Chapter 96 Chapter 96 Stop fighting!
As they walked back together, Gokudera naturally took the seat closest to the Vongola. Rambo, undeniably, squeezed to the other side, occasionally barking at Gokudera over the Vongola, only to be met with a glare from the Italian, who was like a brother to him, and quickly quieted down. Only Rokudo Mukuro followed the Vongola from a distance, strolling back slowly with Elio.
"You seemed to have something left to say just now." Elio reminded him.
"Oh?" Rokudo Mukuro pretended to be dumb. "What is it?"
"Your apology, of course."
"Oh? There's such a thing?"
Elio was almost amused by his pretentious attitude. But the assassin's eyes shifted, catching sight of the Vongola ahead of him. A thought struck him, "Is it because your leader is ahead that you're embarrassed?"
Rokudo Mukuro, who had just been rolling his eyes and pretending to have amnesia, immediately fixed his eyes and glared at Elio. Elio, who was right in the eye, smiled, waved his hand, and tolerantly let the matter go.
“You two,” Elio said, “get along more like family than friends.”
This time, Rokudo Mukuro didn't deny it. He simply smiled and hummed softly. The Vongola in front also turned his gaze and glanced at them with a smile.
"So what does the Vongola mean by 'taking action'?" Rokudo Mukuro asked.
"Oh?" Elio said. "He didn't tell you? Then I won't tell you either."
“…Elliot Smith.”
"You better be careful," Elio replied. "The Vongola is just up ahead. Are you going to threaten me in front of him?"
Rokudo Mukuro glared at him, his teeth gnashing. Elio smiled cheerfully at him, quickening his pace and moving forward naturally. Perhaps because of this, when they returned to the Vongola Castle, the Vongola led Elio deeper into the castle alone.
"I thought I shouldn't have come here," Elio said.
"Don't worry," the Vongola said gently, "You're with me."
The carpeted corridor was silent, still as it had been centuries ago. But as they advanced, sensor lights began to illuminate the corridor's portraits of the Vongola ancestors. The Tenth Vongola quietly introduced each leader, starting with the Eighth, and walked all the way to the end. There, hanging in the center, was a magnificent painting of a young blond man, wearing a cape nearly identical to the Tenth Vongola's.
Elio stopped.
"That's Vongola I," the Tenth said softly.
I wonder what kind of painter could have captured his demeanor so vividly. Over a hundred years later, anyone looking at the portrait can still imagine the gentle grace of this founder. Elio stared for a moment before coming to his senses. "You look a lot like him."
The tenth Vongola was probably used to hearing this sort of talk, so he simply smiled and gestured for Elio to follow him into the adjacent room. The window was open, letting in white veils. A warm yellow light was on, and a red sofa sat in the center. The room resembled a small museum. The Vongola walked in and introduced him with familiarity, "This is the first life..."
These portraits and antiques were truly beautiful. Elio admired them, yet he couldn't help but feel puzzled, wondering why the Tenth had brought him to the Vongola I Museum of History so late at night. But when the Tenth pointed out the last group portrait, Elio was stunned.
There was a figure in the portrait that looked a bit like him. Black hair, green eyes, a golden sword hanging from his waist, and he was gazing at the person outside the portrait with a smile that Elio was very familiar with.
"Who is this?" Elio couldn't help but ask.
"We haven't found his name in historical records," the Tenth said softly, "but it's speculated that he was the founder of the assassination unit during the First's time and one of his closest friends. After the First left the Vongola, he also left Italy and... disappeared."
He's quite mysterious then, Elio thought.
He stared at the portrait for a moment, then turned and looked at the Vongola X. The young mafia family leader was also looking at him quietly. Under the golden light, he looked exactly like the one in the portrait.
"Do you think I have any relationship with this senior?" Elio asked him.
"The First Generation once instructed us on his behalf," the Tenth Generation did not reply, "His friends are the friends of the Vongola. His descendants will naturally also be friends of the Vongola."
"You think I'm a descendant of this great man?" Elio laughed. "I hope so. But how can you recognize his descendants if you don't even know his name?"
"Time will tell," the Vongola said mysteriously, then gave Elio a sly smile. "But if I told you that this senior left a considerable legacy to his descendants, and that successive Vongola leaders are waiting for someone to claim it, would you still insist on severing ties with him?"
"What I'm about to tell you may be quite arrogant," Elio said, "but I'm not short of money. Especially not short of money that I'm not sure is really mine."
Elio was actually a little nervous when he said this, as this was the umpteenth time he had rejected the Tenth Vongola. But the renowned leader simply stared at him quietly for a moment, then smiled gently, wished him goodnight, and thus ended his tour tonight.
Elio had a series of bizarre dreams that night. But when he woke, they faded away like the morning mist, leaving only a few droplets of memory lingering before his eyes. By the time he got up and had breakfast, Elio had almost completely forgotten them and felt refreshed.
But as Rokudo Mukuro sat opposite him, Elio couldn't help but recall something, and an indescribable expression appeared on his face.
"What's wrong with you?" Rokudo Mukuro asked curiously, "It's only been one night, and you seem to dislike me!"
"To tell you the truth," Elio said, "I seemed to dream about you last night."
Rokudo Mukuro's eyebrows immediately raised high, "Dream about me?"
