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"You were brought here to the CEDEF for further questioning after murdering a member of the Vongola in cold blood. Reports have stated that you have followed one of our own to a secluded area near Piazza San Marco last night and proceeded to implant multiple explosives inside the man's car and have it detonate once the man started the engine, killing him instantly." Iemitsu spoke, his voice carrying over throughout the four corners of the interrogation room where a small boy sat opposite him.
"His body was blown to pieces, his face unrecognizable." Iemitsu continues, the little boy doesn't even do so much as flinch at the mention of the gruesome way the man was murdered, as it he had nothing to do with the blood on his small hands.
He doesn't even seem to be paying attention to the conversation at all, his back is slouching on the chair, scrawny legs dangling as his small frame tries to reach the floor only for him to settle with swinging his feet every few minutes. His head is tilted to the side, shaggy silver hair unkempt for so long that the fringes are already covering his eyes. His hands clench and unclench on the table from the handcuffs attached to his wrists and Iemitsu can't help but notice just how fucking big the handcuffs look on him.
He's Just a kid. Iemitsu thinks, pity flashes at the corner of his eyes as he is reminded of how young the child truly is. He's probably no older than Tsuna.
Iemitsu remembers the way the little boy was brought to him that night, word had gotten to him fast about the incident at Piazza San Marco and how a small boy was brought down by five men after taking down three of them all on his own. He was kicking and screaming the moment one of the Vongola men got hold of him, similar to an abandoned kitten, cornered and desperately trying to fend off any attackers.
He was taken immediately to the holding cell right below the CEDEF building and if Iemitsu hand't intervened right away to take the child for questioning, he's sure they would have killed the child without a second thought.
An eye for an eye, the Vongola were never know for their lack of self-proclaimed giustizia and they were also never know for their lack of cruelty to those who proposes any threat to their Famiglia. They have never shown mercy to anyone that managed to hurt any member of the family, whether it be man, woman, or child, there is no difference.
It was only fair the boy dies for killing one of their own, but Iemitsu found something in the boy's eyes that night they brought the child to him: his body beaten and bloody, face filled with cuts and bruises, but the green of his eyes held a gaze which spoke of a dying will and a promise for vengeance that Iemitsu can't help but be reminded of a storm flame.
The boy's got potential, that much Iemitsu knows, the boy is already showing great signs for storm flame attributes at such a young age and the fact that the boy was skilled enough to follow a well trained Mafioso without getting caught and proceeded to finish him off with self made explosives was already something worthy of praise.
With enough training, the child will definitely become a force to be reckoned with, it's too good of an opportunity for Iemitsu not to take if he ever plans on finding the right guardian for the next Don of the Vongola Famiglia. Don Nono gave Iemitsu his full permission to see this plan through and if it meant saving this child's life at the cost of a grieving widow and a now fatherless son demanding giustizia for the loss of a beloved husband and father, well Iemitsu can stomach that for the betterment of the Vongola, he's sacrificed more than a single life for his Famiglia before and he as sure as hell will continue to do so if necessary.
The small boy hasn't said a single word since they took him to his cell, he's been unresponsive to any command and question thrown his way the moment they captured and brought him here, as if he's already accepted his fate and no longer has any fight left in him.
Seeing the child so quiet now after witnessing the violent trashing and screaming just moments ago disturbs and impresses Iemitsu in a way that he hasn't been in a long time. The sudden shift of the child's character from vengeful and desperate to calm and closed off was too short to be natural, a child shouldn't be able to mask off their thoughts and emotions this well, and yet here the boy was, doing exactly that.
Gokudera Hayato, the report says, the illegitimate son of a Mafioso whom Iemitsu doesn't bother to recognize and a deceased mother, the Familigia name and symbol is unfamiliar to him as Iemitsu scans the paper given to him by Oregano before he took the kid to the interrogation room.
Believed to have ran away from home at age eight, his family has not made any claims or offers to bring the child back. Has on multiple occasions been caught participating in illegal street fights near Venice and was taken to orphanages only for him to escape the next day. Has started to freelance for different offers in the mafia world 3 months ago, rumored to have ties with the infamous Trident Shamal. Also rumored to have died at the age of nine.
Iemtisu rereads the last line on the page and looks at the boy and thinks, nine years old is too fucking young.
Iemistu can't help but feel even more convinced that he's doing the right thing by letting this child live, a child this young who holds so much potential for talent and skill deserves a second chance in life to prove himself. Iemitsu has seen the look on this boy's face the moment he was chained and sat down in front of him, no child should look that resigned to a fate unknown to him.
"What do you say to working for the Vongola, Gokudera Hayato?" Iemitsu offers, eyes never leaving the boy's small frame, gauging for any reaction from the sudden proposition.
