Notes

My first post on tumblr! It's the drafted sequel to 'Bargain' for Giotto x Haru that I didn't like how it turned out. I know a few were curious and now I finally have a platform to post my incompleted or 'drafted/discarded' work! :) Hopefully I'll have time to post other incompleted work or any work that I have written, but didn't have any plans on actually posting on my blog.

As for my current WIP, I'm currently working on Ambigram!

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Bell Collar - Katekyo Hitman Reborn - 1886

Bell Collar

Summary: Haru should have known that there were consequences when breaking the rules... Hibari x Haru / 1886

My lack of KHR knowledge might make some things untrue or some characters OOC!

I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Please forgive any mistakes, both character-wise and grammatically-wise. I don't have time to re-read or edit things.


AN: This has nothing to do with Cloud Watching Days. Just a little something to pass the time while I work on the main projects...



Bell Collar

HappyFace1886



Fact: Miura Haru was good friends with a certain Sawada Tsunayoshi. Her fondness towards him was also renowned throughout the school, especially due to how she’d go out of her way to visit him and the others at Namimori.

Fact: Miura Haru was a student of the elite all-girl’s school, Midori Junior. It was another well known, not to mention verified, rumor that Miura Haru not only attended Midori Junior, but was one of the top students of the school. Not only was she academically brilliant, she was known for being well-rounded due to her various extracurricular activities in more than one field. Theater, sports, debate team, she did it all.

Fact: Miura Haru was a Midori Junior student, which meant that she should not be entering Namimori school grounds without permission from the school (aka the Disciplinary Committee).

Fact: Miura Haru, a Midori Junior student, often entered Namimori school grounds to meet up with Sawada Tsunayoshi and his friends.

Conclusion: Miura Haru was breaking school regulations by illegally trespassing into Namimori.

Hibari’s lips curved into a smirk at this reasoning before turning to leave his office, his jacket bellowing ominously behind him.

A light jingle of a bell could be heard echoing within the room of his office as the door came to a quiet close.



“H-Haru! You’re not supposed to be here,” Tsuna chided frantically, whipping his head around in an attempt to see if any of the Disciplinary Committee members were walking around. “And what are you doing here in the middle of school? You should be in class too!”

“Hahi! Haru is not being a delinquent,” Haru pouted. “School ended early for today and Haru was stopping by because Tsuna-san’s mother told her that you forgot your lunch at home.”

“O-Oh! R-Right!” Tsuna guiltily rubbed the back of his head while internally, he was wondering why his mother was always calling Haru to take care of him. Why couldn’t it be Kyoko-chan for once? Wait... that’d just be showing his lame side to her! “A-Anyways, thanks for helping me out, but you really should get out of here!”

Haru tilted her head, looking puzzled. “Why is that?”

“Because!” Tsuna almost yelled out loud, but managing a sharp hiss instead. If Gokudera also caught him talking to Haru, he’d likely get into an argument with her and the ensuing cacophony would definitely draw the Disciplinary Committee’s attention. That was the last thing he needed right now. “Hibari-san will bite you dead if he knows you’re here!”

“Hahi? Why would he do that? Haru didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Did you get permission to enter school grounds this time?” Tsuna inquired and wanted to smack himself on the forehead when Haru looked sheepishly at him.

“Sorry! Haru is so used to coming to Namimori to visit that she often forgets to request for one,” she said with a nervous giggle. “She promises to get one for sure next time though.”

“That’s what you said last time!” Tsuna groaned out loud this time.

“No!” Haru shook her head quickly. “Really! Next time for sure!”

“No need,” a low baritone murmured from behind and she cried out in surprise, whirling around to see the familiar rounded headed boy behind her. Haru stumbled backwards, almost walking into the rapidly paling Tsuna. Hibari almost sighed at the sight of her. “You’ll likely just forget next time as well.”

“H-Haru won’t!” she snipped back while, from behind her, Tsuna was desperately trying to mime at Haru to stay silent so that she didn’t exasperate the situation. Hibari wasn’t looking blood-thirsty for once! There was no need to tempt fate and make him angry!

