16: MM, Chrome

17: Mukuro, Ken, Chikusa

22: Byakuran

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the cruelest of them all?

Deep in the forest of Namimori was a clearing with a gorgeous old villa. Illuminated by the moonlight you could make out the beautiful garden with its many different flowers, herbs and trees. Their sweet and soothing smell was overwhelming, it was the kind of smell you would instantly start dreaming to. Altogether the villa seemed to be a place where you could be truly at peace, where you could be able to calm down and collect your thoughts. At day you would have been able to make out the many beautiful colors of the cute little flowers which decorated the stairs to the entrance of the mansion, but even though dawn was near, it was still night. Nothing at this place would make you feel uneasy or even scared. Usually that is. This night was different.

If you were to open the door to the inside of the house now all the calm you felt before would be gone in an instance.

If you were to go through the entrance now the thick and metallic smell of fresh blood would replace the sweet and alluring one of the flowers.

If you were to walk through the long dark and narrow hallway now, the old wooden floor would constantly crack, causing shivers to run down your spine.

If you were to open the door at the end of the hallway now, leading you into the living room, you would see drops of blood on the floor and on the walls.

And if you were to raise your head now you would see a young man with long indigo hair and a trident in his right hand standing in front of the owners of the villa.

The dead and bloody owners of the villa.

Rokudo Mukuro looked down at the mess he had created. The people he just killed had all belonged to a certain Mafia. When he broke into the villa they have been soundly asleep in their beds. They only woke up after some of his victims made too much noise when he killed them. That's why the rest of them were now lying in front of him on the floor, bleeding onto the old handmade carped. It must have been a very expensive carped he mused, well, not anymore. Mukuro still hears them crying, begging and even praying. He remembers himself just laughing at them. They have been so pitiful. It didn't matter what they were saying or whom they were praying to. He had made sure to send them all to hell. He didn't enjoy it, he never did, but he had to do it, even if it was just for the sake of revenge.

Sighing he took a rag out of his black coat and began to wipe the dirty Mafia blood off his trident. He hated the Mafia; hated it for what they've done to him. That's why at night he goes out to hunt them all down. He wanted them to be gone, erased from this cruel and dirty world so that maybe one day he could find peace.

He let his trident disappear into mist, stopping to think of the past. When he turned around he found himself staring into a huge mirror which hung above the pantry. What he saw didn't really surprise him, for he knew that he was just an empty shell without any values or emotions.

His expression was, just as expected, emotionless, unmoved and dark. His hair hung into his face, covering his right eye, but the other one seemed to be empty, there was no glint, no emotion, nothing. It was dull, dead. He noticed a single drop of blood trickling down his left cheek. It was an odd contrast, but somehow it looked beautiful, hypnotizing, seeing as his skin was so pale while the blood had the color of a clear and dark red. The color reminded Mukuro of the one of his right eye, the eye he had thanks to the Mafia. He stroked his hair out of his face. The color matched. How ironic. A sadistic smirk formed on the emotionless mask. Even Mukuro thought that he looked cruel now. It was as if a demon stared back at him from the mirror. But still, he wasn't surprised. He knew he was a monster. A monster created by the Mafia. It was only fair to let them pay for it. They needed to be punished for their crimes.

When the first rays of light hit him he snapped out of his thoughts. He had to hurry and get away. Wiping the blood on his cheek away he made sure wasn't more of it on him before leaving the Mafia hideout. He had to get a shower and a change of clothes. He couldn't smell of blood at that place.

Three hours later he was at school, sitting in his English lesson. There was nothing left of the disgusting smell and he was now wearing the mask of a committed and attentive smiling student, acting like a sweet little kitten who wasn't able to harm anyone. None of those fools surrounding him would have thought that this man was able to kill without any kind of remorse. At day he was leading a life as if he was normal.

Always hiding his right eye underneath his bangs Rokudo Mukuro looked just like all the other students. Well, like a very handsome student with indigo colored hair, but nevertheless pretty normal. Everybody liked him, the teachers, his class mates, everyone. His 'friends' would come to him to ask questions about the last lesson and the teachers would always give him some special work and credit.

He wanted them to act like that, wanted them to trust him, because it made things easier. He wasn't here for fun. Actually, he was very eager to study. He had to find a way to get rid of his one weakness the Mafia caused him with their experiments. So he had to study, hard.

