Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Mia supposed that not all hope was lost.

Sure her wallet was gone, she had to sleep outdoors, lost and is now tasked with escorting a young girl back to her home but at least she wasn't dead right? With this in mind, the disguised girl tried to make up for her snappy attitude earlier by making small conversation.

"So what's your name?" she had asked.

"Nagi," the girl replied. Mia waited for a follow up but never heard a surname past her lips. Her easily sympathetically heart tugged at her consciousness. She tried not to shove her nose into somebody else's business – she had more trouble than Tsuna could have found for himself – but the girl was making it incredibly hard for her not to be kind. It wasn't hard not to. Not with what Mia witnessed that morning.

"Can you really not remember where you live?" she asked Nagi.

The girl shook her head, shame written in her eyes. "I… don't go out so much."

Mia fell quiet, feeling a bit awkward. They walked in silence until they were by the main road. Mia frowned underneath her cap. Talk about putting a dent in her plans. First the stupid cat, now an uncalled escort mission. What next? Ian coming out of nowhere with a gun in his hand and murder in his eyes? Mia felt a shiver run up her spine. Perish the thought, she scolded herself. Thinking of such things was bad luck.

"Meeeeoooooowwww…" She was suddenly pulled from her thoughts and looked up.

"A cat?" said Nagi. Mia had the strangest feeling about the girl she was with. Aside from her somewhat-anti-socialness-slash-awkwardness, there was just something – something that made her a bit uneasy. This cat was different from the annoying one. It was all grey with piercing green eyes. Green eyes that seized the air in her like an iron fist. It looked down on them and began to mewl. It grew in volume and harshness in each and every second. Mia visibly recoiled from the sound, its eerie tone completely dropping down in her stomach like a heavy stone. The sight of it began to blur and her ears was starting to hurt. Its throaty wailing began to attract other cats which joined in the grisly musical. Mia couldn't take it anymore, grabbed Nagi's hand and ran. The sound continued to haunt them.

It probably had been three or four blocks when Nagi had pulled on her hand free to gasp for air. Mia hadn't realized that she too was breathing hard - all she could think about was to get away.

"I'm… sorry," Mia said in between breaths. "I just… I didn't mean to…"

"Are you scared?" Nagi asked him quietly.

"Scared?" Mia turned around, scowling at her. "I am not scared!" she said loudly.

Nagi shrank back from her reaction and Mia immediately felt bad. She reached out but hesitated. She pulled her hand back and tugged her cap to hide her expression. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" What was wrong with her? It was just a cat. "But the sound was getting to me." She felt a light touch on her shoulder and looked up. Nagi was looking at her in concern.

"Hinata-san… what did you hear?" she asked.

"Eh?" Mia gaped at her. "What did I hear? A hundred cats were having a symphony of bad news that's what!"

"It… I mean it was scary but… didn't you think it was odd?"

"What do you mean odd?" Okay, maybe she freaking out just a little bit.

Nagi squirmed under her tone. Her hands came to her chest and her fingers began to fiddle with each other in nervousness. "L-like it was… there but not really." The last word dropped into a whisper and her eyes were looking at anywhere but her. It dawned to Mia that the girl she was with was more than she thought. When Mia had failed to give any sort of reaction other than staring, Nagi's shoulders slumped.

"You don't believe me." Her voice was sad.

"I'm not saying it wasn't… believable… it was… uh…" and so she struggled looking for the right Japanese word.

"Please forget about it."

"No-no-no! I mean I'm okay with that. Can you describe how it was… odd?"

"I-I…uh…" or maybe she could feel it. "W-Well it… was very unstable. It was… shaky."

"Shaky?" Mia repeated. She didn't notice it but it might have come down to her… uh… nervousness. She didn't have the greatest night and while sleeping on the tree was a new experience, it left her pretty stiff. So yeah, she may have missed a lot.

Nagi didn't answer, instead she was murmuring quietly to herself but Mia caught a few words.

"… it was shaky… not stable?... it kept fading in and out..."

