Second part! Actually, it was supposezd to be attached to the first chapter, but i thought it was just too long so... here it is!


Finally, the terrible day of the surgery arrived.

At first, Squalo insisted on going alone. He said that it would just be a waste of time and personnel to have the rest of the Varia come as well. But Lussuria, who had no work to do at the moment, was adamant on following the silverette. Bel and Mammon followed as well, pretexting the same thing ("Voi, I fucking know you do have stuff to do. Go back to work already!")

But when they finally arrived, they saw with much surprise (for Squalo, annoyance) the Vongola brats already waiting for them in the clinic's anteroom. But not only them, Dino Cavallone and Romario were also there, and even Byakuran, altogether with other Millefiore members! The small room was completely crammed with people now.

"You kids are so sweet!" Lussuria beamed. "All of you just came here from Japan to support Squ-chan? ("I don't need those fucking brats around me. It's a fucking heart transplant, damnit. Not a Disneyland attraction.")"

"Of course!" Tsuna replied with enthusiasm. "Squalo-san can be very scary some times, but he sure had been a great help for us in the future."

Gokudera added, though with less fervor, let's say. "Yeah, that's what they call gratitude or stuff. But I'm more interested in the reason of Millefiore's presence here, aren't you?"

"It's sort of the same as you." It was Dino's turn to answer. The young man was trying to keep a brave face, but it was more that certain that without Romario being with him, he would have fainted. Since long. After all, that was his best friend he'd known for a decade whose life was on stake now. ("Voi, Haneuma, don't just go and dramatize all that shit on your own.") "In the future, Squalo has been the first one amongst the Vongola family to protect Uni. I think Byakuran and the others are somehow in the same position as you."

"How wonderful~" Bel was drooling on one of the few seats. "Squalo is soooo a wonderful person. A modern good Samaritan."

"Stop drooling. That's gross."

"I'm drooling on peasant's seats so it's okay~"

"Anyway, where did Squalo-san go?"

Gokudera scowled. "He stopped by quickly and immediately followed Shamal to the block. That guy really isn't into lengthy procedure. I just hope he's not like that with his patients too…"

What happened next had to prove the young Storm guardian was wrong.

After maybe one hour of waiting, Dino, who couldn't stay still in the waiting room, lastly went to hang in the corridor outside the block operatory. On his way, he met Levy, standing like a creepy statue in the dim light.

"Uhm… Hello?" The Bucking Horse greeted, with no reply. Weird, Dino thought, what was that guy doing there? He had never been very fond of Squalo in the first place… Ah, so that was the reason: Xanxus was already sitting there, right before the block's entrance, a cigarette between his lips despite the obvious no smoking sign stuck up next to his head. The blond waved his hand. "Hi, Xanxus! You know, here is a hospital…"

"What the fuck you're talking about, damn scum?"

Oh, the cigarette was out. "Sorry, my bad." Dusting off his coat, Dino Cavallone took place three seats away from the raven. "You've been here for long?"

"Yes." Yamamoto's voice startled the blond. Damn, that kid truly had one hell of an assassination teacher, if he could even hide his presence from the Cavallone Boss. Or did Dino just let his guard down? After all, the younger swordsman had been standing before them the whole time, picking through the small windows of the block's double doors. "We saw Dr. Shamal bringing him inside. Squalo looked rather calm."

"Oh, really."

"…"

Several minutes went by as silently as a funeral. Dino didn't know how long the surgery itself would take, but he was pretty sure they weren't even half way through it. How uncomforting. His nerves would ultimately break, he was damn sure about that.

Even though it wasn't even the first time he saw Squalo being hospitalized. With a deep bitterness, the Cavallone heir recalled that day, years ago, when he first set his eyes on a bleeding, heavily injured shark. With his left hand off. Back then, he threw his guts up and nearly fainted in Romario's arms. Not very manly, he agrees. But when the nurse asked for the swordsman's known relatives, Dino had to admit he absolutely knew none of them, so he had been the one taking care of all the formalities. Even when Squalo became part of the Varia, Dino always did. And when doctors would ask him what was exactly their kinship, the Cavallone would just shrug clumsily and answer: 'A distant cousin?' Fortunately, mafia doctors are never very nosy about those kinds of things.

