Hotaru felt absolutely numb after Arashi cautiously explained about the Vongola, Iemitsu, and the current situation with Belphegor's Sky Xanxus.
Considering no one was entirely clear what Vongola Nono had done to him, she felt it prudent to scry into the past and find out for herself. Belphegor had admitted that the bond was still present, but it felt...dull. Empty. Like it wasn't sure whether he was alive or dead in the first place.
Needless to say there were quite a few outraged parties after seeing Xanxus confront Timoteo over his adoption and the lie that he was the man's son...which made him an heir and able to inherit the titles... only for Timoteo to give a rather sanctimonious speech with a fake 'disappointed father' expression on his face right before freezing him using a flame technique neither of the Storms had ever seen before.
The thing that horrified her the most was the expression in Timoteo's eyes when he froze his 'son'. There was no empathy, no pain or hurt. His eyes were empty and emotionless. As if it was just business.
Hotaru shivered.
Suddenly the knowledge that her father's "boss" had sealed her flames away, leaving her completely helpless against the dark side of Sky Attraction was far too easy to believe. That man didn't care about others, just himself.
So long as Vongola Nono kept his power close, he wouldn't hesitate to hurt those closest to him. It explained why he never handed over the reigns to his heir when the man was more than old enough to take over and even had guardians.
So in an effort to take her mind of the apparent callousness of the Ninth and his Guardians, Arashi pushed her to the dojo and put a normal sword that was meant for practice in her hands. By this point she could subconsciously draw on Sword to increase her skill level in it's use, though she preferred her fists to a weapon.
Takeshi took one look at his little sister's expression, before pulling out another practice sword.
By this point she really was his little sister, and nothing anyone said would change that fact.
No words were said. The moment Takeshi began his attack and Hotaru defended, her mind began to clear of all the uncertainty, fear and doubt. All that mattered in that moment was "attack and defend", as the soothing rhythm of their movements fell into a familiar pattern.
By the time Hotaru admitted defeat, as Takeshi had far better endurance than she did (never mind the fact she preferred 'defense' over 'attack), she no longer felt upset. Just tired and clear headed.
"Feel better, imouto?" asked Takeshi, helping her up.
"I do, actually," said Hotaru. Though her arms felt like jelly at the moment. Takeshi had an impish expression on his face as he picked her up piggy-back style, and grinned when she squeaked.
Hotaru settled across his back and happily wrapped her arms around his neck. It was nice having family that actually cared.
Chrome was fidgeting.
"What wrong?" asked Hotaru. It had been well over a year since she rescued her little sister from her 'family', and she had thought Chrome was a bit more confident now.
"Um... is it normal to dream about boys you've never met?" she asked in a rush.
Arashi grinned.
"What sort of dreams?" he asked.
Chrome looked uncomfortable, but settled into the hug Hotaru gave her. She drew strength from her sister being right next to her.
"I keep seeing a boy in my dreams. He had a really weird hair style that reminds me of a pineapple and mismatched eyes. The right one is red and has kanji written in it that appears to be numbers, except it keeps changing. He's mostly amused that we keep seeing each other, once he got over his paranoia," said Chrome quietly. "He said he has two friends with him, but they can't come into the dream."
"Can you show us what he looks like?" asked Arashi with interest.
Chrome was a Mist...and from the sound of things, there was a possibility she was picking up on the 'signal' of another compatible Mist.
And if that was the case, then it could potentially mean extra protection for Hotaru. Chrome was decent enough, but she specialized in the more subtle applications of Mist flames. Having another Mist might not be a bad thing.
"Why don't we ask a few things of your new friend. Perhaps we can help him," said Arashi.
Chrome perked up at that. From what Mukuro told her, they were being chased by someone.
"What's his name?"
"Rokudo Mukuro," said Chrome.
Arashi had a rather...fixed...expression on his face.
"Are you sure that was his name?" asked Arashi seriously.
She nodded.
He sighed.
"Hotaru-hime, I think we're going to need another scrying session before we make contact with him."
