Author Note: Sorry for this late update. :( Well, you see, I've been suffering a few days of stomach cramp and it's just HARD to concentrate in writing while your stomach hurt all the time (and I can't stop sneezing! AA-CHOO! DID SOMEONE TALK SOMETHING BAD OF ME?!)… and my beta-reader is rather busy with her terrible homework. Life is so mean… but LUCKILY! Another of my friend is kind enough to help me beta-read this chapter! ;A; Thank you so much, KawaiiDesuNee! *glop on her*
Credits to KawaiiDesuNee who had beta-read this chapter. :D
Chapter #11- Strange Feelings and Frustration
"I have been wondering… have you ever read the letters I sent to you eight years ago?" The purplenette blinked her violet orbs at the sudden question by the male illusionist.
"Letters? What letters?" she asked in confusion as she poured a cup of lukewarm milk chocolate and gave it to her ex-master. The bluenette accepted the cup of beverage from Chrome while staring at the purplenette with widened eyes.
"Kufufu… you can't really be kidding me, right, Chrome? What I'm saying is that the letters that I had been sending to you every month eight years ago…" he watched as the female illusionist shakes her head, telling him that she does not understand about the letters he had been talking about.
Letting out a desperate sigh with a killing aura suddenly surrounding around him, Mukuro sipped his drink silently but Chrome swore that she heard him mumbling something deadly under his breath. 'Kufufu… I thought that I told them very clear enough to send it to her…. Perhaps I should give them a free live demonstration…'
With Mukuro who is deep in his thought thinking about how he should torture those who didn't finish the mission he had sent to them, Chrome couldn't help but wonder to herself,
'So… he did sent me letters a few years ago… what had he written inside? And… what did he write about…?'
After Chrome told him that she's going to wash the dishes and prepare lunch with the other girls, Mukuro is once again stuck alone in the silent room when she walked out and closed the door. He sighed boringly, before he took the book that's placed on the night-stand next to him. He flipped through the thick book as his mix-matched orbs tried to find something interesting in the book. Sadly for him, there isn't anything that caught his attention since he had just read the book for the third time this week.
Suddenly, the door of the room opened once again and Mukuro looked up, fixing a smile as he thought that it's his dearest purplenette. However, as the pair of ruby red and sapphire blue orbs met with a pair of cold and sharp dark orbs, the sweet and gentle smile immediately wiped off, replacing with his usual cold and mocking smile.
"Kufufu~ what is the skylark coming here for? You can't possibly be that kind to come and pay me a visit, do you~?" he said in a mocking tone.
Hibari gave a grunt and decided that he will bite the pineapple herbivore to death once he is fully recovered. For now, he has a more important thing to do.
Without saying a single word, the ex-prefect placed a small rectangular-shaped item on the night-stand.
"Herbivore, listen to this." He isn't asking him, but he is ordering the bluenette to listen to the voice recorder. Raising a confused eyebrow, Mukuro decided to listen to the skylark this time, seeing how it's rare for the mighty Hibari Kyoya to act so serious out of sudden.
"So, Kyoko-chan and Bossu are going to get married next week?" Chrome asked in surprise at the orangenette who has a faint blush spreading on her cheek. Kyoko slightly nodded her head as Chrome smiled to her.
"Congratulations to you then, Kyoko-chan. Soon, you are going to be the official Vongola Decimo's wife."
"But Chrome-chan… you know… I already told Tsu-kun a lot of times that he shouldn't be getting so rush about the wedding. I know he's always being stuck under a lot of paperwork and I don't felt like adding his burden." Kyoko frowned this time as she remembers how her fiancé suddenly appeared in her room last night while she's changing, and proposes to her when she was… half naked.
"But isn't Kyoko-chan supposed to be happy? Hahi~ Haru is so jealous over Kyoko-chan so much since Kyoko-chan has such a nice future husband!" the brunette said this time, teasing her best friend a bit.
