The airplane ride back to Italy was relatively quiet. The main reason for this was because Shiori was sleeping quietly. They were all secretly worried about her ever since they left Tokyo. Lussuria was busy humming away, planning out all the fun things he'd do with Shiori now that she's in Italy. He's been wanting to bring her shopping for the longest time.
"Stop humming. It's annoying." Levi spat.
"I'm sorry. I'm just too excited. I'm writing down all the places I'm taking Shiori."
"You're not taking her anywhere." Squalo glared at him.
"Why not?"
"Think about it. She just buried her father and said goodbye to her family. She'll probably be depressed." Bel said.
"Which is exactly why I want to take her out. I won't force her unless she needs it." Mammon went over and looked at the list. There were lists of different restaurants and clothing stores. However, one stood out to Mammon.
"Lingerie?"
"Yeah!" Everyone glared at him. Unfortunately for Xanxus, he couldn't turn to glare. Shiori was using his shoulder as a pillow and he refused to move. Squalo saw and smirked at Lussuria.
"You better be thankful Shiori is sleeping or else the boss would kill you."
"It's not the first time she's gotten lingerie. Levi bought a bunch for her on my order."
"Hit them both." Xanxus ordered Squalo in a hushed voice. He got up from his seat and smacked both men.
"What were you thinking? That's unbelievably creepy." Squalo spat.
"But boss said we could get her a present since Levi reported Shiori looking down." The whole plane went silent. There was no way Xanxus knew, right? He wouldn't approve of that, right? Their asshole boss would never buy someone, specifically Shiori, lingerie, right?
"Boss?"
"You didn't…did you?"
"Go to hell, all of you."
When I woke up, I felt well rested. I haven't had a good sleep like that in a long time. Xanxus looked down at me. "You're up."
"I'm sorry. I slept on you."
"It's fine."
"Good morning, Shiori." Lussuria greeted with a large bruise on his face.
"G-good morning. What happened when I was asleep?"
"Nothing happened." Levi replied. I looked and saw he had the same bruise on his face. I couldn't even reply. I was too tired and didn't feel like questioning further. I sat back down and stretched.
"We're going to be landing soon. The old man wants to see you later."
"Okay. Can I eat when we get home?"
"I have it all taken care of." I couldn't help but smile.
"Thank you, Xanxus." When we landed, I tried to stick by either Xanxus' or Squalo's side. It seemed familiar to me. We got into a limo and left the airport. "Where is the headquarters?" I asked.
"The Varia's mansion is about a twenty-minute drive from here. It's a small place where we live." Lussuria voiced.
"I see."
"Your room is next to boss' room."
"That's where you put her?" Squalo questioned.
"Yeah! What if the boss and Shiori-!" With no absolute hesitation, Xanxus kicked Lussuria's head.
"I see where you got the bruise from now. I think I know what happened earlier."
"Aren't you going to save him?" Mammon asked me.
"My limbs are too short to shut him up that efficiently."
When the limo stopped, we got out. I looked at the huge fountain in front of the massive mansion. "Just a small place, huh." I muttered. This place was a huge ass mansion. I've never seen anything like it in books. Not even Nikita's family mansion was this big.
"Isn't it nice? This is your home now." Lussuria said, both of his hands rested on my shoulders.
"It's overwhelming."
"I'll give you the big tour once you get settled." We walked in and was greeted by maids and butlers. Just what kind of headquarters is this? Even the decorations looked extravagant. "It's looked like this since it was built."
"I'm surprised."
"Only the main office has been destroyed." Bel whispered with a snicker.
"Ah. That makes more sense now." Levi plugged my ears. Squalo took a deep breath.
"VOI!" He let out a roar. In the next moment, fifty men in varia outfits lined themselves up. They all looked at Squalo and then me. He looked at me, urging me to step forward. So, I did. "Men, this is our new cloud guardian." There was quiet muttering. "You will respect her or you'll face our wrath. Questions?" One brave, unfortunate soul raised their hand.
"Is a woman even strong enough to be a guardian?"
I felt bad for him. "You don't need him, right?" Chen asked from the door. She was late to arrive because of flight difficulties. The fifty men tensed. Chen walked to my side.
"Leave him, Chen. We'll use him as bait later on if he keeps acting up." I said with no expression. I could tell Xanxus was fine with what I said.
"You can't do that!"
"She has my permission." Xanxus said. The fifty men all tensed.
