Ahem. I haven't updated in a while, but I promise that it wasn't because I was lazy D: I just had surgery and was in the hospital for a while, so I couldn't do much except sleep and recover.

Once again, thank you for all the follows/reviews/favourites! I do try to respond to each and every review I receive. It's quite humbling to know that there are this many people following this story, and I hope I can continue to interest you with my future chapters and have your support!

Disclaimer: FANfiction. I only own the OC. Any changes to the original canon story is due to the fact that this is fanfiction.

Warning: May contain coarse language.

"Mother."

"Yes?"

"What does it mean to be a friend?"

If she hadn't had over thirty years of etiquette training, Hibari Suzuko probably would have had choked very noisily on her tea upon hearing her son's question. Instead, caught off-guard by the sudden, unexpected question, she sipped too fast and the hot liquid had burnt her tongue. With a masked difficulty, she swallowed the tea and it seared its way down her throat. Raising a hand to her mouth, she coughed delicately and asked, "Why the sudden question, Kyoya?"

They were having tea in the tatami room, with the doors opened to display the serene view of the koi pond. As much as Kyoya liked being left alone, his mother insisted on having tea with him at least a few times a week. A mother had to see her child at some point, after all, even if he was already becoming a man.

"Kusakabe Tetsuya is in the hospital."

Suzuko raised her delicate eyebrows. She could only vaguely picture the dark-haired boy that followed her son everywhere like a puppy from a distance that Kyoya was fine with. She had seen him briefly when Kyoya had left something at school, and the nervous boy had brought it to his house. Suzuko would have liked to invite him in, but Kyoya had gotten rid of him as soon as the boy had arrived.

Now, why was he bringing up a name of a person that he didn't even want to invite into his home?

"How is he? Is it bad?"

Her eyes shifted askance to look at her son. He was staring intently at the moving flashes of gold and black in the koi pond. It was clear that this was a conversation that he did not want to have, but it seemed that he had made a resolve to have it anyway.

"He's fine. He's been there for a few weeks now."

"What happened to him?"

"Some herbivores attacked him because they thought it would enrage me."

"Well, did it?"

"I disciplined them accordingly, but a few herbivores escaped while my attention was elsewhere. I will be disciplining those herbivores should I ever see them again, but them living with the constant fear of me biting them to death is more than enough."

"Kyoya, I did not ask about what you did with the boys that attacked Kusakabe. I asked if the act did enrage you."

"Mother, I disciplin—"

"Did. It. Enrage. You?"

Hibari pulled his eyes off the pond, and saw that his mother was looking directly at him with a chilling expression in her eyes.

"Yes."

"See, that wasn't so difficult to answer, was it? Now, what is it that you wanted to know? What a friend was?"

"Yes."

"So, what is your question, exactly?"

"I have no friends."

Suzuko was startled, but it didn't show on her face. "Why do you say that, Kyoya? And you must realise that what you've just said is a statement, and not a question."

There was a long silence before Kyoya spoke again. "The herbivore said that Kusakabe Tetsuya is my best friend."

Suzuko immediately assumed that the herbivore that her son was referring to was the girl that had been in their home a few weeks back. "And is Yang Riko wrong?"

Her question was met with another silence. Suzuko watched her son thoughtfully, as his eyes were trained intently on the teacup that sat between his hands. Here was a strange sight. Kyoya was never one for conversations like this particular one, and the fact that it really was happening right now was slightly disconcerting. Still, it was comforting to now that even Kyoya was normal enough to ask his own mother for advice. Suzuko smiled slightly, feeling a rush of fondness for her son.

"I told her she was."

"But you don't think she is?"

"What is a friend, mother?"

"Kyoya, a friend is definitely something you have."

A frown barely appeared on the boy's face, but he managed to smooth it over. "I don't understand."

"If Kusakabe Tetsuya was not someone you considered a friend, you would not have gotten angry over the fact that a group of boys attacked and hurt him, and you certainly would not have taken revenge for him. That is something only friends do."

Kyoya's eyes flickered, and Suzuko knew that he was having a hard time processing this information. She smiled again — it was the first time she'd ever seen her son display such emotions. Growing up, Kyoya had been a stoic child, and it also didn't help that he was physically talented as well. Kyoya's mind had matured quickly, but he had had a penchant for violence that had not been well-received by the children in his age group. As a result, he had decided friends were pointless, but Suzuko was delighted to discover that he did have friends, after all, even if she could only count them on one hand and he didn't realise that he did have friends.

