Chapter 19: Righty Tighty

"Always forgive your enemies, but never forget their names."

-Robert Kennedy

"Oh, how impressive, Nike," a voice drawled. "I was right; you do have an amazing body."

"Hm?" I blinked, coming back down from my crunch and looking at the upside down figure of Dayita, leaning in the doorway of the gym. "You're back!" I said, flipping down from the bar and easily landing on my feet. She pouted as I grabbed a towel and patted my face, approaching her as I did so.

"You didn't have to stop on my account, darling," she cooed, "I would have been more than happy to view the rest of your work out."

"You found them, right?" I asked immediately. She scoffed.

"As if I would return to you if I didn't. I am no failure, dear," she smoothed over, inspecting her nails nonchalantly. "As soon as you get ready, we can leave to meet them."

"He knows we're coming?" I asked, then took a drink of water, already thinking ahead to what I wanted to talk to him about.

"Of course not," Dayita huffed, rolling her eyes, "but it'll be simple to sneak in to talk to him. The CEDEF may talk big, but their security is a joke when it comes to my abilities." I sputtered.

"The CEDEF, are you fucking with me?" I said staring at her, wiping a water off my face and recomposing myself, "If they find out I'm secretly meeting with that guy, then it might get Dino in some deep shit."

"Oh, calm down," Dayita waved me off, rolling her eyes. "I can get you in and out completely undetected." I groaned loudly, rustling my own hair in frustration

"I don't even know why I'm going through with this," I moaned, slumping forward and beginning to walk out of the room.

"Also, Varick has finished the modifications to your weapons," Dayita informed me, happily skipping beside me. "You can go get them before we leave, if you'd like."

"No offense, or anything," I sighed, entering my room and rummaging through, "but one the last people I want to see right now is your brother."

"I assume you discovered how he really is," Dayita pin pointed, then sighed, "it's a shame that he keeps things completely to himself."

"It's more than a shame, Yita," I snapped, turning my back to change my shirt. She shrugged, turning her back to me as well.

"There's no changing him; trust me, darling, they've tried. People, will be people," she concluded. I sighed, walking past her with new clothes, a small bag of necessities in one hand, and a bag of marshmallows I had requested from Madhi in the other.

"And what awful people they can be."

I frowned, the reflection from the window of the plane mirroring the expression. I sighed, closing my eyes and focusing on the coolness of the glass as I pressed my forehead against it.

I hadn't tried to talk to Hannah since our last conversation. This being said, I haven't talked to Mukuro either. Frankly, I had no idea what to do in this situation. Was I angry that my memories were fading? Was I anything without those memories of what's going to happen? I huffed, darkly amusing myself. It's not like I was doing much to change anything in the first place. I shifted myself, turning over to look back at Dayita, who was lazily reading a magazine with much disinterest.

I thought back to one of my conversations with the future Fran. Did I even need to change anything to be here? Then why else should I be here? Either way, I concluded, shutting my eyes tight, I didn't want to let Hannah go. She was a part of me that I never want to forget.

I sighed, and sat up, moving to inspect my new weapons.

"He said he would be done with the daggers by tomorrow," Dayita said without even glancing up.

"He may be a complete ass, but he can get things done," I allowed, fitting my new, improved gloves onto my hand and stretching my fingers. I willed my rain flames, and blue, bubbling aura streamed across my finger tips.

"I figured you would hate him," Yita hummed, "with you being you, and all."

"And yet, you sent me to him," I commented, still a bit miffed about this subject, stomach still turning slightly. I removed the gloves and placed them in my pocket, moving on to inspect my guns. My rifle had stayed as well, after deciding against taking it. I assumed I wouldn't need it to meet this person, and hoped I was right. I don't want to have to use any of my new weapons today.

"Don't act like you're not grateful," Yita purred, shifting as well and running her hand along the curve of her body. "You met mother-dearest as well?"

"Yep," I popped, putting the guns into holsters under my arms, covered by my jacket, "and I know now where you... well, where you get everything from." Dayita smiled softly, placing a hand over her heart.

"Thank you," she said genuinely, "I also see you've taken a liking to the clothes I bought for you," she teased, her eyes lighting up in satisfaction.

"I do admit," I deemed, rolling my eyes a bit in response to her satisfaction, "that I was surprised that you got me clothes I actually like."

"Naturally," she said, flipping her hair, "I know you so well, after all."

"That's what frightens me," I sighed. "Hm?" I stiffened, feeling a large amount turbulence. "We landing?" Dayita nodded.

"It seems so," She yawned. She stretched her arms up once we safely landed and bounced up, spinning around as I checked my gloves and guns. "Oh, please, don't be such a stiff," she scoffed, already walking off the plane. I sighed and followed once I was secure.

"Sorry if I'm a little nervous, going against the CEDEF and everything," I relented once we were in the car, taking us to a location a bit outside the area where he was being held.

"Relax," Dayita chided, snaking an arm around my arm and leaning her head on my shoulder, "I found him within the first two days of my search; the rest was spent evaluating the facility to form a plan of entry." I blinked, then looked over at her.

"I'm actually surprised you're this thorough," I admitted.

"You shouldn't be," she reprimanded, faking offense as she lifted her head and pouted, putting a hand over her heart. "Don't you trust me?" My expression deadpanned, and she quickly corrected herself.

"Ah, yes. An unfortunate misuse of words on my part," she apologized, waving a hand daintily, "Don't you trust my ability?"

"Better," I allowed with a nod. I gestured to the door, the car having stopped on the outskirts of a forest.

"Lead the way."

"I regret this," I stated, staring at the door. "Never mind, abort mission," I said, shaking my head and turning, only to have Dayita grab the hood of my jacket and force me back.

"Nike dear~" She cooed, standing on her toes a bit to look me exactly in the eyes while squishing my cheek lightly, forcing me to look at her as well. "You came all this way to talk to him," she told me gently, much in the manner of a mother, "and more importantly," she added, "I spent time and energy to get you here," she deadpanned, "and my time and energy is not to be wasted." She turned me around suddenly, and swiped the security card in the door, unlocking it.

"In you go!" She said happily, opening the door for me, and practically pushing me inside. I stumbled forward, easily catching myself. I spun around to glare at the dark-skinned girl, only to find a closed door. I sighed, and rubbed my temples. She was probably already securing the illusions she had placed on the cameras and guards to ensure we wouldn't be found out.

"Oh? What's this?" I stiffened, his voice alone sending shivers down my back. I took a breath and turned, looking his straight in his eyes.

"Of all the people I would expect to break in and see me, I have to say, you would be on the very bottom of that list, Cloud." The tattoo under his eyes crinkled as he smiled.

"Hey," I raised a hand and waved awkwardly, "Byakuran."

"Despite this," he admitted, crossing his legs and leaning back on the white couch he was stretching out on, "you're the number one on the list of people I wanted to talk to. But, I assumed with what…" he trailed off, frowning, showing the first small hint of genuine guilt I had ever seen on his face, "happened," he tried, referring to my death in the future, "you wouldn't want to talk with me. In the very least, I wouldn't think the others would be comfortable with you talking to me."

"They don't know I'm here," I admitted, my eyes shifting from him to the rest of the room. "This is actually a pretty nice place," I noted, surprised to find the room extremely homey and comfortable.

Although there were no windows, since the room was located in the middle of the facility, it had very much the feel of a normal room, as opposed to a prison. A soft looking, made bed sat in one corner, with a couple of bookshelves, against other walls, filled with board games more than books. Two medium sized couches took up the middle of the room, with a coffee table between them, currently occupied by an untouched game of chess. I moved to sit down at the couch across from Byakuran and reached to give him the bag of marshmallows I had been holding.

"I figured they wouldn't give you much, being cooped up here, so I brought you these. Turns out," I said, scanning the room once more, "I was wrong." Byakuran smiled and took the bag out of my hand, but I noticed him being careful not to touch me, to not even let our fingers brush.

"They're fine with providing me with at least some entertainment," he shrugged, already opening the bag, "as long as I don't try to escape. And for now, I'm fine with this. Of course, technically, even I do 'escape'," he put air quotes around the word," they still can't technically do anything to me unless I do anything truly awful."

"So you're staying here until the battles begin?" I guessed.

"She said something like that, yes," He said, eyes flashing, "Or, until I'm needed. Same thing, really!" He smiled, an attempt to dismiss the tension in the room.

"I have to say, Cloud," he admitted, tilting his head, "I am very surprised that you came to see me. Normal people don't make a habit of visiting their killers."

"We both know I'm not normal," I stated bluntly.

"Ah," he said, "we're talking about this?" I nodded, and he smiled once more. "That makes me happy, Cloud! I've been curious about you ever since I first found out you existed, and now you come to talk about this of your own free will?" His attitude put me at ease, reminding me that this wasn't the same man that had caused the death of my future self. No, that man was far more dangerous and awful. This Byakuran, however… was clear, a clean slate. Pure. Refreshing. He was a new man, I had never met before, but greeted me as an old companion.

"First, I want to know why you- he," I corrected quickly, knowing best of all that these were two completely different people, "wanted me in the future."

"Ah," Byakuran breathed out, leaning back casually and staring at the ceiling in thought. "We're referring to the future me as him, yes?" I nodded, earning a soft smile, "Good. That makes me feel better."

"Well," he began, his foot bouncing as it hung, propped up across his other leg, "I recall that he was very surprised when he first found out that you existed, seeing that there was no other Nikita Cavallone in any other universe. That was alarming enough as it was, but he didn't start seeing you as a threat until the future you began thwarting his plans; in ways that would only be possible if you knew his plans in the first place. Frankly, Cloud, you were wild card and that unnerved him. So, why not have the wild card in your own hand? He didn't know what to think of you, so he set to control you. But, he severely underestimated. What your future-self did disgraced him, and angered him."

"Basically, a big middle finger," I elaborated. He nodded, smirking.

"Bingo~ And, he still hadn't figured out how you knew what you did, even after confirming it with your future self. So, he made plans to bring your past self to the future, not even telling Shou why."

