Chapter 11 is one of my favorites! I wrote most of this on the day of my finals when I had a period off, it was such a cool experience. I was chilling in the library and then started writing, but it was like I got this burst of amazing inspiration and I refused to stop typing until that inspiration as totally drained. I thought what I wrote was pretty damn awesome and felt so arrogant. I always write my best during school though…
My appreciation to my beta thealmightydee9009, and my thanks to Serandi82 and Shenhui who will be betaing this story now too.
Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.
The day was already in procession as Melaine chewed on some gum. Gum is something Melaine has never been opposed to. After the first minuet of chewing a piece of gum most the flavors have disappeared, leaving behind a much duller taste of what it had been. This suited her perfectly since her taste buds were increased so much that most food had too strong a taste for her likening, but not gum. Gum had so little taste after a while that it was favorite for someone like Melaine who tasted too much.
She was subtly chewing her gum on the roof of her house and pondering over why the arcobaleno presence had disappeared so suddenly.
She hoped he was dead.
It was of no concern to her, but her concern was raised when she felt Tenth, Hayato, and then the other guardians' presence disappeared as well. This made her feel very curious as to what was going on. There were many possibilities as to what may have happened: A rival mafian may have taken them all out or perhaps they all had a suicide pact; either way the unlicensed blonde detective was determined to get to the bottom of it.
And she knew just who to ask.
"Hello Sawada-san" Melaine greeted politely. She wanted to make a decent impression though she knew it would be rather easy. The Tenth's mother looked up in surprise at the young girl, who remained on the other side of the fence. The Tenths mother still had that deluded happiness aura around her which Melaine liked, if she wasn't the Tenth's mother, Melaine wouldn't have minded drinking from that thin vein on her neck.
"I'm Melaine, a friend of the Tenths—your son." She introduced herself and even gave a light bow of the head. Nana was pleased although a little shocked at seeing the girl. Melaine however, had very little interest in her thoughts and only wished to know where certain Vongola members were. Their disappearance aroused her curiosity. She worried over the well-being on most the guardians, and the facts that they have disappeared from existence for a short while unsettled her; that only happened to her a handful of times not including when a person died.
"Please come in for tea." Nana asked sweetly. Melaine accepted the offer with a warm smile. She was a genuinely good person, utterly weak, but a good person. It's easy to see how she is related to the Tenth. She could be of assistance for her, if it ever came that Melaine would need to buy time from the Vongola. No Vongolan would ever dare to harm or subject violence to the person who is the external advisors wife and the future boss' mother. It is better to not involve the Tenth's mother so easily though; such an action would lower Hayato's opinion of her.
The inquiring female then went to the gate's door and then followed Nana's retreating figure into the house.
It was her first time being in the Sawada residence, but she could smell the scent of the residences lingering on the furniture. There was a mixture of smells (some more pleasant than others) from all the different tenets in the dwelling. Still the home was a normal size, it is impressive that Nana had been able to comfortably fit seven people in here—not including Imetsu.
Melaine took her seat at the spot where the baby tends to sit, it was funny to her. Reborn, the strongest acrobaleno, most trusted hitman of the Vongola, was clueless to the fact she had been observing the guardians for over a month. And now she sat in his daily seat without so much as a worry. Yes, the situation seemed very humorous to her.
Nana turned around with the tea and set a cup in front of each of them. Nana smiled at Melaine and then in an innocent, curious tone asked something Melaine was not expecting.
"How many months are you?"
Melaine blinked at the question, slightly thrown off by it. She was positive that she had not misheard Nana, but she had thought the pregnancy was hid rather well. She had been able to fool everyone so far, and in reality she looked a little thick more than anything. She can't hide it forever though, so why try to lie about it any longer? Besides she could definitely get sympathy points with it.
"I'm about four and half months" she answered then asked. "How can you tell?"
Nana laughed joyously and touched her own cheek with an endearing look. "Oh sweetie! You're glowing." She answered looking at her merrily.
