Takes place after Chapter 2 of "Who Says You Can't Go Home Again?"

X

Enma entered a coughing fit, choked, and needed a few minutes until he could start breathing properly again.

Spitting smoky spit out of his mouth and into the snow, Enma sent a sullen look at Julie. "That was disgusting," Enma said sourly, still tasting the bitterness.

Julie merely smiled and jostled Enma's shoulder. "I did warn you," Julie said, puffs of smoke floating out from his lips as he spoke. "Just remember to not let Adel catch us. You'll probably get away fine, but for me, I just know that she'll –"

The sliding door behind Enma and Julie slid open quickly and made a foreboding echo when it slammed against the wall of the house. The two Simon kids froze into place as they sat on the steps of the back porch. Rigidly and fearfully, they turned their heads around to see Adel glowering offer them with a dangerous glint in her eyes. Enma could barely even see her eyes since they were shrouded in the shadows of her hair.

"This scent in the air is either a poorly though-out illusion," Adel growled slowly, "or a poorly though-out act of delinquency unbecoming of the future Simon Boss and his loyal Desert Guardian."

Enma shivered as the terror gripped his shoulders. Adel had warmed up a bit over the years, but she could still remind Enma of the days when the bullies made him so scared that he peed his pants. Adel's frightening displays came from love, at least. While Enma knew that she wasn't entirely malicious with her threatening tone, it was still pretty scary.

Faking a cool demeanor and wearing a flirtatious smile, Julie patted Enma's back and quickly disappeared. He was gone from the porch, leaving behind only his fedora that briefly spun in the air before promptly falling the ground. Adel, metal fans in her hands, was on his trail in an instant.

Woefully, Enma sighed and buried his head into his lap. He let the cigarette hanging between his fingers fall so that he could crush it under his shoe. It was always embarrassing when someone caught him and Julie engaging in "acts of delinquency." Once Adel was done disciplining and grilling Julie, Enma was definitely next.

A wide piece of fabric was suddenly draped over Enma. He sat up and saw that it was his burly trench coat. As Enma looked up, Mami winked at her older brother as she sat beside him. Dressed in her warm winter clothes with her red hair supplemented with the usual cherry hair clip, she held two cups of hot chocolate and handed one to Enma, which he took graciously and sipped from immediately.

"Bad call," Mami said with a smile. "The smoking, I mean. I tried it once. Everything I ate tasted bitter for a week." She drank some of her chocolate milk, too, letting off a satisfying breath afterward that took the form of white, breezy mist. "Anything with sweeteners or sugar in it – that's what always works for me. Maybe it'll work for you."

Enma's already tried. Candy and ice cream have long since lost their luster on Enma's sweet tooth. Still, since Mami was courteous enough to brew Enma a cup, he continued to drink without complaint.

The siblings sat together in silence for a while, watching snow gently drop from the cloudy sky. Enma wasn't all that used to snow. This was the first town of the three the Kozatos and the Simon Family has moved to over the past few years where there was consistent snow for more than a week. Enma was still forgetting to put on his warm clothes and to shut the windows. It was a miracle that no one in the Kozato house has gotten sick yet.

"So!" Mami abruptly spoke up. "Did dad say when he was coming back from his trip with the CEDEF guys this time?"

Enma shook his head. "Could be back tomorrow. Could be back next week. Until then, he wants us to 'lay low' and spend more time with the Tomaso Family heirs."

Mami's content countenance took a turn for the worse as she frowned and sighed tiredly. "Seriously? Is he seriously still pinning for our families to merge together, or is this supposed to be some sort of informal punishment?" Needless to say, Mami didn't like the Tomaso heirs all that much.

"They're alright, all things considered" Enma gave his two cents. No matter the circumstances, he always had to be honest with his sister. "They aren't very malicious people. They're just kind of cold and a little too selfish sometimes."

"Yeah, but you're not the trophy wife Naito's got his hands on," Mami deadpanned. "I'm pretty sure that if I still wasn't fourteen, dad would have had us married the second the Tomaso Boss suggested it."

"At least Longchamp asked for dad's blessing before asking you out," Enma said.

