Kyandi: Hey, all! I have returned.
Roksana: And with a lot of announcements.
Kyandi: Right. First off, I have been informed that I'm behind the times, so I made a Twitter. You'll find the link on my bio page, just take out the spaces.
Roksana: She'll put out tweets so you know new chapters are on the way before they are posted, you can ask questions, and so on.
Kyandi: Just another way for all of you to keep up with me. Speaking of questions, I'm doing a Q&A youtube video, so if you have a burning question, rather it's about one of my characters, me, or my opinions or something, then ask and I'll cover it in the video. What else?
Roksana: Pole and contest.
Kyandi: Right! There's a new pole on my bio page, so go vote on that. As for the contest...I'm holding a contest for all of you lovelies who are artists. Draw a picture of what you think one of my characters would look like in a Halloween costume and send it to me or link me to it. I'll pick my favorites and will feature them in a video.
Roksana: If you can't draw or don't want to, then you can at least vote.
Kyandi: Yep! With that, everyone enjoy and review.
Roksana: Kyandi-sama does not own Katekyo Hitman REBORN.
Chapter 7 Valentine's Day
"What...the hell...is going on?"
When Roksana had tagged along with Yamamoto and Gokudera to Tsuna's, she hadn't been expecting the scene that unfolded in front of her. Tsuna, with Haru, Reborn, Lambo, I-pin, and a boy she had never met before, was sitting in the middle of Tsuna's trashed bedroom. It looked like a hurricane had come crashing through Tsuna's room. She kind of wanted to know what had happened, but she also kind of didn't. Either way she got her answer though, when Gokudera's eyes landed on the boy she didn't know, who was introduced as Futa.
"Why didn't you tell me that the ranking kid is here!?" Gokudera demanded.
"Ranking kid?" Roksana asked, looking at Yamamoto who shrugged in reply.
Exactly what was Gokudera talking about? A ranking kid? Ranking for what?
"Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna called in surprise.
"I bumped into him a while ago. It seemed interesting, so I tagged along." Yamamoto said.
"And then they ran into me, so I came with as well." Roksana added.
Though she was now kind of questioning her choice.
Tsuna greeted Yamamoto and Roksana as well as the three joined them in Tsuna's bedroom. Roksana took a seat next to Haru, greeting her with a smile. Gokudera, on the other hand, had his mind fixed on something else.
"I have been meaning to ask the ranking kid something for a while now. There's only one thing I want to know...for the ranking of people suitable to be the 10th's right hand man, what place am I!?" Gokudera demanded. "Can it be done, ranking kid?"
"That's easy. The ranking for who is most suitable to be Tsuna-nii's right hand man, right? Let's see, Hayato-nii's place is..."
Roksana shifted on the spot, her eyes flickering around the room as things started floating in the air. Why did she always seem to find herself in the strangest situations whenever she was with her friends? Things like this had never happened to her before she had met them, why now? If she had been anything like the older people she knew back in Russia, this would have probably sent her into a fit of cursing this as the works of a demon. But she wasn't and this just made her a little weirded out.
She was starting to wonder if she would ever get use to all the weird things that happened around Tsuna. Maybe, maybe not. Only time would tell if she would.
"Hayato-nii's place is...out of range." Futa said.
"What!?"
Roksana was sure that Gokudera was going to pass out. That or break something. It wasn't the answer he had been hoping for.
"There's such a thing as range in ranking?" Tsuna asked.
"I didn't say it was out of range for the ranking. It's atmospherically out of range." Futa replied.
Roksana shook her head. This whole thing was just ridiculous. Yamamoto, forever the dense goofball, laughed, calling Futa "another funny guy". Roksana didn't think he was too far off with that description of his. She had met a lot of "funny guys" recently.
"But there are more jobs for you than just being the right hand man, Hayato-nii." Futa spoke up. "Hayato-nii ranks number one out of eighty-two thousand two hundred and three for people suitable as a kindergarten teacher."