“And so, that’s why I’ve thought of an alternative just for you,” Hibari continued, smoothly ignoring her protests. He took a step forward and Haru squeaked in surprise while Tsuna looked torn between running for the hills and maybe helping Haru out. But this was Hibari they were talking about! He wouldn’t hit Haru over this, right?

It happened less than a second. Haru swore that Hibari hadn’t even touched her and yet, on her neck, she could feel the slight weight of something wrapped around it. The material felt soft and thin, almost holding a silky texture so that it wouldn’t irritate her skin even if she was to wear it for long periods of time. However, what horrified her was the soft chiming sound that’d echo around her whenever she made any movements... along with how there had been a foreboding click sound behind her neck...

“HAHI!” Haru loudly squawked, her hand flinging to the back of her neck to find the clasp of the... the... collar around her neck! To her horror, the clasp seemed as though it was locked so that she couldn’t pull it free on her own. The bell on the collar around her neck chimed innocuously while she turned to look at the pleased Hibari and then to Tsuna-san, who looked about ready to faint. “T-T-Tsuna-san...”

The brown haired boy winced at the pitiful cry of his name. “H-Hibari-san, d-don’t you think a... well... a collar is too much?”

“No.”

“Hahi! What do you mean no?” Haru demanded, whirling to face the round headed jerk! “How dare you put this on me? Take it off this instant!"

He arched an eyebrow at her. “Why?”

Haru nearly sputtered at his nonchalant response. “B-Because! This is inhumane a-and humiliating a-and Haru is not your pet! Take it off!”

“You repeatedly intrude onto school grounds without permission and gallivant off before receiving your punishment.” He ignored her protests of how she never ran off, but that he and the Disciplinary Committee were always too slow in informing her that she should get a visitor pass from the school entrance. “Other than corporal punishment, the other option is to make it so that it’s easier to keep track of your presence. Unless you prefer the former?”

Haru winced at the possibility of Hibari’s special punishments. But at the same time, this was ridiculous! Even now the bell was ringing with even the slightest movement from her. “B-But what about outside school grounds? Will you take this off of me then?”

“No.”

“Hahi! Hibari-san is being unreasonable! Haru demands that you take this off of her right now or... or..."

"Or what?" There was a sinister smile on Hibari's face, one that made Haru falter. It promised of punishment that he'd definitely enjoy inflicting on her. Still, her dignity stopped her from backing down this time. However, right as she was about to gather her resolve and fight back, Tsuna jumped and quickly got between them.

“T-There’s no need to fight about this,” Tsuna quickly rushed out the words because he knew there was no way Haru stood a chance again Hibari, meaning he would be the one receiving he beat down and he really did not want to be in a world of pain right now. “C’mon Haru, let’s go!”

“Hahi! No! Wait, Tsuna-san!” Haru protested, for once, trying to get away from his grip as she struggled to get back at the smirking Prefect. The sight of his amused face made her blood boil and she was sorely tempted to chuck her slipper at his head. The soft chiming of the bell with her rough movements wasn’t helping with her mood either. If anything, it was making her face even redder. “No! Let Haru goooooo-!”

The rest of her words faded away as Tsuna summoned all of his strength to dash off with Haru.



“Pwahahahahaha!” Gokudera’s irritating laughter filled the air, the silver haired boy clutching onto his stomach while Haru scowled unhappily in her corner of the empty room. He struggled to control himself, but ended up howling with laughter all over again once he got another look at her and the bell around her neck.

“I-It’s not funny!” her eyes were tearing up, but her face was flushing with anger. Haru reached up to tug at the choker, desperately trying to rip it off. “Get this off of me!”

“Gokudera-kun,” Tsuna pleaded, but even the infallible words of his dear Decimo weren’t enough to stop him from laughing.

“Here, let me help you there,” Yamamoto said with a sympathetic smile.

Haru willingly turned around so that he could deal with the stupid lock on the back and almost sighed in relief at his help. Yamamoto-san was really reliable. There was no way he wouldn’t be able to get this thing off!

There was silence as Yamamoto fiddled with the collar for a few seconds... seconds that evolved into minutes.

The brown haired girl fidgeted a little. “Y-Yamamoto-san?”

“Erm... just a second! I... uh... almost got it!”

Gokudera snorted and shouldered Yamamoto away, pulling out a make-shift lock pick from his pocket. “Move aside, baseball idiot, and let a pro show you how it’s done.”

