Cat
Full Summary: There's a cat that lives in the Sawada house. Or rather, a ridiculously small brown kitten with equally as ludicrous large eyes that glow orange at night and an almost always puffed tail, courtesy of an easily-frightened personality. Strangely enough, it's quite clumsy, though it might just be the pre-adolescent period. It's a mysterious cat – just like all cats are – and it appears only from time to time, though that too is supposedly normal for cats. Sometimes, it disappears without a trace or appears from nowhere, leaving Reborn unable to find it which is, by itself, an impressive thing.
And the thing is, Reborn sometimes sees it in some... unexpected places. Usually, in the epicenter of all chaos – where Tsuna usually is. With time, he realizes that the kitten always comes by in the absence of a certain brunet who has a strained relationship with a neighborhood dog and loves to sleep curled up in a ball – the boy even stares at empty spaces and doesn't blink a lot. And why does Tsuna know the upcoming weather better than the forecasters?
Slowly, Sawada Tsunayoshi's life becomes a lot deeper than it seems at first glance – in many different perspectives.
Warnings: AU, canon-bending, mild language, possible OOCness and cats. Lots of cats. And lots of animals as well as animal talk. And cuteness for that matter. I'd even say too much of it, at times. And randomness too. There will also be some supernatural (naturally). Please discard of any expectations of a decent chronologically-logical order too.
Aside from that, there is also some twists in regards to Tsuna's fighting style and knowledge of certain things.
A/N: Was listening to 'Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta Nara' when I wrote this. OMG, the lyrics are so light and beautiful ^^
This is set between the Kokuyo arc and the Varia arc, I think. I'm not sure. But it's definitely after the a Kokuyo arc. (Don't worry though, the Kokuyo arc won't be neglected.) Chapter contains conversations with animals so if you want to, you can just scroll past them. Their content is not important, their presence is.
And goodness, is there OOC here. (I wonder if I'll regret posting this and would rather to die in shame right now.)
10.
"Midori tanabiku namimori no, dai naku shou naku nami ga ii~"
It was a sunny day, white clouds passing through the otherwise clear and light blue heavens, the birds outside singing, basking in the sunlight, and all being generally happy with life.
Quite unfortunately, it was also the fifth day since a certain yellow bird under the name of Hibird started, inexplicably, leaving for short amounts of time, particularly during recesses, which was, of course, not at all disturbing but a concerning matter nonetheless.
Hibari frowned.
The crowding herbivores scattered in terror, those with better reflexes and self-preservation instincts taking shelter in classes despite the big recess and their right to be outside classrooms forgotten as one even went as far as jumping out of the window with a desperate scream.
No one could blame him really – the demonically dark look etched onto the prefect's face as well as the gloomy black aura writhing around him could make one think that the two story fall down was a luckier way out rather than facing Hibari at the moment.
The icy light in his eyes would definitely discourage anyone who was crazy enough to even think of approaching him.
Unconcerned by the terrified herbivores around him, Hibari's eyes narrowed at the sound of a certain bird singing from somewhere above, and not from his shoulder like usual. His gaze darkened further, almost causing a heart attack to an innocent teacher who had been leaving a class obliviously and regretted doing so.
Footsteps echoed through the hastily-emptied corridor, foreboding and intimidating ones as a black jacket flapped dramatically.
Hibari swept up the stairs until he reached the door leading to the roof. He stopped for a moment, face impassive with a trademark violent glint in his silver eyes and his lips a thin slash on his face. He listened intently, tonfas slowly unsheathing from under his sleeves and one could notice fangs slowly showing from the corners of his mouth.
"Itsumo kawaranu sukoyaka kenage, aa... tomo ni utaou namimor- chirp!"
The door slammed open, black hair flaring in the open wind of the rooftop and ready to pounce.
He stopped in his tracks since the roof was empty.
Kyouya blinked.
...Hibird must be fine, then. She sometimes flew off when she sang.
The prefect scanned the rooftop with sharp silver eyes before leveling his gaze on the ventilation with a very appealing sunlit spot. The warm wind ruffled his hair lightly and he mentally shrugged since it was time for a rest anyway. Kyouya sheathed his tonfas under his jacket and gracefully jumped onto the ventilation, settling down on his jacket with his hands under his head and one leg thrown over the other.
It was pleasantly quiet and Hibari wouldn't have minded some more of the silence that was only because no herbivore was present on the roof. Kyouya slowly shut his eyes, content in a way a predator could be as he drifted off to light dreaming. That was until he heard a faint ruffle.
One steel-colored eye opened slightly, sharpening with consciousness and while his head remained unmoving, the black iris of his eye slid sideways, to the source of the sound. A few seconds of complete silence passed and Kyouya almost dismissed it as a stray wind in the pipes when he heard a very faint but audible, to his sensitive ears, chirp that had been unmistakably cut off by another sort of sound.
Quite strangely, his instincts weren't telling him that he was supposed to be biting to death whatever herbivore might be trying to (foolishly) ambush him on the roof which was the reason as to why he was still remaining unmoving as he stared unblinking through the crack of his eyelids at the far corner of the ventilation. If one didn't know better, he'd appear to be unconscious.
And so, Hibari was only just able to restrain himself from twitching when he saw how very very slowly and very very carefully, in a very cautious and wary manner, from behind the ventilation side, two flattened ears appeared, followed by white eyebrow whiskers and then two stark glowing eyes that were slitted in intense staring. Soon, an unbelievably small furry head on a long thin neck could be seen as it peeked attentively over the side.
It was now quite apparent to Hibari that the herbivore he suspected of being on the roof was a little feline.
Slitted neon orange that gleamed a light of their own stared at the prefect as the creature stayed still as a statue, scrutinizing Kyouya intently. The creature was clearly trying to understand whether or not Kyouya was sleeping. The raven-haired made no move, feeling quite amused by the cat's expression that screamed being ready to bolt any second now.
The stare continued and the feline was uncertain if it was one-sided or not. The moment was ruined when another yellow feathered head poked out next to the cat.
Hibird blinked at the skylark innocently, cocking her head lightly. She seemed to regard him a tad bit more closely before turning to the kitten who continued surveying the prefect carefully, it's ears still lowered to a flat line.
The silence stretched on and Hibari watched as both heads retreated back out of sight, absently wondering what business Hibird had with a feline.
"Mmm! Meow!"
