Dioscuri

A/N: Happy New Year! - LLS

36: Pentimento

Hana stopped abruptly, midway from exiting Kyoko's private ward. She was barely paying attention to anything, even though the television in the room was flashing a breaking news story about the Namimori Shrine.

In the private ward's sole bed, the brown-haired girl turned towards her. "Hana-chan?"

"Nothing, Kyoko."

Sasagawa Kyoko looked back at her. "Hana-chan, I don't get to see you or Haru-chan most of the time, and usually... nobody tells me anything, but I can tell, you know?"

"I don't know."

Kyoko fidgeted, tucking a strand of long hair back. Neither girl said anything as the lock of hair fell out from under the hat she wore indoors. "Nii-chan, he visits... sometimes. When he's not wearing oven mitts to fight. But, Hana-chan... I know you're paying my bills."

Hana looked back at her. "I'm a judicial scrivener."1

"I know. Hana-chan can make it anywhere." Kyoko smiled wanly. "But... your boss at that company is so nice, taking you in after that nasty firm. It was... Nocturnal, right?"

"Nocturne Consulting and Associates," Hana weakly corrected. "My... boss, he is difficult. Kind, but difficult. Mr Laurence has an international base."

"Oh." Kyoko's lips parted in surprise. "I'm glad, Hana-chan."

"Of course!" Hana bristled slightly. "So... I'll see you once the weekend comes around, Kyoko."

Hana strode out.

"You're the best, Hana-chan." Kyoko nodded once she was alone. "I hope you're happy when I see you again. Because... I will get better. So, Hana-chan, we won't need to say goodbye."

Hana had never looked more intimidating and unapproachable, in her monochrome power suit, a pearl set in marcasite brooch and tiny diamond stud earrings the only bits of colour she would allow. Outside the gates of the hospital, Hana reached into her shirt and fished out a small cabochon locket on a silver chain, slung around her neck. The cabochon glowed a light peridot, with the etchings of a snake-haired woman's head a shadow against the translucent stone.

Hana huffed, tucking the locket back before her hands brushed the pearl brooch. She walked a while, before sidling into an alleyway and into the black portal that appeared before her.

A while later, Kurokawa Hana stepped onto a patchy field, leading up to craggy mountains and the forbidding silhouette of a castle in the distance. Behind her and back in the alley, the portals disappeared.

Lifting the curved brooch, Hana hooked it such that the pearl lay against her eardrums, a tight fit against her earlobe that did not chafe. "Elmo?"

"Signora Lancia," Elmo's voice filtered in through the makeshift ear-bud. "The Signor is here."

Hana walked up a slope, towards the castle in the distance.

"Hana."

Hana turned around en route, blinking as she stared at the injured thug-faced man. "What happened?"

Lancia shrugged. "Fon had a disagreement over my supervising his disciple. Last I checked, Kusa and Wakakusa is dealing him. I-Pin... I-Pin wanted to keep Fon out of this, but..."

He focused back on her. "Never mind, we can discuss that later. Signorina Sasagawa is not well?"

"She's recovering, but it's weak." Hana sighed. "So, we're supposed to attack the castle and smoke the Millefiore remnants out, right? What is it?"

"The Šišmiš Dvorac, a property that survived the ages." Lancia agreed. "Inside is Rasiel and his subordinate Olgert, Genkishi, Kikyo, Bluebell and Zakuro, along with a few foot soldiers. On our side will be us, and Murasaki is going to join us soon. Leave the fighting to us and focus."

Hana's fist lashed out. "Daisy attacked Kyoko, he made her into this... why can't I? I want to kill them."

Lancia stoically regarded the fist resting on his right pectoral. "Daisy is amongst the weakest of the Six Funeral Wreaths, and he nearly killed you. You cannot afford to die here."

"I-!" Hana glared. "...but if I come across one?"

"That should be no problem." Lancia winced.

"What's wrong?" Hana blinked. "You're... hurt."

Gingerly, Lancia cradled his bruised jaw. "Fon in Cambodia. Long story. He found out about Serata Limited. The other Arcobaleno are covering the Americas and the Cayman Islands, hence I managed to run from one Arcobaleno rather than four."

"There goes another front," Hana sighed. "At least not as important as Nocturne and Lupara Bianca. After this whole thing, Kyoko's treatment will be done. Then I will take Kyoko to disappear."

"Disappear? But the Vongola Sun Guardian-"

"He caused this on Kyoko!" Hana's snarl caught him by shock. "Ryohei can fight, but he's a dumbass. He can't predict traps. If he wants to fight, fine, but I will not let Kyoko get caught in the crossfire again."

