Kyandi: Greetings everyone!
Roksana: We're sorry for taking so long. This chapter was actually suppose to be up yesterday.
Kyandi: It was, but a friend of mine surprised me by picking me up, the two of us hanging out all day.
Roksana: She was too tired to post when she got home.
Kyandi: And then I got distracted all day today.
Roksana: We will try to improve this.
Kyandi: Yes, we will! So, everyone, please enjoy and review. Please review. I really can't tell if you guys like the story if no one leaves a review.
Roksana: Kyandi-sama does not own Katekyo Hitman REBORN.
Chapter 24 Guardian of Cloud
For most of the nest day, Roksana couldn't sit still. After a poor night's sleep, Roksana mainly paced about her house, putting Dimitri, Maeve, and all who worked there, on edge. There came a point where even her dance routines couldn't keep her attention. When Dimitri finally asked her what was wrong, Roksana couldn't even give him a straight answer.
It wasn't like she was concerned that Hibari would lose his fight. If there was one thing she knew about that boy, it was that he never went down without a fight. She swore to heaven and back that she wasn't worry about him. She only grew more agitated after telling Dimitri and Maeve that, when Maeve walked away with an, "Uh-huh." of disbelief.
Finally growing too annoyed to sit still at home, Roksana ended up heading to the school early, When she got there, it was easy to find Hibari in the Reception Room. The door was open and the boy, as he did every day, was sitting at his desk, working on paper work. He didn't look the least bit concerned about his fight.
That confidence somewhat calmed her.
Leaning against the door frame, Roksana crossed her arms over her chest.
"Wouldn't even know you have a fight coming up, looking at you."
Hibari looked up upon hearing her voice, his eyes traveling over her heeled boots, white thigh-high stockings, ruffled black skirt, purple halter crop top, and black leather jacket. His eyes took a moment to take in all the bandages still peaking past her clothes, and the bruises coloring uncovered skin. When his eyes reached her face, she had another of her signature lollipops in her mouth.
"Concerned?" he asked.
"For you? Yeah, right." Roksana pushed herself away from the door frame and approached his desk. When she reached the desk, she perched herself on an unoccupied edge, crossing her legs. "I'd have to be certifiably crazy to worry about you in a fight. Well...unless the opponent was me, then the concern would be real."
Hibari shot her a look, her lips curling into a grin.
"Right now, though, I still wouldn't worry about you. Not after you handcuffed me to a bed all night. Whatever issue you have with my kimono, you need to get over it." Roksana told him.
He wasn't going to tell her that it wasn't her kimono he had the issue with, but rather anyone but him seeing her in the kimono.
Instead of saying anything, or looking at her, he continued with his paperwork. Roksana watched him for a moment before she reached out and placed her hand right over the paper he was working on, making him stop and look up at her.
"You do realize how important this is, right? How important it is to me? They will kill each and every one of us if we lose. Not that I think you're capable of taking a loss." Roksana told him, meeting his eyes. "I know you hate crowds and you aren't particularly fond of my friends, but they aren't the only ones on the line here. You and I both are too. I don't ever really ask anything of you, but please take this serious. Please...Kyoya."
She had his full attention then. He was well aware that she only called him by his given name when it was serious, when she really wanted to convey just how serious she was or how strongly she felt about something.
Not to mention, she never really used "please" with him.
It was more of a demand and then her hitting him with a shoe when he didn't do what she wanted. Which then usually lead to a fight. Hibari didn't know how to handle her actually saying, "Please" to him. She was serious and she was asking him to be serious, too.
For a long moment, they simply stared at each other. The eye contact was only broken when an alarm went off on Roksana's phone. Pulling the device from her pocket, she looked down at the screen.
"It's time to go." she told him, looking back down at him. "Can I count on you, or am I going to end up having to whack you with my shoe again?"
"Hmph." Hibari got to his feet, pushing his chair back. "I'll bite them to death."
"That's what I wanted to hear."
