Three yakuza members walked over. Their idiotic looking faces "If it isn't white bread Shiori." I clicked my tongue. I hated that nickname. "Where the hell did you go? You suddenly abandoned us. No one told us anything."

"I don't know either of you." I said, wanting them to leave.

"C'mon, white bread. You don't remember us?"

"Stop calling me white bread. You three know I hate that nickname." The guys behind me were confused at the whole situation and stayed quiet.

"Who are those guys behind you? Are they clients?" One of the guys asked.

"Is that rumor still going on about me?" I questioned.

"It's gotten worse. Apparently, you moved because you got pregnant with a teacher's kid."

I shook my head out of frustration. "Those idiots. You don't believe them, do you?"

"We did at first."

I made a noise, making the three Yakuza laugh. I should have known these idiots believed it. I was joking with them one day and told them the sky is actually purple and said something scientific to back up my claims. They were gullible to believe it even though the other students knew exactly what I was doing. They just stood by and either laughed or shook their heads. "How about you idiots go to the library and study? I'm sure you're all failing your classes." I said.

"Woah! How did you know?"

"Idiots will forever be idiots." They all left after a good laugh. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. My stress levels were slowly rising.

"Who were they?" Bel asked me.

"I used to tutor them. Their family payed me good money to make sure their sons would pass." I said in a groan.

"What did he mean by clients?" Levi asked me.

"He meant what you're thinking."

"That isn't true though. Why did he assume that?" Lussuria asked me.

"Upon being able to blend in, I'm also a good target for bullies with insecurities. There was a rumor I'd sleep with the people I tutored. I'm not sure who started the rumor. I never cared for rumors like that or understood the reason for them."

"Are you sure it didn't affect you?" Lussuria asked.

"I'm sure. I have better things to worry about."

"Like what?"

"Other things, Lussuria."

"So mysterious." Lussuria cooed.

"There's no deeper meaning to it." I stopped at a café. "Well, I'll be in here. Be free to do as you please." This was too much social interaction in one day. I was getting a headache from everything.

"Is there anything fun around here?" Lussuria questioned.

"There is a karaoke place."

"Oh! That sounds exciting!" Lussuria pulled Bel and Levi with him.

This just left Xanxus. I thought he'd walk away, but he followed me into the café. At least he didn't exhaust me like the others. A waiter walked over.

"What would you two like?"

"I'll take a coffee and chocolate cake." I said.

"Coffee." The waiter walked away. I laid my head on the table. It was pounding like I had a hangover. "Are you alright?" Xanxus asked. It was one of the few times I heard him speak.

"I get headaches easily if I have too much social interaction. I usually keep it to a minimum. It helps that people don't usually strike up conversations with me."

"At least you don't have to deal with those idiots every day." Xanxus replied.

"It must be loud and invasive."

"You don't know the half of it."

We got our order. I was thankful for the power of coffee and cake. One sip and it made me instantly relax. The entire café was quiet since we were the only ones in there. I looked at Xanxus and tilted my head out of habit whenever I was thinking.

"What?" He asked.

"It's nothing."

"Is it the scars?" I nodded. "What about them?" He questioned.

"I'm curious how you got them. I can't think of anything other than a flame that can do that damage. I can't imagine the pain you experienced." I explained softly and didn't make eye contact.

"A flame did cause these scars." He must have been burned. Poor guy.

"Well, it adds to your terrifying image if that's what you're going for." I tried to sound positive. The scars did make him more intimidating. I'm sure it's why people are weary about him.

I took another sip of my coffee. Unlike everyone else, I didn't mind the silence between us. It wasn't an awkward silence. I looked out the window and saw the three that left watching us from afar. Xanxus looked and saw what I saw. I was confused. Why were they watching us?

