A/N: I honestly lost count of how many times I edited this fic. O_o Mainly it's because I was figuring out how Ipin's mind works and how deep her love is for Hibari (both present and future versions). I did try different approaches, but nothing seems in character, so…

This is a HibariIpinTYL fic that was request by shizuke-san. (Thank you for requesting^^) Ah, also, this is my first try at HibariIpinTYL, so please bear with me. O_o

Just Five Minutes
by chumee

"Hibari-sama!"

The sound of her sandals against the cement seemed so loud against her ears. She knew she doesn't need to worry about him, that he can protect himself, and that the would-be muggers should need more than a Gola Mosca with them. Still, she couldn't help but fret.

It was New Year's Eve. She waited. They all waited. Because he promised he'd come.

'Of all the days he could've lied about going to the convenience store, it just had to be before New Year!'

"Hibari-sama!" she called again. And silence, just like an obedient student answered her. She wiped away her tears angrily from her face. 'Where is he?!'

She stopped for a moment to catch her breath. She was almost near the highway, and she had searched every nook and cranny in Namimori for him. A horrible thought entered her mind when she excused herself to find him, but that can't be possible, can it? Such a ridicu—

The sudden roar of a motorcycle engine startled her. It was a faint sound, since it came from far away, but it shattered the night's silence.

"Hibari-sama!" she called, and ran as fast as she could possibly can towards the direction of the sound. But the sudden echoing of the temple bell drowned out her voice. She almost cursed.

"Hibari-sama!" she yelled as she ran. 'I can stop him!' she thought to herself. 'Whatever his reason is for leaving, I can stop him!' And then, thoughtfully, as if to cheer her up, she added, 'I can make him stay!'

The highway was already in plain view. And he was at the gas station. "Hibari-sama!" she called out, but he didn't seem to hear. She prayed the person at the gas station could stall him for just a few more seconds.

But as she forced her legs to go faster, her sandals betrayed her, and cracked in the middle. She nearly fell on the road if she didn't hold on to the lamp post.

'Oh for—' She angrily kicked her broken sandals away and continued to run, barefoot.

The cement under her feet was mercilessly cold and were seriously hurting her feet, but she didn't mind. Her heart was already thudding so hard against her ribcage, her lungs were in need of more air, and she couldn't possibly breathe harder.

"Hibari-sama!" she called out as hard as she could, and she felt her voice break. She could see him leaving, accelerating as he goes. But even if her body was protesting, she refused to give in.

She was already crying so hard, but she didn't mind to wipe the tears off now. If she did, she might lose sight of him.

And then, she felt something break in her skin, and a sharp pain shot all over her body. She stumbled landed in an ungraceful heap on the cement. 'No!' she thought angrily. 'NO! Hibari-sama is..!'

When she inspected the cause of the pain, she saw that she stepped on broken glass. She pulled it out of her foot impatiently and had difficulty in getting up. Still, she stubbornly tried to run towards him, but all she could do was limp.

Her foot was bleeding, and her heart beat against her chest like it was trying to escape. She gasped for air, and tried to call out his name again, hoping this time he would hear.

But his motorcycle was already getting smaller in the distance.

"Hiba—" Her hand flew to her neck. She felt pain again, now in her throat. She tasted blood on her mouth. And when she tried to speak, a rough sound that was her voice was what she heard. She began to sob uncontrollably, realizing that her voice, the only one that could reach him now, had also betrayed her.

If only her soul could be free from being trapped in her body. If only she could stop him.

She fell on the ground as the pain overtook her. But it wasn't the pain in her foot, or the pain in her throat that was the most painful.

It was the pain she felt in her heart when she realized she couldn't see him again.

And as the temple bells announced the New Year, it also accompanied her in her loneliness, drowning her voice, and her sobs completely.

That was two years ago.

Ipin heard the tolling of the temple bell from a distance. She put her head under the pillow to at least block out the wretched sound. Does everybody acquire insomnia during New Year? Or was it only her?

Two years had passed since that fateful night. Her foot still bears the scar she acquired from stepping on a rather large piece of broken glass, and it served as a reminder that she failed to make him stay.

Those two years had changed her. She found it hard to be what she was before he left. Her features grew more mature, and her eyes wiser. She stayed as quiet as she was before, and as demure, but when she spoke, it was with conviction, and her decisions were firm and rung with finality.

Her classmates and co-workers were shocked at the change, and wonder what happened to her, but she would never admit to anyone—except to Lambo, who had become more like an immature younger brother to her, that the event that took place on New Year two years ago was the reason why she became like this. But many approved of the change, saying she became matured, although really, she's just the same little girl she was inside.

