Katekyo Hitman Reborn

My Fate is Certainly Uncertain

Chapter 44: Dove

Warnings: Guts, glory and undoubtedly some sort of ending, if not a parallel to the first and the third.

[Written to: Alli Mauzey w/ Donna Vivino – Popular – Extremely funny.]

~o0o~

His coat gleamed in the dark, as black as it was. When he strode, it gave off a varnished light, a fine material that must have been shiny of something, woven deeply in between the crevices. With a brown mop of receding hair, the barrel of his revolver caught the light, aimed right at my head. Eyes were locked, and I kicked the door shut with my foot, leaning back, barely missing the first shot that was fired. The room was cramp, and I hated how small it felt. Not even the den back at Iemitsu's place was this small, not even Tsuna's bedroom. Heck, you could probably call it a walk-in-closet and that still wouldn't be appropriate. Books toppled over as I was shot in the lower torso, stumbling back into the wall. I managed to shoot him, in the foot. That gave a little time, though probably not enough.

I tried to sit up and it was dreadfully painful. I couldn't move without losing more blood, or feeling the bullet fragments tear flesh even more. He shot once more, I think aiming for my head, but I missed and hit the bookcase. The window behind him was broken, shattered, but not into pieces. I could feel my lungs struggling, because I was wheezing, dribbling blood. Get up, get up, come on!

The gun was in my left hand, but I couldn't find it in me to move my fingers, to lift the bloody thing up. I couldn't, I couldn't move that arm at all, it was frustrating! There was blood streaking down it, and I realised that maybe the reason why I was having trouble breathing was of a stray bullet hitting around my chest. The right side. I couldn't see exactly where, only that a red liquid soaked the black shirt, darkened by its colour. Alexander was on the other side of the room, laughing hysterically.

"What's funny?" I spat, as he turned.

"Did you honestly think that you'd get the chance to destroy me?" He asked, straightening out his suit, limping towards me. My aim must have been off, because it didn't look that deep. "Lookie here missy. Don't think I don't know what goes on in my own company. I don't know who you are, but it's unfortunate that you got this far. I'll have to have a talk with security after this. For now, why don't I show you around, get you familiar with the place, hm?"

Down down down. He grabbed my hair violently and opened the door, dragging me wherever he went. In his other hand, my bag, carelessly clunking along, bouncing each time he took a step. I wasn't happy about that, but it wasn't like I was lying here, willingly being dragged from heaven to hell. Adding to the fact that my lower torso was in great pain, I couldn't work with my left arm. It just flopped there, useless. My other hand was holding my hair, underneath from where he gripped it, trying to take the pain off of my head. I had to get away from him and regroup.

I had underestimated him, foolishly. I knew from the past that there were people out in the world that were just heartless. That would torture and kill, because they could. Many asked "why?" And the only reason we could give them is "because they could." Apparently not all killers needed a clear motive, and when we got out into the hallway, a couple of yards from the elevator, he paused to think. That's when I tried to claw at him, to escape. But that was a lude attempt and it only got me kicked in the gut, more pain erupting.

"You know what?" He said, after a while. "I've been getting out of shape lately; blame the paperwork m'self. How about we take the stairs? We'll both get an workout!"

I folded onto myself as he turned, going in the directing I came. He held the door open with his ass, and threw me into the stairwell. Grey concrete. I saw the bottom, and how his teeth had food in them. Each step, my body thumped to the lower one, unsupported. I couldn't stop from moaning, from seeing the blood trail that spiralled upwards as we came down.

I was a mess,when we reached his destination. We weren't on concrete any more, but dirt and it disgusted me. I felt the light of the lamps go, coming and going, bright then dim. Closed eyes. Red, then black. Red again, black.

My head was dizzy, when he turned the light on in a passing room, and dragged me in. It smelt disgustingly clean in here. Cold tiles replaced the dirt, and I detested it profoundly. It was getting hard for my eyes to focus, and a headache was brewing. The tiles weren't white now. I felt myself being lifted, swearing, and being put down again, higher. And he stopped dragging and in that moment of peace, the pain nulled. I felt nothing, and closed my eyes.

Water splashed down on me, but wasn't water at all. My gut burned when it came into contact. I was reluctant to open my eyes, not sure if it got on my face. I was that much out of reality. Chloride. No, bleach.

"Wakey wakey~" I heard, my cheek being pinched. "Don't black out on me now, we're just starting the party!"

"Doesn't fucking feel like it." I mutter, and received more bleach to the chest. It dripped down, pooling in my wounds. I screamed, howled. More than anything else, I cried. Wailed. I felt sickened to be reduced to that, but my hands were bound and my shields.

No, I couldn't feel the voices. I was alone with a man, not in any life I would trust. And nobody knew I was here. It was maddening.

I'm not sure, of what time was, when I laid alone. Everything was cold, and sad, and quiet. The man, he kept talking, laughing. I think I asked him, if he killed my mother, to a hideous laugh ensued.

"Probably." He replied, still laughing away. Heartlessly, leaving.

