Spring Winds.

A/N: Chapter 9 and 10 was actually recently added in my story. I had to split off chapter 10 into two parts because part 1 is already 5k words and to be honest I'm having a bit of trouble with the 2nd half. I realized that quite a few people ship her with Yamamoto and can't really see her with Hibari so I decided to give you guys a bit more. It's kind of hard to show anything without making Hibari ooc. I also decided to start writing in more details. :o

CHAPTER 10

part 1

I woke up in the morning with an extra burst of good feelings. I yawned a bit and got up to stretch. I strolled over to my beige curtains and pulled them apart, letting in the bright spring sun and air. I was greeted by the scent of cherry blossoms in full bloom. Our enormous cherry blossom tree was rustled by the wind which carried a few delicate petals inside. I smiled as one landed onto my hand.

The warm shower was refreshing and I was now prepared to start the day. I stepped inside my walk-in closet and scanned my selections. What to wear, what to wear. Today was the day I would usually dress up so I might as well follow tradition. I picked out a black blouse with a white laced peter pan collar. I pulled up a burgundy skater skirt up over my waist, under my chest. I took out one of my favorite cardigans which was over-sized, knitted, light, thin, long, and dark gray. It was comfortable, it draped a little bit off my shoulders, the sleeves stop a bit halfway down my forearm, and it was long enough to drape over the back of my skirt.

I adorned myself with a dainty necklace under my collar, the cherry blossom flower, petals of diamonds, peaked out in between my collars. It was a gift from my father last year and it was my favorite. I also found a nice white leather watch with a gold rim and small little diamonds under the time. I looked at the time and I realized I could spare a few minutes so I loosely curled the ends of my hair, finishing it off with light spritz of hairspray.

I made my way carefully down the spiral stairway and into the kitchen for breakfast. As soon as I opened the door, I was greeted by loud cheering and poppers.

"Happy birthday!" exclaimed the staff. Everyone was in uniform but they were all holding a little popper. I thanked everyone and took a few steps toward the counter. There was a beautifully decorated cake in the middle with a bunch of cherry blossoms of course.

The maid, Helen, walked up to me with a grin. "For you, miss," and delicately placed a tiara on my head.

"Thank you," I whispered and smiled. "How do I look?" I giggled. She clapped happily and seated me down in front of the cake.

"Ready, start!" The chef called out and everyone started singing. I took this time to look around the room at all my wonderful attendants that are basically my family. They finished it off with a lot of clapping and cheering. "Blow the candle," the butler whispered. I nodded and closed my eyes.

I wish that I don't have to say goodbye to my friends.

I blew the candle after I finished my wish, the first one I made in awhile. I've always pretended to make a wish when they told me to but there was nothing I really wanted.

"Happy birthday, my little princess," my father in his usual lab coat walked up to me and placed a chaste kiss on my forehead.

"Thank you, father."

"I have a present for you," he smiled as he took out a little box wrapped nicely with a red bow on it.

"Can I open it?" I asked after I thanked him with a hug.

"Of course," he replied.

I pulled on the ribbon gently but it opened up. I carefully opened the wrapping and gasped. "It's beautiful!" I was in awe. It was a silver ring which looked like branches. One end was taller than the other and one wound it's way under. Connecting to the top of the branch was a white cherry blossom flower that lies in the middle.

"He made it himself," my dad's assistant whose name I remembered now. "Happy birthday, Sakura-chan" he patted my head.

"Thank you, Koenig-san," I smiled.

"I have a present for you too," he reached into his lab coat and pulled out a beautifully decorated box with every season on each side except the top and the bottom. "Your dad and I made it together."

"It's really gorgeous-"

"Koenig!" father whispered sharply.

"I think she should have it," Koenig replied plainly.

"It's too early…"

"It's never too early," Koenig smiled and patted my dad's shoulder.

Other people came up to me and chatted with me while they fed me breakfast. It was a mini party and everyone grabbed a plate too. They distributed the strawberry cheesecake, my favorite, to each person in the room. When I finished I told everyone that I had to go and excused myself. My little birthday parties never lasted long. Father and his partner went back into the lab after I had left.