The same girl who chased the person she loves down the highway, barefooted. The same girl who would, for any reason, throw her life away if it means saying a proper goodbye to him, at the very least. The same girl would never allow herself to force him to come back, nor would she allow herself to follow him wherever he went.

Because her following him like a shadow wouldn't be what he wanted. And not seeing him would mean giving him his freedom—his happiness…things he could never give up on.

And since she wasn't the type to confess, she regretted that she wasn't able to tell him even a fraction of how much she feels for him, instead of feeling relieved that her love remained a secret.

She had been contented being near him, seeing him sometimes, that she didn't realize that she was starting to take his presence for granted, and that she was setting him as a constant factor that completes her life.

It was something that cannot be. He is a factor to make her life complete. She wasn't a factor to his.

She does miss him terribly, but what else can she do but go on with her life? She couldn't possibly spend the rest of her days finding him, could she? At first, she told herself, that she could, that she had the resources to find him, and the money to do so. 'Who cares about college? What is it compared to love?' was what Bianchi might say to her.

But she soon realized that she would be no more than a bother, an eyesore.

She would just have to be contented to live her life like this, letting him visit her thoughts during New Year, the time when he left, like an almost forgotten memory, fighting to be remembered. Again, that's so like him, fighting…always fighting.

She knew she could never forget him, she would never try to, but it really, really hurts to remember.

Like bearing a poisoned wound that can be healed only if he comes back. And she knew he never will.

She heard the sudden sound of the wind.

Hey, did someone open her windows? Ipin muttered something about curses and ancestors and tried to pull her blanket around her, only to have someone pull it from her.

Ipin closed her eyes and said in a most strained voice she only uses when she's really in PMS mode. "Mr. Robber," she warned. "I'm giving you three seconds to return my blanket. If you don't, I'll—"

Someone sighed. Do robbers sigh? Just give the blanket and leave in peace already!

Getting impatient, Ipin took the pillow away from her face, sat up and got ready to smash the robber's face when she saw the Lambo who was in the same age as her having her blanket around him. He already had his hands up.

"You..!" Ipin pointed an accusing finger at him.

"The brat did it." Lambo replied, accusing his 10 years younger self.

Ipin crossed her arms across her chest. "It's still you." She told him as a matter-of-factly before reaching her hand out. "Now surrender the blanket or you'll—"

"Woke up on the wrong side of the bed?" he asked wryly, and handed her the blanket.

She took the blanket and threw him the pillow instead. "I don't know what time it is in the country you're in, but it was nighttime in mine." she snapped. "And if I hadn't been transported ten years to the past, I would have." Then she stood up, wrapped the blanket around her, and started to survey the surroundings. "Anyway…Where are we?"

They were on top of a grassy hill facing a town. A town that could only be—

"Namimori from ten years ago." Lambo told her, stood up, and stretched. "And I thought you're the smart one." He added, muttering.

"I heard that."

And then the temple bells started to sound. Lambo looked at the girl who hadn't moved from where she stood. She was glaring at the direction of the sound.

He frowned. "I should've known it was New Year's Eve. Then I shouldn't have tried to talk to you." He looked away and scratched his head. "I thought you were having your monthly visitor."

Ipin gave him a saccharine smile that was too sweet to be real. "Aren't you the smart one."

Lambo sighed, opting not to answer back because he hadn't a death wish. He gestured towards the town. "Coming?"

"No thanks, I'm full." Ipin told him, knowing fully well he was going to the Sawada's residence to eat, if ever he made it there without consuming the five minutes, being the klutz that he is. She shook her head and added, "And you're still as gluttonous as ever."

"Suit yourself." He shrugged and began walking towards the town.

Lambo was the only person who knew about her aversion to New Year. The only one who knows better than test her patience, and that she wasn't the best person to talk to at this time of the year, so he left her alone. Well, at least he was considerate.

Deciding to get away from the annoying sound of the temple bells, Ipin started to walk towards the top of the hill when she noticed a person lying down.

'What could that person be doing at this time of the night during New Year's Eve?' she asked herself, mildly curious. And, wanting to know the person's identity, she silently approached and peered at the person's face.

At first, her not so 20-20 eyes only registered black hair and pale skin, but as she went closer, the features and the build of the person became clear to her. As her mind recognized who the person is, Ipin thought her heart just stopped right then and there.

Hibari Kyouya.

It was Hibari Kyouya.

A meteor might've destroyed Namimori already, or the earth might've shattered, Ipin herself might've died, but she wasn't the one who'd notice any of that because at that time, nobody existed except him.

