Chapter 10: The Calm
"After all, you only see what I choose to show you."
-Unknown
"God, you're so smug."
"Me?" I said putting a hand to my chest and looking over at my exasperated brother innocently, "Smug? Never."
"I regret this," Dino sighed, and I softened knowing he was speaking of something else now.
"I'm so smug," I began again, bumping him with my hip lightly, "because I know he won't come."
"How?" Dino asked, sighing again and running a hand through his hair, closing his eye momentarily.
"Because," I said, allowing a small smile and indicating forward with my head, "I'm always right. Takeshi!" I called, running forward and allowing him to embrace me, dropping his duffle bag in order to pick me up and spin me around. He laughed, letting me drop from his arms as Dino approached.
"Ready for your trip to Italy?" I asked, picking up his dropped bag and handing it to him.
"Totally! Oh, and Dino," Takeshi said, recalling, "Gokudera said to pass the message along that he wasn't coming? Sorry about that, guess it's just me, huh?"
I took a moment, noticing Dino physically relaxed, releasing the tension he had been holding all day. Looks like he wouldn't have to go through with the assassination the ninth had put him up to after all.
"That's all I need," I told Takeshi, slipping my arm to loop with his, turning him just as Reborn arrived to talk to Dino (most likely bout Gokudera, and the fact that Dino did not have to kill the boy now. Not that he was going to, and no doubt he was explaining his plan to hide Gokudera if the boy did come to Reborn).
"I have so much planned," I told Takeshi, smoothly turning him to that the hitman was out of his site, "for when you get to Italy."
"I'm surprised," Takeshi said with another laugh, "usually you just improvise, yeah?"
"Improvisation is a plan," I teased, walking into the plane with him and leading him to a pair of seats, "if you know you're going to do it before hand."
Takeshi laughed again, plopping down in a seat, and I would have followed if not for a hand pulling me back.
"Not so fast, 'sis," Dino called, puling me back and falling in the seat beside Takeshi in my stead, "I think that this plane ride is the perfect opportunity to talk to Takeshi about his intentions with my little sister."
I blinked, looking between them and considering. Glancing at Takeshi, I noticed him shift only slightly out of apprehension. But with a nod and confident smile towards me, he communicated that he was fine with this.
"Whatever," I said, putting my hands behind my head as I walked and then plopped heavily into a different seat, "You guys need to bond anyways."
"Just treat it," Dino said with a wide smile, gesturing to their home, "like your own."
He laughed, along with his sister, as Yamamoto gaped. His expression soon morphed to slightly surprised as Nikita moved forward, pulling the Japanese boy along with a surprising amount of strength for her size.
"Stop gawking and come on," she chided, nearly glowing with excitement. The boy laughed, overcoming his surprised easily and falling into step with her.
Dino sighed happily, a smile remaining on his face as he hung back, watching the two enter, happily greeting staff on their way in.
"I take it you approve?" Romario said, coming to stand by his boss's side.
"He's a good kid," Dino admitted with a slight roll of his shoulders, putting his hands behind his head causally, "and besides, they both said it's nothing serious for now. And plus," he said, growing warm as he looked to Nikita, smiling brightly and laughing,
"It's nice to see her act like a kid."
"Wow, you're really popular," Takeshi happily noted as I bid farewell to the elderly woman. I turned to Ivan, handing him the basket of grapes I had just received.
"Yeah, this kind of happens a lot," I admitted, turning back to him with a small shrug. We continued walking through the town, smiling and giving small hums of greetings as we did so, responding to many of the greetings we received in the first place.
"The Cavallone protect this town," I explained, smiling softly and leaning down to receive a flower from a little girl, bending down far enough so she could place it in my hair. I smiled and spoke to her softly in Italian before switching back to Japanese, "Dino's always viewed this town as an extension of our family. And I guess they like to show appreciation for the protection," I finished, then added:
"But you should see it when Dino comes. He basically gets mauled. He's quite popular, especially with the women."
Yamamoto laughed, and then glanced over at me in question before putting his arm around my shoulder. I leaned into him, doubling the amount of stares and whispers we were receiving.
"Don't you have any admirers?" he asked, letting out a slightly nervous laugh, noticing the attention we were receiving as well. But he played it off well, pulling me slightly closer to him.
"I fend for myself. Honestly here, there's only a few girls you should worry about," I admitted truthfully. Takeshi barely wavered, blinking before looking over at me.
"Really?"
"Yeah, but they're way too pretty for me to talk to," I admitted, looking to the side a bit from slight embarrassment, "Trust me, I'm too much of a mess talking to them," I sighed, and then brightened, looking back up to him, "So I guess I'm stuck with you, yeah?"
A moment, a fleeting sense of worry hit me. But the tension left me one he laughed, the skin under his eyes crinkling.
"Yeah, I guess you are, huh!"
Childish laughter broke through the peaceful atmosphere. A small boy clung to me suddenly, and another latched to my free arm. Separating myself from Takeshi in attempt to pry them off, I was overtaken by more children launching themselves at me, laughing joyously while doing so.
"Miss Nikita, Miss, come play with us!"
"Hold on, hold on," I said back to them in Italian, attempting to quell them. Takeshi stood to the side, now separated from me, and although amused, unsure of the situation.
"I'm with someone," I told them, bending down to their level to speak, "So I can't play today."
Luca, a small boy heading the group, looked to Takeshi, just now taking note of him. He scrunched his nose and looked back to me.
"He your boyfriend?" he asked bluntly.
"What's it to you?" I said, poking his nose lightly.
"He's cute," Maria said quietly, leaning over to wrap her arms round mine, looking over at Takeshi with a blush.
"He is, isn't he?" I teased, taking my free hand to ruffle her curls. She burst into giggles and shot back, laughing and holding her hair.
Takeshi continued watched in amusement as I tried to calm the rabid group of children that had crowded around us, bombarding me with questions about the stranger I was with.
"See? You are popular!" he concluded once I looked back at him in mock exasperation, "So, this is why you're so good with the kids back home!"
"Wait, you think I'm actually doing well handling them?" I asked as I stood up, surprised. Maria tugged at my sleeve, then looked to Takeshi shyly. I nodded to her, encouraging, and she stepped forward to address him.
"What's your name, Mister?" I patted the girl on her shoulder, calling her attention back to me.
"He doesn't speak Italian," I explained, the other kids listening in. Another child, Sophia, tilted her head, confused, then sure.
"That doesn't mean he can't play with us," she stated simply. I blinked, then laughed, greatly amused by the simplicity in which they addressed this problem.
"I guess you're right," I shrugged and looked up at Takeshi, who met me with light confusion in his eyes. "The kids want to play," I explained, switching to Japanese, "Apparently, they have no problems with language barriers." Takeshi immediately perked up.
"Baseball?" my expression deadpanned.
"God no. You'd murder them. Just kids, remember?" He pouted and I scoffed in response, causing him to break his façade and laugh.
"How about football instead?" I suggested, leaning down to pick up Maria, "You're in Italy, remember? And there's a perfect field nearby where we usually play"
He grinned brightly and accepted the idea. I tuned back towards the rest of the group and told them of our plans. They cheered and began to drag us throughout the town and to the field. Takeshi, the poor guy, could only smile and nod as they jabbered in Italian to him. I laughed at the desperate look he gave me and stuck my tongue out at him. He sighed in defeat as he was pushed towards one of the makeshift goals while I was put at the opposite end.
"Hope you're good at guarding the goal!" I yelled over to him, making sure he understood his forced position. He simply laughed again, giving me a thumbs up before mirroring my stance, squaring up as the game began.
It was always fun playing with the kids.
