AN: Thank you for taking your time with this story!
WARNING: Mentions of blood and medical conditions.
Disclaimer: I do not own familiar characters.
He felt himself float in an abyss of pitch darkness. He was cold. Nay, scratch that, his ass was freezing! To sum up, Squalo felt void and very much dead. He decided that he did not like the sensation AT ALL!
Where the HELL am I?! Voi! Here's to hoping for hell to be on heck of a sauna, Tch!
What was the last thing he remembered? Hmm….? No matter how much he tried, Squalo couldn't bring himself to start the hamster in his head to start spinning the wheel. Damn. Mushy brain! Takes the most convenient moments to snooze, Voi! He tried again. He remembered….WATER! Lots n lots of water and he was….FIGHTING! And he was winning until….Dammit! Am I on something?!
Suddenly…a sharp voice broke through his consciousness like a gun shot in a night! The voice weighed such uncontrolled sorrow that his heart nearly tore into two, just listening to it.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO….! SQUAALLLLLLLOOOOOOOOooooo…...!",it wailed in a heart wrenching mix of pain and horror.
Gasp! He remembered!
Squalo was assaulted with one memory after the other and he couldn't help but gasp at the emotion that came along with them.
The ring battle! He was fighting….and h-he—lo-los-lost…he failed. And he saved someone….the katana brat….from the very beast of his namesake….And that bastard Bronco had to go and save him…! And then…then…those Chiavarone idiots injected something into his arm, but not before forcing him to witness his boss failing to inherit the Decimo title.
Those bastards! They could have injected poison into his bloodstream for all I care….
And then…he remembered waking up in their HQ in Italy with that silly Bronco beside him. He remembered that idiot tripping on nothing and falling over those wannabe guards, knocking them out along with himself. Snort! Typical… He recalled sneaking down the corridor and leaving a trail of blood in the red carpet. He remembered hunching behind the old grandfather clock as he felt something ominous approach him. Well, the last thing he saw was a blur of silver before consciousness failed him.
So…Am I dead now? Was this his punishment, then? An eternity confined to solitude?! Fine by me…..No more of that shitty mess. But he couldn't for the life of him figure out why he felt like crying his heart out. Was this not what he wanted?
Xanxus….they probably killed him too….the entire Varia…..my squad….my…..fam-family…..Noooo….
A feeling of loss and shame engulfed his soul. He couldn't help the strangled sob that tore through his abused throat…..Wait a second! My throat feels sore... Are we supposed to feel pain after death? Damn…this whole 'staying dead' business was beginning to drive him nuts! Fuck this shit! Imma gonna haunt some Vongola's ass!
That's when he began to notice soft whispering, somewhere at the back of his mind. He also noticed a persistent tingling building up from his extremities, working his way through his body, settling in as a low throbbing pain. Okieeee…so he was so not dead then….. And with that, Squalo tried to observe his vicinity with his senses, but the low throbbing pain from before seemed to grow as his consciousness returned, until he was numb to everything but the pain. He could hear the faint whispering from before, getting louder and frantic by the second.
"Boss! I think he is waking up!"
"I don't CARE! He's in pain and he's burning up!"
"Someone, call the nurse!"
"Romario, he's convulsing! Someone go get Dr. Ritsu, NOW!"
His lungs burned with the desperate need for oxygen, and he could feel his ribs rattle painfully with his every feeble attempt to suck in air! Like a shark out of water…Heh! He felt something—no….someone restraining him—holding him….embracing him…. He felt, more than heard, footsteps rushing about his...bed?
"Boss! His pulse is erratic and his pressure's abnormally high!"
"I know, Ivan…I know…"
That voice! He knew that kind, comforting and compassionate voice…!
"Hang on, Squalo! Stay with us…Stay with me, dammit!"
BUCKING BRONCO!
The realisation shocked his entire core and startled him out of his semi-conscious stupor with a startled gasp. He was, in no way, prepared for the bright light that assaulted him, nor those warm hands that held him close, whispering warm and comforting words into his ears.
"Shhh." The voice cooed softly," You're gonna be okay. I'm right here"
For a moment, all he saw were splashes of hazel and blond, but his eyes focused slowly, until a familiar face engulfed his vision.
"Buckin—"he managed to choke out half the name, before doubling over coughing his guts out. His throat felt like it had been rubbed with a pumice stone and a part of his foggy brain registered his entire frame trembling in Dino's tender but firm hold.
"Hush, now…" Dino murmured softly, "You're injured"
With as much strength as he could muster, Squalo rasped threateningly back at him "Don—don't tell me…tell me wh—what" only for Dino to place a finger on his lip.
Dino disapprovingly shook his head at Squalo "No arguing around, Squalo. You shouldn't have pulled that stunt when your body's barely recovered. Save your strength, please." He continued to hold him, all the while idly rubbing his back.
"Besides" Dino gave him an indulging look," It would be a shame to lose you now" he smiled at him affectionately.
What in the world?! Did he just imply— However, Squalo's train of frantic thoughts were interrupted as a new wave of agony crashed onto him. He could feel a coppery tasting substance rising up his throat and saw black spots cover his vision.
He felt Dino frantically shake him, desperately call his name, pleading him to open his eyes, but he felt too tired, too spent physically and emotionally. No, Dino….I wanna sleep….forever…
An hour earlier….
