Lussuria looked at the hysterically laughing Daniela in concern. Laughing that hard couldn't possibly be healthy for anyone her age.
"Should I be worried?"
"Once she gets over the amusement of the headaches the boss is going to give the old fucker and his generation when it comes to his choice in Guardians, she'll be fine," said Squalo dismissively.
Timoteo had a migraine when Xanxus harmonized with Squalo. He was going to have a coronary when he fully bonded with Lussuria, and he had no idea that his adopted son even had an Arcobaleno as his Mist.
It was probably for the best that Xanxus was rarely called up to the Iron Fort save for certain events and holidays...it meant the Ninth boss could pretend he didn't have such a headache-inducing son in his family.
"Where is the boss anyway?"
"Setting something up with Viper. The miser brat has been helping him out with something regarding his other training."
Xanxus walked in with Viper on their shoulder, and a sheaf of...was that parchment?
"What's that?"
"Permission to get your gender sorted out. Once the bond fully settles then I can legally take you to see a specialist who can permanently fix your gender to the one you identify with, rather than what you were born with...if you're interested of course," said Xanxus.
Lussuria stared at him in absolute shock. S/he wasn't the only one...Daniela had stopped laughing like a loon.
"I...what?"
Xanxus rolled his eyes.
"The fuckers who attacked the fort are part of a society that's been around since before the Vongola Primo was even born. They apparently have procedures and medicines that can correct something as 'minor' as being born to the wrong gender to what your soul identifies with. Though it requires a few doctor visits and permission to use the permanent kind, and you'll have to deal with a few outpatient visits from the doctor to make sure everything is settling correctly."
Lussuria looked at Xanxus in shock.
"You're telling me I could actually be made into a female without having to do all the expensive hormone treatments and scalpel work?"
"It would only take a month or two, but according to Viper it's a fairly common procedure once you have the doctor's approval. You have to actually identify with the gender you're turning into, otherwise it just causes all sorts of problems," said Xanxus flatly. "If your Flames say you're a girl, then I don't see why a minor thing like biology should stop you from being one."
Lussuria almost wanted to cry. And here she had thought she had lucked out getting a Sky who wasn't turned off by their flamboyant behavior that treated her normally!
"Where do I sign?" Luss asked eagerly.
"You're rather eager to do this. There's no switching back you understand," said Viper.
"Do you have any idea what it's like being a girl in a boy's body? The amount of harassment I go through because I refuse to let society dictate how I should and shouldn't act? The sheer number of idiots who kick me out simply because they think I'm gay or because I make them uncomfortable? Boss is the only person who immediately identified me as a female and still let me treat him without flinching or looking at me in disgust," said Lussuria. "If all it takes is some two-month procedure to fix that, then I'm all for it."
Daniela looked at the gender-confused child with sympathy. At least the Sun had found a Sky who understood them, even if they were a bit odd.
It only took a week for the paperwork to go through...Xanxus wasn't above bribing people with gold, and people were scrambling to keep their vaults active since Viper had taken great pleasure in draining the gold supply dry.
To say Lussuria was eager to finally be the right gender was an understatement. If they hadn't already started to bond with Xanxus, the fact he was actually paying for the procedure to correct something that had been their bane for many, many years would have earned that loyalty.
As it was, Lussuria would quite happily follow Xanxus to hell and back, all while killing anyone stupid enough to try and take their Sky from them. It was much the same for Squalo, who had quickly grown resigned to the fact that the Sun was now part of the same Sky.
He could learn to ignore their quirks so long as they didn't piss him off too much.
Daniela was just amused that Xanxus apparently had the knack of picking Guardians everyone overlooked because of their personality or something they had no control over, and earning their loyalty within a week. First Squalo, and now Lussuria who was utterly delighted in finally feeling right for the first time in their life. Fortunately the teen was a bit of a late bloomer, so their body had only just started the transition into puberty.
She would always be a bit more masculine compared to other females her age, but that was a small price to pay in the long term.
Xanxus was feeling antsy. Squalo had been missing for three days and he could tell his Rain was fighting someone. There was even a sharp phantom pain in his left hand for some reason.
So when his Right Hand returned after having defeated the Sword Emperor and claimed his title, the first thing Xanxus did was slap the idiot on the head.
"You could have given me a head's up that you were challenging him, idiota!"
