Shoutouts: Chibari-Nii, Genuinely-Unique, kawaiinekochan16, ShareBearTheDeathBear, caelumnoctis23, Fire Princess21.

Happy Easter! Oh yeah if anyone has any sentimental songs they could recommend please do :)

Chapter 10

Ignorance

Kurara didn't know how she was going to face the day. The thought still made her uncomfortable, even if she had tried to sleep it off last night. Hibari walking into a brothel – it was something she'd never expect. Did he do this regularly? How many women…she had to stop, this was making her feel depressed, she had a long morning to get through with her new job and all.

She didn't exactly have the most peaceful sleep with what livid nightmares about Mukuro coming after her, so the early morning briefing barely got into her head. The Madam (the uptight lady-boss that hired her) seemed to enjoy picking on Kurara, even scolding her about the most trivial things and she hadn't even started working yet. The uniform was a white shirt with blue checkered overalls, they fit quite snugly and she liked it better than he janitor's outfit. Only when her carpool had arrived outside the company building was she relieved of Madam's nagging. Luckily her driver wasn't very talkative, he was one of those people that liked to mind their own business.

When they'd arrived at the one called Mr Ken's overpriced manor, Kurara tried not to gape at the amount of shrubbery and flowers sealing the huge property in. The carpool was directed to the main entrance where two guards stood. They were stopped, and Kurara had to get out of the car and follow a butler down the stone-tiled walkway.

"Why exactly does your master need a cleaner when he has a butler and I assume three or four maids?" Kurara asked prudently.

"Are you new?" asked the butler, cocking an eyebrow.

"First day."

"The company you work for is like an expensive brand, the wealthy don't exactly need it but they'd rather have it for reputation's sake. It's like owning a Mercedes even though you don't have a driver's license."

"That's stupid," Kurara muttered.

"Welcome to the rich world, you'll get used to it soon enough," the butler chuckled, leading her up the front steps and pushing open the oak-wood double doors for her to go in. It was crazy how big a house could get, everything was so grand she just about stopped caring halfway through the mansion.

There was very little for her to do since the maids pretty much scrubbed the place clean every day, just the odd corners, under beds and sofas, she was practically hunting for places to clean. Kurara was more tired from running around the place looking for a job to do than actually doing her job, and about an hour later she was dismissed by the same butler that had catered to her. It was the most uneventful job she had ever done in her life, but whatever, she was getting money for doing nothing.

The fun started on her way to the university, when Kurara had got off the bus and was walking her way to the main gate, she heard the loud BRRM of an engine and tires squealing to a halt beside her. She jumped at the sight of a black motorcycle and a man riding it with a red helmet concealing his face.

"Get on." He said bluntly. Kurara just stood there warily, how stupid did he think she was? But there was something strangely familiar about his icy voice. He sighed, and lifted the visor revealing dark, irritated eyes.

"Hibari?" she cried.

"Quiet," he growled. He hastily grabbed her by the arm and pulled her onto the bike, and without notice, he rode off at full speed and Kurara had to clumsily wrap her arms around his waist to stop herself from flying off. She felt Hibari flinch at her touch. Kurara wondered if anyone had seen them.

They swerved a corner and drove into a secluded parking lot at the west side of the campus. It was directly lodged at the bottom floor of the building Kurara hated going near the most – the one where all the bad things had happened. The parking lot itself was as gloomy as the science corridors and she now knew why Hibari had chosen this place for where he parked his motorbike, no fan girls would even think of looking here. Hibari removed his helmet and peeled her arms off like she was some kind of insect. He got off his bike and tugged her along, throwing her to the ground.

"Is this yours?" he spat, snatching a plastic bag that was hanging from the handle of his bike and emptying the contents by her feet. Out came a pink bag followed by a dress that spilled onto the floor. Her first reaction was to snatch it off the floor and hold it to her chest, she felt strangely protective of it. Then it struck her she had just made a wrong move, now Hibari was certain she had been spying on him last night. "I-It's not what it seems, I swear I have my reasons. I was just curious, it's not like I was stalking you or anything. I-It was just harmless curiosity I promise! You know that feeling when you just—"

"If it happens again I swear it, I'll kill you." Hibari snarled.

