Shiori the Puppeteer
Sawada Tsunayoshi
[RulerOfCats]
"That's the thing about trust. It's usually given away too easily, and then squandered and abused. Perhaps that's why I trust nobody, least of all myself."
- Shiori Cervello
Chapter One
It was 7 minutes after midnight. The body was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Diego Moretti's mansion. Its eyes were closed. On its—his—lips was that one last smile, as if he had thought of a happy thought before he died, as if he were only sleeping. The boy was dead. There was a golden dagger sticking out of his chest.
I don't remember crying. I don't remember anything except the tan arm, blocking me from getting closer. That are was all I needed to remember that I was different. I was not wired the same way.
To always remain unbiased. That was, in fact, the great motto of the Cervello and has been followed throughout century after century. We weren't anything more than the servants of the Vongola, the Malfiore, the Mercotti. We were puppets in the master scheme and always forced to watch over everything and never interfere in what was to come.
I suppose this is where my story begins. I was born as the only Cervello to disobey, to have more in my brain than just what they told me. To run. I had no desire to look like them, think like them, or feel like them.
Cervello was a house filled with secrets they never thought to share with me, an outsider with insider's blood. As far as I was concerned, every kid was born there with a remarkably unremarkable upbringing in the more unconventional way of reproduction.
And thus, I was born. In the womb they had decided my future. They decided my demanding and special future to serve anyone in power. They decided at that moment how I would dress, they decided how I would act, they even decided how I was to look. That is until they found out what I was, or more specifically, what I was not.
I held no similarities to the Cervello family in thoughts. I had a different brain wave. A wire was cut. I wanted to go to school. I wanted to make friends. I wanted so much that I wasn't supposed to want. Most of all, I wanted a family that could love me. I, however, had even more to add to the list of what I didn't want to do.
In this world, shrouded in secrets and the dangers of the mafia world, with the time of rings and succession a thing of the past, Shiori was without belonging. She was without the inheritance promised. She was without duty to a family who would never want her.
In a world dominated by the Vongola, power, politics, and unimaginable danger, Shiori must carve her way into a system that is determined to chisel her out.
ψ(｀∇')ψ
In the dark. That was where she remained as she held out her hand towards the small dog, a small scrap of meat in between her fingers. Her eyes rose up in a gentle light as she watched him fill his much too skinny belly. Perhaps it was cruel to allow him to drag out the process of starvation, but Shiori could hardly help herself. Her mind and body were made of ice, but sometimes she allowed certain things to penetrate that shield.
He raised his beady eyes towards her, and Shiori Baskerville slightly smiled, showing off her small dimples and dark pink lipstick. The whimper for more made her smile drop. There wasn't more she could do, having given all her food to the passing animals. Instead, she raised to her feet with a sigh, walking towards the exit of the alleyway. Her heels were soundless with careful steps as she glanced to the side, watching the long black limo finally pull up to the building she had been waiting near for almost an hour. It was an extravagant Italian restaurant, fit for royalty and a menu that only those ready to spend a fortune at the drop of a hat could afford.
Shiori took out her compact mirror, adjusting her hair and making certain her makeup was on point. One hand still curled around the silk of her dress, bunched up in her palm, prepared to rather die than get the material dirty on the alley's post rainy pavement. She tucked her mirror into her bag and carefully exited the alley, merging in with the crowd who had slightly gathered in their attempt to catch sight of the man who just arrived.
Six men, clad in black Armani suits, exited all sides of the limo. They were careful, and well trained, to all make a blockade of the door that one robotically opened. All wore sunglasses, making it difficult to properly distinguish them apart from one another. From their blockade, however, Shiori saw a chestnut head of spiked hair peek out from just over the car.
She merged with the crowd, still clutching her dress in her hand as she wrapped her coat tighter around her body. It properly covered her much too revealing dress and added an air of sophistication to her small and petite form. Slowly she crossed the other end of the alley, already sending a quick text as a black car pulled up. She watched her driver open it for her and she sat inside, keeping her mouth closed and her expression blank as the car drove around the block and right back in front of that building.
She heard the door open from next to her and she was motioned with a single gentlemanly hand, to usher out the car. The man followed her to where the man in a black suit and sunglasses continued to watch the door to the building. Her lips slightly quirked up as she stepped outside and walked up to this man.
"Name," ordered the guard.
"Mercotti Ude," Shion answered, already knowing the real Ude wasn't about to attend due to the handcuffs that currently incapacitated her with enough tranquilizer that her and her staff would be out for a night.
She was let in with her charming smile as she followed the golden halls, lit with hanging lanterns. She walked forward until she reached a room that was circular with a great amount of chandeliers that were made with crystals and diamonds, fit for a king.
Shiori led her way, the waiter just barely behind her, towards a table where her dolls already awaited, just a couple seats away from the Neo Vongola Primo. Each raised their heads up to meet their master, and she sat in between their life like faces, all having every characteristic of a living and breathing human. Of course, they were not. She doubted if she could ever pull off something so dangerous with normal humans. Even the waiter's close proximity was making her skin crawl. At her presence, the men all rose to greet her, but she doubted Tsuna's bodyguards or Tsuna himself had realized that the Mercotti family had been replaced. She tapped her ring as the only sign of a nervous tick.
"May I take your coat, Miss Mercotti," asked the waiter and she obliged with a nod of her head.
"It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, lady Mercotti," said the first words of the fabled Vongola Decimo. Shiori doubted that very much, and if that were the case, she imagined he might have at least attempted to read up on her face. It wouldn't have mattered, in that she had already replaced all his information technicians with some of her own.
She had been supplying him with fake pictures for nearly a month. By now at least she could finally pick up her puppets. Controlling so many at once was exhausting and took much of her energy, nearly all of it.
"The pleasure is all mine, Master Sawada," she greeted, sitting down next to her 'husband'. Perhaps if Tsuna could better see through illusions, he might not be so surprised at the end of this night. Her smile was clear, and at her comment of 'master', she saw that he was taken aback for a mere moment.
Shiori didn't know what she was expecting when she saw the Decimo in person, but surely it wasn't his so very kind eyes that lightened up the room. They cast over her face and enveloped her in a warm glow. In this life, Shiori had forgotten that someone could look so inviting. "Please, just Tsuna."
The night was filled with conversation, mostly about the treaty between the Mercotti and Vongola, and it was perhaps, just as difficult as ever to control all five of her puppets on the Mercotti family. Even more than that, she had more stationed with the other Vongola family back at his base. That was the complicated part, hearing things said from them from her earpiece and making relevant replies from the distance and without sight. Meanwhile, she waited, patiently and precise on her moment, glancing towards Tsuna Vongola's ring only when necessary. It was stationed on a thin finger, not so far from her hand.
It was towards the end, right when they were wrapping up conversation, that she dropped some wine on his side of the table, slightly spilling it on his hand and expensive suit. "How clumsy of me," she said, reaching forward with her handkerchief. It was covered in lace and embroidered with flowers. Ironically, the most obvious technique was also the most unpredicted.
"Oh don't worry about it," Tsuna began to decline her aid, but he paused when she grabbed his hand, meeting his gaze. For a moment she saw a tinge of warmth on his cheeks, nearly causing her actions to waver.
"Thank you, Mrs. Mercotti," Tsuna said, and she smiled.
"Well, it's the least I can do. I'll have someone come with a sum for your suit," she said, watching him take step back, still holding her handkerchief in his hand.
"Don't concern yourself," he said, and she tilted her head to the side.
"I hope we meet again," she said, but desired the opposite because when she walked out the restaurant with her puppets at her side, she held his Vongola ring in her fingers. It was moments after she stepped out that she heard the commotion in the wake of her slide of hand.
Her lips curled up, glancing towards the black car that awaited her. She opened the door, leaving her puppets behind to face the mess. However, before she closed the door, with one leg inside the car, she turned her head, catching Tsuna rushing out the building with his armed guards at his side. She caught his eye and smiled, her bright and white teeth flashing and contrasting her arrogant gaze as she held up his ring in between her pointer finger and thumb.
