The Varia stared at the two teens. Though, they were more interested in Hibari. He was technically my enemy. I gave them a look and they all dispersed. Some went out for a walk while others minded their own business. The three of us sat at the kitchen table.

"First, I want to ask you something, Kyoya." He tensed up. I guess my little lesson from the battle stuck with him. "I'm not going to hurt you. We're part of the same family. Nono will be upset with me if I hurt you. Why are you here and why haven't you tried to attack me yet?"

"I came because I'm confused about a lot of things. The baby warned me and said you were on his league with power. I've learned attacking you it won't get me anywhere. Plus, you can kill me with a slight movement." That explains it. Reborn probably warned all of the boys about me. I really wasn't like anyone they've met. In fact, everyone that serves Nikita are a different breed of people. In simple terms, she has an army of multiple Reborns.

"That's right. People like Reborn are the targets Nikita would have sent me to take out. He was even scared of my sister. She was probably the only one that could actually rival Reborn when it came to shooting. So, what do you two want to know?"

"Did you really kill Hibari's relatives?" Tsuna asked first. This took Kyoya by surprise.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"They were going to kill me if I didn't kill them first."

"They were only given orders to bring you to my father to talk." Kyoya said.

"And you were lied to. Their orders were to start my rehabilitation." I explained strictly. Kyoya flinched. He knew exactly what that meant.

"What does that mean?" Tsuna asked Kyoya.

"He was going to have her tortured." He said quietly. Tsuna's face contorted to sheer horror. He looked at me and then Kyoya to see if it was a lie. The Varia just quietly listened in from their respective spots.

"That's horrible! Why would he do that?"

"I'm a bird that sings a tune he doesn't like."

"That's all?"

"That was all until he figured I was the one behind the missing Hibari around Namimori. I'm sure he'll try to kill me himself." I said nonchalantly. I'm expecting to be attacked and will be ready to protect myself accordingly.

"Why are you going to see him if you're certain he'll try something?" Kyoya questioned.

"I'll have backup."

"I'm glad the Varia will be there for you." Tsuna said.

"This is still my personal business. The Varia know not to get involved. I'm bringing my own men with me."

"You have men of your own?" Kyoya asked.

"I've had a whole mafia at my disposal this whole time. Don't worry. I'm only bringing two people with me and I won't allow you to get hurt, Kyoya. Like I said, Nono will be upset with me and I don't want that."

"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Tsuna asked. He was always a worry wart. It was cute coming from him.

"I'll be fine. I have full confidence in my men to keep me safe." Kyoya kept staring at me. He seemed confused, but it was to be expected. I've never shown this side of me to anyone but Nikita and the Varia before.

"How did you get the bodies out of your house without suspicion?" Kyoya asked.

"You'll know during the meeting. I wouldn't want innocent Tsuna to know just how bad of a person I am." I said with a little giggle. It made both of them uneasy. "Now, I think it's about time for you two to leave. It's almost lunch time and I'm hungry." Once the two left, Lussuria and I started cooking.

"Will you really be fine?" He asked.

"I'll be fine. Chen and Syoko will be with me."

"Syoko? Wasn't she injured yesterday?"

"She was but insisted on being there. She's actually dealt with the Hibari before. They don't like her."

"Why?"

"They don't like strong women." He chuckled.

"They're in for a rude awakening."

"They already had the rude awakening when I moved here. And if that didn't do it, I'm sure my message pissed the Hibari head off."

"What did you do?"

"I requested a red book from the auction containing all listings of Hibari members. It lists out exactly what was sold and how much. Also, I left a message for them."

"I never knew the devil had such a sweet face."

Chen and Syoko came to my house a couple of days later. They were ready for whatever the Hibari had in store for us. I wore the outfit Squalo got me since I didn't have anything else to wear for business meetings. Lussuria gave me one of my jackets that he designed. It was completely black and hung off my shoulders perfectly thanks to clips sewed into the jacket itself. I put my hair back into a small bun.

