Overdue Shoutouts: Genuinely-Unique, leogirl321, Fire Princess21, Reiya Sumeragi, Jen the random reader, kawaiinekochan16, rero-chan, Betsu, Kattungefisk, amorbidfanofyours, Too lazy to log in sorry (you can stop waiting now)

Thanks for being patient with me. I know it took longer than expected but there is good reason for that – writer's block – every author's biggest enemy. You can thank Naruto soundtracks for the sudden spark of inspiration again. I will resume writing at a pace that suits the current situation, but god forbid I ever give up on this story! It won't happen I promise.

Chapter 7

Fear

She jerked and yelped in pain. Hibari had successfully given her a fresh bruise, but her passive temperament kept her from lashing out at him. Kurara stumbled to her feet and dusted herself off, she met eye to eye with Hibari and asked dazily, "What time is it?"

"How should I know?" he replied in an ungrateful tone.

Kurara rubbed her eyes and took a moment to clear her head. Things were starting to make sense now and she had a sudden epiphany, "Oh gosh, Hibari!" she was about to throw her arms around him but his glare deflected her, "Right, sorry, are you alright now? I was so worried, I didn't know whether to call the ambulance or not, but thank god I didn't or else you would've butchered me, do you want a glass of water? I don't really have anything to eat here, but if you want I could go out and get us something? I left your guitar over there, I hope you don't mind me touching it."

His head was beginning to hurt, he just wanted to leave this house as soon as possible. It was humiliating enough he had fainted before this silly human being, but crashing over at her place basically tore his pride in half. Now he owed her, big time, he also needed her to shut up about the whole ordeal. Hibari hated owing people.

He sighed, "What do you want from me?"

"Excuse me?"

"I have a debt to pay, so name the price already."

Kurara looked strangely at him, "It's alright, really. I was just doing what any good Samaritan would do…" she hoped he would do the same for her.

"Suit yourself." She was one of those people, so reasoning with her wouldn't work. "I'm leaving."

"Should I call you a taxi?"

"No." Hibari swung his Ibanez over his shoulder and readied to leave.

"You're going to the campus to get your things right? I'll show you the way."

"No."

She followed him anyway, insisting she would be of help. Hibari admired persistence, but girls like this didn't do the word justice. Even if he knocked her out and left her on the sidewalk, he bet Kurara would still somehow reanimate and stalk him until he reached home. That wasn't persistence, that was obsession, and it scared even a person as indifferent as himself. Every corner he turned her mouth would open, proclaiming he had gone the wrong way. He'd respond with a muffled 'I don't care' for the first few times but eventually he learned to ignore her completely. Hibari wondered if she had a mental disability.

Once the campus was in their line of sight, Kurara learned her place and shut her mouth. There weren't many people around, just a few students cramming for assessments and exams, and your usual employees. Hibari, not wanting to be noticed, quickened his pace, and because he was substantially taller than Kurara she had an even harder time catching up. By the time they reached the last step, she was completely out of breath.

She followed the Dean into his secret lair, a place that she was proud to know of – the music room. Hibari found his things and started to shamelessly take his sweater off.

Kurara's eyes popped out like nerf darts. "W-W-What are you doing?" she stammered, stealing a glance while she was at it.

"Changing." Hibari said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"In front of me?"

"Nobody told you to look," he gave a sly smirk as he slipped into a white shirt and began buttoning it up. Kurara turned around with a red-stained face, the image of his perfectly toned body was draped across her eyes. Embarrassingly enough, she had never seen a young man's bare torso in her life. She grew up so sheltered that boys her age were now considered an entirely different species.

"Why are you still here?" Hibari picked up his belongings and stared at her through half-lidded eyes.

"Just…keeping you company?"

How wonderful, he loathed company, almost as much as he loathed clingy women. Hibari started to leave, and to his dismay Kurara decided to continue tagging along. She was seriously getting on his nerves.

They walked for a bit, metres apart, without uttering a single word. It was only until he stepped within the science zone did she stop in her tracks and ask, "Why did we walk all the way here?"

Hibari being the prudent asshole he was, knew since the day he saw Rokudo Mukuro attack Kurara that she had developed a fear for the scientist. It was the perfect opportunity to get rid of her. Hibari didn't stop to wait.

"Did you expect me to stand on a crowded public vehicle full of mangy herbivores and ride home?" he said irritably.

"Oh, I guess you'd have a car."

"…" Hibari was disappearing out of sight, and for some reason heading inside the science buildings. Kurara took a short moment to consider, should she keep pursuing Mori or risk walking into the den of a sexual predator? For most people that was an easy question, but 'most people' didn't understand the extent of her feelings for Hibari. She knew that just by having him in her flat was a dream come true, and if she weren't so honest and lacking in the confidence field she probably would have attacked him in the middle of the night. Then she remembered the promise she'd made with Bianchi, that she'd never step foot on science property again.

By the time she had made up her mind, Hibari was gone. She ran after him and pushed through the doors. Hopefully Mukuro wasn't so hardworking that he'd be around on a Saturday, because the moment she stepped in her heart began racing. Kurara wondered why Hibari had to come through here to get to his car, she thought he hated Mukuro? She probed around the building, careful to run into a certain lecher."Hibari?" she called, but she hardly expected a reply even if he heard. The lights were dim as usual, and through the windows every room was pitch black. She felt uneasy, it was like walking around a mental hospital – a ticking time-bomb.

She tried once more, "Hibari!" and for a moment she thought he actually responded. Kurara hastily followed the sound, turning a corner and stopping outside one of the laboratories. She peered inside – the lights were on. She asked herself, now why would Hibari be in such a place? It had to be a professor or a student.

