Tomorrow Never Dies Chapter 2 KHR
Aaaaaand here's Chapter 2! I hope the first chapter wasn't too confusing...I haven't actually looked at this document since I wrote it several days ago... eep. Thanks to everybody who took the time to check out this story :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.
Enjoy!
Chapter Two: Non Tempus Dubia
Apparently Hibari had decided that the punch was a rejection, because the next time Dino showed up at the university, he almost got scalding tea thrown into his face until the blonde managed to convince Hibari that he wasn't here to stalk him; he was actually handing in an application for Tsuna. The raven had eyed him most suspiciously for a long moment, before he glared and informed Dino that he was going the wrong way.
Dino, never one to let an opportunity pass by, desperately begged and pleaded until Hibari relented and showed him the way to the administrative building, hissing like an angry cat and stomping through the slush all the way. Once everything was sorted out, Dino wrangled directions out of the university from Hibari and eventually managed to persuade the raven to have lunch with him.
"C'mon," Dino wheedled, watching the cold winter wind ruffle Hibari's hair. "It's my treat. And it won't be fast food either. I'll take you to the sushi shop in Namimori, how does that sound?"
Apparently, that had been the right thing to say, because Hibari eventually caved and bused side by side with Dino back into their hometown. Turns out, it was a former schoolmate of Hibari and Tsuna's whose father owned the shop, so Hibari was familiar with the presence already and immediately became less hostile. Yamamoto Tsuyoshi greeted the familiar faces and ushered them into seats, promising to throw in an extra dish (on the house) to celebrate their temporary return to the little town.
"I love it here," Dino said happily. "I remember coming here after school with Romario on a hot day and getting iced tea. I wonder how Takeshi-kun is."
Turns out, Yamamoto Takeshi had gone off to Hokkaido on a baseball scholarship, and wouldn't be heading back until the summer. He chatted with Tsuyoshi while Hibari listened in, his bag sitting on his lap as he drank his tea slowly, steam rising steadily from his cup and into the warm shop. It was extremely comfortable and the two had just finished their lunch when the door opened and a middle-aged man walked in, wiping sleet off his coke-bottle glasses.
"Yoshida-san!" Yamamoto senior grinned, reaching over the counter to clasp the hand of an old friend. "It's been a while! What can I do for you?"
"I'd like to place an order for a party platter," Yoshida said, sounding rather happy. "We're going to have a baby shower soon!"
Tsuyoshi looked delighted. "So the baby's been born! Is it a boy or a girl?"
"A girl," Yoshida replied, rummaging through his wallet for bills while Tsuyoshi wrote down the order. "Saki and Ruki named her Yumiko. You should come by, Yamamoto-san!"
"I think I will," Tsuyoshi grinned, handing his friend a receipt. "Best wishes to your son and his wife."
"Thanks," Yoshida said. "Can't believe I'm a grandfather already. Well, I'll see you soon!"
Dino finished his tea and glanced over at the retreating man when something caught his eye. There were numbers hovering over his head, with only five digits left until zero. The blonde felt his blood run cold in an instant.
"Wait!" he shouted, knocking over his stool in his haste, making Hibari snarl at him. "Wait, Yoshida-san, wait!"
But Yoshida's figure had already vanished into the snow storm outside, where the winds drowned out Dino's frantic calls, but wasn't loud enough to mask the sudden sounds of gunshots.
Tsuyoshi yelled in surprise and Dino froze in horror, but Hibari suddenly leapt out of his seat and pulled out—tonfas? Where did they come from? The raven sprinted out of the sushi shop before Dino could stop him, launching himself out into the street as well. Dino and Tsuyoshi both scrambled over the upturned chairs and ran outside as well.
Snow was falling thick and fast, but they could see quite clearly across the street, where Hibari had gotten his hands on a black-clad figure and was beating the life out of him with his tonfas. Dino was willing to bet that it was the murderer. Lying several feet away, on the sidewalk, was Yoshida. There was a lot of blood, all of which stood out vividly in the white snow. He and Tsuyoshi rushed forwards, stomping through piles of slush and battling the heavy winds. But even as the sushi shop master shouted his friend's name and pressed a hand to the bullet wound, Dino could only watch helplessly as the numbers fell from two, to one, and then, zero before dispersing in the wind. Yoshida shuddered, and then stilled.
