The Skylark in Ukiyoe Town

(NoM x KHR Crossover)

Rated T

Pairing: Fem!Hibari x Nura Rikuo/Yoru (Night Form)

Synopsis: Hibari Kyoya died killing her famigila's enemies. She was proud of the fact that she managed to protect her comrades and live up to her title as the "Strongest Guardian." Her pulse stopped and she knew she had died. One thing she wasn't expecting was it to start beating again. Her first thought when she awakened was, "Kamikorosu."

A/N: Edited this chapter and decided to make it longer... Merry Christmas to everyone!

1.

Hibari Kyoya was reincarnated as the herbivore known as Takahashi Suzume, but that would change...sooner or later. She had the pride of being called the "Strongest" once and she would live up to it again whether people knew of it or not. She wanted to sigh in annoyance though, her current predicament being stuck inside an infant's body. It was near-impossible to move! Oh how she cursed the kami vehemently.

A sudden inexorable desire to bite someone to death made itself be known. For the first few months of her life, she was a snappy and impatient baby who glared at anyone who came near her, even to her own parents. It was a miracle that they even stayed and took care of her properly.

No - wait, scratch that, her parents were known for being thick-skinned and very resilient so it was no wonder that they stayed.

"Kamikorosu." That had been her first sentence once she had regained a semblance of control over her vocal chords. She had refused to say anything else until she could say that. It had been no easy task, considering the fact that she was still very young - in terms of her age being: five months and a half, and that her first word - no, sentence, being quite complex for a mere infant.

Infuriatingly enough, her parents could only coo at how odd yet cute their adorable daughter's first sentence was. (That earned them a hard nibble or two - although, even that was hard since she still had no teeth yet.)

Seeing as her glares (mostly anything else) were ineffective against them, she stopped and placed on a poker face instead. She opted to wait patiently for the time when she would be able to move and talk freely without any trouble. When that time came, no one would escape her wrath.

2.

Thud.

Kyoya let out a grunt of approval once she heard the satisfying sound of the last of her prey fall to the ground in a bloodied mess. She sneered when she remembered the reason why they even approached her in the first place. Those pathetic herbivores tried to threaten her for money but she did not stand for rule-breakers. What those thugs received in return was a fist to the gut and several other wounds. Very severe other wounds.

A growl was heard from her own throat when her thoughts drifted to the fact that they had managed to overpower her more than once. She stared at her fisted hand after she had put away her tonfas.

This body is still weak. I need to train harder if I wish to overcome these weaknesses!

She sauntered away, heading back to her home. She was seen entering - what was probably the only other one in the whole of Ukiyoe Town - a traditional Japanese house. It was rather large but it fit perfectly with her tastes. It reminded of her own before she had died, the one that had been near Namimori Shrine.

Ah, but that was years ago. Now, this was her home.

It was a plus that there was a dojo where she could train and fight to her heart's content.

Just as she entered her house, her father came out to greet her at the genkan.

"Welcome back, Suzume." He said amiably although Kyoya did not give out any response. Her father's face suddenly became crestfallen and a pout formed on his lips. They had a staredown with him obviously losing and her winning very easily. He sighed in defeat.

"Welcome back, Kyoya." He reiterated - changing his greeting to which she acknowledged with a stiff nod.

"How was patrol today?" He asked.

"Hn." Upon hearing it, her father immediately translated it to her having said that it was fine.

"That's good. By the way, would you like some dinner?"

There was a single pause before she answered. "Bring it to the dojo, I still need to train." Was her only response before heading to the place itself.

3.

Takahashi Izumi, a nekomata yokai, watched from afar as his five-year old daughter headed to the said dojo. She was definitely no ordinary child - not counting her mixed blood - seeing as she was also quite the fighting genius. There was wisdom in her eyes but she also had that look - as if she had experienced something terrifying that no ordinary person would understand.

He could still clearly remember her fourth birthday. It was when his human wife decided to show her their house's own armory. The only reason they even had an armory in the first place was due to his wife's hobby of collecting and buying different types of weapons she would come across upon - yes, his wife was a weapon-fanatic.

