DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN AND GUILTY CROWN. I DO NOT EVEN OWN ITS CHARACTERSwhich is such a shame...

A/N: Shoutout to that one reader who wanted me to continue this despite the fact that it's been two years! /slappedstabbedshotkilled
Anyway, thank you! I'm real sorry for being so, so, so painfully slow... Okay, read up folks, enjoy!

Chapter 9

Panic

With a swift movement, Hibari abruptly rushed towards Inori and Katou. With unknown motives, Inori was put on high alert against Hibari's untoward action.

"Explain." was the cold word that came off the devil's mouth as he engaged Inori, a steel tonfa against her forearm.

Inori was quick to act, barely managing to defend herself from the incoming attack. Keeping her silence, a cold sweat dropped under her chin. Thoughts of Gai filled her head that instant, and grim consequences followed.

"Oi!" the woman with steel fans yelled. She stood behind the beast seemingly covering for the guy called Julie Katou. "What's going on?! You suddenly-"

The woman was silenced with a quick flick of Hibari's tonfa towards her face. There was barely an inch left between the steel tonfa's end and the girl's face. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to bite you to death."

"Hey hey, students shouldn't squabble within the school premises." a familiar voice emerged from upstairs. The sound of footsteps became eminent as the source of it came closer to them. "I suppose it's past five, students should go home at this hour."

It was Gai. White long sleeves, black slacks, a belt and a pair of black shoes-Gai was a teacher in the school but with his long blonde hair, he looked like one of the younguns attending the school-plus, he's not in the proper uniform which made the other two who didn't know him think he was a delinquent.

Hibari clicked his tongue at the sight of the man. He lowered his weapons as he glared holes at him.

Gai simply looked at him and spoke, "I know you're the Disciplinary Committee head here, Hibari Kyouya, but to think that you'd actually start a fight yourself... You should be more wary of your actions. You're supposed to be the role model of students." Gai said in an authoritative tone.

"You, in any way, have no right to lecture me." Hibari sharply retorted.

"Oh, but I'm a teacher."

"Teacher or not, you can't lecture me." he hissed. He took one step forward and added, "For your insolence, I will bite you to death."

As Hibari lunged towards Gai, blue orbs met red ones and in an instant, standing before the devil was the so-called EGOIST defending the blonde man. It was as if the two were connected and only with simple gestures and small movements, they already understand what was needed to be done.

"Please retreat, Hibari Kyouya." Inori's voice was ever so sweet but there was something amiss with her tone.

The beast jumped back, wary of the woman in front of him. Although he was uncertain, his blood thirst cannot be quenched by such a small threat. He raised his weapons, going to his usual stance and as he did, the ends of the tonfas released flails and the body revealed spikes and hooks.

"Lady EGOIST!"

Hearing her screen name called out, Inori got distracted and was unable to avoid Hibari's attack in time. At the moment, Gai pulled Inori and switched places with her. In a rapid motion, he landed a swift kick to the demon's ankle making him stagger. Next, he took the chance to free the red-head's shackled arm. Gai was pretty nimble despite his looks and was pretty strong even without Inori's protection.

But Hibari was no weakling, he stomped his other foot to quickly regain his footing and swiftly swung his other tonfa.

Fortunately, Gai was quick enough to dodge it. He then lifted Inori in his arms and hopped back to gain distance. He was quite shocked hearing the guy behind the demon call the famous internet singer. It was his miscalculation and he understood they were in a pinch that moment.

Hibari seemed hell-bent on 'biting' them to death that his killing aura began affecting Gai's instincts. He gritted his teeth as he whispered, "Inori, we need to pull back."

=/=

Gai panted heavily as he fell down on his butt. Inori crouched down beside him.

"Gai... This is..my fault." Inori murmured. She hugged her legs together as she placed her head between them.

Gai wasn't too exhausted to speak, he was just out of words. The two of them were still inside the school premises and apparently, some mafia guys actually infiltrated the place. What's strange was they were aiming for the two of them. He still couldn't comprehend their situation despite his high intelligence. It was all too sudden. He couldn't understand how they were found out. Worse was there was only the two of them, he left his cell on his desk and Inori's right arm was injured. It wasn't too deep but it was bleeding.

With a sigh, Gai looked at Inori. "From what we've encountered, there are at least ten or so mafia dogs out there, excluding the discipline brat, the fan-woman and that guy who knows your identity." he adjusted from his place and took out a clean handkerchief from his pocket. He folded it neatly to a triangle and gently took Inori's wounded arm. "At any rate, I'm certain I can handle those dogs but..it would raise more suspicion. We can't finish our job like this." he began wrapping the said cloth around the girl's forearm.

Inori quietly watched him as he gently caressed her wounded arm. Once he was done, Inori spoke, "Gai... Do you think..'he's' behind this?"

Gai only smirked and said, "Oh I bet he is. That white-haired brat's gonna pay for this."

