Chapter 28: Requiem for a Tuesday

"Forgive them, even if they are not sorry."

-Julian Casabiancas (11th Dimension)

"Again?" Chrome asked, immediately drawing her trident and assembling it as the two girls neared their door. Nikita sighed, and gently waved Chrome off, but looked over at her with brimming pride.

"Good instincts, but there's no need to worry," Nikita assured her with a soft smile, patting her shoulder before opening the door (thinking of the past weeks and Chrome's improvement, along with Hana, Kyoko, and Haru who had improved greatly with basic defense under Nikita's strict tutelage), "But he's just being polite, which for him? That's actually a lot."

"Him?" Chrome asked, following Nikita in, only to stop cold, finding Belphegor slung across their couch causally and playing on his phone.

"Yo," he greeted simply, barely looking over at the girls.

"Call much?" Nikita asked, but smiled none the less, glad to see her close friend after so long.

"You know I love to surprise you, princess," he said with a grin, immediately slinging an arm around her as she joined him on the couch. She blinked, then looked back at Chrome, who was displaying a slightly awkward expression. Immediately, Nikita leaned forward, moving Bel's arm from her shoulder (which earned a frown from him) and went to introduce them.

"Chrome, you haven't really met Bel yet, yeah?" she asked, then rectified, "Well, like met met, I mean."

"We've met, technically," Chrome said, her look almost souring, "When he held me hostage during the ring battles."

"Oh yeah, that was you, wasn't it?" Bel muttered, placing his hand on his chin in vague thought. Nikita sent a harsh look to him, and lightly nudged him with her knee. He scoffed once, before forcing out, "Fine. Sorry about that, or whatever. Feel honored that the prince is apologizing."

"Right," Nikita said, slightly surprised that he relented so quickly, but knowing that this really was all they were going to get from him, "Anyway, now for proper introductions." She gestured at Bel once more, then nodded to Chrome. Another sigh, and he stood, rather gracefully.

"Belphegor, Prince the Ripper," he said with a grin, "but you're well aware of that."

"Chrome," the other girl stepped forward, bowing softly, "Dokuro. It's nice to meet you," she said politely, but one could tell it was slightly forced.

"To be fair, I did warn you that he would probably pop up," Nikita told her roommate in an apologetic tone, "I just forgot about your first impression with him."

"It's fine, Nikita, really," Chrome said, genuine and with a small blush, "I mean, we're all Vongola, right? Well," she amended, glancing to the side, "technically, you're Cavallone."

"True, but I'm basically part of the family," Nikita said, softening and sporting a grin herself, happy that Chrome was so accepting, "So we can put this behind us, yeah? And you," she said, turning accusing eyes towards Bel, "can play nice?"

"When am I not, princess?" he asked cheekily, falling back on the couch once more. Nikita sighed, quickly deciding it was futile to quip back and rising instead, unbuttoning her shirt to reveal a sports bra, and moving towards her room as she removed it.

"Whatever, I'm going to get ready for my spar with Hibari, and I guess," she said, slinging her shirt across her shoulder and looking back at Belphegor in question, "You can come? In fact, yeah, you should, because he might be excited that he gets to fight someone else. So yeah, as soon as I'm ready, I'm going to drag you with me. And you have work, right Chrome?" she asked, turning to her roommate.

Chrome blinked, her face slightly red; she tore her eyes away from Nikita's back muscles and met the other girl's eyes.

"Y-yeah!" she said a little too quickly, feeling Belphegor's attention on her along with a sudden sense of dread.

Nikita barely blushed as well, meeting Chrome's eyes, but forced a smile as well, quickly retreating into her room and shutting the door softly behind her. Leaving Chrome and Belphegor alone.

Chrome's eyes shifted to the other teen, but instead of a haughty smirk like she had expected, she was surprised to see a frown on his usual grinning face.

"This may be problematic," he muttered, but then grinned (eerily), sending a shiver down her spine, "but it's nothing that a prince can't overcome."

Chrome opened her mouth, nervous at first, but a sudden resolve overtook her. She recalled Belphegor holding her hostage, the pain in her wrists as she was suspended, his jeering taunts to her teammates.

(okay fine, Chrome could be a little petty and hold a grudge. But if anything, Mukuro was to blame for this)

Her expression fell flat, almost expressionless, and she felt like she was looking in Belphegor's eyes.

"Fine," she said coldly (thinking of how much she has grown, thinking of her training, both with and before Nikita), "I can play this game too."

(Chrome was many things, but petty and spiteful were attributes that did not surface often)

(but didn't Belphegor have a knack in bringing out the worst in people?)

"Why did I think this was a good idea- fucking shit!" Nikita let out a hiss, and Chrome gave her a stern look. Only after Nikita had quelled, did Chrome continue to disinfect the wound on her cheek before patching it up.

"Really princess, what did you expect?" Belphegor said, fully healed and laying casually on the couch once more, barely tilting his head to look over at the girls at the kitchen table.

"For it not to turn into a serious battle with flames and boxes and everything?" Nikita snapped at him, only for Chrome to gently turn Nikita's head back towards her.

"Even so," Chrome lightly berated, "You shouldn't have put yourself in between Kyoya and Belphegor to stop them, and you didn't need to heal both of them afterwards."

"I told you Chrome, my flames are fine," Nikita said, gently taking Chrome's hand from her face, "You don't need to worry so much."

"But Nikita, you really do go too far sometimes," Chrome said back, holding Nikita's hand softly, "I just can't not worry about you with the track record you have."

Bel nearly bristled, seeing the look Chrome gave him before turning softer eyes to Nikita.

"You don't always have to mother over me," Nikita said, giving one last squeeze before dropping Chrome's hand.

"I'm not your mother, I'm your friend, your best friend," Chrome said, putting emphasis on best. She turned to the supplies scattered across the table and began putting them back into their original container. She continued, "And that means that I'm allowed to worry and berate you for doing stupid things."

"I don't know, princess," Bel said (his eye barely twitching from under his bangs, but neither of the girls noticed this, of course), rising from the couch and immediately going to drape his arms around Nikita, "I think stupidity is a good look for you."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment," Nikita said blankly, turning her head to look back over at him. Briefly, she looked between the two with suspicious eyes. Then with a sigh, she rose, announcing that she was going to change into comfier clothes before exiting the room. Leaving Chrome and Belphegor in the room alone once more.

"The fuck are you playing?" Bel said, spinning silver slickly between his fingers. Chrome took his obvious threat with ease, simply looking up at him, and rising to put the first aid kit back in it's proper place.

"The same game you are," she replied smoothly, "in an attempt to let you know how ridiculous your possessiveness over Nikita is. You're not her only close acquaintance, you know?" she told him coolly, "And I'm simply hoping to make you painfully aware of that."

"By flirting and making her blush?" Bel called out, causing a brief sputter of red to race across Chrome's face momentarily. He continued, his voice cutting, "You know she's like that with any girl, right? You're not special."

"I'm not flirting, I'm being a good friend," Chrome muttered back quickly, before recovering, "And you could stand to be a better one. You could have fought by her side instead of against her!"

"Please," Bel spat, lifting himself to sit up on the table, "She finds fighting and challenges fun. Do you really know her at all?"

Chrome quieted, biting her bottom lip.

"What did you do?" Nikita accused, walking entering the room in far more casual attire and immediately looking at Bel after noticing the tense atmosphere.

"We should start the movie," Chrome said instead, moving forward and avoiding Nikita's eye, "Before it gets too late. We have school tomorrow, after all."

Later that night, while watching a horror movie, Nikita wondered if she should do anything about the obvious tension in the air between the two. She looked to Bel, with his head resting in her lap, and then to Chrome, her head leaning on her shoulder, and almost opened her mouth.

But she relented, deciding to only step in if the two start openly and physically fighting.

She couldn't have her two best friends trying to actually kill each other after all.

It wasn't love at first sight. Not really. Although, Enma would admit, that he thought she was pretty when he first met her. But that wasn't love. No, that was just acknowledging her appearance. It was something he did to others as well. He considered Adel, a mother figure to him in many ways, to be beautiful, with her model-like appearance. He often thought that Chrome Dokuro, the girl he already knew, standing beside the girl he didn't-until-recently-have a crush on, was cute.

She's pretty, is what he thought when he first saw her. But that was not yet love. Not until the incident, that is. It wasn't until then, that he started developing feelings for Nikita Cavallone.

