We need to talk

Xanxus was looking for Squalo to vent his anger on when the door slammed open and a girl entered. He glared down at her. "Who the fuck is so impatient they called a girl when they had just arrived?!" was the first thing that occurred to Xanxus. He then noticed that she wasn't Asian and that she seemed to know who he was because she was staring as if she had just seen a ghost. For a few seconds, she stood there, frozen, allowing Xanxus to observe her. She was way too young to have spent a night with him and any woman he had threatened wouldn't dare go near him again. That pretty much ruled out every single female who might know him. Finally coming to her senses, she took a few tentative steps toward him, her wide grey eyes still stuck on him. Her gaze made Xanxus feel uneasy and it hit him.

"Mini-scum?" he muttered, startled.

Gioia's lips broke into a thin smile as she heard the old nickname. Eight years had passed since they had last seen each other and she was now… what? Around thirteen? No wonder he hadn't recognized her at first sight! He watched her getting closer as he remembered how she used to be a tiny little brat who had somehow grown on him. Back then, he really enjoyed having her around to either team up with her to mess up with Squalo or to use her as another victim to release his temper on. Xanxus wouldn't admit it but he did have wondered about her whereabouts a couple of times since his return. However, he had been busy with his new plan and just didn't want to ask his officers and show them he was curious about some brat.

Gioia was finally standing before him and she slightly tilted her head as she examined Xanxus' face. He could tell she was mesmerized by the scars. Everyone always stared at his scars when they saw him. That damn brat was no exception. He was about to tell her to stop when she lifted a hand toward his face and he jerked away, avoiding the contact.

"Don't fucking touch me" he snarled.

Gioia's hand froze but she didn't blink, supporting his menacing look.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" she whispered, her face now a neutral mask. "What happened to you, Boss?"

"Nothing" he growled. "Stop staring, brat."

"Sorry" she quickly apologized.

"You're still staring, trash…"

Gioia didn't answer, her hand getting near his face once again. This time, Xanxus allowed her to touch him and remained still as her fingers traced the hideous scars. He saw her features gradually writhing in pain as if she was the one whose face had been damaged. That's when Xanxus noticed the deep scar on her cheek. Taken aback by her sudden appearance, he hadn't even noticed the mark. Maybe she knew a little about having a damaged face... Xanxus' wandering thoughts stopped when she started poking at one of his scar, apparently curious to test the skin. His face tensed and she immediately removed her hand.

"Sorry" she repeated with a sheepish smile and opted for changing topics. "It's really good to see you, Boss! I thought I'd never see you again…"

"Me too" he grumbled.

"So… missed me?" she grinned.

For a split second, Xanxus was tempted to be honest and say "yes" to make her happy.

"I actually thought I had finally got rid of you" he smirked.

"Pff I can tell you're lying!" she pouted before smiling again. "And I think you just need a hug from your favourite human being!" she suddenly claimed before wrapping her arms around him.

Xanxus had not expected that and found himself trapped in her embrace, wondering how the hell he had come to think for even a second that he had missed that annoying girl.

Squalo watched his sister leave the room, unsure about what he should say. Why the hell was he so unlucky? First, he had brought back fake Vongola rings which had made Xanxus even more pissed than he already was. And now they had come at the other end of the world to take back what should be theirs, it turned out Gioia was here. Squalo had intended to hide everything from her. This was Varia's business so she didn't have to be involved. But of all places, she had decided to live here. Squalo was tempted to keep on lying but he suddenly remembered something. Something he had dismissed after suffering Xanxus' wrath about the fake rings. There was another person he had not expected to find here.

What if Gioia learned the truth from Dino? What would she do?

Squalo was sure that if he told her, she wouldn't approve the Varia's plan. She probably wouldn't say anything but would still make it clear she didn't like it. But what would she do if Squalo kept lying to her and Dino was the one telling her what was happening? Squalo's face turned pale as he realized that there was a chance she'd choose Dino over him...

Squalo gritted his teeth as he felt a pang of jealousy toward Dino. No way he would let him get Gioia. Squalo was aware it was selfish of him, after all those years of neglecting her, but she was his and no one else's. Fuming, Squalo hurried after her sister, hoping she hadn't left the hotel yet.

The Varia captain ran through the series of huge rooms before he entered the last suite and discovered Xanxus who seemed to be on the verge of ripping Gioia into pieces. The girl had somehow managed to get the Varia boss in a tight hug and seemed completely oblivious of the murder intent aimed at her. Squalo's anger quickly faded away. Xanxus was even more instable since his return and Gioia could be in real danger.

"Gioia, listen to me" Squalo said, keeping an eye on Xanxus' movements. "Let go of him. Slowly. Don't make sudden moves."

"Don't talk as if I'm some kind of animal, trash" Xanxus snapped.

Reaching his limit, Xanxus grabbed Gioia's arms, forced her to release him and tossed the girl toward her brother. Squalo carefully caught Gioia, doing his best not to look too surprised at Xanxus' patience, and glared down at her.

"Voiii, are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

Ignoring him, she pushed Squalo away and pointed an accusing finger at him.

"Why didn't you tell me Boss was back?!"

"I… don't know" Squalo mumbled.

"You don't know?!" she repeated, upset. "But you knew I've also been waiting for him!"

"I know" he said. "Things got hectic when Xanxus returned and I didn't have any time to have a proper conversation with you so yeah, sorry."

Squalo saw Gioia's expression soften for some reason and he sighed from relief. Sometimes he was grateful for her mood swings.

