Disclaimer;
I don't own Katekyoshi Hitman Reborn - that belongs to Akira Amano. I only own my OCs
"Hiss… Ow, ow."
Nico groaned as she moved her body for Physical Education class the next day. Every time she moved, soreness and pain assaulted her tired body. Some students gave her weird looks, some gave her curious looks. What did you think they were thinking of?
"Styan-sama, are you doing fine?" A cute peer asked with concern. If it was not because she inquired nicely and politely with an adorable tone, Nico would have replied sarcastically.
No, sweetheart. I would do fine if it was after a nice rough steamy night. But I am suffering from muscle pain AND injuries from fighting the esteemed Hibari Kyouya! No, I am not fine!
"Haha, it's alright. Just pulled some muscle while exercising yesterday. It's hitting hard today."
Nico smiled charmingly while looking at the worried stares she received from other students in the class. Almost 90% of the class was her fans, whereas the other 10% consisted of neutral and jealous boys going through puberty. They hated (#jealous) that she received the girls' care and love. Ah, they were quite adorable being jealous of me.
"I see. Please take more care of yourself. I'm, no, we're glad it was nothing serious," The girls all heaved a relieved sigh.
"Thank you for your concern." Aigo, these girls are very cute and warm.
Nico flashed a warm smile at the thought. Youths were good and innocent before they reached adulthood and got to know about societal hierarchy. The 90% population, boys and girls, all blushed from being blinded by a bijin (beautiful person) superior smile. Their hearts raced like crazy and some actually got knocked down by a flying ball which brought them back to reality.
"G-Gomen, Gen!" [?]
"Oh my god, Gen-kun!" [?]
"Sensei, Gen-kun is bleeding!" [?]
"Idiots! Quickly bring him to the infirmary before he nosebleeds to death!" [Sensei]
"I see you're still as deadly as ever, you damn riajuu," Saya jokingly said from the side. Saya naturally belonged to the neutral 10% composition and she was totally cool in the face of that smile. Rather, she showed a disgusted expression every time the smile appeared.
"I'm glad my charm still works," Nico turned the smile to Saya, earning her that usual adorable 'disgusted' face.
"Put that face away before I smack your face with the ball." [Saya]
"I'm sorry but please don't go for my face." Σ(゜ロ゜;) [Nico]
"Hn." [Saya]
"Really, how did you actually get those bruises?" Another girl, Toki Mikan, with her knees to her chest and reading an English detective book asked. These girls had seen those bruises underneath her shirt while they were changing in the room.
They were realists that never believed a Prince Charming on a white horse would always save the distressed princess, or climate change can get better after being damaged to the current level. The past few days observing this transfer student had them understand her personalities: narcissist, flirty and a teaser. But emphasising it again, they were realists. They believed in people wearing masks at least once in their entire lives. They knew Nico was not portraying her real self but hey, they too, did the same. Each to their own so everyone never bothered pretending and always blunt for topics that could affect their lives, directly or indirectly.
As such, their observations of her day-to-day interactions so far had not shown events that gained her anyone's ire or vengeance. No, those petty haters would not dare to even touch a hair of hers. Saya and Mikan both noticed a kind of aura exuded from Nico which pushed people away . They had similar experiences from certain people in their entire lives. Shh, let us stop and not go too far into the topic.
"I heard you've been playing tea time with Hibari-san." [Mikan]
"Tea time with THE Hibari-san? Is it the prelude to World War III?" Saya giggled but her eyes were not smiling at all.
"And after that, you went into the woods, alone, with him." [Mikan]
"Oh, my. Nico, I didn't know your harem would include him as well. Should we celebrate this?" [Saya]
"Crazy women, don't speak nonsense. I won't go for him." [Nico]
"Oh? Tell us why." [Saya]
My Lady likes him? "Not telling." [Nico]
"He's taken?" [Mikan]
"Ooooo~ That would be much of a worthwhile gossip than which person screwed you over last time." [Saya]
"Buzz off. Nobody screwed me." [Nico]
"Alright. Then, you two screwed each other because I remembered seeing a bruise on Hibari-san's neck." [Mikan]
"Gasp. You damn riajuu!" [Saya]
"I'm not! We were just- just exercising together…?" [Nico]
"That is the most disgusting news for the day." [Mikan]
"Damn riajuu. Hateful riajuu." [Saya]
"The real truth is miles away from what you're thinking… I know you guys would just twist my words no matter what was said." щ(゜ロ゜щ) [Nico]
By the end of the conversation, Nico was laughed at by the girls she was closed to. Good thing was the matter ended like that.
…
"Nico, I heard people talking that you did the deed with Hibari Kyouya."
Pfft-
The unsuspecting crow spurted out the Coke she had taken a sip from. Nico coughed hard as she tried clearing out some Coke that entered her nasal passage. She wanted to say something but the continuous coughing and choking ruined her attempts. Rei tried hard not to laugh but the trembling of her body betrayed her thoughts. These two people were sitting on a cream coloured sofa in the living room of their house. They were originally watching a good English Rom-Com while eating caramel popcorn before Rei dropped the bomb.