To Hibari's surprise, Roksana slipped off the desk, and reaching up on her tip toes, placed a simple little kiss on his cheek before turning away from him. Shocked into stillness, Hibari watched her round the desk and start for the door.
"Let's go or we'll be late." she called.
Sometimes, he really didn't know how to respond to the girl.
-0-0-0-0-
"Listen up, people! No matter what happens, we have to win!"
That night found Gokudera meeting up with Yamamoto and Ryohei. Since Reborn was going to be training Tsuna non-stop through the night, he had left Hibari's match to Roksana and Gokudera. Reborn was sure the two could handle the whole thing.
At least...he was sure that Roksana could handle Hibari.
"Oi, what are you talking about? The one fighting is Hibari." Yamamoto told Gokudera.
"You think I don't fucking know that?!" Gokudera demanded.
"What's the point of getting so worked up?" Ryohei asked. "We all know Roksana-chan's got Hibari."
"The boss is counting on us, so he didn't have to be here. Like hell we're going to allow a defeat on our watch!" Gokudera retorted.
"Hahaha! What a funny reason." Yamamoto said, laughing.
"An oaf like you would never understand in a million years!" Gokudera snapped at him.
"Ohh, Octopus Head! I don't get it myself, but somehow, I'm all fired up!" Ryohei declared loudly.
It was then that Yamamoto spotted the approaching figure of Hibari.
"Well, here's the main star of today." Yamamoto remarked.
"Why have you all gathered here?" Hibari demanded.
"What the, you...!"
Yamamoto grabbed the back of Gokudera's shirt to keep him from getting into a fight with Hibari.
"Now, now...well, we're-"
"Here to support you!" Ryohei shouted, cutting Yamamoto off.
"Hmm...you're an eye sore. If you're not gone in the next second, I'll kill you." Hibari told them.
"What the hell did you say?!" Ryohei demanded. "You just pissed me off something fierce!"
"Enough, all of you."
All four of them fell silent, Hibari leaning forward and glaring back over his shoulder as something hit him lightly over the back of the head. Roksana appeared from behind him, the girl having just slapped him on the back of the head. Her hands on her hips, she gave him a pointed look, shaking a finger at him.
"Bad boy." was all she told him.
"Now, now, she's right. Let's all calm down." Yamamoto said, smiling as he kept Gokudera and Ryohei in place with a hand on each of their shoulders. "We're just coincidentally passing by, see? Don't mind us, Hibari. Okay?"
Roksana turned to give Ryohei and Gokudera a pointed look too, both stiffening under her glare. Pointing two fingers at her eyes, she turned her hand to point to them in a, "I'm watching you" gesture. The loud thud of something crashing into the sidewalk behind them, had Roksana and Hibari turning to where Xanxus' Cloud guardian, Mosca, had just dropped to the ground.
"So...that's the one." Hibari remarked.
"That's him." Roksana confirmed.
"All I have to do is bite you to death." Hibari called out, grinning in anticipation.
Of course, Ryohei had the instant visualization of Hibari actually biting Mosca on the head, his expression twisting at how weird of an image that was.
With both Cloud guardians present, they were moved to the battlefield for the battle. The field in question, was the same field the school used for PE classes. A ring of barbed wire fences had been set up with machine guns pointed at the two standing in the center of the ring.
"What did you do to the sports field!?" Ryohei demanded.
"Ga-Gatling guns?!" Gokudera gasped.
"The mission of the Cloud guardian is to be the aloof, drifting cloud who protects the family from an independent standpoint, and whom nothing can ever bind." Cervello One told them.
"That sounds like Hibari, alright." Roksana remarked lowly. "Especially the aloof part."
Hibari turned to shoot her a glare, but the girl didn't care.
"Therefore, we have prepared the most extreme field for him. The field is surrounded on all sides by barbed wire, as well as eight automatic batteries that will shoot at any mobile object it detects within a thirty metre radius. Furthermore, there are countless pressure-sensitive mines buried under the ground. Once activated, an alarm will sound followed immediately by an explosion." Cervello Two explained.
