Hoi Hoi! InsanityEdge here! I give my thanks to all who reviewed, followed favourite and took the time out of their day to read my story. Domo arigatou!

Disclaimer: If I owned KHR I wouldn't have ended the anime without showing 10-yr later Tsuna's face! That really annoyed me you know!

Chapter 4- Worry Not

Skull was worried, unbearably so. A week had already passed since he had saved the little girl from the Wüste Famiglia. -He'd already sworn to destroy that particular Famiglia when he had the time.- She hadn't woken up yet, despite being treated by what was probably the best doctor the underworld could offer.

Shamal had predicted the girl was going to wake up about three days ago. When Skull interrogated him as to why the girl hadn't woken up, Shamal had informed him that the girl had been drugged and her body was trying to flush out the toxins and repair the damage left behind. Unfortunately, this hadn't reassured Skull at all, in the end he'd snapped at the doctor to make the girl better or Skull would hunt him down and make his life hell.

Needless to say that Shamal had been surprised at the intimidating side of the usually wimpy Arcobaleno.

.

Skull stared the comatose form of the girl he had sworn to protect. Currently, they were in Skull's bedroom, the walls were a shade of dark purple and matched the marginally lighter carpeted floor. There were posters on the walls about stunt-biking – though none of them had his adult face on them. His bed had a black canopy with dark grey satin curtains pulled to the side.

Skull himself sat on a pillow beside the girl's head. He watched her chest rise and fall, simply to reaffirm the fact she was alive.

Shamal strode into the room. His eyes landed on the uncovered face of the Cloud Arcobaleno before settling on the still body of the girl. It was unnerving to see an Arcobaleno care for another so openly. Speaking of which, Shamal frowned as he thought upon the condition of the little girl. Her body was well on its way to healing but her mind…

Regardless of that, her mental state would be a problem they would have to solve later, for the first hurdle needing to be conquered is for the girl to wake up.

And though,

Five agonisingly long days passed until it happened.

I twitched as my eyes flickered open. For a couple minutes, I couldn't focus on my current situation, but then realisation hit me like a ton of bricks; I had been saved by Skull, the Cloud Arcobaleno.

I heard a rustling sound beside me, turning to look I came face-to-face with said Cloud Arcobaleno. His eyes were wide with shock and relief. I smiled at my saviour, pouring the words I couldn't currently say into it; my eyes closing with the sheer joy I felt. Finally the torture was over and I'm safe, I'm alive. No amount of words could describe how grateful I was to Skull for saving me.

From this moment on, I know that Skull is going to be someone who I'll treasure having in my life.

Skull was stunned. The brilliancy of her smile left him speechless. Absentmindedly, he wondered if he would ever get used to the pure amount of love in her smile, he wouldn't mind if he didn't though.

With a start, he realised he should probably call for Shamal. As he took one more look at the small girl, he noted that she seemed content to lay there and watch him without saying anything.

"I'm going to call for a Doctor. Stay still until I come back okay?" She blinked slowly.

Jumping off the bed, Skull hurried to where Shamal should be; he didn't want to leave the precious little girl alone for long.

she be but little,

Fifteen minutes later, Shamal had been dragged to the girl's room sporting a large bruise on his side for flirting with one of the mansion's maids during such a critical time.

He eyed the small girl, she looked so fragile that Shamal was surprised she had survived at all. He approached her slowly as to not startle her. Skull had already climbed onto the bed and sat next to her quilt-covered legs.

In response to their movement, she unhurriedly attempted to sit up. Quickly, Skull and Shamal assisted her and pushed her to rest on the headboard. She flashed them both a small smile of thanks.

"Be careful. Your body still hasn't fully healed yet and won't for quite some time." She sent a minuscule nod in Shamal's direction. Whipping out his clipboard, he cleared his throat and began the process of explaining to her exactly what was going on.

"Okay then, I am Doctor Shamal and this is Skull; he's the one who saved you from the Wüste Famaglia members. You've been comatose for a week and five days. The wounds inflicted won't leave any lasting damage except a few scars. Any questions?" She shook her head at him and glanced over to Skull.

