Chapter 4
"Doctor, is this idiot- I mean, Dino Cavallone okay?" Hibari asked worriedly.
The old man smiled kindly. "He's having hypotension due to the loss of water from his vomiting and diarrhea suffering. I'll be putting him on saline drip so don't worry, he'll recover soon."
"But his food poisoning issue-"
"If there are no further changes, we'll be taking immediate action because he's only showing some bare symptoms and it wasn't a critical matter after all." The doctor smiled again. "If you need anything, just press the button over here." He said before walking out casually.
Hibari sat on the chair provided and stared at the sleeping teenager. I shouldn't have asked him to be the guinea pig...It's all my fault...
"Kyo..." Dino groaned, smiling in his sleep. Hibari blinked. He released a sigh as he slowly reached a hand to pat the blond hair. "You're just dreaming..."
The raven-haired teen leaned against the chair and gazed at the boy before gently being swept away from the reality.
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Dino slowly forced his eyes open to the bright light as he groaned at the dizziness revolving in his head. "W-Where...am I...?" He sat up and looked around.
"Eh? Kyo-chan...?" Dino stared suspiciously at the sleeping teen. He waved a hand across; just to check for Hibari's response but thank god, the boy hadn't woke up yet. Dino smiled at the pure, naïve look of him. So adorable and angelic- completely different from what he usually faced.
"Kyo-chan...kawaii..." He pinched the smooth cheek and gently pulled him nearer so that Hibari's upper body could lie on his lap. Then, he yawned before falling back to sleep again, their hands intertwined.
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As Hibari slowly stirred himself to consciousness, he blinked dizzily at the lighted fluorescent lamp of the ward. He nuzzled his head and surprisingly, found his head lying on something quite comfy. He immediately sat up. Oh, so he's lying on Dino Cavallone's lap all this time? Hibari blushed heavily. He raised a hand to comb through his messy locks but found his dominant hand held together with Dino's. His heart thumped.
What the hell? Oh my god. What's this feeling? Hibari tried to shrug the lock off but damn it, the blond was just too strong!
"Oi, CAVALLONE! WAKE UP!" He decided to shout into the teen's ear. Dino snapped out from his sleep and sat up.
"W-What?"
"Let go, you bastard."
"H-Huh? Oh- Ohayo, Kyo-chan!" Dino greeted cheerfully, completely oblivious to the murderous aura emitted by Hibari.
"Let my hand off, Cavallone." Hibari warned. "First of all- why are we holding hands? Are you trying to do something perverted?"
"Haha...err...that was..." Dino laughed nervously.
"That was WHAT?"
"Err...erm...let's just forget it, can't we?" The blond asked hopefully. Hibari glared. "Of course. After you're dead and buried and reincarnated in the next world."
That's really cruel, Kyo. "E-Err...Ano..."
"Hentai yaro." Hibari wriggled his hand away and crossed his arms, looking away.
"Haha...maybe." Dino replied happily at the blush painted on the pale cheeks.
"You better pray to the god to bless you, Dino Cavallone- 'cause I'm so going to send you to the DEATH GOD!" He smacked the blond head, twisted his ear 360 degree around and pulled his cheek.
"Kyo-!" Dino screamed. Everyone in the ward turned to look at the couple and some, just chuckled. The woman over there giggled and pointed at how cute the both of them together.
"Kyo-channnnnnnnnn! Everyone is lookinnngggggg!"
"Like I care." Hibari pulled both cheeks, this time, he added some stinging pinching on it.
"!"
Hibari finally let the reddened (bruised) face go, hands on his own hips.
"You're a sadist!" Dino cried, rubbing his abused face.
"Yeah- I only realize that now. Want me to do you some special service? It's completely free and effective. Only available to the early birds." Hibari cracked his knuckles, a vein throbbing at his temple.
"E-Err...no thanks!" Dino rejected hurriedly, sweating.
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"Drink." Hibari handed a glass of pure water to the reading teen.
"Sankyuu, Kyo-chan!" Dino smiled, slight dimples emerged on his gauzes-plastered-abused cheeks. Just then, a hazel-haired girl dressed in pink French frilly dress walked in with a bouquet of daffodils. She walked by Dino's bed and headed to the corner of the room, to where an old woman was sleeping on the bed, taking on a bag of Potassium Chloride drip.
"Oi, Cavallone, hurry up!"
