In Their Story, There was a Girl

Chapter 28: Brothers

-----YOTSUBA POV-----

"Hey, that kid Xanxus found out…"

"He found out? How?"

"Said he read it in Ninth's diary."

"That poor kid… he must be heartbroken…"

Ever since that day, the Niichan I used to know disappeared. The day that he found out that Daddy wasn't really our Daddy, and that he wasn't the direct next-in-line for the Vongola Decimo. Ever since that day, anger never left Niichan's eyes. Daddy became delirious. I knew that it was partly Daddy's fault that Niichan became this way, but it's unreasonable for Niichan not to understand. And I, being in the middle of two people I love, failed to protect either of them in the end.

"Niichan, who is that?" The big boy with silver hair next to you.

"No one. Now scram!"

"Niichan is a meanie!" I pouted, but ran away as you told me to.

I watched the two big boys from afar. The boy with silver hair looked at Niichan with admiration. I thought that Niichan made a new friend, and he was finally going to become the nice Niichan again. But I was wrong. That was the day that Niichan became an entirely different person.

On the next day, Niichan became the new leader of the Varia.

-----NORMAL POV-----

The memory of last night almost seemed unreal to Yotsuba. It had been a year and a half since Yotsuba last saw her brother Xanxus. She knew that this day would come eventually, but the mysterious Cervello girls troubled her. It doesn't seem like the Ninth to make unnecessary battle. In her mind, she knew that the Varia had something to do with this, but she could only go with the "Ninth's" orders. If Xanxus did anything to harm the Ninth, she wouldn't forgive him. But… what could she do, anyway?

Yotsuba looked through her apartment window and saw the top of Namimori Junior High a few blocks down. The Ring Battles start today, and her heart was pounding fast. Undoubtedly, she has been able to control the black gun quite well. However, she still hasn't found out how to use the white gun. No matter how many times she asked Iemitsu, he wouldn't teach her how to use it. But at this rate, she'd just have to fight Malvolia with what she has.

That Malvolia… she's always hated me… Yotsuba thought. And she still remembers the way that Malvolia kills in the past, and she has never seen crueler ways. She shivered from the thought and plopped down onto her bed.

"Mukuro…" she muttered. "How come I can't find you anymore?"

Yotsuba has been trying to find Mukuro in her sleep for quite a while. For some reason, she thought that it would comfort her a bit to see Mukuro again before the battles. But no matter how much she tried, she could not reach him.

"Hmph! Why did I think he could comfort me, anyway?" Yotsuba pouted. After a few more tries, she finally gave up, and decided to walk around outside.

Yotsuba left the apartment building and walked the opposite way of school. She has already missed a quarter of school, so she decided to not go at all. She walked and walked aimlessly in the shopping district, hoping to calm her own nerves. But in just ten minutes, she felt someone following her. Although the person hides quickly, she was able to see some movements.

Who could it be…? Malvolia? Yotsuba thought. Cautiously, she started walk faster and faster, and the follower fastened as well. Calculating the right timing, Yotsuba started to run. As expected, the follower started to run also. After taking some turns, she felt the person getting closer to her in distance, and she stopped running abruptly, turning around. Due to the sudden stop, the mysterious person crashed into her, making both of them fall to the ground.

"Ow… who are you?!" Yotsuba groaned as she sat up, surprised to see that the person was only a young, scrawny girl.

"I… I…" The girl stuttered, looking at Yotsuba nervously. Then Yotsuba noticed it—the familiar pineapple hairstyle that she's always seen.

"Take care of my precious little girl, will you?"

Yotsuba remembered Mukuro's words. Was this girl who Mukuro was talking about? There shouldn't be any mistakes. The same hairstyle, the Kokuyou uniform, and the eye patch on the right eye all lead to one person.

"Are you… related to Rokudou Mukuro somehow?"

The girl seemed to blush. "I… my name is Chrome Dokuro… Mukuro-sama wanted me to look after you and protect you…"

Protect me? "Oh… is that so? Well, my name is…"

"Yotsuba-sama. I know…"

"Ah… um, well, the 'sama' is not needed…" Yotsuba scratched the back of her head. "But where is Mukuro? If you're able to communicate with him…"

The girl blushed again and seemed to be hesitant. Yotsuba blinked. "It's okay if you don't want to say it. I don't want to know, anyway!"