"My handkerchief for your ring, it's been a pleasure, Sawada Tsunayoshi," she called out, just as guns raised up from Tsuna's men, all prepared to fire. Tsuna raised his hand, making them stop.
"You won't get far," he warned, and she chuckled.
"Please, by all means, chase me," she said, disappearing in her car. Tsuna watched it drive away.
"Capture her allies," he ordered and the plain faced men in suits, who were all once at that woman's side smiling the night away, were now expressionless and unmoving. They put up no fight and the moment Tsuna's men touched them, they collapsed into a pile of wood in the shape of men.
"What the fuck is that?" Miles asked, reaching forward towards the lump of a wooden man that once looked flesh and spoke like flesh.
Tsuna took a step forward, the wind ripping into his skin as he knelt down next to the wooden doll of a man he had only just learned had three kids. It was eerie and made a flash of nervousness rush up his spine. Only moments later his cellphone began to ring and he answered it on his Bluetooth after a small pause.
"Little busy Gokudera," Tsuna said, moving the doll a bit to examine it. It didn't feel special or magical, just normal like a doll.
"All our info specialists just turned into dolls," Gokudera said, his voice obviously flabbergasted. "I wouldn't believe it if I had not seen it, but-"
"I believe you," Tsuna said, interrupting Gokudera before the silver haired man could go on a spiel of apologetic dribbles and promising to seppuku himself for Tsuna's forgiveness.
"Do you have an idea of who it could be?" Gokudera asked, and Tsuna paused, glancing towards the direction where the car had turned the corner up ahead.
"I have an idea."
ψ(｀∇')ψ
After having to go through a variety of peace talks with the actual Uda Mercotti, Tsunayoshi Sawada slumped against his desk chair, rubbing his palms against his face as he let out a deep sigh. Frustration sunk into the crevice of his chest, his ring still nowhere to be found and the puppet woman had still yet to contact him with any demands in order for him to get it back.
"Tsuna, I ran her face through the interface," Shoichi said, walking into his office with a slight knock. In his hands were a stack of papers, and his hair was scattered in a mess with bags under his eyes.
"Have you gotten any sleep, Shoichi?" Tsuna asked, rubbing his temples.
"I slept a couple minutes," Shoichi admitted, but he quickly slammed a the heavy stack on Tsuna's desk, and began to separate them into piles. Each pile had a picture of that woman attached to a paper clip on the corner of the papers. In each photo the woman had a very different hair color. It was like looking at all the colors of the rainbow. "She is known in many countries to be an expert thief. She seems to appear every couple months, perform one huge heist, and then disappear to the other side of the world. She has made enemies of many of our very own rivals, including, starting today, Ude Mercotti, who wants you to send her this woman's uterus so she can roast it on her Hibachi."
"I would have liked not to know that last part." Tsuna sighed, glancing in between the pictures towards the woman who scammed him so greatly and nimbly stole his ring in such a way that Tsuna hadn't even felt it.
"In Italy, she's known as ladro puttana," he said as if speaking casually of tea. "What are your orders?"
"Barricade any exit to this city. Double the security, and don't be fooled by any of our men. Triple check them if you must. Make sure they are who they say they are," Tsuna ordered, and Shoichi nodded swiftly, leaving the files on and pulling out his tablet from in between his ribs and arm. He walked away whilst typing on it.
Tsuna just hoped he found this girl before the Mercotti family got their hands on her. He doubted Ude was joking when she said she would slow roast the woman on her grill.
ψ(｀∇')ψ
"I asked you not to do it."
"Can you sell it?" Shiori asked, examining the ring with such careful touch that she was nearly certain that the feel of it was engraved into her finger tips. She knew by the shine and the beauty of the stone, that Tsunayoshi Sawada took such care for it. Vongola were an old family, and while she never stole from them, she knew this would fetch a fair price.
Whoever holds the ring can get the opportunity to hold the power. Still, with just a pretty face and sweet words, Shiori had stolen it.
"Not here. Not in Japan," Hinamori Daisuki told her, his eyes trained on his laptop. She felt from the way he typed furiously on the keyboard that he was nervous. "I booked a flight in two days. Doubt there's a chance there won't be security everywhere. I asked you not to do it."
"I always make it back," Shiori commented, placing the ring back onto the hair clip, wrapping it furiously in a bow before securing it into her curls.
"You've never angered two families in one day," Daisuki reminded her. "This is a small country. There isn't too many places to hide and you tend to cause destruction wherever you go."
"Because I'm so pretty?" Shiori asked, twirling her purple hair around her pointer finger. It wasn't her favorite illusion of hair color, but it did the trick just fine.
Daisuki glanced up at her in a deadpan, his lips set in a straight line. "No."
"You're not very nice," she told him, watching as he gave her one last unamused glance before going back to his computer, likely attempting to erase her very existence from Japan. Shiori gave one last sigh, sitting up and motioning to walk out of the room.
"Please don't do anything rash. Stay on the down-low until you are in the clear," Daisuki ordered, causing her to shrug.
"I'll do my best," she said with a chuckle, walking out of the room. She took out her cellphone, seeing it flare to life with an unknown number. Shiori's brows furrowed in surprise, seeing that this was a new phone and that she had thrown away her old one not long prior.
She stared down at that number for a moment longer, already knowing how Daisuki would be angry with her for not immediately declining the call and throwing away the phone once more. She had never been able to resist much mischief, so she answered it with a grin.
"Why hello," she greeted with a smile as she walked down the stairs to the abandoned warehouse that wasn't as abandoned as it looked.
"So you answered." Tsunayoshi Sawada's voice wasn't filled with any anger and malice that Shiori deserved and expected. She grinned, twirling a strand of purple hair on her finger as she reached the last step, feeling it creak below her heel. She glanced out the window, as if expecting armed cars. She found none.
"Vongola Decimo," she greeted, biting her bottom lip in her smile. "How did you get this number?"
"I asked for it." Tsuna didn't elaborate, but once again, he left Shiori wondering where her mistake was in her actions. "You stole something that wasn't yours."
"That's how stealing works. Are you asking for it back?" This was perhaps the most polite conversation she had ever had with someone she had only just robbed. Daisuki would repeatedly scold her for even speaking to the Vongola boss, especially right outside of his place of work. The last thing Daisuki needed was another raid by the mafia.
"Would you return it if I asked?" Tsuna's voice was still so very polite, and if Shiori felt things like guilt, she might have apologized.
"Of course," she said without pause. "For a price I mean."
"You're proposing to sell back the ring you stole from me?" Tsuna's tone turned a shade darker, even deeper. Once again, if Shiori felt things like guilt, she might have backed down.
"Of course. It's not my fault you got so lost in my eyes," Shiori teased, walking out of the warehouse and feeling the moonlight soak into her skin. She wasn't imagining the way his eyes scanned her up and down when they first met. Had she not been 'married' at the time, she wondered if he might have asked her out on a date. She might have said yes.
"Ude Mercotti is livid," he said instead, ignoring her pointed comment.
"I think the black eye I gave her really goes well with her shoes-"
"If you give back what you stole, I can protect you from them," Tsuna said, interrupting her.
Shiori chuckled, "I hardly need protecting."
"I've locked down every exit out of Tokyou," he said, not pausing a moment to let her think about what he had done. "My men are searching every corner for you. If we find you, I could just drag you to Ude Mercotti and be done with it."
Shiori balanced on a dangerous game, but the thrill shot through her bones almost immediately. "Now, that was a very well done threat, but personally, I prefer medium raw. Juicier that way, don't you agree?"
"It was a vow," he said, and she glanced up towards the moon, her lips curling up in amusement.
"It's a full moon tonight," she said, and he paused, allowing her to continue. "This conversation could go from threatening to romantic so quickly if you like."
