A/N: now I know we're all wondering: How the hell did Rose update so fast? I don't know. The chapter is short and I have too much time in study hall, okay? And I really didn't want to go over it like I normally do, so that's why there may be more typos than usual. By the way, I have a poll on my profile you should check out. Do it. I command you.
Chapter Six
Adventures With the Annoying
Fucking great. At this rate, he feared they were falling like flies, one by one.
Hibari slammed a tonfa into the skull of another solider. He huffed as the man fell to the ground, next to his comrades. Bodies were scattered around the front yard in no particular order. The prey had been ridiculously easy to handle, even with thick riot armor. Roll the hedgehog squeaked and scuttled closer to his master. It climbed onto the skylark's foot, and blinked large, curious eyes up at him. He smirked and gave it left to his shoulder. Roll's aid hadn't been needed, but the animal had been antsy and moving around would be good for him.
Using the tip of his shoe, the Cloud flipped over the nearest victim. The vest was solid black, like the rest of the gear, with light grey stripes slashed over each shoulder pad. The helmet's visor was tinted, allowing one to see out but hid the face. He wasn't interested in herbivores' faces, so he didn't bother to remove it. Hibari frowned; after a check of all the armor, he couldn't find any marks to distinguish who they were. Another scan on a different person yielded the same results. The only distinction was the grey streaks on the shoulders.
Hibari took a step back, and habitually flicked some blood from his tonfa. He couldn't place any group or organization in the Vongola or Foundation database that could be linked to the case by this one clue. He started slowly towards the school building. Maybe Kusakabe would have a better idea; the man was his right hand within Foundation and the school 'discipline committee.' He would be able to shift through the possible offenders.
Kyoya briefly wondered how said man was doing when his eyes flicked to the office windows. When he had rescued the Omnivore, who in turn gave him the order to secure the front doors, he had handed his boss over to Kusakabe. Tsuna had said he needed to get a message to the others, but Hibari could leave since he disliked company, and he would send the message with Kusakabe. Having been dismissed, the skylark wasn't one to linger and left as soon as possible, with the hope of a fight. Sadly, the men hadn't been much of one, but he still had orders to guard the area. He had heard the commands over the loudspeaker, but it had not given him a new job to replace the old one.
Resigned, he perched on top of the office roof, which protruded from the rest of the building. It was a good spot for watching the courtyard; I provided a clear, untarnished view. However, it failed to hide him, not that he minded. If a herbivore saw him then there was only a higher chance of a fight, and ambushes weren't his style. After a while with no new happenings, Hibari was decidedly bored. He sighed and leaned back onto the roof, watching clouds. Hibird chirped in his ear in protest, having been sleeping in his hair. The little bird groggily fluttered between his side and arm before curling up and dozing off again. Roll tumbled from his shoulder onto his stomach with a surprised squeal, tucking into a ball for protection. The skylark smirked in amusement - a rare form of affection he saved for his pets. He gently prodded the hedgehog, running a finger over the tips of his spikes. Roll peaked out a curious eye, slightly worried his master may be cut. It made him too nervous and he unrolled himself, but much to his chagrin, Kyoya continued to absently pet him.
Said skylark glanced at his squirming pet for a second but quickly turned back to the sky. Since he was on guard, he wouldn't allow himself to fall asleep, and cloud-watching seemed to be a good substitute. His sharp ears picked up the faint sound of an explosion, and he looking longingly towards it, but it was out of his zone. He chose to ignore it and hummed in slight annoyance. If this was all that was going to happen, it would be a long wait.
Mai grit her teeth as yet another person carelessly stepped on her foot. She shoved them off roughly, glaring at them. She at least hadn't lost Ryohei yet, she was still behind him and keeping up. She had to wonder though, how the crowd seemed to part for the boxing captain like the sea, yet immediately closed around him and crash into her. He didn't mind her following though, as he didn't go out of his way to ditch her. He occasionally glanced back to see if she was there – she couldn't tell if it was out of concern or to see if she was still there.
"Where are we going?" Mai called out at one point. She wasn't really expecting a reply so it was rather surprising when he did.
"Are you coming?"
"Of course," she replied automatically.
"Don't," he frowned slightly. He had given up on being falsely cheery, unless he needed to stop and speak with someone. It was definitely odd for Mia; Ryohei without his large grin. "It's not going to be fun, it's an extreme mess. It's for the MOE project; I'm not supposed to bring people."
Mai paused in her step, more than shocked that he was talking about the mysterious 'M.O.E.' project. "W-wait, what're you going to do? I'm not going to let you do something idiotic and reckless all by yourself!"
Ryohei stopped with his hands on the door. He raised an eyebrow at her outburst. "But you'd let me do it if I wasn't alone?"
Mai pouted. "Yes."
"Then you should extremely come along!" he dismissed, opening the door and peeking into the hall.
