Chapter Text
The Varia headquarters had never been a cheerful place.
Now it was actively miserable.
Squalo’s jaw clenched hard enough that the muscles in his face ached. "VOOOOIIII!" He slammed both hands onto the conference table hard enough to crack the wood. "This is bullshit."
Nobody disagreed.
Belphegor was upside down on a couch, flicking knives at the ceiling.
Levi was sulking.
Lussuria was pretending to read paperwork.
Mammon was counting money.
The briefing room fell silent after Squalo’s sudden outburst.
Not a single one of them looked surprised by the sudden noise.
The atmosphere somehow got worse every time someone remembered and mentioned that Xanxus had technically been freed from the ice weeks ago. Not only had he been freed, he was alive and still completely inaccessible.
The Ninth's people had him locked away in medical facilities inside the Fort, citing recovery, instability, evaluations, security concerns, psychological assessment, and about fifty other excuses that all translated into one thing:
The Varia wasn't allowed to see him.
Not once.
Not even Squalo was allowed in despite attempting to use his credentials as the head of Varia, then as a bonded guardian, before he just tried to break in.
Levi slammed both palms onto the table. "So that's it? They thaw him out after eight years in preparation to drag him out for some fucking circus match, and yet they don't even have the decency of letting his own guardians see him?"
Belphegor lounged in his chair with his feet propped up against the table, but the lazy grin he wore was sharper than usual. "Shishishi. Sounds exactly like something the old geezers afraid of their grand plan falling apart would do."
Lussuria sighed dramatically with a flip of his hair, though there was little humor behind it. "This isn't standard protocol for Skies after severe trauma - he needs his bonded Guardians near him. But nothing is standard about this situation, isn't it?" The question was rhetorical. Lussuria continued. "I'm sure he’ll wake up soon enough and be in good enough condition to at least be able to give the appearance of being in fighting condition for the Ninth to be able to follow through with his plans. They wouldn't have had the confidence to announce Xanxus' return otherwise. No, what concerns me is that nobody has released a medical report."
"Because there isn't one," Squalo snapped.
The room turned toward him. He planted both hands on the table, stood up, and started pacing around as he said the same things again for the hundredth time that week.
"They've announced Xanxus's return. They made sure every family in Italy hears about it. They arrange a Ring Battle against the CEDEF brat." His lip curled. "Then they lock him in a hospital ward where nobody can verify his condition."
Levi's face darkened. "They're setting him up."
Thank you Mister Captain Obvious. Squalo wished the Lightning didn't bother speaking; he never did contribute any insights.
"At this point," Mammon said, not looking up from the stack of bills, "it’s not even confirmed Boss is actually conscious. A couple Mists specializing in puppetry have been spotted around the Fort.”
Everyone looked toward Mammon.
"Wouldn't you like to know more? It’ll cost you more money, shark."
Squalo looked moments away from homicide.
Lussuria sighed. "Boss being alive doesn't solve the bigger problem anyway."
Silence fell.
Because unfortunately although the Guardians were upset at being separated from their Sky and Harmony for so long, the bigger issue - and offense - was farce playing out before them.
The Ring Battle was but a week away. What little was known was already more than outrageous: it was no more than a carefully arranged spectacle intended to install the Ninth's chosen candidate as the next Vongola Sky.
The Ninth had spent eight years ensuring the Varia remained useful but contained in Xanxus’ absence. The assassination squad had continued operating because they were too valuable to dismantle, but every major decision had been monitored, controlled, and now there was another heir that magically and conveniently sprung up in the middle of nowhere of Japan - specifically a foreign civilian. Any politically minded mafioso worth their salt could read between the lines and see the words “puppet heir easily molded and controlled” practically branded on this so-called candidate.
Despite Vongola’s attempts to control the messaging, rumors about Sawada Tsunayoshi had leaked through the underworld like wildfire over the past few months: a weak Japanese schoolboy with low grades and untrained background. Yet somehow every gossip about this potential heir ended with the same phrase “Primo reborn”.
Squalo had dismissed the PR spin at first. Then more reports came in. And more reports continued pouring in like a floodgate. The stories about impossible intuition and allies gathering around this Japanese civilian continued spreading.
The old men losing influence and power were desperate to believe it and desperate enough to build and encourage the narrative. It wasn’t because they truly supported Sawada Tsunayoshi of course, but rather they were hoping for the chance to claim early alliances with the new heir and win more favors, particularly those who already lost favor with Xanxus before. Other dons were getting used to the idea of a civilian heir and were plotting out how to manipulate him. Either way people landed, they were all normalizing the idea of Sawada Tsunayoshi becoming the next face of Vongola. And they were all starting to plan out for and expect such a future which, in turn, meant that the voices supporting Sawada Tsunayoshi were growing far louder than expected.
