Captured!

Mai got ready that night after a nice hot bath, being muscle weary from Gymnastics and Dance Workshop.

Too bad no Free-Running in Namimori. Stupid town.

Ah well.

She got dressed for the day. A black cropped top, black shorts, tights and boots before putting on a pair of gloves. Reading detective and specific manga does teach you things.

Looking at her map of town, she has many places crossed...places she's already robbed.

Her next target will be a house near Midori Shopping District. The Sawada Residence.

Its now ten pm.

She would strike at 1 am.

xxx

'Will mom and the kids be OK, Reborn?' Tsuna asked Reborn as Reborn had Bianchi drug his mother, Lambo and I-Pin that they wouldn't wake no matter how loud things get.

'They'll be fine.' said Reborn. 'Gokudera, what time did she come?'

'Wee hours of the freaking morning...around 1:50 when I caught her surfing my stuff.' Gokudera griped, remembering his neon blue digital clock on the wall when he glanced at it by happenstance while fighting. 'Its possible that she came earlier than that.'

'So its 1 am to 2 huh? But its said that during the night, ten houses are robbed each night.' said Reborn. 'It would take a while before businesses would be targeted for some reason so Yamamoto's family shop is still OK.' he said thoughtfully. 'For now we should worry about ourselves.'

'Right...'

xxx

Hibari had his committee ask around if anyone's seen a white-haired, gray-eyed girl...until he received word.

'There's somebody like that.' said one of his members. 'I talked to a girl attending a gymnastic workshop since there's no gymnastic club in her school.' he said. 'She's a foreigner and a really cute girl but with a japanese name. The girl said her name is Nogami Mai. She comes to the workshop at exactly 3 pm.'

'What's the name of this workshop?' Hibari frowned. His subordinate didn't bring any papers nor photos.

'Miyabi Gymnastics. Its just inside Midori Shopping District...I can't get her files since the secretary is just so anal about customer privacy even though I'm on an investigating job...' the subordinate griped. Ah, that explained it. 'At least I got a name and I got mistaken for a suitor!'

'Come to think of it, why are we looking for this girl?'

'...we got intel that she's our burglar.' said Kusakabe grimly as the committee froze. 'One of our students saw her features when his apartment got robbed, he woke from the noise and tried to fight her off but she's strong. What he knows is that she's a freshman or sophomore middle schooler judging by her age and looks, and her white hair and gray eyes. Watch out for that girl and your houses during the night. She strikes at 1 am onwards and she would rob ten houses a night...just like in Tokyo.'

xxx

However, what nobody expected is that...she struck Hibari's house, tempted by the fact that its a mansion.

However, this proved to be her mistake.

In fact, he had installed hidden cameras in his backyard linked to his room...and when he saw her come in into his yard...he leapt off the second floor right in front of her, causing her to stiffen and get ready to fight. 'So he's right about the burglar being a middle school-age girl.' said Hibari. 'I'll have you sing like a canary after I bit you to death.'

'...I'd love to see you try.' Mai said softly with a rather blank expression on her face. They fought alright, but Hibari being Hibari, was able to adapt to her incredible agility and flexbility using gymnastics and dance in her fighting style, but three hits made her keel over...

'...that's it?' Hibari smirked as he took out handcuffs. However, he saw green sparks come out of her and she got up as if unharmed. They fought and he dealt severe blows but while she DOES cough up blood, she doesn't show pain! "It must be because of those sparks earlier...she could numb her pain, perhaps?" he wondered. But it appears to be temporary.

In fifteen minutes, her pain caught up with her as she collapsed and curled up on the grass, gasping in pain. Apparently he hit harder than he thought...

'...I'm not exactly heartless.' said Hibari. 'I'll have you sing when you're all better.' he said, approaching her. But she forced herself up in utter fear.

'No!' she tried to run but Hibari was faster and just knocked her out, and took her into his house where he has a supply of gum tape ready...and phoned the Sawada Residence where that baby lives.

xxx

Sawada Residence while Tsuna and the others are wary...the phone rang.

Tsuna answered the phone. 'Moshi moshi?'

/Sawada. Is the baby home?/ came Hibari's direct-to-the-point question.

'Hibari-san! He's here.' Tsuna exclaimed. 'But why'd you call?'

/...I caught the burglar girl. And I need him to get that be-damned so-called nurse since they know each other./

'EHHHH?! Where's your address?! We're on our way!' Tsuna gasped out as he took out a pen and paper and began jotting down, and Hibari hung up after. 'Guys, Hibari-san caught the burglar!' Tsuna announced to his family. 'She targeted his house first but well...she lost.' he said sheepishly. 'He wants Reborn to call Shamal over. He must have...overdone it as usual.' he said with a grimace.

'He must still be high-strung from last week.' said Reborn as the teenagers all winced.

Who could forget Rokudo Mukuro?

'But at any case, its good as we no longer need to worry about explaining to maman why there's property damage.' said Reborn. 'Let's go. Bianchi, go get Shamal under threat of poison cooking.'

And so...Hibari's House sometime later...his living room...

'Damn...you did a number on this girlie!' Shamal whistled as Mai dressed in a tube top, gloves, shorts, tights and boots, and bruises are soon forming on her slender-toned, yet well-endowed figure. 'This her, Hayato?'