"Chirp, Tsu?"
"Meow...? Meow."
"Chirp~! Chiiirp!"
"Meow. Meow..."
Two pairs of eyes peeked over the side again, sunset orange and twinkling black inspecting Hibari closely for a few second before disappearing again.
"Chi-i-irp!"
"Mew."
"Chirp~!"
"Meow."
"Chi-chi! Chiiirp~!"
"...Meow."
"Chiiiirp, Tsuuu~! Chirp!"
"Mm. Meow."
"Chiiirp, chirp!"
"...Meow."
The skylark kept a carefully blank face one wouldn't be able to decipher while mentally he strained his ears to listen. To his slight surprise, Kyouya felt very amused with the current situation despite despising any sort of interference with his plans – namely getting a good rest.
There was a few beats of quiet before both of the two animals, very slowly and deliberately, lifted their heads over the side of the ventilation to stare at Hibari in an oddly similar manner. After at least a minute of scanning, the two slowly turned to each other, exchanging a look.
Hibird chirped cheerfully.
The kitten regarded her with slight apprehension before sighing inaudibly as it's lightly inclined it's head and lifted it's ears – now they seemed to stick out as if too big for it's head. The cat crouched down so Hibari could only see the tips of it's ears before soundlessly jumping onto the ventilation in a small flash. Just as soundlessly, it walked along the very edge of the structure, tail stuck upwards indignantly – an oddly fluffy one with soft spikes that Hibari didn't recollect ever seeing a cat have.
It slowed down then and stopped short in front of Kyouya. Hibari realized that he cut off the route off the roof for the animal, but made no move to do anything at all. The feline's eyes narrowed further as it stood still, observing the prefect for any movements with sharp orange eyes. The kitten slowly sat down, momentarily glancing sideways at Hibird, and then turned back to Kyouya. It craned it's neck forward then, and sniffed lightly, so Hibari could almost feel the small wet nose touch his face.
Hibari's eyes snapped open.
"Miiiiiiieeeeeeee!"
The small creature's gaze widened drastically as it literally flew up and back at least half a meter, shrieking in terror. Hibari saw the already fluffy tail puff out comically as the kitten scrambled away from the raven-haired, displaying a laughable clumsiness as it tripped over it's own limbs and fell face-flat off the ventilation with a screech.
Hibird watched the small cat with a curious gaze as if she didn't understand such a reaction. Kyouya slowly sat up, eyes never turning away from the kitten as the yellow bird had flew over to the prefect, settling in his black hair and chirping joyously.
Hibari stood up, walking over to the edge and jumped off gracefully.
...This must be the most awkward cat Hibari ever saw.
It had disentangled itself from it's own paws and sat up, gazing up at Hibari with wide slitted orange eyes that glowed in the shadow cast by the prefect himself. It's eyes darted from right to left and even more amused, Kyouya watched the animal realize it was cornered, with no means of escape.
And then it suddenly turned sharply to Hibari with one side and stood up on the very tips of it's paws, the brown fur on it's body standing up, ears folded backwards as it's eyes flashed an almost red sheen and it hissed.
Hibari blinked.
...His lips quirked upwards.
The prefect then drew to his full height, looming over the creature as he slightly unsheathed his tonfas and a carnivorous grin stretched on his face, baring his fangs as his whole expression darkened with only two suddenly glinting grey eyes a stark contrast to the almost shadowed face.
And then he growled.
Hibari admitted that while he never saw a creature as clumsy as this one, he has also never in his life seen how a small kitten like this could scamper over the whole rooftop in one second flat. All that could be seen was it's ridiculously fluffy tail that flashed through the open door, down the stairs and out of sight, all along accompanied an almost human scream.
Kyouya smirked.
Later, he wondered why it felt as if the kitten had felt vaguely familiar. He had dismissed the thought in favor of threatening the weak herbivore that had been loitering with another two in the school grounds who oddly enough started running away the second he saw Hibari.
Nothing new of course, but he'd never yet heard the herbivore scream "He's gonna eat me!" before. He supposed there was always a first time for everything.
Although he was also quite interested in how a cat could enter a school roof without being previously noticed by anyone whatsoever.
Heads were going to roll and herbivores were going to be bitten to death.
11.
"Right."
"Squeak!"
"How could he?"
"Chirrup, chirp."
"No no, Risa-chan did the right thing – he clearly deserved it."
"Squeak..."
"You'll get over it, eventually. I know it may sound harsh, but you really shouldn't pay so much attention to jerks. You can come by my house some time, when the family is out. We're making a great dinner today – I've been to a shop for some fresh vegetables. Kaa-san misses you a lot! Hato-san, you should come by too, someday."
"..."
"Caw!"
"Yeah, Karasu-chan, you know Reborn already. Can you imagine the rest of them? I envy how kaa-san can handle them like children!"
"Caaaw."
"Oh yeah. They are children."
"Caaaw..."
"W-what?! I- I am not! I'm fourteen years old and am very mature, thank you very much, and besides, my behavior does not affect my age. You'd go crazy with that lot too, believe me."
"Chirrup..."
"Hey, not you too, Suzume-kun! C'mon, you're little anyways so you have no say in this."
"Squeak... Squeak."
"What? Mochida's been vandalizing?"
"Squeak. Squeak?"
"Frankly, I think he's an idiot, Risa-chan. He'd be lucky to survive since Hibari-san will get to know about what he does very soon. You know Hibari-san. He knows things. And if it won't be Hibari, karma will still get him in the end."
"..."
"I didn't mean to, Hato-san! Who told Mochida's got bad luck because of me? Getting bad karma isn't necessarily because of pissing off a cat, you know. I reckon he's done other things to get on the bad side of fate. Though going out of your way to challenge a cat is the top of foolishness, even for one not knowing."
"...Caw."
"..."
"Hato-san, you know that politeness won't always get you the results, right? Besides, it's not as if we cuss or anything. Hibari-san bites to death even those people who aren't speaking! And kaa-san'd kill me and then tell Okami-san if I started dirty language. I mean-"
"..."
"Well. Kaa-san can get anything she wants just by talking politely... But she's, well, you know. Kaa-san."
"..."
"O-of course we didn't, Hato-san!"
"Chiiirp."
"Ano... I'm not sure, Suzume-kun. I reckon Hato-san wouldn't like that. At all."
"..."
