WILL PROOFREAD & EDIT LATER

Whoa... I took more than a month to update this o.o' Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this <3 A vote & comment are much appreciated! Until next time ^-^

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So I ran out there acting like a hero of justice who had everything figured out and would restore the wine without any problems, BUT:

A.      I don’t know what type of wine I’d broken.

B.      Xanxus doesn’t seem like he’ll be satisfied with ANY kind.

C.      I’m screwed.

What should I do…? I’d been running around like a cat chasing its tail for awhile now. There were no signs of anything that could help. Luckily, I spotted an alcohol store just across the street and decided to check it out.

WELL, you can take back that ‘luckily.’ Instead of an alcohol store, I might’ve just entered utter confusion. I AM NOT an alcoholic, nor do I plan on becoming one. All those different types of bottles look just about the same to me, except they are each different in color and size. Those bottles might as well start singing ‘you’re screwed’ cause I seriously am.

I thought that maybe if I inspected the bottles better, I’d understand. But no, they still look the same. God, how do people drink this? I sigh. What should I do now? I’m seriously screwed.

“VOI!” Came an extremely loud and familiar voice from behind. I flinch, that voice could only belong to one person…

“Sq… Squ-chan!” I yell in surprise. I’m kind of relieved he’s here; he can help me, can’t he! But I’m also irritated; he needs to seriously tone down his voice!

Squalo raises a brow at me, his face just screaming, ‘you never learn, do you?’ I could just say, ‘but Squ-chan’s a cute nickname!’ however, he’d probably kill me for it and thus that won’t be a very smart move. AND, I need him to help me! If I piss him off now, I can kiss my life goodbye.

“So, um… what’re you doing here?” I can’t afford to hit his remaining nerves for me now, but I’m sure there will be a lot more opportunities to do so in the future. Yay~!

He smirks, “I was walking by and happened to see your pitiful expression as you examined the wine bottles. So I thought why not help you? And by YOU, I don’t mean helping you, but helping Xanxus stay out of trouble.” 

I blandly stare at Squalo without uttering a word. Pf, tsundere. He soon grows uncomfortable and decides to speak up. “W-well, anyway! The wine you’re supposedly lookin’ for isn’t here; it’s at the Varia Mansion.”

Okay, so the wine I’m looking for is at some mansion. The Mafia resides in Italy = Xanxus lived in Italy = The Varia Mansion is in Italy = I’m so freakin’ screwed. 

“Pf—hahah.” Squalo broke into a fit of laughter at god knows what (Me, obviously.) “I’ll go get the wine. You stay outside and wait.”

“R-Really?!”

“No. I was just messing with you.” He retorts.

I stare at him once more, hope drained from my features. I can’t really pick out sarcasm despite my own personality (Quite sarcastic I dare say) especially in moments like this, where my life depended on it. 

He huffs in annoyance and crosses his arms. “Ah, gee! Just wait outside!” He frowns and storms out the store impatiently. It took me what seemed like five minutes to process what he’d just said. An overwhelming feeling of relief takes over, and a few seconds later, I step outside and wait for Squalo.

Now that I think of it though, the shop owner was giving us quite scornful looks…

---

I heave a sigh and tap my feet, impatient. An hour passed already but Squalo was nowhere to be seen. How far is Italy…?

.

.

.

Oh.

Better start thinking up excuses to give Xanxus. Not that he’ll be buying any of them anyway… But I can always say his b̶e̶l̶o̶v̶e̶d̶ subordinate was tardy so it’s not my fault and if anyone’s head should roll then it’s the shop owner’s because he didn’t have Xanxus’ preferred wine. But that’s just low.

“VOI! What’re ya’ spacing out for?!” A voice—Squalo yells and throws a bag in my hand. I almost drop it from the sudden impact… I don’t even wanna imagine what would’ve happened to me if I’d dropped the bag just now…

“Thanks, Squ-chan! You saved me…” I say, tightening my grip on the bag. “Even though you were late,” Muttering the last part, I decided it was best to make a run for it now. I was already late, but I wasn’t as scared of Xanxus’ wrath right now as I was scared of what Squalo will do to me since I just called him Squ-chan… again! “Then, see you later!”

