As the weekend passed by slowly, Hibari had not left his room. He couldn't find the motivation to get himself off his futon, not even to go and fight someone; he just wanted to be left alone while the injuries on his body healed. Hibird stayed with him, perched in the messy locks of black hair, chirping away every now and then.

It wasn't that Hibari didn't want to leave the room – he hated coming back home, always preferring to be at school than anywhere else – but he was sure if he went out looking as bruised and battered as he did, he would draw unwanted attention to his personal life that would only make things worse than they already wre.

As the Sunday afternoon rolled to a close, the skies darkening as clouds threatened to bombard the earth with rain, the boy was relieved to hear the front door of the house slamming closed only a minute before his parents' car started, indicating their absence.

Hibari pushed himself to his feet and stumbled over to his bedroom door. He slid it open as quietly as he could before he poked his head out and looked around; he wanted to make sure both his mother and father were gone before he walked out into the hallway.

The skylark kept his footsteps as silent as he possibly could while he wandered throughout the house. He could see no sign of anyone else, but all the empty sake bottles that littered the floor around him gave him the idea that his elders had most likely left to go to the bar; it was a common occurrence for them to drink their supply of sake within the day and then leave to drink elsewhere.

"Hibari!"

Hibari looked up as Hibird moved to perch on his shoulder. He couldn't help but let a tiny smile cross his face as he stroked the fluffy bird's yellow back; now that his anxiety had lessened, he could finally talk to his pet once more. "Hello, Hibird."

With his parents gone, Hibari knew he was free to do whatever he wanted. It wasn't like how just coming out of his room to go to the kitchen would earn him a beating; as long as he cleaned up after himself, his parents would never know he had left his futon.

Hibari knew that he was free to show his pain now, no longer forced to hide it in fear of his father's hands. He didn't try to hide the fact that he had to limp over to the couch seated against the back wall of the living room; he instead acted as natural as his anxiety would allow him to. He carefully pulled the empty sake bottles from the couch and placed them in the kitchen before he returned and sat down, soaking in the comfort of soft furniture against his sore body. The remote to the TV was next to him, so he grabbed the small device and turned the television on, unable to remember the last time he had watched it; it must have been years ago by now...

Hibird settled down on the arm-rest beside his master as his black eyes stared at the flashing images of the TV. He didn't move when Hibari curled into a ball on the black material of the couch and drew his knees up to his chest in order to hug him; he was content with just being close to his master, and the skylark felt the same way.

Hibari couldn't admit to anyone that it was frightening for him to be out here in such an unsafe place, but knowing his elders, those two would be out all night drinking and stumble back in through the door in the early hours of the morning, leaving him plenty of time to get back to his room and act as if he had never stepped foot out of it.

It didn't take the boy long at all for his sleep-deprived eyelids to slip closed, the beginning of sleep taking over him. However, no matter how long he slept for, the slightest noise would wake him up with the paranoia his parents had come back home, even if said noise was only the wind blowing leafs off the tree outside the window adjacent to him.

It wasn't until midnight did Hibari finally calm down enough to remain asleep, even if nightmares plagued him all night.

~~The next morning~~

To his relief the next morning, Hibari was still the only occupant of his home, excluding the bird nestled in his hair. His parents hadn't come home during the night which was lucky; if they had stumbled in drunkenly and found him sleeping on their couch, all hell would have broken loose.

The skyklark pushed himself up into a sitting position with his elbow before he wiped the sleep out of his eyes. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the time, finding it no later than seven-forty-eight. If he hurried, he could still get to school in time for the bell.

The yellow bird didn't stir as his master wandered around the house, preparing himself for the day ahead. In fact, he only opened his eyes as the familiar squeaking of the front door opening disturbed his rest. His wings flapped briefly as he lifted himself into the air upon hearing Hibari's voice.

"What are you doing here?" Hibari narrowed his eyes at the man standing in front of his door with his hand poised to knock. Without waiting for an answer, the skylark slammed the door closed and turned to walk back into the house, not wanting to deal with this.

The unwelcome guest opened the door and stepped into the house, his soft voice calling out to the boy. "Kyouya, please... Can I just talk to you?"

"No. Go away, Cavallone." Hibari continued walking to his room. He tried his best to hide his limp; it wouldn't do to show the other he was hurt – it would only give the impression he was weak. "You are not welcome here. Leave or I'll bite you to death, herbivore."

The male – Cavallone, Hibari had recognised – continued to pace after the younger with a frown on his face. "Kyouya, it's –"

In a split second, Hibari had spun around on the spot with his eyes narrowed and burning with hatred. If his tonfa were not still in his room, he would have drawn them already. In the bitterest tone Dino had heard him use yet, he snarled, "Do. Not. Call. Me. Kyouya."

Cavallone could only wonder why Hibari was adamant on not being referred to by his given name, but he wasn't about to let that deter him. "Kyouya, I –"

Before the blond could finish his sentence, the front door opened and closed again and a drunken shout filled the air. He raised his eyebrow as he turned to the source of noise but, before he could see anything, he was quickly shoved into the open closet beside them. He blinked at his student in confusion before he – wisely – kept his mouth shut; he knew better than to intrude upon a situation he knew nothing about.

Hibari stood his ground as he heard the thunderous footsteps approach him. He had pushed the older male into the closet beside them and kicked the door closed, hoping the other was smart enough to stay there; if he were found with someone else in the house, it would only lead to further problems that might actually be the end of him.

Cavallone listened as hard as he could, trying to work out what was going on. He could hear muffled snarls of 'Kyouya' seconds before the sound of skin being slapped resounded loudly against the walls. His eyes widened as he brought his hands to his mouth, stifling a gasp; was that what he thought it was...?

The blond could hear Hibari muttering something back, but whatever he was saying was cut off by a loud thump. Though he couldn't be sure without having seen it for himself, it sounded as if something heavy had been shoved into the wall between them.

There was silence for a few minutes, making Cavallone too nervous to so much as shift his position. He didn't know what he should do; should he poke his head out and see what had happened? Try and sneak out of the house? Sneaking was impossible; he would no doubt fall over and make his presence known.

However, the decision was made for him as the closet door was slowly pulled open. The Chiavarone boss moved himself backwards in an unconscious attempt to hide himself before the familiar face of Hibari greeted him.

The man's eyes widened as he took in the sight before him; the boy's lip was split and bleeding and his right eye was closed from swelling that was already setting in. He was sitting on the floor with his body slumped against the wall as he glared with one eye at the blond.

In a low, dead hiss, he said, "Get. Out." Cavallone had to lean forward just to make these words out. Hibari only raised his voice as he swatted at the air towards the other, as if attempting to hit him. "Get out!"

Cavallone didn't need to be told twice; he got to his feet and ran as fast as he could towards where he remembered the front door was, hoping with all his being no one would see him fleeing – it wouldn't do either of them any good to be seen.

Hibari dropped a heavy arm to his side as he panted in pain. He scrunched his eye shut, trying to ignore the throbbing in his ribs and shoulder; he was sure they had been damaged after he was kicked into the wall.

Not caring to so much as drag himself back to his bedroom, Hibari just sat where he was and stared at the hardwood floor beneath him as he felt his sanity draining more and more with each passing second. Sometimes, he just couldn't be sure whether he wanted to be saved, or if death was a better alternative for the pain he suffered.