Well this came out later than I wanted to. Honest I was gonna update the next day but suddenly my net got cut. Turns out the bill wasn't paid. But hey, I updated right? I'm still a terrible updater but I stay true to what I write.

Now first of all, I see that a lot of people enjoyed the special chapter. I'm glad everyone liked it. I had fun writing and imagining it but I have to apologize that I will not continue it so to everyone that wanted a full story, I'm really sorry. It's bad enough I take a long time to update my stories, adding another to my pile will certainly make things worse.

A lot of things are going on in this chapter where it concludes the Blackthorn Arc which was my answer to a certain plot hole in the series. I didn't just write this arc because I wanted a few awesome chapters to dedicate to Mia's growth, it was also to fill in that said plot hole. It was just one of those things that were never answered. I thought, if I were going to fill that hole, might as well make it worth it at the expense of my OC and voila! This Arc was born! Now if anyone could guess that plot hole I was talking about, I would write another special chapter. It would probably be set in one of my other stories like Kingdom of KHR (fantasy) or Reaping Blood (zombies). Either which, I entertain both.

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR.

Mia knew she was being incredibly ignorant and stupid. Usually she was more reasonable than this. After all, jumping into the arms of her would-be murderer was completely out of character for her even if she lacked self-preservation. But she knew that she just had to get to the bottom of this, to free herself from this gnawing pursuit of knowledge that was practically eating her from the inside. She didn't think that Tsuna would understand how much it meant for her to know when she herself didn't understand it all that well.

She was stroking Leon's head when Eisen poked his head from out of his tiny kitchen. The university student had heavy bags underneath his eyes – a testament of the all-nighter he had pulled to help her. Mia smiled at him and gestured at the simple breakfast she made. "Is Nagi well?"

He blearily blinked at her, too tired to reply immediately but took a seat. Mia stood up to pour him a cup of coffee. He yawned. "Her vitals are stable… I replenished her blood supply too… and… why are you looking at me that way?"

Mia was giving the older teen a look of surprise. "Well… I… you had packets of blood stashed in your apartment?"

The silence between them barely lasted for a minute when Eisen took a swift chug of his coffee. He shook his head in weary amusement. "Of all things you ask that?" he muttered into his cup. Mia tilted her head, a bit confused at what she heard.

"I knew the Hibari clan does a lot of shady stuff but I was still surprised ya know?" she said. Eisen proceeded to gag into his coffee. How she even knew that he didn't want to know. It was bad enough she was too comfortable with his family's infamy. He went ahead to eat breakfast instead and found himself pleasantly surprised at how good it was.

Mia smiled at his reaction and went to check on Nagi. It was the least she could have done for him after all he had done. Looking at the sleeping form of her new friend, Mia frowned at her agreement with Mukuro's request although she wondered if he really knew what he was doing. She had no power over this matter. Briefly she had thought about the black phone that hid away at home but eventually shook that thought away – it wouldn't be right to use her connections like that.

Nagi was sleeping soundly. Now that the recent events had finally sunk in, Mia wanted nothing but to follow her friend to the land of slumber. She hadn't slept much. Mostly because she was full of tension and partly because she was worried that Mukuro would have possessed Nagi and go psychopath on them while she slept. Yeah, there's just nothing to keep you up at night than worrying over being stabbed in the back. After watching Nagi for a few moments, Mia went to tuck the sheets better around the younger girl.

She will think about Mukuro's request some other time. Right now it would be important for her to focus on one thing at a time. It seems that sleep would be nothing but a fantasy to her right now. She pulled out a chair and sat on it. There she began to contemplate in complete silence. When Eisen went to check on his patient late that afternoon, she barely even acknowledged him.

"M-Matteis-san… do you even blink?" he asked, slightly disturbed with her unwavering gaze.

Mia snorted, finally relieving the other from his discomfort. "Of course I do. I was just thinking."

"Thinking of what may I ask?" The words left his mouth before he even thought of it, too curious he was. He grimaced at the growing grin on her face.

"Nothing that you don't need to concern yourself with." Eisen wasn't assured. Mia frowned when he suddenly excused himself to the toilet and shrugged it off. The rustling sound of sheets drew her attention towards the bed where Nagi was beginning to stir. Two large violet eyes peeked from underneath dark purple hair. Mia smiled.

"Hullo." Nagi blinked owlishly then slowly rose.

"M-Mia-san?" Mia slightly frowned at how lethargic Nagi sounded but chalked it down to being the pain killers that Eisen dosed her with.

"Did you sleep well Nagi?" she asked. The other girl murmured something that she couldn't hear. Mia brought her chair closer. "What was that Nagi?"

"Chrome. Chrome Dokuro" She said softly. "Call me Chrome from now on."

Mia stared incredulously at her. "W-What?"

"Mukuro-sama gave me that name… so please."

With a jolt of alarm, Mia stood up straighter. "You've had contact with him? When?" she asked.

Nagi – Chrome – whichever, looked away, the tell-tales of a blush appearing on her pasty complexion. Mia waited for her answer patiently.

"Um…"

"Yes?" Mia pressed on.

"M-Mukuro-sama visited me… in my dream."

In her dreams. Mia sat back, stunned. Nagi seemed concerned, as she tried to sit up but Mia raised a hand and stopped her. "No," she said. "Lie back down." She ordered the other girl. Nagi hesitated but heeded her order. So okay, Mukuro can apparently do that shit. Mia felt like this time would be appropriate to play the X Files right now because it was too much to take in. But once the shock wore off, dread began to set in. Nothing about this sat well with Mia. She didn't trust or liked Mukuro and he had nothing to prove that he was anything else. What if he was just manipulating her friend? Using her like she was some tool like he had with his other 'friends'? She didn't like it how Nagi somehow developed a questionable close relationship with him that seems to transcend the boundaries of normalcy. She didn't like not one bit of it but decided to humor her friend.

"If that's what you want… Chrome." Chrome smiled a little bit when she heard her new name but it fell when she saw the look on her friend's face.

"You… don't like it… do you?"

"I think Chrome Dokuro is a cute name," Mia assured her, smiling faintly.

"But… you don't like it… because it came from Mukuro-sama?"

Mia sighed, feeling a headache build in her temples at the mention of him. "I'm not going to pretend Na – er - Chrome. I've had bad history with him."

This piece of truth seemed to upset Chrome and Mia sighed once more. It was obvious that Chrome greatly admired Mukuro, telling her otherwise that he was a horrible person would cause a wedge between them. The thought soured her a little. She met Nagi first before he did but Chrome liked him more than her. Goddamn pineapple.

"M-Mukuro-sama is very – "

Mia cut her off with a shake of her head. "Don't Chrome. You don't need to defend him."

