Marisay-chan writing here! Updating this chapter first as the ideas are flowing fast to me! And a biggggggg thank you to those who had reviewed! I love you! ^_^

To treasure family: I'm happy that you like it! Some of your question will be answered in this chapter, as for the rest…*Chuckles*…it will be a secret until the later chapters ^_^

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, only the story! ^_^

In Italics are thoughts

~Story Starts~

"Ahhhh!" Luce shouted in fright, as she saw a man fell forward into the room and onto the ground, the moment she opened the door. The bundle he was carrying fell out of his hands, landing on the ground above his head.

"Ahhhh!" Lampo, Lambo and Skull screamed along with her, seeing the motionless man on the ground.

Some of the humanoid cats hissed, wary of the intruder.

"My, is he all right?" Fon asked, going near the motionless man.

Verde pushed his glasses up, staring at the man with interest.

"Don't go too near, it might be a trap, hey!" Colonnello pointed his rifle at the man.

Asari and Knuckle sniffed the air, looking worriedly at the man, while Ryohei and Yamamoto looked confused.

"Mu-Mukuro-sama?" Chrome tugged at Mukuro's sleeves.

"Yes, my dear Chrome?"

"I-Is he dangerous?"

"Kufufufu…" Was the reply Chrome received. However, Chrome could see that Mukuro was narrowing his eyes at the body.

Daemon, too, was narrowing his eyes at the unknown man.

Alaude and G stepped towards Giotto, who had his attention somewhere else.

"Shall we blow him up?" Gokudera took out some dynamites.

Slowly, the room was filled with useless chatterings, irritating one cat. Then-

THUD

Everyone turned to the corner, where a dark-yellow cat just landed on the ground. Black-slited eyes glared, silencing the noise. Reborn, then, walked up to where the man was, and looked at Luce.

Getting the hint, Luce hesitantly placed a hand on the man's shoulder, trying to wake him up.

"Sir? Sir? Please wake up!" Luce was about to flip the man onto his back, when he made a groan.

"S-Sir? Can you hear me?" Luce leaned her head down to the man.

"…" The man mouthed something.

"W-What? I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"…Him…" The man gasped out. "…Help…him…please…"

"W-What? W-Wait, sir!" Luce panicked, seeing that the man had went unconscious. "Help who?"

A meow attracted her attention. Luce turned her head to see Giotto and Reborn crowding over the bundle the man had dropped, while Alaude and G hang around nearby, looking tensely at the bundle.

"G-Giotto-kun? Reborn-kun?" Luce questioned, glancing at the bundle.

Giotto moved forward and grasped the cloth with his teeth. Everyone watched in anticipation as Giotto slowly unwrapped the bundle. Just as the he was about to push the last piece of cloth away, Giotto growled out and Reborn hissed, a metallic smell reaching their nose. Giotto quickly pushed the cloth away, only to reveal-

All the humanoid cats widened their eyes at the sight.

"Oh my god!" Luce covered her mouth in horror.

Lying there, was a small brownish cat, at least it looked to be in brown. It was hard to distinguish with blood coating all over the fur. A lot of blood. As if that was not enough, the blood continued to flow from the cat, soaking the cloth that was wrapped around it.

Luce quickly made her way to the cat, noticing that its breathing was really harsh, causing it to be even more painful to its injured body. Luce gently stroke the fur, trying to see the damage, however just that slight movement was enough to cause a painful cry from the cat.

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" Luce kept repeating herself, not aware of the tears that was welling up in her eyes.

Who would do such a thing?!

A hiss snapped her out of her thoughts. Luce turned her teary eyes to meet black-silted ones. Luce swallowed her sobs, wiping her tears away, understanding the message that Reborn was sending.

Calm down! Now is not the time for this!

Reborn nodded when she had calm down, and turned to Giotto, who was hovering over the injured cat, letting out soothing sounds to calm it. Reborn hissed at Giotto, gaining his attention.

Giotto nodded in acknowledgment.

Turning to the rest of the group, Giotto let out several meowing and hissing sounds. Every single one of them listened intently, and before Luce knew it, all the humanoid cats started moving around the room.

