Chapter 14: What Careless Words Do
"D'you know what happens when you hurt people?' Ammu said. 'When you hurt people, they begin to love you less. That's what careless words do. They make people love you a little less."
― Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things
"Cloud has slipped from my grasp once before," Byakuran said coldly, the smile still plastered onto his face. "What makes you think I'll let you take her away from me?" I shifted awkwardly, the air in the room tense. He was talking about me like I wasn't in the room, and as if he regarded me as nothing more than object for him to use.
"Kufufu, what makes you think that you'll be able to stop me," the man sneered, Mukuro's eyes narrowing.
"You seem really motivated, Mukuro. You even have a hell ring; that's very rare," Byakuran commented in a light voice, but I could tell he was still alert, watching both me and his opponent carefully. "It would be a good exercise to fight you," he admitted to the possessed man, "but you just so happen to have the worst timing."
"I've been waiting for this moment to possess you," the illusionist stated, "and this just happened to align with this mission."
"Mission?" Byakuran repeated. "To save Cloud, I presume?" He laughed. "I hardly think you'd be able to do that alone." I blinked, watching as a small snake slithered out of the possessed man's sleeve, and then make its way across the room. I tried not to stare at it, seeing that Byakuran didn't seem to notice it.
"It would be foolish for you to assume I'm working alone," 'Mukuro' stated, bringing out a box weapon. Byakuran casually shifted in a fighting stance, still adamantly standing between us, lifting his hand to show off his mare ring.
Mukuro's eyes flickered over to me once more as I tried to keep still as the snake wrapped itself around my neck daintily. I resisted the instinct to squirm, uncomfortable with the animal resting on such a vulnerable spot.
"I did say these were desperate times, after all." He opened the box in a blur, and looked over at me.
"Go for the door now! Run!"
Not wasting time, and willing to follow every order, I stumbled off the couch and dove for the door. Using the small opening Mukuro must have left when he came in, I pushed it all the way open with my shoulder, not looking back at the loud noises and yells behind me, but vaguely feeling the weight of the snake around my neck whither away. I fell into the hallway, and landed on my knees. Not looking back, not daring to waste anytime escaping, not daring to misuse Mukuro's sacrifice, I pushed myself up to my feet and began running. I scowled as I ran around the corner, only to run into a group of Millefiore.
Before they could barely raise their weapon, I kicked the first's gun downward, then put all my might in kneeing him under the jaw. I then took the next down with another kick, then dropped down to dodge a punch coming at me. Using my core, I twisted myself where I could grab one's arm with my legs, forcefully throwing him into another. I pushed myself up, my muscles burning (my abs especially, dammit. I was still sore from training, and not being able to use my arms put all the strain on my core).
Kicking one of my fallen opponents in the head to make sure he was out, I began moving on once again, not stopping despite knowing very well that I had no idea where to go or what to do. All I knew is that if I didn't use Mukuro's fight to escape now, there would be no chance later.
I bit my bottom lip, thinking about the illusionist. Byakuran wouldn't be playing around, like in the original fight. I wouldn't have as much time, and I sincerely hoped that Mukuro wouldn't actually die because of me. I sighed and shook my head. I had faith in Mukuro, and I just hope that faith would hold out, for his sake.
I growled as I rounded the corner only to see more opponents. My sudden appearance startled them, giving me the advantage to take the first three down with well establish, crippling kicks. I put my worries in the back of my mind while fighting, leaving no room for mercy. Just as Alik taught me, I thought grimly. Compared to my trainers, these guys were nothing. I stood looking down at my fallen opponents.
I didn't allow myself to grimace at the angle one's leg made, but resolved to move on again, wondering if this is what it was going to be like until the sad moment when Byakuran caught me himself, or I simply ran out of stamina. Hearing more footsteps coming toward me, I groaned.
That groan turned into a small gasp, as I was suddenly pulled into a previously shut door. I was pulled into a solid chest, the door shutting quietly behind me, giving the small closet's dim lighting.
I immediately stomped the figure's foot, and as soon as he was bent, I kneed him harshly in the face. I backed up against the door, and was ready to knock him out, but his words stopped me.
"Ow, Sis," an extremely blank voice drawled, throwing me off completely. "I think you broke my nose." He looked at me with placid green eyes, despite obviously being in pain and holding his nose tenderly. As my eyes began adjusting to the dim lighting, I took in his features, somewhat recognizing the large, black frog hat he wore on his head and the bored face with small triangles under his eyes.
"You're…" I muttered, adrenaline still rushing through me and having trouble placing a name with his face.
"I'm hurt, Sis," the Varia's new illusionist complained. "It's me, you're favorite person. Fran."
"Fran?" I repeated numbly. He nodded, giving me a thumbs up.
"Right. That's me." We both tensed as a rush of footsteps sounded outside the door. Fran frowned, and pulled me closer to him, putting one arm over me. I blinked at the ring on his finger, now covered in indigo frames. I stiffened when the door opened, fully prepared to fight. Fran's arm tightened around me. I looked up at him and he shook his head. A Millefiore member stood in the doorway, and surveyed the small closet. I held my breath and concealed my presence, but was surprised when his eyes passed right over us.
"Clear," the man stated, then quickly shut the door. I let out a sigh after the footsteps moved on. Fran released me, and I turned to fully face him.
"What the fuck is going on?" I muttered irritably, the day's events finial catching up to me.
"Operation 'Save Cloud'," Fran told me, holding up a finger. "It's super secretive. Only three people are in on it," he blinked, then added. "Well, four if I count you. Hm?" He looked at my neck. "Ah, it's gone. That guy was strong after all. Even she didn't know how many flames it would take to trick him."
"Are you talking about the snake?" I asked as he moved past me, his hand on the doorknob. "What was that about?" He blinked and looked back at me, as if he was surprised by my confusion.
"Ah, I forgot," he said, hitting his hat lightly. "This is the younger Cloud. I guess that explains why your chest is so flat." My eye twitched at his comment, but he grabbed my shoulder and carted me out the door with him before I could refute.
"Do your illusions work on technology?" I asked him quietly as we bypassed our enemies with ease. My eyes lingered up to the camera in the corner of the hallway.
"Don't worry about that Little Sis," he chided. I twitched at addition, "Our job is to escape." I nodded hesitantly, and continued following him. T
he bad thing about not having to take down enemies is that it gave me time to think about Mukuro and why I was brought to the future. However, Bykauran's words weighed the heaviest on my mind, now that I had time to actually think about him. I shuddered, remembered the fact that my future-self killed herself. Fran looked back at me, opening a door that led to a small, run down alley.
"Stop worrying, Little Sis," he said, lightly pushing me in front of him, urging me to go forward. "Everything's going to be fine."
"How do you know that?" I asked, a bit sadly. He shrugged, then took the lead again.
"I don't," he admitted blankly. "But that's what you always told me."
"I'm angry, Mukuro," Byakuran seethed. "You've succeeded in one of your goals," He told the wounded, kneeling man before him.
"One them?" the illusion of Mukuro repeated, still possessing the man, but well aware that this body was quickly reaching its breaking point.
"You let Cloud escape," Byakuran reminded him coldly. "Do you know the work it took to get her here? I had to preserve her body for so long, after all. And right when I have her where I want, you just had to come in and ruin everything," His eyes narrowed and he glared at the illusionist. "It's almost too bad that you didn't get to see my true power. That was your other intention, wasn't it, Mukuro? To gather data on the abilities I have shrouded, and bring them back to your back-up forces on the outside, was it not?"
"Ohh… what an interesting theory," Mukuro sneered.
"You won't get what you want. You've already made me angry, after all," Byakuran informed him. Mukuro swayed, trying to keep his panic form getting to him after realizing the difficulty to escape the room and retreat back to his real body. He calmed himself, already well aware of the consequences when coming here. But, he reminded himself, it was worth it, to get her out. It was worth it to keep that information from this man.
"You don't have the Vongola ring, so I have no interest in you," Byakuran stated after he explained the sealed room. "It's time for you to receive a true death." Mukuro scoffed, surprising Byakuran. The boss's eye narrowed as the illusionist chuckled hollowly, and met his glare.
"Kufufu…. And I welcome it gladly, Byakuran."
