Guess who's back! I finally found my 1886 muse and this story I dedicate to Asumi Ayumi who had requested it. I really hope you like it and I have kept my promise. I have not abandoned 1886. I will write for them again. I hope you like it, but please let me know what you think? Many thanks :)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own KHR nor do I claim any rights to it or any of the characters or locations depicted in this fan fiction story that you may recognise from the anime/manga. I am only responsible for the plot and the OC and nothing else.
"Okay, a deal is a deal. Haru has to do the dare."
Hana crossed her arms thinking of a particularly good dare for Haru. Kyoko cheered with an ominously cheerful smile. Chrome sat quietly beside Hana not quite so intent on subjecting Haru to any torture.
"It has to be a good one," she said patting Haru's shoulder.
"Ano... we're friends, right? So you won't give me something hard to do... right?" she said wringing her fingers at the prospect of being made to do something embarrassing.
"We can't do that, that would be going against the universal laws of a dare." said Kyoko.
"Maybe you could dance for the boys," said Hana musing over her milkshake, "I have a gorgeous belly-dancer outfit that would fit you just right..."
Haru paled and turned to Kyoko for help.
"No, Tsuna-kun shouldn't see that. I'm sure you wouldn't want Ryohei-kun looking at another girl, no offence Haru." Haru shook her head confirming that she hadn't taken offence.
"I know! We should make her kiss someone!"
Haru paled further and she felt like her heart had stopped. Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad. It was much better than dancing for the guys. She would have died of embarrassment at that anyway. This was better... only, who was she going to kiss?
"Hmm... Not Tsuna-kun or Ryohei-kun. So, Mukuro-kun?" asked Kyoko
"No, he's out of town anyway," replied Hana. Haru looked from one girl to the other. Were they serious about this? She would never be able to live it down!
"Gokudera-kun!" exclaimed Kyoko.
"Even I wouldn't kiss him. He's out of the question."
"Yamamoto-san? He's sweet."
"And that is exactly the problem. It would be too easy..."
"That rules out Lambo-chan too. So who do we have left?"
The two girls looked at each other and came to the same conclusion that Haru had although she prayed that they hadn't. She'd gone through the process of elimination and come down to the choices of Gokudera; who would blow her to pieces if she came too close, or...
"Hibari-san!"
Haru's stomach sunk. She had no luck today. She'd lost the mini-challenge she and her friends had set and now she had to pay the price. It wasn't very fair but she couldn't argue. When it was their turn, Hana and Kyoko would also do their dares.
But now she had to kiss Hibari!
"Ano, isn't that dangerous?" asked Kyoko belatedly showing some concern. Chrome who had remained quiet until this moment chose to speak.
"No, Kumo-san is not that bad. He won't beat up Haru-chan," she said with a reassuring smile at her. Haru took a deep breath and took Chrome's hand. If she could avoid this at all, she would. Still, the prospect of kissing Hibari... She flushed and grabbed her shake from the table and took a long drink. At least it couldn't get any worse...
"How will we know if she did kiss him?"
"We can hide somewhere and watch..." mused Hana. Haru paled further. She would have an audience?!
"Too risky... Maybe she can get something from him to show us that she did kiss him."
"What would she get though? I don't think he'd give her his Vongola gear..."
"I know, she'll get his prefect's band!"
Haru groaned. Why didn't they just ask her to challenge Ryohei to a boxing match while she was at it? Lord knows it would have been easier to win that than go through with this dare and hope to survive unharmed. So much for her theory of things not getting that much worse. Kyoko smiled in agreement.
"Don't worry Haru-chan. It will be fun!" How would they know? They weren't the ones being thrown to the lions, thought Haru glumly.
"So it's decided. Haru will kiss Hibari-san and she will have to get his prefect band to prove it!"
*.*.*.*.*.*.*
For the rest of the next morning, Haru worried herself sick at the prospect of approaching the grim prefect. She couldn't come to the school to see him since she wasn't one of the students there, but she could after hours. That was when, Kyoko and Hana told her, Hibari took his nap in the prefect's room. If she could manage to sneak in there and get the arm band and kiss him, she would have completed her dare.
