Author's Note: Kasumi gets confused. Poor Kasumi, just pick Hibird and run away.
Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
In the middle of all the chatter, Dokuro suddenly asks, "U-Um… Mukuro-sama… What happened to Rokudo Mukuro?"
Irie Shoichi gasps. I cross my arms. Let's see what this guy knows… "According to what Byakuran-san said, Mukuro had possessed a Millefiore solider. Once Byakuran-san noticed, he personally..." Dokuro gasps.
"N-No way!" mutters Sawada.
"But I don't believe him," continues Irie, Shoichi.
Dokuro asks, "Huh?"
Irie, Shoichi explains, "Because his name never showed up on the Vendicare Prison's dead list." I resist the urge to let out a sigh. Thank goodness… Mukuro-sama is okay for sure…
"Which means…" starts Sawada.
Irie, Shoichi smiles. "He's alive. That's certain." Dokuro collapses suddenly. "H-Hey, you!" exclaims Irie, Shoichi. I don't run over to her, but I watch.
Kusakabe runs over and exclaims, "Chrome-san!"
Irie, Shoichi helps her up and she says, "Thank goodness…"
I look around as they start to walk back to the base. I hang back and Hibari looks at me. "What are you doing?" he asks.
"Hibari-san, you're going back separately from the others, right?" I ask. He nods. "May I join you then?" He nods. I smile a little. "Thank you." I have a headache. I know I can count on Hibari not annoying me.
I stand there and wait until Hibari starts to go. I follow him outside. It seems like a normal day. People are going about their daily life, oblivious to their inevitable doom if Sawada and the others fail. Hibari's appearance made me realize that we've all been missing in present time for a while. I'm about to ask him a question, but Hibari suddenly asks, "This is where you disappeared to, isn't it?" I nod. "Hm," he replies. He turns away again and continues to walk down the street. I hear him mutter, "I was worried."
My eyes widen and I find myself blushing. What Bianchi-san said really is true then… The present Hibari and the adult Hibari had feelings for me. That's...ten years of having feelings for someone? That's actually pretty sweet... I find my cheeks getting even warmer. Hibari turns to me again and gives me a questioning look. "I-It's nothing…" I reply, "I…I'm sorry if my disappearance caused you any trouble, Hibari-san."
"Your friends came to the school the other day," Hibari says suddenly. He realized that I was worried…?
My eyes widen a little. "Ken and Chickusa?" I ask.
"I don't know. There were two of males from Kokuyo who came looking for you. I think I saw them once," he replies.
"Mm…was one of them blonde with a large scar by this nose and the other one pale with glasses?" I ask. He nods. "Yes, that would be them then."
"The blonde one was very boisterous and demanded to know where you were," continues Hibari.
Oh shoot Ken… "I'm really, really sorry about Ken's behavior," I say.
"I told them I didn't know where you were and the blonde one got mad," says Hibari. "The pale one dragged him away though."
I let out a quiet sigh. I really did worry them… Ken… Chickusa… I'm sorry. "Again, I'm really sorry about that…" He nods. My apology was accepted. Kusakabe finds us and leads us to the shrine where we enter Hibari's side of the base. Hibari looks a pleased to see that I work for him in the future. I retreat to the other side of the base to see if I can contact Fran.
I look at the monitor with a placid expression as Fran shows up on the screen. "Kasumi-senpai…do you really have to bother me right after the invasion?" he asks, seeming particularly exhausted.
"I'm sorry," I reply. "But I wanted to ask you something."
"That's weird. Why would you turn to me to ask something?" he asks.
I raise my right eyebrow at him. "It's not like I can ask Ken or Chickusa. I haven't seen them at all. Plus, I don't know how to contact them. Mukuro-sama hasn't contacted me in a while either so…" I reply with a shrug.
"Why don't you just ask those people at the base then?" Fran suggests.
I shake my head. "Most of the people are from the past. They can't help much. As for the ones from this time period…well…I'd get some weird answers for sure," I reply. Then I add, "Not that I expect any less weird answers from you."
"Whatever then… This is keeping me safe from the angry boss and the Fallen Prince."
"Can you tell me what you know about my future-self then?"
"Wow, you're really curious as a kid, Kasumi-senpai," he comments, his voice still pretty monotone, but I can catch a hint of teasing in it. "Anyways, you're really pretty in the future. Really, really pretty…" he starts. "I can see why Master Mukuro is always staring at you."
I start to blush a little and I exclaim, "What's with that comment, Fran?!"
"Huh, you look really cute right now too, Kasumi-senpai," he replies, still in a monotone way. I don't give him the satisfaction of getting an interesting reaction. Seemingly bored now, he says, "Anyways, you're still part of the Kokuyo Gang, but you work for the Vongola's Cloud Guardian too. Even though Master Mukuro is my 'official' teacher, you usually end up teaching me too. Your lessons are a lot less painful by the way. I like them more. Let's see…you still really hate M.M. and occasionally, you knock her unconscious when you get really annoyed with her. During our lessons we use her as a practice target sometimes and we make fun of her by using illusions of Master Mukuro."
I start to laugh. "Mukuro-sama doesn't mind?"
"Nope, not at all. He seems to like Kasumi-senpai the best. But he always gets mad at me. Oh, Master Mukuro really doesn't like it when you go work with the Vongola's Cloud Guardian. He gets really mad when you're away. During our lessons he attacks me a lot more when you're away. He was especially annoyed that time when you travelled around the world with the Vongola's Cloud Guardian to research box weapons."
I nod. "Mm, I think that's enough. Thank you Fran."
He shrugs. "Whatever." His voice is still deadpanned.
