Tatemae

A Japanese term for the feelings a person projects in public, which may or may not conform to his/her true feelings. Tatemae usually corresponds to social necessities and expectations for what one's feelings ought to be. Tatemae contrasts with honne, which is how one really feels.

~O~

"Ami-chan, don't worry about it. I'm sure it was a fluke-"

"Satsuki-chan, I'm trying to think here." Ami spoke with a hard look on her face, making Satsuki shut her mouth immediately. Ami narrowed her eyes as she remembered the events that had taken place half-an-hour ago. She was so sure that she would win this little competition too, like she always did. It wasn't that hard after all. There was barely any competition.

…...Or that's what she had thought.

She hadn't expected that sweet little angel to actually show her devilish horns. So there was actually someone out there capable of making her notice them. That was unexpected.

Ami knew she wasn't perfect, nor was she a genius or a prodigy -or whatever the heck people thought she was. Whatever she had achieved till now was the result of her continuous effort over the years.

Being the daughter of two successful socialites was tough. Her parents expected her to be the best at everything she did. She was three when she was expected to be perfect at ballet; Four when they wanted her to learn -and conquer- piano; five when embroidery was supposed to be a piece of cake to her; six when they expected her to remember tough cooking recipes and not mess it up if she ever tries making them- all the while she had to keep up with her studies and sports. It had been exciting at the beginning, but now it all seems so tedious. It's as if all the passion and joy she had felt at the very beginning for learning something new- it was just… gone. And all was left was the monotonous daily routine of working hard until she perfected her skills -and only got an "as expected" from her parents.

(It was so stifling. She hated it.)

She never had time for friendship and all that jazz- which is why she never liked Miura Haru. That girl always had her heads in the clouds, and was always so unproductive. What, did she think that everyone had free time like her to waste on things like friendship and playtime? If she really wanted friends so much, couldn't she have just looked for some like-minded individuals than to pester Ami?! After all, how hard could it be to find some equally silly people like Haru in Namimori?!

Honestly, she didn't have much expectation from Summer Camp. The only reason she was here was because her parents were going on a trip, and rather than staying at home with a Nanny for company she figured her time would be better spent socialising in the Camp.

(Her home was always so…..empty. Her parents were almost always out there -either on their jobs or socialising with the higher-ups of the society, and more than often she was left at home with a nanny. She wasn't sad about it- oh no, not at all. She was a big girl now, and no way should something like this bother her. But sometimes, she just wished that her parents stayed more at home, and really looked at her. She was so, so tired of wearing this mask of "a perfect little Lady" everyday.)

She had been relieved when that violent senpai from the Namimori Elementary School had taken Haru with him. She had never been more glad when she finally had Haru off her back. And it looked like Haru finally found a bunch of weirdos who could actually handle her craziness. Well, at least now she had expected for Haru to not pester her so much.

Except that crazy girl still kept making abandoned puppy eyes at her, and that frustrated her. Crazy little Haru wanted everything to be handed to her on a silver platter. Wasn't it enough that she had friends now? What did she want from Ami?!

Still, Ami kept with her routine and tried to ignore the little fool. She did what she usually did- went to classes, did her best, showed off her skills, and earned the respect of her peers and praises of her teachers. When the competitions came, she did her best and participated in them with her full abilities -for there was one thing she knew better than anyone, that to not use her full potential in a competition would be a mockery to her fellow participants, and Ami was never one to look down on others to go easy on them. So she embroidered a golden peacock who raised it's head majestically, who would never back down even in the face of adversity.

(That was who she was. No matter what happens, she would never back down, nor bend to anyone. If anyone tried to break her, she would fight again, and again, until she can stand against them off with her own skills. Or die trying.)

Haru's embroidery had been a surprise. Ami had known the fool had skills -after all, someone who could create such perfect cosplay dresses was bound to have amazing sewing skills, right? Her embroidery work for competition was certainly spectacular. It was pretty meticulous and showed how much Haru had put her effort in it. But of course it couldn't win against Ami's embroidery. Sure Haru had skills, and she did put a lot of effort into her piece. But Ami was better, and she had put in far more time into mastering the art of embroidery that Haru could've done at a tender age of six -so of course she couldn't win against Ami herself. She didn't actually expect the little fool to be a sore loser and to not turn up anywhere after that. Was she really still crying over that?

The little fool wasn't there at breakfast, nor did she come to the cooking competition. That was disappointing. She had at least expected the little cosplayer to put up a decent fight against her. She hadn't expected that stubborn girl to back down at such a timing. What a disappointment.

