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

Chapter 8

Discovery

It was dusk, and school was over. Once again, another day passed without any problems. Every student from Midori Middle School made their way home. One after another, they went through the gate. No one knew where each of them was headed. Either they'd go straight home or somewhere to enjoy, like shopping or just plain bonding.

Inori was alone that day. Haru had to run an errand so she went home soon as they were dismissed. Of course, Inori understood that, but she felt down when Haru finally went away. She then thought about Gai. Experiencing the sadness of walking alone, she thought maybe it was all right to go and visit him. If he was about to go home, then they'll walk home together.

Time seemed to fly fast or maybe it was just her. With just a few minutes, she found herself standing in front of Namimori Middle's gate. She looked up, staring at the school building which towered around her. She recalled the building where she and Gai went into and took the stairs as she remembered. Reaching the third floor though, she found a tall woman with a slender figure and a large bust together with a man wearing a white fedora and large-frame glasses. Also, Hibari was there too, and he was currently equipped with his tonfas. It seemed to her that they were in a argument or something similar.

"We just borrowed the room for an hour!" the woman yelled.

"And I never heard any of it." Hibari replied in his dangerous tone.

"You weren't using it at the time and it was urgent so we went and borrowed it." The woman reasoned.

"Still, it's against the rules. For breaking my rules, I will bite you to death."

"Tsk." the woman leapt back to gain distance and shoved her hands under her skirt. Shortly after, she held metal fans on each of her hands and the two clashed.

The guy who seemed to be the woman's company seemed to care less as he sneaked away from them and watched them from afar. Snickering from time to time, he looked like a twisted guy to Inori's eyes, though she still considered the fact that staying out of trouble was the best option there always is.

Inori decided to ignore them and proceed to where Gai is. Unfortunately, the hallway the two were blocking was the straight way towards the teacher's office. It would be more convenient if she took that path but apparently, Hibari and a woman was fighting it out, and to be frank, Inori felt a prick on her chest as she watched them. Still, she had to find Gai that was her foremost mission. She looked at the opposite hallway and gazed through the window to see whether the building was connected and if it was possible to reach the teacher's office on a roundabout way.

She was still lost in thoughts when she heard a voice yelling: "E-EGOIST?!"

She realized, the person yelling knew her identity and placed her on high alerts. She swiftly twirled her head to see who that person was, and she panicked as soon as she saw him. The man was pointing a finger at her, and disbelief and surprise was written all over his face. It was the man who accompanies the woman fighting Hibari. Her intuition screamed trouble when she realized, since they seemed to be acquainted to each other, and even to Hibari who was also connected with the Sawada group, they must be someone acquainted with their target as well.

"I can't believe it! I thought you went abroad to study! Boy, I am so lucky to find you, lady EGOIST." the man approached her with a cheerful smile on his face. "I am Julie Katou. It is so nice to finally meet you, lady EGOIST. Or, can I call you Yuzuriha-chan?" he teased.

The woman and Hibari were distracted with Julie Katou's shouting. The two stopped to see, and they wondered what the man was talking about. As for Hibari, he grew curious with Julie Katou's words. He knew Inori, and he placed her in high regards after their fight. Though he didn't look it, he was quite interested with her.

Inori, on the other hand, didn't notice that the two had stopped fighting only to see what the commotion Julie Katou created was. She froze on her feet. She didn't know what to do. She was surprised that someone on that backwater town would actually know her and it bothered her. There were so many possibilities that may hinder their mission with just one person knowing her background as an artist, and she feared the worst as it crossed her mind.

So, everything that makes me whole
ima kimi ni sasageyou (I offer it all to you)
I'm yours

~Intrumental interlude~

nee konna ni waraeta koto (Hey, this is the first time)
umarete hajimete da yo— (that I have smiled so much—)

Dino was finally feeling well as he woke up to the sound of the radio. It filled his room with music that he was not familiar with. Despite that, he immediately fell in love with the song. The voice, even though was getting distorted from time to time by the static on the radio due to weak signal and short antenna, still sounded so beautiful and filled with emotions. It actually soothed him and he kept his eyes closed as he continued to quietly listen to the song.

nee kono sekai ni ha takusan no (Hey, there is so much)
shiawase ga arunda ne (Happiness in this world, isn't there?)
itsuka— (One day—)

"How are you feeling now, Dino?" a screech of the door being opened was heard, and then followed by the squeaky voice of Reborn. He jumped up the table adjacent to Dino's bed and proceeded to turning the volume down. "Am I interrupting your sleep?" the baby added.

"Reborn..." Dino finally spoke, his eyes remained closed. "I'm sorry but whatever it is, can it wait a bit longer?" he weakly grumbled and a sigh followed.

Reborn only stared at the young blonde lying down on the hospital bed. With his blank face, it was hard to tell what was going on in his mind. Reborn's silence seemed to not bother the young man, and despite the low volume of the radio, the song playing managed to reverberate throughout the room.

soko ni kibou no kakera sura nakatta to shitemo (So even there isn't a piece of hope there)
watashi ga atte ha naranai mono de attemo (if I become someone that must not exist)
kimi ha wasurenaide itekureru koto wo— (I know more than anyone—)

"EGOIST—that is the name of that famous internet artist here in Japan. Her songs are well-known, but apparently, the voice behind EGOIST mysteriously went missing." Reborn interjected as the song continued playing. "You're currently listening to one of her best songs that were released a year ago." he even added as he finally turned the radio off. From the table he was standing at, he jumped over to the edge of the bed and went to slap Dino's cheek.

