Kaoru took Angelo out the room with his mother right beside him. I wanted to feel bad for Angelo, but he did this to himself. I had no pity or felt any sadness in regards to him. Xanxus walked to my side and crouched down. "Are you hurt?" He asked.
"I just rolled my ankle, but it isn't too bad. That's all. It was my fault I fell."
He sighed from frustration. "Did he hurt you?"
"No." I answered.
"Don't lie."
"I'm not. I really did trip." I explained even though he wouldn't really believe me.
He let out another sigh. This one was different. It wasn't from irritation. Timoteo walked over to me. "I'm glad you weren't hurt." He said with a smile.
"Thank you."
Why was he smiling like that? It was just as uncomfortable as Xanxus' stare the other day. I stood up and fixed my dress. "We'll give you time to change." Timoteo said.
He caught a small glimpse of where the ribbon was ripped. I quickly covered the bare skin. Once the three left and the door was closed, I took the dress off. After dressing into regular clothing, I looked in the mirror. I still had the wig and colored eye contacts in. I played with the hair as if it was my own. I really did miss how long my hair was. I took the wig off and wig cap off and then the contacts. I looked like me again. After seeing myself as Bern for so long, it was strange to see me without everything on. I made sure I was fully covered before exiting the room. Surprisingly, the three were waiting for me.
"Shiori!" Kiyomi ran to me with panic. She hugged me tightly. "I just heard what happened. Some old woman told me."
"I'm alright. He didn't hurt me." I said.
"I'm sorry. I was trying to keep an eye on him. He just disappeared all of a sudden and I lost track of him."
"He's taken care of now." She smiled and rubbed the top of my head. She let go and looked at the three men and then at me.
"I'm sure you don't want to come celebrate with us then." Kiyomi commented.
"Not really. I want to go home and relax."
"I don't blame you. You worked really hard tonight. I'll let you go, but we will be going out for lunch just the two of us one of these days."
"Okay." Once she left, I looked at the three. "Are you three going back to Italy?" I asked them.
"We're going with you." Squalo said.
"Why?" I asked as we started walking out. They didn't even answer me. I was still confused. I could see the lobby and my dad looking around impatiently. Once we got in the lobby, dad saw me. He ran and hugged me as tightly as he could. "Dad?" His hug was almost hurting me, but I didn't mind. I loved when dad hugged me like this.
"You were beautiful. I never thought I'd see my baby girl on stage like that." He said breathlessly. He squeezed me tighter. He was beaming with happiness.
"Thank you." I noticed the three men that were behind me stepped away to their own corner.
"Shiori!" I looked and saw Kyoko running to me. A group of other students ran behind her. Dad let me go and kept smiling. "You were amazing!" She said.
"Thank you."
"I never thought plain Jane could ever be so full of emotion." My classroom neighbor said with a hand over his heart, acting dramatic like usual. It was part of his personality I've gotten too used to.
"Shut up."
"You were an entirely different person. Even the way you danced was beautiful." Kyoko said seriously.
"Well, I used to do gymnastics. Dancing was part of my training." I explained shyly.
"Really?!" They all gasped with shock. "Why didn't you say anything about it? That's amazing!" Kyoko asked.
"There wasn't a chance to say it."
"No wonder you're always not forced to do a lot of things in gym." Hana said.
"That's not it. I got an injury that took me out of the sport. Because of that, I can't participate in some activities." I lied mostly to get them off my back.
After a few more questions, the group left me alone. I gave a heavy sigh. That was tough to endure. I turned to dad. He was even happier than before. He hasn't really seen me this open or talkative with others before. "Did mom come?" I asked. He seemed to be a little troubled by the question.
"I'm not sure. She decided to move out for now." Dad looked hurt by mom's decision. It hurt me, but after all she said about me I didn't know if I should be hurt. If she wasn't my mom, I'd hate her and want nothing to do with her. But, she is my mom and she still loved me in the past.
"Oh. Okay." I said with a depressing tone.
He then smiled. "Your friends are waiting." He looked to the group of men.
"You're okay with me going with them? They could be scarier."