Anyway, Suzume - no, he had to accept the fact that his little daughter preferred Kyoya - immediately took a liking to a pair of tonfas she had seen hanging on the wall of the armory. Oddly enough, she also took a liking to the purple colored bracelet that was found beside it.

He could distinctly remember her looking at the clouds with fondness in her eyes during that time.

Cloud, huh? It definitely fitted her personality now that he thought about it.

There had been a smirk on her face, it was the first time the two of them had seen anything much less resemble a smile on her face. He and his wife were quite overjoyed at the sight of it and decided to celebrate it much to to their daughter's irritation.

"Darling, I'm home!" A feminine voice brought him out of his reverie. He turned around and beamed at the sight of his wife in her work suit.

"Welcome back, dear."

4.

Once the punching bag was set up, Kyoya brandished out her tonfas before setting it down at the side. If she was to get stronger, she needed to strengthen her own body even more. She lunged at it, swinging her fists at it repeatedly and then whipping out a high kick or two at each interval. Her attacks were merciless against the hanging target and as she increased her flame output running through her body, she soon tore through it.

However, that was still not enough. She placed up another punching bag and added another (for her own sake). She could feel her irritation rise with the evidence being the large purple flame that suddenly appeared around her bracelet on her left wrist. At the same time, her box animal - a hedgehog named Roll - came out.

"Puaa~" It groaned. Upon seeing it, Kyoya soon calmed down and her flames disappeared.

It blinked in surprise once it saw its master and quickly scuttled over to her. A small smile graced upon Kyoya's lips as she rubbed its nose affectionately.

"Kyoya-chan!" Her mother's voice rang throughout the training room she was currently staying in. She could see the older woman's shadow coming closer and her smile dropped. She gently picked Roll up and placed it on her shoulder. Roll soon decided to hide as she approached the shoji screen door, so it quickly padded under a layer of her shoulder-length hair.

Kyoya slammed the door open before her mother could open it herself and proceeded to greet her mother with a glare.

5.

"Ah, Kyoya-chan! Here's your dinner, Papa made sure to prepare your favorite~" Her mother gushed out excitedly (acting as if she hadn't been greeted with a glare) as she handed it over to her dear daughter. It had gone unnoticed to her though the tick mark that had appeared on her daughter's head.

"Hn." Was Kyoya's reply as she took the tray from her mother's hands and shut the door closed.

"Waaah~! Kyoya-chan's so mean to me!" Her mother fake-cried. "And I was about to give you a gift too~"

There was only silence. She wasn't the type to be taken in by a gift after all, not unless -

"Hibari! Hibari!" A familiar high-pitched voice stopped her in her tracks. Her suddenly eyes narrowed. It couldn't be...but the fact that she found her pair of tonfas and the Cloud Bracelet despite being in a dimension where 'Namimori' and a special certain type of 'flames' didn't exist, it was still a possible thought.

"Hibari! Hibari!" The voice piped up again.

She placed down the tray and marched right up to the sliding door, slamming it open once again. Just as she suspected, a small yellow canary was perched on her mother's finger. It glanced at her with its small beady eyes and then flew towards her.

"Hibird..." She murmured her pet's name.

"Midori tanabiku namimori no

dai naku shou naku nami ga ii
itsumo kawaranu sukoyaka kenage

aa... tomo ni utaou namimori chuu"

"Ara, it looks like this fellow can sing! So cute~" Her mother cooed.

Hibird made a move to perch himself on her head. "Hibari! Hibari!" He chirped happily. Well, that was that. It seemed that the little fluffball was indeed her beloved Hibird. She looked up to her mother and hn'ed her thanks before closing the door once more although more gently this time.

Her mother, Takahashi Kimiko, was delighted nevertheless despite her daughter's attitude towards her. "Geez, that girl is such a tsundere~" She commented as she headed back to the dining room where her husband was waiting.