Irony, your name is Ayaka (Katekyo Hitman Reborn/ Inuyasha)

[Zephyr_Fauchelevent]

Irony, your name is Ayaka



Chapter 1
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Author's notes: Welcome to this two-shot crossover story. This will be a rather short work, so I will not bother with very long explanations, descriptions and translation of terms since I will use the English translation to vary the words I used. The readers will truly need to have at least a passable understanding of the anime/manga Katekyo Hitman Reborn and Inuyasha if they wish to enjoy this work. As for the timelines of both series, it will be before canon for Katekyo Hitman Reborn, more precisely during the missions preceding the choosing of this generation's Arcobaleno but an alternative universe of after canon for Inuyasha. This work will not take «Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon» into consideration since I know too little about it.

It is also my executive decision that pureblood Yōkais can't awaken Dying Will Flames. On the other hand, it is possible for Hanyōs to awaken them since they have the required human blood. Yōki or Demonic Power in English and Dying Will Flames are like oil and water, they do not mix even if the use of both can accomplish rather similar feats. When a Flame Active Hanyō or Half-Demon uses one of them, it is impossible for them to actively use both power sources at the same time. Now, it's time to get this show on the road!

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Fon was usually a very patient man. He was a calm and fair person, normally seen with a slight smile. Contrary to the many stereotypes attributed to his Flame type, he was anything but hot headed. But right now even his legendary patience was running thin. He was a tall man of an indeterminate age of Chinese nationality, his long black hair held back in a braid. His usual immaculate red Chinese shirt and pants were now dirty, torn and he was covered in bruises and abrasions of all sorts. After having been hired by Luce Giglio Nero, the Donna of the Giglio Nero Famiglia as the strongest Storm Flame user with all the other strongest users of the Dying Will Flames of the Sky, they had run multiple missions together until they were more or less a cohesive unit. But this particular mission had turned sour quite quickly.

It was supposed to be a rather easy mission, to wipe out an extremist group based in the mountains of China who were endangering Omerta by selling experimental flame enhanced weapons on the black market. It was better for them to clean the mess than let the Vindice get involved. Vindice prison was not a nice place and very rare were those who left the penitentiary while still alive. But in the end, their intel was faulty. This terrorist group had allied themselves with an Oni tribe of all things. The leader of the Onis was not one of those brutish and dim monsters like the majority of their species. Oh no, she was very much human in intelligence and appearance if you didn't take in account the horns sprouting from her forehead, the pointed elf-like ears and her sharp fangs. She also had the game of seduction down pat. More than one flunky embarrassed themselves by trying and failing to get her attention.

Now here they all were, each of them locked down in an individual dungeon cell inside a restored mountain fortress, shackled in Yōki forged metal manacles. Those specially forged manacles had the irritating ability of making it impossible for them to use their Dying Will Flames to escape. Skull, their Cloud Flame user, was also in a rather bad way and would need to be brought to a doctor quickly. The kid had jumped in front of a few men wanting to «play» with Lal before they were sent to their individual cells. While it was an admirable act, Skull should have remembered that their Rain-using colleague was in fact former military and even bound and cut away from her supernatural power, she would have been more than able to defend herself from unwanted advances. Lal Mirch hadn't made it to the Italian Special Forces ,more specifically COMSUBIN, without surviving the training after all.

Even Reborn, their Sun Flames user, world renowned Hit-man, certified troll and all around pain in the ass, had to metaphorically tip his hat at the Stunt-man's actions, foolish as they were. The only silver lining to this situation was that before their collective capture, they had managed to bribe Viper, their Mist Flame user, Information Broker and all around miser, to teleport Luce, who was their Sky Flame user, away. Such captivity wouldn't have been good for her and her baby, since she was three months pregnant. But now they had languished here for days, barely fed and watered to the minimum so they could survive. Their captors hadn't yet decided what to do with them. Some wanted to simply kill them all and be rid of the problem. Some others wanted to make use of their considerable skill sets for their Organisation's benefit. Most of the Onis wanted to eat them, but were kept in check by their leader. All but except one that is.

The alpha Oni had made a very public example out of her kinsman who disobeyed her commands by trying to eat Verde, their Lightning Flame user. Said example hadn't been pretty nor done quickly. She had prolonged its agony for hours before finally granting the condemned the right to die. Needless to say after this gruesome spectacle, there were no more attempts to eat the prisoners. While none of the group would admit it out loud, they were getting somewhat desperate. Well except Skull, but as a former civilian who was forcefully dragged kicking and screaming - literally- into the Mafia only because he somehow accessed the Flames of the Dying Will, you couldn't expect the kid to keep his cool like the others.

For Fon though, something other than his safety and those of his colleagues was starting to worry him greatly. His adoptive daughter would be quite upset with him for missing his appointed visit. He could only hope that she would wait for him patiently and not try to find him. While his current lifestyle wasn't exactly ideal for child rearing, he loved her with all his heart and wouldn't want things to go back to what they were before she entered his life. His clan had been approached by a supernatural being of great power, fourteen years ago. Sesshōmaru, an immensely powerful Inugami daiyōkai, had entrusted to them the rearing of his newest Hanyō daughter.

She was at least a few days old, but she already had her father's silky silvery hair and two dog ears on top of her head proving her hybrid nature. Of course, Lord Sesshōmaru didn't exactly explain why he was entrusting his pup to Fon's clan instead of fostering her closer to his lands in Japan or what happened to the girl's mother, but the political and monetary support that flowed their way in exchange was a rather good carrot. As for the stick, well, being threatened with total annihilation if the pup ever came to harm at their hands outside of training was one hell of a big one. That it shut up the protesting elders rather quickly was a very enticing bonus in Fon's humble opinion.

While it hadn't started like that, the girl whose name was Ayaka, eventually ended up in his family's personal care. His two younger sisters all helped, but the pup seemingly imprinted on him more than the others. Being the only man and now head of his family, with their parents having passed away, his sisters continually teased him that he had the making of a good father. He had tried to fight it, really he did. At the time he felt he was much too young to be a dad. He didn't even have a wife for Buddha's sake! But in the end, he eventually got attached and finally took the role both his sisters and Ayaka wanted of him. The rest was, as they say, history.

These days, his precious little girl was living with the oldest of his two sisters, who was attending University in Kyoto. The now teenage pup was attending a private high school and had great grades from the last report card he saw. He could only hope that his group and him would manage to free themselves and go back to civilization so he could enter in contact with his surrogate daughter before she gets into her head to track him down. The last thing he wanted was to involve her in the criminal underworld. Not that he was fearing for her safety, she was much more powerful than regular humans after all. He was rather certain that with a bit more experience under her obi, his Ayaka could eventually take on even veteran Flames users and win. But as a father, he wanted better than a life in the criminal underworld for his little pup.

