Helpful Shopping

That night...after dinner...

'Alright you kids.' said Lal, having heard everything from Reborn(including about the magic society and its existence). 'I heard the whole package from Reborn...and I'll now train you in how to fight in this era.' she said. 'Giannini, is there a place in this hideout where we can get violent?' she asked Giannini.

'Hai. I have arranged it as Juudaime asked me so.' said Giannini. 'Because the other boys are so destructive he felt it necessary to have a special room where they can vent!' Tsuna sweatdropped.

'Er...who exactly, is violent?' Tsuna choked nervously. 'Surely we can't be THAT bad in ten years?!' he cried incredulously.

'Its Hibari-san, Mukuro-san who occasionally visits through Chrome-san, Sasagawa-san too and while Gokudera-san tried to maintain peace for Juudaime but loses his temper too easily and joins in,' Gokudera had a comical arrow stab him while he balked in real time. '-even Yamamoto-san pitched in due to all the crazy.' several jaws dropped. 'He hopes that with the 'venting room' built, they'd be calmer when they go out and less trouble in the base, and less bills to pay.'

Tsuna is utterly horrified, his jaws shaking and now has another reason NOT to want to become the next boss.

'Whoa, really?' Yamamoto croaked. He could NOT picture himself going violent. Seriously.

'Really. You guys are a bunch of nutcases, only the boss and Chrome were the sane ones in the bunch.' Lal said wryly as awkward silence fell.

'Uh...I guess insanity comes with the jobs we have?' Mai sweatdropped. 'You didn't mention Lambo though.'

'He freaks out like a kid and runs away to hide until its over.' came the flat snark, causing the teens to face-fault. 'Anyway, take us to that room.'

xxx

In the Venting Room...

'Not a scratch for a venting room.' said Gokudera wryly as indeed, its a wide space yet looked brand new.

'Of course!' Giannini chirped cheerfully. 'Its made of intense reinforced alloys although it can't withstand flames yet.' he said. 'Due to current technology its still not possible, 'Well, I'll take my leave...' and he left, not really wanting to be in ground zero...

'Well now, we'll begin.' said Lal.

'Learning how to use Boxes is an efficient way to get used to fighting in this era.' said Reborn.

'There are many types of Boxes...and we need flames to activate them. And we need our rings to use our flames to open these boxes.' said Lal. 'Think of it this way...the flame is electricity or power supply, and the box is the appliance that needs power to function.' she said as she activated one of her boxes that released a centipede. 'Of course, the power of your rings can also be used as is...as simply flames, like you do. But still, boxes are needed. Without boxes and good quality ones, you won't last long in this world.' she said grimly. 'There are many types and countless functions. Basically, all boxes are only capable of functioning if charged in the beginning. If the flame dies out, activity is terminated.' she said as her centipede stopped functioning. 'But there are also some that required charging after release. Its been confirmed.'

'Those boxes are used by the enemy side?' Mai asked her.

'Yes. They unfortunately, have better boxes.' Lal griped. 'Its hard to get good resources with all this going on. Funds are also hard to access since leaving is nearly impossible.' she scowled. 'And lastly, if the box won't open, its because the flame you gave it is either too weak or too low...or the attribute is different.'

'So there are boxes for all flame types?' Mai asked again. 'Is it all that specific or are there neutral boxes that can be activated by any type?'

'Yes.' Lal nodded. 'There's also a rare case. Sky Flames can open any box regardless of attribute. However, the potency in other boxes are halved as a result while Sky boxes activated by Skies are 100%. And Neutral Boxes indeed exist. Do take note of that.'

'Hey hold on a minute, ten years Yamamoto said something about waves.' Gokudera added. 'But isn't that basically what becomes flames?'

'Yes. Wave Energy is our life force.' Lal told them. 'What turns them into flames, is our resolve and will itself. We are born with a fixed amount of potential and there's no changing it.'

'So about the boxes...is their strength and durability affected by how much power or how strong our flames are when injected into it?' Mai asked her.

'That too.'

'Sooo where do we buy boxes?' Mai asked her. 'I'm an unknown, and I can leave my ring here to avoid giving my identity away. I can purchase boxes for all of us as needed.'

'Mai, are you serious?!' Tsuna asked her worriedly. This world is dangerous and yet...!

'She's right. She's an unknown in this world.' Reborn quipped. 'Millefiore knows Lambo is the Lightning Guardian, not her because in this world, we never met Mai. In this world, she never ran away from her relatives when they went to Japan. That's why Mai is safe to go out. She can safely go and buy us much-needed boxes.'

