I CAME BACK! I missed this so much, I apologize for such a long wait! I am going to be 10 times more busy in the next five weeks, so I won't be able to do a bi-weekly update.
HOWEVER, I will publish the next chapter before the Halloween season ends! Chapter 15 occurs around the Halloween week (the chapter is 3/4 done), so it makes sense that I publish it while our Halloween spirit is still alive. Haha.
To reader Etha: Thanks for dropping by! and who know what happened in the future ;)
To reader Peristeria: who is "her"? who knows? *extreme double winks ;;))
To reader Fuchsteufelswild: Thanks for the review! The reason it felt brief was because I was trying to stay consistent with the 5 minute limit of the ten year bazooka, if I remember correctly (please correct me if I'm wrong). Also, I actually agree with you about Hibari being too easy on her. This was why I mentioned in the last chapter that I could've revised it more. The thing is, I'm not good with like, writing a fight scene or an intense argument, but I've been looking it up and reading about them so I can be better at it in the future. And don't worry, I'll take all the criticism in order to improve as a writer :D
To Guest: aww I'm glad you revisited the fandom and found this fic!
Short recap: Last chapter we saw the interaction between present Hibari and TYL Ayano. Part of this chapter will be about the present Ayano in the future.
As always, Please review!
The 18-year old Nicolaou girl coughed sporadically as heavy fog surrounded her from head to toe. She flailed her hands up in the air frantically to clear her sight. As her vision got clearer, the group she was just with was nowhere to be seen. Alarmingly, the lively festive was also gone. Instead, she was now in a large, luxurious room with exquisite design that gave her a modern Château vibe: elegant chandeliers, golden vinyl wallpaper, dark burgundy carpet, wooden well-polished furniture, French double doors, and somehow an odd mechanical vintage clock that did not fit in with the affluent interior.
"Where… in the world am I?" Ayano panted, her shortness of breath implied distress due to the sudden unfamiliarity of her surroundings. It was like she got teleported. However, such concept didn't make sense to her. As far as she knew, teleportation hasn't even been achieved in her era. Therefore, she had to be dreaming, right? Or perhaps, hallucinating?
Yes, I must be dreaming, a confident and optimistic thought that calmed the girl from the present. She exhaled deeply and strolled around the room carefully, touching any tangible objects she passed by. She swiped her index finger on the ledge of the fireplace, accumulating dust upon lifting her finger up. She then approached the window and observed the serene landscape, appreciating the enormous effort the "gardeners" in her "dream" must have spent to keep the outdoors beautiful. The long-haired girl eventually returned her attention back to the room, surveying the area once more for other things to notice.
After two trips around the room, she concluded one thing: she was probably not dreaming. Everything just felt too real to her: the things around her felt very concrete, she could control her thoughts and actions, and in general, she just felt… alive. I must have fainted or something, and was brought here, she claimed. She blamed her migraine if she did pass out earlier. Her headache was already gone, thus it must have meant that she received a good amount of rest. This sounded reasonable, but for some reason, it just, didn't feel… right.
"Let's see, I was at a festival, with Mina-chan. Yamamoto-san and his friends were there as well. Then there were kids, one in a cow costume whose name was Lambo. Lambo was crying because Gokudera-san was hurting him. I tried to comfort the kid. Then as if a deity played a prank on us, Hibari-san popped out of nowhere. After that…" she paused after a lengthy conversation with herself. She repeated her self-talk multiple times, but every time she tried to remember what occurred after the head of the disciplinary committee appeared, her memories would lead to a dead-end street.
Maybe if she found another person, they could provide a valid explanation? The only way to find out was to investigate what the outside entailed to. Ayano mustered up all her courage, approached the door, and turned the knob slowly. The heavy door creaked loudly as she slowly pulled it. She partially opened the door, creating a small gap yet wide enough for her to take a peak outside.
She scanned the hallway. There were no signs of people, which made her feel safe enough to step out. At least the hallway didn't have as busy of an appearance compared to the room she "woke up" in. But still, the displayed decorations resembled that of a palace: arched architecture perfectly in synced with the Renaissance-themed paintings hung on the wall as well as the sculptures that were evenly spaced along the long hallway. Just what is this place!? The place was too grand that she believed she had no right to be in the vicinity.
