Katekyo Hitman Reborn

My Fate is Certainly Uncertain

Chapter 15: Swimming

Overall Warnings: Violence, swearing, blood and Oc-ness.

[Written to:IU(아이유) _ The Red Shoes(분홍신)]

~o0o~

I don't think that I had the tamest temper or the amount of patience that Nana has to cope with as a housewife. I don't think I would cope well with being forced to reside in one spot for several hours at a time, slaving away with meager jobs like cleaning dishes, or mopping the floors. Sorting the papers at headquarters doesn't count as a lame chore because, at least then, I got to read about how one person took another life in a fit of rage or how a massive drug lord of Sicily got taken down due to a simple slip of the tongue.

Nana had a set routine and she liked to keep to it meticulously. Often at times, I found myself being bored out of my tiny little American brain, lounging around. I hadn't had any indications or bad vibrations that indicated there were enemies around. From what I had heard, Hayato had lost his match as well. I knew Bianchi felt pity for her brother and a few times, had even tried to feed her world famous garbage food. (In that sense, I felt pity for him too). Like I had said earlier, I hadn't felt any unknown presences, which either meant that they were too busy with the trials, too lazy to try and play dirty, or that they were going to do something but couldn't move just yet.

My gut told me that the third idea was the most likely.

Reborn agreed with my intuition, stating that his was going off as well.

"I don't trust Xanxus at all, even if he says he won't do anything. Don't you go trusting him either kiddo."

"Why would I?" I asked, shrugging, staring at him as he spoke blasphemy. "He's done no good for me and I see no reason to trust him yet. He's a horribly twisted man. I hope he doesn't succeed."

"He doesn't have his head screwed on right. He scares me."

I had no choice but to agree with Al on that. He scared me, he scared Tsuna, he scared his own guardians to a certain point.

I wondered if Reborn ever got scared.

~o0o~

Another day passed.

I spent the entire time looking after the kids while Nana waited patiently at Lambo's bedside; the reverberating clicking of the clock on the wall sounding in a steady motion. They were all sad that Lambo wasn't awake yet. His breathing at times was laboured, as if he was a grown woman in labour. It was short and harsh and I knew all too well that his prospect wasn't a bright one. But Al had assured me that they had seen the future Lambo, so that meant that he would be fine.

I hoped.

I hadn't been able to contact Iemitsu or Basil about the next round. It was going on right at this moment and not knowing only made me more nervous. I didn't know why I was starting to worry for them; they certainly weren't my family nor did they warrant any sort of marital ties to me or Reborn. (Except if maybe Hayato, if Bianchi got lucky enough.)

Seldom did any of us, that's the kids and I, eat the cafeteria food. I tried convincing Nana that she should just pack up for the day and go home; that it wouldn't do her any good if she wore herself out when she knew as well that it would be a while before Lambo woke up again. It took the most part of Kyoko and Haru, two of Tsunayoshi's girlfriends, who offered to watch over Lambo while she got some rest. They were lovely and kind, and I felt a motherly warmth from inside their developing souls. I knew that Tsuna liked that Kyoko girl, since he blushed and stuttered at the whisper of her name. (The boy was managing to harem in girls at his age, he'd probably go onto being the boss of the Mafia world, was the gist of my intuitions nagging.)

They told me I should go home as well.

"Nah, I'm alright." I replied, pushing my fringe out of my face. It was getting terribly long for my liking and several times in the past week I had thought about hacking it off with a pair of scissors myself. But Nana would never allow me to do such a thing, so she agreed to cut it. ("A girl's hair is her life! You should be more girly! That way, you can get a husband!" She shouted loudly and I gave Reborn this look of despair as he left me alone in the kitchen with her.)

"Hahi?" Haru cried, almost stamping her foot. "But Phillipa, you'll wear out too if you stay here! Go home, go sleep!"

I would have protested, but Al yawned just as much as I would have liked to. My thoughts crumbled in and every remaining excuse I had to stay here fell over like a brick wall being demolished.

