queens of winter

[warmskies]

As their chopsticks clink against porcelain, their little kitchen filled with the smell of simple grilled fish and rice, Haru bites her lip and glances up across the table at her father.

For days now, she's been trying to figure out the exact right way to explain things. Hibari and Adelheid have been on her mind all month, yet she's as close to figuring out her feelings as when she first started. She's not sure she loves either of them. How could she? The words of a Hibari Kyoya ten years older are still hanging around her head- how can you have feelings for someone you don't really know, whether for good or worse? But.... She thinks she could love them, maybe.

After all, she knows she likes them, from what little amount of time she's managed to spend with them. She likes Adelheid, vicious and unrelenting, all edges she tries to pull back clumsily when she wants to be kind. She likes Hibari, even though he's a big cat in a human body, all bored violence and content laziness.

But.... That almost makes it scarier. The closer she comes to taking a step, the harder her heart throbs painfully in her throat, and all she can think of is her mother's funeral. She thinks of the scar on her father's knee that had once been a name, the weight which had suffocated them for months, their house being empty and quiet and lacking.

They're so bloodthirsty, both of them- what if one day they go against an enemy even they can't beat? That doesn't hold back? Maybe it doesn't even have to be from a battle. Her mother had been the vision of health, up until everything suddenly nosedived, an event that was only a rare statistic to most people. It's all too easy to imagine that even the fierce Adelheid could become like that, fine one moment and cold the next, and who's to say Hibari is exempt either? He doesn't have a uterus, but disease and illness doesn't care how good a fighter you are- Haru swallows thickly before shoving cucumber salad into her mouth. Focusing on the taste helps, at least a little, to divert her mind from the tsunami of dark thoughts raging through it.

Once more, she glances up to look at her father. For all her fears, she keeps them tucked deep inside herself, but he looks like she feels. He has been for a few days now; it hasn't escaped her notice. The signs are all there: skin so pale that more than once she's insisted on checking him for a fever, red eyes that she knows he's trying to hide from her with eye drops, a plethora of sighs escaping him when he thinks she's not listening. Honestly, he's always like this, for how much it makes her puff and frown. Ever since her mother died, her father has always tried to keep her from worrying too much. It's frustrating, but... She knows how he feels.

After all, she's guilty of doing the same thing to him.

If she's honest, what Haru really wants to do is just never talk about her soulmates, or at least take another year for review, but that's not possible. The end of the month is ticking ever nearer, after all. Something has definitely had her friends' attention for the past while, a something that is probably responsible for why the local hospital has been so filled up lately. The good news is that it's kept Hibari's attention all this time, but she knows better than to think he won't remember. After all, for so long, he still chased after her scent, didn't he? He'll remember sooner or later... And she really does need to tell her father about transferring to Namimori Middle before it gets sprung on him.

So. Tonight. Tonight she's going to do it! She tells herself that, again and again, even as her bowls and plate get emptier with every minute passing by. The grilled mackerel and miso soup are completely gone, and her beef-potato stew halfway there, before Haru finally takes in a deep breath. "Hey, Dad?" He looks up, and something in her chest flounders for a second. He's always been the soft, doughy kind of stereotypical parent that people thought of when they thought of someone having kids. Before she knows it, instead of what she meant to say, she's asking, "Have you ever thought about what would happen if you got a new soul bond?"

There's a few surprised blinks from him, but at least his expression has eased up from the tension that's been there for days. "That's an unexpected question... Why do you ask?" He draws his brows together. "...Do you want the house to be shared with someone?"

"No!" Dropping her chopsticks, Haru puts her hands up. "It's nothing like that!" In theory, she knows that there are plenty of people who do things like that- they lose their soulmates and, for whatever reason, share housing with others in the same boat. Sometimes it's out of loneliness, other times to share otherwise unmanageable bills, and others just like the bonding experience of someone who isn't attached to them. While it sounds nice, it's never been something she's wanted for her and her father. "I was just wondering, that's all. I mean, it's been years since mom..." She bites her lip. "Aren't you lonely?"

His shoulders slump, but the light smile on his face says it's from relief and nothing else. "Getting concerned about that kind of thing.... You don't have to worry, Haru." Letting out a breath, he lets his eyes slide shut. "I can't deny that losing Risako, your mother, made everything dark for many years. But... I have no interest in having someone else take her place as my soulmate. At first, it was because of grief, but now..." A belly-rolling laugh rumbles out of him as he looks at her to smile again. "A romance isn't everything. I know for a teenager, it can be hard to imagine, but look at what's still in my life. I have colleagues at the university to go out for drinks with, friends and family to see at holidays, and you." He sighs. "I know that I don't spend as much time with you like some fathers, but I'm glad for what we do have, like dinner together. That's why I'm happy, even though I no longer have a soulmate. Of course, if it happens, it happens, and I'll be glad for it... But it won't erase the happiness your mother and I had in the past, and it doesn't change that I have you and everyone else in the present, does it?"

An ache twists through her heart, almost like fingers wrapping around it to wring it out, and Haru's lip wobbles as she stares back down at her soup bowl. There's a tug behind her eyes, a watery feeling at the very edges, and she sucks it back with a sharp inhale. "I found my soulmates!" she blurts out, hands fisted on her lap. Across the table, her father jerks back from the shot-out force of her words, but more than soon enough a grin is spreading across his face along with actual color.

"Haru-!" They both get up at the same time, his arms wrapping tight around her as he laughs in delight. He hasn't spun her around since she was a little girl, but he does so now, her socked feet tip-top-tipping along the ground. Just like that, the worry bubbling in her chest deflates. For once, it feels like everything might not turn out that bad. "I'm so glad! I'll have to go through our savings- it won't be a big union celebration, but we can still make it nice- you met them so young! And more than one!"

"Dad!" She's laughing, fingers curled along the back of his sweater vest. "It doesn't have to be big!"

"But you've met your soulmates!" He stops spinning her around to straighten up. A look of pure love is stretched across his face, and his hand runs softly along her hair. "I'm so glad, Haru..."

"You know I've always had my soul bonds, Dad!"

"Ah, you know it's been so long- and your mother always took more interest with that than I did." His laugh takes a turn for the sheepish. "We decided so long ago that it would be for the best if it happened on its own, but then I just ended up forgetting..."

Grinning playfully, Haru flicks his nose. "It's because you're always learning new names at the university. Do you even remember the names I have?"

"Ah.... Hideki is one, isn't it?"

"Dad!"

"I told you, it's been a long time!" With a huffed out laugh, he lets her go completely so that they can both sit down again. Dinner still isn't done, after all. "Go on, then. Tell me about them."

"Well- there's Suzuki Adelheid..." Haru smiles down a little at her rice. "She just transferred not that long ago. You know all the financial things I was asking you about? It really was to help some friends, but..." She bites her lip, giggling. "You'll like her! She's really hardworking and even heads her own committee!" Wisely, Haru decides to hold back that it's a one-girl committee seemingly dedicated to murdering the head of another.

"I look forward to meeting her, then! What's the other name?"

"His name is Hibari Kyoya, and-" She pauses, jerking up in concern as her father goes pale and then sinks his head down into his hands. "Dad!? What's wrong!?"

"I... can't tell if I'm relieved or more concerned than ever..."

"I-I know he has, um, a reputation around Namimori, but-!"

"Oh, no, no, it's not-" Even as she's bustling around over to him, he's trying to make subdued gesture. "I.... actually was trying to keep this from you...." He takes a shaky breath, gathering his words. "Some days ago, someone came to the house with some packages and an invitation from Hibari-kai."

"Hie?!"

"Haru, would you know anything about why they'd send a new school uniform and a kimono?"






"Hey, just to be clear, we're not going to be starting a feud with the yakuza next, are we?"

Julie's voice cuts through the brittle chill that's fallen over the space before their apartment door, teeth chattering together. Her grip shifts along her blades as she takes in the scene, thoughtful. "Well, that depends."

Before her, she can see the yakuza thug pale, but that might be the effects of the ice that has pinned through his clothes and which is creeping steadily up along his limbs. Adelheid isn't in her preferred attire for confronting threats; she's learned that appearance can have a lot of weight in the underworld. A simple sweater and sweatpants aren't going to cut it. At the same time, it doesn't matter. All she needs is the ring on her finger. Sometimes, not even that, although she has to admit that freezing her opponent in place is considerably easier to utilize than breaking their legs.

Behind her, it's impossible to ignore the rest of Shimon. Their apartment building is a small place to start with. Add in seven teenagers, some growing faster than their age would normally warrant, and it's an even tighter fit.

Oh well. At least their crowding will help hide the immediate sight of a potential murder in their little apartment complex.

There's a quiet "jesus christ" from Julie, dry amusement coloring every syllable, but his voice is lost under the heaved out sigh Rauji makes. "Whatever the reason.... We should probably be careful, Adelheid." The undercurrent beneath his tone says it's not the yakuza that he's worried about. Adelheid has to admit she knows where his concern springs from.

It'd taken a lot of effort and long meetings to clear up even a little air after they'd gone after the Vongola. Blaming- that thing could only get them so far. It'd been helpful, certainly, that a third party influencing the events could be pointed to as a reason to not immediately destroy their minuscule Family. Yet for all the bizarre things which happen throughout the underworld- Flames, time travel, human experimentation- the idea of a long-lived ghost being the cause behind yet another bit of Vongola misfortune had been deemed too unbelievable for anyone outside of the two Families. Adelheid can't say she doesn't understand the reasoning. For outsiders, it would seem like too easy and simple an excuse for anyone who hadn't been there themselves. Without knowing the pain and fatigue that Vongola and Shimon's tenth generations had experienced together... Anyone could easily say it wasn't enough.

For that reason, they've had to do a lot of work in debt to the current generation for the affront and damages. Not too much to be overwhelmed at once, with school and having to manage their own tiny living spaces, but... The simple fact of the matter is that they don't have the time or resources to get into something as large scale like a feud with the local yakuza.

In that way, threatening the yakuza grunt isn't something they can really do....

....But he doesn't have to know that.

So Adelheid has no shame in pressing in close, the curve of her arm blades a clear threat when she grazes it along vulnerable thin skin. "Hanging around our apartment with strange packages is enough to make anyone suspicious, and is just cause, as far as I'm concerned, to take your head and mail it back to your oyabun. I'll give you one chance to tell me the name of your family instead."

With how close her blade is, the bob of his throat probably shaves off a thin layer of skin. "Hibari-kai! It's not a threat! The honorable heads of the family merely wanted to invite you to a union dinner!"

A pause falls over the group.

"Wait, like, union dinner like a soulmate union dinner?" Julie broaches first and, even with her back to him, she can imagine him leaning forward with an incredulous raise of his eyebrows and his shoulders quirked up.

"Adelheid..." Rauji sighs.

Well, she supposes there's no point in hiding it any longer. Her eyes flicker over to where Koyo is standing, shifting and uneasy, and she nods to him in an attempt to ease his concerns. "Hibari Kyoya is one of my soulmates, yes," she clears up, turning partially away from the yakuza thug but keeping her blade where it is.

Giggles bubble out from where Shittoppi-chan is sitting, the one positive expression in all of Shimon. Kaoru and Enma are merely exchanging utterly bewildered looks with one another, a contrast to the weary shake of Rauji's head. It's probably Julie who looks the most flabbergasted, still in the process of picking his jaw up off the floor. "Okay, wait- no, I don't even know where to start. I guess, uh, did you know when we moved that he was yakuza? Apparently?"

Adelheid coolly raises an eyebrow. "Of course I did. I researched him before I approached him."

"Aaaaand that wasn't a concern at all to you?"

"It was secondary to the main issue at hand."

"And him being your soulmate?"

"A tertiary issue."

Puffing out his cheeks, a breath pops out of Julie. "You finally meet one of your soulmates, and you immediately tried to kill him. Amazing."

"Actually," Enma says, barely rising over a mumble, "she's met her other soulmate too."

"What!?" Julie jolts back. "Since when-" An awkwardness suddenly ripples through the air, brushing against all of them, and he shifts uncomfortably. "I mean, jeez. What are they like?"

"Her name's Haru..." Enma starts to reach up to scratch at one of his bandages, and Adelheid's own hand bats it down. Neither of them think too hard about it. "She's been nice as far as I can tell."

Feet pressed completely together as she sits, Shittoppi-chan stretches forward with her fingers fluttering along the floor. "Gokudera-kun said she made improvised armor once," she says smugly, as if letting loose a secret she's been keeping trapped for ages.

Straightening up in clear interest, Adelheid blinks. "I didn't hear about that. You're sure you were talking about her?"

"Mhm."

"And not cryptids?"

"No, that came approximately twelve minute and fifteen seconds after we finished talking about Haru."

From the side, Kaoru rakes his fingers along the side of his head. "You included the exact seconds..."

"It sounds like she'll get along well with our Family at least," Rauji offers, an optimist as he crosses his arms. "What did she use to improvise?"

"Gokudera-kun didn't say."

A bit awkwardly, Enma coughs into his hand. "Did... he say why she improvised armor...?"

"She was apparently a threat to Tsuna-kun's life."

Another silence falls over them all, contemplative and stunned. After a few dragging seconds, Julie whistles, a high sound that sweeps up. "Holy crap, Adelheid, she really is your soulmate." He claps his hands together sharply, twisting around on his heel. Scattered along the floor are over a good half dozen of carefully wrapped boxes, and he eagerly crouches down to start going through them. "Anyway, before our yakuza buddy over there dies of hypothermia or Adelheid literally murdering him, let's at least see what Hibari-kai's idea of a 'welcome to the family' present is." As he picks through paper and uses a swiss army knife to cut through the strings, Adelheid watches him carefully.

All of Shimon has been on edge since the inheritance ceremony. It's not something they've talked about, any of them, but she can clearly see how it affects their family. A part of her suspects that Julie is feeling it the worst. It shows in moments like that of a few minutes ago, or like now, as he clearly avoids using his Desert Flames.

In a way, it's strange. When they'd all been younger, Julie had been the only one amongst them who could use his Flame without the use of a ring to channel it. That'd never been a surprise; his family has been like that for as long as Adelheid can conceivably remember. Illusionists all seem to be alike in that area, their flame whether Mist or Desert still connected to more the otherworldly than the physical. She can still remember being a child, beating him down from a clumsily built set of sand-like stairs with a broom and away from the candy her parents had placed at the top of their fridge. He'd never been a genius illusionist, only really improving out of necessity after their families had died, but... It had always been present.

She'll talk with him, Adelheid decides then. It's hard to say when and where, of course. Their apartment is too small for genuinely private conversations and, lately, Julie has been as hard to keep a hold of as a handful of sand. But... She'll figure out a way.

They're all a part of Shimon, after all. No matter what happens.

"Holy crap." Stirring out of her thoughts, Adelheid watches as Julie sets a box top onto the ground. From the container, he draws out part of a kimono that's shimmering red. "Hey, Shittoppi-chan, this one had your name on the box, and, I have to say, it's way too classy for you."

Pushing herself up onto her hands, legs stretched out past them with her thighs outside her wrists before her ankles sweep along the ground and carry her up weightlessly into a standing position- needlessly complicated for getting up but utterly herself- Shittoppi-chan hums. "Oh, you're right. Far too many layers."

"Right? And not a hint that a five year child with a bedazzler went to town on it."

"For shame. I bet there's no metal spikes on it, either."

"Not a single point."

"Some people have no taste."

"It's a pity, but what can you do, break into their house and update their wardrobe?"

"Mmmm, it's not my job to open their eyes to fashion."

"I guess you have me there. Maybe one day you'll become an idol with your own fashion show and we might actually get paid for the eye sheering outfits you create."

"Alright, alright." Clapping her hands together sharply, Adelheid sighs. At least Shittoppi-chan seems to have adjusted the quickest out of all of them, back to bickering playfully with Julie like they used to do when they were all kids. "That's enough. Julie, do the rest of the boxes have the same?"

Efficiently, he goes through them before looking up and tossing her a thumbs up. "It looks like. I don't see anything out of place, either."

"So..." Enma's voice draws all their attention, and his fingers dig into his pockets awkwardly at it. "Are we going or not...? If it's from a yakuza family, then... It seems like refusing it could be a problem..."

"And it is your soulmate," Rauji points out. "I mean, none of us can really force you to do anything-"

"My self preservation votes to not even try," Julie states bluntly, grunting a little as Shittoppi-chan drapes across his shoulders.

"If your heart says murder, Adelheid, I'd definitely encourage it."

"-but," Rauji patiently forges on, ignoring the pair of them, "we should probably at least check it out... Right?" He looks around, making sure to not linger for too long on both Enma and Kaoru who are looking a little uncertain. Taking in a breath, Koyo looks over to her.

"What do you want to do, Adelheid?"

Exhaling slowly, she closes her eyes. Nothing would give her more pleasure than being able to break Hibari Kyoya's jaw with her boot or concuss him with a well timed blow from one of her metal fans. However, as usual, she has to think of Shimon above all else. To ignore an invitation would count as a slight, and they can't afford that right now. So, with no other choice... Turning back to the lackey, she narrows her eyes at him.

"At what day and time does Hibari-kai want us, then?"





"I just wanted to say thank you, uh, Shimizu-san...?"

"It's nothing. I'm simply helping out as I can with what Hibari-kai asks of me. How does it feel now, Miura-sama?"

Ignoring the rosy quality on her cheeks from such a respectful honorific, Haru takes a few steps forwards and twists in place. "It's perfect! Thank you so much for helping me put on the kimono." Shimizu merely smiles, elegant and apparently at ease. Haru wishes she could feel the same instead of the frantic fluttering of her heart. She feels less like a regular high school girl and more like some ancient noblewoman as the older girl escorts her out of her room and out the house. Faintly, in the back of her mind, Haru wonders if this is going to become a regular habit with interacting with Hibari: kimonos and formal invitations.

Not that this is something so simple as just sharing tea with him, even if it had been a ten years older version of him, all on her own. This is even more nerve wracking, her heart beating on the back of her tongue. Stepping outside, her eyes flicker to her father whose nervousness, like her own, can't quite be hidden. Their kimono match in color, although his is a far more subdued and dark green. Nothing like the many shades of it that make up her own, and of course nothing on the delicately drawn out pattern that has been sewn onto hers. Camellia flowers again- she wonders if it's a symbol of Hibari-kai's, despite their name's meaning.

There's not a lot of time to ponder before her father notices her, and his worries- different than hers, she's sure- melt away momentarily as he smiles. "Haru, you look beautiful," he says quietly, passing his hand over her neatly done up hair. "Your mother would be besides herself with how much you've grown up!"

"Daaaad!"

"It's true!" He chuckles while some of the people around the front of their house start to duck into some cars that are gathered. Hibari-kai really doesn't take any chances... A small retinue had been prepared to make sure her and her father got to the dinner safely. It almost seems like too much, but then Haru remembers Hibari, even ten years in the future, refused to have his base properly connected to the Vongola for years simply because he wanted all that space for himself, and that it was done up in the stylings of a traditional Japanese manor despite being who knows how far underground.

....Maybe this explains a lot about Hibari, now that she thinks about it.

One of the men opens up a door for her and her father, and she takes a stop forward-

"Haru-chan!"

-before a familiar voice stops her in her tracks.

"Adel-kun!" she squeaks in delight, whirling on her heel to face the direction of her soulmate only to completely freeze with her eyes going wide.

Adelheid is draped in stunning layers of red, somehow seeming absolutely regal despite the fact that she's only wearing a kimono much like Haru has on. That might just be how Adelheid always is, now that she thinks about it, holding herself up tall and straight so that the very idea of someone getting her to crumple is ridiculous. If Haru feels like a feudal noblewoman wearing her kimono, Adelheid is the one that really shows it. All the red somehow makes her brilliant crimson eyes stand out even more, glimmering like rubies beneath the long dark curves of her eyelashes. Haru's only seen her with her hair pulled back in a strict ponytail before, but now it's been loosened with her face framed by the soft curves of her hair and the rest pulled back into a bun.

So enamored with the look of Adelheid in something beautiful and not her uniform almost makes Haru forget that her soulmate is surrounded by other people too, and Haru blinks back into reality. Kaoru, Rauji, and Enma are all there too, wearing kimono of their own that's a much darker and subdued shade of red, but there's another boy wearing much the same along with them this time with copper hair brushed back and a small goatee to match. On Rauji's broad shoulder, a girl is draped across them lazily, notable for not wearing either the red of everyone else or even a kimono. Besides Adelheid, a boy around her age, moss green hair starkly bringing out the same kind of red eyes as everyone else. Even without Haru's attention being drawn to her soulmate, it's a group that would stand out in a crowded street.

There's only a second to marvel at all of this before Adelheid comes trotting up to her, brow furrowed. "Are you alright? Where are you going, dressed like that?"

That's a question Haru should be asking her, but she's already picked up on the similar themes of their kimono. Despite the fact that hers is a vibrant lovely green and Adelheid's is a passionate glorious red, there's still the theme of camellias along them. She has a feeling Adelheid knows this just as much, too, because there's too strong a shine of annoyance in her gaze that she always gets when a certain someone gets brought up. Haru grins. "We were heading to Hibari-san's for dinner. Did you want to ride with us?"

Having her suspicions confirmed makes Adelheid's lips thin, and the other boy gives a low whistle. "Uh oh, a complete chain..." He immediately goes silent, hands up placatingly, when Adelheid glares at him. The look softens slightly as it goes back to Haru, although there's still that distinct annoyance to it.

"We were given the offer, but declined. It would have separated us, and we found we preferred staying as a complete unit for the walk there." There's something lurking on the tip of her tongue, Haru is sure of it, but then Adelheid turns to her father and gives a polite bow. "I apologize. I didn't introduce myself. My name is Suzuki Adelheid, your daughter's soulmate." From behind her, most of her family follows suit.

"I am Aoba Koyo and honored to meet you!"

"Kozato Enma..."

"...Mizuno... Kaoru...."

"Hey, I'm Kaitou Julie."

"My name is Ooyama Rauji. Nice to meet you." And, as he bows, the girl sprawled across his shoulders gives a twist like she's breakdancing before falling into a pose with her hand stretched out to the both of them.

"Shitt P!" With her free hand, she taps down the visor that's hidden her eyes and winks. "But call me Shittoppi-chan~. I finally get to meet Adelheid's cute soulmate, so dressing up was worth it in the end." Dressing up is definitely the word for it and, with Shittoppi-chan posed like she is, Haru can't help but shamelessly admire it. While she's not wearing a full kimono, she seems to have bastardized the outer jacket of one, snapping it to half its length so that it stops around her chest. The dull yellow furisode sleeves seem to have gotten away (mostly) untouched, white wisps designed onto it. It's the only traditional thing about her outfit. Beneath the kimono jacket is a tight fitting body suits of some sort, stand out blue that stops at her throat and disappears into a tiger print skirt with a smorgasbord of patches sewn onto it. What comes out under that are bright pink tights, alternating stripes of cannibalized other leggings sewn into it.

What Haru thinks she likes best, however are the black boots Shittoppi-chan wears, swaying idly behind her and with clear wedge heels that are filled with detached Barbie doll heads. Every single one of them has bright orange hair, matching the short clump of bangs Shittoppi-chan herself wears.

It's eccentric, eclectic, and Haru thinks she's just a little bit in love.

There are probably stars in her eyes as she gleefully shakes her hand, chirping, "It's great to meet you, Shittoppi-chan!" Her father doesn't seem so certain, but he's still perfectly polite as he murmurs out return greetings for everyone in Shimon and accepts Shittoppi-chan's handshake. With formalities out of the way, Adelheid flicks a glare towards the cars again before smoothing out her expression.

"I know it must be cold, and by no means do you need to accept.... But would you like to accompany us on our walk to the Hibari-residence?" Haru's heart leaps to her throat, pounding harder as the way Adelheid's own skin is heating up a little. "It's a long journey, so I can understand perfectly if you and your father will decline. I'll admit upfront that it's a selfish desire, after all."

Haru is already twisting on her heel, looking at her father pleadingly. It'll be a bit of a walk while she's wearing geta, but she'll never pass down a chance to grab more time with Adelheid, especially considering how little they've managed to get so far.

Already, he's glancing back to the cars, where the bodyguards are doing a really good job of pretending they aren't slightly uneasy at the appearance of Shimon. Haru wonders what Adelheid did to them. "If you wanted, Haru, I could go ahead while you walk with your soulmate-"

Koyo interrupts, looking conflicted. "I'd hoped to speak with you as the representative of our family! Of course, if you insist, then I..." Trailing, off, he looks up to Adelheid with his brows furrowed harshly. Words are being said between them in the silence, something Haru is still an outsider to and a code which she has yet to crack.

