Hellu, it's been an awfully long time since my last update... sorry for that. I have so much going on I barely have enough time for myself... But I shall try my best!

So this chapter was written over a number of weeks so it's probably a bit inconsistent and dodgy... I might change bits later on, so just a heads up...

Anyways, hope it's okay, and Hibari isn't too OOC and, oh. Important thing is that this is all set as if the events in KHR had never happened - I just took the characters and the school, so there won't be a lot of action and this lets Hibari enjoy the sight of pretty sakura flowers~

I do not own KHR (unfortunately

The Skylark

Today was the same as yesterday – busy, boring and dull. Nothing ever changed.

Hibari laid his head on his desk as a feeling of déjà vu settled over him. He felt as if this had happened yesterday; he had been thinking about something similar yesterday too. Life was just an endless cycle of days, so he couldn't be sure whether it was yesterday or the day before… or the day before that. But perhaps – just maybe – things would be different and less boring if… if…

Suddenly, his attention turned to a resounding CRASH out in the corridor, accompanied by a cacophony of falling books and clattering pens. With a sigh, the black-haired teen got up from his chair and walked over to the door. Upon opening it, he saw a blond man scrawled over the floor, textbooks and pens scattered around him.

The boy could barely conceal the look of contempt on his face. It was this guy again. The man on the floor laughed casually as if this was an everyday occurrence. Sitting up, he asked, "You're the Disciplinary Head everyone's talking about aren't you?"

"And you're the English teacher everyone's talking about," replied the teen bluntly.

"Ah, yep, I think that might be me… um, I'm in a bit of a mess right now… could you help… possibly…" the blond man's voice dwindled away as he was put under the intense glare of the other boy. Nervously, he laughed again and gave a hopeful expression, "Please? After all, I am a teacher and…"

"Help yourself. I'm busy." And with that the disciplinary committee head turned around and strode away, not giving a second thought or glance, leaving the incompetent teacher (who was still sitting on the floor) behind.

As soon as he'd turned the corner, Hibari stopped dead in his tracks and leaned with his back against the wall. It had taken everything he had to stop himself from flustering and showing any sign of weakness. Stubbornly, he bit the inside of his lip as if that action would stop his frantically beating heart. Glaring at the ground, he felt the heat rush to his face. What's wrong with me?

In a darker mood than before now, the boy frowned and carried on walking away briskly, determined to get as far away from that teacher as possible. As he crossed the balcony, a rehearsal of the play Romeo and Juliet was going on in the hall below. Any other time, Hibari would have left straight away and left the drama club to their activities, but today of all days, he was burdened with a sudden urge to shout at them for no reason whatsoever. And yet, he suppressed that urge in order to listen to the rehearsals for a brief moment or two.

"O, speak again, bright angel!"

"O, Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou, Romeo? Deny thy father and –"

There was a loud clamour of falling props and the student in charge of directing demanded, "Watch where you stand, Romeo! Don't end up falling and pulling half the stage down with you!"

It was at that point that Hibari lost all his composure and unleashed his irritation upon the unwary students below. He shouted, "Can't you lot practise quieter? Or if you're just making a mess of it, don't do anything at all! Why don't you –"

Before he went too far, he managed to stop himself. Realising that his face had flushed bright red, he turned tail and strode away with what dignity he had remaining. Soon, he found himself half-running to his one haven – his rooftop. That was the one and only place where he felt like he belonged. Anywhere else and it always felt wrong, as if he wasn't supposed to be there.

With a cry of frustration, he burst out into the open air and stared up at the blue, cloudless sky. Hibari was about to walk over to that little bit of shade which he liked best when he suddenly froze realising that, for the very first time since he'd claimed this rooftop to be his, he wasn't the only one here. What should I do? he thought, panicking.

At that moment, that stupid, insolent person turned around. Could this day get any worse?

"We meet again, Kyoya~" the English teacher grinned and waved from where he was standing, acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary. However, this just irritated the boy even more.

"What the heck do you want?" shouted the boy. He couldn't remember the last time he'd lost his cool so much like this. But for some reason, shouting at this person made him feel better, as if the burden of keeping his façade had exhausted his mental strength and by yelling at this man he was recovering it.

"Now, now, that's no way to be speaking to a teacher–"

"I can do what I want!"

"You sound like a cute child~" laughed the blond man, clutching his stomach with the effort.

"I am not–" suddenly, Hibari stopped. A cute child? Was that an insult? Or was it… was it a compliment? His mind wandered back to the time when he was a child. Back then, nobody had given him any compliments back then. So why would it be different now? Of course, he was just being teased. Someone like him would never be given things like care or compliments… or love.

Love. Was that the thing he was feeling? That unknown emotion building up inside the black-haired teen… perhaps it was love? But he would never know; he had never known what it was felt like to love someone. Sure, he knew what it meant to like something – he liked little animals – but to love something must be a whole different matter. Yet, every time he looked or even glanced at this blond klutz, something inside his chest stirred, some in suppressible emotion he just couldn't understand.

"Hey, hey, Kyoya, come over here!"

The man grinned with an excited glimmer in his eyes. For a moment, Hibari hesitated. He shouldn't fall for such cheap tricks, but his curiosity eventually won over and he cautiously went to take a look at what the man was pointing at. However, he still kept his distance, wary as a frightened rabbit.

As his gaze followed the English teacher's outstretched hand, his eyes came to settle upon the cherry blossom trees, in full bloom like candyfloss. The pink flowers swayed in the breeze and petals were carried away upon the wind to some faraway place, beyond the horizon. The scent was soft and refreshing, the whole scene serene, and almost too magical to be true.

Though he felt relaxed by these flowers, the defiant boy kept up his façade and made an annoyed face, frowning at the man. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"The cherry blossoms, of course. They're pretty, aren't they, Kyoya?"

"No," came the blunt answer. With a bored expression, Hibari glanced away. For some reason, he felt bad for lying. And as he saw the blond's face drop with a dejected 'oh', the boy felt even worse. Not only was he lying to the man, he was lying to himself, crushing his own feelings…

But wasn't he used to that? Wasn't he all too accustomed to suppressing his own emotions? Yes, he was always in perfect control of his emotions… until this new feeling came along and confused everything. Now he couldn't even think of the man – his soft voice, his warm smile, his frustratingly happy and pretty face – without having this new emotion torture him. Silently, he cursed and scolded himself for thinking such thoughts. Sure, boys could be with girls (they were weak to have to do so), but then there was the problem of, could a boy be with another boy? Besides, it wasn't as if he would succumb to such pathetic thoughts and feelings… right? No. Of course not. This was stupid nonsense. Nothing but idiocy. It would pass soon, like those fleeting clouds, and that would be the end of that… right?

The teacher stood there, the wind blowing through his blond hair. Hibari sneaked a quick look at the man, but immediately looked away again, fingering his shirt. He felt his cheeks grow hot and was scared it would be obvious to the other. Without a word, he strode off, much to Dino's disappointment.