Chapter 16: Small Talk

"I cannot stand small talk, because I feel like there's an elephant standing in the room shitting all over everything and nobody is saying anything. I'm just dying to say, 'hey, do you ever feel like jumping off a bridge?' or 'Do you feel an emptiness inside your chest at night that is going to shallow you?' But you can't say that at a cock tail party."

-Paul Gilmartin

"And where the fuck have you been?" Squalo shot at Dayita, who replied with an unimpressed look. "If you're sticking around, then we're putting you to use. You should have been at the briefing." Laughing, she waved him off, causing more anger on his part.

"Relax, Squ-Squ!"

"Don't fucking call me that!"

"While you were having your little get-together," she continued, as if he hadn't just snapped at her, and was now readied with his sword. "I was retrieving information my contacts received."

"Information?" Lussuria repeated, tilting his head. Squalo's eyes narrowed and Bel shifted behind me, crossing his arms.

"What kind of information?"

"Information that you would find especially interesting, your highness," She cooed, winking at Bel. Fran and I barely managed to give each other side glances, knowing exactly what information she was talking about. Guilt boiled inside me, but my features remained indifferent, having already discussed this with Mukuro.

"It seems as if your dear, thought to be dead brother is heading this operation on the other side," Yita bluntly stated, now idly inspecting her nails. Bel stiffened from behind me, and then bypassed me, knives in hand, moving towards Dayita.

"Explain," he hissed, holding a knife at the space next to her.

"And none of your usual bullshit," Squalo added, ready to attack the illusion I assumed Dayita had made.

"Turns out, your brother isn't dead," Dayita shrugged casually, "and is the real commander of this operation. And don't be so surprised that I know about your past, Bel!" She laughed, patting his cheek, then promptly stepping back to avoid his attack. "I know so many things, after all."

"And what the fuck do you want us to do with this information?" Squalo asked, still wary of the illusionist, and miffed now that her illusion had been dispelled.

"How should I know? And why should I care?" Dayita sighed. "I just assumed that you would like to know. He's apparently the storm funeral wreath if that's interesting," she added, twirling a finger around one of her dark locks of hair that fell out of her braid. Squalo huffed, already fed up with dealing with her.

"Why should we trust you?" He asked her. "How the fuck did you get this information anyway?"

"I have my ways," Dayita said smugly, "and as for trusting me, you shouldn't. That doesn't make true information any less true, however."

Bel clicked his tongue and put his weapons away and Squalo mirrored his actions, both well aware that they weren't getting anything else out of her. Dayita hummed happily and bounced to my side, slipping her arm around my waist and pulling me towards her.

"Besides, I'm only here to make sure Nike's safe," she cooed, leaning her head on my shoulder. I sighed, and casually pinched a pressure point under her arm, causing her to squeak and let go of me. She puckered her lips and pouted at me.

"If Rasiel's really alive…" Bel muttered darkly, trailing off with a scowl on his face. "I buried his body myself, there's no way he could have survived."

"If he is alive though," Squalo input, in deep thought himself, "there's no doubt that that bastard Byakuran had something to do with it. Either way, we'll continue with the plan. All that's changed is that we know who we're fighting," Squalo concluded, moving forward once again.

Bel clicked his tongue and followed, along with the rest of the group. Fran met my eyes once more and I looked away, stepping in front of him.

I was still feeling guilty, after all.

"What do you mean 'leave it to Dayita'?"

"I assure you, little Cavallone," Mukuro said, leaning back in his throne, "there are no illusions to my words; I mean just what I say."

"Yita's got it handled," Fran put in from his position, lying on the grass beside me. Hannah shuffled from my other side, having been acting strange ever since Mukuro's return.

"But I'm the one with the information," I said. "I can't just keep it from them, especially now that I'm here. This isn't like the last two arcs, all these bad things aren't needed, they don't need to happen," I argued. "Let me help, Mukuro."

"What? So you can be killed again?" Mukuro asked coldly. I bit my bottom lip and looked away, the air turning sharp around us. "I will not allow you to involve yourself so deeply like before. That woman has means of obtaining the information, and if those means lack, I have it in my power to lead her there, even in my slightly weakened state."

"Slightly?" Fran repeated, then rolled his body over to avoid the trident that was now embedded in the ground where his head had been. "Isn't that a bit of an understatement, master?" Mukuro clicked his tongue, then looked back at me.

"I will not allow you to become involved again," He stated. I opened my mouth to argue once more, but Mukuro slammed the butt of his newly reformed trident on the ground, causing a loud, metallic echo to sound throughout the garden.

"And that," Mukuro said coolly, "is the end of it."

"This is going so much smoother with your help, Nikita dear!" Lussuria called happily from behind his box weapon, who was healing those with small wounds. "I'm so glad you're here to help~"

"I might as well be doing something," I sighed, closing up the wound I had been working on. The man let out a relived breath, and took the rag he had been biting down on out of his mouth. He tenderly checked his side and looked up at me with amazement. I shooed him off before he could say anything, motioning for the woman with a dislocated shoulder to approach me. Dayita loudly sighed in a bored manner from her position leaning on the wall. Ignoring her, knowing that she only wanted attention, I focused fully on relocated the shoulder.

"I'd be swamped without you here," Lussuria assured me as the long haired and finger nailed subordinates walked off, "As long as you're taking care of the worse injuries and I get the smaller ones, we'll be done in no time. Hm?" Lussuria tilted his head and put his hand on his ear piece. However, with how loud Squalo was, I could clearly hear his through the ear piece.

"Levi, Lussaria. Discovered a 6 funeral wreath. That woman was right after all. Go support Bel and Fran!"

"Levi's busy. The north side just exploded, the guards are done for," Lussuria reported.

"What?"

"Levi has already gone there... However, with Nikita's help, we've been able to heal a lot and there are only a few left, even with the ones coming in," Lussuria said, not hiding the obvious fact that he wanted to go and fight.

"…. Is that bitch still there?"

"Right here, Squ-Squ!" Dayita called loudly. I could hear Squalo grumble something, and then he came to a decision.

"Fine. Lussuria, go back up Bel and Fran; we need to take out the funeral wreath as soon as possible. Give the brat an ear piece first, then get moving." Lussuria, already practically brimming with excitement from being able to fight, dug an ear piece set out and handed it to me. I set it up quickly, still annoyed with the whole situation as I watched Lussuria go with a wave and a wink.

"Let me guess?" I asked sourly, "Sit here and heal like a good little girl?"

"And not a thing else," Squalo affirmed. "I'll personally slice you to bits if you disobey orders. If anything happens, go to boss. You got it, brat?"

"… fine," I sighed, still miffed.

"Stay the fuck where you are brat!" Squalo finished. I sighed again, and crossed my arms. Dayita giggled at my childish reaction.

"Poor Nike," she teased. "Grounded from fighting."

"Whatever," I said, gesturing for the next injured subordinate as the woman with the now relocated shoulder thanked me. "I'm just glad I'm able to do something," I admitted, finding comfort in healing. "I'd go insane if I couldn't do anything to help."

"Insane, hm?" Dayita mused, her eyes lighting up. "Ha! You don't know the word, Nike!"

"Hm?" I gave her a side-glance, moving on to another patient.

"It would be fun," the dark-skinned woman hummed, almost dreamily. "To show you what insanity really is."

Dayita and I glanced at each other, confirming that we both felt the same thing. I scowled, knowing I wasn't at my full capacity since I had just gotten through with healing so many, but none the less, I grabbed Jian's box from my pocket, and opened it, focusing solely on defense.

"Brat! Can you hear me?"

"Already on it," I affirmed, as the bamboo shoots covered the entire room, the other subodinates watching in amazement. I scowled as I felt the impact against the walls of the bamboo, knowing I couldn't protect the entire castle. I could only hope that Xanxus was okay. Despite being well aware he could take care of himself, I still worried about the boss. Letting out an almost ragged sigh, I called the bamboo back to me, relief filling me as I felt most of the flames returning.

"You guys all right?" I called to those behind me, who shakily nodded. I frowned, looking at the rubble of the castle around us, the edge of the 'box' I had created making a definite line around us. My frown deepened when I realized that I had lost connection with the others through my head piece. Right as I noticed Dayita was nowhere to be found, I stiffened as two presences came closer and an eerie voice sounded.

"I was wondering what that strange shape was in the rubble. It must be fate that it's the target that Byakuran wanted," a voice drawled, tinging with familiarity. My eyes narrowed as I took in the two hovering the air before us, one wearing a sickening grin I was all to used to, and yet it took on a ghastly shape now.

"You're Bel's brother," I stated, box weapon ready in hand, Squalo's words ringing through my head. "Rasiel, right?"

"Hm?" his grin widened. "It doesn't matter now, ushehshe! He's dead, so I'm the official king now!" A sick feeling hit me suddenly, but I reminded myself that Rasiel only saw what he wanted to see.

"You were the rightful heir to begin with," Olgert stated from his side.

"Naturally," Rasiel stated, leaning back in his throne confidently. "And now all that's left to do is to capture this brat. The rest of the castle is completely crushed after all, ushshe! Olgert," he motioned with his hand. "Take care of this."

"Of course, my king," he bowed slightly, and released his box weapon once more. The subordinates behind me stepped back, but I quickly put my ring into the box again, this time allowing Jian to come out. Adjusting to the situation quickly, the giant panda hit the ground harshly with his paws, causing a spurt of bamboo to spring forward and penetrate the rain elephant.

The animal cried out sharply as Jian put his paws on the shoots, activating the cloud flames in them. Olgert seemed to realize what Jian was doing as he panicked and quickly called the animal back into its box. Reabsorbing the shoots, a considerably larger Jian remained on his hind legs and let out a loud sound of defiance and then promptly slammed his front legs back onto the ground, taking a defensive stance in front of me.

"That box weapon…" Olgert muttered, staring at Jian in shock. "It has two attributes!"

"Specially made," I said, repeating the words I was told before, "just for me." While his butler had a worried look on his face, Rasiel's expression remained bored.

"My king, wh-"

"So, the brat has a unique box weapon," Rasiel admitted, with a causal wave of his hand. "That means nothing to the king; only that Byakuran's package will be delivered slightly damaged," he finished with a nasty grin, sending chills down my spine, "that's it."

My eyes widened as a sudden grogginess hit me and I reprimanded myself for forgetting Rasiel's box weapon. I coughed up blood unexpectedly and fell to my knees, my hands numbly moving to my ears to feel blood dribbling out of them as well. I breathed out deeply, hoping the others with me were only affected to the extent I was as well, hoping they wouldn't die because of me. My hands remained over my ears and I bit my lower lip harshly from the pain of healing them. My hearing returned slowly, but my vision still blurred. With my hearing however, I did manage to hear someone approach, and from that, I could guess when to push myself back to put distance on between us.