The girl stopped. She turned to look at them and her blue orbs suddenly widened. Cavallone...? Eh? "Dino Cavallone?" She called.
Dino blinked. "Eh? You are...?" Do I even know her?
"Dino-san!" She exclaimed. "You forgot me? I'm Natasha Xavier!"
"Natasha what...?"
"Natasha Xavier! Your childhood friend, remember? We used to play mock marriage and my brother, Jester Xavier would become the priest! We'll play that we're engaged and then, we'll exchanged rings and we're married!"
"Oh...kay..." Faint memories slowly flooded into Dino's mind. Natasha Xavier? Mock marriage? Jester Xavier? Priest? Married? OH SHIT!
Natasha smiled brightly. "It has been years since you left Italy and moved to Japan! I really missed you; you know that, Dino-san?" She threw herself into Dino's arms and hugged the teen. "I miss you so badly...How could you...? You left your fiancée alone..."
"Fian...cee...?" Dino stared shockingly at Hibari.
"Don't look at me. It's your problem." The boy said and stood up, straightening his clothes. "Seems like you're having companion now- so, bye. I'm leaving." Hibari turned and left calmly.
"Wait- Kyo-chan! Don't go!" Dino's pleading was only answered by the angry slam of the door. He sighed.
"Ne, Dino-san, who's he?" Natasha cocked her head.
"Oh, he's my boy- I mean, friend." Dino answered, feeling very uneasy. Fuh, nearly slipped.
"He's so kakoiiii..." The girl said dreamily.
"Wait, when we're engaged? My old man did not tell me a thing at all."
"Eh? Hontou? I thought he did since he's the one telling me that we're both engaged..."
"When was it?"
"5 years ago...somewhere around that time..." Natasha tapped her chin.
5 years ago...? Eh- OH SHIT. I REMEMBER NOW. THAT OLD MAN HAD TOLD ME THAT I WAS ENGAGED AND I THOUGHT HE WAS PULLING AN APRIL'S FOOL ON ME BECAUSE THAT PARTICULAR DAY WAS 1ST APRIL! SHIT, SHIT, SHIT! Dino groaned.
"Eh? You remember something?" The girl hoped happily. Dino instantly shook his head. "Err...n-no. Not at all." He lied.
"Mou..." Natasha pouted. Suddenly, she glanced at her expensive Gucci watch and gasped. "Shimatta! I need to leave by three and I still haven't visit grandma yet! Bye, Dino-chan! Gotta go!" She said and hurried to the old woman's bed, bringing the bouquet of daffodils with her.
"D-Dino-chan...?" The blond blinked. He got two surprises today. 1) He was engaged officially today (unofficially last five years) and 2) How the world seemed so small as his fiancee's grandmother which was his soon to be grandmother-in-law was lying the same ward as his. Oh crap.
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"Doctor, can I go home now?" Dino asked the doctor, let's say- for the seventh time as he showed his glittering puppy eyes.
"Cavallone-san! You can't go yet! At least not until you stop going to the toilet so frequent!"
"But doctor-"
"You're really annoying, Cavallone. I give you five more seconds- if you can't behave yourself properly this time, I'm going to murder you and throw your sorry carcass down from the Eiffel Tower." Hibari said, tone very icy. He had been like that since their encounter with Natasha. Dino shuddered at the ice-berg-cold aura.
"Kyo-chan, are you...angry?"
"No."
"Really? But you sound so unconvincing..."
"I said, it's nothing." Hibari said firmly, turning his head.
"Kyo-chan-"
"Shut up."
"...Okay..."
"..."
"..."
"Kyo-chan-" When Dino was about to say something again, a plum-haired doctor suddenly sauntered over and interrupted the chilling atmosphere emitting around them.
"Cavallone-san, here is a note for you. It's from Miss Xavier." The man handed him a neatly-folded paper nodded as he retreated to his consultation room.
"...Natasha...?" Dino blinked. He unfolded the note and eyes widened at the content wrote inside. He hurriedly folded it like it originally was and put it into his pocket of his hospital gown.
"What she wrote?" Hibari asked, jealously, peeking into the blond's pocket.
"N-Nothing special...She only asked me to see her at the cafeteria tonight...Nothing special."
Hibari's eyes darkened. "...Oh." He turned away and suddenly, a gush of purplish aura generated thickly around the boy. Dino gulped and backed away.
