Word Count: 3,226
"What the fuck were you and that old hag talking about?" Xanxus scowled, his cheek still bearing a bandage and purple from where Daiki had thrown him into crates.
The young Sun hummed and hopped down from the small cliff of dirt to land in the creek water, little fish scattering in their freight as tiny giants invaded.
"Were you spying again?" he asked plainly, rolling his pants up higher and wading further in to start looking for their goal. "I thought I told you not to do that; it's rude."
"Like I care," the Wrath scoffed, following the other, uncaring for his already fraying pants and plunged his hands into the mud and silt bottom of the creek. "Just fucking tell me."
Daiki rolled his eyes and chucked away a stick.
"Just some family business," was the elusive answer.
"Elaborate, please," Xanxus mocked, lilting his voice in a manner that was designed to annoy the boy across from him.
This caused the Sun to sigh loudly and skip a pebble along the surface of the water, ripples breaking the liquid mirror which reflected the sky and inversions of young Flames.
"Marriage," Daiki finally admitted.
Xanxus stopped his plundering and looked at the cobalt boy from under his lashes, unable to see his face which his fringe hanging down. His stomach felt hot.
"Why the hell would you be talking about that?!"
"You do realise I'll need to marry at some point yeah?" Daiki continued, unaffected by the sudden rise in temper as he continued to feel about the bed. "At some point in the future, I'm going to need to take someone as a partner, and I need to be aware of that."
The Sky grabbed handfuls of silt beneath the water, teeth bared at the Sun's unsteady reflection. Eyes of magma and fire narrowed at the boy, his anger compiling until the liquid around his hands felt warm.
Xanxus slept in Daiki's bed again that night, holding on with all the possessiveness that a 9-year-old could muster.
They didn't find what they were looking for. Xanxus didn't care.
"So, my darling little brother," Lussuria started, walking through the gardens with his little brother, the rogue Sun gazing around with a kind of glaze in his gold. "How long are you staying in Italy?"
Daiki turned his eyes on the Varia man and let out a hum, head tilting in an inquisitive manner as he smiled a bit and said, "What? Want me gone already?"
"I think we both know you're here for more than a catch-up, Daiki," came the low toned response. It wasn't rude, nor was it accusing. It was just a statement to make the cobalt youth aware of what should not be forgotten; that the Varia did not like to be used.
"Ah," the young Sun sighed, accepting that there would be no dodging the subject with his dear sister. "I may have stirred up a bit of trouble in the Watanabe back home and am waiting for it all to cool down. And, well," he glanced to the Varia and smiled in a cheeky manner that exclusively shown to his confidant Sun. "If I'm here, it can't possibly be my fault!"
Lussuria laughed gently at the words, shaking his head at his nature. Of course, Daiki would cause such a kerfuffle, even while not there himself.
They giggled with one another as they came to a familiar liquid amber tree, golden eyes stolen by the scene that he so affiliated with Summer shade and sweet teas. He grit his teeth as he felt something come up against his cheek, an imagined warmth leaning heavily on his side in a manner that was too akin to violent affection for him to remain unmoved by, causing the man to walk forward in hopes of dislodging its place in his core.
"What's this?" The rogue asked, bending at his knees and taking up a blooming, red rose in his hand, eyeing it with distaste. It was in his spot.
"The Vongola Nono planted it there," Lussuria answered, coming to stand three paces behind. "Even though he was the one who confined the Boss, he's still a bleeding heart."
"Really?" Daiki grunted, not at all impressed by Timoteo's acts of fatherly grievance.
He cupped the rose with a frown, disliking how dew drops rolled off he vermillion petals in ways that were too similar to tears. Why were there tears here? No one had shed tears as of yet and this rose was trying to?
Daiki knew, upon a brief reflection, that he was being unreasonable if not vaguely hysteria as his frown became more severe. The rose bloomed brighter for a moment, petals unfurling to their full potential with vibrancy as if pleased by his presence, before darkening into a muddy hue as his dissatisfaction with it began to poison it's being and left it shrivelled and balding.
