Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! in any way, shape or form. Those are the sole property of Akira Amano.
Warning: The following will endure OCs, coarse language, violence, and possible scenes of various calibers for your entertainment.
Author's Note: Constructive criticism is appreciated in terms of improvement. This is a SqualoxOC pairing. The following takes place in a new ten-years-later future after the events from the anime.
I decided to go back and revise the first 3 chapters into two. There were a few spelling mistakes and grammatical/sentence structure errors. It kept eating away at me and I want to make this story as interesting as possible, beginning straight from the start. Hopefully it will be more enjoyable for you to read.
{*} Prologue {*}
"That's close enough."
Three men slowly came into view from the other side of the gate, rifles carefully aimed at a cloaked, slim figure before them. Extra caution was necessary for unfavourable weather such as tonight. The rain came down in sheets, accompanied by small gusts of wind which obstructed their vision.
"What's your business here?" One asked cautiously.
"I wish to speak with your boss. My business is my own." The response was cool and steady.
The men glanced at each other through the rain. Confusion and uncertainty clouded their faces. The one in the middle stepped forward, rifle loosely aimed at its target. "This is private property. Peasants have no business here, especially women. Go home."
Not surprised by their conclusion, the said-woman reached under her cloak, soaked from the rain, and pulled out a piece of parchment with a very distinct signature flame. The other guards raised their weapons in response to her movements. The light from the infinitive flame revealed a small smile that already crossed her face behind the rain and shadows of the dark night.
"The boss doesn't engage in petty conversations with outsiders." The man said, turning his back to her.
"Sir," The guard to the left lowered his rifle, "Isn't that Vongola's Dying Will Flame?"
The man spun around and took a double-take on the parchment the woman offered in her hand. She extended a slender arm through the bars as he inched closer and took it.
"I was sent under direct orders from Vongola's Storm Guardian, on behalf of the Tenth."
The left guard quickly opened the gate and motioned her inside. "Our apologies ma'am, follow me."
Leaving the other two behind, he took the parchment and escorted his new accomplice out of the torrential weather inside, what appeared to be, a castle. It was difficult to examine the contours of the outside perimeter in pouring rain, but the interior was a welcoming sight.
"With all due respect, we weren't expecting the Vongola to send someone of your gender, especially at a time like this." He noted politely.
The woman returned a gentle smile. She pulled down the hood to her cloak, revealing dark, thick, wavy, brown hair plastered to her head and beautiful, dark brown eyes. The rain soaked through her clothing which now hugged her slender form.
She hoped for a quick meeting then change into something dry sooner rather than later.
The guard lead her up a very wide, curved staircase in front, to what seemed to be the fourth floor. She hadn't bothered keeping track of the many levels. Everything was beautifully decorated in red and gold decor over beige walls. At first glance, everything seemed picture-perfect. As her examination of the unfamiliar surroundings deepened, hidden markings were visible under fresh paint in various locations on the current level. Small cracks and dents were present if you looked hard enough.
Something was definitely thrown against the walls, or perhaps someone.
"Here we are." She broke away from her observations and turned to the speaker.
They stood at the top entrance to a long corridor. Several double-doors lined both sides with an elevator at the end. Laziness perhaps, or fear? She looked back at her escort, who now slowly retreated down the stairs. Before she could open her mouth in protest of his actions, he pointed to the room at the far left then disappeared out of sight.
The doors were slightly ajar. A quick sigh broke the silence as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Now wasn't the time for stalling.
She made her way to the dim light escaping the small crease. After a deep breath, a gentle hand reached for the door's brass handle, knowingly aware of what lurked on the other side.
BOOM!
Frames rattled against the walls of the corridor as the floor shook violently. The woman shifted her footing in order to prevent herself from losing balance.
"Please, Master Xanxus!" A yell escaped from inside. She froze.
The door opened as quickly as the violent shakes ceased. A middle-aged man came to an abrupt halt at the unexpected presence before him, holding his mid-section. His left eye was partly closed from the swelling and newly formed bruises appearing over his skin.
"Are you ok-"She asked confused, her outstretched hand still clutching the loose handle.
"Oh." He stared at her blankly for a moment. "You're here."
He carefully stepped aside quivering, trying to prevent any further damage to his body and whispered in her ear as she past. "The boss doesn't like to be kept waiting. Please hurry, and watch your head."
That last part only lead to uncertainty. Regardless, she gave the man another confused look before turning her attention to what lay ahead, and confidently walked in the room.
"You're late." A deep, rough voice coldly greeted her through the silence. She stole a glimpse at her watch. The time stated otherwise. If he wanted to play games, she would follow suit.
