Chapter 9: The Art of Decision Making

"Either you think- or else, others have to think for you and take power from you, pervert and discipline your natural tastes, civilize and sterilize you."

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

I let out a sharp breath. Frost sprang out from under my feet and covered the entire area, turning the once humid, sunny place into an iced sculpture. He raised an elegant eyebrow and stepped forward, making his way towards me.

"Idiot, idiot, idiot..." Whispers filled the air, scolding me for my stupidity. Of fucking course it was him. Who else was a powerful enough illusionist to do this? Why didn't I think of him sooner?

"Idiot, idiot, idiot..."

"Oho? Looks like your mind is even more fragile than I thought," Mukuro gave a small roll of his head, "although I have to admit it was difficult to get into," he purred, sauntering closer to me.

I blinked, then considered, a fact hitting me suddenly. I felt something cold in my hand in the next moment as anger swept through me.

"But I'm curious to see just why your mind is s-"

And I threw the snowball, nailing him in the face. He froze mid-walk, and then wiped the snow from his face. His eye twitched but didn't give him a chance to react further.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, you fucking dumbass! You can fuck off for all I care, bastard! I lost a week of sleep because of you! A whole week you fucking piece of trash!" I stomped towards the illusionist, fuming, fed up with this week. He back tracked as I kept going forward and put his arms up in defense, a surprised and awkward look spreading across his face. Clearly, out of all the outcomes, he had not expected me to react like this.

"Oi, oi, calm down!" He attempted, trying to sooth my anger. As I walked the frost thawed beneath me. The temperature increased drastically, and we could feel the heat on our skin. Suddenly, flames erupted in columns around us, startling both of us. I stepped back in surprise, but I was even more surprised when I stepped back to find no solid ground.

I let out a small squeak of surprise, and suddenly, we plummeted. Looking around wildly, I could see the sides of the hole flying past us. Mukuro seemed to get over his shock rather quickly, and he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"My, what an annoying situation. You have to learn to control your mind, child."

Before I could complain about his wording, a trident materialized in front of him. He grabbed the weapon and pulled me towards his side in a few swift movements. As he drew me closer I saw the kanji in his eyes change. Suddenly, vines with lotus's covering them shot out from the trident, attaching to the walls of the hole, creating a net to catch us. We bounced lightly on his makeshift net, landing relatively safely. I lay there, still squished to his side, shocked into silence and just really not knowing how to react. He took advantage of this opportunity.

"This won't do at all for a place to talk," he noted, idly pushing himself up, "I preferred our first scene much more than this one, don't you, child?"

He turned to me, a sly smile on his face. I blinked, thinking of the garden like scene I had woken up to. Another blink, and we were back in that very same overgrown canyon, rocks barely seen behind the greenery covering them.

Mukuro hummed in approval, nodding, "Much better."

He rose and struck the ground with his trident, the sound resonating through my mind. A throne made of the same vines that saved us earlier grew up from behind him just as he sat down. He titled his head and smirked, gazing in my direction. "Don't you want to sit too?" he questioned in a condescending tone, waving his hand. A large lotus flower bloomed in front of him, forming a seat out of the petals.

I frowned, my face nearly scrunching up in disgust.

"I'm not a fucking kid," I muttered, albeit walking forward to take the offered seat.

"Clearly, with the type of language you use," he teased further, eyes barely squinting in humor.

"Fuck o-"

"Now that you are calm," he interrupted smoothly, "I'd like to discuss some things with you," he started, leaning back and crossing his legs. "And during this, I'd prefer that you'd try to keep your emotions in check. You wouldn't want a repeat of what happened last time, would you?"

Cold flashed through me suddenly, and the temperature drop in the environment reflected this.

"It looks," Mukuro observed, eyes could curious as he witnessed this, "like you have no control at all." He shrugged, "Oh well, I'll just have to watch my steps. First things first, I suppose," he leaned forward, eyes gleaming, "How do you know who I am?"

"How do you know I know who you are?" I shot back with a question.

He frowned, clearly not appreciating my answer, or lack of answer. He glared down at me, suddenly seeming bigger than he was. A cold wind tore through the clearing as I leaned back, chastising myself the moment after for doing so.

Carefully, I lifted my hands, looking down at them. Why, I asked myself, did it seem like I had no control other my actions. Or rather, I corrected, why did I have no barriers prohibiting me from my actions.

Mukuro seemed in consideration again, looking around the area (and at me) carefully. I recalled his movements earlier; practiced and concise. Although he would have to be careful here, I too have to show caution. This was a talented illusionist in my mindscape. Truly, anything could happen and we were both well aware of that.

"I knew," he began, deciding it was best to answer my question, "that you recognized me and fully knew who I was, simply because of your facial expression." He then added as an afterthought, "Also, because this is your mind, child, that it's easy to see your emotions and feel the shock you felt when you recognized me."

"Well," I allowed, mulling over his words, "I guess that makes sense." I barely winced, once again thinking about my lack of control over my actions. I hated, I realized, how raw I felt here. Bared. So unlike my physical body, which was trained against this very thing.

I took a breath, pushing this aside. A soft, warm wind rippled through the landscape. Relief washed over me, and at first I was confused why I relieved. But as multiple flowers bloomed around us, I realized that I was relieved that he hadn't looked into my memories.

"Oh, I haven't even bothered with your memories yet," He scoffed.

The flowers shut as my attention snapped back to him.

"What?" It was a cold, aggressive statement.

"It was hard enough getting here in the first place," he snided, with a bit of anger and annoyance in his tone, "and memories are a whole other thing altogether."

Frost raced over the plants, turning them razor sharp. An echo of a snicker echoes in my ears, the flowers reminiscent of knives in this state. Mukuro seemed to be blind to this, however, attaining a certain cockiness in his body and words.

"Why are you here?" I asked coldly, forcing myself to take mental steps before every action.

"No need to jump ahead, chi-"

"I'm not a child!" And with a single clench of my fist, the flowers quivered once,

And then the shard of frost rose into spikes, nearly piercing Mukuro if not for him shooting back, his throne freezing and shattering. He thrust his arm forward, and a large snake burst from his sleeve. I let out a small gasp, and fell back, raising my arms and squeezing my eyes shut.

Warmth splattered against my bare skin. I blinked, feeling a substance against my lashes. Shakily, I opened my eyes, lowering my arms to see the snake,

Pierced thoroughly with shards of clear ice, its dark blood leaking down the structures that killed it.

Very suddenly, I was hit with the memory of my first kill, and dialogue from that day filled my head, quiet whispers seeming like yells against my ears. Shaking I fell to my knees, hands clamped over my ears. My breaths were ragged, uncontrolled, and I squeezed my eyes closed, attempting to calm myself enough to earn back control.

"You," a voice stated once I had gained more control, "look like a child to me."