"Syoko told me not to worry about them. She talked to me while I waited for you. I'm proud of you for making good friends, Shiori. I'll see you when you get home." Dad hugged me one last time before leaving.
Hopefully, things will be better now. All my parents needed was some alone time from each other. That'll maybe fix things. Though, I knew it wouldn't help. I just wanted to hope everything would go back to normal.
"Shiori!" I was picked up and crushed by none other than Lussuria.
"I'm…going to die." I muttered.
He put me down, laughing like usual. "I'm sorry. You're too adorable. Your performance made me cry more than any romance story could." He took my hand and spun me in a circle.
"T-thank you."
"Shall we go for dinner?" Timoteo asked. His friends were behind him.
"I'm starving. Let's go, Shiori." Lussuria said with a solid grip on my hand.
"I don't have a choice, huh?" I asked.
"Nope."
I let out a lifeless laugh and was led to an extravagant restaurant that was down the street. It was very small hole in the wall type of place that was dim on the inside. Everyone customer I could see was dressed extravagantly. I definitely wasn't wearing anything remotely close to be served here. A waiter walked up to us.
"Right this way, sir."
I could tell people were looking at me as we walked to our table. I was obviously the odd man out. I sat at the very end next to Xanxus. I felt like I'd need an exit some point during dinner. We were given water. I knew from Kaoru this place only had one menu that never changed. Everyone started to chatter and create conversations amongst each other. I looked around at the many exits I had. A waiter came and switched out my silverware to gold. This weirded everyone out and made me suspicious.
"Why did you switch those out for her and not us?" Timoteo asked the waiter. He just bowed and left without saying a word.
"Switch with me, Shiori." Levi said, handing his silverware over to me.
"I'll be fine. I've been here before. They know me." That wasn't the reason, but it was something they all went with.
Xanxus knew I was lying and stared at me. I sighed as our appetizers came out. As I expected, I had a different dish that everyone. "Your appetizer is a steak tartar. The miss has tongue."
"I'd like if you gave her the same food as us." Timoteo said with a hidden threat. The waiter ignored him and stared at me before leaving. Gold? Tongue? This was familiar in a bad way. We heard a loud commotion.
"What did you fuckers do to my food? It's complete shit!" I looked up and saw a familiar woman. Yuko was always causing a ruckus. She didn't change one bit since the last time I saw her. Her medium length hair was up in a ponytail. She wore a leather jacket and black pants. If she was here, then something was wrong. Something eventful would happen.
"What's wrong?" Xanxus asked quietly.
"It's nothing."
"Someone after you?" He asked.
"No, but she's after someone." I said in regards to Yuko.
"That loud woman?" I nodded and kept watching her argue.
She's just buying time. She stood up and knocked a waiter down. Oh no. I was getting myself prepared for the loud gunshot. She looked around and locked eyes with me. She was full of disbelief. I took the gold knife with me and hid it in the arm of my jacket. Knowing her style of fighting, I'd need a weapon on some sort. I smiled brightly at her.
"You're smiling." She said quietly. I could see her hands start to shake.
The waiter got up and drew his gun, pointing it at her. Some people tensed and gasped. Though, most people were used to it. "Shall we leave, sir?" One of Timoteo's friends asked. I should probably start calling them Timoteo's men instead. The label of friends didn't really suit them.
"Let's see what happens first." Timoteo responded. Xanxus held my left hand that was under the table. He could feel how uneasy I was.
"Really? What pathetic piece of shit takes their gun out with the safety on?!" Yuko said. She started to laugh. She didn't hesitate to shoot him. "That's what you get, trash!" Yuko looked at me and then at someone in a booth I couldn't see. A familiar woman walked out. She had long blonde hair and wore a red suit. She took a drag of her cigar.
"This confirms everything." She spoke in her usual deep, sultry voice. This was no other than Nikita. She turned and saw me. Her scar that covered her entire left side of the face was still as prevalent as ever. She walked over and took my plate. "I'll take care of this." She had also put a small box on my lap without anyone noticing. "Give this girl the meal she deserves."
A sous-chef came running out with a plate similar to everyone else's. "I'm very sorry for the mix up, ma'am." He profusely apologized, obviously afraid for his life.
