Hi guys! Thank you Hisami93 and yuyiz93 (why do you both have 93? Just kidding) for reviewing! Anyway, I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

We Live Our Lives on Different Sides

ACT II

~Can you feel it beating?~

The night before has left the morning air pungent with the smell of explosives and gunpowder and blood and dirt. The situation has normalized but the threat is still present and those who swore to protect Namimori cannot and will not abandon their responsibilities of keeping the land and its people safe. Hence, the Vongola family, the target of the united-many-families, is in a strategy meeting yet again. But this time, someone who is from outside would join them, and would surely shock everyone.

-cloud-

The room was filled with low mumblings and musings and even though some of the topics were actually happy, some couldn't relax. The threat of an attack was at fault.

Those who were early still had to wait for them to be completed, with the female Mist Guardian arriving last, clearly in her husband's stead. But before anything started, what the second-to-the-last who arrived noticed first was the presence of a non-regular in their midst.

He simply watched from his seat, careful not to be too obvious, observed how she smiled so wide whenever the Rain, who is already fine to walk but is still decommissioned, asked her a very trivial question or when the Bovine said something stupid. And whenever she did smile, he felt something boil inside him and he knew well what it was. After all, the events of his last dream was so clear he could remember it as if it was memory of just a few seconds ago.

Back from that surreal event, Hibari had begun feeling his heart thumping inside his chest. Of course, it had always been there. A long time ago he could do strenuous activities and not even feel it thump once. What's more is that it was supposed to be inaudible but for him it sounds like a bell tolling in his ears. And now that I-pin was near he could feel it high in his throat, beating crazy, ready to come out his mouth.

It was just, for some reason, he'd been more sensitive to it.

The Cloud Guardian, despite of his emotionless facade, raged with jealousy. Whoever made her sit between the stupid cow and that herbivore was going to feel a new level of pain. But of course the sorry target will never know the reason behind it.

Trying to get his grips on his feelings, his eyes closed for a moment and when they opened, he saw honey orbs looking through him and into his soul. There was guilt in him for being caught red-handed yet he still felt enraged by his Boss' decision that rather than looking guilty, he looked really, really annoyed.

Tsuna smiled awkwardly and was glad that Hibari was tame enough not to bite him to death.

"So, we all have discussed before what the possible approaches the enemies might take. Today, I would like to expand on that in light of what happened last night," Tsuna began thus putting the meeting in order and killing all the other discussions within the group. They talked about a lot of things, most of which does not concern I-pin directly.

Finally, "As you see, I-pin, who had long ago left our famiglia, is present amongst us for the reason that I would like her to become an ally," shifting his eyes to the mentioned girl and not faltering, "Who will take responsibility over the wounded and sick."

All eyes were on him and Tsuna felt many different kinds of stare. And among these stares, one was actually a glare. A glare so sharp Tsuna swore that he will fall into ribbons later.

"Boss Tsuna?" I-pin was surprised. Yes, there were times that she was invited to security meetings for the sole purpose of protecting Mama, Kyoko and Haru and the non-combatants. But this was… too much to take?

"Will you help us?" Tsuna almost pleaded.

By that simple plea, every pair of eyes were now on her. Well maybe not. A certain pair still looked straight through Tsuna, as if the owner was stabbing his boss using his sight. I-pin laughed inwardly, for if Tsuna was really getting stabbed, she was sure the count would be greater than a hundred already.

"If you're worried about your safety, I will arrange for somebody to pro—" but the Boss was cut off by a raised hand of the young woman.

"It's not that," and the ex-assassin had the look of pure determination. But what she was going to say, never had Tsuna expected, "But what about Mama and the others? Who will protect them?"

That was when tears fell from Tsunayoshi's eyes, subsequently bowing low to the carpet, prompting everyone to stand as he was on the floor.

"I-pin, thank you!" And everyone was around him, giving hands to him, propping him up, that they would be his strength until the end of their lives.

