"Hey everyone! Yamamoto is about to jump off the roof!" The class went silent for a moment before erupting into laughter.
"Him? That's impossible."
"There're good and bad pranks, you know."
The boy who had burst into the classroom shook his head and persisted, "When he stayed after school practicing yesterday, he went too far and broke his arm." At that statement, the entire class started pouring out of the classroom, rushing towards the roof.
Fuyu raced toward the area that the roof overlooked. Takeshi hadn't visited her lately, but she had assumed that he was busy with baseball activities. She knew how important the sport was to him; but to take things to this extent was unbelievable. She made it out just as Yamamoto and Tsuna both plummeted over the edge together. She was still running towards them when Tsuna was shot with the dying will bullet and used his hair as a cushion to bring the both of them to safety.
"Yamamoto! Are you okay?" He asked, the flame on his forehead fizzling out.
"Yeah. Tsuna! You're amazing. Just like you said, I have to do it with the dying will." Yamamoto replied. Rubbing his head, a sheepish grin on his face, he said, "I don't know what I was thinking. Nothing good comes from my idiocy."
"You're right thinking that!" Fuyu growled. She grabbed the boy by the ear and pulled him up, "What were you thinking stupid Takeshi? Aah?"
The boy whined in pain but she didn't let go of his ear, "If I ever catch you doing something stupid like this, I'll end the life you don't want myself!"
She then turned to Tsuna, "Thank you for saving this idiot brat."
Yamamoto had recovered from his punishment and rested his head on top of the girl's, "Fuyu-nee, I'm sorry. I won't do it again, okay?"
She glared at him, "If you even think about it, I'll make sure you regret it Takeshi. As for this transgression, a plate of your finest tuna and I'll let it go without informing your father." Huffing, she then changed the subject, "Anyways, you two should start heading back to the classroom. Sawada-kun, make sure you get dressed."
Fuyu marked another answer wrong, sighing. "He would have done well if he hadn't mixed up the pHs. I know I explained that less than seven was acidic and more than seven was alkaline." She frowned and made a mental note to readdress the topic in class.
An explosion made her look up. It seemed to be the end of the "family entrance test". Yamamoto emerged from the smoke, supporting a shaken Tsuna. Reborn walked up to the baseball player, "You passed the test. You're officially part of the family."
Gokudera went to offer his congratulations as well. Grabbing the taller boy's collar, he said "Good job. You protected the Tenth so I have no choice but to admit you into the family. But the right arm of the Tenth is me. You're the shoulder blade. And just for the record, sorella is mine. Don't go around calling her your sister so easily. "
"I thought so from before, but you're a funny guy!" Yamamoto grinned, laughing. "But I don't want to withdraw from being Tsuna's right arm. So, you'll be the ear lobe. And Fuyu-nee is mine just as much as she is yours."
She quickly organized her papers and then approached the two who were arguing. Whacking both in the head lightly, she scolded them lightly, "You can share me so stop arguing and get going."
As she shepherded them away, Yamamoto called over his shoulder, "Well, I'm going to club practice. See ya, shorty!"
Yawning, she bid farewell to the boys and then made her way back up to the reception room; the room was always empty and it was the perfect place for her to get her work done. She wasn't pleased by Yamamoto's induction into the mafia, but it wasn't her choice to begin with. All she could do was support him and make sure nothing happened to the boy.
As she graded paper after paper, her eyelids began to droop and before she knew it, she was out like a light. By the time she woke up, it was already dark. She jerked up, rubbing her eyes tiredly, mumbling, "It's already this late…"
As she shifted, something fell off her shoulders. She grabbed it before it could fall on the ground and examined it closely. It was a black jacket with a red armband pinned to it. Her eyes widened. Wasn't this Hibari's jacket? She looked around immediately, searching for the prefect; he was nowhere to be found however. Frowning, she carefully folded the jacket and placed it to the side. She would have to return it to him and she suspected that if it was in less than perfect condition, he would "bite her to death". Just the prospect of him using the phrase on her had her giggling a little. Immediately she slapped a hand over her mouth and looked around suspiciously, sure that the boy was going to jump out at her at any second. Clearing her throat, she gathered her papers and tucked them into her bag. She would have to do the rest of the grading at home.
