Disclaimer: This is merely a story based on KHR, and not from the actual KHR…

Claimer: I did write this story…

I will try to update every Friday, plus or minus one day

Please enjoy, and feel free to comment and leave me ideas on how to continue!

Chapter 4 – The Impaled Dandelion

6 a.m.

"Excuse me? Mukuro-san?" The recognizable call of Yumi echoed into Mukuro's ears, who had been deep in his dreamland.

Grunting, and seeing Reika still snoring away while murmuring, "pineapple…", he chuckled and walked to the door in his pineapple pajamas, of course, not forgetting to take a look at his hairstyle. Perfect.

"Da-re?" Mukuro asked, leaning on the door slightly while adjusting his clothes to look slightly more visually appealing, not like he'd care about what a prey thinks, but it's always pleasing to look dazzling.

"I'm Yumi, I don't know if you still remember…"

Right, Yumi. The girl that always made him laugh. But in his heart, he also knew that she was a dangerous prey.

If he went too close with her, he'd be prey for a normal girl! A normal girl! Unacceptable, but it wasn't like he could control the quivering in his heart whenever she appeared.

"What do you want, Yumi-chan?" Mukuro smiled, closing his red eye.

"It's not really anything, it's just you left this small pendant at the shack yesterday, and I thought it was important to you…so I brought it."

"This…"

"I'm really sorry I interrupted your sleep. I…I should go." Yumi smiled sweetly, as if cherry blossoms would immediately appear beside her, and her confident, yet tender figure made Mukuro want to squeeze even more. But this girl was dangerous! This would be the weak spot in his career, in his life, and a weak spot like that was unacceptable.

"Thank you." Speechless, Mukuro could only murmur such, and hold the light blue pendant in his hand. He had always kept this in his pocket ever since he was young, and even when he was showering, he would put it on the stand beside him so he wouldn't lose it. This time he lost it, and this girl brought it back for him.

-flashback starts—Mukuro: 4 years old—

"Mukuro, put that down." Ogaasan said, slapping his hand, tugged on him by the cuff of his shirt and threw him on the bed in the other room.

"Gaasan?" The little Mukuro flashed his eyes innocently at the woman.

"We have a guest, you're not to get out of this room, you're not to play with anything, you're not allowed to scream, shout or cry until I tell you to. Or else…"

"Sakura!"

"Hai!" The familiar yet secluded woman glared at the young boy, "Remember, Mukuro, or else…" With a snap, the door closed.

He sighed, but then smiled to cheer himself up. So what if gaasan was a bit rough? It was to make him stronger. That had to be it. When it seemed like hours past, finally, a creak of light appeared from the door.

"Gaasan?" Mukuro lit up, grinned and stumbled to the door, but an unfamiliar man stood there. He had the most caring expression, his arms wide as if wanting Mukuro to let him cuddle. The little boy laughed happily, and into the man's cuddle.

"It's rough here, being special, yeah?"

"As long as gaasan and dousan are here, everything's fine!" Mukuro exclaimed, throwing an arm into the air, and the man chuckled, shoving his hand into his pocket, and reaching out a blue pendant that looked like a pineapple.

"You're a strong little boy~"

"I'm a man!"

"Haha, indeed, you're a strong man, but have you ever felt sad?"

"Sad?"

"When you have transparent liquid come out of your eyes, or you really want to scream and shout."

"Yes…, when gaasan and dousan don't talk to me and don't play with me!"

"Souka, all about your gaasan and dousan. Here, whenever you feel sad, just clench this pendant, and shine it into daylight or moonlight. It will suck all your pain away."

"Hai!"

"And remember, don't ever let it go."

"Hai!"

-flashback ends—

"Dousan…gaasan…who was that mysterious man?" Mukuro mutters, then smiles to himself. At least the pendant isn't gone, it's safe in his hand, and he won't ever let it go again. Yumi. Yumi. The Night. Such a dark name, yet she's everything but dark. She's always so joyful, sometimes timid.

"Naa, bad luck man, what are you saying?" Reika seems to have woken up, stretching lazily on the kitchen counter, and flashed him a large grin.

"Nothing." He muttered, but then realized one other thing, " bad luck man?"

"Hai. See? Because of you, my dear school and friends got slaughtered, and you made my school horribly dirty, you know. Also, you made Chikusa and Ken hate me!"

"And yet you're still here."

"I don't know why."

"Che, you don't make any sense."

"I guess I trust you, in some twisted way."

"You could have left it at I trust you, but then again, you're the war-seeker."

"War-seeker?"

"It seems almost everytime I see you, you're in a battle."

"It's not like I want a battle. It's more like battles find me."

"Right, if you say so. Well, I got to go, you train with Ken today outside the school."

"Where are you going?"

"Battle."

Without another word, the pineapple haired man left the room, leaving Reika with tranquility.

-m

Mukuro fought with all his might with this man, but he kept on using his hands and pathetic facial expressions to freeze him.

