Kyandi: Greetings, all!
Roksana: This chapter came to Kyandi-sama when she was listening to music.
Kyandi: I have a playlist of songs that I feel fit Roksana and it includes songs like The Haunting by Set It Off, Natural Born Sinner by In This Moment, Silent Scream by Damien Dawn, and Undone by FFH.
Roksana: There's another song on this list that inspired part of this chapter.
Kyandi: I would suggest listening to it sometime before or after reading the chapter. It's Something In Your Mouth by Nickelback. Now, before anyone gets worked up over what the contents of this chapter are, it's nothing really inappropriate. Just me trying to be funny with a song.
Roksana: There's a lot of songs like this on her playlist that, in some funny way or another, she can relate them back to me.
Kyandi: Another one of those funny songs would be Dumb Blonde by Avril Lavigne.
Roksana: I'm not a dumb blonde.
Kyandi: And that's the joke! Anyway, everyone, enjoy and review.
Roksana: Kyandi-sama does not own Katekyo Hitman REBORN or any of the songs mentioned.
Chapter 51 The Lollipop Mission
"You know...that wasn't an invitation for all of you to come."
Roksana stood in the middle of the Oriocenter Mall in Bergamo, Italy, her hands braced on her hips as she watched passer-bys opening gawk at the men currently with her. She had expected Lussuria, even Bel and maybe Levi to come her to the mall, but, for some reason, she also got Xanxus and Mammon, the former of which was the biggest shock. She hadn't expected Xanxus to be interested in a girl's shopping trip.
"You are aware that you're drawing more attention than any store here, right?" Roksana asked. "I thought assassins were suppose to be about confidentiality."
"We are, but who doesn't love a shopping trip?" Lussuria replied.
"Me. I hate shopping." Roksana told.
"What?! What kind of teenage girl hates shopping?" Lussuria asked.
"Me. I don't see the point in spending hours on end getting shoved around a crowded mall, trying on endless amounts of clothes, just to over spend on things you'll probably only wear once." Roksana retorted.
"At least there's one woman out there with some fucking sense." Squalo remarked.
"Nonsense. You just haven't been doing it right." Lussuria told Roksana, waving off Squalo.
"I'm pretty sure there's only one way to do it." Roksana replied.
"I'll just have to show you. Come on, upstairs we go!" Lussuria said, taking hold of Roksana's wrist to pull her after him, the others following behind.
"Why upstairs? There's plenty of places on the ground floor." Roksana complained.
"The ground floor is all about high street fashion. The upper level is where you find all the luxury brands." Lussuria told her.
"I don't need anything fancy!" Roksana insisted.
"You're a guardian of the family and, for this month, at least, a member of our group. You need something high-end." Lussuria replied.
"I would rather choke on my own entrails." retorted Roksana sourly.
Roksana complained the whole way up the stairs and even as Lussuria shoved her into the capable hands of a pair of fitters. As they dragged her away to get her sizes, Roksana threw a glare over her shoulder at Lussuria.
"It's just for a few pieces and then we'll worry about street clothes!" Lussuria called after her.
"I hate you, Lussuria!" came Roksana's quick retort before the curtains were drawn and there was a yelped, "Watch where you're putting your hands!".
There was some amusement from Xanxus and his group as they sat by and listened to the protests and sharp remarks from the other side of the curtain. It actually had a few of them chuckling when one of the fitters suggested something in a shape of pink, only for the poor woman to go running out of the room, Roksana throwing the offending piece of clothing after her.
When the curtains finally parted, the two fitters ready to show what they had decided on, it was to the surprise on the men waiting.
"I feel like a peacock." Roksana muttered, glaring at the floor length mirror in front of her.
The dress Roksana had put in was form fitting, all the way to her hips, were it flared out to fall to the floor. The back was low, following the elegant slope of her spin down to her lower back, the neckline scooping just low enough to give a glimpse of cleavage. It was a pretty sapphire blue, a slit riding up the left thigh.
"It's gorgeous!" Lussuria told her.
"It's outlandish. Where would I even wear such a thing? Even when we wear suits, mine's unconventional with shorts and a backless top. This is just...too much." Roksana complained. "How do women even move in these things?"
"Haven't you ever worn anything like this to a function for your father?" Lussuria asked.
"If I wear a dress, if, it goes no further than my knees. I feel like I'm going to trip and fall on my face if I so much as take a step." Roksana retorted.