'That's her alright!' Gokudera exclaimed, wide-eyed. 'She's my robber!'

'Well, its a cutie I'm treating so its for free!' Shamal beamed as Hibari shot him a glare.

'Hibari, explain.' Reborn told the brunette who nodded.

'I have hidden CCTVs in my backyard leading to my room.' he said. 'Once she's in my backyard, I confronted her. Her fighting style is based on dance and gymnastics as my men noted she goes to two workshops under the name Nogami Mai.' the Vongola listened as Shamal began diagnostics. 'But somehow into our fight...she used green sparks on herself.'

'Green...sparks?' Reborn and Shamal glanced at the prefect. Is that what they think it is?

'Yeah. It came from her gloves but when I checked, there's no gadget to cause it.' said Hibari. 'She must be just like that damn pineapple-fruit. But instead of illusions, she uses green sparks if only to numb her pain. Nothing I did worked until apparently, it has a time limit of fifteen minutes after which, she keeled over from her injuries and decided too late she underestimated me and tried to run but she could barely move and I simply wrapped her up.'

"That explains her injuries..." Tsuna shivered, feeling sorry for Mai but she robbed several houses...

'I'm of the mind to take her to the police but she's too young to be in prison and there's no juvie in Namimori. Its in Tokyo.' Hibari grunted.

'We should at least get her to explain why she's doing this.' said Tsuna. 'Everyone has a reason for everything, right? Mukuro being a criminal at your age and now Mai at our age...what's making teenagers become criminals at our age when most kids are in school like us? I just don't get it.'

'She's waking up now.' said Shamal as Mai began to stir, and winced at her injuries. 'Whoa, calm there ojouchan. I can only do diagnostics and you got plenty of fractures and bruised muscles and abdominal organs.' he told her. 'No moving for you for a month!'

'Nogami Mai-san.' Tsuna spoke softly and kindly. 'Why? Why are you robbing houses? And is Mai really your name?'

'...someone like you who has it real good in life wouldn't understand.' said Mai softly yet her eyes looked dark. 'You have a home to go back to. Parents to tell you okaeri after school, have friends and play all day...I don't have any of that. Not even a name.' she said somberly. 'Survival is my priority and to live I need money. I can't go to school because I lack files. But signing up in workshops is pretty easy.'

'Then when did you come up with your name if you didn't have any?' Reborn asked her.

'It was back at Tokyo when I was a child.' Mai continued. 'I began living on the streets after I ran away from my horrible relatives who were here for a business deal with some japanese man. They put me in a dingy apartment while they went to a nice hotel suite.' this spoke volumes on how she was treated. 'But while living on the streets...I got jealous of kids who have it really easy...and worse, I can't read, speak or write Japanese...I'm British.' that revelation stunned them. 'I began hanging around kindergartens and daycare in hopes of someone who would notice...eventually, the principal at Nogami Daycare did. We had to mime what we wanted to say to each other until a teacher good in English helped us out. So he said I can stay with them for two years after which I have to go and I was given the name Mai as in 'lost child'. I lived in the daycare for two years and it was back to the streets with sensei saying I should read up on books kids in school study...so I did. I began stealing since. My first victim out of vindication is my own uncle.'

'Then what about the green sparks?' Gokudera asked her.

'...dunno...I just can do electricity.' said Mai. 'Since Japan likes anime, I took references there and see if I could do it too...I can do many tricks with electricity. It really helped me out in robbing since I can magnetize and stick to surfaces and walk up vertically...float and fly with Electromagnetic waves although any electronics nearby gets fried. I'm not that good in restraining the waves to myself yet while flying and floating.'

To prove her point, she began floating while still tied up with gum tape.

Shamal and Reborn whistled. No known lightning user they know can do that!

'I see...names of your relatives?' Tsuna choked out, not liking where this is going.

'...Vernon, Petunia and Dudley Dursley. Number 4 Privet Drive, Surrey, Little Whinging.' her english did not rust at all since she could say the names and location perfectly. '...and I hate them as much as they hate me. I'm the same age as that fat pig...its all I know but I don't know my own birthday. I'm nameless and ageless since I don't know my birthday...well, they called me a freak...and as a freak, I have no rights. Every time business colleagues come, my name is different each time just to put on appearances since they're good pretenders and liars. I lived like an animal under them.'

They all exchanged looks.

xxx

'...that was horrible...' Tsuna choked out as Shamal took Mai to the school infirmary for better treatment in his car. He felt sorry for her. 'No wonder she became the way she is now.'

'I phoned CEDEF to investigate these people and get everything out of them on how they treated Mai as well as her information.' said Reborn. 'We'll have the information in a few days. She'll be OK in Shamal's hands in the meantime.'

xxx

Namichuu, Clinic...

'Jeez! Just how much gum tape did he put in?!' Shamal grunted as he struggled with yanking it off. Gum tape is called 'gum' for a damn good reason. Too sticky!

'...I can just burn it you know.' Mai drawled. 'Its not like I can run right now anyway.'

'Er, do so.' Mai fried the tapes to a crisp. 'Well, you'll be here for a month due to several fractures and bruised organs! And you're on soup diet while under numbing drugs since we can't have you running just yet until we decide what to do with you.'

'...'