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 17
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Three-thirty. Hm, time sure flies fast, huh.
Hibari turned from his wristwatch to the length of the street as he turned his bicycle to the right. It is one of the days he would use a simple way to go home. He refused his pals' offers to ride their usual one, courtesy of Kyoko.
"I have to contribute to clean and green movement, even if it is just once or twice a week."
That's what he said.
Yes, it is true. He is also one of the nature lovers' advocators. Second to his fond of destinies and fantasies, is his principle of peace and serenity. He strongly believes that a clean environment promotes a proper state of mind. And a proper state of mind leads to peace. Wars are made from these points of people's assumption that a good government has a great economy with just money inside their minds. He doesn't believe in every man's saying that money changes everything. Actually, it is the environment. And it's not just nature, duh.
Those corrupted officials have the people's attention. Whatever they advertised on radios and televisions are too good to be true. When people found a scandal, or an unfinished promised, they will surely throw a fit about it. Usually, they form a crowd, then they rally, then rebel and carry their own weapons outside, accidentally take one's life, and start a civil war. That in turn will start a big uproar, and a bloody war ensues. If they only knew, their stupid bravery was just a scheme... they were being manipulated like Jumanji pieces. The war they caused will create a story to the world, then all eyes will turn to a single point, and the cycle goes on. The country who started it would receive visits from the press, and their airport will be rich because of the taxes they kept on piling up due from 'the war,' and the money collected would be distributed to the government directly to their own selfish pockets. The UN will sympathise, and several non-government units will donate their money in large sums... which also paves the way to the same as the former.
This civilisation sure is crazy, but this can't be helped. After all, he is already a part of it. So, why not be a role model, even if it is for a short moment?
He had a motorcycle once. He owned that Kawasaki, and rode it, even. But, that was when he was on his teenage years, still a delinquent back then. He thought that owning and riding on one could make him cool, but that was on the past. It was still there, collecting dust.
The last part was just a joke, actually. He still uses it, but not to become cool of course.
Ryohei had once asked him to use the motorbike. It was the unusual black color and sleek design which makes it popular to the opposite gender. He believed that statement. He once heard from his former classmates and upperclassmen - and women, mostly women - that their combination with the beautiful steed was a chick magnet. Now that he thought about it, his childish view of life made him want to cringe.
Riding a bike has its own plus factors. One can see their surroundings in a different light. One can also rest his own thoughts, instead of spending more money for a Zen garden which could only fork sands and not plant an actual one.
Plus, he needs time to clear his emotional state right now.
"Hey, Haru."
"Mariko."
"Same time tonight?"
"Hmmm... I'm not sure... "
"Oh, come on! It's just a meet and greet, you know?"
"Yes, I am aware of that... My secretary told me the inventory."
" - And no! You can't decline!"
Haru swerved to the left, turning to a corner. She is driving her own car as she was talking to the other person on the phone. That, and she was also eating her usual carb-contributing fastfood.
Taking a single salted potato stick, she answered, "Don't, won't, every negative response, but can't."
"You can't say no to this... They're important clients, and you know it. They're royalty, after all."
"They're royalty, so what?!"
"Haru, don't you dare say that... This is a powerful family we are talking about. A flick of his finger, and must-saved reputation will be done in an instant."
"Just because he is the emperor, it doesn't mean he has to hog my attention."
"Jeez, Haru... "
Another potato stick. "You can take my place."
"Actually, he specifically requests for you."
"Wow. Isn't he already married?"
Feeling the road was completely safe to drive and empty, Haru carelessly went down to get her soda in a plastic cup with the fastfood's logo.
"Well, he wants you to meet his son?"
"So he's selling his son out? What parenting lessons did he gained from politics now?"
She reached for the bag beside her, which was way too inconvenient because of the other car parts in between. She accidentally pressed the accelerator, adjusting the gears suddenly.
"... Hey, Haru, what's that roaring sound?"
She finally got the soda. "Hm? That was me... " And when she looked up -
"LOOK OUT!"
The person on the bike looked up at her shout. That's when she stomped on the brake and pressed hard on the honk. Good thing the man's got good reflexes and got out of her way. Now, she has to stop her car as it is going to hit a nearby post.
SCREECH - TSAK - TSAK!
Squeak - Squeak... POP!
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"Yay! We made it this far!" The shades-man announced from the main ball.
After the vomit holocaust, the people who participated on the even had miraculously calmed down from their high. There was a rain shower of - literally - cherry blossoms and roses with some strange liquid from above their heads, every one who had passed out mysteriously stood up like nothing happened.
