word bitch? I never knew! Here, let me spell the word 'bastard' for you." I feel more than see Kyo-nii and Muku-nii stiffen at my words. Hayato sneers not seeing the threat that I just gave him. "Do it you fucking whore." Wrong move. I gotta speak fast. "H-A-Y-A-T-O." He skoffs. "That's not how you spell 'bastard' you fucking moron." I step back. First he called me a whore, then he called me a moron.

My sex life is nothing to this man. What I do is nothing compared to who I do it for. Thus, Kyo-nii gets pissed.

My brain power is actually fucking good thanks! Other wise I am ceartain that I would have drowned by now in all the reports along with school and Vice President jobs. He has no right to call me a moron. Not to mention that I wouldn't be able to do the things that I do with Mist flames if I couldn't think as a genius. The laws of physics after all. Among other things that combine into creating the perfect illusion. Thus ensuring Muku-nii's wrath.

I send him a look of pity. "Gokudera Hayato, may Heaven or Hell have mercy on your soul, they never will." And with that I leave the roof to go hide in the reception room. There is a strong line of cursing and then a grunt of pain. As I leave the roof not bothering to turn as see what I already know is happening. After all, Hayato just pissed off two of the strongest people in our Council. The only ones who come close to them are Tsu-nii who has to be to keep them in line, and me who has to be to keep up with the two.

"You just left him to the wolves." I hear Reborn's voice come from the pot that I had marked as him. "He called me a bitch, a whore, and a moron. He brought it upon himself. You should be thankful that Tsu-nii wasn't there to hear him say those things. My brother doesn't like it when I am insulted. None of them do. For any of us. Especially we women on the Council."

"You should stop them. Gokudera Hayato is the perfect candidate for Storm Guardian. And maybe even Right Hand Man." He states. I can tell he knows that I am not the greedy type. I don't really truly care about that. Instead I look him squarely in the eye, knowing that my eyes have turned as cold as when I kill, and I say one thing.

"If you wanted him alive Arcobaleno, you would have done or would do one of two things. Tell him not to threaten us, or stop my brothers yourself. Either way, it is too late for me to interfere. Have fun with them Arcobaleno Reborn. I wish you luck." And with that, I walk away.

~oOo~oOo~

Third Person Limited: Reborn

He watched Mariko walk away, still remembering the look in her eyes. That was not the look of a 'harmless cute little darling civilian' as Iemitsu put it when he wrote the report on his youngest child. With the eyes of a trained mafioso, Mariko was anything but harmless. Especially if that first night was anything to go by. He turned away from the strange anomaly that was the youngest Sawada and walked towards the sounds of a beat down.

Exiting onto the roof, Reborn was treated to a sight that he thought that he would never see. Gokudera Hayato, Smoking Bomb Hayato, a mafioso that survived on the streets for years, was eating his own dynamite. Quite literally in every sense of the word.

He could feel the illusion energy around the rooftop and could only stop from gawking. There stood Hibari Kyoya, and Rokudo Mukuro. Both terrors in civilian society and the underworld, and both well know for their hatred for one another.

They were working together. No wonder Mariko said she couldn't stop them now and wished him good luck.

"Hibari, Rokudo." There was a slight note of disgust in the hitman's voice when Mukuro's name passed his lips. "I would appreciate it if Gokudera Hayato was left alive and well." In an act of unison, both boys turned to him with identical looks of astonishment and anger. "Like I would let this Herbivore get away with what he said." Snarled Hibari. "As much as I hate to agree with Skylark-kun here," at this, Mukuro gestures vaguely in the direction of Hibari as the man twitches "he is right. After what this bastard said, he doesn't deserve a voice box to use." Damn, talk about creatively violent. "From what I have heard of what happened, that is too harsh of a punishment." Mukuro throws his head back and laughs. "Oh Arcobaleno, you have no idea. You don't know anything about what has happened because knowing our Imoto, she wouldn't have told you anything about just why he deserves this." Reborn looks confused, but only if you are really, really, really, really good at reading emotions. "Then do you care to explain?" Hibari snorts "Baby, the only thing that needs to be said right now is to never call the Carnivore names other than ones that she said you could call her." He winces as if remembering something unpleasant. Mukuro can't help but shudder at a seemingly similar thought. Nothing was making sense today. Nothing at all. "Can you at least leave him alive, sane, and well? He is needed." The two look at each other. "Tsunayoshi-kun would probably want to give him a trial anyways. I don't see much of a problem, how about you Skylark-kun?" Rokudo Mukuro asked Hibari Kyoya. "Hn." And with that statement, that Mukuro seemingly understood, left the roof. Reborn blinked, and they were in the headquarters in an unfamiliar place.

~oOo~oOo~

First Person: Mariko

I was in the Disciplinary Committee room when Sisko found me, curled up in on myself in the fetal position. I had already cried myself out years ago, but that didn't stop the wanting to. "What's the matter Mariko-chan?" Sisko asked me. I sniff and shake my head without saying a word. She comes to sit down next to me in the Mushroom Corner and starts to play with my hair.

That is how Kyo-chan found us not fifteen minutes later. "Tsu-kun wants us for a trial. Do either of you know what it could be about?" Sisko shakes her head, but I just stand up and use illusions to cover up anything that could be considered weak by outsiders. They didn't understand what I had gone through, thus they didn't understand why it left such deep scars. Sisko takes my hand and leads me out of the room with Kyo-chan not far behind us. "I think I'll stay out of this trial guys." I tell the two girls. Kyo-chan stiffens and Sisko let's loose a light gasp. I don't need to look into Kyo-chan's eyes to know that she is furious. They both know what this trial is about. And there is only one person stupid enough to actually commit the crime. They know all right. "We'll drop you off at your rooms if you want? I know you don't really want to go to your house right now." Truly, the house is more of a cover story. Oka-san knows it too. She knows about what we do, she knows about why we do it. And she agrees wholeheartedly on the matter. Especially after what happened a few years ago. The same thing that is the reason for having the upcoming trial to begin with. Oka-san was never the same after that. At least I understand now where I get my deviousness from. I degrees. Sisko takes us to my, suite for lack of a better term. After they are certain that I am okay, they leave for the Council Meeting.