"Miss! This was in the mail for you," the butler handed to me three cards as I grabbed my black purse.

"Oh, thank you," I smiled and shoved it in my bag quickly, still placing on my brown gladiator sandals.

"Would you like us to prepare you an evening party today?" He smiled.

"I'm okay, thank you for asking. The morning was enough, I appreciated it," I grinned before waving and exiting the main door.

"Happy Birthday, miss" My driver greeted me when I got inside the car. "School on your birthday and a weekend?"

"Thank you. H-Ha….yeah, I have something I need to finish doing," I explained. He simply nodded and took me to my destination.

After forty minutes, we arrived at Namimori middle school. I got out the car and thanked him. The driver left after he saw me enter the gate. If Hibari was going to kill me for trespassing on school grounds during a weekend then that'd be terribly contradicting. I replaced my sandals with the inside shoes and made my way up the stairs. I sighed before giving light knocks on the reception room.

"Come in," I heard quietly from inside the room. I twisted the knob and entered. Hibari was sitting behind his desk as usual with his elbow propped onto the surface, the back of his hand holding up his cheek.

He was writing something and didn't even glance up when I walked in. "You're late," he said.

"Sorry, I was caught up in something" I explained and walked up to his desk to retrieve my assignment which I assumed to be the stack on the right hand corner. I reached my hand out when he dropped his pen. I gasped when he grabbed my wrist quickly, my watch digging into my arm.

"H-Hibari?"

Hibari finally looked up at me with his gray eyes, lips slightly frowning. My breath was caught and I had no idea what he was going to do or why he was staring at me so intensely. My heart beated faster when I realized we were in a room together and no one else was on school grounds. Could I be in danger?

"You're not in uniform," he concluded and let my arm go. Then again it's Hibari.

"H-huh?!" I felt myself getting flustered. "Why should I be? It's the weekend," I grumbled.

"You going somewhere later?" Is he actually making conversation?

"N-...No.. Not really… I mean I have nothing planned." I admitted. I didn't tell anyone it was my birthday and I don't expect anyone to know.

"Then?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Then what?"

"You're on school property." Of course, the uniform.

"Because of you," I added.

"Because you broke the window."

I sighed, defeated. "So is this what I have to do today?" I placed a finger on the stack of papers. He nodded and I grabbed a pen from his desk. I picked up the stack carefully and made my way over to the sofa in the middle of the room. I placed the papers onto the black coffee table in front of me. I shifted until I was comfortable and placed my bag onto the table.

After an hour of transferring daily reports into the files, I heard a sigh from the end of the room. I looked up to see Hibari with his eyes closed, lightly pounding at his shoulder.

"Want something to drink?" I offered without thinking.

He opened his eyes and stared at me. "That depends," he said as he got up and made his way over to me. Depends on what? He strolled behind the couch and leaned in by my head. I felt myself stiffen, I held my breath by instinct as my heart started to race. Too close.

Hibari was leaning over the couch and my shoulder, taking a glance at the clipboard I was holding in my hand. I had a closer look up at his side facial features. The sharp jaw line, his tall nose. The way he smells too. I caught myself staring and jumped when he said, "Seems like you're not doing so bad." Could've just said good job.

Either way, no matter what he could have said, it made me jump up which knocked several papers on the floor including my bag, spilling its contents. I sighed exaggeratedly. I kneeled over to neatly gather the papers on the floor.

"You can't do anything right, can you?" he remarked as he walked over, surprisingly. "Need to make sure the papers are in order," he explained. Right.

I nodded as I piled up my belongings checking to see if I missed any. My wallet, chapstick, mirror, hand sanitizer, pepper spray, hair ties, birthday cards. I placed them all into my bag and strained my neck to see Hibari standing and staring at me. I got up slowly hugging my bag and smoothing out my skirt.

"I want coconut milk," he said after a while.

"Do they even sell coconut milk in the vending machines?"