"Don't forget your gun." Syoko reminded me.

"I already have it on. Do you have yours?"

"I do." I had Xanxus' feather hanging from my ear. I wouldn't have worn it but Xanxus said it was an order. He probably wanted to either keep me under control or to show them who I belong to. Thinking about it more, he probably wanted to know what was happening through my emotions.

"I'll be back." I announced to the Varia.

"Be safe." Lussuria said.

"I'll be fine." Xanxus nodded when we locked eyes. I felt safe knowing I had everyone to come home to. I left with Chen and Syoko.

"Can I fawn over you one time before we get there?" Syoko asked when we were about half way there.

"I'm surprised you even asked. You always do it without my permission but go for it." She hugged me and rubbed our cheeks together.

"You look stunning and you're radiating confidence. I can't wait for you to give them a slow decent into madness." She let go and giggled. "It's out of my system for now. Now, are we going to massacre everyone?"

"That only happens if they strike first. Though, they'd be complete idiots to try something."

"I kill them all. They fun to fight." Chen said too happily. I really didn't want a massacre. It'd be a pain to clean up.

Men were waiting for us outside of the Hibari house. It was a traditional Japanese house that only those in power would have. It was similar to my grandparents' house. The men paled when they saw my escorts. "I'm sure you knew of our arrival. Bring us to our meeting." They silently walked us to a large room. Inside, I saw the Hibari head and his younger brother sitting on the ground. Hot tea was offered on the low table. The younger brother was still recovering from his wounds. Kyoya was also present. However, he sat behind the two men to show his status. The younger brother looked shocked.

"What are those two doing here?"

"I'm not stupid to come into a meeting without men of my own."

"Your men? Since when did Nikita lend her men out to others? Did she take pity on your situation? Did you pay her?"

"I see why you don't like him." Chen spoke to me. The three of us sat on the floor across from the Hibari.

"Let's get introductions out of the way. I'm Shiori." The two men tensed. I held my hand out to shake.

"Kinzo Hibari." Kyoya's father said calmly, ignoring my hand. I could tell he despised me. He put the red book on the table. He was going straight into business. I put my hand down. "Did you have one of your men send this to me?"

"Yes. It was sent on my order. I asked my contacts at the auction to send it."

"Your contacts? You probably had Syoko do this for you." Kinzo's brother spat.

Syoko chuckled, hiding a smile behind her fan. "That's cute. You haven't changed one bit from the last time I met with you, little boy." The comment ticked him off. Kinzo ignored his brother.

"How did you get rid of my family?"

"I sold them to the auction."

"How did you get them there? You obviously didn't carry them. Your house was under surveillance. We would have known."

"They dumber than bitch was." Chen commented.

"I dismembered them to get them ready for the auction. After all, no one buys the entire body anymore. No one likes the butchering process. People stopped bringing whole dead bodies ten years ago." The room got colder by a few degrees.

"You what?" Kinzo asked. Kyoya looked shocked.

"Are you hard of hearing? Let me put it into simple words for you. I cut them up into teeny, tiny pieces and bagged them up to be sold. I did need some help when your cousin sent the group of men."

"I hope you were kind enough to give them a quick death." Kinzo said.

"Why would I do that when you gave my father a painful death?" The two men were glaring at me. "They were all awake while being cut up. The rest had to watch and wait their turn. If I knew how your blood tasted, I'd have preserve that as well. Those self-proclaimed vampires would have paid big money for that."

"How are you involved in the auction? Not just anyone can go. Not even I have been invited." Kinzo questioned.

"I'm one of the best foxes they have. I only bring in high merchandise. It's why the Tachibana family is no more. I sold the leader, right hand man, and two of his bodyguards."

"How is it possible you're a fox? Are you involved with Syoko's family?"

"I assure you she isn't with me. Though, she did grow up around the yakuza." Syoko responded.

"Let's just say it's the reason why you can't break me."