As she slowly walked back, jacket securely held in her arms, she thought about the teenager. She still wasn't sure what it was about him that made her so open; he constantly wanted to fight, yet had shown he could be caring at times. The boy was an enigma. Perhaps that was it. The unknown was always more interesting. But that wouldn't explain why she reacted so strangely to his presence. Even now, just the feel of the jacket fabric in her arms made her strange. She subtly breathed in the lingering scent and sighed.
"Oof" She glanced up quickly and backpedaled immediately upon realization that she had walked into a thug. Bowing, she apologized and then skirted around the man and his group of friends. It seemed as if she wasn't going to be forgiven so easily however because he grabbed her shoulder and grunted, "Where are you going? You bumped into me. You could've really hurt me. How are you going to pay me back?"
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she apologized again, "I'm sorry. You seem to be in good health however, so alls well that ends well."
"That's not good enough for me missy." He reached forward for the material in her hands, "What've you got there? A jacket?" The man's eyes furrowed, "Isn't that that asshole Hibari Kyouya's jacket? What're you doing with it missy?"
Another man butted in, "Don't tell me you're his girlfriend or something."
At that, they all started grinning. "Good timing. We've got a bone to pick with him. Since you're his girlfriend, you should be able to call him out, right?"
Realizing that manners were going to get her nowhere, she straightened, "I'm not that boy's girlfriend, nor would I call him out even if I were. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to be somewhere else."
The man grabbed her shoulder, "Now now missy, I'm afraid you can't walk away that easily."
Her eyes flashed angrily, "That is the second time you have touched me without my permission. Try it again and I can't assure your safety."
The man didn't let go, his grip tightening, and she had to wrench her shoulder out of his grasp. She could feel the tension escalating and as the man lashed out, there was a sudden blur of silver. Hibari Kyouya stood in front of her. "Herbivores" he snarled, "For disturbing the peace, I'll bite you to death."
In a matter of seconds, he had beaten the delinquents unconscious. He turned to the girl and ordered, "Go home now."
"Ah, here's your jacket. Thank you for-"
He snatched the jacket from her and growled, "Go. Now."
The look in his eyes had her running. She wasn't sure why but her chest felt tight and her eyes were burning. She let herself into her apartment clumsily and slid to the ground. What was wrong with the prefect? Had he been that angry that she had her jacket? In that case, why give it to her in the first place? He wasn't obligated to do such a thing.
Shiro padded over silently and licked her hand in an attempt to comfort her. She gathered the cat into her lap and buried her face in its soft fur.
"Yamada-sensei, I have a few things I'd like to talk to you about." The principal said nervously. "We have been informed by a reliable source that your" he paused, searching for the right word, "credentials, have all been fabricated."
She gaped at the man. What was he saying? "Excuse me…?"
"You see, Yamada-sensei, after Nezu-sensei was fired, we have been forced to relook at our teachers' credibility. It is a little difficult to believe that a nineteen year old young lady such as yourself could have come so far by herself."
"Sir…if you're suggesting that I've been cheating at something, I assure you I have not. I am more than willing to retake any sort of test you wish to force upon me, but I have done nothing of the sort!"
"No no, I'm afraid it isn't that simple. The authorities wish for you to be removed from your position. It is unfortunate, but I am afraid that you cannot stay here."
"Sir! You have no evidence that I have done anything wrong! How can you fire me so easily?"
The man avoided the question, bowing quickly, "I will give you a week to gather your belongings." She was ushered out of the office and bewildered, she wandered around.
She entered the reception room in a daze and collapsed on the couch. What the hell was happening? Where had they gotten the information that she had faked everything? How could they do this? What would she do now? This would go on her permanent record! How would she find respectable employment now? How was she going to support herself?
