She wasn't allowed to attend the Cloud match much to her regret; despite despising Hibari, she knew that she could learn tons from him. When the Varia returned, they were short one large robot, nor did they seem to have the cloud ring. She was informed that due to certain circumstances, she was to participate in the battle the following night as the new cloud guardian. She was handed a makeshift Varia uniform and then shoved forcibly out of the officer's reclining area. But not before Levi finished complaining.
"Boss, she's not trustworthy! She'll betray us for those brats!"
To her surprise, it was Bel who came to her defense. "Ushishishi the peasant can't do much against us. She's blind." The inquisitive look he gave Xanxus was not missed by the rest of the Varia, although Mio saw nothing.
"You brat! You're blind?" Levi asked angrily.
"I am." She answered proudly, "You have a problem with that?"
"Boss, she tricked you! What can a blind bitch like her do for the Varia?"
Xanxus snarled, "Did you think I didn't know? You think I would let useless trash join the Varia?"
At the same time, Mio had her gun pointed at Levi. "Call me that again and I'll blow your brains out" she hissed.
Levi was outraged at the threat but no one else made a move. "Trash" Xanxus grunted, "Get out already."
She put her gun away and bowed politely before leaving. The uniform she had been handed had been tailored to fit specifically her and she couldn't help but stroke the cloth happily. It was a symbol that she wasn't just a replaceable chess piece, but rather a member of the team. Pulling the uniform on, she stiffened her resolve. If this was where she belonged, then so be it. She wouldn't let the chance slip through her fingers. Not this time.
She couldn't help but sigh however, when night time came and she was left in the dust by the excited Varia members. They were much faster than her, having trained in combat for practically their entire lives. She was left jogging towards Namimori Middle at her own sedate pace and arrived as the Vongola guardians did. Ignoring the looks that were no doubt aimed at her, she took her place behind Xanxus who had arrived with the rest of the Varia already.
The Cervello revealed themselves and then as the previously injured competitors arrived, they spoke ominously, "The compulsory summons do not take anything else into account. Because in the sky battle, the six rings as well as the lives of the six guardians are all at stake."
"The rings and the lives of the guardians are at stake…?" Tsuna's voice rose in anger, "What do you mean by that? Lambo is already injured! Give him back!"
"Stand down please. The Varia are in the same boat." The Cervello calmly replied.
"Yeah! Quit complaining! Once the summons were received, no matter what condition we're in, we have to assemble. That's the duty of a guardian!" After finishing his statement, he turned his head towards where Mio was standing and asked, "Anyway, who is this cute girl? And where is Mosca?"
Bel snickered, "You better not do anything funny Lussuria. Boss claimed her already."
"Mou! And no one bothered to tell me? What's your name cutie?"
"Kiyomizu Mio" she replied with a slight bow, "I'm the new cloud guardian."
"I'm hoping that Master Xanxus's anger has appeased and I'd have a chance to help him. Will this girl in his favor speak for me?" Mammon said from his cage.
"Ushishishi how nicely put. We only caught you instead of killing you, so don't be smooth talking here."
"Shut up Bel!"
Mio remained silent. From across the field, Yamamoto said, "What about Squalo? Isn't he here?"
"You know very well what the outcome of the rain battle was. We are unable to verify Squalo's current status." The Cervello responded. "Well then, let's begin the sky battle."
"W-wait a minute! We haven't clarified! Kiyomizu-chan shouldn't even be over there! And we-"
"If you don't want to start, you'll be disqualified. And master Xanxus will officially be given possession of the rings."
This cut Tsuna off and caused Gokudera to growl angrily. "All right, firstly, we will collect all the guardians' rings." As soon as they had taken all the rings, they continued. "We will now explain the rules of the sky battle. The sky battle will be similar to the other guardians. One of the conditions for victory is to join the two halves of the ring. However, the battle field will be the entire school. In order to watch such a wide battle field, we have installed large screen displays at the observation box as well as various other locations. Also the guardians will be using these wristbands installed with a camera equipped monitor. So then, would all the guardians please put on your wristbands. Then make your way to the respective fields of your own battles."
"Huh? Our battle field? What's the point of that?" Levi growled.
"We are not answering any questions. If you do not follow the rules, you will be disqualified."
Watch in hand, Mio made her way to the sports field, having been informed that that was where the cloud battle had taken place. Behind her she heard the Vongola guardians cheering together, and her steps quickened. She only needed to listen and having something around her wrists would throw off her perfected balance so she pocketed the watch and stood waiting for further instructions.
"What's with the pole…?" Ryohei asked.