Hana glanced to Lancia, fury in her eyes. "Lancia... thanks for being here."

"Sawada-san invited me with an honourable purpose," admitted North Italy's strongest. "He saved my life, which is a big enough favour, but this thing... sometimes I do not know, how does the Vongola manage to overlook the imposter Decimo. It is not comfortable, this plan. A lot of people have died for it, over the Tri-Ni-Sette."

"The Tri-Ni-Sette," Hana spat. "Sawada had a good idea, you know, to destroy it once and for all."

The wreckage of the Namimori Shrine was still spewing smoke as blue Flame sparked above it. Coalescing together, the blue Flame moved like plasma to gather back and solidify into the form of a brown-haired girl, outfitted in sky-blue.

Huffing to herself, Ama's amber pupils slid to the side. It was a signal, a signal to displace her mind into a garden pavilion of colourful flowers, presided over by a dark mistress in black.

"They escaped, report #2CA9E1." Ama quietly imparted through their quantum communication system.

Elmo barely reacted to the news. "Noted, Elmo replied to #2CA9E1. Elmo adds, who else appeared?"

"#2CA9E1 sensed #EBF6F7. Full combat data report uploading."

"Elmo understands." Crossing her legs, Elmo reclined back as a blue mist surrounded the pavilion, sucked into the blackened iron structure of the roof and pillar lattices, in which blackened briars tangled. "Data received. Why was the Leonids air-strike called?"

"Spanner-sama used a gun. #2CA9E1 did not factor in the presence of gun-phobic authorities. #2CA9E1 apologises to the Administrator."

Elmo closed her eyes. "Maestro knows, Elmo reluctantly imparts. Needless to say, Maestro will be less than pleased with this news."

Ama nodded.

"Elmo recommends that #2CA9E1 finds Miss I-Pin and Monsieur Fran, if only to delay the return back."

"At once."

Ama disappeared from the pavilion. Two seconds later in the real world, her body disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

A cough like a sheep on a distant Scottish hillside resounded. "Sir?"

Blinking, Verde poked the sleeping caiman that had somehow ended up in his bedsheets. He then deigned to look up at the brown-haired girl in the soft yellow-green apron, carrying a breakfast tray. Of course, he knew that the girl was not really a girl, but somehow the Rete Vongole units seemed to inspire people to treat them like actual humans. "Karekusa. Date and time, weather, messages, and others."

"It is December the fifth, thirteen hundred hours Central European Time, with offset. The weather is expected to be cloudy, given the eruptions from Mount Etna as of the day before. As for messages, there are three individual parties since last evening. Maestro has left concerns about Master Verde's health, social inclinations, and general welfare, as his custom. Mr Skull has left concerns about Christmas and sent an Advent calendar. And Monsieur Fran has asked when, to quote directly, 'is Berry-poo going to get his reptilian ass up'. As for others, #4F284B is awaiting your arising on a consultation in your study."

The entire report was given in a flat tone, never wavering, in the exact order that Verde had requested. Karekusa had not been built with the imagination to take anything but literal orders. Karekusa was a lovely assistant; one without the imagination to betray him or anything else.

Verde yawned slightly, pushing at his green bedclothes and marvelling at his adult-sized limbs. He cast an eye to Karekusa, trying to recall if a sentient unit came in that RGB code- oh, yes, the first one. "Ah. Murasaki, was it? I'll just... clean up first. Why is she here, by the way?"

"It is not to assassinate you, sir, or to steal the work you brought home, or anything within the multitude of concerns that the Maestro brings up regularly. That much can be ascertained."

Verde idly wondered if this lack of reasoning process was supposed to be a failing of himself to provide new information to the AI, or a benefit that he had an assistant who looked human but was explicitly not. He immediately discarded those thoughts, because they were depressing and implied that the only semi-coherent relationship he had had so far were the distant Arcobaleno and his insane student. "Anyone with half a brain can ascertain that, and I did not hire you to state the obvious. Why did I hire you, Karekusa?"

"#E4DC8A was assigned to your service as a test," was the cool response as Karekusa set the tray at the foot of the bed, and knelt down to extract a chest from under the bed. "There was no hiring on your part, sir, since this is an ongoing experiment on the natures of artificial intelligence. It has been ongoing for two years or so, sponsored under the front of Pizzino Srl."

Ah, right, Verde recalled. It had been after the- the war. Developing a functional base AI to use in the less sentient soldati units had seemed extremely important then, and Karekusa had been printed and pieced together as a prototype. Two years in, and Karekusa could barely pass as a human being, even in a controlled environment. Verde envied the Big Seven series for their chameleon-like ability to blend into human society, and the high processing capabilities they wielded as easily as breathing – as much as a simulacrum of Flames could breathe.

