That particular winter was becoming a burden hard to bear. Hibari Kyoya had started to realize it from the first moment he set foot back to Namimori after New Year's. Under its frozen weight his own world seemed all the more like thin ice, glass that was slowly cracking, ready to break in a moment's notice. Maybe it was the cold he unexpectedly caught, maybe it was the lingering childishness of his sixteen years, an effect of the weather in his mood, or any possible -and impossible- combination of the former, but that morning there was something 'different'.
The impact on him was barely noticeable, and that only if you payed close attention to what he was doing all day. He didn't glare to anyone, didn't appear unexpectedly in front of anyone, didn't issue any form of any orders to the disciplinary committee, accuse anyone of crowding or pull his tonfa out threatening to bite people to death. That morning Hibari Kyoya was unexpectedly silent, as if lost in deep, dreary thoughts. Of course nobody had the guts to directly address him to ask that. If they did they might have really gotten that biting after all. Of course what they would be unable to know would be that the biting was directed by pure confusion and frustration not at the question stated but the lack of answer thereof.
The cold outside was deep and biting when Kyoya decided to leave his classroom at the end of the day and go cool his head off. 'Cool' was too light a word, however, for the kind of temperature outside. 'Freeze' was reflecting quite better on reality on the moment. Kyoya thought that to himself while he made his way for the school rooftop.
The wind, when he arrived at his destination, threatened to drop him off balance. Even 'freeze' couldn't perfectly describe this cosmogony, Kyoya thought to himself, staring at the odd image of his neighborhood clad in the thick, yet gossamer grey veils of mist and snow getting blown in the wind. The clouds hanging in the sky where heavy, as if they were about to descend and crush the world under their weight. Of course that wasn't about to happen, but that was his impression all of a sudden.
All of this started a good month ago, as December was making its entrance. However this could only be described as an assault, not an entrance. Even in Japan, where cold temperature never reaches extreme levels, December is regarded as one of the coldest months. No one was prepared for what hit that particular year though. It almost looked like the rage of some god on mankind. -Not that Kyoya would blame the particular god of being mad at mankind. Everything seemed to be spiralling downwards as of lately...-. At first it started raining, it was a cold unforgiving rain. And after several days of rain, came hail... until suddenly -as suddenly it all began- everything ceased. Timidly, people started making their appearance out in the streets again, going to their everyday routines normally. But this chaos was still far from over.
The downpour was replaced by a northern wind howling like a vengeful demon, carrying this freezing chills on its shoulders. Soon the sky became hidden by thick clouds bringing snow and the mist, created by all this water in the snow and freezing ice melting by the heat down in the streets engulfed everything.
Kyoya threw himself against the protective wire fence that was raised around the rooftop making the drops of water nested on it fall on him. He didn't seem to mind it too much despite the chill that momentarily ran down his spine. Dark eyes scanned the area in front of him. There was a weight on his chest. A weight that wouldn't lift. The feeling of premonition that 'something wicked this way comes'.
The rueful notes of a piano's melody drifted in his ears. Somehow the music glided on the wind and could be heard over the continuous howl. For a moment it eased his mind, to the point he found himself smiling at it. Someone must have left one of the windows to the music room open. His fingers dug in his pocket and eventually came out with his cell phone. He was about to send a text message to the disciplinary committee, to get over his current state of unnamed depression and forget all about it when his gaze caught a glimpse of the clock on the small, luminous LCD screen. School hours were over, the club activities were already finished... no one should be... could be... in the music room right now.
Pulling his tonfa out he made a run for it, in the same time it was maybe the first time he was feeling nervous while doing it. He had stayed overtime in Namimori many a time, there was nobody that would possibly undergo the danger of being found out by him inside at such an hour. Then... what was it? A ghost? ...Kyoya didn't believe in ghosts. He jumped down the stairs trying to minimize the time it would take him to cover the distance between him and that accursed room.
He was nearing there, he was crossing the last few meters to the door, when the music came to soft halt as if the performer had just finished their piece. He felt the blood freeze in his veins, now running like liquid chill through his body. Did whoever it was in that room hear him coming...? How was this even possible? He stood still and held his breath. He heard the sound of footsteps gently walking in the room, then for some reason stopping, as if uncertain. That was his opportunity. He dashed forward like a spring that was released after suppressed for a bit too long and slammed the door open.
At the same moment Kyoya opened the door to the music room, two more events took place simultaneously triggered -or not triggered- by the door's opening. The window at the other side of the room was opened just a moment before Kyoya entered the room, thus allowing to whoever was in the room to escape before the Namimori prefect had any chance to see who it was for himself. The wind current created by rushing through the window and the door directly opposite of it made the glass panels of the window rattle and it blew it knocked a vase sitting on the nearby table on the floor.
It was a vase, made of simple glass that Kyoya hadn't happened upon before in this room. Maybe it was the music teacher's. It was no use pondering though as the vase was already broken, the water previously inside gushing out like blood from a mortal wound. It was surprising, the way he had paid attention to the wind's howl and the music just a few moments ago but now the sound of the glass breaking didn't appeal to him at all.
Kyoya walked over to the window and closed it. The sound of the wind faded away and remained outside. He took a few moments to scan the school grounds bellow for any person in sight -the culprit- but he saw none. Pulling the curtains closed, he turned to inspect the 'scene of the crime' closer. Walking over to the piano he gently touched the seat in front of it with his fingertips. The firm leather was warm as if someone was sitting there all along. He allowed his palm to press against the smooth surface, feeling it better. It was definitely warm, someone really was there until just a few moments ago. Suddenly the odd sensation that someone was watching him sent a chill down his spine -or maybe it was just the cold-. His intuition was quite good, after all. He pulled his fingers away as quickly as he possibly could and turned around to watch the room again.