"R-Really?" Mai stared at his back as he started down the corridor. She wasn't quite sure if this was an actual agreement, or some kind of joke.
The boxer gave her a weird look over his shoulder, halting to wait. "Yes . . . ? Are you extremely coming?"
"Uh, yes? – Yes, Coming!" Mai tripped over her own feet to catch up. She couldn't help but think this was some sort of trick. He couldn't be so elusive then just say yes.
The walk was spent in silence, another oddity for the boxing captain. She was becoming more and more convinced that something was askew, something was troubling him. She began working up the courage to ask while wondering where they were going.
"Ryohei? Where—"
"Careful!"
Mai held in a squeak when the other boxer grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind a corner. She pressed against the wall beside him, while he slid his drawstring bag from his shoulder to his hand. She swallowed hard and suppressed panic; she knew that he kept his boxing gloves there and they could be considered his weapon of choice. He didn't open it, but kept it firmly gripped in his fist. He cautiously poked his head around the corner, frown deeply set. He motioned for her to stay there, and before she responded crept out and stood.
"Yo!" he greeted loudly, though who he spoke to was a mystery. "Did you extremely need something? You seem extremely lost!"
Mai strained her ears to hear a hesitant reply, whispered like the person was afraid to speak aloud. She grimaced as she wondered if Ryohei was intimidating the poor person. She couldn't make out anything the person said, they were too quiet. Who did he think he was, scaring people and telling her to hide? Why was she hiding anyways? Against her better judgment, Mai stood and dusted off her legs.
Coming to stand behind her captain, it was revealed that he was talking to a small boy. She wondered if he was even in high school yet, he was shorter than most of the freshman she saw. He had black, spikey hair the fell over his left eye, with his right containing a red-orange iris. He had a sweater that was several sizes too big, and fell to his thighs like a dress, and his hands were tucked into his sleeves. Under the edge of the black hoodie he wore indigo skinny jeans that hugged his legs, and faded to purple towards the ankles. He shuffled his feet and hid his mouth behind his right sleeve.
Mai had to exert self-restraint to not scoop up the adorable child and cuddle with him. He distinctly reminded her of a kitten. She cast Ryohei a disapproving glare for making him nervous, choosing to ignore his own displeased expression.
"Aw, hello there! What's your name?" she gushed, crouching in front of the boy.
He blinked his large eye at her, and squirmed a bit more, not wanting to move his hand from his mouth. A muffled reply came through, but it was intelligible. She heard Ryohei approach and stand next to her.
"What was that?" She leaned closer, cupping her ear.
The boy resigned to speaking, and lowered his sleeve to his collar. "I-I'm looking for someone," he whispered.
"And who would that be?"
"33," he murmured.
Mai gained a confused expression. "Who? What's your name, little boy?"
"Mai, we should go," Ryohei said stiffly. She waved him off without looking, keeping her eyes on the child.
"M-my name is Komaru, but everyone just calls me Maru . . ." the newly named child looked above Mai. "I was told to f-find 33."
The female boxer tried to place what the number meant. It dawned on her that it was one of the Supervisors in the announcement. She turned to Ryohei for an answer; he was in the M.O.E. program, so maybe he knew the person.
When she did so, it showed Ryohei's rigid stance, with arms crossed over his chest. His grip on his bag was tighter than before, and the smile he gave Maru was stressed. "Extremely why do you need to see him?"
Maru's expression had yet to change through the whole conversation. "I was told to find him," he mumbled again, giving no further explanation. "You are 33, right?" The child reached out towards him. "You look like him, the person in the picture."
"You're 33?" Mai turned to him in surprise.
Ryohei grimaced and stepped back from the covered hand. The boy simply took another step forward, hand still outstretched. He managed to grab the edge of the boxer's shirt. Said boxer's eyes flashed, and almost too fast to follow, he swept Maru's legs out from under him. The child gasped and fell on his face. Mai made an indigent cry, picking up the child and holding him close.
"Ryohei! What the hell was—"
"Watch out!" The Sun grabbed the back of her shirt and dragged her back, forcing her to let go of Maru. She strangled out a cry, one hand going to her throat, the other slamming to the floor to stop her from sliding farther. She hacked on her knees for a minute, before cracking open one eye to accuse the boxing captain of being an ass. She stopped with her mouth hanging open. Less than a foot from where she had been kneeling, a knife stood out of the ground. The dagger's blade was curved, and the hooked tip reflected the bright ceiling lights.
"W-What—"
"What's wrong, Onee-chan?"
Mai slowly turned her wide eyes to the innocent looking child. He tilted his head and looked at her with curiosity, like he couldn't understand her emotions. Ryohei grabbed her elbow and tugged her to her feet. Her knees were weak, and her mind was somewhere between slugging along at a pace of 0.5 and racing at a billion miles per hour. She suddenly felt a lot more appreciation towards the person beside her.