"So," I breathed out, slightly relieved, "I really was never part of the future plan to begin with."

"More like extra baggage," Byakuran defined, shrugging callously. I frowned, but didn't bother disagree. "He simply wanted you to control you; nothing more, nothing less. Once Uni revealed herself for who she really was, his focus shifted. You were never a necessity, just a consolation prize."

"Great," I deadpanned, "because that's exactly what I want to be." Byakuran shrugged in good nature.

"Now, Cloud~" Byakuran started, leaning forward, "tell me; what exactly are you? There's no doubt you know things you're not supposed to, and it's strange that you're the only version of you, outside this physical parallel universes. Are you similar to Uni?" I laughed, shaking my head.

"No, I'm not even close to being like her," I admitted. "More like the opposite."

"No divine powers of clairvoyance then," he hummed in a playful manner, now focused on this guessing game.

"You're not going to guess it," I warned him, slightly amused and caught up in his game.

"Ah, but it's no fun if you just tell me, Cloud!" He chided, laughing lightly as he crumpled the now-empty plastic bag, and swept it to the floor.

"There's not really a good way to tell you," I sighed, rubbing the back of my head and looking upwards, "so I'm just going to screw it. So, this isn't my first world, but it's probably going to be my first full life; at least, I hope it's going to be. I really don't want to go through another whole ordeal like this… "I trialed off in thought, "although, One Piece would be really cool."

I shook my head, looking back at Byakuran, who had a confused, but intent expression.

"So, in my, what I assume to be, first life, I was kind of stupid and ended up accidentally reincarnating myself into this world, which happened to be the world of my favorite manga at the time," I tumbled out, realizing as I was saying it that it all sounded extremely stupid and cliché.

"Because of that, I kind of know the plot and what happens," I finished, leaving off the part that those memories may or may not be lost at this point. He hummed and leaned his elbows on the coffee table.

"You're right," he concluded, nodding slightly, "I wouldn't have guessed that." I blinked, expecting more of a reaction.

"You believe me?" I tested.

"Of course," he snorted, amused by my confusion. "I, myself, had knowledge from numerous universes, and was aware of the infinite amount of them. Traveling through them via reincarnation makes more sense than many of the other possibilities there are. That's all very interesting, Cloud," he smiled widely at me, "Thank you for telling me this. It puts me at ease somewhat now that I know just why you're so special, and I know it put you at ease as well for telling someone." I stared at him, not knowing how to react.

"That's it?" I asked. He nodded.

"Pretty much! Oh, but I do want to know two other things," I admitted, holding a finger up. "One: who is the other person that knows this? It's obvious that you've told someone before, and," he noted with a glint in his eye, "you don't want me to know who it is. Or, perhaps, it's the other way around?"

"You might not like the answer," I admitted, running a hand through my hair and sighing. He hummed and waved a hand dismissively.

"Of course I will, Cloud! I just want to make sure that you're in safe hands," He assured me. "We universe jumpers have to stick together, after all," he added with a wink. I blinked at him, surprised that he responded this way. I hadn't expected him to take me up in arms. Then again, what had I expected? Byakuran wasn't someone whose actions you couldn't easily peg. I took a deep breath, knowing that a certain illusionist was going to hate me for this either way, so I might as well tell Byakuran now.

"Mukuro Rokudo," I replied, crossing my arms, and glancing away, "is the only other person that knows. At least," I added, "in this current timeline." Byakuran blinked, then began laughing joyously. He clapped his hands together.

"Oh, that's great! Mukuro and I should start working together immediately!"

"Working together?" I questioned. He nodded, leaning back once more leisurely.

"Why else would you share your secret with others? There's obviously a motive behind telling us," He pointed out logically.

"I need scapegoats, if you will," I started explaining, "to help cover me, I guess?"

"Naturally," Byakuran said, eyes narrowing, "you can't just go fixing things without having a plan; make it too obvious and you'll bring unwanted attention to yourself."

"That's why I need you and Mukuro on my side. I need two strong, influential figures to vouch for me…" I trailed, off trying to find the right words, "to look after me in a way." He hummed playfully and drummed his fingers on the coffee table.

"Smart. Getting two of the strongest kings on the chessboard to protect you."

"Isn't it a bit cocky for you to call yourself a king?" I sighed, titling my head slightly. But, thinking more on the subject, curiosity got the better of me. "But, if we're talking chess, then what piece would I be?" His answer was immediate.

"A queen."

"Isn't a queen more powerful than a king?"

"Not in this checkered game."

"… you have no idea how to play chess do you?" He laughed at my statement.

"I have a feeling you'd be good at it actually," he mused, then hummed. "We should play sometime, you know?"

"Love to," I said, smiling awkwardly, "Little busy though."

"Of course," He said, waving his hand lazily, "I suppose you'll be preparing for this battle Uni has hinted at." I shrugged.

"I actually don't really have any plans for that," I revealed. "I don't really have any plans, actually. In a bit of slump right now." He frowned, all the humor leaving his face.

"I apologize on the half of my future-self, Nikita," he said seriously, reaching over to encase my hands in his own, "Truly. But, I'm willing to make up for it by helping you this way," he smiled once more, shaking my hands once and leaning away. A soft smile sneaked onto my lips, feeling more relieved than I had in a while. It was the right move, telling him this, putting less of the burden on myself and Mukuro.

"You don't know how glad I am to hear that," I breathed with a bit of shaky laughter. I opened my mouth to continue the conversation, but was cut off by my phone vibrating in my pocket. I flipped open it open, surprised to see Zhanna's name on the screen. I sent an apologetic smile towards Byakuran, who returned it softly with his own smile, gesturing for me to answer.

"Zhanna?" I said in question as I answered. I paled and grip the arm of the couch as she began spouting off angry, and hurt, words. I shook my head slowly, feeling entirely at fault, even though those memories were lost to me, long gone and washed away. Her voice was shaking, something I had never heard from her before, expect possibly out of anger. But this was far worse; this was grief, pure grief racking her voice, ringing with every word. I stood suddenly, causing Byakuran's eyes to narrow.

"Zhanna," I told her, my voice hardening, "I'll be right there, as soon as I can." I shut the phone, and breathed out, immediately moving to the door. "Sorry," I said, shaking my head, almost angrily, "I but I need to leave right now, I'll contact you later." Byakuran nodded, completely serious.

"I understand." I knocked on the door, Yita immediately opening it. She smiled brightly, but it dropped instantly when she saw my face.

"We need to leave, now," I commanded, pushing past her and briskly walking down the hallway.

"What happened?" She asked coldly, already slipping into her professional personality. I squeezed my eyes shut and turned to her.

"We need to get to Japan."

"Where are they now?" I asked, bursting into the waiting room.

"Nikita!" The Ninth stood up, surprised to see me. Dayita drifted in after me, a cold, defective ghost of a shadow, standing back and allowing me to take control.

Zhanna's head shot towards me upon my entrance and moved to approach me, but a man with the Giegue's signature skull mask put a hand on her shoulder. I looked around the room swiftly, noticing the other occupants; Reborn was near the Ninth, along with Coyote Nougat and Ganauche, who was looking at me with wide, surprised eyes.

"How did you get in?" The Ninth asked, "I wasn't informed that you were co-"

"I called her," Zhanna said roughly, throwing the man's shoulder off her and approaching me. "They've kept her in there for hours, and they're too fucking coward to say that can't save her."

"She was the only one that had any chance of surviving," Reborn explained, immediately taking steps to catch me up "the other two were too mutilated to save." Zhanna nearly flinched at his words, and the man behind her shifted slightly.

"Can you save her?" Reborn asked, drawing my attention back to him.

"I'd have to see her first," I said, already moving forward and putting my gloves on.

"They won't let you-" The Ninth started before I cut him off.

"Dayita, can you handle it?" I asked, hoping I wasn't taxing her too much, with her already having cast so many illusions today.

"Of course," she stated coldly, brushing roughly past Zhanna as she followed me. Zhanna scowled as they made eye contact, but remained where she was, knowing the necessity of having the illusionist.

As I entered the operating room, I assumed Dayita had cast an illusion that made us completely invisible to the people, in both sight and sound. I grimaced as I approached the table.

She was missing one whole arm, cut off four inches from the shoulder, and the lower half of the other arm. Those wounds were already bandaged, but blood was slowly seeping through. And although most her midsection had already been stitched, there were still severely gaping holes in her body.

"We're losing her!" One surgeon said.

"Are you kidding me? We already lost her long ago," another spat out, his fists tightening. "She's a lost cause by now!" I nodded towards Dayita, indicating I had seen enough. She nodded back and snapped her fingers, causing all the surgeons to freeze, time having stopped in all their minds.

I stepped forward, and began rhythmically healing the worst of the wounds, not even bothering to grimace when I was forced to stick my hand in open wounds in order to close gashes in her organs. I was pleased to see that surgeons had actually helped a lot, fixing many of the wounds that would have killed her long before I arrived. Despite this joy, my face remained stoic and professional. My objective was to bring her back from the brink of death; I would let the professionals handle it from there.

I noted the strange openings and the angles, having never seen wounds like this before. Wait, I corrected swiftly, thinking back to my training with Alik; I had seen wounds like this before, on my own body. My mind raced to find a weapon that would leave wounds like this; a specified blade, curved and jagged, I concluded, but what kind of blade? My forehead furrowed in concentration, both on healing Zhanna's sister, and trying to search for a memory of this happening. I huffed, frustrated when I came up with nothing. It was someone from the Shimon, naturally, but I couldn't even think of the members of the Shimon at this point in order to pin point exactly who it was.

A monster, I decided, stepping back and glancing down at my, now, blood soaked gloves. To leave awful wounds and gashes like this; the attacker had to be a cold-blooded monster.

I stretched my hands once more, proudly noting that this had only taken about 20 to thirty percent of my flame capacity over all, as opposed to completely draining me like healing before has. New toys indeed. I allowed a small smile, nodding to Yita. I turned and walked out of the room, leaving her to fabricate the surgeon's memories, most likely leading them to believe that Ahya was not as bad as they thought when they first began, and end up saving her life.

