Title : Rescuing The Damsels [Part 3]
Genre: Angst/Romance
Rating: M
Characters: Hibari, Chrome, OC, Haru, Mukuro
Disclaimer: Kateikyoshi Hitman Reborn rightfully owned by Amano Akira-sensei, except the OCs.
[Rome, one year and eleven months ago]
It was one warm night in March. A 22-year old Haru sat while reading a literature book on a small couch beside Hibari, whom still lay on his hospital bed in comatose state. Hibird perched sleeping on his usual spot in Hibari's bed and Kusakabe was out looking for food. Today was the fourth day she spent in Rome and stayed beside the Cloud Guardian, since he had his surgery six days ago. The doctor responsible for Hibari said that she didn't have to worry and just waited patiently, because Hibari would wake up eventually though he hadn't wake up until now. Putting the book aside, Haru moved the chair to his side, and held his hand. That way, she felt like she communicated with him although no words spoken. She continued until she fell asleep on her couch, her arms on his bedside as her pillow. She didn't sleep long because the bad dream she has had awoken her. Going to the bathroom to wash her face, she suddenly heard Hibird's voice panicky called her.
"What's wrong, Hib-," she asked when opening the door, only to find the bright room was darkened and a man stood before the window, pointing a gun to Hibari.
When he saw her, on reflect, Haru ran to him, but stopped when a bullet planted on the wall, an inch off her head but it brushed her cheek. It would be right on her head if only Hibird didn't peck the man's hand. She stepped back but lost her balance and fell on her butt. Hibird then flew around the man's head and distracted his concentration again. Annoyed by the bird, the man aimed Hibird. Haru grabbed the vase on top of a small table beside her and threw it at him, causing the weapon fell off his hand, but the bullet already released. His shot was shifted but it hit Hibird's right wing.
"Hibird!" she shouted as the bird flew slowly to her direction before landed abruptly on the floor.
Haru quickly scooped Hibird in her hands and managed to roll over to her right before another shot came to her. When she put Hibird on the floor, a kick landed on her stomach and the force sent her backward.
"I'll deal with you after my job's over," he coldly said before kicked her on the same spot again, causing her to spit out some blood.
Haru cursed mentally. She didn't have the chance against his weapon, seeing her own weapon stored inside her bag on the bedside table Hibird occupied earlier. If only his gun didn't have the silencer, someone definitely came and helped her right now. Where was Kusakabe when she needed him? The man walked towards Hibari and prepared to shoot him when Hibird appeared before him once again and blocked his view.
"Fucking bird!" the man said before caught Hibird with one hand and threw it to the wall so hard Hibird didn't move after that.
Haru stared at the view. She couldn't think logically anymore. Without long thought, she grabbed a fruit knife lay not far from her and stood up, "Hey, you."
As the man turned to her, Haru threw the knife to him with the perfect accuracy she could ever reach, at the same time the man shot her. The knife went straight to his head, as the bullet went straight to hers. Everything went slowly, like a video played in a slow mode. Both watched the objects passed each other before successfully landed on its destination. The bullet was on her right chest and the knife was on his right eye. Bullseye. Those hellish aiming practices with her teacher was really useful. However, what a coincidence everything hit the right part of the body in this event, she amused. She watched him screamed in agony as the blood flowed from his injured eye.
"Fucking bitch! You'll pay for this! Aargh!" he wailed after taking off the knife from his eye and the pain spread over his head.
Haru didn't reply him, only panting heavily in her position. Right after the shot, she fell down on the floor. She couldn't move even if she wanted to, and she did nothing even when the man walked to her with the knife on his hand and lifted her with her collar. Being this close to him, Haru saw his face clearly, even though the room was only lighted by the moon's light. A handsome young brunette, whose looks full of hatred and loneliness.
"Haru-san! What hap-," Kusakabe came in with two of his men, causing the man to turn to him.
"Shit!" he cursed and fled through the opened window followed by Kusakabe's men. Kusakabe himself called for doctor and nurse before approached Haru whom try to crawl to Hibird's place.
"Haru-san! Please don't move!" he tried to stop her movement but Haru's eyes only fixed at Hibird.