"No," he admitted.

"Then-!" I sighed. Does he like coconut milk? First hamburger steak and now this.

He thought some more. "Well looks like you've done enough for the day," he said after glancing down at the papers.

"O-oh.." I blinked in confusion while he walked over to his black leather chair and picked up his jacket along with his tonfas. He made his way over to the door and I followed. We both left the room and he locked up before walking down the stairs. I'm surprised he's leaving actually. I remembered to change my shoes back to my gladiator sandals. Hibari had left the building before me and so I sped walk outside.

I walked deliberately in a slower pace behind him. It would be strange for us to walk together side by side. I was admiring the light blue shades and white fluffy clouds in the sky when I bumped into something.

"Can't you at least watch where you're walking?" he grumbled.

"Sorry," I said reluctantly, his attitude made it hard for me to want to apologize. "The clouds are really pretty today." I realized that we made it outside the school gates.

"Then," he started impatiently, not bothering to care about what I commented on. "What are you going to do now?"

I raised an eyebrow at his question. "Not sure… Maybe just walk around," I admitted.

"You still owe me coconut milk." I don't owe you anything except money!

I opened my mouth to argue but then I realized there was no point. He turned around and started walking. I just stood there staring at his back, unsure of what to do. That's when I saw the slight turn of his head as he came to a stop. "Well? I don't have all day."

I felt my eyes widen and a tug at my lips. "On my way, your majesty." Well whatever, I don't have any plans anyways. I quickly caught up to him with the small slapping noises of my sandals against pavement but was still not exactly by his side.

"Where do they even sell coconut milk?" I asked.

"Convenience stores," he stated simply. Obviously, thank you. I wasn't really sure of the layout for Namimori so I simply followed wherever he was going.

We walked for another few minutes in silence when I realized the gradual increase in people and jubilant noises of excitement. They were walking around with picnic baskets and most of them were in groups or pairs. That's when I remembered it was cherry blossom viewing season. Of course.

I squinted my eyes and saw that there were a few color stands going down the row ahead of us and a lot of pink, cherry blossom trees. The air was mixed with the smell of Japanese food and flowers. "Seems nice" I mused as we strolled down the sidewalk, dodging the other people passing us by. Maybe I'll go check it out later after we get him what he wants.

We reached an intersection and I expected him to turn but he kept walking straight. Is he actually going there?

"Do they sell coconut milk there?" I asked, my first glance at him in awhile since we started walking.

"Hm," was the only noise he made. I returned my gaze ahead. Oh well.

"I want takoyaki," he voiced casually after another moment.

"Sure, my beloved son. Pick out anything you want, mommy will buy you anything today," I teased. He glared at me momentarily which made me laugh.

We made it into the general area and it got more crowded. I saw Hibari's eyebrows furrow and I giggled, starting to wonder if he'll be okay.

"Look, LOOK. Isn't she pretty?" this guy whispered to his friend.

The grass is so green here, it looks comfortable to sit on. I wonder if everyone would like to go together another day.

"The guy next to her is pretty good looking too," they giggled.

They probably would. A picnic would be nice-

"Is that her boyfriend?" another whispered and then I felt my eye twitch.

I can't imagine Hibari as my boyfriend... or anyone's.

I was trying so hard to ignore them like I would do on the first few days of school. I turned around to say something to Hibari who looked equally as irritated but at least I had the decency not show it.

"I dare you to go ask for her number."

"No way! Don't you see her boyfriend? He looks like he'd snap me in half!"

Nope, I can't see it.

Some man jumped in front of us and we both stopped before hitting into him.

"Sorry, miss but I would like to know if you're a model," he smiled, he was in a gray suit, red tie.

"No I'm not, sorry," I smiled and was about to walk away when he grabbed my wrist.

"We're scouting for new models for our agency. Here's my business card," he grabbed one out of his pocket and handed it to me. I received it so he would leave me alone and started declining but he continued talking again. "We specialize i-in… in u-uh… J-just give us a call," he glanced nervously to the side, sweating, and ran off into the pack of people.

