Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, to that Amano Akira has every right. I'm merely borrowing them for my own entertainment and make no money out of it. I do, however, own Arica D'Angelo, yay! (And any other characters you don't recognize.)

A/N: I'm so glad there are actually people who read this \(^o^)/ Chapter 3 has arrived! Thanks to Ill elemental for the review and to Sweetcookies82 for the fav and follow *doing happy dance* and also to those who read and don't review or fav or follow. I won't lecture you or threaten you or anything like I've seen some authors do (scary shit that), 'cause I completely know where you're coming from – I do it too sometimes, guilty as charged *nervous chuckle*

On with the story! Hope the wait was worth it and enjoy!

Chapter 3

The following morning when Arica woke up, the first thing she did was look in the mirror to see how bad the bruise was. The swelling wasn't that bad since Andrew sent someone with some ice to look after her when she had fallen asleep. As long as no one stares at her for too long or too closely, they wouldn't even notice it. The purple-blue splotch, however, was a bit harder to ignore. She sighed and got out her cover-up. She never really wore make-up – hell, she didn't even own any except for the cover-up she used only for these situations and maybe a tube or two of lip-gloss – but she noticed that the container in her hand was nearing empty and she had only bought it last month.

After taking care of her face, she inspected the fairly larger splotch on her side, just below her ribcage. It was sensitive to the touch and she flinched slightly as her uniform slid over it. She had to be careful with what she did at school if she wanted to stay inconspicuous. Stupid Ricardo. Just the name sent shivers of hate down her spine. If she could, she wouldn't hesitate to kill him, but it wasn't as easy as that.

Gathering up her things, the brunette silently made her way downstairs. She entered the kitchen to grab an apple for breakfast and her lunch box. Not wanting to stay long enough for him to catch her by any chance, she rushed out the door and towards school. When the building appeared in front of her, she breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that his men probably wouldn't ambush her in there.

There was still fifteen minutes left before the bell rang and she didn't spot anyone she knew, so decided to get to class early. There were a few groups of students milling about in the halls, but most of them were still outside waiting for friends or just enjoying the outdoors. Arica entered the classroom and didn't bother to close the door behind her since the other students will be arriving in a few minutes. She plunked into her chair with another sigh, deciding to rest her eyes for a few minutes, and laid her head on her arms, careful not to rub the make-up off.

About two minutes passed in peace before the devil walked in. She heard the footsteps enter and then abruptly come to a halt. There was another minute of silence as she felt the heated gaze on her, then the footsteps came rushing in her direction and her head snapped up just before his hands slammed down on her desk.

"You could've hit me," she said calmly to the fuming teen. His jaw was clenched and he was glaring daggers right through her.

"Like I care," he spit back, and Arica was a little surprised that he actually answered her; usually he just blatantly ignored her.

"Well, good morning to you too," the girl mumbled, before glancing behind him. "Where're Tsuna and Yamamoto? Aren't you always with them?"

"That's none of your business," he ground out, still towering over her and glaring. "I came here early hoping I would run into you. I just came to warn you: the Tenth might trust you, but I don't. I didn't want to do this in front of him, because he would stop me. I don't know who you are and why I get this feeling, but something about you feels off, and it's my duty to make sure nothing happens to the Tenth. Don't come near him!"

"Causing such a ruckus," said a new voice from the door. It sounded calm and pissed off at the same time, which Arica thought was quite an accomplishment. Both of them turned to face the stranger, Arica curious and Gokudera glaring. The boy had short, black hair that partially hung in his face, a scowl and glare in place. His school blazer was draped over his shoulders, a badge on the sleeve read 'Disciplinary Committee'. In one hand he carried what looked like a tonfa. "And threatening students. I should bite you to death."

Gokudera growled as he faced the new arrival. "Just try, you fucking bastard; I'll blow you to hell!" He reached somewhere inside a pocket and brought out a handful of dynamite and a lighter. Arica raised a brow at this, wondering if the school knew their students brought weapons to school, and why they didn't find it on inspection days.

The black-haired teen raised his tonfa, ready to lunge, while the other flipped on his lighter, ready to light the dynamite. Arica didn't want to get caught in the crossfire or potentially die today, so she stood and stepped forward. "Fighting here won't make anything better. If you attack him," she started, looking at the stranger, "he'll throw the bombs and there would be an even greater ruckus and threat towards the other students, seeing as they're all heading to class now. Also, if you fight, school property would be damaged and that isn't something the Disciplinary Committee would want, now is it?"

