XCI.

"Come with me, Stella."

She had a sudden feeling that this conversation wasn't even about going to Japan anymore, ridiculous as it sounded. How had things gotten derailed so quickly?

Mukuro's hand grasped her own in a startling gentle movement –had they really…?– and she instinctively followed his movement, stepping after him towards the open gates. One step after another, closer and closer to those iron-wrought gates where they would leave. Where they would then ride to the airport, then make way to Namimori, Japan…

She doesn't know how to explain it.

She doesn't know how to explain why her feet suddenly refused to move.

She doesn't know how to explain why she looked back over her shoulder in that moment.

They're watching silently –Levi's eyes shift to the side when he sees her glancing back, and Lussuria attempts to smile as he gives another dainty wave, while Fran's face is as expressionless as always… Her brother has a bitter edge to his body language that he doesn't quite manage to hide from her in time, not entirely, and Xanxus–

Such empty, empty eyes.

And her decision is made in a heartbeat.

… Or perhaps she has always known what her decision would be, and this is only the final push that allowed her to vocalize it, after finally realizing that it wasn't just her, wasn't her trying to be selfish, but rather…

"Mukuro?"

The aforementioned man looked down at her and–

She spoke.

"When they asked you to take me to Japan, it's not because they need me with them, right? It's simply because of what I carried with me when I came to this future –the Vongola Mist Ring. Since… Since the majority of the battle force will be concentrated on Italy, I think… I think it would be better for me to stay here rather than go to Japan. Can you take the Mist Ring with you when you go back, Mukuro?"

"I'll be staying here."

…

XCII.

Tsuna stepped into the hallway just as a sudden burst of indigo flames consumed Mukuro's body.

He blinked rapidly. Several times. Because when the Mist cleared, there was another person standing there –shorter, slender, and decidedly feminine despite a slightly similar appearance to Mukuro, including an eyepatch over her right eye where the blood red eye of Mukuro's would've been.

"Ciaossu, Chrome." Reborn didn't even bat an eye at the sudden change. Tsuna had almost tripped over his own two feet at the woman's presence replacing that of Mukuro's. "Where's Lady Stella?"

Lady Stella?

Who's that?

"… Italy." The blue-haired woman's voice was quiet and soft, but clearly audible. "Mukuro-sama spoke with her, and… she decided to stay there as part of the main battle force for this operation. There was a little disagreement, but…"

The woman shrugged, holding up her hand, and Tsuna's jaw dropped open when he saw the Vongola Mist Ring glittering on her finger there.

Reborn nodded slowly.

"I see."

I don't!

"Dame-Tsuna," Reborn easily ignored his student's inner crisis with ease. "This is Dokuro Chrome. She and Rokudo Mukuro will both be serving as your Mist Guardian for this upcoming battle."

"W-wait, but–"

But what about Yuuto? What happened to Yuuto? Why is everyone avoiding his name in conversation? And why won't anyone answer any questions about him? Unless… unless, unless he's dea–

A sharp kick to the head, courtesy of Reborn, snapped off his train of thought.

"Don't think too hard about it, Tsuna. You should be honored that Chrome and Mukuro have agreed to stand in as your Mist Guardian. Their illusionary prowess is top-class in this world, don't you know?"

XCIII.

For a moment, neither of them speaks.

Then, finally:

"Why?"

She smiles at the inquiry.

"You'll have to be a little more specific than that, Superbi."

The silver-haired man straightens, rolling his eyes a little at the blatantly obvious deflection to his question. But it wasn't an outright refusal to answer –and so he presses on.

"Why did you suddenly decide stay?" There's something a little unreadable in his gaze when he locks eyes with her again. "When I told you about it awhile back, you didn't seem to have any problems with leaving."

You didn't seem to have any problems with leaving us behind again.

She shakes her head.

"It's not like that," she chooses her words slowly, carefully. Not wanting to leave the wrong impression like she had almost done. "I simply thought… I simply thought that if I left, it would be less of a burden on you. On all of you. I'm not blind, Superbi, I know that… my presence here has stirred up various memories, perhaps painful ones. So that itself was more than enough reason for me to leave as soon as possible, so that I wouldn't affect any of you even more, not when we have this battle at hand."