Through the watch, the Cervello said, "We've set up a pole at each of the battle fields. The top of each pole contains the ring of the same type."
"Wha…? The ring…Don't tell me we're scrambling for them again…?" Gokudera frowned.
"In other words, we'll be fighting too?" Bel grinned.
"You are all free to do so. That is…if you are able to." Suddenly cries of pain came from the watch. "Just then, all the guardians were injected with a poison administered from their wristbands. This poison is called the death hitter. Once administered, it will paralyze the victim's nerves instantly. Even standing up will prove difficult. Then, a burning pain will spread throughout the body, increasing gradually, until 30 minutes later…the victim will die."
Wh-what is the meaning of this! It's supposed to be the sky battle, so why is everyone involved like this?" It was Tsuna who spoke this time.
"Because the sky is the mission of the boss. The sun, lightning, storm, rain, mist, cloud. He influences all of them. He understands and accepts all of them. That is the sky's mission. In this battle, the lives of all the guardians are entrusted in the hands of the boss. That is the sky battle." Even as Tsuna complained, the woman continued speaking without pause. "There is only one way to stop the progress of the poison. That is to insert the matching ring into each guardian's wristband. Once the ring is inserted into the indentation, it will activate the mechanism to administer the death hitter's antidote stored in the wristband."
"The condition for victory in the sky battle is simply this. You must acquire all of the Vongola rings."
There was silence and then suddenly a loud crash. Assuming the battle between Xanxus and Tsuna had begun, Mio set to work herself. She could hear Hibari's shallow breathing near her but ignored it and reassembled her gun into a cane. When she finally found the tower with the ring, she collapsed the cane back into a gun and shot a poison bullet into the base of the tower. The poison sizzled and melted through the metal and with a sharp kick, the tower crumbled. She heard the ring's descent, heard it roll, and then heard the grunt as Hibari grabbed it.
She froze and then dove at him. He couldn't get that ring! If he got the antidote, there was a chance that he would beat her and she would become useless to the Varia. And if she became useless, she would be kicked out.
But it was too late. The prefect had already gotten the antidote and was rising on wobbly legs. "Herbivore" he spoke coldly, "You are not even worth my time. Leave before I change my mind and bite you to death."
Infuriated by the derogatory comment, she shot a poison bullet at the still weak prefect to slow him down. Although she wanted to fight and prove her worth, common sense forced her to turn and run away. Even if she couldn't get the cloud ring, she could get the other rings while the guardians were still incapacitated. The most competent member of the Varia who would be the most useful was Belphegor, the storm ring bearer. Having noted where everyone had gone, she immediately ran for the school building.
As she neared the third floor however, a large blast came through the wall. Through the watch in her pocket, she heard Bel and Levi get their respective rings. Gritting her teeth, she turned and raced towards the gym where the baby Mammon would be. He had wanted her help before; now would be her chance. Mammon was lying on the ground panting harshly when she shot the pole down. Making sure to grab the ring as it fell this time, she quickly inserted it into the wristwatch.
"Muu I thought I was going to die." The baby sighed and then straightened, "Now then, how should we use this girl to lure out the rest of the rings which will no doubt be coming our way?"
The door opened and Mio brought out her gun, dropping into a defensive position. "Ushishishi found Ma-mm-on" A sing song voice said. She lowered her weapons, "Belphegor-san, what about the others?"
"It's Prince and as for those peasants, Levi got beat by that storm brat and Lussuria's useless in his condition." Bel ticked off on his fingers, grinning insanely. "We're the only ones left." The boy walked over to Chrome, "Ahh I just want to cut you into pieces. I wonder how your blood looks like or if you'll scream beautifully."
"Don't do that" Mio said sharply.
"Hmm?" The prince turned to face her, "Does the little peasant not want me to hurt her friend?" He applied some pressure on his knives and a small cut appeared on Chrome's skin, blood welling out.
Catching whiff of the liquid, Mio said hastily, "Don't kill her. We can use her to bargain for the other rings. Right now we only have the mist ring, right? We need to get the others."
Outside she could hear voices, and she sprang into action, "Grab her and bring her over here. Mammon-san, can you cover us in an illusion?" They surprisingly did as she asked and a second later the door burst open.
"The pole…! What the hell happened to it? Where's Dokuro?"
"Over here" Bel's illusion copy grinned. "Would you like to hand over the rings you're holding? Otherwise, I'll peel the skin off her bones and kill her in the most gruesome way possible."
"Fuck you! You think we'd fall for that cheap trick?" Gokudera yelled.
