Hello everyone~! I want to thank you for all the lovely reviews, alerts, and favorites! You guys are the best! Recently, someone PMed me asking about the time line of the story. It takes place shortly after the ring battle and will have an additional arc before the future arc. Sorry for the short chapter, but I wanted to introduce my new character before the plot gets going. By the way, Gokudera is still in Italy and won't return until the next chapter or two. Remember, reviews makes a happy miiika and faster updates~ :D
P.S. I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. I only own the plot and my original characters. -miiika
Hinamori Daichi's eyes darted around the crowded room nervously as he stood in the midst of taller students pushing their way to the front of the lunch line. His wallet was out and in his hands, his fingers squeezing the leather object as if it was his life line.
He let out a deep sigh of relief as he finally reached the beginning of the line and quickly paid for his purchases. No bullies today, he thought in satisfaction, shoving his wallet in his pockets with one hand and holding his yakisoba bread in the other.
A shadow fell over him and Daichi looked up at the figures looming ominously above him.
Daichi sweat dropped as one of the figures cackled, cracking his knuckles as he stared down at the smaller boy.
Never mind, he spoke too soon.
"Hehe, look at what we have here. It's Hinamori-kun!" The tallest spoke first, leering at the smaller boy with his beady eyes.
"You know, Hinamori-kun, you ran off yesterday after delivering our lunch." He continued casually as his lackeys closed in on Daichi. "How disappointing! We were going to ask you to play a little game with us too!"
Daichi tightened his grip on his lunch as he slowly back away from the taller boys. At the mention of the said 'game', he could feel his legs shake as he took the step back. The last time he agreed to play the said 'game'. .Well, let's just say he wasn't the winner.
"Say, Hinamori-kun. We're a bit hungry right now." The one on his left spoke up, wrapping his arm around Daichi's neck in a 'friendly manner'. "How 'bout you treat us to some lunch again?" He leered at the yakisoba bread Daichi was holding and licked his lips.
"Yeah, yeah!" The one of his right spoke, punching Daichi in the arm 'lightly' in an equally friendly manner. "After all, we're all friends." The tallest supplemented, giving Daichi a dirty glare - challenging the smaller boy to say otherwise.
"Right, Hinamori-kun?" The friendly suffix only made the situation worse in Daichi's opinion. The three boys had been on his back since the first day of school, choosing him errand boy.
How humiliating. Daichi wanted to kick himself for his helplessness. Then, the faces of his two classmates from the other day popped into his mind. That's right. .Yamamoto Takeshi and Sawada Tsuna were watching for him on the roof top.
He couldn't let the bullies take his lunch or money. He had his friends waiting for him on the roof top!
"No. ." He said slowly, lifting his head up as he stared at his bullies in the eyes with heated determination. "We're not friends and I'm not paying for your lunch anymore!" The three bullies looked at Daichi in terror as the smaller boy rolled up his sleeves and ferociously attacked them.
The events played out in Daichi's mind perfectly, but it seemed as if his mind and body were thinking on different levels. While Daichi's mind screamed for him to fight back, his body screamed for him to hold back and just give them the damn money.
There was only so much bruises his body could hold. 'Ah. . If only I could do that,' He thought dejectedly, fishing through his pockets for his wallet.
In the end, Hinamori Daichi was and always would be a coward.
Just as Daichi was about to put the wallet in the tallest boy's hands, a lethargic voice spoke out. "It's great that you guys are solidifying your friendship through threats and all, but would you mind moving out of the way?"
The tallest of the three snapped his head towards the direction of the voice, his eyes narrowing venomously at the appearance of another boy. "Hah? What did you say, you punk?"
Daichi blinked, dropping his hands as he stared at his 'savior'. The boy's uniform was untidy and had brushes of dirt on the sleeves while his hair was a light shade of brown and stuck up at random intervals. His cobalt eyes had a tired look to them and in one of his hands, he held a milk carton.
"You heard me, you stupid delinquent." The boy said tonelessly, bringing the straw up to his lips as he took a sip of the beverage.
"Get out of the way."