"H-Haru-chan…!" Kyoko winced as she suddenly cut her own finger while talking with the brunette. The other two girls immediately put down their works, and start to panic as they watch the warm blood slowly trickle out from the wound.
"H-Hahi! Kyoko-chan, Haru is going to bring you to the infirmary, the wound looks deep…" Haru said worriedly while Kyoko reassures her that she's okay; when Chrome suddenly cut her off. "Kyoko-chan, don't worry. You should take care of yourself more… it's not good to ignore the wound even if it's just a cut, you know?"
With that, the two girls left the kitchen quickly to go to the infirmary. Chrome turned around, deciding to peel the onions before washing the used-dishes in the sink when suddenly, the door of the kitchen suddenly slammed hard open this time.
She turned around, thinking that it was the lighting guardian who always whines about when the lunch will be done. However, her gentle and caring smile faded away when she saw the red head that stood proudly in front of her with her hands on her hips.
"Why… did you come here? If you're searching for Mukuro-sama, he's in the medical room." The purplenette said as calmly as she could, before she went back to peeling the onions. She could hear the clarinet user give her a snort then an offending hand pointing towards her.
"Listen here, Chrome Dokuro. No matter how much Mukuro-chan acts loving and gentle to you, it's all fake. Mukuro-chan will never love you, and after all, he abandoned you before."
The purplenette was silent for a while, as she stopped peeling the onions. She looked at the red head this time as she raised a questioning eyebrow. Why is she always picking on her? Chrome never remembers doing any bad or rude things to the older girl. However, the clarinet user seem to detest her a lot, as she yells and bullies her all the time whenever she sees her. Is she… perhaps…
"Are you…" Chrome suddenly spoke up; her mouth not listening to her control as the word suddenly slipped out from her lip. "… jealous…?"
M.M widened her eyes at what the purplenette just said, while Chrome quickly slapped her mouth shut, cursing herself mentally for letting the word slip out from her thought.
However, before Chrome could apologize for saying such a rude word at the French girl, a hand suddenly pulled the collar of her blouse and her body was being slammed hard on the solid floor for another minute. The female illusionist winced slightly at the sudden impact before looking up, only to meet a pair of furious ruby orbs.
"So… what…?" the red head murmured out as Chrome looked at her questioningly, trying to figure out what M.M said. "Yeah… so what if I'm jealous?" the French girl let out a bitter chuckle this time, her grip around Chrome's collar tightens. "Did you know…? I spent ten years trying to get him to notice me but he never look at me, not even a glance. However, when he saw a photo that shows that you're at Sicily, he immediately rushed all the way from Milan to Sicily, just to see YOU." This time, Chrome widened her eyes at her words.
However, before the purplenette could ask her, the red head let go of her collar and stood up, leaving Chrome alone with the mess she had just caused.
"I'll be giving you a warning here; don't you dare to ever hurt Mukuro-chan again. He suffered too much all these years for you, and if you dare make him depressed, I swear that I'll beat the crap out of you, BITCH!" M.M spat the last part as if it is venom before walking out from the room. Chrome was left behind with the mess, watching the French girl as she walks away.
She didn't know why but what is this feeling? Unlike the usual times she treated her, Chrome could feel that she's only gripping the fabric of her collar just now. However, she could feel every single step taken by the red head is heavy, as if she had just caught a huge impact.
The red head stood outside the mansion, trying to gasp her breath as her hands balled into fists. She tried to fight back the urge of crying. She is not going to let anyone see this soft and weak side of her. No, she should act strong just like she has always been even when her crush ignored her. Yet, his cold words kept on repeating in her mind.
"I never knew that you're such an untrustable woman. You broke my trust to you ever since the day you hurt MY Nagi. I used to trust you, and you're used to being one of the most important people for me. However, I don't think I could look at you as an important person in my life ever again." The bluenette said, his mix-matched orbs flashing a mixed expression of disappoint and anger, making M.M flinch.
