Ice, Frost and Snow

Chapter 9- Moving Forwards

(Or, Target 9: Weird Brunettes, Stupid Personas and a Small Issue)

Warnings: Father Abuse, viol- wait, didn't I say assume violence from the beginning?

Italian is "Italicized" in Japan, vice versa.

Previously:

"You may not like it, but you are becoming one of the most well-known figures within Vongola, and your reputation will only spread from here. People have high respect for those that still act humane while in this bloodly world of ours." The Ninth said.

The Ninth then continued on with his Storm Guardian, leaving me gaping at them.

Eight months later, I was sent to help the West Family find Guardians for the young heiress.

Two years later, I found myself in Namimori, Japan, entering Middle School for the first time in this bloody, Mafia world.

Currently:

-Three Years and Four and a Half Months Later-

I brushed mud off my black jacket and dark blue jeans as I stood up from inspecting the marks on the muddy ground. I wasn't in a hurry. The stolen messages to the Beccio familgia were important, and I was almost upon the thief.

I had come back from a courier mission to the Rossi familgia to find that one of the newer couriers had the message stolen.

I got sent after the thief, because I had been standing right there. And the fact I still haven't learnt to say no to the Ninth when he says, 'I believe you can do it, Krystal.'

Damn it.

Whoever had stolen the messages weren't very subtle, they had very clear footprints in the mud, as well as mud over branches and bushes from the full-bodied splat in the mud a mile and a half ago.

I motioned to the new courier who had been resting against a tree, panting.

"We're close. Can you see how these are well-formed? The rain hasn't had as much time to remove them."

The seventeen year-old blonde girl nodded, still with the disgruntled look on her face from half an hour ago when she was told that I would be going with her to get the message back.

I mentally sighed. I continued on the track, jogging at a faster pace than before to catch up to the thief.

I may or may not have accidently on purpose known or forgotten that there was another person with me.

Perhaps.

It's not like she couldn't have caught up! I'm short (and honestly still a little out of whack if I remember that I used to move differently as an adult), it shouldn't be hard.

I came upon an outcrop of rocks before a cliff face, where apparently the thief went. I look to my left, with the town maybe seven hundred meters away. Then back at the cliff. And then at the town.

Hasn't anyone learnt that you hide a tree in a forest?

I steadily climbed the rocks as the rain increased, taking care due to the high heeled boots I wore to try and stop people from believing that I'm an imposter.

Not that it has worked at all. Grr! I'm not short damn it!

I shook my head heavily, finding my mark crouching in a small alley between the cliff face and the stupid rocks.

He was short, ragged-looking and much like myself, in need of a shower from what I could tell when the lightning started. Though I doubted that I needed it as much as he did.

He was scrabbling at his jacket, and pulled out what I, after countless courier missions, recognized as the stolen message.

I was less than ten meters away...

AND MY FUCKING PHONE WENT OFF.

His head jerked up, caught sight of me, backing away with his hands stretched in front of him.

''So everything that makes me whole, ima kimi ni sasageyou. I'm yours~"

There was something in his hands, which lit in the lightning with a metal flash making me tense and move.

He shot, twice before I was close enough that I could hit him.

Kneeing him in the gut, I grabbed both wrists and pushed them up and away from danger before twisting both of them outwards.

"Nee konna ni waraeta koto~"

His left hand managed to retain the gun, so I twisted harshly, hearing a snap before he yelled out and dropped the gun.

"umarete hajimete da yo~"

I pushed him towards the cliff face, pressing him into the sharp rocky surface, cutting off his breathing.

"Give it to me. Now." I demanded over the rain and my continuing ringtone.

"kitto, watashi ha ne kono hi no~"

He scrambled in his pocket frantically with one hand as the other hand fruitlessly tried to pull my arm that was impending his breath away.

Finally finding it, he held it out shaking badly, and I released him, choking and coughing to the ground.

I quickly authenticated the sky flames, placing the unopened, dirty and somewhat damaged message inside an inner, sealed pocket of my jacket.

"tame ni machigai darake no~"

I blinked, realizing that the phone was still ringing before quickly fishing for it in another pocket inside my jacket.

"Yo." I answered in a deeper than normal voice.

"-Is this Frostbite?" A cheery baby voice asked from the other side of the line, as the thief regained his breath and tried for the gun. Was the caller one of them?

