Hello! I'm back, as promised :D
To reader onceabluemoon: Wow, thank you for noticing and giving this fanfic a chance! I feel validated now haha p.s. I like your username because I love the moon :3
To reader fuchsteufelswild: Thank you! It's great to know that my pacing is not too slow. Writing a HibarixOC is definitely a challenge, so it's pretty difficult to tell without a feedback from readers if I'm doing Hibari's character correctly, so thanks a lot!
Please let me know what you think (and also if I made grammatical mistakes, I'll fix them quickly!) :D
Summer.
Except that it wasn't completely, summer yet. But the stifling air of June indicated that the dreaded season already had its feet on the door. Windows in the classrooms were flung open, folding fans were out, and long hairs were tied up. Nevertheless, the humid weather didn't prevent the female disciplinary committee member from doing her job.
The Nicolaou girl returned to the reception room from her short restroom trip. She sat down on her desk and noticed how papers were scattered not only on Hibari's desk, but also on the floor. With one of the windows partially opened, she figured that the culprit of the disorder in the room was the sneaky wind.
Hibari-san is going to be pissed, Ayano mentally sighed. And since she didn't want to see his day to be ruined, she picked up the fallen papers on the floor and started reorganizing the mess on his desk.
About fifteen seconds later, the certain tonfa-yielding boy walked in the room with noticeable dirt all over his white uniform. The busy girl didn't bother to turn around as she organized his desk. She knew it was him.
For a second, Hibari almost didn't recognize the female in the room. However, he quickly realized that it was indeed her secretary, as if he already memorized her as easily as remembering the words to the school's anthem: her silky long hair, her slim shoulders, her tendency to tuck her hair behind her ears, the straight posture of her back, and the usage of her left hand more often due to being left-handed. It was all hers. And there was something else that added to his list.
He was accustomed to the sight of Ayano's long black hair and today, her hair was tied in a messy bun—exposing baby hair along the nape of her pale neck. Her slender neck made her appear soft and weak: traits that the skylark disliked yet he inexplicably desired to protect.
Oddly enough, the more he meticulously observed her, the more he started to appreciate her companionship, unbeknownst to him.
"You looked like you tripped on a dirt, are you ok?" blurted the Nicolaou girl as she returned to her seat after completing her little task. The chairman simply walked toward his desk and sat down.
"I punished the students whom I caught ditching. But those weak fools thought they could escape from me with a childish trick," Hibari paused as he stretched his extremities and then put his arms behind his head.
"Are you saying you got tricked?" Ayano widened her eyes and at the same time lightly applauded with her hands. The male was not amused with her response.
"To your disappointment, I did not get tricked, Nicolaou Ayano."
The girl was caught off guard. That was probably the first time Hibari called her by her full name. She was used to being called as a "woman", "herbivore", or "secretary", and it didn't really bother her. But she didn't think that the tone of her full name coming out from his mouth would have such an impact that left her… frozen.
"What?" the boy asked as he noticed the surprised girl.
"No-nothing," she dismissed. "So, what was their childish trick?"
He glanced at her, not sure if he should be even sharing stories with her. He decided to continue his sentence since she's harmless after all.
"A pitfall."
"Did you fall?" she was intrigued.
"Of course I didn't. Only idiots fall for such baits. Nevertheless, I beat them before they could get away."
"Your dirty uniform tells a different story though," smiled the girl.
"I heard a cry of a kitten from an abandoned area just outside the school. I had to crawl under the tall bushes to find it," he candidly responded.
Oohh, he has a soft spot for small animals, Ayano marveled. She simply smiled at him and diverted her attention back to her paperwork.
The male, on the other hand, sought for more verbal response. She could ask him where he placed the stray kitten. She could ask him what happened next. She could ask him anything. For some reason, his boredom made him want to keep the conversation going. There was only one more week of school left until summer vacation, which meant that he wasn't going to have a "battle of wits" with her for about three months.
"By the way, Hibari-san, I didn't think you're into… exotic accessories," she broke the silence.
"Excuse me?"
"Your spiky bracelet." She pointed at his wrist.
Ah, the Vongola gear, he thought. "It's none of your business."