"B-But Mukuro-chan, I… I…" she wasn't able to finish her sentence as the male illusionist pulled out a rectangle-shaped item from the night-stand.
"I don't need to listen to any of your reasons; this voice recorder explained everything to me, and it also let me understand what kind of person you really are."
The red head opened her mouth, yet closing it back once again since no voice came out from her throat.
"Ken and Chikusa also came to visit me just now and they bought me this." Mukuro pulled the bag under the medical bed. As he unzipped the worn-looking bag, M.M can't help but let out a gasp of surprise when she saw the letters stuffed inside it.
"These… are the letters that I sent to Chrome eight years ago. They found it in your desk. How are you going to explain this to me?"
Once again, she couldn't find her voice. She just stood there, dumbfounded as she doesn't know what she should say.
"Kufufu… I'll let you go this time, considering as you've been one of my most loyal comrades all these years. But remember. If you dare to hurt my Nagi ever again, I will kill you without any mercy, and let you die in the most painful and horrible way."
"Chrome Dokuro… you better not let him get hurt again… or else… I'll pull you down to hell with me…" M.M murmured out as she gritted teeth before she started running once again.
"Chrome-chan, how can she do such horrible things to you?!" Haru exclaimed as she helped the purplenette pull herself up. Chrome just gave the girls a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, Haru-chan, Kyoko-chan. They're just some light bruises and cuts I caught when I'm pushed on the floor… It's… not something really serious… really…" her eyes softened. M.M might always have treated her badly all these years, but… this time, she didn't feel a hatred aura around herb and she knows that the red head always had a crush on Mukuro for a long time. She can sort of understand why the red head is always so jealous of her.
'At least… everything is over now…' She gently smiled to herself as the girls wiped some antiseptic on her cuts and bruises.
"Kyoko-chan… Haru-chan… I… am sorry that I made a mess here." the purplentte apologized, as she glanced over the mess of shattered plates and glasses on the floor. God knows how much those expensive plates and glasses cost…
"Nah, it's alright, Chrome-chan. After all, Haru-chan and I were more worried over your safety just now when we heard the loud crashing sound. We're really glad when we found out that you're alright." Kyoko reassured her with her typical bright smile before taking out a roll of bandage from the first-aid-kit next to her.
All Chrome can do is blush as she murmurs a soft thank you to the two girls who had been willing to be her best friends all these years, and well, they are always by her side and accompanies her when she needed them.
"Mukuro-sama, I brought dinner for you." The purplenette gently knocked on the door a few times. However, there was no reply coming out from the bluenette. She started to panic, thinking that something bad might have happened to the pineapple head as she quickly opened the door, only to meet the male illusionist sleeping peacefully on the bed.
Chrome let out a relieved sigh, and silently reprimanded herself for getting worried so easily. She, out of all the guardians, knew that Mukuro Rokudo is an immortal man who won't die so easily.
The purplenette placed the tray of food on the night-stand, and is about to call the bluenette to wake up when she noticed that he is holding something in his hand.
It's an envelope, and there are more in the worn-looking bag that his hands are holding protectively.
She blinked her eyes in curiosity, and suddenly, she remembered what Mukuro told her about the letters. Is it possibly one of those letters? But what if she is wrong? What if this is just a letter from someone else for him. It will be rude of her if she reads the letters without his permission.
However, since her curiosity defeated her manner, her hand unconsciously moved towards his, and gently pulled the envelope out from his grip. Slowly and carefully, she opens the folded-letter, only to see that the content is empty.
"E-Eh?" she managed to say out, before a hand suddenly gripped hers tightly, making her squeak.
"Kufufu… I thought there was an unpleasant visitor… sorry if I scared you, Chrome…" the bluenette said, giving her a smile before glancing at the letter in her hands.
"U-Uhm… I'm sorry that I took this without your permission…" the purplenette quickly apologized. However, Mukuro just gave her a soft chuckle before he said, "What should you feel sorry for? That letter is for you anyway."
