Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The first time he had his crown stolen, he was having one of those bad days. The days when everything seemed to go wrong. Having his crown taken was just the icing on the cake he supposed.

It started out rather routine. He was sent to Namimori to deal with some upstarts targeting Sawada and his little groupies. He still wasn’t convinced Iemitsu’s spawn could be a better leader than his boss, but the Varia were adaptable by nature.

Sometimes they had to be to survive their shitty missions.

Speaking of missions, someone tipped off his targets that he had been the one being sent. Mammy would be pissed when he found out there was leak somewhere. Especially if that leak was good enough to get the Prince in such a state.

He must have fought them for a few hours at least. He brought enough knives to take down his targets and a few extra just in case. Not to mention his weapons were reusable and he was sure he picked up a few discarded knives as he did his best to dodge machine gun fire.

Despite how everyone claimed he was a psychopathic maniac, even he knew defeat when he saw it. He was forced to make a tactical retreat for now. If he could make it to Sawada he could get their Sun brat to heal him up, then it would be sweet revenge on these worthless fuckers.

But getting to Sawada was proving to be a challenge as they chased after him. He had made a good sprint the first few blocks, putting a sizable distance between him and his pursuers. But eventually the blood loss was catching up to him, and leaving a noticeable trail.

He stumbled through an alleyway between two buildings cursing the way the dice were rolled this time. He hated when simple missions went so awry. He always had to deal with the others’ teasing which was just annoying.

He barely even registered the sound of running feet. He wasn’t sure where she came from. But when he felt his back getting slammed into the wall behind him, his hand automatically went for a knife that wasn’t there.

Instead her hand snagged his and forced it on her waist. Maybe it was the dizziness from how much blood he lost but he couldn’t quite comprehend what was happening. That was until her mouth crashed into his.

She was a small thing pressed against him. But her lithe frame was enough to hide his wounds and most of the identifying features he had. Tilting his head a bit, made it impossible for a passerby to distinguish that he was in fact Prince the Ripper.

He barely felt her take his crown off his head and slip it between them. And just like that they were two teenagers kissing in a shadowy part of the street. Not a very Japanese thing to do, he had to admit, but effective nonetheless.

While she was distracting against him, he still had enough focus to hear the cursing and footsteps rounding the corner of the alleyway. It made him tense slightly wondering if the girl was there to help his enemies.

But they raced past them, probably without a second glance. It made his grip on her loosen just a bit. But her mouth was persistent, and he wondered if she was intoxicated in some way.

Then he heard the crash from across the street and more cursing. He tightened his grip just a bit to continue the illusion. He figured these were the people she had been running from in these darkened streets.

He could appreciate the slight irony of that. Two unknowns stumbling from pursuers, only to use each other to get away. Her pursuers were down the road going the opposite way his were.

Then she pulled back.

He could focus enough to get a good look at her. Her hair was obscured by some ridiculous hooded sweater with a cute anime style fox face sewn on to it. It even had the little triangle ears making him think it was a reference to some anime.

But he was sure in the dim light he glimpsed a white lining to the hood.

She was average he supposed. Her large brown eyes making her just a bit more distinguishable from the other Japanese women running around. He couldn’t tell how long her hair was, but a good splash of it fell around her face from under her hood.

She also wore a rather standard skirt. Like the type he was sure high schoolers wore with a pair of dark leggings under that. Some run of the mill shoes made him think she was at least from the middle class unless of course she was dressing below her station.

It was a possibility given she was running from someone.

“Hahi! That was convenient, desu.” She cheered, and he vaguely recognized the speech pattern from somewhere. “But Haru has to go stalk her kidnappers now. Try to stay out of trouble, yeah?”

Then like a phantom she was gone. He blinked and looked down the street where her pursuers were racing away. Sure enough, he caught a glimpse of red-orange as it darted into the darkness beyond a streetlight.

A little fox darting off to chase rabbits.

He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. Then he froze. His crown was missing.

He had looked around to see if it had been dropped. Patted down his coat to see if it was slipped into his pocket. Then he remembered the girl was the one to take it from his head.

He cursed, and a surge of anger helped steady him. He wanted to race after her. To hunt her down and take back what was his.

But he knew she had to be a resident of Japan and even if he had to tear the country apart he would find her again. Instead he used the new rush of adrenaline to push himself down a different route. He needed to get healed up, so he could finish this clusterfuck of a job.

Then he would go fox hunting.

Chapter Text

The second time he had his crown stolen, had been a shock on several levels. The first came from just where he found the little fox. He had been planning to take off after the surprise meeting the boss was springing on Sawada to go hunt her down.

He was still stewing from having his crown taken. It was a family heirloom and he cursed himself for having to use the wire that usually tied it down. But he wasn’t going to kill her, maim her a bit until she gave up what happened to it, but he did owe her for helping him get away from his pursuers.

The Prince hated owing people.

He wasn’t even paying attention to the loud argument going on around him. He was sure if Sawada didn’t know they were out on his front step then it wouldn’t be long. Instead he shoved his hands in his pockets as he tried to think of places to go looking for the little fox.

The high schools would definitely be his first stop. He was certain the skirt she was wearing was from one of them. He would just have to find the right uniform that matched what he remembered.

He almost relished the challenge this would be. She was so average that finding the right girl would be difficult. Luckily, he had her speech pattern and sweater to go off, that made her unique.

He almost completely missed the movement out of the corner of his eye. A pair of black panda ears on a white hood smoothly glided past him at chest height. He turned his head slightly to blink at the little slip of a girl bouncing past on silent feet.

The others were too wrapped up in their argument to notice the nonchalant girl brush past them. He noted she passed within striking distance of the others and they didn’t notice. Trained assassins just let her past like she wasn’t there.

As he contemplated what sort of magic she was using, she knocked on the door.

It was enough to startle Mammy into casting an illusion over them. Which, he conceded, was probably for the best when it was Iemitsu’s wife that opened the door. Probably best not to startle the poor woman, plus it would lead to having to deal with Iemitsu.

None of the Varia liked dealing with the head of the CEDEF.

“Haru-chan!” Mama-Sawada greeted with a smile.

“Hello, desu!” The girl in the panda sweater responded. “Haru is here to watch the children.”

He felt his mind go blank. There was no way his little fox was here. There was also no way she knew Sawada personally.

That just complicated things.

He snapped back into focus quickly. By then she was already bouncing into the house. He wanted to curse himself for his lapse in attention.

“Hahi! Reborn-chan! You have visitors!” She called, and he figured that was enough of a surprise as any.

Mammy must have thought so as well because the illusion dropped.

“Haru?” He heard Sawada call.

By now it was obvious that this little slip of a girl was named Haru. He mentally went through the lists of associates close to Sawada as he heard the young Don squeal at their presence. He easily pulled up the memory of there being one Haru Miura in association with the Vongola Decimo.

“What are they doing here?!” Tsuna’s voice pulled him back to the conversation going on in the foyer.

He watched the girl in the panda sweater put her hands on her hips. She turned slightly letting him see the large white spot on her mostly black sweater, making it even more panda like.

The way she swiveled her head between Sawada and them made him anticipate some snarky response.

“They’re not selling cookies if that’s what you’re asking, desu.”

He grinned in appreciation as the others were slow to pick up the quip. By then she was already calling the Decimo’s younger associates to report to her. As the children started coming from deeper in the house, he watched as the others snapped out of their surprise.

Squalo taking offense was hardly a surprise. Her quip about how loud he was, however, was. The balls on this slip of a thing were something if she could casually insult the Varia without batting an eyelash.

Or she didn’t understand who they were, which would be disappointing.

Somehow the prince doubted she was ignorant as she took command of her three troopers. She even had the balls to reprimand Sawada for leaving them on the step. The prince would have just loved to sit back and watch her blow over the worthless peasant had his eyes not caught something as she turned to leave.

It was just a glimpse. But he would recognize that red-orange color almost anywhere. It was a burnt umber that wasn’t quite red or quite orange, a strange shade for clothes to be sure.

He didn’t even register he moved as his hand shot out and snagged the hood off her head. He had to know. And as he fisted his hand he confirmed his suspicion.

Her sweater was cleverly designed to be reversible.

Hidden in the hood was the same cute anime fox face he remembered. Little triangle ears that had been lying flat against her hair now popping up in the fabric. He had found the little fox that stole his crown.

It made him snicker through a large grin.

“It is you~!” He almost chortled in delight.

Sure, he wouldn’t be able to hunt her down. But this was just far to sweet to pass up. The little fox had brushed right past him in the disguise of a harmless panda of all things.

Now all the prince needed was to find out where she sequestered his crown.

“Hello?” She politely pulled him from his thoughts. “Please do not Haru-handle Haru, desu. Hahi! Haru has to keep an eye on the children.”

Her eyes darted down the street for half a second before blinking back at him.

“Not until you tell me where it is.” He said getting down to business as he pulled out two of his knives.

After all, a little intimidation tended to go a long way when dealing with civilians and she looked to just be the help. No mafia woman would blink so innocently at a Varia commander like that. He wouldn’t have to hurt her to get what he wanted.

“Please let Haru go. Haru has to go catch up to the children.” She insisted, and he felt his anger pique a bit.

“The Prince will let you go as soon as you tell me where you put it, peasant.” He hissed as his teeth clenched.

He knew she was well aware of what he was talking about. If she thought he was going to let her simple run off, then she was delusional. How dare she deny the prince his crown, it was bad enough he needed to wear a far lesser replica until he got his real crown back.

Despite his rising anger he noticed how her face went coolly blank. The open innocence vanished for something unreadable yet entirely unimpressed. It was a challenging look if he ever saw one.

He was tempted to shove one of his knives into her flesh to see her weep as she bled.

“Please do not threaten Haru, desu. Haru knows Haru-Fu.” She stated coolly as she stepped away from him causing her hood to tug slightly in his grip. “Let Haru go.”

She was daring. Few would make demands of the prince when he had them in his grasp with his knives drawn. But instead of appreciating the refreshing occurrence, all it did was serve to irritate him more.

“No.”

He started to move. Sawada could forgive him one slice. Just a bit to see her blood coating that pale flesh of hers.

She needed to be taught not to move above her station after all.

He didn’t anticipate she would move as well. Instead of pulling further away however, she stepped closer. Her tiny hand grabbing the wrist of his hand balling her hood.

He didn’t anticipate the elbow that came up to greet his face either. It was a hard hit. Impressive for her small stature.

If she had hit at a better angle with a bit more force, he knew the bridge of his nose would likely be in his brain now. A killing hit that was used instead to stun. He barely could blink the stars out of his eyes before he felt himself moving without his permission.

He rolled over her tiny back and shoulders following the arm she captured in her hands. Even as the wind was knocked form him as he landed on his back he was almost impressed. But she wasn’t done.

He felt his wrist pop before the bones cracked together. The jolt of pain stunning him more than the elbow to the face. So much so he was only vaguely aware he was now in a seated position.

The next half a second he felt something solid striking his head right above his ear. He felt himself snap in the direction the kick was sending him. Only things went dark after that as he collided with something solid.

The first thing he noticed upon waking, was the throbbing headache he had. Clearly the result of some type of concussion. It took a long minute before his mind supplied what had knocked him out.

The little fox was not as harmless as she leads people to believe. He was slightly impressed she had left him no room to recover after she got her hands on him. Clearly someone deemed

Sawada’s women needed some self defense training, which he begrudgingly approved of.

The second thing he noticed was the fact he could barely move his arms. He sat up using mostly his abdominal muscles as he tried to get his arms to work properly. But even twitching his fingers caused jolts of pain to shoot through him causing him to growl.

“Ah! Bel-chan, you’re up. How are you feeling darling?” Lussuria asked bouncing into view.

“What the fuck happened to the prince’s arms?” He growled trying to move them but shutting his eyes at the pain. He couldn’t even tell where his arms were wounded to cause such agony.

“Haru-chan threw your knives in your little spat. As far as I can tell she managed to nail the pressure points for your arms as well as cut through quite a bit of your tendons. I managed to heal the tendons but until the nerves heal you won’t be able to use your arms much.”

“Are you fucking kidding?!” He snarled and moved to stand. “Where the fuck is she? The prince is going to stab her! Even if I have to use my teeth to hold my knife!”

“Now Bel-chan, calm down.” Lussuria said fussing as he tried to get the prince to lay down again. “You are in no condition to fight anyone.”

“Listen to the shitty Sun, trash.” Xanxus snapped stepping into the room. “You have some explaining to do. That trash Sawada is worried you’re going to kill one of his little groupies.”

“The prince isn’t fucking stupid.” He spat back. “I’m just going to maim her a little. This is all the fucking cunt’s fault anyway.”

“You’re not maiming her either.” Xanxus said in a command.

“But-”

Xanxus silenced him with a look. It was the same look his Sky used to give him when he was just a brat killing subordinates for fun. It always had the annoying effect of making him feel like a disobedient child well below his class.

All he could do was sit back and growl to himself. He refused to acknowledge the way he automatically bowed his head and looked away from his Sky. His pride had been trampled on enough and all by one little fox.

He didn’t care what Xanxus or Sawada thought. He would get at least one good hit in on her. If she could kick the prince around, she could take a shallow cut or two.

“Well?” Xanxus prompted.

The prince almost dropped his shoulders more, but the twinge of pain caused him to rise them. This was just going to be a bitch. He was definitely going to give that girl at least a papercut when he got the chance.

“She stole the prince’s crown.” He managed to push past his gritted teeth. “Back on that job gone wrong the last time the prince was in Namimori.”

“That’s the girl who stole your first kiss?” Lussuria asked perking up with a grin. “That’s adorable!”

“Fuck off Luss.” He snapped at the Sun.

“But darling, if you didn’t try to kill every woman that shown even a bit of interest in you, you would be able to handle this situation. Really, it’s such a tragedy that for all your princely upbringing you have almost zero experience with the fairer sex.”

“Fucking shut up, you worthless peasant!” He roared lunging at the Sun.

A hand on his shoulder caused him to not only stop his attack but cry out. He ended up on his back on the bed fighting back tears as he gritted his teeth at the pain. He vowed to figure out just how she hit him to cause him so much distress.

It would be useful in the future at the very least.

“Careful,” Lussuria tutted, “his nerves are very sensitive.”

Xanxus just huffed. “Your crown, trash.”

“She slipped it off when,” he almost felt his face twist in disgust, “she kissed me. At the time it was perhaps the best course of action, but she failed to return it. The prince was just asking where it was nicely.”

“We’ve been over this darling. You need to use your manners, not your knives, to convey niceties.” Lussuria said with a sigh.

“Well that makes two crowns she’s gotten off you now.” Xanxus said with a huff that was almost amused. “We couldn’t find the replacement you got from Mammon when we were checking over you. That trash Reborn hasn’t found it on the Sawada property either.”

“Did you ask that he retrieve it?” Lussuria asked while the prince stewed over that fact.

“Why would I? I gave him a bottle of wine to give to her instead.” Xanxus said smugly.

“Leave.” The prince commanded coldly.

“But-” Lussuria began.

“Just fucking leave!” The prince hissed sending both a hidden glare.

“Fine,” Xanxus said looking down his nose at the prince. “But we’re heading back to Italy. There will be no maiming of Sawada’s groupies. I don’t want to deal with the bratty don or any of the paperwork.”

His Sky ushered his Sun out of the room and shut the door behind them.

The prince wanted to curl up on the bed, but his wounded shoulders made that nearly impossible. Instead he was stuck lying flat on his back as he stared up at the ceiling. It was only then he realized they were in their hotel suite.

He didn’t care what his Sky or the worthless peasants thought. The little fox earned a good maiming. Perhaps a knife to the shoulder so she could understand the frustration he was currently enduring.

The very least he would have to hunt her down to ask nicely that she return his crown.

Chapter Text

The third time he had his crown stolen, he had been hunting the little fox.

Belphegor never really enjoyed the Vongola Holidays very much. Sure, some of them were a good test of skill but hardly worth the effort in his opinion. But to show that the Varia were in line with the new Don they had to show up for a few events.

It was supposed to be a bonding experience for the Varia and the main house. But Belphegor thought it was the Boss trying to intimidate Sawada into giving the Varia more independence.

The prince didn’t mind since Nono had taken away a lot of the freedoms the man had first given the organization before Xanxus took over.

This time however, Belphegor was very much looking forward to the Holiday Celebration. He knew the St. Patrick’s Day celebration was designed as a bit of a game of keep away. One person was designated as “it” and everyone else had to capture them.

The bait could gain allies with the promise of handing over the prize at the end, but usually it was a free for all.

Belphegor had anticipated perhaps seeing the little fox at the celebrations. She was one of Sawada’s inner circle after all. She had to be present.

But when the Varia showed up, he couldn’t spot the little fox among the crowd. Then again, he couldn’t spot the Cloud or Mist Guardians which he figured was normal. Sawada seemed to be leery of those two and only interacted with his Mist through the man’s female proxy.

“VOI!!” Squalo announced and probably would have continued with his over zealous greeting if another voice hadn’t pipped up.

“Volume button!”

Belphegor grinned as he slipped his knives from his pocket. The little fox was there, just hidden away somewhere. He wondered if she anticipated the Varia attending and had gone into hiding to avoid them.

It would be the smart thing for her to do after all.

He hissed as his knives were snatched out of his hands. He almost glared up at Squalo who he knew took them. Only the Rain had the audacity to hit the prince over the back of the head.

“We’ve told you, shitty prince!” Squalo scolded him like he was a child. “There will be no maiming of Sawada’s little friends!”

“The prince won’t permanently harm her.” He defended.

“Squalo!” Sawada’s Rain greeted coming up and cutting off the rest of the scolding.

Sometimes the prince really despised the fact he was still treated as the baby of the group. They had another baby, though the annoying Mist brat hadn’t joined just yet. Belphegor’s little kohai was being unusually stubborn, something Sawada’s Mist could attest to, but none of them could figure out why.

While the two swordsmen talked, Belphegor scanned the rest of the group. The Hurricane Bomb was hovering near Sawada glaring at anyone of them that moved. It reminded Belphegor disgustingly of Levi, who was doing much the same to the Boss at the moment.

Mammy was hovering off to the side speaking quietly with the Mist Proxy about Fran. The Varia would very love to have their little Mist back in their clutches as soon as possible. While

Mammy was a wonderful Mist Commander, Fran had always been Xanxus’s Mist.

Belphegor hated to admit it but even his Sky wasn’t strong enough to pull in an Arcobaleno. Though Mammy was family despite what anyone else might say. The Mist Arcobaleno would always be part of the Varia and that was that.

He was pulled from his musings as a gunshot rang out. He looked up expecting to see Reborn having shot Sawada with something. What he found instead, however, was the little fox crouched further away in the clearing glaring at a tree.

Reborn gracefully hoped out of the tree, probably after he shot at her to get her to move.

As she stood, Belphegor took a minute to appreciate the sight she presented. She had forgone the cute sweater for a rich emerald kimono style top with a spring print he saw in most anime, far to short to be an actual kimono yet still cut like one. It had a pale pink obi that went well with the print and tied properly in the back.

The top was opened a bit to show off the indigo turtleneck she wore under it, still scandalous but rather modest. Her toned lithe legs were encased in black leggings that clung to her skin and tucked into a pair of indigo boots that had what looked like a soft sole and clung to her feet. She also had some type of green cloth wrapped around her neck, likely to hide the lower half of her face.

He couldn’t see her hands thanks to the long sleeves but her silken dark hair was tied up in a topknot. Chopsticks and hair accessories making the up-do even more intricate looking. In all she looked like she had just stepped off the screen of some ninja anime and still made it look classy.

Still the one eye-catching thing about the outfit were the two bells tied to the obi. They jingled as they dangled near her hip. The sunlight making them sparkle silver and he wondered if they really were sterling.