"But – " Mia's expression tightened.

"He's done some things in the past that I hate him for… well actually a lot of people don't like him but that doesn't matter now. Just because he helped you does not mean I'll change my mind about him anytime sooner," she said, speaking slowly as if she were trying to explain something rather complicated to a child.

Chrome was disappointed. "Mukuro-sama had warned me. I'm sorry."

"At least he knows," Mia muttered though she felt a bit sorry as well that Mukuro would be the strain in their budding relationship. "Buuuuut…" she dragged on, a small smile on her face. "I am grateful that he saved you."

Mia didn't want to admit it but seeing the look on Chrome's face made it worthwhile. She seemed a little bit more relieved by it. Seeing that her friend was doing well, she bid her to get some sleep and left. She had only wanted to make sure Chrome was okay before she would leave. After she closed the door she leaned against it and stared thoughtfully outside the window where the sun began to set. Leon crawled up to her shoulder and flicked her ear with his tail.

Mia let out a breath. "Showtime, I guess."

Chrome had once more found herself in her dream landscape and there, waited her kind savior. Mukuro was sitting on an elegant wooden chair, watching the clouds high above their heads drift across the sky. She approached him, awed by the sight of him.

"Come closer Nagi," Mukuro beckoned to her with a gentle smile and reached out a hand towards her. Nagi took it and he stood. For a dream, his hand was really warm.

"Mukuro-sama," she greeted him shyly.

Mukuro chuckled. "I see you're doing better now. That's good. How did little Miss Vongola react to your new name?"

"Miss Vongola? Mia-san?" She wondered with wide eyes. Mukuro lowered their hands. She realized that Mukuro was still waiting for an answer. "Ah… she said that it was cute."

"That's all?" he said, a brow rose. "Kufufufu, she's too generous. I would have thought she would have been swearing up a storm as soon as you mentioned me."

"Mukuro-sama!" Chrome scolded suddenly then slapped her hands on her mouth in horror for what she had done. Mukuro looked as taken back as she was. She lowered her hands. "I-I'm sorry I – I didn't mean to-to…"

Mukuro stared at her and began to chuckle. "Kufufufufu there's nothing to forgive dear Nagi. I suppose I do have to get along with her for a while."

Chrome sighed in relief.

"However…" she looked up. All lightheartedness that Mukuro was displaying earlier had vanished as he said the following, terrifying words. For a moment she was frozen there in terror, her mind still trying to process what he had just told her.

"Hurry," Mukuro urged, breaking her from her thoughts. "There's not much time left."

She stumbled backwards and broke to run, unsure of where to go except to that she had to leave as soon as possible. Her foot suddenly caught on a tree root and she fell. But the pain never came; instead, she woke up gasping in the dark just as the front door shut with a click. Her eye darted around in panic and she rose.

"Mia-san… No no no…" She fumbled with the needles attached to her arms and whimpered as she pulled them out. She swung her legs over the bed and got up, staggering a bit at the sudden lightheadedness. As soon as she cleared her head she left her room. Eisen was passed out on the couch; snoring and Chrome couldn't find a single blonde lock anywhere. She looked towards the front door and remembered hearing it close just a few minutes ago.

After a finding a pair of shoes that could fit her, she gave chase after Mia, who had already left the complex with her bag in hand. Chrome went after her despite the stitch in her breathing and her side acting up. Mia suddenly turned in a corner and when Chrome followed her there, she found the girl had completely disappeared.

"Chrome." She jumped and quickly turned around. Mia stood there, her arms crossed against her chest. She wasn't very happy. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Ah…"

Mia glanced behind her before taking Chrome by the wrist and dragging her off to a dark corner. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" she hissed. "Let me remind you that you had surgery yesterday. I don't care that Mukuro gave you organs – you're still recovering!"

"Mia-san, Mukuro-sama sent me." Chrome ended up regretting what she said as Mia's eyes narrowed, her blue eyes flashing with steel. She ended up shrinking against the wall without thinking about it.

"What did he tell you?" she asked.

"That there's someone following you." Mia looked unimpressed and Chrome hastily went on. "He-He's an illusionist." Mia didn't look all that surprised.

"Is there more to this? I have a feeling there's more."

"Mukuro-sama… Mukuro-sama says that he's not an ordinary illusionist. He comes from an old organization… that-that has odd powers. He says that running away is… futile."

Chrome waited for the terror to enter Mia's eyes but the steely look never left. A smile crept to the other girl's face instead and Chrome felt a shiver run up her spine at the sight of it. "Did he send you here? To warn me?" she asked her.

"I-I… uh…"

Mia patted her shoulder. "Thank you," she said earnestly with a smile which quickly turned stern. "Now go back before Eisen freaks out." Chrome was suddenly led away by the shoulders. She looked behind her, to see a pleased grin on the other girl's face.

"You're not scared." She stated more than asked.

Mia shrugged. "Not true. I'm terrified actually."

"But Mukuro-sama says you'll be killed!"

"Did he now? Terribly kind of him – ironically."

Chrome could not believe how flippant the blonde was. Helpless against such a strong personality, she could do nothing but let herself be led away. It was then when another familiar consciousness brushed against her mind, whispering to let him speak. Without meaning to, she had given her consent and let the second persona take over her being.

Mia looked up in surprise when Nagi – Chrome had dug her heels to a stop and was less pleased at what happened next.

"Kufufufu how terribly mean of you to ignore my warning." Chrome turned around with a half-assed smirk on her cute face. Mia made an annoyed sound from the back of her throat, obviously not happy to see Mukuro.

"Like I didn't know this was dangerous already," she snapped. "Ian being an illusionist doesn't surprise me either."

"Yet after that you know absolutely nothing about him."

Mia scowled. "I know enough."

"I warn you Mia Matteis that this illusionist possesses abilities that are unlike I've ever known. I'm sure that even your beloved tutor would know nothing about him."

Something that even Reborn knew nothing about? Mia looked to him with suspicion. "You've told me before that he's from an organization that's older than the Vongola… now you tell me he has freaky powers or something?"

Mukuro frowned, a hint of uncertainty in Chrome's features. "No one knows the name of their group. They operate in outmost secrecy to the point that even within the mafia, they are heralded as a myth."

"But you believe they're real."

Mukuro stared hard at her. Slowly, he told her "I had come across them once…when I destroyed the Estraneo Family they swooped in like shadows and scourged every last research document that the family had. They beat me to it." Mukuro loathingly stared at the wall as he recalled the bitter memory. "I was planning on erasing everything. I remembered nothing of how they came or when they left only that I recall an image of a black tree."

"I searched for them," Mukuro continued. "But they disappeared into the wind."