"You can choose to go. If you want." Hibari turned to look at Dino who was trembling from tip to top, his orbs contracted into snake-like-slits. "And I can promise you some bittersweet ending." He smirked dangerously and left the shivering-in-fear Dino Cavallone.
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"Dino-chan! Why didn't you meet me yesterday? I had been waiting for hours and even I caught a cold!" Natasha pouted. Dino sweat-dropped. "Err...I was quite sleepy after drinking the oral rehydration salt water..." I just do not want to see you...
"Mou..." Natasha stared worriedly into the boy. "Are you feeling any better now?"
"Yeah...quite."
Suddenly, the door slid open and one very pissed off Hibari Kyoya walked in with a plastic bag of books. "Sorry for interruption- here's your homework for yesterday and today. Please finish these and submit to me by today so that you can hand them up by tomorrow. Thank you." He placed the bag onto the floor and headed out from the room.
"Kyo-chan!" Dino yelled. "Wait for a minute!"
Hibari did stop walking and without turning his back, he asked. "What do you want?"
"E-Err...can you keep me company today?"
"You have that Miss with you. Enough to keep your day full." The raven-haired boy said sarcastically and crossed his arms. Dino sweat-dropped profusely. "E-Err...then can you please at least help me with the homework? Please?"
"Do you think I will agree?"
Dino gulped. "E-Err...no...of course..."
Hibari snorted and sighed mentally. "I'll help you for your Physics and Chemistry. The rest- complete it."
The Cavallone's dull face immediately lightened up and he grinned. "Kyo-chan is the best!" He beamed and hugged the other boy.
"Ahem..." Natasha faked a cough to draw their attention, heart burning as they completely neglected her presence. Both the boys broke away and stared at her.
"What?" Hibari asked challengingly.
"I'm not invisible, in case- you don't know." The girl growled.
"We know. No parts of you look transparent anyway." Hibari mocked, cynically.
Natasha glared. "DO NOT hug my fiancé! Don't even TOUCH him!"
Hibari rolled his eyes. "It's your fiancé (Dino twitched nervously upon the nickname) who hugged me first." He bent down and took out a textbook from the bag and flipped it to page 69. "Dino Cavallone, finish this entire page and summarize Mikado Meiji's biography- not less than 120 words."
"That's all?"
"No. A plenty more." Hibari ignored the devastated look of the blond and continued flipping through the textbooks. Natasha glared at the scene and decided to leave. She's ignored over and over if that Hibari Kyoya of her fiancé was there and she too, did not want to embarrass herself by standing there like a fish gaping for water.
Natasha furiously stormed out, grabbing her bag and her summer hat. She fisted her knuckles till they turned white as she bit her bottom lips angrily. I'm going to eliminate his existence from Dino-chan's life. Definitely. And her eyes stormed threateningly.
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Everything Natasha did despised Hibari like never. She made him felt very insecure and uneasy at her very presence and consistently tried to prevent himself from snapping. First— she sent Dino flowers and his favourite foods every breakfast, lunch and dinner till the ward totally looked like a picnic garden. And now, those flowers came again. While they're finishing their homework. I mean, Dino's homework.
"Dino-chan~ How's your feeling today?" Natasha bounced and sat beside the blond, holding a bouquet of daffodils.
"Quite fine." He said, enjoying the sweetness of the Tamagoyaki. Natasha grinned from ear to ear.
"Excuse me; we're trying to finish our homework here." Hibari said, his face hardened multiple times.
"Oh? But Dino-chan is enjoying his lunch now! You're too mean to a patient! Meanie!" She stuck a tongue out at the boy and Hibari was resisting the urge to pull the tongue out and hung it on a pirate's hook before throwing it into the middle of the South China Sea.
"Maa, maa, don't get so worked up, Kyo-chan! Have this! It's really good!" He clamped a small bit of the fish meat with his chopsticks and held it out near Hibari's lips. Natasha glared at the scene. Hibari, as if reading the surrounding, smirked and opened his mouth as he took in the food offered to him. Natasha pouted.
The next thing was—
"Dino-chan~ Are you free now?" Natasha asked sweetly.
"Not really. What's going on?" Dino answered, without lifting his head as he continued highlighting Yamashita Tomoyuki's life facts.
"Diiiiiiinoooooo-channnnnn~ You're still hospitalized! Relax a bit!" Natasha whined. Hibari swore his cochlea was going to burst hearing all those stupid moans and groans.