"So, what are we doing next?" Takeshi asked through mouthfuls of pizza. I rolled my eyes at his manners (or rather lack of manners) and sipped at my own drink. The football game had been fun, and Yamamoto's team ended up winning (not one single kick went beyond him while, I actually let a few kids score. Takeshi, the insane competitive athlete he is, had no such mercy), so we decided to grab a bite to eat before we headed back.
"Well, I do believe that I still owe you a date," I teased, batting my eyes sarcastically.
"Taking me to Italy wasn't the date?" Takeshi asked, surprised.
"So," I said, my sly smile growing wider, "I have something special planned for tomorrow." He nodded as he took another bite.
"What are we doing then?"
"Secret," I said, holding a finger up to my lips and winking. He laughed in response.
"Aw, can't you at least give me a hint?" he pouted mockingly, playing along. I shook my head.
"Not a chance in Hell. I have to keep the element of surprised, right?" He blinked, considering, and then sighed, giving up. I frowned, disappointed.
"What?" I said, narrowing my eyes and leaning forward, "You're not curious?" He shrugged, clearly smug.
"I'll see tomorrow anyway," he supplied. I pouted.
"You're no fun. I was planning to torture you with it," I huffed. He laughed at my expression and leaned back, finished with his meal.
"As long as we're both having fun," he noted with a smile and he looked out the window at the Italian landscape. A moment, serene. And then his expression dropped, becoming unsure.
"Hey… can I ask you something?" he said quietly. My own expression changed as well, mirroring his.
"Yeah. Anything."
He opened his mouth, hesitating. Then closed it again, forcing a laugh and shaking his head.
"Never mind," he said with a clearly forced smile, turning back to the window before letting it drop, "Never mind."
"So are you excited for the baseball game tomorrow, Yamamoto?" Dino asked during dinner that night. I froze, my fork half way to my mouth. Takeshi tilted his head, eyes widening and looking to me in excitement.
"Is that what we're doing tomorrow?" He asked me, bubbling. I unfroze, calmly setting my fork down. Dino smiled guiltily.
"Oh, was it supposed to be a surprise? Sorry," He said lamely. Calming myself, I picked up my knife, spinning it up in the air a few times. Dino paled.
"What are doing, Cloud?" He asked hesitantly.
"Wondering how accurate my aim with a knife is," I replied calmly, far too calmly. Dino gulped, and pressed his hands against the table, bracing himself in case he needed to make a break for the door. Takeshi laughed, missing the irritated aura I was putting off completely (or rather, willingly ignoring it in favor of amusement).
"Ha! You guys are fun!"
"Wow! These are amazing seats," Yamamoto exclaimed as we walked in. Fingering the bill of my baseball cap, I replied nonchalantly.
"Yeah, I don't do it too often," I said with a roll of my head, "but the Cavallone have a few strings I can pull to get some things. It helps to have connections."
"Connections?" he asked when he had gotten over his excitement and processed my words. I nodded but was interrupted before I could explain.
"Nikita! It's great to see you again!"
I turned to face the new voice, grinning when he enter.
"Yo, Marco," I responded in Italian, raising my fist to bump his, "thanks for the tickets!"
He waved it off, motioning for the men behind him to the back before addressing me again.
"it's not a problem at all," he said with a shrug, "After all, my father is thrilled knowing that I'm on another date with you," he told me jokingly, elbowing me as I stepped past. He stopped however, upon seeing Takeshi, who was at the railings, still gawking at the field and the view from our box seats. Takeshi turned, smiling dazzling upon noticing Marco, who bare blushed and then coughed into his hand to hide this.
"This is my friend from Japan, Takeshi," I introduced in Italian first, "He doesn't speak Italian, so you'll have to bear with me, but he's a big fan of baseball," I said with a smile, nodding to Takeshi (who seemed to understand that I was introducing him, and simply stood, smiling), "so I figured you too could get along. And you know a little Japanese, yeah?"
"I'm not very good," Marco said, barely wincing and scratching the back of his head, still looking at Yamamoto almost shyly.
"You'll be fine," I bumped him with my hip, then switched to Japanese, "Takeshi, this is a Marco. He's a good friend of mine."
"Nice to meet you," Marco stepped forward, speaking in slow Japanese and extending a hand. Takeshi grinned widely and shook Marco's hand with vigor.
"Nice to meet a close friend of Cloud's!"
"Nickname," I reminded Marco upon receiving a look from him, not understanding the Japanese word. I gestured to the seats, then nodded to the field. "Shall we?"
I allowed Takeshi to sit in between us, and was amused at their conversation, no matter how broken or slow it was. I only chimed in at times as a translator when Takeshi's words escaped Marco's grasp, but over all? They were getting along alarmingly well, their love of baseball being a great starting topic, then moving on to find over shared interests and ideas.
It was only towards the end of the game that I looked down and noticed Marco's hand on Takeshi's knee.
And so I wasn't surprised when Marco gave Takeshi his number when the game ended, and insisted that they text even when Takeshi returned to Japan.
Takeshi had an air of awkwardness to him throughout this. And although I could tell he thoroughly enjoyed his time with Marco, I knew that my presence caused this tension in him. I waited, patient, allowing Takeshi time to bring it up himself on the way back, up until we were walking through the hallway back to his room. And when he didn't?
"You're his type, you know," I told him casually, turning back to him with a soft smile, "He always goes for guys like you, and he's currently single."
"Really?" he said with raised eyebrows, before faltering, a confused, almost guilty expression taking his features, "I mean, I think I like him and stuff but… are we..?" he trailed off uncertainly, gesturing between us.
"It's chill," I said with an easy shrug, "I mean, I just assumed we were going with it, yeah? But if you think you have something with Marco, don't let me stop you, seriously. It's fine, really," I said, reaching out to encase my hand with his.
He hesitated, staring down at our hands, touching, before letting an awkward smile grace his lips.
"Thanks… thank for not…. I'm never really told anyone or talked about this, you know?" he said with an awkward laugh, "So it's weird, right?"
"Not at all," I assured him, squeezing his hand once more before letting go, "and if you need anyone to talk to…. You got me, yeah?
"Yeah," he said quietly, then repeated, "Yeah. And hey…. Do you think you can teach me Italian?"
"Hey, Cloud."
"Hm?" I looked back at Takeshi, who had stopped in the hallway behind me. My eyes followed his gaze to a picture of my mother. I hesitated joining him, having forgotten the existence of the picture.
"Who's this? She looks a lot like you!" Takeshi said happily, smiling. "'Cept for her hair... But the resemblance is still there, right?" His smiled dropped however, as he looked over at me, arms crossed and an empty expression. I gazed up at the portrait of my mother, tombed and encased in a gilded frame.
"That's… that's my mother," I replied. Takeshi slowly nodded, having quickly grasped the delicacy of my mood.
"She's beautiful."
"I know." I tightened my arms around my shoulders, feeling guilty for not having given thought to my mother in such a long time. It felt selfish.
"My mother died too." I looked at Takeshi, surprised. I was even more surprised to see sad look on his face, where his normally bright smile was. "Car crash," he explained, as if I had asked. "I was young when it happened. They say that I was too young to really remember her, but…."
"They don't realize how much we really remember," I finished for him, grabbing hold of his arm gently and leaning into him. "It's sad how much we remember," I whispered softly, looking up at the portrait of Mama, smiling. Yamamoto sighed beside me, slightly leaning into me as well.
"Yeah, it is."
"Cloud, are you sure everything is okay?"
"Yeah, it's totally, fine Dino," I assured him, keeping the haste out of my voice.
"You sure? Venice can be a dangerous and confusing place."
"He wanted to go here," I nearly seethed, convincing myself that, technically, this was all Takeshi's fault, "And everything is fine, so bye!" I snapped the phone shut and ended the call before my brother could interrogate me more. I pocketed my phone and kept running, continuing with my mission: Find Yamamoto.