He looked past Elio at the person walking up behind him. But Elio was rubbing his brow, trying to calm his headache, and didn't notice. "You keep saying it's not your fault."
Rokudo Mukuro was of course extremely wronged, "It wasn't my fault in the first place!"
"Yes," Elio said wearily, "that's what you said."
Then, Elio heard an unfamiliar sneer from above him. Having just raised his glass of milk, Elio turned around and looked over to see another Asian man. But this one, with dark hair and dark eyes, exuded a menacing aura that even his suit couldn't suppress. He perfectly matched Elio's image of a "Japanese idiot." He looked past Elio and said to Rokudo Mukuro with a rather mocking tone, "You've got this day too."
I can see how popular Rokudo Mukuro is, Elio thought.
Then the Asian man glanced down at Elio and frowned immediately.
"Are you the assassin they're talking about?" he said.
Elio also raised an eyebrow, then politely replied, "I don't know who 'the assassin' they're talking about, but I am an assassin. May I ask who you are?"
The Asian man just looked at him and crossed his arms. Rokudo Mukuro interjected, "This is 'Hibari Kyoya,' the most annoying and difficult character in the entire Vongola family. I advise you to stay away from him."
Elio, unsure who this person was, simply gave Rokudo Mukuro a polite smile and turned away, continuing to drink his milk. Unbeknownst to him, Hibari immediately pulled out a chair and sat down at their table. This must have surprised Rokudo Mukuro as well, as Elio saw his eyes widen in disbelief.
"There are three of us here, Hibari Kyoya," Rokudo Mukuro said. "Don't tell me you've forgotten your definition of 'gathering'."
"If you leave, there will only be two of us left." Hibari said perfunctorily, turning back to look at Elio, "I heard that Sawada Tsunayoshi wants to fight you."
"Huh?" Elio choked on his milk. "Me?"
"Today," Skylark said affirmatively.
Sitting there, Rokudo Mukuro chuckled. What made Elio feel uneasy was that his laughter was filled with sympathy and pity. Elio glanced at him while explaining, but Rokudo Mukuro just shrugged and ate his breakfast, giving Elio a helpless look.
"There must be some misunderstanding here," Elio explained. "Just think about it, why would the Vongola want to fight me? I'm sitting here eating the breakfast he provided!"
"Do you know when Sawada Tsunayoshi last took action?" Hibari turned a deaf ear to Elio, his eyes gleaming brighter as he stared at him. "Rokudo Mukuro, tell me."
"A year ago?" Rokudo Mukuro pretended to recall, but in reality, he only added fuel to the fire. "Three years ago? I can't remember either."
Elio explained awkwardly, "We're really not..."
"All the nearby 'Guardians' have rushed back for this," Yun Que said firmly, "Don't think I don't know."
"Oh?" Rokudo Mukuro asked, "I only know that Lan, Lei, and you are here. Are the others back too?"
"Yamamoto and Sasagawa are on their way back," Hibari said, picking up a clean fork from the table and taking a sunny-side-up egg from Rokudo Mukuro's plate. "They just finished their match, so they heard the news a little late."
"Hey," Rokudo Mukuro feigned anger, "that's mine."
Skylark chewed slowly, "It's mine now."
It seemed like they actually had a pretty good relationship. Elio gave up explaining and, expressionlessly, picked up the remaining toast from his plate and ate it with milk. The assassin had learned one thing: even if the sky fell, he had to finish this meal first. After all, who knew where the next meal would come from?
"Do you think his personality is a bit like Sawada Tsunayoshi?" Rokudo Mukuro chirped loudly in front of him.
"A little bit," said Skylark.
Elio swallowed the last bite of his raisin and red bean toast and gently dropped his fork onto his plate, a small gesture of irritation. Rokudo Mukuro and Hibari looked at him in surprise, then glanced at each other, then turned their heads away in tacit agreement, avoiding each other.
"Fight with me first." said Skylark.
"Me?" Elio said. "No."
"Don't start a fight here," Rokudo Mukuro just added to the chaos. "Gokudera will be angry if he finds out."
"Do you think he can control me?" Yunque snorted coldly.
A sudden flash of inspiration struck Elio, realizing that this was probably Rokudo Mukuro's revenge. It was directed at Gokudera, and at him as well. He was probably the one spreading the rumor that Sawada Tsunayoshi was going to fight him. Just as Elio looked at Rokudo Mukuro suspiciously, the mist-attributed man actually gave him a smug grin, then spread his hands in a feigned resignation, saying, "I tried to persuade him."
In short, everything had taken a sudden turn; earlier, when Elio had said that the Vongola people interacted more like a family, he hadn't imagined that this family actually included those who would fight at the slightest disagreement. Seeing Hibari Kyoya suddenly stand up and pull out two strange-looking weapons from nowhere, Elio had no choice but to open his own box and pull out his ancestor's sword.
It was shining with golden light and colorful. When Rokudo Mukuro saw it, he whistled.
"You really have something up your sleeve," he said.
"I'm impressed," Elio said.
At this moment, the figure of the Vongola crashed into the restaurant like a meteor, successfully causing the only economic loss this morning.
"Stop fighting!" he yelled in despair.
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Author's Note: *Gathering: Hibari Kyoya hates crowds. He thinks a gathering is any group of three or more.
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