Kyandi: Hey, everyone!
Roksana: We have returned.
Kyandi: Forgive her, she's sleepy.
Roksana: You sure that's me and not you projecting your own sleepiness through me, a figment of your imagination?
Kyandi: ...Uhhh...My head!
Roksana: It's definitely you that is sleepy.
Kyandi: Oh, hush! I haven't slept well for a while, which is why this chapter is shorter and took so long to write.
Roksana: But now it's done.
Kyandi: Yep. So, everyone, please enjoy and review.
Roksana: Kyandi-sama does not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
Chapter 101 Battleground
"What is this place?"
The morning found Tsuna and his friends looking around the wide foyer of a mansion that was smaller than the Volkov Estates but, at the same time, just as elegant. At the current moment, members of Raarone were running about the mansion, checking on security systems or busying themselves moving Roksana and her comrades into the wide array of rooms.
"This is the Volkov secondary estates." All eyes turned to Roksana as she walked in through the front doors, her eyes scanning the foyer that was in the process of being dusted and aired out after years of being uninhabited. "Believe it or not, this was where I was born and where I spent the first five years of my life. It was my grandfather's way of trying to hide my mother and I from others as if we were blemishes on the family. My father admitted to me later on that he loathed the idea and that his father forced the situation, but my mother loved it here. At least she was close to the man she loved. I haven't been back here since the day my father brought my mother and I into the main household."
"And you?" Roksana looked up at Byakuran when he spoke. "What did you think of this place?"
Roksana's eyes drifted away from him, sweeping over the ivory floors and the periwinkle walls. She thought for a moment, thinking back on all of her memories of the house and how, back then, it had seemed so much bigger to her than it did now. None of them knew what thoughts past through her head, but when her eyes returned to Byakuran, there was no anger or hurt, or any emotion in her eyes.
"In truth, I didn't really understand it then. All I can tell you is that, now, I look back on that time as a much simpler and happier time in my life. It was my peace before the storm. I suppose the saying is true...Ignorance is bliss."
"But would you really go back to such ignorance if you could?" Mukuro asked her.
A humorless laugh left Roksana then. "No, I wouldn't. Ignorance may be bliss, but it is also blind and stupid."
"No one could accuse you of that."
"Are you mocking me, Mukuro?" Roksana's eyes narrowed. "Don't make me call Father Labed to come exorcise you."
A frown fell on Mukuro's face as others laughed, Roksana's own lips twitching as she fought back a smile. The girl, obviously, would never tire of the exorcism jokes.
"Little Miss," Roksana turned her eyes to Ray as the young woman approached her, a clipboard in hand. "Should I have the Silver Quarters aired out for you?"
"No, uh...put me in the Lunar Suite instead." Roksana told her.
Ray's eyes widened for a moment before a smile curled her lips. "I understand. I'll see it done."
With that, Ray walked away, calling to another woman who she relayed the order to. Watching as the woman than ran off to do as told, Tsuna turned to Roksana.
"Lunar Suite?" Tsuna asked.
"It was my mother's quarters before we moved out. It would feel strange if I let someone else take her room." Something Tsuna could understand. "Ray will handle room assignments."
"What about your parents and brother?" Yamamoto asked.
"I already banished them to an underground, hidden facility that only I and my guardians know about. They are there with Ninette and Elly. Though she is still recovering, if something happens and Elly truly needs her help, Ninette will be able to help somewhat from her bed. They will remain there until this is over with." Roksana answered.
"And how did your father take that?" Kikyo asked, grin on his lips.
The sour look that took over Roksana's face was answer enough. "Let's just say...that was the first time in a couple of years that I've heard him use the I'm-you-father-and-demand-to-know tone with me or that he used my full name. He, understandably, had about a million questions for me, but I refused to answer any of them. My only reply was, "Because I said so.". No parent wants to hear that from their child."
"How'd you get him to go then?" Enma asked.
"Easy...regardless of whether or not I gave him answers, my father knows me and knows that I don't do anything hastily and without reason. He knows that while I might not be able to answer him now, I have a very good reason for what I'm doing. He trusts me. He'll stay there with Natalia and Marc until I say it's safe." Roksana answered.
"And he isn't concerned that you aren't with them, kiddo?" Ganauche asked as he walked past.
"I didn't really give him much of a choice. I had Dre and Aisling force him out the door. He won't be too happy with me, but at least he's safe. At this point, I'm less concerned with keeping my connections on the down low and more concerned with him living. I'll hear it from him when all is said and done, but that's for worrying over later."
