NOTE

1. There will be no romantic involvement between Tsuna and Lal, as intimate and crazy their interactions are

2. Hibari and Tsuna's relationship will be introduced a bit late in the story, because I want to explore Tsuna and the Arcobaleno's relationship first.

3. This heavily inspired by a manga titled Kimi Wa Petto by Ogawa Yayoi, and a bit of Kuroshitsuji by Toboso Yana

4. Warning: Suspicious master and pet relationship, ESL (English as Secondary Language) author, dominant female character (s)

5. I am also exploring more of writing style in this fic for Mystery of Tsunayoshi. Please be patient, if you're impatient of that fic's progress. I am also experimenting with a lighter tone in writing.

HER CAT, A HUMAN BOY

The first time Colonello heard of her cat was that one time the Arcobaleno's Top 7 – which is the 7 highest ranked assassins in the Arcobaleno Security Company – held a casual meeting at the Sky Bar. They were sitting in the VVIP room, the one that has the best view from The Vongola Tower top floor, which is practically where the bar was. At that point, the topic of their conversation had moved, from Colonello's homecoming from his one-year mission in Africa, to getting to know Lal Mirch, Bermuda's replacement in the Top 7.

At first, Colonello had thought she was the manipulative and sexual kind of assassin, seeing that she was a woman. But he was greatly mistaken. The first time she opened her mouth, one could sense how she expected people to look up to her and submit, in a way only another member in this group can. Yes, she was a copy of Reborn. A female version of Reborn.

"Yea, I heard you broke Xanxus' heart," Skull said, a hand grabbing a glass of sazerac, "That Xanxus. For the first time, that man has to be the one kicked out by a woman".

Colonello blinked. Xanxus was known to be the bad boy. And not the bad boy a teenage girl would dream of back in high school, he was the bad boy every woman love and fear. They adore him, for he was one of the world's most eligible bachelor (according to one magazine), but they also don't want to mess with him. Colonello heard, the only woman who dared to say no to Xanxus was buried six feet under. Yes, by Xanxus.

So how is this woman alive now?

"Yeah, saw him crying at the bar yesterday," Verde added, flat-toned as usual, "Ended up buying him a drink, and he still didn't tell me the hot gossip".

"Of course he cant, his pride had just been stomped to the ground by Lal, what do you think?" Viper joined in, "What did you do to make him that bad anyway?" he then asked Lal.

The woman sat right next to Fon, looking nice in her tight black leather dress. She swung her head slowly to flick her black hair back, while one of her gloved hand took the smoke away from her red coated lips. That move swooned the men in the room, as this was the first time they had a woman joining them (Luce does not count as a woman, that creep). "There was blood involved," the woman smiled, her voice low and attractive, "It might involve me almost cutting his dick, but well," she shrugged, a beautifully shaped eyebrow lifted, "He's still alive, right? There's no need for him to cry about it like a baby".

There was something there, in the way she talk, that beat the drum in Colonello's chest crazily. Not that Colonello thirst for women, for they always came to him easily. But this woman had just shown him her class. She was different, she was beyond those bombshells he used to mess around with.

Skull whistled. "Woah," he started, eyes wide, "What did he do to piss you off that bad?"

The woman took a long drag. Her big half-lidded eyes, was casted aside in a pissed manner. "He mocked my cat," she muttered. It was obvious from her face that she was furious.

"Cat?" Fon, who had been immersed in a private chat with Luce, suddenly joined in. Skull copied him, "Cat?"

"My cat," Lal raised her chin, lips wide as though proud, "My very best companion".

Even Reborn, who had been smoking on his own and stayed out of the conversation, leaned forward to listen. The man was said to like small animals afterall. "You have a cat, Lal?" Viper questioned, "That is... unexpected. For a woman like you I mean".

"Lal's cat is cute," Luce joined in at last. Gamma, her butler, took the cup of tea from her hand to refill it. She then leaned forward, a hand propped on her lap to held her face, "His name is Tsuna".

