1 Luce

"Chaos."

Luce sucks in a sharp gasp and whips around, turning to run back out of the office she just stepped into. The Italian standing beside the door, completely missed by the Giglio Nero boss when she walked in, calmly shuts the door firmly and locks it.

"It's pleasure to finally meet you," Reborn says with a voice like honey, slowly advancing on the woman. His fedora is tilted down so his narrowed black eyes are shaded even darker.

Luce staggers back until her knees hit the couch and she drops into the seat, her long white dress fluttering up at the sudden motion. She has no idea how the hitman managed to get past all of her security, but at least he isn't holding a gun right now.

"I was offered a contract a week ago," Reborn explains, casually taking a seat opposite Luce on another couch, smoothing out his three piece suit. "It's a good price, so now I'm doing some research on the target."

"And…and have you decided whether to accept the offer?" Luce asks hesitantly, knowing that she's the 'target'.

"Not yet," Reborn admits easily. "But you're pretty boring so I might."

Luce just blinks, not really sure how to deal with this situation. She most certainly did not see this in her visions, but she manages to calm herself because she knows Reborn even when he doesn't know her. Reborn won't hurt Luce.

Luce purses her lips. "Mr Reborn, I'm sure we can sort out something so there doesn't need to be any killing."

Reborn hums, leaning forward with dark eyes. "I'm afraid we might have a problem with that route, Don Giglio Nero, because I happen to like killing things."

Luce is thrown off. This isn't her Reborn, not yet. Plus, a large part of Reborn's protectiveness for her is when Luce eventually gets pregnant in the future. "What's your price?" she asks slowly.

"Maybe you're not understanding me," Reborn muses, sitting back and crossing his legs at the knee. "I don't want money. I want you to explain to me why I shouldn't kill you. Why are you important enough to keep alive?"

Luce lets out a humourless laugh, because if only he knew. She shakes her head. "Mr Reborn, you're asking the wrong question."

Reborn raises an eyebrow.

"It should be 'why are you important enough to kill?' because you shouldn't just waste your talent on people who don't deserve to see it," Luce explains.

Reborn blinks, startled, and then smirks. "I'm sure that trick works on others, so don't feel too bad that I'm not suddenly reformed into a member of polite society who shies away from killing."

Luce frowns. "That wasn't my intention-"

"Don't lie," Reborn interrupts. "I can see your thoughts clearly. Admittedly, I don't understand why you believe whole-heartedly that I'm a good person, but I can read the manipulations very easily."

Luce stays silent.

"Are you giving up then, so quickly?" Reborn asks with a mocking edge. "I'm not asking for an essay, Don Giglio Nero, just a reason to let you live."

"No," Luce finally says. "I refuse."

He tilts his head. "I promise I'm a gentleman. I'll keep my word, if that's what you're worried about."

Luce scans the hitman's face and makes a decision. "Stay for dinner."

"So you can poison me?"

"So I can cure your boredom," Luce says with a small smile.