While she's trying to puzzle the exchange, her father shifts besides her. "Where are your parents?"

"There aren't any...." is Enma's barely audible, and her father barely has time to look at him before Rauji is continuing on where he left off with a patient tone.

"The rest of our family died in an accident a long time ago." Subconsciously, so subtle Haru isn't really sure they notice, Shimon shifts even tighter together. "Since we don't have any other family in Japan, we managed to make it so that we're living on our own. But since this is a really important meeting... Aoba, who's the oldest, and Enma, whose part of the family has always kind of lead everyone, are basically acting in their place." Koyo straightens up, vibrating with tension. In contrast, Enma... makes an attempt, but his shoulders give a sort of jerk as if he can't decide if he wants to straighten up or slump in place, inevitably surrendering to the latter. Rauji's hand pats his back. "Usually, Adelheid is the other oldest person, but since it's her soulmate..."

Something in the downwards curve of Adelheid's lips gives away that she has a lot to say about the concept of Hibari Kyoya being her soulmate, and Haru has a feeling the only reason it hasn't come out is because of her.

"It wouldn't be right to let you all just walk on your own," her father says, snapping her out of it. "I'll speak with the... people Hibari-kai sent, then."

It only takes a few minutes before that much is settled, the cars disappearing down the street as their small but conspicuous group sets off. Bubbling with excitement, Haru lets the feeling carry her right besides Adelheid at the front. Behind them, she can hear the rest of Shimon cheerfully chattering away at her father.

"What do you do for a living, Miura-san?" is Koyo's distinctive stiff formality in the face of authority.

"Oh, I teach at a university."

Julie's burst of laughter comes sharp and quick. "Uh oh, Koyo-nii, it looks like you're already outclassed!"

The conversation devolves into a whirlwind of friendly teasing and fumbled retorts, with a few peacemakers in the mix, and Haru grins wide. She likes this: the feeling of a group enveloping her instead of ostracizing, the same kind of feeling that is part of Tsuna's group. "You really do have a large family, Adel-kun!"

"Yes, and you only met half of them before." Adelheid shakes her head, obviously disappointed in that biting way of hers. "I was planning on introducing you to the three of them at a cafe or something, but things in our lives have been getting in the way lately. Now it seems like I've been beaten."

"Adel-kun, it's not a fight!" Haru scolds, although she kind of wants to giggle. Is this how the relationship between the three of them is going to be for the rest of their lives? It's something she has to seriously think about now that she's begun to accept the names on her thigh. All she knows about Adelheid and Hibari's interactions is from listening to some of her friends, or Adelheid's accounts of their fights. Have they ever interacted in a way that's non-violent? Well, she guesses tonight they'll all find that out. "So, it's... Koyo-kun, Julie-kun, and Shittoppi-chan, right? They definitely seem a lot different than Enma-kun and the others!" A lot more rowdy, too, a fact that she can confirm just looking back at the group where Koyo is heated up at some jabs from Julie. Shittoppi-chan isn't doing anything yet, but her very presence just seems to inspire things to happen.

"Well, not everyone in our family can be quiet and reserved." Even knowing it's not meant that way, Haru feels her heart flutter a little at the use of 'our'. Oblivious to her inner workings, Adelheid turns back to the face the rest of Shimon herself. "Come over here. I want to properly introduce you."

Koyo doesn't even seem like he needs an excuse to speed up his steps easily, and Haru almost trips over her own geta when he abruptly grabs her hand. "It is the highest honor to finally meet you, Haru-chan! I promise that the Shimon will do everything in its power to make sure you're happy and that your bond with Adelheid stays strong!"

In contrast, Julie's follow up behind him is lazy, both in his stride and his drawl. "Calm down, Aoba. I'm sure Adelheid has this covered herself." Coming around Koyo's other side, he gives a short and casual wave at her. "Hey. Welcome to the family. Hope you don't mind the mess that is our everything."

"Julie!"

"I'm doing the responsible thing and giving her a heads up." But there's something almost indolent about his grin, a relaxed teasing, and he jerks his thumb back at where Shittoppi-chan is still lounging. "I mean, Shittoppi-chan isn't the only thing any of our soulmates are going to have to get used to, right? I'm doing a public service."

"Well, I like Shittoppi-chan," Haru announces stubbornly, already feeling her metaphorical feet dig right in.

"Even though she's just sticking her leg out for no reason?" Julie questions, sounding more amused than judgmental.

"I have a reason," Shittoppi-chan hums from the back, over whatever low conversation is happening between Rauji and Haru's father.

"Is it 'because I want to'?"

"Because I need to."

"Yeah, well, the last time you 'needed' to, you almost beamed me upside the head with your heel."

"And that's why Julie shouldn't stand besides me."

"You told me to come over!"

"Mmm, I guess so. Hey, Julie."

"What?"

"Come over here."

Before the bickering can explode into a torrential downpour, Haru forces her voice through. "Shittoppi-chan! I really love the clothing you're wearing. Did you make it all yourself?"

From the side, Julie quietly mutters "Oh here we go", but Shittoppi-chan can't look more satisfied. Another whirlwind of movement until she's perched much more delicately along Rauji's shoulder, her legs extended and crossed along his arm which he crooks up automatically without much thought. Years of familiarity are in the simple exchange of motion. "Yeah. I frankensteined most of it personally, although I have to admit that I didn't make any changes to the main bodysuit. Sometimes for the full effect to be reached, something has to stay plain in order for the rest to pop."

"I know what you mean! It's a really striking color scheme, especially with how everyone else is."

"Thank you~. I thought long and hard on it, but I decided that it had to be the three main colors of pink, yellow, and blue for this particular meeting."

"What's special about those three?"

"They're the colors associated with printer ink cartridges, a symbol of technology and the advancement that humanity has made since far off days before we even had electricity, colors that would not even really be considered viable in the past when you stuck to what was tried and true, and any rare colors were only meant for the nobility elite who could afford it. Red is a brilliant color symbolic of life and energy, so I have nothing against it personally, but the overuse of it for our entire family is offensive. It assumes us to be nothing more than matching pieces in a set, robbing us of all individuality and ensnaring us in the bindings of tradition from a time period which has since passed and, in a reflective manner, even binds our range of movement by pure design and the fear people have of potentially dirtying or ruining that which is expensive. Ultimately, it comes off as a non-critical worship of history, too scared to take parts of their past and make it their own." Extending an arm, she lets the wings of her kimono sleeve flutter through the air. "It's why I modified this. Not only does the yellow match the color scheme I was going for, but lets me do the kimono how I want by my interpretation."

Haru lingers behind just so she can match pace with Rauji and take the sleeve between her fingers admiringly. "I can see where you adjusted the length. This is amazing work, Shittoppi-chan!"

"I know."

As Haru marvels at the smooth confidence of her, draped in things Haru could only dream of having half the confidence to wear, Julie sighs. "I'm telling you, you don't have to make a statement out of everything you wear! Sometimes a kimono is just a kimono."

"Well, I think it's really interesting," Haru counters, wondering how upset Adelheid would be if she picked an actual physical fight with one of her brothers.

Julie's eyes flick up briefly, exasperated, before he shifts his course and goes to settle his easy stride besides her and where Shittoppi-chan is perched. "Okay, listen, I mean I get the social implications of what people choose to wear, but..."

As it turns out, Shittoppi-chan and Haru aren't the only ones knowledgeable in clothing. For all that Julie hasn't made the most sterling impression on her, he does seem to have thought on these kind of things, and counters and debates whatever points either of them make with practiced ease. Actually, an ease Shittoppi-chan seems to share, like this is an argument they've had a thousand times before just in different flavors. For a brief second, while Julie argues comfort over aesthetic, Haru is struck cold and silent by the idea that she's intruding. That she's an outsider.

It's not an unfamiliar feeling. At her school, whenever she's tried to get to know her classmates, that same feeling has gone up like an impenetrable wall. Even with Kyoko, it lurks, a softer wave that nonetheless hits whenever Hana settles at Kyoko's side in a way Haru has always known she never could.

But then, before the feeling can smother her, Shittoppi-chan is snapping her fingers and calling for Haru's back up, and everything slides into place again like it was meant for her. Each time she thinks she's slipping through the cracks again, Julie is demanding her attention on the importance color coordination and Shittoppi-chan is drawing her back in with talks of individuality in appearance. Better still, it's seems so easy to be pulled back in, and, soon enough, she doesn't even have to think at all as she discusses and debates with the two of them. Occasionally, when she catches her breath, she can see Adelheid watching them with a soft expression. Not once does Haru fail to smile back at her.

Together, the three of them get so absorbed in their fashion talk that she's lost all track of time. It's only Enma's soft voice, somehow cutting through the clamor, that reminds her of where they're going. "I think that's it..."

Haru looks up, finally noting that the scenery has changed from simple suburban fences and walls to something much taller that hides everything from view. Ahead, she's certain she can see some well made and sturdy gates waiting for them. As she's admiring the appearance of it all, healthy and well maintained trees curving over the top of the wall, Julie turns back towards Shittoppi-chan. "Okay, so, I'm curious, is it even remotely possible for you to not make a scene when we meet up with the Hibari family?"

"How rude, Julie. This is Adelheid's special day." From the side, Haru can see her soulmate quietly scoff at the notion. "If it's for that kind of thing, I can understand her needing to shine. You worry too much."

"It's you and Adelheid. No one can ever worry too much."

As they turn the corner into the beautiful path up to the entry of Hibari-kai's home, Haru watches her father turn from his conversation with Rauji and straighten out his kimono nervously. Enma, too, seems to be fidgeting with his, while Kaoru makes an apparent sink into the background of their group.

Considering that the Hibari family is waiting for them at the entrance, it's no wonder.

Quickly and eagerly, Haru sweeps her gaze over the small group of people. Hibari's family- Kyoya-kun's family? Can she call him Kyoya-kun?- is fairly small, although she supposes it's a strange thing to imagine him having siblings of any sort. If he did, perhaps he'd have a greater tolerance for crowds, the problem of which is no doubt behind the way his eyes are narrowed and radiating displeasure at the large group approaching his home. Shimon is already big enough, so Haru and her father didn't really need to add to it. For a brief second, she feels just a liiiiiiittle pity for him. With how he is, it belatedly hits her that this couldn't have possibly been his idea. Getting involved in a huge group of people? She can think of a dozen things off the top of her head that he would probably rather be doing.

Still. A shame that his face is crumpled into such a glare. In his own subdued purple kimono, jacket pulled tight around his shoulders, he looks just as handsome as his future self had been. Oh well. At least he's not covered in blood. (Yet.)

The look he's wearing isn't the only sign that he's unhappy. Of all things, his father is sporting another indication: a long and painful looking bruise that's blossomed along the side of his face. Haru's seen bruises like that before on a couple of her friends. She knows what had to have happened, and it makes her suck in a breath. Despite this, Hibari's father doesn't seem to be particularly bothered by the tonfa strike. It's easy, in that way, to see the little bits and pieces that he's passed down to his son in his own face. He's much taller than Hibari, but she thinks she can see their similarities in the hard line of his mouth and the way his expressions line up with so many she's seen before in the short amount of time she's had together with Hibari. It makes her think of sitting in the Foundation's headquarters, having tea. From just beneath the collar of his kimono, it's possible to see the barest curves of ink on his skin.

Standing inbetween both son and father, of course, is the woman who surely must be the woman of the house. There's no denying it. There are signs of age, and some differences, and she has to look past the makeup, but in so much about her face... Haru sees Hibari. Especially the eyes, although his mother's are so much darker and a deep gray that could be black. It's hard to place exactly how, but it makes her- and by extension her son- seem different than most of the people Haru has met in her life while living in Japan.

And here she'd just half attributed it to Hibari's tendency to violently go after people who bothered him that made him seem different.

As their little group comes to a stop, movement from the corner of her eye draws Haru's attention, and she watches as Shittoppi-chan gives a spinning flip (with really good form, too!) off of Rauji's shoulder and lands into a pose down on the well maintained stone path. Half aborted laughter bursts out from Julie's lips, even as he hastily tries to cover it up with a thump to his chest while he and the rest of Shimon draw into respectful bow. Sucking in her breath, Haru bows quickly herself to hide the way she's grinning at the looks on the Hibari family's faces.

Kyoya already looks like it's taking every last drop of willpower in his body to not physically launch himself at the group, after all.

To her surprise, the voice that speaks up to greet the Hibari family isn't Adelheid's cool confident one or even Koyo's eager determined tones. Instead, quiet but steady, Enma says, "Thank you for inviting us to this gathering, and your generosity in giving us these gifts. I'm Kozato Enma, boss of the Shimon Family."

"Ah-" By the stutter from her father, Haru has the sneaking suspicion that the fact that Shimon is a mafia family didn't come up a single time in the conversation he had with Rauji. Still, having bowed along with everyone else, he tries to keep going. "I am Miura Yori, Haru's father. You also have my thanks for being so generous inviting us here and gifting us these clothes." When Haru glances up carefully from beneath her bangs, Kyoya's mother is making a minuscule nod as if they've passed some sort of test although it doesn't miss her how there's a flicker of annoyance when she glance towards Shimon. (Haru has a sneaking suspicion Shittoppi-chan hasn't bothered bowing.) Besides her, her husband seems very much like Hibari in that he apparently wants to be anywhere but there with the rest of them, his eyes flicking over everything besides the group that's in front of him and his family. Absolutely nothing has changed on the Kyoya front.

"It is good to see that you all arrived safely," Hibari's mother says, an accent Haru can't place unsettling the general smoothness of her voice. "We were concerned when we heard that both of your families declined escorts here. I am Hibari Lan. Now please come in; dinner will be brought out soon." Those word are all that's needed for Kyoya to spring away, disappearing back into the house before anyone else can even blink, and Haru sucks in her lips to stop from laughing. Instead, obediently, she follows after his parents who are in much less of a rush, and listens to the exchanged whispers of the Shimon family as Julie teases at Shittoppi-chan and Koyo proudly ruffles Enma's hair. The entire time, she marvels at the simple elegance of the halls, reminded so strongly of the Foundation's headquarters in the future.

Predictably, the dining area is just as traditionally beautiful as the rest of the house, with a low table and comfortable seating already arranged amidst carefully arranged flowers and what's no doubt expensive art. Besides the main table, there's a much smaller table set deeper into the room away from everything else, and it's there that Kyoya is seated with his arms crossed and a scowl twisted upon his face. Haru hides her grin behind one long sleeve; he looks like a child who's been sent to time out. Quickly, she glances elsewhere around as she steps carefully into the room, and is surprised to see Kusakabe seated obediently in a dark gray kimono of his own, the picture perfect image of a loyal vassal by one of the walls. In reflection, she supposes she shouldn't have expected anything else. The Kusakabe family being so close to the Hibari family probably explains a lot about his relationship with Kyoya. What's more interesting is how one of his hands is folded over his opposite sleeve, like he'd just adjusted it, and he's watching the door carefully-

"Haru-chan?"

Giving a start, Haru quickly hurries further inside and directs an apologetic smile to Rauji, who'd been coming up right behind her. "Sorry! It's really beautiful in here, isn't it?" She starts to head for the smaller table- there are two other seats there, and she's not oblivious- when she realizes the Shimon procession behind her has come to a pause. Turning around, she take in how her father has already taken a seat, but most of Shimon is waiting obediently behind Adelheid. Her other soulmate is facing the Hibari couple, hands folded neatly in front of her.

"As much as I and my family appreciate the generosity that you have displayed to us so far," she begins, as cool and collected as ever, "I feel that it's only proper that I speak to you of a certain matter before we receive any more. While I understand that your son and I are bound together, I have no romantic interests in him. In fact, from the day we first met, my sole goal in regards to him..." Her eyes narrow. "Has been to grind his skull into the pavement."

A blur of movement blazes past Haru, and she barely has time to realize what's going on before Adelheid levels out a jab and Kyoya has to jump back into place besides Haru to avoid it. A vicious grin has torn across his face, eyes lit up, and one of his tonfas is already up and out. Where he was storing it, she doesn't have a clue. Adelheid, as well, already has one of her metal fans out. "About time," he hisses before bursting forward again. The pair of them exchange blows rapid fire before, with the rest of Shimon scattering out of the way, their battle spills out into and down the hallway.

The room is quiet. Haru's father looks pale and confused. On the other side of the table, Kyoya's dad looks close to rising up before his wife just lays a hand on his arm and shakes her head.

"Well," Rauji says, finally breaking the silence with a nonchalant tone, "there she goes again."

While Shimon comes back together undisturbed, quietly talking about who sits where along the table's length, Kaoru approaches her with his shoulders hunched up slightly. "Haru-chan.... Do... you want to sit at the main table until they get back instead of alone...?"

She almost doesn't hear him. Through the storage boxes of her mind, she's rifling through her memories, certain that this is familiar somehow. Not Hibari or Adelheid or the both of them together interrupting the start of a nice dinner, but the traditional setting, the idea of Hibari going after someone- Haru smacks her fist into her open palm. That's right! "I know!" she announces, unable to help herself, and dismisses the looks that declaration earns her. Her focus is more on trying to hike up her kimono a bit so she can hurry over to where her tense and quietly anxious father is seated besides an equally tense and anxious Koyo (although she suspects their reasons are entirely different). "Dad, I have to go take care of something really quick! So stay here and keep Hibari-san company, okay?"

"Haru, wait-"

"And Koyo-kun!" She doesn't wait for her father to finish speaking before she's turning to the oldest brother of Shimon, watching as he immediately and impossibly jerks up straighter. "I know this is sudden, but please look after my father since he's going to be alone for a little bit!"

"I swear on my blood that I will watch over him!"

"Haru-"

"I love you, Dad!" She kisses his cheek, throwing him off balance a little, before, without any haste, she hustles out of the room and turns to hurry deeper into the Hibari home. It's easy enough to get the directions to the kitchen from a tall guy with a scar up along his face, and then she's off again, already trying to roll her furisode sleeves up. In her minds eye, she's still replaying the memories of her time in the future: waiting for the others to finish training, listening in on mentions of Hibari training Tsuna, how Kusakabe had to prepare tea after every time to help settle him. That's still a Hibari ten years in the future, she knows, so maybe the Kyoya of this time doesn't have the same routine. Still, there has to be a seed of that habit buried in him somewhere if it hasn't flowered yet, right?

Lost in thought as she makes her way through the halls, she only barely notices the people she passes by, even when that means she barely avoids walking right into someone as she turns a corner. An apology stumbles out from her automatically, no real thought behind it. "Oh, sorry!"

"Haru?"

Her name and the familiar voice get her to stop, and she blinks, craning her neck back to look at the tall figure in front of her- "Yamamoto-kun!"

And it is Yamamoto, although her eyes had completely passed over him at first from the lack of Nami Middle uniform or his more casual clothes. Instead, he's dressed rather plainly, a headband tied around his head that keeps his hair out of his face. He seems just as surprised as her as he looks her over before giving one of his usual laughs. "So I guess you're one of the guests the Hibari family invited, huh?"

"Ah..." Well, there's no point in hiding it, is there? With the way she's dressed up, denying the claim would just be silly. At the same time.... Reluctance and guilt burbles in the pit of her chest. Yamamoto, after all, she knows for a fact is Tsuna's soulmate- or at least one of many. She's overheard him talk about it enough, the way he says he can always tell if Tsuna is near by the soft warm smell of ginger and vanilla. Tsuna, the same person she's been hiding behind all this time from her own bond, the person she completely forgot about in all the recent rush of dealing with her bonds. Her hesitation shows in the split second paused before her answer as she nods her head. "Yeah, and Adel-kun is here too with her family!"

Amiable interest stirs in Yamamoto's expression. "So Kaoru's here? Ah, but I guess if he's at that dinner, I won't be able to talk with him..."

"And you're helping your dad with sushi, right? I don't think you have a lot of time anyway, Yamamoto-kun!" Well, at least she knows now what dinner will be.

All he does is laugh. "He's pretty understanding if I'm just saying 'hi'!" And then his eyes focus right back on her again. "So, Hibari, huh?" he asks, usual cheer making his actual feelings hard to read. "I guess that explains why you were always running away ha ha!"

For all that it sounds like a casual observation, Haru can't help but feel as though there's an accusation somewhere in there, and she knows exactly what it is. It makes her want to shrink back, guilt weighing her shoulders down. Taking in a deep quiet breath, she fights the urge. "He's not that scary if you don't bug him," she says, even as she notes in the back of her mind that the number of things which bug Hibari Kyoya could fill a small book. "Anyway, Yamamoto-kun... Could I ask you for a favor?"

That makes him blink. "Sure, what is it?"

"Since you see Tsuna-san so much more often than me..." Inhale, exhale. She can do this. "Could you pass along a message for me the next time you do? I want to talk with him and... apologize for something."

"Oh, that's all? Sure, I can remember that!" For a brief second, Haru thinks he might actually do her a favor and not press about it, but then he follows it up with, "You weren't ever really one of his soulmates, were you?"

His voice is as relaxed as it ever is, yet Haru can still sense the thin layer of steel beneath it. She's paying too much attention to miss it. Doing her best not to wince too badly, she shakes her head. "I know it wasn't right to deceive him- but I'm going to make it up to him! Because... Even if we're not soulmates, I still really like being friends with him, and everyone else. I don't want to ruin that."

With each word, it's harder to look Yamamoto in the face, and finally she has to concede defeat with how her gaze flicks down to focus steadily on his sleeve by the time she finishes. Nothing she's said is a lie; she really does like Tsuna as a friend. That shouldn't be a surprise, honestly, but she'd been trying so hard to force romance where there wasn't any that somehow a simple platonic friendship happening hadn't occurred to her. It's only now, when she's trying to move on, that she realizes how much she treasures being with everyone from Nami Middle.

She likes the more lighthearted ridiculous of being with Tsuna, doing things like gathering fruit costumes or going on Tests of Courage. She likes going on Cake Days with Kyoko. She even likes arguing with Gokudera all the time. It's selfish to want to keep all of that with what she's done, she knows, but... her dad had been right. Even as important as soulmates can be, there's other things to life too. Friends, and family, and Family.

That doesn't mean she's entitled to it, she knows, so she waits with a twisted stomach for Yamamoto's answer. The fact that it's preceded by a laugh doesn't exactly relieve the sensation. "You should probably apologize to Gokudera too!" he says, still seeming chipper, which doesn't mean anything. "Both of us were getting kind of annoyed!"

A stronger wince flicks across Haru's face. Oh no. That's really not good. Yamamoto is the ultimate exemplar of "it's fine!" even when everything is very definitively and obviously not fine. If he's saying that he's annoyed, then it actually has to be a lot worse than that.

Before she can apologize or try to mitigate the damage, Yamamoto continues. "Tsuna's been pretty worried about you the past couple of months, so you should probably make it a pretty good apology!" Carefully, she glances up at him. He doesn't seem to be showing any overt anger, or upset, and... She thinks some tension that she hadn't even noticed before has left his shoulders.

"I will," she promises firmly. "He definitely deserves that much, and it's the very least I could do for him." A pause before she adds, "You're really good soulmates for him, Yamamoto-kun."

His grin spreads wide, a little more honest and true. "If I wasn't, Gokudera wouldn't stop yelling at me! And that's only funny to listen to for a little while, right? Anyway, how come you're out here instead of at the table with everyone else?"

"Oh!" She'd almost forgotten. "Kyoya-san and Adel-kun started getting into a fight, so I thought I'd stop them and get them back. But I think it'd go easier if I had something to distract them, like tea."

"Do you think tea will really distract either of them from trying to beat each other up?"

"Oh, no. It's just to distract them from getting into another fight after I break them up."

Hearing that makes Yamamoto burst into more laughter, shoulders shaking and face bright with mirth. "Good luck!" he says once his breath is caught again, and he turns on his feet even at the same time that he's gesturing to the end of the hall. "Anyway, I can help you find the kitchen if you want, it's not that far from here." There's more words lurking underneath everything, things she's certain he wants to say more of, but... Falling into step beside them, Haru tentatively lets herself think that the rockiest part has been surpassed. Whatever comes in the future, she doubts it'll be as heart stopping as standing there grimacing at Yamamoto's hidden frustration.