"Hm? Ushehshe, what's this? I knew your older self could heal from the file, but I wasn't sure about this version," Rasiel's voice sneered from above. I covered one eye and managed to see blurry shapes of Olgert on the ground and Rasiel remaining on his throne in the sky. I bit back a sharp cry when I realized how much it hurt to heal my eyes.

"You healing yourself makes it easier, though," Rasiel stated thoughtfully, "now Byakuran won't be angry because you're injured."

"From what you're saying," I said, now with my vison completely intact, and eyeing a groggy Jian pushing himself up from the ground, sniffing the air for me. "It sounds like you think I'm coming with you willingly."

"I can keep this up for as long as I want to," Rasiel jeered back, "and while you can keep healing yourself, those behind you don't have the same luxury."

I paled, remembering them, remembering those I had just finished healing. I scowled, seeing the truth of his words.

"So," He continued, knowing he had me pegged, "either come quietly, of we can continue this game. It's up to you, princess."

I glared at him, and he simply grinned in return, reminding me too much of Bel. I held up my open box weapon and called Jian back into it. Olgert lifted his chin and approached me once more, thinking I had given up.

I recalled Squalo's earlier command that if anything went wrong, go to straight to boss. I glanced over in the direction I was sure Xanxus was, assured he had survived the collapse of the castle.

I took one look in that direction and promptly ran the opposite way.

Hauling ass through the forest reminded me of training with Zhanna and her family, which I reminded myself, compared to this situation, was worse. Except for the fact that a giant elephant landed in front of me. That part was not part of my Russian-assassin training.

I slid to a stop, and dove out of the way as the elephant charged forward. I looked back, scowling to see Olgert and an amused looking Rasiel once again. However, I had received a small victory for myself, having gotten them away from the others, assuring myself that I would be the only one injured by Rasiel's box weapons.

"The king is becoming bored with this game," Rasiel stated, idly. "Why don't you just give up? The Vongola is crushed anyways; there's no one left to protect you."

"Who says I need protection?" I shot back hotly, that particular nerve being hit a little too much lately.

"You could have all the protection you want, princess," Rasiel taunted, a large grin on his face, "but a king gets what he wants."

"And what a boring ruler that is," a voice drawled from behind me, as a figure revealed themselves, "one who gets what they want without coming down from his thrown. All the best rulers," Dayita said, slipping her arms around my waist and hugging me from behind, "come down from Olympus to show off a bit, you know?" I squirmed out of her grip and stepped away from her.

"Where the fuck have you been?" I hissed, glaring at Yita now, "And why did you suddenly disappear when we were attacked?" She shrugged, and laughed lightly.

"I only wanted to wait until you led them far enough away so the others wouldn't be affected," Dayita explained lightly. "I knew that you wouldn't go to Xanxus because you didn't want anyone else to get hurt."

"You knew about his box weapons?" I repeated.

"I know a lot of things, Nike," she replied, shifting her eyes back to Rasiel and Olgert. "Now, run along so the grown-ups can play, all right?"

I huffed, miffed by her comment and opened my mouth to retort, but froze and she fixed me with a stare.

"Nikita," she said coldly, sending shivers down my spine, "leave. Now."

I nodded quickly and began stepping backwards, before turning fully and running, reforming a plan in my head to find Bel, Fran and Lussuria. Even though I wanted to stay, I had full confidence in the illusionist.

Dayita could take care of herself.

Rasiel glanced between the two below him, and he quickly looked over the newcomer. He smirked, simply viewing the dark-skinned woman as another person standing in his way that a king could easily crush. Olgert however, looked over the woman with caution, taking in her confident air and smug expression.

"So, how about it, Goldilocks," Dayita jested, smiling brilliantly, "you want to play?"

"A king doesn't bore himself playing with peasants," Rasiel scoffed, motioning for Olgert. "Crush her."

"…yes, my king," Olgert obeyed, pushing aside the dangerous and unnerving feeling her was getting from the woman below them. He quickly obeyed, sending his rain elephant to charge once more, but was surprised when the two figures burst into mist on contact.

"An illusion?" Olgert realized and began looking around. Rasiel frowned, not remembering ever sensing any mist flames. Giggling erupted from beside the two and they looked over to see the woman casually sitting on a branch, swinging her feet in the manner of a child.

"If you're wondering when I cast the illusion," she informed them, "it was the moment you first arrived." Her figure once again faded as the elephant destroyed the tree she had been sitting in.

"And if you're wondering if knowing you're under an illusion will help you break it," her voice sounded again, this time leaning against a tree on their other side. "I can assure you, your highness," she called, sending him a bright, absolutely terrifying smile, "it won't."

Rasiel clicked his tongue having become fed up with her games.

"Enough is enough," He growled, activating his own box weapons again. "Die." He watched with satisfaction as the woman's head nearly imploded in front of them and her body dropped limply to the ground. He hummed with pleasure, and snickered. "Ushehe… now to find that brat. She probably ran off when we were in that illusion."

"Oh, she did," Dayita said, startling the two from her position in another tree. "And knowing her speed, she's long gone by now." Rasiel glared at the woman and looked back, noticing the body was still there. Olgert narrowed his eyes and looked between the two.

"But, how-"

"I have my ways, and my tricks," Dayita began, swinging her feet once more.

"I have my reason and manners," the mutilated body said, pushing itself up and staring eerily up at them.

"And there's not really much sense to any of it," another image of Dayita admitted from below them, in her original spot. "And the reason?" she asked, looking between her other images. They both shrugged in response, causing the first to smile. "For fun I suppose. And unluckily for you, I've almost had my fill with you two."

"Ushehe, as if you could defeat a king!" Rasiel said, still confident it was all one illusion. He activated his bats once more and sent out another round of storm waves, stronger than before. The figures didn't waver as their heads imploded once more, one even having the nerve to laugh at his futile actions.

"How fun! You think you can win!"

"It's cute isn't it?" The one from the tree asked.

"Olgert!" Rasiel called, "crush them all! Do it all at once!" Olgert immediately obeyed, summoning two more elephants, and sent them to crush each of the figures, two of which immediately disappeared on impact. Rasiel grinned confidently as the elephant returned near its owner, revealing an injured looking Dayita from under it.

"It was your mistake," Rasiel called, "to show yourself. I saw through your illusion immediately and I picked out the real one, ushehshe!"

"I'd expect nothing less from the king," Olgert agreed, and yet, continued to look around with caution, still feeling that something was wrong.

"Oh, that's adorable." Rasiel froze, his grin still plastered on his face, a single bead of sweat rolling down. "You think you can actually beat me."

A snap sounded through the forest, and everything, all the damage, the woman's dead body, all traces of the battle, were wiped away, evaporating into mist. Dayita sat with her legs crossed and hand on her chin thoughtfully, not even looking at her opponents.

"I suppose I could put you in an endless cycle of winning," she mused out loud, "but that's what I did last time, and I can't repeat a play like that so close together because that gets so boring. I could just cause a blood clot, I suppose," she thought, sending chill down Olgert's spine. She then shook her head.

"But that would be boring as well," she frowned and sighed, as she weren't playing with lives. "I will," she concluded, standing up, "just overwhelm them. Yes," she concluded, nodding, "that's always a fun way to go." She clapped her hands together, smiling brightly.

"I'll overwhelm their minds and drive them insane!" She then reached and retrieved a box weapon and two rings. Olgert narrowed his eyes, recognizing the rings easily.

"My king, those rings…" he warned, paling, "those are hell rings! She has two hell rings!" Rasiel frowned, realizing the danger of the situation, and yet, still convincing himself that he could handle it. He was a king, after all he continued to tell himself.

"Those may as well be illusions, Olgert," he reminded his butler. "Just quickly finish her." Olgert gulped, but none-the-less followed his orders.

"Oh, I assure you," Dayita called, deciding on one ring to wear and admiring it on her hand, igniting it with mist flames as Olgert's box weapon neared. "This is no illusion."

Vines sprang out from the ring on her hand, and encased the elephant completely. It shrieked and writhed while it was crushed and enveloped in the vines. Olgert and Rasiel wisely retreated a few feet.

"You do know," Dayota began as the vines retreated, leaving nothing but the bones of the animal, and then continued to wrap around everything, springing up from around her feet, until vines encased everything around the three, "that every hell ring has a story behind it? They're all so very interesting," she recalled lightly, "and so very different."

"I don't care for stories much," Rasiel spat, wanting to finish this fight. "Olgert," he commanded again, annoyance clear in his tone, "finish her. Crush her completely!"

Olgert nodded, and moved to attack, but a vine shot up and wrapped around his foot, causing him to yell out and it brought him roughly to the ground. As the vines moved over his butler, Rasiel paled, noticing that not only were vines constricting him, but also snakes, who were now making deep gashes and bites over Olgert's body as the man was sinking deeper into the mass of vines that now encased everything around them.

"Oh, but this one is so interesting," Dayita said, completely ignoring the screams of the man as the vines encased him, the thick ropes reaching out and grabbing his box weapons as well. Rasiel's throne shot up, dodging a vine that had reached for him.

He lit his storm ring, only to look around in hidden horror and his bats, too, were quickly being brought down by the vines. He was forced to leave his thrown soon enough, and scowled as the woman moved to sit in the now, vine-covered throne, making herself completely comfortable and looking at place in the position of power.

"There was a man who sought truth, a man who sought himself, and perhaps a power that was above himself," she began, watching with amusement as Rasiel frantically tried to avoid the vines that shot up around him, eventually making a web like structure, so he could not escape.

"There was a man who questioned everything, and a man who questioned himself. This man sought peace, and this man sought silence, and so he concluded himself, alone, in the jungle near his village for so long, for so very long, and he sat in silence, and questioned, himself, nature, a higher power, the man asked, and begged, and he wondered. Until, eventually, he had asked so much, and wondered so much, that he was devouring himself," she told, smiling a bit wider as Rasiel was dragged down by the web of vines that now encased him, screaming in agony as the vines completely crushed his legs and snakes slithered over his entire body.

"And while this man devoured himself he noticed that this jungle was being devoured too, by the life it had been giving to. The jungle was covered in plants and life and vines, and the man watched as the vines would slowly cover the jungle and everything it took life from day by day, and the man wondered too, if these vines, these magnificent pieces of life that stopped at nothing, could devour him too. And so, he roped his neck with vines and he remained there, letting the forest take him, and devour him, his spirit living on, taking on the vines will to devour everything as well. And what a sad story that is, isn't it?" She asked, now practically looking down at Rasiel as the vines covered him more and more, ignoring his screams and empty pleas.