"Again, you're not the trophy wife. Hell, you're not even the trophy husband. Koyo got saddled with dating Pantera, and –"

Enma lightly slapped the back of his sister's head. "Watch your language," came the instinctive reprimand.

As she nursed her vaguely damaged skull, Mami pettily stuck her tongue out at Enma. "You cuss all the time with Julie and the other boys."

"They cuss. I don't."

"Then why don't you hit them?!"

"They aren't family."

That response made Mami pause. Enma hadn't planned to say that specifically, but he definitely didn't feel disingenuous when saying it.

"I mean they aren't Kozatos," Enma amended. "We have actual Simon blood in our veins. We shouldn't be so crass and careless with how we speak, even in our personal lives. We have to be more mindful and respectful with our language." Mom had battered that particular lesson into their heads a long time ago.

Mami folded her arms and looked away from Enma. "Vito knew when to speak respectfully and when to let loose with language," she muttered.

Now she was bringing Vito into the discussion. Previously, Enma was usually stunned into silence when she did that. Presently, Enma had a comeback ready to give.

However, the sliding door behind the siblings opened again. They turned to see Kaoru peeking through the slim opening he made. "The Tomasos are here," he reported quietly before swiftly closing the door.

"They're early," Enma commented offhandedly. He stood up and buttoned up his coat. Mami did the same as she pulled up the zipper for her jacket. They both downed the rest of their chocolate milk before they turned toward the door.

"… Vito also probably would've been able to subjugate the Tomaso heirs without having to go through these forced pairings and bullshit arranged marriages."

Enma tried hitting Mami again. She blocked him this time, but he also had a response to her claims about their old brother. "Stop using Vito as a justification for the things you've done and the things you want to do," Enma lectured. "You use him and mom as an excuse for everything nowadays. Don't dishonor their memory by saying their names so senselessly. You have to rationalize your actions more so by what you would do instead of what they would do."

"Don't tell me you don't do the same thing," Mami countered with a harsh hiss, "thinking about Mom and Vito. Even Adel still uses bonbons and brownies to broker favors with the Liquidation Committee."

Enma did think about "what ifs" often enough, though he had no plans of telling Mami about those thoughts at the moment. They were too distracting and depressing. For now, Enma needed to focus on the here and now. "Let's handle this business with the Tomasos first," he said. "Are you still up for doing it today? We don't know when dad will be back, and –"

"We've been putting it off for too long," Mami interrupted. She stepped into the house first. Enma followed her footsteps. "Our CEDEF buddy is also supposed to get here within the hour. We might as well get this done today."

The Tomaso heirs were in the living room with Enma's prospective Guardians. Longchamp, Rauji, and Koyo were seated on the sofa and playing some video game on the TV. Pantera, wearing another one of her pretty dresses, was sitting beside Koko with his arm slung over her shoulders. Lunga was strutting the strings on an electric guitar in one corner of the room with Kaoru doing the same.

The Tomaso butler, Mangusta, walked up to Enma and Mami and bowed reverently. "I hope you are both doing well, Master Kozato and Madame Kozato." He held up a gift basket, complete with wine, chocolate, and a little bow on the top. "The Tomaso Family expresses our deepest gratitude for the Simon Family hosting tonight's game night."

Enma wasn't totally averse to brownnosers, but he would have preferred Mangusta to at least be a little more conscious that the Kozato siblings didn't find his brownnosing very endearing. Regardless, Enma took the gift basket from Mangusta's hands. "Thank you," Enma politely said.

Longchamp jumped in his seat and weaved his hand exaggeratedly. "Mami-chan!" he screeched in an irritable voice.

Hiding a wince and forcing a smile, Mami waved back. "Champ-kun!" she replied as she hopped onto his lap.

While Mami chatted away with Longchamp, Enma was eyeing the wine bottle as he spoke to Mangusta. "This is my dad's favorite," Enma said. "How'd you know?"

"I've spoken to your father on behalf of Don Tomaso many times," Mangusta explained. "We both share many things. The same taste in wine, an appreciation for art." Mangusta gave a short smirk. "A desire to take vengeance on the Vongola Family."

