#06: Losing is not an option
That morning the sky had been filled up with grey clouds, meaning only one thing: later it would rain, probably a thunderstorm, as the forecasters said. In normal conditions, Elen wouldn't mind that at all, but now it would be more difficult to compete, because it didn't matter what kind of weather it was. They wouldn't abandon that race. She even ignored that her managed wanted not to participate to avoid causalities, but she was too stubborn for her own good and not even Reiji wanted to give up. That would ruin the plan entirely, because a person like Maruko would definitely go there to be announced as the winner, since the other wouldn't go thanks to the heavy rain. Elen wouldn't allow that to happen, because she wasn't the only one that was going. Julie, Makoto and Kotaro were also participating. At least she wasn't the only one that ignored what the manager said and did the opposite. One of them would win, no matter what it took. That was the deal.
Elen ignored what Byakuran told her the whole morning and focused on getting dressed and preparing for the race. In those moments she didn't know who was more annoying: him or Mukuro, but the answer was pretty obvious. The mist guardian was the one that managed to get on her nerves everytime, but it wasn't like his boss wouldn't pay for what he consumed. The pay bill was high and for sure the Vongola wouldn't like that. The girl couldn't help but snicker at that thought, even if she felt a bit bad for him. After all, Mukuro was the one that abused her kindness and wasted her money. But well, he had to pay and it didn't matter who would do it, as long as she recovered her money. Maybe he would also leave, but that was only a dream. The illusionist was too stubborn to actually leave her alone. It was like you were trying to make a fish walk. In a word: impossible. And thinking about what he would do when she got back, Elen couldn't help but shiver, especially since Mukuro told her that she was also one of his possessions. But she could use that to tease him, so it couldn't be that bad. Or so she hoped.
The girl sat on the sofa, actually waiting to leave and since Byakuran wanted to come with her, she couldn't refuse him, even if she had already signed that alliance treat. Shoichi and Spanner were the best mechanics, so it had been worthy and she wasn't that ungrateful, unlike a certain pineapple that only wasted money without caring. Elen finished the cup of coffee, before stretching her arms. The sky looked so dark that it was no doubt that it would rain, even though she hoped tat it would clear before they left. Well, luck and experience were the only things remaining to them. Those were the only ones that would decide the winner of the first race and who would lose their life thanks to the thunderstorm. Elen trusted herself, but she was worried about what would happen if Maruko would cheat from the first race. The weather wasn't in their favor at all, but if she used tricks like that, then they would also use illusions, since Kotaro was familiar with them. Yet, she couldn't help but feel annoyed! Byakuran kept pestering her to renounce since it could happen a tragedy and she needed to feel relaxed.
"Will you shut up for once?! I need to be calm before the race and you're just annoying the hell out of me!" She finally snapped, but Byakuran didn't seem bothered at all and if he was, he did a good job not showing it. Elen had no intention to be that mean, but she hoped that maybe that way, he would understand and stopped saying things like that. Of course that she was scared as well, but she didn't need a person to remind her that she could die every moment from the beginning. Letting out a sigh, Elen looked again at the sky, seeing that things worsened and from what she saw, it would be pretty difficult to pilot into that weather. At least she was assured that Shoichi and Spanner did a great job with the ship. Or that was what they told her, but there was no way they could actually fail. It would gave been a good thing if she went to Verde to ask for his help, but Elen didn't want to take risk. He could be the best, but he would sure refuse or ask something in exchange. Something she would probably not be able to acquire. "Elen-chan~! I'll let you go under one condition~." She frowned, hoping that he wouldn't ask for something she wouldn't agree with. After all, nothing was surprising her when it was about him. Not even that grin he had on his face made her feel better. The girl couldn't think about something barely decent, because she lived with Mukuro, it was easy not to trust those like him or Byakuran for the matter. "You must come back alive.~" She felt the urge to laugh, because he didn't request anything that she thought off and somehow…it felt reassuring. After all, she shouldn't ignore what he said that much. He knew everything that happened into the parallel worlds and tried to tell her in the most subtle way that thanks to this race, she died in other worlds, but Elen wasn't going to lose her life that easy.
