The initial plan was to go find Sawada Tsunayoshi as soon as he possibly could, which could, in reality, be accomplished in a few minutes time had it not been for Mukuro. It seemed as if the illusionist was deliberately stalling him and drawing on the minutes into hours into days even and it was frustrating how Mukuro was able to manipulate him without him knowing it.

And by manipulate, he meant he hated how Mukuro was ever so sly with his words, more convincing and conniving than the one that he knows and hates, what with his words of endearment and sneaky tricks. Sneaky, in the sense that the other Hibari had a ridiculous sweet tooth and much to his dismay, it was something that he had in common with his other self.

It had started out as an invitation to his home, which was actually a small apartment that he shared with the illusionist girl, Chrome if he remembered her name correctly, and sat him down on a stool at the small kitchenette table for a cup of tea and perhaps a slice of cake. He shrugged and snarled out a "whatever" and Mukuro had given him a smile and served him cake, which he more or less accepted with a slight roll of his eyes and a click of his tongue.

He was… Not disappointed, to put in a way that wasn't embarrassing or a means of complimenting something in front of Mukuro whom was looking at him expectantly. Hibari raised his eyebrows and shoveled another bite of cake. "What are you looking at?" he asked, washing the sweetness down with the tea and he almost smiled. He would have if he was alone, but alas, he was in the company of an idiotic illusionist with a funny grin.

"How do you like it?" Mukuro asked in reply, sitting beside him and poured himself his own cup of tea, stealing a bite of cake from Hibari's plate. At the cold look he was given, he muttered a "less plates to wash" and thankfully, Hibari seemed to be okay with that answer.

Hibari sighed and nabbed the fork back, unsure if he still wanted to use something that was in the illusionist's mouth. He decided that it would be best if he asked for another fork because who knows what germs Mukuro's mouth held. Actually, he didn't really want to find out and asked for a new fork, which Mukuro fetched for him. "It is acceptable," he replied and gave a small thanks once handed the fork and he took another bite. "From which shop did you buy this from?"

"I made it myself!" Mukuro said cheerily, refilling Hibari's teacup when he noticed it was near empty. He did not know what to make of Hibari's incredulous look, but he decided that maybe he wanted it to be a look that meant 'Good job Mukuro! This is the best cake that I've ever had and you should open your own bakery or something because I'd go there everyday just to eat the cakes you make and have a chat with you if you weren't so busy and Chrome looks adorable in that maid dress. Did you design it yourself?' Of course, that was something far from reality. He was pretty sure the Kyouya he knew wouldn't say anything of the likes either because he had to admit that it was a little bit embarrassing to have his best friend say something as silly as that; embarrassing and silly, but still very supportive and welcomed. A man can dream though. A man can dream.

He took a slow gulp. Maybe this isn't an alternate universe. Maybe Mukuro is playing coy and innocent and nice just to delude him into thinking that he is indeed in an alternate world but in reality, he was just playing him for a fool. Though his initial reaction would be a threat and maybe a tonfa at Mukuro's neck, he stayed as calm as he could possibly manage and said slowly "what did you put in it?"

Mukuro tilted his head to the side and tapped the tip of his chin in thought as he tried to recall the ingredients he had used. "Are you asking me if I did anything different from the normal cake recipes?" he asked finally. Hibari nodded and he let a little grin grow on his face. "I used real ground cinnamon and none of that fake vanilla extract and fresh eggs from Ryohei-kun's chicken. The ingredients are expensive but only the finest ingredients for the finest cake," he said with slight arrogance. Sasagawa owns a chicken? That was something that Hibari was not aware of.

That didn't exactly put Hibari at ease but it was enough to keep him on his seat and not clawing Mukuro's eyes out. "No poison or anything, right?" he asked, poking at the cake, not exactly feeling all that hungry anymore. Well, he wasn't exactly hungry to begin with; it was just his taste buds lusting for something sweet and Mukuro offered and who was he to deny free food? But the sweetness that he his tongue longed for turned sour in his mouth (metaphorically speaking so to say, and not like that Bianchi woman and her crazy poison cooking) and he shoved the plate away. "I'm done."

Mukuro sighed, genuinely depressed with the situation at hand. "Oh Kyouya, are you having trust issues?" he asked, scooting closer and setting the plate and teacups aside on the other end of the table. He only proved himself right when Hibari inched away slightly.