“Ah, wait!”

“Hm?”

“Boss should be pretty irritated by now,” He sighs. Gee, thanks captain obvious! “I suggest you move two steps to the right before stepping within his view.”

“… And why should I do that exactly?”

“You should get moving,” Squalo evades my question and turns on his heels, clearly breaking all farther conversation.

I guess I’ll just have to see why for myself…

“Bye bye, Squ-chan! You’re a life saver!” I yell and wave to his disappearing figure. He suddenly stops and I freeze in place… shoot… I don’t give him time to react to my annoyance and run off.

---

It must’ve taken me half an hour to reach the building. (Talk about turtle running speed.) I run up the stairs but my legs betray me. I fall down and bump my chin while holding up the bag of wine. I’m in a situation where, even if my jaw breaks, it’d be alright so long as the wine was fine.

I gulp, preparing myself mentally, and move two steps to the right just as Squalo instructed… It’s more like I jumped two steps to the right since the door was broken. As soon as I did so, something flies past me at an impressive speed. 

Reluctantly, I look back to the wall where the object had landed. It was glass, most probably one of the bottles from the wine bottles I’d broken… if I hadn’t listened to Squalo… that would’ve landed in my face… ouch…

Anyone can tell how happy he is to see me… like very happy that he wants to kill me… cuteness influences aggression that must be it… yeah…

LIKE HELL, YOU IDIOT!

“You’re late, trash.” Xanxus hisses, still in the same position he’d been in almost two hours ago. He doesn’t look like he’s planning to get up either. Thank god. “The wine.”

“R-Right here!” I straighten myself and hold the bag up.

For better quality drinking, it’s advised you get up and take the freakin’ wine yourself. Oh, and pour it yourself while you’re at it!

”What do you think you’re waiting for then?” He raises a brow and shakes the glass in his hand—I’m not even surprised where all these objects pop up from anymore. He wants me to pour him the wine; didn’t he get my earlier message? Obviously no.

I reluctantly walk over to Xanxus, more careful than I’d ever been before. Of course Xanxus is the root of why I’m being careful and I don’t, not even for a second, want to have the image of what will happen to me if I break the wine in my hands flash through my head.  I carefully pour the wine in the glass he’d been holding and place the bottle on the table next to him.

Xanxus takes a sip and I jump back. It hadn’t even been a second and he’d already thrown the glass at the place where the door used to be… could he possibly be displeased with the wine… d-d-did Squalo give me the wrong wine?!

“VOI! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!”

I blink, my ears are ringing, and I’m dumbfounded. So he threw it because Squalo was there? How the heck did he know Squalo was there? And how’d he aim so perfectly… what am I dealing with here…?

Squalo is ignored by Xanxus who is now drinking directly from the bottle… manners man, manners! Do you have any?!

“Uh, Xanxus…? I don’t think it’s a good idea to drink directly—“I would continue my nagging if he hadn’t sent a deadly glare my way. Pf, it’s none of my business anyway! No matter how high someone’s alcohol tolerance was though, it’s impossible NOT to get drunk after drinking a full bottle.

“Leave him be. He won’t get drunk no matter how many gallons of wine he downs anyway.” Squalo sighs.

“Trash,” Xanxus begins, putting down the wine bottle after drinking half of it in one go. ( W-wine drinking monster…!) “What did you come here for?” He glares at Squalo. I could only assume the trash he was referring to right now was Squalo.

“Work,” Squalo replies, deadpan.

