04-03-2011: Edited for some grammatical errors and added a few more sentences for clarification.

A while ago, I tried my hand a fantasy-in-reality-like story. It was a lot harder than I thought. Whatever was in my brain just didn't transfer well into writing. I finally decided to finish it. Lots of OOC. Super choppiness ahead!

Chasing the Wisp by ficklepickles

"Catch him! Catch him! Absolutely, do not let him escape!"

"Chairman's orders! Every available man after him!"

"Everyone! Anyone! He cannot escape your view! If he vanishes from sight for even one moment, he's gone for good! KEEP YOUR GOD DAMN EYES OPEN!"

Hibari was miles ahead of the rest, running at the head of his group of disciplinarians. All of them trained in their own fashion, all of them fast enough to catch any misbehaving delinquent in the school, and himself nearly outstripping the fucking wind. What they were chasing was even faster than that.

This was unbelievable. He could hardly fathom whatever had caused this to happen to him, this white hot panic. It filled every fiber of his being, the rising fear, the feeling of actual terror, of desperation. He had never felt anything close to this, ever. Hibari had no words to describe it. He only knew that he hated this feeling, despised it with everything that it was worth, and yet, was grateful at the same time. It was what was fueling him, giving him the energy, the speed that he required to capture the one thing he had ever wanted this badly. It was more than a desire or craving, it was a realand utter tangible need.

There!

On the edges of his vision he saw it, a white and green blur topped with brown fluff.

It bounced merrily at the corners of his peripherals, and as he turned to make it the very center of his focus, the blur paused and spun around.

The bastard dared to smile at him as it skipped away at a near unmatchable pace.

This was ridiculous!

Hibari could not even suck in enough air into his lungs to shout, to demand that the boy stop and to return to him this instant. He had no right to leave him!

However, the boy was too fast. Already, orange was lighting his vision. It was the only warning he would get. Hibari had pulled away too far from the others in his haste. There were no other eyes to track the boy, to keep him there. The colored glow was a sign of a burst of impossible speed, orange light trailing from his fingers. The boy was about to vanish and there was nothing Hibari could do to stop it.

For a heart-stopping moment, time seemed to freeze as that orange light intensified, brightened into a pure whiteness that could not be beheld by human eyes. Then there was that icy cloying that tore into his chest, seizing hold of that pitiful beating muscle that propelled all that rushing blood into his hyper-driven system. His stomach dropped to somewhere to his feet, and all he could do was scream as blinding light seared his vision.

"TSUNA!"

"Hey, Hibari-san?" The soft voice was close, much closer than he usually allowed. This was a special exception.

The chairman's eyes turned from the papers in his hand to fall onto the face of the brown-eyed boy currently seated on the edge of his desk, swinging legs dangling over the side.

"Hm?" The disciplinarian grunted back.

"When you're done, let's go get a snack." The voice was so light, so gentle, Hibari was nodding before he realized what he was doing.

It should have pissed him off, annoyed him at least. Who was this herbivore that sat so disrespectfully on his desk, who spoke to him with such candor? He should have been in class, abiding by the teachers, and acting like a proper student of Namimori Middle School.

Yet, there he sat, simply existing in an impossibility. He was a rogue student of Namimori who Hibari wasn't disciplining.

It was inexplicable. But he could not find it in himself to do so. He could not lay a harmful hand on him. He had done so at first, when the boy first appeared before his eyes, all sunshine smiles and irritating closeness. The imbecilic and witless boy had zero awareness for proximity of personal space. Hibari had taught him to respect that distance, with force.

Yet the boy returned, again and again, never learning from those repeated lessons. Bruised and bandaged, wrapped in more meters of linen than the school should have had stocked (and he knew the amount from experience of causing a shortage more than once), the stupid boy came back, still smiling.

And Hibari had found it more and more difficult to raise his hand against him each time.

Eventually, Hibari himself grew to tolerate to extra presence, though he had tried to ignore it initially.

Tsuna's dazzling smiles and beaming personality could not be disregarded. He was too very much there, bright and existing and present.

The boy showed up, every day without fail. Cheerful, brilliant, and wanting to be helpful. It did not take long for Hibari's committee members to come to the conclusion that the boy adored Hibari.

The prefect himself disapproved.

What a foolish assumption.

The paperwork of Sawada Tsunayoshi had lain open and spread across his desk. The boy was daft. He was so utterly average that he teetered on the brink of stupidity. All of his test scores were barely passable. Nearly below average marks in any subject: math, history, reading, physical education. He had no redeeming qualities and nothing that made him stand out except perhaps his stubbornness on his single fixation on Hibari.

Where it came from and why it had formed, Hibari didn't know.