It was much like meeting their maker, Verde reasoned to himself. Which was a lousy comparison, because his student sometimes felt a bit off. Skull liked him, and Viper respected the self-styled Lorenzo, and Verde comforted himself with the thought that at least, his student agreed that the Tri-Ni-Sette was a damper placed by Kawahira on seven random people who hated each other.

Enough of that, Verde thought, pulling on the trousers and buttoned shirt with the French cuffs that Karekusa laid out for him. Since Ietsuna had figured out the key to the impossible, Verde and Skull would help him do whatever he wanted. The Man in the Iron Hat was going to appear, after all, and Verde would need the other to fend off Checker Face. One of the seven units had apparently come to pay a visit... and...

Here he groaned, considering his schedule for the week and finding that one rendezvous. The Arcobaleno were going to meet up at the Commission. Their first post-War meeting, sans the Sky. A good Marsala, he thought, was going to be demanded from his student's storage.

First, though, the living weapon in his apartment. He could just turn up in the altogether, but there was something about them that always left him wanting body armour and a nuclear arsenal on standby just to talk to them.

Karekusa held up a velvet-lined box, which carried a pair of cuff-links shaped like tiny scallops, the carved jewels bearing the same shade of yellow-green as Karekusa's apron. Verde lifted an eyebrow. "We are indoors."

"Sir, it is your own precaution."

"Fine." Verde cursed, holding out his arms to watch Karekusa slip them into the buttonholes and setting his cuffs straight. His cuff-links shimmered with a flame-like chatoyancy as he donned a pair of thick-rimmed spectacles and the lenses flared. "Do you think we need tea?"

She disappeared. That was, Verde reflected, an inaccurate term, given that Karekusa's real body was currently being worn on his person, and since the human model that she operated to serve as his latest assistant was just a mass of Flames. More than once, Verde had wondered why he chose to wear a living Box Weapon, if the Rete Vongole units could be called that, so close to his person. In this case, he was then confronted with Murasaki, whom Karekusa had neglected to mention was in full armour, and Verde was very glad that his assistant would be on hand.

"Those are lovely pearls, signorina." Verde greeted Murasaki, who had turned up in the living room of his Palermo apartment in a little black dress with a boat-neck.

Pearls in varied colours strung together hung in a doubled choker around her neck, strung around both wrists, and hanging on her right ankle. On her earlobes shone two more pearls, each the colour of gold and set in a frame of purple gold. The purple kitten heels she wore was the only indicator of her primary Flame type.

The Cloud Flame, Verde recalled, was based on reproduction – in Murasaki's case, reproduction with variation. "Are those all your daemon units, Murasaki?" Verde enquired.

Murasaki inclined her head. "Yes, Master Verde. But they are not activated, assures #4F284B to Master Verde. #4F284B is here to enquire about #FF4E20, adds #4F284B."

"Oh." Verde deflated once he decoded which unit Murasaki was talking about. "Her."

That unit specialised in communication, he recalled. Ōtan had the dubious distinction of being able to communicate with anything, anywhere, allowing the exchange and understanding of concepts fluidly without any chance of being misunderstood. Verde had been present at the field test, where the youngest of the Big Seven had simply talked the Millefiore Famiglia's Death Stalk Unit into killing each other. She- it was a very effective unit.

She had a purpose that allowed her to live freely, he told himself. As a weapon, she never needed to know or care about a high and lonely destiny. Still, his curiosity got the better of him. "What about her?"

"#FF4E20 has been... captured, #4F284B explains hesitantly. She has shut herself down after a verbal rejection from Sawada Tsunayoshi-sama."

"Oh. Like Midori." Verde considered, much more relaxed now that Murasaki was confirmed to be non-hostile to him.

Mentally, he compared the sister units. It had been funny when the girls- units had started on that Japanese browser game involving warships, because then he had thought of Murasaki as an aircraft carrier, and Midori as a battleship. Midori had the tougher specs, but Verde had to admit that Murasaki was far more flexible. Verde had mentally thought that Midori's toughness – along with the consistency of her heuristic codes – had been a contributing factor in her endurance when the idiot cow brat had discarded her to Siberia. Midori had certainly gotten out from that situation intact when the brat finally realised his mistake and the multiple uses of Midori.

Verde frowned to himself. He did not remember if the Big Seven's youngest had the same heuristic consistency. He had never been too interested in the Big Seven outside of Midori. "There is nothing to be done. If Ōtan has reformatted, we can only hope that she duplicated her memories onto the Rete Vongole servers."