Ritsu finally took a much needed breath as he walked towards the Ninth's study. Finding Squalo hunched on the floor, in a pool of his own blood, was frankly, very disturbing. Did the boy really think he could escape with such a battered body?
Ritsu snorted. At least he wouldn't pull the same stunt again, but knowing Squalo….Well, the entire Chiavarone family is on him now, not to mention with Romario around, hopefully there will not be a repeat of the morning's incident.
He knocked the door thrice before making his presence known. Here comes the hard part… He took his offered seat to the Ninth's left, next to his Rain Guardian.
"Now that we are all here" Timoteo began," Let's start with the report on Squalo's state of health. Ritsu-san, if you may?" he looked beseechingly at Ritsu.
"As foolish as that kid could get, I managed to find him on time" he grumbled, " He may experience post-traumatic stress disorder, heavy fatigue and occasional blackouts. He could have started walking in a week, with the aid of a cane, might I add, if he hadn't pulled his little escapade today"
Sighing, he picked some papers from his folder and adjusted his glasses, " His wounds are healing fast, considering who he is…" He raised an eyebrow at Timoteo before continuing, " Doctor Shamal insisted I try this drug on him for his PTSD, but I am sceptical of its claim. I have produced a sample with me and request the immediate testing of this drug" With that, he handed a small vial to Iemitsu, who called in a guard.
"Send this to the CEDEF, bring back the reports ASAP" Iemitsu ordered, " Make this their top priority!" The guard stuck a stiff salute and rushed out of the room.
"Thank you" Ritsu closed his folder and looked at the Ninth, " I hate to impose but have you decided on what to do with the Varia" and everyone understood the hidden 'and your son' in his question.
"Yes, yes…I was getting to that part" Timoteo signed, " Let's begin then, shall we?" he turned to his Sun guardian.
Brow Nie Jr. stood up, "Destroying the misfortune that attacks the Family with their own body, they become the Sun that brightly shines upon an area" he announced, " Though he was clearly in the wrong, he did what was expected of a Sun guardian to his boss. Till the very end, he personified the Sun in every fibre of his being."
"Don't tell me you encourage his act, Brow Nie!" Visconti sneered, " What he did was clearly against the family! There is no excuse for such betrayal!"
"Brow Nie's got a point" Ganauche spoke beside him, "He must not only take the Lightning, but also the damage of the Family, like a lightning rod" Ganauche sand out before addressing the others, " Such is the role of the lightning guardian. That's exactly what Leviathan did" he smiled.
"But they nearly killed the Boss!" Coyote furiously added, " You can't just let them go unpunished!" he looked frantically at the Ninth.
"But it does not necessarily mean their punishment must be a death penalty" Bouche calmly added, " You have to admit though, if it were to be us in their shoes, we would have done the same"
"What do you think, Boss?" Brabanters turned to Timoteo.
"Brow Nie's right" Timoteo signed " Death is too much of a punishment for they are clearly young." Then to Coyoto's grumbling, he added, " Rest assured they will not go unpunished" he stated firmly.
He took a deep breath and then continued, " Since we are on the same page, let's discuss their respective penalties then…" he nodded at Iemitsu, who pulled a bunch of bound papers from his bad.
"Let us start with Lussuria then…." He cleared his throat, " According to Ritsu-sama's report, he is still recovering from his injuries dealt on him. So, he will be under house arrest under CEDEF, along with Esper Mammon for a month. Once recovered, they will be sent on menial tasks for Vongola under constant surveillance, for the next few months" Iemitsu then added evilly, "Also, Esper's vault will be confiscated for damage control and reconstruction" he then looked around, " Would someone like to add to this list?" he enquired.
With affirmation to continue, he picked up the next file, " Leviathan and Belphegor will be under probation for the months to come. They will be assigned to community service under electronic monitoring. They will be relieved of their duties for the time being"
Iemitsu picked up another file and continued, "As for Superbi Squalo…." He signed when he felt almost every occupant of the room tense up; he couldn't blame them though, considering their history with the child," Considering his present condition, for the time being, he will under house arrest under the Vongola HQ in Japan, by the guidance of Doctor Ritsu Alopa, for his speedy recovery. No further prompts till then and he will be guarded by the Vongola Rain and Cloud" he reluctantly placed the file back on the table and picked the last one.
Now, the tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife, it was suffocating. He looked at the file labelled ' Xanxus Daniel Vongola' and bit down a groan. He couldn't help but sent a sympathetic glance at Timoteo. Here we go….
He cleared his throat and grimaced." As for Xanxus Daniel Vongola, he will be remov—" he abruptly stopped when he heard heavy footfalls rushing towards the door.
"What in the world is goin—" Ritsu started only to be stopped mid-sentence by a heavily panting Romario bursting through the door, but before he uttered a word, Ritsu abruptly got up and ran out of the room towards their hospital wing at a blinding speed in a flurry of Flame and anxiety. It all transpired in a matter of seconds that had the guardians blinking at Romario.
But their whole world came crashing down at his next frantic sentence. "It's Squalo, Sirs! I think he's not going to make it!"
Whaaaat?!
Thank you so much for stopping by, Ciao~ (^3^)
