When I went back to school, I sat at my desk like nothing had ever happened. I had no choice but to act this way. There was no telling what connections others had or if anyone other than Tsuna even saw what happened. I took a book out and started to read. Tsuna ran up to me with panic on his face.

"Shiori!"

"What is it?" I asked, looking away from my book.

"You're here? I thought you were dead."

"Why would you think that?"

"That woman that took you is dangerous."

I slightly squeezed my legs together. If he knew about Chen, then he must somehow be involved in the underground. The poor thing can hardly stand straight. I wonder if he was involved voluntarily. He doesn't look like he'd be able to kill anyone. "It must have scared you since she's rumored to be a murderer." I said with a sweet smile. He nodded frantically, confirming my thoughts. "I can assure you she isn't the one you're thinking about. She has a cousin that looks like her that is in some shady business. The one that took me actually runs a dojo and has me clean it once in a while."

"But she was dragging you."

I hummed happily. "Mei has a hard time expressing herself and has violent tendencies like her cousin. They were both trained under their grandpa and he was known for being violent." Mei was actually Chen's cousin. What I said was the twisted truth. My smile made all the worries Tsuna had go away. The last thing I wanted was more people involved with me and knowing things they shouldn't know. I don't want anyone's pity. Tsuna went back to his seat, seeming a lot calmer. I'll need to keep an eye on him and all his friends for now on.

A week has passed. Dad has been going downhill slowly. Shamal gave him a few more months. I've been noticing how people in Namimori have been disappearing left and right. Whoever was doing this had a method to this madness. Of course, being around someone of Nikita's caliber, this was someone who knew what they were doing but was still a rookie. Thanks to the kidnappings, the Hibari took their eyes off me most of the time. Though, I could tell they were still watching me. One night, I went to get some groceries. It was pretty late, but there were late night sales I couldn't refuse. I took some premade meals and then got some vegetables and fruits. I already had meat in the freezer to last me for a while. While walking back, I noticed someone following me. I turned back and saw a teen younger than me in a green uniform. He had blonde hair and a weird marking on his face. He just froze and looked at me.

"What do you want?" He spat.

"You were following me." I retorted. He got closer with his back hunched. "Oh." I said to myself.

"What? You scared?"

"No. I just figured out you must be behind the kidnappings and attacks happening recently with how you're allowing your bloodlust to flow." He looked surprised which confirmed another suspicion of mine. "You're also working with someone. You seem too stupid to pull off a plan as simple as this." His face turned red with anger.

"Ken." Another teen similar to Ken walked to him with glasses and dark blue hair.

"What now?" Ken asked his comrade.

"Why are you stalling?"

"She's smarter than we believed, Chikusa."

"That hurts." I replied dryly.

"She doesn't look strong. Just do it." Chikusa looked right into my eyes. I hummed and put most of my weight on my left side.

"What are you going to do? Will you rape me?" I asked bluntly.

"N-no."

"You stuttered. Did you think about it, Ken? Do you want to rape me?" I questioned with a smile.

"No! We weren't ordered to do so."

"Just because you weren't ordered doesn't mean you can't." I pointed out.

"Rape is beneath us." Chikusa said, glaring at me.

"Really? Don't waste your time attacking people if you're not prepared to do the worst. You're supposed to make people want to die. Physical wounds can heal. Psychological wounds, however, can take years to heal. Sometimes, they never heal. They leave a person an empty shell of what they used to be." I giggled softly. "Well, good luck with attacking people." I started walking away from them.

"We're not done with you!" Ken ran at me.

I took a step to the left and he fell to the ground. "Don't waste my time with this. I just want to go home and eat."

"We won't let you leave." Chikusa said in his calm voice.

"You're going to regret that."

I noticed a group of punks walking near this area. I started to tip my tights up and clawing my nails into my legs. Their faces contorted.

"What are you doing?" Chikusa asked.

I ripped my school clothes and tore more at my arms. I took a shoe off and threw it passed them. My sweater dropped to my elbows. I then pinched the bottom of my lip to make it bruise while clawing at my cheek hard enough to draw blood. They were in for a fun time.

"She's crazy." Ken said, getting up.

I took him by the wrist and fell backwards with him on top of me. The group was getting closer. I started to shake and pant. I needed this to be as believable as possible. "Help!" I yelled with all my might. The group started to run over. Ken's eyes widened when he knew what was happening.

"You bitch!" Ken swore at me.

"Look!" One of the guys shouted.

"Get him!" Ken and Chikusa ran for their lives. The group ran to me. "Are you alright?" "What happened?" They were asking questions while looking me over.

"I was just shopping and they just attacked me out of nowhere." My words were breathy and my limbs shaky. The tears in my eyes were enough to convince these idiots. One of them picked me up with ease.

