Arya back-flipped to avoid the enemy's swipe with his weapon; she landed on her hands and kicked him in the neck. He dropped like a stone, and she continued forward into the mansion. After a few years of working with the Varia, her body was practically moving on autopilot now. A bullet shot past her, missing her by a hair. Eyes narrowing, she pinpointed the sniper and began scaling the wall, keeping out of his range. The sniper was taking aim again, and to her horror, she saw that Bel was completely unaware. Her mind froze, and screams erupted from her throat unbidden. She lunged at the sniper as he fired. The shot tore through her side, but in the midst of her panic, didn't feel the pain at all.
Below her, both Varia and enemy alike had frozen. They watched in shock as the sniper's head exploded despite Arya not having used any weapons. Her screams echoed through the open area. Only when they died down, did they notice that she had been shot. Taking action, Mammon created an illusion around the girl so that the enemy wouldn't be able to pinpoint her. Squalo cut down his opponents mercilessly and then ran to the girl. She was still shaking, but instinct told her to stop the bleeding, which she did so by ripping her shirt into pieces, making sure that the Varia coat was firmly buttoned. "VOOIIIII! What the hell were you thinking?"
She winced as she pressed her shirt against the wound, "I lost my mind for a moment. Go on. I'll catch up with the rest of you."
He growled, "If you die, I'll kill you."
Arya laughed bitterly as he ran off, and then slowly stood up, having stopped most of the bleeding, "Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose?"
The rest of the group had already moved on, but there were enemies coming in from the outside, having heard all the noise. She snapped the staff open and then flicked out a blade from one end. Using her newly assembled scythe, she stood to face the enemies that were rushing at her. Silently, she ran towards them.
After finishing the mission, the Varia rushed back to where the girl was. Covered in blood, she was using her scythe as support as she tried to fend off her attackers. An equal number of dead bodies littered the ground around her. They sprang into action and ran to finish off the remaining enemies.
Arya kicked her opponent in the gut as he tried to grab her. But due to blood-loss, the girl could barely stand much less cause any real damage. He smirked, lunged forward and grabbed her by the neck. She stopped using the staff as support and dropped to the ground, taking the man with her. Pulling out the knife she had strapped to her thigh, she plunged it into the man's back. He gasped, blood dripping out of his mouth onto her face, "You bitch."
She shoved him off her weakly and lay there, completely spent. Around her, she could hear the sounds of her family fighting. She closed her eyes wearily, painfully aware of the bullet embedded in her side.
Arya's eyes fluttered open slowly. She tried getting up only to moan in pain. Ah, that was right. She had been shot. And then she bit her lip when she realized that her secret was exposed. She carefully pushed herself into a sitting position and got ready to face the onslaught of questions.
To her surprise, only Bel was there and he was sitting quietly by her bed, playing with his knives. She found herself holding her hand out for one before she realized what she was doing. He handed her one, and she examined it carefully. After seeing her practicing throwing knives at a target one day, he had approached her. She had taught him everything she knew. He had sucked up the information like a sponge and created his own style of using knives.
As a gift for her graduating pupil, she had given him a knife she had designed herself. It looked fragile, but it was ideal for being flung through the air at high speeds, which suited his attack style very well. He had had the knife duplicated and now had probably hundreds hidden on his person, although she had no idea where most of them were. She herself carried only a few weapons: her staff on the inside of her jacket in its compact form, a knife tucked into each boot, and another knife strapped to her thigh (hidden by the long Varia coat).
After seeing that the knife was in good condition, she handed it back to Bel, who took it and hid it away. He grabbed her hand and said, "Hey, Principessa, do you remember our promise?"
She nodded, curious as to where this was going. "That day Principessa, I swore to you that I would protect myself no matter what, didn't I? So why did you act so recklessly? You could have died, and the Prince refuses to allow that."
Arya gently drew circles on Bel's hands as she bought time for her answer, "I'm not sure why Prince. I just lost control. But you know, if I could do it all over again, I'd still do it this way."
She cupped his cheek and leaned forward to kiss his forehead. "This Princess doesn't want her Prince to get hurt."
The door slammed open, ruining the moment and Arya pulled back, while looking guiltily at the angry shark that had barged in. "Hey, what's up?" she asked sheepishly.
Squalo growled, "VOOIIIII! You almost died and that's all you can say? What were you thinking, you stupid woman? You know how much shit I had to go through because of you? That stupid shitty boss threw an entire set of silverware at my fucking head!"
Arya hung her head in shame, "Okay, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I'm lucky I wasn't killed. Can't we just leave it at that?"
He sighed, "If it were just the matter of you losing it, it would be fine. Everyone in the Varia is fucking crazy. But you know what I'm here to talk about. Your power. We saw you cause that guy's head to explode. From screaming."