"I want to go to sleep~"

"You do, huh?" I rubbed his ear. "Alright then. I'll head home."

Any more things that these girls would offer to do and I'll be out of the job in no time.

~o0o~

I felt really weird to say that walking in the streets of Namimori at night was somewhat enlightening. It wasn't as bad as walking in San Jose or Florence at night, where it's almost likely that if you don't keep up with your surroundings, you'll get jumped. It's not a nice thing, so even here, I keep my guard up like always.

But the night breeze blew in a cooling wind. It had been a hot day, one that was humid and that made my shirt stick to my arms and torso. Hot weather like this, this late in the year was something I hadn't expected. It was a nice change.

The house was dead quiet when I opened the door. All the lights were off and upstairs, I heard rhythmic breathing.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

That was the way it sounded and that's the way it continued when I closed the door. Al was asleep in my arms so I tried to be careful when climbing the stairs and the ladder. I laid him down in his usual spot, which was on my pillow; his nose wiggling in his sleep. But just as I was about to shut the floor-door that was attached to an extendible step ladder, my butt vibrated.

Whoops, I meant my phone, which was in the back of my pants pocket.

Standing, I took out my cell and checked the caller id.

Are you kidding me? At this time of night?

"What is it Dino?"

He must have noticed the annoyance in my tone because he first off apologized. "Sorry, did I wake you up again?"

"No you didn't." I shook my head. In fact, this was the first time since I first arrived in Japan that he called me. "Sorry for snapping at you."

"Tough day, huh?"

"No, just a long one."

Not as much as Yamamoto would have, with Squalo as his partner.

Realising my train of thought, I aha'd. "Speaking of which, how did it go!?"

He chuckled. "You clever thing, I was just calling about it. That and a favor."

"How did you know I'd want to hear?"

"When did you not want to hear how a fight went? You're like a mother bear to this group."

"If I'm a bear, then you've gotta be the koala of the house."

It was true. He ate and slept and didn't really do anything else, except squeal when Reborn chased after him.

"What?!" He yelled and then, I heard someone ushering him. "Yes, yes Romario, I'm getting to it."

Oh right, that favor.

"What did you want to ask me?"

"Can you come to the school quickly?"

I looked at my watch and told him yes. I wrote a quick note, not wanting Al to be worried about me like he was last time and slipped out of the house and into the night.

~o0o~

I arrived at the school ten minutes later, running. It would have taken much longer if I had walked. Dino was waiting outside, right at the school gates, texting on his phone. I guessed his men were there as well, since there were many black cars parked on and along the sidewalk. I called out to him and he looked up, just as the wind died down. Thank goodness it didn't rain tonight.

"Hey."

"What, no Al?" He asked, looking for my fleaball.

"No, he's asleep. I wasn't prepared to wake him up; he'd scratch my face off."

He was just like a hormonal teenager. I'm sure I was difficult to deal with when I was one, but boy oh boy was he ever more subtle.

Dino laughed, happy that he wasn't.

That confused me.

"Come on then, we don't have much time." He grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the grounds. I tried tugging away, but he held on tight.

"W-Wait Dino! W-What's going on, you haven't explained anything?!"

"I thought you would have known already, since you can read minds." He smiled cheekily and apologised when I glared at him. "Aha, sorry, sorry. You want to know what?"

"Like where are you taking me. Why?"

We made it to the southern end of the middle school. I wasn't sure what to call the building, since the last school I attended was mainly on one floor and spanned a much larger area than this. But I think, after seeing the boarded up windows that were covered with bars and the water that was spilling out of the door, that I could assume with much certainty that this was the location if night's trials.

My gut dropped.

"I-Is Yamamoto okay?"

Dino looked back, frowned with wide caramel coated eyes, the brim of his coat bocking part of his face. I swore in my mind, his expression looked so forlorn that I probably gasped.

"He's fine." He whispered and I smiled in relief, whispering.

"Thank goodness…"

He really scared me there….