My heart was tearing. I wasn't sure if I could stay awake longer than the night. I was going to bleed out before then, that was certain. The ceiling was a dark white. I laid in the dark for a little bit, while he went somewhere. I thanked my lucky stars that the bombs had not gone off yet. WIth all that jiggling about, I might have clicked the pen by accident.

My fingers got colder, the more time went on.

They were cold.

My toes got colder, the more time went on.

They were cold.

It was cold.

Everything was. It's hard to stay positive, in the dark. I always hated it, to tell you the truth. Not the dark dark, but that feeling you get of not being able to see. The sense of spaciousness and emptiness. I liked to curl up in corners and against the wall where my bed was, in my old apartment. I didn't like "floating" like this.

I was met with a voice, when I sighed loudly.

"Wow."

I opened my eyes, and looked up at the door. I couldn't see whoever that was well, I couldn't see that far.

"Who's there?" I called.

"I'm here." Said the owner of the voice, coming into my line of sight. His blond hair swished over his eyes, they barely poked out of the bottom. Not like Dino's hair, his was much messier. But I knew those eyes. I could never forget them, because I look in the mirror every day, and I see a guilt that follows me.

"Mason." I whispered, barely audible, only really pronouncing the last syllable.

I waited, as he sat down, breathing out, blinking. "Wow. I haven't been called that in a while…"

"I knew it. You still look the same."

"And what the heck happened to you Phillipa?" He asked, shooting back his own concoction of sarcasm. "Sure as hell look like you've been through a war."

"Courtesy of Alexander." I articularly spat, trying to sit up. "W-Would you do me a favour and undo the ropes on my hands and legs. I need t sit up."

His eyes travelled across my body, eyebrow raised. "You'll re-wreck yourself."

" 's fine." I said. "I need you to undo them, so I can work things out."

"How? You look like shit."

"I KNOW!" I yelled. I stopped yelling and kept my voice down. "But I need to get us out of here and safe."

"Safe?"

"Safe. I'm taking you home. What do you know? Do you know he ordered the hit on Momma?"

"What? Nonsense, he said it was you. YOU abandoned me, took off! How could you come back here, asking

"No." I said immediately, as he cut me loose. "Nope, no, if Momma hadn't died, NONE of this SHIT would have happened. We would be okay, and happy and oblivious. HE killed her, NOT ME. I CAME HOME AND - " My voice pitched a crack as I took in a breath. "I almost died that day as well and they were gonna come after go, so I TOOK YOU BEFORE they could." I breathed in, shaking my head over and over again. "I realise that's a mistake now. I never would have left you here, if I had known. I'm so sorry….."

His eyes thinned, mouth upturned sourly. "That's not a word you can toss around so easily Phillipa. But I don't wanna stay here any more. So let's go."

Mason heaved my body over his, me flinching, blood spilling on the floor.

"We need to get outside without alerting them."

"The front door will definitely be blocked then. Let's take the elevator to the top, and take the fire escape down."

I was coughing horribly, like an old man who struggles with phlegm stuck in his throat. I was really against the elevator as a mode of transport, but Mason wasn't having any of that. He didn't want to talk to me, and I felt him pausing on something, but I was distracted by the cold night gales when we stumbled onto the roof.

And we were being followed. I could feel it, when he jammed the door shut. I told him to be careful, when we got to the edge and he said that I talked big.

"That's a lot, coming from you." He chuckled, a hand on the guardrail. "Ya bleeding out!"

"Thanks for noticing." I spat sarcastically. With my own strength, I held myself up against the fence. "Quickly, th-"

The door was blown right off it's hinges and flew all the way to the other side. Smoke circled and Alex emerged, with a whole lot of men from the basement level. My gut was twisting, and my hand rested on the pocket of my pants.

We were cornered in the roof and when Mason stood in front of me, I pulled the pen out quietly. It irked me that the Vindice weren't here. They weren't going to come.

"Taking a night stroll?" Alex asked. "Terrible night for it, really."

"Mason…." I whispered, barely able to hold my breath.

"Stay back." He ordered, to the men and they did. They would have pounced by now, but they never moved an inch and that worried me. Was Mason developing other powers, like mine?

"You've got to come back son. That girl, she's not your sister. She's a wanted criminal."

I felt like spitting this blood on him. "T-That's not true…."

"Leave her alone! She's family Dad, you can't tell me to abandon her! YOU were the one that shot and tortured her."

"Mason…"

"Not now." He snapped. "I'm not going to let you kill her, and I'm not going to let her dictate my life. But how dare you do this? There are other ways!"

Alex shook his head. "No, no, no. You've got it all wrong. She's the one that pulled the gun on me."

"No!" I yelled.

"You've gone against my word. I told you never to go down there, and yet you did."

"I heard screaming."

Alex shrugged again, as if it was nothing. "So, everybody's hear a scream. No big deal. That's the world we live in." He drawed out his gun, as did the rest of his men. "You should have gone home."

That was it. I couldn't let it be drawn out any longer. The Vindice got what they need, the recordings I was making. But we needed to get out now. And the only way was down.