Against her wishes, hot tears of shame and anger slid down her cheeks. The door opened and she turned away, hiding her face and quickly wiped away the tears. "What are you doing here?"
She got up, keeping her head down, "I'm sorry Hibari-san. I came in here by mistake. I won't bother you anymore."
She passed by him, refusing to meet his gaze. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into the room, closing the door behind him. "I said, what are you doing, sensei?"
"I told you it's nothing Hibari-san. And you don't have to call me sensei. I'm not a teacher here anymore." Bitterly she added, "I was just fired."
"And you're crying about this?"
The insensitive comment had her looking up. She glared at him fiercely, "It may not mean anything to you, but I worked hard to get to where I am today! And now, without reason, without explanation, it's all been ripped away from me! I apologize for dirtying your room, but yes, I am crying!"
The boy stared at her for a moment, and then suddenly stormed out of the room. In that brief moment however, she thought she had seen regret in the boy's eyes.
"I apologize Yamada-sensei! This was all a mistake on our part! How can I ever repay you for this ridiculous action of mine?" The principal was once again in front of her, this time bowing in apology repeatedly.
"Uh…no, there's no need" She replied, confused. What was going on?
"Well, in that case, I wish you a good summer vacation. I look forward to working with you next year as well."
She nodded and left the office.
What the hell was happening here?
Lesson planning was her least favorite part of teaching, she decided. While the students were out and about enjoying their summer vacation, she was stuck in a room, preparing for the upcoming term. Although she was in the wonderful air-conditioned reception room, she had to remain completely silent. Hibari had for some unknown reason called her to the reception room and then forced her to stay there while he napped, stating simply that if she made any noise, he would bite her to death.
She was still uneasy around the boy after her last two meetings with him and was unsure how to react to the unexpected situation. She had cautiously seated herself at the boy's desk, carefully moved his papers out of the way, and then spread her own and promptly forgot about her surroundings as she became engrossed in her work.
She became aware of a displeased presence a few hours later. She glanced up and spotted the prefect staring at her, a frown on his face. "Is something the matter Hibari-san?"
He regarded her for a moment and then said, "You made no noise."
"I was under the impression that you would be displeased if I did." She replied awkwardly, unsure of what the prefect wanted from her.
He stood up and approached her, "That is what I wanted. But then, you paid no attention to me at all. And my chest began to tighten once more."
"…Hibari-san? I'm not sure I understand what you mean…"
He was close now. So close; his face only a few inches away from hers. "You confuse me. I assumed you were an herbivore similar to the rest of them, but then you showed such strength. Before I knew it, I had submitted to you once. I was determined not to make a habit of it and so the next time I confronted you, I did not allow you to get away so easily. However, immediately afterwards, I felt such inexplicable anger and regret. And then I was unable to get you out of my mind. Now, I am unable to stay away from you at all."
It was the most he had ever said to her at one time. She stared at him speechless and he moved away from her, choosing to lean against the couch. The sudden loss of proximity made her shiver but she ignored the feeling and tried again, "Is this why you requested that I stay in the reception room? I'm not sure I follow what you're saying…"
"I believed that if I was not around you, I would feel better again. However, in the time that I did not see you, I became more and more ill." He scowled at her, "What are you doing to me?"
She stared at him blankly, still not understand the meaning of his words.
"I then asked a trusted acquaintance and he informed me that I was 'in love'. I decided to accept that as the reason for now." He frowned, "However section five, paragraph twenty two of the Namimori Middle handbook states that students and teachers cannot be in a romantic relationship together. Therefore, I decided to have you removed from your position. Only then could I take you as a mate without disturbing Namimori's rules. But then you came to me with such despair in your eyes and once more I wavered. I retracted my decision and allowed you to stay here." He glared at her, "I am breaking rules for you, sensei. You must take responsibility for your actions. As a result, from now on, you will be my mate."
"…it was you? You're the one who manipulated the principal into firing me? Why? Why would you do that?"