"To let yourself be devoured, instead of devouring yourself. But, I guess…" she trailed off, watching from her throne as Rasiel was completely covered and crushed by the vines and snakes surrounding him, "that man is devouring you now, isn't he?" She trailed off into laughter, watching as Rasiel's pathetic, reaching hand was submerged.

She hummed happily, leaning her head back with her eyes closed, dispelling the illusion entirely around her, leaving two bodies, writhing in pain before her throne and absolutely no signs of her jungle of death and misery. Dayita looked down at her fallen opponents in cold amusement, appearing absolutely regal in the throne she has easily taken. She tilted her head and a large snake uncoiled itself from Rasiel's neck and made its way over to its owner, leaving behind two neat, bite wounds on the fallen commander's neck.

"Pathetic, aren't they Aashi?" Dayita asked the snake as it make its way up to her neck and draped itself across it comfortably, only lifting its head to nuzzle Dayita's nose affectionately. Dayita giggled quietly and shifted an open box weapon and two hell rings in her hand, neither of the rings having made its way onto her fingers.

"As if a king could possibly beat a queen such as myself."

I never expected a panda to be a good horse, but Jian had proven me wrong. After healing his eyes and ears from earlier, he had refused to go back into his box, whining loudly every time I made a move to call him back. After a few sniffs and a lot of panda eyes (which the notebook swore were more effective than puppy eyes), I eventually let him stay out. Somehow or another, him staying out led to me riding on top of him as we quickly made our way through the woods. One upside to this (besides me not having to walk) was that Jian could use his sense of smell to find the others. This had been going well at first, until Jian sharply turned, picking up a new scent and began bounding off in a random direction.

"Woa! Jian!" I called, having to wrap my arms around his strong neck so that I wouldn't fall off. "Slow, slow, slow!" He huffed and continued at the same speed, as if trying to tell me something. I grumbled as we burst into a clearing, only to be surrounded by Millefiore foot soldiers. "Dammit, Jian!" I whined. He huffed in response, but from the look her threw back at me, I could tell he felt guilty. He rose to his hind legs as our enemies noticed up and I slid off his back, landing in a squat and bringing out my guns, shooting the two soldiers who had tried to go on either side of Jian to get to me.

Putting all my frustrations into my battle persona, I fought coldly, having to remind myself of my morals to maim and not kill. It almost scared me how my anger had gotten to me in this fight, where I had been fully prepared the shoot a man in the face, but had realized what I had been about to do last minute, and instead kicked him in the neck. It scared me even when I realized that I was enjoying the rush the battle brought me, but I shoved that to the back of my head to deal with some other time.

I scowled when I realized their numbers weren't dwindling and that Jian was becoming smaller and smaller in size as he, too, took down our enemies with the moves my future self (and apparently, Fon, according to Ipin) had taught him. Disarming my opponent, I swung to take out a box weapon that leapt for Jian's throat, electrocuting it with the end of the pole. I dodged another swing at me and dove for Jian, rolling behind a tree as bullets followed our trail.

I shifted Jian in my arms, and he mewled, now the size a baby panda. I brought out his box to return Jian, but looked up, about to dive out of the way once more as a soldier stood in front of us, weapons raised. I froze as something tore through him, leaving a large, gaping hole in his chest. The body swayed and then dropped, leaving me and Jian to stare at it. I blinked again as a large light sparked to life from behind us, loud screams tearing through the forest. I got up, Jian still in my arms and peeked around the tree, seeing numerous charred bodies.

"Is that?"

"It is!" My head snapped up, towards the branch of the tree I had been hiding behind. Two figures jumped down and approached me, nearly bouncing up to me. I stiffened as they flung their arms around me and leaned into me, almost sending me down with the two's sudden weight.

"We haven't see you in so long!"

"You remember us, right?" I blinked as they pulled back where I could take in their skull masks covering their faces.

"Shura… and Sasha?" I guessed, not knowing who else they could be, and knowing that they seemed familiar.

"That's right!" The left said.

"You got it!"

"Why are you guys here?" I asked them, looking around to make sure there were no more enemies.

"We got done with one of our clean-ups earlier," the left explained, throwing their arm around me.

"So we decided to drop by to help you guys out," the right finished, mirroring their twin.

"Ah! This is Jian, right?" The left asked, pinching Jian's cheek.

"So cute!" The other completed. Jian mewled softly in complaint, but was really too shy to lash out at them.

"Wait, if you two are here," I questioned, shaking them off and turning to face them, "are the others here as well?"

"Yep!" Sasha confirmed. "Ah!"

"Here's mother right now!" The other finished, pointing behind me as a lanky figure jumped down from the trees, and sauntered over to us, a sniper rifle on her back. I smiled widely, completely relieved to see her.

"Inna!" I called and ran forward. Her hand reached out as I approached and she ruffled my hair. I laughed in response as the twins joined up, enjoying the presence of familiar people, who seemed like they haven't changed from my timeline.

'It's a pleasure to see you again, Cloud' Inna showed me on the screen of a PDA.

"Same here, Inna," I said, genuinely. "Where's Alik?" I asked, glancing around, half expecting the laid back weapons-specialist to jump out of the trees as well.

'He is with the captain of the Varia, aiding him on the east side.'

"Squalo?" I affirmed. She nodded, then turned to the twins, holding her PDA up to them. Their posture changed suddenly after reading it, becoming far more anxious and closed than I was used to.

"Ah, you see mother-"

"He was with us-"

"And then we sensed Cloud-"

"-and we got excited." Inna typed something else into her PDA with a cold aura around her.

"Yes, mother," the twins said together, bowing slightly. "We left him." At first, I thought Inna wasn't going to do anything. Then, she suddenly grabbed the twin's ears through their masks, and slung them into the forest again. "Yes, mother," they said sadly, before they left. "We'll go find him again." Inna nodded in approval and turned back to me. I blinked, not really knowing if I should question what happened or not.

'It seems that my children have left your sun guardian behind in the woods,' Inna typed, preventing me from having to ask.

"Ah," I replied numbly, "I see." Inna made a sighing motion with her body and shook her head. She began walking forward and motioned for me to follow. "Inna?" I asked her after a while. She tilted her head in acknowledgement. "What exactly are you guys doing here?" Inna quickly typed and held up the screen above her shoulder.

'We have been eliminating the Millefiore's other smaller forces and allies while the Vongola takes out the main forces. Being allies of the Vongola, this is how we are aiding them in their time of need with our specialty. With how our numbers have dropped,' she typed, 'it is all we can do to help.' My stomach twisted at her words.

"You've lost a lot…" I muttered sadly, shifting Jian on my arms. Inna nodded in agreement, her face remaining hidden by the mask as we stepped over bodies with gaping holes in them, no doubt thanks to the woman walking in front of me. Inna stopped and turned to me, holding the PDA up to my face.

'So have you.' I opened my mouth to respond, but froze as a harsh a brash presence made itself known. I moved to turn around but was roughly grabbed from the hood of Fran's Varia jacket and spun around, forced to make contact with angry, mismatched eyes. Jian grumbled at the sudden movement, but I hugged him tighter, much like he was a teddy bear.

"Brat," Zhanna sneered, the scars covering her face highlighting her expression. "You've got a shitload of explaining to do." I paled, and smiled at the woman nervously.

"Hey, Zhanna," I lamely greeted. "Long time now see, right? Well, for you at least…." I gulped as she frowned harshly. "That was the wrong thing to say, wasn't it?"

"Give me one good fucking reason," Zhanna spat as she glared at me hotly, "why I shouldn't punish you right here and now for what you did."

"To be honest," I breathed out, almost a laugh, "I don't really have one. Not a good one, at least," I added with a grin. "But, if you want, I could bullshit something right here and now for you."

Zhanna clicked her tongue, and promptly dropped me. I easily landed in a crouch, still cradling Jian.

"You're a little shit like always, little horse," Zhanna sneered, looking down at me, "'cept now your just… littler." She scrunched her nose. "And scrawny, as always." I frowned, practically pouting.

"I'm not that scrawny…" I whined, turning my head to the side only to see Inna making laughing motions. I gave her an offended glance. Zhanna sighed loudly, stretching her arms behind her head and yawning.

"I guess we should be regrouping back with tho-"

"Oh, no." We tensed as the voice sounded through the air around us. Zhanna shifted in front of me, placing herself between me and the image now flickering in front of us. I hugged Jian tighter, and he snuggled closer to me for comfort, mirroring my emotions.

My interactions with the man I saw in front of us echoed in my mind and it seemed that I was just now grasping the danger of the situation I was in. If this man, Byakuran, wanted me, then it was a miracle that I was not in his grasp. If I was in his grasp and he had the information I, the information Hannah possessed….

I understood all at once why my future self took her own life. And I understand that maybe, at this moment, I would be prepared to do the same, if not for the reminder that I had people left that I couldn't leave behind. I didn't like to think about the fact that my future self didn't believe the same.

"This is merely a little break. Both the main battle in Italy and the Melone Base in Japan… you have been most entertaining," Byakuran's smiling image allowed. Zhanna's eyes narrowed.

"Through the comm devices, huh?" She muttered darkly, then spat, glaring harshly at the image of the enemy. "He set up a fucking show."

"This pre-game battle had a very important purpose, you know. Like, you've shown me the true abilities of the Vongola's most powerful squad, as well as the location of Cloud." Our bodies tensed, as if Byakuran were actually here in person. My eyes widened slightly, looking straight through his, feeling as though we were actually making eye contact.

"You didn't think I forgot about you, did you, Cloud? Don't worry, we'll have our little talk eventually. And, of course, Shou's desperate act of trying to lie to me. Yup. Busted. Indeed, you've managed to carry out your plans very well, Shou. I didn't expect you to join forces with the Vongola in this manner, but I knew you would become my enemy sooner or later. Because, Shou, you have always looked at my actions and plans with disapproval since a long time ago. See? Well, whatever makes you happy. You'll soon see who's right and who's wrong. But, Shou, you really like living on the edge, don't you? The Vongola 10th boss is still a greenhorn. Yet, you've cast your fate in with him….."

My fists tightened, thinking of Tsuna, and the others. It almost felt selfish to forget about them. I barely jumped at Zhanna's hand on my shoulder. She moved her head in indication. I nodded, understanding we were moving. After returning Jian to his box, I set off after Zhanna, with Inna behind me. As we quickly moved through the trees, images of Byakuran passed, flickering, eerie, but his voice rang clear.

"…it's all too easy for me to continue the battle without a break, and crush the vongola completely…having so much fun so far….it's about time we had a proper match…a ceremony to celebrate the new world."

I was relieved when we reached the remains of the castle, seeing the rest of the Varia, along with Alik, Dayita and the twins waiting for us. Dayita smiled brightly and winked as we hit the ground, and the twin's waved ecstatically.