The Hibari kitchen doesn't display the same kind of traditional opulence that's apparent in the rest of the house, but it's still nicer than any other kitchen that Haru thinks she's ever seen in her life. Yamamoto's dad is full of good cheer when he sees her, waving her in and laughing much like Yamamoto does when he hears what she wants to do. There's no need to worry about space; plenty of it is there that at least a few more people could fit inside comfortably. Still, she makes sure to keep out of their way as the Yamamotos work, father arranging a small feast and son bustling in and out with whatever needs doing. Haru herself keeps busy as well, arranging a tea tray carefully even as she gladly grabs what she remembers of Kyoya's preference from the future. It's as she's almost done, however, that she realizes she's missing something, and Haru freezes up for a second staring blankly at the tray.

She has no idea what kind of things Adelheid likes with her tea.

It's not an "end of the world" problem, but she fusses anyway. What if Adelheid doesn't like manjū, or thinks she's playing favorites? Kyoya and Adelheid might want to just beat each other into the ground, but Haru thinks she likes both of them, or could, at any rate, once Kyoya has warmed up a little. Being in a multi-bond situation is something that requires careful consideration. After all this time of running away, she doesn't want to ruin things by accident.

Before she can work herself up too much, a familiar voice comes from the doorway. "Adelheid likes konpeitō best with tea, if you were wondering, so I'd go with that."

Blinking, she looks up, right as Yamamoto cheerfully calls out, "Rauji!" Sure enough, it's Rauji's comforting mass standing there right outside the doorway, with Kusakabe besides him. The Shimon member gives a small wave as he meets her eyes.

"She makes the same look at things when she's trying to figure out food for us," he explains, as quiet and helpful as ever. "Kusakabe said that Hibari-san likes manjū, so I guessed that you already had that figured out."

A grin lights up her face. "Thanks, Rauji-kun!" Bouncing throughout the kitchen to look through the cupboards- a kitchen as nice as this has to have konpeito in one of them right?- she talks over her shoulder to him. "So what are you and Kusakabe-san doing over here? I thought you'd stay at the dining room with everyone else!"

Constantly glancing back at them, she doesn't miss the way the two boys at the doorway glance at each other- Rauji with a patient little smile and Kusakabe almost sheepish. "Well, I wanted to talk about how it looks like our families are kind of connected whatever Adelheid and Hibari-kun might do," Rauji starts, "but then I thought it would only be right to make sure you were doing alright." A polite bow of his head to the Yamamotos. "I hope we're not interrupting you too much."

"Not at all!" Yamamoto's dad says cheerfully, arranging a large platter artfully. Glancing over at his son, he huffs out a laugh and nods to him, and soon enough Yamamoto is bouncing over to the other boys with his own grin firmly in place. "Just try not to let him run away from the kitchen."

It's around that time which Haru finishes up making the tea tray, and she hefts it up with a determined grunt. "Okay- excuse me!" she announces, bustling over with her sleeve pushed back.

"Do you need help?" Kusakabe asks, even as the group parts to let her through, and Haru shakes her head.

"It's fine, Kusakabe-san! Thank you!" is her cheerful response as she already makes her way down the hallway, going as quickly as the restrictive nature of her kimono will let her. "And let Hibari-san know that I really appreciate the use of her kitchen!" And with that, she's gone and around the corner.

Finding Adelheid and Kyoya isn't very hard; all Haru has to do is ask people in the halls and soon enough someone is pointing her the right way. Their battleground this time appears to be a lovely garden, slumbering but healthy bushes filling it. If they were in bloom, whatever the flower, Haru is sure it'd make quite a scene as metal against metal rings throughout the air. For all that she knows both of them, Haru has never gotten to watch her soulmates fight against each other, and she takes the time now as she carefully sets the tea tray down. There's a vicious nonstop elegance in their movements- Kyoya unrelenting as he slams his tonfa forward with familiar brutality, Adelheid matching him blow for blow using savage slices aiming for whatever weak spots she can. Neither of them seems to be making much progress, few blows getting through a block or foreseeing a dodge, and in that way it seems almost more akin to a dance they weave around each other. If it weren't for the pressing matter that she left her father to chat with a yakuza boss all on his own, then she thinks she might be tempted to just watch the two of them like this for hours.

But she did, and they're going to catch a cold if they keep fighting like this. So, straightening up, she takes a breath and call out to both of them. "Adel-kun! Kyoya-kun!"

...No response. They're still wrapped up in each other, eyes for no one else but their sparring partner. Haru would feel jealous if her soulmates weren't just ridiculous.

It takes a few minute for Haru to find what she needs in a hallway closet not too far off, and neither of her soulmates apparently pause for breath in those few minutes because they're still outside when Haru comes back again. Broom clutched in her hand, she takes a deep breath. Alright. Nothing else will get through to them besides this. She just has to be prepared! So, with that thought out, she steps down from the wooden patio right as the two leap away from each other only to dash forward-

And Haru gets right into the middle of it, broom swinging downwards as she yells out, "Break!"

Immediately after, fighting against her own body's instincts against impending harm, she pries her eyes open just in time to see the hilarious sight of Adelheid hastily trying to step herself with a few stumbled steps forward on one side and, on her other, Hibari forcing himself to lose his momentum by swinging early. As both fighters regain their balance, she straightens up with a proud grin and puffed out chest. Success! More than aware of their blatant surprise, Haru gestures back to the house. "I made tea for all of us!" With that, she twists around on her heel and leads the way. Adelheid is the first to follow after her, tucking away one of her fans (but only one) so that she can lightly press a hand along Haru's shoulder.

"You need to be more careful," she scolds her, using that same tone that Haru has heard her use a couple of times before on the rest of Shimon. "What if either of us hadn't been able to stop ourselves from hitting you?"

"Then she'd learn," Kyoya says simply from where he's trailing behind them. "Pain teaches well."

From the corner of her eye, she can see Adelheid reaching for her other fan, and Haru makes a noise of frustration before waving the broom through the air to disrupt both her fight happy soulmates. "No, we're not starting again! I'm fine! The tea is waiting!" She'd like to make a more confident order, but, for all that she and Kyoya still have to get to know each other more, she knows enough that he'd react badly to being ordered around. All she can do is just guide him as best she can without being outright about it.

While the water into the teapot is still hot, it won't last long when she actually gets to pouring if they're in the cold air, so Haru makes sure that the three of them at least get back inside the house. For all that he's the host (or the son of the hosts, anyway), Kyoya only fetches a pillow for himself, a fact which Adelheid has some sharp words for even as she gets two. Settled in the little room off from the gardens, Haru glances over the pair even as she prepares the tea. "I hope this is all okay, I got it together in a rush."

For a second, it seems a if there might actually be a moment of peace between the three of them, and Haru hides her smile behind a teacup when she sees Adelheid's mouth twist in an attempt to not look too pleased at the presence of the konpeitō. What's most amusing, however, is when Kyoya grudgingly lifts up his teacup to his lips. A sip, a pause, and he blinks, looking surprised about something. He takes another sip, head tilted faintly in thought, before he seems to come to a decision. Still cradling the cup in one hand, he reaches over to Haru with one half curled fist and lightly gives a few short strokes against her cheek with the back of one finger.

Haru bites back giggles while Adelheid sighs. "She's not an animal," she says, exasperation tinting her words. Kyoya huffs, eyes narrowing as his hand pulls back, but he doesn't pull out one of his tonfa, to Haru's surprise.

"It's fine," she chirps, her teacup unable to hide the wide grin blossoming across her face. "I don't mind it at all."





Miura Yori has a gut sinking feeling that he is in far over his head.

It'd started up days ago, when he'd first been visited by someone who was very distinctly yakuza, and, sitting here now in front of an oyabun and his wife, it's far worse. No father, he likes to think, wants to have the realization that his precious daughter is on the receiving end of a yakuza heir's soul bond. Yet here he is, sitting stiffly as he's poured some sake into his cup by the Hibari matriarch. Neither of them seem particularly concerned, which he supposes they wouldn't be. The Hibari family are the ones who arranged this dinner, after all.

That, at least, is something him and the poor teenager besides him share in common. Sympathetically, Yori glances to Aoba-kun from the corner of his eye. For all that they're criminals, at the very least the Hibari family hasn't served alcohol to the small family of teenagers, which is probably for the best with how overcome with tension Aoba-kun is besides him and, further down the table, which Mizuno-kun matches in his own way. (Thank goodness Rauji explained how he scowls the more nervous and unsure he is, or Yori thinks he'd be having a quiet heart attack about now. Well. More than he is already.) Kozato-kun is quiet as well on his older brother's other side, not meeting anyone's eyes, and it seems as though the only one of their family who isn't overtly stressing is Ooyama-kun once he'd come back after excusing himself not too long after Haru had run off. Well. So Yori has to guess, because it seems as though he's been quite strategically placed to hide Katou-kun and, ah.... Shittoppi-chan from view, although their whispers still bubble out from around him now and then.

Poor Aoba-kun, however. It seems like all his attempts at conversation have been falling flat, and it's plain to see that he's wracking his brain for what to say next. Yori wishes he could help, but what is a man supposed to say to yakuza? Shameful as it is to admit while he's the adult on their side of things, he's not sure what to say either.

Surprisingly, out of all of them, it's Kozato-kun who speaks up quietly. "I'm sorry about what happened with Adelheid. She's really committed to things.... and Hibari-kun isn't a challenge she wants to lose to."

Hibari's wife gives a nod of her head to show she's heard. "Kyoya has always been of a fiery temperament as well," she says politely. "He take after an unfortunate relative in his passions. Frankly, it has been a concern if any soulmate he might be matched with would withstand it, so I am pleased to see that one of them keeps his attention in these matters." Gracefully, she starts to rise to her feet. "Speaking of which, I believe it is time to fetch them before dinner arrives." Her hand flits along her husband's shoulder.

"Hibari-sama-" starts the young man sitting by the door, but she shakes her head as she passes him out of the room. Another awkward silence fills the room, broken only by the quiet laughter on the other side of Rauji.

This time, Yori gives it his best attempt. It's the least he can do with all these teenagers floundering on their own. "Your wife seems very reliable, Hibari-san," he says politely. "How did you meet?" It's something he's been wondering since the introductions were made, and she had given a Chinese name. Something like that isn't particularly common in Japan, and for a yakuza family, well, one wonders.

For the entire meeting, Hibari's face has been as stonily cool as his son's, although without the blatant disapproval. Now, however, it softens up in unmistakable fondness, and Yori feels some of his own anxiety ease up. Well, even yakuza are human, and can get struck by romantic nostalgia. "We had the great fortune of meeting when we were quite young," he begins, "although not as young as Kyoya is now. I and some friends of mine were causing some ruckus in a local restaurant, and she heard us from outside. Before I knew it, I was on the floor in a daze watching as she beat my friends with an old umbrella." A tender grin eases up onto his face, even as Yori ponders whether it was too soon for him to make that call on his anxiety. "The noise apparently offended her. It was only when she was storming off onto the street that I realized my bond was burning and I had to chase after her."

Another pause throughout the rest of the table.

"It sounds like Hibari-kun takes more after her than I thought," Ooyama-kun finally offers.

Hibari merely nods, apparently at peace with the fact that his wife and son are so similar in that way. Well.... He is yakuza. "She was much less restrained when we first met," he recalls, taking a sip of sake. "For the better. My family did not deal well with the revelation of my bond, but that is in the past. We have weathered much together since then, including that." His eye focus on Yori, and he does his best not to shift uneasily under the oyabun's gaze. "Your wife could not make this dinner?"

"Unfortunately, she has been deceased for some time," he responds politely, used to such questions and the scar along his knee. "I moved to Namimori to raise her on my own near some more of my family."

"I see. She's very energetic." Yori can't help the way his mouth twitches slightly at that. 'Energetic' is the most polite and common compliment he's ever heard for his daughter, alongside 'passionate'. There are more biting things, he knows, that he's both heard and not, but he's never confronted his daughter or denied her eccentric hobbies such as the costumes she makes. If he can't be there for her all the time with his work and how it follows him home, at least he can let her do something she loves. Besides, it's not as though her grades are suffering or she's getting caught up with criminal gangs or anything.

Well... She wasn't until now, but that doesn't have anything to do with his parenting methods or her hobbies.

Before he can respond much to that, Hibari's attention is being turned to the pair of boys besides Yori. "I have heard of Shimon before." Aoba-kun starts to bristle quietly; Yori can feel him. "It is surprising that your family is still alive."

For all that Aoba-kun is visibly holding himself back from lashing out with something ill-advised, or perhaps because of that, Kozato-kun speaks first. "Misunderstandings and forces from outside were responsible for that, if you're referring to the inheritance ceremony." All Yori can do is blink, both at the reference he doesn't understand and the layer of pure steel which has sneaked through the boy's normally quiet tone. From the other side of Rauji, the laughter and whispering has gone silent. "I understand that Shimon is still small, especially in comparison to your clan, Hibari-san... But we aren't to be underestimated. We have our pride." A tension thrums throughout the air as he says it, bright red eyes squarely meeting the cool judging ones of Hibari.

Yori is truly, dreadfully, horrifically in over his head.

He's not even aware that Aoba-kun is staring at him until the youth suddenly lunges forward, fist hitting the table hard enough to make the cups hop. "School first!" he announces sharply. "Adelheid says that it is our duty as students to focus on graduating middle and high school first before all else! Miura-san, you are the treasured teacher to younger generations, so wouldn't you agree?"

"Oh-" Suddenly put on the spot, Yori tries to adjust as quickly as he can as the table turns its attention to him instead of any conflict. Just like teaching in front of a classroom, that's all he has to think of it as. "Well, middle school and high school are both extremely formative to young generations, especially in preparing them for the rest of their lives." Although he's not sure how much that applies with the kind of lives his daughter's soulmates are apparently destined for... "Not only academically, but socially as well." Quickly, he tries to pass things onto the man in front of him. "Even with, ah, things as they are, have you thought about your son attending university at all, Hibari-san?"

To Yori's relief, it does seem to get the man thinking. "It would be best for our clan if he were to take control as soon as he were able, but recent events in the past year have made me wonder if that is a viable option any longer. Regardless of my wishes, however..." Another sip of sake. "I've always believed in letting Kyoya learn things his own way. If he were to decide on university, then it would be difficult to persuade him otherwise."

"It seems like it'll be difficult to persuade him just out of Nami Middle," Ooyama-kun muses, and Yori looks to the rest of Shimon.

"You're still all in the middle school, but what plans do any of you have for your education?"

From Mizuno-kun, there's a soft mutter about being fine with only high school, but then a certain figure from around Ooyama-kun stretches lethargically over the table with her back against the edge and arms stretched out over her head. "University," she confirms, visor pushed up to rest along her forehead. "I'm sure high school classes will be a little more of a challenge, but there are certain mathematical and financial concepts that I know I'll only be able to have access to understanding while attending university classes. I suppose it'll come with the bonus of being able to help Shimon more, but that's only a side effect."

"We'll only be able to really send one or two of us to university at first anyway," Kozato-kun adds quietly at the end of that. "There's still a lot of things we have to sort out on the family front, and we don't know if we'll have it done by the time we graduate high school."

Something about the way he says 'family' makes Yori uncertain about which kind of family exactly he's talking about, but, before the issue can really be pressed, the door is being opened again and Hibari Kyoya is storming through the room straight towards the small table in the back. When Yori manages to hastily glance back at him, the youth is determinedly not looking at anyone, the glare Yori briefly catches focused straight ahead. A few seconds later, and his mother follows after him, smoothly settling down besides her husband once again, and then, to his heart-crumpling relief, comes Haru.

Not a single hair is out of place or a bruise on her skin, kimono only rumpled from what Yori is pretty sure are her own hands, and she's beaming with all the force of a shooting star. He'd been worried, when she'd run off after a boy with steel tonfas and a girl who kept metal fans hidden in her sleeves, for all that Aoba-kun had hastily been trying to reassure him in the aftermath that Adelheid would break her own limbs before hurting her soulmate. It's nice to see that's true, that she can still beam at him reassuringly and sweep down to kiss his cheek before going to join the small separate table. Behind her, Suzuki-chan follows with quiet dignity, as if she hadn't just promised that she'd try to murder a boy half an hour ago. He can't look back to her for long, as the reunification of the Hibari couple means a resurgence in conversation, and soon an impressive spread of sushi and other seafood is laid out on the table.

Still. Inbetween bites and polite exchanges of what he does for a living and discussions of the strange occurrences that have been happening around Namimori lately, he glances back to his daughter when he can. For all that it's only a room's walk away, the other table seems like a world all its own and, there, Haru burns with happiness. Ever since they moved away from an empty house with a lingering ghost, she's always glowed with the radiance of a star, determined to be happy, but it's now that it seems as if that's a truth instead of a mimic. Sometimes that seems to mean leaning over the table inbetween her two soulmates, apparently acting as a barrier to prevent conflict from bursting out again, and yet that only makes her grin shine harder.

Yakuza clans. Mafia families. Really, it's too much for an old man's heart. A fortunate thing, then, that Haru has always possessed energy to spare. Taking a breath, he drags his gaze away from where she's excitedly filling up the air at her table and refocuses on the Hibari couple and Shimon family as if he can even faintly keep up with the worryingly illegal things they're discussing.

There's so much to figure out, her future and the implications of her bonds and how he should feel about it, but in this moment... She's happy. As his father, it's the most he can ask for, and he contents himself with that as the night wears on.

Comments

prologue

[warmskies]

1

[warmskies]

All cultures have their different ways of dealing with soul bonds. Different emphasis on different ages, on different methods. Fortune telling is always popular, for those who just can't wait for their child to even be born, and others delve straight into science once the methods are there.

In Japan, it's age six. The ideal age for finding out the type of soul bond and, maybe, even discovering the partners on the other end.

Predictably, Kyoya doesn't want to deal with it.

No one in his family is particularly surprised at this fact. A precocious child with a stubborn streak longer than a city, he's fully prepared to stand his ground on this. Even when Tetsuya is called to quell some of his fury, listening with obedient nods as Kyoya talks sharply about too many people and strange adults talking to him, it's not enough to make him agreeable. Eventually, his caretakers fall to their last resort:

They speak to his mother.

Kyoya will stand up to a lot of people, having taken down even middle schoolers armed with nothing but spite and a baseball bat nearly as tall as him, but his mother? Never. Hibari Lan is folded steel hidden in soft colored kimono sleeves, and he's been raised to respect her. That doesn't mean he has to like it when she stares him down, her silver eyes cutting his obstinacy down to the root, and he settles down with a sulk. At least Tetsuya is permitted to come along with, a reassuring base of things that doesn't talk a lot at all. Still. Kyoya frowns all the way to the office of the professional his mother has chosen. Such a thing is something his family can afford instead of puzzling on his bond alone, and supposedly more reliable.

Doctor Umezawa has a nice reputation, or so the driver assures his mother as they make their way to Tokyo instead of small town Namimori. Very well researched, very well spoken of. In the backseat, Kyoya kicks his feet and scowls harder. None of that is something he cares about, not when there's too many people outside the car windows and too many people in the building he's escorted into. At least the waiting room is a little better and a lot emptier, and he waits restlessly while Tetsuya does his best to keep him preoccupied with nature magazines left around. Soon, they're called into the office, and what little had been assuaged of his annoyance is back in full force when Tetsuya is held back to wait for them outside.

Funnily enough, despite it about being his soul bond, Kyoya himself isn't talked to for some time. Instead, Doctor Umezawa talks to his mother some time about her bonds (color blindness until she met her now husband) and then Kyoya's father's (one of his many tattoos springing to life). The questions seem to go on, and on, and soon enough Kyoya lapses into boredom with only the presence of his mother keeping him from kicking his feet. It's almost a relief when the doctor finally turns to him. Pointing out what colors are on pieces of paper he's shown isn't much to do, but it's better than nothing.

When his eyesight is checked out as perfectly fine, he's escorted to another room and nearly takes off an aide's hand when he tries to undress him. He's a big kid and he doesn't need some random weakling touching him like that. From then on, he's allowed to take off his clothes himself, and his mother convinces him to have the doctor look over him carefully. Every inch of skin is investigated, from the soles of his feet to even carefully going through his scalp. The result: not a trace of words or a name. As he's allowed to dress again, his eavesdrops on what the doctor is telling his mother.

"I could find no evidence of a soul bond mark on his skin. While that does eliminate the majority of soul bonds, Hibari-san, there are still some of which there are no proper tests to locate them. It is possible that his partner holds a part of his soul's song, of which he will hear when he meets them. Other times, scent plays an important factor. We also cannot discredit the possibility that his soulmate simply has not been born yet. Soulmates separated by gaps in time have been studied for centuries, with their corresponding mark appearing on their partner's skin years after that partner has been born. In that case, I would recommend looking over Kyoya-san bi-yearly for the appearance of any new marks..."

Doctor Umezawa doesn't mention another possibility, but Kyoya can see it in the way his mother frowns to herself once they're hidden away in the car again. What if he's one of those who doesn't have a soulmate at all? That won't do at all. Hibari-kai needs to continue its lineage, or so Kyoya has been told.

Greedily, he keeps to himself that he'd be perfectly happy for no soulmate. At six, he has seen all manner of adults and everyone in his grade level, and none of them are good enough.

He hopes he never has to deal with a soulmate.

2

[warmskies]

"Never forget your roots," her mother tells her often, fingers gently running through her hair as she arranges her braids. They're words Adelheid has taken to heart for as long as she can remember. Shimon was great once, she's told, and one day things will be good again. For now, she merely has to be patient- waiting and dealing with difficulties as they come. Adelheid listens. She waits.

It is because they are to never forget their roots that, once Kaoru is old enough to join them, their families gather together in the Kozato apartment. Everything always happens in the Kozato apartment even though their families, which have known each other since forever, all live in the same building. That's probably why it's the largest of all the apartments, which isn't saying much, although that could just be because the Kozatos have two children instead of one like so many of the other families. Adelheid likes it. Enma's father always has such nice art hanging up on the walls, and everything feels so warm. Today is no different, sunlight filtering in and conversation humming through the air. She smiles to herself when her and her parents enter, spotting Rauji already playing with Mimi and Enma. Gladly, she detaches from her parents as they go into the kitchen and searches out Koyo and Kaoru. She's not surprised to see Kaoru all nervous, head ducked down, or that Koyo is fidgeting anxiously in his seat. Just like her, roses have been added to their wardrobes, brilliant passionate red to match the eyes they all share. The only difference is that theirs have been pinned carefully to their shirts, and Adelheid's has been tucked lovingly into her hair by her mother's hand. Without hesitation, she sits on Kaoru's other side.

"It's going to be fine, Kaoru," she says confidently, watching her family carefully. More than a little satisfaction goes through her when they both turn to look at her. "You've had fun for all the saints' days we've done before this, right? Just because it's to celebrate soul bonds isn't going to change it much at all, besides that all of the families in Shimon are celebrating with you." Koyo is energetically nodding his agreement, but Adelheid doesn't let herself be satisfied until she sees some of the tension ease out of Kaoru's shoulders. She nods. "Good. Where is your mark today?"

Shyly, Kaoru removes his hand from where he'd been covering his other fist and offers it to her. Flitting along his knuckles and brilliant silver is a tiny stylized image of a hummingbird. Adelheid has always been a little envious of soul bonds like this. Having an image or word on your skin is one thing, but the ones that move have always held her fascination the most. She can only imagine what it'll be like when it Kaoru meets his soulmate and the soul bond changes- more colorful or larger or even a change in style. Gently, she pats his knuckles.

"See? It's happy." She looks around him to Koyo. "How are you doing, Koyo?"

"I don't want to wait so long!" is the immediate passionate reply, and he flops back against the couch. As he does so, she can see just a flicker of his own soulbond on the side of his wrist: a steady countdown. She can see why he's aggravated. Minutes and hours and years until he meets his soulmate. Maybe it's better to not know when you'll meet your soulmate. The wait is agonizing. Before she can give him advice, however, Koyo is jolting upwards again. "Adelheid! Are you finally going to say what your bond is now!?"

Well. She guesses it can't hurt. She's been wanting to save the knowledge for herself- not for any particular reason but just because it feels more special that way. But... Her parents are always telling her how important it is to get along with the other kids, because they're a new generation. Carefully, she bends down and rolls her socks down before she shows it to Koyo and Kaoru. There, written in kanji, are the words Who are you?

"There's another one on my other ankle," she says proudly as Kaoru leans closer and Koyo nearly falls off the couch to look around him.

Adjusting himself so that he's gripping the cushion between his legs, Koyo squints past his thick lenses. "'Who are you?' How are you going to be able to tell if the person who says that is your soulmate?"

"See the space here?" Adelheid points down to a bare patch of skin amongst the pale purple words. "My mom says it's like a pause between words."