"I should of never have taken him here in the first place," I muttered angrily under my breath as I dodged through the crowds of people, scanning both the sidewalks and the water ways. "This is what I get for asking where he wanted to go," I continued to rant, clearly annoyed at the situation but even more annoyed that I couldn't find Takeshi. I had turned around to find no Takeshi following me about an hour ago, and haven't see hide or tail of him since. I was used to Bel wandering off on his own, but I was having a hard time grasping that it as easier for me to track down the notorious Prince the Ripper than tracking down a foreign teenager in an unfamiliar city.
I skidded to a stop, doubting myself momentarily. Was I losing my egde?
"Hey, Cloud!"
I blinked, looking up blankling only to see a smiling and waving Takeshi leaning out of one of the many balconies above me.
"Motherfucker," I muttered before yelling up to him, "How did you even get up there?"
He blinked, as if just now considering it. A simple shrug, and he replied,
"I don't know!" I resisted the urge to smack myself in the face out of disbelief. He continued, "I'll come down to you!"
"Wait, Yamamoto!" I yelled as he disappeared, "Stay where you are!" I sighed in defeat and began trying to find my way up to the balcony he had been in, hoping that he had heard my words. Much to my dismay, he was gone by the time I reached it. I resisted to bang my head against the wall. I scanned the area, freezing when I saw a specific person on a gondola in the canal.
"Hey, Cloud!" I blinked at Takeshi. "This is pretty cool, don't you think!" He said, gesturing to the boat he was in.
"How the fuck did you get there?"
He rubbed the back of his head and shrugged, "I don't know."
This time, I did face palm before yelling down at him once more:
"Stay there!"
"I don't think I really can," he replied as the gondola kept moving. Of course, he was right. By the time I got back, he was nowhere to be seen. That's when my phone rang again. I huffed in annoyance when I saw who was calling.
"Hey, Dino. Everything's fine. No one's lost, we're all good, love you, bye."
I flipped the phone shut, stared at it for a moment, thinking. Then I hastily called Takeshi's phone. I was surprised when his ring tone went off nearby. I turned to see a rough looking man looking at a very familiar looking phone. My expression soured, and he seemed to notice my gaze.
The man looked between me and the phone. A moment. He then attempted to run, and a very pathetic attempt at that. Moments later, after I had easily apprehended him, I casually sat on his back, holding him in place. I dangled Takeshi's phone in front of his face, while putting my friend's stolen wallet safely in my own pocket.
"Where did you get this?" I asked coldly. My eyes narrowed when he didn't respond. I dug my heel into a pressure point on his back and he squirmed in protest. I asked again, "Where did you get this?"
"F-from some Asian kid!" he replied, finding it wise to answer.
"Which way did he go?"
"He went west! West!" Feeling somewhat hopeful, I got up and dusted myself off. The pick pocket immediately scrambled away from me.
"Thanks for squealing!" I yelled after him. "Now off to find Takeshi..." I trailed off, a new, slightly worrying thought entering my head. "...who doesn't know any Italian whatsoever."
I face palmed. Hard.
Meanwhile, while Nikita was face palming across the city, Takeshi was walking by the canal with a very confused, lost look on his face. He had gotten off the boat a little while ago and had no earthly idea on where to go from this point. He looked down when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He met the care-worn, folded face of an elderly woman.
"Sir, do you need help? You look lost."
Takeshi tilted his head and gave the woman a confused smile, not knowing what to say. The old woman repeated her question, then seemed to understand that he had no idea what she was saying. She gave him a small smile and hooked her arm with his. She began pulling him towards a small café, quaint café nearby.
"Follow me, follow," she gently chided. Takeshi politely went with her, since she seemed like she wanted to help. She sat him down at a small table, and motioned for him to stay there. He obliged as she went into a back room, returning with a hot drink and a pastry. He gladly took it, nodding thanks to her. An awkward silence passed as the woman continued to smile at him, then a familiar figure ran by.
"Cloud!" He yelled, almost toppling out of his chair. The girl hastily back tracked, and peeked in the shop. She immediately walked over to him, looking like she was trying to calm herself and stop herself from smacking him upside his head.
"I'm not even going to ask how you got here," she started irritably, talking to him in Japanese, "I'm never taking you to a big unfamiliar place again." She then noticed the elderly woman sitting in front of her friend. She bowed slightly and smiled at her, switching to Italian, "Thank you for taking care of my friend. I'm sorry if he caused you any trouble."
"It's not a problem at all, I was happy to help," The woman replied, returning the smile.
"Thank you so much, you're too kind," Nikita grabbed Takeshi's arm, and began making their exit. Yamamoto blinked in surprise, having become lost in the rapid conversation between the two females. "Goodbye!"
"Goodbye!" Takeshi repeated happily, proud to know at least one word. His friend rolled her eyes and he smiled apologetically at her. She huffed.
"You know, maybe it's a good thing you're leaving tomorrow," she admitted. "Less chances for you to get lost in Italy."
"We'll visit Japan soon," I promised Takeshi before he entered his boarding gate, squeezing his hand once more before letting it slip from mine. Dino nodded in agreement behind me.
"Be sure to take care of Tsuna," Dino inputted, propping his arm on my shoulder, "He needs his family after all." Takeshi nodded happily.
"I will. See you, guys! And thanks for the vacation!" The baseball player waved us off and disappeared into the gate. I sighed, leaning back slightly. Dino looked over at me, dropping his smile as well.
"You good," he asked, his arm still on my shoulder, "I'm sorry it didn't really work out?" he tried rather awkwardly. I allowed a puff of laughter.
"It was more of a casual thing anyway. And I think…. Him and Marco really hit it off, and are still texting," I said with a shrug, trying to figure out myself if I was sad about not pursuing a romantic relationship with Takeshi.
"We're still close," I concluded, smiling softly, "and that's all that matters, yeah?"
"Yeah," Dino agreed with a grin, ruffling my hair before taking his arm away, "and besides, I still don't think you should be dating yet."
"That's cute. You think that will stop me." Dino slumped.
"I can always try..." He muttered miserably. I patted his shoulder.
"And keep it up. It's more fun that way," I chirped happily and nearly skipped off. My brother looked after me in disbelief.
"You think I could lock her up in tower and just keep her there?" He mused to Romario, who was standing by his side as always.
"She'd find a way out," he replied bluntly.
"... it wouldn't hurt to try."
"It will be starting soon," Mukuro informed me, leaning back smugly in his throne. "It's a shame you won't be there to help me." I eyed him indifferently.
"What makes you think I would help you defeat the Vongola Tenth?" I inquired, the air turning rigid and tangible around us.
"What makes you think you have a choice?" he smoothly rebuked. "I already have access to your mind." I shrugged.
"That doesn't matter if you don't understand it. You can't control something you fear," I explained simply. A ghost of a frown appeared on his face. A beat of silence passed. A shattering sound echoed around us as he opened his mouth to speak.
"No matter. I already have what I need from you at the moment. And I have ranking Futa," he purred, stretching before he rose out of his throne. "Therefore, you are not my most important tool at the moment." I rolled my eyes at his wording, pushing back the slight panic I felt when he mentioned Futa. I took a breath, reminding myself that he was fine before I forced a playful expression.
"Be sure to come back and chat after you lose," I teased. He scoffed.
"You said it yourself, little Cavallone; the future you know of is merely an outline that can be changed. And I," his eyes narrowed as they met mine. "intend to change it."
"Good luck with that," I said, unaffected by the lingering threat. He ignored my comment.
"I'll return in the aftermath," he informed me, "after I had possessed the Vongola Tenth. You will be a valuable tool in helping me secure the rest of the mafia." I hummed thoughtfully. He met my eyes before he walked out the door.
"Prepare for change, little Cavallone."
