DISCLAIMER: I don't own KHR or any of the associated characters aside from my OCs.
It was weird and I can't imagine how we looked but I was pretty unhappy when our little tangle of sleeping assassins woke up to the loud beeping of our watches at midnight.
The third day's battle bell went off right at midnight. How terrifying. We woke with a start, Squalo's eyes flying open to stare right into mine in a confused light. Mammon grumbled and rolled over, squeaking when he fell off of Squalo's chest and onto the cold floor. Squalo sat up, removing his head from my lap. Xanxus was still snoring lightly. I shifted slightly and his head fell from mine onto my shoulder.
I looked to Squalo for help, "What should I do?"
"FUCK!" Levi screamed.
"WE DIDN'T EVEN GET THAT MUCH SLEEP!" Lussuria protested.
"MY WOUNDS HAVE YET TO RECOVER!" Belphegor screamed, "This is not the proper way to treat a prince!"
"THIS IS RIDICULOUS! HE'S JUST TORTURING US!" Mammon cried, "What is that guy thinking?!"
"Calm down, Mammon. Learn from the boss!" Squalo snapped.
"He's sleeping!" Levi screamed.
"Maybe he didn't hear it." Lussuria frowned.
"He's exhausted." Mammon muttered.
"Maybe he's just tired of fighting so he's playing dead." Bel snickered.
"VOI! I'm just saying that he's not panicking, you idiots!" Squalo screeched.
"This aura!" Levi protested wildly, "It's them again!"
"This is bad." Bel was anything but calm.
"We can't even fight! There are three of them!" Lussuria screamed.
The boss was now wide awake, his hand resting on my thigh.
Oh boy. We're all going to die.
"Damn! Present please!" Mammon's small body grew into the real Mammon that we had all seen just yesterday.
The room filled with illusions and only one order was in our heads.
"RUN!" Squalo roared, bending his pride for us to be able to survive. I grabbed the boss and pulled him to his feet before heading over to grab Belphegor. Squalo threw Leviathan over his shoulder and held Lussuria under his other arm, "GO!"
Mammon's time in this form was running short. He only had two minutes and the battle was to last nearly twelve. We had no choice but to run and hide. They would kill us all if we were caught like this. Day Three was the biggest nightmare so far.
When Mammon's time was done and over with, we were long gone but we were absolutely sure that they would come after us again. It was harsh but we were still moving and that's the only thing we did for the entire twelve minute battle time.
When we returned to the hotel, everyone was in a terrible mood. Today was the day our pride had been broken. Not a single one of us could say we were proud of today except for Mammon who was the only one who had stayed to fight, even if it was for a short time.
"Damn it." Squalo kicked over a chair.
"Calm down." I muttered, "We're all in the same boat today."
Xanxus tore the bandages from over his eye, "Ridiculous. You're all trash. From now on, we fight."
"There won't be another day where we run from the enemy." Squalo swore.
"If you offer me a hundred pounds of steak it would be a different story." I spat, "Let's kill those mummies."
"Xanxus!" Which bastard just called our boss by his name so easily?! Not even our officers call him by name save for rare occasions. And before anyone can call me out, I'm not jealous!
"Sawada Tsunayoshi." Xanxus was already glaring at the boy who was interrupting our agreement time.
"VOI!" Squalo screamed, "Where did you come from?!
"Why did you come alone?" I asked.
"Lend me a hand." Sawada demanded.
Before there could be a mass protest, Xanxus' hand went up, "What are you saying, scum?"
And that's when Sawada asked us to gather for the details at his house along with the rest of the mafia bosses and such. Well, I guess it'll be okay if the boss is alright with it.
When Sawada was long gone, we had the talk.
"Boss? Are we going?" Squalo asked.
"I say we just forget him and do whatever we want." Levi snorted.
"This could be our best chance." Mammon put in.
"Shishishi." Belphegor snickered, "Not that we'll be able to fight."
