DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN
Stepping out of Haru's designer studio, Hayato didn't really feel like he was required to go on a run. He knew that she just wanted him out of her sight before she tried to hurt him. He tried to replay what he said that could have made her react that way. But since it was such a passing thing his more predominant memory was her referring to him by his status. Then there was the hurt look he caused. It was hard to think that he caused that.
He may not like her but he wasn't, in any way, wanting to hurt her. Rude banter was a part of their relationship. Maybe this was just a Ricco woman thing he didn't understand. Though he did feel bad that he wasn't understanding why she was so mad at his comment. From the beginning he wanted to paint her as this evil, heartless creature. Instead Haru actually wasn't that bad.
Sure they argued but it never escalated. She still gave him food, a place to live, training, Uri and more. She protected him against that knife bastard. There were many times where she could have forced him to do things and yet she still always asked before doing things. Called him an idiot but explained everything in simple terms.
While he's seen a lot of her strict side, today he saw that she could be kind. She was genuinely friends with the kind bride. It wasn't like Uri hated her either which was a good sign. The cat's instinct was crazy sharp. It was hard to pin the woman down to one thing. It was hard to understand her.
He let out a sigh. He'll just walk around the city until he thinks she's gotten enough alone time. It would have been easier if she was evil like he planned. This all would have been easier if she talked about what her problem was. Keeping to herself and blowing up on him, there was no use doing that. Just tell him straightforward for goodness sake!
Hayato looked around Ricco. How can only a bit of distance cause such a change in environment? In people? If he was born in Ricco, would he be like her? Sounds bothersome to think that he would be like her in terms of not saying what was meant to be said. He liked being able to say what was on his mind. Being a part of the Mafia must have made her hesitant on openly speaking. Maybe even before that.
He stopped walking when he heard a thud nearby. Behind him, a group of kids were playing and one had fallen. The one kid started to cry, making the others start to panic. They comforted their friend to the best of their abilities. But being kids, there wasn't a lot that they could do without making it worse.
Looking around a bunch of the adults were just ignoring them. They definitely could hear them though. No way they couldn't with how loud they were bawling their eyes out. The ones that did give attention did one of two things. Either hesitate to help out only to decide against it. Or two, make an annoyed face and go about their life.
Now Hayato wasn't a kid's type of person. They were snotty, loud and had zero logical sense, but he wasn't going to let this kid continue crying. On the other hand, being a person that disliked kids, he didn't really know how to help them out. The kid just fell. It didn't look like they were bleeding or badly injured. If it was solely a pain problem, they should walk it off. Probably not the best thing to tell a crying child though. He could tell that much.
There was one thing that he could think of. Though it made him want to jump in a hole than to think about. Cautiously, he approached the group of kids. Crouching down, the kid looked up to him with teary eyes. "H-Hey, you okay?"
The kid only cried more. Their friends nearly attacked Hayato seeing that he made them cry more. Too bad it was too late to back out. "H-hey you shouldn't cry. You know the uh the N-Namahage will come take you away if you don't stop."
Hayato was immediately embarrassed at saying that out loud. The kids could tell as one of them started laughing. The others followed in their manner. It was incredibly stupid that this was the only way he could think of. Turns out the Namahage isn't popular in Ricco either.
"You're a weirdo! What adult believes in the Namahage?" They laughed out loud. Luckily though, the kid that was crying had stopped as well.
"Shut up! Don't believe in the Namahage for all I care! When they come to take you away, don't say you aren't sorry for being a naughty kid!" They all jokingly screamed, scattering away from him. He didn't know whether to be happy or angry at them leaving while screams mixed with their laughter.
He turned on his heel to leave when a tiny voice called him out. He looked back at the, formerly, crying kid standing some distance away. They clutched the ends of their shirts as they bowed to him. "Thank you for helping me!"
It took a second for Hayato to realize what was happening. "N-No problem... I guess. Next time be careful where you walk!"
"Okie! And Mister, if you like Namahage so much there's a convenience store by the shrine that sells stuff like that!"
The kid ran off to catch up with their friends. They smiled so innocently at Hayato that he almost forgot that they were crying a second ago. He did well in the end. For someone that didn't know how to deal with kids, he managed to stop one from crying. And though they made fun of him for believing in a child's story, he liked how the one gave their gratitude.
