Another one of the 2-in-1 series... I hope you like this :)
Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn is a canon anime and manga made by Ms. Akira Amano with ArtLand. The plot is owned by the owner and it is not her responsibility if there are any coincidences with either the real life or other fanfictions inside the site.
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2-in-1 ID Game
Chapter 9
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It was such a peaceful walk in an early morning. Cold air brushed across the man's face, past his dark fringe, through the trees within the courtyard of the Namimori Shrine.
Despite of the early passerby's hurried paces to get to their workplace, or the colorful streamers and giant fixtures being prepared on every streets for the preparation of the town's festival parade, this shrine was void from waxy papers or noisy early birds slipping through cracks and holes outside. The silence was his second abode, aside from the warm and tender care of his father he always treasured.
Hibari especially liked this place. The Namimori Shrine was founded by the Hibari family, who started from alliances with the powerful samurais, the Yamamoto family, the owners of the gunpowder company, the Sasagawa family, and the wealthiest people of their town, the Kurokawa family. Because of the former family's astounding qualities as honest and loyal merchants, their bond still exists. His friends are the living proof of it.
The shrine also holds its own history. In fact, it was said that the place served as the battleground against the absolute forces of the Royal Battalion of United Kingdom and the old Cavalry of the United States. Despite of its losses and lives cost, the town managed to rose again and fought the Westerners back. Thanks to these people.
The shrine is very sacred due to those reasons... but that was not the only reason why the ravenhead went for.
Bringing a boquet of different species of flowers and a little brown bag, Hibari crossed the shrine's courtyard and stepped on a green carpet of cress plants. The place was a bit rustic and unkempt, but manageable, nonetheless. From there, Hibari walked to the one lonesome piece of white stone with the tip pointed above. While walking, his companion broke the silence.
"Midori tanabiku... Namimori no... Dainaku shou naku... Nami ga ii..."
Aside from his affection on little children, Hibari loves animals, and he kept one for himself as his little friend. He even trained it to speak little words which he could understand. When he showed it to his circle of really close friends, they were less than amused about it. They even accused him about his intense loneliness for being loveless, and made more attempts to get him hitched with a human being, a woman, instead of an innocent animal which was very ignorant about animal abuse. In which the Humanities professor heavily interrupted, reasoned instead with his stupendous philosophy of love and destiny.
Sighing lightly, Hibari lifted one of his hands, securing his belongings on the process, and let his little yellow friend flew from his left shoulder to his right pointing finger.
"Hibird... are you hungry?"
The bird answered by stating its analogy and nudging his finger by its beak. "Hibird... bored... fly."
Hibari chuckled as he kissed the bird's forehead and outstretched his lifted hand to let it fly. "Alright... Hibird, be safe. Okay?"
"Yes..." Then the bird chirped as it flew with the northeastern wind.
Little sounds of drums and chimes reached his ears. Then, an inaudible announcement overflowed the noise outside.
The parade's starting already.
I have to make it quick.
Hibari then proceeded to kneel down and opened his small paper bag containing a green apple, an orange, and a golden charm with a red string. As he put the flowers down, a gong sound reverberated around the place, as he felt some vibrations through the ground.
Lighting five incense sticks in a glass container, the black-haired man started to speak.
"Mother... you wouldn't believe what my students told me recently..."
...
On the streets of the mainland Namimori, Miura Haru walk on the streets of the Namimori main center. Walking with her is a woman with long auburn hair who was recently engaged with her ex-boyfriend, Sasagawa Kyoko.
"So, how's your teaching, Kyoko?" Haru started the conversation. However, due to the loud pounding of cymbals, gongs, and drums, Kyoko strained her ears by cupping them both with the palms of both of her hands and asked, "Could you kindly repeat the question, please?!"
Haru glanced at her friend, who was trying to keep up with her, surprisingly, awfully large steps. She saw her almost tripping on her own two-inch heels. Seriously, for a woman, the brunette was sure very rugged, like a man.
In response, Haru set her feet firm on the ground as she faced her companion. Despite her silent jealous temptations towards her best friend, all of because of the previous reasons, she still loved her as a friend, and she wasn't that type of person to be that harsh. As a lawyer, she knew her own set of boundaries.
She would never stoop that low to find a person for a platonic reason such as love. And besides, she had almost everything.
Except her romantic relationship.
According to her own point of view as of that moment.
"I said - "
GONG! BANG!
"I SAID, 'HOW'S YOUR WORK?!'" Haru repeated her own question louder than she expected. When she realized what she did...
"HAHI! SORRY! HARU DIDN'T MEAN TO RAISE HER VOICE - "
"Ha-ha-ha... Haru, its okay - "
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"HUH?!"
"I SAID, 'HARU, ITS OKAY!'"
"THEN WHY ARE WE SHOUTING?!"
"I DON'T KNOW - "
TAK-TAK-TAK!
BANG!
TAK-TAK-TAK!
BANG!
"THAT'S IT! I'M GOING TO FILE A CASE AGAINST THESE IMBECILE COCKROACHES!" Haru then flailed her arms to the air as she stomped her foot on the ground, comically. Kyoko restrained Haru's arms in the her attempt to stop her noisy rant in this joyful atmosphere.
