A bland sunny day descended on the small quiet town of Namimori. Gentle morning breezes danced fiscally though the soft green leaves of the summer trees. Children played in a nearby park; crawling up and down the sparkling new jungle gym like adolescent monkeys. Parents watched their offspring with laughing eyes; completely unaware of the disguised guards posing as giant stuffed animals handing out balloons. To anyone with a naked eye life was peaceful and calm, but if you were gifted with the anti-rose colored glasses one tends to acquire in the dark underground known as the mafia you could see all the hideous crime, and unexplained happenings that take place around the world like a looming stretching shadow.
This particular morning was peaceful on both sides of the spectrum until three short knocks interrupted the tranquility of it all. A tall slender man rose a delicate eyebrow over the porcelain rim of the small teacup that was tilted back gently so he could savor the last of his imported Ceylon tea. It wasn't often he got visitors; or that anyone knew he was back from his most current excavation of the world's seven wonders. Setting the plain white tea cup on its saucer with a 'ting' he gave his forever faithful follower Tetsuya Kusakabe a chip nod. The assistant set his own cup down with a slightly louder 'clang' and proceeded to follow his companion's absolute orders. Years of being his assistant allowed him to understand the usually distant, quiet man Kusakabe liked to think was his best friend.
Kusakabe quickly made his way to the decorated shrine doors, and peeked outside the barrier via a small computer screen which had 360 degrees of vision. No one coming into view usually gave socially distant people like him a relaxing break, but because of his profession as a member of one of the country's darkest underworld families his hair stood on end. The heavy thumping of his heart forebode him not to open the doors, yet the command of his boss overpowered any sense of fear that began trickling down the nape of his neck. Ever so carefully he opened the door, and dispelled the barrier, abit slightly.
The surrounding area was as clear as the sunny blue sky above it. No enemies jumped out of the dense foliage, nothing disturbed the air currents, but yet the sense of dread remained. He would have thought it the chill of changing season temperatures, but a life time of danger told him to trust his intuition. Turning around to head back to the hideout he stopped short of stepping on a small purple box that wore a mammon chain. Upon it lay a hand written note- "To Hibari Kyoya, -Vongola". After nudging the box with a slight tap of his foot the feeling of creeping darkness enclosed him; he debated on leaving the box, but once again the pull to complete his boss's orders dispelled most of the negative thoughts that haunted him. He picked up the box with a quick look around and headed back to delever the present. He should have listened to his gut.
Kyoya sat at the small table, hands laced together in front of narrowed dark eyes. He glared down the box in question before shifting his eyes to the elegant handwriting on whichever Vongola member sent the package. He glared harder at the cursive writing as if reading the curly, "New Vongola training method" would cure the encroaching curiosity that aled him. He wasn't worried about a trap being set; he was confident in his ability to overcome anything that had the misfortune to cross his path. The questions that plagued his mind was why? For what reason would the family he loosely related himself to offer him a box weapon geared towards training? Hibari Kyoya already proved himself stronger than most- if not all- of the current head family members countless times throughout the years. What task did they think he wasn't strong enough to complete?
Shifting forward slightly he picked up the purple box weapon by the ring tied to the top. It's silver gleam glinted off the room's artificial light. An otherwise normal silver band except for a goat's head imprinted in the center with enormously large spiraling horns presented itself; it seemed to resemble a hell ring. Hibari was sure it wasn't as most of them belonged to others at the time. Was it a fake?
Kusakabe watched from his sitting position by the table as Hibari pocketed the box and developed further into the underground base, more than likely heading to the top tier training facility. It was an interesting designed box, smaller than most with an unexplainable aura that reeked of death, but if it was from Vongola it might help them in their search. As his boss turned the corner at the far end of the room the hairs on Kusakabe's neck relaxed slowly, and he let out a long sigh while sitting back on his just arrived back home and it was time for his well deserved break; Hibari could handle himself.
Meanwhile Hibari stood in the center of the boxed in training arena. If this proved less than worthwhile the Bucking Bronco was supposed to meet him for training later anyway; he could get his needed fight in then. Now days it was nothing more than a warm up for the man. Placing the ring on his finger he forced cloud flames into it, and watched as it glowed slightly with his power and resolve to become stronger. Before the ring could crumble under the burn of flames he injected it into the box, silently wondering if another small creature like Roll would come out.
