Kyandi: Good evening, my lovelies!
Roksana: She's been laughing sinisterly since she read her reviews.
Kyandi: I think it's about time I revealed a little something.
Roksana: You sure.
Kyandi: Yep. I'm sure you guys have caught the little references to other people Roksana knows.
Roksana: I think you've only mentioned Dre, Orsel and Ray, so far.
Kyandi: Yep. Well, those three, and two others, make up a group that Roksana ran with before going to Japan.
Roksana: A group that is going to make a later appearance in this story.
Kyandi: So yeah...shit's going to hit the fan.
Roksana: Look forward to that.
Kyandi: With that said, everyone enjoy and review.
Roksana: Kyandi-sama does not own Katekyo Hitman REBORN.
Chapter 39 Asking Price
Roksana's opinion on her training time with Reborn, was equally shared with Tsuna, who thought the same thing every time he trained with Reborn. Roksana wasn't exactly sure how she was going to handle this training, but she would make the best of it, as she always did. Both Tsuna and Yamamoto had survived training with Reborn, so she could too.
"That's all for the explanation about the training! You each can choose your own training area. Basil will support you guys while doing his own training as well." Dino told them.
"Please treat me well!" Basil said.
With that, everyone split up. Roksana didn't even wait for Reborn, she made her way back down to Basement eleven. Reborn found her there, sitting in the middle of the floor, the Vongola box in her hands. Reborn approached her, the girl no even looking up at him when he stood beside her.
"Have you tried to open it yet?" Reborn asked.
"Not yet. After watching Tsuna's box weapon and how it responded to him, I tried to ignite my flame near the box, but there was no response from the box." Roksana told him.
"Those of the Moon flame are said to be calm and consistent, making their way through their cycle with patience. Like the moon itself. The box weapon is probably the same." Reborn told her.
"Perhaps. I suppose I won't know until I open it, though." Roksana replied.
Reborn looked from the box in Roksana's hand to her face. The girl was just staring at the box, turning it in her fingers, a thoughtful look on her face. Perhaps now was a good time to ask.
"Who's Nicoli?"
Roksana instantly stiffened, her lips pressing together into a thin line before she heaved a sigh, sagging forward in her lap as she pressed a hand to her face.
"Not you too." she muttered. "What is with all of you? Why does it matter so much who he is?"
"He kills you, Volkov."
"And?"
Reborn's expression didn't betray it, but he was shocked as Roksana turned her eyes on him, a serious expression on her face before she climbed to her feet, pacing away from him, her hands on her hips. Reaching up, she threaded her fingers through her bangs, pulling lightly as if she was frustrated or annoyed.
"I don't get what's up with all of you. First Hibari, then Tsuna and Dino, and now you. What is with all of your hang up over this? What problem is there?" Roksana demanded.
She honestly didn't get it? Perhaps Reborn would have to put this in a way she would understand.
"Answer a question for me, Volkov. If it came down to a choice between you and Tsuna with no other options available, what would be your choice?" Reborn asked.
"Tsuna." Roksana replied instantly, no hesitation in her answer at all.
"And if the choice was between you or the other guardians?"
"Them."
"You or the children?"
"Them."
"You or Dino and his men?"
"Them."
"You or Bianchi and Fuuta?"
"Them."
Each time, Roksana's answer was almost immediate. She didn't stop to consider, didn't stop to think, and her tone never wavered, her expression showing the same serious honesty. She wasn't lying. She would always choose the others over herself. It didn't matter who they were or what the circumstances were. Roksana would always choose the lives of her comrades over herself.
Self-sacrificing at it's finest.
Reborn had just one last question.
"What if it was you or me?" he asked.
"You." Roksana's eyes met Reborn's with all their straight forward seriousness. "Always you."
This was an issue.
This went far beyond loyalty.
This was a death wish.
"Do you not see the issue here?" Reborn asked.
"No, I don't. You of all people should know that life is messy, Reborn. You're a hitman, correct?" she asked.
Reborn's eyebrows shifted. Most just assumed he was a very intelligent baby playing mafia. Hardly anyone took him serious. Something in the way Roksana looked at him, told him that she was aware there was more to him than what met the eye.
