Beware The Marshmallow Addict

"Damn…!"

Tsuna cursed once again as he was faced by yet another empty hallway. He wasted no time to turn on his feet and dashed towards the exit of the building. His hyper intuition kicked in and was giving an ominous feeling that only made him ran at a quicker pace. The brunet scanned the vast area hastily, looking for the slightest hint of her orange locks to be present in his line of sight once again. He began to sprint on his way, whipping out a phone from his pockets in the process.

"Gokudera." His breathing ragged and sounding almost desperate as he ran while surveying the surroundings.

"T-Tenth!" The storm guardian answered, surprise filled his voice as he noticed the sound of his breathless boss. Is he possibly being chased by a spy? Or perhaps an assassin aiming for his life? He shuddered at the thought.

"Is Kyoko back to her classroom?" Tsuna asked.

Gokudera blinked a few times before raising a brow.

"Miss Kyoko? She….never came back since she left with you." Then he paused, as if realization struck him "It can't be that something has happened to her, Tenth?"

"...I lost her minutes ago and now I can't find her anywhere." He eyed the back of the school building, the last place left unchecked.

"What?" Gokudera was partly shocked at the fact that a normal high school girl had managed to escape from the mafia boss.

'I-I hate you!'

The brunet's grip on the device tightened unconsciously before pushing her image to the back of his mind. He had no time to be depressed now, not when she may really be in danger. So the young mafia boss did the only thing that could distract his thoughts, he revert back to his sadistic side which he'd learnt from years with his tutor.

"Once we're done with this….I'm going to make her regret ever saying that to me…."

Tsuna laughed darkly, earning himself a terrified storm guardian at the other end of the line. The young mafia boss turned around the corner of the school building and lowered his phone as he walked on the shadowed pavement. Tsuna stopped on his tracks when he noticed a velvety note that oddly lay on the ground. His intuition nudged for him to examine the piece of paper and he did so with his free hand. The brunet scowled as he recognized the ink-written handwriting at the front, it was similar to the letter he received this morning with his name on it. He flipped the note.

'I warned you, Tsunayoshi-kun~'

It ended with a playful note, only that single sentence was written on the piece of white paper. But that was all that the young mafioso needed to know. He shouldn't have let her go when she cried, her lips quivering as she screamed. And now he was too late, she was stolen from from him.

'….Okay, you promised, Tsu-kun!'

"I…swore to protect her…." The young Mafioso muttered bitterly as he clenched the note and gritted his teeth, regret turning to anger in an instant.

"Tenth!" Gokudera called out as he ran towards his boss but stopped as he took in the situation and saw the brunet's stilled figure with the crumpled note. Tsuna turned, his eyes now a pair of glowing orange orbs as it narrowed dangerously at his right hand man.

"Gokudera."

He said in a low tone, taking out a pair of gloves from his pockets and adjusting it in his hands. The right hand man recognized the seriousness in the brunet's voice. He straightened up and readied with himself for an order, displaying undying loyalty in his emeralds while awaiting the words from his boss.

"Gather all the available guardians immediately….this is an order."

"As you wish, Tenth." The storm guardian bowed..

"Tell them to prepare their weapons, equipment, anything they need." Tsuna simply stated.

Gokudera's eyes widen in disbelief. "Tenth, I understand that they have taken Miss Kyoko but the Millefiore famiglia is still a part of Vongola's partnership—"

"Screw the alliance!" He growled louder than he intended."The moment they even dare to lay a finger on her….consider themselves an enemy of Vongola Decimo and his famiglia."

The note in hand burned into thin air with bright orange flames that represents harmony but had in this case, flickered with pure rage instead.

Kyoko's eyes fluttered open, her head hung low and she was faced with the crimson carpet. She groaned at the pain at the back of her neck and brought a hand to her temples as pain struck her head, probably from the blow that hit the nerves.

"You're finally awake Kyoko-chan~ want some marshmallows?"

Kyoko nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the playful voice echoed in the room. She looked up to see a white-haired man around the same age as her or maybe a few years older, she guessed. He had a carefree smile plastered on his face and light purple eye that glint like that of a mischievous child with a tattoo underneath. The next thing she noticed was that they were in an elegant, English-styled room but not one of the Vongola mansion's she was familiar with. The stranger was seated on a fancy sofa and munching happily from a bag of marshmallows while she settled on a wooden bench, giving off the 'I'm-obviously-kidnapped' scene except there were no ropes tying her around.

"Who are you? Where am I?" She asked daringly at her kidnapper.

"Ohh? Aren't you scared at all, Kyoko-chan?" He smirked amusingly.