I looked up, narrowing my eyes as Mukuro walked forward, carefully stepped over the pools of melted ice and blood.

"And what are you, like 15? You're not that much older than me, bitch," I shot back, shaking once more before pushing myself up again. His eyebrow raised in slight amusement, and he let out a light hum.

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?" He hummed, waving his trident, constructing a mirror in front of me. I blinked, noticing two things immediately.

One, I was child, completely with my longer hair and scrawny body I had before training.

And two, I was stark ass naked. My expression immediately soured, glaring up at Mukuro as I covered myself.

"Pervert."

His eye barely twitched, and he coughed into his hand, politely looking away as a dress materialized on me.

"Really, a fucking dress?" I complained, picking at the material as I stood, "Not like, a shirt and shorts or even a romper, yeah?"

"Not happy with anything, are you?" he muttered, barely huffing before recreating his throne. He gestured, creating the large flower from before, but I clicked my tongue, crossing my arms and choosing to stand.

"Why are you here?" I asked, barely surprised to hear my normal, teenage voice. I looked down, pleased to see my regular body as well. For a moment, I considered that he wouldn't answer me at all. But it was clear that he was simply prolonging the silence for his own amusement.

"I happened," He began, "to be strolling through my illusions when I noticed a strange presence. When it wouldn't let me easily enter, I took it as a challenge. Usually, only strong illusionist can put up blocks like this, but you could say I'm..." he looked off, as if trying to find a word. Giving a sly smile, he continued, "pleasantly surprised that it was a seemingly normal girl's mind. An extraordinary mind, at that," He admitted, looking around again, "Extraordinary, and other worldly." I put my hand on my hip and gazed at him warily. He eyed me suspiciously, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"You're not supposed to be here." I stiffened at his statement, forcing this body to be still and not react. "And you know it."

A million things whirled through my mind as he said this, producing a tornado of wind around us. I managed to calm my thoughts and subdue the wind in the next moment, however. He clapped sarcastically, still sitting confidently in his throne. A breath, and the wind calmed. Another breath, and I spoke again.

"What do you mean by that?" I tried, getting us back on subject. He scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"Your mind doesn't fit in this world," he explained simply, "which is the reason why it immediately tried to reject my presence. Although, I was surprised when the blocks disappeared and even more surprised when I felt another illusionist. It seems like it's easier to enter your mind when you let them. I'll be sure to remember that for future reference," He drawled rather casually, his ever-remaining smirk still plastered on his face. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Future reference?" I questioned. He nodded and yawned in response.

"I'm willing to put forth some effort to solve this mystery of course," He said, pushing himself out of his throne (and it withered again, melting into the greenery beneath once his body left it), "After all, we both know you're hiding something… or things," He mused before shrugging.

"As long as I find out eventually. I had better nothing to do until things start getting exciting." I titled my head, seeing a cold gleam in his eyes.

"So, you plan on coming back?" I asked, keeping a casual tone as well.

"And be sure to let me in without any trouble," he ordered, turning to leave and not looking back. A door materialized in front of him. "It was rather tiring, forcing my way in after all, but I'm sure if I have to do it again…. well, I'm sure that only one of our minds will survive, and yours isn't exactly stable."

I bristled at the threat, but he simple laughed at my reaction. I waved him off, pleased to see a slight tensing in his shoulders, proving that my nonchalantness surprised him.

"Fine, fine. Just make sure you don't give me any more headaches in the future, yeah?" He turned back to me, his hand on the door knob.

"Oh? What's this?" he recovered smoothly, "Even knowing who I am and you're completely content with me coming back?" I shrugged, a small smile slipping on my face.

"You're the only person I can really tell anyway," I teased. He raised an eyebrow at my vague response.

"Kufufufu, I'll be sure to come back then, child."

And with that, he opened the door and left. I blinked, then immediately scowled.

"Pineapple bastard."

I nearly skipped throughout the halls, happily headache free. Sure, I considered, a highly dangerous illusionist was in my head and could get in any time he basically wanted, but then again, no more splitting headaches. I considered the benefits to outweigh the possible future conflicts. Although...

I stopped and leaned and against the wall, hand on chin, deep in thought. Should I really tell him? Tell him everything? How I was from another world, and I know things that I shouldn't. That I know a possible future and that I was trying to change it, or at least just help those I loved? If I do tell him, it could be beneficial to me; illusions are an extremely valuable trait, and with me not being able to use them it would be helpful to have an illusionist I could take advantage of.

I blinked, shocked by my own wording. Take advantage of? But, then again, was he more than willing to take advantage of me? I frowned, mulling over my dilemma.

I was extremely desperate to tell him, which was an uncomfortable and weak fact to acknowledge. I know I wanted, needed, someone to believe me, and just listen. Mukuro might, no he would believe me. Right now, he was my only option. I had actually plan to try to communicate with him with these same hopes later, but he surprised me with his early appearance.

I sighed, making up my mind. I had my resolve and I was going to stick to it, no matter how stupid my choice is.

I just needed someone right now (again), before I go completely insane.

"Why if it isn't my favorite little Cavallone," a voice chided, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up smiling, recognizing the figures approaching me.

"Why if it isn't my favorite ninth generation lightning guardian and favorite dessert topping," I answered back, walking up to him. He laughed and ruffled my hair. I peeked around him to look at Bouche, giving him a smile as well. The dark man smiled back, dipping his head slightly.

"Miss Nikita," he acknowledged.

"Mr. Bouche," I answered back politely. I turned back to Ganauche.

"The Ninth visiting again, yeah?" I tilted my head, questioning their appearance. He nodded.

"We were actually sent to go find you. The boss wants you to join them while he's here," Ganauche grabbed my shoulders and began steering me back the way they had come.

"He tasked me with finding you," Bouche corrected his comrade dryly. "He just tagged along." Ganauche huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Not my fault that I haven't seen the brat in a while," he rebuked, slinging his arm around my shoulder as we walked. "Unlike you lot, she actually brings a little fun into our dull lives." I laughed at his response.

Ganauche and Bouche were my favorite out of the ninths guardians. They would often accompany the ninth when he visited and would even play with me when I was little. As I grew, we began talking more instead of playing and I formed a good relationship with them.

Ganauche was the youngest out of the guardians, so he enjoyed playing with me as a kid the most. The mist guardian just enjoyed my company as well, but on a more intellectual level. We often went into deep discussion over theories and books (he too had a love for reading and we would often be found in the library, boring Ganauche to death with our talks). He admitted to me one time that he was surprised I had approached him so easily as a child because of his strange and intimidating appearance. I just shrugged it off and labeled him as interesting. He had laughed at this.

