I put all my faith in Lussuria when he told me he wanted to look into Alpha starting with the upcoming summer festivities. The Vongola Family would throw a barbecue party for our allied families each year. According to Lussuria, this was my last big chance to find out about Alpha until the December holiday parties so I had no other choice.

Thanks to Lussuria, all our officers are attending the party with the same goal. Surprisingly, I was given a uniform like the rest of our officers and told to attend the party armed and ready to kill. I was relieved. I didn't have to argue with anyone over my attire this time around.

Geared up, one by one the officers gathered at the entrance to leave for the party together as planned. I was mildly impressed how everyone gathered at about the same time. No one had to be told a second or third time that we were heading out. I wasn't surprised when Squalo and Lussuria were the last to arrive bringing Alpha with them.

"I called the drivers." Squalo informed us, "We'll go in two cars today. The goal is to dig up information on this guy."

Alpha was not surprised. I already told him about our intentions today and he seemed grateful.

"It's going to be rough. We don't have anything to start with except his appearance." Squalo took out his phone and proceeded to take a picture of Alpha and the distinguishing tattoos running up and down both of his arms, "Kira, Luss, and I will ride together. The rest of you should ride with Alpha. Get to know his distinguishing features so you can ask about him. Ask him what he remembers. On this end, we're counting on Kira to fill us in."

It seemed that there was more than one reason for separating us and Squalo was quick to tell me once we had gotten in our designated vehicles, "Kira, you know this could go poorly for you, right?"

I shrugged. I knew what he was getting at. There was a chance that Alpha would discover the truth about his former life and come to the conclusion that he wanted to return to his old life. Just like Koge returned to his roots and joined the police force, Alpha might desire something more than our current life. Only problem now is that we've joined the Varia. We're not allowed to just leave as we please here. Dino might've been kind and lenient but the Varia is not that kind of group.

Lussuria was now waggling his finger in my face, "Have you ever had to dispatch someone?"

"Not an ally." I admitted, "The Cavallone Family doesn't really follow through on that anymore."

"Have you thought about what would happen if you were to be assigned to dispatch one of your own?"

"No."

Lussuria was now making an annoyed expression in Squalo's direction, "She never thought about it."

"She never had to think about it." He snorted, "We dispatched Ottavio just fine and she left Cavallone just fine. She'll be able to do it if the time comes."

Lussuria let the topic drop. We had more urgent matters to discuss at this time.

"Fine. So where did you come across Alpha?" He was now turning his attention to our current job, "And what was he doing?"

"He wasn't doing anything. It looked like he was being held hostage." I said, "Dino and I had gone to rescue Romario after a botched mission and Alpha was there too. We rescued both of them. At the hospital, they woke up and Alpha told us he doesn't remember anything."

"A hostage? So what was the reason for rescuing him if he wasn't one of yours?"

"I… I'm not familiar with everyone in the Cavallone Family." I grumbled, "I rescued him on the off-chance that he was an ally."

"And he wasn't so why did you keep him?"

"Romario made us keep him. Alpha had nowhere to go and offered to fight for us if we let him stay." I grumbled, "We couldn't afford to turn away strong fighters. I didn't want to let him stay at first but he's useful…"

"Okay so the important parts are his original location and his skill set. Which family was it that had him kept as a hostage?"

"I don't remember…" I admitted, "They were so insignificant and… I wasn't even told about the mission. It was Romario's assignment and he failed so I didn't get briefed. All I got was 'go rescue Romario' and that's what I did. That family was eradicated though…"

"That's not much to go off of… So then what about his skills? He lost his memory but his body remembered his sniping skills?"

"Yeah. I didn't see him shoot for the first time when he left the hospital but according to Romario, he was a precise shooter immediately upon grasping the gun. He's good with all firearms."

Lussuria seemed to have gotten all the information he needed. He leaned back and thought about it in silence for the rest of the ride. Squalo placed a hand on my shoulder and let me know it was Lussuria's specialty. He was the best at gathering information at parties.

According to Squalo, everyone had their specialty. Mammon was good at covertly gathering information. Belphegor and Leviathan specialized in torture. Squalo was a jack of all trades. He used all of his senses and all of his skills to gather information. And Lussuria was excellent at talking. He was good at playing with gossip.

It was a skill I couldn't imagine needing but I changed my mind after seeing Lussuria work. The minute we got to the party, Lussuria went to get a drink. Beverage in hand, he took his time rounding the crowd. He greeted a few people here and there and then he spotted his target.

The target was not someone I expected him to talk to in this situation. She was a big woman in her forties or fifties. She was dressed like a noble. She had jewelry all over and her husband was nowhere to be seen. She held two glasses of liquor and it looked like she had already drank way more than she could hold.

Lussuria put on a big smile when he approached her. His voice was pitched higher than usual as he spoke with a joyous, sing-song tone, "Miss Ella~ I'm so glad to see you here!"

