In the day that followed Rosetta never left Antonio's side as he recovered in the hospital. He was out cold up until the afternoon when he eventually regained consciousness.
"Rosetta!" He exclaimed with a raspy voice once he noticed her there. "Nero he-."
"I know," his niece replied with a grave tone. "I came across him myself last night."
"And? What happened?"
"He took the ring and challenged me to a duel for it," Rosetta explained. "And despite the risks…I accepted in exchange for letting you and Hibari go."
"How could you make such a deal without my consent?!" Antonio suddenly exclaimed with worry and aggravation.
"And why did you not call for me or backup when you encountered Nero?!" The Mezzanotte boss rebutted, sounding just as emotional.
The both of them glared at each other for a minute before realizing that they had reached a stalemate in their argument so they backed down and sat in silence for a minute.
Once they had calmed down her uncle asked softly, "So, what is your plan then?"
"I meet him at sunset like we agreed and although his aim is to kill me…" she explained steadily. "Mine is to incapacitate and capture."
"He'll make it extremely difficult for you."
"I know, but I'm ready."
The silence from him that followed signified that despite that he was against it, he accepted her choice. They continued to keep each other's company until Rosetta had to leave.
"One last thing…Please don't follow me, Uncle Antonio," she told him as she rose from her seat. "I don't want you opening your wounds or endangering yourself."
He nodded after a pause and she set out for her destination.
'Sorry, everyone…' she thought as she sneakily made her way out. 'But it's better that it's me…and not you all…'
Going at quick steady pace Rosetta reached the location just in time, finding Nero waiting there, as per their agreement.
"Ah, Rosetta. Right on time," he greeted almost giddily with slight impatience. "You're looking a little pale though. Didn't get enough sleep last night?"
"No. I was tending to Uncle Antonio most of the night and into the morning no thanks to you." She replied. "I'm surprised you're even here. I thought you would've been far away from here by now."
"Please, you think too little of me. I never go back on a deal - much less one I propose myself." He paused, noticed the apprehensive expression on her face, and frowned before continuing. "What is with that look you're giving me?"
Rosetta hesitated, unsure of how to bring up her deepest concerns with him, but ultimately decided to anyway.
"Nero…knowing you, you offered the deal with the intent to kill me in the end. I have no intention to die or kill you, my own brother, to save my life. I will fight you as promised, but I don't want this to be a fight to the death."
"Unfortunately that won't be possible." He said, anger bubbling up already. "I only made a deal that would benefit me - one that erases you and makes my plan a success."
His sister took a small step back, shaking her head. "You should know that I don't like to kill."
"Then you'll die and I'll walk away with this ring."
"I…can't allow that either."
"Then suck it up and fight me already!"
Nero then shot straight for Rosetta with no warning, sword unsheathed and swinging at her. She was initially shocked but reacted in time, using her pole to block his attack.
"I'm impressed. Your reflexes have improved." The black haired male commented as they struggled against each other.
"Well I haven't been just twiddling my thumbs this whole time." The Mezzanotte boss stated in response, catching him by surprise as she pushed him quite some distance away. "I've been training every free moment I've had, mostly with the help of my friends and family."
"Ugh. 'Friends and family'? That is one thing you must never rely on. They'll just end up betraying you."
Rosetta shot him a deeply concerned gaze, now noticing that there was something definitely different about him. "Nero…what happened to you…?" She asked slowly.
"You don't need to know," her brother replied coldly with an icy yet curiously bittersweet stare. "Because as I said before, you will be erased tonight, once and for all."
"And I said that I can't allow that to happen," the sister stated in her defense, standing ready to block another attack. "I can't leave this world yet. I still have people dear to me that I need to protect."
"Let's see if you'll be able keep your word then!"
Brother and sister then tensed up before rushing toward each other. They clashed in the middle of the clearing, the sounds of metal clanging and echoing through the area.
While they were caught in another struggle Nero boasted, "You may successfully blocked another of my attacks, but this will be the last success you'll experience!"
After saying this he pushed Rosetta away with his sword and then followed up with a strong kick to her chest. She managed to guard against it with her pole and used rain flames to boost her defense, but the impact still sent her skidding back at a speed strong enough to make her hit the tree behind her.
She slid down into a kneeling position at the base of the tree, disoriented and gasping for air. He must have used some sort of flame to enhance his attack but she had no time to think. Nero was jumping at her to strike again so Rosetta rolled out of the way as quick as she could.