She closed the door behind her, and slightly flinched at how loud the noise it made. She gently walked down the hallway, passing by the paintings on the wall. For a moment, Ayano forgot her current situation due to how mystifying the paintings were on the wall. She screened each painting like a tourist in an art exhibition, and being easily absorbed by the artistry, she didn't realize how far down the hall she has gotten—too far that her stroll was actually leading to an enormous empty ballroom.
Suddenly, before she could react to the grandness of the ballroom, her little exploration got interrupted by a deep, masculine voice behind her.
"You. What are you doing here?"
Ayano jolted and froze. As a stranger, she would probably be perceived as an intruder, security would then be called, and who knew what was going to happen next. However, something about the voice sounded very familiar, but she failed to identify it. She carefully turned around, and saw the owner of the voice: a tall man in a suit, his sharp metallic gaze landing upon her terrified, yet defiant pupils.
The male widened his eyes. He immediately realized that the female in front of him was from the past. She was shorter than her future counterpart, and that alone was enough for him to conclude his hunch. The ten-year bazooka, he mentally noted. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to a room few feet away from them. Upon entering, he closed the door and locked it. He turned around and to his surprise, the present girl was quick on her feet and was already at the other end of the room, holding out a knife. Where did she get the knife from? he mused. It turned out that they were in a kitchen.
"Stop right there, don't come any nearer to me!" The Nicolaou girl's both flight and fight response kicked in. She has never held a knife in such a threatening and dangerous way, but she knew she just got dragged in a fancy-looking kitchen by a grown-up man, and scenarios in her head were definitely playing the bad ones. She wished she could call the police for help, but her purse that contained her phone was nowhere to be found.
"Or what?" the male responded, expressing a bored look from across the room.
"I'll… I'll do everything to protect myself," she bluffed, because she was too terrified to actually use a knife as a self-defense tool.
"You can't even hurt a fly, let alone use that against me," the male taunted, slowly approaching Ayano.
"I'm warning you, stop moving!"
"What if I don't?"
"I won't hesitate to use this!"
"Okay, go ahead."
When she realized that he wasn't listening to her, she quickly shuffled even farther away from him. However, she was not as agile as the older male, whom in one swift motion, suddenly appeared in front of her and easily disarmed the terrified girl. The male pushed her against the wall, cornering the frightened female with his long arms.
Ayano was about to yell for help but was impeded by him at the right time, covering her mouth to prevent any sound from escaping her throat.
"Don't scream. Be quiet."
The Nicolaou girl was restrained of her movement: the man's left arm blocking her from escaping, his right hand covering her mouth, while his big profile intimidating her that she was too scared to fight back even if she wanted to.
"St-stop… Please don't hurt me," she managed to form a coherent sentence despite being muffled by a much stronger man.
Ayano grabbed the his arms, gripping them hard to indicate that she wanted to be released. However, the male simply stared at her with such a passionate gaze, which had a hint of pain behind it. Oddly, she felt… secured? She slowly lowered her guard, and met the gaze that was highly familiar.
"Let me go," she begged behind his palm that was covering her mouth.
The male in the black blazer and purple long-sleeve shirt slowly removed his hand that covered her mouth. He then traced the girl's jawline until his hand reached her chin. He tilted her chin so carefully as if she was fragile. His thumb ran across her soft cheek, taking his time to look at all the details on her face. Her nose, her soft lashes, the iris of her eyes, the natural light contour of her cheekbones, and finally, his fingers traveled to her left ear, where he tugged a few hair strands behind her ear to look at the mole that he found endearing.
Now that she was not being muffled, the frightened girl could have yelled for help, but she saw the pain in his eyes, and for some reason, she wanted to know the cause of it.
"Have…we met before?" she broke the peaceful silence.
The older male's sense of hearing was impaired for a few seconds that felt like a minute, cherishing what seemed to be a moment he had sought for. He rested his forehead against Ayano's small shoulder, prompting the girl to shudder slightly. However, she felt warmth and not hostility. She might not know this man, nor if he was going through a rough time, but she deciphered such behavior as a need for comfort.
After the taller man realized that he just exhibited such an out-of-character softness, he pushed himself away from the intimate moment.
