Shamal could not believe his eyes. Xanxus turned from a cold-hearted killer to a regular man with a single grunt. Shiori must be one hell of a woman or just some supernatural being. The way Xanxus' eyes softened when he looked at her was all it took to convince Shamal that Xanxus would be fine. Would Nono even approve of them if they got together? Some families might have a problem with Shiori, the Vongola's negotiator, being the wife of Xanxus, the man that tried to take over the family. Well, it's not like Xanxus would take 'no' from anyone but Shiori. The next morning, Nono came to the hospital with Squalo.

"Good morning, Shamal. How's Xanxus?"

"Morning. I haven't seen him yet. The nurse just gave him and Shiori breakfast. He's been showing steady improvement since last night, but he'll be completely bedridden for two weeks."

"And he didn't try to kill you?" Squalo asked with surprise.

"It's not like he could if he wanted to."

"Did something happen between them? You're never giggly while talking about boss. You remind me of a kid." Squalo said. Nono nodded enthusiastically, wanting to know even more than Squalo. He wanted to know all the details.

"The way he looked at her made him seem like a regular man instead of how we usually see him. I'm still surprised how gently he treats her."

"It's Shiori. Her presence just makes everyone want to protect her." Nono said brightly.

That's when Squalo remembered what they found back in Tokyo. That presence is why she was kidnapped to begin with. It's why those people called her Tamamo. He had to keep reminding himself of that. It's why they still had to protect her at all cost no matter how strong she is.

The three went into Xanxus' room and saw Shiori feeding Xanxus. The two stopped and stared at the newcomers. "Good morning. Are you ready for your examination, Xanxus?"

"Yes. I want to get out of here as quickly as possible." Shiori blankly stared at him with a pout. His eye twitched since his body couldn't tense. She put Xanxus' empty plate to the side while Shamal went over his body, seeing if there was improvement.

"Now, Shiori, you should do this every couple of days. A good massage will help too. I'll show you a few other things before he leaves."

"Okay." She said with determination.

"You can even do extra things if you want." The men in the room got the hidden message. Xanxus was practically steaming with anger. Shiori tilted her head. There was no way she didn't get it.

"I don't get it."

"You don't? You know when you get a certain itch, you can always have Xanxus help." Her face contorted even more. This poor girl was too innocent.

"He can't move."

"That's the point." She tilted her head to the other direction.

"Why do I not get it?" She muttered to herself, her brows furrowing. Nono was quietly watching the scene play out. Shamal was teasing Shiori and Xanxus. Squalo was trying not to kill Shamal and Xanxus was killing Shamal with his glare.

"That's enough, Shamal. She's still innocent in that aspect." That's when they all saw a lightbulb in Shiori's eyes go off. She figured it out.

My confusion turned to disgust. I glared at Shamal and he unconsciously took a step back. I didn't even have to move to intimidate him. "I'm hurt you think I'd stoop that low. Though, I shouldn't be surprised coming from you. I already decided. You're not trash. You're the entire trash can full of shit. Wouldn't you agree?" I asked in a low singing tone.

"Y-you're creeping me out, Shiori."

"Be lucky you're useful or you'd be serving as a trash can at the auction."

"I-I'm sorry!"

"I'm going for a walk. You better be done your examination and gone by the time I'm back. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

I left the room. When I closed the door, my face turned red. I went to the bathroom and tried to cool down, but it wasn't working. I left and saw Squalo. "Are you running a fever?"

"I'm not!"

"Oh. Don't be bothered by Shamal. You put him in his place. He had no right to say that." It took me twenty minutes to calm down. I groaned as I was handed a coffee.

"Thank you, Squalo."

"Don't mention it. Are you good to go back in?"

"I think so."

"No one will tease you."

"They better not in the mood I'm in."

When I went back into the room, Xanxus was in a wheelchair. Shamal was replaced with another doctor. Coward didn't want to face me. "Were you discharged?" I asked him.

"Let's go home." Was all he said. He sounded exhausted. He probably got riled up even more once I left.

"Tired?" He grunted.

We left the hospital where they had a special vehicle ready to transport Xanxus. We didn't want him to move unless it was absolutely necessary. This way, we didn't have to move him out of the wheelchair. When we got home, the entire Varia welcomed him home quietly. I ran up to his room and made his bed ready so all Lussuria had to do was put him in. The group came in with Xanxus being carefully carried by Lussuria. Once Xanxus was put in bed, the rest just stood by.

"Do you need anything else, boss?" Levi asked. Even though he was still severely injured, he still offered his help. He should worry about himself for a change.