"#4F284B understands, acknowledges #4F284B. 34F284B offers thanks to Master Verde, along with her farewells." A pause, and a short, technically perfect curtsy was executed.

The girls- units could take human form, and could blend in and kill humans in one form and then change to another. It was so easy to mistake them as people, Verde reflected. Even Elmo could pass as human. But they were weapons – the strongest weapons. It showed, even in odd gestures like curtsying. "You don't need such formality with me, Murasaki. Such finery, though... can I assume that you will be the next one to play Asari Amaya? Is Elmo being deployed."

"No, assures #4F284B. Maestro and the Administrator are receiving Vongola X Rain and Sun Guardians at the Falcone-Borsellino Airport. #4F284B is to assist the Signor and Signora Lancia against the Šišmiš Dvorac once the personal errand is done."

"...good luck with that." Verde nodded, almost absently. In fact, he was attempting to calculate if the Millefiore remnants would survive. "You can see yourself out, I'm sure."

"Arrivederci, Master Verde."

"Arrivederci."

The door closed, and Verde was confident that Murasaki was no longer on his doorstep, having vanished into a black portal. "Ah."

"Sir?" Karekusa was at his side.

"I forgot the social niceties."

"Indeed, sir?"

Verde contemplated it, looking down at his adult-sized body. The Vongola dei Cieli research base had provided the clue to break at least that part of the Arcobaleno curse, which was really all they needed. Checker Face would be closing in soon once Verde revealed himself and Skull as the main beneficiaries of becoming an adult. "Karekusa. I would like to speak to my apprentice."

Silence reigned, before a soft thump indicated her reappearance, hands folded while she perched on the sofa. "Dinner appointment. Would Master Verde prefer to join him? And would Master Verde permit being dragged out of his laboratory at the appointed time?"

Verde realised then. Sticking him with Karekusa was less of a field test for a weapon unit, and more like making sure that he made his appointments on time.

Having barely escaped two pineapples and a host of three Varia assassins, Fran twitched when he got into the city of Siem Reap proper, and found himself sharing a tuk tuk with one of the chosen seven.

"Is everyone hanging out in Cambodia or something?" he asked the third person in the trailer attached to a motorcycle. Their driver, a pleasant-faced fellow, was currently distracted by an upset lorry in the middle of the Angkor Wat temple complex. "And why are you guys dressed different?"

I-Pin considered the question. Unlike her usual style of twin braids looped behind her head like a butterfly, she currently wore her hair loose in a ponytail secured with a red ribbon. She wore a plaid button-down shirt and a ruffled black skirt with black calf-high socks and black Converses, exposing the inked dragon on her left thigh. Seated across Fon, who was still in his red changshan, she seemed every bit the modern Hong Kong girl. Nobody would have guessed that the two of them were master and disciple.

"I don't understand the question," she said in accented English. "Master caught me when I... arrived. He was looking for my escort."

"I grew up in the area." Fon admitted cheerfully. "Lovely place. I hated it."

Fran spent a moment trying to decipher the non sequitor. He would have spoken up, but this was one of I Preceslti Sette. Contrary to the animal motif that seemed to have infiltrated his life, Fran knew what lay outside of a well. "Dotty, you never told us that your master was part of French Indochina."

A flash of irritation crossed I-Pin's face. "I didn't know that either! And stop calling me Dotty!"

"I had no idea that I-Pin changed her name either," Fon admitted. "It seems remiss that masters and students remain out of touch."

"I didn't change my name, shifu!" I-Pin complained. "I mean, not deliberately!"

"This story I must hear," Fon mused. "Go on."

"There was..." I-Pin hesitated. "Well, I applied for that student visa to New York... you remember, right? That I had to get Ie-gēgē to help me with them? Well, Yāt-Tung is apparently hard to pronounce, so I let Ie-gēgē put down Dorothy as an alternate name."

"Tongzi, Dorothy, Dotty- ah, I get it." Fon nodded. "My mishaps with the authorities were at least restricted to Mandarin and Cantonese."

Hanging from the canopy, Lichi squeaked, possibly dying from the heat of the Cambodian sun. It was technically the monsoon season, but the balmy heat was possibly worse for the white monkey than for his human companion. Fran idly wondered how Fon got it through customs. "So, how did I end up in this happy family?"

I-Pin silently elbowed him. "You were introduced to Grand-mère. Now quit talking."

Fon considered the two of them. As an adult, it was believable that he was one of the seven strongest hitmen. "The two of you were very young, especially I-Pin. I admit that the choice of your caretakers was debatable, but I believe that the Sawada twins did a good job. A very good job."

Here, Fon gave off an intense look. "I come back to the land of my childhood, find my student in the company of Rokudo Mukuro's disciple, and being watched over by the Piedmont Tank, whose last reported appearance was close to the Vendicare prison before my mother's body disappeared."

