Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my OCs.
Squalo was on my left and Lussuria was on my right as I made my way down the halls away from the medical room on the west side of the castle. I had won so I retained my freedom to live outside the castle and they were currently trying to convince me that it would be much easier for me if I lived here as well. But victory was mine and this prize was not one I would turn down considering how hard I fought to get it.
As we walked, I spotted Belphegor coming down the hall from the opposite side. Mammon was giving him an earful about losing and I could hear it from here.
"Geh." Prince the Ripper paused when he saw me coming and I did the same. He turned his eyes downward… err, his head since that unruly hair of his is covering his eyes, "Tch…"
I snorted, taking my first step to just pass by him and I was just going to keep going but he called out to me again.
"K-Kira… senpai." He didn't look back at me even when I turned on him in surprise, "I look forward to working with you."
"So do I." I said, surprising him into spinning around to look at me with his lips open the slightest bit in shock, "You were every bit as talented as they said you would be."
Squalo and Lussuria cringed away from me in shock and murmured to each other, "Kira's praising someone…? The world might end tonight."
As if I didn't hear a word they said, I turned and continued on my way without looking back.
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
"... And so that brings us to the small details of our first large scale operation." Ottavio had just finished giving us, meaning the officers, the biggest spiel about how we were going to be erasing a whole family off the face of the Earth on the orders of Don Vongola Nono, "During this operation, we need all the officers to stay on hand meaning that Kira has to move in here."
My eyebrows twitched, "Ottavio, your proxy lost. Don't bring that up again."
"Kira, we don't have time for your games now." There was no suffix attached to my name so I knew Ottavio was being dead serious but I still refused to be obedient.
"Then don't include me on your operation." I declared, making all the officers sit up just a few inches more in their seats with pure shock, "Because I refuse to take orders from herbivores. That's the whole reason I became an officer in the first place so if you have a problem here, beat me into submission with your strength."
Ottavio opened his mouth to say something but Xanxus was laughing wildly as he often did when I spoke out of turn at these meetings. It seems that our boss found my rebellious side genuinely amusing, "Ottavio, let's do it her way."
"B-But boss, we-"
"VOI!" Squalo stood up so fast that his chair fell back and cluttered against the floor loudly, "That's right! Ottavio, we need all the strength we can get in this operation so we have no choice! But your opponent will be me, Kira! If I win, you'll quietly move in for good!"
"Squ-chan!" Lussuria shrieked, also knocking his chair back, "You're a 50-50 chance of victory! Let me!"
"VOIII! YOU'RE A 0% CHANCE OF VICTORY, SCUM!"
Squalo and Lussuria were both very right. We had sparred enough times to know that, in terms of strength, Squalo and I were very similar while the rest of our officers failed to defeat either of us even once since I joined. I had yet to fight Ottavio and Mammon but I doubted either of them were interested in fighting me. In fact, Mammon hardly ever showed his face during our training sessions. He would not participate unless money was involved.
They were just about to start full out brawling over who could beat me when Xanxus leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet up onto the table with an arrogant smirk, "Hibari Kira, your opponent will be me."
I felt chills run down my spine. A combination of fear and joy overwhelmed me. Not a single officer spoke out against our boss' decision. I was thrilled at the chance to fight our boss. I've never seen this man fight in the four-five months I've been here so this would be my greatest pleasure yet.
He reached down and undid his belt. It slid to the floor behind him as he stood. My eyes fluttered to the guns that clattered against the tiles beneath him and I turned a deadly glare on him, "Take your weapons, Xanxus. I won't be humiliated this way."
"You will." Xanxus sneered, ignoring my demands as he took long strides around the table towards the door, "Come. I'll show you what true strength looks like."
Growling in frustration, I stood and hurried after him, "You'll regret that when I sit out of this operation because of your arrogance."
Behind me, I could hear Levi scrambling to get Xanxus' weapons off the floor and the screech of the chairs against the tiles as the rest of the officers rose to follow us. It looked like we would have an audience.
The number of observers were small but the training room we picked was just as small. I said we picked but it was Xanxus that picked and technically, he was just lazy and went to the closest one.
