Title: Between a Kiss and A Lie… Xanxus version
Theme: Scars
Inspiration Song for Story: Scars by Papa Roach
Pairing: X96
DannyTF94: Ohohohoho~ not to worry we'll get there (wink). Can you guess who she's pining after?
deadly-chronicles: WAAHHH? Really? Thank you! I never even thought my writing was 'fascinating'! I'll be looking forward to what you think about this next chapter then!
Konohanasakuya-hime: WOW, a new reviewer; thank you so much for leaving me feedback, I greatly appreciate it! And yeah, I thought, with Xanxus being so intense when roused in anger then should he not also be that way in love? hehe I'll be looking foward to your review as well and thank you so much for adding me to your list of faves!
Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.
Please Enjoy! ^_^v
Chapter 4
The announcement took every Varia member by surprise and a chorus of raised brows and narrowed eyes greeted her announcement, mostly due to disbelief. For who would dare even try to oppose an institution like the Vongola and hope to get away with it?
Xanxus scowled as the woman stood in front of him and started to speak, curious despite himself. He wanted to know how this little slip of a female was able to get the information she wanted out of the pathetic garbage that dared attack him in his own castle. He was surprised that she had wanted to stop him from killing the prisoner earlier not because of the misplaced naivete he had associated with the current Vongola head but merely because she thought it would be better that they acquire information from them first. She had acted as though whatever he did was none of her business and something she expected of him. He wondered how she would react if she made it her business to stop him…
What an amusing thought.
He could also see his Varia gaining a much more concentrated interest in the woman and who could blame them? She was indeed a curious one. It was even heightened by her conversation with Spanner. It was not everyday that they were not shunned or condemned by a person like Chrome Dokuro for who they are and how they chose to live their lives. People like her who clung to the light usually feared beings like him who were the monsters in the dark. He couldn't help but feel a burst of pride in him when she told the blond mechanic that attacking his Varia was nothing short of suicidal. It only meant that she was not ignorant as to how dangerous they were and just doesn't seem to care. It was as though she had merely taken them for what they are and not for what they should be. For the life of him he could not understand what she was thinking. Why was she so frustrating? He should just blow her up but then… then he would not have come by such interesting information…
"…Not Mafia?" he finally said, motionless on his velvet chair.
"Voi," Squalo scowled, his brain already working through a list of people who had enough guts to oppose them. "What do you mean?"
"Explain." Xanxus demanded with a drawl, very interested in the prospect of teaching someone the meaning of respect.
She nodded and took a deep breath before speaking again and the Varia gathered around her like children waiting for a bedtime story.
"Last year," she started again, looking thoughtful and Xanxus couldn't help but stare, hating but loving the sound of her soft voice just the same. "Shortly after Boss' 24th birthday while he was away for a meeting with the de Vega family in Andalucía, a mysterious group tried to assassinate him; of course they failed. However, it was a source of curiosity how they managed to get in the Boss' heavily guarded hotel without alerting any of our subordinates; the only reason why the boss was not caught alone at that time was because… he was discussing something with me out in the gardens that night."
Xanxus noticed the slight hesitation in her speech but chose to ignore it in favor of her story.
"They appeared out of nowhere, just like tonight; out of thin air and armed heavily. Because of the Boss' and mine's flames they were overwhelmed easily. The Boss didn't really want to kill them, merely question them, but these men committed suicide by breaking poison capsules inside their mouths before we could subdue any of them," the Varia Boss noted the complete dispassion she held at the mention of such deaths and his interest in her rose a notch higher. "The Boss was greatly troubled by it especially when Hayato arrived and could not find any sort of affiliation on any of the men aside from the fact that they all belonged to random nationalities so this prevented a war between the de Vega and the Vongola. We have not heard anything from this group ever since and everyone thought it was just a random family trying to make a name for themselves and making trouble.
"I, however, was curious as to how they managed to make themselves invisible to human senses; I thought they possessed some sort of illusion or an illusionist who can hide so many people all at the same time," her eye returned to the microchips in her hand. "But I sensed no such being in the vicinity. While observing the corpses for any kind of identification so we could verify their affiliation, all I saw was a little microchip a little different from this one. At first I thought it was nothing so I tried to dispose of it but when I dropped one of them on one of the Kevlar vests the enemy wore that time of the attack by accident it seemed to have responded to a command the vest was designed for and it disappeared along with the chip.
