The Ninth was not as scary as his title suggested. He was a small old man with wiry white hair that held a spiked body to it. His eyes were dark and yet held a sparkle of wisdom and were nowhere near as cold as my fathers. He sat within a comfy looking arm chair next to a lit open fire, with an end table beside him holding a single cup and saucer.

He looked like someone's rich granddad waiting for the arrival of his family.

When he caught sight of us he turned with a warm open smile and made a gesture for us to sit down on the sofa in front of him. We were offered tea or coffee and a selection of biscuits and sugar coated almonds.

It completely threw me off guard as I politely declined the sweets and went for a coffee – black no sugar.

He then sat back with his own cup of freshly brewed tea and gave me another warm smile.

I had not been expecting this – to be honest I had no idea what I had been expecting – but it had not been to receive such a warm welcoming that was for sure. Inwardly I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself, I couldn't afford to make a fool of myself in front of him. Not when he was doing such a huge favour for me.

"There's no need to look so tense Hayato. You have nothing to be afraid of here" his words were soft and had a kind edge to them. They were spoken to calm me, put me at ease almost.

He leaned forward and smiled once more, sliding his hands together and resting them in crossed over knees.

"Now we're here to talk about what's going to happen next" he said and then waited for me to reply.

"Ah, yes, thank you for agreeing to meet with us" The words came out a little shakier than I had wanted. But it worked for now.

My reply was met with a chuckle and my head shot up an embarrassed flush on my cheeks. For God's sake I was making a fool of myself already!

"Yes, your father asked that once it was over with that I make sure to guide you in the right direction. I believe he has already blessed you as the next Boss?"

A grim look passed my face as I sighed. My father had planned this all out before the attack had even occurred. It was a somewhat sad thought that he had been able to guess that he had been going to die while I would escape and carry on. Which made me wonder why he had not decided to flee and get away alive.

"Yes. He passed the ring down to me the night he died"

"I am sorry that the circumstances could not have been different. It is normally such a happy occasion when a new Don is appointed. But for now we must move ahead and not dwell. Your father was great man, and now it is expected for you to carry on. Those were his wishes. Therefore I am going to have you train with my own successor"

My body froze. He was going to what?! I wasn't even aware that he had a successor?

"Your successor?" I repeated stammering slightly.

The man nodded and smiled in amusement at my reaction.

"Yes. I have already chosen who will be taking my place. He's a boy your age, slightly naive and has a soft touch. But he's being trained by one of my best hitman. Reborn"

A part of me suddenly shrivelled and died in shock. It just kept getting worse!

"Reborn? As in the Reborn?!" I exclaimed not being able to believe what I was being told.

"Yes. As from next week you will be training with Reborn and my successor, Tsunayoshi Sawada. I have also enrolled you in the same school that he attends and I have arranged your accommodation for you which is close to the school"

My heart clenched. I was going to have to attend a public school by the sounds of it. I had never been to school in my life. My education had been handled at home with many private teachers – Shamal being one of them. The thought of actually having to attend a school and be in the company of other people I didn't even known was enough to make me feel slightly nauseous. But the fact that I would be training with a world class hitman was enough to squash the feeling for now. But meeting this 'Tsunayoshi Sawada' the Ninths successor was another unnerving thing. I would have to get along with him if he was going to be taking over one day. After all the Vongola/Gokudera alliance goes back a long way, it was something that I wanted to maintain, and couldn't afford to destroy.

Ah, this was so annoying…

"I assume you will be looking to once again expand your family?"

My head shot up. It was something that had crossed my mind, but I hadn't had much time to think about it. There were far too many other things to think about before that.

"I, well I've thought about it but…"

"I'm sure you're already aware of how the Vongola family works?" he asked me smiling once more and giving a glance behind him where his right hand man was lurking in the shadows.

I nodded unsure where this was going.

