{Varia headquarter, Italy}

In his room, only the sound of the keyboard clicking could be, heard.

Click, click, click

Yucca silently tipped his report. As asked by Iemitsu, he would report the Varia's weekly activities, daily if their movements were too suspicious, every time on Monday between 10.00 p.m and 11.00 p.m. At the moment, Yucca's computer indicated 8.24 p.m. He still had some time to report, but it was always better to work ahead of time, he could always add some changes later on.

Still, the silence was a bit unsettling.

Finishing his last sentence about how as of now none of the Varia's traps were active anymore, Yucca leaned into his chair and passed a hand through his damp raven locks. He would continue later, the silence, was killing him and he didn't like it.

Standing up, he closed his computer and put some of his personal belongings away, before taking the two wet towels lying on his bed and hanging them in the connected bathroom.

Thump, thump, thump

From where he was, Yucca could faintly decipher the sound of foot stomping. Ah, the Varia isn't dead, they are still here. He thought a bit relieved.

Thump, Thump, Thump

Wait, why were these steps getting closer? Confusion slowly crept into Yucca's brain, did they have something to do with him? Had they renounced on setting traps for him? Did they switch to more direct tactics? Was his smugness responsible for his soon to be, death? Many unanswered questions swirled into his mind, as his left-hand swiftly caught a dagger placed on his desk. Bringing his hand behind his back, he waited apprehensively for the Varia to come and try to kill him.

There it comes, gripping his dagger tighter, he narrowed his eyes, adopting a casually hidden fighting stance.

Slam!

"Voiiii!" Squalo shouted, slamming Yucca's door room open, not caring about the person inside of it. "Come with me you small trash," he tried to minimize his insult's impact., "I'm going to train. Spar with me!" he ordered before turning around and making his way down the corridor, not waiting for the male to answer him.

"Small trash?" Yucca muttered, confusion evident in his voice as he observed the white-haired man go out of his room. And did the vice-captain say sparing? Was this a new type of assassination?

"Voiii, mini scum, are you coming?" Squalo yelled, irritated.

Mini scum? What the hell, was going on with the noisy male? Yucca mentally shook his head as he hesitantly followed the white head down the corridor to the training ground in the basement.

There, waiting for them were the other Varia members. At the sight of Lussuria's unusually bright smile, Yucca tensed, what did they want with him?

"Ah, Squalo-chan, you managed to convince Yucca-chan to come, how wonderful!" he squealed.

Yucca-chan? Since when?

Squalo humphed, ignoring the exuberant male, he made his way to the middle of the immense sparring ground. "Are you coming mini trash!" he shouted in Yucca's direction.

The Varia snorted at the unusual nickname. Completly ignoring Squalo's glare, they erupted into a laughing fit (Lussuria and Bel that is).

Yucca didn't spare them a glance and instead made his way to one of the walls where the sparring weapons were exposed. These, at the exception of those resting in special showcases, were access free, everyone could use them.

Yucca's gaze swept over the many weapons before resting on a simple one hand dagger. It was part of a small set of two small blades and ten, thirty centimeters long sharp needles.

Yucca only took the two daggers, before making his way to the center where Squalo was waiting for him, under the watchful eyes of the Varia.

Both men got into battle stances, waiting for Lussuria who was, designed as the referee to announce the beginning of their battle.

"And start!" the effeminate male exclaimed enthusiastically.

Squalo didn't wait any longer, as if he knew, exactly when Lussuria would give them the go, he lunged at the male, full speed. Brandishing his left arm, to which his sword was attached, he attacked in a horizontal motion.

Yucca jumped a few meters back, easily avoiding the first blow. Before standing his ground and running in the swordsman direction. The two daggers still rested in their sheaths which were, situated on either side of his black belt.

Squalo faced with the dodging male was unfazed (although he tched), if Yucca wasn't able to evade such a "simple" and "weak" blow, then he wasn't worthy of his time, much less of the Varia's time and name. His grey eyes observed the younger male for a second before he once again ran into his target's direction.

The Two male ran at each other, Yucca reached for his belt, retrieving the two daggers he prepared for the impact.

Then it came, Squalo sent his sword down on Yucca. The impact, made Yucca raise his right hand in an attempt to deflect the hit.

The force used to parry the blade, made Yucca stumble a bit to the left before he once again attacked. In contrast to his stumbling, Squalo had prepared himself and only jumped back before once again running.

The difference between the two's mental state was almost evident. Squalo didn't care about the match, nothing, was on the line. He was only testing Yucca to see if he was worthy. Of course, he wanted to win, but more than that, he wanted to feel the adrenaline of a good fight. This exhilarating feeling only good opponent could give him. The bloodlust of the battlefield. On the other hand, Yucca was, stressed he didn't know if this fight was a public exhibition or not. If it was, then his opponent wasn't only Squalo, but the whole Varia too who was silently watching from the sideline. Yucca's thoughts, at the moment, were his highest source of distraction. The reason for his downfall.

Perhaps, Squalo felt the male's absence, but his eyes narrowed even more in irritation. "Voiii," he cried as he swung his sword in a diagonal motion. Yucca barely dodged. "Get serious you tiny trash!" With this, Squalo lunged forward, using his "Zanna di Squalo" technique.