Even without knowing what she was capable of, Belphegor thought his body was betraying him a little as he felt his lower abdomen tighten a little at the sight of her. He was glad his eyes were covered by his fringe. He didn’t want to hear Lussuria gushing about how adorable it was that the prince was finally noticing women.

The Sun didn’t have much room to talk after all.

“Now that we have our leprechaun.” Reborn announced while the little fox glared at his back. “We’re going to play a little game.”

Belphegor already knew the rules. Maiming was allowed so long as it wasn’t fatal or permanent. The treasure they would be after this time however were the glittering bells the fox wore on her obi.

The prince refused to acknowledge the little voice in the back of his head that speculated over how much force it would take to strip her of both the bells and the piece of cloth holding her kimono closed. She was the reason he was missing his crown after all. Besides she was far below his princely station and shouldn’t be speculated about in that manner.

He’d rather bathe in her blood. She dared to knock him out and disable his arms after all. She deserved to be strung up and bled like an animal.

So as soon as they were given the word go, Belphegor let some of his knives fly. She deftly dodged them with a nimbleness that was surprising. But it only made him grin more.

“VOI! Shitty prince! Remember you can only lightly maim her!” Squalo shouted at him but he was far more intent in watching her blink out of existence.

Clearly, she figured out the teleportation ability of her new headset.

Belphegor always did love a good hunt. And this was no exception as he took off to try and track the little fox down. He knew he would need to find a good place to lay down a trap.

As he watched her fly over a rooftop it was clear she was far nimbler than Sawada’s other women.

He quickly found a construction site that would suit his needs. While it took some time to string up all the wires he dared, he had time on his side. The game lasted almost till sundown and they hadn’t reached much past noon when they started.

With his trap set, it was as matter of following the chaos of the others to find the little fox and lure her into his web.

He found them crashing through the wooded area around Namimori. It was a clever move on the fox’s part, he had to admit. Her outfit blended seamlessly into the foliage, even the pink of her obi and the design on her kimono disappeared in the natural area.

It was as she used a tree branch as a hoist to get away from Xanxus that Belphegor noticed she wore some type of gloves or gauntlets. It was clever giving her some protection as she swung herself up and away from her pursuers. He wondered if she knew she’d be the bait or if she was just that prepared always.

Regardless, the prince swooped down to try and force her out of the bushes and trees. She wouldn’t end up in his trap if she was running around the forest after all. Though she proved wonderfully elusive as she seemed to run around a tree only to disappear.

She reappeared running out from behind another tree a few yards behind him. He wondered if she really got that good at using the teleporter or if she had Mist Flames to aid her. If she could cast illusions than she was just one step closer to truly being a Kitsune from the Japanese legends he read.

He could feel his blood pumping as he licked his lips and shot off after her again.

He was actually starting to worry he put up his trap for nothing as the time ticked away. They were getting close to the end of the game and she was still dancing through the trees. But then she took off to the side and shot straight for the town once more.

He figured Reborn gave her the order to return to the urbanized area. He knew there had to be a communicator in the headset. Otherwise Reborn wouldn’t be able to keep track of the little fox to know if one of the pursuers won.

He followed her a few paces behind. He was beginning to be able to see the pattern of her teleporting. She could only go so far after all and while she was pretty good at confusing the others, all things eventually had patterns.

He watched her give Squalo the slip and heard as she landed on the Cloud Guardian. He just about snickered on that one as the Cloud stormed out of the park with his tonfa at the ready. But the little fox was already several steps ahead.

Then she literally disappeared down a hole.

He frowned and, as quietly as he could, he went in after her. He was tracking her from taller roofs but if she went underground it would make re-finding her far more complicated. Not to mention he was sure they only had about an hour or two left in the game.

They oddly enough popped out right where he wanted her to go in the first place. He bet she knew of the construction site as well, likely thinking it a perfect spot to lay low. A large open area with pillars to hide behind and open windows to dive through if necessary.

It was finally his chance as she slipped up to where his trap was located. He couldn’t have planned this better if he tried. He supposed he did have a bit of luck today, even if he wasn’t Irish.

He began sneaking up on her as she spoke to Reborn over the headset. He couldn’t hear what he was saying but he did register she was asking how much longer there was until the game ended. He wished he could hear the answer, but instead focused on reaching for the bells.

Only as his hand moved around the bells they suddenly disappeared from his sight. He blinked at the empty space with a frown and glanced over. She had put at least six feet between them in less than a second.

“Hahi! Don’t sneak up on Haru, desu!”

“Ushishishi!” He could help his grin as he stood. “So, your speed isn’t just a fluke, little fox.”

He would enjoy this, he decided. He grinned as he looked her over again. He had to consider her nimbleness and speed if he wanted to get close again.

She pressed back some more, probably looking for an exit. But she unknowingly walked right into the wires he laid down earlier. Today was stacking up to be all his.

“Wires.” He heard her hiss. He was slightly impressed she didn’t seem the least bit surprised. Clearly the little fox did her homework.

“The prince was planning on luring you here. But you showed up quite willingly.” He announced as he put his hands on his hips with a grin. “Chasing you around the forest was an interesting exercise. How about we see how well you do without space to flee?”

She made a slight whine in the back of her throat. “Careful he says.”

His grin widened realizing Reborn understood who just caught the little fox. He wasn’t going to waste this opportunity. He tossed two knives aiming for where she had hit him the last time they met.

Sadly, she dodged quite effortlessly. But they were just getting started and he had all the time in the world. The others wouldn’t have found her trail just yet and were probably on the other side of the town looking for her.

The prince would be hard press to say the next few minutes didn’t impress him. She was just as flexible as she was nimble. Twirling and bending through the near invisible wires with the grace of a seasoned ballerina.

He wondered what type of training she had as he watched her do a full split and still slide under some of his wires. Even as he continued to throw knives at her to try and nail her with one she was always a bit ahead. Always dodging a few seconds faster than the knives sailing at her.

He really wished he could fight her one on one now. He wanted to see just how skilled she was. He wanted to know if she would preform a back bend to dodge him or find some way to throw him over her shoulder again.

If she really was as impressive as he thought she’d be, he wouldn’t even try to maim her again. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d do with her. But he had never met someone who piqued his interest quite like this.

And no, it had nothing to do with how his groin tightened just a bit as he saw her pull off a perfect split while standing on her elbows. He was a seasoned assassin. He had seen multiple numbers of trained fighters that could pull off the same maneuver.

Though it was distracting enough he didn’t realize where she was going as she dipped through the maze of wires. He watched as she crouched in place with a blank look on her half-covered face. Since she stopped moving he casually tossed another few knives at her.

He realized his lapse too late as she shot upward. Her hands snagging the bottom of an exposed metal strut. Then just like that she was out of his trap and out of his sight.

“FUCK!” He turned and sprinted towards the stairs.

She couldn’t have gotten far and when hard pressed he was fast on his feet. Not to mention his long legs let him take the stairs nearly three at a time. He just caught a glimpse of her green kimono sleeve as she dove out a window.

“Freedom-desu!”

He sneered and sprinted after her. He wasn’t about to let her get away. Not after her little show through his wires.

It seemed she was talking to Reborn as he almost flew towards her. It meant she wasn’t moving nearly as fast as he knew she could move. Which also meant he was pouncing on her rather quickly after her escape.

The sudden triumph that shot through him as they crashed onto a roof was almost intoxicating. Her small frame making it easy for him to hold onto her as they tumbled through the momentum. Then they stopped with her trapped between his legs looking up at him like a startled rabbit.

His grin was large as he chuckled at his success. “Caught you little fox.”

He wasn’t expecting her hand to shoot up at him and grab the neck of his shirt. He definitely wasn’t expecting to be strong armed down with a powerful tug. Or the way their lips crashed together as her free arm hooked around his neck.

His body jerked as his mind went blank. He knew this was a compromising situation. He knew he should be pulling away.

But a jolt of heat shot through him leaving his body tingling. Her soft lips on his were jarring against the suddenness of the exchange. His body couldn’t decide if he should pull away or melt into the woman between his legs.

Just as he was about to get control over himself again, his world fell into darkness.

He woke up blinking and in a very uncomfortable position. The world around him hummed in a mechanical way and the most he could do was curse. The little fox had tricked him.

He was beginning to suspect she was the walking personification of a bitch slap. She had a way of coming out of nowhere and knocking him on his ass. The prince could appreciate a lot, but he certainly didn’t appreciate that.

Instead he tried to figure out what embarrassing situation she left him in this time.

It only took a little bit of squirming before he realized she left him nearly hogtied under an air-conditioning unit on a roof. Probably the same roof he tackled her to before the kiss. And the worse part was he couldn’t reach the knots that had him tied up in the first place.

His arms were stretched back behind his back while his legs were folded back at the knee. His wrists were tied on the outside with his ankles in the middle. Both his arms twisted so his hand faced away from his ankles and he suspected the knots were somewhere between them.

He couldn’t even reach one of his hidden knives, even though he doubted she would have left them in place anyway. She was far to cunning to leave him a potential escape. And he hated how that made the already pooling heat in his abdomen grow a bit more as he thought of her.

She was hardly desirable and even more annoying.

But he was starting to lose interest in seeing her blood stain his hands.

He lowered his head and thumped it lightly on the less than ideal floor he was currently on. He had never been so confused in his life and he hated it. He just wished he could muster enough energy to hate her as well.

“VOI! He should be here somewhere!”

The prince sighed at his saving grace, though it wasn’t exactly a welcome rescue.

“Mou, are you sure?”

“Yes, the directions lead here.”

“There are more directions on the map.”

“We don’t need them.”

“Are you sure?”

“Fuck you, of course I’m sure.”

“Positively sure?”

“God fucking damn it! You shitty Mist of course I’m sure!”

Belphegor hit his head against the ground again. At least it was just Squalo and Mammy. He probably would never live it down if Levi was among them.

“And what if they’re important?”

“Oh fine! You cunt!”

Belphegor peered out from the darkness under the air-conditioning unit and just about split his lips as he grinned. He could see the SIC’s boots as he took a step to the left the hopped before stepping to the right and hopping again. As he continued to watch he swore the swordsman actually did a cha-cha before turning and stepping back.

This continued long enough he understood what he was seeing was truly happening.

“The fuck is a crisscross?!” Squalo asked suddenly stopping in his movements.

Belphegor bit his lips to stop his laughter. He had to hand it to the little fox. At least she was an equal opportunity dispenser of misery.

“Fucking shitty shark!” He yelled when he had his amusement under enough control to sound properly irate. “Stop doing the damn Cha-Cha Slide and get the prince out from under here!

You ungrateful worthless peasant!”

He hoped Mammy filmed that and wasn’t asking too much for a copy. The prince almost wanted to kiss the fox again. If he wasn’t sure it would lead him to another compromising situation he would need some help getting out of.

It took them only a few seconds to get him out from under the air-conditioning unit.

Squalo whistled at his predicament. “She really didn’t want you getting free, huh?”

“The prince was only going to maim her a little.” Belphegor pouted.

“She’s quite a gal. These knots might take a while, I only recognize a few of them.” Squalo said before he cursed. “She used your fucking wire. Mammon, think you can get us some wire cutters? We might need them.”

“Just hurry the fuck up, peasant. The prince would like to feel his hands and feet again.” He said having woken up with those being numb already.

“Alright, alright, quit your whining.” Squalo said as Belphegor suddenly heard snipping.

The moment he was free he stretched out on his stomach with a groan. The blood was once again rushing to his numb limbs and he didn’t think he could walk for at least a few minutes.

Squalo of course took that as permission to toss the prince over his shoulder to head back to their hotel.

“Where’s your crown?” Mammon asked as they went along.

“It wasn’t on the roof? The Prince was sure it came off when he tackled the little fox.” Belphegor said keeping his head facing the back of his SIC. He would not risk his fringe falling back to reveal his eyes, even to Mammon who he trusted with his life.

“No.”

“She must have taken it.” Belphegor conceded with a sigh. “I’m going to really maim her the next chance I get.”

“What have we said about maiming Sawada’s little groupies?” Squalo said bouncing his shoulder painfully into the prince’s stomach.

“She deserves it, just a little.” Belphegor whined. “And the prince can walk now.”

“Nope, the boss wants his eye on you. We can’t afford for to go AWOL and freak out Sawada. The little Don is already sweating bullets for the little spat you had with that gal in his yard.”

“Fucking bastard is just like his father.”

“You can say that again. Have you seen how he treats his gal? Fucking naïve little shit eats it up too. One of these days she’ll have her blinders ripped off and it won’t be pretty.”

“Mou, I bet I could make a fortune from it.”

Belphegor really wished he could be saved from the embarrassment of telling his boss the girl left him tied up in his own wires under an air-conditioning unit though. It was bad enough he needed someone to come and get him out from under there. He didn’t need Levi crowing over his perceived lack of skill to take on one girl.

He also thought it a bit crass the Boss sent her two bottles of liquor to celebrate her successful handling of Prince the Ripper.

Chapter Text

The fourth time he had his crown stolen, he had been asleep. He wasn’t sure what to feel about that. Especially since she so smoothly threw him off her scent when he confronted her.

It was bad enough he was once again lectured about maiming Sawada’s groupies. He had Lussuria hovering as they went to see if Fran was ready to join the Varia. Mukuro was adamant the kid was ready and all they had to do was convince the brat.

But so far, his kohai was still stubborn. It didn’t help that every time they asked why, Fran insisted he wanted to stay to play with the fairies. The prince wasn’t sure what fairies the boy was going on about, but he was sure they weren’t nearly as interesting as Fran made them out to be.

After another unsuccessful meeting where Fran simply vanished using his Mist Flames, Belphegor had gone back to the hotel to sulk. Lussuria went out to do a bit of clothes shopping and to return with something to eat. But the prince just wanted to take a nap.

It was coming up on the day that he had defeated his brother. He had mixed feelings about that day ever since he got his memories from the future. Just the thought that there might be a chance Rasiel could be alive set him on edge.

It was probably for that reason he distinctly remembered having a nightmare that night. It was an old nightmare he used to have as a child. The one where he almost defeated his brother only to realize Rasiel couldn’t be defeated.

But then a gentle voice cut through the laughter of his brother. Soft feminine yet somehow strong and reassuring as it whispered to him, reminding him he was Prince Bel. The nightmare slowly faded away as the voice moved from reassurances to a soft lullaby.

He drifted off into deeper dreams where he defeated his brother for the last time. Where he turned down his right to rule to stay with his family of choice. He stood proud with the Varia, the one place he truly felt accepted.

By the time he woke up the next morning he hadn’t noticed his new replacement crown missing until he made it to the bathroom. He looked up at the mirror and froze as his hand went to where the crown had been. Admittedly he had stuck to just using some bobby pins to keep it in place, but still he was sure it would still be there when he woke up.

He tore through the hotel room looking for it, but soon gave up. Instead he growled as Lussuria dragged him to Sawada’s house. The Sun was asking Tsuna if there was a way for them to convince Fran to join the Varia when she spun around the corner.

“YOU!” He said upon seeing her. It might be irrational on his part, but he had a feeling if his crown went missing she would be behind it somehow.

“Hahi!” She squeaked shooting backwards with her hands up in the sign of the cross. “Back demon! Haru is innocent, desu!”

He was startled for a second. He wondered if she was aware that his name was the name of a demon or if she thought him demonic in general. At the very least he could see the way she tensed, curled up a bit, trying to make herself smaller.

There was a flicker to her wide eyes. A barely there glance at the possible exits of the room. The little fox didn’t feel safe and wouldn’t hesitate to run.

He found it odd that she didn’t feel safe in Sawada’s house, especially with the boy-don right there. She should know he wouldn’t hurt her in front of Sawada. That was just asking for trouble.

“Wait,” she slowly straightened, and the calm assurance seeped back into her stance, “what are you accusing Haru of this time?”

He blinked and realized his mouth was still open. He shook his head as he clamped his mouth shut. He’d puzzle out her strange response later.

“The Prince is missing his crown. Whenever you are around it goes missing. So where is it, peasant?” He asked with a sniff. He could see her pause, eyeing him for a second with a lingering glance at where his crown was supposed to be.

“Uh, Haru is more concerned with avoiding being maimed, desu. Being anywhere near you is a good way to be maimed. So why would Haru know where your crown is, if she has been doing her best to avoid maiming?”

It was a valid point. He wasn’t known for restraint after all. Besides the open innocent look in her wide eyes seemed genuine enough.

Still he frowned, “If you don’t know where it is, then where is it?”

“When was the last time you saw it, desu?” She asked.

He was surprised. He hadn’t expected her to try to help him puzzle this out. He was starting to dislike the way she seemed to catch him off guard.

“Yesterday,” he answered pushing away his thoughts, “before the Prince went to sleep.”

“Did you check where you put it before you went to bed?” She offered.

He crossed his arms and sniffed. “The Prince does not take off his crown.”

He narrowed his eyes as her mouth fell slightly. The shocked blink she gave him was indeed genuine. Clearly, she was telling the truth about not knowing where his crown was.

“You sleep with it?” She squeaked she was so incredulous. It was almost cute.

He almost growled at himself.

“Yes,” he answered blankly, “so the Prince should still have it.”

“Did you check in that space between the mattress and the headboard?” She tilted her head with a confused frown. “Haru heard things like to fall down there on western beds, desu.” She paused blinking suddenly. “Wait, where ever you’re staying has a western bed right?”

She had a point. Cursing to himself he pushed passed her and headed for the door. He hadn’t even thought about that when he was tearing through the hotel rom.

“If you’re staying at a hotel and it’s not there, try asking the staff.” She called as he began putting his boots back on. “Unless you put that do not disturb sign on your door to keep them out, desu.”

He figured she might know something about where the Varia liked to stay in the city. While he didn’t mind the more Japanese run hotels, it was just easier to have a room at a more western style hotel. Not to mention the best hotel in the city was western in style and the Varia didn’t lower themselves to poor quality.

He had headed out of the door intent on renewing his search. Besides he saw the way Lussuria was eyeing him behind those sunglasses. If he hadn’t removed himself promptly he would probably have been stuck in another three-hour long lecture about how to treat women properly.

The flamboyant peacock was the worst sometimes.

Even after he had turned the bed upside down in his hotel he couldn’t find his crown. The staff weren’t talking but they weren’t putting much effort into finding his lost valuable either. A few staff members went missing, but it didn’t bring him any closer to finding where his crown was.

It made him irritable for the rest of his stay in Japan. Still something was niggling at the back of his mind. His instincts were telling him something wasn’t right about his encounter with the fox at the shitty-don’s house.

He thought about it on his flight back to Italy. The way she shuffled a bit when in his presence, the darting eyes. Then suddenly she straightened in self-assurance like nothing was wrong.

He was half convinced he had startled her with his presence, but that still didn’t seem right for her behavior.

“Oh Bel~!”

With a sigh, he turned to his fellow officer. He managed to snap, “What?”

“I know where your crown went.” Luss said clapping his hands together with a grin.

“And you’re only telling the Prince now?” He hissed as his hands clenched around the armrests of his luxury airplane seat.

“Of course,” Luss said smugly. “You know the boss would skin you alive if you went after her.”

“Her?” He hissed.

“Why Haru-chan.” Luss said with a beaming smile.

For a moment his mind was blank. It took a long second for his mind to remind him that Haru was the legal name of the fox. Even then he wasn’t quite sure how she managed to hoodwink him this time.

“And. How. Did. She. Get. It?” He gritted out trying to take a controlled breath as anger hit him quickly.

He was startled when that sunny smile crashed into a serious frown.

“That’s something we’ll have to talk to the boss about.” Luss said gravely making Bel blink.

It helped his anger diminish to a low burn. His curiosity reared its ugly head as his thoughts turned inward. He could wait until the plane landed and they reported their failure to recruit Fran to Xanxus.