"No, we haven't," he responded to her question.
Ayano was not as fearful anymore. For some reason, she sensed that the man in front of her would not pose any harm. She gained her confidence to fight back and took this chance to free herself from his grip by attempting to knee him on his groin. However, the man was too perceptive and successfully blocked her silly and futile attack.
"You're getting bolder," the man was amazed.
"Do you need something from me? I'm not an intruder of this place, I promise. Just let me go and I'll leave right away."
The older male, entertained by Ayano's lack of understanding and knowledge about time traveling, played along with her confusion. "But you are a trespasser. I could easily turn you to the security guard for committing a crime."
"I'm not a trespasser, I just woke up in this place, not remembering what happened beforehand. I am telling the truth," she firmly declared, her self-composed trait coming back after being terrified some minutes ago.
"Good luck explaining that to the police." He lied about turning her over to the authority. He was merely testing her wits, like how he remembered them back then.
"Who are you anyways? And what was that just now? Touching my face and all that, you are making me feel uncomfortable, pervert," fought back Ayano.
This woman, the male narrowed his eyes, displeased by the undesired answer.
"Watch what you're saying or I'll feed you to the bears in the nearby woods." He glared at her. His threat was not serious; he was simply curious at her next response. He raised his eyebrow in amazement as he watched her fearless façade turned into a frown.
"Using your physical advantage to make the weaker one to submit to you. Horrible. Go ahead then, I'd rather be eaten by those bears than be in the same room as you." Her pupils flared, which surprised the older man. He didn't remember her to have such ferocity in the past, but it was more than enough to impress him.
He finally gave her private space by releasing her. "What an interesting reaction. But I'm afraid your time is up, Nicolaou Ayano."
Ayano's forehead wrinkled upon hearing him say her name. "Wait, you just said my name. You know me?"
"I'm glad you're not deaf," he sarcastically remarked. "Now go away. One last thing before you go back to Namimori: tell him that when it's real, do not walk away from it," the grown-up man genuinely instructed.
"Tell who? Wait a minute. How do you know me? Who are you? Where is this place?"
The present female grabbed his wrist to demand for answers. She clutched on his sleeves that revealed a familiar spiky bracelet, which made her recall the only person who wore such a unique accessory. Before she could utter another word, she suddenly got engulfed by heavy smokes. The older male adult watched as the more matured woman appeared.
"You." the future Ayano softly mumbled. "Did you interact with her?"
He ignored her question and walked toward the exit. He was then blocked by the adamant female.
"What did you tell her?"
"It's none of your business," nonchalantly responded the man.
"Of course it is, that was the past me."
"Then why don't you tell me your short adventure in the past, and how you perhaps talked to my past self?" He did not receive a response from her. "Hn. Never thought your silence could be this loud."
"Just move on. Please." Ayano exhaustingly pleaded.
"Don't act like you have."
"Of course I have, I'm already married to someone else, for goodness sake!" She wasn't lying about the 'moving on' part. But for some reason, her tone slightly indicated that she was also not being completely honest.
He shoved her aside. "This future… is too boring."
"It's better this way. A little boring and lonelier, but it is for the best," she softly murmured as her gaze followed him before he walked out of the room and disappeared completely out of her sight.
She was being selfish with trying to influence her past. It was never going to change her situation right now, but if she remembered correctly, a certain white-haired boss of another powerful mafia family told her that a parallel world can be created. The future Ayano hoped that what she did triggered enough reaction for that to happen. Her character changed so much, she admitted, and part of that change was becoming greedy, compared to her past self. She knew, from deep within, that she was not supposed to turn out like this.
And all she wanted was to change the course of her past so that hopefully somewhere in a different universe, there's an Ayano with her real values still intact.
She tapped the back side of her waist to grab her gun. Upon not feeling the object she wanted to see, she massaged her temples in a frustrated manner.
"Oh no. I left my gun in the past. He is not going to be happy about this."
It has been about a month since that incident. Fall semester just started, and for the graduating class, it meant that there were six months left of their high school career. Most had started applying for universities as well as studying for the corresponding college entrance examination. Then there was the small percentage of Namimori students who planned to do something else: travel, enter the workforce, vocational school, or simply take a year-long break. Nevertheless, everyone had one thing in common: to pass all the classes and receive a high school diploma.
