DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN

Bel's POV
"If you wanted to kill me so bad then do it yourself. I challenge you to a fight, Xanxus."

Levi and I yelled at the both to calm down. Neither of them listened to only focusing on each other. To Hime this was the point that she had reached the limit to how she was treated. For Boss he couldn't stand the idea that she was even thinking about challenging him that he had to put her back in her place.

Boss got himself out of bed, knocking a nearby wine glass off his nightstand. The sound of it shattering started them off. He charged at her throwing a punch. She raised her arms quick enough to take the hit avoiding any real damage, making her slide back a bit. Using the wall she pushed herself back at him at a fast speed.

Boss brought out his X-guns. Normally he only used his flames. However, he knew that Hime had her own flames that he didn't waste any time to get serious. It seemed that Boss forgot that Hime could use illusions that he shot through a fake copy. The real version came at his backside trying to slash at him. Using his guns, he propelled himself upwards into another one of her illusion traps. He noticed it before touching the sticky webs that he used his flames to burn them away.

I could see Hime gripping her staff tighter seeing her plan fail. Without giving her a second to come up with something he flew behind her taking aim. She didn't have enough time turn around so created a shield to avoid a direct attack. Boss tried to get a close the distance between them so that she couldn't defend against it.

Hime knew what he was planning and round kick him, landing on his chin. She was better at close combat compared to Boss in overall reaction time but in strength she couldn't risk a shot that close. He jumped back, rubbing where she hit.

"Hurt much?" She said in a mocking tone.

"Shut up, Trash." My eyes widen seeing the guns on his X starting to glow as he charged it with flames. Boss was planning to end this in one shot. There was no way that any illusion she made could counteract it. Her only option was to use her own flames.

Hime was able to hold back against Boss's bullet with her flames but it wasn't going to last long. This time was different then when Boss tried to kill her upon their first meeting. This time, his attack had included the guns of Vongola Septa. A bullet mixed in with the Flames of Wrath from Vongola Secondo. Though Hime had improved, greatly, since living with us, she could never beat Boss the way she was now.

The bullet was starting to push its way through. I saw that Hime was giving her best but it just was not good enough. In an instant the flames dispersed as her scream echoed out. The wall behind her crumbled down, leaving Hime to fall out of the hotel room. Boss had more or less gotten bored with her, leaving her to fall.

I ran over to the gapping hole in the wall. Hime was falling with no sign of waking up. Before hitting the ground, I watched as she was then enveloped in an indigo fog and disappear.

'Belphegor-san.' I looked beside me to find Mammon's pet frog, Fantasma. Mammon must have taken Hime somewhere safe from Boss for the time being. "Would you like to go see Natsuki-sama?"

I was glad that I didn't gut this frog when I first caught him spying. Fantasma lead me to the same clinic that treated Lussuria and I. A clinic run by the local Yukaza who we forcefully made use of for the time being.

Hime was in an even worse condition than I originally thought. Her stomach, now bandaged, had suffered the most damage. The flames had burned straight through her shirt to show all the cuts to the skin. Even with bandages, the blood was still visible. Judging from the way she, also, crashed through the wall, it wouldn't be surprising if she had back injuries too. Her breathing was shallow enough for her to get an air mask, probably from rib damage. From the amount of damage and exhaustion she received, she was knocked out conscious for now. Whether or not she'll wake up soon was undetermined.

"Rare that you care about something other than your money." I told Mammon. Mammon took another pillow to help keep her head elevated.

"Having her dead will only decrease profit. If people found out that Haunting Shadows died, it will wreck the Varia Quality reputation. Not to mention she could be further use with her blood. I was merely checking to see how the Cloud match went, when I witnessed her falling out." Fantasma jumped off the floor to rest next to Hime's head. "Rare for you to care about someone other than yourself."

"Well the princess deserves the best. She's the only one that entertains me so having her die will be boring." No that was not the reason. It was not a total lie but there was more. I knew she was interesting when I first saw her standing over my squadron members. Though shot in the arm, her movements did not flatter. She was kidnapped yet had showed no fear. Only when she was with someone not me did she turn pale. The more time that she spent with us only increased my interest.

She worked harder than any other member. She would be happy in our presence that brought light to our dark lives. Then there was 2 days ago. The way she acted when I woke up. How worried she was. The way that she looked at me. How tightly she held on to my shirt. How I felt guilty for making her worry so. I never did feel guilty before.

Mammon and I stayed with Hime until a member of the Cervello came to take us for the Sky match. We were hesitant to leave her alone, but the Yukaza wouldn't dare to enter her room. Of course they would have to be complete idiots to defy our word.