The realization made Squalo’s stomach twist.
If the Ring Battle truly mattered, if the Ninth genuinely intended to determine succession through combat, then Xanxus would already be surrounded by doctors, trainers, and strategists. The Varia would be preparing. Instead, they had been shut out with no visitation, no communication, and more than usual busywork in the name of strengthening Vongola power. It was absolute silence from the Fort. They didn’t even learn of Xanxus being unfrozen until the public was made aware that Xanxus would be competing in the Ring Battle in a week.
Every single rule had been engineered to ensure Xanxus would lose.
Xanxus couldn't win.
Xanxus wasn't even being allowed to participate properly. Their leader was under guard, half the independent observers had been handpicked.
And the Varia was missing a guardian - the Cloud guardian, the most important wildcard position.
The empty chair at the table seemed to mock them.
"They don't care whether Boss wins," Levi muttered, petulant.
"No." Squalo's voice came out flat. "They care whether the brat looks impressive."
Levi folded his arms.
"We could just fight without one."
"We'd automatically lose the Cloud Battle, idiot," Bel said.
"Then we'll kill them."
"Still counts as losing."
"Then kill the judges."
"Still losing."
Levi looked offended.
Squalo rubbed his face.
Everybody understood the implications. If Xanxus emerged weak from years in ice, nobody would question it. If he struggled, nobody would question it. If he lost— The image alone made Squalo's hands curl into fists. The assembled dons would see a fallen contender, a relic of the old generation. Meanwhile the young heir would defeat the infamous Xanxus and gain legitimacy overnight. It would be the perfect story and the perfect political victory.
And the perfect insult to their Sky.
Belphegor's grin disappeared completely. "...They're using him."
"Yeah."
For several moments nobody spoke.
The Varia were not sentimental people. They were prideful people. Every person in this room had chosen Xanxus long before they chose the Varia and that loyalty was the one thing the Ninth had never understood.
Squalo straightened.
"We need eyes inside the medical wing."
Levi immediately nodded like a chicken pecking for food.
"We've already tried," Lussuria said. "Every nurse, every orderly, every doctor assigned to him was selected personally by headquarters."
Belphegor tilted his head. "What about kidnapping one?"
Squalo rubbed his temples.
Normally, he would have approved. Normally. But headquarters was clearly expecting the Varia to react. Any move against the medical staff would only justify tighter security and more punitive measures.
"Not yet."
Levi growled. "So we just sit here?"
"No."
Squalo stared toward the rain-streaked windows. Somewhere within the fortress walls, Xanxus was awake. Or maybe unconscious. Or maybe barely recovering from procedures nobody had bothered explaining. The uncertainty was driving him insane.
For eight years he'd imagined Xanxus’s return and the day that the Varia was reunited.
Instead, he was standing outside a locked door while politicians decided what role Xanxus would play in their little succession drama. Xanxus was casted as nothing more than a disposable villain, an obstacle for the golden heir to overcome.
The thought alone made Squalo's blood boil.
"They want a show," he said quietly. The others looked at him. His eyes narrowed. "Fine."
The headache had started three days ago and hadn't left.
Because there was, technically, one solution.
A terrible solution.
The worst possible solution.
He wasn’t even sure if it could be called a solution.
It was a solution that filled him with dread.
A pregnant pause filled the air.
Squalo's mouth pulled into a vicious grin that could pass off as a grimace. "If they're stupid enough to put Xanxus in that arena, then we'll make damn sure they remember exactly why everyone in Italy was terrified of him in the first place."
"..."
Everyone slowly looked at him.
Levi barked out a laugh.
"No." Bel immediately sat up.
Lussuria gasped dramatically. "Oh?"
"No. The Prince forbids it."
"Oh?"
"The prince commands you to shut up."
Lussuria ignored the storm and gasped again, fanning his face theoretically with his hand. "You don't mean—"
"I do." Squalo stared at the wall.
Mammon looked up, then immediately put the money away. "Oh no."
"Exactly."
Levi blinked.
"What?"
Squalo looked like a man contemplating self-destruction.
"The Korean."
Levi blinked again.
"What Korean?"
"The one Boss was courting."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Then Levi started laughing. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA—"
Squalo pointed a sword at him.
"STOP."
The Lightning laughed harder. “That’s your grand plan? We’re all depending on a civilian goodie two shoes?”