Everything about the last few days left a bad taste in his mouth. He wondered if Mammy could track down whatever group Fran was interested in. Plus, this new information about his missing crown and how it landed in the fox’s paws.

It must be serious to dim Luss’ sunny disposition like that.

As the hours ticked by, Bel let his thoughts play with different scenarios. He could see the more practical methods of bribing one of the staff members to take the crown while he was otherwise distracted. He also entertained a moment of wondering if she propelled her way into his room from the roof with some climbing equipment.

He had seen some pretty strange things in the Mafia before. He also wasn’t sure just how able the fox truly was. The game of keep away and the way she defended herself proved she had some skill, but he wasn’t sure how far it went.

At the very least it added another checkmark to the list of her having potential quality.

By the time he was standing before his Sky, he had come up with at least five hundred different scenarios for how she got his crown. Though he didn’t think she had alien technology on hand, he wasn’t going to cross it off the list until Luss’ report. She did have some strange magic that let her ghost past a group of highly trained on edge assassins after all.

If he spent the whole debrief silent and staring at Luss, well, he couldn’t be blamed.

“What is it trash?” Xanxus asked after Luss concluded that Fran was still uncooperative.

“There is also a little incident with Bel-chan’s crown.” Luss said with a bit of a smirk.

“Finally.” Bel breathed. “Tell the Prince how she took it this time.”

“That tag-along took your shitty crown again?” Xanxus asked sitting up a bit to peer at them.

“Turns out her gal friends talked her into disclosing her past encounters with our adorable prince.” Luss cooed with a grin. “Sawada’s gal and that mist gal dared her to legitimately steal his crown.”

“Legitimately?” Bel was offended. “She’s been stealing the Prince’s crown legitimately these past few times.”

“Not entirely.” Luss said with a grin. “She’s just forgotten to give them back after getting her hands on them.”

“That’s like the fucking definition of stealing, peasant.” Belphegor hissed.

“Enough you fucking trash, just explain how she stole his shitty crown already.” Xanxus snapped.

“Well~” Luss grinned, “she dressed up as one of the hotel staff and managed to slip into our room. She didn’t share any details despite Reborn-chan’s insistent questioning. But she managed to get into Bel-chan’s room and pluck it right off his head before leaving.”

“She. What?!” Bel sputtered unsure if he heard right.

“She snuck into your room and stole your crown while you were sleeping.” Luss offered with a smug grin. “She actually had it in her pocket when you confronted her at Sawada’s house.”

“She said she didn’t know where it was!” Bel hissed throwing up his hands.

“There was a confrontation?” Xanxus asked nearly at the same time.

“She never said anything about knowing where it was.” Luss said pleasantly. “And yes, they shared a few words. Bel-chan was remarkably polite given how irritable he was at the time. While Haru-chan did her best to offer helpful advice, even if she knew it wasn’t going to help.”

Bel couldn’t form words as he thought back on the confrontation in the kitchen. He had to admit Luss was right about the fox not saying exactly whether she knew where the crown was. In fact, now that he thought about it, he realized she had easily deflected his questioning.

“Oh,” he couldn’t help but purr in disgusted approval, “she’s smooth.”

Luss gave him a vicious smile. “I noticed that as well. Haru-chan is very good at redirecting conversations away from what she doesn’t want to talk about. Every time I or Reborn-chan directed her retelling to uncover details she managed to lure one of the other gals into redirecting the questioning away from our efforts. I think she even played up her dramatic exit when our questioning got a bit to persistent.”

Bel wondered how she would handle law enforcement. He had a feeling she’d be running circles around even the best investigator. From the dark gleam he could see in Xanxus’ eyes, he knew his Sky was thinking something similar.

Dodging questioning from one of the Varia officers was impressive. But managing to dodge questioning from Luss after he knew there were details to be had was a skill few possessed. That doesn’t even begin to take into count she managed it with Reborn of all people helping in the questioning.

“I checked the security footage once I learned that she managed to sneak into our rooms.” Luss continued turning to their boss. “She doesn’t show up on any of the cameras. I suspect she knew where the cameras were and how to get around them.”

“Mammon had them replace the lock on our suite so only our keys or the head of staff’s master key could open the door to our rooms.” Xanxus said darkly, gravely.

“She might have got her hands on it.” Bel offered with a frown. “Who knows how long she was in the building if Luss couldn’t pick her out on the cameras.”

“She managed to ghost past us once.” Luss added reminding Bel of the incident outside of Sawada’s house. “If she knows how to pick pockets…”

“Did you get the security footage for that night?” Xanxus asked looking intrigued.

“Yep, I was going to take it over to Levi-kun’s division after you dismiss us.” Luss said with a grin.

“It won’t show us if she’s using any flames.” Xanxus began. “But I want you to pour over it until you can catch that trash. She has to show up somewhere.”

“Yes sir.” Luss said with a grin.

“In the meantime,” Xanxus turned to Bel making him stand straight, “I won’t stop you if you want to go ask her nicely to give back your crowns. But if you hurt her, you’ll be paying her medical bill.”

Bel felt a grin stretch across his face. He couldn’t wait to see the fox again.

But as he made his way to his room he suddenly was struck with a thought. The night in question was one of the few nights he hadn’t felt like dressing for bed. He felt the tips of his ears burn as he hoped she stole his crown without much light.

He wasn’t sure what he’d do if she managed to see him in all his naked glory while he was so unaware.

Oddly, he wasn’t too embarrassed as he thought he’d be.

Chapter Text

The fifth time she stole his crown, he could claim some fault. Not a lot of fault, but he did antagonize her. So, he figured it was only polite to admit some part of it.

When he heard they were going to a meeting with Sawada in Japan he almost couldn’t contain his excitement. He was practically buzzing as he fidgeted in his seat on the plane. But a glare from his Sky settled him a little.

His boss wouldn’t let him run off until they got through at least the initial meeting. Besides, it was sort of necessary to coordinate with Sawada given the boy refused to move from Japan just yet. Bel was certain that eventually the long distance would put a toll on the boy-don and the little shit would eventually move to Italy where he belonged.

In the meantime, this gave him the perfect opportunity to go speak with the fox. Of course, he would have to track her down, but given she knew Sawada it should be easy. Or that was what he thought as they headed for their meeting.

However, the fox wasn’t at Sawada’s house. Sawada had his guardians there, aside from the vicious Cloud and the male Mist creep. Even Sawada’s gal was there in the kitchen and watching the children, but the fox was missing.

“Looks like you won’t be able to talk to that little thief gal that’s been bugging you.” Levi crowed smugly while Bel lay sprawled on one of the provided couches. There was an odd spring digging into his back right next to his left hip bone.

“Shut it, peasant.” Bel snapped lazily. “The Prince can speak to whoever he wishes, when he wishes.”

“Here’s some refreshments.” Sawada’s gal offered as she skipped into the room with a tray in hand.

Bel took a moment to take in the bubbly teen who was perhaps only a year or two younger than himself. He was struck by how similar she looked to Sawada’s mother, Nana. It was in the curve of her jaw and how wide her honey colored eyes were.

If she cut her hair short, just so, and died it a shade or two darker. Bel shook the thought from his head. He really didn’t want to know about any other complexes the shitty new don had, the inferior complex was irritating enough.

“Ah, Sasagawa-chan~” Luss crooned pleasantly, “I was hoping to see Miura-chan. There were a few design ideas I had and wanted a second opinion. I remember you mentioning she had an eye for fashion.”

“Haru-chan?” Sasagawa paused tilting her head and tapping her chin with a finger. “She had to work this morning, so she’s probably at her house. I can give you the address if you want to go speak with her a bit later. She’s usually off by noon these days.”

“She wouldn’t mind?” Squalo pipped up with a raised eyebrow. Bel caught the way Sawada’s Rain frowned slightly off to the side.

“If it’s for fashion I’m sure she wouldn’t.” Sasagawa said with a grin. “Haru-chan loves designing new things. She’s also always complaining that we should meet up for lunch but we’re both so busy. Especially now that finals are coming up.”

It didn’t sit right with Bel that one of the people the fox trusted was willing to just give out her address. While he didn’t know a lot about the on-goings of the new main family, he did know the two young women were said to be extremely close. It didn’t matter that the Varia were technically Sawada’s subordinates.

What would happen if the girl gave the fox’s address to the wrong person?

However, before Sasagawa could hand over the address, Sawada’s little Lightning came running in crying, demanding her attention. Luckily the ditz took the child away before that damnable ten-year-bazooka came into play. Bel shuddered to think what new glimpse of the future could await him if he was ever hit with that thing.

The future he remembered from before was bad enough. For one, the fox wasn’t her now foxy self. He gave a brief second to wonder what happened to change the woman from the grim but polite woman he knew in the future to the smart slightly shifty woman she was currently.

Then again if he remembered right he didn’t have much interaction with that future fox. She had spent quite a bit of time sequestered away in a safehouse Sawada dropped her in. Then she was working for the CEDEF when the Vongola started to get short handed and needed as many people as possible.

He was pretty sure she had a few bitter words to say about Sawada during that time. But even then, she was close with Sawada’s gal, so he was sure it wasn’t too spiteful. He was beginning to doubt that though.

She had managed to convince him of her innocence already. He didn’t want to know what she was capable of if she put the effort into it. He might actually begin to truly like her, especially if she used her powers to dick with Sawada and his bumbling fools.

Eyeing Sawada’s Storm across the room as he simpered and pandered to the idiot don was sickening. But oh, Bel knew there would be fun to be had if he could convince her to help him troll the worthless peasants. He figured she would go along with it if no one was going to get hurt.

That cold calculating gleam in the eyes of Sawada’s Rain was a bit disconcerting though. Not just because it appeared so suddenly but how quickly it was masked with an easy smile and an oblivious blink at Sawada’s Storm. Bel knew to be careful of that guardian, especially since Squalo was still trying to convince the baseball star to ditch his ballgame and join them.

At least the fox had one ally watching her back.

Not that the fox really needed someone watching her back. Even after a few hours of watching security footage none of the Vaira could find the fox on the cameras. It was like she became a ghost that slipped into their suite and slipped out without leaving a trace.

Normally it would be unsettling, but Bel found it rather appealing. It had been too long since he found a worthy opponent, someone he could match wits against. He wondered if the fox could be his new foil and if she played dirty.

In the end however, Sawada’s gal coughed up the fox’s address. The girl just wrote it down and handed it to Bel with a smile.

“In case you want to go pick up that crown she took.” Sasagawa giggled before going back to tending the children.

Belphegor had half a mind to stab the giggling fool. Who in their right mind would just hand over someone’s address to a known assassin after all? Clearly Sawada cared more about looks than he did intelligence, otherwise Bel would have reasonable competition in keeping the fox’s attention.

Not that he wanted to keep her attention solely on him. They just had a few issues to resolve. Like for instance, he really had to get his true crown back.

She could keep the replacements for all he cared.

Still the moment he saw the opportunity, Bel ducked out of the meeting to go confront the fox. He did catch Squalo’s eye as he left, nodding at the door, to let the others know he was going. At the very least they would have a heads up if anything went down at the fox’s house.

What intrigued him however, was how close the fox lived to Sawada. Oh, he still had to take a few turns and go a few blocks, but her home was placed almost strategically between Namimori Middle and the Sawada residence. It also meant it was conveniently also close to Sawada’s Cloud and TakeSushi.

It would be a slightly longer walk to get to where Sawada’s Storm insisted on staying and wasn’t anywhere near where the Mist duo made their base. But the fox had or at least grew up in the near center of Sawada’s main territory. As Bel looked at the unassuming two-story he wondered briefly how Sawada met her.

If he remembered right, he’d even say the Sasagawa house wasn’t far from her place either.

Pushing the logistics aside, Bel meandered past the gate and went to see if the fox was indeed home. However, the few knocks on the door and a few minutes of insistent pressing on the call button yielded no response. Figuring he was in the clear for a little exploring, he looked back to see if anyone would see him.

The fence was high enough that the street traffic would be oblivious to his exploration. The two neighboring houses were dark and silent, while not likely occupied he was still cautious as he took in the windows that managed to see over the fence. The angles were slightly off though, as he peered at what had to be a neighboring bedroom, so he figured he was in the clear.

Strolling around the house revealed little if nothing, outside of what appeared to be a flourishing vegetable and herb garden in the small backyard. He wasn’t even quite sure what was growing in the garden because some of the plants he didn’t recognize. Undeterred he turned his attention to the house itself.

The doors were sealed tightly, and he could spot what appeared to be a small device for an armed security system. He could appreciate that as he went instead to the bottom floor windows. His hands were nearly cut up as he almost missed a strip of small sharp spikes near the ledge of the windowsill.

Cheap but effective, especially since it looked like she didn’t want to put mesh or bars on the windows. He had to carefully turn his hands and balance, so he could distribute his weight effectively enough to observe the windows. The rooms were hidden by thick curtains that let in some light but blocked his view.

The locks on the windows seemed standard and he almost went for his knives to jimmy the window open. That was until he spotted another barely visible device signaling there was an antitheft alarm arming the window he was currently at. He had to give the fox props, he didn’t recognize the alarm system so either it was high end or something custom.

Still he went around and checked every window just to be sure. Then he scaled his way up to the roof using the garage as leverage. This time he nearly set off whatever alarm system there was and scraped one of his hands on more antitheft spikes as he swung down to inspect one of the windows.

The same system was there, but this time there was another trigger on the windowsill itself. The one he nearly set off when his hand landed millimeters away from the invisible line. He figured it was a laser beam and if he broke it, the alarm would trigger.

He had to drop down rather quickly and didn’t want to risk checking all the windows. If the downstairs was any indication, he wouldn’t put it past the fox to alarm all the windows in her house.

Smart girl, his mind whispered as he went to check the doors one last time.

On a second inspection he noticed the doors seemed to be reinforced. The sliding glass door in the back was double panned and gave a dull thud when he lightly tapped it with the tip of his knife. He figured instead of traditional glass or even tempered-glass, he was looking at some sort of Plexiglas, possibly bullet proof.

The front door was trickier. It looked like regular wood, but as he put his ear to the wood and knocked again he noticed a strange reverberation. He would bet his crown it was double laminated with a thick reinforced middle, maybe metal or even some high polymer bullet resistant material.

He wondered what the hinges looked like on the inside, probably something heavy duty to deal with the reinforced door.

His curiosity peaked he moved to the siding. A bit more knocking with his ear pressed against the wall, he could hear a similar reverberation. The walls were also rather solid sounding, meaning the house would stay standing probably through a powerful earthquake or typhoon.

He stepped back and assessed the house again. Now that he was looking for it he noticed how thick the windows seemed in their frames. He also noticed how thick the window frames also seemed.

This house on the surface looked normal but could probably withstand an RPG. It wasn’t something he’d expect to find in the middle of a Japanese suburb. It made him wonder what the fox was hiding in there if she had a house that could stay standing in a war zone.

Not to mention why would she need such a house. She wasn’t really in the mafia yet, even if she was friends with Sawada. He knew that alone made her a bit of a target but nothing to warrant this level of paranoid preparation.

“What are you hiding little fox?” He muttered as he contemplated checking the roofs again. He was sure there was some sort of metal reinforcing the roofs.

He wondered how many people had access to the place. Did she let Reborn roam freely? Or did she let Sasagawa come and go as she pleased?

Was this the reason for Sawada’s gal being so comfortable handing over the fox’s address without much fuss?

Deciding he wouldn’t get any answers from more exploration he pulled out a book and sat down on the front step. Either she was in there and ignoring him, or she wasn’t home. Too bad for her, he could be patient and was willing to wait her out.

He finished three chapters of reading before he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. The barest flicker of shadow drew his attention up. And there stood the little fox.

She wore a simple white blouse, a black form clinging pencil skirt, some nylons, and a pair of black flats. If she had on a pair of pearl earrings with a matching necklace, he wouldn’t be surprised to see her behind the desk in a business reception area. She even had her long hair up in a tight bun that still let a few curling strands frame her face in an almost cute way.

But nothing beyond that indicated she had just come from work or where exactly she was employed. She was just nondescript enough that it would be hard to pinpoint her in the sea of office drones. He was beginning to understand how she easily slipped by even the sharpest eyes of the Varia on that security footage.

He would have to be more aware with her around. It wouldn’t do for the little fox to fade into the background. She was too cunning to have such an opportunity to catch him off guard.

Speaking of being caught off guard, he snickered, she was still frozen like a deer caught in headlights.

He closed his book softly and tucked it back into his jacket.

“So, you are finally home, little fox.” He called out seeing if it would snap her out of her daze.

“Uh,” she blinked, “yes?” Her head tilted just so giving her that innocent look again. “Haru had to work a double shift today, desu. What are you doing here, Belphegor-san?”

He could feel the edges of his lips twitch.

“The prince is certain you know why I’m here.” He carefully stood wanting to intimidate her but not enough to provoke her just yet. “Lussuria told me all about how you managed to steal my crown again.”

“Hahi! Haru apologizes, desu.” She balked even as her pale cheeks pinked a bit. “But Kyoko-chan dared her and she wanted cake. Haru can give you back your stolen property if you wish, desu.”

He let a grin stretch across his face, but his mind catalogued her speech pattern. It was strange now that he thought about it. She looked like professional but the odd vocal ticks and speaking in third person reminded him of a child.

What an interesting contradiction his little fox was.

The contradictions began mounting as he smoothly slid towards her. It was the same walk he used on his targets, but instead of shrinking back she stood firm. She didn’t even seem to move beyond her eyes keeping him in her sights.

Challenging, he approved.

“You know,” he purred as he got closer, “I was going to return the favor. Perhaps lie in wait after touring your little abode.” Not really but she didn’t need to know that. “But imagine my surprise when I found your home to be nigh impenetrable. In hindsight it shouldn’t be that surprising. Should it, little fox? After all you certainly know your way around some adequate security.” She didn’t react, and he added a snicker knowing how much it unsettled his opponents. “You can certainly come and go without a trace.”

He stopped within striking distance. Because he was so focused he noticed how her shoulders squared and how her chin lifted just a bit. Even as she frowned there was a hint of strength in her narrowing eyes.

For added measure he leaned forward to whisper his next words in her ear. But she turned with him, not back up per say, but kept him in her sights. He could see her displeasure of him being so close and felt a dark amusement curl through him.

“I must admit,” he purred lowly anyway, “the Prince is impressed.”

And he was, for more reasons than he was willing to admit to.

“Stay out of Haru’s personal space.” She growled low and commanding through clenched teeth. “It’s a happy bubble and you’re not allowed in it, desu.”

He took a step forward almost instantly. “That’s rich coming from you. I seem to recall several instances of us being very close.”

Despite her being nearly a head or two shorter than him, she radiated an air of assertion that made towering over her seem almost impossible. He was a bit disappointed that the wind was blowing from behind him, otherwise he might catch a better whiff of the strange scent hanging around her. It almost smelt like antiseptic, but the overwhelming scent of some lotion she was wearing hid it from him.

But since he was so close he noticed a flicker of something. It was like she flipped some sort of switch, because there was now a hard glint her eyes. Her face smoothed to an almost blank look, so like that look she wore before elbowing him in the face in Sawada’s yard.

“Exonerating circumstances.” She said flippantly. “Why would I willingly be anywhere near you?”

“Oh?” He asked feeling amusement pulse through him. “Do you go around kissing random men normally?”

“Why ask?” She looked like she wanted to flip her hair at him. “Are you still afraid of cooties?”

“Not cooties. But mono is certainly a concern.” He countered smoothly.

She actually rolled her eyes at him. “You’re more than likely to catch the common cold than contract Mononucleosis.” He blinked in surprise, but she wasn’t done. “And how dare you insinuate I might have some infectious disease. I should slap you for that alone. Now out of my space, Belphegor-san.”

