DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN AND GUILTY CROWN. I DO NOT EVEN OWN ITS CHARACTERS which is such a shame...

Chapter 7

Move

"What question are you talking about, Dino-san?" Tsuna insisted.

Dino was reluctant on revealing the question since he wasn't sure himself if she did say it or it was just his imagination. Especially, asking something like it in the middle of a battle was way too unlikely. He didn't reveal it to Reborn either, and he was relieved when Reborn decided not to force him to tell it. But now, he had to deal with Tsuna. "I told you already, I'm not sure if it was just my imagination."

"But Dino-san, it can be used as a crucial information about that woman's identity!" Gokudera claimed. He clearly supported Tsuna.

Dino sighed and complained, "Let me rest for a while. I'll tell you later, okay?"

Fortunately, he successfully convinced them to leave him be, but before they could even get out of his room, Enma suddenly remembered something and voiced it out. "People rarely have red eyes like mine, right? I think I've seen a woman with the same colour as mine."

"Oh really? When I get out of the hospital, introduce me to her, okay?" Dino replied. His eyes were closed and it seemed he was dozing off already.

Tsuna, Yamamoto, and Gokudera froze while Enma proceeded towards the door. When he noticed that those three weren't following, he frowned and said, "Let's go. Dino-san needs rest."

"Enma-kun, the woman you're talking about..." Yamamoto looked at Gokudera and then at Tsuna respectively.

"I... We can't jump into conclusions..." Tsuna shifted his eyes down.

"See tenth, that woman was suspicious after all!" Gokudera claimed.

"Gokudera-kun, calm down. Lower your voice, Dino-san is sleeping." Yamamoto patted Gokudera's back.

"But like I told you, that woman's—"

"Gokudera-kun, let's not suspect her." Tsuna's voice was shaking. "She's a friend..." he looked at Gokudera with pleading eyes. It seemed that it truly pained him to suspect a friend. "I... I can't bring myself to thinking that—"

"That Haru's friend is actually a monster?" Reborn broke in. He jumped down from Dino's bed and looked at them. "Tsuna, I'm not forcing you to suspect her, but just be cautious with her." his voice was firm.

"This is the place." Hibari stopped in front of a door with a sign 'Principal's office'. "Do not cause any ruckus here." he said as he stepped aside to give way to them. Gai smirked and glanced at him, "We'll see to it, then." Gai then looked at Inori and told her to stay outside. Inori obeyed.

Even after Gai entered the room, Hibari surprisingly remained in his place. He stared at Inori, who in turn stared at the door. After a moment of silence, Hibari spoke, "You... You're a student of Midori Middle, right? Why are you here with that man?"

Inori looked at him and replied, "I'm just accompanying G—my uncle."

Hibari narrowed his eyes, "Oh really?" he smirked. He abruptly pointed his weapon towards her neck. "Since you have nothing to do and I'm already bored, play with me." he forcibly raised her chin a little by the tip of his tonfa, taunting her.

Inori remained silent though. She stared at him with a blank face.

Hibari was amused with her. He mistook Inori's actions as a sign of confidence. Noting that she was still hurt, he was amused that she could still remain calm and composed in front of him and even with his weapon pointed at her. He was also pleased with the fact that she was certain that she could handle him. Staying in her position like that, despite the threat he gave her, just implied how confident she was, and was worth his praise indeed. He decided to leave her alone and resume making his rounds since he wanted to 'bite' her when she's in a good condition to fight. He then released her and left.

Inori actually wanted to say something to him, but she didn't know what. She just knew she wanted to speak to him but she didn't know the words to use. She actually thought of accepting his invitation to fight once more, since she believed it could also be a way of communicating but since she usually gets too focused with triumph, she figured it was not an option. And considering that she's still hurt, she knew she'd just cause trouble if she did.

=/=

Finally, Gai emerged from the room. With a smirk on his face, he declared 'victory'.

"I was told to teach Economics and I will be handling all class 1-B and 2-A. Oh, and the classes of 3-A and 3-B."

"Is it truly necessary, Gai? Taking too much load..."

Gai chuckled softly. He started to walk through the hallway, and Inori followed. "I have no choice. Sniffing them out little by little would be a hassle. It'll be faster like this."

"It'd be easier if I infiltrate the school myself."

"That can't be. The papers and arrangements for transferring would be too costly, and another thing is..." Gai paused and peered at Inori from over his shoulder. "You've already made contact with the target. It'll be troublesome if the target suspects you once you suddenly transferred in."