And he was gone.
"A jail break?" I asked, feigning intrigue. Dino nodded. I kept my face neutral. He handed me a file and I gingerly flipped through it, coming across a picture of three unfamiliar people. Unfamiliar, but I knew exactly who they were.
"They escaped from a high security prison a number of days ago, on the eve of the execution of the man in the middle; Mukuro Rokudo." I handed the file to Romario beside me and continued to listen. "This caused the death of several wardens and prisoners, and also caused some of those prisoners to escape." I nodded when he looked over to me, my face still neutral. It would be kind of, sort of bad if he found out I have a connection mind link thing going on with the ring leader of this prison break.
Yeah, that would not be good.
"So," I leaned on the desk, "Why are you telling me this?"
"So you're informed," Dino answered simply, "and you'd find out sooner or later anyway." I shrugged.
"Yeah, you're probably right," I admitted, the irony not lost on me.
"What really worries me about this is information I just received on where they are right now," Dino sighed, running his hand through his hair. I raised an eyebrow with mock curiosity.
"Where are they?" I asked, fully aware of the answer.
"Japan."
"Sheesh. I already said this had nothing to do with me!" Tsuna complained, looking at the multiple martial arts and self-defense flyers in his hands. "When did Mom get all these anyway? You were hired from a flyer too, weren't you?" He glanced at his demon tutor, who was casually walking along the top of the wall beside him.
"You should ask Cloud to teach you a few moves. She's a capoeirista."
"What the heck is that? It sounds dangerous!" Tsuna shrieked, not liking where the baby was going with this.
"It's a martial art," Reborn explained simply. "Cloud spent two years in China learning it, along with a few other styles. She could help you with your problem."
"IT'S NOT EVEN MY PROBLEM!" Tsuna shook his head vigorously. "And I didn't even know Cloud could fight!"
I sneezed, startling myself. Scratching my nose idly, I wondered where the sneeze had come from. I shrugged and went back to my scope, singling out my target.
I had become a bit sloppy, with the lack of practice recently. I sighed as I easily hit the inanimate target I was forced to use (Dino's 'no shooting family members' rule was a bit annoying when it came to needing to practice on moving targets). It would be nice if I had someone to help me with this, but Dino was busy gathering information. Also...
I picked up my sniping rifle with a thoughtful look. Flames had been on my mind lately. It would be helpful if I could use my flame attribute with my gun, making it more effective. I've already went through the different types and thought of different ways I could use them, considering I had no idea what my own was at the time.
"But first," I muttered, slinging my trusty gun over my shoulder, starting to head back. "I need to work on my marksmanship." A small smile slipped onto my face.
"And I know exactly who to bug about it."
"It's taking a while to find the one we want, hm? I wonder if I could make her help us...?" A loud clang sounded as the bowling ball collided with the pins.
"Her?" Ken turned back to Mukuro. "Oh! That informative chick, right?" Mukuro nodded his head, still deep in thought.
"She wouldn't be willing of course," He said with an amused expression. "She's quite difficult as a whole." Ken scoffed.
"Then why do you need her? She seems pretty useless to me." Mukuro leaned back, resting his arms on the back of the couch.
"Oh, believe me, she's an extremely useful tool," he chided. "And I tend to use her as a tool until she's completely useless to me."
The phone rang, causing me to look up from the files in my hand. I sighed warily and slid my feet off of Dino's desk, reaching over to grab the phone.
"Hello?"
"Cloud?"
"Reborn?" I asked, surprised that I had come into contact with him sooner than expected. I was planning on contacting him, but I guess it's easier this way. "What up, demon tutor?"
"Why are you answering Dino's phone?"
"Because I was in his office. Why did you call?" I asked, changing the subject and carefully putting the files I had been looking at back in Dino's desk.
"I need information on the recent jailbreak," he explained, straight to the point per usual. "Can you give me that?"
"Yeah, I know about that." I proceeded to tell him about the jail break, and the prisoners that escaped from it, then concluded, "I'll get someone to fax you pictures later."
"Thanks Cloud."
"Wait, before you go, I need you to give me some contact information."
"Who do you need to contact?"
"Should you really be doing this, Princess? You know Boss wouldn't approve."
"It's fine, Ivan," I brushed off his worries as we walked through Mafia Land. "And Dino knows I'm here."
"But that's only because he thinks you're just going to have fun at Mafia Land," Bono argued from my other side. "Isn't that lying?" I huffed and crossed my arms.
"No, it's simply excluding the whole truth."
"Isn't that the same?"
"There's a difference," I shot back. "And besides, I should be the one complaining here. While you guys are off having a good time in the front of Mafia Land, I'll be in the back dealing with yet another Spartan baby that is possible even more Spartan than the other two."
"But didn't you choose this for yourself, princess?" I gave them a blank stare, sighed, and dug out two wads of cash out of my back pack.
"Here," I handed one to Ivan and Bono respectively, "Go have fun and be sure not to let Dino know what I'm really doing."
"Isn't this bribery?"
"We're in the fucking mafia," I relented, forcing the cash in their hands, "Now, shoo!"
I managed to get them to leave me with the promise that I'll keep in touch. With that done, I made my way to the information booth.
"Cloud Cavallone," I introduced myself to the woman at the desk, "I'm here to see Colonnello,"
"Of course, Miss Cavallone. We've been expecting you. Please go through that door to the subway." I thanked her and followed her instructions.
"It's like it's teasing me..." I whined, pressing my cheek against the subway window as it passed the beach. I sighed and leaned away from the window, "But Bono's right, I did choose this for myself... I'm really stupid sometimes." I took a deep breath as the subway slowed to a stop. I stood up and moved in front of the closed doors. They opened. I stepped out. I looked around.
"Hey, you have guts to seek me out!"
I blinked and looked down to see yet another adorable baby. At least, I would have considered them adorable if I haven't already encountered three other adorable but deadly babies.
"You're Colonnello?" I asked him warily, noticing his military-esque attire.
"And you're the brat Fon trained," he shot back. I tensed as he pointed to snout of his rifle at me, but relaxed when I realized that he was poking me with it, and not shooting me... yet. "Hey, not bad," he noted when he finished evaluating me, "Looks like Fon has you conditioned."
I felt a little pride swell within me.
"But that doesn't mean that you'll survive my training!"
And then that pride deflated.
"Whoa, whoa, I'm just here to work on my sniping skills with you," I reminded him, putting my arms up in defense.
"We'll work on that, maggot," he ensured me, "Among other things." I was starting to get a bad feeling about this.
"Other things?" I questioned.
"Hey! I'll make a fine soldier out of you!"
It was then that I truly started to regret coming here.
Someone strong will challenge you. Those were her words; her warning. Hibari Kyoya was someone he would label as strong. Strong, but easily beatable. Sawada Tsunayoshi was not strong, not in Mukuro's eyes. And yet...
He had been defeated by this person. Someone strong will challenge you. It wasn't a lie, but at the same time she had manipulated him. Because of this loss, he had lost his body. She had said that he will lose something important, and now it was obviously clear what she was talking.
But she also said that she would help him get it back and he fully intended to hold her to that promise,
even if she refused.
I was really starting to miss Fon. Fon had some pretty hard training sessions, but it was nothing compared to the hell Colonnello put his students through.
"Why," I coughed out water as I pulled myself next to the Roman Demon Tutor, "do I have to escape from a whirlpool to get better at sniping?"
"Hey! Who said this had anything to do with sniping!"
"But in the two weeks I've been here, we haven't really touched that," I pointed out, "We've only been doing physical training and trials."
"That's because you have no muscle, maggot!" I rolled over as he aimed a kick at my stomach. I thought over his reasoning, and had to admit he was right; I had no muscle and therefore I was lacking strength, something I dearly needed when fighting opponents bigger than me. And with my size? That was practically everyone.
