Chapter 21: The Art of War
"The ones who survive aren't the strongest or the smartest. They're the ones who know how to adapt."
-Kazutaka Kodaka (Celestia Ludenberg: Dangan Ronpa)
"This," I said, holding up a disgruntled Kashi," is Kashi. And that, I gestured with my head behind me, "is Jian."
Said giant panda peeked out from behind his paws, then continued to attempt to hide behind me.
"He's shy sometimes," I said with a light laugh, "especially when he hasn't been out in a while." Fran looked away from Kashi (who was struggling out of my arms at this point, angry that I had apparently woken her up from a nap), and looked Jian over.
"He's fat."
Jian whimpered, bending even lower behind me in embarrassment. I frowned, and poked Fran in the forehead.
"Be nice," I scolded. He frowned, rubbing his offended forehead.
"Sorry. Fluffy."
Jian sniffed, peeking out from behind my back once more, inspecting Fran again. Finally, he clambered out. Fran froze, just now realizing how big Jian was. I could easily tell he was trying to resist leaning away as Jian sniffed him, inching closer to his face. Inches away, he stopped. Then he huffed, ruffling Fran's hair slightly. He then booped him in the forehead with his nose and sat down in front of him.
"I think he's fine with you now," I said happily, I looked over at Kashi, who had found a nice sunny spot to continue her nap. "Kashi is usually more… vibrant," I said, thinking of a word, "but you can play with Jian for now, I guess."
"Really?" Fran asked, looking genuinely surprised.
"Yeah," I hummed in agreement, "Jian's a real gentle giant. Kind of wimp though, so don't play too rough." Jian grumbled in disagreement. I gave him a look. "Oh, please. You know you're a baby." He slumped forward.
"He'll let you get up on his back if you ask nicely," I informed Fran. He blinked, then looked back over at Jian. The panda snorted, then got up, looking back at Fran, signaling him to climb on. I laughed as the kid ran forward and attempted to scramble on Jian. I grabbed him as I approached, saving him from falling.
"Go easy until he gets the hang of it," I advised, patting Jian and ruffling Fran's hair. Fran turned to me to frown, but a surprised look over came him as Jian started forward, snorting in amusement as Fran almost fell off again.
I sighed in contentment, watching as they made their way around the court yard. Fran, although startled at first, was enjoying himself, and even began making his own narrative, with Jian as his noble steed.
I frowned, having to look away as my phone buzzed. I lightened up, seeing it was Dino calling.
"Yo," I greet cheerily, stifling a laugh as Fran decided that Kashi was to be the evil creature that him and Jian must catch. She squeaked in protest, being disturbed once more. The two began chasing her around the courtyard as Dino addressed me.
"Hey, Nikita…" I was immediately alert, picking up on my brother's uneasiness.
"What's wrong?" I said, turning away from their antics.
"Ah," he recovered, "nothing's really wrong, really… it's just- well. Someone's here to see you." I blinked.
"Oh? Who?"
I stiffened, relaying the name at least three times and asking him to repeat it once to make sure I heard right.
"I'll be there as soon as possible," I promised before saying goodbye and hanging up. Fran looked back at me, hanging onto to Jian as he was leaning his front paws against a wall, grumbling at Kashi, who had managed to find a safe spot, out of their reach in an indent in the wall. Fran slid off Jian and ran up to me. Jian and Kashi gave each other's looks, feeling my uneasiness easily and returning to me. I held my hand out, calling them back into their ring forms.
"You're leaving?" Fran asked, frowning slightly. I sighed, and left a soft smile slip on my face as I leaned down to ruffle his hair. He frowned and shooed my hands away.
"You know that ruins my awesome hat illusion, Bahin," he drawled, looking away with a pout as Dayita wafted into the courtyard.
"Ah, Yita!" I called as she approached, "I need to leave right away. Something important came up." She frowned.
"So soon?" She huffed and put her hands on her hips, "I suppose it can't be helped. I would be correct in guessing that you're leaving me with that while you're gone?" She continued, pointing at Fran who simply stared back without blinking. I smiled at her apologetically, scratching the back of my head.
"Bahin," Fran called, tugging at my shirt, "can we stay in touch the way I want to?" I hummed in question, bending down slightly to look him in the eyes.
"And what way would that be?" I asked, titling my head. He blinked again, and answered as if the solution had been obvious and should have been my first choice.
"Through dreams," he stated, shrugging nonchalantly, "that would be the best way, right?" Dayita flicked him harshly in the back of the head, causing him to wince.
"Idiot," she said with a scowl, "you can't do that yet. I told you, that's a high level illusionist skill. And Nikita's mind is even more difficult to get into. Almost impossible. Trust me," she said with a flip of her hair, "I've tried."
"Wait," I called you, "you've tried?"
"Probed," she admitted with a shrug, "just to see why you can't see illusions. You have very strong defenses, darling." I sighed, rubbing my temples.
"I don't have time for this," I relented, shaking my head. I turned back to Fran, ruffling his hair one last time before walking away.
"Maybe when you're older, Fran," I promised, "But right now, I have someone waiting for me."
"They're in his office," Romario told me, falling into step with me as I entered the front doors.
"How long has she been here?" I asked guilty that I wasn't here in the first place.
"She just came yesterday, princess," Romario said in an understanding tone, "however, she hasn't said why she came, and frankly, we didn't want to pry, seeing her emotional state."
"If it's what I think it is," I nearly growled, tightening my fists as I neared Dino's office door, "she has every reason to be emotional." I burst into his office, looking around immediately. Dino stood up abruptly.
"Cloud!" I spied her head as she straightened from her slump, sitting in one of the chairs facing his desk. She turned around, her eye widening when she saw me.
"Chrome," I said, moving forward. She stood as well, biting her bottom lip, her eyes watering. She almost fell into me, wrapping her arms around my waist as I caught her. With her face buried into my shoulder, she began to sob quietly. Dino paled, not knowing what to do. I hesitated, in the same boat as him, then I softened and stroked her hair, pulling her into me more.
I wasn't going to tell her it was fine. I wasn't going to tell her that everything was okay. Because she didn't need that right now.
All she needed was a friend, and I was more than happy to be that for her.
"Here's some hot chocolate," I said as I entered my room, placing the tray on the bed and bringing my legs up to sit on it as well. "I brought a few more pieces of chocolate in case you want to add more," I informed her, gesturing lightly with my head at the small pieces of heart shaped chocolate next to the mugs of steaming milk.
Chrome sniffed, wiping her eye and nose with her sleeve and nodded thanks before tenderly taking a mug tasting it, then added more pieces. I handed her a spoon to stir then took my own mug, sipping slowly, giving her time.
"Mukuro…" she started softly, "… he, he doesn't want me anymore." Her bottom lip trembled. "I woke up the other day and there was a note, telling me to get out. Them beside it, there was a suitcase with money, a plane ticket, and directions to bring me here…" she managed, looking down at her mug. My fist tightened and looked down frowning. So, he expected my promise to apply, even now? After what he did? But…
I looked up at Chrome, who was on the verge of crying again. Taking care of Chrome. Caring for her. I was more than willing to do this, even if it was something I promised him I would do. It was Mukuro who I was having troubles with, not Chrome, after all.
(and we had both been discarded, after all)
"Forgive me," Chrome muttered, not wanting to look me in the eyes, "for being a burden. I can leave, if you want-"
"No," I said, a little too quickly. She must have seen my conflicted expression, and thought that it was directed at her, "We'd love to have you here, Chrome," I promised her, "Dino, the guys, everyone, me; we'd all love to have you around, I promise." I assured her, placing my hand on hers gently, reassuring. "You can stay for as long as you need."
She looked up at me, surprised, still feeling guilty, but hopeful. And that was all I needed.
"I should take you into town," I suggested, getting happier, "There's tons of stuff that I'm sure you'll love! Takeshi came here a while ago and had a blast." She looked down again and I held back a frown, thinking she would refuse. But, then she blushed softly.
"That…" she said, a small smile on her face, "would be nice."
"You could totally pull off this one too," I noted, pulling the dress fully out of my closet.
"You really don't have to do this, Nikita," Chrome said blushing heavily, looking at the other clothes I had put on the bed in apprehension, "I'm already borrowing most of your clothes."
"It's fine," I assured her, raising a hand to lazily wave her worries off, "I barely wear these dresses anyway."
"But they're so nice!" Chrome marveled, feeling the fabric of one.
"Most of them are gifts," I said with a shrug, "but I'm just not a dress and skirts person, you know? Here," I said, handing her another one, "you should go see if this fits. I've had it for a while, after all." She hesitated, then gingerly took the dress, moving to my bathroom to try it on. I hummed happily, finishing up sorting through my closet.
She was much happier, I noticed. I had done my best to distract her for the past few days, taking her into town and out to shops and restaurants, gardens and parks. The children loved her especially. I even noticed that Luca had developed a crush on her, despite thinking that she was my girlfriend (which, naturally, left us both in a blubbering, blushing, beet-red mess. It didn't help that the rumor spread rather quickly). She was laughing again, if softly.
She reentered the room, and from the corner of my eye I saw her softly admiring the dress in the mirror.
"So it fits?" I asked, turning around with a few more piece of clothing. She nodded shyly, looking in the mirror once more.
"You really don't have to give me this much," she tried, seeing me adding to the already large pile. I waved her off once more.
"Dayita gave me a bunch of clothes, so I was going to have to get rid of some anyway. Besides, they look way better on you than me," I said with a wink, causing her to blush. Momentarily, I felt proud, having said that with confidence. She jumped, hearing a knock at the door.
"Cloud, Chrome?" Dino asked, cracking the door slightly.
"You can come in, bro!" I addressed, turning away from Chrome to greet my brother as he opened the door.
"Ah," he said, eyeing the clothes as he walked Romario trailing behind, "I see you're getting rid of those dresses finally." I shrugged.
"They were taking up room in my closet," I informed him cheekily. He then looked over at Chrome, noticing her new attire.
"Hey, you look great, Chrome!" She blushed again, glancing away.
"Thank you, Dino," she said, clasping her hands together.
"What did you need, bro?" I called him back. He sighed, rubbing the back of his head.
"Apparently Reborn wants us to come do a favor for him," he informed me. I narrowed my eyes.
"Reborn wanting a favor?" I asked suspiciously, "that's never a good thing."
"Right?" Dino agreed, slumping slightly. Romario chuckled at our reactions. "Anyways, he said it was important, so we're leaving in a couple hours. I just wanted to give you girls a heads up."
