Time to move this story forward even more.

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or ML

Chapter 10: To be or not to be

Far away and out of sight, there was a brunette strapped to a metal chair. Hidden inside a metal room. Not a window was in sight. The only light source were the fluorescent lights that shone down onto the room and it's occupants. Other than the poor man in the chair, there three others men. One stood tall with short black hair and a small scar on his chin. On his back was a case that seemed to be for a some-type of long piece of equipment. His hand was gripping the strap and on his finger was a silver ring with rain drops carved into it. On the left was a man with white hair shaped like an octopus. This man had a scowl on his features and seemed to be growling. He wore a large variety of rings, one similar to the tallest. Except with a storm cloud on it. Lastly, next to him was another white-haired male. He had a bandage over his nose, an old scar on the edge of his left eyebrow, and his hands were bandaged up as well. He also sported a silver ring, this time with a small sun on it. Each wore a black suit that had their own colored dress shirts underneath the jackets. The first, blue; the second, red; the last, yellow.

A deep angry voice growled, "Quit the bullshit and tell us what information you claimed to have!"

"I told you! I don't know anything! It was just a ploy to get more money!"

The three glared him down before the blue one turned away. He placed his finger over a Bluetooth that sat in his ear. "What do you think, Tsuna?" he spoke into it. There was silence before a static voice came through.

"He's lying."

Blue turned back to the prisoner with a glare. "Gokudera-kun. You heard the boss."

The red one grumbled before smirking at the brunette. He pulled out a box from his waist and slammed his fist on it. It opened and out came a large, flaming leopard. It growled before circling around the traitor. The man showed an eminent fear of the animal. He squirmed his seat as the creature came to a stop in front of him.

"Uri." the red one, Gokudera, silently commanded. Uri responded by propping her paws up onto the man's legs. She leaned into the man's face with a growl.

"Alright! Alright!" The man screeched. "It was about the possible successor to Vongola!"

Alarm was written over each of their faces. Uri jumped away from him as Blue came forward and grabbed the man by his shirt. "Who!? Who told you this!?" he demanded.

"I don't know their name! They sent me some pictures by email! The IP was untraceable!"

"What pictures?" Yellow inquired.

"It was of him talking to some Asian girl. I don't know!"

"Where are these pictures!?" Blue shook him.

"I printed them off!" Gokudera cracked his knuckles as Uri drew closer. "They're still in my apartment! I planned to sell the information!" he confessed.

Blue grumbled before pushing the man down. The traitor tipped over and fell onto the concrete ground. Blue turned to look at his partners. His hand went back to his ear. "What should we do, Tsuna?"

The man, Tsuna, was silent for a moment. Then he spoke with concern and worry in his voice. "Takeshi and Ryohei," the two straightened as they were addressed. "you two will go to Paris as planned. Hayato, I need you to retrieve those images and get Hibari on the phone."

The three gulped in unison, "H-Hibari?" Takeshi questioned.

"Why do we need him?" Ryohei asked.

"I fear danger is starting to close in. I can feel it." The man simply answered.

The three didn't question it any further. They all just nodded their heads with a quick "Yes, boss."

She was finally free!

Released!

Like a bird being released back into the wild! If her home counted as the wild. Knowing how crazy the bakery gets, it's safe to say it is. Marinette could finally go back home. The hospital had let her go, finally. Plus, that flirty nurse had kept her word. No one knew about Tsuna's visit. It made her feel guilty for doubting her. Everything seemed to be looking up. Now, all she had to do was use the Lucky Charm and her life would return to normal. Sort of. Ever since a certain hitman was introduced into her life, it would never be as normal as it was before. Speaking of Reborn…She wondered where her 'tutor' could be right now...

"Say, How are you, in Italian!"

"How-how you is?"

"Wrong."

"NO! I can get it! Give me another try-"

BOOM

She shrugged her shoulders. Maybe he finally changed his mind about me being a Mafia boss. I hope so. Marinette was ordered by the doctor (and Tsuna) to not overwork herself. They said she was still weak, so doing anything with a too much effort could make her come back. Which was not what was needed. Right now. Ladybug was needed. Of course, she would have to explain what happened and where she went next time Alya caught her, but she'll cross that bridge when she got to it.