"So," Kaoru says quietly, finally speaking up, "it's more like 'who... are you', like that?"

She nods, but there's no time to talk about it anymore. That's around the time the front door opens again in a burst of noise as the Katous and Shittoppi-chan arrive. She's already laughing, drawing attention to herself as she bolts forward with an annoyed Julie following right behind full of protests about her shoes. Getting caught up in her whirlwind existence is so easy, and soon enough everything gets lost to conversation and laughter and the heady smell of beef. It all more than makes up for the brief silence they have before dinner. Saint Valentine's pendants decorate the center of the table as they wish and pray for good fortune. Fortune for the words on Adelheid's ankles, fortune for the numbers on Koyo's wrist, and fortune for the hummingbird darting around on Kaoru's skin.

Adelheid never wants moments like it to end.

Five months later when she enters her home, copper in the air and blood sinking deep into the floor, she realizes that she never had a choice.

She stops thinking about the words on her ankles after that. There's too much she has to do.





"You're just like your father," Haru's mother laughs whenever they're alone and Haru is proudly showing off the names written on her thigh just above her knees. "He had my name right on his kneecaps."

Haru loves it when her mother laughs. She loves her soul marks, too: two names, right next to each other. Some afternoons like this one, as they sit together in the sunshine and Haru presses her hand against her mother's swollen belly, they go over the names and their meaning of their kanji. It's how Haru learned to read once they became clear enough. Hibari Kyoya, his surname a skylark made from the kanji for cloud and sparrow. Suzuki Adelheid, a bell tree and a beautiful foreign name. When she expresses her impatience to meet them- and she could meet them! Right now! She knows their names!- her parents laugh together. The two things (three?) that she wants most in the world are her soulmates and for her little brother to be born, but it seems like the latter is the only one that's going to happen soon.

While she waits for her little brother's birth, Haru likes to spend her time daydreaming even when she knows she shouldn't be. (Class is one such "when".) Still, she can't help it! Hibari Kyoya and Suzuki Adelheid- they sound so romantic. Hibari sounds like the elegant name of all the princes and gentleman she sees in her cartoons, someone who could sweep her away. In contrast, 'Suzuki' makes Haru think of someone cool and collected, with a foreign dash to it. Tall and blonde and cool. If her teachers are annoyed at how she spaces out in class, well, they can't complain too much since she still gets all her work done. It's how the days pass, all daydreams and laughter at home...

...Until the day comes when she comes out from her school's front gates and it's not her mother standing there waiting for her. It's an auntie instead, someone from her father's side of the family, and Haru's initial excited burst forward slows when she sees the look on her face. Dark, heavy, all wrinkles and a strained smile even when she leans down to sweep Haru up into her arms. The house is quiet and dark when they get back home, and Haru has no idea what's going on. Where's her mom? Where's her dad? Is her baby brother coming? That can't be right, because that's a good thing, isn't it? All these and more swirl through her head, no matter how much she tries to focus on homework or the television. At the sound of the front door opening, she scrambles to it-

It's her father. Alone. Haru doesn't see her mother with him.

Haru doesn't see her mother ever again.

Everything.... blurs. Haru stays quiet and polite and a good girl- her auntie tells her she must be a good girl, because this is stressful and sad for everyone. She wonders if anyone tells her father this too, to explain his somber weariness that matches hers so well. There's a lot of incense, a lot of condolences, and sometimes even words break through the fog which has enveloped her. Things like stillborn or complications. They don't mean anything to her, not in the moment, because too soon she's back in the fog. Honestly, she prefers the fog, because when it breaks completely? All Haru can do is lock herself away in her room, curled up and gasping for air as the tears pour out in a rush until it hurts to cry anymore and yet that hurt can't match the pain in her chest.

Being at school doesn't offer any reprieve. Her teachers are very nice and very soft voiced, but Haru isn't oblivious. She picks up on how her classmates whisper about her, the almost pitying glances sent her way from the corner of their eyes. When her father tells her that they'll be moving further into Namimori so that they can be closer to his side of the family, for support, she's honestly relieved. Moving away is a little scary, but the Namimori neighborhood her father settles in is nice and quiet. No one really knows her which, while lonely, suits Haru just fine. At least they won't give her pitying looks. Things seem normal again.... even if there's a notable hole in their life that even running away from their old home doesn't fix.

It takes a while before she realizes her mother's absence is felt in another place as well. Summer and all its heat comes, allowing for less heavy clothing, and it's by pure coincidence that Haru glances over at her father fanning himself. His shorts crawl over his knees, revealing her mother's name still written there but now as a scar. Like always, pain pings through her heart, but she soon realizes something else:

No other name has written itself on her father's skin.

Trying to be as subtle as a child can make herself, Haru moves around the house doing various things so she can see from the other side. No, nothing on either of his knees, and, throughout the rest of the day, she can't see anything else written on his skin. Something about this itches at her, and Haru can't really verbalize why. It's only when she ducks into the library one day and starts looking up soul bonds that she realizes what it is. While it is common for a person whose first soulmate to pass away for another soul bond to develop, there are individuals who never find themselves paired with another person in their lifetime...

Curled up in a corner of the library, Haru's fingers tighten hard on the book until they're shaking and the whites of her knuckles show past her skin. What if this happens to her? What if something horrible happens to her soulmates and she's the one left alone? All the shows and commercials and ads, she won't get to be a part of that: the happy picture of soulmates smiling and in love and together.

No. No. She doesn't want that, doesn't want to go through with that again. Despondent and inwardly panicking, she eats dinner quickly at the end of the day and locks herself in her room as she struggles for a solution. What can she do? She wants to be happy, she wants to live the life she sees everyone else have from her neighbors to the people on television. Eventually, she comes up with an answer:

She just plain won't meet her soulmates. And if she doesn't meet them, then it won't hurt if (when) their names become scars along her thighs. And then she'll find her own romance, separate from her soulmates, and it'll be fine. Great, even! Perfect.

It's the perfect plan.

chapter 1

[warmskies]

1

[warmskies]

The first time she hears about Hibari Kyoya- hears, from another person's mouth, not just reading the kanji on her thigh with her fingertips tracing each stroke- is when she's ten. Elementary school will soon come to an end, and she's just as alone as when she first started attending from her spot by the window. Lunch time, and her thoughts are on how to make a nicer and better outfit for some of the school plays. At least, that's where her thoughts are until- "Have you heard about Nami Middle? Eeee, Hibari Kyoya is so scary!"

Haru freezes.

Across the room, gossiping in high voices, the small group of girls continues. "What happened, what happened? Doesn't he go to Namimori elementary?"

"Yeah, but it looks like he's going to go to Nami Middle next year, so he went there and beat up a bunch of upperclassmen!"

"What!?"

"Why?!"

"I don't know, but my friend's brother said that he said something about the school needing to be presentable when he got there!"

"Aaaaaah, I don't wanna go to Nami Middle!"

Over by the window, heart in her throat, Haru silently agrees. She doesn't want to go to Nami Middle either, but it's not because she's scared of getting beaten up. That's not what she's scared of at all.

There's still a couple of school years to pass by, which only means she has more time to prepare. Desperately, frantically, Haru researches all of the viable middle schools in the area. It's a relief that even the ones with high standards are ones she knows she can get into; her grades haven't faltered from being top class for years now. Soon, she settles on one in particular: Midori. Tough to get into, full of the best and brightest, and, the best part, it's an all girls school. A wide grin spreads across her face when she reads that particular bit of information. An all girls school means there's no way or reason for a guy like Hibari Kyoya to take a look into it, especially with what she's heard of him being consistently territorial. When the time comes, Haru gladly takes the test for Midori and passes it just like she knew she would. All the while, she keeps an ear out for just what her soulmate is up to as his reign of terror kicks off in full force.

From that point on, she hears Hibari's name again and again even when she's not looking for it. As she first surmised, besides a few choice areas such as brief visits to summer festivals and other things, Hibari sticks to his preferred territory and route. Honestly, it's almost a little interesting. With only what she hears, Hibari seems less like a person and more like a guardian beast heard about in fairy tales: demanding tribute and obedience, too horrifically powerful and scary for anyone to do anything about but fantastic to have on your side against outside parties. People even say his name in hushed terrified respect.

And then she realizes she's getting interested and smacks her cheeks so hard that she leaves marks.

No, no! This is exactly the kind of thing she told herself she wouldn't do! That's the promise she made to herself. Still, how dangerous. Clearly she needs to speed up her True Romance (tm) plan. To combat her interest in her soulmate's almost mythical status, then what's necessary is a fitting counter. If Hibari Kyoya is a horrifying beast straight out of folklore, the opposite would be a "Prince Charming": brave and dashing and selfless...





His name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, and Haru has decided he's exactly what she needs.

Okay, so, he's not completely a Prince Charming. Tsuna-kun is a little mousy and a little clumsy and also there's the thing about him going to be a mafia boss... But Haru won't let little details like that get in her way. Besides, he has a lot of good qualities, too! Haru has determined that his best qualities are his eyes, big and brown and warm, and he's always so concerned about everyone. Even people like Gokudera, who are foul mouthed jerks who smoke too much. (He smokes! He's only thirteen!) It's... nice, to have someone concerned about her. Who'd risk his life for her, even, despite having the opportunity to save himself.

Clearly he just needs a little polishing up. She can work with that! It'll give her plenty of time to become the perfect mafia wife.

And if in the meantime he's surrounded by an ever growing group of friends, or Yamamoto is always in his space with his fingers toying Tsuna's collar, or how Tsuna himself keeps glancing purposefully to Kyoko... Well. She always knew this would be tough. She doesn't let it get her down. It's fine! She's fine. One day, she'll win Tsuna over and prove that soul bonds aren't necessary. She'll escape the lonely curse of her mother's absence.

Besides, not everything is bad about it! Tsuna's friends are her friends.

...This, unfortunately, includes Gokudera, and Haru doesn't hide anything as she pouts at him from across the table of the McDonald's they're currently seated at. "I was hoping Tsuna-kun would arrive early too so that we could have some alone time as a couple..."

Cigarette clenched between his teeth, Gokudera bristles like a threatened cat and slams his hands down along the cheap plastic table. All around them, people jerk and look over at them, but he doesn't seem to care much. "Are you still going on about that!? As the Tenth's right hand, I won't accept some random girl like you as his soulmate!"

Times like this make Haru glad she hasn't told anyone about the lack of bond connecting her and Tsuna, although she has a feeling Reborn-san is well aware. He's very observant for a baby. For now, she just puffs herself up in the face of Gokudera's indignant accusation. "Like you can talk about worrying for Tsuna-un!" she snaps back. "Always smoking like that around him, you're going to give him cancer from secondhand smoke!"

A bullet couldn't pierce through him better. In half a second, Haru watches as Gokudera goes through almost all of the five stages of grief before he crashes straight into depression and sinks his face into his hands. Faintly, she can hear his mutterings filter between his fingers. "Would never.... Need it for the dynamite... Never forgive myself... Tenth I'm so sorry..." Leaving him to his misery, Haru giggles and thrusts her fists in the air victoriously. Gokudera is foul mouthed and has a fouler temper, but sometimes it's too easy to win over him. Maybe it's a little too mean, but, really, he falls right into traps sometimes. It's his own fault. If he ever learns to be a little nicer to a cute girl like herself-

The inside of her thigh burns.

At the same time, through the gaps of his fingers, Gokudera's eyes narrow and he straightens up with a growl. "Hibari."

Haru is already sitting, which is a good thing in a way. It means she doesn't collapse into her seat. What she does do is sink further into it, trying to hide even the tip of her hair. Suddenly, the world is cold as ice to her skin and she can only imagine how pale she's become. The only exception is the name on her thigh, humming with a warmth that goes straight down to her very bones. "Hibari?" she echoes, her voice strangled.

"Tch, that bastard is always causing trouble for the Tenth- I won't let him get away with what he did the first time we met!" Typical Gokudera, he's already half out of his seat, glaring outside the window. Haru hopes she's low enough not to be seen. He passes her a strange look, and she can almost see the interrogative question literally forming on the tip of his tongue. The good news is that something happens outside that earns his attention again. The bad news- "Is he coming in here for a fight? I'll show him-"

In a heartbeat, Haru is out of her seat, across the restaurant, and ducking into the restroom. For good measure, she even holes up in one of the stalls and backs up against the wall with her chest heaving. Nestled behind her ribs, Haru's heart is slamming itself against the bones. When her hands press over it, she swears she can feel it trying to leap out. "Hieee, what a close call," she squeaks to herself to the sound of small explosions and shattering furniture and screams. All of it makes her ears ache, and yet she feels a thousand kilometers away. It's not like she doesn't know the school Tsuna and the others go to. She's more than aware. Yet she'd thought that was the only connection her soulmate and her friends could possibly have. Not something that would make for a brawl! Maybe Tsuna was a bad choice....

Immediately, she shakes her head sharply. No! She's spent all this time with them, she's not going to lose the friends she's made and her chance at beating her own soul bond. All she has to do is be extra careful.

That means she literally counts out the seconds in her head when things finally quiet down and the name on her skin cools, giving it three minutes before she peeks her head out from the restroom. The McDonald's is a disaster. Tables have been upturned, all the other customers have fled the building, and the workers are peeking up from behind their counter. There's blood.

Most of it seems to be Gokudera's.

While Haru carefully picks her way through all the debris, he shoves his way out of the pile of plastic chairs swearing in Italian. She can tell it's swearing, because what else would he say with such angry venom? Eventually, he shifts back into Japanese mid-rant. "Bastard! I'll show him one day!"

"Is it going to always involve messes like this, Gokudera-kun?" she asks, looking around as McDonald's employees start to shuffle out now that the danger has passed. "Because I think you should probably do it far away from civilization if that's how it's going to be."

"Idiot, that's not my fault!"

"Hiiiee, don't call me an idiot! You're the one that was using dynamite in a tiny restaurant!"

"And you ran away at the first sound of his name! Some 'mafia wife' you are!"

Haru sniffs. "You can't expect everyone to carry around dynamite, Gokudera-kun," she says sulkily, hiding the truth. It's not exactly a lie, anyway... "Does he really hate you so much to come in here?"

A thoughtful look flickers across his face as he wipes the blood from his nose before it falls into a scoff. "That freak muttered something about tea, but who knows what goes on in his head. He'll pick a fight just because he can."

"Like you, Gokudera-kun?"

Before their argument can continue, there's a shout of surprise at the entrance that either of them could recognize in their sleep. It's Tsuna, along with Yamamoto and Kyoko, all of them staring at the level of damage that's been left by Hurricane Hibari. Haru and Gokudera eagerly swarm him, her giggling as she greets Kyoko and his loud apologies filling the air. Surrounded by the warmth of her friends and their laughter, Haru tries to put the incident mostly out of her mind. She's fine. It's fine. While a close call, she still managed to avoid her soulmate.

Now she just has to do that for the rest of her life, and she's golden.





There's a strange smell around Sawada and his lot.

It didn't used to be there, not at the start. Kyoya would know. His fighting style often means getting up close and personal with his opponents, exactly how he prefers. Nothing beats the sensation of his tonfa colliding with flesh or the look of fear in the eyes of someone who's realized just how much of a mistake they've made going against him. When he'd fought against Sawada Tsunayoshi, Gokudera Hayato, and Yamamoto Takeshi, they'd all smelled a certain way.

Gokudera Hayato - cigarette smoke, gunpowder, nitroglycerin, desperation and pride.

Yamamoto Takeshi - wood oil, earth and dust, sweat, nervous awareness.

Sawada Tsunayoshi - remnants of smells, lingering attachments that stick to him, grape candy and cigarettes and earth and steamed buns. Also cowardice. That was nothing new, although the sudden change from fear to regretful will had been. He'd be lying if he said it wasn't more than a little interesting.

Yet amidst all those scents, the soft and pleasant smell of tea had never been apparent. Now? Now there's always a half chance outside the school that he'll catch a whiff of it and following it always leads him straight back to Sawada or one of his associates. It's hard to say what about it attracts his attention initially. Perhaps it's the familiarity of it. After all, he knows the exact kind of tea is. It's the same kind as his parents make from the thriving garden that the servants take care of religiously. Camellia Japonica - beautiful but odorless, save for the leaves he'd watch his parents pick together on good days when there wasn't the smell of blood hanging around either of them and business had gone well. Steeped, the leaves had carried a heavenly aroma that filled the room they sat in together as he was walked through the perfect way to make the tea. It had made him feel special, adult when he'd still been young.

It's that exact same scent. Exactly.

Yet eventually, it's not only familiarity and curiosity that drives him. Whatever is responsible always seems to evade his grasp, his sight even, like the rustling of a rabbit that dives into its hole just before the fox can burst through the forest brush. He's not used to failure in any sense- not his grades, his family, his Disciplinary Committee, his fights. This is new. On some level, it should be more than a little annoying.

Instead, every time he catches a hint of that scent, a sharp feral grin curves along his face and he takes off in search of it, every bit the eager hunting hound.

"Nothing again, Chairman?" Tetsuya asks when he storms back to the Disciplinary Committee office, tea and snacks already set out on his desk. His initial response is merely a huff as he takes his seat, his body's almost endless stamina sated for the time being.

"I was obstructed by some pests forming a group," he answers more in depth, although still succinct, after he's had a sip from his tea. Tetsuya knows him. It doesn't need to be said that he got utterly distracted by a group of delinquents. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, considering his Committee's own habits. The true crime was, of course, that they weren't his delinquents and thus had to be disposed off by their better.

That and, of course, grouping in his presence. Unacceptable.

Tetsuya doesn't question it. He never does, which is one of his best qualities in Kyoya's opinion. Instead, he just nods. "I'm sure you'll track down the source of the scent eventually, Chairman." He ducks his head, smiling for some reason, but Kyoya doesn't bother to concern himself with it. There's food to not waste, and a nap coming soon after.

Still. Tetsuya is right.

He'll track down the owner of that scent eventually.

chapter 2

[warmskies]

1

[warmskies]

"Hibari-san!"

It's the last thing in the world Haru wants to hear.

Dozens of things, enough things, have happened in only the last couple of days; just thinking about it all is enough to make Haru's head spin. Funny, how she'd once been so proud of the way she was able to retain so much information, but here, it takes all her strength just to keep a smile on her face as she muffles everything else in her that's screaming. Time travel would have been fun, interesting, if not for nearly dying and knowing that even stepping outside could not only get her killed, but lead to all her friends- no. It doesn't bear thinking about, so she does her best not to. Instead, Haru tries to do what she can do: busying herself with cooking and cleaning and all the little mundane things of life she used to do in her own home anyway. It's what she was doing just then, in fact, futzing around in the kitchen.

Hearing Kyoko suddenly call out that name, however, nearly does her in.

Stiff as a board, she looks over her shoulder and, for the first time in her life, lays eyes on Hibari Kyoya.

For about a split second, she forgets about the peculiar time travel circumstances she's trapped in and can only blink. To her surprise, he... almost seems like any other Japanese man. Not that she's saying he's not unattractive, because he is. With short dark hair that falls around his face like feathers and sword sharp gray eyes, he's rather handsome, and the suit he has wrapped around his frame fits him dashingly. It's just... He's not what she was expecting.

Belatedly, it occurs to her that some of her fantasies about him might have leaned on the very fantastical side of things and, maybe, just maybe, outfitted him with giant fangs and wings, or other things.

Even as she's staring at him, Hibari seems to ignore both her and Kyoko completely as he glances around casually at the kitchen area. There's no reading his expression, which Haru could only venture to guess is maybe curious, and, when he finally looks over to them, it's like more of a coincidence than anything.

Haru keeps her mouth completely shut. Maybe, if she's lucky and just doesn't do anything, he won't realize they're soulmates and she can move on with her grand master plan. She can hope, can't see? Yet right as she thinks that, his gaze settles onto her once more with purpose, and he begins to stride towards her. Any attempt at speaking gets smothered somewhere in her throat as he comes closer, stopping only a sparse few inches away. She almost goes toppling backwards when he suddenly leads forward, wanting to lean back and away. This close, she sees how his nose twitches once then twice....

He grins, predatory and satisfied.

"Found you."

And then, while Haru's heart is threatening to break out of her rib cage, he turns on his heel and walks right out again.

Actually, no, it's worse than just walking away. He's yawning, head turned enough that she can see how his eyes squint, a lazy cat who's gotten bored with it all. While she's still staring in bewilderment, a stern looking man in a matching suit and a pompadour follows after Hibari loyally as they disappear out of sight and into the hallway.

When their footsteps have faded out of hearing, Kyoko steps closer. "Haru-chan?"

Haru squeaks. She thinks she might be offended.

"Are you okay, Haru-chan?"

Another squeak, and that seems to clear up the surprise that's been lodged in her throat this whole time. Haru jerks up straight with a stomp of her foot, cheeks puffing out. "Hiee, what a weirdo! Kyoko-chan, is that the person who runs Namimori and who Gokudera-kun complains about all the time!?"

Kyoko giggles into her hand. "That's the weirdo who runs our school," she confirms. "But I've never heard about him acting like that before. I wonder if something changed in ten years? I mean, he is older now- Do you think he knows your older self?"

Pouting, Haru makes a show of crossing her arms and turning away. "Then I must develop really bad taste !" Kyoko laughs, the kids burst in, and they all move on.

Well.

Haru tries to move on. She really does! After all, she's already made her decision to ignore the names on her skin and done a pretty good job over the few years since deciding that. So what if she's finally met one of her soulmates? So what if he apparently just viewed her as a toy to hunt down? So what if he apparently thinks she's not good enough to really pursue? She doesn't care! She really doesn't care.

A couple of days later, Haru has to admit she cares maybe a lot when she asks Giannini where she could find where Hibari and his assistant live in the base.

Perhaps a little nervously, she eyes the enormous door in front of her. Looking at it, she knows it's almost exactly the same as so many other doors in the base. There's nothing uniquely scary about it, besides the general stern feeling that a giant metal door gives off anyway. But... All these years, determinedly telling herself she'd never meet her soulmates, actively hiding and running away from one... It's left her more than a little mentally unprepared for actually going to talk to one of them.

Right when she's taken a deep breath and reached forward for the button on the door, it suddenly opens, and she jolts back with a strangled noise of surprise. In the doorway, the man with the pompadour pauses as he looks down at her before his expression turns apologetic. "Ah, Miura-san. I apologize for startling you." For all that he's so intimidating with his height and rough features, he doesn't hesitate at all in bowing to her. It feels like a first.

Remembering herself, she hastily bows back. "It's alright, I was intruding! I'm sorry, but I don't know your name."

"Of course. I'm Kusakabe Tetsuya."

"Kusakabe-san, then. May I ask if Hibari-san is available...?"

A glimmer of expectation- maybe amusement?- can be seen in his eyes before he bows his head. "He is. However, I'm afraid he only accepts guests when they're dressed in a particular manner- yukata or kimono. It's a non-negotiable requirement."

Oh. Well. That's a problem she couldn't have ever imagined running into.

As Haru stands there, frozen in spot and wondering if it would be possible to hastily make a decent kimono out of spare bed sheets, Kusakabe smiles slightly. "We should have a spare kimono in storage. If I recall correctly, it shouldn't be too large on you. Please wait a moment." It only takes him a few minutes before he's back with a large box in his arms, the wood shiny and clearly well taken care of. "Would you like help taking it to your room?"

"I wouldn't want to take up too much of your time, Kusakabe-san!"

"It's fine, I promise."

Haru hadn't wanted to drag anyone else into this whole thing, but, well... A kimono isn't something that's easy to put on all by herself. With Kyoko enlisted as help, Haru carefully goes through the box and unwraps the tatou-shi that's been wrapped around the delicate garment. Even at a glance, it's painfully obvious how each and every part they remove is high class. Haru wouldn't consider herself a kimono expert, but she knows her textiles. Every stitch has been done with the absolute care, and the colors infused into all of the fabrics fairly glow with brilliance. When they pull out the final piece, Hana gives a squeak.

"Kyoko-chan!"

"Ooh..." Making a noise of awe as they carefully pull it out, Kyoko looks over the piece. "It's an uchikake... I don't think I've gotten to see one so close like this. The pattern is really beautiful."

It's true. Set against the brilliant red of the fabric, the pattern is stunning: peony and camellia flowers in a variety of soft shades such as pink, white, blue, and purple. Dispersed amongst the flowers are what appear to be folded-paper butterflies, done in glimmering metallic thread and in sets of threes from what Haru can tell. The whole thing goes wonderfully with the kimono meant to go underneath it: soft greens bringing out the brightness of the flowers, patterns flowing alongside one another in perfect sync. When Haru has looked up the traditional Shinto wedding ceremonies for soulmates, this is exactly the kind of outfit she's daydreamed about.