"Oh, don't worry too much. I'm sure everyone here is willing to do their best for you," I-pin said while everyone was busy consoling their boss and each other.

Well, not exactly everyone. There was this one person who hated crowding and decided to look uninterested. The young woman looked at him, he looking at her with a light tone of impressed, and gave him a warm smile. He was apathetic as usual so she didn't know if he did care. Not that it mattered.

"Thank you everyone."

-cloud-

The time came that I-pin had to leave for she had classes that she had to attend for formality's sake; she's practically one of the best, if not the best, blackmarket doctors around. Polite as she was, she excused herself from everyone and bowed. But when she was about to exit the room, Yamamoto called to her, saying that he will escort her to school since everyone was busy.

And upon hearing it, Tsuna grimaced. The Cloud Guardian could rampage in a killing frenzy… Not. Hibari simply sat in his place and disinterest clear in his features. His eyes rolled once he saw that his boss was looking at him incredulously, expecting that a rage would roll out soon.

"Hibari-san," Tsuna began, "I think you should do it. After all, Yamamoto-kun should rest."

"Fine." Hibari then left with I-pin.

-cloud-

After some time, the two had reached the exit of the headquarters. I-pin clearly did not want Hibari to trouble himself, thus asked if she could walk alone.

"Thank you very much, Hibari-san. I'll be fine from here." As she was about to push the door open, she saw Mist flames around her, emanating from the Cloud Guardian. Maybe it was so that her exit of the headquarters would be undetected by the enemies and such, that which she concluded and had relaxed, until Hibari had her pressed against the wall by his mere presence. "Hibari-san?"

He could hear it; he could feel it. And it was keeping him awake. His heart beat so strong and it slowly sunk into his stomach like a deadweight. There was no way to stop it without killing himself. His body is acting out on its own and it's scaring the shit out of him.

Moving closer to taste her lips, he heard her squeak. Her eyes shut tight and her body tense told more than enough that she didn't want it. I-pin was a hair's breadth away, she was that close, yet he had never felt so alone. And hurt.

And so, he glided like a ghost and opened the door, signaling the little bird to fly away.

I-pin looked at him but didn't have the strength to gaze deep into his eyes, thus stammered on the floor. He was apathetic as usual so she didn't know if he did care. So she walked towards the door with a guilt-ridden heart.

-cloud-

The war was finally over. The enemies were devastated, what with Hibari rampaging like a blood thirsty monster on the field. Tsuna didn't even have to fight, more like didn't want to fight, as it was probable that the said person would bite to death anyone who was interfering, be it enemies or allies. The Cloud saw them all the same.

Soon, the enemies will use their trump card, as the game was nearing a checkmate.

-cloud-

There was an eerie laugh in the air and it was so familiar it was annoying him. It continuously rung in his ears as he couldn't find the source in all of the illusions present.

Another attack came from nowhere and Hibari was lucky enough to dodge it despite all his wounds, "Coward," growling as he was trying to dispel the illusions. He then set his radar flames wider as precaution.

"You can't do it!" said the enemy illusionist hidden in the Mist. Until…

That was when Hibari felt a fast object closing in.

A loud crash ensued. Hibari didn't wait for the dust to settle and had willed himself to where the enemy had fallen. There, he saw I-pin beating the crap out of Mukuro with her bare fists. "WELL, I CAN!"

"Get out of there!" The Cloud Guardian screamed when he felt Mukuro regaining his senses. The younger one was quick to follow his order and had evaded a slash from his trident. Another wave of Genju Gagaia erupted from the Mist aura that Mukuro unleashed, surrounding both of them with materializing crows.

"What's going on? Why is Mukuro-san your, no, our enemy?" I-pin was shocked but kept her guard up. "Kyo-san, please don't move for a while." Soon, a sun box animal erupted from I-pin's hands and began healing the poor Cloud Guardian while she charged at Mukuro again as distraction.

As his wounds were healing, Hibari couldn't do anything but defend himself with his box animal and watch the woman fight. Missiles, gunfire and crows, she evaded most of it by releasing dragons of Storm flames and used the explosions as cover.

