Episode 7: Things are No Different
"I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house… that don't bother me… I can take a few tears now and then and just let 'em out… I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while, even though going on with you gone still upsets me. There are days, every now and again I pretend I'm okay… But that's not what gets me."
-"What Hurts the Most" by Rascal Flatts

Bel had taken me back to the mansion that was the Varia's temporary headquarters. It was there that I was introduced to the remaining Varia; Leviathan, or Levi, Mammon, the Mist Guardian, and Xanxus, the boss and Sky Guardian. Levi usually just ignored me while Mammon decided to accompany Bel and show me around. I never really saw Xanxus, though. It was like he always did something totally different.

I admit that I missed the Vongola Guardians a lot. We would hang out whenever we could, not spend time isolating ourselves from each other.

To be quite honest, Bel was the only one of the Varia that treated me "normally." By "normally", I mean dropping suggestive hints and sexually harassing me whenever we were near the other three, then yes, it was very normal. But he was also quite kind when it was just the two of us.

Probably the most interesting thing I learned was that Mammon had a special power up his sleeve, and would use it to wipe out his opponent easily. That was the only time we were all together. I was changing Bel's bandages around his chest, which he sort of forced-slash-blackmailed me to do, and Levi and Xanxus were just sitting around somewhere.

I was helping Bel around, as he wasn't used to his crutches yet, when he noticed that Mammon was outside with his forehead lowered onto a piece of paper. "What's he doing?" I asked. Bel shook his head and motioned for me to be quiet.

Mammon turned and asked, "Is that you, Najika, Bel." Damn. Not even a question! He knew we were there, no matter how quiet Bel was.

The Prince only chuckled a bit. "As expected of Mammon. I though I masked both of our presences." It was almost nice to be included in his sentence. Yeah, not really… "Thoughtography again? Did you find their Mist Guardian?"

"Of course not," Mammon deadpanned. I almost giggled, despite the confusing situation I was in. Bel hobbled over to the ledge Mammon was standing on, leaving me behind him. "But I did get this." He turned the paper. I saw two letters written in the dark blue flame of a Mist user. C… d… "Someone is trying to shield themselves against my Thoughtography."

Bel's voice asked, "CD? That code for something?"

The tiny Mist Guardian replied, "I don't know. It's the first time this has happened. My opponent is special, like me."

Prince the Ripper laughed his signature laugh. "Special, huh? That's fine. If I get to see your power, I'll be happy."

"I'm charging you an observation fee," Mammon quipped, not even turning when Bel threatened him.

Basically, what they did every day was act like normal people and be kind to one another, to an extent, at least, but then when they get bored or someone says something that another doesn't like, they fight? Wow. Bel even went so far as to pull out a few of his knives.

I sighed, crossing my arms.

It was kind of sad how used to fighting I was. "Come on, Bel. If you hurt Mammon now, we're bound to lose tonight." Bel's gaze was almost patronizing. "I'm not scared he'll hurt you, I'm more scared that you'll cut our favorite Mist user into ribbons." My voice was dripping with sarcasm as I pulled him back inside. "You'd better win, Mammon."

The Mist match was up. Mammon was facing the unknown Mist Guardian of Tsuna's that no one even knew their name. "Hey, girl," Xanxus called. I turned to look at him as we were heading towards the middle school. "Who is the Mist Guardian?"

I shook my head, a cold look on my face while talking to him. "No clue. Reborn never told any of us. All he said was that we wouldn't regret having that person as the Guardian." Of course, I knew that the girl I met with Ken and Chikusa had something to do with it. "I may know who it is, but I'm not entirely sure."

He scoffed and turned back to face the ground in front of us. "Useless."

X Hayato Gokudera X

She didn't show up at school that day. Najika was gone. Kyoko hadn't even heard from her, and when Juudaime, Gokudera, and the baseball idiot checked at her house, Lal Mirch was nowhere to be found. She and all her huge, crazy weapons were missing. The house was completely deserted.

But the group had to get to Namimori Middle, and fast, or they'd all miss the Mist match, and risk losing another Ring. Then, the Varia would have won the entire thing, no questions asked.

Gokudera looked at the empty house, void of the girl he knew less than a day ago, and sighed sadly. He turned to walk away from the house, giving it one last, wistful look as he went.

Najika-chan, come back to us soon.

X Najika Kamiya X

The school was almost empty when we got there. Only the Cerevello were there before us.