A burst of dense flames so black they looked like holes in reality sprung from the box; capturing his steely eyes in momentary blindness as they briefly ensnared all light in the room. Hibari had seen Xanxus's black flames of wrath a few times before, but these were much darker. Despite not wanting to admit it he felt all the hairs on his body stand on end. His usually slow, methodic heartbeat picked up a few octaves. Why were the flames sinister black when the box had been opened with a small amount of cloud flames? Something was up. His legs trembled with the excitement of destroying the being emerging in front of him.
Hibari ducked down into a fighting stance, tonfas out, and ready for blood. Whatever beast showed itself he felt sure the power he could gain by defeating it, or controlling the monstrous flames would be worthwhile. As the storm of raging flames subdued to enclosed a being his narrowed eyes never left the sight in front of him. After the darkness subsided in front of him stood a young girl who appeared to be no older than twenty two. With sharp blue eyes, and long black hair Kyoya would have mistaken her for a normal human if not for the antler like horns protruding from behind her head to frame the sides of the skull until coming to curl near her temples. A long pointed devil's tail swished like a disgruntled cat's behind her. Her body was short, but lanky; over all nothing about screamed power except for the cascading forewarning darkness protruding off the outreaches of her flames.
Not relaxing his fighting stance he stared at the girl as she looked around the room wildly. Before she had the chance to turn her eyes to him he rammed her with a blow aimed for her gut. The being in front of him simply moved her arm to the side as if swatting a fly and soon the dense flames responded sending his body pile driving through the air. Twisting around his feet landed on the wall and he used them to push him back towards the girl. The extra momentum made his next blow, aimed to his assailants head, all the more powerful. She simply ducked. He caught her wide, confused eyes as he brought his right leg around for a kick to her back; it would have dislocated her shoulder, but the flames formed a shield across her back at the contact point. He was forced to jump off the nearly solid flames, and landed a few feet away. Before he could randevu into another attack the door to the training room opened.
The girl took a second to look over the enemy in front of her. He was tall, thin, had narrowed grey eyes, and slightly shaggy black hair. His lanky body was covered in a well fitting suit, and a deep purple undershirt. The gaze he fixed her with was purely predatory; not even when the door opened did he turn his eyes away. The girl in front of him cursed her brain for only being able to voice one thought in this confusing situation, "Damn you're hot."
The short clipping of boots along the white stone floor quickly snached her attention away from the man in front of her. The new man was also dressed in a deep black suit. His steps alluded to his confidence and power. He scrutinized the being in front of him as if he could see completely through her soul. The girl felt her insides squirm with uncertainty; her flames flared out in response and the young man's gaze fell to an understanding and slightly sad sheen.
"Hell flames. Hibari can I see that box?" The voice he spoke with was squeaky, befitting of his tiny body. He watched the girl follow the box in question with interest as it switched hands while being tossed threw the air. Her eyes showed nothing but confusion, and her body was tense still sensing the overpowering need to fight from Hibari. Now that Hibari had finally found an opponent worth fighting with Reborn was sure he wasn't going to give up fighting her easily. Turning the small box over in his hand he noted an unmistakable marking, and knew he had to take responsibility for this. "What's your name?"
The question caught both the girl and Hibari off guard although the later didn't show it where as the girl just pointed stupidly at herself. Hibari was left wondering why Reborn was asking a box weapon for a name; he did think it weird that the box weapon spoke to him; it seemed to have cognitive thoughts and seemed mutely educated. It was obvious that there was something more going on here which is why Hibari never relaxed his fighting position.
Before the girl could respond to the small man's question the door slid open once more and all eyes fell on the blonde who stood stalk still in the doorway. His light eyes were wide as saucers and his mouth hung open until he remembered how to use it. "Chi. Chiharu?!"
The girl in question watched as the man ran forward from the now closing door with arms outstretched. A happy smile was slapped on his face, yet his watery eyes held more confusion than enlightenment. "Who are you?" She asked with a blank look. The man stepped on his own foot and ended up going down to the ground face first. Chiharu felt a tinge of remorse at making a joke of the kind man on the ground, but quickly covered it up with a laugh. "I'm kidding Dino. Whats up?"
