A/N: And here's chapter 17, two chapters today because I feel so super mega bad about never updating regularly anymore! I promise I will not take months again for one chapter.

Hope you enjoy this one~

Chapter 17

White knuckled hands gripped his tonfas as he stalked up the stairs towards the roof where he knew the herbivores had lunch every day. The puppy wasn't answering her phone and she hadn't been in school for three days now. They were her friends so they are bound to know something. The door was slammed open and a girlish squeal reached his ears, confirming that Sawada Tsunayoshi and his crowd was there.

"H-Hibari-san?" the young Decimo yelped as the menacing prefect came down on them, his expression far from friendly. Hibari glared at him and he looked like he wanted to melt into the ground. It was only him, Yamamoto Takeshi and the baby. Looks like Gokudera Hayato had been absent as well.

"Where are the other two herbivores?" he demanded, straight to the point.

"G-Gokudera-kun and Arica-chan?" Tsuna questioned confusedly. He had no idea why Hibari would be after them, but when the elusive Cloud was looking for a person it was never a good thing. Even if he knew where they were, Tsuna wouldn't want to tell him with the way he was looking right now.

"Yes. Who else would I be referring to, Sawada Tsunayoshi?" Hibari bit back, annoyance hiding in the shadows of his voice.

"Hiiii! I'm s-sorry, Hibari-san, but I don't know where they are either…" his frantic and frightened voice died down as he spoke, his head lowering to stare at his lap. He was worried about them and he knew Reborn knew what was going on, but it was like trying to extract water from a rock if you confronted him about it. A very large, hard rock that then threw itself at your head.

"Hn." The chairman took a threatening step forward, but stopped short when his path was blocked. "Baby," he acknowledged, steel blue eyes meeting obsidian black as he waited for the arcobaleno to speak.

"He's telling the truth, Hibari. We don't even know where Arica lives, so don't even bother asking," Reborn spoke up, knowing instantly that the Skylark didn't have any real interest in the Storm guardian. "Maybe you can look through the school records; you have access to them, don't you?"

The Cloud narrowed his eyes and glared at the hitman for a few more seconds before deciding that he had no choice but to believe him. He respected the baby and thus believed that he wouldn't lie to him. With another non-committal grunt, the Skylark turned on his heel, putting away his tonfas as he headed back to his office. He didn't usually rifle through student information, but he seemingly had no choice at the moment.

Hibari had no idea why he was so eager to find the puppy. Deep down he knew it wasn't just about the clothes she had to bring back, but he didn't know what it was. Was it a coincidence that both she and Gokudera Hayato had disappeared from school at exactly the same time and no one has heard from either of them? That's it! That's what was making him act like this: Namichuu's students were in danger. Her case was even more severe since he had seen the evidence of abuse with his own eyes. Whoever was responsible for bringing harm to his students were going to pay.

After finding Arica's file, he searched for the address and paused, thinking about where exactly that was. He knew the town of Namimori like the back of his hand and as far as he knew, the address given in those papers were a few minutes out of town, but…

Glaring at the papers, he decided that there was no other lead; this was the best he could do. He'd go there directly after school.

Arica took a deep breath as she stepped onto the luscious, bright green grass of the garden at the back of the house. It was rather large compared to the average suburban house's garden and even more colourful and peaceful. A narrow stone path led from the door through a few dozen patches of multi-coloured flowers of multiple kinds. In the middle of a ring of red, white, yellow and blue roses, a delicately carved white bench stood next to a gurgling little fountain/birdbath. The flowers created a rainbow of sorts, the colours washing the backyard in yellow, blue, red, pink, violet, white and orange.

The brunette made her way over to the lone bench and lowered herself onto it, enjoying the way the sweet fragrances assaulted her senses and relaxed her mind and body. Maybe she should ask one of the maids to pick a few for the house later, just to brighten the place up a little. A few birds spiralled and swerved overhead, some touching down on a branch in one of the trees to chirp and sing happily.

Arica glanced at her phone in her hand, looking at the bunch of missed calls she had received while she had been passed out and bleeding. There were three people she could call, but who would be first? She scrolled down and her finger hovered over the call button. Was it a good idea to call him? Probably not. The only reason he called was probably to find out why she hadn't brought back the clothes she had borrowed. It wasn't important. If she called him back now, the Skylark would be annoyed and want to bite her to death most likely. If she didn't… Nope.

When she had been at school with him on Sunday, she had snatched his phone while he was distracted by his work. No amount of threats could stop her from saving her number in his contacts and in turn stealing his own. Something just made her do it, telling her that it would be important in the near future. Of maybe she was just delusional. Bored. Yeah, probably that.

There were only two left. Knowing Tsuna, he was having a nervous breakdown. She wondered if Reborn had told him yet or not. On one hand she hoped he did, then she wouldn't have to deal with some of the questions, but on the other hand she didn't want to worry Tsuna so much and it was partly her fault so she needed to take responsibility. However, looking at the time, the boy should still be in school for nearly half an hour.