It was an improvement, he supposed. At least he didn't have anything sharp (or worse, dull) at his neck to cut him open or death threats at every turn, but it still left him feeling a little down that he was still not trusted despite his efforts. "Well, from what you've told me about the other Mukuro, I can see why you would feel that way," he explained as placidly and as comforting as he could and he continued. "But he is not me, parallel to the way that you aren't the Kyouya I know."

Hibari knew this. He has observed some of the other residents of Namimori and of the ones that he recognized, they were slightly different, if not completely different from the people he knew (not that he knew them well). He knew this but he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was still not to be trusted, He doesn't exactly know if its because of the hate that he harbors for Mukuro or the fact that no matter what the situation was, there was always an enigmatic smile plastered onto Mukuro's face and it seriously unnerved him.

Except… this smile right now that he was seeing; it was different. Mukuro looked genuinely sad despite the upturn of his lips and his stomach gives a tiny lurch and he isn't so sure why that happens. Maybe it was the cake. Or the tea, he wasn't exactly sure. That had to be it. It wasn't because the way Mukuro looked so sad.

"I know that," he replied in what he hoped was a calm demeanor. "I just find it harder to trust people in general as compared to others," he said, taking the cake back to steal another bite, a little bit of his appetite coming back now that he was thinking a little more appropriately. He doesn't know why but when Mukuro's smile turns a little more genuine, he lets out a little breath he didn't know he was holding and he doesn't know why his heart is thrumming out of its normal beat. It was because he was expecting Mukuro to pull out his trident and laugh that annoying laugh of his and say something along the lines of 'impressive, you noticed me act,' or something like that. That was definitely the reason.

He pushed his cup towards Mukuro in silent askance for a refill, which the illusionist obliged to happily and it was as if nothing had happened. Hibari doesn't know if that sits well with him and he washes down the cake with more tea, hoping to flush down the confused feelings as well. He didn't need to be deterred by such petty thoughts. He had bigger fish to fry.

"Mother was asking if you were going to sleep over again," he stated out of nowhere. It wasn't a lie though, his mother really did ask and it was better if he avoided awkward silences. Well, at least he felt like it would get awkward if a silence fell upon them. He was thankful that Mukuro took the bait and nodded, starting a monologue (since Hibari didn't really listen most of the time) about how fun it would be to sleep over at Kyouya's house even though he's there more often than not.

"Chrome-chan is actually over at the Sasagawa's right now," he informed Hibari, taking the dishes to the sink and began to wash them, not minding at all that his friend decided that helping was a thing that he didn't want to do and so he didn't. This Kyouya was beginning to fall into his routine, and the more they hung out, the more noticed things about him.

Obviously, one was the sweet tooth. Maybe all Hibari's liked sweets. It was a kind of cute thought to play with in his head, considering that this Kyouya had shown him a childish stubbornness that he wasn't expecting from someone who seemed so refined and elegant. Yes, he considered this Hibari to be elegant, whereas the Hibari he knew was a little awkward with how he held himself together. It was cute, seeing his Hibari fumble with his words when he got anxious about this or that and how he tried to hide it behind a face of nonchalance or indifference.

He fell into silence as he washed the dish, listing in a mental Venn diagram the similarities and differences between the two Kyouya's. It was a long list, he had to admit, and he was sure to discover more things to compare. He shook his head no to himself, finishing the last teacup and setting it aside to dry. He shouldn't compare the two Kyouya's. Though they held the same face, same voice and the same name, it didn't mean they were the same person.

"Are you going to leave a not for her?" Hibari asks, pulling him out of his pensive thoughts and he sees that Hibari is already writing down something on the whiteboard that he had hanging on the refrigerator door for such occasion. He nodded and wiped his hands dry on his pants, walking over to stand behind Hibari to see what he had written down. He almost laughed, there was a drawing to go with it as well.

"Pineapple fairy is out," it read in the prefect's neat cursive, and under that was a drawing of what he assumed to be a chibi version of himself in a tutu, with a scepter with a pineapple at the end.

"Aww," Mukuro said, bemused as he observed Hibari's handiwork. "You even have my laugh down."

Hibari almost grinned and wondered what Mukuro would really look like in a frilly pink tutu with laces and everything. He was brought out of his imagination when he felt the felt tip marker slip from his fingers and turned his attention to Mukuro as he added his own drawings to the board and a few words of his own.

