Disclaimer: I don't think I own KHR. Wait, do I? Let's see… I can't draw people. I can't draw furniture. I can't draw awesome hot Hibari eyes. Sigh… I don't own KHR.

To KaruKyan: Thanks for pointing that out! I'll start marking "Present" and "Future" before the segments from now on! XD Actually, at one point I started to confuse myself, but I wasn't really sure if I really needed to mark each scene.

To kyokokyoyahibari: The "Varia Mist Flame user" from the last chapter was Fran, not Chrome, just to clear things up. Chrome hasn't appeared yet in this story. T.T Sorry for the confusion.

To CookieMonster525: XD I'm glad that you've fallen in love with 8018. Yeah, Yamamoto's rings did shatter.


-Present-

'Okay! I'm going to figure everything out today!'

"We'll go on ahead," Tsuna told Yamamoto as he dragged a confused Gokudera to the school building, leaving the Rain Guardian alone with Hibari at the gate.

"Wait, Tsuna!" Yamamoto called after then, but they had already left. 'I said 'today,' not 'right now'! Uh oh… this is awkward…' he thought nervously as he turned around to face Hibari, who was intentionally diverting his attention to something else in the distance, eyes averting from Yamamoto's.

"What do you want?" Hibari asked him curtly.

Yamamoto chuckled. "Well, I was hoping we could talk." He continued to attempt to make eye contact with the other and succeeded briefly as an intense glare struck him down and just as quickly looked away.

"There's nothing to talk about," Hibari hissed before walking pointedly past the other towards the main building. The bell rang, jolting Yamamoto away from his thoughts, and he ran for the classroom, followed by a few relieved looking students who had obviously noticed the lack of the Disciplinary Committee Head's presence as they hurried to their classes, already late.

'He didn't even wait until the bell rang…'

.

"Ah, I can't believe this!" Yamamoto sighed as he rested his head on his desk during lunch, speaking to Tsuna sitting on the table of the desk next to him. "He's avoided me seven times already in the past two days!"

"Hibari?" Gokudera asked, joining Tsuna and Yamamoto.

"No!" Yamamoto exclaimed as he sat up quickly, a faint blush spreading across his face. "That's…"

"Did you try to start the conversation the same way each time?" Gokudera cut him off.

Yamamoto stopped and thought for a moment.

First Try: "I was hoping we could talk."

Second Try: "Hey Hibari! Can we talk a bit?"

Examples of the Other Attempts: "Hibari! Do you think we could talk for a few minutes?"

"Maybe?"

Gokudera whacked him across the top of the head. "Idiot! You have to be more firm with that guy!"

"What do you mean by firm?" Yamamoto asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Stop being so polite!"

"Huh? But…" The Rain Guardian couldn't fathom how not to be polite; it was a trait innately built into him.

"Just watch. Those seven times are going turn into seventy soon."

"Ah, okay okay!" Yamamoto laughed. "Thanks." He jumped to his feet. "I'll try again!"

Gokudera looked at Tsuna, who smiled at him. "Better than my advice," he mouthed to the Storm Guardian, who grinned as the Rain Guardian ran off. "Wait, did he just…"

.

"Hibari!" Yamamoto yelled as he threw open the door to the Disciplinary Committee Room, finally completely mentally prepared to "stop being polite" after several minutes of pacing in front of the room, only to find it occupied solely by Kusakabe.

"Kyou-san's on the roof," the vice-president told him, amused.

"Ah… thanks…" Yamamoto quickly closed the door, blushing from embarrassment, and ran to the stairs.

Kusakabe shook his head, returning to the papers.

.

"Hibari!" Yamamoto yelled as he threw open the door to the roof. He sighed inwardly in relief when he found his target napping in the middle of the otherwise empty rooftop. That feeling of relief was instantly replaced by an innate fear: he had awoken Hibari from his usual nap, and now he will be bitten to death.

As predicted, the prefect slowly got to his feet, tonfa drawn, and advanced towards Yamamoto, eyes glaring at him from lidded half-asleep pupils.

"Hey… can we talk now?" Yamamoto asked nervously and promptly ducked to avoid a swing from the tonfa.