"Eh?" Chrome said, causing us to look over at her, "you mean," she said quieter, "that I'm going too."
"Naturally," Dino said with a confused smile, "I mean, there's no reason you wouldn't. It's not like we're going to leave you here alone."
"And we can see Haru and Kyoko," I said, moving to place a hand on her shoulder, "all your friends are in Japan anyways, right?"
"Yeah..." she muttered with a soft smile, pink dusting her cheeks, "they are."
"I'll help you pick out what to bring," I told her, going back to the pile of her new clothes, "we should move fast anyways. Reborn wanting a favor is never a good thing."
"Are you sure, Nikita?" Chrome asked, turning back to me, unsure. We had just finished dropping our things off at the hotel, and were walking over to Kyoko's to meet back up.
"Yeah, yeah," I waved her off, "you go on a head. I feel like I need to visit Tsuna first anyways, to find out what Reborn's favor is," I convinced her, having a feeling that this 'favor' might have something to do with the representative battles they talked about in the memory.
"I can always visit the girls later, but you should go see them now," I concluded. Chrome bit her lip, looking at the corner. Kyoko's house was just around it, after having led Chrome there since she didn't really know the way.
"Go on," I assured her, taking initiative and pushing her gently forward, "they're already excited to see you!" She smiled and nodded, thanking me before hurrying to the house. I sighed, watching as she went.
"She's so fucking cute," I sighed, folding my arms behind my head and turning around to begin my walk to Tsuna's house, "I'm lucky to have a friend like her…"
"I'd say she's lucky to have a friend like you," a familiar voice said, causing me to smile as I recognized it instantly. I turned to the small figure standing on the wall next to me.
"Master!" I smiled brightly, and turned to greet him, bowing. He smiled kindly and returned the movement.
"I'm glad I found you," he said, titling his head slightly, "I figured that you would come with your brother when Reborn contacted him."
"You knew Reborn would ask him to come?" I questioned him coyly.
"It seemed plausible enough," he answered easily. "Why don't we find someone to eat? There's something I want to ask you, after all."
"Does Ipin know you're here?" I asked my master after thanking the chef. I began eating, using the chopsticks provided and watching Fon out of the corner of my eye as I ate my noodles.
"No, I haven't visited her yet," he admitted, "I only just arrived here recently. I had just gotten your letter before I left." I picked an onion out of my bowl and threw it to Richi. The small monkey seemed happy with the gift.
"I felt the need to contact you after I returned from the future," I said, turning my attention back to him, "and since I haven't wrote in a while. Sorry, about that," I said, laughing a bit and raising a hand to scratch the back of my head, "things got kind of hectic."
"I understand," he smiled softly, "It's been a while, however," he said, looking over me once again. "Your hair is growing longer," he noticed, "and I see that you're still wearing your weights."
"And adding to them, per Collonello's orders," I said, playing with the ends of my hair, making a note to cut it sometime soon. It was getting quite long now.
"I can assume that your fighting style has changed as well," he guessed. I blinked thinking about it.
"Yeah, I guess it has. I don't really stick to a specific style anymore," I realized, thinking back to when I mainly stuck with just Capoeira and judo, "I just kind of do my own thing, you know?" He hummed after slurping more of his noodles.
"That what I thought would happen eventually," he admitted. "You're not one to stick to a single way, after all. So, you are completely comfortable with fighting?"
"After the training with the Giegue," I answered, finding the question strange, "yeah. Completely, especially if I'm fighting for someone."
"Ah, yes, you mentioned your weapons training in your letter," Fon recalled, "I'm happy to hear you say that, Cloud."
"Where are you going with this, master?" I asked suspiciously after finishing my bowl. Fon sighed, and looked off, a bit regretful.
"I hate to ask you this, but you're the most compliant solution I can think of. Hearing your confirmation in fighting, and learning of your mastery in weapons has only proved me right," he explained before meeting my eyes. "I truly hate to ask my own student this, but, I need someone to represent me in an upcoming battle."
"Will you fight for me, Nikita Cavallone?"
I walked back to the hotel, hands folded behind my head in a happy state. I had decided not to bother Tsuna, since meeting up with Master had gone pretty late, and Dino had texted me saying that he was on his way back to the hotel anyway. Kyoko had informed me that Chrome was spending the night, so there was no need to drop by and pick her up. Besides, I noted mentally while yawning, I needed my sleep for the upcoming days.
"Hm?" I blinked, recognizing a group up ahead. "Is that…?" I muttered to myself, tilting my head. The same time, one of the figures caught sight of me as well.
"Voi! Brat!" Squalo called. I smiled and approached them, realizing it was all of the Varia. Xanxus looked over at me and nodded. Bel grinned and held up his fist, which I met before turning to Squalo.
"Yo!" I said, raising a hand, "what are you guys doing here?" Squalo tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.
"You don't know about the representative battles yet?"
"Is that what Reborn called Dino here for?" I asked feigning innocence.
"I knew he would call in his former students," Mammon muttered thoughtfully.
"So, you don't know about it yet?" Squalo continued, looking down at me.
"I haven't seen Reborn yet," I answered, careful to avoid lying and deceitfully telling the truth instead, "I was heading back to the hotel now."
"Did you bring the brat with you?" Levi asked, an annoyed expression crossing his face.
"Nope," I said with my usual pop, leaning back on my heels, "I got Dayita to teach Fran. He's in India with her right now." Squalo raised an eyebrow, slightly impressed.
"You managed to get that bitch to agree to that?"
"She says he's got a lot of potential," I informed him, my eyes drifting over to Xanxus, who was zoning off from boredom, not even paying attention to the conversation. Squalo looked away in thought, putting his hand on his chin.
"The brat might be some use to us later after all, if she's training him…" he said, trailing off.
"Nikita~" Lussuria flounced forward, "you said you were going to a hotel, right? What hotel are you staying at?"
"Ah, I forgot the name," I said, scratching the back of my head," but it's about two blocks from here? Nice building with lots of fancy, intricate ledges. Easy to scale up. Nicest hotel in Namimori, I'm pretty sure." Lussuria clapped his hands together.
"I thought so! That's where we're staying as well!" He informed me happily.
"Nice~" Bel sang happily, throwing his arm around my shoulder. Xanxus yawned and began walking forward. Squalo sighed, looking after his boss irritably, but followed, moving the whole group forward. He fell into step with me at the center of the group.
"So you haven't been asked as a representative?" he asked, unfortunately bringing the conversation back to the subject of the representative battles.
"I haven't been able to see him for him to ask," I explained to him, "I met up with a friend as soon as I got here." Which wasn't a lie, technically. I opened my mouth to say more, but trailed off, watching as a familiar figure tripped on his own two feet and face planted a little ways off. Squalo raised as eyebrow at my expression and Bel snickered, having witnessed my brother's actions as well.
"What?" Squalo asked irritably, annoyed by Bel's snickering. I sighed, my head slumping.
"Oh, nothing," I dismissed, "just marveling at how clumsy a guy can be…" I muttered sadly, confusing Squalo even more. Bel snickered again, even more amused.
"Your brother's an idiot," he informed me politely. I scrunched my nose and elbowed him lightly in the ribs.
"Don't remind me."
"Hm?" Dino looked at my casual clothing as I stepped out of my and Chrome's hotel suite. "Why aren't you dressed up?" He asked, looking down at me with a frown. I raised an eyebrow, giving him a disappointed look.
"I told you I couldn't go," I said, crossing my arms and looking up at him in disdain, "I repeated it, in fact. Weren't you listening?" He hummed, scratching the back of his, then made small noise when I moved forward, making my way to the elevator.
"Hey!" he called, running a bit to catch up, "I don't remember you saying anything about that!"
"You should really listen to your sister more often," I said, flipping my phone open to look at Byakuran's message. He had just reunited with Uni, it seems.
"I do pay attention to you," Dino smiled, putting him arm around me and pulling me in, ruffling my hair. I huffed, and pushed him off, puffing my cheeks out and giving him a look as I tried to manage my hair. "In fact," he said, "I noticed that you were with the Varia the other day."
"Yeah?" I asked, putting a hand on my hip, "and?"
"Are they here for the representative battles?" He asked as the door opened. I stepped out as I answered him.
"What do you think?" I shot back casually, looking at my phone again to check the time. He grumbled, following after me, then brightened considerably, seeing Tsuna and Reborn enter the lobby.
"Ah!" Tsuna exclaimed, his eyes widening seeing both of us approach. "Dino and Cloud!"
"Yo, Tsuna," Dino greeted coolly, "thanks for coming." I smiled brightly, leaning forward to ruffle Tsuna's hair as Reborn jumped to Dino's shoulder.
"Tuna-fish," I greeted happily, "long time no see, right?" Tsuna grumbled, pushing my hands away. "Sorry I won't be joining you guys to eat."
"Hm?" Tsuna looked confused, glancing back to Dino, "A dinner? Is that why you're dressed up, Dino?"
"Of course," He replied casually, "I've got to keep up appearances for my former home tutor and younger brother. Eat you fill."
I smiled easily, watching their interactions, but was distracted by a familiar figure above. My expression deadpanned as I watched Bel scale the wall easily with Mammon on his shoulder. Seeing that he was caught, he grinned widely down at me, giving a small salute before grabbing the long decorative rope of drapes nearby and swinging across the room with a loud yell of joy.
"I'll be taking this!" He called, easily grabbing Tsuna and landing, sending a small wave back as he ran off, "See ya', princess!" I blinked lazily, not surprised by these events at all.
"Belphegor is here too…" Reborn muttered after getting over his surprise of seeing Mammon. ".. I see, that's what you meant…"
"Get it now?" Dino said weakly, before grumbling, and running off in the direction Bel went with Tsuna. He paused, looking back at me when he noticed I wasn't moving.
"Aren't you gonna do something, Cloud?" He accused me, "That was your friend just now that took Tsuna!"
"Nah," I said, lazily waving him off, "Tsuna seems like he's got this. And it's not like I'm Bel's keeper. Besides, I have to meet someone, anyway," I said as I began walking off. "You do you. I'll keep doing me."
"Cloud!" He yelled off, then looked back, groaning and clutching his head before running after Tsuna, Reborn on his shoulder.
"He'll be fine," I convinced myself, "it's not like they'll kill him or anything…." I trailed off, doubting my statement.
"Nah," I shook my head fiercely, dismissing the thought, "he'll be fine. He's good at not dying anyways."
"Thanks," I said, smiling politely as the man handed me the briefcase. The explanation he had given had been exactly as the memory dictated.