"I alerted Hayato and the Boss; Hayato was interested in looking into it further but the Boss didn't want the de Vega to think we were openly doubting their word at that time so Hayato and I handed the chip to Shouichi and made him look into it. He studied the chip and discovered a watermark written as La Justicia Pasada. I thought about going back to Spain to investigate but… the Boss wouldn't let me leave and told me since he was safe I shouldn't worry about it anymore…"
Xanxus' brows rose at that. So Reborn wasn't kidding when he said Sawada wouldn't let her out of his sight? What a foolish brat! "So what makes you think this La Justicia Pasada is not a Mafia family?"
"Those men," she looked up at him but it was obvious it was not him she was seeing. This irritated him a bit. "When I had the chance to question them earlier they all told me what their affiliation was; and they all said the same thing. They are members of a private army called La Justicia Pasada.
"I made them show me what it was all about and it seems a very important Spanish politician has been recruiting them since three years ago," she continued. "There was no specific requirement except for the fact that they must hate the Mafia. The oldest man, the one you tried to kill first seems to have a personal grudge on you, Xanxus-sama," he furrowed his brow at that in silent question, not moving a muscle from where he was seated. "From what I have gathered, it seems his son died at your hands."
"Hey, Boss, that true?" Lussuria asked jokingly.
"Eh?" he asked in slight interest. "How the fuck should I know? I've killed too many goddamned useless dipshits to remember all of them."
"Must have been someone weak," Levi concluded in disgust. "The Boss doesn't need to remember weak opponents; they're a waste of his precious time."
"His hate for you must have been the reason why his resolve was so strong," Chrome continued, curiously undisturbed by their talk. "It took me longer to break him than the others. And if the people who attacked Boss back then are of the same affiliation and they are using an improved version of these chips then it is no wonder your security have overlooked their entry."
All the Varia turned to look at her again in disbelief, surprised that she was not averse to using such tactics. Finally Belphegor chuckled and walked up to her, slinging an arm around her shoulders in a parody of a friendly manner. She flinched a little but otherwise remained still. "Ushishishishishi… I think I like you, Chrome-chan~"
"Hands off, I saw her first~!" Lussuria exclaimed grabbing the slender girl by the waist and keeping her away from Bel.
The blond prince pulled out a set of knives with a grin and waved them at Lussuria. "You've got a lot of guts taking away my new toy, Peacock."
Lussuria answered with a sickeningly sweet voice. "Beat it or I'll visit you in your room later, Chuckles~"
All Chrome did was blink at the commotion.
Xanxus found her reactions… cute.
Shit.
He didn't even know he knew the word.
"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP AND TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF HER OR I'LL CUT YOUR FUCKING EYES OUT!" Squalo yelled at them, a vein popping out of his temple. "SHE IS NOT A GODDAMNED TOY!"
Well said, Squalo; well said. Xanxus quietly applauded his Rain Guardian before mentally shooting himself in the head.
"Spain… isn't it?" Everyone turned back towards him when he muttered the words. Their bodies all poised and expectant to hear what he had to say. He smirked slightly at the way they all perked up at him. "Book us a flight, Lussuria."
The narcissistic Sun Guardian practically glowed at the intention behind the words.
"Right away, Boss~"
"Spain, huh?" Levi held his chin thoughtfully and daydreamed. "I heard they had some of the most beautiful women out there."
"PERVERTED AFRO FREAK!" Squalo swung his sword at him angrily, clipping some of said hair off. "DON'T YOU GO LEADING WITH YOUR SHORTS AGAIN, YOU BASTARD!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Levi shouted back.
"I MEANT YOU DOING WHAT YOU DID WHEN WE DECIDED TO PITCH IN TO GIVE BELPHEGOR HIS FIRST TIME AT THE DAMN BROTHEL!" Squalo roared at him. "WHEN YOU DISAPPEARED FOR THREE DAYS IN THE DAMN PLACE!"
"Oh that," the Lightning Guardian scratched the back of his head s nonchalantly as he could. "That… couldn't be helped you know?"
"QUIT FUCKING ACTING LIKE YOU DIDN'T ENJOY IT!"
"U-um…" the slight, hesitant sound made them all turn towards a furiously brushing Chrome who had clearly heard every word they said but looked hesitant just the same. Xanxus narrowed his eyes at her, wondering why she would be so composed when talking about killing and yet flustered when talking about something as ordinary as sex. "C-can I… come to Spain as well…?"