Inori looked down and slightly nodded. As they passed through the corridors, Inori thought about anything she might be able to do to help out. She didn't like the idea of letting Gai alone handle himself in the school, especially since she's aware of that war freak disciplinary committee president.

The next day, Haru again invited Inori to visit Namimori High. This time, Inori agreed without hesitations, and she also mentioned that her 'uncle' begun working there, so it'll be convenient. Haru was pleased too, since they'll have a better excuse to enter the school premises every now and then.

As soon as they arrived, Inori asked Haru if they could stop by on the teachers' office first. Haru agreed and she also said she'd like to meet her uncle. As they made their way to the teachers' office, they met Hibari. He was patrolling the school's corridors and hallways at the moment. Coincidentally, classes were still going on, so he was on the look-out for cutting students.

It was unfortunate that he spotted them. "What are you doing here? It's still class hours. Get back to your school." he coldly demanded.

Haru pouted. "We were dismissed early. Anyway, we're just here to visit Inori-chan's uncle-desu. You could at least tell us where the teachers' office is."

Hibari's brow slightly twitched. "Uncle? And you dare command me?" his voice, threatening.

Haru gasped and tried to support her first statement. "It... It's not like that-desu... We..well," she then took a peek at Inori and whispered, help me out-desu!

Inori nodded and looked at Hibari. "Excuse us, but we'd like to see Sir Gai."

Hibari grunted. "Like I said, it's still class hours. The teacher you're looking for would most likely be teaching at the moment."

"I understand. We'll look for him ourselves." Inori quickly replied. She bowed her head down to express her gratitude. She took Haru's hand and turned back to go and check the rooms they passed through earlier but before they could even took a step away from Hibari, Inori felt the urge to turn her head to look through the glass on the door of the classroom they currently stopped by. Bingo! Gai was in there. From Inori's point of view, she thought Gai actually looked like he was enjoying himself. He looked brighter than usual.

"What's up, Inori-chan?" Haru asked, squeezing her hand.

"Oh. That's my uncle Gai." Inori touched the glass with her fingers, tracing Gai's face over it.

"Eh? Let me see!" Haru excitedly moved over and peeked through the glass. She widened her eyes as she sighted the man and eyed him longer than she was required to. "Your uncle looks younger than I thought." she remarked, her eyes remained fixed on the said man.

"Of course, he's only 18." Inori sounded unusually cheerful.

Haru, upon hearing Inori's response, twirled her head to see her expression. She was sure there was a small smile on Inori's face, but her expression quickly reverted back to her emotionless one. Haru puffed her cheeks, "Inori-chan, you should smile more often." she complained.

Inori was surprised but she could only widen her eyes for a fraction of seconds. She understood what Haru meant, and honestly, she envied Haru for being so expressive.

Shortly, Haru realized that she actually heard Inori speak of something so absurd. She gasped and quickly straightened up. Shocked and in disbelief, she suddenly yelled, "Ei-Ei...18?! It's almost like he's still in college or something!" she was truly loud, loud enough to actually make Hibari angry.

The hallway went silent, which suggested that every class in every classroom had halted their discussion in shock. They must've heard Haru's voice and wondered what it was all about, but knowing that Hibari, the head of the disciplinary committee, is on the loose, the teachers and even students had concluded that it must be his doing.

Inori kept looking at Gai through the glass but even after the commotion Haru made, Gai wasn't disturbed at all. She checked the students and found them actually distracted, but eventually got back on their tracks and resumed listening to Gai. She was quite amazed, and again, she admired him more. Her chest rocked as she stared at the man, and without her noticing, she locked her sight on the man's bright blue orbs. She was captivated at the moment.

"Wait just a moment, Hibari-san! I-I'm-Haru's sorry! Haru was just shocked! Please spare us-desu!" Haru yelped as the face of the demon behind them darkened and raised his weapons threateningly.

"For disturbing the peace and quiet of Namimori, I will bite you to—"

Hibari's piece was interrupted when the clock finally rang and signalled the end of classes. His darkened face gradually became lighter and his shoulders slowly relaxed as the bell continued ringing. He then lowered his weapons and declared, "You're lucky this time, classes ended soon enough." he hid his weapons. He turned back and left, which relieved the criminal, Haru.

"Good thing the bell loves Haru-desu." she sighed. "Hey Inori-chan, let's go meet your uncle-desu!" Haru slid open the door and exclaimed, "Hey Inori's uncle! Haru wants to greet you a good afternoon!" and she even beamed.

It was clear that the whole classroom was in shock. What's more was that it was Tsuna and the others' class. Tsuna was surprised and shocked and nervous and was panicking he didn't know if he should escape and start running or just stay in his seat and remain unnoticed.

