Hello, all!

Just a brief explanation; this story came about while I was wondering the following:

What Hibari would be like as an overprotective older brother (so, do expect some OOCness; I mean, this this fic is supposed to be [kinda] cute and sweet so you should get the idea right away that some of the characters are going to be OOC, right? Namely, Hibari, heh heh),

What it'd be like without Reborn making an immediate entrance into the story (you'll be what I mean in later chapters),

And if Tsuna's Dying Will Mode was something he could activate innately instead of relying on Reborn to shoot him (so, in later chapters, things should go a little differently),

Oh, and let's just say that Hibari's a little...softer, since he's a kid at this time, 'kay? He likes herbivorous animals (even if they aren't animals XD).

That's all. Please do feel free to critique; all is appreciated. Just no flames (i.e. "boo! This story sucks ballz cuz Hibari would never act like that! You suck!"), cuz I'm relatively certain that whatever you have to say about the characters behaviours, I'm already aware of it. I just didn't want to have to say all this later, cuz I have a tendency to forget these things.

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.

Enjoy! And I apologise for this long-ass author's note. Well, this is the only one that's this long so no worries! ^_^

It was a very cold day. He stopped by the park gate as he cast a glance inside.

Despite being a child, Kyouya Hibari wasn't considered by most as being such. He was a force to be reckoned with. Namimori Elementary School was under his control. A big achievement when one considered the fact that he was only twelve years old. But he did have a heart, a fact which his enemies might deny.

And this heart was big on animals. Especially small cute animals.

Perhaps that was why he didn't just move on towards home as he spotted a tiny little figure curled up on the park bench. He even went inside to see what a little kid was doing there, all alone, on such a cold day. Even Hibari didn't want to be out in this cold; as good a warm up as it was, biting people to death at this time didn't win out against the idea of having a nice cup of hot chocolate in his apartment.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

The little boy on the bench looked up. His face was dirty. His feet were bare, grubby, and scratched. His clothes were thin and the threads had worn away at the knees and the elbows, suggesting that maybe he'd fallen a few times. His big brown hair was sticking up all over the place and his brown eyes were pained as he lifted his gaze.

Hibari felt pity for the little thing. He didn't mind the suffering of people but he didn't like seeing herbivorous animals in pain quite so much. When the little boy didn't respond, Hibari said, "well?"

The smaller child gulped and looked down. He drew into himself. "I-I…I've got…no home…" he muttered with a sniffle.

A tiny little kid like this living out on the streets all by himself? He looked around four, maybe five years old. Hibari's pity kicked up a notch. He took off his school jacket and passed it to the boy. The child looked up at him with wide eyes. "N-Nii…chan…?"

"Take it." Hibari said as he dropped the jacket onto the little boy's head. It wasn't like he didn't have another jacket to wear. And besides, even if he did show up at school without one, it wasn't like the teachers could say anything to him. They wouldn't dare.

He didn't glance back as he left the park.

That evening, Hibari was on his way to the convenience store when he came upon something unusual. As he left the front door of his apartment building, he saw a small figure curled up beside the doorsteps. Hibari's jacket was wrapped around its small shoulders.

The boy with the big brown hair gazed up and, seeing Hibari, he jumped to his feet. Hibari frowned. "What are you doing here?"

The brown-haired boy stared at his bare feet, rubbing one over the other in an effort to alleviate the coldness. He was shivering. "I…I-I wanted to…th-thank…Nii-chan…" He looked up, trying hard not to let his teeth chatter. The hand holding the jacket around his frame was clenched in a tight fist.

Hibari hated being followed (for that was the only way he could think of that the kid would know where he lived) as much as the next person, but he just couldn't bring himself to get angry at this pitiable thing. If the kid had really followed him home, that meant he'd been out here for a good few hours.

"Get in."

The younger of the two looked up in confusion. "H-huh…?"

Hibari turned his gaze to the light-flooded doorway. "I said get in."

The younger child looked scared. "B-but…"

"I'm not going to do anything to you, kid."

Swallowing the fear evident on his face, the little boy bowed his head and clambered up the three steps leading to the door. He had to struggle because his legs were so small. It made Hibari's pity grow even more. How did the kid survive out on the streets by himself? He was tiny!

Inside the building, there were two doors opposite one another in the hallway, leading to two of the four apartments. After the door on the right was a set of stairs, leading up to the next floor. Hibari urged the little boy towards the staircase.

It was a long process getting up. Hibari sighed as the younger boy paused to catch his breath after a few steps. Shouldn't he just pick the damn brat up? Deciding that this was the only way to keep from losing his patience, Hibari bent down to lift the child.

