Disclaimer;
I don't own Katekyoshi Hitman Reborn - that belongs to Akira Amano. I only own my OCs.
...
sunstar13, Thank you very much. It's really tiring to write the plot rather than imagining it. ^^
Seru-Chann, I'm really sorry for the late submit. Rei's gone for a while so I don't have a partner to write the story with... T^T
2727yeah, well, you see, in my eyes, he IS cute and calm and kind.
…..
-previous chapter-
"Enter."
Vikram said. Honey and Rei watched as a man with pale blond hair entered. Vikram smiled when he saw the man. But, behind the man was another person. Quite an unusual sight to behold. Rei and Honey switched from shock to recognisation and relief.
"Nico!" They exclaimed in unison.
(Zip Zap Starts)
"Nico!" They exclaimed in unison.
The three of them stared at each other in shock. Never had they expected to reunite at the same place. Vikram looked at his guests in interest.
"I see that you guys know each other but unfortunately I don't," Vikram smiled.
Honey and Rei snapped out of their shock and smiled sheepishly at Vikram. Vikram looked at the girl named Nico. Though he sweatdropped when he glanced at the black haired girl.
Nico was glaring at him. He felt her scanning and measuring him up and down with predatory eyes. He could understand the feelings of prey when a predator was sizing the thickness of their meat before swallowing the prey down its throat. Her gaze unnerved him slightly and when he noticed her eyes narrowing at one point, Vikram quietly pleaded at Honey. She noticed the look on his face and turned to see Nico literally glaring at him.
"Nico, it's rude to stare," Honey scolded her friend.
"Since when? I thought it was you who encouraged me to stare at hot guys," Nico raised an eyebrow because she really was just checking him out.
"Ahem, thank you for the compliment," Vikram blushed when he realised what she truly did. And here he thought the girl hated him for some reason.
"You don't associate glaring with checking someone out but that's actually quite a nice cover up," Shaza snorted while looking amused. Nico elbowed him with a smile.
"Oh, hush."
"I must say that your arrival is just perfect, Shaza and Nico. Why don't you guys join us for tea?" Vikram offered.
He invited all of them to the soft and comfy dark green sofas. Shaza shrugged and sat on an empty couple seat. Nico slowly took the place next to him. Honey and Rei moved while staring curiously at the new stranger. It was surprising to see Nico, who despised strangers, to sit with a person she only met today.
There was a knock on the door but it was only Raf, the man from before. Following behind him was a maid. She pushed a trolley that had trays of delicious cookies and cakes. There were also cups and a teapot. The maid served them with a cup of Earl Grey and a plate of chocolate cake each. Afterwards, she was dismissed. Once they were all comfy with food and drink in front of them, Vikram leaned further into the sofa.
"We still haven't introduced ourselves. I'll start first. My name's Vikram Kaiele and I am the current 5th boss of our Lunezielle Family. This is Raf, my trusted right hand man," Vikram then pointed his finger to Shaza, "The guy over there goes by Shaza. Don't worry, he doesn't bite."
Shaza took a sip of his tea with a raised eyebrow, "Doesn't bite doesn't mean I don't kill."
"I guess it's our turn. You can call me Honey, though I hate it when people call me by that name," Honey introduced herself politely.
"I am the great and awesome Rei-sama. My life motto: Money is life. You have no money, get lost from my sight," Rei introduced herself proudly with her right leg on the coffee table. She was even looking down with a smug grin at the men.
"This is one of the moments that I am ashamed befriending her," Nico groaned at the side.
Honey slapped Rei's right leg and told her to remove her leg from the table. Rei shrugged but did as she was told. She munched on the chocolate cake and remembered something.
"Oh! That glaring bitch over there who had been checking you out is Nico. She's behaving right now but she hates strangers so you'll know how bitchy she can get whenever you get alone with her," Rei laughed.
"Shut it, woman," Nico rolled her eyes though she was never the type to care of what people think of her.