"We took everything away from you. Did you need to be beaten like your father to break?" Kinzo asked me.

"That wouldn't get me at all." He smirked.

"I'm sure this will." My egg donor walked in as if this was all planned. I guess they weren't that stupid. She held a picture frame. What exactly are they planning?

"I found something while packing my things. I thought this would help for today's meeting." She showed me a picture of Kanade. It was her funeral photo. "It's been five years since you saw Kanade. You refused to go to her funeral. You refused to face her death. You didn't even once say you weren't the one that pushed her." She put the frame on the table. I took it and skimmed my hand over the glass. It was the first time seeing it up close.

"That was your best friend. She was the most important person to you. Apparently, you refused to go to her funeral. You probably can't even bring yourself to see her grave. I also heard you murdered her. Is that why you didn't go? Did you not want to feel guilty for killing her?" Kinzo asked in a condescending manner. He was trying to push me into a corner.

"That's true. Kanade was my best friend and my first love. She was my everything." I said staring at her smile. It was a very bright and warm smile. "However, you're mistaken. I didn't refuse to go to her funeral because I was guilty. I was too busy recovering from trying to kill myself. My body was broken. I was on death's front steps for a second time. I refused to live after her death. I'm surprised you don't remember that." I said to my egg donor. I was feigning my hurt.

"I see she's finally breaking. And I thought we'd have to torture her." Kinzo's brother said with a smirk.

The room went cold. "Oh, how wrong you all are." I said with a patronizing voice. I couldn't help but chuckle. "I've gotten over her death months ago. I got my closure. By the way, I didn't kill her. We decided to kill ourselves. I admit that I am a murderer but I did not kill Kanade." The two men shifted. They weren't expecting that. "You hardly know who you're dealing with. It makes me want to laugh. I thought having Chen would have set off alarms. Syoko telling you I'm not part of her family should have been the next red flag. It's very brave of you to try to mess with me. It almost pisses me off how ignorant you all are. Hey, Chen, should I tell them who I really am?"

"Go ahead. They wish they never messed with you." Everyone on the opposite side was uncomfortable. I couldn't help but take pleasure in seeing their discomfort.

"I'm sure you've heard how I was kidnapped as a child, yes?" They nodded. "The information you failed to collect was the part where I was merchandise to the very auction I'm part of." My egg donor's eyes widened. "You should have seen the hands that went up to buy me. The cannibals wanted to eat me, the pedophiles wanted to touch me, the serial killers wanted to kill me. Unfortunately, I wasn't sold to any of them. I was sold to a family that is no longer. The day I was bought was the beginning of the great Tokyo Incident. I'm sure even you have heard about it."

"There were no survivors. You don't need to make up lies." Kinzo said.

"The reports were correct. However, I was found and collected before any officials got to the scene."

"Who found you?"

"My mother found me." The men turned to my egg donor. She shook her head.

"I have no idea what this is all about." She responded nervously. Her face contorted to complete horror.

"Who are you talking about?" Kinzo asked me.

"I'm talking about the woman that took me in, the one that taught me everything she knew. Her name is Nikita. She found me and took me under her wings. During the time I was recovering, she put me under protection and gave me lessons as I healed. She trained me to be one of her men. In essence, I was trained to be her replacement."

"Even if that story is true, why did she take pity on a child?" Kinzo asked as a bead of sweat ran down his face.

"The anger I held towards the world for what it did to me and the rest of those children fueled my desire to kill. In fact, I was the cause for half the deaths in the building." Kinzo and I were in a staring competition. The door behind me opened.

"It's about time." I heard Chen say.

"Why are you here, Nikita? I didn't tell you when this was happening." I said without breaking eye contact with Kinzo.

"I went over to visit before you left the country. That man told me where you were." She lit a cigar and took Chen's spot so she could keep guard. "I don't know why you didn't let me kill them all. Sparing them will leave them as enemies for you. Plus, their faces annoy me. I'm tempted to shoot them." Nikita said staring at the Hibari with boredom. Despite her lax state, she'd be ready to fire her gun almost instantly.