"Are you okay?" she had said, turning towards him with intense, bright, clear green eyes, worried. Worried about him, someone she barely knew, and had just properly met just four or so days ago. She had said this, turning to him, injured, wearing one shoe, and standing between him and the freaking Varia. He could only blink in response (something he tormented himself over days, weeks even, afterwards. Why couldn't he say something cool? Why did he just have to stare at her like an idiot?). She would then turn, to face his opponents, now her opponents, that she had chosen when she decided to save him. Him. Enma.

Maybe it was love at 9th sight? Although, he didn't exactly know how many times he had seen her after they had met (he didn't count the ceremony. He wasn't exactly in a good state of mind then, and they never really, actually met). But there, on the battlefield, fighting with all her might like an awesome goddess, scowling, throwing herself completely into battle. That, Enma would admit, was the moment he fell in love. Or, at least, one of them.

He didn't exactly know her well enough to have fallen in love with her at that moment. After all, he had thought her to be Tsuna's sister after she had introduced herself as so, not having given her last name.

"I'm Nikita," she said, smiling, tilting her head a bit, her hair swaying a bit to the side as she did, "Tsuna's sister." (Although, thinking back, he thinks that he may have tweaked the memory a bit. He was positive that there was far less sun around her, and most likely, definitely, not as many sparkles).

And then, he had to go and call her Sawada, after the battle had ended and she had saved him.

"Cavallone, actually," she had corrected him (oh god. Oh dear god, he could have died right there). "I'm not actually related to Tsuna, but we're close enough to be siblings."

The similarities to her real sibling, Dino, were uncanny. He had only actually met Dino a few times, and, of course, had him as a teacher, but he picked up on the resemblances fairly quick.

They would both scratch the back of their heads in a slightly awkward situation. Both moved their head the same way as they laughed, to the side and up slightly, revealing their necks. Welcoming. Trusting.

And yet, there were so many differences between the two. Dino often walked as if he could fall any second while still being confident (but when his men were around, he took on more of a swagger, actually and rightfully claiming that confidence), while Nikita walked strongly, yet lightly, gracefully. Often coming to a stop and leaning slightly to one side, anchoring her weight and cocking her hip.

They were both personable though, Enma noticed, most likely a product of their upbringing since they both had no qualms touching others. She would often ruffle Tsuna's hair good-naturedly, and loop arms with Yamamoto. Even Gokudera had allowed her to lean into him on multiple occasions. He had even seen Hibari allow the girl to get close to him, closer than he'd seen any other before (this may have been a product of Nikita continuously doing actions like this, Enma theorized, to the point that Hibari simply ignored it, since he paid no heed to it when Enma had witnessed these occurrences). With this she was personable, even breaking down the most coldhearted, gauging reactions from them, while drawing attention to herself. She was open, and not afraid to show her emotions, to speak her mind, to roll her eyes, or laugh loudly, where the whole room can hear her and be charmed.

Nikita's laugh was different than her brother's. It conveyed the message of welcoming and trust a bit more. Her laugh was warm, and relaxing. It was a comfortable laugh that made you lean in. A laugh that, if heard across the room, you would look up to see the source, still smiling, eyes closed, then squinted from humor. Her laugh, along with almost everything else about her, put people at ease. Around her, they were safe.

Trust me, she had conveyed to him wordlessly in the middle of battle, where it was unclear who she was allying herself with.

And he did (Although, he had regretted trusting her momentarily, when pain was coursing through his entire body after she had stuck the small vial into his leg. But that was only for a moment, before he realized that she had healed him, almost a complete stranger, when they were battling for their lives). He would trust her, he realized, with almost anything. She was just that kind of person. She could put anyone at ease.

"Yeah, she's a rain, like me," Yamamoto Takeshi had told him, one day before class. A rain, he had said, and he could see that so clearly. The placid force that quelled the other flames of the sky. The peace keeper. The one who washed away other's sorrows. Yes, he could clearly see that she was a rain, but that was only one part of her.

She was a sun as well, he realized instantly, watching her fighting. She was blazing, almost too bright to look at. Persevering, pushing through, beyond her own limits. She was brash at times, having the audacity to say that Mukuro Rokudo owed her a shoe he had burnt off with the lava he had made. She had enough spark to back talk the Varia after they had just tried to kill them both (although, she had seemed perfectly at ease, comfortable, if not a little annoyed with them - or just the situation in general - as if she knew them well. After, he would find out that she did, which bewildered him even more). She was a sun, and she shone brightly.

But part of that attitude, that talked back to others, that taunted sarcastically; the part of Nikita that set her apart from the crowd, that allowed her to stand out was the cloud attribute in her. Her disregard for the rules while at the same time enforcing them. Not heeding others, and doing as she pleased, but in her own way that didn't cause problems for others (a majority of times, he added, having heard stories via Tsuna from Dino about his crush as a child). This is what allowed her to stand with the frightening Hibari Kyoya. This is what caused her to brush against Adel, bristling the older girl. She floated freely, and beautifully, something Enma wished he could do.

This was Nikita Cavallone, all of her. This is the girl he fell in love with. This is the girl that will probably never love him back, let alone, notice him for more than five minutes.

Oh, but fate just loved to prove Enma wrong, didn't it?

He hadn't had many conversations with her, to be truthful. It just so happened that he would always see her when she walked by (it wasn't like he was looking for her or anything. He would just see a light hair color in the corner of his eyes and turn his head and there she was). Usually, she was running around for the disciplinary committee, which kept her out of classes. Although he had heard from Tsuna that she actually did her work. She was their age, technically, but was placed in the third year's class after testing. She was homeschooled back in Italy, Tsuna had said when the group discussed it once while Enma was around, and according to Dino, she was a prodigy. Enma could easily see that in the girl, with those bright, intelligent, green eyes.

Often, she would be alone, but sometimes Kusakabe, Hibari's right-hand man, would be with her, and she would be smiling lightly, and he would have an easy smirk on his face as she talked to him. Enma could see that the two enjoyed each other's company (he had a hunch that Kusakabe was a rain attribute as well, or maybe even lightning?). She sometimes walked with Adel, but only if they had to, Enma knew. Adel was not too fond of the girl, but that was a result of a guilty conscious more than anything. Enma had witnessed Nikita walking with Hibari on a few occasions, again with an easy smile gracing her features. Hibari would always look neutral walking beside her, which was impressive in itself that he wasn't biting something to death.

Every time Nikita was around him, it was always with a group of people. Whether it was their class, or just their group of mutual friends, or that one precious time they played baseball together, or at their shared birthday party, he had never encountered his crush alone (not counting the battle, where they had been secluded for the short period of time behind the wall of bamboo she had made to shield him).

He was rather glad for it, actually. He did well enough just being in her presence. The few times she acknowledged him, for the few precious seconds it would be, he was lucky to get a few words out, let alone at a volume where she could hear those words. It was lucky he was known for being shy, gloomy, and quiet, and therefore could easily slip by with such behavior. Even Tsuna, who knew both of them so well, had not caught on yet, probably only thanks to the limited interactions between him and the girl of his dreams.

This being said, it was completely understandable when he nearly had a heart attack, running into her, alone, after school.

He had fallen asleep at the end of the day, and was only woken up by Tsuna, shouldered by Yamamoto and Gokudera. Realizing that he had missed some important notes, Gokudera had grudgingly allowed Enma to copy his, out of the bomber's notebook, on the condition that the notebook be returned to the Italian's desk immediately after. Enma hadn't minded staying behind for a little while he copied the notes (ignoring some of the strange symbols littering various parts of the notes, hoping that they weren't important). He was often late coming home too because of incidents like this, or bullying. He had realized it had gotten a bit late when he had finished, and had hurriedly shoved his things in his bag, not securing it as he put Gokudera's notebook back in his respective desk.

He quickly excited the classroom, not wanting to encounter Hibari in his rounds of the school, knowing he wouldn't be able to properly answer his questions about why he was here so late (it wasn't his fault he was a slow writer, and had trouble reading some of Gokudera's handwriting, or that he had to guess when the bomber slipped into some kind of made up language, probably accidently).

