Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my OCs.
Patience was never my strong point. I dreamed every night for four days straight that the boss was calling out for us. He must be freezing cold. Was he thinking of us? Was he waiting for us to rescue him? Did he think we had betrayed him? Could he think at all?
In the eight years that we waited, I learned how to think of others. He taught me how to respect another person's feelings and he hadn't even been beside me.
I was twenty-one now, there was no more to waiting that could possibly be done so when Squalo asked me to wait just one more year to make sure that Vongola Nono wasn't going to interfere or be suspicious of us any longer, I went out alone.
The basement was calling to me. The boss was calling to me.
I wanted him to hurry and come back before Ottavio grew a pair and decided to do away with Squalo and Lussuria. I honestly didn't think Ottavio could kill either of them alone but I was starting to think that Ottavio was putting stuff in our food. Squalo-senpai goes to the bathroom to shit at least four times a day now and I've heard Lussuria talk about how he's losing some weight for no reason at all in recent days. If that's not enough for me to go and rescue the boss now, hell, I think I might as well kill them all myself.
Vongola Main Base was easy to enter, hidden by the night sky and the darkest cloak. The basement was not so heavily guarded tonight, for every important mafioso was out at a party that the Cavallone Family was hosting. I don't know what the party was about nor was I invited to attend-actually I might've been but I'm not interested in parties much so I'm not going. Dino was an old friend, but not one I had spoken to in recent times. I paused in the shadows of the dimly lit hall just outside the basement door.
I hadn't spoken to Dino in nine years. That was longer than I had gone without the boss but I felt nothing for Dino at the moment. Lives were at stake here (mine included) so all I was thinking about was how to get in and out of this location with the boss.
I revealed myself to the guards slowly. They had merely asked for my identity when I went on the offensive. Both of the guards fell to the floor, unconscious but not dead. I didn't want to attract the attention of others with the scent of their blood. I pushed open the great basement doors.
The boss was frozen in the same place, hardly any change in the eternal ice that held him prisoner. I touched my bare hand to the ice, hissing and pulling away at the temperature. He had suffered for us. We walked free for eight years because he had been the one entrapped here all alone, probably having all the blame for that incident pushed onto his shoulders and his shoulders alone. He was never kind enough to take the blame on his own but Nono wouldn't have let us walk out if he wasn't able to pin the blame on just Xanxus.
It didn't matter.
I took one crack at the ice. My fist split open, blood pouring out but the ice remained uncracked. Surprised and in disbelief, I replaced my gauntlets and swung again. My armor shattered against the ice and fell apart. I took another swing, my frustration growing when my fists took all the damage from what was supposed to be a punch with enough power to break bones. I had broken more ribs and spines than I could count with these fist and yet, the ice was a bigger challenge than anything I had ever faced.
A laugh from behind me chilled me to the bone. I spun but there was no one there. Another laugh but this time, right against my ear. I flung my fist out but there was no recipient. I was caught and I knew there was no escaping the punishment for being here. If I didn't free the boss, he would be here for much too long.
The clattering of metal to the floor caught my attention. I spun around and paused, spotting two glittering rings on the floor. I took both into my hands gingerly. I don't know what kind of feeling was tugging at my heart but somewhere deep down, I knew that the rings I was holding were the keys to freedom.
"Free him. If you can light those rings, he will return to you." The voice instructed. It was not the voice of a stranger. In fact, it was a voice that I heard daily-mine.
"Who..?" I had no time to ask and I knew it.
I had no other choice. I certainly wasn't the type of person to trust strange voices nor was I the type to obey anyone but I had nothing to lose here. I took up both rings, holding one close to me and the other one to the ice like I was instructed to do so. The ring closer to the boss lit up first but the one I held close to me did nothing.
"How do I light it?" I demanded.
My voice responded from the shadows, "If you have the resolve to free him, you will light it."
Resolve? I came here because I wanted to free him! What more can
I do to prove that I was resolved? Irritation grew inside me, frustration leading my fist pounding harder and harder against the unforgiving ice, but the ice was uncaring. The ring in my hand was just starting to warm.
I growled, "Boss, open your eyes and get yourself out of there."
An immediate response. The boss' ring warmed in my hands and the ice began to melt. He could hear me! The ring I held close to my chest was starting to light up. The eerie laughter echoed once more, telling me to leave him because I would be caught if I stayed even a moment longer.
Trusting the voice that had helped me in the first place, I escaped alone with one last long look at the boss. I returned to HQ and was bombarded by questions but I didn't answer any of them. Apparently, my presence had been mandatory at the Cavallone Family party and my coworkers were clearly unhappy that I had decided to skip without telling anyone but that was the least of my concerns.
Had I really freed the boss? What was he doing now? Had he even regained consciousness or was that all in my own head? Should I have left him?
Regret filled my heart and I went to Squalo later that night and told him what I had done. Squalo-senpai went sheet pale and was silent for a moment. I almost thought he would scold me but he didn't.