"You have until tomorrow morning to decide how you would like to act."
He hung up, and she stared at the screen with a smile, wondering if she were a normal girl and he was just a boy, she might have save his number into her contacts instead of breaking her phone entirely. She did, however, remember his number because, no, she wasn't a normal girl. However, she was still a girl.
ψ(｀∇')ψ
Gokudera was still screaming at Tsuna's bodyguards by the time he noticed that Tsuna was spaced out and staring out the window. An immense level of disappointment crashed upon the silver haired man's shoulders, lamenting that he couldn't better protect his boss.
After that, of course, Gokudera made certain to amp up the security to the point where men were signing a log before they could piss. Worse than that, Tsuna looked rather distant, and that made Gokudera feel worse in that he wasn't properly able to care for his boss.
Tsuna, in the meantime, still tapped his leg with a nervous twitch. It had been so long since he'd taken off the ring that he forgot how powerless he felt without it. He jumped lightly when a buzz vibrated against his desk in the sound of a text message. It buzzed again before he had time to bring his palm towards it.
Tsuna slightly smiled when he saw it, catching Gokudera's attention. "Is something the matter, Juudaime?"
"No. No everything's fine. I'm okay, Gokudera," Tsuna assured uptight guardian with a smile. Gokudera looked unconvinced, but he had other duties to attend to in he form of yelling at more of the Vongola staff for not getting suspicious that their information devision was breached.
Tsuna glanced down at his phone, seeing a message from an unknown number with a picture of his men stationed outside the Namimori airport. It was captioned with the words, All this for little old me? - Love your secret admirer
Tsuna knew he should report the number to Gokudera, but he didn't. He knew it was foolish, but he had spent so long trying to be 'Vongola Decimo', that he had forgotten what it was like to go back to being 'Stupid Tsuna'.
ψ(｀∇')ψ
"Just give back the ring," Daisuki begged, glancing out his window for any signs of Mafia cars. Not that the Mafia had any specific types of cars. He was just on edge, looking for any cars whatsoever.
"Daisuki, you've never been one to get so scared off from one tiny little hiccup," Shiori answered, not even glancing up from her phone. She continued to chuckle every once and a while from different Instagram memes.
"I was followed the other day. I don't care what or from whom you decide to steal in any other country, but Japan is mine."
"Pretty sure that's not true, but whatever," Shiori said, noticing a new text message the moment she was about to close her phone. She clicked on it, glancing at the contact name set as 'Vongola Hottie'.
"Just go back to your home country and leave mine alone," Daisuki said, glancing out the window again.
"I'm half Japanese, dude," Shiori commented, standing up and answering her phone with a swift brush of Italian, of which Daisuki wasn't the best at understanding. "What's up, hot stuff?"
It went silent on the other end, making Shiori briefly wonder if the Vongola boss didn't know any Italian. "What?"
He answered her in Italian, making her smile as she blew a kiss towards Daisuki and he sent her his middle finger in return. It made her smile as she headed down the stairs in a rush to get on her jumper and perhaps shop just a little in the market. What Daisuki didn't know wasn't about to hurt him.
"What? You must realize that you are a 15 out of 10," Shiori told him, smiling as she adjusted her wig and put on her sunglasses.
"How does 10 million sound?" Tsuna asked instead, causing Shiori to raise a brow in surprise.
"I mean, I'm not complaining about bit of free cash."
"In exchange for the ring."
"You really know how to play a girl." Shiori realized, with swift amusement, that she was flirting with him.
"100 million for the ring," Tsuna repeated, and now Shiori paused, taking in the sight of the concealed sun that illuminated the sky. It was rather cloudy, making her wonder if it was about to rain. She sighed, noticing she wasn't dressed for such weather. She yanked open the garage while the phone remained tucked in between her ear and shoulder.
"As wonderful as I find that deal that you offered me, I've gotta ask, not a lot of mafia bosses are so quick to make a deal with me after I steal their shit."
"It's a small ring on a small girl in a big country. The odds of you finding your way out are stacked high against me," he told her, and she chuckled, walking over to her car and patting it like a child.
"How about this," she said as she got into her the back seat of her car while her puppet remained in the same position in the front seat. She tapped her finger and the puppet immediately sprung to life and began to drive. After all, he wouldn't be recognized by traffic cameras while she of course would. "How about I give you the ring, but for no less than 300 mil? How does that sound?"
"..."
"Cause that's how much my buyer is offering, and let me tell you, I'm very quick to disregard my morals and ethics in exchange for money."
"Yes. Yes I can see that." Tsuna let out a slight sigh. "150 million."
"I'm like, positive, that my exact words were: 'no less than 300'."
"I heard you," Tsuna's voice was clipped, beginning to go cold. "How about I give you 200 million and my forgiveness."
"Forgiveness is quite a thing to offer, but I'm not certain that it's worth 100 million."
"If you don't want it, then I'll give you an ultimatum," he said, and she slightly smiled.
"And what's that?"
"In about five minutes I can have the Cervello in here and they would be quite curious as to your recent scams."
Shiori felt her blood run cold in her veins, and it rather felt like ice. "Cervello? I have no idea what that is. Is it a brand of pasta?"
"Shiori Cervello. Has a rather nice ring to it. Was not your birth name though, was it? Ah." Tsuna was getting his fun and Shiori heard the distinct sound of papers ruffling in the background. "Aurora Cervello."
"Do those documents have my weight on it too? Cause I feel like I've gained some weight with all this added stress."
"200 million and the Vongola forgiveness," he offered and she paused, thinking about how long such a sum might hold her. With her spending habits and love for beautiful scenery, she could only guess that it might hold out for half the year. Perhaps she should consider investing. Her nose wrinkled at the thought.
It might, however, be nice to have some portion of the mafia to not always be out looking for her. More than that, it was better if the Cervello still thought she was dead.
"How about the 200 mil, your forgiveness, and immunity."
"180 mil." Tsuna didn't even pause, causing her to laugh.
"200 million and full immunity or I'm walking with it," she told him, she heard his sigh from the other end. "Or, I can just cast it in the middle of the ocean because I'm petty as fuck."
"Immunity. Fine. You can have it," he finally agreed.
"Okay handsome," Shiori said, hearing silence on the other end. Perhaps not a lot of women flirted with him, which worked out for her since he seemed so entirely inexperienced. "How about we do the switch somewhere nice and expensive?"
"Are you asking me out on a date?"
Shiori slightly smirked, not as clueless as I thought. "I've worked up quite the craving for sushi while I was in hiding."
"You're serious."
"I never joke about sushi." Shiori paused, having not asked the important question of his actual relationship status. Either way, if he wasn't single now, she'd make sure he was by the time she was through with him. "Are you turning me down handsome?"
"Not...particularly," he said after a long pause that actually made her wonder if she was about to get rejected. She couldn't exactly blame him, considering she was after his money and she did make him seem like a complete fool.
"You and me, breakfast at Tiffany's?" Shiori commented and he paused.
"That's a jewelry store," he told her, hearing her very light chuckle from the other end.
"I know. I would like to start spending early if I'm going to be the proud owner of that much money." She slightly smiled, feeling her pulse was actually skyrocketing at every silence. This wasn't something that has ever happened before, so when it hit her, she was unprepared.
She heard his exasperated sigh, as if he already knew what he was about to say was stupid, but he was going to say it anyway. "What time?"
ψ(｀∇')ψ
"Would you say these earrings make me look like Audrey Hepburn?" Shiori asked the man behind the glass counter. She was dressed in a rather sixties style, with her hair up in an intricate bun, because she was incredibly dramatic.
"Hepburn was a bit more classy," Tsuna's voice rang out from behind her, causing her to turn her head with a smile, the earrings that she had on were rather small, not so ostentatious. However, the necklace was huge, riddled with diamonds that were looped in intricate designs on a track of gold in the middle, all connected with beads of pearls.