I turned around to see Hibari in a worse mood and I'm assuming it was him that scared the man off. "I guess your glares could be pretty helpful, huh" I giggled. He turned his glare to me and looked away with a small scoff. We walked down the stalls when I saw one that sells coconut milk but the line was terribly long and… crowded.

I scanned the park and found an area with less people. "How about you wait over there and I buy it for you?" He nodded, seemingly in a bad mood and stalked off quickly. Why go through all this trouble even though he hates it so much? A thought popped up in my mind but I repressed it. I'll never understand Hibari. It was another twenty minutes until I got the coconut milk, takoyaki, and a strawberry smoothie for myself. I stuffed the coconut milk can into my bag and carried the rest over.

I didn't make it far when a hand grabbed my shoulders and a man's head popped in closer. "Hey missy, are you alone?" He chuckled mischievously as two other of his friends got closer. Really?

"No, I'm not." I said and took a step when I was held back by the hand on my shoulder. "Please let go," I smiled. Or I'll hurt you.

"Not a good catch like you. Why don't you go play with us instead?" he smirked. A scene straight out of anime, huh? My hands were filled so the only thing I could use would be my feet.

"Because I'm not interested. Please move," I said nicely for the last time.

"Oh don't be like that," his eyes lit up in entertainment as he took a strand of my hair. I felt anger rise up to me when he brought it up to his nose.

"I really didn't want to cause a scene, move it or I'm going to have to beat the crap out of you," I glared, voice lowered.

"Oh? Is that so?" He raised up his arm but I kicked him hard in the shin. He yelped, "Why you little bitch! Get her-" I prepared for another kick, this time to the groin but he magically shut up and tensed up, eyes widened. I felt an arm prop itself on top of my shoulder as the person leaned in. For some reason, I would have assumed this was like Takeshi to my rescue but… This scent.

"Do we have a problem here?" Hibari asked, voice tainted with amusement. He smirked as he his eyes narrowed, "I'm in a particularly bad mood." Then I realized why I didn't think it would be him. I didn't expect Hibari to casually walk up to us, I felt like he would've marched in with a murderous aura and go on a rampage if he had intended to save me or more likely, just to beat these losers up.

"S-shit, it's that one kid," one mumbled to the other.

"Picked the wrong girl," the other one mumbled back. They all cowered and scattered away in fear like a bunch of pests.

I sighed, "Thanks. I didn't want to have to deal with that."

We walked over to the spot that I had originally told him to wait at. Was he watching me from a distance? I handed him the takoyaki and the coconut milk after I took it out of my purse.

"You were going to beat the crap out of them, huh?" he smirked as he took the drink and food from me to place on the grass, clearly still amused as he sat himself down on the grass and lied down.

I was prickled with embarrassment which caused me to look away as I sat down carefully, having to mind my skirt although I wore spandex under, just in case I had to defend myself using my legs. The grass was a bit damp but it didn't feel too bad. "It was just a bluff. I'm surprised you didn't take the opportunity to fight." I shrugged and felt my face grew hot when I remembered how he close he was to me.

"I lose my motivation to fight when I see cherry blossoms," he mumbled softly. I nodded slowly, trying to understand although I didn't, and turned my attention to the scenery.

The cherry blossom trees were huge and in full bloom at this time. It felt so peaceful and there was less chatter on this side. I drank in the smell of cherry blossoms, much stronger than my own scent or any lotion I've ever came across. The wind picked up my pink hair, the same shades as these petals that were falling onto us. I closed my eyes and leaned back onto my arms, taking in the scent and the cool Spring breeze. I mentally willed myself to remember this feeling and moment forever. Everything feels so nice.

I found myself smiling for a few moments until I felt someone's gaze on me. I looked over to my side and met Hibari's cool gray eyes. It unnerved me. He didn't break away his gaze and I couldn't seem to be able to break mine despite the feeling I received from this contact, more often than I ever cared to admit.

He was just lying there on the green grass, arms cushioned under him, one leg propped over the other. His yellow bird came when I didn't notice and was resting against the crook of his neck.