Nikita grunted. "Considering it probably wasn't your fault, I'll let you live." The sous-chef ran back to the kitchen. Nikita just stared at me. "You grew. Let's go, Yuko. Bring the bounty."
"Got it, sis." Yuko picked the man up with ease and walked out in front of Nikita.
"Who the hell were those women?" Squalo questioned.
"They're interesting characters. I hardly know them, but we have met a few times before." I admitted.
"What about that Yuko woman?" Bel asked.
I made a strange look. It was as if I deflated. "She's always been like that. When she gets in fights, she'll get everyone involved. It doesn't matter if you're a civilian. I'm actually surprised no one else was hurt."
"From the sounds of it, you seem to know quite a bit about her." Timoteo commented.
"Unfortunately, I know her very well. That woman always liked me too much."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Levi asked.
"It depends. She gets a little obsessive over people she likes. I'm on the top of her list of most liked people. She was my complete shadow for seven months, threatening to kill anyone who even looked at me. I get tired quickly from social interactions, so being with her constantly stressed me out. Even knowing she was watching sent me over the edge." I sighed heavily. Just thinking about it made me exhausted.
"How did you get rid of her?" Squalo asked me.
"Nikita told her to stop."
"Did you go to her?" Timoteo asked. He seemed to know Nikita.
"I didn't. She found me. She said she owes me months of favors because of Yuko harassing me. I guess I got something out of it."
Nono smiled. No wonder she could calm the Varia down easily. She's used to their personality types. Nono's storm guardian nudged his arm. Nono blinked, answering the silent question. It was confirming just who Nikita really was. Nikita wasn't just a regular woman. She was a Russian mafia boss that drifted off from her family to create her own. Because of that, she is feared amongst all worlds, both above and underground. It seemed like she was protective over Shiori. If Shiori and Xanxus did get married, it'd mean a possible treaty of some kind between the two families. Yuko, on the other hand, intrigued Nono.
There must be a reason why Yuko liked Shiori so much to follow her for months. She probably wasn't telling everyone the full story for reasons and the more Nono was around Shiori, the more he slowly understood her environment when she grew up. No one brought up the dead man at all. She must be used to death as well which could be from the incident. She'd be just fine with the Varia. For the rest of the meal, Shiori was given the same food as everyone else. Nikita is a terrifying and deadly woman, but she seemed to care for Shiori enough to threaten the staff with their life over a meal. Shiori was talked into staying in Tokyo for the night thanks to the Varia pressuring her. It was entertaining to see how the Varia and Shiori interact. It'd be nice to see this every day. The next day, Nono went for a walk with his storm guardian.
"Sir, I think Shiori might be hiding something from us." He said.
"I'm aware, but I'm sure she has a reason."
"Move." Nono felt the barrel of a gun press into the back of his head.
"Of course." Nono and his guardian were forced into an alley. They turned and looked at Yuko. Her eyes were dulled and sharpened. "What is it, dear?"
"Quit the endearments. It makes me want to gag. My boss wants to know why you're around Shiori. We weren't aware her new friends were Vongola." Yuko was irritated.
"We're around her because it's what she wants. She's attached to my son."
"Xanxus? Damn it! That girl is an idiot. I knew I should have stayed around her. She always attracts dangerous people." Yuko pulled at her hair with frustration.
"You're awfully dangerous yourself." Nono said with a smile.
"No shit, Sherlock. Do you plan on using Shiori as a pawn in any of your business?" She asked.
"No, but I do hope she marries my son." Nono said honestly.
"Why?"
"They're cute together." Nono answered honestly.
"She isn't marrying anyone without my permission." Yuko said dangerously.
"That's enough, Yuko. I should have known not to send you." Nikita walked from the shadows of the alley. She took a drag of her cigar. "You always get too emotional when it comes to Shiori."
"Sorry about that, sis. I can't help it." Yuko took a step back.
Nikita stared at Nono. "If you couldn't tell, we're rather territorial with Shiori. Yuko is worse than a dog. She can always sniff Shiori out no matter where she may be."
"Don't worry. I don't intend on involving her with the Vongola business." Nono replied.
"That is unless she marries your son." Nikita said with a scoff.
"It'd be unavoidable at that point if that happens."
