Hibari's concerns about what was happening with Tsuna were pushed to the side as he found some people to bite to death. It was a good thing these stupid herbivores were out; Hibari's tonfa were itching to beat someone senseless. Every time he felt uncertain (which wasn't often), or when something was happening that he could do nothing about, it pissed him off so much.

He licked off some blood which was spattered onto his cheek and sheathed his tonfa. He looked down with cold eyes at the inert bodies of the five boys who had had the misfortune to come across him this fine afternoon. He then turned and wandered off. Maybe he'd get lucky and come across more hoodlums who were disrupting the order of his town.

He wandered around for ages, hoping that someone, anyone, would step into his path so he could bite them to death. But the townsfolk had gotten much too smart when dealing with him; they knew he wouldn't do anything to them as long as they kept out of his way.

So he went to Nami-chuu (his "office") instead and got on with some work. By the time he took to the streets again, it was almost seven. Usually, the herbivore would be making dinner around this time, but Hibari doubted that this evening would follow the same trend as the ones before it. And so, change had happened. He really did hate change.

He called Kusakabe and gave some orders for patrol duty and then wandered around a bit. Soon, eight 'o' clock rolled around. He stopped by a ramen vendor to eat. He wanted to go home but he also didn't want to see the herbivore. And he wasn't monstrous enough to vent his frustrations on his little brother during this trying period.

He took his time eating. What would he do after this anyway? As soon as he stepped into the street again, he heard a yell, "OSSU, HIBARI!"

His brow quivered in annoyance as the loud voice assaulted his ears. He looked off to his right and saw a blur of red coming towards him. He didn't move and the blur came to a stop. As expected, "the blur" was a boy with short grey hair. He was wearing a red jogging suit and a towel was draped around his shoulders.

"So, have you decided to join my boxing club yet?!" the boy asked with undue intensity.

Hibari's brow quivered again. Always so loud. "Pursuing useless issues will result in being bitten to death, Ryohei Sasagawa." He began walking, not really sure where he was going to go. But anywhere away from this loudmouth was good enough.

But, much to his aggravation, Ryohei followed. "Aw, c'mon! You should think about it! You have extreme strength! Boxing will be good for you!"

"I'd rather you didn't decide things like that on your own. I have no wish you join your boxing club."

As usual, though, Ryohei wouldn't take no for an answer. "You have to join! It's extremely good! One day, boxing is going to be the national sport! You should try it out now, to the extreme!"

Hibari pulled out his tonfa, his frustration rising to the surface. This guy only ever shut up when he was beaten down good and solid. Hibari's arm snapped out, tonfa at the ready.

But Ryohei dodged, a delighted grin on his face. "You want to practice now?! That's extremely awesome!"

Hibari had to try hard to keep the frustrated growl from escaping his lips as he attacked again. Ryohei Sasagawa was not the best person to come upon when one was trying to quell the anger inside one's heart. But then again, Hibari thought as he landed a hard blow to the boxer's temple, this is refreshing. He then struck Ryohei in the gut with his other tonfa.

Ryohei staggered back, but straightened up quickly. "This is an extreme practice session!" He raised his fists and started gently bobbing up and down. Hibari tried to strike the boy's head but the boxer dodged sharply to the right. A fist wound in bandages whistled through the air but Ryohei missed as Hibari easily evaded.

That was when the phone in Hibari's pocket started to vibrate. Not wanting to leave a fight unfinished, he got serious. He went in for the killing blow, stepping aside when Ryohei tried to punch him in the face. His tonfa snapped out and caught the boxer on the top of the head. The strike was hard enough to bring the fair-haired boy to his knees.

Hibari sheathed his tonfa and pulled out his phone. He didn't recognise the number. He put it to his ear. "Hn?"

"Kyouya?" Dino said.

Who else would it be? Hibari's irritation sparked. "What do you want?" he asked, walking away from Nami Junior High Boxing Club's captain.

"Where are you?"

"Why?"

"Tsuna's worried."

"Why?"

"Well, cuz you walked off without saying anything. He thinks it's his fault."

