Hi everybody! Thank you all for reading my story! It truly means a lot!
Extra thanks to yui33aki , Kichou , cute-saki, chrome-yuuki, LotusReila and Spottie for reviewing the 3rd chapter and to everyone who has added this story to their favorites! As you might know already, I love getting reviews!
And holy-! It has only been a month since my latest update! I have never updated this quickly before. Guess I must have been quite bored lately, haha ^^
Well, enjoy the forth chapter of QIFH! :D
Friday
08:14 p.m.
While Reborn disappeared somewhere into the large crowds, Tsuna was left alone in the middle of the room, surrounded by people he didn't know and had never seen before. He began to notice how they all were looking weirdly at him while whispering and mumbling with their fellow companions.
Tsuna cringed uncomfortably and was starting to wish that he could just to disappear like Reborn had done. That Arcobaleno had just abandoned him without any explanation as to where he was going.
Well, at least some company would have been better than just standing around while being stared at like some kind of animal at the zoo. Even talking to Mukuro would have been okay at a moment like this. Though in that case, it would feel a lot better if Chrome was around as well.
Speaking of Chrome, it had been a long time since Tsuna last saw her. He would occasionally see Mukuro, Ken or Chikusa wandering through the shopping districts or patrolling the streets, but never Chrome. He was beginning to worry that Mukuro might have locked her up in a room somewhere at Kokuyo Land and forbidden her from leaving.
"Nah, that wouldn't happen" Tsuna said out loud "Not even Mukuro is that creepy".
"I'm sure that I can be a lot creepier than what you just imagined" Tsuna heard Mukuro's voice from somewhere behind him. There was a hint of amusement in it like it usually was when he commented something that Tsuna said.
Tsuna yelped and spun around quickly.
He absolutely hated when people came sneaking up on him like that, specifically when it came to Mukuro. The fact that he had just spoken out loud of how creepy he thought Mukuro was hadn't really helped. Truth to be told, he did feel quite embarrassed right now.
"M-Mukuro!" he exclaimed and unconsciously took a step backwards. Who knows, Mukuro might find this a good time to impale him with that trident of his, despite the many people present. But it didn't seem as though he was in the mood to fight "Don't scare me like that! Geez…!" Tsuna managed to calm himself down a little. He looked at his Mist Guardian who was staring back at him with that smug smirk of his "Ah! Where is Chrome? You said you'd bring her here!"
Tsuna might have sounded a bit more troubled than he had meant to. But Mukuro didn't seem to take any notice of it. He chuckled before nodding his head towards his left.
"There is no need to get so worked up, Sawada Tsunayoshi" the illusionist said calmingly, still with the scornful smile on his lips "My cute little Chrome is right over there along with your female admirers".
"Admirers?" Tsuna said confused, yet he couldn't quite hide the curiosity in his voice. Did he have some secret admirers that only Mukuro was aware of?
"Ah, I apologize" Mukuro held back a laugh "I meant the indefatigable, cosplay-loving stalker and Sasagawa Ryohei's naïve little sister of whom you have perverted thoughts about on a daily basis".
Tsuna instantly took back his previous thoughts about how it would have been better to have Mukuro around than being alone. He would have liked Mukuro to just leave him alone instead of humiliating him like this. He was actually more upset that Mukuro had alleged him for having weird thoughts about Kyoko than the fact that he had tricked him that he had female admirers.
"I do not have perverted thoughts about Kyoko-chan!" he said angrily, not caring that it was Mukuro he was talking to and not Reborn "How can you even think something like that?"
Mukuro chuckled amusedly. It was just the kind of reaction that he had expected from the tenth Vongola boss. Anxiety.
"I'm just messing with you" Mukuro said reassuringly, content that he had managed to inflict such emotional damage to Tsuna's mind so easily "Of course, you are still too immature to have that kind of thoughts".
"Was that supposed to make me feel better?" Tsuna inquired exasperatingly.
"I never said that I was trying to make you feel better" Mukuro smirked.
As they kept on bickering, Gokudera appeared out of the crowds. He called out for Tsuna and stood between him and Mukuro while glaring suspiciously at the taller man.
"You bastard" he muttered and narrowed his eyes "You were trying to do something funny to Juudaime, weren't you?"
"If having a normal conversation can be considered 'something funny', then yes, I was" Mukuro said casually.