Her parents stuck by her side the whole time when they finally got home. They didn't allow her to work on any projects. They made her stay in bed. Luckily, they soon left her alone, but then Alya swung by. Not that Marinette wasn't happy to see her friend, she just didn't want to be interrogated right now.

The girl questioned her about the flames that apparently appeared on her forehead. Marinette had played dumb and asked for her account of the whole event. She was told that she had burst into flames while screaming in pain. The girl told her that she had then kicked Stellar Mark's butt. She said that she had two weapons made of flames. When Marinette asked for an explanation of the weapons, Alya blanked. The only thing that she remembered about them was that they had strings. The remembrance of the sensation of feeling her yoyos came back to Marinette and filled in the blanks. So she apparently had fire yoyos. Cool.

The only thing that bugged her was the fact that Alya had seen it. If Alya saw it, then so did Nino, Chloé, and her whole class. Including Adrien! How great… In the end, Alya gave her a bone-crushing hug. Expressing her worries over her wellbeing ("It was crazy! I was so scared! I thought I was going to lose you, Mari!") and once again asking her about the flames. Don't tell anyone. Marinette continued to play clueless and Alya gave up. No one.

"Don't worry, Alya. I'm not going anywhere. Anytime soon." She had sworn to her and herself. Making sure to never do that deadly stunt again until she was ready (If she ever got ready). After reassuring her friend, the girls talked and teased like normal. Alya ended up leaving around 9. Finally, she took this time to go and fix things.

Changing back into Ladybug never felt better. Of course the first couple of houses she stumbled and nearly fell. I guess these past weeks really took a toll on me. She found her rhythm and swung into the night. With the Lucky Charm in hand, she zipped to the top of the school. Ready to finish the job.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

She threw the item in the air and little ladybugs flew all over the city. She wanted to stay and watch Paris light up but decided against it. She was already feeling tired, so it would be unwise to stay any longer. Grudgingly, she swung back home and onto her terrace. She took a quick scan around the area before letting her transformation drop. Sighing, she stared up at the sky. The wind blew and caressed her round face. Marinette closed her eyes, enjoying the moment of peace. With Reborn around, she barely got any. But seriously, where is that baby?! His absence made her worry.

"Stand still, Dame-Adrien! This will only hurt a lot."

"No! Plagg help!"

The night's events soon caught up to her and she felt dizzy once again. Gripping the railing of her terrace, she fought to balance herself. Maybe going out this soon was a bad idea. But alas it was too late, she had swung from building to building. Right after her doctor hand told her to not overwork herself.

"I guess jumping from rooftops is overworking it." she weakly laughed to herself.

"You should get inside and rest. You don't want to faint out here." Tikki floated by her, gently placing her tiny nubs on her cheek.

"Yeah, just…just let me stable myself for a minute." Marinette breathed.

It took more than a minute. She stood at the railing for at least 5 minutes to steady herself. She let out a sigh and tried to walk to her trapdoor. It was going fine. Until she reached the trap door. Her teapot had fallen and she was unlucky enough to trip over it. She used her arms to protect her face from the impact. It stung but compared to what she dealt with on a day to day basis, it was like pricking herself with a needle. Small and insignificant.

Stupid pot.

Groaning, she laid there. Sprawled out on the terrace. The wind blew, making her shiver. No, it was not a great idea to run around the roofs of Paris right after she was discharged. Stupid idea, even. She could've waited until the next day, but she didn't want to leave the school that way for any longer. Gaining some energy, she rolled herself onto her back and stared at the midnight sky. It was dark and vast. Endless. With many stars and many possibilities. Even when it was clouded by dark storm clouds that shot lightning bolts. Or when the sun's rays were scattered by the mist from the rain. It still was it's wide, vast self. Open to the birds and planes that flew up there. Even the magical superhero children-Ladybug and Chat Noir-were welcomed.

"The sky that embraces all."

