We looked at one of the doctors. It was that bastard that overdosed dad. Kyosuke Hibari. "Word spreads fast. I'm surprised you're here, little bird."

"Don't act surprised, trash."

"My apologies."

"Is that for your world class acting or for overdosing my dad?" His expression hardened and he stayed silent. Dino let out a gasp and looked between me and the doctor. "There's no need to be silent. I already know you did it. I heard it from your family head."

"How?"

"There's a certain someone who defects for me. Isn't that just sweet?" His eyes narrowed.

"Who's the one defecting?" I let out a chuckle.

"Why would I tell you? I find it entertaining to see you all squirm knowing there's a traitor. Though, it's not like he had a choice. I do have my ways of making people do what I want."

"You're even worse than your mother explained." That's when I noticed the ring on his finger. They either got married or were engaged.

"Don't be too shocked now. I only let certain people know what I'm like. My egg donor doesn't know anything about me."

"Anyway, your bill will be due shortly after your father dies."

"I'm aware."

"You do remember the bet between you and my cousin correct?"

"I do." Kyosuke left the room.

"What bet did you make?" Dino questioned.

"As of right now, Dino, that isn't your business and it won't be your business."

"I'm only trying to help." He quietly pleaded.

"I don't need any of your help. I have everything under control. Sure, the overdose was a complete shock, but everything is still going according to my plan."

"You devised a plan for this?" Fon questioned.

"I did. I thought of every possibility and I'm able to stitch together a good timeline of future events even if something is unexpected." Dino was quiet from the shock. Fon only smiled.

"I'm surprised Nikita isn't forcing you to be her replacement. With your genius mind and abilities, you'd be an unstoppable force." Fon commented.

"Xanxus is the only one who can control me when I go haywire. His flame calms me down."

"It calms you?" Dino asked with wide eyes. I took out the feather from under my shirt.

"Xanxus gave me another one of his feathers with his flame embedded in it."

"He did that?" I nodded with a small smile.

"I told Lussuria how I felt out of control. I was acting on impulses that would give me the death penalty. I couldn't help myself. At least now, the feeling is gone and is bearable when I'm at my worst."

"That's amazing. I'm glad he can help you when he's far away." Dino had a large, genuine smiled.

"I'm glad too."

"Anyway, I need to get going. Don't be afraid to bother me if you need anything and please tell me if anything happens."

"I will." Once Dino left, I frowned. I didn't appreciate Kyosuke taking me as a fool. At least now Kyoya will be targeted by his family. I wonder what punishment he'll get.

Four days have passed. Dad's heartbeat was getting weaker every hour. His body was extremely hot to the touch. It was a sign he didn't have much longer. There was nothing that could prepare me for his death. I just hoped Yuko would help dad. Fon walked in with some food for me. My appetite has gotten much smaller in the past two days. None of the doctors have walked in. It must be their way of telling me it was almost time. No one else has been in to check up on me and I didn't mind. However, the mundane waiting changed when my egg donor walked in. She seemed surprised to see me.

"Shiori…"

"Are you here to laugh?" I questioned.

"I'm only here to return something." She gave me her old wedding rings. Another ring took place on her finger. "That man always had a bad habit of opening his mouth. You have that same habit." I didn't respond to her. I just stared at the rings in my hand. "The house will be confiscated to the Hibari family thirty days after your father's death. Please make arrangements to go somewhere else if anyone will take you in."

"Did you love him?"

"I did, but not as much as I love Kyosuke. He was my first love." She responded in a cold voice.

"Did you come to finish the job? Is that why you were surprised to see me?"

"I was given something to do the job." I looked up and saw how neutral she was. She really didn't care about me or dad. She walked to the door.

"I'm sorry I spoiled your fun. That's another bad habit I have." I said quietly.

"It is."

Dino walked down the halls of the hospital and saw a familiar woman leaving Shiori's father's room. His eyes widened when he recognized her as Shiori's mother. "That girl will die an idiot at this point."

"Shiori isn't an idiot." She stopped and looked at him.

"Who the hell are you?"

"That shouldn't matter. Shiori is a brilliant person. Sure, she has her faults, but she's far from an idiot."

"You don't know her like I do."

"I'm aware, but it doesn't change my mind." She walked closer to Dino.