He could do without the comment on how he could find more Namahage things though. He was now going to live in those kids' minds as the Namahage guy when he said the same thing to Haru about it being weird.
That being said, he still found himself walking in the direction of the shrine. Haru did tell him to go on a run. If he showed up too early, chances are she would still be mad. He needed to kill time and it wasn't going to be interesting if he only walked around. It wouldn't be that big of a deal if he went to a convenient store. Grab some food for Uri, maybe check out the Namahage stuff, read some magazines, stuff like that.
He felt almost wrong for walking into the store. He had no idea what the kid was talking about and no way was he going to ask the worker if they had stuff related to the Namahage. It was bad enough that those kids laughed. He wasn't going to have a full adult do that. Good thing that the small knick knacks were in a small corner of the store. That included a few things that the shrine probably sent here.
Within the multiple charms and random cute keychains, he found a few Namahage keychains. They didn't resemble anything like her costume. These ones were way scarier with more detail put into the monster mask. And from the abundance of stock, he could tell that the item wasn't too popular. The idea of a monster coming by was looked down upon by protective parents that the tradition of having them knocking on doors slowly died off. Hayato, himself, never had an experience with them besides what his mother would describe.
First seeing Haru's costume, he would have taken a longer time to recognize what it was if she didn't tell him what it was. Now comparing it to another reference point, her costume definitely took on a less harmful side. She must have made it herself. He still didn't really understand how she could see it as cute. Both the real deal and her rendition were creepy to stare at long. Which makes sense considering that it was meant to scare children.
He took the small Namahage into his hand. Surprisingly he could picture the weird looking trinket making Haru happy. The way she looked at the giant costume she had already made his point. Wait. Why would he want to make her happy? They were fighting now. Were they? They didn't feel on good terms when he was kicked out of her studio.
He turned to the cashier watching him. "How much for this?"
"The keychain? 3 euros flat." He opened up his wallet.
There were two distinct groups of bills inside. The 100 clean, smooth euro bills that Haru gave him the day they officially met. And the crumpled up 5 euros he had earned the same day. That day he had no idea they were going to end up here. Like this. That money was going to put towards what little his family had. Now it was nothing compared to the heavyweight her card held. How much he supposedly earned through this strange job.
It would have looked pretentious if he gave a 100 euro bill for this tiny keychain. So he reasoned that he didn't need his, literal, dirty bills anymore. He gave the cashier his 5 euros.
"Thank you for your patronage! Would you like a bag?"
"No, that's fine." He stashed the keychain and change into his pocket.
Now that it was in his possession he felt silly for buying it. She just got mad at him minutes ago. What good would this keychain do? Hayato sighed heavily for the second time today as he left the store.
"Whatever. If she doesn't want it then I'll throw it away." He mumbled to himself. It was probably best to head back now before it got too late.
His gait slightly stuttered when he felt a shiver. Someone was watching him. A bit of panic set in. He had to hope that whoever was around didn't see that. He tried to not make it obvious that he was checking his surroundings. According to Haru, the Storm branch was supposed to be off his back so it shouldn't be any of them. Who else could be following him?
Wanting to be careful he pretended to stop to tie his shoes. Scanning around he didn't see anyone watching him. No one looked out of place. The cold feeling was gone. It was so fast that he didn't think it was anyone close by. At least that's what he thought with his month's worth of training. He wasn't as finely tuned as his temporary employer was.
"I'm going crazy." Standing up again he continued to head back to Haru's designer studio. If only he was more experienced, he would have trusted his instincts.
Once the bomber was out of sight, a hooded figure stepped out of an alleyway. They looked in Hayato's direction with a frown. "Gokudera Hayato? Now why are you in Ricco?"
A week has passed and the two haven't really talked about everything. With the wedding coming up, Haru was already stressed out enough as it was. Putting training Hayato for two missions on top of that wasn't helping. Each time that she thought to loosen the atmosphere in their training sessions, she couldn't bring herself to tell him anything. It wasn't easy admitting that she was in the wrong. Not that Hayato was completely without blame.
However, he knew that she was a reasonable person. Whatever was bothering her must have been big. That's why he didn't say anything this entire time.
