Chapter 10

"How long is the kid gonna sleep?"

"G, leave the boy alone. He looks really uncomfortable there with you continuously poking him." Mischievous golden eyes glinted in amusement at the other. "I didn't know you were so worried. I thought you were the one who told me to not get too attached in the first place?"

"W-well, he has been asleep for two freaking days!" the red head muttered defensively, turning an interesting shade of red as he finally left the unconscious teen alone. "W-wouldn't want him to die on my watch. It…it gives me a bad reputation."

Giotto snickered. No matter what G said, he was a huge softie on the inside, often going out of the way to take care of his young charge. His expression softened a little when his eyes fell on Tsuna. Silently, he sat on the edge of the bed and patted the teen's head slowly.

"Hey, G."

"Hmm?"

"Was it my fault?"

G looked at him confusedly at the unusual question. "What is?"

"He could have died," Giotto whispered painfully, recalling the different incidents. "In the sea, in the fight…If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't be there. I-I was nearly unable to protect someone important to me again."

Without a second thought, G went behind Giotto and effectively stunned him with a smack to the back of his head.

"OUCH! What was that for?" Giotto hissed, rubbing furiously over the sore spot.

"For being an idiot," the other supplied instantly. "'Cause you knew it was an accident. A fucking-ly unfortunate one, but an accident nonetheless, You have no reason to mope." He crossed his arms, a brow twitching in annoyance. "If you were at fault, so was I." G reminded as an after thought.

"Still," Giotto grumbled defensively. "There was no need to hit me!"

G shrugged nonchalantly. "I felt like doing it it."

Giotto cursed under his breath for a little longer before leaning back on his seat. Despite his grumblings, he would never tell G how grateful he was to have his best friend grounding him back to reality.

"Stop worrying. He can take care of himself. Hasn't he proven it?"

"Yeah, I know."

Two pair of eyes turned their attention back to the boy.

It was a little odd how the boy who had struggled and fought so hard to bring them to safety, looked so tiny and vulnerable now. Slowly, Giotto picked up a limp arm and studied it. Despite the deceptively thin form, he could feel the structure of well-defined muscles that was normally hidden under baggy clothes. His palms were covered with uncountable calluses that told the tale of signs of years of training and effort and when Giotto lifted the arms a little higher, he frowned at the sight.

An arm littered with a ridiculous amount of barely visible scars in which a normal person would barely have gotten half of those in a life span lay exposed to the onlookers. All of those had been healed and snitched up but it looked immensely out of place on the pale skin of a young boy.

G looked over his shoulder disapprovingly. "Abuse?"

"No," his friend shook his head. "Some perhaps, not all. Look at his one. That's a knife wound, but it's too thin and clean cut for normal one." Pointing at another scar on the back of Tsuna's palm, "That's look like a burn, doesn't it?"

Nodding in agreement, G shifted his attention to a small circular wound and gently touched it. "Gunshot," the thief lord breathed. "What has Tsuna been though?"

"Even without our crazy interference in his life, it seems that…" Giotto trailed off.

The door creaked open. "Father Knuckle was asking for both of you." Asari hesitated in confusion at the tense atmosphere. "Did something happen?"

Giotto sighed heavily and tucked the brunet back under the thin blanket. One mystery seemed just to lead to another.

"No," G said, smiling rather forcefully. "Nothing at all. Did the Father want us for something?"

The raven-haired male gave him a curious look. "He wanted you both down for breakfast. And I think you've gotten a letter from a friend. I hope this doesn't sound weird, but the pigeon was green."

"…"

"Must be Rambo. Only he would do something stupid like that."

"The little twerp will be fine. His family will fish him out of any shit."

Giotto laughed as he followed Asari out of the room. "You're pretty fond of him as well, aren't you?"

"W-what… No, I'm not!" G snapped at the knowing looks his companions were giving him.

Before the trio could take a couple of steps out of the door, excited squeals of children tackled them.

"Brother Giotto! Carry me!" A small girl tugged on his sleeve.

"There's eggs for breakfast!"

"Will you play with me later, Ahh-sar-reee?"

"G is making weird faces again!" A boy pointed wildly at the said man, causing Asari to laugh at the enthusiasm.