In tiny characters as compared to what he had written, Mukuro's note read "out with boy skylark, having a tea party; be back tomorrow." Beside the Mukuro fairy was a cute little bird that reminded him much of his pet, Hibird, though it had a scowl on its face and a word bubble that read "everything is annoying," and this time he actually let a chuckle slip by his lips. Mukuro seemed to be pleased with himself.

"Shall we be on our way then?" he asked, putting the cap back on the marker and placing it on the top of the counter. He rummaged around for some of his things and shoved them into his bag almost unceremoniously and shouldered it, giving Hibari another one of his smiles.

As they made their way to his home, Mukuro talking animatedly about who knows what, he pondered. Something was different now between the two of them. It was a somewhat relieving feeling that he and Mukuro were now in slightly better terms despite his paranoia, which was actually now dwindling down to a simple nagging feeling rather alarms going off in his head. Though part of him felt like it was a good thing that whatever had happened between them had happened, another part of him made him feel as if he had made the wrong decision.

He listed the pros and cons of the situation, but the pros outweighed the cons at a ridiculous amount, seeing that the only cons he could think of was that Mukuro was more or less annoying most of the time but he's been surrounded by annoying people all his life so he has learned how to tune them out so Mukuro's incessant talking about anything and everything was something that he could handle and something he was beginning not to mind. It at least got rid of the white noise in his head.

He chanced a sidelong glance at his companion, a rather carefree look on his face as he continued to chatter on. Hibari found that he had picked up bits and pieces of what Mukuro was saying (something about opening a bakery and living a simple life with his beloved sister Chrome). He scoffed mentally; a simple life for someone as inexplicable as the illusionist was almost laughable. Though he gave off a cheery mood, Hibari could never shake off the feeling that there was more to Mukuro than that damned smile of his. He wondered if it was the same with the other Mukuro, but decided that he'd rather not entertain the thought, or any though for that matter, about the stupid illusionist who had beaten him bloody for his own amusement. That bastard bas going to pay.

"Kyouya?"

He turned his attention to Mukuro and gave him a questioning look. Did he finally catch on that he wasn't really listening? He wondered how this Mukuro would feel about that.

"You seem to be troubled, more so than usual. What's bothering you?" Mukuro asked, tilting his head slightly to the side to get a better look at his friend's face.

Hibari doesn't know if his mask of indifference faltered or if Mukuro was just that good at reading other people. That was something to be intimidated about, to be completely honest. Showing emotions aside from anger and annoyance was a bad thing to do, in his opinion. People would abuse whatever weakness you show, be it physical or emotional. He kept his face straight and turned his attention back to the road in front of them. "Things," he replied simply, with a slight roll of his shoulders.

"What kind of things?" he pressed, walking ahead of you only to turn around and walk backwards so he could keep his eye on you. You wondered briefly what would happen if he accidentally fell in a hole if he tumbled and landed himself inside a trashcan. It was an amusing thought and it helped him keep his cool as he replied with an almost teasing smirk "nothing you should be concerned about."

He let out a huff, a look akin to a pout (that was definitely a pout) at Hibari's replied and kept walking backwards, refusing to let go of eye contact with him. "And the prize for most vague is awarded to none other than Hibari Kyouya, the man of many mysteries," he claps his hands in an almost mocking way but Hibari can hear the playful teasing in his tone and he rolls his eyes. He raised a microphone created with his illusions and raised it in front of Hibari, the illusion of a camera man behind him as well. "How do you feel about winning this wonderful award, Kyouya-kun?"

Hibari scoffed and swatted the microphone away from his hand and before it clattered to the ground, it dissipated into an indigo mist, which he knew well. The cameraman disappeared as well and only Mukuro was left with a grin so wide, he thought that his face might split in half. "You are a shallow man, Rokudo," he tells Mukuro with an upturn of his lips. "Trashcan behind you," he warns before he could think and Mukuro doges it gracefully and continues his backwards walk.

"Not only did you win the most vague award, you have also won the Captain Obvious award," he said and cheered again. "You seem to be on a roll today, Kyouya, I'm impressed."