Tsuna had told her, that the sky welcomed everything and everyone. With open arms! As he put it. She couldn't understand how that worked. What if the sky embraced the wrong thing? What if it was broken by that thing? What would happen to the elements that were brought together by it? Would they die out? Disappear? Fade away like nothing? Or move on to a new sky? How can you even find a sky?

"Flames are classified by color. The Sky is orange…"

Orange. That color that filled her vision. Did that mean she was this sky? The thing that was to accept all? That brought things together? Marinette couldn't imagine leading anyone. Sure, she was Class Rep. but that was different. Or was it? Maybe it wasn't? Besides, that's not her only job. She was Ladybug. The heroine that helped everyone, brought peace and saved people from others and themselves-well akuma wise. Those were things heroes…strong leaders did. So, maybe it made sense for her to possess such a flame.

"You may not know it now, but you also have people who gravitate around you."

Gravitate around her? Who could possibly? Well, there's Alya-but she's can't possibly gravitate around her. Could she?

"No matter how mean or how nice, they'll be drawn to you."

Maybe that's the reason that Chloé's so awful towards her? Other than her crush on Adrien. The designer closed her eyes and shook her head. That thought was crazier than it sounds. Chloé being drawn towards her because of some Sky-What was it again?-Force? It was silly. Her thoughts drifted towards Vongola. The company and the mafia. The company was more or less just a legal cover, but the mafia family, Reborn told her that in the beginning, Vongola was a vigilante group. Heroes. But certain people came into power and made it a family with the ugliest, bloodiest history. That scared her. Was it still cruel? Bloody? Is that what it is nowadays?

"To protect the ones I love and the Innocent where the law cannot."

That was right. It was being transformed as she thought. Her gentle uncle would never kill someone. It was now a mafia that helped people. Not hurt them. Still…the prospect of being the leader of such a big family frightened her. Could she do it? What if she turned into a Criminal and brought the bloodshed back? Could she carry the torch? Be able to protect those where the Law couldn't?

"Just like you do, when you fight those Akumas."

HA! How could she forget? She does that already. Protecting those she love and the innocent from Akumas. She was branded a hero for it. The police can't stop Akumas like her and Chat could. The law didn't protect people from turning or being attacked by an Akuma. But, it was just her and Chat. Not a group of people. A 'family'. It made her think. What kind of family did he mean? She couldn't-wouldn't even dare to bring her family into that kind of thing. Fighting? No, no way. She hadn't thought to ask him what family he meant. Thinking back on it, it would've been wise to ask.

"Marinette?" Tikki questioned. Cracking an eye open, she looked at the kwami. She looked concerned. "I've been calling you for a while."

"Oh? Sorry, I was lost in thought."

"What were you thinking about?"

Marinette turned her attention towards the sky. "…Could I do it? Become a Mafia boss? I was so sure that Mafia encased all things evil. But, Tsuna is not evil! I don't want to believe that everything he's done was a façade. He's not like that." She reached up towards the stars as she continued, "At first, I was strictly against the idea of becoming one. But as I think over what he told me…I'm becoming unsure."

"I believe you would be an excellent Boss. Sure the work may be tough and you might have to make the most difficult choices. But, I don't doubt for a second that you would be unable to do it. I mean look at you! You're Ladybug! The bravest, kindest, sweetest hero. I have faith in you, Marinette."

She smiled at the encouragement, "But should I?"

"That's for you to decide." the kwami was right. It was ultimately her decision. It should've been an easy answer, but now…she didn't know. I need more time. She needed to know if she would be the right person to carry on Tsuna's legacy. "Now! I think it's time we try to get inside again. Don't want to fall asleep up here." Tikki giggled.

"Ha! Yeah, you're right."

"Mmhm!" the mini god twirled around and smiled at her.

"Oh, and Tikki," Marinette spoke with gentleness in her voice. "Thank you."

The whistling of the wind rang through the air. The rhythm of the rushing of people worked in harmony to create a heart-wrenching melody. The sky was dark and clouded. Not even a glimmer of the moon showed through. The only thing lighting up the sky were strikes of lighting. Standing flush against a building was a woman staring out at the dark world around her. She had long raven hair and wore a grey trench coat. Her emerald eyes gleamed with mischief and malicious. In her ear was a tiny black Bluetooth earpiece. Hanging around her neck was a large camera.