Mia could not control the shock that coursed through her. Not only did Mukuro give her a little insight to what she had gotten herself into but he seemed to have encountered them like she did. Hearing it from someone else made it all the more real. She couldn't understand the feeling that suddenly lit inside her – was it excitement or fear? She didn't miss the look of weariness that Mukuro shot at her.

"What?" she said rather defensively, feeling more than a little unnerved.

"You'll grow to be a dangerous woman someday, I hope you know that." He sighed.

"Hah?" Mukuro refused to say anything else and she scowled at him. "You mentioned special 'abilities'?" She quoted the word with her fingers.

"I can barely explain it."

Mia snorted. "So much for your knowledge."

Mukuro glared at her. "If it were not for Nagi's fondness I would have you punished for your impertinence."

Mia hid a wince, knowing full well that Mukuro would have acted upon his words. A sliver of fear reminded her that while Mukuro was locked away somewhere, he was still a dangerous criminal. She better put a cork in it. "Then explain what you do know."

"This one that seems dead-on on killing you, seems to find you no matter what you do and tracks you with an ease of a hunter, does he not?"

Mia frowned slightly. "He does," she confirmed. "I don't know how he does it. I've tried everything to be inconspicuous – no matter how much I limit contacts – and he still manages to find me."

"An elusive hunter indeed." Mukuro murmured.

"I'm honored to be called so." A lone figure stepped out of the shadows from behind them. Ian tilted his head to the side and regarded them thoughtfully. "Usually I like chasing after girls but this is getting old."

Mia placed herself in front of Chrome. "I agree. How about we go someplace? I heard there's a great restaurant around here." Despite the tease, Mukuro could detect a waver in her voice. The blonde's shoulders were stiff with tension and her hand continued to twitch.

Ian laughed coldly, his eyes flashing venomously. "That's a lovely suggestion." He dug his hand into his pocket. "However," they heard a click. "I have a better idea."

"You better do something Mukuro," Mia whispered frantically behind her.

"You owe me one."

"Just do it!"

Before Ian could so much as lift his pinky, Mukuro summoned a pillar of scorching flames right into Ian's face. He fell backwards with a cry, his hands clasping his face. Mia felt Chrome sag against her back in exhaustion.

"That… is… all… I can do…" Mukuro panted. Mia knelt and motioned quickly for him to get on her back then quickly making a run for it. She booked it as fast as she could go, thinking of how absurdly lucky that Eisen lived somewhere at the outskirts of Tokyo. She turned a sharp right where she knew it would lead to an abandoned storage warehouse but to get there she had to go through a number of labyrinth-like ways.

"Left, right, left, left, right…" Mia recited through gritted teeth. While Chrome weighed less than she thought, the girl was still heavy and remembering the directions she had researched beforehand was difficult. Lucky for her she had a Spartan for a tutor and while she could never compete against the boys for strength, she was lucky enough to be able to endure this much.

"Mia… san?" Chrome finally returned which was good – she didn't want to be stuck with Mukuro.

"No time… don't talk right now!" she panted. Finally the warehouse came into view. Mia strode towards the door to find it was locked. A set of heavy chains kept the doors firmly closed. "Leon… if you will." The green chameleon crawled from out her sleeve to examine the lock while she set Chrome down. Her knees almost gave out in relief. Leon flicked his forked tongue once and morphed into a key which Mia used to unlock the door. The chains fell off and the doors swung open to reveal a heavy darkness from within.

"Flashlight." Leon morphed into the requested item. "Thanks," Mia said and gestured for Chrome to follow her inside only to shut the door behind them. Mia turned back around and went deeper into the building.

"We don't have a lot of time before Ian gets here," Mia hastily explained. "So I need you to hide somewhere alright? There!" She pointed to a set of clustered lockers by the side. There was enough space in between for a person to hide in.

"But…" Chrome tried to protest.

"No buts, hurry up!" she said just as the doors were violently flung open. Mia did not hesitate to shove Chrome in and quickly turn off her flashlight. Scrambling madly in the dark, Mia dove behind a bunch of crates and waited with bated breath as Ian angrily stormed in the warehouse, his footsteps thunderous.

"You think I don't see where you are?" Ian snarled into the dark. Mia tensed as she felt him approaching. "I've been looking for you for weeks. Now that you're finally here I will end your miserable, wretched – "

Mia swerved out of from her hiding spot wielding a shotgun at point blank. For whatever strange power that Ian possessed, he had enough sense to get out of the way. From her hiding spot, Chrome had slapped her hands against her mouth to prevent herself from screaming from fright at the sudden shot.

As quickly as she had fired, she ran away blindly to another hiding spot, bumping into all sorts of things and making a godly racket that would have woken the dead. Then suddenly, she stopped running and the warehouse fell into silence once more. Breathing heavily, she knelt beside tarp-covered machinery and tried to calm her madly beating heart. She neither had the skills nor the experience to take go head on into a fight with Ian. Fighting against him would be suicide.

Bianchi's lesson floated into her mind. A hitman finishes the job in one strike. Into which Reborn had added helpfully at the time when he overheard it, Listen Mia, hitmen don't fool around with their targets. It's not a hitman's job to fight them but to kill them. She could feel her heart slowing down as she absorbed the lesson into her mind. She didn't need to fight Ian. All she had to do was kill him. Oddly enough she didn't feel any sort of discomfort at the thought, not when it was hers and Chrome's lives at stake.

"What should I do?" she pondered to herself. Just as she was thinking of how advantageous the cover of darkness was, the lights came to life and Mia could faintly hear the humming of a generator somewhere from within the building. She risked poking her head out and saw Ian striding back towards the mess she made, a hint of victory over spoiling someone's plan written all over his handsome face. She quickly ducked back down. Letting a string of curses fly from her mouth she flattened herself against the machinery. It was alright, she thought. She still had Leon and Ian had no way of knowing of what she had, things could still play in her favor.

But of course things just have to go downhill from them.

When she sprung out of her hiding area with every intention of raining lead bullets, instead of a gun she was holding a green bouquet. Ian stared at her and she back at him. An awkward silence stretched between them, both staring at the bouquet then back at each other. Dread overcame her at that moment and inside she was screaming internally. She shook Leon, hoping that he would turn into something else.

"Come on buddy, don't do this to me now," she begged but Leon remained flowery. She ducked when Ian fired at her with a silver gleaming gun. She ran away for what else could she have done? Give him an allergic reaction? Ian continued to shoot after her with terrifying accuracy. She was sure that if he was in better condition and there were no obstacles, he would have shot her in the head. She covered her head as a crate near her got hit, spitting splinters and chips.

