"What?!" Dino questioned urgently with shock and disbelief. "Is that what the text really says? Who sent it?"
Rosetta showed him her phone so he could see the message and photo for himself.
"Damn. They used your uncle's phone to send it." He concluded. "Do you think we can still track it somehow…?"
"We've got no time for that!" The Mezzanotte boss uttered with urgency while turning to the door. "We have to get out there now or-."
She tried to leave but the Cavallone boss quickly caught up with her and stopped her. "Calm down, Rosetta." He stated steadily, keeping a firm yet gentle grip on her upper arms. "Let's be rational about this and take it one step at a time, okay?"
She took his words into consideration before taking a deep breath and relaxing.
"Now, you're the one whose job is to keep the peace. What do you suggest we do?"
Rosetta thought for a minute before replying cautiously with, "It may be best to start…with coming clean on some of the details of why I truly came here…"
Dino was a bit confused but ultimately agreed with her plan, so together the two of them contacted everyone they could.
A while later everyone was convened in her living room, sharing confused and concerned expressions. Once all who had been contacted were present, Rosetta informed everyone of the text she had received.
"Eh?! Someone attacked Antonio-san and Hibari and has taken them hostage?!" Tsuna asked with shock and concern.
Rosetta showed him the text and picture attached as proof.
The Vongola boss to be examined the picture for a minute then continued after his infamous intuition had kicked in. "Could their attacker be…the same one who put Ryohei and Gokudera in the hospital?"
The Mezzanotte boss hesitated to answer but it was hard to avoid his deeply serious and concerned gaze that bore into her soul.
Finally she sighed and replied carefully with, "I initially said I came to Namimori to give my subordinate I've stationed here some much needed time off, but that wasn't the only reason," - she paused, adopting a gravely serious expression - "In reality, I'm here to try and apprehend a dangerous fugitive who has been hiding out in this town. And yes, this fugitive may very well be the one who's been attacking those close to us."
As soon as the truth was revealed, everyone became tense and alert.
"If this fugitive is so dangerous," Reborn voiced everyone's thoughts with his question. "Then why did you wait until now to tell us? Instead you could've given us a forewarning."
"And risk throwing you all into a panic with my arrival, proving the rumors about my family could be true?" Rosetta rebutted, looking upset and hurt. "I'm sorry that your friends were targeted and injured in the process and I thought I'd be able to catch them before things got out of hand, but I wanted my formal meeting with you all to be one with no worries."
"I wanted that too but I would've preferred that you warn us." Tsuna advised, sounding surprisingly mature. "Namimori has seen its fair share of crazy and dangerous situations and has survived quite well. What's so different about this fugitive?"
The Mezzanotte boss was taken aback as she blushed with chagrin at her misgivings. When she regained her composure she explained.
"They're cunning as well as extremely good at hiding, so they wouldn't risk being found out. Taking that into consideration, there's a big chance that Antonio and Hibari may be hidden somewhere by them."
The brunette teen considered her explanation silently, taking in not only her words but also her gestures. Once she had finished he dared to ask, "Your demeanor suggests that you may know this fugitive on a more personal level. Is there something else you're not telling us…?"
Rosetta froze with shock at how scarily perceptive Reborn's student was. No wonder he was chosen to be the next Vongola boss. She hesitated in answering so luckily for her the hitman tutor stepped in.
"I know we're all eager to hear an explanation, but while we're sitting here deliberating, Antonio's and Hibari's injuries could be getting worse." He advised seriously. "Knowing that we all need to work together in locating them as soon as possible."
All who were present agreed and split up into pairs to search Namimori effectively after making sure they could all contact each other when the injured were found. Dino and Rosetta were paired of course but their search area was big enough for them to do their own separate searches.
She looked all day and found nothing. She would check her phone periodically for any new calls or texts from Antonio's but nothing turned up there either. Suddenly as the sun started to set and she was about to return to Dino, Rosetta felt an unnatural pull from somewhere nearby. She knew that she had to get back whether she had something or not, but this feeling…
'I can't ignore it…' she thought seriously, deciding to go along with the urge.
The tugging pulled her to the far outskirts of Namimori, far from civilization and prying eyes.
"Of course! I should've known he would be here," Rosetta stated aloud, feeling quite stupid. "But that feeling is gone. How am I supposed to find Hibari and Antonio…?"
Just as she trailed off she tensed up, feeling a deeply menacing presence behind her. A deeper version of a familiar voice shortly followed.
"You don't have to search anymore. They are right here, with me." It said in reply. "It was fun watching you and your…weak friends search desperately for them so I thought I would reward you."
Rosetta swallowed slowly and balled her fists, bracing herself for a moment. When she was ready she turned quickly, expecting no one to be there but he surprisingly was for a change.