"Squeak~"
"Taka-kun's coming over? That's awesome, Risa-chan! I bet he'd like to watch the summer lights, ne?"
"Squeak!"
"Yeah, I bet the summer lights are gonna be amazing this year. Kaa-san says we should ask if Okami-san would like to watch with us, like last year, and if we can come over to his place. I really can't wait to see them!"
"Caaaw..."
"I am not childishly excited, Karasu-chan. I just... love watching them. As if you don't!"
"..."
"...Honestly, compared to Okami-san, even you're a child, Hato-san. No need to look at me like that either, Hato-san. Okami-san remembers when people were still smart enough come ask him for protection and he says that he's fairly young compared to some others."
"...Chirrup."
"Yeah. Like that's likely to happen."
"..."
"Oh, don't worry Hato-san, I'm waiting for Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto anyway - Gokudera-kun asked me to wait since his apartment is close and Yamamoto said he's brining over some sushi. Nii-san – I mean, Kyoko-chan's nii-san – should be coming over too."
"..."
"Of course, Hato-san. And then Lambo would eat too much grape candy since mom's pampering him rotten, get hyper, and destroy the house with grenades. I wonder if Adult Lambo will come by. I hope not since Bianchi hates him."
"...Chirp."
"To be honest, I have no valid arguments to counter that."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...What?"
"Squeak... Squeak?"
"Caw!"
"Why I talk to you guys? Are you serious?"
"..."
"I do not rant, Hato-san."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Well, maybe a little- okay. A lot."
"Caw?"
"'Cause humans are stupid and you people understand me better than any phycologist in the world? I'd think that was obvious."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Wow, this got awkward. Let's change subject."
"C-craw!"
"S-squeak- squeak?"
"Oh yeah, Karasu-chan, what are you looking at?"
"...Caaaw..."
"What? Carnivore? What're you talking about, Karasu-chan? There aren't any carnivores aroun- hiiiieee!"
Eyes narrowing slightly, Hibari stared.
Trailing off in the middle of the sentence, frankly horrified, Tsuna stared back in frozen terror, the shriek dying in his throat. The bag with groceries that he was holding dropped onto the ground, the contents spilling onto the ground.
The crow cawed sheepishly while both the sparrow and the fat squirrel that stopped nibbling a nut edged away, in the direction of the thick bush. The elderly beige pigeon remained on the bench, eyeing the raven-haired with a heavy gaze that clearly stated that if Hibari will so much as touch an old bird like him, he will forever ruin whatever karmic level he has for this and the next nine reincarnations.
Slightly raising his eyebrow at such an expressive look, the prefect leveled his silver gaze on the little animals. The squirrel gave a terrified squeak and darted out of sight while the sparrow shot into the tree above, taking cover in the branches. The crow pretended to be a rock while trying to maintain at least some sort of dignity in the face of other crows flying above and cawing in a suspiciously amused tone.
Face impassive, Kyouya's steel-colored eyes travelled back to the scrawny boy who had been slowly creeping away and had stopped short at Hibari's gaze.
He gulped audibly.
Screaming disbelief was carefully concealed under the completely blank façade but it didn't change the fact that what Kyouya had been watching for several minutes already was... surprising. He'd been out in the town, patrolling the north district with the highest pickpocket crime statistic in the region – naturally as it was the shopping district – when he'd noticed a familiar odd-haired herbivore leaning onto a wall and talking quietly but somewhat relaxed to someone and they weren't his other herbivore bodyguards either.
It was rather odd that the herbivore was less tense while talking to street animals than he did with human herbivores.
What caught Hibari's attention was the fearless way the sparrow and a squirrel as well as a crow and a pigeon had been sitting right next to the herbivore. When Kyouya approached, he'd stopped just out of sight, listening.
Deep down, he didn't really know what to think of this whole... conversation since when one watched a boy lean onto a wall and casually talk with other animals that sat on the bench and actually seemed to respond, it was not something regarded as apparently... normal.
Though Hibari knew better since he could understand Hibird after all. The herbivore was merely able to communicate with other herbivores. Admittedly, Hibari only talked to Hibird when she spoke human, but that wasn't the point.
After some thought, Hibari decided to disregard whatever he heard from the herbivore as irrelevant even though now knew his next victim's name – Mochida Kensuke was now obviously breathing his last.
Regardlessly, it also didn't change the fact that this was what he hated most of all. Hibari's gaze darkened, he soundlessly walked up behind the chattering herbivore and he whipped out his tonfas as he declared icily.
"For crowding with herbivores, I will bite you to death."
"Hiiiiiiiieeeeeeee!"
Ignoring the herbivore's scream, Hibari lunged for the boy who, quite rapidly for such a clumsy creature, dodged the tonfas and ran down the street, screeching and flailing his arms, much to the passerbye's dismay and pointed exclamations when he almost crashed into a couple of them. The prefect chased after Tsuna and absently heard some noises from behind himself.
He didn't look since he didn't really care, but sitting on the bench, the pigeon watched them with a ruffled wing over his eyes to shadow his eyes from the sun and to see them more clearly as the sparrow had dropped down from the tree clumsily, a few leaves stuck in it's feathers, and the squirrel peeked from out of the bush branches. It waved expressively with it's nut as it chittered loudly and the crow had put her wings over her beak and was cawing loudly, almost shouting, in a manner that some might call 'cheering on' if it wasn't a crow they were talking about.
About ten minutes later, after the brown-haired herbivore had run through a bush hedge, resulting in twigs and leaves sticking to his hair and several scratches, passed over a high fence at a graceless but surprisingly efficient speed, and the prefect had by-stepped the herbivore twice, Hibari almost cornered the brunet who appeared to be quite a fast herbivore. And then unexpectedly, Tsuna took a sharp turn sidewise and ran just barely avoiding a tonfa to his stomach as he dove under Hibari's arms and back from where he came and behind the corner. The prefect momentarily lost sight of him, not really worried since he could catch the herbivore anyway, but then, after turning around the corner, he found that the street was empty.
Slightly frustrated at not being able to catch the herbivore, Hibari walked back to where he first saw him and didn't see anyone on the bench.
He felt... disappointed.
He dismissed it as the unsated urge to bite the herbivore to death.