Now here they were, awkwardly attending the fancy ball party. On a mission that was forced onto them as blackmail. Another thing that he caused. There were a lot of things he bothered her with that he shouldn't push his boundaries anymore. At least she seemed to forgive him for the Varia incident. He just had to figure out why she blew up on him before.
Haru placed her drink down on the table. "You're too tense. You'll stick out if you show that you aren't used to this."
"I don't fit in though. I can't exactly act like I know what the difference between all these spoons are." He gestured to the variety of clean utensils laid out in front of them. She raised her eyebrows once as if doubting that but didn't make a comment.
"Regardless, our job here is to protect the employer. Don't draw attention to us."
"I'll try not to." This was probably one of the longest conversations they've had since what happened that day in the studio. And something about going back to the tense silence with her didn't sit right with him. He wanted to keep talking even if it meant making things difficult for him.
Remember that Hayato wasn't really a small talk. Luckily he did have one thing that he could bring up that wasn't about their job.
Reaching into his pocket caught her eye that he didn't have to say anything to start the conversation. "What is that?"
"A Namahage keychain. It's yours if you want it."
"When did you buy this? I don't remember seeing a charge like this on my card?"
"I brought it with some cash that I had on hand. And no, I didn't use the bills you gave me as a down payment or whatever. It was a convenient store that I would have been showing off what wasn't even mine."
"You used your own money then..." She trailed off once she realized that. Taking the keychain, she found the small object to bring back a lot of memories. She held back from letting herself cry. "Why?"
He rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know. Saw it being sold and got it. With your weird obsession with the thing, I thought it would make you less moody."
"It's not an obsession!" That was the first time in the week that the tense atmosphere around them dropped. Both became aware of that fact, making them laugh.
They didn't really know why they laughed. It was like all their bundled nerves all came out at once. Being in a formal, strict relationship didn't suit them. They were better off swearing and belittling each other. Since meeting they didn't hold back on what they thought. It was established that there was not only respect but the lack of restrictions. Walking on eggshells and trying to find the right words to talk was not them.
Laughing made that weight fly away in an instant. What happened that day was only another topic that they had to talk about. Trying to stop herself from telling him was only hurting them. Haru saw this. They both did.
"I'm sorry Gokudera-san." He was surprised by her sudden genuinity. "I was the one at fault, not you. I've been trying to find a way to apologize all this time but I couldn't find a way to do it besides just saying it. I'm sorry."
There was a moment where he only sat there. He only meant for the keychain to be a present. Something he, essentially, randomly picked up. There was no way he could have predicted that this was the only thing he needed to do in order to get an apology. He wasn't even looking for one in the first place since he understood that it was something he did that made her react.
"Can I ask what I did that made you react the way you did?" She lowered her head. A tight hold on the keychain.
"You said something that reminded me of my past. A past that I'd rather not look back at."
"Before you joined the Vongola?" She nodded. There was still a lot that Hayato didn't know about her. He never would have thought that she would show her weak side. Or even admit that something could throw her off. The way that she looked at the Namahage reminded him that Haru was human like him.
He remembered her saying that she joined the Vongola on her own accord. This situation made him desperate for money but in technical terms, he did join on his own will. Did that mean that Haru's situation was desperate enough that she had to become a mafiose?
She turned to him with a smile. "Don't look at me like that. It was a long time ago. I'm over it."
Clearly she wasn't given her reaction to his words. But he didn't say that. He didn't say that he thought of her being incredibly strong either. She's already proven physically that she was but this time she was showing that mentally she was even stronger. Remaining in the Vongola, rising up in ranks, taking on the traitor on her own. She was doing everything by herself.
Well not fully by herself. Hayato was here now. Only Hayato was here.
"You really don't make any sense you stupid woman."
"I-"
"But," he interrupted her before she could defend herself, "for our time together, you can talk your nonsense to me."
Haru became a bit speechless. She could hear that he wasn't joking. He fully meant it. That she could rely on him. She's been so keen on being independent for so long she almost forgot what it was like to have someone tell her that they could rely on them. It was funnier to think that this newbie with little power could help the Cloud second in command.
She grinned, putting the Namahage away in her purse. "What's with that? Are you trying to be a gentleman now?"
