Title: Anomalous Days

Summary: Reborn never imagined that a simple screw up during a mission would lead him to the weirdest person he had ever met. Now he just needs to make sure that this person doesn't learn about his identity while being in an eight-year-old body.

Pairing: Eventual R27

Beta'ed by WhiteAngel128 and Ankou13

Chapter 7

Reborn ground his teeth together and hissed. "Well, shit."

The hitman didn't know exactly what to do as he continued to stare at the papers, tensely shifting through the sheets in the hope of finding something that would disprove what he'd just read; that these were just fakes. Of course, he couldn't prove such a thing but neither could he ignore it. He was too familiar with these types of papers and easily identified the signatures as authentic, not forged. There was also the sky flame signature that was unique only to Vongola Decimo, one he had seen on the invitation to the assassin meeting. All in all, there was nothing he could do to negate the details he was seeing. Cursing silently, he stuffed everything back into the desk and sighed as he tried to think of his next move. He was in Vongola territory, a dangerous area considering this group's reputation. Though it had lightened up since Decimo's reign, he didn't want to take any chances in having himself destroyed because of something he did by accident. That was normally how the best fell in the mafia world.

Tsuna as Vongola Decimo…

Reborn raised a hand to rub his forehead before slicking his hair back, making sure to keep his fedora stable on his head. He honestly didn't know what to do now. He didn't really have a plan to act on or even form. Everything had gone down the drain when he had found out about that tiny little detail. Closing his eyes, he thought back. Tsuna knew who he was, no doubt about that, but he hadn't known. Reborn snapped his eyes open at that thought. Tsuna hadn't known about him and hadn't shown any hidden motives about using him. If anything, he had been surprised by his appearance in the bar, something he hadn't expected.

'Of course, since Reborn is supposed to be in Italy or on a job.' Reborn hummed as his thoughts quickly began to form, confident that Tsuna hadn't really planned anything against him. Everything had simply been chance or as much as one can be. However, that didn't say anything about the future. Tsuna could easily be planning something while in the bathroom, unseen by anyone. It wouldn't be hard or suspicious either. 'Well, the best thing to do is confront him…'

Easier said than done.

Reborn wasn't entirely sure what to do even after all this plotting, but at this point, it was best to wing it. If he was correct from their interactions and rumors Vongola Decimo wasn't exactly a bad person, not like other Mafia bosses. He was more kind and forgiving in nature, something Reborn was hoping to make use of. It was really his only good chance to get things done. There was also the choice to leave and never come back, but eventually, sometime in the future they would meet up again, especially after the meeting for assassins to become Decimo's personal hitman. It wouldn't end well and he had a strong feeling that Tsuna would actually come after him one way or another to get a reason. So he was going to confront him, get things out in the open so it would be done and over with.

"So…" Reborn glanced towards the brunet before him, the younger male wandering about the bedroom after just getting out of the bathroom. Tsuna had some clothes on; pants and a button up shirt with a towel wrapped around his neck to catch the dripping droplets of water from his hair. The mafia boss paused what he was doing when he caught Reborn speaking, his hands on the drawers where the rest of his clothes were located, and peered up curiously at the hitman. He didn't speak, allowing the other to form his thoughts and conversation. Finally, Reborn spoke, "Vongola Decimo."

The brunet froze on the his spot, eyes widening just slightly. The hitman had to remark on the other's ability to remain unhinged at what he had just heard. "What?"

"Vongola Decimo," Reborn repeated, keeping his voice calm. "You should learn to keep your secret documents containing alliances and names of your guardians better hidden. It wasn't hard to figure out what was going on from that."

Tsuna didn't say anything, merely taking a step back defensively as if expecting the other to strike. He hadn't thought he would be caught so soon and like this. Standing before him was Reborn, the number one hitman in the world. A fight between the two of them might very well lead to his death. Here in Japan, he had no real back up besides Hibari who was more than an hour away. He was all alone with Reborn and his chances of survival had diminished to the single digits almost instantly. 'Damn…' He bit down on his bottom lip and remained rigid, keeping up appearances of a boss despite being surprised. He needed to know the next bit first - what Reborn was planning on doing with his identity. "And… what do you plan on doing with this information? Sell me out?"

Reborn tilted his head, the edges of the fedora covering his eyes. "What will I do…? Well, I wasn't expecting this little situation, though I might have had a few odd feelings about you." He shifted from the real question, wanting to leave the Vongola boss to squirm just a little longer. "Though, I can assure you, I have no plans on killing you or selling you out if that's what you're wondering about." No relaxation was evident in Tsuna's form and Reborn didn't mind, he wouldn't trust his words either in this type of situation. It just made the younger male more delightful.

"Then what do you plan on doing with me?"

Ah, there was the question. Reborn watched as the brunet narrowed his honey-colored eyes at him and smirked. "Nothing really." At the curious raise of an eyebrow, the hitman continued, "I'm not stupid enough to get on Vongola's bad side, not unless I have a death wish. No, nothing much. I'm still interested in you though, have been for a while. To think that the person who had helped me would turn out to be the person that ran most of the Underground world."

The Vongola boss raised the second eyebrow to join the other at those last words, trying to figure out what they meant. Curiosity slowly began to settle within his mind, pushing back the danger. It wasn't hard considering the conversation flow and he stepped around the room guardedly for a better angle. As he shifted away from his drawer, Tsuna went closer to the hitman, his hyper intuition continuously telling him that Reborn really was not there to harm him. He trusted that little voice of his, but that didn't stop his cautiousness and he continued to ponder over those words. It was odd after all. He had saved Reborn? How and when? It must have been recent, but he couldn't remember the last time he actually met the hitman except for that assassin meeting. Tsuna glanced to the side, still keeping an eye out, as he continued to think over the words before it finally clicked. The child… The child that had looked too close to Reborn's adult features to just be a mere coincidence. They had the same dress pattern, held the very same fedora, the same curly side burns, and those sharp dark eyes. "Impossible…"

"It's not impossible," Reborn smirked, already knowing what the other was thinking about. "Not when there are dying will flames and magical weapons in this world."