He turned the corner quickly, then yelped, not expecting to almost collide with another person, who was heading for the stairs to the ground floor from the perpendicular hallway. The person, however, was skilled enough to easily side step Enma, but unfortunately, did not expect Enma to flail his arms, and fall back towards the stairs, tumbling down them, his bag scattering his belongings and papers as it tumbled with him, finally ending up hitting him in the head when it had reached the bottom. He groaned loudly, not even bothering to open his eyes.

Footsteps approached him quickly, making their way skillfully and lightly down the stairs.

"Shit, are you okay?" Chinese?

Oh. God. No.

His eyes snapped open, instantly meeting concerned green eyes.

"Are you okay?" she had said, months ago, with the same exact concerned look. He could feel his face go absolutely tomato red, probably matching his hair and eyes. He shot up quickly, causing her to shoot back herself, from where she had been leaning over him. She raised an eyebrow, which just made things worse for him. Apparently, she took his muteness as a sign of injury.

"Do I need to look at anything?" she asked, kneeling down beside him, "I'm a healer, you know. And that was a pretty nasty fall," she noted idly, looking back up the stairs. He stared in horror at his belongings and multiple papers scattered throughout the steps.

"Almost Dino worthy, if you ask me," she said with an airy smile. Ah, that's right, Enma had vaguely thought through his embarrassment. Dino was extremely clumsy when his men aren't around, so she was probably used to him being clumsy. That made him feel a little bit better.

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head or anything?" His eyes snapped back over to her, regretting it instantly. She was giving him that worried look again. He shook his head suddenly, managing a pathetic and tiny 'no'. She smiled a bit, relieved. She hummed lightly, looking back up at his belongings, and got up, going to the top of the stairs where the trail started.

"Ah," Enma said suddenly, louder than he meant to, "you don't have to-"

"It's fine," she waved him off, smiling down at him, "It's partly my fault too," she told him, "I should have grabbed you before you fell. You'd think being around Dino and Tsuna so much would have made me better at grabbing people before they fall like that," she joked, the skin under her eyes crinkling as she laughed. Enma slumped, his cheeks twinging with pink once more.

Dino and Tsuna aren't as pathetic as me, though, he thought as he too started picking up his belongings into his bag. She had finished first, having gathered much more papers than Enma. To his utter horror, his recent English test, with the tying lowest grade in the class (two guesses on the other person, and the first two don't count), was on top of the pile. He prayed to god, any god that would listen, that she wouldn't notice.

She did, of course. The gods hated him, after all. That much was clear.

"Hm?" She hummed lightly, looking at the grade. "You're bad at English." He opened his mouth like a fish, a small, tiny grumbled sound barely escaping his vocal cords. But then, he happened to glance at her eyes, which were further examining the paper. There was no pity what so ever, no trace of condescension. She was just simply stating a fact.

"Tsuna is too," she continued, handing him the remaining papers, but keeping the English test, "and it looks like you guys are bad at the same stuff." Enma blinked, confused. "I help Tsuna out in English," she answered his questioning look, barely glancing up. "And Italian too, sometimes, but Reborn mostly has that covered. In fact," she said, finally handing the paper back to him, "I'm heading there to tutor him right now. I go over every Tuesday and Thursday after school, but I was running a bit late today," she admitted a bit sheepishly, her hand moving up to scratch the back of her head. It hovered in the back, then went to the side of her head where her hair was shaved. She was probably still getting used to her new hair style, Enma thought, recalling the drastic change after the representative battles.

Although, she looked gorgeous with the long hair she had when they first met, she looked very cute, with her new, short and half-shaven style, albeit a bit tomboyish. But, Enma noted getting distracted easily, she pulled it off very well, and it seemed to make her eyes stand out even more, along with revealing more of her jawline. As she moved her head, something twinkled, causing Enma to look at her exposed ear, noticing multiple piercings on it.

"You can come too it you want," she said, snapping him back. He blinked, staring at her. She blinked back, then titled her head, a small confused smile on her face. "That is," she added, taking his shock as reluctance, "if you want me to help. I can understand if you like studying on your own better."

"No!" He said a little too quick, a little too loud, a little too forcefully. Her eyes widened slightly at the sudden change. His mind raced, considering the possibilities. He couldn't, the logical side of his brain argued, he would embarrass himself even more and probably die from that embarrassment (and here, he thought that was impossible at this point, being so pathetic). On the other hand, the other side started, he did need help on his English. And she was already helping Tsuna, right? So, it wouldn't really be inconveniencing her at all.

"T-that would be nice." He wanted to smack himself. She smiled brightly.

"Great!" She said, patting his shoulder as she walked past. "You were heading out too, yeah?" He gulped, then managed a small nod.

What was he thinking? He couldn't survive walking all the way to Tsuna's house with her. Alone.

Dear god.

He would die today, he decided, then and there, and it was all because of Nikita Cavallone.

Despite him feeling incredibly awkward walking in silence with her, her mannerisms where very much the opposite. She walked a few steps ahead of him, despite how much he lagged behind, careful never to lose him, or let him get too far. It was a distance where a pleasant conversation between friends could be held, but with also enough room between them that is wasn't crowded. He had assumed, with how social a person she seemed to be, she would try to pull a conversation out of him. However, she seemed to respect his quiet nature, and suddenly, he recalled the reason why.

His mind flickered back to a memory, of him eating lunch with Tsuna and the others on the roof. Chrome stood up suddenly, a bento in her hands. With a faint blush, she bowed slightly.

"I have to take this to Nikita," she told the group, "She had to go in a little earlier this morning, and forgot to grab it before she left the apartment." Gokudera clicked his tongue.

"That's right," he said, looking up and to the side slightly, hand on chin, "I keep forgetting that you two live together."

"Ah, so she forgot to take it after she made it?" Yamamoto asked for clarification with a smile. Chrome looked off, a small drop of sweat on the side of her face.

"Ah, no," she said a bit awkwardly, "I make both my and Nikita's lunches every day. Nikita is not…" she struggled to find the word, "… talented when it comes to food."

He had learned two things that day about his crush.

She and Chrome lived together. That was unexpected, he recalled thinking, but explains why they always walk in together, and their closeness. In a way, the two girls complimented each other. This was also the reason why she was comfortable with him not talking on the walk. She was probably used to Chrome's shyness.

Also, she can't cook, Enma remembered. At least they had one thing in common, but he's afraid that is where the line was drawn.

Nikita was smart, athletic, and beautiful. And he was just… Enma. He sulked further, causing Nikita to look back at him with a faint hum.

"If you need any help in anything else, you can always ask," she offered, kindly smiling back at him, not helping the situation at all. Of course, she didn't know that. Only Enma knew that. Which is why it was making it worse. "I saw some of the other grades on your papers." He slumped further. She laughed lightly, causing him to look up. They were approaching the Sawada household.

"It's fine to admit you need held, Enma," she said kindly. He blinked, playing the sound of her saying his name repeatedly in his head as she continued with the one sided conversation after removing her shoes, "If you want someone you know better to tutor you, Gokudera's great in mathematics if you can understand his teaching methods. Adel excels in history to," she said, before Nana Sawada greeted them.

"Ah, Cloud! Here to help Tsuna?" The kind woman asked, peeking out the opening of the kitchen.

"Hello, Nana," Nikita greeted warmly, "yeah, it's our biweekly English tutoring session. You see his test yet?" The woman hummed and nodded.

"Reborn showed it to me this afternoon. I'm so glad he has a friend like you to help him!"

"It's no problem," Nikita waved the woman off, "English comes easy to me," she said, eyes twinkling as if she had just shared an inside joke.

"Ah?" Nana leaned out further, spotting Enma who stumbled a bit as he finished removing his shoes as well.

"Enma!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands. "I didn't know you knew Cloud!" He stuttered, opening his mouth in an attempt to say something. Nikita noticed this, and answered the woman for him.

"I ran into him after school, and mentioned tutoring Tsuna," she explained beautifully, "Enma needs help in English too, so I invited him along."

"You're so kind, Cloud," Nana hummed happily, closing her eyes as she smiled and tilting her head. "Tsuna's upstairs with Reborn if you two want to go up," the woman said before reentering the kitchen, "have fun!"

"Thanks," Nikita bid, waving lightly as she passed the kitchen and made her way up the stairs. She paused, looking back at Enma. "You coming?" She asked, titling her head slightly. His eyes widened and he stumbled forward, nodding.

"Yo, Tuna!" She called opening the door without knocking.