"Lancia stole the body of Grand-mère?" I-Pin piped up, seeming as nervous as he felt. "We didn't... know?"

Fran checked his fingernails, the better to conceal his terror. If Lancia wasn't here... he glanced at I-Pin quietly. She was also fidgeting under the hardened stare of someone who seemed nice, until he did an about-face and suddenly resembled Hibari Kyoya.

"I-Pin," Fon sighed. "I know that your Master has fallen somewhat out of touch, but I do suspect that you know what Serata Limited was up to when you accepted a scholarship from it."

Fran considered the ramshackle houses along the Old French Quarter. It was better than considering his possible death here.

"But I don't know what you're talking about." I-Pin insisted, trying not to panic. "I checked the company like you taught me, Master. They are as clean as could be possible."

"Save that they bankrolled Lancia's trip up the Alps." Fon leaned over. "What's going on with Serata?"

"I don't know," I-Pin blinked, sweat staining her brow. "I cannot say. Otherwise-"

She stopped talking. The reason for why became immediately apparent when a garrotte tightened around Fon's throat and bodily hauled him out.

"Master!" I-Pin climbed out, followed by Fran.

As expected, a garotte was flimsy compared to Fon. The pair of identical amber-eyed brown-haired girls dressed in varied shades of green, though, posed slightly more of a problem. I-Pin started at the familiar sights.

"Kusa, Wakakusa-"

"Let's go!" Fran snapped, dragging I-Pin behind him as they dodged and weaved through the urban traffic of Siem Reap.

I-Pin followed behind, still stunned. "B- But-"

"He'll be fine, they're Karekusa's sisters," Fran replied. "Serata is burned."

"We could just explain to Master!" I-Pin hissed back as they dodged through an alleyway. "He would understand!"

Fran's lips thinned, losing all colour as the blood fled from his face. "He won't. Elmo would have to intervene."

Blood drained from I-Pin's face at the mention of Elmo intervening. "S- She won't. Not if we just don't say anything. I still don't like to lie to him-"

"Do it anyway." Having slowed to a standstill, Fran stared at her. "You know what is at stake. You cannot tell him. He would never understand."

I-Pin gave a hiss of irritation, but relented. "Fine."

Fran pulled out his gun. "Let's go."

Back at the intersection, Fon was realising that, for all that the girls fell short at close combat, they more than made up for it with the electric cage that they maintained around him. Sniffing at the characteristic smell of ozone crackling as red and green Flame clashed, Fon scoffed, smoothly brushing aside the Lightning with his own Storm Flames and hitting out with a flurry of finger thrusts.

One girl in green screeched as she was consumed in the Flame and disappeared. Two halves of a clam clattered into the ground and was then scooped up by the other girl, who proceeded to turn tail. By the time Fon got to wiping the sweat from his eyes, the girls had vanished back into the crowd, leaving him alone.

Walking quickly, he got back into the trailer and frowned at its emptiness. He turned to the driver, waving a Hamilton at the driver.

"Airport," the eyes of the skylarks gazed sharply out, greyed with a coming storm. "Step on it."

Aboard a private flight, the clam started blinking. "#EBF6F7 reports: #C3D825 has been destroyed."

"Oh. Carry on recharging, then."

Spanner considered the clam bathed in the weak sunlight from the airplane porthole. "Your prototype, Kœnig-san?"

"Not exactly," Kœnig acknowledged. "My former personal concierge. Lorenzo assigned them to us after the attempt on Innocenti. Lightning-primary type. Their abilities fall short of the Big Seven or the Tridacna series, but they can still fight."

"So, the strongest and most sentient of Box Weapons, and he just gave them to you." Spanner echoed, cracking open a Thermos of hot water to prepare green tea.

"Not really, but he can afford to," Kœnig leant back, stroking the shell with his thumb. "The Vongola dei Cieli is our Box weapon factory, printing out whatever schematics we inputted for testing. Under our dominant theory of Flames, it can make up to sixteen million, seven hundred and seventy-seven thousand, and two hundred and sixteen combinations."

Spanner cursed as the hot water spilled onto his hands. "Sixteen million?!"

"Sixteen million?!" Tsuna echoed, still clutching his head in pain. Hibari's head lay on his lap, and the Cloud Guardian's squinting echoed his own pain. Kusakabe, and what few of the Foundation members still alive, were also tending to their own headaches. "As in, million?"

"Not all of them being combat-capable, and most boasting the processing capabilities of a smartphone," Kœnig corrected. "A smartphone is a very good device, but none of them can really hold a candle to her."