Fon really should have known better than to tempt fate since there were some things he didn't know about his adoptive daughter. During one of Papa Fon's many overseas travels over the last few years, Ayaka had met with her biological father a few times, who had gifted her with the sword of his deceased half-brother forged by the Yōkai sword-smith Tōtōsai and also taught her the basics of her Inugami abilities. While she was no master swords-woman, at least not yet, Ayaka and Tessaiga had bonded in a way that the late Inuyasha had never managed to accomplish. It was also imperative for Ayaka to have access to a yōkai blade to make sure she wasn't overwhelmed by her demonic blood due to puberty. Ayaka's father had always been very discreet about his illegal dealings, but it wasn't easy to hide things from a curious teenage girl with supernatural senses. Of course, she never breathed a word to anyone off what she had heard.

So when Fon missed his scheduled visit without calling to apologize and reschedule, she grabbed the phone and called her other aunt in case she had received some news. When that avenue didn't yield any results, Ayaka decided to make use of her supernatural blood. What was confidential for humans wasn't exactly the same for the various spirits and lesser yōkais. A certain secret meeting could have easily been overheard by a tree nymph or a wind spirit after all. You just needed to find the right informant and negotiate the price for the information. The supernatural denizens still loved to mess with the humans whenever they could, even if they had to become much more subtle about it. The end of World War II and the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had proven that the mortals could annihilate them all if given a chance. So for them it was quite easy to get around the so-called Omerta. It wasn't like the Vindice would suddenly appear to drag the beings who spoke to her to prison after all.

While Ayaka was getting her information from the various spirits and other supernatural beings she knew of, Luce was not sitting idle once she was back in her mansion in Italy. She had a lot of information on all the people she worked closely with, thus she knew about Lal's former student and his infatuation with her. To get her allies out from where they were detained, she had retained the services of another ex Special Forces soldier. The man's name was Colonnello. Or was it more likely his code-name? Luce had to admit her ignorance on the subject.

Colonnello had blonde, spiky hair, light blue eyes, and even now that he was no longer part of the military, he wore green army camouflage. He wore black army boots and a camouflage bandana around his head. The former military man had just gotten settled in a sniper nest on an adjacent mountain pass to observe the fortress and plan his rescue operation. He was checking what he knew while putting together his sniper rifle as the night was slowly falling. When it was entirely dark, something incredible happened.

If he hadn't been stone cold sober, Colonnello would have thought that it was a hallucination caused by an excess of drinking or for something he accidentally inhaled.

«What the fucking hell-kora?!»

But no, there was, what he could more or less guess, a girl in her mid-teens on the back of a truly gigantic black wolf coming out of the forest not far down from his position. After grabbing his binoculars, he could now confirm that it was indeed a teenage girl, but not only her shoulder length hair was a startling silvery white, she had furry animal ears on top of her head! And they were real since they were pivoting every which way. Suddenly, her golden eyes were looking straight at him in a mix of concern and confusion. But she likely chose to ignore him instead of coming up here to get answers; since he saw her get down from the wolf's back before sitting on the ground Indian style with a sheathed katana resting against her shoulder.

Colonello finally decided it was best for his sanity to ignore the cosplaying teenage girl and to go back to his surveillance after the gigantic wolf trotted back where it came from. She couldn't be all that dangerous no? While his ability to sense Flame actives wasn't his best skill, he could usually sense them at close enough range. Lal's would-be suitor couldn't tell if she was active or not, she was hard to pin down from all the way up here. But she was already unusual, so he would still keep a wary eye on her while preparing his plans for his current Op.

Ayaka intended to stay where she was until nightfall. She was lucky, tonight was the new moon so it will be quite dark. She could smell the foul odour of the Onis on the wind and it made her slightly cringe. While her heritage made her very resistant to poison, with her Sire being very handy with the poisonous whip and claws, there was a limit as to what she could endure. This would mean that she would have to charge with overwhelming force. She would have preferred to sneak in and out, but Onis could be quite tricky when underestimated.

If this group allied themselves with humans, they weren't the dumb as a rock kind. Her informants were very clear. Her father was kept prisoner with other Flame active humans inside this fortress. With everything taken into consideration, it was a good thing she had been gifted Tessaiga. Without the sword of her late biological uncle, the mission she was embarking on would have been much more dangerous. It was why she had sent her new friend away. Ayaka would have felt horrible if he had gotten hurt because of her direct or indirect actions.

Ayaka wondered why there was a blonde haired mercenary with a sniper rifle higher on the mountain, but since he wasn't hostile or getting in her way, she had chosen to ignore him. It wasn't like there were yōkai laws against being seen by humans. And it's not like anyone would believe him if told anyone what he saw anyway. Now if he had gotten in her way, he would have gotten a taste of her claws. She closed her eyes and started to meditate on the power that was her birthright, bringing her Yōki close to the surface but not letting it run wild. Of course she also. did the standard breathing exercises. Ayaka waited until it was truly dark before getting up and helping her blood flow correctly by shaking the numbness out of her limbs. Once she was ready, she took a great breath before letting it go slowly.

Ayaka put her best game face on and after a last look towards where Colonello was perched she dashed at a supernatural speed towards the fortress after securing her sword in the obi of her kimono. When she was at about five hundred metres from the portcullis, she drew her blade and in an explosion of Yōki it transformed from a chipped and battered katana into a weapon roughly the size of a car bumper that somewhat resembled a dadao sabre, with the cross guard turning into a large patch of fur similar to a dog's. Ayaka then raised her sword at arm's length above her head before all but howling at the top of her voice in Japanese while correctly channelling her Yōki through the blade

«KAZE NO KIZU!!!!»

Right as she was howling the technique's name, Ayaka forcefully smashed her blade to the ground, which had for effect of sending three devastating blades of yellow coloured Yōki rushing at preternatural speed towards the fortress. Soon enough, when the technique made contact, it wrecked everything in its path! And judging by the many anguished screams she could perceive, her technique had done its job. Of course she had kept running even after attacking and to get ready for an eventual fight, she had settled Tessaiga over her shoulder.

Ayaka soon found herself under a hail of bullets, since the terrorists who had survived her initial assault had quickly snapped out of it and launched the counter-offensive. While she was quite quick and nimble, the Hanyō couldn't dodge or block them all. It was inevitable that she took a few bullets, but she hadn't even flinched or slowed down. Being on the receiving hand of Flames enhanced punches during her training was much more painful than that. They would have to do better if they intended to slow her down or to stop her in her tracks. With another growl of righteous anger, the teenage half-demoness swung down Tessaiga again, launching another Wind Scar at point blank. Everything around her turned yellow and numerous screams of pain and terror alike blocked everything else.

