implication

/ɪmplɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/

noun

1. The action or state of being involved in something.

2. A likely consequence of something.

3. The conclusion that can be drawn from something although it is not explicitly stated.

"Damn it, Hayato! Would you stop glaring at everyone?" I asked as the fifth girl today bowed and apologized profusely to us – for no apparent reason whatsoever might I add – before fleeing down the hallway as if the devil were on her tail.

"What the hell do you want me to do?" the albino grumbled. "I can't help being born this way."

"Well, maybe if you tried smiling for once in your life," I countered.

At this the boy paused. It seemed as if he was actually contemplating my advice. Then slowly his facial muscles contracted to form a sight that was even more gruesome and twisted than any expression he had ever shown before.

A shiver ran up my spine at the mafia member's attempt of a friendly face.

"On second thought, you should just stick to what you know best," I said regretfully, as the people in the vicinity, having caught sight of Gokudera's "smile", shrieked and ran off faster than the speed of light.

"Tch. That's what I was doing before, idiot," the albino shot back non-too-gently.

I sighed heavily, "I don't get it. You can pull off the nicest smile when Tsuna's around but it's like the minute he's gone, you revert back to this cold, ever-frowning delinquent."

"I am not a delinquent!" Hayato shot back quickly, a disapproving frown set firmly on his features.

"If only there was some way to fix that," I muttered to myself, completely ignoring the albino's irritated complaint to my previous comment.

Just then a brilliant thought occurred to me.

Snatching Hayato's arm, I dragged him into the nearest empty classroom.

"What the fuck Filia (/fee-lee-ah/)!" Gokudera complained as I shoved him into the far side of the room.

Reaching for his head I soon realized a pressing predicament.

"Damn it. You're too tall," I mumbled mostly to myself.

"Huh?" Hayato asked, not quite hearing what I had just said but mostly looking lost as to what we were doing here in the first place.

Ignoring the albino's confusion I searched the room for an empty chair. Luckily for me, since this classroom was currently unused, there were plenty of vacant seats around.

Grabbing Hayato's hand, I promptly brought him to the nearest desk and plopped him into the chair.

"The hell are you doing, woman?" the albino asked now clearly frustrated by my silence.

"You'll see," I said simply, a large grin slowly making its way across my features.

I took a moment to admire his silky silver locks before reaching forward and grabbing a fistful of it.

"Hey!" Hayato shouted in protest as he attempted to move away from me.

But, I wouldn't let him.

Grabbing his shoulders, I forced him to stay seated in his chair.

"Filia, for fuck's sake, what are you pulling this time?" Hayato yelled as he continued to squirm under my hold.

"Just stay still and let me do this!" I shouted trying to fulfill my task while simultaneously battling his aggression.

After much verbal abuse and a couple of newly acquired bruises, I was finally done.

Stepping back from the albino I stood there admiring my handiwork.

Asides from the large scowl painted on Hayato's face, I had to admit… he looked cute in that hair style.

Satisfied with the result of my labour, I hauled the mafia member to his feet.

"Alright, let's go!" I beamed, enthusiastically tugging the boy in the direction of the door.

"No," the albino rejected immediately, feet planted solidly on the ground.

"Come on!" I urged as I pulled harder on his arm.

"No!" Hayato repeated with more fervour this time.

"Hayato!" I whined in frustration.

"There's no way in hell I'm going out there like this," the man grounded out resiliently.

"But, I worked so hard on it!" I cried in protest.

"I don't care! I'd rather drop dead then leave this room," he growled.

The minute those words left his mouth, I knew he regretted it.

"Oh really?" I asked as a sly smile slowly made its way onto my features.

The albino wavered for a second. He knew that look all too well.

"R-really," he challenged, determination slowly cracking under the intensity of my stare.

There weren't many who could make Hayato stutter like that. As a matter of fact, it was probably safe to say that his sister, Bianchi, was the only one who could ever make him hesitate. However, because he knew I was a part of the Vongola family based in Italy and because he knew I had close ties with the Varia, he was never really too sure of what I could pull.

Gokudera Hayato was wary. And he had very good reason to be.

"Well then," I said, eyes steeling with murderous intent, as a dangerous smirk spread across my face, "I think that could be arranged..."

"That was a dirty trick," the albino grumbled as we made our way down the halls.

