As promised! Chapter 24 of Storm Clouds in record time!
I'd like to take the time to thank you for all the follows/reviews/favourites! I do try to respond to each and every review I receive. 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.
What in fuck's name was wrong with her?
Of all the possible ways to piss off the notoriously bad-tempered Hibari Kyoya, she just had to pick a bad pun, didn't she?
"Why can't Kyoya just kill me already and end my suffering?" Riko moaned as she rolled around on the cement surface of a rooftop.
Empty plastic packages were littered around the acrobat, along with telltale crumbs that remained from her latest stress-induced food binge. Riko sighed as she raised her arm, with a half-eaten sweet bread in hand, and begrudgingly bit down on the very thing that was the root of her latest anguish.
Making him a sandwich? Literally?
Never in her life had she felt as much shame as she did in that very moment.
"A school is pretty much the same as a zoo, huh."
A corner of Riko's eye twitched at the familiar, bored voice. "Casse-toi, grenouille, or I'll slice you into ribbons."
An aqua-haired child perched on the ledge of the flat rooftop, hands clasped behind his back inquiringly as he regarded Riko with a humourless gaze. "Why are you so intent on getting fatter? You're barely able to carry your own weight now as it is."
"Fran, I'm warning you."
"Oh, I'm scared."
"Why the fuck are you here, anyway? Shouldn't you be off somewhere in the French mountains casting spells with your beloved Master Rokudo Mukuro?"
"We came back for a holiday."
"Fifty countries in Europe and you decided to come here?"
"Master said I should practice my Japanese."
"Your Japanese is perfectly fine, now fuck off back to France."
"Mon dieu, is that really the kind of language to use around un petit garçon?"
"On t'a bercé trop près du mur?" Riko sat up, irritation clearly scrawled across her face as she glared at Fran through the tinted lenses of her goggles, "And even if you're really here for a holiday, why are you at my school?"
Fran's eyes suddenly widened, as if he had just recalled something. "Ah. That's right. Master sent me to run an errand for him," Fran leapt off the ledge and onto the roof, landing soundlessly amongst the mess Riko had made.
Riko flopped back onto her back, crossing her arms behind her head as a scowl remained on her face. "Go right on ahead — whatever your precious Master Mukuro wants has nothing to do with me, so just stop procrastinating and complete your mission."
"Ah, but Riko-kouhai—"
"You fucking dare call me that again, I'll cut your tongue out and feed it to you."
"My, my. Mange des carottes, ça rend aimable."
"Fiche moi le paix, grenouille."
"Parler japonais, vous êtes au Japon."
Riko immediately shot up at the sudden interruption, and Fran turned to look at the speaker. Standing next to the roof door, black blazer flapping in the gentle breeze as it hung loosely off his shoulders, was none other than Namimori High's head prefect, Hibari Kyoya, looking down at the two bickering assassins.
Gaping as she stared dumbfounded at Hibari, Riko was at a loss for words. "Di-did you just speak French, Kyoya?" The famously borderline-xenophobic, anything-but-Japanese-hating Hibari I-love-Japan Kyoya could speak French? Riko wondered if she was overdue for a hearing loss check-up.
Hibari regarded the acrobat coolly. "Recidivism is not tolerated in Namimori High, Yang Riko, especially if you are my underling. And you—," He turned towards Fran, quickly noting the Varia lion insignia stitched down the sides of his coat sleeves, "—visitors must report to the administrative faculty before being allowed on campus. You are in violation of school rules. For that—"
Riko started inching herself away as surreptitiously as she could, throwing an urgent whisper of "Oy, Froggy! Pick up your ass and get out of here!" in Fran's direction.
"—I will have to punish you." Hibari finished with an sadistic smirk as he advanced towards the pair, the steel tonfa in his hands flashing sinisterly as sun rays bounced off the surface.
Riko yelped as she ducked a blow from Hibari, and ran past Fran, who had, strangely, decided to stand his ground against Hibari by staying put. No matter, Riko decided, because whatever Fran wanted to do was his own problem. She wasn't his babysitter, and she sure as hell wasn't going to subject herself to seven circles of Hell for the smart-mouthed French prodigy's benefit.
As Hibari loomed menacingly over the small child, Fran merely stared up at the cloud guardian boldly, as he opened his mouth and said, "Master Mukuro said he was looking for you, Hibari Kyoya."
As if he had just uttered a magical incantation, Hibari suddenly stopped in his tracks. Riko, who had heard Fran's words as she readied herself to jump off the roof, paused and turned around, her interest piqued at the mention of Mukuro's intentions with Hibari.
Now, what could the Machiavellian mist guardian want with the bad-tempered Hibari?
Hibari drew back his weapons as he scrutinised the young illusionist. "Rokudo… Mukuro?"
Lussuria and Squalo - surprisingly enough - were big gossips, and from what Riko understood from the sloppy, drunken stories told in between rambunctious Varia drinking sessions, Hibari was on famously bad terms with the Vongola Family's tenth mist guardian, Rokudo Mukuro. What had started as Hibari's desire to regain his undefeated status after their first encounter had evolved into a bitter rivalry over the years, as the two conveniently never seemed to be in the same place at the same time long enough for a rematch. He was Hibari's ultimate antithesis.
Now with all things considered, Riko suddenly felt a rush of affection for Rokudo Mukuro, even if she practically didn't know the man. Anyone who could cause even the slightest amount of grief for the capricious cloud guardian was basically a god and deserved a pat on the back.
"He's anxiously waiting at this address, and hopes you'll find time in your busy schedule for a quick visit." Fran announced passionlessly, producing a slip of paper from his pocket and presented it to Hibari.