One by one, Tsuna's Guardians arrived. Yamamoto, Ryohei, and… and Gokudera. I couldn't even look at him. I had received a message from Tsuna about how sorry everyone was about four hours before the match. But I'd ignored it, not willing to give in just yet. My stubborn streak was kicking in.

I looked away from them, trying to figure out where we were. Damn. We were in the gym. More fun for Mammon, I guessed. That was if, only if, the Vongola Mist decided to show up.

It was boring until Reborn and Basil walked in with an unconscious Tsuna. I watched all the Flames gather around the small boy. I sighed. Watching them made regret burn in my chest. They all cared so deeply about each other. I wondered if they cared about me that much.

I was surprised that no one had said anything yet. Tsuna's gaze fixated on me and his voice meekly called out, "Najika-chan?" All of his friend's followed his look and I sighed. Maybe I cared too much about what others thought. My selfish desires drove us to this. "Are you okay?"

What? I turn my back on him, and he only asks if I'm okay? What kind of enemy… No. No, Tsuna-kun isn't the enemy. Just… a rival.

I nodded slowly. "Yes… yes, I'm fine, thanks," I replied emotionlessly, not looking at them. Bel chuckled darkly and casually pulled me close to him, his arm hooked around my waist. "Bel-kun, please, get off."

He shrugged. "Don't feel like it. It's gonna be boring until their Mist Guardian shows up. Naji-hime~ Come on, let's play~" he whined, lowering his lips towards my ear. I sighed and pushed him off, none too gently, either. He stumbled back a little, laughing "Don't be like that, Naji-hime!"

Rolling my eyes, I grumbled, "Would you stop calling me "princess," already, Bel?" I asked dryly, crossing my arms and glaring at the prince beside me. "I'm not a princess, Bel. So, no, I am not your princess, okay?"

"So you do hate me~" he laughed. I sighed again, moving from his side to the other side of Xanxus's seat, next to the Gola Mosca. "Naji-hime! Stop teasing me!" he pouted, sounding a lot like a child deprived of his sweets. Like Lambo… God, damn, Najika! Stop thinking about them! It'll only be more painful having to fight one of them.

Smiling sweetly at Bel, I calmly quipped, "Bel-kun, do us all a huge favor and go fall off a cliff." He only laughed again. I guess that he had a reputation to keep up. He wasn't as understanding to others. "Now, where is that other Mist Guardian?"

The Varia Storm asked, "Why? Do you have a date with him, Naji-hime?"

"Maybe, seeing as you got rejected," I shot back, half-playful, half-glaring. He really was annoying. "Whatever. Sorry that I don't know who he is," I grumbled, looking at Tsuna and the others.

Reborn's voice loudly announced, "The Guardian of Mist is here." I sighed.

It's about damn time, too. For God's sake, we've been waiting what, twenty minutes?

As if in response to Reborn, Ken and Chikusa stalked in, clearly unhappy with how they had to be here. Ken was probably glaring at the Vongola Guardians, while Chikusa just ignored him.

Smirking, I called, "Hey, Dobutsu-chan, Megane-chan! Is Sakkaku-kun with you?" Both Ken and Chikusa looked over to me. Ken gave me a thumbs up while Chikusa adjusted his glasses again.

Ken replied, "Unfortunately for you, your boyfriend isn't with us, Murusaki-chan! And quit it with the stupid nicknames!"

"You and I both know that Sakkaku-kun isn't my boyfriend, Dobutsu-chan, so I'm not going to stop with the 'stupid nicknames' until you stop assuming I'm dating either Megane-chan or Sakkaku-kun!" I shouted back, my tone still teasing.

Chikusa scoffed. "He still calls you Murusaki-chan… Typical Ken."

Flipping Chikusa off, his companion replied, "Shaddup, Kaki-pi." I giggled a little at my senpais' teasing. They were both only a few months older than me, but still affectionately referred to me as their "kohai," so I just started calling them my "senpais."

From the day we met, I we were always going to be in that sort of relationship. Me as the kohai and little sister and Ken, Chikusa, and Mukuro as my senpais. It would just be that. They were always nice to me.

For the fifteen-freaking-hundredth time, I'd run into someone, or something. Knowing me and my klutziness, it was probably a pole for only the twentieth time today.

I sighed and picked myself up, cursing whatever it was that I'd run into. Damn poles. They always found a way to annoy me. I pursed my lips as I brushed myself off and began to feel around for my bag.

