Angel from the Ashes
Chapter 2: The Baby Chases the Robin
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Katekyo Hitman Reborn characters and they belong to their respective owners. I only own the vigilante "Robin Hood", Kuhaku Hikaru and her family and Fulton.
Hikaru's stay in Japan had so far been…uninteresting. How can one say that anyway? But don't get her wrong, she has always been fascinated by Japan ever since she saw it on TV and she had been looking forward to moving here…well not entirely. Sure she missed her home back in Hong Kong but this move was a must. Both her mom and dad had gotten job offers in Japan (strangely coincidental but she'll accept it) and her recently deceased uncle just happened to leave them a house in Japan. So, the family packed up and moved to Japan.
The language had been easy enough to learn- at least for Hikaru but her brother and parents managed to swallow the basics of speaking, reading and writing quickly enough- so there wasn't much of a problem. English/Tagalog/a bit of Chinglish (English mashed with Chinese) has always been the language staple at home back in Hong Kong but now, it'll be Japanese. Tagalog? Oh yeah, forgot to mention that they were Filipinos. That would explain the naturally tanned skin and South East Asian features they had.
So, what exactly was uninteresting in Japan? That would be revealed in due time but for now, Hikaru's finding her new school rather…weird and thus, interesting.
She might have been able to blend in with her classmates-it was almost too easy for her- but she wasn't ignorant. It's rather fascinating what humans can discover about their surrounding if they took the time to observe. In class, she might be playing the shy wallflower angle, reading novels alone in her corner, not talking to people unless they talk to her, but at the same time, she's observing. She has a bad habit of doing so but that's just her nature- cautious, calculating and observing. Not that she has any bad intentions, she's just curious like all humans are.
She noticed on her first day, that her class, though seemingly normal at first, was filled with interesting yet slightly strange people.
First was that other foreigner (perhaps European?) with the silver hair. Gokudera Hayato, if she remembered correctly. He stood out like a sore thumb- especially with his temper. He always seemed to be in a bad mood and constantly glares at anyone who annoys him (pretty much everyone who gives him a glance or anything like that). Was he a delinquent? No, probably not. Just acting all rebel for the heck of it. Even more unexpectedly, he was really smart. He seemed to be the major smarty pants of the class even with his attitude. Interesting yes? No one would have guessed to be honest if they didn't know him. The weirdest thing is that… was he carrying dynamite sticks? Hikaru had seen something that resembled those poking out of his pocket and sometimes when he got really angry, he would even take them out for a bit. Are they real?
What else was interesting? How he acted towards two other people. Interesting people often tend to hang out with other interesting people.
The baseball fan is one of the two people. He was in one word- refreshing. Hikaru had never seen a guy who could stay so genuinely cheerful and nice all the time- almost too nice. She's met far too many people who faked being happy and nice and seeing Yamamoto Takeshi was equivalent to seeing a unicorn for her. Very interesting. Even more interesting, is that Gokudera always seemed to be arguing or insulting him- but Yamamoto didn't seem to care and just brushed off the insults with a dazzling smile. Hikaru had to admit, Yamamoto was a bit of a looker. No wonder he's popular in class. She often saw people come up to him to talk and he will chat along with them with no hesitation. She wasn't boy-crazy or girly but still. She is still a girl, right?
The last, the one that really caught her interest and suspicion in the end, was Sawada Tsunayoshi AKA Tsuna. He was at first seemingly normal. He acted normal enough. It seemed that he wasn't doing too well academic and sports wise. And he also seems to have a crush on that girl…Sasagawa Kyoko is it? Hikaru could tell from the frequent glances Tsuna gave her. But then when she observed the aforementioned two people's attitude towards him- her interest was caught.
Yamamoto seemed like a pretty popular guy but why would he hang out with Tsuna? No offense to Tsuna but like herself, he didn't seem all that…remarkable. Yamamoto could have hung out with the other popular people in class so why Tsuna? In her experience with popular people, it's either you're really cool, popular or really lucky to get to hang out with popular people. Childhood friends? Maybe. But…something's telling her that's not it.