"Why?" asked Hotaru curiously.
"Because Rokudo Mukuro is known as a wanted man by the Vindice," explained Arashi. "If we offer him sanctuary it could easily lead to the Honored Law Keepers coming after us by proxy for helping him. If we found a reasonable explanation for his behavior, however... we could plead for leniency."
Hotaru didn't mind scrying. She found looking into past events in history fascinating.
She was also a secret fan of Daniela Vongola, upon learning she had been the only female Don of the Vongola family during World War II. The woman had been a total bad ass and she admired her for the fact she was capable of telling the men around her where to shove their opinions in order to let her do her job. She wanted to be that strong when she was older!
Though Arashi would never dare admit the pleased expression on his face when Hotaru once scryed on Luce after he briefly mentioned her...and the way Hotaru had called her a complete disappointment as a Sky and as a person.
What Hotaru found had her both appalled and very upset. Mukuro might be considered a criminal, but from what she saw any murderous impulses he had towards the mafia was completely justified!
There was no way she could let this stand. They needed to clear this up and give those three a proper chance to heal from the damage done to them.
Arashi felt a shiver of anticipation and pride watching Hotaru go into protective mode over a boy she had never met. Seeing her take charge like this was a nice change of pace.
Besides, he had an idea that would definitely earn her approval considering how protective she was over a teenager. He just had to arrange things right to pull it off with no one the wiser.
In the dreamscape...
Chrome didn't have to wait long for Mukuro to show up. He found her interesting.
"I sense something is different..." he said, looking around carefully.
So he was quite surprised when another girl appeared to stand next to Chrome.
"Who are you?" he said defensively.
"My name is Hotaru Yamamoto. I'm Chrome's Sky and her sister," she said gently.
Mukuro looked betrayed. What he knew of Skies said that she would try to force him to bond with her and control him.
He glared at Chrome.
"You brought your Sky here?" he hissed. Chrome flinched.
"Nee-san wants to help. But she wanted to hear it from you first why you killed that other famiglia."
"I saw what they did to you. Those people had no right to experiment on you and put you through such torture, never mind your two friends," said Hotaru.
"What would you know about it?" demanded Mukuro, angry.
"They would inject you with chemicals that forced you into a near death state that made you suffer visions of a hell-like existence," said Hotaru crisply and without hesitation. "They would also cut you in order to see your healing rate and took out your right eye with little or no pain killers and implanted an eye that was compatible from the cloned body of a man who died several hundred years ago. The result of which caused the eye in question to turn a bloody red, and your flames created a pathway that allowed you to channel different types of illusions more effectively."
Mukuro stared at her in shock.
No one was aware of how he got the eye...they were always too busy being terrified of the illusions he set on them using it. And the two he had kept alive from the labs didn't care considering they had been put through their own special form of hell.
So the fact she knew what happened to him was enough to at least earn his interest.
"How..."
"Nee-san has a special power that lets her view the past. When I mentioned you she looked into yours to find out why you hated the mafia so much and what drove you to kill the first family," said Chrome quietly, hoping Mukuro didn't hate her for this.
"I want to know the specifics as to why you killed the famiglia that took you in. Otherwise we're going to have a very hard time asking the Honored Law Keepers to have leniency for you and your friends about what you did."
"Who are the Honored Law Keepers?" asked Mukuro. He wasn't familiar with the term.
"I believe the Italians know them better as the Vindice. You'll find the Triads and the Yakuza don't have nearly as much issue with them as the mafia and the mob do," said Hotaru dryly. "And my Storm has gone to a great deal of trouble to remove any control the mafia has over my actions. At this point I'm a neutral faction in Japan. The Vindice still consider me a 'civilian in the know' by their terms."
Mostly because she was more inclined to use magic instead of flames. She rarely bothered with her Sky flames because her magic was far more useful and had far more applications.
Seeing she had Mukuro's full interest, she waited expectantly for his answer.