"Children, children, if you don't get down soon, the big bad wolves are going to eat up all your food!" Giotto teased the group as he made a dash for the dining room. The children squealed in delight at the game and gave chase to catch the running teen.

"They had gotten really attached to him these couple of days," Asari commented fondly at the sight as he strolled leisurely behind the group. "It's almost as if they have a new older brother."

"He seems more like a kid." G snorted absentmindedly, causing the taller man to laugh. "Anyway, what about you? Don't you need to go back to your…"

CRASH.

"WHY WON'T YOU COME BACK?" A loud roar echoed down the hallway, followed by another tinkle of broken glass.

G and Asari jumped in surprise. They exchanged anxious looks as they ran after Giotto and the children, but the two men soon paused, noticing the small crowd was outside the kitchen.

Giotto, who was nearest to the door, placed a comforting arm around a small trembling boy. The rest of the children were pale and were huddled behind the adults. Curious, the duo peered into the kitchen, only to see a well-dressed man yelling at the agitated Priest. Knuckle was slumped on the table with his face buried in his hands.

"The scary man often come here and yells at Father," a freckled girl with pigtails whispered nervously as she watched the scene. She bit her lip and was almost in tears when G placed a rough hand on her head before slipping into the room.

Asari gave a small reassuring smile and followed the redhead while Giotto turned to the group and told them brightly, "Wait here for a bit, alright? We'll be right back." Then, he left them in the capable hands of the Sisters before too slinking in after G and Asari.

The furious man did not notice the additional presences behind him and was about to make a grab for the Knuckle when Giotto stepped in to interfere.

"Don't try," G growled in warning.

The man gave him a suspicious look. "Who are you?"

"That's none of your concern."

Suddenly noticing he was outnumbered, man gave a disapproving grunt and jerked his wrist out of the teen's grip with an unsatisfied look.

"Don't think this is over, I will back off for now, but" -the manager gave the group a venomous glare- "I will be back to talk about this."

"I…I can't. Morris, I can't!" Father Knuckle's voice was strained and muffled.

Morris smirked triumphantly. "You still do if you have to think about the brat's debts you decided picked up like an idiot."

The man turn to leave, throwing the children who stood at the door a look of contempt as he roughly pushed them aside, blundering his way to the exit.

Asari gasped and immediately started comforting a bawling child. Seething with anger, Giotto took a step with every intention to run after Morris but stopped when Knuckle shot him a pleading look.

"Please," the priest quietly begged. "Please don't interfere anymore. I really don't want to get you involved in this."

He turned to leave, leaving a heavy silence behind.

It was late in the evening when the trouble they all had expected started brewing.

Two panicking Sisters burst abruptly into the guest room. The trio, whose hands had immediately reached out for their respective weapons, relaxed a little when they saw whom it was.

"Father," panted Sister Gabriella. "Father went after them!"

Asari stood up calmly and led the two women into the room with a reassuring smile. Gently, he led them to a couple of empty stools. "Calm down and tell us what happened."

Sister Velia nodded nervously and took a deep breath. "They took Lisa! They came and said something about her brother and then took her! Father…Father just took off after them when he heard that!"

Giotto grimaced. "Shit, that was earlier then we anticipated."

"An-anticipated?" Sister Gabriella asked in confusion.

The blond nodded. "We all agreed that that the man might do something drastic soon from his desperate attitude earlier on."

Sister Velia's eyes grew wide with distress as she covered her mouth. "Oh Lord! Y-you knew?"

"Well," interrupted G from the corner of the room. He sniffed, scowling. "We have met lots of people like this. At first they would ask, then beg, and then get desperate before finally snapping."

"Scums are all the same," he added, earning a snort from Giotto and blank looks from the three others who did not understand what exactly he was referring to.

Giotto shook his head and gave a loud clap to return their attention to their main concern. "Putting that aside," the teen emphasized. "We expected this."

"What-what should w-we do t-then?" Sister Gabriella was determined not to panic in this situation.

The three men straightened up, allowing the women to catch a weird glint flashing in their eyes, accompanied with an unnatural fox like smirk.

"Leave it to us" was their final words before they took off, leaving the two Sisters alone with a soundly sleeping Tsuna in the room. Both of them stared blankly at the closed door and suddenly wondered it was the correct decision to approach these men for help.