Skull caught her look. He frowned slightly at the distress in it. Turning around, he asked the doctor to leave; Shamal complied without complaint.

Turning back, he was engulfed in a pair of small arms that shook almost unnoticeably. Before he could question her, she spoke,

"The whole time I was being tortured… Not once did I cry, scream or show fear… I refused to give them the satisfaction… but now because I feel safe with you Skull I can say this…I was so scared! And I was in so much pain, it hurt so bad." She broke off into a loud sob; her tears preventing her from saying any more. She gripped Skull like a lifeline, pushing her face into his mop of purple hair.

Skull hugged her back tightly. Quietly, he swore to remove the Wüste Famaglia from existence in the most painful way possible.

For how long they sat there and the girl cried, neither knew. But, they both knew that through the experience they had become extremely close. To Skull, it was because in the Mafia emotions were a rare thing to be seen and shared, to have let herself show him her true feelings, was literally a declaration of intimacy.

The girl sniffled as she raised her head; Skull smoothly wiped away any lingering tears on her cheeks. Her eyes softened at the affectionate action. Suddenly she paused, causing Skull to tilt his head in a questioning way. She smiled gently towards him.

"I just realised I haven't actually told you my name. I am Sawada Amami; it's an honour to meet you, my saviour." Skull blushed lightly at the term 'saviour', but quickly got over it to grin humorously at her, amused at how befitting her name was.

"Nice to meet you Amami-chan! I am the great Skull-sama! From now on, I'll protect you no matter what! I promise it on my name as the Immortal Skull!"

The brightness of her grin overwhelmed him.

she is fierce.

Shamal frowned as he walked along the long corridor. His destination was the room of his latest patient, Amami. The (extremely cute, but despite being a lover of all women, Shamal was no paedophile,) little girl was intriguing to say the least, and Shamal didn't know whether or not to be concerned over her mental health; the fact she was tortured didn't seem to bother her in the slightest, the only thing that did bother her about the whole situation was that she wouldn't be able to get payback on her torturers personally, though that didn't mean she wasn't exceptionally happy when Skull had told her that he planned on destroying the Famaglia they had belonged to. Shamal himself had also been pleased at the declaration. To him, a Famaglia that would harm such a cute, innocent girl was absolute scum.

Shamal knocked softly on the large, oak door. A soft voice, like tinkling bells granted him entrance. Walking inside, he swiftly glanced around, surprised by the by Skull's absence. He hardly ever left her bedside, especially when Shamal was near; it seems he doesn't trust Shamal to be alone with the girl; the good Doctor pouted a little at that, he wasn't a pervert! He swears!

The girl giggled as if she knew his current train of thoughts, effectively bringing his attention back to what he had originally come for. She spoke,

"Skull has gone to bring me some food. And yes, he does think you're a pervert." Was he really so readable a mere civilian child could accurately guess his thoughts? But, as he saw the knowing glint in Amami's eye he couldn't help but fell she was no ordinary civilian, maybe she had been before she was kidnapped but at least not now. A normal civilian would be an emotional wreck, terrified of their surroundings and certainly would not be teasing a hitman, because as much as Shamal was a healer, he had also killed many.

Amami smirked, Shamal was good at hiding his emotions, but she was a seductress at heart, (not that she could so much 'seducing' at her current age,) as such, she was a master at the art of body language. Add in the fact Shamal had let down a little of his guard because she was only an incapacitated little girl, it was all too easy.

Shamal saw the smirk, it hardened his belief that Amami wasn't up to the civilian definitions of normal, but he mentally shrugged, who was he to pry into her business?

"Skull..." I hesitated, resolutely staring forward instead of looking in the direction of the baby Arcobaleno beside me. Currently, we were sat outside on one of the many benches placed in the garden, facing in the opposite direction to the large mansion behind us. Out of the very corner of my eye I saw his purple mane of hair shift slightly. Determined, I ploughed on; "it's been one week since I woke up and although my wounds haven't completely healed, I'm well enough to be up and about for the better part of the day..."I trailed off once more.

The silence was quickly broken by a somewhat downtrodden Skull, though there was a hint of genuine happiness for her in his voice.