Nowhere to be seen were Tsuna's many guards, and she slightly smiled, holding out her hand that he glanced down at with suspicion. He didn't hold out his own, instead, his eyes were caught on the black dress that hugged her curves.
She grabbed his hand, bringing him close to her so she could show him the necklace that rested against her collar bone. "Does it not make me look rich?"
"It would if you owned it," he commented lamely.
"Oh, you're quite right. Buy it for me then, love," she gave him a sweet smile that made him sigh. He walked right into that, head first.
"That will be apart of the sum," he reminded her, but she gave him a devious smile that made his traitorous heart leap. "How much?"
"20.5 million for the necklace. 10 million for the earrings, sir," the man said, watching as Tsuna turned his gaze back to the girl that was wearing such a huge sum of money with an innocent smile that contrasted her not so innocent actions. He didn't even know the stores carried something so expensive. "It's from a private collection. I'm not even supposed to show it, but I just can't say no to that face." Shiori gave him a sheepish smile.
Tsuna leaned forward, examining the necklace with a kind and deceiving smile. He then leaned into her ear, so the store owner couldn't hear what was being said. "Are you the devil?"
Shiori's lips curled into a smile. "Dear, such harsh insinuations from such a man with a great reputation for kindness."
Tsuna frowned, "This is coming from the agreed upon sum."
"Consider it your down payment, dear," she told him with a sweet smile.
Tsuna took a step back, pulling out a card from his wallet and handing it to the man with a defeated sigh. "I'll take it."
"You'll—both of them?" The clerk didn't fight it, grabbing Tsuna's card with a polite smile.
"It's not everyday that they make such a wonderful sale. I think I'll wear this out," she said, slightly smiling as she caught the eye of the security guard stationed at the exit. She have him a quick flirtatious glance before draping onto Tsuna's arm. "What a beautiful gift, love."
"Hm," Tsuna said, not looking particularly amused by her very impressive round of manipulation and blackmail. The clerk was amusing himself checking ID and making the payment that would likely give him a hefty sum of commission. Tsuna took that moment to inspect Shiori's hands, finding that her left hand had a blue diamond ring, the band in the shape of a diamond leaf, fitting her persona with perfect grace. He noticed she even had a beautiful heart shaped bag, fitting well in her very expensive outfit.
"Do you like it?" Shiori raised the bag. "It's the 1001 Nights Diamond Purse."
"Where's my ring?" Tsuna asked and she scoffed.
"You think I would wear that?" Shiori asked, running her hand along her hips to feel the smooth material of her dress. "It's currently in possession of a puppet. I haven't the faintest idea where they are."
"Do you find pride in being a thief?" Tsuna didn't say it maliciously. He sounded genuinely curious, wondering what things she could have stolen to earn such an offensive branch of nicknames. Shiori gave him one last sweet smile.
"It's not like that. I just know what I want. If I don't have the means to get it, I take it by whatever means necessary," she explained, running her fingertips over the necklace. He scrutinized her once again, before a large frown settled on his light pink lips.
He leaned closer, so to the onlookers, it seemed as if he were romancing a paramour. Instead, his blood was boiling and he was much too aware of the scent of her perfume. It nearly clouded all his senses and made him forget what he had made a point to tell her. "Don't tell me you stole the Vongola ring to get a necklace."
She was silent, leaning into his body with a sultry brush of her hips. She felt him freeze, and she was keenly aware of how his body seemed to react to her touch. Perhaps were the situation much different, he'd be unzipping her dress by now.
"Like I said," she whispered, leaning up towards his ear. He froze once more, especially since her palm was pressed against his neck so she could stead herself on her tippy toes in black heels. "I see what I want and I take it." As she leaned down, her gaze caught his. She was able to see all the color in his eyes, and found them, for lack of a better word, mesmerizing.
She chided her hormones, attempting to push back the fact that she knew she wanted him. Judging by the way he quickly backed up and cleared his throat, he wasn't completely unaffected by her either. It didn't do much to control the fact that her heart was pounding, but it did help her intense layer of pride.
"Let's get the trade over with," he said, and she took a deep breath, placing her smile back against her lips.
"What's the rush, Tsunayoshi?" Shiori toyed with her new earrings, the diamonds hanging heavy on her lobes. In the meantime, she thought about stripping him down and running her hands over his body. The fact that the way he looked at her matched her torrent of desires made the entire thing not so easy to resist. This went especially for her since she had no willpower when it came to shiny shit and beautiful men.
"Do you know what Ude Mercotti wants to do with you?" Tsuna asked casually, just as the store clerk returned.
"I'm not actually in her group chat," Shiori said with a sultry smile towards the clerk who handed Tsuna back his black card. Tsuna glanced over to her, trying to control the reddening of his cheeks when she caught him staring a bit too long. She sent him a small blow of a kiss that succeeded in making him turn his head away from her just as quickly.
Just moments later, the sound of Shiori's phone ringing took her away from flirting with the Neo Vongola Primo. She raised a brow, sending Tsuna one last smile and answering the phone. "Skank."
Shiori recognized the voice of Ude Mercotti quite well, and she let out a soft chuckle. "Speak of the devil and she may appear."
Tsuna looked visibly surprised, if not worried, but Shiori had trouble believing that someone could worry about their blackmailer. Tsuna might have been the nicest mafia boss she had ever met in her life, but he was still a mafia boss. She couldn't allow herself to forget that, despite the fact that she could picture herself straddling him over the jewel casings.
"I'm just calling to see how you are fairing, skank," Ude told her, but Shiori was timing the seconds she spent on her phone. She had to make certain that it did not go over a certain amount of seconds, lest the call be traced.
"Can you believe the amount of times I'm called the skank?" Shiori told Tsuna, who made a motion with his hands for her to break her phone by now. Again, she wondered why he seemed to care about her mistakes. Ude Mercotti catching her could only end up benefiting him. "Mrs. Mercotti, it wasn't moi who was tied in a delectable position not too long ago. You kinky little bitch."
"Just for that I'm not going to kill you, skank, I'm going to break you."
The seconds rolled up fast, and Shiori crushed her phone with one hand. "Someone has to teach her how to do a proper threat. How did she even get this number? It was new."
"You need to be more careful with who you trust," Tsuna said, and she glanced up at him in surprise. "Anytime there is a problem with information getting out, it usually means there's a leak."
Shiori had very little trust, so she had no problem accepting that. "I don't trust anybody, Tsuna. If I were betrayed, I'd weed them out and they'd know they chose the wrong side. That's just the kind of girl I am."
Tsuna glanced at the girl, wondering how such a talented woman could squander her life on misdeeds. He certainly made many mistakes and lord knew that he had even more regrets. He regretted pushing Kyoko away, regretted losing faith in their relationship, and even more so, he regretted not regretting being by her side. Still, he was never intentionally cruel. He made that promise during his Vongola trials where he promised to make the Vongola better, or destroy it altogether with his own hands.
Still, he knew it was foolish, even for him, to go on protecting some girl from the Mercotti. Still, that was just who he was and despite the harshness of his training, nothing managed to snuff that out. In fact, Reborn often encouraged his kindness. So yes, Tsuna had regrets, but he made necessary decisions. Kyoko was his first love, but it was because he loved her so much that he knew that she would be happier, even if she didn't realize it, with a normal civilian life. He thought a lot about all the trouble and worry he brought her, and knew that despite her smile, she never stopped worrying.
Shiori sent Tsuna a glance, inspecting his kind face and wide gaze. It was all very endearing, but endearing was dangerous, a bit too close to respect, and respect was a bit too close to fond. She couldn't be fond of the Neo Vongola Primo. She wanted his money, not him.
"Are you ready to continue our date?" Shiori offered, causing Tsuna to balk.
"D-Date? This isn't a d-date!" He said in a loud hiss, causing the guards in the giant jewelry store to glance over to the flustered boss. Shit why is he so endearing.