She decided to say something again. "Yang Riko is a friend of yours as well, Kyoya. I'm sure you know that."

Kyoya's head snapped up at this. "No she isn't. She's my subordinate."

"You also said that about Kusakabe Tetsuya, did you not?" Suzume pointed out mildly.

At this, Kyoya turned his head away and did not speak again. The conversation was over.

xxxxx

"Stop that. Hey. Oi. Yang! Don't do that-!"

Riko grinned as she looked up innocently from the plaster cast in front of her, capping the marker in her hand. "What, you don't want a portrait of Nicki Minaj on your leg?"

A very harassed Kusakabe glared at the dark-haired girl from his bed. "I don't want anything on my leg!"

"Well, too bad," Riko looked down at the doodle with a satisfied twinkle in her eyes, "Might I add, my skills are unparalleled! Look at how accurate that booty is! Almost like the real thing!"

Riko had taken to visiting Hibari's righthand occasionally for a few weeks now. At first it had been because Kusakabe had asked (pleaded was a word Riko would rather use) her to update him on how Hibari was. Now it was just something Riko felt like doing whenever she had free time — maybe it was because she felt a sliver of sympathy for Kusakabe. After all, Hibari had not visited once since that one time he'd been there. Not that it was unexpected, but Riko had expected more of the aloof cloud guardian.

"Forget the stupid drawing," Kusakabe grumbled, "My leg itches because of you!"

Riko shrugged, settling herself comfortably on the chair beside his bed. "If anything, I'd say it's the forest growing on your skin that's making your leg itch, if your other leg is any indication," she kicked up her feet and rested them on the patient's bed, "Besides, you should be thanking me! When you finally get that cast off, you'll have a complete set of new stationery for school."

Kusakabe sighed loudly. When was he finally going to get to go home? Three weeks of relentless mischief from the Chinese-Japanese girl were enough. Why did she even bother sticking around, anyway? She had basically made him grovel when he'd asked for her to update him about Hibari.

A knock on the door attracted both of their attentions. A woman garbed in a crisp, white uniform popped her head in. "You have a visitor," she smiled, and she stepped aside to let a blonde boy in.

Riko stared at the blonde, her instincts quickly making notes about him. From a side glance, she noticed that Kusakabe had stiffened in his bed, and a very uncomfortable expression had appeared on his face. Shifting her gaze back to the blonde, she noted that he wasn't dressed in any particular uniform that she could identify, but only a crumpled white button-down and navy slacks.

"If you need anything, just call me, alright?" The door closed, and the nurse was gone.

"Hello, Kusakabe. Remember me?" the boy grinned as he strolled towards the bed, his hands stuffed inside his pockets. "You look a lot better than we left you."

"What are you doing here, Homura?" Kusakabe's tone was icy as he glared at the blonde.

"I was just here to visit my friends. You know, the ones your beloved Hibari put in here?"

"Hey, NSync! Why don't you take you and your stupid frosted tips back to the nineties and leave Revolta the fuck alone?"

The blonde's attention immediately shifted towards Riko. "Oh? I didn't know you had a girlfriend."

Riko raised a dark eyebrow, folding her arms across her chest. She wrinkled her nose at the obvious, and probably intentional, clash between the boy's dyed hair and his dark brown roots. "And I didn't know time machines existed. Enjoying your visit to the future? This is all you have to look forward to in the next decade and a half, Frosty. Mind you, men's hairstyles have come a long way since."

"Watch your mouth, bitch. I'm not afraid to hit girls."

"Yang!" Kusakabe's tone was warning, his eyes never leaving Homura.

"Oh dear, what would your maman say if she heard this?" Riko threw her head back in an exaggerated fashion, "I mean, it's bad enough you're a wuss that leaves your friends for dead when the apocalypse named Kyoya comes looking for blood."

Homura narrowed his eyes. Kyoya? Who the fuck was she talking about— oh. The name clicked in his mind. Hibari Kyoya? Why the fuck was she referring to him with his first name? A smirk grew on his face as his mind processed this. "You're not Kusakabe's girlfriend, are you?"

"But apparently, you're a fucking genius. Your mother must be proud!"

"You're Hibari's bitch, aren't you?"

At this, Riko's face hardened. "You're mistaken, Frosty. I'm just a bitch. I don't fucking belong to anyone, and it would serve you fucking well to remember that. Unless, of course, you're looking for a world of pain and suffering."

