Title: Love Ice Cream
Genre: Romance
Rating: T
Characters/Pairings: Dino, K. Hibari, Romario, T. Yamamoto, D18
Summary: Can Dino wins the heart of Hibari Kyouya, the so-called 'heartless dictator of Namimori', with the help of a magical ice cream? For D18 Day.
Warnings: possible OOC-ness
Status: betaed by KirishimaAyama.
Disclaimer: Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn belongs to Amano Akira.
.
.
.
A loud thud on the ground, a wince, and the tip of a metallic tonfa pressing against his lower jaw were everything that was needed to clarify that, after hundreds of tries throughout the years stemming from the day the two had encounter each other, Dino had been defeated by Hibari Kyouya.
In their current position, where Hibari crouched on top of his body, the blond could see the smug grin on the younger's face while the feel of the cold metal pressing harder against his skin started to become a bit uncomfortable for him. No, he wasn't scared of having a surprise attack launched to deteriorate his face; he was more scared of what the prefect would say after he proclaimed his victory.
"I win the deal."
"Yes, you do…"
"Then, I'll have you to listen to what I have to say."
Dino groaned.
Yes, Dino had made a deal with Hibari that whoever won today's sparring would have one wish granted by the loser. He had done it because he had thought that he could win and thus make Hibari go for a date with him.
But his plan had backfired now. Just because Romario had suddenly needed to use the bathroom, Hibari had taken the chance to charge at Dino and managed to beat the blond Italian down.
He just hoped that Hibari wouldn't make too difficult a request. Asking him to get something is alright, as long as it was not too expensive. He doubted the coal haired teen would like cheap things, though (Dino knew that Hibari favored high quality stuff, because the boy surprisingly had a good taste on many things), so he prepared himself to spend a lot of his pocket money on this one request.
"Alright then… tell me what you want, Kyouya."
The smirk on Hibari's face grew wider if that was even possible. As he stood up and distanced himself from the defeated Bronco, he said, "I'm craving for some coconut ice creams."
Dino blinked. "Co… coconut ice cream?" Does such thing even exist?
"Get it for me in ten minutes."
"Wait, Kyouya, where am I supposed to get it?"
"Go look around the whole town."
"Wha—"
Hibari refused to give any more hints to his poor (self-proclaimed) tutor. He walked away towards the door, where he almost bumped Romario, who had just returned from the toilet. The elderly man looked confused and wanted to ask why the prefect was leaving, but his question was answered as he noticed Dino's messy appearance.
"You were defeated, huh, Boss?"
"Yeah, and it was all because you couldn't hold your bladder back," Dino groaned as he rose to his feet. "Now, help me to find this coconut ice cream that Kyouya wanted."
.
.
.
To be truthful, because he knew of Kyouya's high standards, Dino expected that it would be hard for him to find the coconut ice cream.
Thus, it surprised him that he was able to find it in the first shop that he visited.
"There's just a single bar left, though," Romario commented when Dino stated his surprise to him.
"But this way I can return quickly to Kyouya's place!"
The blond took the ice cream and went to the cashier to pay for it. It was then when he noticed that the cashier was looking at him while smiling funnily. It wasn't the type of smile that usually appeared because people thought that he was good-looking, but rather a smile signaling that there was something funny or weird about him.
It intrigued Dino so much that he couldn't help but to ask, "Is there something wrong with my face?"
"Oh no, not that," the cashier responded. She was blushing lightly as she continued, "I'm surprised that a foreigner like you would know about the reputation of our Love Ice Cream and come to buy it!"
"Love Ice Cream?"
"Yes! It's the brand of this ice cream, you see. It's specially made by our shop and said to be able to help with one's love problems."
Dino blinked once.
Then twice.
Then thrice.
Then he smiled warmly. "I see. That's a nice way to promote your products, Miss."
It was meant to be a compliment, but the cashier pouted angrily once Dino finished his sentence. "It's not some kind of fake slogan! The Love Ice Cream can really help you find your true love, sir!"
The cashier continued to rant about the superiority of the so-called Love Ice Cream while Dino could only smile sheepishly and try to calm her down. Romario sighed and checked his wristwatch. He noticed that the ten minute period given by Hibari to buy the ice cream had almost come to an end and that meant they need to return to the school ground immediately, or the prefect would get angry at Dino.
"Boss, let's go now."
"Ah, yes. Alright, thank you for the information, Miss. Here's the money."
Dino put down some coins on the table to pay for the ice cream and rushed to leave the shop, Romario tailing behind. They entered their car, with Romario taking the driver's seat and Dino in the passenger seat, and immediately drove to Namimori Middle School. Sinking into his seat, the young Don eyed the ice cream in his hand.
"Well, it's really called Love Ice Cream, huh? I wonder why Kyouya likes this stuff," the younger of the two mumbled. He really couldn't imagine Hibari touching anything related to something silly such as love.
"I think he's only interested in the taste," Romario chuckled, eyes focused at the road before him.
Dino chuckled also, but the wrapper of the ice cream suddenly interested him. If normal ice cream wrappers had the composition of the ice cream on it, this Love Ice Cream had some kind of procedure on how to use the ice cream. It made him curious, so he read them aloud.