Hibari yawned. "I'll be back in a while."

"You don't sound all that concerned." Dino clicked his tongue.

"I need a nap." Hibari hung up.

Stupid herbivores, they came one after the other, didn't they? Couldn't they just leave him be? He was trying to get the anger out of his system but, so far, he hadn't had much luck. Just the mention of Dino's name irked him so hearing that stupid voice was downright aggravating.

"Hey, Hibari!"

He growled as he looked back over his shoulder. Ryohei had stood up and was making his way towards his attacker. There was a huge bruise on his head where Hibari had hit him but he still wore a maddening grin. "Something wrong?"

Hibari ignored him. But, of course, that wasn't enough to put Ryohei off. "C'mon, friends should share, ya know."

"I don't remember labelling you as such." Hibari was regretting going easy on this brat. He liked the kid's spirit so he'd held back, because he'd not wanted to injure him too badly (as in, beyond repair…i.e. kill him). Looked like that had been a mistake. Well, that could be amended. He pulled out his tonfa.

Ryohei laughed, "Doesn't matter. I think of you as a friend so it's all right, right? Friendship is extreme!"

Hibari hit him with the butt of his weapon. The blow was so fast Ryohei didn't even see it coming. Hibari hissed, "Don't aggravate me further, Ryohei Sasagawa. It's not wise."

Ryohei gasped and clutched at his nose as it erupted with a shower of red. "Something must be troubling you if you lash out so quickly, Hibari!" he shouted. "What's wrong, to the extreme?!"

Hibari raised an eyebrow. "I need a reason to bite someone to death?"

Ryohei laughed, "There's usually an extreme reason! Am I irritating you, to the extreme?!"

"Yes."

"Oh! I see! But there's something troubling you! I hear you have an extreme kid brother! Maybe that's the extreme reason?!"

Hibari stopped walking. He turned his head sharply to the side, gaze narrowed. Ryohei's grin widened as he wiped at his nose with the towel around his shoulders. "You're wondering how I guessed, right? You're not the type to get in such an extremely foul mood, right? Whenever I get in an extremely bad mood, it's because something happened with my little sister."

This boy did have a younger sibling, Hibari knew. Kyoko Sasagawa, Namimori Junior High, Class 1-A, the same class as Tsuna, if Hibari remembered correctly.

"Don't compare me to you," Hibari said blankly as he continued walking. "My business is none of your concern."

"Aw, c'mon! If you need some extreme advice, I can give you some!" Ryohei said cheerfully. "Being a big brother an all, you have to be careful what you teach them your siblings, because they look up to you, to the extreme! They're easily influenced! But my most extreme advice is that you should think about what's good for them! It works in just about any extreme situation!"

Just how many times did this annoyance have to say "extreme" in one sentence? But Hibari tried not to mind too much as he thought about what the guy had said. Think about what's good for them…?

Was he thinking about what was good for Tsuna? No he wasn't. He was thinking about his own desires. He didn't want the herbivore to go so he'd do anything if it meant keeping Tsuna here.

How pathetic that he couldn't imagine his life without the little brat. Just how attached had he become? Anyway, he wasn't used to putting someone else's needs before his own; he'd always gotten what he'd wanted.

He let out a minute sigh. "I don't need your useless advice."

"So it was about your brother, huh?" Ryohei grinned. "Maybe you ought to get him a present; it works for me whenever Kyoko's upset."

"I don't do presents." Hibari replied with a scoff. This boy was beginning to annoy him…and one of the reasons was that he was a better brother than Hibari was.

Hah. Yeah right. He could totally beat this guy. Wasn't he the better brother here? He'd taken Tsuna off the streets and sheltered him and fed him. Nobody could beat that. But then again, Hibari's circumstances were different so many he'd only taken Tsuna in for his own reasons.

No. No, of course not. He'd felt sorry for the kid, that was why he'd taken him in. That was all. He wasn't some pathetic loser who felt lonely. That sounded like a perverted old man and Hibari was most certainly not a perverted old man. He liked small animals was all. Tsuna was a small animal. A small herbivorous animal.