"Students and teachers cannot be in a romantic relationship together. I cannot leave Namimori Middle. Therefore I could only remove you."
At his response, she seemed to register what he had said earlier. Her mouth opened and closed in astonishment. "Your…mate…? Hibari-san, are you…asking me to be your girlfriend?"
He glared at her, "Refuse and I will bite you to death."
She had read multiple shoujo manga in her lifetime so she of course knew what dating was about and such, but she had never really considered the fact that something like that could happen to her. And from the bloodthirsty prefect no less! She cleared her throat and approached the situation logically, "What would becoming your…mate…require from me?"
"You will bring no dishonor upon Namimori and you will stay by my side." He smirked, "Or were you perhaps hoping for something more?"
She blushed furiously, "Of course not! I'm a teacher and you're a student! This shouldn't even be allowed!"
His expression darkened, "I am well aware that we are violating a rule."
At that moment, the door opened and a familiar jovial voice commented, "Ehh, I didn't think we had such a good room." He froze upon spotting the prefect.
"Who are you?"
"What is he?" Gokudera asked, walking forward. He spotted Fuyu, "Sorella! Did this guy kidnap you? Are you hurt?"
"Ah no, Hayato…"
"Would you put out your cigarette in front of the Disciplinary Committee president? Well, either way, I won't let you get away."
"What the hell, you bastard?" Gokudera shouted.
In two steps, Hibari was in front of the bomber and with a swing of his tonfas, the cigarette was put out. Gokudera jumped back in alarm. "I really hate weak herbivorous animals that form groups. Whenever I see them, I really want to bite them to death."
"Whoa, it's my first time being in the reception room." Tsuna said, walking in, unaware of the danger.
"Wait, Tsuna-"
Hibari struck the brown haired boy harshly, "One."
Fuyu jumped up, "Hibari-san! Sto-"
"Bastard! I'll kill you!" Gokudera charged forward, dynamite in hand.
"Two" The prefect said, nonchalantly knocking the bomber unconscious.
"Punk…!" Yamamoto jumped back to avoid Hibari's attack.
He seemed fine until Hibari mentioned slyly, "Are you injured? You seem to be protecting your right hand." The brief pause was more than enough time for the prefect to kick the baseball player straight in the stomach, sending him flying. "Bingo." The boy crashed into a wall and sank down, out cold. "Three."
"Hibari-san! Attacking students for no reason is a violation of the rules!"
"They were crowding and entered the reception room without permission." He replied nonchalantly, settling back against the couch.
"Hibari-san, as a teacher, I cannot allow you to cause bodily harm to fellow students while in my presence."
The boy glanced at her for a moment and then nodded, "Very well." Faster than she could react, he had hit her in the back of the neck. She collapsed limply into his arms and he placed her down on the couch.
There was a groan, "Argh…ouch…" Tsuna slowly got up and looked around. He spotted his defeated friends and shrieked.
"They won't wake up. I hit them to make sure of that. Suit yourself here. I'll call an ambulance for them."
The window opened and Reborn appeared. Aiming the gun at Tsuna calmly, he fired a single shot, saying only, "Die."
Immediately, Tsuna burst out of his clothes and his forehead lit up with a flame. "Uwoooooo! I'll beat you up as if I were to die!"
His first blow was easily avoided by the prefect who simply asked, "What's that? A gag?" He swung upwards straight into Tsuna's jaw. Standing over the prone boy, he asked, "Did I crush your chin?" He turned away, "Well, I have to beat up the other two so they can get on the ambulance too."
At that moment, Tsuna rose up on his feet and swung his fist forward with all his might. The punch got Hibari straight in the cheek and he froze. Reborn's chameleon, Leon, transformed into a slipper and jumped into the boy's hand, and he slapped the prefect over the head. Hibari staggered back and silence settled over the room. Slowly, he looked up, "Hey…can I kill you?"
"That's enough." Reborn's baby voice broke the tension. "You're strong after all."