Haru stiffened at the feel of Gokudera roughly grabbing onto the collar and feared he’d choke the life out of her, unintentionally or maybe even intentionally. Still, she was more desperate to get the collar off than the inability to breathe. She clenched her eyes shut and prayed that he’d be able to get it off. Haru didn’t even care that it was Gokudera getting it off. She’d even deal with his gloating if it meant getting the darn thing off!

Once more, seconds turned to minutes...

“...hold still,” a chill went down Haru’s spine when after she heard Gokudera’s low, dark grumble, she heard the ominous noise of what sounded like a switch blade being released.

“Hahi!” she yelped and scrambled away from him to hide behind Tsuna while Yamamoto jerked the knife away from Gokuderea’s hands.

“G-Gokudera-kun!” Tsuna cried out as well.

“It wasn’t like I was going to hurt her,” Gokudera protested feebly at his boss. “That thing is just impossible to break normally! We might as well cut the material instead of dealing with the stupid lock.”

“Um... I don’t think this thing is going to cut that easily,” Yamamoto remarked while running his fingers against the unusual fabric of the collar. He tugged at it gently and winced at the mortified expression on Haru’s face at the jingling bell. His fingertips could feel the sturdiness of the material and instincts told him that a mere knife wouldn’t be able to cut through it.

“No,” Haru pitifully cried. “What kind of magic powers does Hibari-san have?”

Tsuna winced. “S-Sorry Haru-chan... b-but it looks like you’re stuck with it for now.”

“Noooooo!”



There was a content smirk on Hibari’s face as he napped under the blue sky. The warmth of the sunlight was perfect and the flowing clouds occasionally provided a brief shade that was neither too hot nor too cold. His sharp ears caught the faint tinkle of the bell somewhere on school grounds and his smirk grew.

All was well.



All was not well for one Miura Haru. She wanted to leave the campus, but terror struck her at the thought of gallivanting off of school grounds with this wretched bell around her neck! Surely there was a way to get this off! And if not, she had to find a way to convince Hibari-san to get this off of her!

Haru squeaked and pivoted on her heels when she heard the sound of students coming down the hallway. Originally she’d thought of finding Kyoko-chan, hoping that she’d have a brilliant idea on how to get it off... unfortunately, it was more humiliating when imagining Kyoko-chan seeing her with this collar. Not to mention, if Hana-san was with Kyoko-chan, then Haru knew she’d really never hear the end of it.

“Do you hear that?” a female voice murmured at the end of the hall.

“...it sounds like a bell.”

“Do you think a cat snuck inside campus again?”

“Ooh, let’s go find it before sensei does! Maybe we can play with it this time!” one of the voices squealed, footsteps hurrying down the hall.

Haru’s eyes bugged out at the fact that these people were now following her. Hahi! There was no point in trying to be sneaky and avoid people because the bell was obnoxiously ringing around her neck! Even when Haru tried to hold onto the bell itself, the stupid thing would still loudly make noises.

“I think it’s running. We should hurry!”

Hahi! Didn’t these girls have classes? The hallway was mostly empty, meaning class was in session. Where in the world did these girls have the time to chase a cat anyways?

Clenching her eyes shut, Haru turned to the nearest window and quickly shoved it open.

“Nyah!” she yelled as she jumped out, knowing it would be fine since she was on the first floor. The moment she landed on the ground, her eyes widened and her hands slapped over her mouth. A brilliant shade of red immediately overcame her features. Hahi! Why in the world did she just say that?”

“I think I heard the cat jump out the window!”

Scrambling up, Haru immediately ran away from the girls. At least it didn’t seem like they’d chase her out of the window. Hopefully that meant they’ll go the long way to the school entrance or lose interest and go back to class.

Haru turned the corner of the building, trying to ignore the innocent chimes of the bell. She leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath.

...this was all that stupid round headed jerk’s fault! So what if she forgot to ask for the visitor’s pass all the time? It wasn’t like she was doing it intentionally! And maybe the disciplinary committee should try and have the office for the visitor pace be located closer to the entrance? That way innocent visitors such as herself wouldn’t constantly forget to pick up such a thing!

