Let me know what you all think of the story~! This is where things get really different from the original story.

Let's enjoy a new story together~! KHR does not belong to me~!

Another Eleventh

Target 3: The Truth

Pearl opened her eyes when she felt the sun rising. She looked at her clock and saw it was only two minutes before her alarm would ring. Today, she had a full schedule for work. "I heard that we are leaving Italy and going to Japan next week so I'm going to be crazy busy."

She jumped out of bed and started to get dressed. When she was done, she looked in the mirror to fix her hair. The girl heard a knock at her door. "Come in!"

The door opened to reveal her fiancee, Akito. He smiled at her as he walked over to her. "I'm going escort you to breakfast and then to your car." He told her reflection in the mirror.

"Why is that?" Pearl giggled as she continued to brush her blonde hair. "Are you starting this game of yours?"

"N-No… Well, it's difficult to explain." Akito looked anywhere except in the reflection of her eyes. "Anyway, once you're done, we'll leave for breakfast."

Pearl raised an eyebrow but said nothing of it. She watched the boy through the reflection of the mirror to see him sit in the chair that was on the other side of the room. "Well?"

"Well?" He repeated, confused.

"Speak. This silence is annoying." She stated as she tied her hair. "Tell me something about yourself."

"Eh? Oh, um…" Akito closed his eyes as he spoke. "Well, I'm fifteen and the next candidate of the Vongola family. I live with my parents and I'm Japanese. I have two younger siblings named Axel and Lexa. They're twins. Um… What else?" His eyes opened. "Oh yeah! I'm captain of the soccer team and have decent grades. However, I've been told that I'm bad at saying no."

"So you're that type of person…" Pearl muttered.

"What was that?" The boy asked her, not catching her words.

"I said that you seem very important to a lot of people." She answered as she tied her half-ponytail. "It must be tiring."

"Yeah, it sucks."

Pearl looked at the boy and saw his face. He was frowning, but at the same time, it seemed as if he was remembering a happy memory. He tried to smile, but he looked as if tears were going to come. Now that she got an image of his face, he looked a bit tired.

"A-Akito…?" She said his name with worry.

The boy's face snapped into a happy face when he heard her say his name. "I don't want to own you. That's why I will let you choose who you will love. It's your choice." His words shocked the girl into confusion.

"M-My choice?" Pearl asked, the words sounding alien to her. "What does that mean?"

"It means…" Akito gave her a sweet smile. "I won't force you to fall in love with me. You can fall in love with whoever you wish to love. That's all. If I try and fail, I'll let you go as my fiance, but keep you as my guardian."

Pearl blinked at his words. She got up and yelled at him. "What does that mean?! We're supposed to be together as a couple! You are supposed to use me in order for our families to become allies!"

Akito got up as well and walked over to her. She closed her eyes when he lifted his hand, but she reopened them when she felt something patting her head softly. She looked at him and blushed at his sweet personality.

"I just want to be your friend, not your owner."

Her eyes widened. No one has ever told her that before. Boys or girls, young or old; they always wanted her for her body or voice and that was it. They never ever wanted to be her 'friend'. "Just who is this boy?!" She asked herself.

The blonde girl moved away from the Vongola and walked towards the door. "Let's go." She said, bored.

"Oh, okay." Akito shrugged as he opened the door for her. "Oh yeah… I noticed this but why is it that you're polite and nice to everyone, but when you're alone with me… You're kind of rude… mean… Um, not nice." He spoke, trying not to sound disrespectful.

"Because you get the real me." Pearl sighed. "Everyone else gets the cute mermaid and you get Pearl." She walked ahead and made the boy smile.

"Oh! I get it now." Akito chuckled. "I'm glad!" He smiled, making her guilty.

The two walked outside her room and down the hall. In the middle of their walk, Akito put his arm around the girl's shoulders, shocking her. She smiled. "Are you sett-?!" Pearl blinked when she saw his face.

He looked like he was guarding her. His face just screamed 'back off' which made the girl's heart jump. Akito wasn't looking at her, but around them as if someone would pop out and attack them. The way he was treating her made her feel a bit confused.

"What the heck?!" Pearl yelled in her head as she looked forward, closing her eyes. "Why is he acting like this? It's annoying! Calm down, Pearl. Remember, act like a perfect girlfriend in front of everyone and normally in front of him. Gaining his trust is the first step to my mission. Once you have his trust, find out his type and become her."

"Pearl?" The girl looked up at the boy to see his face filled with concern. "Are you okay? Your face is red."

Pearl blinked. "It's just you're kinda scaring me. Why are you looking around as if the enemy is here?"

Akito smiled. "It's just someone is coming today and I don't want him to hurt you. I seriously don't like the dude, so I'm already annoyed that he's coming."

The girl forced her face to grow red. "What's with that? Who is he?!"

"He's…" Akito looked away, nervous but then he glared at the shadows. "I can see you. Come out!"

Pearl looked to see a boy come out from the shadows. "Wh-Who…?"

The boy was wearing a jersey and some jeans. His hair was a strawberry blond, almost a pastel pink. His eyes are what caught her attention the most. They were blood red with a cross-like pupil. He had a cocky grin that resembled Akito's and he was staring right at her.

"Oh~! So this is the famous mermaid, Pearl Marino~!" The boy said, smiling.

"Y-Yes, I am. Who are you?" She glanced at the boy as her blush faded away. She held Akito's hand, sweating. In front of Akito, she was supposed to act like herself but what if this boy saw her as well? Was his image of her already twisted?

"I'm Akito's best friend, Yuuma Kozato. I'm the next boss for the Simon Family, Simon Undicesimo." The blonde bowed.