"We'll get you to the hospital."

"Thank you." As they were running, they stopped. I looked and saw Kyoya.

"What's going on here?" He questioned them.

"We found her with a guy on top of her. They attacked her and were going to rape her." Hibari just looked at me with surprise.

"I'll bring her to the hospital. Thank you for acting immediately."

I was given to Kyoya. It was strange to be carried by an enemy like this. "Are you going to bring me to your father?" I questioned.

"You need medical assistance. My father won't provide you any." If only he knew what was happening, he'd bring me to his father. I bet those two boys won't provoke me again. At the hospital, Shamal was called to help me. He ran to me.

"Shiori?!"

"Hello, Shamal."

"What happened to you?" He saw Hibari and tensed.

"I went to get groceries and was attacked." I explained. He saw my tattered clothing.

"I see. Were you raped?"

"Almost, but penetration did not occur."

"That's one thing to be glad about. Hibari, I need you to leave so I can inspect my patient." He nodded and left. Shamal looked at me with a frown. He went over my self-inflicted wounds. "Looks like it's just minor scraping. You lucked out." He disinfected the areas and bandaged them up. "That lip looks like it was bitten."

"It was."

"I'm surprised you're not asking for pain medicine."

"My adrenaline is still pumping. I'll be fine until I get home." I yawned. I didn't realize how tired I was.

"Now that you're all patched up, let me walk you home. I don't want you to be attacked again."

"Thank you, Shamal." After being discharged, the two of us walked towards my house.

"Huh? Shamal? Shiori?!" In front of us was Tsuna and Gokudera. I was holding a bag of ice to my lip.

"Hello." I greeted.

"What's going on? Why are you hurt?" Tsuna asked.

"She was attacked and brought in. Thankfully, it isn't anything too bad." Shamal said.

"Did you see who it was?" Tsuna asked me.

"I could hardly see since it's pretty dark. But, he did have a green uniform on, or was it blue? I'm not sure. There were two of them. I questioned them if they were behind the kidnappings."

"And?" Gokudera questioned.

"They didn't answer, but from their almost surprised looks, they're involved but are only the henchmen." I responded softly.

"How are you sure?" Shamal questioned me.

"They said they were ordered to do it. Hopefully, you two won't get hurt."

"You should probably stay home until this whole thing is over. They could be looking for you." Gokudera said. He seemed to be protective of me which is strange since he only shows any emotion other than hate towards Tsuna.

"Thank you, Gokudera. I think I'll do just that. Will you tell the teacher for me?"

"I will."

"Thank you. You're really dependable." I gave him a bright smile which made his cheeks turn pink. Even Tsuna's cheeks turned pink. The more they fell for this false persona of mine, the less they'll be suspicious of me.

"Let's get going, Shiori. You're still being targeted." Shamal referred to the Hibari family, but the two didn't need to know.

"I guess you're right. Have a good night, Tsuna, Gokudera. Please get to a safe place before you get attacked as well." I gave them a small bow with a wince before continuing to my house. Shamal let me be when I got inside. I locked the door and couldn't contain my laughter. They all believed me. I held my head with a maddening smile. I panted a few times. "I'm really losing it."

Over the next few days, I was kept in my house. None of the teachers would punish me for my absence. After all, I do have a doctor's note. The door bell rung. I didn't hesitate to open it. "Hello, I'm here to examine your house." A man pushed passed me. I didn't see a car parked outside anywhere. I closed the door and looked at the man. He smiled sweetly the same way Hibari's uncle did. Keeping eye contact, I locked the door without him knowing.

"I wasn't notified about an inspection." I said.

"It's a surprise one. Our family is very proud of Namimori and we don't want any one of our citizens living in a mess. It isn't good for one's mental stability especially when you're living by yourself with no parents."

"Go ahead and look. There's no mess anywhere."

He extended a hand out to my. "Kai Hibari."

"It's a pleasure." He nodded and looked around the kitchen, inspecting inside the cabinets and the fridge. "How long will this inspection last?" I questioned.

"It should last twenty minutes, but that depends on what I find."

I hummed and did the math in my head. It'd take months to cover every single house and apartment in Namimori. "Is it just you that does the inspection?"

"Of course."

"Are you just starting the inspections in Namimori?"

He gave me a suspicious look. "Do you think I'm here on other business?"

"I'm just interested in how you Hibari run. It must take a long time to do these inspections."

"That's very dangerous, miss." I shrugged my shoulders and followed him to the living room. He turned everything over. He must be looking for something specific.

"Do you have a family?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"No."

"Really? That's shocking. You're not bad to look at."

He looked into drawers of every end table in the living room. "I have no plans either. I can't stand children." We started walking up the stairs.