When Hibari walked over, dragging with him the unconscious body of the assailant, a neutral look on his face, and Tsuyoshi was hanging his head wearily in the cold January afternoon, all Dino could think about was how happy Yoshida sounded talking about his granddaughter, and how little Yumiko would never get to know her own grandfather.
He felt ill in the weeks to come, and couldn't even bring himself to go to work, so Nana graciously brought Dino back into their home for a bit of time off. The blonde spent most of his time holed up in the guest room, under the blankets, staring off into the distance. The peach coloured wall had never looked so dully appealing before. Hibari was appealing to, if Dino really thought about it, but the raven was far from dull, and he really wasn't in the mood to think about much anyway.
There was a sudden knock on the door, and Tsuna poked his head in hesitantly. "Onii-chan?" he asked softly, using the nickname he used to say as a kid to coax Dino out of his blanket cocoon. "You've got a visitor."
There was a thump, Tsuna squeaked, and the door closed with a sharp snap. "Herbivore," a familiar voice growled. "Why are you hiding under your blankets?"
Oh, hell. Talk of the devil, and he is sure to appear.
Dino wiggled his head out a little, squinting at the raven as he stalked into the room, finding a chair to sit on as he glared at Dino's fetal form on the bed. Dino held the gaze until Hibari's classy combination of a V-neck and a long grey scarf wound around his thin neck proved to be too much, and he dived back under the covers. Hibari growled like a lion and ripped the bundle off the blonde.
"Hibari!" Dino wailed, reaching for his blankets as Hibari continued to drag them out of arm's length. "Give them back, I'm cold!"
"You must be weaker than I thought," Hibari taunted, tossing his blanket into the corner of the room. "Why are you still holed up in your room? You've done nothing interesting since the time you dragged me out to lunch."
"And I'm sure we all know how that ended," Dino muttered, rolling to face the wall. Hibari huffed impatiently.
"The killer was sent by the loan sharks," the raven said suddenly, crossing his arms. "Yoshida had been neglecting payment for years already, which was the only reason why they finally went after him. Not that it gave them any right, by all means. While you were here hibernating like some grass-eating rabbit I beat the all the information out of the assassin and busted up the loan sharks like the herbivore trash they were. Much more productive than hiding indoors all day."
"Good on you," Dino muttered, glowering . "Do you want a pat on the back or something?"
"Sarcasm does not suit you."
"Like you've known me long enough to know."
"Like you've known me long enough to ask me out."
The two scowled at each other until the blonde gave in and mumbled, "Touché. So what do you want? Did you come to mock me?" Personally, Dino probably wouldn't mind the insults so long as he got to stare at Hibari a little longer.
The raven paused for a moment, nonchalantly flicking a bit of lint off his shirt. "I'm curious to know," he said after a second, "how you seemed to know that Yoshida would be walking out to his death. It's not every day I meet someone with fortune telling skills, you know?"
Dino stared. Everything was clear in an instant—the real reason why Hibari was here. He wasn't stupid, even if he acted like he was at times. Hidden, perhaps not so purposefully, between the lines was Hibari's accusation: that Dino was related to the event that defiled Hibari's precious Namimori. Tsuna had informed the blonde of the raven's unusual possessiveness and protectiveness of his little town, and even went through extreme actions to protect it (hence the beating of the assailant). Somehow, Dino concluded that he might be on the receiving end of a tonfa if he didn't come up with a good excuse soon. Just saying.
"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."
"That's not an answer." Strike One.
"What if I told you it was just like fortune telling? That I can tell when a person's going to…die?"
"Sure, and I'm a stuffed walrus." Strike Two. Dino stifled a groan.
"Believe it or not," he snapped, rolling all the way over so that he was staring at the wall. For a foolish second, the blonde almost thought that the raven would walk away and leave him be, but one does not simply snub Hibari Kyoya with their back. With a snarl like a rabid animal, Hibari leapt onto the bed, cutting off Dino's shriek with a tonfa bearing down upon his throat.
"You will tell me what you know," Hibari threatened, "Or you might be predicting your own death soon."