"Alright, then we'll try something shorter." Lussuria said, calling the fitter back over.
"Or we could just go back down stairs and find something normal." Roksana complained.
"Oh, just stop complaining. You're too cute to waste it." Lussuria told her.
"Cute?! I kick people's asses and rupture men's testicles for a living. How is that cute?!" Roksana asked as she was dragged back behind the curtain.
Sometimes, she really didn't get people.
After finally getting Roksana to agree to a knee length, halter style, black dress with a silver empire waist and a formal black suit with a pencil skirt, Lussuria finally let Roksana go back downstairs to shop for clothes she liked. Whether she asked for them or not, and it was always not, the men gave their opinions on the clothes she tried on. When it came to the lingerie store, though, she firm in telling them, "I definitely don't need your opinions here!".
She made them stay outside the store while she did her shopping.
Leaving the final shop, wearing her by far favorite outfit out of the store, Roksana seemed to be in a much better mood, despite the good amount of bags and boxes that Levi and Squalo had been forced to carry for her.
"See, that wasn't so bad." Lussuria told her.
"Wasn't so bad? You used me like your own personal Barbie doll all day, Lussuria." Roksana replied.
"I still say you could have rocked those heels." Lussuria pouted.
"Rock them? They were five inches! I would have broken an ankle." Roksana retorted.
It was then that Roksana's eyes landed on something and she came to a complete stop, making Levi jerk to a halt so not to crash into her and drop the boxes he was carrying.
"What the fuck did you stop for?!" Squalo demanded.
"Candy store." Roksana said simply.
All of them followed her line of sight to where she had fixed her eyes on a candy store across the way. Before any of them could say anything, she started towards the store.
"What are you, five?!" Squalo asked.
"Hey, all of you have whatever is it you can't live without, Xanxus' being meat and tequila and whiskey. I have my lollipops. I'm well aware that I have an oral fixation, sue me." Roksana retorted, turning to walk backwards. "This is about the only kind of shopping that I like to do."
With that, Roksana turned on her heel and hurried towards the store. Out of all the weird and questionable things they had seen about Roksana, this had to be the weirdest. Following her, they stood there and watched the girl fly around the store, loading up on enough sweets to last more than a month. She didn't even make it out of the store before she had a strawberry-and-cream lollipop in her mouth, a content look on her face.
"Are you down yet, trash?" Xanxus asked.
"I don't know. Are you done not calling me by name?" Roksana retorted. When Xanxus only glared at her, she raised an eyebrow at him. "I already have to deal with one guy like you who refuses to call me by name. If I can wear him down enough to make him call me by name, rest assure...I will eventually annoy you enough to get you to do it, if for no other reason than getting me to leave you alone."
Xanxus snorted, looking away from her. If he thought she couldn't do it then he was in for a big surprise. Roksana was incredibly stubborn when she wanted to be.
He just didn't know the half of it.
-0-0-0-0-
The rest of that night passed in what Roksana was sure was as peaceful as it got at the Varia headquarters. At dinner, she was confronted with just how bad Xanxus' eating habits were and how awful his table manners were. It was like watching a wild animal rip into the meat. Then there was the fighting between the others that ended in an actual fight between some of them.
In the end, Roksana gathered her plate and went to finish her food in the kitchen.
At least there, she had peace and quiet.
She went to bed that night in a night gown she had picked out herself. After all the excitement of the last two days, Roksana fell asleep quickly. When no one attacked her during the night, she slept soundly. She even over slept the next morning, not really looking forward to another meal with Xanxus and the others.
Something that, apparently, Xanxus didn't approve of.
Roksana was jolted awake when Squalo burst into her room the next morning.
"Time to get up, brat!" Squalo declared loudly.
He came to a stop when he was met with the angry glare peering at him from over a pillow among the blankets and pillows piled on the bed. He had only ever been confronted with such a glare when disturbing Xanxus as he either slept or ate.
"You have two second to shut the hell up and get the hell out before I make you into a woman." Roksana told him.
Squalo only pulled the door shut in time to avoid the knife she threw at the door with enough force that the tip of the blade went clean through the door.
Apparently, Roksana wasn't much of a morning person.
Seeing how she actually seemed to somewhat like him, Squalo sent Lussuria in to get the girl up. The man actually succeeded, coming back with Roksana in tow.
"What was so urgent that you came bursting into my room with this morning? Seriously, have none of you heard of knocking?" Roksana demanded.
