Hello, my dear readers! It's been a while, ne? Well, this is my first time writing more than a single one-shot... and I hope you like this one.
Before I forgot, this is an AU. Obviously.
Hibari-san's and Haru-chan's characters are REVERSED in this story.
How can they act in their unusual prompt? I wonder...
Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn is a canon anime and manga made by Ms. Akira Amano with ArtLand. The plot is owned by the owner and it is not her responsibility if there is any coincidences with either the real life or other fanfictions inside the site.
2-in-1 ID Game
Chapter 1
BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP!
"Ah, not now."
A groan escaped from the mouth of a sleeping figure under the sea of blankets and soft coverlets.
CLICK!
A sounding button was heard.
This sleeping person should had awaken already. But then, he's soundly asleep. Look at his face, it's peaceful. Except with the black circles.
If only he'd slept earlier, then he couldn't had craved like this.
Darn those errands requested to him.
From the graduating students: "Sir, here is our special permit to take exams... Please let us take our finals."
From his past students who received an INC (Incomplete) on their report cards: "Sir, please encode our grades on your subject... We promise we will do our best to do your assigned task."
From the chairman of arts committee: "Mr. Hibari, could you please make an instructional guide of Humanities for the months September to March next year?"
From the dean of his own department: "Mr. Hibari, I expect your already-made curriculum on the subjects Afro-Asian Literature and Children's Literature for the summer semester... tomorrow until 9 AM only."
From his father: "Kyoya, could you make an invitation card for the third birthday of Momo's son, Satou? I know you're good at it, and I trust you... Oh, I almost forgot... I need that tomorrow."
And so many other requests.
Aggrrhh! There are so many things to do! I can't do this at all! What should I do? Sorry Hibari Kyoya... I think you have to sacrifice your sleep for today.
That's what did he say before doing all the work and finishing those by half minute past two.
That is not a nice joke to him. He wakes at 5 in the morning, and he had less than three hours of sleep and having three hours of sleep means one grumpy zombie and airheaded Hibari Kyoya.
BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP!
"Hmm..." Hibari opened his eyes, just to close it again... because it really stings! His hands went towards his clock to place it near his face, and when he opened his eyes...
"Holy Romeo and Juliet! It's six o'clock! I'm going to be late! Daaad!"
"Whaaat?" A voice came from downstairs.
"Why didn't you wake me up?! I told you, my class is at seven!"
"How could I? When I came in to your room, you were sleeping like a log."
"Dad! That's not a relevent reason at all!" He went inside the shower.
His father answered, but the voice was muffled. And besides, his mind is on a rush.
From the shower, all that was heard were "Ow, ow! Too hot!," some mutterings, a slip and a crash.
After thirty minutes, Hibari was outside the home and inside the university campus.
Sogodaigaku Chushin no Namimori, or Namimori Central University on the whole Namimori. It is one of the oldest schools which is tough enough to stay strong since the second world war until today's time. The students residing are mostly from the town of Namimori, as well as the professors.
Including our protagonist, Hibari Kyoya.
Currently, he was standing on the middle of the school's quadrangle. His face was blank and motionless. His eyes were going to give out any minute now -
PRRK!
A high-pitched sound of a whistle almost chopped his ears out of his body. Then, a shaking, angry voice was heard.
"OI! GET OUT OF HERE! YOU'RE NOT PART OF THE 23RD BATALLION! GET OUT - "
A dark aura suspiciously oozed out of his body, making the very person standing near him pale a great shade of white. "You're digging your own grave, herbivore." He muttered under his breath. But his rational side kicked in to stop his murderous intent.
He looked towards the idiot who dared scream to him.
Then he smiled. A wicked one.
"Oh, did I get in your way, Commander Hiroiki? Well, I apologize then."
He bowed down his head and stealthily went on big strides towards the faculty room in high hopes to get away from the camouflage-colored porky, or else he would be toasted with a Kalashnikov.
However, the commander just released his pent up horrified sigh while scratching his head, fortunate enough to be neglected.
"What's with that guy?"
Faculty room. The center of the student body. You might want to ask why could that be. While the professors are the ones sitting from their cubicles, the ones you will hear were the mocking high-pitched tones from the students.
Some greetings...
"Good morning Ma'am! What could be the lecture of the day?"
Some little chit-chats...
"Hey, Chiki... I love your hair."
"Thank you, Ma'am. It's Monday, you know."
"Love the curls."