"Isn't that totally a battlefield?!" Ryohei demanded.
"If your scared, run away. Just like your boss did." Levi retorted from where he stood with Xanxus and his comrades.
"Up yours! The boss didn't run away, asshole!" Gokudera snapped.
"It's just, there's no need for Tsuna to be here. Because, next to Roksana, Hibari is our ace. He won't lose." Yamamoto added, laying a hand on Gokudera's shoulder.
"Ace...bwahahaha! I'm definitely looking forward to this!" Xanxus declared, laughing.
Roksana shot a glance his way out of the side of her eyes before turning to face the battlefield.
"Hibari." Hibari turned to look at Roksana as she drew a thumb across her throat. "If you lose...I'll kick your ass. I'll take my shoe and whack you over the head like a bad dog where all can see, got it?"
A grin, bordering on crazed, curled Hibari's lips as he looked at the girl's expression.
"I'll bite you to death for that." he told her.
"As I've said before...I'm counting on it. But you can't do it if you're dead." Roksana retorted, everyone watching the weird exchange as Hibari's grin only grew. Roksana then turned to Xanxus. "You better watch closely or this will be over without you seeing a thing."
Xanxus raised an eyebrow at her, but Roksana turned, presenting him with her back. Roksana stood off to the side, refusing to be dragged into the huddle, which was only done half-heartedly since Hibari, himself, refused to be apart of it.
"Hey, Lawn Head! You were too soft!" Gokudera spouted off.
"But, Hibari himself isn't here so I can't really be bothered!" Ryohei replied.
"Still, Gokudera was the one who was against the circle really in the first place, but now you're so motivated." Yamamoto added.
"Of course! If the boss were here, that's what he'd have done!" Gokudera retorted.
"All three of you need to be quiet. They're about to begin." Roksana told them.
The three turned to face the ring, Roksana still standing there with her eyes fixed on Hibari. Though they would never mention it where she could hear, her friends couldn't help but think that Roksana seemed more concerned about Hibari's match than their's.
They didn't think it would end well if they mentioned it to her.
"Then, we shall begin." Cervello One called. "The Cloud ring...Gola Mosca verses Hibari Kyoya. Begin the battle!"
Almost instantly, Mosca rocketed towards Hibari. Raising an arm to aim miniature missile launcher in his fingers at Hibari. While Gokudera, Yamamoto and Ryohei were freaked out by the flying Mosca, the jaws of two of them hitting the ground, Roksana seemed completely calm, not the least bit concerned.
Not that she would admit if she was concerned.
The fight was over almost as soon as it started, Hibari attacking in a flash, removing one of Mosca's arms. In the next second, Mosca exploded in flames, Hibari taking the two parts of the ring to snap them together. Everyone, but Roksana, was stunned into silence. Roksana had a feeling something like this would happen, but part of her had expected Xanxus to pull something.
She still expected him to pull something.
Now tht the first was over, the ring whole, Hibari handed it over to one of the Cervello, telling her that he didn't need it before he turned to face Xanxus.
"Now, you, the one sitting over there. Come down here." Hibari demanded, Roksana slapping a hand to her face. She should have known that Hibari would pull this kind of stunt. "Until I bite you to death, Monkey Boss of the Mountain of Monkeys, I can't go home."
Roksana was going to have to hit him with a shoe for this.
"What!?" Levi snapped.
"Don't just "what" you octopus," Bel told him. "Or haven't you noticed? We've lost the ring contest battles. What now, Boss?"
Roksana turned, watching as a smirk curled Xanxus' lips. She was moving before anyone could stop her, taking a dive through lines of barbed wire into the ring as Xanxus jumped jump from his seat and cleared the barbed wire in a single jump.
"Hibari, above!" Roksana snapped as she rushed towards him.