'Riiiiiiiiiiiing!' The end of the first lesson. Closing his English book Mukuro saw Ken and Chikusa approaching him. Only four people knew about his nightly activities, four people who kind of shared a similar fate as Mukuro. One of them was the loud and animal like blond, another was the composed and calm four eyes. The other two were one year younger than them and thus not in the same class, but they would see them soon.

Ken and Chikusa looked worried. Probably because he had been late today. When Mukuro got home to change into his school uniform the others had already left for school. Yes, they were living together. Like this, it was easier to exchange information because the others were just like him, going out at night and hunting down some Mafiosos. A smile crept onto Mukuro's face. It wasn't a nice one, but no one seemed to notice.

"Mukuro san, did everything go well?" Ken asked in a low voice. The others didn't have to know what they were talking about. "You arrived at class just a second before the teacher."

He truly seemed to be worried. Such a fool. "Kufufufufu, everything is fine. I just played a little too much and forgot the time." A relieved sigh escaped them both. Mukuro didn't mind the things they were doing at all, but it was getting to the other four. Most of the time they seemed to be a little nervous, anxious. But never the less, they helped Mukuro out when he needed them to. To them he was some kind of hero, because he is the reason they were free now. They would do anything for him.

Mukuro thought that that was what made them weak. They depended on him and when you depend on someone it just means that you can't do it yourself. Weak.

But he didn't complain. At times they have proved to be pretty useful. To Mukuro his relationship to them was just like the one of a puppeteer to his puppets. He pulled the strings, they moved. If one of them were to break he would just have to get a new one, maybe a better one.

The indigo haired young man didn't understand their feelings for him. He couldn't because these were emotions he has never had, most likely never will have. Then again, he didn't even want them. They would make him weak, vulnerable, even more than he already was due to some stupid experiments.

'Riiiiiiiiiiiiing!' The end of the break. Japanese was next. "Damn, these fucking breaks are way too short!" Ken seemed to be his normal self again, the way he shouted and all. Chikusa just sighed yet again. He wasn't a man of many words.

Lunch break. At this time all five of them would always meet up at the rooftop. Mukuro didn't understand the attraction of a place like this, but if an ominous group meets up, it would always be on the damn rooftop.

"Mukuro san, I prepared lunch especially for you!" A chirping MM presented him a pretty big box with various kinds of food in it. That girl could be so annoying. "Thanks, but I don't think I can eat all that." Mukuro said with a smile on his face.

He never lets anyone know his true thoughts, his true feelings, not even them. Whenever someone was around him he was composed, careful not to let his performance slip. His performance, his acting was always perfect. Hell, if he wanted to he could have been the king of Hollywood. Nobody was as good at acting as he was; he even managed to deceive his friends. They were so oblivious, it made him wanna puke.

"Oh well, I guess Ken can have the leftovers." And just like that the two noisy ones started arguing once again.

"What about you my dear Chrome? Aren't you hungry too?" A crimson blush spreading across her face, the poor girl started to stutter her incomprehensive response.

At the beginning, when they were still children, Mukuro had his fun messing with her, seeing how she would react considering how she felt for him, but it had started to bore him a long time ago. Chrome's reaction was always the same. Blushing and stuttering. Mukuro didn't care. He had the whole world to entertain him, for he loved to watch people and see how they acted. By now he knew so many different kinds of behavior, many different patterns and a lot of various types of reactions to certain attitudes. By knowing them Mukuro had a great advantage. To him it was so easy to manipulate someone to act the way he wanted the one to. Of course his powers helped too.

"Mukuro san." Hearing Chikusa's voice he turned to face him. "You are going out alone this night again?" Fool. He was concerned that the indigo haired adolescence was overdoing it. He didn't need concern. Annoying fool.

Faking his smile yet again. "Of course." Putting on a mask of comforting appreciation. "But you don't have to worry about me." Chikusa smiled back, somewhat relieved. Fool.

He saw them walk back to Kokuyo Land together. Maybe to do their homework. He had to laugh at this. Merciless killers attending school. That was new. Well he just had to wait for the night to come. He was defiantly going out to have some fun again. Oh if the poor guy knew.

He had seen him today for the first time, but it had to be him, indigo hair, pale skin, always hiding his right eye. He couldn't help himself but to think that this kid was beautiful. He looked so delicate, so fragile. There was nothing about him that would have made you think that he is a ruthless killer. It definitely was an advantage the man mused. With the way the boy looked he was easily underestimated. A fatal mistake. The indigo haired beauty was dangerous. But he was going to tame Rokudo Mukuro.

