I suppose it would be more fair of me to announce this at the beginning rather than at the end of the chapter. Caught In The Middle will officially be on hiatus for an estimated two weeks. This is only because I'll be going on vacation. I don't want you guys to think that this is the end, and that I'm never updating this again. I'm going far away from home for vacation, and simply won't have the means to write chapter nine until I return. Please bare with me until then. (All of the rights for Katekyo Hitman Reborn belong to Akira Amano-san.)

"How are you feeling?" Ghost asked the mint haired man.
"The medics did what they could, and that's good enough for me. Although, I imagine that I will be needing some bed rest."
"That's a given."

Kikyo wanted to come right out, and ask Ghost how he felt about the Vongola Mist Guardian. What he didn't want to do was pose the question out of the blue. It would be too awkward otherwise. He needed to figure out what to say to lead them to that topic.

"Has Byakuran-sama gone out yet?"
"Yes, he and Mukuro-san left about twenty minutes ago."
"Speaking of Mukuro, what do you think about him?"
"I'm not sure. I don't normally have much interaction with him to begin with."
"What about in your parallel world?"
"Even then. However, in my world I did develop somewhat of an interest in the Vongola Mist Guardian. I never pursued after him because of what happened."
"Go on."
"Mukuro-san fell in love with his boss. They had a difficult time hiding their relationship from all the other guardians. Soon the word spread, and enemies took advantage of it. Mukuro-san died in battle protecting Tsunayoshi-kun."
"And so, you decided to cast off your feelings?"

Ghost cupped Kikyo's face in his hands. The mint haired man wondered what sort of answer this was. The yellow haired man kissed Kikyo. He showed the mint haired man what his true current feelings were. Ghost's lips were soft and warm, almost a comfort. Then, it hit Kikyo what was happening. He pulled back from the kiss, and held up his hand with the intention of slapping Ghost. For some reason he couldn't follow through with the slap.

"It's wrong to take advantage of someone while they are recovering. Leave. Now!"

There was no point in agitating the Cloud Guardian further. For now, Ghost would be taking his leave, but he planned on stopping by again later. Kikyo's heart was racing. All from a little kiss. The mint haired man wished he could find someone to talk to about all of this.

"This ice cream is delicious!"
"I wouldn't know since my arms are about to fall off."
"You're the on that agreed to carry my bags, remember?"
"I wish I could have foreseen that you would want to do this much shopping."
"I needed a bit of change in my wardrobe." Mukuro stuck his tongue out playfully.

The couple stopped to take a break by a bench. Byakuran set the shopping bags down, and took a big bite of the ice cream cone. Little did they know a group was following them around. They heard that the Millefiore boss would be out today, but they didn't know who the blue haired one with the mismatched eyes was. Meaning they had no idea what he was capable of either. It didn't matter to them because he wasn't their target.

"Jeez, that was a pretty big bite. You might as well finish it at this rate."
"Don't mind if I do." Byakuran snatched the ice cream cone, and finished eating it.
"Ready?"
"Ready."

Shots were being fired. Mukuro got hit by a few of the bullets, and went down.

"Mukuro!" Byakuran called out.
"Don't...worry...about m-me."
"Idiot! Why did you shoot at that one!? It's the white haired man that we're after!" The superior of the group yelled at one of his men.

The Millefiore boss was getting closer to the group's hiding spot. The men repositioned their guns, aiming them at Byakuran. In a blind rage Byakuran continued to gain on them. The next shot went off. The white haired man wasn't given enough time to dodge the bullet. The bullet was lodged in Byakuran's stomach. He looked down at the wound almost as if to confirm he'd been hit. He coughed up blood, and fell to his knees.

"We did it...We got him! The head of the Millefiore is going to be no more!" The superior cried out triumphantly.
"Impressive, I'd say it was convincing enough."
"With a claim like that I would hope so."