"She should be fine now," I said immediately upon opening the doors, "Dayita is just cleaning up with her illusions." Zhanna let out a shaky breath, still strong when on the verge of breaking. The stoic man behind her, who I guessed to be one of her brothers, gave a soft nod of thanks. The Ninth stood and approached me.

"Reborn explained to me that you could heal, but I never expected something like this," he said, surprised. I tensed as Ganauche ruffled my hair lightly, having approached me with The Ninth.

"Not bad, brat," he congratulated, smiling warmly at me, "didn't know you had something like this in ya'." I frowned and looked over to Zhanna and her brother.

"I'm sorry I couldn't' save your father and brother," I said sadly, clenching my blood-soaked fist behind my back. Zhanna's brother shook his head and stepped forward.

"Don't apologize," he demanded with a thick, clearly Russian accent, "they were already dead when we found them. We thank you for saving our sister. We're indebted."

"You're really not," I dismissed quickly, "it's the least I can do after your family allowed me to train with Alik and Inna." The man tilted his head, and The Ninth raised an eyebrow at this, but remained quiet.

"Ah," he breathed out deeply, "so you are the little horse that Zhanna has told us about." I opened my mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a large thud and cracking sound. We looked over to see the side of Zhanna's fist making a large crater in the wall of the waiting room.

"So," she said icily, glaring around the room, "you have any idea who the fuck did it?"

"She's saved now," Coyote stepped in, "she'll be able to tell us." I shook my head sadly.

"Not before the ceremony," I said, "After that much trauma? She won't wake up for a few days; four at the least. It's a blade user, as far as I could tell, but after that, I don't know much. The wounds were irregular, strange, made with a jagged, curved blade," I explained. The mood of the room darkened.

"So, that's our only lead," Reborn concluded.

"Boss," Coyote addressed the ninth, "word of the attack has already gotten out."

"What's our plan from here?" Ganauche asked, crossing his arms from beside me. The Ninth frowned, and put his hand on his chin.

"Don't let Ms. Ahya's survival get out," The Ninth commanded after a while, "we don't want the attacker returning to finish their job, nor do we want them knowing about Nikita." I perked at the mention of my name, and shifted. He glanced over at me with warm, sympathetic eyes, "We don't want you to be a target as well. Call Bouche here, and have him place illusions on the surgeons after the operation is complete. Have him gather other illusionists, and have them stationed hiding Ms. Ahya at all times."

"The Giegue will put men around her," Zhanna's brother stepped forward, "we will protect our own, ninth," he challenged. The Ninth nodded.

"Of course. I suppose you are the boss of the Giegue now, are you not? My condolences," he frowned. Without a word, the masked man left, no doubt leaving to put this plan into action. Coyote was busy relaying orders into his phone.

"What about Tsuna, Ninth?" We blinked and looked down at Reborn.

"I'll meet with him tomorrow as planned," The Ninth decided, "to allow him to decide if he truly wishes to become the boss." Reborn nodded in confirmation and tipped his hat.

"Then I'll be off," he bid to both of us, but not before giving me a strange look that sent shivers up my spine. Reborn giving meaningful looks was never a good thing.

As soon as the hitman exited, Bouche entered. He raised an eyebrow in question when he saw me. We turned quickly, the operation doors bursting open as a surgeon stepped out, Dayita wafting in placidly behind him and moving to stand near me.

"It's a miracle," he said smiling, "we were able to pull her through! From here, it shouldn't take long. We'll be sure to keep you updated." The Ninth smiled warmly and thanked the man before he reentered the operating room. He then turned to Bouche.

"You know what to do when they're through," he relayed to the stoic, dark-skinned man. Bouche nodded, still casting a confused glance at me. Ganauche waved him off.

"I'll fill you in later," he promised the mist guardian. Dayita crossed her arms and pouted, having guessed the situation extremely easily.

"And after all that work I did to make them think it was a successful surgery," she whined, huffing.

"Serves you right," Zhanna spat, glaring at the Indian. My eyes shifted from her crater in the wall to her fist, still flexing out of irritation, anger; pure wrath radiated off of her.

"Oh?" Dayita purred, turning to face the Russian, "strange. I didn't smell a beast in the room. At yet here you are." Zhanna growled, and moved to step forward, but stopped when I placed myself between then.

"Chill," I told them, giving pointed looks to both, "we really, really," I breathed out, feeling exhausted "don't need anymore conflict today." Zhanna huffed, and turned on her heel, storming.

"Whatever," she waved off roughly, "contact me later. I need to go blow off some steam." I sighed sadly, knowing that she would handle her grief of losing her brother and father through rage; the only way she knew how.

"Buh-bye!" Dayita waved off before I could stop her, earning one more irritated look form Zhanna before she left.

"Can you not," I began, shrugging my shoulders, "oh, I don't know; at least try not to push her? She just lost her father and brother, and almost lost her sister." Dayita pouted and playfully pushed my shoulder.

"Boo," she called, "you're ruining all my fun!" I sighed and opted to just ignoring her at this point.

"You're…" I looked up to see Coyote, now off his phone, staring at Dayita.

"Chhaya's daughter, I assume," The Ninth concluded.

"The one and only," Dayita said, curtsying, "a pleasure, truly, Vongola Ninth."

"Your mother has always been an aid to the Vongola," The Ninth continued, "although not directly allied. I thank you for your help tonight, and hope that you stay for the inheritance ceremony, if it is still being held after tomorrow. I am to assume that you will taking over Chhaya's organization."

"You would be correct," Dayita allowed with a smile, "My mother has always groomed me to take over once I am ready."

"Then I should introduce personally to the Vongola Tenth," the Ninth concluded.

"That would be lovely," Dayita cooed, "I trust I can leave Miss Cavallone in your capable hands, yes?"

"You're leaving?" I asked, surprised by her sudden departure. She shrugged.

"You might as well remain here. I'll return in a few days to attend the ceremony," Dayita explained, and then, with a small twinkle in her eyes, "with a few gifts for you, Nike."

Ah, I realized, she was going to bring me the rest of my weapons.

"Until then," she bowed and nodded to the three guardians in the room, "Ninth," she stated with maturity, "Nikita," she said with a wink. She snapped her fingers and simply walked out of the room. I watched as she went, but then noticed the other blinking with confused faces. I rolled my eyes, realizing that she used an illusion in her exit.

"She's talented," Bouche commented, coming closer to stand next to us.

"Just like her mother," The Ninth noted, his polite smile gone, "I always did have to watch myself around that woman. Do you have a good relationship with her, Nikita?"

"I guess you could say that?" I shrugged, earning a frown from Coyota and a relaxed chuckled from Ganauche.

"Good," the Ninth nodded, still clearly planning, "then may I ask a favor of you?" He continued after I nodded. "Will you ensure that Tsuna has a good impression with her? Their organization is extremely influential in Asia, and is crucial to have a good relationship with. I understand Tsunayoshi can be quite…." he trailed off, looking for the right words, "awkward in his introductions at times."

I muffled laughter, then forced my face to become serious.

"Can do," I nodded, not being able to hold back a smile. The Ninth let out a small sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Nikita," he said genuinely. Ganauche sighed, throwing an arm across my shoulder and patting my back.

"Three days before the ceremony and this happens," Coyote muttered darkly.

"Let's just hope that nothing else tragic happens," the Ninth stated solemnly. I tensed, my stomach churning once more. I held back a grimace, knowing for sure.

Something else tragic was going to happen, and I had no idea what it was.

"You've improved," Bouche allowed, allowing a small smile to tug at his lips.

"Thanks," I smirked, looking down at the chess pieces proudly.

"But, you still have much to learn." My smile dropped as the mist guardian moved a piece, calling check mate. I sighed and slumped back onto the couch.

"You win," I drawled, frowning up at the ceiling. My eye twitched when Ganauche leaned over me, smirking.

"Aw, is the brat pouting?" he teased. I frowned.

"'The brat'," I elaborated, swatting him away, "could easily beat your ass." He whistled.

"Language," he reprimanded in mock seriousness.

"Don't give me that," I snapped at him, "I've grown." He chuckled, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Clearly," Bouche commented, sighing when Ganauche stuck his tongue out at me as well. Coyote entered the room, followed by Brabanter and Brow. Ganauche began coughing, attempting to muffle his laughs as Coyote gave him a strict look.

"Let's go," he said roughly, grabbing the back of Ganauche's coat and carting him out. The rest of us watched this take place, staring blankly as the lightning guardian sent us pleading looks. I huffed, crossing my arms and turning back to Bouche as the door shut behind them.

"Going to get him, I presume?" Bouche hummed as he set the chess pieces back into their box. Brow nodded, plopping down on the couch next to me. Brabanter stayed standing, casually leaning to put weight on one foot.

"Can't I go out or something?" I asked, propping my face on my hands, leaning on my knees. "Tsuna and the Ninth's conversation will be private, so it's not like I can stay here. And I really don't want to just be cooped up in my room."

"We gave you books to read," Brabanter countered.

"I've already read those books," I shot back, leaning my head to look back at him.

"Are you getting bored of us?" Brow teased, giving me an easy smile.

"I just don't see why I have to stay here," I argued, crossing my arms and leaning back into the couch.

"The Ninth would never forgive himself if something happened to you while you're under his protection," Brow explained, "We're just keeping you safe until your brother gets to Japan."

"Hey, Dino's made a lot of headway in the whole letting me do my own thing… thing," I tried faltering at the end. "But, really," I continued, turning to look at the three of them accusingly, "that can't be the only reason you guys are keeping me here."

My eyes narrowed, seeing Brow's eyes flicker to my pocket, where I had stashed my gloves after I cleaned them.

"You want me to stick around in case anything else happens," I realized, Brow's slight expression of guilt confirming it. Bouche began to speak, but was cut off by their phones vibrating.

"They're back," Brabanter stated. I sighed and pushed myself up, putting my hands up in mock surrender.