Xanxus' hands were in his pockets as he took to the opposite side of the training room. When he turned to face me, he smirked and gestured for me to take up my gauntlets, "Use them. It won't help you."
"I won't beat down an unarmed man with m-"
"Unless you're afraid that you won't beat me either way." He said it so offhandedly but it got my blood boiling.
I was fast to equip my gauntlets and I was charging in before our audience even had a chance to get settled in. I had always thought I was fast but Xanxus was just that much faster.
I was shocked that my first blow carelessly shot through the air just inches away from his face but I didn't let up. My second blow was also aimed for his nose but he easily ducked out of the way. His expression had changed though. It was not the casual, bored expression he always wore but an analytical one that was watching me so closely that I almost thought he could see my move before I even decided what I was going to do next.
It was then I realized. I'm faster than this man. He's just predicting my movements extremely well. Strength is equal parts brawn and equal parts brain. Xanxus is the epitome of a man who combines everything to achieve absolute victory.
It unnerved me but I was damn aggravated by his lack of retaliation. I would force him to fight back. I snarled, my weight easily got off the ground and I planted a roundhouse kick in his shoulder. Surprised, he flinched backwards.
The blow had gone at him much faster than all my previous attempts and now he knew that he was facing my full speed. He had barely gotten away from that one and he would not let it happen again. He finally moved in. Defense fell away to offense and we had totally switched positions.
My arms came up to counter his blows and I felt myself being pushed back. I was losing the ground that I had earned myself by attacking first. In an attempt to regain my footing, I spun my foot towards his face. His big hands came up and curled harshly around my calves.
He smirked and pulled me in. I only let the surprise hit for a moment before I folded my body in half to use his pull to my advantage. I curled my fist tightly and reached for his jaw. He was also fast to react, turning his pull instantly into a push that sent me flying backwards.
Ungracefully, I slammed right onto the floor on my rear end. I only had a moment to regain my composure. I had always thought Squalo was strong but I could now feel that Xanxus was on a whole different level but Xanxus was also human.
I can win!
I was arrogant. He had let me move in and he had left me the openings so that my fist would come flying towards his chest at the perfect angle for him to block with his palm. His long fingers curled around my gauntlets and there was no way I could've expected what would come next. His hand was radiating with heat that melted straight through the plates of my gauntlets in less than a second.
I screamed out in a hoarse tone of surprise and utter agony.
The melted metal dribbled against my skin causing me a pain that I had never experienced before. I heard my own voice ringing in my ears as I tore my hand away from him and immediately my unharmed hand reached for my scorched gauntlet and ripped it off my hand.
I grasped at the burnt fingers that were finally freed from their infernal prison. I looked up and froze. Xanxus had moved in almost silently, his right hand reached out and took firm hold of the place where my arm connects with my shoulder and his palm instantly burnt through my clothes.
I screamed and I could hear the guttural tint to my own voice that came from intense pain within my body. Xanxus was fast to react to my distress. He kicked my legs out from under me and shoved me to the floor. My skull crashed roughly against the tiles as I went down and I struggled but there was nothing left for me to do.
Xanxus took a seat unceremoniously on my ribcage and that was that.
"I win, trash. Now, take the key from Ottavio and go get your stuff." He ordered, "When you return, he'll show you to your room."
He didn't ask, he didn't care. He simply picked himself up and left the room without looking back. I clutched at my shoulder where his hand had burned me and I glared after him. The other officers were already swarming me, asking if I was alright but I could only hear the humiliation in my ears. I had lost and until I defeated Xanxus, I would never be able to move on from here.
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
I moved in like Xanxus asked and I kept challenging him for my right to move out. He was not allowed to refuse me under my threat that I would just consider it his forfeit and move out if he refused. He was angry but he relented and said I could challenge him any time but the results would always be the same. It made me angry but we didn't have time to keep bickering.
Before I knew it, the whole castle was bustling with activity as we prepared to bring a whole mafia family down. This would be my first time doing something like this so Squalo lead me through it like he always did.