For now, I think it’s best if I step outside. This whole thing has nothing to do with me anyway. But, now that I think of it, I haven’t really done my job properly today. I’m supposed to ‘manage’ their anger. Is that like suppress their anger? Or make them have more patience? I don’t know, but it’s something along those lines…

There was one teeny-tiny problem though… I have never, in my life, held an anger management class. (Mostly because anyone around me gets their blood pressure levels intensified by a million.)

However, while I have no experience in this field, they clearly don’t either. So, it should be fine to do whatever.

Let’s see… leaving them around something cute and fluffy should be able to bring out their soft side… hm… That’s right! CATS! No one can resist such cuteness! It’s a cliché idea though, but it’s worth a shot, isn’t it? But for now, I should go home and get a good rest.

---

Ah shoot, shoot, shoot! I run out of my apartment, barely dressed. It was already humiliating enough at having the old ladies next door laughing at yesterday’s wine-soaked attire and yet this had to happen, all because I'm late!

I went over to the room Gokudera was staying in and called him out. There was a place I knew near this building that a lot of alley cats gathered in. I dragged the already confused Gokudera over there.

“U-uh, Rio-san? What’s going on?”

“Oh my god! I forgot something urgent at home, I’ll be right back! Please wait here, Gokudera-kun!” I pretend to panic, and look around the place.

He stares at me with suspicion. “I see.” He might’ve bought my excuse, but he most probably didn’t. Even so, there’s no time to worry about it. I make my way out but instead of exiting the place, I hide behind the wall and observe Gokudera’s reactions to the cats.

That was my plan after all, to call each one of them out and bring them here, then pretend to leave while actually just spying on them. At least that was the best I could come up with. (Amateur here.)

A cat walks up to Gokudera and calls out to him. He looks left and right repeatedly, as if making sure no one was there. He ducks down and holds out his hand to the cat with a gentle smile. “Come here,”

I see, so he likes cats…? I can only assume the cat will accept such gentleness—it should have… but it jumps him, meows, and claws at his face instead. Soon after, three more cats came. (They must’ve been called out by that cat…!) One of them jumps on his head, the other tears at his shirt, and the last trims its claws, using his pants as material to do so.

HE REALLY NEEDS HELP!

But since I can’t come in and act like I’d been here the whole time, I decided to stick to my act. I look down and enter the scene while saying, “Sorry I’m late, Gokudera-ku—“ before looking up and panicking. “Goodness me, Gokudera-kun! Are you alright?!” Then I run over and drive the cats away.

“U-uh…” I really feel bad right now. Gokudera looks like a veteran that had just come back from war. “Um—“

“I’m going to go take a shower and change,” He interrupts. “I’m not sure why you called me out, but it better not be for this.” He got up and started teetering back to the building like some drunk. 

“A-are you going to be okay?” I feel guilty right now; I didn’t think the cats would react that badly to him.

“Yeah.” He replies softly before disappearing out of sight. I wasn’t sure whether to continue with this, but I think it’s only fair to do so since he went through all that…

---

Next up is Hibari. I gulp, knocking on his door. I had to knock repeatedly before he finally opened the door. Of course, instead of gently letting me escort him to the place, I ended up using myself as bait to lure him over here. He’s really keen on ‘biting me to death’, isn’t he.

I ran through whatever secretive opening I found, making sure Hibari lost me in the place I wanted him to be in. I was lucky enough to find a corner to hide in and spy. I didn’t need to put that much effort with Gokudera though. It’s not like I’m calling him stupid or anything, but this is Hibari we’re talking about…

Hibari scowls, displeased that I’d manage to lose him. “Hm?” He blinks and looks down. A kitten had started rubbing itself against his leg. He looks at it blandly.

HOW CAN HE NOT BE MOVED BY SUCH CUTENESS?!

Five minutes passed and as if giving in, Hibari ducks down and pets it. The kitten licks his hand. He heaves a sigh and rests his back against the wall. The kitten jumps and stretches itself out on his legs with a yawn before curling up on his lap and sleeping. Soon after, Hibari follows suit and falls asleep himself.