If her eyebrows could get any higher, they would have disappeared into the sky. Not stable? How did she even get that kind of impression? Unless…A thought came to mind and it was bloody absurd. Nagi can't possibly be…

"C-Can you do it?" Mia blurted out.

"Do what?" Nagi clutched her fingers together.

"Uh… make things that aren't real happen?"

Nagi's eyes widened in fright and she quickly looked away. Mia's jaw dropped.

"Oh lord." She gaped at the other girl. "And I am not making any sense," Mia muttered awkwardly.

For the sake of her mentality, Mia decided not to alarm her companion. If Nagi was what she expected… no. She shook the thought away.

"I swear I'm not a freak!" Nagi pleaded in a terrified whisper when she caught her expression.

"Whoa, there." Mia backed away from the girl a little. "I never said you were a freak."

Nagi curled her hands tightly to her chest and retreated a little ways from her. Mia watched her move away like a scared little animal. She felt a groan build up in her throat. How was it that she was stuck babysitting? She resisted the urge to take her cap off and run her fingers through her sweaty matted hair. Just thinking of her hair in such condition brought a disgusted grimace to her face. She was never a girly-girl but damn it that didn't mean she didn't care for her hair like one.

"It should be around this time now," she said to herself. Pulling out her phone, she turned her it on and waited for it to update her. Messages and call notifications started appearing. Most came from her friends back in Namimori but Mia ignored all those and searched for one name only. She was so relieved when she saw Eisen's message.

Matteis-sensei is well. Nothing odd has happened.

"Right," she said and turned off her phone once again to conserve its battery. "Right," she repeated once more, feeling suddenly drained.

"Hinata-san!"

Mia swerved around. Standing atop of the roof was the same green-eyed cat. Did it follow them? It doesn't matter now. Mia grabbed on to Nagi's hand again and proceeded to drag her but was blocked as their way to freedom disappeared. It vanished into the air and solidified into a concrete wall that Mia almost ran into.

"It's gone…" Nagi whispered.

Gritting her teeth, Mia spun around and pushed Nagi behind her. "It was never there to begin with."

The cat leapt from its post and landed a few feet away from them. Its emerald-green eyes were like poison as it stalked towards the two. As if this wasn't bad enough, the eerie symphony of wailing cats rang again. It echoed around them, the sound reducing both girls to their knees while their hands were clapped to their ears.

"Ahh..." Nagi whimpered behind her.

"Ian…" Mia hissed underneath the strain.

The cat blurred in her vision. Her lids fluttered. Then finally slipped into a close.

…

…

…

"Hinata-san!" Mia felt the violent shakes wake her. "Hinata-san!" Her hearing slowly came back and she could make out the sounds of snarling cats.

"What… Nagi?" Mia opened her eyes to an unlikely sight. It was that shitty cat with the creepy mismatched eyes that's been causing problems for her since the night before. It was hissing viciously at the green-eyed cat.

"Shitty cat?" Mia squinted as Nagi hauled her to her feet.

The shitty cat swiped viciously at the green-eyed cat, catching it in the eye then glared at her as if to say how dare she call it shitty. As things came to focus, Mia noticed that the two cats were fighting. The grey one was littered with deep wounds while the shitty cat had one of its ears ripped off.

"What the hell?" she whispered.

"Let's go! Please!" Nagi pulled on her arm. Just as Mia had gotten on to her feet, shitty the cat had leapt at his opponent and knocked it aside with a swipe of his paw. It sent the other cat crashing against a trash bin.

"Now!" Nagi cried, dragging her along. As soon as she was able to pull herself back together, she ran on her own two legs without Nagi's support. A distinctly-feline scream of fury sounded distantly behind them, spurring both to run faster. Suddenly a cluster of cats blocked their front and Mia skidded just in time to pull Nagi in a different direction. The cats chased them, flooding the cramped streets with furry bodies.

"Meeeeeooooowwwww!"

"What the hell is going on?!" Mia screamed and made another sharp turn. "I love cats! Why have they forsaken me?!"