Both of them stopped and stared at her. The prefect straightened, a look of surprise flashing through his eyes, but it was gone when Arica blinked. Gokudera paused and eventually stuffed the bombs and lighter back into his pocket. She saw student crowding outside the door behind the prefect, trying to see what was going on. Finally, the prefect huffed, his eyes shooting to the brunette with a hint of interest before turning on his heel to exit. He raised a tonfa threateningly and the crowd scrambled out of the way.

Silence followed and Arica got a bit uncomfortable with all the people staring at her, so she just decided to sit down and take out her books for first period. Soon after, the students filed in and took their seats, a few still glancing at her every few seconds. Gokudera had also moved away and was sitting at his desk, feet up, but she knew he was still glaring. Like it ricocheted off the wall in front of him and went straight for her.

Tsuna sat down next to her and she knew he was going to ask questions. "What was that all about? You stood up to Hibari-san? Wow, that takes guts! I mean, anyone could try to do it, but they'll just get beat up…"

Arica just shrugged, like she had to deal with this every day, which in a sense she did. "That guy – Hibari – came to see what was going on since Gokudera was making a lot of noise. Both pulled out weapons and I stepped in with a bit of logic, to which both backed down and he left," she summarized nonchalantly. "Besides, he's not that scary to me; I've…seen worse." She wanted to say, 'I deal with someone like him every day so I'm used to it', but that would raise more questions she couldn't answer.

Tsuna stared at her in awe, before realizing something. "What was Gokudera-kun doing that was making so much noise?"

She glanced over at the delinquent in question and their eyes met briefly. She stared for a bit, trying to figure out why those green eyes seem as familiar as the hair. For a split second she spaced out and a brief flash of two children in the midst of what seemed like a staring contest shot past her mind's eye. It was all a blur and the children were merely recognized as such because of the small size and outlines of the blurry blobs. In the blink of an eye, it was gone and she came back to the present.

Gokudera was sending her a message saying, 'Don't you dare tell the Tenth.' Why should I listen to him when he just yelled at me for no apparent reason? Arica thought in disbelief. He can't do something like that and think that I'll just sit here and take it.

"He was yelling at me for no apparent reason," she answered finally. She knew the reason, but she didn't feel like breaking up another fight at lunch or anything. "But I don't really pay much attention to it. He's just a bit overprotective of you, it seems. Don't be mad at him or anything, okay?" she added with a reassuring smile. Tsuna hesitated before deciding not to question her any further, which she was really grateful for.

The day passed much like the previous and lunch came quickly. They went to the spot on the roof and this time Tsuna had remembered his lunch, which was good but now she had no one to give hers to. She sighed and opened the box to see the usual note from Ricardo. Enjoy your day and the food; it was made with a lot of love! – Rick 3. Scoffing, Arica crumpled it up and threw it away like the previous day. She stared at the food for a second before putting it back in her bag.

"You're not going to eat?" Yamamoto asked with a frown, probably thinking about the previous day. "You shouldn't skip meals, you know. It can be unhealthy."

"I'll be fine, thanks for your concern though," she said, smiling. How can this nice, caring guy be friends with someone like Gokudera Hayato?

"That goes for you too, Gokudera," the jock said, turning his attention to the moody teen. "We almost never see you eat lunch. Are you getting enough to eat?"

"Tch. Shut up, yakyuu baka!" he snapped, turning his head to look the other way. "I don't need your concern. I'm fine!" Then his stomach growled. Yamamoto laughed and Tsuna tried to hide his own smirk while Gokudera blushed and stared at his lap, hiding his face behind the curtains of silver hair that fell forward as he ducked his head.

This was the perfect opportunity to get rid of her food, but Arica hesitated. The guy obviously hated her and would shoot down her offer immediately. But maybe this can make him trust her a bit more. She mentally shook her head. Why does she want to gain his trust anyway? Maybe it's because she was friends with Tsuna and Yamamoto and they were friends with him, so she wouldn't cause any trouble… Yeah, that's it. She wondered if this will be the only time she would see him blush…It was kind of cute.

Bringing her lunch back out, she hesitated a little before offering it to him without a word. He stared at it, and then turned away. "I don't want your food; I'm fine." That sounded like what Tsuna said the previous day, only a lot ruder.

Arica rolled her eyes, aware of the looks they were getting from the other two. Apparently, they wanted to see how this will play out as well. "Do you want me to take a bite first to make sure it's not poisoned?" For some reason unknown to her, the boy stiffened upon hearing the word 'poisoned'. "Tsuna seems to be fine after he ate it yesterday." This time he flinched, probably thinking, 'Why didn't I think of that before letting the Tenth eat it!'