"Who's asking?" I replied, still with the deeper voice. I moved to the thief silently in the downpour that the rain had become, contemplating what I could do.

"-Reborn." The voice said, answering my question as I decided what I would do.

Ah, why not a classic?

The thief screamed loudly as I stomped on his hand hard, preventing him from reaching the pistol as well as interrupting anything that Reborn may have been about to say.

"-Am I interrupting something?" He asked, with a quiet disinterested tone.

"No, I was merely... preventing idiotic actions. What were you after?" I replied, grinding my heel before removing it.

"-Are you currently on a mission for the Ninth?" He questioned.

I twisted my leg up and down swiftly on the thief's head, knocking him out cold.

"It's done now. Why?"

I went to pick up then gun and clenched my jaw as burning lines of pain made themselves known across my left cheek and upper arm.

"-You're coming to Japan. I expect to see you in two days." He demanded, the phone immediately clicking, the line dead.

Water ran into my wounds, making me hiss.

I get reception in the middle of nowhere, in a storm. Wow.

I left the thief where he was, and made my way back to Vongola HQ.

Perhaps the Ninth would clarify what the hell Reborn wanted.

-Half an Hour Later-

I walked through the gates of the Vongola Headquarters, making my way towards the office of the Ninth with the sulky teenaged blonde following me.

And glaring daggers.

At me.

I had returned to the motorbike I had to borrow to get there and was shocked to find (and remember) that she was waiting for me. It may have been that the shock was easily read off my face... possibly.

Anyway, I reached the office and respectfully knocked and waited for a reply. Seven minutes and a heck of a lot of muffled shouting later, three men exited the room and we were ushered in.

"Ah, Krystal and... Bethany, was it?" The Ninth greeted benevolently.

"It's Beytah, boss." The blonde girl replied.

"My apologies, Beytah. I take it that you have retrieved the message?"

I stepped up, pulling the message from an inner pocket. "Yes sir. The contents of the message are still unseen by anyone after you had sealed it."

He examined it, raising an eyebrow.

"It's rather damaged... did it get in the way while subduing the thief?" He inquired.

"It was-" I started before... (Bretta?) Interrupted.

"It was damaged after the thief managed to steal the message, he ended up doing mudslides several times before we reached him and retrieved it." She stated perkily.

"Is that so? Was he affiliated to any known famiglia?" Ninth continued.

"No," I replied while (Bega?)answered "yes" at the same time. Which caused the Ninth to raise both his eyebrows.

"Which Familgia was it that stole the message, Beytah?"

She only hesitated minutely. "Tomaso Familgia, boss."

Straight faced, he asked Beytah for the additional details, then dismissed her while looking at his papers. She tossed a smug smirk at me before leaving.

He sighed.

"She may have potential, but with her constant need to re-delegate blame to other Familgia, she is proving to be nothing short of incompetent... she may have to be removed." He mused with a weary expression on his face. "Krystal, what happened during retrieval?"

I recited the most important parts; travelling to the point at which the interception happened, tracking through the mud and trying, trying to teach Beeta the ways to find the thief.

I stopped short, scratching my head in embarrassment. "I may have accidently lost Baytea when I sped up to catch the thief. I did not see her again until I returned to the intercept point with the message."

He nodded, a grim considering look on his face as he gestured for me to continue.

"As I have previously said, I do not believe that the thief was from a Familgia, as he was emaciated and his clothes ragged. I could be wrong, as he drew a gun on me."

The Ninth quirked an eyebrow. I was usually able to sneak up on the uninitiated.

"Um... My phone rang. It was not on silent." I started, continuing the rest of the mission's details.

"I think Beytah," (that was her name!) "Will require some retraining... definitely not suitable for the position I was considering..." The Ninth continued to muse to himself.

I was probably not meant to hear that…

"Um, Ninth? May I asked you about something?" I asked, before he dismissed me.

"Uh, Reborn was the person who called. But, I have no idea where exactly and why he wants me in Japan in two days... would you happen to know?"

The Ninth's mouth twitched, the corners of his lips curling slightly in amusement, before he replied with his benevolent you-might-not-like-it-but-it-would-be-good-for-you-to-do-this smile.