Gokudera didn't look convinced. He was still frowning at Mukuro and refused to step aside despite Tsuna assuring him that everything was fine.
Of course, Gokudera wasn't stupid enough to start a fight in a place such as this. He had already attracted enough attention from bystanders as it was. But that didn't stop him from challenging Mukuro to a fight later on.
Mukuro's answer to that invitation was not what he had hoped for though.
"You are 10 years too early to even consider challenging me, Gokudera Hayato" Mukuro said. He was no longer smiling, which meant that he was serious "You are still too weak. If you wish to fight me nevertheless, the least you could do is try to defeat Yamamoto Takeshi first".
To say that Gokudera had been offended by that was an understatement. To be degraded below Yamamoto's level of strength was the ultimate insult. Not because he found Yamamoto to be weak, but because he was Gokudera's rival for the position of Tsuna's right-hand man. He had always seen himself as the stronger of the two, but now that even Mukuro was stating that Yamamoto was the stronger one, he wasn't sure if that was the case anymore. He was also feeling very frustrated, and it was only a matter of time before his great dislike towards the Mist Guardian would turn into pure hatred. Perhaps he already did hate him?
Mukuro smirked at the dumbfounded expression on Gokudera's face before nodding shortly towards Tsuna and disappearing into the crowd.
"Gokudera-kun, are you alright?" Tsuna inquired worryingly.
Before Gokudera could answer, Haru, dressed in as short green dress, suddenly appeared beside Tsuna.
"Tsuna-san!" she squealed and locked her arm with his "Haru has been looking for you! Aren't you going to ask Haru to dance?"
"Eh?" Tsuna uttered and tried to pull away from her. He couldn't just say 'no' since that would hurt her feelings, yet at the same time, he was probably the worst dancer in the world, so he would only end up embarrassing himself, and her too for that matter "Haru, I'm not…"
However, luckily for him, Haru was just the distraction that Gokudera needed to snap out of his trance. He immediately turned his frustration at her since Mukuro was already gone.
"Stupid woman!" he yelled and pulled Tsuna's other arm "Stop bothering Juudaime! Go dance with Yamamoto instead!"
"Haru wants to dance with Tsuna-san first!" Haru pouted and refused to let go of his arm "Besides, Yamamoto-san is not even here yet!"
"Either way, he doesn't want to!" Gokudera retorted back at her.
"How would you know that, Gokudera-san?" Haru questioned.
"Because I am his right-hand man!" Gokudera stated proudly "Of course I would know!"
Haru pouted at him, but her face instantly lit up as she noticed Kyoko walking over towards them.
"Ah, Kyoko-chan!" she said happily "Surely, Tsuna-san would like to dance with Haru, right?"
Kyoko-chan? Tsuna's head instinctively turned in the direction where Haru was looking to see Kyoko standing there in a very beautiful pink evening dress, smiling innocently.
Now he definitely couldn't dance with Haru. Not when Kyoko was watching. What if she'd misinterpret the situation and think that he actually preferred Haru before her.
"I'm sure that it would make Haru-chan happy if you did, Tsuna-kun" she said with a soft smile. Of course she'd say something like that. After all, she was the kindest person that Tsuna knew, always so considerate towards everyone else.
"Ugh…" Tsuna sighed in defeat. If Kyoko encouraged him to dance with Haru, he couldn't say no.
"VOOOOOOOOOIIIIII!"
All the guests flinched at the piercing sound that nearly cracked their eardrums. Even the loud music coming from the stereo was drowned by the loud voice of Superbi Squalo.
"So you trash did show up after all, huh?" the swordsman exclaimed, using his boss's notorious catchphrase. He approached the small group, followed by Bel and Lussuria.
"Ah! Varia!" Tsuna unconsciously cringed. He was always feeling quite nervous whenever the Varia came around, even though they were no longer enemies. It was something about the way they all behaved that simply freaked him out.
"Ushishishi" Bel chuckled and grinned widely, the blond fringe covering his eyes and his crown on edge on top of his head "Told you they'd be here".
"Hello, everyone!" Lussuria exclaimed. He didn't sound much different from what Haru had done upon finding Tsuna in the large crowds "Are you enjoying yourself? You all look gorgeous!"