She bit her lip and replied, "I wasn't trying to hide it from you. To be honest, I'm not really sure what it is. When I was little, I used to sing on my balcony. But whenever people heard me singing, they would get hurt…so my father forbade me from singing. But then we found out that it wasn't just singing; rather when I got really emotional, my voice had some sort of destructive power. But I don't know how to control it. So I just tried to not scream or make loud noises. I tried practicing singing in secret to see if I could learn how to control it, but nothing happened."
Squalo frowned, "Well, we need to do some tests. Everyone's scared you'll scream them to death."
The girl blinked back the sadness in her eyes, and smiled like always, "Sure. Tell them not to worry. I'll stay in my room so I won't accidentally hurt them."
He told her to lay back down and then left the room. Bel followed reluctantly. Arya stared at the ceiling, trying to force the suffocating feeling in her chest to go away. The same thing had happened when people had been hurt in the Cavallone family. Although they had tried to act like nothing had happened, Arya had been able to sense their apprehension. It was only Dino who had been unaffected. Dino who's bright laughter had allowed her to suppress the suffocating feeling that she was dangerous. Dangerous and therefore unwanted.
Because she was still recovering from the bullet wound, Arya was confined to her room. And day by day, Squalo watched her lose a little more of the brightness in her smile. The beautiful smile that had charmed him was slowly disappearing. And he had no idea how to get it back. The idea that he was so helpless enraged but at the same time terrified him.
He had long ago accepted the fact that he had fallen in love with the girl. Her sarcastic comments, the way she threw her head back when she laughed really hard, the fluidity of her movements when fighting, that tiny patch of red that appeared on her cheeks when she was pretending to not be affected by something embarrassing someone had said. He loved everything about her. But if there was one thing that he couldn't lose, it was her smile. The smile that managed to light up the world even when the world around him was a sea of red.
He leaned against the wall next to the door to her room, trying to force his hand to grasp the doorknob, to open the door that would lead to that bright world. But it was as if his brain had shut down. He couldn't move. And as he sat there trying to take the next step, the door suddenly opened and Arya was standing there, looking at him, sympathy clear in her eyes.
"Squalo. You don't have to force yourself to come here so often. I'm used to being alone."
"No!" he wanted to scream "That's not it! That's not it! No!"
But even as he tried to force the words to come out, his brain once again betrayed him. "Vooiii. It's not like I want to."
She nodded sadly and murmured to herself, "Yeah, I can understand that."
"No" he croaked out, causing her to pause in confusion.
"No" he repeated firmly the second time, "That's not what I meant. I-"he paused. What could he say? He didn't want to lose her smile? There was no way she would believe him. Superbi Squalo wasn't an emotional sap.
She took his silence as a reaffirmation of what she had originally thought. "Squalo. Being locked up here day after day is really boring. I might scream at any time. So please. Don't force yourself to come here."
She retreated back into her room and closed the door. The lock clicked into a place audibly. Squalo leaned against the closed door and cursed himself. Stupid.Sofuckingstupid.
On the other side of the door, tears pooled into Arya's eyes. Pushing Squalo away was like she was giving up on any hope she had left. Arya slowly slid down and sitting there, she let all her grief out. The floodgates opened, letting the downpour of tears pour out.
And then for the first time since her father had put a ban on it, she started singing. Softly. So softly that Squalo almost didn't hear it from the other side of the door. But he did. And he swore that it was the sound an angel crying.
But as he continued listening, he recognized Arya's voice. And with the recognition, came the realization that he wasn't hurt. And suddenly he was pounding on her door. The singing stopped abruptly. A brief "Go away!" was shouted softly, but he ignored it and continued beating on the door.
The door was yanked open abruptly and he stumbled into her. But to their amazement, he couldn't touch her. There was an invisible barrier separating the two of them. Squalo bashed at the seemingly empty space, but there was no change. The pain in his hand brought back his voice and he roared, "VOOOIIIIIII! YOU STUPID BITCH! SUPERBI SQUALO ISN'T SCARED OF ANYTHING! DON'T FUCKING GET AHEAD OF YOURSELF!"
Arya lifted her hand from her side and reached for Squalo's hand. She grasped it tightly and the barrier was gone. And she was crying in his arms for real this time. "Vooiiii. I'll never be scared of you. Remember that."
She was crying and laughing at the same time, "Squalo! Squalo!" she repeated, relishing the feeling as the name left her lips.
He held her until she went limp in his arms. Looking down, he realized she had cried herself to sleep. Noticing the dark bags under her eyes, he carefully carried her back to her bed and tucked her in. "You'd make a fucking terrible rival if you were always like this. I'll let it go this time. But don't ever fucking do this again. Beat it and become even stronger. Only then will you be a worthy rival."