Homura scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Empty words from a whore."

"At least I have some fucking balls, which is a whole lot more than I can say about you, No-Balls."

The blonde frowned. "You take that back."

"Take what back? Your words don't scare me. It takes a lot more for my balls to jump right back up, which is something I can't say for yours."

At this, the delinquent snapped. In an instant, his right hand pulled out of his pocket to reveal a previously hidden switchblade. He lunged at Riko with a growl, while Kusakabe yelled out her name with a wild expression on his face.

"YANG—!"

CLANG!

The sound of metal against metal resounded in the small hospital room. Where was the sound of blood spattering? Where were the screams of agony? It took the assailant several seconds to comprehend what had just happened.

The chair Riko had been sitting in was empty. Homura's eyes were trained on the metal rod that his knife had come into contact with. A flash of familiarity surged through him, and he felt a sense of dread. Slowly and reluctantly, he lifted his gaze. An impassive Hibari Kyoya was looking down at him.

Shit.

Behind Hibari, Kusakabe was at a loss for words. He couldn't believe his eyes. Was that really Hibari? Was he actually physically here?

"You might want to close your mouth. I think you're starting to drool," A snarky voice piped up, "Or are you actually secretly in lust with Kyoya? No judgements there, but I can't fathom why, of all people, you'd find Kyoya attractive. He's a demon, y'know."

Kusakabe jumped with a start when he realised Riko was standing next to him. When on earth—? "How did you—?"

"Fast reflexes, remember?" Riko shrugged, "And by the way, I totally knew he had a blade in there. It's a pity it's a switchblade, though. I would've gone with something much more discreet. But oh well, he's not trained at all, is he?"

It was then Kusakabe remembered that Riko was, in fact, a first-class assassin. This fact had dwelled in the back of his mind for so long after the incident where Hibari had shoved her out of the window, that he had forgotten about it. Now he realised that Riko's taunting wasn't just because she was a disrespectful pain in the ass. (But it mostly was.) It was because she knew how to defend herself, and he had a sneaking suspicion that she had been purposely trying to get Homura to attack her. Why on earth she would want that, he didn't know, but then again, she was an oddball.

Speaking of Homura…

Kusakabe pulled his attention away from Riko and looked back at Homura and Hibari. All the colour seemed to have drained out of Homura's face as he shrank beneath Hibari's cold gaze. The blade clattered against the tonfa as his hand shook.

"Herbivore… No. You're less than a herbivore," Hibari drew his tonfa back. "You seem to be familiar with what I am capable of, but yet you are still bold enough to attack my subordinates."

"Hi-Hi-b-bari—"

"Kyoya seems to be in a good mood," Riko observed nonchalantly.

Kusakabe looked at her as if she had gone insane. "Good mood?!" Hibari looked to be anything but.

Riko nodded. "Yeah. Can't you see? If Kyoya wasn't in a good mood, he would've already sent Frosty No-Balls out of the window."

Homura heard Riko's words, and a strangled squeak left his mouth. The corner of Hibari's mouth quirked with a hint of a cruel smirk.

"You should run," Riko commented, "He just might let you get away."

And he did. With a terrified cry, the blonde scrambled out of the hospital room as fast as he could, leaving the door wide open as he did so.

Kusakabe swallowed nervously before he spoke. "W-What are you doing here, Hibari-san?"

Hibari sat himself down on the chair and rested his forehead against the back of his hand. "That is none of your business."

Riko scoffed loudly, which earned a glare from both the invalid and Hibari. The acrobat noticed this and raised an eyebrow. "What? Dry throat — the air here is rather dry."

"You didn't clear your throat! That's what you do when you have a dry throat! Not scoff openly, which is what you did!" Kusakabe retorted.

"Hey, I grew up in Europe. We have different ways of doing things there."

"Oh shut up, that's bull-"

"Kusakabe."

Hibari's quiet interjection broke through their banter. Looking at Hibari, they saw that his gaze was fixated on a certain point on Kusakabe's leg cast. His grey eyes narrowed in scrutiny.

"Why is there a woman with obscenely big breasts on your leg?"

A little bit more character building for Hibari! I found this chapter challenging to write, since Hibari's a difficult character to write if one attempts to develop him, but it's a learning process. And quite fun, too. c:

Let me know how you liked or disliked this chapter, or if you have any questions! Have a lovely weekend and I'll see you in the next chapter!

Delphoxi