From his Sniper nest, Colonello was observing the sheer destruction the strange little girl was dishing to the previously impenetrable fortress. How was it even possible? What she was doing wasn't Flame related, he knew that much. But what was it? Then he finally remarked that through the girl's rampage, the path into the fortress was now wide open. Knowing when to take advantage of the situation, the former military man quickly put his sniper rifle on his back with the strap connected to it before hurrying towards his destination and the love of his life.

After the second Wind Scar had entirely dissipated, Ayaka was now running through the courtyard, using her nose to try to pinpoint her father's emplacement. And to raise her chances in trying to find him, she called out loud for him in fluent Chinese

«Féng bàba! Féng bàba! Nǐ zài nǎlǐ? Qǐng huídá wǒ!» (Daddy Fon! Daddy Fon! Where are you? Answer me!)

Ayaka's search for her father had to be put on hold, since her senses alerted her of something dangerous heading her way. In a fraction of a second, she jumped a few metres aside. It allowed her to dodge an incoming stream of acidic poison. Limping towards her was the spitting mad Alpha Oni. She was in a rather bad way though. She was missing an arm entirely up to the shoulder, one of her horns was cut in half and she was bleeding from multiple cuts all over her body. The monster in human skin hissed at Ayaka and snarled at her in Japanese

«You disgusting half-breed! You just ruined everything! You will pay for this, mark my words! I'll send you to Hell and feast on your corpse!»

Had the Alpha Oni been hale and hearty, the threat would have had more weight behind it. But as the creature in front of her was right now, she posed only a minor threat to Ayaka, who minus annoying bullet wounds, was still fresh as a daisy. Two Wind Scars weren't enough to deplete her Yōki reserves. With a disconcerting ease, Ayaka glided by the Alpha Oni and cut off her remaining arm with a simple swing of Tessaiga before jogging toward the interior of the fortress. Before the Alpha could order her remaining men, after overcoming the shock of her new wound of course, be they Onis or Humans to attack, Colonello shot her point blank in the middle of her forehead. A few seconds later, she fell to the ground, dead.

Now normally, a Yōkai of her stature wouldn't be bothered by regular munitions. It would take something with a much bigger payload to bypass their natural resistance. But the former soldier had enhanced it with his own flames and it was enough to kill her. While the Rain Flame user was a bit out of his depth, he knew enough that to let such a dangerous enemy live was a mistake. When the situation would permit it, he would tell the girl off for her idiocy. If she was trained enough to use a magic sword and attack a fortress, she should have known when it was or wasn't adequate to show mercy.

It didn't take long for Ayaka's nose to lead her to the lower levels. She had sheathed Tessaiga since the walls were too close to each other for her to use such a huge blade. One of her ears twitched, hearing the footsteps of the blond soldier not far behind her. Resistance was minimal, the half-demoness only had to use her claws with lethal intention six times. Two of which required her to use the poisonous claws she inherited from her Sire due to magical protections provided by the Oni clan. The first prisoner she saw was a man who would have likely been handsome if he were at his best. But she recognized him all the same due to his trademarked hat and his curly sideburns. With a childish tone of voice, she pointed to the man with her index and told him with a beaming smile

«Oh, I recognize you! You're Reborn, the World's Greatest Asshole! Mama says that there's no one better than you to piss people off! She said that you could even piss off inanimate objects without breaking a sweat! Could you come with me to my school please, one of these days? There's so many self-righteous idiots there that could use your expertise!»

Now Reborn was of two minds about it. He was rather proud that this slip of a girl recognized him at all but on the other hand, being called the World's Greatest Asshole wasn't really flattering. It didn't help that his fellow colleagues were now all laughing uproariously at him. Before he could do or say anything else, he was rendered entirely speechless when the wannabe kemonomimi took hold of his cell's door and ripped it out of its hinges with only a soft grunt of exertion. He was snapped out of it when her overly long nails started to glow an acid green and used what was probably an acidic poison to break the suppression cuffs.

Ayaka repeated the operation on Verde next, but someone else came running when she was grabbing the door to Lal's cell after she was done freeing the scientist and refusing to let him take a blood sample from her.

«Lal? Lal?! I'm here to rescue you, babe! I just got the keys from the guard!»

The blonde mercenary who had followed her came bounding down the stairs and Ayaka told him with a raised eyebrow

«You're late. I was just about to cut her loose. If you want to be useful, go open the other doors or bring the Cloud user to a medic. I can smell the blood oozing slowly from his wounds all the way from here.»

And to add salt to the wound, because being told off by a teenage girl was already harsh enough, Lal told him with a blush and a furious tone of voice

«I already told you many times to stop calling me «Babe», idiot. And I also told you to stop following me around! You have no place here!»

Colonello's expression turned to a crestfallen one and told her in a pouting tone of voice

«But, but! Lal! I love you! You're the love of my life! I was hired by Miss Giglio Nero to help you and your comrades escape! I came here from half-way around the globe, the least you could do would be to greet me with a hug!»

Ayaka had other things to do than listen to those two bicker like an old married couple. Even as inexperienced in matters of love as she was, it was clear to her that this Lal woman had thrown either a bone or a pity date to the guy and he couldn't just take a hint and vanish. With a surprising strength for someone of her height and weight class, she forcefully pushed Colonello away from his current place in front of the door, but not before swiping the keys from him.

She unlocked Lal's cell and made use of her poison claws once more to break the shackles after finding out that no keys on the key-ring could open them. When she entered Viper's cell next, her healing factor finally kicked in. The Half-Demoness' wounds started smoking and the bullets lodged in her flesh were expelled before they started to close in front of the speechless Mist. They had never seen something like this before. It was unreal.

The girl's demeanor changed from aloof but confident to exuberant and quite joyous once she opened the door to Fon's cell after freeing Skull. She spoke one word that shocked everybody else once the Storm Flame user was freed

«Daddy!»

Then she glomped on him with her considerable strength.

Even Viper and Verde, the two most impassive of the group, repeated out loud with the others

«Heh?! Daddy?!»

Fon let out a defeated sigh, before accepting the reality he was living in and held his adopted daughter close to his chest. Oh, she was in so much trouble, it wasn't even funny. But he would let her savour her hard earned victory while she still could.

«I missed you too, dear. Now, let's get out of here.»