'So...shopping lists, anyone?' Mai smirked. 'Supportive, Defensive and Offensive Boxes...just like in video games!' she squealed giddily in delight. 'And does future Otome Road have new material?!'

The boys and Lal Mirch exchanged looks.

'Mai-san please, no weird anime, OK?' Tsuna whimpered.

xxx

'Mai really worries me.' Tsuna sighed. 'She's really milking this for all its worth and recklessly goes out...'

'She has a point. In this world, Mai is not a Vongola Member.' said Gokudera. 'In this world, she is still Fiore Potter living in Britain and just an ordinary civilian. She'll be OK!'

Tsuna thought wryly as 'ordinary' as she could get. Fiore Potter of this world would still be mistreated by her relatives but upon discovering magic and Hogwarts, he wondered if she used the opportunity to be free and be happy...

xxx

Tokyo...

To Mai's relief, Fushigimori is still OK. She went straight to Gringotts, proved her identity(much to the Japanese Branch's shock: its not everyday time travel is possible) and thus, is able to access her fortune...that was after forking over a copy of her memories to give to the Fiore Potter of this world if she was ever found as when the past selves are brought here, the future selves vanish and Britain is panicking that she went MIA in The Ministry, the Head Auror Office. She, the Victorious Woman and Bachelorette-in-Demand.

Mai preferred that she's still recorded as MIA and kidnapped though...and as an adult in this world, demanded her account records...and dealt with everything the way she wanted it to, and asked for information about her parallel self and made arrangements for her parallel self to communicate with to the British Branch before withdrawing 1 trillion yen into a suitcase but she could not get information about Sirius for reasons not even Oniwakamaru would say. Upon withdrawing the money, she also bought an Expandable Backpack, and promptly went shopping...and bought A-Class Boxes that cost her quite a fortune. She bought twenty supportive boxes, twenty defensive boxes and twenty offensive boxes for all types and in total, cost her nearly a billion in expenses. Not only that, she also purchased several A-Class Rings that are far pricier(which must be in her magical bag or all these rings would be detected). Cost her 50 billion yen in total this time...and she bribed the dealer into telling her who creates the Box weapons. Because she wanted 'unique' Box Animals for her family.

Upon getting to contact Koenig, the last scientist who produced the Box Weapons, she demanded that in return for 100 billion yen, he make her the animals she specified with their assigned attribute. All A-Class Boxes. With abilities and functions she wanted per Box Animal with a 'gimmick'. But Koenig, due to what she asked for asked for another 50 billion due to the fact that she demanded them in a damn week when they're not exactly easy to make meaning he would barely have any sleep...she said she would pay when the week-long timeline is up but willing to extend a week if some things just can't be helped as long as he gets the job done. But she still bought A-Class Cloud Box Animals for Lal Mirch as the woman surely would NOT want Pokemon. Hey, they're kids, dammit.

Then she went shopping for clothes in Otome Road, knowing the sizes of her peers at just one glance, and knowing what suits them being an otaku...and bought new anime, and portable DVD Players.

With her shopping venture done, she went home to the base, carrying several carton boxes of everything around late at night. This was due to the fact that she must hide the existence of magic after all.

'Well?!' Lal demanded as Mai came home with her shopping. She came home with several boxes, so...

Mai upended one box, revealing shitloads of boxes to many disbeliefs.

'...you really went all out, didn't you Mai?' Reborn chuckled in amusement. 'How much did they all cost?'

'Well, the rings cost 50 billion yen in total since I bought ten A-Class Rings per flame type...' The boys and Lal turned into cracked white rocks from shock. 'And the A-Class Boxes cost me nearly a billion in total. Apparently, A-Class Box Animals are all based on either rare, extinct or mythological creatures or just normal animals with more abilities than low-ranked boxes while A-Class Offensive and Defensive Weapons are er...military-grade weaponry enough to start and end wars but given our personalities, I bought what suits us best.' Mai told them to additional horrors. 'The Supportive Boxes are a real doozy though. I also plan on buying C-Class Boxes but there's only so much I can carry!' she exclaimed.

'Er...this is good.' Tsuna squeaked out weakly as they looked at the piles of boxes. He's pretty sure they'd be well-armed knowing her.

'Before I give out rings, I need those Mammon Chains so we won't be detected.' said Mai. 'The Underground Dealer was hesitant in selling me the rings because all Mafia Famiglias now have Ring Radars. Even he has one. But when I showed him my bag is safe, he sold me the rings.'