"Hibird…he…Ku-Kusakabe, help him…," Haru pleaded the man before everything went dark for her.
-------Two days later-------
"I'm really sorry, Haru-san. They had tried their best but they couldn't save Hibird," Kusakabe said not long after she woke up.
Haru said nothing, but her tears were a clear answer to Kusakabe. He felt bad for coming late. Had he came sooner, Haru wouldn't hurt like this and Hibird wouldn't die. He couldn't imagine what Hibari would do if he knew about this. Then, he remembered something.
"Haru-san, that person left this thing when he ran away," he said and gave her a silver ring. "Maybe you know something about it."
Haru received the ring only to stare at it in disbelief. She stayed silent until Kusakabe got her out of her reverie. She shook her head.
"I'll ask Misao to search for it," she said to him and he nodded in understanding.
After he left, Haru looked at the ring again. A simple ring with two words carved on the inside part. A ring she never thought could meet again. But, how could that man possessed it?
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Haru abruptly opened her eyes as a sharp pain came from her injured thigh. She was lying on the asphalt road of Aretusa Passage, near the wrecked car. She found Elia lay unconsciously on the other side of the car. Both managed to jump out in the last minute before the car met the wall. They were lucky the car didn't explode with them unconscious beside it. Suddenly, she recalled their previous conversation. The reason behind his act and what awaited them in the end of Aretusa Passage. She was afraid with the later one. If he said the truth, it meant Hibari was there. If Hibari saw her like this, he would think of her as a burden again. No way she'd let him do that. She wanted to escape from here, but it almost two in the morning, meaning no one would pass the road. The only method she could think of at this time was walking. After wrapping her wound with her torn-up jacket and gathering her strength, Haru tried to walk, practically dragging her right leg, to the opposite of her supposed-to-be destination.
Elia awoke not long after Haru left the place. The throbbing pain on his arm made him producing chain of curses directed to his captive. After making sure the only injury he had was from the shot, he checked his surrounding. Haru was nowhere to be found. The car was total wreck and couldn't be saved. His phone was broken from the fall impact of his body, and he couldn't contact his men to fetch him. Knowing she wouldn't go to Castello Maniace, Elia trailed the road to the opposite direction. The tracking became clear when he found drops of blood in here and there along his way. The nearest place he knew she could reach with her present condition was only one. He smirked before continuing his walk. He wouldn't let her got away again this time.
Mukuro found no one when he arrived. He sure was glad because it meant Haru still alive, but judging from the disappearance of another person he knew Haru was together with before the accident, it meant she was still in danger. But where would those two gone? Did he miss them on his way here? Observing around the place, he found the same trail Elia found before. Riding the car to the place he believed she was heading to, Mukuro hoped he didn't arrive late.
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Haru stopped in front of a closed café on a narrow passage she had blindly taken. The blood loss combined with her fatigue slowed down her speed by each step she took. At times like this, she wished she brought one of Aniki's power drinks. It proved successfully refilling one's energy although not to its fullest. At least it was better than none. If she had any with her right now, she probably could walk faster. The place she chose to stop wasn't helping her at all. Every place alongside the passage was closed. Wonder why there wasn't even one place open here. Maybe since it was past midnight? Whatever the cause, she had to walk again because sooner or later Elia would find her if she stayed here for too long.
"Gotcha!" This fast!?
Haru paled as she turned around and saw Elia stood not far from her. Every step he took forward, she took backward. It continued until her body hit the steel fence. She glanced over her shoulder and looked down. There was a spring with papyrus plants below.
"What do you see?" Elia asked as he was getting closer to Haru.
Haru ran with difficulty, as far as her body allowed to, but her right leg couldn't support her for long. After 10-meter distance, she fell down again for the umpteenth times. God, how she really wished for that power drinks now. Not to forget how she hated the strange liquid that previously drained her strength. Elia arrived beside her and lifted her with her collar. Strange. It felt familiar to her.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked and glared at her.
She could see his face clearly. It was really familiar to her she felt like having a déjà vu. She was wounded and lifted by her collar, by a handsome young brunette with cold look. But, there was something wrong with his right eye.