"But, that's not why you're here."

He ushered me into the building, which I was surprised to see it still standing. The middle floors were gutted out and had collapsed on each other. Water flowed over top of them, flooding the room. Some of the main structural beams had been damaged severely, so I wasn't too settled to remain under this roof for a while.

"Looks like a tornado came in."

"That's real close to what actually happened." He smiled, recalling what happened.

Romario followed us in, along with two other of Dino's men, who stood on either side of the door, with their hands clamped, sitting comforting across their lower torsos. I could read their minds easily, but they were unnerving as they stared at the three of us with their eyes covered with sunglasses, even though it was night. Very unnecessary in my opinion.

But I knew how they felt.

They didn't trust me even talking to Dino.

And that was okay with me. I personally hadn't talked to many of them either when I trained with Dino because I never really stayed at his house. We would travel to different areas for training, by the request of his father.

"It won't be an easy job to repair." Romario remarked. "But somebody will pay for it quickly."

"Or Hibari won't be Hi-appy." I frowned at my own attempted pun. "I'm sorry you had to hear that."

"Ehe…"

"Alright, enough." Romario said, getting serious and Dino nodded.

"We need you to find Squalo."

"Eh?"

He frowned sadly. "I know you know that Yamamoto won this trial."

I nodded. I saw the fight in his mind. And boy, was it ever so intense.

"And, earlier I had tried to save him, but once I had seen off Tsuna, parts of the roof had collapsed in. When I got back, we couldn't find him anymore."

I looked at the crumbled building. "..."

"I think you can help us find him Phillipa. Please."

I folded my arms. "You think I can hear him?"

Dino nodded in the tiniest bit, his eyes searching for invisible floating words. He breathed inwards. "I do."

"Why me? I'm sure Reborn would do a better job than me."

He shrugged and I felt an endearment escaping his soul. "I thought of you first. I know you can do it."

He didn't speak the question, but I heard it clear enough. I nodded while kicking a small bit of rubble, looking at my surroundings with a slight uneasiness.

I felt uneasy because I couldn't think. I couldn't hear.

Couldn't concentrate.

I looked back a Dino. "Sorry, but can you and your men vamoose? I can't hear anything with you guys hanging around."

He nodded in understanding and ushered everybody out, closing the door behind him. (Considerate of him, but not much help.)

~o0o~

Dino closed the door nervously, leaving Phillipa behind in the room alone. He didn't like the feeling of leaving her alone in a dangerous area. Neither did he know how her powers worked, but if she said she needed space then he would give it to her gladly. If she was anything like Reborn, which she startlingly was to the surprise of many who didn't know their relationship, he knew better than to make her angry.

He'd rather see her smile.

"Should we give Miss ten minutes then Boss?" Romario asked, looking at his watch.

Dino nodded, agreeing with the suggested time. "Yeah. We'll wait and see how it goes. If she doesn't find anything, I'll ask her if she needs more time or else we'll have to get some diggers in."

"Are you sure Boss?" One of his men asked questioningly. "Should we trust her? What if she's a spy?"

"She could hurt you." Another said, worryingly.

Dino felt hurt at his mens' comments and he knew they were concerned only for his safety and the safety of the famiglia, but he couldn't help but feel offended. He turned on his heel and glared sharply at them. Dino never looked at them like that, so they were shocked and somewhat surprised at their boss' sudden mood swing.

What did she do to him?

"She's not a spy for god sakes! She works for the CEDEF and is related to Reborn. Phillipa isn't the type to purposely hurt someone out of spite! Think before you speak or I will take further action against you, do you hear?!"

The men who spoke blushed in embarrassment and avoided his eye contact, their hands fidgeting. Dino sighed heavily, feeling guilty. No longer was his face so sharp looking; it had returned into softer, rounder tones that was shaped by his heavy bangs.

"Just give her ten minutes. We're waiting and that's that."