"Hm," Lussuria hummed, leaning his cheek on his palm. "That must have been the first time I've seen you use your Flames."
"Yeah," he responded gently, dropping a handful of crumbling petals. "I don't like to use them much; draws too much attention."
The Varia Sun nodded in acceptance and watched on as the man took a turn about the garden, surveying what had changed and what had stayed the same in the year of his absence.
"This garden is barren," he said after a moment.
Lussuria stared out at the plentiful trees and blooming flowers with him, watching how birds flitted excitedly and dew sparkled with glee.
A barren garden, indeed.
Dear brother Daiki,
I hope you got back safely, everyone's been a bit bummed out since you left, it was nicer when you were here to liven up the place.
Vongola Nono is a bit disconcerted and confused by his rose plant having suddenly died, and the man has been checking on Boss more often because of it. I think you may have scared him with a false omen, darling brother!
In other news, the Vongola heir, Enrico Di Vongola, has been killed. He was shot in a gunfight; amazing how he was considered the 'most qualified' to be anything, let alone the Vongola Decimo. These men, really, they have no idea how to estimate the value of a person!
Along that same vein, actually, the Vongola seem to have lost track of Nono's favourite, Fredrico. They're trying to keep it hush-hush, but you know me! I love a good spot of tea! No one's said anything about any success in finding him, so the Varia are putting bets that he's already dead somewhere in a ditch. I mean, let's not speak ill of the dead, but Fredrico wasn't always the sharpest tool in the box when it came to who he should and shouldn't trust. Anyway, my best is €400,000 that he'll be found, in water, all soggy and rotten. What's your bet? The minimum wager if €100,000!
We're all looking forward to you visiting us again, and hope you keep safe over in Japan!
Your magnificent sister,
Lussuria (and the rest of the Varia, but they don't matter as much)
Daiki smiled slightly as he read the letter, his formal yukata still cladding his body as the celebrations of his ascendance rumbled in the background.
The bed of the Oyabun was empty despite how late it was, and it would remain so until Daiki had had the chance to throw it out and get himself a new one, having no intention of sleeping in the bed a corpse had been cooling in weeks ago. He was cruel, not sick.
"They're getting killed off, hey?" he murmured to himself, touching his new desk with his fingertips. "I guess it's starting then."
The rustling of Adachi Koga ceased then, the boy pausing his debugging of the room to turn to his Oyabun with confusion.
"My Lord, what's starting?" he asked, coming over to the older man, his pale ponytail swaying from the open window.
Daiki looked to his Right-Hand man for a moment, before snorting and shaking his head, tossing the Italian paper back onto his desk in a dismissive manner.
"Just a bit of…Family drama, nothing for us to worry about," he answered, "Is the room safe?"
"Yes, there are no traps or bugs. Though, there seems to be an adjacent room that was never put to use by the previous Oyabun."
The Sun paused at that and began absently tapping his fingers along the desk as he thought deeply. He quickly weened himself from the thoughts, and shook his head before walking to the centre of the room, looking around at the pots and other such decorations of the past owner's.
"Koga-kun, call my cousins here. Immediately," Daiki commanded sharply, arms coming to cross and lips set in a firm line.
Adachi fought back a wince and quickly went to gather the girls, apologising silently as he felt them waver, but follow. They walked in perfect lines despite how young they were, the youngest of the girls trying to hide how they looked around with wonder, never having seen this part of the Main House before.
"Come and sit," Daiki instructed briskly, scratching away at a responding letter.
The Ladies of the Watanabe were stiff as they delicately kneeled in the centre of the room, smelling the remnants of perfumes and the glistening of their grandfather's so beloved vases. There were vases everywhere, traditional designs and decorative branches looping about in rather gaudy fashions that spoke of the 15th Watanabe Oyabun's love for all things expensive. If it weren't for the generations of wealth amassed, they would have gone into debt for his thirst.
