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.

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08. Unwavering Trust

HappyFace1886

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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.

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::owari::

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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... @___@

07. Lazy Days