~o0o~

I heard the sounds of Dino's footsteps fading away, the door blocking the bulk of the noise from the outside. From the inside, I could see the moon above.

I closed my eyes and breathed out, steadying myself. I hadn't before tried to look for a person's thoughts. They had always come through my airways out of the fishing net that called my consciousness. So I didn't have an idea out there how to find him.

All I could hear was the dripping of the water and I stepped over the rubble, stepping into ankle deep water. It's intuition, I guess that led me for a midnight dip.

I felt like a fisherman with a single rod at the end of a wharf. I could wait all I wanted and never get anything.

"Squalo?"

Why I expected an answer, I have no flipping clue.

But I could feel a tiny red thread pull me further into the water, to the other side of the rubble. The feeling of pain didn't wash over me like a waterfall. It was more like getting a bucket of water thrown at your face. Like closing your eyes and feeling the impact of it, the sudden pain of it going up your nose.

I didn't need a vocal reply to know where I was needed.

"Where…..there?" I asked the air, feeling what was around me. I tried to reach out, knowing that I wouldn't touch anything.

I didn't know what to call it. It wasn't a thought nor could it be something simple as an emotion. I couldn't pick up on those, only by the tone of their thoughts.

It felt alien. I tilted my head to the main part of the rubble which was partly submerged. "Over there?"

It was too late to save my sneakers since they were already wet, but despite that I took them off as they would be horrible to swim in.

What are you doing, you can't just jump in there! You hate swimming!

Why not, he's over there! And that's the point! He'll die here if I don't find him!

Despite my inner protests, I dove into the cold water and swam deeper. The ground floor had collapsed into the basement, so the water was a good way down. The coldness made my skin crawl and due to the fact that I couldn't stand to swim even now. I was forced to the surface in a fluster, sputtering.

"Huah….hah…."

I breathed in and dove under again, opening my eyes, looking through the murky green waterland. I felt myself being pulled to the left and so, I swam that way and reached a couple of boulders. I steadied myself.

It was very difficult to see under there. The murkiness didn't help, but I could see the cracks between the scaffolding and I could feel an air pocket when I stuck my hand it.

I also felt something very soft.

Hair.

That was all the time I could hold my breath. I retracted my arm and headed up to the surface, whipping back my wet hair, wishing I had brought along a hair tie. I looked at my watch, which could stand the pressure of being underwater for a certain period of time.

It had been seven minutes.

Unlikely it was that the air pocket would remain there for long, at the rate that the water was filling up. I now knew that he was definitely down there and that I would have to act quickly. The problem was the scaffolding.

I wasn't prepared to stick my arm in there again, afraid that it might collapse on me. If that happened, I would surely drown in a matter of minutes.

But with another idea in my head, I dove down once again with one big gulp. It was difficult to find the same spot again, but I managed to in about twenty seconds, feeling my way through the murkiness. when I found the crevice, I focused my barrier in the centre and expanded it. Under the water, I hear the building creek as the rocks and rubble of the previously sturdy building fall away; my heart skipped and I almost tried to breathe. But immediately, I worked fast. I didn't have time to watch because even a second could mean death for Squalo. Why Dino wanted him alive, I had no blinking clue, but after him asking I felt an obligation. I didn't know why I wanted him to live myself.

As soon as the rubble cleared and enough room was made for me to fit though, I swam quickly and grabbed onto Squalo's uniform as he floated freestyle, his limbs not moving. I pulled him along and coughed when I felt the air rush into my lungs. They burned fiercely.

My ears were ringing but even so, I was able to hear my name being called out. And in a flash, big arms took Squalo out of mine and I felt more of them link around my waist.

I looked up to see Dino and Romario swimming while the rest of his men stood around the edge, worrying dearly.

I gripped onto his shirt until we made it back to the edge and he pushed me up. I helped him up after, along with Romario, who was making sure Squalo's head was above the water.

"What the heck is wrong with you Phillipa!" Dino yelled angrily as the men took Squalo away on a stretcher. His face was scrunched up.