"Who do you think I am? We're the assassin squad, Varia, you know? When it comes to killing" the fake slid his knife across the illusion Chrome's face, slicing into it a little. The girl whimpered, breathe coming out in slow pants. "We don't bluff."
"I don't trust you…even if we hand over the rings, you have no intention of letting Dokuro go. Isn't that right?" Gokudera replied, teeth gritted.
"It's up to you to believe me or not, but if you keep dallying, she'll die from the poison before I skin her anyway."
"No choice then." It was Yamamoto who replied, "Looks like we have no choice but to hand over the rings. Apart from the mist ring you have, Gokudera and I have the remaining rings." Even as he spoke, Gokudera was already protesting. "But, we're not accepting such a one sided deal. First, cure the girl's poison in exchange for the rain and cloud rings. Once you've done that, we will trust you and exchange the remaining rings for the girl."
"Oi, oi, do you actually know who has the upper hand here?"
"Well it's fine Bel" Mammon said, "We'll still come out even."
Yamamoto rolled the rings forward and then seemed to trip. He kicked his sword forward at the last minute and the illusion Bel started writhing in agony. Yamamoto had his sword at illusion Mammon's throat. "Now our situations are reversed."
"It's a good thing the girl created illusions" Mammon said, dropping his and coming forward. Mio let go of her illusions as well and the baby continued speaking. "From the moment you attempted to fight us, both of you have entered my world."
His illusion spread and the shield covering where they really were faded away. Bel snickered, "The peasant made a pretty realistic illusion of me." He grinned at Gokudera, "We got to know each other really well."
Gokudera stiffened, "Oi woman! You're still on their side? I thought you were friends with that Dokuro girl!"
Mio raised her head in Gokudera's direction. "Sorry, but could we have the rest of the rings now?"
Bel caressed the real Chrome's neck with a knife, "Now, our situations are reversed again. We're back at the starting point."
The multiple Mammon illusions floating all over the place chimed in unison, "Come on now, hand over the all the rings besides the rain and mist. If you don't, the girl will be skinned alive." Tentacles shot out of the illusions and wrapped around Chrome, "I'll rip her limbs off too."
The two boys were shouting at them to stop, shouting at Mio to stop and do something. She frowned, "Mammon-san, could you let me deal with them?"
The baby thought for a moment and the tentacles disappeared, "Muu since you saved me; I'll pay back the favor."
She bowed to him and then stepped forward. "You stupid bitch! Are you really going to just watch that girl die?" Gokudera shouted, beside himself with fury.
Mio bit her lip and then yelled, "Shut up and hand over the rings already! You don't seem to understand, do you? The fact that you can see Mammon-san's illusions means that you have no bargaining power whatsoever! Trying to take advantage of me is just low of you! And it proves how much you didn't give a damn about me to begin with!"
She clenched her fists and suddenly vines burst out of the ground to wrap around the two boys. Yamamoto looked calm however and he walked through the vines twisting around his body. "I knew it. You don't really want to kill us. With an illusion that weak, your heart wasn't in it, was it?"
Mio snarled angrily and pulled out her gun. She ran at the boy, "Just give me the rings! Is that so hard?"
He drew out his sword and as she fired bullet after bullet at him, he was already protecting himself with the seventh form of Shigure Soen Ryu, Shibuki Ame. "We can talk this through Kiyo-chan. You don't really want to be our enemy, do you?"
But she was no longer where she had originally been. She had mastered Xanxus's technique and in an instant had gotten behind him. She struck him with the back of her gun and he fell like a log. Her hands were around his neck and she growled, "I'm not as attached to you as you think I am, Takeshi-kun. I'm able to change sides quite easily as you've seen."
He gasped for air and replied, "You don't mean that."
Her grip tightened and as she leaned forward, her bangs fell so that he saw her eyes for the first time. They were wide open, filled with emotion. Anger, desperation, helplessness, and regret all mixed into one heartbreaking expression.
"MAXIMUM CANNON!"
The force blew apart Mammon's illusions and threw Mio off Yamamoto straight into a wall. She slid down, unconscious.
"Boss!"
"Tsuna!"
What were those voices? Couldn't they keep it down? She was trying to sleep.
"Looks like everyone and their dog is here to witness the birth of the new boss." Mio's eyes snapped open. That was Belphegor! What was he talking about? What had happened? One second she had been fighting Yamamoto and the next she was here. Where was here?
"Oh pride of the Vongola, grant your successor, the young blood of Vongola with great power!" Mammon said ominously.
