Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, or any songs that I will be using in this fic.

Chapter two: A dawn-colored sky

Song: Precious one by KAT-TUN

At last, after another thirty minutes of finalizing, the first hot-air balloon was ready to launch. The four men, including Hibari, finished putting the last weights in the basket, as well as some extra fuel tanks. Chrome offered to help, but the three older men just smiled and assured her that they could not let a girl doing those operations. Finally, it was time for the visitors to climb in. Without a word, Hibari swiftly hopped in the basket and started to burn the fuel. Though hesitantly, Chrome followed his actions and hopped in as well. She then turned back to the other three and bowed gratefully:

"Uhm... Thank you very much for letting me ride the first balloon." said Chrome with her quiet voice.

"No problem, young lady, it was our pleasure. And Kyo, don't forget to judge the wind's direction and follow it. Pilot it safely and be nice to this young lady." grinned the two younger men cheekily. As for the elder, he nodded approvingly and reassuringly at Hibari.

With one last bow to the three men, Chrome found herself, or rather the whole basket, being lifted off the ground. She was kind of unbalanced at first at the sudden change, but soon stabilized herself. Glancing at Hibari, she saw him staring to put out the extra bag weights in order to balance the visitors 'weight and the basket's. Seeing this, Chrome also came over and helped him with the other bags. While she was pulling them up, her hands brushed Hibari's lightly, causing some blood rushing up to her cheeks. Stealing a glance at Hibari, his expressionless face assured her that he hasn't realized it. Chrome then tried her best to ignore it and concentrated on what she was doing.

As the weights were all balanced, Hibari turned his attention towards the burner. He hasn't said anything since they got in the basket. His expression was as usual, indifferent and somewhat cold. Chrome found herself fidgeting nervously. She wasn't sure if she should say something to Hibari, fearing that he might snap if she opened her mouth. After all, it was her fault that the three other men had forced him to ride the balloon with her. Although she never got to talk to him directly, Chrome knew from Mukuro-sama and the other Vongola guardians that Hibari wasn't fond of crowds and always preferred to be alone. Nevertheless, she felt that she needed to at least apologize to him for the situation, even though she might get bitten to death later.

"I... I... want to apologize for this, Cloud m-, I mean, Hibari-san. I can summon an illusionary bird and get out of here if you want." said Chrome hesitantly, after gathering all her courage.

Hibari turned his head towards her with an unreadable expression. He let out an inaudible sigh.

"I never go back on my words, herbivore. If I promised that old man to ride with you, that's what I'll do."

Something in Chrome relaxed as she heard those words. She felt really grateful and considered herself lucky. Not only she was able to ride the hot-air balloon, she got to ride it with Hibari, the violent and dangerous prefect of Namimori, without any trouble yet. Her relief soon left place to her curiosity: Who were those people? They seem to be able to talk sense into Hibari, a task considered difficult or even impossible by many. Judging by her observations, they could be Hibari's family members. Although Chrome didn't know much about Hibari, she heard from her boss that he lived alone, so that meant those people only got to see Hibari at this time of year?

As many questions popped up in her head without any answer, Chrome decided to let the matter aside for now. It was then that she realized that the sky was still dark. Thanks to her previous thoughts and her nervousness caused by Hibari's presence, Chrome failed to see that the sun hasn't even risen yet. The wind became even stronger as they got higher.

Hibari still concentrated on his task of orienting the balloon. If she didn't know any better, the prefect reminded her of a prideful bird, a hawk to be exact, whose cold and calculated eyes never waver and always remained focused ahead. The temperature decreased little by little as the balloon's altitude increased. Chrome found herself shivering involuntarily and mentally berated herself for only wearing her usual Kokuyo uniform without any jacket. She began to rub her arms in an attempt to warm up. Chrome then felt something on her shoulders. Looking up, she realized that the Vongola cloud guardian has just dumped his black jacket on her.

