Disclaimer: I do not own KHR, because I am not worthy of its awesomeness.
'That expression…' Yamamoto watched as Hibari opened his eyes, refusing to meet the Rain Guardian's own.
Metal dropped to the floor, clanging against the cement as a hand clutched the fabric over his heart. It burned. Their eyes met again, and the pain intensified. 'Why…' Hibari was no coward, but he couldn't take it anymore, this sensation, this burning, that was so alien to him. He ran.
"Hibari!" Yamamoto called out after him. Within a second, the door shut behind the other, leaving the Rain Guardian alone on the rooftop with a pair of tonfa abandoned on the floor. Frowning a bit, he bent down and picked up the weapons, testing their weight in his hands, and ran after the prefect.
"Hey, where are you running to?" Gokudera said when Yamamoto almost crashed into him in the hallway. He spotted the tonfa in the other's hands and grinned. "Wow! You actually stole them from him? No wonder you're running!"
"Ah, that's not it," Yamamoto replied, chuckling. "Did he pass by here by any chance?"
"Are you crazy? Look around you!" The Rain Guardian realized that people still filled the hallway, walking and talking in their usual casual manners. If Hibari had indeed run through the area, then no one would be standing where they were now.
"Ciaossu!" They turned to see Reborn on the windowsill.
"Oh, hey kiddo!" Yamamoto greeted him. "Did you happen to see…"
"Try that corridor," Reborn pointed.
"Thanks!" Yamamoto ran off.
"What's up with him?" Gokudera hissed.
"Eh? Where's Yamamoto going?" Tsuna asked, joining the group. His eyes widened when he saw the objects in his retreating friend's hands. "Ah! Why'd you make him take Hibari-san's tonfa?" he exclaimed to Reborn.
"That wasn't me," the Arcobaleno replied.
'How did I miss this?' Yamamoto thought when he entered the directed hallway. He assumed that it would've looked worse if Hibari had been possession of his weapons, but nonetheless, there were enough students knocked out on the ground to justify that the other had been in the area. The Rain Guardian finally found himself standing outside the Disciplinary Committee room.
'Maybe he's in here.' He took a deep breath to calm down and reached for the door handle.
Another hand stopped his action, keeping Yamamoto from opening the door. "Are you here to see Kyou-san?" Yamamoto looked over to the familiar vice-president of the Disciplinary Committee. As usual, the other seemed calm enough, chewing on a piece of grass.
"Uh…" Yamamoto didn't know how to explain the Head Prefect's behavior to Kusakabe. "I came to return his tonfa?" he said, unsure of his choice of words.
"Ah, I see." Kusakabe said, sighing. "Let me give them back to him. Kyou-san doesn't want to see anyone right now."
"Thank you." He handed the tonfa to the vice-president of the Disciplinary Committee, feeling the metal slid from his hands. 'That's right… he always has these with him…' Yamamoto suddenly tightened his grip, instinctively unwilling to let go.
"Uh…" Kusakabe began.
"Huh?" he wasn't aware of the involuntary contraction of his own muscles. "Oh, sorry." Yamamoto let go, grinning. "I guess I don't know my own strength. Say hi to Hibari for me, will you?"
Kusakabe nodded. "Of course."
Yamamoto waited for a moment, watching Kusakabe eagerly, who didn't budge. 'Looks like he's not going in until I leave…'
"Uh, bye then!" Yamamoto said, grinning, and ran off.
The vice-president made sure that the other was well out of sight before opening the door to the committee room. "Kyou-san?"
Hibari sat at the desk, chair turned around so that he faced the window. "I'm going out today," he announced quietly.
"Okay, I'll take care of things here." Kusakabe placed the tonfa on the desk. "Yamamoto-san wanted to return to these to you, and he said 'Hi.'"
When Hibari didn't answer, Kusakabe bowed. "I'll take my leave then." The door closed behind him.
The Cloud Guardian turned his chair back to the desk, staring at the tonfa. He rested his elbows on the desk, feeling his forehead. 'I'm just sick…'
...