"Well it worked didn't it? That's all that matters," I said, easily shrugging off the guilt he was trying to impose on me.

Admittedly though, blowing air down the back of his neck probably wasn't the fairest of ways to get him to cooperate. However, in my defence, I didn't think he'd shoot out the door like a bullet after that either. At most I was hoping he'd budge a little from his spot.

But, now that we were out in public, it was obvious to see that my efforts had paid off.

In place of the bows and apologies that had followed us wherever we went, we were greeted now, instead, with an onslaught of surprised looks and stifled laughter.

I felt Hayato tense beside me, clearly not used to all this positive attention.

"Did you have to use pink?" He seethed through clenched teeth, trying desperately to hide his face from his fellow classmates.

"There was no other choice. It was the only hair tie I had," I replied, simply.

"Hell, this is so humiliating," he moaned as we passed by another group of girls who were trying, but failing, to contain their giggles at the sight of Gokudera's new appearance.

"But, look at all this positive attention you're getting," I tried to reason. "For once, people are reacting normally to you. I think you should just wear your hair like this from now on. It's definitely a major improvement."

The instant those words left my mouth, a girl sporting a head full of short, curly brown hair suddenly approached us. I immediately recognized her as a student who was in the year below ours; class 1-A, I believe it was. She stood there in front of us with her head bowed, twiddling her index fingers as a massive blush slowly but visibly manifested on her features.

Hayato and I exchanged a look of confusion.

Just as I was about to ask if she needed something from us, she blurted out a single sentence that made my blood run cold.

"Y-You look really cute in pigtails, senpai." And with that, she was off, racing down the hallway and vanishing around the corner.

My left eye twitched in slight irritation.

Did I hear her right?

Did she just call Hayato cute?

Oh hell no!

Nobody was allowed to call him that, nobody except for me.

"Take them off," I grounded out suddenly, voice hard as iron.

"What?" the albino asked, brows furrowing in confusion. He was hardly able to discern my words thanks to how hard I was clenching my teeth.

"Take. Them. Off." I repeated louder, enunciating each word in a way that coated every syllable in a venomous hue of poison – a kind of poison that would make even Bianchi jealous of its potency.

Slightly catching on to what was aggravating me, Hayato smiled wryly.

"Oh?" he smirked, voice dripping with mock surprise, "But I thought you said that these pigtails were a major improvement and that I should wear my hair like this forever."

The bomber was yanking my chain. I knew he was just teasing me but, I couldn't help it.

Grabbing Hayato by his shirt collar, I roughly jerked his head down so that his gaze was level with mine.

Emerald green clashed heatedly with steel gray.

"You're drawing too much attention," I growled lowly. "Nobody else can have you. You're mine."

And with that, I slammed my lips onto his so forcefully that I knew it was going to leave a bruise later on.

I felt Hayato stiffen in surprise then, in the next second – after having registered the situation – he was kissing me back with just as much fervor, if not more. His arms snaked around my waist pulling me closer as I tangled my fingers in his hair, conveniently ridding him of those troubling pink hair ties. His lips felt smooth against my own and I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to taste them. Hayato seemed to have the same idea for his tongue had stealthily slipped out of his mouth and was now sliding along my bottom lip.

I parted my mouth just slightly but Hayato didn't miss a beat, for the next thing I knew, our tongues were engaged in a full on war. He tasted like cigarette smoke and he smelt of gunpowder. To any other girl the mixture may have been revolting, but having grown up in the underworld of street fights and planned assassinations, the concoction was strangely comforting. I could've gone on kissing him like this forever, but the burning sensation in my lungs was protesting otherwise. Disentangling my hands from his silver locks, I reluctantly broke away from his lips, breathing raggedly and feeling just slightly light headed.

Seeing the flushed look on my face, Hayato couldn't help but smirk, clearly feeling smug that he was able to elicit this kind of reaction out of me.

"Fine by me," he chuckled lowly in response to my former statement, arms tightening around my waist as if confirming his conjecture.

"Good," I grinned as I laid my head contently on his shoulder.

I didn't want this moment to ever end, but as fate would have it, people like us rarely ever got what we wanted.

Almost instantaneously the sound of heavy footfalls echoed down the hallways.

"Hey herbivores," Hibari's deathly calm voice reverberated through the corridor. "Public displays of affection are strictly prohibited under section 21 of the school handbook."