"Look," he sidestepped, "I just," he jumped, "want to," he ducked again, "talk!" He grabbed the tonfa before it connected with his face. "Can't you stop and listen to me for once!" Yamamoto yelled, finally snapping and unconsciously taking Gokudera's advice.

Hibari tried to yank his weapon from the other's hand. "There's nothing to talk about," he said, looking away.

"How can you say something like that? First you kiss me, and then…" he let go of the tonfa. "I'm confused… it hurts…"

Hibari finally looked him in the eyes and saw frustration. The usual grin, fake or real, was gone, just like before. "You're confused?" he repeated Yamamoto's words.

Yamamoto put a hand up to his head, blushing. "Geez, yes! I'm confused!"

"You're not disgusted…" He had the slightest hint of what his words really implied, but, being Hibari, the thought was immediately replaced by confusion, not that he showed it. 'What?'

Yamamoto looked at him in surprise. "Why would I be?" He suddenly realized what Hibari was getting at and tried to fix the situation. "Ah, I mean… I know we're both guys, but I don't see what's wrong with it."

Hibari both looked away and swung his tonfa at the same time, his body reacting to two different emotions at once. Yamamoto managed to catch the tonfa, saving himself from a blow to the face yet again. "Stop assuming things. I don't like you…" Hibari said, his words coming out in his usual murderous tone, but Yamamoto could feel the underlying panic that accompanied it.

"But I like you!" he blurted accidentally on impulse.

Hibari looked back at him, not knowing whether or not to glare or smirk. "I thought you just said you're confused."

"Huh? I… Wait! What about you? If you didn't like me, why did you kiss me?"

"Because you were so heavy, I was trying to get you to wake up and get off of me," the other snapped.

"That can't be the only reason! You could have just knocked me off!"

"Stop talking already. You're too loud," Hibari sighed, getting annoyed when he realized that Yamamoto would only continue pursuing the subject.

"It's your fault for avoiding me the past few days!"

"No I wasn't."

"Yes you…" Yamamoto gasped when the other suddenly grabbed his collar and pulled him down until their lips crashed together. 'What the…'

"Ow!" Yamamoto flinched when Hibari bit him again. The other pulled away, licking the blood from his lips. "That was…"

"You wouldn't stop talking!" Hibari returned too quickly, apparently surprised at what he had done. He drew a hand up to cover his face, and ran away before Yamamoto could gather his thoughts.

'Was he blushing?' Yamamoto grabbed his head with both his hands, ears and face now fully flushed. 'Ah! What's happening?'

Meanwhile, Hibari stormed down the stairs, furious at how the other could assume such a ridiculous thing as "like."

-Future-

"What a day…" Dino chuckled as he wiped his hair with the towel. He had phoned Romario for a change of clothes earlier, but the other had still not returned from the hotel in the nearby city. Squalo, however, looked quite at ease besides the fact his black leather clothing stuck to his skin like wet toilet paper. The others in the room watched him uncomfortably as the water continued to drip onto the floor from his hair and clothes.

"This is coming from your paycheck!" they heard Gokudera before the door flew open, and the Storm Guardian stomped in, followed by Yamamoto. The former had changed into a dry suit, and Yamamoto made do with a yukata borrowed from Gokudera since nothing else would fit; his own clothes were in need of drying.

"Ah, it isn't that bad right?" the Rain Guardian chuckled. "We just need to leave the heaters running in the hallway for a few days."

"Electricity costs money!" The two suddenly looked at Lambo.

"Uh…" the Thunder Guardian gulped. "Can we start already?" he said, diverting the subject away from his ability to use Lightning as a weapon or, to put it simply, free energy.

"Your Cloud Guardian isn't here," Gamma commented.

The opening of the door answered him, and Kusakabe and Romario stepped in. "I will be representing Kyou-san. Please start without hesitation," the former announced.

"Ah, my clothes…" Dino began happily, walking towards Romario.

"Ah! Change after! Start!" Gokudera burst out.