"Uhm...thank you Hibari-san, but I think you should take it back. You might get a cold yourself. " remarked Chrome timidly, ignoring her warm cheeks.

The cloud guardian turned at her with a somewhat annoyed expression on his face. He made no move to retrieve the jacket.

"Herbivores should just worry about themselves. Keep it, I don't want that herbivorous boss of yours to nag me if you caught a cold." stated Hibari calmly.

Realizing that he wouldn't do as she suggested, Chrome pulled the jacket closer to her and enjoyed its warmth. Her blush deepened against her will. It was strange how such a normal jacket could be that warm. Moreover, even though Hibari said it in a not-so-gentle way, he did show concern for her, and she was grateful for that. Considering her past with her family, Chrome didn't think that her existence could be welcomed by others, so she didn't think that anyone would care for her. And yet, the prefect, who many didn't think as a gentle person, has shown her such simple kindness, something that she has been unconsciously yearning for a long time.

Without even realizing it, her lips formed into a small smile, something that she hasn't done for so long. She was so absorbed in her own world that Chrome failed to see Hibari looking at her out of the corner of his eyes.

"Look up", commanded the prefect curtly.

As she complied, Chrome gasped at what she saw. The clouds that were shielding the sky earlier seemed to be pushed back. A giant orb slowly rose from the bottoms of the horizon. Everything seemed to immobilize at that moment. Numerous rays of light coming from the bright orb illuminated the sky. That majestic sight left the Vongola mist guardian standing still, without even blinking. Her eyes were glued to that sphere until it has reached the top of the sky and the surroundings became normal again. She didn't know that a dawn could be that beautiful and breath-taking.

Glancing at her left, she caught sight of Hibari and was taken aback by what she saw. The prefect, the most feared man in all Namimori town, the strongest and also most violent Vongola guardian was actually smiling, even though the "smile" was just a little twitch upward of his mouth. His raven hair was swaying gently in the wind. His expression was that of serenity and peace, and it told her that he felt the same way as her towards the breath-taking scene before them. Never before has she seen him looking so contented. Something in his expression made her heart throbs. Her chest suddenly fell heavy with an unknown emotion. The blood returned to her cheeks no matter how hard she tried to suppress it. This feeling was different from what she felt for Mukuro-sama or for Ken and Chikusa.

But how, she told herself. She never really talked with Hibari before, so she didn't know much about him. Furthermore, she was probably the guardian who had the less interaction with the prefect. And yet, at that moment, Chrome thought seeing another side of him aside from his bloodthirsty and cold self that no one had ever been able to see before.

"Are you done staring at me?" asked Hibari in a slightly annoyed tone.

Upon hearing his voice, Chrome immediately snapped out of her trance. She was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice that she was staring at him. Hibari was looking down at her, looking slightly pissed, but he made no move to attack her with his tonfas.

Then, without knowing what has gotten into her, Chrome found herself looking up at him with a smile forming on her lips.

"Thank you for showing me this, Hibari-san. This sight means a lot to me."

And that was true, Chrome has never really seen a dawn before. And if she did, she wasn't able to enjoy it because of her lonely life before that accident. But now, for some reason, this majestic sight, along with the man standing next to her, has given her an insight into her life. Maybe, just maybe, she can be accepted by people other than Mukuro-sama and that she could be useful to them in some way or another.

As for Hibari, even though he didn't show it, he was actually taken aback by Chrome's smile. As far as he had seen, this girl hardly smiled in front of others, just like him in some way. He didn't even understand why he has lent her his jacket or showing her the dawn in the first place. It just seemed like the right thing to do. He immediately berated himself mentally for thinking such herbivorous thoughts. Despite this, the prefect found himself nodding slightly to the girl in front of him and thinking that maybe she wasn't just that bastard's puppet after all...

A/N: Sorry for any grammatical mistakes that you will find. I'll try my best to improve it. Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome:)