"You should know the answer, Nikita. I did that on purpose. That man offered to kill them as well, but I didn't want that either."

"Why didn't you kill us?" Kinzo asked me.

"I've found that you Hibari hate pity."

"You pity us so you're keeping us alive?" Kinzo's brother questioned.

"Correct. I could have easily killed you all from the beginning yet I wanted to play a game. The only thing I didn't foresee was my father's death. Other than that, you're all easy to figure out." I said with a smirk. I still despised them for what they did to dad, but seeing their faces like this beat seeing their dead bodies.

"I was wrong about you, little bird. You're no herbivore. You're a monster in sheep's clothing."

"Thank you. I didn't get my role in that play for nothing. Now, is this all you wanted to discuss? If so, I need to leave. My things won't pack itself."

"That's it. Even I know when to back off." The three of us stood up and walked towards the door. Kyoya kept staring at me.

"By the way, why do birds fly?" I asked with my back towards them.

"You always ask that without giving us an answer. Our answers will always dissatisfy you." Kinzo said. I looked back with a smile.

"They fly because they choose to."

"They do it because they have the free will to do so?" Kinzo asked.

"That's right. Telling a bird to stay in a cage is like telling a wolf to only eat grass. You can't contain people like this forever. What you have is a garden full of fake flowers. You're living in a delusion."

When we left, Syoko left with Kaoru. She still had her own establishment to run. They were all useless without her. "I'm proud of you, Shiori." Nikita said. I could tell she meant every word. It wasn't one of her usual empty compliments.

"Well, I do take after my mother. She's a monster at negotiations." She and Chen laughed. "I feel like a weight has lifted."

"I'm glad you think so. Will you go to Tokyo?" Nikita asked.

"I will. I haven't told Xanxus yet, but I'm sure he won't mind."

"Good. Contact me when you get there. I still need closure." I almost forgot about that. Nikita's own family was killed in the incident. She always goes back to the scene of the crime to mourn. She's been waiting years to go with me.

"I'll do that." The two departed. I was left alone. The house seemed empty when I got back. It was only Xanxus and Squalo. "I'm back."

"How did it go?" Xanxus asked.

"It went well. Nikita made an appearance."

"Will they bother you again?" Squalo questioned.

"No. They know better now. They see me as a monster."

"Good."

"By the way, could we make a pit stop to Tokyo before we leave?" The two looked at each other and then me.

"Did you want to see Syoko one more time?" Squalo asked.

"I…want to go back to where it all started." They knew what that meant.

"I don't think it's a good idea." Xanxus voiced.

"Why?"

"I'm afraid it'll be too much for you mentally."

"I'm not sure if I'll react badly, but it's something I need to do before I go."

"Why do you want to do that to yourself?"

"The incident is the only thing holding me back." Squalo kept looking from me to Xanxus. He sighed heavily.

"Fine. We'll go, but if you start to have an episode, I'm taking your ass straight to Italy."

"Got it, boss. By the way, where did everyone go?"

"They went shopping for snacks."

"I'll have Lussuria pick some up for me." I took my phone out to message a list of things I'd like. It took more than two minutes to message him. Squalo stared at me with slight horror.

"Do you want the rest of us to starve?"

"Did you say something, Squalo?"

The rest of the Varia came home with bags of snacks. It seemed like a dream come true being around so many wonderful foods. I wanted to eat them all but I needed to wait until the plane ride. "So, we're going to Tokyo before we go home?" Lussuria asked excitedly.

"It's mostly because of something I need to do, but you're all more than welcome to explore and shop." I said as I put food on the table.

"What are you doing?" Bel asked.

"I'm visiting someplace."

"You're not going alone." Xanxus sat down and glared at me.

"I wasn't planning on going alone." I knew just how short my leash was. I was anticipating that Xanxus and probably Squalo will go with me. They're extremely protective of me. The next day, Lussuria and Levi were packing my things into a car.