Gokudera always seemed to be fawning over him. Strange right? He's really sour to other people- especially Yamamoto- and then, he's acting like a loyal servant to Tsuna. Strange. Is Tsuna important to him? Best friends? But who would call their best friend "Juudaime"? Juudaime meaning Tenth in English. Tenth as in…Sawada Tsunayoshi the Tenth? No not likely. Japanese names do not commonly have a number suffix to their names. That's more of an English thing. Gokudera's tenth best friend is Tsuna? Maybe…but something's telling her that's not it. He says it with such high respect so it's not likely…Tenth master? Nah. Master? Who would treat people as their master nowadays? In the past maybe but today? Gokudera also always seemed protective of Tsuna. It's really obvious. He also seems…possessive. Whenever Yamamoto talks to Tsuna he snaps at him and rants. Strange.
Something is up and all the things she observed from the trio doesn't add up to an answer. What is Tsuna to them? They obviously act like good friends but is there something more? What's the real connection between them? Are they involved in something? Something in her gut says yes.
It was time for double English in class 2-A. A subject not well liked by the class. Truthfully, they had a lot of difficulty with the language since everything- from the way you speak it to the sentence structuring- is different. The only two people who seemed to take English in their stride were Gokudera and Hikaru. Gokudera's English wasn't perfect but at least, it was better than everyone else. But Hikaru, was something else.
Hikaru's first language, despite being a Filipino, was English. It was her preferred tongue since almost everyone she knew spoke in English to communicate despite being from different culture backgrounds- Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Korean, American, Filipino, Canadian, British, and more, you name it. Hong Kong is an extremely diverse city thus, many people from various backgrounds live there. English was the main thing you want to speak if you want to communicate with the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. The only other dominant tongue was Cantonese, AKA traditional Chinese.
"So we have a new student here with us," the English teacher, Mister Nakajima, said in slightly accented English, "Can you introduce yourself in English? Miss Hikaru Kuhaku right?"
Hikaru almost felt relieved that she was going back into her comfort zone- speaking in English but the thing is, she had 30 or so pairs of eyes staring at her now. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. She hated being stared at. She doesn't like attention.
"Oh could you come up here to the front of the class so we all can hear and see you properly,"
She hesitated but gave up under the expectant gaze of the teacher. She stood up as calmly as possible and walked to the front of the class trying to ignore the stares she was getting. She took her place next to Mister Nakajima.
"Are you nervous, Kuhaku?" Mister Nakajima asked with a warm smile, "There's nothing to be nervous about. Just relax and I'll talk you through this ok?"
Hikaru tried to calm her nerves and it did a little, "Ok…"
Mister Nakajima began, "Do you have an English name Kuhaku? You don't look Japanese to me,"
Darn right. "Erm…yes I do…" Hikaru answered as calmly as possible, "Hikaru Kuhaku's just my Japanese name… My real name is Dawn D'Aguilar actually…"
"May I call you Dawn then?"
"Um sure..." Hikaru replied, feeling a bit more relaxed now that she's spoken a bit more, "It's common for people who talk in English to call people by their first names, right?"
"Yes of course," Mister Nakajima said, sounding impressed by her English, "May I ask a question? You don't seem western to me either. Where did you come from?"
"I just moved from Hong Kong," Hikaru answered, "But I'm a Filipino…From the Philippines…"
"Ah yes, Filipinos have remarkable good English,"
So the conversation went on for another 15 minutes. Hikaru didn't mind (she even managed to ignore the stares) since it's been a long time since she's been able to talk in her preferred tongue. Even at home, she is required to speak in Japanese to improve her language skills. It felt great to speak comfortably without worrying if you're saying something wrong or something. In fact, she was almost- ALMOST-enjoying this.
Everyone in class was in awe at her fluency. She almost sounded like those people they saw on TV since her English was a bit influenced by an American accent. Some even thought that she was a show-off- one of them being Gokudera.
"Thank you very much Dawn for sharing that with us," Mister Nakajima said, ending the conversation, looking pleased that he had at least one student fluent in English, "Not class, I hope you learnt a lot from listening to our conversation. You can even ask Dawn over here to help you with your English if you'd like,"
Hikaru tried her best to look small in her seat. The last thing she wanted was attention. Oh boy…
Night fell in Namimori and once again, the streets were deserted. The newly named Robin Hood, the lone red hooded stranger with his trademark hood still covering his head and face, walked the streets again with his black kite companion-Fulton- on his left shoulder.