"Why change your mind, then?"

The swordsman takes note of how his sister's eyes flicker towards the hallway at the top of the left-hand staircase for a quicksilver moment, the one that leads to his Boss's room.

"Now… I think that there is reason for me to stay."

XCIV.

"I'll be staying here."

The tall illusionist's eyes flashed at the girl's calm declaration.

"Stella, that's not–"

"Please, Mukuro." Two words, and he was rendered mute. Silently, he observed how her eyes were gray –and really, how long had it been since he has last seen hazel eyes? Much too long, in his opinion. "I will stay. You and Chrome will be more than enough support for Tsuna in the raid on the Melone base in Japan. I will stay here with the Varia in Italy, where I can be of most assistance in this entire operation."

…

There are words lingering at the tip of his tongue, words which are entirely uncharacteristic of him.

No.

Don't stay.

I don't want you to stay here. Not with the Varia, not with him, not in the middle of this goddamned war's heavy crossfire, not where you can die again and I'll be unable to do anything.

(Never realizing how much you meant until I was left staring at that broken body–)

"Is this really want you want?"

That… hadn't been what he meant to say.

But.

Some.

Words.

Can't.

Be.

Just.

Taken.

Back.

(… And he would know all about that, wouldn't he?)

"Yes." There was a knowing look in her eyes as her tiny fingers slowly forced his own to curl over the Mist Ring in his hands. The accursed Vongola Mist Ring. "I will be most useful here, Mukuro."

…

"Kufufu," a small laugh at his own helplessness in front of her. So young, so much weaker than he remembered her to be in this world. So much weaker than the woman who had swept into Vendicare and dealt with the Vindice for his release, the prison guards who had come for him once again upon her death, upon the termination of their deal. She was weak, standing here right now –how easy would it be to just ignore her protests and take her along with him despite her wishes?

('I will not have others controlling my actions, Mukuro.')

… And, yet he was still so powerless to refuse her. "If you say so, Stella dear. Are you sure you do not wish for me to stay in your place here, then?"

A last attempt.

She replies with a small smile of her own.

"You're not at full strength right now, Mukuro. I may be weaker than my future self at the moment, but at least my presence here is not an illusion."

…

He is helpless in front of her.

(He still remembers standing over her crumpled body all those years ago, the day they first met, failing to possess her body, to break her mind –and this is a very different sort of helplessness than being held at someone else's mercy, a sensation he hasn't felt in a long, long time.)

Anger. Shame. Guilt.

He exhales lowly, shaking his head as a small smirk curls over his lips, reaching into his pocket with his other hand, and brings out an indigo box.

"This is yours," he drops it in her hands. "I meant to give it to you… earlier."

(Before you died.)

He lets the smirk on his lips widen, leaning down to brush his lips against her ear. Taking pleasure in how the rest of the Varia stiffens in rage at the audacious move–

(The fool had pushed her away and now she is HIS, and Mukuro freely admits that he is a selfish person–)

"I will find you when this is over, Stella."

A promise.

XCV.

"Heh, so the lauded Varia are attacking, are they? Idiots, the lot of them. I'll have all their heads hanging on pikes before tomorrow's sunrise."

The white-robed man chuckles darkly, reclining on his throne. For his castle –the Millefiore base of operations in Italy– is arguably one of the most well-fortified structures in existence. There are A-rank soldiers in his personal guard, B-rank soldiers guarding the walls, while C-rank soldiers constantly prowl the surrounding forestry of his ancestral lands. Even without taking into consideration the quality of his soldiers, the weaponry that Byakuran-sama has gifted his men with is equipment second only to the ones given to Irie-sama's men.

"Sir! I've brought you the real-time map, just as you requested!"

He doesn't bother turning around in his chair when one of his subordinates run into his room, lazily nodding and beckoning the young man forward with a finger while he sips at his wine–

Thud.

Eh? What's that sound?

He cracks open an eye just in time to see one of his A-rank guards crumple to the ground, but when he sucks in a lungful of air to scream, he feels a pair of cold, cold hands wrapping around his neck and–

Snap.