...oh who was she kidding? She broke the rules and this was her punishment.

But this punishment was too weird and cruel! She had to find Hibari-san and convince him to change his m-.

“Huh... what do we have here?” her blubbering thoughts came to a halt at the sound of an oily voice that send bad shivers down her spine. Haru bit her lip and looked down the side of the building, stiffening at the sight of what had to be highschoolers that’d wandered onto campus... because either they were middle-schoolers who’d reach their growth spurt faster than others or they were older kids intruding on school territory.

“W-Who are you?” Haru replied boldly instead.

“Haha, look at that,” one of the highschoolers nudged the other. “Around her neck.”

“Ooh, that’s some kinky shit right there!” another laughed as he sauntered closer to her. Haru instinctively took a step back. She needed to run. She needed to escape from here! But her legs remained shaky, only able to make the occasional stumble away from the intimidating boy with the frightening glare in his eyes. “What’s wrong, neko-chan? Don’t you want to play with your master?”

At his taunting words, Haru couldn’t help but bristle at him. “Don’t call me neko-chan you-you-you pervert! Hahi!”

The guy grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her until she was pressed harshly against the wall, her back slamming against the concrete with a harsh thud. She looked up at him in terror, wincing at how hard his grip. He leered down at her, an exciting yet sadistic grin on his face. Now, now, thats no way to talk to your master, neko-chan. I think we need to give you some obedience lessons.

Haru shuddered at the way he spoke those words, fear stabbing through her as she instinctively knew just what hed do to her. She clenched her eyes shut and opened her mouth to let out a scream, but was interrupted by a loud cry of pain. The bruising hold on her shoulder disappeared and her eyes fluttered open in surprise.

Small whimpers of fear came from her left and a quick glance revealed the ashen faces of the other highschoolers whod been leering at her from the back. Haru slowly turned her attention in front of her where the scary boy, whod been keeping her trapped against the wall, was crying out in pain on the ground, his hand clutching his head where hed been hit hard by what had to be a blunt object.

Do you have your visitors pass? a cool voice inquired.

Hibari-san...

Haru turned to see the intimidating Prefect standing with his tonfas at attention, one of the weapons already smeared with the blood of the boy on the ground. His grey eyes briefly shifted towards her, his gaze lingering on the collar around her neck, and he nodded to himself. She has one, but what of you three?

What the fuck was that? the guy from the ground got up, clutching onto his bleeding temple. Who the fuck are you?

Shut up! one of his friends hissed from the back. Are you insane? Thats Hibari!

No passes? Hibari lifted one of his arms, the tonfa pointed menacingly at the terrified highschoolers. He gave them a cold smile. Ill bite you dead.



Haru stared at the pile of boys in front of her, the three writhing in pain after the fierce beating theyd just received from Hibari. She turned in time to see Hibari leaving and immediately ran after him. Hibari-san!

He paused mid-step and tilted his head, looking rather bored.

T-Thank you for saving me.

Those three were breaking the rules. I was merely instilling order on them.

S-Still... wait a minute, why is Haru thanking you? She wouldnt have gotten in trouble in the first place if you hadnt been so unreasonable! Haru yelled in outrage. If Hibari-san hadnt stuck her with this stupid collar, she would have been out of Namimori Junior by now! S-See! Having something like this is dangerous! Please take it off of me!

No. he said before turning to leave.

B-But you saw what happened back there! I cant even go home right now because of this stupid collar! I-Its like a pervert magnet! she yelled, shaking in her fury and causing the bell to chime around her neck. Hahi! W-What does Haru have to do to get you to change your mind?

If it attracts unwanted attention, then youll just simply have to stay by my side at all times. Hibari replied offhandedly, continuing to walk away. Be it school or outside.

His fading words reached his ears and took Haru a moment to process. Her eyes widened and she stared at his back.

No... no, she mustve imagined those words.

There was no way...

No...

....


Hahi! Hibari-san! Wait a second! she yelled, ignoring how the bell chimed innocuously in the air as she chased after him. Haru demands an explanation for that! Hibari-san!