Lussuria covered his face.
Mammon quietly floated further away from the expected blast radius.
Everyone in the room knew exactly which Korean Squalo meant.
The problem was that nobody understood it.
Not even a little.
Just a couple months after defeating the head of Varia, Tyr, Xanxus had somehow become interested in a civilian. More specifically, a police detective. Worse yet, this detective was a completely normal civilian: no flames, no mafia affiliations, no underworld connections, and much too law abiding and boring.
He was just a Korean police detective who happened to be very competent at solving murder cases and pining down the perpetrator. The underworld didn’t bother with Korea anymore if they could help it; assassinations and other bloody missions would be routed to take place in China and other nearby Asian countries instead of getting involved with Korean authorities that the police would point in their direction.
The official reports described him as calm, highly intelligent, unreasonably competent, and great with children. On paper he sounded like a sky even with his intuition and impossible yet correct leaps of logic.
His presence on a mission was enough to dismantle criminal organizations alone.
Somehow this man accumulated influence throughout South Korea so quickly despite being completely unaffiliated with any known power structure. He was unofficial head of Korea’s security and legal departments, cracking down on criminal cases and keeping international crime out of his domain, South Korea. Mafia, Triad, and Yakuza avoided layovers in Incheon because it wasn’t worth the risk of drawing his attention.
And most importantly, and frighteningly—
He had absolutely no fear of Xanxus.
Spotting the first written report of Xanxus’ encounter with the detective on Squalo’s secret shelf under his gun safe was still enough to give the Rain Guardian an aneurysm every time. He still wasn’t sure why he kept a copy there, but he didn’t toss it out either.
At the time, the man still hadn’t climbed up to become the central authority figure of Korea’s law and order but he was already a star with immense influence, no matter his lowly title of police detective. For reasons Squalo couldn’t remember anymore - something something private jet emergency landing due to some stupid maintenance screw up or maybe it was weather related since it had been winter - he and Xanxus were forced to stay in Seoul overnight waiting for the jet to be ready for flight again. A Korean police standing at the corner between the street stalls had noticed the two walking through the Myeongdong street food and came over, clearing wanting to talk to them for something. An ugly blue vest labeled him as police.
Naturally Xanxus threatened him. In English specifically since Korean wasn’t Xanxus’ interest.
The police’s English was crisp and smooth with an American accent and he had calmly asked whether Xanxus had eaten recently and whether he was wearing enough for the cold night.
Xanxus threatened him again.
The Korean male asked if he was sleeping enough.
Xanxus threatened him yet for a third time.
Undeterred, the Korean police asked if his grades were acceptable. At this point Squalo wasn’t pleased with his Sky to be picking a fight - albeit a small one - with the local police, so he backed away and pretended to not be traveling together with Xanxus by busying himself with an order of Tteokbokki. When the policeman finally left Xanxus alone, Squalo returned to Xanxus’ side and found that the police had somehow convinced Xanxus to take the detective’s jacket because it was cold outside.
Squalo would had expected Xanxus to shoot the police instead of what Xanxus ended up doing next. Xanxus wore the black puffer coat over his chains and ripped jeans for the rest of the stroll through the night market before they returned to their hotel.
And then they ran into the police again in the morning at the entrance of the hotel where a private driver was ready to send the two to the private airstrip where their jet was ready to return the flight to Italy.
And again somehow at said private airstrip.
(Turns out there was an ongoing smuggling case related to some hotel guests 2 floors below where Xanxus and Squalo had been staying at.)
Squalo wasn’t sure how those three short encounters were enough to spark Xanxus’ interest, but his shitty Sky kept seeking out the Korean policeman after that.
Repeatedly.
The police - well, a detective actually as Squalo found out when Xanxus demanded to see a report on the Korean man - remained completely oblivious as to Xanxus’s real identity. As far as anyone could tell, he genuinely believed Xanxus was some delinquent teenager with severe anger issues.
And a crush.
A very obvious crush.
Because this man had no knowledge or awareness of Flames or the Flame traditions at all to understand that Xanxus was trying to Court a Guardian.
Squalo had attempted to share the misery with Xanxus’ other guardian at the time. "He called Boss a good kid."
"He what?" Lussaria was shocked.
"He said Boss was a good kid."
The silence between the two became sacred. Any guardian worth their salt bonded to Xanxus would know there was exactly one thing guaranteed to trigger Xanxus: the Ninth.
More specifically, the Ninth as an authority figure and parent.
Anything remotely connected to that category from parental approval and disapproval to chiding scolding that implied Xanxus’ youthful age was enough to set Xanxus off.