"Don't worry Amami. I know what you're trying to say." Oh, Skull knew, he knew all too well. The fact was that, Amami had to go; she had family and friends who were probably worried sick about her. He was truly happy to be able to reunite her with all of her loved ones but that didn't help with his depression at the thought of his only precious person leaving him so soon.

Over the past week they had spent every conceivable waking hour by eachother's side, further deepening and solidifying the bond that had been created between the two the day he had saved her. He tried reminding himself that just because Amami was the only person he actually held a caring relationship with, the same didn't apply to her. She probably had many people she had known for much longer and cared much more for; the thought sent him into an even lower depression; it also scared him, the possibility she would go home and forget all about him was all too real in Skull's mind.

I eyed Skull as I turned around. His inner turmoil was clearly written on his face, or maybe it was just that, despite technically only spending one week with eachother, we had developed an irreversible connection, thus allowing me to easily decipher his facial expressions -even with him attempting to hide his emotions.

Without any forewarning Amami snatched Skull into her arms and placed his head at the crook of her neck. Skull stiffened marginally at the unexpected motion but quickly relaxed into her arms.

"It's alright Skull. Don't be sad because I'm leaving or you'll make me sad, if I'm sad I'm going to cry. You don't want that do you?" She threatened gently, knowing Skull would hate seeing her cry. Skull quickly moved his head backwards so he could worriedly look at Amami's face.

"Of course I don't want that." He replied seriously. She let out a small grin.

"Well then you're not allowed to be sad. We will talk to eachother all the time and visit whenever we can!" He smiled softly at her enthusiasm. "Now, you need to tell me what's wrong so we can fix it before I head home." Skull ducked his head under the weight of her knowing gaze; it was startling how easily she could tell when something was on his mind.

"I'm just... worried."

"Worried?"

"Yeah... What if, that when you leave, you forget about me?" He paused, but hurriedly continued before I had a chance to reply. "I mean, we don't even live in the same country! You'll go home, back to your friends and family, back to those who you've known your whole life." He began to speak slower and more strained, as if speaking his insecurities out loud was taking a physical toll on his body. "Eventually, you'll begin to try and forget the horrible memories of your torture, shoving them into the very back of your mind. Then slowly, you will start to become disinterested with me; contacting me less and less, making up random excuses so for until it's at the point where I'll be lucky to get a five minute phone-call once a month. Then, and then... You'll forget me too."

Amami widened her eyes, stunned by how detailed Skull was in his explanation. She had already realised he was upset by her leaving, but she didn't think he had thought it that far through; but that didn't mean she didn't understand, she herself was crestfallen at the fact she had to leave, also going into far too much details about the possibilities of Skull forgetting her in the busyness of his Mafia life.

Skull, discouraged by her silence, made to move out of her lap before he was stopped by the tightening of her arms.

"Skull." He looked directly at her, and Amami had to take a moment to fully grasp how vulnerable Skull looked. How lonely he must've been before they met. Going as many years as he had without a single person by his side had to have been an incredibly hard thing to do. Amami personally didn't know if she would be able to handle it; sure, in her first life she had been all alone, but that was different. In her first life she was alone from the start, and as such, never had to feel the crushing pain of someone you love leaving you behind. Skull was forced to go through said pain when Luce had died and didn't even have anyone to help support him; the Arcobaleno had split up right after she died.

"Come live with me."

Skull's eyes widened.

"A-Are you serious?" Amami's eyes were solemn, but softened marginally when she heard the hope in his voice.

"Of course Skull. I want you to live with me in Japan." His purple orbs filled with happiness at her statement, but he hesitated.

"I don't think I can." Amami's face openly showcased her disappointment and sorrow. Skull hurriedly spoke once more, "Don't get me wrong! It's not because I don't want to! But Amami, I'm in the Mafia, more specifically the Carcassa Famiglia. The Carcassa Famiglia has a lot of enemies; if one of them were to find out where I live and found you…You know what would happen." Amami's replied with resigned sigh.

"I get it."

"But, that doesn't meant it can't be my home." Amami locked eyes with his, immediately catching on to what he was saying. She let out a rather foxy, lopsided grin.

"Home is where the heart is eh?"