In fact, he couldn't even recall the presence of Sawada Tsunayoshi before the boy had shown up in the Disciplinary Committee Members' meeting room on that first day.

He had been so completely average.

That was why this was so absurd. This nothing herbivore of a student had somehow crawled and wormed his way into Hibari's acknowledgement. There had never before been an incident like it and Hibari wasn't quite sure how to deal with it.

Though he did become aware of one solitary fact, and that was that he very much so did not want Sawada Tsunayoshi to leave.

He wasn't sure where that apprehension had come from, but he could remember the moment that it had struck him.

Once, one single time, Sawada Tsunayoshi had been late.

On that day, Hibari had patrolled the halls, cleaned up the would-be smokers in the back eastern lot, and made sure that the only students remaining on school grounds were club members or those in remedial classes. Then he returned to his chairman's desk in his office and waited for that quiet, and too soft knock on the door before Sawada Tsunayoshi entered. He should arrive in precisely two minutes. That punctuality was one of the aspects that Hibari had become fond of.

Ten minutes ticked by with naught. If anyone noticed that Hibari had been glaring at the door with enough intensity to have bored a hole through it, they chose to not mention it. In fact, no one dared approached the chairman, or the door which seemed to be the target of malicious intent.

Tension rose off the senior student in tangible waves that made several of the younger members tremble.

Finally, Hibari moved. His head snapped to the side with enough force to make an actual sound in the still air.

"Where is he?" He demanded of his second-in-command.

Kusakabe blinked. His mouth opened for a moment, as if to ask a question.

Impatient, Hibari nearly snarled. "Sawada Tsunayoshi? Where is he?"

One of the younger members, fresh-faced and new, piped up. "Who's that?"

Hibari saw red.

Inside, he knew that it wasn't right, he should not be on the verge of a murderous rampage for so small a slight, but somehow his body did not feel the same way. How dare they not know! How could they forget that single entity, that anomaly, which existed in their midst. It was that sole creature that he allowed the concessions which he had given to no other.

Then there was that too soft knock, and the almost silent opening of the door.

In bounded the brown-haired, empty-headed child that Hibari could not overlook.

Tsuna, who grinned so blithely, ran right up to the blood-seeking chairman and hugged him.

"Sorry I'm late." He announced with no concern in his voice. "There was something I had to do before I could come."

In that moment, recognition flashed in the eyes of that so very lucky individual who realized that he had been about to be mauled to a very bloody death. "Tsuna!" He cried out, something in his tone sounding shrill.

Hibari had been ready to slay the boy right there and then. Someone so weak as that had no business to be a member of his committee. His hand was stayed by the presence of Tsunayoshi alone.

The first-year smiled to the other boy. "Yes?" He answered, questioningly.

"Uh…" Pale panic showed starkly on the teen's face. "The chairman has been waiting!" He finished, the words spilling too quickly from his mouth.

"Ah, yes." Tsuna stepped back to face Hibari full on, brown eyes meeting those slate grey orbs with a seriousness that he had yet to see. "I apologize for my tardiness, Hibari-san." He spoke slowly and formally. "I hadn't meant to worry you."

Then Hibari had scoffed, and brushed aside that worthless notion. Even still, his hand had snaked out to wrap around the thin white wrist of Sawada Tsunayoshi, and he dragged the unresisting boy to his side behind his desk.

Dismissing the others quickly, he pulled the first year down to his knees, making him kneel at his side.

"Punishment." He murmured.

Tsuna smiled up at him, curled hands on his knees.

Hibari spun in his chair to stare at the paperwork he had left untouched on his desk. A few silent moments later, something warm and fluffy had found its way onto his lap. Hibari wordlessly glared down at the white sheets containing his committee's budget allotment, one hand carefully burying his fingers in downy hair of Tsuna's head.

Days later, the strangest thing happened.

Hibari could attribute several things to strangeness recently, but honestly, this was the strangest.

He had stayed at the school later than usual. Even Tsunayoshi, who typically was at his side every waking hour on school grounds after classes had ended, had already gone home.

Hibari had sat on the window ledge of the committee room, thinking.

His thoughts had wandered often to Tsunayoshi lately. He wasn't perturbed by it, he let it happen. Tsuna was simply there, and Hibari knew that he would have it no other way, even if the world thought he was going mad. What did he care about those worthless herbivores?

Then the clouds had blotted out the moon and he sat in total darkness, except it wasn't really.

A lone beam of moonlight had pierced through the clouds and the glass of the window's ledge he sat on. That in of itself was nothing unusual, however moonlight seemed to pour from that spot on the room's floor, like liquid. The radiant liquid spread out in a small circle, before shooting straight up in a pillar. It condensed suddenly into a dark, sharp, and well dressed figure.