The superior didn't recognize the two voices. He turned around coming face to face with the two that had just been gunned down. The gunned down bodies already disappeared. Mukuro gripped his trident in his hands. Byakuran's white dragon hovered close to its master.

"Retreat!" The superior shouted to his men.

It was too late. Mukuro distracted the enemy with more of his illusions. Meanwhile, Byakuran was cutting them down one by one with his powers. The encounter was over within less than three minutes.

"Phew, I don't know about you, but I worked up quite the appetite. How does lunch sound right about now?" Byakuran turned, and ended up catching the blue haired before he could hit the ground, "What's wrong?"
"I think I ended up overexerting myself."
"I'm not surprised. We need to remind ourselves that you just came out of the hospital this morning."

Mukuro stood himself upright. He just needed a moment to feel better. Byakuran ran over to the bench to grab their shopping set out to find a restaurant to have lunch at.

The blue haired man ultimately decided to order a garden salad. His lover settled on a deli sandwich.

"Should we be anticipating another attack like that one?"
"I hope not, but just to be on the safe side probably." Byakuran said before sipping at his drink.

Anymore interruptions, and the Millefiore boss might just lose it. He didn't need Mukuro to strain himself any further today. Except maybe for that. Byakuran caught the blue haired man gazing at him.

"Something you need to ask me?"
"Is there a reason I didn't see Kikyo at breakfast?"

He wasn't in the mood to discuss his Cloud Guardian. Although, if Mukuro really wanted to know then Byakuran had no intention of hiding the details from him.

"I went full out, and beat on him with the majority of my techniques. Yet my power didn't land him in a hospital room. Our medics are better than I give them credit for."

Mukuro was having mixed feeling until he remembered his own horrid experience.

"I guess I shouldn't have brought that up." Mukuro forked some of the salad into his mouth.
"You're right. I brought you out here to enjoy the day, not dwell on unpleasant memories."

To change the subject the Vongola Mist Guardian opted to tell his lover some stories from when his gang visited him in the hospital. For example, Fran thought it would be a good idea to get his master a book on tropical fruit. The cover of the book showcased pineapples. Chikusa got even with Fran for him because of the ridiculous joke.

By the time they were originally going to leave the diner Byakuran decided he had to order dessert first.

"Did you have to rush me?" Byakuran asked around a bite of strawberry shortcake.
"Any longer in there, and you would have ordered one of every dessert off of their menu."
"I'll make it up to you by guaranteeing that you'll love where we're going next."

The destination was bustling with people, but there was also fish as far as the eye could see. Byakuran brought his lover to an aquarium. They started out where all the different kinds of seahorses we located. The colors of each individual seahorse was brilliant in its own way. The further into the aquarium they went showed that all the fish exhibits were broken up by regions, and there were a lot of regions to cover.

"I never imagined a single aquarium could be this large." Mukuro was astonished.
"And we've barely scratched the surface of the entire place."

They were taking their time through the European fish. That alone took an estimated forty-five minutes. The two of them agreed that it would be best to jump to a smaller scaled exhibit, which happened to be the one for the jellyfish. Not far from the jellyfish was the shark tanks. They moved on to take a look at the sharks.

"Heh, I don't think this one likes me very much." Byakuran pointed to a shark that seemed to be glaring at him.
"Kind of reminds me of Squalo-san."

The shark pressed itself right up against the glass where Byakuran was standing.

"VOOIII! Did some say my name!?"
"Hey, look over there!" Yamamoto pointed to the couple by the sharks.

Mukuro turned around to see the baseball fanatic, and the Varia captain walking towards them.

"Fancy meeting you guys here." The blue haired man said.
"I'm just indulging the brat since he came over here from Japan to visit."
"Have you guys gone over to see the Koi pond yet?" Yamamoto asked the couple.
"No, we haven't made it over to the Asian region." Byakuran jumped into the conversation.