"How much trouble do you think you'll get in when it all said and done?" Dino asked.
Roksana paused for a moment to consider it, her eyes rising to the ceiling as she thought. The longer she thought on it, though, the whiter her face became until she looked like she was just moments away from passing out on them. Even though, she swallowed past the lump in her throat.
"I just might find myself disowned for all the lies I've told my father and all I've done behind his back. That's if I don't send him right into cardiac arrest first." A heavy sigh left Roksana as she reached up to press a hand to her face. "As I said...something to worry about later."
"Yes, because we have more pressing matters than Master Alexei's anger." Roksana turned as Dre entered the doors, carrying an envelope in her hand that had a black ribbon tied around it. Roksana's eyes zeroed in on the envelope, making everyone around her come to a halt. "This just arrived for you."
Roksana took the envelope as her friends gathered around her, waiting to hear what was written inside. Ripping it open, Roksana unfolded the paper inside, her eyes quickly scanning the words printed there. The more her eyes moved across the page, the more her expression turned solemn and serious.
"What does it say, Roksana?" Tsuna asked.
Roksana remained silent as she finished reading, only looking up when she finished. Her eyes scanned those around her as she fiddled with the corner of the picture that came with the letter.
"News from my inside man among Nicoli's men...he was just informed that he will no longer have the backing of Mikhail and his syndicate." Roksana informed them.
"And his reaction?" Iemitsu asked.
Roksana heaved a sigh. "See for yourself."
The girl turned the picture in her grip, showing them the image. There, sprawled across the cardstock was the image of a smoking crater.
"It's just a crater." Gokudera remarked.
"Yes...it use to be a twenty-two bedroom estate. Nicoli demolished it in his rage." Silence stretched as they took that all in. "The report says he's on his way here."
"So quickly?" Tsuna asked.
"Nicoli has informants everywhere, just as I do. Not to mention, as much as I hate to admit it...he knows me. He knows that if I'm going to make a stand against him, this is where I will do it. After all...this is where it all started. Call me sentimental if you want, but it seems like poetic justice to me for it all to end where it started. If nothing else, I would like to have that, at least."
If any of them thought Roksana was being sentimental, they all had the brains not to say it to her face. Only God knew what she would do to them if they mocked that.
"When do you think he'll make his appearance?" Timoteo asked before their more idiotic members could decided they wanted to say something after all.
"Well, I've always known him to be a rather calm and calculating man. Normally, he would torment us, keeping his distance while making sure we knew he was close enough to reach out and attack at a moments notice. Keep us on edge and stressed until we finally snapped or gave him an opening. Then he would make his move. That's normally." Roksana replied.
"What's the difference now?" Mukuro asked.
"Now he's pissed. In all the years I've played this back-and-forth, cat-and-mouse game with him, I've only seen him truly angry once." Roksana's mouth twitched as she thought back to that day, once hand coming up to rub at a spot just a little off from being over her heart. "It was the day he killed my mother. In hind sight, my mother shouldn't have been so open about being on to him and her intentions to make his betrayal of my father known. She was a very careful and clever woman, but after a car bomb that almost killed me, she lost her temper. I don't know what she said to him, but she pushed a button she shouldn't have. In return...he burned her alive."
"Roksana..."
Roksana turned to look at Tsuna. "Don't worry about me, Tsuna. I got a little bit of my revenge on him that day. I walked away on my own two feet after almost being stabbed through the heart and he spend months healing and getting back to his feet. He stood there, outside that house, knowing full well we were trapped inside, me screaming for my father, and did so with a smile on his face. The same smile he had as he threw Marc in the lake. I'll be glad to finally end this. So, knowing his anger, he'll probably wait only a short time, until he thinks our guard is down, and then he'll hit us fast and hard."
"So...are you thinking night time when everyone should be sleeping?" Ganauche asked.
"Nicoli doesn't know I have an informant among his people. He thinks most people are too scared to put themselves in that kind of position. He didn't count on me finding someone who is the world's biggest adrenaline junkie and gets off on the thrill of slipping information to me from right under Nicoli's nose." Roksana mused.
"Really? Where do you find people like this, Roksana?" Timoteo asked.