"...The famiglia that took us in were so pleased to have me that they considered my two minions disposable. They were openly discussing sending them on missions they had no business being part of while making arrangements to try and use me as collateral with a Sky, with no thoughts of keeping us together. The only person who treated us as actual children also happened to be the strongest one in the famiglia. There was no way in hell I was going to let them separate us...so I killed them using his body," said Mukuro reluctantly. "None of them would have cared about Ken or Chikusa, so they got what they deserved."
Hotaru nodded in agreement. The sort of loyalty Mukuro was displaying should be nurtured, not torn apart.
"Did any of you undergo therapy at all for the trauma you suffered from the labs?"
"Those idiot mafioso didn't notice or care... they were just annoyed we kept having loud screaming nightmares and were going to drug us so we wouldn't keep waking them up," said Mukuro in disgust.
Ken had it the worst, though Chikusa often had bad nights where he couldn't sleep at all. Mukuro simply let them crash with him and take comfort in his presence, and most of the time they slept in the same bed anyway.
None of the adults gave a damn about them or their bonds. They just wanted to use them for their own benefit.
He barely registered Hotaru being so close...until he felt her hug him.
"No one should have to go through that sort of treatment. Especially someone who's suffered so much already."
He desperately wanted to reach out, to let that warmth envelop him and wash away all the uncertainty and fear. But cold hard experience stayed his hand.
He did quietly enjoy the hug though.
"I promise I'll do everything in my power to help you and your friends. You've suffered enough, and anyone who was as nice to Chrome as you have been deserves a second chance."
For the first time in a very long time, Mukuro felt a flicker of hope. It was small, barely the same amount as a candle flame, but it was still there.
Something inside told him to trust her. To believe she would follow through.
Three days later...
It had taken a lot of effort, but Arashi was able to track down evidence of what Mukuro had told them. It seemed the famiglia that had 'rescued' them had made an order of some dangerous sleeping drugs (it was far too easy for children to overdose on them, especially as underweight as Mukuro and his friends had been) shortly before the incident that resulted in their destruction. There were also talks between allied families regarding a potential Mist young enough to be trained into being basically brainwashed into loyalty, since the mafia had it in their heads that Mists were traitorous and more inclined to turn on their Skies due to their shifty nature.
Since he could find no evidence of any therapy or treatment for the inevitable PTSD that the trio had from their exposure to the hellish environment in the labs, it was doubtful the famiglia had known about the trauma in the first place.
That the lone survivor was also the only one to show any actual 'kindness' to them because they were children said volumes.
Either way, there was some doubt if the Vindice would give them a chance.
Hotaru waited on baited breath to hear from Bermuda about the matter. He was a busy man after all.
Arashi had to fight the impulse to flinch when Jaeger and Bermuda appeared from the portal.
"We have reviewed the evidence you have provided," said Bermuda crisply, not bothering to dally over the matter.
Hotaru waited patiently.
"After viewing the evidence, it would appear that the destruction of the Drago famiglia was from mishandling of a traumatized Mist child. If the boy can show enough control to follow the law, then he may be given a pardon. However if he kills again without cause, there will be no leniency. We will arrest him and he will never see the outside of the Vindicare," said Bermuda. There was no room for 'kindness' in his voice.
The Vindice leader was willing to allow that the famiglia had brought their destruction on themselves for failing to realize the Mist they took in had PTSD that needed treatment, and was bonded to his two friends, but that didn't mean they were going to let a loose cannon go free. He either toed the line from now on or he would be arrested and never see the light of day again.
Hotaru beamed at him.
"Thank you!"
Bermuda and Jaeger inclined their heads, before leaving.
Hotaru turned to Arashi.
"Can you pick them up so they don't get captured by the mafia? I'm sure it will take some time for the news that they were 'pardoned' to filter through their coffee-addled heads."
Arashi hid a smile at that comment. Hotaru could drink coffee, but she much preferred tea. Then again she had never had a proper cup of coffee before, just the mass-manufactured nonsense.
"Of course, Hotaru-hime," he purred.
Besides, this gave him a chance to pick up one...extra...that he was sure his princess would absolutely adore and spoil rotten.