"Ah, Cloud!" Enma heard Tsuna greet, letting her get more into the room before he entered as well, just in time to see the girl nodding in greeting at Reborn. Tsuna's eyes widened dramatically when he saw the red head. "And Enma?"

"I'm tutoring him too," Nikita stated calmly, throwing her bag on the bed causally, "since he seems to be just as hopeless in English as you." Enma slumped, the air becoming gloomy around him.

"Cloud!" Tsuna scolded, "Don't say that!" She girl shrugged, smiling softly again.

"It's a slide to you too, Tsuna," she reminded him, causing the brunette to deflate as well. "And since you both got the same grade on the test, we can go over it," she continued, snatching Tsuna's manga out of his hands, earning almost a pout from him. She patted her hand on the floor next to her, looking up at Enma as she sat down in front of Tsuna.

"You in?" she asked. He gaped, then stumbled forward, almost falling on his face.

"Pathetic, really," Reborn commented coldly, a strange glint in his eyes that Enma didn't like. "You and Tsuna are really just alike. Well," the baby said, looking over at Enma with a small smirk, "almost." Enma gulped.

"It looks like you've got this covered, Nikita," Reborn stated, making his way out of the room, "I'm going to get an expresso. Ciao." Nikita hummed in acknowledgement, focused on the test paper Tsuna had reluctantly handed her.

"Looks like you guys got most of the same answers wrong," she noted. Tsuna blinked, looking over at Enma.

"She's already seen your test paper, Enma?"

"It fell out of his bag when he fell down the stairs," Nikita answered indifferently, making notes on his paper.

"Eh?! You fell down the stairs?"

"It was an accident…" Enma muttered, looking down at his lap.

"You guys are using way too many formal words," Nikita moved on, completely on task. "Look," she laid the paper on the floor in front of them. Enma leaned forward in order to see it better. "This is a causal sentence. You also need more help on tenses, Tsuna," she shot, looking over at him. Tsuna grumbled in response. She turned her head quickly, forcing Enma to notice how close they were. His body froze, unable to move.

"You seem to have a better grasp on tenses, Enma." He blinked, the words registering slowly in his brain. Him? Being better than Tsuna at something? She handed the paper back to Tsuna, not noting his reaction. "You guys can correct your test. Tsuna, give me your notes this week. I'll start rewriting them." Enma blinked confused.

"Cloud rewrites my notes for me," Tsuna admitted sheepishly, "so they're easier to read and understand. She also adds some tips of her own too…"

"Because so many things are left out," she said with a roll of her eyes. "They barely go into slang, let alone filler words," she finished with a huff, scrunching her nose as she reviewed the notebook Tsuna had handed her. "Enma," she addressed him suddenly, "you have your notebook? It'll probably be easier to understand than this mess," she said, holding the notebook up disdainfully.

"Hey!" Tsuna said, taking offense. She childishly stuck her tongue out at him, causing some pink to make its way to Enma's cheeks.

"Well?" She said, causing Enma to jump.

"W-welll…" he trailed off, slumping, "my notebook is ruined…" he explained, "because earlier today, I accidently spilled a water on it, then pushed it off my desk where someone stepped on it." Tsuna's expression deadpanned.

"Such bad luck," he muttered almost in disbelief.

"Shame," Nikita hummed, looking back at Tsuna's notebook with a frown, "I guess I'll have to muddle through this. Oh well," she chirped, pushing herself up suddenly and almost jumping on Tsuna's bed. She put a pillow behind her and leaned against the wall, bringing her knees up on the bed as well. Enma blushed heavily, looking down at his test paper he had brought of his bag quickly. He had forgotten that she was wearing a skirt, and was just reminded of that fact. Tsuna huffed, and looked at his paper as well. It seemed that he was used to her unbashfullness, and found nothing unusual about it.

The following hour went by comfortably, blissfully even. Tsuna and Enma worked on their corrections, while Nikita copied the notes, making some small noises at times, directed at Tsuna and his handwriting. Every now and then, Tsuna would ask her a question, and she would help. Often, since Enma was closer, she would move from leaning against the wall, and pivoted to where she was laying on her stomach, her arms holding up her upper half, and pointing at things on Enma's paper to explain. At these times, she would often lean close to him, and the more often it happened, he grew used to her presence. There was still a faint blush, but it was far more tamed than before. He found that he was on the mark about the girl being incredible calming.

"You've definitely improved," she told him kindly after reviewing their corrections. "You only got five wrong. Tsuna got seven," she teased, looking over at her brother.

"Cloud!" he nearly whined. She laughed in response, then turned back to Enma.

"But seriously, you should come by more often. Looks like working with Tsuna is helping," she said, mistaking Tsuna's presence for Enma being better.

"I can just pay more attention because you're teaching it," Enma found himself muttering absentmindedly. He then blinked, and blanched. He screamed internally. Did he really just say that out loud? Tsuna blinked, looking over at him in question. Nikita, however, thank god, found nothing strange about his remark.

"Yeah, I know Tsuna's English teacher can be pretty boring," she said with humor, "and it's easier not to zone off when it's just three people, and if the teacher's not teaching an entire class, right?" He nodded, maybe a little too quickly, glad that she brushed it off. Tsuna kept his eyes on him, suspicious. Enma was tense under his friend's gaze. Of course, the next person who entered the room only made matter once.

"Yo," Prince the Ripper, Belphegor of the Varia greeted, causally walking into the room and plopping down beside Nikita. Tsuna made a small, 'Hiiee!'.

"Belphegor!?" he cried out. Nikita raised an eyebrow at the blonde.

"What are you doing here?" she said, not at all perturbed by his closeness. "I told you I might be a little late because I was helping Tsuna."

"You said five," he corrected her, crossing his arms behind his head and leaning back, "and it's five."

"Why didn't you just meet me at the apartment," she asked, a bit exasperated, "like you were supposed to?" He shrugged indifferently.

"You and Chrome weren't there and it was locked."

"You have a key," she reminded him, "and when have locked doors ever stopped you?" This information caused Enma to raise his eyebrows. He looked over at Tsuna, but the don didn't seem shocked by the assassin's sudden appearance, or his familiarity with Nikita. He only seemed a bit on edge, as he always was around any of the Varia. Which meant, Enma concluded with a frown, that this was a regular occurrence.

"I was bored," Belphegor stated, "and I didn't feel like waiting around. So, I came to you, princess~" He finished with a grin. She rolled her eyes.

"We went over a little bit because I was a little late, and I ran into Enma," Nikita explained. Enma stiffened, feeling the assassin's eyes on him, despite not being able to see him under the bangs.

"The Shimon brat, huh…" Belphegor muttered.

"But we're about done anyway," Nikita sighed, "after they fix their papers again I can look over them really quick, and then we can go. That chill with you, Tsuna, Enma?" He snapped his eyes away from the assassin, and accidently met hers. He felt his face go red again before forcing it down, looking at his paper instead of her. Enma heard Belphegor's distinct snicker, the noise alarming him. Did he notice…?

"I'm going to visit with Nana while you guys work," Nikita said, pushing herself up, "Chrome wanted me to get some recipes from her anyways." Bel grinned widely, and Enma could have sworn that he was looking right at him. Belphegor lifted his arm and caught her hand, gently lifting it to his lips.

"Come back soon, princess," he called, releasing it, "the prince can't wait to spend the night with you." Enma's eyes widened and he felt his heart being squeezed. He looked away hastily, gripping his paper tightly. To his dismay, she didn't seem surprised by his action, and simply brushed it off.

"Ah, that reminds me," Nikita said before she left, turning her head back, "you're sleeping over right?" Bel nodded, grinning. "Then dig my phone out of my bag and text Chrome; let her know. Also," she added as almost an afterthought, "ask her what we were going to have for dinner tonight. If it's leftovers like I think, we're probably going to have to go out to eat."

"Will do, princess," Bel tittered, her phone already in his hands. She clicked her tongue, but her mood was definitely playful, making Enma's heart sink further.

"So, the Shimon brat has a crush on the princess?" Bel jaunted, seconds after the door was closed. Enma went red immediately. Tsuna's head shot up.

"Eh! What?! Enma, you have a crush on Cloud?" Tsuna nearly squealed, eyes wide with shock, "Is that why you act weird around her?"

"Bingo~" Bel sang, getting their answers from Enma's reaction. "Kind of sad, really," Bel noted, hand on chin. Enma nearly shivered, knowing he was being evaluated. "She would never go for you, you know," he informed her cruelly, "you're weak. Not her type at all," he finished with a feral grin.