"Leon please!" she cried but Leon just turned into a brass knuckle and refused to turn into anything else. She groaned in frustration. Of all times for Leon to refuse working with her it had to be now. She growled. Knowing Reborn, he would love to make things difficult at the most critical time. She didn't know what the hitman was thinking but he probably wanted her to work what she had and assuming the form that Leon had taken, the chameleon wanted her to fight. If that were the case… she skidded sideways and slid underneath a tarp. She rolled underneath it only to come out the other side… Just in time to collide with Ian. She lunged at him with all the ferocity she mustered and knocked him down.

Like their last squabble, Ian was determined to kill her but unlike last time where she was paralyzed by the hatred in his green eyes; she was fighting back with the same intent. She knocked his gun away like last time and he grabbed hold of her shoulders. They struggled with each other and rolled around the floor like wild beasts, knocking crates and things over. She managed to grab on to his left hand and twisted it hard until she heard it break. Screaming, Ian kicked her hard in the stomach and she rolled off him, gasping in pain. The wind totally knocked out of her.

Through the tears in her eyes, she could see him cradling his injured hand. She felt Leon slide through her fingers and into her palm where he morphed into a heavier form. When she clasped her hand around him, he had turned into a gun. Finally! Her mind cheered. She pushed herself up from the floor and flinched when a terrible ache assaulted her side. Did she break a rib? God she hoped not.

Ian was still on the ground when she approached him slowly. He moved so quickly she didn't see his leg sweep hers until she was down on the ground. Ian descended on her, a knife in his right hand held against her throat. His face was blotchy red as he was trembled with rage. Mia remained perfectly still as he held it.

"I'm going to ask you… one last bloody time!" Ian pressed the knife till it drew blood. "Where are they?"

Mia remained firm. She stared coldly back at him. "I don't know who 'they' are."

"Cut the crap!" He leaned towards her face.

"I'm telling you I don't know!" she retorted, equally angry as he was. "I came to your shop because I wanted to figure something out – I swear I didn't mean to get anyone hurt!"

His eyes narrowed, thinking. After a moment's breath he said, "Your words are empty to me." He raised his arm to strike her. Just before she could be stabbed, Chrome appeared from behind and had knocked Ian out with a broken-off locker door. The knife slid out of his hand and he slumped against her uncomfortably. Mia released the breath that she was holding. She raised her head to look at her friend with grateful eyes.

"Your timing is impeccable," she complimented the girl.

Chrome blushed but smiled back. Mia laughed a little before rolling Ian off her. She touched her neck where she could feel the blood. "Is it deep?" she asked. Chrome dropped her impromptu weapon and knelt beside her.

"I think it's just the skin…" Chrome said. Mia wiped the blood off with the inside of her shirt.

"Good, good…" Mia turned back to where Ian lay. She glanced at Chrome and they nodded to each other. When Ian woke up an hour later, he found himself bound tightly to a pole with green rope and the barrel of his own gun pressed against his forehead. He glared at the person that held it.

"What are you waiting for?" he jeered. "Pull the trigger."

"Don't tempt me." Mia warned him though her finger was ready to pull it.

"Kill me." Ian said lowly. "KILL ME!" Mia did not flinch. Ian's eyes bore into hers as he breathed harshly. She looked at him and for once, since she had set out to do this, she felt a trickle of remorse.

He snorted. "I knew you couldn't pull the trigger."

He had spoken too soon. He howled through his teeth as blood streamed down his left arm, the shot having only grazed the skin yet it was too deliberate to have been an amateur hit. The end of the gun that Mia was holding had curls of smoke coming out of it. "You were saying?" says Mia coldly. She had hardly flinched while Chrome jumped in fright.

He hissed and goaded her to shoot him again, almost desperately.

"No," she said quietly as she realized something and lowered her weapon. "There's some misunderstanding here that I need to clear it up."

"Misunderstanding?" he laughed humorlessly. "What's there to misunderstand? Also – you shot me!"

Her expression hardened. "You asked for it – and whoever you think I am, I'm not." She started slowly but her words demanded absolute attention. "I came to your shop that day looking for the people that took my memories away." Her accusation may have been groundless but she never felt so liberated before after saying it. Somewhere inside her, she knew she was right. "Several years ago, there was an accident that happened in an excavation site at Livorno, Italy. A woman fell to her death after an earthquake caused the floor beneath her to give away. I was that woman's daughter and… " she blinked as she held in the rising lump in her throat. "I was taken away from the site and I remember very well the people who took me away. One of them had a pocket watch with the mark of that tree."

When Ian didn't say anything, she continued on, her voice lowering as she did so. "Deep in that old monastery there was a sealed locked door and if I'm not wrong, etched against its surface was the mark of your organization. The same thing I saw on that pocket watch."

Recognition flashed through Ian's eyes. She could see the fire of his hate simmering down in his gaze. He stopped struggling from his bonds and looked up at her instead with deep suspicion. "How did you regain your memories?" he had asked her off-handedly.

It was the first time that he had spoken to her without hostility and despite being surprised by it; Mia knew it was better than when he was spitting hate at her. She glanced at Chrome, who stood by the side with an iron bar in her hands. Funny how she looked holding that.

"An illusionist had put me under mind-control and I broke through it. After that, bits and pieces started to came back to me. " she explained.

Ian actually burst out laughing. "Mind-control? Codswallop love," he mocked her in English. She bristled at the nickname.

In retaliation, she kicked him hard at his injured side and he curled in himself, coughing harshly. "I'm perfectly serious." Heavily insulted, she resisted the urge to whack him around with his own gun and wipe that annoying look from his face. She breathed heavily through her nose. He laughed at her again, the sound somehow getting under her skin. Her fingers unconsciously curled tighter around the gun. "In case you forgot, I broke through your illusion."

That got him to stop laughing. His head lolled around a bit then settled to look down at the floor. His shoulders shook but Mia wasn't too sure if he was still laughing. Eventually he spoke.

"Do you know anything about the Cervello?"

She stared at him. Something in her mind was telling her that she had seen that name from somewhere before but cannot recall where. She felt that it was crucial to know. She bit her lip when she came up blank. "No. I haven't." She hoped he didn't hear the lie in her words. "Were they the ones that attacked the shop?"

"What's the use in telling you?" he snorted. "Doesn't matter now. All I've done was a wasted effort."

"What do you mean?" Mia demanded, suddenly alarmed at the bitter tone of regret in his words.

He leaned against the pole and kept his eyes glued to the ground. "My brother is half-dead, I left against orders. I'm a deserter. Tough luck love, that's as much you will ever get from me. I'm practically a dead man."

"Your brother?"

"Is in a coma," he answered in muted anguish. Mia however, felt the load of guilt in her chest to lift a bit though it didn't relieve her. Someone wasn't dead but was as good as dead."Caused by a severe blow to the head – happened when Cervello attacked us. Doctors told me he might never wake up." Ian finally looked at her. "Do me a favor – since you seemed mad to do me right – and kill me."