Thump.

"Ku—ah!" cried a voice from inside.

Ku? Kurara? She wondered if someone was calling her name, it sounded like a girl's voice though so it couldn't possibly be Hibari. She crept alongside the row of windows to see if anyone was there.

"Nnn…" moans were heard not too far away. Kurara pressed her face against the last window and squinted through the tinted glass. At first it seemed as lifeless as before: the benches were squeaky clean, the taps weren't leaking, the cabinets were closed and lab coats were piled to the side, but when she looked closer she was almost certain she saw a woman's leg.

"Ah! Muku…ro…"

Upon realising what was going on, her face flushed an innocent red. She immediately moved away from the glass and attempted to make a run for it, but her sudden rigidness caused her to trip on her own two feet and slam head first into a wall, "UGH!" she toppled to the ground holding her forehead in pain. Her eyes started to tear, and before she knew it, Mukuro had stormed out of the laboratory and was now looking breathlessly at her. His hair was in a mess and his open shirt left his fine chest exposed. He was sweating, and to Kurara's embarrassment his fly was undone. The scene left her mortified, and the throbbing pain in her head wasn't helping.

A girl that appeared in her early twenties teetered behind Mukuro with an aroused, lustful smile. Her blouse was all over the place, she held onto Mukuro's arm with eagerness, "Just ignore her~"

"Get out," he ordered.

Both Kurara and the girl looked at him with surprise.

"Who exactly was that directed towards?" she asked.

"I've no interest in you anymore, go home."

"But!" Mukuro grabbed her arm and almost threw her across the floor. She managed to regain her balance before hitting colliding to the ground, her eyes looked anxiously towards him. "I-I still get to see you right?"

"If you behave, then we'll see," he said with a unpleasant smirk, and she nodded fervently without even questioning him. Did it not mean anything that the man just threw her across the floor? She scurried away with a huge grin on her face, adjusting her skirt as she left. Mukuro turned to glare at Kurara, who's forehead was now beginning to bruise, but he hardly noticed through all the redness on her face. She wondered what would happen now, whether he even noticed it was her through the dim lighting and casual clothing. It was then she regretted having such memorable hair. Wanting uniqueness came a price.

Suddenly, to Kurara's horror, Mukuro's eyes were blazing with a murderous intent. He was looking directly at her, licking his lips as if this was the moment he'd always been waiting for.

"S-Stop!" Kurara cried out in a desperate attempt to save herself, "Wasn't yesterday enough?"

Mukuro grabbed her by the neck and lifted her to her feet. He slammed her against the wall and began exerting pressure on his grip. Kurara's eyes opened in horrible shock, she tried uselessly to pry his hands away from her neck. All of a sudden her life was in danger, Mukuro was trying to strangle her and his eyes showed no remorse – he would do it. She was suffocating, she felt her blood being drained. It hurt so much. He moved his face closer to hers and chuckled fanatically, "What does it feel like, with death holding a knife at your throat?"

Kurara retched, he voice choking under his hold.

"Oh dear, you can't die just yet. I'm having so much fun!" he loosened his grasp and watched her frantically inhale as much air as she could, "Look at you, pathetically clinging onto dear life!"

She whimpered, "I'm…scared…please don't…kill…"

"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't? You saw me that day didn't you? I can't let a nosy rat run around free."

"I promise…I won't…tell…" Mukuro let go of her, letting her slump to the floor while coughing in pain. Once the feeling had subsided, the hand that caressed her jaw rendered her frozen stiff. She was terrified at what else he was capable of. Why her? she asked, body beginning to shake.

"I swear I won't tell! I-I'll do anything!"

Mukuro knelt down and tugged the collar of her black shirt. His breath tickled her skin as he said amusedly, "You're a virgin…aren't you?"

Fear pierced her all over. She couldn't let that happen. Now she understood why Bianchi claimed he was capable of things worse than death.

"Kufufu. I suspected as much, a plain girl like you, but don't worry you'd do fine—" Kurara hammered her forehead into his with full force. He toppled backwards and cursed out loud. She saw an opening and leaped over his fallen body while stumbling forward to run away. Kurara didn't stop to look back, she knew he would be chasing her regardless. She looked around for an exit of some sort, but found none.

"How exciting!" came that dreaded voice not far from her.

"S-Shit!" she spat, diving into a dark classroom. She crawled into a corner, concealed by a few tables stacked together. Unluckily, the door slammed shut, which gave her position away. Mukuro's footsteps became clearer and clearer, and it wasn't long before his dark silhouette cast a shadow through the windows. Kurara was clenching her shivering right arm so tightly that her fingernails were digging into her skin.

"Kura-chan, are you in here?" the diabolical man chimed, tapping on the window.

Before she knew it, tears were overflowing down her cheeks. She clenched her teeth together, unsure of her fate. She heard the doorknob turn.

"Mukuro!" called an unfamiliar voice.

The Dean jerked his hand away. Uneven footsteps came closer. "Mukuro what are you doing here on a Saturday? Are all Italian's this hard working?"

"…"

"Oh well I guess you are competing with Hibari Kyoya, no surprise there. But hey, why don't you take a break and join me for a drink, I just found my car keys!"

Not a word was spoken for a short moment as he considered.

"Sure, why not?" replied Mukuro's voice, it sent chills down Kurara's spine. She heard the unknown man and her chaser walk away as if nothing had happened. For the second time in her life, she escaped the wrath of the devil himself.

"Hey, why is your forehead swelling?"

"Hmm, I hit my head against the side of a door."

"That's not like you at all."

"It really isn't, kufufu…"