A Note to the Readers: I was considering whether I should divide this chapter in half or just go along with it. I got carried away and wrote the longest chapter yet. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did writing it! (人ゝд∩)(人ゝд∩)(人ゝд∩)(人ゝд∩)(人ゝд∩)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Tea Time

Rosetta hates it when her phone rings during class hours. It's never an emergency. Ryuusei wouldn't call her if there was one. Why would he? She excuses herself with what she hopes is an apologetic smile and heads for the hallway. Enomoto detaches from the wall and follows her out.

"The Gesso attacked Mutsuo," Takenaka says in his atrocious Italian. He sounds worried.

She shuts her eyes. She had no reason to dislike Mutsuo. He seems to be Ryuusei's most level-headed son until you understood his morals. Still, he is as human as a Hibari can get. He is far more amiable than her husband and he smiles a lot, even if it's fabricated. "When was this?" She asks in Japanese.

"An hour ago," he says. Faint noises of panicked civilians filter through the phone. "Mutsuo is still alive, if not gravely injured. I'm at a hospital now–" Rosetta memorizes the address "–the doctors think he will lose a limb if he survives this."

They know how Ryuusei thinks of cripples.

"Hopefully not," Rosetta says. "I hope he lives." And she says this truthfully. Mutsuo is a far better successor than his younger brothers. Kuniyoshi is cruel for cruelty's sake, and it doesn't suit Kyoya to be a boss.

"And I hope you have found something on Nicodemo's bastard."

She straightens. "I haven't." The classroom doors open. It's lunchtime. Students leave the room in their groups, most ignore her, and a few throws her wary looks. They still remember her terrifying Himawari to tears, even when it was a month ago.

"The boss is angry," Takenaka says this with pity in his tone. "And when he does his anger tends to spread sideways."

"Be careful." Rosetta sees Tsuna idling by the door, biting his lip. Enomoto eyes him but says nothing.

"The warning is for you. I know how to tide through his rage. You're not doing much progress there. He might decide to punish you."

Rosetta is unsettled enough that her short bark of laughter is half-hearted. Tsuna shoots her a thoughtful look, she gives him a smile.

"What should I do?"

"Give him some results," Takenaka says.

She pauses, trying to hold back irritation from her voice. When she talks, she talks slowly, "Byakuran is smarter than the rest of Nicodemo's sons combined, you can't even find him. What makes you think I can?"

"Do you think he cares about that?" Takenaka's voice is sharp.

"Then giving me a warning was a waste of your time. Thank you for your concern." She does not sound bitter.

Takenaka clicks his tongue.

"Rosetta, listen. Do you know the Noctemina group?"

She picks through the information she has. "A small weapons supplier that branched out from Italy to Japan, the Carcassa wanted them to be their exclusive supplier. The boss' sister was close to Caterina Provenzano."

"Your cousin," Takenaka sounds impressed. "Martina Di Salvo, the sister you mentioned is getting married to Leonardo Lippi."

"Who?"

"A fresh recruit. One of Byakuran's men. His records seem clean. What I know is, Byakuran is sure to attend the wedding. It's two weeks from now."

"You want me to crash the party? What about the Vendicare? There's bound to be civilians."

"The boss wouldn't mind."

"He would," Rosetta sniffs. "He warned me specifically. He wants a clean kill."

Takenaka is silent. When he speaks, the words stick to his throat. "I'll help you with the Vendicare if it comes to that."

"You have money to pay them off?" Bail, they call it, the salary of a working man for fifty years for a small infraction. She doesn't even have that much money.

"I've been working for the boss for as long as I remember," Takenaka sighs. "I've earned my share."

"Why would you help me?"

"I owe you."

"Is this about your son? Kusakabe-san, I didn't save him."

"But I learned something," Takenaka whispers, she can almost see his well-suppressed grin before he makes a terrible joke. She rolls her eyes. He's not serious anymore. She might as well play along.

"What did you learn, Kusakabe-san?" She sighs.

"Valuable lessons," he grins.

"Shoo! You're not welcome here!" Hana leans forward with her hands on her hips. Tsuna raises his palms above his shoulders and speaks nervously. "I'm here for Hibari-san," he says, and he looks at Rosetta, past Hana's stiff frame and waves his hand in a tentative hello.

Rosetta puts her fork down. They've got the canteen's attention now. She knows Tsuna eats his lunch at the rooftop whenever Kyoya is on patrol. He never steps into the canteen, not if he wants his bullies to target him.

"Oh, is it a confession?" Someone whispers at the back, snickering.

"Shush! She's married, don't you know?"

"I don't see a ring."

The gossipers quiet when Enomoto crosses his arms threateningly. Rosetta makes a note to tell him to stop.

"Can it wait until later?" Rosetta asks. Tsuna looks surprised as if he has forgotten that they live under the same roof. He clears his throat. "Yes, right." But he doesn't leave.

Kyoko is now chewing on her lip. A speck of green is on her cheek from the salad she swears is vitamin rich. She's looking at Tsuna and Rosetta in open curiosity.

"Fine," Rosetta says, sliding from her seat. She pats Kyoko on the shoulder. "I'm sure it's nothing important."

Tsuna, she grabs on the bicep and half-pushes and half-drags him out to the hall. They pass beyond the club rooms, out to a small alcove outdoors behind the old library. She orders Enomoto to stand beyond hearing range and resists rubbing her temples when he salutes and pointedly faces away from the pair, eyes glimmering with eagerness. She doesn't trust him yet. At least he follows orders without question. Fusanosuke always had something to say.

