Katekyo Hitman Reborn
My Fate is Certainly Uncertain
Chapter 21: Lude
Overall Warnings: Violence, swearing, blood and Oc-ness.
[Written to: EXO - Miracles in December]
~oOo~
Many times in his overspent lifestyle, Reborn worked hard to achieve his accomplishments. What, you'd thought the the World's Greatest Hitman got his name from simply lazing around, watching the world go by with a piping hot cup of coffee in his hand as Leon purred on the brim of his fedora? No, he earned that title. He worked very hard for the things he wanted in his life even if to most, it didn't seem like it. He never wanted kids to begin with, didn't like how the children screamed and cried in his ears. It didn't help that ever since the curse took place that he was often stopped in the middle of the street, the strangers thinking that the little boy must have wandered off. Of course, this ploy isn't fully useless, if the one he's trying to cheat doesn't know his name or what he looks like, or even of the unfortunate circumstances that have fallen upon this great man.
That being said, about him hating children very much apart from those who were quiet, he prefered to be with Phillipa. He probably would have turned his back on her, if she was anything like Lambo. That one phone call he made to his ex-girlfriends many, many residencies so many years ago fueled a light of excitement. The girl, barely over six or seven at the time, was able to lie her way with the many people he observed. Phillipa never did manage to catch a glimpse of him while he staked her and her family out. He only saw his ex once or twice, before the family would disappear completely, ending up somewhere new that he had to scan.
She was the first thing to make him change. You would have never guessed it, if you were as close as Nana or Tsuna was to him. She thought like him, challenged his egotistical deductions and made everything into a big drama. She didn't like being the centre of attention - apart from when Dino was looking, the bastard - nor did she make an effort to further herself in a group situation. He noticed how she would simply disappear some days and returning days to a week later, without batting an eye. She was turning into her mother.
"Giannini, can you scan the map again?" Reborn asked, as the heat from the coffee whisked off of the brown-black surface, dancing into the air in steamy pirouettes. He sipped it. "Anything at all?"
"No, her transmitter has either been destroyed or she's turned it off."
"Can you get a hologram through?"
"Not with the state it's in; that would be impossible."
Damn it Phillipa….You better be okay…..
"Well, what about the others?"
"Some of their transmitters are working, but I'm guessing that won't l-last f-for long…..I just hope they keep their heads out of trouble…."
Reborn inhaled the scent of the roasted coffee beans through his nose, and sipped, thinking that his own father would be giving him a look of total failure to look after his own child.
~o0o~
0
Boiji annneun neol chajeuryeogo aesseuda
Deulliji annneun neol deureuryeo aesseuda
0
~o0o~
Miles away, in a land that was miles away from Japan - a place where Dino felt home at most, when he was away from his real homeland - the self-proclaimed blond was sitting in his oval office that was connected via a hallway to the main house. Away from all of the noise and the other occupants of the house - more like a mansion, Tsuna once remarked to him - this was where Dino could be at peace. Here, he didn't have to face the outside world. Here, he could get the paperwork he needed done. The financial month had proved itself to be a fruitful one. Dino was banking in more than forty percent of his annual rates that usually came in with dealing with overseas trade.
Dino brushed back his over-combed fringe, signing off one of the last papers he had to for this month. There was always a rush to get things finished, around this time of the year. People had lives, and they wanted to get back to their families before the New Year started. Dino understood the holiday well. After all, his own father loved celebrating it with him.
There was a quiet knock on the door, that echoed and rebounded off of the round interior of the room, and he didn't have to look up form scribbling his signature on the documents and stamping them to know who was knocking. Romario, opened the door, and saw a rather normal sight that he had gotten used to over the years. As his hair grew grayer and skin started to sag down, so to did his concern for his boss. He always bundled himself in the office and always, always had the liquor cabinet well stocked, for when someone came a-calling.
"Sir, it's almost lunchtime. Why don't you put down the pen and come out to the garden? The maids have cooked chicken for you today."
Dino didn't look up from his work. "Tell them to send it here. I won't be able to leave for a while."
Out of respect, Romario refuted the idea of rolling his eyes in front of his boss. But, in all honesty, Dino was much harder to deal with than his previous boss.