Both Kyoko and Haru had been very flattered by the praise and quickly thanked him by returning the comment. Tsuna and Gokudera just gawked at him abhorrently.
"Where are the rest of you weaklings?" Squalo queried in a harsh voice "Where is Yamamoto Takeshi? I feel like stabbing someone!"
Tsuna shuddered. It was a good thing that Yamamoto had not arrived yet.
"Onii-san is training late today" Kyoko told them "But he should be here soon, and Yamamoto-kun too. He just finished his baseball practice".
Tsuna felt an unexpectedly weird feeling in his stomach as he wondered why Kyoko knew about Yamamoto's whereabouts when no one else did. He had never seen the two of them as very close. It couldn't possibly be that he was jealous?
No, that was impossible. Yamamoto was aware of how infatuated Tsuna was with Kyoko. He had even said that he supported him to 100%.
Tsuna felt suddenly stupid and ashamed for thinking so lowly about Yamamoto. Kyoko had probably just met him on the way here and he had told her that he would be late.
"The bastard illusionist is around here somewhere" Gokudera muttered and crossed his arms over his chest "Chrome too".
"I haven't seen Hibari-san yet though" Tsuna said and looked around to room, hoping to spot the prefect somewhere. Reborn said that he had promised to come, so he should be here already.
Hibari yawned loudly as he was standing in the corner of the room with his arms crossed.
From here, he had a good view over everything that was going on inside the huge room that was packed with people. He didn't miss Sawada Tsunayoshi's frightened expression as he had discovered that the Varia was also present. The fact that Varia had appeared was maybe not so shocking, but more the fact that Xanxus had actually showed up too. Though he was mostly sulking to himself in a corner and glare daggers at anyone who got too close to him, much like Hibari was doing.
Hibari witnessed how Dino entered the room without any of his subordinates with him and how he in his attempt to hurry over and greet Tsuna accidentally stumbled into a group of people that were mingling with each other and made them all spill their drinks on their clothes.
They had all stared angrily at Dino who had tried to lighten up the mood with a nervous laugh and a casual apologize. He wasn't very popular after that incident.
Despite the occasional comic reliefs by Dino, this party-or-whatever really was a drag. Hibari though that people were standing way too close to him, and he did not approve of it. To make things worse it didn't seem like they would be scared off that easily, perhaps because they were mafia, or maybe he just didn't seem as intimidating as he normally did.
Was it because of Mukuro? Had he gone and told everyone about Hibari's loss towards him, making them believe that he wasn't as strong and fearsome as one would have believed at first.
And even though he had already threatened to bite numerous people to death, it was starting to get annoying as it would only temporary scare them off. Within a few minutes, they would be back, dancing or chatting with each other, only a few feet away from him.
Hibari glanced across the room and spotted Rokudo Mukuro, talking with Dino, who had just recovered from another mishap, as well as some of his bodyguards.
Chrome was not around.
He had seen her when she arrived with Mukuro, and there was no denying that despite the crutches that supported her as well as a bandaged foot, she had still looked… all right, or perhaps even somewhat pretty in her knee length dark blue dress, though Hibari would never admit such a thing out loud. With her new attire, she looked more feminine and less like Mukuro, which was always a positive thing.
But it was troublesome how Chrome seemed to constantly occupy Hibari's mind when he least expected it. Even Hibird reminded him of her, carrying the same kind of innocence in his eyes as Chrome did.
Noticing how Hibari was glaring towards them, Dino smiled and waved at him.
Hibari huffed and turned his head in the other direction.
Expecting Dino to be the one to come over when the clicking sound of footsteps came closer, Hibari was surprised and rather annoyed to see that it was Mukuro. He would have been annoyed at anyone for approaching him, but since it was Mukuro, it was a lot worse.
"Is there something on your mind, Hibari Kyoya?" Mukuro asked teasingly as he smirked at the other male.
Hibari frowned at him, but made no attempt at attacking him, since he had promised Reborn not to make a scene. And Hibari Kyoya always keeps his promises… Almost always that will say.
"Don't stand so close to me, herbivore" he replied grumpily "I'll bite you to death".
Mukuro simply chuckled while looking amused.
"I couldn't help but notice you staring at my cute little Chrome before" he stated playfully, making Hibari almost flinch "I don't blame you though. She does look very beautiful tonight".