Sighing, she chose the only option she had left. Pressing the call button and holding the phone to her ear, Arica waited for him to pick up. "Arica? Are you alright?" Ricardo said as soon as he answered after the second ring. The girl nearly dropped the phone at the sound of worry in his voice.

"Who are you and what did you do to Ricardo? Well, not that I really care," she replied, crossing her legs as she stared up at the sky. Running her mouth was one way of getting his shitty attitude back. It worked.

"Oh, very funny, princess," he sighed, actually sounding glad that she was alright. It didn't last long, however, and Arica heard him shift around and she imagined he was sitting up straighter. "So? Did you manage to bring them out?"

Arica rolled her eyes. She came out to the garden to relax, but talking to Ricardo was counteracting that idea. "No, I didn't. I just spontaneously started to bleed and passed out because I didn't want to talk to you for a while," she snapped at him, her voice soaked in sarcasm. "Of course I did."

"I'm glad to see your sarcasm hasn't bled out as well," was the reply and Arica found herself nodding in appreciation of the good comeback. "Anyway, it seems you were out for approximately two days. Looks like your body is adjusting with each release; you should've brought them out more often throughout the years."

"That may be, but you wouldn't say so if you were the one to suffer the pain," she forced the words through gritted teeth, gripping the phone a little harder than strictly necessary. "I didn't call to talk about that. I got all your thousands of missed calls, so I thought you had something important to say."

"Oh yes, that." Ricardo's voice shifted from mild amusement to absolute seriousness. "We think we know who attacked your father," he stated, not even trying to beat around the bush with it.

Just as well, as Arica would've grown beyond irritated if he had. Like mentioned, she had no care for her father or his life. Hearing this made no impression on her at all. "And?" she asked in a deadpan tone, making it clear that she didn't care one way or the other, whoever it may be that attacked her…father.

"We think it was the Varia, the Vongola's independent assassination squad," he informed her in a dark voice, like he was cursing them to the deepest pits of hell and back for what they did. He truly was a suck-up to her father so of course it would anger him since his trek to power hung in the balance.

This did indeed make an impression on the young D'Angelo. Her bored, annoyed expression melted and morphed into a speechless, surprised one as she sat up straight on the bench, eyes trained on a patch of red roses in front of her, but she didn't really see them. "The… the Varia? Why would they attack him? Did he do anything to alert them or something? Did they find out we were sent here on a mission?" she questioned him rapidly, not sure if she should be nervous or excited. Either way it also meant that she should confirm whether or not Hibari and Gokudera were Vongola and then try and convince them to help her. It made things a little easier knowing that the Varia already wanted her father dead so it shouldn't be a problem getting them on her side.

"We don't know that yet, that is why I also tried to call to say that I'll be staying in Italy until we can figure that out. They may have learnt about our mission, we're not sure, so stay on alert over there," he finished firmly and Arica could practically see him stressing his forehead. For a moment she actually felt sympathy for him, but she reminded herself she was going to find the Vongola and get their help so that she could get away from him. She couldn't change sides now. Besides, this side of him will never last.

"Yeah, we're watching the tracker as we speak. If anyone shows up, I'm sure we'll know," she assured, unable to sit back and relax now that she heard this. Her plans to relax were dashed completely. "Good luck with that then. Let me know when you uncover anything new." So that I know when and how to make my move, she finished in her mind. This was all way too stressful…

"Sure. I'll call…whenever I have time. Stay alive." The line went dead.

Arica was frozen on the spot, the phone still pressed to her ear as she stared at nothing. Everything was happening so quickly. First the Gokudera incident, then her weapons, and now the news about the Varia having attacked her father. How was she going to confirm Gokudera and Hibari were Vongola? It was too complicated and she got a headache every time she tried to figure it out. She didn't want to ask Andrew's help since he would jump the gun like he always did. A frustrated growl forced its way out of her throat and the hand holding the phone finally fell heavily into her lap.

After a few minutes of forcing herself to calm down and take deep breaths, she looked at the time again and saw that Tsuna should have gotten home ten minutes ago. She had been spacing out for longer than she realised. Pursing her lips, she hesitated before dialling his home number. It didn't take long for the boy to answer. "Moshi moshi?" a worry filled voice answered on the other side and Arica had to stop herself from wincing upon hearing it.

"Hi, Tsuna," she spoke softly, like she was afraid her voice and words would break the fragile boy. He sounded a little tired and she couldn't really blame him; two of your friends disappear overnight and no one knows anything about it.

She could practically hear him perk up at her voice and see the relieved smile stretching over his lips. "Arica-chan? Is that really you?" he questioned excitedly.

