This is an important spin-off! If you didn't read the first arc of the main story, you can't understand anything!

Hi everyone!
I'm italian and I'm translating my story in english because some not-italian people ask me to do it, so please forgive me for this poor and basic english!
I accept any advice because I really want to improve my english and I know there are many mistakes, SORRY!
Thank you for reading ~

Target 14 - The mist

Now it's late afternoon, the clouds cover the summer sun and the streets are crowded.
Kids and adults are walking quickly up and down the sidewalk in a side street.
Among many buildings there is one in particular similar in appearance to the others: five floors, built with a modern style, automated glass doors and flower pots adorning the entrance.
The door is opened and closed without a precise rhythm, letting in and out busily employed in suits and ties.
Beside it, a greenish gate with automatic opening invites the cars to enter to get to the underground garage and in fact, among the many cars passing through that road, some of them are directed there.
It looks like a normal office of some kind of agency, but they know that it isn't like that.

The red-haired child remains silent, not finding the right words to pronounce, while viewing the face of his friend, angry but quiet, with her light brown eyes obscured by some kind of nefarious thoughts.
The small girl observes the building, like she's almost studying it, until her attention moves to the adjacent one, a building of seven floors with two elderly women who are talking next to the entrance.
She looks at left and right and then she cross quickly the road, followed by the boy, so they finally reach the entrance of the building.
Claudio looks at the two elderly women who turn to him with a wide smile, before returning to their speeches.
Nozomi has moved further forward, towards the suspicious building, looking up.
He doesn't have time to reach her because his friend has already returned and is now entering the apartment building.

He again fails to say anything, he doesn't even know what to say. He just follows her up the stairs to the first floor, and he walks over to her when she opens the hall's window and looks out, right and left.
She goes up on the window sill and she stretches out toward the wall of the other building, going up on the ledge and flattening herself against the wall.
The red-haired boy, albeit hesitant, does the same, going up on the sill and stretching out his foot on the ledge. He quickly follows the little girl who, one step after the other and towards the left, reaches an open window.

"She saw that windows a little while ago and she thought to getting there from here?" thinks, in disbelief, "That's cool, it seems one of those games where you can jumps to the rooftops …"

The child follows her friend into the room, fortunately empty, coming down from the ledge and observing around. It is clearly an office, there are shelves with documents and papers scattered around, a desk with a computer and a machine next to the door that is probably a photocopier.
He doesn't pay much attention, he has to go after his friend.

But why is he there?
He knows what building is it and he knows Nozomi's intentions.

What happened just before?
When the three children have reached Arina-san's apartment they heard strange noises and both Claudio and Fabio have been left behind, almost fearful, while Nozomi ran to the door and remained motionless with a worrying look.
What happened in that apartment? What has the little girls seen?
Arina-san was definitely fine, he heard her voice, has seen Nozomi talking to her before she ran away.

He doesn't want to leave her alone, not in that mental state.
He always said that Nozomi is becoming gloomy as when he met her, three years before, when he did everything to see her smiling. He hated to see her alone on the sidelines while everyone was playing. She didn't speak, didn't smile, was always thoughtful and only read books.
Where was flying her imagination?
He wanted to know it, wanted to get close to her, wanted to see her smile.
There is something special about her, a strange light that attracts him. He wants to be with her, doesn't want to separate from her.
He wants to be with her forever.
Those are strange thoughts for a eight years child, yet these are his feelings.

He follows her, looking out into the corridor to see how many people are out there, waiting for the opportune moment to move.
The girl rushes towards the nearest office, the door to their left, opening it with great luck and slipping inside.
The red-haired child looks around and notices that the room is exactly like the first one. Paperwork, computers, random machinery, a plant under the window, a messy desk, a telephone and a TV up on the wall.
He turns to her friend, seems she's thinking about something, then takes a breath and decided to talk.

Claudio: And now?

He can't predict her reaction, maybe she won't respond to him and will go on without giving him an answer, or she'll keep being cold.
Sighs, already aware that she wouldn't answer.
However, a few moments later, she speaks.

Nozomi: We need a diversion.
Claudio: For what?
Nozomi: He will surely be on one of the top floors.
Claudio: Are you sure?
Nozomi: The leaders are always in high places, of course.
Claudio: He could be a different boss ...
Nozomi: No, I'm sure he's there. Either way we'll find out.

