I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

Happy birthday to my favourite Cloud, Hibari Kyoya.


Happy Birthday, Kyoya

The rhythmic beeps of Hibari's alarm clock rousing him, he was immediately awake, nimbly switching the alarm off and swinging his legs over the edge of his bed. Wide-eyed and alert, he stretched his arms over his head briefly and began his morning routine. He showered and changed from his pajamas into his Namimori High school uniform. Smoothing out the front of his shirt, he then pulled apart the curtains, the morning rays from the sun spilling through the glass and smattering across his hardwood floor.

When he entered the kitchen of his apartment he was greeted with a pleasant aroma. Arranged neatly on the table were small dishes of steamed rice, natto, grilled fish and miso soup. Kusakabe turned away from the counter, where he was spooning some soup for his own meal, and smiled.

"Good morning, Kyo-san. Happy birthday."

Hibari gave a nod of acknowledgement, reaching to stroke Hibird's feathers when the bird landed on his shoulder, chirping a tune that sounded rather similar to 'Happy Birthday'. He spooned some miso soup into his mouth, the flavours humming against his tongue.

"Not bad."

His tone was light and casual, and Kusakabe shifted his gaze to see Hibari's lips curling upwards ever so slightly. "I'm glad it's made to your satisfaction," he returned. "I would hate to start your morning off on a sour note, especially when it's your birthday."

"If the food was abysmal, I would get to punish you for your lack of competency."

"I'm sure you would have enjoyed that, but I would like to make it through the day relatively unscathed."

Hibari raised a brow, lifting some rice towards his lips. "I suppose we'll see."

The pair ate their breakfast together, alternating between idle chatter and contented silence. Hibari was finishing the last of his grilled fish when there was a knock on the apartment door. Kusakabe rose from his chair and went to the hall to answer it.

"Hello," greeted I-Pin and Futa when the door eased open.

"Is Kyo-nii here?" asked Lambo hopefully.

"Good morning," said Kusakabe, stepping aside to let them pass. "Kyo-san is just finishing breakfast."

"What did you have?" Lambo wondered.

Futa rolled his eyes. "You just ate."

"So what?" he defended. "I can't ask what other people have for breakfast?"

Hibari stepped into the hall, arranging the sleeves of his dark blue school shirt. "Small animals."

"Happy birthday," the three kids chorused, and I-Pin extended a homemade card towards him.

Hibari opened the purple, crayon-covered card, where there was a depiction of him surrounded by birds and hedgehogs. Three signatures were scrawled on the bottom, Lambo's sloppy letters next to I-Pin's and Futa's neater handwriting. "I am not that short."

Lambo set his hands on his hips. "You're supposed to say 'thank you'." At the fingers that tugged sharply on his raven curls, he said cheekily, "You're welcome."

Quelling a smirk, Hibari set his birthday card on the decorative table situated at the end of the hall, where it was in plain view. "Since you're here, you can help clean the dishes."

"Sure," said I-Pin cheerfully, taking Lambo's hand and dragging him towards the kitchen. Futa followed behind them and with the two older teens they set the dirty cutlery and dishes into the sink, letting warm water wash over the food stains.

"I don't remember anyone doing my chores when it's my birthday," muttered Lambo lowly, grunting slightly when Futa elbowed him gently in the side.

Once the dishes were neatly stacked in the sink and the table and counter was wiped down, Hibari nodded in approval. "Come. We will walk you to school."

I-Pin shifted her gaze to the microwave's clock. "It's kinda early."

"Then you will not be late," countered Hibari, tone making it clear there was no room for argument.

The group filed out of the apartment, leaving the building and entering the spring air. Hibari listened to their cheerful nattering, not minding this particular kind of noise. He kept a slight distance behind the kids so they were in his range of sight. Kusakabe walked closest to the curb and ensured that they didn't stray too close to the road.

They soon arrived at the front entrance of Namimori Elementary. Hibari reached down to adjust Futa's shirt collar, instructing, "Behave. Don't cause trouble."

"What fun is that?" asked Lambo innocently, and when Hibari slipped his hand inside his school jacket, a gesture that made it clear he was reaching for his tonfas, the boy hastily added, "Just kidding!"

"Thanks for walking us to school," said I-Pin.

They each gave Hibari a hug, the Cloud Guardian resting his hand against the tops of their heads in affection. They bid Kusakabe goodbye before racing off towards their school, and the two high school students continued on their way. The pair separated once they reached the school and Kusakabe went to take care of the morning duties for the Disciplinary Committee.

