Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. I do own this plot and the OCs in it.
Rating: T...do I still have to elaborate? XD
A/N: Where I live, it's so cold that I'm using gloves to type out this chapter LOL! Sorry for Kumiko being so useless. I know some of you hate useless, weak and uninteresting OCs, but instead of giving her supernatural strength in the beginning, I believe more in character development. Don't worry, hanging around two strong guys such as Hibari and Mukuro will surely make her stronger sooner or later...
February
At 3 am in the morning, all was silent. Save for the occasional cheep of an early bird, the rustle of leaves as the calm breeze stirred tree branches, or the steady drip of dewdrops from the sill outside her window, nothing was making any particular noise.
Her eyes were turned to the ceiling. She was weary, drained of all energy. Any movement caused her to tear up in pain and clench her fists in anger at her weakness. The darkness outside was oppressing, making fear cross her mind multiple times. There was none of the muffled warmth that comes from the swirling ebony atmosphere outside.
Her hands slowly slid sideways, reaching out for her phone. A meager hope that the light from such a small object would chase away the delusional darkness. Upon finding the hard plastic underneath her seeking fingers, she quickly grasped the object. Pulling it towards her in a painstakingly slow manner, Kumiko heaved a small sigh when the phone was in front of her once more. She flipped it open, finding simple comfort in staring at the picture of her parents and her standing by a beautiful lakeside. Unconsciously, she brought her hand to trace against the outline of their figures. Her father, tall and proud, hands wrapped lovingly around her mother. Her mother, beautiful and dainty, her eyes lined with an equal amount of caring and tiredness. She giggled. Being a mother must be tiring, she deduced. No amount of loving will ever be able to cure a mother of the effect of many a sleepless night, dragging herself out of bed to change the diaper of her beloved offspring.
But her mother did it all the same. Kumiko wondered whether she would've grown up to be as loving as her mother had she not died in the accident that day. She still tries to be, but sometimes frustration gets the better of her. It wasn't easy, living the life of a mute, unneeded girl. Nobody in her school pays attention to her, and she's often used as the end of most people's jokes. School is a harsh environment, where she's picked on almost as much as Dame-Tsuna is. Luckily for her, Dame-Tsuna draws attention to himself more with his childishly wrong answers and his girly shrieks of fear, so throughout the years, less and less people have found the need to use her as entertainment.
Her mother provided all the loving and caring she'd needed to get past her childhood days. Her father provided her with confidence, strength and communication skills. She lost it all that night, and she doesn't even remember any of it. She doesn't remember anything save for waking up in a small hospital cot, the nice nurse hovering over her broken body anxiously. Her head had hurt, and when she'd opened her mouth, she couldn't speak anymore.
Snapping her device shut, she placed it carefully among the sheets of paper on the desk. Lifting her hand to rub her eyes, she winced at the sound of bandages being ripped off of her elbow. It was obviously unevenly wrapped, causing the bandage to tear away whenever she made any sudden movements. She ignored the flapping plaster and made her way to the bathroom.
Once inside, she locked the door firmly. Here was one place in the whole world where she wasn't going to be watched. Her clothes lay ruined in a pile in the sink, the rusty coloring of the water around the fabric making her wrinkle her nose. The blood, though mixed with water, was still thick. It looked absolutely disgusting.
Taking a deep breath, Kumiko thrust her hand into the sink and pulled the plug, careful to keep her garments from getting sucked into the resulting whirlpool. She watched her life liquid pour slowly into the drains, leaking away from her very finger tips. Finally all gone, she dumped the clothes into the sink again unceremoniously. Grabbing a bar of soap, she set to scrubbing the blood out of her uniform. Her scarf lay coiled in the sink as well, sopping wet. It looked like the molten skin of a drowned snake. The sight saddened her. Next to the picture on her phone, the scarf was her most precious belonging. Well, she was sure she did. When she'd come to in the hospital that day, the scarf was already lying becide her. Someone left it there for her, she was sure, and that random act of kindness had stuck in her mind ever since.
Leaving her scarf there, she was at loss to find something else to cover her neck with. Deciding that putting on enough clothes to cover her neck is better than getting bitten to death by a malicious prefect, she bravely slipped on a light blue turtleneck, before throwing on her blouse over it. Once the sweater was in place over everything else, she smiled hesitantly at her reflection. All ready to go to school again.
In the school courtyard, her blue turtleneck stuck out like a sore thumb. She ducked beneath two first years to get past Hibari, who was guarding the gates stiffly. Heaving a sigh of relief once she passed him, she turned to trot into the building.
"Koizumi-san! Koizumi-saaaannn~"
Kumiko turned slowly. She was faced with the 'terrible trio', with Komatsu at the lead. Two sneering girls followed close behind her, make up covering their face in a thick layer. Komatsu glared hotly at Kumiko, thrusting out an accusatory finger at the shorter girl, who cringed.
"Koizumi, you stole my scarf yesterday! I demand you to give it back RIGHT NOW!"
