Just so we're clear here, she's dating Arashi, not Kyouya. At this point Kyouya views her more as a little sister than anything.
Xanxus was in a rather foul mood, and who could blame him? He had been frozen for eight years, missed his grandmother and older brother's funeral and was only allowed out because the old bastard had a use for him.
And if that wasn't enough, the old fart openly threatened to kill his Elements if he failed to follow through on his grand plan to bring a Sky who had successfully managed to remove herself from the Vongola back in line!
Xanxus had never met the girl and the only information he knew was even remotely true was the fact she was Iemitsu's daughter, but didn't consider the man her father in any way, shape or form.
Mammon had been very busy the second Reborn canceled his contract the very day he entered Japan. Reborn wouldn't do something like that on a whim, especially since he was the Ninth's unofficial personal hit man, and the contract had been made out to the Vongola.
Iemitsu's lack of interest in his family was really biting him in the ass now.
Nothing in the file CEDEF had on her was true anymore, and the only thing they had right was her first name and her gender. It was that bad.
Xanxus looked at the recently updated file Mammon had barely managed to put together.
The girl was barely five foot four, had more than just the usual set of six guardians (though all the extras usually had a 'lesser' flame bond, but still just as binding) and was reportedly on very good terms with the Vindice.
Her Storm was the one who had his full attention though.
Hibari Arashi, roughly the same age as his Cloud cousin. A Storm with a decent Cloud secondary who's territory seemed to revolve around his Sky in particular. A blunt and somewhat devious person who was reportedly the son of the late Storm Arcobaleno. He was the main source behind his Sky's removal from the Vongola succession and why Reborn was so quick to cancel his contract. He clearly knew his way around the underworld better than someone his age should and had a known mastery of martial arts unheard of.
Though if he had been trained by his father personally then it made a lot of sense. Of course Fon would want to insure his skills were passed down to his heir.
However Xanxus hadn't made the head of the Varia just because Squalo handed the position over to him. He had seen a memory of what the World's Strongest had looked like directly from Mammon and the resemblance to the Storm and his son was far too strong for it to be a coincidence.
Last he checked, cloning had yet to reach the point where they could duplicate someone that perfectly and something about the skill the Storm used to remove his Sky from the control of the old bastard said he had experience no teen his age should have normally.
Xanxus would bet good money Fon had accidentally found a way to remove the curse that couldn't be easily replicated, and had faked his death to hide that fact and so he could be with his Sky without the Triads trying to use her against him. It fit the facts far better than some random nobody killing him out of the blue and how this 'Arashi' was able to pull off the stunts he had.
The main reason Xanxus even focused on the Storm was simple. The old bastard wanted him to 'seduce' the fifteen year old girl and have her marry back into the family so he could reclaim control over the bloodline.
Except all of Mammon's findings indicated her Storm had taken the initiative to court his Sky as a female...and from what they had found out, the girl was clearly falling for him.
If this Arashi was Fon, then it made perfect sense he would personally insure his Sky wouldn't become prey to an older man who wanted to use her for his own ends. Being her boyfriend insured that she wouldn't fall for such tricks and kept things 'in-house' so to speak.
It was something he knew his Nonna would have approved of immensely, as she detested political marriages.
Xanxus hated the old man...but the threat against his Elements was very real. He wouldn't put it past that bastard to kill them if he didn't follow orders. He no longer even pretended he cared about him...he used the word father like another title, as if Xanxus should show him respect simply for taking him in.
It disgusted him, the sheer level of arrogance that bastard had. He wished he had seen it before.
He could only hope the old bastard croaked soon, preferably when a proper heir from the mafia side of things was found and named.
As Xanxus walked past one of the many mirrors in the hallway, he would have sworn he saw a face in one of them. And it wasn't his own.
He turned to look properly, only for it to disappear. However he was Varia Quality, and Mists could do all sorts of things if they were creative enough about it.
He made a note to avoid any direct contact with mirrors for a while.
Hotaru had to blink. Had Xanxus seen her?
"Well?" asked Reborn curiously.
"Xanxus is free, and I'm fairly certain he's been ordered to seduce me in order to bring me back into the family that way," said Hotaru. She paused for a moment. "And I think he saw me in the mirror."
"...It is possible. I doubt any sound could pass through it, but there is a chance that Mirror was able to connect the two via the reflective surfaces," said Arashi after a moment. "Actually it's more than possible...you've used Mirror and Time more than some of the others and I know that communication mirrors are a thing among the magical community."