"Lussy!" She was equally joyful with her greeting, tossing an empty glass backwards towards her butler, "I almost thought you were going to be busy tonight!"

"They're going to take a while." Squalo grumbled, gesturing to the drinks, "Let's give them some space."

I followed his lead but I didn't take my eyes off Lussuria. He was so animated when he talked. For someone who was just gossiping with someone he sees once or twice a year, he looked like he was enjoying it an awful lot. In fact, they looked like they were best friends.

Handing me a drink, Squalo snickered, "He hates that lady."

"What?" I couldn't believe what he was saying, "Seriously?"

"Yeah. He's going to come over here when he's done and complain." He glanced over his shoulder and lowered his voice, "You know there's a chance that Cavallone will be here, right?"

I stiffened. I hadn't thought about it.

"You have two seconds. You want to talk to him or not?"

I shut my eyes and the image of Dino's face flashed by, followed by Romario's and I shook my head, "No."

"Then get out of here." Squalo's hand gave me a firm push towards the exit, "I'll tell him you didn't come if he asks."

I took off without looking back, heading towards the limos. Once I got in the car, I realized I had been stupid. I wasn't avoiding Dino so much as I was still angry at Romario but it really is too early to see him again.

Sitting alone in the limo, I felt kind of useless. I leaned back, staring at the ceiling of the vehicle. When I shut my eyes, I heard a voice in the distance.

You're being summoned.

Again. My blood began to pump in my ears. I pitched forward, clapping my hands over my ears.

The voice rang again, louder.

You damn herbivore! Go!

I stood and exited the vehicle. I barely remembered to close the door behind me. My feet moved all on their own as if they already knew where they were going. Ignoring the party borders, I went into Vongola HQ and made my way down to the basement.

Sure enough, there wasn't anyone there to block the path. The security sucked because they didn't think anyone would make a difference even if they did come down here.

I made my way down and to the end of the hall where they kept him-Xanxus. He wasn't much different than I remembered him. Even frozen in ice, he looked angry. I snorted. I didn't quite know what Squalo thought was so respectable about this man, at least not at this point in life.

I walked right up to the icy prison before I felt a presence behind me. I spun and came face to face with Visconti, the current Vongola Cloud Guardian.

"You're not supposed to be here." He narrowed his eyes on me, eyes shifting up and down to confirm my uniform, "Are you with the Varia? I haven't seen you before."

I was wary. I knew Visconti from Squalo and Lussuria's overview of our famiglia's elites. He was rumored to be the strongest of the current guardians. The aura he gave off was beyond anything I've ever felt before. Strength dripped from every ounce of his demeanor.

His eyes shifted to Xanxus and then back to me, "Who are you?"

His tone said it was in my best interest to answer. My eyes narrowed, searching him. If he was armed, he concealed it perfectly.

I relented, "Hibari Kira. I'm the newest officer."

"So then it's too early for you to know." he scoffed at me, gesturing at the ice, "Your boss sleeps in this unrelenting prison. He was branded a traitor. You're not allowed down here."

"What's unrelenting about that ice?" I questioned him, "If I hit it, will it not break?"

His expression remained unchanged but his tone seemed to belittle me, "Try it."

I didn't think it would work but I accepted his taunt. I drew my gauntlets over my hands and I swung. Not a single crack was rewarded to me.

For some reason, Xanxus opened his eyes. I'm not sure if my blow woke him or if he had never really been asleep but he opened his crimson eyes and our gazes met.

Visconti didn't seem bothered. He was absolutely confident that the ice would hold no matter what. It was a strange type of confidence. He had faith in his boss.

Irritation crept into my heart. I wanted nothing more than to crack open the ice and prove Visconti wrong. Xanxus narrowed his eyes as if he could tell that I was agitated.

I swung again and Visconti didn't even bother to stop me. He genuinely thought it was impossible for me to break the ice.

I thumped my gloved palm against the ice and hissed, "If you're really so amazing, why are you in there? Squalo-senpai thinks you're a god. So why are you still in there?"

His eyes narrowed and my heart began to pound. He was trying to relay something to me.

A sense of deja vu washed over me. I had seen this man trapped in the ice before. In my dreams, I had freed him with fire.

I reached into my pocket and fished out the rings I always carried now. Someone had broken into my room and dropped these rings shortly after I had joined the Varia. Holding them up to Xanxus, I knew this was their purpose. I don't know how it happened or how he did it but one of the rings began to glow a bright orange to match the stone on it. The ice began to respond by glowing in the seven colors of the rainbow.

My eyes widened as his voice echoed in my ears, "If you want to see true strength, release me."

In that moment, the only thing I wanted in life was to see Xanxus fight for real and the second stone responded to me. The purple stone began to glow and roar to life just as strongly as the orange had just a moment ago. I turned, glancing over my shoulder as Visconti finally realized what was happening.