Kumiko shook her head frantically. She didn't take the scarf! It was hers! Turning to run away from Komatsu, she bumped into another girl. Michiyo from her class, she recalled. Michiyo sneered and slapped her hard across the face. Kumiko's head dipped with the strike, gritting her teeth at the stinging sensation that came with it. A sensation that she knew all to well. Kumiko decided that if she could survive Nakamura, she could survive these playground bullies. Letting out an enraged cry, she dove her head straight into Michiyo's stomach. Michiyo screeched and fell backwards, rolling a few meters away with the impact. Komatsu leapt in front of her, both arms outstretched to clamp around her neck. Kumiko yelped at the impact. Her neck is sore, and Komatsu's nails dug into her flesh, leaving more crescent shaped bruises. Komatsu squeezed, and Kumiko started panicking.
Pathetic. You're pathetic.
She lashed out with her legs, catching Komatsu squarely in the knee. Komatsu swore under her breath and loosened her grip. Clenching her eyes shut, she turned and ran. Unfortunately, she ran straight into someone else.
The other girl! Crap!
She struggled, but two arms encircled her and held her in place. Silence fell throughout the courtyard, and Kumiko stopped shaking before tilting her head up questioningly. What she saw made her freeze in place.
Hibari Kyoya was currently glaring down at her, his eyes hiding undeniable rage. Rightly so, since she had caused a scene in the school yard, fought fellow students, not to mention she's not even wearing the correct uniform. She shivered from the strong gaze and tried to back away, but his arms held strong. Trapped in his hold, she could only lower her head and will herself to stop shaking so hard. Hibari's arms tightened.
"Kamikorosu." He snarled at the three girls. Immediately, they all paled and walked away, save for Komatsu, who sent Kumiko another meaningful smirk.
"Herbivore, why aren't you wearing correct school uniform?"
She shook her head dumbly. Hibari frowned and pushed her roughly away from him, unsheathing his tonfas and slamming it into her shoulder. She had to be disciplined. It was a light hit, since hitting girls wasn't something Hibari will do on a daily basis. But Kumiko curled up into a tight ball on the floor and clutched her shoulder with a wordless cry. Blood blossomed, spreading into the white of her uniform. Nakamura had cut her there, and Hibari's 'soft' hit had cracked open the scab. Hibari himself widened his eyes slightly at the sight. He hadn't meant to hurt the small herbivore that badly.
Leaning down, he grabbed her by the arm and yanked her upright. The herbivore's eyes were watery, but she wasn't crying. Not much of an improvement from the last time he'd encountered her, he noted. Disappointing.
"Oya, oya? I never knew you were one to hit girls, Hibari Kyoya."
Hibari growled and shoved Kumiko into Mukuro's arms roughly. "Take her to the nurse."
Mukuro's eyes twinkled in amusement, and he patted the girl on the head in a condescending matter. "Do you want to go to the nurse, Kumiko?" She shook her head fiercely and tried to wrestle her way out of Mukuro's arms. Deja vu. She couldn't do anything, and once again she was just proving her weakness in front of Hibari.
For some reason, that made her feel more ashamed than ever.
"You again?" Dr. Shamal sighed heavily and sat down. He gestured to Mukuro. "You can leave. I don't treat guys."
"Trident Shamal?" Mukuro recalled. "You gave the skylark the Sakurakura disease, didn't you? Well, I have yet to thank you." Dipping his head in a mocking bow, Mukuro trailed out of the room with a chuckle, leaving the doctor scratching his head.
He turned back to Kumiko, who was desperately trying to blend into the walls. Unfortunately, with a blood splatter like the one she had on her shoulder, such a task is deemed quite impossible. Shamal sighed and reached towards her, pulling her into the chair in front of him. "So, let's see what's wrong, shall we? Do you mind if I take off your shirt?"
Kumiko paled and shook her head. Justified, because who knows what the pervy doctor might do or say. Dr. Shamal sighed. "If I don't take off your shirt to see the wound, how am I supposed to know what's wrong with you..."
"I'll help her," came a quiet whisper from the door. Dr. Shamal looked up to see Chrome standing meekly at the doorway. His eyes widened in delight. "OOOH! Another cute one~ Come on in, come on in!"
"Mukuro-sama sent me to help Koizumi-san." Chrome explained demurely. Dr. Shamal sighed with disappointment.
"Alright, I get it. I'll be behind this partitioning curtain if you need any help, got it? Oh and Chrome-chan, report her condition to me after you're done, alright? No matter what, I'm still the nurse, and a nurse has got to take care of his patients." Shamal got up and whipped the curtain open, snapping it smartly into place once he was behind it. Kumiko turned to eye Chrome warily. Chrome winced at her sharp gaze and Kumiko's eyes softened. It was hard to be smart towards such a meek girl. Besides, both of the girls were really shy by nature, so being scrutinized by a stranger is definitely something Kumiko can relate to.
"So? How are we going to do this?" Waving her writing pad in Chrome's face, Kumiko patiently waited for the girl's answer. Chrome bit her lips and pointed at the antiseptic cream in the corner, before hurrying to the cabinet to get rolls of gauze and elastic bandages. Kumiko took her shirt off warily, peeling the turtleneck away from her body with great reluctance. There was a gasp, and Kumiko turned to see Chrome looking at her with horror.