His stomach gave another rumble and he turned to frown at her and she stared right back, not willing to back down from a challenge. After two minutes of the staring contest, he finally gave in and took the food with a scowl and a mumbled 'thanks', though he looked like he was about to choke on the word. The other two looked shocked at first but then smiled happily and dug in. She didn't know why, but a small smile threatened to break out on her face and she felt happy that he accepted it. By the way he ate, clearly restraining himself from stuffing his face outright, it seemed like he hadn't eaten in a while, or at least, not properly.

"Just a point of curiosity, why do you carry dynamite in your pockets?" she blurted as she watched him. Instantly, everyone froze and Tsuna nearly choked on his food in panic. Arica didn't know why she asked; she wasn't even thinking of it at that moment, but her mouth seemed to have formed a mind of its own. "If you can't tell me, that's fine," she added quickly with another prizewinning smile. Geez, how many of those was she still going to throw around? "Just curious."

"You don't have to know," the bomber snapped before going back to the food in front of him. Arica shrugged and leaned back on her hands, staring up at the sky. The other two looked a little nervous but slowly forgot the topic and continued talking about random stuff. The view from the roof was incredible and she could see the town spread out in front of them. The sky was clear, except for a few clouds here and there, a bird or two circling overhead. A sunset from this viewpoint would look amazing…

The day ended quickly and her friends said their goodbyes to her before heading home. Arica found herself even more reluctant to go home than the day before, but if she was late Ricardo would beat her again, and she didn't want a bruise upon a bruise or a broken rib.

She got home and looked around for any sign of him. Maybe if she played a good girl he wouldn't get mad. She didn't see him in the immediate vicinity so she started up the stairs. Like yesterday, he seemed to appear out of nowhere, grabbing her wrist and pulling her into his chest.

"Where are you going?" he asked, arms wrapping around her waist carefully so he wouldn't touch the injury. How ironically thoughtful of him.

"I did look around for you, but I didn't see you, so I was heading to my room," she answered smoothly, grimacing when his hands strayed a little too low for comfort. "I'm tired so can I go?"

He pulled back and tipped her head back with an index finger under her chin. "And what, if I may ask, made you so tired?" he asked huskily while lightly caressing her cheek with his thumb, making her winch when he touched the bruise.

"School isn't always a walk in the park, you know. It takes a lot of energy." Which I don't have a lot of since the only thing I ate today was an apple, she thought.

"Well, this mission we're working on is even less of a walk in the park and you don't see me complaining," he countered, deciding not to believe her even if it was the truth. The bastard was just looking for a chance to beat her again.

"How's it coming along? Found anything yet?" Arica opted to ask, trying to steer the man away from his sadistic thoughts towards her.

It seemed to have worked when he frowned and let her go before starting to pace in front of her. "Nothing yet. The ring tracker still isn't finished; it'll take at least another few days, maybe a week or two. While a few on the team is working on that, the rest of us are trying to find information manually, using records, cameras around town and such. That hasn't turned up anything either, as expected since we don't have any pictures of them or even names. All we know is they're a bunch of kids living in Namimori."

Arica frowned, biting her lip. Why were they sent on such an important mission with so little information? Her father orchestrated this, but that was all he had? It was true that they, the Rinaldi Famiglia, weren't a very famous or big family in the mafia world – Ricardo's family, the Mariani Famiglia, was even smaller. Maybe that's the reason they had so very little information on one of the biggest families out there. The small fries didn't get all the important news and happenings.

"Why can't I help?" she suddenly asked, making the older teen stop in his tracks to look at her, his brow quirked in surprise. She felt frustrated that she had to move here with these bastards only to sit around and do nothing. As far as Arica was concerned, she was the more intelligent one between the two of them, maybe even in this house. "Since they're a bunch of kids they should be going to school, right? I can help look for anything suspicious around school or ask some people if they noticed anything strange."

The blonde seemed to think about it for a few minutes. It was a logical offer and solution, but Arica doubted he would agree, even when he needed the help desperately. That man's pride is going to get him killed some day. There was honestly no reason for him to think about it for so long, so she figured he was only thinking up some excuse for her not to do it.

"That won't be necessary." She knew him too well. "You might get hurt if you do encounter them, maybe even killed."

"Wouldn't that make things easier for you?" she shot back, cursing herself afterwards. She had control of everything but her mouth it seemed. "I will most likely die by your hand much quicker than at the enemy's."