His hand, palm facing outwards, indicated Ōtan, who was seated across of Tsuna. "The Big Seven. Inbuilt multi-junction combat-grade Zooxanthellae cell, general model capabilities for independent agency, omni-sensor, modifications for Cambio Forma. The hitman's personal gentle-clam, which can be packed anywhere, and able to ship him anywhere in the world."

Spanner turned new, appreciative eyes on Ōtan. "She is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"Thank you very much for the compliment."

Looking at Ōtan, Tsuna felt a slight pang of panic at the very thought of what might happen if they discovered that the pretty girl in the orange sundress was not exactly human. Visions of laboratories were involved. "You were... built for war."

"#FF4E20 was printed at the conclusion of the War." Ōtan shook her head. "As such, #FF4E20 is not assembled with direct war capabilities, daemon units, or additional armour. However, #FF4E20 is the most effective communication specialist of the Rete Vongole at present."

"So you were built to complete the series." Spanner nodded. "A ship tethered to port, left without a purpose."

"#FF4E20 considers the question." Ōtan nodded, looking at Tsuna. "To be Sawada Tsunayoshi's staunchest ally. #FF4E20 was built for this purpose alone. So, if you wish, Boss, I will deliver you to Sicily to search for the other Guardians. If you wish to return to your own time to your friends, which is also fine."

Tsuna mulled over it. Images of Elmo, Murasaki, and Ama kept popping up in his head. "I... Adult Lambo brought me to this time... to reveal Ie?"

"Yes."

"Nobody except Hibari-san figured it out?" Tsuna was sceptical.

"The pineapple had suspicions." Hibari growled, pushing himself into a sitting position.

"Do I have children?" Tsuna asked.

"Eh?" Spanner blinked.

"If I had children... I think, Ie would protect my nephew," Tsuna hesitantly volunteered. Lambo and I-Pin were still alive, after all.

"Such belief in your brother." Kœnig commented. "Sawada Tsunayoshi did not. About six months after the Vongola-Millefiore War, the Vongola Decimo adopted a daughter. Amaya Asari; Asari is her surname, by the way."

Tsuna considered it, ignoring the distinction of his name with the title of the Tenth. "After me, Ie would have become Boss. He could have adopted anyone he wanted... who is Asari Amaya?"

"Not who," Kœnig corrected. "What."

"Boss." Ōtan spoke up. "The name has been cross-referenced. It is currently locked from use, but Asari Amaya is currently registered as the default false identity created for the Rete Vongole units of the Vongola dei Cieli."

"False identity?" Tsuna echoed.

"Yes."

"...what does that mean?"

"In short, all of the units have, by default, the face of the daughter of the Vongola Decimo." Ōtan paused. "Asari Amaya is also the only face that more than one of us are allowed to carry at the same time, without special permissions."

"Because if you guys used a real person's face, you would be caught." Spanner caught on.

"How does Asari Amaya look like?" Tsuna asked Ōtan, who pointed to herself.

"Like this."

They all did look alike, thought Tsuna. "But why adopt her?"

"To create a spy within the Iron Fort," Hibari grimly replied. "To take apart an alliance and a family thoroughly from within, more than one person is needed. So that, the say when the Vongola Decimo dissolves the Famiglia, there will be something already waiting to destroy those who try to revive it."

Tsuna looked from Ōtan, to the clam sunbathing itself, to the fallen Gambero di Pioggia. "How powerful are they? How powerful are the Big Seven?"

There were a lot of things that could unite the guardians of the fallen Millefiore Famiglia. Unfortunately, a direct attack on the Castle of Bats, the Šišmiš Dvorac, was not included amongst that number.

"Ushesheshe, and it's not even Belphegor this time," giggled a blond man at the castle grounds' main terrace. In the distance, the hood of a king cobra loomed. "Well, what's the strongest man in North Italy doing here?"

Striding before the cobra was a tall man, his thuggish face stretched with a smirk. "I am here on behalf of the Vongola. I cannot emphasise what a bad move you made three years ago when you sided with the Millefiore."

"The king does not need your criticisms." But Rasiel stopped smiling.

Lancia cast an eye about, resting on the butler Olgert, who had appeared at Rasiel's side once the carnage had started. "And yet you are harbouring Millefiore people behind the walls. Mucalinda."

The king cobra hissed and spat a concentrated wad of Storm flames. The Flames clashed as a high-pitched sound echoed about, dissolving the wad.

"Ushesheshe, the king also has Box Weapons." Rasiel toyed with an opened box in his ring-weighted hand. "I Pipistrelli Tempasta."

Lancia sighed. "Murasaki."