"Should we really be taking public transportation at a time like this?" I muttered, looking at the normal civilians around us, still on red alert.
"It's fine. I'm talented enough I trick them. I'm a top magician after all," Fran reminded me. "To them, we just look like normal people riding the subway." I sighed and looked away, still confused and unsure about this entire situation.
"Do you think he's okay?" I asked quietly. Fran looked at me, not having to ask who I was talking about.
"My master's strong," he assured me. "He may have a weird hairstyle and laugh, but he can take care of himself."
"If you say so…" I muttered, still dejected. Despite seeing him (well, seeing a man he was possessing), the void was still in my mind, not comforting me one bit. I was confused that we hadn't connected immediately on seeing each other, but I was convincing myself that it was because he was focusing on the battle with Byakuran. I shuddered, thinking back to the conversation with the latter. Fran poked my shoulder and I looked over at him. I blinked, staring at his jacket, which he had taken off and was now offering me.
"Don't be rude, Little Sis," he scolded me. I looked up at him, then slowly took the jacket, putting it on (Fran had helped me saw off the straitjacket earlier with the aid of Bel's knife, which was now resting reassuringly in my front pocket).
"Thanks…" I muttered, fingering the fur-trimmed hood of the Varia jacket.
"You always told me to be chivalrous," he told me. "Well, the future you did," he corrected himself. "Ah, we're here," He muttered, getting up as the subway came to a stop. He motioned for me to follow him, and we exited, eventually coming to stand in front of an old looking, run down hotel. I pulled the slightly large jacket tighter around me as we entered, bypassing the front desk completely, not drawing any attention to ourselves with the aid of illusions.
We ascended the flight of stairs quickly, and I was realizing that I had been growing more and more comfortable around Fran as we spent more time together. Of course, it helped that he was completely comfortable around me as soon as we met. It was weird, though. He saw a relationship with me that I never had with him.
We slowed to a stop in front of one of the hotel room doors and Fran knocked a couple times, waited, then knocked again. The door opened almost immediately. I blinked and looked down slightly, surprised to see a young, possibly Indian girl that had to be at least two years younger than me. She smiled kindly at us and moved aside to let us enter. Fran went in without hesitation and I eventually followed.
"I see that it was successful," the girl chided, a happy twinkle in her eyes as she looked at me. "I'm glad."
"She isn't done yet?" Fran asked casually, plopping down on the bed. The girl shook her head.
"Not yet. She's throwing them completely off your trail as we speak, but should arrive as soon as it's safe for her to come." She girl blinked, then glanced at me in an apologetic manner. I glanced at her, noting the maturity in her eyes, way beyond her years.
"Forgive me, miss," she said, bowing slightly. "I had forgotten that you were older when you met us. I'm Madhi, Dayita's ayah."
"Dayita?" I asked, looking in between Fran and Madhi. "Who's that?"
"I am positive that she would want to honor or introducing herself to you when she arrives, undoubtedly," Madhi said with amusement in her tone. "If you excuse me, I will go contact her. I assume that you'll replace the illusion you dispelled when you entered?" She asked, looking at Fran.
"Hm?" He looked at her blankly. "Oh, yeah," He assured her. "I'm on it." She sighed and then bowed slightly again, and exited the room.
"Who's Dayita?" I asked Fran again once the door was closed. He waved me off.
"Secret," he replied, "And she'd get mad at me if I introduced her for you. It's troublesome when she's angry…." He trailed off, going off on his own tangent, then, with a blink, he looked back at me. "While we're waiting we should reconnect," he suggested. "I doubt master can right now, but you can at least get connected to me."
"Reconnect?"
"Ah, I forgot to tell you," he hummed, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I know about the whole reincarnation, not-dying thing."
"….huh?"
"Yeah," he said casually. "You guys let me in on it a long time ago." He gave me a thumbs up. "So, let's reconnect, okay?"
"You…. You can't just throw that kind of information at me!"
"Hm? Really?" he asked, as if he truly felt bad. "Sorry." My eye twitched at the casualness he displayed.
"Whatever," I stated, already getting used to his personality. "How do we 'reconnect' then?"
"You need to mediate and let me into your mind. I think you told me once that you did this with Mammon once," he reminded me. "Just try not to lash out when I try to get in. Master let me in last time with him, so I haven't made the connection alone before."
"Great," I dryly muttered, sitting on the bed as well, and pulling my feet up on the sheets, crossing them. I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes, blocking out everything else in the room. I reminded myself that I was safe now; I was fine. I had people that looked out for me, and I still have people to look out for as well. I couldn't afford to freak out, for their sake.
I opened my eyes, not at all surprised to find myself in my mind garden. Taking another deep breath, I held back from lashing out as I felt an unfamiliar presence infiltrate. I looked over to see Fran standing, looking around with a bored expression.
"It's different somehow," he muttered. "Brighter. Huh."
"Care to explain why you're in the future?" I looked over to see a very irritated Hannah glaring at me.
"Yo, Hannah," Fran greeted, holding a hand up. I tried not to be surprised that he knew her, but a disbelieving look still managed to sneak onto my face. Hannah barely spared Fran an irritated look, and turned back to me.
"Not only do you end up in the future, but you let a complete and total stranger into your mind?"
"Ouch. I'm offended," Fran commented dryly.
"He's not a stranger," I argued. "He said that my future-self let him into her mind. He knew about this."
"You mean the idiot that killed herself," she stated harshly. I frowned, beginning to feel guilty again. "And besides, he could be lying."
"He has nothing to gain from lying to me," I pointed out. Hannah huffed and turned away. I sighed and decided to talk to Fran instead.
"So, the connection's made now?" He nodded.
"Yep. Now you have the honor of being able to see my amazing magic tricks," he said with a neutral expression.
"Great," I said numbly, looking back at Hannah. "Is there a way to contact Mukuro now?" He frowned, as if concentrating.
"I can't reach him right now," he informed me. "He might be too weak for communication."
"Right," I said, looking away guiltily again. "Hopefully."
(Or dead, or dead, or dead, the foliage quivered and whispered around us)
"You better hope your presence didn't fuck up anything big, Cloud," Hannah sneered, looking down on me. I sighed and closed my eyes once again, not wanting, not needing to deal with her anger right now.
"She's a lot meaner than I remember," Fran commented idly, now both of us back in the physical world.
"It's not her fault," I sadly defended, bringing my knees up to hug them. "She just angry and confused."
"Ah," Fran allowed, lazily looking around the room again. I sighed and looked off again. My head snapped towards the door as it clicked open, and I managed to stop myself from lashing out as a shape dashed in and practically attached themselves to me. I gasped, attempting to push myself away from the large chest I was being smother by, and a voice cooed me.
"Nike! I missed you so much!" I gasped for breath again, and managed to wiggle out of the woman's grip, scrambling to the other side of the bed. Fran watched this exchange with slightly widened eyes, but still did nothing to stop the assault. I blinked, taking in the dark-skinned woman's features with a heavy blush on my face.
She might as well have been the most beautiful women I had ever seen. The Indian woman giggled at my reaction, and brushed a long strand of dark hair behind her ear, which was revealed to be covered in several piercings. Her painted lips curved into a smile, and I looked at the other piercings on her face; one below her lip, two in her nose and one on her eyebrow. Her hooded eyes, brushed with a lush color and darkened with eyeliner scanned over me, as if she could barely believe I was really there.
"Fuck me," I muttered quietly, feeling how red my face was and looking to the side.
"Darling there was a time where I would have jumped at that, but as you are now, you're too young," she said slyly, and with a wink before continuing excitedly,
"This is great!" She clapped her hands together, nearly bouncing, "I'm so glad you're here! You wouldn't believe the people I've had to deal with," she complained with a throw of her hand, even beautiful with an annoyed expression. "I missed having you around as the middle man, but now you're back! And you're safe," she leaned forward, grabbing my hands and pulling them toward her, "you're safe now and he can't get to you, so there's no need to do something so stupid and reckless again," her grip tightened around my hands, "no matter how justified you think it is, and no matter if you won't tell me the true reason." Her grip tightened with each word, and I stared down at her hands. She seemed to notice this, and calmed herself, taking a deep breath and releasing my hands gently.
