Here is drabble two (of ten) of the Dino and Hibari drabbles for my 50ficlets challenge. I hope you like it!
Amano Akira owns Reborn. This story is for entertainment purposes only.
Theme Twenty-Two - Water
It takes Dino a large amount of time - time they couldn't afford to waste in the first place - to convince Hibari that leaving Namimori to train in different environments was a good idea. They leave Namimori early the next morning; it's only been a few days, but Dino notices Hibari's obsession with the school, and figures that the less time Hibari has to ponder the situation, the less chance there is that he will disagree to leaving it. It's barely light out, but Hibari is waiting at the gates of Namimori Middle as he said he would be. He's still wearing his school uniform and is carrying a small black bag that Dino hopes is full of supplies for the next few days. He can see the handles of Hibari's tonfas poking out of the side of the bag, so at least he's prepared to spar.
Hibari still looks displeased about his decision to join Dino; his bad mood continues throughout the entire car trip, and Dino knows from his expression and body language that Romario is torn between being amused by the level of Kyouya's petulant behaviour or feeling annoyed on his behalf. Dino decides that the former reaction is the better one, because it's preferable to being driven to frustration by Kyouya's attitude.
The hotel that Romario had booked them into was less like the lavish hotels that Dino was used to staying in while out of Italy on business; it was closer to a traditional Japanese inn with a few modern comforts and touches, such as the heating beneath the tatami floors. Dino isn't sure what to make of it until he glances at Hibari and sees the hint of a smile on his lips, and decides it was worth it to see Hibari actually look pleased about something other than spilling his blood all over the roof of the school.
When they reach their room, Dino finds three futons folded up against the wall for their use, and a tea set sitting on the low table in the corner of the room. Hibari immediately seats himself at the table, and begins to prepare himself a cup of tea. Dino looks at Romario, who shrugs offhandedly and suggests that they take a few moments to recover from the lengthy car trip before starting their training. Those moments equate to Dino and Romario sitting on the opposite side of the room to Hibari, listening to the sound of running water coming from the river near the hotel. Hibari drinks the last mouthful of his tea and glares at Dino over the rim of his teacup.
"I'm bored."
Dino manages a smile, and grabs his whip from its place atop his pile of luggage.
"I'll be happy to spar once you're ready."
Hibari's smirk borders on feral as he reaches for his tonfas.
They fight on the banks of the river they heard from their room at the inn. The water laps at Dino's ankles when he dodges a little too far to the left to avoid one of Hibari's attacks, and he grits his teeth as water seeps through his socks and shoes. The river is freezing cold, and when he loses his footing on a particularly slippery part of the riverbed and topples back into the water, Dino's surprised to find Hibari coming in after him. Romario calls out a warning, a reflexive reaction, and Dino grins. He regains his footing and trips Hibari with the end of his whip as he nears the edge of the river, and soon enough they're both fighting waist-deep in the freezing water. After a while, Dino barely notices the cold; his blood's running too hot, his heart's beating too fast, his wounds are numbed by the cold and adrenaline is rushing through his body. Hibari submits to the exhaustion and the cold first; his legs give way and he falls to his knees, his chin barely above the water and his expression still full of venom. Dino tries to reach him before his head goes below the surface of the water, but he slips and finds himself face-down in the river instead. The next thing he remembers is Romario dragging him out of the water and laying him down next to Hibari on the bank of the river.
Once they're back at the inn and in dry clothes, Dino endures Romario's stern looks and Hibari's frosty indifference with what he considers a dignified silence, and helps himself to the leftover tea. About a half-minute after Dino swallows the last mouthful of tea in his cup, Hibari leaves their room and without a word. Dino wonders whether he should have said something to him, but Romario doesn't seem bothered by Hibari's sudden disappearance, so Dino tries not to concern himself either. It's long past sunset by the time Hibari returns, and Dino and Romario are in the middle of dinner. Hibari's hair is damp, and his face is flushed a violent shade of pink. Dino isn't sure, but he suspects that his student may have been making use of the inn's onsen.
"You're back. Are you hungry?"
Hibari doesn't reply, but he crosses the room and seats himself on the opposite side of the table to Dino. Dino takes that as a 'yes', and pushes the plate of raw wagyu beef around the hot pot in the middle of the table and towards his student.
"Here you go, Kyouya."
Hibari's eyes narrow at the use of his given name, but he eventually relaxes. Tension leaves his body smoothly and naturally. He reaches over to grab the elongated chopsticks next to the hot pot and begins to cook his food.
And despite his exhaustion and injuries, despite Kyouya's previous attitude and Romario's irritation, Dino finds himself smiling at this simple show of trust and respect from his student. It's progress, no matter how small. Perhaps training won't be as painful as he'd thought.
end.