The light beam blinked out that instant as the clouds closed over the moon, and Hibari was warily glaring at a tall, broad-shouldered foreigner in a black suit and tie. The man tilted the brim of his yellow-ribboned fedora in greeting.

"Evening." He murmured, his voice low and resonating.

Hibari stood slowly, muscles stretching and coiling. He felt the familiar weight of his tonfa as they fell easily into his hands. The man was strong, the strongest he had ever seen. The blood in his veins ignited at the prospect. "You… are trespassing." Hibari said, just as quietly. His nerves were on fire, electricity coursed through him, muscles pulled bowstring taut. He was ready to let loose the moment he sensed an opening.

The man smiled, nothing friendly or polite about it. The movement of lips was predatory right down to the gleam of pointed teeth at the corners of his mouth. "No need to be so hasty, Hibari Kyouya." He said, flooding the area with his own very tangible presence.

It was almost like Tsuna's, that realness, that existence. Except this man smelt of power and blood, and something very, very cold.

Hibari tensed. The man was solid. Any move he made against him felt like it would lead to death. The teenager bared his teeth in a grin. How exciting.

The man tsked over a mouthful of white, fang-like teeth. "This is no time for play." He said in his low, smooth voice.

"I'm here to warn you. There is something I'm hunting, prey that has been mine since long ago. He's very close to you, but he is not yours. His kind vanish the moment you take your eyes off him, the moment you let him go. But if you keep him, he will remain precious to you for the rest of eternity. This is my prey. Stay away, Hibari Kyouya."

Hibari's eyes narrowed. "What foolish thing do you speak of." He almost snarled. The prefect did not take well to teasing or games.

Ghosts? Fairy tales? This strange man would not play him for a fool.

"The wisp. He is mine." The man said with faux patience. The consideration was a thin veneer. He would bring violence if pressed. The man breathed violence.

"There are no wisps here." Hibari stated.

Amusement played across the strange man's face. He smirked, tipping his head back so his dark eyes could be seen from under the brim of his hat. They gleamed like circles of polished black marble.

"When you see the flames of orange, you will know. It will be the last of him you will ever see."

Then the man blinked out of existence as if he had never been there at all. The room filled with soft white moonlight, and the clouds that had obscured the glowing disc had vanished as well.

That night, Hibari had a dream about his younger years. A stubborn and headstrong child, he had once wandered far past the borders he had been familiar with. Lost, alone, and cold in the darkness, he stopped on a bench to wait and think. Young he may have been, rash he was not.

It was then in the distance that he saw a dancing white light. It teased the edges of his vision. Every time he turned to look at it, the light would blink, flicker, and twirl away. It was constantly in motion and never moved the same way twice.

Curiosity and a touch of annoyance had the young Hibari jumping off the bench to follow it. He had to get a better look at the odd light. The gently glowing orb twinkled, drawing him further and further from the bench as it whirled through the night. He had no second thoughts about where it would take him or if it was dangerous in any fashion. Even at his young age, he could tell that the light was no predator.

However, the light was swift and incredibly nimble. He couldn't tell whether it was close enough to touch, or too far away to reach. It was all he could do to just keep his eyes on it.

After blocks of wild chasing, it finally came to a stop, hovering over a fixed spot. Hibari ran to capture it and for a few prized moments had cupped the light in his hands. It had felt warm then, warm and soft. Then it shot up and out of his outstretched hands, vanishing in the moonlight.

Confused, Hibari stared after it, wondering where it went before he took in his current surroundings.

He stood at the front gate of his home.

Practical as he was, he entered through the front gate, sparing only a single backward glance for that mysterious dancing light.

Hibari remembered.

Because he remembered, he knew.

That man, that strange bastard (predator), had Tsuna.

"I must admit, I am surprised that you have found your way here. Portals into our realm are rare and delicate, but you simply tore your way in. How brutal." Reborn grinned, amused. "I had not expected that your connection to the wisp was so strong. You're something else, human."

Hibari glared at the scene before him.

Tsuna was bound, a thin silver chain wrapped around his wrists, drawing them together. The fine metal chain flowed like water, not quite tangible, but all the more real. Reborn held the chain in his hand, the silver length woven between his fingers, gently tugging it with an expert motion that moved Tsuna like a puppet on strings.

The boy's eyes had turned a strange golden color and didn't seem to focus on what was in front of him.

"Wisps, fleeting as they are, have such short memories." Reborn said quietly, speaking softly with the boy's ear near his mouth. His free hand cupped Tsuna's chin, tilting his pale face so his eyes stared directly at Hibari, those wide, unblinking, golden eyes.

"Look, he doesn't even know who you are."

That blank and unrecognizing expression shouldn't have hurt as much as it did.

