Chapter 4: Another Way to Die
The Next Day: 7 P.M.
Nana dropped silently to the floor, scanning the ruins around her. She had tracked Mukuro to this place, and old, abandoned theme park. Luckily, she had found an air system that led her straight into the heart of the building, a large theatre. The curtains were rotting away, and dust hung heavily in the air. Ragged furniture was pushed against the walls, sagging and molding.
Brushing off her jeans, Nana stood up and flipped her hood up over her head. She turned on her flashlight and scanned the roof above her. Other than the vent she had entered from, the ceiling was unbroken, although it was crumbling along with the walls.
A rustling noise came from the stage and she whipped around. The knife she threw made a slight thunk as it quivered in the wall. There was no one there. Nana took a deep breath, forcing herself to relax. She was hearing things. That was all.
Still, Nana pulled out her gun, resuming her search. Despite her attempts to calm down, nana still couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. A breeze came through on of the shattered windows, and a chill went down her spine.
Suddenly, a deep voice said, "Hello, Miss Moon Guardian."
Nana turned around, but before she could shoot, a fist slammed into the side of her head, knocking her out promptly.
"Yo, Tsuna!"
Tsuna looked up to see a tall, handsome blond grinning down at him. "Dino!" Tsuna cried. "What are you doing here?"
The boss of the Chiavarone family looked around the room. "Do you know where my sister is? She wasn't at her apartment, so I wondered if she was here with you."
"Sister?" Tsuna suddenly realized what Dino was talking about with a sense of impending doom. "You mean…Nana is your sister?!"
"Yeah," Dino said, running a hand through his thick hair. "We have the same mother. But anyways, do you know where she is?"
"Not really. She left yesterday to hunt down some escaped convict." Tsuna closed his textbook. "I am a little worried about her—"
Suddenly, Yamamoto burst into the room, breathing heavily. "Tsuna," he gasped. "We've got a problem. Mukuro Rokudo has Nana held captive."
Nana woke up to the sound of chains being moved. Every clink mad her head throb, and she felt the warm stickiness of blood on the left side of her face. Shackles bound her wrists, and she cracked an eye open to see the dim theatre occupied by shadowy figures.
"Well, well," came the same deep voice as before. "It looks like our pretty little captive has finally woken up."
A snarl clawed its way past Nana's lips, and the man laughed, delighted. He stepped forward, but Nana could still only make out his hairstyle and a single red eye, glowing menacingly. "Surely you know who I am," he purred.
"Mukuro Rokudo," Nana rasped.
Mukuro laughed. "Yes, you are correct." He held up her cell phone. "Now, smile for the camera. A video sent to one of your comrades should have them knocking at our door soon."
Nana jerked her head away. She didn't want Yamamoto to see her in such a pathetic state. "Hello, Vongola," Mukuro said, pointing the small camera at himself. "My name is Mukuro Rokudo, and I do believe I have found something of yours." He pointed the camera at Nana, who automatically hid her face. "My, my, it looks like someone is shy. Ken," Mukuro barked, and a strange looking guy came up behind Nana. Something jabbed into her side, and Nana screamed as a surge of electricity went through her body.
"Now," Mukuro said, "look at the camera."
Nana managed to gasp "No" before another, more powerful surge bombarded her. Her head jerked backwards as she screamed in pain. When the surge dissipated, Nana fell sideways, fighting to remain conscious.
"I'll be waiting for you, Vongola," Nana heard Mukuro say. "If you don't come by sunset 2 days from now, the girl dies."
Mukuro bent down and cradled Nana's face in his hand, pointing the camera at both of them. "I Know you wouldn't want to see this pretty face ruined, Takeshi Yamamoto. I eagerly wait your arrival."
With that, Mukuro ended the video, sent it to Yamamoto, and then destroyed the phone, violently smashing it. Nana lay panting on the floor as Mukuro and his cronies left, laughing maniacally.
Yamamoto close the phone when the video ended, quivering with rage. He and Tsuna were the only ones who had watched the video since Dino had run off to take care of urgent Chiavarone business.
"We have to save her," Yamamoto said through clenched teeth. "I don't think that guy was bluffing."
"I can't believe that someone would do that to Nana," Tsuna said, more shocked than angry. "You're right, we have to save her. When was that sent?"
"Last night," Yamamoto said, glancing at his traitorous phone. His eyes were squeezed tight as he said, "We never should have let her go alone. I only I had stopped her…"
Tsuna placed a comforting hand on Yamamoto's shoulder. "It's not your fault, Yamamoto. If anyone's to blame, it's me." He walked over to the window. "I'll call Gokudera and see if he'll help. Reborn will probably show up as well, and I'm sure Hibari will have a problem with someone else terrorizing people on his turf. We'll leave to save her tomorrow morning."
Blood slowly dripped from the tips of Nana's fingers to the floor. Mukuro wiped blood from the blade of the long curved knife he had used to try to pry information out of her. Nana lay on her back, palms up, thick leather bonds around her wrists, waist, and ankles restraining her.
Deep horizontal cuts lined both of her arms from shoulder to wrist, oozing warm crimson blood. Nana's eyes were unfocused, her vision blurry as she tried desperately to keep her eyes open.
Mukuro put the knife away and leaned in close to Nana's face. "We'll resume tomorrow," he whispered, lightly brushing her pale cheek with his lips. "Who knows? Maybe your friend will come to save you, running straight towards their demise.
Nana could hear him laughing as she slowly closed her eyes, trying to escape from the nightmare she was in. Silently, she willed her friends to stay away. A single tear ran down her cheek as the doors were shut, leaving her alone and afraid.