Since the only participant who could at least give her some challenge didn't even turn up in the cooking competition, Ami had been slightly disappointed. She had thought there wouldn't be much challenge in the cooking competition she had let her guard down. She hadn't even thought that there would be anyone among that bunch who could rival her cooking, until the results came, that is.

She really hadn't expected that airheaded Sasagawa girl to appear like a dark horse and overturn the results with a dish that didn't look that palatable. At first, she had thought that it was a fluke, however that orangette's parting words made her realise that it wasn't so. Her taunts had been especially unpleasant to hear-

.

.

.

"Oh my, I guess the amazingly perfect Ami-chan isn't that perfect after all." Sasagawa Kyoko chirped with an angelic smile on her face, but the words she spoke seemed to drip with poison. "What a shame! I had expected more from you~"

Ami didn't let the irritation -that she felt at the orangette's words- show on her face, and just stared her down coolly. If she started losing composure for such little things, her parents would be very disappointed if they were to know. Satsuki, however, didn't have that much patience nor the tolerance, for she immediately jumped in to argue with the other girl. "Hey! Take that back!" Satsuki glared at Kyoko and said confidently, "Ami-chan is the best! I'm sure that this time was just a fluke!"

.Kyoko giggled and said to her, "We'll see." She then turned towards Ami and said, "By the way, there's something I have to say to you, Ami-chan!"

.The bright smile immediately disappeared from her face, and with a determined look on her face, Sasagawa Kyoko stepped forward before Ami and said, "Your team, against mine. Let's see who wins the group competition, ne, Ami-chan?"

.

.

.

Ami didn't know what she did to piss off the usually amicable Sasagawa girl, nor did she care one bit. What she did care about, however, was her efforts for perfection in her skills being mocked by some bright eyed brat and being outright challenged like that. It was quite interesting, and also annoying in equal measures.

The girl showed the devil horns she usually hid behind her angelic smile, and now it's Ami's turn to do the same. That little girl had to know what she was doing by challenging Ami to a competition. Because Ami would not back down from a challenge. Ever. So, obviously-

This. means. War.

"This is so good!" Haru moaned as she chewed on the quiche slice Kyoko had especially saved for her.

Kyoko, who was sitting next to her on her bunk bed, stared at her in amusement. "I know, right!"

"So, so good~" A happy aura surrounded Haru as she ate with a gusto.

Kyoko giggled. "I heard you the first time, Haru-chan!" She said in a sing-song tone.

Haru felt that no matter how many praises she sang of this fabulous dish, it would still do no justice for it's deliciousness. It was just that tasty.

So when she found that she had actually finished eating her share and that there was no more left, Haru felt disappointed. She stared at the empty plate with a heartbroken expression, making Kyoko almost laugh out loud.

"Come on now, don't be so sad. I'll make some more later when I get a chance." Kyoko coaxed her friend who was staring at the now empty plate like a disgruntled cat whose milk was spilled.

"Hahi! Really?" Haru perked up at her words. "Is that a promise?"

"Pinky promise!" Kyoko said as she held out her pinky finger, to which Haru intertwined her own for a promise.

"You said it, now you can't back out of your promise!" Haru said with a mock glare.

"Yes, yes," Kyoko said coaxingly, "Now, why don't you hurry up?!" Kyoko ushered Haru to quickly change her clothes so that they could get going. "There's no time! Everyone's waiting for us!"

"Why?" Haru asked in confusion, and a bit of hesitance.

Kyoko's eyes sparkled as she spoke with a hint of mischief, "For the Group Competitions, of course!"

Haru sputtered. "Say what now?!" She snapped her head towards Kyoko and asked in a shrill tone, "When did that happen?! We never registered our names for that one!"

"Says who?" Kyoko asked mischievously.

"Says I!" Haru argued back in annoyance. "Didn't you say that none of us are going to take part in the team competitions when I had asked you guys the day before yesterday?! And what about your solo competitions?! Both solo and Group Challenges are going to be organised at the same time, you know!"

Kyoko waved her hand dismissively, "That's old changed our minds last night and withdrew from the other challenges and decided to compete together in the Group Competition!"

"Last night?" Haru squinted her eyes at Kyoko and asked in a suspicious tone, "...But the last date to submit the group members' names had been the day before yesterday."

"Don't forget we have the ultimate cheat on our side." Kyoko chirped happily.