"It's the truth!" Dino shouted crossly; Hibari's face was so close he could count the number of eyelashes and see the glimmers of purple in the jet black orbs. Weird. "Ever since I was small, I could see numbers over people's heads, and when they dropped to zero, the person would die. I saw those numbers over Yoshida's head."
"Are you certain you weren't hallucinating?" Hibari sneered, pressing down even harder, and at that moment, a sort of blinding, white hot anger boiled in Dino's veins. With a burst of newfound strength, he pushed Hibari up and flipped them over, how trapping the raven beneath him. The younger of the two looked extremely annoyed, but a little surprised as well. Dino was willing to bet nobody had ever done that to the raven before.
"Listen," he growled angrily. "I watched those numbers over my mother's head. And I watched them almost fall to zero. You see this face? This body?" he asked, gesturing to all of himself. "It's not natural. Years ago, before my mother died, I made a wish to give some time from my life to her, to prolong her time. And when I did, I lost three years off my life. I'm not actually twenty-five; I'm really just twenty-two. I'm barely older than you. I can see when people die. Yoshida's numbers dropped to a zero, so he died too."
Hibari was watching him, his face completely passive, and Dino's heart pounded. It was very hard to keep his mind focused with the raven was pinned under him like that, but the severity of the situation forced Dino's wandering brain to focus.
"That," Hibari started, his voice unreadable, "Is the single most ridiculous, nonsensical, preposterous story you've said to me since I got here—" Dino's blood pressure began to skyrocket again— "and it's probably the most honest thing you've said to me since we met. Which was not very long ago either. Now get off me, you oaf, you are fat and heavy and I will not be flattened like a steamrolled strip of land."
"Ah—sorry," Dino apologized, sitting up at once. He scooted away from Hibari, heat rising in his face as he watched the raven sit up as well and yank his scarf off his neck irritably. "You…actually believe me?" he asked hesitantly, biting his lip.
Hibari smirked. "Of course not. I want proof."
Dino stifled a groan. "Proof? How? I can't just go and find someone who's going to die, and you can't see the numbers anyway!"
"Well, figure something out."
"How? You're being ridiculous!"
"I'm not accepting no for an answer," Hibari growled, looking as though he'd like to tonfa Dino in the face again, but instead launched himself off the bed and said simply, "I'll be keeping an eye on you from now on. If there's any funny business, I'll bite you to death."
Dino opened and closed his mouth stupidly several time, completely shocked by Hibari's preposterous demands and the fantasy running amok in his head about all the implications biting could me. Then, Hibari got up and left the room without so much as a backwards glance, and Dino found himself wondering if he'd just made enemies with the most dangerous guy on earth, and if the next dead body in Namimori would be his.
Hibari was a man of his word—he did end up following Dino everywhere he went. It could be classified as stalking, per se, but Dino was rather fond of living and wasn't about to go informing Hibari of the technical term for his tendencies. He managed to get back into the job routine after the weekend passed by, and each day, without a fail, he would look out the window of the office and see the raven leaning against the streetlamp on the sidewalk, munching on a steamed bun or playing with a fluffy yellow bird. Didn't birds migrate south during the winter? Dino decided not to ask.
In a way, it wasn't so bad having Hibari follow him around, because Dino was now at full liberty to go out of his way and eat in various diners, sushi shops and go watch movies, all with Hibari tagging along. He was sort of cheating when it came to asking the stubborn raven out on dates, but Hibari never complained about Dino paying for him or dragging him all over town for no reason, so the blonde just relished in all the time spent with his current love interest.
Things remained low-key for about a month, because really, Dino didn't just run into people with a countdown over their heads. Yes, there was the occasional person who had numbers counting down over their head, but it was nowhere near zero, and Dino wasn't about to go following them around. Stalking was Hibari's thing, not his. But while he didn't harbor after the person, he made sure to tell Hibari every time, even if it did nothing but make the other stare at him with a bland expression on his face, disbelief evident in his features. It was somewhat frustrating, because he had no way of proving himself to the other, and Dino didn't like how Hibari was labeling him a liar. He had a feeling Hibari didn't date liars.