He turned to leave but when turned his head at the sound of chirps and whistles, he saw the same group of animals as before sitting on a high wall and his eyes narrowed when he saw a certain brown feline that was sitting among the group with it's tail twitching indignantly. The sparrow was picking twigs out of it's fur while the squirrel seemed to pester around him, gesturing with a nut that it clutched in a paw. The crow patted it with a wing, almost as if cheering it up.
And then, to top off the very odd behavior, the cat seemed to notice Hibari and stared unblinking at him.
"...Meow, meow."
Hibari blinked when he saw the old pigeon cuff the kitten's head with a wing.
...Herbivores have certainly become strange these days.
He left the scene then, leaving behind the bickering herd of herbivores that quite obviously ignored any and all nature laws, chain food rules or any sort of logical relationship overall. He didn't see the pigeon peck the kitten's ear as it dragged the feline along the wall, being followed by the placating crow, the worried sparrow and the nonchalant squirrel who chewed on her nut.
"Caaaw!"
Oh come on Hato-san, I'd do the same thing if I got away from a carnivore like that!
"Meow, me-"
I'm sorry Hato-san, I'll go clean my mouth with soap now-
"..."
Young man, Nana-dono will be hearing of this.
"Meoooow! Miiiiiieeee!"
Please noooo! Hiiiiiieeee!
12.
Hibari was exiting his cabinet of the Disciplinary Committee, feeling particularly annoyed for some reason, and itching to bite someone to death. Hibird was sitting on his shoulder, sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the heavy, bloodlusting demeanor around the prefect.
And then, to spike his irritation even further, just as Hibari closed the door, he heard a sound of quietly running feet and he turned just in time to see something brown flash right in front of him, almost brushing against his shoulder and yelping in surprise.
"I'm so sorr- HIIIIEEE, HIBARI-SAN?!"
"Kamikorosu, herbivore."
Kyouya whipped out his tonfas since running in corridors was strictly prohibited – even more so since someone dared to almost crash into the prefect, even if evidently by accident. Unfortunately, he didn't get to take another step when another two herbivores – the loud and annoying ones that crowded around the weak herbivore that just signed his death warrant – flew by him causing a wind.
"Juudaime, wait!"
"Ahaha, Tsuna, are we playing tag? It's fun!"
"Stupid baseball freak, stop wasting your breath and catch up with Juudaime!"
"Maa maa, I didn't know Tsuna could run so fast!"
Hibari growled and chased after the two, determined to bite them to death for such blatant misbehavior. The silver-haired tsked over his shoulder while the raven-haired only scratched his head and laughed in an irritatingly ignorant manner.
"Tch, I don't have time for this... I have to find Juudaime! I can't spend time on you, maniac bastard!"
"Haha, Hibari-senpai, we have to catch Tsuna! Or do you want to play tag with us too?"
"Baseball freak, are you insane- oi, where did Juudaime go?"
Hibari's eyes narrowed as he noticed a mop of spiky brown hair disappear around the corner. The two herbivores he was chasing noticed it too, so they barreled straight into the turn, just barely avoiding hitting the corner. Kyouya had turned after them, followed through the corridor and turned, springing down the stairs – was that the herbivore flinging down the railings? – and when he arrived on the first floor fully expecting to see the odd-haired herbivore, he was instead greeted by a sight of an empty corridor, apart from the two herbivores already turning around the corner at the far end. The weakling must already fled further than expected – it shouldn't be surprising since it was a herbivore's role to run fast.
"...Tch."
The prefect was about to sprint on since no prey ever escaped him, determined to bite all of the undisciplined herbivores to death in one go, when out of the corner of his eye he suddenly noticed something suspiciously brown and fluffy sitting in the very corner of a windowsill, in a loaf pose, settled in the shadow that almost made it invisible if one did not look at it directly. It faced the window in a most casual way with it's head buried between it's paws, appearing as inconspicuous as possible.
Kyouya wondered why he didn't see it right away.
When the shouts of the two herbivores running around in distance receded and silence descended in the corridor, the creature slowly unfurled from it's position, taking off it's paws from it's head. It blinked open two stark orange eyes as it craned it's neck to look into the far end of the corridor, evidently relieved upon not seeing anyone as it stood up, stretching in a long, scrawny arch.
In mid-movement, it glanced sideways and froze.
Hibari deadpanned.
The cat stared back.
Very slowly, the kitten turned it's ears backwards, eyes darting around in search of an escape, as panic flitted through it's features as clear as day. Hibari stood still and then made a small sharp movement in the animal's direction.
Half the corridor had been crossed in one leap as the prefect stared at the feline's tail that throughout the whole flight resembled, in proportions, that of a duster.
...No, it was even fluffier than a duster.
Two burning embers stood stark among the light brown fur as the animal finally came to it's senses from being previously terrified to death and instinctively diving for cover – the slow but sure way the tail settled down indicated that it calmed slightly and attempted to regain at least some sort of composure.
Kyouya didn't bother to conceal his amusement and obviously the animal noticed, if the way it's ears turned all the way backwards and its tail's very tip twitched was anything to go by. Before anything else could happen, both of the two heard a sound of running feet from afar as the two herbivores from before bounded through the corridor once again.
Without moving his head, out of the corner of the eye, Hibari saw the kitten stiffen and then his grey eyes widened a fraction.
The cat had jumped into a shadowed corner and disappeared.
Just like that.
Now ignoring the two herbivores that ran past him, casting odd looks at him – he'd bite them to death anyway so they shouldn't be relieved or anything – the prefect turned and approached the corner, staring at it with slightly widened eyes.
All he saw was a corner. Nothing else. There was no sign of the cat and as much of a poker face Kyouya wore, it was still out of ordinary. There was nothing special in the corner – just a potted plant, dust, two transparent orange glints on the floor from the sunlight-
Wait.
Sharply, Hibari reached with a hand and grabbed.
"..."
...And here he thought the baby's lizard was interesting.
Kyouya peered at the small furry creature he held by the scruff of the neck with genuine interest – it stared back with large, desperate, and utterly frightened orange eyes that pleaded mercy.
"Mewl! Meow, mew!"
"Herbivore."
It gazed up at him with suddenly much-too-intelligent eyes and then it – was he hallucinating? – shook it's head. "Myo, meow." It raised a paw and pointed it at itself in a manner that normal cats do not.
Hibari got the strange feeling that the cat had meant 'No, I'm not'.
Visibly nonplussed, the prefect arched a perfect eyebrow.
"And what are you if you're not a herbivore?"
