A/N: Attempting to finish this chapter before the new pokemon games come out, sorry if it seems rushed. Byakuran has finally made his appearance and Shizuka's immediate reaction is to throw hands. Not how I expected this to go honestly. Hope you all enjoy!
Unwanted Third Wheel
The fact that someone could take Shizuka and erase memories of their encounter had shaken everyone to their core. The only one that didn't seem to be taking the situation seriously was Shizuka herself. "If it really was such a big deal, wouldn't the so-called Vongola intuition be screaming in the back of our heads by now?" She says irritably, hating how crowded the room was getting. She just wanted to disappear from all the prying eyes.
Verde was reading a chart with Shizuka's current brain wave activity. It was identical to her past charts. "There's no visible difference in brain activity. And besides the mental block, Shamal was unable to detect any other tampering with her memories. Still, we'll keep an eye out for any suspicious flame activity in town."
"It could be possible they were targeting Tsuna and possibly gotten confused. With the exception of your hair and eyes the two of you are almost identical." Natsumi says.
Shizuka and Tsuna both looked at each other. "Do you think there was a leak that Tsuna-nii is the heir?" Shizuka asks. It was pretty easy to get access to CEDEF funds, how much of a stretch would it be to hack into confidential information?
Reborn was already gone, likely to call Lal Mirch about any possible security breaches.
"Wouldn't have made a difference. He was going to be announced as heir after defeating Xanxus sooner or later." Natsumi says.
"Think your grandfather could warn us ahead of time when Timoteo plans to do that?" Shizuka asks, Natsumi shrugged. "The old man doesn't tell me much but I'll try."
Reborn returned to the room, the brim of his hat shadowing his face. "Other than Shizuka earlier, CEDEF files have been access several times by outside forces in the past month. There's going to be a complete overhaul in the cyber security division. There are records of Iemitsu visiting Japan and banking information linked to Namimori. More than enough for an assassin to target your family."
Shizuka clenched her fists. "Honestly, he causes us nothing but trouble despite staying away for Kami knows how long."
"For now, both of you need to keep a low profile. That includes you Shizuka." Reborn states.
The teen glared. "I am not going to hide scared in some corner while someone else takes care of the problem." Shizuka snapped.
Reborn and Verde exchanged a look, Verde sighed. "Actually I do need an extra pair of hands for an invention I've been working on."
Shizuka looked torn between pointing out how obvious the distraction was and genuinely wanting to spend more time with the Lighting. "Apparently I can't be trusted to work on inventions without trying to kill someone." Verde says, visibly sulking.
Shizuka sweat dropped. She couldn't really argue with that reasoning.
XoXoXoXoXo
"Why would Verde be in Japan of all places?" A young man with white hair wondered, walking through the small town. The Gesso heir had recently been gifted with the Mare rings, bombarded with memories of the various versions of himself. His Mist helped him gradually control the overflow of information until it was slowed to a more tolerable level. There were several constants in the lives of his other selves: his goal to gather the Tri-Ni-Sette artifacts, Shoichi being his right hand and one Tsunayoshi Sawada.
If it hadn't been for Aria, he might have gone down the same path. Instead she encouraged the older teen to find differences in this life and to focus on being his own self. One had been the second coming of DaVinci's absence in Italy as well as self-preservation that had been absent in other universes. It wasn't until he met Shoichi that he realized why, the Lightning in this universe had a Sky to rein in his self-destructive tendencies.
"You gaijin have gotten rather confident lately." Byakuran just grinned as several men with various tattoos surrounded him and Zakuro. Apparently Tsu-chan's Cloud guardian missed a yakuza group. He thought in amusement.
"I wasn't aware that there was a ruling famiglia in Namimori." The men exchanged looks. A bald man stepped forward, glaring at the teen. "First the Varia targeted the boss's Sky, then that Mist showed up and stirred the hive even more. You're lucky that Hibari-sama hasn't ordered us to execute any foreigners on sight."
Byakuran raised his hands innocently. "I can ensure you that we have nothing to do with the Vongola family. I just wanted to check on an invention I commissioned from Verde-san."
One of the yakuza already had their phone out. "Story checks out. Little lady says they're expecting a client and that she wanted to make sure it wasn't the same bastard that commissioned the bomb last month."
The men all collectively shuddered. The Arcobalenco were all terrifying in different ways. The fact that three of them were drawn to the small town of Namimori was terrifying.
The grin on Byakuran's face was unnerving, showing that there was someone out there that could rival Shizuka in craving chaos.
XoXoXoXoXo
Shizuka looked at the box, poking at it with her flames. "And you said that these are supposed to be... box weapons?" She asks, watching as the orange box greedily sucked in the flames.
Verde looked up from her screen. "After examining some of the animals that are constantly exposed to your flames, I've discovered that it's possible for animals to absorb and use flames. Don't think I haven't noticed that little demon of yours sneaking into my lab and knocking over my vials." Verde states, glaring at the cat in Shizuka's arms. Kuro just licked a paw, unrepentant.
Shizuka tried not to laugh. The fact that the smartest man on the planet being tormented by a cat was irony at it's best since Verde had attempted to experiment on Kuro numerous times. "So you're experimenting on animals?"
Verde raised an eyebrow. "I haven't touched any of your precious felines, despite how much it would accelerate my research. While it isn't common, it can occur naturally in areas with large flame communities. Studying your flames has also given me some insight on how flames can be sentient if given the correct variables. Which is why I need your Sky flames for today's experiments."
Shizuka sighed. "Verde, you and Shamal know more about my existence than I do. Was this something that you thought up or is this a commissioned thing?"
"I am receiving funding from a benefactor that prefers to stay anonymous." Verde states, ignoring the irritated eyebrow twitch Shizuka had.
"Is this the same one that wanted you to make a radiation bomb that would've killed you if completed?" She asks, petting Kuro to calm herself.
"Possibly." Verde states as Shizuka cursed under her breath. "And have you... met this person?" She asks, Verde looked up from his screen. "They will be coming to check on my progress this evening. That's most likely the reason that Reborn wanted you here."
Shizuka gave a loud groan, trying not to hit her head against the wall. "How am I a voice of reason?!"
"Should we have waited for an invitation?" A voice asks in amusement, the fur on Kuro's back bristled.
Shizuka turned, her eyes narrowed. "You mind keeping your flames to yourself?" There was tension in the air, Shizuka's flames poised to attack the "threat."
Byakuran just grinned. "No one told me Tsu-chan had a little sister!"
Shizuka had no regrets when she released Kuro to attack the stranger's face. None at all.
Bonus Drabble: Attempting to Corrupt the Varia
"Come on, you've seen what a bunch of domesticated cats can do. Why not have a cat sanctuary?" Shizuka asks, there was silence on the other end of the phone.
"Shouldn't you be trying to pitch this idea to your brother? Or the current head of Vongola?" Xanxus asks bluntly.
Shizuka pouted. "One, the old man can rot in a ditch for all I care. And two... Tsuna might not be on board with the idea and I need someone to help me convince him. Don't think I didn't notice you playing with Toby when you were in the hospital."
"There are cats fucking everywhere, including the hospital. What else was I supposed to fucking do when bedridden?"
"I'm going to take this as a maybe. Do you have Mammon's phone number?"
"For fucks sake, you can't take no for an answer can you?"
"Just think about it?"
In the background, Tsuna face palmed. He could already see his sister being bitten trying to hug a tiger. And he wouldn't put it past Reborn to use the animals as part of training. There was no way in hell he was agreeing to this!