One presence disturbed the diligent students who were studying for their college entrance exam due to the generated screams of the girls that could be heard from a mile away, piercing through the eardrums of the unconcerned others nearby. The crowd around a classroom made Ayano and Mina also investigate the commotion out of curiosity.
"It's Dino-sensei! He's back!" shrieked one girl.
Mina immediately rolled his eyes upon hearing a particular name and realizing what the ruckus was all about. "Oh, it's the foreign teacher. He's back. I wonder why."
"I assume that he's very attractive, based on the screams of those girls," chuckled Ayano.
"I guess he's pretty charming. But not my type," shrugged the volleyball player.
As the two walked past the screaming crowd, Ayano caught a quick glimpse of the famous foreigner due to his outstanding blond hair. She quickly averted her gaze upon making an eye contact with him. Three seconds was all she needed to fully comprehend why the girls were going crazy.
"Ah! You! Wait up!" Dino yelped which caused everyone to turn around and follow the direction of his pointing finger.
Mina and Ayano halted their steps in synchrony, automatically reacting to a call that may or may not even pertain to them.
"Hi there! Nicolaou Ayano, right?" Dino happily proclaimed, approaching the historian and the senior rep of the student council whom gave each other the look of surprise.
"Hello, Sir," the long-haired girl reluctantly bowed. How he knew of her name baffled her. "Can I help you?"
"Reborn told me about you, about how you're an interesting fella!"
The long-haired girl slightly tilted her head. "The toddler did? Huh, how so?"
"That you're a brave girl because you work for Kyoya! How do you like working with him? On a more important note, wanna learn more about him?" Dino playfully inquired.
Mina simply gave her friend a suggestive look while the latter raised her eyebrow in question.
"Oh, I mean… uhhh… it must be tough, huh?" Dino chuckled awkwardly. He decided to quickly change the subject to avoid making the girl feel uncomfortable. "Nevertheless, Reborn wants you to join Vongola right away, but I don't think it's a good idea. I think we'll have to wait for a spark to happen, and once it happens, you'll most likely end up joining."
Vongola.
Ayano has heard of this word before.
Ah. The skating place, she immediately recalled what Tsuna said back in the summer festival. But she couldn't comprehend why the little kid wanted her to join "Vongola". She wondered if he was inviting her to roller skate with Tsuna and his friends.
Furthermore, what did the blond teacher mean when he said, "to wait for a spark to happen"? Was there some type of lost in translation due to him being a foreigner?
"A kid is inviting me… to the skating place?" she said slowly to confirm if she was understanding his statement correctly.
The blond man enlarged his eyes in awe. He wondered if she misheard him.
"Skating place? No, not that. I was talking about a family, like a club or community… sort of," Dino scratched his hair.
"Right. The Vongola. Tsuna-san said it was a roller skating place," she confidently responded.
"Tsuna did? He's still goofy as usual," Dino laughed. "Nevertheless, I'm not pressuring you, Miss! As I said, the right time will come. I mean, considering that both of you are at that age, developing romantic feelings is inevitable! I think you will be a fantastic addition to Vongola family!" the blond waved goodbye as he quickly walked away, leaving the Nicolaou girl perplexed at his last statement.
Ayano could feel the glares originating from the other female students, which prompted Mina to grab her friend's arm and walk to safety.
"I don't understand what Dino-sensei just said. But I can tell he is very interested at how Hibari and I work together, right?" Ayano crossed her arms, her furrowed brows indicated that she was starting to become conscious of how the other students might also perceive her with Hibari.
"I mean, you work for the disciplinary committee. I do hear some rumors here and there, and words do spread like a fire. But you know, students naturally would be curious on how you're surviving the job. Some of them might even romanticize it," Mina teased.
"For a millionth time, I don't have any feelings toward Hibari-san," the long-haired girl put both her palms on her forehead, a sign of disapproval. "He's going to be very mad if he hears such a rumor like this."