So she absolutely can't wear it.

"Why did Kusakabe-san bring this of all things!?" she squeaks, glancing over to the undergarments of the whole ensemble and wondering if it would be too rude to just get away with those. "There wasn't anything else?"

"Well... I suppose anything else would be for a grown woman, right?" Kyoko tries to offer, stepping back to look at all of the pieces assembled. "Maybe this is all there was for someone our size. Do you think maybe this belonged to Kusakabe-san's soulmate? That would explain why they kept it in such a safe place like the base."

Immediately, relief washes down through her and into her stomach. "Maybe that's it, Kyoko-chan. I probably shouldn't leave it here in case Ipin-chan and Lambo-kun find it and get it dirty..."

Haru still isn't sure about taking it with her, however, right up until there's a knock at the door while Kyoko is still helping her into the kimono and Kusakabe's voice comes through."Miura-san, are you ready?"

"Ah- almost, Kusakabe-san!" Biting her lip, Haru looks back to the resplendent uchikake still draped over the bed. "Um, about the kimono you brought me..."

"Is it too large?"

"No! It's only a little oversized!" A true enough statement. It's just a little too long by a few inches but, with how an uchikake is designed to start with, she supposes it's not as noticeable as it might be with any other kimono. "But... Is it really alright for me to wear something like this? I mean, it must be really valuable!"

"Please don't be too concerned, Miura-san. It's more than acceptable for you to wear it. I insist."

Well. She guesses there's no arguing with that. Feeling like a little girl getting to wear a princess gown, Haru slips on the rest of the kimono with Kyoko's help. As much as she'd like to marvel at the luxurious feel of the fabric, it would be rude to keep Kusakabe waiting. He gives her a pleasant enough smile when she opens the door and then immediately he starts to escort her back to the Foundation's portion of the base. As Haru glances back behind her, Kyoko gives her an encouraging wave. "Good luck speaking with Hibari-san!"

Meeting with Hibari at all when he found her probably means Haru's luck is tremendously bad as it is, but she's not going to let that stop her.

Through the base, down an elevator, and the metal doors slide open to reveal something Haru didn't think was possible so deep beneath the earth: soft warm sunlight filtering through paper walls over tatami flooring. In the distance, water burbles lazily and a lone bird's song echoes through the halls. If not for the cold metal structure of the elevator and Kusakabe's neatly pressed suit, Haru would almost believe she's time traveled again. It's not until he speaks up that she stops gaping. "Hibari-san's family has always been traditional in some aspects, and that trait has carried down to him. He insisted that levels in our base be constructed to this aesthetic. The light isn't true sunlight, but systems that have been built to mimic it. This way, please."

Letting him guide her through the serene hallways, Haru peers through any open room that they pass. "It's really beautiful. I didn't expect for Hibari-san to have this kind of taste."

"He can be surprising to those who don't know him." Kusakabe falls silent as they approach one door in particular, sliding it open only an inch or two. "Hibari-san, Miura-san is here to visit." He watches for a moment, apparently seeing some gesture of confirmation before he slides the door open wider and bows to Haru as she shuffles in with her back kept as straight as possible.

2

[warmskies]

Like the rest of the level that she's seen so far, the room she steps into is minimalist and elegant. Straight ahead of her lies a calligraphy scroll hanging in a small alcove, and a mat has been set up ahead of her before doors that have been already slid open. A peek shows the "outside" is where the soft burbling noise is coming from, bamboo pipes carrying water into a small pond and a lovely camellia garden growing around it. To the left, however, is what interests her most: her target, Hibari Kyoya, seated neatly in a dark gray yukata. To Haru's surprise, tea has been set out between his mat and what is presumably hers.

Well, she's not going to let a freak like him outdo her when it comes to basic manners! Using the utmost care to sit down without ruining the kimono she's been so generously allowed to borrow, Haru bows. "Thank you for your time, Hibari-san."

Even with his sense for tradition, Haru supposes she can't be particularly surprised when he cuts straight to the point. "What did you come here for?"

She can play that game too, if that's really what he wants. Thinning her lips, Haru squares her shoulders. "What did you mean when you came up to me out of nowhere and said you had found me?"

Coolly, he raises an eyebrow. "Is that all?" Haru's face heats up a little at his dismissive tone, but Hibari keeps going. "I had no interest in having you try to run away again, so I put an end to it."

It looks like there's no hiding it, then. She resists the urge to puff her cheeks out in annoyance, and focuses on just responding. "So you know we're soulmates?"

"It leads to you, so there's no doubt about it, is there?"

"....So?"

"So what?"

"What are you going to do?"

"Why should I do anything?"

Even with all the restraint she's doing her best to use, Haru has to gape. "But- we're soulmates!"

Elbow pressing into his knee, he lets his cheek rest on one propped up fist. "What does that matter to me? You're the one who's been constantly running, well aware of your soulmates but too much of a coward to follow the threads."

"I'm not-!"

"I have no time," Hibari says, coldly cutting her off, "for cowardly herbivores or liars, whether those lies are to themselves or others. Why should I be interested in you when you're both, outside of the challenge you posed?"

There's no reason for this to hurt. Really, doesn't this work out for her in the end? She never wanted to be tied down by her soulmates anyway, and now look! One of them doesn't care about it either. It's fine. It should be fine.

It's actually not fine, and, to her surprise, she can feel the painful tug of tears wanting to push out from behind her eyes.

Stubborn to a fault, she digs her fingers into the delicate fabric of her kimono as if to grasp something, anything, to keep the unexpected flood of feeling from pouring out. The sting of tears, wet stickiness all across her cheeks, a damp backlog blocking up her throat, that horrible stuffiness from her nose that twists her voice and makes her misery obvious- Haru hates all of it. She despises it, more than anything else in the world, how weak and fragile crying transforms her both in looks and feeling. All she can think of every time, too, is the last time she cried, all draped in black and hidden away in her room.

So she doesn't- she refuses to, sitting there with a back of unsteady steel, shoulders shaking and her jaw tense. There's no possible way for anyone to miss it, she knows, but Hibari Kyoya doesn't say anything. All he does is pour out tea for both of their cups and drink, ignoring her completely.

Eventually, when she breathes, her throat is no longer squeezed so tight and Haru exhales quietly in her thankfulness. Fighting against herself is exhausting, worse than running away from Hibari has ever been, but at least she has a little clarity now. Because.... Because she guesses she shouldn't be surprised, even though the knowledge stings.

A soul bond isn't a guarantee for anything else save for the fact that one person is connected to another. That's the fact that she's told herself for years and years but.... Even with how much she had run, even with how much she had clenched her fists at every romance movie and ad playing to the heartstrings... She's wanted that. Tsuna's cute, and kind, and it's easy to care for him, but he's not her soulmate. He doesn't look at her like he looks at the others, Kyoko or Yamamoto or Gokudera, doesn't look at her like he wants her. Yet in the back of her mind, lurking, there's always been the idea that someone out there would, and... Maybe it'd been a comfort to think she'd still be wanted, even when she was running away.

Dumb. Dumb dumb dumb!

"...Thank you for being honest with me, Hibari-san." His gaze flicks up at her again at the sound of her voice, and Haru can barely meet it from beneath her bangs. Embarrassment burns hot in her gut, another fight she forces herself to win. "I'm sorry for any trouble..."

No immediate answer. He merely takes a sip from his teacup, seeming to savor the taste, before his eyes glance in the direction of her own cup. "Drink."

"Thank you."

"Don't waste the food either."

"Hibari-san, I know how to eat!"

Yet it's surprisingly nice, not having to really worry about conversation with Hibari. The entire situation has left even her too drained for talking, let alone anything that might address the fool she'd probably made of herself just a moment ago, but.... He doesn't pursue it. There's only trickling water, the smell of tea, and chirping from that lone bird who eventually, to Haru's surprise, flutters in brazenly. Unable to stop herself, she grins at its fat little yellow body, and does her best to sneak it crumbs. She's positive Hibari notices, but he doesn't say anything. Soon enough, it grows bold enough to hope onto her knee, and she almost chokes on her own tongue from the effort it take to keep from laughing as it belts out a familiar song.

When the sweets have run out and Hibari has stopped pouring tea, Haru gives another polite bow before awkwardly getting up to her feet. "Thank you for having me, Hibari-san."

All he does is yawn into his hand and gesture vaguely to the door. "Tetsu will see you out."

She almost has a heart attack at the realization that Kusakabe has been patiently waiting at the door on his knees the whole time; she'd completely forgotten him the second she'd laid eyes on Hibari. At least he doesn't seem tired or displeased, escorting her back to the elevator with the same kind patience as before. Once they're far away enough that Haru doesn't think her voice will carry to Hibari, she peeks up at Kusakabe. "I'm sorry I kept you waiting so long, Kusakabe-san. I'll-" A yawn breaks through her words, her own hands too slow to catch it. "I'll.... fold up the kimono right away."

Glancing down at his watch, Kusakabe shakes his head. "It's gotten late, Miura-san. Simply change into your night clothes and I can fold it back into its box. You should rest."






When he comes back and has put the kimono box back into storage, it seems as though Kyoya has adjusted the lighting for a more nighttime effect. Tetsuya finds him in the same room as where he had the meeting with Haru, only now he's moved to sit lazily on the porch "outside". Even from his position at the doorway, he can see how Kyoya pets Hibird with all the care in the world. "I escorted Miura-san back to her room," he informs him, although it hardly needs to be said. When a small noise lets him know he's been heard, Tetsuya continues with a tinge of amusement coating his voice. "Was it necessary to insist on bringing her that particular kimono, Kyo-san? She was quite nervous wearing it."

"But she still wore it." Lazily, Kyoya glances back at him. "That's all I wanted to see."

Tetsuya's lips twitch up into a small grin. "It has needed to be aired out," he concedes. "Would you like more tea, Kyo-san?"

"Mm. Get more manjū as well."

Tetsuya obeys, like he always does, but goes to settle down besides Kyoya when he comes back- a display no one else is ever privy to. As he pours out the camellia tea again, he hums thoughtfully. "Was that harshness necessary?"

"Of course." Kyoya takes one of the sweets from the tray, nibbling it. "She won't grow otherwise, Tetsu. I have no interest in women who run away."

A good thing his head is bowed. Tetsuya couldn't hide his smile if he tried. "It would be good if your past self could meet her sooner, too."

Kyoya doesn't give an answer, instead preferring to purse his lips, so Tetsuya knows he's right. Self-serving as always, even if it's an unusual appliance of what "self" means in this case. "Have we received any messages from Shimon?" Kyoya asks instead.

"Yes, I learned of something after I escorted Miura-san back to her room. Mizuno Kaoru left a message for us in the arranged method."

"What did it say?"

"Shimon managed to divert a Millefiore squadron to the Yunnan province in China. The leader has been dispatched, and two underlings framed for the dath. Last Shimon checked, the squadron was in disarray and left without communications as they had sabotaged their equipment. Shimon has retreated to the city of Yuxi, where they will gather supplies and tend to injuries they have sustained since away from Japan. In the next week or so, they will attempt to return by way of the Fukuoka Prefecture. Should things go smoothly, they will give us more information then."

"Were there details of the injuries they sustained?"

Only for a second, Tetsuya pauses. "The only one made note of was a broken leg sustained by Suzuki Adelheid."

"How?"

"The message said that they came into contact with a solo operative while withdrawing, and she had to withstand the pressure of his box weapon in order to snap his neck before he could contact reinforcements."

That seems to satisfy him, sipping his tea with a short nod. "Good."

No concern, no fear, no worry- Tetsuya supposes he can't be surprised. Kyoya would never show such feelings openly, and besides... While he's not been told the details, Tetsuya suspects that his no-longer-young master has some sort of plan in mind for when they start the base invasion. He seems confident that the Millefiore, even with all the Vongola have lost, won't win this war.

Then again, on occasion, Kyoya's idea of "victory" has meant forcing a shattered body onwards and tearing it out of the enemy's grasp with bloody fangs. It's more than a little concerning, but....

All Tetsuya can do is have faith that the Vongola and all its allies will survive this.








The very first thing Haru does when things are made right again- when the Millefiore are defeated, when the wounded are gathered, when they're returned to the time they're meant to be in- is hug her father.

It's only been... What? A week? A month? Their journey into the future feels like it's taken years. Too long, to be certain, to be away from her father. She wraps her arms tight around him when he comes through the door from the university, almost barreling him back out the door, and his surprised laugh reverberates through her entire body. Haru doesn't tell him why she hugs him so tightly, face burying into the well worn smell of his jacket, she just does it. Maybe, even oblivious as he is, he senses that something has happened, because it doesn't take nearly as much haggling as she expected for him to agree to eating out that night. Sushi can be expensive, but they haven't splurged all month, so it's fine. For once, there's not a lot of people in TakeSushi, and Haru quietly enjoys the peaceful chatter of a place free of danger and tension.

If she notices Yamamoto-kun doing the same with his father from behind the counter, mask slipping just a little from the weight of relief, well. She doesn't say anything.

When they return home, perfect and mundane and not empty or destroyed, Haru goes to have a bath and runs her fingers over her soul bonds. The journey to the future hasn't changed them one bit. Hibari Kyoya, all swift elegant strokes of kanji. Suzuki Adelheid, longer katakana left unfulfilled. Neither of them are scars, beautiful black transformed into jagged edges made uglier for what they represent.

They hadn't become scars in the future, either.

People were hunting them and all their loved ones down, family had been murdered, her and Kyoko and the kids had almost come close to dying themselves... But her soul bonds hadn't reflected any loss like the books said they would in the event of a soulmate's death. Then again, she supposes, none of the books had ever taken time travel into account. That's not the kind of thing most people do, really. Maybe her bonds simply reflected her connection to the Hibari and Suzuki of her own time instead of the future.

Knees drawn up out of the water, she traces the lines of Hibari's name again. In the face of everything, he'd been utterly casual about it all. Fear and tension had been humming throughout the base despite everyone's best attempts to ignore it, and the world above had been nothing but danger and death... But you never would have been able to tell in the Foundation base as Hibari drank tea and listened to his bird chirp. He'd beaten back hordes of Millefiore soldiers, made his way to the base on his own after everyone else, and still came back. Oh, sure, by that last part, he'd become ten years younger, but still. Hibari Kyoya had flung himself into raging infernos of danger and still come out not even particularly bothered by it all.

There are implications here, feelings that press down on all her buttons, but Haru forces herself to both stop touching her soul bond and stop thinking about it. No soulmates! She told herself. Yet for all her best efforts, the thoughts still hound after her from the bath to her bed. There's something she has to consider, no matter how much she doesn't want to:

What is she going to do about the Hibari Kyoya of this time?

When he'd become younger, there hadn't been any time for their usual hide-and-seek pattern. Everything had been happening, from Choice to fleeing for safety to hiding in the forest for that final battle... Had he realized who she was? Had he had the chance to? His old self had sniffed when he'd hunted her down; is his bond to her scent based? And if he hadn't realized who she was, who she is to him... Should she tell him? The questions circle all around her as she fades into sleep, and the last thing she clearly thinks...

...is that he'd probably be disappointed if she ruined his fun by hunting him down instead of letting the chase continue.

chapter 3

[warmskies]

1

[warmskies]

It's been years since she's looked at the marks on her ankles.

Really looked at them- she has to put on socks and shoes like just about any other person, after all. However, they've become as noticeable to her as the scars on Enma's fingertips, or the careful bald trim of Shittoppi-chan's hair style. Something other people might make a fuss of, perhaps, but nothing that bears paying attention to for her unless there's a change. Why should she pay the words any mind? There's no time, no need.

Her time is her family: building up Kaoru's confidence block by block, hunting down the tricky materials Koyo needs for his lenses, keeping Julie from running off, applying bandages to the latest of Enma's injuries, working with Rauji on their meager budget for a family of seven, talking things out with Shittoppi-chan when there's no one else for either of them.

It's busy work. Of course it's busy work. In all of Japan, they only have themselves to rely on. Shimon only has her to rely on. What are they supposed to do- let the orphanage system of the country take them? Every reminder of it makes Adelheid's lips twist in disdain. She's not oblivious. She knows what it would do: at best it would leave them trapped in an orphanage until they were old enough to be on their own anyway. At worst... They'd be separated.

No one would take Kaoru, the way he looks and too quiet to defend himself, or Shittoppi-chan, aggressively uncompromising to her sense of self. Same for Rauji, tall as a mountain even when they were young. That leaves her, Enma, Julie, and Koyo, and the thought of some ignorant family or adults handling Koyo without any care for the sensitive state of his eyes... It makes Adelheid want to fight someone.

No one is good enough for her family. She decided that long ago. So... She does what she can. What she needs to. She knows Shimon's history, what they've done to survive in the past, so there's no shame at some of the things she does to make sure they keep surviving. Who cares if there's blood on her hands? In exchange, there's food on the table and clothes on their backs. For a while, that's all she can ask for.

It's all any of them can ask for.

But that's going to change now. Adelheid can feel it in her blood as she sits in their crowded bedroom, listening to the many sleeping breaths of her family. Between her fingers, she turns the dormant Glacier Ring over and over again in what meager light comes from the streets outside. This is their chance. This, and the letter she still has open in her lap. Even if the rest of the world has forgotten the Shimon Family, it seems like the Vongola still haven't forgotten their sin... And that works for her just fine.

This is their chance.

Namimori doesn't have a school uniform fit for someone of her height and body type so, as morning comes, she slides on the jacket of her old one. Putting it on feels a little bit like wearing armor, or dressing up for war: sharp black fabric and smooth lines in comparison to Nami Middle's soft sweater vests and ribbons. Some of her only good shoes are high heels that will probably break her ankles one day, especially in a fight, but Adelheid slides them on anyway. She's tall enough as it is, but she can always be a bit taller. That intimidates men, she's found. They don't know how to deal with a woman, let alone a teenage girl, who towers over them and isn't impressed by any of their posturing.

Admittedly... She's not sure if it will work over the Vongola's Cloud Guardian and the resident person-to-beat of the Namimori area, Hibari Kyoya. What rumors and information have compiled is that he's a domineering, stubborn, fearless, selfish, and proud individual. Height might not mean anything to a middle schooler who apparently goes after even college students or full grown adults.

She can work with that. After all, along with a bit of photographic proof, she has signatures from everyone she needs to for at least establishing her club. He won't be able to argue with that when she comes to establish her Liquidation Committee, and if he does... Well, that route also suits her just fine.

When the rest of her family finally emerges for breakfast, she's expecting only Rauji and Kaoru to follow suit in her footsteps. Both of them have the same problem as her, which is that their build simply doesn't allow for immediate uniform changes most of the time. However, turning around reveals Koyo and Enma both in Shimon black as well, and she has to pause in surprise. "What happened to your uniforms?"

Koyo slams one fist into his palm. "Shimon is in this initiative together! As the eldest brother, to allow my fellow oldest sister and my younger brothers to be in this alone-"

From behind him, Rauji effortlessly picks him up from beneath his arm pits and hauls him off to the table with a yawn. "Koyo, it's too early to yell..."

Enma shuffles into place besides her while Rauji handles Koyo, and, even with how long they've lived with one another, she still almost misses his mumbled words. "None of us... have still found any of our soulmates. Even back at the school before, it's not like we had a lot of friends either... So... We only really have each other... I thought it'd be nice if we all kept our old uniforms.... Like solidarity, or something..."

So it was him who gave Koyo the idea. Adelheid's expression softens. "It'd be easier for you if you wore the Nami middle uniform, so that you wouldn't stand out." That sort of thing has been a problem for Enma for ages now, and neither her or Koyo will be around all the time to keep him safe.

Shoulders rising up in a lethargic shrug, Enma reaches for the rice. "It'll happen anyway... Rather it be like this..."

He's still far from becoming a proper boss, Adelheid knows. Quiet, no presence, shoulders hunched in- he's fourteen and struggling. Not a moment goes by where she isn't reminded that he's younger than her, and that she needs to look after him. Still... There's hints, here and there, that he could grow into the role of Shimon's boss. Shimon Decimo, a title she rolls carefully on her tongue when she's alone, desperate to preserve the language of her mother. Right now, Enma making that decision, especially in the face of what they're here to do, helps soothes a little bit of Adelheid's worries.

He'll be fine. They'll be fine. It's a mantra she tells herself as she reminds Shittoppi-chan to eat instead of mediate and notes Julie has cut out early again. No matter what, they'll be fine, and they'll make this through together.

And the first step to making sure her family is fine is taking out Hibari Kyoya and his Disciplinary Committee.

2

[warmskies]

There's a new smell in the air around his school.

Kyoya has laid claim to his school for years now, and has attended to it for just as long. Every single aspect of it, he's more familiar with than his own home. To the second, he can name when the hustle of the first day of the year quiets down and blissful silence falls over Nami Middle. Every scent from the school festival he can recognize at first sniff, and he could make his way through each building while blindfolded. There shouldn't be any new additions to his school, at least not without his say so.

And this is new, not the smell he's been hunting for months now: the biting scent of frost, still a couple of months too early for winter's demanding stay. He does a sweep of his school the second he arrives instead of going to relax in his claimed room, ignoring Tetsu's furrowed brow and confusion. The scent is everywhere but the sight normally associated with it isn't. All it does is bite at his nose, faint and constantly moving. Eventually, Tetsu convinces him into the Disciplinary Committee's room to do paperwork and Kyoya allows it. He'll have plenty of time in the day to hunt down this new scent.

In an amusing twist, he doesn't have to. The origin of the scent comes to him instead on the sharp click of heels outside his room, winter's scent billowing through his doors right before they're shoved sharply open. "Excuse me! Are you the Disciplinary Committee Chairman, Hibari Kyoya?"

It's a woman- no, a girl, taller than many of the boys that take shelter in Nami Middle's territory but still the age of a senior, Kyoya thinks. Her uniform is a glaring black in the face of Nami's sleepy aesthetic, screaming challenger even as he belatedly remembers there are transfer students that were meant to arrive. The uniform isn't the only thing that's sharp about her- dark brown hair pulled back, piercing red eyes that don't shy away, and, most interestingly of all, a pair of metal fans attached at her hip. No... That's not the most interesting. What's interesting is the way she holds herself, so different than the majority of humans Kyoya runs into. No curling into herself, like a proper herbivore. No aggressive posturing as scavengers or weak predators do.

Head tall, shoulders straight, mouth set in a simple line.

She's a carnivore, every bit of her.

Maybe it's overconfidence, something Kyoya has seen no small shortage of, but his interest has been caught anyway even without that chilly smell invading his nose. Slowly putting down his pen, he focuses on her. "Who... are you?"

Recognition flashes in her eyes, fast and bright as lightning, and he watches her carefully. From the second she stepped in front of his door, he knew who she was to him, although he didn't particularly care. Now, he's almost positive she knows that same in return. The average scenario, he's seen enough happen in Namimori again and again when soulmates have found each other, and it's a big production every time. It's never happened to him, of course, although the future did get him the closest he'd ever been to that camellia tea scent for all that he hadn't pursued it. Too many interesting battles to pursue, and it wouldn't have been interesting if he'd won the chase. Yet now...

Instead of becoming any more polite or subservient, however, the carnivore of a woman before him stays exactly as she is and he thinks he sees her eyes becoming even steelier. "I'm Suzuki Adelheid, a third year student from Shimon Middle School." Then, while he's still taking in her name- "From today, this reception room belongs to the Liquidation Committee."

"The Liquidation Committee?"

Instead of offering an explanation, her eyes narrow and her chin tilts up imperiously. "If you resist, I'll have to act accordingly."

What a brazen response; it has his fingers itching to take up his tonfas but not in an entirely bad way. On some level, of course, he's offended. This is his territory, and challengers will pry Namimori and its middle school from his bloody maw. Yet on the other hand... He's almost admiring of it. In her position, it's the exact same thing he would do:

Go in, stake a claim, eliminate anyone who doesn't understand their place.

The only difference between him and her is that he knows he has the power to warrant such behavior. He wonders if she does, too.

"The Liquidation Committee?" he presses again to the sound of his bird flitting around the room, refusing to stand up out of principle. There's always the option of forcing the answer out of her, but Kyoya prefers his fights without having to worry about that kind of thing. It feels better that way.

Likewise, Suzuki Adelheid doesn't change her positioning either. No tension, no yelling, no trying to loom over him although she very easily can. She's as relaxed and casually imposing as when she first stepped in. "Yes. From now on, the order of this school will will be protected not by the Disciplinary Committee of Namimori but by the Liquidation Committee of Shimon."

