"Thank you for receiving me, Hibari." Hat said.
Hibari said nothing. He continued to read his book, as if Hat wasn't there. Hat bristled, she couldn't handle this man. He was too self-centered for his own good.
"Hey." She spoke, attracting the attention of the young male. Hibari's eyes peeked from the book. "Can I smoke in here?"
"No."
Hat sighed. "Well, can I at least ask you some questions?"
Hibari closed the book harshly while glaring at Hat. She reminded him of that annoying student of his archenemy. At least, physically. And that was enough to put Hibari on edge.
"What do you want?" He finally asked.
"I want to know more about that Zero Ring." Hibari's eyes widened, for a fraction of a second.
"How do you know about it?" He asked, suspiciously. "Who told you that?"
"Tsuna." Hat lied. She couldn't possibly tell the most dangerous guardian that she had been peeking on his database. She had love for her life.
Hibari's eyes narrowed dangerously. Hat swallowed.
"There's nothing for you to know."
Hat trembled under his stare. She wasn't afraid of him, but she also wasn't courageous enough to test him. She got up and brushed her clothes.
"You know, there's a mole in the Vongola. Tsuna asked me to find it. That means you'll see me more. So get used to it."
"I don't have to get used to anything." He replied.
Hat left. Hibari didn't mention anything about the mole, meaning that he knew what was going on. That was normal, Hat thought, since Tsuna confided with Hibari multiple times. Hibari was like a secret second hand in command. Tsuna suspected of everyone, even his friends, which was weird for him since he loved them. The only person that Tsuna did have trust on, was Hibari. He knew that Hibari wouldn't betray the Vongola.
That wasn't Hibari's personality. But, then again, Hat didn't know Hibari. She had to suspect everyone until proven innocent. But Hibari wasn't at the top of her list.
Mukuro was.
Mukuro had the reasons to betray the Vongola, easily. He was conniving, traitorous… There were many adjectives to portray Mukuro. And Mukuro had a reason has to why he would want to betray the Vongola.
He wanted to wipe the Mafia of this world.
But a thought came to Hat's mind. If he did want to do that, why was he selling the files of the Zero Ring to other families? That didn't make sense. If he did want to wipe the families why not keep the files and steal the ring?
She lighted a cigarette.
Mukuro didn't know where the ring was. That was the reason as to why he didn't rob it. But now selling the files… That was twisting on Hat's mind. It just didn't make any sense. Perhaps he wasn't the one who did it?
"It's unlikely but not impossible." She commented.
She had to meet Mukuro. But the man was on the run, there was no trace of him. She had to talk with his intermediate, Chrome, to find out where he was.
She met with Chrome in the Vongola Mansion, after a meeting. The girl was leaving the room when Hat pulled her to the side.
"Hello Chrome." Hat greeted.
"Hello Hat. Do you need anything?"
"Actually I do. Do you mind if I talk with you inside?" She pointed to the empty meeting room. Chrome nodded.
The girls entered the room and Hat closed the door. Chrome sat on her usual chair as Hat took the chair next to her.
"Do you know the whereabouts of Rokudo Mukuro?" Chrome seemed embarrassed, just by hearing his name.
"No. Mukuro-sama said to me that he was doing a trip, far away from Italy, with Ken and Chikusa. I don't know where they went." She said. Hat searched in her face, for any indication that she was lying. She found none.
"So Mukuro wasn't near Italy, two days ago?" Chrome nodded.
"What's this about, Hat?"
"I'm investigating something important." Hat replied. "Something that can decide Mukuro's fate. So don't lie to me, Chrome."
"I'm not lying. Two days ago, Mukuro-sama wasn't in Italy."
"But he has puppets." Hat muttered.
"What do you mean?" Hat looked at Chrome.
"Something was stolen from the Vongola. And I need to get it back as well as I need to know who did it." Chrome's eyes widened.
"Mukuro-sama didn't steal anything!"
"I'm not saying that he did, Chrome. I'm just checking all the possibilities."
Chrome didn't seem to relax hearing that. "Please, Hat. Mukuro-sama did not steal anything. He wasn't here in Italy, nor did he use his 'puppets'."
"Okay. I'll trust you." Hat said.
Both of the girls stood from their seats and exited the room.
Hat wasn't convinced. Mukuro had his reasons. Just because Chrome had said that, it didn't mean it was true. Mukuro could be doing this without Chrome's knowledge. It was possible.
Tsuna had waited until the girls had finished so he could speak with Hat. He approached the green haired girl and talked.
"So how's it going?" Hat sighed.
"I have a suspect. Mukuro." Tsuna immediately shook his head.
"He isn't the man you're looking for."
"Why do you say that?"
"Mukuro knows where the ring is kept. He is guarding it this instance." Hat's green eyes widened widely.