"There are all kinds of people in the world, sir. I went searching through the darkest corners of the world for my people, scraping the bottom of every barrel I could find. I was very selective with the people I found to join Raarone. Every single one of them had to met a standard of sorts. Their little idiosyncrasies make no difference to me. If used right, even the strangest of people can be of use. I chose those down and out, those cast away by society and the people around them, gave them a home and a living because it created people who are loyal to me through thick and thin. Those at the bottom of the ladder can be those of the greatest use." Roksana informed him. "That being said, given that Nicoli has no knowledge of this person, he won't know that we are aware he's on his way, so your would be correct. He'll wait until he's sure the majority of us are sleep and he will come for me directly."
"And your plan?" Dino asked.
"Let him."
The sheer amount of surprised looks looking back at Roksana had her mouth curling at the corners just slightly. After everything she had said and done over the two years most of them had known her, she would think that they would be use to this kind of thing. The following complaints told her that they had considered she would say something like that and didn't agree with it.
"Do you really plan to just give him the opening he wants?!" Gokudera demanded.
"I do." More complaints followed, Roksana putting two fingers to her lips to let out an ear-piercing whistle that shut them all up. "Stop and think, will you. Do you really think, knowing how cunning Nicoli is, that he would just walk out into the open with all of you standing between me and him? Not to mention, it's not like I'm going to be alone. That one," Roksana jabbed a thumb over her shoulder towards where Hibari was sprawled out on sette away from the rest of them. "Has been taking over my bed for months now. Especially when he thinks I'm in danger. He'll be hogging my bed all night. If Nicoli decides to try his luck, I won't be alone. Between Hibari-"
"Kyoya."
Roksana hung her head, heaving a sigh when Hibari butted in on her in mid-sentence. Shooting a put out look over her shoulder, she continued. "Between Kyoya and I, we should be able to give you time to converge." Roksana turned to look at Hibari. "Happy now?"
"No."
Roksana rolled her eyes at Hibari's instant reply.
"What's wrong with him? Other than the usual stuff?" Gokudera asked.
"I know exactly what's wrong with him. He's not getting something he wants and he's not going to anytime soon." Roksana replied. Hibari let out a low growl from where he lay, Roksana turning to look at him over her shoulder. "Yeah, yeah, growl all you like. It's not going to change the fact that I'm only fourteen."
Looks moved from Roksana to Hibari, many of them catching on to the hidden meaning behind Roksana's words. Obviously, Hibari didn't care about Roksana's age, only the fact that she was denying him something he wanted. Ganauche, a smile creeping up on his face, turned his eyes to Roksana.
"Kiddo...do we need to have The Talk?"
None of them had ever seen Roksana's face go as red as it did in that moment. The fierce blush rushed to her fair skin, quickly spreading up to her ears as her eyes grew wide. She couldn't get her retort out quick enough.
"By the Saints, no! I never want to have that talk again!"
"Again?" Ganauche asked, chuckling along with some of the others.
"I beat you to it by about seven years." Dre replied as she walked past them, a report from one of her men in her hands.
"Do you know how awkward it is to be a seven year old receiving that talk from a fifteen year old?!" Roksana demanded. "My mother said my face kept morphing from red as a tomato to white as a ghost."
"I don't know...we found it pretty funny, me and Nette." Aisling remarked.
"Of course it was." Roksana pressed a hand to her face, rubbing at it as if that would erase the blush from her features. When she looked back up, her face was still pretty red. "The point is, no Talk. If you want to give it that badly, then give it to Kyoya and make sure to explain to him that he can't rush the girl before she's ready."
A scoff left the sette, making several sets of eyes move to land on Hibari. A frown curled Roksana's lips when the sound escaped him, making her plant her fists on her hips.
"Sorry, kiddo, but I don't think that's going to happen." Ganauche told her.
"Fine...Dino, you do it." Dino sputtered when Roksana rounded on him. He tried to refuse, especially when Hibari turned a glare on him, but Roksana was already moving on. "In the mean time, I need to make sure this place is ready for the fight of the century. As soon as dinner is served all staff will be leaving. If you need anything, make sure you ask before then."
"I still don't know if this is the best course for us to take. Do you even have a plan about what to do when he attacks you?" Timoteo asked.
Those who had been present at the meeting with Roksana when she had explained her plan and the device she had Verde make for her, all redirected their eyes to Roksana. The girl, though, didn't blink and didn't miss a beat.
"My only plan is to hold him off until everyone arrives. With all of us, we should be able to handle him and whatever few men he still has loyal to him over Mikhail." Roksana told them, flat out lying to them.