"Come on. I can't wait to show you all the other stuff you can buy for me," she told him, dragging him out of the store sporting her newly paid for items, brushing off the clerk's offers of bagging it. As they exited the store, a small child walked up to the two of them with a red balloon in her hands. Tsuna sent her a gentle smile that made Shiori chuckle. "It's not a real child, Tsuna."
"What?" Tsuna had never seen someone with her abilities, so he couldn't help but be weirded out with the way the child's lips curled into a very realistic grin.
"I'll take it from you." The small girl held out her hand, and for a moment Tsuna saw a flicker of the Mist type flames emitting from in between Shiori's fingers, acting and looking like strings on a puppet. The strings flickered and disappeared once Shiori handed over her smashed phone. "I shall take it far from here."
"That'd be wonderful," Shiori said with a happy clap, before she placed her fingers against Tsuna's suit and pulled him towards her. He almost immediately sprung into action, pulling her body further against his and turning them so her back was facing towards the building. She was so close she could smell his suit, and it was a lingering scent of coffee mixed with an earthy cologne that nearly intoxicated her. Still, she was so close she was able to feel his toned muscles from beneath her palms.
He pressed his fingers against his head, signifying that there was a communication device in his ear. "It's fine. Stand down. Do not fire."
She was stupid, having let her guard down and she hadn't realized that of course Tsuna had brought backup. Sure, she wasn't known for extensive violence, but that didn't mean it wasn't in her record. She thought back to Spain and that mob boss's fingers whom she had forcibly removed. Of course Tsuna did his research, and she did hers as well. He was almost squeaky clean and beyond kind. It was nearly disgusting to read, let alone watch. She spent months gathering intel, and found so much more than she meant to, but none of it was what she wanted. He had no skeletons in his closet, no dark side, nothing she could exploit with her usual methods. However, he was foolish and young so she thought seduction and infiltration was her next best method. She never thought she'd be this close and be thinking about how good he smelled instead of the prize.
"Aren't you prepared?" Shiori whispered, staring up at him. He glanced down at her, their gazes connecting for a moment too intimate for both of their liking. He barely realized that his palm was on her waist, the thin material of her black dress feeling much too good beneath his skin. More than that, she had the most beautiful eyes. They were a golden honey, molten and glistening. He didn't even know what he was doing anymore, but eyes were upon him at every moment so he quickly separated from her. "Shall we go collect your ring then?"
Shiori abandoned the rest of her plan of extortion, already knowing she needed to make the trade and get out of Japan as soon as possible. Despite her big talk, Ude Mercotti made her nervous, as did the foreboding feeling that someone on her team betrayed her. There were too many threats to her life and now a new threat to her heart. Then again, she doubted her feelings for Tsunayoshi Sawada stemmed from her heart.
"What about the rest of your extortion?" Tsuna asked, tilting his head to the side. She slightly smiled, and pressed a single finger against her lips.
"I don't need to extort you anymore than I already have, Tsuna," she told him, and he slightly frowned. "Let's go. Tell your men they might want to to run fast."
Tsuna looked confused but moments later a black car squeaked down the road and slammed to a break just in behind her. The mist flames were once more back in strings around her fingers, and Tsuna saw the way she controlled them effortlessly, as if each string were a different function. The black car blocked Tsuna from sight of his guards, and caused a sprinkle of nervousness sprinkle into his heart.
"I'm not gonna tell you the location of the ring, but I will take you there," Shiori held up her hand and placed it on her chest, in between her breasts. "Scout's honor."
"I have a hard time believing you were ever a scout..." Tsuna said with a sigh, glancing to the left, as if someone were talking to him through his receiver in his ear. "I'm not getting in the car alone with her." Tsuna assured this through his communicator, causing Shiori to smile.
"Well, you're definitely not taking a bunch of men in my car, stinking it up with testosterone and gunpowder," she chuckled. "Tell you what, Tsuna, I'll let you bring one." She held up a finger, and mist flames twisted over her hand in the shape of strings. The car door opened, and a man in a suit stepped out with a robotically blank and eerie expression. He opened the door wide for them, standing next to it unfeeling.
Tsuna rubbed his temple, and in that moment, Shiori knew that whoever was speaking to him in his receiver was probably going to be slightly annoying. Moments later, Hayato Gokudera walked towards them in his black suit. His stare was deathly intense, and Shiori sent him a kiss through the wind that made his lips curl in a snarl.
"I'm Shiori, nice to meet you Gokudera Hayato."
"I know exactly who you are," Gokudera forced out, his tone incredibly unfriendly.
"Gokudera-kun," Tsuna warned, causing Gokudera's gaze to snap to his boss. Those eyes slightly warmed, sharing a strong bond of trust that someone like Shiori could never understand.
"I'm not gonna play nice with her just cause she's pretty," Gokudera said in a gruff tone. This caused Shiori to snort, stepping into the black car, bringing her dress up in her palm as she scooted inside. This simultaneously exposed a lot of leg as she moved, and she sent the two boys one last flirtatious smile.
"I'm happy you find me attractive, but focus on getting your boss his ring back. Get in, or I'm out and I'll simply sell it to the highest bidder," she told them, taking out her lipstick and using the mirror of the car to reapply it onto her lips. "I want you two to remember that I'm doing Tsunayoshi a favor. I could have sold it to anyone or dropped in the ocean out of sheer pettiness. Still could. Get in or I'm out of this deal. Too much trouble, not enough prize."
It was safe to say it was a very awkward and uncomfortable car ride with Shiori hiding behind a smile, Gokudera muttering profanities, and Tsuna trying to calm his storm guardian. She, in the meantime, couldn't understand why Tsuna would want to take his obviously temperamental guardian at his side for a covert mission instead of someone who had more self control.
"Just out of curiosity, why take alongside the hothead octopus instead of the calm, gentle, hottie that is Takeshi Yamamoto?" Shiori asked, crossing her legs with a mocking smirk. "I'm asking for a friend."
Gokudera's eyes looked positively murderous. "Everything you just said makes me want to shove a stick of dynamite so far up your ass that it shoots out your skull."
"Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna warned once more, causing Gokudera to curse and take his hand out of his suit's pocket to do exactly as he threatened.
"My my," Shiori whispered. "Something tells me we won't be bffs after this, will we?"
Despite the tense situation, Tsuna found himself wanting to laugh. He quickly covered his mouth with his palm, turning his head away from the two in an attempt to hide it. Gokudera obviously did not have the same reaction and instead let out more mutters under his breath, many obviously not very nice.
However, Gokudera was attentive to the way her fingers would twitch and move every couple minutes, and small indigo flames in the shape of strings would become visible for a split second before disappearing entirely. She caught him glancing over and raised a brow, waiting for him to ask.
"You stationed many wooden dolls around our base, how did you manage that?" Gokudera asked gruffly, obviously annoyed for not figuring out her methods all in his own.
"The truth?" Shiori whispered, and Tsuna's attention had been drawn since his curiosity on the matter was always vibrant. After all, she replaced Fiko Falcon, and he was someone Tsuna had a full conversation with not long before his ring was stolen. Even an illusion had its limits and Shiori's seemed much more powerful and unique in application than many other Mist or illusion techniques.
"Yes, obviously," Gokudera told her with a roll of his eyes.
"Have you heard of box weapons, Vongola?" Shiori glanced in between the both of them, seeing that they had frozen completely. "Strange that you have, but Vongola intel gathering must be very advanced."
They of course knew it, their battles in the future when they had been younger had been a series of trials. Tsuna thought he had erased box weapons from existence after he burned all of Geppetto Lorenzini's research. Tsuna felt his blood run cold at the new information in his mind.
"They appeared not long ago, on the market for minuscule jobs like hits and heists of high quality and caliber," Shiori explained and she either didn't realize that the two Vongola had turned deathly pale or she simply didn't care. Gokudera figured it was the latter.