"No, thank you-hoo-yoo!" He said happily. "I'll be heading home now, and how-how-wow!" He called cheerfully, jumping off the roof. I sighed, sweat dropping a bit as I watched the eccentric man leave. He had approached us as we were making our way to our destination. I looked at my phone, sighing at the time.
"We're going to be late now…" I sighed, turning to look at my master, who was standing, deep in thought beside me, "he's going to be pissed."
"Just as I thought…" Fon muttered, "it's going to be a physical battle."
"But four days is more than enough time for me to get prepared," I said, smiling down at him, then remembering, "We better get going before he gets too mad," I reminded him. He nodded and we continued on our way. He sighed in content as we reached our destination.
"I haven't been here in many years," he noted, looking up at the traditional home, "it looks like it hasn't changed." I hummed in acknowledgement as well, then knocked on the door. A disgruntled Kyoya opened it.
"You're late," he said immediately, glaring. His eyes widened, however, as Fon jumped up easily on my shoulder.
"Hello, Hibari Kyoya," Fon greeted placidly, "it's been a long time, hasn't it? Won't you let us inside?"
"You…" Hibari muttered, eyes narrowing. He looked between us then turned on his heel. I looked at Fon then followed. I crossed my arms, choosing to stand as Fon jumped off of me and onto the low couch. "What do you want?" Kyoya asked, getting straight to the point.
"I suppose I'll start with our relationship," Fon said, looking at me then at Kyoya, "since there is obvious confusion in that area." Kyoya quirked an eyebrow, but allowed him to continue. Deciding I didn't want to be standing, I moved to sit down beside my master as he explained.
"Nikita is my pupil," Fon stated plainly, "I began teaching her martial arts when she was younger. As for why we are here, I have a favor to ask of you, that I do hope you'll accept. We are family after all." I perked up, and Fon noticed.
"Ah, that's right," he said, smiling, "I never did give details when you asked about my family in Japan." He reached into his robe, pulling a folded picture out. He handed it to me first, and continued talking as I unfolded and studied it.
"I suppose I can explain the curse at the same time as well, it being the reason for the favor," he began. Kyoya moved around to the back of the couch, studying the picture in my hands from a distance. It was of an obviously older Fon, with his arm around a woman, looking to be a few years younger than him. The woman was obviously family, and looked alarmingly like Kyoya, with an annoyed expression, her eyes cast on Fon, who was smiling calmly into the camera. A happy photo, I noted.
"That is a picture of my sister and I, before I was cursed," Fon stated. Kyoya looked over at him in question. "That is the curse of the Arcobaleno; individuals with amazing skills and abilities who are restricted to small bodies. Our appearances changed to what they are today. We were chosen and cursed for unknown reasons, and have not found a way to reverse it. Until now, that is," he said in conclusion.
"We were recently approached with an offer: to choose representatives to fight for us in order to remove our curses. I would like to ask you represent me, Kyoya," Fon asked, looking up from the picture with a nostalgic smile to Kyoya, "you are my sister's son, after all."
"What do I get out of this?" The prefect asked curiously. Fon sighed, knowing exactly what he had to say.
"Once my curse is released, I will fight you with all my power," my master answered, "although I would rather avoid this, I know this is one of the only ways." Kyoya reviewed his response thoughtfully, then looked over at me.
"What do you have to do with this, Kumo?" He addressed me.
"I am representing Fon as well, on the same team," I said, then quickly restated as his eyes narrowed dangerously, "but I would completely stay out of your way! You don't even have to see me when we're fighting. You can get the boss watch and everything." He seemed interested in what I said.
"Boss watch?" He questioned. I nodded, bringing the suitcase up from the floor and setting it on my lap. I opened it, revealing our team watches.
"The battles are a battle royale," I explained, repeating what we had been told earlier. "There is a battle every day with allotted times. A minute before the battles, the watches notify you, then give you the time limit for the battles. If a watch gets destroyed, then that representative is eliminated. If the boss watch gets destroyed, the entire team is out."
"A battle royale, huh?" He muttered, a small, bloodthirsty smirk inching onto his face, "I suppose those herbivores are on that baby's team?"
"Yeah," I hummed, nodding, "and Dino too." Kyoya seemed to perk up at this.
"You're saying if I fight for you," he said, turning his eyes back on Fon, "I get to bite them to death, and battle you afterwards." Fon sighed, disappointed at his nephew's blood lust, but nodded.
"Yes, that is correct." Kyoya smirked, standing straighter, his hand itching for a weapon.
"Sounds like fun," he admitted with a glint in his eyes, then turned to address me again, "You better stay out of my way, Kumo." I smiled softly, then nodded.
"Aye, aye," I agreed. "You're the boss."
"Ah, Nikita!" Chrome said apologetically as I stirred after she entered our hotel. She bowed, slightly blushing. "Sorry for waking you. I was trying to be as quiet as possible." I waved her off groggily, yawning.
"It's fine," I assured her, earning a relieved, soft smile from the girl, "I should probably get up anyway," I murmured, reaching for my phone on the night stands between our beds.
"You have fun spending time with Haru and Kyoko?" I asked, my face neutral as I scrolled through numerous text messages from Bel. She brightened instantly and nodded.
"Yes. It was great seeing them again and spending time with them," Chrome admitted cutely, sitting down on the edge of the bed, "it was nice," she looked off, almost nervously, "which reminds me, Nikita…"
"Hm?" I looked up, in the middle of texting Bel back. "What is it?"
"How… how long are we staying here?" She asked curiously. I tilted my head, thinking.
"I don't exactly know. I guess until we're no longer needed for Reborn's favor," I answered, then thought, or until the representative battles are over. Chrome looked down again, poking her fingers together repeatedly.
"Do you think," she started softly, "do you think I could enroll in Namimori for the time being?" I blinked, surprised. Then smiled widely.
"Yeah! I was actually going to enroll as well," I admitted, thinking back to our conversation last night, where Fon thought it would be smart if I was at the school as well, in case a battle broke out during the day. "It'll be no problem at all. And you'll get to spend more time with Kyoko, Tsuna, Takeshi, Gokudera, well, everyone!" I said happily. She smiled, light pink dusting her cheeks.
"Thank you, Nikita," she said, looking me in the eye, "that really makes me happy!"
"No problem," I promised her with a light laugh, as I threw the covers off and got up. I went to my things and began getting ready, having realized what time it was. Chrome quickly looked away as I started undressing, but continued our conversation.
"Are you going somewhere?"
"Yeah," I said turning around, hopping as I put my boots on as I made my way to the bathroom, "I've got a meeting with someone, plus, I should probably go see Bel about whatever the hell he wants." I continued talking as I admired my hasty updo in the bathroom mirror.
"Damn, it is getting long," I made a side note, noticing the length of my hair again. I shrugged, then exited the bathroom, going back to the nightstand. "He's been blowing up my phone all morning," I sighed, looking again at the messages before shoving my phone and wallet in my pockets.
"I would take you along," I told Chrome, "but it'll be pretty boring weapons talk." She nodded.
"I understand. I was planning on just staying here today anyway," She admitted, "We stayed up late both nights talking. Or, really, Kyoko and Haru were talking," she elaborated, "but I was happy to listen."
"Late night too, huh?" I said, looking around the room once more, then thinking back to my late night last night, talking to both Varick and Lukas about weapons, and then checking up on Dayita as well (Fran, unfortunately, was asleep at the time, but Yita promised that she would tell him I said hello. She also told me, although begrudgingly, that he was progressing marvelously in his training, both in illusions and in languages. "The brat's actually a little genius. An annoying one, but a genius none the less," she admitted). "Same," I relented, before going towards the door.
"Have fun relaxing, Chrome," I told her, sending her a smile before exiting the hotel room. She returned the smile easily, but it wavered, causing my eyes to narrow, just now noticing how much her body was shaking.
"You okay?" I asked, looking more carefully now that I was more alert and awake. She was a bit paler as well, I noticed, if only a little. She nodded, a little too quickly. "You're not getting sick or anything, are you?"
"It's fine," she tried assuring me, "I just feel a little, eh… under the weather. It's not too bad. Just a little fatigue. Probably from staying up later."
I looked her over again, scrutinizing, then, seeing the time on the clock at the nightstand, I decided to let it go.
"Okay then," I said, a little uneasily, "I'll let it slide for now. But if you look worse when I come back, I'm definitely looking into it."
My foot bounced in the air as I sat and waited with my leg crossed over my knee. I took another sip of my almost finished coffee as my eyes studied my surroundings behind my sunglasses.
"He's late," I muttered irritably, "impeccable right-hand man, my ass." I sighed, finishing off my coffee. "And now I'm out of coffee," I whined quietly, crossing my arms and sinking my head into them, "I guess I could always get another…" I mumbled, looking back over at the inside of the coffee shop I was sitting outside of. I stiffened, feeling a familiar presence approaching. I narrowed my eyes, and suppressed a shiver as he approached, not even turning around to look.
"What a surprise," Mukuro said coolly, a familiar, green-hair scientist walking beside him, "we were just going to look for you, little Cavallone. May I?" He asked gesturing to the chair in front of me. I remained silent, keeping sharp eye contact with him. He took my lack of response as a yes and sat down. Verde jumped on one of the other chairs at the table in order to get on the surface of it so he could make eye contact as well.
"You haven't been returning my calls," he chided lightly, a smirk on his face. But his eyes, held no humor, I noted. He was testing me.
"I didn't want to pick up," I answered, crossing my arms, "or talk to you at all, actually."
"I've noticed," he drawled, putting my elbows on the table and interlocking his fingers, resting his chin on them.
"What do you want, Mukuro?" I said coldly. His smile dropped, having realized that there was no point in pleasantries.
"You know exactly why I'm approaching you, Cavallone."
"Mukuro here says that you would be a valuable asset to our team in the representative battles," Verde cut in, "and I have to admit, I see his point." My fist tightened as I narrowed my eyes, glaring at Mukuro.
"What?" I spat, "so you just expect me to let you use me after what you did?"
"We both know it was for the best," Mukuro countered coldly.
"Fuck that," I shot back harshly, glowering and uncrossing my arms, holding onto the railings of the metal chair I was sitting in instead, "you don't know that, Mukuro."
"It was a precaution," he replied.
"That didn't need to be taken."
"There's always the other favor I did for you," he reminded me, indicating his head in dominance, "I assume you got the flowers."
"That you picked from my garden," I reprimanded. "You going to try to pick Chrome back up like this too?" I asked sharply, changing subjects quickly, "She's doing fine, thanks for asking." I saw the small slither of hesitation in his eyes before he retorted.