His words, unknown to Rasiel, was being fed through his earpiece to the internal quantum relay, to one of this world's best Box Weapons.

"Box Weapon design cross-reference: Lorenzini set #048, Pipistrello. Make and model registered as a Mark III under Cascia Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Lupara Bianca. Attribute: Storm, may be used with Sky Flames, modifications allow for Cloud, Mist, Rain. Current statistics: power C, intelligence B, speed B, stamina C. Abilities: absorption of Flames by biting, and disruptive sonar using the Disintegration effect of Storm Flames. Varying sizes indicate multiple Boxes in play. Deduction: main use of general searcher, and area-of-effect destruction by omnidirectional sonic attack."

Murasaki considered the strings of multicoloured pearls around her wrist. "Suggested approach: surface-to-air repulsion with pinpoint firing. #4F284B will engage."

"Let's go with that." Lancia smirked, causing his opponents to regard him warily.

A spark of purple ignited on Murasaki's fingertip. "Sortie. Releasing aerial veligers. Deploy."

In her other hand, she plucked three pearls off of her choker, selecting one in green, one in blue and one in indigo, which was close to dark blue. The purple fire ignited in her hands, before she flung them out and they blazed into Flames, transforming into giant shrikes that flew towards the castle.

Swarms of bats flew out to meet the passerine flock. They shrieked, causing waves of red to sweep across the battlements and walls.

The indigo one sparked with Flame and mist, multiple copies beginning to surround them to crash into the bulk of the bat swarm. As the high-pitched echo of the bats' concerto began again, the blue shrike grabbed one bat, dragging it down to impale it with extreme prejudice into a blackthorn tree. The green shrike twittered, attacking another bat with its claws and rendering it asunder in a shower of green sparks.

There was a shout of panic as the swarm of Storm Bats lay about the grounds of the castle, now turned into a battlefield. Murasaki simply stood and waited, until a green-haired man ran out of the door to the castle kitchens which she was besieging.

"What's going on?" Purple flames streaked through the air. The green shrike shrieked as it was pierced, a violet bellflower blooming on its corpse before it exploded.

Murasaki, seeing through the eyes of the shrike flock above and in her head, grimaced. "Millefiore weapons, Campanula di Nuvola. Attribute: Cloud. Abilities: piercing and absorption, middle range. Muzzle velocity estimated at 1030 metres per second. Millefiore Cloud Funeral Wreath, Kikyo."

"Oh, what's this girl doing here?" A feminine voice pouted from above.

Murasaki leapt aside to dodge the rain of exploding shells. "Box Weapon design cross-reference. Millefiore weapons, Rain Sea Shells. Attribute: Rain. Formidable destructive power. Conclusion: Rain Funeral Wreath, Bluebell."

Murasaki looked up. "Assessment revised. Not alone."

"You'd better revise it, idjit!" The red-haired man who yelled at her dived down from the sky. The reason for his flight became apparent with the flaming boots on his feet.

"Storm Funeral Wreath, Zakuro." Murasaki indicated with one hand, causing a blue shrike to defend her from a wave of red Flame. "Engaging three parties. Request permission to operate above 1 percent."

"Granted." Lancia dodged a punch and pulled a straight on Olgert's chest.

Murasaki raised both hands. "Arms Duplication."

The man with Storm Flames crashed onto the ground, locked into a submission hold by six arms that materialised on his back. A second later, a thud of blue on the ground revealed that Bluebell had been similarly incapacitated. Only the Cloud Funeral Wreath had escaped, her materialised arms riddled with blooming bellflowers, wilting along his back before she dismissed them from hanging on his back.

"Mist? No, Cloud," Kikyo's narrowed eyes glared at her. "Box of Carnage? No, there is no Box Animal that can do that."

"#4F284B is far above those second-rate humans turned weapons." Murasaki honestly replied, as she sprouted more arms along her right elbow, causing them to fan out like an Indian statue before she dismissed them. One more hand sprouted from Kikyo's wrist, knocking his Box Weapon out of his hand.

"You can duplicate any part of your body," Kikyo nodded. "Power and speed mean nothing against you."

Murasaki waved one hand. Zakuro's curses grew louder as he was folded backwards into half, the cracking of his spine growing louder as she walked towards him. Bending down, she watched his hands spasm in pain, plucking off the Mare Ring with the red stone once they had been reduced to fanning out.

Murasaki held it up, as the red colour began to die. "So much blood spilled for it, and then so much devoted to amassing power to wield it."

"Zakuro, you idiot!" Bluebell cursed. "You got your Mare Ring taken!"