Inside the hall was the same thing. The air conditions were laced with some strange air mixed with traces of lavender. Instantly, those who hid themselves under the tables were woken up like they just slept and woke up... not that the place was their bedroom on the first place.
This is one of the reasons why Reborn was called a Meister. There are several tricks under his sleeve.
"Did you like the ride?!" Asked the blue-haired girl.
Several of them clapped their hands while stating their approvals, a total reversion reaction from what happened earlier.
"Ahaha, they're strange! They were shouting otherwise earlier, right?!" Yamamoto laughed as the rest of his friends looked everyone but him because of the scene he was making.
The emcees did not mind, though. "Now, who's ready for the raffle?!"
Several hands raise up in the air as shouts of "ME!" were heard around.
"KYAAAH!" Bianchi suddenly screamed.
"Whoah - wait!" Dino tried to calm the self-proclaimed teenager of the group, when his shirt was pulled and pushed quite forcefully by the hysteric woman.
"And now... " The two continued, used to these harsh situations like it was part of their daily routine. "... Let's welcome, our man of the hour, the Staff of the Year, - "
"The handsome!" Said the man.
"Ooh! Pretty boy!" Said the woman, hooting gayishly.
Then, they briefly removed their microphones to cackle. "Please give him a hand! Kusakabe Tetsuya!"
The two then immediately stepped aside to give the floor to their man. When the regent-haired went up, he briefly scanned the crowd to look at the group of the lawyers and the group of the professors. He then lifted his own mic.
"You two are very extravagant." He glanced to the side where he could see the two.
"We just are! Don't be too humble!" Two voices, not phonograph-ed anymore but are loud enough to be heard up front, yelled.
"I'm not that handsome, though." He said. That was followed with the voices from the crew who dressed as The Kusakabe Fan Club.
"No, you're not!"
It was also followed by the voices of the genuine Kusakabe Fan Club who particularly went to the event, just to scream his name repeatedly. Kusakabe looked at the location.
"Ah, well thank you very much." He said bashfully, scratching the back of his head.
"KYAAAH!"
"HE'S SO CUTE!"
He then raised his arm a little bit. They settled down with some still yelling.
"... I'm already married, though."
Then the voices came back.
"NO... "
"OH MY GOSH! REALLY?!"
He then showed his hand where a silver band perfectly sat.
Some of the audience expressed their shock by their gasps and murmurs.
"Oh... "
"I didn't see that coming."
"Well, cut him some slack! He has been a good host for several years."
"I was pining for him, too... "
"How sweet... "
Ushers and some of the staff and crew immediately spread out to stifle the crowd.
"Well then, let's start the second main event, shall we?" The regent-haired man said as the noise died down. Then the music intro started.
You're one in a million
You're once in a lifetime
You make me discover one of the stars above us...
Kusakabe then made way from the stage to the people in front who were seated by the silken chairs. There were five of them.
"Let's introduce the judges, shall we?"
The projector shown a woman who has a silvery-white hair wearing polka-dotted blue cotton jacket and a sleepy smile(1). A lot of the male audience immediately swooned over the image, and a lot louder when the lights had shown on the same pretty face.
The woman then lifted her microphone and with a soft voice, she spoke...
"Hi, I'm Louis Asahina... and I'm a guy."
... And a lot of them have their own hearts broken.
"Hey, Ukyo, look. It's your brother." The blonde Italian said, his insincere comment just placed a burden to the other blonde, knowing that the other Asahina is an effeminate male without any effort being pulled.
After him shown another picture of another woman. She has a pixie-short hair and wore a red letter day sweatshirt.
She had turned towards the crowd the same way as the first. "Evening guys! I'm Akira Tojou(2)!"
The next three people had followed their example, but they didn't really have proper introduction. One was eating marshmallows(3). Another was shamelessly puffing cigarette smokes everywhere(4). The third one didn't even bother introducing herself at all. Just making herself at home, raising both of her feet on the arm of their chair and read a guitar magazine(5). Even Kusakabe sweatdropped from the behaviour, he cringedly introduced her instead. She had waved as a courtesy.
However, the crowd weren't fazed!
If anything, they screamed out of excitement. This had shocked both parties who just witnessed it the very first time.
"Culture shock... "
"Awkward... "
"Strange, really... "
"... "
"Seems we are the only black crayon on a field of whiteboard."
"That's not even a proper metaphor... "
"Extreme... "
"Ahaha... "
"Care to explain?"