Hibari raised an arm, tonfa at the ready, just in time for Xanxus' feet to land there. Using Hibari like a spring board, Xanxus jumped back, grabbing his jacket to keep it on his shoulders. Roksana reached Hibari's side then, her hand hovering over her sansetsukon.
"My foot slipped." Xanxus remarked.
"Right." Hibari replied.
"No, really. I came down only to retrieve that piece of junk." Xanxus said, his eyes moving to the still burning and smoking Mosca. "We have lost."
"Hnn...your face-"
"Hibari, don't." Roksana told him, grabbing his arm.
Hibari shrugged her off before darting forward.
"Tells a different story."
Roksana had to hit the ground with a small "epp" as Hibari's sudden movement set off the gatling guns, bullets flying.
"Hibari, you jackass! I really think it's time you learn what "impulse control" is!" Roksana snapped at Hibari as she ducked to the side to avoid gun fire.
Hibari ignored her, attacking Xanxus who dodged him and the gun fire easily. Xanxus had a wide smirk on his face as Hibari seriously continued to attack him.
"Don't worry, I won't raise an arm." Xanxus told him.
"As you wish. Anyway, I'm going to bite you to death." Hibari replied.
Roksana really couldn't believe just how stupid Hibari was. Then again, she should have expected it from him. When it came to Hibari, the boy was horribly single-minded with a brain focused almost solely on fighting. It was beyond ridiculous. Through the whole thing, no one tried to jump in the fight, Roksana staying back out of the line of fire from the gatling guns.
The last thing she needed, was more gun shot wounds.
Hibari was so relentless, coming at Xanxus with one attack after another, that he finally drove Xanxus into raising an arm to stop Hibari's attack.
"You've raised an arm?" Hibari demanded.
Xanxus stepped back, giving an annoyed click of his tongue. He dodged another attack from Hibari. Roksana knew the man was planning something, even as he dodged attacks from the younger male. She could see it in his eyes.
"Cervello." Xanxus called.
"Yes, Master Xanxus?" one of them asked.
"Don't get the story wrong, now. I didn't attack him at all." Xanxus told them.
As smirk pulled Xanxus' lips up, Roksana figured out what was happening. Despite her wounded leg protesting, Roksana piled all of her speed into one mad dash for Hibari's side.
"Hibari, move!"
Hibari's eyes went wide as Roksana shoved him to the side, Xanxus jumping back out of the way, as Mosca shot off a laser. What would have hit Hibari in the thigh, sliced right across Roksana's hip, sending the girl down on one knee, her teeth clenched in pain and her skirt now in bloody tatters around her left thigh and hip. Roksana instantly pressed a hand to the bleeding wound as Hibari and Xanxus both stared at her in surprise.
"Roksana!" Yamamoto called out in concern.
"Forget me and worry about yourselves!" Roksana snapped at them.
They found out soon why she had said that as Mosca set off missiles that attacked, not only Roksana's friends, but Xanxus' companions too.
"What that heck was that!?" Ryohei demanded as they all scrambled for cover.
"What was that? I only came to retrieve my junk, but I've been obstructed by their Cloud guardian all this while. Now Mosca's restraining system has been broken." Xanxus said, before looking down at Roksana. "And now your Moon guardian is even more injured trying to cover for your Cloud guardian's mistakes."
Roksana returned his stare with a fierce glare. She wasn't stupid. It was obvious that Xanxus had planned this, using Hibari's willingness to fight as cover. But to what end, she didn't know. She twisted, turning to stare as Mosca continued to rage out of control, destroying the buildings around them and randomly attacking everyone. In the mess of attacks, a laser managed to tag Hibari in the thigh, injuring the boy enough to send him to his knees. Standing over Roksana, Xanxus laughed, completely amused with the destruction.
"This is a terrible disaster!" Xanxus mocked.
"Don't enter the field! It's dangerous!"