"'Give it to your crush, and if it's really your destiny, then that person will be yours!' … well, if Kyouya is my 'destined lover', with or without this ice cream, he will become mine, will he not?"
At that, Romario laughed. "Well, it's clearly just some fake slogan, then."
There wasn't much conversation after that, because the car had stopped right before Namimori Middle School's entrance gate. As Dino came out of the car, he saw Yamamoto and his friends from the baseball club walking out. The Rain Guardian, upon seeing Dino's distinctive appearance, waved his hands as he called out Dino's name.
"Dino!"
"Yo, Yamamoto," Dino grinned happily once Yamamoto stood before him. "Just finished practicing baseball?"
"Yep! Are you still training with Hibari?"
"No, not really. I just returned from the shopping district. Kyouya wanted me to buy this ice cream for him."
The Japanese swordsman looked at the ice cream in Dino's hand and immediately recognized its brand. "Love Ice Cream? Are you planning to give it to Hibari?" he asked, eyes wide in mild surprise.
"Yeah, because Kyouya wanted a coconut ice cream…"
"But, isn't that the brand of ice cream that can makes whoever buys it united with their crushes?"
Dino blinked, then laughed mirthfully. He didn't expect Yamamoto—who seemed to be the least person among Tsuna's Guardians to be interested with love and all that—to believe the rumors about the Love Ice Cream. The blond then explained his theory about 'destined lover' to the teenage boy, trying to convince Yamamoto not to be tricked into buying the ice cream for silly reasons. It just so happened that Yamamoto's clubmates listened to the explanation as well, and thanks to that, they fumed with anger.
"The ice cream is really magical!" one of them started, surprising Dino.
"Yeah! I bought and gave it to my crush, and when I confessed my love to her, she accepted it because she suddenly fell in love with me due to my bravery!"
"Me too, me too!"
"I didn't give the ice cream to my crush… but there was her name on the stick, so I confessed to her and she accepted me, saying that she had been in love with me since long ago!"
The last complaint picked Dino's interest. "There was her name on the stick?"
"Yeah. Wasn't it written on the wrapper? 'If the name of your crush is written on the stick, then you have to tell that person', or something like that," the boy answered.
The Italian blond looked at the ice cream wrapper again. Indeed, it was written there, but Dino hadn't seen it before. Yamamoto, who could figure out what Dino had in mind, grinned widely and said, "Well, if you don't believe in it, why don't you give it to your crush, Dino?"
.
.
.
There, within one of the empty classrooms, was Hibari with his usual irritated expression, sitting on one of the desks while facing the windows. He glanced at his wristwatch. It was past the promised time. He growled quietly as methods of torture that he could use against Dino came across his mind. His train of thought, however, was abruptly stopped as he heard the door behind him slide open and rather hurried footsteps approached him.
"You're late."
"I'm sorry!" Dino said, panting slightly. "I thought you were in the Receptionist Room, but it turned out you were not! So I had to look around and I finally found you here."
The raven haired teen scoffed once he turned around to look at the young Don. "Because you're late, we'll have another fight after this. Now, where's my ice cream."
A bit hesitant, Dino handed over the coconut ice cream to Hibari, which made the younger of the two frown. No, not because of Dino's hesitant look, but rather because the wrapper of the ice cream had disappeared, and the ice cream was slightly melting. He gave the Italian tutor a sharp glare, which Dino quickly translated as a command for him to explain the problem.
"Uh… I was running around to look for you, s-so I opened the wrapper to see whether the ice cream was melting or not, and it turned out to be… well, melting."
It was clear that Dino had just come up with that excuse, and although he sounded suspicious, Hibari—thankfully—didn't question him further. He shrugged and began to lick the cold treat. He could felt the sweetness on his taste buds satiating his thirst. For a few minutes, he continued to lick and lightly nibble on the ice cream, until he stopped to look at Dino, who had continued to stare at him and was making him feel a tiny bit uncomfortable.
"I'm not going to share it with you."
"What? O-oh, yeah, I know…" the golden haired man smiled sheepishly.
A raise of one of his eyebrows, and Hibari asked once again. "Then why are you staring at me?"
"No, it's just…" Dino rubbed the back of his neck, looking really nervous. "… Do you eat that ice cream often, Kyouya?"
A nod from the prefect made Dino feel his jaws go slack.
"Y-you did? But, uh, you bought it yourself?"
"No. Tetsu bought it for me."
"Did something happen to you after you ate those ice creams?"
The frown between Hibari's eyebrows deepened. "Why are you asking me these stupid questions?" Because he knew Dino wasn't the type to ask these kinds of questions without reasons. Also, the blond seemed worried about something, though Hibari couldn't guess what it was.
"Just… curious! Yeah, I'm just curious, that's all!" Dino tried his best to stay calm, but his anxiety was clearly hinted at in his voice. "So, did something happen to you after you ate the ice creams that were bought by Kusakabe for you?"
Hibari rolled his eyes. He guessed that Cavallone wouldn't spill the truth for now, so he decided to play along with this small, weird interrogation. "No."
"Was there someone's name written on the stick?"