At least she understands there's an order to be upheld, even if it's a frozen chance in hell that he'll let his be replaced. But if she knows that, then- "Huh. Sounds interesting, but... In order for that to happen, you need the approval of all the committee members of this school."

The words have barely left his mouth before she's responding. "I've gotten approval already." From the pockets of her uniform, she pulls out some documents. One, held up simply, displays a list of signatures he can recognize even from his desk. The other... "By force." ...are a set of pictures, featuring various students he recognizes tied up and beaten within an inch of their lives.

Hibari grins.

"Wow," he says quietly, pushing himself up to his feet. That one word alone is probably the highest praise he knows how to give, but he doubts it matters to her. That's fine. "Looks like you wouldn't give up even if I rejected that proposal." From above, he feels his bird's weight press down and tiny talons nestle into his hair.

"Of course." Suzuki's only reaction is to raise an eyebrow at the bird, but she doesn't do anything besides. "I would use force to make you see my way."

It's been a long time since anyone has approached him like this before, trying to usurp him so abruptly and straight forwardly. Most of the time, it's nothing more than weak scavengers who try to snatch what they can- that gang of weaklings from last summer's festival comes to his mind. Even the only person who's ever come close to succeeding went about it subtly, a predator picking off weak targets in seclusion before Hibari confronted him. This is a proper challenge for the dominant position in this territory.

If nothing else, it's a nice change of pace.

Yet even as he makes a movement for his tonfa, there's a clearing of someone's throat from the doorway and the tension in the room is disrupted. Suzuki glances behind her before stepping aside, but Kyoya already knows who it is without needing to see him. Tetsuya's gaze flicks between the two of them, a question without words. "I apologize for interrupting, Chairman," he says, not giving voice to whatever other thoughts are lurking in his head.

Kyoya's mouth twists in an unhappy line across his face.... but it can't be helped. Tetsu is still dressed exactly to Disciplinary Committee standards, hasn't stepped into the room without invitation, and, when it all comes down to it, is doing his job as Kyoya's own personal right hand and shadow. He'd never interrupt Kyoya and a prospective fight without good reason. No one else knows the consequences of that better than Tetsu, too. Resisting the urge to lash out- there's nothing but his own things and the transfer student, and he wants their fight to be a proper one- he lowers his tonfa. "What is it?"

"It's almost time for a meeting with the principal about this year's cultural festival, and then lunch is right after that."

Right... In the excitement of meeting his soulmate and, more importantly, getting to fight her, he'd momentarily forgotten his own duties.

For all his annoyed reluctance, Suzuki seems to have no issues otherwise. “Since it seems like you’re preoccupied for today, I’ll take my leave. Tomorrow we’ll resume, so clear your schedule for then.” Twisting away, she exits with a click of her heels and carrying the scent of winter along with her.

Tetsu, obedient as usual, waits until the sound of her is a long ways away­ as is the smell of her, although Kyoya knows his right hand can’t sense it­ until he speaks. “Who was that, Chairman?”

Tonfa tucked away once more, Kyoya tugs his jacket over his shoulders. “Suzuki Adelheid, one of the transfer students. Tomorrow I’m going to bite her to death, so make sure nothing distracts me.” Pausing in the doorway, he glances upwards in thought. Normally he’d never bother telling anyone this sort of thing, because it’s inconsequential, but if it’s Tetsu… He looks to his right hand again, meeting that puzzled glance with a straightforward one of his own. “She’s one of my soulmates,” he adds before yawning and taking off again, leaving Tetsu sputtering in his wake.

Really, it takes much too long for Tetsu to get over himself and hurry after him. “Chairman, for that kind of thing-­”

His words die in his throat at Kyoya’s witheringly unimpressed look. “I don’t care. Neither does she. We’re fighting.” His tone says that’s that.

Recognizing a steel wall when he sees one, Tetsu sighs with such force that his shoulders nearly droop out of their sockets. “I understand, Chairman. So… I take it that this means I should not inform your mother of this development.”

Kyoya freezes.

“Tetsu, don’t.”

“Chairman-­”

“Do not tell her.”

“Hibari­-san, I wasn’t-­”

“She’d ruin it.”

“Kyoya­-san, I have no intention of telling her. I swear.” Slowly, Tetsu makes placating gestures with his hands. “However, I think she would find out eventually, so…”

“No.” Kyoya’s face drops down into a scowl. “It’s my soulmate, and I’ll bite her to death all I want.”

With another resigned sigh, Tetsu nods. “As you wish, Chairman.”

Even with that acquiescence, Kyoya is in a bad mood for the entirety of his meeting with the principal. It doesn’t help that there’s no outlet for his aggression; Namimori Middle has been in a state of peace since he’d returned from his trip to the future. If the rest of the transfer students cause any trouble, it doesn’t reach his ears. The good thing is that, as usual, Tetsu is hyper aware of his mood especially since he was the cause of its current state. When he returns from his meeting, his favorite foods have been arranged for his lunch, and some of his aggravation eases up.

While he eats, he has his committee bring him information on the transfer students and casts his eye over the paperwork carefully. Along with Suzuki, there are six other students that have transferred along with her from the same school: Kozato Enma, Ooyama Rauji, Mizuno Kaoru, Aoba Koyo, Katou Julie, and… someone whose name has only been filled in as “Shittoppi-­chan”.

All of them share the same previous school and, more interestingly, all of them share the same living address. Like a roaming pack that’s settled in new territory and is trying to establish dominance…

Now, the only question left is what kind of pack they are.

That gets answered the very next day.

If there’s anything to be said about Suzuki Adelheid, it’s that she wastes no time. The declaration of her intent is emblazoned in sharp white on black, billowing from his school, first thing in the morning. Nothing is holding him back this time; he blazes towards the stairs leading up to the school roof where he can smell frost clear as anything. Really, it’s a good choice. No one can easily interfere with them there, and yet there’s still plenty of room for the kind of fights he likes best.

Ultimately, the words they exchange are unimportant formalities. All of Kyoya’s focus is for Suzki Adelheid, even when spectators start to fill up the space of the roof. Inside him is a confidence that he can beat her­ that’s always there, no matter who he’s fighting, changing only on a scale of how easy it will be. However, as her metal fans slice through the air, he has to admit there’s an actual undeniable skill to her movements. It reminds him, very faintly, of Sawada Tsunayoshi’s way of fighting… Of almost his whole lot, actually. Their movements all have that rough unpolish to them of people who have had to train to fight with only themselves and experience as guidance.

It’s the same with Suzuki, all jagged grace and killing intent that refuses to be set aside. Unlike Sawada’s lot, it’s that last part which truly sets her aside: she’s sharpened all her edges with that resolution, never holding herself back.

In the end, it’s something that forces him to do the same.

A pity that the baby which hangs around Sawada so much interferes, and Kyoya supposes he can’t say he’s surprised when it comes to light that this latest group of fascinating people is also connected to him. Lately, it seems like all the interesting things in Kyoya’s life-­ the scent of tea, Mukuro Rokudo, strong enemies-­ all originate from Sawada. A discussion gets started up, but Kyoya is only half paying attention. What’s of more interest to him is the way the transfer students band together with the fight finished. Normally, he despises such displays. They’re the actions of herbivores unable to stand on their own, occasionally hoping to use others as a distraction for their own hide. Yet with the Shimon, there’s a purpose to their grouping, a well practiced pack behavior that he doesn’t miss.

Ooji, his sturdy massive frame in the back, acting as a barrier. Mizuno and Aoba to the sides, bodies held tall, clearly fit and ready for any action. Finally, there’s Suzuki herself, situating herself right besides the smallest member of their group: Kozato.

Yet even for all that their grouping is centered around Kozato, it's also centered strongly around Suzuki in a considerably different way. Sawada's group does it too, although both ways condensed around one person and, Kyoya suspects, without truly realizing that they're doing it. It's a desire to protect, along with a need to look to him for guidance as though he's the head of a pack. A year ago, Kyoya would have scoffed at the idea, but.. The small animal that is Sawada Tsunayoshi seems to have more to him than he would have first thought.

Kozato holds that same kind of apparent weakness, which only serves to draw out Kyoya's suspicion, and Suzuki holds the rest of the Shimon's attention in that same effortless way. His eyes flick to Shittoppi-chan, taking note of the independent way she holds herself separate along the school fencing, and something clicks in his mind.

They're a hyena pack: of deceivingly poor reputation but with jaws that will crack bone, impressive stamina in unimpressive frames, opportunistic eyes seeking out weakness... and incredibly matriarchal.

It's interesting to observe, which only makes it more annoying when one of the teachers bursts in through the door yelling at everyone and anyone. Fortunately, Kyoya himself can stalk off to leave some of Sawada's lot to take the brunt of it. Even as he's thinking about what orders he'll give to Tetsu to firmly discipline such a nuisance of an adult- maybe it's for the better that the baby interfered before things got heated- he's wondering what else can be learned about this group of transfer students.

After all... A carnivore like Suzuki won't be put off by such an interruption.

3

[warmskies]

As usual, something big and exciting is happening around Tsuna, and Haru can't help but be elated when she's actually called on for help with it. That means a lot, for a few reasons. She knows how some of the boys work by now, after all, never wanting to drag in people who can't protect themselves, and.... Haru is loathe to admit it, but that's true. Her and Kyoko-chan are active, and she's seen Kyoko-chan get a really murderous look in her eyes at the actions of rude guys they've run into while having their cake days... But it's not the same.

It's enough that maybe more than once, Haru has wondered about asking Bianchi or Reborn or anyone about how to stand her ground. She's a natural gymnast, so there has to be something...

But that doesn't matter. At least, not right now. What matters is that if she's getting called for help, it means she's useful, it means she can be with everyone and it's fine and there's no danger at all. And if there's no danger, then that means there's almost no chance that Hibari Kyoya will get involved. That particular ball of violent ridiculousness is something she's still thinking about, after all, and she doesn't want to be interrupted before she's made up her mind.

Bringing vegetable costumes from her school is easy enough, even if the bag is a pain and a half to transport. It's worth it to meet with Kyoko and the others again, laughing as she meets some of the transfer students that have shown up to Namimori. Cheering on someone in a vegetable costume isn't- well, okay, maybe it's crossed her mind a couple of times, but she never thought it'd ever actually happen. Cheering is more than worth it when they get Yamamoto's friend finally gets up the courage to pitch. It's- well, Haru isn't sure what happens, but the ball goes fast, and Yamamoto seems happy when it's all said and done, so, mission success!

It's as they're in the middle of getting everyone out of the costumes and packing things away, Yamamoto chattering excitedly at Mizuno, that Rauji looks up towards the school and makes a small noise of recognition. "Ah, it must be time to go back home." Haru follows his gaze, and her heart skips a beat. There, waiting at the top of the steps away from the baseball field, is a woman wearing a uniform similar to Rauji's and legs that go on for days. Really, she's taller than any other girl Haru thinks she's ever seen, and that's just from a distance. She can only imagine what she's like close up.

Good thing she's far away. Haru is pretty sure the full impact would render her speechless; right now it just makes her bite back a dreamy sigh. "Is that your sister, Rauji-kun?" she asks cheerfully, stuffing a costume into a bag.

"Yeah... Basically." With considerable care, he pries a boisterous Lambo from his shoulders and sets him on the ground where the toddler makes a beeline for Tsuna. "She's been wanting to make sure that we're doing alright as we guard Sawada... It's really important to her that we do things like this properly."

"She sounds really responsible!"

"She is." From her other side is Enma, sucking on a thumb he pricked when they were fixing up the costumes earlier. "She's always looking out for us, so..."

"Do you want to go tell her it'll only take us a second to be done, Enma?" Rauji questions.

"Yeah... I'll go." Haru watches as he pushes himself up to his feet, almost tripping more than a few times before he even makes it to the stairs. Rauji's words draw her attention again.

"Hey, Haru-chan, do you want me and Kaoru to help you carry everything up the stairs?"

"Oh, there's no need, Rauji-kun, I promise! I'm a lot more durable than I look!"

"It's fine if you accept..." Rauji's already soft and patient demeanor seems to grow softer as he rubs the back of his neck. "Me and Kaoru help do this sort of thing at home all the time. Besides, it's just to the top of the stairs, right?"

Somehow, it's very hard to say no to Rauji when he's being so friendly and insistent, and that's how Haru finds herself with an armful of one costume while he carries the rest easily. Honestly, he's twice as big as the bag, so Haru supposes she can't really blame him for not finding it that big of a deal. From behind them, she's faintly aware of Kaoru saying his goodbyes to Yamamoto and following after them with the soles of his shoes shuffling through the dirt. In the easy warm light of sunset, it feels pretty nice to just walk with them.

Then again, maybe that's the fact that the closer they get to their sister, the more Haru wants to stare in open admiration. (If there's other feelings, well, no one else needs to know.) She was right. Close up, the other girl really is stunning and in more ways than just her height. She doesn't seem anything like any of the girls Haru goes to school with, or even like herself and Kyoko-chan. Maybe Kurokawa-san, with that shared sharp beauty. It's only when they're partway up the stairs that Haru realizes the burning in her thighs isn't entirely from silly cheerleading or hauling up a large costume-

Rauji raises his hand. "Hey, Adelheid."

Haru's heart nearly bursts up her throat and out of her mouth.

Startled panic pops and bursts through her brain, throwing her off balance as that red gaze sweeps away from Enma to Haru, and she's squeaking before she knows what her own mouth is doing. "Wait, hold on, I'm not ready-!" Just like that, Adelheid's gaze sharpens on her, eyebrows rising as recognition flashes across her face, and Haru stumbles backwards down the stairs...

Only for one of Kaoru's large callused palms to press into her spine, holding her up steady instead of letting her careen down the stone steps.

An awkward suffocating pause falls over the whole group as Kaoru gently helps her to stand flat on the stairs. It doesn't miss Haru's notice that all the boys are glancing to Adelheid, her other soulmate, with quietly questioning looks. However, they're all so unimportant right now, they might as well not be there. Using her previous attraction as kindling, Haru's face is burning bright red as she stares at the other girl. Adelheid is staring at her, too, the cold seriousness of her face thawed into something softer and difficult to parse. Finally, she sucks in a deep breath and takes the bag from Haru's hand to pass over to Kaoru. "Stay here," she tells the boys, her hand wrapping around Haru's own and pulling her up the rest of the steps and along the the side of the school until they turn a corner. Haru lets her, still mentally tripping over her own thoughts in a rush to get them organized.

Okay. Okay! She wasn't expecting this, but this is fine! She can figure all of this out! She'll just... explain that she's not ready for soulmates, and buy herself some time! Right!

Before she can say any of this, however, Adelheid lets go of her hand and twists on her heel at the same time that she sweeps into a sharp bow. "I'm sorry."

For the second time in probably three minutes, Haru is thrown off-balance. "Hie?" she manages, the language part of her brain short circuiting.

Straightening up, Adelheid's brow furrows in soft regret. "Despite the fact that you're my soulmate, these past few years, I haven't been thinking about you at all... All my attention has been elsewhere. Still, that's no excuse. You're as much a part of my family as anything else. I should have considered that moving to Namimori would change the possibility of meeting my soulmate and looked for you."

Her face is still pink. Her face is still horribly, horribly pink. Haru swallows, trying to hide the flutter in her chest by folding her hands neatly in front of her as she gives a more reserved bow. "It's okay! If you were distracted, it must have been important!" And it's not like I couldn't have found you at any time myself...

"I still hold myself accountable for it." Her firm tone sends shivers up Haru's spine. "Yet, even as I say that... I have to ask a favor of you." Reaching over, Adelheid takes her hands in hers. Helplessly, Haru glances down at them and back up at her face. It's harder than anything to ignore her own rapidly beating heart, but she does her best. "Right now, it'd be selfish to ask that you come into my life. I have something important that requires all of my attention, which means I would be ignoring you. You deserve more than that, as my soulmate. So..." Slowly, her eyes drift shut and she takes in a slow deep breath that seems to flush out all her tenseness. Now, standing in front of Haru, Adelheid looks nothing but steady and sure. "A month. Please give me a month of time. When I've finished everything that needs to be done..."

Her eyes open again, piercing Haru straight through the heart and freezing her in place.

"I'll come back to you. I promise."

Haru feels her heart combust.

It takes a split second before she realizes that she's being waited on for a response, and she nods hastily. "Okay!" is the only thing that comes from the smoldering wreckage that has become her mind, and she can't even regret it as Adelheid's expression goes so sweet and gentle. Still trapped like a rabbit in a snare, she watches with a rapidly reddening face as her soulmate bows slightly so that she can hold her hands close to her chest.

"Thank you," she says softly, her breath over Haru's skin sending goosebumps all over her, before letting go. Just as quickly as she'd whisked Haru away, Adelheid moves past her and around the corner back to her family.

Haru doesn't follow her. Shakily, she wobbles over to the wall of the school building and presses her back against it in time with her hands going to hide her flushed face.

No! She really, truly, absolutely meant to say no. It goes against all the plans she decided on since she was a little girl, clutching a tear stained pillow against her chest and thinking of the scar along her father's knee. Thinking of being alone for the rest of her life if- when- something horrible happened to her soulmate, with even the universe telling her there was no one else, telling her she'd be alone. That was something she decided she never wanted, and that she'd go against it all.

But now all Haru can think about is how Adelheid had taken her hands, hard worn calluses cradling her so gently, and promised how she would come back so that nothing would get in the way of focusing on her...

It takes around three minutes before Haru is certain she won't swoon, and another five for her to pat away her red cheeks. To her surprise, all her friends are still waiting over by the top of the stairs when she goes back, the Shimon students long gone. Kyoko-chan notices her first, perking up from where she's happily chatting at Tsuna, and waves her hand high in the air. "Haru-chan!" Everyone else looks up at the call, a quiet eruption of chatter as she quickly trots over there.

"Jeez, only took you long enough-"

"Ha ha, Gokudera, it's not like you have anywhere to be!"

"Lambo-san is huuuuuungry, let's goooo-"

"Shut up you stupid cow!"

"Are you okay, Haru?" Tsuna asks as his best friends behind him dissolve into near incoherent bickering and laughter, stepping forward with a furrowed brow. "That Suzuki from Shimon suddenly grabbed you, right? Reborn said it was fine, but..."

The baby in question is still seated up on Yamamoto's shoulder, his favorite spot, and Haru can't make heads or tails of the mysterious little grin on his face. That's not the important thing, anyway- she hastily throws her hands up placatingly. "No! No, it's fine! Please don't worry about it, Tsuna-san!" Quickly, she tries to turn the conversation away from herself. "So she's one of the new students that transferred only a couple of days ago, right?"

Exhaustion sweeps over his expression at that, although it doesn't quite smother his obvious worry. "Ah... Y-Yeah. She's really kind of scary, actually..."

"She's already been picking fights with Hibari," Reborn mentions casually, one leg bouncing idly through the air. The knowledge makes Haru reel from surprise, hands flying up to her mouth, and she doesn't even notice how Reborn is watching her carefully.

"But I thought Hibari-san was really strong!"

Being reminded of everything seems to be too much for Tsuna, because he hides his face in his hands with a groan. It's Yamamoto who answers, laughing a little as he turns away from a scowling Gokudera. "Yup, he's the strongest around~." For some reason she can't really parse, he seems quite pleased about that.

After that, the conversation dissolves into idle chatter lead by Yamamoto's excitement about having a friend in baseball, but Haru isn't really paying attention to any of it. She lets herself be lead by the flow of her friend, mind racing all the way until she's home and sinking into the bath. Her heart is still pounding, all rapid flutters, even after hours have passed.

Hibari Kyoya: vicious, independent, stunning, Namimori's own guardian monster who's laid claim to the land.

Suzuki Adelheid: fearless, domineering, drop dead gorgeous, a natural leader who sweeps people up in her wake.

Haru can't tell if they're the perfect opposite of what her younger self envisioned her soulmates to be like, or if they're exactly what she always dreamed.

For the first time in years, she completely scraps all of her original plans in regards to her soulmates.

4

[warmskies]

Everything is going according to plan: Rauji has been easily accepted in the Sawada household, Koyo is distracting the Vongola Sun Guardian, and Kaoru has gotten into the baseball club. Not that the last one is necessarily a necessity, for all that it allows closer contact with the Vongola Rain Guardian. Adelheid simply knows that Kaoru has been wanting that kind of thing for some time. It doesn't get in the way of anything, so she's glad to let it happen unimpeded.

Enma does seem a little uncertain of something... But it's hard to tell if that's merely in general or if his feelings have a focus. She doesn't let it worry her. If it's anything serious, she's certain that he'll come to her with it.

So, within her family... There's nothing that needs her concern. Good.

It means that she can focus on herself for once.

However, on the darkened street en route to the store, she's barely gotten five seconds into thinking about the words on her ankle when a voice calls out behind her. "Adelheid!"

Slowing to a stop, she watches as Koyo jogs up to her side. "What is it? Did you finish your homework already with the others?"

"I couldn't focus on any of it," he admits bluntly, without shame nor pride. "I wanted to help you bring back dinner for the night!"

"I can bring that back on my own without any problems."

"I know, but..." He draws his lips in a bit, hands curling into fists at his sides. "...At home, we never have much opportunity for private conversation."

Well. This is rare. For the most part, Koyo seems content to let her lead Shimon as they patiently wait for Enma to finish growing. They're both the same age, but that's how he's always been. Nodding for him to follow, Adelheid starts to walk again. "What is it?"

"I was talking with Rauji and the others. They said that when you went to pick them up, there was this girl there." For a second, he wavers before giving up any semblance of subtlety. "Adelheid, was she-?"

"Yes." For a second, she wants to touch the words on her ankle if only to confirm their existence. How surprised she'd been... "I found one of my soulmates. But Koyo!" Her sharp words cut him off right as he's in the process of opening his mouth, and his teeth clack together as he shuts it. "We're not going to do anything." Voice softening, she adds, "Not right now."

"...Because of the inheritance ceremony."

Adelheid doesn't answer him. The confirmation is in the air between them and stretched all across the street, thicker than the chill on the breeze. All that pierces through it is the sound of their footsteps, heels clicking on concrete.

"We'll make Shimon what it was in the past," Koyo promises after a few minutes, his voice soft despite the dark meaning behind those words. "When we do that, we'll be able to welcome your fated soulmate the way she deserves."

Her lips twitch upwards, the barest hint of a smile. "You haven't even met her yet, Koyo."

"It doesn't matter! She's the one bound to you, so of course she deserves all the best."

Well, it's not like Adelheid would disagree. However, that makes her think of something else, and she falls silent for a brief moment. "I met my other soulmate a few days ago as well," she finally says, deciding to tell him. Koyo whips his head to stare at her.

"What!? Who is it!?"

"Hibari Kyoya."

His mouth drops open as he jerks to a stop, staring with wide eyes. Patiently, Adelheid waits for him to snap out of it. Fortunately, perhaps due to boxer instinct, he snaps out of it faster than she thought he would. "But- that smug delinquent is-"

"Yes."

"Did you know-" She raises an eyebrow at him and Koyo cuts himself off. "That's a stupid question, I apologize- did he know?"

"I'm fairly certain he did."

"You didn't ask?"

"It doesn't matter." It's a mantra she's been playing through her mind since the second Hibari Kyoya opened his mouth and she recognized his words as the same written on her skin. It didn't take long at all for her to fortify it into something stronger than steel. "I'll continue to do what needs to be done through the inheritance ceremony and for Shimon. His relation to me is of no concern."

Of course... For all that it's easy for her to say, Adelheid knows she's likely in the minority when it comes to thinking like that. Most people would falter at the idea of throwing their soulmate under the bus, even if they were the type to feel neutral about soul bonds. She can't blame Koyo for falling quiet as they resume walking.

However, she made her decision years ago as they all huddled together far away from home and the smell of their families' blood still clung to their clothes: Enma with his tear streaked face and blown out voice. Julie paler than the tissues that had littered their feet, curled protectively around Shittoppi-chan's balled up frame. Rauji, silent as the grave, while Kaoru more than made up with it through the force of his bawling.

Besides her, Koyo, one hand digging nails into the back of her own, the other pressed at his own eyes while tears mingled freely with blood.

Relatively few people in the world will ever understand what that feels like, being the sole survivors of a massacre. Adelheid would put what little money she has on neither of her soulmates falling into that category. Not that it's a problem, necessarily, but it'd be difficult to explain to Miura Haru fully. She's glad that her soulmate simply accepted her promise.