"…at the Cains' underground ring, sire," the messenger muttered, shifting uncomfortably, and when thief lord nodded and waved a hand in dismissal, the younger boy nodded gratefully and disappeared back into the shadows.

Stuffing out the last bit of his cigarette, G signaled for Giotto, who was leaning across him on the other end of the alleyway.

"Let's go," G muttered. "We've got a location."

His friend nodded and fell in step beside him. "How bad is it?"

"It's at Cain's ring," he grouched in reply. "The one we've kept a watch out for months already. I guess we just need to push our schedule for getting that territory up ahead."

G sighed heavily.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I could do it alone. You do have your," Giotto motioned his arms at the other. "Status to think of."

G gave him a cynical look. "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth. You reap what you sow, you pay what you owe." he reminded his companion of their philosophy. "That's the law of my court. We owe the priest, so we must pay the debt or our scales will tip to an unfavorable count for me one day."

"You just rather have people owing you then the other way round," Giotto teased as they made their way to the ring.

"What do I say?" G asked airily. "It's better than the other way around."

The underground boxing ring was hidden in one of the numerous warehouses under the guise of a merchant trading post. A closer look would tell a different story. Guards that were unnecessary for a simple trading post were stationed at each entrance. Yells, cheers and screams occasionally echoed from with within the compound.

It was a decent place. At least for an underground fight club.

As the two men headed towards the dimly lit doors, one of the guards noticed who they were and stiffly nudged his partner. The bulky man took one look at them before slipping through to get the owner.

By the time they reached the door, Calvino, a disgusting fat man, followed by another cocky male the duo recognized as Morris, the manager, had appeared. Morris paled at the sight and whispered urgently into Calvino's ear. Calvino narrowed his eyes for a split second before nodding in understanding, shooing Morris with a wave.

Clapping his oversized hands, the man turned to face his guests. "What graces the lord at our doorstep?" He asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

G grinned politely, flicking a lighter out to light a smoke. "Ah, I just suddenly had an urge to watch a good fight and decided to drop by."

"All the way across the town?" Calvino inquired suspiciously.

Giotto laughed. "We happened to be visiting a friend nearby. Is there something wrong that we can't come in to take a look?"

Now, the owner wasn't an idiot and grimaced at the double-edged question. If he said no, he had to allow the men through. If he said yes, it was disrespect to the thief lord who no one wanted to anger.

"… no, sire." Calvino gritted his teeth in frustration at the forked decision. "I'll prepare a prime seat."

"REX," he snapped at one of the bouncers. "Take them in."

The muscular man bowed and stepped forward to lead them in. As they followed the bouncer, the slight tang of blood tickled their nose and G hummed in anticipation.

They were then led to a flight of stairs that brought the group to a small balcony with the best view right above the edge of the fighting ring. The sight of countless swarm of people fighting to get a better glimpse of the ring beneath greeted them. From their seats, they could almost immediately spot the priest, who stood out like a sore thumb amidst the mob in his church robes. He was arguing a losing battle with a few other men and had a defeated look etched on his face.

Giotto nodded. No one would notice them here.

"Leave us," G commanded the bouncer.

Rex looked uncomfortable at that instruction, but an order was an order. With a final bow, the bulky man left G and Giotto to their own devices.

Giotto gestured impishly towards G, grinning. It was time.

It was finally his turn, but Knuckle stood firm on his ground, refusing to give in to his natural instinct to defend. He refused to punch, but he refused to fall as well. Even with the continuous pounding of his opponent, his ringing ears, he smoldered his urge and didn't throw a single punch.

The crowd jeered at the one-sided fight.

I wouldn't, I can't! Images of the dead boy flashed before him when a familiar scream reached him.

Knuckles felt his blood ran cold.

NO! He swerved, horrified to see what he had feared the most. His ex-manager, Morris, was dragging Liza out from her hair and the young girl was crying pitifully in pain. The man ignored her and twisted her wrist.

"Fight, you damn fool!" he snarled at the hesitating Knuckle. "I've bet a large sum on your head! Fight or I'll break her arms!"

"I..," Knuckle looked desperately at the child and then back at his confused opponent. What should he do? He flexed his fingers a little. He could…

"WAIT!"

