Le gasp! A new chapter already?! Sorry, it's just a sneak peek.
Merry Christmas! Frohe Weihnachten! Joyeux Noël! Buon Natale 圣诞节快乐! メリークリスマス! This is your present.
Those are all the languages I know. If yours isn't up there, sorry. If it is and I did something wrong... I have a tendency to misspell Christmas in English, which is my best language. If that makes it any better.
DarkDragonessFliesEveryWhere - Dude, you are my only reviewer for that last chapter. Out of like 2,000 readers, 113 followers, and 76 favorites. Thank you. Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, Thank you. B.T.W. You are correct. Libroteca is a word I made using the Italian words for Library and Books. I took the two of them and mashed them together because it wouldn't be fair for those non latin language speakers. Heh, looks like I didn't do a good enough job.
Regardless of not reviewing, thanks to the rest of you for supporting the fic.
eternal-nature15 and Reizo Rini- Thank you.
Guest - Yeah, I always have trouble with the beginning. It always flows more easily after. I think it's kind of an automatic thing I do. A "How the heck am I supposed to do this?! You know what forget the beginning, I'm just going to start with a bunch of random scenes and see where it takes me." kind of feeling. Yup. That is exactly how it happened. ;P
Chapter 3 Target 3 Gokudera
Hibari Kyoya was a strong carnivore, everyone knew that.
However much he would like to say he had no weaknesses, that was not true and Hibari was no liar.
He had three weaknesses.
One, animals. It was pure and simple. He loved all animals but he preferred the cute, little ones. They looked so weak and helpless but they had hidden strengths. Kittens had claws. Birds had their beaks and talons. Bunnies had sharp teeth. Hedgehogs had those prickly spike-like hairs. And the list goes on.
Two, sweets. Contrary to popular belief, he does like sweet things. Ranging from cookies to cakes, from Ice cream to Taiyaki. His favorite sweet happened to be Ice cream mochi. Of course it had to be Japanese. He loved the country he was raised in; its rich history, beautiful landscapes, and wonderful 'hunting grounds'.
Three, Holly Potter. The girl he had personally trained several years ago. She was like one of those animals that was small and deceptively weak but had a defensive side. He would admit, if only to himself, he might have created a monster.
She was the perfect manipulator. Her angelic, cherubic face was pure innocence but could give a very nasty demonic glare while still looking like some sort of... innocent child. Her small stature and meek posture would forever give her a weak, helpless look.
But, behind all that was a master manipulator. It had been years, but he still needed to figure out how she managed to convince his adoptive parents to allow her to make that junior squad. So, not only was she able to manipulate the entire town without trying very hard, she could also beat them down personally and still make them think she was innocent.
He was so, so proud of her. He had trained his only pack member well. Now, if only he could get her to stop crowding with herbivores...
Holly watched the transfer student with amusement. The poor guy would have to deal with fangirls and all the annoyances that came with it, she'd ignore the fact that he had obviously gone against dress code just for that.
That poor, poor delinquent-like genius.
Oh, yes. She knew about his past, having done a more thorough background check than the school provided after learning he was from Italy. That and a little legilimency - she rarely went further than emotions, intentions, and outer thoughts; she could but she didn't - she knew his reasons when he kicked Tsuna's desk but her protectiveness still flared.
In as many moments, she had her trusty staff at his throat. "I don't condone bullies in Namimori, either stand down or be bitten to death."
"Che, why should I listen to you?"
Holly closed in and whispered in his ear in Italian. "Test him as you will but remember, where one sky is, there are surely those who follow. This sky is young and new to the world you have come from but his will is strong and he will thrive."
She backed away. "You have your warning, now make your choice."
He scowled but went to his seat. His glare bore into both Tsuna and Holly. And though he backed down, neither the fangirls or the fear from the boys diminished.
Whispers and muttering began.
"Did you see that! He actually dares to glare at Himeko-sama!" someone whispered, in awe and contempt. It was an odd combination to say the least.
After school, Hermione and Draco had gone to help set up the shop the quintet had decided upon for their apparent source of income. Holly on the other hand stayed behind to watch Tsuna.
Holly trailed Tsuna and Reborn.
For a hit-man, Reborn was easy to track, but that was probably just the spell she'd put on him earlier.
She disillusioned herself and listened as Gokudera and Reborn spoke. She forced herself to stay put as Gokudera bombarded Tsuna with bombs.
Holly made her appearance - dispelling herself - when Gokudera said that he would be Tsuna's right-hand man.
"Oh?" Tsuna and Gokudera jumped in surprise as Reborn lowered his fedora over his eyes. "You're going to need to prove yourself if that's the case." she said.
"Hanako-sama, don't make it worse than it already is!" Tsuna yelled.
"It's true though isn't it? You wouldn't want someone like this as your right-hand man." Holly and Tsuna could practically see the arrow stabbing their new silver haired ally.
"I don't even want one! I'm not going to be a mafia boss." Tsuna said firmly.
"But if you were to need a right-hand man, would Gokudera suffice?"
"...I-I reserve my judgement. I don't know him well enough yet."
"Well then, get to know him and then answer. I personally think that, as he is right now, he would make a lousy right-hand man."
"Well, well, lookie here." A delinquent said.
"Cutting class? This requires punishment." One of his friends said.
"You're only allowed to cut class in senior year." said a third.
A dark aura appeared around Gokudera and Holly.
"Leave it to me." Gokudera said. "I'll prove my worth by getting rid of these guys."
At the same time, Holly said, "You've got a lot of nerve pretending to be a carnivore. I'll bite you to death for this offense!"
Tsuna sighed. "I'm going to find Naga-kun and Mion-san!" he called to Holly. All he got was a distracted hum. With another sigh, he left.
Hanako stretched from the light exercise of beating up the seniors.
"A-ano, Hanako-sama?"
"Hai?"
Gokudera fidgeted under Holly's questioning gaze. "Earlier, when you said Tsuna wouldn't want someone like me as his right-hand man, what did you mean?"
Holly looked at him with amusement. "You're going to have to figure that out yourself. But I can say it has nothing to do with your past or who your parents are. The problem lies in you. I'll give you a BIG hint though. Tsuna's going to need a friend in his right-hand man, he doesn't need a yes man."
She left Gokudera to his thoughts.
Omake (Dedicated to DarkDragonessFliesEveryWhere)
Reborn decided to test Holly to see if she was worthy of being a member of Tsuna's familgia. He would start with how she reacted in midst of danger.
PLAN A
He placed several large black mambas in Holly's room and went to watch from the telephone pole just outside of her window.
He watched as the girl entered her room, took one glance at the snakes and...
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started to pet them. She coo-ed over the snakes as if they were young children and when she started hissing, the snakes seemed to follow her back and call.
So... she was a snake charmer?
Holly glanced his direction, an amused, taunting smile on her face.
Reborn's eyes narrowed. Challenge accepted brat.
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SEVERAL PLANS LATER
Reborn was starting to get irritated.
Was there nothing that could scare this girl?
He tried everything; from poisonous snakes to falling bears, from flying razor Frisbees of fluff to electronic rocks! (Do not ask about that last one.)
He glared at the girl who was currently... running away from...
Was that a black chihuahua?
Reborn lost his cool and face palmed.
Ah~ I love picking on Reborn.
I was going to give a full chapter, but the decision was late and I ran out of time. Better than nothing?
You know that part when you read "Gokudera bombarded Tsuna with bombs"? I swear I didn't notice that until it was already written!