"Belphegor!" Tsuna snapped, angry, "don't tell him that! You don't know that for sure!" Bel shrugged nonchalantly and began typing on her phone as he continued speaking.

"What? You know our relationship," he pointed out, "we're close. Inseperatable, even. She's my princess after all."

"You're just making him feel bad," Tsuna scolded, holding back his fear and giving Enma a sympathetic look.

"It's okay, Tsuna," Enma managed. "It's fine, really." I know she'll never see me that way anyway, he thought to himself. Bel snickered at his words.

"Pathetic," he said again, "but adorable, isn't it? I bet you wish you could be close to her, right?" Enma stiffened, the assassin having skewered him right through the heart. He stared down at his work, disheartened.

"Enma..." Tsuna muttered quietly, right before Nikita reentered the room.

"Got them!" she said cheerfully, waving the notecards in her hand. She titled her head, noticing the tense air in the room. Her eyes immediately went to Bel. "What did you do?" she accused him. He held his hands up in mock innocence.

"You hurt me, princess," he chided, "what makes you think I did anything?"

"Because you're an asshole?" she tried, eyes narrowing, "And it's always you," she concluded, sitting down beside him, and reaching over to put the notecards in her bag. Enma could practically feel the blonde's eyes boring a hole through him. Nikita straightened, sitting on the edge of the bed while Bel remained behind her.

"You guys done?"

"A-almost!" Tsuna nearly blurted out, covering for Enma, now painfully aware of the situation. Enma stiffened, seeing Bel push himself slightly up and place his arms around Nikita's waist, pulling her towards him a bit, and putting his chin on her head. She shifted her head slightly, looking back at him in question, but then relaxed, leaning into him more, sinking Enma's heart further; they were extremely close after all. He hadn't just been bluffing. Bel let loose a wicked grin, seeing Enma practically deflate. Tsuna looked in between Enma and Bel, worried, then looked back down at his paper.

"Done!" he said suddenly, nearly jumping up and throwing his paper in front of her. "Y-you going to check it, Cloud?" She raised a delicate eyebrow, reviewing his reactions. She then nearly shimmied out of the blonde's arms, playfully pushing him back when he tried to snake around her once more.

"Work first," she told him, winking, "play later. Five more minutes, tops," she promised, pushing his chest once more before going to Tsuna. Enma looked away once more, then back at his paper, attempting to ignore his sinking heart by finishing the last question.

"Enma?" she asked, snapping him out of his depressive state. His head jerked up, and he nearly scrambled back, not realizing how close she had gotten. "You done?" He nodded quickly, composing himself and trying not to look at Belphegor, who he could hear quietly snickering.

"Looks like you got it," she said with a kind smile, handing the paper back after her quick inspection. "Good job. We should do this more often, yeah?" Enma could feel his heart swell at her words. But it fell just as quickly as Belphegor grabbed Nikita's hand gently, and pulled her up in an almost romantic fashion, putting a hand at the small of her back and holding her other hand out.

"So that means you're all mine now, right?" he asked smoothly. Tsuna's eyes narrowed, almost angry, but Enma quickly shook his head at his friend. "The prince," Bel continued, "can't wait for our date tonight." Enma nearly winced, looking away again.

"So that means you're paying?" she deadpanned, a more amused than swooning look on her face.

"I'd pay any price just to be with you, princess," he breathed out, lifting her hand once more. Nikita's eyebrows collided, a confused expression overtaking her features. Before he could kiss her hand, she pointed her finger and pushed his nose back gently as she herself stepped out of his embrace.

"You do realize that Chrome is coming with us, right?" she clarified, bringing Enma a bit more confidence, seeing her not falling into his advances, "and what's with you making this sound like a date?" He snickered instead of answering, taking her arms again and spinning her, then quelling into swaying motions, almost like ballroom dancing. He slowed to a stop after receiving a stern look from her, but still ignored her question.

"You're cute when you're confused," he said with a grin, poking her lightly on the nose. She scrunched it.

"Then I must be fucking adorable now," she said dryly, then continued, "What's up with you today? In fact," she continued, poking him again to get him to release his light hold on her waist and looking back at Enma and Tsuna, "what's with all of you?"

"W-what do you mean?" Tsuna laughed nervously, his hand going to scratch the back of his head, once again trying to cover for Enma, to put the attention off of him. Nikita's eyes barely narrowed, causing Tsuna to stiffen under her inquiring stare. For a moment, she looked as if she would pursue the topic. Then, with a sigh, she turned abruptly and went to the bed, throwing her bag to Bel, who caught it easily, still grinning widely (looking at Enma, staring, rubbing it in still).

"Whatever," she huffed, sending one last exasperated look at the two dons before grabbing Bel's arm, the other hand giving a slight wave behind her back as she left. "I'll see you guys tomorrow at school, yeah?"

And with that, the couple left, but not before Bel sent one last smug look at Enma.

There was a beat of awkward silence as Enma sat glumly and Tsuna sucked in a breath before finally addressing his friend.

"So…." Tsuna breathed out, not knowing where to start, "how long has this been going on….?" He trailed off uncertainly. Enma sighed once more, bringing his knees up and wrapping his arms around them.

"Since the representative battles…"

"That long!?" Enma gave an almost sad, small nod.

"Yeah…" he said, trailing off, thinking of his predicament, "that long."

"Enma? Are you alright?" Chrome asked, looking at Enma quizzically as he sat down awkwardly in front of her. They had been the first to arrive on the roof for lunch, and Enma decided to use this opportunity to his advantage. Tsuna had been a little too perceptive about his crush on Nikita lately, and so Enma felt more comfortable doing this out of earshot of his friend.

"In general? Probably not," Enma said with a pathetic sigh, but moved on none the less, "But can I ask you something? It's about Cloud – or Nikita?" he ratified, recalling that Chrome used her roommate's actual name.

Chrome's face flared pink momentarily, but she recovered, nodding and looking down at her lunch.

"Are Bel and Cloud… well are they?" He pushed his fingers together awkwardly, trying to find the word's to convey his exact question without offense.

Chrome seemed concerned, and worried in that moment, but that innocence depleted immediately when he mentioned Bel.

"Oh?" she said, her features almost souring (something that greatly surprised him, having never seen such as expression from Chrome), "him? Don't pay attention to him. That's all he wants, anyways."

Enma blinked, surprised, again, by her swift dismissal of Belphegor. Chrome seemed to notice his confusion. She sighed, and then shrugged, an innocent enough movement, leaving him completely unprepared for her next statement.

"He's just a selfish asshole, really," she said as Enma blanched, nearly falling over in surprise. Her expression was vaguely annoyed as she shifted through her bento delicately, "and he gets off on making other people uncomfortable, especially if he notices they like Nikita. He's like a kid, really. Possessive." He blinked, and then nodded quickly (too quickly?) in agreement. Chrome huffed, still annoyed, and looked away from Enma, distracted as she watched the students milling about below them.

Chrome, he noted, seemed to be annoyed by Belphegor. Enma made a mental note never to ask her about the subject ever again.

Enma didn't think he would get, and particularly didn't want a chance to interact with Nikita anytime soon, ever fearful that either Tsuna or Belphegor (or even Reborn, who Enma was sure knew as well) would spill Enma's secret any day now. But was it much of a secret? Enma tended to be pretty up front with his emotions (whether he wanted to or not), and it was a miracle in itself that the person of his affections was unaware of this predicament in the first place.

Perhaps it was the only bit of luck Enma had received in his life? But that luck all but sputtered and died when Nikita walked into their apartment with Adel one late afternoon, both holding papers and deep in a conversation (perhaps Adel would consider it an argument, but Nikita was definitely casual with her words and demeanor, as always, as always).

"I'm just saying," Nikita says with almost a chuckle, "Kyoya doesn't mind, and even enjoys that I forge his signature for him. Gives him less time chained to the desk, yeah?"

"And I'm saying," Adel said hotly, dropping her large stack of papers onto the table that Enma happened to be sitting at (all thoughts of doing his homework gone out the window), "that's it's illegal, not to mention immoral!"

Nikita's expression fell flat, placing her papers in front of Enma as well.

"You do realize that we're all in the mafia, right. You really want to talk about what's illegal and what's not?"

Adel barely grew red with this realization, then scowled sitting down with a huff.

