Chapter 12: Lies and Consequences

"Eh?"

Tsuna stared at the string for awhile. It had to be a coincidence, right? Nothing more than a mere chanced upon occurrence. There was absolutely no connection of it to her dream. None, none at all. She put a palm to her forehead, before pinching it a little, checking if her mind was still linked to reality.

I'd better get out of here before Hibari-san gets back.

Tsuna closed the cupboard, and with soft and swift steps, walked out of the room as fast as she could. When she closed the door, she leaned against it for awhile, giving a sigh of relief. She had managed to make it out of there alive.

"Oi."

Tsuna's head immediately shot up, only to face a pair of cold and merciless eyes bearing right back into hers. She, who had been sighing so deeply before, took a sharp breath, almost causing her to choke on her saliva.

"Hi-Hi-Hibari…-san," she stuttered. How would she explain the situation? She could not expect him to believe anything other than the fact that she had stepped into the room. She was leaning against the door, after all. Yamamoto-san had told her to inform Hibari that it was an order he had given to her, but even so, with someone as ruthless as Hibari, such an excuse probably would not work – and she would get Yamamoto-san into trouble anyway.

"You're in my way."

"A-ah! Yes!" Tsuna scrambled aside, bowing deeply as Hibari opened the door. It looked as though he was going to let it slide, until he paused while turning the doorknob. He blinked once, then twice, finally turning to the still bowing Tsuna.

"You went in."

It was not even a question that Tsuna could answer to. It was a blunt statement, an accusation that was quite accurate. She squeezed her eyes tight, still bowing low, not daring to face Hibari-san.

"I – I - … it was unlocked, and… Yamamoto-san…" she found herself saying.

"I'll kill him."

Hieeek! I hadn't even completed his sentence! And he's already going out to commit murder? This person is ruthless! Tsuna cranked her neck up a bit, just to see the wrath of Hibari-san staring right back at her.

"N-No! Please don't! Yamamoto had…told me to look for you with the guitar, but it was my fault that I didn't bother searching the mansion before going into your room! It was entirely my fault!" She had decided to bear all the blame on herself. After all, what good would it do to cause trouble for the one resident who was so nice to her? Despite being afraid, she had made up her mind to chalk up whatever little courage she had left. Her legs were shaking, even though she tried to will them not to.

I've gone through worse. Mukuro-san is more intimidating than this.

But why was he? In a moment of contemplation, Tsuna realized she feared Hibari less than she feared Mukuro. Yet, Hibari's rage was greater than his. Was it the fact that Mukuro always smiled all the time? Or, was it… the fact that she could see a black aura that seemed to envelope his very self all the time? There was something inherently sinister that lay within him. No, Tsuna thought. That could not be it – she saw colours on words and tasted sounds – but not this. She did not simply see emotions.

"Oya, Midget-san. I've been looking all over for you. It seems like you can't keep out of trouble, can you?"

A sly grin, a playful voice – Mukuro stood casually, leaning against the wall, a silhouette cast over his body. Tsuna could feel Hibari react a bit, his body shifting a little as he slowly turned his head to the side.

"Anyway, Kyouya-chan, I'll be taking the Midget away with me now. You can do whatever you would like to do to her afterwards, ahem –," Mukuro coughed suggestively as he glided across the floor. He grabbed Tsuna's hand quickly, before tugging her forward – right into his chest. It was then Tsuna found herself mentally shrieking and fast turning a brilliant red. Was he… was he hugging her? She could feel the tension growing further, and Hibari releasing a heavy breath.

A second ticked by.

"WH-WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?" Tsuna struggled about within Mukuro's hold, using all her might to push against his chest. She heard an amused snort in the background.

"Hypocrite."

It was the final word said before Tsuna heard the slam of the door. Mukuro finally released her, smiling cheekily.

"Why, Midget. You should be really happy about this. "

"H-Happy! Are you joking? Just because you're good looking doesn't warrant you the right to touch girls as and when you like!"

Mukuro's mouth curved into a mocking pout.

"But Reborn said that you were my fan! Either way, I did that for self-defense, so don't think too much about it, though, you should have seen his reaction. Hysterical."