…

…

…

The young man in white watches impassively as his superior is strangled to death by his own shadow. Then his appearance ripples, Mist flames rolling off his body –and his height shrinks, blond hair sliding into black, blue eyes morphing into gray–

…

A young girl steps forward and gently takes down the Millefiore flag hanging on the walls, replacing it with one emblazoned with the Varia's insignia instead.

XCVI.

Chrome tightens her grip on the trident in her hands.

"U-um, what–"

"Please head on without me, Boss." She slams the end of her weapon on the ground, and pillars of hellish fire burst into existence, engulfing the figure of the man standing at the end of the walkway. And while she knows it's not enough to get rid of someone of his caliber, she also knows that they can't afford to be held up here any longer. "Hurry!"

"None of you will be leaving."

Cloud flames.

The spikes jutting from the ground multiply at an exponential rate, nearly skewering all of them if not for a bit of fancy footwork and Gokudera's Sistema CAI shields flashing in a burst of red-tinged flames. It's not good, not good –they're all tired and injured from previous battles; it's a stroke of complete luck that they've even managed to meet up here again. Somewhere along the way, Hibari had gotten switched with his younger self, too–

Their goal is Irie Shouichi, so close–

And yet so far away.

…

How could anyone have predicted Nakamura Sousei's appearance here?

Nakamura Sousei.

The Millefiore Cloud, who wanders as he pleases while fulfilling Byakuran's orders, sowing nothing but destruction in his wake.

"It'll be troublesome if you manage to get to Shouichi while he's in that room, so I'll have to stop you here." Sousei remarked calmly, sedately. As if he had all the time in the world. "Lucky for me that you took a wrong turn just now, huh? You guys really should've gone straight down that corridor earlier when you still had the chance."

After the base had begun moving –none of them had known where to be heading anymore.

But, judging by his words…?

…

The man raised his hand, Mare Cloud Ring glowing brightly with flames, and Chrome readied herself for another grueling battle, praying that she would buy enough time for Tsuna and the others to find their way to Irie Shouichi.

XCVII.

The little girl's gray eyes flick towards Xanxus briefly, before turning back to glance over the regal blond seated on a flying chair, his butler floating to the side.

It's a bit of a ridiculous sight, really.

"Kill them, Olgert." The arrogant Bel-lookalike commanded, and the butler next to him immediately obeyed. She watched silently as he brought out a blue box, a ring on his finger igniting with Rain flames–

… Elephants again?

How very… crude.

She continues swinging her legs lackadaisically from her seat on the table while Bester freezes the Rain animal in its tracks. Again. If the same attack from earlier hadn't managed to deal any damage to them, what made the duo think that it would work a second time?

"What in the world…? Impossible!"

See?

They're weak.

She knows, with a single dismissive glance at them, that these two are weak. Knowing perfectly well that her own skills are a far cry from the ones her future self had possessed, and still they are weak in her eyes. And Xanxus knows this, too, perhaps just as well as she does, if not even better –after all, he hasn't even bothered standing up, either, and she feels no need to slide off the small table to greet their new enemy.

When Bester's form suddenly coalesces into flames again, she looks up to see Xanxus recalling the Sky lion into his box, leaning back and folding his arms across his chest.

"If you want to prolong your life, then call that lowlife scum Byakuran here."

She notices the way the tapping pattern of the Bel-lookalike's fingers has changed when he begins talking, spouting off nonsensical rabble about the grace of 'Byakuran-sama,' and how–

Her eyes narrow.

Storm flames.

She counters them the exact moment she feels those destructive flames flying over her, cutting into her skin, her own Mist flames automatically curling around her body and circling back to shield Xanxus, too. The three C-class Mist Rings on her hand are set alight simultaneously as she reaches for the box that Mukuro gave her–

And a small gasp leaves her lips when a rough hand grabs her own, stopping her from taking any further actions.

"… Xanxus?"

Surprise colors her tone when she looks back, only to see his eyes flicker red for a moment as he scowls at the thin ribbon of red trailing its way down her arm. When Xanxus looks up at her again–

…

…

…

Wrath flames leap high into the night sky.