Hibari rolls his eyes yet again and only scoffs when he pouts again. "And I'm supposing you're running for the idiot marathon in hopes of winning first place?" He retorts, grinning slightly at the brief moment of bafflement that encompasses Mukuro's face at Hibari's involvement in his playful banter. Hibari takes notice of the look, a new look he thinks, and keeps it mentally noted for future reference.

As quickly as the look had come, it was replaced by a challenging grin. All the way home they exchanged insults in a friendly competition of outdoing the other. It was something that Hibari didn't usually take interest in but Mukuro was proving to be a worthy opponent of words. He wondered if his tongue was as sharp as his sword, in which he meant of course his skill in a physical battle and instead of a sword, it was his trident. Maybe Mukuro might accept an invite to a friendly spar.

The trip to his house seemed quicker than he remembered and he unlocked the door of his house and looked down, noting that his mother's shoes are gone and her slippers are neatly tucked under the shoe cabinet. His mother must be out doing groceries, at least that's what he assumed and he stepped in and took of his own shoes off. "She's not home," he tells Mukuro over his shoulder and walks in, making his way to the couch and splays his body over the whole thing, taking up all the space. He is kind of tired, not physically but emotionally and his mouth was kind of dry and his jaw was aching. That was the most he's ever spoken in one conversation and if playful banter with Mukuro would be a daily thing, he's not quite sure how he was going to keep up with that mouth of Mukuro's.

That sounded weirder than it should have but he brushed that thought aside to the darkest crevices of his mind and hopefully never to be thought of again.

Mukuro is infuriatingly good at reading Hibari, seeing as he first makes his way to the kitchen and comes back with a glass of water before he pats at Hibari's legs, urging them off the couch or at least to make room. Hibari raises his legs just long enough for Mukuro to slip under them and the prefect realizes that Mukuro would probably make a good pillow. He mutters a small thank you when the glass is handed to him and he takes a long swig and sighs.

"So what now, Kyouya?" he asks, leaning back against the backrest and spreads his arms across it. "You still haven't informed me of your plan on how you're getting back home." He turns his head to the side and gives Hibari a smile that looks like he's trying to urge the information out of him.

Hibari wasn't some silly girl who is easily persuaded by a charming smile and kind words. He was better than that and no, he did not think that Mukuro's smile was charming. It was a conniving smirk, the corrected himself. Very conniving and sneaky. The bastard. He closes his eyes and his breathing is calm and steady as he replies "you wasted at least three days talking my ear off."

"What?" Mukuro actually sounds surprised and a little bit guilty but Hibari just waves his hand a little bit to dismiss it. Mukuro slumps back into the couch and lets out an unhappy sigh. "See, if you had told me sooner, maybe I wouldn't have done tha—"

"It doesn't matter," he intervenes before it gets wordy. "It's been a while since I truly had a moment to relax," because the lack of annoying herbivores was surprisingly high and as much as he enjoyed biting people to death, moments of normalcy no matter how odd it felt to him actually helped him mellow out. Probably the reason he's been acting relatively kind to someone who shares the face of the man he hates.

Mukuro is quiet for a moment, for which Hibari is almost thankful for, until he quips "hey Kyouya, wanna learn how to bake a cake?" he asks and Hibari gives him a look of mild surprise. "I mean, since we've got time? We do have time right?" Hibari nods once at him and continues "And well, maybe we can surprise Mama or something!"

Hibari isn't so sure if Mukuro was kidding or being completely serious.

The last thing Hibari had made his mother was a breakfast in bed when he was ten, on the day she had to go abroad for her job. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and stifling a yawn. Doing something nice for his mother was something he hasn't done in a long time. He's grown cold towards her due to her absence in his life but again, those two people are not the same people and his mother in this universe was very kind and motherly, something that existed but he forgot about until recently. "Alright," he replies with a shrug. Today turned out oddly nice.

So Mukuro taught him how much of this and how much of that went into a strawberry shortcake and Hibari found himself actually paying attention this time.

Maybe hanging out with Mukuro wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.

-/-/-/-/-

A/n: Blargh, I confused myself writing this chapter because I kept switching POVs and had to constantly go back to check if everything was uniform.

Anyways, some people are asking me to write chapters regarding the nicer Kyouya's current situation. I'm not going to do that, I'm afraid because I'm an asshole and want you all to wonder and get frustrated and whatnot. That and I want it to be a mystery to all of you. I may or may not make another fanfic after I finish this one, but it's all seen through nice!Hibari's POV.