"That idiot got herself kidnapped and became broken. No mother wants a broken child. She wasn't even human after the incident. She was a doll that collected dust. And you want to know why that happened? It's because she stupidly trusted a stranger like the idiot she is." Dino was taken aback from Shiori's mother. She hated Shiori with a passion. There was a commotion in a couple rooms down.

"Let me out!" Squalo fell onto the hospital floor from his room. Dino ran over and helped Squalo up with Romario. Squalo glared right at Shiori's mother. "You're the idiot for thinking Shiori is an idiot." She scoffed.

"And who the hell are you?"

"I'm one of the only people she'll openly call a friend. I also know how that idiot works. She works a hell of a lot like another idiot I know. And let me just say that Shiori is a genius because of the incident. You can say I'm glad the incident happened."

"She's broken, not even human. Why is that a good thing?" She questioned.

"Why? It's obvious. We wouldn't have someone we can rely on. That idiot can calm down the other idiot I know. It's because of Shiori, I look forward for the future. She'll be with us and not in some shitty town."

"Oh? Did you coax that idiot into becoming your personal slave? I wouldn't be surprised if she did agree." Squalo and Dino were getting even angrier.

"Go ahead and believe what you want. Talking to you is a waste of my time. Just know if Shiori gave me the okay, I'll destroy your world and everyone that's done wrong to her. You and those people could have died a long time ago. It's her way of taking pity on you."

"What do you mean?" Squalo laughed.

"See? You don't know anything about her. She's someone no one can possibly touch. She's one of the most dangerous women in the world and yet you and those people look down on her." Squalo winced from the pain.

"You're bleeding out, Squalo." Dino said with worry.

"Idiot." Squalo lost consciousness. Shiori's mother took this time to leave. Once Squalo was back in his bed, the two sighed.

"I never expected a mother to be that vile." Romario commented.

"I knew she didn't like Shiori, but I didn't know is was this bad."

"I'm glad she won't be here any longer."

"Why?" Dino asked.

"That's the first time I've seen Squalo talk passionately about anyone other Xanxus."

"In the Varia's eyes, Shiori is one of them. In Squalo's eyes, she's his sister and no one makes fun of family."

The next day, Shamal walked in to check up on Shiori and her father. She was sleeping against the bedside. She must have been staying up all night to protect him. There was movement near Shiori's hand. Shamal took a closer look and saw it was her father's thumb caressing Shiori's hand. Shamal's eyes widened. He was regaining consciousness.

"Are you fully conscious, sir? If you are, stop moving." The thumb stopped moving for a split second. His body must be too exhausted to do anything else. "I'll let you rest up." Shamal left the room and saw Dino.

"How is he doing?" Dino questioned.

"He conscious." Dino's eyes widened with hope.

"Will he live?"

"There's a high probability of that happening. He's too weak to do anything, but he's holding Shiori's hand."

"I'm glad. I bet Shiori will be happy to hear when she wakes up."

"Don't disrupt anything, Dino. Let them have time." Dino went to Squalo's room to check on him.

"Why the hell are you so happy?" Squalo managed to pipe up. He overexerted himself last night.

"Shiori's father is up." Squalo stayed silent. It was good news, but no one would be able to tell if he'll survive until he's completely regained his strength. Everyone knew that, but they were all too happy for Shiori.

Why did I feel something rub against my hand? It was getting annoying. I opened my eyes and yawned. It was nighttime. I rubbed my eyes and heard a chuckle. My heart dropped. I looked up and saw dad was awake. "Dad!" He smiled.

"I've been up."

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You were exhausted." I pouted, making him laugh. He put his hand on mine and held it weakly.

"I'm sorry, Shiori. I did something stupid and wasn't there when you needed me the most. I could hear everything that was said, all the doctors and all your troubles."

"We're you in any pain?" He slightly shook his head.

"I wasn't. Even now I don't feel pain. I'm only tired." I smiled and held dad's hand to my face. I was grateful for this moment. I could finally hear his voice after so long.

"Go back to sleep. We can talk when you get more strength."

"No."

"Why not? We can talk a lot more tomorrow when you're stronger." He kept smiling.

"I don't have much time."

"Huh?" My hands started to shake.

"I'm happy and so proud you finally faced Kanade." He said, ignoring my silent question. "It must have been hard to face everything and everyone. I'm glad it worked out in the end. You even took up archery. I know you can't see it, but your grandfather is extremely happy about it. He always wanted to teach you." Dad coughed. I stood up and helped sit him up by leaning him against my chest. "I'll be fine, Shiori."