"There's a what?" Tsuna yelled. After school, Reborn requested that Yamamoto and Gokudera go to their boss's house for an important announcement regarding some orders from Italy.
"Another rival gang from the next city over," Reborn repeated calmly. "It's nothing to worry about. They're just one of the smaller factions that want to make it big."
"Oh, phew," Tsuna said, relieved. "I thought we'd have to…"
"So they've decided to take over Namimori in a few days time," Reborn continued.
"What?" Tsuna really didn't count on fighting for a long time after the end of the Ring Battles, but with Reborn, he reprimanded himself for showing surprise.
"Oh, so you want us to get rid of them, right?" Gokudera asked, excited. He turned to Tsuna. "Don't worry! Leave it to me!"
"No, I…" Tsuna began. He especially didn't want any of his friends hurt again because of this whole mafia business.
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Yamamoto said cheerfully. "We'll beat all of their players no problem!"
"It's not a game, Baseball Idiot!" Gokudera yelled.
The Tenth sighed. "Thanks, guys…"
...
Hibari raised a tonfa to the doctor's throat in annoyance.
"I… I'm not lying! There's… there's nothing wrong with you!" the older man stuttered. Hibari lowered his weapon, knowing that there was no reason for the doctor to lie. The man adjusted his glasses nervously. "Whoever took care of that fever did a really good job…" he added, thinking that a compliment would help his situation. He decided immediately that it wasn't one of his brightest ideas regarding the rare patient.
Hibari slammed the tonfa into the doorframe before leaving, his footsteps echoing loudly in the hallway as he stalked away.
"Doctor! Are you okay?" one of the nurses asked after the "patient" was long gone.
"I… I'm fi… fine," the doctor stuttered, standing up. He had slid to the floor and covered his head to shield himself from any blows. Frankly, it amazed him how he came out of this without a scratch, although the hole in the door frame could count as a slash on his wallet.
"What happened this time?" she asked, curious.
"Hibari-san just asked me to check his temperature…"
...
"Hey! Are you spacing out again?"
Yamamoto came back to see Gokudera's face in front of his. The Rain Guardian had half fallen asleep during class with his head up and didn't hear the lunch bell.
"What's wrong with you?" Gokudera asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Ah, nothing," he replied, laughing. "I just couldn't sleep last night."
"Did you study for once?"
"Nah, I just… had a lot on my mind. That's all," Yamamoto said, grinning like usual.
"Is it a girl?" Gokudera nudged him.
"N… no! Why would you think that?" The casual grin turned to one of embarrassment.
"You have this strange expression," Tsuna offered.
"Strange?" Yamamoto repeated a little airily.
"I don't know… like you've flown off somewhere." He paused. As much as he'd hate to admit it, he could really never quite shake off that fear after the stunt Yamamoto pulled a year ago on the roof. "If there's something we can do, just tell us, okay?"
"Ha ha! Thanks, you guys." He smiled again. "But really, I'm fine," he assured them.
...
Yamamoto threw his backpack on the floor and slumped to the ground, pulling his hair in frustration. "I think I'm in love," he lamented out loud.
"Really? With who? Took you long enough!" his father laughed, suddenly opening the sliding door.
"Huh? I didn't say anything!" Takeshi exclaimed.
"Nah, I can tell even if you didn't just yell it out to the world a few seconds ago," Tsuyoshi laughed.
"Oh… um…" Yamamoto searched for an explanation in vain.
"Is it that kid?" his father hit the mark instantly.
"What! Wait a sec…"
"It's okay." He smiled.
That caught Yamamoto off guard. He expected some type of lecture: on him liking another guy, on love, on… anything but reassurance. "Huh?"
...
Yamamoto paced back and forth on the rooftop as he held an inward debate with himself. 'Dad said I should just tell him… but he doesn't know how Hibari is like… what if he throws me off the roof… baseball practice is at 4 today…' He groaned and crouched down, holding his head in frustration. "Maybe this is a bad idea…" he muttered.