A silky voice asked gently, "Excuse me, is this your bag?" I looked to the source of the voice. "Oh… oh, you're blind! I'm so sorry. Here, let me help you." This person was a lot nicer than the rest of the school. "Are you alright, Miss?"

I nodded. "Thank you, and yes, I'm fine." I bowed gratefully to the person. "Sorry, but I don't recognize your voice. You're new here, aren't you?"

The person chuckled. "Yes, I am. My name is Mukuro Roduko, and these are my friends Ken Joshima and Chikusa Kakimoto." I bowed to them, too, and the person on my left laughed a bit, while the person on my right didn't say anything, but I heard them adjust their glasses. "You can just call us by our first names. It's not like we're going to care."

Smiling at them, I introduced myself. "I'm Najika Kamiya. Don't bother with formalities and call me whatever you want," I said cheerfully. "Najika is fine, but I'm okay with nicknames, too."

The person who had laughed, who I assumed was Ken, immediately replied, "If I can call you whatever I want, then… I'm gonna call you Murusaki-chan! So say hello to your new senpai!" He was loud… but he was funny, too. I laughed a little, as did Mukuro. Even Chikusa seemed amused by Ken's antics. "What? I'm not joking!" he whined. That only made me laugh even more. These three were going to be interesting.

Chikusa asked, "Murusaki-chan? Why purple?"

Huffing, Ken retorted, "Her eyes are purple, Kaki-pi! You're a total moron!" The two went back and forth like that for a few minutes, much to my amusement. It ended with Ken yelling, "Screw off, Kaki-pi!" and turning away.

Mukuro laughed nervously, seeming somewhat embarrassed. "Sorry about them," he apologized sheepishly. "They can get a little out of hand sometimes, but they're good people, I promise."

Another laugh came from my lips. "Not a problem… Mukuro-senpai." I turned to the two still arguing, and called, "Ken-senpai! Chikusa-senpai! Since you're all new in this town, why don't I take you all to lunch?"

From there on, the friendship only grew stronger.

After learning that they all had some sort of weapon-slash-power, I thought they were only joking. That was, until Mukuro demonstrated his power by placing illusions in my eyes so I would see what he wanted me to see. He showed me what he and Ken and Chikusa looked like.

I think that he thought that I'd leave them when I found out. But I took them all by surprise by declaring, "Okay, then! Since it's almost summer now, I'm as old as Ken and Chikusa! Which means, Ken, I'm gonna call you Dobutsu-chan!" Chikusa snickered. "Chikusa, you're Megane-chan!" It was Ken's turn to laugh. "And Mukuro, can I call you Sakkaku-kun?"

His smile was evident in his voice when he replied, "Of course you can, Kanari-chan." Kanari? He thought I was pretty? He must've been able to read my thoughts, because his reply was, "Of course you're pretty, Kanari-chan. After all, if you weren't, I wouldn't be calling you Kanari-chan."

I was sure that my face couldn't be redder and my smile couldn't be wider. "Thanks… Sakkaku-kun."

If Mukuro was coming, I wondered if he remembered our nicknames. I watched happily as Ken and Chikusa began to argue once again. Then a girl appeared, her Flame as calm as Mukuro's aura had been. "My name is Chrome. Chrome Dokuro."

Chrome Dokuro? She was the girl I spoke to during Yamamoto's fight… which only meant… she wasn't Mukuro.

Gokudera was the first to suspect her. "Don't be fooled, Juudaime! Mukuro is possessing her!" I sighed. Mukuro wasn't possessing her. "He doesn't hesitate to do so to accomplish his goals! That's the kind of person he is!" Well, someone had some bad experiences with Mukuro.

Chrome seemed like a sweet person. She was almost too naïve to be anything like Mukuro. If it wasn't for the Flame and the feel that they both gave off, I wouldn't even think that she had anything to do with Mukuro.

I sighed as the whole group of Tsuna's Guardians began to argue. "Well that's kind of anti-climatic," Bel commented lightly. "Instead of some crazy old mystic, a woman appeared as their Guardian." Ken and Chikusa were quick to defend Chrome against Gokudera. Clearly she was of some importance to them. I started to think of a name for her, since she was part of the Kokuyo Gang now.

It was at the beginning of the battle that I actually decided on a name for her. I decided to call her Kori. "Kori-chan!" I exclaimed, a wide smile spread from one end of my face to the other. "Ne, Chrome-chan!" I called. She looked over to me. "Could I call you Kori-chan?"