"Whose selling them?" Tsuna asked, his voice raising in level. Shiori gave him an incredulous once over, obviously not taking him very seriously, judging by the look she had in her eyes.
"Listen, I'm not sure you know how to do this whole acquiring info thing that you have going for you, but logically one would be more inclined to partake in girl talk if the other party were to offer something of equal value before asking for something." Shiori let out a soft laugh, her black heels and black dress becoming all the more revealing when most of her long legs became visible.
"Juudaime, we don't need her intel. I request permission to blow her up," Gokudera said in a humorously professional tone of voice. Meanwhile, Shiori never seemed to stop smiling their way.
"I'm only kidding. See, Hayato-kun, this is why we would have such a hard time being friends. No sense of humor," Shiori taunted, and he looked visibly offended at her familiar use of his name. Tsuna looked to be more uncomfortable with the entire car ride, but still, he put it aside to give Shiori that intense look that basically asked her to open her chest wide, lest the pressure causes it to cave in entirely.
"Shiori-san," he whispered, and she was caught up on the fact that this was the first time he ever said her name. To be 24 and around beautiful men. It just might be her undoing. "Please tell us all that you can."
Shiori was silent for a long moment. "It's hard to say where their labs are stationed. I, and many of my," Shiori paused, wrinkling her nose, "colleagues, usually meet up with mediators. The middle men. Those middle men don't even meet up with me anymore, and instead the puppets. They created my first prototype a couple weeks back as per my request." Shiori took out a small indigo box, and it fit in the palm of her pale hand. "It was rather cheap, so long as I invest in their research and advertise their product to the big mafia groups."
"That's why you stole the Vongola ring," Tsuna whispered, as if the pieces of the puzzle had began to fit together.
"My methods of advertisement aren't infomercials and beautiful flowing hair, even if my hair is gorgeous," Shiori agreed, pausing to glance over at Tsuna. "Sorry to get you involved but let's have no hard feelings."
"Juudaime, I ask official permission to blow this bitch up," Gokudera said, and this nearly caused Tsuna to sigh. Instead, he placed his hand firmly on Gokudera's shoulder to steady him.
"Their products, how reliable are they?" Tsuna asked, gauging if they were any different than his memory. It didn't help that her box weapon was so unique from the ones of his memory. It wasn't an animal and was immensely powerful. It made him worry that he was falling behind. He couldn't prevent the box weapons from entering his field of existence, but now that they were here, he had to at least make sure that his family had and could use them.
"Completely," Shiori said, noticing the look in Tsuna's eyes. She began to wonder if this was not the first time he had seen them. "Anyway, you've got time still to catch up. They are only selling them to high profile thieves and killers. They're making their way to the mafia families through means very similar to mine. If anything, with me you got lucky." Shiori sent Gokudera a wink as the car came to a stop. "You're welcome."
Gokudera didn't threaten to blow her up or actually act out the process of blowing her up, so she assumed that was some semblance of progress if she ever saw one. The tenth and the silver haired hottie were good friends, trusting of each other in ways Shiori never could.
That being said, she would rather they could part on terms as close to hospitable as possible. Hiding from the full force of the Vongola family was not impossible, but it was annoying and unnecessary. The sooner she got to Switzerland, the better for all parties involved.
She just needed to brush up on her French. Luckily the Cervello were good tutors, even if they were a garbage family. She leaned forward, having her awaiting charges move with the puppeteer strings that wrapped around her fingers with indigo flames. She knew from her puppets that they were alone on the pier, overlooking the beach. Not often would people visit this particular beach at this time of the year, due to the chill of the winter and the fact that the rocks would often get dangerous and sharp.
"Coast is clear, darlings," Shiori said with a smile as her puppets opened both doors. This allowed each of them to get out on opposite ends.
"A beach?" Gokudera said with a deep frown.
"Technically we are on the pier."
"You didn't actually toss the ring in the ocean?" Tsuna sad with a deep frown.
"Don't be silly. I didn't bring my bikini." At her comment, both of the Vongola family let out an exasperated sigh. She twisted her hand, making an intricate symbol with her fingers and in moments one of her puppets floated from the ocean, but there was no effort in this one, it being just a wooden doll. It was lifeless and barren. Shiori smirked, turning back towards the Vongola boss. "I expect that money, Tsunayoshi Sawada."
Tsuna glanced towards Gokudera, and the storm guardian looked to be contemplating setting the thief on fire. Shiori glanced carefully as Gokudera took out his phone, ready to transfer the funds. He didn't get the chance as a crash of fire flared out towards them, forcing Shiori to use her indigo flames to bring her puppets to cover her. She glanced towards Gokudera and Tsuna, her blood curdling.
The choices between right and wrong made up her life, and becoming who she tried to be was usually the consequences of those choices. She cursed, at the last moment, using her puppets to attempt to toss the both of them into the ocean. She quickly grabbed onto the ring that was bound around the lifeless wooden doll's finger and a Mammon chain, tearing it off and jumping into the water. She was swift to slip the ring on her finger, hoping that she didn't lose it when the fires raised from behind her. She could only hope that Gokudera and Tsuna were strong enough to manage with the opening she gave them when her two puppets shielded them from the fires for those valuable seconds.
She couldn't breathe under water, but she was nervous at the outline of red that aligned the pier in a blaze from what she did see through the blue. She reached to her side, searching for her box. Seeing it from underneath the water, even though her eyes were amazing, was difficult. She wanted to scream with the frustration that she lost her box weapon, but that would only let the water rush into her mouth and she sure as hell wasn't stupid.
She felt a hand grip her waist, and she attempted to shrug it off. That was difficult since she was submerged, and water was an awful binding against her arms. Still, she attempted her best and went to strike him, only to stop when she saw Tsuna's narrowed and bright amber eyes, very different from what she was used to. He gripped her harder, and managed to produce a flame under the water. Still, even with that scary look in his eyes, he managed to retain that gentle expression.
They shot up from the water, and Shiori clung to him, not prepared for the rush of cold and the fact that she was wearing a very expensive, but not very warm, dress. "What is that? Magnesium?" She hadn't seen sky flames before, and surely not underwater. Still, she knew what they were when she saw them.
"I'll protect you," Tsuna promised, shooting right and away from the water serpent made of Rain flames. Obviously, the Mercotti had managed to get ahold of boxes as well, which didn't sit too well with Tsuna or Shiori for entirely different reasons.
"My hero," Shiori cooed unenthusiastically before her eyes widened. "Oh my god!" Her fingers flew up to her ears, her heart drumming with panic.
"What is it?" Tsuna asked, his voice deep and slightly surprised.
"My earring! One is missing. Drop me! I have to find it," Shiori ordered, and Tsuna was nearly tempted to do so with his level of exasperation.
"What's more important, an earring or your life?" Tsuna's voice raised, not something he usually did, but she had surprised him yet again.
"Why are those my only options? They are both important! I never even took a selfie with it on!" Her exclamation managed to catch him off guard, and she noticed the catapult of waves, surely aided by the fact that they were above a fucking ocean, headed their way. She seemed to notice a couple moments before him, so they were held captive by the mere fact that they were up in the air and the water was everywhere. She didn't have her box, but she still had two puppets in the vicinity that could do something.
She reached out her hand, her mist flames covering her fingers and she pulled the strings towards her. In doing so, her two puppets came, one basically lifeless and the other usually her driver. It was enough. They covered her and Tsuna on both sides, taking the hit for them. Tsuna was quick to dart up, but his attack was limited with her in his arms and the men on the pier were not making it possible to land.
"Drop me," Shiori ordered, taking off her remaining earring and slipping it into her bra.
"What? No," Tsuna was too quick to reply, dodging another two blasts from below, barely visible through the smoke of the fire.
"I'm not a child. We are over a large body of water. Drop me," she ordered, and he stared into her eyes for a split second, obviously reluctant.