"She's of no use to me now," He conversed slyly, "I figured it would be best for her to be in the lap of luxury, don't you agree?"
"Back to the matter at hand," Verde interrupted, irritated since the conversation was not one he could follow, "there's the matter of you joining team Verde."
"You're so confident that I will," I accused him, looking down. He gave me a smug smile.
"I am the one who supplied you with your weapons you now rely on so heavily," he reminded me, "and I can give you more if you join. Upgrades too."
"You're too smug for your own good," I called him out, crossing my arms again, ignoring the fact that I had nearly crumpled the railings of my chair during my heated conversation with Mukuro, "it's like you think you're the only inventor that I have access to."
His eyes narrowed, his mind racing, then they widened suddenly. He gave me an angry and accusing glance.
"You didn't…" he muttered.
"I did," I corrected, "and Varick has proved himself to be much more competent, and less likely to use me for his own gains than you. You two may think you have me wrapped around your fucking fingers," I declared, my eyes moving to look at them both, "but you can't be more wrong. Here's a news flash for you; you've been replaced," I met Mukuro's eyes, "both of you. You may need me, but like hell I need you anymore. I'm tired of being used. I'm taking my own initiative now and both of you can fuck off," I finished, my anger having reached the freezing point. My resentment and mourning had built up, leading to this one moment of anger. Mukuro and I held eye contact for a while, until two figures approached.
"Mukuro Rokudo…?" I hesitated before breaking the eye contact, then tore my eyes away to look at the voice. "And the Acrobaleno, Verde," Squalo finished, looking at the two. Bel trailed behind him with his hands folded behind his head. He smiled widely when he saw me looking.
"What are you two doing?" Squalo asked, standing in front of the table. Mukuro stood up suddenly, looking down at me.
"We were just leaving," he said smoothly, a wicked smirk forming. "Be warned, Nikita Cavallone," he said before walking away, Verde jumping down from the table as well, "you've just turned one of your most powerful allies into your worst enemy."
I huffed, turning my head away as they left, too angry to watch them leave. Squalo raised an eyebrow, then looked back at me.
"Voi! The hell was that about?" Bel whistled, leaning to watch as they walked away.
"They seemed pretty pissed," he noted happily, plopping down in the chair Mukuro had ever so kindly left out for him.
"Bastards," I spat, before turning my attention to the two assassins. "What are you guys doing here anyways? I said I would come by later tonight," I said, giving Bel and accusing look. He snickered.
"The commander said that it couldn't wait, so we came and found you," Bel explained.
"And that's exactly why we couldn't wait," Squalo said with narrowed eyes, looking back in the direction Mukuro and Verde had left in. "They ask you about being on their team?"
"Yeah," I admitted almost hesitantly, "why?"
"And Reborn hasn't asked you yet, right?" I nodded again, getting a bad feeling. Bel's grin widened.
"That means you're free for the taking, princess?" I blinked, then looked between them.
"You're not asking….?" I trailed off, then groaned, rubbing my temples when I received an irritated look from Squalo.
"What the hell else would we be asking?!" He said, irritated, "You're not on Reborn's team right? Then be on ours!"
"It'll be fun, princess~" Bel piped in, leaning forward, crossing his arms and sliding them on the table.
"Why the hell do you guys want me on your team?" I asked, genuinely surprised and confused.
"That," Squalo said, gesturing again in the direction they left, "is why, you little shit! You can't see illusions! And you have your healing abilities."
"And you can keep up with us," Bel chimed in.
"Plus, you're already proficient with your box weapons," Squalo finished, "that defense can come in handy to protect the watches."
I sighed, putting a hand against my forehead. I opened my mouth to answer, ready to say that I was actually already on Team Fon, and not Team fucking Reborn like everyone thought, but paused when my phone buzzed in pocket.
"Hey, Cloud!" Dino started as soon as I answered, "just wanted to let you know, we're representing Reborn in an upcoming battle. I gave your watch, which is pretty important to the battles, to Chrome, so you can get it when you get back tonight. I can explain all the rules and stuff then to, so be sure to stop by my room. I just visited Kyoya, and he said that he'll give me his answer later, so he's going to be on our team too! Isn't that great? Cloud…?" He said, realizing I wasn't answering. "You there?"
I stared blankly ahead of me, really, truly, feeling the urge to bang my head against a wall. Squalo and Bel looked at each other in question, then looked back at me.
"Cloud?" Dino said again through the phone, "You there, sis?"
"I'm done," I said quietly.
"Cloud? What was tha-" I quickly shut the phone, ending the conversation.
"Nope," I said again, closing my eyes and shaking my head, "I am done with this." I sighed, and rubbed my temples. "Why the fuck does everyone want me to be on their fucking team?" I sighed, laying my head down.
"Is that a yes or no, brat?" Squalo addressed me again, leaning over me slightly.
"Come on, princess," Bel drawled, poking my hair in its updo, twirling loose curls in his fingers, "you know we're going to win anyway. You might as well be on the winning team." I groaned loudly, the sound muffled by the table.
"Miss Cavallone?" My head shot up suddenly, startling Squalo and Bel. I whipped around to see Aja.
"Ah," he said, looking a bit uncomfortable, "am I interrupting something?" He asked hesitantly, looking between the three of us. "We can always have our meeting later, if that would be more convenient fo-"
"Nope," I shot up, grabbing his shoulders, "right now is a great time!" I said, turning him around and pushing him forward. "I'm out," I called back to Bel and Squalo, "gotta run! Important stuff to do and shit." I pushed Aja more, and he seemed to get the hint, picking up the pace. I relaxed when we were out of sight.
"You have quite the unusual companions, Miss," Aja noted.
"You recognized them, huh?" I asked, "Is that why you were acting uncomfortable?"
"To make myself seem less intimidating, yes," he admitted. "You seemed to be in a rather stressful situation." I gave him an accusing look.
"How long were you watching?"
"Let's just say I wasn't late after all," he said with a bright smile. "Turn here," he directed, touching my shoulders lightly to steer me as we turned the corner.
"Asshole," I muttered.
"Language," he jokingly reprimanded.
"I can't help it," I said, crossing my arms, "I'm pissed, and Squalo rubs off way too much on me." I groaned again, clutching my head, just now reviewing the conversations I just had.
"Why does everyone just assume I'm on Reborn's team?" I relented out loud, needing to vent to at least someone, "I don't do everything my brother does, goddammit! And has everyone just forgotten that Fon is my master? Of course I would join his team first! What is my life even?!" I moaned, earning a pity pat on the back from Aja as we stopped in front of a building.
"If it helps any, Miss," he said, leaning down to meet my eyes, "we've arrived." I unfurled myself form my slump, looking up at the office building.
"We own the company," Aja explained as we walked in. The receptionist nodded a greeting towards us. Aja smiled brightly back at her before directing me to the elevator. "We have numerous similar firms around the world in order to conduct business."
"I see," I said, looking around the elevator.
"The items you requested are in the conference room up ahead," Aja stated as we stepped onto on one of the upper floors. We stepped into the room, seeing suitcases laying on the long table. Aja went ahead of me, opening the first few.
"Here are the weapons you requested, along with holsters, carriers, belts, and such other things" he explained, opening the first four boxes. My eyes lit up, examining them. I picked up one of the knives and twirled it, incredibly impressed. He moved onto the next box and opened it.
"Along with those, these are the box weapons from Mr. Koenig, improved and adjusted, fixed from the last time you used them. Lastly," he said with a small smirk, "Mr. Varick has completed the sun thread," he said, opening a single box, its only contents three stools of almost translucent thread and extremely thin sowing needles, "but wants feedback of their use, since he was only able to test them in controlled settings."
"And the serum?" I asked, putting the knife back.
"Here," he said, opening the second to last box, "although, with the limited time, he was only able to made four doses. And, he also made a note to tell you that these can only heal up to a certain extent; nothing life threatening at least."
"It's still impressive," I admitted, picking up one to the vials, noticing the small cap on the end. I took it off, revealing a small needle.
"He designed the case to deliver the serum as quickly as possible into the blood stream, for on field, mid-battle purposes."
"Convenient," I praised with a smile.
"The last box is a present from Miss Dayita," Aja moved on, opening the final box. I looked inside, mostly seeing articles of clothing, along with a pair of boots. "Fight-resistant clothing left over from when Varick delved into clothing technology. The tank top acts as a bullet proof vest, but much lighter and more flexible. The pants are sturdy as well, and the boots," he paused, picking one up and pressing the back of one of the heels. I blinked, as a knife protruded from the tip of the boot. I whistled.
"That," I said, putting my hands on my hips and smiling, "can do something damage."
"Agreed," he said with a smile, pressing the button again, retracting the knife.
"And how are Dayita and Fran?" I asked, looking back over my new array of weapons.
"Both are doing well and heavily emerged in training. Miss Dayita said they will come in a few days, but," He said, bringing a small, velvet bag out of his own jacket pocket, "she did do as you asked." I smirked, accepting the bag he handed me and looked inside.
"Great, that takes care of that little concern," I said, breaking into a full on smile seeing the contents of the bag, "looks like I'm all set to kick some ass, or, at least," I added, my confidence draining as I thought of the opponents I was going to have to face, "cover my own."
I picked at the fabric of the skirt lightly with a small scowl on my face. Chrome giggled from my side as we walked. My eyes slid to her, accusing.
"You know I don't like skirts," I told her, almost pouting.
"I thought you were excited?" She reminded me with a small smile. My eyes narrowed, noticing her holding back a small cough. I looked away, remembering our earlier conversation on the subject.
"I'm pretty pumped about actually attending a school and getting to hang out with my friends, yeah," I admitted, "but the uniform? Not so much." She laughed again, raising a hand to cover her mouth. I frowned as she let out a small cough.
"You sure you're fine?" I asked her, eyes narrowing. Her smiled dropped, all traces of earlier happiness gone. I sighed, folding my arms behind my head. "Yeah, yeah, sorry. Wait it out for now," I repeated, earning a relieved look from her.
The subject made her uncomfortable, which was the only reason I wasn't holding her down trying to figure out what was wrong. I had a strange hunch that it had to do with her organs and Mukuro's recent abandonment, but I didn't know enough information to actually do any good at this point. And besides, I thought, looking over at her as we approached the school gates, seeing apprehension, and happiness, actual happiness in her eyes, now was not the time to bring up some subjects.
I hummed happily, leaning forward as I saw a familiar group approaching as well. Takeshi and Gokudera seemed to be in a rather animated argument, leaving Tsuna to be the first to see us. He blinked tiredly and yawned, nodding as a greeting.