Of all things it could look at the moment, the feline seemed thoughtful. Then it pointed it's acute gaze at the prefect and stared, silently.
...Hibari supposed it was right. Cats were carnivores after all.
Though now that the cat looked to have realized that such behavior was most inappropriate for an animal, it panicked and started flailing it's tiny paws, mewling and trying to wriggle out of Hibari's grip which it failed to.
It then stilled suddenly and looked past the raven-haired's shoulder, and Kyouya glanced over his shoulder to see Kusakabe approaching him, eyes glued to the paper but any second now going to look up.
Without any second thought whatsoever and only a slight cringe at the tiny claws that accidentally scraped (of course the cringe was gone in seconds), Hibari shoved the kitten under his jacket, his eyes adopting the same icy glare as usual as the heavy air of doom once again descended around him and he folded his arms.
He could feel the fluffy tail shaking with fear which clearly indicated to the state the cat was at being subjected to such close-range killing intent that Hibari was accustomed to emitting since he was born.
"Ah, Kyou-san!"
"..."
Hibari felt the furry ball paw his chest lightly, without claws, as there was a very small mewl. Was the animal suffocating? Regardless, Hibari only tightened the fabric around the feline to assume a perfectly terrifying casual Hibari stance.
"I've come to report-"
Kusakabe looked up from the files and took exactly one look at the prefect's eyes before promptly stopping in his tracks and nodding firmly, mostly to himself, "...Sou da ne. I've remembered now – I must finish the paperwork. I will look into the Disciplinary Committee's reports myself too." He headed right back in the direction he came.
When he disappeared, a small head lightly poked from under Hibari's jacket, following the man with a gaze before momentarily glancing at Kyouya's eyes himself and, shrieking, diving back under the uniform.
Scowling, the prefect unfolded his arms and tried to peel the herbivore off his shirt – he could feel the tips of the claws digging in him – but found that he couldn't. The feline clung so desperately that Hibari couldn't pull it off.
And then it looked up at him.
...It purred.
Before he could process what he was doing, Kyouya raised a hand and started petting it.
...It purred louder.
When Kyouya lifted a finger to scratch it behind the ear, it nuzzled him.
"What are you doing, herbivore."
Since obviously, it's instincts of self-preservation were thoroughly lacking.
Instead, it sighed minutely under Hibari's hand somewhat resignedly, and then butted it's head into Hibari's shoulder.
"..."
When Kyouya disappeared to his office with a small furry warm lump in his hand, no one said a word.
...
"Meow?"
"Herbivore."
"Mewl."
"..."
"..."
"...The window is always open, herbivore."
13.
It was night.
A rather quiet one.
Hibari walked through the streets, having just beaten up a group of drunk teens in an alleyway and feeling mildly satisfied.
He was also in deep thought.
He was thinking about a herbivore.
Or, in fact, a herbivore and an animal.
...He wasn't supposed to think about herbivores. And not particular ones, of course.
But nevertheless, he found himself thinking of the strange little feline creature of unknown breed with unusual orange eyes that was too trusting for it's own good and had an attitude that defied everything Hibari had previously thought of animals.
He had finally remembered exactly when he'd seen it before the rooftop.
One time was around a year or so ago, when he'd been patrolling the school and had seen the weak herbivore that the baby was training now, running away from some other herbivores. Hibari didn't remember what happened to the herbivore since he didn't follow him into the alleyway right away to bite to death all of the herbivores but Kyouya did hear the annoying shouts of 'where did Dame-Tsuna go?!'.
It was at that time when he'd walked into the alley, intent on biting to death the herbivores for committing violence that wasn't permitted by Hibari, that he noticed an exceptionally tiny kitten walking along the wall in the opposite direction to Hibari, though it was gone before he could really pay attention so he'd dismissed it as a stray cat, even if it was odd to think of it since the kitten's fur looked very cared for.
It was most certainly the same animal as the one with the very same orange eyes.
...And quite obviously, it hadn't really grew since then.
Hibari had never thought that cats could become invisible – or maybe it was just this particular cat? no, that sounded ridiculous – and the way it interacted with Hibird, Kyouya, and the whole world, was rather... peculiar.
Especially since it was an animal.
At the same time, Kyouya found himself thinking about the scrawny, pathetic-looking, utterly dumb, brown-haired herbivore that attended Namimori Middle and didn't interest Hibari before the baby arrived as his tutor and all Kyouya could think about him now was one thing – the herbivore was odd.
Sawada Tsunayoshi was the herbivore's name and he was a klutz.
And earlier today, at school, he had been scared by the baby and had jumped out of a window.
Hibari had been outside and he witnessed first-hand the way the herbivore, while screaming his head off in terror – the baby's outfit had been rather... disturbing, even Kyouya had to admit – plummeted to the ground from the third floor, with his back down, head-first and certain to break his neck upon impact.
Hibari had stopped to watch, impassive though annoyed since he was going to have to clean up the scene afterwards, before briefly, surprise flashed in his silver eyes at what he saw.
In the split seconds of the fall, the herbivore had looked over his shoulder at the approaching ground and then, with a grace that the prefect had only seen when the herbivore's eyes turned orange, twirled around in air, his back arching in a cat-like way, and he landed on four limbs, as time slowed for that one exact moment when his hands and feet collided with ground.
And then time came back twice faster in speed and the herbivore was skidding to a stop, and, displaying his usual clumsiness, tripped with a shriek and rolled over his back several times to much from the powerful momentum until he hit the fence.
Blankly, Hibari watched as after a quiet groan and a scratch, the herbivore had stood up and headed back into the building as if this had been a normal occurrence.
He should've bitten the herbivore to death for not producing another set of clean uniform to change into since he dirtied his. Dirty clothes were despicable and prohibited in Hibari's territory.
And as if today was the only time.
Once, Hibari stalked at him from behind and the herbivore hissed while he scampered with surprising speed and then tripped when turning and knocked himself out.
Another time, in a rare absence of the other two bodyguard herbivores, some thugs surrounded the herbivore and when they'd cornered him, he had climbed a wall without batting an eye – to fall onto the other side when he accidentally tipped over.
There were countless other incidents Hibari didn't care to remember – he shouldn't even be in the very least concerned with yet he was for some irritating reason – and the prefect almost growled.