Rosetta's twin brother Nero had changed substantially since they had last seen each other seven years ago. He stood five feet and eleven inches tall with dark blue colored eyes and darker almost black hair. His hair was styled so that his bangs partially covered his eyes but the sides were long enough to frame his face and the rest was loosely slicked back into spikes.
He was currently wearing a long dark grey overcoat with the collar sticking up over a light grayish blue button up shirt with a blood red tie loosely tied around his neck. To finish the look he wore grey formal black shoes and had the family's specially made Japanese blade strapped to his hip.
'This aura that's coming from him…' Rosetta thought to herself as she gazed upon her brother with bewilderment. 'How did I not sense it before? It's so…suffocating!'
Even though she felt that way she urgently asked, "Where are Uncle Antonio and Hibari? What have you done with them?"
"Oh, don't worry. They're right here with me." Nero replied with a mischievous smirk as he stepped aside, revealing the ones he had injured laying behind him. "I heard the boy was supposed to be the strongest Vongola, but he was hardly even a challenge. I was about to finish him off when your Uncle stepped in," - he paused and stepped back in front of them when noticing her moving closer - "I figured he wasn't worth it and was about to leave when I noticed that he had…this."
Nero then held up the one thing Rosetta had entrusted Antonio with, for it was a burden too heavy for her to carry - the Mezzanotte family ring.
The brunette's eyes widened at the sight of it and instinctively uttered, "You…have no right to be carrying that. Give it back."
"I believe I do," her brother argued.
"Where were you when the main estate disappeared?" Rosetta asked somewhat angrily and he frowned in response. "And why have I heard nothing but bad news involving you? You weren't like this before. What…happened to you?"
"I woke up." He answered simply. "And I realized I deserve this more than you ever could."
"Even so you've been doing your own thing since the main family disappeared while I've been running everything to by best ability." His sister explained. "The ring should be in more capable hands."
Nero suddenly erupted with laughter, startling her. "You think you're more capable than I am? You didn't even have the ring in your possession in the first place!" - he laughed a little more, then looked like he had gotten an idea - "Very well. If you think you're capable, then I'll give you a chance to prove it to me."
Rosetta shot him a skeptical gaze in response. "Prove it…how?"
"In battle of course. We fight each other for the ring and…if you should win…I'll let you walk away with the ring and the title."
Her brother finished with a victorious smirk, making her think that he was up to something. Still, she felt like she had no choice but to accept. On the off chance she decided to refuse Nero would walk away with the ring, thus corrupting its core and what the Mezzanotte stood for.
If she accepted however, Rosetta felt that she could very well be facing her inevitable death. She thought silently for a minute, and ultimately decided that she couldn't allow her brother to break down everything the previous generations worked so hard to build, and what she was continuing to build for her future, even at the risk of her life.
"…Okay," she stated hesitantly with determination. "I'll do it." - she paused and he smirked even more - "But only if you let Antonio and Hibari go."
Nero frowned but surprisingly agreed. "Very well. Just give me a good show. We meet here tomorrow at sun down. Don't be late~"
He then made his exit, leaving the injured behind as he'd promised.
As soon as he had gone, Rosetta ran to them and started healing them with her sun flames right away. She got their wounds at least halfway healed before pulling out her cellphone.
"Dino, I found them!" She exclaimed urgently as soon as he answered. "I found Antonio and Hibari!"
"Are they okay?!" The Cavallone boss asked in response, sounding like he had started to move to meet up with her. After a minute he asked with a worried curiousness, "…Where are you right now?"
"I'm…on the outskirts of Namimori, in a heavily forested area." Rosetta replied instantly. "I'll make a beacon with my flames. Also I healed them partially but you should still get here as soon as you can."
"Right. I'm on my way now, Rosetta." He told her before hanging up.
Dino kept his word and arrived within a few minutes of the end of their call thanks to her quite noticeable beacon. Together the two of them gently moved the injured to a car and drove them to the hospital where a deeply worried Tsuna was waiting for them.
"Is everyone okay?!" He asked as soon as he saw them.
"Yes, I closed their wounds at least but they still need to be admitted just to be safe." Rosetta replied.
The Vongola boss in training smiled with relief but them became apprehensive. "…And the fugitive you spoke about…?"
"There was no sign of him, but I'll be calling in reinforcements to increase the search." The Mezzanotte boss explained, then continued with a comforting tone when she noticed that the teen was becoming increasingly worried. "Don't worry. I won't let them hurt any more of your friends. I'll put a stop to them as soon as possible."
He met her serious gaze and nodded, then watched silently as the two bosses carried the injured into the hospital, wondering why Rosetta had looked and sounded as if she was trying to hide another lie, and why she sounded curiously bittersweet when telling him…