"Just get started, Cavallone," she muttered, bringing a pen out of her school bag then setting it beside her, "We have a lot of work to do. You wouldn't be here, otherwise."

"You act like it's my fault," Nikita said, rolling her eyes lightly and sitting as well (right beside Enma, right beside him), "but I'm not the one who charged in and was the result of all these arrests."

"But you did nothing to stop Hibiari Kyoya from doing just that," Adel snapped back.

"Like anyone can actually stop him from charging into a fight," Nikita muttered, then considered, "Well, maybe Dino…. How are you Enma," she said, sending a kind smile to him in acknowledgement.

Enma grew red, and felt his mouth drop open, only for Adel to save him.

"Don't talk to him! We have to finish this be-"

"Well what do we have here?"

Immediately Adel's expression soured. They turned, watching as the rest of the Shimon family entered their home, caring bags of groceries with them. Katou Julie stood at the helm as the others went to the cabinets of their small kitchen.

"If you would have told me you were brining such a lovely guest," he said, passing his groceries off to Koyo Aoba (who made a disgruntled sound of complaint, and sent a glare to his family member), nearly dropping down to hold Nikita's hand gently, "I would have come home more prepared."

Enma nearly winced, watching as Julie nearly lifted Nikita's hand to his lips, only for Nikita to push his face back in one second, and Adel to harshly hit him on the head in the next. The entire Shimon family plus Nikita looked down at Julie's crumpled form in vague disappointment, before moving on.

"Isn't that the Cavallone chick?" Koyo Aoba asked, looking down at the girl almost distrustfully.

"Nikita," Kaora stepped forward, meeting the others eyes before kneeling down to Nikita's level, "It's nice to see you again."

Their family members were surprised by this, seeing the softness and familiarity in which the two greeted each other. A sense of sadness and guilt hit Enma suddenly, remembering why Kaoru held Nikita in such high regards. He looked to Adel, and imagined if Nikita would have forgiveness for her as well. For his entire family, for wasn't it his burden to bare? She would forgive him, he hoped, if she knew.

(Right?)

"Nice to see you again too, Kaora," Nikita answered back politely. She blinked, then leaned around, looking to their largest member, "And you're Rauji, yeah? Lambo and Ipin told me about you."

"You're Ipin's sister, right?" Rauji asked, smiling at the thought of the children talking about him, "She's told us a lot about you too."

"Then that means her Japanese is getting better," Nikita said with a proud grin. Green eyes then turned to the most eccentric member, today dressed in a latex body suit covered in actual, working neon stars along with her usual inflatable rings. "And you're P. Shitt – Ah," she corrected, recalling, "You go by Shitopi-chan, right?"

P. Shitt leaned in, incredibly close to Nikita. But the Italian's only sign of discomfort from Enma's perspective was the bare sign of a blush on her cheeks. A grin, the P. Shitt responded.

"Your earrings are super~!" She held up a piece sign, and immediately Nikita grinning back, diving into complimenting P. Shitt's outfit and hair.

Enma watched, nearly bewildered as Nikita interacted with his family, feeling his face turn red while doing so. Her gentleness when talking to Kaora and Rauji, her enthusiasm when discussing fashion and aesthetic with P. Shitt (should Enma be worried with how P. Shitt was making Nikita blush? Then again, P. Shitt had always been one of the more forward and flirtatious, along with Julia, who was still knocked out cold), and her amusement when being challenged to spar with Koyo, all of it made Enma's heart swell, seeing his family and interacting with someone outside of it so casually, so naturally, seeing them being accepted so easily.

"You're family is fun, you know?" Nikita turned toward him suddenly, practically glowing.

He sputtered out a mess of words, then settled to nodding a quick reply.

"Y-yeah," he managed, glad Nikita was patient with him, "They're pretty great."

Momentarily, Enma allowed himself to dwell in this fantasy, of his crush getting along happily with his family, his loved ones, already comfortable with them, and eventually perhaps comfortably with him, and him comfortable with her to where he could talk and look at her freely without turning red and his heart nearly beating out of his chest.

But once again, that sadness hit him. Awareness of the blood on his hands.

She would forgive him, right?

(He could only hope)

"In my defense," Nikita told them a few days later, after Reborn had dragged Enma and Tsuna (along with Gokudera, Chrome, and Yamamoto, but they followed and weren't forced up there) to the roof to see what the commotion was, "I did try to stop them. Kind of."

"What do you mean try?!" Tsuna cried out in disdain, clutching his head, then gesturing, "They're about to kill each other!"

Enma looked, wincing as well upon viewing Hibari Kyoya venomously fighting with a stranger; large, muscular, with incredibly scarred skin, the woman only seemed to grin wider as the fight become more intense (or was that just the eerie scar extending from the corners of her mouth and up the side of her face that made it seem like she was smiling?).

"Is that Zhanna?" Yamamoto asked, concerned. Nikita sighed, seeming anything but, as if this was just a causal day. In her life, Enma realized, it probably was.

"What's the Giegue doing here?" Gokudera asked with a scowl. Enma blinked, the name catching his attention. Why did that sound so familiar?

"She came for a visit, and then followed me to school, and well…" Nikita gestured rather uselessly at the display before them. The group winced, seeing green flames spark to life, lilac flames firing up in response seconds later.

"Looks like it's getting serious," Reborn acknowledged, clearly interested and amused with the situation more than anything.

"I should probably stop them," Nikita sighed, running a hand through her hair before moving it to her hip, barely taking a step forward to intervene before

Adel burst from the door of the roof, fans bared and furious.

"What is going on here?" she demanded, scanning the roof and focusing on the fight before her. She narrowed her eyes and went forward, sneering a small, "Unacceptable."

"Adel, wait!" Nikita called out, barely missing grabbing the older girl's shoulder. A look of desperation crossed her face, and in that moment Enma remembered where he had heard the name Giegue.

("You killed them, Adel? Why? I thought we weren't going to target others, I thought it was just the Vongla that are at fault?")

Hibari and the woman separated in that moment, Zhanna falling near enough for Adel to attack. Adel sliced her fans, searing into the woman's midsection, but it was clearly an intentional hit. The woman sneered, allowing this injury and thinking nothing of it, and easily grabbing Adel's other incoming fan

– only to freeze in that moment, her eyes going to the tear in her midsection, and then to the weapon her hands. Sad recognition roared into rage, and Zhanna's eyes snapped to Nikita,

who met her friend's stare with a broken expression.

("It was a necessary sacrifice, Enma. The Giegue were standing in the way of our annihilation of the Vongola. I did it for the sake of the Shimon.")

"You knew."

It was an accusation, and a dangerous one. Nikita bit her bottom lip, and nodded once.

"You knew," Zhanna stated again, darkly, "And you didn't fucking tell me! You didn't fucking tell me you knew who killed my family!"

Instantly, Adel's fan shattered in Zhanna's hand, and in the next moment (only a single blink for Enma, and he realized in that moment that he could not see Adel's expression, and had no time to even comprehend fear for his family member) Nikita was in between Adel and Zhanna. She used one hand to push Adel back, and the other to throw a small dagger to the ground. Sprouts of bamboo instantly grew to her right as Zhanna's fist (meant for Adel, meant for Adel) was incoming on her left.

Distantly, they witnessed the impact of it, and the cracking of bamboo filled the empty air in the moment of calm before comprehension.

With her face contorted in pain, Nikita took Zhanna's hit fully, and her bamboo cracked (but did not break) beneath the weight and force of Zhanna's blow hitting her. Nikita let out a ragged breath as she slumped against her bamboo wall, her right arm cradling her left side.

Zhanna did not seem to realize this through rage, and only shifted her eyes to Adel. The girl was sprawled, unmoved from where she was pushed back, her only remaining fan having clattered to the ground as soon as Nikita pushed her. As Zhanna stalked towards Adel, red eyes flickered from undoubted fear, and then to acceptance tainted with guilt. Zhanna reared her fist back once again, going forward

Only to meet mist, and then harshly impact the concrete of the roof.

Shock, then back to rage. Zhanna's head snapped up and then to the side, where Chrome reappeared with Adel's arm resting across her shoulder. With one hand she held her trident, and the other, Adel's waist, her one eye filled with concern and slight panic as Zhanna seemed ready to go forward again,

Only for Nikita to intercept again (again, again, again, throwing herself in front of this beast when Enma was doing nothing), even embracing the older woman with her good arm, pushing herself back to look up and plead,

"Zhanna, please, please," she repeated, "We can talk this out, work something out, please, Zhanna. I'm sorry, but I couldn't…." she trailed off, meeting Enma's eye. He felt another pang, hitting him deeper than ever before.