The herbivore was strange – both clumsy like no one in the world and sometimes graceful in a way that didn't look human, or, in Hibari's terms, herbivorous. The herbivore'd go around, crowd like a herbivore, screech like one, behave like one, run around like one, and then suddenly throw something that even herbivores deemed strange.
The boy talked to animals and they talked back.
The boy was an awkward herbivore and a sharp carnivore at the same time time.
The boy made Kyouya stop and think before biting him to death.
The boy-
Hibari's eyes narrowed.
...Why did every time he think that, he thought of the other one – the kitten that was, in quite a lot of ways, so similar to the herbivore?
A thought struck Hibari and he stopped abruptly on the sidewalk, the passing cars lighting his stormy grey eyes.
...It must be the herbivore's pet. There was no other way to explain it and since dogs were sometimes spitting images of their masters in all but appearance (and sometimes in that too) it might be possible with cats?
Yes.
That was a plausible explanation.
He can finally throw out the herbivorous thoughts and focus on being a proper carnivore since there was another yakuza group that had to be reminded of their position in Hibari's territory.
14.
"Herbivore."
"...No."
"Herbivore."
"No."
Grit.
"...Herbivore..."
"I'm not here. I do not exist. Leave me alone."
"Herbivore, it is after school time. Leave immediately or I will bite you to death."
"..."
"Leave now, herbivore."
"..."
"Herbivore."
"Go away."
Growl.
"Herbivore..."
"Go away."
Hibari's growingly darkening eyes blinked in slight confusion.
The brown-haired herbivore continued sitting with his back to him, arms wrapped around his legs and face buried in his knees.
Sitting in a cardboard box, no less, which was something that was slightly less baffling than the herbivore's new attitude.
Silence descended in the science classroom and Hibari was absently reminded of what happened.
Earlier...
"Nyahahaha, Aho-Dera, the takoyaki is all mine!"
"Aho-shi, give back Juudaime's food! Or I'll damn well blow you up!"
"Gokudera-kun, it's alright. I'll be fine without it! Please calm dow- hiiiieeee! Please put away the dynamite, Gokudera-kun!"
"Haha, Gokudera, you're supposed to make fireworks outside, not inside! Didn't you know?"
"You're asking for it now, baseball freak..."
"He's not asking for anything, Gokudera-kun! And Yamamoto, could you please put away your bat? You could accidentally- no! Be careful-"
Crunch!
"Ah! Otou-san's and kaa-san's honeymoon picture!"
"Ahaha, my bad! Gomen, Tsuna!"
"...It's fine, Yamamoto..."
"EXTREME! HIBARI, JOIN THE BOXING CLUB!"
"Tch, herbivore, I'll bite you to death for your noisiness."
"LET'S EXTREMELY FIGHT LIKE EXTREMELY REAL MEN THEN!"
"Herbivore..."
"Wait- no! Not kaa-san's favorite vase!"
Crash!
"Phew... I saved kaa-san's vase... Thank winds, she didn't see that."
"Juudaime, are you alright? Turf head, this is your fault!"
"Hayato... Please stop being so anxious. Here, I brewed some nice calming tea for you."
"A-Aneki! Ughhhh..."
"HIBARI! EXTREME MEN LIKE YOU AND ME MUST HAVE EXTREME FIGHTS! EXTREEEME!"
"Kamikorosu, herbivore."
"No, please don't, Hibari-san, Nii-san! Hiiiieee!"
"Haha~, Lambo, be careful with you chopsticks, that's Tsuna's favorite bowl, I think! Don't eat so close to the edge-"
Crack!
"...Aho-shi! How dare you, you brat! That's Juudaime's favorite! We apologize for our incompetency, Juudaime! We-"
"Gupya! My takoyaki is on the floor! Stupid bowl couldn't take Lambo-sama's strength!"
"Aho-shi... I swear I'll blow up now!"
"According to the Ranking Book, that bowl was ranked first in Tsuna-nii's favorite dish ware. Lambo, that's so mean of you!"
"EXTREME!"
"Maa maa~"
"Gyahahahaha, all other takoyaki is Lambo-san's and no takoyaki for Dame-Tsuna! Gyahaha- ow... Dame-Tsuna, put away the shards so Lambo-sama may put his feet down."
"Herbivores..."
"You brat-!"
"Ahaha, Gokudera, Hibari, Sasagawa-senpai, Lambo... Let's just all-!"
"I-Pin? I-Pin, what's the matter? What's that you have on your forehead?"
"Dame-Tsuna, you are an example of a bad boss who can't control his own Famiglia properly. You should have better compliance from your subordinates and-"
"Shut up. All of you."
Dead silence.
All eyes snapped to look at a scrawny brunet who was standing in front of the kitchen table amidst the utter chaos of the suddenly frozen room, with clenched fists and a shadowed gaze, lips a thin line that have just uttered a very uncharacteristic thing for him. All the occupants watched as Tsuna lifted his head slightly and stared darkly at the mess on the floor – formerly, a beautiful orange bowl, now shattered into little pieces. His eyes glinted a strange sheen from the shadows behind his bangs. It was still discernible that it had been an astoundingly elegant piece of art – upon more detailed scrutinization one could see one of the shards had 'Tsunayoshi' written on it in a perfect black kanji, with cat paw-prints drawn around the name.
Everyone watched, including Hibari, as Tsuna ever-so-slowly leaned down and reached for it, with a quiet screeching sound against the floor when he took it into a hand and his knuckles became white around the shard's edges. The boy's shoulders tensed up before he bit his lip and just as slowly stood up, turning around, and walking stiffly out of the kitchen and into the corridor up the stairs, all the way not allowing a single person to see his eyes as he disappeared from view.
Everyone watched him, oddly frightened at Tsuna's silent reaction that scared them more than any other reaction that they could've got. The family listened to the quiet footsteps that echoed in the unusually silent house and even Lambo felt guilty since he was the one who accidentally pushed the bowl with takoyaki off the table when he handled the chopsticks too clumsily.
A few moments later, no one had made a move to do anything, apart from an audible gulp from Gokudera and a semi-questioning grunt from Ryohei, and then they heard footsteps again, and saw Tsuna pass by the kitchen through the corridor.
It did not escape their notices that he was carrying a big brown cardboard box.
Proceeding silently into the hall and ignoring the heads that poked through the doorway from the kitchen, he sat down and put down the box beside him, slowly putting on his shoes. When he finished, he stood up and took the box into his arms again, opening the door. He stopped in the entrance as he slightly turned his head just enough for the others to see his lips twitch slightly.