Luce's smile definitely said she was up to something, most likely to be something bad. Yet, none of the guys cared anyway, for Lal added to that notion with her own explanation of this mysterious cat. "My cat," she started, "is the very best. He waits for me till I get home, he only eats the things I gave him, he only let me to groom him, he listens to me, he always answer to my call," a smile, "And he obeys to everything I ask. Always".

The way she said it was really controversial. Colonello admitted that he was turned on by it, and maybe some of the guys were too. Too bad Luce just had to giggle and turned him off as a result. Luce was like everybody's mothers combined to one..., in term of turning someone off. "See? Tsuna is such a dream pet," Luce said.

Skull pondered, "That sounds like an obedient pet for sure. I wonder what problem Xanxus had with your cat".

"Oh, he just hated it when I let Tsuna in the bed after we had sex," Lal waved her hand, "I don't know what that fucker's problem was. Tsuna sleeps in my bed if I want it. He had a problem when I bathe my cat too," she took another drag, hurriedly as though she wanted to let the steam out of her system, "I don't care what the man wants. As long as he cant learn to like my cat, he can dig himself under for all I care".

Xanxus had always been over-possessive toward his women, Colonello heard. He didn't know it was this bad though. So he added his own comment, trying to sound understanding and smart as he did so, "Kora, then he deserves to be maimed down there," he said, but Lal's uncaring glance told him he failed to say the right thing.

Lal then looked at her watch. "Its already late, I have to go back," she said. The Top 7 actually lived in the same floor at The Vongola Tower, but Lal had not moved into hers. "What? Its only 12, Lal, we can stay here till morning," Skull said.

She winked before leaving, "Cant keep my cat waiting, can I?"

The men were left to watch her slim body walked out of the room with Luce's giggle in the background. The sky Arcobaleno had one of her gloved hands in front of her lips, as though she has a secret she wanted to tell everyone. "Lal always makes sure to go back early because of her cat," she said finally.

"What kind of breed exactly?" Fon asked, interested, "I can understand if its the exotic and rare kind. I would love to see the cat if its a bangal".

Luce glanced up to the ceiling. She hummed, "I don't know. I'm sure he is a mix, though, half Asian and half European probably? He had this fluffy brown fur and this big pair of beautiful brown eyes".

"He can sing too," Luce added, "Very beautifully". Next to her, Reborn hummed as he leaned back to his seat. His eyes wandered as though thinking, imagining.

"You've met her cat Luce?" Verde asked, "Its strange how we never heard of this cat the three months she joined us, if they are that close".

"Oh, she talks about her cat all the time!" Luce waved her hand, "But maybe she never brought the topic with all of you. Most of the female staff in the intelligent department know of her love to her cat, though".

"I see," Fon commented. He then turned to Reborn with a strange smile, "Makes you curious, doesn't it?" Fon and Reborn were known to love beautiful things. To this, Reborn hummed.

Colonello nodded in agreement too, for a different reason. He didn't notice Luce's knowing smile to his direction.

Lal was originally a staff in the intelligent service department in The Arcobaleno Security Company, where she worked for almost one year before promoted to the Top 7. Apparently, she still works with the people there, even keeping a close relationship with her old supervisor Sawada Iemitsu. Another close associates of hers in the department were the two intern who had been assisting her and catering to her needs even until today. They were Kyoko and Haru.

The two were glancing at each other before turning their stare back at Colonello. "Urm, what do you want to ask us about, sir?" Haru asked the blonde male.

"Don't be shy. Call me Colonello, kora," Colonello grinned. He didn't really fancy how people treated his rank so highly, "I just want to know more of Lal's cat".

The two simultaneously gaped, looking at each other again, before slowly looking back at Colonello. They were doing that quite often. "Uhmm, if you don't mind, Colonello, why are you asking?" now, it was Kyoko.