'Alright.' Lal was eager to have a ring for herself, and wrapped a Mammon chain around a cloud ring she picked up, and tested it out on her centipede...and flame output is impressive. '...I can actually release my full strength in this thing...its A-Class alright.'

'So what animals do you have in there?' Gokudera asked Mai excitedly.

'Well, our animals are specially ordered so what I have here is only Lal-san's Cloud boxes.'

The boys wondered if they really wanted to know what she meant by that.

But the box weapons and equipment at least, have labels to their relief.

They were also relieved that Mai bought them clothes in this era as well, so they'll be fine regardless of how long are they stuck here until they complete their mission in this era before they could return home.

That, and Lal grilled them all hard in training in getting used to their equipment powered with their powerful flames at their strongest to be able to use the weapons in full power.

Tsuna has machine pistols and a shoulder cannon that enables him to do Zero-Point Breakthrough little by little the more bullets and ammo strike the target, a megaphone that allows him to release petrifying roars, and a medallion that enable him to absorb flames when activated, and an enemy flame coming right at him.

Yamamoto has a Swallow and Akita Dog, and a Water Box from his future self. He also took a Syringe that can inject either a tranquilizer or a poison neutralizer, a Gunbai that fans Rain Flames in a powdery form that puts the target to sleep or paralysis but also works as a melee weapon, a kimono and sandal set that will switch with the clothes on Yamamoto's body when activated, and an actual katana.

Gokudera has a Storm Hammer that destroys anything it hits...even a whole house up to a five storey building, a dagger that can cut anything, a bottle containing 'liquified' Storm Flames capable of melting anything and a Storm Box that creates a barrier of storm flames.

For Ryohei she bought A-Class Boxing Gear and shoes, and a Sun-Type Medical First-Aid Kit.

For Hibari she bought him A-Class Tonfas, sharp caltrops, and basically...ninja gear of Flash, Smoke, Stink and actual Exploding bombs, and kunai.

For Chrome, she bought defensive and protective gear for both herself and Mukuro. In fact, All guardians have the same protective gear set that protects their important parts. The best part? They can re-size it to fit them by controlling the flames with their body size in mind!

Mai has has no need for Box Weapons since she has pretty much...everything on herself, that anyone can just damn get it.

'You...' Reborn twitched as Mai is the only one who did not participate in Box Weapon Training. 'You seriously offered Koenig billions to make you customized box animals?!'

'Hey, its a kid's dream come true!' Mai squealed. 'I'm sure the boys will be happy with what I picked for them!' she chimed.

Reborn sighed.

'So? What did you get them?'

'Its a surprise for them OK? I bought one for I-Pin and Lambo too...for now, I'll go check on the girls and the kids.'

xxx

'Hahi?! You bought us clothes?!' Haru gasped as Mai came in with boxes of ten changes of clothes, shoes and underwear.

'Yeah. No telling how long we're stuck in this screwed-up future.' said Mai. 'I bought clothes for us who are currently here. Even the boys have clothes! I also know what goes well with our looks, so have a look at yours!' at this, Haru and Kyoko, more distracted with the purchases, saw fashionable clothes indeed and are very happy.

xxx

Late at night...after dinner...

'I wonder what Mai-san bought us...' Yamamoto wondered as there are six boxes...two each for them.

'Knowing her its probably expensive.' Gokudera grimaced. 'She's got funds to burn and she's richer than all mafia families combined, so...' yes, there's clothes...and even accessories and underwear. Not only that, also toiletry.

Tsuna noted its magical toiletry...Shampoo, soap and toothpaste and his instinct told him its less potent than what Mai gave to him.

'Er...how do I use these accessories?' Tsuna choked out, looking at the accessories. 'I wouldn't know where to put them and what to wear them with!' he said, looking at the many rings, necklaces, chokers, arm and wristbands...

'Yeah, I'm at a loss too...' said Yamamoto. 'Gokudera give us a hand here! You're the only one among us wearing accessories so which goes where?'

'I wouldn't know until I see all your clothes and shoes!' said Gokudera, somehow quickly wearing glasses on his face and hair in a ponytail. 'Time to do some fashion coordinating!' he said. 'Good thing the floor is clean...'

With that, he helped his friends coordinate outfits with accesories. Its pretty easy for the half-italian, having lived in a fashionable country for most of his life. Hey, Italy is the country of amore! That, and to dress fashionably is simply another way of saying that you love yourself and confident with how you look and he made sure to tell them that.

Things aren't peaceful for long though...