Alik nodded in indication from his position next to Squalo, and I knew that a reassuring smile was behind the skull mask he wore. Unfortunately, me looking towards Alik caught Squalo's attention. I was almost grateful when Byakuran began talking about the real funeral wreaths, for it took Squalo's glare off of me.

"….Of course, they are beautiful stones of rank A too, but the 7^3 are a lot more special than that…"

"Told you," Dayita hummed, indicating her head towards Squalo, who scowled in response.

"That would have been a lot more fucking useful earlier," he snarled at her. Dayita huffed and shrugged in response.

"…I've actually assembled another group in secret. I thought that if you met them directly, Shou, the excitement would be too much for you, but there's no need to hide them any longer. Let me introduce you to them," Byakuran continued as pictures were projected behind him. "They are the true Millefiore Family's six guardians. The real Six Funeral Wreaths. Yeap. They are the real ones chosen by me for the new world.…"

"So that's who we're really fighting," Bel noted as I came to stand by his side.

"Typical," Zhanna spat "He's been hiding his big guns like a fucking coward."

"Coward or not, he has the upper hand now," Squalo gruffly reminded them.

"…just choosing someone strong is useless, because the key points of the rings power is a stronger 'resolution'. Because of that, I did not just search within the mafias, I looked all over the world for strong people with 'resolution' surpassing normal people. Plus, it is those that will turn their 'resolution' in 'loyalty' towards me. The world is so big, thanks to that, I met them. For example, him," Byakuran gestured as the images behind his shifted until it showed a picture of the man with red hair, and then a peaceful landscape.

"As you people see, his hometown loves the nature that is so attractive and I told him 'can you let me see your resolution?'" The image flickered once more to show that same landscape completely ravaged by volcanoes and lava, destroying the once peaceful scene.

"He gave up his hometown for me. It's so scary, this is just something that happened not long ago. I didn't think that just showing his loyalty, he would destroy his village and the villagers that brought him up."

The screen switched once more, showing the same man from before casually bathing in a pool of lava. Bel whistled from beside me.

"These guys are on a whole other level, I'm assuming," Alik noted with slight amusement in his voice. My stomach twisted, and I looked away, pale. Fran put a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and stood closer to me.

"Hehehe, now you guys understand the unique powers of the Six Funeral Wreaths. Besides this, they had 5000 subordinates. Because there isn't any so we made it… Ah- it's becoming even more interesting! Last time I was always playing with Shou... do you still remember the game named 'Choice'? I am planning to make it real. Details will be informed 10 days later. I won't be moving during that, so rest properly. Oh, I really want to talk to you more but you all can't escape. The Melone base you are located is about to disappear. To be accurate, it's because of the super ring transmission system is moving. Nope. It only works with the object with such frame because it needs lots of time and powers, so a lifetime might not even see it once. So, see you in ten days later."

The image of Byakuran collapsed, causing the entire group to relax, if only a bit. It seemed as if the message had stirred us all. Squalo turned slightly, putting hand to his ear.

"Patch me through to those brats now!" He said into his com, presumably talking to Ipin. "I don't give a fuck, just do it!" There was a moment, and then Squalo began his message loudly, much to the irritation of the entire group.

"Voooi! It's fine, just let me through, damn it! You little bastards! Are you still alive!? Listen up! At this time, we, as the Vongola, are together in this!" My eyes wandered over to Xanxus, looking very much like he had just woken up from a nap. I paled as his eye twitched and his hand reached for a large piece of rubble placed conveniently by his chair. "So as for you little brats-gah!"

Squalo whipped around, holding his head, fuming and glaring at his boss.

"You asshole!"

Lussuria moved in quickly to subdue the captain. The twins, who had recently been preoccupied gushing over Lussuria's hair, were now giggling in amusement. They were silenced with a look from Inna, who was now listening intently to Xanxus as he spoke through a communicator.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi… have you become a little less immature yet? Show me that the Vongola in ten days time… will be the strongest!" With one motion, Xanxus crushed the device, sending Squalo into more of a fury.

"Squalo, calm down!"

"Let go!" Squalo yelled at Lussuria, "I wasn't done yet!"

"Ah, ah… he broke the wireless already," Fran noted.

"Squalo! Please calm down, I said!" Lussuria cried, struggling as he held Squalo back with both arms. "Nikita! Help me!" I glanced up from staring at Levi, who was laying on the ground, twitching, to give Lussuria a blank stare.

"I believe that I actually benefit from you holding him back at this point in time," I admitted, scratching my chin and looking away slightly. Bel tilted his head by my side.

"Hm? Why?"

"Don't you fucking think I forgot about you just because the shitty boss cut the line! I haven't forgotten how you disobeyed orders brat!"

"That's why," I pointed, leaning back slightly from Squalo's intense glare that was now directed at me. Bel frowned and looked down at me. I looked back up at him with a raised eyebrow, noting his irritation.

"You disobeyed orders?"

"….a little?" I started, a bit hesitantly. I continued my explanation, feeling a few intense gazes on me. "I kind of… maybe, ran off on my own to get Siel away from the base?"

"You did what?" Lussaria gasped, releasing Squalo promptly in order to hold the sides of his face. The sudden release sent Squalo stumbling forward, before he gracefully stabled himself. He glanced between Xanxus and me with growing irritation, deciding which one of us deserved his fury more at this moment. I paled as his eyes landed on me and narrowed. My saviors, however, came in a surprising form.

"Nikita! Nikita! Nikita!" Arms wrapped round me from both sides, and I was crushed in between the twins, who I now noticed to be slightly taller than me in their ten-years-later forms. They leaned away only to lock arms and continue to bounce in circles around me, blocking a very pissed off looking Squalo from me. I avoided eye contact with him by watching the twins.

"We got to get back to the base!" One chanted.

"Yeah! Right away!" The other agreed. I put one hand on each of their shoulders, steadying them in their trek. I laughed lightly after noticing Squalo huffing and backing off for now, turning to talk to Alik instead as they began walking. I also noticed Bel's sour mood as he followed the commander, but opted to ignore it for now.

"And why is that, exactly?" I asked as the twins wrapped an arm around my neck respectively and began walking with me as the group moved.

"Isn't it obvious, Nikita?" Shura asked in a teasing manner.

"Now that we're older and stronger," the other continued, both heads leaning in. I could practically feel the grins under their masks as they said their next line together.

"We totally have to fight you!"

The two reacted to each other much in the manner of wild animals, and if one were to focus on the simplistic nature of their personalities, they were. They remained tensed, posed, ready to rip the bare throat of the other at any moment if provoked. And oh, were they so easily provoked. And yet, even between predators there was room for respect, and a magnitude of respect lay between Zhanna and Xanxus.

Perhaps it was their similarities that drew the two bosses together, or their alignments in ideologies and thoughts. Xanxus regarded the Russian as one of the few bosses that didn't, in fact, pain him to meet with (this might, however, be due to the fact that their meetings always contained alcohol and Zhanna was one of the few bosses who had no problem keeping up with Xanxus in this aspect; she even threatened to surpass him at times). The recent boss of the Giegue viewed him in much the same matter, and couldn't help but recall the words of the one who had first picked up on their similarities.

Zhanna scowled, not enjoying the tract her mind had just taken. She teetered her drink, eyeing the contents of the glass disdainfully. She clicked her tongue and her eyes met Xanxus's lazy stare from across from her, where he had been placidly noting her change in mood.

"I'm just pissed off that I didn't kill the bastard myself," Xanxus drawled, continuing their conversation. Her eyes snapped up in response to his comment; angry, hot, and passionate as always, he noted.

"You're pissed off? The fuck do you mean you're pissed off?" Zhanna started, bringing her feet harshly down from where they had been propped up on the desk. "I'm the one who hauled ass here to finish the fucker," Zhanna spat, slamming her glass down in frustration. "And I get here just to find out that the bitch already took him out. Bullshit! Fuck that!" She threw a hand up, and looked away, scowling. Xanxus let out a burst of harsh laughter, slamming his glass down as well.

"You're just pissed that she got to him first!"

"And you're not?" She shot back, sending him a glare. He shrugged, moving to refill his glass once more, emptying the bottle the two had been sharing.

"I could care less about a small fish like that piece of trash," Xanxus said, shifting the contents of his glass. "What I'm interested in now are those funeral wreaths, and the head piece of shit himself." Zhanna grunted, and leaned back in her seat once more, her earlier anger dwindling into a null frustration.

"You sure you guys can handle them without us?" she asked, almost challenged with a smirk on her face. Xanxus's eyes narrowed with a dangerous glint.

"This is the Vongola's fight," he reminded her. "Stay the fuck out of our way."

"So what? We're still on clean-up?" Zhanna growled. "Fuck that! I want some more action."

"You want to go then?" He challenged, a sneer on his face as well, his hand ready to bring his weapon out.

"As much as I'd love you tear you to pieces," Zhanna growled, her entire body coiled, alert, "it would be a fucking shame to destroy this shithole and about everyone else in it." Xanxus scoffed and his hand fell away from his guns.

"The Giegue will stay out of your way," Zhanna concluded after a moment, "and we'll continue the clean-up of the Millefiore's other forces while you eliminate their main. We might be able to take out those foot soldiers that bastard mentioned." Xanxus nodded in acknowledgement, taking a sip of his drink. Zhanna huffed and rose out her seat, making her way for the door.

"And you guys better not fuck it up," Zhanna stated before she exited completely. "I don't want to be cleaning up more shit than I have to."

I watched idly as the twins bounced in excitement in front of me as we stood across from each other.

"We're gonna fight Nikita! We're gonna fight Nikita!" They chanted, holding each other's arms and bouncing in a circle.

"They sure are excited," Ipin noted from the side of the room. Alik laughed beside her.

"Yep," he agreed, leaning against a wall and twirling one of his blades absentmindedly. "They're eager to show young Nikita their improved skills. They still had the chain last time you saw them, right?" He asked, addressing me.

"For their electric cage, yeah?" I recalled, frowning. "I remember that," I sighed. "It was annoying."

"The chains were so bulky!" One twin whined.

"And so out of style!" the other agreed. "But," they leaned forward, mischievous grins in place, "our new toys now-"

"-are SUPER cool!" The other finished. I shifted my weight, understanding that they were about to attack.

"Can't wait to see them," I commented blankly. A part of me was glad I was actually fighting, and a part of me was glad that I couldn't allow myself to hold back. And then, there was a small part that recognized this excitement I was forming for battle, for violence, and that part of me was worried, scared. I silenced that part as the twin's forms flashed, and I leaned back on one arm, easily dodging a kick from one.

Swinging myself around, I caught the other with a kick in the neck, sending them to the floor before I jumped over the former's lunge. My eyes narrowed when they rolled together and clasped hands, seeing glints in the space between them when the twins separated once more. Years of knowing Bel had me an expert at picking out wires. I ducked once more as the twins ran around me, knowingly going under the wire they held between them. In that second, I unclipped a large knife attached to my leg, and swung it upwards.