This was ridiculous! Absurd! Something that Tsuna usually gets into! But after a glance behind her, she saw there was a ferocious glint of a predator in the eyes of every single cat. But their intention was clear. They were after blood. A fork appeared before them.

"Left! Left!" Mia said. They turned to go left but suddenly a bunch of fur leaped in between them, forcing the two girls to split with Mia taking the left and Nagi the right. The wave split as well to continue chasing them, crushing Mia's hope that maybe, just maybe that the cats would target only her.

She had to make it back to Nagi, Mia swore to herself. With cats blocking her at every way it was very difficult to make her way back to Nagi.

"Leon!" at her cry, the green chameleon crawled to her right arm. Making another sharp turn, the girl entered a narrow street. Perhaps what could be hundreds of cats followed her into the street. They crossed the entire length, their feline paws creating a small tremor in the area as they gallivanted their way to the end of the street before disappearing, forever bound to finding their prey.

When not a single bit of fur remained in the area, a section of the wall began to ripple with light. It faded and shrunk into a small green chameleon. A gasp emerged from the figure hiding in the camouflage. Mia grasped her chest as breathed heavily and slumped against the wall. She didn't expect not to be able to breathe behind Leon's special camouflage skin tarp. How does Reborn hold his breath for so long? It was nearly impossible to breath behind it!

"My god that was the scariest minute of my life…" she gasped at the side. Forget Hibari, Mia will forever be traumatized by cats for life. Leon crawled back into her clothes and Mia just thanked the heavens for… uh… should she thank Hell instead for spitting out her demon of a tutor?

But now was not the time to screw around. Mia still had a friend to save.

While Mia or Hinata-san to Nagi had been able to shake their pursuers, Nagi had not. Her breath became wet as if she drank a whole lake and her legs were turning into noodles; she didn't know how long she would last. They were getting closer while she was becoming slower. When she tripped, she thought that it was finally the end, and then her savior appeared. It appeared before her, clad in mist clinging to its fur. It was that cat that led her to Hinata-san, the very same one that saved them before as well.

It obviously still carried marks from its fight earlier with the emerald cat but it didn't seem to have been hindered in any way. It stood in between her and the horde. Nagi shut her eyes at the inevitable impact to come but when it didn't she opened them to see that all the ferocious felines have disappeared and only the strange cat remained. It sat by her feet, cleansing its face.

"Ah…" Nagi froze when it raised its head. She had known that its eyes were mismatched but had they always been blue and red? Eyes blinked and instead of blue and red, the color was now green and yellow. Did she imagine it? It slowly walked towards her. Only then did she notice that it was limping. She sat up and the cat crawled to her lap, curled, and then fell asleep. To Hinata-san, this cat was nothing but trouble but Nagi thought it was a harbinger of fortune and luck. She was stroking its fur when Hinata-san found her.

"Nagi! Nagi!" Mia was so relieved when she found her safe but stopped short when she saw the cat. She tried not to make a face but it seemed that the cat shared the same sentiments as she did. It peered at her with its weird green and yellow eyes.

"Hinata-san! I'm glad you're okay."

"Me too Nagi. You're not hurt are you?"

"Not really."

"Tired then?"

"Yes…"

Mia held out her hand. "Come on, I still have to get you home."

This time, the air between them wasn't forced or awkward. As they cautiously made their way around the streets, Mai made sure that Nagi was close to her. So far they hadn't encountered any monstrous felines and had even made it to a street that finally was familiar to Nagi. Mia couldn't help giving side glances at the cat in Nagi's arms though.

A lot of people prefer to turn away from the truth, not wanting to face the harsh slap of reality but Mia was determined to look at it straight in the eye, for better or for worse and right now she was looking into the eyes of what could possibly her worst nightmare come to life to haunt her.

Reborn watched his student go through his class as if everything was normal but by the looks of the tense shoulders of his student, Tsuna was anything but calm or normal. In fact, he looked aggravated. Of course he would be – Reborn was the one that put him in that mood. Understandable, considering how frustrated he must be but Reborn doesn't sympathize. He was very clear that he would not let Tsuna interfere, no matter what. This left his student in an unbelievably bad mood. Even Reborn was surprised at how unapproachable Tsuna was. It was a stark contrast to his usually soft self.