The Bucking Bronco quickly jumped up and assaulted her in a bone crushing hug. It was warm and made her feel protected just like when they were growing up. The gesture was filled with love, and she couldn't remember the last time she felt wanted or touched for that matter. The forgetful feeling irked her; what was she doing here? She couldn't remember how she got here, or why the attractive man with black hair looked ready to kill her. She did remember Dino though and wrapped her arms tightly around him in her own binding hug as she relaxed in the feeling and scent of someone she knew. They broke apart as the baby asked, "Chiharu. Chiharu Fujin?" When the girl nodded Reborn threw the box to her and she caught it easily, but looked at it more confused than ever. Why were they giving her a box?
"Chiharu." The girl looked towards the tall blonde man beside her. "I don't understand. Chi you're dead. You died." Dino looked frantic, but his eyes were as hard as stone when he spoke.
"But i'm right here. I'm not dead. See?" Chiharu responded and pinched his arm as hard as she could to prove to him he was not dreaming. Instead of whining and jumping up and down in pain like the old days he stood stock still; the serious face he wore not letting up and becoming dark. Honestly it scared her.
"Chiharu, they found your body. I was there; it was you. I had them run every test they could to make sure. How are you here right now? Why?" Dino bombarded her with questions, but all her ears could hear was that she died. It kept replaying over and over in her head. Dead? But she was right there! It didn't make sense.
Breaking both Dino and the girl out of their separate trances Reborn spoke up, "Miss Fujin what can you remember?"
She thought back. Memories where in scattered bits. She focused as hard as she could, but pieces came out of the fog for her to see: picking herbs for medicine in the woods, heading back to her small hidden cottage away from the civilized town, tending to Dino's injured arm, Dino spilling a bucket of water all over her bed, sitting by the river to replenish the water stock. That was it; that was all she could remember. She opened her mouth to tell them but a searing pain in her head brought her to her knees. Dino crouched down next to her; Hibari feeling like he wouldn't be able to fight today as he hoped picked up the small box that had rolled out of the girl's hands towards him, and leaned against the wall. Vaguely as she was clutching her head she could feel the horns, but it was pushed to the back of her mind as images rushed to her mind like a raging hurricane.
Slowly she stood up; the confusion gone from her face. Hell flames danced wildly swirling around her. Leaning her head to the right she cracked her neck, "Where," She cracked the other side, "the fuck," que the cracking of her knuckles, "Is Verde." Her voice was calm, but the anger could be seen piercing her eyes. Dino was forced to move back a few steps as her switch flipped and her flames flared up. He could really see the demon she appeared to be.
"No one has seen him in years." Reborn attempted to calm the girl. "He might already be dead. He did this right? Was he the one who killed you?"
Chi didn't answer but her flames scorching the ground told everyone in the room what they needed to know. It was obvious that she had become an experiment of the mad scientist. Reborn was sure that the more she could remember the closer they could get to finding the man. By the look in Chi's eyes he was positive that she would try her hardest to find him abet to kill him, but he could work with that.
Suddenly Chi's eyes went wide as she felt an invisible pull to the man in suit leaning against the wall behind her. Her body felt tingly, and somehow she knew what was happening and tried to fight it. "Chi whats-" Dino voiced out when he saw he panicked look on her face, but was forced to shield his eyes as his long lost friend burst into black flames and retreated back into the box Hibari was holding.
Hibari stalked through the base agitated despite himself. He had released Chi in the training room like they had been the past four months, and she had run off again. Over the months since he had the new box weapon he never really got to train with her as every time he allowed her to venture out of the box other Vongola members would run tests until time was up. They found out a lot of information. None of which made Dino happy. Chiharu Fujin was in no way a human; she was most definitely a man made weapon. How the transition from human to weapon was possible was unknown; not even Chi knew the exact details. She could only stay out for as many flames were originally placed in the box; when they ran out so did her time. While in the box she was basically put to sleep, or had no memory of what was going on. Apparently any type of flame could have opened the box initially, but since Hibari was the first one it changed the way it worked; now only cloud attributes could open the small weapon. At the moment she belonged to Hibari; Dino wasn't happy to have his friend taken away again. Hibari on the other hand was getting nowhere in his training as he had come to realise Chiharu was unbelievably sarcastic, rash, and lazy. Which leads to know as he padded down the hallways looking for his sparring partner.