Roksana couldn't help the laughter that spilled from her lips. The image, while funny to her, wasn't a pleasant one for Gokudera. The thing was...Roksana really could see him being in some kind of job that required him to work with children. Despite how he acted with Lambo, he just seemed like the type that would be good with children.
"After all, Hayato-nii is number two out of eighty-two thousand two hundred and three people who likes kids. It's the most suitable job." Futa added.
"I...I like kids?" Gokudera asked in shock.
"I commend you, Futa! Great ranking skills!" Yamamoto said brightly.
"The number one person in that ranking...is Volkov Roksana-nee." Futa said.
All eyes turned to Roksana in surprise. Roksana just blinked back at them before raising an eyebrow in questioning.
"What? I like children, so what. I do have a kid brother." Roksana replied. "I wouldn't be much of a big sister if I didn't, at least, like him."
She had always liked children. They were generally very trusting and so full of life and, depending on the age, a lot more accepting than adults and teenagers were. Back home in Russia, her idea of a perfect day, was being able to sit and hold her baby brother to her heart's content. It wasn't a bad thing.
It was then that Bianchi chose to make her entrance, saying that the most important thing was love. She demanded for a love ranking and Reborn, claiming it would be fun, told Futa to do it. Futa agreed and started with Tsuna. Everyone was surprised when Leon, Reborn's lizard, was at the top of the list. Outside, it had started raining, the drops making tiny pings on the windows. The moment the rain started to pour down on the ground below, Futa went quiet, laying on the floor looking glum.
"What's wrong, Futa!?" Tsuna asked.
"I feel heavy. I'm really weak to rain. I hate the rain. My ranking goes all wonky." Futa told him.
"W-what did you just say?" Tsuna asked. "So the ranking after it started to rain is all wrong?
"I presume the ranking goes askew when it rains because there is an interference with the ranking planet's connection." Reborn said.
"Ranking planet? Come on, now you're just trying to weird me out." Roksana grumbled.
It was at times like this, that it became too much and she was ready to call it quits. She was about to get up and announce that she was leaving when Futa turned to her and smiled.
"Roksana-nee has a truly great ranking." he announced.
All eyes turned to Roksana who blinked back in surprise. She didn't know what Futa was talking about, but he had effectively caught her attention.
"What ranking?" Roksana asked.
Futa's grin grew and what came out of his mouth next...she couldn't really deny. He pulled his ridiculously large ranking book and flipped a few pages before he came to the right page.
"Number one out of eighty-two thousand two hundred and three in protective older sibling instincts."
Like she said...she couldn't deny it.
-0-0-0-0-
Over the next couple of weeks, Roksana found herself busy. Valentine's Day was approaching quickly and she was contemplating giving chocolates to her friends. Of course, Yamamoto and Gokudera would have their fair share of chocolates. Both were highly popular with girls and Roksana had already over heard several girls planning to give them chocolate. While Roksana's would just be from one friend to another, she was sure her's would be different from other girls' simply because she was going to be using her grandmother's recipe for homemade chocolates.
No one made chocolate like her Grandma Svetlana.
So, this particular day in early Febuary found Roksana walking down the hall after school, running through a list of ingredients she would need while she talked on the phone with her grandmother. Svetlana Volkov was an aging woman of influence and kindness. One of the few people in her father's family that didn't look down on her for the fact that she was a half breed child born out of wedlock. Roksana loved her grandmother and the woman had been the one who gave her the name Roksana.
"Uh-huh, yes...anything else? Alright. I got it. Love you, babushka. Yes, I will call again soon. Bye."
Roksana was smiling when she hung up her phone, slipping the device back into her bag before turning to check the list of ingredients her grandmother had given her. She would stop by the store on the way home and would pick up what she needed. It would then just be a matter of getting Dimitri and Maeve to leave her alone long enough for her to make the chocolates herself.
"An actual smile...better than a sneer."
Roksana heaved an annoyed sigh as she came to a stop, turning to face the speaker. She really didn't have the time to deal with him today. Her head tilted back as her eyes landed on Hibari who was leaning against a door jam. He was watching her with a half smirk on his face. Snapping her notebook close, she slid it into her bag before propping one hand on her hip.