"I'm sorry, dad."

"Why?"

"I'm a horrible person. I've done a lot of bad things."

"That doesn't make you a bad person. The madness was taking over, right? Nikita told me about it a couple years after the incident. She explained how you have a certain madness and bloodlust that you can't control. It's not your fault. Besides, I'd never hate you no matter what. Even if you were the devil, I'd still love you."

"Why?"

"You're my daughter. There's no one in the world I love more than you." I frowned deeply. I wish this short-lived happiness stayed longer. "I had a lot of visitors. Many people came and talked to me about you. Dino said how kind and dependable you are. Squalo even came and reassured me he would take care of you." Squalo visited dad? "So many people came. If I could at the time, I would have cried from pure joy. I'm happy my daughter has so many people around her."

"Even if they're bad people?"

"I wouldn't care. I know you can take care of yourself. Yuko told me herself while I was out of it." My eyes widened, my grip on dad tightened. "She wasn't the first I saw, but we talked for a little bit about you. She told me everything she's done to help you. She really loved you."

"Who was the first person you saw?"

Dad smiled. "It was Kanade." My voice got caught in my throat. I could feel my eyes start to burn. "I was just as surprised. She was happy and told me to give you a message if I ever woke up."

"What message?"

"Thank you for living." I bit my lip. I knew Kanade would say something like that if she could. "She also wanted you to stop thinking about the past as much. You have a bright future ahead of you." Dad's voice was quiet. He was breathing with difficulty. "Will you go to Italy after?"

"I will."

"That's good. When you brought all those people home, I could tell the one with red eyes was attached to you. Even Squalo mentioned how none of them would hurt you on purpose. You're too important to them to lose. You'll be taken care of the way you deserve."

"Dad…"

"Let me talk. You've talked to me for months. It's my turn." The lighthearted joking wasn't making me feel better. "I knew ever since Nikita took you under her wing, you'd become like her. It worried me, but I'm relieved. The person you are now is the one I wished you'd become. I used to worry about you not making friends. You wouldn't have anyone to depend on. I'm not worried about that anymore. You have a family that'll take you in and love you when I can't."

"Don't say that." Dad went silent. "Dad?"

"I'm fine. I'm only tired."

"Sleep then."

"If I do, I'll never wake up." He winced in pain, coughing violently. His lungs were failing from the injury.

"You don't have to lie, you know? I can clearly see you're in pain." He lightly laughed.

"I could never get anything passed you." As much as I wanted him up and alive, I didn't want him to be in pain. I hated seeing him in pain. It killed me.

"If…if it's too much for you…" I sniffled and bit my lip as tears rolled down. "You can sleep."

"Are you really okay with that?"

"I don't want you to be in pain. It hurts seeing you suffer life this. It's too cruel and selfish of me." Dad started to stroke my arm lovingly.

"I love you, Shiori. You know that, right?"

"I do."

"And I know you love me. If you didn't, you wouldn't be here almost every day." His body relaxed against mine. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. "Thank you, Shiori. I love you."

"I love you too."

A couple of minutes later, his hand dropped to his side. The machine started to blare a sound, signaling his heart had stopped. I put dad back on the bed and unplugged the machine. No one would come anyway. I felt numb. The tears wouldn't stop. I fell onto my knees and held my face as I let everything out. All the built-up frustration and worry finally went away. I didn't care who heard me. The door opened after a few minutes. "We're here to collect your debt."

I looked up and saw a few Hibari and the bastard I made the bet with. "Get out." I growled.

"I never thought I'd see you look like this, little bird. You look pathetic."

"Get out." I repeated in a dangerous voice. I didn't need this. I couldn't mourn Kanade's death properly and now these people are stopping me from mourning my dad.

"I only want the money, little bird. Your father is dead. You owe us money." I stood up and glared at the group with dull, burning eyes.

"You're lower than any trash I know."

"I'm afraid we're on a tight schedule."

"We need the money." I took out my gun and pointed it at them. This made the four men on alert. "Calm down. She doesn't even know how to use it." The uncle commented. I shot one of the men in the head with no hesitation. They all gasped. They didn't have any weapons on them. "You…" I killed another man. The two bodies were on the floor, bleeding profusely.

"Trash like you doesn't deserve to breathe. I'll make you all suffer even worse than what you put me through." The uncle took a step back. "You can't outrun bullets." I killed another one.