"Ne, Fulton," Robin poked his feathered companion on his shoulder, "Do you ever wonder if the police can actually find us?"
Fulton just made a gesture that seemed like he was rolling his eyes and puffed himself up as an answer.
"No, I'm not doubting you, Fulton," Robin chuckled, his footsteps barely audible on the pavement, "I'm just wondering about the competence of the Namimori Police."
Fulton shifted on his perch and made a small sound that sounded like a low growl.
"Hey, I'm careful," Robin said indignantly, poking Fulton in the side making the bird glare at him, "It's not that I want the police to catch me,"
The bird made a sound that sounded like a sigh and turned his head away as if annoyed.
"That's why you love me," Robin chuckled, continuing to walk down the deserted streets, "One more round around this place and we're done."
Fulton suddenly perked up, alerting Robin, causing him to stop in his tracks. He suddenly chuckled.
"How long do you intend on following us, hmmm?" Robin said without looking back, "I have to admit, you are pretty sneaky."
"Ciaossu,"
Reborn stepped out of the shadows and revealed himself. He had been following the hooded stranger since he caught sight of him in Namimori. Robin turned to face…nothing? Fulton made an impatient cry, digging his talons into his shoulder. Robin got the message and looked down to see Reborn- an infant wearing a sharp suit and a fedora with what seemed like a lizard on its brim. Strange attire for a kid as young as he.
"I didn't expect a kid to be following us," Robin said, sounding amused, "But no matter…"
Robin crouched to the level of Reborn but his face still hidden in the shadow of his hood.
"Shouldn't you be home? Didn't your parents tell you it's bad to walk out at night?" Robin asked amused, Fulton shifting nervously on his left shoulder, "But I'm having the impression you're no ordinary kid, hmm?"
"You guessed right," Reborn replied with a smirk. The hooded boy chuckled in amusement.
"You can speak pretty well for a baby," he remarked, a smile in his voice, "Excuse me for being rude but I have to get to the point. Why are you following me?"
"I was just curious about you, Robin Hood," Reborn answered, "You're quite the sensation on the news,"
"Ah, using the name the media gave me eh?" Robin remarked with his usual airy tone, "If you asked me, it's a bit lame,"
The conversation between the two strange people seemed to be friendly but in fact, there was a tension that was almost electrifying between them. This was serious business.
Reborn smirked his little smirk, making him look older than he actually is, "How about you take off that hood of yours so I can see you properly?"
"No can do, kid."
"Do you have a name?" Reborn asked.
"Now why would I tell you that?" Robin replied with a hidden edge in his light tone, "But if you must know…"
Fulton dug his talons into his shoulder deeper as a warning but Robin ignored him, "The name's Uriel. Much better than Robin Hood don't you think?"
Reborn gave no answer but he looked satisfied- for now.
"Forgive my rudeness," Uriel's light tone turned stiflingly polite, he stood up and turned to leave, "But I must take my leave."
And before Reborn could say anything, a brilliant gold obscured his vision, catching the little hitman off guard- which is a rare feat. He didn't show it though. When the gold faded away, he was alone. Uriel was gone.
"Uriel huh?" Reborn muttered, tipping his fedora hat, "I must do more research on him…"
And he walked off in the direction of home- the Sawada residence.
To be Continued…
Author's Note: Thanks to my first reviewer! I really didn't expect anyone to review on the first chapter… Ah well. Hope you like the story so far and watch out for the next chapter! It's going to be full of butt kicking action! Kind of.
Next time on Angel from the Ashes…
Extract from Chapter 3: The Skylark meets the Robin
Reborn nodded crossing his arms, "Well, how about this. Let's play a little game."
"I'm afraid I have no time for games, Reborn," Uriel replied, though his tone was light, there was a hidden edge to it. The four had picked it up. It was clear Uriel was about to leave.
Reborn ignored him and continued, "A fight against Tsuna's family's strongest member is the game. If he wins you have to join the family. If you win, we won't bother you anymore."
Tsuna's family's strongest member? It couldn't be?