::owari::




AU: Back, but not really back. Well, I was never truly gone as I tried to write when I can. Unfortunately, real life drags me back into its horrible depths. A lot of stuff happened and I'm slowly overcoming all of it. Currently working on Ambigram and I'm hoping I'll be able to post the next chapter soon. Thanks again for all your patience!

Monday, May 29, 2017

Unwavering Trust - Katekyo Hitman Reborn - 1886

Cloud Watching Days

Summary: Series of connecting slice-of-life one-shots concerning our favorite couple, Haru and Hibari! Their moments in time together. Hibari x Haru / 1886

My lack of KHR knowledge might make some things untrue or some characters OOC!

I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Please forgive any mistakes, both character-wise and grammatically-wise. I don't have time to re-read or edit things.


Note: Takes place in the TYL-arc, during the brief moment of peace before the battle against the Millifiore.



08. Unwavering Trust

HappyFace1886



Haru stared up at Namimori Junior, feeling her heart clench at the sight of it. Though the Millifiore Famiglia was currently quiet due to the agreement of when the Choice battle was to take place, she knew others would come looking for her if she were to stay out for too long. She didn’t understand it herself as to why she’d come here of all places when she only had a few precious hours to enjoy on her own outside of the base,  but her feet had automatically brought her to the campus ground of a school that wasn’t even her own.

Funny how she didn’t even seem to miss Midori Junior despite all the friends she had there as well. Namimori felt special to her and while she’d hidden it well, Haru had actually felt a little jealous when she’d seen Kyoko-chan and the others going to their seats in their classroom, talking nostalgically of their not so old memories of school together.

Her feet seemed to have a mind of their own, heading towards the usual routes she’d take whenever she’d visit the campus. Without Tsuna-san and the others to guide her to their desired destinations, there were only a few places she knew about this place.

Haru paused as she neared the reception room of the school. For a minute, she briefly smiled, wondering what happened to all the textbooks and notebooks she’d occasionally leave behind there whenever there was an upcoming exam she needed to study for. Knowing Hibari-san liked his space, she made sure not to take too much room, even if he was the one who approved of her diligence.

She walked past the room and continued onward, her feet taking her towards the stairway so that she could make her way out of the campus and to the neighboring building.

Hm... generally she’d go to the rooftops of the building where the reception room was located in since Hibird would roost on the rooftop that Hibari-san would nap on, but during weekends such as today, Hibird would go to the other building since Hibari-san would take a nap there instead. It made Haru giggle, a bit of pride blossoming on her chest at the thought that she’d been perceptive enough to figure out the little bird’s habits. It was cute how Hibird was so fond of his master.

The smile lingered on her face and seemed to even grow when she took the familiar steps that would lead her to the rooftop. The habit was comforting since it was something safe, something normal, from her everyday life. It had nothing to do with the dangerous, even frightening, life she was currently trapped in. Granted, Haru wasn’t as scared as she was when she’d first arrived here, but it was still unnerving, especially after Tsuna-san had revealed to her of the truth...

The smile dimmed slightly as she came across the last few steps, her arms sluggishly pushing against the door that’d lead to the rooftop.

Apparently the ‘mafia game' that Haru thought Tsuna would play with the children and his friend really wasn’t just a game at all. Granted, there have been moments when she’d been incredulous due to the oddities that appeared in Tsuna-san’s life (such as when Dino-san’s pet turtle had suddenly grown to a ginormous size and caused chaos when they’d gotten lost in that forest... and when that man who was really good at pretending to be dead had faked being killed by Tsuna-san...), but Haru had simply accepted it as the eccentricity of Tsuna-san’s exciting life.

But of course, it’d only been because she’d been so gullible.

It was a trait of hers that she’d admitted early on to Tsuna-san, but she’d never imagined her gullibility would reach to these new heights. In a way, she was a bit ashamed of how oblivious she’d been to everything. Bianchi-san had tried to reassure her, to tell her that it wasn’t her fault that she hadn’t known, especially when the guys had tried so hard to keep it from her and Kyoko-chan so that they wouldn’t worry. Haru obviously trusted her friends enough to not doubt their words, so it was a given that she'd be fooled for so long. Not to mention, it wasn't as though it was a normal occurrence to be friends with someone with actual mafia ties.

But still...

Tears gathered in Haru’s eyes.

