The weight of the metal in her hands felt like she was bearing the brunt of the earth's gravity all by herself. The sleek, gray weapon seared it's imprint into her palms and she forced the acidic bile pushing its way up her throat down with a harsh swallow. Now wasn't the time to be weak. She could cry and scream until she was sick later, but now,she had to stand her ground.
The voices downstairs became louder and the heavy thuds of footsteps that did not belong to anyone who lived in her house came closer. She clenched her eyes shut to stave off the burning of the tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes and whimpered softly when the door of the room next to hers was banged open.
She had never been so glad that her child was in school before.
They were probably going to enter her room next and she steadied herself. She would be strong. She had to be. Her precious son would be coming home in a few hours, and she didn't want any evidence of the break in to be left in the open for him to see. Her son was such a good boy, but he was so timid and soft-hearted that she didn't want him to worry about something as little as this.
The voices were right outside her door now. She readied her stance, just as her husband had shown her, and raised the gun until it's barrel was parallel to the floor at eye level. She inhaled deeply through her nose; the scent of the perfume she had sprayed while getting ready to go shopping was still strong in the air. Not for the first time, she wished that the familiar scent of expensive Italian cologne was there to accompany it.
Her bedroom door slammed open and she exhaled sharply through her teeth, the breath of air coming out as a hiss, as she pressed down on the trigger. It was different from shooting at targets and Nana was certain that she had hit her wall more than she had them, but there was now two bodies on the floor in pools of their own blood.
Her entire frame trembled and shuddering breaths stung her throat and her eyes were burning and oh, god, they're dead and she was safe and she killed them.
She stumbled towards the two bodies on the floor and fired twice more. Matching holes leaking blood appeared between open eyes staring at her, and she flinched. She looked away from them to her wall now riddled with holes. Even with the silencer on her gun, the neighbors were sure to have noticed the sound of the bullets' impacts on the wood. She just hoped the bullets hadn't gone any further than lodging themselves into the wall.
She gingerly stepped around the corpses to reach the door and step out into the hallway, the gun still clenched in one of her hands. She tried to shut the door behind her but something was in the way. A sob wracked through her and she looked down and saw the leg of one of the corpses in to way. She nudged it out of the door's path with her foot and bile violently rose up her esophagus. She choked before swallowing, the acid burning and leaving a terrible taste in her mouth. The door closed with a quiet click.
She took a glance into her son's bedroom and shuddered. The bed was tipped over, the mattress torn, the closet empty. She knew her son hated school, and she always felt so bad sending him off, but today she was thankful that she had forced him to go even though he had tried to play hooky by saying his tummy felt strange.
The trip downstairs was quiet until the last few steps when her legs collapsed under her and she slid down the rest of the stairs. She sat, limbs askew, on the wooden floor with the gun held tightly to her chest. Another quiet sob snuck past her lips. She gathered herself up and clung to the wall with her free hand on the rest of the way to the kitchen.
Once there, she grabbed the phone from its receiver and dialed a number she knew by heart even though she had never called it before. Her shoulders shook as she pressed the phone to her ear and she muttered under her breath.
"Please answer. Please, please, please answer. You said you'd always answer from this number. Please answer, oh god, please."
Her heart pounded against her ribs and another dry sob forced its way out her throat. Just as she was about to hang up and dial the police, there was a click on the other line and a familiar voice in an unfamiliar language and she let the tears she had held back since she saw the men make their way up to her house fall.
"Pronto?"
She was surprised that she managed to answer through her cries.
"I-Iemitsu," her voice came out a strangled whimper and she tightened her grip on the gun. The metal was still hot to the touch, even more so now that it had been fired, but she couldn't bring herself to put it down.
"Nana? What's wrong? Did something happen?" It had been so long since she had heard his voice and it was so good to hear it now because she was so scared and oh, god, what if she had let Tsu-kun stay home today like he wanted to and oh, god, Iemitsu, what do I do – is what she wanted to say, what she tried to say, but all that came out was another whimper and more body shaking sobs as her she slunk down to the floor and pressed her forehead against the cabinet door.
"Nana, honey, what's wrong? Are you okay? Is Tsuna okay?" He sounded so worried and Nana just cried harder.