"What the heck is wrong with you Dino!" I yelled back, with just as much loudness. "You were the one that asked me to find him! I'm fine,I'm alright!"

"You were reckless! You could've gotten hurt! You could've gotten attacked by the shark!"

There was a shark down there? Then why didn't it attack me? I didn't feel it at all….

I just shook my head. What the heck was wrong with him? I just did what he asked me to do! And he should be thanking me that I even came out at this time of night!

I was so sick and tired of hearing constant jabbering.

My ears hurt and I was so tired.

"Whatever, I'm going home." I said, picking up my shoes.

Dino grabbed my wrist. "No, you're coming with me to the hospital. You're bleeding!"

Bullshit.

"No, I'm fine, it's probably just a small cut, no biggie."

"No big biggie! You're not fine! Why won't you listen?!"

I pulled my wrist back. "Just leave me alone will you?! I'm wet and tired and I haven't had a day off in over a month!" I regretted stamping my foot in anger. Not at him but overall I was just so frustrated and so fed up. My hands were shaking.

I covered my hands and tried to breathe normally.

I really hated swimming.

Dino sighed sadly, trying to find words to say that wouldn't upset me. I know he was meaning good, I know he's such a great guy, but I was just too tired to deal with any more people today. Tonight. Whatever.

"Sorry Dino. I know you mean well and that you're too kind to me, but I promise I'll be fine. I just need sleep right now."

He gulped, his jaw clenching at my pathetic protest.

But he agreed.

"Alright then. But I'm taking you home, you hear? I don't want you out at night by yourself."

I nodded, too tired to argue anymore. But as I looked around at everybody I felt hesitant.

"B-But is there enough room for me? Won't one of your men have to walk? I don't want you to inconvenience anybody because of my sake."

"Take mine Miss!" One of the men shouted, bowing. "Please don't worry about us! We're here to serve the Boss and his friends!"

"Thank you." Dino said and quickly, he pulled me away to the car.

I didn't get a chance to thank him.

~o0o~

I didn't notice myself falling asleep. You never do, you know. All you feel is the quietness of whenever you're at and then bam! It's suddenly morning. You may or may not remember rolling over, or getting up to go to the bathroom or waking up from a really bad dream. The feeling of the bright morning sun on your face, the inside of your eyes a skin textured red.

I don't remember any of that.

I woke up in darkness, with my head pounding and my hand bandaged. Until I realised that my head was under the sheets completely, I genuinely thought that it was still nighttime.

My head was in the wrong place. Not the same place as Xanxus, but it was pretty much out there. I felt woozy when I sat up, noticing that Al was bounding in from the kitchen with tuna in his mouth. The smell of pumpkin wafted right by me and I looked to my right at the tray of soup next to the bed, with three pieces of toast, without butter.

"Morning Sunshine," Al purred energetically, putting the small fish down at his paws. They dug in and out of it, and I'm sure if it was carpet instead of wooden floorboards, it would have stuck and made holes.

"Al…" I whispered, breathing out as I did so. His voice felt far away, but I put that down to blocked ears. They were always like that when I went swimming.

"What a chaos you made when you got home last night!"

"I didn't puke on anyone I don't think, so it couldn't have gotten bad."

"I'm glad that you left me a note, otherwise I would've reacted the same way Reborn did! He was more than miffed that you would do something reckless as diving into a shark infested pool! You should've seen him yell at Dino Phillipa, oh you should have heard him defend you!"

Dino…...defended me?

"I….I didn't know….He just asked….and I helped him." I shrugged lightly.

Beside the tray, was three notes. One was in very pretty writing, Nana's.

Phillipa~

Next time you decide to go off at night, be more careful! You're very lucky Dino saved you after you hit your head on those rocks! You gave me a right scare when he carried you home!

Anyway, I made you some soup. Eat it all up, you've got to build up your energy!

Love, Mama

I sighed.

She's still wanting me to call her Mama…..I'll never do that…

"It smells really good." Al mused. "I wish I could eat it."