Hibari Kyoya, on the other hand, doesn't deserve a single word. All that matters is that he's in the way of Shimon's revitalization and revenge.

...For the best, honestly. Adelheid can tell that he isn't the sort to care about the sob stories of others.

Koyo's voice breaks her out of her thoughts. "Perhaps that's what your bond to him means then! Isn't it said that not all soul bonds are meant necessarily to be romantic?" He clenches his fists in front of him determinedly. "Like that movie we saw only last year, where one soulmate defeated the other!"

She knows which movie he's talking about, although he's cleaned it up a bit since they're speaking on a public, if empty, street. The protagonist actually killed her soulmate, a dramatic scene surrounded by falling snow and keening music. Humming thoughtfully, she shrugs her shoulders as a light shines in the distance. "It may be like that, I can't deny it."

The rest of their conversation isn't suitable for public consumption, especially as they step into the fluorescent lighting of the store. Yet Koyo still doesn't seem to be done talking, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes as they pick out the cheapest options and what's been put on sale at such a late time. "What is Miura Haru like?" he asks quietly, their arms brushing.

Her hand stutter stops at the question before she moves back into action, adding another addition into the basket. What a difficult question to answer about a girl she really only met for a few minutes... "I can't truly say," she admits, "but... apparently she answered a call to to help without hesitation. I saw the bag of costumes that Rauji was helping her with, and it was twice her size. So... I think she's incredibly willful, and extraordinarily kind." It's only after they've paid for their things and are heading out the door does she think to add another thing. "She's very cute as well."

Blinking, Koyo turns his head to look at her and the way she's steadfastly trying to pretend her cheeks haven't been dusted pink. When he laughs, she can't tell if it's at the uncommon sight she's making or from something else. "I will be glad to finally meet her!" He lapses into brief silence again, thinking carefully before speaking. "Adel... I swear I'll do everything I possibly can so that you can welcome her to a Shimon you're proud of. I know I'm not smart, and I don't have the natural leadership that you do-"

"Koyo-"

"But!" he forges on forcefully, holding up a tightly clenched fist. "I have these hands and eyes of mine. Even if I'm on the verge of death... For you, and Enma, and everyone else, I'll make sure that you can find happiness. As the other eldest of Shimon... It's the least I can do."

"You don't have to put yourself down so much, Koyo. You're fine as you are."

"But I could always be better."

"You're part of Shimon. You are better."

Tearing his eyes away from his fist, he smiles wryly. "Then allow me to prove it, alright?" By beating the Vongola's Sun Guardian is unsaid but present.

Well, there's nothing more she can say to that. Looking straight ahead, down the street leading to home, Adelheid nods. "I'll be counting on you, Koyo." In the back of her mind, she fortifies her own resolve once more.

It's not only her pride that's on the line. It's that of Shimon's, in their entirety.

chapter 4

[warmskies]

1

[warmskies]

As he expected from the start, as he expects from every single battle he partakes in, Kyoya wins.

That's not a surprise. Since he established his territory centering around Namimori Middle, he's never truly lost a battle with one glaring exception that still rankles him. These days, what Kyoya searches for are interesting fights, ones that test his endurance and demand more and more of his skill.

Fights with the blond foreigner, Dino of the Cavallone, are an example of it, none of their fights ever having truly concluded as far as Kyoya is concerned. He suspects that any fight with the baby which hangs around Sawada Tsunayoshi would be fun as well. The trick is simply getting him to fight which, so far, has been impossible. Of course, thinking about that means thinking about Sawada himself... But Kyoya is still waiting for him to be a bit more polished before he can take any satisfaction in biting him to death.

And then there's Suzuki Adelheid.

It's clear from the second he sees it that her powers are rough, unsharpened, something she's only picked up possibly in the last month or so. Her water doubles don't have the proper form, the weakness to her fortress unconsidered... And yet he's still worn down to some level from the force of her relentless nature. Suzuki is all fang and winter's bite as she fights, not afraid to look death in the eye and go for its throat. For all that it's his victory, Kyoya has to respect that level of viciousness.

Not enough, obviously, to hold back in any way, shape, or form; that'd be disrespect. Instead, he tears through her clones and her fortress with all the power he's capable of until she's on her knees and defeated. It's nothing against her. He's put hundreds of people in this same position for simply daring to breathe the same air as him. They were nothing compared to this battle of pride, or Suzuki's ability.

Perhaps it's because of that gap in the usual scavengers he beats and Suzuki Adelheid that, for a flicker of a second, he sees something familiar as she's dragged away with her head bowed and a chain around her neck. Past the tears and despair, there's a bitterness, a rage.

It makes him think of dust, and decay, and every centimeter of his body aching from the many shattered bones within it.

Kyoya stops thinking of it as a new prey comes to his attention, and he stops thinking of it for a few days more even after the whole mess has been settled.

As it turns out, not thinking about what Suzuki Adelheid is doing is a mistake to make, and Kyoya learns that when he comes back from his Rokudo Mukuro hunt. Members of the Disciplinary Committe lay scattered in their club room, nursing wounds with bandages and packets of cold ice filched from that useless doctor. Only one exception stands waiting for him at the door, and Tetsuya straightens his spine further as Kyoya whirls in with eyes narrowed. "Who?" he demands coldly, already worked up after a fruitless hunt.

"Suzuki Adelheid put back into action her Liquidation Committee, Chairman," Tetsuya answers obediently, watching him carefully for a reaction. "Members of the Disciplinary Committee attempted to stop her, but she retaliated."

"Did you do your duty as well, Kusakabe Tetsuya?"

Every single word is heavy with accusation, but, for once, Tetsuya doesn't respond to Kyoya's expectations. Instead, he merely leans down closer to his height so that his quiet words don't get overheard by the rest of the committee. "I thought it was more appropriate for you to deal with your own soulmate, Chairman."

Kyoya pauses, nose scrunching up as he narrows his eyes at the other boy. There's a long thick pause between them, broken eventually only by Kyoya's reluctant mutter. "My mother?"

There's something long suffering about Tetsuya's sigh, but he shakes his head. "I still haven't told her, Chairman."

With that issue still settled, Kyoya eases up and crosses his arms. "I thought I defeated Suzuki Adelheid over that."

From behind him, the air carries the sweeping smell of frost.

"You didn't kill me, so you didn't stop me," the very same girl states, her fans already between her fingers. "Besides, that was over a different matter entirely. My Liquidation Committee had nothing to do with it."

For all that he's aggravated that the order of his school has been disrupted again, Kyoya doesn't stop the vicious smirk that cuts across his face. "If it were, it seems like you would have had it reborn with a new name anyway."

"Of course."

The easy solution, obviously, would be to make it a part of their battle: for her to submit to the Disciplinary Committee’s order and cease disrupting it. Yet, Kyoya muses as they ascend to the rooftop, that would be dull. The Cavallone isn't a reliable constant in Japan, having work to do back in far off Italy, and not even the name of the Hibari family extends that far to have enough weight that would drag him back. More dangerous a kind of prey is Rokudo Mukuro... But the last few days have already shown how annoying it is to drag him out of whatever prison he's locked in, even if Dokuro Chrome is perfectly willing.

Despite the roughness of her flames, Suzuki is phenomenally skilled in combat- an aggressive fighter that never lets go once she's bitten down. Unlike the Cavallone, she has no foreign country to return back to. Unlike the Kokuyo pest, she's reliably present and even a student of his precious Namimori Middle School.

She should keep up with his violent demands quite nicely.

Not that he's not going to make a demand of a different sort. As they square off, weapons at the ready, he shoots out, "When I win, your group of delinquents must submit to the order of Nami Middle and wear the uniforms. You've been getting away with not doing so for too long."

Instead of agreeing promptly or making a demand of her own, Suzuki raises an eyebrow coolly. "Impossible."

Kyoya scowls at the flat out disagreement. "Every other student of this school disagrees." At least, they should disagree if they know what's good for them.

"They can disagree with facts of reality all they want. However, for those of Shimon, wearing the uniforms of our prior school is a necessity unless you pride this school on indecency."

A necessity? Sharply cocking his head to the side, he orders, "Explain."

Scowling herself, Suzuki slowly shifts out from the combative stance she'd taken to pull herself upright. "None of the uniforms that are offered take into consideration the kind of height or body types that myself and two of my brothers possess," she says slowly. "The development of Rauji and Kaoru's bodies isn't like that of most students that attend Namimori. Getting them and myself fitted requires money that Shimon does not at this time possess."

Ooyama Rauji and Mizuno Kaoru... Kyoya racks his brain to sort through the various members of Shimon. Outside of Suzuki and Kozato, he hasn't really paid much mind to the rest. They simply haven't caught his attention outside of the first gathering of them all together. Still... Yeah, he thinks he remembers which is which. Ooyama was the one that guarded the back, tall and wide as a mountain. Now that he thinks about it, that's pushing the limits of even their largest sizes....

Next to him, Mizuno had looked completely diminutive. However, his face and the width of his shoulders... That reminds Kyoya of someone else entirely, and he glances back to the entrance of the stairs. As usual, Tetsuya is waiting diligently for him and making sure that no one makes the foolish mistake of interrupting this battle. Right, it had required some consideration to get Tetsuya fitted for his uniforms too since he always did grow so much faster than Kyoya or any of their peers.

So that leaves Suzuki.

Kyoya glances over her again. When he doesn't focus on her killing intent or the positioning of her weapons... He thinks he sees what the problem is. The first time he had laid eyes on her, he'd already noted how much taller she was than just about every other female student in his school and even outdid some of the males. However, paying attention reveals that in exchange for such intimidating height, a skirt that would be perfectly modest on other students can't even cover the majority of her thighs. It finally occurs to Kyoya as well that her jacket, while it technically fits her, strains to stay fitted around her sizable chest. That's another thing most other students haven't yet reached in Nami Middle, although some are showing signs of it.

Puberty. It's something Kyoya has already decided he doesn't like, based purely on some of the aches he's been getting from growing himself.

"Huh," is all he says as the realization belatedly hits, his head still cocked.

Suzuki's sigh drags out from her, arms crossing beneath her chest. "Right."

From somewhere behind him, he thinks Kusakabe's cough sounds suspiciously close to a laugh, but doesn't trouble himself over it. "And what of Shittoppi-chan?" he demands. It's been hard to ignore her. Unlike the rest of Shimon, she doesn't even wear their old uniform, although apparently her grades are in the top percent.

"Impossible for a different reason."

"Unacceptable."

Tilting her chin downwards, Suzuki narrows her eyes at him. It's almost thoughtful, and Kyoya doesn't understand until she asks, "How much sporting equipment has Sasagawa Ryohei broken in the time that he's attended this school?"

Kyoya twitches.

Sasagawa Ryohei has been a one man demolition crew since the first day he joined the ranks of Nami Middle students, and that was before someone had the bright idea to teach him how to punch through solid concrete and destroy whole buildings with nothing but his bare fist. (Kyoya is still not happy about what happened to the gym building, for all that the reconstruction effort was finished in record time.) While it's likely laughable for Kyoya to judge someone on a lack of self control, even he's able to hold himself back if he judges the situation to not be deserving of his full strength.

The word "restraint" isn't in Sasagawa's vocabulary; Kyoya isn't actually sure he even knows the kanji for it. He knows this because, over the years, he's had to go after the boxer numerous times in an attempt to beat sense into him, and yet it never works. Having someone come to him for a fight excites Sasagawa like he's a puppy and Kyoya's tonfas are the stick. Eventually, Kyoya stopped going after him for wrecking school property half from weariness and half because Sasagawa Kyoko had turned out to be extremely persuasive.

So it's that kind of impossible.

Jerking his tonfas up and ready again, he once again demands, "Tomorrow morning, I expect Ooyama Rauji to be dressed in the appropriate Namimori Middle School uniform regardless."

Suzuki's fans snap open as she slides into a stance of her own. "Tomorrow, I expect your Disciplinary Committee to be disbanded."

Fifteen minutes of brutal combat later, and Suzuki is limping off with one injured leg, a split lip, and who knows how many bruises. Kyoya is sporting enough of that last one himself, to his satisfaction, and has to pinch his ear where he's half certain she had punctured straight through with one of her heels. It won't stop bleeding. Ignoring the way it drips down to stain his sleeve, he whirls around to face Tetsuya.

Immediately, his right hand steps forward with his brows drawn together. "Please wait while I get a first aid kit, Chairman-"

"Tetsu." Once he's certain that he has his attention, Kyoya continues. "Have whoever is least injured retrieve the measurements for Ooyama Rauji. I want Tachibana over in the shopping district to make both summer and winter uniforms to those specifications."

The corner of Tetsuya's mouth twitches up slightly. "I understand, Chairman."

Kyoya squints at him, lips drawn up. "They're disrupting the order of Namimori Middle by not conforming to the standard," he says, pronouncing each word slowly and clearly.

"Of course, Chairman." He goes down into a slight bow. "I will inform Matsuoka while I retrieve the first aid, so please wait here."

Once the bandaid has been applied to his ear with some difficulty, the rest of the day goes as smoothly as any other. Kyoya doesn't expect it to stay that way. After all, Sawada is still attending his school. Thus, eventually, something will happen that will drag his attention and lust for battle to it. However, it's still been too soon since the aftermath of what happened with the transfer students. He supposes there need to be breathers inbetween everything.

Well. That works for him. As much as he adores every adrenaline filled fight that's happened ever since that baby entered Sawada's life, he still has territory to look after. With everything going smoothly at his school, Kyoya starts out for a town patrol once the final bell has rung.

There's a certain serenity to Namimori that Kyoya likes. To be sure, there's interesting aspects to larger and more bustling places- no shortage of prey to bite for example. However, Namimori is ultimately a town of sleepy herbivores, and that draws enough prey on its own merit such as scavenging vermin who think they can take advantage of his territory. There's no need to worry about that. Thus, during the downtime, he has plenty of time to idly roam and nap, secure in the knowledge that Namimori is his and completely his.

It's while he's going through the shopping district, Tetsuya a respectable distance behind him and everyone with any common sense keeping a wide berth, that he comes to an abrupt stop. Nearly closing his eyes completely, he tilts his head back and breathes in the scent that's suddenly caught his attention.

Camellia tea.

Without saying a word to Tetsuya, Kyoya dashes off in search of its source. The hunt is half the fun of this little mystery, constantly having to pause until he finds the trail once more. Whoever this mystery prey is, he's never once known them to stop moving, a gazelle whose endurance carries them leaping and graceful away from fangs. Today, it seems like their movement is consistent with no sign that they've bolted and left nothing but a quickly fading smell in the air. The streets of Namimori are as well known to him as his own weapons; Kyoya doesn't hesitate in knowing which will take him where. With a twist of his heel, he goes barreling out into a main street-

2

[warmskies]

Adolescent girl, brown hair, ponytail, a foreign uniform, big brown eyes set wide as he screeches to a halt in front of her.

Kyoya bares his teeth in a sharp grin.

"Found you."

Her hands dip into her schoolbag, whipping something out, and he starts to raise his tonfa-

"My name is Miura Haru! I attend Midori, an all girls school! I hope the rest of our lives go well together!"

Jerking to a stop, Kyoya blinks out of his instinct towards battle and glances down towards her hands. They're not holding weapons but, instead, a nicely wrapped package and what appears to be a sizable variety pack of Kit-Kats. Bemused, he puts away his weapons and accepts the gifts. "'Together'?" he echoes as he inspects the list of Kit-Kats on the back. Oh, he really likes some of these flavors...

Hands free, Miura Haru fists them at her sides and stands as tall as she can. Considering she's very low on the five foot scale, that isn't saying much. "We're soulmates," she states. "Isn't it basically assumed that we'll spend the rest of our lives together whether we like it or not?"

"I didn't agree to that," he says with a scowl, trying to open one end of the pack of candy with a single finger. "Why did you get me these?"

Whatever objection is on the tip of her tongue falls away, and this time it's her turn to look befuddled. Good. "Because it's supposed to be for good luck? You know, because-" Her hands rise up to make a little snapping motion. "Kit-Kat! It sounds like, you know-"

"Ah," he acknowledges, suddenly getting the language joke at the same time that his finger peels away thin cardboard. "I see."

"A-Anyway, that's not the point!" She stomps her foot. "No one agrees to their soul bonds! They just happen, apparently! So I've decided I'm going to make the best of mine!"

"...You're making a lot of demands for some girl I don't even know." Nudging the edge of one candy wrapper between his teeth, he narrows his eyes at her. "I'll bite you to death if you don't stop."

Her spine doesn't lose any of its strength. "I'm not going to be intimidated by any of your threats, Hibari-san."

It's not a matter of intimidation, but he supposes he can't expect her to know that immediately. Midori is one of those schools that has less of his interest and thus attention. Still, there's no better time to correct this misconception. With one arm cradling his packages, he swipes his tonfa out-

And watches as she smoothly ducks to avoid it, squeaking indignantly. "Hibari-san!"

Huh. Curious now, he makes another attempt and is rewarded when she cartwheels away from the attack and out of range to a small outdoor cafe. As he's pondering this unexpected but delightful discovery, she draws herself up from her landing spot. A thrown book, a slap, screaming and storming off- he's expecting any or all of those because they've all been directed at him at one point or another.

Instead of any of that, she throws a chair at him.

Kyoya's body dodges on complete instinct without any input from his brain, a simple sidestep, and that's good because his mind is still boggling that she threw an actual literal chair at him-

"Chairman!"

-and oh. There's Tetsuya. It's taken him long enough.

"I found her," he informs his right hand man succinctly, a fact which doesn't seem to ease up the mildly horrified look coating every inch of Tetsuya's face. After a second, Kyoya adds, "She threw a chair at me." It doesn't actually need to be said; it's clear that Tetsuya saw at least that bit of the scene. Still. Kyoya is intensely curious about this fact. Herbivores don't usually do such fascinating things in the face of everything about Kyoya. Mostly it's just dull but sensible reactions, like running away or giving up.

Tetsuya takes a long deep breath, exhaling about as slowly. "Chairman," he starts delicately, "please remove the Kit-Kat from your mouth so that I may understand you a little better."

Plastic is a rather annoying taste to keep on his tongue for so long. While Kyoya takes the wrapper from between his teeth, Miura Haru comes fluttering closer with her face flushed. "I'm so sorry, Kusakabe-san! I didn't meant to cause trouble for you!"

Kyoya wrinkles his nose. "Why are you apologizing only to him?"

Her rosy cheeks puff out. "You attacked me! After I got you gifts!"

"You threw a chair at me."

"You deserved it! A-And anyway, I panicked!"

"Panic more often."

Before the argument can carry on, Tetsuya interrupts with a suggestion. "Chairman, perhaps this should continue somewhere else." His voice lowers further as he leans closer to Kyoya. "If this stays so public, there's a chance it might carry back to your mother."

A grimace spasms over Kyoya's face. Looking away from Miura Haru reveals that there are a few people who, at a considerable distance, are looking on at the scene. Not nearly close enough to eavesdrop on the conversation or realize her connection to him, but still. He has to admit that Tetsuya has a point. Huffing, he starts to stalk back in the direction he initially came from. "Follow me."

Letting his feet carry him back to Nami Middle automatically, Kyoya sizes Miura Haru again as she trots after him and keeps pace with Kusakabe. There's nothing about her that says she's an actual fighter, not in the way that he is or even someone like Gokudera Hayato. At the same time, hadn't he once thought the same thing about Yamamoto Takeshi and, the most egregious example, Sawada Tsunayoshi? At least Miura is physically active in the same way Yamamoto is. Her school skirt flutters over well toned and strong legs- does Midori have a strong gymnast leaning? He honestly can't remember.

While he's sorting through his thoughts, Miura huffs at him and tugs on her skirt. "What are you looking at?"

"Your legs," he says bluntly, listening to her squeak. Yet after a second, the flustered look on her face eases up and she speeds up until she's matching his longer stride.

"Hibari-san, you're not actually good with talking to people at all, are you?"

He scowls. "I can talk with people just fine."

"But you're not good at it." Annoyed at her closeness, he lashes out again and is treated to the sight of her backflipping from the would-be blow. A shame that they've started to transition into the residential areas now; there's nothing large but throwable in range. To his amusement, her immediate action after straightening up is to uncertainly bring her fists up.

"That's because I hate people." Yawning into his hand, he looks ahead again. "Your form is horrible."

"Hie!? W-Well it's not like I've had any training! And Hibari-san, you seem to always be hanging around Tsuna-kun and his friends!"

"They're not people. Also, don't fight me if you don't have skill."

For a second, he can see her gaze sharpen a little bit as she looks him over, and there's a certain testing-the-water feel to her tone when she speaks. "If you taught me how to fight, then I'd have skill."

"No." Her shoulders droop down in disappointment, although she doesn't look surprised. "If you get too annoying, I'll just bite you to death."

"That's really rude, Hibari-san."

"You're the one who won't stop talking."

"Soulmates are supposed to get to know each other!"

"I don't care about that kind of thing."

Although he was expecting it, there's no disappointment that he can see from her at that statement. Only a short nod, and her hands curl against the strap of her bag. Before he can puzzle over her further, they finally arrive at the grounds of Nami Middle.

Waiting up by the gates is his bird- an ineffective attack dog but perfect for watching over his school and relaying things back to him. As usual, the school song burbles up from its throat as it takes to the air, circling around the three of them. Rustling catches Hibari's attention, and he watches as Miura triumphantly holds up a small packet of crackers. The effect is immediate, his bird fluttering down to land on her head eagerly. "Good job, Hibird! Here you go..."

"Hibird?" He cocks his head to the side, watching as she ignores the cracker crumbs his bird drops into her hair.

"Yeah! You don't have a name for him, right? So 'Hibari' and the English 'bird' mix together really well! I think it's cute!"

From the side, he thinks he can see Tetsuya ducking his head into one fist. Well, he'll talk to him about that later. Right now he has a more pressing concern. "I didn't give you permission to name my bird."

"...Hibari-san, didn't you steal this bird...?"

"I don't need to steal birds. They like me better than other humans."

"It is true," Tetsuya confirms as they continue further to enter the school. "The Chairman has quite a way with animals. It's such an issue that, technically, he's banned from the local zoo."

She blinks. "Technically?"

A vicious little shine no doubt pops up in Kyoya's eyes. "I don't let other people restrain me." That doesn't mean he's completely unreasonable. After all, the fourth time he came back home with an exotic bird- a penguin to be exact- he listened very patiently to Tetsuya's request that he please stop and that penguins could not live happily in an inland Japanese town. Somehow at some point, that was expanded to include things like ostriches, emus, birds of paradise, and platypi.

If he's honest, Kyoya is still a little bit disappointed about most of that. A bird that can kill a full grown man with a single kick or one that's actually won a war? Those are the kind of birds he thinks have clearly succeeded at life.

Finally, they arrive at the Disciplinary Committee clubroom. A sharp gesture has Miura flopping down onto the couch, Hibird still on her head and her hands folded politely on her lap. So used to routine, Kyoya doesn't pay much mind to how Tetsuya takes up position by the door and instead keeps all his attention on Miura. Three different attacks on her, in a room alone with two suspicious men, away from her home territory, and she's still decided to stick around. He has to wonder if this tendency of surprising him will be a regular thing. If she's truly dedicated to having this become a regular thing and isn't merely giving him lip service.

There's one way to find out, but he'll save that for the end of this conversation. Instead, he starts off with a different question. "Why are you interested?" he asks, setting the gifts she gave him on his desk.

Miura's lips scrunch up together. It takes a few moments before she speaks. "Everyone is connected by a soul bond for a reason. I wanted to learn why we were. I know that doesn't automatically mean we'll get along, but that's what I decided!" Her chin jerks up stubbornly. "So I'm not leaving until I find out the answer!"

It's a pretty simple answer for such determination. Sure, that might pass for an answer from him- Kyoya prefers simple reasons and goals in his life like fighting or having complete control over his territory. For someone so prepared for meeting him? Meeting his bird? Instinct says there's something that's not being told to him. Unfortunately, he can't quite nail it down completely after only knowing her for what's been barely an hour.

Which leads to the next problem.

Leaning against the front of his desk, he crosses his arm. "Midori is on the other side of town. How do you intend to learn anything, run over here every day?"

Her shoulders hunch in on herself. "I do that anyway to see all my friends who attend Nami Middle."

He raises an eyebrow, but that explains a lot of things. No wonder he's always been catching her scent around Sawada's group. "Why?"

It's almost possible to hear her spine snap with how fast she turns her head to look at him. "Because they're my friends! Wouldn't you go to see a friend if they were at another school?"