She had done just that and Haru trembled as she stood outside the door to the prefect's room. She had been dreading this all day and now the time had come and she had no idea how she was going to pull this off. She shut her eyes praying for a miracle of any kind – anything to stop her having to go in there and make a fool of herself to the one person who didn't seem to particularly like practical jokes.
"Miura-san?" came a voice from behind her.
She jumped slightly and turned with a startled "Hahi!"
Kusakabe was looking down at her concerned. "Can I help you? Hibari-san is napping and he doesn't like to be disturbed."
Haru coloured. No, Hibari wouldn't like that at all!
"Ano, I mean... there was just something I..." she paused in her explanation, an idea forming in her head. She didn't have to die today! She didn't even have to go near Hibari at all! Here was the answer to her fervent prayers!
She cast a quick look around and then dragged Kusakabe into the nearest classroom and shut the door behind them.
"I seem... to have a bit of a problem. I was wondering if you could help me?" she said wondering if he would do it at all. During their time in the future, she had interacted with him only briefly. Still, she would have liked to think that all of them had gotten that much closer with all that they had been through in that time.
She took a deep breath and explained the problem to him. Kusakabe listened and then nodded with a sympathetic smile. He understood her plight at least.
"And how would you like me to help you then?" he asked.
"Well, since you have the same arm band as Hibari's I was wondering if I could... you know, borrow it for the day. I'll have it back to you tomorrow, I promise!" Kusakabe sighed and was about to refuse. If Hibari-san found out, it would be his neck!
"Please Kusakabe-san. If I go in there and take Hibari's arm band, who knows what he'll do to me! I will have interrupted his nap and he'll be even angrier with me!"
Kusakabe sighed and conceded. She did seem to be in a hard situation. He couldn't exactly ignore his own orders from Hibari and let her go into the room when his boss did not wish to be disturbed. That would be asking for trouble. Well, he could let it go just this once. He always kept a spare for emergencies in his locker so he would give her that one, he told her.
She jumped with glee and threw her arms around him in a hug.
"Thank you so much! I can't thank you enough Kusakabe-san. I promise you won't regret this!" she said. He cleared his throat once and turned abruptly towards the door to avoid her seeing his mild embarrassment. As long as it kept the peace, he didn't mind helping her.
They walked into the hallway and when they got to Kusakabe's locker, he gave her his extra arm band. She smiled and hugged him again then turned and headed for the exit. Another prefect came to stand beside him. He had seen the whole scenario.
"Really now, Kusakabe-san, why did you give that girl your arm band? I know she's pretty but if Hibari-san finds out..."
"I know," said Kusakabe looking the way Haru had gone, "it's a long story." His friend smiled and Kusakabe simply sighed. He might as well tell him since he wouldn't leave him alone otherwise. If Haru returned the band on time, there would be no problem at all.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*
Haru skipped happily to the café where she was meeting her friends. There was a triumphant grin on her face as she walked to her friends' table. She sat down and ordered a club soda then turned a bright smile to her friends.
"Well, did you do it?" asked Hana.
"Of course! From now on you should call me Haru-sama! I braved the lion's den and I have come out victorious! Ha ha!" she said pulling the arm band out of her bag. Kyoko and Hana stared at the band looking from it to Haru and back.
"I didn't think you'd actually do it," said Hana impressed.
"I know right? So, how was the kiss?" asked Kyoko.
"K... kiss?" said Haru, her cheeks staining.
"You did kiss Hibari-san, right? How was it?"
"Ano, it was... how should I say this... sweet?"
"Sweet? I didn't think Hibari-san likes sweet things... Maybe you two will start going out now!" exclaimed Kyoko clapping her hands. Haru turned a deeper shade of red. She grabbed the band from the table and stuffed it in her bag not wishing to explore the subject further.
"That's a secret," she said with a finger over her lips. Kyoko cheered and Hana smiled. There would be a bit of poking and prodding, but the subject would eventually change. The sooner she gave the prefect's band back, the better.
It was bad enough that Haru couldn't go through with the dare and had to lie to her friends about it. She wasn't very good with lies after all. Now she would have to face the consequences of this by defacing Hibari's name as well? This wouldn't end well at all.
The next morning, Haru walked Kyoko and Hana to school. At the gates, she met with Kusakabe and handed him a book with the prefect's band between the pages.