Unfortunately she dodged a second too late and came out of the bout with a shallow gash to her upper arm.
"Hm. You're lucky you survived that one," Nero commented condescendingly.
Rosetta said nothing for a minute, sensing some small remains of the same flames he used before on her new wound. She tried to figure out which flames they were exactly but couldn't so she dared to ask.
"What…flames are you using? They aren't known to me…"
"That's…a…secret~" he answered cryptically before dashing towards her and meeting her in another clash.
He kept pushing until she lost her balance and stumbled backwards. Nero quickly took the opportunity to strike once more, landing a hit on her opposite shoulder. Rosetta groaned with pain while leaning up against the nearest tree, trying to heal herself with a weak sun flame.
"You'll wear yourself out faster trying to use those three flames simultaneously," her brother advised, earning himself a shocked gaze from her. "Yes, I can see them clear as day. The sun flames of course, the rain flames you've engulfed your body within, and the mist flames you're using to hide them. Tell me…why are you protecting your body in such a way…?"
Rosetta only narrowed her eyes at him in response, looking guarded.
"That's okay. I don't need an answer." Nero continued nonchalantly. "You'll be dead in a moment anyway!"
He then put all his strength into his next strike. Rosetta had expended most of her energy and knew she wouldn't be able to get away in time. She gritted her teeth as everything seemed to slow down.
'I-I can't move! If…If this is the end for me…' she thought as she closed her eyes, bracing herself for impact. In a brief moment of calm, she placed her hand over her abdomen gently. 'I'm sorry…but I don't think we'll be able to survive this-.'
Suddenly when Rosetta was meant to feel the sharp pain of a blade running her through, she instead felt herself being pulled by her arm into…an embrace?
She opened her eyes and looked up to see…
"Dino?!" She exclaimed. "Why are you here?!" - she paused and he attempted to answer but she interrupted him - "No. More importantly, how did you even find me? I only told Antonio where I was going…"
"Exactly! Why didn't you tell any of the rest of us?" Her friend argued with concern. "You would've died back there if I hadn't pulled you away!"
The Mezzanotte boss was about to continue the argument but she happened to notice someone else had come with her friend. "Reborn is here too?!"
"It was his idea," the Cavallone boss explained. "After getting Antonio and Hibari into the hospital he had a bad feeling so we followed you out here. If we hadn't…" He trailed off, clenching his jaw with a sad expression on his face.
"If you hadn't…she'd be gone by now." Nero growled as he jerked his blade out of the tree he stabbed instead of her. "And now that you're all here I have more work to do. No offense but now I must eradicate all of you."
"We don't take offense at all," Reborn remarked seriously before smirking. "After all, I know Rosetta can and will take you down."
"Especially now that Reborn and I are here now for support." Dino added confidently.
"No! This is my battle, not yours." Rosetta interjected quickly.
"Exactly, so stand aside." Nero added. "You'll get your turn once I've killed my main target…" - he saw how worn down she was looking at this point and chuckled - "Which may be happening very soon."
"I don't think so," his sister announced, tired but confident.
She then charged at Nero despite Dino's concerned advice and that's when everything became quite apparent to him.
"Wait a minute…Earlier when he- And then just now…" the older Mezzanotte hypothesized while dodging her attacks, then laughed when coming to his conclusion. "Oh, this is rich! Although…I gotta say I did see this coming from a mile away."
"What are you going on about now?!" Rosetta asked incredulously.
"Why, your relation to Cavallone, of course!" Nero elaborated, earning confused expressions from the couple. "Oh, don't look so confused. Anyone with a working set of eyes can see it. Everyone around you must be either stupid or turning a blind eye because Rosetta shouldn't be the Mezzanotte boss considering the rule you've broken."
"Even so you don't have any authority over this matter." His sister rebutted calmly. "…And I'll be taking you in before you can spread any rumors about it."
"You'll be dead before you can hope to do so." Her brother claimed just as he got an idea. "…Or perhaps I should be aiming to crumble the source of your determination…"
Dino immediately caught on to what he was insinuating and slowly reached for his whip. Before his hand could wrap around the handle however, Nero simply pointed at him saying, "Why don't you die first instead?"
He then fired green lightning straight at the Cavallone boss who could do nothing to defend against it. Time seemed to slow down as Rosetta made a mad dash to his side to protect him.