The next few moment were slow in my mind and that was what I really needed. In Masons hoodie pocket was a handgun. I could see Alex's eyes blinking and Mason focussing all of his intent and anger on him. I was selfish to pull him away from this, but I did. My hand slipped around his waist and quickly pulled the gun out, firing six rounds into Alex's head and torso, before clicking the pen once.

The building shook so violently at the sound of the bombs. Glass shattered, windows blown out on every level. The ground beneath us was growing loose and I threw the gun away and wrapped my arms around him and jumped the sideways rail.

"Let go!" He yelled, the wind stealing away his voice. My entire body hurt as we fell and I shook my head.

"No." I whispered, breathing out. Going calm and closing my eyes as his slowly lost all hope of living. "Close your eyes. It'll be okay."

The next second, I heard sirens in a pitched distance. My ears, ringing so loud, I couldn't hear anything else. I could feel my legs dragging on the ground, head rolling. When the ringing died down, I opened them to see a boy with a cellphone, calling someone.

"Mason….." I whispered, losing energy from my voice. It was awful to breathe and my legs were tingling, as if I had pins and needles. But I knew they weren't. I couldn't lift my head to look at them.

"I'm here!" He yelled, shaking my shoulder with the full intent of trying to keep me awake. "P-Phillipa, we survived! There was this strange….strange mass! It had mouths and everything!"

"Oh." I closed my eyes again. "So they did work….."

"You know what they are?" He asked, resting my head on his lap.

"They…...My powers….I don't know what you did back there, but you can….control people, right?"

"And animals." Mason lifted the phone to his ear again. "You still there? Yes, she's awake, but her legs…..You gotta get here quickly!"

"Who's that?"

He shrugged. "Someone in your contacts named Reborn."

"Shit!" I swore, trying to sit up, but failing. "Give it to me."

"But-"

I shook my head. "No, no give it to me…..Mason, I can't do this much longer…."

His eyes widened in realisation when I said that. I didn't want to admit to the fact that I wasn't able to see him anymore, I couldn't see anything. But I could hear him still. My hand reached up and I touched his face, tracing everything, including those silent tears.

It took me two breaths to return Reborn's angry yelling.

"I'm sorry….." I said without a breath. "Dad…..I'm sorry I couldn't tell you….."

"You couldnt think to tell us?! Phillipa, what the fuck are you thinking, taking off like that!? Dino had a panic attack, looking for you, calling ME." I flinched at his words. I could feel Mason stroking my head, sobbing to himself. "You lied to everyone!"

"I know." I cried, breaking into a sobbing fit. "But I couldn't let anyone get involved…..They were the ones that went after me when I was in labour….They were gonna come after Dino and Sammy and I couldn't let that HAPPEN."

"Explain later." He ordered in a calmer voice. "Dino and Squalo are with me and we're almost there."

"Okay. And the boy that's with me, that Mason."

"I heard. So you found him."

I couldn't answer that. I couldn't hold the phone up anymore, so my hand just rested there, lying on my chest.

I did. I have my little brother back.

And then everything stopped.

~o0o~

Dino was working in his office again, in a sweltering summer that brought flies and caused him to open the windows. He liked to keep them open at night, so that the wind could come in. Sometimes he would order gelato from a local cafe to be delivered. Him and the owner went way back, so often they would eat together on the porch, talking about this and that. Next to his paperwork that was sent by Tsuna was a cup of coffee, still steaming. Rumours always said to drink something warm when it was cold but he always wanted to drink coffee when it was hot. Not the chocolate infused stuff for him. It reminded him of a sweeter time.

He ran his hand through his blond hair, feeling the sweat. Any day now, he was expecting a call from Tsuna on the update of the baby. They, Tsuna and his wife, Kyoko, had been trying for months prior and were due any day now. Twins, the doctor said. Since it was her first time birthing, the doctor was a little worried but that was always the case, it seemed. He couldn't wait to meet his nephews.

His mind was pulled off the documents to the door, where a big black mass emerged, like a mist on a morning lake. It came without notice, and he jumped up immediately, whip already in hand. Nobody was in the house at the moment. Romario was dealing with a letter from the Varia and Sam was off at High-school, studying in his exams. But the shadowed man simply sat in the seat opposite to the desk, unintimidated by the cracking of a steady whip.

"Bermuda…" He whispered. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Fulfilling a promise I made to your wife before she died." He replied, as Jager came up beside him, just standing there. He was there as a reference. "She was a determined individual."

"I fucking know that. But she's been dead for a while, why the heck would you come to me now, and not all those years ago?"

"Because we had to complete her promise." Bermuda t'ched unenthusiastically. "We had to delete everyone from the project before we could tell you. It's taken us a while."

Dino's mind focussed. "What project?"

"Sit down, Mr Chiavarone and I will tell you a story of what really went down." Bermuda sniffed, his large eyes never blinking. They looked odd on his grown body, since they never changed. "It's a bloody mess."

~o0o~

Part two of three updates! Tune into the third and me being like I always am!