"Bel?" Mammon brought my attention back as we were heading to Namimori high school for the final battle. "Focus on our goal right now. Not on Natsuki."

Mammon was a hypocrite. He never outwardly showed his concern for Hime. Yet he was the one to rescue her twice now from boss. It was because of him that she wasn't Gola Mosca sacrifice or dropped out of a building. We both knew it too.

When he lost his match I knew that she went to find him. She stayed by me when I was unconscious. Tended to Lussuria. Even putting up with some of Levi's annoying attitude. She was the only person that reacted to Squalo's death. Sure, her fighting Boss was reckless. But when it came down to it she had also put up with demands for nearly over a year now. I wasn't going to praise her for thinking so irrationally. I wasn't going to pretend that it was completely unreasonable though.

Yet now when she needed us, she was left alone in a sick bay.

Natsuki's POV

My… Everything hurts. I groaned as my muscles screamed for me to go back to sleep. 'Oh yeah, I fought Xanxus-sama. I must have lost. I guess that's my fault for acting so fucking stupid. Man, am I going to be lectured heavily.' I tried to lift my hands to rub the irritation in my eyes. I found myself unable to move my hands far. 'What the hell?' I was back in the Varia infirmary being handcuffed to the bed frame holding both my hands to the sides. I guess Xanxus didn't take my little act of rebellion well. Fortunately, whoever handcuffed me did make one mistake though. I was not the same girl a year ago.

I lifted my head scanning the room. My weapons and mask were on the opposite side of the room making them unavailable. I tried lighting a flame on my finger to no avail meaning that I couldn't use any of my illusions to help out.

There was sound of ticking coming above my head. If memory served correctly, there should be an analog clock above my head. Then there was a vase with a fresh bouquet inside, on the small table next to me. Those were my tickets out of here. I grabbed the leg of the table slowly rocking it back and forth. The vase eventually fell over, rolling the vase over the table. I swiftly caught the vase before it touched the floor. I had to slowly readjust the vase while thinking about the physics behind the next move. A powerful flick of the wrist let the vase fly in the air above my stomach. I folded myself enough to kick the vase at the clock, knocking it down. It hit my head landing, roughly, on my stomach.

I winced in pain. I forgot that my stomach area had taken most of the bullet. I bit my lip down to hold back any loud sound from myself. Hitting my head in such a state was not the best idea either. A few pieces of the vase also shattered down on me. But it was worth it as the clock had received a direct as well. The vase managed to make a hole in the clock exposing the hands to me. I had to wiggle myself to let it slide it off my stomach to my side. Finally, it was close enough for my hand to reach. I used the rest of my body to hold the clock in position while I ripped the minute hand out. The tip was perfect for me to quickly pick the lock on my handcuffs.

I unlocked the handcuffs quickly and dusted myself to get rid of the vase shards. Once I stood on my feet I found that supporting myself was hard. 'How long was I out for?' I had to somewhat managed to drag myself to both my mask and weapon. I couldn't be found in such a compromising position if Xanxus were to come back.

I got hold of both of my items, deciding to rest against the wall. It took an hour to have someone come check in on me. Bel looked a bit nervous when he didn't see me at first but was relieved when he found me in the corner.

"You broke free. Boss won't like that." He came to help me back on to my feet. "I have to take you in to talk to him."

I should have figured as much. Bel lead the way, explaining the events of the Sky match. Apparently I had been knocked out for 7 days. Xanxus was not happy in my actions along with losing the Sky match. My luck was not high in this situation. We eventually reached Xanxus's office when Bel stopped walking. He grabbed my wrist preventing me from walking any further. I felt how tightly he was holding onto me.

"I'll be fine, Bel." I placed my hand on top of his, slowly prying his hand off.

"Did you really have to fight for your father's honour?" He asked, I heard the sorrow in his voice.

"No I didn't. I had to fight for mine. Xanxus-sama treats me like nothing. Now I'll show him how big of a nothing I can be." I took a deep breath in and out.

I entered his office, closing the door behind me. Xanxus was leaning back in his chair, slowly spinning his wine glass. I stood in the center of the room giving him a bow not raising my head.

"I told you when you first came here. You would think that being here for nearly a year would make you realize how things work here." I flinched when I heard him slam down his glass. "And yet for some reason you have the audacity to come and challenge me to a fight. Now that I can't be the candidate for Vongola Decimo, I have no use for you. So I'll be generous to Haunting Shadows and give you two options. Either leave now or get shot."