"M-Me?" Chrome asked in surprise and the male illusionist just nodded his head.
"If you wanted to read the letter, all you need to do is to break off the illusion I casted in it. I did it so no one other than you would be able to read the content." He explained, and this time, the purplenette just looked at the letter. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before breaking the spell with a snap of her fingers.
She watches as the notes slowly floated out in the blank letter. Her violets slightly widened as she read the content of the letter. She could feel her cheeks starting to heat up, and a tint of pink blush spread on them.
Mukuro, who saw her face slowly turned red and steamy, suddenly started to get nervous and at the same time, he could also feel warmth creeping on his face. Well, he can blame it on her cuteness that had never changed in these ten years. She just looked so incredibly adorable with that pink blush on her face.
"K-Kufufu… I guess it's better if you give it back to me, Chrome. Everything has passed and those letters were just written out when I was bored in the prison…" he pulled his hand out, ready to snatch the letter back when Chrome back away, avoiding him to get the letter.
"N-No, it's addressed to me, and it should belong to me from now on. A-And these too!" she quickly grabbed the worn-off bag from Mukuro, making the bluenette widen his eyes.
"I'm leaving now, your dinner is on the night-stand, and I'll take them later when you're done!" With that, the purplenette ran out from the room in a speed like thunder and slammed the door hard.
The purplenette stood outside the medical room, her face currently as red as a ripe tomato as she glanced down at the bag in her hands. She didn't know why, but she didn't mean to be rude to her ex-master just now… it's just… she felt a warm feeling in her heart as she read the letter he had given to her.
Bringing the bag close to her chest, she couldn't help but feel happy inside. It made her feel delighted to know that Mukuro never abandoned her, and that he had been replying her feelings for him all these years.
'Don't cry when I'm away, Nagi. If you ever miss me, just think about the time we spent with each other and remember that I'll always be by your side forever. I'll never leave you alone in this cruel world.'
If only she could read the letters earlier… but it doesn't matter to her right now anymore. At least… she finally knows that his feelings for her aren't fake. All she needs right now is time for herself, so she can slowly accept his feelings for her.
Mukuro watched as the purplenette ran out from the room. He immediately placed his palm on his forehead as he felt the strange feeling start aching up in his heart once again.
All these years, whenever he wrote those letters for Chrome, a strange bubbly and tingling feeling will swell up in his heart. And he had always been getting excited, as if hoping the purplenette will reply to his letters, but none. He never saw a letter she sent to him, slowly, it made him become depress, thinking that she hated him so deeply that she didn't even want to write to him.
However, right now, since all of the misunderstanding between them are finally cleared up, he felt relieved knowing that Chrome had always missed him, as the skylark told him.
"That herbivore… no matter how hard she tried to forget you, she always found herself staring at the Vongola mist ring you have left behind for her. She will smile as she stares at the ring, and she will even mumble your name under her breath."
He felt his face suddenly turning red at the thought, and so, he gave himself a hard slap on his left cheek. He winced at the stinging pain, but still, his frustration couldn't fade away. His mind was in a mess right now as he wondered how he actually fell for the girl. He tried to confess to her once, but then he got slapped twice and got some harsh words from her.
It made him feel uneasy and worried, wondering if he should try to propose to Chrome once again. He seriously didn't want to get the same treatment from Chrome when he confessed to her the first time ever again but he didn't want to hide his feelings forever either. He wanted to let her know how deeply he actually cared and loved her, however...
Will she accept him?
After all those years he had been treating her as a mere tool before he finally realized his true feelings for her?
To be continued.
Ending Note: M.M's role will stopped 'till here, or perhaps you want me to torture her even more in the future chapters? *evil smile* That will depend on you readers, okay? For peoples who expect a Chrome vs M.M fight... lol... gomen ne? =v=" But if more peoples vote for her to appear more, maybe... a cat fight will happen... O_o Oh, and more actions are coming soon in this story!
