Soon, it was the next day. The battles would have seemed so far away if it wasn't for the fresh wounds everyone had. I sat down with everyone in my living room. Xanxus was still knocked out from flame exhaustion. Dino had left Squalo here to celebrate with Tsuna. "Where do I start?" I asked nervously. I wasn't sure how this would go.

"The beginning." Squalo replied.

"I guess that's only fair."

"Don't be scared. We'd never look at you differently. You'll still be our cloud no matter what." Lussuria's words helped calm my nerves. I lifted up my sleeves.

"I guess showing you is easier than telling you." I my arms so they could see the full extent of the damage. One had burn scars while the other had regular scaring from blades. "My body is covered is scars like these. I was tortured and forced to undergo many experiments. I was kidnapped on the street and put on sale at the auction. This is what happened after I was bought."

"Is this the same auction you took Squalo?" Bel asked.

"It is. I had already known Nikita and her group by then because of Syoko, but I didn't know what they did. Nikita was at the auction that night."

"And she didn't buy you?"

"She tried but someone had more money. She was more than confident she'd find me. However, it took her a few weeks and by then, those people already tore my body apart." I pulled my sleeves back down. "It's there my flame unlocked itself from all the stress. It's also why my flame is as destructive as it is. I didn't know I had a flame until I was told by Nono. I thought it was only a weird power. Nikita told me to never use it unless it was necessary because I'd lost control."

"She doesn't know what flames are?" Levi asked with surprise.

"She doesn't. It's part of the reason she's fine with me being with the Vongola. She even had Fon come to help me control my flame."

"Shouldn't you already have control?" Lussuria questioned.

"Her flame backfires and harms her body when it's fully used. Unless she gets it fixed, her flame will kill her the next time she gets out of control." Fon explained from his spot next to me.

"What happened after the incident?" Squalo asked.

"It took me months for my wounds to fully closed. I had to use a wheelchair for almost a year. Yuko was the one that taught me how to walk again. Other times, she'd teach me how to shoot and take proper care of any firearm. Nikita taught me her tricks and trades. When I could finally walk, she brought me to negotiations to observe and then sent me to the garbage men to learn how to pick up my mess."

"And then you met us years later?" Lussuria had a big smile on his face. I shook my head.

"Unfortunately, another incident happened about five years ago. At the time, I was still in pain from my scars. All I'd hear was screaming. That's when I met Kanade. She was my best friend and someone I loved more than I could comprehend. She was the only one that made all the pain and screaming go away. Being with her was the only happiness I had in years."

"What happened?" Levi was on the edge of his seat.

"As you can already deduce, she died. She didn't have the greatest life either. She was being abused by her family. She'd always have a new bruise every day. I made her feel the same she made me feel, safe. We were known for being inseparable." I hugged my knees to my chest. "We decided to end our suffering." The room was filled with a pregnant silence. They weren't expecting that.

"You obviously didn't jump. You're still here." Levi commented.

"I did jump." Their stares were getting more intense. "We tied our scarfs onto the fence and then jumped."

"Was it a freak accident that you survived?" Bel asked me.

"No. Kanade took the fall for me. I was given her journal by a friend and found out what really happened. She said she didn't want me to die. I could help others like us."

"Do you still the same way now?" I shook my head.

"I feel content with my life now. But since that day, I've never felt right until I met you guys."

"It was mostly the boss that changed you." Squalo commented from his spot.

"You can say that, but it wasn't just him. You're the only people I can stand. I still feel selfish for announcing I'm your cloud guardian without Xanxus' approval."

"We'd be selfish for wanting you too."

"Huh?" I questioned Squalo.

"You keep boss under control. He isn't as grumpy when you're around or if we mention you."

"He's terrifying if you're in trouble though." Bel laughed.

"You guys don't mind?"

"You're the only one qualified to be our cloud."

"It's why you immediately fit with us." Mammon spoke up. I really did have nothing to worry about.

Tsuna and his guardians were having a celebration party at Yamamoto's dad's sushi place. They were happy to have won, but there was something that bothered Tsuna. It was Shiori. Never in a million years would he see her as an assassin. It didn't fit her but looking at her with the Varia forced Tsuna to rethink how he saw her.

"Did you know about Shiori, Dino?" Tsuna questioned.

"I did."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Gokudera questioned.

"I was threatened by a few people."

"Nikita?" Reborn asked.

"No. It was Xanxus and Squalo. They're the only ones Shiori will listen to other than Nikita."

"How can she stand those monsters?" Gokudera asked. He was still hurt to learn of Shiori's real identity.