I took a few deep breathes. "I choose neither. Within my year being here I did learn a few things. Today I learned that I am the biggest threat to you."

I raised my head. I saw his eyebrow raise in suspicion. "In my first five months, I have been locked up in this place. Meaning that I learned every, single inch of this base not to mention a few branched hideouts. I think it would be a shame if these blueprints were to fall into enemy hands. Just imagine the news; Haunting Shadows leaves Varia. I can list many families that would absolutely love to gain my skills and knowledge. I can sneak in, kill up to 90% of your members and bring in an army to take out the rest. I was trained by 4 out of the 5 officers after all. But you have to remember... It was you that helped me become the girl you see before me. I mean this all started with you kidnapping me."

Xanxus's grip on the glass was tightening. "Do you remember that first day? You were the one who told Bel to retrieve me and kill the Celeste Famiglia. The same Celeste Famiglia that is in the direct alliance with Vongola, the family that you are supposed to serve. That means that this is Varia's second attempt at treason under your rein, your first being, of course, the Cradle Affair. Or would it be your third, because you did put Vongola Kuudaime into an unauthorized war machine that was banned from completion. I'm sure that once these events receive some light on it, the other alliances will have something to say about your leadership. They could even change it if they manage to convince Kuudaime."

I playful tapped my chin in thought. "But to who? Maybe to Kuudaime's last living heir, perhaps. I mean, you know from personal experience just how much power you can get from being related to that old man, but soon you won't be able to use that privilege anymore. See, just a few minutes ago, I, also, learned that you don't even have the Blood of Vongola. Won't that be a kicker to anyone you trashed? Now see if news were to break out that Haunting Shadows was actually Vongola Nono's daughter, I would really gain some reputation. Probably enough to push you out of Varia. First Vongola Decimo title, now leadership of Varia. Things just keep slipping your hands. Kind of sad, if you ask me and I'm the only one that can follow through with these plans. On the other hand, I can make a deal. Just let me stay in Varia and everything will go back to normal. Simple, right?"

"And if I killed you here and now? Who could hear your story?" Xanxus asked.

"Go ahead and try but I should I warn you about something first." I removed my staff from my holster. I held it in full length in front of me.

"See this staff? In the last hour that I removed my handcuffs, I managed to make a few tweaks to it. There is now a hidden senor somewhere on this staff that once hit would send an email to the Arcobaleno Reborn and head of CEDEF, Sawada Itemitsu. I saw how mad you made them after the Gola Mosca incident. Once they receive the evidence that I collected of Celeste's death, blueprints of Varia HQ, video proof of the Cloud match from my mask, and a profile of all Varia members, they could easily storm this place."

"Now if you kill me I could either push the sensor in my last few seconds, or it could be simulated once it rolls on the floor. It would even be hilarious if you accidentally sent the email by picking my staff up. Either way is fine by me. Consider it a... dying present from me. Don't forget that Verde and I were the ones to make this staff. Since we are the only ones that know about the schematics, there is no tell if I could press it a year from now. Nor can anyone be smart enough to hack Verde's system. So the way I see it you have 3 options. One, you let me go and I destroy Varia. Two, you kill me and I destroy you. Finally, three, you let me continue to be Haunting Shadows and Natsuki, the same as always, and we continue our lives. What's it going to be?"

By the time I finished, Xanxus's glass was completely shattered. I knew Xanxus well. His greatest pride was in his power that he held over people. Without his power, he was nothing. He couldn't handle the idea that he was beneath people. That's why he went through much effort to get the title of Vongola Decimo. Being the Don of not only Varia but Vongola too, would show everyone his strength. I was a threat to that and now we both knew it. That's why he wanted to kill me when Bel first took me. Being Kuudaime's daughter I was the biggest threat to him at the beginning. Slowly I became a bigger threat without him realizing it.

I took off my Varia jacket, throwing it on the table. "I'll leave that in your hands for now. Whether or not I get it back is up to you, but don't take too long to answer. Haunting Shadows can't disappear just yet."

I left Xanxus alone to think. Once the door closed behind me a cacophony of breaking came from his office. Checkmate. I returned to my room where I flopped backwards onto my bed. Now that all my adrenaline levels were going down, I was reminded of my sore body.

'I can't believe I just pulled that off. Hopefully Xanxus-sama buys my lies about everything. Like I could really push Xanxus-sama out of Varia or get into contact with CEDEF that quickly, especially after the Ring conflict drama. I really need to thank Bel for teaching me about lying and blackmail. Now all that is left is to wait for his response.'