Author: Nerrin from Livejournal

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Rating: PG-13 at most

Character/Pairing(s): Mukuro and Hibari. Implied? (Chrome as a minor character)

Warning(s): Idea has been done half to death. And OOC. And my writing. More so interaction than descriptions.

Summary: Hibari still refuses Mukuro's idea of infiltrating the Millefiore.

A/N: Dedicated to heavy from Livejournal.

Chrome Dokuro sits cross-legged on the floor, hands folded delicately over her lap and a quiet sort of resolution burning in her amethyst eyes.

Hibari Kyoya is seated across from her at the table, decked in his customary black kimono. His eyes are studying the woman as intently as a hawk's.

"State your business," he quietly intones, watching as she bites down hesitantly on her bottom-lip, as though arguing with an inner-presence as to what exactly should she say. For all Hibari knew, she was.

Chrome averts her gaze from the man. Hibari keeps both hands folded on his lap, clearly unimpressed. "You specifically requested an audience with me to go over the plans for the Millefiore, did you not?" he asks.

He listens to the faint gurgling of the makeshift-spring in the adjacent room, and to the dead, ringing silence in a place where there is no wind. This is why he hates returning to this place. It's suffocating.

"…Yes," she looks up, her voice so quiet and soft that Hibari has to strain his well-trained ears to even catch what she is saying.

"If you're not going to say anymore, then I shall take my leave," Hibari stands up, strict and proper and as straight-laced as ever. "Do not call me ever again under the assumption that I will bother to wait an entire day for what you have to say."

He turns about on his heel, a whirl of black fabric – and with hasty steps, closes the distance between himself and the nearest exit. He still had a few final arrangements he had to make and details to settle.

So caught up in his own thoughts, Hibari Kyoya doesn't hear the faint rustling of someone moving behind him – as such, it comes very much to his surprise when he feels someone's hand gripping tightly on his right wrist.

It's too strong.

Too strong to be Chrome's.

"Rokudo Mukuro, let go of my wrist," Hibari growls, without looking back.

"Oh?" the low chuckle behind him is more than enough to affirm Hibari's remaining doubts. "You knew?"

"She couldn't possibly be this strong," Hibari whirls around angrily, jerking his hand free of Mukuro's grip and glaring into the illusionist's mismatched eyes. "Was it you who called me, and not her?"

Mukuro raises an eyebrow. "Touché. And it took you this long to figure out?" he teases, mockingly.

"What do you want?" Hibari crosses both arms over his chest, hovering about the exit, halfway into the corridor.

Mukuro shrugs, mild exasperation flashing itself for an instant across his ever-placid features. "You still refuse my suggestion of infiltrating the base?"

Hibari shakes his head, lips pulled in a thin, grim line. "No," he stares up at Mukuro and meets the other man's eyes. The latter's expression seems to say I knew he wouldn't agree, and Hibari snorts to himself, wondering why Mukuro had come to ask something so presumptuous if he knew that he wasn't going to yield.

"Why?" the question is uttered before Hibari can continue with his sentence. The Cloud Guardian is mildly surprised at Mukuro. It wasn't the man's style to be so direct.

"Because it wouldn't work," Hibari states simply. "Do you think you could outsmart Byakuran?"

There is a moment of contemplative silence as Mukuro's gaze seems to linger on Hibari's expressionless face, before the man smiles, annoyingly so. "Maybe not," he shrugs. "But how else are you planning to retrieve any sort of information? None of you possess knowledge enough to hack into the Millefiore servers."

"You're still not going to do it," Hibari says, stepping out into the corridor. He hasn't the patience to continue their little chat any longer. "I'll excuse myself now."

Mukuro laughs – an eerie, throaty noise that echoes down the corridor, which is all but deserted except the two of them. Hibari glances for a moment over his shoulder, watching as Mukuro picks his way across to exit the room. The hallways aren't lit.

The Mist Guardian makes to walk down the corridor in front of Hibari, but halts in his tracks, turning around, already half-obscured by the creeping darkness. His cascade of dark blue hair flows over and pools at his shoulders like midnight-colored ribbons. Hibari has already noted how the man still retains his ridiculous hairstyle.

"I already have your server's password," Mukuro mentions, as a form of farewell.

Hibari considers spluttering incoherently, but eventually decides that such a notion was very unbecoming of himself. Instead, he settles on –

"Will you be able to outsmart Byakuran?"

The corners of Mukuro's lips tweak upwards in a snide little smile. "Of course," he replies, turning around and walking away, waving a goodbye. His long hair and leather coat flutter with the movement.

"After all, aren't you the only one who can bite me to death? Or have you forgotten?"

With a slight jolt, Hibari remembers. That kind of so-called promise. Opening his eyes and looking up, he watches as Mukuro disappears into the looming darkness ahead.

"No. Of course not."

And for just the briefest of moments, Hibari Kyoya lets his heart believe in those words.

That Rokudo Mukuro would not let himself die.

That he would be the one to bite that man to death.

Epilogue

"She won't die," he finds himself saying to Kusakabe, striding defiantly down a lighted corridor. "She can't die."

He pushes the door out of his way, paying no heed to the surprised expressions of everyone already present in the room. As Kusakabe makes to clear the unwanted disturbances out, he closes the distance between himself and the pale, malnourished girl lying limp on the bed, a little stream of blood trickling down from the corner of her mouth.

Hibari lifts the Chrome of ten years ago with ease, angling her head so she can look him in the eye.

"If you die now, it will be troublesome," he says.

Something sparked behind those violet eyes as Chrome made to speak, but only coughed up more blood over the already-stained sheets. Hibari sets her down again, and starts instructing her how to keep herself alive with the illusions Mukuro could handle so well.

Mukuro.

Hibari has to keep rage from seeping into the words spilling off his tongue, because something is bubbling in the pit of his stomach and wrapping itself around his heart, choking him.

Rokudo Mukuro, what have you gotten yourself into?

He wishes he could find it in himself to pity the poor, emaciated girl lying before him, gazing at him with such pleading eyes, her breathing reduced to a raggedy panting. But all that ran through Hibari's mind as he taught Chrome how to keep herself alive was the simple, unmoving fact that –

As long as she lives, he will, too.

And Hibari Kyoya still had one last score to settle.

END.