"You know where I'll be," I said, walking to the room I had spent the night in. I looked back and made eye contact with Bouche, "in case you need me."

He nodded, thinking I had given up my argument as well. Although I would love to see Tsuna before the ceremony, I knew that I couldn't. The Ninth decided that even Tsuna shouldn't know that Ahya survived, and thus, shouldn't see me here at all.

I shut the door behind me, my eyes immediately going to the window of my room. I moved to it, finding the latch easily enough. I swung it inwards and stepped on the ledge, looking at the building top below and across from the hotel.

"Manageable," I hummed, feeling excitement bubble in me from the height. I swung around, letting go of the ledge and looking back to the interior of the room. I could feel the warmth of Jian and Kashi on the finger, their happiness from knowing they're about to be used flowing into me. I willed Kashi out, and the ring lit with sun flames, a shape springing from it.

"Ready to help me sneak out?" I asked the red panda, who was practically bouncing from excitement. "I need you to stay here, and make sure they don't know I'm gone."

She practically deflated at this.

"Oh, come on, Kashi," I whined, "I need you for this! If anyone comes by, just turn on the shower or something. I can only trust you with this," I promised her, which brightened her mood considerable. Technically, this was true; Jian was far too big and clumsy for something like this, and Kashi had much smaller paws to turn on the water easily. Plus, she could actually figure things like this out. Not that Jian was lacking intelligence (both box weapons were considerably smart), it was just that Kashi was much quicker on both her feet and wit in these situations.

"Thanks," I cooed, blowing her a kiss, "I'll be back soon. Just have to stretch my legs."

I turned around, facing outwards once more, looking down at my target and the empty alley way below. Willing Cloud flames to Jian's ring, I focused on the bamboo properties until I was holding a single pole of bamboo. I took a breath, then pushed more flames into the pole, angling it towards the ground and stepping off the ledge.

"Parkour!" I yelled happily as I jumped towards the roof below, using my bamboo pole as a vault to get me there safely. As easily as I willed the pole to get longer, I called the flames back when I was nearing the roof of the building, reverting the pole into it's original size by the time I hit the ground. I jumped up and spun, whooting. I turned around, hearing Kashi's cheers from the open window. I laughed and waved at her, happy to see her wave back. I turned around and spun the pole in my hands, eventually putting it behind my neck and resting my arms on it.

"Bel was right," I concluded, smiling widely, "roof top is the best form of transportation."

I breathed in deeply, walking with my arms folded behind my head through the shopping center of Namimori. It felt like so long since I had been here, and it felt refreshing to get away from things. Unfolding my arms, I reached down to check my phone, being to sure to keep a careful eyes on the time. I blinked, looking up to see a familiar pineapple haircut.

"Chrome?" I asked, surprised I had randomly come across her. The girl stopped, looking up to meet my eyes as I picked up my own pace, both of us blushing slightly as other people looked between us.

"Yo," I greeted, slowing down to casually approach her, trying to mask my own awkwardness.

"Nikita," she greeted, dipping her head slightly. I laughed lightly and waved my hand dismissively.

"Again with the formality?" I asked, causing a deeper blush. "You can just call me Cloud. Or kumo," I added, then shrugged, "anything causal is fine with me."

"What are doing in Namimori?" she asked quietly.

"Inheritance Ceremony," I replied, shifting my hand to my hip. "You out shopping?" I asked, nodding to her bag. She nodded, then opened her mouth, and shut it again, as if debating something.

"Y-you," she started quietly, then took a breath before continuing, "do you want to do something? If y-you're not busy that is," she added, stammering a bit, and looking away as her cheeks reddened. I smiled softly, and nodded my own cheeks turning pink, being so surprised she had asked.

"How does cake sound?" I asked, "there's a great cake shop around here that Kyoko and Haru have taken me to before."

"Ah, they told me about it," She agreed, falling into step with me as I made my way to the shop. I hummed happily, seeing a small smile on her face from the corner of her eye.

"This should be fun, Chrome."

"Sorry," I said after the fifth of so awkward look we shared, "Really sorry. I'm awkward, right? Well, around girls in particular. Really pretty girls," I admitted with a tilt of my head, looking to the side and away from our cakes.

"You think I'm pretty?" Chrome asked quietly. I opened my mouth, emberassed momentarily. I closed it, then spoke again.

"Yeah," I said with a small laugh, "Really pretty. And you should know that, you know?" I said, causing her to blush even more. "But," I continued cautiously, "I mean, I just want to know you as a friend for now, yeah?"

She nodded shyly, no doubt focusing on the 'for now' of that statement.

"It's really ironic that you don't like pineapples," I laughed, poking the fruit with my fork, and trying to move on.

"I much prefer chocolate," Chrome admitted, placing her fork down next to her cleared plate, "but you're not eating it either, Nikita," she pointed at, staring at the fruit as I played with it some more.

"I have a bad habit of taking toppings off and not eating them," I admitted, shrugging, "but I do agree with you on the oily food. Coffee?" Her nose scrunched daintily.

"Too bitter," she muttered.

"Ah, shame," I breathed out, putting my fork down as well, "I'm pretty sure I can't live without it at this point. Screwed myself over in that respect." She let out a small huff of laughter, but then her amused expression morphed into one of deep thought.

"Nikita," she started, then paused. "Can I," she began again, finding her courage, "ask you a question."

"Sure," I replied, leaning back and crossing my legs, now much more comfortable after having gotten that first awkwardness out of the way.

"Are you only talking to me because Mukuro wanted you to?" I blinked, surprised by her boldness.

"No," I answered truthfully. "Are you?"

"No," she blushed deeply, her earlier courage gone. She glanced down and began twiddling with her fingers. "I… I just wanted to get to know you better. You took care of me at the ring battles," she explained, avoiding eye contact, "and Kyoko and Haru are helping me to talk to more people, so I thought, next time I see Nikita, I should talk to you…"

"And here we are," I finished for her, blushing lightly and smiling. "Although Mukuro does want me to look after you, I want to know you better anyways. You're a very kind person, Chrome," I said, causing her eyes to flicker up and her cheeks to redden, "And like I said earlier, really cute. Now, I have a question for you," I said, my eyes flickering behind her momentarily, and my voice becoming more serious. She caught this instantly, and her blush faded.

"You know you have a stalker, right?" I asked her, remaining casual. I was pleased to see that Chrome remained casual as well.

"Hm? Oh, yes," she nodded, looking down at her empty plate, "he's been following me for a little while. I think he sometimes leaves groceries for us," she admitted, shifting slightly. I hummed thoughtfully.

"So, not dangerous?" She shook her head.

"No, I don't think so."

"Good," I concluded, trying to ignore the strange nagging feeling.

"Do you know that you have one?" I tensed, my eyes snapping up to her.

"Hm?"

"That old man behind you," Chrome said, nodding with her head, "has been staring at you the whole time he's been here. I just assumed that he knew you." My eyebrows furrowed, not having felt any killing intent behind me. I turned my head slightly, then paled, and immediately sunk my head into my crossed arms, lowering myself.

"Shit," I hissed, my actions causing Chrome to look at me with a worried expression. Chrome stiffened as a shadow loomed over me.

"Hey," I greeted, drawing the word out as I pushed myself up to look at the cloud guardian, "how are you Visconti?" He stared down at me, with mouth expressionless and his eyes hidden by his sun glasses.

"You're supposed to be at the hotel," he stated simply.

"Yeah," I laughed nervously as Chrome looked between us, unsure of what was happening, "funny how those things work."

"Yeah," He said blankly back, "funny." In as few movements as possible, he pulled a wad of cash onto our table and lifted me by the collar of my jacket. I squeaked in protest as he dragged me out of the shop.

"Don't worry, Chrome," I called back to the girl, who stood up in shock," I know him, I'll be fine! I'll see you at the ceremony!"

Once out the door Visconti threw me in front of him.

"March," he ordered.

"Long time no see," I greeted, pivoting around to walk backwards to face him. "Are those new sunglasses? They look great." His facial expression remained the same. "You're not going to tell the ninth about this, right?" He raised one eyebrow. I frowned, turning to walk beside him.

"Oh, come on," I complained, sighing, "I just need to get a little fresh air. From a cloud to a cloud," I swear I saw him roll his eyes under his sunglasses, "you're the person I expect to understand the most." He stopped suddenly, grabbing my hood again before I walked forward. I whistled, turning to look at the vehicle he was walking towards.

"Nice ride," I commented.

"Get on," he commanded. I huffed and did an I was told.

"It's illegal not to wear helmets," I informed him, thinking back to the last motorcycle ride I had with Hibari. Wordlessly, Visconti put his own helmet on my head.

"Happy?" he asked.

"Joyous," I responded bluntly, my voice muffled from the helmet. I mounted the motorcycle, and he got on behind me. I blinked, enjoying the passing of lights as we made our way back to the hotel.

Truthfully, I had never really talked to Visconti much. He was a man of few words, after all, but I feel like I was as close to him as Ganauche or Bouche. At least, he was much more amused by me than Coyote, who wasn't amused by much of anything. I had a strange, hunch you could call it, that Visconti and Kyoya would get along splendidly, and made a note to bring this up with the ninth generation cloud guardian.

Visconti took the helmet off himself once we were in the parking garage of the hotel. I pouted, looking up at him.

"Still no answer on whether or not you're going to tell the Ninth," I reminded him, "Really, I don't know if I can handle those grandfatherly looks of disappointment I'm going to get if he finds out." He hummed deeply, lifting his hand to push his sunglasses up to sit on his forehead.

"I'll make a deal with you," he suggested, "from a cloud to a cloud. I'll go up and suggest that someone check on you, since the young Vongola Tenth just left. If you make it to the room before someone checks on you, without being seen, then you'll get off just as you planned. That way, you can't blame me for turning you in," he concluded, already beginning to head towards the elevator.

"I feel like you're underestimating me," I teased, beginning to walk backwards, and then turned, running out of the parking garage. He chuckled.

"We'll see, little Cloud."