Coyote Nougat also came with the ninth in his visits, but had always stayed at his boss's side. I always took the storm guardian as a serious type, so I never expected him to associate himself with a child anyway. He was intimidating at times, however. Ganauche simply brushed it off saying that's just how the old coot is and left it there. Either way, I had a good relationship with the ninth's guardians and the ninth himself had always been like a grandfather to me, or at least, we had always put on that front with each other.

"Ah, Nikita! I'm glad you go join us."

I smiled shyly up at the ninth and took the seat he gestured to. Bouche and Ganauche took the other two empty seats at the table. I looked away from Coyote's usual stern gaze, and met Dino's eyes. I narrowed my own, noticing he looked a bit upset about something.

"I really don't think she needs to be here for this, Ninth," my brother sighed. Ah, so that's it. He's trying to shelter me from... something. I barely scrunched my nose at Dino before returning to a neutral expression. The ninth waved him off.

"It's fine, Dino. After all, I want her opinion since she has spent time with the boy." I raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, knowing they'd explain it to me soon enough.

"Nikita, I assume you're familiar with Gokudera Hayato, yes?" I nodded, becoming immediately wary.

"Tsunayoshi's friend. Gokudera wants to be Tsuna's right-hand man," I elaborated, hiding the nervous feeling I was getting from this. The ninth nodded, hand on chin, a thoughtful and worried look on his face.

"Yes, and to tell the truth, I'm a little worried. Due to his past actions, I'm a little suspicious of his loyalty to Tsunayoshi. I wanted to get your opinion on him since you have spent time with him recently and might know him better on a personal level."

A cold feeling washed through me, and I felt a smalls park of fear for Gokudera. This suspicion was warranted sure, but? Gokudera's care for Tsunayoshi was unquestionable, and almost too aggressive. But how to describe this politically, in a way that would completely squash any violent action that could be easily warranted against a teenager just looking for a family. I mulled over his words, biting my lower lip, choosing my next words carefully. Although I would like to say that Gokudera was harmless, from a boss's point of view, this was a very dangerous and delicate situation. And it was important, that as a Cavallone, that I remain neutral is this situation.

(at least for now)

"You have good reasons to be suspicious," I started, "He has a bad temper and is prone to violence," I paused, "however he has never shown any aggression or acted violent towards Tsunayoshi. Still, if you feel the need to test him, you should." I finished, then added, "Just to be safe."

The old man nodded again, taking my words into consideration. Dino caught my eyes from his seat, sending me a proud look. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him, having to be professional in front of an allied boss.

"Very well," the ninth muttered after a while. "Then I will go through with the plan I had discussed with you earlier," he nodded to Dino, a dark look passed over his face as he delivered his next orders, "Remember, if he shows up, kill him."

Dino nodded stiffly with a blank, serious face. I too, kept a neutral face, not reacting to his words, but feeling my gut twist.

The ninth smiled, dispelling the dark tone instantly.

"Now, thank you for hospitality, but we really must be going now," He patted my hand and rose, motioning for his guardians to follow. Dino rose and followed him out the door, falling into step with the other boss. Coyote didn't even give me a second glance, but Bouche patted me on the shoulder as a goodbye, and Ganauche ruffled my hair again. My earlier professional mode gone, I couldn't help but to stick my tongue out at him. He snickered as he left, leaving me alone at the table.

I caught up with Dino later that day. He had a complicated expression on his face. I approached him and reached up to poke his cheek.

"Hey there sunshine," I jokingly greeted, bumping him with my hip. He let a small smile slip and rolled his eyes.

"Hey, sis…." He forced a smile, but it fell instantly. He paused, and I stopped with him, allowing him a moment of silence with just the two of us in the hallway.

"If he comes," Dino claimed suddenly, "I'm helping him escape overseas." My expression didn't change.

"You're going to disobey the ninth to help him?" Dino shrugged.

"I'm not just going to kill one of Tsuna's friends like that, you know?" I smiled at his reason, bumping him again.

"You're a good big brother, Dino." He let out a small, forced laugh, shrugging and running his hand through his hair.

"I don't know about that, Cloud."

Mukuro Rokudo let out a small chuckle as he entered the girl's mind for the second time. He gazed around the area and was pleasantly surprised to see that she wasn't in the strange, iridescent garden. Or was it more of a canyon, he briefly questioned. No, it was a wonderful mix of two opposite landscapes, a feat that could only be achieved in the uncertain realm of the mind.

Truly, he found these kind of endeavors interesting. Fascinating even.

But it was no matter; this was still a mind, albeit a fascinating mind, but a mind he would reap for his own benefits.

(For that was how he survived all these years, wasn't it? Using others for his own gains. And he had no qualms with this)

Other worldly, he had described it, but that was only for lack of better words. The only way he could describe it, is that this mind did not belong here; an improper fit, and that, along with the girl's lack of control over her emotions in her head, lead to a very dangerous mind.

"How," he said between chuckles, "fun."

Although, there was also a familiar feeling, a connection almost. He couldn't place it. She had told him that he was the only person she could tell something to, as if he could understand something no one else could. He had been playing with the idea that she had been reincarnated to, but dismissed it; this girl hadn't experienced death.

And yet? The connection was still there. It frustrated him, but he knew he had to take his time, bide getting it out of her. He couldn't have a repeat of last time. He had no intention of finding out if he could become trapped in another person's mind, especially one as bizarre as hers.

He could wait. It seemed like she was going to tell him something interesting soon enough anyway. He could wait.

Although,

He paused, mismatched eyes landing on one of the many vibrant flowers vining from the wall (once rock, but now covered in greenery) of what he assumed had been a canyon. He had told the girl that it was too much trouble messing with her memories, but the truth of that? He hadn't tried. Not yet, at least.

A moment, and he glanced around the garden, as if the owner of the mind he was in would pop up just behind him. He scoffed, dissuading this flickering apprehension,

And reached a hand out, merely brushing the petals of a flower with his fingertips,

Only to rear back, hissing in pain as a hot livid feeling shot up his arm. He stepped back, cradling it, only to find there was nothing but blackness,

And then the world as he knew it

shattered before his eyes.

"Oh."

The girl blinked, appearing in her dream world to find Mukuro already there, "You're already here, that's- "

But she stopped, seeing an already crumbling flower in his hands. Angry, suspicious heterochromatic eyes snapped up to meets hers, but he was surprised to find her own green filled with rage.

"What the fuck," she seethed, stepping forward before stopping herself, the grass quivering with her own rage around the, the vines and greenery following in suit around them as a quake, "What the actually living fuck, I told you to wait! I –"

She paused, taking a breath and calming herself, feeling the temperature of the air around her rising rapidly. A moment, and a sudden cooling. Another breath and she spoke again.

"Okay," she admitted with a slight roll of her head, "I'm pissed, but –"

"You're," Mukuro snapped, standing suddenly, "the angry one?" Nikita stiffened at this, nearly stepped back into a defensive stance. All movement ceased in the garden.