My eyes widened as the knife did nothing to cut through the wire, giving the twin's time to wrap one arm and jerk it backwards. Catching myself before I hit the ground. I looked over, only to throw my knife between the twins, forcing them to retract from each other. Having enough experience from their electric cage while training, I knew them touching was never good. I could only assume that this wire was the chain's replacement, along with the fact that it was coated with lightening flames, making it impossible to cut with a regular weapon.

I scowled, noticing them circling me again, hoping to wrap my upper half in the wires, restricting my movements. In that same moment, I saw one throw a large weapon at me, causing me to bridge back. Realizing they were going to take this chance to try to wrap my legs as well, I lifted myself on my arms solely, clicking my tongue in annoyance when the wire wrapped around both my arms, forcing them together.

"Alright," I grumbled, deciding I had gathered enough information for now, "I'm done with this." Switching the advantage, I spun myself and brought my leg down on the wire, throwing the twins off. They caught themselves in a roll, regaining balance quickly, but not before I could throw them towards myself, by yanking the wire wrapped around my arms.

Taking one down with a kick, nulling their effort to clasp hands again, I fell on my side to grab the other with my legs, throwing them with their twin. I jammed one foot on one's elbow, and pressed my elbow into the other's back that I was sitting on.

"Oh, fuck no," I said, digging my heel and pressing my other foot on their back, "I am not getting fried today, no thank you."

"That was great, Big Sister!" Ipin called from the side. Alik laughed good naturedly, finding the position I put his children in to be humorous.

"That's not fair, Nikita!" the one beneath me whined.

"Yeah, you're heavier than us!"

"And you knew about our electric cage!"

"It wasn't that hard to guess what the wire was for," I muttered, one again testing the strength of my bonds, not liking the slightly awkward position my arms were in, stuck out in front of me.

"You're just lucky we didn't use the cutting wire," the twin beneath me said, sticking their tongue out at me.

"Cutting wire?" I asked, paling slightly, not liking my arms bound by this wire even more now.

"They can also cut with their wire," Alik explained, walking over to us. "The wire comes from a small, lightweight mechanism that fits beneath their clothing and comes out through their gloves. Only one of them has to wear the wire, and when they touch hands with the other, the wire attaches to the glove. They use the wires in three ways; bounding, which you have experienced," he stopped looking at me with amusement, "but that didn't stop you much, did it?"

"You said there were two other ways," I prompted as I got off the twins, deciding it safe to do so. They released the wire from their gloves, unlatching themselves from me.

"Cutting," Alike continued, "and then, naturally, to generate their electric cage. They picked up the cutting method from your prince friend."

"He was so cool!" Shura gushed, holding their face.

"And there was so much blood everywhere," Sasha sighed dreamily, holding their face as well.

"I don't doubt it," I noted, frowning when the wire still wasn't coming off. "So the wires are attuned to lightening flames?"

"Yep!" The twins said together, my question snapping them out of gushing over Bel.

"Verde?"

"Varick," Alike corrected. "I don't believe you've come across him yet."

"He's Dayita's brother," Ipin supplied.

"One of the greatest geniuses of his generation," Alik said. "Surpasses his father even. Although, when you do meet him, Nikita," Alik began, scratching the back of his head, "be careful, okay?"

"Hm?" I tilted my head, confused by Alik's sudden mood change. "Why be careful?"

"Well, especially around people like you," I raised an eyebrow at his phrasing, but remained quiet, "he gets little…" he struggled for the word, but another voice cut in before he could continued.

"He acts like a fucking lunatic, that's what," Zhanna growled, entering the room. "That whole family is full of bullshit." The twins giggled at her reaction.

"Zhanna hates them," they told me. "Both brother and sister."

"I could've guess that," I told them tiredly, then held my arms up. "Any one mind getting this? Preferably someone with lightning flames?" Zhanna laughed.

"So they got you, did they?" she teased, bring her knife out and twirling it, flames sparking to life on the blade. "But you don't look charred. Good job on keeping those little shits apart. That's the most annoying thing about them when they fight," she complained, throwing the knife after I held my arms up. The knife flew through the space between my head and elbows, nicking the wire as it did. That nick, however, was all the wires needed to snap apart, releasing my arms.

"Thanks," I allowed, then moved back to retrieve her knife for her.

"Inna's debriefing Squalo," she informed Alik.

"And you?" he asked as I walked back.

"Had a nice little chat with Xanxus," she said with a shrug. "We only staying a couple more days, then we're moving out to continue the wipe out."

"I'll go find Inna then," Alik said, throwing his hand behind his head. "Nice to know that you can still handle yourself, Nikita," he nodded at me with a grin. I laughed as he headed out.

"Wouldn't be able to without such a great teacher," I said with a wink.

"The fact that you trained with them," Ipin said after he left, "is amazing, Big Sister. And when you're so young too!"

"You're not much older than me right now," I reminded her. She blushed, having forgotten the fact. "And you're pretty amazing yourself, Ipin." Her blush darkened, causing almost her entire face to turn red.

"Oh!" The twin's shot up, a new idea popping into their heads. "Let's fight Ipin n-"

"No," I cut in quickly, sharply. "Nope," I restated, in a lighter tone, surprised by my own protectiveness. "You are not," I pointed at the twins with Zhanna's knife, "fighting Ipin." The twin's pouted as I handed Zhanna her knife back.

"But we still want to fight!"

"Ten tears later, and you guys still act the same," I sighed as Ipin laugh nervously. I glanced over, only to see Zhanna giving me a hard stare. I stared back, having difficulty discerning it.

"How old are you?" she asked after a bit.

"14?" I tried, confused by her question.

"Ah," she said, nodding. "You don't know yet then."

"I don't know what?" I repeated, titling my head. "Oi, Zhanna!" I called as she began walking away. I stepped forward only to be glomped by the twins.

"Nikita, don't go yet!"

"We still want to fight!" Zhanna held up a hand as a lazy goodbye.

"You'll find out eventually, kid," she called without turning around. "Besides," she continued, her hand falling to scratch the back of her head.

"I need to talk to a man about a lighter."

"I need a smoke," Zhanna told him, walking into the room. "I have a pack if you have a lighter." Bel stared back at her, unamused. He looked away, at the other wall.

"You know I don't-"

"Lighter," she motioned, holding her hand out. "Now." Bel clicked his tongue, but none the less reached into his pocket and tossed the lighter into her hand. She caught it, and brought two cigarettes out of the carton in her pocket. After lighting her own and sticking it in her mouth, she handed the other to Bel, who took it and the lighter. Zhanna let out a breath of smoke as he lit his cigarette. "You've gone soft."

"What makes you say that?" He responded, not even bothering to look over at her. She streamed smoke out of her nostrils, and neglected the question.

"You couldn't stop for her, could you?"

"She wasn't around to bug me about anymore," he shrugged, reaching over to tap his ashes into the decorative bowl on the coffee table.

"She's persistent, I'll give her that," Zhanna admitted, sitting roughly down on the other side of the couch.

"Where is she now?" Bel asked with dull curiosity.

"Probably getting chewed out by the shark bastard," Zhanna guessed, leaning back and blowing smoke at the ceiling. "Or, still avoiding getting chewed out by him by sparring with the twins." Bel clicked his tongue, once again reminded of her actions.

"She's an idiot."

"True," Zhanna admitted, grinning, "but, she can handle more than you guys think," Zhanna informed him gruffly.

"Not Siel," Bel sneered.

"Don't fucking act like you know that," Zhanna snapped at him. "You don't know a damn thing."

"I knew her better than you," he pointed out, looking away in distaste.

"Well whoop-dee-fucking-doo," Zhanna said, motioning with her hand. "You need a fucking medal or something? We all knew her in different ways. Doesn't matter how long you knew her, or how 'close' you thought you were. She doesn't care about that anyway," she said with annoyance. "Hell, she would risk her life for a stranger."

"You have a point to this?" Bel drawled, becoming annoyed as well.

"I watched her fighting with the twins," Zhanna began. "It was interesting, really. It was like she was determining whether to really hold back or not. She played with them," she stated, catching Bel's attention. "She tested them, determining what they were doing and judging their weapons, even if she didn't realize it."

"I don't like repeating myself," Bel reminded her. She clicked her tongue at his impatience.

"You can't go easy on her," Zhanna said bluntly. "Even in training, to get her to take it seriously, you've got to come at her seriously. Put her own life at risk. You guys don't do that."

"Please," Bel scoffed, "she couldn't take us at o-"

"How do you know?" Zhanna countered. "You haven't seen her fight, not like I have." Bel opened his mouth to retaliate, but Zhanna continued before he could. "This one's different than the one that died. Right now, at this age, she still has the potential to be a great assassin, a natural fighter. The one we're used to lost that," her eyes narrowed as she looked at Bel. "That's what's holding you guys back. You all see her as the same; you don't see her to the full potential she can be. You don't use that full potential. You protect her, because you still compare her to the one you knew."

A moment of silence enveloped between them. Zhanna looked away from Bel, not being able to or not caring enough to distinguish his mood.

"Whatever made her lose hope," Zhanna said, pushing herself up and putting her cigarette into the tray, rubbing out the ashes, "what made her dull, what made her weak," she spat out the word and looked back at Bel one more time before she left.

"I'm not going to let that happen to this one."

I peaked around the corner pensively, still on high alert from the spar with the twins. I had managed to tire them out enough to where they didn't want to continue fighting me, but with that, I lost my main excuse to avoid Squalo. With my adrenaline still pumping, my sense still teeming, and weapons at ready in my various spots, I was sure I would notice someone come up behind me. However, I was gravely mistaken in that assumption, and almost jumped to the fucking ceiling when a gruff voice sounded right behind me.

"What are you doing?" My entire body went frigid, but I managed to determine who was behind me before I drew my weapon. Good thing too, I thought nervously. I didn't think Xanxus would take too well to me pointing a blade at him. Well, either that, or he would find it amusing. You could never know for sure with him.

He raised an eyebrow at me. I blinked, realizing I didn't answer his question.

"My best?" I tried, holding up my arms in a small shrugging motion. He huffed (more of a grumble actually) and leaned against the wall.

"Why the fuck didn't you follow orders?" The question threw me, coming from the mouth of the last person I expected to reprimand me. I opened my mouth, then closed it again. Xanxus remained placid as I gathered my thoughts.

"I didn't want anyone else to get hurt because of me." His eyes flashed.