He already felt like she slapped him. For one, she was now really speaking in first person. For two, who honestly knows the proper names of diseases off the top of their head?

Most just stuck to the common names and left it at that.

Not wanting to lose in this little power play, he forced himself past his shock. Instead he slowly brought his smile back and even found a chuckle. Then he slid even further towards her, so they were just a few centimeters apart.

“Am I making you nervous, little fox? The Prince is surprised you know how to speak in first person.” He purred knowing better to bring up the disease thing, it wasn’t important.

“What do you want, Belphegor-san? And how do you know where I live?”

Her cool tone sent a pleasurable shiver down his spine. It was the same tone Squalo used just before slicing the head off a target, or when Xanxus got serious enough to confront someone personally. It always left a hint of anticipation for the carnage to come, and Belphegor loved it.

He almost missed her second question as he licked his suddenly dry lips.

“I want many things, little fox.” He purred matching her tone pleasantly. “As for how I know where you live, you can thank the Decimo’s girl. She was more than happy to tell me. I didn’t even have to ask.”

She didn’t react beyond a flash of something flickering over her face. It happened too fast for him to get a good read on it. But if he had to place the emotion he’d say it was irritation or anger, intriguing for such an up-beat girl.

“You don’t look surprised.” He pointed out.

What sort of monster lurked under that smile and warm persona? Did it have teeth like Squalo had teeth? Or was it something different, claws or talons like him or Lussuria?

Was it angry like his Sky? Or did it lurk in wait like Leviathan?

Or was she like those legends of mystical foxes of her homeland? A true Kitsune in disguise.

“She thinks we’re in some romantic comedy.” She dismissed bringing him back from his thoughts. “But last I checked Silence of the Lambs wasn’t considered romantic… or a comedy.”

The dark chuckle escaped him before he could suppress it. “So, which of us is Hannibal Lecter? And which is Clarice Starling?”

Was it bad he wouldn’t mind consuming her? That she now had his curiosity and he wanted to know ever inch of her? Was she as cunning as he believed, or would she disappoint?

“Please,” she drawled dully, “I’ll only be starling if you’re Buffalo Bill.”

Oh? Did she read minds now?

“Ouch, Kitsune, that hurt.” He pouted wondering why he called her that. But it fit. “We have more chemistry than that.”

Did they?

“We have as much chemistry as hot oil and water.” Explosive, he could get behind that. “Now back off, Belphegor-san.”

“And if I don’t?” He challenged almost ready to pounce. “Are you going to burn me?”

Could she?

“Burn you?” She was mocking with that delicate sniff. “I will bite you to death.”

He knew that line, it belonged to Sawada’s Cloud. What was she doing hanging out with that guardian? Hibari didn’t strike Belphegor as the social type.

“Been spending time with that Cloud Guardian, I see.” He said anyway as his grin hinted to just some of his hidden bloodthirstiness. “But I warn you, I’ll bite back.”

“What do you want from me?” She sighed.

Awe, didn’t she want to play?

“Originally I wanted my crown back.” He still did. “But you have proven to be far too impressive and intriguing, Kitsune.” The nickname certainly rolled off his tongue naturally as he looked at her. “I’m not entirely sure what I want from you anymore. You just keep surprising me.”

That brought back that sharp look.

“If you touch me, I’ll consider it assault and will move to defend myself. If you wait out here, I’ll go get your crown, so you can leave.”

Well, well, that was an ultimatum if he ever heard one. Seeing that sharp look resting right there, just waiting to be poked. How could he resist?

He grinned taking a step back, letting her think she won.

“Alright, Kitsune.” He gave one of his best grand gestures towards the front door. “Go get the Prince his crown.”

But the little fox was still cautious. The way she eyed him, the consideration. He wanted to reach out and snag her right then and there just to see her jump.

Then like any good small predator, she inched around him. She didn’t give up any ground, but she wasn’t pressing either. It was a calculating move and they both knew it.

Just as she was about to pass by him, his hand shot out. “On second thought…”

She was almost faster than the last time he saw her move. His jaw rattled under the hit and for a second, he swore she dislocated it with her hit. It made him lose his grip and stumble as he wondered how she got such solid knuckles.

He rubbed his jaw to make sure his jaw was still in place and none of his teeth were missing. Then as he looked up he grinned seeing the distance she put between them. Her loose stance had fooled him once, but now he spotted the loose tension in her arms and legs.

She was ready for a fight.

“Quite the bite you got, Kitsune.” He rolled the name in his mouth enjoying how it felt as his hands instantly found his knives. “Care to feel mine?”

He knew she was fast on her feet, but her shoes weren’t doing her much favor. There wasn’t enough grip to get her out of range quick enough. So, he grinned as one of his knives got close enough to cut through the thin material of her blouse, and he saw that beautiful red.

Despite that, she had enough footing to get close. He was pretty fast on his feet as well, having grown up sparring with Luss since he was about nine, but she wasn’t a Muay Thai fighter. He wasn’t quite sure what style she used, but it kept him on guard as she almost danced around him.

She also wasn’t afraid to use his weapons against him. There weren’t many that could match him in knife throwing, let alone use his specifically designed blades. But within the first few throws she was almost as accurate as he was.

He almost wanted to challenge her to darts, it would be fun.

He was pulled back as he felt his arm snap cleanly through. It happened almost too fast for him to process beyond the searing pain, but he caught her ducking away. Despite the pain and lack of blood he grinned as he doubled his efforts with his still useful arm, being careful not to let her get close.

But she rolled under one of his attacks and caught his leg in hers. She twisted, and he found himself crashing forward into the ground face first. The loud crack and the fiery pain in his right leg let him know she just easily snapped his femur like it was a twig.

He couldn’t even use the leg to kneel on as he rolled away. But the adrenaline was addicting, and he couldn’t believe she got close enough to break another one of his limbs. Gritting his teeth as he grinned he forced his mind away from the pain.

Not even his fights with his brother had left him this challenged. Luss usually was assigned the more close-combat specialists, not that Bel hadn’t dealt with a few. It was also rare to find someone who knew enough to know exactly how to break a bone with just a hit.

His ribs snapping because she landed a punch just right reminded him of that fact. Or how she switched suddenly from punching him to sweeping his one good leg out from under him. He nearly fell as he stood back up from where she stomped down on his balls.

It wasn’t even the pain of the assault on his manhood that nearly brought him down either.

Did she just break his pelvis?

Just how bad was his internal bleeding?

Glancing at her, she didn’t even seem to notice how close he got to severing one of her arteries. Or she did notice and didn’t care as she went to shatter the bones in his good hand. He still had a few working fingers, so he kicked her off and aimed a knife for her heart.

But she caught it with almost insulting ease.

Another thing that he noticed was she was quiet. Not just how light her footsteps were, how he barely heard her movement save for when her feet dragged through the dirt. But she didn’t taunt him, she didn’t scream, she barely even grunted when she was hit, or she landed a hit on him.

It would be perfect for a sneak attack. With her ability to ghost through a group, he wondered how easy it would be for her to take down someone without anyone noticing. A well place blade to the back of the neck or even a syringe of poison and she would be able to slink away without anyone knowing.

He figured they had been fighting for a good fifteen minutes before she managed to get through his guard. He didn’t even see her appear as she slipped around from his side. He just saw the palm of her hand as she gripped his face.

She used her weight to slam him down, using his own height and mass against him. He didn’t even feel what she drove his head into. Just one minute he was being forced back and in the worse backbend he experienced and the next he was waking up in the hospital.

He really couldn’t recall much of the hospital either. She had left him with a major concussion that made him loopy. The added painkillers kept him from really comprehending much until he was being escorted onto the plane home.

“Ow.” He grumbled as he tried to move his limbs.

“Relax, Bel-chan.” Luss cooed running a hand through Bel’s hair. “We’re on out way back to base. Your little spat with Haru-chan was worse than the last one.”

“She snapped my femur.” He muttered still surprised by that.

“It was a clean break.” Luss cooed. “She didn’t even tear your artery. I’d say she held back from causing too much internal bleeding. Though you seemed to be oddly restrained if the report of her injuries were anything to go by.”

Belphegor wanted to swat Luss away, but the cast he was stuck in kept him in place.

“We weren’t trying to kill each other.” Bel pouted to himself.

“Of course not, trash.” Xanxus said turning in his seat to eye him. “Our shitty don and his trophy also got a good talking to by Reborn for this stunt. It was pretty fun to watch.”

“And I missed it?” Belphegor blinked affronted.

“We taped it.” Squalo said with a shark like grin. “Something to keep you entertained while you’re stuck in the cast.”

“So how did I end up at the hospital anyway?” Belphegor asked sort of resigned.

“The little girly carried you to Sawada’s and dropped you at the boss’s feet, gave Sawada a warning, and tried to walk herself to the hospital.” Squalo said still sounding amused.

“She could still walk?” Belphegor asked surprised because he was sure he cut at least one of her ankle tendons.

“And apparently break someone’s jaw.” Levi snorted with a smirk. “She took down one of the minions when we were trying to force her into the car to take her to the hospital.”

“It was impressive.” Luss agreed with a grin. “She needed three blood transfusions and she still had more than enough fight in her. Maybe I can spar with her sometime, she’s just precious.”

“Not sometime soon, trash.” Xanxus said simply with a huff. “The minions will be talking about how she put the shitty Prince in a cast. We don’t need them fucking thinking us weak because she broke your leg.”

“She goes for the bones.” Belphegor put in as he thought back to their little spat. “And the joints, soft spots as well. I don’t think I ever fought someone like her before.”

“Could you tell what the base of her fighting style was?” Luss asked turning to him.

He really wanted to shrug, but apparently, she snapped his collarbone as well.

“I would hazard Krav Maga, but I can’t say for sure. There was a bit of jujitsu and aikido in there, but also some modern king boxing techniques.” He trailed off muttering wondering if he could pinpoint an actual form. “Her starting form is loose, like she should be doing tai chi or something. It’s hard to put a finger on.”

“Interesting.” Luss grinned.

“And her house?” Levi asked with a raised eyebrow. “We noticed all the fighting seemed to be outside.”

“I couldn’t get in.” Bel admitted sourly. “She’s got some sort of advanced alarm system I didn’t want to touch. All her windows and doors are armed, not to mention there’s some antiburglary spikes on the windowsills. I’d go so far as to say the fucking place is reinforced and every window is bullet proof as well.”

“That’s a bit paranoid for a Japanese suburb.” Levi muttered while Bel saw Squalo and Xanxus share a look.

“It’s more than Sawada has.” Squalo said slowly turning back to him. “Anything else?”

“She’s got a cold serious side when you press her. Doesn’t like people being in her space and has a fucking vicious side when provoked. With a bit of polish, she could be deadly, she fights as quietly as possible.” Belphegor reported thinking on it. “She doesn’t make a lot of sound when she moves anyway. Light on her feet and can easily blend in. If it wasn’t for the shadows, I wouldn’t have noticed her walk into the yard while I was waiting on her front step.”

Belphegor watched the way his Sky tilted his head. He didn’t need to look to know the others had the same intrigued gleam in their eyes. They knew Yamamoto was worth keeping around, but this girl was something surprising.

“How fucking much do you think the shitty bastard will protest if we steal her?” Xanxus asked turning to the silent Mammon perched in a chair off to the side.

“Reborn isn’t allowed in her house without permission.” Mammon said instead of answering.

Belphegor felt his eyebrow raise. So, Kitsune was her own woman. It made Belphegor grin thinking about it.

The shitty don had no say over what the fox did then.

Still the conversation fell silent after that. The constant drain of having Sun Flames heal him as well as the medication he was on, put Belphegor to sleep rather quickly. He didn’t even bother to ask about where his crown was.

He figured she had it. A worthy trophy well earned. It wasn’t often he found an opponent worth keeping alive after all.

Chapter Text

If asked Xanxus wouldn’t say he had an opinion of Haru Miura. As far as he was concerned she was just another liability that the shitty new don kept around. She barely qualified for a lackey let alone being part of the house staff.

Or that had been his opinion.

In the future that wouldn’t happen, none of the Varia really interacted with the woman. The most Xanxus heard of her had been the fuss around Tsuna forcing her into a safehouse out of country. The trash’s wife had put up a major stink about it, especially when things started to get bad the trash turned around and forced the woman back into the Vongola.

He heard a few minions speculating that she was working for Byakuran. That wasn’t true, Levi had investigated it thoroughly and his Lightning Officer was one of the best. Mammon had made sure their network would stand up to anything before the Mist Arcobaleno had passed.

Even Reborn, as weak as he was, vouched for the woman. That said more to Xanxus than what a few jealous minions thought. Still he wondered now if they had been a bit too dismissive.

When Belphegor came back from his botched mission, they still hadn’t figured out where that leak was, most of the Varia had kept away from the Storm’s temper tantrums. It got to the point Xanxus decided to at least go visit the trash to keep an eye on his Storm. Losing his crown had put Belphegor in a mood worse than anything Xanxus or even Squalo had ever seen.

They had to make sure the unstable maniac could keep it together out of country.

But just as when things seemed to be going well, she ghosted into the picture.

Xanxus wasn’t too proud to admit he jumped when he realized she had been right there. She passed within arms reach of him without his notice. It was the first time in a long time he was caught so unaware.

Then as things seemed to be settling into the routine, things went from shitty to fucking hell. Not even he could stop Belphegor when he got his hands on someone. Xanxus had been trying to figure out how to play off the coming bloodshed when the girl refused to acknowledge the danger she was in.

He remembered thinking she as an idiot for arguing with Belphegor when he was so pissed.

But the faint worry and resignation creeping up his spine was soon tossed aside. He almost blinked and missed her move as she defended herself. Her movements smoothed, trained, and had she been a bit more forceful, deadly.

As he was processing what she had just done. As he stared at his fallen Storm pinned to a wall with his own knives. She had trotted off as if she hadn’t just laid out a Varia Officer like it was child’s play.

He almost balked at the insult, especially since Belphegor was HIS Storm.

And to think it was all over Belphegor’s shitty crown. The only think his Storm had bothered to save after leaving his kingdom. Xanxus wondered if she was aware just how upset the Storm was about the whole thing.

He admitted bringing Belphegor to the mandatory St. Patrick’s Day celebrations was a gamble. Belphegor had cooled off a bit now that he knew the location of the girl responsible for his ire. But Xanxus was apprehensive to let his Storm take off without his supervision when the target of his ire was the bait.

Not for the first time Xanxus wondered about Reborn’s sanity. Not that it was his business, but it was slightly curious.

But once more Haru had proven just how unpredictable she could be.

“She left him tied up in his own wire?” Xanxus remembered asking. “And got you to do the Cha-Cha Slide?”

“Mammon insisted.” Squalo grumbled. “What the fuck is the Cha-Cha Slide anyway?”

Xanxus shook his head wondering about his Rain. “Prince the Ripper.”

Squalo snorted and tossed some of wire on the table. “Tell me you recognize those knots. They aren’t anything I’ve seen. I had to cut the wires to get him free.”

Xanxus picked up the thin wires curiously. Several knots he knew from the sailing lessons Timoteo forced him into. Two or three were like noose knots, but there were two that he wasn’t too sure about.

“I asked Mammon to look into them.” Squalo said as Xanxus tried to figure out the two knots he wasn’t familiar with. “Best we can figure it’s some type of military knot, but we aren’t sure where or why she would know it.”

“What do you think of her performance as bait?” Xanxus asked instead eyeing his Rain who shifted.

“Fast, flexible, able to plan on the fly. She fucking danced through the web trap the shitty prince tried to trap her in. Apparently, he also had to follow her through storm drains when she headed back into the city. She knows Namimori better than that shit don we have, perhaps almost better than Sawada’s Cloud.” Squalo paused crossing his arms and looking thoughtful. “She could be a better asset if groomed right. Maybe not quality but she can certainly make up for the piss poor standard Sawada is touting.”

“She could be useful.” Xanxus agreed having remembered how she disappeared into the forest.

It had been a true thrilling challenge to hunt her. She moved like she was just another forest animal scurrying through the brush. Though he rarely took assignments, it brought him back to his earlier days when he still indulged in the thrill of a good job.

It certainly gave his Elements a good run.

But it gave him confidence to let Belphegor go back to Japan with light supervision. He figured if the prince proved he was over his anger and was now just fucking with the idiots, he’d let Belphegor free again. Luss didn’t seem to mind at any rate, plus they still needed to coax their true Mist back into their ranks.

Luss was instructed to call should anything come up. But nothing seemed worth reporting as the days ticked away. Soon the two were back and Xanxus was anticipating a rather bland report.

“She snuck into your room and stole your crown while you were sleeping.” Luss had said and the words seemed to ring in the air.

Xanxus knew Belphegor was a light sleeper, perhaps the lightest sleeper of them all. The Prince would wake if he even sensed a change of the breeze in a room. It always made it hard for the Storm to get a solid rest, unless he was used to the environment enough to let his guard down.

To think she was able to ghost in and get that close without Belphegor even noticing. Xanxus knew his curiosity was slowly building and he wanted to know more about the girl. He didn’t even pretend to be subtle when he ordered Mammon to do a thorough check on Haru Miura.

The report was still pending when they had to go to their quarterly meeting with their don. So Xanxus wasn’t sure what to expect when he noticed Belphegor slipping away. He just hoped the results weren’t anything too expensive or fatal.

He had flinched when she kicked the door in, almost thankful Sawada’s mother had gone out. He didn’t think they could convince the woman nothing was up when she sauntered into the room with Belphegor tossed over her shoulder. It was almost a ridiculous picture if it wasn’t for that cold furious glare on her face.

Having his unconscious and broken Storm tossed at his feet was a new experience. He took a moment to appreciate the view of her standing before him like a mangy alley cat dragging in a prize for him. He recognized the tears in her clothes as well as the splashes of red on her white blouse for what they were.

Yet she spun on her heel, dismissing him, and set her sight on the suddenly sweating trash Xanxus was forced to call boss.

The way she towered while being one of the shortest people there was impressive. The way she threatened Sawada so sweetly in that cool voice made him sit up on attention. Everything about her screamed familiar but he couldn’t quite put a finger on why he wanted to grin smugly as if it was one of his men causing the shitty don to shiver while going so deathly pale in fear.

Then as she pleased she sauntered out. Her grumbling about the world not deciding on how it wanted to tilt stole a soft chuckle from him. He wondered if she would drop from blood loss or if she would walk herself into the hospital with the same nonchalant grace.

That was until reality caught up and he had to help Sawada in trying to force her into the back of a car. A few minions were casualties, one even getting a crushed jaw as she hissed like a pissed off cat and lashed out. It was bemusing even as they succeeded in forcing her into the back of a car and initiating the childproof locks to keep her contained.

She looked even more enraged and he wondered if she might have some Cloud tendencies under that innocent smile and quirky personality.

As he sat there recapping the incident with a finally coherent Belphegor, Xanxus wouldn’t admit to having an opinion. It was too early, and they were still behind in information. But the more he learned the more he wondered.

He hoped Belphegor didn’t mind putting up with her for a bit longer. It seemed she responded the most to his Storm so to get the responses they needed out of her it would have to be Belphegor provoking them. But if he instincts were right, they might have just stumbled on a gem they had missed in the future that never was.

Xanxus hated wasting resources and Haru Miura might just be a valuable resource in the future.

Even if that resource was just taming his unpredictable Storm. Xanxus could already tell she had some affect on Belphegor, an affect that hinted at brighter things to come. The trick would be setting things up so neither Belphegor nor Haru would kill each other throughout the process.

Chapter Text

The sixth time he had his crown stolen, he found his adorable kohai had been the instigator. Even with Luss and most of the Suns helping, Belphegor was still stuck in his cast for two weeks. As he got started on physical therapy to help rebuild what was already done, he contemplated his new challenge.