The door opened and a sheepish Lussuria was shoved into the room. Arya wilted and hid in her sheets. He rushed to her bedside and started frantically apologizing, "Oh honey! I'm so sorry! I had no idea you were feeling so depressed! I wasn't trying to avoid you; I just thought it was a good time for you and Squ-chan to do some bonding!"
Arya didn't respond. "Darling! You believe me don't you? Tell me you'll forgive me?"
She put her hands over her ears, "Please, Luss-nee-chan. Why are you yelling? My head hurts." Then she frowned, "What do you mean you wanted me and Squalo to bond? We're rivals! Rivals don't bond! They fight!"
The flamboyant man's pleas turned to laughter, "Oh darling! You two would be like such a cute couple!"
Arya blushed, "What the hell Luss-nee-chan? Don't even suggest something like that! For one thing, I don't wanna date a guy who has longer hair than me!"
The girl burrowed under her covers. Taking this as a cue for his exit, Lussuria laughed again, "Arya, let's shop again together sometime when you're better, okay? Oh and I'll tell Mammon and Bel-chan that they can visit you again."
Her head shot out from under her covers, "What does that mean? What happened to them?"
He giggled nervously, "Oh nothing, darling. I just had them restrained so that they wouldn't bother you and Squ-chan."
There was silence and then, "Luss-nee-chan!"
The man laughed. After he had exited, Arya sighed with relief. Was Squalo getting to the fighter? Why was his voice so loud all of a sudden? The door burst open and Bel rushed in. "Principessa! The Prince didn't forget about you! It was that stupid pervert who kept me away all this time!"
He threw himself on the bed and wrapped his arms around her. Arya hugged him back, "I know Prince. Luss-nee-chan told me already. But please, sweetheart, keep your voice down. My head feels like its about to explode."
In fact, her head felt like it was throbbing. Wave after wave of pain bashed it. Bel cocked his head to the side quizzically, "Principessa, the Prince isn't speaking any louder than usual. Is something wrong with your hearing?"
Although she was confused, she reassured him, "Ah no. It must just be headache then. I'm sure I'll be back to normal when it goes away."
Bel nodded and then curled up on Arya's bed contentedly. At that moment, Mammon walked in. He took a look at the situation and said in a bored voice, "I just wanted to see how my money bank was doing. Bye."
Arya smiled, "Thanks Mammon. I'm doing fine."
"Hn."
Squalo twitched irritably. The girl across from him calmly ate another bite of food. He couldn't take it anymore, "VOOIIIII YOU CRAZY WOMAN WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING?"
Arya dropped her utensils and clutched her ears. "Ugh, Squalo. Please! You're too loud!"
She adjusted the fluffy earmuffs she was wearing and put her head down in her lap. The problem of her overly sensitive hearing hadn't gone away, and even though she was wearing earmuffs, they didn't seem to be helping. Or rather, it was more like even though the noises were dulled, she could still feel the pressure emitted from their voices. And her head was still hurting.
She clutched her head and hummed desperately to herself, trying to block out everything around her. To her surprise, the pressure seemed to lessen. She opened her eyes and glanced around. And then shut them tightly again. She had to be hallucinating. The air around her was distorted.
Bel hesitantly reached a hand out to tug on the girl's sleeve. To his shock, he couldn't touch her. He tapped at the barrier that seemed to be surrounding her and asked, "Principessa? What are you doing?"
There was no reply. Growling, Squalo stood up and stalked over. "Just break the damn thing!"
He raised a fist and brought it crashing down on the area around Arya. They all heard an audible crack and suddenly Arya was hunched over in pain again.
As the barrier broke, the sounds and pressure flooded Arya's senses again. But she had learned something valuable. It wasn't her voice that held her power. It was the sound waves surrounding her. She could control them.
Arya breathed in and out deeply and started singing again. As she did, she focused on the vibrations in her throat. She opened her eyes and once again saw the distortions in the air, pouring out from her. She thought about protecting herself, of being untouchable. The distortions slowly molded themselves into a bubble around her. She kept singing and then pressed a button. The machine guns she had set up in a circle around her started firing rapidly. Nervously she watched the first round of bullets come shooting at her, but stood her ground. They made contact with her barrier and with a crack, it shattered. However, the barrier had protected her enough so that she was only blown back a few feet and uninjured.
So it worked, she thought grimly. She would have to practice to make the barrier stronger, but at the very least she would be able to defend herself against bullets. Grinning ferociously, she went to hunt down the shark.
Squalo was writing his report on a recent mission when Arya barged into his room and yelled, "UP AND AT' EM SHARKY! WE'RE FIGHTING TODAY!"
"Vooiiii! I'm writing a report right now! Bother someone else!"
He was met with a blade to the neck. Shouting profanities, he leaped back, forgetting about the paperwork. They were still yelling at each other when they arrived at the training area behind the mansion.
They stood at opposite ends of a field, staring at each other. Squalo was grinning in anticipation. It had been too long since he had fought her. Arya said calmly, "I told you before that if you ever called me a bitch again, I would shove my staff up your ass. I still haven't honored that promise."