"What do you mean? She's been behaving nicely since we met," Shaza wondered as he did the cute pose again. Unconsciously.
"I was nice? Damn that was the first time someone had said it. If you say anymore, I'll be kneeling and ready to propose you," Nico rolled her eyes at the compliment.
"Sorry to say but I don't do kids," Shaza smirked.
"Pardon me, uncle," Nico said, earning a frown from Shaza. He was not old.
The other four occupants watched at the exchange. Really, Vikram could not believe his eyes and ears. That lone wolf Shaza was actually joking around with a mere girl he met a few hours ago? Raf was already shocked still.
"Hello. No romance please. My eyes are hurting and I feel like puking my guts out," Rei made a disgusted face at the girl across her seat.
Nico rolled her eyes again but ignored Rei whereas Honey glared at Rei for her interruption and pinched the girl's side.
"Ow! What was that for?" She whined.
Honey ignored her by taking a bite on one of the chocolate cookies. Nico had a smug grin when she saw it and Rei pouted.
"Since the introductions are done, let's get to business. Actually, I have an invitation for you three," He looked serious, "I would like for you three to join my Family."
"Er… A little explanation might be helpful," Rei inquired and Honey agreed.
"You see, the Lunezielle is relatively new and I take it that you are aware of Vongola? They're pretty infamous in our world," Vikram started and continued when he received nods.
"I've been planning to strengthen my family in order to at least be on par with them in terms of economic, power and authority. A small and new Family overtaking the great Vongola can make our reputation rise greatly. It's not entirely possible. Imagine what we will achieve, the fame and glory. But to achieve my goals, I need all the help I can get even if it means I have to outsource staff. I'm sure we can make use of your abilities and skills. Don't worry, we can provide budget for employee traning," Vikram explained. His eyes glittered with anticipation.
Honey sensed that something was a bit tad wrong about the man's intention and so did her friends. She frowned heavily at the thoughts. The way Vikram put it, he called them as tools that he could throw away easily or backstabbed them. And they did not like it one bit.
"We are really grateful for your invitation, really. But we've only arrived today and I guess we're still feeling a bit out of it. Not to mention we have quite an eventful day. I hoped that you can give us time to consider the proposal?" Honey admitted in distress.
"Of course, no problem. I'm sure you guys are tired indeed. How about we stop for the day? I'll have someone lead you to our guest room. You can give me the answers anytime but I'd appreciate if it'll be soon," Vikram smiled gently to assure his guests. He then called for a maid to show them to the guest room. The girls excused themselves.
"Are you serious about the invitation? We don't know they background. They could be spies or assassins, sir," Raf voiced his concerns.
"I am aware of the possibilities, Raf. But we can't let valuable assets go, do we? I'm quite positive we can change their mind. And we need to turn them loyal so they won't even dare think of betraying me. If perhaps they become a threat, we can just kill them," Vikram flashed an assuring smile at Raf.
"I'll be taking my leave now. If you ever need my assistance, just ring the bell and I'll come to assist you. Dinner will be served soon by six. Please take your time to rest," The maid bowed.
"Thank you for everything, Lucia," Honey thanked the maid with a smile of her own.
"I am just doing my job, miss. Have a nice day," The maid bowed again and left.
They waited until the sound of Lucia's footsteps gradually disappeared around the corner before they turned to each other. Their eyes shifted but no words were exchanged. Rei and Honey were actually thinking about what actually had happened whereas Nico was wondering why they were staring at each other.
"Let's go over the main topic first. Just now, Vikram mentioned Vongola. Was it truly Vongola as in the Vongola? What do you think?" Rei asked for her friends' opinion.
Instead of answering her friend's question, Honey poured tea into a cup. She took a sip of it. Nico got up and walked around for anything to fill her time with. Rei pouted at being ignored so she crossed her arms and stared at Honey stubbornly for an answer. Honey sighed in defeat. Did her friend never learn patience?
"You heard it yourself. I am pretty sure it was the Vongola."