Tsuna and the others kept their mouths shut only because they knew the full extent of Roksana's plan and it included fooling their friends as well as Nicoli. Tsuna was sure that many of their friends, Hibari mainly, wouldn't be too happy with the plan, but he had decided to trust Roksana, and, if that failed, to be there to help her.
With that, everyone went their separate ways, Roksana over seeing the fortification of the manor while the others got themselves ready and settled. There were several times, during the afternoon, that Tsuna would see Roksana as she moved about the manor, and couldn't help the small smile on his face when he always saw Hibari just a few feet behind her. The older boy, despite feigning boredom and disinterest, was obviously keeping an eye out for his girlfriend.
It was in this that Hibari showed how much he had come to love Roksana and all with her denying him half of what he wanted from her.
True to her word, Roksana sent all staff away after dinner was served and cleaned up. The girl even sent Dimitri and Maeve away, insisting that since the two didn't use Dying Will flames, that they shouldn't be there for the fight. When night fell, everyone went to their respective rooms, all of them preparing for what was sure to be a long night.
Because of the knowledge that the fight would more than likely take place in the middle of the night, Roksana made sure to wear shorts and a top she could fight in to bed. Coming out of her bathroom, she paused when something shifted on the four-posture bed. Her eyes came up, landing on Hibari as the boy shifted, taking up most of the queen size mattress, Hibird huddled on the center of his chest, Roll, Belyy and Notte curled up around him.
Tsukuyomi chirped in greeting from where he was perched on the bed headboard, ruffling his feathers before he settled down too. Roksana was sure that if she hadn't left Pinattsu in the care of Maeve, that the little squirrel would have been on the bed too. Approaching the foot of the bed, Roksana's hands went to her hips as she stared down at Hibari and the animals. As if he could feel her staring at him, Hibari popped one eye open.
"You do realize that your usual demeanor and your affection for small animals are at complete odds with each other, right?" she demanded of him.
A dismissive noise left Hibari, the boy merely opening both eyes to watch her as she shook her head. Moving to the side of the bed, Roksana checked to make sure her sansetsukon was in reach, even checking that her Vongola and Raarone rings were on, her locket swinging from around her neck as she leaned down to place boots right next to the bed. She would not be caught off guard. Despite knowing her for two years, Hibari was still slightly surprised to see just how calm she was.
Having checked everything, Roksana sat on the edge of the bed. Heaving a sigh, she reached back to rub at the back of her neck.
"If we finish this whole mess tonight, I don't know what I'm going to do. To no longer have to worry about Nicoli...I never thought the day would come. What do I do when it's all said and done?"
Roksana wasn't really expecting an answer, the girl just talking out loud. Regardless of whether or not she was expecting an answer, she got one, Hibari giving it as if it was simply matter-of-fact.
"Come back to Japan with me."
Roksana twisted around, looking back at him. It was sweet that he just wanted her to go home with him, but it made her curious about something.
"You've always been so straight-forward about our relationship, just going with whatever you want. Have you considered that, one day, we might not want to be together anymore and break up? she asked.
"No."
"No, you haven't thought about it, or no it won't happen?"
"No."
Roksana heaved a sigh, not getting the answer she wanted. She had been hoping for a little more than just a flat out denial that he had no intention of clarifying. Hibari could see the frustration with his answer written on her face. Roksana only felt the bed shift and heard the sheet rustle before an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back and down onto the mattress. Twisting, she rolled over in Hibari's arms until she was facing him.
"What was this for?" she asked.
Roksana raised an eyebrow in questioning when Hibari cupped her jaw, tilting her head back to make her look at him.
"You're mine, now and always. I'll always want you." His declaration had her face heating, her eyes shifting away from his in embarrassment at the boldness of his claim. "And you promised Ryoka to make her real."
One side of Roksana's mouth twisted up then. "Maybe, but that's not happening for a very long time. Let's get something straight, right here and right now. I don't trust contraceptives of any kind short of having one of us fixed for good. That means that until I finish whatever university degree I decided to go after, there is no way I'm going to risk becoming pregnant."
For a moment, Roksana couldn't tell what he was thinking as he stared down at her. She wondered, for the breath of a moment, if he was angry with that, but then he pulled her even closer.
"I'll change your mind." he declared.
"Yeah, I doubt that, but it's not like I can keep you from trying."
And try he would.
Roksana had no doubt that he would continue to try to change her mind. As long as he didn't succeed, she was fine with it. Or so she told herself. Deciding to leave the conversation at that, Roksana settled in snuggled up to his chest. She felt Belyy and Notte settle in, one at the small of her back and the other on her hip, as Hibari relaxed back into her pillows.