"...Let me guess." Haru said dryly. "It's that damn Vampire, isn't it?"

"Yup~" Kyoko giggled. "It wasn't that hard anyway. Hibari-sempai just stole- er, borrowed the list from Suzuki-Sensei last night and added our names too!"

"Stole- the hell! You guys broke into the staffroom?!" Haru sputtered. "Are you crazy- wait, don't answer that!" Haru rubbed her temple, feeling that no amount of scolding would make these idiots regret their actions. "At least you didn't get caught." She muttered under her breath. Small mercies, really. If that Vampire had gotten caught, then- wait, it wouldn't have mattered anyways. No one here had the guts to punish Hibari Kyoya. Why was she fretting so much again?

…...Right. Because she's the only sane one amongst them, that's why.

Haru took in a few deep breaths to calm herself down. "Okay, okay… so somehow you and the others went batshit crazy last night and decided to compete in the Group Competitions at the last moment." She turned to Kyoko and asked her bluntly, "So why do you need me?"

"That's because you and Tsuna-kun are going to participate in the first one, Silly!" Kyoko said as she grabbed Haru's hand and dragged her out of the room.

"Oh. That makes sense." Haru nodded as she let Kyoko drag her out. It took her a few minutes to process Kyoko's words in her mind, and when she actually did, her disbelieved shout summed up what she actually felt about the situation in one word-

"WHAT?!"

Suzuki thought that the most exciting event of the Namimori Summer Camp had always been the Group Competitions. There was just something heart stirring about watching little kids compete against each other with such serious expressions on their adorably chubby faces. Suzuki swore the only reason she participated in this Camp as one of the in-charges was for this moment only. She cherished these moments, which unfortunately came only once in a year.

"What nefarious plot are you planning now?" Hikari asked suspiciously as she rubbed the goosebumps on her arm. "That creepy grin of yours is so suspicious!"

"I don't care~" Suzuki said in a sing-song voice as she handed her coworker a list. "Nothing you say can bring my mood down today!" She then skipped past her frenemy and cheerily ushered a few non-participating children to the spectator's seats.

"What the hell is she high on?" Hikari asked in a disbelieving tone as she watched the retreating back of Suzuki.

Nayuki, who had just been passing by her side, couldn't help but chuckle at her words. He patted her shoulder and said, "Don't worry, you too will understand one day." Saying this, he went on with his work, leaving behind an annoyed Hikari.

"Idiots." She grumbled as she checked on the participants list Suzuki had handed her earlier, and raised her brows skeptically "Strange," she muttered under her breath. "Is it just me or is the participants list longer than yesterday?"

Haru hid her face behind her hands, unwilling to admit that she was acquainted with these idiots. Nope. No way. Nuh-uh. Nada.

"Come on, Haru-chan!" Kyoko pouted. "You can't just wallow in denial like that!"
"Watch me then." Haru retorted pettily as she refused to face these idiots she had come to call 'friends' and the utter nonsense they induced by just literally existing.

These. utter . morons. She was gone for a single day and they managed to land themselves in this mess. Seriously, what the hell! She's feeling second-hand embarrassment on their behalf because clearly, these shameless idiots don't even know of the word 'embarrassment'.

Nagi sighed when she saw Haru throwing a childish tantrum. "You're such a drama queen, Psyduck-chan." She rolled her eyes and tugged the girl towards the boys who stood in a corner discussing something. "It's not that bad."

"Of course you'd say that." Haru muttered scornfully. "You're not the one who's going to go out there and embarrass themselves."

"Come on now, don't be like that, Haru-chan! It's gonna be fun!" Kyoko tried to coax her, but failed.

"Oh yeah? Why don't you go out there instead of me, huh?" Haru raised a brow, to which Kyoko chuckled sheepishly and shifted her eyes away. Seeing the way Kyoko refused to meet her eyes, Haru snorted in derision.

Nagi immediately took over the argument and slid between the two girls. She bumped her shoulder with Haru and chirped mischievously, "Of course, that's because you're our vanguard!"

"Yeah right." Haru clicked her tongue in disbelief. "As if I'd believe you idiots." "No matter what you say, I'm not doing it." She folded her arms and firmly denied her involvement in their stuid plans and stupid competitions. "No way!"

Before either of the other two girls could retort, A familiar figure walked towards them and pulled Haru away from them by her shoulder. "Not that your argument wasn't funny," Tsuna said as he dragged Haru away from the girls, who dramatically waved their handkerchief in the air in mocking goodbye. "But Cloud-san is getting irritated because you're making us late for the first event."