"Dino~ Can you put whipped cream on mine?" came a whiny voice from the kitchen. Along with the overbearing sense of death Hibari pinpointed exactly who was in the room. He turned his agitated eyes to stone and opened the door to see Dino wearing a frilly pink apron with a plate of pancakes in his hand, piled with whipped cream and strawberries. The blonde boss had been spending a lot of time in the base lately for "work" as he called it. Chiharu sensed Hibari behind her and felt her hair stand on end. She jumped forward like a cat and snatched the pancakes from a surprised Dino's hand. "My pancakes!"
"Oh hey Kyoya." Din gave a small wave to the young man the girl behind him was hiding from, and currently stuffing her face with the pancakes he just made. He let out a nervous laugh scratching the back of his head. "If you're looking for Chi-Chan she, uhh, went that way?" His voice was more of a question as he pointed to the right. All Hibari did was raise an eyebrow and lean against the door frame waiting. When Chi saw that Hibari didn't plan on leaving she pushed Dino towards him and watched him trip over his feet in confusion as he nearly landed on Hibari who side stepped out of the way. What he failed to realise was he stepped away from the doorway. Chi as if coming out of Dino's shadow raced out the door before Hibari could get his hands on her. He quickly gave chase as Dino laughed from the floor. Over the past few weeks he became use to being used as his friend's shield; not that he minded.
The next week after she had run Kyoya found her sleeping by the side of a random hallway. He stared at her for a quick second. Memorising the curve of her face, or how the silken fabric of the kimono she wore encased her thin form, how her long dark eyelashes visibly twitched as she dreamed. For that short moment he harbored no animosity towards the elusive girl, but it didn't last long before he meandered over to her and yanked on her horn. To his surprise the dark flames didn't stop him, and she jumped up in confusion. Wasting no time he grabbed the collar of her elegant kimono and began dragging her back to the training room.
She began struggling like usual. "No. I don't wanna train! You haven't let me out in two days Kyoya! I wanna eat and sleep and have fun with Dino and Yamamoto! Are you listening Kyoya? You haven't feed me in two days!" She wasn't even particularly hungry. Apparently the dead didn't need to eat, but for some reason they still needed to prove a point.
Paying no mind to her antics he simply dragged her down the winding hallways where she liked to nap. That was until she stopped struggling all together. Expecting that she had finally given up like last time he was surprised to feel her weight double. Stopping his advancement he sighed as saw her sitting down, and using flames to weigh herself to the floor. If he were to pull they would act as door stops to keep her from sliding across the floor. If she wasn't worthwhile for his training he would have thrown the box away weeks ago. To her surprise instead of getting frustrated and beating her like he had before he picked her up with one arm; the next thing she knew she was being held against his chest bridal style. Ciharu started pouting, "You're no fun Kyoya." The man in question simply looked forward and continued walking to the training area. "You need to loosen up more!" Chi huffed angrily as she frowned.
If Hibari bothered to look down he would have seen the slow smile making it's way to her face; he would have noticed that the usual dark foreboding flames took on a much more Impish personality. "Like this." Chi stated and shifted up slightly to place a hand on his cheek and her lips on his. His walking stopped, but he didn't make a move back. As she pulled away she laughed slightly at the blank look on his face. Was he starstruck? She doubted it; confused made more sense. Her last thought before vanishing back into her box as time ran out was, 'I hope Dino never hears of this. He'd never let me live it down.'
At the weightless feeling in his arms Hibari let his arms down and continued to the training area. Obviously Chiharu Fujin was not going to be of help today, so he would track down Dino to get his frustration out. As he kept walking; he couldn't deny the bubbling feeling expanding in his stomach, and ran a rough hand threw his dark locks. The quiet man's silent footsteps faded back into the base, and a quiet woman's laugh made its way out of the dark feeling emitted by the box weapon he carried.