"It's like the past, right?" he smirked again. "And now, you'll pay for what you did with my eye."
His expression and statement made her remembered the assassination happened almost two years ago. And Elia was that man. A man who intended to kill Hibari, a man who caused Hibird's death, and a man whose right eye was stabbed with a knife she threw at. Shocked by her own memory, she frantically fought to get out of his grip. Elia tried to tighten his hold, but a kick from Haru on his stomach was enough to cross his patience. He pushed her unconsciously too hard she crashed in the middle of the rusty fence behind her. It couldn't hold her body and adding the force of the impact, the fence was breaking apart, letting her body fell freely.
"Wha-"
Elia tried to catch her hand but she had fallen midway to the spring five meters below. Instead landed on the small stone pavement surrounding the spring, Haru fell to the water with a loud splash sound. She stood and walked slowly to the stone stairs on the other side of the springs before collapsed on it. She was soaked, and it'd be a miracle if she didn't catch a cold or fever or whatever after this was over. At least, she was still alive since the water cushioned her body although the pain was almost the same. Elia jumped down through the broken fence and landed on the pavement after seeing Haru still conscious. He walked to her side and Haru just following his movement with her eyes. She couldn't move anymore. She was really tired now she didn't care what he would do to her, though she secretly hoped someone would come to help her.
"How was Fonte Aretusa's water? It's refreshing, right?" he said then approached the water and dipped his finger on it. "Daniela loves this place. Me, Aroldo and her, we always spend our weekend together here. Aroldo would sit beside the statue, and she would feed the ducks. Even after Aroldo's death, she always had the time to come here with me. Too bad, that person came and ruined it. He occupied her time, making her forgot about this place."
Haru rolled her eyes. Here she was, tired and injured, lay on the stone stairs in her wet clothes, while listening to a man sharing about his unrequited love to his brother's wife. What a day she had today.
"But now I have her again!" he suddenly grabbed her collar and laughed maniacally. "After I took his life, she finally has the time for me again. I know it broke her heart, but I didn't care. That loathsome Fermiere deserved to die after all."
What? What did he say? He said Fermiere. Which Fermiere did he talk about? He didn't talk about Leon, right? No, it was impossible. Leon couldn't be killed by him. Besides, Rosa told her that Leon died in a car accident, not killed by someone. But, what if this person said the truth? The confusion clearly showed in Haru's face and Elia couldn't help but smirked. She flinched as his free hand started to caress her cheek.
"I killed Leon Fermiere," Elia softly whispered in her ear, "I killed your beloved Leon with his own drug."
Haru was in shock. She couldn't believe what she had heard. Leon was killed. She was too absorbed by this fact she didn't fight when Elia pulled out his gun and put it on her forehead.
"I should have brought you to Castello Maniace as instructed, but you know too much. Besides, killing you here is just the same with killing you there," he sniggered and prepared to pull the trigger. "Have a nice sleep."
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," a voice heard behind them.
What Elia saw almost made him jump out of his skin. Mukuro stood in the middle of the spring, with three pillars of raging water behind him. The night sky turned into red, as red as blood colour. The now red-coloured water pillars were moving along his trident's movement. When Mukuro pointed it to Elia, the waters surged at him, drowning him to the endless bottom as well as taking his life. Mukuro sighed while watching the whole event. He wondered why it was so difficult to kill Elia before if killing him now was this easy. After ensuring his victim's death, Mukuro rushed to Haru's side.
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Hibari stood not far from Castello Maniace's main gate. After observing the place with telescope since two minutes ago and adding new information from his informant, Hibari has pretty much known the condition inside the place. From his position, he could see two people were guarding the gate, six on the highest floor of the building in the middle part, three on the far point of the cape, and maybe more since he couldn't see through the stone wall. He didn't know the exact number of the people inside the place, but his informant stated that there has to be 47 or 50 people inside. Minus the ones he had seen, there were 36 or 39 people unseen somewhere. Quite a number for morning exercise, he thought. Why did it seem like a suicide mission right now? At least he wouldn't end up in a car accident like the one he saw before.