Yotsuba turned to leave, but the girl named Chrome quickly followed. "Are… are you mad, Yotsuba-sama?"

"Why would I be mad," Yotsuba said. "at someone who's been totally avoiding me, and now sends someone to 'look after' me so that he doesn't have to face me himself?!"

She's definitely mad… Chrome thought. "Yotsuba-sama, Mukuro-sama is not in the condition to face anyone right now! He can only talk to me through my mind."

"Hmm?" Yotsuba raised an eyebrow at the shy girl. "You're defending him. Are you his sister or something?"

"No, Mukuro-sama is my savior…" Chrome said as she lowered her head. Her expression was full of appreciation.

Yotsuba studied her for a while, but decided not to question her any further. "Well, I'm going to go my own way. I don't mind if you want to come, but don't follow behind me. It's creepy."

"Yes, Yotsuba-sama!"

"I told you to lose the 'sama!'"

"Y…yes, Yotsuba-san!"

"…………"

The two of them walked down the street silently. After a while, Chrome started to fall back and began to walk behind Yotsuba again. Letting out a frustrated grunt, Yotsuba started to turn around.

"Hey! I told you not to……"

Before Yotsuba could completely turn around, two hands grabbed her shoulders and forced her back. Turning her head as much as she could, she still only sees the hands, which, by the size, definitely did not belong to Chrome.

"Wha…what?"

"Let's not let curiosity kill the cat, shall we?" A deep, familiar voice replaced Chrome's, surprising Yotsuba just a little bit. Already having a feeling of what happened, she wasn't too shocked.

The two of them kept walking at that pace. Except this time, Yotsuba's steps felt light as feather.

"Nervous about the battles coming up?" Yotsuba felt the grasp of those hands on her shoulders tighten. "Don't worry. I'll be watching you from behind; I won't let you die somewhere out of my sight."

A gush of warmth filled her stomach. And the worries she had in the morning seemed to calm a bit. She felt the man behind her sigh softly.

"This body gets tired quite easily. I actually wanted to be here longer."

The hands on her shoulder lost their grip. Yotsuba quickly turned around, only to see Chrome's face staring at her with her big eyes.

"Mukuro…" Yotsuba muttered.

"Ah…" Chrome's face heated up. "It's almost time, Yotsuba-san, I shall be leaving!"

With that said, Chrome ran. Yotsuba watched until Chrome's shadow disappeared from her sight.

That girl… I'll take care of her, Mukuro.

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The hands of the clock turned to eleven o'clock. It was a cloudless, dark night where even a few stars could be seen. The night would be enjoyable if there weren't such a violent event taking place at Namimori Junior High. The group of Varia and Tsuna's friends stood facing each other, with the Cerbello in the middle. The battle between the Guardians of the Sun was announced, and a boxing ring was prepared for the battle.

"The ring is my territory!" Ryohei exclaimed confidently.

Yotsuba looked to the side where Varia stood and found no sight of Xanxus. Because of this, she seemed to relax a bit. Watching the Varia members talk amongst themselves, she was starting to get some mixed feelings. But I am with Tsuna now… I can't be swayed…

Then, Yamamoto suggested forming a group circle. Despite the objections from Gokudera and Tsuna, Yamamoto and Ryohei grabbed everyone by force and formed a circle.

"RYOHEI! FIGHT-OH!"

With that, Ryohei seemed more pumped about the battle than before. Yotsuba watched as Ryohei made his way onto the ring. The feeling of Ryohei and Tsuna's arms on her shoulders still lingered and pressed down on her. And she watched Lussuria walk up to the ring, smiling confidently as always. This sucks, she thought, I don't want either side to get hurt…

The battles began, and Ryohei took off his shirt, ready to fight.

"Oh my!" Lussuria exclaimed. "You're body looks mighty fine up close! Looks like I'm taking you home today!"

"What did he just say?!" Tsuna made a disgusted face, and so did Gokudera.

However, Yotsuba could not help but smile a bit.

"Oh! You are boss's little sister, am I right?"

"Yes, my name is Yotsuba, oniichan!"

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no! Call me neechan! Ah, Yocchan is a cute little girl! Neechan will buy you lots of dresses and ribbons, okay?"

"Okay, Lussu-nee!"