"This is all very touching" growled Xanxus "but what the hell are you doing here, mini-scum?"

"I live here."

"What?"

"Long story!" she grinned. "Let me tell you about everything you missed those last years. See, I didn't really like school back there, in Italy. And it so happens that Tanaka-jiisan fell ill and he…"

"Trash" Xanxus interrupted. "For a moment, I thought you hadn't changed a bit. But I was wrong. You're even worse than I remember…"

"She is" agreed Squalo. "Just wait till she starts speaking about food… Sounds like the love of her life…"

"Food, huh? That explains why she gained weight."

Gioia pouted as the two men made fun of her. They both had a truly satisfied smirk on their faces and she couldn't help half smiling. Seeing her brother and Xanxus back together felt right.

Their teasing was stopped by a phone ringing and Squalo intently listened to the other person before hanging up and turning to Xanxus.

"Levi and Mammon found them" he simply said.

A spark lit up Xanxus' eyes as he heard his captain. He didn't answer and just left the room, without a second glance at Squalo or Gioia.

"You stay here" Squalo ordered his sister.

"What?! How long am I supposed to wait for you? I have homework to do!"

Squalo took her by the shoulders and leaned to stare right into her eyes.

"Please wait here. We need to talk."

She scanned his eyes before nodding. Squalo patted her head then followed his boss.

"Just find something to do" he said before leaving the room. "I don't know, order some food maybe?"

He heard Gioia gasp and wondered if it was a good idea to give her the green light to order food from the luxurious hotel…

The Varia officers burst into the suite, talking loudly, every one of them impatient to teach their young opponents a lesson. Squalo was particularly eager to fight to make them pay for the fake rings. He was listing the best ways to make the Vongola brat suffer when he spotted Gioia sitting at the table, surrounded by empty plates and taking notes on a paper.

"Oh, you're back!" she looked up with a smile.

They all stared at her, gaping at the number of plates on the table.

"Voiiii! Don't tell me you ordered all of this!" Squalo roared. "Are you a monster? How could you eat all this food!?"

"Mu, it's going to cost a fortune" Mammon intervened, sounding genuinely hurt.

Gioia pretended she hadn't heard any of them and ran to hug Lussuria whom she hadn't seen earlier. She managed to hug Mammon before he could fly away and returned to Levi the same look of contempt he was giving her. Xanxus ignored all of them and left the room while Squalo watched silently. He finally took a deep breath, deciding it wouldn't help thinking too much about it.

"Gioia, we need to talk."

The girl let go of Mammon and followed her brother into his personal room. He sat on the bed and motioned her to do the same. For a moment, he stared at his feet, unsure about how he should start. Gioia remained silent.

"Say, if you had to choose between Dino and me, who would you pick?"

The words had escaped from Squalo and he internally cursed himself for it. It was the worst possible way of starting the conversation. Gioia who had been startled by the sudden question was now reflecting on it. Squalo observed her, waiting for her answer but wishing at the same time that she wouldn't say anything.

"I don't know" she finally uttered.

Squalo's heart sank. He could see she was being totally honest with him. He was reassured she hadn't answered "Dino" but he believed that a few years ago, she would have said "Nii-chan" without a second thought. Squalo gritted his teeth but didn't show any disappointment. He had deserved such an answer.

"To keep it short" he said, not commenting on her answer "Xanxus is the true Vongola's heir and I want to make it sure he gets what he deserves."

Gioia nodded.

"For that" Squalo continued "we need the Vongola rings to prove that we are the legitimate next generation. However, some dumbass people in the family disagree and support another candidate. So we have to fight to get those damn rings. That's why we're here. We'll each have a duel against one of the other candidate's family."

Squalo frowned. When he had mentioned the other candidate, Gioia's eyes had widened as if she had finally understood something. Then, he had spoken about the duels and she had frozen. It lasted only for a second before she composed herself again but Squalo had noticed it anyway. Why was she reacting like that?

"Anyway, that's it. You now know the situation and you don't have to worry about us this time. We're going to fight against useless brats. It's going to be a piece of cake, maybe even boring!" he laughed.

Gioia didn't laugh, now looking worried.

"Voii" Squalo scowled. "I told you not to worry!"

"Sorry" she muttered. "I just have a bad feeling about it, that's all…"

"It's going to be fine" Squalo assured her.

"If you say so…" she sighed before getting up. "I think I'll go home for now. I have to wake up early for school tomorrow."

Squalo nodded and watched her leave. Something was still bothering him. The fact Gioia hadn't said anything about their plan just felt… odd. Squalo tried to convince himself he was probably worried for nothing but he ended up going back to the main suite to find Bel.

"Where is the crowned brat?" Squalo asked, finding only Mammon sitting at the table with a long bill and a calculator and Xanxus slouched in an armchair.

"Out" the Arcobaleno said. "Why?"

"I need him to keep an eye on Gioia."

"You want Bel to tail your sister?" Mammon asked, surprised enough to turn away from the bill.

"Something's bothering me… I just want to be sure it's nothing" Squalo growled.

"Consider it done. When your sister came to say goodbye, Lussuria and Bel jumped on her and dragged her to a karaoke, I think."

"Those bastards! Don't they have nothing better to do?!"

"Those idiots are fast" commented Xanxus. "Since she had eaten so much, I wanted to walk her to the park so that she could run around a bit but they got her first…"

"VOIII! She's not your pet!" Squalo roared and stormed out of the room.

Note:

Another quick update! Thanks for reading and welcome to the new readers!

Have a nice day and see you next chatper ^^