"You're angry, when I just learned that my entire world is nothing but past entertainment," Mukuro spat, gesturing to the ashes of the flower that he once held, and then to the girl, "to a girl who isn't suppose to be here, or even alive anymore?"

"So," Nikita said carefully, holding up steady hands, "you've been snooping."

"That," Mukuro said, his anger only ebbing slightly, "is all you have to say?"

"Well," she said with a slight tilt of head hood, choosing to sit down, crossing her legs in the grass, "I was kind of pissed at first, yeah. But, then I figured I was going to tell you anyway, yeah? Anyway this was probably a lot more," she struggled momentarily for the right word, "graceful than any words that I would try to use to explain it."

"That you're not form this world? That you skipped death and chose a world that was once fictional to you? That you now live and breath with those you used to view as paper thin characters that had no meaning let alone life in them?" Mukuro summarized, still angry, but ebbing.

"Yeah," Nikita laughed, running a hand through her hair, "that's a lot more eloquent than I would have put it. You seemed to believe it well enough, which I'm a little surprised about."

"Memories," Mukuro said, narrowing his eyes and hitting the ground with his trident. His usual throne grew from behind, forming just in time for him to sit, "Don't lie."

(But people do)

"I'll admit although…. Peculiar," he began, maintaining a cold professional tone (which Nikita scoffed at), "The idea of reincarnation and other worlds is not a new concept to me. What's strange it the act of skipping death, and the fact that you managed to do it."

"I've never been one to play by the rules," she hummed, smiling slyly.

"Strange or not," Mukuro stated, getting the conversation back on track, "the fact that you have these… memories of a life where you had knowledge of this... Well that," he said, allowing a smirk, "could be of use to me."

"Because I'd be oh-so-happy to help you," Nikita said flatly, her expression falling, "Get real, Pina Colada" – and here, his eye twitched, and his hand tightened on his weapon , his other flicking the small umbrella that appeared on his head off– "like I'm going to help the villain of the story."

"I'm only the villain because you were looking through another's eyes," Mukuro played back smoothly, recovering, "I'm the protagonists of my own story, as you are of yours. Nothing is as black and white as fictional stories. This," he said, twirling his trident lightly (but she stiffened again, knowing this to be a threat, but also noticed that he was only using one arm, the other hurt?), "is real life, darling. With real consequences. Be wary and play along, and we'll see," he said with a cock of his head, rising and allowing his thrown to melt back into the grass, "how far you get."

"Don't really like games," she gave her own warning, which Mukuro merely laughed at.

"Too bad; you're already playing," he said with a shrug, "now you just have to decide whose side you're on. Until then," he tipped his head to her, waving his hand and procuring a door to exit out of, "I have some research to do."

"Leaving so soon?" Nikita asked, raising an eyebrow and standing as well.

"It's been a rather… interesting night," Mukuro admitted, opening the door and pausing, "and I'm sure you have some things to think over as well."

"You know I'm not going to just let you use me, right?" Nikita stated boldly.

"It's cute," Mukuro said, the words coming out as a sneer despite his light tone, "that you think you have a choice. Ciao."

And Nikita clicked her tongue, not being able to get another word in before the door slammed behind his, shattering to pieces the instant it was closed. She grumbled, crossing her arms and tapping her foot, thinking.

"Fine," she said finally, narrowing her eyes, "Fine. I can play too."

"You're insane."

"Shishi~ Princess, you know I prefer the term genius."

I tore my eyes away from the glass, glaring over at him.

"Insane," I reiterated, turning my attention back to the spread of carnival below us, "and they're still looking."

Bel grinned, giggling once more before coming over to me, slinging his arm around my shoulders and leaning to look down as well. He clicked his tongue, annoyed, and retreated to the other side of the encased carousal. His movement titled it, but I maintained my balance, eyes still on the assassins that we had noticed stalking us earlier. The intention of hanging out today had been to catch up and have fun (despite Bel planning the entire day), but it seemed like, as always, things would not go according to plan.

"20 bucks they're here for you," I said.

"50, and they're here for you," he shot back, grinning. I huffed and turned to stick my tongue out at him. "Come on, Princess," he complained lightly, moving again and plopping down beside me as I turned to look away, "they definitely didn't see us get on the Ferris Wheel, so we're good, right?"

"We have time," I shrugged, admitting.

"And there's something you've been wanting to talk about, right Princess," Bel accused suddenly, and I turned, his face much closer to mine than before. His grin grew wider, seeing my brief lapse of surprise.

"Bingo~"

"Fuck off," I said, playfully pushing his chest back, "I was going to tell you eventually…. Probably," I said with a wince.

"Well?" He said, leaning back smugly. I opened my mouth once. The closed. Opened it once more, a breath and then:

"I'm kind of dating this guy I met in Japan."

A moment. And then a hiss from Bel.

"What."

And then the glass around us shattered, and we both dove to the floor, narrowly avoiding the barrage of bullets invading the carousel.

"Oh no," I said quickly, bringing my guns out from under my jacket and checking the cartridges, "We're being attacked and we can't finish this conversation, bye Bel!" I said, quickly jumping out and easily making my way down through the beams of the Ferris Wheel. Diving behind the structure multiple times, I determined where the shooter was, knowing to go after them while Bel took care of the others.

I clicked my tongue, realizing more had gathered, and rather quickly. A planned attack.

"At least Bel can shed some blood," I said, narrowing my eyes and easily hitting the shooter in the shoulder, "and let off some steam. Hell knows he needs to after – Fuck!" I quickly ducked down, avoiding a metal back, crushing the hollow metal trashcan I was leaning against.

I blinked, then clicked my tongue once more in annoyance, taking in his weapon and groaning loudly.

"Ironic," I muttered, ducking under his next swing and grabbing his arm, easily using his own weight to flip him and throw him into the next man that tried to enter the fight.

Around us, already the air was mixed with screams and gunshots, civilians fleeing rapidly from the brawl that broke out so quickly. Just around the corner, I heard screams and the faint sound of laughter.

"Okay," I shrugged, picking up the discarded metal bat and swinging it causally, evaluating the men that were stepping forward around me (a family? Who exactly did Bel piss off?)

"I guess I can let off some steam too."

Belphegor was annoyed. A day out with his princess had turned to bloodshed, but that wasn't the problem. No, no, in fact Prince the Ripper welcomed this fresh blood to spill gladly.

"Boyfriend?" He sneered, cutting down another foe all too easily, "since when?" He clicked his tongue, barely moving his fingers, slicing another pair of bodies when dared to step into his web.

"In Japan, huh," he muttered, barely paying attention (not having to) to the fight around him, "Since when?" Perhaps, he thought, slinging silver, and that silver spilling blood, he should take more note of his princess and her travels.