However, Dino just couldn't lie about the fact that tagging along with Squalo for all those years had made of him a stronger man – look, he hasn't fainted yet, has he? That was big improvement. Somehow, he wondered how far could have he gone if, instead of choosing Xanxus, the silverette chose him, eight years ago…

What an awkward situation though, the blond couldn't help but ponder with amusement. Here they were, the three of them. The best friend, the student and the Boss. Practically Squalo's three men in his life.

"Stupid horse. Stop smiling like a bloody idiot." Xanxus hissed at him. "What's so funny about having your shitty ass stuck in that fucking chair?"

"Nah, just wondering, Xanxus. Just wondering." Dino huffed a laugh. "About how we looked like when we were kids. And what would have happened if none of us had met Squalo."

"Well, I guess I'd be playing baseball right now." Takeshi was the first to reply. "But I wouldn't say it's what I truly wish for, now."

"Oh. That doesn't surprise me!" Dino chuckled again. "And Xanxus would be the same spoiled brat he had always been. As for me, I guess… Ah! Ah! I'd still peeing in my pants, locked in a locker somewhere. Did you know I was constantly bullied in school? It reminds me of Squalo's sooo disgusted air when he took me out of my gym locker. 'Stop fucking crying like a baby and act like a man, damnit!' he yelled. Ah! Ah!"

Dino stretched his legs then hid his face behind his folded arms. No good. It still wasn't good enough.

"If it wasn't for Squalo…" Yamamoto resumed, his voice quite shaking, however, unlike Dino, it wasn't utterly obvious to the two others. Only, he was clenching at his fist. The Haneuma couldn't say if it was from anger – though he couldn't imagine Yamamoto getting angry over anything – or if the boy was just as scared as him. "I'd be playing baseball in Namimori right now. The guys were talking about Koshien. It wasn't very serious, but some of us really believed in it. And then Squalo arrived at town and my life took a 180° turn. Now, everything I can think about is the last training session I had with him, and how he'd beat my face to a painful pulp if I didn't master a move by the next time we'd meet."

"Yeah, must be kinda tough, aren't they?" The blond joked. "Training with Squalo. Even for me I think I won't last till the end."

"Eh?" At last, Yamamoto Takeshi looked back at them, a questioning stare in his eyes. "I think it's sort of okay, actually." He finally smiled. "Being with Squalo is always a lot of fun, mostly when we're done with training. Did you know he's very good at making barbecues? Well, not a very complex one since we were still in the woods at that time, but it was super tasty."

Dino jumped on his seat, all excited for no particular reason. "Yeah, yeah! I've already tasted Squalo's special lost-in-forest barbecues. When we were still in middle school, we had that outing with our class, and Squalo and I got lost in the middle of the trip (I was totally on fault). Fortunately the woods were full of comestible stuff, but all alone I'm not sure I'd have made it in one piece. And I honestly have no idea how that guy did it, but by the end of the day, when I was all shivering in the dark (oh, wait, no, I think before he left Squalo lit a fire camp for me, but it was still damn cold), Squalo brought something like a giant dead wild boar on his shoulder. Ah! Ah! I asked him what the heck were we supposed to do with that, then he said, 'Eat it, you sissy cunt. What else?' I had been sick all the time he skinned the poor animal with his tiny knife, and I firmly vowed I wouldn't eat it… But one hour later, I was starving to death, and God only knows why the pieces of meat Squalo had put on the fire on simple wood stakes seemed so delicious, all of a sudden. Aah, I slept well that night. Help only arrived the next day. Squalo was sound asleep when they came, as if he wasn't waiting for them at all."