Hearing Ryohei yell this, Roksana whipped around, searching the battlefield to see Chrome enter, her foot instantly finding one of the mines. Before Roksana could call a warning, Ken and Chikusa jumped in, shoving the girl out of the way and covering her as the explosion went off. The three seemed to be alright, though both a gatling gun and Mosca had centered in on them. Roksana, despite the pain, jumped back to her feet, to go to their aid, only to take a hit across the back of the shoulders hard enough to send her sprawling across the ground.
Roksana hit the ground hard, the fall jarring all of her injuries. Thankfully, Tsuna showed up then, using his new found flame to save the three from an attack on two fronts.
"That flame...!" Xanxus muttered.
"Tsuna." Roksana breathed in relief.
Turning, Roksana shot a glare at Xanxus. She was sure he had been the one to knock her over. Xanxus caught her glare and gave her a smirk, simply telling her, "My hand slipped.".
Slipped, her ass!
Roksana, though, wasn't relieved for long, Mosca launching more missiles, these ones aimed for Tsuna.
"Eliminate everything, starting with scum. That has not changed." Xanxus remarked.
Tsuna, calm for the first time since Roksana had met him, used his flames to evade the missiles and explode them without them causing any damage to anyone or anything. He went directly for Mosca then, taking the machine's other arm off. Mosca centered in on Tsuna has a threat, then. Roksana pushed herself up into a sitting position, not trying to move past that, because she didn't want to get shoved down again when she couldn't really move that fast.
She watched as Tsuna continued to avoid attacks, moving in to land a fiery punch right to the laser built into Mosca's chest. It was the attack needed to plant the machine on it's back, but Roksana had a feeling that wasn't the end of things when all she saw from Xanxus, was a grin. Tsuna turned to Xanxus then, stern expression on his face.
"Xanxus...what is all this about-"
"Tsuna, behind you!" Roksana called out.
Tsuna turned calmly as Mosca attacked again. Holding out one hand, he brought the machine to a halt. Pulling the other hand back, Tsuna swung, splitting Mosca's head open. What it revealed underneath, had everyone's eyes widening while a smirk spread across Xanxus' face. Out of Mosca, a wound inflicted upon his chest by Tsuna, fell the ninth Vongola boss. Roksana had seen a picture of him that Reborn had shown her.
The shock from the sight forced Tsuna back to his normal state, the flame on his forehead dying out.
"The...Ninth Boss? What is he doing here...?" Roksana breathed.
"What...what's going on...? Eh? Why...is he...inside Mosca?!" Tsuna asked, falling to his knees at Timoteo's side.
Reborn joined Tsuna, bringing a first aid kit along with him.
"Oi, hang in there! Che, I've seen Mosca's construction only once. It's looks like the Ninth Boss was forced to be Gola Mosca's power source." Reborn said.
"Wh-why!?" Tsuna asked.
Roksana had a good idea why, and it made her stomach turn just thinking about it.
"It's not "why", is it! You've gone and killed the Ninth Boss." Xanxus said, Roksana looking over her shoulder at him.
"Me...I did this...?" Tsuna said lowly, staring at his hands.
"Who was it? Who struck down the old man with no mercy what so ever?" Xanxus demanded. "Who was it? Who split Mosca in half with the old man inside?"
Seeing the torment it was putting Tsuna through, Roksana jumped back to her feet, completely ignoring the burning pain in her injuries as she planted herself between Xanxus and Tsuna, making the man look down at her in amusement at the cold expression on her face.
"Me...it was me...I killed the ninth boss..." Tsuna muttered to himself.
"No..." Hearing that voice, low and weak, Roksana turned, even Xanxus shocked to see Timoteo alive, his eyes open as he looked up at Tsuna. "The one at fault, was me."
"Ni-Ninth Boss!" Tsuna exclaimed.
Roksana shot one more glare at Xanxus before making her way over to Tsuna's side as fast as she could. Carefully lowering herself along side them, Roksana carefully eased Timoteo into her lap, checking his injuries for herself. After all the times people had tried to kill her, she had learned a lot of first aid and ways to deal with even potentially fatal wounds. While she looked over his injuries, Timoteo focused in on Tsuna.