Her confusion was evident, but Ken just sighed and told her, "Don't worry about it. Murusaki-chan gave all of us nicknames. Since you're," he hesitated, "one of us… I guess she's trying to include you in the tradition." I nodded.

"Then… it's fine," she replied, sounding pleased with her name. It was then that I realized that Colonello had joined us. Both Reborn and Colonello's pacifiers were glowing, with their Flame swarming around her pacifier.

Chrome proceeded to the battlefield, and stood in front of Mammon. The Mist battle should be interesting for people who could see. If she had a Flame like Mukuro, that probably means she could use illusions, too. I smirked. If only Mukuro had allowed me to keep that vision…

Chrome started off the match with an illusion. To everyone else, it seemed like they were falling. I felt the illusion, but it was no match for Mammon, who blocked it off immediately. It almost seemed like he was choking her.

Her Flame disappeared, then reappeared behind Mammon. Illusions… I wasn't even able to follow this battle. I'd never seen illusions in battle before. I noticed some of Mammon's Flame breaking off and forming something like a halo, and his dark blue Flame centering around a pacifier.

Mammon was an Arcobaleno, one named Viper.

So he was powerful. This was going to be tough for Chrome. Bel chuckled a bit. "This is going to be interesting."

Chrome took swipes at Mammon with everything she had, missing all of her hits. A successful attack pulled snakes into the battlefield, which began to strangle Mammon.

He slowly shook all of them off, but when Chrome charged, he blasted her back with his power. I could feel heat sprouting up all over the field. Illusions. More and more illusions, none of which I could follow as more and more cropped up. It was making my head spin.

Then everything grew cold. I shivered for a minute, noticing that Mammon had channeled some of his Flame into his pacifier, the core of his power. He was impressive.

Slowly, Chrome's Flame began to freeze over, stopping at her legs. She was separated from her weapon, which I noticed also had a Flame around it. How was that possible? Weapons were inanimate objects that weren't supposed to have Flames. Realizing her staff was missing, she quickly scrambled towards it, clutching it in her hands.

Mammon's voice was curious as he pointed out, "That weapon seems to be very important to you." Soon enough, under Mammon's power, the staff and its Flame shattered. Chrome fell back, panting heavily. Her Flame began to retreat, trying to support her. She was dying.

That staff… Chrome's Flame… Everything was falling into place. Mukuro must've saved her using his illusions, and without that staff, she would be on the verge of death. Everyone cried out in shock, and Ken and Chikusa seemed to stop moving for a moment. Illusions were the only reason that Chrome had survived.

For a minute, I saw a brief flash.

Kanari-chan. I'm coming to help.

Sakkaku-kun? Mukuro? Is that you?

Yes, it is. I hope you and Nagi are getting along. She is the only way out of here. I'll see you in a few minutes~

Tsuna soon dropped to his knees and cried, "He's coming… Mukuro's coming!" I found that all of the power from the mist that Chrome used her power to create was surrounding her and a familiar Flame exploded from her. That was no longer Chrome Dokuro.

That was Mukuro Roduko. I smirked a tiny bit. Mammon had no idea what he was getting into. Mammon's Flame went flying back as he cried out in pain. Mukuro was back.

"You seem lively as ever, little Mafiosi," he greeted the Vongola, a smirk dripping into his voice. "It's been a while. I've come back from the edge of transmigration." Ah, typical Mukuro. He was such a drama queen sometimes. He called, "Kanari-chan! It's good to see you, too. But why are you on the wrong side of the field?"

I shrugged nonchalantly, grinning mischievously. "You know what they say, 'the grass is always greener on the other side,' right, Sakkaku-kun?"

I got a laugh in reply as Mammon flew back up and started to use his illusions. It appeared that Mukuro was frozen… Did I ever mention that he was a drama queen? It was all just for show, when he seems to be defeated. He was going to do something crazy.

Soon enough, he was using flowers to pull at Mammon. Leaning against the wall, I watched lazily, not bothering to worry for Mukuro. As much as I hoped Mammon would win this one, Mukuro was just too good for him. Mammon was beginning to lose his cool against Mukuro.

The Arcobaleno was using all of his power. I sighed. Everyone else was getting sick from all the illusions. I lived around Mukuro for around a year and a half. I was at least a bit used to it. Sure, my head hurt a little, but I was okay to keep going. Even Tsuna was being affected.

But what Mammon said really bothered me. Mukuro tried to escape from prison? And an impregnable Vendicare prison at that? He always was a bit of an idiot, but at least he still had his power. I was more worried about what was going to happen to him now that he was back in prison. Maybe someday, I'd bust him out.