Winter slowly melted into the beginnings of spring, which meant more slush, temperatures that fluctuated madly, and the promise of another year's worth of sakura petals raining beautifully down in the parks. Dino had plans to take Hibari sakura-viewing since the raven seemed to like anything that was traditional-Japanese, but his dating escapades would have to wait until the weather warmed up a little. For example, yesterday had been a gorgeously warm day, but today's temperature had dropped below zero again, meaning that all the melted snow had frozen over into a lot of ice. People were slipping all over the place.
"If only mother nature would make up her mind," Dino said mournfully, tugging his coat tightly around him. Hibari didn't reply; he only stuffed his face closer into his scarf, breath coming out in puffs of white smoke.
"Only herbivores complain, Cavallone."
"But spring is almost here!" Dino whined a little. "I wanted to take you sakura-watching!"
"I'm sure," Hibari sneered as they crossed the road. "Why would I want to go sakura-watching with you?"
"Because I'm such a nice person?" Dino beamed, making Hibari roll his eyes.
"You're a weakling. I don't converse with weaklings."
"Aw, don't be mean, Kyoya," Dino pouted (he'd adapted to the first name basis over time, and although he'd gotten a sound beating the first time he used the raven's name, the other didn't really seem to care anymore). "It'll be fun."
"Che."
They continued down the street in silence after that, Dino humming a tuneless little song as they walked. It was after work hours now, and the streets were teeming with people driving or walking home from work. Dino vaguely wondered what Hibari did for a living, seeing as he wasn't even out of school yet. So immersed was he in his thoughts that Dino didn't even notice Hibari stopping and pulling his cell phone out, a small frown on his face.
"Cavallone."
"Huh?" Dino spun around, nearly slipping on a patch of ice as he did. Hibari was several feet behind him, reading something on his cell.
"There's some herbivore business I need to take care of," he said simply. "We'll part ways here."
"…really? Alright," Dino sighed. "Where are you going?"
"None of your business," Hibari sneered, hailing a cab. "I'll be back on routine tomorrow. Don't try anything funny without me around."
"I'm good as gold," Dino complained, watching a red and white car start to pull over from the hub of traffic. "Well, be careful getting back."
"I don't need you telling me," Hibari retorted.
"Kyoya?"
"What, herbivore?"
"Will you go sakura-watching with me? Please?"
Hibari paused for a moment, coal-black eyes raking over Dino's serious expression, as though trying to see past the other's face, as though judging him silently. The taxi pulled up with a squeal of brakes, and Hibari huffed, reaching over to open the car door. Dino beat him to it, and held it open for the raven. Hibari raised an eyebrow, but he ducked into the cab, prompting Dino to shut it behind him. The blonde was about to turn away, bored without his usual companion already, when Hibari suddenly rolled down the window and said sharply, "Cavallone."
Dino turned, surprise evident on his face. Hibari didn't say anything for a second; he had his eyes trained to the ground. Then, he took a breath and said, "If you bring sushi, I'll go," and Dino's heart soared. Breaking out into a huge grin, the blonde nodded at once. "It's a date then!"
"Che," Hibari snapped, winding the window up. "Don't be a fool."
But even his harsh words could not deter Dino's good mood, and he even waved cheerfully as the cab started to pull back out into traffic, merging in with the other cars. In the span of a couple of seconds the vehicle took to wait for the light to change, Dino saw something through the back window of the cab that made his hand freeze in mid-wave, and his heart turn over in terror.
Numbers.
There were black numbers counting down over Hibari's head.
For a moment, Dino couldn't move out of sheer terror and denial as the voice in his head chanted no no no no no no! over and over again. Before he could run up to the cab, the light turned green, and the taxi gunned its way down the street, following the flow of traffic, and it was then that Dino really did shout out "NO!", startling several pedestrians as he nearly threw himself onto oncoming traffic.
"Taxi!" Dino bellowed. "Taxi, please! Taxi!"
Another car pulled up next to him, and Dino launched himself into the passenger seat, slamming the door after him.
"Straight ahead," he stammered before the driver could even ask. "Just—drive, just drive!"
The cabbie gave him a weird look, but he floored the gas pedal and zoomed down the street, overtaking several slower vehicles in the process. Dino rolled down the window and craned his neck out, trying to spot Hibari's taxi. Thank goodness those cars were easy to spot; he immediately caught sight of the raven's ride making a turn onto one of the major intersections.