Kurara shuddered, did he mean what he said? But how could anyone have such sure intentions of taking a human life, he must be bluffing. She courageously looked up, then gasped. There was a potent hate in his eyes that threatened to leap out and claw her across the face, but it wasn't reaching out to her, it stretched far beyond her lowly self. Kurara had seen this look once before when she was with Dino. For a fleeting moment she truly believed Hibari wanted to destroy whoever or whatever this hate was directed towards.

"I'm sorry, I-I don't know what to say."

He roughly grabbed her arm and she flinched at his vice grip. It hurt. She shied away in half terror and half humiliation. He said in a low, menacing voice, "Isn't it enough I've let you watch me play? From now on stay out of my business, I don't care about your petty feelings so don't hope for anything more than unkindness."

Kurara's cheeks turned red, the fact he knew about how she felt about him caught her by surprised, "But Hibari how—"

"Does it matter how? It's disgusting, keep your distance if you have to, I don't have time to babysit you and your pathetic idealisms. Let me tell you straight, you're a nuisance, and even if you chase me for the rest of your lowly life, I will never resort to such weakness ."

"I'm sorry."

"Shut up!" his voice rose.

She was at a loss for words.

His words were nothing but horrible, snide threats. There was not an ounce of sympathy, empathy or guilt. "The only reason your throat is still intact is because I had a debt to repay. You helped me, so now I've helped you by sparing you the agony of a slow and painful death. From now on, stay out of my sight, and if you dare to speak a word about my identity I promise you won't see the light of another day." Hibari started the engine of his bike again, screaming every intention of skipping out on work today, only because he could. He mounted his bike and put his helmet back on. He said his last words before riding off, "And if you must know what I was doing last night" he pulled his visor over his eyes "I killed someone."

"You're lying!" Kurara whimpered. He merely gave her a smirk, neither proving nor disproving her remark.

The figure of Hibari on a motorbike disappeared before Kurara's eyes before she could process everything that he'd said and done. She thought she was going to go insane. One moment things would be fine and dandy, the next her world would be turned upside-down. Her life in Namimori was bipolar, she couldn't even tell what was real or not real anymore.

"He's lying," she repeated in a small whisper, a feeling of emptiness consumed her whole, "that really hurt."

The next thing she knew, she was running to the infirmary, even ignoring the fact she'd pushed passed Mukuro on the way and not long after, landed in Bianchi's comforting arms. She felt weak and utterly broken, so she let herself cry. Bianchi soothed her with reassuring words, even if she had no idea why Kurara was acting this way.

"He -hic- completely shut me down!" Kurara sobbed, "It hurts Bianchi, it hurts to love someone like that!"

"It's okay Kura, calm down and tell me what happened," Bianchi cooed.

So Kurara did, she told Bianchi the exact words Hibari had said in the most unflattering fashion ever. Her words were jumbled, her emotional state was just too unstable for her to say anything without bursting into tears again. She was angry, devastated, shocked and humiliated all at once, and if Bianchi wasn't so understanding, a stranger would have run away and called the police. Shamal didn't even bother stepping out of his office to check what was going on.

"What did I do to deserve any of this?"Kurara screamed, and for a second she paused and felt herself go numb. She started shaking violently.

"Kura?" Bianchi asked worriedly.

"W-Why do I feel so strange? I-I've never felt like this before…"

"You're having a mental breakdown, have you never experienced this before?"

"Never," Kurara answered, and felt herself slip into unconsciousness.

Bianchi wrote her off as too ill to work for the day and let her rest in one of the beds until she woke. Kurara stirred in her sleep, often calling out for her parents or mumbling for Hibari to forgive her. What Bianchi saw was not a determined girl sleeping her pain off, but a pitiful idealist that made the wrong decisions. She stroked Kurara's peach coloured hair and made a sympathetic face. What would become of her, if she kept on pursuing Hibari the way she was? Surely she would know by now, that he wasn't the gallant prince charming that everyone expected Mori to be. Kurara was still a little girl ignorant of the world's woes, and Bianchi wanted to preserve that. She now realised how wrong she was for promising to help Kurara with her quest for love, what she really needed to do was to guide her to a new path with a promising future. "Oh Kura, why him of all people."