"Motherfucker, Kashi!" I hissed, repeatedly knocking on the closed window, "open the window! And I did not give you permission to eat my snacks!"

Kashi's head popped up, from where she had been laying on the bed, surrounded by two empty nori bags, and watching TV. She sighed and rolled over, waddling over and jumping off the bed to get to the window. "Hurry," I elaborated, "You fat mammal! I swear, Jian would be faster than you." Kashi huffed, clearly offended.

"Kidding, kidding!" I said quickly, shivering slightly with the wind beating against me, "just please open the window!" It had taken me roughly ten minutes to scale the building, meaning Visconti was already up here, and had probably just now mentioned checking on me. I tapped my foot impatiently as Kashi struggled to lift the latch, falling off the sill when she finally got it open. I pushed the window in myself and jumped down, noting the sound of running water. This meant that they had already tried checking up on me once. I rushed to the bathroom, and turn the water off, noting that steam had already filled the space, probably indicating that they assumed I had already had more than enough time for a shower. I tensed, hearing a knock at the door.

"Kid?" Ganauche asked through the door. I mouthed a curse word, and ran back into the room, knowing the window was still open and that Kashi was still out.

"Give me a second," I called, running to the window to close it, and then rushing to the bathroom for a robe.

"We kind of have to see you to check on you," Ganauche called.

"Well I'm kind of naked!" I called back, shimmying my pants off, and throwing off my shirt. I heard distinct, loud coughing sounds through the door, and a deep chuckle. I could easily imagine a flustered Ganauche. "Well then put some clothes on brat!" He called back. Knowing I had bought some time, I turned on the sink in order to wet my hair. I calmed myself, and went to the door.

"Yes?" I said, opening the door just enough for me to peek my head out. My eyes shifted to an amused looking Visconti, and a still slightly red Ganauche.

"For a while, I thought you weren't there," Ganauche said.

"And where else would I be?" I shot back. My skin prickled, feeling fur against my ankle. I quickly moved my foot to push Kashi back away from the opening in the door, where she was trying to peek her head out as well.

"I wouldn't put it past you to sneak out," Ganauche admitted with a shrug as I struggled to keep Kashi in one place with my foot.

"Frankly, I'm offended you'd even say that," I said bluntly with a blank expression. Ganauche laughed, and waved me off, turning to walk away.

"Whatever, kid, you and I both know it's true." I stuck my tongue out at him childishly as he rounded the corner. Meeting eyes with Visconti, I caught his wink, and closed the door, catching Kashi just as she tried to make a break for it. I huffed, heaving her to the bed and setting her down, plopping down beside her, feeling rather winded.

"Okay, Kashi" I said, poking her now rounded stomach, "No more nori for you."

She burped in response.

"Ah, Nikita," Ninth greeted as I walked into the living area the next morning, "I'm glad you could join us."

"Yo, sis!" Dino greeted turning around to face me, smiling. I returned his smile, gladly.

"Dino!" I exclaimed, jumping over the back of the couch to sit next to him. He ruffled my hair and let his arm fall around my shoulders.

"I was just explaining to your brother how much you've helped us," The ninth explained, "the Giegue are especially grateful for you saving their second born."

"The ninth wanted to tell me why you were here," Dino explained when seeing my slightly confused look.

"I didn't want you to be forced to lie to your brother," the ninth further elaborated.

"Of course," I replied, a pang of guilt running through me. "How is she?"

"Still unconscious, unfortunately," the ninth sighed, then brightened, "but very much alive, thanks to you."

"I'm glad she was able to help them with her ability," Dino agreed.

"Yes, it's quite remarkable," the ninth nodded.

"How did the conversation with Tsuna go last night?" I asked out of politeness.

"Oh, Tsunayoshi seemed to be against the idea of going through with the ceremony," The ninth admitted.

"Ah?" Dino said, not seeming surprised much, "I figured as much."

"But he promised to give his definite answer when he meets with me again tonight," the old man concluded.

"I'm sure he'll make the right call," I nodded.

"As am I, Miss Cavallone," the ninth agreed, meaning more than he let on, "as am I."

"Holy shit!" I cursed, dropping my bag as I entered my hotel room. "Dammit, Dayita!" I accused her, letting go of my guns I had grabbed in the holsters under my arms, ready to draw when I walked in the room, "I was this close to shooting you."

"Thank god I had the right room," she relented, yawning, and stretching out across my bed, "for while I thought that I had been mistaken."

"You know what?" I concluded, rubbing my temples, "I'm not even going to question it anymore."

"That is the intelligent way to go," Yita agreed playfully. "Where have been, Nike? I got so bored waiting for you."

"First of all," I started, throwing my bag on the bed, "my life does not revolve around you. I have a life outside of..." I waved my hand, indicating towards her, "whatever our relationship is?"

"True love," she said dramatically, throwing her arm over her forehead and falling back to lay flat on the bed. I chose to ignore her, and continued.

"I was out all day, hanging out with Dino and the guys around town," I explained. "We just got back now."

"And to think I was nice enough to bring you the rest of your things," Dayita huffed, still acting offended.

"Bro before hoes," I called sarcastically. She pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Rude," she stated, then rolled over to reach for a duffle bag on the other side of the bed. "Your rifle is in here, along with a majority of your clothes. I mailed the others ones to your home," she explained, then pulled out a case, "here are your daggers, specially made."

I walked over to retrieve the case, setting it down on the bed and opened it. I blinked, surprised to see ten small daggers, neatly lined, and a specific place for a new ring. The hilts were embedded with small purple stones, matching the ring's stone. A space was cleared beneath the row, emptied to store a chain, belt, and a thigh strap, all perfectly designed to hold the daggers.

"Does your brother ever sleep?" I asked, impressed with how fast he put everything together.

"I don't concern myself with that," Dayita admitted callously. She then stiffened, her head snapping to the door.

"Princess!" I heard Romario knocking frantically from the other side. My gut clenched and I swiftly moved to open the door.

"Romario?" I said, the man almost falling in from knocking on the door so wildly.

"Princess," he breathed out, holding my shoulders, "you're needed at the hospital right away." I paled, stomach churning even more.

"Why?" I managed to get out, "Who is it this time?" Romario grimaced, and looked away guilty before answering.

"Yamamoto Takeshi."

One emergency trip to the hospital was already too many.

Tsuna stood up the moment I burst in the waiting room. His eyes widened, then filled with relief.

"Cloud, you're here!" I scanned the room, seeing people I didn't recognize, along with Gokudera and Ryohei. I saw Chrome standing near the door of the emergency room, tears running down her face. My expression softened, and I approached her. I put my hands on her shoulder.

"I'm going to need you, Chrome," I told her. She blinked away tears, then after realizing why I needed her, the look in her eye hardened and she nodded.

"Can you save him?" Gokudera asked, approaching me suddenly. He was unnerved, angry, ready to lash out.

"His wounds were too deep for my sun flames to heal," Ryohei warned me, looking extremely ashamed of himself.

"Mine are different," I assured him. I looked over at Chrome, who nodded. Scanning the room one more time, I met eyes with an extremely tall, dark haired girl. I suppressed a shiver, and looked away from her, heading through the doors of the emergency room.

It was harder, this time. With Ahya, I could distance myself, even with my relationship with Zhanna. But this, this was someone I was close to. This was someone I loved, and laughed with, and spent afternoons lounging lazily in his father's sushi shop with. This was some whose smile could calm anyone, and whose laugh could gloss over any pain or discomfort. This was Takeshi. This was different.

I brushed passed the surgeons, who had a dazed, glassed look in their eyes. Chrome gasped softly behind me, and stepped away, now being able to see Takeshi, laying like death before us, blood bright against the starkness of his skin and the room.

"It's worse than it looks," I assured her softly, for own sake after quickly evaluating him. This much was true; Takeshi was far better off than Ahya. Her wounds were both deep and numerous. Takeshi, however, only had one, gashing, awful wound. The amount of blood, however, made it seem worse.

I set to work, blocking out all other thoughts but medical. Chrome took a breath and turned her back on the scene, closing her eyes and concentrating on her illusion. I winced, my hands once again becoming soaked in blood. But, this time, it felt like a much more permanent stain. Ten minutes passed and I took a shaky breath, holding my blood soaked hands up and taking a step back.

"That's all I can do," I told Chrome, "he should be fine now." She let out a shaky sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness," she breathed out, smiling softly, her eyes watering again. I breathed out, feeling shaken having Takeshi's blood on my hands. I've been in this room too many times in such a short amount of time, I thought bitterly.

"You ready?" I asked, forcing myself to look away from Takeshi's face. She nodded, biting her bottom lip. I took a breath, a shaky one, and my body shivered involuntarily.

I blinked, then looked down, finding Chrome's hand in mine despite the blood that transferred from my gloves to her pale skin. Surprised, and still grieving, I met her eyes, finding soft embrace in them. Sympathy and understanding. A single squeeze and we walked out together.

The first thing I noticed upon entering the waiting room again, was that the strangers from earlier were now gone, leaving only Tsuna, Gokudera, Ryohei, and Reborn, who must have entered while Chrome and I were gone. The air was tense, and even more so when we entered.

"He's fine now," I assured them, holding up my hands (and letting go of Chrome's). I blinked, realizing that the blood was clearly visible, and quickly folded my arms behind my back. Tsuna, who had been sitting with a determined look on his face, dropped his expression, softening it like dough, and rose to approach me.

"So he's okay?" he asked, relief flooding his face, completely dispensing the tense air.

"His life isn't in danger," I elaborated, "but he won't be awake for a while, probably," I added, shifting slightly. "Definitely won't be up and walking around the Ceremony, if you're still having it…?" I trailed off, unsure if his decision had been made at this point or not.

"We are," Reborn stated.

"To catch whoever did this to Yamamoto," Tsuna said, his voice hardening, "and make sure they can't hurt anyone else."

"That's why no one else can know Yamamoto's true condition," Reborn picked up again, looking around at all of us in the room. "The people in this room should be the only people who know this. Yamamoto will appear at the ceremony as if nothing happened."

