Disclaimer: I do not own Hareluya II Boy. This story is purely a work of fan fiction. No profit is being made from it.
Yamana smiled in delight as she looked around at the sakura trees. They were in full bloom, their branches covered with pink flowers.
"It's so beautiful" she said, her voice filled with awe.
"It sure is" Ichijou replied. In his mind he was already composing a song about the cherry blossoms.
"Yes it's very nice" said Hibino impatiently. "Now hurry up and get the food out!"
Ichijou glared at him. "Damn it Hibino! Don't you have a soul?"
"What? Ore-sama is hungry!"
"How can you…?"
"Actually I'm a little hungry myself" Yamana said with a friendly smile.
He nodded in understanding. "Okay."
Hibino grinned. "Finally!"
Ichijou sighed but said nothing as he spread a blanket on the grass underneath one of the sakura trees and set down the hamper he was carrying. They all settled down on the blanket as he began taking out food and drinks.
For the next few moments the three of them enjoyed a relaxing picnic. Ichijou and Yamana ate lightly while talking and admiring the cherry blossoms. Hibino, as usual, gobbled down his food as if he hadn't eaten in days, stopping only to make the odd comment.
"The hanami party last night was fun but I prefer this" said Yamana.
"Me too" Ichijou agreed. "It's more peaceful. You can really appreciate the sight when you aren't surrounded by a crowd of people."
"Ore-sama preferred the party" said Hibino. "There was more food."
"Dumplings rather than flowers" Ichijou muttered under his breath.
"It's a pity Okamoto can't see this" she said wistfully. "He would have made such a beautiful painting."
"Don't worry about it. He can paint them when he comes back" Ichijou reassured her. "There'll always be cherry blossom trees here."
"Yeah" Hibino agreed.
Her expression brightened. "Thanks guys."
A little while later they were finishing their picnic. As they were packing everything away Hibino carelessly tossed a carton to the ground. Yamana frowned as she saw that and slapped his hand.
"OW! What the…?"
"Hibino! Put your litter in a bin!" she yelled.
He glared at her for a moment but then his angry look faded and became a thoughtful one. "You're right. It makes no sense to mess up the planet Ore-sama is going to rule."
"Exactly" she replied cheerily.
He picked up the carton and threw it through the air. It sailed neatly into a nearby bin.
"Right then, let's head back. If we hurry we can beat the traffic."
"We don't need to hurry" said Ichijou. "I know a shortcut."
"Show Ore-sama."
He led them down a path away from the cherry blossoms to where the trees branches were instead covered by bright green leaves. He pointed at the trees.
"There's a glade just past those trees. If we cut through it we'll be at a gate in just a few minutes"
"Let's go then" said Hibino.
But as they started to step off the path a voice called out, "Stop!"
Someone stepped out from the foliage. It was a tall, strong-looking guy with short black hair and a serious expression on his face.
"You can't go this way" he said brusquely.
Hibino snorted. "Ore-sama can go wherever he likes."
"I'm serious. You can't come through here."
"And I'm serious" Hibino replied, his expression darkening. "No-one tells Ore-sama which way to go."
"I hate to say it but Hibino's right" said Ichijou. "This park is public property. We can go whatever way we want."
The guy scowled. "I won't let you come here" he said as he pulled out a knife.
Hibino grinned. In a sudden blur of movement he struck the knife from his hand into the grass and then landed an uppercut that knocked him to the ground.
"Well that was easy."
He heard a low groan and looked down to see that the guy was still conscious and trying to get up.
"Oh, not a complete weakling then. No problem" he said as he drew his fist back for the knockout punch.
"Aniki!"
A little boy came rushing out from the trees waving his arms frantically with a scared look on his face.
"Please don't hit Aniki!"
"Don't hit him? He pulled a knife on Ore-sama!" Hibino exclaimed.
"Hold on Hibino" said Yamana.
She picked up the knife and took a closer look at it. "It's just a toy knife."
Hibino lowered his arm. "What's going on here?"
The guy stood up, the little boy helping him. "My name's Kai. This is my cousin Kota. I'm sorry I tried to scare you."
Hibino laughed. "Scare Ore-sama? Impossible!"
"Why were you trying to keep us from going through the glade?" Ichijou asked.
He hesitated for a moment before speaking. "If you promise not to make any disturbance I'll show you."
"Deal."
Kai led them into the trees and stopped just outside of the glade. He pointed at a tree.
"You see that?"
Hibino snorted. "It's a birds nest. What's the big deal?"
"That's the nest of a pair of fairy pittas."
"Again, what's the big deal?"
"The big deal is that fairy pittas are on the Red List" Ichijou hissed. "They're extremely rare."
"Exactly" said Kai. "Since Kota and I found the nest by accident we've been trying to keep anyone else from finding out about it. If word got out then collectors would come to steal the eggs."
"You don't have to worry" said Yamana reassuringly. "We'll keep the nest a secret. Won't we Hibino?"
She smiled but her tone made it clear that it wasn't a question.
Hibino huffed. "Fine. Ore-sama will keep quiet about it."
"Thank you all" said Kai.
"Yeah, me and Aniki really appreciate it" Kota agreed.
A few days later Hibino and Ichijou were heading to the Okonomiyaki restaurant where they usually hung out. Yamana had told them she would be a little late but she would meet up with them there.
"I'm hungry" Hibino complained.
"Why are you complaining? You know we'll soon be there" Ichijou replied.
"This is ridiculous. We could be there even quicker if we went through that park gate. How could that possibly be bad for the fairy pits?"
"Fairy pittas Hibino, and Kai told us we can't risk disturbing them and scaring them off the nest. Now come on, it's not far this way."
"All right" he said grudgingly.
