This was originally written back in 2014 as a one-shot, but was never posted. I stumbled across this again and decided to make it a short chapter story instead. Updates are not guaranteed, but I'll try!

Red and white.

Reborn hated those colors. Red was usually a symbol of love and passion, but it was also the color of the life essence that flowed through the veins. Throughout his life red was a very prominent color. It decorated the walls of his victims' homes and the way it would seep through his clothing and onto his skin- it was disgusting. Even when he saw his own life essence flow out from his own body, he was disgusted. It was a constant reminder of his livelihood, a livelihood that he didn't deserve or want. The red that symbolized love was also a taunting reminder of the people he had lost and loved.

White was a symbolism of purity and innocence. Reborn loathed the combination of red and white. The red that would creep into the white walls, tiles, or even a beautiful white dre- no, it was sickening to see the once white being tainted with red. Those two colors gave him endless nightmares.

But those same two colors also kept him from ending his own life. They gave him a purpose to live, to still wake up and see another day. Reborn was far from forgiving and he would live to see the face of his target twisting in agony, begging for mercy. The hitman wanted to see the red paint his target's white uniform; the same way the man had tainted her white uniform.

Yes, revenge was his drug and it drove him through each monotonous day that passed by.

Reborn scoffed as the man below him quaked in fear. The man was tall and had purple hair framing his thin face. His glasses were crooked from the futile struggle he had put against the strongest hitman in the world. Reborn pushed his gun against the man's forehead.

"Where is Byakuran," Reborn nearly growled out. He wasn't a patient man and his hunt for the Millefiore leader was reaching a dead end. He needed answers and he needed it now!

"I r-really don't know! After Byakuran k-kicked us out, we had nothing to do with the Millefiore afterwards!" The man's eyes were wide with tears threatening to fall. Reborn tugged hard on the man's hair, delivering a swift punch with his gun towards the man's face-

-at least, that's what the hitman had imagined in his head when he faced Glo Xinia, a man that used to be one of Byakuran's "guardians". Reborn stared at the lifeless corpse sprawled on the ground in a pool of his own blood. He confirmed the corpse to be Glo Xinia and he scowled. The man was supposed to be his only lead to the Millefiore's leader! Now with his lead gone, he was at a dead end. Reborn could only blame himself for not being quick enough to track down Glo Xinia and for letting someone else get there before him.

Reborn took in the scene before him and made a mental note that whoever had ended the man's life, he or she was not to be messed with. It was a gruesome sight and had Reborn not been the best at what he did, he would have cowered in fear or fainted. Glo Xinia was missing his top and there were various cuts around his arms and torso. What made the scene grotesque was the clean incision made on the stomach, baring the organs. Intestines were spilling around the body and not only that, but Glo Xinia's eyes were gouged out. It was made clear from the tears around the skin that the eyeballs were gouged out painfully and slowly. It was as if the culprit was having fun and was receiving some kind of sick pleasure from it.

The blood was fresh, not yet dry. The crime could have happened a mere few hours ago, if not minutes. That fact didn't sit well with the sun Arcobaleno.

Tearing his eyes away from the corpse, Reborn decided to search the place for any clues. He searched everywhere, but came up with nothing. The only thing left was the desk placed in the corner of the room. There were piles of papers and documents. There was a computer on the desk, too. Deciding that this was the only information that he could get his hands on, Reborn downloaded all the files on the computer into his flash drive. With one more glance at the desk, he made the decision to take all the files on the desk.

Maybe there would be something worthwhile in there.

Reborn wasn't too sure what he was going to find in the vast amount of files that once belonged to Glo Xinia, but he definitely wasn't fond of this. Most of the files scavenged from the pervert's device was child porn. Reborn should have known though, since he was already aware of the dead man's...hobbies.

It was an unpleasant experience to go through all the files, but it was necessary to see if there were any information that could be of use. Just when Reborn was contemplating whether or not he should already burn this flash drive, he came across a file simply named Private. Reborn wasn't too sure if he really wanted to click on that because he didn't want to know what else could be more private than the man's child pornography. Ignoring the bile rising in his throat, he clicked on the document.

It was a word document. Reborn raised an eyebrow as he read the contents. It seemed to be some sort of diary or log typed by Glo Xinia. Apparently it dated back to January, around the time the pervert had been relieved of being Byakuran's guardian. Maybe he had nothing better to do after that.