"Why should I trust you with her well-being?" Nikita asked.
"She can turn my son from a man who only knows blood to a man who is level-headed. That in itself is enough for me to protect her with my life."
"Your life, huh? What about your son? What does he want with her?" Nikita questioned.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. He already promised to take care of her once she's taken care of business in Namimori. Apparently, she's having problems there."
Nikita's eyes narrowed. "Yuko."
"Am I allowed around Shiori?" Yuko was excited.
"You have no more than three hours. Don't disappoint." Yuko ran off with a maddening look plastered on her face.
"Are you okay with Shiori going to Italy?" Nono questioned.
"It's hard for Shiori to trust anyone. The fact she can trust your son to live with him is a level of trust she hasn't shown in years. As much as I'd want her here for us to protect…" She took a drag of her cigar and looked into Nono's eyes. "All we want is her happiness. If she's happy with your son, I'll allow her to go. However, if he harms her in any way out of anger or for his own pleasure, we will attack and prevent the Vongola's future."
Nono got back to the hotel which seemed to worry everyone. Everyone was in the lobby. However, Shiori went missing. "Where's Shiori?" He asked the Varia.
"That crazy woman came in and attacked us a few hours ago." Squalo said with a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Is anyone hurt?" Nono asked.
"No, but Shiori saved the day. She came in and threw Yuko to the ground before dragging her outside. She said she'll be back in a few hours." Lussuria explained what had happened.
Nono sighed. Yuko didn't waste any time in getting Shiori. "I see. Hopefully, we'll see her before we leave."
"Sir?" One of his guardians asked with concern.
"Yes?"
"What's bothering you?" He asked his boss.
"I met up with a certain mafia boss. Let's say we have a small truce. However, there are conditions."
"What boss?" Xanxus asked.
"Nikita." The room became cold.
"She's a mafia boss?" The Varia questioned.
"I'm surprised you all don't know about her. She's in charge of the most ruthless Russian mafia. She takes talent all over the world and has them trained until they're to Nikita's standards." Nono explained.
"Is Shiori involved with them?" Levi asked the important question on everyone's minds.
"Yes and no. She isn't one of Nikita's men, but they're very protective of Shiori."
"What does our truce have to do with Shiori?" Xanxus questioned.
Nono frowned. "Nikita and Yuko both saw how close you were to Shiori. They didn't like it one bit."
"We have to stay away from her, don't we?" Lussuria said with a depressed tone.
"That's not it at all." Nono stared at his son. He didn't know how the news would be taken. "If you were to hurt Shiori out of anger or for your own pleasure, they will take out the Vongola." They all froze. They didn't expect that to be the clause of the treaty.
"So, we just don't hurt Shiori. That's easy." Bel said.
"No, Bel. It was specifically directed to boss." Lussuria said quietly. Xanxus stared at his hand.
"How big is their family?" Squalo asked.
"They're smaller than us, but numbers don't mean a thing when you have talented people who are thirsty to kill."
Xanxus stayed quiet. It worried Nono. They all heard gunshots outside and immediately stood up. People were screaming. Xanxus put a hand on his chest. Shiori isn't hurt, but she's scared. Levi was surprisingly the first to act. He ran out the door and looked everywhere.
"What is that idiot doing?" Squalo asked no one. Levi ran away from the entrance. A minute later, he brought in Shiori and Yuko.
Lussuria ran to them. "Are you alright?" He asked.
"Yuko got hit." Shiori said calmly.
"I'll be fine. This is nothing." Yuko said with a wince.
"Shut up." Shiori snapped. "Just shut up."
"What happened?" Nono asked Shiori.
"Her enemy came out of nowhere and attacked her." She explained.
"You're lucky you weren't hit." Bel said. Shiori didn't react.
"Did you get hit?" Nono asked Shiori.
"I was grazed by a bullet." Everyone in the room tensed. "Don't worry about me. We need to hide Yuko before they find us."
"VOI! Are you trying to get us killed, kid?" Squalo yelled. If they were involved with Nikita, the Vongola would be under questions.
Yuko fully stood on her feet. "Let's get back out there!" She said with a gun in each hand.