The boy's flat expression and actions seemed to anger the tallest boy, who rolled up the sleeves of his uniform. "Are you asking for a fight? Do you have any idea who I am?"
The other boy blinked, his eyes focusing on the fuming delinquent. "Sorry, I don't associate myself with monkeys like yourself." He said, dismissing the boy with a casual flick of his wrist. The two boys beside Daichi exchanged worried looks.
"Hey. .Isn't that-?" The one on the right trailed off, leaving the question unfinished as the one on the left removed his arm from Daichi's neck. Fear was evident in the two eyes as they stared at the newcomer, but Daichi couldn't place a finger on why.
"Yo, Take-chan! We should probably go. ." The tallest turned to his two friends and growled at them.
"What did you say?" He snarled, waving a threatening fist at his two friends. "We'll leave when I say we leave!"
"And we're not leaving until I kick this toothpick's ass!"
"Is that a challenge?" The boy spoke he crushed the empty milk carton in his hand. Tossing the object to the side, he placed both of his hands in his pockets as he advanced towards the troublesome trio with an amused expression on his visage. " I haven't had a challenge in a long time."
"Yeah?" Take-chan stupidly challenged, rolling up the sleeves of his uniform in attempt to intimidate the other boy. "Well I'm challenging you right now, mop head!" Daichi sweat dropped as Take-chan continued to hurl insults at the boy.
"H-Hey, I don't think you should be challenging him, Take-chan." The boy on the right spoke again, his voice shaky as he attempted to hold back his taller friend. "I think that's-" He was cut off short once again as the taller boy crashed into him.
Take-chan stared at the newcomer in fury as his fingers brushed against his bruised jaw line. The newcomer returned his stare with a tired expression, flexing his fingers experimentally as he cocked his head to the side in a slightly arrogant manner. "Ouch." He said blandly, showing the taller boy the red marks on his hand. "Even monkeys have strong bones."
The comment only enraged the already furious boy and Take-chan quickly rose to his feet, blindly attacking the lethargic boy in a wild rage. Daichi watched dumbstruck as the brown haired boy dodged the blows clumsily, narrowly escaping death as Take-chan delivered a bone-crushing blow towards the boy's head.
A boredom was evident on the boy's face as he ducked and stuck out his foot, effectively sending the taller boy sprawling to the ground. Raising his foot, the boy sent a striking kick that even a soccer player would be envious of towards the midsection of Take-chan's body.
Daichi winced, clutching his stomach as the boy was sent flying towards the other end of the cafeteria. Those who had been watching, quickly adverted their eyes as the two boys rushed towards Take-chan and the other boy picked up the empty milk carton he had discarded earlier with a frown.
"What a waste of time. ." He murmured, shaking the carton in hopes to hear liquid squishing in the cardboard container. "Empty." The boy lowered the object in disappointment, throwing the carton away as Daichi stared.
Had. .he just saved him?
Daichi blinked, unable to find the words. If the boy had saved him, why? It wasn't as if they were classmates or acquaintances. Also, the boy disregarded his presence as if he hadn't been Daichi at all. He swallowed, no matter the reason, he would still have to thank him. "Er. ." He started off, only to be silenced by the boy holding a hand to his face.
"Don't thank me." The boy said, lowering his hand as he stared at Daichi with the same vacant expression he had earlier. "I hate being acknowledged." Daichi closed his mouth, staring at the boy with a strange expression.
"Um. .Okay." He said slowly, racking his brains for a solution. He thought back to the beverage he was holding earlier, "At least let me buy you a drink. You like milk right?" The boy's visage brightened up slightly at the mention of a beverage.
Daichi later found out that the boy's name was Hatoyama Isamu (1), which was fitting considering his personality. After buying the boy the milk he so desperately craved, Daichi and Isamu joined the two boys from Class 1-A to salvage the rest of their disrupted lunch.
At first, Tsuna seemed apprehensive to have another boy join the group, but after a while, he began to tolerate the tired boy's presence. That was until something very shocking was revealed about Isamu.