A small amused smirk curved one corner of Hibari's lips as he forced his train of thought to a halt. "I haven't the time to chat with you." he said, cutting Ryohei off as the boy was saying something about stuffed animals making good presents.

"Oh, you're going to your bro?! That's extremely good of you!" Ryohei yelled. Hibari rolled his eyes as he increased his pace, leaving Ryohei behind. "Seeya at school, Hibari!" the boxer yelled after him. Hibari actually put a hand up in acknowledgement.

It was a rarity that he'd not needed to knock the boy out to get away from him. More often than not, Ryohei's insistence that someone join his boxing club ended only when he was either too beat up to talk or was just plain unconscious…or someone actually took heed of his words and joined his club, but that was very, very rare.

Hibari pulled out his phone to have a look at the time. He had to wonder why Ryohei Sasagawa was out jogging at this time; it was almost nine. Fitness freak.

He hurried on home. Dino's red sports car was still there, much to his annoyance. The living room light, he could see, was on. He went inside.

When he closed the front door of his apartment, Tsuna had just left the bathroom. He'd barely met Hibari's gaze when he jerked his head away and walked to the living room. No "okaeri nasai, Nii-chan". Hibari took off his shoes and stepped up. He followed the herbivore to the living room.

The first person he saw was Romario, standing to one side of the door. The bespectacled man bowed.

"Yo, Kyouya." Dino greeted.

Tsuna was now sitting at the corner he usually sat at, exercise book open before him. Dino was sitting on the couch, watching the TV. He budged up so Hibari could sit down. The only sounds were coming from the TV. Hibari took the remote and switched the set off. Total silence filled the room.

Tsuna tried to get on with his homework. "Aniki," the boy said.

Hibari frowned at this new form of address. But he didn't have time to respond as Dino spoke, "yeah?"

Tsuna stood up and, keeping his gaze off of Hibari, he took his exercise book and sheet over to Dino, "can you help me with this, please?"

"Sure, Tsuna." Dino looked at Hibari, eyebrows creased in a puzzled frown.

Hibari looked blank, not giving any indication of the animosity that Tsuna's simple question had stirred up. So, "Dino-san" was now "aniki"? Interesting…

"Um…you know what, I think Kyouya's pretty good with English," Dino said as he made to pass the sheet to Hibari.

"That's okay!" Tsuna cried, snatching the paper out of Dino's hands. "I-I'll figure it out!" He was trying to keep from looking at Hibari, it was so obvious. He hurried back to his little table and pored over his homework with undue urgency.

Dino looked at first Tsuna and then Hibari. Hibari spoke up after a few moments of silence, "Herbivore."

Tsuna screwed his eyes shut. "Yes, Nii-chan?"

Hibari appraised the child. Dino was still staring between the two. The black-haired man finally sighed. "If you want to go, I'm not stopping you." He'd arrived at this conclusion after much consideration. A kid needed his parents, more so than he needed someone to play "brother".

"Hah?!" Dino exclaimed. "But, before, you didn't want him to go! What's with this sudden development?" Hibari glared at him. Dino scratched the back of his head, apologetic grin on his face, "sorry. Not my business, right?"

Hibari scoffed and looked over at Tsuna. The kid was still looking down at his book. Hibari was beginning to get irked. "Blond herbivore."

"What kind of term of address is that?" Dino said indignantly.

"It's about time you left."

"Hah? That's rude, Kyouya."

"Then…please leave."

"Still rude."

Hibari's patience was wearing thin. "Just get out."

Dino heaved a weary sigh and got to his feet, "fine, fine. I was only waiting for you to get back anyway. You shouldn't leave kids at home alone."

"He's used to it, I'm sure." Hibari responded.

Dino picked up his phone from the table and turned to the door.

"Wait!"

He looked back. "What's the matter, Tsuna?"

Tsuna looked ill at ease. He looked up at Dino, "c-can I…can I come with Dino-san?"