Up until that point he never really sat down to really think over the young woman. He had so many questions once he started though. For example, he wasn’t really sure what she had been up to when they first crashed into each other those weeks ago.

Just why did she have people chasing her? Was it because of her connection to their shitty don or did it revolve around the reason her house was a fortress? Why was her house a fortress?

He could relax a bit now, knowing his crown was at least in some place secure. From what he could tell she hadn’t gotten rid of it either, if what Sawada’s trophy said was anything to go by. It settled the lingering anger over the fact she took it, since he had a feeling she was at least taking care of it for him.

He would still get it back if the opportunity arose. Perhaps he should order a few more replacement crowns and give her one in exchange. His true crown could be put into the vault or something so an incident like the one that initiated all this wouldn’t happen again.

He had been a bit too cocky to wear it on missions now that he thought about it. The replacements were almost identical to his true crown, save for a bit of wear from how old the heirloom was, so no one would notice. Kitsune might notice, but then again, she was perhaps the only person outside his family to really have time to look over it thoroughly.

Some of Mammon’s report had finally been finalized. Just the basic background since apparently some of Mist division was having trouble securing all the info. Belphegor wouldn’t put it past the fox to find ways to make sure the information on herself would be hard to come by.

Something had made the woman paranoid. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, but he approved of the result. He was certain she wouldn’t be a source of info for the authorities if Sawada slipped.

It was rather sad that some no-name Japanese woman did a better job keeping her secrets than a Mafia Don.

And she was rather no-name, or rather, the amount of solid information they got so far was her legal name. He read her sketchy school reports, a decent private elementary, then an exclusive female middle school. He vaguely recalled the uniform she wore so that was a plus in that part of the checks.

However, she almost dropped off the face of the earth right after middle school. They were expecting she was attending school with Sawada since she didn’t move on to the exclusive female high school her peers went to. Turns out, she didn’t go to a high school, or at least not one they had found yet.

There was a mention she spent a few weeks out before her finals in middle school as well. A week for a family emergency, something they were having trouble looking into. Not even a month later she was out again, this time for two weeks due to an accident of some sort.

There was a mention of her spending a good portion of that time in the hospital, but they would have to get her medical records to verify that. Unfortunately, the minion sent to the hospital to snoop around came back empty handed. Mammon was already looking into why, but they suspected either Reborn or that Trident Shamal had something to do with it.

But he now had some vague understanding of her physical abilities. She held several records in her middle school for gymnastics with a few other competitions to back it up. It explained her flexibility as well as her skills with parkour, but not all her abilities.

There were no mentions of her having an interest in martial arts or self-defense in general. So, her fighting abilities were still unaccounted for, and something he really wished to explore more of. If they were going to steal her, they needed to know what they were working with after all.

However, he knew she was smart. She had graduated in the top tier at her middle school despite the complications she seemed to have near the end. She also applied for and was accepted into several exclusive high schools in the area, a few even having accelerated courses she seemed qualified for.

It meant he’s instincts were right, Kitsune was intelligent enough to be cunning. She also displayed a rather phenomenal ability to control her natural responses, almost like a trained actor. With her unknown fighting ability and physical prowess, he would bet money she could easily hold her own in a Mafia confrontation.

He almost couldn’t wait to get out of the cast, so he could go see what other surprises she had in store for him.

His Sky also seemed to notice his restlessness. The moment Luss cleared him from medical, Xanxus practically shoved a ticket to Japan in his hand. Of course, he had to take it easy, he was only going there to try and convince Fran to join the Varia, and he couldn’t seek out the fox.

It was fine. Xanxus, at least, had to be present for another meeting with their shitty don. Belphegor knew if he went to that meeting the chances of crossing paths with the fox were far higher than going looking on his own.

That said, color him surprised when their paths did cross before the meeting.

“So, are you going to be visiting your Shishou or his Shishou?” Fran was asking someone as Belphegor sauntered into one of the abandon buildings of Kokuyo Land looking for the Mist.

“Neither, desu.”

Belphegor paused as he felt a surprised grin stretch across his face.

“It’s an academic thing.” Haru continued pausing to grunt slightly at something. “Shishou is Shishou, not exactly someone you learn academic things from.”

“But you’re going away.” Fran said as Belphegor silently slipped further into the room.

Fran was seated on a scissor lift, feet dangling over the side as he leaned back on his elbows. The young Mist was frowning upwards at something above him, so Belphegor glanced up. And found the fox dangling from the rafters fiddling with some lights.

“It won’t be forever, and besides, you can keep Mukuro busy.” Haru said before letting go of whatever she was holding to keep her somewhat curled around the rafter she seemed to be hanging from. Belphegor watched curiously as she swung from her knees and made grabby hands at Fran. “Toss Haru the flathead, would you?”

Fran frowned at her before pulling a flathead screwdriver from a toolbox near his left elbow. Belphegor grinned as he noticed his little Kohai launch the tool, so the metal tip would hit the fox between the eyes. But like he figured, the fox easily snatched the offending projectile from the air.

“I’m still going to visit the fairies.” Fran pouted.

“Of course,” Haru said curling up again to fiddle with the light fixture, “you wouldn’t be Fran-chan if you didn’t.”

“The fake prince has been stopping by lately.” Fran said changing the subject. “He keeps talking about that time everyone remembers.”

“The ten years into the future that won’t ever happen now?” Haru asked pleasantly. “You did join them.”

“Master more or less forced me into it, or you know, that’s what he says.” Fran shrugged. “They needed a strong Mist after the Arcobaleno killed themselves.”

Haru hummed. “Haru doesn’t know Mammon-chan very well. But she knows not to speak ill of the dead or would have been but is not right now dead. Haru remembers seeing the affects that poison Byakuran used for the Arcobaleno. She wouldn’t fault Mammon-chan if they made it into the later stages before Giannini and Shoichi came up with those suits to help protect them.”

“Still,” Fran grumbled, “I don’t wanna.”

“Then don’t.” Haru said with a shrug. “Fran-chan is capable of deciding what Fran-chan wants and what he doesn’t. If Fran-chan doesn’t want to join the Vaira then that’s that.”

“Easier said than done, Nee-chan.” Fran frowned up at her.

Belphegor took that as his cue, he stepped into view with a snicker. “He’s right, Kitsune.”

“Oh,” She said dully turning as she hung above him to get him in her sights, “it’s you. Fran-chan said you were lurking around.”

“No, he said the prince has been stopping by, Kitsune.” Belphegor grinned as he corrected her.

“Lurking, stopping by, it’s the same thing. Especially when you’ve been hovering over there in the shadows like a creeper.” Haru said simply going back to working on the light fixture she was messing with.

Belphegor snorted, “So what are you trying to do up there? Electrocute yourself?”

“A little hard to electrocute myself when the power is off.” She shot back with a sniff. “Shockingly, Haru is using the obscure home improvement skills she learned in home economics.”

“If she took the test, Nee-chan would be a certified electrician.” Fran intoned. “Why were you lurking around, fake prince?”

Belphegor absently threw a knife at the Mist. “I was trying to gauge if you’re any more willing to come to visit. You rather liked headquarters when you first showed up.”

“You said that last time.” Fran said dully. “If you’re going to try to sell me something, at least be more creative.”

Belphegor couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Really, he didn’t see why the boy was being so stubborn. Even Mukuro was trying to get the Mist to cooperate, but the boy wasn’t listening to any of them.

In the future that will never be they never had this problem. Then again Fran didn’t have much of a choice in that timeline. Mukuro dictated the young Mist’s life almost as if Fran had been another proxy Mukuro could slip into if he so desired.

Belphegor really didn’t think too hard on that. His kohai was his, it didn’t matter who the boy called Master. Just so long as Mukuro knew to keep his hands to himself, unless of course Fran was into that, then Mukuro had to at least wait until Fran was legal.

Belphegor could tolerate weird, just look at Luss and his fetishes. But Belphegor would not tolerate pedophilia, especially if it was his kohai as the target. That was one line the Storm set in stone rather than sand.

Shaking those thoughts from his mind, Belphegor turned his attention to the rather bland conversation that followed. The fox occasionally tossed in a comment or two, but for the most part seemed focus on fixing the lighting of the abandoned building. Belphegor did at least learn she was there helping to get the building ready for some new addition to Kokuyo Land, supposedly an added income source.

It was also unfortunately the only time their paths crossed before the meeting. He would like to point out they had a pleasant conversation and, outside of that one time, Belphegor kept his knives to himself. He would even hazard to say he left on amicable terms, even if he was grumbling over the lack of cooperation from Fran.

Still he had more hope to speak with her when his Boss showed up. Then again, the shitty don they had to take orders from didn’t seem to think the fox was necessary for their meeting, even if they did discuss her. Though, it was just to reassure their fretting don of her safety since the boy was overly stressed about what Belphegor might do to her.

Belphegor would say there was little he could do. Despite how non-lethal their confrontation at her house was, it did give him a good enough gauge of her abilities. She could hold her own, which meant more risks in attacking her, and he really didn’t want to get rid of her now.

Still, Kitsune was her own woman and she proved that when he noticed the fool Storm that hovered around his don slip off.

“Stupid woman!” Belphegor rose and eyebrow and peered around the door frame to see what the commotion was. “What are you doing here?!”

Belphegor blinked as he caught a glimpse of Gokudera dragging a girl through the kitchen doorway. He grinned as he went to see just who provoked such a reaction from the Vongola Storm. As he turned the corner he froze for only a second as he noticed the fox being dragged despite digging her heels into the wood floor.

“Bakadera.” Her unamused voice droned. “Haru isn’t the one that’s yelling, desu.” Belphegor had to fight a snort. “Have those bombs finally destroyed your hearing?”

That stole a snicker from him, especially the look on Gokudera’s face.

“Kitsune,” Bel snagged her arm to help her stop being dragged, “just what are you doing? You’re not sneaking off without first greeting the prince, are you?”

She glanced at him with a bland unamused look that seemed to match her tone of voice.

“Haru is in the process of being ejected out the back door, Belphegor-san.” She informed him pleasantly. “Please unhand Haru so she can make her dramatic exit safely, desu.”

“Ejecting?” Belphegor asked before looking up to glare at the boy still trying to tug Kitsune out the door. Did Gokudera not know he could potentially hurt her like that, or did he just not care? “Peasant why are you throwing Kitsune out with the rest of the trash?”

Belphegor would like to point out Gokudera should be tossing himself out if that was the case. But Kitsune was still stuck between them and Belphegor didn’t want her getting caught in the confrontation. The boss wouldn’t let Bel play with the fox if she was hurt now.

“Hahi!” She huffed reminding the other Storm she was there as she tugged her arms towards herself. “If you’re going to argue please let Haru go. She doesn’t want her cute outfit ruined.” Belphegor unintentionally glanced at the outfit she was wearing, it was indeed cute in that Asian girl way. “Haru is going to go see what the children are doing.”

That got Gokudera to let her go, so Belphegor released her as well. As she bounced past him to leave the kitchen he caught her eyeroll. Clearly, she was unimpressed with the whole trying to be forced out of Sawada’s house.

“Now listen here, bastard.” Gokudera hissed as soon as she was gone. “If you touch her again.”

“You’ll what, peasant? Don’t forget the prince still beat you back in middle school. I hear you haven’t learned anything from that time. Just how much have you improved? Or do you rely mostly on that Vongola gear… like a crutch?” Belphegor grinned as he started crowding the other Storm. “Kitsune doesn’t need you protecting her. You’ll just get in her way.”

“Che,” the idiot dismissed with a wave, “like that stupid woman would know how to defend herself. You probably just went easy on her because she’s a girl. She’s annoying enough without you boosting her ego and making her believe she’s something she isn’t.”

Belphegor paused blinking at the bastard in front of him. He felt supremely insulted on Kitsune’s behalf. Did Sawada and his lackeys not know just how capable Haru Miura was proving herself to be?

“Gokudera!” Speaking of Sawada. “We have to get back to the meeting before my mom gets home.”

Belphegor frowned as the don skidded around the corner. The Vongola Storm seemed smug that he got the last word in. But Belphegor wasn’t going to correct the idiot, Kitsune could do that in her own time.

Still, Bel really wanted to stab the cocky asshole as he strutted off after Sawada.

His mood lifted as he turned the corner to re-enter the living area. Levi was sprawled on the ground whimpering about his hand, while the others hovered over him. He wondered just who laid out the fanatic.

“What happened to you, ungrateful peasant?” He asked sauntering up to his fellow officers.

“Nee-chan broke his hand and the leader of the tooth decaying fungi kicked him when he tried to retaliate.” Fran supplied in that monotone of his. “Not that you would care, sempai.”

“You’re right, peasant.” Belphegor grinned at his little kohai. “The Prince doesn’t.”

“I take it you didn’t cause us any more headaches while having words with the trash.” His sky said turning to him.

“Of course, boss.” Belphegor answered with a smirk. “If anything, he’s the one that would cause the headaches. What did I miss beyond Kitsune asserting herself?”

“Apparently your gal and our little Mist have a bet going on.” Xanxus smirked.

“You don’t own me.” Fran cut in.

“Oh?” Belphegor asked almost at the same time.

“If she doesn’t steal your crown by flirting with you, Fran is willing to give up some of the info he has on her.” Mammon said facing Fran intently. “Levi thinks she will fail.”

Belphegor turned towards where the fox was. He frowned noticing how she was draped on the Vongola Rain, snuggling the baseball player. He wasn’t sure if he was more annoyed she was in Yamamoto’s lap, or if he was worried she might succeed in her bet.

They could use any information they could get their hands on with her. They were still behind in digging up her past, which just showed how cunning she was. But he wasn’t exactly sure if she could flirt.

She wouldn’t be the first to try to flirt with him. But she was the first that might get a reaction out of him. None of the other simpering girls were anywhere close to intriguing as Kitsune was.

Still it didn’t seem like she would get the chance as the meeting wore on. That was until someone was elected to go get some drinks for the group. Belphegor noticed how Reborn pointedly asked Yamamoto before sending a blank look at Mammon.

Somehow, he knew he and Kitsune were now in the middle of an Arcobaleno spat. Great. But he wasn’t going to let the closest thing he had to a best friend down.

She instantly stiffened as he slid up and scooped her out of the chair the Vongola had been occupying. She of course had to pick one of the only arm chairs in the room, rather than something like the spar loveseat. Still it was pretty funny how offended she looked as he settled her into his lap, her stiff posture indicating her indignation.

“What are you doing, desu?” She hissed at him while he wrapped his hands around her waist to keep her from falling.

“The Prince wanted to sit down.” He said with a grin.

“There are other chairs.” She said motioning to the other free seats in the room.

“What’s the matter, Kitsune?” He asked pleasantly. If she was too uncomfortable to flirt with him than they would get that info they needed after all. “The Prince thought you would be pleased to have a chance to flirt with him.”

“What makes you think that?” She scowled.

“Isn’t that what the bet is? The Prince heard some of the commotion in here while he was dealing with the bomb brat.” He didn’t but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try to throw her off. “Besides, the Prince is curious. You didn’t seem like the type to flirt, Kitsune. And if you do, you’re probably like those giggling school girls.”

Weren’t all girls like that though? He wasn’t sure since he rarely thought much about that sort of thing. He had always thought he would eventually accept a marriage proposal the crown dictated of him and leave it at that.

“Well, Haru was challenged to flirt with you.” She slowly said thoughts quickly racing across her eyes. “But she doesn’t think the effort is worth it. You don’t appeal to Haru.”

“Oh really?” He asked rather offended by that.

Did she really think he wasn’t worth at least the effort of winning a bet over? He would have to fix that. How could he learn more about her if she didn’t think him worth associating with?

She slowly smiled at him though. Her deceitful innocent eyes blinking at him with the same look she wore when she was trying to help him find his crown. He wondered what game she was about to play on him this time.

“Really.” She softly giggled. “And there’s nothing you can really say that could convince Haru otherwise.”

Ah, another challenge. He thought as he eyed here. It would be interesting navigating this one, since the last one ended up with him in a full body cast.

“Why would the prince need to convince you?” He shot back. “He’s a prince. That should be enough.”

Wasn’t royalty always intriguing to commoners?

She however gave a delicate snort. “The prince of where exactly? Haru knows you have a crown but has yet to see any form of royal upbringing outside of your arrogance.”

Oh, she didn’t.

“The prince comes from a kingdom in the Carpathians.” He almost hissed.

He had to prove to the little fox that he was royalty. He couldn’t have her thinking him anything less. The nerve of her to imply he was lying about his heritage.

Oddly by the time his ire began to cool he found himself discussing the intricacies of textiles. He blinked wondering how she maneuvered him into such a subject. But as he looked back he could appreciate that part of his kingdom.

It had always intrigued him what the commoners did for a living. It was perhaps what brought him to the Varia doorstep in the first place, mostly because his father had denied allowing him into the military. He carefully pushed the thought of his family aside, he could ruminate over them later.

Now he had the fox draped against his shoulder staring at him in slight wonder as he spoke about the imports of linen. From little he had heard about her, he knew she liked fashion, so he figured something like handcrafted weaving would intrigue her. The fact it tied into proving to her that he was indeed of a royal bloodline was also a bonus, so she wouldn’t question his proud heritage again.

The memory of watching one of his servants crafting a tapestry brought him back to the quieter times in his childhood. How sometimes he would sneak into the servant quarters to get away from his brother, parents, and the other nobles. One maid was especially talented in weaving and was crafting a beautiful tapestry of the mountains near the summer castle the last time he was able to visit her.

Her soft questions also showed she was listening. Part of the reason he despised those giggling airheads that tried to grab his attention was the fact they had the attention span of goldfish. Kitsune however seemed to focus solely on what he was saying and kept the conversation going without once zoning out on him.

He almost didn’t notice how she slowly relaxed in his hold. Her arms looping around his neck, so she didn’t slip off his lap, the way she wiggled slightly to finally find a comfortable position. She seemed to fit perfectly against him in a way that neither of them was uncomfortable.

“But,” he began remembering the bet suddenly, “aren’t you supposed to be flirting with me?”

Was she not going to at least try?

It was only then he noticed how close she was as she shifted slightly. She turned more towards him as she tilted her head and her lips seemed to brush against his ear. He was suddenly aware that her shifting had an unintended affect for him that he hadn’t noticed until then.

“I don’t need to make a fool of myself to flirt with you, little prince.” She purred lowly in a voice that he hadn’t heard yet. It kicked up his heart rate and seemed to send all his blood to his neither region. “I just have to let you in on a little secret.”

He realized he was now the tense one as he tried to gulp, but his mouth was oddly dry.

“Oh?” He asked trying to regain control of his body and show she wasn’t affecting him.

“When I told Lussuria how I stole your crown in that hotel.” When had her hand started petting his hair? “I forgot to mention I was wearing night vision goggles.”

He froze as he sucked in a breath. He knew what she was talking about of course. But knowing he had been in full view of her while being in a prone position made his heart stutter.

He could feel his ears and face burning as his blood decided to pump faster through his body. He barely even noticed how she easily slipped out of his limp grasp. But he did notice how she giggled as she glanced over her shoulder at him, before sauntering away.

His eyes were instantly drawn to the short hemline of her tiny skirt as it swayed with her steps. He tried to ignore how uncomfortable his pants were as he tried to focus on anything else. But even the way she twirled his crown around one of her fingers left him slightly breathless.

Wait, when did she snag his crown?

Slowly he raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. It was only then he noticed his jaw was almost to his collarbone with how far it had dropped. His face was suddenly so warm he was afraid it might melt off his skull.

Fine, he could admit defeat. Kitsune had hoodwinked him yet again. This time it didn’t even involve kissing.

And no, he didn’t want to really involve kissing. That was just his libido finally deciding it was working. He just had to take a few deep controlled breaths and accept this gracefully.