"I didn't- *cough* we didn't- *choke*!"
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Rei bellowed loudly while rolling on the floor, her voice echoing the house.
"Delete the video," Nico heaved heavily once she could.
"Oh my god, that was a good material. Hahaha," Rei giggled as she stopped the recording and secretly uploaded it to her desktop upstairs. Nico rolled her eyes.
"By the way, I hope you've thought of an explanation to give to our Lady about a certain rumour going on?"
"Fuck."
"Fuck indeed," Rei laughed merrily at seeing how dark the crow's face had become.
"Evil woman."
"Thank you for the compliment."
"...What do you proposed for me to repair this strayed plot?" Nico asked solemnly as she rested her chin on her hands.
"I want that Musubi Handbag from Acne Studios. The pink colour."
Rei slowly crossed her legs then put a slender finger on her lips. Her overall expression and mannerism screamed haughtiness normally seen in a spoiled princess. Nico could see glee and mischief in those sparkling green eyes. Damn it, bribing this woman always emptied out her wallet. Well, it was just a handbag. She could still afford that.
"And Jimmy Choo's Leanne booties."
Nico's eyes twitched a bit but she still nodded her agreement.
"I also want Revlon's nail polish Amethyst Smoke, Queen of Hearts and Up The Ante."
"Don't you already have those?"
"Those were RGB. These are Revlon."
"They are nail polishes. The ones you already have could last you for 3-5 years. Why do you need more?"
"Oh hush you buffoon who knows shit about girls."
"Uh… I'm also a female?"
"Correction: a perverted old man trapped inside a boring female body."
"…I'm aware I can't even differentiate between contour and colour correcting palettes. But I still can do basic make up you know," Nico sweatdropped, "And what do you mean by a perverted old man?"
"You like to ogle people, like those old perverts."
"I was admiring God's creations."
"You do realise you spend more time on the ass?"
"Ahem…" Nico turned her eyes away from the judging eyes.
"I also recall you said if you had been born a man, you would-"
"SHHHHHHHHH LALALALA~! Why are we even talking about my fetish! I agree to buy so just help me plan how to resolve the misunderstanding!" Nico screamed, her complexion switching between white and red.
Rei laughed in triumph. Now she got some free shopping and worship from the forever difficult crow. She could ask for more but better not to overstep the line in case the crow would retract back her offer. Rei straightened her posture and spoke seriously.
"Just clarify the truth to the Lady while doing a dogeza. To the school, just say that you have a boyfriend already but you're on a long distance relationship. Also, Hibari Kyouya became your training partner since you learned martial arts but have no one to exchange pointers with. They would just think that you're crazy enough to ask him to be your training partner but at least he didn't end up as your boy toy. Maybe you can pretend to schedule another fight with him anytime soon."
"Do I have to do the last one as well? Isn't clarifying about having a boyfriend good enough? And where do you suggest I grab a guy to be my boyfriend from? Can I just show a random picture?" Nico raised an eyebrow.
"… Don't you have any sex friends or male friends to help pretend be your guy?" Rei asked weirdly.
"Why does it seem like you're implying I have a harem of male concubines?"
"You don't?"
"I'm not a sex crazed demon. And I don't collect concubines."
"You're not?"
"I'm not, asshole."
"Don't you have a list of men in your contact numbers?"
"Even if I do, they're not exactly people I would want to be called a couple with."
"For example?"
"Eis, Greg, Vikram, Raf, Vikram's butlers, Vikram's maids, Vikram's bodyguards…"
"No wonder you know your way around Vikram's place. You've tasted most of his people," Rei nodded in understanding, "Other than those, don't you still have um… who was it again? Shawn, Rubic, Frannel, Dominic, Kirin, Elias, Fitz, Lyndon, Kurtz, Elphin etc.?"
"How the fuck did you know all of those names? Did you hack my phone?!"
"You do realise it was me who modified our phones so we can install my personal apps right?"
"You opportunist who took advantage of others!"
"My, my. Thank you for the compliment."
Nico lamented the injustice inwardly. She merely sighed at the lack of privacy.
"You don't have to worry. I didn't investigate them. I may be a hacker but I put a line with regards to my friends' privacy," Rei smiled ruefully as if she knew what Nico was thinking. More accurately, what everyone tends to think after knowing her profession.
Nico hesitated before she shrugged her shoulders, "S'fine you know. I know what kind of person you are. Other than when you use them for occasional jokes."
Rei was shocked for a bit. Oh my, was the crow trying to comfort her? She chuckled, honestly comforted by the acceptance. Aw~ The crow was flustered. Maybe she should cut her some slack? But one thing she always believed, no one liked having their privacy invaded. Rei smiled as she kept giving more suggestions to Nico.