"I don't have any idea."
But, then again, The show must go on!
"Now... to show the location of our prize... " Kusakabe then turned to the projector which flashed a new video.
You're one in a million
You're once in a lifetime -
As the same music blasted throughout the hall, an image of a heart-shaped island flashed from the screen. It shifted to a beautiful oceanic landscape with deep-blue sea water, stony beaches, colourful reefs, nice underwater view... green grasslands, large plains... and cattles?
At this image, people stopped yelling.
Why wouldn't they?
Usually, if it is an island, there would be palm trees, or big boulders, or private lounges, or a beach house. A stony shoreline is enough, why there were cattles?!
More of like domesticated ones?!
There was a big caption on a nice cursive writing captioned on one of the photos.
A heart-shaped island where cattles blessedly thrived.
Full of culturic and historic sights.
Watch the best shores and coloured corals herding together.
A best experience away from the bustling cars and busy life of the city.
"... It would sure be nice to be living in a country for vacation... " Haru mused. This received different reactions.
"Well, that's too rare coming from a workaholic and loveless woman like you." Said Bianchi, grabbing another shot of a fruity punch from a waiter walking around.
The newly accustomed blonde kept mum from his bewildered state, but the other one...
"Sure! Why not?! I mean a loner like you deserves alone-looking sight. Plus, you have money - "
A scoff from the dark-haired woman froze him on the spot.
"Kuro-shima island." Announced a random female voice amplifies throughout. "A heart-shaped island crafted by the gods themselves, is one of the magnificent Yaeyama Islands in Okinawa. It also has popular names... Heart Island, Black Island... and Land of the Cattle."
"That explained the photos." Said Yamamoto, who placed his hand under his chin and nodded sagely. "Meaning there are also people living and herding them."
"And don't forget the UMA's!" Said Gokudera.
"One of the best sights within this island is the Sekisei lagoon. It holds the largest coral reef group in Japan Okinawa has to offer. Seawater here is transparent as well, but the body itself is painted with natural deep blue color from a distance, as it reflects the gorgeous living rocks while fishes swims around. You cannot touch them, of course. But you can admire their beauty while the two of you are taking a romantic boat ride.
"There are more cattles living than the people, hence coining the term Land of the Cattle. There is also a festival which is called Ushi Matsuri to flaunt their rich culture and their best-bred cattles only found in this island."
"Wow, a cattle island... people living there should be rich - I mean cattle has the rarest production, and they also cost a fortune to buy their meat in our city." Hana said.
She was seconded by her husband. "Freshest airs, the feeling of the countryside... I really miss my childhood... " He then hugged her by her waist, settling himself behind her. The pregnant woman then console him by patting his head.
"Well, not for me... "
Getting an opposite response, the group turned to the only one who said it. He then looked up. "Why? I mean this is a two-and-a-half tour away from our home. And that is if we exclude the actual time we have to stay in the traffic and waiting for the booked flight from the Naha Airport. Just the two of us stranded in the island is like a suffocating menace to me... especially if she's too whiny and thick-lipped... " He muttered the last part as he shivered.
"Oh, don't you say it like you can decide when the world ends... " The ravenhead glanced towards the only female of their group who hasn't said anything yet. He found her eerily looking at him as she spoke. "You haven't known what fates have on their sleeves."
"Kyoko... you're creepy."
"Am I?"
He didn't respond, but a feeling of a knot within his stomach made him queasy for some foreboding dread coming.
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Haru began opening her eyes feeling her clothes getting wet and her hair dripping with the soda. She can also smell the scent of the beverage she became accustomed to, as well as the current state she was in. It is not as if she was unconscious and she had just woken up. No, she isn't dumb to fall on that trick like an idiotic loser.
She had not only lived on the West just to study like a noob. She knew perfectly her line of work, and she has to know even the basics of survival tactics in order for her to be prepared with these kinds of scenarios. Guess it had paid off.
As she expected, the airbag had popped out, knocking her fastfood-branded beverage cup and hit her face hard. Well, not that hard.
She had to block her face at both sides, front and back as well, bracing herself for the impact after she made sure that the engine was out.
She sure felt dizzy, but her nose was unaffected. Still, she had to make sure. She blew hard to her right hand, and felt nothing. She also collected the wetness from the underside of her nose to check if it is red or brown and not sticky. She was also holding her head upwards while checking herself from wounds, when rapid knocks raps her window.
She knew it. She knew it was the same man whom she was ill-fated to see. On the college grounds, the shrine, the courthouse.