Most Japanese citizens do not react this well to teenage pregnancy, it was one of the reasons she chose to hide it. Life is much more comfortable when there are no dirty looks and snide comments; malicious gestures didn't hurt her feelings of course, but made it more difficult to lead a peaceful life.
"Truly? Your one of the very few people who has noticed." Melaine told her, and then took a sip of her tea. It was delightful and warm going down her throat.
Nana laughed kindly and made a waving gesture with her hand. "I'm not surprised Tsuna hasn't noticed, he can be so oblivious at times."
"That's not true! The Tenth is very intuitive; some might even say he has a hyper intuition."
"You think so well of my son? He has been looking more like his father lately hasn't he?"
"Hmm. Sorry I do not believe I have met the Tenth's father."
"Oh! That's right!" Nana realized. Then felt the need to tell about her beloved husband.
"His father is romantic, cool, charming, and so dependable. He is the most amazing man in the world, and a very good kisser! So what's your love like?" she asked. Melaine smiled at her. Nana automatically assumed that she had slept with someone she loved. It was very different then what most the people around her would think.
"His name is Josander, Aleksander. He can hardly be considered a man with how clingy he is and how childish he may act. The boy is provoked to jealousy so easily and over the tiniest of things. He possesses no ambition whatsoever, not to mention that he prefers to be alone although he hates to be lonely. He is not quite a rebel but refuses to believe that any type of authority can exist, which may control him. "
Melaine allowed herself to be embraced in the feeling she got when she thought of him. There was a subtle happiness about it, and Melaine didn't even care that she sounded like Nana as she praised him. The image of the caramel haired lover was still fresh in her mind. The lack of color in his skin, along with the dark blond hair which some may seem brown, his features had a perfection about them like her own, and the trait which disturbed her most were those eyes. Those deep eyes which brought out something in her she did not know existed. The color is a dark cherry wood. Whenever she looked deeply into them she could feel her soul pulse, what they did mocked her very existence. It nearly made her heart skip a beat.
Yes, even she was unwillingly a silly girl in love.
She went on lost in a sky filled with memories. Nana only smiled, liking this pregnant girl who could love someone so deeply that it looked like she was lost in the mere memory of him. She understood that what she had just said were not qualities that this girl scolded him for.
"He stole your heart!" Nana commented and sighed happily, giving the girl her whole attention. The older woman thought that they sounded like such a romantic love story. Melaine just smirked at her thinking about who stole who's heart.
"I gave it to him, and then so cruelly took it away. He really did love me." She whispered to Nana, eyes looking at something which no longer existed.
"Oh! What happened?" Nana said, thoroughly curious.
"I left him," she answered. Nana looked like she did not know whether to implore or not, so Melaine went on freely.
"My uncle died, and his death caused some complications" She told.
"Oh dear! You poor thing!" Nana said looking at the young girl with sympathy. To have been through so much, and while pregnant! She would not have empathized with the girl so much if she was aware of the complete truth. Melaine had been the one who murdered her uncle, not to mention that she had left him two months before her uncle's death in order to kill said man. But she was not aware of that fact, and it was for the better.
"It is nothing to be troubled about. These things happen and we must accept them with grace, but becoming friends with the Tenth, Gokudera, and Ryohei was helped improve my spirits greatly. I'm grateful for their friendship—speaking of which do you know where they are?" Melaine asked curiously, Nana gave her a thoughtful look, wanting to be of help as much as possible.
"All of the kids are in Tsuna's room" She replied positively. Melaine smiled a thank you, but progressed the conversation with Nana in an attempt to stall for time. There is no one in his room right now, and there was certainty no Vongola present in Namimori. That did not suit her at all.
The conversation went on and they talked about all of Nana's interest, she came to adore the girl in just a matter of minutes. The older woman was defenseless against Melaine's words and insincere expressions. Every lie was spoken with a compelling faith, speaking to the aged woman's unnoticed desires. Her forgotten dreams entangled into reality through false words of passionate emotions that were dwindling away. Giving life to the possibility of selfishness, the freedom of being miserable without the attachment of guilt. With every word the seductress told, the father she fell into the snare; baited with indulgent of youth, a gift that decayed over the years. The simple words were twisting into an alluring spider web of which Nana blindly walked into.