Instead, he told me in a very uncharacteristically formal tone that he was so sorry that he didn't go with me. He told me he was proud that I had even gathered up the courage to try while the rest of the officers were tiptoeing around with secret plans and long-winded explanations as to why they couldn't free our boss. With Squalo's promise that we would try to free our boss once more as a big group if there was no news of his escape by the end of the week, I returned to my room to try to sleep.
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
By the end of the week, Squalo and Lussuria were starting to get antsy. They both knew that Squalo had promised an invasion of main base if the boss was not back by about this time. Only a select few members of the Varia knew about my deeds. It was Squalo, Lussuria, and Mammon. I'm sure that Mammon has shared the information with Belphegor as well but only one thing is certain: Ottavio doesn't know a thing. There have been no attempts at Squalo's life thus far but I still don't trust Ottavio. I know exactly what I heard and I'm sure that conniving herbivore is plotting something.
As we were plotting our current invasion plan for the night, Vongola Nono sent us a message to announce the return of our boss, sending a majority of the officers into confusion.
"That's impossible!" Squalo spat as soon as the messenger had left us, "Who prevented the Ninth from refreezing him?"
"Why was he allowed to return to us? Has he been forgiven?" Lussuria demanded answers from poor Squalo that obviously had no such answers.
"Kira, you saw him, didn't you?" Squalo asked, "Did you get to talk to him or what?"
"I told you. He was frozen. His body grew like the rest of us but…" I paused, "Maybe the Ninth is hoping he had a change of mind about being the next boss. I mean, the Ninth is getting old too so maybe the old man really needs his heir."
"Whatever it is doesn't matter! Boss is coming back!" Leviathan threw his arms up in celebration, "We waited all this time for this moment!"
"Yeah. All we did was wait." Mammon grumbled, "You don't think Xanxus is going to be mad about it, do you?"
There was a short silence in which all the members thought about the worth of their lives for a moment.
"Kira, I'll pay you if you say I helped you out on you-" Mammon didn't have to say anymore.
"Buy me steak." I demanded, "A good ten pounds of it will suffice. I don't intend to tell the boss that I was the one who went and melted the ice. I don't even know how I did it and I have no proof unless he saw me."
"The evidence is right here!" Lussuria said, shaking the piece of paper at me vigorously, "He's freed and he's going to be mad for sure!"
"It did take us an awfully long time…" I grumbled, "I didn't mean to wait so long… I just… Didn't have the strength."
"Kira, you're the only one that's safe!" Squalo shouted in my face, "Don't you get it! You're the only one who did anything!"
"Well I certainly don't intend to tell him I did it alone! You all took the pressure off me by going to the Cavallone Family's party." I said, turning away when the officers fell into a stunned stupor and stared at me with slack jaws, "W-We're a team, you idiots! If he's going to be mad at anyone, he can be mad at all of us."
Lussuria was the first to leap on me in joy, "Oh, Kira-chan! Have I ever told you how much I adore you?"
"Shut up." I grumbled in all my embarrassment.
That night our plans to invade main base became plans to throw a party to welcome our boss home.
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
On Lussuria and Levi's call, the Varia was in full party mode. It was kind of funny to think that this group of cold-blooded assassins could party so hard. We almost looked like normal people tonight. Regardless, this was a party for Xanxus and we welcomed him back with open arms.
He was no different than he was before. I mean, he was much more analytical because we had all changed so much in the time that he was gone. He quietly listened to our tales and struggles after he had been frozen. Our boss was never a talkative one to begin with so we didn't expect him to say anything but he really didn't say a single word all night. Only one thing was clear about him and it was that he was not a quitter. Time had done nothing to cool his ambition.
When the night had gone on and the partying officers had fallen into a deep slumber, the boss called out to me, "Why did you come?"
"Why wouldn't I?" I was only surprised for one moment and it was more about the fact that he had spoken at all rather than the fact that he knew I was the one who melted the ice and freed him, "You are the leader of this group and we need you."
His crimson eyes glared into mine as he spoke, "I'm not going to stop."
"I didn't ask you to." I scoffed, "We're ready to try again. We're not the same children that attacked without knowing anything. We're stronger now."
"So you intend to remain as my Cloud?" He asked the question as if he had expected my answer to be no, "You told me before that you don't want to take orders from herbivores. You've grown stronger in the eight years that we haven't seen each other. I've remained the same."
"If you're implying that you think you're weaker than me now… Don't." I grinned at him, "Come and face me. In the years that you spent frozen in time, I have trained with the desire to defeat those stronger than me. The Guardians, Vongola Nono, and even you. If I defeat you tonight, you will take orders from me. If you defeat me, I'll be your Cloud Guardian."
"Kira-chan!" Lussuria rolled over, smiling at me like a child. It was sign that he had heard most of our conversation, "He just got out. You're too big a hurdle right from the start."
Squalo sat up as well, revealing that he was awake as well. The smile of a demon was on his face, "Should we tell him about Ottavio?"
"Oh." I couldn't help but laugh as the rest of the officers sat up one by one with the expression of a hunter on each of their faces.
Ottavio was of course not happy about Xanxus' return and therefore, made up some sort of lame excuse not to be here tonight. It was a good thing for us because we could now tell our boss of Ottavio's treachery.