But everything is in the past now, and she must stand strong on Tsuna's side. The battle started already unfairly to Ryohei's side, as bright lights shone down on the ring and blinding Ryohei. It seemed like a joke, but Ryohei didn't stand a chance against Lussuria's Muay Thai fighting style. For the first half of the battle, it was just Ryohei receiving all the hits. Finally, Ryohei was able to punch Lussuria up into the air.

"He got hit on purpose," Mammon said on the other side.

Lussuria then came back down toward Ryohei. Lussuria's knee made contact with Ryohei's fist, and in that instant, the bones in Ryohei's left arm has been broken.

"Oniisan!" Tsuna yelled, frowning at the blood that spewed out from the joint of Ryohei's forearm.

Ryohei breathed hard from dehydration, unable to stand up.

"Hey! Stand up!" A voice from above called to Ryohei.

Everyone turned their heads upward and saw the bright blue eyes of Colonello.

"Go show them your true strength, Ryohei!" said the Arcobaleno.

With those words, Ryohei stood back up. With a new found confidence, Ryohei was able to break the lights from above using his Maximum Canon, and was able to open his eyes finally. However, having just eyesight was not good enough. The skill and the time and the experience, Ryohei had far too short to go against Varia. Easily, Lussuria broke even his right hand.

Blood gushed out from both of Ryohei's arms. Yotsuba felt like her whole body was numb. This is the Varia…

"Oniisan!" A soft voice traveled from another direction.

All heads turned to see a very worried Kyoko along with her friend Hana.

"Kyoko-chan?!"

"Oniisan, stop! You promised you won't fight again!" Kyoko exclaimed.

"…….Yeah. When I cracked my forehead, I promised I would not fight again," said Ryohei as he slowly propped himself up. "But if you continue to cry like that, I… I won't lose!"

Yotsuba looked in awe at the determination in Ryohei's eyes. She wondered why she's never seen those kind of eyes from Xanxus.

"Kyoko-chan… is Sasagawa-senpai a good brother?"

"Yes! I wouldn't want anyone else as my brother!"

Victory was at reach. Ryohei shattered Lussuria's kneecap with a final blow, and Lussuria was finished. Same with Ryohei, who was exhausted.

"It was good battle," said Ryohei as he looked down at Lussuria with respect, "Now, give me the ring!"

"N-n-no!" Lussuria said quickly, forming a fake smile, "I can still fight! Even with one leg, I can still fight!"

"What persistence," Tsuna said in astonishment.

However, Reborn's eyes darkened. "That's not the reason."

Suddenly, Lussuria's body jerked. Eyes widened in an instant on Tsuna's side, as they saw dark red blood splash out of Lussuria's back and mouth. Lussuria fell face down to the floor, and his back was, well, almost gone. Standing behind him was the blue-haired Varia, who wore long, curvy claws in her hand. A bloody piece of muscle hung from the hook-like claws, and the red liquid ran down the shiny metal.

"Pathetic…" said Malvolia as she licked off some blood from her claws, smiling like a maniac. "And I always told him that stupid Muay Thai is useless. What's the fun in killing when the person is not covered in blood?"

"Erasing the weak," Reborn explained. "is the reason why Varia is so powerful. Those curved claws were probably designed so that once any skin is caught, there's no way to remove the claws unless the skin is ripped off."

"No… no way…" Tsuna muttered; fear clouding his eyes.

While Tsuna and the others were outraged by the Varia actions, the Cerbellos walked into the ring as if nothing big happened. They announced Ryohei as the winner of the Sun Battle, and pronounced the next battle, the Battle of Thunder. But none of it was heard in Yotsuba's ears.

This is the end… I can't hide it anymore! The numb feeling was going away. I met the members of Varia because of niisama… and they all treated me like family. Even if they're my enemy now… they weren't evil! They're not evil! I still… I still…

"Lussu-nee…" she muttered, taking a step toward the fallen man, but her hand was pulled back by another. She looked back to see the stern eyes of Gokudera.

"……………."

What Gokudera said, pushed her down to the rock bottom.

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TBC.

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A/N: Oh my goodness. So I promised you guys a super long chapter, yet it turned out to be normal-length. I apologize deeply for that. It's because when I read it again, I thought the battle part was too long, and we've all read the manga anyway, so I made it shorter. Well, I leave you with a "kind-of" cliffhanger! Not really, but whatever. Please review!