"What is it?" She leans on the painted wall.

Tsuna breathes in. "I don't think you should kill Byakuran."

"Sawada-san–" Rosetta starts with a pained sigh. He wanted to talk about that. He gleaned information from her phone call.

"It's Tsuna, you can call me Tsuna," he says.

"That will not help your case, Tsuna. But you can call me Rosetta as well."

Tsuna doesn't look away. "You shouldn't kill him."

"Why not?" Rosetta tries to keep her tone light. "Tsuna, he's not a good person. He's killed and will kill a dozen more others in the future. You think we were his first unfortunate targets?"

"It's not his fault he is born in the mafia. I don't think he has any choice. Plus. I think he is a good person."

"What? A good person?"

"I can feel it. I know he is a good man. Just like I know that you're a good person too." Somehow, despite all evidence, she has led to him believe she's a martyr too.

"Tsuna, can you even hear yourself talk?"

"Of course, I can hear myself! I was born into the mafia and I want my second chance. You're born into the mafia as well. I'm sure you want your chance too."

Rosetta clicks her tongue, swallowing her temper that flares behind her lids. How arrogant of him to compare them. A bright yellow canary perches by the incinerator nearby, chirping and fluffing its wings.

"Are you trying to make me dislike you?" Rosetta warns. Her voice is flat, edgeless. "Do you honestly think the world works like that? How did you live up to fourteen being this naïve?"

Tsuna swallows, there's a click. His throat must be dry. Good.

He continues as if she didn't talk, he's actually applying her lessons. "You said it's better to negotiate than to murder. You said… You've been teaching me so many things. Why don't you believe what you say?"

"I believe what I say. And I know I am a hypocrite." Rosetta presses her mouth into a thin line. She has taught him how to disarm his opponents with diplomacy, the benefits of formal proposals, that running the mafia isn't the same as how Ryuusei runs his. She doesn't regret this. "If every teacher does not practice hypocrisy, then their students will learn nothing."

Tsuna doesn't seem to know what to say. He's thinking very deeply, she knows this because he tends to move his lips when he does.

"Tsuna, get back to your friends. You can't convince me like this."

"Why?" Tsuna looks up. "Is it because you think I'm stupid?"

"You're naïve. I've never called you stupid. Now go away."

"No," Tsuna says, pursing his lips. "You're a good speaker. You're smarter than I am. Why can't you convince yourself that killing another person is a terrible thing?"

Rosetta bristles. Tsuna wouldn't even have the courage to ask her husband these questions. Isn't he afraid of her? Does he think they're friends? Who does he think he is?

"Of course I know that! What the fuck? Tsuna, you're asking me to choose his life over mine! One of us will die. It's me or him!"

"Your boss wouldn't kill you. You said that!" He bursts out.

"Killing me is not the worst thing he can do. Do you know what he does to the wives and daughters of his enemies?"

Tsuna stares, taken aback by the terror in her voice.

"You're allies," Tsuna says after a second. "He wouldn't–" And then he loses his voice. Rosetta is roughly rubbing her face with her palm. The thin scar between her last fingers shines momentarily under the sunlight.

"Fuck," she says, running a hand up her loose bangs. "Tsuna, don't do this ever again. Mind your own, just…" She thinks what she needs to say next. "We're all terrible people in this business. Trying to assert a higher moral ground will do you no better than shooting your loved ones in the head. A heart in the underworld is a weakness."

Tsuna's back is on the wall, he slides down, as his knees weaken until he is at a crouched form. He hugs his legs.

"Every weakness contains strength within it," Tsuna mumbles.

"Shusaku Endo," Rosetta says, sighing. She crouches by Tsuna and puts a cold hand on his back, rubbing idly, trying to lighten the situation. "I see you're still a lot better at literature than math. Your tutors need to up their game."

Rosetta looks away to Enomoto who is standing stick straight.

Tsuna pushes her hand away, gentle even in the face of his frustrations.

"We have no choice, do we? Why does it have to be like that?"

"Because Iemitsu decided to be your father," she says, but her humor fades out when she sees the look on Tsuna's eyes.

"I will be the boss of the largest criminal organization existing at present," Tsuna says, staring beyond her. She's only seen the look on his face once when the boss punched her in the stomach. She thought she imagined it but there it is again. This time, when she swallows, it's her throat that's dry. "And when I do, I want to change this. I want to change all of this."

Tsuna bows his head, squeezing his fists so hard that his knuckles are bone white. He's shaking like a leaf. The weight of helplessness after its complete acceptance is a heavy burden.

Rosetta wants to believe him with all her heart. Regrets follow her like a shadow, even on the brightest days. She truly wants to believe him. She truly does. When she sees the resolve in his eyes, she almost gives in.

The wedding invitation looks expensive –onion skin, lace cut, velvet print with corners dipped in gold and silver. A professional handwrote the names of the superficially joyous couple in envious calligraphy. There's also a mindful translation in too formal Japanese on another card, also brushed by hand.

Maria Rosetta Santoro-Hibari you are formally invited…

She doesn't have to sneak in then. There is an invitation for her.

It's most likely a trap.

She doesn't react when Kyoya enters the balcony.

"Wedding invitations," she says, shifting to a more comfortable position. There's another one for her husband too. Most Mafioso weddings are a mere front for an occasion where prominent families can meet and make deals. Deaths are a near inevitability. She pushes the letter to her side, picking up a ledger meticulously filled up with Takenaka's cramped handwriting. She takes a calculator and rechecks his math.