"Whoa…!" the little boy cried out as he was raised into the air and hoisted over the older boy's shoulder. "P-put me down! Please, put me down!" His voice was bordering on hysteria.

"Relax. I won't drop you." Hibari didn't have any trouble holding the smaller boy up. He was strong for his age.

It did get the job done quicker. Stepping onto the landing, he put the child down. The hallway here was much the same as the one downstairs. Hibari walked over to the door on the right.

He fished out a key and slipped it into the keyhole and turned it. He opened the door to reveal a fairly large apartment. Just inside, there was an area for taking off one's shoes. Beyond that was a single step, above which hung several empty coat pegs.

The hallway was quite long. On their immediate left was a door which led to a small closet. Some ways off from the closet was another door, this one leading to the bathroom. The hallway curved slightly at the end, off to the right. There was a door in this curve, which led into the only bedroom and, on the opposite side of the hallway, the kitchen, and then the living room, on their right. The faded carpet looked like it needed to be replaced. The predominant colour theme was beige; from the walls to the floor to the colour of the skirting boards.

Hibari took off his shoes and arranged them neatly to the side and stepped up into the hallway. He looked down in displeasure at his guest's dirty feet. There was no helping it. "Come in."

"O-ok…" the younger boy still looked nervous. His movements were jittery and he stumbled back whenever Hibari was too close. He climbed up the step that marked the end of the entryway and the beginning of the hallway and followed as Hibari led the way to the living room.

Hibari switched on the light, revealing a spacious chamber with naught in the way of furniture but a couch in the middle, a table in front of it, and a TV positioned beside the large window that looked out over the front of the building. There was another window, albeit a smaller one, on the farther side. In the wall adjacent to the entry into the living room, there was another door, beige to fit in with the colour theme of the rest of the apartment.

"Sit." Hibari instructed.

His guest wordlessly went over to the couch and sat down. He sat at the very edge, ready to take flight if necessary. Hibari turned and rounded the protruding corner of the living room and went to the kitchen. He got out a first aid kit and filled a large bowl with water before heading back.

He went around the couch and sat down next to the boy. The guest turned his head and looked up. He still looked afraid. Hibari reached a hand out and, taking a hold of one tiny foot, he jerked the boy around. "Wah!" the kid's butt nearly slid off, seated precariously as he was. "Wh-what…?" he began.

"I'm going to treat your cuts, what else?" Hibari scoffed. Looking down at the bottom of the boy's foot, he realised the full extent of the damage. It looked really bad. Some of the gashes were rather deep. "Does this hurt?"

Leaning back against the armrest with one leg forced up, the younger child gave a half-hearted shrug. "A-a little…"

"What an herbivore…"

The little boy frowned. "A…what's an…?"

"Herbivore? It means someone who's weak like a helpless little animal. Like you." Hibari smirked.

The guest couldn't seem to find the courage to look indignant. Hibari got out some cotton wool balls and dipped one in the water and then ran it over the gashes on the tiny foot. Having been in many bloody fights to date, he was pretty efficient at this sort of thing. His patient winced lightly.

"If this hurts, why are you wondering around without any shoes?" Hibari asked, attention taken up by his task. There was some part of him which was demanding why he was going so far for a little kid off the streets but he silenced those thoughts. He'd wonder about this later.

"I-I…lost…my shoes." the little boy responded, his brows curving downwards.

"How?"

The smaller boy looked away, his lower lip trembling. "F-fire…"

Hibari's brow furrowed. "Fire?"

His guest was shivering again. It wasn't that cold in here. "M-my…my home…" He choked on his next word and coughed as tears came to his eyes.

He really was an herbivore, Hibari felt.

Hibari finished cleaning the dirt off one foot and started on the other one. Dirty, wet clumps of cotton wool piled up on the table. The older boy had the younger strip down to his drawers. The untarnished blue boxers decorated with a little yellow sun motif underneath nearly made him laugh. He'd not been expecting something so colourful but being in his drawers also revealed all the other wounds the kid had.

Hibari frowned at the many bruises, cuts, and grazes. He'd thought just the child's arms and knees had been hurt but…the cuts and bruises were everywhere. "You should go have a bath."

The small boy blinked. "…Huh?"

"I'm telling you to go wash up." Hibari said as he stood. "I was going to clean your injuries but it'd be better if you just have a bath. Go."

The brown-haired child just stood there, looking confused.

Hibari growled. "Bathroom. Now." His cold blue eyes stared down at the little kid, daring him to defy the order.