None of his classmates wanted to approach him due to his uncharacteristic behavior and even the teachers avoided him as much as they could. Hayato and Takeshi understood though what their friend was feeling despite not knowing the full extent of Tsuna's worries. They were stony throughout the day. Reborn fully knew that all three boys were thirsting for revenge – Tsuna most of all – and was quite tempted to seek it as well. But he will not interfere, as his student's battles are not his own and Ian was Mia's problem. Doesn't mean he wouldn't interrogate the little runt once he gets his hands on him because he wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't strike fear in the hearts of lowly assassins.

Tsuna was suddenly called into attention and stood up. Reborn listened intently to the short clipped tone that Tsuna used to answer, the teacher spluttered at the correct answer before letting him sit again. As amusing as it was to see Tsuna so out of character, Reborn made note of the miniscule muscle twitching in Tsuna's frame. No matter how well he hid it, to the trained eye of a master assassin, Reborn had fully known that he had pushed his student to the outmost limit. He didn't go full out but he made sure that Tsuna wouldn't be picking a fight with him soon. His body had yet to adapt to his sudden and precise attacks.

Seeing as his student would be sulking for a while, Reborn set off to find Hibari and inform him that Mia would be gone for a week to recuperate in Tokyo under the insistence of her father after an unfortunate encounter of being hit by a car in the middle of the night. Yup, that was the cover story that Reborn fashioned. See? He could be nice sometimes.

When he came back, Tsuna and his friends were eating lunch on the roof. None of them were speaking and mostly ate in brooding silence. Reborn waited until they were finished when Tsuna asked the other two to go on without him, saying that he wanted to cool his head off before going back to class while subtly tilting his head in the direction that Reborn was hiding. He obviously knew where the hitman was. After a few minutes of convincing, the two left bickering and Reborn left his hiding spot to take his place before his student.

"Still sulking Tsuna?"

"I'm not sulking!" the young boy retorted.

"Yes, yes and I suppose glowering at inanimate objects the whole day is not sulking." Reborn quipped. Tsuna made the very same expression he had been making the whole day at his tutor. "You must be hurting still," Reborn noted, noticing how Tsuna seemed to take care of his back. "You won't be able to fight unless you want to damage your spinal cord any more than it is."

"And whose fault was it that I'm like this?"

"I told you it's a hundred years too early to fight me," said Reborn heartlessly.

"Fine, but if I'm suddenly attacked and I'm still like this then don't blame me for dying!"

What do you know, the boy had a point – not that Reborn will admit it. However he said, "Its time I've taught you a lesson about being a man."

From the look of his student's face, he didn't want to hear what his tutor was going to say and strode past him. "No thanks, Onii-san already has that covered." Tsuna dismissed flatly.

Reborn smirked, anticipating this reaction. The hitman chuckled. "Aren't you the least bit curious as to why Mia won't listen to you?" Tsuna halted though he did not turn around. "Don't you ever wonder why aside from me, she refuses to listen?" Tsuna slowly faced him, his expression practically begging the hitman to tell him why although there was a hint of suspicion in there.

"You lack authority."

"What?"

"When she's around, she's the boss."

"Reborn, where are you going with this?" The teen said, exasperated.

"Dame-Tsuna, if you're so insistent on being dumb then let me put it in simple terms – in the relationship that the two of you share, Mia is the man."

Tsuna flushed indignantly, sputtering a reply "She is not!"

"Oh?" Reborn raised a brow. "From the way I see it, she's more dominant." Tsuna blushed even darker. "Face it Dame-Tsuna, you lack the testosterone."

"I'm not lacking anything!" It didn't help that his voice cracked half-way through.

Reborn couldn't hold it – he coughed into his hand to hide his laugh. If Tsuna had the ability, experience and power, he would have given an uppercut to his mentor and send him flying back to Italy. It was so embarrassing. He turned around once more and stomped away, not wanting to spend another second with the hitman. Reborn followed him and jumped on to his shoulder.