January 15th

That bastard was deceiving us all along! We were just mere pawns in his twisted game and there was nothing we could do about it! The humiliation that I was subjected to was the worst. The rumors and the insults that were thrown at me, saying that I was too weak for Byakuran to give me the time of day. How dare he!

That was the first log. Reborn skimmed through everything, hoping to find anything would aid him in finding the white haired bastard that took everything away from him. The rest of the logs were pretty normal for a mafioso. According to the logs Glo Xinia had started to work as a free lance hitman just like himself, although he could never hope to be on Reborn's level. Onyx eyes scanned through the words before stopping at a series of logs that caught his interest.

April 8th

I finished a job for one of my clients, who wanted me to steal an item from the Gaunt famiglia. It was an easy job. The item was some kind of jewelry. The client took the item, but then my reward was a fucking book. The old geezer gave me a god damn book! It was insulting and I wanted a cash reward. I killed him.

April 13th

There was no missions to do for the day so I settled for a day of relaxation. I wasn't too sure what to do because back in Millefiore, there was always servants to boss around and soldiers to play with. I suddenly remembered the book I got as a reward. I finally decided to take a look at it and wow, I think that old man was into the occult or something of that sort. The book held many rituals for summoning demons and descriptions of the lowest ranking demon to the highest ranking demon. The book was ridiculous, but I guess it was pretty interesting.

The following logs were about more missions the man took. Overall, it was a really boring read with no leads to Byakuran. Leon, his shape shifting chameleon, licked his cheek to quell his frustration. In response, Reborn gave a small pat to Leon's small nose. He was grateful he still had his pet to keep him grounded. Looking back at the text on his screen, the hitman decided to skip some logs. However, in doing so, one log caught his attention once more because it was in caps lock and there was no date on it. It was obvious that this was typed in a haste.

THIS IS IMPlOSSIBLE, BUT NO- IT'S REAL. DEMONS AER REAL. THE RITUAL WAS A SUCESS!

Reborn did not want to admit it, but he was lost. He could only conclude that Glo Xinia was under the influence when he typed that up. There was one more log to read. Reborn hoped that it would answer some questions and maybe solve the mystery behind Glo Xinia's murder, but the last log raised even more questions.

June 22nd

I divulged my plan to the demon. He had introduced himself as Mammon. He seemed quite disinterested in everything, which irritated me. I ordered him to listen closely to me, but Mammon just kept twirling around what I believe was a trident. Trying to get his attention, I offered him the bodies of children I had taken to experiment on. The demon seemed to narrow his eyes at me. I have to admit, those blood-red eyes were damn creepy. However, as soon I noticed it, it was replaced with a smirk. Maybe I imagined it? After all, Mammon was a demon. Of course he would like my offer. The demon agreed and listened to my plan. Finally, I have a means to get rid of Byakuran. I can't wait to show him who's boss now.

The logs ended right there. It was June 23rd, meaning Glo Xinia was alive yesterday. That frustrated Reborn even more because he was just this close to catching Glo Xinia! Furthermore, what the hell was with the demon nonsense? There was no way they exist. However, the ex-Millefiore member seemed to be sober when typing the last log. Whatever it was, the "demon" might have been responsible for the death of the pedophile. Reborn's eyes wandered to the piles of documents he had taken from the dead man's desk. To the Arcobaleno's surprise, there was a single book stuck between the piles of papers. He wasn't too sure how he missed the book.

Reborn took the book and immediately took notice of how old it was. The hardcover was worn with age and the pages made sounds resembling old, dry leaves when stepped on. Pages have been folded multiple times, but there was a bookmark sticking out from a section of the book. Reborn flipped over to that section and there it was: a step by step instruction on how to summon a high ranking demon.

Reborn's curiosity was piqued, so he promptly sat himself on the couch and read.

Reborn groaned at the aching muscles around his neck and shoulders. He had fallen asleep in the middle of reading the book in an awkward position . Not that he needed to stock his brain up with demon knowledge, but it helped take his mind off of things.

The raven haired man took a quick glance at the clock hanging from the wall. It was 6:43 AM. It was just a bit later than what he was used to. He usually woke up at 5:30 because it would be a waste to not use all the time he had available. Time was limited after all. After a quick shower and finishing his daily necessities, Reborn was out the door to meet up with the only other Arcobaleno that was still alive.