 

[Zephyr_Fauchelevent]

Irony, your name is Ayaka



Chapter 2
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After managing to get out of the now thoroughly ruined fortress since Ayaka was feeling rather vindictive and launched another Wind Scar at it when they were all at a safe distance, Fon was grilling his adoptive daughter on everything he missed during his absences. Things like where had she gotten hold of a Yōkai blade, exactly when had she learned how to use it and more importantly, how had she managed to get the information needed to track them down. Learning that Omerta could be easily bypassed by eavesdropping lesser supernatural creatures and nature spirits of all things by a smug teenage girl didn't sit well with the long term mafiosi.The pillars of their community were built over secrecy and discretion after all. But to interact with those beings, you had to be either part of the supernatural world yourself or be a Mist flame user of great talent and/or power. And then again, those beings had to be willing to interact with you to begin with.

When Colonnello started to lambast Ayaka for letting the Alpha Oni live instead of putting her down immediately, the young girl did as many teenagers did when lectured by adults with no real authority over them, that is to ignore their very existence. When the blond Rain flame user got in her face after being fed up of being ignored, he quickly realized his mistake but was too late to do anything about it. The teenage girl with silvery white hair, dog ears and golden eyes moved at a speed he simply couldn't follow and took hold of his face in one of her clawed hands while making sure said claws wouldn't wound him. In a growling voice that didn't belong to a normal teen girl, she told him

«Get out of my face, man! Who do you think you are, to lecture me like that? My father? Go bother someone else who cares, with your nonsensical platitudes! I don't even know who you are!»

Then she threw him away like he was nothing but trash. Not far from the Hanyō, Lal let out a low, impressed whistle after seeing her former student bounce three or four times on the solid ground only to finally come to a halt a few hundred meters away. That girl had some serious strength, it was quite surprising since there was no flame use involved. Then Fon spoke her name with a warning tone

«Ayaka, what have I told you about using your supernatural strength on people?»

She answered him with a sheepish tone of voice

«But daddy! He was invading my personal space without my permission. And it was you who told me to not let any strange boys approach me in the first place.»

Fon put palm to face and groaned out loud. Trust a teenager to turn his own words against him. Of course, the rest of the original group, minus Skull who was still unconscious, were now openly laughing at him. Fon turned a gimlet eye towards them, there would be a reckoning for this, he swore it.

During that time, Colonnello had finally bounced back on his feet and after seeing that Ayaka hadn't moved too far, he was about to march back in her personal space when Lal grabbed him by the sleeve of his shirt and told him

«Colonnello, don't. She threw you away like it was nothing and without any flame use. You're a grown man and she's still a teenager. Whatever she is, her basic physical capacities clearly surpass whatever you can dish out.»

His answer was quick to come

«I don't care-kora. She barged into my Operation, so she'll listen to my instructions. And if I want to chew out a greenhorn who makes a stupid rookie mistake-kora, I'll do it.»

Lal sighed out loud but let him go all the same. It was his funeral after all. Her former student was a grown man and she wasn't his commanding officer anymore. So she prepared mentally for the incoming explosion and she wasn't disappointed. The moment Colonnello roughly grabbed Ayaka by the scruff of her kimono to jerk her back toward him, everyone heard a very loud and threatening animalistic snarl suddenly escape from the girl's throat. It was the only warning the former soldier got before the hybrid acted. The Half Demoness turned on a dime with her golden eyes narrowed to a dangerous degree, her fangs-like canines were now bared and even Fon barked out an order to try to stop what he knew was coming

«Ayaka, no! Don't do it!»

But it was already too late. With a powerful and swift swipe from one of her clawed hands, she would have disemboweled the Rain flame user if he hadn't worn a bulletproof vest in the first place. As it is, said vest was now completely ruined, what with the four long trenches gouged deep in the material. She was about to jump on him to likely finish what she started, but Fon finally managed to intervene physically. With the ease of long practice, the Martial artist finally pinched a cluster of nerves at the junction of her neck and shoulder after enhancing his muscular strength with the help of his flames. While Cloud flames were the best to enhance the user's physical parameters, every type gave their awakened users the physical abilities of professional athletes at the very least. When his adoptive daughter finally slumped down unconscious in his arms, Fon glared at a slowly recovering Colonnello and asked him rather hostilely ,barely restraining himself from smacking the former soldier over the head

«Are you a total brainless idiot or what? What did you think you were doing, grabbing her like that after she had previously warned you to back off? You should count yourself lucky that I was there or she would have more than likely killed you before you could even think of stopping her. And for your information? She wouldn't have batted an eye for doing it! Her instincts tend to overwhelm her reason at this stage of her life! You deliberately provoked her, you nitwit!»

Outraged, Colonnello got up once again and barked back, all the more incensed to see others take the side of the upstart little girl over him and justified his actions

«She muscled her way into my god-damned Op-kora, so she was to follow my every command until we were extracted out of this shithole and safely back in Italy! That idiot greenhorn girl of yours let a dangerous enemy live when she should have killed it right away. And don't give me the «She's just a kid» bullshit. I saw her using her freaky powers to storm and destroy that fortress all on her lonesome. If she's old enough to fight and kill, then she's clearly old enough to obey orders-kora! She should count herself lucky that I hadn't just executed her on the spot for gross insubordination and for trying to murder her superior officer! As it is, when we're back on Italian soil, I'm calling in the Vindice. She clearly and deliberately broke Omerta. Cooling off her ass in a jail cell for a few years might do her some good.»

This time, it was Reborn who pointed out the flaws in the logic used by their would-be rescuer. Not because he had a stake in the conflict, but he wasn't certain if he wanted to see his Storm colleague lose his patience. He knew from hard earned experience that those with the longest fuse had the fiercest tempers when said fuse ran out. The ex-soldier had just threatened Fon's adoptive daughter with summary execution after all. It was better to diffuse the situation before it got even messier.

«Look, whoever you are, get off your high horse before you end up pissing off the wrong person. The girl is clearly not a soldier, you're no longer in the army and you're definitely not her commanding officer. We all owe her a debt of gratitude for busting us out of there. Yes, you were coming. Yes, Luce hired you. But...Ayaka was it? Got here before you and we had no way to know that mandated help was coming. I greatly dislike being indebted to someone by principle, but I won't let you shoot the kid just because she attacked you in retaliation for manhandling her without permission. And as for calling the Vindice? be my guest. We'll see what their judgment will be on the matter. »

Reborn didn't think that the Vindice would arrest the girl though. There were no survivors left to spread the word of her deeds except them and she hadn't used Dying will flames after all. Cold hard logic didn't seem to have much hold on the blond haired sniper though. He even conveniently forgot that he hadn't interacted with Ayaka until they both were in the dungeons and thus couldn't have given her any kind of orders beforehand. The Rain flame user was about to give Reborn a piece of his mind, that is until Viper spoke in their monotone tone of voice all the while holding their head between their hands

«Mu, shut up will you? You're giving me a headache. That girl is clearly not entirely human, so you can't hold her to the same standards you hold yourself to. Also, take this rare free advice from me. I wouldn't antagonize her any more than you already have if I were you. Her very sharp claw-like nails can secrete a poison which is very similar in effect to Storm flames. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that if I can help it. Her father won't always be there to run interference between the both of you.»