"Will you leave me alone already?" Tsuna forcefully wrenched the door open and stepped inside.

Reborn smirked. "But I haven't given you tips on how to get the upper hand on Mia yet."

Tsuna rolled his eyes. "If it's some kind of move to restrain her then no thanks." He did not want to die an early death. Not that Mia would kill him – they've roughhoused before – it's just that he wouldn't be able to handle her being too close to him.

"Fair enough considering you're such a virgin." Tsuna swiped angrily at his tutor but Reborn merely hopped to his head to avoid the hand. "You're so innocent Tsuna, it's almost adorable." The hitman teased.

Red faced and angry, the teen furiously tried making a grab at his tutor. Reborn didn't let him get the chance and crawled all around Tsuna's torso like a lizard. The sensation of having a small body scramble all over him like mad made him laugh uncontrollably. The torture came to a stop as he suddenly lost his footing at the stairs and fell. Reborn hopped off him with a smirk and landed gracefully at the ground while his student littered the floor with his pitiful form.

"I-I-It hurts…" Tsuna groaned from his position on the floor.

Reborn walked away, being far enough to hear Gokudera and Yamamoto running to their Boss' aid, satisfied that he had gotten Tsuna to loosen up a bit. Those kinds of emotions will not be fruitful… and well, if this whole thing doesn't end within the week Reborn will let them do what they want. He wasn't that generous.

They were close, Nagi had said. Good, Mia had thought. She glanced at the other girl's back. Soon she wouldn't have to worry about Nagi getting hurt but it would mean that she would have to part with her new friend soon enough. Short their time may have been but it already felt like ages for her. There's nothing like being chased by a hoard of angry felines to bring people closer together, she thought with an amused smile – maybe when this all blows over she'll reintroduce herself as Mia.

"Hinata-san?"

"Hmnn? What is it?" Mia cocked her head to the side.

"Um… uh… well…" Nagi chewed on her lip.

"Yeah?"

"I'm… s-sorry for being so much trouble." Nagi looked away. The cat in her arms stirred when she tightened her hold around it.

"Nah, don't mind it. I made a friend so I don't really mind how crappy today was." Mia grinned from underneath her hat.

"…friend?" Nagi repeated, more than a little stunned. "I'm… a friend to you?"

"She's more pitiable than Tsuna when I first met him," she muttered to herself with a sigh before answering Nagi. "Who else am I calling friend? Cause I'm sure I'm not calling that thing my friend." She glared at the cat.

"Ano Hinata-kun… what did this cat ever do to you?"

"It caused me more grief in less than four hours. Let's just leave it at that." Mia believed that if she were to remember it, she would really follow through with skinning the damn thing. Thankfully, Nagi understood that at least.

She closed her eyes, sighing. Nagi reminded her so much of Tsuna when she first met him – timid with a confidence of a seedling. Easy to nurture as it is to destroy. An odd breeze brushed her face, carrying a certain heaviness that just felt wrong. It made her frown. When she opened her eyes, fear struck hard into her heart. It nearly stopped beating as the face of her attacker came into sights.

Ian stood on the other side of the street, a deep scowl marring his handsome features. He bore a number of injuries but most notably his left hand that he was hiding. An ugly mark of bruises that couldn't be hidden by the white gauze trailed up until his forearm. A fractured hand, she guessed and felt a hint of satisfaction even though she wasn't the one who broke it. Nagi leaned towards her, weary of the stranger from the other side. This small action jolted Mia into reality. Conscious that she had someone innocent beside her forced her fear back in her mind as a defensive disposition rose to the front. She had always thought that when the time came she would know what to do once she found him but she imagined it with them alone. Having Nagi around certainly complicates that. While she can take care of herself, Mia wasn't confident to protect the other girl – not with her level of abilities. But just because she wasn't certain didn't mean she would let it happen.

Mia opened her mouth, to demand how Ian found them when he cut her first, surprising her.

