I do not own KHR.
Again, I thank you for all who got this story on their favorite story and story alert list. Even to those who reviewed. And to those who took their time reading this.
Thank you very much.
_._._._._._._._._._._.
The fight was over.
Tsuna and the others had their injuries treated by Bianchi and Lussuria back in the Varia Headquarters. Needless to say, nobody let Lussuria heal them with his box weapon, the peacock, or else they will need a serious shaving later. It would be helpful if Sasagawa Ryohei was around but he didn't come to Italy. Gokudera, Yamamoto and Lambo were the only guardians who were able to come with Tsuna.
They were all fine now but not emotionally. Tsukiyo's revelation had quite an impact to their being. Manifestly, Tsuna was the one carrying the most trouble of them all. He was the reason why Tsukiyo turned out to this and he started hating his self even more. If only he had not commanded her then… but it was necessary – to keep her away from danger. Or was it all meaningless? He heard her say it did nothing to her but trouble.
He didn't seem to notice Reborn who was watching him clashing with his thoughts.
"Oi, Dame-Tsuna," he called. Tsuna looked at him, helplessly.
"What should I do, Reborn? It's my entire fault. "
"Don't blame yourself, Tsuna," a sudden appearance of Sawada Iemitsu said. "I had my faults, too. I never knew that she was being pressured of my absence." He had his hands on Tsuna's shoulders which the latter shoved away vehemently which took him by surprise. Everybody in the room watched them in silence as the atmosphere itself tensed.
"So, you knew that you were that useless?" Tsuna asked disdainfully. "Tsuki-nee did nothing wrong!" He shouted at him, tears almost welling up in his eyes. "She just wanted some time for herself but she never asked for this."
_._._._._._._._._
Belphegor left the room. He had enough of the father-son drama between Iemitsu and Tsunayoshi. In other words, he didn't give a damn about them. He was busy thinking of Tsukiyo who was locked up in her usual room in the Varia Quarters. At least it was better than being left behind in a lifeless underground prison without anything to warm her.
But he himself was perplexed when Tsukiyo threw him that statement.
"You've got to be kidding me." It resounded inside his head. What was she referring to? Was it his confession? He had no idea but if she were… He didn't even want to think about it.
He was there all the time. He accompanied Tsuna and his comrades to look for Tsukiyo after running from Xanxus whom she tried to assault. He saw how bloody she was in warfare and for the first time, he also had glimpsed her shadowy flames.
But Tsukiyo was corrupted. She was losing herself and Belphegor felt like he must do something for her. He didn't like that feeling at all. He had always hated doing something for anybody. He himself was even lazy to follow orders from the Varia but what can he do, his life was at stake in there. When you're working in Varia, the only thing that will make you out of the league is death. But why would he run away from Varia? He entered it, out of his free will, even at a young age. Eight years old, to be specific.
Nobody appeared to notice him slipping into Tsukiyo's room. He entered silently and sat on her bed's edge. He just watched her calm sleeping face. He was about to raise his hand to caress her face when the voice of a certain brat disrupted him.
"Belphegor, what are you doing here?" Asked the tense voice of Tsukiyo's younger brother. He sure had mustered the courage to ask that to Bel. It was evidently shown from the slight trembling Bel observed in him but his eyes were a different story. They were determined. As if ready to fight whenever he made a wrong move.
"Shishishi. If it isn't the Tenth Vongola Boss, I thought this place was off limits, even to you."
"A-and the same goes for y-you, too."
"Shishishi. I see you're afraid of me, brat." He stood up and strode towards a chair on which he had slump his self to. He stared at the ceiling.
"Y-you're not here to kill her for attempting to slay Xanxus, are you?"
"That's reasonable, isn't it?" Bel asked, looking at him as if challenging Tsuna's thoughts. However, the brunet did not respond to his statement. There was a seemingly perpetual silence between them but Bel broke the ambiance.
"If I were to do that, I should have done it earlier before you even came here." Belphegor's gaze drew to Tsukiyo.
"You like my sister don't you?" Tsuna's words weren't stammering at all. It was as if he wasn't nervous of the Prince the Ripper's presence anymore.
"Who said? That hyper intuition of yours?" Still, his gaze did not leave Tsukiyo.
"Y-yeah, somewhat," Tsuna replied and sat on the edge of Tsukiyo's bed.
He grinned. "Shishishi. How sly."
Tsuna also gazed at her sister who was serenely sleeping, ignoring Belphegor's remark. He wanted to think Tsukiyo was just pretending to sleep. That any moment now, she will open her eyes and talk with him. He really wanted to talk with her but will Tsukiyo let him?
