Nico: Hello all! It's time for another chapter of Requiem of Rain! Christmas is coming soon, so I decided to have this chapter during the Christmas time.

One quick note, I have this poll on my profile page. It's to determine the ending of Requiem of Rain! So please vote for the ending you want to see for Requiem of Rain, and/or review the type of ending you wish to see in the end! Thank you!

I want to remind everyone, please don't hate me for making this M rated, it's really just for Squalo's swearing (I'm not the swearing type, so if anything sounds... awkward, you'll know why...)

Anyways, onto the chapter!

I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN!

Incoming Snow Squalls

"VVVOOOOOIIIII!"

Disgusted by the tangy flavour that assaulted my throat, I coughed out the contents in my mouth. Feeling the frightened stare of every other student, I ignored them for the sight before me. Lying in a pool of red were mushy disfigured strands. They looked like the fat bodies I saw in the frog that I had... dissected in class.

No I did not eat the frog, nor did I dissect it with my sword. No I was not looking at something covered in blood.

It was supposed to be my lunch.

"VOI! I fucking asked for fucking bolognese on my fucking pasta! What the fuck is it this shit?"

I heard laughter behind me. Of course... that damn bastard!

"Cavallone!" I grabbed the blond by his uniform collar. "You've been here for a mere eleven days, I'm sure you wouldn't want to die here of all places..."

"Come on, Squalo! It was a joke! A joke! Put your sword away!" the blond shook his head in fear as he tried to negotiate. He was a "pretty boy". He was completely hopeless, failed most of his tests, was horrible at fighting, and if it wasn't for his pretty face he would have ended up behind the campus, beaten to a bloody pulp. If it wasn't him, I probably would have killed them. Instead, I released his collar and sat back in my seat in front of his.

"Shut up, you're damn annoying," I grumbled and threw my feet onto the table. "Just get me my bolognese..."

"You always eat bolognese, Squalo," the boy pouted in front of me. Man, he was annoying.

"I also call you Cavallone, and you don't see me changing," I snapped in response.

"You should at least try! Come on, Squalo, say it with me: Dino! Dino!" Dino smiled, making hand gestures as he said his own name like an idiot. His hands opened and closed like he was someone playing peek-a-boo.

I don't know how we became "friends". Dino was a new student at our school, and that meant initiation for the older students. They didn't dare try that shit on me, as long as they wanted to keep their genitals.

So Dino was harassed to do the initiation. Dino being a rich, pretty boy, he was easily bullied and picked on. He should thank his damned stars I was there...

"Come on new kid! Don't you have the guts to do it?"

"I-I don't want to do that!" Dino was cornered in the washroom, shaking before the six boys before him. All of the boys were probably seniors, and enjoyed initiation time.

"It's not that hard! We've done it thousands of times!" I scrunched my eyebrows together, wondering just what they did a thousand times. Poor thing...

During this time, I was in the washroom as well. I had fallen asleep in the shower stall, however I woke up when the commotion started. The seniors didn't noticed I was in the washroom as well, simply because of the horrible plumbing in the school; the showerhead had stopped spraying water. So I listened in on their conversation as I quietly got dressed.

"Y-you didn't get in t-trouble...?" came his shaky voice. Shortly after came an eruption of brute laughter.

"Kid, you will only get in trouble if you get caught, which you won't," the senior's voice hardened on the last few words.

"How... how can you be sure?"

"Because..." the senior's voice now piercing. "If you do get caught, we'll have to initiate yer pretty white ass again. This time we'll do it personally."

"W-what...? I-I d-d-don't understand?" the small voice spoke, his voice cracking on the last word.

"Just go do it."

"I t-told you! I don't w-want to! I'll g-get into trouble!" the voice almost sounded a bit bolder, until it was followed with a squeak of surprise. I listened closely as I heard brute laughter once more, and encouraging yells. Almost faintly, I heard gasping and whimpering. Then a creak. The toilet stalls.

"No! Stop! Please!"

"You brought this on yourself, new kid!" More laughter, more whimpers, and groans. I grabbed my sword.

"No! No No NO!"

"VOI!"

Successfully jumping from the other side of the washrooms, I hit the front most senior on the head with the back side of my sword. The five other seniors gasped when they saw me and took a couple steps back.

"Shark boy..."

"Get the fuck out of sight," I simply said. "Or the next time, I'll make sure to have my blade at your balls." The seniors screamed in terror and ran out, leaving the one I had hit in a bit of a daze, until he too got up and ran.