That specific argument took all the winds out of Colonnello's sails and was enough to make the ragtag group continue the long trek to their get-away vehicle in an uneasy silence after Fon managed to get his unconscious daughter in a proper princess carry.

XxX
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Fon was rather conflicted about their current situation once back in Italy. They had made it out of their forced captivity thanks to the help of Ayaka and Colonnello. But Luce had categorically refused to put the next incoming missions on hold so he could ensure his daughter returned home safely in Japan. No, in fact Luce had decided that Ayaka and Colonnello were to accompany them both and nothing anyone said about it could change her mind. But let it not be said that his darling girl got off scot free. Oh no, Fon made Ayaka call her mother with his secure phone and he took some kind of vindictive pleasure to hear his younger sister tear «their» daughter a new one. Even Reborn let out an impressed whistle after hearing the diatribe coming from the young woman on the other end of the line. After the phone call ended, Ayaka was feeling a few centimeters tall at the very least.

But while the Donna wasn't willing to let Fon's daughter return to her home in Japan, it didn't mean that she couldn't be creatively punished. Luce was in fact totally in accord with her Storm colleague, that the young hybrid was in dire need of being severely disciplined. Not only had she ditched school,(Luce was a firm believer that education was very important) she had run away from her home without permission from her legal guardian, and had illegally left her country of residence to enter another. She had exposed a Clan's secret about her true nature to Outsiders and had involved herself into the affairs of the Italian Mafia while she was still underage. Ayaka needed to be punished to understand the gravity of her actions. Yes, she did good by saving her father and his colleagues, but she should have given her gathered information to an adult in the know instead of taking things in hand herself.

At every safe house they stayed in during their missions, the young lady was on permanent cleaning duty. Washing the dishes, doing the laundry, sweeping and mopping the floors, etc. The only things she wasn't allowed to do was to enter the bedrooms when their occupants weren't there and she wasn't to touch any of the weaponry. Fon even confiscated Tessaiga from her and when she protested vehemently about that, he told her firmly

«I'm sorry, did you just tell me that you wanted to also be deprived of your demonic powers? If that is so, then you just have to say the word. I happen to have enough ofuda with me to purify you and then keep you in your human state for weeks on end. Do NOT test me, daughter. You are in enough trouble as it is.»

Needless to say, Ayaka backed down with her dog ears flat on her head and a miserable whine escaping her throat. No one had any mercy to give her. The teenage Half-demoness had made her bed and now she had to lie in it. She had just gotten her sword not long ago, it was really unfair to be deprived of it already! It was a family's heirloom! And since it was a Yōkai blade, even Flame users couldn't use it to its full potential. But she really didn't like to be deprived of her supernatural powers if she could help it. So it was almost needless to say that she was currently between a rock and a hard place.

There was also some kind of cold war going on between Ayaka and Colonnello. Neither were willing to back down from their positions and the rest of the group were now wisely steering clear from their conflict after Fon's abject failure to make them come to amicable terms. Of course, if things turned to physical violence again, they would intervene. The former COMSUBIN member had learned to not manhandle her lest he risk his life though. But the teenager was often forced to endure his repeated boring lectures about proper behavior for a young woman and about respecting her hierarchical superiors, since there was a lasting ban on anything electronic during missions, minus their secure phones. Not that said lectures were sticking in, since the girl was always acerbic toward him and quick to dismiss him as no one important, much to the others' not so hidden amusement.

Ayaka and Skull became quick friends though once the young man was patched up, by bonding during the young man's motorcycle maintenance. The Cloud flame user was nineteen years old to Ayaka's fourteen, but there was absolutely nothing romantic going on between them. The former stunt-man possessed little common sense by his own admission, but he knew enough that even in the Mafia, messing around with an underage girl was bound to land you in a boatload of trouble. And she was totally not his type anyway, even if she was rocking the dog-girl look.

While Ayaka was old enough to be interested in boys, she didn't feel attracted romantically towards the youngest man of the group, so Fon had nothing to fear concerning her virtue. At least, not at this point of time. Things stayed the same for a few more weeks. The only thing of note that happened was when Fon decided to have a hand to hand spar with his kid. Seeing father and daughter move together was sheer poetry in motion. It was even more incredible to see Ayaka's poisonous claws match up against Fon's Storm Flame fists with both ending up canceling each other as the deciding technique of the spar.

The teenager was feeling rather gleeful and vindictive a few days later, because she had accidentally walked in on that oafish Colonnello basically propositioning Lal for sex, only for the blond moron to get a resounding slap across the face for his troubles. Well, it was technically a date proposal, but it was clear to her that the blond ex-soldier had high hopes of scoring a homerun that night. But his hopes had been flushed down the drain. Too bad, so sad. Not. Seeing her there after hearing her snort of mixed amusement and derision, the blue eyed blond gave her the evil eye while the older woman flushed with embarrassment all the more.

«W...w... wha...what... What are you doing here?!»

Lal all but shrieked at the younger girl.

Ayaka moved her head on the side slightly, like a curious dog and answered while ignoring her nemesis' very existence, much to his continued frustration

«Reborn told me to go get him a beer can from the fridge, and when I told him that I wasn't his maid and to go get it himself, my dad told me to go grab one before the hitman got on his soapbox. Oh, Miss Giglio Nero also asked me to tell you that she expects you two to be responsible and to use protection. A pregnancy would violate your contract and you would lose all your incoming paychecks.»

The teenage girl then left the two flabbergasted adults behind her to go do what she was told. She didn't like it, but she was already on very thin ice. So there was really no need to rock the boat even further by being stubborn only for the sake of it. Otherwise she might have used her claws to punch holes all over the beer can, just to be a little shit.

XxX
​

Weeks later, their group was shattered beyond any kind of repairs. It turned out that Luce had hoodwinked them into becoming the next generation of Arcobaleno. Even after Colonnello jumped in front of the energy heading towards Lal, it hadn't worked as intended. She was still cursed even if she had lost access to her Rain flames. The only reason she gave was that she had done it «For The Greater Good» since all her visions were pointing towards end of the world scenarios if the group didn't take the curse.