"But how?!" Ryohei stepped forward, "Cloud just said he won't wake up for a while!"

"That's why we have a mist guardian," Reborn piped, looking over at Chrome. She blushed, and shifted her weight, leaning closer to me, "you just showed skill in helping Cloud heal Yamamoto." Her blushed deepened and she looked away. I reached out to give her hand a reassuring squeeze, just like she had done for me earlier. She sent a small appreciative smile my way.

"It'll be up to the mist to make an illusion of Yamamoto tomorrow. If his attacker is there, then they should react to seeing him. Understood?" We all nodded hesitantly. Reborn then turned to me.

"Could you tell us anything about the attacker from the wounds?" he asked, all eyes flitting to me.

"It wasn't the same attacker as the Giegue," I relayed, remembering the large difference in wounds, "it was like… it was like he was skewered, almost," I said, almost regretting my words when seeing Tsuna's expression, "and the attacker was obviously stronger in their attacks. Ahya's wounds were lighter, done by a blade, definitely. I couldn't tell what made Takeshi's wound, but it was heavier, and done by a person with strength, a good arm."

"That still doesn't help us much," Reborn frowned, "but the attackers have to be connected." Tsuna's fist tightened.

"We'll find them tomorrow," he swore, "for sure."

Chrome gently picked up the package she had received, opening to find clothes for tomorrow's ceremony. She smiled gently, picking up the note attached, seeing slightly messy, but still eligible handwriting.

Nikita Cavallone was truly an interesting person. From what Mukuro had told Chrome (and from the feelings and memories that had unwittingly transferred from him to her), Chrome knew she would come to respect the girl even before their first meeting. But what she hadn't expected?

Was to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of passion Nikita held. Even without prompting from Mukuro, Chrome knew that Nikita would be kind to her, would show interest in her. And although Chrome felt pleasure in this, there was also a fleeting feeling of panic. Insecurity.

What if Nikita was just talking to her for Mukuro's sake?

No, she told herself quickly, recalling the authenticity of Nikita's blush, her awkwardness, recalling the warmth of the other girl's hand,

Nikita Cavallone was nothing, if not genuine.

(This was no illusion)

"I swear, the things I do to not get killed by Reborn," I muttered, lifting my foot to fix my heel. My foot clacked as it returned to the ground, and continued to click as I made my way up the wooden steps. Ivan stood outside the passenger side of the door of the car, looking around the area as Bono waited in the driver's seat.

"Why did it have to be me?" I whined again, taking a breath before knocking loudly on the door. "He could have sent Dino instead," I muttered, shifting as I waited, my hand absentmindedly brushing over the band that held my daggers, hidden under my dress. "Or maybe just have told him last night instead of sending me the day of?" I grumbled, annoyed that I had to wake up earlier than planned to get ready for the ceremony, and still have to pick him up.

Reborn had decided, via phone call early this morning, that it would be a great idea to send me to pick up Hibari, to inform him of the situation with Takeshi, and perhaps motivate the prefect to show up at the ceremony on time. After a few, well placed subtly death threats, because, let's face it, I'm not the most literate person in the morning, which leads for a bad conversation when anyone wants me to do something, let alone Reborn, I managed to get ready and let Dino know what I was doing. My brother seemed a hundred percent for the idea, most likely glad I was the scapegoat this time, and not him.

I reached up to knock again, only to have the door open. Kyoya stared down at me, dressed in a dark colored kinagashi. He looked me over, raising a single, slender eyebrow at my appearance.

"Hey," I greeted, giving him an awkward smile. He remained silent, one hand on the door, and the other hanging by his side holding a small book. "Can I come in?" I asked. He blinked, then moved, retreating into the traditional Japanese home. I took this as a yes, and nodded towards Ivan once before entering and closing the door behind me. I followed Kyoya through a hallway, eventually opening up into a living area, featuring a low couch and a coffee table, facing a single TV against one wall. A medium sized kitchen area was on the other side of the large room, displaying clean counters. Kyoya's house was extremely traditional, which fit him extremely well, with his disciplined personality. He turned to me abruptly, causing me to stop in my tracks.

"What do you want, Kumo?"

"I assume Reborn told you about the Inheritance Ceremony?" I questioned. He snorted, moving to sit down on the couch.

"I told the baby," he explained curtly, already finding the page number in his book, "I have no interest in that." It seemed he had already dismissed me, as his eyes were scanning the book.

"Takeshi was attacked at the school," I said bluntly. His eyes paused in their reading, and there was a moment before he looked up at me, closing the book and setting it beside him.

"Explain," he commanded.

"It happened last night," I started, "Ryohei found him on school grounds and called an ambulance. they took him to the hospital, and I came later to heal him. We think the culprit will be at the ceremony today. Chrome is creating an illusion of Takeshi to make it seem like everything is fine; only a few people know of the attack," I explained quickly, as curtly as I could, "we figure this is the best way to catch the culprits."

"Culprits?" He repeated.

"There was another attack a few days ago. We're certain that they're linked, but it's distinctively two different attackers," I elaborated. Hibari's eyes narrowed, and he looked at the floor in thought.

"Reborn sent me to pick you up for the ceremony," I concluded, "but if you're still not interested, then I-"

"Give me twenty minutes," Kyoya cut me off, standing up suddenly, and walking out of the room. I let a small smile slip, and swayed my shoulders; a small gesture of triumph. I 'hmphed' and moved to sit on the couch to wait for Kyoya to get ready.

"That's what I thought."

"I don't see why we have to arrive so early," Kyoya nearly growled, nose barely scrunching in distaste as he eyed the mass of people as we approached the castle-like structure.

"We're not early," I reprimanded him, rolling my eyes, "we're right on time. And besides, isn't it prefectly to arrive on time? I assumed you'd be all for that." He glared at me. I held my hands up in mock surrender. He moved forward to get ahead of me, but a man stepped in front of him.

"We'll need your names and weapons," he told us, "and we must do a body check to ensure that you have no hidden weapons." I quickly stepped in between them, seeing Kyoya's eyes narrow dangerously.

"No need," I waved him, off, holding out a hand and doing my best, dazzling smile, "Nikita Cavallone. And this is the tenth generation Cloud Guardian," I introduced, looking over at Kyoya as the man shook my hand. I gestured with my head at his hand, then bumped him with my hip when I realized he was still glaring at the man, who didn't seem to believe me, letting go of my hand and looking at Kyoya dubiously. Kyoya's eyes snapped to me, and I indicated at his hand again. I barely heard a grumble, and he held his hand up, showing his Vongola Ring. The man's eyes widened, and he stuttered.

"My apologies, sir, 'mam," he bowed slightly, clearing embarrassed by his mistake. I waved him off, smoothing it over.

"It's fine," I dismissed, "do you need to still check me?" He shook his head.

"No, 'mam," he said, looking over me, not seeing anywhere I could hide weapons, and obviously underestimating me for my age, "you two are clear. However, I will have to check the men behind you."

"Of course," I complied, looking back at Ivan and Bono, "I'll see you guys later," I said quickly, moving to catch up with Kyoya, who had already started walking off. My hand went to my thigh again as I caught up, Kyoya giving me a sideways glance as I fell into step behind him.

"Is that Hibari Kyoya?"

"Shit," I cursed, wincing as Kyoya's eyes snapped over. Dayita sauntered over to us, Aja behind her, giving me a bright smile. Kyoya's eyes narrowed, hatred radiating off of him.

"You," he stated with venom. Dayita smiled slyly, placing a hand on her hip.

"Me," she responded, taking her other hand and twirling her hair. I opened my mouth to tell Dayita to calm down, but Kyoya simply walked away, apparently not wanting to deal with this.

"Don't you dare," I said, grabbing Yita's arm as she opened her mouth and tried to follow. "Leave him alone," I pleaded with a heavy sigh, "it was hard enough getting him here, and I don't need you to ruin all my hard work." She giggled in response, then titled her head, watching as he disappeared into the building, moving away from the crowd.

"Shouldn't you go after him?" she mused, "Since I assume you're babysitting now."

"Nope," I said with a definite shake of my head. "I got him here; my job is done as far as I'm concerned. It just beneficial if he doesn't destroy things while he's here."

"Ah," Dayita hummed, "well, since the entertainment is gone, we should go mingle. Who knows? I may run into the Vongola Tenth," she humored. I frowned.

"Be nice," I told her, "he's a sweet guy; don't try to take advantage of him or anything." She waved me off.

"No need to worry about me, darling," she dismissed, walking into the crowd, beckoning Aja to follow. The man winked at me, and bowed slightly before following the illusionists. I sighed, running a hand through my hair, exhausted already just from that one conversation. I tensed, feeling someone approach, but relaxed when I realized who is was, letting him clap my shoulder.

"I see you've succeeded in getting Kyoya here," Dino congratulated, smiling down at me. "I saw him head inside earlier, but he didn't seem too keen to talk."

"You can blame that on Dayita," I admitted. Dino frowned.

"Didn't they hate each other in the future?"

"And that extends to the present," I chirped with fake enthusiasm. "Meanwhile, you seem to have some admirers," I noted, bumping him lightly with my hip, noticing the woman around us whispering and pointing at Dino. He blinked innocently.

"Hm?" My expression dropped.

"Please don't tell me you haven't noticed," I said, looking behind my brother at Romario for confirmation.

"You know just as much as me, princess," the man chuckled, smiling, "that boss was never good at noticing those kind of things." Dino frowned, looking between us.

"Hey," he stated, "don't leave me o-"

"VOOOOOIII!" I perked up instantly, my head swiveling to the source of the noise.

"Squalo!" I exclaimed, smiling brightly when I spotted the Varia talking to Tsuna and his group. I ducked out from under Dino's arm and nearly ran over to them. Ironically, as I approached, others quickly moved away, clearing the area after realizing who they were.

"Ah, Cloud!" Tsuna greeted, the first to look over as I approached.

"Hm?" Squalo looked over as well, a malicious smirk forming when he saw me. "Yo! Brat!"