"If you're looking for something specific, I can just tell you where it is." I said, knowing why he was here. He didn't see if I was living in a mess. He was seeing if I was any more of a threat than I am.

He stopped half way up the stairs. "I'm only checking to see if you have weapons."

"Anything can be a weapon, Kai."

"I'm aware, Shiori." His voice slowed when he said my name. I'm not too surprised. Every Hibari member knows my name.

"Are you here on behalf of the head of the family?"

"I am."

"Will you hurt me?" My voice became higher in pitch with a clear, innocent tone.

"I will if you act out." He continued to my room. He searched everywhere, even my underwear drawer.

"How's my mom?" I suddenly asked.

"She's happy."

"Good." I answered. Not once did he take his eyes away from his search.

"Are you sad that she abandoned you and your father?"

"I'm only disappointed. I hope she doesn't have kids. She's a terrible mother and an even worse actress."

"You'd say that about the woman who gave birth to you?"

I smiled as I thought about how disgusted my mother looked when she talked about me. I always knew she didn't like me because of the way she'd grimace behind my back. "I'll say that to anyone blood related or not. Once dad dies, I won't have any emotional ties. They're all on the other side." I hid Kanade's journal. It'd be an even bigger mess if they were to get their hands on it. Kai saw that and went to the next few rooms. As expected, everything was clear.

We were walking down the stairs. I was in front of him. "Shiori."

I stopped. "Yes?"

"You're hiding something from me. Why don't you show me and I'll reward you?"

"What's the reward?" I was on the step below him.

"I'll give you any kind of pleasure." He spoke softly.

I held in my disgust. "It's a book." I put the journal in front of me.

"May I see it?"

"I already showed it to you. Where's my reward?"

"I need to physically have it in my hands before you get your reward."

"No deal." I saw his cold, distant stare out of the corner of my eye. He was here on a mission. His hands wrapped around my neck.

"You've crossed the line. It's time for your punishment." I didn't struggle at all. The more your struggle when you're being choked, the more it'll hurt. His grip tightened. "Scared, little girl?"

"Not really."

"What?"

I allowed my body to go limp. The two of us fell down the stairs and landed into the wall. His hands let go of my neck. I stood up and kicked Kai in the head.

"Go ahead and run away before it's too late." I said. I was offering him a way out. Generally, I'd never be this kind.

"I don't need to run from you." He stood up and glared. I got my phone out and sent a message. "Help won't come in time." He sneered.

"I'm messaging my garbage man."

"Huh?"

I took a step closer to him. "When you're gone, no one will bat an eye and question me. At least, they won't with all the kidnappings and attacks going on."

"You're going to kill me?"

"Yes."

He ran right at me. I easily dodged and kicked his knees in. He fell backwards onto the ground. I put him in a chokehold and sat on the ground. He tried to grab at me to stop. My other hand went into his coat pocket and found a knife. "This is a hideous weapon, but it'll do the trick." I used the knife to implant his hand into his abdomen. He screamed. I plunged the knife deeper. My phone started ringing. I answered it without looking at who it was. "Hello?"

"Shiori!" I heard Squalo yell.

"It's been a while, Squalo."

"It has. Are you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine. Why ask?"

"I'm hearing something strange in the background."

The man in my grip yelled. "Quiet, you." I spat at the man. "What you're hearing is my new friend. What was your name again?" I asked him.

"Kai Hibari." He spat out. I heard Squalo gasp.

"Did he attack you?"

"We're just having a friendly conversation." The knife came out. Blood was staining the floor. "You're making cleanup harder on me." I took the knife and reinserted the knife and hand into the same position. This time, I stabbed deeper. He yelled from the pain. I held him even tighter. "Screaming isn't allowed. We don't want others to hear. That would be bad."

"Shiori." Squalo said seriously.

"Yes?"

"Do you need me to cover it up?" I couldn't help but smile. I'm sure he'd cover any murder up for me.

"No. I have my own garbage man. They'll take care of the body parts. I'm sure the head would sell well since it's a Hibari." The man tried to scream with terror.

"Be careful. Don't let anyone see."

"Squalo." My voice deepened. "This isn't the first time this type of thing has happened. Trust me. Anyone who enters my domain won't exit alive. Oh, and the chocolate you gave me was delicious."

"That was Xanxus. I just brought it to you."

"Give him my thanks. Now, if you excuse me, my garbage man will be here in twenty minutes. I need to hurry and bag him up so I can take the trash out."

Squalo felt chills after Shiori hung up. Everyone looked at Squalo with anticipation. They were just checking up on Shiori, but Squalo looked sick. "You're pale."

"What happened?" Xanxus asked.

"She's…taking care of someone. A garbage man will be there soon. She needed to hang up so she could bag him up."