"But, that doesn't matter now," she concluded. "All that matters is that you're safe." She gave me a dazzling smile. I blinked, not having registered even half of what just happened.
"I assume everything went smoothly," she addressed Fran. He nodded. "Good," she concluded, then noticed my expression.
"Oh, honey," she cooed, reaching over to pat my cheek. "You're confused. That's okay, I can explain everything to you." I opened my mouth to ask my first question, but she interrupted me before I could.
"On the way, of course," she added, hopping up off the bed. "We've got a tight schedule after all."
Ryohei's eye twitched, glaring harshly and passionately at the indifferent Cloud guardian in front of him.
"In that case, we'll settle this with fists and boxes!" The sun guardian declared, raising a fist with fire in his eyes.
"That's fine with me," Hibari agreed placidly.
"Nothing can stop me… to the extreme!"
"No such thing," Kusakabe declared form his position sitting on the edge of the room. "I've been stopping you since just now! The guardians should not be fighting over such a senseless reason. Please stop," the man stated irritably.
"What do you mean by senseless reason?!" Ryohei argued back. "Why am I allowed into the residence but the kid is not? What's that all about?!"
"Truth be told, you're not welcomed either," Hibari stated calmly. "Just looking at you dampens my will to fight."
"What! I'm pissed off to the extreme!"
"All right, all right," Kusakabe attempted to calm the two, while sliding open the door behind him with one hand. "Let me take Lambo back to his hideout and I'll play with him over there. Please, just let it rest already."
"Oh well…." Ryohei muttered, giving Kusakabe the hope that they have dropped the subject. "We'll have one round then."
"That's fine with me."
"You will not!" Kusakabe snapped at the two. "Please, talk only! No fighting!" He sighed, and turned back to the child in front of him. "Come on then. Let's go over there and play, eh?"
"Don't you at least feel a little bad for the kid?" Ryohei tried again as Kusakabe shut the door behind him, taking Lambo back to the other side of the base. "He doesn't have anyone to play with. Maybe I should have convinced Ipin to come with me-"
"If I'm not mistaken, she's still with the bronco," Hibari cut him off. "Leave her there; she'll be safer with him." Ryohei frowned, confused at first, then remembered their relationship. He sighed in defeat, finally deciding to drop the subject and instead move onto to a more sensitive one that he knew was bothering the cloud guardian.
"It's fine to admit you miss her, Hibari," Ryohei reminded the man in front of him. Hibari frowned and glared at the boxer.
"No," he rebutted, scowling. "It's weak."
"So, Nike," Dayita started softly, putting a hand on mine. I blinked and looked over at her, no longer looking out the window of the private jet we were on. Fran didn't spare us a glance from in front of us, as he was frowning and attempting to lean back into a comfortable position in his seat, but finding it difficult to do so with the large frog hat he was wearing. "Ask me anything."
"Who are you?" I asked immediately. She smiled softly, and chuckled.
"That's a good start. Do you want me to tell you how we met as well?"
"Why not?" I answered dryly, just wanting, needing to feel less confused about this information, about everything.
"I am one of the best illusionist in the world. My name is Koenig Dayita," she began, and I perked up at the name, recognizing it from somewhere. "I see you recognize my father's name," she stated, easily catching my recognition. "If you don't remember, he was one of the scientists who created working box weapons." I stared at her in slight shock, but continued to let her speak, deciding it was wise to keep quiet until she was completely done.
"It will be easier to go in chronological order," she figured, "so I'll begin with how my parents came to meet."
"My mother was a successful woman," Dayita said with a proud smile. "After her father's death, she took over his business, and eventually she led it to be the top trading and transportation organizations in India and one of the most formidable in Asia. Along with her looks, I inherited her silver tongue and mist attributes. My father was a German arms-dealer and a scientist. My mother met him when while he was trading his weapons through her organization. With her keen eyes, she recognized his talents immediately and hired him to make weapons for her. She gave him his start, and with the help of her assets and organization, and his great mind and talent, he rose to great heights, eventually getting into the organization where he worked with two others on the creation of box weapons. Somewhere in all that mess, my mother and father fell in love, and me and my brother were born. I took on my mother's culture, while my brother took after our German heritage, and inherited my father's keen mind for weapons and inventing. I took more after my mother, and became one of the most powerful illusionists in the world," she concluded, adding the last part with a flick of her hand as if it weren't a big deal. I frowned, processing the information she was giving me.
"How did you become one of the best?" I asked, logically. "You can't just inherit complete and total mastery."
"My mother is smart and perceptive, as well as my ayah, who has been with my mother's family since before I can remember," She answered immediately, without having to give it much thought. "My mother and ayah taught me how to read people like children's books. It's incredibly easy to figure out what people want, and once you have that pinned, they're all too eager to believe the illusion you create for their enjoyment. That's why my top income comes from death commissions. I fake deaths for people all the time. Nothing pleases an assassin more, after all. They expect their target to die, so that's what they see. That's what I give them. In fact, my talents were a large part of the reason why you managed to save so many in the Vongola hunt," she admitted, giving me a sly look.
"I saved people?" I repeated.
"Lots," she assured me. "Of course, we couldn't save all of them, naturally. But you did all you could. Ah, we're getting of subject," she muttered. "Anyway, you got to know me through my father's work, since you and Verde worked together occasionally thanks to your unique flames. I remember feeling delighted when you approached me first, thinking it was my lucky day that someone who matched my exact type was coming over to talk to me. But, you were all business, naturally, and never accepted any of my date offerings," she sighed, pouting.
"That's because Yita's too aggressive," Fran commented. "You're terrible at flirting; you're terrifying."
"Shut it, brat," she glared over at him, a cold look in her eyes. She sighed and turned to me again, her annoyed mood completely gone. "Anyways, despite you refusing my dates, we did become quite close friends. I found it almost annoying at first when I realized you couldn't see any of my illusions, but came to accept it as a lovable quirk." She shrugged. "Then you began helping Hibari Kyoya when he began researching the box weapons and were all too happy to introduce us, although I'm almost positive both you and Kyo have regretted the decision since then…." She trailed off, a devious smile on her face. "But the experiences have been loads of fun for me." I blinked, still stuck on something she said.
"Did… did you just call him Kyo?"
"Your many connections helped him greatly in his travels and research," she moved on, completely ignoring my comment. "He was lucky to have you. But," She finished with a dazzling, almost sad smile. "That's my story."
"Okay," I nodded, feeling more comfortable now that I actually knew who I was dealing with. "Good to know." I scanned through my mind, trying to scavenge for more questions, but I soon came to realize that I didn't even know what I didn't know.
"What about Dino?" I asked quietly, the sad thought entering my head. "How did he take… my death?" Dayita sighed sadly and propped her head up on her arm.
"I wasn't there, so I only know from what they told me," she admitted. "But he did not take it well. Naturally. You two were close after all, and he was completely against you going to the negotiation. You managed to convince him that it would happen eventually, and, of course, you were right. It was still idiotic though, but I suppose that's just your nature, isn't it?"
"So I've been told," I agreed quietly, pulling my legs up into the chair to hug them. Fran sighed loudly, causing us to look over at him.
"If I take off this hat," He said, pointing to the large accessory on his head. "Will you keep it a secret from Bel-sempai?"
"Of course not," Dayita replied with a cold smile.
"But if I take it off and you tell him, he'll kill me," Fran argued in an unpassionate voice.
"And that will provide entertainment for me and Nike when we arrive," Dayita noted happily.
"When we arrive? We're going to see Bel?" I asked, having just become aware of our destination.
"Yes, we're heading to the Varia's base right now," Dayita allowed. "Although normally I would never associate with such vulgar people-"
"I thought you like Bel-sempai," Fran interrupted, having decided to not take the hat off and opted to lean forward, hands on his knees holding up his head instead.
"Although, like Nike, Belphegor matches my type almost exactly, his attitude annoys me to no end-"
"Because he's just like you?" Her eyes snapped to him dangerously, and she smirked.
"Oh? What's this?" She muttered smoothly, dropping her hand to her side and gracefully bringing out a box weapon and showing off the two odd, yet extremely familiar looking rings on her hand. "Do you want to die?" Fran shook his head and held his hands up.