"Tsuki-nee had always protected me ever since we were kids. She is really overprotective but she's strong. It was a shock that she almost killed me but to think that it was my fault in the first place…" Tsuna narrated, smiling prudently, with an evident hint of sadness in his voice. "I want to protect her."
Belphegor did not interfere with his narration regarding Tsukiyo. He wanted to know more anyway. About her, that is. And if there was something he wanted to agree with Tsuna, he knew his self. He wants to protect her, too. This girl who had been selfless for her family and was just shoved aside by them, leading to her tribulation.
"I have no idea how you guys treated her in Varia nor how Tsuki-nee managed to deal with you guys. What was she like?" Tsuna asked him, looking really interested.
This time, it was Belphegor's turn to remember what Tsukiyo's demeanor was like when she was working in Varia.
The first time she was introduced to them as the maid and almost got them killed by Xanxus, shouting "I hate you" to their boss' face, enduring all the toy-like treatment from him and Marmon and the dressing games of Lussuria, from the time Rasiel called and the kidnapping incident until it lead to her quandary.
"She always ran to my aid," he answered briefly and later found his face slammed with a placid hit of an intricately patterned blue pillow.
"More like ran away from you, stupid prince."
Tsuna and Belphegor stood in surprise. Tsukiyo was now awake. She got up in a sitting position. However, upon having an eye contact to Belphegor, her face suddenly turned pale, and she looked away.
Belphegor was curious of her behavior. She never called him 'stupid prince' and if his eyes weren't deceiving him, she saw Tsukiyo blush upon seeing him.
"Tsuki-nee!" Tsuna hurriedly embraced Tsukiyo out of happiness. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He repeated those words knowing that he would gladly repeat it the millionth time to prove his remorse.
Tsukiyo ruffled his brown hair. It was still the best hair she had her hands laid on. And she can't still stand a frowning face of Tsuna out of real melancholy. "I'm sorry, Tsu-kun." She gave out a small smile. I don't think I wanted to talk with you right now, she wanted to add but he muttered it bitterly to herself.
"Belphegor. Tsuna." Turning around, they found Timoteo. The Ninth Vongola Boss was seemingly disappointed at them for the violated rule not to go into Tsukiyo's room until they are told to do so.
Tsukiyo was quite thankful for the interruption. Really, he can't talk with Tsuna. If possible, she did not want to see anyone – not her mom, her father, nor Tsuna.
"Both of you, out of this room… now." The two had complied. Belphegor went out the room casually and Tsuna, on the other hand, bothered to take a last glance, giving her an apologetic look.
When they were gone, Tsukiyo watced Timoteo who walked to the pillow which she had thrown at Belphegor a while ago. He picked it up and he looked back at her. She couldn't stand the measuring eyes of his grandfather that she retracted her gaze.
"Look at me, Tsukiyo," he said, but to Tsukiyo, it sounded more like a command. She hesitated at first but she obeyed.
"What are you mortified of, Tsukiyo?" He asked putting down the pillow on her bed.
"Why are you even asking me this?" She asked, frowning at him. Do they really want to hear? Within her, she was feeling a big block of remorse. She betrayed Vongola. She almost killed Tsuna. She had injured her friends. She had harmed Vongola's associates. But another feeling countered it. It was resentment. She still didn't like how those things ran.
"Answer that, Tsukiyo," Timoteo said. "Until you won't give me the correct answer, you will not step out of this room. Nobody is allowed to visit you by then. I will strictly emphasize that to all of them." Tsukiyo was sure she had heard a stern stress on his last words. To all of them.
"Don't try to escape, Tsukiyo. You will not succeed, I tell you."
"What the?" She raised an eyebrow. "By answering that question, you're going to grant me freedom? This isn't some kind of sadistic quiz show, is it?" She asked mockingly. "Traitors are not tolerated in the mafia, right? Why don't you just kill me?"
"What are you mortified of, Tsukiyo? Your answer," he said ignoring her words. "Blood relations aren't that important in the mafia. We do not care if you're even the next successor. A betrayal is still a betrayal. A traitor is a traitor."
"I get the point. So why is there a need of a judgement in a ridiculous way by answering a question?"
"We're giving you a chance, don't waste it. Your family needs you."
Tsukiyo did not reply. My family needs me... huh? The question was repeating itself sarcastically inside her mind.
"Depending on what you answer with this question, we might reconsider."
Without any goodbyes, the old Vongola boss took his step out of the room.
"What am I mortified of?" She asked herself while staring at the pillow Timoteo put on her bed. Why don't they just kill me?