A/N: If Chrome seems stronger it's necessary….or else Hibari will go "stupid herbivore!" and she looked really strong from her first introduction. Or that's my opinion.
This was started a long, long time ago for a friend who was an 1896 fan. But I never finished it and now, I don't think she's a KHR fan anymore. Still...
Written for Mnie.
Summer Heat
The weather channel predicted a clear sky that night. Tsuna peered into the cloudless skies and sighed.
It was Reborn's idea. A get-together with all the Guardians during a summer festival, to "renew and reawaken bonds," was all he said when Tsuna demanded an explanation.
It wasn't too horrible, as of now, he thought, attempting, but failing at optimism. Tsuna had no idea how Reborn managed to convince Hibari to come along but he could not help but dread the consequences of bringing together all six of his guardians.
Currently, he was standing at the rendezvous point, clad in an orange yukata, keeping on eye on I-pin and Lambo as they walked along the ledge of the bridge railing and another eye on his incoming Guardians. "I-pin! Lambo! Be careful!" he cried out as Lambo nearly slipped off, the only thing holding him above the river below was I-pin's clutch on his cow suit.
"Jyuudaime!" Tsuna looked up towards the voice after he managed to safely drop Lambo back on solid ground. He turned to see Yamamoto and Gokudera, the former dressed in a dark blue kimono and the latter in a pale green.
"Gokudera-kun! Yamamoto! You're here!" Tsuna smiled at his two friends.
The explosive Storm Guardian glanced around before expressing his displeasure. "They're not here yet."
Yamamoto tried to soothe his friend, who had been prone to lighting explosives when he did not have cigarettes at hand – Nana had forbid the boy from underage smoking, even going as far as to search his body for the incriminating cancer sticks (strange, how she missed the dynamite) and gave him matches when Reborn said that fifteen year olds had to fulfill their pyromania in one way or another. "Maa, maa. We're still early. They should be coming soon."
Just as Yamamoto said it, he saw Sasagawa Kyoko and Haru (the designated babysitters of this event) walked up. Behind them was the boxing Sun Guardian; except Ryohei was currently preoccupied with wrestling a loose string from his brown yukata. As he approached the group, he looked around, "Where is Master Pao Pao?"
"Over here." Standing perfectly balanced on the bridge ledge was Reborn, clad in a miniature brown yukata and the Master Pao Pao headdress.
"Master Pao Pao!" cried the boxer. "You-"
What he was about to say was interrupted by the interjecting voice. "Oi! Sawada."
Tsuna turned to see the Mukuro trio. Despite the festive excitement buzzing all over town, all three were still dressed in the Kokuyo uniform. Just barely picking it up, Tsuna heard Gokudera mutter, "Hibari's not the only one obsessed with their school."
Ken stepped aside and pushed the girl forward. "We brought you the girl. Now leave us alone." And with that, he and Chikusa left, leaving Chrome standing awkwardly in front of her boss.
She smiled shyly, "Thank you for inviting me, Boss."
Tsuna blushed slightly, "Uh, it's nothing. Anyways, Reborn said we had to. Ritual or something." When Chrome just blinked, Tsuna stammered. "U-uh, you know. If you wanted them to stay, they're allowed to."
Chrome shook her head. "They're going to the festival too, but they probably don't want me to interrupt them."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Nevermind."
Tsuna sweated. Chrome was really weird.
Gokudera, having gotten out of the small wrestling match with Yamamoto expressed his impatience. "Jyuudaime! Are we still waiting? The festival has begun already."
Tsuna turned towards Reborn, "Should we continue waiting, or head over to the festival now?"
Reborn looked to be in deep thought until Chrome's voice drifted over, "I can wait here."
Tsuna jumped at the sudden voice and exclaimed, "Are you sure, Chrome?"
She nodded. "You guys can go ahead. I was late too and you had to wait for me. I don't want to be any trouble to you, boss."
"But that guy…" Tsuna faltered.
"Is there something wrong with him?" Chrome sounded sincerely curious.
"No-"
Reborn interrupted Tsuna before he could finish. "So it's been decided. Chrome Dokuro and I will wait here. The rest of you will go on ahead."
-
Dressed in a plain black yukata, Hibari walked onto the bridge to hear the baby say, "You're late."
Hibari scowled but before he could speak Reborn leapt down from the ledge of the bridge. Both Hibari and Chrome rushed to the railing to look down the side. Instead they saw Reborn floating on a bamboo raft and was rowing away downstream with a green oar. "I have to be somewhere else. You will attend the festival with Chrome Dokuro."