"I believe that Reborn would like to introduce you to someone important to the future of Vongola. I will have someone organize your transport, residence and clear any pending missions. This is a potentially long-term assignment, Krystal, and will most likely involve a high amount of danger. Will you accept it?"

I hesitated a moment before enquiring about the terms of the mission.

"You'll be in Namimori, Japan for the foreseeable future, and while you may receive missions within Japan on behalf of the Vongola, you will mainly be performing tasks that Reborn asks of you." The Ninth informed me.

I accepted the request. "When should I expect to leave?" I asked, mentally planning what I would need for a long term leave.

"Your flight will be booked for tomorrow morning. Oh, and Dr. Shamal will be in Namimori as well, please take care of him. Arrivederci, Krystal Shamal. Until we meet again."

I replied in kind before leaving the room and packing for the trip.

-A Ridiculously Long Plane Ride and a Bonus Sticky-Seat Train Ride Later-

I stretched, pushing my limbs as far as they could go before picking up the bulky duffle bag and pulling a heavy suitcase behind me.

It's probably a good thing that Vongola don't have to deal with security checks. Most good Mafia families don't.

Cause oh boy, did I have a lot of custom-made weapons and other technically illegal items with me.

I'd need to restock anyway, my medical kit was almost completely empty as I had found while packing.

I wandered out to the street, wondering where the heck Shamal was.

Apparently, he was being the "responsible adult" and waiting the extra half an hour in the train station after he had arrived to escort me to the place that he has here.

A dark haired girl rushed past me, muttering about there being weirdoes lately. I looked back at where she came from, when I dropped my bags and face palmed.

"Matte! Ojou-sama!" Shamal called, running after her with a pervy look on his face.

Which, moments later found my high-heeled boot there.

It may have been a happy accident.

"Teme! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I yelled, with my boot still firmly in place.

"Kr-Krystal-chan? You're here already?" He asked once I removed my boot.

I briefly looked around at my surroundings, before returning to glare at Shamal. The girl had stopped to look at us. Actually, to be fair, she wasn't the only one.

"Yes. Have you forgotten the rules I made after that incident with the Queen?" I replied in Italian with a short, clipped tone.

He paled rapidly.

Am I picking up sadism from my tutor, or is it okay to find this enjoyable?

"N-n-n-no! I remember! Eto..." He replied, scratching his head.

I turned on a demonic aura directed at him.

"HALF YOUR AGE PLUS SEVEN!" I roared at him, at which he scrambled back. "YOU ARE SEVENTEEN CENTURIES TO OLD TO TRY AND PICK UP A MIDDLE SCHOOLER!"

He pouted before turning to the female he'd been chasing.

"I apologise, ma'am. I will no longer harass you as I had been."

The girl looked shocked, but mustered herself together quickly. "As you should be, Perverted-Monkey."

She turned to me, still a couple of centimeters taller than me and started to question me.

"Who are you? And do you know this weirdo?"

"Shamal Krystal. And yes, unfortunately he's my... father." I replied in Japanese, to find her giving me a pity filled look.

"I feel sorry for you. It must be horrible." She stated. Shamal cried out something about not being fair in the background, which was ignored, as she nodded at me. "I'm Kurokawa Hana. Nice to meet you."

"And it is nice to meet you too. And it is, by the way, horrible. He can't be trained!" I complained before stating a farewell and kicking Shamal out of a weeping self-pity party.

"March, Womanizer." I demanded, picking up my bags.

-Ten Minutes Later-

Shamal knocked on the door of the house, which was quickly answered by a sweet looking woman with short brown hair.

"Ara? Are you two Tsuna-kun's friends?" She asked.

"No ma'am, we are here at Reborn's request." Shamal replied.

"Oh? Come in. You can leave your bags here and wait for Reborn in Tsuna's room." She said, gesturing us inwards.

Wait. What? Seriously? Just going to let us in?

Whatever.

We dumped the suitcases at the door, and went to wait in 'Tsuna's' room.

Or I believe that was the plan until Shamal forgot I was there and tried to smooch a pink-purple teenage girl five meters in front of him.

I went to stop him before realizing that this was 'Poison Scorpion' Bianchi, and she had plenty of experience in fending off the dumb ass.

She threw a piece of poison cooking in Shamal's face, making him fly away.

"Hey, Bi. Long time, no see." I said in Italian as we both walked towards the stairs that the unfortunate doctor had fallen down.