"Run! I'll protect you with my body!" I killed him.

"Oops. I didn't like what he said. I guess he paid the price with his life." I said lifelessly. I took out my phone and called Nikita.

"Yes?"

"The time has come. I made a mess, but I want everyone to see. I don't need this town anymore." I could tell Nikita was smiling.

"I'll have someone over in a few minutes."

"Good."

The uncle stared at me with fear. "I was never planning on paying your family. I would have killed you and leave."

"You can't and won't get away with this. My brother will find out you did this."

"Does it look like I'm trying to cover who did this?" I scoffed and wiped away my tears. "Besides, you'll be alive to tell everyone."

"Are you mental?"

"No."

"Miss." The uncle turned around and saw my garbage man with a few others like him. Kira wasn't with him. I guess he was sleeping. "Am I disposing of this man for you?"

"No. You're taking my father to Sis." The uncle was pushed inside the room. My aim didn't move from his form.

"I'm sorry for your loss, miss." They all bowed to me.

"Thank you." The majority took dad out of the hospital without being detected. However, my garbage man stayed behind.

"Are we bringing him to the auction?" The uncle's eyes widened.

"No. He'll be my father's replacement." I shot him in the kneecap. He screamed at the top of his lungs, falling onto the ground. I let out a pleased sigh. "I've wanted to hear you scream for months. It's such a wonderful sound."

"It certainly is, miss." I shot a few more times in his arms and legs. I'd put more bullets in him but I didn't want him to die immediately.

"Put him in the bed and tie him up. We're going to make a statement."

"Yes, miss." Once that was done, I left the room and didn't see anyone. "Shall we go, miss?"

"I want to make a stop first." I walked down the hall and opened a door to look into a room. In the bed was a bandaged Squalo. He was sleeping. "I'm sorry, Squalo. I forgot you were here. I wouldn't have made that much noise. Get some rest." I closed the door and turned to my garbage man. "Now we go." As we left, we were stopped by one of Timoteo's men.

"Shiori?"

"What are you doing here, Coyote?" I said with genuine shock.

"Timoteo has been severely injured a couple of hours ago. Would you like to visit him?"

"Yes." I looked at my garbage man. "You can go on ahead."

"Very well, miss." I followed Coyote back into the hospital.

"We heard about your father. How is he?" My silence answered him. I was already on the verge of tears. We entered a room. Timoteo was hooked up to machines and covered in bandages. He was surprisingly awake.

"Did you just get here, Coyote?" I rushed over to his side. "Shiori?"

"What happened to you?" He smiled.

"You won't like the answer." I sat down and held his hand.

"Please tell me what happened." He put his other hand on top of my head.

"Xanxus did this to me." My eyes widened.

"What?"

"You have to hear me out, Shiori. There's nothing Xanxus wants more than to take my spot as the next in line. However, I know he won't, so he tried to forcefully get the title." I let out a tired sigh. Tonight was already too much for me. "He put me in a metal suit that used my flame to power it. Other than a few burns and scratches, I'm just exhausted from overusing my flame."

"That's it?"

"That's it." For some reason, I started to cry. Timoteo looked at Coyote and understood.

"I'm so sorry, Shiori."

"I wasn't ready like I thought." I said between sobs. Timoteo's grip on my hand tightened.

"It'll be alright. You have us, remember? You even have Xanxus by your side. We're your family. Your pain is our pain."

"Won't he be punished, even killed, for doing this to you?" I questioned.

"He will be on one condition." I looked up at him.

"What condition?"

"If you give him your own punishment, it'll be enough for me to forgive him."

"Huh?"

"He means a lot to you and you mean a lot to him. You two need each other. I want you to be by my son's side as his cloud guardian." Coyote let out a gasp.

"Guardian?" He nodded.

"You keep him levelheaded when no one else can. You're the only one that can knock some sense into him. That's why I want you to be by his side, Shiori. I'm sure he'll throw a fit, but you can talk to him." Despite the sorrow I felt, my heart was warm knowing Xanxus wouldn't die.

"I'll talk to him. He does have a habit of acting on impulse."

"Thank you, Shiori. I know it'll be difficult but try to get some rest tonight. I'll have Coyote bring you somewhere safe where no one will hurt you. I know we can't do a lot to help you grieve, but we will protect you."

"I'll try."