Haru resisted against Tsuna's pull -though the action was half-hearted at best since she didn't really want to pull away from him and was just protesting for the sake of it (because someone's gotta be the voice of reason here, godammit!)- and whined, "But I really don't want to participate!"

Tsuna halted at her words and then sighed. He turned and faced Haru, and Haru almost flinched as his eyes flashed orange.

He placed his hands on her shoulders each and compelled her to look at him. "Listen, Haru….This isn't just a competition anymore." He said solemnly. "This is more like a war."

Haru gulped -though she wasn't eating anything- and asked hesitantly, "What are you-"

Tsuna cut her off and continued on, "Kyoko-chan challenged Ami-san and her friends for the group competition. She bet on us winning against them."

Haru's eyes widened and she wanted to ask- W h y- But he didn't give her a chance to speak her doubts.

"We took our names back from the single competitions, and even risked punishment to enter for group competitions last night. Do you know why, Haru?" Tsuna asked as he stared at her earnestly, his amber eyes burned with genuine kindness and compassion.

"That's because we care for you, Miura Haru." He released his hands from her shoulders and gently -but firmly- held her fisted hands -when had she clenched them in a fist?- "We are your friends. We won't leave you alone. Ever."

She stared at him, wide eyed and totally shaken, unable to believe that the brown eyed, fluffy haired sweet boy she had known in these five days could be so… so imposing. And yet, his intimidating aura did not scare her, instead, it somehow seemed to spark something deep inside her, making her feel all warm and toasty and-

He then released her hands from his hold and as if a switch had been flipped, the imposing aura he had been emitting disappeared, leaving behind a sweet, yet mischievous child who smiled at his friend. He shrugged and said teasingly, "You're stuck with us for life, Psyduck-chan! That means whatever crazy things we do, you're going to get dragged with us anyways~ "

-aaaaaaaaaand just like that, the warm feeling disappeared.

(...and yet, the spark still remained.)

Haru groaned and grudgingly decided to follow him as he started walking towards the centre of the field around which the crowd of students had gathered. "Whatever reputation I have left in my school with hit rock bottom after this." Haru said grumpily.

Tsuna chuckled. "Only if we lose the overall competitions." He said and then looked around. "Ah, there is Nayuki-sensei." He pointed towards the man who was gathering the participants of the first competition around the starting line. "Come on, I think we've made them wait long enough." He said and tugged her towards the starting line.

The moment they came in sight of Nayuki-Sensei, he sighed in relief. "Ah, you're finally here."

"Heh, You actually came, huh." Satsuki smirked. "I thought you were going to run away like the scaredy cats you are." She taunted the two of them.

Haru was about to retort, but Tsuna tugged her hand lightly and stopped her from escalating the argument even further.

The boy next to Satsuki -probably her partner for this race- sighed. "Satsuki-chan, can you not antagonise others for once?"

Satsuki gave him a stink-eye and hissed "Shut up, Ryuu-baka! No one asked for your opinion."

"Yes, yes, overlord." Ryuu muttered as he rolled his eyes.

Before Satsuki could retort, Nayuki-Sensei grabbed a mic from a volunteer staff and cleared his throat to grab the attention of the participants as well the crowd of children and staff -that had gathered around the audience area.

"Alright, let go over the rules once more, 'kay?" He smiled at the kids in the crowd, who nodded at their teacher. "In the group competitions, six teams have entered their names till yesterday, with each team having six members."

"There will be five games in total. In the first four competitions, each member can participate only once. The last competition will include all six members of the team. This means that each member of any team can participate only twice in the group competitions. Does anyone have any problem with it?"

There were faint murmurs in the crowd, but no one outright questioned anything so Nayuki continued on.

"The competition schedule is as follows- Game 1: Back-to-back Balloon race; Game 2: Tug of War; Game 3: Scavenger Hunt; Game 4: Egg Race; Game 5:Relay Race;" Nayuki then joked as he spoke, "This announcement is actually mainly for the audience's benefit since the participants had already been made aware of the games included in the competitions early in this morning."

The staff members chuckled and a few kids even laughed at Nayuki's attempt at a joke.