Mia instead turned the safety on and shoved the gun in the back of her jeans while replying, "No." A little bit of the old fire trickled back into his eyes when she refused him.

"What?" he seethed.

She looked at him coolly. "I said no. I need answers."

"And like I said before – that's all you're ever going to get."

"You said you've gone against orders – bet they told you not to go for revenge or something stupid like that." Her guess was on point. He glared icily at her and she grinned back to spite him. To his surprise, she sat down before him so that they could look at each other at eye-level.

"I never meant to bring any harm to anybody – I didn't even know I was being followed! But believe me all I wanted to know was what happened then…" she rubbed her hands together. "I'm sorry for what happened, I really am." She was sincere. More than anything she wanted to right this whole thing. She must have convinced Ian because he merely grunted in response instead of brushing her words away.

"Cervello…" she quickly looked towards Chrome. "Chrome! Does Mukuro know anything about them?"

Suddenly startled to have two former enemies to look at her expectantly, Chrome fumbled for an answer. Ian glanced at Mia.

"Isn't she supposed to be in intensive care?"

"No thanks to you," Mia shot back, her anger suddenly bubbling up to the surface. They may have made-up-ish but he still was very much an asshole.

"Kufufufu… congratulations Miss Vongola, you managed to capture your target." Chrome whole demeanor changed as she mockingly clapped her hands together. Mia frowned.

"I didn't ask you to be here Mukuro."

Mukuro ignored her and strode forwards towards Ian. He bent down and tilted Chrome's head to study him. "Hmnn… pleasure to finally meet you fellow illusionist."

Ian's face colored with confusion and Mia sought to make things less confusing than it already was. "The illusionist I was talking about? He's the one you've been going against this whole time now and as of the moment – he's currently possessing my friend." She glared at Mukuro when she said that. "Which I really appreciate he wouldn't do."

"Possession? But that's – "

Mukuro cut him off with a chuckle. "Impossible? For being part of an organization that makes its duty to know the world's darkest secrets, surely this shouldn't surprise you?"

Ian's eyes widened while Mia rounded on Mukuro. "You said you didn't know anything else!" she accused him.

Mukuro chuckled. "Correction, I merely didn't mention it. You didn't ask what they did." He turned back towards Ian. "It would be in your best interests if you were to give what the miss here wants," he pointed at Mia. "Otherwise," his laugh grew sinister. "Kufufufu… I will take over that body of yours and force the answers out myself."

"There's no need for that," Mia told him sharply. "You're not going to be taking over anyone you leech."

Mukuro shrugged. "Suit yourself. It would make things much easier."

Mia snapped her fingers business-like. "Back to the topic on hand, Cervello? Know anything about them?"

"Servants of the Mafia – they're a Family with questionable motives. However they are loyal for whatever reason so long as their masters are worthy."

"And who are they serving now?" Mia asked.

"Who knows? They're better known than your friend here but they are just as a mystery." Mukuro continued to study Ian and the other merely drew away from him, obviously trying to get away. Mukuro smirked and leaned his face in closer. "After this I would very much like to possess you – I would love to know your secrets for your strange powers."

"Fine!" Ian snapped. "I'll tell what you need! Now get that away from me!" His expression was one of disgust. Mia had a similar look on her face although it was toned down so that it wouldn't be noticable. She was immensely grateful to have Mukuro by her side though, as his unnerving creepiness helped in breaking Ian down.

Mukuro scowled and looked like he would have struck Ian if Mia hadn't shoved him away. "Well?" she said, waiting.

Ian breathed sharply through his nose. "Our organization is called Blackthorn, named after the infamous tree of ancient lore. Like your freaky mate had put it," Ian inched away a bit from Mukuro. "We make it our business to know the world's darkest secrets. Not entirely accurate but close." Mia waited for Ian to say more but realized he wasn't willing to reveal anything else as long as Mukuro stayed in the same room. A wise choice, she grudgingly thought in agreement. Mukuro was a crafty guy – clever and powerful. Who knows what he could do with such information?

"Mukuro – " she started. "What the – Chrome? Are you okay?"

Chrome's eyes were disturbingly blank as she sat there limp on her spot, as if there was no spirit dwelling inside her body. Mia touched her shoulder and she started, jolting upright as if Mia had electrocuted her.

"Ah!" Chrome gasped and shuddered. Her eyes suddenly rolled into the back of her head. Mia caught her just before she hit the ground. Bewildered at what just occurred, Mia checked her friend's vitals.

"She's asleep," said Mia, relieved. After laying her friend down on the floor, she turned back towards Ian who was staring at Chrome with weariness. "I think both of them have reached their limit. Mukuro's out now."

"Thank God," Ian said, relieved that the creepy pervert was out. "The Blackthorn Order has existed for centuries – at least from what old records say – in which our goal was to observe, record and intervene when necessary."

"Like the Men of Letters from Supernatural?" Mia asked.

Ian stared at her and nodded slowly. "Something like that. Things that we've deemed too dangerous had to be hidden, away from humanity. That monastery in Italy was one of the Order's many hidden Vaults."

Flashes of images suddenly appeared before her eyes. Markings of an ancient dialect written on frames of the door, the sounds of a complex mechanism coming to life, whirring and groaning the doors swung open… and rows upon rows of shelves in a dark, never-ending hallway that seemed to extend into oblivion. She shut her eyes and hissed as the memories continued to burn their way to the surface.

"I opened the door," she whispered in a small voice. "Was the earthquake a coincidence?"

"Most probably not." Ian answered her. "It must have been a trap."

A large stone dropped into her stomach. She had always believed the cause of her mother's death was a tragic accident but hearing this now, could she have killed her mother instead? Upon thinking of this revelation, her chest began to ache as she gasped for air. She had always blamed herself but did she know the whole time that she knew truth?

Ian watched as she struggled not to have a panic attack. "You said you opened the door right?" he asked her.

She shot him a look. "I-I did."

He leaned against the pole and closed his eyes. "I remember that monastery now. It was old – one of the oldest Vaults in the continent. No matter what happened, the trap was bound to have been set off in time. You were fortunate to have seen inside the Vault before the earthquake happened. Not even the Order knows anymore what was inside the Vaults."

Mia blinked. Was Ian trying to comfort her? Now that he wasn't trying to kill her, Mia could see how much he had aged in the short time since she had last seen him all those months ago. There were hard lines on his forehead and mouth. Now that the hate had left his face, all that was left was misery. She hesitated but the guilt that was still churning in her stomach made her decide to let him go.

