Episode 9: Sparkling Cloud
"But that's just how the story unfolds; you get another hand soon after you fold. And when your plans unravel in the sand, what would you wish for if you had one chance?"
-"Airplanes" by BoB and Haley Williams

I sighed and fiddled with the buttons on my shirt, buttoning it up slowly, watching the clock tick.

Tonight was the final battle. It was time for Gola Mosca to fight Hibari. For some reason, I doubted Gola Mosca. Just because he had firepower doesn't mean that he had the strength that Hibari had. I wondered if anyone else was worried.

I figured that Hibari and Dino were probably training really hard that day. If Tsuna's Family lost, it was all over. The purple-Flamed boy had been strong when I saw him. But Xanxus was confident. It made me wonder what kind of crazy plan that the Varia had. It put someone at risk. I knew that much. Maybe Bel would tell me.

After pulling out the signature black Varia jacket, I walked down the hall to Bel's room, knocking on the door. He pulled it open, revealing him, just him at home.

He was alone. Cue his understanding side. "Naji-hime," he said as his eyes rested on my small form. "I guess you finally want to know about what Boss has planned, right?" I nodded slowly. Maybe it was none of my business. "I knew you'd want to know soon, but Boss said that you'd find out. I can't tell you."

So… he was ordered not to tell me…

I nodded again, more curt than the previous time. "I understand, Bel. Thanks. I'll see you tonight." I turned away from the Prince and hurried down the stairs to go outside into the gardens. That was stupid of me to even ask.

If Bel couldn't tell me, I was scared to find out what would happen to Tsuna today. As if his life couldn't get any stranger. Now he's got a Varia plot to worry about. It was going to be a long day.

The current score was Varia – 4, and Vongola – 3. If Mosca won today, Xanxus would become the boss. But I had to wonder what would happen if Hibari won. Would there be a tiebreaker match between Tsuna and Xanxus?

Geez, if that happened, Tsuna was bound to lose… I'd never actually seen him fight, but from his gym class performances, it was evident that he really was Dame-Tsuna, especially when it came to physical activity.

I sighed sadly. I never wanted any of this.

For most of the day, I was outside. No one came looking for me. Probably all doing some stupid Varia business. They were always so busy… If not with business, they were busy trying to murder each other. Whenever they did have time to talk, something happened to make them busy.

Nightfall soon approached, and I trailed behind the rest of the Varia as they walked towards Namimori Middle. I looked around quickly. Everything seemed like it was yesterday. Nothing was out of place.

Except Tsuna. He wasn't there.

I looked around for the weak-Flamed boy, but he was nowhere to be found. Only Gokudera, Ryohei, and Yamamoto were there. I frowned, wanting to make sure that Tsuna was alright.

I swear, there was creepy music playing as Hibari strode in. If possible, his Flame had grown even more, showing that his true potential was limitless. Gola Mosca's Flame was strong, too, but its strength was no where close to Hibari's massive Flame. It was very much like comparing a kitten to a tiger. The tiger was Hibari, of course.

Then again, comparing Hibari to Xanxus was the same way.

The robot jumped down to the field, facing Hibari. I glanced around. No life on the field. There was almost nothing…

Scratch that. There were guns galore, barbed wire, and weight-sensitive traps. I narrowed my eyes. No matter how confident the rest of the Varia was, I wasn't so certain. There was no way that Gola Mosca wouldn't set off one of those traps. It was just a machine, anyways. What would Xanxus care if it ended up destroyed?

Gola Mosca had rockets on its back? That's how it managed? The match was so quick that I didn't even see what happened. All I know is that Hibari's Flame completely dominated Mosca without trying.

A loud explosion rang in my ears. I knew that Mosca wouldn't even be a match for Hibari. So why was I worried about the Vongola Cloud Guardian? He wasn't even tired, so why did I feel like something bad was about to happen?

It was then that I saw Xanxus move. No!

I wanted to stop him, but he'd probably kill me with one shot of his guns. Hibari would have more of a chance than I would. I sent Bel a look, but he shook his head. This was all part of their plan, wasn't it? How did I not see this coming? I gritted my teeth and glared out at the field.