"The judges for the events will be-" He pointed towards the make-shift stage where three people sat on "Momotarou Suzuki-san," Suzuki-Sensei waved in greeting to the crowd "Kazuna Hisako-san," Haru's teacher smiled politely when her name was called "and Onigashima Hikari-san." Hikari grinned, her purple eyes momentarily flashing towards the slightly deserted corner of the field where one Hibari Kyoya had perched himself on the tree like a skilled monkey.

"Now let's move on to the point distribution system." Nayuki gestured towards the judges, each of whom held a particular coloured ribbon in their hands. "As you can see, there are three coloured ribbons -Green, Blue and Red- one in each judges' hand. The judges will review your performance and will assign you a coloured ribbon according to your performance. The teams will be rewarded points according to the colour of ribbon won by each team in the games. One Green ribbon equals 5 points." Suzuki waved the green ribbon in her hand. "One Blue ribbon equals 10 points." Hisako-Sensei held up the blue ribbon in her hand high for the crowd to see. "And one red ribbon equals 20 points." Hisako grinned widely and showed off the red ribbon in her hand. "That means, in one game, the one who gets the first position will get a red ribbon, and the one with the worst performance will get the green ribbon. The team that the highest points at the end of all five games will be the winner."

The crowd broke out into discussion. Haru and Tsuna shared a look. Well, it seems like to win these competitions by a wide margin, they'd have to aim for red ribbons in each game.

"Now that the explanation is over, let us begin our first game," Nayuki spoke once again, making the restless crowd quieten down. "that is, the Back-to-back Balloon race."

"I really admire Nayuki-sensei, he can actually speak that ridiculous name with a straight face." Haru muttered under her breath.

Tsuna snickered and teased her, "Admit it, you're mortified to play this game."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Haru bluffed, which amused the brunette even more.

Nayuki-Sensei once again cleared his throat to rab the crowd's attention. "There are two members from each team participating in the first game." He then moved on to explaining the first game. "As the name of this game suggests, the two team members will face with their back towards each other, and a balloon will be sandwiched between them. The two members will have to cooperate with each other to reach the end line."

"The rules in this game are as follows:-

No participant is allowed to touch the balloon with their hands. Doing so will cause them to automatically lose the game.

No contestant is allowed to push or cheat or harm their opponents in any way.

In case the balloon pops or falls to the ground, the team will be eliminated."

"The participants are requested to move over to the starting line." Nayuki stated and then ushered the kids towards the start line. As the six participating children -two from each team- stood over the starting line, Naryuki pointed at the spot hundred metres away where a red ribbon hanging between the two poles on the sides where three staff members stood by the side, and said, "Can you see the red ribbon at the other end of the field where your teachers are standing? That's the end line."

The participants nodded. Nayuki smiled at them. He then motioned towards the volunteers to provide the participants with the balloon. He waited as the staff arranged the team members to turn their back towards each other and sandwiched the balloons between their backs. They then arranged the participant teams to stand on the starting line, and after positioning the balloon between the backs of the kids' according to their comfort.

The crowd of children and staff cheered for the participants as they got ready for the first showdown between them. The other members of the teams also cheered exuberantly for their fellow participating members. However, compared to the shouts of the other teams, the whoops of Tsuna and Haru's teammates were slightly weird.

"Do your best Tsuna-kun, Haru-chan!"

"Go, Psyduck!" Takeshi cheered.

"Pikachu, I choose you!" Nagi jokingly called out to Tsuna, making Kyoko crack up in laughter and even Kyoya's lips twitched at that.

What is this, Pokemon Go?

"I'm going to sucker punch them." Haru said flatly in irritation as she adjusted her pony-tail to the side.

"Same here." Tsuna agreed with a scowl as he shifted slightly so that the balloon adjusted just so.

Those guys are so mean~

After the staff finished arranging their positions on the starting line, they retreated. Nayuki-sensei stepped to the side and acted as the referee.

"Are you ready?" Hearing the positive response of the participants, Nayuki then pulled out a whistle and said, "Ready. Set. Go!"

The moment he blew the whistle, the kids, in their teams of two, started moving forward slowly and cautiously in cooperation. Tsuna and Haru cooperated and took their first steps in unison. They strived forward to get the first position, to grab that red ribbon and win.

….And by the end of the first game, they ended up with the green ribbon.

.

.

.

.

Nayuki-Sensei told them that they'd be eliminated if the balloon either pops or falls on the ground. But he didn't tell them what to do if the balloon slipped down their backs and got stuck between the knees of the two of them.

Tsuna: "..."

Haru: "..."

The peanut gallery plus Kyoya: "..."