Luce watched as Gokudera headed towards the wall phone, punching the numbers in a hurry and calling someone.

Alaude and G went to the unconscious man and hurled him up, bringing him to the couch, where Fon, Colonnello, Asari and Yamamoto prepared, bringing blankets to cover him. Verde then came forward, pressing his fingers on the man's wrist.

While all of this was done, Giotto tried to move the cat to a better location, but every movement just seemed to cause agony for the cat, judging by the cries it made. Shaking his head, Giotto called for Knuckle and Ryohei, who immediately went to his side, and hovered their hands, which started glowing, above the injured cat. At that, Reborn's whole body glowed as well.

Luce could only observe the whole scene in slight confusion, not knowing what was happening. She was startled when she felt a tug on her hand. She turned around to see Yuni, who was holding a wide-teary-eyes Lambo in her arms, smiling at her.

"They are using their flames to heal him a little, just enough not to cause pain when we move him," Yuni explained, as the glows began to recede. "Also, Gokudera-san is calling Shamal-san now."

"I see…Why not just heal him all the way?" Luce asked, watching as Knuckle and Ryohei carried the cat, along with the cloth, to the center of the room, and placed it on the floor. She, along with Yuni and Lambo, followed them and sat near the cat to watch its progress.

"He is too weak now, if he receive strong flames with his current condition, there's a chance his body won't be able to take it…" Yuni said sadly.

"Oh…" Luce responded, staring at the cat.

"I brought the towels." Lampo came in with some white fluffy towels, and was about to replace the cloth that was under the injured cat, when it started swiping at him. "Ow! Hey!"

It tried to stand up, however, even with the healing, the damage was still too great, and the cat fall back down to the ground with a cry.

"Ah! Please! We are just trying to help you!" Luce reached a hand forward to calm it, but her hand was pushed back by Reborn, just as sharp fangs clamped down at where her hand was before. "Ah!"

Reborn growled lowly at the cat, who stared back fearfully. However, it still tried to scratch anyone, who came close to it, despite being scared.

Giotto blinked and tried to step closer to the cat, whose eyes immediately snapped to him, fangs bared to warn him off. Giotto blinked again, before turning to where Daemon, Mukuro, Chrome and Mammon were and meowed at them.

"Nufufu…very well."

"Kufufu…it seems interesting, so I shall help out then."

"If Mukuro-sama says so…"

"Haaa…working for free again…"

The four of them placed their hands in front of them, where indigo mist slowly emerges and settled on the agitated cat. Slowly, the cat's eyes drooped and its body relaxed, it continued to let out soft growls even in its relaxed state, eyes warily staring at them.

"…" Both Daemon and Mukuro narrowed their eyes when they saw that. Even Chrome was frowning slightly.

"…Strange," Mammon commented, letting his hands dropped.

"Hm? What is, Mammon-kun?" Luce asked, helping Lampo to replace the towels as the cat was too relaxed to strike them.

"…It's nothing."

Reborn and Giotto stared at Mammon and the other three humanoid cats for a while and glanced at each other.

"Tch…Why is it me who gets hurt?" Lampo complained, letting Knuckle heal his wound.

"Shamal is on his way." Gokudera hung up the phone, and glanced back at the injured cat.

"This man is fine, he is simply exhausted and a bit feverish," Verde reported, pushing his glasses up and stepped away from the man. At that, Fon went to get a pack of ice and placed it on the man's forehead.

"Ah…Thank you everyone, I don't know what to do without all of you." Luce smiled at them, before looking at the still-growling cat. "…Who would do such a thing…"

Silence filled the room at that question, all of them focused on the injured cat. The silence was then broken by a loud shout.

"Hey, my beautiful Luce! I came to se-Whoa!"

Everybody turned to the front door, to see Hibari holding out a tonfa at a man entering the front door.

When did he get there?

Some thought, sweatdropping slightly.

"Oi, Hibari! That's Shamal! Don't attack him, you idiot!" Gokudera shouted out, earning him a glare at the insult.

"Hn." Hibari removed his tonfa away from the man and leaned on the wall.