Later, minutes have passed and the two were painfully silent. None of them moved a muscle even when they heard random footsteps, murmurs and metals clanking. The room they were in was cramped with shelves, mops and buckets used for cleaning. They were in a storage room, and for some reason, no one even tried to check that one room. Gai sighed as he looked up at the ceiling, staring blankly as he silently complimented in his head the beauty of the light that peeked from a tiny gap.

"Ah, the sun's about to set..." he thought aloud.

Inori wondered as he heard the blonde man's remark. She didn't know what to say and what to do. At one point, she wanted to fight but whenever she heard the man beside him breathe, she'd hesitate. From the looks of it, it seemed Gai preferred to let it pass. He seemed to be more than willing to hide rather than to fight back and make a big commotion out of it. She very well understood by then, he wanted to settle this peacefully and hopefully, alleviate even a tiny suspicion from the students they encountered earlier.

An hour or so, they heard another footsteps. They were heavy and were becoming louder and louder in every step. Judging from their position, Gai knew it was headed straight to them.

"Bad news..." he mumbled to himself as he stalked towards the door. He glanced at Inori and gestured for the shelves. The girl lightly nodded and quietly moved to hide behind them. Gai took slow breaths as he prepared himself. The intensity of their situation just got worse. Whoever it was from the other side of the door, he was determined to take him out as fast as he can at any cost. As the steps got closer, he decided that keeping their identities hidden is his first and foremost priority-part of the job or not, he was willing to kill whoever was on the other side of that door.

As soon as the footsteps stopped, Gai braced himself. He waited for the knob to be turned and the door to be opened but a few seconds later, only a voice emerged from the other side.

"EGOIST, huh?"

Gai jolted as he heard. He recognized the voice-it was that discipline-brat but he didn't quite understand his actions.

"Hey, you're strong right?"

Gai kept his silence. He was unsure of the boy's motives and he knew it wouldn't hurt for him to be cautious.

"I won't let anyone interfere. Let's fight." he took one step and finally touched the knob but before he could even turn it, a spiteful man sneaked up behind him.

"I didn't know you pick a fight with women." the eerie voice and the heavy feeling that surrounded the man was enough to take the bloodthirsty beast's attention.

"Rokudo Mukuro." Hibari hissed as he threw a glare at the man standing behind him. "Why are you here?" with a quick turn, he took his stance and poised to strike.

The man in question playfully smiled and answered, "Why can't I be?"

"Hibari, ciaossu." a baby with a black fedora appeared from the man's shoulder and jumped down. He looked up at the sharp-eyed boy and continued, "I need to see that woman, is she in there?"

The boy in question stared down at the Arcobaleno and shortly, lowered his weapons. "What for?"

Reborn looked at him intently and then replied, "I'd like to confirm something." he began to walk towards the door and halted a few inches away from it.

Mukuro followed but was blocked by Hibari. "You still have a match to settle with me." he declared in a dangerous tone. Mukuro only smirked as he acknowledged Hibari's threat.

A light screech was produced as the door slowly opened. Inside, a woman of cherry hair lay unconscious. Her back rested against the wall, legs stretched forward, arms hung down limply on both sides and her head hung low. Her fragile figure seemed to have taken them aback. They remained rooted in their position quietly assessing the situation.

Mukuro stretched his neck over Hibari's shoulder and managed to get a glimpse of the person behind the door. "She seemed hurt." he stated as his eyes fell on the woman's right arm. "Where could she have gotten that wound?" he wondered aloud.

Hibari was surprised but what he strongly felt upon laying his eyes on her pitiful state was mixed feelings of doubt and disappointment. He had high hopes for her-that she was fairly strong and worthy of praise and he figured she couldn't have been weakened to that extent with only that wound; so as to say it was only a scratch.

Reborn finally took a step inside the room and would slowly stop from time to time as if he felt another presence in there besides the people he could see and the girl lying unconscious right in front of him. Once he reached her feet, he spoke, "Woman, you're awake, are you not?"

No response.

"You..are that famous internet artist, EGOIST, am I correct?"

No response.

"You suddenly disappeared two years ago... Come to think of it, you also just appeared out of blue."

No response.

"..." Reborn looked intently at the person in question. He scrutinized her from head to toe and later, his gaze fell on her chest. He could see that the girl was still breathing, although very slowly and quietly, as if in a slumber. He began to think and then swiftly took out his small gun and pointed it at her.

"If you won't talk then I'll shoot you." he plainly stated.

Upon hearing the baby's squeaky voice, Hibari abruptly turned around to find him threateningly pointing a gun against the unconscious red-head. He wasn't surprised but he felt unnaturally bothered. In his head, he decided to wait and watch but apparently, he already leaped into the room holding his tonfa and dared a hit towards the Arcobaleno.

Reborn was prepared. As a skilled hitman as he is, he already held leon, his pet lizard and made it transform into a metal stick and fended off the raven-haired boy's attack. He pushed him back and said, "Hibari, calm down."