Clearly these creatures were not human. Clearly, Hibari should give up.

Clearly, these creatures did not understand Hibari Kyouya.

Tonfa raised and Hibari settled himself into a stance. He didn't care what the bastard had to say. He had come with a single purpose in mind, and he would fulfill it no matter what. Spirits, wisps, other realms, that crap meant nothing to him. Hibari would have Tsuna returned to him.

Reborn arched an eyebrow, amused. "You would challenge me? For a wisp who can't remember you?" A slow smile spread across his lips. "You're very foolish."

Stroking Tsuna's cheek with a thumb, Reborn stood, lazily making his way toward the offender.

"I am a salamander." Reborn grinned, fire darting from between his fanged teeth like a tongue. "I'd like to see if you can take this chain from me."

Hibari flew forward before Reborn had even finished speaking. With a single mindedness for fighting which only Hibari possessed, he attacked in a flurry of battering hits. Reborn only smirked as he dodged the onslaught fluidly.

Changing tactics, Hibari spun his tonfa around and brought them down in a smashing blow.

They fell solidly into the hands of the salamander who caught a strike which should have shattered bone. Instead it felt as if he had slammed against a steel wall.

Reborn gripped the ends of the tonfa, leering at the boy who could not break his hold. "What would you do with him, hm? You are a fool to think he will stay with you if you do not cage him. It is their nature to escape. No matter how long they've stayed, always, they escape. It is because they are wisps."

"I'll never become like you." Hibari snarled, rearing back to smash his feet in the offending man's face. How dare he lecture him while fighting.

The salamander released the tonfa, chuckling as he dodged the kick. Flames blew merrily from his mouth. The boy could not best him. That much was clear, but how long would he try to fight was the question. Well, if the fight became boring, he could just burn the human to cinders.

An unfamiliar keening sound caught his attention then. Reborn glanced over at the source.

Tsuna had his hands on the chain and was crying. It was a soft, melodious cry, but it sent vibrations through the quicksilver chain. Reborn frowned. Tsuna was interfering.

He gave the chain a sharp tug, the silver length spilling across the floor as it grew longer. The wisp's vibrations fell harmlessly to the ground. The action was small, but it had diverted his attention. Hibari shot forward, grabbing onto the chain with one hand.

Golden eyes brightened.

"Hi…bari…"

The teenager turned at the sound of his name. "Tsuna…" His fist tightened on the chain, pulling.

The wisp leaned forward, eyes riveted to Hibari's face.

Reborn hissed unpleasantly, a tongue of flame escaping from between clenched teeth. He could feel the binding magic of the chain fading as Tsuna recovered his memories. Impossible. Wisps did not have long-lived memories. Tsuna had even forgotten he who had raised him, taught him, loved him, but he remembered this human?

The salamander crushed the momentary jealousy.

The quicksilver chain was close to breaking. Reborn did not relish another long hunt for the wisp. It was the problem with being immortal. Their chases could go on for eons.

Reborn looked at Hibari, fire slithering past his lips. Then he shrugged.

"You're troublesome, but at least you're human. I may not look it, but I am a busy man. I'll just have to wait for you to die." He grinned again. "Don't lose him in the meantime. Once caught, wisps will do anything to be free. Imprisoning them is the only way to keep them." Reborn warned as he turned around and faded from sight.

Hibari only gripped Tsuna closer to him.

"Shut up." He growled.

Kusakabe quietly shut the door behind him.

Having delivered what was requested of him, he had left silently, unable to say what had been on his mind. Though he was the one who understood their chairman the best, sometimes he could not comprehend him.

This was unlike the chairman that he respected.

Ever since he had returned, Hibari had been more closed off than usual, becoming near reclusive.

Kusakabe could wager a guess why, but the thought itself was terrifying.

Worse was how Hibari's attitude was affecting the rest of them. Their chairman still made his rounds and still did his duty to protect the school he loved, but outside of that he spent every other minute locked up in his office and would see no other, save Kusakabe.

The reason was clear. Hibari trusted only Kusakabe to keep his mouth shut.

After all, how could Kusakabe tell anyone that their chairman was keeping Sawada Tsunayoshi handcuffed and caged in his office.

In the end, it was the only way to ensure that he would stay. No matter what, Hibari could not allow him even an inch of freedom. It was in their nature to escape, Hibari had to be certain that he could break that nature.

Tsuna had already run from him once. He would not be allowed to repeat that again.

It was not the same. He wasn't the same as Reborn. This was different.

Because he loved Tsuna.

end

Ever notice how really old fairy tales just have the inexplicable happen? Then the endings are just plain depressing. That format doesn't seem to apply well to other forms of writing. Maybe I should stick to the classics. Go Disney!