A/N: Hiiiiiiii guuuuuys! It's been forever and I am so so so so so so so sorry! Life got in the way and all that and I am super busy all day every day. But I never forgot about you lovelies! So I am finally presenting chapter 16 to you~

Thank you to all my new favs/follows/reviews, I love you all sooooooo much and thank you for the continuous support.

Fox Kit Princess: Fan clubs are so over-rated haha. Very glad you like it so far and I hope I can keep you hanging on for more. Thanks for the review!

Enjoy!

Chapter 16

He was panicking. He didn't know his surroundings, what kind of people there were in the house, surrounding him, or what was wrong with him. He needed to get some answers, but how and from whom? There was no one in the room or near vicinity that he knew of and his voice was far too weak to call for someone. He wouldn't call for someone if he could anyway since he wouldn't trust them if they were complete and utter strangers – which they most certainly were.

He was panicking. He needed to talk to the Tenth. Gokudera's body went rigid as he thought of his boss. Did the brunet know he was here – wherever 'here' was? Did he even know something had happened to him? If he was indeed in enemy territory, was his precious Juudaime in danger too? He had to warn him then! But what was that stupid woman doing there then? Was he right to have suspected her of being a bad person when they had first met? Was she the enemy and aiming to get near his Boss by pretending to be nice? He had to speak to the Tenth!

Glancing around the room, Gokudera didn't see anything he could contact Tsuna with except Arica's phone, but it was out of his reach and he also wasn't going to use it even if he could. He didn't want to depend on her or be in her debt or anything of the sort. If what she said was true, she had saved his life so he was already on the top of the list of people that owed her something and he hated it already. The door was shut so he couldn't see what was on the other side, but it didn't feel good.

The bomber felt uneasy as he stared at the door. He only now noticed how uncomfortable he was feeling in that empty room. While Arica had been in the bathroom – even though he didn't know it at the time – there was a sense of serenity and peace in the air around him and he didn't feel as much panic as he did right now. When she had entered the room and he had seen the familiar face, that sense of peace had intensified and for some reason he felt safe. However, now that she had left the room, the air seemed to grow thick and slightly threatening, as if someone or something was just waiting for the chance to jump out at him.

With every step the girl took away from the room, the shadows in the corners seem to grow darker and larger, looming over him menacingly. It felt as though someone was watching him, but, as he looked around with wide, cautious eyes, he didn't see anyone or any place they could hide and no sign of a camera either. Going out through the door wasn't an option and he needed to get out now. His skin was crawling and he was growing even more agitated as the minutes passed and still no sign of Arica.

The Storm's eyes landed on the glass door leading out to what seemed to be a balcony. He had no idea how big this house was, but if the room had a balcony, it had two floors at least. If they were situated on the first storey, there wasn't much of a chance for him to jump and get away unharmed in the state he was currently in. Though he didn't know what the extent of his injuries were, he could tell they were bad just by sitting in that bed, unable to move anything without feeling some sense of pain.

However, at that moment he didn't care what would happen to him. He had a better chance of getting to the Tenth safely than staying there in possible enemy territory and possibly die. He pushed himself upright, gritting his teeth against the pain of his protesting and stiff muscles. His left arm was in a sling and his left wrist hurt like hell when he moved too much, but he didn't care. With great effort, Gokudera managed to get his legs off the bed and tried to stand, but that plan failed instantly and he went down face first on the floor.

A sharp but muffled cry of pain was heard as he landed on the hurt wrist, his legs practically numb and useless in supporting him. He had used all his strength in just getting up from the bed and when he fell it all escaped along with his breath. Panting, the bomber lay sprawled on the floor, unable to move or even call for help. He tried to call someone – anyone that might happen to walk by the room – but his voice came out in barely more than a whisper. He ached all over, his headache coming back and the position he was in making it difficult to even fill his lungs properly. Even breathing hurt his ribs.

It was hopeless. Maybe he was going to die of pain right there since Arica didn't look like she was coming back. Maybe it had been a hallucination or something; maybe the enemy gave him some kind of drug or they had an illusionist. Why they would choose her, he had no idea, but it was as good an explanation his pain riddled mind could come up with. No one was going to save him. His legs felt like they weren't even there, his already aching arm was being crushed by his equally aching ribs, his head felt like a truck had just driven over it before backing up again. He was going to black out if this went on.

It felt like hours that he spent on the cold floor, his breathing becoming shallower by the second. His vision was swimming and the room was fading in and out. He had to try at least one more time, one final time to at least say he tried to save himself. Gathering every bit of what little strength he had left from the tip of his toes to the top of his head, he let out a loud, desperate shout for help. Nothing happened and he slumped even further onto the floor.

Just as he was about to give up, however, he heard the bedroom door open through the sound of blood rushing through his ears. Someone gasped and came rushing over to him and the bomber felt hands grab him by the shoulders and arm where it didn't hurt too much, but he still gave a hiss of pain. "Oh my gods, are you alright? What were you trying to do? You'll get hurt even more than you already are!"