"I have six guardians including my right hand man. Perhaps you should start looking for a set yourself. You're going to need protection and your sister and Shamal aren't going to be able to provide this for you all the time. You need to remember these people who killed you father and family will be coming after you next. It's best to have as many allies as you can"

My head dropped. I was well aware that I had been seen leaving the house by the guy who had been laughing like a maniac. So it was only a matter of time till he started looking for me, if he hadn't already. I didn't have a right hand man, I had never needed one before, and it was thought I was too young to need one anyway. I had always had Shamal and when he failed – which wasn't unusual when he was chasing skirts – I had Alonzo or Bianchi there to back me up. My hand trailed to my pocket and clenched the other ring my father had given, the ring that Alonzo had previously worn.

But now I was Boss I suddenly had a need for one, someone who was preferable my age who would train with me and be there in school as well I guessing. Someone as old as Shamal or Bianchi would be useless. It would probably help if they were in my class too…

God I shouldn't be thinking about this now. One thing at a time Hayato!

"Right… I, well I'll defiantly think about it" I answered finally looking back up with what I hoped was determination.

The Ninth nodded back at me and smiled.

"As I said I have found somewhere for you stay. It's in a small block of apartments. It's more private and hopefully being there will be harder to find you with so many people living there. This is the set of keys; I've had one made for each of you for convenience"

He then passed the keys to me which I stared at for moment. Was all of this really happening?

"Ah, thank you" I whispered before pocketing them.

"You fathers accounts have also been looked into and I'm pleased to say it looks like no one's touched them. They've been changed into your name along with the property the family owned by your father already and he asked that I give you these papers and the new cards you are to use"

A think brown envelop was then passed to me. It was heavy and likely had a lot in it. I held it to my chest not wanting to look at it yet. It could wait till later. It's not like I would know what to do with it anyway. I may have been trained how to fight, but I had never had any dealings with the business yet. That had all been to come when I came of age.

A silence held for a moment as I sat there taking it all in before Shamal shifted next to me.

"Do you mind if I ask something?" he said frowning ever so slightly. He had been silent so far throughout all of the proceedings, not saying a word.

"Of course" the Ninth said keeping his gaze level and open.

"Do you have any idea of who attacked us?" the question caught me off guard and I looked up to Shamal I had thought about it previously myself. It had been mainly thoughts of revenge on the ones that had done it. Not that I would tell either Bianchi or Shamal what I had been thinking they would likely get a little paranoid and keep me under a sharper watch then they already were.

The Ninth gave a grim look and shifted slightly. His eyes fell onto me again.

"Your father would not want you to be filled with thoughts of revenge. You must understand this. He did not want me to reveal anything to you; he thought you might want to go after their killers if you knew. They are not people you can stand up to"

"So you know?" Before I can even think about it the words are out of mouth in an instant. If the Ninth knows then perhaps there is a chance I can find them and take my revenge on them. If he tells me that is, and by the looks of it he's already made a promise with my father not to.

"Not entirely… Your father made hints and dropped things in conversation that made me think. He never outright said who it was that he was having problems with. He was very secretive and made sure to never drop any hints" the Ninth trailed off going silent and falling into deep thought.

By now what was left of his coffee had gone cold and I was left feeling the same.

So even the Ninth wasn't sure as to what had happened to my family… That was not a comforting thought.

"But I know one thing. You mustn't go looking for revenge Hayato. It will lead you nowhere"

LINE BREAK:-

We were on the way to our new home. An unknown man was driving. He hadn't introduced himself, just simply got into the car and started driving. The Ninth had taken us to the door and seen us off. An array of men stood behind him and to the side, armed to the teeth.

"Please have a safe journey and do think about what I've told you"

How could I not. He had told me to start thinking about re-building my family and forming a close knit circle of guardians – much like the Vongola did. One thing was for certain I would definitely need allies if I was going to survive here. I needed to know the area and known who was about.

Then there was the envelop he had given me. I would need to start looking at my assets that I still had. The more I knew about the business my father had left behind the better. I knew I still had my wealth, and by the sounds of it my father had left me quite a hoard. This would come in handy if I ran into problems - Which I surely was going to at some point. The casinos, bars, hotels and other businesses that we owned would still bring in a steady income.

Money was not the issue.