Oh. Okay. The wine was both a gift and a segue for Mangusta to deliver another spiel about destroying the Vongola Family and all of its allies, everyone from the Chiavarone Family to CEDEF.

Well, Enma can improvise a segue well enough, as well. "My father is still bound by prior promises and agreements with CEDEF," Enma said. "Conspiring to betray and break those promises would not reflect lightly on either of our Families."

"That assumes failure on our part to defeat the Vongola," Mangusta pressed on. "You are a smart young man, Master Kozato, assisted by many smart, loyal family members such as Madame Kozato and Mistress Suzuki. Pooling your resources together with the Tomaso Family's manpower, Pantera's aptitude for killing, and the Desolation Bullet, we can make short work of at least the Vongola's CEDEF branch in due time."

"This is really business our respective bosses should be discussing," Enma remarked as he set down the gift basket and tossed the wine bottle up in his hand. "Why are you trying to talk me into forming a more open alliance?"

Mangusta continued to smirk. "Our bosses are getting on in the years. I have faith Longchamp will become a suitable boss in the future, but those days are far away from now. Any action taken against the Vongola requires more finesse than either of our Family heads are willing to execute. I believe you, on the other hand, already have the drive and the skill that will guarantee our success."

Enma could practically feel the moment to turn this situation around coming. Maybe it was the way that Mangusta was talking, with so much self-assurance and zeal, that was doing it. In the corner of his eye, Enma saw Mami promising to get Longchamp a drink. She sprung off his lap and walked behind the couch they were sitting on.

"What makes you so confident in me?" Enma questioned Mangusta.

Lowering his voice to speak more discreetly, Mangusta said, "While Don Simon is still preoccupied with the day-to-day management of his Familiy's business, the Flood of Blood incident surely must have inspired you to accomplish more than maintaining the status quo. You desire change for the better of your family. So do the Tomasos. Am I wrong?"

Enma tightened his grip on the wine bottle. "No, you're not," he said.

Swinging his arm around, Enma hit Mangusta's jaw with the bottle. Piece of glass and wine exploded into a million different directions. Enma didn't let up as he swung the broken bottle again, shattering it further and all but destroying Mangusta's left eye. When Mangusta tried to raise his arms to defend himself, Enma thrust the bottle forward, stabbing its jagged end into the butler's stomach.

Longchamp yelped in shock. He tried to jump out of his seat, but Rauji held onto Longchamp's arm and held him in place. Pantera reached across the couch to stab one of her knives into her cousin's knee. From behind Longchamp, Mami whipped out her garrote wire and wrapped it around his throat. She pulled back with Longchamp hopelessly resisting.

"Why?" Mangusta bloodily gasped as Enma stabbed him again. "Why are you doing this? We want the same things."

The butler's shaky knees finally lost control. His back hit the wooden floor as he cried out in pain. Enma forwent the bottle and reached into his trench coat. He pulled out the Simon Gauntlet replica his dad had given him. It fit perfectly in Enma's hand. Kneeling above Mangusta, Enma started punching.

Faintly, Enma noted that Kaoru and Lunga were still quietly playing with their guitars. Koyo took Pantera's place in restraining Longchamp's leg. The girl was now busy giving Longchamp a thousand bloody cuts all over his body with another knife.

Enma didn't know how long he spent burying his fists into Mangusta's face. He only stopped when he slowly realized that Adel was screaming into his ear and was trying to pull him back.

"Stop it, Enma!" begged Adel. "Mami, Koyo – I said stop it! Why are you killing the Tomaso Ottavo and his butler?"

"Why the fuck do you think we're doing this, Adel-chan?" Mami shot back at her, Longchamp's movements slowly dwindling in strength. "Come on. Give a guess. It's not too hard to figure out."

Mangusta's body started twitching. Breaking free of Adel's hold, Enma gave him a good kick across the face. When Enma turned to face Adel, she looked like she was going to envelop him in her arms again but halted mid-way when she saw the expression on his face.

Mami let out a dramatic sigh as she loosened her grasp over Longchamp. He stopped moving completely. Rauji and Koyo let go of him while Pantera continued to draw blood from Longchamp's body. "Oi, Julie!" Mami called out. Julie was present now, too, leaning against the doorway to the kitchen. "Can you do something about the smell?"