"Vongola has that dirtbag, Alexander," she informed the person on the other end. "Right after we bailed out his sorry ass too."

When the other person spoke, they had a deep computerized voice. "Perfect. Everything is going according to schedule."

The woman smirked, "Decimo even came to the hospital to visit his niece." she emphasized the word and huffed. "I could've ended it right there. All this watching and waiting bullshit would've been over. Both of them were in my grasp!"

"You know your orders."

The woman sighed but did not challenge the person on the other side. Emerald orbs turned towards a building with the lights at the top still on. Standing at the edge of a balcony was a tiny French-Chinese girl. Her dark hair gleamed in the light. The woman lifted her camera and zoomed on her. It looked as though she was talking to someone. When the girl looked up, the woman snapped a few photos.

"Just keep your eye on our little bluebird." Snap, Snap, Snap. The lady caught a dozen or so pictures before the girl went inside. The lights turned off behind her. Pulled her camera down, she ran through the pictures. Cycling through them all, she landed on one where the girl was looking in her direction. She hadn't seen her, but the poor child had no clue she was there lying in wait.

"Rodger that, boss."

When Adrien woke up that morning, he was surprised. No Reborn in sight! It was a blessing from the heavens. Of course…it wasn't like he was scared of the child. Just…Oh, who was he kidding? Reborn was deadly. How was he still alive? He didn't know. He decided to get himself ready for the day. Not going to waste a second of peace. Plagg was cradling his cheese on his desk. The black cat was sound asleep. Most-likely dreaming of fields of cheese or something.

Poking the small god, Adrien roused him from his slumber, "Wake up, you can sleep in my pocket."

Plagg cracked a green eye and glared at Adrien. "But it's soo early!" he whined.

"Hmph, come on! It's not that early. As to oppose to when Reborn wakes me. Now that…is early." The creature groaned before floating up, still holding it's beloved cheese. Adrien pulled his usual white overshirt open and allowed the kwami to fly inside its usual spot. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Nathalie.

"Adrien, are you up yet?"

"Yeah! I'm up, just getting my stuff ready."

"Well, your breakfast is ready."

"Ok! I'll be out in a second."

The assistant left. He could hear her footsteps echo through the door as she walked away. He gazed out his big window. Ladybug had fixed the school and he was too preoccupied with Reborn to go out and see her. He wondered where she went. What happened to her? If he was lucky, he might find out today. He grabbed his bag and strutted out his ridiculously big room. He stepped into the empty vast halls of his house. Yes, house. Not a home. It was too empty, void of emotion to be considered a home. The atmosphere was always thick and cold. To be honest, he briefly wished that Reborn was there again. The crazy infant brightened up everything when he was here. Yes, his methods were…Spartan-like but he made this empty house shine like…the sun! It was like he was a walking, talking, evil sun. So full of life…even if it seemed like he was going to kill him any second. Oh, the irony.

Adrien made his way down the stairs and to the dining hall. He looked at the table and saw his food ready for him. Not wasting an ounce of time, he rushed to his seat and ate like no tomorrow. A mini habit he grew from Reborn's presence.

"Ah-em." He stopped his assault on the healthy meal and looked at the assistant. "Your schedule." she handed him a sheet of paper, filled with colored charts and timelines.

That's when he noticed something. His fencing instructor. Usually, Nathalie placed the name of his teacher(s) on the sheet. But today, there was a name in the place of his fencing teacher's.

Yamamoto Takeshi. I wonder who that is?

"Who's Yamameto Takeshye?" he completely butchered the name.

The assistant either ignored the fact he most-likely said the name wrong or didn't know the right way to say it either.

"He's a Japanese swordsman from Italy, who's agreed to teach you. Your usual trainer has taken a sudden vacation." he heard the small irritation in her voice. "That being said, treat him with respect. He is a very influential man. He works directly for the Boss of Vongola Industries. He took his time out of his busy schedule to teach you. Please don't misbehave. Your Father thinks this will be a valuable experience."