The door opened. 'This is not going to end well…'
Hibari jumped at him, pulling out the tonfa from under his sleeves. Luckily, or unluckily, it can be viewed in both ways; Yamamoto had enough sense to bring his baseball bat this time and blocked the attack. "Is this really necessary?" Yamamoto asked, chuckling.
The Cloud Guardian didn't answer, and instead broke the stalemate, lunging for his unwilling opponent's stomach. Yamamoto swung the bat down to counter the blow, replacing wood with metal as the katana form activated.
The corners of Hibari's lips curved upward; this was the Yamamoto he wanted to see, the natural-born hitman of Vongola Tenth's Guardians. The fact that he had pushed the Rain Guardian far enough to bring his sword out made the Head Prefect want to fight even more, even if it were only to distract him from the sensation that already started biting in his chest. But, this was Hibari; he fought for the sake of fighting. The distraction was only an added bonus.
"No no! I didn't come here to fight!" Yamamoto said when he saw the feral grin on the other's face. This didn't faze him, as Hibari swung again, this time at Yamamoto's head. 'How… how can I get him to listen?' Yamamoto thought, his frustration building.
The Rain Guardian dodged and rolled away. 'Why… me… him… Why does it have to be him?'
They were in a stalemate again, tonfa on katana. Hibari broke it this time by kicking the other in the stomach, knocking Yamamoto to the ground. "Stand up and fight me seriously," he snarled.
'It…' Yamamoto stared at the other for a moment and struggled to his feet. 'I can't take it anymore!' Metal met metal once again, and Yamamoto used his heavier weight to throw both of them to the ground. The sword was at Hibari's throat, and not to his surprise, he felt the other struggle to break free. 'No! I don't want to hurt him!'
They were breathing heavily, and Yamamoto stared at the one under him. 'Those eyes…' Hibari glared back, refusing to break eye contact, his eyes filled with pure annoyance at his current predicament; he reminded the Rain Guardian of a captured bird. Yamamoto couldn't take it anymore. He leaned towards Hibari and…
"I love you," he whispered softly in the other's ear. Hibari froze. 'Did I get my message through?' Yamamoto thought, surprised. However, a tonfa suddenly connected with his face and sent him flying off. "Ow…" he chuckled as he rubbed his face. "Is that a no?" he asked.
Hibari opened his mouth to answer, but instead glared at him and slammed the door behind him, the doorframe almost catching his trailing jacket.
...
"Wah! Yamamoto, your face!" Tsuna gasped, pointing at the obvious bruising.
"Funny, I was almost rejected," Yamamoto said, chuckling. The entire ordeal left him in a state of dazed denial, and he had forgotten that he didn't really want to tell his friends what was going on. Gokudera poked the bruise, making the other flinch. "Hey hey! It hurts!"
"No girl can slap that hard," the Storm Guardian concluded. "What are you hiding?"
"Ah, nothing!" the grin dropped, replaced by a slight frown as Yamamoto realized how close he was to spilling everything. "Really!" he insisted.
"Is it Hibari-san?" Tsuna asked quietly.
"What? Yamamoto's not…" Gokudera began.
Yamamoto stopped him. "Please, I'll take care of it myself. Don't worry about me." He left before the other two could press him further on the matter.
...
Yamamoto let out a long sigh as he chopped off the fish's head. It didn't help when he realized it was kanpachi.
"What's wrong?" his father asked.
"Ah, nothing…" he replied, trying to smile.
"Got rejected?"
He gave up. "I'd like to talk about something else, please."
Tsuyoshi chuckled. "Well, it's too early to know for sure, right?"
"I guess…" Yamamoto frowned.
"Give it some time," Tsuyoshi consoled him. "You're both probably a little confused."
...
He rammed his tonfa into the guy nearest him as the other gangsters circled around. Another ran at him, knife raised and ready. Hibari dodged the weapon easily and smashed the other's face in, feeling and hearing the sound of cracking bone. Three of them attempted attacking him at once, and he easily struck each down.