"I'm not too sure myself, but she fits their dynamic. Just think about it. She was surrounded by people like the Varia. So, she feels most comfortable with them."

"Why is she with the Vongola and not with Nikita? Wouldn't it be wiser for Shiori to stay with Nikita?" Reborn questioned. Even he knew the extent of Nikita's work and she wasn't involved with the Italian mafia.

"Nikita basically gave Shiori to the Vongola for a specific reason. Though, it's not my story to tell. I don't know the fine details."

"What else do you know about Shiori?" Yamamoto asked with a smile. He was just happy to learn more of the genius.

"She saved the family with some money collecting from the Tachibana family."

"I heard they didn't have money." Reborn said.

"They didn't, but Shiori got the money in her own way."

"How?" Tsuna asked.

"I won't say. You won't like it. Let's just say she has connections not even the family could possibly get. She knows every yakuza in Tokyo. Everyone recognizes her and treats her as if she's a boss herself." The teens paled.

"Why is that?" Tsuna questioned.

"Something happened years ago I think." Dino was purposely not telling them anything. Shiori really will send Xanxus after him.

"The only thing I remember being a huge yakuza related incident was the Tokyo Incident." Reborn said, sipping his tea.

"What's that?" Tsuna questioned his tutor.

"It was horrible. It involved human trafficking and experiments. It resulted in every yakuza family joining together to take out an entire family. From the reports, there weren't any survivors. The bodies discovered couldn't be identified. They had a lot of children amongst the adults."

"How is Shiori connected to something that horrible?" Tsuna asked with a shaky voice. Dino shrugged his shoulders despite knowing the answer. He knew Shiori liked her past to be hidden unless she tells them. He didn't give them any major hints to directly pin her to a certain thing.

"Hey, Dino, if Shiori told everyone lies, is Kanade a lie?" Yamamoto asked. Gokudera immediately looked at Dino with desperate, uneasy eyes.

"The truth shouldn't come from me. Just don't ask her right now or anytime soon."

"Why?"

"It's a touchy subject."

After the party, Dino and Reborn walked to Shiori's to check on everyone. "Is Kanade a real person?"

"Yes."

"Is she in a relationship with Shiori?"

"No."

"Were they a couple before? Is that why it's a touchy subject?" Reborn pondered. Dino knew because he read Kanade's journal on accident. It was already open to the page that explained everything. At Shiori's house, the two walked in.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Squalo yelled at Dino. They were all at the table for dinner.

"We came to check up on you guys." Shiori walked out from the kitchen, obviously annoyed at something. "There you are. How are you holding up?" Dino asked Shiori.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She copied Squalo's sentence. Reborn could tell there was no bloodlust in the air like usual. Shiori put a bowl of stew down in front of Squalo and Bel. Lussuria came out with more bowls.

"That smells delicious." Dino commented.

"Would you like some?" She offered.

"I'm actually full from earlier." Xanxus came downstairs. He looked exhausted. When he saw the two, he scoffed and sat down. Shiori went back to the kitchen and brought back a bowl of stew.

"I thought you'd sleep some more."

"I'm fine." She sighed, shook her head, and then looked at the two.

"Well, make yourself comfortable."

Reborn was more interested in the dinner dynamic of the Varia with Shiori. It was surprisingly calm. "It needs salt." Levi muttered under his breath.

"It doesn't." Bel responded.

"It does."

"Just get some salt if you want." Mammon said. Shiori, Squalo, and Xanxus stayed quiet.

"By the way, Tsuna will be going tomorrow." Reborn told Shiori.

"Good. He doesn't need to be there the whole time. He just needs to show himself to Nikita."

"What did she promise him?" Dino asked.

"She's great at starting rumors. She'll tell everyone the new Vongola head is unlike no other. His conviction and power made my daughter defect from the family."

"Will she really say that?" Levi asked.

"Of course. I do think like her after all."

"It's her way of giving the family a good name while making people fear us at the same time." Reborn said with a smile. Nikita never struck Reborn as someone who would help anyone but herself.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I didn't introduce her to Tsuna to be polite."

"You did it to give him an advantage."

"That's right. Our enemies won't turn on the Vongola. They wouldn't dare to and if they do, I'll have Tsuna send me. One look from me and they'll run."

"Don't be modest. You'd kill them before they could even run." Lussuria said like a proud mother.

"It'd depend on how I was feeling. If I was really annoyed, they wouldn't even see me."

"That's our Shiori." Shiori quickly ate the rest of her food.