"If that was a problem I had to deal with, I'd just make them attend my school," he states bluntly, making brief but direct eye contact with Tetsuya as he talks. The other boy's lip twitches a little, and he glances upwards when Miura looks between them.

"Well, that's not something I can just do, Hibari-san," she says after a second, lips puffing out in a frown. "That's just unreasonable."

"Not really." Starting to get bored, he yawns into his hand. That's it, he's decided. "Just attend Nami Middle. I'll make Kusakabe acquire a uniform for you and ensure your class schedule most closely resembles your Midori one."

Contrary to the typical alarm, Miura has stars in her eyes as she jolts up in her seat. "Really!?" Belatedly, the appropriate alarm crosses over her face, and she rapidly shakes her head. "I mean- Hibari-san! I can't just do that!"

"Yes you can."

"Hibari-san, I would have to bring it up with my father first!" He pauses at that, forced to acknowledge parental respect. Seeing her opening, Miura forges on. "Please at least allow me a month to talk with him about all of this, okay?"

He gives it a moment of thought before nodding. Reasonable enough. "I accept. You have a month to discuss it with him before I have Kusakabe begin setting forth the arrangements."

Excess energy seems to be vibrating through every bit of Miura Haru as she stands up, from the tips of her toes to the tiny little swirl of hair poking out of the top of her head. Kyoya is hard pressed to tell if it’s worry, excitement, or some combination of both. Bowing and walking backwards at the same time to the door, she chirps, “Thank you, Hibari-san! I’ll talk to you again soon!” Twisting around with a bright hop, she skips out into the halls and, judging from her footsteps, all the way to the stairs.

Tetsuya waits until the click of her shoes has vanished completely and Hibird has fluttered back into the room to nestle into Kyoya's hair. "She seems very energetic," he observes, which is putting it lightly. Kyoya makes a idle noise to show he's listening, going back behind his desk. "From what I can tell she's also quite-" A brief pause as he chooses the word carefully. "-durable."

"Her first instinct when faced with danger was throwing a large object at me," Kyoya mutters, the crinkle of gift wrap distrubing the silence of the committee room. For now, he's set the Kit-Kats to the side. Ever since she first gave the gift to him, he's been curious about it. Only the bare basics of courtesy and interest in the rest of the strange girl that is Miura Haru kept him distracted from finding out until now. "If she learned how to fight, it'd be interesting."

"But you won't teach her yourself."

Tetsuya gets a frown for those words alone. "If I taught her, it'd be predictable," he says disapprovingly, his tone carrying well enough what a sin such a thing is. In that case, he might as well just beat her down as she is like she's any of the others he beats up on a regular basis. With that annoyed look given, he glances back down to the gift and pauses. In a relatively nice clear container, manjū have been arranged carefully. All his preferred types, from what he can tell.

Miura Haru's preparation skills seem to be quite impressive.

"...I want tea, Tetsu."

3

[warmskies]

"Suzuki-san!? What happened to your leg!?"

Ah. One of the last people she wanted to see in this state.

Adelheid straightens up while tugging on her stocking, but she's far too late. Haru is already bounding over, concern written all over her face and her eyes focused on the blossoming bruise along Adelheid's leg. It's actually far from the worst injury she's ever suffered, let alone from Hibari Kyoya. "I'm fine," she promises Haru as she comes to a stop besides her. "It's not that serious."

"Are you sure? It looks like it hurts a lot."

"I'm sure."

Haru's gaze flicks up back towards the school for a second, and she bites her a lip a little in curiosity. "Was it because of a fight with Hibari-san?"

Of course she would know about that. While she can't say she's surprised, for all that Haru wears a Midori uniform, Adelheid is well aware of how many friends in Nami Middle she has. That's how they first met. Still, it would have been nice to not have her losses against him be so known... "That's right. Who did you hear it from?"

"Oh, well, Tsuna just mentions that the two of you fight! So I extrapolated from there." She beams, all pride, and Adelheid quietly admires the way her brown eyes shine. They'd been pretty when she'd been dazed and blushing, too. "But that bruise looks really bad... Can I see?"

"If you insist, although it's not a nice sight." But since she's already seen it at all, there's no point in fighting it. Sighing, she starts to roll down her stocking again and, bit by bit, the long trail of sickly patches of purple and splashes of muted pink is revealed. The whole thing nearly takes up the entire side of her calf. "See?" she tells the other girl, who's gaping at the sight. "Still, it's not as worse as it could be. At least it was this leg and not the other one."

"Why, what's wrong with your other leg?"

"It's still healing from the bruises I got in our fight a couple of weeks ago."

"Suzuki-san!!" It's surprising, how the way her cheeks puff out is so endearing that Adelheid has to fight from smiling.

"It can't be helped. My legs have a much longer reach than my arms, so I use them subconsciously." Also her Glacier Flames offer enough of a coating to take the brunt of the impact, but she doesn't say that. It's still hard to say how much of the mafia world Haru knows. "You don't have to worry. I heal well."

"Of course I'm going to worry." Haru rocks back and forth on her heels, lost in thought, before she asks, "Are you doing anything right now, Suzuki-san?"

"Oh, no. I'm merely waiting for Kaoru to be done with baseball practice." Remembering her reasons for still lingering after school, she glances back down to the baseball field. In the weeks since they've first started attending Nami Middle, it seems like the rest of the team at least practices with him and not only Yamamoto even if she can see their wariness from all the way in the school. Still, she likes to keep an eye on her Family, when she can.

"Then, would you mind if I treated your bruises? I've hurt myself plenty of times making costumes, so I know all about this kind of stuff!"

"Are you sure? I mean, I know you have your friends here to see..."

"It's fine." She purses her lips. "I think something weird is happening again, because Tsuna-kun and his friends are all worked up, so I was just going to see Kyoko-chan, but... She was helping with something in her class...." Out of nowhere, she rapidly shakes her head from side to side before announcing, "It's fine! So I have plenty of time!"

A flicker of fragility, the hasty cover up with her bold stare and determinedly clenched fists- Adelheid takes it all in. "If you say so," she concedes, not mentioning any of what she's observed. "Thank you for offering in the first place." It's only once Haru has skipped her way into the school does Adelheid reflect back on it.

What a familiar thing... How many times has she seen it? More than she can count, surely, and in so many variants: Kaoru's defensive snarls born from shyness and being burned, the trembling cracks in Rauji's smile after harsh words from strangers on the street, even the bitter edge that coats some of Julie's smirk. (And it is his bitterness and his alone. Adelheid tells herself this, and tries to will it into belief.) For as long as she can remember, outside of their Family, no one in Shimon has ever fit in with the rest of the world. Maybe it's an echo of Cozato Simon's initial decision to wipe his Family from known history, leaving them ghosts that never fit in, but that's something of a romantic view. Adelheid? She thinks the reasons are much more down to earth. Their foreign blood that still shows in each of them, scars that can't be erased, and, when it comes down to it, who they are as people- those are all factors.

People will never stop being intimidated by Kaoru's appearance, or stop making fun of Rauji's. Koyo can't turn himself smarter because he wears glasses no matter how much people will judge him, and, in vicious contrast, Shittoppi-chan won't change herself whatever may come her way. Enma and Julie, in two entirely different ways, keep people at an arms length, and her....

Well. Regardless of what issues she herself might have, Adelheid will never leave her family behind.

So she can recognize that glimpse of loneliness when she sees it, and it couldn't be more painfully apparent than in the way she pulled her expression back together like hefting up a heavy bag of costumes. Is there a significance to how her soulmate reminds her so much of the kind of things her family deals with?

"Suzuki-san!" Haru's voice snaps her out of her thoughts, and Adelheid looks up to see her trotting out from the school with a small tub held in her hands. "I got everything from the nurse's office!"

"Thank you. You know, there's no need to be so formal. You can address me by my given name, if you would like to."

From where she's started to kneel down besides her, Haru perks up. "Hie? Really? How about a nickname? Like Adel-kun?"

"If you'd like," she answers, shrugging and trying not to seem too pleased. It's been a long time since anyone has felt familiar enough to give her a nickname. Seeming so disaffected is surprisingly hard in the face of Haru's pleased beam, however.

"Adel-kun it is!" she announces proudly, going through the small plastic tub. "Then hold still- Shamal-sensei said that ice, massaging the area, and then wrapping it up should help bruised area heal, so I'm going to try all of that! Oh, but watch out, it's going to be cold."

Adelheid's lips twitch up in a dry smile. "Don't worry. I know how to deal with ice." Carefully, working together with Haru, she shifts her leg until the ice pack can stay where it is without needing to be constantly held. Down in the baseball field, the sound of wood cracking and team chatter fills up any emptiness between them as Haru tries not to fidget with eagerness although Adelheid sees her little squirms.

"Did you get what you wanted done, Adel-kun?" she asks at last, curiosity shimmering in her stare.

It's... a difficult question to answer, and Adelheid glances back down to the field. "No.... Not quite. Ultimately, I think it might work out better for us, but, for the immediate present..." Pursing her lips, she meets Haru's gaze again. "I'm sorry."

A jolt. "Wh- there's no need to apologize, Adel-kun!"

"I feel there is. I wanted to introduce you to my family in a good setting. But... We're very short on money constantly. Since things didn't turn out as I'd planned, there's no way I can treat you to anything particularly nice..."

"You don't have to-"

"But I wanted to," she says, holding Haru's gaze firmly and watching as a sea of red washes over the other girl's cheeks. Certain she's gotten her feelings across, Adelheid sighs and spreads her fingers along the grass. "Now we have a lot of things to tend to, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to make the best time to introduce you to all of them inbetween that and schoolwork."

"Weeeeell...." Drawing her knees up, Haru laces her fingers together. "Let's start simple! Even we only got to meet each other for a couple of minutes the last time." Before Adelheid can offer her thoughts on it- although it's not wrong- Haru forges ahead, swept up in her own excitement. "It can be like introductions, so I'll start first! I'm Miura Haru, second year at Midori, I love costumes and I think my best features are-" She breaks away from her words, hands coming up to cup her face as she giggles. "I'll keep it a secret! A girl has to have some secrets!"

Adelheid isn't sure what she's done to deserve such a cute soulmate, but, for once, she's thankful for fate.

Haru's gaze flickering back to her reminds her that she's participating in this little exchange too. "My name is Suzuki Adelheid, which you already knew-" A responding grin and ringing giggle. "And I'm a third year at Namimori Middle as of a few months ago. I'm usually too busy to have any real hobbies, but I like watching dramas when I can. I suppose my best quality... My legs?"

"Aaaah, they really are long! Adel-kun has legs like a model!" A dozen times before, she's heard those kind of compliments from skeezeballs on the streets, but, from Haru's mouth, they sound truly adoring instead of lip service. As Adelheid tries not to blush, Haru shifts onto her knees and pulls off the ice pack. Her fingers flick along her skin, marveling. "And they're so strong, too, you can really tell even without the bruise that you're moving all the time..." The touch lingers all the way up to her knee when something snaps into Haru and she jolts up. "Oh! R-Right! Massaging- to get the blood flowing! You know!" Hastily, she starts to work her fingers a little more firmly along the splotchy injury. "How does this feel?"

"A little too hard..."

"Right, sorry, I'll be softer!"

"You know, you don't have to do this."

"It's okay! I want to!"

"If you say so." Still, Adelheid has to admit it feels nice, in that aching way that stretching usually does, and she eventually starts to ease back as Haru feels her way through the process. When she notices, Haru's own blush fades somewhat while her smile brightens.

"Does it feel good?"

"Yes. I thought it would hurt a bit more."

"Maybe it was the ice..." Taking her bottom lip between her teeth, Haru grinds her jaw a little bit. "But then again, Adel-kun, it seems like you have a lot of tension in your leg anyway.... So I don't really have to work hard. You should relax more!"

"I'm afraid that's not really possible. I have a lot of responsibility, so...."

That makes Haru glance up at her, her fluttering eyelashes almost hiding the curious light which sparks in her stare. "Is it because you're the oldest?"

"Ah... It's a bit more than that. I run our entire household."

"All by yourself!?"

"No, not entirely... Rauji helps me figure out finances for things like groceries, and Shittoppi-chan keeps an eye out for shop deals and things like that. Still, I have to look after everyone else, and I'm responsible for things like dinner and ensuring that everyone finishes their schoolwork." There it is again, that flicker of curiosity, and Adelheid can almost literally see the way she swallows her own words down. "It's fine. You can ask. It's about our parents, isn't it?"

"Oh, I didn't want to be rude..."

"Anyone would wonder." And besides... Better Haru, her soulmate, than some of the other people who have directed to questions to her and the others. It's been a long hard road for them to get their independence, and she knows there's always still a chance it could come falling down around their ears any day.... But there's no need to concern her with that. Instead, Adelheid stays focused on the baseball field and explains, "All our families died years ago in an incident. Since we don't have any extended relations in Japan... It's just been us."

"It doesn't have to be!" With a lurch faster than light, Haru is in front of her with her fingers digging into the grass. Adelheid barely has time to comprehend the drastic shift before her soulmate is shooting words off like an excitable child with a machine gun. "If I'd known you were having that much trouble, Adel-kun, then I would have been doing a lot more research into it while you were taking care of whatever your business was! I'm going to have to look into things extra hard to make up for all the time I've missed, but don't worry! I'm near the top of my class, so I won't do things half-heartedly!"

"Haru-"

"If I cut out some of my costume projects, I bet I can get even more done! In fact, I can run home right now and-"

"Haru-"

She's leaping up to her feet, abuzz with energy. "My father is a university professor, so I'm sure-" Right in the middle of her twisting away, before Adelheid can stand up herself, Haru snaps back so quickly that it's possibly to physically see the whiplash. "Your leg! I forgot that I was going to wrap it!"

And here she had thought she'd seen energy peaked when Koyo met Sasagawa Ryohei.

At least her leg serves as a decent enough distraction. Adelheid knows plenty about first aid, but she doesn't offer any help as Haru fumbles with the bandages. The longer she can keep the other girl trapped there, the better. "There's no need for you to worry about it, you know. I know we're soulmates, but we've only met twice now. I'm not going to drag you into my family's personal troubles like this..."

Pursing her lips together in simmering dissatisfaction, Haru pauses from where she's started to wrap the bandages around Adelheid's leg. "Adel-kun... I know it's for good reason, and this is probably presumptuous to say, but it seems like you take way too much onto yourself!"

"I do not."

"I bet you do!" There's no chance to counter before Haru's stubborn demeanor melts a little bit. "I really liked how you said you would focus so much on me when we first met, but... You know, it would feel really weird if I didn't do my share too. It's not like I'm going to start living with you or anything, I just want whatever our relationship is to be equal!" Testing the tightness of the bandage, she glances up from beneath her bangs. "I just want to help... I can do that much, can't I?"

Warnings prick at the back of Adelheid's neck, causing the hairs there to stand on end, even though Haru is looking at her with soft shimmering eyes. It's not that she thinks the look is dishonest, but... "Just a little bit of help," she concedes, watching as her soulmate perks up immediately. "But don't shove to the side things like your schoolwork or anything like that. If you have good grades, you should keep them that way."

Haru's fists pump into the air victoriously, which isn't reassuring at all for Adelheid's suspicion that she's made a mistake of some sort. "You don't have to worry at all, Adel-kun! I'm going to be great!"

4

[warmskies]

"If you aren't, then we're going to have words..." Adelheid presses a hand to her head. "Between you and Enma, it seems like it's going to be a busy month."

The fists get slowly lowered as Haru blinks at her. "Huh? What's happening with Enma-kun?"

"He's ended up making friends with this toddler..." Leaning down, she finishes tying up the bandage that Haru had almost finished but forgot in her excitement. "I don't know where he found him- probably while he was feeding some of the stray cats around town. Now we can't seem to get rid of him."

"Well, at least it's good that Enma-kun is liked by kids!" Tucking away everything back into the plastic first aid bag, Haru smiles a little more. "I haven't really gotten to know everyone yet, and I know there's other people in your family... But I really like everyone I have met! Rauji-kun, and Kaoru-kun, and of course Enma-kun too. So... If this is bothering you, don't think about it as me helping a soulmate, but a bunch of people I've come to meet and like. So, really, don't worry about it, okay?"

Taken aback, Adelheid can only blink for a moment before she glances away. Just faintly, she thinks she can feel a soft heat start to gather on her face. "I suppose that's a good point."

Bouncing up to her feet, plastic tub in hand, Haru beams. "Good! Then you can't have any complaints! I'm so excited, I'll run back home right now and get to work immediately!" Adelheid has to scramble to get back onto her feet, hand tugging up her stocking, as Haru whirls around and darts back to the school.

"Remember what I said about schoolwork!" she calls after her, and gets just an energetic wave for her trouble.

"I will, don't worry!"

Long after Haru has disappeared inside the school and presumably disappeared out the front gates, Adelheid curls her hand under her chin to think. It's only when a certain figure begins to trek up the hill does she look away. "Kaoru. How was practice?"

"...My swing still needs a little work..." He tilts his head a bit, just to account for the small height difference between them. "I saw you were talking to Haru-chan earlier. How did it go?"

"Hm? Oh. Fine. She's very... energetic."

"How energetic...?"

"I'm thinking... I may need to use some of my disciplinary nets on her from time to time."

5

[warmskies]

It's been an... interesting series of fights.

Kyoya is still trying to decide how satisfied he is with it all. On one hand, he still hasn't been able to settle things definitively with Rokudo Mukuro, or that annoying Italian, or the Cavallone, or the mess that final battle became. His fingers ache to wrap around his tonfa again, to tear back victory with bleeding fangs, but there's no point to go after that old prey now.

What's more interesting, what's possibly made this whole endeavor worth it besides the scraps he's gotten to tear from the hides of those arrogant foreigners and others, is the progress Sawada has made. It's a curiosity Kyoya loves to peer at: how a small animal in body and soul can lash out and take charge with the demeanor befitting a Savannah predator. The signs have been a long time coming, all spurred on by the sly intruder that is the baby always hanging around him, but it's still intriguing to see it finally bloom. Not bore fruit, not just yet, but he can see the potential the baby has patiently been cultivating for over a year now.

At any other time, he'd take that for what it was, and settle for the time being. At any other time, however, he wouldn't be in a hospital with a room next to some of the most annoying neighbors that have ever existed and which share the unfortunate DNA linking them as fellow humans.

Some 86 thousand dollars in hospital damages, 20 broken bones, 18 new Hibirds, and many days later, and Kyoya rolls his neck as he makes his way through the lobby. Inactivity doesn't suit him. Naps and lazy lounging are one thing, but to be wholly restricted? Infuriating. The one blessing is that he's always been an unnaturally quick healer even after refusing the aid of the Vongola doctors. If he'd had to stay there for another day...

Orders for Tetsuya are on the tip of his tongue as he sweeps outside, a demand to find out what troublemakers have been rampant in Namimori while he's been out of commission, but it dies before taking flight. Instead of his vice captain's steady presence waiting for him, there's a sleek car parked on the street and a man with bleached hair tugged back in a hairband leaning against it. He plucks the cigarette out from his mouth and crushes it beneath one sleek shoe at Kyoya's glare. "You're looking well, Kyoya-san."

"Where's Kusakabe Tetsuya?" he asks bluntly, swatting aside any formalities or niceties with the same ease as he tugs out one of his tonfa.

"Waiting back at your parents' home. They instructed me to come pick you up, so can you ease up on that nasty look?"

Narrowing his eyes, he debates just tearing into the man for his insolence and because, frankly, it'd make him feel better, but he holds back. This is rare... His parents have always let him grow up mostly to his own creed and interests, and completely took a hands-off approach the second he claimed Namimori Middle School as his own. Oh, they've had dinner together, and he respects them, but he's never been called like this. Lips thinning, he stalks over to the car and slips inside the back seat as the door is held open for him.

Being driven back home is a dull and uneventful ride that he pays no mind to. All that's on his mind is being called. The second the car comes to a stop, he's out of it and striding through the gates in a heartbeat. The Hibari home has always been beautiful, a relic with a long history that's been updated to keep pace with the changing times. Even the servants inside seem like they belong in the past, hastily moving to the side and bowing low to him as he storms through the halls. Kyoya pays none of them any mind; they're background herbivores.

The only things that matter in this whole house are the alpha pair which claim it as their territory, and from whom he's separating from more and more with every year as he claims his own land.

For as far back as he can remember, family meetings have only taken place in one room in particular, and it's there that he goes without hesitation. "I'm home," he announces, sliding the door open with a snap of his wrist. Immediately, he takes in the scene with narrowing eyes.

For not appearing loyally, Kyoya had been planning to hunt Tetsuya down and discipline him. It turns out that won't be necessary.

After all, he's sitting right there.

For all his itch to demand answers, his father's voice breaks through first. "Welcome home, Kyoya. Sit down." From anyone else, he'd break their jaw first for daring to presume, but the rules are different in the Hibari household. One day, he'll bite his parents to death... but not now. Not while he's still living beneath their roof. He's still not satisfied with his territory or the people he's claimed yet.

There's an order to be upheld with these kind of things.

Lips drawn together, he settles down in front of his parents. It's a classic set up, the pair of them sitting neatly and united while he waits before them. The only change is Tetsuya's presence to the side, where he's been tucked out of the way. That says enough- this isn't about him, but Kyoya, with Tetsuya only a minor piece. As he makes himself comfortable, Kyoya glances over his parents critically.

It's always so strange, to see them together... Kyoya is well aware of the popular media's depiction of parents, but it's an image that never seems to fit his. For as long as he can remember, it's been his mother who's held down the house while his father has been elsewhere expanding and solidifying their family's territory. If he had to think of her, Kyoya supposes she would be exactly like an onna-bugeisha, and it's easy for him to imagine her with blood on her kimono and a naginata wielded skillfully in her hands. Of course, that's an old fashioned image. His mother would never do that.

It's the 21st century. She keeps a gun.

But then, that's not the only reason this sight feels strange, is it? Many times in the past, his father has come back to home before, for a break or to check in on him or addressing territorial concerns. Like many things in Kyoya's life, unimportant mundane things, he'd brushed those aside into mental boxes for unimportant memories. When he looks at his mother and father, sitting together, he thinks of rarer but more striking memories: peering in on them, quieter than a cat, and watching his mother fold in around his father like a shield, or his father whispering reassurances to a body less active than a corpse. Care taken for wounds whose stories he doesn't know, scars they hide from all but each other.

It had been a disconcerting intimacy, something that was never meant for an overly and demandingly curious child to see, and now Kyoya can never stop seeing it whenever he looks at them. There's not a lot of things in the world that disconcert him but that, he thinks, is one of the few that does.

"Bothering me when I've just been released from the hospital is bothersome," he states bluntly, his respect for even his parents only able to stretch so far. "What did you want?"

"That's understandable..." His father is the first to speak, voice controlled and quiet- Kyoya has overheard others say he's taken after him in that aspect at the very least. "However, you wouldn't have returned here for days if we left you to your own. This is a matter we have to address immediately."

"What matter?"

"The matter of your soul bonds."

Thoughts don't have a chance to form in his head. Kyoya reacts on instinct and emotion, twisting up off of one knee while his fingers snap into place around his tonfas. Before he can lunge at that traitor, Tetsuya is already pressing his forehead down against the floor in apology. "I have no excuse, Chairman! I was discussing uniform measurements for Miura and the Shimon family and was overheard. Forgive me."

Forgiveness is the last thing on Kyoya's mind but, fortunately for Tetsuya, leveling full punishment upon his former right hand and vice captain isn't at the top of the list either. He wavers for a second, palms grinding into the handles of his weapons, before he slowly forces himself to proper kneeling again. "Kusakabe Tetsuya, vice captain of the Namimori Middle School Disciplinary Committee, you are hereby kicked out from the club," he says darkly. While Tetsuya straightens up with a sigh, Kyoya directs his attention back to his parents. Already, he's sliding into a stubborn mood. "What of them?"

A sigh rustles out from his mother, sharpened with impatience. "Since nothing came up of your soul bonds when you were young, I was content to leave you alone on this subject until something came to light. However, with this knowledge, your father and I can't merely ignore it."

They could, actually, and very easily, but Kyoya doesn't say that. He simply draws his brows together and stretches his frown across his face. "I refuse marriage."

"We wouldn't have you married before you have even had a chance to enter high school, Kyoya." Reaching forward, his mother goes to pour herself a cup of tea that they've all been steadily ignoring this entire time. "However, it is only proper that we meet these families for dinner."

"I don't want to."

"Well, it's too late." She tilts her head back to sip her tea. "We've already sent invitations to them."