"Voi! What was that for?" demanded Squalo.
Lussuria took one look at the missing hand and winced.
"Well that explains why Boss was rubbing his hand like he was in pain for the past several hours," said the Sun.
Squalo's head whipped around to look at Lussuria in shock, before staring at Xanxus. Viper snorted.
"What you failed to realize, idiot, is that because of the fact his Flames are tied almost directly into his core, he has something of a strong psychic connection with his Elements. So much so that when you lost your hand he could quite literally feel it as if it was his own," said Viper flatly. "The fact he's close to you as a friend only amplifies that reaction. Though that connection is a two-way street."
Squalo had the decency to look abashed. The idea that his Sky would feel the lost limb had never even occurred to him, and despite his gruff exterior he knew full well how protective Xanxus could be with those he was close to.
Case in point, the fact he had happily broken Iemitsu's nose for daring to call his Sun a "freak" because they were now 100 percent female despite the fact they had been a guy several months earlier. He didn't give a damn how much Coyote or Timoteo bitched about it...the asshole had it coming and Xanxus was a firm believer that when you messed with one of his, then you were messing with him as well.
If there was one thing the Wrath had in spades it was loyalty to his men, even if he was crap at showing it most of the time.
Like his rather irritating (in Squalo's opinion) habit of tossing his drinking glasses when irritated. The number of times he had to wash crap out of his hair alone since becoming Xanxus' Rain... worse Daniela seemed to find it funny, which meant he was only encouraged to continue that behavior.
"Voi... I should have said something."
"Next time at least leave a note. Even a crappy one saying you'd be gone for a bit would have worked, shitty shark. If you do that again you're Lussuria's new dress up bitch," said Xanxus flatly.
Squalo made a face. Lussuria was a total fashion snob and loved making new clothes. And Xanxus was fine with acting as a dress up dummy so long as they fit his general preference and didn't come off as tacky or ridiculous.
He was not getting roped into that, thank you very much.
"So, now that you've defeated the Sword Emperor you do realize that makes you the new head of the Varia, right?" said Daniela grinning.
"Fuck that. I'm letting Xanxus be the boss so I don't have to deal with the fucking politics," said Squalo in disgust. He only wanted to defeat the now-former head of the Varia because the man was a master swordsman. He had no interest in reining in those crazies or having to be the one in charge!
"At least you've already completed your high school education and just need to sit in the secondary magical exams," said Daniela in fond exasperation. "You will visit often, right?"
Because if Squalo was going to hand over the position of "head of the Varia" to Xanxus, then obviously he would live in the ancient castle.
Xanxus snorted.
"I still haven't read your entire library, and god knows I'll need a place to crash to get away from the idiots. Besides, you're the only one who doesn't mind if I use you as a shield from the old fucker and his bitchy menopausal Guardians," said Xanxus.
Daniela didn't bother to hide her usual reaction to Xanxus' blunt description of her son's Guardians. She cackled.
To be fair, Coyote and Viscounti did often act like they were bitchy old women with something highly unpleasant stuck in their craw that were determined to take out their bad day one everyone else save for their Sky...and Daniela, who'd happily kick their ass if they tried that shit with her.
Xanxus was younger, inexperienced and didn't give a damn about quite a few of the rules that governed polite society and made no bones how he felt about the Ninth Generation. As such he was fair game for their annoyance...not that he cared. The teen was just as happy to give as good as he got from the idiots and then some, which provided no end of entertainment for the former Donna.
Well, her and her tea buddies who thoroughly enjoyed hearing all about her wild grandson who was all too happy to give her plenty of new stories to share with her friends and gossip about. Quite a few of them had been utterly amused by the way he had gained his Rain.
Hence why she was eagerly awaiting to see exactly how Xanxus was going to take the Varia by storm. She had little doubt he'd earn their respect and allegiance within a month...and not because of any ridiculous Sky charisma.
In the Varia headquarters
Viper, known better as Mammon the Mist Officer, was eagerly awaiting to see what her favorite cousin would do. Squalo had made it clear that if he won against Tyr he was going to dump the responsibility of being Varia leader on Xanxus the first chance he had.
Upon confirming Tyr's defeat at the hands of the Rain, Mammon had promptly gone over the library in the castle and updated the stock of books inside. By this point they knew Xanxus' habits quite well, and if he didn't have a well stocked library to read from on bad days then he tended to get very crabby and take it out on anyone stupid enough to get within range of his guns.