"My, my, that was dangerous," The man called Shamal chuckled nervously. "So, what is it? I received a call from Gokudera, saying that it was an emerg-" He trailed off, staring at the center, where the cat laid. "…My, what do we have here?"

Luce quickly explained the situation to him as he walked closer. "…Can you help him?"

Shamal kneeled near the cat, looking at the damage with critical eyes. He focused his gaze on the cat's stomach. Reaching into his white lab coat, he pulled out two tweezers.

Seeing that, the cat's eyes widened and started to struggle.

"Oi, oi, I can't get to work like this," Shamal leaned back to avoid the swipe the cat made at him.

"The mist is not working! Oi, Daemon, Mukuro, Mammon and Chrome, you guys are not slaking off are you, hey?" Colonnello asked.

The four of them, however, remained silent, staring at the cat.

"Why did you take out the tweezers, Shamal-san?" Yuni asked, thinking that was the source of the disturbance.

"There is something in the stomach," Shamal pointed at the stomach, where blood flowed prominently. "Whatever it is, its causing pain for the cat, as well as blood to flow out. If not taken out, the cat will bleed to death."

Giotto glanced at the cat at that statement, noticing that the cat did not take its eyes off the tweezers. Making a decision, Giotto went to the cat's side and gently placed a paw on its head. Startled by the sudden touch, the cat immediately turned its head and sunk its fangs into the paw.

"Giotto!"

Gasps of shock shot through the room as the humanoid cats witnessed this.

"Why you-!" Gokudera got ready to pull out some dynamites, but was stopped as Giotto merely purred. "Eh?"

"G-Giotto-kun?" Luce stuttered.

Giotto ignored the others and continued to purr, letting his tail stroke gently at the cat's head. The cat, having closed its eyes once it bit Giotto, slowly opened its eyes, staring into the light-orange eyes. Giotto meowed at him, licking between the cat's eyes.

Everyone watched as the cat slowly released Giotto's paws at the continuous affectionate gestures. It laid its head on the towels, staring up at Giotto. Giotto meowed again, and this time it meowed back weakly.

"What are they saying, Yuni-chan?" Luce asked, as the meowing continued.

"Oh, Giotto-san is telling the cat what the tweezers are for, and trying to tell him that we just wanted to help him," Yuni told her, tears started welling in her eyes. "The cat keep on saying that he does not want any more pains, pleading us not to hurt him anymore."

Luce could only look sadly at the cat.

Just then, Giotto gave a sharp nod at the cat and hissed. The cat stared for a while, before giving a weak nod back. Giotto then meowed at Shamal, who was blinking in confusion.

"You can work on him now, Shamal-san," Yuni smiled.

"O-Oh." Shamal leaned down to the cat. "I don't know if Giotto told you this, but this is going to be painful, so try not to move too much."

The cat trembled, before giving a tiny nod with the encouragement from Giotto.

Shamal nodded back. "Let's get to work. Everyone besides Giotto step back, I need space, also get me some bandages along with warm water and towels."

The rest of the occupants moved accordingly, watching intensely, while Luce and Yuni went to get the needed things.

Shamal pushed one of the tweezers into the wound that was visible on the stomach, trying to take out whatever that was inside, while using the other to stretch the wound to get a better look. The cat let out a loud cry, to which Giotto was quick to comfort.

This went on for a while, before-

"Found it." Shamal narrowed his eyes in concentration. "I am pulling it out."

Slowly, Shamal pulled the tweezer out. And when it was finally out, he showed everyone the tweezer.

"Is that-!" Knuckle gasped.

"A bullet," Shamal confirmed, looking at the bloodstained bullet. "This cat is really lucky to be still alive."

The cat let out a soft mewl, tired after such an experience.

"Here, Shamal-san," Luce and Yuni passed the bandages to him, and placed the water and towel near the cat.

"All right, help me clean his wound." Shamal and the two females cleaned the wound and bandaged it up. "Good, everything will be just fine now. Just get plenty of rest, don't do exerting stuffs, and you will be back to normal after a few weeks or so."