He opened his mouth to say something but froze and then closed it again without saying anything.
He turned around and left then.
Moments later, Reborn had hopped off the chair, having previously stayed on it survey the boy from a distance unlike all of the Famiglia who had tumbled into the hall to awkwardly watch their boss put his shoes on. The hitman walked into the hall and his lips curled downwards in just slightly evident disdain.
"However much of a... softie Dame-Tsuna is in handling his Famiglia, such audacious treatment from his own family and Guardians is disrespectful and completely disgraceful for those who want to call themselves the Tenth Vongola Famiglia." He tipped his fedora forward, eyes shadowed. "Go find him. Immediately."
When everyone scattered out of the door, sprinting and yelling at each other, Reborn turned to the one who didn't even make a move to go as he leaned onto the doorframe and yawned disinterestedly.
Hibari stared impassively at Reborn.
A few seconds passed and neither blinked.
"...How would you feel if someone broke something of your property?"
The prefect's silver gaze narrowed threateningly and his teeth bared slightly at the baby. He smirked slightly though.
"And how would you feel if someone told you to handle a hoard of misbehaving herbivores?"
They'd stared at each other for another few seconds and before Hibari could take a step to strike at the baby hitman who was obviously challenging him, Reborn was out of the door and out of sight with the help of his shapeshifting chameleon.
Disappointed, Kyouya sheathed his tonfas and exited the Sawada household since it presented no further interest to him – the herbivore that the baby promised a spar with had left and it was the only thing that made the prefect come to the despicable crowding in the first place. He was certainly not going to go around looking for a (rightfully) angered herbivore when the herbivore clearly did not want company (translated from Hibari's language: a bloodbath fight).
Hibari had returned back to the school to finish his duties and paperwork from the Disciplinary Committee and had been passing by the second floor when he noticed one of the tightly closed doors slightly ajar – one to the science classroom.
Soundlessly, he walked over to it and then slid it open with enough force to cause it to clang against the wall.
He stared.
...It was, admittedly, not what he expected to see.
The room was empty, the windows slightly open and the chalkboard wiped clean, as always, and there wasn't a sound apart from the fluttering of the window drapes. Evidently, the herbivore wasn't even trying to hide – maybe because he thought no one would find him – so in the very corner of the classroom, behind the desks and stacks of books, Kyouya saw a mop of brown hair, sitting in a curled up position.
The herbivore was sitting in a cardboard box.
Which lead them to the situation at hand and to the brief exchange of words, which frustrated Kyouya because he was not known for having any problematic situations for more than one minute – ending in blood and broken bones, it was usually solved in under five at most. He'd figured he could have the baby owe him a favor by sending the weak herbivore off Kyouya's own territory.
It appeared, however, increasingly infuriating since the task was not progressing and what was the cause of such remained unknown to the prefect.
Hibari stared as the herbivore with no backbone whatsoever and an affinity to shrieking whenever Kyouya entered the weakling's vicinity didn't deign necessary to face a growingly annoyed prefect, instead sitting, hunched over, in the average-sized brown cardboard box, hands wrapped around his knees tightly as his face was buried in his legs, replies muffled by the material. The brown hair of his were the only thing sticking out from the ball the boy reverted to.
Kyouya's eyes glinted ominously.
"Get out of the box herbivore, or else."
A beat of silence passed.
Tsuna rocked slightly to his left, flopping down onto his side with an audible thud, disappearing into the box completely.
"Go away."
The mutter came from out of the box, and then a hand poked out and pulled the lid on, closing the inner content off from the world.
What little patience was present before, snapped at such screaming impudence (or maybe the herbivore had lost the last pieces of survival instinct after all) and the prefect growled menacingly and stalked over to the box, wringing it open irritably.
"Hissssssssssss!"
What he did not expect was a violent hiss to come from the box and certainly did not see a hand emerging lightning-fast, roughly skimming his arm so that he almost got scratched. From the darkness of the container, two eyes glinted a dangerous orange sheen as a sound of a low growling emanated from the herbivore.
Hibari stared.
The brunet stared back, irises almost slitted.
When Hibari reached again, intending to take the herbivore by the scruff of the neck and throw him out of the door (optionally the window), his hand was painfully hit by the lightning-fast hand again so the raven-haired instinctively withdrew.
A growingly loud seethe came from the box, accompanied by a gleam of orange that dared him to do anything.
"...Herbivore."
"..."
"This is my territory. Get out."
"..."
This time Hibari's own eyes glinted a wild silver that would've sent shivers down the spine of anyone as he growled in the back of his throat. Anyone in their right mind would've fled already but instead, the brunet didn't even twitch, instead glaring fire-lit holes from the box.
Just as Hibari considered taking the box and throwing it out of the window with it's contents, an uncharacteristically low voice came from out of it.
"My box. My territory."
Kyouya gazed down from his height and vague puzzlement was seen in his eyes, a small sliver amongst the burning fury.
He folded his hands.
"My school, herbivore. My territory."
This reply was met with silence and exceedingly flaring golden of the herbivore's eyes.
The silence stretched.
"..."
"What did you say, herbivore?"
"I thought you hated crowding."
"Herbivore-"
"And if you do, you're the first one to come around and crowd. Since you think two's a crowd. Actually, you're always the first one to crowd – you do know that fighting is like crowding, right? It's not like people go around, shouting 'Hibari-san, please come crowd with us!'. If you really hate crowding more than crime – which you clearly imply – you'd go roam the world like a cloud or something proverbial like that – there's plenty of space on the planet and even in Japan where there isn't a single soul around. I don't particularly like crowding myself really and the lot with Reborn just got on my nerves so, frankly, I can understand you since yes, I've had enough of them – and you – for today. I did not sign up for babysitting. But then again, if you want a break from other humans and want to have some peace and quiet with yourself, just go get yourself a goddamn box and leave me alone!"
Hibari stared.
The ranting herbivore huffed silently and pulled on the lid with a slam, notifying the prefect that the conversation was over and that he can do whatever he wants and even throw the box into fire since Tsuna didn't really care.
There was a deafening silence and then soundlessly, Hibari left.
...