She looked like a puppy waiting to be kicked.
Xanxus' scowl deepened a little bit more at the thought of her leaving. Something inside him was almost... dare he say afraid? That she would not come back. Of course he shouldn't care but then... Ah, of course, Reborn did say she should not be harmed. At the thought his eyes zeroed in on the bruises around her neck and he was gripped by a sense of possession so strong it was hard for him not to gloat.
It would be alright to keep her here as long as he was concerned for her safety because of his deal with the Arcobaleno, right? But…
…If he prevented her from going, he would be no better than Sawada.
Clenching his fist tightly he swore he would not be so as weak as that damned child. This thought decided things for him. "Fine, do what you want."
He thought he saw a trace of gratefulness in her eye but she bowed slightly and too quickly for him to be absolutely sure about it. "Thank you, Xanxus-sama!"
And then she turned on her heel and left the room with a swish of her cloak to get ready for her assignment. He was left in his seat looking like someone stabbed him through the chest with the sharp end of a coat rack.
That damned smile should be illegal in 300 countries.
"Voi, Boss, I'm pretty sure what she wants to do when she's there," Squalo approached him with a thoughtful scowl. The Varia leader merely spared him a movement of the eyes, gritting his teeth and fighting for a semblance of control. The scumbitch took him over again. "Can I go with her when she starts snooping around there? I wanna look into this myself."
"Ushishishi~ I don't think it's right for you to ask for any favors since you flunked on your job to watch over security," Belphegor hopped and crouched over at Xanxus' feet. "Hey, Boss, send me; I wanna play with Chrome-chan!"
"No fair!" Lussuria stomped is foot like a five year old deprived of candy. "I want to go with Chrome-chan~!"
"Shishishi... first come first serve, Narcissistic freak."
"Fine, you go," Xanxus told their youngest member ignoring Lussuria's pout and Squalo's thunderous scowl. "And if she looks like she's about to betray us, kill her on sight."
"Ushishishi... got it~!" the blond cackled as he saluted the dark skinned man and sprinted out the room.
Squalo rounded on him the moment the younger man was out the door. "Hey, aren't you being a little bit of an ass? The girl won't betray us, what could she possibly get out of that?"
"You're going too easy on her," Xanxus glared back at his second in command fiercely. "What, did you think just because she helps you out with your paperwork and saved your ass earlier that she's as innocent as a fucking lamb?"
"That's because she is as innocent as a fucking lamb! She's the whole mother fucking stable, goddamnit! And just in case you forgot, she saved your fucking life earlier too or did you already forget? Where the fuck is your fuck mothering pride and honor?" Squalo continued to scold him.
Xanxus remained stubbornly silent. How was he supposed to explain that he was being an asshole to Chrome Dokuro because he wanted to rip her clothes off and kiss the living daylights out of her? He knew of Squalo's talk of pride but admitting something like that would not only blow his pride apart to smithereens, it would also render his reputation in tatters. Not to mention she was off fucking limits.
Not wanting to stand the silver haired man's scrutiny any longer, Xanxus stood up and left the room without another word but not before punching Squalo in the face as he passed him by without even glancing at him.
"The FUCK, XANXUS!" Squalo roared as he held his bleeding nose.
The dark haired man didn't even turn back and Levi followed him like a faithful dog.
Something Xanxus swore the Lightning bastard would regret it later if he so much as followed him to his room today. He needed a break from them all.
Especially from a purple haired scumbitch who seemed unconsciously bound and determined to drive him crazy.
/*****/
"Your son is at it again."
Timoteo looked up from a letter from Tsunayoshi he had been reading to look at his Cloud Guardian who had just entered his office without so much as a by your leave. The old man raised a brow at his aloof friend. "Xanxus? What has he been up to this time?"
Visconti lay down an official looking document in front of the Ninth Vongola head to show a set of records of flights made by the family in the past two days using the in Mafia airline all Mafioso funded similar to the way they funded their amusement park. "He's booked a flight to Spain."
"Spain?" now both Timoteo's brows rose at this. "Was there work to be done there?"
"Perhaps," Visconti nodded at him. "But from what I can decipher, I believe he is after a group that had attacked him in the Varia headquarters a few days ago."
"Someone had managed to infiltrate the Varia?"
A solemn nod was the 9th Cloud's answer to the old man's surprised question.
"And he is planning to take revenge?" Timoteo confirmed.