And even on the speed date.
And as if the fate wasn't satisfied, it still made its way for them to meet again.
Hm. It's really scary, I forgot how to cry.
She glanced aimlessly to her right. There was a big deep red line on his arm, and blood already stained his side.
His brows were furrowed as well.
Yes, he is angry. He'll sue me, I don't have a reason to defend myself. Even if I didn't bump to him, I would still lose the case... Every member of the firm, plus the accuser's attorney will band themselves together to get me, and I'm not sure if my attorney would handle this well... because he will join the band... They can also fake the CCTV footage as well, witnesses too...
She slowly opened her car door to face the man's wrath, when her hands were pulled, and her face tapped gently.
"Hey! Hey! Are you okay?! Are you hurt?!"
The brunette faced him wide-eyed. His face... not hatred? Is this man a retard?
"Fate sure is too tricky, huh?"
"You might think these judges arrived just to choose... But they're here just to check the game's validity to make sure that it's random... This is a raffle, guys and gals!" Announced Kusakabe as he was joined with the two emcees.
"Then what is the sense of them being there?" Haru mused.
"To make this raffle more exciting, our staff had already prepared the radio recordings to identify the lucky people to stay in Kuro-shima!" The shades-man followed as the audience hooted.
"And for more shocking revelations," The blue-haired girl continued, "Our system had already generated the two people who will be enjoying this once-in-a-century paradise!"
The audience were obviously surprised.
"HUH?!"
"WHOOO!"
The five people introduced also joined them on stage, holding their own cocktail glasses as they started to drum roll.
"Let's start!"
The audience then stopped their yells to listen to the audio.
"... To tell you the truth, I never loved someone yet... I fell in love once... It's really hard to look by taking several dates , yet not finding the right one for you... "
Haru's brow twitched.
"I once had a first love - not that first love - fleeting love, perhaps?... I know love! It's the reason why I'm still clinging to my beliefs... "
Hibari spat out the water he was drinking from the cup.
"See? I told you... " Kyoko sing-sang.
As the spotlights were directed to the two, the projector shown how they walked to their numbered cabins, and have their faces shown buy some camera guy who somehow managed to sneak in front of them.
Then, they looked at each other at a distance, as if they knew where the other one is located.
Awkward.
Tensed.
And surprised.
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Yo~~~ G'day mate! How are you?
Now, I just have to try this out from curiosity. I love writing rants at the beginning of a oneshot and/or a chapter, and usually, they're longer than the story itself. This is just an experiment for me to try out, and I'll go back to my own style after the tides changed (based from my mood).
It seems effective (one thing, I couldn't place rants anymore haha), so far...
Endnotes:
(1) While Ukyo 'My Love' is the second son, Louis Asahina is the eighth of the thirteen brothers. He is also the adoptive son, in correspondence to Ema Asahina being the adoptive daughter coming from her father Rintarou Hinata. The story Brothers' Conflict indeed conflicted my senior years in college, but sad to say this is not my fave.
(2) More reference to shojou anime (YAY!) This is Hikari Hanazono's best friend and one of the top seven students in Special A. Unfortunately, shojou is never within my range, never liked them from the beginning! EW! Actually, I just lacked names from Nippongo language, and I picked them as my 'guests' like some American series such as 90210, VEEP, Star Crossed (most-hated series because its beginning is too vague until the end), The Voice (a singing contest), American Idol (yet another singing contest!), and The Family Guy (... Eh?).
(3) First off, I love marshmallows. I was the one who originally made them my lunch and dinner. Millefiore's Byakuran just copied me. Don't believe me? Oh, come on!
(4) I love seinen, okay! So, it is undeniable that I place one of my fave characters, even just for cameo. It's Toua Tokuchi from One Outs. Boy, he was such the original CHAINSMOKER! And another issue of copyrights act being violated (you know what I mean). TEEHEE!
(5) One of my faves as well. I don't know if you are familiar to this character or not, but she is one unchangeable character here. Yayoi Kunizuka was a former band member who was turned into Sybil's doggies, and was teamed to Division 1 of the Criminal Department headed by Gino Nobuchika (is now replaced with Akane Tsunemori on Season 2). This is PSYCHO-PASS!
Trivia (not anymore): Gen Urobochi was the one who created the story of Psycho-Pass. But Akira Amano was the artist of the characters. Please check this anime and spread not only seinen love, but also lots of HIBAHARU LOVE!
... The signs of our favorite couple are also showing there, just to let you know...