She was doing this for him. For them. His family, and she hardly even knew them.

"I know what she did, I know," Nikita continued, holding her friend back weakly. Enma now noticed that Zhanna was shaking, her body and muscles quivering. Nikita went on, "But this isn't the time to take revenge, not here, not now, please, Zhanna. Please," she barely whispered, going forward and leaning her forehead on Zhanna's shoulder.

Another moment of calm, and Enma realized he had let out a breath for the first time since Adel stepped out. He looked around, seeing the others beside him also frozen in shock, Tsuna only having taken a step forward, but Reborn holding a hand out. Hibari Kyoya stood to the other side of the roof; tonfas bared and watching only, wanting to, but knowing he had no right to step in the middle of this.

It was a matter of pride, after all. He knew best.

Chrome bit her bottom lip, and Adel's face was downcast and undiscernible.

"I.." Enma's eyes snapped back to the center piece of this altercation, realizing it was Zhanna was speaking in slow Japanese.

"I want her blood," she seethed out, almost a choke, "I want her blood," she stepped back, separating herself form Nikita (who let her go) and then gesturing to Adel, "I want her dirty-ass blood on my fists. Make it happen, Cavallone," she snapped, before turning roughly,

pushing past and brushing shoulders with Enma,

and exiting through the door of the roof.

Another silence, and then a thud as Nikita fell forward, wincing as she held her left arm and side.

"Fuck," she breathed out, then spoke again, "Fucking shit!"

"Nikita!" Chrome called, slipping her arm from Adel and going forward to embrace Nikita instead. With no hesitation (well, maybe some) Enma went forward to meet Adel, where she was slumped, kneeling and staring at the ground before her.

Shaking, he gently touched Adel's shoulder, waited, and then went forward, enveloping her in his arms. Glancing to the side, he saw that the others had chosen to go to Nikita as well, only looking over at the two Shimon in concern. Enma appreciated this, knowing this situation was delicate and deserved privacy.

And yet,

"Why," he felt Adel shudder into his shoulder.

"Adel?" he asked warily, concerned. She looked up at him, and he realized that, almost, she was crying.

"Why didn't she just let me die?"

"Did you just say what I think you said?"

Red eyes met green diligently.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Adel said coldly, then repeated, "I accept her terms."

"You," Nikita said, stepping forward and pointing a finger in Adel's face (earning an annoyed twitch of Adel's eye), "Are going to let Zhanna just hit you? Do you know what I had to do to even get it down to that? She wanted a full on fight, but even just one hit form her can take out an entire building!"

"I will accept," Adel said, jutting her chin and holding her head high, "the consequences of my action. I will take any punishment that she feels necessary."

"Death? Your blood fucking spilled and soiling the ground until there's no more?" Nikita said, dropping her extended hand in an aggressive gesture, "Because that's what Zhanna wants."

Hibari Kyoya looked between the two girls standing in front of his desk. Adel's expression hardened and she replied simply:

"I will take responsibility for what I did."

A moment of Nikita simply looking at Adel with narrowed eyes.

"Unbelievable," she clicked before turning her eyes to Hibari. "You gonna say anything about this? You know what we're fucking dealing with!" A moment, a sip of his tea. And only then did he speak.

"I thought you were more intelligent than this, Adel Suzuki," Hibari commented, looking at her with cold, calculating eyes. Nikita looked back at Adel pointedly, then gestured to Kyoya, then back to her.

"What?" She demanded, confused by the other's actions.

"For fuck's sake!" Nikita said, throwing her hands up, "Hibari Kyoya just verbally conveyed that this is a bad idea." Kyoya huffed, giving Nikita an irritated glance. She then shrugged, looking over at him. "What? You know it's bad when you actually say something about it."

He considered it, then continued with his work; a silent form of agreement.

"Well since you're being just as fucking stubborn," Nikita said, crossing her arms and turning, "then I'm going to talk to Zhanna again, before this all goes to fucking hell." Nikita began to take her exit, before pausing. She turned, a far more serious look in her eyes than before.

"What about Enma," she asked, sending a cold pang through Adel, "Your family? What do they think about this."

Slowly, then witnessed Adel steel herself. Nikita was reminded of just the other day, seeing how shaken Adel momentarily was when faced with the consequences of her actions, and then pushing that weakness back to show sacrifice and resolve.

"They understand," Adel said simply, but immediately saw Nikita's doubt. And this only angered her more.

"Do they?" Nikita asked, almost sadly, before leaving.

Enma hugged his shoulders, looking at Zhanna, then Adel, and then Nikita standing stiffly in between them, but notably not in line with them. He nearly jumped, feeling a hand on his shoulder. He met the kind eyes of Tsunayoshi, and felt a small sense of relief feel him. But that sputtered and died when looking back to Adel, who looked away. Ashamed.

She didn't want him to be here. She made that very clear. It was only by Enma's own orders that the rest of their family was not here to witness this.

"Adel – " he tried, but was cut off immediately.

"Enma," she said sharply, but immediately softened upon meeting his eye. "We talked about this," she told him, looking away.

Enma had wanted to take her place, had fought her over this. But Adel stood stubbornly in her argument. She had killed Zhanna's family. She was the one to blame, who shouldered this burden. But Enma knew this was a lie. He was the boss of the Shimon. He was their leader, the one they should look up to. But time and time again Adel had filled this roll when he couldn't. He could never, and still can't. And although he wanted to be brave, to put himself in front of Adel and sacrifice himself,

He couldn't. He can't. He was scared, terrified. But he wanted to. He wanted to so badly, and perhaps the one thing that was truly stopping him was the fact that Nikita was there. And her presence her, or resolve seemed like a promise to him that Adel would not die.

Nikita would not let her die. Tsunayoshi would not let her die. He had friends here, allies that would prevent that.

(Adel couldn't die, and in that moment Enma wondered if he could really stop himself if he was going to witness Adel being cut down in front of his eyes)

"Zhanna," Nikita said, snapping Enma from his thoughts, "I'll ask you one more time."

"My answer will never change," Zhanna said coldly, not tearing her eyes from Adel (who met them defiantly, unwavering. But Enma saw her hand barely fingering the edge of her skirt. She knew that Adel was scared, of dying, of abandoning her family), "I may have forgiven you for keeping this from me," and here, Nikita winced, wounded, "But I will never forgive this bitch for taking my family away from me."

Enma understood this, instantly. And that just made the situation worse.

"Please, Zhanna," Nikita said again, but Enma felt that she was asking something else. A moment, and then Zhanna sighed, before clicking her tongue.

"Fine."

Sparks erupted from Zhanna's closed palm, and she moved forward. Adel closed her eyes, and remained rigid,

Until her body was thrown like a doll into the secluded forest to the right of them, tearing through the environment. Enma blinked through watering, stinging eyes, and looked down,

Not having realized that Tsuna was holding him back, restraining Enma's already equipped arms. Nikita went to move forward, hoping to get to the shallow crater where Adel's body lay,

But Zhanna held a stiff arm out to stop her. A threat? Or a plead? Either way, Nikita stopped, her expression pained but allowing Zhanna to move forward none the less. Enma braced against Tsuna once more before slumping,

Relief filling him when Adel barely shifted, letting out an unbelievably pained moan.

Zhanna scowled, roughly rolling Adel's body on its side and placing her foot on the girl's head. A sharp cry of pain rang out as the Russian did this. She leaned over, arm on her knee.

"I want you to remember," Zhanna hissed, face an array of quelled fury, "killing them. I want you to remember this pain you're in right now. Never," she spat, pressing her foot into Adel's head, earning another sharp cry, "fucking mess with us again, or anyone else close to me. I'm only leaving you alive so you can live with this pain. Call it fucking mercy if it helps you sleep at night, but we both know better."

She spat on Adel's face and stalked off. Nikita didn't even spare her close friend a glance as she rushed forward. Enma was the first of the two dons to snap out of their shock. Tsuna allowed Enma to slip from his arms, and watched as Enma unequipped as he ran forward.

"Adel!" He cried, joining Nikita as she gently laid Adel on her back. His hands shook, hovering over her body.