"Fine," I huffed, pushing myself up, "But we have to work on sniping sometime." Colonnello snorted.
"Hey, I'm the teacher here, so I decide what we work on!"
"If you're the teacher, then I feel sorry for the brat."
We turned around to face the new voice. I paled and resisted the urge to run away in terror when I saw that it was yet another small child (I've dealt with enough of those for two lifetimes, thank you very much).
"Lal! What are you doing here?" Colonnello's mood lightened considerably. I stiffened, not really knowing what else to do.
"CEDEF had some business here and since I heard you had a new student, I'd thought I'd drop by to save them from your horrible teachings," she explained as she walked over to us. For a moment, I had a small sliver of hope that she was giving me mercy.
"So I decided that I would train her too while I'm here."
With those words, that hope was crushed. I tried not to inch back as the two Spartan babies' intense gazes fell on me. I blinked, then I smartly jumped up and started running.
"I just wanted to get better at sniping!"
Due to Colonnello's training, I valued my sleep very, very much. So, when I woke up in my mind garden for what seemed the first time in forever, I was not very pleased. It would also be accurate to say that Mukuro was not pleased either. At least, that's what I gathered when I had to dodge a trident aimed for my face.
"I do not like being manipulated, Little Cavallone," Mukuro pulled his trident that was embedded into the vine covered canyon wall, "Not one bit."
"Noted," I piped, backing away as casually as I could "And in what way did I manipulate you?"
"You gave me the wrong weakness," He stated simply, walking towards me.
"But I did give you a weakness," I retaliated, "At least I helped, and usually people don't even get that much from me. You should feel honored."
"Yes, and now," He swung his trident once he was within range, pointing it at my neck. I stood still, staring him right in the eyes. "You going to help me get my body back." There was moment where we simply stared at each other. I blinked.
"Sure." His eyebrows collided.
"What?"
"I said sure," I restated with a small shrug, "I'll help you get your body back." He blinked, and put his trident down.
"You're... you just agreed to it?" He asked carefully. I nodded.
"Yep, but it will take a while," I admitted, and he frowned in response. I continued, "I mean, we have a few arcs to get through." His frown deepened.
"Arcs?" I rolled my eyes.
"Yes, arcs. I'm a little worried right now; you seem to be only able to ask simply questions at this point." He snorted.
"Please, I was just a little surprised that you agreed so easily," He easily brushed it off and moved back to the center of the garden. "But, you seem to the strange assumption that I'm going to help you." He struck the ground with his trident, bringing up his usual throne. "It's quite amusing, actually."
"Well, yeah." I sat down on the grass in front of him. "And that's because you know that I know the plot. Therefore, you're the only one that can help me." I gave him a dazzling smile. He returned an amused smirk.
"You're reasoning is lacking logic, Little Cavallone." I scoffed.
"Who needs logic when you have spoilers?"
"Hm, spoilers?"
"Lots," I elaborated. "And you'll get to be in on the fun." Mukuro thoughtful stroked his chin, a sly smirk on his face.
"Kufufuf, I might just join in on your little game, Little Cavallone."
"And I'd love," I responded, just as sly, "for you to be a player."
I whistled at the power of Colonnello's shot. A thoughtful look then slipped onto my face.
"Those are rain flames, yeah?" I asked on a whim. Colonnello blinked in surprise.
"You know about the flames?" I blinked.
"...yes?" He seemed to accept that answer with only an ounce of suspicion.
"Yeah, this is specially made for absorbing my flames," he explained, holding up his gun. I eyed it with interest.
"And where'd you get that?" He eyed me right back.
"From an untrustworthy guy," he snapped back becoming suddenly annoyed.
"Ah," I nodded. "To be honest, I'm quite curious about flames. I've been thinking about their properties and how to use them."
"You seem to be very knowledgeable on this, brat." I shrugged.
"What can I say? I'm one hell of an informant. But, I do want to get in contact with someone who would could give me weapons that work with my flame attribute." I went back to a serious mood, heavily hinting. Colonnello frowned easily picking up what I wanted.
"... I can give you his contact information, but," A scowl formed on his face, "This guy's really untrustworthy. You might not want to get in touch with him."
"If it means I can get stronger, then it doesn't matter," I stated. He gave me a sideways glance.
"Why do you want to get strong, brat?"
"To protect my family," I answered immediately, "And so I can pull my own weight." Colonnello scoffed.
"Of course you can do that, maggot! You've had two Arcobaleno train you. Three, if you count the short time Lal was here." I raised an eyebrow at his statement.
"Oh? Is that a compliment I hear?"
"Don't get cocky, brat."
"Well isn't this a touching goodbye?"
"Don't forget your weight training. If I see you again and you've lost that little bit of measly muscle you've formed during my training, then you're dead."
"Noted," I replied, shifting my legs, feeling the weights attached to them, "And thanks for the contact info." He clicked his tongue.
"Good luck with that guy. And don't disappoint me, brat." I smiled and bowed slightly.
"Thank you for training me, Colonnello."
"Yeah, yeah, just go already!"
I managed to convince Ivan and Bono to keep convincing Dino I was at Mafia Island (puppy eyes are one of my greatest weapons in my arsenal). Meanwhile, I hopped on my plane to my next destination with absolutely no plan on how to approach this guy. Therefore, instead of using the time to plan, I took a nap, which led me to another daily visit with Mukuro.
"I met a girl."
"Bout time. For a while I though you we-" He covered my mouth before I went there, his eye twitching.
"This girl will be my link to the outside world," he continued, "I was contemplating using you, but her circumstances were more preferable. Not to mention her mind was much more stable than yours."
"Wow, thanks," I said when he had taken his hand off my mouth. "So you've met Chrome? You sent her to Japan, right?" He rolled his eyes.
"Your knowledge is accurate as usual, Little Cavallone."
"And now it's time I let you in on some of this knowledge," I sat down, making myself comfy. He raised an eyebrow, but sat down in his throne, waiting patiently.
"First up, after your arc, is the Varia Arc. The Varia, as you may know, is the Vongola's independent assassination squad. Their leader, Xanxus, is the ninth's adoptive son. He set up a coup d'état to take down the ninth, but he failed and was frozen by a Vongola technique. He's been frozen for eight years until he was unfrozen. We've basically caught up to the present now," I finished explaining, holding back my own feelings about the upcoming conflict and attempting to remain neutral
(but could I? The Cavallone are meant to stay on the side lines, but could I uphold this neautrality when people I care about were fighting and getting hurt on both sides. I pushed this to the back of my mind for know, a swift wind moving through the space)
Mukuro met my gaze, having noticed the gust. But he said nothing and simply gestured for me to continue.
"So, now that he's thawed, he wants to be the boss. He kidnapped the ninth and forged a letter saying that the ninth no longer approves of Tsuna as the heir, thus causing the conflict for the tenth boss position. Now, the Vongola have the Vongola Rings that the guardians use. Because all this stuff that Xanxus started, they have to have the ring battles, which is a whole other thing in itself. Basically everyone has to fight to the death and what not."
Mukuro sighed and rolled his eyes.
"You could have explained that in a much simpler way." I flicked him off and stuck my tongue out.
"Fuck off. This is my first time explaining it, and I haven't even gone through all the details." Mukuro gave me blank stare.
"Please, don't go through the details."
"But, we need t-"
"Quiet."
"Bu-" This time he actually got up and covered my mouth. I stopped struggling when I noticed the serious expression on his face. He moved his hand from my mouth as we looked around warily. I gave him a questioning look. He met my gaze and mouthed:
'We're being watched'.
My eyes widened as a billion questions started filling my head. Naturally, my mind reacted. Violent gusts of wind tore through the once tranquil scene.