"I will. Later." Dino answered, this time, he started writing about the general's biography.
"Dino-chan! Homework can wait! You-"
"Miss Natasha Xavier, kindly shut your thick mouth and let us finish these things in peace for a while. After that, you can bug him all you want. I don't give a damn." Hibari narrowed his cobalt eyes at the girl dangerously. Natasha crossed her arms.
"I'm concern about Dino-chan here! I'm his fiancée- I have the right!" She shouted into his face. Hibari's vein throbbed and he slammed his hand onto the overbed table as he stood up. "SO WHAT? WHAT GIVES YOU YOUR RIGHT? YOU EITHER LEAVE OR TAPE YOUR MOUTH BEFORE I DECIDE TO END YOUR LIFE RIGHT THERE AND THERE!" FIANCEE- SO WHAT? I. DON'T. CARE.
Dino blinked at the sudden outburst of the cold boy. Kyo-chan is never this agitated... "E-Err...Kyo-chan, Natasha is just trying to-"
Hibari turned to look at him with his pair already-losing-control-eyes and the blond hurriedly look down and continued doing his short notes. Natasha's breath heaved up and she gritted her teeth in frustration.
"Dino-chan- look!" She suddenly lifted the boy's chin and locked their lips together. Dino who was a slow-tard blinked, unable to comprehend the current situation. He's too numb that he couldn't move let alone pushed the girl away. Hibari, too, was too shocked seeing the scene unfolded before him and dropped the pen in his loosened grasp; the clanking sound was nothing to his hearing.
Natasha, enjoying the blank look of the raven-haired boy, decided to deepen the kiss. Hibari, finally gaining his senses, he staggered to find his pen and pack his stuff as he ran out from the room.
"Yosh, the cool man is gone." The girl smirked and turned to her fiancée. "Dino-chan, let's- Eh? Dino-chan? Dino-chan? Are you okay?"
Dino's expression slowly turned dark and he trembled. In ultimate anger. "What...are...you...doing...?"
Natasha blinked. "Huh? I can't hear-"
"I SAID- WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHERE'S YOUR DIGNITY?" The blond yelled, looking up; his brown eyes darkened with hatred. He hastily wiped his lips and raised a hand as he backhanded the girl. Natasha dropped to the floor; a large, red five fingerprints began forming on her cheeks. Her eyes widened in shock. It's the first time Dino had shouted at her. And...slapped her...
"D-Dino-chan...I-I was just-" Tears brimmed in her blue orbs as she stifled on her tears.
"Enough. I'm already kind enough to bear with your disgusting and childish behavior but I AM NOT GENEROUS ENOUGH TO TOLERATE WITH YOUR BLOODY WORDS PISSING KYO-CHAN OFF AND THE SUDDEN ACTION OF KISSING ME! ESPECIALLY IN FRONT OF KYO-CHAN!" Dino hissed angrily.
Natasha immediately broke down, tears running down her cheeks like no tomorrow. "WHAT IS THAT GUY TO YOU? IS HE MORE IMPORTANT THAN ME- YOUR CHILDHOOD FRIEND, FIANCEE?"
"To be honest- yes." Dino answered coldly, glaring at the girl like a dragon wanting to breathe fire at its enemy. "Now, kindly get the hell lost from my sight."
As if her world had shattered, she said nothing but obeyed. In just few minutes time, she walked from the hall of fame to the door of shame as the visitors stared and chattered about her being a bitch and sorts.
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Hibari walked slowly in the crowded street and sighed. What did he care about Natasha kissing the Cavallone? He certainly felt nothing, right? But his flaring heart said otherwise. The moment Natasha leaned in to kiss the boy, Hibari felt as if his heart already stopped pumping blood and every nerves in his body stopped functioning. And the moment they're really kissing each other, Hibari's world seemed to shatter and the shards grazed his heart like those sharp piece of glasses.
He did not know why but all of a sudden, he felt so angry and frustrated. It's as if the blond had betrayed him.
Ugh, damn it. He massaged his throbbing head. Hibari looked up to the gloomy sky and winced as the storm roared. He stopped at the traffic pole indicating that the vehicles would start moving while pondering about the burning feeling he's feeling now. Was it anger? Was it bitterness? Or was it... Something struck his mind and his eyes widened at the new thought. Was it jealousy...?