This was going to be a very interesting night.

Everyone always tells you not to go into one of those dark and narrow alleys aside from the main street. Well, it's not that ban an advice if you consider that just now exactly one of those turned into the bloody grave of six young men who unfortunately have been part of a no-name Mafia.

'Oops, I did it again.' A certain indigo haired man thought sarcastically while standing, yet again, in front of a few corpses. This time had been really unsatisfying. They only belonged to a very small Mafia which wasn't even worth mentioning, but never the less, they needed to be eliminated too.

"Oh my, you're so cruel Mukuro kun." Mukuro tensed. He hadn't felt the presence of someone other than himself at all. This was a first. Whoever it was, the one had to be strong.

Putting on a mask of faked calm he turned around only to see an angel. Well. At least the man himself must have thought of him as one with the way he looked like. He had white hair, a smile on his face that seemed to be able to brighten up the whole night and he was dressed completely in white, except for a black tie and belt.

To Mukuro he looked stupid. Way too flashy. At another glance he got a little more curious. That smile. A normal person wouldn't have noticed it but he did. It was like his. Fake.

That and the fact that this man was able to get close to Mukuro without him noticing made him be on his guard even more than usual. Maybe this night wasn't going to be as unsatisfying as he thought it would be.

"May I ask who you are?" Mukuro had to be cautious. He had the feeling that this man was able to break him ever so easy. "Who I am? I'll give you a little hint. You killed some of my men last night." The smile was constantly staying on his face. Mukuro tensed yet again. 'His men? Damn, that explains why I'm feeling like he could kill me in an instance.' "Byakuran Millfiore." His smile got even brighter.

"So you do know me after all. Waaa, that makes me so happy Mukuro kun." A shiver ran down the boy's spine. From what he had heard that man was a monster, maybe even crueler than him. "Kufufufu, You're here to avenge your men?" Byakuran kept on smiling. "No." A simple answer, yet Mukuro didn't like it. 'If that's not it, then why the hell his he here?' Even though Mukuro would have been surprised if Byakuran really had been someone to take revenge for his men, he would have preferred it than having no clue to what the other was up to.

The angel didn't say anything else. Mukuro knew why. The silence was supposed to make him nervous. It seemed like that man was able to play with them too, the minds of others. "You can stop playing this little game of silence. I've played it myself over a hundred times already." Byakuran just laughed. "I knew it won't be that easy to break your mental defense, but I just couldn't resist the temptation of testing you a little." Mukuro smirked. "Did I succeed?" The white haired man's smile turned into a viscous grin. "You did."

They stared at each other. Mukuro knew that if he wanted to get out of this unharmed he had to think of something, quick. Changing the number in his eye he covered the alley in his illusions, trying to confuse Byakuran, trying to get the hell away from him. "My, my, where do you think you are going Mukuro?" Out of nowhere Mukuro suddenly felt something heavy on his back. He fell forwards, losing his trident in the process. Looking back he saw Byakuran sitting on his back, pinning him down to the floor so he that he couldn't move.

"Meh, Mukuro kun is so impolite. I still wasn't done talking to you, you know?" Mukuro didn't like this situation at all. He even started to panic a bit, but Byakuran just laughed when he saw the teen desperately trashing around underneath him. "You really should stop that Mukuro kun, You are going to hurt yourself my precious doll." Mukuro stopped. 'Did he say doll?' The illusionist tried to calm down, telling himself that it's just a word. "Fuhahaha, you reaction to that word was even better that I imagined. You are pretty sensitive when it comes down to that, right?" Mukuro was completely horrified by now. 'Could it be that he…' "Oh yes Mukuro kun, I know everything about you and your past. I know about that one weakness you have and guess what?" Byakuran didn't look like an angel anymore. On his face was a big and cruel smirk, promising a lot of pain to come. He bent forward, bringing his lips down to Mukuro's ear, whispering.

"I'm going to use it against you. I'm going to use it, to use you."

In an alley aside from the main street there were two men. Illuminated by the faint lights of the street you could see that one was above the other, whispering something into the ear of the one beneath. They would look like lovers to you and you would go. But,

If you were to be more attentive you would be able to feel that something wasn't right.

If you were to think about it a little more you would definitely feel the fear and despair in the air.

If you were to turn around again you would be able to see the maniac smile of the white haired man.

And if you were to stay any longer you would be able to hear a crazy laugh, just before you wouldn't ever hear, smell, or feel anything anymore.