"Get out. Shiori is taking care of me. Bring food at the usual times." They all left.

"Do you still want me in here?"

"Yes." I figured as much. The more I thought about it, this was the first time being in Xanxus' room. It was rather plain compared to the rest of the mansion. Yet, it still had its royal touch with the material of everything. I guess boss gets the best. "Are you tired?" He asked quietly.

"Not really. Why?"

"I can see your eyes are getting heavier."

"You can?"

"Sleep."

"But you want me to stay." He turned with an annoyed expression.

"With me, idiot."

"I should have known." I crawled in bed with Xanxus and automatically cuddled into his side. "Does it hurt?"

"I can't feel much really. You don't have to be careful. I'll tell you if it hurts."

"Are you just saying that?"

"I'm not." So, I slowly wrapped my arm around his waist. He didn't contort at all. I guess he was telling the truth. "What happened to those people?" He asked quietly.

"They're with others being interrogated. Chen is keeping an eye on them to make sure punishment is given. After that, Nono will tell me what to do."

"Give that bitch hell."

"She might not be alive to make it there." I said in regards to the auction.

"You got connected that quickly?"

"Nikita helped a little without me knowing. She scoped it out herself and got me in weeks before I came here. All I had to do was send Chen and my two garbage men." I yawned. I didn't realize how tired I really was.

"Did you stay up most of the night?"

"It's not my fault I kept waking up every hour." It got silent between us. I closed my eyes and pressed myself even closer into him.

"You really worried me."

"Huh?" I managed to croak.

"I thought she did something to you. It was stupid of me to believe her."

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"I was…" He cut himself off with a sigh. I opened my eyes and lifted myself up to look him in the eyes.

"Scared?" He just stared at me.

"What do you think?"

"I think all that matters is I'm still here. I was hardly injured too. Most of my wounds were scratches."

"I want to tell you don't do that again, but you did nothing wrong." I gave him a tired smile.

"You were only worried. I think you reacted normally. Next time, put a little more faith in me, okay?"

"No." I chuckled.

"You should know I won't go down without a fight." He gave up and closed his eyes. I laid back down and felt at ease. Xanxus' breathing slowed down. He must have finally fallen asleep. Maybe I can get some sleep too. I lied earlier. I only took small naps to keep an eye on him. I'll gladly get a scolding later.

Shamal went to the Varia with medicine a few hours after Xanxus left. The prescriptions were just filled. Plus, he wanted to apologize to Shiori. Nono gave him a long lecture of how Shiori's emotions with certain subjects were delayed because of trauma. "Why are you here?" Squalo asked.

"Xanxus' prescriptions just came in. May I go see how the patient is doing?"

"Sure. I was going to check on him."

"Do you not trust Shiori?"

"The only thing I don't trust that idiot with is to take care of herself. I'm sure she stayed up all last night to keep an eye on him."

"She's still cautious in hospitals. She looked genuinely scared when Xanxus finally fell asleep."

"Wouldn't you feel the same if your dad died that way?"

"Anyone would."

Squalo gently knocked on the door before entering. The room was deadly quiet. The two walked further into the large room and froze. Shiori was cuddling with Xanxus. Shamal looked at them and then Squalo. There was something going on between them after all. Squalo shook his head before instructing Shamal to put the medicine on the small table beside the bed. Once the two were out, Shamal couldn't help but chuckle.

"No wonder she got embarrassed."

"It's not that. This is nothing new."

"Really? Does Xanxus always sleep with her?"

"They sleep together when the other is suffering."

"What does that mean?" Shamal questioned.

"Their flames calm each other down and being as close as possible comforts them, especially Shiori."

"When did they harmonize?"

"Since the beginning when we first met her. The boss took an immediate liking to her. We all did. It's why she was a natural fit."

"That's pretty rare."

"You might not see it, but those two are the same people. She has the same anger as he does. It's part of the reason why her flame is classified as a flame of wrath cloud edition." Shamal's eyes widened. She had that enormous power and that didn't even put suspicion on her. "That anger attracted him to her. They need each other to keep sane."

"She doesn't seem angry all the time like Xanxus."

"When we met her, she got really angry and then got really tired after. Emotions take a lot of energy out of her."

"Why is that?"

"She's the sole survivor of the Tokyo incident." Shamal's heart dropped. It couldn't have been the one that no one survived, right? That was something even Italian mafias saw as morally wrong. It was all people would talk about. "It's that one. Nikita found Shiori before the authorities. As she recovered, she was trained to become Nikita's replacement. That place…really took a toll on her."

