Episode 12: Scarred
"Still I'll never know where you like to go when you're alone? Why can't you be reached; does anybody know? Waking up again, are you listening to anything I've said?"
-"Tell Me Where You Are" by Hit the Lights

It was another normal day at Tsuna's house, with Yamamoto, Ryohei, Gokudera, and even Hibari and me all watching as I-Pin chased Lambo around, only for the cow to be blown up by Reborn, and Tsuna trying to stop it all. I picked up the crying assassin and hugged him, laughing as I-Pin simply stole Lambo's food.

Hibari sighed and complained, "I hate crowding." Of course.

Reborn had called us here to discuss something without telling Tsuna, who cried, "Stop messing with my life, Reborn!" to which the baby kicked him once again. "Ow! That hurt…"

The Arcobaleno only shrugged and turned to us. "Go sit down in Tsuna's room. I have some information I thought you should know." I sighed and trudged up the stairs, all of them following. "Najika." I turned, stopping. "This is about you."

I froze, my eyes widening. "How… how did you-?" I stuttered, trying to demand how Reborn knew. Falling silent for a few moments, I bit my lip before demanding, "This is about that, isn't it?"

Reborn only replied, "Yes." I bit my lip again, rubbing my arms anxiously and looking anywhere but at the rest of the people gathered in the room.

In Tsuna's room, everyone was silent. "What are we waiting for?" I asked dryly, looking to Reborn. "Are you waiting for an invitation to reveal everything about me?"

He shook his head and replied, "We're waiting on Dino. He has the rest of the information and all of the records."

I stood suddenly, desperate to leave the tense room. "I'm getting Dobutsu-chan, Megane-chan, and Kori-chan. They know the story." Reborn pulled me back down and I groaned. "They're already on their way, aren't they?"

"Yes."

The door opened again and Dino walked in, followed by Chrome, Ken, and Chikusa. "Sorry I'm late." He put down a stack of papers onto the table. "Najika-chan. I didn't know that was you." I fidgeted a little bit. "We all thought you died with the rest of them."

Looking away, I bitterly spat, "Sorry. I can't die that easily anymore, thanks to those damned bastards were under Vongola control ten years ago." Everyone stared at me in response, while I crossed my arms and glared out the window, irritated and nervous.

Dino's tone was shocked as he asked, "Did you know that they were working without the Kyuudaime's permission?"

I glared at him. "Of course I knew. Which is why I didn't want to have to bring this up ever again. I wanted that part of me to stay dead. I kept it away for five years, and now because of the stupid Ring Conflict, the whole Mafia knows I'm alive."

Gokudera quietly asked, "What is he talking about, Najika-chan?"

Looking at him, I hesitated to reply. "She was a Mafia experiment for three years, Gokudera-kun," Dino bluntly replied for me. I sent a glare at him, and he shrunk back a little, but continued to speak. "She developed a mind of her own, and destroyed the lab, killing everyone in it."

"I was always supposed to be independent," I retorted. "I am human, you know."

Reborn quipped, "Not anymore."

I bit my lip to keep from snapping and completely flying off the handle. "Stop trying to piss me off. I'm not going to snap." I was trying to tell myself more than anyone else.

Dino sounded skeptical when he said, "Sure you're not." I looked to him, glaring again, and he supplied, "We found records in the remains of the hard drive from the lab. At the age of fifteen, you're going to start to lose your mind. Like before."

"I know!" I snapped, bristling angrily as memories flashed through my mind. "I know everything you know! I was programmed like this, remember?" I practically screamed.

Tsuna and Yamamoto both asked, "Programmed?"

I sighed. Now I had to explain. "When I was only six months old, the Mafia took me from my parents. Najika isn't my real name. It's a name I took when I was in the lab. I don't know where they are. I lied to you all when I said my family is living in Kokuyo and that I've been blind since birth. I was blinded as a result of an experiment, and a day of anger…"

Sounds… people speaking? Voices are ringing through the air. I don't know what they're saying. Why can't I hear them?

I opened my eyes and, through a clear liquid and glass, I saw someone in a suit and tie leering over me. "Who are you?" I asked softly, my voice echoing in the glass and liquid around me.

