Taming the Skylark (A Katekyo Hitman Reborn fanfiction)

Standard disclaimers apply. I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, Amano Akira-sensei does; though, of course, the OC is mine.


Nanami lay battered and breathless on the ground. Her entire body ached as she struggled to look at the man before her. He wasundoubtedly a devil pretending to be a human.

"Stand."

The brunette winced. "Wait, I—!"

Hibari Kyoya unleashed another set of chains from his tonfas, which Nanami barely managed to avoid. A kunai appeared from her sleeve and she used it to restrain one of those hideous metals. She then gave him a look of disbelief. He obviously agreed to be her trainer just to torture her! How could he use his flames on someone who has yet to awaken her own?!

Nanami gritted her teeth. "This is different from what Reborn-san told me. He said I could use the Hyper Dying Will pill!"

"Those are for weaklings. You will activate the flame on your own." His answer was final. Hibari lunged at her once again.

It was only the first day of their training, but Nanami was already covered in injuries. She immediately regretted wearing her school uniform, seeing how it was quickly reduced to a rag full of tears and holes. If his attacks continued to land on her, she might actually end up naked!

As if the heavens heard her troubles, Reborn suddenly appeared with a familiar uniform in hand.

"Ciaossu, Senritsu," he greeted as he tossed her a set of clothes that she wore before transferring to Namimori High. "Your middle school uniform compliments the gakuran that Hibari wears. Use it to sync your thoughts with your teacher!"

His pet Leon transformed into a changing room, and Nanami was pushed into the small space before she could ask Reborn how he got his hands on her clothes. Few minutes later, the room disappeared in a cloud of smoke, revealing a girl donned in a black sailor uniform that made her look more intimidating than usual.

Reborn jumped on her shoulder and placed a red armband on her right sleeve. He smiled, pleased at her makeover. "Perfect. Now, do a pose and say, I'll bite you to death."

When she gave no indication of following him, he continued to threaten her at gunpoint. "Say it or I'll shoot you."

Nanami gawked in disbelief. How could the world's greatest hitman be so petty?!

With a defeated sigh, she took two blades from her pocket and raised her hands in a defensive pose. She took a deep breath and exclaimed, "I...I'll bite you to death!"

A sudden flash of light blinded her and Reborn was already gone when Nanami realized that he stole a shot of her. However, before she could run after the hatted infant, a hand grabbed her shoulder.

"Wow." Nanami slowly turned around and found Hibari wearing a sadistic smirk. "I commend your courage to imitate me. Shall we see who will be bitten to death first?"

He raised his other arm that was holding a tonfa, but she managed to jump away before he could make a piñata out of her head. Nevertheless, Hibari was quick on his feet and managed to shorten the distance between them. He coated his weapons in purple flames and mercilessly hit the brunette.

Until that moment, Nanami did not understand the purpose of her sudden outfit change and assumed that Reborn was simply messing with her. She was surprised, and so was Hibari, when her bones did not break despite receiving a flamed attack from him. Her hands wandered to her uniform, and she immediately noticed that the cloth was made out of a different material. It probably had anti-flame properties, she assumed.

Nanami smiled and silently thanked the dark-suited infant. With that, she was sure to last longer against Hibari Kyoya!


Three days later, Senritsu Nanami was on the brink of death.

They had been training with minimal rest and she had yet to ignite a single flame on her weapon! She had never felt so hopeless before and the pain that enveloped her entire body did not help one bit. Frustrated, the hands that grabbed her knees for support curled into fists.

Hibari, on the other hand, was having a blast at her suffering. He had been pushing her to the edge to awaken her flames. The resolve that was required to bring out one's flames was comparable to the feelings of irritation, thus he opted for a forceful method.

He was about to attack her when a loud grumbling sound made him stop. Hibari stared at Nanami whose face had suddenly turned red. He smirked.

"Is that a bear I hear?"

"No! It's my stomach begging you to stop and let me rest!" she whined.

Hibari gave her a long stare before withdrawing his weapons. It would be useless to continue training if she lacked the energy to fight him back. "Let's head home and meet an hour later."

Ecstatic, the brunette jumped to her feet. "Okay!"

It was a lie. Nanami had no plans of going back. She would escape, lock herself in her room, and never return! It wasn't the proudest thing a shinobi could do, but retreat was better than rash bravery!

In the first place, she did not even agree to this. Nanami had already voiced out her opposition to inheriting the Senritsu tradition, thus there was no reason for her to train with someone from Vongola.

As if reading her thoughts, Hibari's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You're not planning to escape, are you?"

She almost choked on her own spit. "Of course not. Why would I do that, Hibari-sensei?"

As soon as the word left her mouth, Nanami wanted to pull her hair and scream into the distance. How could she make such an obvious blunder over a slight moment of panic?!

Much to her horror, Hibari hummed in amusement and his tonfas made an instant reappearance.

"You suck at lying."

To prevent her from escaping, Nanami was dragged to the Hibari household bound in chains.


The moment she sank into the tub, a short stabbing sensation coursed throughout her body. Nanami let out a pained groan.

"Is everything all right, president?" asked Kusakabe from outside the bathroom.

"Yes, my injuries just sting a little," she quickly replied. The medicinal bath that he had prepared for her was undoubtedly rejuvenating, but it was also making her wounds throb. Could it be the proof of the herbs working?