"I don't know who you are, but I'm very much irritated right now. Would you sit there and wait for me?" He charged forward with a tonfa which Reborn easily blocked. "Wao. You're amazing." A delighted savage grin appeared on the boy's face.
Reborn smirked and held up a small bomb. "Let's break up."
Fuyu lunged forward, grabbed Hibari, and shoved him across the room, out of the path of the bomb's destruction. The explosion that followed caught her in the back and sent her flying into the prefect. As the dust cleared, she coughed and groaned in pain.
"Get off."
Her eyes widened and she realized that was directly on top of the boy. Hastily, she got up and the boy asked her, "When did you wake up?"
"You know as well as I do that you didn't hit me hard enough or in the right spot to knock me out. I was just caught off guard."
He brushed himself off, "What is your answer?"
As she quietly moved about the room tidying papers that had blown away in the explosion, she took the opportunity to think about the perplexing situation she had gotten herself into. To begin with, he was a student and she was a teacher. That in and of itself should have made it wrong. But then she thought, there wasn't much anyone could do no matter what Hibari decided. Becoming the boy's "mate" had no sexual implications at the moment and there wasn't much of a disadvantage. She would spend more time with the prefect, that was guaranteed, but somehow, she didn't mind that at all. Rather, spending more time might result in the boy taking a less violent approach to how he interacted with her. All in all, it could be advantageous. Making up her mind, she turned to the boy and said, "All right. I'll be your 'mate'."
"You shouldn't bother Sawada-kun so much, Takeshi. I'm sure he has other things to do other than entertain a giant like you."
"Maa maa, you came with me, didn't you? And besides, it's so boring without Tsuna." Yamamoto laughed. "Oh hey, isn't that Gokudera?"
She looked over and sure enough the silver haired boy was lounging on a bench smoking. "Hey Gokudera! Wanna come with us to Tsuna's?" Yamamoto called.
The boy jumped up, "Of course! I bet the Tenth needs my help with something right now!" He ran over, "Sorella, good morning!"
They let themselves into Tsuna's house, Gokudera and Yamamoto arguing the whole way. "What are you doing here?"
"I don't have club activities today so I'm just a person with nothing to do like you."
"Hey! How dare you say I have nothing to do? Don't put me together with the likes of you!"
"Weren't you the one who was smoking on the park bench just awhile a go, saying 'I'm bored' to the pigeons?"
"You saw that?"
They reached Tsuna's room and greeted the boy cheerfully. And then looked around. The room looked like it had been ransacked and both Tsuna and Haru were hiding under the small table in the middle of the room. Tsuna started wailing, "My life is over! I might as well just hand myself over!"
Haru cried with him, "Haru will wait until you get out of jail, Tsuna-san! I will send a lot of letters!"
"Huh…?"
The brown haired boy explained the situation to them, tears pouring down his face. As per usual, Yamamoto laughed, "Calm down Tsuna. It's not yet decided that you're the one who did it."
"That's right. Besides, is he really dead?" Gokudera asked. He walked over and hovered above the body, "Hey! If you don't wake up, I'll burn you with this cigarette."
Tsuna shrieked, "Gokudera-kun, what are you doing?"
However, the bomber had already pressed the cigarette to the man's face. They all jumped as the body moved and then Haru was frantically looking for a phone, "Amublance! Let's call an ambulance!"
"There's no need" Reborn said, "I called a doctor." He then dragged a man in.
"Dr. Shamal!"
Tsuna dove towards the man, "Dr. Shamal! Please hurry up and look at the patient!"
"Oh, that's right, that's right. I heard someone is about to die." He wandered over to Haru and placed his hands on her chest. "Hmm, let's see."
The girl screamed and punched the doctor in the face with all her might. "What do you think you're doing?"
Shamal looked up grinning, "She'll be fine if she's that lively. I see that she's also cute."
"Who are you inspecting?" Tsuna pointed at the body on his bed, "He's the patient I was talking about!"
