Hayato was shifting restlessly, wishing Yamamoto knew how to drive quicker. He had a terrible feeling about this. He swallowed, chewing his thumb as the comm in his ear went off.
"We lost the signal." Shoichi informed them. "It had remained stationary for a while beforehand. We believe that is where she's being held." Hayato bit down a bit harder, nearly biting through his thumb. He came ready for bear, completely stocked on dynamite, wearing his Vongola gear. He slid his glasses to the top of his head, as he gave Yamamoto a worried glance.
"Thanks Shoichi." They heard Tsuna reply. His knee began bouncing up and down as he felt anxious. He had never had this feeling before, and he didn't like it. She was getting rid of that bookstore if it killed him.
"It's ok Gokudera." Yamamoto said calmly, keeping his eyes on the road. "From what Dino said, they're using her for leverage. They won't harm her. It wouldn't be to their advantage."
"I know but…it's the Esposito Famiglia." He muttered, looking out the window.
"They won't sell her or anything. They're calling out Dino, not just nabbing her from the street. It's ok…." He sighed as he watched the passing scenery. He certainly hoped Yamamoto was right.
Rosabella was laying on the cold ground of the small room her and Fuuta were locked in. She felt terrible. Apparently this group did not like constructive criticism. Fuuta had her head in his lap, just not sure exactly what he could do in this situation. She had soothed away his fears, she hoped anyway, when she evaluated her condition. There were no lasting injuries, just a lot of cuts and bruises. Pretty sure she had a concussion, she was talking about everything and anything to try to stay awake.
"I'm sure they're on the way and will be here soon enough." She said, her voice hoarse. She cleared her throat and continued. "I just hope they make it before those idiots try to get reinforcements." Fuuta lifted his head, eyes widening, hearing something from outside.
"Shhh." He said, bringing his finger to his lips. "I'm going to move you. Maybe I can see something out of the crack in the door." She nodded, then winced as he laid her head on the floor, slowly making his way towards the door that led to the main room of the building. They could hear a commotion coming from where the kidnappers were. They seemed to be scrambling. "I heard more than one car definitely." Fuuta whispered in low tones. Rosabella slowly sat up, wincing.
"Could be anything. My brother uses two cars for him and his men that follow him everywhere." Just as she finished, they heard what could only be described as an explosion. Her ears rang, and saw Fuuta saying something, with a hint of a smile on his lips. She shook her head, not hearing it, getting to her knees, so she could use the wall to pull herself up. When the ringing died down, she heard what sounded like a brawl outside. Fuuta motioned her over, peering out of the crack in the door. Making her way over, she thought it sounded like a battlezone. So this is what the front lines of war sounded like. She made it, and stayed standing, peeking out.
Sure enough, there was her brother and Romario. She didn't see any other men of his, but what she did see was the Vongola. What surprised her more than the sheer anger plastered on Dino's face, was that the bodies of the men that kidnapped her and Fuuta were not hitting the ground alive. Seeing a sword slice through one man (Apparently, they did get reinforcements), she heard Yamamoto's voice.
"Go find Rosa and Fuuta!" He yelled over his shoulder. "We got this!"
"Yamamoto! They're going to…"
"If you keep throwing around your damned fireworks there won't be a building left!" Yamamoto shot back, moving to allow the two to see Hayato, strapped to the teeth with explosives, and what could only be called an arm cannon on his right arm. He turned his head, looking for where he thought they might be, light glinting off of his red colored safety glasses.
"Damn….fucking…." Rosabella nudged Fuuta, to get his attention, then started banging on the door. They had both tried opening it earlier, but it was locked tight as a drum.
"He's not hearing us…" Rosabella muttered, swearing internally.
"Well…can we do it harder?" Fuuta asked helpfuly.
"I was hitting it as hard as I could just then." She sighed, but continued.
"Gokudera! Yamamoto!" They heard Tsuna his voice the epitome of calm. "That door!"
"We better back up…" Fuuta suggested, helping Rosabella back. "If they can't open it, he's gonna blow it."
Hayato turned hearing Tsuna, cigarette clenched in his teeth. That's when he saw it. A door that didn't seem quite right, like it was newer, and didn't quite fit the frame. That must be it. He stalked over, then tried to open it. Ugh, what an idiot! Of course it'd be locked, or the two would have just come right out hearing them arrive. He tried throwing his weight on the door, confident Yamamoto had his back. When that didn't do anything but bruise his shoulder, he scowled.
"Can you guys hear me?" He called, pulling out a couple of sticks of dynamite. When he heard an affirmative, he frowned. Something was off with Rosabella. "I gotta blow it down. Get back." He lit the dynamite on his cigarette, then backed up, tossing it at the door. When it exploded, his eyes widened seeing someone coming right at him. Just before the guy got to him he ended up wrapped in a whip. He looked at Dino, shock on his face, who just scowled, and motioned for the door.