"Fine. I take it back then." She fully started laughing. She's been doing that a lot more recently around him.
She stood up which confused him for a second. She held out her hand for him to take. "What?"
"Will you dance with me?"
"What?" He repeated with more confusion. Haru, without another word, grabbed his hand. Hayato almost fell at how hard she was pulling.
He could briefly see the other guests watching them stumble their way onto the dance floor. Some were smiling, some just annoyed at the noise they were causing. Haru didn't pay attention to them. She may have been used to the formal setting, but a little fun didn't harm anyone from time to time. It was Hayato's first, and last, ballroom dance party; let him make some good memories before the night ends.
Finally stopping, she placed his hands on her hips and her's around his neck. "Stupid woman, I don't even know how to dance."
"Don't worry about it. You're a musician right? Listen to those around us." She whispered while closing her eyes. Focusing less on their close proximity he listened to the sounds of those dancing nearby.
The clicks from shoes alternated between the light high heel and heavy dress suit shoes creating a wave like motion in his head. In response to the music the dancers had a slight hop in their steps. The cheery atmosphere filled the room as they moved in a circular motion. It wasn't only the music that hit his ears but the multiple murmurs from people. They laughed, joked, talked casually, even a few having drunk slurred words.
It was all coming together that it was easy for Hayato to follow. Opening his eyes he was greeted by Haru smiling. He would be blind if he didn't say that she was on the more appealing side when it came to the standard of women. Even without makeup she naturally took good care of herself and that showed. Now with her actually putting work into her appearance for tonight, she was glowing. Her hair, usually pulled in a ponytail, was slightly curled giving it a little bounce that framed her face.
Okay. Maybe she was pretty. He won't admit it to her though. The woman had enough confidence that he didn't want to be fueling that more. It was one thing about her that he would never change about her.
If he was going to give her one more compliment as a final point it wouldn't even be her appearance. It would be that she originally had her eyes closed. Her body could move purely on instinct around the room. She could lead him in a way that wasn't forceful. She knew how to instruct him that he picked it up
On the other hand, was Haru who kept her eyes watching Hayato listen to their surroundings. She could see his eyebrow scrunch up at first. Slowly, his face and shoulders relaxed. She could feel it in the way his muscles flexed that he was getting more comfortable in moving around the dance floor. She almost laughed at how easy he was. At times, he wanted to act like an adult.
Taking on the pressure of his mom's hospital bills himself and always trying to protect himself with crude words. It was nice that she could see him not trying so hard to fight against everything around him.
"Still don't know how to dance?" She teased him. He looked away with blush on his face.
"Shut up."
"Don't be embarrassed. I remember learning how to dance and behave at these kinds of functions. It took a lot of practice to remember all the rules."
"They actually train you in these kinds of things? Sounds useless."
"You would think but you blend right in. Besides your attitude that is."
"Do you enjoy this kind of environment?" She scanned the room. It wasn't that she was looking for anything specific. More like she was reassuring herself of her answer.
"I do like the atmosphere. But not these people. I would want to fill it with those I hold close. Let everyone dress up, enjoy good food, talk, I can imagine how fun that'll be if my friends gathered like this." He thought about pointing out that she could experience that during her friend's wedding. That wasn't going to happen with a traitor ruining it.
He opened his mouth to question more about his mission when he sees the way she's watching others. It was a mix of her smiling at the picture of being with her friends and careful eyes. She was enjoying herself even while on the job. It was second nature for her life to be at stake now that she could find the happy moments even in the worst possible scenarios. Her happiness was contagious, feeling his steps matching to hers gliding around.
"What's got you smiling?" Haru asked.
"You." A straightforward answer for a guy that hated to beat around the bush. For a girl that was used to mafiose playing with their words, Haru was only a tad bit shocked at his bluntness. Only a tad bit.
"You speak like that to anyone else and they would think you're hitting on them."
"Don't be stupid. Besides, I'm not looking for a significant other. Defiantly not one that has a boyfriend and weird like you."
"You'll never know. Maybe once your mom is out of the hospital you'll be able to live comfortably and find the one for you."
"Yeah sure. Anyone that can get me to fall in love is going to be a miracle worker."