"Nope. No thank you," he stated. "You can put away your snake."
"So that was your snake, then?" I asked Dayita, thinking back to the small animal that had been around my neck for that short amount of time before it disappeared. She sent one more deadly look at Fran before turning to me with a smile once more.
"My box weapon," she informed me. "Mist and Cloud attributes, courtesy of my darling, genius of a brother. Ever since my brother and father went into hiding, Varick has been able to crack down and develop more mixed box weapons like yours."
"Like mine?" I repeated. Her mouth formed a small 'o' shape, as if she had just remembered something.
"Ah! I almost forgot to give you your weapons back," she chirped, reaching over for her bag under her seat. "Here are your gloves, knives and guns," she recited, handing the items to me. "And here are your rings and box weapons." I blinked, looking down at the objects in her hands. I picked up one of the boxes carefully, examining the bamboo looking pattern on the outside of it.
"These are mine?" I repeated.
"Of course. Only the best and highest quality box weapons for my goddess," she cooed. "Specially made and unique. They had to be, especially with your sun flames. Of course, because of your sun flames, Varick was more than happy to make these for you, despite their complications."
"And what complications would those be?" I asked, still examining the box.
"You'll see," she teased with a twinkle in her eyes. "You're going to have to learn to fight with them soon enough anyway." I raised an eyebrow as she handed me the objects in her hand, but didn't question her. Even after the little time I have spent with her, I had already learned that questioning her usually led to more questions. I slipped the boxes into one of the pockets of Fran's jacket, then after deciding against wearing the three rings, I put them in as well.
"Why are we going to the Varia?" I asked curiously.
"It's the safest place for you right now," Dayita replied.
"Yeah," Fran agreed, "because there's no safer place than a base full of blood thirsty killers."
"It's also the perfect place for you to train to fight with your box weapons," Dayita added. I deflated at the word.
"More training?" I groaned. "I still haven't gotten to fully rest from last time."
"Ah, I had forgotten that you had trained with Ursa and her family around this age," Dayita mused. "I feel sorry for you; I can barely stand to spend more than five minutes around her type, let alone her entire family."
"Ursa? You mean Zhanna? She's okay?" I perked up, and looked at her.
"The Giegue survived thanks to you," Dayita informed me. "Zhanna's the boss now, but only because he siblings died before her." My stomach dropped at the news.
"All them?"
"Two of them," Dayita corrected. "However, that information is less….well known," she decided on the word with a smirk, "thanks to me. I faked her youngest brother's death, although he is in no condition to fight anymore let alone lead the family. She blames me for not saving her other siblings, but I couldn't get to them in time." She seemed unaffected by this, but for some reason, I thought otherwise. I didn't push the subject.
"But Zhanna's alive?" I repeated.
"And fighting," Dayita confirmed.
"She's always fighting," Fran inputted dryly, then he looked out the window, noticing something. "Ah, we're almost there."
"Madhi will drop us off, then we'll make our way to the base," Dayita informed me. "The entrance is hidden, naturally."
"What do you mean Madhi will drop us off?" I questioned, not having seen the girl since before we got on the small plane. "Where is she?"
"Flying the plane," Dayita answered casually. I stared at her. After a while, she seemed to notice my gaze and raised an eyebrow in response.
"She's flying the plane?"
"Yes."
"But, she's like twelve."
"Uh-huh." I blinked, still staring at her. "My ayah has been around for longer than you think, Nike," Dayita chirped happily. "Of all people, you should know; looks can be dangerously deceiving."
"Byakuran!"
"Hn."
"Don't just say 'hn'!" Irie scolded, almost hesitantly. He noticed immediately that something was off about the man. There was a glint in his eyes and vigor in his movements, even small ones. "Are you all right?"
"Hm, physically, I suppose," Byakuran stated, his features forming a grimace of sorts, "but I seemed to have had something important stolen from right under me. I'm angry, to say the least."
"Eh? Stolen?"
"Rokudo Mukuro decided to reveal himself. That's who Leo really was."
"Rokudo Mukuro… you mean, the Vongola's mist guardian!? Then, Byakruan, did you… kill Rokudo Mukuro?"
"Well, I suppose so, but that's beside the point," Byakuran muttered, his tone becoming dark. "Mukuro had the worst timing; he interrupted my meeting with Nikita Cavallone."
"What?! Nikita Cavallone came from the past?" Irie repeated, bewildered. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want to bother you," Byakuran shrugged. "And besides, her coming to the future was for personal reasons. Anyways, now that she's escaped, I need you to send out a message to all units to capture her, alive of course, and send her back to me."
"To all units?!" Irie stuttered. "Is she really that important?"
"Of course she is, Shou," Byakuran answered with a smile that threatened to buckle Irie's knees.
"She's special, after all."
"Why do you call me Nike, Dayita?" I asked her curiously. She hummed, slowing her steps until she was walking gracefully beside me.
"You know the meaning of your name, yes?" I nodded once, and she continued,
"I respect you, Nikita Cavallone, and know that's a feat in itself. Your future self, and perhaps," she said, looking me over, "who you are now, embodies victory in my eyes. Relentless determination now matter the cost of yourself. That's you, always," she said before her look soured, "and often it's an annoying trait. But, it's fitting, isn't it? Nike, the goddess of victory."
I didn't respond, taking in her words and not knowing if there was truth to them. Not knowing if I could believe in that version of me. We walked in silence until I looked over at Dayita, humming in question at her mischievous smile. I raised an eyebrow at her expression, not liking it one bit.
"….what?"
"Oh, nothing?" She waved it off, practically skipping as we walked down the metallic hallway, just having gone through a hidden outside entrance covered in Fran's mist flames. "I'm just surprised you're not nervous or anything."
"Why would I be nervous? It's just the Varia," I stated, one hand in the pockets of Fran's jacket, messing with the boxes and rings. She giggled.
"You're weird, Nike," she cooed. "Not many people think of them as," she held up air quotations, "just the Varia." I shrugged in response.
"I grew up with them around," I admitted. "They're practically family to me. I highly doubt ten years is going to change that."
"Maybe, but you killing yourself might have." I narrowed my eyes, realizing she was testing my reaction, pushing me.
"You fucking snake…" I muttered. She giggled again, smiling brightly.
"Guilty!" She sang. "That's one of the things I like about you, Nike~" She bumped my hip with her own. "You can always see through me."
"That's because Yita uses illusions on everything, even little useless things." Dayita glared coldly at Fran, who was walking in front of us. Her expression changed, however as she approached him, swaying her hips.
"Illusions are like parlor tricks, Fran," she said, putting her arms on the back of his shoulders as he stopped in front of a door with a combination lock, her voice turning smooth and seductive. She slid her arms over his shoulders and caressed his chest. "Magic tricks, charades, used to make things beautiful, and for the purpose of enjoyment." She slid her body, until she was practically hanging off the side of him, looking up at him with hooded eyes. "If not for the victim's enjoyment," she said, gently grabbing his chin while moving her face towards his. "Then for my own."
There was an awkward moment, where their faces were merely inches from each other, and I had no idea what to do. Fran broke the silence.
"I think I need an adult," he stated blankly, then turned to me. "Little Sis, help." Dayita laughed, moving away from Fran, and turning back to me.
"You're never any fun," she teased the teen, "but your reaction was priceless, Nike!" She winked at me.
"Why do you always pick on me, huh?" Fran muttered, his words expressing that he was hurt, but his tone remaining indifferent.
"You mean this happens a lot?" I asked, shaking my head, attempting to forget the incident.
"It gets boring fast," Fran informed me as the door unlocked and slid open, revealing a much more lavish hallway, compared to the dull, metallic ones we had been walking through before.
"I like to keep my life interesting, Nike dear," Dayita hummed, interlocking her arm with my arm as we continued walking. "My worst fear is to find myself bored, after all."
"Hmmm…." We stopped behind Fran as he paused before opening the door. It was obviously that a somewhat large group of people was behind it, with the noise level.
"What are you waiting for?" I questioned him.
"I just remembered," he stated. "I didn't tell them you were coming."
"…. You what?" My expression deadpanned. "They don't know I'm here?"
"They don't know you came from the past," he added.