The tension that was in the room dispersed after the good news.

"That is really good news," Fon smiled, while Luce and Yuni sighed in relief.

Asari sighed and smiled, "That was really a tense situation." Yamamoto nodded in agreement while smiling happily.

"Whahaha! Little kitten is going to be all right!" Lambo screamed out.

"Jeez, you are younger than that cat, and you call him a kitten?" Lampo rolled his opened eye.

Verde smirked, going back to his laptop once again.

"Haha! And it was because of me that the cat is all righ-GAH!" Skull was interrupted as Reborn and Colonnello kicked him away.

"Don't say lies, hey!" A hiss backed up Colonnello's statement.

"EXTREME!" Ryohei punched his fist in the air.

"Noisy…" G muttered as Gokudera punched Lambo's head for screaming too much.

Giotto only shook his head at the others' antics, and glanced down to the cat, who was staring tiredly at him.

Giotto purred again, stroking its head with his tail, urging him to go and sleep.

The cat blinking sleepily, let out another soft mewl before closing its eyes. The last thing it heard was Luce saying:

"Oh, could you check on the man as well, Shamal-san. He seems a bit feverish."

"Haaa? You know that I don't treat man, Luce…"

And everything went black for the cat.

The man who tries to protect

~The next morning~

The man's eyes fluttered as sunlight hit him. Opening his eyes, he looked at his surrounding blearily.

Where am I? I was walking along the streets and…

The man gasped and shot up from the couch in a panic.

"Oh, you are awake!"

The man turned to see Asari standing there with a plate in his hands.

"Here, have some breakfast first bef-" Asari was cut off when the man quickly went towards him and held his shoulder. "Wha-!"

"Where is he?! Is he all right?! The bullet…The bullet! You need to take it out from him! Otherwise he will die!" The man started shaking the Asari slightly.

"Wa-Wait! Please calm down! The cat is fine!" The man stopped shaking, staring at Asari with wide eyes. "He's currently resting in that room where the others are." Asari pointed to one of the rooms.

Without another word, the man dashed to the room, shocking Asari.

"Ah! Wait!"

The man ignored Asari and slammed the door open, startling the occupants inside. Every humanoid cats, except Yuni, straight away pointed their weapons in his direction, but the man was only concerned about the cat who was laying on one of the cat basket near Giotto.

"Tsuna!" He rushed up to the cat, kneeled in front of the sleeping cat. "Tsuna? Is he all right?"

"Please, calm yourself."

The man turned to the door, where Luce stood. Luce gestured the humanoid cats to lower their weapons, which they did.

"Please tell me he's all right," The man pleaded.

Luce smiled, "He will be fine, all he need is just some rest."

"I-Is that so…" The man sighed in relief, looking fondly at the cat, and reaching a hand to stroke its fur gently. "…That's really great, isn't it, Tsuna?"

"His name is Tsuna?" Luce asked, kneeling near him.

"Tsunayoshi actually. Tsuna is easier though…Ah!" The man widened his eyes and turned to the rest of the occupants. "I-I am really sorry about my rudeness earlier!"

"It's fine," Luce said. "You seem really worried for him."

"A-Ah…he's my precious friend, that's why…"

"I see," Luce guided the man to a seat nearby. "We would really like you to explain the situation. But first," Luce smiled, "What's your name?"

"E-Eh?" The man fidgeted nervously while looking down. "Ah…Um…"

"Just hurry and spit it out!" Gokudera shouted.

"Gokudera-kun!" Luce looked at Gokudera in disapproval.

"Che!" Gokudera turned his head away.

"...Shoichi..."

"Hm? I'm sorry, what did you say?" Luce tried to encourage the man.

"...My name is...Shoichi." The man looked up.

"Irie Shoichi."

~To Be Continued~

Whoa! That was intense! Thank goodness that Tsuna is all right!

But, why is Tsuna is this state in the first place? And what has Shoichi got to do with it? Also, The indigo cats seemed to be disturbed by something, is there a reason why the mist is not working as Colonnello had said?

That's all folks! Leave a review to tell me what you think!

Edited on 29 December 2014