"Thanks."
"Say, where did you get that style?"
"Oh, I didn't make these. I went to the hair salon right the next block last Friday. The hairstylists suggested these curls with my hair to match with my face."
"Is that so? Oh, I see. After this class, I'm definitely going there."
And the worst of all, some pleadings from the students who got a 5 and a DRP (Drop).
"Hu-hu-hu... Sir, I'm willing to do your laundry or be your family maid... just pass me... hic... I don't want my parents to beat me up when they saw this card... Hu-hu-hu..."
Apparently, that's how Hibari met his own morning duty.
Still in a groggy appearance, the black-haired college professor slowly walked inside the faculty room with a blue door that is labeled 'Professors' Lounge' in big, bold, white capital letters.
As he turned the knob and pushed the door to let himself in, he was met with the various faces of his students.
"Good morning, professor Hibari... Ah... I - I - "
He cut the student's statement by raising his hand.
Another nuisance...
He walked out of the scene towards his cubicle and sat there. When glanced towards his side, he almost gawked.
There they are again, mocking him of what he should and should not do.
"What?" He asked, raising a brow.
"I - uh... We - uh..." The students stammered, not brave enough to tell him their predicament.
One student stepped up to face Hibari one-on-one.
Must be a representative.
"Mr. Hibari, I like your appearance today. That blue-plaided shirt... it suits you."
What a lame way of showing a bribery. Obviously, Hibari was in a rush that he forgot to comb his messy black hair. Or iron his crumpled shirt.
Was it a compliment or an insult? Well, either of the two. He was not entirely pleased by it. If it was the former, then his stupid students would need his consent on filling out their wishes. Probably their grades and remarks.
If it was the latter... then he wouldn't want to do the end of it. He would just insult them back to buikd a brick wall between him and them.
In the end, he chose the former to stay in the common ground. He was not on the mood to create long conversations, and he was heading for his first class.
"Hn, thank you Mr. Kuchi."
The students exhaled. What an opportunity to bash their faces with disappointment.
"Though I am not pleased with your 'compliment,' I'm supposing you did not come here because of your three's... or that's the one?" He emphasized the word compliment.
The students meekly nodded their heads.
Their representative, Mr. Kuchi, explained. "Sir, about our grades in your subject... We know that you are a great teacher, and we learn so much while you teach us the subject Humanities for the last semester... And a forgiving one... So we were just wondering if... you know... you could say, we uh - adjust our grades... on asking us a special project... something like that?"
After a long and agonizing silence, Hibari spoke.
"Are you done?"
The students nodded.
He then took a deep breath...
So it's a stupid compliment. What a lame excuse.
... and spoke in the meanest way possible.
"Students, let me get this straight. First, I'm a professor. Rather, your professor, not a teacher. I teach in a university, so that makes me one. Secondly, I graduated with a title of Ph. D., not M. D., that's why I can't..." He raised his middle fingers, together with his pointing fingers of both hands to dramatically emphasize his words. "... and I quote, 'doctor,' or change your grades in a 'poof,' and then 'ta-da!' And lastly, don't put me on God's level. He is the only one with an absolute mercy. I am just a human with less pity - "
"Oh, yes sir... we knew that..." Another student stepped up to get his attention. "... It's just that we should have at least a 2.55 or something... but we don't deserve... this... kind of grade... yeah... so..." She just shrugged and sighed.
What a great way of disrespecting your professor. Hibari thought.
The students just paled. Others groaned while the others turned their heads to glare at the blunt and idiotic classmate, while the person beside her nudged her side, muttering something.
He glanced his head towards that particular student as he shot a sarcastic, monotonal way of speaking. "Whoah - Wow - What? Did you just say that?... 'We don't deserve this kind of grade.' Well, I don't know. Why shouldn't we ask the logbook then?" He then turned his back to pick up three rather thick record books from his organizers on his table.
Flipping up the pages one-by-one, he read the entries written inside.
"September 15... Friday... This is the scheduled time of our class in Humanities... three twenty-five in the afternoon... You came in exactly four twenty-five... an hour late...
"September 22... you were late as usual... three forty...
"September 29... four o'clock... October 6... three thirty-five...
"You never appeared for the rest of the months November to February... Your examination grades were 25 over 60, 10 over 60, and 30 over 70... You never did take any participation for the play 'Antigone' dated back January 26..."
He then glanced back to his student. The one with the curly hair.