"No one asked you. What do you want? I don't have time to deal with you today." she told him.
"Your uniform is still out of dress code." he replied.
By this point, he had, honestly, ceased caring about how she wore her uniform. Now, it was more about finding an excuse to mess with her than anything. He watched as she barked out a laugh, her mouth twisting into a mocking grin.
"Yeah, that's not going change, so if you honestly want to pick a fight with me over it, leave it until tomorrow and then I will kick your ass." Roksana said before turning on her heel.
Roksana only heard the faint whip of his jacket and spun on the spot, backing away from him as he quickly approached her. He ended up backing her up against the wall, one hand hitting the wall just to the right of her head. Roksana's eyes shifted to his hand for a mere moment before turning to his face.
"If this is an attempt to scare me, you sorely missed your mark." she told him.
"I don't remember you ever beating me." he replied instead of remarking to her comment.
"Do I need to slap you with my shoe again for you to remember?"
She had a smart remark for everything!
It both annoyed and amused him.
Standing there, Roksana raised a leg, wiggling the foot to display the indoor slipper that clad her foot. She tilted her head to the side, that mocking grin still curling her lips.
"Oh, lookie here...another shoe for which to slap you. You really should learn the definition of "personal space" before I really start liking the idea of my shoe kissing you goodbye." she taunted.
Hibari braced his other hand on the other side of her head, boxing her in. He leaned in closer, Roksana eyeing him intently as he did. Up close, he couldn't help admiring the vivid contrast between the blue-purple of her eyes and the single slash of emerald green that cut through both irises. How anyone could find something so beautiful in it's uniqueness, to be a sign of demon possession was beyond him. Personally...he liked it.
"Did you hear me? I said back up."
Roksana pushing on his chest, making him back up a few steps, brought him back to the current conversation. Roksana slipped past him and took a few steps to put some distance between them. Apparently she had an issue with him being so close to her if they weren't fight.
"As exhilarating as this conversation is, I'm busy today and I honestly don't have the time to entertain you. You'll have to find someone else to amuse yourself with." Roksana told him.
With that, she spun on her heel and walked away. For some reason, the fact that she was busy had him feeling mischievous. He really wanted to mess with her today and wasn't exactly sure why. Perhaps he should indulge this whim, see where it took him.
Perhaps he would.
-0-0-0-0-
"I have the cocoa, cream, sugar..."
Roksana shifted through her bags, checking off everything on her list a second time, just to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Smiling to herself, she headed off down the street. Peering up at the slowly darkening sky, Roksana checked her phone. It was getting late. Thankfully, she had called Dimitri ahead of time to let him know that she was going to the store and would be home late.
Of course, he had insisted on her coming home and one of the household staff going to the store for her, but Roksana wanted at least one normal teenage experience in her life. She had never gone grocery shopping before and hadn't realized how fun it could be. Roksana was busy already planning out how much chocolate she would have to make and failed to hear the chuckling before three men stepped out of an alley ahead of her, blocking her path down the street.
Roksana came to a stop a good distance from them, turning to look behind her as four more guys stepped out of the growing shadows to block her retreat. They had her trapped between them. Roksana's head whipped back and forth, eyeing the men.
"Look what we got here, boys." one man called, a few of the others letting out wolf whistles. "A hot high school girl."
"I'm in middle school." Roksana retorted.
"Oooh, even better." said another.
Roksana knew she would have to fight her way out of this when they started closing in ranks around her. She backed up to the wall blocking her on one side and sat her bags down against the wall. She didn't want anything she had bought to get ruined.
"I'm only going to warn you once. Back off or regret it." Roksana told them.
Her reply was a lot of laughing as the men continued to approach her. Fine, then. She could handle this. Reaching under her skirt, Roksana pulled out her pole, snapping it to it's full length. A few of the laughs died off, but the men still grinned at her.
"What? Gonna give us trouble, little girl?" one man asked.
"What do you think?" Roksana retorted.