"Okay!" Irie exclaimed, and everyone looked at him, surprised by the sudden change in outbursts. He typed a few keys and brought out a map onto the main screen in the room. "Look, we have two locations that we need scouting out. The Fuoco protected their systems pretty well, so we'll have to manually access their computers at one of their outposts. If their computers are still protected even at their bases, we'll just have to find someone there who knows the passwords into their systems."

"Oh, so you want us to storm their bases?" Squalo asked. "Can't you do that yourself?"

"It can't be helped. Two of the Guardians are injured," Spanner commented calmly.

"Well it's their fault for being so…" the Varia member continued.

"Um… I'm right here," Yamamoto chuckled.

"Shut up, trash! It's your fault for being so careless!" he snapped.

"Yamamoto completely destroyed three of their warehouses and acquired some of the blueprints for the bullets they are using," Gamma cut in. "If you ask me, that's quite an accomplishment."

"You…" Squalo snarled as he drew his sword.

"I heard once that your leader sided with the main Vongola base willingly because the family was in danger from us. This is another one of those times," Gamma replied calmly, not even batting an eye to the impending danger.

"Ah, it's okay," Yamamoto said, chuckling as he stood between them. "Thanks, Gamma, but I'm used to it already."

"Continuing," Irie interrupted. "We'll have the Varia go to this location and several of ours go to the other outpost. Our main objective is to bring back the password."

Squalo sighed. "Well that's going to be a pain in the ass. Have to make sure Bel doesn't kill them too quickly then…"

"Then you'll go?" Giannini asked eagerly.

"I'll tell Xanxus, but I'm not promising you anything," Squalo returned. He looked at Irie. "Give me the address and report. We'll have it finished by the day after tomorrow."

"You did read the previous reports on the bullets, right?" Irie asked as he gave Squalo one of the folders.

Squalo shrugged. "A piece of crap like that's not going to stop the Varia."

"Then have a safe… uh… mission," Irie told him.

"Whatever." The door closed.

Gamma looked at the remaining people incredulously. "So who's going to the other warehouse?"

"Are you volunteering?" Gokudera asked him.

"Well, he's had experience fighting them before, so I think Gamma is a definite choice," Spanner said, nodding to the Giglio Nero Thunder Flame user. He looked at Kusakabe expectantly.

"I'll tell Kyou-san about the mission, but…"

"Hibari's still not fully healed yet…" Yamamoto suddenly said.

"Same goes for you, Baseball Idiot," Gokudera growled.

"Ah…" Yamamoto chuckled. "But…"

"I'll go!" an enthusiastic roar came from the door. Ryohei had miraculously slept through all the commotion earlier.

"That makes two…" Irie pondered.

"I guess I should go too, then," Gokudera announced.

"No! You are the acting leader of Vongola. We can't have anything happen to you," Irie insisted.

"What?"

"Lambo should go!" Giannini tried to add some of his own advice.

"Me?" the cow stuttered.

"Then I'll be the last," Dino finally spoke, making them turn to him. "A team of four is good enough, right?"

"But you're…"

"Oh, come on. It'll be okay."

"No way! If the Chiavorone loses you…" Gokudera exclaimed.

"Romario, can you start making preparations?"

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?" the Storm Guardian exclaimed.

Yamamoto chose this time to sneak out of the room, leaving the group to their rising argumentations.

.

The Rain Guardian leaned against one of the walls, closing his eyes. 'Ah… I'm kind of tired again…' He felt himself falling, faster and faster, before a hand roughly cut off his descent. He opened his eyes slightly. "Hibari?"

"Sheesh, keep talking like that and everyone will find out!" Gokudera's voice answered him.

Yamamoto chuckled, trying to get to his feet. "Sorry."

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah! Of course!" the swordsman answered enthusiastically.

Gokudera frowned. "Hey maybe we should take a look at your wound again. What if that bullet was one of the new ones?"

"Nah, I'm fine," Yamamoto insisted. "Please don't worry about me."

Gokudera sighed. "Okay."

"So how did the meeting turn out?"

"Gamma, Ryohei, and Lambo are going. Irie will back them up from here."

"Ah, only three?"

"Well, it's a considerably smaller outpost than the one we sent the Varia to, so as long as one of them doesn't do something stupid, they should be fine. Dino is going back to his Family to gather information."