"Get stronger!" The man muttered, giving him another blast of fire. Mukuro used his illusions to fight it off, but it was slowly eating through the shield.

"You're not bad, kufufu…" The shield finally wore off, and Mukuro was sent blasted off into the cement wall, small drips of blood trailing down his mouth.

"Mukuro-san, I'm sorry, but this is Reborn's orders. To battle you to make you stronger."

"So he thinks I'm not strong enough?" Mukuro, using the last power of his body, made a lily illusion that started suffocating the man, but easily, with the flames, the man blasted open Mukuro's last illusion, and he was left paralyzed on the ground.

"Mukuro-san, I'm sorry. I think I should go now." The man muttered, then started getting out of the room.

"Sawada, you're getting stronger…" Mukuro lost his will and fell into a world of blackness.

-r

"Let me continue battling you!" The blond hair boy put on his ape teeth as he gained more energy and started to stand up again, but the girl's oxygen-depriving skill of her white ring only sucked away that last bit of energy he had.

"I think I'm done here. You've gotten stronger, fang guy." The girl laughed as she swung her converse bag on her shoulder and began walking casually across the streets when she smelled that distinctive smell of blood. Human blood.

Was someone slaughtering around here?

She sighed as she continued following the scent. She had always had a great sense of smell, since her life depended upon it when she was young.

-flashback starts—

"Where are you guys? Mom? Dad?" The little girl shivered as a huge breeze came through the trees. This was just like Hansel and Gretel, she didn't want to get abandoned! This couldn't be it, they probably got tired and stopped by some tree while she didn't notice and continued walking, not noticing them. Yes, that had to be it.

One hour.

Two hours.

The only sight in front of her had only been trees, trees, and more trees. Seldom once or twice had she seen some dandelions upon the grassland, but they were never the same ones. She wasn't walking in a circle, but why couldn't she get out of this?

"I see why my experiment didn't work. A little girl got in the way." An old man appeared out of the trees nearby, as if opening the wall of the forest.

"Who are you?"

"Why should I answer? You're the intruder of my experiment. What are you doing here?"

"I don't know. My parents and I were hiking, and then they disappeared. I can't find them, and I'm lost."

"Didn't your parents tell you not to talk to strangers?"

"I'm sorry, but it's too late for that."

"If you can pass a few simple tests, I'll let you stay with me, and maybe you'll find where your parents are."

Reika had passed those tests easily, then worriedly glanced at the old man, who just chuckled.

"Alright, I promised. But if what you hear isn't what you want, stay here and learn from me."

"Okay."

The old man opened a monitor, in which everything was audible and visible.

"We finally got rid of that burden!" Her mother laughed, holding hands with her father.

"I know. Why did you even bother adopting her?"

"She looked nice. But it turns out I was wrong. She's a horror."

At that same time, the mountain nearby had began shaking, small stones falling off the cliffs.

"Hm?" The old man muttered, staring curiously at the screen.

"Careful!" Reika's father had yelled out, pushing her mother forwards, but only made her tumble on the ground as more stones started falling down, faster and faster.

The screen suddenly went dark.

"It's enough for you to see." The old man turned around with a grave look. But Reika couldn't even see clearly through her watered eyes, but quickly, she swiped it clean and smiled brightly.

"If they don't want me, then I'll stay out of their life." She grinned, but inside, her heart was throbbing with concern, lament, and curiosity to see how her parents were.

-flashback ends—

She turned around the street to see almost microscopic drops of blood on the cement. As families were laughing and stepping upon it, none noticed but her. She narrowed her eyes as she followed the track.

"—stronger" the familiar voice that she heard for weeks. Mukuro. Was there anyone else there? But no voice responded, so she walked into the empty parking lot.

"Mukuro?" The man was paralyzed on the ground, his eyes closed.

"Mukuro? Wake up!" The girl threw her arms on his shoulders, beginning to shake and rock him hardly. She narrowed her eyes even more, then slapped his face as hard as she could, so that there was only a large pink hand mark on his face.

The man lifted one eye slightly, seeing the blurry figure of a girl, could only laugh out, "kufufu…I'm fine…bring me home." Then once again, this time, truly without any energy left, fell into sleep once again.

"Mukuro? Mukuro?" The girl threw her hands on the chest of the man, then began punching it hard, but again, there was no reaction.

She turned backwards, pulling the arms of the man on her shoulder, and stood up slowly.

Even though he was so strong, even though he looked so big, he wasn't that heavy. Humping her back so that Mukuro, if he could feel anything being passed out, would feel more comfortable.

Finally arriving inside the house, Reika slowly placed the man on his bed with all the pineapple accessories. First, massaging her back, then seeing all the accessories that she had wanted for years, smiled, and hugged each pineapple.

"Pineapple, pineapple, pineapples!" Then she turned to the man that was surrounded by pineapples, then muttered, "you pineapple fairy bad luck man." But almost without a reason, smiled at him, and leaned down to hug him. And—from tire, fell fast asleep.