It was not something Melaine worked to do but an unconscious habit. She charmed naturally, without thought, like drumming you ringer nails or tapping your foot. Even if you notice what you're doing there is that choice to stop it, but unlike the majority she allowed it to manifest. It often came when she has little any interest in the conversation, but it would be troublesome if she went home or if she lurked in the Tenths room until he returned.
"Oh dear, I must get to the laundry." Nana told her regrettably. She didn't want the conversation to end.
"Let me help you." Melaine asked kindly. Might as well as she was waiting.
"Thank you!" Nana said brightly, grateful for the help. They proceeded out to the backyard and remained chatting about things Melaine found meaningless. Her attention was more focused on all the possibilities of where the Vongola may be. This was one of the most unsettling occurrences that have happened in lifetimes. Why Hayato?
"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Nana asked sweetly. Melaine had no one else to cook for her.
"Thank you, I'd appreciate that." She answered. Nana smiled, pleased and went into the kitchen as to get started.
"Oh no. We're all out of ketchup!" Nana called from the kitchen, this was good considering Melaine had gotten bored of doing someone else's laundry.
"I'll go out and get some more." Melaine offered already setting down the clothes.
"I couldn't bother you to do something like that!"
"No bother at all, really. It will only take me a few minutes."
But the walk to the store is much longer than that!"
"I'm a speed walker," Melaine assured her, now walking out of the door. She heard Nana call out a thank you, and she waved without looking back. Then proceeded to walk toward the first empty house she saw, which happened to be Nana's neighbors. Melaine grabbed the handle and forced the door to open by breaking it, no one noticed the noise. The people that lived in the house weren't prepared for burglars in the least. She walked toward the area that contained a smell of food, and looked through the pantry until she finally found the ketchup. Grabbing it, she left the way she came—with no one seeing her.
Just a moment before she had grabbed the doorknob to the Sawada residence Melaine felt the flash of disturbance. It was like a static shock, it even contained a similar type of pain, but this was missing the element of electricity; her nerve cells had been struck with a flare of warning. "Your instinct sense an unnatural phenomenon which the brain reacts to by sending small pules to your nerve cells, in order to make you consciously aware of the occurrence. It gives you a physical shock in place of your lost fear." That was what Amaya had had concluded to, and she was always well informed about those things. Melaine had an idea of what might be causing this reaction.
Then just as she guessed, there was a strange natural occurrence: a small earthquake. It was a little thing; Melaine was not at all affected by it. But in a useable flash of lighting, Tenth, I-pin, the Veal, and mighty sun acrobaleno appeared in the living room. She had not seen them, but the sudden appearance of a presence—much less four—was hard to miss. Not to mention she could vaguely feel the other guardians pop up around the town.
Melaine felt immensely exited, Hayato's and his comrades' strength had beyond improved. They were all strong now; she could feel it even though the power was compressed inside them. A sudden impact such as this overexcited her, tempted her with terrible things, and she would gladly give into it. However, she was not so dumb as to follow through with those ideas. She could have much more fun with them down the road if she did not screw things up now.
"Mo..Mom…!" Tenth called. He sounded over joyed; the situation must have been ruff.
"Mamma!" screamed the two kids. She heard them jump into Nana's arms, who immediately mothered them. Melaine heard the acrobaleno make a snide remark to the Tenth, who denied wanting to be the one to jump into his mother's arms.
"Oh that's right! Tsuna-kun can you check you room to see if anything's fallen from the earthquake just now?" asked the Tenths mother.
"Eh? There was an earthquake…?" Tenth questioned, more to himself.
"We have a guest for dinner tonight. She should be back soon" Nana told him. Melaine took that as her cue to walk in the front door and call "I'm back"
Every pair of eyes turned to her most in a type of surprise, one in suspicion and fury. 'Looks like Reborn finally knows." Melaine thought cheerful.
"That was fast!" Nana commented.