"Kufufuf, found you."
Mukuro tore off after a shape that had bolted out of the garden. Not knowing what else to do, I followed. The shape dove through the vine covered wall and Mukuro followed without hesistation. Barely faltering, I followed as well, surprised when I fell through the vines and entered a tranquil forest, vaguely resembling the woods outside of the Cavallone estate. We raced through the forest chasing the shadow. Soon, the trees turned into people, and in the next moment we were in a crowded ballroom. I felt a pang when I recognized the scene.
"Happy Birthday, Dino, my son!" I watched as my father held the shoulders of a younger version of Dino with pride as the rest of the family laughed in celebration around them. I managed to spy a younger version of myself and our mother nearby, away from the party, seemingly in a world of their very own. We were both smiling, happy.
"It's moving through your memories." I was startled my Mukuro's voice, forgetting he was there.
"Yeah," I shook my head, looking away from Mama. "Yeah. Memories."
"Don't get lost in them." He grabbed my arm and dragged me on, away from her. The scene changed again, into a bamboo forest from China. We moved on before we could see the full memory. Soon enough they started to blur past us; Dino helping me build a snowman, Takeshi and I entering the sushi shop, Bel dragging me away from a furious Levi.
At last, the memories stopped and we entered a dimly lit hallway. The walls were made up of vaults of all different shapes and sizes. I moved closer to Mukuro, unaware that I had grown smaller due to my fear. He slowed his pace as we walked through, eyeing the vaults with mild curiosity. We began to pass more hallways covered in similar vaults until it was to the point we were walking through a maze. Mukuro stopped suddenly, and twirled his trident, darting around a corner to attack. I ran over when I heard a grunt to find that the illusionist had pinned someone to the wall.
"I need you to imagine this person chained," Mukuro instructed me. "This is your mind. Just imagine them wrapped in chains." I nodded and took a deep breath, following his directions. I closed my eyes in concentration and only opened them when I heard the clinking of chains. I opened my eyes to find our prisoner chained. My relief caused the scene to morph back into the garden, where the chains turned into vines, anchoring the prisoner to the now solid, still vine covered wall.
"Good job, Little Cavallone. Now," Mukuro held his trident to the prisoner's throat. "Do you know this person?" Now back to my normal size, I stepped forward, examining the girl, a look of confusion overtaking my face. I shook my head.
"I don't know her." Deranged laughter filled the garden, causing me to step back.
"I don't know her, she said!" The girl laughed from her prison. Her voice was harsh and broken, matching her appearance, like glass scraping against itself in a person's callous hand. "How sad! How pathetic! 'I don't know her'! HA!"
Mukuro's eyes narrowed as he put more pressure on his trident, drawing a drip of dark blood from her pale neck.
"Explain," he hissed. I held up my hand to stop him from doing anything drastic. He seemed unhappy about it, but he backed off none the less. I met her eyes, and stepped forward. I drew closer to her face, scrutinizing her features.
"Don't I know you?" I said.
"You should," she replied. "But the real question is, do you know you?"
My expression deadpanned, not finding humor in her questioning.
"The fuck kind of question is that," I muttered, becoming annoyed before calming myself once more. Another breath, and another hand stopping Mukuro from coming over. I looked at her face again. Carefully.
And suddenly, seeing her eyes (so blank and broken, but familiar and flickering), I knew.
"Holy shit," I breathed out, pushing myself back suddenly, "She's me. She's fucking me."
"What," Mukuro said flatly. I turned to him, then gestured back to the girl, who looked rather smug at my distress.
"She's me!" I repeated again, but fell into a better explanation when Mukuro's flat expression didn't change, "She's the old me, me from the past, from my first life for whatever the fuck that was – I mean, reincarnation is definitely possible, and I probably just don't remember my other lives –"
"You're rambling," Mukuro interrupted, grabbing my shoulder and stopping me. I blinked, not having realized I was pacing. I blinked again, looking down to see a trail of ice in my wake, frosting out from where I had been pacing.
I nodded at him as thanks, and then looked back to the girl. I approached her again, kneeling down to shwere she was chained.
"Hannah…" I said quietly, "yeah?"
"You don't even remember your own name," she sneered, spitting at me. I frowned, but was determined.
"Because that's not me Not anymore. But it is you?" I said, looking to Mukuro in question, "How exactly does this work?"
"She must have always been here in the back of your mind ever since you've entered this... world," Mukuro guessed, hand on chin and still thinking, "A poltergeist of your past life of sorts. And no doubt she could have a negative effect on your mind. We can't just leave her lurking here."
"We're not going to kill her," I stated swiftly, seeing Hannah's eyes fill with brief panic, "She's me."
"She's a memory, and a quickly shattering one at that," Mukuro corrected coldly, "And I doubt she's happy about her existence here."
"Damn right I'm not happy about!" Hannah snarled, baring against her chains, "You took my life from me! It's only natural that I should try to take it back. And as for killing me, I'd like to see you try!" She gestured her head towards me. "If you kill me, you kill her; we're connected, so if I go down Cloud is going down with me."
"She could be bluffing," Mukuro noted. I shook my head.
"Look, we're not going to kill you."
"We're not?" Mukuro echoed.
"No, we're not," I responded with a hard look. He sighed and dissolved his trident, looking a bit disappointed. I held back an eye roll as I faced Hannah again. She met me with a glare. "Even if there was a chance of killing you without me dying, I wouldn't do it. As cynical and damaged as you are, you're still a part of me, and I can't let go of that."
A warm breeze passed through the clearing as I finished, along with the soft, bell-like jungling of chimes.
"That was so cheesy it almost made me throw up," Hannah stated dryly.
"I have to agree with her, Little Cavallone; that was awful." I flicked them both off and continued.
"And you could help us," I added with a strained smile. She scoffed.
"Why would I help you of all people?" Hannah sneered. I shrugged.
"A change of heart? The possibility of not being chained up for the rest of your life- well, I guess it would be technically be my life, but you get the point."
She huffed and turned her head away, blatantly ignoring me at this point. I shrugged, and left her alone, feeling like I at least got somewhere with her.
"I better get going," I told Mukuro. "I've got a person to meet, flames to discover, and weapons to get and utilize; I'm swamped. We can go over the plan later."
"Kufufu, amusing as always, Little Cavallone. Until we meet again." He waved his hand and everything turned to darkness.
Mukuro allowed the small smirk her was upholding to drop as soon as Nikita disapeared. With a sneer, her turned to the intruder, who seemed to shrink back into her binding more when he approached.
"Although you are interesting," Mukuro mused, lifting a finger to pull her chin up, which the memory of the girl snarled in response to, "you are negative and damning presence none the less. And if you end up interfering with what I want?"
He let the question hang in the air, angling and dangerous.
"I will not hesitate. Know that."
"Well, this is where he said to be when I contacted him..." I mumbled halfheartedly, glancing around the clearing in the middle of the forest. I huffed in annoyance, already irritated by the effort I had to put forth just to get here. I tensed slightly when I heard a twig snap behind me, Colonnello's training immediately kicking in. Despite my awareness, my stance remained casual, so it wouldn't reveal that I was aware of my stalkers. Once I had a better grip on my rifle bag I swung it around, feeling it hit something solid. Then I spun that around to knock out the other noise running towards me. I blinked in surprise when two bodies flickered into view. I knelt down and poked the strange body suits, finding them to be slightly familiar.
"I see that my subordinates were useless. What do you want?" The voice echoed from all around, startling me. I stayed calm and alert as I answered him.
"I'm Cloud - Nikita Cavallone. I contacted you earlier about weapons and flames. I was hoping you could help me."
"And why would I do that? And how did you get my contact information?"
"Reborn got me in contact with Colonnello and Colonnello gave me contact information about you."