"If you have a problem with my tardiness, you can take it up with your men at the front gate." She responded coolly.
Waiting for a rebuttal, she tapped a button on her wristband as it began to send warnings.
There was no sense in arguing over small matters now, and she had no intentions of wasting every valuable second of her time on petty arguments. (No matter whom it was.) The woman cautiously moved around the tall chair to face her opposition.
This is the man who's feared by all? She thought. Slouched in a chair, feet crossed over a round table before him, and holding a glass of wine? Or was it something else? She couldn't tell.
Her conscience warned her not to test his patience, even if his own men were responsible for her imaginary delay. Time was not going to be on her side much longer. The sooner this was over with, the better.
"You must know why I'm here." She asked as coolly as before.
"Tch. Save yourself the trouble and get out."
His response was quick and stern. She could tell the man before her was no one she would want to mess with. Then again, his overall persona was quite fearsome. The information which was provided to her earlier was definitely not misleading. They did inform her of everything.
Unfortunately for him, nothing was going to stop her until she got what she wanted.
He took a drink from his glass without making any eye contact. The shadows from the fireplace hid part of his face with the exception of the light dancing off the rim. She couldn't quite get a good view. The flames projected warmth, yet the room felt the opposite. It was probably due to the weather and wet clothing, or was this something that went beyond human understanding? A chill swept down her spine.
"Surely, you've seen my file?" She asked with negotiating intents.
Xanxus scowled at her from the corner of his eye before staring back at the empty space before him. Those crimson eyes cut through her like a knife.
"I don't care what your business is with Vongola, here, you're only asking for death." He paused. "Don't make me tell you again. Get out."
His words were spoken in a fearfully low, yet dangerous tone. So, he did read her file.
However, there was still something unsettling in the atmosphere. Previous knowledge of his foul nature and offensive language from the Vongola were not quite present. Why was he so calm after the sudden rage that took place moments before? Not that she would know if this was his calm state or a pre-requisite to something fierce. It just seemed, off.
"Try me." She protested. "My business with the Vongola was transferred to your squad, the Varia."
Her sudden outburst of words even took her by surprise, but this wasn't the time to back down. She wasn't leaving until she was satisfied.
A small curve formed at the edge of his mouth. It was as if he finally heard the magic words to open Pandora's Box. "If you think you can go up against The Varia, I won't stop you. Just don't expect to come out unharmed. Or alive."
The woman crossed her arms and smiled warily at the challenge, despite the few haunting words. "If they're anything like the men at the gate, they won't last thirty seconds in my care."
"Those pieces of trash?" He examined the clear beverage in his glass amusingly before taking another drink. "I never said you were going up against those scum."
He turned to face her. The aura around him was completely unnatural. Her body slowly felt engulfed by fear, frozen in place. His eyes shared no emotion with their viewer and his body remained motionless as the chair itself. He stared long and hard, examining every inch of her that was visible. It was a poor sight to say the least; her clothes dripped on the red carpet after being soaked from outside. Despite the cloak hugging her small frame, Xanxus couldn't read her body movements easily.
She looked young, and there were no signs of hidden weapons under her clothing that he could see. Concluding she posed no threat at the moment, he didn't sense that maniacal urge to kill or to fight like his subordinates when given a mission. He tried to comprehend her notion of the Varia. Even her face showed no disturbance except for the slight glimmer in her dark eyes accepting his challenge.
How could the Vongola possibly believe she's worthy to be part of its independent assassination squad when she appeared fragile and ill-trained? He was starting to get irritated with the thought. This should have been an easy answer in terms of a yes or a no, so why was he contemplating someone who portrayed such little potential, especially a woman? His patience thinned.
"Go to the basement's ground floor." He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, "Now get out before I change my mind."
Without further question, she did as she was told. This is going to be a long night.
*{*}*
Footsteps echoed in the vast open space. The young woman stood in the center of an extremely large, empty room. Pipes of various lengths and widths stretched across the ceiling. There appeared to be some sort of observation room located mid-way up one of the walls too. She vaguely made out silhouettes moving behind its tinted windows.
Perhaps she was hallucinating.
The room reminded her of the training facilities she heard about within Vongola's underground base in Japan. That was beside the point though. She was more eager to face her challenge and finish this unnecessary objective as soon as possible. She looked at her wrist again. The small wristband flashed a one-minute warning.
"Ushishishi. Looks like it's time to play."
What the? The woman turned in the direction of the unexpected guest. She prepared to counter any assault coming from the broken silence but felt something brush past her. She stopped mid-turn. There were no windows leading to the outside, so that ruled out one explanation. If it wasn't the wind, maybe a weapon?
