WOW, I hit a MAJOR writer's block.

But I'm back, that's all what matters right? :)

Enjoy~

"We will meet eventually, my love."

This anonymous message that Ayano received three days ago in her shoe locker had already slipped out of her memory… not until today.

Today, she remembered.

She remembered upon the appearance of a white envelope in her mailbox. The envelope contained the same format as the previous: rigid paper material with the writing in cursive. And this time it warned,

"Darling, be careful of a bad, bad cloud."

Then a week later, during her English class, the Nicolaou girl gasped loud enough for everyone to hear upon finding another envelope disguised as a bookmark in her textbook. The teacher halted his reading; heads in the classroom turned around to look for the source of disruption.

"I'm sorry," flustered for causing a disturbance, she bowed her head apologetically, "please continue, sensei."

When the students returned their focus back to the teacher, hers travelled to the envelope instead. She pulled the note out, and it demanded,

"Detach your Achilles heels."

The third message increased her frustration. It's not even April yet, is someone playing a prank on me? she hid her frown behind her textbook.

Yet, despite how unsettling the mysterious messages were, the Nicolaou girl felt no threat and therefore, continued onto her daily routine. Patience, she convinced herself, I will catch the mysterious messenger, eventually.

The following day, Ayano spent her lunch time alone in the homeroom, finalizing her fashion portfolio for an internship application. After she returned from a quick bathroom trip, her stomach dropped from the sudden appearance of another envelope on her desk.

She was only out for a short while and was the only person in the room this whole lunch period. One creepy possibility sent shivers down her spine.

Someone has been watching me like a predator, waiting for the perfect time to deliver the letter without me seeing them...

As if. I'm not that special. What a silly imagination, she dismissed her thoughts while ripping the fold of the envelope. It's just a letter; how dangerous can it be?

And as usual, the cryptic message was not threatening, but its ambiguity had started to irritate the confused girl.

"Blood is thicker than water."

If—whoever they are—want to tell me something, why not just tell me directly? she mumbled low, then recollected her calmness as footsteps in the hallway ascended in volume.

Maybe I should tell Hibari-san? She had no secretarial duties today, thus this would give her a reason to visit his office—a reason to see him. The disciplinary committee chairman shouldn't feel too bothered by her inquiry; there was little office work to complete.

If anything, he probably is already done with paperwork, she beamed.

The school bell rang for the last class period. Quick on her feet, the eager Nicolaou girl was already in front of Hibari's office.

"I think someone is playing a some, type of prank on me, Hibari-san," she entered with her confident conviction.

His yawn suggested his indifference about the matter. "First of all, knock. Second, what makes you think—" before he could finish his sentence, Ayano presented the anonymous notes on his desk like a sales agent.

"Darling, be careful of a bad, bad cloud. Detach your Achilles heels. Blood is thicker than water," she recited all in one breath. "I found them mysteriously in my mailbox, in my book, and on my desk. And remember the first message from two weeks ago, 'we will meet eventually my love'? What do you think they mean?"

The first note caught Hibari's attention the most. Bad cloud? he questioned himself. He felt the note addressing him in an accusatory tone because of his status as a Vongola cloud guardian. Or maybe he was overanalyzing. There was no evidence that the "bad cloud" referred to him, after all. But what other cloud is associated with my secretary? he raised his eyebrow.

The second message was equally vague. What could be her Achilles heels, her deadliest weakness? He scanned the words meticulously, but his thoughts reached a dead end.

Moving on to the third note, his eyes narrowed. Blood is thicker than water? Despite being comical for its attempt to be poetic, this proverb had the clearest message out of the there.

The proverb was a reminder. A reminder about one's loyalty. Loyalty to one's blood kind—their family.

Suddenly, the dots connected in Hibari's head.

And it all made sense to him.

The very first message that he discarded last week—something about "meeting her eventually"—most likely referred to the culprit himself/herself: someone who knew Ayano but have never met her.

The second and third message, "bad cloud" and "Achilles heels", were warnings, about her choice of affiliation—referring to her involvement with members from Vongola, especially the skylark.

And the last message, was a declaration of the future—that her ultimate choice would eventually be her own blood.

The culprit is a relative of her, the perceptive skylark concluded. They want her to stay away from a questionable connection, away from Vongola… away from me.

But what baffled him was the unnecessary riddles, instead of a simple, straight-to-the-point, message. Are they trying to play a game with her? He crossed his arms in annoyance, which his secretary observed.

"Hibari-san?"

"The moment I capture your stalker would be the last time they'd be seeing earth."

"What, wait, no Hibari-san," Ayano frowned. "First, I don't believe that I have a stalker. Second, let's refrain from using violence to solve this, please?"