She had come to save him. That which he did not need. I-pin was throwing away her life. He grimaced, "What a stupid herbivore."

How much longer will it take for him to be completely healed? How much longer does he need to watch her get hurt? How much longer does he need to stand there and compliment her strength? How long does he need to feel his sinking heart?

I-pin will be overpowered any time soon, and he was standing there doing nothing.

-cloud-

"You little!"

The pronged spear lunged forward after three blasts had strategically knocked I-pin into range. That final moment that Mukuro dreamt of has finally come, to be rid of this pesky assassin and that Mafioso guardian and the rest of the world! He will not be deterred! But steel and steel clashed as a giant spiked ball engulfed the woman, thus saving her from her death. Mukuro was pissed. If it weren't for this woman, he wouldn't have wasted so much time. He was really, really angry.

"GENJU GAGAIA!"

More crows appeared everywhere, attacking any enemy of the illusionist in sight, including the ball that was a Cloud hedgehog, unveiling an unconscious I-pin.

Mukuro's eyes glinted when he saw Hibari releasing a lot of his hedgehogs against the numerous crows. "I'll show you pain!" again lunging with his spear towards the now broken shield that was his Cloud box animal, to attack what precious thing it held inside.

Running out of options, Hibari made hedgehogs appear in Mukuro's path so he could stall him. Amidst his swings against the crows that were still around, he threw a handcuff at Mukuro which caught a stray crow instead.

'I won't let you kill her!' Hibari screamed frantically in his mind as he made a few more hedgehogs to clear his path so that he can reach the Mist Guardian and beat him up himself. Willing his self on despite strength leaving his body, near as he was but the crows kept on getting in the way. Till an orange burst of flames came from the sidelines, killing a lot of pesky birds.

Tsuna unleashed another, albeit weaker, X Burner that killed another batch of birds. "Don't let him kill I-pin!" He howled. As if Hibari would let it happen. Over his dead body.

"Wake up," a prayer resounded as Hibari made his way to Mukuro, continuously making hedgehogs to defend her. "Wake up," exhaustion was at him, "Wake up and save yourself."

All the hedgehogs did was annoy Mukuro and if he weren't busy enough controlling all the crows, he would have killed all of them. And now that Tsuna had joined the skirmish, it was like hitting three birds with one stone! Finally, he closed the gap between himself the open hedgehog. Holding his breath, "I got you now!"

Tsuna and Hibari screamed on the top of their lungs, wishing that their voices would wake her "I-pin!" Yet the trident cannot be stopped. Nor could the Skylark be stopped. Nor could it stop her. A bright red flash threw Mukuro away and into the rubble. Hibari took the opportunity to throw handcuffs at the fallen Mist Guardian; the cuff cutting off oxygen, finally disabling the illusionist.

Jogging towards I-pin as he was concerned for her health, Hibari peered inside the broken shell, "I-pin?" Luckily she was alive and well, only a gash to the side from the trident. She opened her eyes, surprise painted her face. It took Hibari by surprise as well,

"Mukuro!" she howled and proceeded to stab to the heart the Mukuro she saw with the trident she had pulled from her wound, unwitting to the illusion that was playing in her mind.

-cloud-

The Vindice came on the aftermath of the battle, picking up Mukuro who was still in the grasp of the handcuff thrown at him, saying that they will take care of the rest. Tsuna wasn't happy of how things turned out. He was sure that Mukuro had somehow given up on destroying the world. But now… the person who was behind all of it was him. Because of Rokudo Mukuro a lot of people were hurt, some almost died while some did die and someone is about to die. It was saddening. He thought that the Mist Guardian could change.

"K-Kyo-san… I'm so sorry…" and I-pin held him tightly against herself, willing her own animal to heal him faster or else he will die.

Once I-pin had stabbed the fake Mukuro, her mind cleared and what befell her senses overwhelmed her. The pronged spear, still in her hands, was covered in blood. His eyes were disbelieving and so was hers. "What have I done?"