Colonello gave a silly laugh. One hand scratching the back of his head. "I'm kind of curious of the cat, kora," he answered. When the two girls didn't seem to buy it, the man sighed, "Okay, maybe I'm curious of her, okay?"

There was something in that eye-contacts of theirs that told Colonello there was more to this, but they don't want to spill. People from the intelligent department were hideous, he heard, which was why you can't get the full truth out of them. Kyoko's shoulder sagged, before she smiled sympathetically, "Colonello, do you know that Lal has almost maimed four men-"

"She successfully maimed one, desu," Haru corrected.

"Yes, almost maimed three men and successfully maimed one," Kyoko repeated, "All because they cant accept her relationship with her cat?"

Colonello eyelids dropped halfway, bored and failing to understand why it was such a big deal. "Well, yeah, some ladies went overboard with their pets, kora. There's a rich woman who named her cat as her sole inheritor, and there's another woman who would kill herself after her cat dies," he shrugged, "Its rare, but I can accept that, kora. Think its cute, kora".

The two girls sighed heavily this time as if Colonello failed to see the point. "Lal's case is probably more rare than that, desu," Haru muttered.

The man frowned, "Kora, you girls want to say something, say it. Its not like I ca understand if you kept hiding something".

The two almost jumped from the spot, but kept their silence afterward. "We cant really say. We don't have the right to explain anything," Kyoko said solemnly. Colonello rolled his eyes.

"Okay, so what exactly? Is the cat sick? A rare species? Stolen from the CIA? An alien? Extremely expensive?" he then slammed his hands on table between them, "WHAT!?"

The two girls didn't flinch. Haru pouted, "It not that. He was found in a cardboard box when Lal was on a mission a year ago, desu".

"Oh, a stray. So what, kora?"

"Well, you can call it that if you'd like," Kyoko responded.

By this point, Colonello wiped his face. "You know what? I dont care, kora. I just want to know how to get to her pants. She doesn't seem to like me, kora".

Kyoko smiled now, "Then I suggest, if you want to date her, you better get to know her cat first," she then silently added, "Before its too late".

"And you better understand that, for Lal, nothing is more important than her cat, desu," Haru explained, "Once, Tsuna was kidnapped when she brought him to a mission. After that, there was a tank involved, desu".

"The mission with most casualties that month, right?" Kyoko added. Haru nodded.

"She brings her cat to missions?" Colonello was surprised to find this.

"Not anymore. She realized bringing Tsuna to her latest mission is too risky. Ever since her promotion to the Top 7, Lal's missions has been much more dangerous," Kyoko answered him.

"Damn it," Colonello threw himself to the seat, exasperated, "Now how am I suppose to see the cat? I cant just knock on her door to visit the cat like a creep, kora!" The two girls didn't even help him with a tip.

Surprisingly, Luce was the one who became his savior. The woman assigned him on a mission to negotiate something to one of their best clients, and she also assigned Lal together with him. On the countdown to the mission Colonello started researching stuff on cats, looking for the best way to start a conversation Lal would like.

He was even more startled to hear that Lal will be bringing her cat. Negotiation hardly ever use violence, so Lal might feel safer to bring Tsuna with her.

"I should buy some cat toy, kora," Colonello found himself in the company of Kyoko and Haru again the day before his mission, "And act like a cat lover".

The two girls seemed bored already. Haru even yawned, "Tsuna isn't a normal pet, desu. You shouldn't just buy him a normal cat toy".

Colonello frowned, "You mean buying a ball of yarn isn't good enough, kora?"

"AH!" the two girls magically jumped on their seats together. Their fingers pointed to Colonello and their eyes wide. Kyoko was the one to say something, "Yarn! Tsuna loves yarn! Especially if you get him a unique one".

"Japanese Brands. Make sure to buy the weirdest yarn from a Japanese brand desu," Haru added. Colonello remembered nodding so enthusiastically that he received weird looks from the barista in the cafe he frequently visits. The blonde male made sure to get that 'weirdest yarn from Japanese brand', and, boy, Japanese yarns are weird indeed. It wasn't even hard to pick one, as the random ones would end up being weird enough for the cat's taste.