Hibari's posture stiffened. Bitter loathing crept up his heart. He'd said Tsuna could go but…maybe he'd been hoping the kid would stay. He didn't trust himself to speak, because if he did, only bitterness would seep out. He got to his feet instead and, walking past Dino and Romario, he went to the bedroom, closing the door with a jarring crash.

His movements were jerky as he took out his laptop from his bedside cabinet. It took conscious effort not to throw the apparatus down and break it. He took in a deep breath and plugged the machine in and turned it on. Work always helped calm him down…and if that failed, he'd have to leave so he didn't vent his frustrations on the source of his anger.

A few moments later, said source opened the door and peeked around it. "N-Nii-chan…?"

Hibari's jaw reflexively tightened. It seemed his anger hadn't evaporated just yet. He cast a brief glance up before returning to the computer screen, "You're talking to me now?"

Tsuna walked in, taking small, anxious steps towards Hibari's bed. "Um…can you allow Dino-san to stay…?"

"What's the point of that? You're going to stay with him anyway, aren't you?" Hibari opened another email and checked the file attachment. Working by computer was so much better than bringing files home, he mused.

"Um…a-about that…I just…I don't want Nii-chan to be angry with me." Tsuna said. His hands were clasped in front of him and his thumbs went around and around. He was nervous.

"I've no reason to get angry with you." Hibari responded, eyes scanning the file as he scrolled down.

He tried to ignore the vast well of hostility that wanted to let loose inside of him right now. So maybe he was lying. But if he let out that hostility, he'd vent his frustrations on the herbivore and he'd end up destroying whatever little smidgen of faith Tsuna had left in him. But he wasn't angry at just the herbivore so he shouldn't take it out on the herbivore alone. Everything was annoying him.

But he gave no indication of this as he continued to check over the file on his computer.

"But…Nii-chan seems angry so…I thought Nii-chan wouldn't want me here anymore…" Tsuna mumbled.

Hibari flipped the laptop closed. He slid it to the side and looked up at the kid. "Sit."

Tsuna did as asked.

"I said you can go, didn't I?" Hibari said, his even tone not giving away anything of what he felt. "While I may not find it favourable that you leave, I also don't have the right to keep you here if you wish to go."

Tsuna's gaze was so hopeful. "R-really? N-Nii-chan doesn't want me to leave?"

Hibari stared at him blankly. "No, I don't." He saw nothing wrong with admitting that, even though he'd never ever given any indication that he valued this brat's existence. But that should be pretty clear anyway, right? Tsuna was here today because Hibari liked him being here.

A slow smile spread across the boy's lips. "Then…please allow me to stay a while longer!"

Hibari sighed. "This is your home, right?"

"Hai." Tsuna grinned.

Hibari got out the laptop again. Tsuna continued to sit there. The silence stretched. "So, can aniki stay?" the boy asked.

Hibari held back an exasperated growl. "Fine."

"Thank you, Nii-chan!" the boy beamed. "Shall I make dinner?"

"I've eaten."

"Ok." the child stood up. He looked much happier than when he'd come in.

It was nearly eleven when Hibari emerged out of the bedroom, wondering why the herbivore hadn't come in to sleep yet. He'd heard the door close a while ago so he'd thought Dino had finally left. No such luck. The one who'd left had been Romario.

He heard hollering in the living room and went to see what was going on. His brow quivered in annoyance when he took in the sight of Tsuna and Dino seated on the floor in front of the TV. They'd taken out the games console that Tsuna had bought with his saved up allowance a while back (after asking if he could, of course). In their hands were game controllers and the TV screen showed two characters fighting.

"…gonna win!" Tsuna cried.

"No way! Ha! Take that, Tsuna!" Dino shouted in triumph as his character kicked out at Tsuna's and sent him sailing through the air, costing the boy's character a considerable amount of health.

"I'm not done! Aniki's gonna lose this one!" Tsuna said as his fingers sped over the controller with well-practiced movements.

"Hey, no fair!"

"Ahaha, I've won!"

"Not yet, you haven't, kid!"