"Where is she girl?" Ian growled, his English accent leaked into the Japanese words. Despite the accentuation, he still sounded menacing. It was then that Mia realized that it wasn't she who Ian was glaring at but at Nagi.

"I… I…" Nagi stumbled over her words. "I don't know what y-you're talking about."

Green eyes narrowed. "Don't play around. I know she was with you… where is she?" He took a step towards then. That spurned Mia to turn around. The cat's eyes were blue and red. The red one being marked with a kanji sign of one. The Realm of Demons. Mia didn't have time to think about Mukuro as she quickly glanced at her hands. A faint sheen of indigo mist had clung to her like a second skin. She was hidden behind glamour and only Nagi and the cat could see her.

"I don't mind that you're not talking… I'll just make you." He strode forward threateningly.

Mia grabbed Nagi. "Let go of it!"

"What?" Nagi said, startled. Mia didn't have time to argue with the other girl. She grabbed the cat roughly from the other and threw it at Ian. Spitting and snarling, the cat latched itself to his head, scratching whatever skin was available to its paws. Mia took Nagi's hand to make a run for it but Nagi pulled away.

"Why would you do that?" she said, eyes wide.

"I don't have time to explain!"

"You!" Mia turned around. Ian had thrown off the cat. It lay by his feet, unmoving. Mia felt a twinge of remorse for it.

"No!" Nagi cried when she saw it. Mia held her back by the arm. Ian was glaring straight at her but didn't try to approach them. She figured the glamour must have dissipated. "Le-Let go!" Nagi tried to pry her fingers but it only caused her to tighten her grip. Her eyes remained focused on Ian. The commotion brought attention to them, what with Ian's screams of pain and Nagi's pleading. When people started investigating what was going on, Ian clicked his tongue.

"You've got nowhere to hide," he sneered in English before he basically melted with the scenery in mist. Mia suddenly found it very hard to breath. Ian was an illusionist. Nagi had wrenched herself from her grasp and ran towards the unmoving feline.

Everyone had regrets. For Mia, one of her biggest regrets was letting Nagi go. It all happened so fast that she couldn't comprehend it not until she could smell the blood. Rubber screeched and burned and Mia hadn't been able to make it as the full force of a small truck crashed into Nagi. She had watched as glass, metal and body of the girl fly before hitting the asphalt with a sickening crunch. Blood from the crumpled girl seeped into the pavement and she could only stay where she was, deep in shock at what happened.

Somebody screamed and Mia was pulled back to her senses.

"Nagi." She ran towards the other girl and skidded down to her hands beside Nagi. "Nagi!" she called out again. No, no, no. This wasn't what she wanted. As gently as she could, she rolled Nagi to her back while supporting her neck. She bit back a gasp at the other girl's face and at the large shard of glass embedded in her stomach. "No," her voice trembled. Finger shook as she touched the girl's face. "Please no," she begged in an agonized whisper. "Not again, please."

Just as she was starting to believe that the other girl was dead, Nagi let out a shaky and wet gasp. "Nagi!" Mia exclaimed, beyond happy. Nagi turned rigid then, her breaths coming out in short bursts. She was going into shock. Mia had to act fast. She ripped the lower part of her shirt. The glass was still in her stomach; Mia couldn't risk pulling it out without having Nagi bleed to death. She pressed her hands around the wound without agitating it and very carefully applied pressure. She needed to stem the blood flow as much as she can.

"Someone…" her voice was unrecognizable. "Anyone! Call an ambulance!" It reached a pitch borderline on being frantic.

"H-Hin…" Nagi whimpered.

"I won't let you die," Mia said almost as if she was talking to herself. "I won't let you!" Her voice trembled. She wouldn't be able to handle it if Nagi died. The guilt, the remorse, it would destroy her. After a few agonizing moments – Mia knew not how long – an ambulance finally arrived. Authorities wanted her to remain but she refused to leave. As they loaded Nagi on the stretcher, Mia decided to stick with the other girl until she was safe. She wanted to make sure that Nagi would be alright. In the end, they let her but she was banned from entering the emergency room. Mia had been allowed to take a shower and was given the simplest of condiments while she waited. After a short shower she changed into her normal clothes. If Ian had been able to find her while in disguise then it would be useless to continue it she thought and stuffed her soiled clothes in her bag. When she came back to the waiting area, the doctor was speaking with a couple. Mia recognized the woman as Nagi's mother and quickly hid herself behind the corner.