"Ah… that's good to hear…" Yamamoto grinned.

"So you just rest. Don't worry about them; two of them are Guardians after all. You yourself took down three of the enemy's hideouts yourself."

"Please don't say that like it's a good thing."

"Sorry." Gokudera sighed. "Well, go get some rest. It'll be a while before the others start the mission."

"Okay," Yamamoto agreed obediently.

.

"Kyoya!" Dino called out happily as he went into the room and found his target sitting in his usual spot, calmly sipping tea. "You missed the entire meeting!"

"What use is it to go to a meeting of herbivores?" the other replied irritably after he placed his cup down.

Dino sighed. "Well… they've decided not to allow you or Yamamoto to go to the next operation."

"That doesn't concern me," the reply came quickly.

"Oh, so cold," he commented, pretending to shiver. "That reminds me; I just saw Yamamoto after the meeting. I think he almost fainted. Gokudera's been wondering if it was really one of those bullets that hit him." Dino began to leave, grinning. "Just to tell you." The paper door slid shut.

Hibari gave his innocent cup of tea a glare.

.

Gokudera yawned, stretching. "Why are we waiting for them to call in? I thought Squalo said they'll have it finished in two days."

"Well, there's always the possibility that they'll attempt to storm the outpost and finish the mission ahead of time to show off," Spanner said.

"It's one o'clock at night. Why would they bother…"

"Night is a good cloak," Spanner returned.

"Fine," Gokudera grumbled as he put his head down on the desk. "Wake me if there's anything then…" As if something out there was listening to him, the computer screen suddenly gave a beep, causing everyone to jump up.

"Hey… the Varia are trying to call in. Should I put them on screen?" Giannini asked.

"Yeah," Gokudera said grumpily as he put his hands up to cover his ears. 'Perfect timing…' he thought sarcastically.

"We have a situation!" Lussuria yelled into the screen, his voice bouncing around the room. They heard strained psychotic laughing in the background that sounded suspiciously like a certain self-proclaimed prince.

"What? What's going on?" Irie asked them.

"Ah, they've hit Bel with one of the bullets, and I think he's dying!"

"Take the bullet out then!" Gokudera told him, starting to feel the panic emanating from the person on the screen.

"We can't get close enough to him! His Storm Flames are melting stuff around him too! I tried sending some of my Sun Flames from afar, but I think I made it worse!"

'Made it worse? So other Flames do affect the process…' Irie thought. He came to a realization. "Have Squalo send his Rain Flames into him!"

"What?"

"The Rain attribute should slow down the process long enough for you to take the bullet out. Hurry!" Irie told them. "Good thing Bel has enough Flames to keep the bullet absorbing," he muttered under his breath.

Lussuria turned away from the screen. "Oh Squalo!" The screen suddenly went black as the device on the other end was either shut off or destroyed.

"Maybe we should postpone the other group's departure…" Irie said.

"Sheesh, what a mess. We'll tell them in the morning. They need their rest…" Gokudera sighed. He stared back at the blank screen. "Let's hope the Varia's alright… I'd rather not clean up after them."

.

Gamma glanced at the map on the passenger seat again to make sure he was heading in the right direction and returned his attention to the road, sighing. "This is for the pride of Lady Uni…" he muttered to himself.

"Yeah! We'll fight to the extreme!" someone suddenly yelled from the backseat, causing Gamma to slam on the breaks.

"What? How'd you…" he exclaimed, turning around to see Ryohei and Lambo.

"Huh? We've been here the whole time!" Ryohei replied, grinning.

"Uh… Ryohei wanted to be ready for the departure so he dragged me with him to sleep in the car were supposed to use to go to the base in the morning," Lambo explained nervously. "Then you got in without noticing us and started driving…"

'And I had to accidentally choose that car!' Gamma thought in remorse.

"Look, I know you want help your Family, but it won't do them any good if you got killed," the cow said as calmly as he could.

"Yeah! We'll help avenge your comrades to the extreme!" Ryohei said, grinning.

"You're lying," Gamma suddenly burst out.