Gokudera's breath came a lot easier now that he was sitting mostly upright on the bed, his strength returning little by little, but painfully slow. The person had heaved him up like he weighed nothing at all. He looked up to see who his saviour was and was met with anxious blue eyes. The man – or more accurately, boy – had blond hair and a nervous expression on his face as he panicked, trying to see what he could do to help.

"Druitt, what are you doing here? What's going on?" a voice spoke up from the door, nearly making the already nervous blond jump out of his skin. The bomber's head snapped towards the door where the person spoke and saw Arica standing in the doorway, a plate of food in her hands and a frown on her face as her eyes shifted between the two boys.

"B-boss! I-I was just passing by the room and then I heard someone call for help. When I came in to check, he was on the ground so I helped him back onto the bed," Druitt explained quickly, nearly tripping over the rush of words.

So she is this 'boss' person they keep talking about, Gokudera thought briefly, but he pushed that aside for the moment. What bothered him now was what the blond had said. Sure, someone could've heard him call for help that last time, but that Druitt guy took way too long to enter the room to check it out for someone who had been passing by. He couldn't have been right outside the door when the bomber had called…

Arica was oblivious to that, though, as she rushed forward and placed the plate down on the nightstand. She looked furious; her dark, forest green eyes narrowing to slits, her mouth pulled down in a scowl and her brows furrowed. If her expression wasn't fear-inducing enough, her tone sealed the deal just fine.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" the brunette yelled at the Storm's face, making him flinch and stare at her in shock; never had he thought something of such ferocity could come from such a small person. Even Druitt, who was now standing off to the side, looked like he wanted to cower in the corner. It was obvious that she was rarely this agitated. "What were you doing on the floor? You should know better than anyone that you're in no condition to walk!"

"I want to get out of here," Gokudera answered, his voice as loud as he dared to make it since his throat still felt a little dry and raw when he spoke. He was getting annoyed pretty fast now; who did this girl think she was to be ordering him around? He's being kept there against his will on top of that. They barely knew each other – and he was fine with that – but…she saved his life. No! I need to get out of here and see the Tenth! "I need to tell Juudaime what happened! He's probably worried sick by now."

"Then wait for me to come back and ask me!" she growled, stepping even closer, their scowling faces mere inches from each other. She didn't know where the rage suddenly came from, but at that moment she was too fired up to care.

Those words had triggered something in his mind – his memories – and for some reason it made him snap. Gathering all his anger and frustration to give his voice some strength he leaned towards her and yelled, "But you didn't come back fast enough!"

He saw Arica's eyes widen slightly and she gave a jerk as if he had physically slapped her. Both were breathing hard and he could feel her breath on his face, but he didn't pay much attention to it. Hayato didn't have the slightest idea where his reaction came from. His voice had sounded almost desperate, a lot younger, even to his own ears yet he hadn't consciously injected it into his words. He had felt something stir in his mind, a twitch in long forgotten memories and it frustrated him even further because he couldn't remember now.

Arica was the first to snap out of it, blinking a few times to clear her mind. She took a step back when she finally realized how close they were leaning in towards each other and remembered they were being watched, but she didn't blush or feel any kind of embarrassment like one would expect; she was still too dazed for that. The girl was at a loss for words; she seriously wasn't expecting that reaction from the bomber, nor had she been expecting herself to blackout for a few seconds while voices and images flashed through her mind, but they were going by so fast that she didn't even catch one of them. They made her a little nauseous.

"Thank you for helping him, Druitt," she said to the frozen blond, but her voice sounded distant and detached. "Would you mind going to Andrew and tell him to go check on the…project?"

The blond teenager stared at her dumbly for a moment before shaking himself and falling over his feet as he rushed for the door. "O-of course, Boss!" he stuttered as he passed her, not needing to be asked twice to leave.

The door shut behind him and the room was once again plunged in silence except for the sound of two teens trying to take control of their emotions as well as their breathing. Arica finally looked at Gokudera, taking in his appearance, checking for anything abnormal. Without a word, the brunette disappeared through the bathroom door and found a small bucket. She filled it with hot water and took a washcloth from one of the cabinets, along with a towel.

Arica re-entered the room and headed straight to the bomber's side. He was eyeing her suspiciously, green eyes taking in each item in turn. The girl pulled the chair that was still situated near the bed closer so she could put the items on top and then took his mostly uninjured arm to slowly pull him into a more comfortable sitting position. Now Gokudera seemed to realize what she was planning on doing and his eyes widened as he tried to fight off her hands.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he yelped – an embarrassing sound, but not as embarrassing as what she was about to do!

Arica sighed and rolled her eyes; he was only going to hurt himself if he went on like that. "Would you sit still for five minutes?" she asked exasperatedly, tugging at his arm again. She frowned as she saw the drip had been violently ripped out – probably from his fall – and took a moment to search for it. Upon finding it, Arica made preparations to put it back. The silver haired teen tried to pull back, but found that the frail-looking girl wasn't that frail and weak at all as he kept his arm in place with a death grip. "It'll lessen the pain."