Mia could feel herself go cold as the doctor calmly explained that Nagi needed to have an organ transplant with the same blood type to survive. Too many of her internal organs had been damaged in the accident and doctors were forced to remove some of them. She knew it had been bad but didn't think it was this bad. Tears began to spring to her eyes and she covered them with her hands. Guilt overwhelmed her.

"Why should I give my organs up for her?" A loud woman's voice said in outrage followed by her husband's shushing.

"Dear… she's still your daughter." The man tried to placate his wife.

"No. No she is not." Mia could feel fury seize her. Her tears disappeared and her fists shook, resentment emitting out of her like waves for the woman. She wanted nothing more than to march to that woman's face and sock it as hard as she could. How could a parent do that? To their own child?

The two began to argue with one another until Nagi's mother stormed away in anger. Mia waited until they disappeared when she stepped out into the open. Doctors and Nurses were murmuring to each other. About the couple and about Nagi. Mia stormed passed them, startling and even agitating some of them. But she didn't care; they stood there reprimanding them under their breaths, cursing them without even lifting a finger for Nagi. No one wanted to help her. But she will.

A kind nurse who heard of Nagi's situation allowed her to come inside the recovery room. Mia was immensely grateful and thanked her for it before approaching Nagi's prone from. Tubes hung from her frame. Her eyes trailed her friend's form only to notice the caving maw that was Nagi's stomach. It felt as much as a blow to her own stomach and she covered her mouth, resisting the urge to gag.

After regaining control over herself, she pulled up a chair and chose to sit with her friend. Never mind Ian for the moment. Nagi was more important. Nagi who was as frail as a rabbit, Nagi who was alone, Nagi who had parents that didn't want her… Nagi who she failed to protect. Stricken with guilt, Mia fell into a fitful sleep dreaming about her failures.

When she awoke, it was through the gentle prodding to her shoulder.

"Um… miss?" Hearing Nagi's voice as if she hadn't been run into by a car had Mia springing from her seat. Her chair clattered to the floor.

"Nagi! You're alive!" Mia exclaimed with happiness and filled with relief.

Nagi's one eye blinked at her. "H-Hinata-san?"

Mia took one of the other girl's hands. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I'm not a boy and my name isn't Hinata either… it's Mia."

"So… Mia-san?"

Mia nodded enthusiastically. She was so relieved that she almost cried. "I'm so glad you're okay." She sniffed. "I'm sorry Nagi, I'm so sorry for involving you with all this. This is my fault… I'm sorry."

Nagi stared at her for a moment then at their hands before she raised her other and rested it on their joined hands. She squeezed it lightly. "Don't be sorry… you told me not to go."

Mia shook her head furiously. Nagi tightened her hands around hers but her grip was weak. She did have surgery after all. That was okay. Mia squeezed her hand firmly. "You did your best... and you saved me. I remember you were there. You tried to help me."

A weak smile came to Mia's face. "What are friends for?"

Reader Time:

nahc24: To be honest, I actually have an artwork for Mia. Well my friend made it and I've been holding off from posting it because well... just because. Never saw reason to post it considering no one asked for it and its in my friend's personal style. It's not anime-like at all but I find it pretty. Also, it looks like Mia is in college as opposed to her Middle school appearance.

(2019) mabellesky: Bit late responding to this but better late than never. When I started writing this fic back in 2015, there hasn't been a lot of Tsuna x OC fics or Tsuna x Kyoko that I enjoyed or particularly remember. Except ''Confessions of a Gold Digger", I'm afraid I don't have any good recommendations for this. Thanks as well or sharing your thoughts, I'm hoping that the current Tsuna of this fic has met your expectations :)

Thanks for reading!