Speaking about the car accident, he wondered about it again. When he got out Piazza Duomo, he saw a wrecked car lay about twenty meters from him near the wall in Aretusa Passage. Judging from the car's condition, he wondered how fast the driver rode it before crashed at the wall. Then again, what kind of person drove that fast almost at two in the morning? Maybe because the road was empty the driver took it as a sign to speed up as fast as he wanted. Though curious, Hibari didn't observe long because he has something more important to do, saving his comrade's life.
Looking at his watch, Hibari counted his limit time. 01.55. Five minutes left before another injection being given to Chrome. Well, act first, think later. As he prepared his weapon, Hibari walked toward the main gate. The guards saw him and they rang a bell to the entire citadel, signaling his arrival. Hibari smirked. Act first, think later.
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Haru was lost in her thought, not caring her surrounding. Inside her mind, her brain played some scenes from her past with Leon. The one when he gave her a bouquet of pinkish white lily on her birthday, the one when he beat a muscular shady man from robbing her purse, and last, the one when he proudly said that he wouldn't die so easily. Why did those happy memories resurfaced now? Why not the bad ones?
"Haru…Haru…Haru!" Mukuro's voice sneaked in her mind before sent her back to reality.
Haru jolted from her sitting position, almost toppled Mukuro whom squinted down beside her. She looked around, and saw Elia's dead body. The previous event came back to her, the fact she had learned from Elia occupied her mind making her forgot about her physical pain.
"I killed Leon Fermiere."
One simple sentence that broken her heart. Why Leon has to be killed by that kind of man? The sadness and anger bubbled up inside her but she didn't know how to react to it.
"Are you alright?" Mukuro asked softly when she faced him, despite the fact he knew she wasn't.
She nodded but failed at preventing her body to shake and her tears to leak out. Mukuro used his jacket to cover Haru's body from the cold wind, but she suddenly hugged him and cried. She poured all the pain she felt inside into her tears. Mukuro was speechless as he wasn't used in dealt with crying woman, and although it wasn't the first time Haru cried in front of him, she never gone this far by hugging him. Not to mention she was wet from head to toe. He glanced at his watch, 02.05. No wonder it was this cold. He looked at the woman. With her soaked clothes, he hoped she didn't catch a cold. At least, if she could cry like this, it meant she was fine and it also meant the medicine worked. He should thank that man later. Unsure between comforting her and pushing her aside, he chose to do nothing and stay still until she no longer cried.
"Come," Mukuro helped her to stand and led the woman to the car. "Let's go home, Haru."
Haru glanced at the place for the last time before left. Fonte Aretusa, the embodiment of the nymph Aretusa, the handmaid of Artemis. She didn't share her feeling with Alpheus, the son of Oceanus, whom madly in love with her. When Artemis turned Aretusa into a water source, Zeus also turned Alpheus into a river, allowing him to meet Aretusa. Somehow, Haru felt that the relationship between Aretusa and Alpheus was similar to her relationship with Hibari. Hibari was Aretusa, she was Alpheus. She chased him, hoping for a day when he would accept her. Could the day when Aretusa finally accepted Alpheus also happen to her and Hibari?
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Daniela stared at the phone in her hand. She didn't hear it wrong, right?
"He had defeated most of our men! And he heads for Pianta now!" the panic sound of her underling clearly visible, between the gun firings behind him.
"What!? What are you doing letting him get here!?" she shouted and it flinched the man. "Call our back-up!"
"Ye-yes!"
Daniela flung the phone down, practically cursing her men, her targets, and her brother. Elia hadn't reported about his progress which he should've given to her since half an hour ago. Was something happen to him? It might be, especially if one Vongola guardian was hot on his tail. Damn, she thought. Her situation wasn't good. If Hibari caught her right now, she couldn't get her revenge done. Chrome, who had gained her consciousness when the phone started, heard the whole conversation.
"You'll lose, Daniela," she smiled.
Daniela approached Chrome and slapped her before lifting her chin, "Did you say something, Little Miss?"
"I said 'YOU'LL LOSE'", Chrome hissed and it earned her another slap.
