The battle for the Vongola Rings is well underway and the contest for the rain ring has recently been concluded with Yamamoto emerging as the victor. Everyone left the battlefield believing Squalo had met his demise but fortunately he was saved from the jaws of death by his old friends. How will he react when seeing them once more?
"How is he, Dino?" Rosetta asked with concern when entering the hospital room.
"Still no sign of him waking." The Cavallone boss answered with an exhausted sigh. "But the doctor said he's gotten through the worst of it."
His friend smiled with relief. "That's good news at least."
"But we're still not any closer to finding the truth behind the whole ring battle!" Dino exclaimed in an aggravated tone. He then realized he blew up without thinking. "Sorry, I'm just…"
"Tired?" The Mezzanotte boss added with a tiny chuckle. "You've done enough for now. Why don't you go get a little rest while I watch him for a while?"
The blonde hesitantly agreed but told her to let him know as soon as Squalo regained consciousness. Rosetta saw him out and then silently approached the curtain surrounding the bed before sliding it open to check on the patient within.
"Well now, look who's awake." She said slyly, gazing upon a heavily bandaged and fully conscious Squalo. "How long, may I ask?"
Instead of answering he looked away from her while the Mezzanotte boss grabbed a chair and sat beside the bed. After a few minutes he finally spoke. "You're not gonna go get Cavallone?"
"Only if you want me to. Do you…?"
"Hell no!" The white haired man shouted, looking like he was going to bust a vessel. "I'm NOT in the mood to be interrogated by scum like him." - he then calmed down a little - "What the hell are you doing here anyway? Are you helping that shitty trash with their battles like Cavallone is?"
Rosetta heard his question and immediately assumed he was speaking of Tsunayoshi and his comrades. "No. Due to my job being what it is I can't get closely involved with the young Vongola so I'm stuck with just observing the ring battles." She replied before pinching and tugging at his ear half playfully.
"Gah! What's with the sudden ear grabbing woman?!"
"Well if I remember correctly, a certain somebody totally wrecked a portion of Namimori before the ring battles commenced and none other than yours truly had to step in to clean up the mess you left. Who in their right mind wouldn't take the chance to dole out a little punishment when given the opportunity?"
"Feh. You call this punishment?"
The Mezzanotte boss smirked and pinched him harder. "Is that a challenge…?"
"No, okay? So back off!" Squalo stated bluntly, earning himself a tighter pinch for good measure. "Ow! I give! I give!" - the brunette acknowledged his cry for mercy and let him go - "You sure do love kicking a man when he's down, don't you?"
"Fatally wounded or not, you deserved it." Rosetta stated before continuing in a more solemn tone. "Why are the Varia doing this? And why are you helping Xanxus with his goals when we all know it's been decided that Tsunayoshi will become the next Vongola boss?"
The white haired male simply averted his gaze, deciding not to give her a reply.
"…Not going to answer then?" The brunette asked, sounding a little disappointed.
A minute of silence passed before Squalo asked with uncertainty, "You're not gonna grill me for answers?"
"No, if you're not willing to answer." The Mezzanotte boss replied simply. "But there's a chance that Dino might. He's eager to know why you're attacking his figurative younger brother and his friends."
The white haired male groaned in response. Rosetta took note of this and said, "If you're not up for it perhaps I could deter Dino but even then it may only be for a short while."
"You'd really do that…?" Squalo asked with mild surprise.
"While I don't condone your actions I do understand that you may not be ready to explain them." The brunette told him seriously. "Sooner or later you'll have to come clean though~"
The white haired male cringed before thinking for a moment. Then he asked, "You want nothing in return for this?"
The Mezzanotte boss looked surprised yet intrigued. "Not unless you have something to offer me."
Squalo went silent for a long while before saying, "Your brother Nero is on the Varia's hit list,"
"Tell me something I don't know. My eyes and ears have informed me that he's on quite a few families' hit lists." Rosetta interjected.
The white haired male clicked his tongue with annoyance. "Would you let me finish, woman?!" He shouted angrily before calming down. "I happened to have an…encounter of sorts with him a few months ago. I could've slayed him there but he escaped before I had the chance. I haven't told anyone this - not even Xanxus."
With this information he had Rosetta's interest instantly. She asked for whatever information he could still give her and he obliged, sharing with her everything he knew.
In return she fulfilled her promise and kept Dino at bay the best she could until before the final battle where he told them everything. In the end everything was sorted and Tsuna's group came out the victors, becoming the true Vongola guardians.