The man didn't seem to hear me, but I heard what he said next. "Bring her out. We're going to use her to train them." He turned back to me and I heard someone yell something in the back. However, he smiled cruelly. "I know she'll die. She's only an experiment."

"She's a child, sir!" an outraged voice cried loudly. "She lives and breathes, and she is the smartest of them all! If she dies now, we may never be able to duplicate what we've done with her!"

He turned to the voice. "Shut up. I want her, so take her out." I didn't hear anything else, but I felt something sticking into my arm. Then came blackness.

When I woke up, I saw that I was in a field facing several officers with guns. My little white dress blew in the wind and a rage bubbled up in my stomach. The familiar fire ignited around me, and I sent it at the men. Three of them fell, dead, dropping their guns. I didn't move as several of the men recovered and shot at me. It just pissed me off even further. Narrowing my eyes at them, I wrapped the red rope of fire around all of the men who shot at me and squeezed, slicing them in half.

That fire that I created was red, like the blood that stained the grass.

It only took me a few minutes to take them all down. I heard clapping and saw the man who ordered the white-coats to take me out. He stood. "Well, they were all useless. Good job, you little brat."

"Her name is Najika," the same outraged voice protested. A woman was glaring at the man angrily, as if he had insulted her. Najika? Was that my name?

The man scoffed. "Not like I care. To me, she's Experiment X, version 9.0, and she's just another body on the battlefield." What was that supposed to mean? An Experiment? What was that? "Take her away." Two large men in black suits gently took my hands and pulled me with them, my feet dragging on the ground.

A huge white building stood in front of me. It was big to my eyes. Inside, I was put on a table, with the woman looking at me with lights and monitors. "Who am I?" I asked, looking at her.

She looked up and replied, "Your name is Najika Kamiya. You're nine years old, and you're a Mafia Experiment."

"Mafia?"

"Battle people."

I nodded. "Who are you?"

She smiled a little. "My name is Haruka Kamiya. I'm not your mother, but I'm in charge of you."

I tilted my head a little. "Mother?"

Haruka sighed. "Najika, I know this is hard for you to understand. You're not human. You're not a person. To them, you're just a tool for killing." My hatred came back. Now I knew why I was so angry when I saw those men. They wanted to use me. "Najika?" I saw the fire starting at the bottom of my feet again. "Najika, no!" Haruka shrieked as she saw my red fire engulf my body.

Pushing myself off the table, I walked over to the woman and wrapped my arms around her. "Burn." She screamed in pain as my flame ate away at her skin. I looked down at her mutilated body mercilessly.

I opened the door and walked out, the fire around me still flickering. I began to destroy the entire lab, leaving no survivors. Every white-coat died. Every animal died. Every man in black died. Even all of my fellow Experiments died. No one was left in that lab.

I stood in the ashes of the building, glaring at the damage I had done, even though I couldn't see it anymore. In the attack, I had gotten something in my eyes thanks to one of those scientists, and I could no longer see

"I am a person. I am not a tool," I spat fiercely, feeling myself shaking. "I won't be your puppet anymore." I swore to myself then and there that I would hate the Mafia for what they'd done to me.

"Oh dear, what a mess," a voice sighed. I turned the source of the voice. "Hello there." He was part of the Mafia. My Flame grew back and I felt the need to kill him. "Don't get angry. Not all Mafia are like the ones that you met. I'm only here to offer you a fresh start." My Flame died a little. So he was a kind Mafioso…

A fresh start? One without Mafia? "Why?"

He laughed. "You're only a child, not a murderer." Murderer? "A killer. You're not supposed to have killed so many. I am only ashamed that you would be harmed like this, and by my people." I didn't reply. He was the one in charge of those people? "I'm going to fly you out to Japan, and let you have a start. But you have to promise me something."

"What?"

I felt him ruffle my hair. "I want you to find friends. Let's see those eyes of yours." A pause. "They're such a pretty purple now. It's a shame you can't see with them." He sighed sadly, patting my shoulder. Blind? I can't see? "Will you promise me that you'll find friends?"

I nodded. "Promise."

"All I knew from then on was that I was never supposed to be human. Just a tool, sold to the Mafia to kill for them." I sighed, finishing my first memory. "I don't remember anything before that. The scientists wiped my memories every time that I went back to sleep. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you any of this before. You would have judged me for it."