"Of course," the Desert Guardian said frivolously. In a spilt-second, the air was altered by illusions and began to smell of bucatini, the same kind Vito secretly made for Enma and Mami behind their mom's back that one time and at the buffet.

It was oddly fitting. The last time this aroma was fresh to Enma's sense of smell was the same day Enma's seen this much blood in one sitting.

"What just happened?" Adel said quietly and slowly. Then, raising her voice with some degree of self-control, she repeated, "What just happened?! Enma, Mami – someone plainly explain to me what just happened and why you all but declared war against one of the few allies to the Simon Family?" Adel met Enma in the eye. "Why did you do this, Enma?"

Adel did deserve an explanation. "The Flood of Blood incident," Enma said. "We were a small family back then compared to the Tomaso Family. The Tomasos owned the city, and it was in that city where that Mist user killed Mami's and my mother."

"CEDEF and Makoto already agreed that the Tomaso Family were not at all willing accomplices to that murderer!" Adel said incredulously. "The Liquidation Committee did follow-up investigations. I looked into it myself. They are innocent."

"They didn't help the Mist user," Mami said as she walked away from her now dead ex-boyfriend to stand alongside Enma. "They didn't try to stop him either. They let him stroll into town and carry out a massacre. Maybe dad can forgive that, but we can't."

With a glare bearing down on Mami, Adel asserted, "That is not your call."

Enma was about to correct Adel and say that this attack against the Tomasos was a joint decision between both siblings, but Koyo beat him to the punch. "It is their call," he said as he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away the bloodstains covering Pantera. "In the end, Enma's the future boss, Mami's the future underboss, and we're their Guardians and subordinates. Even if Longchamp wasn't an idiot, if they wanted him dead, then we make sure he drops dead."

Rauji, Kaoru, and Julie all nodded in agreement with Koyo. If Shitopi-chan wasn't off on a training trip into the mountains with dad's Swamp Guardian, Enma was sure she'd be doing the same.

"Then why wasn't I informed of this?" Adel asked as she narrowed her eyes. "I'm the head of the Liquidation Committee and the future consigliere. Why wasn't I told anything?" Adel met Enma's eyes again. "You know that if you talked honestly with me, I would have backed you one hundred percent of the way."

And Enma knew she would have. However, this was more than simply about Adel's loyalty to Enma. "Are you shocked that we went against an ally of the Simon Family," Enma asked, "or that we lost an ally who despises the Vongola Family?"

Adel stiffened. "I'm more shocked that you were willing to go through going against the wishes of your father," she admitted, "but yes, the Tomaso Family would have been very useful allies against the Vongola."

"That's where we start seeing things differently, Adel-chan," Mami declared. "The Vongola's not our enemy. Not anymore."

"They have always been our enemy," Adel said. "It's a centuries-long blood feud. They don't stop being our enemy until we slit the Vongola's throat and let it bleed dry." Enma shook his head disappointedly. She was always a steadfast believer that all of the Simon Family's miseries today stemmed from the original Vongola Family backstabbing the original Simon Family.

Mami laughed sarcastically. "Is this about the Vongola in general, or is it about Vito having Vongola blood in him? Are you still jealous of Vito being a better mob boss than you were back in the day?"

"Excuse me?"

The girls were going to get lost in another petty argument, so Enma stepped in. "I don't care about whatever Vongola Primo did to Cozarto Simon," he said. "Going to war with the Vongola won't help us any."

"It's the Vongola's fault that practically no one respects us!" Adel screeched.

"No!" Enma said with his own scream. "The Vongola barely had a presence in Japan until a few decades ago, and the Simon Family has been here for generations. It's our family's own fault and incompetence that we never took the initiative to earn the power and respect you desperately want for us, Adel."

Red with shock at Enma's outburst, Adel motioned to the dead bodies in the room. "How is killing a boss heir who respected us going to benefit the Simon Family?"