"Hey, Cloud, Chrome," he mumbled, causing Takeshi and Gokudera to pause. He then stopped in his tracks, doing a double-take and nearly spitting. "Cloud?! Chrome?!" A huge grin spread over Takeshi's face as he noticed our uniforms.
"Long time no see, you two!" He said excitably, clapping my outreached arm and grasping it, "You guys going to Namimori now?"
"Of course they are, idiot!" Gokudera snapped at him, "Why else would they have uniforms on?" Tsuna, getting over his shock, looked over at Chrome, concern overtaking his eyes.
"Chrome…" he started uneasily, "are you okay? We heard…" he hesitated, before continuing, "what happened." It was a small flinch, momentary, and yet it was still there before she answered.
"I'll be fine, boss," she said with a small bow, "Nikita is taking care of me now."
"Eh? Nikita?!" The boys all whipped their heads to me. I smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of my head.
"Yeah," I admitted, "she's staying with us right now at the hotel. It's been lots of fun, getting to know each other more," I said, smiling brighter as I lightly bumped her with my hip, earning a small blush. I managed to give Tsuna an 'I'll fill you in later' look before Gokudera changed subjects, leading the walk into school grounds.
"So Mr. Reborn set this up, huh?" He assumed. My face went blank as I held back my irritation at the subject change. Chrome gave me a supportive, small smile, being the only one who knew my circumstance.
"Actually," I piped, "I got in the school through my own means." Gokudera raised his eyebrows. Tsuna gave me a suspicious look, but Takeshi cut him off before he could say anything.
"Either way, that makes it easier for us, right?" he said, laughing happily. I smiled back, holding back an eye twitch, making sure to have a talk with Dino later. It seems that he had told them that I was fighting with them for sure, with the way they were acting.
"Oh, Enma!" I looked over to see who Tsuna was waving to. A slightly familiar red head approached the group, his walk reserved, and his back slightly slumped. However, he brightened, seeing Tsuna and quickening his pace, but he almost hesitated, seeing me and Chrome.
"Chrome?" His eyes widened. She smiled softly, and bowed again.
"It's nice to see you again," she greeted. He winced as Takeshi slung his arm around his shoulder.
"Chrome and Cloud are going to school here now!" He told the redhead happily, "isn't it great?" Enma's eyes flashed with confusion before looking at me. I realized that we had never formally met before.
"I'm Nikita," I introduced myself, taking initiative, "Or Cloud if you'd like. Tsuna's sister," I added with a sly smile, indicating my head towards Tsuna. He sighed at this.
"Are you going to keep telling people you're related to me?" He asked with a sigh. I laughed, and leaned to ruffle his hair, which he nearly avoided by leaning back and swatting my hands away.
"It's true enough, isn't it?" I said with a shrug, "We might not be related by blood, but don't you want a cute sister like me?" I asked, batting my lashes innocently. Tsuna looked stricken, not knowing what to say. A bell rang, saving Tsuna and causing the group to quickly move into the building. Chrome brightened as she caught sight of Kyoko, who was waving at both of us. I would have joined them, if I wasn't held back when a familiar voice called.
"Kumo!" I turned slightly, seeing Tetsu approaching us. I stayed back, letting the others pass me before waving them off.
"I'll catch up," I promised, not knowing if I would be able to keep that promise, seeing Tetsu's serious facial expression. Takeshi frowned, looking at Tsuna, but I shooed them off with my hands. I was sure to wave at Enma as well, acknowledging the person I had just met.
He blinked, shocked and returned with small, awkward wave. My stomach twanged a bit, but I managed to squash the feeling, instead focusing on just how adorable he was, not what I had planned. I turned to the tall 'third year' expectantly, placing a hand on my hip casually.
"Yo, Tetsu. What's up?" I asked, nodding a greeting.
"You're needed in the reception room." I raised as eyebrow.
"I'm needed?" I enunciated.
"Hibari's orders," he established. "There's a guest waiting for you there." I sighed, scratching the back of my head.
"What guest would be crazy enough to wait for me in the reception room?" I asked, following the taller student at my own pace.
"Good morning, Cloud," Fon greeted me with a soft smile as I entered.
"And you just answered my question," I said with a sigh. I looked over to see Kyoya standing behind the couch my master was sitting on.
"Kyoya and I were discussing," Master began, placing the small cup of tea he was drinking in his lap. From the corner of my eyes, I noticed that Kyoya barely rolled his eyes at Fon's wording. "And we decided," Fon continued, "that you should join the Disciplinary Committee." I tilted my head, raising my eyebrows slightly.
"Really?" I asked, looking over at Kyoya.
"It would raise the convenience of the two of you being at school together," Fon explained, "where you could fight or prepare whenever you need to. It also gives us a lovely base of operations," he finished with a smile. I thought over the idea, then frowned.
"If I'm in the Disciplinary Committee," I started, in thought, "then that means I won't be able to go to classes."
"You'll be working for us instead," Tetsu finished. I slumped a bit.
"But…" I said, almost embarrassed, "I kind of wanted to go to classes?" Kyoya raised an eyebrow. I sighed, plopping down beside Fon.
"Look, I kind of wanted to get the whole school-life experience," I complained lightly, propping my head up with my arm, perched on my crossed knee, "I was home schooled, so I've never been in a real school for classes or anything. Even my home schooling was a little strange because I flew through assignments, and kind of scared off tutors intentionally," I added, then quickly moved on, "that's not weird, right?" The three occupants of the room stared at me.
"That's idiotic," Kyoya stated bluntly. I sighed, leaning back on the couch.
"Yeah, it is," I reluctantly agreed.
"And, you owe me, Kumo," Kyoya stated, causing me to look over at him in question. "We registered Chrome Dokuro in the school as well," he reminded me with narrowed eyes, before beginning to walk out of the room.
"You'll start with that," he indicated at the desk with his head, and exited without another word. I blinked, pushing myself up and approaching the desk.
"Oh joy," I muttered. "Paperwork: a boss's worse nightmare." I huffed, then sat down in the chair behind the desk, beginning to shift through the papers. Tetsu approached, and almost started explaining the documents and how to do them. His eyes widened when he saw me already at work.
"My brother's the boss of one of the biggest mafia families," I began explaining, "and I just so happen to help him out when he catches me and bribes me to. Plus, I help out another older brother of mine sometimes, but that's mostly out of pity." I stopped and looked to the side. "But if he knew I did it out of pity, he would kill me. Anyways," I said, returning to scan the documents, "he gets stuck with all the paperwork because his boss isn't too keen on holding anything in his hands besides alcohol and guns. Do you think Kyoya will mind if I forged his signature?" I asked suddenly, looking up, "or would that fall under his 'I'll bite you to death' category?"
Tetsu blinked at me, still processing the earlier information. I looked over at Fon, who was now perched on the back of the couch, sipping his tea. He shrugged in response.
"I'm just going to forge it," I decided, looking over at an already signed document. "This is his signature, right?" I asked, referring to the paper. Testu nodded almost numbly. I hummed, and copied it easily. I then paused, looking back up at Tetsu, who was still standing in front of the desk.
"Anything else?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. He blinked once, then shook his head lightly.
"No, I just didn't expect you to have such a…" he paused, thinking of the word, "handle, on this."
"One of my many talents," I said with a smile. There was a tug of a smile on his lips. He then reached into his pocket, bringing out red material.
"Here is your armband," he presented it to me. "Be sure to wear it at all times."
"Cool," I said, already securing it with the safety pin he had provided me as well. "That all?" I asked, looking up at him again.
"Until you get that paper work done," he said, "yes."
"Should be easy," I said with an easy smile, spinning my pen before returning to work. Tetsu nodded uncertainly, before heading to the door.
"My number is on a paper inside the desk if you need anything," he told me before he exited, shutting the door behind him. I lazily saluted him, still looking down.
About half an hour later, I leaned back in the chair, my feet up on the now cleared desk. I frowned at the crumpled paper creation in my hands, then looked back over at my Master's beautiful paper crane from where he was sitting in front of me on the desk. I scowled, and tossed the mess of failed origami into the trash bin behind me. Fon placidly handed me another piece of blank paper, and then started on another himself.
"Hey, you weren't planning to do anything this afternoon, right?" I asked him, watching his movements as he folded his paper, and then trying to apply it to my own.
"Were you going to ask me to accompany you to test out your new weapons?" He asked knowingly.
"On the nose, as usual, Master," I relayed with a light tone, finishing the origami flower, and humming in slight approval. This one definitely came out better than the others. I frowned, realizing something. "You chose an easier one for me to do, didn't you?" I accused him.
"Folding is not one of your 'many talents'," He said, lifting his sleeve to hide his quiet laughter. I huffed, looking over at Richi, dismayed to see him finishing a beautiful, flapping, paper crane. I crossed my arms, dropping my legs down from off the desk, pouting.
"Well, sorry if I just helped Squalo with paper work on multiple occasions, just because he sucked at forgery, instead of working on my paper folding skills," I complained, putting crossed arms on the desk and slumping forward.
"Isn't it a little arrogant to consider them skills?"
"You cut me deep, Master," I said, letting my head fall into my arms.
"But, getting back to this afternoon," he moved on, as if he had not just taken a solid jab at my ego, "I believe you should remove your weights." I lifted my head slightly, looking over at him.
"Really? So soon?" He nodded.
"You've continued to add weight to them, haven't you?" I nodded. "Then you'll want to get used to your strength before the battles start. You need to be aware of all your strengths and limitations before you face opponents like these. And, as much as you've added, without taking them off, your body will feel drastically different. It would be bad if that affected you in battle."
"I see your point," I allowed, shifting to prop my head up with one of my arms. "I also want to work on switching between box weapons and regular weapons. I need to be able to do that fast and efficiently." Fon bobbed his head in agreement.
"I'm eager to see your improvements, Nikita," he told me kindly.
"Oh, so now you're acting nice?" I teased, poking the perfect flower he had made.
"I will take credit for your fighting skills," he told me, then paused, taking a drink form his tea, "but not your paper folding skills. I do not want to be associated with that."
"…. savage, master. Savage."
Tetsu returned sometime before lunch, surprised to find me laying on the couch and reading a book. He raised an eyebrow. I held up a finger, finished reading the paragraph I was on, then put the book down on my stomach. I then looked up at him.
"Yes?" I said, unsure of why he was staring.
"You're done?" He asked, looking over at the desk, cleared except for a few neat piles of documents.
