Silent Heartbeat Chapter Nine-

Impending Death

"Six reports have been given on this girl cursing those who attack her so that they feel emotions... and those who haven't recieved her forgiveness for attacking her have been... oh, no...," the man read, looking serious. Kyoya trembled.

"Go on, father."

"Have been found dead in various places across the globe. It is likely that the effect of trying to suppress their emotions turns into a venom and... god, Kyoya, this is bad."

"And what?"

"And overtakes their body," Hibari's father finished. "Oh, unless... unless they... find an ultra rare lotus blossom with twenty petals and a light pink color that emits a light purple glow on rainy, autumn nights, and burn it over a bed of roses, inhaling some of the smoke, before the year is up. Ah, this is impossible, Kyoya!"

"What's impossible?" asked Raiden, walking into the room. "Papa, is everything okay...?"

"It's nothing," he snapped, "Kyoya, I'm going to see you get a heart if it kills me, boy- I will find that flower!"

"It's okay, father," the prefect said, looking down. "You should pay attention to Raiden and Isamu instead of me, I've never been a great son, after all..."

"Damn, Kyoya, this is important!" the man shouted. In a quieter voice, he said, "You can't live without love, Kyoya. You'll be miserable if you try. Even I..."

"Papa?" Raiden said. The older man glanced at his son, and frowned.

"I thought I dismissed you, Raiden," he hissed. The boy bowed and took his leave, and Hibari's father looked back at him. "Look at me, Kyoya. Do I look happy?"

Kyoya shook his head.

"You're right. I'm not. I never have been, because I... I'm different from the rest of my family, and now you are, too."

"Father...," the prefect murmured, "what can we do?"

"... I'll tell your mother that I'm going on a business trip," he sighed, standing up. "But I'm going to be looking for that flower. How long do we have?"

"About eleven months," the younger man answered.

"I can do it," Mr. Hibari sighed. "Until I get back... be safe. Find yourself a girl- eh- boyfriend, and make yourself happy, okay?"

"I'll try, Father."

"And look for your bird," he added. "You seemed happier when you had that little puff-ball on your shoulder."

"Yes, Father," Kyoya said as his father went to get his coat off the couch.

"Ahh... I'll miss you," he breathed as he walked past the prefect. "I'm going to tell your mother now, and, one more thing."

"Huh?"

"Be careful when your at home, son."

"Okay, Father."

With that, Mr. Hibari left, and Kyoya felt the loneness of being without him immediately. He slunk back into his room, and, upon entering it, he found that his phone was ringing. He hesitantly answered, hoping it not to be Dino. "Hello...?"

("Kyoya! Ah, finally, you answered...!")

"I don't want to talk to you," the prefect mumbled, closing his eyes.

("I realized what happened at the sushi place- you got the time wrong, I meant eight at night-")

"No excuses!" Hibari snapped. "If that's what you meant, you should've specified in the first place! You idiot, I... I hate you!" The ravenette closed the phone, and, frowning, repeated, "Hate?"

It was a foreign word.

He'd used it before, but somehow, using it against Dino was wrong. When he said it to Dino, it felt empty and meaningless. What was hate?

Hate is a strong dislike.

But why did he say it to Dino?

Because you hate him.

No... no, that wasn't right. He couldn't possibly hate Dino. The mere thought of being without him pained Kyoya more than anything else. "Dino..." And the second Dino's name escaped his lips, he broke down. He settled on the bed and hugged his knees close, and shut his eyes tightly as he thought of how Dino would treat him after that. Would he be mad? Or disappointed? Would he ever find a place for the prefect in his heart after Hibari had said that he hated him?

Why do you still care...?

What keeps you from ignoring him?

"I love Dino...," the prefect breathed, "too much to ignore him."

And shortly after, he fell into slumber, to be tortured by dreams of his love running from him.

Morning...

When Hibari woke again, he felt strange. Cold. Weak.

He got himself dressed and headed over to the bathroom, then stared at his reflection in the mirror. He was pale; there were circles under his eyes as though he hadn't had any sleep at all! He reached up and brushed his fingertips over his lower eyelids and blinked, trembling with anxiety. Why did he look so sickly? He didn't feel sick; his throat wasn't sore, he didn't have a cough.

What was happening to him?

"Kyoya?"

Hibari turned to see Isamu, looking at him with narrow, blue eyes. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm fine," the prefect replied. "What makes you think otherwise?"

"You look like you're gonna throw up," the younger boy said, "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Hibari eat yo beansrepeated, before leaving the bathroom.

He personally didn't know whether that was true, but he did know this; something was happening to him. His body was changing... his emotions were spiking... he was overwhelmed by the strength of his feelings. He was scared, lonely, and felt sick inside. He didn't know what to do, but one thing was certain- he wanted to see that man.

The man who had cared for and helped him get stronger over the years, the man who knew him so well... Dino.

He needed Dino.

"Dino...," he breathed, reaching up with both arms and folding them. He bent over slightly as his eyes watered, and he shook his head, knowing that the man he needed to see wasn't going to talk to him. In fact, Dino was probably back in Italy! "I need you...," he whispered, "I need to see you... I need you to hold me..."

As the words tumbled out of his mouth, he slumped into the wall, and closed his eyes as a tear rolled down his cheek. "Dino..."

"Kyoya?"

"Heh- Dino?" the prefect murmured.

"Kyoya, stand up."

Hibari glanced back and blushed when he saw his mother, who looked both irritated and confused. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I... I just..."

"Are you sick?"

"No, I-"

"You're going to be late for school. Get out of the house."

The prefect wiped at his eyes, and stood upright, then headed out of the house without any backtalk. As he walked across the roads, slick from a brief rainfall the previous night, he felt the world around him grow blurry. He coughed, and slipped on the ground, falling down and hitting the road roughly. His eyes shimmered as he looked up, and he closed his eyes as a faint roar in the distance, and then a screech...

And as pain slammed into his leg, everything turned black.

-End Chapter

Ahhh... sorry for last week, everyone! I'm slumped a little, and this weekend I have a friend staying over... so... yeah...