"In a lot of ways," Mami said. "I don't have to pretend to like Longchamp anymore. Koyo gets to be the main squeeze of the new Tomaso Ottavo instead of that of the Tomaso underboss." Koyo flashed a smile at that comment as he embraced Pantera, the new Tomaso eighth-generation boss. "We only need one consenting marriage to get the Tomasos to formally join us. Lunga takes the blame for Longchamp's and Mangusta's deaths." The young guitarist in question absently nodded his head in confirmation. "He gets to start his new band in a mental health facility, and the Simon Family will get a cut of the money he makes from his music."

"Mangusta was also very adamant in taking down the Vongola," Enma added. "His death will make future talks and relations with the Vongola run much more smoothly."

"Why the Vongola, then?" Adel questioned in disbelief. "The Tomaso Family wasn't actively assisting us when the Flood of Blood incident occurred, but the Vongola Family has only helped us as a means to an end, to find the Mist user for their own retribution. They've helped us in no other way. They've been actively preventing us from finding any trace of Vito's whereabouts!"

Adel's words were very true, but there was one thing she was forgetting. "The last thing Vito told me was to find him when I become the boss," Enma said sternly. He gestured to the macabre scenery around them. "This is me, becoming the boss. Mami and I know for sure that Vito's going to end up as the boss of the Vongola, one way or another. Between the three of us, no one in the world is going to dream of touching our families. Vongola, Simon – we'll be bulletproof."

Call Enma a delusional, hopeful young boy putting too much faith in someone who he hasn't seen for eight years, but no matter what Adel, Enma's other guardians, or his dad might say or think, Vito was his and Mami's brother that looked after them and taught them things no one else could or were willing to do. If mom was still alive –

No. Enma wasn't going to finish that train of thought.

"… I can accept that you and Mami want to pursue affable relations with the Vongola," Adel finally said as she adopted her flat, professional outlook, "but what of your father?"

"Don't worry about him," Mami said with a solemn smile. "Enma and I will plead our case. He'll come around eventually."

"And if he does not?"

"He will," Mami said more confidently. Enma nodded in assent.

Within the hour, the mafia heirs had spruced up the crime scene to make it appear that Lunga had bludgeoned his guitar and various makeshift weapons to murder Longchamp and Mangusta. Enma had subdued Lunga, and Mami had saved Pantera's life, so went the narrative. Adel called up her police contacts to come to the Kozato house and to carry out the investigation. When the Tomaso enforcers arrived at the scene, Pantera played her part at being the sole catatonic Tomaso heir survivor with Koyo trying to be her comforting and supportive boyfriend. All the other Guardians acted as shocked witnesses to the entire event.

The police officers, Tomaso enforcers, and Liquidation Committee patrolmen were still roaming the Kozato house when Enma and Mami took refuge on their house's front porch. They were sharing another round of chocolate milk.

"It was easier than I thought it'd be," Mami suddenly said aloud.

"What was?" Enma asked.

"Fitting someone with concrete shoes and seeing them flop," Mami said. It was a euphemism for killing since discussing the true nature of tonight's murders in a blatant and indiscreet manner would have been idiotic. "Mom always said to appreciate life, but this was... simple to get through."

Mami had a point. Enma had thought the blood would bother him more, but he thankfully kept his cool during the whole ordeal. "It was just business, really," Enma rationalized it. "Longchamp wasn't really your boyfriend, and he and Mangusta weren't really close allies or friends in general. There's not much reason to lament their losses."

After another short silence, Mami stated, "Finding the Mist user who killed mom isn't just business. It's personal."

"Definitely," Enma agreed.

"But once we kill him," Mami began hesitantly, "what are we going to do afterward? Say that we meet up with Vito again, and the Simon and Vongola Families end up working together. Yeah, bulletproof, but what are we supposed to do then, exactly? Just carry on the family business?"

That sounded about right. "We'll be the bosses. We will do whatever it is we want."

Enma had a feeling that wasn't the answer she was looking for. Mami sighed and didn't say anything in reply. She just sat back and sipped her drink.

Maybe Vito would have known what to say. Maybe Mom could have...

No. Enma had to stop doing that.

They had to stop thinking about "what if" and "could have been." They had to focus on "what will be."