Their conversation was put on hold when they saw that a man was approaching them. They could tell that he wasn't an immediate threat that it was only questionable why he was coming closer to them. They slightly separated upon his arrival. Still, they stuck close to each other just in case.
"Can I ask for your hand in this dance?" The man held out his hand towards Hayato. Between the two men, this man had clearly more class that the two were surprised that they paid attention to him. There was a part of Hayato that considered that they were a mafioso but seeing that Haru didn't react, he assumed that the man was safe.
"Please do." Didn't mean he wanted to dance with him! Haru left the two men, snickering at Hayato's clear denial of the situation. If he could swear loudly at her, he would have.
This man really showed the size difference between him and Haru. For a malnourished boy he still had a good physique. He had his mom and sister to thank for taking care of him a lot better than other Povero kids. Though Haru's money made it way easier to take care of himself. Helped him realize just how hard it must have been for his mom to support 2 kids with her small piano gig.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt you two. Just thought I should shoot my shot with a good looking fellow such as yourself." The man started off the conversation. He was someone that clearly fitted into the environment.
"I'm sorry myself. I'm not exactly... Used to this kind of scenario."
"Dancing with me or the formal aspect?"
He took a second before speaking again. "Both."
The man let out a hearty laugh. "At least you're honest with it. While I do find you to be attractive it was more the way you interacted with your dance partner that was more interesting."
"What do you mean?"
"Take this from someone who spent his whole life in this ballroom type of setting. It gets extremely boring. Act this way, dress up all nice, don't be a bother. But every once in a while someone shows up and doesn't know all the rules. It's funny to have a bit of a mix in. I'm sure your dance partner felt the same way. She looked like she was having a lot of fun."
"I don't know about that but thanks I guess. She's the one that loves these things. I'm only here to accompany her."
"I can tell. Are you having fun at least?" Not considering the real reason why they were here, it wasn't too bad. He made up with Haru, the music and food was good, there wasn't much that he could complain about how everything was going.
"Sure. We can say that."
"Then that's all that matters. Let us dance then." The man happily swung the two of them around. The music and tempo no longer mattered. Now he sees that dancing was half dependent on partners. Haru was good at leading Hayato in a way that didn't give him motion sickness.
After a few more people took interest in spinning Hayato around and flirting with him, he was finally free to take a break. He returned to the table he thought was the one he started at. Yet looking around, Haru wasn't sitting anywhere. She wasn't on the dance floor either.
He sat down at the table to wait for her. He assumed that she was in the washroom or talking to the employer. Eventually she would come back to fetch him. A few minutes passed and no sign of her. The more time that passed made him feel more and more out of place. Something telling him that he was not supposed to be here.
He scanned the room one more time. She really wasn't here. He focused on all the entrances. "Were there always that many security guards?"
He could easily figure out what was happening. Haru felt guilty for having to drag him further into the Mafia business. She must have seen something wrong and not tell him. That clearly matched up with what he knew about her.
He quickly stood up. He had to find out where she was. Before anything bad happened. Problem being that he had no way of finding her. Her weapons were quiet, she was sneaky, and he didn't even know how long she had been gone. The first thing that he would have to do was either find her or the target. Whoever the target was, that is. He wasn't too interested in the mission that he wasn't too observant over the one they were protecting. He shouldn't have been distracted by their fight to not listen to her tell the details.
That didn't matter now. There were more pressing matters to be dealing with. All the guards surrounding the place he had to sneak around them to get out. Surprisingly easier than he expected considering that they were almost robots with how uniform they monitored the place. It didn't take Hayato long to see the pattern in timing and what attracted their attention. Distract them with some random, annoying person wanting to leave for the bathroom and he was out.
Now to find Haru. The halls were eerily quiet the further away from the main ballroom he got. It was like the owners spent their entire budget solely on the lights in the main room. That was the only logical explanation that came with the darkness that filled the halls. Besides the few torch shaped lights on the walls, it was hard to see much.
For fucks sake why is this place so big? Endless hallways that no one took up. He was almost convinced that everything was completely fine given how nothing seemed out of place. But he knew that Haru wouldn't just disappear on him. He ignored the fact that she already technically left without saying a thing. There was only the hope that it was for a good reason.