"How are you, Krystal? Have you had to deal with this the whole time?" She asked calmly.

"Not since I last saw you. Though he has a thick skull, so I try to teach him every time I see him." I answered, before being interrupted.

"Wait! What? Who's the guy that's become a victim of poison cooking?" called out a male voice in pure Japanese.

"That's Doctor Shamal. He's the doctor I called over from Italy." Was the reply, in a voice that I vaguely recognized.

Bianchi reached the bottom step and allowed me to pass before commenting on Shamal's still crumpled form. "It's been a long time since I've done something good for this world."

"Bianchi! If the doctor dies, then I will to..." complained the brunette boy, falling to his hands and knees.

To be honest his voice was annoying me.

"He deserves it, the dead beat." I commented without venom.

"What? Who are you?" The boy asked, glancing at me.

I shuffled my bag on my shoulder, pulling the black curls from under the straps.

I glanced to Bianchi, who smirked at me.

"Ah, some person. Call me Itsuka Shido today. Who are you?"

"A-A-Ah, S-Sa-" He began, before getting cut off by the pervert.

"Feisty as usual." Shamal said, sliding the poison cooking off his face as he sat up. "That was close."

"He's alive!" Cried the brown eyed boy.

I rolled my eyes, tuning out the conversation and mentally retreating to organize which supplies I needed first, and which ones I could get easily and cheaply.

I might be getting a 'Vongola Allowance' as well as whatever I earned on missions, but I can't spend it frivolously. I hate being broke.

A 'Vongola Allowance' is usually provided to minors that have their legal guardians working for Vongola. This is only for those whose parents are either almost always away or those who are orphaned by Vongola association and are working small jobs for the Vongola up to the age of fifteen. As you may have guessed, very, very few qualify, as most parents have one or both retire to raise their child.

I snapped out of it when the door closed, and there was only me and the Arcobaleno Reborn in the room.

"Ciaossu. You came as I asked." Reborn greeted.

I nodded. "Still have no idea why you wanted me here. Should I be looking for a place to rent or a hotel?"

"Rent. Dr Shamal hasn't organized anything?" Reborn replied, ignoring the only part of my reply I wanted answered.

"Knowing him, no." I sighed, my bag clinking as I rearranged it again.

"You came prepared. Good. Go to the center walk of town and to the Namimori Press. The pass is 'I'm home'." Reborn replied, before disappearing.

I went to leave, then turned around and called out "thanks for having me!" to the woman who opened the door.

As I went to close the door behind me, I heard a "come back soon!"

What? Okay, never mind.

-A Two and a Half Hours Later-

I sighed, finally through all the paperwork. Apparently, the forms for my placement were misplaced and the main office in residential placement was on a holiday. So I had to refill paperwork that the main office had copies of, as well as fill out a copy for Shamal to pick up later.

Like hell I was going to live with him again. I was small enough to get away, as well as me being 'too young' for him to bring back 'guests'.

I had my address. I had to speak to a Nori Hiroko, my to-be landlady.

Walking into the apartment complex behind a brown haired middle-school student (who was muttering nasty things about a Hibari-teme as she went), I tried and eventually suceeded in locating the right place.

I knocked on the door that had the 'Landlord' sign on it.

A little girl with her orange hair in very cute little pigtails opened the door.

"Hello? Who are you?"

Don't squeal. Don't squeal.

"I'm Orihara- ah, merda! I'm Shamal Krystal. Can I see Hiroko-san please?"

With wide brown eyes, she nodded, twisting around to get her.

A few seconds later, an older lady with graying orange hair appeared at the door, looking ever so slightly harassed.

"Yes? How may I be of assistance?" She asked before I handed her the paper I had been given.

"May I please rent out one of you units, Hiroko-san? If it isn't much trouble." I asked, remaining polite as she scrutinized me.

"You're rather young to be in the Vongola. And are you seriously trying to make me believe you're the Krystal Shamal?" She hissed in Italian.

God freaking- mother of a- this is bull fuc- damn it!

"You are rather short to be her." She stated.

"I'M NOT SHORT! I'm thirteen dangit!" I cried helplessly.

Hiroko laughed loudly at me.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my awesome beta Milley02-chan~ (who honestly does a great job at putting up with my shit) and shark-demon-luv for being the first reviewer since chapter five!