"Is that a problem?" Dayita asked, putting a hand on her hip. Fran blinked, then thought about it.
"I guess not." He grabbed me and put me in front of him, then opened the door and pushed me in first, casually stepping in behind me.
"Yo, look who stopped by." I froze, the room going pen-drop silent with all eyes on me.
"What the hell?" As older Bel muttered, staring at me. I let out a nervous chuckled and scanned the room, freezing, going completely rigid when I met a pair of sad, empty, sunken brown eyes, that even ten years later, were still all too familiar. My bottom lip quivered, the fact that my older-self killed herself and left him all alone coming rushing back to me.
"Nikita…." He muttered, shakily pushing himself up form where he was sitting. I feared he was going to break down right then and there, with how fragile and broken he looked. I let out a shallow breath and greeted my brother.
"Dino..." I breathed out, almost relieved, but still completely rigid, not knowing what to do in this situation. I was well aware of the others' eyes on me in the room, but I could only focus on him, my brother standing barely a few feet away ready collapse at the slightest movement.
He was broken; shattered even, and it was all my fault.
"What the hell are you guys trying to pull?" I glanced over, my heart sparking up again as I noticed an older Bel with a scowl on his face. "If this is some sick illusion-"
"Don't worry, Bel-sempai," Fran reassured him, patting my shoulders, then pulling at my cheek. "This is the real deal." My eye twitched as he did this and I momentarily broke out of my blank stare to give him an irritated glance.
"Even I'm not low enough to make an illusion like this," Dayita admitted smoothly. Her eyes wandered the room, and a small smirk graced her features. "I suppose you would like an explanation?"
"Fuck yeah, we need an explanation!" I was almost startled as an older Squalo rose harshly from his seat. "No one told us that a younger Nikita would be coming from the past," he growled, his eyes angry, tinted with the slightest bit of confusion.
"We barely found out in time," Dayita admitted casually, with a small wave of her hand. "And even then, only three of us were a part of the rescue mission. Any more involved and it wouldn't have worked," Yita drawled.
"Master arranged it all," Fran added, after I had swatted his hand away. "but only talented illusionists like us would be able to get in and out."
"And even then, that guy is most likely dead," Dayita added lightly, making my stomach twist even more, reminding me of his sacrifice.
"Rokudo Mukuro's dead?" Squalo repeated, his eyes narrowing. Yita shrugged.
"Perhaps," she stated indifferently, raising her hand to inspect her nails in a bored manner, "you can never know for sure with that guy."
"Why…" Yita blinked, then glanced over at Dino, who was still standing rigid as the conversation moved between him. "Why would you bring her here? Why is she here in the future?"
"Hm?" Yita raised a delicate eyebrow. "Who knows? Mukuro probably has the answer, but he's not exactly available at the moment."
Dino's hurt eyes turned back to me and I almost reached out to him. I hesitated, my hand barely moving forward and him flinching ever so slightly. I looked away, not wanting to meet his eyes, not wanting to hurt him anymore, not wanting to be the cause of the immense pain I saw in his eyes. A door opened, and two figures waked in, stopping their conversation as they picked up the atmosphere in the room immediately. I looked over, looking for any distraction at the moment, recognizing Lussaria, but the other person moved towards me before I could properly identify them.
"Big Sister! I missed you so much!" I blinked as the girl embraced me, greeting me in Chinese.
"Ipin?" I questioned, recognizing a ten-years later Ipin looked at me with tears welling in the corners of her eyes. She nodded, biting her bottom lip.
"Nikita? Why is a younger Nikita here?" Lussaria asked, looking around the room.
"That's what we're trying to figure out," Squalo said darkly, barely glancing up at the man, then returned to staring at me.
"I don't care why she's here, or if she's younger," Ipin said, her arms tightening around me. "I'm just glad that she's here and safe!"
Dino blinked, then almost fell back into his seat, a new look washing over his face, leaving an almost guilty expression. Bel frowned, and looked back over at me.
"Did you meet him? Byakuran?" I nodded, the focus completely on me. Ipin released me but looped her arm around mine and stood beside me, as if she didn't want to let me go.
"What the fuck did he want with you?" Squalo asked. "Did he say?"
"He said that I had some information," I said, deciding to give them the truth, if only half of it. "But I didn't know what he was talking about." Squalo hummed, hand on chin, looking at the ground thoughtfully. He rose again and walked passed me, ruffling my head as he did.
"We'll find out eventually," he said, "glad you're safe, brat. I'm going to tell boss about this," he announced before he exited, "I'm sure he'll find this…. interesting."
I watched him go, feeling a little relief flow through me, now that one less person was staring me down, as if they were frustrated that I was here more than anything. I dared not glance over at Bel and Dino, two of the most important people in my life that acted like they hated me at the moment. Ipin's arm tightened, pulling me out of my heavy thoughts.
"I'm glad you're safe, Big Sister," she muttered, putting her head on my shoulder and closing her eyes, "I missed you so much. Both of you…"
"Are you hurt?" I blinked, then looked over at Bel, who was making his way across the room towards us. I shook my head, and he sighed, then smirked, but I had a feeling that it was forced. "Good; we couldn't have the younger princess getting hurt, now could we?" I forced a smile as well, deciding to play along. I looked at Dino once more, who looked away. Ipin frowned, realizing we both weren't ready for this. None of us were prepared. She stepped forward and tugged my arm, forcing me to walk with her.
"I'll help you settle in, Big Sister!" She said happily, then turned to Lussaria," There's an empty room beside mine that she can have, right?"
"O-of course, dear!" Lussaria agreed, unprepared by the question, and still shocked by my arrival. Then again, Ipin seemed like the only one who was handling my arrival well, and that was a feat in itself.
"I'll take you there then," Ipin informed me with a bright smile, now walking backwards and dragging me forward.
"I'll take my leave as well," Yita announced, seemingly unaffected and extremely chalant even with the tense atmosphere. "There's someone I need to contact, after all…" she trailed off, heading for the door on the opposite wall and exiting without a goodbye. I looked back at Dino and Bel before Ipin carted me away, regretting and not knowing what to do about this entire situation, and knowing that it was all my fault.
"Ipin," I called softly as we walked through the hallway, not looking over at the girl walking by my side, "thank you." She looked at me with large, sympathetic eyes, knowing exactly what I was thanking her for.
"It's the least I can do, after all you're done for me," she replied with a soft smile. "And besides, I'm truly happy you're here. I just wish the others thought the same, but they like to complicate things," she sighed.
"Why are you here?" I asked her next, recalling that in the original plot, she was in Japan with the others.
"Well," she started, scratching her head awkwardly and a sad look slipping onto her face, "after master… after master passed, you took full custody of me and took me in."
I blinked and frowned, having forgotten that Fon was dead in this world. My fist clenched, the concept fully hitting me. My master, someone I quickly came to see as a father figure, was dead. Gone.
"And so I spent a lot of time with you, Dino and Kyoya," she continued, "it was a lot of fun, and we helped each other get through master's death, but… then you died," she recalled sadly, "and I didn't know what to do. Dino looked after me from then on, since he felt responsible for me after you died. I'm glad he did, but he's still upset over what happened. It's sad," she concluded. "He's been so sad for so long." My gut twisted and I looked away from her guiltily.
"I'm sorry," I apologized. She turned to me and grabbed my hands, her sudden movements startling me.
"You have nothing to apologize for, Big Sister!" She called me out in a forced tone. "I know you and right now you're blaming yourself for all of this, and that's not it at all. You have nothing to apologize for," she snapped, resolve in her eyes. I blinked, not expecting this.
"Sor-" I stopped myself as she gave me another stern look. I smiled awkwardly at her, resisting the urge to apologize again, and instead opting to remain quiet. She puffed her cheeks and look away.
"You're still the same, Big Sister," she complained, releasing my hands and moving to a door a few feet away from us. Her expression softened as she put her hand on the handle, "but, I guess that's just a part of you, isn't it?" I followed her into the room with a sigh.
"Is this where you're staying?" I asked, noticing the room already seemed inhabited. She nodded, then returned to digging through a bag.
"I wanted to give this back to you before I forgot," she replied, her expression lighting up as she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a leather bound notebook and handed it to me. I received it, holding it tenderly, not knowing what to make of the object.