The boy in question looks up at the mention of his name, his fringes giving way to show the same pair of emerald eyes Iemitsu saw moments before they took the boy prisoner. Gokudera's eyes sharpen, finally looking up to pointedly glare at Iemitsu, waiting for him to elaborate. Seeing the intensity and resentment in those eyes on such a young face makes Iemitsu's resolve final.
"You've got the whole Vongola Famiglia wishing death upon you right now for that hell of a stunt you pulled and I'm only going to offer this once kid, do you want to die today or do you want to keep living?" Iemitsu finishes, waiting for an answer.
The boy remains unmoving on his seat, still as silent as a brewing storm. Seconds pass and then minutes and finally it was as if something stirs within the boy and the silence is broken at the sound coming out of the boy's throat- something raw and broken. And then his shoulders begin to tremble, the intensity of the unexpected action is enough to surprise Iemitsu at the sight. It only dawdled on Iemitsu seconds later that the the boy was laughing. It was a cruel mocking sound, loud and piercing the otherwise silent room. It make the boy's whole body shake at the motion and his hands chained to the table is the only thing keeping him from toppling over the chair.
Gokudera leans his back to the chair, head tossed to the side from laughter as he tried to reach up to place a hand against his forehead only to stop midway when the chains yank him to a stop. He still has his eyes closed, the corners of his lips lifted up to show his teeth, his smile looking more like a sneer. Iemitsu sees how the child's pale hands goes back to hold onto the edge of the table, sees how the grip tightens and the knuckles pale even more.
The laughter dies down slowly and the hands gripping the table goes lax and before Iemutsu could say anything, Gokudera beats him to it. "And what makes you think working for the Vongola is any better than whatever death you have planned for me?" Gokudera asks, voice void of any humor.
"And don't even try giving me any shitty offer like working for the Vongola to pay off any life debt I now happen to owe for killing one of your own, I'm done doing all the dirty work for you fucking assholes who can't even be bothered to clean up your own mess." He adds, practically spitting the last words of his sentence to Iemitsu's face.
Gokudera meets Iemitsu's eyes, a silent challenge, his gaze never looking away as he watches the way the older man's face shifts from amusement to sullenness at the reminder of his last kill.
Gokudera sees the older man's lips settle back into a nonchalant smile, he lets out a small laugh before he starts to rub the back of his neck with his free hand while the other slides a manila folder across the table, stopping right next to Gokudera's chained hands. Iemitsu watches Gokudera eye the folder with something akin to apprehension, his gaze turns back to Iemitsu after a moment with a questioning look. "What the fuck is this?" he asks, never breaking eye contact.
"My offer." Iemitsu answers with a shrug, he lets the boy take the folder with steady hands, sees him open the seal to let the content of the folder spill out on top of the table, a single photo falls out and when Gokudera's eyes lands on a familiar face, Iemitsu sees a flash of something hurt cross the child's expression only for it to fade a away a second later, as if it was never there, only to be replaced with a boiling anger.
"Who the fuck told you about her?" Gokudera seethes, "where did you get her photo?!" he shouts, fists slamming on the table. "Answer me asshole!" he demands.
"The Vongola is offering you a second chance at life, Gokudera Hayato. But seeing as you'd rather choose immediate death than the promise of life, how about I give you something else." Iemitsu starts, ignoring Gokudera's question, "Once you join our Famiglia, all of our knowledge will be free for your consumption as well." Iemitsu elaborates, "You see, it only took us four days to be able to find all the information about you and your upbringing," he smiles, all teeth and watches the boy gape at the information, satisfied that he's listening to Iemitsu's every word.
"Can you imagine that power, how long do you think it will take us to find out every information about Lavina and her death?" Iemitsu finishes, smirking at the boy, sure enough that he's gotten the boy's interest.
At the mention of the woman's name, Gokudera's eyes widens, his expression a storm of emotion as he contemplates the offer. It takes a few seconds to pass by before he finally speaks up "What do you want me to do?" eyes blazing with the same determination Iemitsu saw hours ago.
"Took you long enough to decide." Iemitsu huffs out a laugh before he slides another photo to Gokudera. He waits for the boy to pick it up before answering "I want you to be my little Tuna Fish's bodyguard." Iemitsu answers, his smile wide and his eyes shining with pride.
It took Gokudera a few moments to associate the horrible pet name to the child on the photo, a small boy who looks about his age or younger holding a red rubber ball stares right back at Gokudera from the photo and Gokudera immediately deems the other kid as weak and pathetic, if the idiotic look and the clueless stare on the kid's face was any indication.
Gokudera has no idea why he'd be offered with babysitting this idiot but the leader of Vongola's infamous CEDEF is offering him a chance of a lifetime- to find out more about the only family he's ever really known and he be damned if he lets this opportunity pass, no matter how small the chances are he'll be able to get out of this deal alive.
"When do I start?"