Abruptly Haru's mouth snapped shut and her eyes narrowed. "Your necklace," she murmured, as if casually. "Is it your rememberance of your mother?"

The quirk to Uni's mouth turned a bit sour. "Exactly."

Kyouko looked down at the pendant, puzzled. She'd seen it once or twice before, though Unità usually wore it under her clothes. It was an odd shape, she remembered...

And then her heart nearly stopped as she really looked at it for the first time.

"...and never, ever accept red flowers. All right, I think I got all that." Kyouko sat back, one hand rubbing her forehead.

Unità's lips quirked in sympathy. "You're doing very well, for someone who's never even traveled abroad before."

Kyouko's soft smile was more wry than usual. "And here I thought that, once I was done with the university entrance exams, I wouldn't be studying any more."

"I did mention that those girls were transparent?" She nibbled on the end of her pen. Coffee, yes, that would be... unthreatening. "If we're to be allies, I'm not letting Vongola stand around with a weakness like that hanging out where anyone can aim at it. And those boys probably won't even see it until far too late."

He remembered the point in his past, his old past he supposed he should say, when Kyouko had finally coaxed the truth out of her brother and Sawada; it had been the first time he'd thought the girl might have teeth after all. He remembered the impressive black eye and the hangdog expression that Sasagawa and Sawada had sported, respectively, afterwards; the bruise had faded sooner. He remembered the fierceness in Sawada's eyes when he'd demanded Kyouya's word that he would protect the younger Kyouko and Haru, when they came forward; only after that word was given had he, reluctantly, agreed to the whole plan.

Of course, in Kyouya's opinion, the best way to protect someone was to sharpen their teeth.