"It's yours," Ipin informed me, looking at it longingly. "I was scared when you gave it to me to keep safe," she admitted awkwardly, "and I was right to be, since that was you saying goodbye." I frowned, not liking the fact that my death has become a constant topic of conversation.
"What is it?" I asked, hoping to change the subject as I opened the notebook.
"Notes from your future self," Ipin explained. "Most of it's about flames and your boxes. I think you gave those to Zhanna and Kyoya though…"
"Dayita gave them to me," I informed her, bringing the objects out of my coat as evidence. She blinked at them, the smiled brightly.
"So you have them? That's great! Then we have time for you to get to know them before the attack!"
"The attack?" I repeated, eyebrow raised. Ipin nodded.
"The Vongola retaliation against the Millefiore," she informed me. "It's happening in five days."
"The fuck do you want?"
"As always, you have the most graceful greetings, Zhanna," Dayita replied coolly as the Russian on the screen in front of her stared the illusionists down. "I just assumed that you would like to be informed about Nikita arriving from the past, but if you don't want to associate with me, I u-"
"Shut the fuck up and explain, bitch," Zhanna sneered, her eyes narrowing. Dayita's lip curled, knowing that she had the boss's full attention.
"That doesn't make sense, Zhanna!" A figure popped up behind Zhanna, leaning over the back of the couch she was seated on.
"You can't tell someone to shut up and then explain!" Another figure inputted, popping up on the assassin's other side. Zhanna's eye twitched and she turned to them.
"Fuck off, you two!" She barked, causing Dayita to giggle.
"I had forgotten you had such amusing cousins, Zhan-Zhan," the Indian mused.
"You said something about Nikita, right?" Sasha asked, mirroring their twin as the two jumped over the couch to sit beside their cousin, whose eye merely twitched in response.
"She's come to the future? That's great!" Shura piped.
"Like hell it's great," Zhanna snapped at them, mentally reminding herself not to wring their necks then and there. "She killed herself so Byakuran couldn't get to her. Now, that her younger self is here, that means nothing."
"Oh? What's this?" Dayita sneered, a cold aura surrounding her that caused even the twins to quiet. "You don't think I can protect her?"
"Her death better not have been for nothing," Zhanna shot back, matching the illusionist's aura with her own glare. "Although I'd love to see the brat to knock some sense into her, her presence doesn't affect the plan," Zhanna continued after a tense silence. "Let the Varia know that we'll go on with the attack on our front, and meet up if there's time."
"You sure you guys can handle it?" Dayita purred, titling her head and smiling in a mocking manner. "There's so few of you now, after all. Oh, how far the once great Giegue has fallen."
"Fuck off," Zhanna growled. "It's not like you've been much help, being the failure of an illusionists you are." Dayita frowned, not liking being reminded of the incident.
"One out of two isn't failure, Ursa," she reminded the woman on the screen coldly.
"It sure is in my eyes," Zhanna growled back. The twin's remained silent through this exchange, knowing not to get in their dispute.
"And you better not fucking fail in protecting her," Zhanna reminded the Indian with narrowed eyes. "I'll come after you and rip you to shreds personally."
"Of course," Dayita smiled, returning to her causal mood, and completely forgoing her dangerous aura. "I'll be sure to oversee her protection personally."
"Bel-sempai?"
Prince the Ripper gave no heed to the illusionist as he continued to throw knifes at the Millefiore symbol printed on the paper stuck to the wall. "You okay, sempai?" Fran asked again. "Aren't you happy that Nikita's back?"
The knife throwing became more vigorous as the prince frowned, mentally asking himself the same question. He scowled and flames glittered on the blade of his knife, hitting his target with potency, and catching the symbol on fire, quickly turning the paper into nothing but ashes. Bel clicked his tongue and pushed himself up, the scowl still evident on his face, and left the room in a storm, pushing roughly past Lussaria as he entered. Lussaria frowned and looked at Fran.
"What's wrong with Bel?" Fran shrugged in response, as blasé as ever and plopped down on the couch where the prince was formerly sitting.
"I don't know," he admitted truthfully, "but he got all mad when I mentioned Little Sis."
"Oh," Lussaira said, putting a hand on his cheek, "I forgot! You weren't there were you?" Fran looked back at him, slightly raising an eyebrow in question. "Bel and Cloud had a fight right before…. Well, right before she died," Lussaria recalled with a frown.
"A fight?" Fran repeated, in a tone as close to disbelief as he could get. Lussaria nodded sadly.
"It was awful," Lussuria noted. "They were arguing and yelling; in fact, I'm pretty sure it was the first and only fight they had." Fran blinked taking in this information, almost not believing that the two in question ran into conflict.
"What was it about?" Fran asked logically.
"I don't know for sure," Lussaria started with a sad sigh, "but, from what I gathered, it was about her going to negotiate with Byakuran."
"Ah," Fran said, "so sempai thought that he could stop her?"
"Mm-hm," Lussaria hummed in agreement, still frowning.
"That's stupid," Fran stated blankly, leaning his head back and staring at the ceiling. "No one can stop nee-san when her mind's made up."
"With how close they were, you would think he'd learn that by now," Lussaria noted, putting a hand on his cheek. "But it's sad. And now that younger-Nikita's here, it must be driving him mad. It's bothering all of us," Lussaria pointed out, "It's so strange to see her now, even if she is younger. It's not natural, especially since a lot of us just accepted her death. Poor Bel…. Poor Dino. He has it worse than anyone, to see his dead sister again."
"She's not the same," Fran corrected.
"Hm?"
"She's not his younger sister," Fran restated, not even bothering to look at Lussaria. "This is the Nikita from ten years ago; not the Nikita that died. They're two completely different people," Fran explained stoically, "not the same person at all."
I laughed, and held out a hand, which Ipin gladly took. I pulled her up and patted her on the shoulder.
"As I expected," I hummed, wiping the small bit of sweat off my brow, "your skills are amazing."
"I feel like I should be saying that, Big Sister," Ipin corrected me. "I had forgotten you were so strong." I laughed.
"Strong? Me?" I waved my hand in the air dismissively. "I'm just fresh out of training; still on high alert," I brushed it off, putting my hands behind my head. "Anyways, I'm glad I went into this expecting a lot out of you. Even when you were little, you showed so much potential." Ipin blushed and looked away, embarrassed by my praise.
"It's nice sparring with you again, Big Sister," Ipin added, smiling softly. "I have always enjoyed our spars, even though I never won," she laughed light-heartedly, then she scratched her chin and added, "and I kind of wanted to see where you were at, since you were younger. The older you… she stopped fighting for a long time. She was always too busy to spar, and she spent most her time negotiating. I had always wondered why she even bothered with box weapons…" she trailed of sadly. I frowned, once again being reminded of the awkwardness and sadness my mere presence caused.
"Ah, that's right," I brought up, attempting to change the subject, "you were going to teach me about these box weapons, right?" Ipin blinked, then nodded quickly, blushing.
"Sorry, Big Sister," she apologized, "I had forgotten why we came in here in the first place."
"So you know about these box weapons?" I asked, walking over to the jacket I had placed in the corner of the training room and bringing out the boxes and rings.
"Well," Ipin started, her eyes darting away, "kind of." I blinked at her, giving her a confused look as I walked back.
"What do you mean kind of?" I questioned her.
"You- your older self didn't really use them that much," she admitted sheepishly, "and so I've only ever seen her open them once, and that was back when you - she first got them. So, I just know them from when I was introduced to them," Ipin explained, then concluded, "so I've never seen them in battle. Maybe Miss Dayita would know more about them," she tried, "since it was her brother who helped design them. I remember you saying that they were specially made for you." I groaned loudly.
"I really don't want to go looking for Yita," I complained, having a feeling that it would take some time to find her, especially if she didn't want to be found. "Let's just jump straight into it," I suggested, putting on the rings. Ipin frowned.
"I don't think that's good idea," she warned. I waved her off, admiring the rings on my fingers.
"Sure it is," I assured her, holding up the purple colored box. Ipin blinked in surprised as purple flames lit up one of the rings on my finger.
"You've used flames before?"