"Do you want some?"

"No, it'll give me a stomach ache."

I picked up the second note.

Hey Cuckoo,

Heard you were having a tough time.

Trust me, it won't be long now till the trials are over and you can have a month off, okay?

Plus, when you get better, I need you to pick up the Mist Candidate for Tsuna for tonights trial and drop them off at the school. They're at Kokuyo Land, an abandoned theme park.

-Iemitsu

I screwed it up and chucked it in the bin.

That man was a hard worker indeed and pushed everyone to strive down the same path.

Looks like I was stumbling.

I didn't want anybody to look at me like I was getting weak. If I slept the day off and woke up around five, I could be just find to get up and find whoever the Mist user was.

Dino's was next. I knew his handwriting immediately. It's quite neat for a guy's, probably neater than mine, now that I think about it.

Phillipa.

His handwriting was scribbled out messily, but then it continued in a neat fashion underneath it. It seemed he thought hard before writing.

You must have really been tired to fall asleep in the car. Romario said you were just tired, but I was still concerned at the amount of blood that was pouring from your head. You really scared me there. Even some of the guys were asking about you.

It's unusual that the shark didn't attack you. It was so vicious to everyone that tried to catch it after you left. We even had to tranquilize it so we could throw a net over it. (The zoo reported it missing, so I think they'll be glad to get it back.) Maybe you're like Doctor Dolittle? Ehe, well, you do talk to Al...

Don't push yourself too hard. You'll give Reborn another heart attack. I don't know if you've heard the fight we both had between each other, but I'm sure you will when you see Reborn next. I'm sorry for asking you to come. You do every time and I'm grateful. Just remember that.

I've just gotten news from the hospital. Squalo's doing fine, thanks to you. He's unconscious and extremely injured, but he would have been shark bait if you hadn't dived in.

What you said back there about how I shouldn't worry about you, how you tried to convince me even though you didn't notice your nose bleeding.

That's just too bad for you.

I wanted to say something right there, when you were shaking. But I'm not ready to say it yet, so when the time comes, promise me you'll listen. That's all I'm asking.

-Dino.

I smiled at the emotion in his writing. I could feel his worry. He usually started stuttering when he was worried and his voice would go high if he was hiding something. It made me glad.

"You're a smiling idiot." Al said, sitting on my lap after devouring the tuna. "You like like him."

"W-WHAT?!"

Al's smile was more evident in his thoughts. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed Phillipa. Pur-lease, you're not that daft,are you?"

I looked at the paper in my hand with an open mouth.

H-How could he suggest something like that!

"W-We're just friends Al!"

"By the sounds of it, he likes you too, you monkey!"

"Look who's being daft! I'm not the type of person who anyone would like that way. I'm cynical and snarky and difficult. I piss people off for fun! I'm not that likable!"

"You really need to take yourself seriously Phillipa." He said, suddenly being serious."You're a lovely young woman, who's caught the eyes of a lot of men. Even if you've just been walking past them, they look. You may not notice, but I do. You're such a beautiful woman. Don't ever think that you're not good enough."

I felt my cheeks flare up. He flustered me with his words. Of course I noticed them ogling at me! That doesn't mean I have to look at them! I just ignore them like I usually do!

My eyes traced the edges of the paper again, looking at Dino's delicate handwriting.

If that's the truth….

Then I'd be happy.

Not that it will be that.

It won't even remotely be that. He's probably upset about last night and wants to apologise. That's all.

I was lying to myself again, knowing all too well what I felt in my gut.

I really liked Dino.

~o0o~

Like I had planned, I did indeed sleep most of the day away, after eating the meal that Nana had left for me.

But I woke up refreshed.

I really did feel better than when I did this morning, or all week for that matter. It was quarter to five when I awoke. Not bad timing, eh?

Al awoke just after I had, stretching his little kitty limbs, wagging his butt in the air.

Such a nice sight to wake up to.

"Let's get going!" I yelled, flicking the blankets off.