"We have a mission today, brat, and you're coming with." Squalo told her.
"Oh?" Roksana actually seemed to perk up at that, one eyebrow raising. "Tell me more."
"Oh, sure! That gets your fucking attention!" Squalo snapped.
"Well, if you had lead with that this morning, instead of just bursting into my room, I wouldn't have thrown the knife at you." Roksana retorted, hands going to her hips. Reaching up, she flicked a pigtail over her shoulder. "I'm a teenage girl. You really should be more careful about just barging in. You have no idea what I could be doing in there."
All eyes fixed on her then and seeing the looks on their faces, Roksana rolled her eyes, heaving a sigh as she dropped her face into one hand.
"Seriously, you guys act like you've never been about females before. That last part was a joke!" Roksana told them.
"I think it would just be best if we go." Lussuria said, ushering Roksana out of the room ahead of him.
Roksana found herself in the back seat of some fancy car, Xanxus to her left, Bel, Lussuria and Mammon sitting across from her, Squalo in the front seat and Levi behind the wheel. If she was being honest, she was a little surprise that Xanxus allowed himself to be crammed in such close quarters with the others, let alone share a seat with someone like her. She didn't dwell on it long as her phone suddenly beeped.
Pulling the phone out of the pocket of the leather jacket she was wearing, she checked the screen to find that Hibari was calling her. Letting out a low, curt laugh, she hit the decline button. There was no way she was answering his call when she was in a car filled with others. That was just asking for trouble.
"What's so funny?" Lussuria asked.
"Oh, nothing. Just someone who has called me a few times in the last twelve hours. Like I'll seriously answer the phone when I am well aware of what he's going to say to me." Roksana replied.
"Oh, are you talking about that little guard dog of yours?" Lussuria asked.
"Why does everyone call him that?" Roksana demanded.
"Sweetie, we've watched him carry you away just because of a comment from or about another boy. He watches you like a hawk." Lussuria told her.
"Every time we see him, he's watching you." Bel added.
"That's just because he knows the moment he turns his back, I'll attack him. It doesn't mean anything." Roksana replied.
"You keep telling yourself that." Lussuria told her.
Roksana raised an eyebrow at him, but Lussuria refused to say anything else, which put a frown on Roksana's face. After the whole thing in the future, after finding out that she had a child with Hibari, Roksana had to admit, to herself, that she was more aware of Hibari than she had ever been and not just as an opponent.
She was more aware of him as a man.
And she was pretty sure she wasn't comfortable with it.
The last thing she needed in her life, was boy problems.
"What exactly do you mean by that?" she demanded of Lussuria.
"Sweetie, no man pays that much attention if he isn't interested." Lussuria told her.
"I swear to God, Lussuria, if you start repeating the nonsense Luca told me about Hibari apparently wanting to screw my brains out, I will kill you right now." Roksana told him.
"Well...if the shoe fits." Lussuria replied.
Roksana's nose wrinkled at that. It seemed everyone, even those who had only known them for a short while, was convinced that she and Hibari would eventually end up together.
Which made Roksana want to fight it all the more.
"Can you please not say that? Just thinking about it..."
Roksana couldn't even finish the sentence. She didn't even want to let her mind drift to the idea because she was pretty sure her brain would supply her with images she didn't even want to start to contemplate.
"Is that a blush on your face!?" Lussuria asked, eyes turning to Roksana.
"No, it's not. Why would I be blushing?" Roksana demanded.
"Because you're a virgin." Bel retorted, snickering as Roksana shot a glare at him.
"You are aware that I'm fourteen, right? I don't even want to begin to explain to you how wrong that comment is on so many levels. The first point, of which is...it's none of your business. Men." Roksana retorted, leaning back in her seat.
"Shi, shi, shi...embarrassed?" Bel asked, grinning widely.
Roksana raise a leg then, putting her two-and-a-half inch heeled boots on eye level with Bel's face.
"Another word, Belphegor, please, and I will introduce your face to my heel." Roksana told him.
From the look in her eyes...she would.
Though he kept a grin on his face, he fell silent. For someone who acted like he didn't have a sane brain in his head, he certainly knew when it was better for him to shut up. Roksana dropped her leg, cross it over the other.
"What I do behind closed doors is no one else's business. Especially not with the pervert driving. He might crash us." Roksana said.
"Hey!" came Levi's voice from the front seat.
"Shut up, trash." Xanxus demanded then, apparently fed up with the conversation.