His voice was raspy, "Stop crowding me, herbivore…" and as he opened his tired eyes, he saw I-pin crying a river of tears and the necklace he had recently given her was covered in blood. He was starting to feel cold, gave up and returned her caress.

"I won't! Even if you bite me to death!" and I-pin continued on sobbing as she clutched onto the dying man. With that, she felt a slight sting on her shoulder, making her cry more at the futility of the situation. "Kyo-san… I love you…"

Tsuna left; he did not have the strength to withstand the sadness in I-pin's confession. They both knew, that no matter how much flames she put in her skylark, she won't be able to heal the Skylark that was in her arms.

"How am I supposed to feel about you?" Hibari's breathing became slow heaving. I-pin shook her head and held his tighter against her shoulder.

'If you regain us you will die…'

"I-pin… I…"

'If you regain us you will die…' Should he stay or turn around and run? But there was nowhere to run to; it was a dead end already. How much longer does he need to dispel the fear he has in his heart from the thought that he will die soon? 'If you regain us you will die… We are your death.' He didn't want to die, he was afraid for the first time.

"Kyo-san! Please live."

"Please live…"

"You sound… like…" and dull eyes slowly closed and a faint smile slowly formed in his lips, "You want me… to go…" his larger body turned to a burden to hers, that's what his embrace had become. "I-pin, I…" not really wanting to say it, "Love… you too…" And bit her for the last time. At least his heart would stop being such a nuisance.

"NO! I didn't want you to go! KYOYA! STAY WITH ME!"

-cloud-

So she walked towards the door with a guilt-ridden heart. But stopped half way, "Hi-Hibari-san, would you... would you..." and I-pin turned around ever so slowly and if she still had her exploding technique, she would explode after a few seconds. But she didn't. Beet red and embarrassed, she collected all of her courage to ask him a petty favor, "Would you make me your woman?"

Not wanting to look too excited, Hibari devised a "Hn," and approached her, as close as he was before, and licked his lips, "This will be interesting."

-cloud-

I-pin laid him on the cold concrete and saw the hole she had done in his chest. She clumsily checked for a pulse, there was none. She wanted to resuscitate him but there was so much blood in his mouth and from his wound and she knew it would be useless. The young woman could simply shed tears as she held his hand.

"Maybe if I said 'Please stay' you would still be here..." Her body shuddered continuously from all her sobbing and her eyes have dried for she could shed a tear no more; that feeling that you want to cry but you no longer can shred her already crushed heart.

But she couldn't help but notice how relieved his face was.

Fifteen years later

Two boys who eerily looked like each other stood in front of a certain grave amongst many in the cemetery. They both have fierce eyes, hungry like a predator, yet as calm as undisturbed water. And their beautiful black hair swished in the wind.

They were there because it was their father's death anniversary and that their mother told them to visit his grave. Every year, on the same day, she would be like that and cold to the point that they both developed a certain dislike of the date.

"Oi, Shin-nii," the one who was shorter by a centimeter began, "Don't go crying like a herbivore. You'll be a disgrace to our family."

"Mother will cry for us, Yuuya."

"Our mother's not a herbivore. Otherwise our father will not choose her." He looked at his twin brother and couldn't help but notice the lack of a certain object. "Shin-nii, where's the Cloud ring?" Yuuya said as he raised his own Storm ring.

In the Foundation headquarters

"Maybe if I said 'Please stay' you would still be here..." I-pin cried, holding the Vongola Cloud ring in her hands.

I'm thankful to those who have reached here! Yay! This mini-series is now officially over! And yeah, it suddenly ended because it was becoming too long for my own liking, gotta keep a nice attention span now from all of you, no? I was getting tired, too... But not from writing! C;

Again, thank you!

A virtual cookie for those who review! Please do tell me if you are disappointed with the ending so I'll try better when I write new one-shots! I'm back to one shots. Hope I also used their abilities right...