"Don't get shot this time." Shiori said as if it was something normal to say.
"I won't!"
Once Yuko left, Shiori sighed. "She'll get shot again and blame it on her ankle."
"Will she?" Bel asked.
"If she gets shot once, she'll get shot a second time. It happens time to time."
"She isn't the greatest with a gun, is she?" Bel asked again.
"That's not it. She took the bullet for me. I got her shot." Xanxus could feel the same pain she did. It hurt. Men were walking into the hotel and from the stairs inside the building. Great.
"Looks like we got ourselves a little treat, men. Not only did we land a hit on Yuko, but we have another group to execute." A man said.
"Wait! It's the girl!" Someone pointed at Shiori.
"Huh? What about her?" Shiori took a few steps back. "She's the one the rumors are all about. She's the only survivor of the Tokyo massacre."
"So, she's the monster that escaped hell." Everyone's eyes widened as they looked at Shiori's back.
"I can assure you she's no monster." Nono said in a stern voice.
"I bet you don't know the stories about her." Shiori was shaking. Xanxus felt an array of emotions swell inside of him. "Allow me to tell you all about it."
"Enough!" Shiori yelled as loudly as she could. "Don't say another word." She pleaded.
"Or what?"
"Or I'll blow your brains out." The men jumped with surprise from Yuko's voice. "It's been nine, long damn years since she's been able to trust someone! I won't let you ruin this small glimmer of happiness for her!" Yuko yelled.
The man scoffed. "Monsters don't deserve happiness." Shiori covered her ears with shaky hands just as Yuko pulled the trigger. The rest of the men ran at Yuko and the Varia.
"What now?" Squalo asked Nono. He looked at Shiori and closed his eyes.
"Don't kill any of them." This was enough for them to start attacking.
"I'm not a monster…" Nono heard Shiori whimper out. "I'm…not." She crouched down, murmuring the same things over and over. It broke his heart to see her like this. He'd console her if he wasn't being attacked. Everyone but Shiori was being attacked.
Yuko looked over at Shiori and felt even more anger seeing her afraid. "I'll kill all of you!" She fired a few more bullets. Her heart dropped to her stomach when she looked over at Shiori a second time. One of the men was going for her. "Don't touch her!" Yuko yelled, pleading for the man to stop. She was too busy shooting the men that were running towards her.
The desperate plea made everyone stop what they were doing. It was too late. Shiori couldn't hear anyone. The man roughly grabbed her hair. She let out a sharp gasp with wide eyes. Shiori was breathing rapidly before letting out a scream. The scream was powerful where it made everyone in the room freeze and it wasn't because it was heartbreaking. No. It felt like something was being released after being locked away for years.
"Good going, assholes. You re-traumatized her." Again? Shiori screaming slowly turned into pants. Her arms fell to her sides as if she was a doll. Yuko looked terrified. "Shiori?" She questioned as the fighting commenced. Shiori didn't answer.
"Hey, wake up." The man said. Shiori didn't answer. "Answer me!" The man yelled as he swayed Shiori side to side by her hair.
It made Yuko sick. It angered Xanxus to a point he's never felt anger. This wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to get hurt. He couldn't feel anything from her and that bothered him more than anything. Squalo tried chopping the guy's head but was kicked away by another man.
"We're keeping this trophy for ourselves." The man holding Shiori said.
"She isn't a trophy!" Squalo shouted.
Yuko saw Shiori's eyes open and let out a gasp. "Oh shit. Oh Shit! Fuck!" Yuko swore.
"What's your problem?" Levi asked her, throwing a man into the wall.
"You mean our problem?"
"Don't drag us to do your dirty work." Levi replied.
"This isn't my dirty work. Look at Shiori."
He looked and paused for a second. "She's awake." Yuko nodded and took a few white bullets out. She took out a phone and pressed a button.
"Hey, sis, it's me. I'm dealing with them right now. The Vongola's helping out. Don't yell at me! They were attacked! It's fair grounds." Yuko sighed heavily and stared at Shiori. She was slowly starting to smile. "We have a code red. Yes, these idiots touched her. I am killing them!" Yuko saw Shiori smiling. "Oh shit. I need backup now!"