A small smile came to her own lips as she stared at the little bird in the fountain next to her while she spoke, "The one and only." Before he could burst out in millions of questions, the girl interjected quickly. "Listen, Tsuna… I know you have tons of questions, but I don't want to talk over the phone. I'll come to school tomorrow and try to answer any questions you might have, though I can't promise that I'll answer in full."

There was a short silence before he replied, but Arica could hear the cheery tone was now forced. "That's great, Arica-chan! Oh, and I got fifty marks for that science test on Monday. It's a lot better than my usual 5," he laughed awkwardly. "Your tutor session helped a great deal, thanks a lot."

"Wow, good job," she said, genuinely impressed. "If you ever need any help for tests or so, feel free to ask. You beat me by fifty in that test since I didn't even write."

She heard him take a breath to answer, but all that left his mouth was a pained yelp, followed by a crash. And also the sound of a skull possibly cracking as it was introduced to Reborn's foot. Poor kid. "Stop your yammering and get back to your homework, Baka-Tsuna." There was a pause as Reborn waited for the boy to slouch up the stairs, grumbling all the way about sadistic babies, before he addressed her, "I take it Gokudera has woken up then?"

Arica nodded slowly before remembering that he couldn't see her. "Yes, he did and he's not in a very good mood. Very spirited for someone with his injuries, though. Like I told Tsuna, I'll come to school tomorrow and tell you everything."

"That's good, then. I was planning on telling him myself today sometime, but you will handle it better, I think," he said in a thoughtful tone.

Arica frowned a little. "What do you mean by that? You know him longer and better than I do…"

"I mean that I've observed you the entire time you've been with us. You seem to be able to handle every one of these idiots. Even Hibari, and that's the most difficult one to tame." There was something in his voice. Not quite awe, but something close to admiration.

The young D'Angelo gave a small laugh as she shook her head and picked at a thread on her shirt. "He wasn't all that hard to 'tame' – as you call it. All it took was a fight and a cracky personality." That reminded her: she still needed to talk to a doctor. "Besides, I don't think he's really all that warmed up to me yet."

Reborn ignored her answer and, after a slight hesitation, he spoke once more, his voice utterly serious, "Speaking of Hibari, he was looking for you today. Nearly started a fight to get some information."

The fingers picking at the thread froze and blue-green eyes shot up in surprise, staring unseeingly at a patch of yellow roses this time. "Looking for me? Why would he be looking for me?" she questioned, doing her best to keep her voice level. That was strange… Even with what little she knew of the Disciplinary Committee Chairman, it was obvious he wouldn't go out of his way like that for someone, especially her.

"Hm, he didn't say, but he didn't look happy. I told him we didn't know where you live and that he should check the school records, so he might show up at your house sometime," Reborn informed her honestly. He respected her enough to believe that she should be allowed to prepare for the Skylark's wrath.

Arica slumped back in her seat with a small sigh of both relief and anxiety. If he went to that address… "Well then. We'll just have to see if he does. I have a feeling he'll pop up here sooner or later even if he couldn't find my house right away…" she spoke mostly to herself, but of course the baby heard, having spoken right into the phone like she did.

His black eyes narrowed slightly and he found some of her words a little more than suspicious, but she wouldn't answer them if he asked and he knew it. She wasn't one for giving things up very easily – most of the time. Very much like himself, come to think of it. He'll just have to wait and see what unfolds from this mystery that was Arica D'Angelo. He smirked and finally replied, "Let's hope it's later rather than sooner."

Arica gave a smirk of her own as she watched a few birds fly past in the sky as she leaned her head back. A little further off on the horizon there were once again a few clouds gathering, heading their way. She wondered if it was a foreboding sign of trouble yet to come. The calm before the storm. It had been like that the day she found Gokudera half dead, so what will happen now? "Yes, let's hope." After exchanging a few more words, the brunette hung up and dropped her hands in her lap as she took a deep breath to calm her nerves and releasing it slowly. After a few more minutes of trying to relax, the girl decided that it was time to head back inside. She picked a few flowers as she strolled down the paths and finally into the house to get a vase. She hoped it would be a peaceful day further, bad, cloudy omens aside.

As she made her way to her room with the filled vase in hands, she was nearly forced to drop it when a few men scurried frantically past her down the hall, nearly running into her. Her hope of a peaceful day was dashed as Andrew came rushing up to her, an excited yet shaken look on his face as he grabbed her arm and pulled her along.

"Andrew?! Would you mind telling me what's going on?" she questioned in shock and slight fear since she was at a loss. She deposited the flowers on an empty table in the hallway as she was practically dragged towards the study.

The man glanced over his shoulder and replied, "The tracker. It picked something up."

A/N: More questions than answers? I think so *evil laugh*. Why would the Varia be after Arica's father? What did the tracker find? Will Arica figure out the Vongola in time, and if so, will they help her? Stay tuned for more Forgotten memories and find out! Ciao ciao~