"I've already worked with Verde on summoning flames," I informed her, "and with the amount of concentration it takes to use my gloves, summoning flames to light a ring is nothing. I just put the flames in the box, yeah?" She nodded hesitantly. I stared at the flames, then the box, wondering again if this was a good idea.
"Maybe we should wait on Miss Dayita, or someone else that knows what the boxes do," Ipin suggested. I frowned, not wanting to deal with others, who seem to only want to think of me as dead; they were still mourning me, I realized all at once. They were still mourning me, even though I was right in front of them. And that offended me, I came to the conclusion. That fact offended me for a reason that I couldn't quite place.
"Fuck it. I don't want to deal with them," I admitted truthfully I scowled, and glared at the flames, which sparked, feeding off the emotions and frustrations I was putting into it. I shoved the flames into the opening before I could change my mind.
I dropped the box suddenly and scrambled back as bamboo shoots sprung out of it. I only hoped Ipin did the same as more bamboo filled the space in front of me, forcing me to retreat. Tripping over my own feet and my vision becoming unfocused, I fell to the floor, my breath becoming labored and panic getting to me as the bamboo continued to grow, harshly penetrating the wall closest to it. I blinked, then looked down at the ring, still lit with purple flames on my finger. I eventually had enough sense to stop feeding flames into the ring, which in turn, caused the bamboo to stop growing. I let out a relieved, large breath of air, and fell back to where I was laying on the floor, feeling rather weak and clammy.
"….Ipin?" I called out hesitantly, once I got my breath back.
"I'm okay, Big Sister!" A small voice called from the other side of the mass of bamboo my box weapon had made. I pushed myself up, ignoring the dizziness as a result. I blinked, staring at the large clump of bamboo that took up an impressive portion of the room. Once I was no longer concerned about Ipin, who was now navigating her way through the edge of the clump, jumping over the shoots that had lodged themselves into the wall, I examined the damage they- I did.
It scared me actually, I realized when I saw how easily the shoots broke through the wall. I glanced down at the ring in my hand, then back to the fallen box in front of the clump where I had previously dropped it. Did my box weapons really have that much power?
"You look terrible!" Ipin frowned, running over to me, now clear of the mess I had made. "Are you okay?"
"I think so?" I tried, gladly excepting her hand and pulling myself up. "A little light headed, but fine," I assured her, and yet still feeling clammy and slightly woozy. Ipin's eyes narrowed and her frown deepened.
"I'm taking you to Lussaria," she concluded, throwing my arm over her shoulder and slipping her own around my waist.
"Whoa, whoa," I called, attempting to pull myself back, but finding her grip around my waist rather hard to break. "Come on, Ipin," I reasoned with her, giving her a weak smile, "I'm fine! I'm totally fine," I said again, still pushing away from her.
"You're an idiot if anything, Big Sister!" she retorted, her features beginning to turn angry. "I told you we should have waited, and now you're weak from flame exhaustion!"
"I wouldn't go as far to call it flame exhaustion," I argued. "Trust me, this is nothing, compared to what I've done before." Her expression dead-panned and I froze.
"Big Sister," she muttered, "you really are an idiot." I sighed in defeat, and gave up trying to fight against her, letting myself lean against her as we made our way out of the room.
"I know, Little Sister, I know."
"Darling, you're so beat up!" Lussaria whined, as he prodded my side. I winced, and leaned away, opting to looking around the infirmary as opposed to meeting the accusing stares of the other two occupants of the room. "Why on earth do you have so many injuries?"
"Give me a break," I argued, crossing my arms so he could no longer poke at my midsection, now dressed with new bandages along with my torso, "I just got out of training," I excused myself lamely.
"What kind of training were you even going through?" Ipin asked, frowning and taking one last peek at my bandages before I moved put my shirt back on.
"Okay, so maybe the training was a bit extreme," I started, only to be cut off by Lussaria.
"Hun', you have half healed stab wounds covering your sides," he reminded me.
"But, it was worth it," I continued, shooting him a soft glare. "What I got from the training was worth it. And besides, I'm totally fine now. Flame exhaustion totally gone."
"I suppose so," Lussaria hummed thoughtfully. "All the symptoms are completely gone now. But, those wounds still bother me, especially that older one on your chest; it's has such a strange pattern, I can only guess what you got it from."
"Zhanna," I said with a sigh. "I got it from Zhanna."
"You mean Ursa? I thought you two were on good terms?" Ipin paled, and she gave me knowing look.
"That wouldn't happen to be form the time she 'defibrillated' you, would it?" She questioned hesitantly.
"It's exactly from the time she defibrillated me," I affirmed her. "And it was not pleasant at all, so I wouldn't like to dwell on it." I turned to Lussaria again. "Now, are you done mothering over me? I want to get back to training with m-"
"Why is she in the infirmary?"
The three of us blinked, and looked at the doorway, where an angered Dino stood, with Romario behind him. I winced as our eyes met, and looked away, not even daring to look at Romario to see the hurt and shock in his eyes I just knew were there.
"Is she hurt? What happened?"
My fist tightened, and I didn't even bother looking up at him. The time it took for Lussaria to examine me only gave me more time to dwell on their treatment of me since I had arrived, which meant my frustrations and angers had only grown stronger. Ipin and Lussaria were tolerable, and yet, I still caught them looking at me with sad looks; as if they were still in mourning. They were still mourning my death, I corrected myself. I was ashamed that I was angry because of that.
"Why do you care?" I mumbled. His movements froze. "Why do you even care?" I asked, louder, actually looking up at him with angry eyes. He flinched, not even wanting to look his dead sister in the eyes; not wanting to look me in the eyes. "Everyone has been treating me like I'm dead since I've came here," Ipin looked away guiltily as I pointed this out and Lussaria shifted away, frowning, "and you haven't even bothered to try to talk to me since you saw me," I reminded him, knowing how cold I was being towards him, but now, in this moment not caring.
His hollow eyes looked away and I scowled at the reaction, realizing he was going to keep this up, realizing he was going to continue to avoid this problem and not even try to face me, not even going to look me in the eyes just because I reminded him of someone I wasn't.
I blinked, feeling this was all too familiar. I pushed myself off the bed, and stormed passed him, understanding all at once why I hated this; why I couldn't stand seeing my brother like this. I nearly pushed past Romario, not bothering to meet his sad gaze. I didn't look back, I couldn't possible look back as I came to this sickening realization.
"You're just like Papa."
"Fuck. Fuck it. Why can't I cry over this…?" I muttered sadly, hugging my knees and leaning against the back of the door to my temporary room. " It sure would fucking help," I mumbled miserably, glancing around the room once more, not wanting to go outside of the boundaries I had set for myself. I didn't want to deal with anyone at the moment.
All the people I had been close to in my timeline considered me dead, and the few who didn't look at me like I was a ghost, I felt like I didn't know.
There was no comfort in this future. But was their ever comfort in war?
I laid my head on my knees once more, going back over the conversation (could I even call it that?) with Dino early. I scowled, disappointed in myself, feeling extremely guilty for my harsh words.
But they were true. Everything you said was true.
I frowned, knowing the thought was not my own.
"The last thing I need is your voice in my head, Hannah," I reminded her out loud. My eyes wandered around the room once more, narrowing when they landed on a familiar notebook on the bed. Pushing myself up and walking over to retrieve it. I opened it up and began scanning the pages, instantly recognizing my own familiar scrabble, switching between different languages. My eyes drank in the information regarding flames and my own box weapons. Eventually I sat down on the bed while taking in this information, making a note to try these steps and theories out, eager to see the sketches of my box weapons come to life and be able learn how to use them.
"I might as well do what I do best," I muttered, brushing a lock of hair behind my ear as I quickly scanned the pages, flipping through them with ease, "and throw myself into training."
"Okay," I said, picking up the previously discarded box weapon, now back in the training room I managed to nearly wreck early. "Let's see if this actually works."
I scanned over the page of the book once more and then put it down, taking a deep breath before I put my lit ring into the box again, this time, completely and totally focused. The box opened and I put a hand on the bamboo, feeling a rush of energy, as the shoots phased into flames, and a majority retreating back into the box, leaving the rest to be transferred with me. My eyes widened and I moved my fingers tenderly, exhilarated by the rush of energy I received from the dormant flames that resided in the shoots I had created early when I unknowingly unlocked the box's defense.