"Let's try to get a little sleep before the crap hits the fan." Roksana told him.
Always all to happy to sleep with Roksana, Hibari agreed. Finally having him back in her bed with her, Roksana fell asleep quickly, settling into a peaceful sleep. Hibari, though, remained alert, content to lay there in silence with only her soft breathing as noise in the room. Just as Roksana was glad to have him near again, he was just as thrilled.
It had been a long week apart from her for him.
After an hour of listening to her deep breathing, Hibari dozed off. Around three in the morning, low growling and noises of distress from their combined animal companions, was what work Hibari. He quickly located what was upsetting him, tightening his arm around Roksana and suddenly rolling to the side out of the bed as a knife plunged right into the pillow where Roksana's head had rested.
The sudden yank and short feeling of falling, woke Roksana. Hibari hit the floor, jumping away from the bed, taking Roksana with him. Twisting in his arms, Roksana turned to see the shadow shrouded form now standing over her bed. A put out sigh reached her as the knife was yanked free from the pillow.
"And here I was hoping just to end you in your sleep. I didn't take you as the type to have a man in her bed already, myshonok. Does your father know how indecent you are?"
Hearing the voice was enough to tell her who it was even before the nickname did.
"Nicoli." Nicoli stepped around the bed, moonlight streaming in from her window finally lighting up his face and the scowl there. "What Kyoya and I do is of none of your concern. Did you enjoy my little surprise for you?"
Roksana, Hibari rising to his feet to place her on hers, watched as one of Nicoli's eyes twitched. It was obvious that the man was not happy in the least. Something that gave her great joy to see on his face after all he had put her through.
"I never thought you would have the nerve to approach Mikhail." Nicoli remarked.
"If you want to draw my friends and the Vongola into this, then I was all too willing to do the same. What can I say...I made a good argument for Mikhail." Roksana replied.
"Apparently."
"I have to say, though...A part of me was convinced that you wouldn't show up here. You have to know you're out numbered."
Here, Nicoli chuckled, his lips twisting.
"Oh, dear niece...While Mikhail and his syndicate gave me plenty of me and resources to choose from, I had plenty men of my own that answer to me and me only. Right about now...they're standing over your friends, ready to slit their throats. Now, should I give the order?" It was Roksana's turn to laugh, putting a frown back on Nicoli's face. "What is so funny?"
"You underestimate my friends."
From all over the mansion, crashes and explosions rocked the house. Nicoli whipped around, his eyes darting to the bedroom door that he had left open behind him. He could already here the thundering of footsteps in the hall and hear calls of people checking in on each other. Turning back to look at Roksana, he found a grin curling her lips, Hibari standing protectively at her side.
"Help or not, I'm not particularly worried about my friends. I understand now that I let my fear control me for far too long. They no more need me to defend them than you need Mikhail to challenge me. I think you and I need to settle this, here and now." Roksana told him.
Nicoli's eyes turned as sharp as a knife, his cold gaze burning into Roksana's skin like too much ice and no buffer between. She had seen that look in his eyes since his first attempt on her life, but she had never seen it so openly reflected on his face like it was then. She was well aware that she had finally pushed Nicoli past his breaking point. Now, he would push her past hers. Such was the relationship they had fostered most of her life.
Roksana tensed, Hibari moving closer to her side as Nicoli pulled a ring from his pocket, sliding it onto his finger. The moment it was in place, red flames roared to life, casting a menacing glow upon Nicoli's face. In a flair of a mixture of silver and orange flames, Belyy and Notte shifted to their normal sizes, both growling in warning to the man across the room. Nicoli paid them no heed, his eyes fixed on his niece and her alone. With a tone that dripped with venom from every syllable, Nicoli agreed with her last statement.
"On this, you and I agree, myshonok."
END
Kyandi: So the next chapter is the big, final fight.
Roksana: I can't wait to kick his teeth in.
Kyandi: Wow...you know I just realized something.
Roksana: What's that?
Kyandi: You harbor a lot of my more...volatile impulses.
Roksana: It took you over one hundred chapters to realize that?
Kyandi: Shut up. Anyway, I think this is a healthy way to get my negative feelings out.
Roksana: For you, maybe. I'm the one that has to deal with it.
Kyandi: Sorry?
Roksana: Trying saying it like it's not a question.
Kyandi: Can't. Anywho, everyone, please enjoy and review!
Roksana: ...We'll be back soon.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!