He lunged with his weapon raised but I felt a sense of calm. A new addition had arrived. My lips curved into a smirk and I took my eyes off Visconti's charging form to lock eyes with Xanxus in the ice. Xanxus' expression loosened the smallest bit and his eyes grew wide. He knew this person as well as I did.

"You're late, Squalo-senpai." I murmured, my voice totally drowned out by the battle cry ripping from the swordsman's throat, "How did you even know I was here?"

Visconti's blade clanged against Squalo's, the vibrations of the impact cut through the air. I knew it wasn't possible but it almost seemed as if the vibration were speeding up the melting of the ice. No, I suppose it wasn't the vibrations of blade on blade, it was Squalo's very presence that raised our level of motivation.

Raising my free hand, I curled my fingers into a fist and drove it into the remainder of the ice. The weakened frost shattered and gave way, releasing the beast sealed inside.

"Impossible!" Visconti had called for backup already. The security system had gone off and his entire force was flocking to the basement to aid him.

"Now, what?" I hissed. My body was totally exhausted and it wouldn't be until much later in life that I would discover the ring's flame was supplied by our life force. The exhaustion I felt was caused by the Dying Will Flames, "Squalo-senpai!"

He stood firmly between me and the reinforcements. He didn't once look back at me. He hadn't expected this to be the conclusion of tonight's events but he felt as if he owed me his protection. A silent Squalo-senpai was one who didn't have an answer.

Mafiosos came flooding down into the once-empty basement. Neither of us thought we would be able to escape here alive but as fate would have it, it was not our time.

The crowd of armed men split down the middle to make way for the most powerful man in the building—Vongola Nono. Timoteo's eyes narrowed on his kneeling son. A defiant gaze met his solemn one and he sighed.

"Stand down." He ordered, a kindness shown to his son, "It's been long enough, Xanxus. I'm sure you understand the severity of your actions. You've had many long years to think about them after all. If you swear your fealty to the Vongola Family once more, I will accept your apology."

Xanxus' body was stone cold, when I offered him a hand to rise to his feet. He didn't speak. Maybe his time in the ice froze his mouth shut. I couldn't imagine escaping without giving an apology. I glanced at Squalo who was obviously assessing the situation. He was looking for a way out but the only door was behind Vongola Nono.

I gritted my teeth at the expression Squalo was making. It was an expression betraying his unsettled heart. I had been unprepared. Initially, I came here and I expected to just see what kind of prison Xanxus was in and leave with that information under my belt for future reference. I never once thought I'd be breaking the Varia's precious boss out of here today but this isn't what Squalo would call Varia Quality. I should've been prepared for any possibility, even this one.

I never once imagined burdening Squalo with my lack of planning tonight and judging by Xanxus' expression, he wasn't about to give the apology Don Vongola had requested. In fact, he didn't seem sorry one bit. He didn't have an apology to give. I had to do something or we'd all be captured in the same prison Xanxus had been in moments ago.

I cleared my throat, stepping past Squalo and towards Don Vongola Nono with an outstretched hand displaying the rings I had used to melt the ice, "I think we do owe an apology. You see, someone broke into my room and left me these. I thought it was a sick joke. Who would invade an assassin's castle and leave behind something rather than steal something."

Timoteo looked skeptical as he reached out and took them from me. He held them up to the light, watching the colors glint from the gemstones, "So you brought them here to break Xanxus out of his prison?"

"No. I always carry them with me." I told him, "Since that day, I've been carrying them around to see if I could find some purpose for them. It wasn't my intent to break him out of the ice. I didn't even know they could be used for that purpose."

The old man looked like he wanted to believe me even if it was only for the sake of granting his son freedom. He turned to his Cloud Guardian and murmured, "If Visconti thought you were a danger, he would have cut you down sooner. My friend, did she seem to know what she was doing?"

Visconti shook his head, "I cannot say. She was curious and blatant. She came questioning the integrity of the ice. She didn't even sneak in. She simply walked up to it as if she were observing a painting in a museum. If she had this up her sleeve the whole time… I don't think she would've attempted to break through the ice with her hands…"

"Her hands…?" Squalo grimaced, embarrassed for me, "You dumbass."

I cleared my throat, turning away, "He led me on. He was grumbling about how I should try hitting it or whatever. How was I supposed to know it had some weird magic properties?"

Timoteo closed his eyes for a moment and then he sighed, "Well, either way, I'll be keeping these curious rings. What's done is done so… Return home, Xanxus. Be thankful to this young lady. If anyone else had come in here and pulled this stunt, I would have had to believe they intentionally wanted to ignite war once more but Kira had nothing to do with your coup. I'll consider this fate and let you leave."

Xanxus didn't say anything but I recognized the look on his face. It was the look of someone who was just getting started. He wasn't done. This was a one sided delivery of freedom, not a contract of fealty. Xanxus wanted something desperately and he looked like he would kill to get it.

There was only one thing I could be certain of at this point. Xanxus was someone who did everything with his dying will. The lesson Reborn was trying to impart on Dino was something Xanxus did naturally. I could respect that for now.