I smiled widely, and then let out a laugh, overjoyed by the small bit of control and understanding I now had over the box. I sighed happily, then refocused on my new task. I lit up my ring, purple and blue flames dancing to life vibrantly, and focused just as the notebook stressed. I placed the rings into the box's opening once more, watching as flames leapt out of the box and a shape formed in front of me. I wisely remembered to stop feeding flames into the ring once the shape about a foot taller than me, recalling the consequences the notebook had warned of if I continued to give it flames. I looked up, meeting a large pair of dark eyes staring down at me, brimming with curiosity.
"Jian?" I asked the giant panda in front of me, hoping I got the name right. He sniffed once, and then promptly enveloped me in his arms, practically wailing and nuzzling his snout into my neck. I wriggled and writhed in his strong grip, attempting to push my face out of his fur in order to breathe.
"Jian! Fuck!" I called as he wailed more. I swear there were tears in his eyes and he hugged me tighter. "Jian, stop! I can't breathe!" I gasped as I was once again submerged in his fur. He stopped as my words seemed to reach him. He released me, then plopped down himself, sitting in front of me and looking at me guiltily, sniffing pathetically. I held up a hand, catching my breath as I leaned on my knees. He sniffed again, and rubbed his nose. He poked me lightly in the shoulder, as if checking to make sure he's okay. I looked up at him, and let out a relieved laugh.
"That notebook was right," I said, plopping down on the ground as well. "You're just a big crybaby, aren't you?" He grumbled and put both his paws over his snout, as if he were pouting. I laughed at his actions. "That was because you missed me, huh?" I asked quietly. He nodded.
"You won't treat me like I'm dead, will you?" I asked, a bit sadly. He huffed, and patted me on the head. Then pulled me closer to give me a much gentler hug. I blinked, then hugged him back. "I'll take that as a no," I muttered. He released me, then looked around as if confused. He called softly, then turned to me, looking me over. I was confused as he poked my jacket pocket, trying to tell me something.
"You're looking for Kashi, aren't you?" I realized, pinpointing his distress. He made a happy sound and patted me on the head once more. I huffed at his actions, already feeling much more welcomed by my box weapons that my own friends and family.
I brought out the other box, identical to Jian's with the exception of color. The panda watched intently as my sun ring sparked with yellow flames, and I inserted it into the box, focusing once more. A much smaller shape was released and was formed out of sun flames in front of us. I leaned forward as a red panda, its fur glittering with sun flames, uncurled itself as stretched, soon noticing me as well. It blinked at me, and stood up on its hind legs.
I froze as its paws stretched out, cupping my face. Kashi leaned forward and sniffed me once, almost touching my nose. Then, her features became almost angry, and I was promptly smacked by one of her small paws. I blinked, then gingerly touched the small marks she had left on my cheek as Kashi began angrily chattering at me. She promptly crossed her arms and looked away from me. I looked between her and Jian, confused by what had just happened.
"I'm sorry?" I tried, assuming that the red panda was waiting for an apology. She huffed, then barely turned back to me. She snorted, sighed, and dropped down to pad over to me, chattered, and patted me on the arm.
"Does that mean I'm forgiven?" I asked her, becoming slightly amused by her antics at this point. Kashi huffed, and jutted her chin up. I laughed and petted her head. She shook it violently, and gave me an angry look. Jian huffed and scooped the smaller animal in his arms. She squeaked as he did so, and looked almost embarrassed as he cuddled her, obviously missing her as well. I laughed, feeling happy for once, and perhaps truly happy for the first time since I had arrived in the future.
"I like you guys," I commented, giggling as Kashi squirmed out of Jian's grip and sprinted into my arms. I laughed again, and gently petted her head, and she preened in response. Jian rolled to his feet and padded softly over, leaning his rather large head on my shoulder lovingly.
"I think we'll get along just fine."
My eye twitched as my cheek was poked once again, and I lifted my hand to bat away the perpetrator.
"Kashi," I whined tiredly, "I told you I'm just resting my eyes…."
"I'm hurt, Little Sis. You've already forgotten my name." I batted my eyes, and groggily sat myself up, knowing for sure that that was not Kashi responding.
"Fran…" I mumbled, then blinked again, recognizing my mind garden. I look over at Fran sitting next to me, and Hannah in front of me, who looked away guiltily, almost as if she were embarrassed for some reason or the other. "Dammit," I muttered, rubbing my eyes, "I must have fallen asleep while training."
"I'm not surprised, Little Sis," Fran noted blankly, "You snuck out pretty late to go train, after all."
"I had to wait until at least Ipin went to bed," I explained myself. "I didn't want to deal with anyone." Someone chuckled from behind me, the noise all too familiar and recollecting.
"Kufufu….Oh? So you don't even want you deal with me?" A voice called form behind me. I blinked, and relief washed through me. I turned around almost hesitantly, on the verge of disbelief. Mukuro Rokudo, ten years older than the teen I was so familiar with, gave me a coy smirk as I turned to full face him.
"It's been too long, Little Cavallone, too long indeed."
Haru's Haru-Haru Interveiw, Dangerous!
"Yes! Welcome back to Haru's Haru-Haru Interveiw, dangerous!" the young girl announced from the stage. "Today our guest is a good friend of mine, and close to many others."
"It's amazing how many people she knows," Reborn chirped form his chair, "with how anit-social she was growing up."
"I see you're already insulting me," a voice called down as a figure was lowered in the box.
"And here she is now," Haru called, gesturing to her as the container met the ground, "Nikita Cavallone, or as many people know her as, Cloud! But," she said, looking between Reborn and Nikita, "I didn't know you two knew each other growing up."
"Of course," Reborn started, "I trained her older brother Dino, so she grew up watching my methods, and even helped out at times."
"Don't you mean forced me to help you out," Nikita corrected with sigh, crossing her arms and leaning on the railing of the box she was lowered in, "I didn't exactly help by my own will."
"So, Cloud!"
"Hm?"
"Since we're on the subject of your childhood, what did you like to do?"
"Like hobbies and stuff?" the girl repeated, tilting her head. Her eyebrows drew in as she thought. She hummed thoughtfully. "I guess I like to read. I basically grew up living in our family's library."
"Ah, Cloud's a bookworm! How unexpected!" The Italian frowned.
"How is that unexpected?" She asked, almost offended, and yet Haru ignored her and moved on with more questions.
"What do you read about?"
"Mostly medical stuff, but I've been getting into books about mediation and martial arts lately," Nikita replied, shrugging.
"Ah! I forgot you knew martial arts!" Haru chirped, almost jumping up to Nikita. "Why don't you spice this interview up and show us a few moves?"
"I don't think that's a good idea," Nikita warned placidly.
"I think it's a great idea," Reborn disagreed. "Haru was right about this interview getting boring. You should show Haru a pressure point." Nikita looked at Reborn, then sighed, knowing that if the hitman wanted her to do it, she had no choice. She motioned for Haru to hold out her hand.
"What?!" Haru leaned back, "I-I didn't think that you'd do it on me."
"You're the one who wanted to see it," Reborn reminded her, all too happily.
"And it's not like anyone else is here," Nikita pointed out.
"Reborn is right over there!" Haru pleaded, no longer onboard with the idea. Nikita's expression deadpanned.
"You really think I would do something like this to him? And besides, it'll only be a little discomfort," She explained, going ahead and grabbing the other girl's wrist, "You just press this point, and you'll ju-" She stopped talking as Haru squeaked and fell to the ground. Nikita blinked, staring down at her with slightly widened eyes.
"Huh. I thought she would be stronger…."
"You would think so, with how much she jumps around," Reborn commented, staring down at the fallen hostess as well. "Well, I suppose that's our show this week," he shrugged, and then looked into the camera. "Ciao, ciao!"
"…..shouldn't we do something about her?"
AN:
And yet another chapter. I'm on a roll my friends, because we're snowed in probably until classes start, so I'm trying to plow through these rewrites/read throughs. I decided to stop the chapter here since that's a fucking great place to end. So yeah.
Hope you guys enjoyed it and be sure to tell me what you think! And thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows!
- Evenly