He happily nodded in assent.

I almost collapsed in relief when I saw my house just down the street. I began to hobble as fast as I could towards my home. I must've startled Skull with my newfound burst of speed but presently, I don't care. I just want to see my family. I just want to taste Nana's heavenly bentos. To be whacked over the head by Kyoya for teasing him, with Tetsuya fluttering like a mother hen in the background. To work alongside Vinnie in his workshop. To discuss ways of improving the Mosca with Spanner. To work with Verde on his latest project.

I can tell they are all near. Don't ask me how but I can.

"Ah Amami! Slow down!" I won't. Instead I'll scream,

"Mama! Kyoya! Tetsuya! I'm home! I'm outside! Verde! Vinnie! Spanner!"

Before I could start hollering their names again, the door to my home almost flew off its hinges. They were a blur of motion as all my loved ones came barrelling down the street.

Nana stared at the rapidly cooling cup of tea on the table in front of her. She didn't bother glancing around at all the other people gathered in the living room, because she knew most attempts of conversation would be futile and she personally didn't want to speak to anyone anyway. Instead she thought deeply, about her precious daughter Amami. She had been missing for a total of three weeks; tear welled up in the corners of Nana's eyes.

To distract herself she began thinking about the friends her daughter had made. Amami didn't have a lot of friends, but the ones she did were unique and genuine. For that, Nana was incredibly proud of her daughter. Each one of the people in the room had all come to Nana when they had suspected something was wrong, each had helped her search high and low for her missing child. Even if they didn't show it visibly, Nana could tell that each one was just as worried as her.

'Unlike Iemitsu.' She thought sourly. In the beginning Nana had rung Iemitsu multiple times a day, telling him of Amami's situation. But the same thing happened each time, he was too goddamned busy with work to listen to her properly and even just cut her off a few times. After a week Nana had given up, and a little part of the love she held for the man died slowly; she still loved her husband, but as the days without Amami nor a single concerned phonecall grew longer, her love dulled further.

Getting back on track before she started crying again at the absence of her only child, Nana let her thoughts once more assess the people that had called themselves Amami's friends.

Hibari Kyoya, he was one Nana already knew, along with Kusakabe Tetsuya. They were Amami's best friends and Nana would often see the two of them; sometimes they would visit the house and venture into either Amami's lab or room, and sometimes she would go out to them. Nana knew that hardly ever a day went by that the three didn't have some form of contact with eachother. To top it all off, Kyoya had made Amami into his 'pet.' Nana had inwardly squealed when Amami had told her, she totally shipped KyoyaXAmami. But then again she really, really liked that Tetsuya boy, and wouldn't rule him out as a potential suitor.

Moving on to the ones she didn't know, Lister Vincent (or Vincent Lister if you were going by the English way of saying names, Forname-Surname.) He was a relatively big man, not fat but muscled. If Nana wasn't married then she would've been sorely tempted to gaze at those muscles for an undetermined amount of time. He had told her he was a teacher of Amami's. And Nana hadn't been very shocked because Amami had already told her she was apprenticing a man who knew his way around a smithy.

Next was a young boy (probably around Kyoya's age,) named Spanner. He wore a blank face most of the time, but Nana knew he cared deeply for Amami, evidenced by the fact he had flown here from his home in England just to help with the search. How her daughter knew someone who lived in another country, Nana didn't know.

Lastly, and possibly the most interesting, was a baby named Verde. He was very mature and wore a lab coat so Nana assumed he was some type of prodigy. Amami had vaguely mentioned him a few times, never really going into detail about exactly who he was and what he did. But Nana didn't really care about that, even if what Verde did was dangerous Nana knew Amami would tell her of anything she deemed necessary.

Nana, while she had quite a few moments, was not as incredibly oblivious as many would think. Amami was probably the only other person to know of this, and they had a mutual understanding, born of the bottomless amount of trust they shared, that if Amami thought Nana needed to know, she would tell her, and anything she didn't was because it wasn't important or she didn't want Nana to worry needlessly. Nana was completely okay with it, because it meant that if anything important was going on, she would never be left in the dark like she was with Iemitsu. Nana wasn't stupid; she knew construction workers didn't usually leave for years on end, especially not to work in the North Pole with penguins. His idiotic lies made the rage in Nana's stomach simmer.