I smile a little. "Sorry for bothering you," I say apologetically. "I can see why you would be my favorite kohai in the future, Fran. Well, see you." I think I see him smile a little. He waves and then, I cut the connection. The adult Mukuro-sama gets mad when my future-self spends time with the adult Hibari-san… I sigh, I didn't ask for something like this. I have such a massive headache now.
I eat my rice and look at Dokuro, who seems to be on the spot right now. "Aren't you hungry Chrome-chan?" asks Miura.
Dokuro looks really uncomfortable. "You don't have to force yourself to eat right now. Food tastes best when you're actually hungry," Sasagawa says with a smile. Dokuro gasps and blushes even more.
Dokuro sets down her chopsticks and gets up. "I'm going to my room..." she mutters.
"How about a cup of tea first?" asks Miura. "There's some great tea…" Dokuro runs out. I finish the bowl of rice and set the bowl and chopsticks down on the table. "She's a quiet and odd girl," comments Miura.
Bianchi chuckles a little. "She doesn't know what to do when people are kind to her."
"Eh?" asks Sasagawa.
"I heard from Reborn…" starts Bianchi. I start to listen more attentively now. What does the Arcobaleno know about us? "That girl thought she was all alone for her whole life. She's never considered that others would accept her unconditionally. That's why she's suffering from a bit of shock from what you two would consider natural behavior. But she's a good girl. Don't treat her any differently."
"Got it!" the others exclaim happily.
I look up as Sawada and his Guardians, excluding Hibari and Dokuro come in. I stand up, about to leave. "Sato-san, don't you want more food? All you ate was a bowl of rice," says Mirua.
I shake my head. "I'm a guest here. I don't quite belong. I wouldn't want to take up all the resources," I reply as I put the bowl and the chopsticks that I used into the sink.
"Sato-san," starts Sawada. I look at him blankly as I start to wash the bowls and utensils in the sink. "You don't have to be so distant."
I nod. "I understand that. The thing is, even though in this time period, the adult Mukuro-sama and the adult Hibari-san work for you, the present Mukuro-sama doesn't work under you and even though I do work under Hibari-san in a way, he doesn't work under you." I look down at the sink and mutter, "I can't betray Mukuro-sama like that…" I continue to wash the dishes with my head down. I finish the remaining dishes and start to walk out.
"Wait, at least stay for some tea, Sato-san," Sawada pleads.
"Fine," I reply slowly. I sit down at the table again and listen to their antics. I find myself laughing a little as the Storm Guardian faints due to seeing Bianchi. Why do I always get myself caught in these in-between situations? I feel a twinge of sadness hit me and I look down again. I should leave now. I shouldn't let myself get too close to the mafia…
I walk back to Hibari's side of the base with dinner for Hibari and Kusakabe. "Where did you go?" asks Hibari once I go into his side of the base. I get the feeling he was a bit worried for some reason. That's right… This is Hibari-san's first time at the base.
I smile at him and I see his expression soften slightly. "I'm sorry I took so long, Hibari-san. Kusakabe-san usually goes to Sawada-san's side of the base to pick up dinner. Since I was around there today, I decided to pick up dinner instead," I explain. I walk over to the table and place the food I brought over on it. Hibari just nods. Then, he just sits down and starts to eat. I walk into several rooms looking for Kusakabe. Finally, I go to his room. The door is closed. I knock on the door and ask, "Kusakabe-san? Are you in there?"
"Ah! Yes," replies Kusakabe from behind the door. He opens the door. "Oh, you're back, Sato-san." I nod. "Kyo-san was worried about you, you know?" he asks.
I blush even though I figured as much. Hearing it out loud makes me embarrassed, I guess. "Why?" I ask quietly.
"Although Kyo-san has never admitted it, he really does care for you, Sato-san." Kusakabe notices my expression and says, "Even the Sato-san from this time period is confused, but don't worry about it too much. Take your time."
I nod slowly. I change the topic quickly. "Um, I brought back dinner, Hibari-san already started to eat." Kusakabe nods, most likely sensing my discomfort.
After he goes to eat dinner, I walk back to my room and after closing the door, I start to think. What have I gotten myself into? I never really thought about it much. At first, I had a crush on Mukuro and he knew that. It always felt like he was constantly teasing me, but there are times that it felt like he returned the same feelings. Like how he always favored me, taking me out of harm's way, and protecting me from things like ending up in Vendicare Prison… But then, when he brought Dokuro and I got upset, causing me to go to Nami-Middle. That's when I met Hibari… I groan in frustration and plop down on my bed. This sucks… I lay there quietly. I wonder if my future-self figured it out… I get up again as I hear knocking on my door. I open the door and see Hibari there. He doesn't say anything, instead Hibird says, "Kasumi, Kasumi!" Hibird flies into my room and lands on my head.
I look at Hibari blankly as Hibird starts to nest in my hair. "Is something wrong, Hibari-san?" I ask.
"Hibird was looking for you," he replies.
I say a bit too slowly, "I see…" That sounds like a pretty flimsy lie to me. I continue to stand at the door awkwardly until I finally ask quietly, "Would you like to come in?" I move out of the way so he can walk in. Then, I sit on my bed and pick up a random book, pretending that I was in the middle of reading it before he knocked on the door.
I watch his back with vague interest as he inspects the pictures that my future-self left in the room. They seem to immediately catch his eye. He seems a bit pleased and I figure that he must be pleased that there's a picture of his future-self with my future-self, but not one of me with Mukuro. Is he really pleased about something like that…? Or is it just my imagination?
"Kasumi, Kasumi!" Hibird calls. Hibari turns to look at Hibird who's still sitting on my head. "Hibari, Hibari!" My eyes widen slightly. This sounds really familiar… "Kiss! Kiss!" I feel my cheeks get warm. I can just die of embarrassment now. Of all the times possible, must you choose now, Hibird? Really? Geez…It's like Hibird knows…
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