"HEY! HARU, STOP THAT! ARE YOU MAD?!"
"NO, I'M NOT!"
"Then... STOP IT! WE'RE STARTING TO LOOK LIKE MONKEYS!"
"AREN'T WE RELATIVES WITH THEM?!"
"Oh... " Kyoko then held her chin in thought. Haru then pinched her friend's arm quite forcefully.
"OW! WHAT'S THAT FOR?!"
Then, they both laughed for no reason, people were starting to look up then like they were crazy patients from a mental asylum.
"Haru... people were looking. Seriously."
"Hn. Let them be."
"As expected for a high-class lawyer."
"Yeah... " Haru responded with a snort.
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"... I think that's it, I don't know what else to say... "
Hibari stood from his sitting position, dusting himself off before sighing heavily, his face gravely sad and his eyes remorseful.
"What the hell I'm talking about... Here I am, speaking to nothing but a stone, or air... Tch, my friends will laugh when they saw me like this..."
But, I'm sure when mom's here, she would be happy for my achievements... wherever she is.
Another sigh escaped his lips.
Aside from his small circle of friends and his father he loved so much, The ravenhead loved his mother. Missed her, even.
After contemplating for a few minutes, the ravenheaded delinquent from the past leaned down to kiss the top of the gravestone of his mother, turned around, glanced back to take in everything happened with him in this part of the shrine, then walked outside the resting place of his first mentor.
His mother taught him precious things about being a free man. Like a bird forcing itself out of the cage it was in, flying and accepting life the nature has offered. Like the bird who has a will to think and to decide and to choose the kind of person it wants to be with.
Like his pet bird, Hibird, which he found in a trash bin beside some chunks of synthetic trashes lying down like a dead corpse of a bird. Tired and hungry with its eyes dulling from its sharp dark gaze.
Clink-clink-clink-clink-clink...
Hibari's phone echoed around empty space of the Namimori shrine. He stopped his agonizingly slow steps in order to look up his phone. And, sure enough, his friends gave him a message about the parade and dance performance he coached.
From Takeshi: 'Kyoya, where are you? Your group is going to start performing in five minutes!'
From Ryohei: 'Kyoya! I couldn't see your extreme presence here! WHERE ARE YOU TO THE EXTREME?! And don't you extremely dare tell us that you were looking for your SUPER LAME destiny!'
From Hana: 'My husband did not just say 'Extreme,' didn't he?'
The ravenhead replied to the last person about her awareness as the silverhead's wife, like : 'Hana he wouldn't be known as Sasagawa Ryohei if you weren't known of it.'
Surely, Ryohei will receive another set of bruises. Serves him right for making fun of his ideology.
He was just clicking the word 'Send,' when someone moved past him. That person has a purplish scarlet long hair covered with a medium hat, her slim body covered under a large black coat. And not only that, she was bringing something like small offerings inside her brown bag she was bringing with. Hibari almost blocked her way, but he stopped himself.
Namimori train is a public mausoleum, after all.
...
As a kid, he was told countless stories known to man. Like the parable about the wise decision of the king Solomon from his choice of the real mother of the child. Or the mysterious story of the red poinsettias the girl bought as a gift to Jesus Christ from its original plain green color.
Like the rational reason the children are the luckiest people in the world. Like how they were innocent, untainted, and so adorable other people could not help but stare with awe to such creatures.
His mother has a great influence to Hibari. Such living proof is his fondness with sweet cherubs known to man as infants, toddlers, and small children.
But, what the standing Skylark thought influenced him by his mother the most is the greatest, most powerful entity in earth, love, which acted as a catalyst that binds two people unexpectedly.
Like fate.
And destiny.
And he still believed her, even if his friends thought he was still living in a dream world.
But...
Could they still mock fun of him if they found out his destiny?
...
As he was walking down the steps of the grandiose place, his pet bird greeted him with its usual chirping sound and called his name. It was a yellow ball of feathers... carrying a hat?
Hibari thought back, in his head, what things he did before he went there. Before he let Hibird go temporarily. Unfortunately, he couldn't remember himself giving his flying pet with any sets of clothes. In fact, the bird was wearing its own skin and it doesn't like the synthetic and cottony materials.
The bird detests products which are not made with feathers.
"Hahi! Stop that stupid little fool!"
"Hibird! No!"
And the said bird came into his view.
There it is.
Hibird was flying to its owner.
With a pink sun hat dangling security through its claws.
And two women chasing after it.
The one lagging behind wore her usual auburn-colored long hair. She seemed familiar -
"Kyoko? And - "
When he looked away from the last person who was obviously his friend Kyoko Sasagawa, he glanced to the other one standing in front of him.
Only for him to be surprised.
And stunned.
Hibari wasn't sure of himself anymore when he saw his destiny-turned-enemy-turned-infatuation woman of his dreams, standing right there. With her maroon sweatshirt and black pants. And her flushed face. And - he stopped there. He pinched his own arm to confirm that the object persona of his loveless life was a real one.
And my, how it hurts.
Both shocked by the turn of fate, they pointed towards one another accusingly.
"YOU?!"