"We finally get to meet, young Tsunayoshi. I'm sorry...all of this happened because of my own weakness...my weakness that...allowed Xanxus to wake up from his long sleep." Timoteo told Tsuna.
"What do you mean by sleep? After the Craddle Affair, Xanxus was cast out of the family and kept under strict surveillance by the Vongola, wasn't he?" Reborn asked.
"Craddle Affair?" Tsuna asked.
"It was the largest coup d'etat in Vongola history." Roksana said, shocking everyone and making them all stare at her. "Eight years ago, Xanxus led a rebel army against the Vongola. The truth of which is probably treated with utmost secrecy. In fact, if my information is correct, Only those of the family's upper echelon and those of Vongola's highest elite who fought the battle, know the truth. The Ninth Boss was able to stop Xanxus then, using a special technique that caused Xanxus to sleep all these years."
"How did you...?" Timoteo looked up at Roksana.
"I mean no offense, sir, but when Xanxus' men first appeared here, I did what I had to in order to get a leg up so I could defend Tsuna and the others. As a politician's daughter, I have connections and ties to many people both in the political world and the underworld. There's very little I can't find out." Roksana told him.
It wasn't exactly the whole truth, but Roksana didn't really feel like explaining everything to them. In fact...she didn't feel like telling them the truth, at all. That was sure to cause more problems than it was worth.
"Eh...!? What...what do you mean?" Tsuna asked, looking up at Roksana.
"What really happened-"
Reborn cut off as Timoteo coughed up blood. Roksana shifted him in her lap, trying to ease him the best as she could. With his injuries, there wasn't much she could do to help him. It went beyond the first aid she knew.
"Tsunayoshi." Timoteo called.
"Please take it easy!" Tsuna insisted, but Timoteo ignored it.
"I've always...I've always been hearing news about you...from Reborn. About the girl you like and...about your school...and your friends...about your Star of Wrath." Timoteo smiled up at Roksana as she heaved a sigh, saying, "That stupid name again?" under her breath. "You are a child with a heart that is really mismatched for a mafia boss. I also know that up till now, you have never once fought in a battle willingly. You always have these lines between your eyebrows...clenched your fists as if praying...and all that is why I chose you to be the Tenth Boss of the Vongola!"
Timoteo reached out then, pressing a finger tip to the furrow between Tsuna's brows. Tsuna could feel the man's flame through the touch, the warm touch bringing tears to Tsuna's eyes.
"I'm sorry, but, I'm glad...it's you..."
"Wait!" Tsuna reached out, grabbing Timoteo's hand as the man's eyes closed and his hand dropped. "No, don't...please wait...! Ninth Boss!"
Even Reborn hung his head. To think that the person this man had raised, was the one that had done this to him.
"How dare you kill the Ninth Boss!" Xanxus said then, making them all look up. "The despicable way in which you struck down the Ninth Boss, is a challenge against his own son, Xanxus, as well as the noble Vongola spirit!"
"What?!" Tsuna gasped.
"No need for investigation! The burns on the Ninth Boss' chest are the undeniable evidence! now that the boss has been murdered, the ring contest battle is meaningless! For the boss, my father, and for the future of the Vongola...I will kill you as vengeance." Xanxus declared.
"So, this is what he'd aimed for." Reborn said. "If he only won the ring contest battle and became the next boss, those who know of the Craddle Affair would object to his succession, and would also continue to oppose him. But, if he trapped Tsuna into the role of the villain, and attacked the Ninth Boss's enemy in a battle of revenge, that's a different matter. He would gain absolute trust from the majority of the family. Besides, if he could prove himself stronger than Tsuna, who was supposed to be the Tenth Boss, it would be futher proof that he was the true heir. In that case, he could easily eliminate anyone who opposed him."
"Then, Xanxus is planning to become the boss and establish a dictatorship at the same time!?" Basil exclaimed.