"Will you tell that to Libby when she asks you to come for christmas dinner?"
This time, Dino definitely looked up at Romario, his right hand man. He would often poke at him to go hang out with his daughter more, but for Dino, the thought of it felt impossible. His heart and mind held him back from passing through those doors. Dino shook his head, and returned to writing.
"Maybe. We'll see."
Dino's quiet, almost undetectable refusal became a common pest peeking up out of every corner of the house and to Romario, who had no family to go home to, didn't want to see his boss throw away their relationship, just because of her mother. It didn't seem fair.
But in that moment, the phone rung. After the third, Dino sighed and picked up the reciever with his right hand, holding it to his ear with his shoulder, while he continued to scribble down notes.
"What is it Carpello? Do you need more bolts?"
There was a pause on the line, and all that could be heard was a breathing pattern that hitched when he spoke.
"Hello, Pipsqueak Dino. Long time, hasn't it?"
~o0o~
0
I'm struggling to find you who I cannot see
I'm struggling to find you who I cannot hear
0
~o0o~
I hadn't ever seen the colour black like that was, as it covered my entire vision. It was everywhere. I'd thought, for the briefest moment, the briefest second that I had fainted. The sound of fluttering clothes denied my idea, as it was a cape that swallowed over me from Genkishi's sword. I moved my head to the left, to see the long beak in the menacing mask the man was wearing. His high collared cape blocked the majority of his face, but it couldn't hide his stark, white mask that gave me quite the impression.
The beak was the only distinctive feature that I could point out. There were no decorations, or identifying features of this man who had mysteriously saved me. All that I knew, was that his voice was deeper than Genkishi's and that his arm was clinging to my side, pulling me in closer for protection.
"Move." Genkishi said mercilessly, stepping forward. "I'll obliterate you after the girl."
"I hate fighting, but you are quite the catch, young man." The man said, his voice booming. I felt a smile in his tone, and it began to occur to me that it felt all too familiar. "However, due to the fact that you're about to hurt my Phillipa…" He raised his hand, and soon, everything was gone, replaced with a blinding light. I closed my eyes and buried my head down. "...I have to ask you to disappear!"
As the light faded, I gawked in amazement as Genkishi was no longer there. I pushed the man away and swayed, looking at my arm. There was blood trickling the end of my fingertips.
"W-Where…where is he?"
"Gone." The man said simply. "Somewhere, perhaps in the base, I'm not too sure. It's been a while since I've zapped someone."
"And who are you?" I asked waringly, almost begging myself not to ask. My chest was heavy, and he didn't have to answer to confirm what I had already gotten from his mind.
"I'm Al. Don't you remember me?"
~ooo…..
My natural instinct was to get away, get out of his grasp. My hands snapped away from the numbness of my surprise and pushed him away quite violently. The move caused a vivid burst of pain to return to my arm, which I had forgotten about in my shock.
"Get away!" I shouted, stumbling onto my feet, stepping back a metre away. From a crumpled way he hung himself, Al, or whoever this was, stood straighter as I eyed him over. This didn't make any god for shame freaking fraggle sense. I mean, Al is a cat. A CAT. A gosh darn Felis Catus! I've known him since the day he called out to me on the fence.
Never.
Never ever did I consider him to be human. It wasn't in my comprehension note pad, nor did I get a fucking memo when I was sixteen, seventeen years young. This wasn't possible. How the heck can a cat go from four paws to two feet?!
What in god's name was happening? Really?
"...the fuck?" Was all I managed to spit out. Al stood taller than me, taller than Yamamoto or Dino for that fact. I must have looked so sad, or betrayed in his eyes.
I didn't want to stand near him.
"That was expected…" He said, in the deep voice I heard once before. His head nodded as he spoke and he waltzed around in the spot, looking at me the whole time. "I didn't expect you to jump up and kiss me, or anything dramatically happy….."
"No shit I won't!" I yelled. "What the heck Al? You're a human, really? How come this didn't come up before because I swore, the last time I checked you were a fucking legitimate feline."
"Not originally, no. But I liked cats."
"Enough to turn into one?" I questioned. "How the hell is that possible anyway. It must have been one hell of an illusion to keep it up for five years, maybe even more."