Tsuna's wavering voice asked, "What happened to you afterwards?"

I shrugged. "The old man kept his promise. He flew me to Japan and left me in Kokuyo, where I kept my end of the deal and made friends. It took me a while to get used to being a normal person, but in the end, I did it." I smiled a little, attempting to keep myself from crying.

Gokudera stood up and walked out, slamming the door behind him. I looked up sadly, tears forming and threatening to spill. I knew he was upset. Hibari stood up, too, and left, muttering about how much he despised crowds.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. "I ruined everything. He hates me now."

X Hayato Gokudera X

Gokudera growled, sliding against the wall in front of Juudaime's home. How could Najika not tell him that? Did she not trust him? She said that the Kokuyo bastards knew her story. How did they know?

"Herbivore," Hibari's voice growled. Gokudera looked up to see the prefect looming over him angrily. "She's crying again."

The bomber snapped, "Why do you care? She's not important to you!"

A tonfa came out of nowhere and slammed Gokudera into the wall. "Say it again. I'll bite you to death," the prefect demanded calmly. Gokudera held the injured side of his face. Damn that Hibari. "Go inside. She's upset." With that, Hibari walked off, sliding his weapons back into his sleeves.

Gokudera glared at Hibari's back. Why did he even care about Najika? "Damn him." He stood up and stormed off. He needed some time alone to think about what she'd just told him.

He stopped at the park and sat on one of the swings. He didn't know how long he sat there, and he didn't seem to notice the brunette girl who plagued his thoughts. "Are you mad?" he heard her voice ask him. She wasn't even looking at him. But he did notice something.

"You cut your hair?" he asked. It was true. Najika's brown hair had been so long that even when she pulled it up, it went down the small of her back. Now, it was to her shoulder blades. "Why?" She looked at him, and it was clear to him that she was even reluctant to do so.

She sighed. "I thought it was time for a change." Looking forward, she closed her eyes, which were starting to well up. "I haven't cut my hair in a long time. It'll take a while for it to grow back to its original length. I just… maybe, since I was finally able to tell the truth about me, I can change even more."

Gokudera reached over and gently took her hand. "You don't have to change." He stood and pulled her up with him. "You don't have to change at all." She smiled a little and moved to wrap her arms around his chest. He noticed that she was crying as she held onto him. He hugged her back and let his forehead rest on the top of her head and whispered, "Sorry. I was a total ass back there. I didn't even think of you."

"I should've told you about my past," she replied, grabbing the back of his shirt. He dropped one of his hands and lifted her chin up. She stared at him with wide purple eyes, but didn't hesitate to return his feelings when he kissed her. "I'm taking that as a forgiveness."

He nodded and kissed her again, with just as much passion as the first. "Yeah. Am I forgiven?"

She smirked a little. "Kiss me again, and I'll consider." Gokudera complied, letting it last longer, but not taking advantage of her in any way. During one of their talks, she confessed to him that she wasn't ready to go any further than kissing. So Gokudera didn't do anything, not even use tongue like most guys would. When he pulled away she smiled. "I guess I forgive you, Gokudera-kun."

Still holding her hand, Gokudera led Najika home before promising to come for her to take her out the next day.

CHAPTER EDITED AS OF 6/15/13

Atogaki-

Najika's Past, and Fluff. Wow, what an accomplishment this chapter was. I fail.

But yeah, so "Scarred..." obvious. "Tell Me Where You Are" is kind of just like really distinct connection to how Gokudera feels. He just feels like Najika's been hiding something from him, and he feels kind of upset and dejected about it, so it seems like the kind of song that would fit. Plus, Hit the Lights is great, and I recommend you check them out. I really established the line for Hibari and Najika's relationship. Plus, Dino finally makes his reappearance, and decides to use it to bring up Najika's past. And if Najika seemed a little bitchy when her past was brought up, it's because of what they did to her.

One more thing about her Flames. They are flames, and if she wants them to, she can burn people, or they can act as a weapon, like the ones in the future do. Like, in the TYL! Arc, you never see anyone actually get burned by the Flames, 'cept for Byakuran at the end. So her Flames can be weapons or fire. Just don't judge me, I know I fail!