Hibari began his patrol, strolling the grounds. He was finishing his first lap when he heard a set of footsteps rapidly coming up behind him. He did not bother to look over his shoulder, and a familiar yelp of surprise confirmed his suspicions of who was approaching him. Tsuna stumbled past him, trying and failing to regain his balance and ending up face-first in the dirt.

"…hi."

Rolling his eyes, Hibari crossed his arms over his chest as Tsuna straggled back to his feet, uniform rumpled. "Your dry-cleaning bill must be horrendous."

"Nah, not really, Mom's really good at that sort of thing." Tsuna flushed slightly. "She's had a lot of practice." But then he brightened and said cheerfully, "Happy birthday!"

He reached into the pocket of his pants and removed a small, wrapped package. Hibari accepted it, removing the purple paper and opening the velvet box. Nestled inside were two rings. There was a Cloud Ring for Box Weapons and a silver band with a simple emerald, his name engraved on the inside.

As Hibari studied it, Tsuna said nervously, "Is it okay? I didn't think it was too flashy or anything, and I wanted to give you something with your birthstone in it since the green resembles spring and you like nature and—"

Hibari extended a hand and covered Tsuna's mouth, cutting off his rapid speech. "You're rambling." When the anxiety flowing through his bond did not cease, he exhaled through his nose in exasperation. "It's fine, Tsunayoshi."

The brunette relaxed at this assurance, smiling when his Cloud slipped on both rings. "Oh, good."

He fell into step beside Hibari and joined him on his patrol. He kept quiet and Hibari did not protest his presence. When they entered the school and walked down the corridors, Hibari shifted his gaze to his watch. He lazily reached out and placed his fingers against Tsuna's neck, applying pressure. "If you don't leave now you're going to be late, omnivore."

"And I know how awful it would be for you to thrash me on your birthday," quipped Tsuna with a grin. At Hibari's threatening glare, he raised his hands and backed away. "I'm going, I'm going. See you later!"

He disappeared amongst the crowd of students and Hibari started for his office. He unlocked the door and stepped inside the carpeted space. He settled in the chair behind his desk and reached for a file containing yesterday's detention slips. He read through them, searching for any infractions serious enough or a repeat offender that he needed to deal with. It was about ten minutes before the morning bell rang when there was a knock on the door.

He could tell by the sheer, unnecessary force who was on the other side, and it wasn't a surprise when the door flung open without waiting for a response. Ryohei strode inside, holding a crystal vase filled with bright violet sumires.

"Happy birthday, Kyoya!" he boomed.

He set the vase on the surface of the desk and looped an arm over Hibari's shoulders. Hibari easily manoeuvered out of the Sun's embrace and pinned his upper body to the desk, one hand pressing against his head and the other twisting his right arm behind his back.

"It's rude to enter one's quarters without an invitation," he drawled. "I don't recall inviting you in."

Hardly fazed, Ryohei replied, "Come on, don't be like that. You probably wouldn't have let me in and I had to wish you happy birthday."

"It's just a day, herbivore."

"Yeah, your day. And even if you don't want to celebrate, we do."

"Hnn." Hibari bent Ryohei's arm further back, eliciting a yelp of pain, before relinquishing him. He left the teen to right himself as he inspected the flowers, a sweet, subtle smell wafting through the air. Hibari gently fingered the petals and said, "If you took these from the school gardens…"

Ryohei blinked. "We have gardens?"

"Get out."

With a laugh Ryohei ducked to avoid the stapler thrown in his direction, charging out of the office. Hibari shook his head, arranging the vase so it was in a better position on his desk. He was sure he would hear some griping from the Garden Club about their destroyed work, but Ryohei meant well, and the flowers admittedly brought a pleasant splash of colour.

Hibari returned to his files and his eyes narrowed upon reading the next detention record. As if by cue, there was another knock on the door before Yamamoto edged his way inside, a large tea held between his hands. "Hi!" he said happily. "Happy birthday!"

"You broke a window?" growled Hibari.

Yamamoto paused by the edge of the desk, squinting at the record in Hibari's hands. "Oh, ha ha, yeah. Threw a stray baseball yesterday. Have to work overtime in my pop's shop for the next month to help pay for it."

Appeased that Yamamoto would fund the repair, Hibari warned, "Damage school property again and you'll face far worse than a couple of weeks of detention."

"Got it." Yamamoto extended the cup and said, "This is for you."

Hibari accepted the beverage, the warmth seeping into his fingertips. He already knew the café from the design printed on the outside of the cup, for it was one of the few cafés that made tea acceptable to his picky palette.

