Title: Bargaining Position
Characters: Mukuro, Sawada Iemitsu
Summary: This is a dangerous game that they're playing.
Notes: 1227 words. For khrfest, prompt: Mukuro - pride; "we hope your rules and wisdom choke you."

Bargaining Position

The mafia world does not have a formal judicial system. The Vendicare stand as judge and jury, warden and executioner both, and the justice that is brought upon the ones who have broken the laws of the mafia is swift and relentless.

Rokudou Mukuro knows this, as he stands at the center of a ring of Vendicare judges. He is collared and shackled, and there are chains running from his bonds to the fists of the men who would lay their judgments upon him. There are Mist users, too, hiding behind at least two of the masks that guard the Vendicare's identities. They are no match for him, or would not be, normally, but the chains are woven through with Rain, and they weigh on more than just his arms and shoulders.

And so Mukuro finds himself stymied, at least momentarily, for the second time since he first heard that the Vongola were looking to Japan for their next boss, and had seen a possibility in that news. In retrospect, that is coming to seem more and more like a miscalculation.

One of the Vendicare is speaking, voice sonorous and anonymous, listing off the things that make up Mukuro's list of misdeeds and crimes. Mukuro isn't listening; those things are in the past, and besides which, the Vendicare don't know the half of what he's done. He's heard it before, anyway, when the Vendicare had dragged him from Japan while he was still reeling from his encounter with Sawada Tsunayoshi. That one was more formidable than he'd expected, and is more dangerous than he suspects the old man of the Vongola realizes. It will be interesting, Mukuro thinks, to see what Sawada does next.

When he returns for Sawada, he will have better plans.

(This is what Mukuro tells himself, but even as he does, there is a part of his mind that insists, quietly but firmly, that he has no intention of doing any such thing. This part of his mind speaks with the voice of a boy at the cusp of his adolescence, and it annoys Mukuro. He ignores it.)

The Vendicare finish with his list of crimes, and Mukuro waits, bored, for the sentencing. Will they try to imprison him again? Or do they think that they can actually kill him? Either thought is laughable; whether they kill this body or imprison it, he has half a dozen pawns around the world. Rain-woven chains or no, he can slip away from these pitiful judges whenever he likes. And, even if that escape should fail him, death has no mysteries left for him. Neither do the paths of reincarnation.

It would be amusing, he thinks, even if they should manage to kill him. They will never see his next incarnation coming.

The Vendicare do not ask Mukuro to defend himself: this is no civic court bound by the rights and responsibilities due the accused. "For your many crimes, we hereby condemn you to death," the Vendicare intone. Mukuro just smirks at them, not impressed. "Do you have any last words?"

Before Mukuro can tell them precisely what he thinks of their laws and their rules and the whole specious edifice of their honor, someone else speaks for him. "Wait," this someone says, voice clear with good cheer. "The Vongola have something to say to the condemned."

The Vendicare rustle; this is unusual, to say the least. Mukuro ignores them as the Vongola emissary steps out of the shadows without waiting for their assent. He is smooth and confident of himself, and for the first time, Mukuro takes an actual interest in the proceedings. He knows this man--most of the mafia world does--and just fought for possession of his son's soul some little time ago.

"What do the Vongola wish with the condemned?" the Vendicare ask, while Mukuro looks Sawada Iemitsu over, examining the self-assured set of his shoulders and the hands that are thrust into the pockets of his slacks, ruining the expensive lines of them altogether.

"We wish to strike a deal with him," Sawada says, returning Mukuro's gaze steadily. His eyes are twinkling.

The Vendicare rustle again; this is not wholly unheard of, though more than a little rare. "This is highly irregular," one of them says, just a hint of petulance to it--and why not? Not every shoulder rests easily under the Vongola yoke.

Sawada ignores the Vendicare, and Mukuro decides that he is very unlike his son. "The Vongola would like to make a trade," he tells Mukuro. "We require your service."

"My service?" Mukuro repeats, amused. "The Vongola wants my service? Has the old man really gone as senile as that?"

Sawada's eyes spark, just briefly, at that, while the Vendicare stir and mutter among themselves. "Your service," he says, evenly. "As the Mist Guardian for the Tenth."

Mukuro can't help the laughter that bubbles out of him, and wouldn't care to even if he could. "Would you hand him to me in a bow?" he asks.

"No," Sawada says, taking no notice of his laughter, "because this will be a trade. Your service for the safety of those children, Kakimoto Chikusa and Joushima Ken."

Mukuro changes his mind, abruptly. Sawada is more like his son than he looked at first. "What makes you think I care about them?" he asks, with as much boredom as he can pour into it.

Sawada ignores the question. "As it is, those two are still at large, but they will not be for long. If you will cooperate with the Vongola in this matter, we will extend our protection to them."

And that, of course, would be enough to interfere with the Vendicare. "This is extremely irregular," one of them says. In other circumstances, the sheer cranky outrage in his protest would be a source of endless delight. "Would the Vongola have us let him go free?"

"That would seem unnecessary," Sawada tells them, holding Mukuro's eyes all the while. "The Vongola realize that you must hold his body accountable for its crimes." Really, it's astonishing how like his son he is after all, and how clearly those eyes see.

"You are assuming that I will accept the Vongola's offer," Mukuro says, forcing a calmness that he doesn't entirely feel into his words.

"What better offer do you have?" Sawada replies, with all the poise of a man who is fully aware that all the cards are in his hands. "I offer the safety of your people, and a place at the very heart of the Vongola." His mouth changes, quirking just a bit, like he knows that this is a double-edged offer, and he adds, "Perhaps, if you give me some time, I can find a bow."

What an extraordinarily subtle man. Mukuro cannot entirely help the fact that his annoyance with Sawada is now colored by how intrigued he is by the man. "This is a dangerous game that you play."

Sawada just smiles at him. "I don't know any other."

Mukuro supposes he doesn't, at that. Neither does he, for that matter, and this promises to be more interesting than reincarnation, at least for the time being. "Well," he says, "let us see which one of us will win, then."

Sawada's smile never wavers, even as the Vendicare stir around them, muttering. "I look forward to it."

end

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