She leaned in, until their faces almost touched, looking into his eyes. "If you think that I might die, rest assured. I have no intention on doing that, but still, thanks for worrying for me~." She got up from the sofa, smiling at him, before leaving. It didn't take long until he followed, but Byakuran still held his opinion and thought that something bad would happen to her. In every parallel world Elen died during a crash with the earth and nothing could be done after. He tried to make her give up, but it seemed that she was as stubborn as then and nothing could stop her. Of course, the reason for competing was different, so he didn't know why she was doing that, but Byakuran was sure that sooner or later something would happen. He tried to be as optimistic as he could, but after what happened in other worlds, he couldn't. At least Elen waited for him, but if it wouldn't have started to rain in the meanwhile, she would have left without caring if he was behind or not. "Byakuran?" when she called him by his name, the said leader looked at her, wondering what the girl could want to say. He also noticed the smile on her face, yet couldn't imagine what the reason behind it was. "I won't die, I promise. If I die…there wouldn't be anybody that could complain to you of how annoying Mukuro is." Elen knew that he thought that indeed, she would die, but there was the chance to prove otherwise. There was no way she would give up her life without fighting for it.
Being in the car, Byakuran kept asking himself why he cared that much about her. It wasn't love, he was sure about that. They were close friends in other worlds, but in this one, Elen met him when he tried to gather the rings to make the Trinisette, not earlier. A first he thought that she was a normal human, like it happened before, but she proved him wrong by appearing as a mafia boss. But for the moment it wouldn't be that bad to trust her skills. She was really confident and like Elen said, she didn't need to fear something before the race. That could cause a real tragedy. It wasn't like he was keen about thinking on those things, but they simply occupied his mind and Byakuran failed to notice that they were there. He got out of the car, but Elen was already far from him, greeting somebody. In that moment she could care less that it rained, because it felt refreshing and she wasn't the only one. Their plan was about to begin, despite being that risky. Nobody but them was aware of what was going to happen and it didn't matter that Maruko looked at them with her arrogant smile, she was going to lose.
There was no time to waste and it wasn't because of what Byakuran said, but she had a bad feeling, like something was going to happen. Elen just put those thoughts aside and went to her ship, since Reiji was already there. Before she could make a step, the girl had been stopped and without reason, she felt like laughing. That man was really worrying too much. There wasn't going to happen anything bad to her. "Good luck, Elen-chan~. " In the end she still laughed, but embraced his tightly, thanking him, before leaving for once. Occupying her place, she put the transmitter on, so that way she could communicate not only with their manager, but with the others as well. Even if he wished her good luck, Elen still had that annoying feeling, but if she focused on piloting, nothing could do wrong. She took a deep breath, turning on the reactors and waiting for that man to give the start. It was going to be a harsh race. Yet, she trusted not only herself and Reiji, but also the other pilots. If she wouldn't make it to the finish line, her new friends would do that for her.
It didn't take long to hear that the start has been given and Elen didn't waste a second before speeding, but she had to slow down, since that was a dangerous race. Not only the thunderstorm, but also the obstacles they had to avoid. Even if she didn't like it, she let Maruko surpass her, since it was the most stupid thing you could do on that heavy rain: to use your turbo motors. She snickered, before following behind. If that girl knew the circuit, she wasn't alone, because Elen knew it too; she had seen it before, when her mother competed. There was no way she would lose that race, even if Julie and the others reached her. The talk from then had been short, before they decided to clear the circuit, following Elen from behind. It was so easy when you knew what to expect, but it wasn't that nice, since there was lighting. Now it was harder to pilot and to avoid the lighting. Elen took a deep breath in, since what she was going to do was really reckless and before she told the others, the girl sped off, going under bridges, trying hard not to hit a pillar. It had been a bad idea to go against the weather, but there was nothing to do now they were there. The worst was when she had to avoid the falling objects from the side. It wasn't difficult, but she had to make the ship turn 180 grades right or left. She didn't have problems, but Reiji seemed to get sick from all that movement and regretted to have eaten.
At that, Elen couldn't help but laugh and sped again, without even warning him. But she didn't have that much luck as she thought, because when the lighting struck, she did everything she could to avoid it, but in the process, one of the reactors had been damaged. It wasn't time to stay like that and meditate on what to do. If she contacted Spanner, it would be better, since she was going to do the most stupid thing ever. "Spanner, Shoichi, how much do I have to wait until I can turn on the turbo? And don't try to object!" There were objections about her decision, but there wasn't anybody that could change her opinion. Not even the manager who tried to tell her that it was pure suicide wasn't able to convince her. Byakuran didn't even try, because she was really stubborn and trying to make her see that it was dangerous was pointless. "Almost thirty seconds…but you really think is a good idea?" It was Shoichi who tried to reason with her, but to no avail, since she had been smart enough to cut off all the communications.