"I don't know what you're talking about" Hibari narrowed his eyes and felt his hand twitch slightly, urging to grab his tonfa and slam it in Mukuro's face "I dislike her almost as much as you".
"Kufufu" Mukuro laughed amusedly "In that case, shall I pretend I haven't figured out that you're the one who helped her yesterday?"
Hibari's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh? She didn't tell you?" he asked.
"She did not" Mukuro said honestly.
"Hmph" Hibari grunted "It doesn't matter either way".
"No, I'm grateful" Mukuro said with a smile on his lips "If there is something I can do in return…"
"Take back the rumor" Hibari replied immediately.
Mukuro blinked.
"What rumor?" he asked confused.
"The one that you've been spreading around" Hibari said, starting to feel irritated. Now he knew where Chrome got her denseness from. Reluctantly, he added quietly: "Concerning my loss…"
"I don't know of such a rumor" Mukuro said bemused.
"What?" Hibari said. Had Reborn lied to him then? What was going on here?
I need some air to clear my mind, Hibari thought and started to head towards the exit.
"Hmh?" Mukuro said and looked after him "Where are you going?"
Hibari ignored him. He had no obligation of telling him where he was going, and felt annoyed that Mukuro seemed to believe that he did. He just walked past him and all the other annoying herbivores that were crowding around and out the door.
Outside was calm and quiet, aside from the loud thumping of the music heard through the walls.
Hibari walked up to the railing of the balcony and gazed up at the dark night sky. Just a few stars were twinkling through the dark background, accompanied by hazy clouds and a radiant full moon.
Suddenly, something further down in the garden caught his interest.
A fountain. And by it…
Without realizing why he did it, Hibari made his way down the stairs to the garden and walked across the gravel path and towards the fountain.
"What are you doing out here?" he inquired the silhouette by the edge of the spring.
Chrome flinched a little before slowly turning her head to look at him over her shoulder.
"Ah, Cloud-person" she uttered, calming down upon realizing who it was, though Hibari would have given the opposite effect on practically anyone else. Chrome felt strangely secure in his presence; something that she didn't have when being around most others "I was just getting some air" she replied leisurely.
Hibari just scoffed at her.
"Ah! But you can be here too if you want!" Chrome said hastily, worried that he might think that she wanted to be alone and that she wanted him to leave.
Hibari narrowed his eyes at her.
"I wasn't asking for your permission" he stated grudgingly "I'll do what I want".
Chrome blushed, feeling stupid. Of course, he was right. It wasn't like the garden was exclusively for her to use.
Hibari sat down by the edge of the cascade, though he did make sure to sit at least a few feet distance from Chrome. He wouldn't want to risk crowding after all.
A few minutes of silence went by. Only the sound of the water flowing behind them as well as the subdued thud of the music coming from inside was heard.
In the corner of his eye, Hibari glanced over at the younger girl as she silently twirled a finger through the water, forming little circles on the surface.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled to herself as she watched the circles expand before merging with the rest of the water.
He was meaning to ask her to stop constantly interrupting his mind all the time, but he couldn't find a way to say it without making it sound completely ridiculous.
Realizing that she was being watched, Chrome raised her head and looked back at him. She smiled shyly, to which Hibari instantly darted his eyes the other way.
"Uhm… Cloud-person" Chrome began and bit her lower lip nervously "About yesterday… I'm… really grateful for…"
"Don't mention it" he cut her off.
"But I really…" she tried again.
"Why disgrace yourself more than you already have?" Hibari said ominously as her frowned at her disapprovingly "Herbivore…"
Chrome voiced a barely audible 'I'm sorry' and lowered her head.
Once again, Hibari felt that stung of guilt that was the reason that he had helped her the other day. Perhaps this was another one of her abilities? Manipulating people into making them feel guilty.
So, you thought that you'd be able to fool me? Hibari thought, content that he had managed to figure out her intentions before she'd make him do something like helping her out again. Unfortunately, you will be disappointed.
But before he was able to accuse her for attempting to mess with his mind, they were interrupted by a twittering sound that came neither from the fountain nor the stereo.
While Hibari was able to immediately recognize the voice of his yellow pet bird, Chrome seemed confused as to where the chirping was coming from. As she looked up, she saw the bird flying above their heads while singing an, to her, unfamiliar song about Namimori Middle High.
