The Guardians all sat around a round table, Tsuna at the head. His face was sharper, his brown hair still the same style as he had worn it as a teen, except for the ponytail that stretched to his ass, similar to the Mist Guardian to the left hand of the boss. Also present at the table was I-Pin, Dino, Xanxus and Lal Mirch.

Tsuna leaned in and placed his hand towards the center, his honey colored eyes fixing on each of the people around the table.

"If you want to defeat Byakuran… put your hand in the center of this table."

Ryohei slammed his hand down on the table. Gokudera threw his hand in next. Slowly but surely, every person in the room placed their hand in the center of the table.

Except for Hibari.

The Cloud Guardian sat stonily unaffected, his arms folded. He stared at the others, his face as expressionless as usual.

"I don't want to."

I-Pin looked over at Hibari. "Come on Hibari-san… we wouldn't have a chance without you. You're one of Vongola's strongest fighters… please?" She reached over and gently tugged at Hibari's hand, placing it in the center of the table along with the others, curling her fingers gently around his hand.

Hibari looked at his hand, and then over at I-Pin, and then back at his hand, and then back at I-Pin. She blushed and let his hand go, but he let his hand remain on the table.

Tsuna nodded. "Okay, good. We will meet again tomorrow to discuss what we will do to retaliate against the Millefiore's advances. Get some sleep." He stood, and everyone else dispersed their own separate ways.

Hibari looked over and watched the slight Chinese girl leave the room. Something about the way she had touched him so easily made him uneasy. As well as the way he didn't object to her doing it.

He shook his head and stood. Maybe things would make more sense in the morning.

He walked out into the spacious garden to try clearing his head. He couldn't forget the feeling of that little hand on his, the look that the girl had given him when she was pleading for him to join with the others. It was so unusual for him to be dwelling on these feelings, unusual for him to be thinking about anyone like this really.

"Hibari-san?" a small voice tinted with a Chinese accent sounded behind him. He turned and looked down on the fifteen year old girl. He said nothing, did nothing, but waited for her to talk.

"I'm sorry."

This surprised the skylark. Of all the things he expected little I-Pin to say, this was not any of them.

"Excuse me?" He spoke softly, but he managed to hide the surprise from his voice.

"I'm sorry for earlier in the meeting. I shouldn't have grabbed your hand like that; I know I made you uncomfortable."

She has no idea how uncomfortable her touch made me. Hibari thought. "Just don't do it again." His voice was icy.

I-Pin looked at him steadily. "Okay then. I'm sorry again." She gave a slight bow, then turned and walked away.

Hibari watched her leave. As she walked underneath a pair of sakura trees, Hibari felt a shiver tear through him. Not only because he could no longer stand the sight or smell of sakura because of their involvement of the only defeat he had ever had, but because of how beautiful I-Pin looked. She turned and cupped a blossom in her slender hands and smelled it, a small smile spreading over her face.

Hibari watched her from the distance, wondering about the feeling he had deep in his stomach. He had never felt this before, never had the urge to hold another person in his arms. But watching I-Pin, he felt the urge to just hold her in his arms.

As I-Pin turned and walked farther into the garden, Hibari followed. She went into a crevice and sat on an ivy-covered bench, looking up into the sky.

After a few minutes, Ryohei wandered into the same crevice. He sat next to I-Pin on the bench, throwing his arm around her shoulders and laughing about something. Hibari was too far away to hear their conversation. After a few minutes, Ryohei leaned over and kissed I-Pin's cheek, causing her to blush heavily.

Hibari's fingers itched for his tonfas as he watched this, and he found himself feeling a twinge of disappointment that I-Pin had not rejected Ryohei's kiss. Rather, she leaned farther into his embrace.

After a few more minutes, Ryohei and I-Pin both got up and walked back into the mansion. Hibari sank into the bench that Ryohei and I-Pin had just left. He leaned back and folded his hands behind his head, looking around at the ground. His eyes froze over the corner of a book poking out beneath the bushes that lined the garden.

He bent over and picked it up, smoothing the dirt off of the cover. Written on the cover was I-Pin's name.

Unable to resist the curiosity, he opened it to the first page and quickly determined it to be a diary. He flipped to the latest entry, and found himself sighing in relief because it was written in Japanese.