"Not really, this kind of happened to me before. Or do you want me to start crying for help or something?" She replied with a blank face, remembering the time she 'oh-so-happily' arrived in the mansion of a certain Mafioso with strangers around her in an unfamiliar room. Oh and threats. Lots and lots of threats. Geez, people in the mafia world really like to threaten people, don't they?

The white haired man doubled over and chuckled loudly. "Hahaha, You're really interesting Kyoko-chan."

"Uhh…Thank you?" Her lips formed a crooked and awkward smile as she watched the marshmallow addict ending his laughter.

"Anyways~ I'm Byakuran Gesso, current boss of Millefiore famiglia and you are currently 'held captive' in one of my lovely mansion."

Kyoko cringed but nodded anyway, she had guessed of the possibilities but it turned out worse than she thought seeing her kidnapper was obviously not a normal mafioso. Though, she swore that the white head was explaining the last part just for the fun of it...

"Look, look, there's even a lake beside my mansion, isn't it just beautiful?" He pointed merrily to the window behind the orange haired teen. "It gives a total kidnapping scene doesn't it?"

Byakuran spoke happily, obviously taking the role of the kidnapper amusing. Kyoko didn't dare to turn around to the window and prove the Mafioso right, but she does have one thing in her mind.

Since when did Namimori have a damn lake?!

"Ah, we also had an alliance with the Vongola family recently but I guess Tsu-chan will break it off today…" The white head frowned childishly.

"Huh? Why would he?" Kyoko raised a brow and ignored the obviously embarrassing nickname.

"Well, we practically abducted you about an hour ago so I'm sure Tsu-chan is really pissed by now. I wouldn't even be surprised if he came storming for my head and his precious lover any moment now~." He chuckled in a carefree way. It all seemed like a game to him but Kyoko looked at him wide eyed, as if not believing what he said. She bit her lips slightly, her bangs covering her down casted caramels.

"He…He wouldn't come." She muttered under her breath.

"And what makes you say so, Kyoko-chan?" Byakuran asked with an edge of curiosity.

"I—" She opened her mouth only to let it shut tightly afterwards, leaving the words hanging as her gaze fell on the ground once again.

I-I said that I hated him…but I...

"You don't trust him, do you? That he may abandon you like the rest of them and kept you just for amusement."

Kyoko whipped her head up, she watched him cautiously with a shocked expression.

"H-How did you—?"

Byakuran flashed a smirk, his eyes turned cold. "Kyoko Sasagawa, born in Namimori 4 March 19XX, both parents currently deceased, left with a huge debt at the age of 8."

Kyoko winched as he utter the words mechanically.

"During said parents' funeral, her blood relatives refused to take her in due to the debt passed on from her parents who apparantly suici—"

"S-Stop it!" She screamed, both hands clasped over her ears. But she knew, that as much as she denies, it was the plain truth and it never stopped to haunt her since that day.

"I heard that her parents actually commit suicide because of their debt."

"So it's true…they left her behind."

"They should have known that no one would dare to take the child in….she would only bring the accursed debt along with her and ruin our lives!"

Kyoko brought her legs to her chest, hugging it and staring blankly at the ground. All the murmurs slowly thinned as they left one by one without looking back for a second glance at the girl who stayed rooted in place. Silence filled the room as she glanced up at the picture of her parents, warm smiles grace their features in the framed picture, making them seemed ever so peaceful and happy. She stood up and walked closer, her gaze fixed at the encase photographs on the 'wooden box' that contained her loved ones.

"Mommy….Daddy…"

She gazed at the picture, her honey brown eyes vacant of any emotions.

"….Is Kyoko really a bad girl?"

Silence.

"If not, then why…?"

She finally gripped the hem of her shirt, her knuckles turning white.

"Why…did you leave me behind?"

"Why….does everyone hate me so much?"

Her small figure quivered as she fought the urge to break down.

"Tell me…"

A single tear slipped free, trailing down her pale cheek.

"Why…..is Kyoko alone?"

Since then, the frail little girl was no more. Kyoko swore to someday prove them wrong, that she wasn't the pitiful child pleading for help. She would never be an object of pity any longer. She wouldn't cry for the misfortunes her family received nor the burden that was passed on to her, robbing her off the normal teenage life she equally deserved as the others. Since then, she relied on no one, trusted nobody other than herself and worked hard for her own sake.

Yet, why….

The door was kicked down with force and it fell to the ground with a loud thud. His usually neat pinstripe suit torn and dirtied with patches of blood, orange irises reflecting the rage of its owner, the fire on his forehead burning with an intense flicker.

"W-Why...are you here?"

She choked on her words at the sight of him.

"Isn't it obvious?"

He wiped the blood that trickled down his right eye with his thumb and smiled gently like he always do.

"I'm here to take you back home."