He blinked, realizing that he was holding a man by the throat. A grin, and he tightened his grip, the words the man had been spouting translating to choked gargles. He let go of the pathetic excuse of a human immediately however,

When a bullet whizzed past the hand holding him, leaving a glaring rip

And the beginning trickle of blood.

Bel blinked once more, looking over to see what he assumed to be a security guard, or perhaps a local police man, body shaking and holding a gun, daring to point it at Prince the Ripper.

Another moment, and Bel looked back at his hand, watching curiously as his own blood leaked, staining once porcelain skin.

His vision, it ebbed to red, and he felt himself grin, an almost tightening of his face, skin pulling as if it would tear.

"The blood of royals…" he breathed out, lifting his hand and allowing the blood to drip, "I see it!"

He turned all to quickly, and the arm of the civilian (just doing his job, just doing his job), turned to slices, turned to red,

All he could see was red and flashes, glimmers of blonde and silver, crowns, tiaras? He heard his own voice, laughing, joyously, but he was removed from it, entirely,

A numb audience watching as his body cut down those around his left to right, enemy or innocent, or friend? Did he have those?

He caught blonde again, and a pale face, and he nearly hissed, recognizing instantly, quickly spinning more silver and bring a knife down perhaps to mar it,

But upon impact with flesh, pale skin turned to tan, and platinum blonde melted to a tone far more ambered,

And briefly he heard a voice, calling to him:

"Bel, please, Bel you need to stop," he faintly heard, a pleading whisper that was growing louder. The flesh that his knife hit shifted, ripping itself from the metal. He felt warmth and wetness on his face, and that was joined by a mirroring pressure on his other cheek.

"Bel, please. Children, Bel, you're about to hurt children, innocent people, please Bel!"

And Belphegor felt something else press against his own forehead, and the red edged away,

Belphegor blinked seeing Nikita's own closed eyes, almost as if shut in prayer, and he realized that he was kneeled, and she was with him, gentle cupping his face with her hands and pressing her forehead against his.

"Please, please," she whispered to him, and for the first time her realized he hand was bleeding, heavily. His eyes shifted, and he noticed a bloodied knife, one of his one, thrown to the ground just beside them.

He moved suddenly, startling her. Carefully, he grabbed her injured hand, turning it over, inspecting it.

"I did this," he stated without emotion. She bit her lower lip, hesitating,

before nodding.

(He also was the cause of all the bodies, corpses, surrounding them)

(Children, innocents, children)

(But she didn't mention that)

That, I realized on the way back, sitting in one of the Varia's jets, was the first time I truly saw "Prince the Ripper". And it was something I had never hoped to see again. Whoever that was, I winced, recalling,

That was not Bel. Whatever that was, tearing down bodies left and right without even glimpsing at what he was mowing down. That was not Bel.

Belphegor was a lot of things to me; a friend of course, a close one. But I was well aware of his profession, his bloodlust. I grew up around the Varia, trained and lethal assassins. I knew this well, I knew their abilities, their lethality well, and I was always glad and sure to be on their kinder side.

I never knew control was something I should appreciate about Bel. Because what I had just witnessed was anything but controlled. It was bloodlust, unhinged and freely flowing. It was insanity that I did not want to witness again.

But that, I took a breath, reminding myself and looking over at him, was not Bel.

"So this guy," Bel said, snapping me out my thought, "You said guy, right?" I nodded once, unsure of where he was going with this.

"You can't kill him, Bel," I said, forcing a light tone in my voice. He scrunched his nose at this.

"But what if the prince doesn't approve of him?" he asked curiously, tilting his head. I scrunched my nose in response.

"Then you can't kill him," I repeated once more. A moment, a flick of a knife and a playful click of his tongue.

"We'll see, princess," he said with a giggle and a grin, "We'll see."

I sighed, slumping down in my seat, defeated, and turning to look out the window once more, making a note to keep Takeshi away from Bel. I blinked, recalling something, and turning to Bel again.

"Hey, you owe me 50 bucks."

I woke up in my mind garden, and stood up, only to be cornered by Mukuro against the vine covered wall.

"You didn't tell me that you were related to the Cavallone boss, Little Cavallone," he purred, his eyes narrowing.

"I see you did some research," I chirped, already predicting this outcome. Seeing my lack of fear he released me and stepped back, somewhat disappointed.

"I despise the mafia, but I suppose you already know that." I nodded once in confirmation, almost smug. Mukuro frowned at this, continuing, "Speaking of you knowing things," he leaned on the wall, looking down on me, "Tell me how the first arc goes. The one where I'm the villain specifically."

I hummed in mock thought.

"You know I can't specifically tell you, right? Spoilers and all," I said with a wink, leaning back as well. Truthfully, I was waiting until after Mukuro was defeated to start telling him most things. I was going to be sure to keep tabs on the amount of information Mukuro was going to receive, and use him just as much as he was going to use me. He raised an eyebrow, only showing slight annoyance before smoothing that over with his usual confidence.

"Then why not a summary, hm?"

I hummed again, considering how I could turn this into my favor. I had to play this to the point where he was interested, and wouldn't abandon me out of lack of use of boredom. Clearly, I corrected myself instantly, he had use of me, whether he was going to get that use with my consent or not. And I didn't like the sounds of or not. Besides, I had somewhat planned for this.

"Someone really strong is going to challenge you and beat you," I vaguely summarized. He snorted.

"Please. I'll just be sure to be careful when I do run into someone strong. Everyone has a weakness after all," he explained, his overconfidence was working to my advantage. His eyes lit up, thinking of an idea. "And," he began, pushing himself off the wall and turning back to me, spinning his trident, "you would happen to know that weakness, wouldn't you?"

My eyes widened as he thrust his trident forward suddenly, embedding it in the stone right next to my head. It jarred me for a moment, but I pushed one thought out of my mind and threw another one in, focusing on that and really, really hoping that this would work.

Sakura bloomed all around us, showering our figures with their petals. Mukuro stopped his pursuit and looked up, tilting his head curiously.

"Sakura, hm? I do vaguely remember there being a disease existing where someone can't stand around Sakura...so this strong person is weak to Sakura," he drew his own conclusion, looking to me. He smirked, taking my silent glare as confirmation. Mukuro then turned to leave, giving a small wave.

"That's all I needed from you today, Little Cavallone. I'll be becoming quite busy soon, but I'll be sure to check in."

"Can't wait, Upside Down Cake," I called out, quickly moving to dodge his trident once more. He slammed the door shut and I let out a relieved sigh just as the trident faded from existence.

Luckily, it wasn't hard to focus on Kyoya instead of Tsuna.

(He was way hotter after all)

"Of course all the expenses will be paid by us," I assured him, sipping the tea he had offered me. Tsuyoshi Yamamoto rubbed the back of his head, laughing.