Knuckle gaped when a familiar blond stepped up between him and his opponent.

"Giotto…? What are you doing here-"

"Stop!" The teenager yelled again at Morris, promptly ignoring the priest. "I will fight in his place if you let the girl go."

Knuckle grabbed his shoulders and forcefully turned him around. "Giotto, what are you doing?" he asked urgently. "How did you get in here?"

Giotto smiled at the misplaced concern. Lowering his voice, he leaned closer to the older man's ear. "It's fine, father. Trust me. No, trust us. Everything will be fine."

Knuckle only blinked in confusion.

"You?" Morris sneered. "What can a scrawny kid like you do?"

Giotto laughed. "You should not underestimate me."

The man gave him a skeptical look, but finally agreed. "Fine! But if you lose, this girl," he jerked Liza towards him, "is going to pay dearly for it."

"Liza!"

"Are you sure about this?" Knuckle whispered desperately, watching the weeping girl struggle against the harsh grip. "I…I can still fight…"

"Knuckle."

The priest stared at Giotto in surprise. It was the first time the teenager had called him directly without his title.

"Knuckle," Giotto repeated softly but firmly. "Trust us."

Knuckle knew he should not agree but he could not stop himself from giving the Giotto a small nod.

"Thank you," Giotto said simply as he turned back to his opponent.

The boxer who stood on the opposing end was a muscular man with sharp, bright eyes. He eyed Giotto before bursting into laughter.

"Go home, little boy," the man taunted, stretching his arms. "Go back to yer mama."

"Are you afraid this little boy might win?"

The man grinned, disregarding the mocking tone. It was normal for fighters to insult each other in the ring, but it was only the inexperienced that got pulled in to the pace. The fighter pulled his fist back to its starting pose. "As you wish, boy…"

Giotto tilted his head towards the referee, who then rang the bell, signaling the start of the fight.

Almost instantly, his opponent was in front of him, lashing out small jabs at an inhumane rate. If it had been anyone else, they would have been taken down, but years of training footwork with G. was paying off as he ducked and dodged the punches.

Giotto gave a small whistle. This man was good. He found himself flinching when a particularly nasty hit caught his rib. Instinctively, his body counter-attacked, grazing the edge on the boxer's shin.

The older man leapt back in surprise and broke into a wide grin. "Yer better then I thought."

Giotto could not help it, but he was beginning to enjoy himself. "You too," he admitted unwillingly.

Impressed, the man pounded his fists together. "Name's Alfieri. What's yer name, boy?"

Before Giotto could reply, his fellow contester suddenly slumped forward, surprising everyone. Giotto lifted a brow, baffled at the situation. He cautiously took a step forward toward the boxer. "Are you alri-," his eyes widen when his intuition complied him jump back towards the edge of the ring.

Something felt wrong, very wrong.

Alfieri slowly stood up in a jerky matter and Giotto gasped, unnerved by the look in his bloodshot eyes. No longer were they sharp and bright like it was moments ago. They were glazed, almost carrying a hypnotized look. Without warning, the boxer lunged at Giotto, hurling the teen and pinning the struggling body on the ground.

A wave of unease murmurs ran though the crowd and Knuckle worriedly drew a cross over his chest in a prayer to dispel whatever evil had possessed the man.

Giotto screamed in pain, when his head hit the ground with a resounding crack.

Something was wrong, his intuition sang. Run!

He brought a knee up and slammed into his crazed attacker's stomach. Alfieri was effectively flung back, allowing the dazed blond to regain his balance, shaking his head to clear the after-image of the shockwave that had ran across his mind.

When Giotto looked up, he could only gulp as Alfieri stood up shakily despite the obviously broken ribs.

Does he feel no pain?

Unable to avert his gaze from the injured fighter, Giotto felt something in his mind clicked in comprehension. The style, the speed of the man…all of those were too different now! Although he did not understand why, but somehow, he knew this was not the same man he was fighting a while back.

Someone possessed him, his gut feeling supplied helpfully again. Giotto wiped the blood that was starting to drip from the cut above his right eye down his face as he narrowly dived away from another suicide assault at a rapid speed.

"DON'T YOU DARE TO LOSE!" He could hear Morris roaring in anger when he received another kick on his arms. "I DON'T CARE HOW, WIN!"