"The one we've always been reading in manga or fanfiction or watch in anime? That very same story?"
At that moment, Nico decided to put in a comment, "I forgot to inform you but we are truly inside of the KHR world. I'm positive. Gut feelings."
Rei felt a vein popped. She walked over to Nico quickly and then grabbed on Nico's collar forcefully. She shook her friend like a madman.
"I knew it! This is entirely your fault! It's you who first started saying such stupid things like going to the KHR world. And look, we don't even know whether we can ever get back to our own world. This is ALL YOUR FAULT, Nico!"
"Yeah, yeah," Nico made a straight face as if she never really cared whether they could go back to their own world or not at all.
Even with the furious shaking of her friend. It made Rei's blood pressure increased. She shook Nico even stronger while screaming and shouting some censored words that were better left unknown. After a good fifteen minutes, she finally released Nico and collapsed on the carpet.
"Damn it! Why these kinds of things always, always happened to me? I've always been a good girl. Why? Tell me, why? I was really excited that I could finally see my beloved Honey and wanted to spend some time with her when everything just went down the hill. Just like that! And all because of that stupid damn crow! Me and Honey were supposed to have a date, go to the beach and watch sunset. But now, we're stuck in this be damned world!" Rei glared at Nico.
She gasped when she remembered one more important thing, "And what about my savings in bank? My dream of living in luxury and wealth are meaningless now!" Rei cried even louder.
"Nico, since according to what she said is your fault, apologize," Honey said nonchalantly.
Gasp. "I've done nothing that required me apologizing to her! But just like always, it's my fault! Where is justice? I should have apply for military," Nico grumbled and put up her hands into the air, accusing the world for everything. But in the end, she admitted defeat.
She kneeled down before the crying girl and confessed, "Rei, I admit that I'm always at fault for every bad luck that happened to you so please, forgive me of my sins. I'm sorry for ruining your holiday. I'm sorry for thinking of something stupid that brought us to this world. I'm sorry for making you and Honey experienced bad things. I'm sorry that we have no money. I'm sorry for making your life worse and I'm sorry for making you cry."
"Nico..." Nico's face while saying such things was so real and regretful that it touched Rei's heart. Though she took it back.
"But I'm not sorry for finishing off your blueberry muffin."
"You did what?! No wonder I couldn't find it! And here I thought that you're actually being sincere," Rei smacked her friend in irritation.
Nico dodged the hand coming for her. Honey shook her head in amusement because she was already used to their banter.
"It's okay, Rei. Nico will treat you to some desserts the next time."
"Of course I'll make sure of that to happen," Rei smirked evilly. Sweet revenge.
"There goes my money. I earned it for survival not for feeding you," Nico groaned, "It's such a pity to waste the money on food that'll eventually goes inside your stomach, digested and excreted next. You should only eat what you need to survive, not what you desire. Especially for a glutton."
"I am not a glutton! How dare you!" Rei faked a gasp.
"You are. What kind of human in the entire world can eat six plus desserts after a full course meal, except for you?" Nico protested.
"You fucking crow!"
"Shut up, bitch!"
A thick encyclopedia was thrown across the room and hit them right on the heads. They squeaked in pain and clutched onto their heads. They turned around to retort back at Honey for throwing a 2kg encyclopedia at them but frozen still when Honey glared at them.
"Why can't the two of you just shut up and behave?" Honey hissed in anger.
They obeyed immediately. Nico sat down on a sofa and began reading a book she deemed interesting. Honey continued her sweet time with tea and cookies. Rei decided to explore the room and probably find any hidden surveillance cameras or hearing devices slash bugs but the place was clean. In the end, Rei walked over to the king-sized bed, took off her high heels and lied down on the bouncy bed.
Silence descended in the room. The only sound heard came from the grandfather clock and the sound of paper being flipped over to the next page.
"Hey. About joining them... What do you guys think about it?" Rei crossed her legs at the edge of the bed.