She only had enough time to get there so in that last moment she put herself between him and the attack, becoming his shield in the process. The lightning hit hard and fast, and the now weakened rain flames did little to defend her.
After being hit, Rosetta crumpled to the ground silently. Dino watched with horror as this happened and crouched down next to her limp body immediately afterwards.
"…Rosetta?" He uttered slowly with disbelief, reaching out to touch her.
"Don't touch her, Dino!" Reborn exclaimed, making his old student flinch. "There could still be electric currents running through her body." - he then withdrew a small hand mirror from his jacket pocket - "Here, use this to check her breathing."
The Cavallone boss did as his teacher instructed and found that the attack had done her in.
"Reborn, she's…" he concluded slowly before standing and tearfully glaring at the man now laughing in front of them. "You killed Rosetta, your own sister!"
"Of course. It's what I set out to do," Nero replied nonchalantly with a shrug before aiming his sword at the blonde. "And now…you're next."
He then went to dash at him and Dino was ready to defend and fight back, but at that moment something unexpected happened.
Rosetta's eyes suddenly opened and she sat up.
Dino backed up but dared to call her name. She didn't respond. She just simply stood with her head bowed over, facing her brother.
Once more the Cavallone boss attempted to touch her but her teacher advised against it.
"No, Dino. Wait," Reborn stated. "She doesn't seem to notice us here. Touching her might throw her off. It's best to wait and observe at this time."
"But Rosetta's in no condition to-." Dino started to rebut, but stopped short when his former teacher glared at him. He sighed and gave in, doing as the hitman said.
"What is going on here?!" Nero exclaimed in the meantime, looking just as confused as the others. "I definitely killed you!"
"Which was a grave mistake you made." Rosetta replied in a low slightly deeper voice. "No one is allowed to hurt her, and I mean no one."
"Her…?" The older Mezzanotte sibling barely managed to ask before his throat was in the death grip of his sister's hands.
He struggled against it but she was too strong. The two of them fell to the ground, Rosetta refusing to loosen her grip despite her brother's cries.
"Reborn, I know Rosetta wouldn't want to end it this way!" Dino asked with urgent uncertainty. "Is it safe enough for me to go stop her…?"
The hitman stood silent in thought for a minute surprisingly hesitating with his answer.
At that moment Antonio emerged from hiding. "Yes, Dino!" He replied urgently in the hitman's stead. "Stop them now!"
The two others flinched with surprise at his sudden appearance but quickly jumped into action. The Cavallone boss ran to his friend and looped his arms up under her armpits before pulling her away.
She resisted at first, tightening her grip on her opponent's neck but with Dino's continued efforts to drag her away she eventually lost her strength and let go. As soon as the connection between the siblings broke they both simultaneously lost consciousness.
Dino immediately tried to shake his dear friend awake and dared to check her vitals, becoming surprised at the results he'd found.
"Hey…Rosetta is…alive?!" He exclaimed with relief and confusion. "But I swear earlier she was…"
"What happened just now, Antonio…?" Reborn asked cautiously.
"For once…I do not know…" he replied just as a heavy mist slowly creeped in around them all.
The clinking of chains followed and then three mysterious heavily bandaged figures wearing tattered black cloaks and top hats appeared in the clearing.
They spoke in unison, using their eerie sounding voices to say, "We have come to collect Nero Ezzelin Mezzanotte, accused of countless heinous crimes against the mafia…"
"Wait," Antonio spoke up before they could bind him up in chains. "I believe our agreement was that Nero should be dealt with by his own family."
"We would honor that agreement, but doubt that you have the means to keep such an elusive fugitive in captivity by yourselves." The figures argued.
"If that's all you're worried about, then we've crafted a special flame suppressing capsule to hold him." The right hand Mezzanotte explained in response. "Now I strongly suggest you let us handle this per our agreement, or we'll be having quite a serious and nasty conflict on our hands."
The trio stood in silent contemplation for a minute, then said, "Very well…" They then disappeared, taking with them their chains and the fog.
"Even the Vindiche was after Nero?" Dino asked with mild surprise once the jingling sound could be heard no longer.
"Yes, but they failed to realize that first and foremost he is to be turned over to the Mezzanotte," Antonio explained to them. "It is only if we fail that he is left for the likes of the Varia and the Vindiche to deal with his fate. Rosetta is hoping that we can get through to him before it gets out of hand though."
He then contacted reinforcements and once Nero was properly detained they all returned to the hospital with a new patient for them…