She felt the excitement building in her. She hadn't fought ever since she had gotten wounded. And Squalo was a challenging opponent. With a roar, he leapt forward, running at her at top speed. As the two met, their weapons clashed. They pushed at each other, testing one another's strength for a moment before jumping back. Squalo's sword was a blur; his cuts precise, not using a single unnecessary movement. Arya blocked him with her staff, remembering the first time they had met, and smiled with pride. She had improved since then. Her blocks were more firm, and it was less difficult keeping up with him.
Nevertheless, there was a reason this man had defeated Emperor Tyr. He slashed at her stomach and she disconnected part of the staff and wrapped the chain around his sword, holding it firmly. Keeping a hold of it, she kicked him in the stomach. He grunted and then shot gunpowder at her. She hastily jumped back, barely able to avoid the explosions. Unfortunately in the process, she let go of her staff.
The swordsman tossed the staff behind him, having no intention to let the girl get it back. Arya pulled out the dagger at her thigh and ran to engage again. She couldn't do much with the dagger however. He had her backed up against a tree, and she decided it was time to use her secret weapon. Focusing, she saw the distortions in the air, made from the sound of metal on metal. She began forming into a barrier. Seeing her distracted, Squalo stabbed forward. The metal stopped in midair, and Arya grinned in triumph. Catching him off guard, she grabbed his arm and threw him over her shoulder, straight into the tree. She pulled out the knives hidden in her boots and threw them. They pinned the swordsman to the tree firmly.
Immediately, she ran to retrieve her staff. She had barely grabbed it when gunpowder shot at her again. She brought up the barrier, but was nevertheless knocked back. The crack from the barrier shattering resounded across the field and Squalo bore down on the girl. He brought his weapon crashing down against her staff.
Too late she recognized the attack. Attaco di Squalo. The shockwave that reverbrated through her body paralyzed her. The swordman rested his sword next to her neck and grinned, "Surrender?"
She struggled silently, trying to move her body. "Fuck" she glared at him, and reluctantly accepted defeat.
And that was how, an hour later, she found herself sullenly serving dinner to all of the Varia officers sitting at the dining table. Wearing a maid outfit. The outfit in question was your typical maid outfit, complete with the hat and a pair of dangerous looking heels, and Arya was ready to throw herself off a cliff from the embarrassment.
A high pitched squeal echoed throughout the entire mansion. "Oh my god honey! That outfit is so cute on you! Please tell me you're going to keep wearing it forever! I didn't know you were so daring!"
She glared at the ecstatic Lussuria, "Please. Just, take the damn food."
He giggled, "All right! But I'm getting pictures later!"
"I'm taking copies to sell, Lussuria" Mammon piped up.
Bel was grinning, "Ushishishishi. I didn't know the Principessa had such a scandalous hobby."
She groaned and turned to Squalo furiously, "This is all your fault so get your lazy ass up and do something!"
He smirked, "Now is that any way for a maid to talk to her master?"
She was left speechless. Xanxus growled, "Oi trash. Take off the stockings."
Her jaw dropped and she spluttered, "Excuse me?"
Levi growled angrily despite the obvious blush on his face, "Don't question the boss!" Ever since the incident during the mission, Levi treated the girl with disdain, thinking she couldn't keep her head in a dangerous situation.
"You heard me trash. Take the stockings off."
She frantically looked at Squalo for help but the man seemed to be enjoying what was happening. She slowly stepped out of the painful heels and pulled the stockings off. Putting the shoes back on, she stood there awkwardly and then jumped when Xanxus spoke again, "You're going to Japan for a mission from Nono. That trash wants you to keep an eye on the Vongola Decimo brat. The shark bait will give you the details later."
She waited for him to say something else, but he was silent. "So…why did you make me take off the stockings?"
Xanxus's eyes traveled down her legs and then back up to meet her eyes. He smirked.
Fuming, Arya took a shoe off and whirling around, she smacked it into Squalo's head. The long haired man yelled in pain. She took off the other shoe and threw it at him before stomping out of the room.
Author's Note:
I finally finished it! Ugh, this chapter makes me so nervous. I feel like Arya is on the verge of turning into a Mary-Sue and I'm so worried! If anyone could help me with that or give me feedback about it, I'd greatly appreciate it!
This chapter was originally a lot shorter, but I kept writing randomly...I think there was originally a point to the last part with the maid outfit...but I've forgotten...which is problematic :(
Anyways, the Mukuro arc is coming up soon. Actually, it should be chapter 6, since chapter 5 will be Arya meeting the tenth generation Vongola members! Ahajdlfkjags I can't wait to write the future arc; I have so many ideas for it :D
I'll update as soon as possible, but I can't promise anything tomorrow. :( As always read & review~