"I am." Reborn replied.
"Then you understand the darker sides of our world. We can die at any time. I don't see how this is any different." she replied.
"You're a Guardian, a part of Tsuna's family." Reborn told her.
"Exactly. I'm a guardian. If it comes down to Tsuna or me, to the family or me, isn't it my job to insure the former survives?" Roksana asked. "So what if we found out I died in the future. We all die eventually, Reborn. The only difference between you and I, is I already knew, long before coming to the future, that I would die a messy end at the hands of an assassin. The only question is when and where. Right now, I'm merely running when I know there's no escaping, that I'm running on borrowed time. One day, it will catch up to me because no one can run forever. You should know that."
He did, but no fourteen year old girl should be so painfully award of that kind of thing. She had long since accepted that the assassins being sent after her would eventually take her life. She was fighting, trudging along the best she could, but the whole while, she was looking over her shoulder, always waiting for the other shoe to fall.
That wasn't a life.
That was being a dead man walking.
"You've accepted it." Reborn stated.
"I have. Fuuta even said so in one of his rankings, that I rank the highest in protective instincts. It's true what they say...love is blind. In my case, I blindly follow my love of my friends, my family, to the grave. Reborn, in this life, regardless of what some may say or do, we all want love and honor, but no wants to pay the asking price. If its for my friends, my family...I will always be the asking price. If my life is what it takes to insure the lives of those I care for, then it's the least I can give." Roksana told him, crouching to put her eyes closer to his level. "When it comes down to it, I don't care what it takes or what others think or say about it, in the end, I will live and die in this life, my way. If that means going down swinging in the defense of someone I care about, then even if I'm afraid, I don't care about anything that's not about them."
Roksana pushed herself back to her feet, looking down at Reborn with a serious look on her face. No pun intended, but she was dead serious about it.
"Look, I get that Tsuna and the others are worried, but they don't need to be. I'm not going to throw my life away if there's another option, even a slim one. Leave Nicoli to me and worry about other things." Roksana told Reborn, turning away from him to head for the center of the room. "Now, are we going to train or what?"
Reborn watched Roksana walk away. She wasn't a person that shared her concerns if she didn't think it involved others. That alone told Reborn that whatever this mess with this Nicoli was, Roksana didn't see it as a problem she needed to share with others. Reborn couldn't tell her how to live her life, especially not when she had handled it alone for so long.
He just hoped it didn't get her killed someday.
-0-0-0-0-
That night, when training was over, Tsuna ran in Gokudera, Ryohei and Lambo. All three looked like they had been fried to a crisp.
"Wha...what is wrong with your faces!?" Tsuna demanded.
"The stupid cow just opened his Vongola box, and before we know it, we're all down already." Gokudera told him.
Tsuna couldn't believe that Lambo had already opened his box, or that it had been that destructive with no training. He had done some serious damage to the three of them.
"I can't go any further for today." Ryohei remarked, wiping his face with a towel.
"Are you alright?" Tsuna asked.
"Kind of...how 'bout you, Sawada? Can you open it yet? Your Vongola box!" Ryohei asked.
"Not yet. I guess if I open it right now, it will probably be just the same as before." Tsuna admitted, feeling a little discouraged.
"But isn't it great already that you guys can train with your Vongola boxes?" Yamamoto asked, walking up to them. "All I can do is waiting, you know."
"Count yourself lucky."
All of the boys turned to find Roksana walking up to them. The girl didn't look injured, but she looked tired and worn out.
She also looked annoyed.
"Roksana? How was training with Reborn?" Tsuna asked.
"Hell. If it wasn't for the fact that your father taught me how to dodge bullets with my eyes closed for the battle over the Vongola rings, than I would have been hit far more with those stupid paint bullets than I was. As it is, I'm going to have bruises." Roksana replied, lifting the hem of her shirt to show two bullet shaped bruises on her stomach. Roksana let her shirt drop and heaved a sigh. "But, if this helps make me stronger, than I'm going to keep my complaining to a minimum."