"It's not like your previous missions, Kira. We're invading an estate full of armed mafiosos. It would be like you trying to invade our castle, understand?" He was slowly starting to realize that I wasn't taking this too seriously and he was trying to explain it in a way that would scare me into getting serious, "Kira! I'm telling you that you're going in on a suicide mission with us!"
"If it was a suicide mission, would we actually be going?" I snorted, "With our strength, it'll be like walking through a park."
"AT NIGHT WITH GANG MEMBERS STROLLING AROUND!" He screeched at me at the top of his lungs in frustration, "DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT KIND OF DANGER YOU'RE GOING TO BE IN?! DO YOU GET WHAT'S AT STAKE HERE?! OUR PRIDE AS THE VARIA AND OUR VERY LI-"
"Senpai!" I said sharply, ending his obnoxious shouting. My lips twitched upward into a smile at the way he looked back at me with such obvious annoyance, "I'm saying I believe in our strength. This is a mission where we'll all be fighting together so I have no reason to feel even an ounce of fear because the Sword Emperor is on my side tonight."
Squalo's expression went from irritation to full on embarrassment. His cheeks began to turn a rosy pink and, flustered, he began to shift his eyes around the room and stutter, "Y-You-You…. You're such an idiot! Still! Take it more seriously!"
I turned to look out the door where the boss was walking by with Ottavio at his heels as usual and I smiled to myself, "And if it's not enough that you and I will be there… It's reassuring that the man who defeated both of us in strength will be leading our operation himself… Isn't it?"
Squalo's fake hand cupped my shoulder and his voice was deep with conviction, "Now, you see it my way, Kira."
There is no one more fitting than Xanxus to lead us. I clenched and unclenched my fists. In this place where strength is everything, there is no one more suited to sit at the top than Xanxus and although I didn't say anything out loud, I certainly didn't deny anything either. This was the moment I swore to myself that Xanxus was indeed the Varia's one and only boss.
That night we stormed into the building of an opposing family whose name I've long forgotten with Xanxus at the head of our march. His strength when he was using those pistols was nearly doubled. This was not a conventional group in which the leader was protected and used as the last piece. We marched in together and we marched out together.
Xanxus turned and shot me a devilish grin when all was said and done, holding up his guns as if to tell me that he was celebrating our first successful raid together and it made my heart flutter the smallest bit.
Our moment was broken when Lussuria and Squalo clapped their hands against either shoulder and shouted, "Good work, Kira!"
It felt so weird. We had all been on missions before but the scale of this one was just so much higher that our moods were much higher than any mission prior to this one. We had suffered some losses and even our officers had suffered wounds here and there but even though the blood dripped into my eyes I was so focused on the expressions put on our officers' faces from our win tonight. I was not mistaken at all. Bloodlust is what brought this group of rowdy assassins true joy.
If you can keep a secret, I'll share one. I absolutely love their smiles.
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
"Kira, you can't be a commanding officer if you aren't commanding any men." Squalo told me for the third time within the two and a half hours we had been 'resting' in this stupid room.
We had been recovering from our wounds from our last operation-yes, that big one where we brought a whole family to ruin. It was supposed to a be a time of peace and quiet but Squalo-senpai doesn't believe in resting and he doesn't believe in peace and quiet either because he's been hounding me about leading a team all this time.
"I don't want one. You don't have one." I pointed out, "So I don't need one."
Squalo paused because he knew I was right but he sighed, "You know what? Fuck it. You're right. Who am I kidding? It's Ottavio that wants you to lead a team for some dumb reason!"
Ottavio? Ottavio is the only officer that didn't participate in any fighting mission since I've joined. I'm starting to think that man is literally only good for being manipulative and conniving. But I haven't forgotten that he asked me to help him make Squalo the next boss of the Varia.
I looked Squalo-senpai over and I can tell you for sure that I thought Ottavio was right in saying that Squalo-senpai deserves to be in a position of leadership but he is and that's as high as I think he belongs when Xanxus is the one sitting on top of this organization. Basically, I recognize Squalo-senpai's strength and leadership skills just as much as anyone else but I don't think there's anyone that can lead this group better than Xanxus. In this place where strength is everything, there is no one more fit than Xanxus to be our boss.