"I'm going to have someone, from Italy, come and teach you swordsmanship."

This was likely to be that person Reborn was talking about. Adrien shivered at the thought. What if he was as evil as Reborn? Sadistic and cruel? Then he thought of the fact that this new guy works for the boss of Vongola. Sawada Tsunayoshi. In the news and media, Monsieur Sawada was always portrayed as a kind and caring man. It seemed unthinkable for a guy like that to have someone evil near him. Though, it was strange that a swordsman worked for him. Very strange. Not that he minded. He had a small god sleeping in his over shirt after all. He was used to strange.

Still, why would a big company Boss have a swordsman working directly for him? Bodyguard maybe?

Adrien wondered how this Yamamoto would look and teach. Would he be an ugly, carefree guy or a strict, good-looking professional? Would he treat him like a child and go easy on him or be like his father with high expectations? And how….how was he connected to Reborn? If he was. Which he most likely is. This is much too big of a coincidence for him not to be. There really was only one way to find out.

Soon breakfast was complete and he was escorted from his house to school. The trip didn't take too long. The usual car pulled up to the front entrance. Where his best friend awaited him. As per usual. Adrien exited the vehicle. He bid goodbye to his bodyguard before greeting his friend. Waving, he walked over to Nino.

"Hey man!" Nino clapped his hand into his own and the two shared a brief hug. "I'm kind of upset Ladybug fixed the school so soon."

"Soon? It's only been a couple of weeks." Adrien laughed.

"That's the thing. It was still not enough! I think I need a month off. Or better yet a year." the dark male joked.

"That'll be the day."

The two chuckled to themselves and entered through the front doors. The duo laughed and made small conversation. They passed Marinette's Locker and something caught Adrien's eye.

It was Marcos. He was there, looking shyly as he talked to Marinette. Her face was dusted with a light pink. A bright smile plastered on her face. Seeing him, made him remember the orange flames, the screams, and the fight that had occurred. His stomach coiled. Adrien didn't like this icky feeling he was experiencing. It was painful. It seemed to be a mix of anger and hatred. Of course, he had no reason to feel such things. Marcos was a nice guy. He just became upset and got akumatized. No big deal. Happens all the time around here. Well. Maybe it was the fact that Marinette had gotten hurt in the process. The feeling stabbed through his chest non-stop. What is this? It was suffocating. Like he was drowning or choking on air. He didn't even notice how harsh and shallow his breathing became. He hadn't even heard Nino. The music lover's words faded in the background as he looked at the two.

"I'm really sorry about…yeah. I heard what happened and…well…" Marcos stuttered.

"No, no it's fine. It's common around here." the baker's daughter sweetly reassured him.

"It shouldn't be. You got hurt and it's all my fault. I should've controlled my emotions better. I knew it would be dangerous, living here with extreme emotions."

"It's alright, everyone goes through it."

"I don't want to see it happen to you though. If he breaks your heart, you can always come to me. I don't mind being a backup."

Marinette shook her head and hands. Waving his notion away with a tiny laugh, she exclaimed, "No! You should find yourself someone better. Way better than me! You deserve as much."

"Ahaha! Better than you? There is no such being. But seriously, if he doesn't see what a beautiful and amazing person you are, then he is utterly blind." Adrien saw Marinette face turn a darker shade of red. How cute.

"Marcos!" she whined.

"What?! I'm just kidding."

She rolled her eyes and sighed, "You're something else."

The Brazilian laughed, "I guess. But in all seriousness, Marinette if you ever need someone to talk to…I'm here."

"Thank you…but like I said, find someone worthy of you. You're a great guy, Marcos. You deserve someone who will love you just as much."

"Thank you, Marinette." The two stared at each other. Silently talking, but smiling. Adrien didn't understand why he had the urge to march over there and interrupt their eye conversation. Or the urge to pull Marinette away from Marcos. He couldn't for the life of him fathom why he thought of the Brazilian to be a threat now. The boy wasn't Akumatized anymore, the city was safe. He had no reason to feel how he felt. But deep down he knew this feeling was the burning fire of jealousy. He knew was that it was wrong to have such negatives emotions towards a classmate. So, the boy pushed it down and labeled the reasoning behind it as the player's ability to converse freely and easily with Marinette. It seemed everyone was great at making friends with her than him.

