All she ever wanted… All she ever needed… "I love you, Lal Milch."
Clutching the camouflage bandana that was his trademark and kneeling beside that lonely tombstone, Lal Milch wept until the tears wouldn't come any longer and her voice had run out. Why? She wondered why her only friend had left her. Who? She vowed to take revenge on the one who took him away. "Please!!" She rasped. "C-Come back… Colonello…!!"
- - -
"Hey, is there something wrong with Lal-san?" The ten years older Baseball-nut asked, wandering into the room with the ten years older versions of Hibari, Reborn, and Tsuna.
"What do you think?" Reborn replied with his usual bluntness.
"Oh, I don't know. I'm not good with these type of things." Yamamoto laughed.
"Herbivore." Hibari mumbled and scowled, staying away from the group.
"I just hope she's alright." Tsuna said, looking away.
The four sat around the meeting table, with their boss, Tsuna, at the head of the table. He had called a meeting for all the guardians at the Vongola base at the time; Gokudera, Mukuro, Chrome, Ryohei, and Lambo were all off on their own missions.
"So everyone… Wait, where's Lal-san?" Tsuna paused, glancing around room for the woman. "It's not like her to be late."
"You did let her know about the meeting, right Tsuna? You didn't forget?" Reborn smirked, his hat hiding his eyes.
"No! I let her know!" Tsuna flustered at being insulted by his teacher even as the head of the Vongola.
Hibari suddenly stood up from the table and strode quickly to the door. "I'll go look for her. Go on without me." He said as he left, disappearing down the hall.
"O-Oi! Hibari?" Yamamoto stood, raising an eyebrow. "Should I follow?"
"No, he'll be fine." Tsuna said, beckoning the swordsman to sit down. "I guess we'll continue, then…"
- - -
Lal sat alone in her room, holding Colonello's bandana in one hand and a mound of pills in the other. A single tear ran down her cheek, staining the precious bandana. Three days had passed since that trip to Colonello's grave, and the Arcoboleno girl hadn't come out since. She thought and thought, cried and cried, remembering the last days she had spent with Colonello. The last day they had spent together was the best night of her life. Regardless of what they did together, although that was great too, it was his words that lingered in her mind.
/flashback/
"So, you're returning to Japan tomorrow?" Colonello asked lying beside Lal on his bed, his hands behind his head.
"Yes, Iemitsu-sama is letting us return home." Lal replied, laying her head on his bare chest and wrapping her arms around him.
"Oh? So you're happy to go, kora?" He teased, running his hand along her bare back.
Lal looked up at him in surprise, "No! I…" she trailed off, blushing slightly.
"I know, kora. I was just kidding." He chuckled a bit, running his fingers through her black and blue tinted hair. "You what?" He prompted her to finish her sentence.
"I… I never want to leave you again." She whispered, taking his hand gently.
Colonello smiled, pulling the woman close and kissing her gently. "Neither do I." He said softly, caressing her cheek with his gentle touch. "Here's my promise." He let go of her, reaching across the bed to the nightstand and reaching into the drawer. He pulled out two things: his bandana and a small camouflage ring box. He put the items in Lal's hands, closing her fingers around them with his own. "Take these, kora. I'll always be with you, Lal…" He whispered, his blue gaze burning into her faded red.
"Colonello…" A single tear streaked down her cheek as his lips were pressed to hers, sealing their promise.
/end flashback/
And yet, that promise was broken a few days later when Colonello left her. Lal's lonely, failed Arcoboleno heart was shattered, and now she sat alone in her room ready to commit suicide.
Maybe, she thought, just maybe Colonello will forgive me, and we can still be together… She lifted the pills to her mouth.
- - -
"Lal."
She didn't move.
"Lal Milch."
A voice reached her ears. Who… Could it be? "Colonello?" She struggled to get the name out, her voice barely a whisper.
"Try again." Hibari replied, holding Lal gently in his arms.
"W… What are you doing here…" Lal opened her eyes slightly, recognizing his voice.
"The herbivore was wondering why you weren't at the meeting." He replied bluntly. "You're lucky, any more pills and you would've been gone."
Lal glanced down, embarrassed. She realized how stupid her suicide attempt had been. What had she become? "Yeah." Lal replied softly. She started to attempt to get up, but a gentle yet firm arm around her stopped her.
"You're not going anywhere by yourself." Hibari stated, suddenly sweeping Lal into his arms and carrying her out of the room.
"H-Hibari!"
"Shut up, you're wasting your energy." He cut her protests off as he carried her to the infirmary.
Lal sighed a little, closing her eyes. I'm sorry, everyone… She thought. Maybe… Everything had happened, maybe Colonello left… Because of me… With tears in her eyes, she fell asleep.
- - -
"She did what?!" Tsuna stood, shocked at the news.
"Stop yelling." Hibari glared at the tenth.
"But why? Lal-san wouldn't do something like that…" Yamamoto asked, confused.
Reborn sat in his chair, frowning a little. "Perhaps." He mumbled to himself.
"I'm gonna go visit her." Yamamoto stood and turned to leave, but was stopped by a familiar voice.
"No, Takeshi." Bianchi said, leaning against the doorframe. "She's asleep, and not ready for visitors yet."
"Bianchi? A-Alright…" Yamamoto blinked at the pink haired woman, slowly sitting back down.
"I'll be taking care of her." Bianchi said bluntly. "I'll let you know when you can see her." The scorpion disappeared down the hall towards the infirmary.
"H-Hey…" Yamamoto stuttered. "Well, I guess that's settled." He laughed.
"Don't worry about Lal. She'll be fine." Reborn said, smirking a bit. "Her life his harder than you'll ever know, so she's strong."
"Y-Yeah…" Tsuna agreed, remembering the fact of Colonello's death.
"All we can do is wait for her to recover, and knowing Lal, that will probably be sooner than later." Reborn lowered his head, his hat brim covering his eyes.