~oOo~oOo~

Third Person Limited: Lal Mirch

All the Council members that she had already met were here. Except her student. Even Council members that she hadn't met were here. For the people that she hadn't met there were the Sasagawa siblings Ryohei and Kyoko, there was one Miura Haru, there was Kurokawa Hana, a girl named Dokuro Chrome who looked eerily like one Rokudo Mukuro who was standing menacingly over the accused Gokudera Hayato. Even Naito Longchamp. Although how they got him on their side she would likely never know. But there was no sign of her student. This didn't make much sense to Lal, Mariko had come off as the kind of woman that Lal would have respected. Which meant that she would should have been here a while ago. Long before most of the others that were attending. The trial started when a small redhead named Irie Shoichi entered the room and took a seat. "Considering the offense, and the absence of one of our members, I believe that everyone knows why we are here?" Tsunayoshi asked in a deceptively calm voice. there were murmurs of agreements and grunts of acknowledgment from the crowd.

Reborn spoke up. "What is the offense then Tsunayoshi?" The room became so tense that it would be difficult to cut it with a Rain Flame coated blade. "Hahahaha." The laughter sounded strained. "That's right, you are new here. You don't understand what has happened here." The room almost seemed relieved by what the baseball player that was Yamamoto Takeshi said. "All you need to know is that this moron crossed the proverbial line when speaking to one of our members." Kyoko stated in the coldest voice that Lal had heard in this room yet. It seemed that there was more then met the eye in this little large group of contradictions and surprises. Yet another person spoke up from the crowd. Kurokawa Hana stated in an unreadable voice, "Since you are new to this town of Namimori, you have a chance of being pardoned of your offense in this court. But before you are, you must know that there are certain things that are taboo around certain members. One of the things that you have stated in the presence of one Sawada Mariko, twin younger sister to one Sawada Tsunayoshi, and a strong woman in her own right both mentally and physically, is one of such things. Never call her those things again. Have I made myself clear?" Her voice was colder than ice, and it was clear that while this girl was not one to be in the middle of the battlefield, she too had her own place in this Council. And the court seemed to be it.

It appeared that Gokudera didn't understand what kind of situation he was in. "And why should I? That bitch deserved everything that I said." He stated boldly, and brashly. There were growls echoing around the room and Lal could have sworn that she heard a gun's safety click off from the direction of Miura. "You should never call someone from this family a bitch desu! You don't even know why certain things are taboo to certain people desu! You should not judge people before you get to know them desu!" The girl seemed that she wanted to do more than shout. While this was happening, it seemed that Rokudo was contemplating something. "I could always possess him so that he wouldn't be a problem to us Tsunayoshi-kun." The one time experiment offered the brunet. "No Mukuro. He at least deserves a second chance now that he understands just what is going on." The sounds of discontent and agreement with Rokudo's suggestion quickly died down after those words were uttered and you could clearly see just who was anchorage of this Familia. For that was what it was. It may have been a Vigilante Familia, but it was still a Familia. Lal quietly cursed out Iemitsu for not checking in on his family more often and relying on his spies that, judging from the reports and files that she had found in Mariko's desk, were clearly no longer on his side. "His sentence is probation. He will stay with one of us, someone who can and will deal with any threats that he may pose, for as long as the Carnivore sees fit." the Hibari scion stated with an air of finality. "I'll take that responsibility since I know that if anybody else does, he wouldn't last the week. Meeting adjoined." And with that, the court was over. Both Lal and Reborn blinked at the suddenness of the announcement.

Gokudera didn't seem to understand what had truly happened. "Why do I have probation?! I did nothing wrong!" He shouted. Before he could be stabbed by a pair of tridents from two Mist Flame users that had suddenly appeared, Tsunayoshi held up his hand. "I do not believe what Kyoya had granted you. He is not usually so merciful. Especially when it comes to the inner circle; me, my sister, Takeshi, Ryohei, Kyoko, Chrome, Lambo because he is important to my sister. Even Mukuro is included in that list, for all that it may seem otherwise. For him to be so merciful is unusual. Normally his verdict would be one of two things; permanent banishment from the safe zone that is Namimori and surrounding areas or," he paused for some unknown reason "Death." That last word was stated with such finality that the bomber seemed to finally understand what he had gotten out of. "If I had not volunteered for the job of escorting you, One of the others would have done it. They are not as merciful as they claim that I am. They would have killed you the moment that you were out of sight. Especially some the girls. They like it just as little as a wolf is friends with a rabbit. They can kill you in at least two hundred different ways, and leave no evidence for anyone but my sister to use against them. Sometimes not even then. Do you understand now what kind of blessing you have been given?" The brunet asked of his new charge. The bomber slowly nodded his head. Likely still processing what had been said. "Good. You should come with me. I am certain that Ka-san won't mind another mouth to feed in the house. Especially since Imoto doesn't spend much time at home these days." And with that, the brunet turned on his heel and left the room with a silver haired lost puppy close on his heels.

~oOo~oOo~

And thus the fifth change. May the consequences be large or small, it is done and cannot be reversed.

So mote it be.