"We'll take two cars. While you, boss, and Squalo have fun, we'll take care of everything else." Lussuria said.

"Thank you." The ride to Tokyo felt short. We were dropped off near Syoko's place. I took my phone out and called Nikita. Xanxus and Squalo just eyed me. "I'm here."

"Do you know where it is?"

"I…do."

"Meet me at the entrance." She hung up.

"Well?"

"Follow me."

The more I walked, the more my heart would beat with anxiety. At Tokyo's outskirts, massive abandoned buildings casted shadows on us. "Is this the place?"

"Almost." I replied to Squalo. Nothing has changed about this place at all. It was like this place was frozen in time. I could smell Nikita's cigar in the distance. She was close by. We walked behind the buildings to a burnt forest with a building sitting in the middle. If the forest wasn't burned, no one would know about the building's existence. It's why it took so long to find me. Nikita had her back towards me.

"Are you ready?" She asked me.

"I am."

"My men scouted the building earlier in case of any stragglers. The atmosphere hasn't changed." I tensed.

"I…" I had to do it. I needed to do this. "Are the bodies still there?"

"They're all gone. It's completely empty. Each identifiable person was given a grave." There were only few that could be identifiable. I still remember how bad it looked on the inside. Some people were melted to a pile of flesh while others were broken apart.

"Let's go."

I was the first to walk forward. I felt uneasy. My shaky hand could hardly grasp the door handle. My body was afraid of this place. I knew there's nothing to fear anymore. Nothing here would hurt me. I felt Xanxus' flame on my back. He didn't want me here, but he knew it was important for me to do this. It gave me the strength to open the door. The four of us walked inside. Nikita and I grimaced. I remembered how this looked when I left. Even though it's been years, I knew the stains on the wall were from blood. I don't even remember who the blood belonged to. Nikita took the lead. I followed closely. I needed to see that certain room. I needed my closure. Why did they want me? Why did they do those things to me? I'll probably never get my answer. We went inside an office. It looked like it belonged to whoever ran the facility.

"Let's look for clues."

"Clues?" Squalo questioned.

"We're still unsure why this happened. No one knows why this family started abducting and buying people. Experiments didn't seem like they were headed towards anything. Plus, they were doing experiments for a lot longer than when Shiori was brought here."

"It could have been for some sick fun."

"It could, but I believe that's not the case." Nikita looked at me. "They were targeting Shiori even before she was kidnapped." My eyes widened. I didn't know that.

"What?"

"It was no coincidence you met Syoko and I when you were a child. My men alerted me you were being watched by them. I wondered why they wanted a child. I'm still unsure now. Once I told Syoko, she had some of her men lead you right to her. We didn't expect them to make their move until you were older. It took all of us by surprise. The other thing no one could account for was everyone's attachment towards you."

"What do you mean?"

"No knows why, but you have a captivating air around you. I'm sure Kanade and Yuko felt the same thing which is why they always wanted to be by your side. If you were another child, we would have cut our losses. I can't put the right words to the feeling. It's probably what the Varia feels around you."

"It isn't a feeling of wanting to protect her. It's the need to protect her." Squalo said.

"That's about right. It's a maddening feeling." She started looking through the desk. The three of us looked around the room. I looked around in a filing cabinet.

"Why didn't you look after the incident?" I asked Nikita.

"The police were too involved. So, I had my men hide these rooms as best as possible. My priority was first to find you and then to make you stronger in case those people were to ever come for you. I didn't come after because it felt wrong. I knew you needed to face this part of your past and couldn't do it alone."

"Thank you, Nikita."

"I don't deserve thanks. You proved your strength to me. Don't you remember what we discussed? Once you have your answers, nothing will stop you in this world. You'll be a woman everyone will be terrified to cross." Nikita looked at Xanxus before looking back at the papers on the desk.

"I found something. I think everyone will want to see this."