The rest of the trip was silent, Roksana watching the scenery as it passed outside the car window. She watched as they made their way into the very heart of a busy city, people making their way down sidewalks without a care in the world. Their location, Roksana soon found out, was a high end night club with a very exclusive guest list.
One that, apparently, Xanxus and his group were included on.
No one even looked twice at Roksana as she followed Xanxus an the others inside. Then again, some of the women she saw inside the club, looked like they were about her age. Roksana's eyes scanned the club the moment they walked in.
There were three levels with an open floor plan, allowing those from the floor below her and the floor above, to see everything. The top four floors of the building were a little more exclusive. Strobe lights flashed on the dance floor on the floor below, swaying bodies crowding the mapped out dance floor. The floor they entered on, was the bar area, men and women alike crowding around the tables in the dark corners of the area.
Looking at all the bodies clad in skimpy clothes and leather, Roksana couldn't tell if she fit in or stood out. She had the leather part down, at least.
"Brat! Keep up!"
Squalo calling to her over the music had Roksana focusing her attention back on him and the others. She hurried to catch up with them, joining them in a little VIP section off to the side. Seeing Xanxus and his group coming, the few people that were already there, quickly vacated the area. Roksana didn't blame them.
Xanxus really did seem like a party pooper.
Lussuria quickly ushered Roksana onto a couch, Xanxus dropping to sit on the other end, his feet instantly going up on the coffee table. A snap of his fingers and a man came rushing from the bar with a glass and a bottle of whiskey in his hands.
"Why do I get the feeling that you guys come here a lot?" Roksana demanded over the music.
"We do a lot of business here." Lussuria replied.
"Right. Stay there, brat! We have to handle some business upstairs." Squalo told her loudly.
"Wait, what was the point of bringing me along if you're just going to leave me here?" Roksana demanded.
"We'll get to your part when we come back." Lussuria told her before he and the others left, leaving Roksana along with Xanxus.
Roksana didn't even know what to do. Heaving a sigh, she crossed her legs as she propped an elbow on the arm of the couch and dropped her chin into her hand. Just sitting around like that was far too boring for her. How Xanxus did it and enjoyed it, was beyond her. To make matters worse, the strobing lights from the dance floor, were hurting her eyes.
"This whole place is ridiculous." she said more to herself.
Xanxus only glanced at her. It was easy to tell from her expression that she was bored. That aside, neither him, nor his men, would admit that they had brought her along before they didn't want to leave her alone at headquarters until they could find who had originally accepted the kill order on her. They would have left her behind if it wasn't for that. After all, none them were going to take her on a kill job.
Tsuna and his group were all about not killing, so they were pretty sure that Roksana would be the same way.
That being said, she could still be of use on this job.
Roksana was idly tapping one nail against her cheek when Squalo and the others came back.
"You look bored out of your mind." Lussuria remarked while Squalo reported to Xanxus.
"Because I am." Roksana retorted.
"Well, get over it! It's your turn, brat." Squalo told her, crouching beside her now that he was done reporting to Xanxus. In his hand he held a photograph of a flash drive. "See this? There's a guy here with this in his pocket. It has a full list of all the elite, high-ups in Vongola. We have to get it back before it can be handed over an enemy."
"Okay. What guy?" Roksana asked, pretty sure what it was Squalo was about to have her do.
Squalo turned, scanning the people around them before his eyes found the man.
"There, at the bar! Bleach blonde hair." Squalo told her.
Roksana raised her eyes to the man in question. Her first impression was "Sleaze ball". The man screamed loaded playboy, his appearance, flash suit, wide grin, and styled, bleach blonde hair, saying, loud and clear, that he thought he was God's gift to women. Roksana supposed he was decent looking...for an old guy. He stood at the bar, talking to two huge and bulky men behind him that had to be his bodyguards.
"You mean Sleazy McMoney over there?" Roksana asked.
"Yeah. Go get the flash drive." Squalo told her.
"Seriously? That's why you brought me along?" Roksana asked.
"If you don't think you can do it, then-"
"Oh, shut up." Roksana shed her leather jacket, revealing the purple, cropped, halter top covered by a layer of black lace, that she wore underneath. She shoved the jacket in Squalo's face. "I'll get the silly flash drive."
Before she released the jacket, she pulled one of her many lollipops out of the pocket, ripping off the wrapper before sticking it in her mouth.
"Now ain't the time for candy, brat!" Squalo snapped at her, yanking her jacket away from his face to glare at her.