"Do you know why they're watching us?" I asked and looked at Xanxus. He was glaring at the three. Uh oh. I looked back at the three and then Xanxus. Wait. Levi and Bel don't seem like the karaoke type. Lussuria dragged them for a reason. It all clicked. I looked between Xanxus and then the three over again. Xanxus just looked angry like usual.

I've never been more confused. Not even the Namimori Syndrome confused me like this. I took a bite of my cake. It's been at least two minutes and Xanxus was still glaring at them. It seemed like his glare got worse. I took my phone out after receiving an email. It was about my application for the cram school. I opened the email up. Huh? My eyes widened. I was rejected? How? I should have gotten in. I let out a small gasp, remembering what I was told last night. They stopped the application from proceeding. From the corner of my eye, I saw a man snickering at me from his spot. He was part of the family and was keeping an eye on me. I stood up and walked out the café, dragging my chair behind me. My eyes went straight to the man in the shadows.

"I'm sorry, Shiori! We didn't mean any harm!" I ignored Lussuria's scream. I didn't care about them. I cared about the shadow.

"She's gone crazy." Levi muttered.

I threw the chair, hitting the man. The three looked with shock. "Was he after you?" Levi questioned. I ran to him before he could escape. I pinned him to the ground.

"Who did it?" I asked dangerously.

"Who do you think? You should have just gone peacefully. Now, you'll face the consequences!" I was shaking with anger. A few shadows hovered over me. I looked up and saw the guys from my previous school. They were the ones that stopped us earlier.

"Did he anger you, Shiori?" "If so, should we keep him alive?"

I scoffed and glared at the man before getting up. "Feed him to the wolves. Make him face the consequences."

The guys dragged him into an alleyway. I turned and saw the four. Xanxus had walked over to see what was going on. "What?" I asked.

"Who was that?" Bel asked me.

"I don't know, but he's part of the family that was after me last night."

"Did he try to hurt you?" Levi asked.

"No." I grasped my head from pain.

"Are you alright?" Lussuria asked with worry. He seemed genuine.

"I…hate getting angry. It hurts too much." I crouched down and waited for the feeling to go away.

"What did he do to get that reaction from you?" Bel asked.

"He laughed at me because he saw my reaction."

"That's a whole other level. That's almost as bad as boss." Lussuria said with shock.

I shook my head. "They stopped my application to a cram school I would have no problem getting in. He saw my reaction and it pissed me off."

"Where did those boys go with him?" Lussuria asked me.

"They're going to bring him to their families and one by one, they'll break him, spirit and all. I'm hoping he stays alive."

"Why?"

"It'll send those bastards a message to leave me alone." The feeling went away and I let out a sigh of relief. I stood up and dusted my clothes off. "Much better."

"Do you not know how to deal with anger?" Bel asked me.

"No. I've never really been angry except for recently." It was a lie, but I knew they'd believe me in an instant. I picked up the chair and sighed. "I'll return the chair and go home."

After returning the chair and paying, I exited and saw Squalo with everyone. He looked happier than a kid in a candy store. I'm sure he had a long talk with Genzo. Even when I was Genzo's apprentice, his passion would overflow into you. It was contagious. I walked over to them.

"Are you sure you're going home?" Lussuria asked as Squalo turned around.

"Why are you leaving so soon?" He asked with a frown.

"I want to. I've passed my limit of interactions today."

"Nonsense!" Squalo smacked my back multiple times. I sighed heavily. It hurt. "You alright?"

"I want to crawl up into a hole a die." I whined.

"Don't talk like that, Shiori!" Lussuria lightly smacked my head. "Don't think bad thoughts."

"But if I die, I won't have to deal with those bastards."

"We can protect you." He said.

"That's not an option." Lussuria seemed to have gotten upset over what I said.

"We won't get hurt. We're strong."

"It's still my business."

"Please? At least let us do something."

"If it'll make you shut the hell up, I don't care what you do." Lussuria hugged me tightly, lifting me off the ground. I stared at the rest who seemed the opposite of surprised. This must be a normal thing with Lussuria. He let go and went to Xanxus, taking off one of the feathers off his left ear.