"Italy! Wow! I didn't expect you to invite my son to come over there when you walked in," he admitted. "I'm completely fine with it, but are you sure it's not going to bother you guys?" I waved him off.

"Not at all. It'll be fun for him. He's never been right?"

"Of course not! He's never been out of Japan before." The bell chimed and we turned to see the baseball player himself walked in. His eyes widened when he saw me.

"Cloud? You didn't tell me you were back!" He set his bag down and walked over to us, ruffling my hair as usual when he reached me and slinging his arm over my shoulder. "So, what's up?" Takeshi asked as I leaned into him. His father smiled knowingly and I slipped a sly smirk onto my face.

"I believe," I said, turning to look up at Takeshi, "That I owe you a date."

He tilted his head and scratched his chin, the smile remaining on his face.

"Huh?" My smirk turned into a full smile.

"How would you like to go to Italy, Takeshi?"

Extra:

Save the Princess!

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a young prince in the Vongola Kingdom. This prince's name was Tsuna. Prince Tsuna was supposed to become king of the Vongola Kingdom one day, but because of his lack of talent and motivation, he did not want to become king. To fix this problem, the current Vongola king got his good friend, the Great Wizard Reborn to tutor Tsuna and shape him into becoming a great king.

"You must train harder to become the tenth king of the Vongola, Tsuna," the wizard informed him while hurtling magic fire balls at his student for 'training' purposes.

"HOW DOES THIS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH BEING A KING?!" The prince yelled back, squealing as he dove for cover.

"Oh, come on, Tsuna!" the prince's rain knight, Yamamoto called from the side. "It's not that bad!"

"You're doing great tenth!" yelled Gokudera, his storm knight.

"Prince, I have some EXTREMELY bad news!" the sun knight Ryohei burst into the room. "The King of Cavallone is here and needs our help!"

"How is that bad news?" Tsuna asked, brushing himself off and rising.

"He says that the princess of the Cavallone has been kidnapped!"

"WHAT!"

"Yes, I'm afraid it's true, Prince Tsuna," Dino, the king of the neighboring Cavallone Kingdom said, walking into the room with his loyal knight Romario following. "My sister, Princess Cloud has been kidnapped by the prince of the Namimori kingdom, Prince Hibari."

"HEEIH! That really scary guy!" Dino nodded sadly.

"I need you to go rescue her," the king continued. "I'm too busy running my kingdom at the moment."

"WHAT? WHY ME!" Reborn hit his student with his staff.

"This will make you a better king, Prince Tsuna. So it's up to you and your knights to save the princess."

Meanwhile, in Namimori Castle:

The beautiful princess let out an 'umph' as she was thrown from the Prince's shoulder onto the ground. She puffed her cheeks, glaring at the prince. He ignored her and walked out to his throne room balcony. She stomped after him.

"This is insane!" she pointed an accusing finger at the prince, "I'll never marry someone who kidnaps me! Never!" She threw hand up, resting it on her forehead and closed her eyes dramatically. Hibari looked back at her blankly.

"Who said anything about marrying?"

"Huh?" She opened her eye, peeking out at the prince. "Wait, wait, wait! Isn't that the reason you kidnapped me?" She crossed her arm and raised an elegant eyebrow. The prince scoffed.

"I only kidnapped you so I could fight strong people when they came to rescue you. I have no intentions of marrying," he explained, turning back to look at the horizon, waiting for his opponents. Princess Cloud's eye twitched, offended by his aloofness.

"So, are you saying that you don't want to marry me?"

"Yes," was his simple response. She threw her arms up.

"What the fuck?! But I'm totally marryable! The in only reason a prince would kidnap me would be to marry me!" Hibari rolled his eyes and turned to face her.

"Go to the west tower and wait to be rescued before I drag you up there," he commanded. She stomped her foot.

"Not until you admit you want to marry me! I'm totally marryable!" She cried defiantly. Prince Hibari huffed and hefted the girl over his shoulder again, taking her to the tower. He threw her into the room and locked the door. She banged her fists on it from the other side.

"Don't just use me as bait! Marry me dammit!"

Back with Tsuna and his knights, preparing for their epic journey

"I'd like to thank you for doing this, Prince Tsuna," King Dino said compassionately. "Please bring my sister back safely." The prince sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, I'm only doing this because Princess Cloud is my friend," he gave a pointed look to Reborn, "and not because I'm going to be the next Vongola King!" His rain knight patted his shoulder, calming him down.

"It's okay, Tsuna. We'll definitely save the princess!"

"Yeah!" Gokudera exclaimed, "as long as the tenth is leading us, we can conquer anything!"

"This is going to be an EXTREME journey!" The sun knight pumped his fist. The young lightening knight put his hands on his hips and laughed confidently.

"Guhahaha! Lambo is invincible!" Tsuna sighed and looked at his rag tag band of knights.

"I guess we better get going…" he muttered miserably. And so the Vongola Prince, the tutor wizard, and the 4 knights set off on their journey to save Princess Cloud, unaware of the three trials they must overcome.

The first trial: The Magic Mage Mukuro!

Our brave heroes were now off on their journey, entering the mystical swamp first. The wizard Reborn led the way, holding the map and gazing at it intently. Prince Tsuna unwillingly trudged behind his tutor, his knights right behind him. Yamamoto looked around, noticing the weather.

"Wow, it's really misty, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Tsuna agreed, numbly hugging himself and rubbing his shoulder, "It's creepy." The prince jumped, screaming when he felt something latch onto his leg.

"Tenth!" Gokudera pushed through his fellow knights to check on his beloved prince.

"It's okay, Gokudera!" his prince waved him off shakily. "It's just Lambo." He pointed to the sniveling child clinging to his leg.

"Stupid cow! You're not worthy to be a knight!" The storm knight grabbed Lambo's fro, ripping the child away from the prince.

"The great and powerful Lambo got scared!" He cried, tears and snot running down his face. A chuckle leaked through the mist, startling the group. They immediately huddled together, the knights drawing their weapons.

"Kufufuf... you should be scared." The mist thickened around them, causing Tsuna and Lambo to freak out more. Suddenly, figures appeared out the mist in front of them. A man with indigo hair and heterochromatic eyes headed the group. Behind him was a dog-human-werewolf-thing, a jester-girl with a jingly hat and a flute, a squire-looking-beggar-man with a hood and glasses, and a witch with purple hair and an eye patch. In all, it was a very odd looking group.

"Hey!" The dog boy barked up at the sky. "Who are you calling odd?"

"Ken, don't yell at the narrator," the squire warned him wisely.

"Oh! So you call him wise?" the dumb dog complained. "Dumb!? Why I ought to-" Just then a boulder fell out of the sky and landed on him. The others paled, and decided it was not wise to go against the narrator, because she controlled everything in the story. Everything.