"Hey, Haru-san, Yuzuriha-san!" Yamamoto called out to them, waving his hand and beaming at them.

"Oh, this is Tsuna-san's class!" Haru exclaimed. She excitedly looked for Tsuna and when she spotted him, her cheeks burned and she vigorously shook Inori's hand. "Thank you Inori-chan! Now, if you'll excuse Haru." and she dashed off to Tsuna.

"Haru-chan, it's nice that you're here to see Tsuna but we still have a teacher." Kyoko whispered to her as she passed by her.

"It's okay, Kyoko-chan. He's Inori-chan's uncle."

"Eh?!" Tsuna overheard them. He looked at the guy in front of them and then at Inori respectively. It was clear that he couldn't see any resemblance.

"Oh, so Tsutsugami-sensei is Yuzuriha-san's uncle. That's great news!" Yamamoto was as carefree as ever.

"That's not it, Yamamoto. If the two of them are eyeing us, then they're clear suspects." Gokudera whispered, still on high alerts.

"All right, class. Since you've got visitors, I won't hold you off much longer. You're all dismissed." Gai finally declared.

The classroom was slowly filled with murmurs and noises as the students stood up and fixed their things. Gai also cleaned up as Inori approached him. "You shouldn't have come, Inori." Gai started.

"It's okay, Gai. Haru is my friend and she's also friends with them." Inori calmly explained.

"And I can see she's also friends with our target." Gai stared at their group, his eyes fixed on the red-haired brat with bandages on his face. "If you want to help, it'll be useful if you could ask your friend about him. Even the tiniest information could be very helpful." Gai instructed.

Inori nodded. "Gai, when do we move?" she sounded impatient.

Gai was surprised with her question he had to pause what he was doing and look at her face. Seeing her usual nonchalant face, he sighed and patted her head. "Don't rush, Inori."

"I'm... I think I am bothered after all, Gai." Inori sounded troubled for a change, and her brows were slightly furrowed too. She brought her hand to her chest and slowly fisted. "My chest kept throbbing. I... I don't know, Gai..."

Gai frowned. "I guess it was too much for you, huh? Having friends is okay, Inori, so don't fret."

"But they are targets."

Gai kept quiet for a moment, and then decided to resume his work. Inori was silent too for she didn't understand the swirling feelings inside her too. She glanced at Haru, and then at the people around her, and then her eyes were focused on their target—the said head of the Shimon Family. She had talked with him already, which actually bothered her most. The image she had forged into her mind about mafia was getting questioned after she got contact with their first target and now, with the Shimon brat. The belief she had been instilled with was getting crumbled with the way those people acted. They were in Mafia, but they acted the opposite that she had expected. She thought, her belief and image of them cannot be generalized and was invalid.

"Gai, I think I couldn't agree to our client this time." she thought aloud, her eyes still fixed on Haru and her friends.

Gai only hummed in response.

"I couldn't bring myself to destroying them. Gai, the Mafia we knew seems to be changing." she continued.

Gai snorted as he found himself staring blankly at the papers he was arranging.

"Our client is the twisted one, Gai." Inori's voice cracked. She knew better than to question their clients. All their clients have been from the Mafia and they all knew what kind of people they are. It was only new to them, that these families they've targeted were different.

"Do not forget, Inori. They are still Mafia, and Mafia is the one who made us into these beings." Gai's voice was firm. "Mafia do horrible things, they are only kind to their members, but they do not consider other people. Inori, they are Mafia."

Inori was then intimidated with the way Gai spoke. It was as if he was colder than ice but was the loneliest indeed. She understood what he meant, and of course, they won't be able to forget what Mafia did to them. It's true that Gai had already laid out a plan to expose their client's true intentions and to destroy him, and it's true that it was fine when they spared the life of another Mafia leader, but that didn't mean that they were taking sides. They would remain neutral, and would remain to hate the Mafia World. They won't be seeing any Mafia family good or bad, for they are horrible in any ways in their eyes.

It was then that Haru called out to Inori which broke her deep thoughts. She was still confused, and she waited for Gai to speak some more, but as expected, he would never put sugar on salt. He only nodded, patted her head and finally left the room. Inori was actually hurt, but that was Gai. He would never turn a blind eye to whatever he sees.

"Hey, what happened, Inori-chan? You look down-desu." Haru asked as she approached her.

"Nothing." Inori muttered.

"Did you get scolded by your uncle?" Haru seemed to be teasing her.