"That doesn't sound like her at all." Lussuria said sadly.

"No. That's her." They all looked at Xanxus after he spoke.

"I can't imagine Shiori being a murder." Levi muttered.

"I can't imagine it when she's conscious. When she's in her alter self, I can see it." Bel responded.

Xanxus didn't want to believe someone like Shiori was like Nikita and her men. Sure, if this was one of his men, he'd be proud, but Shiori? Mammon could see the worry on everyone's face. Even though Mammon wasn't a fan of alter Shiori, he knew this was the product of the incident. With Xanxus' flame out of her body, she's even less stable. There has to be a way to stabilize her mind and her flame. Shiori told him she needed to face her past and because of it, she's becoming a mess and losing control of herself.

"Are you keeping something from us, Mammon?" Bel asked with his usual smirk.

"No."

Xanxus didn't look. He already knew what was happening. He forced himself to keep his distance in order to help her and himself. He had to keep his focus on the ring battles and the plan on kidnapping Nono. Part of him felt it was his fault Shiori is the way she is now. At least, he was partially responsible. He shouldn't have even mentioned forcing her to talk about what happened. Xanxus went to take a walk. He needed to be alone. The streets of Italy was filled with smells coming from cafes, restaurants, and bakeries. Shiori would like it. He sat down at one of the fountains and stared at the ground.

"What the hell got your panties in a bunch?" A familiar gruff voice asked.

Xanxus looked and saw Yuko. "What do you want?"

"You look worse than a kicked puppy." She sat down next to him with a lit cigarette.

"Why are you here?" He asked.

"I had a target. Are you worried about Shiori?" She asked, staring at the people and not Xanxus.

"I am."

"Don't worry. We protected her."

"From what?"

Yuko looked at Xanxus with disbelief. "She didn't tell you anything? Nikita ordered Shiori to hide with her and some of her men for three days straight because of news of a group rising up."

"What group?"

"The same that caused the Tokyo incident. We contained the problem though. There shouldn't be any problems for now." Xanxus shook his head. It was yet another thing he didn't know about. "Did you two have a fight?"

"No."

"I'm pretty good with understanding Shiori. Let me take a guess. She disappeared over night because you mentioned the incident in a way that scared her and now you two haven't spoken since." He sighed, giving Yuko her answer. "I did the same thing. Just give her time. I heard from sis Shiori is facing her past."

"I'm aware."

"You're not aware of how fucked up her past is. She went to visit a friend she loved more than she could comprehend." Yuko handed Xanxus a picture. In the photo were two girls sitting by a pond.

"What is this?"

"Take a good look."

"Shiori…" Xanxus saw the girl with long brown hair smiling. It was Shiori. The girl next to her was reading a book.

"She doesn't know this exists. I took it when I was checking up on her. You know, that was the first time I saw her smile since the first incident."

"What happened to that girl?" Xanxus asked.

"That's Kanade. She was Shiori's best friend and the only one that made her feel safe. She died and since then, Shiori refused to function. She refused to live. That was the second time her world shattered." The guilt in Xanxus' heart continued to pile up. "Keep that photo." Yuko said out of the blue.

"Why?"

"It'll give you motivation to make things better. Plus, you can give it to her when she's finally in Italy."

"You're not mad at me?"

Yuko shook her head. "You're the only one she trusts to be close to her. She can't stand when people are in her space but will let you cling onto her. If there's one thing in your life to not mess up, this is it. If you ever betray her, she'll lose all control."

"She's already losing control." Xanxus said, staring at the photo.

"Huh? What are you talking about? She isn't losing control. She's just acting on instincts we taught her when she was a kid. She still remembers everything we taught her." Xanxus couldn't see why Yuko was so happy about this. "I know you don't like it, but that's who she really is. She chooses to not let you see what she's really like. She's just like the two of us underneath that mask of hers. It's terrifying, but it's true. It's why Nikita adopted her." Xanxus' head shot up from shock. Nikita adopted Shiori? "It wasn't legal of course. Mafia wise, Shiori is Nikita's daughter and she has stated that fact a few times. If anyone touches her, Nikita will personally kill them."

"Why did Nikita do that? I thought she didn't see anyone as her family." Xanxus questioned.

"There's always an exception. Nikita told me if Shiori stayed with us, she'd be her replacement." Xanxus' eyes widened. There was no way Shiori could be like Nikita. Yuko put a hand on Xanxus' shoulder. "For that reason, we trained her to be a professional killer. She can kill better than most assassins I've seen. Whether you want to accept it or not, that's who she is." She stood up and stretched. Xanxus just looked at Yuko. "Oh, and she was wearing that damn feather. If she truly hated you, she would have destroyed it. You can stop this depressing shit now. It's annoying."