The servants have placed a simple spread of snacks on her right. There's a porcelain kettle with tea brewed just the way she likes it.

Kyoya picks up the letters, scanning over the translations with a disinterested look. He puts it back almost immediately.

"I don't think you're coming with me, are you?" She says idly, highlighting a few entries with blue ink.

"You're going?" He asks.

"Maybe, maybe not, Takenaka-san said Byakuran might be there. I might have another proxy to take my place. Tetsuya-san is already making inquiries."

"You're planning to have a proxy do your job?"

Rosetta doesn't react, she taps the calculator for a few more seconds and encircles a row underneath, transferring the numbers to another ledger in what seems to be a code, but in closer inspection is just her lamentable handwriting. She needs to retype this later on before she sends it back to the boss.

"I know my limits and the consequences of disregarding it," she was hoping for companionable silence. "I don't go out to operations for a good reason."

"A non-combatant."

"Civilian might be a better term," she suggests with a smile. The term non-combatant coming from his lips sounds far more degrading than an insult.

Kyoya is unmoved by it. "You're not a civilian."

Rosetta sighs, marking the page she's working on as done. She takes her reading glasses from her pencil case and moves to the next page. "You seem to have this idea that–" her lip quirks "–muscles maketh man."

"It's discipline, not strength," he says to her surprise. "And again, you're not a civilian."

She is quiet for a moment, face creased as if she swallowed a retort. "Discipline, huh? Makes sense," she continues her work. "You don't get to your level of strength without training nonstop. Is that what you meant?" She doesn't see him train though. Unlike Tetsuya who jogs in the mornings –she still joins him sometimes.

Kyoya nods and walks to her left, taking his place beside her.

Rosetta jolts to his irritation, her ledger falling to a loud thud as she leans as further away as she can manage. Her eyes are wide, assuming an almost rabbity look of surprise, palms up as an automatic gesture to placate him.

He frowns.

She realizes what she has done and clears her throat, slowly putting her hands to her lap. He's not even that close, there is about a foot of distance between them, minus the pile of her binders at her side.

"I'm not going to touch you," he says in mild disgust as he pours himself a cup of her tea. The servants always leave two cups for her, privy to the knowledge that he visits sometimes.

She looks like she wants to say something again, but she bites the thought instead, opting for "I'm sorry" to his displeasure. It doesn't sound sincere at all. "The last time you sat beside me, we had an argument. I remember you storming off."

"Hn, yes. You should have been punished then."

Rosetta straightens up fractionally as she watches him take a sip of his tea with veiled satisfaction. He grimaces. She knows it's repulsive.

"What is this?"

"Oolong," she doesn't hide her grin which grows to his annoyance.

"The servants'?" Kyoya eyes the yellow concoction disapprovingly and sets it down the table. Rosetta leans forward, takes his cup and pours the contents to hers, drinking half on a single gulp. He narrows his eyes at her, not at all placated by her bright smile.

"It's the expensive stuff. Waste not, want not," she tilts the cup in a small toast and drinks the rest. It's bitter, nastily bitter, over-brewed –the kind that will keep her up until midnight if she has to.

Kyoya folds his arms. "I'll have the servants send you coffee. That was revolting."

"It's delicious," this one she says with honesty, staring back without flinching.

He grabs the kettle and chucks the unfortunate object over the balcony. It smashes.

Rosetta cries, scrambling out of her cushions to peer over the balustrade, her knuckles pale on the railings. Even under lamplight, she can see that the poor kettle is in pieces, bone white porcelain against the browning Bermuda grass. A retainer lurking by the nearest entrance shoots her a questioning look. She signs to him that nothing is amiss.

"You–" she looks back at Kyoya who seems unperturbed. Tetsuya pokes his head from the door and nods at Kyoya's short commands and leaves after he gives her a worried glance. "That was rude!" She flushes.

Kyoya's lip curls. "That was an abomination. Sit down."

She bristles but keeps her temper at bay. Kyoya watches her suspiciously as she rearranges her cushions and plops down without comment.

"Don't you feel cold at all?" She tries for conversation after she goes through a few more pages. Kyoya is reading a book of his own, something bound in black. She can't read the title, it's written in a traditional mandarin, something she cares too little to devote her time on studying.

"It's not that cold yet," Kyoya remarks, flipping through a page.

Rosetta wants her tea back. Her knuckles are stiffening. Earlier, she wished to wear two sweaters after her evening bath and is lamenting the fact that she chose fashion over functionality. Just because Kyoya might visit… she vows never to do the same ever again.

"I'll transfer to my room–"

"It's an infirmary," he corrects her again.

She rolls her eyes. "I'll transfer to the infirmary until the weather warms. I'll do my work there." It's an invitation. She peers at him with open innocence as his scowl deepens. She doesn't even know why she even tried. Her innocent look never worked, not even when she was truly naïve.

Kyoya ignores her bait. "You should change rooms."

"Iwasaki-sensei is a good conversationalist," she says, looking away. "I'm not as lonely as when I am with her." She feels his gaze on the side of her neck and reddens. At least she's warm like this.

"You? Lonely? I thought you had friends. Why don't you use them for their purpose?"

She bites her lip, counting to ten. Tetsuya enters silently and places a decanter from the kitchen. She thanks him with a strained expression and pointedly pours herself a cup, leaving Kyoya's empty. Tetsuya resumes his guarding.

She takes a sip and frowns. It doesn't taste like the servant's brew.