"Trash." Xanxus said as a warning.

"Oh shush. It's for Shiori." Lussuria walked to me and quickly pierced my left ear.

"W-what?!" I almost yelled.

"There. This way you'll be protected by us at all times."

"How?" "It's like a charm." "You do realize I can't wear this during school, right?" "Make it a keychain and then wear it when you're out and about. Either way, it's cute on you."

Squalo was more than shocked seeing what Lussuria did. Why did Xanxus not kill him? Bel snickered seeing Squalo's face. Something had to have happened while he was gone. The most confusing thing was Xanxus didn't seem to mind.

"There. You're free to go." Lussuria said softly to Shiori.

"Are you sure? You're not going to do something weird again?" She questioned.

"No. We must have tired you out."

"You were part of it, but it wasn't bad as others."

"Really?"

"Others immediately drain me of energy after small talk. Even though you guys are loud, it wasn't as exhausting. You're all very strange." Most couldn't help but smile. Shiori was adorable despite her violent tendencies.

"Do you have enough money to go home?" Levi asked her.

"I should have enough." In the end, the Varia escorted Shiori to the train station. "You didn't have to do that."

"After all you've done for us it's the least we could do." Lussuria reassured her.

She shook her head. "I didn't do anything."

"We had fun, plus Squalo hasn't been yelling in our ears today."

"Any day like that is heaven." Bel snickered as Squalo smacked him. Shiori got her ticket and bowed.

"Thank you for everything."

"Don't say that like we won't see each other." Lussuria told her.

"It's not likely I'll see you all again." She said with a small smile.

"You never know. This world is small." Bel commented.

"Plus, we're all friends. It'd be bad if we didn't see each other." Lussuria knew the right thing to say that would get a reaction out of her.

"F-f-friends?!" She stuttered with pure shock. Her hands were shaking. She really didn't have friends. They nodded. "You're going to miss your train." "Ah!"

After Shiori left, they all felt empty. "Trash." They turned to Xanxus. "Do that again and I'll kill you."

"There's our boss." Bel said with a snicker.

"C'mon, even you're worried about her." Lussuria pouted at Xanxus.

"I'll kill you." Xanxus threatened.

Squalo turned to Bel. "What the hell happened while I was gone?" Bel showed Squalo his phone. On it was Xanxus and Shiori in a café together, alone. Xanxus didn't look angry one bit. He seemed relaxed. "What the hell did she do to you?!" All it took was one glare to stop Squalo from asking even more.

"Are you idiots done?" Mammon said, floating over to them.

"You should have visited with Shiori." Lussuria said.

"She'd pass out the second she saw me. Let's get back home." They left to the airport where they boarded on their private jet. Mammon was interested in Shiori. She was able to calm the boss down just by her presence. In fact, she was able to get all of them to calm down by her presence alone. Maybe she could be of use in the future. Back in Italy, they all reported to Nono.

"That took you longer than usual. Was everything alright?" Nono asked.

"We met a wonderful person. Her name is Shiori. She helped us when we were lost and even showed us around." Lussuria said with a large smile.

"She knew a student of a master swordsmith." Squalo chimed in.

Nono sighed. "Please tell me you didn't scare her." He said, preparing himself to hear the usual words. "She came up to us, asking if we were lost."

"That's interesting. I'm sure you would have scared her."

"The only reason she came up to us was because we were speaking Italian and she knew the language." Levi commented.

"That must have been refreshing." Nono commented happily.

"She's actually a calm person with a lot of anger that's bottled up." Bel commented.

"Don't forget her special power." Lussuria chimed in.

"Does she have a flame?" Nono asked. They shook their heads. It was an agreement they wouldn't tell anyone about Shiori's flame. It wasn't relevant for Nono to know.

"She's able to calm the boss down." All but Xanxus said.