"I suppose you consumed yours in the five seconds it took to get from the counter to the door?"

Yamamoto grinned. "I'm not that good, but yeah, I drank mine on the way here. And I enjoyed it very much."

"Hard to enjoy the flavour when it's overridden by a scalding temperature," said Hibari flatly.

Yamamoto was the only person who drank as much tea as Hibari did, but the difference was Yamamoto would drink any tea from anyplace and had a habit of hastily gulping it down, regardless of how hot it was. It was a constant point Hibari criticized him for, as he only drank the best tea available and savoured the taste.

"I can't drink in class, so I had to rush! But hey, if you really want me to take my time you could excuse me from homeroom tomorrow."

"The only way you'll be excused from class is if you're dead or dying. If you're still here after the bell rings, you may well get your excuse."

"Okay, okay. I'll see you later." Yamamoto lifted his hand in a wave before disappearing from the Hibari's office, the door swinging shut behind him.

Five minutes later, when the bell trilled throughout the building, Hibari leaned against the wide windows behind his desk, alternating between browsing the files and glancing outside to scan for any tardy culprits. It was fifteen minutes after the morning bell when Gokudera strolled down the path, silver hair tousled and expression sleepy.

Scowling, Hibari went to intercept him, waiting near the front doors. Gokudera had taken only three steps from the threshold when a tonfa slammed into his stomach, causing to gasp in surprise and drop to his knees.

"What the hell?" he hissed, clutching the throbbing spot.

"The world does not run on your time," snapped Hibari.

Gokudera rolled across the tiles to avoid a second strike and leapt to his feet. "The world doesn't run by your laws," he snarled, darting forwards for a punch.

Hibari nimbly dodged and caught the arm, nails digging into his wrist. "Oh, but it does. There are some fools who don't realize it yet—you're one of them."

Gokudera grunted when Hibari's foot caught him in the ribcage. He twisted his arm free of the Cloud's grasp and kicked his shin. He reached for a headlock but Hibari took his wrists in a steel hold, and they glowered at one another. After a moment of silence, Gokudera finally scoffed and wrenched away from Hibari.

"Whatever. I'd hate to give you the satisfaction of a fight, and I've got better things to do." Hibari watched him stalk off, raising a hand to catch the envelope Gokudera suddenly tossed over his shoulder. "Happy birthday, jerk."

Hibari opened the envelope and removed the card within, which contained a short but sincere message. Included was a purple handkerchief with his name engraved in golden thread, and Hibari could not help but smirk. Gokudera had taken and lost his old one, and despite a severe thrashing after he discovered this, the silver-haired teen adamantly refused to replace it.

Tucking the cloth into his shirt pocket, Hibari continued his prowl, biting to death a few more rulebreakers.

The warmth of the afternoon sun washed over his body, Hibari lay stretched out on the school's roof. His arms were crossed behind his head, eyes closed. He wasn't yet asleep when the door leading to the roof opened with a soft clunk, and three sets of footsteps sounded against the cement.

"Oh, he's sleeping," said Haru in disappointment.

"That's okay. We'll just leave it for him," whispered Kyoko.

"…are you sure it's his birthday?" asked Hana dubiously.

"Of course," answered Haru. "Why do you ask?"

"I didn't think he had a birthday like us regular people. Figured he was spawned from some evil entity or something."

"Hana, that's not nice," scolded Kyoko lightly as Haru let out a startled laugh.

"Neither is he," returned Hana in amusement.

The three girls approached Hibari and the teen listened to their footsteps. He easily pinpointed where Hana was—her gait strong and confident compared to Haru's stumbles and Kyoko's light, dainty steps. He shot out a hand and wrapped it around Hana's ankle, causing the raven-haired girl to yell in surprise as he yanked her to the ground.

"He's awake," exclaimed Haru.

"I didn't notice," snapped Hana, moodily rubbing her aching back as she righted herself.

"You're disrupting the peace," said Hibari, not bothering to open his eyes. "What do you want?"

"We brought you lunch." Kyoko neatly set a bento box near Hibari's head. "Happy birthday!"

"If it really is your birthday," said Hana with narrowed eyes. "Did you come into existence like the rest of us or were there supernatural circumstances involved?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." Hibari opened his eyes halfway, reaching to lift the lid of the bento box and remove a piece of tamagoyaki. He studied it for a moment, asking, "What contribution did Kurokawa make?"

"The rice," replied Haru.

"I'll be sure to avoid it." Ignoring Hana's scoff, he ate the rolled omelet, testing the flavours against his taste buds. "Acceptable."