"Left—turn left here!" Dino prompted the driver, who was forced to make a sharp turn along the center lane. They weaved in and out of traffic, and Dino had almost caught up with Hibari's car when the van in front of them pulled to a sudden stop, and he almost face planted into the glove compartment because he wasn't wearing a seatbelt in his haste.
"Damn!" the cabbie cussed, rolling his window down. "Why's the traffic stuck?"
The answer came almost at once in the form of yelling and several gunshots. Screams echoed around the street, and Dino's hair stood on end. What was going on? A robbery? Hijacking? Mafia street wars? Rummaging through his pockets and pulling out a wad of bills, he slapped the money into the driver's hands and opened the door of the cab, keeping his head down as he ran between the cars, trying to find Hibari. There would be no doubt that the raven would come running out the moment he saw any law-breakers. And with those numbers counting down…Dino had a raw, painful hunch that Hibari might just meet his end with the criminals here.
He peered up from behind the trunk of a grey car, and sure enough, Hibari was already running across the street towards the intersection, tonfas in hand, where several black-clothed figures could be seen running away. Dino's heart pounded wildly in his chest.
"Kyoya! Stop!"
Hibari jerked to a halt, clearly surprised, and spun around to face Dino, his face livid and…scared?
"You idiot herbivore, get out of here now—!"
And, before Dino could open his mouth to tell Hibari not to involve himself in a fight, a large white van driving up from behind skidded on the icy pavement, and slammed headlong into Hibari.
Dino's yell of terror was choked up as he went weak-kneed, crumbling to the ground as the van steered to the side, slamming into another car, leaving behind a very bloody and very limp Hibari rolling to a stop on the ground. Dino staggered upright, tripping over his own feet and running into the trunk of another car as he collapsed next to the raven, hardly believing his own eyes.
This was not happening. This could not be happening.
"Kyoya? Kyoya. Talk to me Kyoya, please, say something!"
But Hibari didn't reply, even as Dino heaved him up in his arms, cradling Hibari's head in the crook of his elbow. There was a streak of red running down from Hibari's temple and down his face. Dino could feel the warm wetness seeping from Hibari's back and through his jeans and see the crimson against his pale, shaking palms.
"Kyoya," he whimpered desperately, watching the numbers read single digits. "Please, Kyoya."
Hibari was tough. He'd wake up. He'd open his eyes and the numbers would vanish and he'd yell at Dino for touching him.
But the numbers were down to five, and they weren't disappearing. The piercing onyx orbs, always so quick to cast a disapproving look on Dino, didn't open.
"Please!" Dino screamed; he'd never screamed in his whole life before, except maybe when his mother almost died, but that was years ago, and—
—and the stupidest idea ever came crashing down upon him in an instant. Gathering Hibari up in his arms as tightly as he could, Dino pressed his cheek against Hibari's cold forehead, willing with all his might not to lose his nerve, and trying desperately to convince himself that the wetness on his cheeks weren't tears at all.
"Take it," he whispered to whoever was listening. "Whatever's left of it. Take all my time if you need be, but please, please, please, just don't let Kyoya die!"
For a moment, nothing happened, but then, the dreadful numbers that had been nearing zero stopped…and began to reverse once again.
Relief swept over Dino like a tidal wave as the blood running down Hibari's face stopped, reversed its tracks, and the limp body in his arms slowly regained some solid structure, chest starting to rise and fall rapidly. A soft groan sounded from Hibari's mouth as the raven twitched, eyelashes fluttering as he tried to blink. The numbers over his head were already vanishing into the late afternoon sky.
"Kyoya," Dino murmured, pressing his lips against Hibari's forehead, releasing a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. The crisis had been adverted…for now. As the raven groaned again and slowly opened his eyes, squinting blearily up at Dino, the blonde smiled weakly down at the man he'd managed to fall in love with, and let the familiar burn in his spine and the aging of his body begin…
So, in the process of trying to save Hibari from getting shot by the crooks, Dino inevitably almost causes Hibari's death. Ironic, eh? Epilogue next chapter! It's short, I know :') Thank you for taking the time to read!
Non Tempus Dubia: No time for doubts (Latin)
-BlackStar