…
"Let me get this straight. Your intention here is to clarify to me the matter regarding you and Hibari-san?" Honey asked while leaning on the table with a hand propped up under her chin. She glanced at her long time friend currently staring at her nervously.
"Well you know I don't really care about rumours. But… it involves Hibari Kyouya so I just thought that maybe you might be having some kind of thoughts?" Nico asked unsurely.
"Nico, I've known you for years. Do you think such baseless rumours would matter to me?" Honey shook her head helplessly.
"Ahem… I know you don't normally care about it. But it involves the guy you are interested in… So I just, you know, want to make things clear?"
At this point, Honey did not know if she should laugh or cry. Really, how did they view her? She knew Nico was a bit wild and shameless at times, but she was also the type to not touch another's person. Yes, Honey is interested in Hibari Kyouya. However, as she said, Nico was never the type to betray her friends and steal their boyfriends.
"Nico, sister. You're exaggerating this issue," Honey chuckled helplessly, "I am aware what kind of person you are. I'm really not affected by this rumour. But…"
Nico sighed in relief but stopped at the unfinished sentence.
"I'm sure Hibari-san himself was not happy about the rumour."
"Ah, shit."
"Mhm. You tend to forget which party would be the most affected by the rumour. No need to worry about me. You'd better think how to appease Hibari-san instead," Honey chuckled at the thought.
Nico huddled in the corner. Haish, going to Honey was no longer needed. But now she needed to 'talk' with Hibari Kyouya. Would that brat even bother to listen? And Hibari normally would not be interested in rumours, right? Right?
…
"Nico-san, the chairman is asking for you."
Kusakabe Tetsuya calmly stated from the classroom's front door the next day's lunchtime. Nico was stunned silly. The beautifully cooked karaage slipped down from her chopsticks onto the table under. Taking advantage of the unaware crow, her friends Saya and Mikan fought ownership over the 5 seconds rule.
"Nico-san," Kusakabe called out once again.
"W-Why is your chairman looking for me?" Nico smiled despite the stutter in her sentence.
"The chairman said you would know once you get there," Kusakabe answered. Nico noticed the momentary sympathy glint in the young man's eyes.
Having no other choice but to wash her neck over this matter, Nico dragged her legs to the dreaded disciplinary committee room. Kusakabe knocked twice on the door before announcing their presence. He then opened the door and gestured for Nico to enter. Too late to regret or run away, Nico followed inside to meet Hibari Kyouya. The esteemed prefect was sitting behind a desk with several organised stacks of paper. Nico went straight to the sofa and waited patiently for her verdict.
"I don't recall giving you permission to sit," Hibari's imposing yet low voice resounded throughout the quite room, except for the rustling of papers and pen.
Nico shrugged, "And I don't recall agreeing to stand still."
Hibari looked up from the report in his hand for a few seconds to stare indifferently at the girl. Nico returned back his stare innocently as if she had been behaving for the past few days. Hibari's gaze intensified, making Nico's back slowly drenched in sweat. Slowly, Hibari retracted back his gaze.
"Settle the rumour soon."
"…" It was really about that stinky rumour! Amazing, I didn't expect for Hibari to actually care about a passing remark known as gossip.
"Just say what you want to say," Hibari grumpily said when Nico did not stop staring at him in wonder.
"I'm only wondering why would our chairman be bothered about a measly gossip. You are the type to not care about what other people think about you. Yet, you actually told me to resolve the gossip, which entail that we've fuck, by today. I am really interested in this matter, Chairman Hibari."
Nico narrowed her eyes at the same time Hibari did for his own. Nico was doing it due to amusement, whereas the other was starting to get pissed off. But it would be bad if this reached her Lady. After all, she promised to play good and settle this problem already. So Nico could only admit defeat this turn.
"Fine, fine. I'll make sure to address this matter soon. I've got a plan."
"Good. If things go awry, I'll beat you to death," Hibari smirked at the end.
"…Understood."
Leaving the room, Nico decided to skip the next period to consider the matter on hand. She went to the rooftop and lied down to ponder. So, how should she resolve this matter?
A. Find a random handsome guy and write herself a cheesy love plot.
B. Admit she is a battle junkie and signed a deal to be Hibari's sparring partner.
C. Find a guy to be her boyfriend.
Honestly, that Option 1 can certainly work. The downside is that it might be able to fool others, but not certain people. Those girls, Saya and Mikan especially, perhaps had a secret stash of handsome men's pictures kept in their rooms so they might know she was bluffing about having a boyfriend. Those Satan reincarnations would certainly use it against her in the future. As such, this option is removed to the side.
Looking at Option 2 hurt her intestines so much. Openly admit to normal people how much you like to fight like idiots? She still wanted to keep her reputation, okay. Yes, she might be a battle junkie. But it did not mean she wanted the entire world to know. Only people close to her was enough. The last time she admitted to it, those people thought she needed to seek counselling.
Therefore, there was only Option 3 left.
Now then, who and where should she kidnap a boyfriend from?