Expressionless, Hibari took the paper, scanning it briefly before returning his attention to the turquoise-haired child. "And just what is Rokudo Mukuro scheming?"
"Scheming? My master merely expressed a desire to reconnect with a dear friend after many long years of estrangement."
Riko held back a derisive snort. A dear friend? If Hibari was Rokudo Mukuro's dear friend, that would make her Beyoncé's sister.
Hibari narrowed his eyes in mistrust. Whatever the crooked man was planning didn't matter one bit. It was a brazen, open invitation that was clearly taunting him to attack. Naturally, Hibari wasn't going to back down from a fight, especially one with Rokudo Mukuro, even if that meant taking such an obvious bait.
That herbivore was long overdue for a lesson in the Hibari Kyoya School of Hard Knocks.
"Fine. I shall make my way there immediately." Hibari informed the boy, slipping the address into his shirt pocket. He lifted his head and found Riko staring at him like a deer caught in the headlights.
Shit.
She had been so caught up in the business between Mukuro and Hibari, that she'd forgotten to make her escape.
"If you don't want a beating, I suggest you accompany me," Hibari said, his tone subtly barbed with unspoken threats, as a wicked smile formed on his lips, "I would bring Kusakabe, but at such short notice, I suppose you'll do."
"And if I say no?" Riko challenged with an obstinate flash in her stormy eyes.
"Your punishment will come sooner or later, Yang Riko."
Sooner… or later? There was a lull of silence as Riko considered her options, before resigning with a sigh. "Sooner it is. I have a Fairy Tail marathon scheduled later."
xxxx
If there was a physical list of cliches, a dark, empty warehouse that belonged to a character as shady as Rokudo Mukuro would be one of the things listed.
From start to finish, everything seemed to scream 'TRAP!' as Riko and Hibari entered the building. Fran had mysteriously disappeared after Hibari all but wrangled Riko into his hands, leaving the two to navigate their way through Namimori to their destination. Between Hibari's well-established knowledge of Namimori's roads and Riko's short attention span and tendency to be distracted by the various food stands they passed, it had taken the pair a good hour and a half to traverse a path that would have normally taken twenty minutes.
Strangely enough, Hibari had been uncharacteristically accomodating whenever Riko announced an intention to purchase yet another Japanese delicacy that could not be found outside the country. Riko suspected it was because Hibari approved of anything that reinforced an affection for his beloved country.
The interior was delipidated, and practically in ruins, with mould covering almost every corner and inch of the ceiling, and cracks running through the cemented floor and walls. Empty shipping containers were stacked haphazardly in the warehouse, casting overlapping shadows as slivers of sunlight poured through the holes in the ceiling.
"Kyoya, you do realize we're basically maiali trotting into a slaughterhouse, si?"
"Only speak when you're spoken to, Yang Riko."
"If I were to wait to be spoken to, I might as well wait for water to turn into wine."
Despite the crepuscule within the building, Riko could feel Hibari's harsh glare practically drilling holes into the side of her head. A very, very small but satisfied smirk found its way to her face - as she was beginning to learn, the seemingly unconcerned Hibari Kyoya did in fact have a limit for tolerating her irritating snark, after all.
Riko looked around, voicing out what Hibari was thinking. "Where's Mukuro? I thought he said he'd be here."
As they stood, unmoving in the disused warehouse, there was nothing but eerie silence and a sense of danger enveloping the pair. The air seemed to thicken, despite the fact that its outward appearance was unchanged. But this was familiar, Hibari realised. A very unpleasant memory came crashing back up into the surface of his mind, causing his usual calm facade to slip very briefly, gritting his teeth as he attempted to shove the image back where it belonged. Riko noticed this from the corner of her eye, and said nothing.
Was Hibari… scared?
Seemingly out of nowhere, a massive, tall figure stepped out of the shadows. It was too far away for either of them to make out any discernible features, but with every step the person took, there was an incessant clinking sound - it was as if the person was wearing metal chains.
Riko heard Hibari draw in a breath, and watched his knuckles whiten as he tightened his grip on his tonfa. His face was back to its usual porcelain mask of indifference, but the acrobat knew better. This was it. Hibari was actually, truly, even if only a little bit… scared.
And the strange part?
She was concerned.
Rather than being overcome with glee, or plotting to use it to her advantage to get back at the cloud guardian for the countless times he had tortured her, Riko found herself wanting to close the distance between her and Hibari, just to hug him, and to tell him that he would be alright.
The little chinks of sunlight that filtered into the warehouse barely lit the room, but the figure was getting close now, and Riko could only just barely make out a more detailed silhouette of what clearly was a man. Were those… swords? He was well over six feet, and as he got closer, Riko's jaw dropped open with shock as she realised she knew the identity of the mystery man.
"Kyoya, I think my mind has just been blown to bits."
My, my. It seems like Mukuro has something planned for his dear old friend, hm?
Translations
casse-toi (French) - fuck off
grenouille (French) - frog
mon dieu (French) - my goodness
un petit garçon (French) - a young boy
On t'a bercé trop près du mur? (French) - as a child, was your cradle rocked too close to the wall?
kouhai (Japanese) - junior
mange des carottes, ça rend aimable (French) - eat some carrots, you'll be nicer
fiche moi le paix (French) - get the fuck away from me
parler japonais, vous êtes au Japon (French) - speak Japanese, you're in Japan
maiali (Italian) - pigs
Let me know how you liked or disliked this chapter, or if you have any questions! I'll see you in the next chapter!
Delphoxi