CHAPTER 14:

WELCOME TO ANOTHER CHAPTER!

Thank you for reading A Not So Ordinary Life of a Background Character!

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

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Omelet for dinner? So what. Natsumi didn't have to cook again if she didn't have unexpected dinner visitors. The leftover burger steak would have been acceptable to her with a simple reheat. So was the rice. But unfortunately, those went to Hibari-san and I-Pin-chan.

At least I-Pin-chan looked a little embarrassed. Hibari-san was just calmly eating.

After cooking her mushroom and spinach omelet (generously cheesed), Natsumi joined the two at the dining table.

"I am relieved that you are uninjured, Emiya-san," Hibari-san broke the silence.

Natsumi pointedly kept chewing the (just a tiny bit, okay, maybe not) undercooked spinach. How do you even undercook spinach? Oh right, by being afraid of overcooking it.

Hibari-san put his chopsticks on his empty plate, signaling he had finished eating. "I would like to apologize to you," he started.

Natsumi just gave him a flat look. You think? The pastry chef (and his apprentice) ate what was supposed to be her dinner! Without asking Natsumi!

"And it's not about our intruding in your house and eating your food," he continued.

Natsumi blinked at that.

"It is delicious, though," Hibari-san added in a placating tone, "What I would like to apologize for is getting you involved in that commotion with the yakuza."

'That commotion with the yakuza' doesn't encompass getting shot at with submachine guns and oh, the snipers but, "I've always thought it was a possibility when I joined Hibari-sempai. I heard about the Russian mafiya last year from my year mates."

Hibari-san's serene smile twitched into something more genuine but immediately returned to its default state. "Emiya-san thinks it's Kyoya the yakuza are targeting?" he asked.

The high school sophomore furrowed her brows in confusion, "That's what I gathered. They kept yelling 'Hibari,' and they targeted sempai mostly, especially those snipers."

"They are not targeting Kyoya," he corrected.

"Wait? They're targeting sensei?!" Natsumi asked in disbelief.

Hibari-san merely shook his head at that before putting his braided hair over one shoulder. The movement brought the female Emiya's attention to it, and she stared at the enviably very dark and long hair. Like, what's his hair care routine? She was so close, but she can't even see a single split end! What's his secret?!

Natsumi might have stared at said hair for like five…ten seconds before it clicked. Oh! Oh. "They were after you?" she asked in disbelief.

Hibari-san gave her an amused smile, "Let's just say I was…rowdy when I was younger. Worse than Kyoya, even."

'Worse than Kyoya' and 'Hibari-san' just wasn't connecting in Natsumi's head no matter how much she tried. She kept thinking of sempai's sadistic smile and the pastry chef's calm and patient smile, and her brain just kept short-circuiting. She must have been doing some rather weird faces for her efforts because she heard I-Pin-chan giggle.

Oh right. I-Pin-chan was there. Natsumi almost forgot. Whoops.

"So the yakuza up in Hokkaido is after you because you were as bloodthirsty as sempai (or worse) back when you were younger?" Natsumi said out loud like it would make much more sense once she does. It didn't. She bit her lip and asked, "Would I be hoping too much if I assume that they are the only ones you offended?"

Somehow, Hibari-san's serene smile became even more serene.

"…I think I'll make tea," Natsumi muttered to herself.

She served everyone chamomile tea. She drank three cups.

Natsumi wanted to know just what she did to deserve 'this.' She'll make sure never to do it again.

And by 'this,' she meant a marshmallow-addicted albino waking her up at…11:38 PM according to her digital clock/alarm.

She groaned before turning her body so that she was belly-down on the bed, and then she pressed her face into her pillow. She pulled her blanket up until it covered her whole head.

"Oi, is this how you treat your guests? By ignoring them? I said, OI!" Byakuran practically yelled the last word.

Natsumi's only response was to remove her pillow under her head, put it above her head then press the sides onto her ears firmly with both hands.

She couldn't hear anything anymore. Was that enough?

Her body began to relax and drift back to sleep when she suddenly felt her blankets pulled from her. She started contemplating whether she could just sleep without a blanket. And then that d*mn 'best friend' of hers forcefully took her pillow too.

Natsumi sat up and glared venomously at Byakuran, then hissed, "Why? Just why?"

"I'm hungry," the albino replied simply with a rather severe expression.

She stared at him in disbelief. His face didn't even twitch. "Oh my gosh," Natsumi whispered to herself in disbelief, half-aware that she had switched to English, "There's mac n cheese in the fridge wrapped in foil. There are like three, I think. Just reheat one." She then flopped back to her bed, not minding that she has neither a blanket nor a pillow.

"Okay, thanks," Byakuran replied far too cheerfully before she heard her door open and close.