The time remained until she could turn off the turbo was shown on the screen and Reiji used that time to recover, but Elen did her best to avoid the shots from Maruko. They reached her indeed, but it was like the race was only between those two, yet it wasn't like that man was going to stay still. It could have been cheating, but he used missiles against their opponent, because thousands of other participants died before even getting to France, thanks to her violent attacks. He gulped and closed his eyes, thinking that everything would be alright, he trusted Elen, but when she turned on the turbo, he felt worse than at the beginning, because she had no mercy on him. The speed was high, but it didn't seem that hard for her to avoid the obstacles, but the real deal was that they had to avoid the missiles with heat detector. That was the hardest thing to do and if they got it, it would mean the end of them and the ship as well. "Hei…we'll cheat, but don' tell anyone. Be prepared to shot." It was wrong to use her box animal in that kind of situation, but it really saved their lives by petrifying the missile and of course that Reiji didn't miss that opportunity. She let out a sigh out relief when they escaped that danger, but the finish line was really closer and turning off the turbo would be dangerous, so all she could do was to use that speed to their advantage. The race was already won, but she had to do a dangerous move before they could crash.
Maruko was right behind them, but Elen had used that advantage to scare a bit the manager and of course the others. Nobody said that her move would succeed, but it was worth the try. She only hoped that their reactor wouldn't be blown away, since thanks to the rain, there wasn't any fire on it. She took in a deep breath, before speeding even more, until she passed the finish line, only to lift the ship on a 90 grade angle, while Maruko hit the pillars of the last bridge and had been surpassed by Makoto. On the meanwhile, Elen was doing a circle around, after she lifted the ship. It was hard not to hit the ground, but it had been enough that she destroyed one reactor. More work for Shoichi and Spanner wasn't that funny. When they managed to land without any more casualties, she leaned into the chair, starting to laugh. It had been really dangerous, but they won in the end. For sure Maruko would be angry, but that should serve as a lesson not to mess with the other pilots to win. The storm had also been on her side, since it seemed that at a certain point lightning actually struck Maruko's ship. For the moment they could rest, but tomorrow it would be more difficult and that woman would be even keener on winning. Only five races were separating her from the first place.
Reiji didn't even wait for Elen to get out in the same time. He felt sick thanks to her piloting and let the ship the moment they landed. Seeing that, she couldn't help but seeing it as funny, but the other pilots were thinking the same way. He had such a small resistance… Of course that it was still raining, but he seemed not to care about that detail and left to who knew where, but Elen had a small suspicion about where he went. After all, he ate that morning, unlike her. She pitied the poor boy, but decided to get out of the ship, since she won the first race. Even though the girl would have like her mother to be there, at least she made her proud b winning against a cheating competitor. Not that she didn't do the same, but it was either that or their deaths. At least she had been lucky to avoid the surveillances camera and nobody saw her move or they would have been disqualified. The taste of victory felt so good, but she didn't let that get to her head.
She waited for the stair to make contact with the ground before finally leaving the ship, without caring that it was raining hard. Makoto, who had been on the first place told her that it was such a good race, but her skills of piloting made Reiji sick. She laughed at that, because indeed, she had exaggerated, but it was that or losing and that wasn't an option. Julie was on the fourth place, with Kotaro on the last, but they were happy that Maruko didn't win. They were also thankful that she hadn't been that focused on them, since the one that went off first had been Elen, who was looking on a certain direction. It seemed that she managed to scare Byakuran, since he had a frown on his face, something that could be seen rarely. She ignored the fact that he was under an umbrella and she was soaked to the bone, before going to him and thanks to her happiness, she hugged him, wetting his clothes. Before the race she had been mad and kept telling herself that she would prove to anyone, especially that bastard Hibari that she wasn't useless. If he wouldn't be there, no matter if she didn't admit that in front of him, she would have probably not only lost the race, but her life as well. It wasn't good to pilot being filled with rage, since that could drive you to your death. She knew that and was thankful to Byakuran. He practically saved her.