"Been well, young ones?" Dino greeted, walking up behind me at a more casual pace. Bel grinned widely from behind Squalo and made his way over to me.

"Princess," he greeted, taking my hand and kissing it. I smiled back and mocked curtsied.

"Your highness," I shot back. I waved happily at Lussuria, who blew a kiss my way.

"Voi! You haven't been skipping training, have you?!" I looked back over, expecting to see Takeshi, but my stomach twisted in remembrance, seeing a blank space beside Chrome. She blushed, catching my eye, and held on to her trident tighter. Squalo and Dino's eyes narrowed, and they moved to take Tsuna aside. Chrome shifted uncomfortable, and I moved to comfort her, but Mammon floated over instead.

"You have weapons on you," Bel noted, drawing my attention to him as he lifted my hand and inspected my rings with a grin. My expression deadpanned.

"Oh, yeah," I scoffed, crossing my arms, "as if you guys don't."

"Oh, please darling," Lussuria purred, "as if I need a weapon."

"I can't wait to see them in action," Bel mused. I sighed and crossed my arms.

"Hopefully I won't have to use them today…" I said trialing off. Bel frowned, and Lussuria tilted his head. "Bad feeling," I explained, summarizing it as simply as possible. Bel hummed, and I knew he was scanning the crowd.

"We heard about the Giegue getting attacked," Lussuria explained, "do you think they'll try to ruin the ceremony?" Bel scoffed.

"They'd be stupid to," he spat, "they'd be killed on the spot with this many big shots in one place."

"Hm?" I looked over, hearing a commotion nearby. Squalo paused walking back to us, Tsuna having explained the situation to him and Dino. I frowned, seeing Tsuna move to break up a group that was beating up a red-head boy; Enma, I had to assume.

"Who are they?" Bel asked, nodding his head towards the unfamiliar group that had gathered around Enma, and who was now talking to Tsuna and his guardians.

"The Shimon, I think," I replied. Bel tilted his head, then shrugged.

"Must be a small, weak family," Squalo sneered, having lost interest and made his way back to us at this point. His eyes narrowed, seeing my rings, but said nothing, only exchanging a single look with me.

"Let's go," He called, turning on his heel to enter the building after Tsuna and his group had found Kyoya. "The ceremony should be starting soon."

Bel looped his arm with mine, stopping my movements.

"Stay still," he hissed, leaning over to whisper in my ear.

"It's not my fault that it's too fucking tense in here," I whispered back. Squalo's eyes snapped to us turning his head slightly to glare.

"Will you two shut the fuck up," he spat, the most quiet and respectful I had ever heard him. Dino nudged my side from my left, silently agreeing with Squalo. I huffed, puffing my cheeks, and shifted my other arm so that I was holding Bel's arm as opposed to bouncing, anchoring myself to him. This also put my hands together, making it easy to brush against my rings, feeling Jian's and Kashi's apprehension as well.

I looked around the room once more, taking in a few familiar faces. We were near the front, where they were presenting Tsuna with the Vongola Sin. My eyes flickered to Dayita, who stood with Aja a little ways to my left. She winked, and blew a kiss, causing me to look away. The ceremony had been impressively boring. I even caught Kyoya yawning, standing separated with the rest of the guardians.

"I pass this," The Ninth stated, my eyes flickering from Kyoya to him and Tsuna, drawing their speech to a close, "on to you, Decimo."

We all doubled over, an awful screeching sound emitting. My hands went to my ears, and Bel pulled me closer to him shielding his ears as well. I managed to keep one eye open, seeing multiple explosions go off in the boundaries of the room. Squalo was the first to recover, immediately looking to the Ninth, who was being protected by his guardians.

"Looks like it'll be fine," he noted, "to leave the Ninth to the guardians." I glanced over, seeing Romario and Dino checking on other guests in the aftermath of the explosions.

"You guys okay?" I asked as I slipped my gloves on, looking around at them, making sure they were fine before I moved on to other guests. Bel nodded rubbing one ear. Mammon grimaced, floating beside him.

"How annoying," he muttered. I scanned the room, my objective to find the most injured, but become distracted, seeing Ganauche standing in a large, secret opening in the wall.

"The vault has been broken into!" I paled, a cold feeling settling, already moving to step forward. Ganauche narrowed his eyes and waved smoke away, bringing a gun out quickly. "Something's in the room!"

As I neared, I saw his gun disassemble as he went to shoot. I scowled, reaching under my skirt to retrieve a dagger, lighting my ring and throwing it in front of Ganauche as objects were sent towards him. Bamboo sprung to life in front of him before he activated his Scudo Fulmine. Objects that looked to be ice shards impaled the small wall of bamboo, and I pumped more flames into it, causing some to shatter on impact.

I let out a puff of air, the defense having taken more flames than I thought. Bouche pulled Ganauche away from the shield I had formed for him, and pulled him to the side of the room with the rest of the ninth's guardians. Ganauche glanced over at me from where I stood in the doorway and nodded a bewildered thanks. I looked back over to the broken doorway of the vault, seeing the Shimon family, now clad in their school uniforms, standing before it. Tsuna and his guardians faced him, effectively blocking me. Enma stepped forward, holding up what appeared to be a vial of blood.

"We're taking back the 'sin'," he announced, "This blood belongs to the Shimon family."

I tensed, feeling the need to step back as they explained the true history of the Sin of the Vongola. I felt severely misplaced, as if intruding on a private conversation that I was never meant to hear. My eyes widened as Enma poured some of the blood on his ring, causing bands of runes and light to erupt form it, orbiting around him.

"No... way.." Tsuna muttered, slowly coming to the sick realization. "I don't understand… why!?" he yelled, activating his own ring, his eyes blaring orange.

"You're the ones," he continued, glaring, "who hurt Yamamoto?!" My gut clenched, just being reminded of this fact.

"Yeah," Enma stated indifferently, "That's right, Tsuna."

"Why!? Why would you do such a thing?!" Tsuna yelled taking a step forward. I looked over at Kyoya as they continued talked, noting how he had his tonfas drawn, ready to fight, and like me, not paying much attention to the past of the Shimon and Vongola being explained. His eyes, however, lit up with malice as the tall, dark-haired girl (Adel, maybe? The names of the Shimon weren't completely in my memory) poured some blood on her ring, causing a similar reaction to Enma's ring. The other members followed in suite, causing an outburst of energy and light. I moved to make another shield, but stopped, seeing Gokudera activate his box weapon.

"The Vongola flames are weak. Do you know why Vongola Primo eliminated us, Shimon, from the world?" Enma asked, still obscured by the smoke. "It is because our ancestors had a power that could rival Vongola's, and it scared him. A power neck and neck with the seven flames of the sky."

The debris cleared, revealing the Shimon family in their new forms, rings surging with power.

"The seven flames of the earth!"

I scowled, and turned around, seeing Dino and the Varia approaching. My hope plummeted however, when I turned to see Tsuna's guardians lifted off the ground, and being thrown into the walls. I held onto the ledge of the doorway and watched in horror, feeling Enma's power pulling at me too, even from this distance.

"What are you trying to do?!" Tsuna yelled as Enma pulled our friends from the walls and had them collide with each other. "Stop! You guys!" I moved forward, but stopped when the four began to push themselves up, only to be forcefully pushed back down again, enough force to make a crater around them. An awful shatter, almost a twinkling was the sign that the Vongola rings had shattered.

"No!" Coyote yelled, "The Vongola Rings!"

"Everyone!" Tsuna yelled, shocked and paled. He turned his angry eyes on Enma, and charged forward, fueled by anger. Enma calmly met him, blocking easily with one arm. I shielded my eyes, a bright light emitting from the two. The next thing I saw was Tsuna getting thrown into the ceiling, and then being pressed against it again.

"Tsuna!" I yelled, stepping forward, just as Dino and the Varia had reached us, joining me. The dark haired girl's eyes shifted over, narrowing as she saw us. I met her icy stare head on, glaring in defiance.

"Outsiders," she said, lifting an arm as I pulled out two daggers, "should stay out of it."

I quickly threw the daggers in two places in front of me, bamboo shoots springing forward to block the ice shards. I winced feeling the rigidity of the ice, annoyed by how many flames it took to stop the shards from getting to us. I let out a breath, most of the shards having shattered once I found the right amount of flames to put into the defense. I put my hand on one shoot, calling back the flames and lowering the shield, knowing I would need them to continue defending against her.

The girl's eyes snapped to me, livid and angry. I kept my face, determined and neutral, holding back the urge to cuss loudly. I had just labeled myself as a threat.

"Nikita get down!" Dino yelled as the girl threw her hand forward, sending the largest shard of ice yet at me, angled from the floor.

This time, I did curse aloud, calling Jian out as quickly as possible. The panda loomed behind me, large with the flames I had put into him and brought his paws together, catching the ice shard with me. I grimaced, getting pushed back until we neared the wall, the shard growing longer as the girl willed it to. We managed to slow it considerably, Jian and I both pumping rain flames into the ice, him through his paws and me through my gloves. Although, I noticed, it was much harder tranquilizing it than normal flames of the sky. I arched my neck as Jian was pushed against the wall, the tip of the shard nearing my neck.

I really, really didn't want to die by icicle, I decided then and there, putting more will into my flames, but knowing I was losing them fast, and that Jian was beginning to shrink. The girl continued to glare at me, pushing her hand forward and furrowing her eyebrows in concentration.

I felt a small smudge of satisfaction, despite the tip being at my neck at this point, my body pressed completely into Jian, and the wall behind him showing signs of cratering beneath the force. It seemed like she was having almost the same amount of trouble as me.

"Adel!" Her hand faltered, startled by the sharp shout. Adel's head snapped towards Enma, obviously angry that he had broken her concentration. He gave her a stern look.

"Tsuna and his guardians are our priority," Enma stated, pushing her arm down, "we can kill the others easily," he elaborated, his eyes flickering to me momentarily (was that a flash of empathy?). Jian grunted behind me and tightened his grip on the shard, making crack's in its surface, showing me that he could break it at this point. I made a small shake of my head, telling him to wait.

