"Buoyant"

AN: Advanced apologies in possible OOC of a certain character…

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Amano Akira. The story is partly inspired by the song, "The Glow, Pt. 2" by The Microphones.

"I'm not dead

there's no end

my face is red

my blood flows harshly

my heart beats loudly…

my chest still draws breath

I hold it,

I'm buoyant"

-- "The Glow, Pt. 2" by The Microphones

--

Chapter 4: He holds his chest, she draws breath

"Kyoya, there appears to be no trace of Chrome Dokuro..."

Hibari switched off his cell phone. No trace of Chrome Dokuro.

Weeks passed.

Dino tells Hibari that there have been no updates.

Months passed.

Hibari starts forgetting about Chrome. His research on the ring boxes and the power ranks of the different rings of cloud had preoccupied him over the months.

13-hour flights.

No layovers.

Japan. Italy. Narita. Fiumicino.

And back again.

It has been four months since Hibari saw Chrome.

But why does everything still feel the same?

--

Kusakabe informed Hibari that Sasagawa Ryohei has arrived in Japan.

Hibari sipped his green tea. He remained poised and relaxed while Kusakabe shuffled some papers to give to Hibari in relation to the matters that prompted Ryohei's visit.

Kusakabe was about to pass the papers over to Hibari when –

"HIBARI! I HAVE AN URGENT – "

Ryohei was cut off by Kusakabe who shushed him over his loud entrance. Hibari was sitting on his tatami mat in a calm manner; legs crossed, dressed in his yukata and continued sipping his tea.

Hibari directed his subordinate, "Kusakabe, please leave us alone."

"Understood, Kyo-san."

Ryohei went to sit across from Hibari. He, cladded in an Armani suit, poured himself a cup of tea.

"I see Italy has made you forget your Japanese manners."

Ryohei nearly choked on his tea. "Hibari, I actually do have an urgent message from Sawada…"

"What does Sawada Tsunayoshi require?"

Ryohei stared at Hibari. Hibari did not make eye contact with him since he entered the room and continued to stare at his cup of green tea.

"The Vongola require some research sources from The Foundation. It's in relation to Rokudo Mukuro's and Chrome Dokuro's whereabouts… Sawada has been looking for both of them and it appears that we were misinformed about their current location."

Hibari was still holding on to his tea. "What makes you think that Mukuro and Chrome are missing together?"

Ryohei picked up the papers that Kusakabe left behind and passed them to Hibari.

"As detailed in the report I faxed through to Kusakabe, we have received information from a source in Italy. The report suggests that Mukuro has been possessing another body so his original entity is still hidden from the Vindice. We do not have confirmation but we believe that Mukuro had escaped with the help of Joushima, Gakimoto and Chrome. Sawada believes that the body still with the Vindice is one of Mukuro's illusions…"

"I am not interested in Sawada Tsunayoshi's beliefs…"

"HIBARI!" yelled Ryohei. "The Foundation has some information on the new entity that Mukuro has possessed and we require it to locate Chrome Dokuro. She has not reported to Sawada for quite some time and this is not acceptable in the Vongola for one of its guardians to sever communication when Sawada requires her…"

"Against the Millefiore?"

Ryohei lets out a deep sigh. The energetic Vongola Sun Guardian usually did not let jetlag get the best of him but that afternoon, he was exhausted.

"Kusakabe will inform you about what information we have in regards to Mukuro…"

Ryohei crossed his arms and gave a small smile. He nodded as approval.

"However, we cannot reveal all the information at this stage…"

"HIBARI!"

Hibari stared right at Ryohei. That was his first eye contact with Ryohei since he entered the room.

"…I will inquire about their locations myself. And I will pass on such information to the Vongola."

"HIBARI!" Ryohei punched his fists together. "I will report this back to Sawada! JOINING FORCES TO THE EXTREME!"

Hibari gave Ryohei his signature "death" look. "Please don't identify this as joining forces…" Hibari took out a ring box from his yukata. "It is because The Foundation's sources are not to be widely shared – and if you even so imply that we are working with the Vongola directly or indirectly…"

Hibari took out his Dying Will tonfas from his ring box after unlocking it with one of his Cloud Rings.

"I will make sure that Sawada Tsunayoshi is unable to locate another one of his Vongola Guardians."

Before Ryohei could reply to Hibari's remarks, Kusakabe entered the room and informed Ryohei that there was a phone call waiting for him in the second meeting room.

Ryohei fixed his tie and collar and walked out of the room. "I'm sure we will meet again, Hibari," Ryohei spoke as he walked out to the hallway.

While closing the door, Kusakabe commented, "I guess my timing was right, Kyo-san."

Hibari had put his tonfas back in his ring box.

"It's too bad. It feels like I haven't fought in awhile."

Hibari poured himself another cup of green tea.

--

Hibari looked through the printouts Kusakabe provided.

"Chrome-san is a very difficult person to locate, she has a number of aliases and she may have been using her illusions to shield her location. We may have some leads but at this stage, our results aren't conclusive…"

Hibari nodded in response to Kusakabe's comments. Kusakabe continued, "Kyo-san, there's also something else…"

"What is it?"

"There is some information on Rokudo Mukuro's whereabouts."

Hibari's heart felt numb. He hid it well, continued to shuffle through the printouts and casually inquired, "What have you found?"

Kusakabe explained that The Foundation had reliable information on Mukuro's location and it appeared that he had been using other bodies for possession while his original entity's location remained unknown.

"Kusakabe, do you think that one of those bodies is Chrome Dokuro?"

"Apologies, Kyo-san. I didn't report that clearly. We thought that by finding such reliable information on Mukuro would lead us to Chrome-san but there does not appear to be a link that we can find."

Hibari commended Kusakabe on The Foundation's work and headed back to the tearoom.

Are you with him now, Chrome?

Hibari's thoughts remained transfixed. His instinct told him that even if Mukuro and Chrome were not in the same location at that time, there would be some plans for a communication between them.

Chrome will try to find Mukuro.

Hibari thought about the possibility. Mukuro and Chrome, in two separate entities. He was not stupid. He knew what could happen. His thoughts were racing past him.

Stop.

Hibari's instinct also told him that Dino Cavallone was not telling him everything he needed to know.

--

AN: I find it hard to write Ryohei "in character" even though he is one of my favourites in Katekyo Hitman Reborn! I was either going to use Gokudera or him in that scene. I chose Ryohei because there seems to be a lack of Ryohei's presence in fanfiction. Besides, I loved his interaction with Hibari in Chapters 171 and 174 in the manga.

Next chapter will be the last – a long one but will be conclusive.