Hayato paused. Turning his head to look out the large windows. A sole tool shed stood there. Its lights were on. From that he could see there were at least 2 people inside. He was drawn to investigate this.
Somehow, he found his way outside. The shed was quiet. If anyone passed here, they wouldn't stop to question it. Even he couldn't explain why he did. The thumping of his heart warned him of danger. Circling around to the side he got to a window that was short enough for him to see into.
The room was pretty much empty besides a few big items pushed to the side. Inside there were four people. Haru on one side, their client, someone holding onto their client with a dagger to the neck and another person that stood with the hostage holder. Haru was unfazed by their hostage position or the fact that she was outnumbered.
"I did expect someone from the Vongola to come and intercept. Given that we are in their territory and all. I didn't think that it would be such a tiny woman. Didn't have anyone better to send?"
"You say that but you're the real coward by taking a hostage. Not confident you can defeat little ol' me by yourself?" He could see from the distance that she was still careful not to let the two know she was worried. Hayato wanted to rush in but it was too reckless with their client being held hostage. He had to leave it up to her.
"I only want to do this nice and clean. Let us go without any problems."
"Are you fucking with me?! Hey! I paid for you to protect me! Fucking do something already!" Hayato rolled his eyes in place of Haru who remained static.
"Shut up before I cut you for being annoying alone." The client zipped up fast. "See. You really want to be helping this low life? You're a Vongola member. You don't have to help this person. You can be better off if you leave now. Say, how much are they paying you?"
"Why? Can you offer me more?"
"We can offer double whatever this person is paying you. Let's just say that a lot of people want to be holding this dagger. If you let us go, you can make many rich people happy. What do you say?"
"She can't actually be seriously considering that." Hayato whispered to himself. While he agreed that the client seemed annoying, he couldn't imagine her abandoning the role she was paid to do.
"You know what? I kind of like that offer." She walked forward.
There was nothing off in the way she walked or talked that it wasn't hard to buy her act. Only Hayato was able to see the silver glints off her hand. If he wasn't knowledgeable about her weapon, even he wouldn't think much about how harmless she appeared. Was it wrong for him to feel like laughing at the attackers' stupidity for falling for such a trick?
"How about we shake on it?" Standing in front of the two, she slowly raised her hand up. Before they could raise their own hands, Haru opened her fist with a flick.
Her needles stabbed into both of their arms causing them to scream in pain. Taking another step forward, she pulled the client's arm away from the attackers. The client was roughly thrown away but safe.
Neither of them were able to land a hit on her. She avoided their attacks in a way that was so mocking. She really was holding back during his training. He's only seen her from a first person perspective. Being an outsider to the whole fight, it was fascinating watching how fluid she moved. She didn't fully rely on her needles or her combat skills. It all just blended together to keep her constantly moving and aware of the threats.
He didn't think he needed to help until he saw the target struggling to escape. From the outside he could see the door shaking as they tried to force their way through. Their shouting was muffled so that no one at a distance could hear them. As much as Haru was handling the situation, the client was still in danger by staying there. She may not have thought that she didn't need him but he had to help out.
"Is someone outside?! Help!" Hayato tried to open the door from the outside but couldn't. They must have locked it from the inside. They weren't going to let their target escape that easily. So unless Haru was able to get a key in time, there was only one way to get the door open in time.
"Stand back!" He banged on the door to let the client know that he was there. He placed a small stick of dynamite on the lock. It wouldn't have caused that much damage. Only enough to blow off the lock. As long as either side wasn't directly in front of where the bomb was attached to.
The door handle blew straight off. With the sound of the explosion came a shout. It didn't sound like they were hurt, only surprised. He really hoped that the client wasn't injured. Not out of their safety but because he knew that they would complain to them after this was over.
He kicked in the door, rushing in. All of the attention was turned onto him emerging from the smoke. The client was knocked back some distance but wasn't hurt. If anything Haru looked more surprised than they were.
"Reinforcement? We'll gladly get rid of them too."
"What are you doing here?!" She completely ignored the attackers comment.
"Um? Helping?! You should have told me instead of disappearing!"
"I was doing it for your own safety!"
"And what about your own?!" As they were yelling at each other, one of the attackers was able to catch her off guard. She had to refocus herself back on the fight. She would deal with Hayato later when people weren't going for their necks.