"... Now, could you enlighten me about the fact I am concerned about: tell me if you really deserved your grade or not, Ms. Junko."
His student, the one named as Ms. Junko, nodded her head in her bitter approval.
He then continued. "You are all college students, you should be well aware of the actions you would take before you would confront me... Now... did I make your grades enough for you to disagree with?"
The students shook their heads 'no.'
"Then who?"
The students answered begrudgingly. "We did."
"I'm glad you understood. Now, you just have to accept the consequences of your actions and tell your parents of what you've done. Alright? Then dis - "
"Wait! What about our scholarship?!" Mr. Kuchi said.
He then turned his head towards Mr. Kuchi, maintaining his surprisingly calm exterior.
His tone dripping with coldness.
"Then let me get this straight, Mr. Kuchi. It was clearly stated on the first day of my class with you, I said, 'In order to pass my subject, you must give up your life...' Let me ask you then, did you give up your life to be committed on all of your subjects?"
He put a nasty emphasis on the word all.
His students didn't answered.
He continued. "You should be lucky... students... You are all supposed to receive lower than three... or seventy-five percent... Be grateful with that..."
His tone changed into a normal one. "Do you have any feedbacks to throw?"
The students shook their heads.
"Now..." He positioned his hands to shoo the students. "Evaporate."
Few of the students did move, but most of them were still glued to the floor. Hibari looked at them.
"Well, what are you waiting for?"
The next word from him made his students shudder. He spoke in a manner the poets and orators did in their declamation recitals.
"Be gone..."
They finally moved.
He heaved a deep sigh, sitting down while closing his eyes. When he opened them... He was utterly shocked when he saw his co-faculty member and neighbor, the eyes scrutinizing him.
"What?" Hibari asked.
His neighbor sighed. He lacks compassion, didn't he? Poor students...
"I'm just asking you the same as well... What did you do?"
"I'm just telling them to be punctual. In our time, punctuality is our virtue. And punctuality is a big word - "
"Professor Hibari, this is the twenty-first century... Just go on and get with the flow. You are the one who told me 'When in Rome, do what the Romans do.'"
"Jeez Professor Sasagawa - "
"I told you to call me by my name."
He rolled his eyes. "... Professor Kyoko, you sounded like my dad."
"Well, he's right."
Sasagawa Kyoko. Hibari's batch mate in the same university they studied. With the same course and same major.
This chestnut-haired English communications professor is one of his closest friends since he was a middle schooler. Despite of him being a stern person, she knows his reversal personality.
And, would anyone believe the recent events when they found out that he, together with Kyoko, are also teaching in a pre-school? And yes, the name is Namimori Kids' Academy.
A major swing for the once-revered delinquent.
"Well, I'll tell you this..." He set his books to prepare for his next class. "... Say those exact words in front of my face again, after you stepped into my shoes."
Kyoko laughed, which irritated him slightly.
He stood up, stating a mental note that the argument is nonsense and he should leave her be.
Unfortunately, she didn't got the hint and stood up to pester him. They walked towards the door.
"Why don't you get a girlfriend? It might loosen up your tension even by a bit. And maybe, you could develop some integrity towards your students."
"And please tell me, what does a girlfriend do with passing my students? And yes, I have my own integrity, thank you."
"I mean, love. Don't you love someone?"
"You knew that I had already. But she rejected me, remember?"
"Ah - about that... Sorry, my bad."
"Don't worry, I'm okay with that. She's not that good for me, anyway. Maybe, there's someone else destined for me."
"You still hold onto that, huh."
"Yes."
As he walked the hallways towards the classroom, he pondered about Kyoko's statement towards his fondness about his unwritten law of cosmos.
Destiny.
You still hold onto that, huh.
Of course he is! He is, indeed, a professor of Humanities, after all.
Add the literature on his subjects, and you have an ultimate tooth fairy.
Yes, it is true that he still faces the facts. He still believed that he should obey and never question the immutable word of the law. Students who did not must be punished equally. A rule is a rule, whether how preposterous it is.
He is not a man of God, and he might not be a man of peace. But he knows which is right from which is wrong. And the grace in between.
But, there is a part of him in which his close friends and relatives question about.
Even at the age of 26, Hibari Kyoya's qualms about fate and destiny is off his timing chain. He is not a young child anymore to believe about the love arrow of Cupid, or love on the first sight.
But he did.
He opened the door to step in front of the class.
"Good morning class..."