Hibari sneered, "with this herbivore?"
"You might be surprised, Cloud Guardian. Some just might be a wolf hiding in sheep's clothing." With those final words, Reborn disappeared.
Hibari whirled around when he felt a small tug on his sleeve. "What-"
He looked into the face of a girl. She had hair in a very recognizable fashion, and was dressed in the Kokyuo school uniform. She smiled, "Don't worry. I assure you, I eat meat."
"Rokudo Mukuro" Hibari muttered and pulled out a tonfa out of nowhere and slammed it towards her.
He looked back surprised when she was able to quickly able to grab his tonfa to stop his attack. "My name is Chrome Dokuro."
He still did not look satisfied.
"I'm a girl."
Hibari scowled and tugged the tonfa out of her hand. He started to walk towards and festival and Chrome smiled before jogging to catch up to him.
-
"Why aren't you wearing a yukata?"
Chrome looked up surprised. He had been silent the entire time so hearing his voice was a bit abrupt. "I...I don't have one."
Hibari stopped suddenly, and Chrome who was a step behind him, stumbled and crashed into his back. "Ow…" she whispered as she stepped back and put a hand to her nose.
"Follow me," he directed and she swiftly followed his brisk steps weaving through the heavy crowds. When he finally stopped moving, she glanced up at the store he had stopped in front of. Her eyes opened wider, it was a yukata store.
He jerked his head towards the store. "Pick one."
Chrome looked down, "I don't have enough money to buy one."
Hibari looked at the shopkeeper. "It's free."
The storeowner nodded ferociously when his eyes caught Hibari's gaze. "Yes! Yes! My lady, please pick one. It's free. On the house!"
Chrome smiled and bowed, "thank you so much." As she browsed the selection, Hibari watched as her face perked up at a yukata with pineapples printed on them.
"Do you like pineapples?"
She shook her head. "Someone I really care about does. But I do not like them. And you?"
"I hate pineapples."
"Oh."
A few moments later, Chrome chose a deep purple yukata with a lily print and changed out of her school uniform. As they were exiting the store - in which the storeowner frantically bowed to bid them a great time at the festival - Chrome darted a few steps ahead of Hibari. "You are a lot nicer than I thought. Thank you!"
Her smile was radiant and Hibari turned his head slightly to hide the hint of red on his face. "Don't be mistaken. I just really hate your school uniform. And you were disrupting the setting of the festival by not wearing a yukata."
Despite his words, Chrome's smile stayed on her face. "Are we going to meet up with everyone else now?"
"No. I hate crowds."
"I thought we were supposed to meet up with them."
"You can go."
Chrome shook her head, "I think I'll stay with you. Two is not a crowd right?"
"I was unaware that I was pleasant company."
Chrome seemed distracted as she stared in awe at the stands aligning the street. "You're certainly not unpleasant." Hibari seemed stunned but Chrome continued, "Have you ever been to a festival?"
"Of course. I always do collection."
"Collection?" Chrome looked nervous before she asked "Do you think you show me around?"
-
"Play."
Chrome's glanced down at the tub of swimming goldfish. She turned her head and was surprised to see that the humongous crowd surrounding this stand had suddenly dispersed. She shrugged; it was a bit better this way. She didn't like it when they kept jostling her arm.
"How much is this game?"
"I-it's free," stammered the stand owner. He was frightened beyond belief and almost threw the poi at her. She caught the paper scooper and kneeled down to play.
Hibari watched as the girl's attention was diverted to the goldfish and took a step towards the stand owner. He held out a hand and the stand owner – albeit reluctantly – tossed a wad of money into the open palm. Hibari glanced at the cash in hand and nodded. The stand owner let out a sigh of relief.
Hearing it, Chrome looked up. "Is something wrong?"
"N-no!" said the store owner frantically.
"Okay." She turned back to her game and grimaced. The paper kept breaking!
"You have to be quick," her companion's voice ghosted near her ear. "The paper becomes easily ripped once it touches water. Wait until the fish swim closer to the surface."
Chrome tried ignored the ticklish sensation left by his breathe and the warm heat from his body leaning close to her. Instead, she focused on what he said. Wait for the fish, slip in the poi, and lift out. There!
Her eyes lit up and she turned to him. "I got one!"