Luce had been very lucky that Ayaka's respect for her adoptive father was stronger than her instincts. Because the second she was freed from the strange barrier that forbade her from acting and pouncing on that strange garbed man, she went for the cursed Donna with a vengeance. She had just grabbed Luce by the neck none so gently when the voice of Fon resonated, still strong and full of parental authority even with his reduced form

«Ayaka, don't do it! Put her down! Right now!»

Full of rage and righteous fury, the young half-demoness snarled back defiantly

«I'll put her down when she's dead! The backstabbing bitch led us straight into a trap! Look what her actions had done to you and to the others!»

She was holding the resigned looking cursed woman nonegently with one hand around her throat while the claws of her other hand were starting to glow an acidic green. It was a sure sign that she was calling on the power of her poisonous claws, the very same she had inherited from her Sire. Just as she was about to strike the fatal blow, Fon's voice was heard once more, much harsher than ever before and backed by the oppressive feeling of the full might of his Dying Will Flames. It felt like she was being forcefully put back in her place by a mighty dragon!

«Xu Ayaka! You will obey your father! Release Luce, right this instant, or Bhudda help me! I'll tan your hide black and blue!»

The hybrid girl let out a loud whimper of fright from her throat and immediately she released her would-be prey. Her ears were now entirely flat on her head, her golden eyes were wide from fright and she was almost hyperventilating. When the shakes started and she bonelessly fell on her knees, Fon finally let up the pressure.

Rushing to her side with the intent to both scold and comfort her, Fon said to his adoptive daughter with a softer tone of voice

«Ayaka, we do not kill pregnant women. Her unborn baby is not the one who wronged us. That child will need his or her mother when they are born. Even more so if the other parent is not in the picture. Yes, she wronged us, betrayed us even. But we do not seek vengeance for its own sake, daughter. It is not the way of the Xu Clan. There will be a reckoning for Luce's actions, but it will not come from our hands.»

In the end, the group of the Strongest Seven inevitably fractured. Fon and Ayaka left to head back to Japan while the others left to their own destinations. They all needed some time to process what had happened to them and to try to find a way to break their curse. Luce had told them that it was impossible to break and that only death would free them, but they didn't believe her. They didn't know where the rest were headed and didn't care to find out at the moment. Ayaka's adoptive mother, Sayuri, was bound for a great surprise when days later her wayward family members finally arrived. Seeing her older brother turned back into a toddler was rather mind shattering.

Sadly for Ayaka, being back home safe and sound didn't absolve her from her punishment for her reckless actions. She also had a lot of late homework to do and would most likely serve a lot of detentions at school for her unjustified absences. And as a precaution since her daughter had shown a lot of unusual aggressive behavior recently, Sayuri forced her to revert to a human form with the help of a purifying ofuda put between the girl's shoulder blades on her bare skin. In her human form, Ayaka was a bit smaller in height, had regular nails instead of claws, regular sized canines and also much less muscle mass.

Her silver hair had turned a glossy black, her skin a bit darker than usual for the natives around this corner of the globe and her previously golden eyes were now a clear sky blue color. Whoever her birth mother had been, she had not been purely Asian. Not that there was anything wrong with that, it was just part of the mystery surrounding the young half-demoness' origins. Fon was thanking his lucky star that Ayaka was not currently Flame active on top of having access to her demonic powers. One set of supernatural powers on a single teen was hard enough to deal with, he didn't want to double his current headache.

XxX
​

Years later, we find a now grown up and Flame active Xu Ayaka walking at a leisurely pace towards the main entrance of the Varia castle. And she was now a very shapely woman even if she wasn't very tall. She was wearing hips hugging light blue jeans with a light violet belt and a silver coloured buckle on it, a black tank top with spaghetti straps connecting with a cloth choker around her neck while leaving her flat stomach bare. Her long glossy black hair falling to her backside was topped with a black beret. She had a rather stylish pair of sunglasses on and two bracelets on her left wrist. All in all, she didn't look dangerous, but behind her sunglasses, her eyes were shining with an inner violet color, a sure sign that her Cloud flames were close to the surface.

You see, Ayaka had made a name for herself in the Underworld as an independent and very reliable hit-woman. She had even been offered the very rare chance of an apprenticeship under Reborn. Who apparently, was not the World's greatest asshole like her mother had told her all these years ago but the greatest hitman...Oh had she suffered for that crack when he had the chance to enact some payback... But the Sun Arcobaleno hated being indebted to anyone, so him taking her in as his apprentice had squared the debt between them when she rescued him and his colleagues when she was but a pup. A few mooks tried to hinder her progress, but they were easily pushed aside. She heard murmurs about her code-name. Hellraiser, the deadly troublemaker. A devious smirk appeared on her lips. Reborn-sensei would be so proud. Last she heard of him, he was in negotiations with Don Cavallone for a contract to train up the next heir…

She quickly found her quarry in the castle's Great Hall. A rather tall man in his 30's, messy blond hair, spotless business suit, glasses, Cloud flames giving a creepy feeling. You see, Ayaka had had enough of working solo, but wasn't interested in creating a new group or to join the Triads. So she decided to apply for the Varia, since she wasn't ready to quit the assassination game either. And since she was too experienced to start at the Mook level, she hatched a rather simple plan to take the spot of an Officer. And with her Flame type being Cloud, she would get rid of the slimy bastard and take his place. Ayaka was pleasantly surprised to see Viper among the other Officers. Her father had feared that the Miser Mist had given up on life since they were the one who took the curse the hardest. It was nice to know that her father's fears were unfounded.

Strutting in the great hall like she owned the place, she then made a strange motion with her right arm. Then in a blink, a long and thin whip made of Cloud flames came into existence on top of her fingers. With a quick motion, she sent her creation towards her target. At the very last second, it seemed that Ottabio felt that something was wrong but it was much too late for him to do anything. Before he knew it, the razor thin Cloud flame whip had made a few turns around his neck and it was over before he knew it. Ayaka had pulled on her end of the technique and the now former Cloud Officer had lost his head, literally. It had even rolled a few meters away from where the rest of the body had collapsed. As a bonus, the mortal wound was cauterized so there would be little blood to clean up.