"T-Tsu-kun, h-h-he's o-okay," she whimpered. The line was quiet on the other end for a beat and Nana filled the silence with her soft sobs. There was a soft sigh.
"What about you, honey, are you okay?" Nana took a shuddering breath and thought on that. Was she okay? She was alive and uninjured. So yes, she supposed she was technically okay. Then her mind flashed back to the blood and the leg and the eyes and she sobbed harder. Soft, sweet words flowed through the speakers and into her ears. She knew he was trying to calm her and she tried her best to calm down, but it was so hard. She kept seeing the eyes and the blood and oh, god- she swallowed the sick down for a third time.
A few minutes later, when her breathing was finally under control and her cries softer, he asked again.
"Are you okay?" Nana inhaled shakily through her nose and exhaled through her mouth, just like she had before when she – she cut that train of thought off.
"I," she started, he let out a quiet encouraging sound and she forced herself to continue, "I had to use the gun today." Her voice cracked towards the end and her breathing picked up again. There was another silence.
"Are you okay?" She swallowed and shook her head.
"Nana?" More tears streaked down her cheeks making her face feel tight and sticky.
"I-I, um, t-there's a mess in the bedrooms a-and Tsu-kun is coming h-home soon," she stuttered out between soundless sobs.
"I'll call someone to clean up. They'll be there soon."
"O-okay," she whimpered. More silence. She looked at the gun in her hands and flexed her fingers around the handle in a repetitive pattern.
"Nana?" she hummed noncommittally in reply, her eyes trained on the gun, "How would you feel about moving?" Her eyes darted around the house, then to the stairs and she shuddered.
"I wouldn't mind," she replied after a few minutes, her sobs finally stopping, "B- but we would have to wait until Tsu-kun finishes up the school year. I would hate to pull him out so close to the end. There's only one week left after today, you know."
Her husband chuckled and the tenseness in her shoulders and neck eased up some and she slumped forward to push her weight against the cool wood of the cabinet door. She sighed and closed her eyes. The warm, familiar voice of her husband washed over her and Nana was content to just sit silently and let him talk about the country he was in now. She didn't know where he was talking about, but it sounded like such a nice place. A nice, beautiful, quiet place far away from this house and the two bodies upstairs. Far away from Namimori, Japan.
"That sounds so wonderful," she sighed wistfully, " I wish we could all live there together."
"You're wish is my command," her husband crooned and Nana giggled, her grip on the gun slackening.
Just as she had begun to relax, the sound of a car parking outside had her entire body tensing up again.
"Ah, the people I called just said they've pulled up outside the house. They'll take care of the mess, so why don't you get out and get some fresh air. Pick up Tsuna from school and go get some dinner or something. I can recommend you a great sushi place, you know."
Nana sighed in relief and stood up on shaky legs, "That sounds like a great idea, dear. Tsu-kun does love sushi."
Her husband chuckled, "I'm full of great ideas. I married you, didn't I?" Nana giggled again as she ran a towel from the sink across her cheeks. She chattered mindlessly with her husband while moving around the house on autopilot. She snagged her heels from the shoe rack at the front and slipped them on while sitting at the table instead of waiting to do so by the door. She grabbed her purse that had been abandoned on the kitchen counter, checked to make sure her keys and wallet were still there, and slid the gun into the space between her checkbook and her makeup bag after flicking the safety on.
She adamantly ignored the men moving into and around the house as she said her goodbyes to her husband.
"I love you, Iemitsu."
"I love you, too, Nana. I'll see you and Tsuna soon." Nana gasped in delight.
"How soon?" she asked, trying not to get her hopes up.
"I have a flight out to Japan tomorrow." Nana squealed in delight. She spoke over her husband's chuckles.
"This is great! Tsu-kun is going to be so excited!"
"Hmph, only Tsu-kun?" Nana could hear the pout in his voice and giggled again.
"Bye bye, Iemitsu. I'll see you soon," she hummed. After hearing her husband's farewell, she returned the phone to its receiver and slung her purse over her shoulder. She hummed a soft song under her breath as she walked past the men righting furniture and out the front door to head down the street.
She couldn't wait to tell Tsu-kun.