The issue was that whoever had killed the family was still out there, alive and waiting. For all I knew they could already know where I was and attack out the blue.

"Don't think about it"

I turned to see Bianchi regarding me with a serious look. Ah why did she always seem to know what was on my mind?

"I'm trying. It's not that simple you know. There's a lot to think about, and it's important stuff that I need to figure out" I leaned back into the seat and huffed.

"There's nothing you can do right now Hayato. You just need to train and get stronger. You can't go looking for these people, you know that. Even the Ninth said that it wouldn't do you any good. Father… Mother and Father wouldn't want that for you…"

She turned away suddenly looking misty eyed. The moment she did I fell silent; there was no way I could say anything to that. She hadn't grieved over anything yet, not that I had either. But for now I'd let her have her moment, she must have been feeling as bad as I was after all.

Turning away I looked back out the window. The sooner we got to our new home the better. I was ready for some time on my own to think things through properly…

This was the last thought I remember.

LINE BREAK:-

As I opened my eyes I found myself standing in the middle of a room, which I soon distinguished as my father's office. The man in question was standing behind his desk, phone pressed against his ear.

I blinked. What was I doing here? Had everything just been some messed up dream? It had all felt so real somehow…

"Don't fuck with me!"

I jerked away from my thoughts and snapped round to stare at father. What the hell was he yelling about?

He was tense in the shoulders and leaning over his desk eyes wide and angry. He had looked like he was soon to snap his tightly clenched pen in half as his hand fisted and shook with pent up anger.

"Father, what's wrong?" I went to move forward but soon stop when the next wave came.

"Don't be stupid! I told you not to interfere with my family you even think about touching them and your dead!" before I could even move the pen he had been holding came flying at me. It was the heavy, made of solid silver.

My hands flew up to protect me. But the blow never came… In fact I heard a sharp crack and turned to find that the pen had gone straight through me and collided with the back wall instead.

What…? How had that happened? What the hell was going on?

Then I saw him.

A small boy standing at the door peeking through the gap was there, inching back and forth trying to not get caught. His silver hair falling to his cheeks, dressed up in smart attire and silvery-grey eyes wide in wonder as he watched the spectacle. That was me aged seven, still naïve and unaware of the danger the outside world posed, easily deceived and amazingly gullible to what I was told.

This had happened before…

It had only just hit me that this was a memory; a faded and far off one that had been pushed to the back of my fifteen year old mind. I could only just remember what had happened. I had been walking about the mansion when I had heard the raised voice emitting from my father's office. Curious as always I had pulled back the door slightly and peered in only to find him shouting down the phone to someone. Who that was I had no idea. But when my father had caught me he had called me in with a sigh and reminded that it was rude to eavesdrop on other people.

"If you dare follow through with that threat I will make sure you never live to tell the tale. Mark my words Julio!"

Julio…

A fire suddenly erupted around the office. It swirled around me and my father in circle and held us captive. The phone fell away from father as a man stepped into the ring and stood before him. It was the same man I had seen before - the one standing atop the stone steps laughing. He and my father stood facing each other in a silent stare down. Neither moved for a moment but all of a sudden the masked man pulled a gun from his side and shot five times and watched with a sick smile as my father dropped to the ground.

I don't know if I screamed out or not. But whatever I had done the man had turned his attention to me next, the gun still sitting comfortably in his hand. He grinned at me and he lips moved as he said something that I didn't catch. My ears were defended by silence all of a sudden and I felt like I was being sucked backwards as the scene in front of me stretched forwards away from me. My hand flew up and fingers reached towards the corpse of my dead father.

Screaming then broke through and howled around me as well as a cackled bout of laughter. I shut my eyes tight bringing my hands up instead to cover my ears and give myself shelter from the horrific noise…

LINE BEAK:-

"ato…"

"Hayato…"

"Hayato!"

My eyes snapped open and my hands flew up to grab whoever had brought me back to reality. Before they even made contact another pair grabbed at me and brought my vicious actions to a stop.

I began to focus in on the fact that it was Shamal who had woken me and realised that what had just happen had been a dream.