"They are firing at you, not me," Tsuna reminded her, his resolve set.
She moved her strings, forcing her falling apart puppets to cover her and Tsuna for a split moment. "You're adorable." She pulled him forward, pressing her lips to his. It was wet, not because they were overly moist kissers, but rather because they were both covered head to toe in salt water. Still, she liked it enough to make her nearly not want to bite his lip so hard. He let her go in surprise, and she fell into the water before he could stop it.
He was right about the Mercotti intentions to kill her. The serpents had followed her into the water, and they wrapped around her ankles before she could get away. She thrashed, but box weapons were tough and she was wearing a very impractical dress. Illusions were tough work against Rain flames, especially since water had a way of purifying them. Still she didn't always fight with boxes, and she got by just fine in the past without them.
She had a hard time moving, but she grabbed one of the serpents by the head, spreading her Mist flames as best she could since she was under the fucking water. Her nails dug in and in moments everything grew still. The serpent blinked, as if it could no longer see her as she was, and instead it stared at its twin snake who had taken her appearance. It lunged, unwrapping its winding body from around her waist and giving her just enough movability to escape. That was well enough for her since she was running out of oxygen and didn't want to end up fucking drowning after all her big words to Tsuna.
She emerged from the water with a deep breath, careful to check her bra if her diamond was still there. She sighed, seeing that it was and so was Tsuna's ring. He fought from above, and successfully drew the attention of the Mercotti's attention away from her.
She could probably escape now, and they would all be none the wiser. Mercotti and Vongola were distracted and it wasn't like she was empty handed. She had the Vongola sky ring and at least some diamonds. Perhaps she should just call it a day and get to Switzerland, leaving this stupid country behind her and relaxing by a beach and not in the god damned water.
"What the hell is that?" Shiori whispered to herself, her chest drumming with adranaline and... "Guilt? What the fuck Shiori? You stole Ianniello's cocaine out from under him even though you were tripping off shrooms and fucking him."
She groaned, swimming to the shore and wondering if she was in over her head. She knew mafia. They weren't forgiving and if Ude Mercotti caught her, she was certain that she might get her tits cut off and stitched on her head.
Shiori was coughing up salt water, attempting to be fucking quiet about it once she got to the shore. Her dress was wet, sticking to her body in an unsavory and uncomfortable way with sand wedged so far up her crack that she might have to shove a vacuum hose up her ass just to get it out. Her nose wrinkled, laying back on the sand, not giving a shit anymore about the fact that she was now covered in it and one of her Stuart Weitzman heels was fucking missing.
She was going to shove her remaining one into Ude Mercotti's fucking skull.
She glanced back up towards Tsuna, wondering where the fuck Gokudera had disappeared to, only to see him not far from her, near the pier and unconscious. He had a head wound that had already dyed the sand red, and half his body was being washed with the small waves of the ocean. She had tried to save the both of them from the blast, but it seemed she fucked up on that too.
She reached into her bra, pulling out a tin can that held her cigarettes and lighter. Luckily for her, her tits were small and her bra could hold a few of her favorite things. She lit the cigarette, taking a puff as she laid against the beach with a pure 'I don't give a fuck' attitude. She kept sneaking glances towards Tsuna's fight, annoyed that she actually cared. She finished her cigarette, not caring that her dress absorbed the smoke anymore since it was ruined and she was pissed.
"Alright," she muttered, sitting up and feeling her hair. Some of her clips were out and it likely looked like a mess. She carefully took off her other heel, making a vow to find the lost one and her earring with a hopeful tug at her heart. She felt herself die inside when she tore off a strip of her dress and made it shorter so she could actually move. She neared Gokudera, leaning near him and inspecting his head wound. It wasn't serious from what she could see, but she wasn't a fucking healer.
She still held her dress fragment, and she rung it out and quickly wrapped it around Gokudera's head, tying it tight around his skull to the point that she was certain no more blood could spill. She then stood up and got around him, dragging him by his underarms so she could get him out of the water.
"Mother...fucker," she said in between gasps as she got Gokudera out of the water and onto the dry, shaded sand. "I need to hit the weights again."
She still had some amount of climbing skills and she put those to the test when she climbed up the wooden infrastructure and up towards the surface of the pier. She was certain she got a splinter in the process.
"This sucks," she muttered, catching sight of Mercotti's men, too preoccupied with Tsuna to notice her. Many were just sitting back and laughing, and in between them was their boss, not Ude Mercotti, but her husband. "Cowardly bitch."
She closed her eyes, summoning up her Mist flames, and spreading them out over the waters. The flames had already ceased with the Mercotti's Rain flame attacks. Shiori reached out with her hands, spreading the mist over the ocean until the sound of a heavenly song spread out over the wind.
"What's that?" Leo Mercotti asked, glancing around the ocean shore. Shiori's lips twitched, her eyes still closed as she moved her hands as if she were in an orchestra, leading a symphony. The music came from over the beach, capturing the attention of all Mercotti men, but she was careful to keep Tsuna out of it.
"Sounds like singing?"
"Whose singing?"
"It's beautiful."
One by one, they all tried to find the source of the song, and once their defenses were down, she changed her tactic. Illusion flames were tricky, since you had to feel them and the more people under your power, the harder they got. Still, she was at least a bit powerful, and Leo Mercotti wasn't nearly as powerful as other members of the mafia. Instead of power, they had money and influence and big fucking guns.
They all dropped like lights, sleeping soundly on the pier. Their box weapons came back to their houses with it, and Tsuna slowly landed on the pier just in time to see Shiori's legs buckle. He rushed to her side, his eyes still vibrant and his flame still attached to his head.
"I was worried," he said, holding her up so her back was against his thigh. "What did you do?"
"Simple paralysis illusion, so long as I'm awake, they wont be," she said, her breath coming out weak. "Problem is, I think I'm about to faint so we should get the fuck out of here."
"I can't without-"
"Gokudera is on the sand to your left, I dragged him into the shade. He's safe," she whispered, knocking his hand away and attempting to stand up with some difficulty since her legs were surprisingly weak. Tsuna quickly aided her, much to her slowly disintegrating dignity.
"He's okay." Tsuna's voice came out breathy, and finally his flame dissipated and his eyes turned back to that beautiful brown hue.
"Sure," Shiori said with an unamused frown towards her car that was currently the only thing still on fire. "Rude."
Tsuna sat her down so her legs dangled from the pier, his eyes connecting with hers. "Don't fall asleep."
"Yep," Shiori replied, officially done with the day. He jumped down, simultaneously taking out his phone and making a call. Meanwhile, she took out another cigarette, taking a long hit and savoring the fumes. She was halfway through her second one when Tsuna sat down next to her, his men already hauling up Gokudera onto a stretcher.
"Thank you," he told her, and she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes.
"For what?" Shiori didn't want gratitude, just a shower. "I'm the reason this all happened. If it weren't for me, you'd be sipping martinis by the pool."
Tsuna slightly smiled, "I don't actually like alcohol."
"Not surprising," Shiori said with a chuckle. She looked extremely reluctant to do it, taking another hard drag of her cigarette before tossing it into the sand, but eventually she handed him the Vongola ring. His surprise was palpable and his fingers squeezed tightly around the ring with a thankful expression as if it were a missing limb that had been reattached. "You like that thing."
"If you knew what I went through for it, you'd get it," he whispered, glancing over towards her. "You're a lot kinder than you appear."
"Yeah," she said, taking a long pause. "You can transfer the remaining units to my account now."
Tsuna's smile disappeared, and she chuckled. "You're kidding."
"No. Not at all," she said, holding up Gokudera's ring that she swiped. Around it was a Mammon chain, proving that she remembered the small details while being a thriving bitch.
"Eeee," his high pitched voice was barely managing to wake her ass back up.
"We should go before Mercotti wakes up," she said, standing up with wobbly legs.
"What will you do?" Tsuna asked, and Shiori glanced towards him.