"Thank you for letting me borrow this," she said, "it was very helpful."
"I'm just glad you brought it back before Hibari-san found out," he said with a smile. He waved at her until she was out of sight then turned to find Hibari himself standing behind him.
"What were you talking about Kusakabe-san?" he asked eyeing his deputy carefully.
"Nothing Kyo-san. She just wanted to hand back something she borrowed."
"I see," replied Hibari. He watched Haru's retreating back then turned around to leave himself. It probably didn't concern him anyway, what his deputy did in his spare time, but he'd been keeping an eye on this particular girl. Perhaps they were going out? It didn't matter. It shouldn't matter. Determined to prove so to himself, he released the death grip he had on his tonfas.
Kusakabe breathed a sigh of relief once Hibari had turned the corner and was safely out of earshot. That was a very close call. The sooner he got the arm band to his locker, the better.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*
"Can you believe it? If Hibari-sama found out, there would be hell to pay!"
"All for a girl? Of course he would be in trouble."
"Explain yourselves," came an ominous voice in the doorway. The disciplinary committee members stiffened in fright then turned to meet the cold hard gaze of their boss.
"It... it's nothing, Hibari-sama. I just heard something."
"This is the third mention I've heard of things I don't know about. You will tell me here and now or face the consequences," he said wielding his tonfas. The two members straightened and spoke at once.
"A girl came here yes... yesterday evening and... he... that is, they..."
"I'm sure she had a good reason... and Kusakabe too..."
"In Japanese," came the curt order from the now very irritated prefect.
"Y... yes sir! I saw Kusakabe-san give his prefect's band to a girl yesterday sir!"
Hibari looked at the one who had spoken for such a long time that he began to wonder if he should have said anything at all. Hibari was not one to be lenient with his discipline. Poor Kusakabe would be in for it now.
"Leave. If I find you slacking off again, I will bite you to death," said Hibari putting away his tonfas. So that was it. He wondered which girl this could possibly be since Kusakabe didn't really interact with girls that often...
He remembered the scene he'd witnessed that morning.
Stalking the halls a moment later was a very irritated skylark hunting for his deputy. Students jumped out of his way. What surprised everyone was the fact that even those who were not quick enough to get out of the way were not even given a second glance. They watched him walk away from them, a little confused and very wary, sure in their hearts that whomever it was that Hibari had set his heart on hunting was not going to live very long.
Hana watched him walk past the group of boys misbehaving in the hallway without looking at them once. They had immediately turned and walked to class afraid that Hibari would turn around and take care of them anyway, but he had walked down the hall and turned the corner without turning back once.
"Nee, Kyoko, does it seem like Hibari is in a worse mood than usual today?"
"He does seem to be very upset about something. I wonder if it has anything to do with that dare..."
"Who knows?" said Hana shrugging and she went back to telling Kyoko about her weekend plans.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*
"Explain."
"Kyo-san?"
"What were you doing with Haru yesterday?"
"Oh, that. I am sorry. You weren't meant to have heard about that."
"That is not the point. What did she want?"
Kusakabe sighed. He'd learned, over the years, that with Kyo-san, honesty was everything. The fact that he had not pulled out his tonfas to bite him to death was testament to that. Since he had been found out, however, he might as well explain it fully to Hibari.
When he was through with the explanation, Hibari turned and walked away.
"You will come with me to Midori Middle School this afternoon. Be at the school gates by one and not a minute later."
Kusakabe nodded his assent and sighed again. Haru would not be very happy with Hibari or himself for that matter. However, he was encouraged that as he had explained, and unfamiliar expression had crossed Hibari's features briefly before being replaced by his normally cool façade.
If nothing else, this promised to be a very interesting trip.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*
Haru heard the commotion in the hallway and the news spread faster than whatever was causing the commotion was going through the school halls.
"I hear there are boys in the school. I also heard they're going to be the first to attend here when the school becomes co-ed. Wouldn't that be nice Haru-chan?"
"I don't know. I don't mind boys, but wouldn't so many things have to change?" she replied leaning her chin in her palm thoughtfully.
"They're going class by class. I heard one of them is looking for a girl he likes and he's going to propose to her!"
"Oh come on! Like the teachers would allow that!"