But if that was how she flirted, he felt it wholly unfair. He also felt sorry for every other person she decided to flirt with. How did one counter that teasing without making a fool of oneself?

Her clapping her hands drew him out of his shock. He noted Fran had his crown balanced on that ridiculous apple hood he wore. Looks like they weren’t getting that info Fran had.

“Now that’s over with, desu.” She grinned the mischievous minx. “Haru can focus on the real reason she came over.”

He blinked surprised that she had a reason for being there aside from the bet.

“And what’s that?” Reborn asked clearly opening the floor for her to speak.

“Haru was wondering if Tsuna-san or Bakadera will be busy in a few weeks.”

So, she didn’t have a high opinion of the Vongola Storm either.

“Hmm,” Yamamoto perked up at her words. “You still haven’t found someone to go with you?”

Belphegor blinked wondering what they were talking about. At this point it was a given that Haru and Yamamoto were close associates. Squalo would approve since it could work in the Varia’s favor.

She turned to the Vongola Rain with a frown. “Ryohei-nii is busy with the boxing club. Kyo-Kyo did agree however he apparently had something come up, so he can’t.” Was she talking about Hibari? “Haru even asked Mukuro-san but the Kokuyo Gang are busy with a new arrival and they landed some big job, so he had to decline as well. If Tsuna-san or Bakadera are busy than Haru will just have to ask one of her acquaintances.”

Belphegor blinked again. That certainly explained why she was at Kokuyo Land, he had been wondering. But now he was even more curious as to what was going on.

“Busy for what?” Gokudera grunted rudely with a scowl. Bel itched to toss a knife in his direction.

“Haru was invited to an academia convention. It lasts a full week and there will be two gala events she has to attend. She has been encouraged to bring a plus one, but so far she hasn’t had much luck.”

Smart girl, asking to bring one the guardians was a subtle way of adding protection. Though Belphegor wasn’t quite sure how the idiots would handle a black-tie affair, galas usually called for. He knew how embarrassing they were at some of the Vongola Balls they had to attend.

Though the thought of an academia convention suggested he was right about her intelligence. He wondered if she was going there to attend the talks or if she was being invited to speak herself. She might, she was after all being asked to attend the galas that were also being hosted.

“Hm,” Reborn shook his head pulling Belphegor from his thoughts. “I’m sorry but I believe both Dame-Tsuna and Gokudera will be busy with this new threat to the family.”

“Why aren’t you going?” Tsuna asked his Rain.

“The school playoffs are coming up soon.” Yamamoto said and luckily Squalo wasn’t here to try to beat the thought of baseball out of the boy’s head. “I would go but I need to practice.”

“Haru understands.” She reassured with a sorrowful nod. “It’s always hard to turn down free food.”

Yamamoto gave a chuckle that brought a smile to her face.

“But it’s okay.” She said with a shrug. “Haru figured after hearing some of what is going on that Tsuna-san and Bakadera would be busy.”

She pulled out her cell phone.

“Who are you going to call?” Reborn asked raising an eyebrow. Belphegor wanted to know as well.

“Perhaps the one acquaintance of Haru’s that will be able to attend.” She said absently as she punched in the number.

She smiled as she put the phone to her ear and waited for the call to go through. Belphegor marveled at the fact she didn’t mind how quite the room was. Clearly everyone was anticipating the outcome of this little phone call.

Then she floored them as she spoke Italian. “Morning Rome.”

Belphegor blinked in shock. He wasn’t aware she could speak a second language. She showed no inclination to learn before and the fact her second language was Italian was even more intriguing.

“I need a tiny favor.” She beamed happily, and Belphegor wondered who this Rome was. “I’m going to a convention and need a partner for a few black-tie events. Care to join me?”

The more she spoke the more he was inclined to admit she was fluent. Her Italian barely had an accent to suggest it wasn’t her first language. So, either she had known Italian before she knew Sawada, or she had a lot of practice over the years.

“Thanks a bunch.” She was almost bouncing on her toes. “I’ll E-mail you the details as soon as I can get to a computer. See you then.”

So, her friend agreed to go with her. Belphegor glanced over to Xanxus noting the frown on his boss’ face. Likely they would be scrambling to locate what convention she was going to and figuring out how they could sneak at least a minion into the event.

“Uh, Haru.” Tsuna said making them turn to him. “Since when do you speak Italian?”

“Oh!” She grinned before switching back to Japanese seamlessly. “Haru learned to help Lambo-chan better understand Japanese. She also knows Mandarin Chinese because of I-Pin-chan. Because Haru babysits the two the most she figured it best to know, desu.”

Well that certainly explained a lot. He had wondered if Sawada had put someone in charge of teaching the children Japanese. But it appears she took it on herself to make sure the children were well taught.

“Who’s Rome?” Reborn cut in.

“An acquaintance Haru met through one of the clubs she’s part of.” Haru answered still smiling.

“And he’ll fly to Japan just to go to a convention with you?” Fran frowned.

Did his kohai know who Rome was or at least where the man lived? Come to think of it weren’t the two talking about Haru needing to go somewhere that one time he found them in Kokuyo Land? Belphegor tried to rack his mind to pull up the memory in hopes he hadn’t forgotten something important.

“Haru never said the convention was in Japan.” She shook her head with that mischievous smile still in place. “It’s actually going to be in Italy, very near where Rome Lives.” Wait, what? “Otherwise Haru would not have called and asked him.”

Belphegor was at least aware his mouth had dropped this time as he blinked at her. Oh, she was still playing them for fools. Belphegor should just pounce on her and see if she wouldn’t give up her secrets that way.

“Well,” She giggled, “Haru has more things to do today. See you all later.”

She gave them a peppy wave before sauntering out of the house. She was long gone by the time the shock wore off. Belphegor was caught between wanting to sigh and laugh at the stunned looks the others wore.

Only Yamamoto and Fran seemed unsurprised. The way they shared a look told Belphegor they were well aware of that detail before Haru brought it up. Belphegor made a note they had to sic Squalo on the Vongola Rain since Yamamoto had a better relationship with the Varia SIC.

“Trash.” Xanxus growled leveling Tsuna with a look. “Did one of your subordinates just say she was going to a different country without backup?”

“Um,” Tsuna fidgeted.

“Mammon?” Reborn turned to his fellow Arcobaleno.

“This will cost you. She was offering to take one of your students along.” Mammon intoned simply.

Reborn just lowered the rim of his fedora and turned away.

The glance Xanxus gave their Mist Commander meant the Varia would be getting the info regardless. Belphegor wondered which of their minions they could spare to shadow her. This would be a good way to get some info on her as well as making sure she was protected.

He wasn’t surprised his crown went missing. He figured it was going to be delivered to her as yet another trophy. He was fine with that.

He wasn’t however fine with the teasing the others were putting him through.

“What did she even say to you, trash?” Xanxus asked gruffly after Belphegor nearly stabbed Levi.

Belphegor felt his face heat just a bit. “It’s a secret.”

He wasn’t entirely sure why his Sky snorted in amusement. But the subject was dropped in favor of figuring out where the fox was going for her convention. They weren’t even sure how long they had to figure it out, but it seemed Mammon was pleased with the challenge.

In the end, Belphegor figured he would have to be careful if she turned her charms on him again. He couldn’t afford to let her catch him off guard like that again. And no, it had nothing to do with the hard-on she left him with.

He was a professional.

Chapter Text

The seventh time he had his crown stolen, well he had to admit it wasn’t technically stolen. It was also their shitty Decimo’s fault. He could honestly say that with honest certainty.

Bel was annoyed in the space between seeing Kitsune again. For starters, he was disappointed he couldn’t sneak into the convention she was invited to. He would have loved to see the look on her face if they met at the hotel or convention center the event was being hosted at.

Instead, the best they managed was sending in one of Mammy’s subordinates as well as one of Levi’s. Bel wasn’t entirely certain he would trust the job to Alex and Reggie. As far as he could tell they were near the bottom of the barrel in terms of Quality.

But Alex did have enough intelligence that he had the right connections.

Sadly, the duo had almost botched the mission as soon as they stepped through the door. The event coordinator was on the lookout for any potential Mafia affiliates and even set up security to detect Flames. Apparently, the people in charge were worried about criminals potentially corrupting young minds.

Bel was disappointed when the duo came back with video footage horribly out of focus with nearly corrupted audio. But it was the best the duo could pull off given the circumstances. At least Alex took meticulous notes and Reggie acquired as much information as possible.

After sorting through the mountain of intel the duo brought back, Mammy concluded Kitsune was a featured speaker. She was highly praised for several Academic accomplishments, including having already graduated from college. Most credited her father who apparently was a genius in his own right.

“It would explain how she has a job while Sawada and the rest are still in high school,” Squalo concluded after reading the sparse report.

Levi snorted at that. “Still the girly isn’t Flame Active if she got past security.”

“That didn’t stop her from breaking your hand, peasant,” Bel snapped with a grin that hid his suddenly clenched teeth.

“Fuck off, brat. I’m just saying your girly will need some work if we want to make her useful. Also,” —Levi crossed his arms and sent Bell a sneer— “it’s harder to activate someone’s Flames the older they get. It’s not impossible, but it does affect their shitty control and strength.”

“I know that, fucking idiot. But who’s to say she doesn’t have Flames? She had them in that shitty future. She had to have had them to have a Box Weapon signed out to her,” Bel shot back with a huff.

“In that fucking future, sure. I can give you that, kid. But even the weakest idiot could use a Box Weapon,” Levi said with a smug grin. “What? There is no way that little bitch could fool the convention security.”

The wave of irrational rage that rolled through Bel in that moment took him by surprise. But he didn’t like the fact that Levi was implying Kitsune was somehow lesser. Bel was on his feet, knives in hand, before he fully registered the insult leveled against the young woman.

“That’s fucking enough, trash,” their Sky snapped. “Brat, sit down. Lightning trash, fucking shut up. That is no way to speak about a gal. Especially one that has already proven capable of defending herself.”

Bel sat back down in a huff with an annoyed frown. Levi on the other hand pouted about the reprimand. Luss and Squalo were bastards that just laughed at them.

“Ah, Boss,” Luss spoke up hesitantly. “Do you think Haru-chan may really be Flame Active? I mean her background report is still pending. But Levi dear, does have a point about the security.”

Bel turned to see his Sky’s thoughtful expression. Some part of the prince, perhaps his own Flames, wanted the fox to already have Flames. It would soften the multiple sudden blows to his ego he had suffered recently.

Xanxus suddenly snorted. “Even if she still has latent Flames, the girly has proven willful enough to stand up to the royal trash. It shouldn’t be difficult to activate her Flames if that’s the case.”

“And if she’s Flame Active?” Squalo asked with a frown.

“Then she just fooled a fucking security system most of the Varia would have trouble bypassing,” Xanxus admitted with a frown.

Levi crossed his arms and huffed, “Impossible.”

Bel left quickly after that. He didn’t want to get in trouble if that idiotic peasant insulted Kitsune again. Even Bel had a hard time believing Kitsune was that skilled, but she had managed to elude their best eyes in security.

Instead, Bel went to hunt down Alex and Reggie for more details. He had to admit why Haru Miura interested him, which hadn’t helped his mood. He felt his mood sour more when the duo couldn’t answer his questions.

He contemplated killing them for incompetence but didn’t think it was worth the effort.

Instead, he took the next job that crossed his desk for his division. It took him to Japan, and he almost decided to go against the orders still in place from his Sky, by hunting for Kitsune. But he was still a professional and forced himself to stay on task.

Which still ended with him riddled with bullets. They really needed to find that leak because getting shot was getting annoying. He woke up in the hospital and had to scramble to leave before the authorities caught up to him.

He lost his crown in the whole mess, but he had taken to wearing his fake crowns on jobs, so he didn’t have a repeat of the first time he met Kitsune. Plus, she still had his real crown, and he would have to find a way to get it back eventually. But he wasn’t in a hurry to have it returned to him if it meant more time spent poking at the mysteries surrounding the fox.

By the time he healed up from the incident, they had to go to a meeting with Tsuna. The Varia had concerns that needed to be addressed. The chief among them being the growing concerns that the Vongola were growing more compromised by the day.

“If this continues it won’t just be the Vindice that will be a problem, trash,” Xanxus said to their confused future Don. “Look, I don’t like you being in charge any more than you like being Mafia. But this is the fucking shitty cards we were dealt. A lot more than just you and the organization will be in jeopardy if the Vongola goes down.”

“But I don’t know what to do,” Tsuna protested and glanced at Reborn.

“Then fucking learn,” Xanxus snapped in justified annoyance. “Stop being a weak pussy and man up. You’re going to college soon. Pick up some fucking business classes. You have people that fucking can do their shitty jobs, but you need to start dictating.”

“Why can’t you do it?”

“Because, I have enough fucking paperwork to deal with you spinless bastard!”

Bel snickered and turned out the growing argument. He was disappointed that the fox wasn’t there. But he figured she was at her job.

He made a note to look even harder for her place of employment. He really needed her work schedule so he wouldn’t be dropping in at a bad time. The Varia wouldn’t get anywhere with her if they didn’t make some effort in respecting her boundaries after all.

As he thought it over, he took a moment to assess Tsuna’s guardians. Gokudera was being a mulish brat as he waited to jump to Tsuna’s defense. The Sun, Sagawa, was sitting with the little Bovino as the Lightning focused more on a coloring book. But the Rain and Mist caught his attention.

Yamamoto and Chrome sat on the loveseat a bit away from the main discussion. The Rain sat relaxed with his legs casually crossed at the knee and his arms spread on the back of the furniture. The Mist was curled up against his side with her legs tucked under her on the cushion and a hand keeping Yamamoto’s arm around her.

Bel raised his eyebrows because to an outsider the duo could pass as a cute couple cuddling on the loveseat. It didn’t help that the Rain was murmuring something into Chrome’s hair. Bel couldn’t make out what Yamamoto was saying but that could be because of the faint Mist Flames lingering around the duo.

Bel thought the Varia really needed a better relationship with that side of Tsuna’s guardians. The Cloud, Rain, and Mists were the more professional group among Sawada’s inner circle. Really Sawada needed to take less advice from Gokudera at any rate.

Bel wondered if the Rain, Cloud, and Mists were working together. It was clear Yamamoto was close to Kitsune which put him in some relation to Chrome. This wasn’t the first time Bel saw the Rain curled up with the Mist gal during one of these meetings.

Bel remembered the confrontation in front of Kitsune’s house. Her casual mention of biting him to death made Bel wonder if Kitsune acted in a similar capacity as Chrome. Of course, Kitsune wasn’t a potential vessel for Hibari to possess, but perhaps she was a liaison between the Cloud and the rest.

She wasn’t often at these meetings, but she was close to Yamamoto. Bel could see the Rain giving her anything pertinent to be sent along to the Cloud. And if that was the case, Bel frowned as he glanced at Sawada again.

That worthless peasant was even more incompetent than Bel thought.

The sharp sound of shattering glass had Bel jumping to his feet. Before he could do much else, the room filled with a thick haze of acrid smoke. His first instinct was to call on his Flames to disintegrate whatever chemicals were now in the air.

But as he reached out, a wave of vertigo hit hard. Choking on the smoke, Bel felt like the world had tilted. He closed his eyes to push down the wave of nausea.

Then he was waking up to a muddled world. His ears felt like they had water in them as garbled sound came to him. But slowly the world came back into focus as his Flames helped clear the chemicals from his system.

“-heard someone threw gas bombs into Tsuna-san’s house. She called Kyo-Kyo, and now we’re here.”

Bel blinked as he recognized the voice of Kitsune.

“Hibari-san is here?” Yamamoto asked with a ruffling of clothes.

“He is, and Haru quotes, ‘Keeping the invading herbivores busy, so you can find the King Herbivore and his flock’,” Kitsune tried to deepen her voice in a comical mimic of the Cloud.

Bell couldn’t help but snort as the room filled with Yamamoto’s laughter. He took a moment to make sure his eyes were covered before chancing a glance around. Yamamoto stood next to a girl dressed in an impressive replica of a Kitana costume with his baseball bat resting on his shoulder.

Next to the girl’s leg was a large box that was overflowing with their missing weapons. Around them, Bel could spot many of the others slowly coming to. He was pleased to see his Sky sit up and shake the last haze from his head.

“Trash,” Xanxus grunted upon spotting Yamamoto and the girl, “why is there a video game character here?”

The girl jumped and flashed her replica fans that whispered with very real metal.

“Haru was hoping the Varia would remain unconscious,” the girl whined, and Bel froze. The living replica of Kitana was definitely Kitsune in disguise.

Bel sat up and turned to watch Yamamoto chuckle. The Rain wrapped his free arm around Kitsune’s shoulders and pulled her to him. The prince frowned as the Rain whispered something into the fox’s hair that made her light up.

Something annoying twisted in Bel’s chest as he watched Kitsune pull away.

“Okay,” she chirped with the corner of her eyes creasing.

Then she skipped away and out of the room.

“Was that Haru?” Sawada asked as he stumbled to find his feet.

“Hm?” Yamamoto turned to his Sky with an easy grin. “Yea, that was Haru-chan. She heard something went down at your house and went looking for answers.”

“But she could get hurt!” Sawada gaped only for Yamamoto to snort.

“It’s Haru-chan. Nothing happens in Namimori without her knowing about it. Besides, she didn’t come alone. She called Hibari for backup.”

Sawada paled a bit. “Hibari-san is here?”

“Yea,” Yamamoto said with a tiny smirk, “he’s Haru-chan’s backup.”

While the incompetent peasant struggled to process that, Bel stood up and stretched. He grinned as he sauntered over to the box the Rain nudged his way to dig out his weapons. Kitsune was certainly thorough, and Bel tossed the other Varia their weapons as he gathered up all his knives and wire.

“So, where did that stupid woman go anyway?” Gokudera grumbled as he took his turn to dig after Bel was finished.

“She went to watch Hibari’s back,” Yamamoto said with an unconcerned shrug.

“What?” Sawada screeched.

“They’ll be fine,” Yamamoto said with a grin. “They know how to not step on each other’s toes when working together.”

That didn’t reassure Sawada and soon the others were ready to move in a mad scramble. Bel eyed the Rain who just rolled his eyes and shrugged. Regardless the group was soon out the door and stepping into carnage.

Bel could really appreciate the destruction left behind by Kitsune and the Vongola Cloud. Many of the minions they passed either had their faces bashed in or their throats splayed open. Bel wondered if the duo were playing who was the better killer as he tallied up how many fell to either tonfa or tessen.

Following the trail of carnage, lead the group to the main storage room of the warehouse. The hall opened up to the upper walk and was a good vantage point to see the commotion below. Like a pair of trained ballroom dancers, Kitsune and Hibari stood back-to-back while surrounded by a crowd of minions.

Bouncing between them was also Roll as the little Cloud Hedgehog shielded them from stray bullets.

Kitsune was a breathtaking fighter as she used her strength and flexibility to flow with Hibari. She danced and twirled and used the blades of her fans to splay open men twice her size. Bel felt himself nearly gasp in awe as she filleted a minion open from groin to sternum then twisted around Hibari to stab another in the throat as he staggered from Hibari’s last hit.

Movement in the corner of his eye let him catch Yamamoto casually jumping the railing. The Rain’s baseball bat morphed into a katana, which was drawn as soon as Yamamoto’s feet hit the ground. Ziro and Koziro joined him as he struck the minions from behind and forced them towards the duo in the center.

Bel could spot a well-trained strategy when he saw one. The fact that Chrome soon joined Yamamoto in herding the group into the jaws of the two deadliest fighters only drove that home. It also drove home that these members of Sawada’s gang were worth being called Vongola.

Bel grinned and swung himself over the railing to join in on the fun. In the corner of his eye Squalo kept step with him until they reached the group. Bel dove into the melee going left while Squalo slashed his way off to the right.