The man frowned, "How many times do I have to tell you this? I don't treat men." He turned and spotted Fuyu. A lecherous grin appeared on his face, "I see there's another beautiful lady here for me to examine." He started walking towards the girl, casting a lazy backwards glance at the body on Tsuna's bed, "Anyways, is he really alive? If he's not breathing, has no heartbeat, and has dilated pupils, then he's dead."
They checked and a gloomy mood settled over them all. Shamal shrugged, "He must have crossed over when I was joking around. I have no business with the dead." He resumed his attention on Fuyu who was busy avoiding him like the plague, "Come here cutie."
Tsuna screamed and started flailing, "I'm still doomed! I killed him! I really killed him!"
"I called someone else just in case of a situation like this" Reborn said, smiling.
Outside, there came the sound of a motorcycle. "Yo." Hibari said, from his place on the window. They all froze in fear. "I didn't come to play with you guys today. I came here so that the baby owes me one. Sort of like a deal."
"We've been waiting for you Hibari."
The boy kicked the body, "Hmm. Good job. You got the heart in one shot." He thought for a moment, "Ok. I can dispose of this corpse for you."
Tsuna was less than delighted about the conclusion they had come to, "Whaaat? What are you saying?"
"He will get rid of the corpse so it can never be found. That way this murder never happened."
"That's wrong in so many different ways!"
"It happens all the time in the mafia though" Fuyu commented quietly. "It is rather a surprise that it's the Disciplinary Committee that takes care of this sort of shady business in Namimori though." Her brief lapse however gave Shamal enough time to grab her chest firmly. She shrieked and backhanded him across the face.
Hibari growled, a dark aura rising from him. "Herbivore, what do you think you are doing with what is mine?"
Shamal frowned, "Already taken? Well, that's no matter. I'll wait for you, cutie."
Fuyu rolled her eyes, "I will never be interested in your perverted advances. As for the contact of flesh just now, you are to deposit ten thousand yen into my account by tomorrow." Her eyes narrowed, "If I don't see that sum added, I will be personally making sure that you will never be able to procreate again."
Hibari smirked. He should've known that someone he had chosen would be able to handle it. Nevertheless, he asked, "What are you doing, crowding with a bunch of herbivores, sensei?" He grabbed the girl's wrist and dragged her over the window. "I will send someone over from the Disciplinary Committee later." He shoved the girl out ahead of him and then leaped after her. "See ya."
Tsuna ran for the window, "No…wait!"
"Tenth! Please move aside!" Gokudera growled, "I can't be at peace until I take revenge on him!" He threw a handful of dynamite, calling, "Sorella, please dodge!"
Hibari glanced nonchalantly at the incoming bombs and hit them back with a sweep of his tonfas. "Don't be so eager to die."
Fuyu didn't witness the resulting explosion. Hibari had ordered her to put on a helmet and get on his bike. She obeyed wordlessly. The prefect was surprisingly a very safe driver. He didn't go past the speed limit even once and even allowed pedestrians to cross before him. When they finally came to a stop in front of the school, she smiled to herself. Of course he would come here. There was nothing more important than Namimori. She followed him up to the roof.
As he made himself comfy, his head in her lap, she murmured, "Hibari-san, I'm sorry I made you break a rule."
He immediately stiffened, "What are you talking about?"
"Student-teacher relationships are forbidden, are they not?"
He snorted, "If I cannot follow such a rule, then I will simply change it." He relaxed, "Now be silent or I will bite you to death."
A small smile touched her lips and she ran a hand through the boy's soft hair, "Yes, Hibari-san."
Author's Note:
So after a lot of thought, I ended up making this a fluffy chapter. (Or at least as fluffy as it's ever going to get for me). The next chapter will probably be more fluff and then after that, it'll finally get to the good stuff. Please bear with me!
More importantly, how was Hibari's love confession? Too sweet? Too unbelievable? For everyone that was rooting for Dino, I'm so sorry OTL I started this story because I felt bad that Hibari got the short end of the stick in the last story I did, "Collared". It was only after I started writing that I realized how great he was with Serena Q_Q
Please read and review~