"I finished a long time ago," I admitted, pushing myself up and placing my feet on the ground, "I told you, I have a knack for paperwork." He raised his eyebrows, impressed by my efficiency. I did, however, keep the part where Master suggested I put them in piles, since I had just hazardously thrown them into one big, messy stack in the beginning.
"Did anyone come in while I was gone?" He asked.
"A few other members," I recalled, leaning back to look at him, "but they just kind of looked at me funny and left." He nodded in response. I narrowed my eyes, watching his shoulders slump slightly as if he were relieved. "Were you expecting someone?"
"Not exactly," He admitted, titling her head slightly and readjusting the piece of grass in his mouth, "it's just that we've recently had a power struggle of sorts. I was just making sure that woman hadn't tried to come in here again."
"Woman?" I asked.
"Adelheid Suzuki," He clarified, "A transfer student. She can be a handful," he said with a frown, "and she challenged Hibari's authority."
"Sounds like a ray of sunshine," I commented dryly. He sighed, then straightened, looking around the room as he realized something.
"Fon left?" He asked, seeing that the martial artists was not in the room.
"To pick up some lunch," I said, then turned away sheepishly, "because I forgot to grab something this morning. He said he was going to pick up some for you and Kyoya as well." His eyes widened slightly, surprised by this.
"Master's kind like that," I said with an easy smile, his shock amusing me. I then blinked and frowned, rethinking my statement.
"Except when he's training you. He's not too kind then."
"He's sleeping," I noted idly, peeking out to look on the roof. I eyed Kyoya, laid out and using his crossed arms a pillow, a small little bird sleeping on his head peacefully. I swung the bag of Chinese food slightly in my hands. I shrugged then approached, being sure to keep quiet as I placed his portion of food his uncle had brought for him close enough to be noticed. I turned my head, hearing soft, familiar voice in the distance. I approached the gate and looked over at the other roof, smiling after recognizing who the group was.
"Looks like she might not need this," I said quietly, seeing that Tsuna, Gokudera, and Takeshi had gotten Chrome to eat with them, and were sharing their food with her. "I should give it to her anyways," I said, shrugging and turning around, set on making my way to the other roof. I stiffened while making my way down the stairs, but relaxed when a familiar figure jumped on my shoulder.
"Your observations skills have improved greatly," Reborn greeted.
"That's a lot, coming from the demon tutor himself," I shot back easily.
"I admit," he said as I turned slightly to see Leon, my hand moving to scratch under the reptile's chin, "I was surprised to find out that you were already enrolled in the school."
"Weren't you planning on asking me to?" I questioned.
"That's ridiculous," Reborn rebutted, "I wouldn't bother asking for your permission." I huffed, puffing my cheeks. "I see you've joined the Disciplinary Committee as well," he noted, indicating to my arm band.
"I owed Kyoya," I said truthfully, shrugging slightly.
"You also owe me, Cloud," He reminded me with a glint in his eyes. I stopped in my tracks, looking over at him.
"Well that's a subtle way of switching topics," I flatly told him. He blinked over at me innocently.
"Who said we were changing topics?"
"I'm guessing this is your way of asking me to be on your team?" I said humorlessly.
"Dino already gave you the watch, didn't he?"
"Ah, yeah, he did!" I started off, faking a wide smile, "You know what else he did? He just assumed I would go along with it, and be on your team with him, without even asking me in the first place, and completely neglecting to check if another team hadn't asked me first!" I finished, nearly stamping my foot in frustration. There was a moment.
"Ah," Reborn piped, jumping off my shoulder, "you're representing Fon then."
"You going to tell Dino?" I asked, huffing and crossing my arms.
"No," Reborn said simply. "Are you?" I thought about, then grinned.
"Nah," I said with a small shake of my head, putting a hand on my hip, "I'll let him figure it out on his own."
"Great minds, I see," Reborn commented with a smirk. "I look forward to seeing you in battle, Nikita."
"Hey," I called out, stepping forward to meet him as he paused in his exit. "You going to Tsuna and the others? Can you give this to Chrome?" I asked, holding the bag out to him. "I was going to stop by and give it to her myself, but I should get back to the reception room." He nodded, taking the bag.
"Oh!" I called after him, "can you also tell them about me being on the Disciplinary Committee? And be sure to record Tsuna's reaction or something," I added as an afterthought, "he's probably gonna freak when he finds out."
The rest of the day went by somewhat peacefully. Fon had left earlier to scout out a good training spot for this afternoon and I had been running around the school, mostly familiarizing myself and delivering documents and such. I was finishing up delivering papers to the front office, and tapping my foot impatiently when school had just let out. But, of course, the woman sitting behind the desk couldn't see my impatience.
"I'm glad a kind girl like you is on the disciplinary Committee now," she told me, smiling kindly. I was nearly bouncing, wanting to get back to clear me leaving with Kyoya, eager to begin playing with my weapons. "I always did think that they needed a woman's touch!" I smiled kindly, albeit a bit forcefully, at the woman, who clearly wanted to talk more.
"If I can have the forms," I said, holding out my hand and leaning forward a bit, "please, that would be great. I would love to stay and chat, but Hibari wants these as soon as possible."
Just saying his name did wonders. She paled considerably, and handed me the papers. I nodded in appreciation, and left hurriedly. I easily bobbed through students making their way out the building. Tetsu eventually fell into step with me, returning from making sure there were members at the front gates. He nodded in greeting.
"I need to do anything else after dropping these off?" I asked as we approached the room.
"I would say not," He said thoughtfully. "Hibari should be back by now." I hummed lightly, then narrowed my eyes, hearing as unfamiliar voice before I opened the door. Tetsu frowned behind me. I opened the door, and entered, but stopped halfway, Tetsu nearly running into me.
Dark red eyes met mine as the tall figure whipped her head around to face me. I barely registered Kyoya standing in front of her, arms crossed and irritated. His irritation however, dropped as he watched the dark haired girl focus on me. I stiffened, recognizing her immediately, and just now realizing how tall she was. It was hard to tell when we fought from a distance at the ceremony, after all.
"You're…" her eyes narrowed, staring at me, scrutinizing me. I gave her a moderately blank look, only my eyebrow raised. "….that girl from the ceremony!" Her gaze hardened. I suddenly felt the need to dive for the window, getting a bad feeling from this. Kyoya looked in between us curiously unfortunately blocking the window, scratching out my escape plan. Tetsu, poor, poor Tetsu, stepped back, feeling threatened by the tension in the room.
"Yes?" I tried, not knowing what she wanted me to say. She frowned, and her hand flickered to her skirt.
"Okay, then," I said quickly, nodding to Hibari. "Sorry to interrupt…" I waved my hand indecisively, "whatever this was? Just came to see if you needed anything else." Adel's eyes widened and she moved forward as I made a quick exit, managing to pull Tetsu in the way as I went and shoving the papers I was holding to him.
"Ah, Cloud," Tsuna greeted, him and Enma walking out of their classroom with Yamamoto and Gokudera in tow.
"If you want to talk, keep walking," I informed him, hearing the clicking of heels speed up behind me. I was getting a very bad feeling from the look she had given me, the same feeling I felt when I had first opposed her at the ceremony. Dangerous? No, I dismissed. This feeling wasn't out of danger, more out of… annoyance? I couldn't pinpoint it; only that it was something bad, and frankly, unnecessary. Something I did not need right now.
"Girl!" My eye twitched, and I turned rapidly.
"Nikita," I corrected, looking up at her, forgetting how close she had gotten to me and resisting the urge to lean back, away from her chest. "My name is Nikita Cavallone." Adel's eyes narrowed, looking me down again.
"Nikita Cavallone," she repeated, as if testing it. Tsuna paled from behind her and Enma looked between us, unsure of what was going on, but concerned. Even Kyoya, I noted, had wandered out of the reception room, no doubt having followed Adel at his own pace to find out what she wanted from me.
"My name," Adel introduced herself, my eyes flickering back to her, "is Adelheid Suzuki." Her voice was strong and proud.
"And I," Her hand flickered, going to her weapons and swinging to me again, "challenge you, Nikita Cavallone! Your defense against mine!"
I blinked lazily at the weapons facing me, only a few centimeters away from my face. My eyes went to hers, bleak and uninterested.
"No thanks?" I said indifferently, walking passed her and shrugging my shoulders a bit with the response. "I don't pick fights." Tsuna blanched, almost passing out at my utter refusal. Kyoya's eyes lit up in amusement, no doubt still looking at Adel's stricken figure behind me. "Do you have an-"
"You cannot refuse!" My eyes narrowed and I leaned back, grabbing her hand easily, and pulling her arm forward after forcing her to release her fan. I grabbed the weapon myself as I stepped away, releasing her to stumble forward, catching herself quickly. She whipped around, eyes cold.
"Adel!" Enma called, obviously not expecting her to attack me. My eyes flickered to the fan in my hand, doing a double take as I looked at its blades, creating a jagged, curved edge.
I came to a very sudden, awful conclusion that I did not want to think about.
"I said," I repeated, staring her right in the eyes, some of the cold seeping into my voice, "I don't pick fights." I promptly dropped her fan on the ground, and walked away, running a hand through my hair and composing myself. "Just text me if you need me, Kyoya," I called, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm going to go ahead and go to the hotel."
"Wait! You can't refuse!"
"I'm going to say this in the nicest way possible," I told Adel, turning my head slightly. "Fuck off. I don't want to fight."
Judging by the rage in her eyes, I considered if that was the right thing to say or not. Probably not. I turned to face her quickly as she came at me again, picking up the fan on the floor and attacking furiously. I stepped backwards, dodging her attacks with a frown. I didn't bother turning to look where I was going, already knowing we were nearing a wall.
"Fight back!" She commanded, becoming annoyed.
"Fuck off," I replied icily, moving aside as she struck the wall. I looked behind her, seeing Kyoya's eyes narrow and he stepped forward. She turned to try to strike me again, only to meet Kyoya's tonfa.
"Those who damage the school," he declared, "will be bitten to death." Her eyes narrowed as she looked behind him, seeing me quickly walking around the corner.
"Coward!"
"Don't care!" I called back, making quick use of the stairs.
"I knew this would turn out bad," I grumbled, beginning to run as I reached the front doors of the school. "And now I have… what is she even? A rival? I don't want a rival," I whined, thinking of all the trouble this could possibly cause me. "Should I skip tomorrow? Let this blow over?" I dismissed it quickly. "Kyoya would kill me."
I stopped, and sighed loudly, looking up to the sky, suddenly feeling like Tsuna has rubbed off on me a little too much.