A warm flame filled with power lit up from where Xanxus, Mammon, and Belphegor were. Xanxus started laughing, having finally accomplished his goal. "With this I will become the tenth boss of the Vongola!" His voice died as suddenly blood spurted out of cuts that had appeared all over his body. Mio could smell the blood pouring out of his wounds. "What's happening?" she demanded. No one answered her; they were all too busy staring at the scene in front of them.
"The ring…rejected…Xanxus's blood…" Tsuna said slowly.
"What do you know? What do you mean the rings have rejected his blood?" Mammon asked frantically.
Xanxus started laughing from where he was laying. "I certainly had it coming, didn't I? That's right…that old fart and I…have no blood relation whatsoever!"
There was silence as everyone took in this new information. Coughing blood, Xanxus growled, "Don't you fucking pity me! You scum!"
Squalo chose that moment to finally speak up and explain everything. As the swordsman finished his speech, Tsuna struggled to stand up. "You betrayed the ninth boss…yet he didn't kill you…even till the end, hadn't he always treated you with acceptance…? The ninth boss didn't care about bloodlines or the law. He believed in you more than anyone else. The ninth boss had always treated you as his own son…"
Mio felt cold. Was it the same for her? Had she in reality already been accepted into the Vongola family? Had she pushed it all away for some fake semblance of belonging? Was she really so idiotic? Tsuna wasn't the type of person to betray another. How could she have even thought it was possible? Tears sprang into her eyes but she forced them back. Would he be willing to take her back even now?
"SHUT THE FUCK UP! DON'T MAKE ME SICK WITH THAT UNCONDITIONAL LOVE CRAP! WHAT USE IS THAT SHIT? THE ONLY THING I WANTED WAS THE SEAT OF THE BOSS! I ONLY WANTED THOSE SCUMBAGS TO WORSHIP ME! I ONLY WANTED THEM TO PRAISE ME!" Xanxus roared, coughing and spitting blood everywhere.
"Master Xanxus, we will need to deliberate further on whether or not you are suitable for the rings." The Cervello said, approaching the man.
"Shut up! If I can't have them, nobody can! Kill them! Kill them all!"
"Is this the man you want to follow?" Gokudera muttered quietly.
She jumped in shock, but sobered immediately. "If it is, I really judged you wrongly." He then ran forward to take his place in front of Tsuna. "As if I'd let you!"
"You're all half dead already, aren't you?" Bel snickered. Noticing Hibari, he grinned, "Ooh that one too. Ushishishi this time we'll do it 1000% right. You're all going to die."
"Are you blind or something? You're two against five! Who do you think the odds are against?"
"Two against five? What are you talking about?" Mammon cut in, "You are facing an army tens of times greater than this. All fifty members of our inborn Varia squall will be joining us here very soon. They were already on their way because after our boss's victory, they were supposed to kill the rest of the people here and settle everything. These are our elite, next in battle ability only to us core members."
"W-wait a minute!" A Cervello rushed forward, "We cannot allow any outsiders to interfere in the middle of the battle!"
With a swipe of Bel's knives, she was down, "You think we care?"
The spectators of the match started clamoring to get out of the box they were watching the spectacle in. Much to their dismay however, it had already been tampered with.
"Fuck! You mean we're on our own?"
"Eh…someone…is coming…?" Chrome murmured.
The footsteps of three men alerted Mio that the squad had arrived. She tensed, unsure of what to do. "Nice timing. We've been waiting for you guys."
"Reporting sir! We're the only ones left. The Varia squad has been wiped out!"
"That guy is too strong! The man's like a demon…he'll be here soon!"
"Boujareppa!" A large whirlwind knocked the man out of the way and a new person stepped forward. A deep voice said, "Don't be mistaken Vongola. I didn't come here to help you, I came here to say thank you."
"L-Lancia-san!" Tsuna shouted, shocked.
"The strongest and most fearsome man in Northern Italy…the Lancia who murdered his entire family." Squalo's voice came from the watch.
He did what and Tsuna still accepted him? But before she could even think about anything, Bel had jumped forward, ready to attack. Yamamoto slid safely in front of Tsuna and knocked away the knives that had been flung at him. Mammon started flying away but Chrome stopped him with a well placed illusion. One by one the guardians stepped forward to fight for their boss.
Lancia turned towards her, "Is she the enemy as well, Vongola?"
"Eh…? No, Kiyomizu-chan…she…" Tsuna helplessly stuttered, unsure of what to say.
"Mio isn't the enemy, Boss" Chrome said firmly from where she was standing. "She's our friend." It was the first time, she had ever called Mio by her first name. It had always been Kiyomizu-san before.
