Phone Calls
Xanxus took his seat at the table and started eating his carefully prepared morning steak. He looked around the table and couldn't help smirking when his eyes fell on two of his officers. Levi was ashen-faced and seemed completely oblivious to his surroundings, his empty gaze staring at an invisible spot on the wall. Squalo, on the other hand, kept nervously glancing around him. This morning, the Varia captain had decided to wear a dark hat which perfectly concealed his hair. He was obviously dreading someone would ask about it and of course, Xanxus wouldn't miss that chance.
"Why are you wearing that dumbass hat, trash?"
Squalo's jaw tensed.
"None of your business" he muttered.
"Take it off."
Squalo remained silent.
"Take it off" Xanxus insisted, glaring at his captain.
All eyes, except Levi's, turned toward Squalo who studied his boss's face. Xanxus really looked like he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. Mortified, Squalo slowly reached for his hat and took it off. The dining room occupants fell silent as they stared at the glittering silver hair tied in a bun. Then Lussuria couldn't take it anymore and let out a high pitched scream, clapping his hands in delight.
"You look fabulous, Squ-chan!" he shrieked.
Xanxus and Bel snickered while Fran's lips slightly twitched. Squalo turned bright red and quickly put his hat back on his head.
"You're all morons" he grunted.
Xanxus was about to rub it in when Gioia barged into the room, only wearing a towel around her and with her face as red as her brother.
"Where are my clothes?!" she fumed.
"I'm in favour for this peasant to dress like this from now on!" Bel grinned.
"Put on some clothes, brat" Xanxus frowned disapprovingly at the prince.
"I would love to" she hissed "if I had my clothes! Where are they?!" she glared at her brother.
Suddenly forgetting all about his unfortunate hair, Squalo raised an eyebrow in feigned surprise.
"At the laundry."
"The laundry?" her eyes narrowed at him.
"My mistake, my dear sister. I saw those clothes on the floor and thought you wanted them to be washed. So I brought them down at the laundry while you were taking your shower."
"You took all my clothes, even those in my suitcase."
"I was only trying to be thoughtful" Squalo shrugged, enjoying his little vengeance.
"B-but" she stuttered "I don't have anything else to put on…"
"Oh, poor thing" Squalo shook his head before he grinned at her. "But I'm pretty sure Lussuria would be happy to let you borrow one of those outfits he's got in his basement. Right, Lussuria?"
Lussuria gasped and Gioia paled. Before she could run away, the colourful man had already grabbed her arm and was dragging her away.
Xanxus looked up when someone entered his office and almost choked on his wine. Gioia was currently leaning against the door, apparently listening for potential pursuers. But that didn't really surprise Xanxus because it regularly happened whenever she stayed at the mansion. What captivated the Varia boss's attention at that moment was the fluffy bunny tail on Gioia's shorts. If you ignored the bunny tail and the bunny ears on the hoodie, Gioia was dressed quite simply: brown shorts, white t-shirt and yellow hoodie. The bunny ears could have been acceptable and almost funny. But the bunny tail. Gioia suddenly turned and Xanxus looked away, clearing his throat.
"What are you doing in my office?" he asked grumpily. "And what the fuck are you wearing?"
"It was the least worst" she grimaced, coming up to him. "And Lussu-nee would murder me if I removed the tail…"
"You need to get your usual clothes back..."
"I know... I can't wait for tomorrow" she sighed, sitting next to him. "Bel decided it'd be fun to chase me with a hunting knife. Since I'm a bunny..."
"So you're hiding from that brat, huh? And what makes you think I'll let you hide here?"
"Oh, come on, Xanxus" she whined. "It's the best hiding place! Please let me stay!"
Xanxus studied her pleading face, wondering how he could make her repay him.
"Alright" he finally said. "But you'll have to do something for me."
"What?"
"Your brother always harasses me with tons of supposedly important emails. I don't have time for this. So you'll check my emails, tell me when it really is important and then make me a report at the end of the day. You'll take care of the phone calls as well. Deal?"
"For how long do I have to do this?"
"As long as it pleases me."
Gioia stared at him, pondering over the proposition.
"And you'll let me hide in here whenever I want?" she asked.
Xanxus nodded.
"We have a deal" she smiled.
Now that all food had been brought to the table and Xanxus was satisfied with his plate, Gioia finally sat down and started eating. She had been at the Varia mansion for a bit more than a week now and had gotten used to her daily tasks. She made the officers' meals, regularly trained with Lussuria, acted as Xanxus's personal assistant and pranked unfortunate Varia members with Bel and Fran whenever she had time.
Her job as Xanxus's assistant took up a great part of her time and most of his emails and phone calls were about the Millefiore situation. She had occasionally helped Hibari gather intelligence about the Millefiore the last couple of years but in her contract, they had agreed she would be involved in mafia affairs as little as possible and Hibari had kept his word. So she hadn't realized the gravity of the threat until then. She now felt, along with the Varia officers, that something big was coming but they could do nothing about it.