"I really don't need this right now!"
"Sounds like you're making friends," Fon said with an almost as evil smile. I sighed, slumping forward, pouting.
"Not funny, Master," I whined. "I don't even know why she wants to fight. And, I really need to save my energy for the battles and training, so I can't just fight her once and get it over with."
"You said she attacked you at the ceremony, yes?" Fon asked thoughtfully. I adjusted the bag on my shoulder, filled with my weapons and such, then nodded down at him. "Did you do anything to provoke her, anything that would make her interested in fighting you?"
"She did mention my defense…?" I muttered, trialing off. I sighed, then shook my head. "Whatever, I'll deal with it when I have to. Right now, I just want to focus on the battles." Fon smiled, and gestured ahead.
"This is the grounds I discovered earlier," He said as we stepped into the clearing. I looked over, seeing the water fall and cliff face. "I figured that it was the most suitable." I nodded, letting my bag drop to the ground.
"It's perfect," I said happily stepping more into the clearing. I spun around, surveying the terrain with my hands behind my back. "High ground, leveled, coverage possibilities, creative targeting," I listed, gesturing as I spoke. I turned fully back to my master with smirk and returned to my bag of weapons.
"Let's see what these babies can really do," I said, grabbing one of the box weapons on top, then reaffirming, "or rather, let's see what I can do with them."
"Adel!" Enma said, nearly running to catch up. "Why did you attack Tsuna's sister?" She looked over at him, narrowing her eyes, processing the information Enma had just given her before answering
"Enma, please," she said coolly, "that doesn't concern you." He frowned.
"It does when you attack her in school," he argued. She sighed, tilting her head down.
"Her defense rivals my own," Adel explained with a hard tone, "she made this clear at the ceremony." Enma's frown firmed, forming a hard line. "Between the two of us," she continued, "I wish to know which is stronger; her defense or mine."
"So you want to fight her to find out?" Enma asked. Adel glanced over at him.
"That's what I said, isn't it?" Enma blinked, coming to a realization.
"Is this about you losing to Hibari?" He questioned her, then furthered, "Is this about Daemon Spade using us?" She stopped in her tracks suddenly, causing Enma to step back, almost running into her. She looked down, shadowing her face to where Enma couldn't see it.
"This," she said quietly at first, then more firmly, "is a matter of pride. I need to prove myself," she said, fist tightening, "I need to know that I am strong enough to protect my family. To protect you, Enma," she said, softer, looking over at him.
"I need to push my defense more. To become stronger. Nikita Cavallone," she said, eyes narrowing, "is simply my way of testing myself."
"How was school?" I asked as soon as I entered, looking over at Chrome. She had a text book out on her bed, and was immersed in it up until my entrance. She looked up suddenly, my arrival having startled her a bit.
"Ah, Nikita," she greeted, smiling kindly, then suddenly coughing. I immediately approached her, putting a hand on her back and abdomen. She stiffened immediately, and pushed herself away weakly. I frowned, but let her. She glanced over at me, almost embarrassed.
"Chrome," I said, sitting on the bed, but giving her space, "I know you said you didn't want me to, but please let me look to see what might be wrong. It's getting worse, and the others are going to start noticing too." She frowned, gripping the bedding.
"I…" she started, looking away, "I don't want you see, well… since you can't see illusions, you won't be able to feel, my organs…" she trialed off, and my eyes widened slightly, realizing why she was hesitant to let me evaluate her.
"That doesn't matter," I told her immediately. She looked back over at me hesitantly. "We need to figure out what's causing this, Chrome," I reaffirmed, "and I promise you, I don't care about you not having organs. There are plenty of people lacking important things," I said, thinking of Alik and Inna, "but that doesn't stop them from kicking ass. Trust me," I said, laughing a bit," I know from experience." She sighed, a heavy, sad sound coming from such a light, beautiful voice. She nodded and scooted herself closer to me.
Already donning my gloves from our training session, I gently touched her stomach, eyes narrowed. She laid out as I indicated, wincing whenever I pressed into her more at times. I muttered soft apologies and sent glances, but could keep a frown from my face. Evaluating Chrome's body had to be the weirdest experience I'd ever had with the gloves. Almost her entire lower abdomen was empty, with only a few organs, only half intact. She had most her lungs integral, but more of her right than left. The full organs she had connected to seemingly nothing. I found strange channels that I had never seen before, and I began to get a head ache from studying her body.
"Your organs…" I muttered, finally pushing myself away, "they're doing their best to connect, but," I paused trying to form the right words, "they're wavering, Chrome." She bit her bottom lip and pushed herself up.
"Are your illusions okay?" I asked, almost hesitantly.
"Ever since Mukuro pushed me away," she started quietly, bringing up her legs to hug them, "my illusions… they've been getting weaker." I frowned, pulling myself up on the bed completely. I grew sadder, with a sudden, inevitable realization.
"Chrome," I said, grabbing her hand lightly, causing her to look over at me, "without there actually being organs," I explained, my stomach twisting with regret, "I can't actually do anything about this." She nodded sadly in confirmation. "Is that why you didn't want me to look?"
"I didn't want you to blame yourself," She said, looking over at me suddenly, and establishing her own grip on my hand. "Because…" she trailed off, the spark gone, "I knew you would…"
"Your organs," I said softly, looking down at our hands, "your body, your life… it's all depending on your resolve isn't it? Yourself?" I felt her grip go limp, and she retracted her hand, not looking me in the eyes and staring at the wall ahead of her sadly.
"I know," she said, barely a whisper. "I know."
I frowned, laying on my back an holding the memory orb, the other flowers set beside me. I moved my thumb across its surface again, rewinding it, looking in the background for every detail I could. That is, after all, how I came up with the plan. Details. It didn't take me long to scrounge information from the background, and pick out certain recognizable figures as the memory progressed. Even just seeing flashing images at the end helped.
I frowned, looking over at a certain flower I had set aside. I sat myself up, and reverted the orb back into a flower before picking up the other, the smallest of the bunch. I frowned, a shiver going up me and the air growing sharp, reviewing the memory once again.
The Vindice. What were they doing in the representative battles? Although the memory was extremely short, and mostly filled with once piece of dialogue (something about the smaller figure giving them power? What was the smaller figure anyway?), the silhouettes were immediately recognizable. I shivered, putting the small orb down quickly. I had no other information besides this one snippet, however. For all I know, they could simply be there to retrieve somebody who had broken their law. That made me frown again, hoping that these battles wouldn't come to something like that.
I returned to the other memories, picking out the longest one that gave me the most information. I flickered over to another memory, the second longest.
"I really hope this plan works," I said with a sigh, slumping. "Otherwise," I noted, paling slightly, "I'm screwed."
I barely looked over at the door as Kyoya entered the reception room. I tapped my pencil against my cheek, and then wrote in my notebook, frowning and scribbling other lines out. His eyes narrowed, seeing that I had taken my shoes off, but looked as if he was going to ignore it. He stopped, and looked back at my feet, staring at my ankles blatantly. I paused in my writing, and looked over at him, raising an eyebrow.
"Your weights," he said blankly, his eyes shifting to mine, "they're off."
"And here I thought you were just an ankles guy," I muttered blankly. I sat up quickly, I held my arms up in defense when his expression became irritated. "Kidding, kidding," I said with a nervous smile. "Master had me take them off yesterday so we can train without them, and so I can get used to being lighter." He moved his head slightly, accepting my answer.
"These need to be filed," He said, nearly throwing the papers.
"Oh boy-" I started sarcastically, then coughed, correcting myself, with a more serious tone after he gave me another look, "I'll do it right away." I placed my notebook and anatomy book on the coffee table in front of the couch, facing upwards to reveal the traced drawings of organs and the various notes. I noticed him looking at the blank surface of the desk, with an almost confused look.
"Where," He began slowly, causing me to stiffen, straightening my back from where I had been kneeling to put papers in the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet, "are the papers I need to sign." I scratched the back of my head, standing up and closing the drawer with my foot at I turned around.
"I forged your signature for you?" I said with a forced smile. "Oh, come on," I said after receiving his look, "don't tell me that that's the first illegal thing your committee has done to make it easier on you guys to operate." He huffed, then titled his head up slightly upwards, turning on his heel, billowing his jacket as he walked out. I blinked, watching his almost extravagant exit.
"So," I muttered, alone in the room once more, tilting my head to the side and placing my hand on my chin, "is that a yes on the forgery?"
Fon and I looked over at each other, sensing a group approaching up. I relaxed, recognizing them before they came into view.
"If it isn't Nikita Cavallone!" Iemitsu Sawada said cheerfully, heading the group. His eyes went to Fon beside me as he jumped up on my shoulder. Richi jumped from Fon to my hair, making a comfy spot for himself. "And the Storm Arcobaleno as well," Tsuna's father noted. Basil smiled widely seeing me, along with Collonello. Lal Mirch simple nodded as acknowledgement.
"Are you training as well, Lady Nikita?" Basil asked.
"Hey! I see that you took your weights off!" Collennello pointed out, eyes moving to my ankles and wrists. Lal hummed, slightly interested.
"Looks like you're already walking lighter," she noted.
"We're getting ready for the battles, like you guys," I said causally, shifting my weight slightly as I adjusted my duffle bag.
"I should've known that you would ask your student, Fon," Collonnello said. I sighed, happy that at least one person remembered my allegiance to my master. Collennello grinned roughly, continuing, "You and Reborn both, huh?"
"You made an interesting choice as well," Fon noted, looking over at Iemitsu with a sly smile.
"You don't seem too worried," Lal huffed, crossing her arms.
"We have an ace on our team too," I informed her with a smile, thinking of Kyoya.
"Oh?" She perked, smirking. "I can't wait to see who it is."
"We came over to check out who else was taking advantage of the forest," Iemitsu intervened, "we heard someone else training, and wanted to pay you a visit." He looked past us, noting the damaged done to the clearing that we had been using as our training ground for the past couple days. "Look like you've been having fun as well."
"We're testing out a few new toys of mine," I said, folding my hands behind my back, and leaning to one side slightly.
"So you've got some new weapons, huh?" The rain Arcobaleno asked, eyeing my bag.
"Some nice ones, too," I elaborated. Iemitsu laughed robustly.
"Well then," he said, a glint in his eyes despite his happy facial expression, "I can't wait to see you in action then, Miss Cavallone."