"Don't use me as your meat shield! And besides, I never said… "

Tsuna's voice trailed off when she had just remembered what she said the night before. She had been really careless about it! It served her right after all. If Mukuro and Reborn were at loggerheads, then so be it. Why did she care so much anyway?

Why?

"He said that a useless acquaintance of his was interested in knowing me – I could guess immediately that it was you. I only know of one other worthless lackey he has anyway, and that person already knows me," Mukuro continued. He took hold of Tsuna's wrist and guided her back down the hallway.

Wait, am I only a useless acquaintance in your eyes, Reborn?

"Kufufu," Mukuro seemed to read Tsuna's mind. "He tends tends not to acknowledge the fact that he has family. Who could imagine him as cuddly and loving?"

Tsuna shivered when he answered the question. This person was incredibly and eerily accurate. Mukuro made a sharp turn around a corner, causing Tsuna's shoulder to bump into the wall.

"Ow!"

"We're here," was all he said in reply.

"Huh?"

Tsuna snapped back into reality – situational awareness was not so much of her forte. The room Mukuro had lead her into was a simple, but elegant tea room – one rarely seen nowadays. A large wall-sized window sprawling from one end to another and velvet curtains hanging at the sides, neatly drawn up; several polished tables with a simple vase of flowers placed at the center of each and soft cushioned chairs. At the side of the room were a simple counter with a sink and an electric kettle, and many different types of skillfully made tea sets by their side.

"Well, the reason I was truly looking for you was because I wanted tea." It took a moment for Tsuna to process what he had just said, before resisting the urge to keel over and pray for the sake of humanity.

"You know, Mukuro-san. You didn't really have to go all the way…"

"I enjoy having tea in this room. That is all," he gave a smile that told her not to question his decision any further.

"So, what would you like?"

"Manure tea."

"No joking. You aren't a plant."

"Okay, okay. Milk Thistle," with that, Mukuro sauntered across the room to settle himself comfortably into one of the cushions. Tsuna walked towards the counter and started boiling the water.

Tapping her fingers on the counter softly, she spared a few glances at Mukuro's back. It was him who looked back at her first and broke the silence.

"By the way, Midget. Do you still have that Byaku-bastard's contact card?"

" Byaku-bastard?" Tsuna asked, albeit in a rather flat tone. By then, the water was already boiling, so she unplugged the kettle.

"The white-haired idiot. You know, from yesterday."

Tsuna put a tea cup in the tray, along with the teapot that was full with the milk thistle. She gingerly picked it up and walked towards Mukuro.

"Ah, him? I believe I do… I think I saw it when I was clearing out my purse. Eh, where did I put it again?" she was now bent over the table next to Mukuro, pouring the tea carefully so as not to spill any. When she was done, she got up again, holding the tea cup in her hand to serve it to him.

"Why?"

"If you find it, burn it."

This person is harsh! No way am I going to do that!

"Listen, Midget. He only wants –" Mukuro said, standing up. However, it was too swift an action, and Tsuna ended up bumping into him with the hot tea. The cup fell to the ground and broke, the milk thistle tea spilling all over the carpet and unfortunately, Tsuna.

"Hieee - ! Hot! Hot!" she cried, patting the liquid on her chest and arm in a desperate attempt to get it off. She then realized the shattered cup on the floor was all over the place, and the carpet, sullied.

"Oh! Oh no!" Tsuna pushed her attention from the pain of her scalded hands to the expensive tea cup that lay scattered and broken. She scrambled to pick them all up, but in her haste, it made a deep cut in her hand, forcing her to release all the pieces once again as the wound stung her. It was bleeding profusely, but Tsuna attempted to pick up the pieces again when a hand reached out to grab her wrist, stopping her.

"I'll clean this up. Go look for a change of clothes and wash the cut," Mukuro said. It was a tone that held no concern, but more of obligation, for he was the one who had indirectly caused the accident.

"No! I have to clean this up first… oh no, the cup looked so expensive!" Tsuna said worriedly. However, Mukuro's hold on her wrist tightened, and he looked at her directly – and then, in an unsuspected move, smiled.