Gioia looked around at the Varia officers and sighed. As much as she liked being here, she wished she could go back to her quiet life as a cook.
"What are you sighing for, brat?" Squalo asked.
"I want to go home."
Squalo glanced at her.
"You are home."
"You know what I mean. I want to-"
BOOM!
They all jumped as a loud explosion shook the whole mansion and shouts erupted. The older officers immediately squinted at the younger trio.
"It wasn't us!" Gioia said, holding up her hands.
"You idiots went too far this time!" Squalo shouted.
"It wasn't us, I swear!" she insisted. "We don't do bombs."
The door banged open and a Varia member ran up to Xanxus.
"I'm sorry to bother you during dinner, Boss, but we're under attack!"
"So?"
The man stared at his boss, at a loss for words.
"Is anyone taking care of it?" Squalo asked.
"Stephano is leading a group to stop the intruders" the man looked gratefully at the Varia captain.
"So you don't need us" Xanxus said.
"What are the damages?" Squalo inquired.
"Considerable. One of the basements collapsed on itself."
"Which basement?" Gioia asked.
"The North basement."
"Oh no…" she winced.
"What is it?" Squalo growled, annoyed.
"The North basement is where all the wine is stocked."
Xanxus's fork fell on his plate with a loud 'clang'.
"I'm gonna destroy those bastards" he snarled, storming out of the room.
"Did you have to say that?" Squalo sighed. "With him, the damages will be worse."
"Sorry…"
A second Varia member barged into the room, covered in blood.
"What is it now?" Squalo asked.
"They're far more than we expected, Captain."
"Tch, alright" Squalo put down his fork and stood up. "Lussuria and Levi, you go join the boss. Bel, we'll go through the gardens and attack them from behind. And you" Squalo pointed at Gioia "stay here with Fran."
Gioia nodded and they all left the room, leaving Fran and her by themselves.
"Sorry you'll miss all the fun because of me" Gioia smiled apologetically at the youngest officer.
"Don't be" he said in his usual monotonous voice. "I get to eat their shares of dessert."
An hour later, the intruders had all been eliminated and the Varia officers and Gioia had gathered in the common room. Xanxus's and Squalo's phones kept ringing, bringing more bad news every time. Xanxus had immediately given Gioia his cellphone so she would answer the calls: Varia members reporting from all over Italy and members from other mafia families affiliated to the Vongola. Gioia wrote down all the information she got then compared them to Squalo's notes to get an idea of the scale of the attack. Apparently, the Millefiore had simultaneously launched a huge attack on the Vongola and all their allies.
"Did you hear from the Vongola headquarters?" Squalo asked, in a quiet voice, glancing at his boss.
Gioia followed his gaze. Xanxus had been particularly quiet since they had gathered in the room and she apparently wasn't the only one worried. Levi had immediately brought a wine bottle from his secret stock but Xanxus had been drinking in silence, not even throwing a glass at his captain.
"Not yet" she answered. "Do you think-"
She was interrupted by the phone ringing and she quickly picked up the call.
"Xanxus's personal assistant, I'm listening."
"P-Personal… what? Wait, is that you, Gioia?"
"Oh, Tsuna. Are you okay?"
"Yes, yes, I am. I need to talk to Xanxus."
Gioia looked at the Varia boss who glared back at her.
"He's a little busy at the moment."
"Gioia, it's important" Tsuna insisted. "It seems like every place linked to the Vongola has been hit. The headquarters were attacked and we can't contact them. Vongola Nono's whereabouts are currently unknown" Tsuna paused, letting the words sink in. "He's missing, Gioia."
"Hang on."
Gioia came up to Xanxus and leaned toward him to whisper in his ear so that he'd be the only one to hear.
"It's about your father."
Xanxus snatched the phone from her hand and left the room.
"What was that about?" Squalo frowned at her.
"The situation is worse than we expected. It seems like-"
Once again, she was cut off by a phone ringing, her own phone this time. An unknown number was calling her but she took it anyway.
"Hello?"
"Gioia, it's Cas!"
Gioia's blood turned to ice. Cas seemed out of breath and his voice sounded higher than usual, panic clearly audible.
"Are you okay?" she asked, trying to keep a calm voice.
"More or less" he answered. "Lots of people died. They attacked the restaurant so suddenly; we weren't ready. We tried to defend the place but they were too many. They burnt down the restaurant, Gioia."
At hearing those words, Gioia felt a lump in her throat and barely contained a sob. They had burnt down the restaurant. Years of hard work with Cas now a mere pile of ash.
"I… Are you…" she stammered. "Where are you, right now?"
"I don't really know" he mumbled. "Wandering in the streets. Can you help me?"
Gioia felt tears threaten to fall. Cas was her mentor. She usually was the one who asked him for help. This felt so wrong. She hated the panic and fear she heard in his voice.
"Gioia, are you still there?"
"Y-Yes, sorry" she took a deep breath. "You still have the spare keys for my apartment?"
"Yes!"