There was something Elen didn't understand. They barely knew each other, so why was he helping her that much? There was an explanation and she wanted to hear it. "You saved my life, you know? Thank you!" He reacted quite lately to her words and embrace, but in the end responded to it. Even that seemed like a familiar gesture to her, but they could discuss about that later, when they hot home. It felt nice to have somebody like him there, since Dino was too busy in Italy to actually accompany her. She ignored the comments of the other pilots, especially Makoto's, but when Shoichi saw what had become of the ship, she couldn't avoid that. "I have to deal with them now…but I want to know why you are acting like this even if we barely knew each other." Elen didn't give him time to respond, because if she did, he would probably pull off a lie and she wanted the truth. Leaving him there, she took the umbrella her manager gave her, though it was pointless, she was already soaked to the bone and went to deal with Shoichi and Spanner. They weren't that happy that their work had been destroyed so easily, but she tried to calm them down, by apologizing and telling that thanks to how wonderfully they worked, she was alive. It was the truth, even if she didn't want to admit it at first, but now it was necessary, especially after the girl told them that tomorrow was another race and they had to be ready with the reparations.
For the moment nobody cared that Maruko left, but Julie came to congratulate Elen and she told her about what had she seen during the race. That was another sign that their opponent was cheating, since she used illusion to trick the other participants, but now she saw the point of keeping Mukuro in her house. Thanks to him, she could see through those little tricks easier, because he was a good illusionist, one that could fool even the Vindice. Yet, it didn't matter that Kotaro's offer sounded so tempted, they could party at the end, not now when they needed rest and especially something hot to drink and to change their clothes. It would be inopportune to catch a cold then, because there was nobody who could pilot in their place. And even if there were people, they couldn't actually go near the ship, since they were either scared, or refused to do something as dangerous as that.
Elen knew that she had to stay over, at Byakuran's place, especially since all her clothes that she bought were there and she still wanted to find out why had he being like that towards her. She told Julie and the other that they would better go home before catching a cold, before turning to look at Byakuran. She approached him slowly, telling the said man that she would stay over at his place, since she wanted to know the reason behind his actions. He also knew that it would be pointless to deny anymore, because she wasn't stupid and noticed that his behavior was slightly different from towards other, no matter how hard he tried to make it go unnoticeable. If he recovered that friendship, it wouldn't matter too much, so it would be worth to give it a try. Elen seemed prepared to find the truth, so he hoped that she wouldn't get angry after he finished telling her the whole story. Indeed, she was aware that he could travel through parallel worlds and use the technology from there and so on, but she didn't know the relation between them.
In the end, both ended in the same car, going to the same house, since Elen was a stubborn woman and wouldn't stop until she found out the truth. It was becoming to be awkward so it was better to find out the reason behind his actions, no matter what it would be. Hating that silence between them, the girl started a random conversation that in the end went where Byakuran wanted. He found out why he hadn't been able to locate her into this world and how she did became a mafia boss. It was a bit hard to understand, but he made a connection and understood why she was that good at piloting. He stopped saying anything for a moment, before the driver announced them that they arrived. Byakuran had to convince her to come with him, under the umbrella and succeeded in the end, though she had been stubborn, saying that it was pointless.
When they were inside, far from the heavy rain, Elen sneezed and she knew that she needed something hot to drink and to take a hot shower and also change her clothes. She accepted to have her hand in Byakuran's, but she wanted to be in a warm place as soon as possible. Finally reaching the room she had been sleeping the last night, Elen entered and asked Byakuran to give her some tea or something, while she went straight for the shower. Her body was freezing and she felt like crap, but that wasn't the time to get sick. She could do that when she got home in Italy and annoy Mukuro with that. He could be her personal servant, since she knew how to make him obey. Only if he listened when she told him to leave or stop breaking her room's locks. That would be more than wonderful, but he was just a perverted pineapple. Elen kept enjoying her shower, until she felt that her body wasn't like an ice cube and got out, drying herself. There were clothes she left on her bed and changed into them and even if it hurt admitting, it was better in those then in her wet ones. Now she had to go and talk with Byakuran, who was for sure in his room. As she expected, the marshmallows weren't absent, but there were also too cups and she was glad that she could warm up even more. It would be nice.