XCVIII.

"Ahhh…"

Shouichi crumpled to the ground in a heap, letting out a long sigh as he ran his eyes over the empty expanse of what had once been the Melone base again. "… I'm so glad this is over with now."

"Not quite over yet," Sousei corrected, a little ways off to the side. Spanner nodded in agreement. "But… they've cleared the first stage. That's something to be glad for, isn't it?"

Shouichi nodded in agreement.

"We'll have to start making arrangements for Choice now, though." The young man ran a hand through his hair tiredly. "Do you know when Stella will be coming?"

The Styrofoam cup in Sousei's hand was crumpled in an instant.

"… She's not coming."

"Eh?" Shouichi blinked, startled –before flailing wildly with his arms, accidently knocking over a stack of papers in the process. Spanner barely managed to salvage them in time before they flew into the empty abyss before them. "No, I mean for Choice!"

"She's not coming." Sousei took in a deep breath, inhaling and trying to calm himself before he snapped at his best friend. "… She even sent the Mist Ring along with Chrome. She's not going to come here, Shouichi."

"Chrome isn't exactly in any condition to be battling again anytime soon, especially with having had to face you so soon after fighting Glo Xinia." the redhead's eyes furrowed in concern. "Stella is the only one we can rely on as a Mist candidate for this."

"You think I don't know that?"

Shouichi sighed.

(It was at times like these that he was glad his mother and sister remained on the sidelines of mafia matters –he couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of convoluted relationship these three siblings had with each other. Or rather, four, if you wanted to extend the definition a little.)

"I'll tag on a note to Dino's message to the Varia." He finally said, turning back to the laptop on his legs. "Hopefully, she'll be coming over this time once we explain our situation here."

Then, with a brief hesitation:

"Sousei, remember –she's only ten. I don't know exactly when she changed to Stella, but… you miss Setsu, don't you?"

…

The lack of words to that question was a telling response in and of itself.

XCIX.

It's hard.

It's hard to put a finger on what lies between them, because there's definitely something there; that much she can tell. She can't quite put a name to it… and she rather doubts that Xanxus can label it, either.

… If he could, well, maybe he would actually be talking to her instead of just glowering silently there.

(Lussuria had squealed excitedly when he first found them in the remains of the destroyed rooftop; Xanxus still seated on the former Millefiore commander's chair while she blinked owlishly from her spot on the table next to him. Bester had been curled protectively around her, yawning and tucking its paws under its chin contentedly. The liger was warm –and when she had ran her fingers through its fur, it was almost as if she could feel tendrils of flames licking softly at her hands–)

"Xanxus, Superbi already told you about the encrypted message from Dino, right?" His eyes cracked open a sliver to regard her, and she stood up from her seat, crossing the room on silent footsteps so she stood before him. "… They need an illusionist."

"And?"

A raspy voice. No, not raspy –more of a low rumble in his throat.

"I'll be going," His gaze was still trained on her unblinkingly –and she briefly wondered, what… what did he see, when he looked at her? Did he see Stella, or did he see her? "I know I said I'd stay, but… Chrome won't be able to fight anymore now, and they really do need an illusionist for this Choice battle coming up. Also…"

I only stayed because I thought… maybe… because…

She smiled.

"… Never mind. I guess I'm going to just start rambling if I talk anymore. It… It's been a pleasure, Xanxus. I'll be leaving with Superbi tonight."

…

She doesn't expect it, when he suddenly stands up, towering over her body.

"No."

She blinked in surprise.

No?

No as in… no, don't leave…?

He abruptly looks away, and her words die on her tongue.

Why won't you look me in the eyes anymore, Xanxus?

She isn't sure of what this is –this thing between them, this thing that she is hesitant to put a name to.

(Her Mist flames –in that battle earlier, when shielding them from the onslaught of those invisible Storm flames– her flames had reacted far faster in protecting Xanxus than herself. As if Xanxus had been her first priority, even though she knew full well that Xanxus was perfectly capable of protecting himself. And Xanxus, upon seeing the blood on her skin… suffice to say, no one would ever be finding any remains of the fake-Storm Funeral Wreath and his loyal subordinate.)