"No wonder she acts the way she does. I feel like an idiot. I really have to apologize now."

When I woke up, Xanxus was convulsing uncontrollably. I sat up immediately knowing something was wrong. His muscles were spasming. I tried to shake him awake, but he didn't budge. His face was contorting with pain. Shamal warned me this could happen. His body was trying to process the medicine but the poison was stubborn. All I could really do was keep watch in case his heart stopped.

"It's just one stressful thing after another." I muttered and held Xanxus' hand tightly. His shaking stopped five minutes later. I let out a sigh of relief and looked at the time. It was four in the morning. "Did I really sleep that long?"

Oh well. I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea to stay up. I walked to the desk in the room and took out a sheet of paper. I wrote down everything I observed and the time duration of the shaking. It'll be good to have on hand to show Shamal. I saw him do this with dad. Any information is better than nothing. For the next few hours, I sat on the bed and played a game on my phone. It was the only thing I could do. I didn't want to be nosy and take a book. The door slowly opened. It was Squalo.

"You're up?"

"I've been up for a while."

"I'll watch him while you sleep. You need to take care of yourself."

"I'll be fine. I woke up two hours ago. I slept for a while."

"Okay. Don't be afraid to ask us for help. He's our boss and responsibility too. It's not all on you."

"Thank you, Squalo. Could you actually stay here while I take a shower? Plus, I need food."

"You go do that. I'll keep a good eye on him."

A hot shower was all I needed to reset. My body didn't even ache from using my flame. That interested me. Did that bow help somehow? It seemed that the people that I injured with my flame were still alive and only suffered a puncture wound. Could the bow negate the effects of my flame? I'll have to ask Mammon later after this whole thing. I went to the kitchen and got a tray to put different fruit on. I even made myself a quick breakfast. I made sure I had enough to satisfy me. I walked back in and saw Xanxus awake. He was propped up with pillows.

"Good morning. Do you want me to bring you something? I wasn't expecting you to be up." I spoke softly.

"I'm good for now. How long have you been up?"

"About two hours. How are you feeling?"

"Stiff. Everything hurts."

"Shamal dropped off some medicine to help with that." Squalo said, showing me the bag.

"You should probably take them."

"I will." I set my tray on the table beside the bed and took out the medicine. I read the instructions carefully for each one. I set them down and cut an apple. I put a slice to Xanxus' mouth.

"I'm not hungry."

"You need to eat something or else the medicine could make you severely ill."

"Fine." I fed him half the apple and then gave him the medicine. After twenty minutes, he paled. Squalo ran to get a garbage pail. We had to lean Xanxus forward so he could puke.

"Should I call Shamal?" Squalo asked me.

"He's fine. There's medicine to help with this." I said as I rubbed Xanxus' back to comfort him while he puked. Dad always did this for me and it helped. When he finished, he looked horrible and ghostly pale. "Maybe you should call him."

"I'm fine." Squalo and I ignored Xanxus. "I'm fine, dammit!"

"You're so fine you puked and now look half dead." I said sarcastically. He grumbled with defeat. I gave him a chewable tablet to help calm his stomach. "How are you feeling now?"

"I feel a little better. This poison is kicking my ass."

"Your body is just now trying to recover. Soon, this will all be over." Xanxus grimaced. I lifted the pail with a smile. "Let it out." He had no choice but to puke. Shamal walked in with Squalo a few minutes later. That was quick.

"I see the medicine is starting to work. How are you feeling, Xanxus?"

"Shamal, he's puking and can't speak. Though, I'm sure he'd either flip you off or shoot you right now." I explained softly.

"I'm glad you're not sensitive to others puking."

"Being in the underground gives you a stomach of steel. This isn't the worst thing in the world." Xanxus finally stopped and panted heavily. He then started puke again but nothing was coming up.

"Shiori, could you make some tea? I'll take over." Shamal said.

"I can do that." I left the room and went straight to the kitchen. I looked through the different teas and felt my eye twitch. There was no need to have this much tea. So, I decided to call my grandma. She was a tea expert after all.

"Hello, Shiori. How are things going?" Grandma said cheerfully.

"Hi, grandma. Things are okay. Xanxus was poisoned so I'm taking care of him. The doctor told me to make tea and I can't decide which one would be most helpful." I could hear her chuckle.

"Why don't you start off with a light base? A nice green tea will do nicely." I picked one and set it aside.

"Anything else?"

"I'll send you a list of herbs. Put those with the tea and steep them together for no more than two minutes. Make sure the water is at the stage just before boiling. If the water it too hot, it'll ruin the mixture. You'll know if its ruined by the smell of garbage."