Hibird finished its song and landed on top of Hibari's shoulder.
It proudly puffed up the feathers on its chest before tweeting its master's name.
"So cute" Chrome said and watched the animal in fascination.
Hibari looked at her suspiciously. Of course it was cute. It was much cuter than that owl of hers which Mukuro would occasionally possess, which by the way made it look even less cute. Rather creepy to be honest.
It was not shocking if Chrome felt jealous of him.
Momentary forgetting about his accusation towards her, Hibari held a finger towards the bird and motioned for it to jump onto it. As soon as it did, he held out his hand towards Chrome.
Understanding what he meant, Hibird extended its wings again and willingly fluttered over to Chrome and settled in her lap.
Chrome blinked in confusion as a pair of round eyes looked back up at her expectantly.
Hesitantly she stroked a finger under its chin like she had once seen Hibari do. It seemed to like being patted, judging by the relaxed peep that it uttered.
Chrome looked over at Hibari and smiled. He on the other hand, quickly turned his head away and avoided meeting her gaze.
It didn't upset Chrome though. She was aware of how reluctant he was when it came to show his emotions as well as conversing with others unless he had to. Chrome was a bit the same, except she wasn't reluctant when it came to befriend others, she just wasn't sure how to do it.
Or perhaps Hibari didn't know either.
"Is… your arm feeling better?" Chrome asked as she was reminded that he had also been injured.
Hibari frowned, but stubbornly kept his gaze in front of him.
"If you think that I'll appreciate you pitying me, you couldn't be more wrong" he said harshly.
Chrome was a little dazed by his sudden change in behavior. He had seemed rather friendly just a minute ago for allowing her to hold onto his pet bird.
Hibird looked from her to its master and back, moving its head to the side, back and forth, seemingly curious of her.
"Mukuro" it chirped out of nowhere, gaining both Chrome and Hibari's attention.
"Eh?" Chrome said and her cheeks flushed pink "N-no, I'm Chrome".
The bird tilted its head in confusion.
"It's no use" Hibari muttered, feeling quite annoyed that his pet still remembered Mukuro "It will only call for me… or Mukuro".
"Chrome" the animal said suddenly, surprising Hibari.
Chrome's eye widened in astonishment. Then she smiled.
Hibari had never seen her smile so happily. Not even when being around Mukuro or the girls.
While he was feeling a bit uncomfortable over the change in mood, for some reason, it felt rather nice too. How peculiar…
A few minutes went by with Chrome continuing to stroke the yellow animal under its chin, smiling to herself, despite being aware that Hibari was watching her.
Their joint moment was cut short by the appearance of Yamamoto Takeshi, who was out for a walk as he stumbled upon the other two by the fountain.
"Oh! I just wondered where you two were!" he said cheerfully with his hands in the pockets of his black pants. His shirt had been quite carelessly tucked inside his pants and the blue tie was hanging loose around his neck, giving off a more easygoing look than most of the other guests had.
Hibari glared at the newcomer. It was enough to have one other person here already. There was no need for more people to come and crowd around him.
"What do you want, Yamamoto Takeshi?" he inquired brusquely.
"Haha!" Yamamoto chuckled and smiled even wider "Happy as always, aren't you, Hibari?"
Hibari snorted in annoyance.
"Hello" Chrome greeted him and turned her attention from the bird to their fellow guardian.
"Hey, Chrome" Yamamoto replied with a nod. He glanced at her foot and grimaced slightly "How's your foot? I heard you tripped on the street yesterday".
"It's… alright" she said and looked at the white cast that covered her foot "The doctor said it will heal in a few weeks".
"That's good" Yamamoto said and his smile returned. He grabbed the collar of his shirt and tugged at it while heaving a sigh "It's really hot in there! Good thing there was such a nice and quiet place like this here!"
"Well, it was a quiet place" Hibari muttered silently. He motioned for his bird to return to him as he stood up.
"Oh?" Yamamoto said surprised "Are you going back inside, Hibari?"
Hibari narrowed his eyes, but it didn't seem to scare the other male one bit.
"What do you think?" he inquired curtly and walked past him "I've endured this hell long enough, so I'm leaving".
And without further notice, he marched out of the garden and disappeared around the corner of the building, not even bothering to say goodbye to the neither Chrome nor Yamamoto.