For a second, maybe for just today. I can understand what they saw. And I can imagine it, just a little. And maybe, for a bit, it wasn't so impossible.

I felt like we gazed into each other's eyes for so long that those gray orbs would mix with my light brown ones like overflowing paint on a palette until he rose back up, sitting. I blinked out of my state and found him eating takoyaki. I heard a giggle and realized it was my own. He looked up at me, wondering why and so did I.

"Cat." I accidentally said out loud and covered my mouth.

"What?" He frowned after he finished chewing.

I smiled, "you remind me of a cat." I said as I giggled some more. He looked at me as if he was going to argue but he just looked else where and continued eating. A very feisty, stubborn cat.

I scanned our surroundings. There were some groups of families but most of them were couples. I was suddenly more self-conscious. Then again a very strange couple we'd be. We weren't sitting too far from each other but it didn't look like a comfortable distance. I turned around and found him lying down with his eyes closed, one arm on his stomach while the other was on the ground, fingers slightly curled. Seems nice…

I took off my cardigan and draped it over my legs before I lowered myself gently onto the grass, my arms were halfway spread out. Now that I was lying down, I feel like I was closer to him. He seems so peaceful like this…

I started to become aware of how our hands were inches away from touching, of how soft his face seemed in contrast with his rough attitude or how sharp his eyes are when they are open. I couldn't help but watch as he lied there so calm and so quietly. My hand seemed to have inched closer to his without my permission, it lightly bumped against his. I almost hated myself and mentally winced when his eyes opened slowly. There was no anger, no annoyance, he didn't even look at his hand. He merely just watched me with those unreadable gray eyes. We stayed that way, not moving, not talking, just breathing as petals fell all around us like a light snow.

Then I felt a pang inside of me.

Everyone that I got close to these few months. Even Hibari. I wouldn't say we were close friends but I've gotten to know him and that is an undeniable truth. We were always bickering; he was never kind to me and I never tolerated his behavior. But I knew what he food he preferred, what drinks he liked. I knew what he hated, his favorite lines, places he would most likely be at.

I was lost in thought until I realized my vision of Hibari's face got blurry. Ah. I pressed my wrist onto my eyes and wiped my tears. I turned my head to look at the sky, not before I saw his eyebrows furrow, but he didn't seem to be angry or irritated.

"Sorry," I whispered.

I watched the distant white clouds and the delicate petals which seemed to twirl in the sky. I raised a hand up towards the sky, palms up, fingers apart, sunlight and pinkness filling in the gaps in between. I pretended to grasp a cloud in my hands. I was like a cloud, always drifting. However I was not at the same time because I wasn't allowed to drift at my own pace. I wished I was like the rain, able to land among the earth. But instead I was more like those petals, picked up and carried by the Spring winds against their will.

"What if I just wanted to remain on a branch?" I whispered unintentionally. I sat up rather quickly which made my head throb. I looked over at Hibari who was still staring at me. I don't think he'd miss me if I was gone.

"You know, I think I might just move schools soon," I smiled weakly, thinking I should at least explain myself for this strange behavior.

His emotions didn't change. "You haven't paid off the windows."

"Well not yet," I said thoughtfully as I pulled up my knees to hug. "I don't know when, it's usually random."

He didn't speak so I continued like I was talking to myself which was probably true either way. "It's kind of funny. One day you're here, one day you're somewhere else. One day you're surrounded by people you know, one day you're among strangers." I started plucking idly at the prickly grass.

"I used to avoid making too many connections with people. I move so often that it was better to not get attached. The thing about people is that they miss you for awhile, realize there is nothing they could do, and then they just move on. Then you're just a memory." I looked up at the sky, straightened out my legs, crossed one over the other, and leaned back onto my arms again.

We didn't speak for awhile and he sat back up, left leg up and bent up with his left arm on top of it. "There's grass on your back," I stated as I scooted closer and leaned over to brush it off of him. He turned his head and I suddenly realized how close we were. We made strong eye contact for awhile when I broke it off abruptly. Instead my eyes rested on his lips and I found myself flustered, glancing away for a few moments. What am I thinking?