"That's right. We're all still injured!" Lussuria groaned from his bed, "We should just sit it out."
Xanxus took one sweeping glance around the room and decided, "Let's hear him out."
"Yes, boss."
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
The gathering at Sawada's was a glaring contest of sorts. Xanxus was glaring daggers and Sawada, Dino was scowling at Xanxus, and I was just bitter at the whole world. I didn't expect there to be such a big crowd. Sawada extended the invite to everyone and every team, not just us.
So we had to sit through Sawada's boring ass speech without any meat and in the end the whole point of the nearly hour-long speech was that we were going to go on the offensive now and then we were split into strange groups.
I was put into a rather large group with the boss, Byakuran, Squalo-senpai, Rokudo Mukuro, and Haneuma Dino. More like, we just chose who we wanted to fight and got grouped together like this because we all wanted to fight the big boss rather than the little lackies.
Dino smiled at me brightly, "In the end, we never got to settle our match."
"Afterwards is fine with me, if you're still alive." I scoffed, finding myself smiling back when he didn't stop grinning, "Idiot."
"I'll protect you with everything I've got, okay?" He said it so simply and with such resolve, I was temporarily blinded, "Don't worry."
"No need." I snorted, "Fuck off."
"VOI! LEAVE HER ALONE AND MEMORIZE THE POSITIONS!" Squalo roared.
"Dirty mafia." Rokudo Mukuro had memories of the future too but he was really just uninterested in us rather than feeling pure hatred, "I can't say I like the idea of teaming up with you guys."
Byakuran just laughed and laughed, eating marshmallows every few seconds. This was really an odd group to be with.
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
So on Day Four, our little group of over-powered individuals took our position in the park with the little fountain in the middle. And as planned, we intercepted Bermuda and the strongest of the Vindice, Jager.
"Hm? I thought you would put Sawada Tsunayoshi up against Jager. With all these weaklings, Jager will make an instant kill with his full power." Bermuda was a cocky little thing. How rude. He's just assuming that we're all weaklings because they all lost to Sawada at some point. I wish he wouldn't lump me in with them.
Xanxus' eyebrow twitched, "..."
"Oya oya… You're underestimating us." Mukuro sneered.
"How stupid." Byakuran chuckled.
And Reborn spilled the story about how we were all too stubborn to let anything go so he grouped us together like this because he had no choice. We were all gathered here with just one goal and that was to bite the big boss to death.
"I'm going first." Xanxus growled.
"NO!" I grabbed him before he could move, "Haven't you ever heard, ladies first?!"
"You're too short." He said simply and put his hand on my head, "I'm going first."
"JANKEN!" Squalo put his fist out, "Winner goes first!"
"Tch. Trash." Xanxus scowled but took up the idea.
"I'm good with that." I laughed, joining their two-man Varia circle.
"Then I'll do it too." Dino makes it a square.
"Kufufu." Mukuro, pineapple head and all, joined in our game.
Byakuran snickered and that's how I know he cheated. He's a cheater. I don't know how or why but that's the only reason he would beat us in janken because we were cheating too. Squalo, Xanxus, and I all shared a look before we shot. Squalo and I were scissors and the boss would play rock. There's no flaws except that Byakuran kept playing paper and then we'd have to shoot again.
Eventually, the boss lost his patience and played scissors with us…. bad decision. Byakuran had switched to rock like he had predicted it and that's how he won. Fuck all the other guys, Byakuran is one scary cheater.
Too bad Jager didn't really want to play by our rules. Byakuran lunged in and Jager short-warped out just like Sawada had warned us at the meeting yesterday. He was much faster than the Vindice we fought on the night of Day Two. This guy was a monster. Byakuran's dragon went shooting in and Jager was gone, right behind our boss.
"Boss!" I warned him and he had seen Jager but it was too late for either of us to react. Jager was much too fast for any of us to keep up with.
His arms swung down with the speed and force of a sword and Xanxus' arm came flying off. Xanxus lifted his other arm and shot but Jager short-warped to his open and defenseless side.