And somehow this civilian detective had accidentally become all of them simultaneously.
Xanxus should have murdered him.
Instead he'd stared at the Korean detective for ten seconds and then spent the next few months between missions to visit Korea.
Nobody in Varia watching on understood it, least of all Squalo, the senior guardian who should have understood his Sky the best.
"He keeps treating Boss like he's ten."
"He was a chibi when they first met."
"That doesn't make it better."
"No."
"No, it does not."
Squalo groaned. Then he groaned louder and pressed his forehead against the wall.
Unfortunately, the detective seemed to be their best option for the Ring Battle.
"He claimed Korea as his Territory." He said in reply to Levi’s disdainful remark.
No one had been aware, despite Xanxus’ repeated visits to Korea, what the Korean detective’s attribute was. It wasn’t clear until Xanxus had accumulated all his Guardian except for the Cloud position and after the Cradle Incident when Squalo, perhaps in a melancholic mood, decided to send Belphegor into Korea to investigate how the latent Cloud was doing. Goodie two shoe or not, Xanxus’s instincts were proven frighteningly accurate and he had chose a powerful civilian law enforcement agent before anyone else in the underworld recognized the hidden monster underneath.
The detective had become so influential, so respected, and so impossible to remove that entire criminal organizations actively avoided provoking him.
The underworld recognized his Territory. The detective called it doing his job. The distinction wasn't important. Clouds naturally claimed territory and South Korea had effectively become his even without him understanding flames.
The instincts were already there.
He was a monster hiding inside a civilian's life.
It was exactly the sort of thing that would amuse Xanxus and attract his interest. Xanxus had never been a politician and never been a talking head. He was a force of nature wrapped in human skin and all his guardians were the same.
Belphegor's grin still didn’t return but Lussuria smiled.
"So we're really doing this?"
"We don't have a choice."
"We’re calling Boss's crush to come save the day, yeah?"
"Don’t remind me."
"The detective who thinks Boss is a misguided delinquent?"
"Shut up."
"The one who gives him life advice on how to get into a good local college and get a good paying corporate job?"
"SHUT UP."
Lussuria sighed.
"You know he's going to ask questions."
"Yeah."
"Lots of questions."
"Yeah."
"And then he's going to discover we're the mafia."
"Yeah."
“And then he’s going to try to reform us and set us on the lawful path.”
Squalo slowly lowered his head into his hands.
"Yeah."
Nobody spoke for a moment. They all knew that that conversation was going to be awful.
That was perhaps the most concerning part.
The detective wasn't dangerous in a normal way.
He wasn't threatening. He wasn't violent. He wasn't intimidating.
He simply looked at people and somehow knew things.
For an antisocial Cloud who fit all the Cloudy traits, no one expected him to be uniquely qualified to emotionally devastate everyone in the Varia, particularly Xanxus.
And especially Bel.
Bel stretched lazily. "At least it'll be entertaining."
"No."
"Very entertaining."
"You can enjoy it along with a side of cram lessons.” Belphegor’s mission into South Korea to investigate the detective resulted in Belphegor being signed up for and escorted to cram lessons for a week before Belphegor made a getaway out of the country san his precious knives. Because of course the detective would also lecture and confiscate knives that were too dangerous for “a child”.
Levi didn’t let up the chance to ever let Bel live it down. The fact that Varia was able to confirm that the detective could set up purple flames on command wasn't solace to the stormy teenager.
A knife narrowly missed Levi’s face.
The prince cackled in upset. “This prince commands you to stay in place!” He threw another knife.
Mammon disappeared among the commotion and Luss pulled out a mirror to check his hair.
Squalo ignored the chaos and made up his mind. It was the worst plan in history, but it was the best plan they had.
They were going to recruit the civilian detective who controlled Korea and enforced law and order, teach him mafia politics, teach him what a Cloud Guardian was and how to fight with said Cloud flames, somehow prepare him to participate in a deadly succession battle in a week.
Simple.
Easy.
Completely impossible.
Squalo already wanted to die.
"VOOOOIIII!"
If there was even a fraction of that monster left after eight years on ice, then the people arranging this little spectacle were going to discover they had made a catastrophic mistake regarding Xanxus. Squalo was going to ensure it.
Hopefully.
-o-o-o-o-
Somewhere far away, Sung Jinwoo was finishing paperwork while he waited for Beru to finish cooking dinner, unaware that he was about to have more drama than ever enter his life thanks to a teenager he barely recalled if not for how persistent the boy had been about delivery food and plants in an ill advise teenage crush for over a year.