Yucca tried to dodge by stepping back but was surprised to see Squalo thrusts his sword forward multiple times. Yucca couldn't escape the Shark's fangs, parrying, was his only option. Gripping his dagger, tighter, Yucca clenched his teeth.

Small scratches started to appear all over Yucca's body as he more or less parried each strike, this allowed the mortal blow to, only result in minor injuries and to deflect any "smaller" attack.

Yucca panted, he felt the air in front of him becoming scarcer with the pressure each blow dealt. It was as if Squalo was chewing away at the air in front of him. Truly a terrible attack. It was a death trap.

Koro knew if he didn't focus on his current fight more, he wouldn't be able to get out of it with only a "few scratches." Still deflecting each blow as best as he could, he slowly adapted his breathing to the scarce oxygen. His eyes followed every strike, trying to determine a pattern. A way to predict the next one.

The aura around him changed, becoming more predatory. Closer to his past life's. In an instant, Yucca wasn't fighting anymore, the God of Death was.

His speed went up, much to Squalo's delight who's smile grew wider in anticipation, this was the kind of aura a member of the Varia should have. One of a killer, a ruthless one. One who could exude bloodlust as easily as he could breathe. 

"Voii! That's more like it!" Squalo cried as his technique reached its end, jumping back he readied himself for another attack, not letting anytime for Yucca to catch his breath. "But it's too late small trash!" he exclaimed rushing straight for the male and readying his sword for a vertical strike.

Yucca's eyes quickly caught up to Squalo who now had his full attention, readying his daggers to parry the incoming blow, he was momentarily perplexed at the sight of Squalo's smirk.

Why was he smirking? Was this his killing move?

Yucca's eyes widened in realization. As soon as his daggers made contact with Squalo's blade, he let go of them, steeping to the right, he dodged the sword in the nick of time and its stunning effect too. Yucca thanked Iemitsu for briefly introducing the Varia and their signature moves when he drove him to the estate. "Attacco di Squalo" would have been fatal to Yucca, had the hit landed correctly, he would have lost the match.

Now standing in front of Squalo a bit to his left without any of the two daggers in hand, Yucca's arm came swinging, near Squalo's neck in a circular motion.

Squalo's surprise at the unexpected counter was, quickly gone as he too swung his armed arm in Yucca's neck's direction.

The outcome was obvious, between an unarmed fist and a sword, which one was more lethal?

Seeing Squalo aim for his throat, Yucca didn't intend to dodge. He hadn't seen any visions, it was clear, to him Squalo wouldn't kill him, yet. With an imperceptible flicker of his left wrist, the dagger Yucca had taken from his room emerged from his sleeve.

Now, both males held a blade at each others' throat. The match ended with a draw.

Silence, it was complete silence. Only the sound of Squalo and Yucca's breathing could be, heard. Both males stared at each other for a few seconds, not moving an inch as if analyzing what the other would do when they let their guard down.

It was Bel who broke the silence. "Ushishishi." His creepy laugh resonated throughout the sparring ground, breaking the others from their reverie. "So, Luss, who won?" he asked, clearly enjoying the situation.

"A-ah," Lussuria stuttered, blinking a few time to adjust to the outcome. Clearing his throat he announced, "It's a draw!"

As if only waiting for the signal, both of them drew their weapons back.

::

It now had been a few days since Yucca and Squalo's spar their relationship had somehow improved. For instance, the vice commander had bestowed him his very own nicknames: "mini trash," "mini scum," "tiny trash" or even "tiny scum." A variable of his usual "trash" and "scum." Then, the white-haired male had also acknowledged his worth, making their interaction simpler and more recurrent. Although at the end of the day, the two were more sparring partners than anything else, it still made them closer.

Yucca could feel, deep within himself that, maybe Squalo wasn't such a bad guy and perhaps the two of them could become friends with time if they did the necessary. For now, Yucca would settle for only being a sparring partner, no need to rush.

This event of him becoming closer to Squalo and the later acknowledging him, also made his interaction with the others simpler. It was as if being accepted by one member of the Varia made you exist as a person in the other members' eyes. It was kind of fascinating to Koro who always acknowledged and lived, whoever and however, he wanted without caring about what others thought.

This "rapprochement" wasn't, written in his report. Not like Yucca didn't see the need in mentioning it, it was more as if his guts were ordering him not to tell a soul within the Vongola and so far his guts had never failed him. So he would follow them, and not report to Iemitsu, at least not for now, not yet.

He still had some time to determine what was the purpose of the Varia for getting closer to him. Rushing to conclusions wouldn't be the best idea, for both him and the Vongola. Therefore, he would sit back, and observe how things would turn out.

After all, it didn't matter how much the Vongola paid him or how enticing their offer was. Koro had always been a free spirit. One who liked to do things, at his own (fast) pace. Going where he wanted, doing what he wanted. The only person who ever managed to "chain" him had been Aguri and then again raising the students became his, own wish as time went by.

So, Yucca/Koro is slowly integrating the Varia. There will probably be a few more chapters of Yucca/Koro becoming closer to the Varia before Canon begins. 

Thanks for reading, until next time