"I wouldn't doubt it; it is Xanxus we're talking about. He would... if he knew who it was who ordered these people, I believe he had gone to Spain with his officers to look into the matter and get rid of it."
"Without consulting Tsunayoshi?"
"You know as well as I that he does need the Decimo's consent to do as he wishes."
Timoteo sighed and folded his hands under his chin even as he closed his eyes and thought. "I just don't know what to do with that boy anymore."
"Sir," Brow Nie Jr. started, standing beside both men for a while and listening in on the conversation. "What do you wish to do now?"
The old man frowned; even after all these years he still did not know what to do about Xanxus; perhaps they should talk about this. Didn't the boy know that causing trouble in Spain would endanger relations with the other Families that had territory there? He would waste the efforts Tsunayoshi was making at forming allegiances with teh other familias living in that country.
"Fine, call him back," Timoteo finally decided. "Tell him I wish to talk to him."
Brow Nie Jr. bowed in response. "I will send Ganauche to fetch him then."
"Thank you."
"I cannot fail to notice," Bouche Croquant commented as he lounged on a sofa near them, his chin over the back of his hand. "That Xanxus has been acting more and more independently as time goes by. Usually he consults with you first before he takes action especially when it comes to skirmishes with other Families."
"I agree," Brow Nie Jr. put in with a slight nod. "Do you think he's planning something again?"
The comment from his guardians greatly troubled Timoteo. He had loved Xanxus like a son and admitted he was also at fault for raising him to believe that he could be the Vongola Decimo someday; but Xanxus was also a deeply disturbed individual and he felt it was his responsibility to watch over the young man and stop him if he strayed especially what with the world Tsunayoshi was creating for the new Mafia world.
The First Generation's will must prevail.
/*****/
Belphegor watched Chrome's determined expression as he hung back, leaning against the wall of a red brick building with his hands behind his head while the female Mist Guardian silently stared into the eyes of an informant she had managed to sniff out in a way he would have to find out someday. True, it was too subtle for his tastes but it entertained him and that was what was most important.
It seemed she was finished when the informant, a Spanish bartender, fell on his knees before her and she passed a hand over his eyes making him blink several times before staring up at her in blank confusion. She ignored the man and turned to walk off out of the alley they were occupying. Belphegor followed after her, still with his silly grin.
"So? What did you do?" he asked, eager as a puppy.
She blinked as though she had not noticed he was there before now and Belphegor again wondered whether or not she was deliberately ignoring his existence. It insulted him enough to amuse him.
"I made him tell me where Shouichi is since he was being difficult," she surprised him with her blunt answer as though it were something she didn't need to hide. "I recognize him as one of the blackmarket dealers Hibari is keeping an eye on. If anyone would know anything about what is going on in our world here in Spain, it would be him."
Belphegor blinked behind his blond bangs even as contemplated at what kind of trick she was playing. Mist guardians were supposed to be secretive and deceitful as hell; full of tricks and traps and smoke and mirrors. Surely she was hiding something else? "Well I can get that part but why didn't he seem to know what was going on when you were finished with him?"
She didn't even throw him a glance and neither did she bat an eyelash. "I erased his memories completely of what just happened."
"Eh? How do you that?" he cocked his head to the side, intrigued.
"Um..." the sincere, thoughtful look on her face had his grin faltering. What kind of Mist Guardian was this? "You could say it is similar to slicing raw pizza dough. You cut up the portion you want to remove and join the remaining ends together so you wouldn't know it was missing. The part I slice off I store in my own memory."
That made him stop in his tracks for a moment, his ever present grin completely vanishing at the words.
For the most part of his life in the Varia he had learned of the existence of illusionists and are familiar with the power tehy held. Some of them were ridiculously weak and a few of them were impossibly powerful. Rokudo Mukuro and Mammon were prime examples, able to create illusions that could fool even Vindice and yet he had not heard of either of them being able to erase memories. Wait, that Ninth Mist Guardian was a hypnotist... but he had not known him to be able to disrupt someone's mind like that.
He watched her walk away and wondered very hard if this could be the reason why Sawada was hiding her away all this time; deliberately misleading others perception of her to hide the truth of the horrible power that could attain any sort of information in anyone's mind and manipulate any event they so chose. Used in the right way, Vongola could control nations with her. If she decided to rebel against the Vongola then she would be a trump card of unimaginable proportions. She may not be as powerful a battle illusionist as Rokudo Mukuro or Mammon... but her ability to subtly change an event from behind the scenes was unheard of.
