A/N: More ficspam..
I wanted to write an innocent!Mukuro but that'd be way OOC even for me, so I decided to take Reborn's idea of parallel universes and mess around a little. And don't worry, it'll all be explained in good time, I promise I have a more or less pertinent excuse as to how this happened.
Timeline: This takes place right after the Shimon Arc.
Deviations from Canon: The Arcobaleno are all adults.
Across The Skies
Hibari Kyoya was not known for accepting his losses gracefully, so it was hardly a surprise to anyone that he had headed to Kokyuo as soon as he heard that Mukuro Rokudo had been set free.
On reaching the ruined building on the verge of collapse though, he was surprised by a green blur running straight into him.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I-I didn't see you t-there." the eye patch girl muttered with something akin to horror. What was her name again?
"I would bite you to death, but I'm on my way to bite that master of yours right now." Hibari glared, dusting himself off. "Get out now, herbivore."
Chrome wondered if she should point out to him that this was actually her home (never mind the fact it didn't actually belong to her because, you know, it was an abandoned health resort the Kokyuo gang had found convenient) but stopped on second thoughts.
Arguing with potentially psychopathic homicidal Prefects might prove to be hazardous to her health.
However, if Hibari wanted to fight Mukuro-sama, there was something he should know ...
"H-he's .." she started hesitantly.
"Are you making excuses, herbivore?" the raven-haired boy snarled.
"No!" Chrome tried very hard not to notice how that had come out in a higher pitched voice, and failed. "I-I'll leave now."
With that, she turned and resumed her sprint. Doubtless the Cloud Man would find out for himself very soon.
Nami Chu was especially quiet today.
Well, with a Disciplinary Committee and a Chairman like that, Nami Chu was pretty quiet everyday, but today it seemed even quieter. Not even the occasional shrieks and loud voices could be heard.
The reason, of course, lay with the Head Prefect, Hibari. Today, he seemed even more murderous than usual for some reason.
But he was also absent-minded, which was good for a brunette Mafia Boss who swore he had nothing to do with the Mafia and his right hand man (the third member of the trio had baseball practice and hence couldn't join them), who were running late - again.
"I wonder what's up with him..." Tsuna huffed as they ran up the stairs to their class, having successfully evaded Hibari.
"Tch, why bother yourself with that bastard, Tenth?" Gokudera replied, no doubt thinking how pure and noble the Tenth was for being so concerned about members of the Family ... even one that had no respect for the Family or the Tenth.
(He really should blow that ungrateful bastard up someday soon.)
Gokudera silently resolved to redouble his efforts in that quarter.
While the two errant students snuck up behind his back, the fearsome Namimori Prefect was moping about in his misery.
...err, taking a moment away from his constant vigilance to review the events of the day. Yes, that was more like it.
After the little clone of the pineapple herbivore had run off to he didn't particularly care where, Hibari had searched the whole resort, and all of Kokyuo town, but the herbivore simply wasn't there.
No one had seen him, and after biting the twenty-third random Kokyuo citizen to death for the heinous crime of not being able to tell him where the illusionist was ( from the sheer frustration of his fight being postponed, dammit. How much longer did he have to wait to bite the despicable herbivore to death a hundred thousand times over? ) Hibari had concluded Mukuro had simply disappeared, which made sense when you took in consideration the sneaky bastard's tendency to involve himself with shady plots and disappear to random places without giving anyone an inkling of his location.
Pushing away the feeling of doom and gloom, Hibari stretched, heading to the rooftop. He had actually noticed the Boss (not his) herbivore and the loud bomb herbivore sneak in late, but for some reason, he just didn't want to bite them to death today. He was feeling a bit dow- out of form.
Maybe a little nap would help him get back to his usual self.
He was standing in a strange garden - if it could be called that.
Large, strangely-shaped pieces of ivory and red, overgrown with black, thorny vines littered the vast, broken landscape. Upon closer inspection, Tsuna realised they were actually chess pieces.
It should have struck him as strange, but for some reason it didn't. It felt natural ... familiar, even.
Startled by a sudden rustling sound, he looked up. A white-haired man smiled at him.
'Reality is such a strange thing.'
He didn't hear the voice. He sensed it, it was inside his head.
'Such a fragile thing, distorted so easily, broken and melded into what you want. Warped beyond recognition.'
The man looked up, amethyst eyes sparkling.
He knew this man. But he couldn't remember why or how ... it seemed like the memories of another lifetime...
'Don't you agree, Kyoya-kun? So easy to warp, so fragile and yet so stubborn, clinging to the world it has weaved around itself, doesn't it remind you of something?'
A melodious laugh haunted the still breeze around them.
'Or rather, should I say, someone?'
Grey eyes snapped open.
He remembered who it was. That omnivore who had threatened his precious Namimori and whom Sawada had defeated.
(Not bitten to death, only he, a carnivore, top of the food chain, was allowed to bite people to death.)
But why was he in his dream?
More importantly, why did he dream such a ... a strange, herbivorous dream?
Hibari Kyoya wasn't much of a dreamer, and he almost never remembered his dreams after waking up.
This was the day it would change.