Neither of them noticed a short, unkempt guy emerge from an alleyway after they walked past. He grinned gleefully.
"Wait until I tell Akira about this!"
Just outside the glade Kai and Kota were maintaining their vigil. Kai watched the nest through binoculars while Kota kept a lookout for anyone coming too close.
Such beautiful creatures the young man thought. How could anyone possibly want to harm their chances of survival?
He had considered asking Hibino and co. if they would be willing to help but had decided against it. They had already been more than fair by agreeing to keep the nest a secret, especially after he had tried to scare them. He felt bad about that.
Just then Kota hurried up to him. "Aniki! A bunch of bad guys are heading this way" he hissed, barely managing to keep his voice down.
Kai frowned. "Follow me but stay hidden."
Any hopes he had that maybe his cousin had exaggerated were dashed when they reached the edge of the trees. Six guys were standing there, all of them tough and unsavoury-looking, their faces twisted in ugly sneers.
"Let's go boys" said one of them. He had sharp, angular features and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark glasses. "Those eggs will be worth a fortune!"
"Oh no" Kai whispered. He turned to Kota. "Go to that restaurant Ichijou told us he and his friends hang out at. Get help. I'll try and stall them."
Kota was scared but didn't waste time arguing. "Okay Aniki."
With that he hurried off.
Kota ran as fast as he could, arriving at the okonomiyaki restaurant panting and out of breath.
Hibino, Ichijou and Yamana were at their usual table. Hibino was gleefully devouring his latest helping while Ichijou and Yamana had finished eating and were talking. As Kota ran up to them they stopped talking and turned to him.
"What's wrong Kota-kun?" she asked.
"Some bad guys have come to steal the eggs" he panted. "We have to stop them before they hurt Aniki."
"Right, let's hurry" said Ichijou. He glanced over at Hibino, fully expecting to have to cajole him into helping. To his surprise Hibino grinned and nodded.
"Perfect timing, Ore-sama had just finished" he said. "And now for some after-lunch entertainment."
Thank God we ate lightly Ichijou thought as they ran out of the restaurant. Except for Hibino of course but when has that ever been a problem for him?
Kai groaned feebly as he collapsed to the grassy ground where he lay battered and bruised. He had fought as hard as he could but there were just too many of them.
"Well that's him taken care of" the guy in the dark glasses snorted. "Now let's get those eggs. Koji, you're the best climber. Go up there and put them in the box."
"You got it Akira."
He scrambled up the tree and carefully crossed the branches until he made it to the nest. He placed the eggs into a small black box, climbed back down and handed it over to his boss.
Akira grinned as he opened the lid and looked inside. There were six light grey eggs with small brown-purple dots. He closed the lid.
"Great work Koji. Come on, let's go find a buyer for these."
"Hold it!"
The gang were all startled as Hibino and Ichijou came charging in. Ichijou looked furious while Hibino was grinning maniacally.
"Get them!" Akira yelled.
The goons charged in to attack. Without breaking stride Hibino head-butted the first one and then finished him off with an uppercut to the jaw. A second goon jabbed a knife at him but Hibino easily sidestepped it, caught his wrist with one hand and twisted it, forcing him to drop the knife. He followed this by punching the goon in the stomach.
Another one put on a pair of brass knuckles and threw a punch at Ichijou's face. Instead of trying to dodge he whipped up a set of guitar strings held between his hands and used them to intercept the blow. He then landed a kick to his foe's gut that staggered him. A right cross to the face floored him.
"I'm getting out of here!" Akira exclaimed.
He turned around and started to run but before he could get away Yamana stepped out in front of him from behind a tree. The look of fury in her eyes stopped him cold.
"Uh…" Akira held up the box containing the eggs. "You know there's plenty here for both of us…"
She punched him right in the jaw and he hit the ground hard. Hibino and Ichijou strolled over as she picked up the egg box.
"Ha, weaklings. That was barely worth Ore-sama's time" Hibino scoffed.
Kai and Kota came up to them, the younger one supporting his cousin. Kai was smiling despite sporting a nasty black eye.
"Thank you all" said Kai. "If you hadn't come those punks would have gotten away with the eggs."
"But what now Aniki?" Kota asked. "Won't they just come back again later?"
"Ore-sama will make sure that won't happen" said Hibino with a fiendish grin. "It will be worth coming here after all."
He turned to the groaning Akira and pulled out a feathery fan.
"Ore-sama's tickle-torture never fails!"
It took no time at all for Hibino to 'convince' the thugs to leave the nest and agree to never come back. Hibino made it very clear what would happen if the eggs were stolen and that threat kept them well away.
Just a few weeks later the eggs had hatched and the nest was filled with six baby fairy pittas. Hibino and the others watched from cover as the brightly coloured parents flew over to the nest and fed the nestlings.
"They're beautiful" said Yamana.
"Definitely" Ichijou agreed. "See Hibino, don't you agree that we did a good thing by protecting those eggs?"
"Yes we did" he replied. "By the way Ichijou, since you like eggs so much Ore-sama has gotten one for you."
Ichijou tried to dodge but it was too late as the egg Hibino had thrown hit him right in the face, splattering yolk in all directions. Hibino roared with laughter while Yamana shook her head disapprovingly.
"I'll get you for that Hibino" he growled as he wiped his face.
"Just be glad it wasn't a rotten one" Hibino grinned. "The yolk's on you Ichijou!"
Author's Note: The Red List, or Red Data List is an inventory of endangered or threatened species.
"Hanami" is a Japanese tradition of celebrating the blooming of cherry blossom trees, mostly by having outdoor parties and/or picnics.
"Aniki" is a Japanese honorific for an older brother. Kota uses it figuratively as Japanese teens typically address older teens as "elder brother/sister" to show respect even if they aren't actual siblings.