"Leon," she called softly. The rope began to unwind itself, causing Ian's eyes to fly open. Leon glowed softly as he shrank back to his original form. Once back to normal, the small green chameleon crawled into her outstretched hand. She looked up into Ian's wide eyes.

"He's my tutor's partner." She explained. Ian looked like he wanted to say something but held it in instead. She paused as she considered her last question. "What does the Cervello have against the Order?"

"I don't know," Ian answered. "They were looking for my father. Best luck to those twits, my father had left the Order four years ago and was never seen again, even by his own family." He watched her with guarded eyes as he absentmindedly rubbed his splinted hand. She had personally made the splint. Despite the fact that he tried to kill her, she didn't want to hurt him that bad. Grabbing her pack nearby, she took out a small first aid kit and began to clean and dress the bullet wound she inflicted on him.

"Don't get me wrong, I still would very much like to shoot you. But you said you were a dead man, why?" she asked him.

He didn't look at her and kept his head bowed. "I left the Order's protection. Once they realize that they will be coming after me although I have nothing to give them." His words were slow and slurred and Mia realized that he must be fading into unconsciousness.

"Can't you go back?" She tried to get him to answer.

She worried he might have lost consciousness by then if he hadn't answered her after a moment, "I basically betrayed them after I went against orders… I'm…" he didn't finish though Mia knew what he would have said. He was ashamed, something that she could very much relate to. She raised a hand to shake him when she was suddenly struck with the thought – what if he still tried to kill her? She hesitated, then mentally scolded herself. While she won't forgive Ian for a lot of things – like almost killing her and Chrome – she had to admit that he was driven by grief. Grief she can understand well. Still though, she didn't regret shooting him earlier. She shook his shoulder and when he didn't respond, Mia concluded that he had finally given in.

Looking around herself, she sighed. Chrome was out cold and Ian had succumbed to his injuries. While she entertained the idea of just leaving Ian here, she didn't want to give him another reason to hate her. She took out her phone, dialed a number and waited.

Tsuna was told that he should go out and stop brooding in his room. He didn't see what the problem was – for once he was studying all by himself. It was like no one wanted him to be good at school work for once. Reborn himself had personally shoved two tickets to the zoo at him. He stared at the tickets, frowning.

"The Zoo? Really? Don't you think I'm a bit too old for this?" he asked his tutor.

"Don't be ungrateful – I set this up for you."

Tsuna eyed his tutor with deep suspicion. "What are you planning Reborn?" Just then, the doorbell rang. He glanced once more towards his tutor and went to answer it. Standing outside of his door was Kyoko-chan! She smiled at him.

"Good morning Kyoko-chan! Ah – um… what brings you here?" he asked her, feeling more than a little confused.

"To go with the Zoo with you of course," Reborn piped in from behind.

A trip to the zoo with Kyoko-chan? Tsuna didn't know why at first, but he grew more than a little annoyed with his tutor. He frowned. "Is it true? Did Reborn put you up to this?"

"Eh? Well he did." Kyoko-chan blinked at him, a little taken at his mood.

"I'm sorry Kyoko-chan, I'm just not feeling well today. But here! You can have these tickets. I'm sure Hana-san or Haru would be thrilled to go with you." He handed her the tickets and smiled apologetically. Kyoko-chan remained standing there, stunned. "I'm really sorry you had to come all this way," he apologized again.

"Wait!" She grabbed on to his shirt. "I understand that you're worried about Mia-chan but you're really letting yourself go Tsuna-kun!"

"Kyoko-chan…" Tsuna hadn't the faintest clue as to what to do or say.

"You haven't been smiling lately and you're always frowning… you always seem like you're mad and…" Her face scrunched up. "I know I'm not Mia-chan…" Tsuna stiffened. "But if she were here right now, seeing you like this I bet she would be very worried as well."

Tsuna wanted to tell her that Mia was the very root of his foul mood but he can't tell anyone that now. Almost everyone was given the story that she went to recover in Tokyo. Looking down at Kyoko-chan's pleading expression, he sighed and gently pried her hands away.

"Okay, okay," he said. "I'm sorry for worrying you Kyoko-chan. I'll be out in a minute." He turned back around to look for his jacket when he looked back on her. He smiled. "Thank you." He hadn't seen the blush bloom in her cheeks, nor had he noticed her shy glances towards him as they headed towards the zoo. They chatted on the way and chatted more as they went around looking at the animals. Surprisingly, he did feel a little bit better. Being around Kyoko-chan reminded him of the simpler things in life where he didn't have to worry so much.

That's what he liked about her. She reminded him of the simple things that he wanted. The mafia, the burdening responsibility… all that seemed to disappear when he was with her. He felt… normal. As they watched Shimatta-kun – the only Zen-meditating Red Panda in the world – meditate, he couldn't help sighing in boredom while Kyoko-chan gushed over the animal.

He honestly wondered what was so fun about the zoo. He felt sorrier for the animals than having pleasure from seeing them. How awful must it be? To be ogled at? If anything, the bears he saw at Death Mountain were more of a novelty than this and even Skull's octopus was something to admire – how many people could have seen an armored octopus in their lives anyway? Normal meant looking at these animals like they were paint on the wall. Normal meant turning a blind eye from the truth. Normal almost equated to ignorance, he thought. Being normal meant that he would be like this forever. Somehow, he didn't like that. It was too… boring.

Just as he was beginning to think that this was going to be terribly dull, he began to see his friends all over the place and when his friends were around, all sorts of weird things are expected to happen. Almost by the end of the day his worry for Mia had been somehow pushed back into his mind as a headache began to build in between his eyes. Things just started to happen one after another. He tried to avoid it, really, but in the end he had to round up his friends so that they wouldn't destroy the zoo. In the process of doing so however, the animals were still released.

"You guys…" he started at them. They flinched at his stern reprimand. Somehow Haru and the kids showed up as well. He scolded them too just because. Once they were properly scolded, he looked around.

"Takeshi isn't with you guys?" he asked.

"The baseball-nut said that he had to make a delivery today," Hayato told him.

"So why did you guys come here?" he didn't need his Intuition to know that this wasn't a damn coincidence.

So they told him why. Apparently they went looking for an animal partner for him like Reborn and Dino. He pinched the bridge of his nose; something that he was sure would become a habit in the future and sighed. His friends really were just… he smiled. He looked up at them. "What did you guys picked for me?"

"A hamster!" Kyoko-chan suggested.

"A hippo!" Lambo.

"An extreme bear!" Onii-san.

"A snake." Bianchi.

"Monkey!" I-pin.

"Hahi! A giraffe would be good!" Haru.

"I think a proud lion would be perfect for you Tenth!" Hayato exclaimed.