"Jokes on you. I made the tamagoyaki," sneered Hana.

"Very doubtful, since you needed to take extra assignments to keep from failing home economics last term."

Hana set her hands on her hips in annoyance. "I don't think you're actually allowed to look at other students' transcripts. I should be able to look at yours."

"Try it and be bitten to death. Now leave or be quiet."

"We'll see you later," promised Haru. "Happy birthday!"

"Enjoy your lunch," said Kyoko.

"Happy Day of However You Came Into This World," said Hana.

The three girls departed and it was only when they were out of sight did he let the amused smile surface.

Strolling through the halls in the transition period between classes, students hastily stepped out of his way, heads ducked and voices immediately lowering in volume. Hibari approached the corner and jumped back when a blue and purple blur suddenly whizzed past. He nimbly caught the speeding student by the arm, eliciting a very familiar yelp.

Chrome looked up at Hibari, eye wide. "Oh—hi!" she said, sheepish. "I've been looking for you."

"There's no running in the halls."

She flinched as his grip increased in pressure, knowing there would be a few bruises left behind. "Sorry. I wanted to catch you before school was over." She reached into the pocket of her school skirt and removed a purple lanyard, where there were two charms attached. The first was a beaded Hibird, made from yellow and orange beads. The other was a small version of Roll, made from silver and beige beads. "Happy birthday!"

Hibari ran his thumb over the smooth surface, lips quirking upwards when Hibird pecked at his craft counterpart curiously. He slipped the charms into the pocket of his shirt. "Leave it to you to come up with something sickeningly adorable."

Chrome smiled knowingly. "You're welcome."

She didn't get the chance to say anything else, for the bell sounded throughout the halls, and Chrome realized that she and Hibari were the only ones left and she was now late for class. The Cloud sent her a dangerous look and she quickly stepped forwards, giving Hibari a sweet kiss on the cheek before disappearing in a swell of Mist waves.

Shaking his head, Hibari muttered, not without some affection, "Lousy herbivore."

Hibari felt the infuriating presence before he stepped into his office. A snarl curled across his lips at the sight of Mukuro lounging in his chair, feet thrown carelessly onto the desk. Hibari lunged forwards, aiming his tonfa at the illusionist's ankles. Mukuro quickly snatched his feet back and the weapon slammed into the desk's surface.

"Kufufufufu. Do you always celebrate your birthday by destroying your own furniture?" asked Mukuro with a grin.

"You're trespassing," growled Hibari. "Only students can be on school property."

"What if I'm enrolling?"

"Over your dead body."

Smirking, Mukuro dodged the next attack, materializing across the room. "As much as I would like to play with you, I can't stay. I have lessons to drill into my useless student."

Hibari caught the object Mukuro tossed at him. He unfurled a tie, light purple with darker accents. Near the bottom was a small embroidered white cloud. "Thoughtful. I can use it to strangle you."

"You'd have to defeat me in a fight first," countered Mukuro in amusement. "It may be your birthday, but I'm not that generous. I'll see you tonight, Skylark."

He started to disappear but was not fast enough—Hibari nailed the illusionist in the shoulder with his tonfa. Mukuro let out a hiss of pain before he vanished and Hibari grinned.

The male Mist would have a nasty bruise for a couple of days.

Hibari never cared much about his birthday. He didn't care about birthdays in general. He thought they were frivolous and a waste of time. It wasn't until later that he realized that he did care, so long as he had the right people around him to spend it with. People who understood that he didn't want to make his day into a big deal, that he hated celebrations and did not like making it known.

He appreciated the quiet 'happy birthdays' said to him in the halls of Namimori High by his pack, the simple display of affection from the kids and the subtle, private delivery of presents that were meaningful, not flashy.

Hibari sat in the comfortable living room of the Sawada residence, observing those who surrounded him. He still despised crowds, but this was one particular crowd he didn't mind. Fran and Lambo were playing video games on the television, Futa watching them and patiently interjecting when the cow child got too excited. Kusakabe sat beside Hibari on the couch, I-Pin sitting in his lap reading. Tsuna sat on Hibari's left side, a bickering Gokudera and Yamamoto sitting on the floor in front of the couch. Ryohei was playing cards with Hana, Kyoko and Haru, and Chrome was getting her hair styled by Bianchi. Mukuro reclined in the chair, tolerating Hibird pecking at his face and neck, shooting Hibari narrow-eyed glares of accusation. Reborn was helping Nana in the kitchen, the aroma of hamburger steaks filling the house.

Hibari smiled.

"Hnn. Thanks, herbivores."