"Boss, Ottavio's an asshole." I started, scooting closer to him. The rest of the officers were scooting in so we could talk at a low volume, "I really think he's the whole reason the Guardians were there on the night we were defeated."
Xanxus' expression was already naturally angry looking but he looked super pissed to hear such a thing, "Ottavio?"
"Yeah." I nodded, "On the night we were invading main base, you said that the Guardians weren't supposed to be there but they were."
He narrowed his eyes, "Ottavio was the only one who wasn't with us but he's a coward. He would-"
"He told me that if I knew what was good for me I wouldn't go with you." I was quick to rat Ottavio out because I knew that he had ratted us out, "And last year, I heard Ottavio talking on the phone with someone. He was saying that with you out of the way all he has to do is kill Squalo-senpai and Lussuria to become the boss here."
"On the phone…" Xanxus snarled, "Then there are more-"
"We got you a list, boss." Squalo smirked, gesturing for Lussuria and me to take our shoes off. The swordsman reached down and pulled his own boot off, turning it upside down to let the small slip of folded paper fall out, "We got you three lists."
"We kept them in our shoes so no one could accidentally stumble across it." I explained, "Meaning, I think Ottavio knows I'm onto him but he has no idea that Lussuria and Squalo know as well."
Lussuria had just pulled his list from his shoe and was adjusting his laces, "Mammon was paid into the operation so he and Bel-chan helped us find all the possible traitors outside of our organization."
"Wh-Why didn't I know about this?!" Leviathan demanded.
"Because Kira-chan doesn't like you." Lussuria blurted as if it was the most normal and appropriate answer.
I shrugged when Levi turned to glare at me. I honestly have nothing against Levi as a coworker. I trust him and all but I really think he's not the kind of man to go to about secret operations with the delicacy needed to succeed. He's kind of stupid. He might've accidentally told Ottavio what was going on if I had told him.
"Give me those." Xanxus demanded, drawing our attention once more. We handed over our collected information. He gave it a once over and snarled, "Kill them all."
"Hell yeah." We cheered all at once.
As if we already knew how this was going to be done, we handed Levi one list and demanded that he take his squad out to kill them all. Squalo, Lussuria and I shared a list amongst ourselves and left Mammon and Belphegor with the last list. When our boss stood up, we already knew he was going straight for Ottavio himself.
Good luck, Ottavio. Just pray that you got stronger than our boss in these last eight years. Sike. No way that would ever happen especially when Ottavio hasn't been to any of our training sessions since Xanxus was frozen over.
In the dead of the night, we stormed out of the building and went our separate ways. Soaked in the blood of our enemies, we returned home. In the doorway was Ottavio, bruised and battered. Xanxus had clearly made an example of him. The punishment was still ongoing because Ottavio was still alive. When we came in, he opened his swollen eyes and swept the crowd. I almost felt bad for him.
His eyes met mine and he pleaded, "Kira, I did nothing wrong."
"Well that's not an apology." Lussuria elbowed me gently, eyebrows wiggling suggestively, "Should we rough him up a bit more?"
"A bit more and he'll die." I snorted, "What happened to the boss?"
"Up there." Squalo gestured to the top of the staircase where our boss was leering at us from behind the railing. He smirked, "Did you have your fun? Want us to dispose of him?"
Xanxus chose to answer his question by leaning over the railing, a sharp needle glinted in his hand. Taking careful aim, he chucked what appeared to be a dart into Ottavio's shoulder. Our traitor bit his tongue to keep from screaming out. Xanxus smirked, lifting his free hand to display a cup still filled with darts. He pointed a long, almost-elegant finger at me and motioned for me to come up the stairs.
"Kira, please." Ottavio's voice was muffled by the blood gurgling up in his throat. These darts were probably nothing compared to the torture Xanxus put him through earlier when we were all gone. But I had no sympathy for this man at all.
I climbed the stairs and hesitated when Xanxus reached out a long arm and offered me a dart, "I…"
The crimson eyes of our leader assessed me and then slowly but surely, he reached over and pulled me towards him. He positioned me in front of him so that he could help me aim the dart, "Elbow up."
I obeyed, cheeks burning in embarrassment as he guided my hand through the motion of throwing the dart, "I-I… Don't have good aim-"
"You will." Xanxus' voice rumbled from deep inside his chest as he curled my fingers around a dart, "Keep your eye on the target. Think about where you want it to go and it will go."
Ottavio's shoulders visibly stiffened as I took aim. He was not a good fighter but his senses were good enough to tell him that he was going to be hurt for sure. I glanced up at the boss, seeing his scarred face up close for the first time. It looked painful. It was a permanent reminder of many failures for both him and the rest of us.
"Eyes on the target, Kira." He ordered and I turned to the front. He pushed my arm through the motion a few more times before stepping back, "Throw it."
I did just that and I watched the tip of the dart sink deep into Ottavio's back. The rest of the officers scrambled up to get their turns at it but Xanxus was now bored with it all and he ordered for us to empty the cup and then have Ottavio killed. We felt no sorrow as we completed our boss' orders. We were glad to have him back.
This is our Varia.
Bye bye Ottavio :)