He grinned at all of them. He was glad his friends weren't normal. It made life interesting however… "Now then… it's time to take responsibility guys." They flinched. "And get those animals back in their cages!" They scattered quickly. Tsuna watched them go with his hands on his hips. Once the zoo in hell was over, they went back to his house because there was some unspoken agreement that his house would be everyone's favorite meeting place. He was sat beside Reborn, watching his friends bicker and joke when his phone went off. One glance and he was bounding through the chilly streets at night towards the train station.

He arrived, panting and looked for a familiar head of blonde hair. He finally spotted her sitting on a stairway, leaning against the handles. He approached her slowly, his heart beating wildly in his ears. When she heard his footsteps, she turned around. All the stress that he had been feeling that past week just dissipated in the air as he looked at her. She was safe, alive and whole. He wanted to run at her and engulf her in a hug, hold her just to make sure she was really okay and maybe shake her a little bit for what she had done but he couldn't move. His legs wouldn't move.

The immense relief at seeing her well was quickly fading and anger he seldom felt was quickly rising. It seemed that Mia knew what was happening with him as well as she approached him cautiously. She stopped just in front of him. He could feel his face deepening into an angry frown. They stared at each other, barely saying anything.

Even though he was pissed to the high heavens, he couldn't help but look her over. Her hair was a tangled mess, there were dark circles under her eyes and her clothes were worn and crinkled. Despite how utterly exhausted she looked, there was a hint of triumph in her eyes. But he didn't care about that.

Mia decided to take the first move. "Tsuna…" she started.

"Don't 'Tsuna' me," he cut in sharply. She winced. "Have you any idea how worried I was?" he asked her quietly. "You just took off into the night without saying anything!" his voice began to rise in volume. "It's not just me who's worried – everyone is! You were hurt so much before – you shouldn't be going around in your condition! I thought you were smarter than this! Reborn wouldn't let me come after you - did you have any idea how helpless I've felt? Just waiting? I – " he stopped himself. Mia was shrinking in herself but for each rebuke she didn't shirk away from it.

"Go on," she said softly. "Don't stop. I know what I did was wrong."

"If you knew then why did you still go?!" he asked her, desperate to know.

She fiddled with the straps of her bag. Her fingers abruptly stopped as she breathed in deeply. She shook her head then, unable to answer and it made him mad.

"I'm getting sick of you hiding things from me Mia. Really sick of it," he spat out bitterly.

She shook her head again. "That's not what I mean. I just-just don't know." Her lower lip trembled, like she was about to cry. He stiffened, his anger giving away to panic. The last thing he wanted to happen was for her to suddenly burst into tears. He hated how she distanced herself sometimes, when she hid things from him but hated it even more when she cried. "I can't explain Tsuna. I really can't." She kept shaking her head. "I don't doubt anyone's abilities but this was my fault. My responsibility. If I had let anyone else do this for me… I don't think I'll be able to face myself because I feel like… like I'm running away."

Her eyes slid to the side, lost in whatever she was seeing that he couldn't. Her shoulders sagged. Its not like he didn't understand what she was trying to say, it's like some fights were meant to be fought on their own but that didn't mean he wasn't hurt by all of this. He turned away from her, not wanting to forgive her so easily. Mia didn't cry but her eyes were glassy.

"Are you still mad?" she asked him after a moment of silence.

"Yeah," he replied a little gruffly.

"I'm sorry for making you come here all the way."

"It's alright."

"You should go home now."

He turned around. "What about you?" he asked her.

Then she did the thing. He hated when she did the thing because it made him feel sick to his stomach. She smiled, the picture of reliable, not a single hint of what she was really feeling inside. Her, 'Its okay, I'll be fine.' mask. He hated her mask. "Home." It didn't sound anything like it though.

"No," he said immediately. "You're coming to my place." The last thing he wanted was to make her relieve the last place she was attacked.

Her smile widened and became a little more genuine. Her eyes shined. "I'll be alright," she reassured him again. She sounded so certain, so confident, it reminded him how strong she was when she wanted to be. He wanted to give in, just pull her into his arms and just hold her. But he fought against it. He was still angry and he wasn't going to let it go this time.

"Come on," he said as he pulled on her wrist. She stumbled after him.

"You don't need to take me back!" she insisted. "Honest, I'm okay!"

He didn't answer her. Seeing that he won't answer, she shut her mouth instead and sighed. He saw to it to make sure she was home and left before she could even say goodbye. When he came home, his friends were waiting for him.

"Where did you go Tenth?" Hayato was the first to ask.

Despite what just happened with Mia, it was safe to admit here how happy and relieved he was that she was back. He smiled. "I just took Mia home."

"Mia-nee is back?" he heard just before small mass barreled into him and knocked him down. "Is she okay? Is she alright?" Fuuta fired one question after another. He patted the young boy's head.

"She's okay," he echoed her words. Fuuta's eyes gleamed in relief.

"That's a relief," he summed their feelings.

"Yeah," Tsuna agreed softly.

It almost seemed like everything was back to normal but at the same time was not. When Mia came to school the next day, she was swamped by their friends and then continued to spend the whole day assuring everyone that she was alright. It was pretty crazy.

"Matteis! Join the boxing club!" Onii-san barged in the middle of their math class.

"Onii-chan!" Kyoko-chan stood up to scold her brother. "You shouldn't disturb other classes!"

"But Matteis – " Wham! A steel tonfa knocked the boxer out of the doorway. Hibari Kyoya appeared then and glared at the whole class, petrifying everyone to their seats. His eyes scanned the room until he found the only person with blue eyes. Mia waved a bit at the prefect. Tsuna found himself crossing his arms and scowling when the prefect gave the smallest of nods at her. Hayato and Takeshi glanced at each other knowingly as their friend sunk deeper in his seat, sulking.

"Hmph," was all Hibari said before shutting the door and dragging an unconscious boxer away.

Bianchi came with Lambo and I-pin to deliver a homemade bento during lunch. Mia took it gratefully but wisely did not eat it. Tsuna later found out that the bento had made its way into the stomachs of some unruly students, Hayato informed him. He had thought that Mia may have… but no… then again… did she? She didn't seem bothered by it when Takeshi brought it up. She smiled mysteriously.

Fuuta had won the hearts of many when he suddenly showed up, unable to wait for school to end to welcome Mia back. If Tsuna didn't know any different, he would have thought of them siblings. Fuuta had been a good kid this past week. Tsuna had admittedly almost forgotten that Fuuta had been there when it happened and remembered only a few days after. Fuuta hadn't been scared out of his mind entirely as the rest of them were.

Fuuta told him that he was often targeted by many Families – a fact that was still processing in Tsuna's mind – and wasn't all too bothered by it. However, he had said, "Tsuna-nii… what scares me the most is when bad people go after people I really care about." He had made believed it was his fault as to why Mia was attacked which Tsuna quickly rectified. When he sent the kid to bed, Tsuna made a quiet request to Reborn to ensure Fuuta's safety, no matter what.