"Chrome…" Mio muttered. "I…I'm sorry…"
"It's our fault for hiding it from you Mio. Mukuro-sama is sorry too."
"Oi, do something about this, cloud guardian!" Bel hissed.
Mio stood up slowly and walked over to where Xanxus was. "Hey Boss, it's okay for me to go, right? To take your teachings and become the strongest…that's okay, right?"
Xanxus snarled, "Do whatever the hell you want. I don't give a damn anymore."
She nodded at his answer and walked over to where Yamamoto and Gokudera were standing protectively in front of Tsuna and said calmly, "Please move aside."
Yamamoto tensed, remembering their previous fight, but didn't move. Gokudera took out a handful of dynamite and growled, "Stupid woman. Don't fight their losing battle and don't make me use these on you."
Her hand was shaking fiercely but she stood firm, "Gokudera-kun, please move out of the way."
"No fucking way! I'm not letting you kill the Tenth! You can still come back to our side right now! The Tenth will probably let you!"
"Can't you just listen to me for once?" she shrieked. "I never said I was going to kill Tsuna! I just need to talk to him!"
"Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto. Let me hear what she has to say." Tsuna said weakly. The two protested but reluctantly moved out of the way.
Mio lowered her gun and asked, "Tsuna, can I trust you?"
"Kiyomizu-chan, I still don't know what you went through that makes it so hard for you to trust people. I don't even understand why you want to be part of this crazy mafia family so badly. But I guess I do understand a little bit about belonging with a group of people who care about you. So… if you don't mind, will you rejoin the family?"
She sighed and collapsed on the ground in front of him. They all waited with bated breath for her answer. The tension left the air however when Tsuna started panicking, "Ah, no wait! You don't have to cry! It's okay!"
Bel dropped his knives reluctantly, "That's it for me."
"Muu Boss…I think we're done…"
"You're all useless scumbags. Shit! Damn you all! All of you, I curse you all to death!" Xanxus's voice slowly rose.
"With this, the ring contest has ended. We will now announce the overall result. Since Master Xanxus has been disqualified, the winner of the sky battle is Master Sawada Tsunayoshi. Therefore the next successor to the Vongola is Master Sawada Tsunayoshi and his six guardians." The Cervello hesitated for a moment before continuing, "However, there remains the question of the position Kiyomizu Mio will take…"
Gokudera rolled his eyes, "Didn't you hear the Tenth? She's family."
The smell of sushi covered everything and it took Mio a moment to get used to the strong scent. When she had however, she immediately made a beeline for where Gokudera was standing. As the boy turned around to face her, she shoved a box into his hands and bowed sharply. "I'm sorry for everything I did Gokudera-kun."
He stared at her for a moment and she thought he was going to start lecturing her, but then asked, "What's in the box?"
Surprised, she stuttered, "A-ah, it's a cake I made. To make up for all the dinners you missed."
The boy sighed and then tugged her out of the shop. He turned to face her and then mumbled, "You're really stupid, you know?"
Indignantly, she replied, "I said I was sorry-"
He grabbed her and kissed her. She froze as sushi and nicotine flooded her senses. And then she shyly kissed back. By the time they separated, both were blushing furiously. Gokudera cleared his throat and said, "Listen, anytime you feel like the family is neglecting you or whatever, just remember that I'm here, okay?"
She nodded speechless and he lifted her bangs. A grin spread across his face when he saw the tears of happiness shining in her eyes and he murmured, "Don't ever let anyone else see what you're feeling. Only I'm allowed."
Taking her hand, he led her back into the shop where they were greeted by catcalls and cheers. She gave a long, heartfelt apology to Tsuna, Yamamoto, and Chrome for everything she had done. To her surprise, they had long forgiven her. It was a ridiculously happy feeling and Mio couldn't help but wonder how long it would last. Her question was answered when as she went to take a breath of fresh air outside, a cloth suddenly covered her mouth. She struggled but the fumes worked against her and she passed out.
Author's Note:
Finally got to chapter 10! This is the second to last chapter of this series so look forward to the ending!
I know most people wanted Mio to end up with Mukuro, but he was meant to be more a mentor character than a lover to her. And she's known Gokudera for longer and spent more time with him. Actually, the main reason I want GokuderaXMio is because Mio searches for family and acceptance for the entire story. Gokudera did that in the beginning as well so he understands how it feels like. Mukuro doesn't want to be part of the family, so if she ended up with him, she would always be detached from the family which is not what she wants. As for the past life stuff, don't worry, that'll all be explained in the last chapter.
That's it for the Varia as well. After this, they've gone back to Italy so there's no more contact D:
Please read and review~