"Y-You're in the Disciplinary Committee?" Tsuna exclaimed, his eyes comically widening as he stared at Isamu with a mixture of terror and awe. When Tsuna first saw Isamu, he figured that the boy was nothing but an average delinquent, but to be a member of the Disciplinary Committee? Tsuna wasn't sure whether he should be scared or laughing at the sheer irony. He always seemed to attract the most dangerous or strangest people in Namimori.
"Yeah." Isamu replied flatly, the straw from the previous milk carton was in his mouth as he spoke. The milk was long gone by now, but Isamu developed the habit of chewing the straw after he finished. "What's the problem?"
Tsuna stared at Isamu with a far-away expressing, thinking that if he replaced the straw with a grass-blade, Isamu could pass off as a delinquent from the old days. That was, if his hair wasn't so untamable. "I always thought the Disciplinary Committee members had to wear their hair in that weird shape!" Yamamoto said, using his hands to demonstrate the signature pompadour hairstyle on his own head.
"Why doesn't Hibari-san make you wear it?" Daichi spoke, feeling comfortable around the boy whom he had just met a few minutes earlier. Daichi couldn't place a finger on it, but there was something about the lethargic boy's aura that naturally drew people in. It was probably his face and personality that repealed people away from him.
Isamu used his free hand to scratch the back of his nape, staring at the sky with an uninterested expression. "I guess Chairman gave up on me." He spoke, brushing his messy locks with his hand. The three boys watched in awe as Isamu's hair automatically resumed its' position after his hand left.
"We tried, of course. But all the gel in the world can't tame this," He concluded flatly, pointing to his mop-head with a rather dejected expression. "Such a shame though. I think I could pull off that hairstyle."
Tsuna jaw dropped as Yamamoto and Daichi laughed. Who would actually want to have that kind of hairstyle? While the hairstyle might symbolize unity within the group, Tsuna couldn't think of a reason why Hibari chose the 50's hairstyle.
As the four boys began to chat about trivial manners, a pair of small beady black eyes watched the group silently from the shadows. Tilting his fedora to shield his eyes, a smirk was seen on the infant's face as he watched Isamu. 'Hatoyama, huh?'
Suddenly, the door slammed open just as it had the other day, but instead of Daichi rushing in, it was Hibari Kyoya. Tsuna and Daichi's eyes immediately widened at the sight of the irritated prefect, distancing themselves from Hibari's glare while Yamamoto - of course - smiled.
Isamu, on the other hand, greeted the prefect with a lazy wave. "Ah, hello Chairman." Hibari's eyes narrowed upon seeing the herbivores crowding, but jerked his head towards the door.
"Come." was all Hibari said before disappearing from the roof top. Isamu sighed as if he was bothered by the prefect's interruption, but never less lifted himself up from the ground. "I'll see you guys later." The boy said, giving the three a wave as he scaled the iron fence. .and jumped.
Giving a strangled cry, the three boys rushed to the fence, expecting to see Isamu's face planted on the ground. Instead, they saw Isamu grab a tree branch during his decent, and swung himself to safety - disappearing into the window of the Disciplinary Committee room.
"What an interesting exit!" Yamamoto remarked, recalling the time he jumped off the roof - only Yamamoto didn't have such a clean decent. Daichi seemed perturbed by Yamamoto's cheerful statement. A boy - their friend - had just jumped off the roof and that was all Yamamoto could say? Sometimes, Yamamoto cheerfulness was a bit. .unsettling.
Daichi then blinked, realizing something very important.
Hibari Kyouya - the very man his sister had so shamelessly slapped the other day - was on the rooftop with him. The prefect had briefly acknowledged Daichi, yet he didn't 'bite him to death'.
Was it just a lucky fluke? Daichi wondered as he left the roof with Yamamoto and Tsuna. Or was it something else?
(1) Isamu means 'stone'. Also, can you find anything interesting about Isamu's last name?
Edit : February 19,2011
'Chan' was used in Take-chan's name because he was addressed by his two close friends. While 'chan' is primarily used to address close female friends, it can still be used within males. (In fact, some male celebrities are referred to as _-chan from their fans). Usually, 'chan' has a youthful tone to it, which makes 'chan' within males uncommon because males want to be masculine and more mature.