I sighed, well that was no fun. I was hoping for them to stay, give me something to do. I sheathed my sword carefully, and was about to leave when I heard a small voice.

"Um... excuse me..."

"Hm?" I snapped an annoyed face at the kid.

"T-Thank you for saving me!" the boy's face lit up.

"Damn right!" I yelled. "Hell kid, if it wasn't for me, you'd have your pretty white face in the freaking toilet! Then your face would really be white! Idiot! What the Hell were you thinking, going along with those cock-idiots anyways?"

"Well... I'm new here... I don't have anyone... really..."

"Pfft, rich kids," I spat onto the tiled floors. "Always thinking you have nothing..."

"But really, thank you for saving me! I... There must be something I can do to repay you! I'll... I'll be your friend!"

"Fuck that, kid!" I snapped at him, hitting him with my sheathed sword on the head.

"Ow... why? Those guys seemed to be really scared of you, and they had to be older than you! Besides, you were in a shower stall alone. That tells me something!"

"That I like my fucking privacy?" I sneered.

"That too, and that you're lonely!"

"VOI! I am not fucking lonely!" I was almost convinced at pulling my sword at this kid now. "I don't fucking need a friend!"

"At least tell me your name!"

"...Squalo Superbi," I told him, quickly regretting it when his face lit up with a smile.

"Squalo," he extended his hand out, as if beckoning for a handshake. "My name is Dino, the future Boss of the Cavallone Famiglia."

"Do I look like a five year old?" I asked in response to his hand actions. Cutting him off before he could answer, I threw a green pepper from my plate at him.

"What was that for?" Dino asked. The boy was in a sense like Keith, easy going and optimistic.

"Calm down, blondie," I rolled my eyes. "Your face, and your half of the table is completely smeared with sauce anyways..." It had become a regular thing between us during lunch time. I would make a wall with condiment containers in the middle of the table. Dino would eat on his side, and I would eat on my side. This way, none of Dino's mess would make it to my side of the table.

This was one of the of biggest differences between him and Keith. He was a klutz, while Keith was lesser so.

"Oh! I didn't notice!" Dino said looking as his side of the table and his messy palms. I've told him many times to go to buy himself a bib, because he really needed one.

"Anyway! You should try something other than bolognese! Like maybe pesto, or carbonara sometimes!"

"I said no," I answered. "I like bolognese! Now go fucking get one, rich boy!" Since I pretty much had no money, being "friends" with Dino was at times a good thing. He was rich, and that came to good use when I needed to buy something, mostly lunches and basic life necessities.

"Oh..." Dino mumbled in defeat.

Dino was rich alright. He was the future boss of the Cavallone Famiglia, of course he was. He wasn't always happy though.

His parents worked overseas, sometimes in Asia and in North America, leaving their son in Europe. As the future boss, he had high expectations that were to be met as well. His parents sent a tutor, some guy called... Reborn or something. Apparently he's this mafia baby, but he's really strict on Dino. I've seen the scars and bruises his tutor left on him. He told me how if he couldn't understand a question, his tutor would blow the house up. His tutor even put him in a fight with a bear. This kid couldn't even fight with his food, let alone a bear!

Since my room was the only room that held one person, Dino ended up moving into my room. Similar to lunch time, I placed our bags in the middle of the room, to keep my side clean. When I came back from a trip to the washroom, Dino's side was already cluttered with clothes, with Dino buried underneath the pile...

...which was happening right now as well.

"Squalo~ Help!" a muffled cry came from the pile of clothes. I sighed and trudged through the clothes like it was snow. I kicked the piles of clothes to the side, as I made my way to the largest pile.

"Damn it you stupid idiot!" I tossed a piles of clothes away. "Why the Hell do you have so many clothes?"

"Well... I..."

"If you answer that question, I will stuff your socks down your throat!" I yelled, pulling his blond mop of hair up from out of the pile.

"Ah...thanks, Squalo..." Dino sighed as he sat on a pile of clothes. "You're a real friend."

"Shut up! What are you doing with all your clothes out anyway?" I waited for my answer, but this time there was silence. "Idiot! You can answer the fucking question!"

"Oh! Well, Christmas break is coming soon, and my parents are coming back to Italy. So I'll be spending the break with my parents! So since Christmas break is coming in a few days, I decided it would be a good idea to start packing."

Hm... So it was family.

"What about you, Squalo? What are you doing during the break?"

"Staying here," I simply said.

"What? How come? Don't you have family to go back to? You shouldn't spend Christmas alone!" Dino held some stupidly shocked expression. I had always done this. Christmas was just another day, nothing really important.