For the first time since he came in the clinic, Dino was sincerely bright and breezy. Seeing Yamamoto's thoughts diverted from the operation was also a good thing to see. No matter what, a kid should never have to witness someone they hold so dear on a surgical table, their chest wide open, with all the blood overflowing, the infernal beeping of the monitor, the dull pumping of the artificial respirator, and the discomforting, oh so discomforting smell of the anesthesia... Never.

The nausea was back again. Dino kept on talking to forget it.

"And you, Xanxus?" The raven glared at him as though he had absolutely no idea what the blond was asking. The latter heaved a sigh. "Forget it. For one second, I forgot who I was talking to. No way in freezing hell you'd go for a daytrip with anyone, wouldn't you?"

"… I did once." Xanxus' response came from nowhere. It was very likely the scary Mafia boss also needed to focus on something else but what was happening in the block, or so Dino believed. Somewhat. Come to t hink about it… it was surely the first time he saw Squalo getting hospitalized. Back at the Ring battle time, he was just too busy kicking the Vongola kids' ass with the rest of the Varia to care about his second in command's whereabouts. And Dino didn't even know if Squalo knew for his Boss' presence that day. But isn't that fine, anyway? "But not with all the other trashes." Xanxus added. "With the old man, when I still was a kid."

"Eeeh."

And even with that last attempt, they were now short of topics. Dino excused himself and went to fetch some juice cans from the waiting room, which was as noisy as when he left. When people asked him how the operation was doing, all he could do was smiling gawkily and left again.

Yamamoto welcomed his soda with a polite and cheerful smile, when Xanxus only grumped and questioned, "There's no booze?"

"Of course, there's not!" Dino replied, shocked. "This is a hospital, for Lord's sake!"

"Che. Useless scumbag."

"…" The Cavallone heir silently went back to his seat.

One hour went by. Two hours, then three… After the third hour, Dino somehow lost all sense of time. But isn't that what people say? The longer it takes, the better the outcome? Or was it the contrary?... Or was it about a trial deliberation again.

Tiresome. His butt was tired from seating for that long. Yamamoto couldn't stand still anymore. Now, he was pacing back and forth in the corridor. Next to him, Xanxus was sleeping – or was the raven's eyes only close, he couldn't tell. He was too tired to think about that.

"Now, guys!" Like this, like a blast of wind, Shamal unexpectedly rushed out from block, his surgical mask and cap still covering half of his face. The Cavallone had to rub his eyes to make sure they weren't playing a trick on him. Nope, Shamal was actually there, his green coat stained with blood and other weird liquids. "Hey, hey, wake up! I haven't slept a single second in there, you know."

"How is he?" Dino rose from his seat as they saw nurses pushing a bed with a soundly asleep silverette from the operatory block to the recovery room, right next to the first room.

"Fine. The operation went smoothly. He reacted nice to the previous treatment, too, so complication probabilities are very low… for now. We'll have to keep him here for further follow-up."

"How long?"

Shamal took off his mask. Even that laid-back womanizer kind of looked like he was worried, which wasn't good news at all, for no one. "Depends on his body's reaction to the transplant, really. Maybe two weeks, maybe more, maybe less. It's not an exact science…."

"Can we see him now?" Yamamoto inquired.

"Huh? Are you in your right mind?" Shamal scratched his head. "Right now, all Squalo needs is sleep, rest, and two bottles of morphine. He doesn't need to see your ugly faces. Still sleeping anyway. Come back tomorrow, but I don't promise he'll be awake."

"Oh… alright, then."

"Yeah…" Shamal yawned while leaving the corridor. "And I need to go for a rest too. That's my second heavy operation since this morning and another one is waiting for me this afternoon. You kid should go to sleep too…"

"I'll stay." Automatically, Dino said, then to the two others "And you?"

Without a world, Xanxus left the corridor, not even looking at the other men.

"I'll stay with you." Yamamoto proposed, only to meet Dino's non acquiescing look.