Hibari maintained his indifferent persona on purpose. "It's obvious they know your every movement so that they could slip those notes without you seeing them. They'd have to know your routine by watching you. A clear textbook definition of a stalker."

Ayano admitted that he made a good point. "But still, I don't understand their motive?"

If he deciphered the notes correctly, then her curiosity could divide them apart. Therefore, he needed to dissuade her from cracking the code, to make her dismiss her own concerns.

"I'm hungry."

"Uhh… then get something to eat?" she tilted her head in question.

His attention fell on the thin stack of paper on his table. All work for today were completed and therefore, he was free for the rest of the day. Craving for a warm meal, he pondered the idea of taking her to his favorite ramen shop. A date, he echoed to himself, maybe that'll distract her from these anonymous notes.

However, the ramen shop was situated outside of Namimori. He would have to give her a ride on his motorcycle. Perfect timing. He happened to have driven to school today. Additionally, he recalled having stored an extra helmet in his office, which she could use. The silent skylark retrieved the extra helmet from the corner and wiped the dust off, while the confused Nicolaou girl watched his movement.

"Come with me." His casual invitation further puzzled Ayano.

Go…where?"

"Get something to eat."

She raised her left eyebrow upon his out-of-character gesture. Tucking her hair behind her ear, Ayano questioned, "so, like a date?"

He glanced at her briefly, then returned his attention to the helmet.

"Whatever you think of it as." Feeling a knot in his stomach upon the sight of her delight smile, he applauded himself mentally for saying the right answer.

"You're holding a helmet. Are we using your, motorcycle?"

"Only with an appropriate attire, Ayano."

The Nicolaou girl understood his memo and quickly sprinted to the gym locker room so that she could switch her skirts to her jogger pants. She was back within five minutes, just in time for the starving skylark to walk out of his office.

"You can leave your belongings in my office," he handed the helmet to the wonderstruck Ayano.

The two finally walked out of the school building towards the bicycle racks, where his motorcycle stood out alone. Ayano wondered if it would be considered "crowding" if there were students' bicycles parked next to his bike. Her playful thought generated a small chuckle, which the skylark caught.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Uhh, nothing, Hibari-san. I've never been on a bike before, so I'm a little, excited."

After he wore his helmet on, the cloud guardian faced the clueless Ayano who was likely wondering if her head could even fit in the helmet. He sighed underneath his helmet and approached the struggling girl.

"Your head should fit fine," he placed his hands on both sides of her helmet and carefully aligned the helmet so it slid down easily. He then reached under her chin for the straps.

Once her straps were secured, his gaze met her awed, gray-toned eyes. He had always found this foreign attribute of hers to be alluring from the first time they met. Finding himself in an awkward staring contest situation, he pushed his uncharacteristic thoughts away and lowered her visor down.

"Woah this is pretty cool," she nodded her head up and down, which resulted to an unintentional collision with the chairman's protected head.

"Control your head, herbivore," the skylark was unimpressed by her clumsiness.

"Sorry!"

He grabbed her cold hand and led her to his bike, assisting her on the rear seat. "Hold onto me if you don't want to fall."

Oh how mismatched his gentle tone was with his firm command.

Having her arms wrapped and locked around his waist—for quite a long time—was nerve-wracking to the Nicolaou girl. She couldn't even remember seeing the road because all her focus was on calming her loud and fast heartbeat. The next thing she knew, they've just parked outside their destination.

"You weren't kidding when you said this place was outside the town." Ayano pushed her helmet out and quickly patted her warm cheeks in secret, hoping her blush would go away.

"Bring your helmet with you."

Absentminded, Hibari grabbed her empty hand and led her indoors. Both were welcomed by the wonderful fragrant of the ramen shop. The place was empty, yet the skylark chose to situate themselves at the very back corner. After the waiter wrote their order, the two sunk into an awkward silence, unable to find a sustainable conversation topic.

"You seem familiar with this place, Hibari-san," she started.

"There's little to no crowd here. It's peaceful."

"Hmmm somehow I feel nostalgic! You know, this town kind of reminds me of Toyama—" her excitement faded away upon the sudden thought of her beloved hometown. The pain of remembering the closed-down orphanage dawned on her face, which was observed by Hibari.

"The town where you originally came from," he finished her sentence.

Her ears perked. "How, did you know that?"

"It's protocol that I review my members' profiles," he closed his eyes to feign honesty, because he had peeked at her personal file before she became a member of his office.

"… Oh… I see… Well, yes, I grew up in Toyama. I'm assuming you know that I was an orphan, from my file."