"VOII!" Squalo jumped in. It was the fastest death I had ever seen. Squalo-senpai swung, Jager warped, Squalo defended, Jager pierced right through his sword and heart.
"SENPAI!" I charged at Jager in a dead sprint.
If Squalo was dead, I was definitely going to take down his killer.
"Moron." Jager snorted and short-warped to my backside.
Good.
"Aquilos, Cambio Forma!" The wings encased me and his blow grazed by the metal coating.
"Ridiculous." Jager's blow was an unexpectedly piercing one. The short warp could be applied to just his arm and so he warped his arm through the metal of my wings and into my guard rather than through it.
"Shit."
His fist went straight through my arms and plowed right through my chest armor and into my gut. My stomach exploded into a fiery pain. Maybe it was from the stomach acid or maybe it was from the fist that was lodged into my body but it hurt so much. My wings spread and I grabbed at Jager's arm with a violent death grip.
"Shoot, boss!" I snarled, unwilling to let this guy go. If he's warping this arm out of here, he's taking me too.
There was no hesitation.
"Xanxus, no! Not Kira!" Dino's voice echoed in my ears over the roar of the Flames of Wrath.
The armor of my Cambio Forma was burning against my chest and face but this arm was definitely going to be melted with me.
My vision faded away and I'm ashamed to say it but I blacked out.
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
It's bright. Really bright and noisy.
My eyes opened up and the first words out of my mouth were, "This must be hell."
"Sorry, shorty. Not quite." Squalo was smirked at me from a stool by the bed, "But close enough."
"Trash." Boss? He's alive!
"Boss!" I sat straight up, decided that my stomach was still hurting, looked at the boss who was lying in his bed, lied back down, and screamed, "FUCK!"
"Yeah…" Mammon snickered, "I recreated your organs but you're not on painkillers so you probably feel tons of pain."
"Why am I not…?"
My body was on fire. It hurt so much but I'm alive. Why?
"The boss ordered Levi to take all the IV and drips in his place and he kind of took yours too." Lussuria laughed at me, "Now help me feed the boss."
"Oh yeah. I can totally move." I said sarcastically, "How long was I out?"
"Not long but longer than us." Squalo explained.
"Shishishi. It's a good thing too. If she had been in our last rumble, the whole hospital would've come down." Belphegor seemed to be in a good mood for some reason.
"That's right! We were on the upper floor at first and then we had to move down here because the shitty boss blew up the top floor!" Squalo roared.
"Your brother was involved too." Lussuria told me, "Rokudo Mukuro and Byakuran too."
No wonder. If he puts it like that, it's a miracle that the whole place is still standing. More importantly.
"Boss, you held back?" I grumbled, not sure if I was happy or complaining.
Xanxus looked at me like I was stupid and then he spat, "Feh. Don't be soft. It was an attempt to roast you alive and I failed. Nothing more."
I honestly didn't know how to take it so I changed the subject, "And your arm?"
"... Piss off." He snorted.
"It's been reattached." Squalo explained, "It's not an illusion."
I let out a sigh of relief, "Our boss can't run around with just one arm like our stupid strategy captain."
"VOI! BITCH!" Squalo roared at me and held up his hands, "It's just my hand!"
"Yeah whatever." I snorted at him, "Freak."
"You're stomachless! I don't want to hear that from you!"
"You're heartless! Literally!" I shot back.
"Can't we go without arguing just for a day?" Lussuria sighed obviously tired from his failed efforts at getting our boss to eat.
"Switch!" I laughed, "Break time for Lussuria!"
"I think she's high on pain." Levi muttered as I swung my legs off the side of the bed.
"And you're high on drugs, so what?" I was feeling a little bit more happy than usual and I think it's because the boss' arm was reattached.
"Good luck." Lussuria sighed, handing me a plate of filet steak and sliding out of the stool to take up a more comfortable seat.