"You see, this woman is the most dangerous woman in the world." Squalo bragged.
"Only my mother can rival my strength."
"Who's your mother? You don't look like anyone in the mafia." Someone pipped up.
"Nikita." The single name made them gasp. "I'd appreciate it if none of you disrespected me. You might be put on a mission with me." I smirked.
"Now that's out of the way, let's get you settled." Lussuria said, leading me away by the hand. The entire mansion wasn't a maze like I thought. It was pretty straightforward. My room was on the top floor right next to Xanxus. I opened the door and walked in. Everything was plainly decorated.
"I thought it'd be godlier."
"Did you want that? You can have your room decorated in any way you want. We just wanted you to be comfortable. So, I took some inspiration from your room in Japan." I shook my head.
"Everything is fine. This is all I need."
"Are you sure? If you want warmer blankets, let me know. If you want a fresh coat of paint, I can have that arranged."
"That's alright, Lussuria. This is more than enough. It really feels like my room back home."
Levi placed my bags into the room. "We'll let you get settled in. If you need anything, we're down the hall."
"Thank you." The two left and shut the door behind them. I looked around. It was a huge room. I even had a large bathroom. Other than the toilet, it definitely wasn't a western style bathroom. I guess Lussuria took inspiration from a hot spring. I sat on my bed and kicked my feet. The mattress was comfortable. They really went all out for me. "Well, I guess I should put my things away." About an hour later and I had most of my things put away. There was a knock. "Come in." It was Xanxus. "Did you need something?"
"I wanted to give you something." He handed me a picture frame. I was confused. What picture did he have? I flipped it and saw the photo. It was me and Kanade back in middle school. I didn't even know this existed.
"W-where did you get this?" He sat on the bed.
"Yuko visited while on a mission before she died and gave me that photo. It was when Nikita locked you up because of a threat. She told me to hang onto it so I could give it to you when you finally came home."
"Yuko gave this to you?"
"She said that was the first time she's seen you smile since the incident." I hugged the frame to my chest. The loss was still raw. Yuko always did so much for me behind the scenes and if alive, she'd deny it all. She must have really trusted Xanxus with me if she gave him this.
"Thank you, Xanxus."
"Don't thank me. I only returned it to you." I smiled widely with a few tears forming.
"Still, thank you." He got up and sighed before silently wiping away the tears. Even without words, I knew what he wanted to say. He didn't like seeing me cry.
Later that day, we all left to go to the Vongola headquarters. Nono wanted to have dinner with us. Plus, he was going to introduce me to some people in the Vongola along with our allies. Because of this, I had to dress up. I wore what I usually wear for negotiations with the Varia jacket Lussuria got me. I'll have to get more clothes now that I'll be officially working. The Vongola's headquarter was even larger than the Varia.
"Do all Italian mafias have huge places?" I asked no one in particular.
"Not really. We're the strongest Italian mafia. So, no one really cares about how our headquarters look like. Plus, multiple powerful families have headquarters like this." Squalo replied.
"I see. I'm used to the Yakuza and the Russian mafia."
"Don't forget the Chinese. Remember that?" Chen asked.
"I do. Everything was more undercover than anything I've ever seen."
"You're involved with the Chinese mafia too?" Bel asked.
"Not really. When I went to China with Yuko and Chen, I didn't even realize I was in the presence of the mafia."
"That sounds troublesome." Levi commented.
"Don't worry. My dad won't come after us." Chen reassured us.
"Your dad?"
"Dad is in charge of very powerful mafia. He can kill any official he wants."
"And your dad let you stay with Nikita?" Squalo asked her.
"He didn't care. I just want to kill and Nikita let me."
Inside, we were all greeted by maids and butlers. They all stared at me with curiosity since I was right in front. "Welcome. Nono has been expecting you." We followed the butler. Squalo walked up next to me. Was there going to be an attempt assassination? Chen was behind me while Xanxus was to my other side. Did they really have to do this? Xanxus walked into a large conference room. We followed from behind. There were a bunch of people I didn't recognize. However, Dino was there smiling like an idiot at me. All eyes went on me and Chen as expected. The men all tensed.
"Please have a seat. Did you get settled in, Shiori?" Nono asked from across the table.
"I'm almost settled in." We all sat down. Xanxus and Squalo sandwiched me while Chen stood behind me.
"And your plane ride?"
"It was quiet."