He watched as Fuuta snuggled into her bosom, happy and tried not to let the tick in his eye bother him. They spoke in quiet Italian that he couldn't hear. A lot of people – girls more like – were watching the exchange until the moment was disturbed when Hibari walked by.

"Little cub," Hibari addressed Mia with a frown. "Underage visitors are not allowed during class hours. I will bite you to death."

Mia looked down at Fuuta and whispered something in his ear. Fuuta nodded and let go. To everyone's shock, he stood next to Hibari. What a feat! Nobody ever dared to stand that close to the prefect except maybe for Kusakabe.

"Thanks for escorting him outside Chairman!" Mia thanked him cheerfully. "Now Fuuta, be nice to him." Fuuta nodded.

"Little cub…" Hibari lowly said.

"No can do chairman!" Mia said up, a knowing grin on her lips. "It's against school rules to wander around the school during class."

People expected her to be clobbered then and there however Hibari merely deepened his scowl and turned on his heel towards the entrance. Fuuta scampered after him not without one last look towards Mia before following after the older boy. Mia then went back into the classroom like being cheeky with the Demon Prefect was perfectly normal. Then after class, Haru had been there waiting for Mia with a box of cake, definitely bizarre because those two don't usually get along but they chatted and giggled. Girls were so weird.

But as mentioned before, everything had gone back to normal while at the same time it wasn't.

Tsuna hadn't spoken with Mia the whole time despite wanting to know what happened. He wasn't ignoring her per say but the lack of interaction between the two was obviously noticeable. He kept it up for a few more days, up until his friends began to ask him about it which then he escaped to the mountains. He didn't want to answer their why's and why not's. So he trained on the mountain, where people won't bother him so much about it. Reborn was with him, as customary as his tutor, and had pointed out that someone had joined them.

He looked around and saw Mia. Also, there were little things that weren't often noticed, but Tsuna and a few others had. Mia had worn her hair down, her sleeves were never rolled up at even the hottest of days and her movements were stiff. She was good at hiding things. But he knew. He glimpsed long bandages on her arm, bruises that extended to the back of her neck and the slightest of movements where she covered her side sometimes. They never talked about it, fearing as to what her reaction would be or to be more accurate, he was afraid of what his reaction would be.

"Ciaossu Mia! Leon tells me how successful you've been," Reborn congratulated her as she approached them, her arms crossed against her chest. She smiled slightly, the action never reaching her eyes.

"I wouldn't have gotten through it without Leon," she said sincerely. "Thanks buddy." She nodded towards the chameleon.

Reborn smirked. "Leon told me quite a few things but I need to hear most of it from you Mia." Mia nodded slowly, though her eyes were focused on him. He evaded her gaze to look at the cliff side.

"Tsuna, you haven't spoken to me for almost a week," she said, clearly upset. Tsuna tried his best to ignore her. Let her stew a little, a mean little part of him said. She had put him through so much worry only to come home and pretend like everything was okay… that was her way. Pretend that nothing was wrong while keeping everything inside. Well he wasn't okay with it.

"Tsuna!" she jumped into his view and he turned around, heading towards the trees.

"Damn it Tsuna!" She ran after him. "I'm trying to say sorry here!"

He kept ignoring her. She let out a little noise of frustration and stomped away. He stopped when he couldn't hear her following. "Tsuna!" she shouted distantly. "I'm going to jump!" He spun around and nearly had a heart attack. Mia stood on the edge of the cliff, shaking from anger or fear he didn't know. They stared at each other. He stepped towards her in long strides.

"You wouldn't dare," he challenged her. Her blue eyes were defiant as she stared back at him.

"Try me," she retorted. He snorted. As if she would do it – and turned around once more. She gave a good, loud stomp in frustration. He would have laughed at her childish actions if her little tirade didn't cause the ground beneath her to crack from where she stood. The sound drew him back towards her and he whipped around. There was one moment of when she sent a look of panic at him before she disappeared from his eyes.

"Mia!" he ran towards the edge and without a second thought, leaped after her closely followed by a gunshot. He sped towards her and reached out just as she did. He grabbed her hand and pulled her tight against him. With his other hand around her waist, he flipped them a whole hundred and eighty degrees vertically and pointed his other hand down, propelling them upwards but he didn't land right away.

They flew past the training ground, going higher and higher till the landscape became nothing but a picture on canvas.

"Tsuna!" they hovered in midair, several hundred of feet above ground. Adrenaline hanging high, coupled with his stress finally breaking out, Tsuna clenched his jaw and dropped like a stone. He was aware that Mia was screaming in his ear and his arm tightened around her. Before they hit the ground he softened their descent until they were only a few feet where Tsuna completely extinguished his flames and switched to holding her bridal style. If it weren't for the small grunt that slipped out of him he would have pulled the move off flawlessly. His knees ached from when he touched the ground but that wasn't the problem.

Mia hadn't stopped shaking like a leaf. He lowered her feet down but her knees gave away, so he caught her again.

"I-I guess I d-deserve that." Her voice shook.

"That was too much, I'm sorry." He told her. Now that his consciousness had caught up, he felt horrible for scaring her like that. He squeezed her shoulder a bit and she flinched out of his grasp. She stumbled a bit and fell backwards when her shaking legs couldn't support her.

She shook her head at him. "D-Don't apologize. Gods… just don't… I had it coming." She placed her hands against her face and breathed deeply.

He knelt before her. "No, no, no… I was still angry and I didn't mean to scare you." He pulled off his gloves and stuffed them into his pocket. Then he began to gently pry her hands away from her face. "I just wanted you to know… that I'll always be here to catch you fall. Always… and I forgive you."

She sniffed. "That's really corny," she pointed out.

He let himself smile. He pressed their foreheads together. "But it's true."

Tears were in her eyes but she blinked them away. Even if they did fall, he would have caught them. That was a promise. She pressed her hands against his and he noticed she stopped shaking. Her fingers rubbed against his. His hands were instantly intertwined in hers and he lowered them. They stared at their conjoined hands for a while.

"You know Tsuna?" Mia began.

"Hmnn?"

"You can be scary at times you know that?"

"Only if you don't scare me first." He replied and looked straight into her eyes as he said it. The blue in them were soft today, like the gentle sky they had right now. She smiled and this time, it did reach her eyes. Then she began to laugh and he joined her. There was nothing funny to laugh at but they laughed anyways.

Ways away, the hitman watched his students laugh their heads off, pleased. He couldn't bring himself to tease them at the moment. Maybe later.

Thanks for reading!