Hibari went to sit down at the couch and reached for the remote control. He switched the screen off. "Wha…?!" Tsuna cried out as he gazed around in bewilderment. He paused when he saw Hibari. "Oh, Nii-chan…"

Dino sighed, "that's just nasty, Kyouya. Let us play."

Hibari stared him down. "I will not have herbivores causing a ruckus under my roof. Why are you still here?"

"Because Nii-chan said aniki could stay." Tsuna replied.

"I meant he could stay a while longer. I thought that was what you meant."

Tsuna's eyes were big and earnest. "Then…can he stay? Please…Nii-chan?" He looked so cute. Hibari's refusal wavered. "Fine…but he has to leave after breakfast in the morning." His cold blue eyes went to rest on Dino, demanding some sort of acknowledgement.

Dino grinned, "Sure. Thanks, Kyouya."

"Um…c-can we…continue the game…please?" Tsuna mumbled, looking down.

"After you make me some coffee." Hibari said. He turned the TV back on.

"Hai!" Tsuna jumped to his feet happily.

"Ah, I want some too!" Dino called after him.

"Ok." Tsuna raced out of the room.

Looking at the screen, Hibari stood up. He went around the table and sat down where Tsuna had been sitting before. Dino frowned. "You wanna play?"

Hibari picked up the controller in silent agreement. Dino grinned and clicked continue. The pause menu disappeared so they were able to see the characters properly. Hibari looked at Tsuna's character with a frown. Why a weak-looking girl in a weird skimpy outfit? He paused it again and scrolled down the menu and clicked on "change character".

"Haha, Tsuna's pretty talented at this stuff, ya know," Dino said. "The characters he chooses are usually very strong, even if they don't look it. He knows how to use them."

Hibari scoffed. "I would imagine so, since he's more inclined to playing games than studying." He didn't let Tsuna take out the games console on weekdays but, on weekends, he was on this in much of his spare time. But Hibari hadn't brought the child up to shirk duties so, at the least, he didn't neglect the housework.

"Well, yeah," Dino said, "he's a kid. Not everybody's like you, eh? Fighting people in real life to prove you're strong, even at the age of seven."

Hibari narrowed his gaze as they continued playing the game. His character, a burly dark-skinned man, unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks on Dino's character. Half of Dino's health was taken away.

Dino smiled a small smile. "Did I hit a sore spot?"

"I'd advise you to be quiet." Hibari said quietly.

Dino didn't stop though. His character launched his own series of kicks and Hibari didn't manage to evade in time. "When are you going to tell Tsuna about it? I don't know if you know but he's curious. Anyone would be, really, but he's too respectful and too scared of you to ask."

"That's the way it should be," Hibari huffed as he pressed down repeatedly on select buttons of the controller. His character couldn't move away in time as Dino attacked again. His health was nearly all gone.

"Really?" Dino asked. "You don't care that he wants to know what kind of a person you are, that he wants to know how you became the way you are today, about your parents, about your past?"

Hibari's health reached zero percent. "Game over" flashed across the screen. Aggravated, he let go of the controller and stood up. "This doesn't compare to real life."

Dino chuckled, "you're just a sore loser." Hibari kicked him in the side as he walked past on his way back to the couch. Dino hissed as he doubled over. "You're harsh, Kyouya." he wheezed.

Hibari raised his legs onto the table and crossed them at the ankles. Tsuna came in not long after. He frowned at the TV screen, where round five had been paused. "What happened to my character?"

"Kyouya changed it." Dino said.

Tsuna blinked and then stared down at Hibari. "Oh." He came to set the steaming mugs down on the table, minding Hibari's feet. Then he went to sit down on the floor beside Dino and picked up the controller. "Shall we play?"

"Sure."

They began another game. Hibari reached for his violet and black striped mug and took a small sip of the hot bitter liquid inside. Just the way he liked it; not too much sugar, with just a few drops of milk. The herbivore had grown really good at catering to his Nii-chan's preferences these past few years.

The herbivores' game continued. Hibari leant back in the couch, mug propped up on the armrest as he watched the TV. Tsuna didn't exclaim like he'd been doing before Hibari had come, though it took obvious effort not to. Dino seemed to pick up on it because he tried to tone down his enthusiasm too, though some words escaped past his lips when he emerged victorious.