How much had the guys suffered without her knowing? Just what else did they have to endure and why them? They were all still just kids!

She sniffled and tried to rub the tears from her eyes. It’d been so difficult trying not to break down in front of Tsuna-san and she’d promised herself that that one time with Bianchi-san would be the last time she’d cry about this all... but she was alone right now, so it was okay to cry, right? Haru hated how useless she was in all this. All she could do was domestic chores while her friends were fighting for their lives.

Sinking to her knees, Haru continued to wipe her tears away, frustrated with herself for her weakness and furious by how helpless she was in all this.

Midori tanabiku namimori no.”

Haru stilled at the familiar song, her tear filled eyes rising upward to find the source. She blinked in surprise, staring in awe when she saw a familiar little yellow bird soaring through the air and towards her.

Dai naku shou naku nami ga ii.”

Her hands reached upward, providing the little bird with a landing pad as he continued his little melody.

Itsumo kawaranu sukoyaka kenage.”

Hibird settled down on her hand and then paused in his song, looking up at Haru almost expectantly. She stared blankly at him before growing flustered, realizing what it was that Hibird wanted from her. Shakily, she opened her mouth and hoarsely sang the lines. “A-Aa... tomo ni utaou n-namimori chuu”.

It was Namimori Middle School’s anthem. Haru had noticed how Hibird would occasionally chirp the song and had learned it so that she could sing together with him. To her delight, Hibird seemed to also like that she’d sing the song with him and would sometimes dance and flutter around her head while she clapped her hands as they sang the song together. She quickly wiped the rest of her tears.

“H-Hibird-chan, what are you doing here?”

“Continue.”

Haru’s eyes boggled at first when she heard the familiar male voice and stared wildly at Hibird, wondering if the little bird had suddenly learned how to speak. She then mentally berated herself for even considering that since she knew who’s voice that belonged to and, my goodness, she couldn’t be that gullible... right?! Haru looked around to find the owner of the voice and frowned when she didn’t see anyone else around.

...a-a ghost?!

The sun was blocked from her view and she turned around, staring on top of the little building that housed the stairway. Sitting up from there was a familiar round headed boy.

“Hibari-san?” she breathed out. This was the first time they’d spoken to each other since their arrival into the future. Haru had barely spoken to the older Hibari-san. Actually, she’d barely seen him at all, let alone talked to him. Seeing Hibari-san now, though, made her heart squeeze slightly... though in sadness or relief, she wasn’t sure. “W-What are you doing here?”

“Continue,” Hibari merely repeated.

“H-Hahi?”

“You didn’t finish the song.” There was now a slight tinge of impatience and the rest of his words trailed in the air before Hibari lied back down on his spot. “Your voice suits Namimori’s anthem.”

Haru stared at where Hibari had disappeared from her line of vision before her flushed face turned red for a completely different reason. Hahi! Hibari-san had actually heard her singing! Wait, did he also just give his approval in her singing his precious Namimori’s school song? Granted, it wasn’t as though she’d hidden the fact that she’d sing the song with Hibird, but Hibari-san had never heard her sing it before until now.

Asa tsuyu kagayaku namimori no,” Haru almost jumped in surprise when Hibird began to sing again, taking flight from her hands to lazily circle around her head as he was apt to do in the past. “Heihei bonbon nami de ii.”

I-Itsumo kiowanu s-sukoyaka kenage,” Haru stumbled a bit before finding her stride, a small smile forming as each time Hibird would venture closer to her, he’d brush his feathers against the side of her face. A giggle even escaped her when he’d playfully swoop at her head before swerving at the last minute. “Haha... tomo ni waraou namimori chuu.”

Kimi to boku to de namimori no,” she chirped happily with Hibird. “Atarimae taru nami de ii.”

Hibird began to fly around her head in circles as they reached the last two verse of the song.

Itsumo issho ni sukoyaka kenage,” Haru giggled, eyes glanced upward while her head remained still as she felt Hibird slowly making his descent to perch on top of her head. “Aa... tomo ni ayumou namimori chuu.

Haru felt herself smiling dumbly to herself, happy and content that she was able to sing with her little animal friend. And then immediately flushed when she realized what she was doing and who she’d allowed to listen. She swung her head around, Hibird almost chidingly chirping on top of her head at the wild movement, to where she knew Hibari-san was. Fortunately, there was no sight of him.