"I'm waiting for a response," he says when she purposefully ignores him.

"It's so difficult to have conversations with a man who doesn't know how," she points out with a small smile.

"You're correct," he admits to her shock. "I prefer demonstrations."

The silence that that comes next is definitely empty. Asking to be filled. Rosetta dislikes empty silences when they were together. Companionable silence, he'd simply ignore her and read his small novels. Empty silences, he'd stare at her neck.

"I'm not lonely!" She blusters when he doesn't stop, waving an indignant hand at his direction.

"Liar."

Rosetta scowls. "Fine! I am. But it's not as bad as you think. Namimori is a great improvement."

"Is it?"

"I don't have to stay awake listening to the boss insult Italian food or Kusakabe-san's complaints about his clerks' filing system." She takes the decanter and pours him a cup too. He takes it and sips and grimaces again to her open delight.

And then he says: "you can use my study for your paperwork."

A moment passes.

Rosetta stares, then her eyes narrow in suspicion. She tilts her chin. "I like the infirmary better." Plus his study looked too similar to his father's.

"The infirmary is not conducive to getting any work done." He looks up. Rosetta follows his gaze and sees a flutter of yellow birds streaming through the evening air. The canary settles on a nearby tree, eyeing them curiously.

"And your study is conducive to work? Won't you be there?" She doesn't need another person commenting on her handwriting.

"I don't use it."

She flushes. She tries to focus on her work, but a question is hounding at her heels.

"Say, don't you feel lonely too?" it's not smart to talk to him like this. A part of her mind she considers being her good sense and reasoning is yelling at her to apologize for her impertinence and hurtle off before she could do any irreparable damage. She doesn't have the excuse of being a poor vulnerable girl in the hospital any longer. Rosetta is wide awake for this.

His face twists into a faint moue of disapproval. He seems to decide whether to be impassive or violent. Without violence –Rosetta noticed during patrol– Kyoya seems to shut down to detachment.

He chooses impassivity to her relief.

"I don't mind loneliness," he tells her after a long, difficult minute.

"But it's not pleasant isn't it?"

"I said I don't mind it."

She sucks the side of her cheek, thinking.

"Is this why you dislike the idea of our friendship? Because you need no one?"

"Yes," he replies. She observes him, trying to see if he's lying and finds nothing but his solid glare.

"This sucks." And it's stupid and she really wishes that he'll grow out of that line of thinking. Humans live in a society. There is no point in thinking that anyone can live on their own, unless that person wishes to be a mountain hermit who subsists on small mammals for sustenance. Rosetta pours herself another cup of coffee. "You don't seem to need anything either, untouchable. I'm so lucky to be your wife."

"You don't mean that," he says, losing interest now that she's fallen back to the arms of sarcasm.

"Of course, I don't."

"Mean what you say, will you?"

She grumbles, going back to her ledgers. But she finds that she cannot focus now. Not like this. Not where he's in a fantastic mood. She needs to use that to her advantage.

"Hey," she says after she recalculates the same set of numbers twice. She is careful when she says this. "I must have done something right, not that I know it. I can't –no don't interrupt me please– I know I should not presume how your mind works." The boss lectured her many times for assuming, she doesn't want the lecture from his son too. "You haven't been openly hostile for weeks. I don't want to change it." She breathes in and continues when he tilts his head. "Please don't get mad. I will not ask you to be my friend."

"Good," Kyoya nods approvingly.

"But I will say this. If there is anything I know. It's that people are never satisfied. You might be okay with being on your own today. But that might change with time." Rosetta swallows. She hears distant thudding and briefly registers that it's her heart. She moves to face him wholly, capturing his attention. It's strangely intoxicating to be the center of it. "If that ever happens, I want you to know that if I'm still alive, then–" she chuckles, but the humor isn't in her eyes "–I'm willing to be whatever it is you want me to be," she finishes this without affectation.

"You're offering yourself to me?" Kyoya shuts his book. "You don't know me."

Rosetta smiles. She bends her knees up and leans back, putting a polite distance between them.

"I think I know you enough," she whispers truthfully. Her mind is quiet now, good, look at all that space to think after she sent her commonsense packing. "I know that you don't lie, that you don't do things without reason. You like to fight but you're not cruel. I know you despise people and that you prefer silence and you hate touching. You also believe in your own sense of justice."

"If one truly reaps what he sows," he says mildly.

She grins, emboldened that he hasn't shut her down yet. This one she murmurs, "I also know you hate the boss." Kyoya's lips quirk. "I know your favorite meals. I know that you feed the canaries. That's why they follow you." She shuts her eyes. A part of her is terrified of him still -it's idiocy not to be wary of a predator. But she thinks of the little things. There was Marco, his ever-watchful canaries. She thinks of their more pleasant conversations. The singular visit he made to Tetsuya when he thought they were all asleep. His hospital visit. The way he stayed behind when Ryuusei punched her stomach. His school blazer from Kokuyo Land -still in her cabinet. Their patrols. The stupid tracking bracelet she doesn't even remove when she showers. "I know there is likely little I can do for you to truly care for me. And I can accept the nice things and the bad things about you because… For all it's worth, you're not so bad and I… I like you."

"Little you can do… You don't think I'm capable of emotion?" He ignores her confession.

Rosetta steels herself. She can be completely embarrassed later under the comfort of her solitude. "No," she says with the face of consummate professionalism, the one she uses when things go awry with the boss. "You care for animals. I think you're fine with Tetsuya-san. I don't think you'll ever grow to even like me at all. We're too different and we don't seem to agree with each other," she gestures to the coffee.