"So boss, what do you want to eat?" I grinned down at him, "If you don't want it, I'll eat it for you."
He glared up at me and growled, "I don't eat hospital food. It tastes like shit."
"Oh no, boss. You've never tasted shit, have you?" It'd be shit if I made it and I'm about to make him some scorched trash in a minute.
A collective gasp left the officers of the Varia and they all had the same look of terror on their faces, "You must be high."
"Steak or shit, boss?" I wasn't really giving him much of a choice, "Or you can have both."
"Scum." He spat and then turned his head away from me.
"Be more romantic, Kira-chan. It looks like our boss wants to be babied." Lussuria giggled.
"Romantic?"
"Romantically retarded." Squalo snorted at me.
"Well I don't see you being all romantic with your food." I growled and took the first slice of the boss' steak, "This doesn't taste too bad."
"It's not hospital steak." Squalo growled, "I got it from the diner down the street because our stupid boss refused to eat the food from the cafeteria!"
"Oh? Wao. Then I don't see why you don't want it, boss." I grinned and stabbed another one of the cut pieces, "Lussuria cut it all pretty too."
"Thank you." Lussuria's all for compliments.
"Hn." The boss just blew air through his nose and ignored me.
"Boss… If you blow too much air through those nostrils, a booger might fly out." I joked, holding out the cut of steak, "Do you want it?"
Xanxus' eyes flickered to the meat and back to the window, "Hn."
"I'm going to put it up your nose if you don't eat it." I frowned. Poor Lussuria had to do this for days? Damn. I would've just snapped and cut his stomach open and shoved it in there.
The boss sighed and opened his mouth, "Stupid scum."
I grinned and stuffed his mouth with steak.
A chuckle from the door drew our attention, "Well, aren't you guys having fun?"
"HANEUMA! VOI!" Squalo roared, "What are you doing here?!"
"I told you I would come to check up on Kira everyday." Dino chuckled, "I'm glad to see she's alright now."
The Bucking Bronco has some nerve coming here.
"Hn." Xanxus grunted, signaling that the steak wasn't as bad as he thought.
"Got it." I stuff another slice in his mouth and watched Dino step into the room uninvited.
"Kira, our match is unsettled." The blonde started carefully, "But I decided I have to win. After seeing how poorly Xanxus treats you, I've got to make you mine."
"Poorly?" Xanxus snorted, those crimson eyes narrowing onto Dino in a deadly glare, "Yeah. I treat her just like the rest of the trash on this team. What's the problem?"
"That's just it! No matter how you look at her, Kira's a delicate lady." He snapped, "Your rough treatment is bullshit. Even if she's strong, you've got to at least give her the gentlemanly treatment she deserves!"
Amused, I just sat back. The boss' steak was now all for me as I motioned for him to pick fights as he pleased. It's like popcorn and a movie but better.
Dino was kind of making a strong point though. It's part of the mafia omerta to treat women well. Christian dominated mafia, old Christian rules. It's the reason there are so few women in our profession. Men value women as things to protect and show off like fancy toys.
"She's mine and what I do with her is none of your concern." Xanxus took his stance and my heart sank when I was reminded that Xanxus is no different. He was laying claim to a possession just like Dino, "But you're right. How about it, Kira? Take off your uniform for good and dress up to attend the next event as a courtesan."
Courtesan?! I had never once thought an insult like that would be directed at me. I mean, prostitution is common in the underground world of Italy but this was a new low for me.
Squalo was immediately on me as I rose, trying to smash the plate over Xanxus' head for insulting me in this new fashion. This was a rage I had never experienced before.
"VOI! I get it but calm down, Kira!" Squalo was struggling to keep me settled.
We were both injured and it made everything so much more difficult. I couldn't get out of his grip, the burns on my skin twisting every which way to cause me pain. His torso was wrapped in bandages from the neck down and my rough movements were jarring his illusion-heart.