She hesitated just for a second before she walked towards the ladder, using it to climb to the top where she saw Hibari lying on the floor. He was holding a small purple box with an elegant gold center. Actually, if Haru squinted her eyes a bit, it seemed as though the gold held an inscription of sort... bearing the emblem of some sort of crown...

Haru lingered at the edge of the building before pulling herself to the top, cautiously approaching Hibari. She settled herself right next to him when he didn’t say a word to her. “...Hibari-san... is that... is that your box weapon?”

His eyes glanced towards her almost questioningly and Haru fidgeted a little under the piercing gaze.

“T-Tsuna-san finally told me the truth about everything a-and he said that he and his... Guardians... all have these powerful box weapons that need to be mastered if we want to be able to go home.” She felt her heartbeat quickening at the reminder of the terror that lied ahead of them.

“...don’t lump me together with those fools.”

Haru couldn’t stop her smile at his words. Such a typical Hibari-san response. Feeling a bit more comfortable, she wrapped her arms around her legs and tilted her body slightly to the side so that it leaned towards Hibari’s direction. “Neh, neh, can Hibari-san show Haru his box weapon? So far, I’ve heard that everyone seems to have some sort of animal type box weapon, so Haru was curious about Hibari-san’s."

There was no immediate reply from him and briefly, Haru wondered if she was being too familiar with him when suddenly, there was a brilliant burst of flames right. Her eyes widened in awe as she looked beside her at the blazing purple flames that erupted from Hibari’s hand. As though aware of how mesmerized she was by the sight of his cloud flames, Hibari seemed to take his time, slowly sitting up and raising his glowing hand for her to see.

Haru had mostly seen the rumored flames from afar and couldn’t take her eyes away at the sight of flickering fire. It was amazing to see such purple flames and, despite her inexperience and lack of knowledge, even she could sense the very power emanating off of them. Her hands were so tempted to run her fingers through them, to see if they were as hot as regular flames... and without thinking, she did just that. Her hand tentatively reached out towards Hibari’s hand, her fingers slowly caressing the flames, unaware of how attentively Hibari was watching her.

Her eyes softened. It felt so warm... so comforting... a feeling she'd desperately yearned for while trapped in this dangerous future. Her hand reached deeper into the flames, wanting to feel it wrapped around her skin, to envelope her entire frame with the powerful, soothing flames. She vaguely felt Hibari’s palm under her fingertips and without thinking, almost daringly reached out to wrap her fingers around his hand.

The purple fire began to diminish in size and Haru immediately retracted her hand, the spell that had mesmerized her ending abruptly while a blush reappeared on her cheeks at the realization of what she’d been doing. However, her embarrassment faded as her eyes locked onto the flames, watching as they began to become concentrated on the Vongola Ring Tsuna-san had told her about. Hibari lifted the box and turned it towards the ring, entering the flames into the lock.

Haru gasped when there was a soft click before the box burst open, another flash of light briefly erupting before a tiny figure appeared before her eyes. It took her just but a second before she absorbed the sight of the adorable figure staring up at her with his little beady eyes. When the tiny creature tilted his head curiously at her, Haru all but melted. Haru had heard grand stories about the box weapons, but she’d only really been exposed to Gokudera’s Uri and the Storm Guardian’s feisty cat was too playful and energetic to really interact with.

Withholding her squeal, Haru held her hand out and the little creature looked up at her with unbridled excitement, but right when it was about to lunge for her, it was forcibly stopped by a hand delicately grabbing onto one of its pins.

Two pairs of eyes looked up to see Hibari carefully holding onto one of the hedgehog’s needles, keeping him in place. “Be careful, Roll.”

The little creature seemed to look a bit bashful at the realization that he’d once again forgotten about the dangerous pins on his back. Haru watched in fascination as the little hedgehog named Roll nodded in understanding before cautiously waddling closer towards Haru. She smiled and closed her hand, leaving out a finger for the little box weapon to smell.

“He’s so tiny,” she remarked while scratching the top of Roll’s head. The small creature practically crooned in delight, leaning towards her touch while trying to be mindful of the dangerous needles on his back. Haru smiled happily before carefully scooping Roll up, bringing him to eye level. “But I bet you’re very powerful as well. You’re Hibari-san’s partner, after all!”