"Y-your..whole...body?" Kumiko nodded at the insinuation that came with the words. The bandages that she'd tried to wrap around herself was already in tatters, falling off her wounds like petals off a withering flower. It revealed her marked skin underneath, striking red and pink crisscrossing across her skin. Chrome backed away and walked to the other side of the partition. Kumiko was left scrambling for her blouse as Dr. Shamal walked in.
Dr. Shamal had a serious expression on this time. He glanced at Kumiko, who had only buttoned her shirt up halfway, noting the scars and scabs that marked her smooth skin immediately. He sauntered over to the sink and washed his hands, snapping on gloves and grabbing bottles of cream, ointments of all sizes, and the gauze pads that Chrome had already dumped onto the table.
"Lie down." He ordered. Kumiko did as he said, careful to keep her skirt from flapping upwards. Suddenly, the room was filled with mist. Kumiko's eyes flicked around the room, startled, until she saw that the mist was coming from Chrome. Before she could shout out in alarm, the girl disappeared. The room darkened, leaving the only light spot being where her wounds are. Dr. Shamal chuckled. Chrome was using her illusionary skills to make sure his eyes didn't pry.
He wasn't going to, anyway. It was rare that patients coming to him were injured to this degree.
Shamal got to work, peeling the rest of the bandages off of her body. Kumiko squirmed under his touch, but she knew that he couldn't see the rest of her, so she lay still once more. Shamal started spreading cream across her wounds, grimacing at the sheer number of them. What did this girl do for fun? Hurt herself?
Finally, the bandaging was done. Shamal grabbed a clipboard as the room lightened up once more, revealing a blushing and sheepish Chrome by the doorway. Kumiko nodded at her in thanks and Chrome stuttered back a "Y-y-your w-welcome..."
Kumiko put her clothes back on carefully, leaving the turtleneck out this time. Shamal had bandaged her bruised neck, so nobody was going to see the love bites anyway. She bowed in thanks to the doctor, who only raised a hand absently in acknowledgement before turning back to his scribbling. Chrome led the girl out and back to her classroom.
"Kyo-san!" Kusakabe burst breathlessly into Hibari's room, only to get a tonfa in the face. Hibari was having yet another bad day, and a sudden interruption was not amusing. Kusakabe straightened immediately and handed a few sheets over to the head prefect, who raised a slender eyebrow in question.
"This is Dr. Shamal's report on one of the students. Apparently, she got hurt quite badly, but the cause is unknown."
Hibari's eyes scanned over the report.
Bruises and deep cuts all over her body. Heavy bruises and what seems like bite marks on her neck. Her left wrist is broken, but it seems like an older wound. The cuts and bruises are quite new, only a couple of days old at the least.
Koizumi Kumiko, huh. What a surprise. Hibari sighed, tossing the report to the side of his desk. He got up to stride out the door, with Kusakabe calling after him worriedly. Hibari reached the 2A classroom, eyes narrowing at the noise level on the other side of the walls. He slammed the door open. Silence draped itself over the class immediately, everyone scrambling to sit at their respective desks once again.
"Koizumi Kumiko. Come here."
The teacher cowered in fear when Kumiko didn't respond immediately. She walked up to Kumiko's desk and tapped the wood hurriedly, telling her to get up. Kumiko stood up resignedly. She was going to face Hibari Kyoya sooner or later anyway. Komatsu stared at her, tapping the side of her skirt discreetly. Kumiko's eyes didn't even bother to look her way. She knew the consequences already.
Once outside the classroom, Hibari led her wordlessly to his office once more. Suddenly turning, he grabbed her sleeve and pushed it up towards her shoulder, revealing her bare arm. Kumiko bit her lips as the motion scraped against her wounds. Hibari stared at the sheer number of cuts that covered her arms only, and Kumiko clenched her fist. Pathetic. His words echoed through her mind. He was going to judge her again.
"Who did this to you?" Quiet fury was detected in Hibari's voice. Kumiko looked to the window and saw Komatsu waving at her from the floor below. She pursed her lips and whipped her head from side to side. She wasn't going to give anything away. Hibari's frustration grew. This happened every single time he was with her. Every single time, she didn't give him the information he wanted. Every single time, he's had to force it out of her somehow. Can't she see that he needed to catch the culprit because whoever it is is a threat to Namimori? Can't she see that he needed her to tell him to protect the school?
Can't she see that all he wants to do is to stop the culprit from hurting her again?
A/N: Thank you ever so much to bluenari, who reviewed my last chapter. Sorry for the recent slowness in update :) I will work harder to update sooner! Thanks to all those who have reviewed, favorited and alerted, showing support for the story this far, I hope you guys still like the plotline...
And last but not least: PLEASE REVIEW! I've been only getting one review per chapter for the last few chapters, and I would really like to know how the others think. I hope I'm not being too pushy, but I'm just hoping for just a few more responses, that's all!
I'll update sometime next week! Probably early on, like Monday or something. Bye for now! Thanks everyone!