Hello it's been 3 years since I wrote anything here you go.
Waking Up with the Sun Chapter 4: Fifteen Minutes
The tension in the room was too much to handle. It had only been a couple of days since the incident, and though another meeting was scheduled at an early morning time, with punctuality highly stressed, a certain woman was running fifteen minutes late. Fifteen minutes meant a lot in the mafia. Fifteen minutes late meant fifteen minutes of money lost. Fifteen minutes late could mean fifteen lives lost. Fifteen minutes late could mean fifteen lives saved.
But in this situation, fifteen minutes late meant fifteen minutes for two out of four grown men to get angrier and more irritable in minute increments.
"Where the hell is she?! Just how hard is it to get on a train or hail a cab and get here?!"
A very pissed Gokudera broke the silence with a loud outburst, adding a string of curses in a mix of Japanese, Italian, and English. A hand slammed down on the table, adding to the raucous noise that disturbed the pleasing silence, shaking it, as well as causing the man seated there to jump and bang his knee on the table.
"Oi! Shut your loud mouth. Can't you see that you yelling is bad for Sawada's ears?"
Fifteen minutes, to this particular mafia family, meant the guardians of Storm and Sun snapping at each other, both obviously upset by the lack of attendance of one Hazuki Hino. She hadn't answered the cell phone she was given at 5 minutes past 8 am. She hadn't answered the 10 calls per minute after that. Yamamoto was on the 11th call when she finally did answer, cutting him off before he could say anything, "Something came up. Can't talk. I'll call you back."
The other three had turned to Yamamoto (who raised a hand, notifying them of her finally picking up the phone) and they all opened their mouths to speak, only to be cut off by Yamamoto.
-Namimori Middle School, Reception Room, August 18, 08:16—
"She said that something came up and then hung up, and sounded really serious about it. You think she's okay?" he asked, voice filled with concern as he pocketed his phone.
"Chyeh. Who does that bitch think she is? How dare she treat the boss like that. I'll bet it's something completely stupid like she broke a nail or something," Gokudera spat. He lit a cigarette and stepped back, leaning on the wall behind him, "I'll go over there to make sure she realizes just who she's dealing with." He cracked his knuckles and glared at a wall. Tsuna sighed in disbelief at his (violent) right-hand man's actions.
"Maa, maa, Gokudera. You really dislike Hazuki, huh?"
"Any person who disrespects the boss should be punished!"
Tsuna closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose before speaking, "Ano, onii-san, what do you-"
The brown-haired man stopped speaking mid-sentence as looked up to an empty space where his future brother-in-law stood only seconds ago. Since when did he leave and since when did he get so quiet about it? The door was half opened and it was quiet for a while.
-Namimori Amphitheatre, backstage, room 701B, 08:03-
"Just what the hell do you mean by that? I trusted you and even after saving your desolate ass, and this is how you treat me?! Get out!"
Muffled arguing could be heard in the emptied back halls of the amphitheatre. But why not? No one should be there at eight in the morning, and no shows were scheduled for another 3 weeks. But one room was occupied by X amount of people who really shouldn't be there.
Hazuki Hino had reserved this specific room because of its proximity to the backstage exit stairs, using it as a temporary office. It would be used for meetings for potential venues and such, not to mention a private getaway for those long working nights, the kinds she didn't want her band of four teenage girls to get involved in.
"I said it once, and I'll say it again, so please listen to me Hino. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never meant to put you through all of this. I-" a deep voice pleaded.
"Oh. Of course. You apologized. Now everything is all better. No harsh feelings, right? Just saying that you're 'sorry' is going to fix everything, right?" sarcasm oozed out of the voice that belonged to a very upset woman, "and how dare you say my first name as if nothing ever happened."
"Hi-Hazuki. Please. I'm begging you. Just listen to what I have to sa-"
Hino put a hand up to the man she was conversing with, pulling out a buzzing cell phone from her blazer pocket, distressed at the caller's persistence. This is the eleventh time you've called I swear. "Something came up. Can't talk. I'll call you back." That was all she said before ending the call, not having time to listen to the other speaker, knowing very well who it was without having to even check the caller ID. To be honest I'd rather be there than here dealing with this bull.
"You know what-"
The grown woman was about to lecture the man opposing her, but stopped herself, acknowledging a distinct aura emanating from the man.
"Who was that? Another man? I should have known that you-" he seethed.
"If this is really what this whole confrontation is about, then I have absolutely no time to deal with you. I have moved on. I'm doing something productive with my life right now, and I am extremely late to a very important meeting and I cannot stress the amount of pity that I do. Not. Have. So please, leave my office immediately."