Suddenly, that cheerful tone filled her with dread. She tried to think about why she was filled with anxiety when all Byakuran only had to reheat the mac n cheese.

Natsumi suddenly shot up from her bed before running after the albino because 'foil' and 'microwave.'

If that idiot microwaved the mac n cheese to reheat without removing the foil, then her kitchen is done for!

Natsumi's heart was still pounding as she slumped on the counter. Byakuran, that cheerful *sshole, was sitting right across her with a smile on his face.

She got to him just before he could close the microwave's door, the mac n cheese still wrapped in foil. She didn't know what kind of disaster that would have been if she hadn't stopped him.

What's worse? She knew that Byakuran knew just what kind of disaster that would have made. He also knew that she knew he knew.

The utter *ss.

You know what, she'll tell him that.

Natsumi raised her head just enough to glare at Byakuran before saying, "*ssbutt." The crazy b*stard just grinned at her with satisfaction. She slumped back at the counter. She grudgingly got up once the microwave dinged, then served the mac n cheese with a fork to the albino. Not interested in watching him eat, she sat back down and slumped at the counter again. She felt herself drifting again when Byakuran spoke.

"Just how many types of cheese did you put here?" he asked.

"Five," she answered flatly. Her mac n cheese was probably more cheese than mac, but who's to judge her? Her brother often told her that she got her love for unnatural amounts of cheese (and cream cheese) from their American upbringing. Even though her stomach often protests when she ate a bit too much cheese…at least her tastebuds were satisfied!

"Cheddar definitely…the stretchy cheese is mozzarella… I'm sure there's parmesan here too. What's the other two?" he asked.

Natsumi didn't answer him. She's under no obligation to answer any of his questions, especially when he's disturbing her precious sleep.

"You didn't get hurt, right?" Byakuran suddenly asked.

Natsumi's mind briefly blanked as she asked, "From reheating food?"

He snorted before clarifying, "From those yakuza, idiot. You didn't get hurt, right?"

Natsumi looked up at Byakuran and, for the first time, saw a concerned expression. She felt a bit uncomfortable at that. So her self-proclaimed best friend actually bothered her to ask if she got hurt? Okay, now she felt ashamed of finding him annoying. She sighed then answered his question, "No, I didn't. Hibari-sensei and Hibari-sempai took the brunt of the damage."

"Good," Byakuran replied with a firm nod. And then he smirked and added, "I thought you got grievously injured with how high you screeched."

Natsumi sputtered incoherently at that.

"You know those got captured in-camera, right? I got copies! Wanna see?"

"NO!"

Why, just why, does this have to happen to her when she needed to get up early tomorrow for school?

Natsumi knew she was in a lot of trouble. It was why she willingly submitted herself to the Principal's Office immediately that Monday morning. She just wished she hadn't started the day in such a bad mood from lack of sleep.

She blames Byakuran.

Wait. If Byakuran is somehow a member of Sawada Setsuna's Fan Club, Natsumi could blame everything that had gone wrong in her high school life solely on said fan club members. The question, though, was he?

Better ask him later.

No, wait, where was she? Oh right.

"…understand now what you did wrong, Emiya-san?" Vongola Giotto-sensei finished his long lecture. He was sitting across Natsumi while Vongola Timoteo-sensei sat on his seat behind his (large) desk, a passive expression on his face.

"Yes, sensei," Natsumi obediently answered even though she tuned out most of the words and probably couldn't recall what it had been about.

Both Vongola-senseis looked skeptical at that. The homeroom teacher even went as far as narrowing his eyes at her. Still, Natsumi's expression remained 'repentant' and 'earnest.' Her research on imitating facial expressions for her third and fourth book had to come in handy somewhere.

Vongola Giotto-sensei let out a sigh before saying, "As long as you understand. As for this incident happening at all, I would like to express how sorry we are for your experience. Rest assured that…" The sunshine blond teacher then went on and on about how the school guarantees that this was an isolated incident and measures had been placed so it won't happen again.

After that, Natsumi had tuned out. She only tuned in again when the homeroom teacher asked something. Except Natsumi tuned in a bit too late, and she missed the question.

Thankfully, the Principal added, "We do need to contact your guardian for the incident."

Great. Her Tatsu-nii is being called in. Again. Natsumi grimaced and answered, "I'm sorry, but we wouldn't be able to contact my brother for the next six weeks or so since he's off-grid." Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on one's perspective and priorities).

"What do you mean you wouldn't be able to contact your guardian for the next six weeks?" her homeroom teacher asked, sounding a bit severe and disapproving.

Natsumi was instantly defensive, "My brother is an apprentice wildlife photographer. It comes with his job. The locations he would venture in for those photos often don't have steady and/or reliable reception."