"Um excuse me?!" Their client yelled from the floor. "How about focusing on the fact that I am right here?! What would you have done if I got hurt by your little stunt?!"
It was really hard not to abandon them right now. He was going to offer them a hand up when he heard a pair of stomping footsteps coming their way. In a second, one of the attackers was able to get away from Haru and was heading in Hayato's direction. She tried to throw some needles but their partner made sure that they were in the clear. He was the only person that was left.
He armed himself with his bombs. He let them come closer. He wanted to make sure that they were in close enough range that wouldn't hurt the hollering person behind him but enough damage to the attacker. Briefly, way back, at the back of his mind he had to remind himself that that was his main goal today. Only protect the client. Anything else was minor.
"Wait! Don't!" Haru's voice came too late as Hayato threw the dynamite.
His eyes didn't leave them. The bomb exploding didn't make him flinch. He was used to the loud sound. Used to the smoke that quickly filled his vision. Used to smell of gunpowder.
What he didn't prepare himself was fear that appeared on the attacker's face. The fast realization that holding onto their life was useless. The boom of the explosion was nothing compared to the sound of the person screeching in pain. How it was suddenly cut off. Their face changed from fear to nothing. Losing all the strength behind it. The human body was fragile at times. With enough damage blood sprayed out of it like a fountain.
Red blood.
Though nothing changed at that moment, Hayato suddenly felt cold. His head hurt. Vision getting blurred. It became hard to breathe. He didn't even process that he dropped to the cement floor. An awful, high pitch buzz bothered his ears. He wanted to scream from the pain but he couldn't control himself.
'You traitor!' It was all happening so fast.
"Gok-!"
'What the hell is wrong with you?!' He didn't know whose voice that was. It was familiar yet not at all. It was talking to him though. The anger was what he was sure of.
"Gokud-"
'I'll never forgive you.'
"Hayato!"
Hayato's vision cleared up hearing a woman's voice. All the voices quieted down as he focused on the one person. Haru.
Slowly raising his head, he found himself back in the storage shed. The light barely managed to give off a light bright enough to shine through the smoke. Yet he could still see her concern as she held onto his shoulders. Pieces came together as he remembered his mission.
The client was long gone that he didn't have a clue how long he was out of it. The attacker that Haru handled was knocked down. Whether they were still breathing couldn't be determined from the distance.
Snapping his head over he saw the attacker he took care of was lying on the floor. The pool of blood and burns to the stomach was a clear sign. They were dead. He caused their death. Suddenly Shamal's words made more sense. His weapons really were meant to kill. He could have easily ended up like the person on the floor. It was so simple. Light a fire and throw. A life that took nine months to birth and years more to mature. Gone in a matter of seconds. Because of him.
"Let's get out of here."
He took in a shaky breath. "W-what- I d-don't-"
Haru stepped out to cover his view of the body. For a second he thought she had a look of guilt. Maybe it was because of his state that he imagined it. He didn't think that it would affect him this much.
How could she be so calm in this situation? She must have been used to it all. Gently taking his hand, she firmly looked him in the eyes.
"You didn't do anything wrong. Whatever you're thinking right now, you-" Her sentence got caught in her throat. "You were doing it on someone else's command."
"But I-"
"Gokudera-san. Please. It's been a long night for the both of us. Getting you out of here is the biggest concern right now. I'll tell handle everything with the employer once you're safe." Her grip on his hands tightened. He couldn't tell what was on her mind right now. At the same time, he didn't have the energy to fight back as he usually would.
The two of them left the dead body behind. Haru noticeably dragging him along the way. Hayato didn't get a chance to see the body one more time. He, instead, focused on her hand. The only blood on it was from his own. Lowering his eyes, the end of her dress was ripped. It didn't look like it was ripped out of careless action but on purpose. He briefly wondered why she would rip her own dress when she was the one who made it. Besides that, she still had the perfect, clean image.
How did Hayato look though? He felt dirty. The suit had blood and ash covering it. His hands were the same. The smell of gunpowder was especially strong as they sat in the car. He thought to open the window but didn't have the energy to do so. He didn't even want to try looking out the window. There was a chance to see his reflection.