The man looked at his companions, his grin growing. When he turned back to Roksana, opening his mouth to say something, Roksana was already in front of him, swinging the pole. With a crack, the pole hit him in the side of the head, sending him sprawling on the ground. Rokana scoffed as she looked down at his unconscious form.
"I warned you." Roksana said, turning to the others. "Who's next?"
Several of the men backed away from her, but one of them, probably the leader, ground his teeth together before he pulled a gun from the back of his waist band. Roksana grit her own teeth. While she was fast, she was not fast enough to dodge a bullet at this range. The man pointed the gun at Roksana.
"Alright, be a good girl and drop the pole. Then we're going to have you come with us." he told her as one of his companions slapped their unconscious friend awake.
"Not a chance. I'd rather bite a bullet." Roksana answered instantly.
Apparently she was the first person that didn't beg for her life when staring down his gun for he gave her an incredulous look. Roksana had some dignity. She wasn't going to beg for anything. She would find a way out of this.
She had to.
"If that's what you want..."
Okay, so time to figure something out had just run out.
Crap...
Roksana's eyes zeroed in on his finger as it moved to the trigger. In that moment, her Fight response kicked in and her body moved as if of it's own accord. Her knees bent, her body shifting downward, her weight shifting, ready to jump forward, and then...
Roksana's eyes widened when something darted between her and the gun. There was the sound of metal against metal and then the gun shot rang out. Roksana jolted at first, fearful, for a moment, that she had been shot. But there was no pain, nothing. A quick glance down at her body assured her that there were no bloody holes in her person. She heaved a relieved sigh but quickly turned her attention back to her would-be shooter.
If her father hadn't drilled elegeance into her, her jaw would have hit the ground. Standing protectively between her and her would-be attackers...was Hibari.
"Hi...Hibari!?" Roksana gasped.
Hibari peered at her over his shoulder. While he enjoyed the look of sheer disbelief and shock on her face, he quickly returned his attention to the men standing in front of him. The man that had been holding the gun was now shaking out his hand in pain, the gun laying a hand full of yards away from him. When Hibari had knocked the gun aside with his tonfa, he had ended up knocking the gun out of the man's hand.
"What are you doing out here at this time of night? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Hibari demanded of Roksana.
Truth be told, he knew Roksana was capable of taking care of herself. If it hadn't been for the gun, he had no doubt she could have whipped the men's asses. It was why he hadn't immediately come to her aid. But once he had seen the gun being drawn, he knew she would never move fast enough to avoid it at such close range. She was fast, but she wasn't that fast. But, with no other choice, she had been prepared to try just that. He had seen her shifting in weight as she prepared herself to take a diving leap out of the gun's line of fire.
That being said, he couldn't help poking at her.
"Oh, yes, that was exactly my plans for today, how ever did you know?" Roksana shot back, her tone laced with sarcasm. "Are you stupid!? Of course I didn't purposely walk into this. I was merely heading home after going to the store. This is the quickest way home."
"Sometimes the quickest isn't the smartest." Hibari told her.
"Yeah, I noticed. Thanks for the update."
"What the hell are you two chattering about!? Don't you realize the position you're in!?" the man who had held the gun barked.
Roksana and Hibari both focused in on the man and his six companions. Roksana stepped forward until she was standing beside Hibari, her eyes locking on his. For once, the two of them were on the same page, the same thought passing through their heads. Turning back to face the men surrounding them, Roksana scanned them.
"I'll take the four to the left, you take the three to the right." Roksana told Hibari.
"No. You'll take the three to left and I'll take the three to the right and the one who had the gun." Hibari told her.
"Do you have to argue everything? I am perfectly capable of taking on four of them."
"You almost got shot."
"And? You're just as easy to shoot as I am. And the others could just as easily be carrying a gun."
"You're right...I'll handle all seven of them."
Roksana's jaw fell as she whipped around to stare at him, elegeance forgotten. Her temper was starting to climb and it wasn't even the ones that had attempted to attack her, that she was angry with. It was her sort-of rescuer.