Hibari, Tsuna, Yamamoto, Basil, Ryohei, Chrome, Mukuro, Ken, Chikusa, Lambo, Fuuta, Bianchi, I-Pin, Dino, and Gokudera. They were all doing their best. I had to try harder, too. Everything had come down to this last fight, and Hibari had won. How much more fighting would have to happen?

I could only watch as Hibari chased Xanxus around the field, both of them almost being shot by the guns. Those idiots! They kept setting of trap after trap, and neither one of them was willing to get off the field.

"If any of us losers make a move," Bel began, "it would be seen as a rebellion against the new 10th. Every one of us would be executed. But Boss is scheming something. Only Mammon and Squalo would know."

Gola Mosca was still moving. I saw its flame light up a little, then completely take it back over. "Hibari-san! The machine is still moving!" I blurted out, ducking my head as Xanxus glared at me.

A beam of light shot out from the Gola Mosca, making Hibari stop, freeze right in his tracks. I saw his figure fall to one knee, and let out a gasp.

Gunshots. I shrieked as the large bullets were shot at us. Bel pulled me out of the way just in time as they crashed. Mosca's rockets were activated again, and more rockets and beams were shot from the machine. Xanxus had lost control of it.

Everything was going crazy. The school was being demolished, little by little, and Xanxus seemed almost pleased. His plan was going perfectly. He was never going to give up power to Tsuna. He was always going to destroy them, no matter what. Not even Hibari saw this coming. No one was safe. If it wasn't Gola Mosca, it was the Gatling guns or the traps.

Chrome, Ken, and Chikusa were about to be fried when a huge burst of an orange Flame blocked Mosca's attacks. Tsuna… He was here? And since when did his Flame have that much power? All of it was centered around his hands.

Those gloves… The ones he had on the first time I got into this Mafia mess… Those were what he had on right now. That was where the Flames were coming from, so fierce they were almost alive.

He was fast and strong now. Basil's Flame and Reborn's Flame were both there, too. He was everything a Boss should be. One hit from Tsuna was all it took to bring the Mosca down, crashing to the ground once more. Mosca was nothing more than a heap of scrap metal, and Tsuna was the welder.

"Hey, you piece of junk." Gola Mosca moved to get up as Tsuna continued, his voice dark and threatening, "I'm your opponent."

Holy shit.

That was Tsuna? He didn't sound anything like him! It was that Dying Will thing again, wasn't it?

More gunshots and missiles. The Gola Mosca had its sights trained on killing Tsuna. He wasn't dead, though. In fact, he managed even more hits to that damn heap of scrap metal, bringing it down for good.

Xanxus didn't seem too unhappy about it, though.

All of us soon found out why. Inside the Gola Mosca was a human. That human was the 9th. And Tsuna was being charged with killing the old man. Tsuna and killing just didn't belong in the same sentence. Besides, it was Xanxus that put the 9th in the stupid robot in the first place. If anyone was to blame, it sure wasn't Tsuna.

But I couldn't move. When Tsuna was sharing the 9th's last words, no one moved. Not even Xanxus. How dare that bastard, Xanxus, accuse Tsuna of murder! I couldn't even think with all of the jumbled thoughts as I learned what Xanxus, with the help of Lussuria, Squalo, and Levi, had done eight years before.

Eight years ago, he organized a coup d'état, but failed, and, as a result, was put into a slumber by the 9th. I had no words to describe what I'd felt. A tiny Flame burned into Tsuna's forehead from the 9th's pointer finger.

Then, that Flame grew smaller and smaller until it was nonexistent.

All of that was part of Xanxus's plan to take over the Vongola, too.

Tsuna had won the conflict without cheating, but he wanted no enemies within the Family. I felt myself shaking. How could I ever have been stupid enough to follow this man? Even though the leadership meant nothing to Tsuna, he would fight because he wouldn't let a murderer take control.

Everyone began to pull out their weapons. Even Bel's knives came out, but I refused to draw my gun from its holster. I couldn't switch sides now. That would label me as a traitor and a double-crosser. But even so, I would not fight.

Then, the final battle was announced.