"Ouch! Reborn, I did hear you!" Dino snapped open his eyes as he complained. He palmed his cheek as to comfort it. He rose and shifted towards the bed's headboard, leaning his back on it. "So, what's with this EGOIST?" he was scratching the back of his head as a yawn escaped his lips.

"It seemed to me that you liked the song." Reborn quickly answered.

Dino giggled softly. "Well, it was good. That EGOIST person has a really good voice."

As Dino was praising the voice behind EGOIST, Reborn already threw a photograph over Dino's lap. It seemed to be a screenshot from a video—a music video at that. A bar with a time printed at the bottom and words written on top of the bar which seemed to be the lyrics were proof enough. He took it and examined the image on it, and it only took seconds for his eyes to widen as he understood Reborn's purpose.

"Who is this?" asked Dino. His eyes remained fixed on the picture.

"Oh, that's the voice behind EGOIST. She's known as Yuzuriha Inori." Reborn answered in monotone.

The hand which clutched the photograph slightly shook as Dino heard the arcobaleno. "That...can't be...!" he thought aloud. A few more seconds, his shaking stopped and he looked intently at Reborn. "Where did you get this information? How did you find this?"

"So that's her? The woman you were talking about?"

"I really couldn't tell right now but..." Dino glanced at the photo once more. "Her face...her eyes seem so strongly familiar to me."

"A year ago, after the release of her latest album, she suddenly disappeared from the world of music. It was then reported that the voice behind EGOIST—Yuzuriha Inori, was ending her singing career to study abroad." Reborn started as Dino returned the photograph to him. "But in truth, she's still here in Japan. What's more suspicious is that she's here in Namimori and she's currently entering Midori Middle."

"Midori Middle? Isn't that a tough elite school? That's rich." Dino seemed to stray away from the topic.

"Actually, she's already friends with Miura Haru, and even Tsuna and his gang are already acquainted with her. This is why Tsuna seemed to be so much bothered when you told them that your attacker was a woman with red ruby eyes."

Dino fell silent after hearing Reborn's piece. He understood what Tsuna thought, or even what he felt. Suspecting a friend would be very painful, especially for Tsuna who values friendship more than anything. "If I become someone that must not exist, why would you be allowed to, young mafia boss?" Dino recited these words as if he was imitating someone. "That's the question that I was talking about. I'm honestly uncertain whether she was asking a question or she was trying to lecture me but..." Dino sighed miserably as he slid down the headboard until he was lying on his back. He raised an arm and hung it over his face covering his eyes. "She said she was someone that was not allowed to exist. What was I suppose to answer back to that?" he grumbled, but he sounded sympathetic.

"Actually, her face seemed familiar even the first time I saw her. I'm just not sure where and when I saw her face." Reborn seemed to ponder. "Yeah... Where did I see that face...?"

"As soon as the members of the Family stepped outside, guns were pointed at them, and they were killed like bugs."

"The Estraneo Family... I remember them creating the Possession Bullet, and they were using their family's children like guinea pigs for their experiments." Reborn finally announced.

Dino removed his arm over his face and looked at Reborn. "But I thought Rokudo Mukuro wiped them out. He killed all of their captors, right? His rebellion led to their destruction."

"But there were only Ken and Chikusa with him, if I remember correctly." Reborn brought a hand under his chin and lightly hummed. "Yeah, there's a possibility she was kept on another facility that Mukuro wasn't aware of."

"That's not possible." a voice of a man suddenly came out of nowhere.

Reborn and Dino recognized the voice. It was the most unexpected guest.

"Mukuro, I thought you were on Kokuyo Land. Hibari was looking for you." Reborn quickly commented as soon as Mukuro showed himself from behind the door.

"I was just...looking for something. Either way, that is a bad habit, arcobaleno; changing the topic when it's not needed." Mukuro approached them. He was wearing the green Kokuyo uniform with the buttons of the jacket undone.

"Back right at you. When did you start eavesdropping people?" Dino retorted instead.

Mukuro only gave them a sarcastic smile before speaking, "I know all of the secret facilities that the Estraneo Family established after the creation of the possession bullet. I also remember seeing a woman with the similar face with that photograph of yours but I am certain that she died during an experiment. She was ahead of me, indeed." he explained half-chastened.

"Did you see her dead?" Reborn coldly asked.

Dino jolted at the question. He looked at Reborn only to find him coldly staring back at Mukuro, who, on the other hand seemed to be amused with the baby's response.

"No, I did not. Even her dead body right after I killed our captors, I did not see even a finger." a devilish smirk was formed on his lips as he understood where their conversation was heading to.

They then relapsed in silence.

To be continued...

A/N: Hello folks, Pure is back! Whoa, I was away for a really long while but now I think I am ready to finish this story. I'm almost there, ah I can foresee the ending already, thank God! Anyway, please feel free to suggest or anything, I still need some help too~