Hibari opened his eyes.

"I know not much. You did show me a picture of your biological mother before…" he paused, as a signal for her to elaborate. She complied.

She started her narration at the night her biological mother gave her up to Tara, the orphanage owner.

Then leaped to her 17th birthday when she first found out about her inheritance: a house in Namimori that was willed to her, as well as her 10 years worth of future fund.

Briefly she described her first meeting with Agatha, mentioning her aunt's reputation in the medical profession.

But never did she reveal her knowledge about the Soteria business, their affiliation with GM, and her mother's current conflict with a branch from Vongola. She was terrified of Hibari's judgment. Terrified that her complicated past could divide them apart.

While the skylark listened with genuine interest, he sensed her reluctance to elaborate about the missing, biological mother.

"And your real mother? Her disappearance sounds suspicious to me, as if she went on hiding," he blurted out, which made Ayano suddenly to jolt back and fidget the fabric of her joggers without meeting his gaze.

Igniting her distress was absolutely not his intention.

"You don't have to talk about her if you don't want to," he said in an attempt to reverse the tension, yet remaining wary to the way she reacted about her biological mother.

"Sorry, it's just… it's been… a tough start of the year…" she looked at him after collecting her composure back. "The orphanage I grew up in, closed down. I can't contact my orphanage mother, nor any of my friends."

Quickly turning her frown upside down, she continued, "but I have a feeling they're doing better. So it's all fine… I hope."

"You're lying to yourself. You don't feel fine."

"No really I'm fine!" she waved her hands in denial, refusing to let sadness take over the conversation. So she attempted to change the subject. "By the way, are you okay with the rumors going around the school?"

Hibari knew exactly what her statement pertained to: their relationship. Would they even call it a "rumor" if it was already established as a fact?

"I don't care. It's a convenient way to make everyone know not to bother you."

"Yeah but I wouldn't exactly want people to avoid me… just because of us." She studied his face, now accustomed to addressing their relationship.

"Don't forget that you were the one who wanted this… us," he leaned back with a smirk on his face, enjoying every moment of teasing his secretary.

"And you reciprocated," clapped back Ayano in a playful manner.

"Did I?"

"You did kiss me back then. Action speaks louder than words, Hibari-san."

Her victorious smile was euphoric to him, he admitted to himself. Subsequently, he acknowledged that his feelings for Ayano had grown in a short time, since new year's eve.

If only I could convince her to stay in Japan…

"Why not stay in Japan then," he accidentally muttered.

"I think we had a debate about why Italian fashion schools have high reputation," chuckled the Nicolaou girl.

"And how they're more expensive," corrected the cloud guardian.

"My mother saved enough for my educati—" she halted her words.

There it is again, he observed the way she withdrew back from the mention of her biological mother. Hibari wanted to know the root of her hesitation and uneasiness, because he now suspected that, her history correlated to Reborn's inexplicable interest on her, a normal civilian.

"You're from an affluent and powerful family, aren't you, Ayano?"

Her eyes widened, but swiftly she brushed off his growing suspicion. "That is silly, Hibari-san."

"A missing person who happened to have left a huge sum of fortune to her daughter? Odd. A well-renowned hitman was able to convince you to join Vongola? Again, odd."

"I think… you're overthinking, Hibari-san."

He took a sip of his tea. "These two situation, are they somehow connected to each other?"

"No, they're...not. Let's stop this talk… please…" her facade started to break apart.

"Why are you afraid to talk about it?"

"Because… you can't know! I'm afraid that—" her volume turned quiet.

"Afraid of what?" the skylark continued to pry into fear.

"… of losing you."

"Look at me," he commanded, fixating his gaze on hers. "You won't lose me." He leaned forward, reaching for her hand to give it a peck, without breaking his eye contact. "So tell me, was I right?"

Still, her reluctance prevailed; her tongue remained tied about the subject.

"I'm sorry, Hibari-san," she mumbled, "when the right time comes, I'll tell you everything."

So close to solving her puzzle, Hibari voiced to himself. Maybe he went too far; this was supposed to be a date, not an interrogation session.

"Apologies for the wait!" the waiter's sudden interruption broke the tension in the ceiling. "Here's your delicious order!" he served the couple with their long-awaited meal. But neither touched their food for a good minute.

Once the atmosphere relaxed itself, the skylark sighed, "forget about what I said. Just eat, it's my treat."

The two might have been too focused on their meal, because neither noticed the eerie behavior of the three other occupants in the ramen shop. Maybe the low, background music gave the illusion of a normal, casual, conversation in the room when in fact, the three other customers—sat apart—had been still and silent for the past hour.