"Watch it or I'll hit you instead of them. Do I need to smack you with my shoe?" Roksana demanded.
Hibari glanced at her, but, wisely, didn't say anything. He wasn't afraid of her or anything. He simply didn't feel like arguing with her. But Roksana wasn't in the mood to have him basically ignore her comments either. Hibari ducked when Roksana suddenly swung her pole at him. Instead of hitting him, though, she wacked one of the seven men right across the face. Ironically...it was the same one she had previously hit.
Roksana cursed in Russian and darted backwards to avoid his counter attack. She dropped to the ground, rolling out of the way, letting Hibari knock a man unconscious with a hit across the face.
Hibari and Roksana clashed, attacking and dodging each other's attacks. By the time they were both a little short on breath, they had, unconsciously...knocked out every single one of the men. Roksana and Hibari looked at the mess they had made of the men. Everyone single one had bruising already visible on their faces and at least two of them had broken noses. Roksana tilted her head to the side.
"We are really bad for those around us." Roksana muttered lowly.
She wasn't kidding. That being said, it had worked out in their favor this time. While neither of them had landed a hit on the other, they had taken out Roksana's would-be attackers.
Roksana glanced at Hibari as he poked one guy with the end of his tonfa. Rolling her eyes, she turned back to her grocery bags, collapsing her pole and sliding it back into it's holster on her thigh. She picked up the bags, juggling all of them in her two hands, and when she turned around, Hibari was right there behind her.
"What do you want now?" she asked.
"Aren't you forgetting to thank someone?" he replied.
"You? Thank you? Yeah, that's not going to happen. I might have thanked you...if it wasn't you." Roksana replied.
With that, she slipped past him and started off down the road, making sure to step on the back of the man who had pulled his gun on her, along her way. Hibari, grinning after watching her spitefully step on a man, followed her. When he reached her, he stepped in front of her, holding out a hand.
"What?" Roksana asked.
"Give me the bags."
Roksana blinked in surprise. Was he...offering to help her carry the bags? That was a huge shock. But she wasn't going to dwell on it long.
"What? And have you see where I live? Yeah, not happening. Just go home." Roksana told him walking past him.
Hibari turned to watch her as she headed off down the street. He hadn't missed the small grin on her face as she had walked past him. He might have just earned a point in his favor with her. Not that he cared, of course, but he could find a way to use that in his favor.
Maybe.
-0-0-0-0-
And...done!
Roksana smiled proudly as she pulled out the last of her chocolates. By following her grandmother's recipe to the "T", and with a little help from Dimitri, Roksana had managed to make the chocolates without any mishaps. No burns or misshapen chocolates, nothing. Which was a good thing. She really didn't want to hear her father get upset because she had ruined something or burned herself trying to make chocolates for boys.
"Now for the boxes and ribbons!"
Roksana turned to the basket where she had sat the boxes and ribbons. She had gone a little over board with the ribbon and had bought eight different ones. One was orange, that would be for Tsuna. Another was red and she would use that one for Gokudera's. The third one was blue and she would use it for Yamamoto. The fourth one was yellow and instantly called Dino to mind so she would use it for his. The fifth was black and white and, with a laugh, she sat that one aside for Lambo. The sixth was a pretty gold that made her think of Futa despite only knowing the boy for a short amount of time. The last two were green and purple. When she looked at the green, she thought of Reborn's little lizard, Leon, so she decided to use the green for Reborn.
Roksana's eye turned to the purple ribbon. It was such a pretty color and it seemed like such a waste not to use it, but she already had a ribbon for each of the seven people she was giving chocolates to. So what to do with the ribbon. Roksana stared at it when an idea came to her.
It wouldn't be appreciated and there was a high likelihood of her getting teased for this later down the road, but she had never let what others think get in her way.
Boo on anyone who made fun of her.
-0-0-0-0-
"Stop following me around!"
Roksana looked up from she was sitting, fighting back a laugh. It was Valentine's Day and both Gokudera and Yamamoto were flooded with girls seeking to get them to take their chocolates. Roksana was perched on Tsuna's desk, her bag in her lap.