It startles her when his expression frosts over. "My father often praised you for your intelligence. I see that he was misguided."

She shakes her head, bemused. "Excuse me, what?"

"If I wanted like-mindedness and blind agreement, I wouldn't be talking to you." He sneers.

Her face burns unpleasantly as the implication drops like a hot stone on the pit of her stomach. "I don't think I understand." Of course, she understands! But his words might have filtered through a mesh of hope she did not realize she still clung to.

"I married a fool."

That's a confirmation.

Rosetta laughs outwardly, looking away. Her face is definitely flaming red. She briefly debates if she should stifle her surprising shyness and opt for confidence but settles on the truth, wildly fanning her face as her brain eagerly processes his words. She won't be able to sleep tonight. Maybe she'll even tell Iwasaki-sensei if she doesn't build her resolve fast enough. For now, she needs to know what she did right. This was not how she expected her evening to go. "Kyoya-san, what am I supposed to do with that information?"

He doesn't really raise an eyebrow, but the questioning look is there before it peels away into mild disapproval. His claws are out and there is a dangerous edge about the way he curls his lips. "Be smart about it."

Rosetta opens her mouth, about to say something witty and daring and self-indulgent. Something that would make her conservative grandmother roll in her grave. But her words stick to her tongue. She sinks back to her cushions, chest tightening, too shy to even look at him. She's not twelve anymore, she's fifteen! And they've already kissed before! In front of an audience! There's no reason to be mousy!

"You're finally quiet," Kyoya puts his book down.

"You just… You just wanted to shut me up?" She grimaces, looks horrified for a beat and then bristles. It does not fool Kyoya. He's seen her puffing her feathers far too many times in front of his men, pretending to be angry. Red travels down her cheeks to her throat, to the hollow of her collarbones which she quickly covers with a sleeved hand when she follows his gaze.

"I'm leaving," she lifts her chin, scraping what's remained of her pride as she grabs her ledgers, nearly tripping over the cushions as she sweeps the table clean of her paperwork. She leans forward and fishes the binders from between them with a scowl.

"My hour isn't over yet," he points out flatly, relieved and oddly… disappointed.

She's grasping her books so haphazardly that one falls and hits her foot. She lets go of everything and raises her hands above her head in a mock gesture of submission, snarling, oblivious that people have been crippled for less. "To hell with your hour!" She says and marches off, closing the door with an uneasy slam.

Later, as he's parsing through her abandoned books, Tetsuya pops his head in and clears his throat.

"Is everything okay?"

Kyoya frowns. Tetsuya is spending too much time with her. He never used to ask many questions. He closes the ledger. Her penmanship leaves a lot to be desired. "Bring this to her."

Tetsuya nods, silently gathering her work. When he is finished Kyoya halts him with a hand.

"Yes, Kyo-san?"

"That was none of your business. Ask me another half-witted question and I'll bite you to death."

Tetsuya's face might have been carved from marble. "Of course, Kyo-san."

Later on, Tetsuya pauses by the house infirmary and knocks politely, nodding at the retainers who salute. Three short taps, loud enough to be audible, soft enough to seem unimposing.

Rosetta doesn't welcome him in. She takes two trips to collect the binders on his arms. On the third round, he clears his throat and observes the room.

"No patients today?" He asks. Iwasaki isn't present.

"Noya-san cut her finger this morning. Nothing else," Rosetta says, with a hard-eyed stare. "Good night Tetsuya-san."

Tetsuya grins. "I heard you and Kyo–"

She slams the door to his face. He can hear her footsteps tapping away before she pauses and runs back to him, sliding the door open.

"Are you going to talk if I ask you questions about my husband?" She barks in quick Italian, eyeing the retainer by the door with an openly suspicious face.

"It's not like I have a choice," Tetsuya tells her, assuming an expression of resignation. "I'd rather have it done tonight rather than tomorrow when I have work."

"Of course, you have a choice!"

"I don't."

"You do," she presses. "I'm not a tyrant."

"You're not, but you will try to bribe me with lunch tomorrow afternoon. I'd rather not have that."

She frowns, but there is humor in her voice. "What's wrong with that? Equivalent exchange. You can always tell Kyoya-san I bribed you with my cooking if he finds out, maybe he'll even deign to have a taste."

He smiles wryly, smashing down unwanted memories.

"I doubt that."

"Suit yourself," she sniffs, and unceremoniously drags him inside.

She finally gives in to Kyoko's insistence to meet their other friend. Haru is from a neighboring all-girls school. She likes to sew and her mother and father are both college professors who teach applied mathematics in Tokyo. They sent Haru to stay in Namimori with her grandparents after several bouts of asthma attacks that convinced them she needed fresh air and a less stressful environment. According to Kyoko, the girl knows how to cook too and that they should switch recipes after having lunch by a well-known café near the shopping district.

Rosetta comes in five minutes before eleven, wearing a thick sweater and woolly socks. She spots them crowded around a table in the furthest corner, by the windows. Tetsuya frowns.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Hana comments as she takes her seat. Kyoko tries not to giggle at Rosetta who raises an eyebrow at them.

"It's cold," Rosetta complains mulishly.

"It's not that cold," Kyoko bites her lip. Haru giggles.

Rosetta rolls her eyes. "Tetsuya-san, it's cold, isn't it? Back me up here."

Tetsuya who is wearing a simple button up and pants settle faintly into the background. "No comment," he says. He removed her scarf on the way in, despite her protests.