"So what's the plan now? Without any intel we are at a standstill." A gentle voice broke through the silence.

"I don't know, Fon," Reborn replied almost defeatedly. Fon, the Storm and second last Arcobaleno still alive, frowned. It seemed his long time friend was starting to wear down. Unbeknownst to the common eye Fon could see the small wrinkles in the hitman's suit. Dark bags were starting to make themselves known, as well as the small slouch in the man's posture. Reborn was always known for being immaculate, self-assured, and deadly. Now, Reborn just seemed so human. Fon had caught a glimpse of this Reborn when Luce had died. However, it was clear that with each and every death of the allies Reborn had dared call friend, he was getting weaker and weaker. The deaths that had once fueled the hitman's need for revenge was almost gone with every blank they hit.

Fon knew revenge wasn't a good motive to keep one going throughout the day, but he didn't know how his dear friend could cope without it.

Reborn leaned his back against the wall of the dark dingy alleyway. Both of them had chosen the alleyway because it was inconspicuous. People usually avoided the place due to the rancid smell and the potential danger anyways. It didn't help that they were both wanted men. Reborn was staying in the hideout base stationed back in Italy. Shoichi Irie had built it for anyone who was hiding from the Millefiore. Fon was not directly affiliated to Vongola so he had a bit more freedom to travel as opposed to the members of Vongola. Currently though, they were at Russia because that was where Glo Xinia had disappeared off to.

When the Arcobaleno curse was broken by the efforts of Vongola Nono and his famiglia, all the Arcobaleno had decided to keep their adult form a secret. It made invasions and hiding their identities much easier. However, Fon still needed to practice caution. Byakuran's plan of controlling the Tri-Ni-Set were announced when Vongola's main base was attacked in Italy. As a result, most of Vongola were scattered around different parts of the world. Vongola Nono and the remaining few of his guardians were staying with Reborn in the secret base. They all figured it would be safer if the strongest hitman in the world stayed with Vongola Nono. Indebted to the Vongola for breaking the curse, Reborn had agreed.

Interrupted from his musings, a ringing sounded. Fon's eyes followed as Reborn slid a cell phone out from the pocket of his slacks.

"Who is this?" Reborn asked as soon as he flipped the phone opened. Reborn owned several different phones (mostly prepaid), so only a few select people knew the number to his personal cell.

An urgent voice on the other side yelled out, "Reborn, we have a fucking emergency! Shit, it's bad this time!" It was Nougat. Only that man had such colorful vocabulary.

"What is it?" Reborn's eyes narrowed at the sense of urgency in the older man's voice.

"There was a surprise attack. White and Black Spells stormed the base a-and the Mare guardians were here, and Nono-", Reborn's tensed, "-he's in critical condition. We need you back in Italy right this instance!" The line cut off. Fon looked on as Reborn stormed off. The kung fu master would follow, but he needed to get back and make sure I-Pin was okay. Fon wished his friend the best of luck.

Reborn cursed when he saw the condition of the base. Thankfully, it was only a four hour travel by flight from Russia to Italy. That didn't lessen the guilt he felt when he saw the falling debris and the casualties caused from the altercation. Reborn walked through the hospital wing and entered a room that was larger than the rest. He closed the door behind him while Brabanters approached him.

"How is Nono?" Timoteo was laying on a white hospital bed placed in the middle of the room. Brabanters, the rain guardian, shook his head.

"Timoteo is placed under a medically induced coma to reduce the brain swelling. He hit his head hard when he tried to dodge a stray attack. To add on to that he has two broken ribs, a fractured ankle, sprained wrist, and multiple bruises and cuts. Those last ones will heal pretty quickly though."

"How long is the coma supposed to last?"

Brabanters pursed his lips in thought. "I believe the doctor said a week at most." Reborn took off his plain, black fedora to wipe the sweat that had formed under before putting it back on. The hitman was about to ask where the other guardians were before he noticed the ring on the rain guardian's finger, or the lack thereof.

"They took the rings." It wasn't a question; it was a statement. Brabanters bit his lip in and nodded at the Arcobaleno's words. A quick glance towards Timoteo's fingers confirmed the loss of the Vongola rings.