"Yes. It was all a well laid out trap. Mosca was suppose to kill all of Tsuna's guardians in an accident, save Volkov, who he made sure stayed by him. When that happened, he knew that sooner or later, Tsuna would come an take it down." Reborn added.
"How could he...for...for something like that...!" Tsuna gasped.
Even Roksana couldn't believe the lengths Xanxus had gone to.
"Please reframe from speaking such wild conjectures out loud, Reborn." Cervello One called out.
"We will officially record everything that is spoken." the other one added.
"I knew it! The Cervello are on Xanxus' side!" Gokudera snapped.
"Do whatever you want. My patience has ran out." Reborn retorted, making the Cervello flinch. "But, I will honor my promise to the Ninth Boss and not interfere. With my student's battles, that is. Having said that, I don't know what my student, who hates fighting, will do."
Roksana looked up as Tsuna got to his feet, the boy taking in first her and Timoteo and then each of their friends. All of the were hurt, all injured in this ridiculous fight that Xanxus had started for his own gain.
"Xanxus. I will take that ring back." Tsuna said, turning to face the scarred man. "You will not follow in the Ninth Boss's footsteps!"
"Well said, Tsuna." Reborn told him.
"I'll carve your name into Vongola's history books. As the foolish runt who dared to defy Xanxus all by his little self." Xanxus declared.
"He's not alone!" Xanxus' eyes scanned over Tsuna's friends, starting with Gokudera, who had spoke, and landing finally on Roksana as the girl eased Timoteo to the ground and stood, limping forward to stand along side Tsuna. "The boss's will is our will."
"My will is my own." Hibari corrected, Roksana really wanting to whack him over the head with a shoe.
She only reframed because, one, her body was killing her, and, two, Hibari's will was currently in alignment with the rest of their's.
When Levi and Bel were ready to jump into the fight, Xanxus gave the order for them to eliminate Tsuna and his friends, but the Cervello stepped in the middle of the fight.
"Hold it right there, please. We will be in charge of the battle for the Ninth Boss's revenge." Cervello One said.
"We have a duty to oversee the whereabouts of the Vongola rings." Cervello Two added.
"What the hell are you talking about? You're all Xanxus' bitches!" Gokudera snapped.
"Please watch your mouth. We have an official decree from the Ninth Boss himself." Cervello One said, holding up a written letter sealed with Timoteo's Dying Will flame. "Any changing-of-hands of the rings will not be approved without our ratification."
"Youv'e got some nerve! You forced the Ninth Boss to give you that Dying Will flame seal against his will!" Basil yelled.
"The winner of this battle will become the next Vongola boss, so we declare this the Sky ring battle. In other words, this will be the last of the eight ring contest battles held over the past week. How does that sound, Master Xanxus?" Cervello One asked.
"Not a bad idea." Xanxus replied. "But...the winner will also get one more thing."
"What else could you possibly want?" Ryohei asked.
Roksana got a bad taste in her mouth as Xanxus turned his eyes to her, smirking at her as he did. Seeing that look in her direction, Hibari even bristled, his grip on his tonfas, tightening.
"The winner gets the Moon ring guardian...the true Moon guardian." Xanxus said.
Several of Roksana's friends opened their mouths to protest this because Roksana wasn't a prize to be handed over to a victor.
"Fine, whatever." Roksana said, cutting them off. "Good thing we won't lose."
Xanxus snorted in response, meeting Roksana's glare head on.
"Then, tomorrow night, will everyone please assemble at Nami Jr High?" the Cervello said.
"Ohoho. The fake got a suspended sentence for now." Bel remarked.
A comment that didn't over to well with Roksana's friends, but Roksana, herself, didn't really care what he had to say.
"Tsuna is exhausted from his training today. That's good news for us." Reborn said.
"Pfft. Tomorrow will be the final chapter in this happy comedy. Make sure you're up for it." Xanxus said, tossing half of the Sky ring back to Tsuna.