"I'm a good speed walker." Melaine said. From the corner of her eye, she saw Leon start to change in to a gun, so she got closer to innocent Nana. She wanted to push him and get away with it too.
"What are you doing here?" Reborn demanded to know, his voice threating. Tenth flinched from his tone and was scared of the dangerous vibe Reborn gave off. 'How could he be so threatened by a young girl?' Melaine laughed at his thoughts.
"I'm eating dinner here." She answered with a cute smile. She saw how Reborn became more pissed off as each moment passed. Nana was oblivious to the situation and asked for Melaine's help in the kitchen, as to which she politely obliged. She waved at the Tenth as she passed out of the room with his mother.
There was a heavy tension at the dinner table that went unnoticed by everyone but Reborn and the Tenth. Melaine's only worry was that she did not like Nana's cooking, but she ate it with a flake smile like any other polite guest. Nana was always involving her in the conversation, but it didn't mean much to Melaine. She was savoring the taste of the self-satisfaction of being strong and Reborn being weak. That was what it meant to her as she toyed with him during dinner.
After a while the Tenth asked "S-so, how did you, uh…"
"Get pregnant?" Melaine finished for him cheerfully.
"Oh you know, same way as everyone else. Amazing unprotected sex." She told him in the same bright voice.
The Tenth fell back with a blush from the bluntness of her words, and even Nana choked on her food a bit.
"What's sex?" Lambo asked.
"It's a game." Melaine told him smiling, her head slightly turned in his direction.
"I wanna play!" Lambo shouted dumbly.
"Ahh! Lambo don't say that! Stop telling him these things!" The Tenth shouted in panic. His face was beat red, and he looked ready to have a serious nose bleed. Melaine laughed whole heartedly and dazzled them with a smile.
"Aww… too bad Tenth. I was going to ask you to join me and Hayato in the game, but I take it you're not interested, huh." She said lightly.
"Ahh!" came from the Tenth, blood spraying out of his nose. He fell backwards and hit the ground hard. Nana herself was blushing heavily, and like a good mother bent down to see if her son was okay.
The moment she did though [BAM]
A loud shot rang out through the house— one that was meant to kill. Melaine had shifted her body only slightly and evaded the shot. It had whizzed by her face so fast that no one saw but the target and the hitman.
"What was that?" asked Nana, forgetting her fallen son.
"Maybe it was a gunshot?" Melaine suggested lightly. Of course the mother started to worry.
"Don't worry mam'am, its safe here with us." Chimed Reborn, who had not taken his eyes off of Melaine the whole time. He knew that before him was a being that spread danger all around her- she had involved innocent people in her game too. Damn, he should have noticed that she was here sooner. How could he not have noticed? It didn't matter now, the important thing is to keep everyone safe from her. If that was even possible…
The shadow still covered Reborn eyes and death radiated off of him. She almost had a hard time believing he had tried to kill her; does he really think that something like a bullet would be her end? Such a thing could not even be called attempted murder. This should have only been expected from a baby though.
"(giggle) No one is really safe, are they? Why you could get in an accident just by walking down the street."
"Not while I'm around" Reborn threatened.
"Well, thank goodness for that then."
Reborn's tension and anger went unnoticed by everyone now, especially considering the Tenth was passed out. Melaine managed to eat all of her food and continuously talked to everyone (besides Reborn) throughout the night. She even spoke to the Tenth, when he finally awakened from his fallen state. There was laughter and cheer filling the room, and Melaine was at the center of it. Finally when dinner ended, darkness had colored the sky along with the cold temperature it brought. Melaine felt her heart thudded for a moment and gave a secretive twist of her lips. She felt it in her blood: no hesitation at all, health felt better than ever, sanity was intact—Karin was here.
"What are you smirking about?" The baby demanded to know.
"I'm just happy to be here." She told him, and then turned to Nana. "It's rather late; I think that I should be going."
"Oh dear! Your right, Tsuna why don't you walk her home?" Nana asked.
"Why do I have to?" Tenth complained. Nana frowned at him. Seeing her displeased expression he got up ready to take Mel home.