…

…..

…..

Kurara woke up with red, puffy eyes. The left side of her hip was aching from when Hibari had thrown her to the ground. She could feel the bloody grazes she had gotten starting to sting again. Her vision was at first a blur, but started to clear up pretty quick. What time was it? How long had she been asleep? She sat up on the bed and looked, expecting to see Bianchi by her side, but it wasn't her sitting on that chair. It was Mukuro, fiddling around with her blue dress. Blinking perplexedly, she thought it was a dream, but then she pinched herself (a little too hard) and let out a cry and realised this was real.

"You're awake," he smiled cunningly and lifted up her dress, "This is very pretty, is it yours?"

"Why are you here?" Kurara asked, panicking.

He ignored her, "It would look perfect on Chrome."

"Where's Bianchi?"

"Oh who knows, out to buy something? I saw the lights on so I came in to check, I figured I couldn't let a poor lovesick girl all alone."

Kurara wondered if she should make a run for it. The door was closed but if she was just fast enough—

"Don't bother, you're hardly in the right state to be making bold escape plans." Mukuro put her dress back inside the bag and turned to face her. Kurara froze. One bad thing after another. "So you gave me a nasty bruise earlier today, and another one not long before that." Kurara's eyes forced their way to the purple mark above his eyebrow, his bangs were barely covering it. She had a sudden flashback of the terrifying moment when Mukuro had tried to choke her to death, and that bruise on his forehead was a reminder of her reckless attempt at escaping. She paled.

"Kufufu…you don't look too good," he said, then leaned back in his chair, "is it because you were shut down by Hibari Kyoya?"

"…" Kurara couldn't say a word.

"Crash and burn, they say. He was never particularly good at saying things nicely, you were no exception. I supposed you think your life is in shambles now, you probably feel as if the world is ending."

"And what if I do?" Kurara spat, and regretted it immediately after.

Mukuro chuckled and shook his head as if he pitied her. Kurara lowered her head, too much of a coward to say anything else. "You, a naïve little girl who thinks your life is a terrible mess, knows nothing. You're too spoilt to understand the likes of Hibari Kyoya."

"What do you know about him?" Kurara thought bitterly.

"I know more than you," he said, reading her like an open book. She couldn't deny it. Mukuro had been around Hibari for longer than she had, and she really did know almost nothing about Hibari apart from the fact he was Mori. Maybe Mukuro knew as well. "Look at your eyes, you must've been crying all day. Tell me, what does it feel like, being rejected by the one you claim to love?"

"…"

"You want to avoid him from now on?"

"Yes." She felt herself begin to cry again.

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow, "Is that all?"

That question hit a nerve. What did he mean by that? Bianchi was taking a rather long time to come back.

"Then you don't know what pain is. You don't love Hibari, you're just an foolish girl led by infatuation. How can you love a person when you don't even know who they are?"

"That's not true," she denied hesitantly, "it's not an infatuation."

"Ah, then you claim to know him?"

"I-I…I've followed his music for years."

"What does that prove?"

Nothing, really.

"See that's when your ignorance comes in," he mocked. "I'll tell you what rejection really is, it's when you know the person you care about the most in this entire world will never look at you in the same light, and you know how that feels? Like shit." Mukuro's voice began to rise, as if he was losing is composure, "then I'll tell you what real pain is. It's when the one you love is gone forever! Thrown out of this world, stolen from you! And do you know how THAT feels? Torture by the means of unending misery!"

"I don't understand…"

"Of course you don't understand!" he cried almost hysterically. It made her jump. "You're pathetic really, I might not like Hibari Kyoya very much, but to an extent at least we can empathise with one another. We know loss, we know agony, but you, you with your petty teenage-girl problems have no idea what it means to be a victim of humanity and its bullshit!" Mukuro began to chuckle, and then he flung his head back in a fit of laughter. Kurara thought he had gone insane. She watched him helplessly.

"Kurara Masao," he suddenly stopped laughing and said, "You don't belong here, go home."