She faced the course of the obnoxious laugh. A young man with messy, dirty blonde hair and a striped shirt stood several feet away, holding oddly-shaped knives in both hands. Her eyes were momentarily drawn to the shine reflected from the object resting in his hair. A tiara?
With a simple gesture of his hands, she felt swift breezes of air move all around her body. In a moment it stopped, resulting in shreds of what was once her cloak now scattered on the ground around her. A deliberate miss.
"I wouldn't move if I were you, princess."
"Bel-senpai, your plan had no effect." A mono-tone voice interrupted. The blonde's disturbingly wide grin faded.
"No one asked for your opinion!" He snapped back.
It became transparent on the shredded pieces of fabric and the reflected light making it known around her; wire. Did he try to cut me? Or was this some kind of sick game? She stole a quick glance at her wristband once more, thirty-four seconds remained.
Damn, there isn't enough time for this child's play.
Another presence approached from behind at great speeds. Just how many are there?
Complaining wasn't an option if this was indeed, a real, legitimate test.
The woman reached for a well-crafted, ten-inch dagger from its holster on her right thigh. She swung around and countered the impending attack within half a second before two blades collided with each other. Small cuts appeared on her arms as the invisible wire loosened. The muscles in her arm and upper torso trembled at the overwhelming force from this new opponent. The attack didn't allow enough time for a proper counter, resulting in a poor stance. She wouldn't be able to hold that position much longer before her muscles collapsed under the pressure.
Without hesitation, she pushed forward and rebounded backwards off the new blade. Her muscles began to tingle. She looked down at her wristband. Five seconds left.
"Voi, don't think you'll get off that easy!"
Four.
Her new opponent rushed forward, blade ready.
Three.
Who was laughing?
Two.
There was no choice.
One.
The woman closed her eyes.
STOP!
The atmosphere was quiet. All was still for a moment. Her tight grip on the dagger loosened and fell carelessly to the ground. The sound echoed before fading into the silence once more. Rhythmic beats pounded against her outstretched hand. The sensation was soothing and overtook one's conscious mind.
She opened her eyes and was greeted with those of shock and horror from the man standing inches away. His shallow breathing caressed her face as their gaze locked. The long blade remained steady next to her neck, barely touching her skin.
He blinked in confusion. What the hell just happened?
She stopped him using her hand. He only noticed once the slight pressure was removed from his chest as she took a step back. His body had entered a brief state of paralysis through one word thought to have voiced itself inside his head. It sounded faint like a whisper pleading for mercy, but so clear. Who knew the impact a small word could have as it filled one's mind with a conveying message to halt all impending actions.
Another thing that caught his attention was her eyes. The sudden turn of events appeared to have stunned her as well as if she wasn't expecting the outcome. He began to feel vaguely uncomfortable for not breaking the gaze. There was something enthralling about those dark eyes. It was something gentle, almost hypnotizing, not the common stern look found in others. They were drawing him in like a carnivorous predator baiting its prey. Still, he couldn't sense any sensation to kill. It didn't make any sense.
He hoped for a welcoming distraction.
As if right on cue, his silent wish was suddenly granted by the ecstatic voice of a tall man with colourful hair and prescription sunglasses. Clasping his hands together in sheer personal enjoyment, the new disturbance had already entered the room.
"Hai!-"
The man paused as he noticed the group and the long sword still extended by its owner.
"Squalo!"
The sudden disappointed yell of his name startled the swordsman.
"Honestly, that's no way to treat our newest member!"
"Voi! What the hell are you talking about?" He swung his sword through the air in protest.
"The boss said so. Now," he looked the girl over, "we need to get you out of those clothes before you catch a cold."
Just like that, she was dragged out of the facility by the exquisite man, leaving his accomplices in a total stupor and oblivion.
*{*}*
Xanxus stood with arms crossed, observing the scenario below. There was something about the girl he found apprehensive. Yet, it amused him to see her target the shark above all others. Whether it was intentional or not, seeing his second-in-command come to a halt as if he were possessed would never get old in his mind.
"What do you think?"
A small form re-assembled itself, hovering in mid-air. The figure was no bigger than that of a baby, sporting a black hood and cloak with a bright indigo pacifier hanging from its neck.
"It wasn't an illusion." It responded.
Xanxus frowned. This meant only one thing.
"But there were no traces of deathperation flames used either. How fascinating."
His eyes narrowed at the infant's conclusion. It wasn't just coincidence that the damn shark would stop in the middle of an attack. There was no way. She did something, and it would only be a matter of time before he found out.