Nana sighed in an attempt to rid herself of her anger. Tears crept into her eyes once more as she looked around the room, eventually settling her gaze back on the untouched cup of cold tea.

"We-we" Her voice cracked, adamantly she continued. "We need to start looking for her again." All their eyes swivelled towards her, her voice having broken them from their own heavy thoughts. Vincent nodded solemnly, he stood up but made no move other than that.

"Where shall we search? We've looked under every pebble in Namimori, scoured the streets of Hermes and asked around in every other city within a ten mile radius." Verde's voice sliced through the room, raising the tension to almost palpable levels. Tears that had been so fiercely held back began dripping from Nana's eyes, his words were true and frankly there was nowhere left to look. Kyoya growled lowly,

"Then we do it all again." Verde nodded in response, but Nana's tears didn't stop; even when Vincent pulled her into a hug and patted her shoulder in an act of comfort.

"S-she'll be *hic* a-alright won't she? *sob* Amami's a s-strong girl. Right? Right?!" She stopped talking because the cries in the back of her throat became too hard to ignore and thus took away her ability to form words.

"Aye, right you are love." Vincent murmured softly into her ear, gently rubbing her back. Before he could say anything else, a voice Nana had been terrified she'd never hear again boomed throughout the room.

""Mama! Kyoya! Tetsuya! I'm home! I'm outside! Verde! Vinnie! Spanner!" Wide-eyed, Spanner spluttered,

"Is-is that..?" He didn't even finish his sentence before bolting out of the room with everyone else.

Kyoya bodily slammed into the door that was blocking his way outside. But Nana didn't even think about it as she ran the quickest she had ever been in her life. Outside, she saw her baby waddling towards her on a pair of crutches and Nana was overwhelmed with relief, she snatched her baby into her arms and refused to let go.

Amami and Nana laughed happily, tears of pure relief flowing from their eyes. Before Amami knew it she was being crushed by an extra pair of arms around her body, which she deduced to be Vincent's. Grinning she turned her head to Kyoya, Tetsuya, Verde and Spanner, gesturing with her head to join in. They did so hesitantly and a bit awkwardly but Amami still loved the moment.

Skull smiled at the heartwarming scene, elated that Amami had found the ones she loved and was so happy.

Ten whole minutes passed until Amami finally released her friends from the hug, and even then Nana still clung to her like a lifeline and vice versa.

"Amami! Oh Amami! What happened to you! You were gone for three weeks! I was so worried!" The daughter smiled softly at her still sobbing Mother.

"I'll tell you what happened later Mama but right now I need you to meet someone important." Nana stifled her cries and nodded. The males narrowed their eyes at her words, so focused they had been on Amami, none of them had noticed Skull lurking in the background.

Amami hobbled over to Skull, effectively bringing everyone's attention to his small figure. Verde raised an eyebrow.

"Everyone this is Skull, my saviour." Eyes widened at her statement. Nana immediately rushed towards him, and proceeded to hug the living daylights out of him.

"ThankyouThankyouThankyou! You're the reason my Amami has come home safe and relatively in one piece aren't you? I'm forever in your debt. Tell me anything you need and I'll do it the best I can." Skull grinned awkwardly but not unkindly at the woman.

"Ahaha, please Miss Sawada I don't need any reward."

"Actually Mama there is one thing, but we can discuss that later. For now, I just want to sleep in my bed."

After I woke up, I explained everything to everyone. Except for Nana who I censored out the more gory details, but I did tell Nana that I had been hurt very badly, and it was because of Iemitsu's work that it had happened. Even though I never actually said what Iemitsu's work actually was, Nana was completely furious at her husband for putting me in danger like that. When I told Nana about what Skull had done for the past three weeks and how deep a bond had been created between us as a result, the woman promptly named Skull an honorary member of the Sawada household.

"From now on Skull, my home is your home."

