A pink plus sign.

The fourth one she'd seen that day, to be exact. Lal's hands shook slightly as she finally saw the truth of it all: she was expecting Colonello's child, and Colonello was dead. A thousand emotions reeled through her head as she gripped the little plastic text. Frustrations; how could I have been so stupid to go unprotected? Worries; what if I don't make a good mother? What if something goes wrong? What kind of effect would the radiation poisoning have on the child? But most of all, Lal felt a deep sense of love deep inside her, a desperate want to protect and care for this child she carried. I won't let you down, my love, my Colonello.

- - -

"So I was right?" Bianchi smiled widely, gripping Lal's shoulders.

Lal shushed her, blushing madly. "Bianchi!" she whispered furiously. "Don't say a word to the others. I don't want them to worry, alright?"

Bianchi frowned slightly. "They will eventually figure it out, you know?"

"I know, but the later they find out, the better. Just help me out here, okay?"

"Alright, fine." Bianchi nodded, squeezing Lal's shoulder gently. "I'm so happy for you, Lal." She smiled.

Lal wrapped her arms around her midsection. "I guess I am too." Everything felt surreal, the worries and thoughts still blazing through her mind.

She quickly threw on her cloak, covering her body. "I'll just wear this everyday for now… I'd better hurry back before they wonder what happened to me." Lal gave Bianchi one last quick glance and then walked quickly down the hall.

One month later…

Hibari sat in his room; the clunk of the bamboo water fountain sounded in his ear. He folded his hands underneath his chin and closed his eyes, trying to not to focus on anything in particular. But, as hard as he tried, he couldn't stop thinking about that Arcoboleno girl, Lal Milch. What was it about her? She certainly wasn't charming. Sure, she was pretty, actually quite nice to look at sometimes, but that wasn't the reason she was always on his mind. But what was it?

He knew that he had to stop thinking about her sometime. If he didn't it would be a sign of weakness, and Hibari was not weak by any means. He sighed and decided to change out of his traditional kimono and go back to the training room in hopes of relieving some stress. He stood and slowly took off the kimono and revealed his perfectly toned and muscular chest underneath.

Meanwhile outside in the hall, Lal stumbled leaning heavily against the wall. She had successfully kept her pregnancy a secret from the others for a full month now, but it was getting harder and harder as her stomach had started to swell slightly. And to make matters worse, it seemed as if she was getting weaker. Bianchi told her to take it easy, but Lal didn't listen and now she was paying for it. Lal took a few more staggered steps, then felt everything around her start to fade. No, no… she pleaded in her mind, as she fell over in a faint from the radiation poisoning, directly into Hibari's sliding door and knocked it down.

Hibari heard the crash just as he had pulled his pants on, and he dashed out of his room still shirtless to find Lal sprawled out in shards of wood and paper unconscious. He frowned and kneeled beside her, placing a cold hand on her cheek.

"How much more stupid can you get, Lal?" He muttered, frustrated. He slowly and carefully lifted her into his arms and carried the unconscious woman to his bedroom.