But I couldn't let up. I was so insulted. All the warmth from our previous closeness was overridden by dark thoughts of his potential intentions. All those kisses, all those affectionate touches… And I was the only one who thought it meant anything. To Xanxus, our interactions were nothing more than a search for release.
"Piece of shit!" I reared back, elbowing Squalo in the jaw hard enough to loosen his grip. I charged forward towards Xanxus, easily tumbling into his chest when he stood abruptly and used my own momentum to spin us about. I flailed, "Don't touch me so casually!"
"Good reaction, Kira." He grinned, those crimson eyes sparkling in challenge and with… some emotion I couldn't put my finger on. He kept me pressed close to his center as he turned his attention back to Dino, "Well? I don't know if she deserves the 'good' treatment we give other women but she certainly doesn't want it."
"I never said I wanted her to be an… escort." Dino put out a hand for me, "It's just not right for you to shoot at her. Kira, deserves better!"
I took Dino's hand out of bitterness first and foremost, stepping out of Xanxus' suddenly weak grip and out to Dino's side, "Courtesan, huh? Touching me with those kinds of feelings… I don't owe you any favors, Xanxus. Especially not sexual ones."
"No one asks sexual favors from a virgin." He spat, dusting his clothes as if I had left behind a mess when I left his side, "Bucking Horse, if we're talking about deserved treatment, you're right. Maybe I haven't given her the treatment she deserves so let me start now."
Dino's grip on my hand tightened, his free hand going for his whip, "What kind of bullshit are you spouting this time?"
From the side table, he pulled his gun and trained it on Dino's throat in one smooth, deadly motion, "Take your filthy hands off my strongest soldier before I melt you on the spot, Cavallone!"
The highest grade of praise. Strongest. Soldier. My face exploded into a bright blush as my coworkers all raised their voices in protest.
Squalo was the loudest of them all, "VOI!"
Just as quickly as I had left his side, I was back. I flung myself into his chest, tilting his perfect aim but he didn't seem to be bothered. His arm curled around me and he recalibrated himself.
I'm quite simple. I really like this side of the boss. The side that reserves praise unless it's absolutely necessary, the part that only Levi has supposedly seen before me, the part that makes my heart flutter the most. My strength is acknowledged by the strongest man I know.
Lussuria's complaints sank away to a loud, joyous shriek, "Kyaaaa~ So romantic!"
"Get your ass out before I kill you!"
It was an empty threat. Standing behind him, I realized just the motion of drawing a gun on Dino had torn the stitches in his arm and back. His white dress shirt was stained, soaked all the way through with blood. Of course, Dino couldn't see it and the boss didn't want anyone to see it.
"Why you-?!" Dino reached for his whip and I just had to stop him.
"Dino!" I called sharply, satisfied with the way he paused, "Let's settle our score soon. I'll call you so… Let's decide this between you and me."
"If that's what you want…" He sighed, turning to go, "But Kira, really… I think you deserve better."
"Let me decide what I want." I grumbled, watching him nod and close the door behind him, "... Boss…"
"It's fine like this…" He tossed his gun off to the side and went right back to lying down like nothing had happened. It was such a casual motion I would've just let him lie back if I hadn't already seen his blood-soaked backside.
"Boss…" I didn't know what I really wanted to say first.
There were too many thoughts and feelings in my chest. Thank you? Your wounds? I'm sorry? You're special to me? I… love? You? Just the thought made my cheeks flare up.
"Get a wet towel." He ordered, "And bandages."
"Sure, boss. Anything you want today."
He chuckled, reaching for me as I turned to obey. He motioned for me to lean down, rising up to meet me halfway. His lips just barely grazed mine.
I reeled back as if he had just bitten me, hand over my lips, "Wh-Wha-?!"
"Virgin reaction as usual." He snickered, waving me off, "Towel. Bandages. Sneak some tequila past the crabby nurse."
I stormed off, grumbling complaints to myself as my coworkers howled with laughter. I changed my mind. I hate this guy.