This took Nono for a surprise. No one can do that. "Really? How so?"

"He didn't glare at her or yell at us until she left." Bel said without fear.

"You should see the pictures." Lussuria said.

"Trash." Xanxus threatened, but Nono was too interested in this mystery girl. Bel showed Nono the pictures.

"That's Shiori?"

"Isn't she adorable? I wish she was here with us." Lussuria said, day dreaming about the what ifs. Nono stared at the girl in question. She seemed normal and yet, she could make Xanxus look so relaxed.

"You should invite her for a party." Nono commented, looking at his son.

"That's a wonderful idea!" Lussuria said with a single clap.

"VOI! She'd get hurt at one of the parties." Squalo brought everyone back to reality.

"That's true. People would be after her because she's with us." Levi commented. Nono couldn't believe his ears. Was the Varia, a group of assassins, worried about a single girl's life?

"Oh, be quiet. She has her lucky charm." Lussuria reminded Squalo about the feather.

"That's right, but it could put an even worse target on her back." Squalo replied back.

"What lucky charm?" Nono asked them.

"I gave her one of boss' earrings to wear. I said it would protect her." Lussuria said, still able to remember Shiori's shocked face. It was adorable.

"And you're still alive?" Nono asked with surprise.

"He didn't mind, right, boss?" He made a noise. "See? If it's Shiori, the boss won't mind." Nono smiled widely.

"I'm sure if she came for a party, you'd all protect her." Nono said with confidence.

"I'm sure she can take care of herself." Levi said.

"That's true, but we're men and the Varia. She's just a regular girl." The Varia went quiet after Squalo spoke, wondering what to do.

"Maybe not a party, but she's more than welcome to stay here where you don't have to worry about protecting her." Nono got a nasty glare from his son. My, this was not the reaction that was expected. "Or she can stay at the Varia headquarters where she'll be just as safe with all of you." The glare went away.

"Let's go. I'm tired." Xanxus stood and left with the Varia.

Nono's storm guardian walked in. "You're smiling."

"I'm just happy."

"Happy because the Varia took out their target?" The storm guardian asked with confusion.

Nono shook his head. "I'm happy my son found someone that doesn't make him angry."

"I don't believe it." Bel had emailed Nono the pictures behind Xanxus' back. Nono opened them up and kept staring. "Who is that girl?"

"Her name is Shiori. I'd like to meet her."

"Just because she calms Xanxus down?"

"She just doesn't do that to my son. She was able to turn the Varia into concerned people. They don't want to see her hurt."

When I got home, I got an earful from both my parents. I was out too late and went to another city without them knowing. I told them they could have called me, but they shook their heads with disappointment. And that's when they saw the earring. They were madder about that than me possibly being kidnapped. That was my parents in a nutshell. They cared about me, but they didn't seem to see the bigger problem. I went to my room after a deserved shower and laid on my bed. I felt empty.

"Friends, huh." I muttered with a smile. A warm feeling exploded in my chest.

I couldn't believe it. They considered me a friend. That means I don't just have one, but five friends. I took my journal and wrote all about it. It's the happiest I've been in a long time. The last time I've felt like this was my last day in Italy. "I have a flame like no other burning deep inside. All I need to do is let it burn." I repeated those words softly. It gave me the strength I needed on bad days. Despite almost being stabbed, I had fun. Those people didn't mind me being with them and actually showed interest in me. I wasn't used to it. I'm sure I'll be ignored tomorrow. I'm sure.

When tomorrow came, I took the earring out and put it on a chain to keep around my neck. Even though Lussuria took it off Xanxus without asking, it still meant a lot to me. At school, I was ignored like usual. It didn't bother me. A couple days later, I was dragged back to reality of how much I disliked this town.

"Yamamoto's going to jump off the roof!" A student yelled with fear.