"You didn't think I could han-"

"The others," I corrected him, almost sharply. His eyes narrowed, but I understood I was allowed to continue. "The other subordinates- your subordinates that were with me," I explained, thinking back to the confrontation, "were injured, very badly injured from Siel's box weapon. I knew I could heal myself, but I couldn't get to them. I couldn't have them dying because of me, not when I had the chance to run. Not when I had the chance to save them," I finished strongly, looking Xanxus straight in the eye.

"So you disobeyed direct orders and ran the opposite way?" My features remained unchanging, as did his voice, making it hard to distinguish his thoughts.

"Yes." He sighed, and looked down.

"If that bitch hadn't stepped in," he said looking back over to me callously, "would you have won?" I blinked, not having thought of that scenario.

"Honestly...?" I tried, losing my earlier bravado. "I don't know? I wouldn't have let myself get caught so easily, that's for fucking sure," I sighed, looking to the side and rubbing the back of my head. "I think..." I concluded, tilting my head. "That I could've handled myself. As long as there're people I'm fighting for, I can't lose, right?" I asked, looking back up at Xanxus. He returned my awkward smile with a lazy expression. With a click of tongue, he pushed off the wall and walked past me, making me go rigid again when he ruffled my hair as he did.

"Just don't disobey orders again, brat," he drawled as he walked up the hallway. I stared as he went, still slightly unnerved from the contact.

"... no promises."

"Thanks," I said tiredly, catching the apple Zhanna tossed to me as she entered the room.

"You could've gotten it yourself," she huffed, falling heavily down on the couch beside me. "Didn't have to beg me for it."

"I could have," I agreed after taking a bite, "but that would out me at risk."

"Of getting a fucking earful-"

"By Squalo," I interrupted her. "By Squalo," I repeated for emphasis. "We already get an earful when just talking to him casually. Just think of what would happen," I pushed myself off the couch, making my way towards one of the open doorways of the room, "if he were actually trying to scold me. No," I corrected, turning to fully face her on the couch, "not scold. He's going to tear me apart. So, for now, I'm getting all the help I can; got the twins to steal me food, earned some pity from Lussuria to hide me a few times and sleep in his room, and even got Fran and Yita to cover me with illusions. The whole sha-bang," I finished proudly, taking another bite of my apple. She gave me a disbelieving look. I sighed sadly, watching as she reached in her pocket. I frowned as she pulled out a carton of cigarettes.

"Ah," I breathed out slightly. "I forgot you smoked." I tilted my head back as she rolled her eyes.

"Not without a lighter, I don't," she corrected, a slight tone of amusement in her voice, as if sharing an inside joke with herself. "You can't avoid him forever, brat," Zhanna reminded me, changing the subject.

"I don't know," I argued back, shrugging. "I've managed out maneuver him all day yesterday, so who's to say today won't be different."

"I don't know," Zhanna said lightly, teasing, leaning her head on the back of the couch with an unlit cigarette hanging out of her mouth. "Maybe the guy behind you?"

I hummed slightly, blinking at her. Her eyes lit up in amusement, the only warning I had to grab the sides of the door, forcing me to drop my breakfast.

"You think this is fucking game, you little shit!" Squalo yelled as he pulled at my waist, straining my grip on the doorway.

"If it is, then you fucking suck at it!" I called back, deciding I was in enough trouble all ready, and what the hell, I might as well goad him a bit. I squeaked, regretting my words as he tugged harder, prying me from the doorway.

"Wait! Squalo, no! I was kidding, I kid!" I yelled as I squirmed in his grip. He grumbled and roughly slung me other his shoulder, yet again. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"If you were really fucking sorry," He growled, becoming even more irritated as I continued to squirm on his shoulder, "then you would have followed the fucking orders I gave you!"

"Zhanna help!" I called out pitifully. My face fell as she saluted lazily, smiling broadly as I was carted off.

"Zhanna that's not help!"

"What's wrong with you?" The question threw Dino, causing him to stare blankly at the younger Hibari Kyoya in front of him. The prefect frowned, annoyed by the man's lack of response. He raised his tonfa, but lowered it as Dino laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"Wha-what are you talking about, Kyoya? I'm perfectly fi-"

"Liar," the teen spat, his eyes narrowing. He looked around the school roof once more, his eyes scanning over the two men standing to the side. His eyes widened ever so slightly, realizing what was missing almost immediately.

"Where's Kumo?" He asked, thinking back to a couple weeks ago, where the girl had disappeared in front of him and his frustration when he couldn't find her anywhere in Namimori. Dino's face fell and the air around him become gloomier, irritating Hibari.

"Hey, Kyoya," Dino said, not even bothering to smile anymore. "Let's just get back to training, okay?" Hibaria clicked his tongue and raised his tonfas once more. Although he was perfectly content with fighting instead of talking (in fact, he almost always preferred it) this training almost left a bad taste in the prefect's mouth.

This older Dino was different, Hibari noted with distaste. He was weak, he decided, and he was annoyed by this version of Dino. But, from that small conversation, he decided something else.

This Dino was weak, and Kumo was to blame. And since she was to blame, he would punish her accordingly the next time he saw her. He would make sure of it.

I shivered and hugged myself, feeling a very bad vibe. Although, strangely enough, this vibe didn't seem to come from the fact that an angry Squalo was standing in front of me, glaring. No, that was a different vibe, a more frightful, intermediate vibe that seemed to take importance at the moment.

"Vooi! Don't you space off brat! What the fuck were you thinking?" He started, causing me to lean back from the intensity of his rage. "You can't just fucking run off like that, especially since I gave you orders not to! The boss was right there next to you and you run the opposite way? How much a fucking idiot can you be you shitty br-"

We froze as a vibrating sound cut him off. He growled and roughly pulled a phone out of his pocket, grumbling something along the lines of 'this better be important or I'm going to be fucking pissed'.

"Voi! What the hell do you want?" He answered, turning slightly from me. I sat there quietly, not even bothering eyeing the door, knowing I'd be dead if I tried anything. I tensed again when Squalo began yelling into the phone.

"VOOOI! WHAT THE FUCKING BRONCO, I JUST GOT YOUR SISTER TO CHEW HER THE FUCK OUT, AND THEN YOU INTERRUPT ME!?" I perked up at the mention of Dino, then became dejected once more. "Why the fuck does it concern you, huh?! Hm? What about the baseball brat?"

I looked off once more, preparing myself, accurately guessing what Squalo was being told. I plugged my ears, seeing the change in Squalo's eyes before he started yelling again.

"….. HE LOST!? THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN HE LOST?" I peeked my eyes open, to see Squalo the maddest I've ever seen him. "Fuck that! I'm heading over there!" He hung up the phone quickly, fuming.

"Listen, brat," He told me harshly, "I'm leaving to beat the shit out of the baseball brat, so I won't be around for a while. Don't be fucking idiot again and stay by the communication room in case I need to contact you. Don't ignore my orders again, brat," he leaned in, glaring. I nodded quickly. He clicked his tongue left the room in a rush.

For a bit, I simply sat there, taking in what happened. Then, suddenly, I clasped my hands together, closed my eyes and bowed my head, much in the manner of praying.

"Thank you, Takeshi," I muttered gratefully. "Although you may not survive because Squalo's really, really, pissed off, I want you to know that your sacrifice was appreciated. Thanks." I began to lift my head, but then added.

"Oh, and try not to die by Squalo's hand. That would be cool of you."

"Ah, Dino-san," Tsuna called, picking up his pace before Dino left the room.

"Hm?" Tsuna almost cringed as Dino smiled at him, his intuition telling him is was forced. Yamamoto stopped in front of Dino as well, already having a feeling where this was going.

It had been obvious since he had arrived, that this wasn't the cheery, optimistic Dino they were used to. Sure, the don had retained his clumsiness and mostly bright attitude, but there was a certain emptiness to it, a certain force behind it that was anything but genuine. Tsuna had had his suspicions for a while, building up in the back of his head, and he assumed Yamamoto was thinking among the same lines.

The two had not doubt that Dino's emptiness had everything to do with his recently deceased sister. And although they could not blame him for his depression and confusion with the sudden appearance of his dead sister's past self, an explanation would always be resourceful.

"A-are…" Tsuna hesitated before he asked, but after a reassuring look from Yamamoto, he continued. "Dino, are you alright?"

"What do you mean, Tsuna?" Dino chuckled, a bit nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Of course I-"

"It's about Cloud, isn't it?" Tsuna said suddenly, cutting him off. Dino tensed, then dropped his arm, letting out a soft sigh.

"You kids are perceptive, I'll give you that," Dino muttered, thinking back to how Kyoya picked up on his mood as well. "That, or I really suck at hiding it."

"Have you seen her?" Yamamoto stepped in suddenly, a serious look on his face. "That guy, Byakuran," Yamamoto continued, "he mentioned her in this message. Is he after her again?"

"She's-the Cloud from our timeline," Tsuna corrected quickly, "She's okay, right?"

"She's with the Varia right now," Dino answered with a frown, "So, as long as she stays with them, she should be safe."

"Did… did you talk to her?" Tsuna asked after a moment of relief between him and Yamamoto. "Are you guys okay?" Dino sighed, and rubbed the back of his head.

"Look, things between us… this Nikita that's here now…" Dino grumbled, attempting to find a way to explain it to them. "…. She's not my Nikita," he gathered after a bit, confusing the two boys. "She's not the one who…." He sighed again, and looked away, not having to finish the sentence.

"Look, Tsuna," he turned to the young don, almost wincing when he met his earnest eyes. "It's not something I'd like to think about, and it's not something you guys need to be thinking about right now either with your training. Just… just, please, focus on your training for now," Dino concluded, sounding as if he were pleading more than anything before continuing on his way out. The two watched as he left, and then shared a sad look.

"Poor Dino," Tsuna breathed out, thinking of the distress the older don must be going through. Yamamoto shook his head, instead dwelling on the younger sibling, know exactly how she reacted to this. Yamamoto sighed, and revised Tsuna's words.

"Poor Cloud."

"Everyone's leaving now," I sighed, standing in front of the five Russians, "It's sad. And I'm just expected to stay here."

"Until you're needed," Zhanna shrugged, her arms behind her head. Alike laughed and reached forward to ruffle my hair. I scrunched my nose and leaned back.

"Don't get too down," he chided.

'I'm sure you'll help soon enough,' Inna typed, giving me a reassuring smile as well. The twins rushed forward to hug me, squishing me from both sides.

"We'll miss you, Nikita!" they both cried.

"We might see each other again before I go back," I said hopefully, gently urging them to release me. "And before you guys go, I just wanted to say thanks." Alik tilted his head.

"What for?"

"For treating me normally," I admitted, shrugging. "For not treating me like I'm dead." Zhanna scoffed and poked me in the forehead.

"Dead? You look pretty alive to me, brat," she chastised. I swatted her hand away.

"You know what I mean," I pouted. She shrugged, sporting a large grin.