"I have no ties to those people. Are you really as dumb to think that just mentioning their names will do you any good?" I shrugged.
"Worth a shot. Well, if that won't get you to help me, why don't I help you?"
"... explain."
"You like experiments, right?" A scoffing sound sounded through the hidden speakers.
"I don't just 'like' them brat. They're my life."
"Then, I'll willingly test your experiments. You get a new lab rat, I get new toys. It's a win-win, situation."
"..." I waited patiently as he made his decision. "Fine. I'll accept your deal, Cloud Cavallone." I smiled, knowing that he was watching somewhere through hidden cameras.
"Thanks, Verde."
"This is looks a bit dangerous."
"Don't be ridiculous; I wouldn't try to kill my new test subject on the first day." After hearing that statement, I decided to remain quiet as the small scientist continued strapping the strange and rather bulky machine to my arm and hand.
"What are we even doing anyway?" Verde huffed in annoyance at my question.
"This is a machine of my own creation that shows what flame type subjects have. Not only does it distinguish what type, but it also determines the intensity of the flames and the amount a subject has. Therefore, it is extremely helpful in testing and figuring out a subject's limitation and what possibilities they have."
"Ah, I see," I nodded numbly, "So, would it be correct to assume that it's impossible to just conjure dying will flames from your hand." Verde looked at me with a calculating expression.
"I would not rule out that it was impossible, however, I would not expect to see that happening, unless the flames were extremely powerful or the user was. Usually, in order to see the dying will flames, there needs to be a conductor of sorts; something to transmit the flames from inside your body so they can be used. But first, we need to find out what type of flames you have so we can begin testing," he finished, securing the straps of the machine and making his way over to one his computers.
"I need you to concentrate on creating your dying will flames," he explained. I nodded on confirmation and begin to concentrate.
I just have to think of something worth fighting for, right? If that was the question, then the answer is simple; family. I simply thought of my family and people I loved. Protecting them was my sole reason and with just simply thinking of that, a warm feeling envelope my hand. Verde's eyes lit up as he assessed the information the machine was sending to the screen. I frowned, disappointed that because of the machine, I couldn't see any flames.
"Hm," I looked over to see Verde drinking in the information on the screen with a small smirk, "This is interesting. It seems I was right to let you be my new lab rat." I held back a shudder, not really liking where this was going. Verde glanced over at me again, eyes calculating. "I thought you looked familiar…" he muttered, almost to himself.
"What?"
"Nothing you need to worry about," He said curtly, making his way back over to me.
"So, what type of flames do I have?" I asked, almost reluctantly.
"Rain," he answered. I stared at him. "Also cloud flames." I let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, thank god. It would be pretty stupid if 'Cloud' didn't have cloud flames." Verde remained unamused by my note.
"And sun flames." I went back to my blank expression.
"Are you saying that I have rain, cloud and sun flames?" I pulled my legs up so that I was sitting crossed legged on the lab table. He nodded.
"Rain seems to be your overall dominate type, but you also have cloud and sun attributes. This makes you quite the interesting test subject. In fact, you're the first one I've had that has three types. I'm not surprised, however, with who your father and brother are; recently, I've theorized that children of strong skies tend to either be a sky themselves, or have multiple flames types." I nodded, still taking in this information, and quickly dismissing the image of my father that his words brought. I frowned when a certain thought entered my head.
"This means that I'll have even more tests than planned, doesn't it?"
"Correct." I let out a long, exasperated sigh.
"Let's just get this over with so that I can get my new 'toys' sooner."
"Duplicate the ring."
I picked up the metal ring in front of me, and begin concentrating. A warm feeling, the same feeling I was getting more and more used to as each day here passed, enveloped my hand, the heart of the feeling being the ring. I mentally imagined there being two rings, and soon enough, I felt the one ring duplicate in my hand. I opened my hand and let the two rings fall out onto the table.
"When are we going to start working on other things?" I asked Verde as he came over to inspect the rings.
"These test are simply for getting you used to using your dying will flames. This will make future tests easier to accomplish," Verde explained as he hopped onto his stepping stool to reach the table.
"So, basically, 'you've got to walk before you run'?" I confirmed.
"Correct. Although, I am still making prototypes to use with your multiple flames."
"Yeah, and I was thinking," I leaned on the table, propping my head up with my arms. "If you could make bullets out of this same metal, then could I use my cloud flames to duplicate one bullet, making it so that I could theoretically have an endless supply of bullets? Well, at least until I run out of flames." Verde eyed me with a bored expression.
"Didn't you think that I would have already thought of that, brat?" I frowned and shrugged.
"Well, yeah, but I want to sound like a smartass too once in a while." He rolled his eyes, and began making his way to the ground.
"I've already started remodeling your guns so they are compatible to your cloud flames. Even with your three types, at the moment, I can only make weapon compatible with one type."
"Right, so my guns will go with cloud flames, and maybe my rifle with rain flames?" I asked. "I was thinking," he rolled his eyes as I said this, "that since rain flames have a tranquility attribute and what not, that I could shoot people and numb the part of their body that I shoot. In theory, of course." Verde thought over my explanation, stroking his chin.
"Your flames aren't very intense," he started, "So in theory, I could modify your rifle where it could shoot pure rain bullets, and as long as you don't hit your target in the head or heart, then you could neutralize any other body part you hit. Your rain flames would spread throughput that body part, making it numb and unable to function for a certain amount of time. Make a note to test how long you can nullify a body part and the amount of flames it takes," He motioned for me to get the pen and paper lying nearby.
"What would happen if I hit them in the head or heart?" I snapped him out of his thoughts.
"If you shot them with pure rain flames and the flames got to their brain, if would either kill them or send them into a coma. As for the heart, if would stop motion, therefore killing them," he bluntly explained.
"Ah, nice to know. Anything else I should know about my flames?"
"Along with them not being very intense, you don't have an abundance of them. However, you do have an above average control over them, which works to your advantage. If you use your control wisely, then you can spread out the use of your flames to make them last longer. But, you also need to avoid over using them. This is why we're starting with small tasks like duplicating the rings."
"And what would happen if I used too many flames?" I asked. His answer was simple:
"You would die."
"Why am I going with you again?"
"You are acting as my body guard because my usual guards are out on missions."
"I'm actually flattered that you trust me enough to guard you," I said with a little snark.
"Don't be," Verde retorted. "You're only here out of convenience." I snorted at his answer.
"So, what exactly are we doing in Russia?" I asked, idly looking out the window of the jet.
"I'm delivering some high-tech weapons to the Giegue Family," he explained.
"Is that what the suitcase is for?" He nodded. I mulled over the name for a bit, then paled when I remembered who they were.
"This family wouldn't happen to be call the 'Grave Diggers' by any chance?" He nodded again. I fidgeted, suddenly nervous. The scientist snorted at my discomfort.
"Calm down, brat. They wouldn't dare hurt an associate of mine." I brightened up, feeling good thinking that he might have actually grown to care for me after the time I've spent with him, even if it was just a little bit.
"Besides, you're a valuable test subject."
And with that, that good feeling popped like a balloon. I huffed and gave him the silent treatment for the rest of the plane ride (not that he cared). I calmed myself as we landed, putting a blank face on. It would be a lie to say that I was not intimidated when we stepped off of the plane and faced the group waiting for us. With the brief case in hand, I followed Verde as he approached the group with an indifferent face.
There were 6 of them in group, all wearing almost identical skull looking mask which made them look even more intimidating. My eyes were drawn to what looked to be the youngest, or at least the shortest of the group. I looked away, and tried not to stare at any one of them. The tallest one stepped forward, establishing himself as the leader and spoke.
"Who is she?"
"Just an associate," Verde answered. "Someone to accompany me on the trip."
"You don't trust us?"