He nodded again, but this time, his voice was more urgent. "Phillipa, I spent so much time as a cat that it's become extremely hard for me to keep an appearance like this." He gestured to himself. "And we can't talk here. That guy might come back, and I don't know if I can hold myself against him. Physically, I'm not a good fighter."
"No!" I yelled, stomping one foot, like a child who didn't get their own way. I didn't want to go anywhere with him. "No. You're going to tell me who the heck you are and after, I don't know if I can trust you! I gave it to you before, but now you've just blown it!"
"Please, please calm down! Someone might hear us!"
"No! No, I-"
Quicker than a bat of the eye, he covered my mouth and pulled me towards the door, trying to use as much strength as he could. It was then, while he pulled me down the hallways, that I couldn't move. I don't know what was making my legs numb, the shock or his powerful grip. Either way, I was in no position to go anywhere by myself. His gloved hand remained around my mouth, and when I tried to talk, muffled sounds were all that could be heard over the tapping of his footsteps.
"Oh…...Sorry….."
"I was asking why you've covered yourself up completely." I looked up at him as we turned a corner. "That's something to be suspicious about."
He paused, but never stopped running. His long strides were even.
"I have burns, all over my body, from an accident several years ago, from before I met you. I turned into a cat more times than I could count, just so that I wouldn't look at them."
My eyes thinned. "Yeah right."
"Go on. Pull one of my gloves off. You want to look at my scars just to prove to yourself that I'm telling the truth? Go on."
The way he pushed my mentality felt similar to when he was a cat. Like a poking cattle prod, one that worked without electricity, it stuck in my side and didn't go anywhere till I made an effort to change it myself. So I did pull up part of his glove, and he was right. It was his own body, after all.
Scabby as they were, I was still in disbelief.
I felt isolated.
~o0o~
Genkishi, despite his mist ring's properties, was totally confused to what had happened just before. He'd appeared, alone, in a separate hanger, different to the one where the intruders had been spotted. He stood there, unaware for a moment, mot moving from his battle stance.
What in the world had happened right now?
Certainly, it felt impossible for someone to suddenly appear and disappear because of the whim of another, in the briefest of moments, without the person even moving to do so! The two of them felt like bad news. He'd gotten word that others had gotten into the hanger, but he didn't expect anything like those two.
The girl fought like she had nothing to lose. With no limits, he certainly didn't go easy on her. She must have been from the past, along with the Vongola kids. Because, despite their similar ages, he felt a similarity between her and the late Lady Chiavarone. That in itself was something to be weary of. The way she went was bad. Extremely creepy.
And that man. He didn't feel his aura, like he did with hers. He appeared out of nowhere, scaring him, the one time that he would inwardly admit to ever being surprised.
But his aura, once he did find it, was terrifying.
They shouldn't be here. It wasn't safe with them running around.
Luckily, he had gotten zapped to the south side of the base. Luckily, that was near the control room, to where he could report to Shouichi. When he got there, after five minutes of trudging around, he saw Shouichi in a state that would be considered tough by anyone who didn't know he was a leader within the Mafia, or that they just didn't know him at all.
But on the inside, he was scared. The man was a scaredy cat, but what he told him after just made him more nervous.
What an odd day he was having.
~o0o~
We stopped running in a hallway that, by all means, that looked like any of the others. Honestly, I was getting rather sick of seeing them. I'd rather be outside, lounging in the shade of the summer sun, not letting myself get too burned, but enough to feel fuzzy and warm for the rest of the night.
Al put me down, once he was sure that we weren't being followed. He tried to control his breathing, and it looked like he was struggling under the amount of clothes he was wearing. I was becoming slightly worried, both at how he was faring and what he was hiding, but right now - with his stubbornness that was so much like the Al I knew back in time - I wouldn't be able to persuade him at this moment.
"When this is over, will you tell me who you are?" I asked, rather quietly. Movingly, would be a good word.
He never replied, but ordered me to stay here.
"I'm not staying here alone." I said, looking around. "This place is creepy."
"We don't have a choice. There are two more power rooms that need to be shut down. If we split, we can get through this faster."
"Are you kidding!?" I yelled. "Al, do you know what happens to the stupid white people who split up in a horror movie! They die! This is a freaking horror set, and I don't wanna split like a banana peel. What if we don't find each other!?"