The redhead looks around, twisting his mouth, when an idea comes to his mind. He turns around and looks at the white door of the office.

Claudio: I think I know what to do.

The small girl turns again to him.

Nozomi: What?
Claudio: But you have to promise me that you won't kill him.

The small girl watches her friend and Claudio keep observing her.

Claudio: Don't do it. It isn't a good thing. You can't kill people, you'd be a murderer too.
Nozomi: I can't promise you, I don't know.
Claudio: At least ... promise me that you'll do anything to find another way.
Nozomi: Maybe, yes. But it depends...
Claudio: I don't think that Vongola Primo would be happy if you kill someone ...
Nozomi: ... He .. wasn't a saint. He also had to take very bad decisions.
Claudio: Maybe he had to do that because he was an adult and he knew what to do... but you don't. If you were older perhaps you might think differently.
Nozomi: Never mind, it's now that I have to think about it. For Arina ... for what he did to my Arina ...

The red-haired boy approaches the child and suddenly embraces her.

Claudio: You ... you really love her, huh? I thought you were jealous ...
Nozomi: No it's not like that. Arina couldn't stand me because she was forced to do it ... I think that she couldn't understand how she should have acted with me because I was... weird. But in the end she was always with me ... she have never abandoned me, even though I was only a burden.
Claudio: You're not a burden!
Nozomi: If I had to take care of myself, I would send me to hell because I'm unbearable ... so I understand her.

The child laughs, breaking away from her and watching her eyes. The small girl blushes, rocking.

Nozomi: I don't want her to suffer more! She has already suffered enough because of that man!
Claudio: That man? The boss of the Lhumor?
Nozomi: Miles! Victor Miles!
Claudio: Your father may take care about this...
Nozomi: No! I have to take care of this! My father is too kind, he wouldn't give him the punishment he deserves!
Claudio: And why do you think you can decide the punishment he deserves?

The little girl seems perplexed, she observe her friend with a puzzled look.

Claudio: Promise it.

The girl looks away, embarrassed.
She throws him fleeting glances, brooding, and then she nods.

Nozomi: I'll try ...

The redhead smiles, taking her hand.

Claudio: When we crossed the hall there was a glass thing, right outside here. There was written "press in case of emergency." Maybe ... if you press that, something may happen...
Nozomi: Oh? Ah, that button ... right.

The small girl moves closer to a shelf and grabs a greyish statuette, an elephant with the trunk raised, then she returns by her friend and gives it to him.
They open the door slowly, making sure that there is no one. The two are waiting anxiously, hand in hand, looking through the crack for about a minute.
Claudio's heart is beating rapidly and, occasionally, he observes his friend and smiles.
Nozomi is also nervous, less cold and more human.
He is happy, he knows that if she keep being like this she would surely keep the promise.

When the road is finally free, Nozomi quickly opens the door and the redhead reaches the glass, breaking it with the statuette, and then presses the button on the inside, slightly hurting the hand because of the broken glasses around the case, but he doesn't care about it. He goes back into the room just before when a loud alarm sounds, it echoes through the corridors of the building.
The children, who are holed up in the office, listen to the sound of the opening doors of the adjacent rooms. They hear footsteps, confused voices and from the speaker a woman is inviting the employees to evacuate the building.
They look at the corridor and take advantage of the confusion to sneak into the elevator at the end of it, fortunately free because all the people went to the stairs.

The brunette jumps, reaching the button number five, the last floor.
Claudio is nervous, trembling, as well as his friend. She has always dreamed of mafia wars and clashes of any sort but surely has never found herself in such a situation.
The elevator doors open onto a crowded hallway, full of worried-looking men who're speaking aloud.

- Go and see if our leader's helicopter is arrived, it had to be already on the terrace! -

Nozomi takes the sleeve of her friend and begins to run, throwing herself down the halls and carefully looking around themselves, probably looking for the room of the leader, but how can they recognize it? The offices are all the same or, at least, they seem pretty similar from the outside.

Claudio: Nono ... how can we find him?
Nozomi: We have to find the terrace! Didn't you hear that man? Their boss is going to take the helicopter.
Claudio: Do you think he's going up?
Nozomi: If he isn't already there, he surely will go.

The voice from the speaker encourages all employees to calm down, probably they have already discovered that there is no emergency.
But they have to go on, the two children are running in the hallway, passing between the employees who have already seen them.
Claudio is sure that one of them was calling the guards, now the presence of the intruders is revealed so they must act quickly.
Otherwise, something bad will happen.