Honestly, what kind of bullshit luck did they have?!

EXTRA:-

Hibird snoozed at a lone corner of the nest, huddled away from the flock/family -not his, never his- snuggling at the centre of the nest. There was finally a moment to relax. Ever since he woke up in this nest, he never had any moment of peace -what with a meddling Mother bird, and the nosey chicks who curiously pecked him and crowded around him all the time; Not to mention whatever happened that had spread unease and unrest among the resident creatures of the forest.

These last days there were all sorts of animals he had seen passing by the tree on which the nest he was currently residing in rested. Mother Bird didn't go foraging and had kept guard in case any predator had mind to attack the nest -but none of them ever did. In fact, the other animals were more focused on fleeing than hunting them. Hibird thought that there was some kind of danger approaching them, but Mother and Father Bird, while vigilant, didn't seem too keen to change nests. Also, Hibird's danger senses weren't alarming him of any dangerous carnivore or omnivore around, so he didn't urge them to change nests. Hibird was also curious of what was causing this unrest in the first place, because that hadn't happened last time.

On the other hand, The pestering of the chicks was honestly annoying. The other chicks had hatched after him, and obviously adored their Mother and Father. They were also curious about this oldest hatchling who always drove them away with his furious pecks and screeches.

To be curious of the oldest hatchling wasn't anything unusual. After all, all of them were the chicks of their Mother and Father bird. Not to mention that Father bird and Mother bird were usually away to find them food, and while Mother bird returned earlier in fear that some predator might attack her nest, Father bird only stayed for supper and for staying the night. The hatchlings spent the most of their time in each other's company, and since Hibird was the oldest hatchling among them, they were eager to cuddle with him.

Unfortunately, Hibird hated crowding and tried anything he could to make them stay away. Since it hadn't been long since the chicks had hatched, they were still very young so Hibird didn't pull out their furs in retaliation like he would've done to anyone who wasn't Family or Ally but drive them away with soft peck attacks and harsh screeches and denied them the skin contact and cuddling they sorely needed from family. At first the hatchlings tried very hard to make him open up, but in the end seeing that their fellow hatchling really didn't like their presence they lessened their pestering.

Of course Hibird was the happiest that the feathery menaces finally left him alone. This way he wouldn't have to feel disappointed when they turn their backs towards him -like they had the last time….

...He didn't care about these hatchlings. He didn't need these herbivores….. The only one he needed was his human.

Hibari.

A dull tug at the back of his head snapped Hibird out of his sleep. He turned his beady eyes to the side warily, only to realise that the tug wasn't actually physical, but mental. Hibird kept his senses alert and hopped around the nest to see if there was any danger, but his senses were still silent. He turned towards the group of hatchlings cuddling to their parents, and clicked his beak in distaste. Useless Herbivores.

Hibird waited sometime, but when nothing happened for so long, he went back to his lone corner and feigned sleep. Seems like whatever herbivore watching the nest was smart and was waiting to let Hibird put his guard down for attack.

The tree -on which the nest was positioned on- shook, making the nest tremble dangerously waking up the birds snuggling with each other. The chicks screeched in panic as the Mother and Father Bird flew away in panic -heh, he'd known they were cowardly, weak herbivores. The chicks cried pathetically and huddled against each other, their cries of despair sounded tragic in the night. Hibird screeched at them to quieten down -loud noises would only attract other predators- and jumped off the nest to attack the opponent -with the wisps of his human's cloud flames coursing in his veins (or whatever was left of it that he treasured and keep cherished deep inside him after his human died the last time) Hibird could take down any carnivore. With his baby wings flapping behind him, he descended towards the opponent-

-only to be grabbed in someone's fists.

Hibird let out a shriek as the human's fists squeezed him a little bit tightly, and only quietened a bit when the hold relaxed the slightest. The human moved his fingers slightly, such that Hibird took the chance to squeeze out his head from the opening and stab a flame-enhanced beak into the hand holding him, only to freeze the moment he saw the face of the person holding him.

Pale hands gently pulled the little bird closer to them as purple eyes stared at the furry little chick in delight. The shaggy silver hair of the human child gleamed in the moonlight, and the inverted purple tattoo of a crown underneath his left eyes contrasted against his pale skin.

…...Marshmallow herbivore?!

"Hibird-chan!" Byakuran Gesso grinned and greeted his bargaining-chip ….a-ahem, he meant the Tenth Generation Vongola's mascot. "Long time no see, ne~"