She isn't blind.

She is aware of some sort of argument-disagreement that had gone on between her future self and Xanxus, and while she isn't sure of what that disagreement might entail –she knows that she is not the same person as her future self.

She is not Stella.

… And Xanxus had harbored something for Stella, didn't he? Something that hadn't been entirely unrequited, maybe a little reciprocated had it been truly possible, but…

…

Was this why, then?

When Mukuro had come for her –why Xanxus's eyes had become so empty at seeing the prospect of her leaving, at Stella leaving… was this why?

Perhaps, then…

Maybe, if…

… Was this why?

Was this why he couldn't let her go?

…

…

…

Sorry.

But.

I'm.

Not.

Stella.

She silently reached upwards with small, childish hands to cup his face. The long, jagged scars there stretched roughly under her fingertips, and she steadfastly ignored the urge to trace them. Instead, she simply tugged lightly at the tall man, insistently lowering him to her height.

Leaning towards him, feeling him stiffen–

The feathers arranged around his collar tickling her cheek–

Fingers lacing around the back of his neck, pressing closer –

Looking into his eyes, silently peering into red-autumn-flickering embers–

Softly breathing against his lips in a quiet, steady, sad little sort of hopeless whisper–

"Let me go, Xanxus."

…

C.

The little hazel-eyed girl continued tiptoeing upwards and gently pressed a chaste kiss to the man as he crumpled to the ground, soporific Mist flames flickering around them and casting their shadows dancing against the walls together in a drunken indigo haze.

Extra.

Bonus: Interlude –L'amore non muore mai.

The marble halls were cold and quiet.

It had been a long time since he last set foot in the Squalo Manor –just as it had been a long time since she last set foot in the Varia Headquarters. He had waited long enough for her to come around; they had waited long enough to stop dancing around the issue.

You hold no power over me.

… It was long enough.

(If he was willing to step onto her grounds, her territory –goddamnit, it was the only concession he would ever make and if she didn't–)

"VOI, WHO THE HELL–… Boss?"

His gaze flicked over the shark dismissively as he continued on his path–

"Boss!"

He didn't stop.

Clearly, Squalo hadn't expected him to, either.

The swordsman whirled into his path, blocking him with a vehement scowl on his face. But under that layer of vehemence was a strange tendril of tension, of apprehension –and it was only the latter that gave Xanxus pause, that had him slowing his steps ever so slightly as he gave his second-in-command a look.

"What is it, trash?"

A brief pause.

"You're here to see Stella, aren't you?"

He leveled a flat glare on the shark, who let out an explosive exhale and shifted his gaze to the side –which only heightened the feeling of wrongness.

"Boss, right now… might not be the best of times." It looked like it seriously pained Squalo to say so, but the fact that he was here, standing in his way and denying him when he was–

And then he heard it.

"Oya, what is it with all these butterflies?"

Squalo froze as Xanxus suddenly shoved past him and took the last few steps it took to reach the drawing room. But instead of slamming open the door and barging inside as he had done so many times in the past, Xanxus's hand had stilled upon resting on the doorknob.

"Why not butterflies? Unless… maybe you'd like to see some fluffy yellow birds, yes?"

"… Kufufu. Do so and I will teach you the meaning of regret."

"Don't you teach that to Fran on a daily basis, Mukuro?"

A few tendrils of indigo flames escaped the bottom edges of the doorframe. Neither of the two men paid it any attention as the conversation between the two occupants of the room continued.

"… Really, why are you actually here? I've held up my end of the deal –you're no longer chained in the water prisons of Vendicare anymore. So what makes… you…?"

Silence.

The kind that came from disbelief. Shock. As if what was currently happening couldn't be real; absolutely wasn't possible–

"There."

"Mukuro! That–" Stella's voice, normally so placid and calm and reserved, held a blatant edge of surprise at something that had completely blindsided her. Except, Stella made a point to know everything, didn't she? "You can't just– why did you– that's not–"

"Kufufu. How very eloquent, Stella."