If only she still had any strength left in her body, she would reply Daniela's action with another slap or even kick. Daniela laughed as she saw the hateful expression on Chrome's face.
"You can say what you want, but I won't," she smirked and grabbed Chrome's hand, "Let's have a stroll."
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Hibari was bored. It had past ten minutes since he entered the place and all he could do were just beating and beating and beating. Nothing else. He hoped for an intermezzo where someone strong appeared and he would have an interesting fight. But, it was just a hope in the end. The people he beat so far were weaklings and although their guns gave him difficult time for a while, he could easily defeat them with his tonfa. Well, he used his box weapon when walking through the front field though, to protect him from the bullets rain. Overall, he found the fights uninteresting. As he entered Pianta, Daniela's image showed on the small monitor in the center wall.
"Congratulations for getting this far! However, you have passed your limit time and it means you're too late," Daniela chuckled as a painful gasp heard beside her. "Oh~, poor Chrome…you must be suffered. Don't worry, you'll feel nothing after that. Just sit here and behave like a good girl, okay?"
"You…give it to her?" Hibari asked while trying to calm himself.
"Of course I have. That's our deal, right? Fifteen minutes to get the bottle from me, and you're both save. If not, then bye-bye Chrome," she smiled sweetly.
Hibari's short fuse has been lit up. He destroyed the monitor without long thought and almost destroyed the whole place, just to calm his feeling. He halted in the middle of his act when he suddenly remembered something.
"Don't destroy everything just because you're angry. You're not a kid anymore."
He laughed at this. Why did he have to remember it now? Nonetheless, it stopped his silly action. He should thank her later. Getting a fresh mind, he thought about what to do next. Considering Chrome's condition and the situation, he had to help her faster before she got the full effect of whatever the thing has been given to her. He needed to find them first, but where would they be? Based on the previous monitor's image, both were in an open place, based on the sound of wind breeze once in a while. It gave three options, the front field, the Pianta's roof, and the cape. They were most likely in the high place, since nothing covered the view behind Daniela. It left two, the cape and the roof. If he didn't mistaken, there was a small tower in one corner of the place. There was only one place in Castello Maniace that fulfilled the three conditions, the Pianta's roof. When he arrived there, a sight of crouched Chrome and Daniela petted her welcoming him.
"You're quite smart, , for locating my position this fast. And here I am, thinking you'd be useless without your partner," Daniela stood up and said.
"What do you mean?" Hibari asked unsure.
Daniela stared at him, "You…don't know? That's good then. Even if my foolish brother dies, he does his task well."
"If you talked about M.M., I don't care," Hibari replied nonchalantly although deep inside, the bad feeling came again.
Daniela laughed at this, "Who said I talk about that bitch?"
Huh? Who did she talk about, then? Hibari lost his concentration for a while and Daniela used this chance to pull out a handgun from her pocket and pointed it to Chrome's head. When Hibari realized it, she was about to pull the trigger when suddenly a bullet came from nowhere, hit her gun as well as flung it away from her. Both Hibari and Daniela were surprised by this, all the way more when a black chopper appeared from her behind. It was Vongola's. It landed not far from Hibari, and two people came out from it, his informant and Mukuro's driver. The one who shot Daniela was the informant.
"What are you two doing here?" Hibari asked slightly annoyed.
"The other captive had been saved. We were ordered to fetch you, Hibari-san, and to give this medicine to Chrome-san," the driver said and took out a small orange bottle from his bag.
Daniela stood unmoved. The other captive had been saved. Elia was really dead. The only important person she has ever since Aroldo's death. The only person she believed and adored of all the people she had met. She couldn't meet him again, couldn't see his smile as he talked to her again. She couldn't go to Fonte Aretusa and fed the ducks with him again. Tears flowed through her cheeks before she ran to one corner of the roof. Hibari immediately chased after her, while the other two approached Chrome.
"I'm still amazed that this thing can save Chrome-san," the informant said to the other man when he injected the thick liquid to Chrome's arm.
"It will help Chrome to survive the drug's effect. At least, until she arrives in Palermo and gets a proper remedy and medication," Haru said before she left with Mukuro.