The bomber reluctantly quieted down after that statement and allowed her to clean and insert the needle once more. When she was done, Arica reached for the washcloth and plunged it into the water, wringing it out so she could wipe him down. Gokudera glared at the offending hand that neared his naked upper body. "Why are you doing this? I can do it myself just fine, you know."

Arica clenched her jaw. This guy was getting on her nerves and being annoying all over again… If he wasn't this injured already I would kick his ass, she thought menacingly, but out loud she said, "I'm doing it because I don't want your sweat soaking into my bed; it's disgusting. As for doing it yourself: you shouldn't be moving around so much, preferably not at all. That includes getting your panties in a twist and throwing yourself face first onto the floor."

This got a reaction from the bomber. "Tch, you…!" he growled. He would've pulled out some dynamite if he had it with him, but since he didn't he settled for whipping his head in the opposite direction like a spoilt brat, glaring a hole in the girl's closet as she began to run the cloth over his back.

Gokudera would never admit it, but it kind of felt…good, being taken care of by someone else while in this predicament. Usually, when he was seriously injured, he would have to get by on his own, never wanting to rely on anybody else and be a bother like he had felt he had been to his family – his real family, not the Vongola. Although, come to think of it, he sometimes felt like he just got in the way of that Family as well. As Arica's hands roamed over his tired, aching body, Hayato felt himself relax under the moving, damp cloth. He didn't have a choice but to rely on her.

The lady of the house, on the other hand, was trying hard not to stare. She had never noticed or cared what her friend's body looked like, not even the last two days while he was practically naked in her bed. Wait, that just sounds wrong, she told herself, distracted as she worked. Her hands moved over pale skin stretched over wiry muscle she hadn't noticed before. The bomber was well built, but it was a lithe build, not bulging like the boxing club's president, Sasagawa Ryohei. His stomach was flat and taut, the faintest of faint outlines of abs trying to break through.

"Oi! Watch where that hand's going, stupid woman!" Gokudera suddenly exclaimed, grabbing a hold of her wrist and startling her from her thoughts. Was that a blush on his cheeks?

She realized her hand was now resting over his navel. Just above the band of his boxers. Oh, cute, there are bunnies on them! Arica smirked up at him, removing her hand from his grip and stomach, not in the least bit fazed. "Don't worry, princess, I won't peek. That's way past my boundary line; I would've stopped even without you doing it for me." That was mostly the truth, she had great self-control. And she would have noticed very quickly had she stuck her hand down someone's pants. "Plus, I doubt there's anything worth seeing," she just couldn't resist the urge to add.

Now the Strom's face gained the red of anger to accompany the red of embarrassment, but it was mostly the former. "Hey, you! Stop being so blunt about things like that! And what the hell did you do with my clothes and dynamite, anyway? I'll blow your ass up!"

"Hm, sounds promising, but I'm not that kind of girl. You should ask me more nicely," she teased, getting out of the way before he decided to cause her any harm one way or the other.

"The fuck?" he exclaimed in disbelief and anger. "What the hell are you saying? Stop twisting my words!"

"Aw, but it's so fun. And you look kinda cute when you're angry," Arica grinned before it dropped just as quickly. Did she just…call him cute? The silence was deafening as his eyes shot back to her in shock, yet again. Looks like she had developed a new talent: surprising people, even herself. Arica grabbed her stuff and walked to the bathroom as fast as she could without running.

Slamming the door shut, she leaned back against it with a shaky sigh. What the hell was that all about? Why had she run away? She did nothing wrong! She had made worse jokes before, this was just another one of her teasing comments…right? She realized that the words she spoke to him were almost the exact same she had said to Hibari, about being cute when he was angry/annoyed. She felt nothing back then. And it's not like this was the first time she actually considered the word 'cute' while looking or thinking of him. This time somehow felt different, though, saying it to his face. But it wasn't like she had meant it! Again, like with Hibari, it was an offhand comment…or was it?

The brunette groaned and sunk to the floor, her back sliding slowly down the door. What was happening to her? She was acting so out of character ever since they moved to Namimori. More specifically, ever since she made friends with Tsuna. This town, the people, they were all doing something to her brain and it made her uncomfortable, made her feel like she didn't even know herself. With her type of lifestyle, that was a dangerous thing. She needed some fresh air, maybe talk to someone… Now that she thought about it, she remembered something.

Taking one more deep, steadying breath, Arica exited the bathroom after putting everything away. She didn't look at the boy in her bed, who was now scarfing down the cold brunch, and she just knew he was ignoring her as well. She grabbed her phone and put on some shoes, heading for the door. Before walking out and without looking back, she felt compelled to say, "I will be back, don't do anything stupid." Then she left, closing the door on a frowning, and just as confused, Gokudera.

A/N: And that's it folks! Hope you enjoyed it. I know not much happened in this chapter, but there were a few clues dropped for the bigger plot. If you saw them, please let me know! I want to see if any of you have figured some things out about Arica's past hehe~

See you all in chapter 17, ciao ciao~