Yamamoto grabbed Mukuro by the hand to lead the way to the Koi pond. The white haired man, and the silver haired man lagged behind because Squalo wanted to talk to Byakuran.

"How are things going for the two of you?" Squalo whispered the question to Byakuran.
"Fine. Why do you ask?"
"Word travels fast, that's why."
"We're handling everything pretty well. Plus my trump card is already in effect."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"As you said, word travels fast. I'm sure you'll find out in due time."

That was one thing that pissed Squalo off about Byakuran. It was how secretive he was, and the way he could easily dodge questions. Not that Squalo was seriously concerned about the couple's situation. Curiosity was what got the better of him. The silver haired man, and the white haired man eventually caught up with Mukuro and Yamamoto. The four of them toured the rest of the aquarium together. Byakuran asked the other two if they would be interested in having dinner with them. The Vongola Mist Guardian certainly didn't mind. Squalo and Yamamoto accepted the dinner proposal.

A classy restaurant was a good way to end their day out. Byakuran pushed the shopping bags underneath the dinner table.

"I meant to ask earlier why you guys have so many shopping bags." Yamamoto wondered.
"They're all his." Byakuran pointed an accusing finger at his lover, "Keep in mind that I have a few items in the bags, but it's mostly his."
Mukuro shrugged his shoulders, "I'm ashamed of nothing."
"I'm glad this brat's not that expensive." Squalo jerked a thumb towards the black haired man.

Yamamoto smiled in response. When the food was brought to the table it took everyone no time to begin eating. It took a lot out of them to travel around the huge aquarium so they were really hungry. There was several minutes of silence in order for them to eat something before resuming conversation.

"I'm surprised that Xanxus is letting you stay in the Varia hideout." Byakuran said to Yamamoto.
"Are you kidding me!? The boss kicked him out as soon as he showed up on our doorstep."
"Squalo's right. I'm staying in a nearby hotel, but I'm allowed to visit the hideout."
"Heh, that sounds just like Xanxus." Mukuro smirked.
"In actuality, Squalo is gonna walk me to the hotel after this, and then return home."
"I should make him walk to the hotel by himself. He's just fortunate enough that it's on the way back."

It was easy to tell that Squalo was just putting up a front. He cared about Yamamoto more than he lead on in front of other people. The baseball fanatic was one of many people that Squalo could tolerate. Once everything was said and done the group of four said their goodbyes, and parted ways at the restaurant. Mukuro had the shopping bags draped around his arms on the way back.

"I know I've been poking fun at you all day, but I can still carry those." Byakuran was getting ready to grab a hold of plastic handles.
Mukuro moved just out of the white haired man's reach, "I owe you this much. However, if my arms get tired enough I won't hesitate to hand them over to you. How does that sound?"
"Works for me."

The town was really beautiful in the evening. It was dark enough for the lights to illuminate the town. It almost looked like they were in the city. Although, the city was several hundred miles away, and it was impossible that they could have walked that far in a day.

"Byakuran?"
"Hmm?"
"Thanks for this, really. Today's events took a lot off of my mind. I didn't expect everything to go so smoothly. We didn't even have to worry about another assassination attempt."
"It's too early to thank me now."
"Why?"
"You'll have to wait, and see when we get home."

There was a pang of excitement in the Illusionist's chest. He couldn't imagine what else might happen. The rest of the walk home was an agonizing waiting process. The blue haired man stopped himself from sprinting through the door with his bags. Byakuran opened the door, and they mad their way inside.

"You can set the bags down wherever. I'll send for someone to pick them up to wash them later. And do me a favor, wait down here for a few minutes."

Mukuro watched Byakuran disappear from sight up the stairs. He laid the bags down before removing his boots.

'Damn, he must be hiding something from me. He built up my excitement on purpose, but now he wants me to wait. I'm getting a little impatient here. I like to think that I hide it well though.'

Byakuran's Storm Guardian descended the stairs.