"It's not enough to counter the drug inside her body, but it'd save her for now," he replied.
A burst of laugh caused the two to turn to the corner place, where Hibari stood before Daniela, with a purple flame emitted from his tonfa. Just by a glance, they knew he was angry.
"What. Did. You. Say?" Hibari asked the question again with suppressed anger.
"Oh~ you have a bad hearing, Mr. Hibari. Fine, I'll tell you again," Daniela leaned on the stone fence. "I'm the one behind your failed assassination, when you were treated in Rome and Elia, my brother, was the one who caused the death of your pet. What was its name again? Oh yeah, Hibird."
Hibari didn't know how to react to it. The later fact added another guilty to his already guilty feeling for accusing a wrong person of Hibird's death. Daniela didn't stop here. She had nothing to lose anymore and she knew sooner or later the Cloud Guardian would finish her life. If her hunch as a woman not mistaken, she would laugh as hard as she could before proudly met Aroldo and Elia, because she achieved one of their goal.
"But you disappointed me as a man," she said with a sarcastic expression, "You chose to rescue your ex-girlfriend than your present girlfriend. It must be hard for her having a man like you."
Hibari was incredulous but he didn't show it, though the anger and bad feelings were mixed up inside. He let the woman continued her talk.
"I only have two targets since the beginning. If one is rescued by her friends, I still have the other as a back-up. My first target, of course, is Chrome, your ex-girlfriend as well as the person involved in Aroldo's death. That other girl with her? I just thought of her as a bonus and a fake second target. Now, I'm sure you know the real second target."
'Please don't say her name,' Hibari said it as loud as he could in his heart, as a fear crept up his heart.
Hearing no answer, Daniela spoke again, "I chose her because of three reasons. One, she is a threat to my life. If everything goes according my plan, she'd call her colleagues, to have them burn down this town and chase me until the end of my life as her revenge. I couldn't let her do that. Two, she is a threat to my love life. When I thought I finally found a good man besides Aroldo, I just knew that man still wanted her. That's ironic. Three, it's the simplest one, she is your girlfriend, who happened to protect you from your death in my assassination attempt and able to make my brother blind. Now, I'm sure you have a very clear answer about who is she I'm talking about since the beginning. However, as your friend said, she had been saved so nothing to worry about. Too bad, Elia couldn't finish his task to kill her. If only he brought her here sooner, maybe I could help him."
Daniela laughed out loud while Hibari paled. Suddenly, everything connected to each other inside his mind. The hunch, the bad feelings, the sudden reminiscences, Daniela's hints, the medicine (he knew he had seen it somewhere), and the car accident. Why did his logic ignore it although his heart already knew?
"I'll be fine by myself."
Haru's last sentence kept repeating in his mind, mingled with the shocking facts, making him unconsciously activated his Cambio Forma. As the massive deep purple flame engulfed his Alaude's Handcuff and enveloped the freaked out woman in a cocoon of cuffs, he coldly watched the end of Daniela Teobald. The other two stared dumbfounded at the event. They knew she had said something quite terrible to cause him enraged like that. They did nothing until Hibari glared at them and they hurriedly brought Chrome and lay her down on a small made-up bed inside the chopper, his informant piloting the vehicle, the driver and Hibari sat beside Chrome.
"How was her condition when you saved her?" Hibari asked the driver when they took off.
He was confused at first but smiled when he understood, "Haru-san was shot in her leg, but she was fine. I actually didn't know much about it since Mukuro-san was the one whom saved her. Please ask him to get further detail."
Hibari nodded. He didn't feel like talking too much, either. He just wanted to arrive in Palermo faster right now. He closed his eyes for a light nap, as the chopper brought him away from Siracusa.
A/n: That's it, the last piece of Rescuing The Damsels set. It supposed to be divided into two parts, but I'm too lazy to do it. Hope I didn't make any fatal mistake here. I'm sorry if it's lame and each place's description is wrong (especially Castello Maniace). Thank you for those who had reviewed the last chapter and hope you like this one. Well, comment, criticism, and review are most welcome and appreciated. Thank you for reading!