Today we had a meeting with Sawada-san to discuss just what we're going to do about the Millefiore. Sawada-san had us all put our hands in the center to decide if we should defeat Byakuran and everyone put their hands in, except for Hibari-kun…

"-kun?" Hibari muttered out loud, but continued reading.

… who didn't want to join with the rest of us. I don't know why he didn't, he's our strongest fighter, with only one loss to date. I told him that he should join with us, and I pulled his hand in with the rest of ours. It felt… nice to finally touch him. He seems so cold, but his hand was strangely warm. I wanted to hold it longer, but the look he gave me scared me. I didn't want to be bitten to death, so I let it go…

Hibari felt a strange sense of… was it guilt? He had no idea that he had scared I-Pin, and he felt… guilty that he had done so. He continued reading.

...Ryohei came up to me after the meeting and wanted to accompany me to the garden, but I told him to wait. I saw that Hibari-kun had walked into the garden, and wanted to apologize to him. But I came here instead and wrote everything down first. I expect Ryohei will "wander" here soon and find me, and then I won't get a chance to apologize to Hibari-kun. I should do that now. I don't know what to do though. Ryohei's made it clear that he's interested in me, but I know I can't do anything while I still have feelings for Hibari-kun…

Hibari stopped at that. Reread the sentence. Read it again. It still was having trouble sinking in.

I-Pin... likes me?

…although I know that if I chose Ryohei, he will treat me fairly and love me. Would Hibari-kun do the same? I don't know if he would, but I can't help but hope.

The entry ended there. Hibari closed the diary and placed it back where he had found it.

For many days afterwards, he sought out I-Pin's diary and read the new entries. He had done his best to encounter her at least once during the day, once even bumping into her accidently in the hallway. He found himself becoming more and more obsessed with her, finally admitting to himself that he was having feelings for her but he couldn't bring himself to admit it to her face.

One day, he was sitting in the garden with little Hibird chirping on his shoulder, reading I-Pin's latest entry. He had bent over to place the diary back in its spot when…

"Hibari-san?"

That voice again. He froze in his bent over position, his hand still lingering on the diary. He turned his head slowly to meet I-Pin's black eyes.

Her eyes trailed slowly towards Hibari's hand, still touching the cover of her diary. She bent over and tugged it gently from his grip, clutching it to her chest.

"How…" she swallowed heavily, meeting Hibari's purple eyes but blushing madly. "How much did you read…?"

Hibari closed his eyes and debated the outcomes of different responses. That he had only just found it when she had come would ensure in her simply leaving. That he had not gotten very far in it, simply her embarrassment. That he had been reading for weeks now, he didn't know. Probably extreme embarrassment, her avoiding him and her choosing Ryohei instead of him… unless…unless he admitted that he was feeling the same way towards her.

He couldn't admit it though. It wasn't how Hibari Kyouya worked. But then again, when was the last time he had hesitated in taking something he wanted, that he knew was his?

I-Pin was still looking at him when he opened his eyes.

"I…read the entry from the day we had the meeting." His voice was monotone, and he met her eyes squarely.

I-Pin's blush deepened and she finally dropped her eyes. "I'm sorry" she whispered, her voice choked with the tears she was trying to hold back. She turned to flee from the scene, from the rejection she thought was about to cross Hibari's lips.

She was stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, a gesture that shocked both parties involved. Hibari never, of his own accord, touched another person, unless he was administering punishment. For him to reach out and grasp the fleeing girl's shoulder was not normal.

"You didn't let me finish."

I-Pin turned to face him again, but she refused to meet his eyes. That is, until she felt a hand cup her face.

She looked up into Hibari's face in shock as she felt his warm hand press against her cheek.

His eyes met hers steadily. "I would do my best." He replied to the question she had written in the diary. And then he leaned in closer and pressed his lips against hers.

I-Pin froze in shock. She couldn't believe that this was happening, that Hibari was actually kissing her. It was too surreal, she must be dreaming.

Hibari pulled away, breaking off the kiss. Her lips had been softer than he had imagined, and she had tasted so sweet… he leaned in and took another quick taste, his hands moving to encircle her in his arms.

I-Pin looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "Do… you mean it?"

Hibari nodded, and pulled her closer. He felt her small hands tug at the front of his shirt, and dipped his head down for another sweet kiss.

For all the secrets unveiled in this dark future, nothing had been as blissful as this one.