Please read:

I was insane when I said that I'll have my new story finished by September. There's no doubt about it. But I still want to be able to update consistently, so I won't start posting in the fall. I don't know how long it will take me to finish it but hopefully by or before next summer since I plan to focus on my first year of post-secondary school (LOL At first I wrote 'secondary school'by accident...no, I'm not entering high school! I just finished it. Not going back again).

So instead I will give you, my dearest readers, this oneshot as an early apology.

From your insane author,

LLM

A Child's Voice

ONESHOT

…

Slight AU.

A shriek penetrated through the walls dividing her apartment from her neighbour's. Lal's brow twitched as she tried to focus on the current paperwork she was trying to complete for COMSUBIN. Why didn't the previous trainer warn her about this side of the job description? If the man wasn't dead already, she would hunt the man down and feed him a round of bullets.

The child shrieked again.

"Wanna go higher?" said a male voice with a laugh. "Here we go, kora!"

Lal let out a low, dangerous growl as the child let out another scream of joy. "I swear, if that boy screams again I will kill that damn trainee."

"Up you go!"

And the child squealed.

"That's it!" Lal slammed her hands on her desk. She had two stacks of paperwork on both sides of the table. One side was the completed ones. That side was thinner than the other one. Significantly so. But there was nothing she could do about it until she shut that kid up. Somehow.

She marched to her door and flung it open. Not caring if it was wide open—after all, who in their right mind would want to steal from Lal Mirch?—she slammed her fist into the door of her neighbour.

"COLLONELLO, YOU BASTARD, OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!"

The kid grew quiet as Lal finished "knocking".

"Lal?"

"Open up," Lal ordered. "Right now."

"Yes ma'am!" Colonnello shouted from somewhere within. She tapped a foot on the carpeted floor and crossed her arms over her chest as she waited. Two seconds later, the door opened to reveal one of her more annoying trainees, Colonnello.

He was wearing a white t-shirt and his green army pants. Wrapped around his blond hair was his ever-present green bandana.

Attached to left hip was a baby who looked around three. A very annoying brat with spiky brown hair and brown eyes smiled shyly at her.

Just as she was about to glare at the brat, she heard a wolf whistle come from her trainee. She glared at him instead.

"What are you whistling about?" she demanded.

Colonnello chose not to answer and decided to continue staring. Lal looked down at herself and flushed scarlet when she realised what she was wearing. Usually she didn't think twice about what people saw her wearing but this wasn't just anyone. Colonnello was her trainee. She was wearing her black shorts and a tank top which was her usual wear when she was off duty.

It was never something she let any—any of her trainees see her in. And it was certainly not something Lal Mirch would get embarrassed over.

She slapped Colonnello's head smartly and punched his chin to get his eyes facing forward again.

"Get that kid to shut up or else I will beat the crap out of you!" Lal hissed, face still slightly red.

Colonnello recovered instantly. "But Lal—" she glared at him and he quickly corrected himself. "—I mean ma'am, look at how adorable he is, kora! How can you say such a thing? He's so cute, no one can resist letting him have some fun, kora!"

He lifted the child by the armpits and shoved him forward until he was nose to nose with Lal.

Lal leaned backwards in surprise as her eyes locked with those brown ones. She and the brat stared at each other for a few seconds before she tore her gaze away.

"Get him out of my face, Colonnello!"

"You see? He's just so adorable, aren't you, kora?" Colonnello said and tossed Sawada Tsunayoshi into the air.

Lal's mouth opened in a silent shout. She even stepped forward before stopping herself. Colonnello had caught the boy easily in his arms.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Lal yelled at him.

"What, kora?" Colonnello and the brat looked at her innocently.

"That's Iemitsu's son, isn't it?" Lal hissed. "What do you think the Vongola would do to you if you get the Young Lion's son killed? How the hell did you get involved with the Mafia in the first place?"

"Calm down, kora! I didn't know that you cared for me so much, kora!" he said with waggling eyebrows.

Lal glared at him again. "D-Don't be an idiot! Anyway, stop making such a ruckus!

"Gaaaa…" the brat babbled with a smile. "Gwaa!"

"…What's the brat saying?"

"…I have no idea, kora."

Lal and the brat ended up looking at each other again but this time Lal gave him a solid glare. The brat's smile wavered and he balled his little fists into Colonnello's shirt. It whimpered and its eyes began to tear up.

Colonnello made some cooing noises that didn't help at all.

"Are you scared of Lal? Don't be, there's nothing to be scared of, Tsuna!" He bounced the baby a bit which seemed to calm it down.

Lal bunched up her nose and stepped out of the apartment completely. "That brat's not going to live to the age of fourteen if he's so scared of a little glare like that."

Colonnello laughed and beamed at Lal. "He has many years until then to learn, kora!"

"W-Whatever. Just keep him quiet; my threat still stands," she said and walked to her own apartment.

Colonnello, still holding Tsuna, leaned against his doorframe and watched Lal stalk away and slam the door shut. He looked at Tsuna and grinned.

"Now that was Lal Mirch, the most badass woman you'll ever meet. You'll be seeing her often kora, if Iemitsu still wants me to be his part-time babysitter."

Tsuna laughed and tugged at Colonnello's hair.

"Whoa! Okay little guy, let's go and find something fun to play, kora!"

-LLM

Published 2014-08-13th