"Wow, they're so popular. It's been like that all day." Tsuna remarked.
"Yeah. Oh! That reminds me." Roksana said, turning to her bag.
Tsuna looked up at her as she sat a small white box with an orange ribbon tied around it, in front of him.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Tsuna." Roksana told him.
"These are for me?" he asked.
"Yeah. My grandmother has a really good chocolate recipe, so hopefully I did the recipe justice." Roksana told him.
"You made these?" he asked.
"Yeah. It's not a big deal."
Tsuna thanked her. It was the first bit of chocolate he had gotten that day. He had been hoping that Kyoko would give him chocolate and it was driving him insane wondering if she had given anyone else any. Tsuna turned, looking at Kyoko, the curiosity killing him. Finally he gripped at his hair in frustration.
"Arrgh, I'm so curious! But if I see her giving it to someone, I'll be so depressed. It'll be the end of the world!" Tsuna said out loud.
Roksana didn't need to ask to know what Tsuna was talking about. She had seen the look he had throw Kyoko's way before his little outburst.
"Then just ask her directly."
Tsuna jolted, Roksana leaning around him to see Reborn sitting on the desk behind him. Tsuna told him to leave, but Reborn had another plan. He shot Tsuna with the Dying Will bullet and Roksana watched as Tsuna ran off, yelling something about finding out if Kyoko was giving chocolate to anyone. Roksana shook her head before turning to Reborn. She was not going to get dragged into Tsuna's problems that day.
"Here, Reborn, for you." Roksana said, handing him the box wrapped in a green ribbon.
"Thank you." Reborn told her.
"Have fun with Tsuna." Roksana told Reborn.
She hopped off the desk, and headed for Gokudera and Yamamoto. Gokudera ended up with a look of wide eyed surprise when she gave him his chocolate and both thanked her. Roksana waved it off and left the classroom. She would have to stop by Tsuna's house to drop off Futa's, Lambo's, and Dino's chocolates. That would take care of seven of her eight chocolate.
With that thought, Roksana pulled out the only black box, it's purple ribbon tied neatly around it. She stared at it for a moment before heading for the stairs leading up to the third floor.
Best to just get this over with.
-0-0-0-0-
Valentine's Day.
Hibari had never understood the day. Girls would go crazy making or buying chocolate to give to the guy they liked. It had never made any sense to him. Not that any girl was ever brave enough to give him chocolate in the first place. They were all afraid of him. If he actually met a girl with enough guts to do it, then he might get the whole thing.
Might.
At the moment, Hibari was walking down the hall towards the Reception Room, his makeshift headquarters, so to speak. Just before he rounded to corner, which would put him in sight of the room, Roksana came around the corner. Hibari was surprised to see her. As far as he knew, she had no reason to even be on the third floor. She looked over at him as she passed him but didn't say a word to him, just kept walking.
While he was suspicious, he had work he had to do, so he would have to worry about it later. He rounded the corner and was soon standing in the doorway of the Reception Room. He dropped his bag on the chair and turned. It was then that something sitting on the desk, caught his eye. It was a small black box, just big enough to fit in the palms of both hands. Wrapped around it was a royal purple ribbon with a note attached to it.
Hibari approached the box and, using the end of one tonfa, flipped the lid off the box. Inside were chocolates. Cautious, he tried a bite of one. The sweet, smooth and rich taste coated his tongue. It was, hands down, the best chocolate he had ever tried. Curious, he turned to the note on the lid. Flipping it open he read the quick little note and knew instantly who it was from and it put a grin on his face.
Thank you,
R
END
Kyandi: Hehe...so cute!
Roksana: What? It was just a thank you. Just a thank you.
Kyandi: Uh-huh. If you say so.
Roksana: You are so weird.
Kyandi: Only a little.
Roksana: Try again.
Kyandi: A lot?
Roksana: Ding, ding, we have a winner.
Kyandi: Whatever. Everyone, please enjoy and review.
Roksana: We shall return as soon as possible.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!