"That's surprising. The Varia are a rowdy bunch." A man said.
"They keep it relatively quiet around me."
"Color me surprised." Someone said with sarcasm. A lot of the people didn't like the Varia.
"That's good to hear. Now that everyone is here, let's get on with the introductions. Shiori, I'd like you to meet the key people that play a part in keeping the Vongola together. I even brought some of our closest allies to meet you. After helping us with our financial trouble, everyone has been asking about you."
"I must say, I'm rather surprised a woman so harmless looking like you could pull off what you did." A man said happily. "When Nono told us, I thought you'd be a rough looking woman."
"It's part of her charm. She can get under anyone's radar." Dino said. We all went through simple introductions. It wasn't entirely important.
"By the way, we're going to be holding a party in a few days." Nono said.
"For what?" Squalo asked.
"It's our yearly tradition party. Besides, Shiori is part of the family now and that is definitely something to celebrate. It'll be very fun." I didn't know I had to go to parties. Syoko seemed like the type to throw parties, but she would never throw one for her family. It didn't seem mafialike to have parties.
"These parties are rather extravagant. It's a very fancy event." Lussuria said to me.
"I see." Did I have to get dressed up for this? Did I even have to go? The whole event screamed red flags.
"What's with that face? You have a mafia background. Your family must have thrown parties." The Vongola's treasurer spoke.
"It sounds rather strange to me. My family would never throw parties. In fact, they'd be the last people to be at one."
"I see. Your family must have been a very small one. I'm surprised they had someone powerful like you with them."
"You're with the Vongola now. We're the strongest mafia in the world."
That ticked me off for some reason. Did they not know? I looked at Nono and he smiled, giving me full permission. My demeanor immediately changed. The room dropped a few degrees as everyone looked at me.
"Shiori?"
"Did we say something to upset you?"
"You went and had to piss her off." Bel said with a snicker.
"It's out of our hands now." Squalo said with a smirk. Xanxus looked at me.
"Be nice."
"Don't worry, Xanxus. It's not their faults they're ignorant."
"W-what are you implying?" A man stuttered. I could tell he didn't like me.
"My apologies. I don't take it well when someone implies that my family is weak. My family could easily destroy entire countries if they so choose. The Vongola is a small bug compared to them when it comes to sheer power." The men looked at Nono and his guardians. They weren't reacting to me.
"Nono, are you going to let this girl undermine the Vongola like this? Why did you even let her in?"
"She's right. Her family is indeed much stronger than us."
"What family is she from anyway? What other family out there could be better than us?" These officials were going to give me headaches in the future.
"Nikita." Xanxus spoke. The men looked at him, then Nono, and then me. "Shiori was going to be Nikita's replacement. Chen is Shiori's personal bodyguard."
"Why did you let someone like her in then? She could be a spy for all we know! I don't care if she saved our finances. It's suspicious." I leaned back into my chair and stared at the man with boredom. "She'll betray us the second our backs are turned! Why can't you see this?!"
"She won't betray us." Nono said calmly.
"You don't know that."
"I do. Shiori is very kind. Plus, Nikita and I talked about this."
"Why weren't any of us there? It's important for us to know." Another man pipped up.
"It was a very stressful time for everyone. Plus, it wasn't appropriate for everyone to go to a funeral."
"That's understandable."
"I can put everyone's mind at ease." Dino spoke up.
"You know her?"
"I do! I knew her before we knew she was mafia. She could have killed me and the Vongola heir multiple times for over a year. She did nothing to even harm them or get them involved with her personal life."
"She just didn't have the order to kill." The bitter man spat. Nikita never sent me on missions but they didn't need to know that. I'll let the fear of the unknown distort their reality.
"Please trust me. I trust Shiori to help the family as our negotiator." Nono said.
"She'll just kill everyone."
"That's not true. I'll only kill as punishment for those that don't keep their end of the deal. In the next six months, word will get out and hardly anyone will go against us." I said with a smirk.
"She'll only push away alliances!"
"Again, that's not true. The Vongola is too kind for a mafia that we get taken advantage of. I'll give everyone a wakeup call with my methods. I don't care if anyone dislikes me or how I work. Unlike them, I get work done." I gave the bitter man a look. Considering he was the boss of another family, I decided to play with him. Nono blinked, slightly nodding. He knew what I was doing. "Is it possible you're afraid? I will be going over every contract the family has and seeing if they've kept their deal. If not, I will give them a punishment."