After Housekeeping was called to take the body away and clean the mess, Xanxus, the Varia Boss, rose from his throne-like chair and followed by his other Officers came face to face in front of the woman who had just proved that his previous Cloud Officer was clearly no longer Quality. Xanxus was rather tall and muscular for a young man of his age, with his dark brown hair spiky with a buzz cut on the sides. It was also adorned with feathers and an animal tail at the nape of his neck, coming over his left shoulder to rest in the front. He also wore a Varia uniform jacket on his shoulders, much like a cape. He matched it with a white dress shirt, black pants, and a loosely knotted tie, along with black boots, also having a tattoo on his left shoulder. Ayaka was currently a bit taller than Xanxus, but since he was still growing and she was now a grown woman, it wouldn't last. His red eyes didn't intimidate her though. Both her Sire and her father, when angry, were much more frightening than the Varia Boss.

The silence was broken when Viper, now known as Mammon said amicably

«It has been a long time since I last saw you, Ayaka. You have grown up rather nicely. How is your father?»

Normally Mammon wasn't one for small talk, but that girl, no woman, was one of the few exceptions.They had been more or less aware when the slip of a girl tried to attack Checkerface and then Luce, only to be thwarted by the barrier at first then by her father second. That she tried to get revenge on the behalf of their group on the backstabbing bitch of a Sky put the now adult Xu Ayaka in their good books. At least enough to bother with the niceties.

The now adult Hanyō bowed her head politely to the Strongest Mist flame user & World's best information Broker and answered them

«Thank you for your compliment, Viper. Dad is doing well, he is currently working among the Triads and has a new promising apprentice. He will be glad to know that you are in good health.»

From there they moved the conversation to Xanxus' office, where she made the acquaintance with her fellow officers. Lussuria was colorful, Squalo reminded her of the iconic villain from Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth. Levi A Than reminded her of a character in the Pokemon franchise, more precisely Sinnoh's Top Gym Leader Volkner with a different coloring and Prince Belphegor reminded her of a more bloodthirsty kid Gilgamesh from the TYPE-MOON franchise. Ayaka stared at Xanxus right in the eyes, without flinching. She was not submitting but she wasn't defying his authority either. The Varia Boss reminded her somewhat of a younger Vincent Valentine with those blood red eyes and that scowl on his face.

From some unspoken signal coming from Xanxus, Mammon warded the office so no one could enter or leave without their say-so. They wouldn't hear anything either. So the young woman rose from her chair and with a simple thought, released the spell keeping her in human form. With a pulse of yōki emerging from her core, the transformation took place almost instantly. Her black hair turned silvery white, her blue eyes burned an inhuman gold. Dog-like ears popped from her beret in specially made holes, her perfectly manicured nails changed into claws and her canines became fangs. She grew a few centimeters and her musculature became more defined. In front of the astounded Varia elite, now proudly stood an Inugami Hanyō. Taking both still sheathed swords in her two hands, one forged specially to channel flames and the other being her family heirloom, she put a knee on the floor and offered her weapons to Xanxus.

«I am Xu Ayaka, adoptive daughter of Xu Feng. I am an hanyō. I was Reborn's only apprentice. In the Mafia, I am known as the Hellraiser, the deadly troublemaker. My Sire is the Inugami Daiyōkai Sesshōmaru, Lord of the Western Lands of Nippon. I offer my swords, my loyalty and my powers only to my new Liege Lord, Xanxus Di Vongola.»

After her declaration, the silence was so intense in the room that you could have heard a pin drop. That was how Xu Ayaka, codename Hellraiser, became the new Varia Cloud Officer.

XxX
​

A year and three months later, a contingent of Varia assassins were assaulting the Iron Fort, the colloquialism mostly used to name Vongola HQ among the people of the Vongola Alliance. Why were they doing that while the Officers knew that Xanxus couldn't inherit? To shake the status quo. The Intelligence Division, CEDEF, run by an incompetent and narcissistic jackass of a man named Iemitsu Sawada had let too many rats, spies and traitors infiltrate the Family. The Vongola were losing influence and people left and right from opportunistic sharks. Ayaka herself had to bail out Massimo Ranieri, Vongola Ninth's second son, after someone dropped him in a harbor with concrete shoes of all things!

It was sheer blind luck that she had been nearby, being the one charged as Belphegor's back-up during one of the young prince's hits. And that was just after Enrico, Timoteo's eldest son, survived in-extremis a shootout with some zealous Interpol agents. But alive didn't necessarily mean whole, he was still bed ridden in a separate, secure facility and being treated for multiple bullet wounds. The Vongola medical specialists weren't certain if he would be able to use Dying Will Flames ever again one day.

Federico, the youngest of the three, having seen the writing on the walls so to speak, had decided to abdicate from his position as the Tenth boss candidate with the intent to create a new branch of the family in the United States. For some unknown reason, Dying Will Flames users were almost non-existent in North America. Xanxus had tried many times to talk about his concerns with his «father», only to be brushed aside each and every time. The Varia Boss knew he was adopted and it was frustrating him to no end that the old man simply refused to admit it. Timoteo Vongola was long past his prime, he should have handed the rings at least a decade ago. But the stubborn old fool clung to power and the rest of the larger Family and their allies suffered from his ill decisions. Diplomacy hadn't worked, so it was time to forcefully depose him.

Currently, Ayaka was being confronted by Visconti, Don Vongola's Cloud Guardian. She had to admit that the old man was very good, to be able to keep up with her at his advancing age. Well, she wasn't going all out but still! It was a worthwhile accomplishment given her true nature. Visconti had short, gray hair that appeared oiled and swept back, with a strand hanging in his face. His hair was running down, creating sideburns going on to his chin, finally forming a chinstrap. Of course he was wearing the classic business suit and tie combo that was a staple among the Vongola Famiglia.

Deciding to test her foe's mettle by going up to the next level, Ayaka stopped sending her Cloud flames through the Guardian ring Xanxus gave her when they harmonized. (And his face had been absolutely priceless when she insinuated as a joke that he was asking for her hand in marriage!) She slowly drew her Flame conductive katana from its scabbard and channeled her Cloud flames through it. The effect was immediate, illuminating the blade from within and wisps of flames escaping along the edge. It was a good looking katana, almost a restored copy of Tessaiga in fact, with only the crossguard being somewhat different. Talbot's services were very expensive, but he was the very best at what he did.

It truly was a hard fight, her youth and overwhelming power faced against his hard earned & superior fighting experience and general flame knowledge. But once again, even in human form, her trained senses and reflexes were off the charts. As a recompense for having made her work for her victory, Hellraiser didn't kill Visconti. She incapacitated him, tied him up and stashed him somewhere safe and out of the way but not before sheating her flame conductive katana. Once her distractions were gone, she continued on her way while humming a catchy song she heard on the radio. She could feel Xanxus using his Wrath flames deeper in the building.