One of them spilled a malicious intent on purpose, which successfully caught Hibari's attention. The Vongola cloud guardian turned his head and met the strange men's soft glare, which was directed at the oblivious Nicolaou girl.

Since when did they even get here without Hibari noticing? He was immediately alarmed by their demeanor. They kept their eyes on the oblivious Ayano like a pack of wolves keeping guard on their alpha. Call it an irrational feeling, but his gut could read the hostility in the atmosphere.

I want to bite them to death.

But first, he needed to get her away from the violence that was about to occur.

"Are you okay, Hibari-san?" blurted Ayano when she saw the scowl on his face.

"You need to go outside, now."

"Huh, why? Is everything alright—"

As Hibari impatiently grabbed her wrist and rose from his chair, a pair of strong hands suddenly forced his shoulders down back to his seat. In one second, the two Namimori students were surrounded by three, foreign-looking, men.

"You're not going anywhere, Vongola boy." The blonde man in black shirt spoke in English, a language that Ayano was slightly fluent in.

The provoked skylark swung his tonfa at the person behind him, which clashed with the man's bare forearm. In a swift motion, both Hibari's arms were pinned to his back, and his head was pushed down on the table, knocking the bowls off the table and spilling food everywhere.

Hibari was about to unleash his flame, when he felt a needle stabbed his neck. Whatever he got injected with, must have contained a strong dosage as he immediately felt the paralysis spread fast across his body. His vision slowly turned blurry, infuriated at the sight of his beloved one being outnumbered by an unknown group of men. He mouthed the word 'run' at her, but his vision was quickly devoured by the total darkness.

"What is going on?! Who are you people?!" Ayano's frantically voiced back in English, too frightened by what she just witnessed. With shaky arms, she reached for Hibari, but was forcefully pulled away from her seat, separating her from the pinned-down, unconscious skylark.

"Please come with us, Miss Ayano."

"Let me go! Please!" her breath staggered in fear as she resisted the blonde man, who handled her with care.

"He'll be fine. The shot will render him asleep for 12 hours, maybe less," the other man with a buzz cut relaxed his stance and released his arms from the unconscious Hibari. "I was told he can resist paralysis."

"Help!—" her mouth was immediately covered with a cloth, preventing her from screaming any further.

"Calm down, Miss Ayano. Please listen."

Ayano shook his head in refusal, still battling the pair of arms that was holding her back and immovable.

"In two minutes, we will leave by car. I will release the actual ramen shop owner and instruct him to take this boy to the hospital. So please rest assured, Miss Ayano."

She shook her head in defiance. Is he stupid? In what universe would the idea of being kidnapped calm me down? Her resistance was ignored, and she was dragged outside the shop and forced in a black car with dark-tinted windows. She was sandwiched in the middle seat to prevent her any attempts to escape.

The blonde man sat at the front passenger seat and turned to meet the frightened girl.

"I'm Philip Webster. You can call me Pip." He faced the front direction after his short introduction. Ayano did not acknowledge his attempt to be friendly. She couldn't tell what his ethnicity was, but he seemed to look a few years older than her.

No longer muffled, she was quick to negotiate. "How do you know me? If you need money I can give y—"

Pip's laugh was deafening. "Relax! We don't need your money. My boss just wants to meet you."

"I don't want to meet your boss, whoever that is." She attempted to elbow the guy to her left, but he simply yawned as he caught it with his palm.

"You sure?" Pip lit a cigarette in the car without opening the window.

The driver noticed on the rear mirror that Ayano was struggling to breath due to the smoke. "Don't smoke in here, Pip. You're upsetting the Miss." He pushed a button on his left which opened the right front window, quickly snatched Pip's cigarette, and threw it out.

"My bad."

"I apologize about Pip's behavior, Miss Ayano." The driver met her gaze on the rear mirror. "Please call me Henry. We are at your service."

"I don't want your service, sir. Let me go, please." Ayano reached for the door handle, which was immediately blocked by the male to her right.

"You and our boss are so similar, persistent and fearless." Pip was proud.

Boss, she echoed mentally. Did she accidentally make an enemy out of a mafia boss? Could they be related to the gang at GM's town? Could they be related to Vongola? "What does your boss need from me?"

"She needs her daughter." He turned his head and met her cloudy, gray pupils against his fierce ocean, blue eyes.

"That's none of my business." Ayano frowned at the lack of clarity.

Pip smiled at the confused girl. Interacting with her was like interacting with his boss, whom he admired very much.

"It is your business. Our boss is your mother. Does the name Yoshino Nicolaou ring a bell?"

Any comments is appreciated!

See you in Chapter 22~

Itsyoursis-Artemis