Roll seemed to understand the compliment, squeaking happily at her.

Haru giggled quietly and brought the little hedgehog even closer, murmuring quietly for him to hear. “Haru is counting on you to help Hibari-san beat the bad guys. She promises to give you a treat after you succeed!”

The moment the words left her lips, it startled Haru at how quickly her perspective had changed. Before, she’d been worried death about how dangerous everything was and how her friends were forced to fight in a twisted, deranged game... but after meeting Hibari-san, it was no longer a matter of if they won... but when they won.

Haru froze, Roll still held closely to her face. It was bit astounding just how much faith she seemed to have in Hibari-san. Granted, he was powerful... maybe even as powerful as Tsuna-san... but it was still odd, even to herself, just how much she believed that he’d win. Even though she trusted Tsuna-san with all her might, she'd still been so fearful for him, the others, and the uncertainty of their future. Haru was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt a little nuzzle against her cheek and giggled lightly, returning the nuzzle with one of her own against Roll’s face.

“Ah, so that’s where you’ve been, Haru-chan.”

She gasped at the somewhat familiar voice and peered over the edge of the building, smiling happily when she saw who it was. “Dino-san!”

Dino returned the smile, unfazed at the sight of both animals belonging to Hibari clinging onto Haru. He raised a hand in greeting. “Yo.”

“D-Dino-san, what are you doing here?” she inquired before remembering that Dino-san had been at the rooftops with Hibari in the past as well. If she remembered Tsuna-san’s story correctly, that time when Dino-san was wielding his whip in the rooftop hadn’t been due to teaching Hibari-san about how to be a cowboy (another embarrassing realization that made Haru want to hit herself hard on the head). Dino-san was actually someone all too familiar with the dangerous world Haru was now entangled with.

Dino seemed to notice the dimming expression on Haru’s face and smiled kindly at her. “You’ve been out for a while now, Haru-chan. Everyone’s worried about you.”

“H-Hahi?” Haru looked up and squeaked when she saw that a hue of red was starting to take over the blue sky. O-Oh no! She hadn’t meant to stay out for this long! Haru set Roll down on the ground and rushed towards the ladder, quickly starting her descent while Hibird, still sitting on her head, released unhappy little peeps at how she was jostling him around.

“You should head on back now,” Dino held out a hand for Haru to grab, helping her jump down the last steps of the ladder. “Since we don’t know if the Milliefiore will keep to their word, I’ll walk you-ack!”

“R-Roll!” Haru squeaked, holding out her hands to catch the small hedgehog that landed on Dino’s head first before lunging into her arms. She barely caught him without piercing her skin through the sharp needles on his back. Roll seemed to sigh with contentment in her hands, smiling so innocently at her that she found it impossible to scold him.

Dino groaned, rubbing the back of his head. He knew the little box weapon was more graceful than that. There was no need to use such force! Before he could say another word, he heard a soft ‘thud’ as Hibari jumped down beside them. He then nonchalantly began walking towards the stairway. “Haha... I-I guess Hibari’s going to walk you back?”

“If they do attack,” Hibari spoke, a menacing smile reaching his features at the thought, “I’ll get to bite them to death earlier than planned.”

“Wait a minute! Where’s this confidence even coming from? You barely got to use your box weapon!” Dino yelled chidingly as he chased after Hibari. Seriously, that boy! While Dino acknowledged Hibari to be a prodigy, even genius had limitations. “Hibari!”

Haru stared at their descending figures and smothered her giggle as she followed after them. Her chest felt so light and the previous worry seemed to have all but faded away. It was just like when she’d encountered the older Hibari-san.

As long as Hibari-san was here, everything would be fine.



::owari::




AU: Thank goodness I had this mostly written. I don't know what's going on with me, but I've been feeling nauseous and sick whenever I'd sit behind the computer to write something. @__@ it's not just with writing, but just being awake in general. A part of me wonders if this is burnout from work or something else! The symptoms and causes of about burnout don't seem to apply to me though! Ahhhhhh! What's wrong with me? Just writing this was a struggle... @___@