She could also pinpoint the general location of her fellow officers by the feel of their flames. They seemed to be having their own brand of fun against either the security teams and Nono's other guardians. Then something suddenly felt very wrong. By the sensations she could read from his general presence through his flames, Squalo was currently terrified (He had followed after Xanxus as his second-in-command) and Nono's previously clear presence was fading, just as Xanxus'.

She didn't need the renowned Vongola's Hyper Intuition to know that something very fishy was currently going on. Quick as lightning, she pulled her Devil Trigger and took her true form in a few seconds. That pun actually came from Belphegor, who was a big fan of the video game series Devil May Cry. The closest English translation of the word «Yōkai » was in fact «Demon», so the word «Devil» could be used as an acceptable synonym. The Storm Officer had then begun to call her transformation back to her original state as «pulling her Devil Trigger» and the sentence caught. Trust a bored Varia assassin to come up with a lot of weird things.

A few seconds later, Ayaka violently intruded in the Don's main office, where Xanxus was being slowly frozen by some kind of flame trick coming from the old man's scepter. A moment later, she was standing tall between the Don and her Boss. A clawed hand sheathed in yōki was holding both the scepter and the technique at bay while the other sent a jolt of demonic power through her bonded Sky after touching his shoulder. Not enough to hurt him or Kami forbid, poison him; but just enough to shake the numbness and to get rid of the invading ice. While Xanxus gathered himself, Hellraiser went to Spartan kick Timoteo away but the wily old man had already retreated to assess the new situation.

Timoteo was the first to speak and asked in a very curious voice

«Now, what are you exactly? I have never seen something like you, not in all my long years.»

Ayaka wasn't naive, she knew the Don was fishing for an answer and a distraction to have the time needed to reassess the situation. He had obviously wanted to end the current rebellion by putting Xanxus, their leader, out of commission, but now he had to come up with a new plan on the fly. Having no intention of making the old man's job easier for him, she answered with a sweet smile and a playful tone that had for effect of baring her fangs

«Well, it's for me to know and for you to find out, Old timer!»

Then like a feral beast, she pounced on him after a reverberating growl escaped from her throat.

Unexpectedly, Don Vongola chuckled and answered her fondly

«You can try your luck, piccola ragazza. But you'll soon find out that I'm not that easy to defeat.»

What followed was a whirlwind of movements, similar to a dance. While Ayaka pounced, Timoteo would either dodge or counter her just enough to escape without injuries. It was very clear to the Varia Boss that the supernatural woman wasn't giving it her all in the current fight. While she was part dog, she sometimes acted like she was part cat instead, since she enjoyed toying with her prey before going for the kill. Xanxus had seen what Hellraiser was truly capable of, with and without her swords. But he had never seen his so-called «father» in action. The old man had been desk bound, away from field work and deep in politics both local and foreign for longer than he had been alive.

The deadly dance continued in earnest for fifteen minutes. But where Timoteo was tiring, Hellraiser was not. Xanxus hadn't managed yet to read Yōki like he could Dying Will Flames in general, but he could easily tell that his «father's» stamina was waning quickly and Hellraiser's was still going strong. Deciding that enough was enough, Xanxus barked an order

«Hellraiser, stop playing with your food! Finish it!»

The half-demoness lost her playful edge almost immediately and barked back before obeying

«Boss, yes Boss!»

Don Vongola, panting and sweating, knew that he wouldn't be able to continue the charade for much longer. That young woman had stamina to spare and inhuman reflexes. Everything he could throw at her, she either batted it away or easily dodged it. He had even tried to imprison her in Zero point, but a simple flare of her energy had broken his flimsy hold on her. Whatever she was, her inner power could cancel any kind of Dying Will flames technique. It was faint, but he could detect a hint of an eastern accent in her voice. Was she a supernatural creature from the far east? Timoteo had never been much interested in mythological creatures, thus had never delved deep into the folklore of the Eastern countries. But even a complete neophyte like him on the subject knew that both China and Japan had stories of supernatural animals. But knowing about it didn't help him learn what exactly his youngest son's Cloud Guardian was.

His curiosity was eventually his downfall, since the Varia Cloud Officer managed to remove his scepter from his hands before slamming him roughly to the ground, face first. Thankfully, his office was heavily carpeted, so he suffered no broken bones. The Don couldn't help but let escape a grunt of pain though. That girlie was pretty strong for someone her size! Just as he was mentally preparing himself to enter Hyper Dying Will mode even with all the risks pertaining to the state of his body in his advanced age, her strange energy passed through his back and prevented him from calling on his flames at all. What stopped Timoteo from trying to struggle physically was her very sharp claws near his neck, with one poking almost childishly his carotid artery. After a loud sigh, he reluctantly admitted defeat. He wanted to keep living, thank you very much.

Ayaka then said seriously without freeing her quarry from her hold

«Target subdued, Boss. What are your orders now?»

Before Xanxus could answer, the officers he had taken with him for the raid entered the room. Lussuria had stayed in the Varia Castle to man the Medical division and Mammon, not a fan of field work, had also stayed behind to keep an eye on things. Belphegor was looking a bit worse to wear, but most of the blood on the boy wasn't his. Frustratingly, Levi was right as rain. A little tired from excessive use of his flames perhaps, but nothing a good rest wouldn't cure. In the end, Xanxus decided

« Do not kill him. Put him under arrest. Do something to stop him from accessing his flames and put him in a cell. I'll make a more permanent decision when the Iron Fort will be secure.»

Hellraiser nodded and with a slight grunt of exertion, she flooded Timoteo's body with as much demonic energy as was safe for a man of his age. After Belphegor passed her a pair of manacles, she snapped them on the old man's wrists after putting his arms on his back. Once secure, she got up and effortlessly brought him on his feet. Then she told him with a voice full of cheek

«Timoteo Vongola, you are under arrest for willful criminal negligence and for multiple charges of treason towards the Vongola Alliance. Your authority as the Vongola Boss is now suspended indefinitely.»

There was no need to tell him about his one phone call and the right to a lawyer, it was an internal affair and they were mafiosi. It wasn't like he was being arrested by the Italian police. While Ayaka didn't really like grunt work, she was actually the Officer with the least seniority, so quite often she had such assignments fall on her lap. Bah she would get Xanxus back for the crappy missions. A taste of Reborn's medicine would do him some good.

With Ayaaka and the old man gone, Xanxus let out a heavy sigh. He quickly gathered himself and went to sit at the Don's desk. Once in place, he put his hands together and told his men

«Secure the Iron Fort, arrest and imprison the Old Fart's still living guardians then we can start doing some pest control.»

«Yes, Boss!»

Was the unanimous answer. They had won, but most of the heavy work to do was still in front of them.

Spoiler: Xu Ayaka as an adult in her true form