Hibari finished his coffee but he continued to observe the two gamers as they played. Dino's mug lay forgotten on the table, and the liquid inside gradually grew cold.

There were forty minutes left to midnight. "Herbivore."

Tsuna looked back. "Yes, Nii-chan?"

"Get to bed."

Both gamers glanced at the clock. "Crap, it's this late already?!" Dino exclaimed.

Tsuna saved their game and shut off the console. Dino stood up and only looked at his coffee then. He sighed. "I'll take this to the kitchen." He picked up the mug, as well as Hibari's, and left the room.

There was a crash. Tsuna jumped. "Aniki!" He got to his feet and rushed out the door. Hibari went to see what had happened too.

In the kitchen, Dino had tripped. Cold coffee had spilled all over the floor and the two mugs were broken.

Seeing his favourite mug broken, Hibari pulled out his tonfa. "I'm going to bite you to death."

"Hii!" Tsuna cried. "P-please don't, Nii-chan! I-I'll clean it up! I promise!" He positioned himself in front of the blond man as Dino sat up, clutching his head in pain.

"That man is getting on my nerves. He will be bitten to death." Hibari's cold eyes bore into Tsuna's. Tsuna looked suddenly nervous. Hibari's gaze narrowed. "If you don't get out of the way, I'll bite you to death too."

Dino got to his feet and pushed Tsuna gently out of the way. "A-aniki…" the boy stammered. Dino sighed, "Don't scare the kid like that, Kyouya. It was my fault. I'll clean up the mess and get you another mug."

"Just any mug won't do; that was my favourite one, you know." Hibari said blankly. "I've had it for five years."

Dino blanched. "R-really? W-wow…must be special."

"Indeed. So, what are you doing to do about it? If I can bite you to death, we'll call it even."

"Um…" Tsuna put his hands up to appease the men. "P-please don't fight…"

"Be quiet, herbivore," Hibari ordered calmly. He held his weapons aloft, fully intent on leaping forward and attacking the Italian.

But, just as he did so, Tsuna jumped between them, taking the hit instead. He cried out as he staggered back and bumped into Dino. Both of them toppled over.

Hibari stopped. He stared down at the painful looking heap. It did look quite painful, the way their limbs were twined together like that. How had a simple bump resulted in that, anyway? The clumsiness of these two idiots was almost incredible.

Hibari turned away as an amused smirk curled the corner of his lips. "Then…I'll be expecting a new mug by Monday."

"O-oi, aren't you concerned at all that you just hit your kid brother?" Dino asked. He hissed as he tried to extricate himself from Tsuna. He managed it, somehow, and helped the boy to his feet. "You okay?"

Tsuna put a hand on his back and stretched, wincing as he did so. "I just learnt something."

"What's that?"

"I'll never be a contortionist."

Dino chuckled. "I'll second that. Anyway, there a mop around here? I'll clean up."

"That's okay. I'll do it."

"No, no, I said I'd do it so I'll do it."

Tsuna sighed. "Then…I'll brush up and aniki can mop up."

"All right. Hey…where'd Kyouya go?"

The two saw that there was no one in the kitchen doorway. Hibari was back in the living room, lying on the couch. He reached for the remote. He didn't especially like watching TV; it just gave him something to focus his attention on…because the sound of laughter and talking coming from the kitchen was annoying. It was nearing twelve. Just because the herbivore wasn't going to school tomorrow didn't mean he could stay up so late.

A few minutes passed by before he heard the two emerge into the hallway. Tsuna went to the bedroom and Dino came to the living room. "Hey, mind if I sit down?" he asked.

"Yes." Hibari responded, but he sat up to make room anyway.

Dino took a seat, his gaze turned towards the TV, though he didn't seem too interested in the documentary playing on it. "Did I say sorry for breaking your mug?"

"Hn."

"Was that a yes or a no?"

Hibari didn't bother to respond this time.

"I'm sorry, in any case. Say, it's your bir…" Dino began.