"Now if you excuse me, I need to get ready for tomorrow." Shiori stood up and went upstairs. Squalo looked at Xanxus to see if he'd follow.

"Xanxus." He looked at Reborn.

"Are you fine with Shiori being your cloud guardian?"

"I have no choice."

"I know you had no choice. Would you still want her as your cloud guardian if you weren't forced?" Xanxus didn't answer. He didn't know if that'd happen. There was no way he could send Shiori out on missions like the others. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if she died because of a mission he gave her.

"She'd eventually fill in the role one way or another." Squalo said, staring right at Xanxus. The two had a staring match.

"Why do you think so?" Reborn asked.

"Without being appointed, she would be living with us." Lussuria pointed out.

"And living with us means dealing with enemies that invade the headquarters. If we're not there, she'd most definitely help out." Xanxus felt uncomfortable. He didn't want Shiori to get hurt and she'd definitely have to fight with the enemies he has. He stood up and went upstairs. Reborn took note of this.

"Boss is very attached to Shiori. You should have seen him when she was being targeted and went missing." Lussuria said.

"Why is he attached to her?"

"It's complicated, but it's been like that the first time we met her. We knew Shiori would either be our greatest strength or our greatest weakness because of boss. Thankfully, she isn't a weakness for boss despite what he thinks." Mammon commented.

"I think I'm starting to slowly understanding why Nono appointed her."

In my room, I took out a small music box and picked out something to wear tomorrow. Unfortunately, the only black dress I had showed off almost my entire back. Nikita bought the dress for me. She really wants me to show off my scars like her. I guess I can borrow Squalo's jacket since he won't be wearing it. I tried on the dress and let out a small sigh. It fit perfectly, but the problem was the back.

"Will I ever get over it?" I took the dress off and started to dress in my pajamas. That's when the door opened. Xanxus stared at me with slight surprise. I immediately tried to hide myself. "Get out." He kept staring at my arms and legs. He walked in and closed the door instead of leaving. This is exactly what I didn't want right now. "Are you going to force me?" I questioned.

"No." He sat on the bed and stared at the other side of the room as I finished getting dressed.

"Is that what they did to you?" He spoke softly.

"It's only the light stuff. Most will eventually fade."

"I won't force you to tell me anything until you're ready."

"Thank you, Xanxus." I sat next to him. "Are you mad at me?" I asked.

"For what?"

"I didn't tell you about my dad." He leaned back onto the bed.

"I was fucking irritated you didn't tell me anything. I know you did it because of my temper and that pissed me off even more."

"It'd be bad if you ended up killing the entire family and caused an international incident. Even Nikita has some trouble with that which is why they take out single targets instead of groups overseas."

"Don't do that next time."

"I won't if I can help it."

I was pulled back. "You better tell me next time. You're my cloud guardian. I need to know everything." Somehow, I felt like he was telling a lie. I couldn't imagine any of the guys telling Xanxus about their troubles. I guess it's a me specific rule.

"I guess I have no choice."

"You never had a choice to begin with." It fell silent again. Though, it was comfortable. I didn't feel like there was a need to be talking between us for me not to feel weird. I got a message on my phone from Kazuma. He and the rest found out about dad. "Who's that?" Xanxus questioned.

"An old classmate I became acquainted with during the summer." He made a noise.

I sent Nikita a message, asking for permission for Kazuma to go. She agreed, so I gave Kazuma the address. I'm sure his mom, Tsubasa and her mom, and the others will come along. They usually do. They're a package deal. It'd probably be my last time seeing all of them. I sat up and sighed. Even with the stress of everything, I couldn't get my mind off my back. It was one of the few things holding me back. I hated all of my scars, but I hated the scar on my back even more.

"You alright?" Xanxus sat up yawning.

"Look at my back."

"I am."

"Lift my shirt up."

"Don't force yourself."

"I have to. It's driving me crazy. It's the only thing I can think of."

Xanxus sat up and took a hold of the bottom of my shirt. "Are you honestly fine with it?"

"I'll have to show it eventually and there's a good chance people will see tomorrow. I want you to see it first."

"Why me?"

"I'm more comfortable with you." He lifted the shirt up to my shoulders and froze. He inhaled sharply. Xanxus kept staring at my back. "Those will never fade. They're still sensitive. They'll always be like this." I felt his cold hand lightly touch the scar. It didn't hurt.

"Are there any alive?"

"There shouldn't be."

"If there are, I'll personally take care of them. I know it won't change what happened, but it'll help you sleep at night."

"Xanxus…" He dropped the shirt.

"Do you feel better now?"

