As Surely as the Sun Will Rise

Summary: Hibari feels the hideout is missing something. Or someone. 8018. Collab. Fic with Akai-Pyon. Written for mssekishi.

A/N:

Akai: Well, this is the prompt that was given to the two of us. We hope you enjoy it. Try and see if you can tell which part I wrote, and which part Fancy wrote. ^.^

Fancy: It's not that hard… |l| *cries in a corner*

-x-

He always liked to watch the sun rise.

Something about the way it was so routine, so reliable and just so…beautiful, made his heart want to sing.

A cup of tea held in between his slender fingers, his yukata draped over his shoulders, sometimes one side slipping off down his ivory skin, the birds chirping their morning greetings as his eyes settled on the orb of fire…Everything felt…right.

It was peaceful.

It was quiet.

But the peace never lasts. As surely as the sun will rise, chaos will descend upon the world, smothering it with a thick, black blanket.

It was the folded futon, a futon folded for the fourth time, which first aroused his suspicion.

That futon wasn't supposed to be folded. At least, it wasn't supposed to be folded after four days. So why was it folded?

Questions without answers like that will be bitten to death.

He had begun his day normally. The previous night, he had spent asleep in the front room. It was just something he did. Another thing to add to his list of strange habits. Habits that included sleeping on top of a moving/flying bus, befriending a fat yellow bird that knew only one song and had a vocabulary that was limited to his name and questions about his mood, threatening to bite people to death when that could clearly be taken the wrong way…He just liked spending warm nights in the front room. There was no explanation for it.

He had assumed that nothing was wrong.

Assumptions like that will always land you in trouble.

Breakfast was its normal, quiet affair, a simple cup of green tea and sweet pineapple cakes that he so enjoyed stabbing with a miniature plastic fork, and so was the morning patrol.

But something seemed off when it came to be noon time.

The herbivores were gathered in the dining room. At least, the herbivores that had not yet been assigned a mission.

The loud herbivore was there.

The slowly-gaining-his-respect brown haired herbivore was there as well.

The pineapple head, luckily, was not there, and neither was the silver haired one that he had once owed his life too. But the one he noticed missing, was, once again, the baseball playing one.

Why? Had he done something wrong? Had he nipped the wrong place, moaned at the wrong time? Why was he being ignored, avoided?

He took his platter without a word, heading straight back to his garden. Here, he could eat in quiet and think.

His afternoon patrol brought him to the brown haired herbivore's office. The herbivore was currently away, and he took this opportunity to read through the unsigned papers on the herbivore's desk.

His eyes settled on one that clearly stated his missing herbivore's name and he picked it up, cobalt eyes drinking in every word, every explanation.

The broken peace never restored itself after that. At least, not for a while.

"H-Hibari-san!" the brown haired herbivore was saying something. Oh, he was calling his name.

He turned around, his eyes dark with fury. "Who put this together?" he managed to snarl through gritted teeth.

"Hibari-san, please listen!" the brown haired herbivore was pleading. Pleading. Why was he pleading?

"Who. Planned. This?"

"I did, okay? I plan all the missions!"

Was this brown haired herbivore talking back to him? Was he challenging him?

"Why?"

"And besides, he volunteered!" the brown haired herbivore was motioning towards the paper. Oh. He was still holding the paper in his hands. He let it go and it drifted to the floor, crinkled and torn where his fingers had gripped the thing. "Yamamoto knew what to do, he told me himself! Don't go looking for him, Hibari-san. He'll come back."

Words. Meaningless words.

They fell upon deaf ears as he stalked out of the herbivore's office, his mind already focusing itself on its new goal.

He moved quickly to the place he had seen written on the paper.

The place where he would definitely find his herbivore and discipline him properly for neglecting him for an extended period of time.
"There! It's Vongola!" He turned to see a dart flying in his direction. His reflexes saving him by a mere inch.
Herbivores. Crowding together as if being large in numbers makes one larger in power as well. It was disgusting. He beat them all down in swift grace and quick movements, only one thought in his mind.

Where was his herbivore? He continued on towards his destination, advancing towards it quickly. The thought of someone else killing what he had claimed as his was clouding his judgment. He hated that. The stupid herbivore was going to pay for that later.

Further and further, searching and searching. Despair clung to his very body as he moved, his steps slowing as he continued trekking forward.

Dead end after dead end.

Where?

Pain clouded his vision, as he continued searching.

But even he had his limits.

Hibari leaned against the brick alley wall, grip on tonfas unyielding even as he collapsed onto the ground, his consciousness leaving him slowly. Thoughts of his failure to locate his herbivore haunted him as his eyes slipped closed.

A figure appeared in the alley entrance, pausing as his eyes settled on Hibari's still form.

A vague memory of a shout, concern laced through three simple syllables. Why did those three syllables seem so familiar?

A vague feeling of being carried, of a ragged gasp and mass chaos.

Before he fell into the darkness, the soft, wonderful, beautiful darkness that welcomed him with open arms.

But as surely as the sun rises, consciousness always comes rushing back. And it always comes rushing back at the worst possible of times.

I have failed…

Such were his thoughts as he was brought back to the world with a solid thump, eyelids opening slowly to reveal dazed blue grey eyes. He observed the room. Tatami mats and familiar shoji screens with familiar designs painted on them. Sitting up abruptly he surveyed the room. When had he come back to the base?

"Ah, you're awake." He turned to look at the person who spoke. It was his herbivore. He felt himself pull back slightly. Had he been that close to him the whole time? He glared at the other. Space. He needed space.

He made to move away but was kept in place by an arm around his waist. He narrowed his eyes at the herbivore, allowing his silence of disapproval to speak volumes of silence, volumes of disapproval. Volumes of what he could not speak. Of what he never could have said.

"Tsuna told me everything." He couldn't help but feel his blood boil in excitement when he felt the other's carnivore side appear. His herbivore continued, "You shouldn't have come after me, do you know what could've happened if I didn't find you?" He was taken aback, was his herbivore scolding him?

He scoffed, "If you had told me, I wouldn't have had to go after you."

"You would've demanded to have come with me." He made to protest but was cut off by a pair of familiar lips pressed against his own, as he was pushed down against his futon, skilled hands slipping off his obi while the his herbivore whispered into his ear declarations of love he didn't want and promises he didn't need, a pair of crossed fingers laced together. Because what good were promises in this world of lies? And as surely as the sun will rise, promises will be broken.

He allowed them all however, as he relinquished himself once more into the familiar arms of his herbivore. His herbivore who preferred to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. His herbivore.

The futon was never folded again, because as surely as the sun will rise, peace always follows the storm. All was well again.

A/N:

Both: SORRY THIS IS SO LATE! orz

We both have school, you see, and it gets in the way. I hope this does not deter you from giving the either of us prompts. Although we can both assure you that these prompts will be written in a long period of time and will be released in a future date. It's pending.

Akai-Pyon and FancyMittens