"What does it say? Vo…Vongo… la? What does it mean?" she attempted to read the writing on his bracelet upside down.
"It means that if you keep asking about my bracelet I will add more work to your plate," he remarked.
"That top part on your bracelet kind of resembles a hedgehog," she inquired, ignoring his previous comment. He checked his wrist, even though he knew exactly what she was talking about.
"So what?" he questioned, exchanging a glance with her.
"Hmmm. You're so cute," Ayano chuckled, awed by the fact that Hibari wore a hedgehog-themed bracelet.
The Nicolaou girl instantly realized the way she phrased her statement.
She could not believe that she just called him cute. She thought that it was adorable of him to be attached to a cute bracelet. Sure he could be cute too, sometimes. Maybe.
But she didn't mean to be blatant about it. And as expected, Hibari didn't like the phrase.
"Don't call me that."
She let out a huge sigh due to the rejected compliment. "Okay. Any other names that I should refrain myself from using toward you?"
Hibari now desired silence. The conversation was getting bizarre, and he wanted to be excluded from it.
"I don't like where this conversation is going. You're noisy. Just do your work quietly."
Finals week was over, and students rejoiced for their long summer vacation. In contrast, club members had to stay longer after school to perform club logistics before they leave. Athletes also didn't get a break as they prepared for their summer tournaments. With that being said, the head of the disciplinary committee leaned back on the window of the reception room as he watched the students leaving the school.
Summer, he thought. Hibari didn't really have any plans for the next three months, besides patrolling the town. He then pondered upon how he could use his free time to experiment with his Vongola gear. Maybe he could try to come up with new techniques. Or even better, he could demand for a rematch with the bucking horse. But the foreigner was on the other side of the world, so unfortunately the fight would have to be postponed. He could also confront Yamamoto about the duel he promised in the beginning of the semester for letting Ayano off the hook.
Speaking of the baseball player, he detected Yamamoto walking with the rest of the Vongola gang.
Vongola. A mafia that he got unwillingly dragged into and strongly refused to be associated with. Yet ironically, this "family" granted him power and authority. When he was sent to the future to battle the Millefiore, he found out that his future self had a superior reputation in the mafia world. Being feared as the strongest guardian in the future, he must have accumulated a lot of influence over the Vongola family, which was evident when the future Tsunayoshi entrusted only him with the most risky and secretive mission during the Millifiore conflict. As much as he hated being referred to as a Vongola guardian, Hibari wanted to see what this whole mafia would offer him in the future.
His thought process was interrupted by a familiar figure who ran toward the Vongola gang. It was his secretary, holding a camera strapped around her neck. Hibari observed every movement of the female herbivore. He knew immediately that she was doing her historian job, despite of it being redundant due to already having a yearbook club. He watched as she chatted with them, and more so with the rain guardian. He watched her conversed happily, unveiling a wide smile he had never seen before.
Or rather, a happy expression she has never shown to him before.
The curious skylark watched as the rain guardian comfortably made skin contact with Ayano. He watched as she snapped a photo of the Vongola boys. And how she glanced at the outcome and laughed.
His gaze didn't leave her, focusing on the interaction between his secretary and Yamamoto.
He watched as the tall boy casually ruffled Ayano's hair. And how she held his wrist to stop him from further messing her hair. And how they both laughed.
How irritating.
Hibari walked away from the window and sat down on his desk. He started shuffling through the papers and then realized that he was messing the already organized pile of papers. He was definitely annoyed, but couldn't explain why. He reached for his pocket and took out his phone. He started typing away and instructed Kusakabe to do the patrol instead of the paperwork in the reception room.
Fifteen minutes later, suddenly—as if he was expecting it—Ayano entered the reception room.
"Kusakabe-san, here's the last paperwork from—oh." Her eyes slightly widened, not expecting the chairman to be in the room. "Hibari-san? I thought you were supposed to be patrolling right now?"
"I switched with Tetsuya." He quickly glanced at her and then back at his paperwork.
"I see. Well, as I was saying, this is the last paperwork from the student council." She handed him the paper which he grabbed in a rough swift.