Tsuna wasn't sure he could have that of view himself. Training with Reborn was always unbearable to for Tsuna. But if Roksana could handle it and get stronger, than more power to her.
"Umm...I want to have some talk time with you guys."
Hearing Haru's voice, they all turned to find Haru and Kyoko standing behind them, Bianchi just behind them. The two girls didn't look to happy, their smiles gone at the moment.
"Yo, thanks for your work!" Yamamoto told them in greeting.
"Haru, what is it? Kyoko-chan too?" Tsuna asked.
"Since you can't help but to deceive us, I'll just speak out right to the point then." Haru said seriously. "Can you tell us more details about what's happening right now? Like Byakuran and Millefiore and the mafia!?"
All of the boys were surprised, They had gong through great lengths to make sure that the girls didn't find out about all of that stuff. They didn't want them to worry and end up stressed and anxious because of the information.
"Wait...wha...wha...wha-wha...what are you talking about? Mi-Millefiore? Mafia? What is that?" Tsuna asked, trying to keep it hidden.
"There's no use in deceiving us now! We both know that you all are hiding something away from us! Since we are living with you guys, we do have our rights to know the truth!" Haru insisted.
"Why do you...all of the sudden...? Bianchi!" Tsuna exclaimed.
"I didn't say anything. These two found out with their own will and strength." Bianchi told him.
"They were hiding behind the motorbike in the training room earlier when Dino gave us our training orders." Roksana said simply.
"You knew!?" Tsuna exclaimed.
"And you didn't say anything!?" Gokudera asked.
"Nope. They have a point. They're caught up in this too. They deserve to know what's at stake and why." Roksana replied. "Not to mention, you guys are suppose to be working on telling when someone is near that shouldn't be there."
Gokudera glared at her, but Roksana merely turned her face away from him.
"We both want to fight together with you!" Kyoya said then, drawing attention back to the conversation at hand.
"Kyoko!" Ryohei scolded.
"I thank you for caring about us, but...just a little more, really! Just a little bit more until we finish up with it and return to our world. So, can I ask you please, just believe in us...and endure it for just a little longer?" Tsuna asked, trying to be considerate of the girls only to fail.
Roksana had to fight back the urge to laugh at what happened next.
"Alright, then we will take one step further into this then." Haru told them.
"Heh?" Tsuna voiced, confused.
"Until you guys tell us the truth, we both will stop doing all the household work!" Haru said as she and Kyoko pulled out boycotting signs.
"We're boycotting against us living together!" Kyoko added.
"Sorry, Tsuna, but I'm with these two on this." Bianchi said, putting an arm around each girl's shoulders.
"Me too. I'm sorry, Boss." Chrome piped in, walking up with I-pin in her arms.
"I-pin, too!" I-pin cheered.
"Eh! Whaaat!? Boycotting against housework and living together!? N-no way! Roksana!" Tsuna yelled, turning to look at Roksana.
"Don't look at me. I've already said that they deserve to know." Roksana told him, joining the girls. "Besides, if I don't side with the girls, then that means I'm going to end up being the one to do all your cooking and clean...I am not washing your underwear."
Even Reborn, Giannini and Fuuta joined the girls in their stand, though, for some reason Roksana couldn't understand, Reborn and Giannini had dressed themselves up as women.
With both sides refusing to back down, they went their separate ways. Over the course of the next few days, the boys attempted to juggle both training, cooking for themselves, doing their own laundry, and cleaning up after themselves. Roksana peeked in on them a few times, unable to believe how hopeless they were at taking care of themselves.
First they flooded the laundry room with soap suds after putting too much detergent in the machine, and then they almost burned down the kitchen trying to cook. Most nights, they only ate cup noodles. Roksana could practically hear their stomachs growling. Roksana would have been tempted to help them, if she wasn't busy dealing with her own training and taking care of Ryoka and Marc at night. Reborn kept her pretty busy, training her until her legs felt like jelly.
By the time he allowed her to attempt to open her box weapon, the surprise at what came out, had Roksana's knees giving out from under her. The creature that dwelt within the Vongola box and the truth behind its abilities, had Roksana's mind racing at double speed. She named the creature Tsukuyomi and made Reborn swear to say nothing to the others before she ran off to do some work with her box weapons alone, completely ignoring Reborn as she flew out of the room.