Hibari sure can sleep anywhere, huh?

I had to push down this irresistible urge to snort at the cliché sight in front of me. If I could I would’ve taken a photo of him and the cat, but I can’t. I have to be careful while making my way out. He seems like a very light sleeper after all, and I don’t think he’d be too pleased to be woken up by me, again.

So now it’s the demon king—I mean Xanxus, left. I can’t possibly take him to the same place Hibari is. I do have another place but it’s not fit for someone of Xanxus’ image—actually, this whole thing doesn’t fit his image…

---

For some reason Squalo had given me his number yesterday, and if possible I’d rather avoid any contact with Xanxus at the moment. I called Squalo and explained the situation (Even over the phone, he’s so damn loud.) Of  course, a scornful Xanxus arrives an hour late, wearing that face that just said he was forced to come.

“What is it, trash?” Xanxus frowns, looking about ready to kill me.

“Uh, I n-need to go pick something up. My plan was to finish up with you an hour ago, but SOMEONE came late so… I need to run, bye!” I explain and run off; making sure Xanxus wasn’t following me with his eyes.

I spy on Xanxus through the window of the unused building I was in. I needed to be cautious around him, even more than Hibari. Either way, binoculars are really useful. I can see everything as if it’s actually in front of me. I still don’t think it’s a smart idea to use the window to spy though… I mean, he’s a gun user for heaven’s sake! He can shoot me down in seconds…

Around six cats were surrounding Xanxus by now, like they’re observing him. One of the cats walks up to Xanxus and rubs itself against his leg. I couldn’t help but grow eager waiting for his reaction. He glares at the cat and it jumps back in surprise, its ears flatten against its head as it stares at Xanxus.

Poor kitty, I totally understand what you’re feeling right now…

Two minutes later, the cat attempts to get his attention again, but he completely ignores it. The second cat comes and attempts to help, generating the same reaction from Xanxus. Soon enough, all six cats—and two others that came from god knows where, were surrounding Xanxus.

I’m—jealous...! I grit my teeth and tighten my grip on the binoculars. What is he? Some cat whisperer?! I love cats, but only one; two at most, would give me their attention… Well, unless I had food of course. But he has nothing, that’s unfair!

I guess it’s true. Cats really like to stick to those who hate them.

Xanxus’ face grows sullen and directs a glare towards the window. My heart sinks. I didn’t have time to react as he grabbed one of his guns and shot the bullet above my head. The glass shatters and falls around me, I’d somehow managed not to get hurt.

“Trash!” He yells at the top of his lungs…

“Y-yes!” I shriek.

Most of the cats were scared from the gunshot sound and scattered away in different directions, leaving Xanxus alone with the others that dared to stay.

“Get rid of these cats!”… I think he’s going to lose the last of his patience soon. I can’t dare imagine the black fate he’ll decide for those kitties if I’m even a second late. I run down the stairs as fast as I could and out to where Xanxus was, driving the cats away gently.

He glares at me, I flinch. “What’s up with this sick joke of yours?!”

H—HE SAW THROUGH ME?!

“Well, it seems cats like you very much…” I evade his accusation with a chagrin. He looks at me, unimpressed. “A-anyway, how did you notice me? Did you know I was there the whole time?!”

He mumbles something I couldn’t quite catch, but I’m pretty sure he’s internally cursing me…He walks off and I don’t try to stop him. He’s about to snap after all…

---

I heave a sigh and throw myself on the bed, hugging my pillow. Well, today did not turn out as I’d expected. Things currently DID NOT go smoothly… I hope Gokudera’s okay, and I currently do hope Hibari isn’t still sleeping there…

Still, I have no idea what I’m going to do next to help them. I wasn’t going to give up though. (Actually, I would’ve if I was in a position to do so, but I’m not.) There must be something out there that’s interesting enough to test the last of their patience—

—That’s right! Children! Cats can’t talk, but kids can… and heck they can be annoying if they wished to be…