"You alright?" he asked grimacing down at me still holding the hands that had been about to lash out at him.

"Yeah" I answered calming the erratic pounding of my heart and harsh breathing. "I'm fine. Where the hell are we?"

He moved away and out of the car lighting a cigarette and proceeded to rub the back of his neck in thought.

"We're at the apartment stupid. You fell asleep on way over; didn't have the heart to wake you. But you suddenly started acting all weird and freaking out in your sleep. Bianchi's already gone to check the place out so you better get your ass out the god damn car and head on up" he started to walk away and it became evident that the conversation was over. Stupid Shamal…

The apartment turned out to be not so bad. The block looked run down from the outside and the type of place where you'd find the more troubled people making their way in life, so for the most part we'd fit right in with the population that dwelled here. There were a few dodgy people hanging about and some bratty kids running about. But for the most part it seemed fairly quiet.

There were two bedrooms on the inside, which was fine; Shamal would just have to take the couch. I wasn't sharing - and if I knew Bianchi she wouldn't either. The kitchen was fairly small, but again it didn't matter because we likely wouldn't eat here, and Bianchi definitely would not be cooking; if we could help it. The only problem I could spot so far would be the bathroom and how that was going to work. My sister had a tendency to spend far too long in there – like most girls I could only imagine. Clearly with that we were going to end up on some stupid rota…

Naturally the place didn't have much of a homely feel to it. It was bare and had little to no personality due the fact that there was nothing personal in the place. Bianchi would soon change that and once Shamal was comfortable he was bound to start leaving things all over the place. Yeah everything was going to fine. Our things – or what was left of them – would be shipped over tomorrow, so hopefully some of my own clothes were left. There was nothing like my punk styled clothes to make me feel more comfortable. Maybe my cigarette stash had supplied and would be on their way soon. Dammit! I had even left the gun I had been given the day my father had presented me as the next heir. At least I still had my dynamite on me…

"So what do think?"

Bianchi had stuck up on me at some point and was now standing behind me leaning on the kitchen counter, arms crossed and eyes surveying the room much like I was.

"Well it's not much, but I guess for now it will do right?" I gave her a weak smile and made a move to the couch that was placed in front of an average looking TV.

It was getting dark outside and I was hungry and still slightly tired. There wouldn't be much to do now other than wait until Reborn showed up – which we had been told he would do at some point and he would introduce us to the Vongola's heir. But for now it was Saturday and I would have to wait till Monday to go to school. The uniform would arrive tomorrow with the rest of our stuff that had survived the fire.

Until then we would have to wait it out and see what happened.

"Well perhaps me and Hayato should go and get something to eat while you set up here" Shamal said looking at Bianchi rather than me. Friggin idiot hadn't even asked me if I wanted to go! That git was starting to get cheeky.

Nether the less I found myself walking with him down the street anyway. I was happy so long as Bianchi wasn't cooking. There was no way I was going to make it easy for these bastards who were trying to kill me.

"Do you even know where we're going?" I couldn't help but ask, because If I didn't even know the area how was Shamal supposed to have a clue.

"Course I don't" he replied like to wasn't an issue that we had no idea where we going. It was after all probably normal for him.

"The hell you mean you mean yo-"

I don't know who banged into me but they were goanna die, no matter who they were.

I had been knocked to the floor by another boy with black spikey hair and tanned features. He was tall by the looks of it and had a slight muscled build – hence the fact that when he had come flying into me I bared the brute of the force and fallen. He like me was on the floor and rubbing at his head. The idiot had also dropped what he had been carrying and now the contents of his bag were scattered about us.

"You freaking idiot! Watch where you're going!" I had started yelling instantly, wavering my hand about at him and huffed when he did nothing but look at me blink and then stare. "What's your friggin problem?" I then snapped when it became clear that I wasn't going to get a reply.

It seemed to break him from his reverie and he melted into a wide smile scratching the back of his head nervously and laughed.

"Ah, sorry I didn't see you, I was thinking about my upcoming baseball game. I haven't seen you around here before though. Have you just moved in?"

Great it seemed I had bumped into some sort of baseball freak…