His stare met the nothingness.
Taking a deep breath he attempted to smell the air for any other person in the room. He only picked up his own, so familiar scent -of his skin, and his hair and his clothes and the winter's chill from outside- and one that vaguely brought to mind roses.
...Roses? It confused him for a single second then he found his answer by pure logic. He walked to the broken vase and bent down, smelling the air again. The scent was stronger this time. He had imagined it correctly, after all. Rosewater... nothing suspicious, but then again... the hell had rosewater to do with anything? He sighed, before getting up, his eyes catching a glimpse of his fragmented reflection on the shattered pieces of glass.
Hibari Kyoya walked the lonely hallways of his school to the janitor's room, picked a mop and bucket and walked back to the music room. Nothing had changed, the culprit really was gone and his presence probably scared him enough that he didn't dare to return. He cleaned up after the mess, made a mental note to keep close track of all the students that entered and exited the music room starting tomorrow and, making a detour to retrieve his bag from his classroom, turned off the lights and headed out.
The merciless, biting cold ate away at him the moment he was out of the school's door. He had forgotten about it for a little while back there, the adrenaline rush and the still-lingering heat of the school's interior, plotting against it. Of course it wasn't like the cold would stop him. Kyoya would make it through the violent snowstorm if only by sheer will. And so, he marched ahead, head bent low to protect against the wind that made his hair whip his cheeks harshly. He couldn't open an umbrella in this weather, it would be crazy, so the only thing to distract him for a while was watching the small frosted clouds his breath created as it met the atmosphere.
He had been walking for a while now, far more slower than he would in normal weather -that was just as much as he could do- and he was barely feeling the cold anymore, his whole body numbing slowly. Of course he knew this was no good. This didn't mean he could stop it either. And of course he'd never admit it could possibly be a bad idea, walking back home all alone, this late, in this snowstorm.
His savior came in the form of a person he hadn't planned seeing that day, nor was in any particular hurry to see again. A black Mercedes with Italian signs pulled off beside him on the pavement while he was walking, the back window opening to reveal the familiar face of a blond man in his twenties, a grimace of disbelief etched on its features.
"Kyoya!"
There was a tinge of worry in that voice, not that it didn't belong there. After all the man was faced with his drenched student, walking alone under these conditions, seemingly freezing to death. Said student seemed slightly irritated by the teacher's appearance and didn't make a single motion to enter the car even when gestured to. That ended up with the blond having to come out to pull him in the car, surprisingly meeting little to no opposition from the violent teenager.
Dino, tenth don of the Cavallone... this man was Hibari Kyoya's tutor. However, Kyoya did not seem that acquainted to him, or particularly happy to see him. He had resorted into acknowledging Dino's existence after the events of not so long ago... but that was it. He also didn't like the fact that Dino would eventually start asking stupid questions from moment to moment.
"What were you doing outside in this weather?"
"Nn." he replied, not wanting to explain anything even though it wasn't as big a deal. He could always had simply said he was at school late and was going home... but for some odd reason he didn't. He heard Dino heaving a sigh of pure exasperation and a small smirk curved the edge of his lip. Dino noticed and scowled at the teen's action. Of course there was nothing he could do about it. Dino leaned forward and speaking quickly he told the driver -Kyoya knew it was Romario- something in Italian, then sank back in his seat.
"So why where you out in this weather?"
That question again.
"Going home..." Kyoya replied casting his stare out of the window. Dino should have figured that much himself anyway. For the remaining distance no more were exchanged, it was more like Dino talking and him listening. He didn't mind terribly, his thoughts fluttering away from the sound of the man's voice, back to the melody of the piano in Namimori.
His clothes were still drenched, the coldness was spreading from his flesh to his bones making him feel like he was sick, the numbness accompanying that feeling gave birth to the demanding desire to sleep. The car pulled to a halt right about then and he found himself being urged to get off by Dino. With sluggish movements, hindered by his current body state Kyoya obeyed without saying anything. Dino leaned in towards the front window, said something more in italian and then walked back to Kyoya as the car started its engines and left.
Kyoya cast an ominous glare at Dino. Did the man seriously wish to stay at his place without even asking for his permission? He didn't remember inviting him in either. The blond apparently noticed that early and grinned innocently.
"I'll call Romario to pick me up later!!" he exclaimed.
No matter how Hibari looked like nothing but a wet kitten right now, he was still a kitten that could bite you down pretty well if you provoked it enough. And that been said, it was rather easy to provoke Kyoya Hibari. That been said and done Hibari walked up ahead and unlocked the door to his home.
That night he and Dino Cavallone had soba Kyoya cooked and after that they saw a crappy horror film in Kyoya's small television, accompanied by Dino's hopeless attempts at not being scared and Kyoya's own remarks that if Dino was so soft to not be able to even handle something such as that then it was a disgrace to having been once beaten by him as well as if he didn't stop whining he'd be bitten to death.
The morning found Dino sleeping in Kyoya's couch while the teen prepared breakfast and left for school, leaving a note for Dino not to DARE even attempt to do the dishes and disappear off the face of the earth before he was home.
Of course, at the time, Kyoya couldn't have known that his everyday routine, his life, could ever be taken away from him. He had still a long way to go before he would finally come to the realization he was living in a glass world.