She smiled brightly, all shyness forgotten in this moment of triumph and Hibari stared, stunned by this open display of emotion.
Her smile faltered when she saw his piercing gaze, "Is something wrong?"
He turned away from her. "Come. We're going to the next stand."
"Okay!" She scrambled to her feet, handed the small container with her single fish swimming inside for it placed inside a small plastic bag, and ran after the man who was already a few stands away. It wasn't hard to find him though; the crowds had parted to let him walk.
-
In one hand, Chrome held a still-warm taiyaki, and her other hand held containers of yakisoba and takoyaki and other festival foods. She bit off the head cheerfully, and said softly as she chewed, "Thank you for taking me to all these food stands when I said I was hungry."
Hibari stared at her sharply before saying, "Volume IV, Chapter 23, Page 96, Line 18."
"Huh?" Chrome blinked and stopped chewing. Her mouth was still half-filled with the sticky anko bean paste.
"It is disrespectful to chew and talk to a disciplinary committee officer at the same time. That is stated in the 'Correct Conduct for Excellent Discipline. Edition III.'"
Chrome frantically finished chewing and whispered a shy, "sorry!" but her lips still showed a faint smile.
Hibari slowly reached out towards her face, and Chrome's eyes widened but she didn't move. Halfway, his hands paused and she blinked. Still they exchanged no words and Hibari slowly withdrew his hand. His face looked confused momentarily before he murmured, "You have some anko on your face."
She frowned, slightly puzzled by his actions, but proceeded to dig around for a napkin. As she did so, a taller man with a strange haircut wearing her boss' school uniform approached her companion and they exchanged words. The taller man left with a polite bow and walked away.
"Have you ever seen the fireworks, Chrome Dokuro?"
Chrome shook her head. "No. Chikusa-kun isn't very fond of the loud noises. I've heard them, but I always wanted to see it."
"Chikusa?"
"He's…a friend?" She turned her head to the side slightly. "No…I don't think he thinks I'm a friend."
"He is your…boyfriend?" Hibari scoffed as he recalled the couples he found several times hiding inside his beloved Namimori's equipment closet. And then he grinned when the remembered biting them to death afterwards.
Chrome widened her eyes, "N-no! It's nothing like that…I guess…we're roommates… Besides…Chikusa-kun has Ken-kun." Her face reddened a bit. And then she giggled.
Hibari furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Is that funny?"
Chrome quickly replied with a "no. No." But she hid her smile behind the half eaten taiyaki.
"My disciplinary committee has reserved the best spot for viewing the fireworks. Let's go."
-
The fireworks were beautiful. Chrome's eyes were fixated on the brilliant colors that painted the night sky briefly before the sparks faded away, only to be replaced by another design, another color. She constantly let out another sound of awe but her companion, who was leaning against a giant tree remained silent. She could tell that his eyes were trained on her and he was frowning. How odd. Why was he not looking at the sky? It was so beautiful.
-
They were on the bridge again after the festival was disbanded. Chrome held several game prizes in her hand and she was chewing on her last takoyaki ball. Hibari furrowed his eyebrows.
"Is something wrong?" Chrome asked after she finished chewing.
He hesitated before saying, "You eat a lot more than I expected." Every container of food she had carried was consumed and thrown away between the fireworks and the walk to the bridge.
She resisted a pout. What did he mean by that? "I'm not an herbivore, if that's what you were expecting." Before he could comment she felt her cell phone vibrate. Only three people knew her number – Chikusa, Ken, and somehow Reborn had gotten it too. The three from Kokuyo had decided to meet up at the Namimori Park at the end of the festival and she knew it was time to go.
Hibari was still leaning on the bridge railing, his eyes focused on the black waters underneath. She caught his attention with a light cough, "Um. I have to leave now."
His eyes were trained on her face, but they were hard to read.
She smiled, "I had a great time." She took two steps forward pressed her lips to his cheek quickly. "Thank you, Cloud Man." She bowed deeply and walked away.
Hibari stood on the bridge staring at her retreating form. He lifted his fingers to the place where she had touched him.
The burning feeling of her soft lips remained lingering there for a very long time.
A/N: I FINALLY FINISHED!!! If I ever have time, I plan to make a het collection revolved around the four seasons. But I don't think I will have time in the near future. I have 2 more days of vacation before school begins…if I finish all my work, I'll try to finish up Chapter 3 of Bloodlust. But I hope you enjoyed this and haven't died of sappy sugar rush! Please review, it fuels me.