Kyoya hadn't taken the news of my torture very well, in fact none of them had. Kyoya and Tetsuya were so pissed that for the next two weeks, even the bravest delinquent didn't dare come close to breaking a rule because what would normally end in bruises and a few broken bones, would end in a coma. After leaving me alone to spend time with Nana, Vincent, Verde and Spanner for about a week, he demanded that I stay round his house for an indefinite amount of time. Nana had let me go with a smile on her face, she realised that Kyoya needed me around to soothe his emotions from when I had been kidnapped. It was almost animalistic at how possessive Kyoya was for roughly two weeks, but I didn't mind at all and stuck right by his side during the whole thing, we even slept in the same bed. Tetsuya visited every day without fail and even stayed over some nights.

Spanner allowed Verde to modify and improve his Akamo and then gifted it to me. Spanner felt more reassured of my safety if I had one of his battle-capable robots with me, and he told me if I was ever in serious trouble, the Akamo would notify both him and Verde. The lightening Arcobaleno also felt better that I had something to assist me in a fight. They both left after a week, but not without promising to talk very soon.

Vincent stayed a little while longer in the guest bedroom, it seemed like he and Nana really hit it off and had become great friends now that the situation wasn't so dire. They both made eachother happy and that in turn made me happy.

Skull had left only a couple days after we had arrived but he told her he would be back in about a month so it was okay.

"Kyoya you're squishing me." I was currently in Kyoya's kitchen, mixing a bowl of pancake batter. Kyoya had wrapped his arms around my waist and placed his head on my shoulder. He leaned his body into mine and pushed me into the counter.

To say I was surprised at this development was an understatement. Hibari Kyoya was not an affectionate person. However, apparently my three week absence changed his tune. Now, instead of just me being the one to initiate contact, Kyoya often reaches out to me aswell.

He grunted in response but didn't budge from his position. I rolled my eyes in fond exasperation. Sticking a finger into the batter, I smeared it across his nose. Annoyed, he backed away, but only enough that I had space to move, he was still very close.

Shuffling my slippers along the kitchen floor, I turned on the stove.

"Go sit at the table, breakfast will be ready soon." He looked at me with distrusting eyes.

"Will it be edible?" I was terrible at making most food, however, sweets and pastries were my forte, and I made some damn good pancake if I do say so myself.

I huffed,

"Yes, you ass." He smirked at me as he backed away to the traditional Japanese style table.

"When will Tetsuya arrive?" He sipped the chamomile tea I had placed where he usually sat.

"He just rung now, he's on his way." I hummed as I began flipping the pancakes, it wouldn't take long before they were all done.

"Pet."

"Yes Kyoya?"

"…You were gone and it hurt."

"I know and I'll be with you till it stops."

"Never let it happen again."

"Wouldn't dream of it Kyoya."

As I was setting the plate down on the table, Tetsuya entered the room. His face lit up when he saw my pancakes. I grinned at him and pointed towards the already set up space on the table.

We ate in silence, content to just enjoy one another's company.

When we finished I forced Kyoya to put all the plates in the dishwasher because I had done the cooking. Right now it's just me and Tetsuya, sat on opposite sides of the table.

"That was really delicious Amami, I didn't realise you could cook." I pouted, I wasn't that bad at cooking was I?!

"Thanks I think."

"You know Kyoya plans on upping our training."

"Really? Balls."

"Language. It's to make up for the time I missed searching for you and to stop you from getting taken down so easily in the future."

"Hey, I resent that. I did not go down easily, I must've put at least half of them in a coma."

"I know and I'm proud of you, but next time it's going to be all of them."

"Well, when you put it that way I guess I really can't complain." He smiled at me, before he could say anything more Kyoya's voice sounded out from the kitchen area.

"We're leaving." Standing up, he manoeuvred around the table and held out a hand for me to grab.

"You still need help to move about right?"

"For long walks, yes." I grasped his hand in mine and he hoisted me up, a hand on the other side of my hip to keep me steady. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Tightening his grip on me, we began to walk out the room.

"And Amami?"

"Yes?"

"I missed you."

"You too Tet-chan."

Phew! Finally done! I do hope everyone liked this chapter, I worked hard on it. You know the way it goes, review if you felt like you particularly liked something or have any questions/comments/ect

BaiBai for now!