The guest gulped before turning to the door and padding away on newly cleaned feet. Hibari clicked his tongue and picked up the bowl, the pile of wet dirty wool, and the first aid box and followed him out. He pointed to his left, towards the bathroom and then went to the kitchen to put down his load.

He went to the bathroom, where the kid lingered awkwardly. "Do I have to do it all by myself?" Hibari huffed as he blocked the plughole in the bathtub and turned the faucets. Water gushed out. He turned back around. "Wash yourself. I'll get you some clean clothes to wear."

As he got to the door, however, the herbivore spoke. "Why…is Nii-chan…letting me have a bath here?"

Hibari looked over his shoulder, his eyes cold. "When someone's doing you a favour, don't ask why, stupid herbivore." He walked out, shutting the door behind him. He wasn't sure such a tiny kid could bathe himself properly but it'd be fine as long as some of the dirt got cleaned off.

He went back to the kitchen. He emptied the bowl from earlier and washed it in the sink. He put away the first aid kit and threw the dirty wool in the bin. He cleaned anything that needed to be cleaned. The bin was full so he emptied it and went to throw out the trash.

Cold night air hit his face as he opened the back door in the kitchen but he tried to pay it no mind as he went down the metal staircase and down two storeys. He threw the trash bag in the big bin that lay deeper in the alley before making his way back.

It was a good thing the kid wasn't outdoors at this point; the nights recently had been rather brutal. If he'd stayed out there any longer, he'd have caught his death of cold. Hibari guessed he'd have to keep the kid here a while longer. After all, it was useless doing an act of kindness and not following through with it. That'd be pretty pointless and Kyouya Hibari didn't like pointless things.

When he came back up, he went to get the herbivore some clothes. What a bother. He found an old elementary school uniform that he'd kept from his first year. It consisted of a pair of short grey pants and a white shirt. He didn't have anything smaller.

He went to the bathroom and knocked on the door. "Are you done, herbivore?"

"H-hai…"

He went in. The kid was looking a little better and he'd wrapped himself in a large cream-coloured towel. There were still some light streaks of dirt on his back where he'd not been able to reach properly. At least his face was clean. Hibari stuck the clothes on the top of the radiator. "You know how to dress yourself, right?"

The infant nodded.

Hibari held back a sigh of relief. He didn't want to have to take on the role of babysitter here. He'd not signed up to play "mommy"; he was just lending the kid a helping hand. "Good." He turned back to the door.

Just then, a curious sound filled the air. Hibari turned back and his gaze fell on the source of the noise. He cocked an eyebrow. The little boy wrapped his towel over his stomach, looking down at his feet.

"You're hungry."

"I-I'm…okay…" the brown-haired kid muttered, still looking down at his feet.

Hibari wanted to hit him. But he didn't. "Whatever. Come to the kitchen when you're done." He exited, closing the door behind him.

He wasn't that great a cook, what with having better things to do with his time than to learn about such things. When he didn't go out to eat, he got by on the simplest of meals; miso soup, rice, and tamagoyaki (or other side dishes or toppings). So he made that.

The rice was still cooking when the kid entered the room, a few minutes later. The button-up shirt he was wearing was supposed to have sleeves that went up to mid-bicep but they went down to his elbows. The end of the shirt was supposed to hang just beneath the waist but it went down to his mid-thighs. The pants were supposed to have been short but the ends pooled around his feet a little.

He looked at the tamagoyaki and miso soup on the table and the rice on the cooker and frowned. "I'm not…I don't…" At a loss for words, he looked down at his feet.

"Sit down." Hibari ordered, gesturing over at the small table beside the fridge. It had a beige top while the legs were white. The two chairs set on opposite sides were also beige and white, once again matching the colour theme of the apartment.

The kid went over to the table without another word. He pulled one chair back and clambered onto it. He was sitting about a foot away from the tabletop so he slipped off the chair and pushed it closer and then climbed back on.

He was a quiet kid; he didn't make a single sound while the rice was cooking. When it was done, Hibari poured the rice into a bowl and, getting out a pair of chopsticks, he went over to the table. He set down the bowl and the chopsticks in front of the boy before taking a seat in the other chair.

His guest didn't move and continued looking down at his hands, resting at the edge of the table. Hibari held back a sigh. "Eat."

Only then did the smaller child picked up the chopsticks and pull the bowl towards him. "I-Itadakimasu…" he mumbled.

He probably would have eaten the rice just like that if Hibari hadn't pushed the tamagoyaki and the miso soup across the table towards him. What a silly little boy; there wasn't any use acting so humble when the food was already prepared.