Half an hour later, when Tsuna carefully climbed out to open the window since it got hot in the room and he was spending the night here anyway – after all, this wasn't the first time he's done this; his father made him resort to this seclusion twice a week when he visited but that was besides the matter – and he soundlessly walked back when out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something black and gloomy sitting in the opposite corner of the room.
The thoughtful gaze lingering on the black 'IKEA' mark for a moment with a flitting surprise at his advice being actually taken, Tsuna wondered if Hibari always owned such a wonderful cardboard box.
A/N: Haha.
Wow.
So fun.
Much OOC.
I am not sorry, not sorry at all.
I'm having so much fun with this.
Gosh, my randomness continues to exceed my own expectations. I officially suck at writing. (cough doesn't mean I don't have fun doing it cough)
Yes, that is Hibari sitting in an IKEA cardboard box. No, that doesn't mean he's a herbivore. Yes, he owned it before Tsuna, though never knew the exact use for cardboard boxes. (Because people think that cardboard boxes are for things and objects when actually they're for people who want some peace and quiet.)
I'm so sorry for such a late update - a lot of stuff happened, plus I had to play in the Small Hall of the conservatory and - surprise surprise - I only was warned three weeks beforehand (if you don't get it, it's a really short time since some take several months to get ready). Which was coincidentally when I had to start on two completely new pieces and have them ready through two auditions. Yeah. I love my life. (No, that actually wasn't sarcasm. I literally cannot be bored.) Hopefully, this big chapter (at least for me) was at least slightly satisfying. I mean, 9K and all. That's quite a big chapter for me.
And just a small note that is not necessary information for you:
Karasu-chan - 'karasu' means crow (in Japanese). An adolescent bird that was present in the second chapter too when talking with Reborn.
Suzume-kun - 'suzume' means sparrow. He's that little bird who's clumsy at flying and is barely out of his nest.
Hato-san - 'hato' means pigeon. He doesn't really speak since everyone can understand him without him speaking, and you can view him as a silent old man with a cane and old eyes that have seen much things in his long life. (At least that's how I see him. He's completely a pigeon though, so don't think anything.)
Taka-kun - 'taka' means hawk. Just a passing mention of him here.
The suffixes indicate to their genders.
And Risa-chan - 'risa' means squirrel and is a small side character created for me by SilverFlame of the Forest when we discussed this fic. Thanks, girl! :D I really needed another little character like that (still do, maybe, but I'll think them up eventually. I'm trying to think of some child animals, and if possible, mature males since I don't think I have a problem with adult females. Maybe a couple of adolescent ones too...)
Regarding the other shots, I believe that cats can become invisible. Tsuna just still little so he needs more practice.
And yes, while. Hibari doesn't seem to be the type to think, this is: 1) Hibari's inner thoughts that no one really ever know he has; 2) Something, that is not really canon I guess; 3) And oh come on, this is fanfiction. I want to do what I want for a change.
I'd also like to ask you if you now of more street/city/town animals, like crows, pigeons, squirrels, cats, dogs, ducks? Namimori is not a big town and it's surrounded by forests and it suppose there might be animals like raccoons, right? So a penny for your thoughts? I just might need characters for future reference, though I'm not sure exactly what will happen...
Question, would you like another chapter with Hibari? Not necessarily the next one - I was thinking that the next should be either Takeshi or Reborn (or even Gokudera since I'm planning a chapter with him too, of course) - but in a couple chapters perhaps? Because I'm already writing another chapter with Hibari ^^
A here's a small extra for my lovely readers!
10.5 (extra)
"Chiiiiirp, chirp, chiiirp~~! Chirp!"
And then Kyo-chan thought I was cold and hugged me, it was so warm and his hair was so fluffy, though I wonder what Reborn-dono was doing with that flashy box~~! He seemed very happy even though he wasn't hugging with us!
"M-meow? Me- meooow?"
F-flashy box? That must've been a photoca- sweet nights, did Reborn actually try to blackmail Hibari with that?
"Chirp?"
Blackmail?
"Meo- meow. Meow. Myoooow..."
It's a- nevermind. Nothing good. And I wondered why Hibari-senpai was willing to help out with our celebration...
"Chirp!"
Maybe it was because he's so sweet!
"M-meow."
R-right.
"Chiiirp, Tsu!"
I'll sing a funny song that Kyo-chan likes, Tsu!
"Miiiieeee, meo-"
Hiiiieeee, please no-
"Midori tanabiku namimori no~"
"Meow!"
Hi-chan!
"Dai naku shou naku nami ga ii~"
"Meooow!"
Don't ignore me!
"Itsumo kawaranu sukoyaka kenage, aa..."
"Meow-"
What if Hibari hears-
"Tomo ni utaou namimo- chirp!"
Hey!
"Meow."
Hi-chan, it's best we hide for now.
SLAM!
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Chirp~!"
...Kyo-chan came~!
"Mmm! Meow!"
Shhhh! He shouldn't see us here, I think!
"Chirp, Tsu?"
Why, Tsu?
"..."
"..."
"Meow..? Meow."
'Cause I don't know what Hibari-san could do with me. I should be going now, I suppose..?
"Chirp~! Chiiirp!"
I dunno~! Kyo-chan didn't say whether cats are prohibited in the human-learn-place!
"Meow. Meow..."
That's called 'school', Hi-chan. And I don't think I want to take chances...
"..."
"..."
"Chi-i-irp!"
He's sle-e-eping!
"Mew."
Yup.
"Chirp~!"
I don't know what he's dreaming about~!
"Meow."
Neither do I.
"Chi-chi! Chiiirp~!"
Haha! Kyo-chan has a funny expression when he sleeps~!
"...Meow."
I am not certain if one can call it 'funny', Hi-chan.
"Chiiiirp, Tsuuu~! Chirp!"
Look, Tsuuu~! Kyo-chan is doing a funny face again!
"Mm. Meow. Meooooow..."
Um. I can't see his eyes and it's positively frightening, I reckon. He might be sleeping but then again, I'm not particularly sure... Back at the hospital he said that the sound of a falling petal can wake him up. Good thing I jumped out of the window before that petal fell...
"Chiiirp, chirp~!"
Then I think we should leave now before any petals fall~!
"...Meow."
...Yup.
Love, peace and cookies
River Melody
P.S. Care for a cookie? *offers a plate of cookies*
P.P.S. Yes, I own a cardboard box and once in a while when I get fed up, I go onto the balcony and sit in it. I highly recommend you to try it once.