There was a stiff silence in the room for a good minute. And it wasn't the awkward kind where you could just change the subject. Did I just use the word 'extreme' oh god. I've been spending way too much time with them. Her train of thought was interrupted and her defenses immediately went up as soon as he took a step forward, his attitude completely changed. She firmly stood her ground as he slowly approached her, closing the distance of fifteen feet to fourteen… thirteen… eight… five five was close enough. Four feet and you need to back up right now, like right now.
He was about three feet (give or take a foot) away from her before pausing, and then moving once more. Out of reflex, Hino finally stepped back, her heels clicking on the ground in the eerie silence. He smirked. She tensed up and furrowed her eyebrows. He continued moving towards her until her back touched the big wooden desk that occupied a good fifth of the room. Her hands found the desk and fumbled for something anything as he leaned down to her small frame, towering above her.
He leaned in close enough to whisper into her ear, sending chills down her spine, "Listen here you little slut. I'll let you have it your way, for now…"
And with that last sentence, he stood straight up, eyed her figure up and down before letting out a throaty chuckle, and spun promptly on his shoes and walked out the door.
-Namimori Amphitheatre, backstage, room 701B, 08:31-
The cold water felt good as she ran her hands under the faucet of the empty bathroom. The sound of running water echoed within the tiled room as she proceeded to quickly wash her face before drying it with a rough paper towel. Hino looked up to the mirror, letting out what she hoped was a sigh of relief and not anxiety.
She proceeded to smooth her skirt and collect herself as she walked down the dimly lit hallway, it's silence suddenly disturbed by the loud slamming of what she figured to be the exit door. Stomping echoed throughout the hall and it seemed to be getting… louder?
"Haaazzuuukkiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"
Of course. There's no way she could have gotten away with her actions from earlier. Especially if the hotheaded walking bomb disaster had anything to say. He was probably lapping at Tsunayoshi's feet right now. This was something she hoped to avoid at least until after noon or coffee or had something to quell the nauseating feeling that sat in her stomach.
"Yo," she greeted, holding a hand up as the silver-haired boxer turned into the hall she stood in, appearing no more than six feet in front of her.
"YO?! THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?! YO!?"
Ryohei grabbed her by the shoulders, jerking Hino out of her state of (almost) dysphoria. She could feel her stomach flipping and her bones rattling as the man shook her as gently as he possibly could (yet too aggressively by her standards).
"Do you know what time it is?! What the hell happened?! Just what could have possibly come up that you'd have the need to scare the shit out of people?!"
His ramblings and rapid fire questions went unanswered as he let her go and she collected herself. She merely walked past him into the room she occupied not too long ago, beckoning him to follow with a nod, much to his annoyance.
"I had important (and private) business. It has absolutely nothing to deal with your situation whatsoever, so don't worry about it…" she smiled a smile so fake that even the dullest (so yes even Ryohei) could tell that she was lying through her teeth, "I hope Tsuna-kun isn't upset."
He stood to look at her, hair out of place, bags under her eyes, and for some odd reason and uneven skin tone. She noticed him staring and brushed her hair out of place, mentioning something about messing up her makeup and not having time to do her hair.
Ryohei ran his fingers through his hair and let out a very aggravated snarl. One that sounded a little too familiar and made Hino's heart beat a little faster and a little flushed and she turned around. Fiddling through papers trying to collect herself keyword being trying as he let out a low moan of annoyance and now really isn't the time to moan and Jesus stop thinking about that and fix your shit.
She took a deep (deep) breath before letting out an exhausted sigh, turning around to face the man, getting a really good look since now he was really close. He leaned on the armrest of the couch that was about three feet away from the desk she had been leaning on before, a hand still in his (was it always so messy) disheveled hair, looking away as if something was on his mind, his tie slightly come loose and the top button of his jarring orange shirt open. She could see where sweat collected on his forehead, a droplet running down that familiar scar of his that sometimes she just wanted to touch and run her fingers across and ki- She stopped herself as he looked towards her, and their eyes met. His facial expressions changed from deep in thought to serious in milliseconds, and she broke eye contact as she looked down, hoping to avoid what she knew was coming.
"Are you okay?"
Those three words of concern made something in her stomach stir as she nodded with a pitiful demeanor.
Ryohei was definitely concerned for the woman standing across him. Her dainty, feminine hands wringed the fabric of what was more than likely a designer brand skirt that fit her well. Really well. The warm light cast long shadows of her lashes that almost kissed her skin. He shoved his hands into his pockets and asked again.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded once more.