"A little."

"Are you still worried about showing your back?"

"Of course." He hugged me from behind.

"Wear my jacket and if anything happens and it shows, we'll keep anyone from saying anything."

"Thank you." We fell onto our sides.

"Now, sleep."

"I'll try."

"It was an order."

"I have a feeling you'll use that against me."

"Don't push your luck." I smiled and felt the blankets cover me. Even though tomorrow will be one of the worst days of my life, I felt content with everything right now. Only time would pull me away from this feeling of safety I loved so much.

I woke up early next morning. Xanxus was still sleeping. I sat up and checked my phone for any messages. I only had one from Nikita. She was going to pick me up in an hour. I'm glad I woke up when I did. I got out of bed and washed up. I went downstairs and saw Levi and Squalo sleeping on the couches. They were completely out. I made myself something small to eat before changing into my dress. I saw my back in the mirror. I didn't feel as suffocated as I usually would. I put my hair back into a bun and then the feather in my ear. Xanxus woke up twenty minutes later and stared at me. He sat up and yawned.

"Nikita will be here in a few minutes to pick me up."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No. I want to go alone."

"I'll have everyone there early." He went into the bathroom and took a shower. When he was done, I saw Nikita's car waiting in front of the house. Xanxus came back into the room dressed. "She's here. I'll walk you down." I nodded and followed Xanxus downstairs. Outside, Nikita was smoking outside of the car with her cousin in the driver seat.

"Are you ready?" She asked.

"I am." Xanxus put his jacket over my shoulders.

"Are you coming along with us?" Nikita looked up at Xanxus.

"I'm going later." She nodded with acknowledgement.

"Let's go, Shiori."

The rest of the Varia were up when Shiori left. When Xanxus walked in, everyone was in the living room. "Get ready."

"Did she tell you what happened to her back?" Squalo questioned. They all saw it.

"Those people did that to her. That's all she said. If her back shows and people question it, keep them quiet."

"She must be sensitive about it." Lussuria commented.

"It's a deep scar that's still healing."

"How is it possible for a wound to still be healing after years? It must have reopened somehow." Bel commented.

It made sense, but no one would question Shiori about it any time soon. Mammon knew exactly why the wound is taking so long to heal. It was a product of her own flame harming an already existing wound, making it worse. The fall she mentioned yesterday reopened the wound. Only a flame can help her wound heal completely now. Mammon will have someone heal her back when she's back in Italy. After all, she's the Varia's cloud guardian and is Xanxus' unofficial left-hand woman. Everyone needs her to be in the best shape possible. The Varia got ready and decided to head out. There was three hours before the funeral. Two hours would consist of getting there.

Outside, a long limo pulled up. One of Nikita's men drove the car. When the Varia got in, they saw Tsuna and most of his guardians. Reborn and Dino was with them. "Where's Shiori?" Dino asked.

"She left an hour ago with Nikita." Squalo answered. Xanxus didn't want to speak to them. The teens were obviously uncomfortable with the Varia. "Dino." They all looked at Squalo. "Don't let anyone disturb the jacket on Shiori." He spoke in Italian. All but Tsuna, Yamamoto, and Ryohei understood.

"I got it." Dino knew of Shiori's scars and from shopping with her, she was always self-conscious about her back.

"Do you think anyone will try and attack?" Reborn asked in Italian.

"I would imagine someone might. All of Tokyo's yakuza will be there. Enemies might have enough balls to try something." Squalo replied.

"Will Nono be safe?"

"He'll be fine. Nikita isn't an idiot and Shiori is far from one too. They know the possibility of any attack. I wouldn't be surprised if there's assigned seating."

"You're wrong about that." The driver spoke up. "For something like this, the ones important to the miss will be next to her. It'll go from most important to least. So, the Vongola will be behind her while Nikita and some Yakuza members will be next to her."

"So, if someone tries to kill her, they'll have to go through everyone first." Levi said.

"That's correct. Even though the miss is part of the Vongola now, she's still one of us. We wouldn't hesitate to give our life for her."

"Why?" Gokudera questioned. The driver smiled widely, recalling a pleasant memory.

"We're all despised by the world. As for me, I was made to believe it was my fault I had gotten my family killed. I was the one that got myself tortured. All the misfortune that happened around me was my fault. When I met the Miss, I was assigned as her bodyguard. I found it easy to talk to her. I always wondered why she wasn't the same as us. Why didn't she blame herself? It was when the miss told me why. It wasn't our fault. It was the world that was wrong. If it wasn't for her, I and a lot of others would be dead."