"Believe me, in a case like this, it's always time for candy." Roksana replied, getting to her feet. Roksana smoothed out the back of her black, school girl skirt and adjusted the position of her garter on her royal purple, sheer stockings before she made her way to the bar. "Watch and see how a woman handles this."
They watched as Roksana approached the bar, coming to a stop just a few feet from the target. The man almost instantly locked his eyes on Roksana as she leaned forward against the bar, fiddling with the lollipop in her mouth, her back side on full display as the hem of her skirt fell to just barely hide everything it needed to hide. Squalo took a seat on the couch, all of them watching as Roksana easily hailed the bartender, ordering a fruity, non-alcoholic drink.
As she waited for the drink, the man turned to her, leaning on the bar next to her to speak to her. Smile on her face, Roksana turned to talk to him, shifting to stand up straight in a way that drew the man's attention to her chest. Innocently, she played with the lollipop in her mouth as he replied to whatever she said, pulling the piece of candy from her mouth to run her tongue over it once, twice, before popping it back into her mouth.
The man's eyes followed every little bit of movement as he moved closer to her, lowering his head to say something into her ear. Roksana laughed at whatever he said, though, after watching how she had laughed her first night at the Varia headquarters, they could all tell that it was a fake laugh. Laying a hand on his chest to lightly push him back, Roksana took a step back from him as the bartender sat her drink on the bar beside her.
Roksana snatched up the drink in one hand as she said something to the man as she jabbed a thumb over her shoulder towards her companions. The man leaned around Roksana, looking towards him and instantly flinched when he met Xanxus' eyes from across the room. Standing up straight and trying to cover his flinch, he said something to Roksana with a nervous smile on his face. Roksana replied cheerfully and turned to leave, giving him a wink over her shoulder before she headed back towards her group.
Rejoining them, she dropped to sit between Xanxus and Squalo. Out of sight of the man, who was still watching Roksana, Roksana pressed something against Squalo's knee. The man looked down to find the flash drive sitting between them.
"I didn't even see you reach for his pockets!" Lussuria gasped.
"Slight of hand isn't exactly my strongest suit, but in the case of men like him, it's so easy to distract long enough to search pockets." Roksana said, waving coyly at the man who gave her a shaky smile before turning to leave. "Besides, the idiot had it in his jacket pocket. It would have been harder if it was in his pants pocket. But, men like him...it's too easy."
"What do you mean?" Levi asked, watching the man as he vanished among other customers.
"Simple...this." Roksana pulled her lollipop out of her mouth. "Men like that, who radiate sleaze ball vibes, are all distracted by one thing. To them, a girl who looks like me...is so much cuter with something in her mouth."
That one little statement had them all looking at her as she popped her lollipop back in her mouth. Roksana crossed her legs as she leaned back, stirring her straw in the colorful drink she still held in her hand. Grinning, Roksana leaned back forward for just a moment, her eyes fixed on Bel.
"Want to make virgin comments now?" she demanded before leaning back. "This was too easy."
While Squalo clicked his tongue, Roksana couldn't help but bask in the smugness of how easy it had been for her. Now, was she going to admit that she was, in fact, a virgin and had been flying by the seat of her pants, hoping the man would be into really young looking girls?
Hell no.
Roksana leaned back once more, taking a sip of her drink. So, she was having a little more fun than she thought she would, but, so far, it didn't really seem like training to her. They were going to have to step up their game if they wanted to teach her something new.
"So what next?" Roksana asked, obviously smug after having passed the little test Squalo had given her.
"Just shut the hell up and drink your drink, brat!" Squalo snapped at her.
Which only put another grin on her face.
What could she say?
She liked pushing buttons.
END
Kyandi: I would have been really immature and would have been like, "Neener neerer.".
Roksana: You're how old, again?
Kyandi: That doesn't matter. Changing the subject...I feel you on the hating shopping thing.
Roksana: It's just so...exhausting. Trying on one thing after another? Ugh!
Kyandi: I know right?! Now if it's shopping for art supplies, books, or candy, then I can get behind that. But clothes? Sorry, guys, this girl is not a shopping gal.
Roksana: Add in Lussuria and it's even worse.
Kyandi: I don't know. I like his energy.
Roksana: Sure you do.
Kyandi: Normally cheerful people make me happy. Anyway, everyone, please enjoy and review.
Roksana: We'll be back tomorrow.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!