Clouds
Hibari Kyouya

Reiyoko was an adventurous child, a dreamer, and not afraid of, well, Hibari. They were children, after all, and Reiyoko always saw people as good, unless proven otherwise. They were in the park, Reiyoko laying down on the grass and Hibari sitting a couple of feet away. The girl had her big dark eyes on the sky, watching the clouds. Hibari was, well, he wasn't watching the sky, that's for sure. After a while, Reiyoko grew tired of the quiet, though almost reluctant to disturb it, she called softly, "Hey, 'Bari?"

She didn't expect a reply – she never did. He did glance her way, though, even if she didn't notice. Slowly she spoke. "I know that…in science they teach you that clouds are made of water, but I've always liked to imagine that if I could touch one –" she lifted her arm up as if to grasp a cloud overhead "- it would be soft, and warm. Comfortable, like a blanket or a pillow." Reiyoko turned to the quiet boy. "What do you think, 'Bari?"

Hibari turned away from the girl and her bright smile. "I think you're a stupid herbivore."

Reiyoko's smile faltered just a little bit. "Well, you just have no imagination, Barisaur."


Reiyoko sat on the roof at Namimori Middle. It was after school, and the weather was pleasant. Slight breeze, sunlight, lots of fluffy-looking clouds to look at. Reiyoko had grown up a bit, though still adventurous and a dreamer, she remained mostly unafraid of Hibari. She had seen what he could do, realized that he was dangerous, but she stuck around anyway. Maybe she had a death wish, or maybe it was because he seemed lonely, or because the worst he had maybe done to her was push her away.

Hibari found her on the roof. It didn't take long.

"Herbivore."

Reiyoko's eyes closed as a breeze blew through her hair. "Barisaur," she replied, a smile stretching across her lips. She opened her eyes once more, leaned back on her hands, tipped her head back, and let out a sigh. "It's beautiful," she murmured, gazing at the partly-cloudy sky. Hibari approached, and stood beside the girl, though kept a bit of distance between them. Reiyoko glanced up at Hibari's stoic face, that same bright smile on her own. "I've always wanted to touch a cloud, just to see if science was wrong."

Hibari didn't look at her, but his tone was almost softer than usual. "Stand up, herbivore." Reiyoko complied easily, and stretched and then straightened her uniform back out.

"Alright, 'Bari, I'm standing. Now what?" she questioned curiously.

He shifted his eyes to meet hers. "You said you wanted to touch a cloud."

Reiyoko laughed. "Yes, I did. But how does standing help to accomplish that?"

"I am a cloud." It was very unBarisaur of him, but he held out his hand, palm up, to her, as if offering to hold her hand. Maybe it was because of how long she had stuck by him? Reiyoko knew very little of what went on in Hibari's head, but she wasn't complaining as she slowly took his hand in both of her own. Hibari watched her as she touched his hand and turned it a little to get a better look at it, as if assessing his hand. Finally, Reiyoko raised her dark brown eyes to meet Hibari's. She gave him a simple smile.

"It's warm."