"Wh-What?" Squalo demanded since I had been staring at him for the last few minutes without saying a word, "Is it cause I said Ottavio wants you to do it?!"
"Senpai, do you want to be the Varia's leader?" I asked, catching him off guard as my strange timing always did.
"NO!" He didn't even think about it so I was certain that Ottavio's plan to make Squalo the boss has nothing to do with Squalo's own desire. In fact, I'm starting to think that Ottavio's nuts for even thinking that Squalo would want to be the leader over Xanxus when it's clear that Squalo respects that man like a knight respects his king.
"I think Ottavio does." I said it without an ounce of uncertainty. It's not Squalo that Ottavio wants in that chair but himself, "Where does Ottavio fall in our chain of strength?"
"... I guess it's time." Squalo sighed, leaning back into the pillows behind him and looking out the window, "Kira, I invited you to join this group because the Vongola Family has a tradition. I think you know this by now but Xanxus is the son of our current boss. As the son of Vongola Nono, it's only right that Xanxus becomes Don Vongola Decimo. But there's an assload of traditions that he has to uphold to obtain the title and among those traditions is the Vongola Guardian system."
"Guardian?" When I met his gaze, I think I understood that Squalo was hinting that the reason he invited me was to be a part of that system.
"Yeah. Our family is big and powerful but usually the family's core fighters will be the boss and his six Guardians. Sky, Rain, Cloud, Storm, Sun, Mist, and Lightning. The Guardians are the chosen holders of the Vongola Rings and our family's strongest line of defense. In other words, the Guardians are the whole reason the Vongola Family is the most powerful." Squalo looked so proud of the fact that the Vongola Family is the strongest mafia family in the whole word and it made me smile a bit, "Each Guardian has their own qualities and responsibilities to uphold but anyways, I invited you into the Varia with the idea that you would be one of the six Guardians under our boss. Because there's a role I thought could only be taken by you."
"Me?" I was flattered but at the same time, I felt extremely nervous, "What kind of position did you think a total mafia newbie could fill?"
"The duty of the Vongola Cloud Guardian is to be the aloof, drifting Cloud that protects the family from an independent standpoint. In short, this person is someone that rules and human expectations could never bind." He finally took his eyes off the sky shining outside the window and he turned to me smirking, "You've proven time and time again that you don't follow any rules. You do whatever you want by your own rules and standards. And because you were the only one of us that wasn't already born into the mafia, you bring a totally different point of view to our meetings. It suits you."
I averted my eyes, my cheeks burning in embarrassment. It truly felt like he was complimenting me. I know it's strange but I'm serious. This is the first moment where I felt that Squalo trusted me with every fiber of his being and, although I couldn't return the sentiment about his personality fitting the role of whatever Guardian he was chosen to be, I felt that Squalo was certainly the best choice Xanxus could ever make as any Guardian ever.
"But let me tell you something." Squalo continued, glancing across the room to the closed door, "All of our officers are candidates for Guardian positions but there are clearly too many of us to fill six positions without having to pick and choose. The boss takes the Sky role hands down but the rest are going to be spread amongst us. Rain, Storm, Sun, Lightning, Mist, and Cloud. Before you, the choices for Cloud were between Silvio… and Ottavio. Do you understand?"
"..."
"Ottavio does a lot of stuff for us outside of fighting. So he suits the role just as much as you do."
"So you're saying that the only one without a secure spot is me?" I let out a short laugh and turned away, "Well, I don't want it. I'm not interested in being anything as long as I can fight and I don't have to take orders from any herbivores. He can have it."
Squalo did not scream out like I thought he would, instead, he said with all seriousness, "That's exactly why I think you're suited for the position. Kira, it has to be you but only Xanxus can choose… so whatever it takes, make sure he gives it to you."
XxXxMuseXxXx: YYYYYEEEESSSSSSSS
belladu57: j'adore to you too :)
How is everyone else? Good? Good? GREAT? I hope you're all great. :)