"Calm down," I grumbled. "I always spend Christmas alone. It's nothing more than another stupid day..."

"Squalo... I'd invite you to come with me for this Christmas, but my parents..."

"I get it," I said leaning against the wall. "Family is important to you, and you need at least one day in the year to be with them. I'm not stopping you from being with your family. Just... be grateful you have one."

"Squalo..."

"I'm going out..." I said standing up, noticing Dino's eyes followed me. "I... need some fresh air, it smells in here with all your dirty clothes! Make sure you get all of this crap washed before you leave!" With that I left our shared room.

I really didn't know where I was going. I left the room on whim, I really did not want to continue the discussion. I couldn't go to the washroom, since I just came back from it. I decided then, I'd make a stop at the grand hallway.

There wasn't much that made the grand hallway different from the others. It was made with the same materials as the other hallways. It was however, wider and taller than the others. Its most notable feature was the large window on the East side. Now that my room was shared with Dino, and the washrooms became the usual hangout spot for drug dealers of the school, I sometimes spent my time here. It had a beautiful sight. In the morning, it held a periwinkle shade, stubbornly holding on the last bits of the night. In the afternoon, it was a bright baby blue, sometimes accompanied with fluffy white clouds. At night, it was a dark Prussia blue, dotted with white, shining stars, and the largest light, the moon. My favourite time was right now, the sunset. It was a mix of warm colours, flaring with great passion.

"Pretty sight isn't it?"I heard Esther ask.

"Mm..."

"I hear it'll be snowing soon."

"Mm..."

Although I spent a while just staring at the ever changing view, I couldn't help but notice something in my peripheral vision. A person, walking away from the school. A personal all in black.

"Are you sure, Squalo? You'll be alright?"

"Voi! I should be asking you that, rich boy! I'll be fine now that you're out of my hair! Now get your ass over to your parents before I kick you there!"

"Alright, I'll see you in the new year!" With that Dino left. Everyone left.

"Hey you still have me!" Esther said sitting beside me. The two of us were sitting in the student's lounge, in the seats right by the fireplace. All the lights were off, with the only light coming from the flickering fire.

I chuckled in response, "Yeah yeah..."

Over the years, I began to see Esther even without a reflection. She became clearer, as if she was actually there. However she wasn't. She followed me, except into the washrooms, and protected me. She told me the reason why I could see her more clearly now was because she had gotten stronger. To her, that meant she was doing a good job looking after me.

There were times I would notice she had a distant expression on her face. In class, I would notice she would be staring at my classmates, as they laughed the class away. I remembered that she once was a living person. Being surrounded by the living when your dead must be hard. I wonder, what exactly does she get in return for looking after me? Why is she doing this?

"Hey."

Snapping me out of my thoughts, I looked up to my left. There was a guy. He wore the student uniform of the school, but he didn't look like any studen I knew. His face was tanned, and his lips were pursed in a displeased frown. His hair was spiky and black, his equally black eyebrows were arched in angry yet questioning expression. His eyes were blood red, staring at me.

Staring into me.

Nico: And that's it for this chapter! To all those who guessed who Squalo was going to be meeting in the future chapters! Good job! Dino was the first other Reborn character Squalo meets! I made it pretty obvious who the next character is, since the very beginning, so yeah.

I'm not sure if anyone noticed, the title was a bit of a pun. Snow Squall, Squalo, yeah. There have been a lot where I live, sadly enough, my school will never close down... Luckily the Holiday Breaks are starting today!

Yay!

I have this new story I plan to upload, it will be a parody of the game Aoi Oni and it's parody HetaOni(mostly this one though). It'll be a story revolving around my friends and I, trapped in our school (not a creepy house) where insanity and suspense (and some humour) ensue. Anyone who's interested, it'll probably be coming out... I later in the new year, perhaps... Earliest December, latest July.

Since this is the last chapter of Requiem of Rain of the year(not forever, I'm coming back!), I want to give a shout out to all the readers!

To the 5 readers from United Arab Emirates for your 13 views! To the 1 reader in Lithuania for your 6 views! To 3 readers in United States of America for your 3 views! To the 1 reader from Phillippines, Canada, Singapore, and Finland for your 2 views! To the 1 reader from Slovakia, China, Vietnam, Germany, and United Kingdom for your 1 view!

A special thanks to PrincessHime692718 and Ninja Mafia Mistress for your reviews!

THANK YOU ALL AND HAVE A VERY WONDERFUL AND SAFE HOLIDAY!