Hibari watched as the boy ate. It wasn't like he had anything better to do. "You…" he said at one point, "what's your name?"

The kid looked up briefly before casting his gaze down once more. "Tsu-Tsuna…Tsunayoshi Sawada."

Hibari said nothing in response. After a while, he stood up and walked out the door. He made his way to the bedroom and flicked on the light.

It was a large but pretty bare chamber. A small bed sat in the further right corner, next to the large window. Next to the bed was a desk, at the end of which rested a lamp. A swivel chair was pushed into the space beneath it. On the near right corner of the room, just beside the entrance, was a built-in closet and a wardrobe. The left side of the room was pretty much empty aside from one bookshelf stacked with homework from the past and a collection of manga and other assorted books that might appeal to an eleven-year-old.

The bedroom was the only room in the apartment which wasn't beige. It was black and white. From the covers on the bed to the wood of the desk, all the furniture was black. The ceiling and walls, in stark contrast, were white. And it all looked new in comparison to the rest of the apartment; the black carpet held no signs of wear, the walls were practically shining in their coats of white paint, and everything seemed well looked-after.

Hibari went to the closet and pulled the door back. Inside, the shelves were packed with folded towels and bed linen, and such. He pulled out a small futon and laid it out on the floor near the bookshelf, along with a thick quilted cover. It was nine-thirty already; the kid would probably need to sleep soon.

Having completed his task, Hibari left the room and went to check up on his guest. Tsunayoshi was still eating. What a slowpoke.

"When you've finished, clean up the dishes." Hibari said. "If you can't reach the sink, use the chair."

Tsunayoshi jumped a little and nearly dropped his bowl. He looked over his shoulder, eyes wide. "H-hai…"

Hibari rolled his eyes and turned to go to the living room. Not having anything else to do, he turned on the TV. But there wasn't much he was interested in at this time so he left it on a badly dubbed English movie and raised his legs and stretched them out on the table in front of him. He leaned back into the couch and folded his hands behind his head. Closing his eyes, he prepared to sleep…

Only to be interrupted by a smashing sound. His eyes snapped open and he stood up. He made his way to the source of the noise.

In the kitchen, Tsunayoshi was standing on a chair he'd pulled up towards the sink.

It was a good thing that the shirt Hibari had given the kid had been short-sleeved; his hands and arms were covered in soap bubbles and he had some across his nose too. The sink (and the surrounding area) was half full of foamy water, a little too much for just a few small dishes.

The cause of the noise was on the floor, shattered in a hundred different pieces. The bowl had been covered in soap bubbles too and it had left a trail of the floor. The wet sponge was also on the floor, having slipped out of the kid's hands.

Tsunayoshi looked like he was on the verge of tears. "I-I'm…sorry…I'm sorry, Nii-chan!"

Hibari tried to control his ire. He was supposed to be in a good mood today. He was a lot more forgiving when he was in a good mood. And besides, if he struck the kid, there wouldn't have been any point being kind to Tsunayoshi in the first place. He breathed in through his nose and slowly let it out – it was something he'd learnt off the TV a while ago; it apparently helped calm one down.

It seemed to work because he did feel himself relaxing…just a little. "You're useless." he said as he bent down to retrieve the sponge. He dropped it into the sink and went to get a dustpan and brush to clean up the broken pieces of the bowl.

Tsunayoshi stayed on the chair until Hibari had finished cleaning up the mess. Hibari gestured for him to get down. He did so…and promptly tripped over his own feet. "Wah…!"

He got up, lower lip trembling. Hibari shook his head in disapproval. No wonder the brat had so many cuts and bruises; he was so clumsy. "You should get ready to sleep; I'll deal with this."

"B-but…" Tsuna mumbled, looking down at the ground. "I-I can…"

"I said I'll deal with it." Hibari said. "Get ready for bed." He pushed the chair back and unplugged the plughole to let the water drain out.

Tsuna looked up at him, confusion now mixed in with the hurt and pain on his face. "B-bed…?"

"There's a futon in the bedroom; you can sleep on that." Hibari said as he washed the dishes.

"O-oh. Okay…" the smaller boy turned and shuffled out.

Hibari watched him go. It was kind of funny how cute and clumsy Tsunayoshi was. The older boy's anger was long gone.

I hope none of the descriptions (of the apartment, and the bedroom, etc.) were too confusing. I'm still a novice :'(

Anyway, I'm going to be uploading this story every other day so I hope you guys won't be waiting around too long. Ciao! And thanks for reading!