"Okay, good. I don't think they would have attacked my place. So go there. Open up my mattress and in there, you'll find an envelope with cash and keys to a safe house. I'll text you the address. You'll have to take a taxi to get there. You'll be safe for the night. You'll find more cash there. Book a plane ticket to get out of the country, Cas. You'll be safer."
Cas didn't say anything for a moment. Gioia could only hear his heavy breathing.
"What about you?" he finally asked.
"Don't worry" she smiled, even thought he couldn't see her. "I'm with Nii-chan. I'm safe."
"… Okay. I'll do that then. I'll call you again tomorrow."
"Alright. I'll text you the address right now."
"Thanks, Gio."
Gioia blinked back tears.
"Call me tomorrow" she said then hung up.
She took a second to compose herself then wrote the text she had promised Cas, ignoring all the missed calls notifications on her phone. A wave of relief overwhelmed her as she hit 'send'. At least, Cas was alive and safe.
She looked up and her eyes met Squalo's. She had been so focused on talking with Cas that she hadn't noticed that Squalo was the only one left in the room and that he was also on the phone. Only he wasn't barking orders as he had been for the last hour.
"I already told you she's fine" he said to the person at the other end of the line. "She's done with her phone call, hang on."
Squalo handed her his phone and she took it, surprised.
"Hello?"
"What's the use of a cellphone if you don't even answer your calls?!"
He sounded exhausted and upset but Gioia couldn't help feeling happy to hear his voice.
"Takeshi, I'm sorry."
"I heard the restaurant had been attacked and you weren't picking up your phone! Cas wasn't answering either! I didn't even know if you were there! You should have told me you were staying at the Varia mansion!"
"I'm sorry" she repeated.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine" she smiled. "You know my brother. He wouldn't let me in harm's way."
"He wouldn't but you can be reckless" Yamamoto said in a reproachful voice.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine" he finally calmed down and let out a sigh. "I'm on a training camp for the Central League. No sign of Millefiore here."
"What are you going to do now?"
"I'll head back to Namimori."
"Don't you have a game soon?"
"The team can do without me."
Gioia felt a pang of sadness. He had tried to sound carefree but Yamamoto had never been able to hide his feelings to her. She knew baseball was everything to him, just like the restaurant to her. The Millefiore had already taken him his father, now this? They needed to be stopped.
"Be careful then" she simply said.
"I will" he said in a soft voice. "I need to catch some sleep so talk to you later. Take care."
"You too."
"And Gioia? I'm sorry about what I told you before. I wasn't... myself."
"It's alright" she quickly said, unwilling to remember their painful break-up. "I know that."
"Okay" he said, his voice tainted with relief. "Good night."
"Good night. Thanks for calling, Takeshi."
She hung up and stared at the phone for a moment, lost in her thoughts.
"Ex-boyfriend, right?" Squalo sneered.
"Shut up" she tossed him the phone.
"Let's go to bed. It's been a long night and tomorrow will be worse."
"You have to get rid of the Millefiore, Nii-chan" she blurted out.
Squalo stared at her for a second before scoffing.
"Don't worry, brat, we will" he patted her head. "Now go to bed."
"Go ahead, I need to check something before."
Squalo nodded and left the room. After a second of hesitation, Gioia made up her mind and headed for Xanxus's office. She lightly knocked on the door and entered. As she had expected, Xanxus was slumped in the couch, staring at the fireplace. She sat next to him then peered at him.
"You okay?"
"Go to bed, mini-scum" he said, without even glancing at her.
"I want to be sure you're okay before I go to bed."
"Why wouldn't I be okay?"
"Your father is missing. You must be worried."
Xanxus shot her a venomous look.
"Don't call him that" he snarled. "And I'm not worried. That old man can die. I couldn't care less."
"You idiots" she scoffed. "You're all acting tough, claiming you're the best assassins or whatever. But in the end, you're just human. And it's normal to be scared. You don't have to hid-"
Gioia reacted too late and Xanxus's fist crashed against her cheek, sending a wave of pain she felt in her whole face. She fell from the couch and grimaced as she tasted blood in her mouth.
"Get out" Xanxus said in a barely audible whisper.
She quickly got up on her feet and left the room with a last worried look at the Varia boss. She arrived in Squalo's room in a pitiful state, whining about her swelling cheek.
"What have you done?" Squalo sighed.
"I tried to cheer him up" she sobbed.
"You what?" he shook his head. "Did you give him your 'you're human' speech again?"
Gioia sadly nodded.
"Why can't you understand it's useless? We're not mere humans!"
"It works in movies" she protested.
Squalo rolled his eyes and went to the bathroom to get the first-aid kit.
Note:
I got a little break from work so I was able to stay up till 3am to write this! It ended up being longer than expected and I really hope it's not too messy!
If there's something that doesn't make sense to you, please don't hesitate to tell me! I'm still a complete noob at writing and make lots of mistakes (I think I tend not to give enough details? idk) so I'm always happy to hear your thoughts :)
Thank you very much for reading and reviewing! Special thanks to the guest reviewers who I can't thank personally! :D
I hope you're all doing okay! See you later and happy easter! ^^