"I've prepared a kimono for you to wear while we wash your clothes. If you experience any difficulty with with tying the obi, please call for me." She heard Kusakabe say before another door was closed.

Nanami sighed deeply as she relaxed into the warm water. Her eyes lazily examined the room before her thoughts wandered to something unrelated.

She never expected to see Hibari living in a traditional Japanese house. Though she assumed that he was part of the yakuza at one point, she opted for a more touching scenario where he was a lonely young man living by himself in a high-class apartment. It turned out that the only part she got right was him living alone. His parents were currently in abroad according to Kusakabe.

Soon enough, Nanami left the bath. After bandaging her wounds, which practically covered her entire body, she put on the kimono. It was yellow and had a simple but elegant design. The clothing was a bit large for her size, and she easily guessed that it belonged to Hibari's mother.

The brunette exited the room and found Kusakabe waiting at the corridor. When their gazes met, his eyes widened in surprise. Nanami had worn the kimono perfectly and even the obi was tied beautifully.

"It suits you, president," he said with awe. "Even the way you wear it is perfect. Are you perhaps used to this kind of clothing?"

Not used to praises, Nanami felt bashful and smiled timidly. "Yes. I actually wore traditional clothes everyday back in our main house in Kyoto."

Main house? Kusakabe was star-struck. He suddenly remembered something he had been wanting to ask her and eagerly took a step forward. "President, are you really a ninja?!"

Nanami was taken aback at his uncharacteristic liveliness. She chuckled. "Yes, but I'm not officially employed as one."

On their way to the living room, Kusakabe bombarded her with questions.

"Can you jump through trees?"

"Yes."

"And hide your presence?"

She nodded. "If I put enough effort, yes."

"Clone yourself?"

"No!—Oh, wait," she gasped. "Maybe I can?"

Nanami was suddenly reminded of her mother who used to scare her with 'doppelgängers' when she was younger. Maybe, it was a cloning technique that was made possible with the cloud flame's propagation ability?

The brunette was in deep thoughts and failed to notice that they had already arrived, until Kusakabe called her attention. She opened the door and was surprised to see no one inside.

"Where's Hibari?"

"He's in the next room. Kyo-san prefers to eat alone," Kusakabe quickly explained.

"I see," Nanami said, before walking to the small table that was situated in the middle of the room. It was a traditional chabudai, and on top of it was a Hamburger Steak Set that was obviously bought from Namimori Diner. There was even an orange flag stuck on the patty like those seen in kiddie meals. Her eyebrows furrowed at the strange combination.

She looked at Kusakabe questioningly. His response was almost immediate as if he was expecting her reaction. "It's Kyo-san's favorite food."

There was a short moment of silence before Nanami grabbed her chabudai and stormed into Hibari's room. Indeed, atop his small table was the same meal: Namimori Diner's Hamburger Steak Set!

She bit her lip. It was a tough challenge to resist the urge of stealing a picture of such a rare sight. Lo and behold, the infamous, cold, and ruthless demon of Namimori liked meals meant for children!

Hibari shot her a glare. "Why are you here?"

"Uh, I want to talk to you about something."

Nanami was on a roll lying that day. Of course, Hibari caught onto it.

His eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're planning something," he commented and reached for a tonfa that rested on the floor. "Spill it or I'll bite you—"

"I have something I want to ask you." Her tone changed all of a sudden, surprising Hibari. While her original intention was something entirely different, Nanami was suddenly reminded of a few things that bothered her.

Nevertheless, Hibari remained repulsive of having to eat beside someone.

"I hate crowding."

"It's not a crowd if it's just the two of us," she insisted and sat on the mat before he could protest, but made sure to stay a few meters away as to not earn his wrath. "I'll sit here so don't worry."

Kusakabe flinched upon earning a glare from Hibari. He could only sigh at the brutal future that awaited him.

Hibari shifted his attention to the brunette. "So, what do you want to ask?"

Despite being at the receiving end of his obvious displeasure, Nanami met his eyes with a calm gaze. "Why are you doing this?" she asked. "You don't seem the type to waste your time on other people."

Hibari was silent for a moment before he closed his eyes and opened it once more to show a newfound sadistic glint.

Wearing a smirk, he declared, "I want to fight you at your strongest. That's all."

Nanami hummed in response and fiddled with her chopsticks instead. She was at loss of what to say. It was an expected and completely fitting answer from Hibari, but it does not necessarily mean that it was the one she wanted to hear.

She gave him a tired smile. "Hibari, you..."

"You don't really see me as a girl, do you?"

Surprised and confused, he only stared back at her with mouth slightly agape. He intently examined her face. What was that expression? Why could he sense a feeling of disappointment behind that smile?

It was as if he bored her and failed to meet her expectations.

For some reason, Hibari felt irritated. "What are you on about, Senritsu Nan—"

"Let's eat. I'm starving." She ignored him and took a bite of her food. Almost immediately, a familiar gleam returned to her eyes. She exclaimed, "Wow, this is pretty good for a kiddie meal!"

At her words, Kusakabe instantly froze like a statue. Needless to say, a certain brunette was thrown out of the room.


Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter at least. :') Next chapter will feature a prince. Please look forward to it!