They would like to keep the repair bills down, thank you very much. Besides, the library was overdue for an overhaul as the last time anything had been added had been decades ago. The mooks were pleasantly surprised that the Misty Miser had given them some new reading material. Mammon was even nice enough to update the selection of available comics and there was even some graphic novels!
Squalo waltzed in like he owned the place, and everyone fully expected him to claim his rightful place as Varia leader. After all, he had beaten Tyr.
"Listen up fuckers! This here is my Sky and your new leader. And if I have to drag your asses up for him to deal with, don't expect a quick and friendly death!" he said loudly.
That...was not how they were expecting this to go.
"Hmph. What can you and that trashy girl do to us?" sneered the Sun officer.
Squalo grinned, much like the shark he was named after.
The Sun officer suddenly let out a wet gasp as the 'trashy girl' with the green hair had her elbow deep in his stomach to the point there was blood on her.
"Don't diss the fashionista, darlings~!" she grinned, as she proceeded to make short work of the now ex-Sun officer. If he wasn't claimed by the end of the week, he'd be dumped in the mass grave out in the back.
The Rain Officer took one look at the bloodthirsty way Squalo was looking at him and openly flinched.
No way he was going to wait for the brat to challenge him. He'd rather retire first. Mammon smirked and openly handed him the official paperwork they happened to have on hand, having anticipated his reaction.
Xanxus merely strode into the castle, gave everyone an unimpressed look and didn't even try to let off his Sky Aura to make the various assassins in the castle to heel.
He didn't need that sort of crutch. He always found the idea of using his Flames to make the lesser idiots bow to him ridiculous.
There was using the reputation of the Sky Flame to get what you want, and then there was earning some actual respect through your own merit without having to flout some special power to get it.
"I'm only going to say this once. Any of you fuckers want to try and take the position of Varia Leader from me are free to challenge me any time you want. If you can beat me you're free to claim it. Otherwise fuck off and follow my orders," he said bluntly, staring down any who were brave enough to meet his eyes.
Several brave fools tried to match his unrelenting gaze...only to realize their error and flinch when they realized that trying to match Xanxus in a staring contest was like trying to stare down a hungry tiger. He might look big and furry, but there was no mistaking the fact that he was a vicious, territorial predator perfectly capable of ripping your throat out and devouring your remains without a second thought.
Some poor fools did take him up on his challenge...only to end up very dead at the end of it. The fact he never once used his Flames to do the job, just pure skill and his guns earned him the respect of most. Those that didn't respect him at least had the sense not to bitch too loudly about it within anyone's hearing.
They could be patient and wait for their new potential Sky to slip up. After all, in the Varia weakness was a death sentence.
Though it didn't take long for the assassins to figure out Mammon's actual motivation for updating the library... after catching their new leader in there reading a random book twice in the same week (not the same one either), it was pretty obvious that the Mist had known the Wrath was coming to take over the castle and the group.
Though Squalo and Luss found it amusing that the one thing the Varia couldn't get over was the fact that the Boss actually had really vibrant green eyes, not the bloody red that most saw. Some of the "male" Varia had taken one look at Xanxus wearing his glasses with proper lighting while reading (his eyes were bothering him from the contacts) and had promptly shared this rather unusual news with the other "males".
Xanxus made it clear he didn't give a damn what gender people claimed they were, so long as they did their job. Case in point, his Sun.
Though if he found it irritating that the "males" of the castle were now giving him speculative looks he last saw in the slums, he made no sign of it.
Squalo, on the other hand now had a new source of irritation as Xanxus used him for target practice with his well stocked liquor cabinet.
Daniela was very amused that her grandson had promptly dove into said cabinet the first chance he had (after all, who was going to tell the Varia Leader he couldn't drink because he was underage when he now had every reason to shoot said idiot in the face), but she also became a willing enabler to his drinking habits. If he got a hangover, that was his own problem and he'd be better off learning not to mix drinks on his own.
Mammon apparently agreed, because they kept the cabinet well stocked without a word and quietly enjoyed Xanxus suffering from some rather nasty hangovers...which he promptly used as an excuse to throw things at his Rain whenever he came in to deliver paperwork.