Three hours later, the Nicolaou girl returned to the reception room for the first time since spring semester. The last time she interacted with the certain male was this recent summer, and she hated remembering it due to the "hallucination incident", which she found hard to accept. The situation was just too far-fetched to be true. She told Agatha about it that day and immediately, the concerned aunt took her niece to the hospital to test for any peculiar drugs in her system. They found no abnormalities. Therefore, the toddler's accusation—which Tsuna also claimed it to be true—that she had food poisoning was not plausible. Mina wasn't there when it happened, so even her friend couldn't vouch for her. So for now, whatever happened in the past was not to be brought up and hopefully, be forgotten.
Here I go, she took a deep breath as she arrived in the reception room and knocked before opening the door. The skylark who seemed busy with his work didn't bother to look up, as if ignoring the sudden entrance of her presence. It didn't bother her; she was fine with the lack of greetings.
What she was not okay with was the next painful hour-long of awkward silence.
Sure, the time was efficiently used, and eventually the paperwork for the day was completed. But no words were spoken. She wanted to start a conversation, but all she could think about was to ask him about his summer. Asking about his summer would definitely bring up that "incident", which she was trying to avoid and forget. There had to be one good topic to talk about. Finally, she remembered what she was going to ask Hibari earlier. She wondered if she could ask him about his connection with the foreign teacher, Dino. That sounded like a good conversation starter after a painful hour of silence, right?
"Hibari-san, are you familiar with Dino-sensei?" the female secretary blurted while she sorted out the folders on her desk.
He lifted his head up, mildly curious on how she knew of the bucking horse. "A former teacher of this school who you should not worry about."
"I see. He's very persistent. He asked me today about joining the Vongola family, or whatever that means."
The skylark suddenly stopped the movement of his pen. He wondered why the hell the bucking horse would ask a civilian to become a member of a mafia, let alone Vongola. It was not a safe place for herbivores who were incapable of fighting.
"Stay away from him."
"O… kay?" she raised her eyebrow, puzzled at his sudden warning. The blond teacher didn't look threatening to her; in fact, he seemed very friendly and outgoing.
"Hibari-san?" she called again. The skylark again looked up due to how she uttered his name for the second time in such a soft manner. She slightly widened her eyes upon realizing the words that just escaped her mouth.
Actually, she had nothing else to say. Maybe she was seeking for the unusual dynamic they had last spring; of how she could tell that they both somewhat enjoyed their small interactions. She panicked a little when she noticed that Hibari was awaiting her response. Both exchanged glances briefly, and for a second, her memories of the man from her "hallucination" suddenly flashed: of how "that man" gently caressed her, how he rested his forehead on her shoulder to find comfort, and how she felt warmth, affection, and security despite of the man being dominant and terrifying, just like Hibari.
Wait.
On a second thought, now that she noticed it, the resemblance of Hibari and that "man" was uncanny. It was as if the man was the older version of her present chairman. Like his future self. Their voices were also highly similar. She stared at his hand, trying to recall how the man's touch felt like, and wondered if it would be similar to that of Hibari's. The bracelet, she remembered. Both wore the same bracelet, which was such an eerie coincidence. Her focus returned to the skylark's metallic gaze, and she wondered if Hibari was capable of such romantic gestures.
Romance. One single notion unexpectedly sparked a reaction from her.
Ayano immediately stood up and walked out of the room, which then left the skylark questioning her strange behavior. He allowed her to do so; she might have been feeling under the weather—which he claimed he couldn't care less about—as long as she was aware that she could not abandon her secretarial duties.
The Nicolaou girl walked as fast as she could, away from the reception room. She felt her cheeks warming up, which she repeatedly tapped to suppress the weird sensation she was feeling. She felt her heart fluttered, not because of some psychological or emotional feels, but because she claimed she was walking "too fast". She went around the corner and quickly entered the bathroom, then faced the mirror.
She saw how her cheeks have turned red. She was obviously blushing, but she refused to admit the reason why.
It can't be, why am I like this all of the sudden? She repeatedly denied, shaking her head in disbelief. The more she looked at her reflection in the mirror, the more she realized what was happening. And the more she realized, the more reason she couldn't bring herself back to the reception room.
Please review! Also let me know if I had some grammatical errors, I'll fix them right away!
I'll see you all later! If you need to ask me anything, feel free to reach me on my tumblr sideblog, posted in my profile. You can ask me anonymously about anything :)