"Get my sister you idiot!" He nodded, collecting himself, and headed into the door through the smoke. He hoped they got far enough from the door to be safe. He couldn't live with himself if he hurt either of them. As the smoke cleared, he saw Fuuta in the far corner, with someone huddled near him. He raised a brow slightly. Was that Rosabella? It looked as though the teen was protecting her. Upon seeing Hayato, Fuuta had a look of relief and let her go. She turned, raising her head and he sucked in a breath. She had a busted lip, black eye, and a bruised cheek that was cut in the center.
"Hayato."She smiled, wincing at the action. He felt something snap in him and started seeing red.
"Principessa, who did this to you?" He asked, a deadly calm to his voice.
"I…"
"Who did this?!" He yelled, causing both to flinch. Once they described the guy, he turned heading out of the room, aiming the cannon on his right arm, looking for the fucker.
"What are you doing Gokudera?" Dino asked, fighting one of the guys. Seeing him, Hayato noted it wasn't the right guy.
"Get back to Rosabella and Fuuta!" Yamamoto called out from the middle of his fight.
"There he is!" Hayato yelled, firing. Tsuna punched the leader, knocking him down, allowing the beam to miss.
"What are you doing Gokudera?!" He yelled, punching the guy once more to make sure he was out for the count.
"That should be the last of them." Yamamoto sighed, resting his sword on his shoulder.
"You almost hit Yamamoto!" Tsuna said, clenching his fists. "What were you thinking?!" Hayato could do nothing but scowl.
"I had to find the one who did it." He said, turning to head back to the room. "Fuuta. Come on, it's safe. I'll take over with Rosa." He said, heading inside, knowing well that everyone was staring at him with confused looks.
Rosabella couldn't believe what she saw. Kyoko was right, he was completely different. If that was what he was like before she met him, no wonder people kept asking her why every time she turned around. She went to follow Fuuta out to meet up with the rest. As soon as he left, a body blocked her way.
"No way you're walking out of here." Hayato murmured to her as he scooped her up bridal style, turning to carry her out of the building.
"I can walk Hayato…" She mumbled, hiding her face in his shoulder.
"Well, you're not." He said quietly, only stopping when they heard DIno's voice.
"Gokudera, stop so I can see my sister." He said, running up to them. She felt Hayato sigh as he waited.
"You're not going to like it Dino…." He said quietly. She felt a hand on her head, stroking her hair, and when it went over the back of her head she tensed in pain.
"I'll be the judge of that." She heard her brother reply. "Ro? Are you ok?" As much as she didn't want to, she nodded, then looked at him. She saw exactly what she didn't want to see in his eyes, shock and remorse.
"I'm ok." She replied quietly.
"You are very much so not ok. Go home and rest. The bookstore isn't safe anymore for you or Fuuta. Time to sell." He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I have to clean up here. Go home and rest. I'll come by later on." She nodded ever so slightly, feeling tears threaten to spill. She loved her bookstore, now she wouldn't be able to have that ever again, not if rival famiglias knew where to find her.
"Clean up?" Hayato asked, brow raised. When Dino nodded, she saw him smirk. "The last guy that the tenth knocked out is the one." She had never seen such a sadistic smirk cross her brother's face in her life. She almost felt bad for the Esposito guy….almost.
"Romario, let's get a clean up crew out here!" Dino ordered as he walked away. "That guy there… restrain him. We're going to have a chat." Her older brother's voice faded as Hayato carried her out.
"Rosa?" She looked up as Hayato spoke. "We're in Yamamoto's car.I'll sit in the back with you, and we'll get you to a doctor as soon as we can."
"Spanner, Shoichi, we got them." She heard Tsuna say nearby, reporting in. "Have Shamal at the ready, and let's have everything ready that the two may need. They have already had one hell of a day…"
"Not that pervert again…" Rosabella muttered. She heard Hayato chuckle as he slid into the car, sitting sideways, Rosabella stretched out in his lap. "Wait...what about Fuuta?" She asked, trying to get up. The silver haired bomber slipped his arms around her waist, holding her firmly.
"You aren't going anywhere." He said, leaving no room for argument. She sighed softly, looking back at him. "Can he at least ride in the same car? I don't want him to worry. I'm fine really." He sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Ugh, fine. The things I do for you…." He craned his neck, opening the door behind him ever so slightly. "Hey moron!" He called.
"What up?" Yamamoto asked, opening the driver's side door, leaning in.
"Rosa wants Fuuta to ride. Thinks he'll worry." He replied, shifting into a more comfortable position. Yamamoto simply nodded, then disappeared for a moment. She could hear his muffled voice, then the front passenger's side door opened, Fuuta getting in. Yamamoto got in behind the wheel, glancing back.
"Ok guys, I think we're ready. Get you home in no time." He laughed a bit as he started the car up, hitting the comm in his ear. "Tsuna! Got Gokudera, Rosabella, and Fuuta. Heading back now." Rosabella yawned, closing her eyes as she rested back against Hayato. She felt Hayato nudge her. Opening her eyes once again, she looked up at him.
"You sure you're ok?" He asked quietly, not wanting the others to hear, moving an arm so he could push his glasses on top of his head. She nodded, wincing from the motion.