Two pairs of eyes turned to her. Seeing as their friend wanted a serious conversation, they halted their activities and gave their full attention. Honey put down her cup, crossed her legs and put her hands together on the armrests. The view of a high born princess. Nico closed the book softly and listened attentively from the sofa.
"It's tempting but we don't really know for sure the pros and cons," Honey concluded.
"I say it's a good opportunity. We can gain more information about how this world runs. They might even teach us how to fight as well and we can take advantage of that to survive," Nico reasoned.
"True. We just got involved in the mafia world, whether we meant it to happen or not. We don't exactly know how to protect ourselves from guys like them," Honey nodded her head in agreement.
"Them?" Both of her friends questioned at the same time.
"Them! You've forgotten about them already, Rei? Oh! Nico, you weren't there so you don't know about it."
Honey told Nico everything that had happened to her and Rei inside the abandoned warehouse. From time to time, Rei added some forgotten details. After they finished, Nico seemed to be in a deep thought. Then she broke into a smile. Not the ordinary gentle smile, it was a dark and suspicious smile.
"You said they seemed to do some shady business and they were planning to kill you two?" Her two friends nodded their heads hesitantly, wondering what their twisted friend was thinking.
"This is just a hypothesis since I wasn't there but I believe they were possibly doing a transfer or a check. Like counting stocks. Except the items could be weapons or drugs. Or they could be," She chuckled evilly at this part, "disposing dead bodies? Chopped them into smaller bits and shoved them inside those crates. I bet they can fit about three to five people per crate."
Honey and Rei shivered and could feel the hairs on their arms standing up. They tried hard not to let their imagination ran wild. They tried not to imagine dead bodies inside those crates. Well, they tried. But the fact that the atmosphere inside of the warehouse was kind of eerie did not help. Rei hugged herself and Honey covered her mouth as they turned pale. Seeing her friends' reactions, Nico laughed.
"Chill, dudes. I was just kidding," Nico wiped away at the tears in her eyes.
"It never sounds like a joke when you're the one who said it. You sound like some psychotic murderer," Honey complained with a frown.
"Yeah! And ew, please stop trying to pollute my pure innocent mind with your disgusting bloody thoughts!" Rei tucked out her tongue at Nico.
"As if it's still pure and innocent."
As much as they hated it when Nico tried to make a joke based on her twisted and corrupted mind, they had to calm the rapid beating of their poor hearts because sometimes, no matter how stupid or impossible or totally impossible it might sound, whatever Nico said were actually true. Much to their chagrin.
"Let's just stop thinking about those things, can't we? We still need to decide whether we should or not accept Vikram's invitation," Honey groaned.
"Question is: why should we? We know next to nothing about fighting or anything that could be of use to them. Why would he even bother to invite us?" Rei wondered out loud.
"He wants to use us obviously, genius. The man literally said it himself. Use whatever assets he could get. Even if it's a raw asset then he can just convert them into usable assets. If we are useful then he'll keep us. If we're useless, then he'll just get rid of us," Nico answered. Her explanation was actually logical that it amazed even Rei.
"Well, we're talking about the mafia after all. Trust Nico to figure out how a killer thinks," Honey sighed.
"We never really have any other choices, right? It's dangerous out there. Remembering what happened this morning, we don't even know what kind of enemies or if there's any ally out there. Heck, we know nothing about this world! Back home we only mingle with the good world," Rei shouted angrily, "Except for someone."
"True. It would be better if we know what we're supposed to do in this world and how to avoid dangers. I don't like the thought of stumbling into a scene like today," Honey closed her eyes again, "Except for someone."
"Why does it feel like you were insulting me?" Nico wondered.
"I've decided. We'll join them."
"Sure. It's better to grab any chances we can get. We'll stay and observe how the world runs here. Plus, if they're going to use us, why don't we make it even by using them too?" Nico grinned.
"But what should we do if something goes wrong between us and them? Once we join them, there is no easy escape without sacrifices," Rei frowned when she thought of their future.