"Huh?" Lambo said, confused.

"We were the ones who helped Byakuran murder your boss. There's no way you'd help us out like this," he said, putting a hand to his forehead.

"But Tsuna would've helped you regardless."

"Yeah! He'd never leave a person in need alone!" Ryohei backed him up. "I thought you met Tsuna!"

"He was ten years younger…"

"Tsuna is always Tsuna, no matter what age he was," Ryohei declared. "And now, we have to honor what the Tenth Boss wanted, no matter how we feel about the situation."

Gamma chuckled. "He means that much to you?"

"Yes," they replied resolutely.

"Hmph…" he stepped on the gas. "Then let's get this over with. We'll find that 'peace' your boss loved so much."

.

Yamamoto yawned, rolling off the sofa by accident. "Ow… I miss my bed," he sighed, sitting up and rubbing the bruise on his head. He had slept in the one lounge on the first floor that wasn't soaking wet from the earlier disaster, but unfortunately, it only sported a two person sofa far too short for Yamamoto's height. Gokudera forcibly kicked him out of the meeting room earlier when he attempted to return, insisting that he rest.

A knock on the door made Yamamoto jump to his feet so that the visitor wouldn't see that he had just fallen off the couch. "Come in?" he called out uncertainly. It couldn't be Gokudera, who would normally barge into the room if it was unlocked.

Kusakabe came into the room, holding a small box.

"Hey!" Yamamoto greeted him casually. "What's up?"

"I was told to give these to you," Kusakabe told him, opening the box and presenting its contents to him.

"Hm?" Yamamoto looked inside to find a mound of rings, all fit with blue stones.

"Kyou-san was going to toss these out, but yours had shattered."

Yamamoto chuckled, scratching his head. "Thanks."

Kusakabe shook his head. "Don't thank me."

"Hm…" Yamamoto took out one of the rings, examining it. "Uh… I don't need this many…" he looked back at the pile.

"Just take them, or they'll seriously end up in the trash."

Yamamoto chuckled. "What a waste. Why does he collect so many Rings if he doesn't need them?"

"He doesn't. Kyou-san only takes Cloud and Rain Rings. He usually leaves the others alone."

"Rain? Can he use Rain Flames?" Yamamoto asked curiously. He had never heard of the Cloud Guardian using anything in combat other than his Cloud Flames, some Box Weapons, and his tonfa.

"Actually, I've never seen Kyou-san use Rain Flames, but he still takes these Rings. It was only today that he told me to dispose of them…"

"Ah… I see," Yamamoto chuckled lightly. "Well, tell him thanks for me then!"

"Of course." Kusakabe bowed.

.

'Good thing the water didn't get here…' Yamamoto walked to the center of the massive underground training room, the sound his footsteps echoing off the walls.

"Okay!" he said out loud enthusiastically as he slipped one of the rings, a silver one with a small oval blue stone, on his right middle finger. Taking a deep breath, he drew out his Flames into the ring, illuminating the already fairly lit room with a blue hue, and inserted the flickering flames into one of his Rain attribute boxes.

A dog materialized before him, wagging its tail. It gave a happy bark and sat down, awaiting its orders. Yamamoto chuckled, bending down to pet it. "Nice to see you too, Jirou."

Jirou barked and nudged its nose at its master's hand. "Hm?" Yamamoto looked at the ring just in time to see the stone dissolve into dust and the metal split in two from the force of the breaking stone. Its remains fell to the floor; the clang of metal on concrete echoed throughout the room.

"Ah… that's going to be a problem later…" Yamamoto grinned. Jirou licked his face concernedly, and the grin fell. "Sorry…" he said has he petted the dog. "I'll stop pretending in front of you." He sighed, resting his head against the dog. "Ah… I'm still kind of sleepy…"

Jirou whined and licked the Rain Guardian's face worriedly when the other suddenly slumped on him limply.


Hello! Ah, life is wonderful… Anime Expo was awesome XD. Oh, and I finally found out how to make those cute little symbol things. Ah... it didn't show... the ALT plus number symbols I mean haha! Anyways, thanks for reading, and I'll see you again next week!