The screams were music to Bel’s ears as the two Varia streaked through the swirling commotion like two birds through a bait ball. Even as more minions appeared, Yamamoto and Chrome just herded them into the grinder. As Bel reached the other side, he pivoted and shot back in, passing Squalo along the way.

In the center, Kitsune matched Hibari at every step without showing any signs of fatigue.

Of course, it wasn’t long before the elegant dance was disrupted. Gokudera’s bombs exploded and broke the carefully choreographed containment Yamamoto and Chrome were maintaining. Chaos took over as minions used the disturbance to push past the two and further away to safety.

Bel snarled as fighting started to spread throughout the room.

“Damn stupid peasant,” Bel cursed as he was forced to chase a minion heading for an exit.

“Voi! The fuck were you thinking?” Squalo shouted over the commotion. “We had it contained!”

Bel didn’t hear the response as he slaughtered his way to another group trying to escape. A glance showed the rest had dropped down to try to contain the new free for all. Bel frowned as he noted Sawada seemed to be flailing as he had trouble falling in step with his guardians.

Bel made a complete loop around the fighting area when something made him do a doubletake. Tucked off to the side Yamamoto, Chrome, Hibari, and Kitsune were no longer fighting. In fact, the other three watched as Kitsune smoothly imitated an idle animation before going through several poses.

“The fuck?” he asked no one.

“What is it trash?” his Sky responded very close to his left.

So, Bel pointed out the group as Kitsune hopped onto a crate to sit down.

“The fuck? Why are Sawada’s best people no longer fighting?”

“How the hell should I know?” Bel asked with a frown.

He followed as Xanxus stomped his way over to the group.

“Trash!” the Varia Sky commanded. “Why did you stop fighting?”

“Tsuna-san asked Haru to go sit!” Kitsune happily cheered with a little too much bubbly enthusiasm.

The two Varia assassins were stunned for a moment before the anger returned.

“Mother fucking trash!”

Bel absently took out a minion trying to get a jump on him as his Sky stomped away in the direction of Sawada. It seemed the deadly quartet were content to let the others take care of things. Bel found it curious the three others stopped fighting even though it was Kitsune how was told to stand down.

He made a note of it and continued on. Kitsune and Hibari had taken care of most of the minions anyway. Though Bel found Sawada’s epic anime-worthy final boss battle rather underwhelming.

It completely fell short of the performance of the well-coordinated strike team in the beginning.

Then of course came the inevitable clean-up. But it seemed Kitsune and Hibari had planned for that as well. She had even brought a Haz-mat suit to wear.

Smirking to himself, he slid up behind her. “Hm, the prince prefers you in that fighting costume, Kitsune. The bio-hazard suit doesn’t show off your curves quite right.”

She stiffly turned around to level him with a stubborn pout and her hands on her hips. “Haru is a goddess no matter what she wears, desu. Besides, Haru spent a lot of time and effort creating her Kitana outfit. She will not let some goons ruin her hard work by bleeding all over it.”

Bel blinked. “You crated that outfit?” —grinning he slid into her personal space— “My, how impressive, Kitsune.”

She sighed heavily. “What do you want, Belphegor-san? Haru is busy.”

He tilted his head and gave her his best innocent grin. “Can’t the prince admire your beauty?”

Her face flashed with annoyance before settling on cool apathetic dismissal. “Sometimes it’s better to admire beauty at a distance, Belphegor-san. Now shoo, Haru has bodies to move, desu.”

Bel couldn’t help but frown and cross his arms as he was reminded of his mother. The cold woman always preferred his brother as the true heir. But she was no Kitsune.

“The prince thinks you are wasted on that ungrateful peasant. You have far more skill than being cosigned to being the help. The prince saw you fighting alongside the peasant’s Cloud guardian. You two are surprisingly coordinated with one another.”

“Probably from all our time bonding,” she rolled her eyes. “Because nothing says bonding experience like hiding the bodies.”

Bel raised his eyebrow and let his arms drop. He wouldn’t say he was surprised. But he would admit he was a tad jealous the two were close enough to hide bodies together.

“I’ll ensure you are properly fed, Maboroshi,” speak of the devil.

“Really?” Kitsune lit up. “Real food that doesn’t come from a vending machine? Haru wouldn’t turn down a meal from a love hotel like that time last week.”

Bel choked as his confusion got stuck in his throat. Just picturing Kitsune and Hibari at such a place made something in Bel’s mind hurt. Kitsune was too cute for Hibari even if the Cloud had a thing for small creatures.

Especially because Hibari had a thing for small creatures.

“Love hostel?” Gokudera exclaimed suddenly next to them.

Hibari snorted with a smirk. “Yes, and lube will not be involved this time.”

Bel narrowed his eyes at the Cloud. He didn’t know Hibari well but that smirked seemed suspicious. Seeing Yamamoto biting his fist as his shoulders silently shook made something in Bel’s mind click.

“Excuse me,” Gokudera sputtered looking between the two.

“Oh good,” Kitsune clapped her hands with a cat like grin. “Though they were right. That edible lube really did taste like bacon, pity you didn’t try some.”

Hibari sent her a pointed glare. “The police costume was enough.”

She slid into his space with large innocent eyes and her hands fisted under her chin. Bel recognized that look and felt a shiver work its way down his spine. That sugar sweet look was dangerous, but Hibari didn’t flinch.

“But you make a sexy policeman,” she purred sweetly. “What about a sexy fireman outfit? Haru thinks you could totally rock suspenders.”

“Now wait a minute!” Gokudera cut in.

Kitsune turned with a giggle. She grabbed the handle of her wagon she was gathering body parts in and skipped off. Bel crossed his arms and watched her go.

“Hibari,” Gokudera growled turning on the Cloud. “What the actual fuck was that? What have you been doing with that stupid woman? You better not be getting her into trouble.”

The Cloud regarded his Storm with a bland unimpressed look.

“You’re too loud for your own good,” Hibari said raising his tonfa with a smirk. “Perhaps you require some training, herbivore.”

A hand landed on Hibari’s shoulder announcing the arrival of a grinning Yamamoto with his baseball bat resting on his shoulder.

“So where are we eating tonight? It’s your turn to pick anyway,” the Rain asked as he gently tugged a snorting Hibari away.

“I’m only paying for Haru-chan,” the Cloud said making Yamamoto laugh.

“No problem, I have Chrome-chan and me covered,” Yamamoto said as the two disappeared down a hall.

“What?” Gokudera asked sounding so confused, Bel had to snort.

“Some right-hand man you are, peasant,” Bel couldn’t help but goad.

Bel had to smile as just that comment set the younger Storm off. Bel was pleased to get a few hits in on the brat. Gokudera was part of the reason the prince missed out on watching the fox fight.

Their little spat took them through a few rooms. It was eventually put to a halt thanks to Squalo coming to collect him. But he was feeling better than before.

Until he got to his hotel room and realized his crown was missing. He blamed Sawada and hoped Kitsune would pick it up during her cleaning. The fact that Mammy got a call from maybe Kitsune helped his irritation.

But he would blame Sawada and Gokudera for this one.

Chapter Text

The eighth time he had his crown stolen, she had earned it. Shortly after the Kitana incident, Mammy learned from Reborn about a planned getaway. While technically the Varia weren’t invited, a weekend vacation to a winter resort was worth the paperwork.

Plus, Bel wasn’t going to turn down more time with Kitsune. It had been a while since he had something fun. And he could admit that something about Kitsune was fun.

Bel liked challenging puzzles and mysteries. Kitsune was scratching that itch in an increasingly satisfying way. He had to find a way to get her to stop being so skittish around him and soon.

He had an urge to show her off, knowing full well she was under his protection so no one else could have her. But in order to do that he needed to convince her that he was safe to be around. And Bel was self-aware enough to admit he wasn’t someone people considered safe to associate with.

So, he had planned to use the getaway to begin to show her that he had no intention of harming her. After all there was only so long someone could remain on the slopes before needing to warm up. It would also help them learn more about the strange dynamic around Sawada’s guardians.

Unfortunately, the background on Kitsune finally came back and it left a lot to desire. There was enough detail on record to appease someone on a surface level. But anything truly meaningful had been erased from her history by someone.

Bel wouldn’t be surprised if she was the culprit. Something had happened to force her to up her security, that much was clear. It made Mammy start background checks on Yamamoto, Hibari, Chrome, and Mukuro, as her close associates.

Regardless, Bel was excited to go on the trip. He distantly wondered if he could show off his ice sculpting skills. It was something worth looking into.

Once the group was checked in, they sought out the other Vongola. They found Reborn smirking down at a horribly tangled Sawada in skis. At least the rest seemed to be more competent.

Bel spotted Kitsune over near a section set up for snowboarding tricks. Hibari stood nearby with his arms crossed as spectators cheered the girl on. He could tell it was her because after a run of tricks she slid up to the Cloud Guardian.

Hibari wrote something on a small whiteboard he had at his side and held it up as she pulled up her goggles. Bel snickered as he saw the large bold three and her affronted face. Kitsune gave Hibari a playful two-handed shove and made her way to the small lift to go back to the start of the run while making silly faces at her smirking judge.

“I would have given her at least a six,” Levi huffed also watching the girl. “She has decent aerial control.”

“She is also a gymnastics champion,” Mammy pointed out, “a five at best.”

Bel laughed.

“Reborn are you sure we should be encouraging them?” Sawada fretted as Kitsune launched herself through an impressive inverted front spin. “Haru could get hurt if she lands wrong.”

“She’s a seasoned gymnast, Dame-Tsuna. I’m sure she’s well aware of the dangers missing a landing can cause,” Reborn drawled. “You should focus on your own lack of skill.”

Kitsune safely finished her run to a cheering crowd and a five from Hibari.

Unfortunately, Bel couldn’t snowboard well, in a pinch he could get down a mountain without injury, but he wasn’t winning any gold metals. So, he usually stuck to skis, so he didn’t have an opportunity to catch her on the slopes. Kitsune stuck to the jumping course and was learning tricks at an astonishing rate with Hibari supervising.

That was until the duo went into the resort with Yamamoto. Bel couldn’t tell where the trio disappeared to, so stuck to the other Varia. He really didn’t need Sawada accusing him of stalking.

Bel was resigning himself to not being able to find or create a way to interact with her as the trip wore on. It didn’t help that he noticed Sawada making a point of keeping the Varia away from the girls that followed his group. It was an annoyance, but Bel could be patient when a situation called for it.

So, when Reborn announced a trip to a secret hot spring Bel was pleased. Getting away from the civilians and being in a secluded area was perfect. Of course, he also noted how both Kitsune and Hibari were outvoted on staying at the resort.

The parallels between the two were continuing to be intriguing.

The hike to the springs was pleasant and uneventful. The hot water was wonderful after being in freezing temperatures for most of the morning. Of course, the girls and boys had separate hot springs but there was an empty lounge the two groups could mingle in.

However, just like the hike, Sawada kept the girls from really interacting. The more Bel watched the more he wondered what the Sky’s end goal was. It was clear Kitsune and Chrome were well aware of who and what the Varia were.

The Scorpion clearly was a Mafia woman.

But the women were sent to watch the kids and manage the food. The Mafia as a whole was still a bit outdated when it came to the role of women. But the Vongola had been trending towards a more progressive view ever since the Eighth.

For a boy who professed he wanted to change the Mafia, Bel found it strange he had such a misogynistic view.

So, Bel was stuck watching Sawada flounder his way through a social gathering with the Varia while his girlfriend served them snacks. Chrome was exempt from playing dotting maid, but it was obvious she was uncomfortable being the only girl in the room. She ended up tucked against Yamamoto while Hibari leaned against the wall on her exposed side.

After a disappointing lunch, the group got ready to leave. Bel watched Kitsune tie the kids to Sawada’s gal, declaring it was her turn to watch them. Then Kitsune bounced over to wrap an arm over the shoulders of Chrome to start the hike back.

The Mist gal visibly relaxed and pressed into the other girl while Kitsune chatted with Yamamoto.

It had been starting to snow as they headed out, but it wasn’t anything worth worrying about. The longer they traveled the heavier the snow started to fall. Bel contemplated turning around for the shelter of the hot spring building when the wind hit.

“Damn it,” he cursed as his ability to see what was in front of him reduced to about a foot.

“Pair up and head back!” his Sky commanded and Bel grabbed the person closest to him.

“Voi! Let’s get out of this!” Squalo shouted at him over the wind and Bel tugged along.

“Can you see anything?” Bel asked even as he tried to regain his bearings.

“Not really! But I can see the shapes of the trees on the side of the trail!”

Hoping they were going in the right direction, Bel let Squalo lead them along. Bel frowned as it started to take longer to get back than he suspected. The two were probably lost on the trail and would need to find shelter soon.

“I found someone’s trail!” Squalo called and soon Bel could see the indentation of someone’s trail at his feet.

The wind was covering the trail quickly, but it was something. He hoped whoever was ahead of them found the way back or at least found shelter. The temperature was dropping quickly, and Bel was starting to worry about hypothermia.

Thankfully, Flames could stave off extreme temperatures but that depended on the strength of the individual.

The wind whipped around, and Bel caught the scent of smoke in the air. He blinked because the building at the hot springs had been powered by a generator. Deciding to worry about that later he helped Squalo through the storm.

The dark outline of some sort of building faded into view a moment before Squalo saw a door. A test of the knob and a hard yank proved it was indeed shelter. But the Rain froze in front of him.

“V-Voi!” Squalo paused as a voice came from inside the warm haven. “How’d you get here?”

Bel frowned the best he could with a numb face and chattering teeth. He was sure this conversation could happen inside with the door firmly shut. However, Squalo seemed frozen as he blocked the door.

“Damn it! Shitty Shark!” Bel shoved the taller man forward. “Move!”

Bel could care less that the swordsman ended up sprawled on his face. Bel caught the door and almost tripped over Squalo as he forced it to be closed behind him. This wasn’t the time to stand around doing nothing.

“The prince will not die of hypothermia because you can’t walk through a door,” he hissed through clenched but chattering teeth.

Turning to see what had captured Squalo’s attention, Bel blinked. Wrapped securely in a cocoon of blankets next to an Irori was Kitsune. Blinking again, the image didn’t change.

“Kitsune!” He cheered, happy to see her. “How’d you get here?” – a grin stretched his lips as he raced up to her – “Better yet, where did you find the prince some blankets?”

Leaning down to snag one earned him a bare foot to the jaw.

“Leave Haru and her blankets alone, desu!”

Rubbing the sore spot on his jaw, Bel frowned. “That wasn’t very nice.”

Kitsune scowled cutely and wrapped the blankets closer.

“Like you know what nice is, desu.”

She had an adorable pout.

“So how did you end up here?” Squalo used his inside voice as he shrugged off his coat. “You said you nearly face-planted into a stone Kappa?”

Bel began stripping off his soaked outerwear. Even his socks were wet from the quickly melting snow. He really didn’t want to get frostbite.

“If you bothered to look at the map of the mountain trails, you would have noticed there’s a large rock that naturally resembles a Kappa,” Kitsune explained as he and Squalo finished getting off their wet gear. “It marks a fork in the rail that leads up to the cabins off of the main trail, desu. Haru figured either everyone would show up here, or she could at least stay warm until the storm passes.”

It was a sound strategy, but Bel frowned as he recalled a detail about the trail map.

“I didn’t notice a landmark like that on the map,” he had to point out. “All they really marked were the ski trails.”

Kitsune rolled her eyes. “There’s another map in the main lobby that marks the summer trails as well. It’s how Reborn-chan found out about the hot springs.”

“Huh,” he would have to go explore the main lobby later. “So, about those blankets?”

Kitsune glared and buried herself deeper.

“Haru found them first, desu.”

What a stubborn little fox.

Bel bit down a grin as he noticed a familiar aggrieved expression on Squalo’s face. It was the same expression Bel worked hard to elicit as a child. It was often reserved for when Squalo got fed up with the antics of the others.

“Oh honestly!” the Rain wrapped his arms around the blanket burrito that was Kitsune and lifted her up easily. Squalo settled back down with her on his lap. “Can you two stop fighting for once? We’re stuck in a cabin in the middle of the woods, while a blizzard rages outside. I think you can share at least a blanket, girly.”

There was a long pause as they waited. Then Kitsune shrugged and untangled a blanket to toss over Squalo’s head. Bel couldn’t help that his jaw dropped.

“What about the prince?”

“Squalo-san asked nicely,” Kitsune said as she got comfortable in the swordsman’s lap.

Bel felt his face twist into a scowl as he put his hands on his hips.

“There was no asking involved,” he pointed out.

“He used his inside voice, explained the situation without being condescending, and didn’t outright demand Haru do anything,” she sniffed. “Haru knows manners are lost on the Varia, desu. She figures that’s as close to polite as any of you are going to get.”

Bel felt himself gape again as Squalo smirked at him over Kitsune’s head. He was very tempted to throw something, but all he had were his knives. But that would go against his plan to get her to relax around him.

So instead, he threw up his hands.

“God damn it Kitsune! Sometimes I just want to stab you. Why do you insist on being so frustrating? It’s just a few blankets!”

He heard Squalo laugh as he continued to vent. IT was a normal occurrence back at HQ, when Bel couldn’t harm the other commanders. But better to make a bit of a fool of himself rather than hurt her.

Once he got it out of his system, mostly expounding on his frustrations about his Sky’s latest lecture on making friends, Bel sat himself down away from the other two. He also made a point of crossing his arms and pointedly not looking at them. He also was not pouting.

“Alright girly, you had your fun,” Squalo chuckled. “Give the prat at least one blanket.”

“But Haru doesn’t want to,” Kitsune whined.

“Do you want to share your body heat with him when he gets hypothermia? Or I could give him the blanket I already have since you’re sitting in my lap. There are options.”

“Why don’t you share body heat if you’re so concerned about it?’

“I don’t want to and, besides, you’re already in my lap. You should know about Flames. So, what do you think is faster? My Rain Flames or you?”

Bel looked over to see Kitsune pout.

“You sound just like Takeshi-nii,” she whined even as she started to loosen the blankets around her. “Fine, but keep your Flames to yourself, desu. Haru doesn’t like being slowed.”

“Yamamoto has used his Flames against you before?” Bel had to ask even as she nailed him in the face with a blanket.

“He said Haru-chan and Kyo-Kyo were getting out of hand. Something about limiting the destruction to the temple and the number of broken bones. Kyo-Kyo says Takeshi-nii just knows he was losing and had to resort to Flames. Kusakabe-san said we were just being too intense for our own good.”

“You three train together?” Squalo asked as he pulled another blanket from Kitsune’s burrito.

“Haru-chan and Kyo-Kyo spar together. Takeshi-nii is there as damage control, or so he claims.”

“Well, it’s nice to see one of the peasant’s gals isn’t completely helpless,” Bel decided as they got resituated.

Once the blankets were evenly distributed and the three claimed their spots, their conversation turned to more mundane topics. Bel and Squalo had to tell her about the latest soap opera Levi was hung up on and she told them about the new anime releases. Somehow, they ended up on the universal topic of the Greatest British Baking Show and Squalo had thoughts.

Bel had to snicker at her expression as the shitty shark expounded on Swiss Rolls.

Then Squalo finished his thirty-minute rant with, “What is your problem with Storms, anyway?”

Bel felt justified as both he and Kitsune blinked at the swordsman.

“They force Haru to stay inside or risk getting her sick?” she tried but Squalo snorted with a pointedly raised eyebrow.

It clicked and Bel scoffed.

“He doesn’t mean the weather. Stop being purposely obtuse, Kitsune,” Bel rolled his eyes as he wondered what the shark was thinking. “We’ve seen how you act around the Hurricane Bomb as well. Reborn says the constant bickering you to have going on has only gotten worse.”