"Now…I want to know why you are like this with me…I mean…we barely know each other, so…why?" She sat next to him, taking a cup of hot tea and waiting for his answer. Byakuran seemed to think about how to explain that, even if she was a big girl that was aware of her surroundings very well. In the meanwhile, Elen took one of his precious marshmallows and drank her tea. It seemed that he didn't know how to tell her the truth, but it was necessary. She couldn't stay like that without even knowing what made her so special than other people. There was also Yuni, who received the same treatment, but that was another story and beside, the girl knew Byakuran for a longer while than her. "Ne, Elen-chan…you are a smart girl and you know that I can travel through parallel words, right?" She looked at him and nodded, since it was through. Thanks to the Mare ring, he could do that. "Well, in those worlds, you were my precious friend, but in all you died thanks to an accident, while you participated on this race. It took me a while to find you here…" Now she understood the reason behind it and to be honest, it didn't bother her at all. Elen could care less about his money and power, since he proved to be a good friend and he really cared for her. It felt nice to know that there was somebody else beside Dino, even though, she missed him too. And yet, the girl refused to call him, since it would be better to surprise him by telling of her victory. "You were pretty stubborn even then, so it's pointless to stop you now~. You have to promise me that you'll come back alive after every race~."
Elen didn't know what to say, because making such a promise…it wasn't that she had a death wish, but in those kind of races you could die everytime. Like she could do today. But there was no point in worrying, because she would do everything that would stand in her power to come back alive everytime. She actually promised him, even if it was a risky bet. She had to assure him that in this world, she wouldn't vanish like in the others. This time she would live and defy her fate. There was no way she could allow to lose her life in a race and especially with somebody as low as Maruko.
"It feels nice to have a friend like you, you know? I actually started to miss Dino…but I'm glad that you told be the truth." She had a plan in her mind, it was evil, but it was a kind of payback for having the truth hidden from her. After she finished drinking the tea, she took another marshmallow and chewed on it, before she looked at Byakuran. Elen noticed that he felt relieved that she didn't reject him or leave, but there was no way she could do that to another friend. And Byakuran wouldn't lie, because she could ask Yuni for a confirmation and he had no power over her. It would be pretty pointless to lie. "For lying to me all this time, I'm staying here tonight~. You can go to my room, so shoo~. I want to rest; it has been a hard day!" But she knew that there was no way he could give up his room just like that, but her phone said otherwise. She wouldn't answer if it was Mukuro that wanted to annoy her once again, because she had missed calls from him. It felt like he was her lover and she was cheating on him!
Taking her phone, Elen saw that it was Dino the one that called her. She was glad that in the end they would talk and didn't mind speaking while Byakuran was there. She laid on the bed, looking at the ceiling, before answering. Hearing his voice felt nice, because he wasn't mad at her for what happened at Hibari's house, but it seemed that somebody ticked off Xanxus, because he was in a bad mood, worse than usual. Of course that she knew what happened, since it was probably thanks to her outburst from than, but the Vongola could deal with him. There was no way Elen would forgive the Varia leader that easily and that fast. He had actually insulted her by doubting and threatening her. She wouldn't be able to do something like that, not because they were about to ally, but because they were friends, or so she thought. "Can you tell that pest, Mukuro to stop breaking the lock of my room? I'm gonna charge him for that" Dino laughed at that, but Byakuran stopped to look at her and she shrugged, because she kinda missed that part. At least, Elen could tell him later everything about her special relation with the mist guardian.
"…Don't tell anyone, but he seems to be missing you…He acts weirder than usual…" The girl started to laugh hardly at that, because it wasn't possible for Mukuro to miss her. Or yes? She would see that after returning, but for now, it wouldn't be nice to blow his cover, even if he had done an embarrassing thing to her, that he would pay for. Elen calmed herself and got up, taking another marshmallow and listening to what Dino was telling her. It seemed that the ninth returned for a trip and to see how his follower was doing and would stay for a long period. He also assumed that maybe he could be the reason for Xanxus's anger, but she knew better. It wasn't his step-father that angered him, but the fact that he actually made a mistake and doubted a person that wouldn't be able to betray him. "Don't worry about him, though…sooner or later it will pass…"
But Elen because more worried after she heard that there were people disappearing from every family and that worried her. She had a suspect in her mind, but there was nothing she could do from France. There was one person that could help and he would be glad to do so. They spoke for a very long time, until she hung up and saw that Byakuran didn't leave. Elen pouted, because there had to be a way to make him go to her room. "Go~. It's revenge for lying to me! This or I'll phone Mukuro and tell him that you want to speak with him." He frowned and her idea seemed to function, because Byakuran ruffled her hair and tell her to rest, before leaving for her room. Well, it wasn't that bad to have him as a friend, but it would be weird to have Mukuro as a lover. Too weird, but that could be solved later.