What Hibari Did
by: RoyaleDeuce
Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! is not mine.
Note: Sequel to 'What Hibird Did'.
"I have bonbon!" Haru cried and laid out assorted candies on the floor one afternoon.
It wasn't long before the small bird tottered over and began devouring the sweets one by one. Hibari, who was sitting not so far away, was doing a fantastic job ignoring Haru's giggling fit and Hibird's indulgence in such a traitorous affair.
Haru gently ruffled the bird's feathers, "You poor thing! It must be hard living with such a stingy owner, huh?"
Hibird chirped, as if in compliance.
Both girl and bird remain oblivious to Hibari's icy glare.
"But don't worry! Haru is here to take care of you! Haru will be sure to keep you fed every week!" Haru gushed animatedly, offering the bird more treats before standing up. "Anyway, Haru's got to go now…"
In the middle of munching on a chocolate, Hibird looked up and tilted his head to the right.
Haru giggled, and then directed her gaze towards the boy by the metal railings. His eyes were shut close, but she knew better.
"Thanks for having me today, Hibari-san!" she smiled and disappeared from the rooftop not long after.
Hibari looked up from his desk when the Discipline office doors were abruptly slid open.
"Hibari-san!" Haru cried as she desperately tried to catch her breath.
Hibari's eyes narrowed considerably when he noticed the wicker basket in her arm, but he decided not to comment. Instead, he opted to say, "Hibird's not here."
"Hahi! Haru knows that!"
At Haru's hearty laugh, Hibari's eyes narrowed even more.
"Actually, Haru was wondering whether you'd like to join us for a picnic on the rooftop!"
Hibari returned to his paperwork, "I'm busy."
"Come on, it'll be fun! Everyone's waiting upstairs…"
"No."
"But—"
"Get out."
Irked by Hibari's standoffish behaviour, Haru heaved a long, defeated sigh. The Discipline Head had actually expected her to leave, but instead the brunette ambled towards his office desk. His lips thinned when she dropped a small box on his table.
"What's this?" he looked up and met her excited gaze with a glare.
"Cake," she smiled. "It's not good to work with an empty stomach, hahi!"
Hibari blinked.
Right after Haru had taken her leave, Kusakabe entered. Almost immediately, he spotted something out of place on his boss' work table.
"What is that, Hibari-san?" Kusakabe suspiciously eyed the pink, flowery box lying dangerously close to the Cloud Guardian's tonfas. Upon a closer look, "Is that cake?"
Hibari spared him a probing glance.
Kusakabe looked sheepish, "Is that from Haru-chan? Can I have it?"
Unfortunately for Kusakabe, he might as well have been talking to a wall.
Taking a detour in Namimori Middle School has become a routine.
Right after exchanging pleasantries with Tsuna and the others in the hallway, Haru would head for the rooftop where she'd pamper Hibird with her packs of treats and consequentially infuriate Hibari with her interminable high-spirit and energy.
However, this particular visit turned out to be rather… different.
"Hibari-san?"
Hibari's lips quirked downward when Haru plopped down in front of him. He knew exactly why there was a twinkle of uncertainty in her eyes.
"Hibird's not here."
"Aa, yeah. It's this time of the month, huh?" Haru nodded in understanding but smiled nevertheless. "Don't worry! Haru doesn't mind waiting!"
Hibari's eyebrows twitched and then shut his eyes close. "Do whatever you want."
Haru didn't process the unspoken 'just don't disturb me' in Hibari's gesture, so she had no sense of foreboding when she attempted to engage him in friendly conversation.
"Why do you like staying on the rooftop so much?" Haru beamed brightly, waiting for the boy to at least acknowledge her inquiry.
No response.
"Hahi! This is like your secret hide-out with Hibird, huh? But now Haru's part of it, too! Lucky~!"
Still no response.
Haru shifted awkwardly as it dawned on her that Hibari would probably ignore her the rest of the time. Sighing, she turned to her paper bag and got a hold of two small boxes, one of which she carefully dropped on Hibari's lap.
Much to Haru's delight, the Discipline Head had opened his eyes.
Hibari stared at the innocuous-looking object, "What's this?"
"Cake!" Haru smiled, scooping some from her own heart-shaped box and putting it inside her mouth, "Delicious! Come on, Hibari-san! You should try it!" And she happily gobbled more of the strawberry treat.
