Chapter 73:
You are Forced into.
Sorry for being late guys~ I still need to get used to my new university timetable.
Two figures walk around the Estraneo as if they belonged there. But they don't.
"I-I can't believe this is what your past was like." Says the first, following behind the second figure. She was determined not to cry.
The second figure continues walking, a sneer on his face the whole time. This place wasn't as he remembered it, doors were in the wrong places, corridors missing totally, but then again this was a house on an island, not an underground lab in the middle of northern Italy. But some things remained the same: the smell of blood that permeated everything; the screams of the experiments; the overall oppressive atmosphere.
The first knew about the second's past, maybe more than anyone else did. But being told a story offhandedly and actually being here- or somewhere very similar- were two totally different things. Her imagination could never come up with something like this. But now she knew first-hand what it was like, she thinks she can understand him a little better now, know the reasoning behind his cynical view of the world and the mafia. She could understand how he and her friends had become like they were.
"I am proud of you." She blinks and looks up, that was not the answer she had expected. She stares at the man before her, wondering what he meant by that. Was he proud that she hadn't cried yet? Because she wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. "You have survived better in this environment than I had suspected." Oh, he was talking about the other her.
She shivers when she thinks about the other her. She had thought that her own past had been bad, all alone in that huge house with no love or kindness, but the life this other her was living was much worse. At least here, in this dimension she was loved by Mukuro, Ken and Chikusa right from the start. She wasn't sure if she would have been able to handle being in the Estraneo alone, without them.
"Although I am surprised by your audacity, my dearest Kiri." He says, still walking down the under-lit corridors. His sneer and disgusted expression had turned into a smirk, one that showed he was amused and promised mischief. "To come here and play with things without asking for permission first. You know that our lovely Sky isn't going to be very happy. He is still punishing Storm, even now."
Storm hadn't gotten away with visiting this dimension to look after Chibi. Nor had Hitman. Sky had attempted to 'punish' Hitman too after he had found out that the bullet he had shot was a Dying Will one, but punishing the World's best Hitman and one's tutor is not as easy as it sounds. This attempt had led to one destroyed training room and a very battered and bruised Sky. Sky was in the infirmary for a week afterwards, but he was rather proud of the fedora he had managed to keep ahold of. He wouldn't let go of it all week. And taking the fedora off of Hitman's head counted as a win in Sky's book.
The woman looks down and away. She knows she shouldn't be doing this. But ever since she had been told by Chibi-Bossu where her alternate self was, she couldn't think of anything else.
"It doesn't matter. This can only be a good thing." She replies. "Plus, we have timed this well." She had gone to check up on her alternate self one night, only to find the four of them asleep. Well actually it was only three of them asleep. This world's Mukuro had been awake, mumbling threats and plans to himself. She had overheard it all. And if this Mukuro was anything like her own, then now that they had been classed as complete, it wouldn't be long before he made his move. So it wasn't going to make a lot of difference if they… helped things along.
"Indeed we have. Kufufufu~"
"Oi you brats, move it along. We don't have all day and Mammon's fees ain't cheap." Shouts the Estraneo member, holding a fist threateningly in the air. These experiments were now dangerous, they had to be kept under control.
It takes both Chikusa and Mukuro to hold Ken back from attacking the man, even if both of them were mad as well.
"Don't waste your energy on that fool Ken. Rest up, it won't be long before we are leaving." Mukuro whispers calmingly.
"Kufufufu~"
Mukuro knew he hadn't made that sound, even if the others assume he did. He looks to his left, down the corridor where two Estraneo scientists are walking past. Mukuro blinks and rubs his eyes as the image ripples and changes and suddenly it's a man and a woman with familiar hairstyles but unfamiliar clothes walking instead. The man looks strong and confident with a deviant smirk and the woman… she was like a purple-haired angel.
"I met lots of the others too, like Kyoya and Takeshi and even you and Chrome! Chrome is really really pretty when she grows up! And it just had to be you since he went Kufufufu~ all the time" Tsunayoshi explains, doing his best impression of Mukuro's chuckle. "And he had the same eye. No one else I know has your eye Mukuro!"
The man on the other side of the corridor turns to him and smirks, making eye contact, before turning and walking away. That man! He had had the same eye! It was… what Tsunayoshi said must have been true. Mukuro quickly forgets his Keepers and runs down the hallway after this strange man. The way the man had smirked was practically an invitation to follow him. He ignores the shouts from their Keeper to return, vaguely hearing Ken and Chikusa try and stop the man from following him. He smiles, proud of them.
He runs around the corner in the same direction that the adult pair had been walking. He sees the woman waiting for him by a door. She spots him and looks shocked for a second before quickly walking inside. Mukuro runs down to where she was and runs inside the door, which leads to another corridor. He had forgotten that this was a private corridor and that the door he had just run through was usually shut and locked.
"Nebbia-sama, what are we doing here?" Kiri asks, looking around them. She had thought that they were just mapping out the Estraneo base for future reference. "We were spotted by the younger you, shouldn't we leave?" She didn't think they were going to make contact. It would be bad if he mentioned seeing them to someone. They really should leave…
"Kufufufu, don't worry, everything will be fine. I'm just helping, that's all." Nebbia replies, using the pass he had stolen from some random subordinate who had the bad luck to be walking past when they had arrived, to open the door infront of them.
He walks inside and immediately walks to the closest shelf, reading the names on the boxes. Kiri stands in the middle of the room, not having a clue what Nebbia-sama was looking for. She keeps on looking back at the door every few seconds, waiting for the little Nebbia to walk in. Taking a few steps towards a shelf, she looks inside, only to find a disassembled gun and bullets. A check of a different box reveals the same. A box across the room is filled with pocket knives, another with grenades. T-they were in the weapons' storage!
"Kufufufufufufu~" She spins around when Nebbia-sama gives a creepier laugh than normal. He was assembling an ornate silver gun. One she had never seen before. But she really didn't like the look in Nebbia-sama's eyes. Just what did that gun do?
Nebbia finishes assembling the gun, lifting it up to admire it for a moment. He reaches back into the box and pulls out the collection of bullets before placing them inside a bag. Walking across the room, he then places both bag and gun on the table. Before Kiri can ask what was so special about that gun and why he had placed it there, she hears the sound of footsteps running.
"Nebbi-" She is silenced by Nebbia-sama's finger on her lips and yet another strange expression on his face.
Mukuro bursts into the only open door along this corridor. He looks around him but there is no sign of either of the two adults. But he had been sure that they had entered this room. He takes a few more paces in, still looking around suspiciously. Eventually he comes to the middle of the room where a glint of light catches his eye. Standing on tip-toes he looks to see what was shining up on the table.
Oya Oya?
Mukuro smirks before jumping up and snatching the item and bag off of the table. He opens the bag and looks inside. If Mukuro believed in something as silly as fate then he might think it was smiling on him. For here was the very weapon he was looking for, just sitting and waiting there for him. And it was his now.
Mukuro didn't care when his Keepers caught up with him. He didn't care about the beating that followed for running off and disobeying orders. He didn't care about any of it. Instead he just concentrated on his illusions, keeping the gun and bullets from being noticed. Now that he had them, he wasn't letting them go. Oh no, for these were the Estraneo's forbidden bullet-
The bullet that the Estraneo had been shunned for.
The bullet that was the key to his plans.
The Possession bullet.
For those of you who are wondering, yes I really am going where you think I am. Naughty Naughty Mukuro.
Phantom Hitman 1412
First published 25 January 2012