Seeing he had the full interest of Reborn and Hotaru, Arashi smiled.
"I can get some of them for you and Mirror to play around with. Being able to communicate from any reflective surface would be a very useful thing to have."
Hotaru perked up at that. She loved learning about magic, even if learning about the politics made her head hurt something awful.
Reborn had found out about the spirits rather quickly and was very put off that Hotaru could freeze him in a blink of an eye using Time with no way for him to stop it.
Then again hearing exactly why she had done it in the first place, he almost felt smug that she considered him a threat right off the bat enough to use such a unique ability in order to escape. It meant she respected him as a hit man enough to take him seriously without having to go through any hoops.
He still knew something was up with Arashi and not because he had a second 'personality' in his head that looked like a Chinese angel of sorts!
It was fascinating, learning about magic.
Dino looked at the invitation to the Halloween ball. Personally after having a long chat with Hotaru and Arashi, he couldn't understand why no one saw the sheer arrogance Timoteo Vongola had, or the fact he kept his power a little too close to the chest.
Enrico had been more than old enough to inherit, and yet the old man had kept putting it off right up until his son died from a stupid raid he never should have been involved in. If Enrico had been Decimo, then he might still be alive today.
Considering how much the Vongola liked to show off and the number of dons that would be there, Dino felt it safe enough to bring Hotaru...so long as he could secure permission for his 'date' to bring one or two of her Guardians with her.
Sure, it would mean exposing he had found a female Sky of the right age, but it would also send a lot of plans crashing down for the Ninth.
The mafia needed a good shaking up. Now that his eyes were open, he was having trouble believing how blind he had been to how stagnant it had become while the Ninth was in power.
Besides... Dino was a student of Reborn. You either learned to appreciate a certain level of sadism and chaos, or you went insane.
It took a few days, but he secured an invitation for his 'date' and two of her Guardians, as well as two of his own.
Now to let Hotaru and her people know.
He couldn't wait to see the chaos that unfolded.
Hotaru was nervous, and who could blame her? She was in a pit of sharks ready to eat her alive the second they knew who and what she was. To make matters worse, they would be there.
Arashi kept a respectful distance that indicated he trusted her to protect herself, but was well within range of him being able to reach her in seconds.
Kero was currently disguised and hiding in a small pouch under the skirt of Hotaru's dress. She wore a pair of shorts under it to insure she didn't flash anyone in the event it became too torn, along with a sports bra that covered enough for her to maintain her modesty.
Considering Reborn had 'helpfully' showed her what one of his special bullets could do, she had become particularly paranoid about wearing specially treated flame proof clothing under her normal clothes.
That sort of attack would create untold trauma on any girl it was used on, especially after puberty hit properly.
After some intense debating, Chrome was chosen to act as the second Guardian to join Hotaru.
Mainly because she had displayed a rather interesting resonance with Mukuro to the point he could literally possess her long enough to use his own illusions through her. As a female, Chrome could go places Arashi could not such as the bathroom or to help Hotaru change. She also had a shy and slightly meek aura around her that would make any mafioso dismiss her as a threat right off the bat, despite her flame type.
Between those three and the fact the former Clow Cards were always with her, unseen or felt by anyone save those that practiced magic in the first place (who generally kept separate from the mafia to begin with), she was as protected as she was likely to get under the circumstances.
It was still highly nerve-wracking being there, particularly since she registered Iemitsu's presence nearby...with a date. She inwardly seethed, because her mother was suffering alone back in Namimori and here the bastard was living it up in Italy as if he didn't have a wife and daughter!
She felt the warmth that came from the silent support of the spirits, and the 'anticipation' Fight and Sword had the second she gave them permission to let loose on him.
Sadly she couldn't give them permission. Not here and now.
They needed to be subtle and discreet until it was time to send most of the Ninth's plans to use her crashing down.
She trusted in Arashi's plan, and the fact that Bermuda was personally keeping an eye on her to help facilitate a quick escape to the Vindicare long enough for news to spread about a neutral famiglia that would act as an intermediary for the mafia and the Vindice, should the need call for it.
He would not allow the Vongola to forcibly reclaim her against her will, not when she could be very useful in the future.
After all, she was the main reason Arashi was able to remove the pacifier it the first place, much less how he had been able to maintain his current age until his flames and magic stabilized. If they could figure out how Yue had managed to pull that off, it would mean being one step closer to removing the pacifiers from the world altogether, striking a blow against Checkerface.