Haru turns out to be a touch eccentric. Upon expression of adequate curiosity, the brunette soon has Rosetta stuck to the gallery of her phone, scrolling through pictures of her handmade costumes.

"There are four hundred of these," Rosetta remarks as Haru and Kyoko points out her favorite ones. She looks at Hana for aid but the girl is busy with her phone.

"I know!" Haru exclaims. "We should go together at the temple this new year. I can whip you up a costume if you want," she says, fishing out a measuring tape. Unconcerned with consent. It's oddly endearing and annoying at the same time.

Rosetta laughs awkwardly, feeling out of her depth. "Slow down. Isn't that supposed to be a family event?"

To that, Hana tucks her phone away and wriggles her eyebrows suggestively.

"You will go with your husband, will you?"

Kyoko slaps Rosetta playfully on the shoulder as Haru's eyes widen.

"With Hibari Kyoya," Haru whispers almost reverently, then flits to Rosetta and clutches her hand. Rosetta nearly flinches from the touch, biting the side of her cheek in horror as Haru squeals in delight. "That's so romantic!" Apparently, Haru has school friends who formed a fan club for her husband and wanted to meet her before but mysteriously stopped. Tetsuya cleared his throat rather loudly when Haru told her the story.

"I was twelve," Rosetta whispers, trying not to cringe. "Our parents made a deal."

Haru grabs her hand and continues as if she didn't speak. Rosetta wants to go home and take a long hot shower and forget about the screaming.

"Where's your ring?" Haru inquires, sounding disappointed, lifting Rosetta's finger.

"She thinks people will steal her gold," Hana supplies.

"I didn't say that."

"You meant it though," Hana shoots. Her phone buzzes again. She ignores Haru's barrage of questioning as she scrolls through the message. "Hey, my boyfriend says he's nearby. He wants to meet you all, just to say hi."

"You have a boyfriend?" Kyoko asks, betrayed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to keep him a secret for a bit!" Hana blushes, clutching her phone to her chest as Kyoko tries to snatch it from her. "He's too good to be true!"

"Oh! Is it that man you saw on the roof?" Haru squeals, trying to grab the phone too. A couple at the table nearest to them expresses their displeasure by clearing their throats. It goes ignored. "Did you finally ask him out?"

"What man on the roof?" Rosetta asks but is ignored as the girls wrestle for the phone, relieved that the attention isn't solely on hers anymore.

"Tetsuya-san, someone might come to meet us," she says. Haru asked about the retainers an hour ago and was supplied with the sight of Hana teasing Rosetta nonstop about her husband's protective streak. Haru ate it up hungrily.

"Got it," the man pulls a face and calls somebody on his phone.

"He's hot!" Haru squeals as Hana turns into a rough shade of scarlet.

"Jeez, I should have told him to stay away," Hana mumbles as Haru passes the phone to Kyoko.

Kyoko squeals as well, teasing Hana. Rosetta watches them contentedly before curiosity takes over. "Give me the phone," she says. "I want to see too."

"You'll see him later!" Hana whines but Kyoko pretends to not have heard, passing the phone to Rosetta.

Her blood freezes when she sees the man's face. She puts the phone down.

"Tetsuya-san, don't let the boyfriend in! He's not–" the words die in her throat. How stupid was she to relax? Tetsuya is staring beyond her, face pale. He has a hand behind him, presumably reaching for a gun. Rosetta puts a hand up in warning.

"Hello ladies," Byakuran waves at them.

Hana stands, ready to meet her boyfriend's outstretched arms but Tetsuya blocks her.

"What is this? Security?" Hana chuckles. "He's my–"

"Boyfriend, yes," Tetsuya finishes, clutching her tightly. Although willful, Hana always had good instincts. She doesn't fight Tetsuya, merely raises an eyebrow at him.

"I'm just here for a friendly chat," Byakuran says, ignoring them, his teeth shine too brightly under the white lights. "Rosetta-chan, Hana-chan told me so much about you."

"What do you want?" Rosetta smiles sharply.

"A friendly visit for a friendly chat, as I said, may I sit?"

"No, you may not," Rosetta says. Kyoko pales, taking Haru's hand as she throws Rosetta a worried look.

"Is this how the Hibari treat their guests?"

Rosetta stands and paces just until she's between Byakuran and the girls. Tetsuya is saying something to Hana, trying to dissuade the girl into acting rashly. Hana is pale, staring at Byakuran with wide eyes.

"Unwanted guests are normally discouraged to show their faces."

"Persistence is a key trait."

Cold numbness takes root on the base of her spine. "Not when invested to a fruitless endeavor," she replies, shakily. The last time she refused him, he nearly killed her. "Why don't we take this somewhere private?"

Byakuran's smile pinches to a deadly edge. "This is private enough," when he says this the patrons in the café stand to leave, down to the dishwasher. Even the ambient music dies. When the door clicks shut, Rosetta forces her jaw to unclench. The men outside are probably dead, judging by Tetsuya's grim expression.

"They're civilians," she puts a hand on the table. "Let them go, this is between us."

"What's happening?" Hana speaks, her voice trembling, reaching for the pepper spray in her bag.

"You're hostages darling," Byakuran replies toothily.

"What the f–"

Kyoko screams as the window explodes in a hail of lead. Silverware fly to the ceiling. Wood and porcelain shatter. Something warm and thick splashes on Rosetta's side and she isn't embarrassed by the quick relief she feels when she turns and finds that it's coffee and not blood and that her friends are all alive. Haru screams and hides under the table that can't protect her. Hana grabs Kyoko and tries to make a run for the exit. But Byakuran stops them with a gun of his own.