"No, it's okay. I'm..okay." she tried reassuring Haru but it seemed she failed to mask her sadness.

"I'm sorry. It's because of Haru, right? Haru was rude..." Haru looked down.

Inori gently nodded her head sideways. "It was about me, so please do not worry, Haru." her soft voice seemed to have touched Haru that her cheeks flushed.

"Don't say it that way, you're embarrassing!" Haru palmed her face.

Inori wondered but disregarded the matter. Tsuna and the others was about to leave too when Haru spotted them and bawled at them. She demanded that they should all go and eat together. It was then that Inori took the chance to observe them better and to note their behaviours.

She actually enjoyed their company but like a professional, she didn't forget her duty as an observer. She gathered some information about the group, and though they were only tentative, she concluded that it was the most likely situation. She reported everything to Gai:

"Kozato Enma - Main target. He is the head of the said Shimon Family. From what I have observed, he is weak and feeble. I haven't had any combat encounter with him so I couldn't say if he had any strong points. For now, it seemed that he is quite acquainted with the kid called Sawada Tsunayoshi. The two of them are highly alike – both weak and feeble. I think he must be related to our target but it seems he has his own world.

Next is Yamamoto Takeshi – a baseball player. He's almost always with Sawada Tsunayoshi instead of the target. His family have a restaurant which their group mostly visits to spend time bonding with each other as they are friends. As a baseball player, he always carried a baseball bat with him. It must be his weapon, for I smelled a faint scent of blood from it when he carried it with him one time. Most likely, he's a part of Sawada's family, rather than Kozato's and is a highly skilled fighter. His usual calm and composure would be his strong points, I suppose.

Next is the silver-haired boy Gokudera Hayato. I think he would be the most troublesome person for he's sharper than any of them. He's highly intelligent, and just like you Gai, his intuitions are straight on. He always goes around with bombs and dynamites and it seemed he's never concealed his identity as part of Mafia, freely parading his weapons and waving at them to any people whom he suspects as enemy of the '10th', or so he was always blabbing about. He's always around Sawada Tsunayoshi so I am assuming that he is part of his family, and not Kozato's. The fact that he's overprotective with Sawada only means that he must be their family's head, and as they are quite acquainted with the target, there must be some strong connections between them.

Another thing, they have this weird baby around them. I'm assuming he is Sawada's Arcobaleno, though I'm not sure since the information about the legendary strong babies were kept away from us Undertakers but I am sure it is Sawada's and not our target's arcobaleno. I have yet to confirm Kozato's family members but it seemed Kozato is not always hanging out with the Sawada group. Once I saw Kozato talk with a boy looking like a hooligan and nothing like a middle schooler who is part of the baseball team. This guy seemed to be acquainted with Yamamoto Takeshi too so I'm guessing he's related. Also, an eccentric looking woman was acquainted with them and she is most likely close to Gokudera Hayato. I think we could use them too."

Gai hummed shortly after Inori fell silent. He seemed to be in deep thoughts, processing everything inside his head. He was looking at his class records, and highlighted the names which popped out from Inori's mouth. He recalled the people she also described and found their names on his record. "Yep, these would be useful. Thank you for your hard work, Inori." Gai placed the record over the table and leaned back on the couch's support. "We'll have more hardships, I suppose. That Gokudera sure is sharp. He's actually annoying, claiming that he already knew what I was discussing." Gai grumbled. "But boy those two... Sawada and Kozato, huh? I wonder what's with them." he seemed to have thought aloud.

"Gai, I'll stick with Haru and gather more information as much as I can. After all, if they're close friends, I think I could get some valuable data regarding Kozato." Inori suggested.

"But be careful not to step on the line. Even Haru might suspect you, do you understand?" Gai forewarned.

Inori only nodded in response. Before she could proceed to her room to rest, Gai added, "We move after enough data, you got it?"

"Yes."

To be continued...

A/N: Sorry it had to be a reeeeeally long hiatus. I almost struggled to manage to stay at school you know. My college life is difficult I'm cursing myself to choosing the MedTech course already but hey, I'm happy with my life. Anyway, not only because of school but also, I was struck by the writer's block syndrome so I haven't been able to update this story. I'm sorry if it's taking too slow but I think I'll be ending this soon enough. Also, I'm sorry for being so sloppy about my writing and I haven't even managed to make an intimate scene between my desired pairing here but anyway, I'll do my best so please look out for me! If you think it's already getting lamer, and I'm lame, I ca't help it, I'm just a beginner not even a novice. Any suggestions are welcome, of course! Just message me, okay? Thank you so much!