"My Lord," Honda spoke gently, after moments of tense silence, "May I ask why you have summoned us here?"
Aoi was struggling to stay awake at the end of the row, rocking back and forth as her cousins and sisters tried to contain the desire to fidget. The chronically fatigued child yawned and Daiki stood, the sudden change making Honda twitch to defend the child, an action she had grown used to jumping to.
The Yamaguchi son didn't so much as pay her 'defiance' a glance, however, and merely walked to a pedestal where a traditional vase was balanced, it's clouding patterns of red and white blooming richly on the smooth surface. He picked it up by the rim and walked to the line of his cousins, watching them impassively, letting them gauge him with lowered eyes. He pushed the vase at Honda, her eyes widening when it stopped a breath from her face.
"Well, cousin?"
Honda refused to swallow despite how dry her mouth had become. She stared on, keeping firm and holding her guise.
"Take it," Daiki grunted, dropping the heavy vase into her hands, the base of it clunking against the ground. "And now, throw it."
The girls blinked, slow to catch up.
Daiki didn't waver and tugged the eldest of the girls to her feet, her long black hair shifting it's obsidian shades under the lamp light as she struggled to hold the pot. He straightened her in a way that appeared harsh, but she felt no pain or discomfort under his hands as she made her face the far wall.
"You have anger, cousin," he uttered easily, standing close behind her and talking into her ear, but loud enough for the others to hear. "You have anger towards the man who deemed you useless, who isolated you so insistently."
Honda was stiff under his hands, staring with wide eyes at the far wall, a painting of the 15th Oyabun taking up a gluttonous amount of wall with an embellished frame.
"If you hold onto it, it will fester," Daiki urged, feeling her shake. "So, throw it. Smash it with all your strength. Watch what he cherished over your blood shatter."
The man took three steps back to give her room and she slowly began to grind into movement, raising the vase up as high as she could, barely pubescent arms straining against the china weight before she swung it in an arch and watched it crumble as it hit the ground.
The sound was horrendously loud and the girls were racked with paranoia. Would someone come? Someone had to have heard that, right? They'd be punished for this!
Out of the corner of his eye, Daiki smiled as he watched the 3-year-old Aoi potter sleepily across the floor before pushing a podium over and letting another vase crash to the ground, water spilling out. And in the next instant, the Watanabe Ladies were on their feet and wreaking havoc in the Oyabu's chamber.
Daiki felt satisfaction permeate his being as he watched Sora and Kaguya work together to tarnish the painting of the 15th, throwing small pottery at the man like shotput and letting the canvas tear and drip. Laughter began bubbling up, along with hoots and roars of deep-seated anger. He walked through it all without care, the shatterings of porcelain missing his feet as he crossed the room and came to an embellished zaisu chair before sitting himself down and leaning his cheek on his fist.
He smiled at Adachi Koga, who watched from across the room in a blend of horror and fascination, feeling incredibly satisfied with the hell taking place around them, ceramic shards and water splattering around him.
Adachi stared as the Lady Honda lobbed a large floor vase and finally brought down the 15th Watanabe's Oyabun from his place on the wall, the new Oyabun smiling sharply as the frame fell to the ground behind him.
Dear sister Lussuria,
I'm sorry that I haven't been able to correspond as often as we used to, I've somewhat recently taken the position of Oyabun and as such, my workload has at least doubled. I've kept you all in mind, however, a have managed to wrestle some time to quickly address you again, with affection.
I've been receiving your packages without a problem and hope the same can be said on your end. Does Bel like the bear? My dear Sora assisted me in choosing it, and she wishes to hear the result as well.
Do tell Mammon that I am quite pleased with the results of the bet, and am ready to receive my spoils of €2,700,000 at their earliest convenience. (Hopefully, I don't get a rather nasty payback for this).
I hope to visit you all soon; preferably before the year is over, and will keep you updated on the likelihood of that happening.
Hoping you all a happy New Year,
Your brother Daiki.