He doesn't even want to think what would have happened if they had been caught.
His heart beats faster and chills run through his body, he feels as if something is about to happen.
He squeezes Nozomi's hand instinctively.
His Nozomi.

What's going to happen to them? Would they be able to reach their goal or they would come to a bad end?

He freezes, ending his race, leaving Nozomi's hand.
Two strong arms grabbed and lifted him, he can only look at his friend who has also stopped, some steps away from the stairs that probably lead to the terrace.
The brunette turns, observes the child and the men with a confused and disbelief look.

Claudio knows he is in the hands of the guards, two of them, they are looking at the children with grim face.

"... We're just kids …"

He hears the voice of a man, deep and cold, almost amused.

- She is the Vongola! - a guard says.
- Let's take her to the boss. - the man who's holding the child seems quite satisfied.
His breath reaches the neck of the redhead and his hand is moving quickly towards his side.

A metallic sound.

Claudio was still looking at Nozomi's face, he's calm.
He smiles.

"Nono ... you know I love you, right?"

A strong noise.

Black.

The brunette observes everything blankly, as if her soul is elsewhere.
Her gaze is on her friend, her eyes are on the scarlet liquid that falls from his forehead.
He is now on the ground, the two dropped him.
Away.
Forever.

Nozomi: Cla ... udio?

Blood.
Blood.
Darkness, pain, mist.

Mist.

The two are getting closer, slowly.
She doesn't see them, doesn't want to see them. She only sees Claudio, and blood, and pain.
Fragments of smiles, laughter and sky.
Away, away forever.

And then, the darkness.

The disoriented voice of the guards seem to get lost in the maze of her mind.
Why are those men still there? They're hindering her.

It's still dark.

No, it isn't dark, it is indigo.

"I want a gun, I have to delete them."

She looks at her hands, she's really holding a gun.

"It's perfect!"

Not just two hits, but another ten of them.

The guards are on the ground, in a pool of blood.
Indigo.

She turns and walks up the stairs. The screams don't touch her, they swirling around her like a sweet melody.

"Screams, cry, suffer, despair.
The death you brought will destroy you. "

Without realizing it her hair is already blowing into the wind. She moves in front of a figure, a man in his forties with blond hair and a beard surrounding his face.
He fixes his glasses, watching his wristwatch before looking up and noticing the presence of the girl, disoriented.

"It's him, it's him!"

The man shakes his head, backing away.

Victor: ... you ... you are the daughter of the Tenth?!

"Here, he's here!" she smiles, maybe because she doesn't want to cry.

Victor: Wait, we can talk ... Come on, don't make hasty decisions ...

He backs, scared, looking at the girl with concern.

"Go on, go on!"

The man is observing her with perplexity, looking at the child's body.

Victor: What is ... that bluish thing that is coming out of your chest...?

She doesn't understand, the man is speaking in an incomprehensible way.

Victor: A flame? But the one of the sky should be different ... Wait ... that flame, I already saw it...

She moves forward again, and the man backs.

Victor: Please stop!

"Go on. Just a little more."

The man is really scared but also angry, doesn't know whether to look at the strange indigo flame or the gun pointed at him.

Victor: Damn ... you and your father ...

"Disappear! Disappear!"

One more step and Miles finds himself on the ledge, there are no nets or railings.

Victor: No, wait!

She advances, again.
Again and again.

He puts one foot behind, loses his balance and falls.

Down from the roof.

"It's done! It's done!"

The brunette runs forward, she wants to see the corpse with her own eyes, but one hand drags her away before she can see below.
She is violently turned towards the entrance, embraced by a blonde woman.
Instinctively she drops the gun. It vanishes.

Arina is crying desperately.

"Why are you crying? The man who made you suffer fell down, he's dead!"

Arina: I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It's all my fault!

She sighs, keeps hugging her, but Nozomi doesn't understand that behaviour.
Why is she crying? She should rejoice!

The brunette raises her head and crosses the intense but gloomy brown eyes similar to hers.
Smiles.

Nozomi: Papa... The bad man is gone, it's thanks to Nozo-chan! Is papa proud of Nozo-chan, now? Has Nozo-chan been a good girl?

The man doesn't respond, still stares at her with sadness, his men slowly approach the two girls.

Suddenly, a thought.

Nozomi: Uh ... Where is Claudio?