Ayano was taken aback. The document would have torn from Hibari's action had she held the paper a little firmer. She wondered if she was hallucinating or that Hibari's demeanor just now was a little, aggressive?
"Is... there anything else you would like me to do before I leave?" the Nicolaou girl carefully asked.
"No. I don't want you here. Go away."
The girl tilted her head in confusion. His statement just now sounded too familiar—like how they used to interact when they first met. She definitely heard irritation in his tone which made her wonder if she angered him.
"You're upset. Did I do something wrong?"
Hibari was impressed by her perceptiveness. Granted, she didn't do anything wrong except crowded herself with the people he hated. Would that sound reasonable to her? Actually, he didn't need to explain himself. He just needed to be alone.
"No. I just hate your kind."
"You hate me?" she raised her eyebrow. "That sounds like the beginning of a love story," she jokingly murmured to lighten up the mood, which was clear enough for the skylark to hear.
"I don't like the way that sounded, woman."
"I was kidding," Ayano waved her hands in defeat. "I will leave now, have a great summer," she declared, quickly walking out of the room.
Love story, Hn. he mentally snorted. What a foolish idea.
"So, I assume you're in college? What career are you pursuing?"
The man whose head was wrapped in a bandana uttered his curiosity while loading a pistol with bullets for his female customer to use. The long-haired girl, whom he directed his question at, carefully thought her response before parting her lips.
"I'm currently studying fashion design," she forced a smile as natural as she could.
It wasn't a complete lie. Fashion design was a field that Ayano still planned to pursue after graduating high school.
"How fitting. No wonder you looked very well-put together when I first met you," beamed GM. He handed her the loaded pistol and resumed with his instructions. "I want you to practice with close range. I'll teach you some self-defense techniques. Since you've been practicing far range for two months now, show me your improved stance."
Ayano stood inside a booth stall that had walls on both sides, her legs with perfect distance to support herself from the recoil. She stretched her arms perpendicular to her body, firmly grasping the gun while relaxing her shoulders. She then waited for further instruction.
"Good posture. Now lower the angle of your arms to the knee of your target. Decrease the distance of your legs by about a fourth," instructed GM.
The long-haired girl followed through. She immediately noticed the difference between her original position and the adjustment of her posture. Her calves automatically tensed up: she had a hunch that her front leg must have more weight.
GM noticed how the girl adjusted the allocation of her weights on her own accord. He was impressed by her instinct. Nevertheless, he still educated her with the physics behind her position.
"Very good. The recoil will have some upward component since you are shooting at a downward angle, therefore you must put more weight on the front leg."
"I see. No wonder it felt right when I slightly leaned my front leg forward. Now for a scenario. Where will I specifically shoot to immobilize a threatening person in front of me?" Ayano inquired.
GM took out a laser pointer and pointed at the knee of a life-size, anatomy drawing about five feet away from them.
"There. You want to avoid this other area as that is where an artery is located," he moved the laser slightly upward. Ayano simply nodded. He then continued before putting a hearing protection on the girl, "Now shoot. Try to remember how the rebound will feel like."
She took a deep breath, adjusted the angle of her arms to aim at the point that the laser was pointing at. She then pulled the trigger.
"Not bad. But you just hit the artery. Let's try again," GM mused. "Did you remember how the momentum backward felt like?"
"I… kind of. It happened too fast. I think I need to do it again," sighed Ayano.
"That's ok. I'll help you until your session is up." he pressed the button on the wall which prompted an assembly line to bring up a new life-size poster with an anatomy model drawn on it.
Please review!
I can't wait to publish chapter 13 and 14 because of the ten year bazooka and one character switching with their TYL counterpart and AHHH. But they're going to need some intense proofreading so please be patient with me.
Also pleasseeee let me know what you think, reviews give me lots of motivation and desire to improve. Like, am I doing Hibari's character right? Am I writing him OOC? Is Ayano a Mary sue (hopefully not)? Gimme some feedback :D
PS: the whole physics thing during her firearm training, it probably didn't make sense because I just kind of, made it up... I do have some physics knowledge due to my major, but I didn't want to spend a long time explaining the science behind the training. Soooo please forgive me if the last part of this chapter sounded stupid lol
Alright I'll see you next time!