"This place is full of windows. You'll turn into a beehive if you take one more step," he warns.

"Fuck you!" Hana yells. Kyoko begins crying.

"I always hated your cursing," Byakuran says, pointing a gun at Hana's forehead. "Another word and you'll die. Sit down. That's right, sit down and be good. Let Rosetta-chan save you."

"Rosetta-san–" Tetsuya urges, hand on his gun.

"Don't," Rosetta says.

"He's right there, we can–"

"We touch him and we die in a rain of bullets," she says, the hard edge of her consonants wavering at the end.

"Fusanosuke-kun told me you were smart. Far more reasonable than the men in your family. He tried to be loyal till the end, you know?"

"He's still a traitor," she says, detaching herself from her position by the table, idly scanning the café with false disinterest.

"My snipers are ordered to shoot everyone the moment I die. They-"

"Skip the pleasantries."

Byakuran chuckles. "So impatient, we lead such terrible lives, I try to relish my moments. Well, again I come here for peace. Ryuusei's personal war has dragged out for months. His vengeance is draining your resources. You have soldiers, yes, but not enough for his vicious manhunts. He doesn't know Italy so well without you by his side." He assesses her. Oddly enough, that sentiment is true. "I can tell you where my father is, where his son is. Not precisely, but they send me their coordinates providing I dance to their tune." His lip curls at that, obviously, he doesn't like it. "This can end quickly."

"The boss was right when he called your family a bunch of snakes."

"Is that why you don't want to negotiate? Please, you're hardly any better," he says this with a sharp self-satisfied smile, watching her keenly as she paced around the room. "I'm a bastard. I have nothing. If Ryuusei kills me and my father and his remaining son, do you think other famiglia won't fight over our lands? Won't fight him? The mafia is a bunch of crows. Your family would pay a bigger sum for a small strip of property," he hisses, it strains his smile. "I can help him. I'm willing to give half of the Gesso's assets if I'm named the boss. It's cleaner like this."

She pauses, leaning by the cashier. The windows are all facing away from her.

The girls have quieted down. It's much better when they were crying. Now Rosetta knows they're listening.

"I can't do that," she says with far more honesty than she intends. It's not the time to lie. She shuts her eyes. "I can't–" Kyoko sobs.

Byakuran eyes her critically, and then he sighs. "I'm disappointed. You're exactly like your father-in-law."

That splits something in her. Rage uncoils like a snake.

"You think I deny you because of pride? That was an excellent plan. Trust me, I want to say yes," she hisses savagely and before she can stop herself she says: "Did you really expect that my words have sway to his judgment?"

"You're his consiglieri," Byakuran presses after a terrible silence.

"I'm a fucking woman!" She laughs, she cannot take back that confession. "I'm much use to him as a bastard like you!"

"No, no," Byakuran says, shaking his head. "I did not come here to waste my time."

"You just did."

"I'll kill your friends if you don't do it."

She laughs bitterly, sweeping her hand to Kyoko's tear-streaked face. "You'll risk the Vongola hounding your back. The incoming tenth is fond of her."

"That's a bluff. There is no Vongola tenth."

"You've seen reports of Reborn's continued presence in Namimori, haven't you? What is a working hitman of that caliber doing here for months?"

A memory seems to light in his head. "Like the Chiavarone heir," he grinds out. Byakuran has always been handsome the way serpents are, he is an uglier creature when cornered. He sucks in a breath, pressing his free palm against the mark under his eye. "It doesn't matter," he says with the carelessness of a man about to see his dreams crushed. "It doesn't matter who this Vongola tenth fucks in his spare time. My offer still stands. You either help me or your friends will die. If you lie, I'll make sure they suffer."

"I told you. It's impossible."

"Do you need motivation?" Saying this he pushes past her and grabs Haru by the back of her shirt. Haru screams, tries to scratch him, but ultimately mellows when he points the gun at her temple. Hana freezes, clutching at Kyoko like a lifeline. "I can kill this one first."

Rosetta doesn't think when she conjures a gun with her flames, pointing it at Byakuran's surprised face. She's trembling. The sole display of the gut-wrenching terror she's shoving down with the prospect of survival. She can shoot him now. The snipers can't touch her where she is standing. Byakuran is careless to let her walk around. She knows reinforcements are coming. If they're late, an escape isn't impossible, far easier without baggage weighing her down.

But that means condemning her friends to death. Hana and Kyoko dead. The only girls who bothered to talk to her in class.

"Please," Haru chokes. "Hibari-san. I don't want to die. Please Hibari-san, help me I didn't do anything wrong-"

Haru is staring at her, eyes wide and pleading. She probably understands nothing. She doesn't know that with Byakuran dead many more deaths in the future might be prevented. He is not a good man. Three innocents versus hundreds of lives that may be ruined. Kyoko is saying something incomprehensible, trying to break against Hana's aggressive hold. To do what? To accompany Haru in her demise? Rosetta looks away and meets Byakuran's face, filled with amusement. He doesn't even have the decency to act terrified. That should make her angrier, but it doesn't. He seizes Haru wrist and waves her hand in a mocking goodbye.

Rosetta puts her gun down and stiffly wipes her tears with her sleeve.

The boss isn't there. She knows, but all she can think of is the odd warmth of his hands as he held her fingers and ordered her to shoot.

