Pendulum

It's in your eyes, a color fade out…

The female looked up at her captors through bleary eyes. Her wrists were secured above her head with a rusty pair of handcuffs and they were chaffed raw already. Every fiber of her being hurt, especially her dislocated shoulder that was now hot and swollen. She struggled at her bonds feebly but it was no use. She had gone without food and water for a day already and coupled with the beatings she had received, Chrome was in no condition to do anything at all. She let her head fall to her chest once more. She no longer had the strength to resist.

The man laughed before delivering another heavy blow to her stomach. The girl coughed at the impact, a sliver of drool dripping onto the ground, a thin sheen of perspiration covering her whole body.

The man ran his hands over her face and taunted her. "Is the Mist Guardian really this weak? Being captured so easily and lacking combat abilities, have the Vongola really fallen so much?"

Chrome closed her eyes, too tired to answer. Her feet barely touched the ground and her arms bore the brunt of her weight, aching horribly. She had been so stupid. She had been assigned the task of securing the area in Southern Italy before the other Guardians and the boss arrived. She had let her guard down even though Tsuna had reminded her of rival mafia in the area and was now in this predicament. The sour taste lingered on her tongue. They were going to kill her.

Pain coursed through her body as the man smashed his fist against her face. Blood splattered all over the floor, trickling down her green uniform. His hands were stained with crimson blood but her captor ignored it. A hand closed around her throat and she choked under his firm grip. The man leered at her, his grip tightening, and she could smell his acrid breath. Chrome did not move and after a while, he relinquished his hold on her and left the room, having grown bored of torturing her. She looked down, the blood continuing to run down her chest and drip onto the floor. She watched this process, almost as if fascinated, and for some reason, she couldn't help but think that the colour of her blood was the same as Mukuro's eye.

But then, Mukuro wouldn't be able to help her this time.

"Mukuro-sama…"

Looks like a new transition is starting up and shaking your ground…

Rokudo Mukuro's eyes snapped open. Something had woken him from his slumber but there was no one around, nor were there any noise. Everyone was fast asleep. He blinked in confusion but decided to let it go. His right hand reached for the headphones lying next to his pillow. Sighing, he slumped back into his seat, allowing the music to wash over him slowly in a hypnotizing way. His eyes wandered to the window. It was pitch black outside but small glowing stars dotted the sky, twinkling and sparkling teasingly. The full moon was beautiful tonight. It was perfectly circular and its bright white glow contrasted with the black background easily. And although the clouds moved along quickly, the moon never seemed to move an inch. Mukuro sat up straighter and gazed downwards. The illuminating glow of the moon lit up the sky and the layer of clouds came into focus. The clouds spread across the sky like a field covered in white snow and Mukuro briefly wondered what it would be like to step on it. The clouds were light and fluffy, yet they seemed so solid that he was sure he could just lie on top of them and stare up at the starry sky. The corners of his lips twitched upwards ever so slightly.

His palms were sweaty and he placed them against the glass, feeling the coldness soothe his feverish palms. The glass fogged up instantly and the vapour spread out, tracing the outline of his hands, almost as if the glass was slowly icing over. The view was really beautiful, he mused to himself. He just wished his Chrome was here to see this. At that moment, a sudden chill shot through his chest and he retracted his arm quickly. Anxiety settled upon him and his eyes flickered around. There was something wrong. Something was terribly wrong and he was powerless to help.

He's coming and she knows it even though she knows why…

The man released her from her shackles and Chrome fell down onto the stone cold floor of her cell. She struggled to get up but a boot slammed down on her back heavily, pinning her down. Her skin scraped roughly against the stone floor and her temples throbbed painfully. She stiffened as she heard a sharp click of the gun's catch releasing

"Like what you see?"

Her breathing quickened. He was going to kill her now. She would never see Mukuro again.

"Mukuro-sama.."

I'm looking for your hand in the rough, you're caught in the wire, well I'll lift you out…

She could almost see him standing in front of her, turning slightly so that she could see his arrogant smirk. She could almost hear his laugh reverberating around her cell.

"Kufufu…"

Her vision started to blur and she blinked tiredly but her vision didn't clear. Then she realized that it was because a cloud of mist was growing steadily in front of her. As it dissipated, a dark figure stood in front of her.

"Who dares touch my Chrome?" Mukuro snarled quietly.

The gun was lodged between the prongs of his trident, and with a clever flick of his hand, Mukuro sent the gun flying from the man's hands. In an instant, the Mist Guardian stabbed his weapon into the other man's stomach before ripping it out quickly. The man collapsed soundlessly and Mukuro just stood there for a moment. His hands were trembling as he turned towards her slowly. He cradled her in his arms gently and pressed his lips against her bloody temple. Chrome tried to speak but he shushed her and pulled her closer to him.

"We'll talk later, my Chrome. For now, let's get you patched up." Mukuro whispered in her ear.

And at that moment, Chrome knew that everything was going to be all right.

"Why isn't he waking up?"

"Is he in a coma?"

"Don't be stupid, you baseball freak!"

Numerous voices surrounded him and Mukuro cracked open a crimson eye in annoyance. He was greeted by the sight of around half a dozen faces hovering over him anxiously.

"What?" He asked gruffly as everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Can't I rest on the plane?"

Tsuna stared at him with wide eyes. "But you weren't responding just now! We were shaking you and..."

Mukuro shoved him away. "I'm fine. Now stop acting like a wuss."

"If you say so," Tsuna muttered and settled back in his seat.

Mukuro smirked and gazed out the window. No one needed to know what he'd done. This was just between him and his Chrome.

His eyes sparkled under the bright moonlight.

Wait for me, my Chrome.

This is 8/8 of today's update! For a longer explanation, go read the author's note in chapter 17 of Retribution.

My initial plan was to give you those Jerza fics but then you requested 6996 so I decided to write one for you. This is the only fic I wrote solely in HK because I only got the idea when I was on the plane back home. Honestly, the moon, the stars and the clouds were so beautiful that night.