"Well then," Murasaki coldly began as she pulled a combat knife that burned purple. The Cloud-Flame bearing knife cut through Zakuro's Flame aura, into his throat, and Murasaki bisected him pitilessly.

"The Vongola won!" Kikyo snarled back. "What more do you want?!"

"Is the answer not obvious?" Murasaki questioned. "Daisy, Ghost and Torikabuto are dead. Now, so is Zakuro."

"They got Daisy..." Bluebell's face screwed up, but then smoothed over as she realised something. "Where's Byakuran? Byakuran is still alive?"

Murasaki stared at her. A shrug lifted her shoulder, the Mare Ring bobbing in her hand as she did so.

A muscle twitched in Kikyo's jaw. "If the Vongola is out to get the Mare Rings..."

"Secure the Mare Rings?" Murasaki echoed. "Why? We safeguard the Vongola."

Bluebell, even with her spine being bent in half, stared in shock at Murasaki. "I don't understand."

"Even if the world stands in our way, we will destroy the Millefiore Famiglia, who are the ones who killed members of the Vongola." Murasaki patiently stated. "How do the Mare Rings feature?"

"Excuse me?!" Kikyo burst out. This incredulous mutant who could grow her arms on any surface was surprisingly dumb on the matters of the Tri-Ni-Sette. "They are the power to control the world! They are the rivals of the Vongola Rings! Whoever gathers them will rule the world! That's why Byakuran-sama wanted the Vongola Rings."

"Tri-Ni-Sette: the Vongola Rings, the Mare Rings, and the Arcobaleno Pacifiers." Murasaki considered. "If they were so powerful, how did the Millefiore lose the war?"

Kikyo swallowed. He looked uncertain. "The Arcobaleno survived. Somehow, no matter how we attacked, the Vongola never fell. Morale dipped, they had more weapons, we were sabotaged multiple times... there was nothing about alternate worlds here!"

"Kikyo!" Bluebell screeched. "Don't say anymore!"

Zakuro screamed as his spine broke. The arms wilted and disappeared, bursting with scattered purple Flames like flower petals as Murasaki next turned towards Bluebell. Shrikes descended to strike at Kikyo, prompting more Cloud Bellflowers.

"The Mare Rings are the ones who choose their bearers." Bluebell confessed. "If you want to use them, you have to keep us alive."

Murasaki considered that. "If we destroyed all of you, and with you the Mare Rings, then there is no other way to challenge the Vongola anymore?"

"Even if you destroy the world?!" Bluebell's knee-jerk reaction was one of panic.

The moral consequences of our actions are irrelevant to the mission." Murasaki's blank expression belied the seriousness of the situation, as the Storm Mare Ring shattered in her hands. "The mission is to attack this castle and raze it to the ground. If the Gesso factions of the former Millefiore are present, #4F284B is to exterminate them, as they had tried to do to the Vongola. We are the vengeance of the Vongola."

Bluebell's left hand tightened into fists, and she gave a snarl of defiance as Rain Flame surrounded her. The arms burned off of her back as she crawled, hampered by the arms still twisting the tail of her Box of Carnage form.

Murasaki considered her ashen face snarling, and then Bluebell's outstretched arm – and the Mare Ring twinkling on it.

Kikyo started as Murasaki ran, diving as Murasaki wielded the knife down. The snarl faded as Bluebell's arm lay stuck in the ground. Bluebell began screaming as her blood stained the ground, her spine gave under the pressure of multiple limbs bending her backwards away from the detached arm. The Rain Mare Ring's stone shattered under Murasaki's kitten heel just as the last of the shrike strafing run was destroyed.

Regarding her warily, Kikyo readied a few Cloud Bellflowers as Murasaki turned her awful, knowing amber gaze onto him.

"Perhaps this would make the situation clear." Dispassionately, Murasaki kicked hard into the Rain Funeral Wreath's side, punctuating her sentences with a hard kick that drew blood and cracked bone.

"You will turn up, all of you, as the Vongola begins to disassemble itself. They will all slaughter you. Your reason for doing all of this, will be that you were ordered to. Just like how your Boss ordered you to kill our family. Just like how Byakuran ordered the Vongola Decimo to an audience, with the intention to kill him."

Inside the castle, a green laser lit through walls of stone and bisected the buildings. Roofs, bricks of cut stone, windows of glass, began to fall to the ground.

"Razing complete." A blue shrike and more of its fellows descended from overhead, causing Bluebell to scream as it tore the Box of Carnage from her chest. Murasaki's arms began to appear around her. "Engage."

Critiquez, s'il vous plaît!

1 Judicial scrivener is a legal profession in Japan and South Korea. Judicial scriveners assist clients in commercial and real estate registration procedures and in the preparation of documents for litigation.