"Yeah. I think so." She said just as quietly. He frowned slightly down at her, looking uncertain, then looked towards the front seat.
"Fuuta, what happened?" He asked, a scowl in his voice. Yamamoto glanced over from his driving, listening, obviously interested in this story as well. Fuuta shifted in his seat so he could look at the two men.
"It all started when I opened the store this morning. A car pulled up and two guys got out, coming in." He paused to let out a breath. "They asked for the owner, then mentioned Rosa by name. I had a bad feeling, so I lied, told them she wasn't coming in today, hoping they'd leave. Told them that I could help with anything they needed. They laughed, telling me that no I couldn't. Pulling a gun, they told me to call her. So I did. She was on the way already." He closed his eyes, as he continued with the story. Rosabella listened, feeling the man holding her tense up more and more as the story went on.
When Fuuta was done, Hayato was livid. He wished he would have stayed behind to finish that guy off. He knew he'd have to talk to Dino later, tell him the full story. But, for now, the most important thing was to get Rosabella back home and checked out. He glanced into the rear-view mirror and caught his partner's eye. He saw what he was thinking reflected back, Yamamoto's gaze harder than it usually was.
"If it wasn't for Rosa's quick thinking in the beginning, I'm not sure what would have happened." Fuuta said with a smile.
"Yeah we definitely had an advantage with that text she sent." Yamamoto said, pulling into the garage. Rosabella moved to sit up, Hayato still holding her firmly. "We're here!" Yamamoto announced, glancing in the back. "Need help Gokudera?"
"Naw. I got it." He said, lost in thought. He was thinking of how he was going to word something. "We'll follow after in a minute."
"Ahahaha yeah sure. Just don't take too long. Shoichi, Spanner and Shamal are waiting near the entrance."
"Just a minute." Hayato said, not moving.
"Come on Fuuta. You should get checked out just in case. It'll make Tsuna feel better." Fuuta nodded as the both got out of the car. Hayato looked down, seeing Rosabella giving him a confused look. He sighed, feeling his cheeks heat up as he let go of her.
"I…when…when I got your text I flipped, ran down to the basement to get the experts to track your phone. Then, when Dino told us what he knew I freaked out. All I could think of was the worst case scenario. We had dealt with that Famiglia already…"
"I know you did. They said as much, and finding out who they were I knew why." She said quietly, sitting up looking at him. He looked at her, and scowled, reaching out, brushing his fingers across her bruises.
"If this happened because of what…."
"It was because of my big mouth. The guy didn't even do his homework. He got me because I was Dino's sister, didn't know I have any connection with the Vongola, and beat the crap out of me because I sent the text to all of you, they finally found my phone after feeling me up, taunted them to no end and beat the shit out of one of their goons." He saw her give him a small proud smile. He couldn't believe it, she did what? He couldn't help it and felt himself crack a smile.
"You beat the crap outta one of them?" He asked, a bit of disbelief in his voice. When she nodded ever so slightly, he couldn't help it, he felt proud. "Guess you can really take care of yourself." He murmured, kissing her forehead. "Just try not to get the shit beat out of you next time."
"Yeah well, they were idiots." She said, moving to get out of the car. He grabbed her wrist stopping her. There was something he still had to tell her, before he lost his nerve. "Hayato?" She asked, sounding a little worried.
"I was so scared I was going to lose you today." He whispered, looking away from her hazel eyes. "I…I love you principessa, so much." He looked over when there was movement, Rosabella moving her arms around his neck hugging him.
"I love you too. And after I sent that text I knew you'd be there with Dino to come get us." He wrapped his arms around her, kissing the side of her head. Suddenly, the door he was leaning on opened, causing the both of them to fall back, Hayato holding Rosabella protectively so she didn't get hurt any more.
"C'mon love birds. I don't have all day to wait on you two." Shamal said, looking down at them. "I'll help you up Rosa!" As he moved, she sat up quickly, nearly jumping to her feet.
"You will not you damned pervert!" She said, holding her hands out.
"Awwww but Rosa, Tsuna asked me to look you over!"
"I've already been molested enough for one day!" She said, stepping back.
"I will blow you up old man…" Hayato said, getting to his feet, pulling out some dynamite.
"Hold it!" All three froze hearing Tsuna yell. He walked up, crossing his arms. "Gokudera, debrief in conference room. Rosabella with Shamal. Shamal, please refrain from any unneeded inspections. We'll figure everything else out here in a little while." He turned and walked off. Hayato sighed and looked over at Rosabella.
"I'll see you in a while Rosa." He looked to Shamal. "I hear you even say anything pervy to her and I will gut you." He threatened.
"I'll see you in a while Hayato. I love you." He heard her call out as he walked away. He simply waved over his shoulder as he entered the building.
A/N: I am so sorry about the late updates. I've been holding several chapters. Honestly, I thought I already posted this one! I got sucked into the world of Final Fantasy XV. Many apologies! I have plenty of time this morning, I'm going to try and get up all my back logged ones as well as finish up the one I'm currently working on.