Curious as to what the girl had going on in her head, Reborn let her go. He ended up no seeing hide or hair of the girl for the next two days. When she showed back up, she had worked out a way to use all of her box weapons in unison. Even knowing that Roksana already knew how to use the Dying Will flame, Reborn was pleasantly surprised with how quickly she was working everything out, growing and developing like she was made to only that.
Then again, given how the girl had grown up, Reborn knew he couldn't be too surprise. Roksana was use to growing quickly, adjusting rapidly in order to protect her life and those close to her. As long as there was danger to her friends and loved ones, she would continue her steady growth in order to shield them from harm. Though Reborn didn't agree with some of the ways Roksana viewed her life, she was effective at her job and that job was defending the family.
After all the work Roksana put in to her training over the last few days, Reborn gave her the night off early. Even someone as determined as Roksana needed her rest. Roksana took the chance to check in on the boys. She could Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei in the kitchen eating cup noddles. All four had just sneezed at the same time, Roksana muffling a laugh behind her hand to keep them from noticing her watching them.
"My nose is getting really itchy." Tsuna complained.
"Did someone just talk behind our back?" Gokudera asked.
"This meal lacks nutrients to the extreme!" Ryohei complained.
"But I just realized for the first time...that our training won't be so smoothly with only us alone." Yamamoto remarked.
Something his friends agreed with. They hadn't realized how much the girls had done for them.
"You're right...the battle is drawing near, yet we...maybe we should actually tell them." Tsuna said.
"No! What will you do if something happens to Kyoko!?" Ryohei demanded.
"Th-that's right!" Tsuna agreed.
"You boys are such dolts."
Tsuna let out a squeak, all of the boys turning towards the doorway where Roksana was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest.
"What was that?!" Gokudera growled.
"Down, kitty."
Gokudera glared silently at Roksana knowing that if he said or did anything else, she could only tease him more.
"I thought you were still training, Roksana." Tsuna said.
"Reborn let me go early. How are you four holding up?" Roksana asked, looking around at them. "I see you're eating cup noddles again."
"You know, you could help us." Gokudera told her.
"That would defeat the whole purpose of this." Roksana retorted. "Though, judging from what I heard earlier, none of you are grasping the point the girls are trying to make here."
"And what kind of point is that?" Gokudera demanded.
"That you boys don't get to decide what's good for them."
All four boys froze, staring back at the serious look on Roksana's face. Heaving a sigh, Roksana pushed herself off the wall and walked over to the fridge. Opening the door, she bent to pull something out of it.
"You boys have got to understand that Haru and Kyoko are their own people with free will. They aren't so much angry because you won't tell them, but more because you decided this on your own without talking to them. Anyone is going to get upset and react badly if someone else insist that they know what's best for them. There's a very thin line between being concerned for them and being over bearing." Roksana told them, turning to reveal a pot in her hands. She walked over to the table and sat it down on the table. "Right now, you boys are being over bearing. Heat this on medium heat for twenty minutes, actually time it, and you'll go to bed with full stomachs."
With that, Roksana turned away from them and headed for the door.
"You really think we-we're being over bearing?" Tsuna asked.
Roksana stopped and turned to look at them. Her eyes rolled up to the ceiling for a moment, as if she was considering what to say to them, before she fixed her eyes on them once more.
"You boys mean well, I know that, but...I have to agree with the girls. Just as you guys want to protect them, they want to do all they can to support you and help you. They can't do that if you insist on keeping them in the dark. Eventually, they're going to find out. It's not something you keep hidden from them. The question is, do you tell them now and give them a chance to brace for what's to come, or keep it to yourself and let it slap them in the face when it eventually catches up with them and shock of it all possibly put them in a position that could get them killed?" Roksana told them. "A little bit of advice from someone who knows...the first one is the best answer."
"B-but what if they get hurt!?" Tsuna asked, flying to his feet.