"About Mercotti? I've run from worse," Shiori said, and he rushed to help her stand. "Seriously we gotta go. I legit need to sleep for ten years."
"Come on, I'll take you back to the Vongola complex," Tsuna agreed, and Shion shook her head.
"Credits first. I want the money," Shiori said, holding the ring. "I may be exhausted as shit, but I can still toss this into the ocean."
Tsuna looked up to the sky, as if he were counting to ten. He took out his phone, glancing over to her suspicious expression. Slowly, however, he had her recite her wire information and proceeded to transferring the money. Considering he was a billionaire, Shiori doubted it actually mattered.
She handed him Gokudera's ring. "Awesome."
Her legs gave out again, but this time he was quick to catch her, leaving her to hold onto his Armani suit, her face snuggled to his chest. "Shiori-san."
"The illusion is annoyingly hard," Shiori whispered, allowing him to walk her to the car. He was freakishly gentle with her, and she collapsed onto the leather, not caring that she tracked sand with her.
He sat next to her, sprouting orders into his phone while she attempted to stay awake for as long as possible. However, before long, she was killed into unconsciousness by the soft vibrations of the car ride.
ψ(｀∇')ψ
When she awoke, her body lavish in silks, she noticed that she had been cleaned and dressed. It was a pleasant surprise since she dreaded waking up filthy. She rolled to her side, finding a note by her pillow on the nightstand next to a glass of water and some medicine for the headache she had. The note was written in stunningly beautiful print, and she smiled, bringing the paper up to her nose and exhaling. The paper had a nice, earthy cologne fragrance.
It was only slightly intoxicating, and when she read it, her smile grew. She rushed to the bathroom, stripping off her silk pajamas and taking another shower since she wanted to make sure she was clean everywhere. She was quick about it, and when she got to the closet, she was pleasantly surprised that while it wasn't like hers back in Paris, it also wasn't terrible either. Whoever picked out the garments at least had some taste. She hated most of them, but rather liked the beautiful Jovani cocktail dress.
She carefully opened the door to the room to leave (after doing her hair and makeup since she was that extra), and feeling like a criminal since she did steal from the Vongola. Tsuna was sure to get many people taking advantage of his kindness. She didn't mind, however, if she was one of them.
The mansion was huge—not as big as any of hers, but she was ostentatious and Tsuna had quite a lot of modesty for a fucking billionaire. She had no idea where she was going, wandering into empty room, after empty room before she finally found the gardens.
Tsuna was leaning over his table, slumped and napping soundly. None of his guards seemed to be around, but she doubted she'd know if they were. With that thought in mind, she took an extremely careful seat across from him.
"You are so care free for a mafia boss," she whispered.
"Why? Were you planning on assassinating one?" Tsuna's question was mumbled as he forced his face off the table.
"Would that even do me any good?" Shiori asked with a smile. "I wouldn't want to hurt you either way."
His stare was too cute, and his cheeks were tinted a slight pink that he covered with his palm. "Where will you go now?"
"With the Mercotti after me?" Shiori asked, her thin brow raising. "I was thinking Canada." And by Canada, she meant sweet and beautiful Switzerland with a gelato in one hand and a vibrator in another.
"Ude hates Japan," Tsuna mentioned. "She's just here for the treaty."
"Yeah, so?"
"How about staying here? I can send word you went to Paris or America. She won't have reason to stay and she won't want to," Tsuna suggested, and Shiori tilted her head to the side.
"Why?" Shiori had stolen from many men, many bosses, everybody, but nobody ever gave her such an offer.
"Simple," Tsuna said, his eyes narrowing. "I need you."
"...okay," Shiori said, her lips thinning as she tried to process what he just said.
"The box weapons. I don't have anybody on the inside. I don't have anybody quite like you."
"What are you asking?" Shiori was more comfortable with this type of interaction, especially considering she would not be in his debt this way.
"I want information, I want the weapons, and I want you to stay," he said, and his eyes were so serious that she balked for a moment.
"What's in it for me that I can't get in Germany or Moscow or literally anywhere else I can go?" Shiori wanted to stay. Her blood was burning, her cheeks were flushed, and she was rendered dumb because, yes, she allowed herself to grow rather fond of him.
"Money, power, what do you actually want?" Tsuna's question filled her chest with air, because she had asked herself that same question, time and time again with no avail.
Shiori always knew she had a piece or chip missing that made her so empty, but she didn't like having it pointed out. She filled that vast emptiness with Vera Wang and Chanel.
"I want all of the above," Shiori agreed and her lips curled as she leaned forward. "You could never afford me."
"You'd be surprised what I could afford," Tsuna replied, and her lips thinned, already picturing straddling him and tearing off that beautiful suit that smelled so good.
Her eyes were on his lips, not making any effort to hide it. "Okay."
"What?"
"Okay. I will stay," she said, as if her hormones would have given her any other option. "However, when are you finally gonna man up and kiss me?"
"W-what?" Tsuna's cheeks enflames, and Shiori sent him a slightly gentle smile.
"I mean, I've dropped all the signs that I'm interested. I'm stunning. I'm funny. What more can a girl do?" Shiori leaned closer, before deciding fuck it. Their eyes didn't disconnect when she crawled over the table in a rather graceful manner. She may have put in the most effort, but the moment she sat on his lap, his hands went to her cheeks, tangled in her hair while her lips grasped his.
It was perhaps the most intense kiss she ever had, maybe not the best, but it was surely not the worst. Tsuna was clumsy and unpracticed, so she guided his hands and his lips, ushering them into a gentle caress that filled her chest and made her weak at the knees. Luckily she was straddling him like a dominatix, so she wasn't about to fall. Her dress, however, was not made for the position, so it road up her thighs, showing off her long legs and smooth skin.
She pulled away, since she couldn't breathe. Her eyes met his, and her heart tugged her back down so her lips could reconnect with his and absorb every last millisecond of breath.
It was soothing, hungry, and it made her think once more about what she wanted.
She always thought that money could fill whatever emptiness that made a canyon in her heart, but it never did.
She thought back to when she was a child, to that old friend she got killed. Back then she knew what she was and she never doubted it. Perhaps that was always what she wanted. A friend. A real one. Someone by her side. A family that didn't kill her friends.
"I'll stay," she breathed against his lips, and she meant it. At least, she thought she did. She always was a stray, an alley cat who thought she could be more if she got enough scraps. She didn't care if she had to fight and kill for them, at the end of the day, they were hers.
"I'm glad," Tsuna whispered, so earnestly that her heart melted until she felt her eyes pour. "Shiori-san!"
"I'm crying cause your kissing is so bad," she defended, and his brow raised. "And I lost my other earring and my box."
"About that," Tsuna raised his hands and ran a finger down her cheek before reaching into his jacket pocket, pulling out a box and an earring.
Her eyes widened, her hands raising to cover her face. "How?"
"Resources of the family," he answered, and she tilted her head.
"No really."
"The box emits special most flames so a Mist flame user can spot it."
"Mmhm."
"And the earring," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I may have bought another one."
"You must get taken advantage of often."
He let out another sheepish laugh that made her heart soften once again. She pulled him close, gripping onto the scruff of his collar, because for the love of fuck she let herself respect him. She let that respect grow to fondness. She didn't know what she was thinking about anymore when she leaned forward and captured his lips.
Author's Note
Fucking long ass one shot. It legit took forever, but I think the story and the character ark of Shiori was wrapped up relatively smoothly. She's a very complicated character, not exactly good, but definitely not evil.
I couldn't find a good picture of how I wanted Shiori and Tsuna to look like together, but she's darker tho. She's a Cervelo. Actually, what I wasn't able to fit in this was that she's actually a bastard child, half Cervelo. So her race is mixed too.
There were only a couple unanswered questions at the end, but since this was a oneshot, I couldn't do anything to wrap certain ones up lest risking making the story take even longer lol!