"I heard he came to confess his love... isn't that romantic?"
"Have you seen how handsome he is?"
"Maybe he's a model scout and he heard about my ravishing beauty."
"They're from Namimori Middle School!" cried another and that brought a fresh bout of speculation. Haru froze and as sure as she knew her own name, she knew that whoever it was was here for her. The foreboding she sensed was also as real. She rose from her desk ignoring all the questions her friends were asking and began walking. Her feet carried her out of the classroom and into the hallway.
"Miura Haru."
She heard the voice and knew its owner before she had even turned around. Hibari Kyoya strode up to her and she waited for the embarrassing lecture she would no doubt have to face. The girls all gave him a wide berth what with his killing intent. They peered through their class windows and doors at the strange visitor and his friend with the funny hairstyle. A few tittered and whispered to him but Kusakabe managed to maintain a calm exterior.
If the teacher hadn't followed them, Hibari would not have bothered with the halls at all. These girls had very little sense of self preservation. A number of them had already tried to get his attention and been ignored completely. Hibari was a man on a mission and nothing was going to stop him. Even now he didn't break his stride once as he walked up to Haru.
Right there, in the sight of at least a hundred jealous girls, Hibari tilted Haru's face up and kissed her quite firmly on the lips. For a moment everything went silent. Haru blinked as Hibari pulled away. She met his stormy grey eyes and blinked. He then did something she would never forget.
He took the arm band off his coat and handed it to her.
"Next time be more honest," he said and turned to leave. Kusakabe looked from Haru and back then ran after Hibari leaving poor Haru to the consequences of his actions. She slumped against the wall and slid down it feeling her legs turn to jelly. She looked down at the red and gold cloth labelled 'discipline.' He had given it to her of his own free will too!
She chuckled then and touched her lips as she laughed at the positive ridiculousness of it all! She'd gone so far as lying to her friends for that same arm band. Hibari Kyoya had just walked into her school, come right up to her and k... ki...
She flushed to think about it. He had told her to be more honest next time... did that mean he wanted there to be a next time? She covered her mouth to hide her smile while all the other girls around her glared, sneered or confronted her about what had just happened.
"I didn't know he was your boyfriend Haru-chan. You should have told me he was so hot!"
"I'm jealous of Haru... I want a boyfriend now."
"Nee, nee, do you know anything about his friend Haru?"
"I don't see why he should like someone like her anyway. I'm much prettier than she is..."
The conversations continued around Haru but she clutched the arm band to her and smiled. Who knew that Hibari's kiss would actually be sweet?
*.*.*.*.*.*.*
"Kiss me," said Haru playfully nudging Hibari. He had been reading his book quietly on the steps of the back porch then she had come to sit beside him. Now she was giving him silly requests. He raised an eyebrow looking at her from over his book. He turned the page and ignored her again.
"Come on, Haru wants a kiss. I have a lot to do today and I won't get it done without my kiss!" she said in a mock pout. She saw his lips quirk in mild amusement though he still didn't look up. A mischievous gleam came to her eyes and a smile broke on her face.
"If you don't kiss Haru now, she's never going to kiss you again-desu!"
He did look up then and met her eyes. There was defiance there and stubbornness and a bit of triumph. Without warning, he pulled her into his lap, his book falling to the step below them.
"Is that a threat?" he asked. Not giving her a chance to reply, he claimed her lips as he kissed her senseless. His arms wrapped around her, holding her firmly to him. She sighed and kissed him back tasting once more the sweetness of her fiancé's kisses.
"There now," she said breathlessly when he pulled away, "was that so hard?"
"No, but now I'm not letting you go," he replied smugly. She really shouldn't have taunted him at all. She would have gotten a lot more done today.
"But I have work to do and I..." she gasped when he kissed her neck.
"No, you are going spend the whole day with me today," he murmured nipping her skin.
"But I..."
"I dare you," he replied. Hibari had never really been playful but sometimes, he'd found, it came to his advantage as far as the smiling woman in his arms was concerned. As if to prove his point, she smirked and turned to straddle him wrapping her arms around his neck.
"That's not very fair," she said playfully. A moment later, with his hands on her hips and his lips hot on hers, she had no desire to go anywhere after all...