Mukuro coughed, calling the attention back to him.

"Anyway, I am the great magic mage Mukuro, and this swamp is mine. So," a trident materialized beside him and he pointed it at the opposing group. "What is your reason for entering my domain?" Tsuna gulped and clutch his lightening knight tighter. Reborn then walked behind Tsuna and kicked him forward.

"You're leading the group, no-good-prince." Tsuna gulped and looked up at the fearsome mage, who was smirking down at him.

"W-we're on a quest to save P-princess Cloud who was kidnapped by Prince H-hibari," he muttered pathetically. Mukuro's smirk widened.

"Well then, I'm afraid I can't let you do that," he purred.

"Huh? Why not?!"

"Because, as much as I hate that stuck up prince, I would rather the princess stay locked up," the mage explained causally.

"Do you not like Cloud or something?" Yamamoto asked.

"No, it's just that she's completely insane and it would be better for everybody if she was locked up," Mukuro sighed. You see, dear readers, the princess had visited the swamp often and annoyed Mukuro so much that he would rather it be this way. Therefore, he was set on stopping our heroes.

"That was a beautiful explanation, Narrator," Mukuro complimented, but sadly, compliments will not get him anywhere or guarantee that he will win this next fight. He frowned up at the sky, but decided it would be unwise to argue. "Servants, attack!" He commanded, bringing back the mist.

The Vongola group huddled together as shapes darted around them, some bursting out of the mist and hitting them, but disappearing just as quick. Tsuna screamed out in frustration.

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" He ran out into the mist, waving his arms in frustration.

"Ah! Tsuna, wait!" Yamamoto tried to grab him.

"Tenth!" Despite their cries, Tsuna continued to run and wave his arms. He shrieked when he hit something solid with his fist. The mist instantly disappeared, revealing a knocked out Mukuro, via Tsuna'a fist. The mage's servants panicked when they saw their fallen leader and quickly retreated.

"Good job, Tsuna," Reborn congratulated his student. "You defeated Mukuro."

"Huh?! I did that?!"

"You sure did, Tsuna!" his rain knight applauded him, clapping the prince on the back.

"Amzaing, tenth!"

"EXTREME PUNCH!"

"Lambo is still scared."

"Looks, like we can continue to our next destination," the wizard said. "Onto the troll caves!"

"WHAT!"

Meanwhile, with the princess:

"Kyoya! Kyoya, I know you can hear me! Marry me, dammit!"

The prince casually sat on his balcony in a comfy chair, calmly reading a book and sipping his tea, ignoring the cries of the princess locked in the tower.

"MARRY ME, KYOYA!"

The second trial: The Varia trolls!

"Why do we have to go through the troll caves, Reborn?" Tsuna cried as they made there through a dark and dimly lit tunnel. Reborn led them once again, using his staff as a light source.

"Because, no-good-prince," his tutor explained calmly, "this is the quickest way to the mountains, where we have to go to reach Namimori castle where Princess Cloud is." Tsuna sighed as he tried to shake Lambo off his boot, but the child remained firm.

"Hey, Wizard Reborn?" Yamamoto spoke up from behind them, "Aren't these the caves where that really scary troll clan, the Varia are supposed to live?"

"Yes, they are." Tsuna and Lambo gulped.

"Oh! I hear that they are extremely dangerous!"

"YOU'RE NOT HELPING!" Tsuna yelled at his sun knight. Suddenly, the tunnel opened up into a huge cavern. As the group entered, torches suddenly lit up the space, blinding them momentarily.

"VOOOOI! I TOLD YOU THAT WE HAD INTRUDERS!"

"Ushishishi, you were right after all." The Vongola group blinked, their eyes adjusting to the light. They did not like what they saw. Unfortunately, our heroes were unlucky enough to have walked into the Varia clan's throne room. The king of the clan, Xanxus, glared own at them coldly. However, the troll with long silver hair waving his sword around decided to talk instead of their leader.

"VOOOOIIII! Why are you here, human scum?!" Tsuna stepped forward shakily before his tutor could kick him out again.

"W-we're passing through to save P-princess Cloud," he stuttered, pathetically giving their reason. The blonde troll snicker, twirling his knives.

"Cloud, hm? Ushishisi, what kind of trouble has the princess gotten herself into this time?" Tsuna looked up, confused.

"Huh? You guys know Cloud?" They nodded, causing Tsuna to smile. "That's great! Then you guys are going to help us, right?!" The Varia froze, confusing the Vongola group. However, once they felt the dark aura coming from their king, they knew they were in trouble.

"You..." Xanxus seethed. "HOW DARE YOU TRY TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Tsuna squeaked and retreated back to his companions as the cavern shook due to the troll king's anger. They quickly ran out into another tunnel. The tunnel collapsed behind them as they ran.

"Hey, I can see light ahead!" the rain knight shouted, lifting the hopes of the group.

"That was EXTREMELY uneventful!" Ryohei complained. Sadly, the sun knight, being the last one, only made it halfway out of the tunnel before his lower half was buried by rocks. Of course this was in no way a punishment for complaining.

"Ryohei!" They attempted in vain to pull him out of the rubble.

"It's fine, Tsuna," he assured them. "You guys go on without me!"

"Ryohei..." Tsuna muttered miserably, tears in his eyes. Lambo laughed from beside him.

"Gahahaha! Stupid Narrator can't even write a character death right! Guahaha!" In that next moment, a boulder fell out of the sky and landed on the young lightning knight. The others froze, wondering if the child was okay, but relaxed when they heard a muffled 'Lambo is invincible' from underneath the boulder.

"It's fine, Tsuna. I'm not dying, just stuck!" Ryohei waved them off. "Go on without me!" Tsuna sighed, a sad look on his face, but started walking towards the mountains.

"We'll come back for you guys after we saved the princess!" He yelled back. With the lingering promise of friendship in the air, the group continued on their journey.

"That was completely stupid!" Gokudera complained. "There was no point at all to leave them be-" Tsuna and Yamamoto quickly covered the storm knight's mouth and froze, waiting for something terrible to happen. They continued walking when nothing happened. Gokudera smirked confidently and took a step forward, only to trip over nothing and face plant. Yamamoto laughed and helped his friend up.

"I guess the Narrator does control everything!"

The third trial: the White Dragon Byakuran!

"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT THING!" Tsuna exclaimed as they jumped behind a rock to avoid the stream of fire that was aimed at them.

"That's Byakuran," Reborn explained, "the dragon that Hibari hired to keep people out of his kingdom."

"A DRAGON!? NO WAY! HOW ANTISOCIAL IS THIS GUY?!"

"Calm down, Tsuna. Everything will be fine in the end," Yamamoto said reassuringly from the prince's side.