"The boss is ready for you now."

Mukuro nodded and headed up the stairs. He walked to their bedroom because it would have been odd if Byakuran was waiting for him anywhere else. The blue haired man couldn't help but notice the Millefiore Mist Guardian was standing across the hallway. The masked man was about twelve feet from their room. Mukuro chose to ignore that he was there, and entered into his and Byakuran's room. He closed the door behind him once he was inside. Byakuran was already stripped down, and waiting at the foot of their bed.

"I guess I don't get the fun of undressing you."
"No, but I get the fun of undressing you."

Mukuro walked right to where the white haired man was seated. Byakuran lifted the shirt right over his lover's head. The shirt was discarded to the floor. He trailed kisses down Mukuro's body. When he reached the top of his lover's pants, he undid them by using his teeth. Byakuran grabbed the back of Mukuro's pants, and slid the article of clothing down his legs along with his boxers.

The Millefiore boss grabbed some lubricant that was resting behind him. He slathered it on his fully erect member. Mukuro had a good idea where this was going. The blue haired man positioned himself in a way that when he would sit down on Byakuran's lap, the white haired man's member would slide up easily through his entrance. Byakuran began gently thrusting into his lover.

"H-Hey, what happened to me...not t-taxing myself?"
"That's why I'm taking it slow. I'll do most of the work, and you can sit back enjoying the pleasure."
"What if I...e-end up not wanting t-to...get out of bed tomorrow?"
"I'll let you laze around the whole day, and cater to your every need."

Byakuran's thrusting got a little faster. He was leaving marks on Mukuro's neck and shoulders. His hands were preoccupied with his lover's perked nipples. Mukuro closed his eyes, and let his head rest on Byakuran's chest. His own member was being neglected, and he wanted to fix that. Suddenly, a wet cavern engulfed his length. The source of the wet cavern began sucking him off. Mukuro opened his eyes to see Byakuran finally giving his cock some attention. But wait, how was that possible? To the Vongola Mist Guardian's knowledge, his lover was still thrusting inside of him.

"Oh, so you've noticed Torikabuto's real illusion. He owed me a favor so I asked him to make a real illusion of myself. I figured you would enjoy a nice threesome."

These feelings of pleasure were almost overwhelming. Mukuro gripped the bedsheets on either side of the real Byakuran. To intensify the situation the white haired man pinched both of Mukuro's nipples at the same time.

"Nnh! Haahh...B-Byakuran."

The illusionary Byakuran took his mouth away from the Illusionist's member. He placed his thumb at the slit, and pressed down. Precum beaded down from the blue haired man's member. Mukuro was panting to catch his breath. The real Byakuran thrust deep into his lover to hit his sweet spot. Simultaneously, the illusionary Byakuran gave Mukuro's swelling cock a tight squeeze.

"Hff...Hahh! Feels...s-so good!"

The sticky white fluid spurted from the Vongola Mist Guardian's member. Byakuran came inside his lover. The illusionary Byakuran disappeared when his part was fulfilled. The white haired man leaned back onto the bed taking Mukuro with him.

"I...don't want...to move." The blue haired man said breathlessly.
"I can stay inside you all night." The Millefiore boss replied happily.
"On second thought..." Mukuro rolled off of his lover.

Byakuran's liquids freely leaked out from his entrance.

"Want me to lick you clean?" The white haired man hoped the answer was a yes.
"I want sleep..." The blue haired man moved himself further up the bed to curl into a ball.

Byakuran licked the sticky fluid off a sleeping Mukuro. There were only a few places his tongue couldn't reach.

"Good night." The Millefiore boss whispered to his Illusionist.

He kissed his lover on the cheek before snuggling up against him. The two of them slept the rest of the night away.

I hope this was a satisfying enough chapter considering the wait time for chapter nine. I'll try my best to make chapter nine worth the wait when I can. Please feel free to leave a review, and thanks.