It was then I realized that Mammon's Flame had swallowed Mukuro's whole. But he was okay. His Flame hadn't gone out. It was more like he was fighting against it. "Fall, then wander."

Mammon was defeated. Mukuro had won, taking both of the halves of the Mist Ring. But he wasn't finished. Mukuro was still taunting Mammon, even after he had won. His illusion forced Mammon down, falling… then nothing. Mammon's Flame was just a tiny little spark. He was alive, but in pieces.

"You lost because of one reason, and one reason only. Because I was your opponent."

Bel gaped at the field. Mukuro had the full Mist Ring in his possession, and Mammon had escaped. Yet I was surprised at how Mukuro knew what Xanxus had planned. He knew that Xanxus was only playing with Tsuna. With one last laugh, Mukuro turned to Tsuna and gave him the Ring, warning him not to be too friendly with him.

I knew he was about to leave. "Mukuro." He turned to face me. "Will I ever see you again?" He laughed and his Flame faded, turning back into Chrome. Mukuro had spent too much energy on this battle.

I'll see you again in due time, Kanari-chan.

Ken and Chikusa walked away from Chrome. They said that she wasn't Mukuro, and they were right. But it was a good thing that she wasn't. No one can be Mukuro Roduko but the man himself. He was an enigma, unique to his own person. No one could copy him.

Now that the conflict was almost over, there were only two matches left; Wave and Ring. It was either Gola Mosca or me that was up next. I smirked. "Tomorrow night's match will be Wave. Since only one side has a Wave Guardian, the other must decide on one, or the match will be lost."

X Hayato Gokudera X

It looks like Najika was up.

But the Vongola didn't have a Wave Guardian. Gokudera sighed. He would've been willing to fight, but he was already the Storm Guardian. They could ask Dino… no, that wouldn't work… or maybe Ken or Chikusa? Tch, as if Gokudera would ever ask them.

Again; they were screwed. Royally screwed. He sighed.

"Hey, Vongola." It was Najika, proud and tall, her hand on her hip and a glare on her face. "You'd better give me a good fight, or I'm coming after all of you. In fact, since both Mosca and I are bound to win, it looks like all your effort was for naught!" A cold smirk took over her face. "Good luck. You'll need it."

Bel laughed happily. "I think you've made her angry~" Poking her cheek, he grinned widely. "Isn't she adorable? And now she's all mine!" he crooned, hugging her from the back.

She swatted his hand away and pushed him back. "Sorry, Bel-kun. I'll give you a kiss if you ever shut up, okay?" Bel only laughed. "Seriously, now please, shut up."

Gokudera's fists shook. "We're going to win!" he yelled, finally snapping. "Even if it means fighting one of our friends, I guess that's what we've got to do!" Juudaime looked at him like he was crazy. Maybe he was. That's what betrayal does to people.

Najika sneered. "You don't even have a Wave Guardian! You had better find one, and fast!" With Bel's arm still around her shoulder, the Varia proceeded to leave the area, heading back to who-knows-where.

"Gokudera-kun, is everything alright?" Juudaime asked as the entire group walked towards the hospital, Chrome on the baseball idiot's back. "You've been acting weird since this morning." Gokudera shook his head, trying to tell Juudaime that he was fine. He was perfectly alright.

Like hell he was.

All they had to do was find a Wave Guardian in a day! That was easy enough, right?

As if anything was ever that easy.

Atogaki-

Fail. Fail, fail, fail.

But I've been leading up to this, sort of, and even though Mukuro knows her, don't assume that she's an Experiment, like him. The history between the two is legitimate. They did meet in Kokuyo, and they did become her senpais. Seriously though, I chose "What Hurts the Most" because it's just after her betrayal, and it's kind of just now sinking in. By the way, this was the same day as the last chapter. I also think that I made it clear in this chapter that Gokudera is fighting himself, and blaming himself for the way Najika left them. I chose the title "Things Are No Different" because it kind of is used to remind Najika that her relationships with a few people will be changed, but it also stays the same.

I've recently been watching Rebocon 4, and watching Gokudera and Basil sing "No Control" by Shoichi Irie, and for I couldn't help but squeal like a fangirl. Basil's seiyuu is just too cute for her own good, and Gokudera's seiyuu is a really great Gokudera cosplayer. Seriously though, I'm thinking of cosplaying as Basil myself, since I recently got my hair cut to around his length. I couldn't help it! Plus, it was getting too long.