With that, Xanxus let off a bright light that had them all covering their eyes so they wouldn't be blinded by it. When it cleared, Xanxus, Bel, Levi, and the Cervello were gone. Basil came running towards them to check on Timoteo.
"He's alive, Basil...for now. He's very weak." Roksana told him.
"Are we too late!?"
Everyone turned, finding Dino and some of his men. Dino instantly ordered his men to take care of Timoteo, the men carting the ninth boss off on a stretcher.
"I received news from the Cedef team. I never thought...it would come to this. Are you alright?" Dino asked as he approached.
"Define "alright"." Roksana replied.
"The damage we received is quite substantial." Reborn added.
Reborn trailed off there, looking up as Hibari marched over to Roksana. The girl looked up at him as he came to a stop at her right side. She raised an eyebrow at him and opened her mouth to ask what he was staring at her like that for, when he quickly scooped her up off her feet, the girl scrambling to grip his shoulders so she didn't fall.
"I hate it when you do stuff like this so suddenly!" she snapped. "And put me down. I can walk on my own!"
Hibari ignored her, turning on his heel to carry her away. Roksana twisted and shoved, kicking her feet to get him to put her down, but his grip wasn't budging. She was starting to think he liked carrying her around with how often he was doing it. That being said...she wasn't risking the chance of being handcuffed to a bed again.
"Dino! Do something!" she demanded.
Chuckling sheepishly, because he had no idea what Roksana could possibly think he could do about it. Dino caught up with them quick and managed, by the skin of his nose, to talk Hibari into letting Romario look after Roksana's injuries at the hospital. Hibari still didn't put her down and carried her the whole way to the hospital, which made Roksana both want to die and want to punch him. He only put her down when they reached the examination room.
After having the blast to her hip looked at, it was deemed that while she had some moderately bad burns, and had lost a good bit of blood, it was nothing life threatening. Just to be on the safe side, it was suggested that Roksana remain at the hospital for the night. Roksana called Dimitri and Maeve, to explain to them what happened. The two showed up within half an hour, bringing with them some clothes for her to change into in the morning, as well as a night gown to sleep in.
Once that was done, Dimitri and Maeve joined Dino's men in keeping an eye on the building while their mistress got the rest she would need for the next day. Dino tried to get Hibari to leave, or, at least, to leave the room and let Roksana rest, but the boy wasn't budging. Dino eventually had to leave in order to over see the transportation of Timoteo to another location with all the best facilities.
When he came back to check up on Roksana and to make sure the two hadn't killed each other, Dino stuck his head into the room to find a surprising sight that put a smile on his face. Roksana was sound asleep...pillowed against Hibari's chest. Sometime in the time since Dino had last checked on them, Hibari had climbed his way into the hospital bed with Roksana, and was laying on his back, one arm pillowed under his head, Roksana tucked into his side, her top half, half draped over him and his other arm wrapped around her waist.
Hibari opened an eye then, fixing it on Dino. Dino stiffened in surprise. He had been sure that Hibari had been asleep as well. Hibari only said one word, as if expecting Dino to follow it without any questioning.
"Leave." Hibari said simply, closing his eye once more.
Chuckling lowly to himself, Dino did as demanded, closing the door behind him. At least he wouldn't have to worry about anything happening to Roksana.
After all...the girl had the world's best guard dog.
END
Kyandi: You know, Hibari really would be the world's greatest guard dog.
Roksana: Tell me about it. He puts my dog to shame.
Kyandi: Mine too, and mine will sit there and aggressively bark at someone just walking down the street.
Roksana: Yeah well...your dog doesn't like anyone outside your family.
Kyandi: That is very true, but Hibari doesn't like anyone, period.
Roksana: ...My god, you have a point.
Kyandi: Thank you! Anyway, it's two a.m. and I'm ready for bed, so, everyone, enjoy and review.
Roksana: We'll try to be back tomorrow. If not, then the day after.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!