"NOT IF WE BECOME DRAGON FOOD! THERE'S NO WAY WE CAN SAVE PRINCESS CLOUD NOW!"

"Princess Cloud?" Tsuna shrieked as they looked up to see the white dragon hovering above them, listening to their conversation. A happy look slipped on the beast's face. "I'm good friends with her!" You see, my dear readers, the princess had a habit of making odd friends in strange places, for she had a habit of wandering out of the castle and ending up in these strange places. "The narrator's right," Byakuran agreed. Reborn stepped out, approaching the dragon.

"Then how about you help us?" the wizard suggested. The dragon nodded happily.

"Sure! Just climb on my back and I'll fly you over to Namimori castle!" Tsuna stared up in bewilderment at the dragon.

"That was way easier than I thought it would be..."

At Namimori Castle!

The Vongola group jumped off the dragon's back as he landed in front of the door to Prince Hibari's castle.

"I'll wait out here, in case you need me," Byakuran informed Tsuna. The prince nodded nervously, still not comfortable with the dragon.

"I'm staying too," Reborn chirped. Tsuna gaped at his tutor in horror.

"But I was counting on you!" Reborn frowned.

"This is your quest, Tsuna. You have to do it on your own." And with those words of encouragement, the wizard kicked the prince and his two remaining knights inside the castle, slamming the door behind them. The trio stood up and brushed themselves off.

"Oh? You came after all." They jumped at the voice, looking up to see none other than Prince Hibari himself at the top of the stairs. Tsuna stepped back shakily as his knights readied their weapons. Hibari smirked and brought out his own tonfas. "Now, which one of you wants to be bitten to death first?" Gokudera bravely stepped forward startling his prince.

"I'll go first! Tenth, you go rescue the princess while I keep him occupied!" Before Tsuna could argue, his storm knight was already rushing forward to meet Hibari. Yamamoto grabbed Tsuna's shoulder and ran past the fight and on up the stairs.

"Come on, Tsuna! We have to find the princess!"

"Do you even know where she is?"

"Of course!" Yamamoto smiled proudly. "The princess is always kept in the east tower!"

"Are you sure?"

"Well, we don't really have another option," the knight said, his eyes narrowing. Tusna turned around and shrieked, discovering that Hibari had already defeated Gokudera and was stalking up the stairs toward him. Yamamoto pushed the prince on up the stairs leading to the east tower.

"Go on Tsuna! I'll hold him back for as long as I can!" Tsuna gave one last sad look back as Yamamoto drew his sword before he scrambled up the stairs. He used all his might to get there as fast as he could, not wanting to waste his knights' noble sacrifices. He scowled when he reached the locked door, but amazingly found the strength to kick it down. He almost fell into the room, but caught himself and pushed his body back up.

"Princess Cloud! We're here t-" He froze as he looked around the empty room. "SHE'S NOT IN HERE!"

"Of course not," a voice sneered behind him. Tsuna whipped around to see Prince Hibari standing confidently in the doorway. "She's locked in the west tower." Tsuna gaped, taking in this information.

"YAMAMOTO WAS WRONG!" Hibari smirked and bared his tonfas.

"Now, that I crushed your herbivore knights, I'll bite you to death!"

"HIEEEH!"

Outside with Byakuran and Reborn:

Byakuran tilted his head as the noise of battle reached his ears.

"Should we go in and help, Mr. Wizard?" He asked the short man beside him. Reborn shook his head.

"No. While they distract Hibari, we'll fly up and get the princess," the wizard explained jumping up on the dragon's back.

"Okay, then!" Byakuran sniffed the air and followed the familiar scent of the princess to the open window of the west tower. He stuck his head through the window and into the room to find the princess, mercilessly beating on the door and shouting incoherent nonsense.

"Marryable I tell you! Fucking marryable!" She gave one last kick to the door, before Byakuran made a deep rumbling sound in his throat, alerting her of his presence. Her eyes lit up when she saw him and she ran over. She hugged his snout and planted an affectionate kiss on it.

"Byakuran! And Reborn!" She greeted as she saw the wizard behind the dragon's head. "Have you come to rescue me?"

"The one we have to rescue now is Prince Tsuna," Reborn explained. "He's fighting Hibari as we speak. Hop on." The princess gracefully scrambled onto the dragon's neck.

"Fine by me, I have some unfinished business with that guy anyway," she muttered, a dark look coming over her face. They soared to the east tower, where our valiant hero was about to be beaten to an unrecognizable pathetic pulp.

"Silly, Tsuna," Reborn muttered, jumping off Byakuran and onto the window ledge. "You have to defeat Hibari with your dying will." Then Reborn cast a magical spell over the Vongola Prince, turning him into a terrifying fighting Machine.

"REBORN! BEAT PRINCE HIBARI AS IF I WERE YO DIE!" Poor Hibari, startled by the change didn't know what hit him as Tsuna's fist came crashing down on his head, knocking him to the floor, rendering him unconscious. Princess Cloud cheered as she jumped off the dragon and into the room, running up to Tsuna as his dying will fizzled out. She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

"You saved me!" She congratulated him. He rubbed the back of his head, blushing.

"Good job, Tenth!"

"Yeah! That was amazing, Tsuna!" To his surprise, Tsuna looked over at a very beat up Yamamoto and Gokudera dragging themselves into the room.

"Guys! You're okay!"

"Good job on saving the princess. Looks like everyone got a happy ending, Prince Tsuna. And you're one step closer to becoming the Tenth Generation Vongola King," the wizard Reborn concluded.

"THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BEING KI- Cloud, where are you going with Hibari?" Sure enough, everyone looked over to see Princess Cloud dragging Hibari down the stairs.

"Going to find a priest," she explained simply as she made her way down the stairs. "I'll show him who's unamarryable. Oh, hey, Narrator?" she looked up at the sky. "Any priests around here?" Luckily for Cloud, there resided a priest just down the mountain. The beautiful princess smiled up at the sky. "Thanks!" The group watched in bewilderment as the princess dragged the unconscious prince off to get hitched.

In the end, Tsuna succeeded in saving the princess, and eventually did become the Vongola King, bringing about a new peaceful era with the help of his knights. Cloud returned safely to her brother's kingdom, and much to his surprise and dismay, a violent husband came along with her (although it actually worked out in Hibari's favor since he could fight the powerful Cavallone king whenever he wanted to now), and they all lived happily ever after.

Except for Lambo. He was left under the boulder.

The End

AN:

I included the extra story my the OG, because why not, it's cute. Anyway, I decided to end it here so I can put the trip to Italy in the next chapter, because it didn't really fit the theme of this one. Hope you guys enjoyed it, and if you think of any other pineapple things to calm Mukuro, let me know! I'm alreayd running out, lmao

-evenly