Title: Ten Carnivores
Characters/Pairings: Hibari
Summary: Hibari's taxonomy of the carnivorous fauna of the mafia.
Notes: General audiences. For Round III of KHRfest, prompt II-51. Hibari – different kinds of carnivores; Hibari's thoughts on Tsuna and the other Vongola guardians. 1000 words.
Ten Carnivores
I. Dino Cavallone
Cavallone has an odd way of seeming harmless in one moment and sliding seamlessly into showing his fangs the next. But all his strength is given to protecting his people, which makes no sense. A person should be either a carnivore or a herd animal, not both.
It is Cavallone who laughs at his frustration, and tells him that there are many kinds of carnivores, some of which even form packs. It is a strange idea, though Kyouya supposes it goes a long way towards explaining Cavallone's peculiarities.
Kyouya hates to admit it, but Cavallone is smarter than he acts.
II. Gokudera Hayato
Gokudera barely counts as a carnivore at all, though Kyouya supposes that he's sharp and canny enough in his own right. Nevertheless, there is something of the herd animal in Gokudera. He has, Kyouya decides, upon reflection, been domesticated, and is pleased by his metaphor. Gokudera is a dog--Sawada's dog--and Kyouya has see his like before in the slinking strays who are fierce because they have been kicked too many times, and are fiercely loyal to anyone who is able to earn their trust.
Gokudera is only interesting in conjunction with Sawada, and even then, only in passing.
III. Yamamoto Takeshi
At first Kyouya thought that Yamamoto was just another of the herd animals. Then he thought that Yamamoto might be another of Sawada's dogs.
He thinks, now, that Yamamoto is a proper carnivore in his own right. But he's a stealthy one who pretends that he is nothing more than a mere sheep in wolf's clothes, rather than it being the other way around. He seems to take some obscure pleasure from it. Kyouya doesn't understand, really, but as long as it doesn't keep Yamamoto from baring his fangs, he supposes that he does not take exception to the charade.
IV. Lambo
Kyouya has no interest at all in cubs of any stripe, and so the calf barely interests him at all, except as a very small, unpleasantly damp source of noise pollution. There is, Kyouya supposes, given the fact that Sawada gave the calf a ring, the possibility that the calf will grow into something that is strong and fierce. He is strong, as cubs go. But potentialities hold no interest for Kyouya; realities are much more useful to him. Until the day that the calf can demand, and keep, his attention, Kyouya has no intention of giving it to him.
V. Rokudou Mukuro
Kyouya has never looked at Mukuro as anything but a carnivore, though not a warm-blooded one. Mukuro is a serpent who lies coiled and hidden behind his illusions and camouflages, and Kyouya is perfectly willing to acknowledge that Mukuro is dangerous.
He will kill Mukuro someday, and he means to be thorough about it. But until the day he can make it stick, he will sharpen his fangs against Mukuro's and learn to see clearly through the Mist. He will not suffer himself to be mastered by another ever again. Nor will he allow Mukuro to laugh at him forever.
VI. Xanxus
Xanxus cannot be mistaken for anything but a predator gone rabid, a wolf who has been locked in a cage and run mad from it.
Xanxus is uncomplicated, a walking scream of rage, all broken edges and sharp fangs. Kyouya likes that about him. Fighting him was the only thing Kyouya found the least bit satisfying about the business with the rings, and he still resents that they did not finish their fight then.
Kyouya might even be willing to leave Namimori one of these days, if he could be certain that they would be able to finish their fight.
VII. Dokuro Chrome
Kyouya does not entirely know what he thinks of Chrome. She is one of Mukuro's people--his proxy, in fact--but Kyouya has begun to think that it does not necessarily follow that she is his creature.
If that is so--Kyouya has not yet made up his mind--then he thinks that she needs to learn to use her own strength. It is not inconsiderable, he supposes, even if it is of the Mist, and she should learn to use it properly. When--if--she does, he thinks, she might even become worth his attention in her own right.
VIII. Sasagawa Ryouhei
Kyouya supposes that the world has its place for buffoons, though he does not suffer them gladly. There is something in Sasagawa's idiot obliviousness that sets Kyouya's teeth on edge; he marvels at the fact that one man can manage to be as unrelentingly genial as Sasagawa does. It lacks dignity, which Kyouya resents.
Were it not for the fact that Sasagawa really is nearly as strong as he thinks he is, Kyouya would have bitten him to death long ago, purely for the sake of his principles.
Some days, when peace is in short supply, he reconsiders that decision.
IX. Reborn
The baby is a carnivore, through and through; one has only to look at the unblinking brightness of his eyes to recognize as much.
Kyouya longs for the day when he will be able to test his strength against Reborn's properly. It will be a good fight. But he is willing to wait for it, though not particularly patiently, first because he wants to see what the baby will make of Sawada.
Second, there are some things that deserve to be savored, and anticipation only whets the appetite. If a fight with Reborn doesn't deserve to be savored, nothing does.
X. Sawada Tsunayoshi
Sawada began as a mere herbivore; Kyouya knows this to be true. But Sawada has not stayed that way, which isn't something that Kyouya would have expected from him. Now he has fangs that even Kyouya is willing to treat cautiously, although Sawada only ever bares them in defense of his herd.
Kyouya isn't entirely certain that it's proper for someone to evolve as significantly as Sawada has, though he can't deny that it's an improvement. Nor can he deny that there is a part of him that is very curious to see where Sawada's evolution will take him next.
end
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