"Still, you're a minor, Emiya-san. You should have easy access to the adult responsible for you in case of emergency," the sunshine-haired Math teacher reasoned, "He shouldn't be uncontactable for long periods, or heck, he shouldn't leave you alone in the first place."

Natsumi fought a scowl as she retorted, "If you must know, my brother and I had talked in length about this before he accepted the job. We both knew that his job would mean he'd be gone for long periods. I was the one who encouraged him to pursue his dream job. I am okay with it, and he made sure I could take care of myself before he accepted."

"Is said job why any urgent documents that would need the signature of your guardian were more often than not returned to your teachers unsigned?" the younger Vongola asked, and it made the sophomore involuntarily wince. The homeroom teacher continued with a stern tone, "Is this why he was unable to attend the award ceremony last school year?"

That had Natsumi glaring back, "I know that you're concerned Vongola-sensei, but my brother and I have agreed with this arrangement." Her smile became tighter as she added, "It's true that it's just my brother and me now. And that job…it's the best arrangement we could have right now."

The Math teacher winced at the reminder that Natsumi and her brother were orphans. A tense pause, and he eventually conceded with a nod.

Natsumi wasn't celebrating much, though. She had to purposely word her sentence to imply that the siblings depended on her brother's salary, only mentioning that it was the 'best arrangement' for them. Because, well, they really weren't solely relying on her brother's meager salary. Natsumi's daily expenses were actually funded by the royalties she periodically receives for her novels and short stories. Tatsuya wasn't exaggerating when he said that his salary as an apprentice would only be enough for himself.

A few more stern reminders as well as a promise to talk to Tatsuya as soon as he was available, and Natsumi was quickly dismissed.

(Not noticing the interested gleam in Vongola Timoteo's eyes.)

"Natsumi-chan!" Tsuna yelled. It was Natsumi's only warning before she got tackle-hugged. At least, Natsumi didn't crash into the ground along with her friend. It was a near thing, though.

"Tsuna-chan! I'm glad you're okay!" Natsumi replied as she hugged the fluffy-haired girl back.

Another brief squeeze before the two girls separated. Tsuna then looked at Natsumi with tear-eyes as she said, "I'm so glad you're safe too. I was so worried! I went to visit you yesterday afternoon, but Fon-san said you went to sleep already."

Natsumi didn't remember letting Hibari-san inside her house that yesterday afternoon. But then again, she didn't remember inviting him for dinner that night to eat her food. She mentally shook her head and focused on the conversation. "I'm more worried about you, actually. You chose to stay with Hibari-sensei and Hibari-sempai while I got away safely," she responded to that.

Tsuna shook her head and argued, "I understand that it would have been easier for them to protect only me than if there were two of us, really. But, Hibari-sensei explained to me how you were actually in more danger because you'd be alone if you ever got caught!"

"They weren't looking for a lone teenage girl," Natsumi denied, "Besides, I was lucky enough that I got off in a city where there's a concert, so teenagers naturally flocked there. I blended in with the rest."

Tsuna looked like she just realized something, "Is that why you didn't return immediately?" Natsumi winced at the accusation, but then Tsuna added, "You attended the concert, so you'd really look like a random teen who was only on the train to get to the concert! You stayed there for another day for authenticity!"

Tsuna was looking at Natsumi with such bright eyes that the straight-haired brunette just agreed without thinking. Right, haha, for authenticity!

It seems like that misadventure was the talk of the school. Soon enough, Natsumi was surrounded by her ducklings *cough* concerned first years. A lot of reassurances later, and she had somehow promised her time after school for the next two weeks on tutoring sessions in the library.

As long as she could make it there.

Which brought her to now, bowing lower than 90º to Hibari-sensei in his faculty room.

"Please, sensei! Let me spend the detention tutoring in the library!" she begged because the History teacher actually succeeded in giving her a month's worth of detention. This time, there was even an approved detention slip, signed both by her homeroom teacher and the Principal. Natsumi didn't know how long she had been bowing, just that her body was starting to ache from maintaining that position for too long.

Finally, Hibari-sensei spoke, "You will not leave the library unless Hibari Kyoya or I fetch you."

"Yes, sensei!" she agreed. Another long silence and Natsumi was just about to collapse.

And then, "You may leave."

Natsumi instantly straightened and yelled, "Thank you, Sensei!"

She left the room as fast as possible while still maintaining a respectable pace.

Maybe Natsumi should have warned her tutees that one of the infamous Hibari brothers would be fetching her at the end of the session.

Her poor firties were so spooked by a scowling Demon Prefect.

Whoops.

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END OF CHAPTER!