He started after her again, determined to keep her under his watch.
"Why are you following me?" she suddenly asked when they reached a small plaza with a beautiful fountain and a statue of some long dead Spanish politician from a long time ago.
His grin returned full force. "That way I can kill you the moment you try to betray us."
He had expected her to at least flinch; at the most gape at him and cry out in outrage. But she had merely blinked that wide purple eye of her and then walked again. "Oh."
Pretending to be tough, huh? he grinned and followed her. "What? You're scared, aren't you? So I suggest you be good and behave yourself if you don't want to become my new practice dummy."
"Humm." she merely hummed carelessly.
This made Belphegor's royal brows furrow in irritation. "You can stop pretending you don't care; The Prince does not appreciate it."
She blinked and turned towards him again, her eye full of innocence and naked surprise. "I'm sorry."
This was starting to irritate the hell out of the blond assassin and he stopped and scowled at her. "What the hell...? Aren't you afraid of anything?"
She stopped and looked back at him before answering in seeming honesty. "I'm afraid of a lot of things... It's just that I'm not afraid of dying."
He gaped at her incredulously, his wide, maniacal grin disappearing completely from his face. "How can you say that?"
She seemed to think for a while before shrugging and answering again. "Because I have nothing to live for."
"Shishishishishi..." he caught her in her lie; how sweet. "That's stupid, everybody has something to live for."
"That's true," she answered him with a smile so sad he had to stop and stare at her again. "But what is the point of living for something you can never have?"
She then turned back and kept on walking leaving him standing there in a gape.
Fuck, could it be that this woman was a lot more messed up than he was?
"Belphegor," her soft voice called to him but when he looked up she wasn't there and was instead standing in front of the a food cart in the shady side of the plaza. "Are you hungry?"
'Are you talking in my head?' he angrily sent an irritated prompt at her.
"I'm sorry; I'm not reading your mind, though, I promise." she sounded sincere even in his head.
Fuck, he thought even as he made his way towards her, scowling.
Upon reaching her, she handed him some sort of... food. "What's that?"
"It's called an empanada," she answered, answering through her mouth now. "You should eat; if you're going to follow me around all day then it will take me a while to get all the information I need."
"Why?"
"Because Shouichi's been kidnapped a day after he arrived in Spain," she told him matter of factly. "And I need to find him before my Boss gets involved."
Belphegor studied the unsavory looking concoction with a frown. "You expect a prince to eat such disgusting peasant food?"
She merely shrugged at his complaint. "Well surely Your Royal Highness has enough grace and courage to try new things."
He scowled back at her; how dare she remind him of his duties. He was about to open his mouth to launch into a tirade when the smell of meat and spices reached his nostrils and his stomach growled in response. Come to think of it, he had not had anything to eat since last night when they left Italy.
Scowling, he swiped the food from the woman's hand and shot her a glare. "If The Prince gets a tummy ache, I will rip you open in your sleep."
He took one more suspicious look at the empanada before taking a tentative bite. As soon as he did, his eyes behind his bangs widened in surprise.
"It's meat pie made by various spices," she told him as she took a bite of her own empanada. "I had it when I last visited here. It's pretty good, isn't it?"
But Belphegor was already gobbling up his share and asked the food vendor for another one. "I suppose; but then again hunger is better than any French chef."
She merely smiled and paid for their food before walking away with him following and carrying five more of the pies with him. As he watched her walking gracefully in the sunny, merry streets of the foreign country he had to wonder about her. One moment she would be acting aloof and sad and the other so warm and innocent. She was so many things at the same time and the changes were so subtle it took all his attention to identify them. As an assassin for Varia he had not really given any thought to the expressions and human emotions of others, he really had no use for them at all. But this woman seemed to contain a little bit of everything all at the same time. She was even more headache inducing than Squalo.
What kind of Mist Guardian was she? He didn't really understand anymore. He didn't know what to believe when she opened her mouth. At that point Belphegor discovered she was a different kind of danger. She was much more dangerous and untrustworthy than any Mist Guardian he had known because he couldn't understand her. Her actions were not something a Mist Guardian should have.
Prince the Ripper grinned and his eyes sparkled behind his bangs at the thought. Unlike Squalo he adored puzzles and this woman just presented him the perfect one. He would be entertained by her for a very long time...
/*****/
A.N.: Please Review...?