"Remember what I told you!"

"Take it easy, I know gramps. I will. But if I stay in bed any longer, I'll lose my head!"

"Too late for that love."

~o0o~

I found Kokuyo land, which reminded me of Tokyo land, on Google maps and arrived there at half past six, give or take two or three minutes. It didn't matter what time I had gotten there. All that mattered is that I got back in time.

And, to my relief, I didn't have to go looking so far because as I stepped into the grounds, I was barked at.

Literally.

The boy, probably younger than Bianchi, was the one to snap first. His mind was faster than a speeding bullet and had a quick temper, but I knew that was to the lack of trust he had with people.

Mind you, they are living in an abandoned theme park.

Couldn't possibly figure out why he had trust issues.

*cough*-Vindice-*cough*

"Who the fuck are you!" He barked, baring his teeth like a dog, unintentionally being the spitting image of what he sounded like.

"Well who. The fuck. Are you!"

I raised my hands in peace. "Is the Mist user here for the Vongola?"

"Why the fuck would it be any of your business! S-"

"It's okay, Ken."

The girl who spoke stepped out from behind him stepped out, clutching a menacing looking trident in her hand. She looked at me, but it didn't feel like she was really looking.

She made me nervous.

"Who are you?" She asked. "What do you want?"

I bowed. "I'm Phillipa, of the CEDEF. I'm here to escort you to the Trials, if you'll let me. I promise, that's all I'm here for."

"OF CO-"

"Sure." She chirped.

"Well that was easy."

I blinked. "Aren't you suspicious?"

"No. You didn't lie when you were speaking, so I believe you."

I smiled at the fact that she believed me. I wasn't so ready to fight with anyone just yet.

"Well, thank you. But you shouldn't be so trusting of people, okay! Especially tonight, got it? Knock him dead, okay!"

She nodded, agreeing with me.

"And you." I looked at the sandy blond, who stood next to the one with glasses. "Don't cuss at me in your head idiot, I can hear you. Do it again, and I'll kick your ass so far, you'll fly back to a Billy Joel concert."

He shut up around me after that.

~o0o~

I didn't stay around to watch the fight, as Iemitsu still wanted me home to watch over the family, not only because of my health.

He's got his priorities straight, doesn't he?

In saying that, I wanted to set my matters straight, as the final fights were looming. My gut feeling was warning me. It wasn't anything suspicious, just rather a very heavy, and a very bad feeling.

I took out my phone and texted Dino. He wasn't at the trial tonight, so I assumed he was at the hospital with Squalo. (I still had no idea how they knew each other other than ties with the Mafia. A Bro-mance, maybe?)

Ignoring my inner thoughts and the foreign sense of nervousness making my hands shake, I begun helping Nana with dinner, blocking out everything. I just wanted to relax tonight.

~o0o~

Dino sat alone, reading a woman's magazine that was lying randomly around in one of the waiting rooms. It wouldn't have been missed, with the front cover torn off so that it couldn't be sold if it was stolen, so he took it without hesitation and waited in the plastic chair by Squalo's bedside.

But in the quietness, his ringtone played; an old Dean Martin song that was on repeat often when his father was alive.

Thanks. I owe you one.

His heart skipped a beat.

~o0o~

All ze girly feels~ *Tingles* A hidden reference too~ If you get it, I'll give you a hug :D

My usual thanks, but I have to type up quickly, as the bus for school will leave soon.

Thanks Rena! Thanks Ducky!

Replies:

Chibianimefan18: Welcome back from wherever you went~! B1A4 is a K-pop band that, I guess, I really really like. watch?v=G81MuaayVEI

LifeIsARayOfSunshine: Aw, that's such a cute scene to imagine~

Akayuki Sawada: Yeah, sorry for not writing the fight bit. I'm not too good at those...

Mystique-world-master: *Shields Dino* Ohnonono my Ducky, I need him!

Anywhosie, that's not a word.

Bye!

-Verdigurl