"We will." He said, pulling me close into an awkward hug. "I will find you and I won't leave till I will. We're family, remember? Family's gotta stick together. You, me and Reborn."
"And Dino." I repeated, looking up at him. "He's important to me."
He nodded, and accepted my answer, regardless of what he was thinking. Just like Reborn, parts of him were. The need to protect me from every guy who walked the earth was a trait found in both of their souls.
And now, it was time for me to do my job.
I knew where the next room was. I downloaded the map of the area to my phone when we were first shown it by Bianchi. To not use something so within reach of my hands would be a little foolish at this point.
It took thirteen minutes to get there. The bottom of my feet were sore by the time I reached the door and as I was alone, I felt like starting the first day at a new school, something that I knew all too well. I didn't know what to expect, or how to go about this one, since when I tried the key card, it failed.
That meant that either the woman had woken up, or that they could trace the card. Shit.
And I knew I was in trouble when a tall, blond man walked out of the same door.
He bore the same expression as me, but was the first to speak.
"You're quick, I'll say that."
~o0o~
Hey Guys, how's life?! I hope you're all doing okay in this festive season. I wanted to post something before/during Christmas as a gift to y'all, so here you go! I had such a wonderful time in Japan, and you can see some of the pictures in my new Deviantart page "The-Vindictive-Irony." This is an attempt at a new account, so I would like it if you go take a look and let me know! Sometimes I take commissions, and now that my printer's fixed, everything is wonderful!
Thanks to everybody who left a review, left a follow or decided to fav. (Ze best kind of like!)
And welcome back to my BETA reader! Yay, now I won't get embarrassed by making mistakes!
Replies: (Oh boy. Some of them I have no idea how to go around….)
Viper'sGirl: Yeah, hun, you're not the only one who's confused. But trust me, it's part of the plot. *rubs hands evilly/nervously* Merry Christmas!
Doragonkasai-Tsubasa: Yup, thank you! I tried to fix them, but for some reason, I couldn't find the first problem, but oh well. Doesn't bother me. Merry Christmas! :D Please keep reading!
LeoInuyuka: Don't worry, I've been to a co-ed school. Heard and seen way way worse than any little flame. I'm a big girl, I can handle it. But thank you, that was very kind of you. It's nice to know that there are good people out there. Merry Christmas!
hikari mae: Well, I'm glad you continued to read it then! I can't wait to write those bits! It'll probably take me a while, since I know the general plot and some of the nitty gritty stuff, but sometimes you've just got to sit down, take a pen out, and draw mindlessly. Anywhoodledoodlepoodle, Merry Christmas and thank you for reading!
thefrozenstrawberry: You know, I have a theory about that that won't turn up in the story, so I'll just write it here. I have no idea what happens to dead people when they are cremated, so the idea of dead particles floating everywhere was one option. ANd it was random chance, so she could've poped up anywhere. And it was Chrome that got her into the abandoned place, so...yeah...confused much? Me too. Let's not talk about this again :D Merry Christmas!
sin kx: You're welcome! Here's a new chapter! Merry Christmas dude!
Paigecat: Yeah, she wouldn't be a nice person if I met her too…..And I explained that thing, right? right. :D I might include that as an Omake later…..Merry Christmas!
Akayuki Sawada: I have no idea now… :( This is madness! This is sp- *gets shot* Yes, a lovely madness which is a necessary one. Merry Christmas!
Girlofthearts: Thank you, that's real nice! Merry Christmas!
GreenDrkness: Who is Al, that is the question on everybody's minds *laughs evilly* But anyway, I was randomly scouring the FF page for stories and I came across someone replying to your review and I was like "Wow! Other people do the same thing I do! Amazing!". (I don't know why I found it amazing. Just because.) Merry Christmas!
Mystique-world-master: ….merry christmas?
chibianimefan26: BFISBALJFCIhbv abvIVABA YES. MERRY CHRISTMAS.
crystaliceAly: Well, I updated, if you couldn't tell. ;) Merry Christmas.
shanagi95: I do too. Merry Christmas!
Alright, peace out! See ya when I see ya!
-Verdigurl