"Tsuna, if things go bad, then whether they know or not, they're still going to get hurt! In this world, people are not going to be merciful to them just because they don't know anything. That said, the most important thing is...It's not your choice. It's their lives, their choice. Had you made this choice with them, instead of for them, they wouldn't be so upset with your right now, but by doing this, you took the choice from therm and that's not fair. The choice on what they do and do not know, should be their's." Roksana told him.
"You mean like you choose not to tell us about Nicoli?!" Gokudera snapped from the table.
Roksana's eyes snapped to him so quick, Gokudera dropped back down in his seat, his eyes wide.
"That is different." Roksana replied.
"How is it different? You're deciding what we do and don't know about it." Yamamoto pointed out.
"Yes, but my keeping information from you isn't endangering your lives. Right now, since you know nothing, you aren't of any concern of his, but if I was to tell you, you'd be on his radar in a snap." Roksana told him. "Nicoli is of none of your concern. I don't need nor want your protection. From any of you!"
Tired of having this argument, Roksana turned on her heel to leave the room. Tsuna hurried forward to stop her.
"Why won't you let us help!?" Tsuna asked.
That brought Roksana to a stop, the girl's shoulder sagging as she let out a low sigh. When she turned, Tsuna tensed, expecting her to be angry, or to have some kind of sharp retort.
None of them were prepared for the almost vulnerable look on her face.
"Because I don't know how to be any other way. Practically since the time I could walk, I've had to do the fighting for myself, by myself. It was easier, at first, because I only had to worry about myself, but now...now, if I screw up, Marc's on the line. I don't have the time to sit back and let others fight for me." Roksana told him. "Not you, any of you, can protect me, Tsuna, because, as you guys are now...not even Hibari would stand a chance against Nicoli. The only reason I've survived so far, is because he hasn't tried to deal with me, himself."
Silence fell over the boys as they stared at Roksana. Not even Hibari would stand a chance? If their strongest member couldn't stand up to this Nicoli man, than they were afraid of what that would mean for Roksana if Nicoli decided to take things into his own hands. Seeing the looks of concern on her friends faces, Roksana reached out, laying a hand on Tsuna's shoulder, making him look at her.
"Tsuna, listen to me, all of you. I don't need a hero, okay? I have made it fourteen years, and while I will die someday, as all people do, I'll be damned if its any time soon. Just focus on the problems at hand, alright. That is, unless you want to continue eating cup noodles and doing your own laundry." Roksana told them. "Besides...I have a guard dog and he's more than I can handle at the moment. Now, follow my instructions for that pot. I'm off to bed before Reborn can drag me back to training."
Roksana gave Tsuna's shoulder a pat and turned on her heels to leave the kitchen. Tsuna and his friends watched her as she walked out the door, covering a yawn. Once again, she had managed to change the subject on them.
Would they ever get a straight answer out of her?
Roksana made her way back over to the Foundation side of the hideout. When she walked into the main room, she could Kusakabe, Dino and Romario sitting there.
"Oh, I didn't know you had company, Tetsuya. Don't mind me. I'm just going to go put Ryoka and Marc to bed." Roksana said, turning to walk away.
"I already put them to bed." Kusakabe told her.
"Oh..."
Roksana came to a stop, unsure what to do now that she did have the kids to put to bed. She wasn't exactly ready for sleep yet. Kusakabe could see this.
"Would you like a cup of fresh tea, Roksana-sama?" Kusakabe asked.
"That would be lovely, thank you." Roksana agreed, turning to join them.
Easing herself down on a pillow, she gladly accepted the cup of tea from Kusakabe. The three men smiled as Roksana took a drink and heaved a relaxing sigh, her body starting to relax.
"How's training going with Reborn?" Dino asked.
"About as well as training with Reborn can go. He's working me to the bone. When we aren't working with using my weapons, both my sansetsukon and my box weapons, on the motorbike, we're working with my flames. Things are coming together, but if Reborn shoots me in the butt with that paintball gun one more time, he won't live to see puberty." Roksana remarked.
The men chuckled, knowing that Roksana really wouldn't hurt a child. Not that she could kill Reborn, even if she wanted to.
"Have you checked in with the others?" Kusakabe asked.