The next night night, everyone would come back to Namimori Middle to fight in the Sky Match. Everyone… Bel, Levi, Mammon, Lussuria, Xanxus, and I would be fighting Chrome, Tsuna, Hibari, Yamamoto, Basil, Ryohei, Lambo, and Gokudera. That didn't make any sense. They would bring back Lambo and Lussuria, both of whom were badly injured?

I couldn't see what was happening. I couldn't see if Tsuna was crying or not. I could see the Flames of all of the people there, though. Everyone with Tsuna was burning with hatred against Xanxus and the Cerevello. Everything was falling apart.

Tsuna… he'd die.

I watched as Xanxus's Flame grew and engulfed all of us. I closed my eyes and felt myself being slung onto someone's back. Bel chuckled. "Time for one last round~" he sang happily. We were moving away from the field.

Sighing, I let myself relax against Bel's form. "I feel so stupid. I don't know what I was thinking. Tsuna was crying, I'm sure of it. How could I let myself do something like this?" I wrapped my arms around Bel's neck sulkily. "I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't tell you this, since you support Xanxus."

He laughed dryly. "Well, you're going to have to just deal with us for a little while longer. Then you'll be free, I swear." I pulled my arms closer to me, hugging Bel tighter. "You're so adorable, you know that?"

"Are you being sadistic or nice?" I asked sarcastically. Of course he was being nice; I just wasn't in the mood for it, you know?

Bel seemed to pick up on that and chuckled. "You decide that, Naji-hime," he replied softly. "I'll be sadistic if you really want me to."

I scoffed again. "Yeah, no thanks. I think I'm good."

He chuckled a bit, then quieted. The next thing out of his mouth was almost silent, "You know that when this Conflict is over, you don't have to stay with us, or even anywhere near us, right?" His voice wavered a little. He seemed almost sad at the prospect.

Nuzzling his neck a little, I whispered, "I know, Bel."

When we got to the mansion, I was about to go upstairs and sleep, to get ready for the Sky Match, but Xanxus caught the back of my shirt. He pretty much dragged me up the stairs to his huge-ass room.

Oh shit.

Squeaking, I asked, "Is this about me warning Hibari-san about Gola Mosca?" He didn't answer, only glared down at me. "I guess so…" His chilling glare was answer enough. The Varia boss flung open his door and pushed me inside. I stumbled, but stayed on my feet. I turned around to face him, only to be met with him slapping me right across my face.

It didn't hurt as much as I thought. I guess I was just numb to pain because of what just happened. "You're too troublesome. Why would you warn one of them?" he demanded with disgust.

I looked down and fidgeted. "I'm sorry, Xanxus-san. I just… I guess I'm still too soft." He nodded in agreement. "I apologize… I'll do better." I must've looked about to cry, because Xanxus turned away.

He snapped, "Don't cry. Assassins don't cry when there's someone else in front of us." I smiled a little bit. "Go." He opened the door and pretty much pushed me out. "Get some rest, girl. You're going to need it for tomorrow." He was right. I smiled a little more. Maybe he did care.

Probably not, but maybe.

CHAPTER EDITED AS OF 6/15/13

Atogaki-

This was the point in time where I was getting a little more bold with the language. So that's why Najika tends to curse more. I chose the song "Airplanes" for obvious reasons, once again. And "Sparking Cloud..." I chose Sparkling, 'cause Hibari blows a ton of stuff up in this chapter. I mean, not only does he blow stuff up, there's rockets, and gatling guns, so I just was like... Blowing up = fireworks. Cloud is also obvious. He is the Cloud Guardian. Imma fail. Lemme alone, I know I fail. orz

Also, the whole Xanxus thing. Just... let's leave that up to you. You decide whether he's just a douche or whether he actually likes her. I can't even decide and I wrote the damn chapter, ahaha... ^^;;;; I'm leaning towards him having some sort of fondness for her.

Or maybe that's just me. ._.

Eh. Who cares? (me.)

And at this point, I freaking ship B36. (Bel/Najika.) 36 is her official number. Kind of. You know, like official for this story... but not for the actual thing. Get it?

No? Mmkay.

5936 vs 8436 vs B36 vs 6936 vs whateverthefuckhisnumberis36

LOLKBAI