Maru was still looking at her in confusion, like he was expecting something that was currently missing, but seemed to move on hesitantly and looked to Ryohei. The boxer had a grim expression, eyes drifting between the boy and the nearest escape route. He knew the situation had just gotten beyond complicated, and his skeleton of a plan had failed before it had hardly started. He had planned to have Mai tag along for a certain amount of time, so she would stop denying him access, and refuse her entry when he felt it too dangerous. Of course, he hadn't expected the intruders to be getting so closer to the gym yet. With Hibari guarding the north entrances, no one should have been able to shoulder through there. That left the south entrance. Surely, the Guardian stationed there wasn't too badly injured, or even . . . ? No, he refused to think that. What mattered was that there was a threat in front of him, and a civilian behind him.
He needed to move, and fast. Maru seemed to wield knives, and if experience served him, these types of combatants almost never had a singular weapon. If he only had the one knife, he would have retrieved it by now. Based off his small size, he was willing to bet that the boy relied on speed more than power. It would make sense to send him to deal with a Sun Guardian, who had a reputation for both agility and hard hitting blows. He didn't need to look to know Mai was in all kinds of shock. He was questionable when it came to making her run, but he hoped that the fear might fuel adrenaline, and give her the kick-start she needed. He also hoped she would recover quickly. It was in her nature to be good at taking anything – news, hits, and everything between – but almost dying understandably might take more time to recuperate from. Before any of this though, they needed a distraction, or some way to get a head start.
"Ne, you are 33, right?" Maru asked again suddenly. It seemed like he did not want to move until he got some sort of confirmation.
Ryohei was never one to think of great, complex plans. So instead, he smiled and laughed. "33? What extremely do you mean?"
The cheerfulness only made the child confusion deepen. "33. You are supposed to be Number 33, one of the Vongola Guardians . . . ?"
"I extremely don't know who would have told you that!" He wasn't lying. He honestly didn't know who had told this kid he was a Guardian, or that the number code meant that a person is a Guardian. He also never said he didn't know what was going on, or that he wasn't.
"B-but," Maru stuttered, baffled and wondering where he had gotten false information along the way.
"I extremely need to go now, so here I say goodbye!" Ryohei squeezed Mai's arm once to let her know they were moving, and quickly turned and began walking away.
"W-wait a minute!" Maru jogged after them, frowning. "I c-can't let you leave!" He reached forward to grab the Sun.
Cursing in the back of his mind, he gave Mai a sharp push to the front and started running. He jerked to mouth of his bag open, and dove on hand in. Maru gave an indignant screech behind them, nervousness gone in the pretense that he had been deceived. Finding the prize, the boxer pulled the item from his bag. He slipped his Vongola ring onto one hand and it ignited in a small flame. Mai turned to look over her shoulder at the sudden light, but he gave her a brief shove to get her focused on the path again. Taking a deep breath, he smashed his fist into the small yellow box in his other hand. Before it reacted, he dropped it to the ground.
Skidding to a halt, he "guided" Mai up a flight of stairs they had stopped next to. The only resistance she gave was a swift, skeptical look. Meanwhile, the Vongola Box blew up in a bright light. Maru screamed from the other side, and the boxers were already half way up the stairs. Coming to a halt, panting, they glanced around on the second floor. Ryohei spotted a door to the left, labeled "Janitor's Closet" and waved them over.
Mai gave him a curious look, but regardless, opened the door and peeked inside. She frowned when she discovered that it was, quite frankly, a broom closet. She turned to confront her captain about why he wanted her to look at a storage space, and received and sorrowful grin. Her eyes widened for a second time, and she got his bag shoved into her hands, forcing her back. She tripped on an item carelessly left on the floor, landed on her rear, and the door slammed in her face. The sounds of clicking, and a sharp "BANG" came through.
Mai scrambled to her feet – angrily kicked the bucket she had tripped on – and slammed her palms against the wooden door. Wrestling with the doorknob proved only that it was locked. After struggling a while longer she resigned herself to the idea that Ryohei had just locked her in a closet.
"You . . . ASS!" the Sun heard her scream with his back to her. He smiled, a bit rueful. He continued his way down the spiraling stairs, the sounds of Mai's rage slowly drifting out of earshot. Exiting the stairwell through a bright rectangle of light, he was greeted by his fuming enemy. The light from his box had died, and his companion guarded the door way. Its ears twitched as he pasted it, and he comfortingly patted its shoulder. Maru's eyes narrowed at him, and with a hiss, he lunged forward with his knife.
You want to vote on my pooooooooooooll . . . . oh come on, we all know you have nothing to do because its the weekend and people aren't updating. For me? Or rather, for FfN? If you like DGM, MLP, Soul Eater, or Black Butler, you really should go check it out. Really.
Sorry for the short chapter. I needed to cut it here, for the suspense ;) I'm totally not trolling my followers with the cliffhangers, I'm just trying to frustrate you into reviewing :3 I love you guys . . . ? ~Rose