"You know, I sympathize with the girls, but I also feel sorry for the boys. It must be really difficult to train on top of cooking and cleaning when you can't cook or clean. You should have seen the mess in the laundry room after Tsuna and Takeshi tried to wash their clothes. And then Hayato almost burned down the kitchen." Roksana said, shaking her head. "I'm a trust fund kid that has been waited on hand and foot her whole life and yet I can cook and wash my own clothes."
"Do you think it'll come to an end soon?" Romario asked.
"They'll work it out sooner or later. I have a pretty good feeling that Tsuna will crack and finally tell the girls what's really going on. I'm not sure how Kyoko and Haru will take it, but it'll be better than trying to continue keeping the secret." Roksana replied.
"You sure about that?" Dino asked.
"I am. With the danger posed against us, the girls can't remain in the dark. It'll just be bad for them in the end." Roksana remarked.
"And this from the girl who refuses to tell us who Nicoli is."
Roksana's eyes snapped towards Dino when he said this, the man stiffening when her eyes landed on him.
"Does everyone here know that name?!" Roksana asked, sounding put out.
"Why won't you just tell us?" Dino asked. "You know you're just worrying Tsuna and the others."
"There's no point in me saying anything. Now that I know what the future holds, I can prevent Hibari from touching and I can prevent the assassination. Really, the only real challenge will be keeping Hibari away. Though I'm not convinced that I need to be concerned with my era's Hibari. That boy's only interest is in taking over my bed and trying to beat the crap out of me."
The three men shared a look, none of them saying anything, but Roksana caught the look that passed between them and sat her cup down.
"What? What do you know that you aren't saying?" Roksana asked, looking between them.
"I don't know how to tell you this but...the Kyo-san of this era left a letter behind for the Kyo-san of your era, telling him about everything, right down to everything that happened leading up to your death." Kusakabe told her. "Kyo-san may have already planted the idea in his own mind."
For a moment, Roksana just sat there, staring at Kusakabe before she smacked a hand to her face.
"Son of a bitch!" she cursed. "This whole thing just became that much more tiring."
The three men chuckled, Dino grinning widely as he looked at Roksana. The girl had a sour look on her face as she drank her tea.
"You don't know how much we've missed you. All of us. It hadn't been the same, the last nine years, without you." Dino told her.
"Yeah...I'm sorry about that. I might not act like it, but I really am sorry for all the trouble my future self caused." Roksana told them.
"It's not about trouble, Roksana. It's heartache. Tsuna and the others were crushed when you died. It effected a lot of people. Kyoya most of all. He wasn't really the same after that." Dino told her.
"I got that from how this era's Hibari greeted me." Roksana replied. "But, seriously, I am sorry. Like I said, I won't let it come to pass. No, instead, now I have to worry about handcuffing Hibari before he can do it to me...again."
As Roksana heaved another sigh, the men exchanged grins. While Roksana was partly joking, she knew she was going to have to be more careful and keep her eyes peeled for danger. She seriously needed to up her game.
"This whole thing just makes me more convinced that Kyoya bit you because he's jeal-"
"Dino. I love you like a brother, really I do, but," Roksana pegged him with a serious look. "Say the "j" word again and I will introduce your nuts to my boot heel."
Dino instantly snapped his mouth shut. While Roksana typically talked mean but treated him decently, where Hibari was concerned, Dino knew that Roksana would keep her promise. With her sitting so close, he would listen and keep the "j" word to himself.
Though he swore Hibari was jealous.
Like really jealous.
Though, Dino couldn't decided which was scarier.
A jealous Hibari or a slighted Roksana.
A terrifying choice indeed.
END
Kyandi: Personally, since I'm not a guy with nuts to crush, I would rather anger you.
Roksana: That does seem like the safer option for you.
Kyandi: Poor Dino, though. He's so adorable and sweet, but he can also be so stupid.
Roksana: I think Reborn has knocked all the sense out of his head.
Kyandi: Probably so. Well, I'm tired.
Roksana: Bed time?
Kyandi: Yep. Everyone, enjoy and review.
Roksana: We'll be back tomorrow.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!