I mentally shook myself out of it. I turned back at him and grinned. "You're an interesting person to have met. I don't think I could ever forget you," I admitted.

"Wao," he mused sarcastically. He scoffed and finally spoke, "You're one of the most annoyingly persistent person I've ever come across." I laughed and we looked at each other again for awhile. Words seem to be lost more often than not when I'm around him.

Something pink came flying into my vision and I was so distracted by his eyes that I couldn't react before it hit him. The ball fell down and landed in his hands. His eyes turned murderous and I couldn't help but laugh. I turned around to see a brunette and two little kids run towards us.

"S-Sorry!" he exclaimed as he got closer. That voice…

I stood up, "Tsuna-kun!" He was dressed in a casual orange hooded jacket and denim jeans.

"S-Sakura-chan?!" He smiled when he came to a stop, panting. The two little kids next to him were the ones I came to recognize as Lambo and I-Pin in their usual attire. "I'm sorry, Lambo threw the ball really far. Did you manage to catch it?"

"Lambo-san didn't do anything wrong!" The kid exclaimed loudly.

"Ah…..Well. Good luck with that," I giggled as I scooted over to reveal the angry teen behind me. He didn't seem to understand me but the moment Hibari was in view, Tsuna's eyes widened like deer in the headlights.

"H-H-Hibari-san?!" Tsuna yelled and tensed up.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi."

"Hiiiiiiiii! Sorry, I'm really sorry!" Tsuna bowed several times. "Please don't kill me!"

"S-sorry…" I-Pin spoke up meekly, fidgeting with her fingers as she hid behind Tsuna's leg. Hibari stared at her momentarily, the anger leaving his eyes like waves crashing over the shore only to drift back peacefully. He let the ball roll over to her and snapped his attention back to Tsuna.

"Next time, I'll bite you to death." He glared before lying back down.

I giggled. Maybe he does have a soft spot. I sat down and watched as I-Pin and Lambo run off to play. "Are you here with the others?" I asked.

"No, just my mom, Reborn, Futa, and Bianchi," he replied. "Are you here with-... Ehhhhh?!" Tsuna exclaimed at his new discovery which was all wrong I'm pretty sure. "Could it be… Are you guys… B-Before the ball… You guys were sitting… Did we interrupt anything? S-sorry!" He rambled on so I didn't have time to speak.

"Huh? Oh… No. We just finished the paperwork earlier than usual today," I explained.

"Ah, I see. That would have been shocking," he laughed awkwardly. Would it have been? I suppose so. "Would you two like to join us?"

I looked over at Hibari who glanced at both of us with a huff. He got up quickly and started walking away. Wait! I didn't know what came over me but I grabbed his hand, it was warm and a bit calloused I might add. Wait? He paused and turned his head to look at me, amused and shocked. I'm sure his expression had equal mine. Now what do I say?

"Um…" I thought and then tugged onto his hand, hauling myself up in the progress. Phew. "Thanks for the help, Hibari! You're such a gentleman," I giggled and his eyes narrowed. He turned to walk away but I tightened my grip.

He turned around and opened his mouth, probably ready to yell at me but I spoke first. "T-thank you." I looked up and made eye contact with him. "For coming here with me. It was really fun." I grinned before slowly letting go of his hand. He looked at me for only another second before walking off, jacket flying up from behind him like a cape.

I turned around to a confused looking Tsuna when he spoke up. "I'm surprised Hibari is here even though there are so many crowds."

"Me too." I said as I brushed off the grass and bent down to pick up my bag. That's when I saw the cards poking up. The birthday cards. They spilled out earlier when Hibari was standing over me and watching. Could he have…

A/N: I feel like it's a bit easier to see Yamamoto and Sakura together because of his personality but it's harder to portray Hibari's thoughts / emotions without crossing a certain line. So I'm still trying my best to keep him in character. :c