Kitsune’s expression soured. “Haru just doesn’t like his attitude. He’s called her stupid woman since we’ve met and has only gotten worse.”

“And your reluctance around Fon?” Squalo pressed, making her visibly stiffen. “Oh yes, we paid Mammon to figure out why you insist on giving all the Arcobaleno the chan honorific. Turns out aside from Skull, who you give the sama honorific, Fon is the only one you still use san for.”

Well, they paid for a full background, but Kitsune didn’t need to know that.

“Skull, we can understand since he insists on ridiculously calling himself Skull-sama,” Bel added on. “But the prince thinks you would at least stick to referring to all the other Arcobaleno with the same honorific.”

She looked like a startled rabbit as her eyes dated between them. Oh, there was a story, there had to be. Something that was perhaps worse than that pathetic brat Sawada called a right-hand man.

Kitsune crossed her arms and stuck her nose up at them. “Haru doesn’t have to tell you.”

“So, it is personal,” Bel grinned now deeply intrigued. Perhaps they could get something from one of the holes in her background. “Come on, Kitsune. You can tell us. We won’t tell.”

Her unimpressed look was close to a deadpan expression.

“Somehow, Haru doubts that.”

Which, fair play, but it was worth a shot.

“Honestly,” Squalo rolled his eyes, “it’s just so the shitty prince will stop moping that you won’t be nice to him because of his Flames.”

Which was rude, the prince did not mope.

“Haru as other issues with Belphegor-san that have nothing to do with his Flames.”

The prince was pleased she came to his defense, but he was curious about the issues she had with him. If he knew the details of the problem, he could work to fix them. Then he could not only be a step closer to figuring her out, but she would also tolerate his company.

“Just look at him,” Kitsune motioned to Bel snapping him out of his thoughts. “There’s something not right, psychotic even.”

“The prince will take that as a compliment, Kitsune.”

Squalo’s snort drew Bel’s full attention back to the conversation at hand.

“In all seriousness though. Hwy the aversion to Storms?”

“Haru got into some trouble with one a while back,” she finally bit out with obvious reluctance. “He could channel his Flames in a knife and tried to intimidate her with it. He wanted to know where Tsuna-san and the others lived, but Haru wouldn’t tell him. He also didn’t appreciate Yo Mama jokes which is just shameful.”

Bel might not know her well, but he did know that expression she wore. It was the same one she wore before he was pinned to a fence with his knives. It also had a hint of multiple broken bones from an encounter in her front yard.

“Yes, only the most sophisticated could appreciate a good Yo Mama joke,” he said suddenly on alert for a potential threat.

“What happened to him?” Squalo pressed and Bel frowned at his Rain. Frantically he shook his head when she turned to look at the swordsman.

Kitsune’s snarl was silent as she tucked into herself a bit.

“Haru eventually got annoyed and defended herself. He won’t bother Haru ever again. But she did get a few scars, and Tsuna-kun doesn’t like it when we girls get scars.”

Squalo scoffed. “That pathetic boss is far too shallow. I bet the only reason he’s going out with that Sasagawa gal is because she has a cute smile or something. She certainly doesn’t strike me as very intelligent.”

Kitsune opened her mouth before slowly closing it and tilting her head. Bel relaxed as it seemed the building danger subsided. He also grinned at the raised eyebrow Squalo sent his way.

“Speaking of the others, how is Yamamoto’s sushi place doing?” Bel asked, actually curious.

“TakeSushi? It’s doing well. There was a bit of a dispute with the commerce counsel, but it resolved itself. Something about a clerk misfiling some paperwork.”

The conversation picked up again until they couldn’t stave off sleep any longer. Despite the cabin being significantly warm all three elected to sleep near the still burning Irori. Of course, Kitsune refused to sleep over next to them, but it wouldn’t stop Squalo from waking up to check on her.

The shitty shark was a bit of a mother hen when he wasn’t being an asshole, more so than Luss.

Not that the trio got any decent sleep. Bel occasionally woke up to put more of their dwindling wood supply on the fire. He even caught Kitsune ghosting about to fix the vent when snow began blocking the smoke.

But as far as horrible nights in unexpected places went, Bel survived worse. He was also the first one awake after the storm died down. Cracking open a window allowed him to see the first rays of sunlight through the trees.

Glancing back, Bel took stock of his companions. Squalo lay perfectly still on his back and lightly snoring. Kitsune was full starfish on her stomach with her blankets tossed about and her shirt riding up.

Smirking, Bel padded over to rescue her blankets. One was very close to meeting the still hot popping embers of the Irori. He glanced at the girl just in case she might drip him into the hot coals, and he froze as something caught his eye.

The next few moments happened in slow motion.

He leaned forward to see what looked like a scar on her exposed back.

He saw a single loose hair fall from his bangs.

Before he could do anything, the hair landed on her exposed skin.

A foot hooked his ankle and sent him sprawling.

A hand gripped his throat as he fell.

On reflex one of his hands grabbed the attacker’s wrist as he went for his knives.

An immovable death grip stopped his counterattack as he finally settled on his back.

Bel looked up into unfocused dark eyes as Kitsune shut off his hair supply with a single hand.

Not wanting to use his Flames against her, especially if she might be in some sort of flashback. Bel began kicking his legs in hopes Squalo would wake up because Kitsune wasn’t moving. Thankfully he could hear the Rain scrambling to his feet even as his vision began graying out.

“Voi!”

Bel felt himself being lifted by his throat. He hoped he’d only get a bruise as sound garbled and Rain Flames filled the air. He hated Luss’s fussing when he got a crushed windpipe.

Hitting the ground jolted him back to awareness enough to begin gulping in oxygen. But fuck, he had to admit Kitsune’s skill to switch between harmless and deadly was a bit breathtaking. She was worth his mercy at the very least.

“The fuck?” Squalo loudly demanded with his fists on his hips.

Kitsune yawned, “Morning.”

Bel would have snickered if he wasn’t just regaining his breathing.

“Don’t touch Kitsune’s back when she’s sleeping,” he slurred as his brain was reoxygenated. “She has a hair trigger defense response.”

“Why were you even near her? We agreed you stay on our side of the Irori unless hypothermia was an immediate threat,” the shitty shark gave the prince a familiar disappointed look while shaking his head.

“Kitsune kicked off her blankets,” Bel whined in his defense. “The prince was just making sure they wouldn’t catch fire and that she stayed warm.”

Bel could tell the swordsman was not convinced, so he moved to address the girl in question. He needed a change in tactics if he wanted to avoid a lecture. Luckily, he had just the solution.

“Though, the prince wonders where you got those scars from.”

“Scars?” Squalo perked up and turned to Kitsune curiously.

She of course crossed her arms defiantly and once again stuck her nose up at them.

“The prince couldn’t see them clearly,” Bel frowned fighting down the hint of sudden guilt for tossing her under the bus, “but he felt a few scars on the right side of her back. They don’t feel like scars you get in an accident.”

Or, at least, they hadn’t looked like it.

“You won’t let this go, will you?” Squalo sighed like he wasn’t just as curious. “Well girly? Unless you want him bugging you from now, until whenever he must go on another job, you might want to spill. What scars are we even talking about?”

For a long moment Kitsune glared at nothing, clearly weighing her options. Not that either Bel or Squalo would try to force her to explain if she didn’t want to. Scars, no matter how small, were serious things, even in the Varia.

Maybe even more serious in the Varia than other places.

Finally, she turned back to them with a bone chilling glare.

“If I tell you, you won’t tell Tsuna, got it?”

Bel didn’t need to be told twice, so he straightened and nodded seriously. For Kitsune to drop her childish act it had to be serious. People could say what they will about their current relationship, but Belphegor gave her the respect she earned from him.

Bel would sooner slit Sawada’s throat than divulge this new information on Haru Miura.

Bel felt the world stop as she turned around and lifted her shirt. Carved rather deeply down the right side of her spine was a sweeping wing with intricately delicate feathers. If it wasn’t for how the shadows interacted with the lines, the prince would have thought it was a well done back tattoo.

“Fuck,” Squalo gasped next to him before striding forward.

Bel watched in a daze as the swordsman inspected the damage.

“Where did you get these?” Squalo growled loudly echoing Bel’s distant rage. “Fuck! How did you get them?”

Nothing in her character or background even hinted at such trauma. She still retained full range of motion despite how deep some of those lines appeared. So, either she was seen by a really good reconstruction surgeon or Flames were involved.

“Like Haru said,” – she turned and covered her back while crossing her arms – “Haru got into some trouble with a storm a while back.”

Well fuck, Bel’s stomach dropped, and his blood boiled.

“Kitsune,” he managed past his clenched teeth as his hands fisted.

The bastard better be dead. No, Bel would rather him be alive. He should know not to damage something that could never be his.

“He’s dead already, Belphegor-san,” – she rolled her eyes – “I got angry enough to tear his throat out with my bare hands.”

Bel fought not to rub his still sore throat.

“After I got free of where they were keeping me,” she continued flippantly, “I went to the nearest police car I could find. Long story short, it was ruled self-defense, and I was the confused innocent victim who had no idea what was going on. Outside of being ordered by the court to see a therapist to deal with the trauma, Haru got off Scott-free.”

The cute girl act returned seamlessly. But Squalo wasn’t appeased and almost pinned her down to examine her scars. Bel couldn’t even begin to untangle the emotions he was feeling.

“Just how many times did he cut you when you refused to answer his questions?” Squalo demanded as he probed her back.

“Uh,” – Kitsune looked over her shoulder – “each line was a question Haru didn’t answer.”

“There has to be at least a thousand cuts!” Squalo stepped back and looked ready to draw his weapon in frustration. Not that Bel blamed him. “Just how long were you being held captive?”

“Four days,” she dismissed with a shrug.

A shrug. Like she hadn’t been tortured. Bel had very strong confident minions that would have broken and killed themselves.

And that didn’t even touch on what else could have occurred during that time besides the scars on her back.

“You,” Squalo sucked in a shaky breath, “were missing for FOUR fucking days? Did Sawada and his group know?”

“No?” she asked with a blink and a head tilt.

Bel really wanted to kill that spineless bastard.

“The only ones that knew about them,” she continued pleasantly, “are Yamamoto and Kyo-Kyo. Yamamoto-kun found out about them a few days after the fact. When he came back from baseball camp. While Kyo-Kyo found out about them after we began sparing a few months back.”

Because of course those two would know. Bel would bet Chrome also might be somewhat aware. Someone would have to have helped Kitsune cover them up.

“How the fuck do you go missing for four fucking days and no one notices? No offense, but you’re a little hard to forget,” Squalo said deceptively calm. Bel felt that on a spiritual level because Kitsune deserved better.

“Tsuna-kun was just starting to go out with Kyoko-chan then. Ryohei-nii was busy with a big national boxing tournament. And Bakadera just doesn’t care if Haru doesn’t show up for a few days. The only time they really start to worry is if the children start asking after Haru, desu.”

Bel felt his eyebrow twitch. It truly was a pity they couldn’t dispose of that worthless trash. From the despaired mutterings the shitty shark was spewing, Squalo agreed with Bel’s disappointment.

The prince wanted to give her a hug. Then maybe wrap her in bubble wrap while slaughtering all those that wronged here, both in the past and present. It was honestly a new emotion for him.

And he didn’t hate it, which was another first.

This fucking fox was going to be the death of him.

Bel wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

“- also took up some self-defense, so the chances of there being a next time is marginally smaller,” Kitsune bullshitted while patting Squalo’s slumped shoulder. Bel could attest that she did more than take up some self-defense.

But speaking of next time…

“Scars from Storm Flames don’t fade, Kitsune,” he had to point out. “The flesh is disintegrated, which makes it hard for the skin to repair itself.”

The little chit had the audacity to snort at him.

“Haru knows, desu. That’s why she wears shirts that cover her back or body paint that helps hide them if she is in a situation shirts aren’t ideal.”

So, what did she do at the hot spring then?

“Please tell me you didn’t have those scars in the future that will never be,” Squalo begged a bit desperately.

Bel blinked because that was a much better point than speculating about Kitsune naked. Not that he wanted to really think about that. He was just a little curious about the mechanics of her ability to cover up something so obvious.

She beamed happily. “By the time she got her scars in this timeline she had been going to school with Tsuna-san and the rest. Tsuna-san practically ordered Bakadera to walk her home after school so there was never an opportunity for the Vongola’s enemies to try and abduct her.”

The fuck?

“I won’t say that’s good, but it’s something,” Squalo said with a sigh.

Which, no, it wasn’t good. She was practically lying to their faces because there was no way a gal like her would dumb herself down to be on Sawada’s level. If she thought the prince would fall for that utter bullshit, she had another thing fucking coming.

They had her middle school test scores from an elite all female school. There was no way that idiot would be able to match her level of academics. So, unless she applied to a school far below her intelligence, she shouldn’t have gone to school with Tsuna and the rest.

Bel was appalled.

“Anyway,” Squalo continued, “since we’re all up, perhaps we should head back to the resort.”

There was a pause and Bel really wanted to give voice to his utter offense she thought she could get away with such a lie. But in the end, Bel swallowed his disbelief for now since they had already probably pushed the girl a bit too far. They needed her to cooperate if they wanted to get anywhere with learning her secrets.

Still the cleanup went smoothly, and it was clear the girl had some training in erasing the traces of her being somewhere. Though she let them do most of the work as she carefully tucked things back to where she found them. As soon as they were suited back up, Squalo opened the door to head out.

Only for them to find the snow was now up to Haru’s chest, which was amusing. Bel snickered as he used his Flames to cut them a trail out of the cabin. Haru followed behind Squalo with her arms crossed and grumbling about how nature was so unfair.

They made it back to the resort by mid-morning, though a quick check was enough to confirm the others hadn’t made it back yet. Bel and Squalo dragged her to the restaurant for brunch, which was rather pleasant given the circumstances. Then she showed them the large map depicting the summer trails that was indeed tucked away in a corner of the main lobby.

Bel, however, was still trying to process everything they learned about the girl. Squalo didn’t seem much better as they sat near the outside bar keeping an eye on her snowboarding. She stuck to the half-pipe set up not far from the resort because Squalo refused to let her out of their sight.

“You’ve been awfully quiet,” Squalo said at a surprisingly civil level while sipping a martini.

“You know she was lying when she said that she went to school with the idiot, right?” Bel had to ask because it had been bugging him.

“I know,” Squalo sighed shaking his head. “I don’t think she was lying about the incident specifically, but I don’t know what she was doing during that time. We’d have to ask Levi, or maybe Reborn, that’s if they remember anything from those memories we got.”

“Good,” Bel grumbled, still a bit pissed about it.

“Let it go, brat,” Squalo chuckled. “I know you didn’t lay a finger on her. So, in this instance you both lied.”

Bel scowled but hunched a bit at being caught. Figures his Rain could tell when he wasn’t being completely truthful. Sometimes Bel hated that the man across from him practically raised him.

“Though I am surprised you didn’t stab her,” Squalo added on with a raised eyebrow.

“She won’t speak to me if I hurt her,” Bel defended simply. “I do listen to your shitty lectures, you know. If only so I know when I can finally leave when you’re done mouthing off.”

Squalo chuckled at that. “Don’t worry, I’ll corner Takeshi when he gets back. If anyone of them knows anything about Haru, it will be him from the sounds of it. Though I do wonder when she and Kyoya got close.”

“Hard to say, probably recently. Though they get along surprisingly well. Do you think she might have Cloud tendencies?”

“Maybe,” Squalo said looking over to see Haru expertly backflipping while a crowd applauded. “She was a Lightning in that other timeline. But from what I remember she was given a box weapon to bring out her Flames. Given the trauma she’s already suffered, I’m leaning more towards her already being Flame Active to some extent.”

“But she got through the security at that convention,” Bel pointed out with a frown.

“And she got past the security around our usual hotel room,” Squalo countered easily. “Someone trained her in more than her ‘taking up some self-defense’ and they trained her well.”

“Not Reborn, or anyone in the Vongola, though.”

“Think she got them off the Black Market? She’s got the knowledge and skills to find someone of use. Plus, she’s pulling in her own income, enough to own a house in a relatively well-off neighborhood. I wonder what her father thinks of it.”

“You think she’s not living with him?” Bel asked surprised.

“She’s never mentioned him whenever we’re around. From what I learned chatting with Kyoko, she’s mentioned running her own household in the past. Mostly complaining about the work that goes into taxes and such. So perhaps her father was relocated and she stayed in Namimori.”

Bel hummed thoughtfully before something caught his eye. He smirked and nudged Squalo to focus on the direction of the trail leading to the hot spring. Marching towards the resort looking utterly exhausted was the rest of the group, Xanxus leading the charge with a lazy uninterested gait.

“Looks like Luss is going to be able to examine your neck sooner rather than later,” Squalo huffed in amusement when Tsuna practically collapsed face-first into the snow.

Bel snickered even as Haru slid from the half-pipe and hurtled toward the group. She expertly kicked off her snowboard while still in motion and launched herself into the arms of Yamamoto and Hibari with a squeal of delight. Neither boy so much as flinched as Hibari also took a second to stop the board from sailing past them into the crowd.

The rest of the stay at the resort was less interesting. Squalo did go speak with Yamamoto, but the boy was rather tightlipped when it came to Haru. The loyalty between that trio ran deep and Bel was impressed despite his irritation of not finding out more about Kitsune.

A quick check-up from Luss also declared Bel’s throat just bruised and a bit of Sun Flames got rid of the injury without incident.

Still Bel spent a long time in his room going over what he learned. He carefully sharpened his throwing knives as he let the memory of her scars play out. On one hand, he really would have liked to tear apart the bastard that did it slowly and as painfully as possible. On the other hand, he was rather impressed she had managed to save herself.

She had impressed him already when they fought in her front yard. Even when she used his own knives against him and outran him at St. Patrick’s Day. But learning she survived four days of what had to be nothing short of torture and still not giving up any information on the Vongola?

Bel closed his eyes with a sigh. Running a hand through his hair he paused as his fingers brushed against the replica of the crown he wore. He was surprised she hadn’t tried to swipe it since they first came to the resort.

Then again, she only actually stole it once. And that was only because she had been dared to steal it. The other times it fell into her hands, it was because something came up that left her with it.

Smirking, Bel decided that she earned it this time.

So, on the day they were set to leave, Bel got up early to make sure his things were packed away. While she was still down at breakfast helping Sawada’s gal, Bel took his things to the waiting car. Then he went back up to wait for her next to her assigned room.

He saw her wide eyes as she found him there. Her steps stumbled a bit as if she was surprised to see him. Which made him smirk as he approached her while taking off his crown.

He could admit she was rather cute as she blinked up at him when he gently set the crown on her head.

“That plebian fool doesn’t know how truly fortunate he is to have your loyalty, Kitsune.”

He then shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket and left. He didn’t want to cause a scene, and he really didn’t need to be around if the others saw that. He was well aware of the shit storm that could have happened if that had been his real crown as well.

Speaking of, as he made it down to the waiting car, Bel decided that next time he really should ask her where his true crown was. The replicas were fine and all, but if his family found out he lost a crown jewel of the kingdom. Well, he would be in far more trouble than he already was in his kingdom.

He shuddered as he decided maybe it was high time to double-check just who was alive in the royal family. He knew his brother was likely out there still, if that future had been even an iota correct. He really didn’t want to be blindsided if he found out someone else in his family survived without his knowledge.

Something else for him to look into then, he decided. Right alongside, what mysteries Kitsune was keeping. Because the more he looked into her, the more intriguing she became.

He couldn’t wait to find out.

Though he did feel his eyebrow twitch later when Mammy announced that they slipped Kitsune the brandy Xanxus ordered for another crown collected. Bel eyed his Sky and wondered what game the man was playing now. Xanxus just grinned and saluted him with a glass of whiskey.