"Whatever. We'll take the thanks anyway."

"Keep up your fighting, Nikita," Alik called. "You're already blossoming into a beautiful assassin." I almost blushed at the compliment, unsure of it.

"See ya, little horse," Zhanna lazily saluted. "Don't you dare fucking die or do anything too stupid."

"No promises," I said laughing, waving slightly as they left.

"No promises…" I repeated again quieter, sad to see them go.

"This is our side of the base," Kusakabe explained as they walked through the hallways. "Your future self was staying here before you came."

Hibari glanced around the halls with approval, noting his own sense of style. Kusakabe was forced to stop suddenly behind him as the teen slid a door open and entered.

The older man was happy to let him wander, since it was his after all, and Kusakabe had finally managed to convince Hibari to come to the base to rest after Dino had to break to contact someone.

"Ah, this was your office of sorts," he said as he entered the room. "If you are interested, there should be information regarding box weapons in the drawers of-"

"That doesn't interest me," Hibari harshly interrupted, looking around the room blankly. His eyes narrowed, and he moved forward, spying an object of interest on the shelf behind the desk. Hibari noted the broken glass of the picture, the cracks webbing across the faces of the two in the photo. He picked up the broken frame, causing pieces of glass to fall out. He frowned, and easily pulled the full picture out of the broken frame in order to get a better look. Kusakabe remained quiet behind him, recognizing the picture.

Hibari distinguished himself easily enough (looking only to be four or so years older than he was now), and by the green eyes of the woman, he could accurately guess the identity of the other. His older self-looked vaguely annoyed, yet somewhat amused, his focus entirely on the woman beside him who, much to Hibari's irritation, had her arm around his shoulders, pulling him in for the picture. The woman, who was obviously holding the camera herself and taking the picture, had her eyes focused on the camera and seemed to be caught in mid laugh. Hibari placed the picture on the desk, and turned to the other occupant of the room.

"She's dead in this future." It wasn't a question. Kusakabe nodded in confirmation, frowning.

"Yes."

"How?" Hibari's sharp eyes met Kusakabe's. "How did she die?"

"It-it was during a negotiation with Byakuran," the man quickly spit out, once he comprehended the question. "She... she killed herself." The prefect's eyes narrowed at this new information. Kusakabe expected the teen to continue this interrogation, but was surprised when he turned his head to look back at the picture.

It was weak, he thought, that she died that way. Having to resort to taking her own life. Weak, and unnecessary, he added. His gaze turned to a glare, his focus still on the picture. She looked happy there.

And it made him angry.

"What are you doing in here?" I looked up to see Bel walking into the room. Putting down my notebook, I shifted myself so that I was no longer laying across the couch, giving him room to sit.

"Squalo told me he might contact us," I said as Bel causally sat down next to me, throwing his arms to rest on the back of the couch, "so I've been hanging out in here recently."

"Ah," Bel acknowledged.

"But… I'm glad you walked in," I started, deciding now was a good time to talk about this. "I've been meaning to ask you something." Bel titled his head, and I knew he was looking at me to continue.

"When did you first realize you liked killing?" The question threw him, I noted, and he hesitated before he answered.

"Honestly? I don't really remember," he started, leaning his head back to look at the ceiling. "My brother and I were always violent. You know that." I nodded in confirmation. "And then I killed my entire family, which was pretty fun," he admitted with a grin. "Killing was never an issue for me," he continued with a shrug and a snicker. "Ushisshi, I guess the prince was simply born to kill." His smile dropped at my expression. "Why the sudden interest?" I looked down, bringing my knees up to wrap my arms around.

"….I like fighting," I admitted. "At least, I think I do, I know I always have. I like the rush it brings, I like the adrenaline, I just… like fighting. But, I don't like hurting others," I said, looking up. "When I'm training I love the feeling I get from fighting Zhanna and Alik and Inna, and even the twins, but the moment that's over, the moment that rush is gone and I've realized that I've hurt someone, I feel guilty." I took a breath and then turned to look at Bel.

"Alik told me to suppress my personality when I fight, and I do. I push everything back for those moments, but sometimes, when I do, I feel like another personality surfaces. I was just wondering," I said, looking away from him again, "that if I do come to terms with liking to fight, which I think I am," I added not finding that thought too concerning, "then will I like to kill next? Because as I am now? I'm already okay with it."

"No," Bel corrected me, his voice almost distant. "You're never going to like to kill, princess." I looked over at him, frowning. "That's not you. You may like to fight, but that's not for your sake. You fight for others," he continued, as if recalling something else. "You have a reason to fight, and that's what pushes you. It's annoying, really," he said scrunching his nose. "You barely have any regard for yourself."

There was a moment, then I laughed lightly, his words giving me relief.

"So I've been told… multiple times, actually," I admitted, leaning back on the couch. "Thanks, Bel," I said softly. He hummed lightly.

"Of course, princess," he said, grinning widely.

"Am I interrupting something?" That grin turned to a scowl as Dayita sauntered in. I sighed, Bel's earlier casual attitude now turning malicious.

"Hey," I called as the two stared each other down. "Can we n-"

"VOOOOOIIII! BRAT!" We all winced, and glanced at the screen in irritation. "Good! You're here," Squalo said gruffly, his eyes scanning over us. "This is important, so you two listen up as well," he demanded, referring to Bel and Dayita.

"That bastard Byakuran contacted us here, and gave them details about that shitty game their doing in a few days."

"Are we participating in it?" Bel asked. "If not, then it doesn't concern us."

"Voi! Let me fucking finish," Squalo snapped. "That bastard said that everyone that came from the past had to be there or they'll be disqualified." Bel's composure stiffened and the air in the room turned cold.

"Everyone from the past, including Nikita."

"There's no way we're letting her go," Bel stated, crossing his arms with a frown.

"That's what I fucking said!" Squalo agreed on the other side of the screen.

"But they'll get disqualified if I don't go," I reaffirmed, earning an irritated look from Bel. "Everyone from the past has to be there. I can't have them losing because of me!"

"Like fuck we'll let you go, brat!" Squalo snapped. I opened my mouth to retaliate, but stopped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Dayita smiled at me, and stepped forward, her presence silencing the room. Even Squalo narrowed his eyes and leaned back, allowing her to speak.

"If Byakuran wants Nike to be there, then leave it to me," Dayita said icily. "I'll make sure he sees what he wants."

"Regular illusions won't cut it," Squalo reminded her. "You can't just try to trick him like that."

"You forget," Dayita held up a finger, "I have more to pull from than just my illusions, which are far from regular."

The tranquility of her smile almost scared me and her reassurance was alarming.

"Just give me a few days," she assured him, her eyes glinting, "and leave everything concerning our darling little Nikita to me."

I assumed by now that people knew better than to wake me up in the middle of the night. I was already irritated, barely being able to get to sleep because I was worried I would be the reason Tsuna would be disqualified, and I have no idea what Dayita was planning when she left. Like usual, I was expected to remain with the Varia 'where I would be safe'. Even though my relationship with Bel seemed to be stable now and I was spending more time with him, I was still extremely worried about the others, especially after Squalo's message.

With these circumstances and with my track record, I would have thought no one would have been stupid enough to wake me up. But as he usually does, Fran proved me wrong.

"The fuck, Fran?" I hissed, releasing him from under me. I rubbed my eyes irritably as he pushed himself up, rubbing his shoulder where I had thrown him. "What are you doing?"

"Little Sis," He drawled, pouting. "That was mean. I was just waking you up."

"Normal people don't wake people up in the middle of the night, Fran, especially if those people are trained in hand-to-hand," I reminded him, giving him a half-glare, too tired to be fully mad at him.

"Since when have we been normal?" he shrugged. "And besides, we have to get going, or we'll be late." He threw my bag at me, already packed. I caught it with ease and looked back up at him, confused.

"We're sneaking out," he told me bluntly.

"Sneaking out?" I parroted as I watched him go to the door. "Where are we going?" He looked back at me with a blank expression, as if he assumed I would know already.

"We're going to see stupid-pineapple-haired master, of course."

"Hm?" Levi glanced around the room, but only saw Lussuria next to the fireplace, sipping a drink. "Where's everyone else? It's eerily quiet around here…"

"Ah?" Lussuria looked over. "Well, Squalo is with the Vongola in Japan, Boss is taking a nap" Levi nodded, already knowing that, "but Fran went to visit some girl."

"A girl?" Levi repeated, trying imagine Fran with a woman.

"W.W, or something like that," Lussuria said lightly waving his hand, "I don't remember exactly."

"Where's the brat?" Levi continued. "She's supposed to stay with us, right?"

"Hm? Nikita?" Lussuria titled his head, thinking. "Haven't seen her. She's probably with Bel."

"Who's with me?" Bel asked, walking in behind Levi. Lussuria strained his neck, looking behind Bel, frowning when he didn't see Nikita.

"Huh? Nikita isn't with you?" Lussuria asked.

"I assumed she was with you," Bel stated simply, frowning. "Is she with Boss then?"

"I just checked up on him," Levi said. "She wasn't in there."

"Then she's with Fran," Bel concluded, jumping over the back of the couch to sit.

"Fran left," Lussaria repeated for Bel's sake. Bel tensed. There was a moment of silence.

"Then…" Levi started, almost nervously. "Where is she? Do you think she left?"

"There's no way she could leave the base without us knowing!" Lussuria argued. "Unless helped by an illu-"

The sun guardian halted in his speech, and the occupants of the room came to a sudden realization. Bel sported a malicious grin and moved suddenly, storming out of the room. Lussuria and Levi shared a nervous glance, then quickly followed their storm guardian. Catching up to him, they found the prince in front what they knew to be the illusionist's room, glaring at a small note attached to the door.

'Went to do a thing. Taking Little Sis with me. See ya' –Fran

"He didn't..." Lussuria breathed out in disbelief, a single bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face. Levi gulped from beside him, both the men stepping away from Bel's intense aura he was putting off.

"He did."

"He's dead," Bel seethed, stabbing a knife into the note, startling Levi and Lussuria. "That shitty frog is dead."

"Achoo!"

"You okay?" I looked over at Fran, who was now rubbing his nose, frowning. "The weather affecting you?" He shook his head.

"No. I'm fine; just a foreboding sense that someone wants to kill me. Normal stuff." I blinked at him lazily. He then continued, "You holding up, Little Sis?" He asked, changing the subject, "You look pretty blue to me." I huffed and pulled my hood down further, rolling my eyes.

"Please," I called out, continuing to trek through the snow beside the illusionist. "This is nothing compared to the terrain those guys put me through. Especially at this leisurely pace."

"Sorry if this isn't as extreme as you're used to, Little Sis," Fran drawled sarcastically. "If you want, you can run by yourself the rest of the way, since the house is just up there." I squinted through the snow and managed to pick out a dark shape at the top of a steep hill in front of us.

