Rating: T, for possible goryness...
Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! I do, however, own my OC. She'll be introduced in this fic soon enough.
A/N: I've recently started up in Fanfiction as SwallowSword. I hope you guys like it! And I hope you guys review my work, because reviews give me motivation to keep writing. This idea's been swimming in my head for quite a while, and I just hadn't had the time to type it up. Plus, the first few times I tried, I found it so unsatisfying and boring that I scrapped it completely. And so, I really hope everyone drops in with a quick review, just to see if I'm doing okay with the plot and all, and also to see if Hibari stays in character. Also, this is probably going to be Hibari x OC x Mukuro. Read and review, everyone!
Calamity Versus Chaos
Winter had reached the small town of Namimori once more. Snow blanketed the streets heavily, coating a thin, powdery white layer on everything. Hibari lay on the school roof, uncaring of the cold, with his jacket fluttering around his shoulders as usual and a thick scarf coiled around his neck. Beside him, tall and heavy piles of snow lay, obscuring him from prying eyes of anyone else save for the group of lone birds still wheeling in the sky. The only sign of the cold bothering him is a light smudge of red on the tip of his nose. His ever faithful companion Hibird twittered and floated fleetingly across the sky, looking like a oversized, puffy snowflake.
Wind trailed around the empty campus of Namimori Middle. As his eyes fluttered shut against the sudden chill, Hibari sighed gently into the surrounding emptiness. For just two weeks, the halls of Namimori ceased to be noisy, and the school is only occupied with the strict Disciplinarian and his faithful right hand, Kusakabe Tetsuya. Even Kusakabe had gone home for the day, but only after ensuring that the Disciplinary Committee Chairman had warm clothes in his possession and therefore would not catch pneumonia.
Out of all the seasons in the yearly cycle, Hibari liked winter the best. Winter was simple, a world of white shades. Winter was silent and disciplined, here in Namimori. Never a fierce flurry of a snowstorm, nor a pathetic trickle of wet flakes. Snow fell steadily and quietly, blanketing. The cold was biting, yes, but it made the herbivores retreat to their safe, warm burrows, and leaves the stronger carnivores to prowl the world on their own. Winter was the season where Hibari could relax more, seeing as stupid thugs and delinquents would rather go drinking or smoking drugs than attempt on vandalizing his beloved school.
Hibari drifted in and out of naps while he was on the roof. Hibird came and went, occasionally flitting down to nudge affectionately at his owner's exposed face. Even the bird knew not to disturb it's master when he's napping.
When he opened his eyes once more, the sun was setting. Fiery golden orange streaks mingled with vibrant red, splashing across the canvas of the sky. Hibari picked himself off the school roof gracefully, dusting down his jacket carefully. Quickly summoning Hibird, the two of them made their slow way across the rooftop and into the empty campus of Namimori Middle. Exiting the school, they strolled leisurely through the quiet town, reaching Hibari's traditionally Japanese style house.
Hibari let himself in quickly. Even carnivores are not impervious to the cold, and he was starting to feel a slight cold coming on. His throat ticked and his nose itched. He had no inclination of succumbing to such a pitiful disease, and so immediately brewed himself a warm cup of green tea and retreated to his bedroom, cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other.
A few days passed, and Namimori was starting to get livelier. People are returning from wherever they went for the holidays, and Hibari found it harder and harder to find time to simply relax, drink tea and read. He had to constantly go out and bite rowdy groups to death. And pretty soon, another problem presented itself to him.
Sasagawa Ryohei.
"HIBARI! OIIII! HIBARI! LET ME IN TO THE EXTREME! I WANT TO FIGHT YOU! HIBARI!"
Said man was currently pounding on his cherry oak wood door, screaming his lungs out. Ever since the Inheritance episode, Ryohei thinks he can persuade Hibari to do anything as long as he persistantly follows him around, or knocks on his door in this case. Hibari winced slightly as he heard his front door creak under the pressure of the boxer's fists. He considered slamming his tonfas into Ryohei's skull as soon as the door gives way. But then again, it would just prompt the boxer to become more aggressive and most likely result in heavy damage dealt to the traditionally Japanese styled house. So Hibari decided to make a tactical retreat, and slipped neatly out the back door.
Stepping into the coolness of a mid January afternoon, Hibari sneezed as snowflakes drifted gently onto his nose. He wished that he had thought of grabbing his scarf before heading out, but that would require going back into the house and possibly meeting with the annoying boxer. Therefore he didn't venture back into the wooden premises, and chose to stride away, taking a mid afternoon patrolling stroll on the embankments of the small river that ran through Namimori.
"HIBARI!"
He was quickly found out. That boxer really was undeterred with Hibari's cold nature. Ryohei came rushing towards the silent skylark, fists pumping into the air repetitively.
"HIBARI! LET'S JUST HAVE ONE MATCH! ONE! I WANT TO EXTREMELY FIGHT YOU!"
Hibari obviously still didn't want anything to do with the white-haired maniac behind him. He snarled quietly at the loud words, but nonetheless didn't comment. He just wanted peace and quiet. And discipline. Life without Sasagawa Ryohei is peaceful, quiet and disciplined.
