"Professor Aarden!" Chairman Asano greeted with a smile as he gestured for the fake blond to have a seat.

Koro smiled back. His cheeks dusted in a light reddish color— embarrassment. "Chairman," he greeted back, voice meek and tinted with guilty regret.

Gakuho sat, serene. "I presume that you know why you have been called up to my office, Professor?" he enunciated, eyes grazing his monitor before zeroing back on the hitman in front of him.

The blond wryly laughed in answer. Of course, Koro knew why Chairman Asano called him out. His display of violence against a fellow staff member was more than enough leverage for Asano Gakuho to use against him. "I-I have an idea?"

The Chairman's eyes thinned at his answer. He licked his upper lip, purple gaze seizing the man in front of him. To say that he wasn't annoyed by the blond's act would be an understatement, but Gakuho was above getting angry at such a thing.

"Good," he voiced before pulling a paper from his desk. He retrieved his fountain pen. "Then I will be brief," he handed the form to the blond, a smile on his lips. "A week or two to cool your head should be enough, yes?" he rhetorically stated. Lacing his fingers and resting his chin atop of them, he graced the blond with a closed-eyes smile.

Koro's green eyes flicked to the form. He brushed his blond locks back, silently reading over the words of provisional dismissal. The paperwork he'll have to fill out after this will be dreadful. Koro could already hear the snarky remarks the Varia would serve him after reading his latest report.

"Ah, yes, I'm sorry for the inconvenience," he finally answered as he retrieved the paper, the mask of guilt skillfully adorning his features.

Gakuho observed the hitman for another second, mutely taking in his act before he flashed him a grin, humming through the silence.

"Well, then, I won't hold you up any longer, Professor Aarden," he concluded, motioning to the exit with a wave of his hand.

Koro bashfully smiled back. "Ah, yes, thank you very much, Chairman."

::

"Nii-chan."

Koro lifted his gaze from his computer, leaving his half-done report as he met his brother's purple eyes. The teen leaned against the door frame, a tray in hand and lips tugged down in a pout.

"Ah, Ran-chan," Koro acknowledged, pushing hair back and gently massaging his temples as a gentle smile graced his lips. His eyes flicked to the time on the computer monitor, and he deduced that it hadn't been long since his brother finished classes and came back. "I didn't hear you come in."

The teen hummed, his violet eyes thinning as he carelessly swept his gaze over the office. He walked over to the low table in the middle of the room. Laying the tray atop the glass surface, he poured two cups of coffee. Although Italian coffee making wasn't Byakuran's specialty, he remained pretty proficient in its making.

Unlike usual, Byakuran did not add sugar or cream to the bitter beverage, choosing to appreciate the raw taste of Italian coffee instead.

"Here," he said, setting the freshly made cup on the desk. Koro accepted the cup with a hum. "You got suspended," Byakuran stated, walking back to the low table where he took a seat before blowing on his drink. He watched the silk-like mist that emanated from the coffee disperse for a second before blooming again.

Koro chuckled, sighing. "Fufu, yes," he sipped on the drink, the cup warming up his mind and body.

"Why?"

Koro paused. He didn't know if he should tell Byakuran that it was in reaction to his students' potential treatment. After all, they were still in a semi-cold war.

"I got in a fight with a colleague, our ideas clashed, and before I knew it, well," his voice trailed off, he set the half-empty cup down, leaning in his quilted seat. "Maybe I'm missing my usual missions? Long time infiltration isn't really where I work best," he justified.

Byakuran sighed. He licked his upper lip, harshly closing his eyes and exhaling. "Nii-chan—" he paused, lidded eyes flashing a violent orange. With practiced ease, the boy tamed the turbulent and fierce emotion, his eyes going back to their usual purple. "Let's go to the zoo this weekend!" he chirped, plastering a grin on his lips as he changed the direction of his mood.

Koro blinked, surprised by the proposal and sudden shift in the atmosphere.

"Ah, yes, sure," he agreed with a nod, feeling lighter at the proposition. "We can do whatever you want this weekend," he added. "Make it my apology gift for last time," he said.

Byakuran grinned. He picked his coffee cup, downed the beverage, and sauntered to the older male. "Hehehe~ don't forget, Yucca-niichan," he sang, bopping the male's nose with his finger as a mischievous grin adorned his lips.

For now, Byakuran wouldn't say anything about last time's incident. He was half as guilty after all, so long as Yucca did not require apologies, he wouldn't offer them.

It didn't mean that 3-E wasn't on his radar anymore. He would just act as if he was above them. Byakuran was generous enough for this type of thing. He didn't know what he would do to this so-called colleague, though.

"Nyrufufu, of course, anything for my Ran-chan," Koro sang back, leaning forward to kiss the tip of his brother's finger. The boy recoiled in faked disgust, a chuckle slipping past his lips. "Aww, is Ran-chan getting shy?" he taunted, leaning back to laugh.

Byakuran pursed his lips, a thin veil of pink covering his cheek when his brother called him out. "Am not!" he hotly refuted, turning his head to hide his blush. "A-anyway, I'm going. I still have some homework to do," he said as he stalked out of the room, leaving the tray with the freshly brewed pot of Italian coffee behind.

Koro laughed. His purple eyes crinkled behind his blond locks as he grinned.

::

The weekend soon arrived, leaving behind the rainy season and making a perfect weather to visit the zoo. With it also came the news of Takaoka's dismissal through one of Karasuma's texts.