He licked his lips, thrilled by the feeling of blood in his hands and on the metal. It wasn't ideal, but it was a good enough distraction.
...
"What now?" Tsuna asked. Again, Reborn decided to call a "meeting" at his house.
"It seems that Hibari's just eliminated half of that gang I was talking about the other day," Reborn replied.
"That's great!" Tsuna said. 'I know I can always rely on Hibari-san,' he thought happily.
"Tch," Gokudera looked away. "If I had decided to go after them, then they'd all be eliminated by now."
"Did you tell him?" Reborn asked, ignoring Gokudera.
"Huh?"
"Because they weren't even in Namimori yet. They were positioned at a warehouse close to Namimori. It's highly unlikely that Hibari would just go looking for them if they weren't inside the city."
"Oh…" both Yamamoto and Tsuna said at the same time.
"What are you 'oh'-ing about?" Gokudera asked.
"Hibari?" Tsuna answered, confused.
"No! I meant Baseball Idiot here!"
"Eh… nothing," Yamamoto said. "Ah, I promised Dad I'll be home early today, so I'll see you guys tomorrow." He smiled reassuringly.
"Oh, okay. Be careful on your way back," Tsuna told him.
"I'll be fine!" Yamamoto assured him, grinning, and left the room.
"Why'd you tell him to be careful?" Gokudera asked, annoyed that Tsuna didn't say that to him last time he left early.
"Ah… just a feeling…" Tsuna replied, frowning.
...
'Ah, who am I kidding?' Yamamoto thought, sighing as he walked down the street.
'It's not like he'll ever like me back…'
"Hey kid!" a voice snapped him out of his reverie. "Do you know where the nearest post office is?"
"Oh, just head down that street and turn left…" He felt a little uneasy as he explained, but he couldn't quiet place his finger on it. The post office wasn't too far from their current location, but the directions were a little complicated. "Do you need me to repeat anything?" he asked when he finished.
"Nah, thanks. You've been a real help to us…" the teenager smiled. Yamamoto suddenly looked the other over more thoroughly, realizing that there was a knife hiding just slightly behind his jacket.
'Us?'
"Well, actually, you're going to be a real help to us." Suddenly, someone placed a piece of cloth over his mouth, and Yamamoto immediately realized his mistake. 'Shit… it's them…' he thought as his consciousness slipped away.
...
"Where the hell is he?" Gokudera exclaimed.
"Maybe he's just sick," Tsuna offered. "I don't see why we have to check here…"
"This is the only other place that lovesick idiot can be!"
"Wait, we can't assume that Yamamoto's really in love!" Tsuna said, flustered.
They opened the door to the Disciplinary Committee room and found it empty of any Yamamoto's. However, there was Hibari, who stood at the desk with piece a paper in his hand.
"Eh… Sorry for disturbing you!" Tsuna quickly said, bowing. The other eyed them slowly, as if he was searching for something. The Cloud Guardian threw the paper on the desk and walked off silently; Tsuna hastily made way for him, pulling Gokudera along.
"What's up with him?" Gokudera snorted as Tsuna moved cautiously to the table and the suspicious piece of paper. "Hey! Looking at other people's stuff is a job for me; don't trouble yourself…"
Tsuna froze when he read the letter, and the Storm Guardian took it from his hands.
"We have one of your friends. Go to Warehouse X alone if you want him returned safely. We will discuss a payment method in person," Gokudera read out loud.
Tsuna stared into space before the realization finally struck him. "Wait! That's why Hibari-san was looking at us; he was searching for Yamamoto!"
"What has that Baseball Idiot gotten into now?" Gokudera sighed. "Let's go."
Yo! Thank you so much for reviews! T_T I'm so touched.
This will be a 3-4 shot (not sure yet) so there's 1-2 more chapters coming up. Ah, I'm going back to school tomorrow, so updating might be slower than usual unless I procrastinate on homework (which happens often). So, stay tuned! (I know they use this phrase for T.V. shows; is there one for fanfiction?)