Tsuna huffed. "Don't go reading my mind now," He shook his head, trying to gain control of this conversation. "Was this all a trick to get to me?"

"I didn't know that Vongola Decimo's true identity was that of Sawada Tsunayoshi." Answering honestly, he watched as the brunet hummed in response. That hyper intuition was annoying at times and he knew from the rumors that Tsuna could discern what a lie was and what wasn't. It was handy as long as it wasn't used against him.

"Then how did I end up finding you?"

"Not sure. I had been on a job when you found me."

Tsuna almost wanted to sigh, finding this conversation now leading him nowhere. Reborn wasn't going to spill the details. He could probably get rocks to milk water sooner than he could get the hitman to reveal his secrets. "Well, answer me one thing. How exactly do you transform from a child to an adult and back?"

"Guess I could tell you," Reborn smirked arrogantly. "Part of being an Arcobaleno. We all hold that power, but we normally keep it a secret. It's not as if we exactly enjoy being children anyway so it's never really used."

"But you find it more advantageous to go in as a child so that you can slip around unnoticed. Not bad."

"It seems you're smarter than the other Arcobaleno. They don't like the other forms, finding it embarrassing. The idiots. Now, that doesn't mean that I don't, but I know an advantage when I see one," Reborn chuckled as he watched the mafia boss shifting closer, losing some of the suspicion in the eyes. It wasn't smart, but he could tell Tsuna knew better. At least here, he could use everything to his advantage and there was one thing he really wanted at this moment besides Tsuna himself. "Now then, I know you have a question you've been dying to ask me." He chuckled when he spotted the brunet pouting, folding his arms against his chest.

The brunet huffed, finding it difficult to keep up with Reborn. He could already tell that the raven was figuring out every little bit of conversation to play out, plotting the lines and responses. Still, Reborn was right. There was one question he wanted to ask. It wasn't one he had expected, but with the circumstances, it was appropriate. He smirked, finding the confidence to fight back against the hitman despite the revealing of his identity. "You're a tricky one, no doubt about that. Do you want to be my personal hitman?"

"Oh?" Reborn feigned surprise, still appearing arrogant as he did so.

"Don't do that," Tsuna shook his head. "Considering the situation, the best way to keep my identity a secret is to employ you. There's also the fact that among the other assassins that were invited, you are one of the few that don't have any loyalties to any other group. It's ideal. You're least likely to betray Vongola. Only thing was getting you to agree considering you like to be a freelancer."

The hitman nodded along, approving with those reasons.

"Also, if you're as interested in me as you mentioned before, this is your best chance to get closer."

At that, Reborn smirked. He was interested. Sawada Tsunayoshi was a person he hadn't met in a long time, a rare being among the rest of humanity. It would kill some boredom in the meantime and he had been bored. The jobs weren't as interesting as they used to be and having a more permanent place to stay was always nice. And he only settled for the best.

Tsuna strode nearer, stopping an inch away from the older male. He had a smile on his face, looking quite confident about Reborn's answer. "So what do you say, Reborn?"

The hitman chuckled. "I think my answer is obvious, Boss."

Vongola Decimo tilted his head and then shook it. "You know, hearing that from you just sounds odd. Just call me Tsuna privately and Decimo in public. Does that sound better?"

"Acceptable. I can work with that. I wouldn't want to work with someone that's too full of himself."

Tsuna hummed, letting out a small laugh. "Now… to tell my guardians that I've managed to get the number one hitman on our side without freaking them out."

"I can think of a few ways." Reborn smirked, flicking the edge of his fedora upward.

The brunet could only eye him in disbelief.

Gokudera grumbled under his breath as he heard his cell phone go off on top of his desk, glancing over towards the flashing screen. It had been a long day. His fellow guardians had caused massive damage to one alliance famiglia, forcing him to throw out some money for repairs and to keep their mouths shut on the subject. Then there was a fight within headquarters between Hibari, who had just returned, and Mukuro, which lead to the destruction of three quarters of the building and injuries to multiple men. It had been a pain in the ass to calm those two down and nothing he had done had been making it better. Not only that, an hour ago, he had just received report that his sister was on her way to visit. Even just the thought of her made his stomach queasy.

Sighing heavily, he reached over to lift up his phone and brightened just slightly at seeing his beloved boss's name at the top. He flipped it opened immediately. "Juudaime! How is everything going in Japan?"

"Well, that depends…" Tsuna spoke, sounding a little nervous, before he let out a startled "hey!" followed by dark chuckle that Gokudera knew didn't belong to the brunet.

"Juudaime?" Gokudera raised an eyebrow at the sudden change, concern lapping over his voice. He didn't like it, not at all.

"Ah, Hayato Gokudera, the right-hand man of Vongola Decimo," Reborn's voice spoke, sending a shiver down the silver-haired male's spine. He knew that voice; he had remembered hearing it days ago at the meeting. Gokudera mentally cursed. "From this day forward, I'll be working with you as Tsuna's personal hitman. Have a nice day."

The phone was cut off and Gokudera was only able to hear the dial tone.

"WHAT?"

And done. Thanks for reading! Sorry it had to end in such a way but like I previous said, its time to start finishing up stories.

Also, head over to my Archive of Our Own to read exclusive stories that can't be posted over here on FF and tumblr to see what stories I'll be updating next.

Hope you enjoyed this little story!