"Enma," Nikita called out, then reached forward to grab his face. Hopeless, worried eyes met hers, making it hard to look away, "I need you, okay?" He paused, shock covering his features, then he numbly nodded, "I need you to talk to her, keep her with us," Nikita said, almost too calmly. By this time, Tsuna had run over as well, hands unsure as well and barely glancing over at Reborn. The hitman retained a stone face.

Nikita had explained to them the need of not interfering, of letting this play out. But that didn't change the difficulty of watching it happen right before your eyes.

"So she's alive? Can you heal her?" Tsuna asked, Reborn looking grim on his shoulder.

"Not completely," Nikita admitted, focusing on her organs first, half aware of Enma holding Adel's face and speaking kind words to her. Talking of memories. Happiness. Anything but the awful pain Nikita was putting her through. "She's not used to my healing, so it would be too much on her body if I healed it completely. But I can get her out of danger, easily," Nikita added on, throwing her phone to Tsuna. He fumbled, not expecting the throw.

"Call Chrome," Nikita ordered, not looking up, "it would be best if there's an illusionist here."

Her eyes flickered to Adel's face, heaving and eyes dull, but still holding on, trying to smile for her boss, who was nearly on the verge of tears. Nikita grimaced, slowly, ever so slowly healing the most damaged organs, causing a sudden yell of ugly agony.

"She's going to be in a lot of pain."

Adel opened her eyes, slowly and warily. And then, with a wince, she recalled the events that led to being in the hospital, immediately recognizing the study beat of the machinery around her. Opening her eyes fully, she scanned the room, softening upon seeing Enma asleep in a chair on one side of her bed,

But widening her eyes in shot upon seeing Nikita Cavallone on the other side. The girl carefully closed the book she was reading before looking to Adel. A moment, and then realizing that Adel was not going to speak, Nikita took the initiative.

"Enma just fell asleep a while ago," Nikita told her as her eyes flickered, then steadied. "He was here all night, waiting for you to wake up."

"Why," Adel said, her voice steady, then decaying to shutters, "Why?"

"After what happened, I could only heal you so much- "

"Why did you let me live!" Adel spat, cutting her off. Nikita's expression quelled, and she allowed Adel to maintain herself, her entire body shaking. Rage or guilt? Which was it, Adel wondered.

"I tried to kill you," she nearly seethed, her fist tightening, "and yet you put on this kind façade?! I murdered one of your closest friend's family members. I came close to killing you. And yet, you act like you forgive me. Why?"

Nikita blinked, her face going blank. Then, while scratching the back of her head, she looked off awkwardly. Her mood changed entirely, shifting into a far more casual attire.

"Honestly?" she started, a small smile sneaking onto her face, causing Adel even more confusion, "A lot of the friends I have now have tried to kill me when I first met them. Bel threw a couple knives at me every now and then, when we were first starting off," she recalled, holding up fingers to count, "Mukuro came a little too close to breaking my mind for comfort, and hell, Kyoya even tried to bite me to death when I first met him. One person in particular, was the direct cause of my future self killing herself, but…." Nikita trailed off, noticing Adel's widened eyes, then quickly waved her hand dismissively in the air, "but that's a whole other fucking mess, and not really the point?" she finished uneasily.

"Then what is the point?" Adel demanded, her eyes accusing and steady. Nikita sighed, looking out the window in thought, growing somber. Looking almost regal in the moment, Adel defined, and perhaps this imagery enraged her even more.

"I was seven? Six?" Nikita started, attempting to think back, "when I first killed." Her eyebrows collided.

"You're getting o-"

"Just, let me finish," Nikita almost snapped at her, then added, softer, "please." Adel's eyes narrowed, but she allowed it. Nikita took a breath, and continued.

"It was self-defense," she admitted, "but it didn't matter to me. I shot him point blank in the head. Blew his fucking head off. Squalo found me, almost dead. It was Dino's inheritance ceremony."

Nikita was quiet for a while, and Adel allowed this, letting the information sink in herself. Enma's soft breathing acted as a pace maker. It was calming. Comforting. It made both glad he was there.

"We all," Nikita said, then corrected herself, glancing over at Enma, "most of us, have done bad things. Awful things. Horrible things. And people don't care about why we did those things. All that matters is what we did. It's colorless like that, you know?" she clarified, not bothering to look over at Adel, "black and white. And in the world we're in, we're going to keep doing those bad things," Nikita continued, lifting her own hands to look at them, "and it won't matter why. We'll just do it, because that's how things are. And people will get mad. People will want to kill you, to take revenge, to try and try and try to regain what little pride they have left. Because that's how it goes. Most of us are horrible, awful people. We kill, and lie, and cheat, and murder, for others and ourselves. But," she said, hesitating before turning to look Adel in the eyes, giving her a small, unwavering smile, "it's just a little better, knowing that we can be horrible, awful people together. So, I figure, if I can forgive myself, and get past what I've done, then it's no problem to forgive over people."

There was a soft silence between the three occupants of the room. Adel breathed outward, long and unwavering. Then, she opened her eyes. Prideful and determined once gain.

"Nikita Cavallone," Adel called out, causing Nikita to stiffen slightly. Nikita blinked, realizing that the older girl was waiting for a response.

"…yes?"

"I will not thank you for everything you have done," Adel declared, staring Nikita in the eyes, "nor will I thank you for forgiving me, something I do not deserve. But," she said, pausing, then, determined once more, "I will thank you for this," she concluded, not having to clarify. Nikita smiled at her, practically beaming. She nearly scowled, causing the younger to laugh.

"So," Nikita said, laughter trailing off, "we're chill now right?"

Adel did not release her scowl, Nikita's casual vocabulary only deepening it. Nikita sighed light heartedly, rising from her chair while shaking her head.

"I swear, you and Kyoya have got to loosen up," Nikita told her, grinning. Adel huffed, looking away from her stubbornly and out the window.

"And speaking of the devil," Nikita continued, looking at my phone, "I better get going before he gets even more pissed off. I'll come back and check up on you later, okay?" she asked, not really expecting a reply. Nikita blinked, looking back over at Enma and frowning, knowing how uncomfortable he must be.

"And," she added as she walked out the door, "I'll get someone to get him a cot to sleep on. Ciao."

"Enma," Adel called out when the girl was far down the hall. The boy sighed, opening his eyes.

"So you knew I was awake, huh?" he muttered, sitting up and stretching out. Adel huffed, arcing her neck proudly. "And I thought I was doing good," he said with a small smile, then sighed again, almost wistfully, "at least Nikita didn't notice…"

"Please. If I noticed that you were faking, there's no doubt that Cavallone did too." His face went red immediately and he clutched his head in embarrassment.

"No way!" he relented, bending over in exasperation and somberness, "I was really that bad?!" Adel raised an eyebrow at his reaction. Her eyes the widened, finally pinpointing the reason for his actions, all of his strange behaviors around the foreign girl.

"Don't tell me…" she started, her eyes narrowing dangerously, "that you have a crush on Cavallone, Enma?"

His reaction to this accusation gave her a crystal clear answer. She watched listlessly as he panicked, face growing alarmingly red. She sighed, lowering her head.

"Out of all the girls to form a crush on," she muttered, watching as her nurse came in, and was immediately concerned about the overly-flustered boy, "and you choose the most oblivious."

"Be like the flower that gives its fragrance to even the hand that crushes it."

-Imam Ali (as)

AN:

So yeah, this has been a long time coming. So now the Adel and Zhanna thing is out of the way! Also, I've pretty much dropped the whole first person POV for this chapter, because it was mostly from Enma's perspective, and then I had to get Chrome and Bel's rivalry from not-Nikita's perspective, because she it fucking oblivious about this shit. Sigh. Now we can move onto the next big thing! Whoo! Also, sorry if there are any mistakes, most of this was written already, so because I've read it so often, I'm privy to look over some mistakes. I'll make sure to come back tomorrow (when I'm not too tired lmao) to look over it again.

Be sure to keep sending in your favorite ships, and I'll probably put up a list for the poll next chapter to make sure I have everyone. To clarify, there will be an endgame, but I will add an extra chapter for alternate pairings so everyone gets a little glimpse of their favorite ship. Whoo! Also, if you have anything in particular you want to see/talk about, feel free to review or PM me about it!

As always, thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites!

-Evenly