A sinister smirk crept onto his lips. "Touché," he relented, not even bothering to deny it, which didn't improve Arica's opinion of him at all. "Alright. But if you get hurt, I'll kill you. If you get killed, I get to tell your corpse 'I told you so'. Agreed?"

Arica glared at the outstretched hand before finally grasping it. "Agreed," she said with a scowl when he squeezed harder than strictly necessary. If that formed a bruise she swore to the gods she was going to poison him or kill him in his sleep. That reminded her… "I have to go out for a while; I need to buy some things."

He eyed her skeptically for a minute before nodding, "Fine, but if you're not back in an hour, an hour and a half at most, you better be prepared for your punishment." He walked off towards the study where his subordinates were still working, leaving the grimacing girl to go change before heading out.

Since they moved to Namimori only a week ago, Arica didn't know which stores sold what. She had reached the market after a few minutes, but had no idea where she would find what she was looking for after that. Having no other choice, she walked through the district slowly, peeking into every shop along the way to see what they had to offer. She passed an ice-cream shop and paused before buying a plain vanilla cone – she forgot to eat before she left the house. After another fifteen minutes of wandering she finally found a cosmetics store that wasn't ridiculously expensive. Not that she didn't have the money, but there's no use in flaunting your riches about just because you could.

After buying what she needed, Arica glanced at the watch on the shop's wall and saw she still had a little less than an hour before she was expected home. She decided it wouldn't hurt to explore a little more, so started walking further down the street. The sun was setting in the distance, but there were still lots of people out and about. Her thoughts drifted back to the school roof and the sunset, leaving her to sigh in disappointment. The school was in the complete opposite direction and she'd never make it there and back home in time.

She paused in her tracks when she felt a presence behind her. Glancing around subtly, she saw no immediate danger, but caught sight of a few men standing a few feet away across the street. They seemed out of place and one glanced in her direction before looking back at his buddies. Great, she really didn't have the time for this. She ignored them and continued on her way, but soon found herself quickening her pace when she realized the men were following her. Turning a few corners to try and throw them off turned out to be useless as she ended up at a dead-end. She turned just in time to see the three men round the corner, successfully blocking any escape route.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here, boys," one said, obviously the leader as he looked taller than the rest, with a few crude tattoos scattered over his muscled arms. His ears were pierced in several places and his hair was styled into a miniature Mohawk. His two friends didn't look much different, although they had less muscle and tattoos. All three looked equally stupid, though. "A real beauty this time. What's your name, sweetheart?"

Arica watched them calmly, not in the least intimidated. What was a bunch of hoodlums compared to the mafia? "And what would that matter to you? Trying to make small talk because you think it'll make me skittish the longer you hold off?" she asked in a mocking tone, her right foot moving slightly behind her left. It was common knowledge that, when being cornered by a group of gangsters, especially when you're a woman, you shouldn't go running your mouth. Well, Arica was no ordinary woman, nor was she ever good at keeping her mouth at bay.

The leader growled and pulled a switch knife from his pocket, his minions following suite. "Looks like the little slut wants to be silenced." They chuckled gruffly and took a few steps toward her and she got ready for the attack. Before she could arm herself, however, there was an explosion behind the men and a cloud of smoke billowed up.

They could be heard coughing and cursing before being cut off by another voice. "Leave now, or get blown to hell." Arica knew this voice. She was stunned; this was the last person she would expect to find at a moment like this. What was he doing here? Well, he was a delinquent, so far as she could tell, and this seemed to be a place they hung out.

The smoke cleared to reveal the three men sprawled on the ground, probably knocked over by the force of the bomb. In the entrance of the alley stood none other than Gokudera Hayato, a cigarette hanging from his scowling mouth and two handfuls of dynamite in his grasp. He looked pissed.

A/N: Ooooh, they're gonna get it now, hehehe. So that's chapter 3 for you and I know some of you might think, 'this is going nowhere', but you're WRONG! Just hang in there. These chapters and events might seem unnecessary and so on, but I assure you, everything I write has a purpose in this story, even the weather. No seriously, the weather is like one of the most important elements. You'll see what I'm talking about when it gets there *smirk*.

I have no idea when chapter 4 will be up, because my final exams are starting in like less than a month, so yeah. I'm in grade 11 so that exam is the most important one of my life. I don't know if it works the same all across the world, but I live in South Africa so…yah. But I'll do my best to keep you all satisfied *insert Gai-sensei thumbs-up/grin here* (any Naruto fans? Anyone? Anyone?). I'll try and post one or two more before the exams start.

Until next time, ciao ciao and please review?