"I can do that. Do you think that'll help?"

"I'm sure. Your grandfather has been poisoned his fair share. This is my special tea I made for him."

"Why do I know nothing of this?" She let out a hearty laugh like grandpa would.

"I come from a family of medics. I saved his pathetic, dying ass when we were teens. He hasn't left my side since then."

"Honestly, you'd think you should tell your only grandchild about things like this."

"Now we have more to talk about. I'll let you go so you can worry about your future husband." She ended the call before I could say anything. There was a message from her with a few herbs I've never heard of before.

"Is there something you need assistance with?" A butler asked.

"Yes! Could you get these herbs for me?" I asked and showed him the phone.

"I can do that. There just so happens to be an herbal shop nearby. I'll go immediately." "Thank you." He ran out of the kitchen.

"Where's the boss' tea?" Squalo asked.

"He'll have to wait. Grandma sent me a recipe."

"Shiori, don't tell me your grandma has something special about her." I let out a lifeless laugh. "Shiori…"

"She comes from a family of medics. Apparently, grandpa has been poisoned a few times. This tea helps him."

"How come you know nothing of your family?"

"They don't tell unless you ask. I'll have to bother them a lot more to learn more. Maybe when I get a chance to relax, I can go and visit." Surprisingly, the butler was back within five minutes. He wasn't kidding when he mentioned how close the herbal shop is. I took the herbs and put them in a pot of water. Then, I watched the water simmer. Right before it hit boiling, I poured the water into the teapot where the tea leaves were. The two men watched carefully. I timed out two minutes and poured the herbal tea into a mug. "Let's hope this works."

"How long does it take to make one cup of tea?" Xanxus questioned me. He wasn't a happy camper, but who would be when you're poisoned and suffering? I handed him the mug.

"Here." He took a small sip. We waited to see if he'd puke. He took a larger sip and was able to keep it down.

"What the hell kind of tea is that? The poison doesn't take too kindly to anything entering the body. Its main goal is to deprive the body of nutrients." Shamal said.

"My grandma comes from a long line of medics. This is her recipe. She gave it to grandpa when he got poisoned."

"Why would he get poisoned?"

"Shiori's grandfather is a terrifying archer. He won all archery competitions he went to." Squalo explained to everyone. It was one of the stories he told before we left Japan. I wasn't sure if that was the real reason why he got poisoned, but Squalo was quick to cover for me. Xanxus seemed to finally relax.

"Better?" I asked.

"My stomach isn't on fire anymore."

"Can I see the ingredients you used?" I nodded and showed Shamal the ingredients. He paled upon seeing them.

"What?"

"Do you not know what your grandma sent you?"

"They're herbs. I recognized them. She used to cook some up for me to eat as snacks." He looked terrified.

"What's that look for?" Squalo asked him.

"Your grandmother is a terrifying woman."

"Why do you say that? Sure, she's a jokester, but she's the nicest person I know."

"Those herbs together create a poison." The room went silent and I started sweating. I poisoned Xanxus! I looked to see if he was mad and he seemed fine.

"And you ate that growing up?" Squalo asked me.

"Y-yes. They're really good in a stir fry actually…"

"Shiori, how long did you boil the herbs?"

"I didn't boil them. Grandma gave me very specific instructions. The water needs to be in the stage before boiling. Then steep the tea in the herbal water for no more than two minutes. Did I do something bad?" Shamal sat back and took his own phone out. We watched him for a good five minutes.

"Did she make an anti-poison using poison?" He mused to himself.

"Should I call her?" I asked.

"Please." I called grandma and put it on speakerphone.

"Did it work?" She asked smugly.

"Did I just poison Xanxus?" She started cackling like a witch.

"Heavens no! Those herbs by themselves are poisonous. Together, their poisons cancel each other out. However, I've found it can get past most poisons' defenses. Did he puke it up? If he did, I have another recipe to try."

"It's working. He's gone at least ten minutes without puking."

"Wonderful! Now, Shiori, give him a cup of this every day. I'll also give you the other recipe. Someone else might get poisoned."

"And those teas work?" Shamal questioned.

"They do. Shiori is still alive."

"Huh?" We all questioned.

"You were always a curious child and ended up eating some of the poisonous herbs I kept in the garden. You might be immune to a few poisons yourself because of it."

"Grandma, out of everything, wouldn't you think that would be important for me to know? You know, in case I were to actually get poisoned?" She chuckled.

"Silly, girl. What fun is it if I told you everything?"