"No thanks," I shook my head, finding the hill a bit daunting, "I'll keep walking with you."

"I'm touched, Little Sis," Fran said, putting a hand over his heart without a drop of emotion on his face. "You want to stay with me. It must be love."

"Don't get emotional on me," I called back, holding a hand out to him as we made our way up, "I just chose you over a steep hill; not that hard of a choice."

The rest of the trek was made in comfortable silence until we reached the stores leading up to the small cabin overlooking the vast mountain range.

"Ah, we made it without dying," Fran commented when we reached the stairs. "Hooray for us." I rolled my eyes and followed him up. "They should already be here, since I didn't meet up with them," Fran muttered when we reached the door. I remained quiet, noting the noise behind the door.

"Why the hell do you need so many clothes?"

"Don't touch anything! I have to look by best for Mukuro!"

"….It does seem a bit excessive," a quieter voice commented.

"What a great greeting," Fran commented as we entered. "We feel truly welcomed."

"Hm?" I walked in to find all three occupants of the room staring at me. "Hey! It's that chick!" Joshima Ken exclaimed, releasing the piece of clothing he had been arguing over. His eyes narrowed as he neared me. "She looks smaller…"

"That's because she's from the past, Ken," Chikusa reprimanded placidly from his position sitting on the only bed in the room.

"At least I won't be the only girl here anymore," M.M. said, smirking. "Maybe she has little fashion sense, unlike you morons. I swear," she complained, looking at me, "they're like animals."

"Who're you calling an animal!" ken barked at her angrily.

"You're only proving her point, Ken."

"Whose side are you on anyway, Kappa!?"

"Lively, aren't they," Fran commented, sighing. He then clapped his hands, calling everyone's attention. "Okay, everyone. Let's get focused," he called, raising a hand. The three looked at him with annoyance, but remained silent.

"Now that we're all here we can start the plan," Fran continued blankly.

"Operation: save the stupid pineapple hair master is a go."

Side Story: Monster

Zhanna had always been aware of the fact that her mother had never loved her. Too vile, she would say. Too vulgar, too rough. Too strong. And yet that was their family. Strong, robust, terrifying, the Giegue stood strong and proud. Her mother did not fit this image.

She was delicate, womanly in the stereotypical way. Pretty, soft, and Zhanna never understood why her father married her. She was the perfect image of a house wife and the girl could not imagine why her father would want a women like that to bear his children. If it were an arranged marriage, she didn't care enough to look into it. Zhanna did not understand confinement, so the thought of politically being bound to another person evaded her. The children were strong, the ones her mother bared. Built in the image of their father. Her mother was unhappy, disgusted almost, by their training and upbringing. Monsters, she soon came to realize by the second child. They were trained to be monsters.

She distanced herself. She distanced herself from these monsters, her children, until there was barely a relationship between them at all. The word 'mother' did not bring the usual warm feelings to mind for the Giegue children. They did not see her as a mother, and she did not see them as her children. Zhanna, if this were even possible with the lack of affection shown to the children, was loved even less, hated even more by her mother. She was robust, she was vulgar, she was wild, and Zhanna fit the image of the monster her mother saw her as perfectly. Perhaps this is why her mother became so utterly obsessed with the fifth child; the weak child, the small child, the child that was too sick to become a monster like the others.

The mother doted on the child as it barely grew, weak, fragile, always by her side. Zhanna's siblings ignored it, as if they already knew that something so weak couldn't last. But Zhanna was too young. Zhanna, being only four, just two years older than the fifth child, did not understand. She saw this weak thing, her younger sibling, and she hated it. It was loved by their mother, it was nurtured by their mother. Their mother had never done this to Zhanna. And Zhanna did not understand why. She was the 'monster', and that, to Zhanna, was familiarity.

There were many things Zhanna did not understand. She didn't understand the way her cousins looked at their mother, nor the way their mother looked at her husband, nor the strange, burning, acidic feeling in the pit of her stomach when she noticed these interactions. Nor did she understand why these small moments she witnessed made her angry, but she also didn't care when she took this anger out on her uncle, or when she completely destroyed his metal leg, forcing the development a stronger material. She didn't care much when she hurt others, because she didn't understand that they weren't strong enough to protect themselves, and it was there fault for being weak.

She didn't understand why her mother was so distraught after the youngest sibling's death. She didn't understand when her own mother took her life out of grief, and she definitely didn't understand why nobody talked about it.

She understood the erasure of the fifth sibling. They were weak, and not relevant; something that the proud Giegue did not wish to claim. This was simple to Zhanna.

But she understood such few things. She understood that death was a part of her life, a large portion of it self-caused, by her taking other's lives. It was a part of who they were; the Giegue, the gravediggers. Meetings with death was common, and Zhanna had been on the verge many times. If someone died, they were too weak. The simplicity of the statement Zhanna understood wholly, and so why did none of her siblings, or even her father become uncomfortable when speaking of her mother's death? The young Zhanna saw no difference between taking one's life, and taking another's. They weighed the same on the scales in Zhanna's mind.

She understood that she was a monster; the strongest recollection of her mother. And perhaps this understanding came from her eagerness to agree with the statement. These monsters, her mother explained with vile after prompted with the simple question, are awful, and vulgar, and robust. They were strong. Zhanna enjoyed being strong, and the thought of being a monster became appealing to her. Or, that was what she convinced herself.

In her youth, if she allowed herself to dwell on the subject, when not fighting, beating, running, anything but not to think about it, just to continue violence, continue to destroy, because that's what monsters do, isn't it? And that's all she knows. If she allowed herself to think about it, perhaps she would realize the unpleasantness of the title, and the connotations that came along with it. Perhaps she would be reminded of the small want for her mother's love that was completely devoted to a dead child. But she would not think about this.

Finish the job. Complete the mission. Eliminate the target. Eventually, she learned that if she were a bit messier, and bit more aggressive, and spilled a bit more blood, tore a few more limbs, her father would smile. He would praise her ruthlessness and she would thrive off of that praise. With every scar from her recklessness, from every impossible mission she would survive, she would earn another smile from her father.

Early adulthood, he told her she had become a complete monster. And he was proud. And she thought about it, she questioned the definition of 'monster', and decided, that yes, she was a monster. But, not her mother's monster. Not even her father's. Zhanna's version, her mother's version, her father's version; these were all different takes on this one word that had continued to echo throughout Zhanna's life. She understood this, and disregarded this, not caring what other's definitions of her were.

Zhanna was her own monster. She was her own fear, which meant conquering herself. The fourth, youngest child of the Giegue had no qualms with this. She faced herself, and she won.

She is strong; she is a monster.

And she accepts the title proudly.

Side Story: To Be Happy

"You have no happy pictures."

"…. What?" Kusakabe glanced over, intrigued by the girl's statement. Hibari stood beside her, raising one eyebrow and watching intently as she looked at a familiar picture.

"Then again," she said, muttering, almost to herself, "you don't have that many pictures in the first place."

"Why does that concern you?" Hibari asked, deeming the conversation irrelevant and moving on. She looked one more time at the picture in question, then proceeded to follow him out the door, Kusakabe right behind them.

"It's sad, isn't it?" She asked as Kusakabe closed the door of the Hibari residence. "No one is smiling in any of the pictures in your house," she continued, daintily scrunching her nose. "Pictures should be happy. It's a pain to look at unhappy ones," she added sadly, speaking from experience, Kusakabe was sure.

"Why," Hibari asked again, repeating himself, "does this concern you?" She looked towards him, with a sly look in her eyes. He resisted the urge to lean back, having seen that look before.

"I'm going to fix it," she informed him, leaning forward and smiling. Hibari returned her smile with an unimpressed look.

"How?" It was barely a question.

"I'm going to get a picture of you smiling," she concluded, stretching her arms and moving towards the car.

"I don't smile," he informed her blankly, moving towards his motorcycle. Seeing this, she raised an eyebrow.

"Ah? You're taking your bike?"

"Yes," he said, swinging a leg over and grabbing his helmet, "So I don't have to listen to you bugging me about this," he said, giving her a slightly annoyed look. Nikita laughed as Kusakabe got in the car, shaking his head lightly, used to these types of conversation. She ended her laugh with a sigh, dropping her hands from behind her head, and folding them causally.

"That's fair."

"So," She said, coming in months later. He glanced over at her, putting his book down as she sat next to him on the couch. "I've been taking pictures."

"I've noticed," he said, thinking over the past few months and the girl's constant camera clicking.

"And I've brought some here for you to have." He stared at her with a blunt expression. "Oh come on, Kyoya," she said lightly, pulling a small bundle out of her bag she had brought in. "If it makes you feel better, you weren't the only victim in this. Bel was easy to convince, and I'm pretty sure we took about fifty pictures between the two of us, but I got Squalo to take a picture with me too, and even Xanxus."

He tried to hold back a slightly impressed look. She spread them out on the coffee table in front of them, and his eyes scanned over them.

"Ipin has this one," Cloud began, pointing to a picture of himself and the young girl, who was handing him a towel with a bright blush on her face. "She freaked out and said I shouldn't have taken it, but she kept the picture anyway. Dino has this one too, of course," she moved a picture closer to them, showing it to be Dino and himself, looking rather miffed seeing that the blonde was roughly throwing a shoulder over him and smiling widely. "There's a few of Kusakabe too, with Romario if he wants any," she continued, moving the select few to the side. Hibari's eyes narrowed, noticing two pictures in particular. He moved them closer, gently, studying them.

They were clearly taken seconds apart; both were of him and Nikita, her arm pulling him closer to her. One, her eyes were open, clear, bright, and she was caught in midlaugh with him staring over at her with slight annoyance, and much to his slight surprise, amusement. The other, her eyes were closed, and she had completed her laugh, now morphed into a brilliant smile.

"Ah, that's one where you're almost smiling," she pointed out, looking at the second of the two pictures. "But," she continued, moving on while he was still looking at the two, "this is my favorite." She reached over, then handed him the picture she had secured.

"Of course," she mused, "the only picture of you actually smiling is one I got when you were fighting Dino. You look happy here," she pointed out, handing him the picture.

"It's nice, isn't it," she asked softly, "being happy?" Not answering, he put the picture of himself down, his eyes shifting over to the picture of them, her happy, eyes bright, laughing.

Yes, he thought. It was.

"See, aren't you happy you have a friend like me, so you have all these great pictures?" Nikita asked, causing his expression to sour. His eyes snapped to her, and he spoke to correct her:

"Work Proximity Associates."

"Whatever, Kyoya."

AN:

Another chapter done! I'll probably try to finish the future arc next chapter? If it's not too long, which is probably is. Oh well.

As always, thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows!

-Evenly