"Reborn, you're one of the few people left trying to keep the balance of the Tri-Ni-Set... please be careful." Reborn tipped his fedora in response and left the room. He took wide strides to his temporary room in the base. Reborn nearly flopped onto his bed once the weariness of the whole day caught up to him. It was only 8:21 PM. Reborn usually slept around midnight so his body clock didn't allow him to go to sleep now. The various thoughts swimming through his mind wouldn't let him either. He wasn't too sure what he was going to do until he remembered the book he took from Glo Xinia's desk. Reborn unzipped his luggage and pulled the book out from one of the many slots.

Finding a comfortable position on his bed, Reborn flipped to page 53. The brown pages of the book turned with a satisfying rustle. The man racked his brain to review what he had already read the previous day. From what he could remember demons were of course, born when the fallen angels descended. It started with Lucifer who became the demon king. He created a hierarchy in hell and granted seven of his most loyal and strong followers land and property to own. Each of the seven ruled over a part of Hell while Lucifer governed all of them. Those seven chosen demons were known as the princes of hell, or more widely known as the seven deadly sins. The next chapter was about how demons were usually summoned to do the caster's bidding.

"Demons are capable of doing anything as long as the caster paid the price."

He did not know why, but that specific line had stuck. The hitman didn't believe in religion nor did he believe in the supernatural. Years in the mafia had told him that looking towards a higher being was of no use when people were dying left and right, especially when he was the one responsible for those deaths. Once again, he didn't believe in demons, but maybe-

Reborn shook his head. There was no way; he was just reading the book as a casual past time. It was not a good idea to go out just right after an attack on the base. He was in even more danger now that his pacifier was one of the only things left to complete the Tri-Ni-Set. It would be best to lay low for the time being. That said, it meant he was stuck inside for quite a while.

The sun Arcobaleno looked back at the book in his hands and continued from where he left off. He was getting to the part where the author gives a brief description of the types of demons and the princes of hell. It didn't take long for Reborn to reach the part that was bookmarked before. Like mentioned before, the section was instructions on how to summon a demon. A raised eyebrow was the only indication showing the bizarreness of the rituals needed to be done. It seemed that summoning a lower rank demon was less complicated and required a lot less steps than summoning a high ranking demon. Whereas high ranking demons needed ingredients that were impractical and- Reborn blanched- human sacrifices, lower ranked demons only required a vial of blood.

Reborn would later say it was stupidity, but right now he was going to say it was mere curiosity. Five minutes in there was a perfectly drawn circle on the bedroom floor. The circle was big enough to fit a queens sized bed and was drawn with the leftover chalk Reborn had when disguised as Reboyama-sensei. There wasn't a vial readily on hand so a small shot glass would have to do. Leon transformed into a small knife and Reborn gave a small cut on his palm. The blood dripped down in splats. The hitman squeezed his hand to quicken the blood flow. The book didn't specify the amount of blood or the size of vial needed so he just let the blood drip down until the glass was filled to the brim.

Reborn looked over at the summoning circle. The cup of blood was laying in the middle of the circle. The words to complete the summoning ritual was resting in his hands. Reborn took a deep breath and read.

It wasn't until the middle of the summoning did something happen. The circle and the symbols started to glow a blinding red. The nightstand and his work-desk were shaking lightly. The glass filled with blood had cracked, spilling the contents. Feeling oddly empowered, Reborn didn't stop reading the Latin words of the summoning ritual. Reaching the end of the ritual, the shaking abruptly stopped. Dark eyes inspected the room, but nothing had happened.

Reborn tsk'd. Of course nothing happened. The book was probably entertainment and might have been meant for some kind of occult. Reborn tossed the book onto his desk. Right as the hitman was going to clean up the mess on the floor a sudden earthquake shook.

Reborn immediately dropped to the floor at the overwhelming pressure that had formed in the room. It felt like something was forcing him to the ground and he couldn't get up. His eyes widened when the marks on the floor began glowing red again and the whole room trembled with newly acquired force. The shaking before was nothing compared to this!

The strongest hitman in the world felt powerless as he could do nothing but crouch on the floor. The pressure around him was suffocating. The blood in the circle was bubbling like lava. Reborn's breaths were becoming shorter and he was starting to feel faint. Maybe it was his imagination due to the lack of air in his lungs, but he could have sworn he saw a figure emerge from the spilled blood. The last thing Reborn saw was a a black pair of combat boots and then, everything went black.