Which was why he, one of The Arcobaleno's Top 7, ended up in the company's private jet with a weird looking yarn in hand. The butler who accompanied him in the jet was looking at said yarn as he poured champagne to his flute. "To get to Lal's pants," he mouthed to the butler. He knew this butler enough to be comfortable of sharing the plan. As expected, the butler nodded understandingly. So he continued, "have to know the cat better".

He expected the butler to nod again, but the man actually snickered, albeit he did so as polite and graceful as he could. Maximilian, the butler's name, then walked away with the bottle of champagne, standing near the door to wait for Lal's arrival. The man might know Lal's cat, seeing that he went with the Top 7 a lot for their missions. His reaction made Colonello nervous somehow. He stared at the yarn, wondering what was wrong at it.

The overly colorful design, the glitter and the furs were wrong enough, but he thought it would fit for a cat's toy.

Colonello stopped his inner rant when he heard Max greeting someone. He moved his neck to take a peek of who was coming, to find Lal's beautiful figure walking his way. The woman was dressed professionally in white blazer and a dark blue dress underneath, complete with a pair of dark shades covering her eyes. She had a white purse with her, and an orange pillow in her other hand.

The jet plane interior was more spacious compared to commercial flights because of the less seats. On one side was a smooth wooden table with two seats on each side, on another side was a long white sofa. Colonello sat near the table, as required for the take off. Lal stopped at the seat opposing him, putting her clutch on the table and the pillow on the seat. "A pillow?" Colonello said as a greeting, to which the woman only glanced down at him with lack of interest.

"For my cat," she said, "And a yarn?"

Colonello almost flushed. Almost. "I like cats, kora," he tried to sound very interested, "But never have the guts to adopt one. When I heard you bring yours with you, I just cant resist bringing something".

And the blonde male seemed to succeed this time for the woman finally widened her eyes and slowly smiled at him, for the first time. "That's so nice of you," she said, sounding surprised but pleased, "Thank you".

She had not take her seat and kept standing though, looking to the door. Max also kept his position at the door as though waiting for another passenger. "About that, where is this cat of yours, kora?" Colonello asked, looking down to see if he missed the cat.

"We forgot his favorite blanket in the luggage," Lal answered, still looking at the front entrance, "So one of the flight crew is accompanying him to get the blanket".

"Ah, I see," it was cute how concerned Lal was for her cat's comfort in the flight, "Better make sure the cat is as comfortable as he gets in the plane". Colonello laughed good-naturedly.

It was then that the woman walked to the front, only to walk back to her seat. Colonello was excitedly waiting, ready to charm the cat with his yarn, until he caught another hand on Lal's own as the woman walked with her confident steps. Colonello couldn't see this other person she was holding hands with for the person walked slightly behind her. Yet, when they stopped near the seat finally, Colonello saw a boy.

A young boy.

Probably somewhere in his early or mid teen. The boy had the wildest tuff of brown hair on his head, and the roundest pair of brown eyes Colonello had ever seen. Those eyes were so magical, as it seemed to be slightly swollen and jutted out in a way that attractively defines his heart shaped face. For a teen, the boy was small-framed, and he seemed much so in his bright colored huge shirt. Even so, said bright colored huge shirt fit the young image of the boy, whose beautiful sleepy face was young and beautiful enough. An orange blanket perched on the boy's shoulder, almost sagging to the ground when the boy watched Colonello's form with warning.

"Who is this?" Colonello found himself asking.

Lal held the boy closer to her side before her hand reached to the boy's head, rubbing it affectionately. The contrast of these two characters; one the epitome of an alpha woman; the other an effeminate looking boy; made such an impact on Colonello that it was almost funny. He almost laugh, actually, until he heard Lal's answer.

"This is my cat," she lifted her chin and smiled mysteriously, "Tsuna".

Tbc.