Yamamoto put his hands on his hips and looked after him until he was completely out of sight. He then turned back to Chrome and tilted his head a little to the side, with an expression that resembled a confused puppy.
"Did I interrupt something?" he wondered.
Chrome quickly shook her head and blushed faintly. She didn't want him to get the wrong idea, like M.M. had.
The Rain Guardian took the liberty of taking over Hibari's seat by the fountain. He stretched his arms towards the sky and let out a long yawn, which was followed by an amused chuckle.
He noticed how the girl was watching him out of the corner of his eye.
"Oh, sorry!" he said quickly "Did you want to be alone?"
"Ah, no!" Chrome hastily waved a hand in front of her face "It's okay".
"Okay" Yamamoto said and grinned. He turned his gaze to the sky to watch the stars. Suddenly, he pointed in front of him and exclaimed: "Look, a shooting star! Make a wish, Chrome!"
"Eh?" Chrome said dumbfounded and looked at where he was pointing "Oh, sure…"
Closing her amethyst eye, Chrome tried to think of something that she was wishing for.
To become better friends with everyone.
It was the first thing that came to mind, so she might as well wish for that.
She opened her eye again to find Yamamoto looking at her.
"Did you wish for something?" he asked curiously.
"Yes" Chrome replied with a nod "Did you?"
"Sure!" Yamamoto replied happily "To get to know Chrome better".
Chrome's cheeks heated up in embarrassment, and she turned her head the other way so that he wouldn't notice.
"Ah, did I say something wrong?" he asked, leaning forward in an attempt to see her face.
Chrome rapidly shook her head.
"N-no…" she said quietly.
"In that case" Yamamoto continued "Would it be alright with you? If I got to know you better?"
Chrome instantly nodded, which seemed to encourage him. Chrome could practically feel him smile brightly even though she had her back turned to him.
"How about a date?" Yamamoto suggested, which was what truly caught her off guard "As soon as your foot is healed that is?" there was a short pause in which he waited for her to reply. When she didn't, he quickly continued "Nothing serious of course! Let's just go as friends!"
"O-okay" Chrome agreed and nodded again. Going on a date just as friends? She couldn't recall ever hearing of such a thing, but since it was Yamamoto, it might be fun. It would probably be something similar as going with Kyoko and Haru, except Yamamoto was a boy. Obviously, it wouldn't be exactly the same as going out with the girls, but it might still be fun.
Just because he was a boy, it didn't have to mean that they were anything more than friends, right?
"It's a date then!" Yamamoto seemed content, just as his cell phone started to ring in a happy tune, well-suited for his happy-go-lucky personality. He fished up the device from his pocket to answer it "Hello!"
There was a brief pause where Chrome assumed that the caller was talking. She looked back at him, curiosity overcoming the embarrassment.
"Yeah, sure" Yamamoto answered into the receiver "No, it's not a problem. I'll be right there".
He hung up and let the phone slip back into his pocket.
"It was my old man" he explained and stood up straight and stretched his arms once more "I've got to help him with a delivery for tomorrow morning, so I have to go now".
Chrome nodded understandingly.
"I'll see you later then" Yamamoto smiled one last time at her before waving goodbye.
Chrome sighed tiredly. Of course, she liked Yamamoto. She liked him a lot. As a friend…
She couldn't help wondering how M.M. would react when she heard about this, because of course, she would find out eventually. She might misinterpret Yamamoto's friendly intentions as something more serious, just like she had with Hibari.
Speaking of M.M., she was still thinking of a way to bring Chrome and Hibari together, and Chrome knew that very well since M.M. had made no attempts to keep it a secret from her.
Chrome appreciated that she had not brought up the subject with Mukuro or the others, but it may only be a question of time. Mukuro was cunning. He would eventually figure out what she was up to and start questioning her about it.
It wasn't as if Chrome were in love with Hibari. She just admired him, the same way as she admired the other guardians. Only, perhaps just a little more…
Chapter 4 - finito! I was running out on ideas, so if it sucks, I apologize about that. But wohoo, Varia appeared! They are so awsome :)
Now, for the biggest question: Where did Reborn disappear to? :O (Eh? o.O)
*Cough*... ANYWAYS, reviews are appreciated, like always... :3