"What?!" she shouted. "And you didn't think it was wise to tell me that?!"
"I didn't remember!" He said, embarrassed.
"You didn't remember to tell me that a crazy assassin was guarding the ring?!"
Tsuna cast his head downwards. "I'm sorry Hat."
"You've made me chase the wrong guy this whole time, dude! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"I'm truly sorry…"
Hat couldn't stay mad at him. The guy was too sweet.
"Its fine." She said, as she threw a hand to her hair. "I guess I'm back to zero. But, wait. Why do you keep Mukuro guarding a powerful ring?"
"Mukuro is powerful. We made a deal. If we didn't let any harm come to Chrome, he would guard the ring with his life."
"I guess he really loves her, huh?"
"I guess…" Tsuna said, with a far-away look.
Hat decided to end the conversation and get back to work. The longer she took to discover the mole, the harder it would get to the files that were sold.
Back into her place, accompanied by a cup of coffee and her precious cigarette, Hat thought about the sell.
It had to be quiet, unsuspicious, so the man that was selling the files wouldn't be discovered. It had to be in a place where the both would be alone. Tsuna said that the Vongola patrolled the streets of Sicily, except in one part of the town, the part that belonged to the Ode Family.
The Ode Family was a rival of the Vongola Family. They had taken part of the town for themselves, to build their own territory, but never crossed ways with the Vongola. Because they know they would lose.
If the city was patrolled by the Vongola then the mole had to cross to the territory of the Ode Family. There, he would be protected, and could make the transaction smoother.
Okay, so Hat figured out where the transaction was made. That was helpful. But now, that meant that she had to go there and figure out if anyone saw a member of the Vongola.
And that was the hardest part.
Hat didn't know who to search for.
She sighed through her nose as she bit her lips. She opened her laptop. Her fingers were splayed over the keyboard as she typed the words to enter the Vongola's system. She hoped to find some kind of evidence that placed one of the guardians on the Ode territory. And, after two hours of search, she eventually found.
Her eyes widened as the picture of the man popped up on the screen.
She printed the information along with the picture and exited her apartment. She walked to the part of the town that belonged to the Ode Family and started looking for the café. The information that she had printed said that he had used his credit card on the café 'La Padrona di Casa'.
She approached a couple. "Excuse me…" They looked at her, assessing her looks. "Do you know where I could find La Padrona di Casa?"
They nodded and the man spoke. "La Padrona is right around this corner. You just have to turn left here, and then you'll see the café."
"Thank you."
Hat did as the man told her to. She turned left and immediately saw the sign of the café. She wished that she would pick up some more information on the café, as she entered the smoke filled space. La Padrona di Casa gave off this pub-vibe to Hat. She had been to England, especially their pubs, and La Padrona wasn't far off of what a pub was all about. The counter was at her left, followed by high green leather stools that had four legs connected to each other by a wooden plank. The tables were spread throughout the café, with chairs- green leather chairs.
She walked to the wooden counter where, the bartender cleaned a glass. She sat on the barstool and placed the file in front of her. The bartender immediately came to her.
"Can I help you?"
"Actually, I think you can." She spoke. "Have you seen this man?"
She showed him the picture. The bartender grimaced. "I'm sorry but I've never saw him."
He was obviously lying. Hat decided to go the other way around.
"Were you working on twelve of May?"
"Yes, I was." Hat nodded.
"Curious." She commented. "And you want to know why? Because this man was here, that day."
"Look miss, I don't keep track of the people that come and go." He answered methodically. Hat wasn't convinced.
"That maybe, but you would be reminded of him."
"And why's that?"
"Because he belongs to your family's enemy." The bartender gulped.
"What do you mean?"
"Come on…Don't play coy with me. I know for a fact that you've seen this guy. And I'm just looking for him; I won't cause any problems to your family."
"My family?"
"You belong to the Ode Famiglia." The bartender's eyes narrowed.
"Are you the cops?"
"I can be if you want. And if I want I can shut down this establishment. I have the connections for that. Now, I've only asked you a question. A simple question. Have you seen this man?"
The bartender sighed, nodding. Hat smiled.
"Yes. He was here. He sat there," he pointed at an empty table. "as if he was waiting for someone."
"Did he meet with anyone?" He raised his eyes to the ceiling, in thought.
"I don't think so… But he did receive a call and then he left the café."
"One more thing: did you see if he was carrying something?"
"Like a file?" Hat cocked one eyebrow.
"Why do you say that?"
"Because he was carrying a file. I was thick as hell!" He muttered.
"Thank you."
"You're not going to close the bar, right?" Hat laughed.
"No, not yet, I'm not."
Hat left the café and walked home. She had everything she needed to get him. Now, she needed to talk to him. And that was trickiest part. Hayato Gokudera was known for being volatile.