"That's right," Giotto thought grimly. "Crazed, possessed or whatever, I can't lose."

It didn't matter to Morris if the other guy in the ring was a devil or demon. All that man could care about was his money and it was a child that was at stake.

The thought seemed to unintentionally fortify a barrier in Giotto's heart and with that, a burst of new-founded strength flooded to every part of his body.

He had to win no matter what.

To him, it was as if world suddenly decided to slow down in front of his eyes.

He needed to protect them.

A nostalgic burning sensation started to course within his veins but intuition told him everything was going to be fine.

When did he felt like this again?

Memories flashback for a second and his brow knitted in confusion before it cleared. This feeling was exactly the like the time Sallust destroyed his life!

Pure energy and a sense of calmness washed over his mind and the blond slowly opened his eyes he had unwittingly closed. Knuckle inhaled the stale air sharply. Giotto's eyes were almost glowing and a bright orange flame flickered on his forehead.

Despite the obvious change, the crazed Alfieri did not seemed to notice the difference and once again charged towards the unsuspecting teenager.

"NO!" Knuckle hollered, half clambering up the stage to stop the fight. But before he was even able to get in the ring, Giotto was already behind the boxer and had lightly tapped the back of the man's neck, rendering Alfieri unconscious.

Knuckle goggled at the scene.

How in the world did Giotto moved that fast?

A few audiences looked at each other uncertainly but a few started clapping slowly when they finally became conscious of fact that the fight was over. Soon, the whole horde of onlookers were applauding and screaming with excitement. To them what happened on the stage was a little a little strange, but they had all agreed unanimously that was breathtaking. It was the fight well worth a watch.

Giotto stood expressionlessly in the middle of the ring, watching his unconscious opponent. Looking up, he found himself glowering at a bemused Morris.

"Kill him!" Morris demanded. In the underground ring, the rules were a death match. An unconscious boxer meant nothing to him.

"No."

The manager frowned. "Kill him."

"No." Giotto insisted, intensifying his glare.

Morris threw him a disgusted look. "You are just like the bloody priest, but it doesn't matter anymore." The man threw his head back and cackled. "If you think this girl is the only thing you will lose, you are dead wrong."

He chortled at the horrified look on the Knuckle's face.

"NO! You promised!"

"Oh, did I?" Morris gloated cruelly. "I promised the girl would be safe, but nothing else. My men will destroy your church and you will have no choice but to beg me for help."

"NO," Knuckle growled again as he scampered toward his nemesis. "HOW DARE YOU, BASTARD!"

Yet, before he could reach destination, raven-haired male felt someone forcefully retraining his arms.

"Let me go!" Knuckle hissed at his captor.

Giotto had latched onto his arms tightly as he shot Morris an amused look. "Didn't I tell you a moment ago not to underestimate us?"

Both the men paused, uncertain what Giotto meant.

Giotto doubled up laughing. "Did you really think we did not anticipate this?" He smirked at the Morris when a shadow appeared behind the pale man.

Asari stood up and dusted himself, looking at the sword in his hands. It wasn't as good as his favored katana, but it would work nevertheless. He swung it around, disarming the two men behind him.

"Mah, that's not too nice of you." Asari chided them in a heavy accent as if they were children. "A samurai must always attack honorably."

He smiled in relief when both the attackers retreated. There was no need to kill those who gave up. After all, discouraging them had the same intended result.

The Japanese sighed. These two had already made up thirteen assailants he had "discouraged". He was forced to mime two of them. He hoped another two he had been forced to seriously injure were still alive.

Looking up at the looming dark clouds, Asari leaned against a pillar. His two companions certainly had great foresight to have predicted this and left the area in his care.

Although he had been a tad bit put out when they requested that he stay behind, he had been tasked to fend off attackers at the church while the two Italians went after the Father during the planning.

It was amazing that they have predicted to this point, Asari mused. I have really met up with a group of extraordinary people, haven't I?

He turned and gave the courtyard a last look before heading back to the church as the first raindrop hit the earth.

G snorted, causing Morris to jump in fright and accidently releasing Lisa. She dived into Knuckle's arms while sobbing pitifully.

The priest protectively wrapped his arms around his charge and pulled her behind him.