"I prefer to be cautious. Let's start, I want to get this over with." Verde's tone sounded impatient. I shifted my feet, not even trying to follow the conversation. I made a mental note to get Bel to teach me Russian for future reference. I had always been fond of the language for some reason, but had never gotten around to learning it.
"Impatient as always, Green. Let's go." He motioned for us to follow as he turned and headed for the warehouse we landed outside of. As we walked past them, three of them fell into step behind me. We entered and made our way through many hallways. Verde looked up at me when the group stopped.
"Stay out here," he ordered as he took the suitcase from me. "Don't wander off." I held back a snort as he entered the room we stopped in front of. Trying to keep a casual stance, but at the same time remaining alert, I leaned against the wall.
"Why do I have to stay here?" I noticed the shortest one from before talking with an argumentative tone to the leader.
"Because, we need someone to watch the stranger to make sure she does not do anything. Wait here and no arguing. Don't start anything." The man quickly turned and went into the room, closing the door behind him. The figure made an annoyed sound and turned to me. I kept a calm face and looked into the mask they were wearing, still mentally regretting not learning Russian. They crossed their arms and made a defensive stance.
"Who are you?"
I blinked, and looked around. Realizing they were talking to me, I made a shrugging motion, attempting to say that I had no idea what they were saying. They repeated the question. I sighed, moving onto to another tactic.
"Do you speak Italian?" I tried in my native tongue. From the tilt of their head, I assumed they didn't, seeing that I did not have facial expression to go by. Okay, next language. Let's go with German.
"Do you speak German?" There was a pause, and for a while I was thinking of moving on to English.
"Yes," they said after a pause. "Who are you?"
"C - Nikita Cavallone," I answered truthfully.
"Cavallone? As in the Italian mafia family?" I nodded. "Why are you here?"
"I am not here with the Cavallone," I quickly explained. "I am simply accompanying Verde."
"What is your relation to the Cavallone?" I eyed them warily.
"I'd rather not disclose that information," I said coolly. "Tell me about yourself first, then I will give you more information about me." I vaguely heard an amused snort beneath their mask.
"Fine, little horse," they relented. "I am Zhanna of the Giegue Family."
She stepped closer to me. Although she was the shortest out of the group of her family members, she easily towered over me. I estimated her height to be about 6'3, possibly 6'4. Altogether, with her strong build, height and mask, she had quite the intimidating appearance. Maybe it was my familiarity with the Varia, or just plain stupidity, but I didn't step back as she approached. I assumed she was staring me in the eyes in the next few moments that passed, so I stared right back in spots where I guessed her eyes were. I seemed to have passed some sort of test as she let out a bark of laughter and stepped back.
"I like you, little horse!" she admitted, then moved her hand to take her mask off. "You have guts." I eventually let out a relieved laugh of my own, the earlier tension now gone.
I was a bit surprised when she revealed her face. It was covered in scars and one of her eyes was noticeable darker brown than the other. A Glasgow Grin spread across her left cheek. What would have been a standardly beautiful face was marred by scars upon scars. Rough, slightly terrifying, but eerily beautiful. She noticed my stare and smirked. "Pretty, isn't it?" She asked. I shrugged.
"It's pretty cool, actually," I admitted. "Are your eyes like that naturally, or is it from an injury?" She raised an eyebrow at my curiosity.
"Nothing really fazes you, does it?" I shrugged again.
"Well, my best friend is a homicidal maniac," I admitted. She snorted again, a sound I was getting used to by this point. I blinked up at her. "I'm not kidding." She eyed me thoughtfully.
"You sound like you have weird friends, little horse."
"I guess I do. You want to join the group?" I asked on a whim, not really expecting an answer from this intimidating, tall, muscular, Russian girl I barely knew. I didn't expect an answer, but she gave me one.
"Sure. Why not, little horse? Why not."
"I made a friend today."
Hannah glared at me. I sighed and looked away, trying to focus instead on the scenery of my mind garden. Mukuro hadn't shown up, so it was just me and Hannah, along with an awkward, intense silence.
"Okay, look," I started, "We both know you don't like this; I don't like this either. I didn't even know you were here in my head. I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for everything." I continued when she didn't say anything:
"But that's in the past. Right now, I have other people to protect, and it would be a lot easier to do that if I have your help. I know you're not ready to forgive me now, maybe not ever, but at least try to work with me a little bit."
She lowered her eyes and look away. I sighed and pushed myself up from the ground. I snapped my fingers and the chains holding her to the wall dissolved into vines. Her eyes widened in surprise. She shakily pushed herself up and walked a few steps.
"Don't get too excited," I warned her. I pointed to the silver chain wrapped around her ankle, still anchoring her to the wall. "I can't give you a completely free rein, but I can let you walk around a bit, maybe look at some memories. There are a lot of good ones… from both our lives."
I turned to leave, but stopped when I heard a voice behind me.
"Thank you... Nikita."
"You're welcome, Hannah," I answered with a small smile.
Verde handed me my new rifle. I eyed it lovingly.
"Now I have my cloud flame guns, my rain flame rifle, and I just need a sun flame weapon," I noted. "Can it have something to do with healing?"
"What?" I stared at him.
"Healing," I elaborated. "Sun flames is activation, right?" He stared at me, then that familiar calculating look washed over his face.
"I suppose they could be used for healing, but we haven't worked with it yet…" he scowled, but it came out as more of a pout. "Of course, that should be a natural assumption. We worked with bonding with her, and she has the same sort of flames, if not only slightly different… he's probably already working with this, dammit…."
I blinked, losing interest in his ramblings and realizing I just came up with the idea that sun flames can heal before it was supposed to happen. Oh well. It was going to happen anyway. Yeah.
"We'll begin working as soon as I get a prototype ready," Verde explained as he walked out, scribbling notes on a note pad as he went. "Gloves would be an ideal form to produce the flames in order to heal the exact area..." he exited out the door mumbling again. I blinked, then promptly went back to gushing over my new toys, and had every intention to go out to practice with it when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I answered it absentmindedly, a bit annoyed that I was interrupted.
"Hello?"
"Sorry, 'Sis, but I'm your going have to come back from your vacation a bit early."
I was confused for a second, then I remembered that Ivan and Bono had told Dino that I had extended my vacation in Mafia Land for a couple more weeks. I quickly recovered..
"And why's that, Bro?"
"I need you to come to Japan right away."
"Because...?"
"The Vongola Rings are on the move, and the Varia are after them. Tsuna and his friends are in trouble and we're helping them."
I blinked, then scowled.
"Fuck me," I seethed, and quickly confirmed that I was on the way before slamming my phone shut. I calmed myself, taking a breath and shouldered my new rifle, moving out of the room to inform Verde of my early leave.
The Varia Arc is here.
"Worry less about the person you once were, or the person you dream you someday will be. Worry about the person you are now. Or, don't even worry, just be that person. Be the best version of that person you can be."
-Welcome to Night Vale
AN:
Literally, this chapter is the calm before the storm. Ha.
So about Yamamoto's and Cloud fleeting but casual relationship, that's just a layer of realism I added this time around? I just think it would be natural for them to do something like that, and I hardcore headcanon that Yamamoto is Bi. So now he's part of the bi bud squad. Whoop Whoop. And Zhanna is introduced! Love that girl. For new readers she'll be essential later in the story.
Review Responses:
Guest: Trust me, you'll get more Bel next chapter, wink wink. Thanks for the review!
Guest: Everyone gets love from Cloud my dear reader. Thanks for the review!
Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites!
-Evenly
ALSO: I put up the first chapter of a new story to test the waters. It's called Of The Nameless, and if you enjoyed What Her Mother Taught her, then you should like this one too. It's actually an Xanxus X OC one, and has darker tones like WHMTH.