Hibari couldn't take his eyes off Haru's mouth as she sucked on the plastic spoon.
When Haru noticed the way Hibari's gaze was glued to her, she asked, "Do you want to try some of Haru's?"
He frowned and looked away, "No."
Haru giggled at Hibari's 'caught-look' and had no second thoughts of offering him her cake, "You can taste Haru's— oh! But Haru forgot to bring an extra spoon. You can use mine, Haru doesn't mind!"
Hibari immediately threw her a glare.
"Hahi!" Haru recoiled, her face burning. "Aa, s-sorry about that… okay, Haru will shut up now."
And there was silence.
By the time Haru had finished her cake and completed her assignment, the sky was already a myriad of colours and the sun had begun to set. Glancing at Hibari, Haru noted that the boy's eyes were closed as he lay on the concrete, his breathing deep and even. She shut her textbook close and prepared to leave.
At the soft click of the door, Hibari opened his eyes and became aware of the heart-shaped box still lying on the floor.
"Hey, Miura-san!"
Haru stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder. Three tall seniors waved at her from the hallway. Curious, she quickly got off the staircase and approached them.
"How do you know my name?" Haru asked as soon as she reached them.
"Your ID," the red-head smirked and flipped the ID in his hand for her to see.
"You dropped it while you were running down the hall," the spiky-haired boy explained. "Good thing our revered Discipline Head wasn't there to see you."
"And good thing we were there to pick it up for you, yeah?" the blond winked.
Haru bowed. "Thank you so much!" she smiled and reached for her ID.
But the red-head pulled his hand away. "Say, why is that you come here every week? You're not a student of Namimori."
Haru nodded, "Haru's here to visit a special friend."
"Special, huh?" The boys exchanged a look.
"Like a boyfriend?" spikes asked.
Haru laughed out loud, momentarily forgetting about her ID. "No, no! Not like that!"
"Say, since your friend's not that kind of special, you don't mind hanging out with us, yeah?" the blond chuckled.
Haru was suddenly aware of how close the seniors were to her. "S-Sorry, but Haru still has a lot of stuff to-to do! If you don't mind, can Haru have her ID back now?" She had another go at retrieving it but the boys kept it from her reach.
"Come on! In return for your ID, get together with us for one afternoon…" the red-head grinned. "Consider it as a debt paid, ne Haru-chan?"
"Loitering in the hallways is unforgivable."
All three boys stiffened at the familiar baritone voice.
Haru inclined her head to the side and brightened at the appearance of her would-be saviour. "Hibari-san!"
Hibari continued to glare daggers at the boys who were wise enough to distance themselves away from him.
"I-It's after class, Hibari," the red-head stepped forward, as if to prove that he wasn't going to cower in the presence of the feared Discipline Head. "You're being unreasonable—"
Hibari's tonfas were dangerously glinting in the sunlight.
They were gone in the blink of an eye.
"Thank you," Haru blushed and picked her ID from the floor, all the while avoiding Hibari's gaze. When she gathered enough courage to meet his eyes though, the boy already had his back turned to her. "Uhm—"
"Hibird's upstairs," was Hibari's quick reply before disappearing in the corner.
Haru could only sigh before heading for the rooftop.
The sky was devoid of lingering clouds that afternoon.
As he lay down on the concrete, Hibari raised his hand in an attempt to block the blinding sunlight when a figure suddenly hovered above him and ultimately shaded him from the sun.
He removed his hand and stared.
It was Haru.
"Hi!" she smiled, taking a seat beside him.
Hibari sat up and turned to her. "Hibird's not here," he said simply.
"Haru knows," There was a tint of pink on her cheeks as she mumbled this. "Anyway… it's such a hot day today, isn't it?" she exclaimed, using her hand to fan herself. "Scorching hot! Aren't you hot, Hibari-san?" she looked at him expectantly, grinning.
"No."
"Hahi! Ice cream sounds really good right now, yeah? Strawberry?"
Hibari silently watched the Haru continue to burst in enthusiasm.
"Or iced milk tea? That's good, too!"
"…"
"Would you like to get some with Haru, Hibari-san? Haru knows a good ice cream parlour downtown—"
"Why are you still here?"
Haru paused at the abruptness of the question and gaped at Hibari.
Hibari was poker-faced. "Hibird's not here."