Then, reaching into his jacket he procured a single metal tonfa.

"Furthermore you're crowding the hallways," the president of the disciplinary committee continued, brandishing his weapon menacingly, "And I hate weak herbivores that crowd around. I hope you're prepared for the consequences because I'm going to bite you both to death."

"Shit," I mumbled. I was wracking my brain for a suitable solution when Gokudera decided to open his big mouth.

"Bastard, we'll wipe the floor with you any day," the albino challenged.

I mentally face palmed.

"Idiot," I hissed through clenched teeth. "We can't take him!"

"What? Why?" Gokudera asked, now clearly confused. "I thought you were raised by the Varia?"

"Varia or not, Hibari's strong," I shot back. "I can promise you we'll definitely lose against him."

"Hey! Don't go deciding before the battle's even begun," He countered, a mischievous smirk playing at the corner of his lips.

I knew that look. It was the look he got when he thought of something really smart.

"Hayato, what are you thinking?" I asked, now very curious to know as to what stroke of ingenious he had stumbled upon.

"You'll see," He smirked.

Before I could even bat an eyelash, Gokudera had lit up two dynamite sticks and promptly tossed them towards the dark haired cloud guardian. Then, the next thing I knew, his strong hands were enveloping around my own and we were off, dashing through the hallways of Namimori High.

"Really Hayato? Running? That's your master plan?" I asked, as a loud explosion sounded from behind us.

"You got any brighter ideas, Ms. I-was-raised-by-the-Varia-but-I-can't-take-Hibari?" Gokudera shot back hotly.

I grimaced sourly.

"No," I grudgingly admitted.

"Then quit your yapping and run," the albino retorted, voice edged with the sharp twang of anger.

I heaved a sigh of resentment but knew I had no other choice but to acquiesce with Hayato's command.

I didn't like running. As a matter of fact, I absolutely hated it. Everything about running was unappealing; from the way your breath left your body in short panting bursts to the way your feet splayed out unceremoniously in front of you, alternating every few milliseconds. To be honest, I would really rather fight Xanxus 1000 times over than be forced to run even 100 meters.

Yet for some peculiar reason, as we rounded the corner at the end of the hall, feet skidding loudly against the vinyl floors, I couldn't help but quirk my lips up into a small smile.

It may have been the exhilarating way the air felt, rushing through my hair, tousling my already tangled tresses, or it may have been the way the adrenaline coursed through my veins, heart pumping exuberantly to accommodate the strenuous activity. Or better yet, it may have been the way Hayato was gripping my hand, his warm fingers tucked firmly between my own, tugging me forwards to a future that was full of uncertainty yet riddled with promises.

I didn't like running. Yet for some reason, I felt like if it was with him, with his rough yet gentle hands encased tightly between my own, then I wouldn't mind it.

Because with him, I honestly felt like I could run forever.

"I can't… believe… we actually… out ran Hibari," I panted, as I slouched exhaustedly against the wooded board.

For some reason we had ended up escaping to Namimori Park and were currently seated on one of the many benches facing the water fountain.

"Told you… my plans… never fail," Gokudera replied, just as breathless as I was.

We sat there in silence for a while, both of us trying to recuperate air into our lungs.

"And just for the record, I never said you should wear your hair like that forever," I said pointedly, after I had regained my energy. Then, muttering as an aside, "I just said you should wear your hair like that from now on."

Unfortunately, Hayato caught my small remark, for he was quick to retaliate.

"'From now on' implies 'forever', moron," the albino said shortly, voice gruff as ever.

It was then that I realized that Hayato's hands were still wrapped tightly around my own.

Smiling softly, I leaned my head against his shoulder.

The storm guardian stiffened at the unexpected contact, but soon relaxed and tentatively cocked his head so that it rested atop my own.

"Then I'll love you from now on," I whispered.

Author's Note:

A couple of things:

1) This idea initially came to me while I was on the subway. I thought people would look a lot less intimidating if you just imagined them all in pigtails.

2) The title of the story fits in more ways than one (which, I'm not going to lie, I thought was super cool). I'm not sure how obvious this is – if it's even at all :P Anyway, that's why I put the definition at the start of the fic as reference. Also, the definition for implication was taken from oxford dictionaries.

3) I can't write summaries for my life.

I hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave a review! :D