"Simple, in the duration we will stay with them, whatever we do shall never be known to them. We will tell them what they wanted to hear but not everything. They never told us to be honest, yeah? We will behave as long as everything is in our favour," Honey plotted evilly.
"Combining the truth with possibilities while trying to lead it away from the real truth. We'll be using it to increase our trump cards against them," Nico grinned when she understood Honey's plan.
"I like the sound of it," Rei joined her friends with a similar smile.
What happened next was up to them. They could not afford to die. They would survive.
Dinner time
A few hours later, there was a knock on the door.
"Enter," Honey said from her chair. The door opened and Lucia, the maid entered.
"Dinner is served. I am to lead everyone to the dining room," Lucia smiled sweetly.
Honey nodded and went to wake the sleeping Rei. Nico closed her second book and straighten her attire. Lucia led them through the corridor to the dining room. It was big and spacious. There was a large table in the center of the room. At the end of the table was Vikram. On his right was Raf and beside Raf was Shaza.
"I'm glad we'll be having three pretty ladies joining us for dinner. You see, it's kind of boring and pitiful with only Raf and Shaza here. Have a seat, ladies," Vikram invited them with a big smile.
The girls smiled and walked over towards the table. Honey hesitated to sit when Vikram motioned for her to seat on his left but she complied. Rei sat next to her friend comfortably but Nico quickly took her seat beside Shaza, like it was normal to her.
"What's for dinner?" She asked casually. She asked because this was her first time having Italian dinner and she knew nothing about Italian food except for spaghetti.
"Pasta con i Funghi e Piselli, Verdure Grigliate e Marinate and Sautéed Scallops. You can have rice if you don't like pasta," The corner of his mouth lifted as Shaza answered her question.
"I'm fine with pasta and scallops but I am not having those vegetables," Nico scrunched up her nose.
"You need to eat some veges as well."
"Don't make me call my lawyer."
"I dare you to call one who is stupid enough to fight a case involving vegetables," Shaza chuckled.
Shaza and Nico talked with each other, ignoring everyone else in the room. Their close and friendly exchanges were shocking.
"Shaza was smiling. That was damn pretty scary than Ju On," Vikram gasped at Honey.
"Something's going on between these two," Honey grinned in return.
All of them started eating and enjoyed the dinner. Vikram and Honey talked about random things. Sometimes Raf and Rei would join in the conversations if they were not busy chewing and gulping the food. Nico only talked to Shaza for the rest of dinner, the same for Shaza.
"We've made our decisions," Honey suddenly said.
"That was sooner than I expected. And what is your answer?" Vikram blinked and looked solemn.
"We'll join you," Honey said. Vikram face lit up and he was about to say something but Honey interrupted him.
"However. I hope you'll give us the rights to leave the Family if we want to and you will respect our decisions. I'll tell you firsthand, we won't be staying here forever and you can't make us. For now, the only thing we can do is help you with that plan of yours."
'So this was how they planned to get away from being chained to the Family. I didn't expect this. Looks like I've underestimated them their thinking. Fine, it's nothing much after all. But I should think of a way to counter their plan soon,' Vikram mentally thought.
"I understand. I'll give you the rights to leave the Family when you think the time is acceptable. Since you saved my life, at least I could pay you back by agreeing with that condition. For now, I welcome you three to the Lunezielle Family," Vikram smiled as he welcomed his new members.
"Wait, you promised to give us money too, remember? Now, where's my money?" Rei demanded.
"You still remember about that?" Vikram sweatdropped.
The next morning
"Truth be told, I don't usually give the newbies any work on your first day. But still, I need you guys to go somewhere and meet with someone. The address and anything related to the mission is in the file," Vikram explained to them. Raf immediately handed a file to them. Honey flipped open the file and examined the papers inside.
"Basically, this guy," Raf pointed at a photo of a man in his thirties with messy brown hair and troubled eyes.
"He has something we need. The information we have of him indicated that he used to work for the Estraneo. He managed to escape before the massacre of the Family and he also has the data from when he used to work there. Our objective here is to retrieve the data."