Adel looked back at me icily, and lifted her chin, proudly. I suppressed a shiver, not liking that look one bit. She looked over me once more before turning on her heel, as if memorizing my face and features.

"You're right," she allowed proudly, "we can kill them anytime. What we need to show them is a living hell." I let out a small brief, shifting slightly so that I could gingerly touch my throat. I frowned, seeing a small bit of blood on my gloved finger.

"Chrome!" I looked back, horrified to see a man in a fedora picking Chrome up and walking out with the rest of the Shimon.

"Tsuna," Enma stated, looking back up at him, "you'd better worry about yourself." He lifted his hand once more, delivering a final blow, shattering the Vongola ring.

"Today is the start of Vongola's end," Adel said, looking me straight in the eye with triumph, "and the beginning of the Shimon." She turned on heel once more, and the Shimon walked out through a hole made earlier in the back wall of the room. "Let us leave to our holy home."

"Jian!" I called, as soon as they left. He growled, ripping the ice shard away and shattering it with his paws, reducing his size to a little below my height. I let out a sigh of relief, the pressure of the icicle pushing against us gone, and immediately ran over to Tsuna, Dino right behind me. I barely noted Squalo moving to the Ninth's group.

"Tsuna!" I said, touching his shoulder gently. He shifted, groaning.

"Don't move," I told him, activating my flames and inspecting his injuries, "you'll only hurt yourself more."

"I'm fine," he assured me, ignoring my earlier instruction and pushing himself up. I huffed and put my arm underneath him, helping him to sit up. I looked over to see both Gokudera and Ryohei attempting to swat away others who were trying to check on them. Dino had Kyoya, who looked ashamed more than injured.

"Enma…" Tsuna muttered, causing me to look back at him, "I couldn't even fight back…" he grimaced, looking at me, "and you got involved too," he said as if apologizing, "and Chrome's been kidnapped!" I bit my bottom lip, eyes slipping to the side in shame.

"No way!" Gokudera sputtered, wincing as he sat up roughly, pushing away the man who was trying to help him.

"Where'd they go?" Ryohei exclaimed.

"Calm down," the Ninth said, approaching, "My guardians are currently tracking Shimon. You must focus on healing yourselves."

"Ninth! Bad news!" Ganauche said, coming back into the room. "Coyote Nougat was following Shimon, but they discovered and attacked him!" The ninth become pale, stricken with shock. Squalo stepped forward.

"Varia can take care of the Shimon from here," he supplied, "just give us your consent, Ninth."

"No," the Ninth said simply.

"What you old man!?" Squalo snapped, taking an aggressive step forward.

"Understand me, Squalo," the Ninth said, "we can't produce any more victims."

"Victims?" Squalo repeated, seething. "Are you saying we'd lose?! We're on a different level than your wimpy guardians!"

"Squalo!" The Ninth snapped, "Shimon's power lies within a ring that we know nothing about! Without a powerful ring or bow weapons, you will never win!" Squalo stepped back, a little shocked at the outburst.

"Please, listen to him, Squalo," I spoke up, rising to catch his arm as he stepped back, "Their flames are nothing like what we're used to. It took way more flames to neutralize them than it should. These aren't normal powers," I finished, folding my arms and hugging myself, "even my defense had trouble going against it, and it's built specifically for attacks like that." Squalo scowled, seeing the logic.

"Not to mention," Reborn spoke up, "the Vongola rings have been broken." The Ninth's frown deepened.

"Tsunayoshi and his guardians were the closest to the Shimon's power because they went to the future and have the Vongola rings, but now…" he trailed off, looking at the box that held the shattered rings, "they have been broken. If only I had researched the Shimon more…." he grimaced, looking away from us. "What have I done? Even my life would not be enough to compensate for this."

"Ninth…" Ganauche muttered, stepping up from behind me.

"There's still some hope left," a new voice said, causing us to turn around, and see an old, strange looking man hobble in, his eyes covered by a blindfold, wrapping around his head. "I can see there is light, even with these blind eyes." The Ninth's mouth hung open staring at the man.

"You are…!"

"Ninth," the blind man addressed, feeling with his cane before each step, "you have certainly grown old."

"Grandfather Talbot! You came to the ceremony?" the Ninth approached him, Tsuna and I shared confused glances. Reborn hopped on Ryohei shoulder and explained.

"He's Talbot, the oldest metal craftsman that has worked alongside the Vongola."

My eyes wandered back over to Talbot as Reborn continued his explanation, watching as he inspected the shattered rings. I viewed the old man in awe, his wisdom almost radiating off him, to the point where it almost felt tangible. This man was powerful, but not in the common sense. The old man began muttering to himself, inspecting the rings.

"What's the geezer doing?" Gokudera asked rudely. I leaned over and flicked his ear, causing him to look over at me with a glare, withering when I matched it with my own, and held a finger up, shushing him. The Varia stood nearby, watching Talbot with interest.

"The Vongola rings are writhing to be reborn," Talbot stated. "They're still alive," he assured the Ninth and Tsuna after their small outbursts of shock, "their shell has merely been broken." He paused, having turned towards Tsuna, and hobbled over to him. Tsuna leaned away, not knowing what else to do. I winced, Talbot nailing Tsuna, hitting a particularly bad bruise I had noticed earlier.

"So, you're the Vongola Tenth, eh?" Talbot asked. "Ho,ho,ho! You're exactly the man the ring says you are."

Gokudera moved forward to retaliate against the man for hurting his beloved tenth, but I grabbed the color of his shirt and pulled him back before he could move forward. He grumbled, glaring up at me.

"Respect your elders," I tutted, beginning to walk away as Talbot began to explain the voices of the rings and how he can fix them.

"How bad is he?" I asked Ganauche in a hushed tone, careful not to undermine the conversation going on in the middle of the room. He grimaced, looking away from Talbot to lock eyes with me.

"Barely alive," he stated.

"Then bring me to him," I stated simply, shrugging, "or I can go to him." Ganauche blinked, looking over me, taking in my slightly-scruffed up appearance from defending against Adel.

"But, your flames-"

"Are fine," I finished for him, almost too quickly, "I can heal just fine. I have just enough to handle the worst injuries. After I help Coyote, I'll see who else needs help." Ganauche sighed, seeing the look in my eyes.

"Thanks," he said, weakly patting my shoulder, and leading me out. I grabbed Lussuria's arm on the way out, catching the attention of the rest of the Varia.

"I need you to help me," I said to him, pulling him along with me, "We've got a lot of healing to do."

"I thought so," I breathed out, peeking my head into the room, "you patched yourself up, didn't you?" Hibari's eyes narrowed, noticing me pushing against the door as I shut it and entered the room.

"You're weak," he stated bluntly, barely glancing up at me from inspecting the large, ragged stone he held in his hands. Irritation radiated off of him, but at this point, I was really too exhausted to care.

"Yeah," I agreed with a small breath of laughter, "but I probably have enough flames to heal you at least a little bit. You were the one who resisted the most," I reminded him, glancing down at his ankle, "did you think I wouldn't notice?"

"I don't need you to baby me," he snarled, glaring at me.

"I'm not babying," I explained, "I'm helping. I wouldn't dare try babying you; besides, you've never needed someone to hold your hand, right?" He snorted, lifting his chin slightly.

"Let me help you, Kyoya," I said, coming to stand across from him lightly leaning on the round, small table behind me.

"I fight my own battles," he said, meeting my eyes as the stone began emitting strong, lilac light, "and I refuse to let others fight them for me."

I blinked, looking down at his new weapon in his wrist. He lifted it, inspecting it himself. He let out small hum of approval before turning on his heel and beginning to walk out of the room. I sighed and crossed my arms.

"It would be a lot easier to fight without that limp," I drawled, moving to sit in one of the chairs. He stopped and paused before turning around, glaring daggers at me.

"You're annoying," he said, eyes narrowed. I held back a smirk, as he approached me again. "Make it quick." I hummed happily, and he looked away pointedly. I gestured for him to sit, about to rise out of the chair myself. Instead, he simply lifted his leg in response, putting his foot on my knee, almost forcing me to sit back down. I rolled my eyes and got to work.

"Hey, Kyoya?" I asked, just as I was finishing up, "be careful fighting these guys, okay? Especially that girl," I stated, finishing his ankle, "her defense is especially strong. Be smart about your attacks." He scoffed, testing his ankle.

"As if I need you to tell me that, Kumo," he drawled. I smiled, feeling like I had been forgiven, even slightly so.

"Want me to text you the location of their base when they find it?" I asked. He looked at me, unamused. "Hey, it's nice to have help, even if you don't need it," I pointed out, resting my head on my hand, propping one arm on my knee. He closed his eyes and turned away from me, moving to the window and opening it.

"Contact me as soon as you get the information," he demanded without even turning, "and no later." And with that, he jumped out the window. A soft breeze wafted through the room, billowing the curtains. I sighed, and shook my head.

"He sure knows how to make an exit," I muttered, sinking further into the chair and allowing my breaths to become ragged. Healing Hibari's ankle had taken about the last of my flames it seems. If I healed anymore I'd probably pass out. Suddenly the door bust open, Tsuna, Gokudera and Ryohei busting in. Tsuna's eyes widened when he saw me.

"Cloud!?" He exclaimed, "Where did Hibari go?" I blinked, then pointed at the open window.

"That guy!" Gokudera growled, clenching his fists, "He just left in this time of crisis!" Gokudera stormed out into the hallway once again.

"Ah, Gokudera!" Tsuna called, following his friend with Ryohei behind him, "Wait up!"

I blinked lazily, watching them go. I closed my eyes and laid my head back, frowning as I thought back to my encounter with Adel.

"Good luck, Bro," I said, thinking fondly of Tsuna, "you're gonna need it."

AN:

And that's basically the end of the Shimon arc for Nikita. Now onto my fave! A warning, this is my official last day of break, so I may not be able to update like crazy as I have been doing. Just a heads up, but also, reviews always motivate me to update faster.

Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows!

-Evenly