It was a brief report of the week and ongoing operation. Supposedly, the day following his explosion of violence, Takoka's own display of brutality intensified until Karasuma intervened and the Chairman's fired him. The only dissent with Koro's memory of the event, apart from Takaoka staying longer, was that the one to take Takaoka down wasn't Nagisa.

Not that Koro knew this detail, Karasuma hadn't mentioned more than Takaoka's dismissal in his text.

"So, Ran-chan, do you want to see the lions first?" Koro asked as he walked through the entry of the zoo. Wearing casual clothing, the hitman didn't bother to wear his contact lenses today, opting for a low concentration Mist pill instead. It would be enough to direct attention away from himself and keep his eyes green through the day.

"Ew, no!" Byakuran retorted. Lions reeked of Vongola and Byakuran for the love of God still couldn't wholeheartedly like them. "I want to see the snakes first," he stated. "It's the closest thing they have to dragons. Then we could go watch the birds, panthers, and marine species, maybe?" he listed, counting on his fingers.

Koro grinned. Dragons, phoenixes, cats, octopuses were their box weapons once.

"Of course, then let's go see the snakes first," he confirmed, leading the way through the crowd.

The duo toured through the zoo during the whole afternoon until late evening, when the crowds thinned, and the place was left mostly empty. Byakuran took a lick at his yogurt-flavored ice cream (shame on them for running out of marshmallow scoops), his violet eyes condescendingly looking at the lying lions in front of him.

He snorted.

"They look so dumb," he muttered. "Not even cute," he added in a disappointed whisper as he scrunched his nose in distaste.

Koro chuckled. He ruffled his brother's hair in fond amusement before orienting his chest pin to better catch the younger's face on the hidden camera. With the experience gained from previous missions, the hitman easily made out the best angle, ensuring that the lighting would only highlight Byakuran's youthful charms and charisma.

"Stop it~" he whined, swatting Koro's hand away from his hair before brushing them slightly. He pursed his lips in a pout, giving the older the stinky eyes before resting his attention on the spy camera. "Ugh," he cleverly ignored the monitoring item, favoring eating his ice cream.

"Aww, my Ran-chan is so cute!" Koro praised, his voice high-pitched as he cooed at the younger male.

"You are so embarrassing, Yucca-niichan," he admitted, each syllable articulated with extreme care as his lips twitched, threatening to tug up into a broad grin.

"Ah-ah-ah, but you love me still, so it's all good!" the older paraded, a Cheshire grin painting his lips.

Bykuran hummed, not denying or agreeing to the statement as he slid his gaze back to the lion pen.

Lions were firmly linked to the Vongola bosses for some reason— or to their bloodline.

Tsunayoshi's box weapon, Natsu, was a miniature lion. And as Tsunayoshi's box weapon itself was an incarnation of the Vongola bosses, the animal spoke for itself. Iemitsu Sawada, the boy's father, was nicknamed the "Young Lion of the Vongola," though he wasn't young anymore. And even Xanxus, the adoptive son, had something close to a lion for counterpart— a liger, the hybridization of lion and tiger.

All in all, lions reminded Byakuran of Vongola. And while he tolerated and liked Tsunayoshi (to some extent), it did not change the fact that Vongola was also the sole reason for his unique failure— Complete World Domination.

—Which was not on his agenda anymore, but still.

It bruised his ego, damnit!

Purple eyes narrowed and dangerously staring at the lions, Byakuran ate his ice cream in silent contemplation. He didn't often go down memory lane, especially memories of parallel hims, but reality always seemed far away when it happened.

"Tada!"

Byakuran blinked, only now realizing that he finished his ice cream and was eating the end of his cone.

"A gift for you, Ran-chan!" the older sang, happily stuffing the white plush in his empty hands.

"Wh—"

"You were soo immersed in the lions, I had to buy you a souvenir, or you wouldn't leave them, I'm sure!" Koro boasted with a knowing, infuriating, teasing smirk plastered on his face. His violet eyes, hidden behind a thin useless (against Byakuran) veil of Mist flame, glowed with amusement and adoration as he watched the whitehead process what he just said.

Byakuran's eyes went from the white lion XXL size plush to his brother for two and half a second, mute bemusement falling over him.

A lion?

At least it was white, but still?

He blinked, his incredulous eyes staring into the large black beady orbs of his stuffed toy. "I— thank you?" the words slipped out without Byakuran really understanding that what his brother gifted him was a lion.

"Nyurufufu~ You're welcome!"

"No, what I meant was— why is it a damn lion of all things!" he suddenly burst, his hands gripping at the plush's arms as if to rip them. "Why not a snake? A panther? an octopus?" he spat, his voice rising with each proposition.

"But you seemed to love them, Ran-chan," Koro poorly defended.

"I was imagining their death!"

"Oh my! How violent! Where did I go wrong in your education?"

"I—" he sighed. "You didn't raise me?" And both were part of the Underworld, but details really.

Koro pouted. He flicked his gaze to the albino lion plush.

"Should I ask for a refund?"

In the end, they did not ask for a refund. Byakuran's grip on the plushy was too tight for Koro to retrieve it without tearing the material.

That same night, upon returning to his room, Byakuran took a minute to seize up the stuffed toy. It was a lion, which he didn't really like, but it was white, and his brother gifted it to him. Plus, it was incredibly soft to touch, perfect huggable size— the pros outdid the cons by a large margin.

...

Byakuran took it upon his magnanimous heart to accept the plush as his minion, allowing it the greatest honor of staying in his room and sometimes bed.