He clicked his tongue in dismay. He may be dense, but really growing up with a sister does educate you on certain habits. He could tell that she was troubled. She knew that he could tell. He knew that she knew he could tell. But after being the close friends they once were, he didn't need to ask questions to know that she had something she didn't want to talk about quite yet.
He noticed her as she licked her (soft and tender) lips before swallowing saliva, and speaking, "Like I said. Some business came up. I'll tell you about it some other time…"
She stood straight up, smoothing down her skirt it's become almost a bad habit and collected some things on her desk into a very expensive-looking bag, "Shall we go?"
He nodded and he walked out after her, turning off the lights and leaning on the wall as she locked the room.
-Somewhere on a sidewalk in the business district of Namimori, 08:42—
They opted out of taking a cab to the school. He had called Tsuna after she told him that she wanted to grab a cup of coffee, informing him that he was with her, mentioning some other things along the line of she looks really shaken up, maybe we'll just have a meeting later. Tsuna told Ryohei to send her apologies for any inconveniencing, and assured that postponing the meeting was okay with him, much to Gokudera's loud (really loud) protests.
He walked into the small cafe that she had entered five minutes prior, and saw her waiting receiving her order of two(?) cups of whatever, but not before tipping the barista. She greeted him with a (fake) cheerful smile.
"Two cups? That bad, huh?" he commented with a raised eyebrow.
"The other one is for you, stupid…" she pouted. He smiled and graciously accepted the hot drink.
They sat near the window on two low lounge chairs, and a couple of minutes passed before Hino finally spoke up, "I'm sorry about all this, by the way…"
Ryohei did that thing with his hands in his hair and clicked his tongue, dismissing the apology, "Tch. Don't worry about it. The only one that's really up in arms is Tako-head."
She let out a soft giggle and sipped her (what he figured out to be a) simple cappuccino.
It was really cute.
He distracted himself with his drink.
"Have you ever made a decision that you truly regret, but if you could wish un-doing it, you wouldn't?"
What kind of question was that.
He looked up to Hino, who seemed to be really focused on the details of the dirty carpet.
Of course.
I think. Where even did that question come from?
"Well… Actually, I don't know…"
It was weird to see him stumped on something. Well, not really. It was weird because it was normal to see him have to think hard about something like math or English or literature. But whenever he was tasked with something that didn't make sense, he made sense out if it.
"You know what? Never mind. Just pretend that I didn't ask that question," she smiled, "how'd you find me, anyway?"
He coughed out something about bugs and phones and tracking devices. She rolled her eyes, I'm not surprised.
He shrugged as they continued drinking, with mentions of a raincheck on their originally scheduled meeting. Somehow one topic changed to another, and soon they were talking about high school. Ah, the good ol' days. Like when she continued onto Midori High School, and he onto Namimori High. And how they had been continuous rivals in running and in swimming, in her sport. Like how they would run by the riverbank and collapse after sprinting during the hottest days of the summer. And how they both got accepted to different schools and how their lives changed over the course of 11 years since meeting. He went to a low-key university and graduated with a degree in biology, taking courses to become a licensed physical therapist (for the Vongolas, of course).
He had dabbled in dating here and there, making the mistake of going out with Kyoko's best friend once. It was messy and they broke up (if what they even had could be called a relationship) before the end of the third month. It's been well-past a year since then and Kurokawa Hana is now in a loving relationship with an older man she had met in the workforce. He chuckled to himself as he recalled the photo he'd seen during the Byakuran incident. It was of him and Hana at a party together. Now he's single, but doesn't mind it. Nowadays the whole mafia business eats up a lot of his time, and what little time that isn't spent 'working' or dealing with Kyoko's and Tsuna's wedding is spent training with the other guardians, and then some. He has to keep up his physique somehow. Of course, boxing is still his number one regimen. As if that would ever change.
Everyone in the family basically grew up together, though some separated from each other during their four years of university attendance. But after graduation they all reconnected back where it started. Namimori. The city that Hibari actually never left, even though his appearance was scarce.
She was there for some of the more important mafia-related events, not really noticing when they were absent for extended periods of time. She may have attended middle and high school with Haru, but Hino wasn't as close to that group as she was. So he told her everything that she didn't know, thankful that she wasn't involved in this whole mafioso business at a younger age. But if I knew all this back then I probably wouldn't have gotten myself into this whole mess.
And what a mess it was.
This shit is 6 pages and I was writing from like 04-something to 0640 am like why am I trying to continue this dead-ass fic. It focused on the OC a lot and I am shame.
Weh I feel like Ryohei's a little too calm and it's so OOC for him OTL. Yay for altering canon.
**A lot of what I've read have made it out to be Hana as girl in the photo Ryohei saw during the Byakuran Arc, so I'll flow with that lol.