Suddenly, Ipin gasped as she realized that Hibari must be looking at her murderously because she had been shamelessly looking at him. But as she squinted in the half-light, she saw that the boy had been sleeping soundly. She let out a relieved sigh.

She should've worn her glasses tonight, if she knew this would happen. Near-sightedness is an enemy.

She couldn't believe that he was on the same place at her, not more than two meters away. They were on the same timeline, roughly around the same age. At first, she couldn't do anything but stare. So much that closing her eyes to blink seems to be such a pain. So much that she felt the tears well up on her eyes as she avoided blinking.

'He's here. With me. Right now.'

Ipin not only felt, but knew she was the happiest person in the world.

"Hiba—" Ipin was about to call his name. But she caught herself in time and immediately clapped both her hands against her mouth, afraid to wake the boy up. The world was silent around them, except for the occasional sound of the temple bells.

Temple bells.

Ipin's eyes widened as she suddenly realized something.

'I could be with him this New Year…' she smiled, and repeated the thought to herself, as if repeating it would solidify the statement more.

Just being with him during New Year, even though he is sleeping, and is probably oblivious to her presence…

Without thinking, Ipin placed her blanket on top of him and sat down, maintaining the respectable distance between them. Her eyes looked at his face to check if the motion woke him up, but he didn't show any signs of being awake.

'Why is he even out here when it's New Year?' Ipin asked herself, frowning a bit. But she can't help but be happy. He was here, with her. Did it matter if he was awake or not? Did it matter if he was supposed to be somewhere else other than here?

Thinking about that, her heart wanted her to lie down beside him and wait until the five minutes are up, the five minutes that could grant her happiness…but she couldn't. If she were to say his name, to touch him, to confess, even if she were to do all of those as gently as she could, and as silently, he would probably wake up. And what would happen after that? Would he frown and tell her not to crowd him? Would he throw the blanket at her, disgusted at her affections? Would his younger version leave her…like what his older self did?

And more importantly…Could she handle the rejection? Could she endure being left behind again? She didn't want to know.

And so Ipin willed herself not to get closer by reminding her that he, her precious Hibari-sama, is a dream. And like a dream, he cannot be reached. And therefore, it was useless to even try to reach him. She has to convince herself that this illusion that the 10 year bazooka has provided is only a fanciful hallucination, made up for the sake of comforting her heart.

She had to believe that she doesn't belong in this world. And that the real Hibari, the one from her time, was gone already.

But as Ipin continued to look at Hibari's sleeping face, she felt her resolve crumbling. She knows that it's a sin for her to even be here, longing for him. That he would still leave eight years later. And that she's the one who will end up being hurt.

Would being here change anything in the future? How she wish it would.

Her heart pounded against her chest, as if protesting, willing her to come closer and do what she will. Just so she doesn't have any more reasons to regret.

'Would I let go of this chance?' Ipin thought. The sound of the temple bells reminded her that she only had five minutes. She bit her lip and felt a tear roll down her cheek. Deep inside, she knew the answer so well.

She couldn't. She wouldn't.

If she wouldn't do anything now, she'll spend the rest of her life regretting it. Because this time, it will be her fault, for not saying a proper goodbye to him.

Carefully, she lowered her face above his and tried to breathe as less as possible. But as she got nearer, continuing to stare at his calm, sleeping face, she realized that what she plans to do is a crime.

Yes, she didn't want to regret. Yes, she wanted to do nothing more than to tell him silently, secretly, what she's been feeling. To share a part of her emotions with him.

But she couldn't bring herself to kiss his lips.

And so instead of his lips, which might be reserved for someone else, someday, Ipin leaned down and kissed Hibari's cheek, her wordless action conveying a lot more emotions than she could say.

She loved him, but she respected him, nonetheless. Her respect was enough to overcome her own selfishness.

And this would be enough.

Ipin leaned out and covered her mouth, as if what she did was unforgivable. Then she quietly stood up and walked away. And when she knew she was beyond the hearing distance, Ipin began to sob.

His freedom, his happiness, would remain her first priority. And her love, her affection, would remain a secret.

'Yes, this would be enough.' Ipin thought as she found herself back on her room.

Five minutes had mended her heart.

A/N: Unbelievable. I can't believe how hard it is (for me) to write a het fic. XD Another unbelievable thing, I can't believe Hibari slept through the whole chapter. But is he, really? /gg Ah, the first mystery of the year! XD Anyway;;

Ah, did the fic turn out well? O_o To shizuke-san, are you um…okay with the fic? And I'm sorry I took so long to post this. ToT The racket during New Year was enough to make any hermit go crazy. But since I'm not a hermit..^^;; (let's not just talk about the crazy part;; )

…Review? ovo/