"I said, go, Midget."

Something about the smile unnerved Tsuna – she immediately stood up and complied, running out of the room as quickly as her legs could carry her. When Mukuro could no longer hear her footsteps, he resumed the job, picking up each piece of glass with no trouble.

He was soon done with the job, depositing the glass into a bin nearby. At the same time, he grabbed a cup and poured himself more tea, waiting for Tsuna to get back to clean it up. As he sipped it with satisfaction, he raised his left hand to touch the side of his nape.

That scar of yours, Midget. It is not dissimilar to mine.

I-pin was surprised to find an agonized-looking Tsuna burst through the door, clutching her right hand tightly. She got up quickly, running to Tsuna to see what the matter was. What met her sight was a swollen and red arm, along with a deep cut in the palm with blood running and dripping from it.

"Tsuna-san! Sit down, I'll go get the first-aid kit!" I-pin then scurried around the room, looking for that simple white box.

"Where is it…I swear I put it here last…Ah hah! Found it!" she yelled in victory, pulling out the box with a plain red cross on it. She set it down on the table, rummaging through it to look for gauze and disinfectant.

"What happened, Tsuna-san?" she asked worriedly. Tsuna replied with a sheepish laugh.

"I was being careless while serving tea to Mukuro-san. Ow - !" she cried as I-pin pressed the disinfectant-covered gauze against her cut, swiping at the wound as gently as she could to remove the blood. When she had cleaned off the blood, she took out another piece of gauze and told Tsuna to hold it there, while she went to look for an ice pack.

"Ah – those sort of injuries do happen, I guess," she said, returning with the pack. She put it carefully on Tsuna's arm before turning her attention to the cut.

"Yeah, it does happen especially to me. I wonder how I even survived my twentieth birthday, ehehe…"

"There! All done," I-pin clapped her hands together when she finished putting on the bandage. "Tsuna-san, you should learn to be more careful next time!" she said in a chiding tone. Tsuna nodded.

"Oh yeah, I'll need to get you a change of clothes too…do you mind wearing the normal brown uniform instead? You'll catch a cold in those."

"It's no problem. Thank you, I-pin," Tsuna smiled. She leaned back, staring out of the window to the honey coloured sky. It was already evening – and it looked like it was going to be a cold night. Snow drops fluttered down; it had just begun to fall

"Ah, there aren't any extra dresses here. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to lend you my clothes. I can go home in these anyway," I-pin suddenly said. She walked over to her bag, digging through it for her plastic bag of clothes. When she found it, she put it on Tsuna's lap.

"Go change, quickly."

"Thank you, I-pin," Tsuna beamed gratefully.

That night, Reborn found himself spitting out his wine and laughing at a nonplussed Tsuna.

"There's nothing funny about this!" she squealed, clasping her bag tightly.

"You can never stay out of trouble, can you?" Reborn chose to ignore her statement. He then lifted a white card, flashing it to her. "By the way, I'm curious. What's this?"

"Ah – that's – " Tsuna walked forward to take a better look at it.

"Oh, Byakuran's card," she said. She had not taken a good look at it before, but now that she had, she realized that there was only a number written on it.

"Huh, he said that there was an address on it though…"

"I'm burning it."

Same reaction as Mukuro!

Reborn reached into his pocket and found a lighter, and was about to light it when Tsuna scrambled forward to try grab the card from him. She missed and ended up being a limp sack lying on the ground before Reborn.

"I'll get rid of it myself, Reborn! Don't burn it! You'll burn down the entire apartment!"

"I'm not you, Tsuna," he said teasingly; but his eyes told a different story. It gleamed in a certain rage the Tsuna could not understand.

"One thing interests me though – how do you know him?"

Tsuna only found herself at a loss of words – she had to reveal that she was working under the Vongola as well – and that she had lied before.

A/N: Ahaha, while writing this chapter, I realised two things:

i) I want to hit Hibari with a banana

ii) I want to hit myself with a banana

(Removing long, long A/N since I assume everyone I talked to read it)