I closed the door of our hotel room, leaning it against it with a frown. Chrome had done well, hiding her illness from those at school, but… my fists tightened, in frustration, knowing that I could do nothing as she got worse and worse. It was much more obvious now, and wouldn't be long until others started noticing. Hopefully, I thought, they would help her with strengthening her resolve, a topic where I had too heavy of a hand discussing. Of course, I couldn't exactly relate to her; I never really had many problems with my resolve, immediately thinking of Dino and my family. There was also the fact that I had no sympathy for Mukuro, who was the root of the problem.
"Hey, Cloud!" I looked up, seeing Dino approach me, Romario and Ivan backing him. "What's up?" He said with a smile, "I haven't seen you very much. We should start sticking together more outside of school hours, you know? Since the battles start tomorrow and everything." I forced a stiff smile, causing Romario and Ivan to look each other, immediately seeing my irritation.
"I've been busy," I said curtly, despite the smile. Dino's own smile wavered, and a confused expression crossed his face.
"Is something wrong, Cloud?" He asked, "You know, you can always talk to me," he supplied, putting on an awkward smile.
"What are you talking about, Dino?" I said with fake enthusiasm, "Nothing's wrong at all!" Ivan and Romario shared another look, both men paling this time. Brother dearest, however, still didn't seem to get the hint.
"Really? You seem kind of mad…" he said, running a hand through his hair, not knowing what to do.
"Why would I be mad?" I asked happily, leaning forward slightly, causing all three men to lean back slightly, "I mean, you did tell Reborn that I was going to be on his team, right? You didn't even have to ask me, you knew me so well!" I chirped, straining my smile more, "I'm just really happy to be fighting on Reborn's team!" Dino's eyes narrowed, and his smile dropped.
"I see what's happening," He said seriously, nodding and putting his hand on his chin. My eyes widened slightly, actually surprised he picked up on the situation.
"You feel bad about fighting the Varia, don't you?" My expression deadpanned, and Romario and Ivan grimaced, Romario actually face palming because of my brother's obliviousness.
"Yep," I stated blankly, "you got it, Bro. That's it exactly," I drew out the last word. He smiled assuringly and clapped me on the shoulder.
"Don't worry about it, Sis," he said kindly, "We're just going after the watches, after all. But, remember," he said in a serious tone, "they won't be holding back, so we've got to give it our best too."
"Thanks for the reassurance," I said blandly as Chrome opened our door. I linked arms with her, and gently escorted her down the hallway. "But I'm afraid," I said as she looked back, giving Dino and small wave, "that we have to get to school. Don't want to be late. Ciao," I said, holding up a single hand. Dino blinked, then smiled, waving back.
"Have fun! Remember what I said!" He called out. Behind him, Ivan sighed in exasperation as Romario shook his head lightly. I sighed, slumping against the elevator wall after the door closed. Chrome gave me a sympathetic smile before coughing again, bringing out a face mask and putting it on.
"Dino…" she said quietly after a while, her voice slightly muffled, "doesn't take hints very well, does he?" I huffed, puffing my cheeks.
"Not," I relented, "at all."
I adjusted my sunglasses slightly, lifting one leg to press against the wall I was leaning against. I looked over, smiling a bit seeing the kids playing on the playground to the right of me. I then frowned, thinking back to Fran.
"I should call him sometime," I muttered, almost grimacing, thinking back to him having to deal with Dayita, "and probably check is he's still even alive." I blinked, feeling a familiar presence, but not seeing him as I looked around.
"You look nostalgic, Cloud!" I nearly jumped, his voice coming from right above me.
"Shit! Byakuran," I scolded, turning around and looking up. He smiled down at me in amusement, his white dragon floating around him, "you can't just approach people like that!"
"Oh?" He said, faking a frown, "why not? It's fun!" He nearly floated down to my side. I huffed, crossing my arms. "I was trying to hide my presence too," He said lightly, almost complaining, "but you still knew I was there."
"Just not where," I finished for him, softening a bit. "You got my text message, right?" He hummed.
"Yep! But," He said, stepping closer and holding my shoulders, "let's go someone where more private before we begin discussing details." I raised an eyebrow, and opened my mouth to question him, but nearly squealed as he swept me into my arms and lifted off the ground. A child from the playground stopped in his tracks, causing the little girl chasing him to run into his back as he gaped at us. Byakuran smiled down at him, chuckling while I clung onto his jacket.
"You can't just pick people up and start flying with them!" I said, hitting his chest lightly. He nearly pouted.
"But, Cloud~" He drew out, "you're so cute when you're surprised!"
"Then I must be fucking adorable right now," I scowled, looking away from him in defiance. He laughed, lightly landing on a roof nearby, safe from prying eyes below. I huffed as he put me down.
"Was that really necessary?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"I figured that it would be troublesome if anyone saw us talking," be explained casually, sitting down on the roof and happily patting the spot next to him, "since our relationship is one the down-low and all." I sighed and grumbled, sitting down beside him.
"I see your point," I allowed, looking over the rooftops, gazing at the sunset. "But next time give me a warning before you cart me off," I reprimanded, looking back over at him, "unlike Tsuna, I'm not used to flying, okay?" He laughed in response. I looked over at his dragon, and held up my hand, letting it sniff it before scratching beneath its chin.
"You were going to give me details, yes?" Byakuran reminded me. I hummed in response, and began relaying my plan to him. He nodded in response and put his hand on his chin as I finished. I could practically see the calculations in his eyes as he looked off into the sunset.
"That depends on a lot of variables," he pointed out. I sighed, bringing my knees to my chest and hugging them.
"I understand that," I said, sounding a bit exasperated, "but it could work, right?"
"In theory," he said seriously, "yes, I suppose it could. But that depends on the first part. Your part, of it, Nikita."
"I can do it," I assured him. He looked over at me, knowing I barely believed my own words. "On my own," I reaffirmed before he could offer any help. "We need to keep our relationship quiet until absolutely necessary. Until they trust you again."
"We're already allied," he told me with smile, "so it shouldn't be too long, right?"
"Still," I reminded him, thinking of a few individuals who tended to be a little to overprotective of me, "some people still won't be happy with you being around me."
"Well," He said, throwing his arm around me, and pulling me a little too close, "we'll just have to change their minds, right?" I frowned.
"Easier said than done, Byakuran," I said blandly. I squirmed a bit, and he released me, looking over at me with smile.
"Really," I told him, looking off again a bit nervously, as if I was trying to convince myself, "I should be fine, right? I mean, defense is my thing." I sighed, laying back on the roof. Byakuran hummed at this.
"I just want these battles to start, really," I admitted. "Despite how mildly freaked out I am about what I have to do."
"Oh?" He pried, "troubles already?"
"Everyone keeps asking me to be on their fucking team," I explained, scrunching my nose. His eyes lit up, seeing an opportunity to annoy me and taking it.
"Ah, is that so?" He said, feigning nervousness, obviously joking. "Then this might make the thing I want to ask you awkward." I glared over at him, despite having set myself up for this.
"I swear to god, Byakuran, if you seriously want me to join your team, I will push you off this roof." He laughed, a bit nervously, putting his hands up, not having expected my reaction to be so serious.
"Message received, Cloud."
I tossed the carton of cigarettes in the air as I walked through the hallways of Namimori. I almost bounced as I walked, pent up with energy. Today was the first day of battles. Even though I knew that they wouldn't start until after school, I couldn't help but feel apprehension. Luckily, I could somewhat distract myself with my newly appointed duties.
After figuring out I was good at spotting illegal items that weren't allowed at the school (courtesy of both Collennello's and Alik's training for picking out concealed weapons. Middle Schoolers were amateurs when trying to hide things on themselves, after all), I was somewhat promoted after spotting a guy with cigarettes in his pocket from the window, leaning out and watching students walk in with Kyoya beside me. It was decided that I do some rounds to find more things and consequently causing more people to get bitten to death. Although, I did feel a little bit of pity for them, there wasn't much, since they were technically breaking the rules. They really just should have been more careful if they didn't want to get caught. Therefore, I was pretty much occupied, walking around with Testu most of the day.
By this time, the other members of the committee were becoming more accustom to my presence, despite still giving me strange looks from time to time. I had a hunch it was because they were underestimating me, but I brushed that off. I was underestimated a lot, after all.
I had managed to keep myself occupied for half the day, and was making my way back to the reception room to eat with my master. I was distracted however, when I saw someone stick their foot out as another person walked out of a classroom.
I caught the student easily enough, ceasing the group's laughter, having excepted the student to fall on their face. I raised an eyebrow, looking the group in the eyes before tilting my head slightly.
"I would be careful with that big foot of yours," I said placidly, looking at the girl who had stuck her foot out, "you could trip someone easily, with feet like that." Her eyes turned angry, but then widened, seeing the band on my arm. She stepped back, and retreated into the classroom, along with the rest of the group. I blinked, having expected a little more bite.
"Huh. I guess he was right when he said to keep the band on," I noted idly, referring back to Testu's advice. The armband itself seemed to scare off most people.
"Umm…" I blinked, looking down at the student I had saved from the fall.
"Oh, sorry," I said a bit sheepishly, pulling him up and releasing his arm. I blinked, recognizing him.
"You're…" Enma said, a bit unsure, "Tsuna's sister, right?"
"Yeah," I said, smiling and squashing the guilt rising up, "that's me. Cloud, or Nikita," I reminded him.
"Enma," he said quietly, nodding bit. My smile widened slightly, finding him endearing, despite being a bit gloomy. I moved my hand up, attempting to depart, since I needed to get back to the reception room if I wanted to make lunch, but the red head surprised me.
"I'm sorry about Adel," He said suddenly, forcefully, bowing a bit, "she shouldn't have attacked you like that!" I blinked, a little shocked. Then I laughed lightly, waving him off, confusing him instead.
"It's fine," I assured him, "I can take care of myself, I promise. Besides," I admitted, "I've been making sure to avoid her, so we don't cause any more trouble." I recalled the few times I had almost ran into the taller girl, bit managed to conceal myself before she noticed.
"There's no need for you to apologize anyways," I assured him, my stomach twisting a bit, patting his shoulder and moving past him. He blinked, then turned abruptly, watching me go.
"Bu-"
"It's fine," I assured him, running and walking backwards, "You do you, okay? See you around," I called back, holding up the hand with my battle watch as I bid him goodbye.
Unfortunately, he had no idea how soon I'd actually be seeing him.
AN:
Aaaaaaaand now we're into my favorite and last arc of KHR, the rainbow arc! Also, classes are cancelled today and possibly tomorrow, so I may be able to update a few more times. Whoo!
Review Response:
Andy: Glad you're enjoying these updates! Thanks for the review!
As always, thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows!
-Evenly