"I never thought you had the gall," Byakuran smiles, patting Haru on the head. He sounds so pleased. "You have until the wedding. We've sent an invitation to you. I want results by then, in the meantime…" He drags Haru up by the arms. "I'll keep them and–"

"I won't try if you take hostages," Rosetta grits out. She sounds like a child again.

"You're in no position to bargain. I'll treat them well. You have my word."

"I told you they're under the protection of–"

"And I don't care. You're grasping at straws now. Do you think the Vongola will spend resources to avenge them? As you said, I'm a bastard. They won't care -not that much. If they truly are important, then it's motivation for the incoming tenth to assist you is it not?"

Rosetta doesn't say anything.

"I've involved civilians before. The Vendicare is silent as long as I pay their exorbitant fees. I suggest you start working now. I'm not very patient, not anymore."

And that's it. Powerless to stop him, Rosetta and Tetsuya remain at the sidelines as Byakuran forces the women to the exit. Hana, the last to leave, is the only one who doesn't sob outwardly. She meets Rosetta's eyes with her steel-edged resolve and mouths, "don't let him get away with this."

Rosetta sinks to the floor, the gun disappearing as she puts her hands on her face. The gravity of her decisions sinking in. Tetsuya kneels to her side.

"Did I do the right thing? Did I… Gods Tetsuya-san, what have I done?"

Tetsuya doesn't have the correct answers. It's not fair to ask him. What he has are responsibilities. They lost six men: two snipers, three retainers and the driver that brought them to the café. It was a long thought out plan. Bribes were no doubt handed out to the local police, to men in their own service, far beneath the hierarchal ecosystem of the boss. Fear wins obedience, but money wins loyalty. A harsh reality often learned through harsher lessons.

The call comes merely an hour after they bring Rosetta back to the house. It's the boss. Ryuusei asks clipped questions. He doesn't sound distressed or angry. Tetsuya doesn't know if he should feel relieved. Rosetta should be safe. She should be fine. Eventually, they'll find the girls and she'll have another opportunity to bring down Byakuran and then she'll be okay again and then she'll cook again and play happier tunes in the piano at the attic when she thinks she's alone. He is disgusted at himself at his positivity. But he has lost his anchor when his father tried to kill him, even when the gun was empty.

"Give her the phone," Ryuusei says after he asks Tetsuya to repeat the events for the fourth time.

"She's not with me."

"I can wait."

He does wait as Tetsuya looks for her. Twice he nearly decides to shut the call, to feign the loss of signal or pretend that his battery is dying. But he knows the boss has other means. Rosetta isn't in her room, not at the balcony or at the attic. Not in her usual haunts. He finds Rita, and she leads him to Kyoya's study.

The door is open, flanked by two of his father's most loyal men. Rosetta is inside, curled by the base of Kyoya's desk, speaking quietly to Tsuna and Reborn, fiddling with her bracelet. Her eyes are red and she is paler than a sheet.

She straightens when he arrives and takes the phone.

"Yesterday the doctors removed Mutsuo's mangled hand. Choose the one you want to keep," Ryuusei says.

Rosetta closes her eyes.

"My right, boss."

"Why is that?"

"You already started with my left," she says.

"Then you have made your choice and I will accept," Ryuusei says bloodlessly. "Watanabe-san, did you hear that?"

Watanabe is one of the two retainers by the door. He confirms, he has his own phone. Tetsuya doesn't know how he missed that detail.

"Good," Ryuusei says and shuts the call.

Watanabe is a large man. Tetsuya has never heard him speak before, when he does, it's almost apologetic. He asks Rosetta to put her hand on the desk which she follows, silent tears dripping down her clothes. Tsuna tries to stop him, but Reborn shakes his head. It's none of their business according to hitman. Tsuna doesn't care, he tries to attack Watanabe but Reborn subdues him. He struggles in a futile effort under Reborn's expert hold. Insect under a pin.

Watanabe lifts his knife. Rosetta meets Tetsuya's horrified eyes, the dark green of her iris is striking under her lashes.

"Don't move, Tetsuya-san," she says and the knife falls.

The noise that comes after shatters Tetsuya's helplessness in a wash of relief that grasps at his throat. Watanabe howls in pain, clutching at his fingers. The knife clatters on the floor, bloodless. Kyoya's weapon is embedded through the window. The man himself is standing at the doorway, inhuman in his fury.

"Start explaining," Kyoya hisses.

A Note to The Readers: I have now butchered canon. You guys have no idea how freaking nervous I was to post this. Be daring they said!

One thing I wish to share is that on the scene where Kyoya and Rosetta are chilling at the balcony, I mentioned that Kyoya reads this obscure book. As I was typing that I didn't know I had a friend reading from my shoulder. That friend said: "he must be reading a book titled "How to be a Chuunibyou for Dummies"" and this entire story NEARLY got ruined by that statement. Suddenly I was struck with a subplot that only works in this story that also makes no sense –but was freaking hilarious– and was very tempted to start working on that.

I'm glad I didn't.

Well! What the heck. The next chapter will be available next week or maybe in two weeks since I have loads of work to do. Some freaking badass teamwork is BOUND to happen btw. I've made a bullet list for the next chapters. Hopefully, that will ease up my writing.

Comments, suggestions and violent reactions are welcome. Tell me what you think of this hot mess! ༽΄◞ิ౪◟ิ‵༼༽΄◞ิ౪◟ิ‵༼༽΄◞ิ౪◟ิ‵༼