"No." Reborn ordered, and most people stopped to look at him in surprise. He went on "I'll walk her home mam'am"
"If it's that much of a bother for Tenth, then I can just stay here for the night. Right Nana?" Melaine asked sweetly. Her soft features and kind voice had won Nana over, she was about to immediately agree when Reborn butted in again.
"Fine, hurry and return. If anything happens, then I won't be understanding." Reborn warned.
Melaine couldn't help it, she smiled. It was wild with happiness. Her bright eyes challenged him with danger. Reborn felt immediate regret at his decision; he should have insisted to walk her home.
"Don't tempt me."
Melaine allowed the atmosphere to be awkward, and the Tenth didn't know what to think of what Reborn said about her being dangerous— the young girl that had been laughing and smiling with them only a moment before. Still he had felt something about her earlier, not quite fear, but wariness of her, and for some reason pity. When he looked at her seriously something made him feel bad for her. Even though she was with everyone else, at the same time it was like she was never really with them, never in the same moment with them. She looked like she was far away—by herself.
"I'm hungry." Melaine told him, shattering his previous thoughts.
"What? You just ate." Tenth exclaimed in disbelief. "You ate the most!"
"I need real food. Meat and water isn't enough to satisfy me." She told him. He didn't get it, but about to say something when her knee's faltered and she fell down on the street barely catching herself or so it appeared to Tenth.
"Are you okay?" Tenth asked panicked bending down, and invading her personal space. His face was so close to her face, his neck no more than a few inches away. The skin unscarred, vulnerable, and open.
Like so many other before him, she slipped her arms around his neck, leaving room for her lips.
She held him in a tight embrace, one he was too embarrassed to get out of.
Her face lowered toward him.
"You've grown so much. Such a strong and sweet scent." She whispered against his neck.
Her soft lips barely kissed his neck before there was a sword at her throat.
"I think you should go home now."
Yamamoto had said this in a casual tone; he even gave an easy going laugh though she could tell he was tense.
Melaine released her grip on Tenth who was utterly confused. But she did not completely let him go, her arms still had a hold on Tenths left arm and a sly smile still had a hold on her face.
"And I think you shouldn't threaten a lady." A calm voice came from behind Yamamoto.
A shiny black sword was now held to Yamamoto's own throat. The sword was longer than Yamamoto's and it looked as if it had four flat balanced faces for the black blade and an old Japanese hilt which was darker than the pure black blade. It was not nearly as dangerous as the person who wields it though.
Raven black hair that fell over her broad shoulders a little and equally black eyes that didn't miss a thing. They always had a sense of deepness to them, like an abyss. Her dark skin was tanned from always being outdoors, and her body was well toned though there was no muscled bulking out. Her face had well balanced features and cheeks which always looked flushed. Her lips were naturally colored with a sharp cupids bow. She was never beautiful, but her face held an interesting quality that made you want to look at it. She looked as if she was on the verge of becoming an adult, almost eighteen. Her body was covered in blue jeans and a black jacket that was form fitting, showing her curves. Melaine noticed this and figured it was for Ed.
"What? Yamamoto and someone else?" Tenth said in a high pitch voice. His back was to them, so he couldn't see the entire situation, but he could see that there was a sword held to Melaine's throat. Something Melaine eventually noticed as well and wacked it away from her, not at all afraid of the sharp edge.
"I'm sorry Tenth, but instead of going to my house we are actually going to Yamamoto's instead." She told him standing up and offering a hand. He took it and stood up, still utterly confused on what going on whom the older girl was. The raven haired girl had already put down her sword, and made it disappear out of sight.
"We are?" Yamamoto asked cluelessly.
"We are," Answered the new girl who was staring at Yamamoto with an analyzing look. Melaine skipped over to her, and smiled.
"So what do you think of him?' Melaine asked.
"He looks like his dad." She commented as a response. Melaine rolled her eyes and they continued walking toward the sushi shop. The boys stupidly followed them.
Hey! How awesome was this chapter? Pretty great, right?