But instead of answering him, she preoccupied herself with getting something from her tote bag.
"Guess what Haru brought with her!" Haru giggled, cradling a familiar box in her arms. "Tada!" she extended her hand with the heart-shaped box Hibari had been well-acquainted with for the past month.
Hibari merely stared at the cake handed out to him.
After a few moments of cold silence, Haru withdrew her hand. A small smile graced her lips. "Hibird sure is an interesting fellow… But Haru thinks there's nothing wrong with wanting to be her friend…"
Hibari closed his eyes, "Hibird wants to be alone."
Haru struggled to keep the smile on her face, "Hahi! That's just too sad! That's why, Haru makes it a point to come here every week, you know… No one wants to be alone…" she trailed off, closing her eyes and leaning closer.
Hibari eyes snapped open once Haru's lips touched his.
It was fleeting, ending as soon as it started.
Haru's face was burning when she pulled back. Hibari was rigid, his eyes wide with shock.
Completely overwhelmed, Haru collected her things and left the rooftop without saying another word.
The heart-shaped box was left behind.
A month had passed since she last dropped by.
Entering the cake shop, she erased all thoughts of heading to Namimori Middle School right after to deliver the usual slice of cake. There was a fair amount of people in the store, and she hastily made her way towards the counter. Upon waiting in line, her eyes were suddenly fixed on the glass counter, specifically on the chocolate cake she always ordered.
Hibird wants to be alone.
"Hahi!" Haru gasped "Stop thinking of useless things, Haru!" she began slapping her cheeks left and right.
"…a big fire!" the lady behind her exclaimed all of a sudden.
Haru stilled and returned to her senses.
"…the school right around the block?"
Haru's eyes widened.
The old woman nodded. "Namimori Middle School."
"HARU!"
Haru turned her head to the side and saw Tsuna in the crowd.
"Hahi! What happened?" she asked as soon as she reached them.
The school building was engulfed in enormous, lapping flames. The firemen were currently engaged in putting it out as the security kept the horde from getting near the vicinity. Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto were amongst the people in front of the school gates.
"They say the explosion came from the laboratory. I was too into practice that I didn't notice it at first," Yamamoto laughed, "Luckily Gokudera passed by and warned me about it."
"Stupid baseball freak," Gokudera muttered. "I passed by the laboratory before meeting with the Tenth. There were three seniors conducting an experiment—"
"Where's Hibari-san?" Haru asked all of a sudden.
All three guardians were thrown at the mention of Hibari. What bewildered them even more was the franticness in Haru's expression as she searched the crowd.
Hibird wants to be alone.
"Hibari-san won't be in here," Haru said in realization, her anxiety heightening. She turned to the other three, pure horror on her face. "He might still be in the building!"
Tsuna smiled softly, "Haru, I'm sure Hibari-san is fine. He is very capable—"
"You don't know that!" Haru screamed, surprising the others.
"Haru…" Tsuna whispered.
Blushing at her outburst, Haru directed her gaze towards the burning building. "I-It would be difficult to escape a fire from the rooftop… Unless he could jump from there…"
Haru's heart skipped a beat the moment she saw a figure emerge from the orange blaze.
"Hibari-san," she breathed.
There was a resulting clamour as Hibari walked out of the flames. He was covered in soot from head to toe, his school uniform burnt, and scrapes on his face. But he was alive… and looked ready to commit bloody murder. It took a while before the commotion subsided. Hibari refused to be checked by the medic and was ready to take flight when someone blocked his way.
"Hibari-san!" Haru rushed forward and flung her arms around him.
In utter surprise, Hibari could only let himself be desperately clung to.
"Hahi! What in the world were you doing, sleeping alone in the rooftop during a fire?" Haru tightened her embrace. "…Haru thought you knew how to fly?" she mumbled against his shoulder.
Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto watched the scene with unadulterated shock on their faces. But their shock reached its optimum when Hibari gently placed his hand on her hip and closed his eyes.
"Not fly… but bite someone to death," Hibari grunted, much to Haru's surprise. "Three in particular."
A/N: And that concludes this series! The three seniors were pretty random I know. LOL. And yes, Hibari's also human and makes mistakes. Anyhow, not much crack in this shot, but hopefully it was satisfactory…? Review and tell me what you think about it! I'll try to send replies this time, teehee. Thanks for reading! (:))