"-Bro?"

The model snapped his head away and looked at his friend. The teen was studying his face carefully. He breathed. Really to pull out his award-winning smile. The fake smile that concealed all. Hardening his eyes, as to make sure not to show any evidence of the foul unknown emotion he's going through.

"Yeah?"

"You alright? You seemed to be staring at something," Nino smirked and looked over at Marinette before looking back at Adrien, "or someone?"

"No, I'm just tired. I sort of zoned out. Lots of Photoshoots lately." he lied.

Nino rolled his eyes. "Yeah…you were totally zoned out…and into Marinette."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." and he didn't. Sort of?

"Uh-huh." Nino obviously didn't believe his excuse.

"I don't."

"Yep."

Adrien pouted and he felt his eyes wandering back to Marinette. Before he stopped himself. He didn't want to prove Nino right. He wasn't staring at Marinette. Just being watchful. She was getting involved with too many Akuma attacks lately. It scared him. She was the sweet girl who stood up for people with confidence. Of course, she got tongue-tied around him a lot. What is with that anyway?

The model carried on with his day, going through each lesson so automatically that it was like he was a robot. The stabbing feeling finally faded away and he felt back in control of his emotions. No more confusing anger. No more twisting guts or feelings of drowning. It felt good. Even better when he heard Alya talk about Ladybug theories. To his surprise, she didn't even mention that last fight. No one did. It felt like a sore spot for anyone who saw it. It wasn't every day, you hear the sweet and cute Marinette scream out in pain and defeat a villain. The reminder made him shiver.

He longed to forget it ever happened, but some part of him held onto the memory. As if he was trying to forcefully remind himself what happens when he doesn't pull through as a hero. Or a friend. Had he just threw away the worry that others and eventually his father would know his identity, he could've prevented Marinette from ending up in the hospital. But no. He didn't. Something he deeply regretted. Maybe I do need Reborn's training. I am practically useless.

Adrien sighed as he walked to the last class before fencing. He barely paid attention and just let his feet walk. He didn't even notice anyone calling out to him until a hand was on his shoulder. Startled, he whipped his head around and saw the familiar Brazilian.

"H-Hey man." the other stuttered and he felt the threat was still there.

He just stared at him, "Hey…"

"Okay look. I'm sorry." Marcos apologized.

What? "Why? It's okay, that's common around here," he reassured him.

"I know…but that's not it. I'm sorry how rash I was acting. I just go so…jealous that I couldn't think straight. I should've never acted that way towards you."

Adrien smiled at the apology. The threat fading away, thankfully. "It's ok, Marcos. You're only human. And sometimes we let our emotions get to us."

"Yeah, sad how they can turn us into literal monsters now." the Brazilian looked down. "I'm sorry if I did anything while I was like…that."

The model shook his head. "It's fine. I just hope that we're still friends?"

Marcos smiled, "Yeah, as long as you still want to hang with me." he stuck his hand out to shake.

"I would be honored." Adrien grinned before shaking his hand.

The two grinned before the bell cut their moment off. Adrien was glad to have mended things with the foreigner. Of course, he didn't think there was anything to mend, but to Marcos there obviously was. He was also glad that the feelings of Marcos being a threat had faded. It wasn't right for him to feel such things since the boy wasn't akumatized anymore. Soon they began to part ways with a suggestion to hang out sometime later. A suggestion, not a promise. He couldn't promise something that is likely to break with his schedule. However, before Adrien could get to his class he was stopped.

"Hey, Adrien…How good is your eyesight?"

Adrien slowly replied looking a bit baffled. "My eyesight? Um…it's 20/20 I believe, why?"

Marcos grinned and shook his head, "No reason, just curious." The Brazilian continued on his way before disappearing around the nearest corner.

That confused Adrien greatly. What weird question to ask.

Ciao-su~