"Watanabe-dono?" Adachi Koga interrupted gently, making the man turn from the letter. "Hayashi-san has arrived if you would like to brief him on what irezumi details you'd like?"
"Yeah, let's do that now," Daiki agreed, putting down the letter in a secured drawer before following his assistant.
They were bowed to as they walked past, the new Oyabun greeting his clansmen with a smile that was too practised to be seen through. They reached the room that had been repurposed for this event and Daiki was surprised to see a small child stumble in front of him, big brown eyes looking up at him
"Ah, my Lord, I apologise, my grandson is-"
"It's fine, Hayashi-san," the cobalt Lord hushed, eyeing the 5-year-old who scuttled away, eager to get out of sight. "So, shall we begin?"
The tattooist was an old man who still possessed some of his original blacks in his hair and a youthful mischief in his eyes. It made Daiki smile truthfully and step into the room without tension.
"Of course," Hayashi nodded, taking up his stick and giving it a final check over. "What was your design again? It was an odd one, wasn't it?"
"Perhaps," Daiki hummed, shrugging off his yukata and baring his back. "Have you ever heard of a liger?"
Dear brother Daiki,
Happy birthday! I know this is probably late, but happy birthday my cutest lil' sweet! You're all grown up now, 19 years old! Oh, I remember it like yesterday, when we broke into your house and kidnapped you 2 years ago. Makes me tear up still, you were so cute, all knocked out and quiet.
Mammon is pissed with you for winning, I hope you know this! But you should be getting the transfer by the time this arrives. Belphegor loves the bear, though he refuses to admit it; just offer to take it from him and he'll clamber all over it like some kind of monkey, oh, the cutest little thing he is.
You've got three more cousins by now, haven't you? Nami, Ame and Aika, were their names, yes? They must be adorable little jellybeans, send us pictures when you have the chance!
Squalo wants to talk to you too, so I've attached his letter to the back.
Happy belated birthday, darling!
Lussuria
You motherfucker!
You better fucking get your lil' Jap-ass back to this place ASAP otherwise I will shove my boot so far up your ass that shitty Boss will be tasting leather for years! You think it's okay for you to be playing hooky for a whole year!? Huh!?
That Levi has been a fucking menace to deal with cause you ain't here to creep on and dote over you bastard! Fucking Belphegor's been whining non-stop and he drags that fucking bear with him wherever he goes! Why did you have to make it so big!? He keeps knocking shit over you fuck weed! Mammon's making me help them with the fucking accounting! I dropped out of maths!
In summary: GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE BEFORE I COME FIND YOU!
Happy fucking birthday, you shit.
The World's Greatest Swordsman,
Squalo.
Daiki snorted and touched where it looked like the pen had been stabbed through the page in a fit, a fond chuckle leaking from him as he relaxing back into his bed, having quite excitedly settled down for the night to read at his leisure.
The letters were becoming sparse as of late, and he could only imagine that the Varia were being pressured by both Vongola and CEDEF at the moment. He hoped they were making it alright on their own.
His bed grew a shade warmer as he laid down and tried to sleep, arms wrapped around gathered sheets in a way to satiate habit, like a smoker chewing on a pen. He murmured a bit in annoyance as weightless arms curled around his waist and something urged his head to tilt up, making room for ghosts and settling down with the lonely company, lips open slightly in a recipient-less invitation.
One would think that after two years that fire would ebb and cobwebs would take the hearth, but Wrath was a persistent state of mind, and it wormed its way into the crevices, stroking the wide-eyed little part of the Sun who was still looking around for Sky.
Daiki sighed and stared down at the roll of sheets in his arms blankly, a tiredness taking his face along with a well-concealed longing as he tucked it under his chin and pressed a kiss onto what might have been a forehead, or maybe a cheek or a shoulder.
"I'm leaving, Xanxus," he said after a moment, letting the sound ring out in the quiet room.
There was a beat of silence.
"You make it sound like you have a choice."
Dear sister Lussuria,
It would appear I am getting married.