He's startled by the green light flashing and hurriedly followed the others who were already crossing the road.
Jealousy? Why would it be jealousy? He did not like the blond, did he?
He flinched at the sudden cold breeze blew on his naked neck and shivered slightly. It felt kind of like a déjà vu and it's as if he had been through all those feelings before. Without his knowledge, all those childhood memories flooded back into his mind.
"Kyo-chan! This is yours and this is mine!" Dino held out two different lollipops and handed the strawberry-flavored one to Hibari.
"Wahhh! Thank you- Dinny-chan! Dinny-chan ga daisuki!" Hibari grinned and gladly took the sweet as he suckled it into his mouth. "It's chooo dericous (It's so delicious)!"
Dino smiled and ruffled the black locks. "Boku mo Kyo-chan daisuki."
The stupid grin.
"Dinny-chan! Your hair is long! Cut it!"
"Yaddddaaaaaaa!" Dino cried and ran around the house, chased by a grinning like a mad-man little Hibari, a scissors in his hand.
The stupid, idiotic, bloody blond hair.
"Kyo-chan, Dinny-chan has to go. Say goodbye to him." His mother patted his shoulder and eased the tense building up in his muscles. With tears swelling in his eyes, Hibari went to wave the boy and passed him a necklace.
"Dinny-chan...if you sees this necklace, it'll always remind you to me. Bye- *hicks* -bye D-Dinny-chan..." He finally let the tears out and ran away.
The sadness.
They're all the same. No change, no vary. Hibari clutched his chest as a strong sting of pain ran into his heart. Suddenly, droplets of warm raindrop hit the earth and soon the rain started pouring heavily. Every passerby frantically searched for shelter and some even clashing into each other. Hibari, however, immune to the coldness hitting his skin, continued walking. He kept his head low and stumbled in the rain as he did not even pay a second thought to his wetting clothes and bag.
Perhaps, just perhaps- I had fallen in love with that idiot...
He stopped in front of his apartment and without entering; he only stood beside the see-saw in the playground opposite to the lodge he stayed. I don't know why but...me falling in love with that idiot? I can't believe it. He's nothing but an idiot to me.
"Kyoya?" A familiar voice called. Hibari lifted his head immediately and saw Mukuro standing few steps away, his hand holding an umbrella firmly.
"What are you doing here? I thought you're visiting Casserole in the hospital?"
"Done visiting."
"Then why are you-"
"Dunno." Hibari looked away, his eyes dulling rapidly. Mukuro instinctively sensed that something was going wrong but he didn't say anything. He, instead, walked with Hibari and shared his umbrella with the boy. As the prefect stopped at their shared apartment, he spared a blank stare at the lonely lodge of his neighbor before entering his own one.
As they got into the living room, Hibari immediately strode across the hall and went into his room. He tucked himself into his bed without changing his wetted clothes as his bag was left discarded elsewhere. Mukuro stared worriedly through the slight gap of the door left ajar and his heart sank at the shivers vibrated through the blanket. Kyo...what's happening?
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"Kyoya! Time to have breakfast!" Mukuro called happily when he's done frying the omelets. He received no response. Mukuro quirked a brow. Eh?
He walked towards Hibari's door and knocked. "Kyoya? Breakfast is ready!" A soft grunt was heard. The pineapple-haired teen lifted a questioning brow before placing a hand over the knob and turning it slightly. "Kyoya! I'm coming in!"
He peeked in the dark (the curtains were not drawn) and touched the shivering figure softly. "Kyoya?" Another low moan was heard. Mukuro touched the pale cheek and his eyes widened at how warm the skin felt. Immediately, he went to grab the thermometer from the kitchen and raced back to Hibari's room as he placed it into the boy's mouth, under the tongue. Hibari kept shivering. Mukuro bit his lower lips and when the thermometer beeped, indicating that the temperature was already being measured, he gasped at the reading.
"39 degree Celsius!" His jaw dropped. "Lord gracious!" He hurriedly hoisted the boy up in the sitting position and watched as he complained cold.
"Sshh...Kyoya, you're having a high fever..." Mukuro whispered nervously.
"Hate you...Cavallone...Really...hate...you..." Hibari mumbled and his head dropped onto Mukuro's shoulder, drifting to a deep sleep again.
The indigo-haired teen blinked. Ca...vallone...?
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