"You'd better leave now, too. You and Tsuna just arrived by plane today, didn't you? I can guess from the tiredness on your faces. No, you all go to sleep… You've booked a hotel? I'll have Romario cancel it. Just go to my place, you'd all be better there. Tonight, you can come here. I don't think there should be any problems till then… Ah, on your way out, can you tell him to buy me something to eat? Anything will do. Thanks."

Yamamoto bowed to him and left as well.

The next day, the recovery room was full of presents, flowers and other gifts from the whole families. Shamal specifically said it was totally useless since the patient himself still was unconscious, but no one cared. Flowers bouquets around his bed, 'get well soon' balloons floating around the window, chocolate and sweet cards waiting for him only to read on his bedside, this was the fairylike scene Dino had gradually got used to during his tour of duty. The Vongola kids – especially the Rain guardian – would drop by from time to time to help him, but he mainly was the only one to look after the swordsman.

"…Khh." A deep inhaling sound came from the other side of the room.

Oh, that's right. Him and Xanxus. The raven never warned before he came. That day, for example, he came in the middle of the night (if the Mafia boss wanted to come in, it's not like anyone could stop him from doing so anyway), this time bringing his own booze and own armchair, then just started drinking till dawn. Silent, almost motionless in the half-dimness. Only early that morning did he finally fell asleep.

Squalo still was on life support, and Dino couldn't count anymore how many infusions they had attached to left wrist (for a matter of convenience, they had the artificial hand detached from his left forearm). O+. 72 kg. 23 year old male. Those were written on his files. Even without reading them, the blond had learned them by heart after all those years.

Dino yawned. Mh? What was that sound? Someone knocking on the door?

"Uhm, excuse me?" a young and dark haired girl with an eyepatch hiding her right eye opened the door. "I'm sorry… I hope I'm not disturbing you. I thought I'd take your place…"

"Ah, thank you, Chrome-chan!" Dino smiled at the slightly blushing girl. "But I'm doing fine. It's okay."

However, Chrome didn't leave. She just closed the door after her and remained there, still, untroubled by Xanxus' light snoring. She was just watching intently at the silverette, as though she was trying to analyze even the simple fact of the latter's chest heaving and dropping, slowly, mournfully... "Squalo-san is truly a very strong person, don't you think?"

"Yes… yes he is." Dino replied with a rather nostalgic air. "He has always been… Oh, I almost forgot, Chrome. You're more or less in the same case as him, aren't you? I mean… Mukuro's illusion."

Dino was sure he wasn't being very tactful, but the young girl didn't take offense. She smiled at him. "Yes. But unlike Squalo, I can't go on living without Mukuro-san's illusions anymore."

"Oh."

"But even if I had Squalo's chance, I don't think I'd have the same courage as him… I don't think I can go through all of this anymore."

"Oh…"

In all honesty, Dino simply didn't know what to answer. However, you shouldn't blame him too much for that weakness: he'd been staying up for more than 24 hours. He didn't even know what was happening in his family anymore, all their affairs now left within Romario's hands.

"Ah, sorry! I'm sure I'm boring you with my old stories!" blushing again, Chrome apologetically bowed to Dino two or three times. "Look at the time! When was the last time you had some sleep? Please, Dino-san, let me replace you here, you won't have to worry about anything!"

The Cavallone heir yawned for the nth time. "It's okay, I tell you it's okay." His hand was waving like an attempt to apologize for his discourtesy. "And I'd rather stay here, in any case..."

"In any case?" If the silverette woke up while he was away, for instance. He didn't want Squalo's first sight to be his dead drunk boss sprawled in his throne-like armchair. "I know. Can you get me some coffee? And croissants, too. There's a vienoiserie shop, not far from here. I've asked my men to buy some this morning but they just can't choose the good ones. Please? Ah, there are guards outside, saw them? Just ask the money from them."

"O-okay…" Chrome was about to leave. "Are you sure you're really okay?"

"Yeah…" Dino stared for maybe one minute at the sleeping beauty. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little sleepy, but I've seen worse. Ne?"

After blushing again at the sight of Dino Cavallone's killer grin, Chrome left the room.

THE END