Either way, they wanted to keep a close eye on Arashi and having her as their personal intermediary made it easier for both parties to get what they wanted. Hotaru got protection from the Vongola, and the Vindice got a potential avenue to ridding the world of the Arcobaleno curse once and for all.
Didn't make this any easier on her though.
Spotting a familiar face, Hotaru nudged Dino towards where Squalo was. He looked very irritated, and kept glaring at the Ninth and Iemitsu.
Dino obligingly made a beeline for them, hiding their true objective.
"Voi, what do you want Bucking Horse?" said Squalo irritably.
Dino felt something pass and assumed Chrome had made a discreet barrier.
In reality Hotaru had Silent insure no one overheard what they said and Illusion kept anyone from reading their lips. As far as they knew, Dino was making small talk with an old school friend over some rumors he heard.
"It's safe to talk," said Hotaru. Since her Italian wasn't very good, she stuck to Japanese.
Squalo raised an eyebrow at that, but easily switched to Japanese as well.
"Voi. What do you want?" he demanded.
"I want to give your boss an 'out' from the Ninth's heavy-handed manipulations. At least until a proper Decimo takes over. I find it appalling that the old bastard lied to him about his adoption and then left him frozen in that ice block for eight years, only to free him because he suddenly found one of his potential pawns was no longer under his control," said Hotaru bluntly. She was borrowing a page out of Arashi's book...when it doubt, be as blunt and straightforward as possible.
Squalo froze in shock.
"Who are you?"
Hotaru smirked and pulled off her mask. If he was in shock before, it was nothing compared to realizing he was in front of the same girl the Ninth had all but ordered his Sky to seduce in order to reclaim her. She easily put it back on.
"...What makes you think you have any authority to give us an out?" asked Squalo.
Hotaru carefully took out some paperwork and handed it over, waiting patiently for Squalo to read it. He knew it was the real deal, as he recognized the Vindice seal and flame signature. Anyone with any power at all knew it.
He read it twice, and then a third time because he was having trouble believing it.
"You want to make a famiglia who's sole purpose is to act as an intermediary with the Vindice?" he said incredulous.
"I also intend to provide sanctuary to civilians who suddenly find themselves with Active flames, like Skull was before the curse. In exchange for their backing, the Vongola will be unable to force me back into the family without pissing off the Honorable Law Keepers. It also means a lot less work having to keep track of the civilian-born flame users for the Vindice, and they don't have to interact with the various famiglia over their prisoners."
Squalo could tell she was being genuine about this. The paperwork alone said that this was a legitimate attempt to insure that the Ninth was screwed over in regards to the succession issue, because he was an arrogant dick who deserved it. It was about time someone stood up to the bastard.
And with the Vindice being her backers, there was literally no way the Vongola could strong arm them into handing her over.
"...Why are you offering us an 'out'?"
"One, because it will royally piss off the Ninth. And Two, because anyone with eyes can see he favors CEDEF over the Varia and won't hesitate to try and 'downsize' your group purely because of his own insecurities and because he doubts Xanxus' loyalty, despite the fact that he genuinely wants the Vongola to remain strong," said Hotaru flatly. "This way the Varia gets to keep their jobs...more or less...and the Vindice don't have to deal with a large number of ex-Quality on the streets trying to make a living because the Ninth is being an idiot and causing chaos. They would rather have you all in one group than deal with the loose cannons that are in your organization."
Squalo stared...and then he started to laugh. It wasn't a nice one, but it said volumes of his opinion to that statement. He was actually rather pleased.
"Voi! I would have thought a civvie would shirk away from having a large number of assassins at their disposal!" he smirked. But there was no doubt in Hotaru's mind he was going to pass this along to Xanxus later.
Her flat look almost had him cackling.
"My genetic donor is Iemitsu. As Arashi helpfully pointed it out, when Reborn brought that very subject up, the odds of me being able to murder him personally are too low to consider. However the Varia has a large number of people who would likely perform the deed for free if I gave them a reason to like me enough, since the man has never qualified as my 'father' in the first place and it's unlikely to be considered patricide," deadpanned Hotaru.
Squalo's grin was pure evil and would have made Dino shiver if it were ever pointed in his direction. The older Sky knew without a doubt that Hotaru had made an ally with that particular comment.
Hell, Xanxus would rather happily murder Iemitsu in a brutal fashion if he even thought he could get away with it. No one liked that arrogant jackass!
Squalo hid the paperwork and the phone number/Skype address Hotaru gave him. He would need to talk with his Sky before they made any plans.
Either way, he could firmly state that the small Sky wasn't Trash like her stupid father. Not with that sort of backbone!