Turning his face away from the shouting teenager, he opted walk closer to the river. Though it was January, the river's constant water movements kept it flowing steadily, and kept the water from being frozen. Hibari glared disdainfully as a few pieces of rubbish floated by. He was quite keen on keeping Namimori a clean, polished place. Looking around, he saw marked graffiti on the sidewalks, the vivid writing and paint jobs barely being covered by the whiteness of the snow. A few vulgar words jumped out at him, and he let out a low growl. Putting the vandalism here next to the river the top of his list of things to do, he decided to go visit the sanitation committee in charge of keeping Namimori clean. Someone isn't doing his or her job well.
Walking straight ahead with a clear purpose in mind, he quicken his pace. A surprised Ryohei ceased shouting for a second, and then resumed his extremely annoying hollering. However, Hibari had long since learned to ignore the noise pollution. He shrugged off the hand on his shoulder determinedly and continued his patrol.
Until he almost walked right into someone.
"Kamikorosu..." He began.
Tilting his head up to scowl at the person, his eyes widened in shock. There, standing right before him, was himself. Except considerably older. He looked around ten years older than the current Hibari, who found himself unable to do anything but stare at the man in surprise. It wasn't everyday that you see yourself in an older form after all.
Except the older man didn't stop at all. He continued walking, seemingly not noticing the smaller self before him. When he reached close proximity with the current Hibari, Ten Years Later Hibari (as Hibari himself dubbed...his older self as) walked straight through his younger self. Hibari looked like he had just been slapped. He didn't feel anything but a cool breeze as the older man passed through him with no friction or resistance at all. It was as if he were a ghost. And even more surprising is the fact that he found himself face to face with a woman. A woman that looked vaguely familiar:
Koizumi Kumiko, his mind supplied helpfully. Currently attending Namimori Chuu, in the same class as Sawada Tsunayoshi. Grades are average, is a shy, quiet girl and isn't known to have spoken to anyone since her admittance to the Namimori Schools community in year 2.
If it weren't for the fact that Hibari had been going through her student profile to check on her grades the night before, Hibari would have never recognized her. However, the woman's identity was unmistakable, her hair still that dull brown color, and her eyes still habitually cast to the ground in shyness. Except that this Koizumi Kumiko looked 25 instead of her supposedly 15 years as of now. The question is why she was following after Ten Years Later Hibari. They were even holding hands, as if they had been strolling along the riverbanks as a couple. Koizumi Kumiko passed cleanly through Hibari as well.
Are they both ghosts?
"HIBARI! WHAT'S WRONG, HIBARI? WHY AREN'T YOU WALKING ANYMORE?"
Snapping back to reality with Ryohei's yells, Hibari once again turned to glare at the boxer. He must be hallucinating. But just to check, he gestured to the 'couple' with a jerk of his head.
"Herbivore. Who are those people. Tell me."
Ryohei turned in the indicated direction, peering curiously about.
"WHAT, HIBARI? I DON'T SEE ANYTHING!"
Hibari resisted the urge to tonfa the boxer into oblivion. There was obviously two people, standing right there. Ten Years Later Hibari had drawn Koizumi Kumiko closer to him now, and was currently wrapping his arms around her, letting her head fall onto his chest gently. Hibari glared at the sight. There's no way he would act in such a herbivorous way.
Koizumi looked up into Ten Years Later Hibari's steely gray eyes, her brown ones soft and questioning. Ten Years Later Hibari looked down at her, a masked sadness glimmering in his eyes. To anyone else, it would've seemed like his expression is completely blank at the moment, but Hibari was certain there was sadness in his eyes. After all, Hibari himself was well acquainted with the feeling of hiding himself within a seemingly indifferent expression. Koizumi didn't do anything but duck her head, nuzzling closer to Ten Years Later Hibari. Her arms reached up to clench into his shirt, crinkling the pressed purple fabric.
Hibari wanted to turn away. The moment seemed so intimate; it felt like he was intruding, even though it was technically himself. He couldn't understand why he had the urge to keep watching. He could've turned around to walk away, or even to send a few blows into the oblivious boxer's brain. But he didn't look away.
And he wished he did.
Ten Years Later Hibari took out his tonfas. He looked at them in a considering manner before throwing them aside with a pained expression. He then reached into the back of his jacket and pulled out a gun. His expression was a screen of careful apathy.
Hibari's eyes narrowed even further. Why would he throw away his main weapons of attack when he was getting ready to bite a herbivore to death? Was Ten Years Later Hibari tired of Koizumi Kumiko's presence? If so, why not just beat her up and leave her quivering on the floor like he himself has done countless of times to the students at Nami-chuu? Why the intimacy?
He acts like he loves her...
Ten Years Later Hibari wrapped his one free arm around the woman once more. It was a desperate, gripping motion. It didn't seem like he wanted to let her go. With the other hand, he carefully raised the gun and pressed it against her temple. The woman raised her head, muttering something. Hibari couldn't hear it because the words were blown away as soon as she spoke them. As soon as Koizumi's eyes met his, Ten Years Later Hibari's eyes clenched shut.
He pulled the trigger.
A/N: Remember, this is my first time writing a story like this. Constructive criticism is welcome, but I hope I won't get any flamers. Reviews are definitely loved. I hope that was enough of a cliffy!