"Aniki?"

Both men turned to look over their shoulders at Tsuna. Dino smiled, "what is it, Tsuna?"

"Where are you going to sleep?"

"Ah…um…I'll make do on the couch."

Tsuna frowned. "No way. You can take my bed if you want. I'll get a futon."

"I'll take the futon. Don't wanna trouble you guys further."

"Then you should get out…" Hibari mumbled, eyes still glued to the TV.

Dino frowned. "You say something, Kyouya?"

"No."

Tsuna smiled, "I'll set out the futon for you."

"Thanks, Tsuna." Dino grinned.

The boy retreated. Dino chuckled to himself, "what a cute little kid."

"Hn." Hibari responded.

"Was that agreement?"

"Hn."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'll bite you to death if you keep asking unnecessary questions." Hibari frowned at the blond man. "Why are you still here anyway?"

Dino shrugged, "Tsuna wanted me to stay."

"You shouldn't have agreed. My policies are being ignored because of you."

Dino chuckled, "policies?"

"My house rules."

"Oh. Sorry. But you should give Tsuna a little more freedom."

"He has plenty of freedom. And anything I decide is for his own good."

"Right." Dino didn't sound convinced but he didn't pursue the subject. "Can I change the channel please?"

"No."

He rolled his eyes. "Sorry."

Silence fell. Dino, clearly feeling a little awkward, got up. "I'm going to bed. Night, Kyouya."

Hibari made no response. The older of the two left the room. Hibari heard talking from the bedroom.

After a minute, the low buzzing of conversation was still heard. Five minutes passed. The talking continued. Ten minutes passed. Still going. Fifteen minutes…Hibari growled and got to his feet. He switched off the TV and, on his way out, he flicked the light switch in the living room. He went over to the bedroom and stood in the doorway, observing the two inside.

Tsuna had set up the futon right beside his bed. He was lying at the edge of his mattress, smiling as he conversed with Dino, who was also in bed. The boy looked up as he spotted Hibari in the doorway. Following Tsuna's gaze, Dino looked up too.

Hibari's gaze was cold. "By the time I switch off the light, if all is not quiet, you two herbivores will be bitten to death." he said as he snatched his pyjamas off the back of the door and left the room.

He went to the bathroom and made the necessary preparations to get to bed. He was so tired. He'd not even had a nap today. Stupid herbivores sure liked to disrupt the peace, didn't they? He ought to bite them to death for daring to be so bold.

But he wasn't too irritated. Tsuna had been through a lot today but he was now back to his usual self, and it was probably thanks to the Bucking Horse – because, if Hibari was being honest, he knew he'd never have been able to cheer Tsuna up like that. It pissed him off a little though, knowing that Dino, who Tsuna had known for just about a week, was a better brother than Hibari was.

Hibari went back to the bedroom. Tsuna and Dino were obediently lying in their beds, covers pulled to their chins. He switched off the light and went over to his own bed and climbed under the covers.

He looked at the red digital dial of the clock on his bedside cabinet. 23:56. He closed his eyes and attempted to drift off.

"Nii-chan…?"

His mind was going hazy as he began entering that distant world of dreams but the voice brought him back. He blinked to clear his eyes. "What?"

"Happy birthday."

Half-lidded eyes moved to stare at the glowing dial of the clock. 00:00. He was officially eighteen. He scoffed and closed his eyes. "Go to sleep."

Bit long. Sorry. Thanks for reading!
Omake (crack section):

Prince Tsunayoshi, the younger brother of King Kyouya, was to be wedded. King Kyouya was not happy. The bride would the fair-haired Princess Kyoko, daughter of King Dino from the land of Cavallonia.

Of course, King Kyouya could have just turned down the idea when Princess Haru, a good friend of Princess Kyoko and also Prince Tsunayoshi's cousin, had suggested it. But he wasn't usually one to show his concern. And his monopolising of his little brother's time was not something he'd admit to.

So he declared war on Cavallonia, under the pretext that he was bored. Prince Tsunayoshi was devastated. King Kyouya was delighted.