"Estraneo? Isn't that supposed to be the guys who valued science above all and resorted to experimenting on children? The one that was completely annihilated and have no survivors?" Rei asked for confirmation.
"You've heard of them? I'm relieved to know that you guys have some basic knowledge about mafia families. Right now, the guy's staying low. Seems like there are others who want the data too so it might be a bit hard. This will be your first mission. Steal the data away before the enemies do."
...
The day before they left for the mission
"Hey, where are my clothes? I just put it on the bed."
"Didn't you already put it in your bag?"
"Found it!"
"Who took my boots?"
"It's already in your bag, stupid."
And so on.
...
During the journey inside the car
"Are we there yet?"
"Not yet. Patience, my friend."
A bit of silence.
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we-"
"One more time, Rei and you won't be there because I will throw you out of the window now."
"Yes, Miss,"
And she finally shut up before,
"Are we there yet?"
"For goodness' sake, no- I mean yes. We've arrived. Thank god."
Honey watched the scenery as the car went into Palermo, the place they would be spending three days for their first mission. The city was crowded with cars and people. Honey and Rei watched everything with fascinated eyes. The car drove them straight to a hotel.
A footman walked towards them and bowed, "Welcome to Hotel del Centro, mademoiselles."
"Thank you," Honey gave him a smile. The worker blushed and kept his gaze low.
"Was he in the wrong country?" Rei rudely whispered.
"Hush. He was cute."
The two of them went to the counter in the lobby. A handsome man was frowning as he checked some papers and looked over them. He did not notice their presences until Rei called out to him.
"Yo, mister."
"Huh? Oh! Scusa, please excuse my rudeness. May I help you, signora?" He smiled charmingly.
"We made reservations and we would like to check in now," Rei explained, a bit shy when she was bombed by the smile. Honey raised an eyebrow at the change in attitude.
"May I have your name, please?" His fingers were ready to type on the keyboard.
"Lunezielle."
When he heard the name, the man froze and looked at them in surprise. Rei waved at the man and asked if he was okay. The man quickly smiled. He typed the name and asked them to sign a paper before he gave them the room's key. The girls shrugged and went to the 18th floor. They searched for their room number 044.
"What an ominous number."
Honey inserted the card key and the door opened with a click. Honey went in first. Rei immediately threw her bag on the floor and lied down on the bed.
"I don't like the way he looked at us," Rei complained about the reception guy's behaviour.
"Don't blame him, Rei. He probably knows about the Lunezielle. It's a mafia family after all so normal people like him would want nothing to do with the mafia," Honey reasoned, "Rather about him, we should discuss our mission. How should we do it?"
"Honey~ Can't we just rest for today? We just arrived and I'm tired. I want to sleep. Then I want to go shopping. Please? Pretty please~" Rei gave Honey her puppy dog eyes attack.
"Rei, we're here for a mission, not for fun. We can go shopping after we've finished the mission."
"But Vikram said to have fun. That means we can go have fun," Rei rolled on the bed childishly while protesting and making a ruckus.
"What do you think, Nico?" Honey sighed and decided to ask Nico for her opinion on this matter. Two minds have always been better than one. But there was no answer.
"Nico? I say, Nico, did you hear what I've been saying-" Honey gasped in shock, "Oh my god, where's Nico?" Honey turned to Rei in panic.
"Wasn't she behind us this whole time?" Rei answered with a question instead.
"I don't know! I thought she was right behind us," Honey panicked.
"Calm down, Honey. Knowing her, she might disappeared off to a nearby café or eating. It's Nico we're talking about," Rei tried to calm her friend.
"But, but..."
"Okay, let's go step by step. When was the last time you saw her?"
"In the car. She was sleeping on my right. Then, we arrived to the hotel. We went inside and then..."
A few seconds of silence.
"OH MY GOD! We left her right inside the car!"
...
Inside the car
"Are we there yet?" Nico rubbed her sleepy eyes tiredly.