"Even me?" Dino asked.
"I punish all that deserve it. If you fall under that category, I will not hesitate. And I know how to scare you, Dino."
"That is true!" Dino said happily. The bitter man was about to explode.
"Only Nono can terminate an alliance!"
"Even I understand that much, sir. I'll give Nono a report on my findings and give him suggestions on what to do." He smiled.
"I trust you to give out proper punishment, Shiori."
"Thank you, Nono. I will not disappoint." We were all cornering this one man. I wonder what the relationship between his family and the Vongola was like. The man had enough and stormed out of the room. I could feel his glare on me. He'll be fun to deal with in the future.
"I'm sorry about him, Shiori."
"There's no need to apologize, Nono. It's not your fault."
"Well, shall we eat?" Dino changed the subject completely. He knew it'd get my mind off things.
"That sounds wonderful." Nono commented. We all went downstairs and was served our plates. Mine had at least twice the amount of everyone. "Don't be afraid to dig right in. You can have as much as you want. My chefs are prepared." Nono said cheerfully. He didn't have to tell me twice. I instantly started to devour my food. Moving always made me extra hungry. So, I indulged myself. The food was amazing.
"Can I have seconds?" The chef immediately came out with another large plate. "Thank you!" Everyone watched with awe and disgust as I ate two more plates after that.
"I don't think I've ever seen you eat so much before." Squalo said.
"I haven't been this hungry in a long time. Is there dessert?"
"Why am I not surprised?"
"You should know no one can rival Shiori's stomach. She's a complete glutton." Lussuria said as he passed his dessert to me. It was a slice of apple pie. I haven't had some in years. Bel even passed his piece to me.
"You two know there is more, right?" Nono asked.
"We know."
"With how wide Shiori's eyes are, you'll run out."
After dinner, we all left. "So, what are these parties like really?" I asked.
"They're important to check in on everyone. We're not a fan either but we do it to keep an eye on people." Squalo answered.
"I see. So, do we wear our uniforms?"
"Heavens no! We all get dressed up. Since it's your first party, I'll go all out on you."
"Please don't, Lussuria."
"I want to see you in a big Victorian dress though."
"Anything but that. I tried Kiyomi's dress during play practice and it was so heavy."
"I knew you'd say that!"
"Come again?" I questioned. He pulled out a notebook to show me a sketch of a dress. It looked like a fashion designer sketched this out.
"Do you like it?"
"It's pretty." Xanxus and Squalo leaned closer to me to look at it.
"It's too short." Xanxus said.
"Nonsense! It's a shame to hide how wonderful her legs are." The two grunted. "I guess I can put more length on the skirt."
"As long as it covers my back, I won't care. Just no Victorian dress."
"I got it, Shiori. I'll have something perfect for you. It'll get everyone's approval!" He's going to have more fun with the dress than the actual party. At least, that is what I felt.
"Is her back even covered?" Squalo questioned.
"Not fully, but I'll make sure it doesn't show anything. Our Shiori is very precious. We should want to show her off."
"No." Xanxus said.
"Why not, boss? She'll have many strong suitors in line for her. We should want the best for her." My eye twitched. A strong wave of déjà vu crashed into me. Why was this happening again?
"No." Xanxus said again. Squalo and I both looked at each other knowing well what was happening. How could Xanxus not see Lussuria was messing with him? Lussuria shifted in his seat. Was he moving to protect himself? Bel snickered while Mammon sighed. Levi made a silent prayer.
"Oh my. Did you want to keep her to yourself, boss?"
There was no hesitation or hold back of Xanxus' kick. His foot made solid contact to its target. Lussuria's head went right through the window. I couldn't help but look with awe. I knew Xanxus was strong, but I didn't know he was kick someone's head through bulletproof glass strong. Back at home, Levi had to carry Lussuria in since he was still unconscious. It's not like he didn't deserve it, but I still felt bad. Xanxus stormed off to his room. He was definitely pouting.
"Is Xanxus always like this?" I asked Squalo and Mammon.
"No."
"He usually lets things go and ignored everything."
"What's different about now?"
"You." The two answered.
"I…see. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault. If anything, it's Lussuria acting up. Don't worry about anything." Mammon reassured me.
"By the way, boss always confirms with violence."
"Huh?" Did Squalo mean what I think he means?
"If he's embarrassed, he resorts to violence."
"Like you."
"Like me…"