"Why are you lying? I don't know you." Akito looked away with a bored look. "Please go away, Kozato-kun."

Yuuma fell to the floor as Pearl stared at the boy who pulled her away from the strawberry blonde. "U-Um… A-Akito-kun?" She called him as she looked back to see Simon following.

"Hey! Akito! Please don't be mean to me! Come on!" The red-headed begged as he followed the two. "Akito~! Please~!"

"You're annoying. Go away." The said boy said as a smirk appeared on his face.

"Do you two know each other or know of each other?" Pearl asked, confused.

"We're childhood friends," Yuuma said as he walked beside the couple. "We've known each other since birth except I'm younger by a month. Akito's birthday falls on the fifth of December and mine is on the fifth of January."

"You're a stalker," Akito stated.

"It's not stalking since we're best friends! We basically know everything about each other!"

"I don't know you."

"AKITO! COME ON!"

Pearl watched as both boys were arguing with her in the middle. She couldn't help but laugh at the two. Of course, she kept her princess-like behavior. "You two are adorable!" She looked at Akito. "Do you seriously wish to lie to me, your soon-to-be-wife?" She asked as she hugged his arm.

Akito blinked at the comment. "I-I wasn't trying to… Y-You see… I-!"

Pearl nuzzled into his arms and hugged him, looking up at him by placing her chin on his chest. He kind of shocked her since his chest was harder than she thought. "You were lying to me~! I need payment~!" She got on her tiptoes and kissed the boy, locking him into the kiss by holding his face. Pearl pushed her tongue into his mouth and forced his tongue to play with hers.

Yuuma blushed at the scene and looked away. "Oh man… This is awkward…"

When the couple pulled apart, they were out of breath.

Pearl smiled at him. "So do you wish to inform me what's going on?" She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Or do I have to try another sexy way for you to tell me what I want?" At this point, who cares if one other person saw the real her?

"I-I'll talk!" Akito yelled with a red face and the girl let out a giggle but didn't let go. Once he was calm, he started. "Yuuma is a childhood friend that can control our flames."

"Our flames?" She asked.

"The Oath flame." Yuuma smiled as he went up to the brunette and grabbed his free hand. With Yuuma's free hand, a red-orange flame appeared and danced on his palm. "This flame is the proof of the Vongola and Simon Alliance. It's precious to our families."

"Amazing…" Pearl blinked as the flame disappeared when their hands disconnected.

"I'm supposed to know how to control it like my father, but Yuuma got the control instead." Akito let out a sigh. "Who am I kidding? I can't even command the flames I already have."

Akito blinked. "You can't control your flames?"

"No, I can." Akito shrugged. "I just can't summon them. It's hard for me to have the determination to summon them when I have nothing to actually go for. Like I don't have the will to fight so that I can summon my flames. I usually have to be shot by Reborn or eat some HDM pills"

Yuuma let out a sigh. "You idiot. You have one now."

"I do?/He does?" The couple asked together.

The Simon pointed at the girl who was still clinging to the Vongola. "She's your will."

"I'll see when you get home." Akito waved as Pearl hopped in the car. He looked at her and smiled. "I hope work is fun."

"I am retiring this week." Pearl smiled. "I can't be an idol and a mafioso's wife."

Akito frowned. "You can still be an idol in Japan."

"True, but I want to be with you more." Pearl blew him a kiss as the window rolled up and they drove away. Her smile disappeared and she looked at her manager. "Sorry, Linda."

"It's fine, my dear." Linda smiled. "It was an honor to work with you, Pearl. Now let's finish our work."

The blonde nodded and jumped when her phone rang. She pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. She looked at the reflection of the review mirror. Once they locked eyes, Linda pressed a button and a divider rolled up to separate the driver from the back seat.

Pearl took a deep breath and answered the phone. "Hello, Mother." She answered, frowning.

"My lovely daughter." A sultry voice chimed from the phone. "How are you? I heard that you were retiring."

"Yes," the blonde sighed. "I am moving to Japan. My boss is going to Japan and I must follow."

"I am your boss." The woman spoke, her voice chilling. "He is your target. Don't forget, you are my little spy."

Pearl shivered at the words. "Shall I give you my report?" I asked with a shaky voice. After that, she took a deep breath and told her of what she learned so far. Her heart felt heavy as she spoke. "I don't have that much information since it's my first night here."

"I see." The woman sighed. "You know, when you ran away, I still kept tabs on you, Perla. Do you know why?"

The pain began to engulf the girl's body and she gasped for air, dropping her phone. Gasping her air, she reached for her phone and put it on speaker. "I-I'm sorry… Mother… Pl-Please forgive me…"

"Aww, I'm not mad at you, Perla." The woman chuckled. "I'm worried."

Pearl smiled as tears fell from her eyes. "I-I know… I love you, Mother. Thank you for watching over me." She spoke clearly, trying to hold back the pain in her voice. "No one will ever hurt me as long as I have you, Mother."

"That's right." The woman spoke. "Now, good luck at work." The pain vanished and Pearl was able to breathe. "Remember, Mother loves you."

"I love you too." Pearl spoke with a sweet voice, but her face was filled with dread. Once she hung up the phone, she screamed as her tears fell. "I hate her! I hate her so much! I want to be free! Please! Someone… Save me…" She whimpered.

Meanwhile, Linda drove the car. Tears fell from her eyes as she parked the car. Sending a message to a coworker, letting them know that they were going to be late. She wiped her tears and shook her head. "Reborn-sama…" She whispered as she listened to the girl's screams. "Please save this trapped mermaid who has the sea witch as a mother."

And that's it! Hope you enjoyed the chapter~! Please review~!