The way the Mist illusionist said her name had Xanxus's blood boiling, and just as he was about to turn the doorknob, consequences be damned–

An exasperated sigh.

"You don't ask a woman to marry you by just forcing a ring on her finger!"

And Xanxus stilled.

"… At this point, I feel the need to point out how you haven't taken the ring off yet. May I assume that it's going to be staying there, then?"

"Mukuro…"

…

He stopped listening.

The shark had followed him –when had his feet decided to take him down the hallway, retracing the path he'd used to come here for her? When had he finally jerked away from that door, spinning on his heel and –when had the shark grabbed his arm, what the hell was he talking about–

"-ss! Boss! Fuck, we tried! We tried! And neither of you absolute idiots would even stop to consider–"

Lussuria. The Sun-user had tried thousands of methods to coax Xanxus into seeing Stella and vice versa. He was the reason why Xanxus was standing here now, but for the longest time, both had been too strong-willed –or was it too foolish?– to hear his words.

Squalo. How many times had the shitty shark tried to force them into a room together? Subtlety was definitely not his strong point, but he'd tried. And Levi, foolish enough as the idiot was, had been pulled along with their schemes –hell, even Bel and Fran had their sticky little fingerprints scattered all over these ridiculous, ridiculous so-called plans of theirs that involved–

"Shit. Shit, Boss, you should've listened when we kept telling you to–"

And Xanxus finally snapped.

His hand shot out, curling around the swordsman's throat and slamming him against the wall in a move the swordsman hadn't seen coming –and as Squalo cursed, fighting back and struggling even though they both knew it was useless–

"Don't you fucking dare tell me to listen to any of you," he snarled, and dropped the assassin.

Then he turned and left, invisible chains weighing down on his mind and screaming a hundred thousand different things at him to turn back, to turn back because goddamnit, it wasn't too late just yet–

Except it was.

It was.

Too.

Fucking.

Late.

…

You hold no power over me.

…

Xanxus almost wanted to just throw his head back and laugh.

Too late, too late; you were too late before and always will be–

Wasn't you, not you, never you–

Can't be, she doesn't, I won't–

We would never–

But maybe–

Given time–

If we had just–

If–

If…

…

…

…

Even through the chaotic maelstrom of thoughts, through the lead-like sensation of moving his limbs through quicksand, it was impossible to ignore the crushing weight of that delicate ring carefully tucked away inside his pocket.

.

...

.

Author's Notes:

Just a side note on the title for this extra, which may –or may not, who knows– deepen your understanding of the interlude piece a little: "L'amore non muore mai" is (supposedly) an Italian translation of the phrase, "Love never dies." :3

… I feel so evil now. xD

'Kay, anyways. Enough of the sappy relationship stuff. I wonder how many people still ship Xanxus/Stella? Lots of people seem to be happy with the Mukuro/Stella thing I threw in… :D

So, next chapter, Setsu/Stella heads to Japan next chapter with Squalo for training and for Choice. Dunno if we'll actually get into the Choice battles… guess we'll just have to see how it goes. I'm rather looking forward to that, really. ;3 Um. She'll be taking over for the role of Vongola Mist Guardian there –poor Tsuna, practically switching Mist Guardians for every conflict. xD There will be a permanent Vongola Mist Guardian at the end of this entire mess, trust me. Even if it doesn't look like that will be happening any time soon.

… And yes, she used her Mist flames to make Xanxus fall unconscious, since he was against her going to Japan, period. He hadn't exactly been expecting to get hit with a wave of Mist flames from her, right?

Since the internet here has been acting weird for the last few days, most of this chapter was written without reference to the manga. So if something seems off… just think of it as AU again. I'm pretty sure I got most of it right, I think? xD

… Say, how many people saw the fake Cloud Funeral Wreath thing with Sousei coming? :3 I think I dropped a lot of hints before that Sousei is pretty good friends with Shouichi…? ;)

100 drabbles exactly. And where Polaris was just about finished at this point, we're still going through with the Future arc... yup, Canopus is definitely going to end up being longer. xD

QUESTION: So, judging by what you've read so far, which one would you prefer to see more of –omakes or interludes?

Till next time~

-XxZuiliu