My blood froze, my heart dropped. I didn't want to look. I didn't run to help him like everyone else. I stayed in my seat, afraid. My hands started shaking and sweating. I grasped the feather in hopes it'd help calm me down, but to no avail, it didn't help. My heart kept pounding. It's just last time. I grasped my head and brought my knees to my chest. I was having a hard time breathing. That's when I saw a shadow. My eyes widened. I could distinctly see two bodies falling. It was too much for me to handle. I fell onto the floor.

When everyone got into class, they all screamed. Shiori was passed out on the floor. Everyone just crowded around her. Kyoko crouched down and shook Shiori. "Shiori?" There was no answer.

"Someone get the nurse!" A group of students ran out of the hall. Soon, Shamal ran into the room.

"Give me room." Shamal looked at the girl and checked her pulse. Good. She was just passed out. He picked her up and brought her to the nurse's office to rest. Some students came along to make sure she was alright. Kyoko stared at Shiori.

"Will she be alright?" She asked.

"Don't worry. She'll be just fine." Shamal responded.

Once the students all left, Shamal took out Shiori's records. She seemed completely healthy with no traumas or illnesses. Reborn showed himself.

"You have a visitor?" He questioned Shamal. His gaze was on Shiori.

"The students found her passed out in the classroom." Reborn looked at the sleeping girl. "What is it?" Shamal asked.

"I'm just thinking."

"Are you going to drag her into things?"

"I have no reason to." The door opened. Tsuna and Yamamoto walked in.

"Did you have anything to do with this, Reborn?" Tsuna questioned.

"With what?"

"With her." Tsuna pointed to Shiori.

"No." The two boys stared at the girl. They knew she was the new student, but she blended in so well with everyone they hardly took notice of her existence.

"Do you know her, Tsuna?" Reborn asked.

"I think she's the new girl."

"We got a new student?" Yamamoto was as oblivious as always.

"We did." Yamamoto hummed and got closer to her.

"She looks stressed out."

"That's why she passed out." Shamal commented from his desk.

"I wonder why. It might be from that really big test coming up." Tsuna nodded at Yamamoto's reasoning.

Reborn didn't think that was the reason why she's stressed. He looked into her academics and saw all perfect scores amongst going to some of the country's best schools. That girl was a genius. No genius stresses over a test.

"Reborn?" Tsuna questioned.

"She doesn't stress over tests." Reborn stated.

"How do you know?" Tsuna asked.

"She's a genius."

"What?!" Tsuna yelled with surprise.

"Be quiet. She's resting. Yes, she's a genius. She hasn't gotten anything but a perfect score in her life."

"That's amazing." Yamamoto said.

"Did you look into her records?" Tsuna asked.

"I did." They heard a groan and looked at Shiori.

"Could you all leave? It'd be best to not have her question anything when she wakes up." Once the three left, Shamal sighed. They were loud. Shiori didn't make another noise.

When I came to, I noticed the sun starting to set from the orange and red colored walls. I sat up and saw I was in the nurse's office.

"It's about time you woke up." I jumped and saw the nurse.

"What time is it?"

"Well, school ended three hours ago." It did? My parents must be worried. At least, I hope they'd be worried. I quickly stood up and bowed.

"I'm sorry for keeping you here so late."

"Don't apologize. I usually leave by this time anyway. Do you need me to help you walk home?"

"No but thank you for the offer." I left and went into the classroom. No one was here. I got my bag and stood at my desk for a little bit. Did they die? I went back to the nurse's office.

"Yes?"

"Do you know what happened earlier?" I questioned quietly.

"About Yamamoto?" I nodded.

"He's still alive. Firefighters were able to get a large cushion to catch him."

"That's good." I bowed and left. He was still alive. I went to the convenience store and got myself my favorite tea and a snack. When I got home, no one was there. I saw a note on the table. "Won't be home. Had to work overtime. Love mom. Had a business trip. Love dad. They don't need to write notes. They could have messaged me." My bag dropped to the floor. I was more than exhausted.