The question caused Hibari to stop and ponder for a moment. Not wanting to upset the younger male, Dino waited for his answer. It was only after three minutes or so passed that the boy gave him the answer.
"No."
Dino couldn't be more relieved. He sighed contently and decided to sit down on one of the tables too. When he finally got into a comfortable sitting position, he heard Hibari repeated his question.
"Why were you asking me these stupid questions?"
The young boss was about to answer with an "I told you, I was curious", but the look on Hibari's face silenced him. It was the look of a wise king demanding for an honest answer from his servant. The look that seemed like it could penetrate through his wall of lies. Knowing that he couldn't possibly distract the Cloud, Dino settled with the decision to give him a thorough explanation—starting from the rants of the cashier of the shop which he bought the ice cream from, to the testimonies he obtained from Yamamoto's friends.
Hibari listened to the whole story. And his response when Dino finished retelling the story was:
"You're such an idiot."
"Well, sorry for being an idiot!"
"The slogan was completely fake. Nothing happened to me after I ate the ice creams."
"Yeah, I noticed."
But maybe it wasn't effective because you really are clueless about the concept of love, Kyouya.
While Dino sighed, Hibari ate the last portion of his ice cream and checked the stick in complete silence. The next words that slipped out of the Skylark's mouth was quite surprising.
"My name is written on it."
Dino's amber eyes immediately went wide. He couldn't believe it. Spluttering a slightly, he choked out a "Seriously?" and inched closer to the boy to read the writing on the stick. Indeed, there was Hibari's full name written on it. That could only mean that…
"Kyouya, I—"
The confession was interrupted as Hibari put his finger on Dino's lips, effectively silencing the older man. Dino could hear his heart thump aloud, and feared that Hibari would also be able to hear it. Even though he wanted to, he couldn't calm his heart down because right now the young Cloud Guardian leaned closer toward him, closing the distance between them.
"I…" Hibari began, his voice almost whispery.
Dino really couldn't believe it. Did Hibari actually love him? Or the ice cream was starting to affect the boy?
"… love…"
Carefully, Hibari put a hand on Dino's lips. He craned his neck so that he could get closer to Dino's face. A smirk began to form on his beautiful countenance when he noticed the red shade on the blond's face getting darker, contrasting with the color of his pale skin. The color continued to spread all over his face as he felt Hibari's warm breath fanning close to his lips. From this position, Dino could watch how Hibari's lips moved as he spoke his next words.
"… biting you to death."
THWACK!
A loud thud as his body fell onto the hard ground of the classroom and a wince was everything Hibari needed to know that Dino had—once again—fallen into his own speculations. Hibari smirked smugly, feeling satisfied to be able to defeat the older man like this.
"There's no way I will feel something pitiful such as love toward you. Idiot."
"I… I guess so."
The Japanese teen hopped off from the desk and headed toward the door. Before Dino could ask, he was already given an answer. "I'll wait for you on the rooftop. We'll have another fight to commence."
And with that, he left the classroom.
Dino groaned as he attempted to stand up, intending to follow Hibari to the rooftop because he really didn't have another choice. He was about to make a step toward the door when he felt as if he had just stepped on something. Looking down, it turned out that he was stepping on the ice cream stick. He picked it up and stared at it. His eyes weren't wrong, Hibari's name was written there.
Then why he couldn't make the man fall in love with him?
"Boss?"
Looking up, he could spot Romario approaching him. Dino had asked the elderly man to wait outside the classroom, yes, but it seemed because he had seen Hibari leave the area without the blond Italian tailing behind, he had taken the liberty to enter the room. Romario noticed the slightly dispirited look on Dino's face and immediately understand what happened to his young boss earlier.
"He rejected, you, eh?" the raven haired Italian laughed softly as he asked.
The question was answered with a silent nod from Dino.
"Are you going to give up then?"
"Of course not."
Romario lifted an eyebrow at the quick answer. He watched how the Cavallone Decimo turned to face him, allowing him to see his usual confident smile.
"Destined lover or not, I will never give up on making him love me in return," he exclaimed, "I admit I was stupid for trying to believe that this ice cream could have some kind of magical effect, but I learned, and I will correct myself by working even harder to win Kyouya's heart!"
And with that, Dino walked out of the room with renewed energy and determination. Romario, on the other hand, could only sigh in relief before he followed the energetic foal to the rooftops.
.
.
.
Epilogue
In one of Hibari's hands was a wrapper of the Love Ice Cream and in the other one was a stick of said coconut flavored ice cream.
A stick with Dino's full name written on it with katakana.
He refused to believe in it.
He had just happened to walk pass by the shop that was selling his favorite coconut ice cream when heading to his house and decided to buy one. He picked the ice cream randomly. He was sure that none swapped his handpicked ice cream.
Then why the hell he got an ice cream with Dino's name written on its stick?
No, he refused to believe that it was indeed a magical ice cream.
Everything was just a coincidence.
Yes, he thought as he threw the stick and the wrapper into a trash bin, just a coincidence.
But would he continue to deny the magic of the ice cream when he once again found Dino's name on the ice cream stick which he bought for himself?
.
.
.
END
.
.
.
R&R?