Hibari only looked at Reborn and then to the gun he was pointing at the girl respectively. He then picked himself up and crouched towards the baby and said in a whisper, "Don't touch her. She's my prey."

Reborn didn't bother to look at the boy but instead, held his gaze towards the person he was pointing his gun at. He silently assessed the situation and determined the weight of the consequences that may come next:

"Hibari, Dino is currently in the hospital. He was on the verge of dying when he was sent there but now he's recovering. And, the person who did it was, according to him, a woman of red eyes."

"..." Hibari glanced at the girl. "You mean to say, she beat him?"

"That's right. This is why I wanted to take her into custody. I'm still not sure if it was her but at least, I wanted to talk to her and take her to Dino himself so he could confirm it if it is her."

"Hmph. That doesn't change the fact that she's my prey. And now that I know she even beat that whip-guy herself, then I'm itching to fight her." Hibari then stood between him and the red-head. "Don't touch her. Don't interfere." he declared as he glared at the baby.

Reborn lightly chuckled as he made up that scenario in his head. He then lowered his weapon and put away his gun. "I understand-" he was cut off from his sentence as he saw a pair of arms wrap the boy's body in front of him.

Inori was only waiting for a chance to distract them so they could escape. Although Hibari's interference was unexpected, she was grateful. She quickly embraced him and whispered, "Thank you very much, Hibari-san. You really saved me." and in an instant, multiple sharp crystal spikes of sorts stabbed him. It was sudden and very instantaneous that the crystals they saw suddenly vanished without a trace as if they were only an illusion. She quickly withdrew as she pushed the raven-haired boy's body toward the Arcobaleno. She then rushed towards Mukuro who stood in the doorway.

The illusionist was more than prepared though. Despite his shock, he was still able to act but he was caught off guard by Gai who was actually hiding behind the shelves situated beside the door. As the blonde man revealed himself, he threw a bucket towards Mukuro's direction and as he distracted him, landed a low kick to stun him.

Reborn quickly drew his gun and began shooting at them but they successfully got out of the room and escaped. The sound of their footsteps eventually faded as they went further away from them.

Mukuro was pissed and swore he'd catch those two but was stopped by the Arcobaleno from leaving.

"Mukuro, tend to him first." he said as he glanced at Hibari.

From his shoulders to his torso, blood quickly drenched Hibari's uniform. He was still conscious but it seemed he was unable to move. He looked at Reborn and then to Mukuro who was slowly approaching him respectively. "Stay..away...!" he grumbled. He panted heavily as blood continued to spill out from his body. He squirmed and struggled to stand up but to no avail.

"Don't force yourself. We'll get you treated first." Reborn reassured as he took out a phone and made a call.

Mukuro crouched down beside him and said, "How was it? She's very smart, I would dare say." he teased. He then got a menacing glare and a snarl as a reply.

Hibari was pissed. He couldn't accept the fact that he was caught unguarded just like that. He felt irritated and insulted he wanted to vent his anger to that spiteful Mukuro but he was disabled at the moment. That feeling of helplessness was carved into him and he remembered the bitter memory of losing for the first time. He hated it. He wanted to fight that woman. He wanted to defeat her at any cost. He gritted his teeth as the urge to make a bloodbath out of that woman was so strong it made him feel nauseous.

Shortly, men in black suits came in. "Reborn-san, we lost them!" one of them said.

"We apologize for our incompetence, Reborn-san!" another said.

"Some of us sustained injuries. They put up a fight upon reaching the ground floor." another followed.

Reborn put away his phone and gave them their next instructions. After that, they carried the grumpy Hibari to a nearby hospital.

On their way, Reborn spoke, "Mukuro, I wasn't expecting you to join in in this but what do you think..of her?"

Mukuro only hummed in response.

"You saw that too. Those crystal spikes..."

"It's one of the Estraneo family's experiments: Flame-hardening-the Crystallization Project. Although I'd say it was a foolhardy research, I never knew they actually succeeded." Mukuro stated in a matter-of-factly way.

Reborn was muted as he heard the illusionist's explanation. It sounded unreal but then again, he did witness it firsthand. "Crystallization..project, huh...?"

"You know, there's still this guy I wanted to check but..I made up my mind. That girl is the most interesting after all." a teenage boy with tousled silver hair and turquoise eyes chuckled as he threw the photographs he had in his hand. They were photos of people who caught his interest, and topping all of them was a woman of cherry hair and red eyes.

To be continued...

A/N: So I was thinking...maybe just one more chapter or two then I'm finally done with this. I know, I know, it's been two years and yes, I am still alive and well /slappedstabbedshotkilled. I just had the writer's block syndrome and well, I got a lot of things to do at school so yeah, I'm real sorry about it please don't kill me. Anyway, please feel free to suggest or anything, I obviously need some help! I'm still a noob writer. And thanks for reading!