"You look like shit," G told his best friend.

Giotto winced. "I assure you that I feel no better than I look."

"How dare you," Morris interrupted, eyes burning with fury. "YOU RUINED EVERYTHING."

With a precise kick, G pinned the howling man onto the wall and leaned towards Morris's ear. "Everything?" he hissed. "No, not yet."

The red-hair drew out a stack of paper from the back of his pockets and waved it in front of Morris's face. The man blanched in recognition as he ogled at the papers.

"How did you…."

G sniggered at Morris's expression.

"H-how did y-you get them? Please, no-!"Morris reached out to grab the papers but to his horror, G flung it over the railing, causing it to flutter amidst the crowd.

"NO!" Morris shrieked, his knees quaking with terror at the sound of indignation and outrage spreading through the mass. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

"Me?" G asked innocently, he eyes hardening as he continued. "I was just giving everyone proof of all the setup matches, murder, betrayal, and slavery you fucking filthy scumbag committed." He spat at the wretched man's face and twirl a ring of keys around.

Morris whimpered, looking desperately around for any help. There was none to be found.

Giotto coughed a little as he leaned against the railing. Tilting his head, he flashed the man a smirk. "Didn't anyone tell you?"

Morris felt a shiver run down his spine when the teen, no, demon, took a step forward. "Never cross our thief lord."

"Thief lord?" Morris and Knuckle whispered at the same time, realizing who the redhead teenager in front of them was.

"You reap what you sow, you pay what you owe." G sung darkly, stabbing a dagger a few inches off the man's face for a good measure. Turning to leave this god-forsaken place, G noticed something dark began to spread between Morris's legs onto the ground and sniggered.

"OH!" G abruptly swiveled back and gave the Morris a mock bow. "And thanks for the kind donation you made the church! May god bless you!"

Giotto wobbled a little as the four of them finally made their way out and headed back to the church while Knuckle carried the traumatized but sleeping child on his back.

"Why did you help me?" Knuckle finally broke the silence that had encased the trio.

G looked thoughtful for a moment. "I hate people who make use of children to do their dirty business." He answered honestly. "And also," G and Giotto exchanged grins. "That's what friends are for!"

Knuckle gave both of them an incredulous look.

"Even when you are the thief lord?"

"Even when I am the thief lord."

Knuckle looked flabbergasted, mouthing indecipherable words before roaring with laughter. "Yes," he chuckled, wiping several tears away. "That's what friends are for."

Calvino leaned against the wall and cursed furiously. Not only did the bullet that did not work, the darn thief had forced his whole establishment to close down!

A sigh echoed behind him and he spun back in fear to see Sallust's two subordinates. He face grew red in anger and he spat onto the ground.

"This darn bullet did not work!" He snarled at the Afro-haired male. "The boy still lived!" Calvino then stamped his feet to emphasize his point. "And fuck him! He destroyed a lifetime's worth of work!"

The man gave ignored him and expressionlessly popped a candy in his mouth. Outraged, Calvino reached for his gun but before he could reach it, a gunshot resounded and the fat man fell flat on his face, dead.

"I didn't expect the dying will to manifest at this stage, dear," the woman told her companion, tucking her pistol back beneath her Zebra patterned top. "It seems like we need to change our plan a little." She hugged the man tightly. "But it doesn't matter if he has it or if the Decimo is here. We will get back what was ours after all," she whispered seductively, missing the slight look of apprehension on the man's face.

The man's face softened a little and returned the hug. "Yes, we will."

A/N: Hello people! Here's your long awaited chapter 10! I'm so thankful to graceful sunshine for beta-ing even when she's busy with other stuff. (´∀｀)

For those of you who had been following this from the start, I'm so sorry for the long wait! (シ_ _)シ Although I did mention that my updates are irregular, I know this was a really long time since the last update. Not trying to give an excuse but it's really getting very difficult to write this somehow, even though I had gotten the gist of the story in my head. ლ(́◉◞౪◟◉‵ლ) The plot kept shifting about and it just did not feel correct to me...

Anyway, thank you for reading and please, please tell me what you thing and how do you like/hate the story and flow. See the box down here? o｡. (✿ฺ｡ ✿ฺ) Just type it up and click review!