[Story] In Sights: KHR/骸雲
Only two days had passed since the rival Calcassa family had retreated from their unexpected attack on Vongola property. Hibari Kyoya had, in the heart of the battle’s climax, very literally defended Rokudo Mukuro from a sower of bullets. The action was too fast, too spontaneous for Hibari to fully acknowledge what he had been doing, but when things had completely calmed down and it had sunk in, he found himself in involuntary possession of a surplus of mist-related frustration.
Why had he done that? He slumped in his chair in the Disciplinary Office, balling his fists as he glared down at nothing in particular. Why, of all people, did it have to be that damned pineapple head? It was humiliating - Hibari must have been the very first predator in history to have saved a herbi -
No. It was a message, one of those so-called “sixth sense”-powered insights that the instinct sometimes sent to the consciousness. No, it told him very bluntly, Rokudo Mukuro is by no means a herbivore. You know it. You have always known it. He raised a fist and punched the air, his anger intensified at how true those words were. If anyone did, Rokudo Mukuro deserved his utmost respect. He evidently had no propensity to follow the crowd, the herd; no, he was the very opposite of those herders - grazing animals; herbivores. He held himself in high regard and stuck, like superglue, to his own thoughts. He consciously broke away from the herd behaviour found in humans - he had no need for it. For he was strong enough alone to ensure survival, as all top carnivores were, unlike herbivores. They were only strong when banded together as one single unit. They were willing to forgo their individualism for survival.
But is he really? Another question formed lightning-swift in Hibari’s mind. Unconventional as Mukuro’s heterochromatic eyes were, he still kept to himself - at times even within - a small group, but nevertheless a group, of subordinates; followers, all clad in the same uniform of military green. In a way, Mukuro needed them for survival. After all, had it not been for them, he would still be locked away in an underground tank - but no! That was the future Rokudo Mukuro, not the present Rokudo Mukuro. Still, what was the difference? They were both essentially the same being, with the same habits, the same fruit-styled hair, the same right eye, the same laugh. And while one could argue with the fact that Kusakabe and the rest of the pompadour-sporting Disciplinary Committee members, too, were followers of Hibari Kyoya, Hibari would be ready with the following argument: his committee was different from Mukuro’s posse. Hibari simply did not look out for the well-being of his mob of prefects. All he wanted from them was total loyalty, and they gave him that. Furthermore, while he did indeed encourage them to look like clones of one another (for they were weak when he first found them), he made sure not to join in on their activities. He even purposely isolated each of them when they carried their committee duties, so they could quickly grow strong alone and become less herbivorous. Satisfied with his justification, Hibari came to a final conclusion: Rokudo Mukuro, whether in the present or future, still retained a portion of the group-needing tendencies common to majority humans and therefore did not deserve Hibari’s respect.
That, however, gave birth to another problem. Everyone saw. Soon, predicted Hibari in disgust, word that Vongola’s strongest guardian had saved his foresworn enemy would travel like wildfire from ear to ear within the family. What made it worse was the fact that Hibari did not belong to that family. He was merely an associate; they gave him hordes of herbivores to bite and he left their boss - who was, he had to admit, more omnivorous than herbivorous, for when that Sawada Tsunayoshi bit, he bit sharp and hard - alone. Technically Mukuro was not part of the deal - in fact, he too did not belong to the Vongola (which meant Hibari could still get away with butchering him. Hypothetically.) - or so he claimed. It was not difficult, decided Hibari, to piece the puzzle pieces together: Mukuro must have been bribed into allying with the Vongola. Whether it was money for both him and his entire posse or financially free lodging (up to this day, Hibari still avoided Kokuyo Land as if it were the plague - besides, so long as they lived out of Namimori, he would be at peace - enough peace, that was, to keep relatively calm whenever that pineapple showed up during battles), one thing was certain: without whatever Sawada’s father promised him, Mukuro would continue to be a threat to the Vongola.
Or would he? Chrome obviously fought for the family. And Mukuro treated her with more than enough affection. It was not a necessity, for he was completely free from the Vindice. He had no use of her body anymore. He could throw her aside and even express disgust for her emotional involvement with Sawada Tsunayoshi and his family. Yet he did not. He still stroked her hair and smiled tenderly at her. For such a ruthless killer, his voice was amazingly solicitous when he spoke to her. How could he possibly act in such a way if he continued to hold a grudge against the Vongola and all its family members? In fact, once Hibari thought about it - really thought about it, dug into the core of it - Mukuro’s attitude had changed (though not by a lot) around him as well. There was less fighting and more talking, despite their conversations being at most sixty seconds long and often about fighting each other somewhere in the near future (only now did Hibari remember the number of fights Mukuro still owed him: eighty-seven since he “defeated” Daemon Spade - the moment before he became an owl, to be more specific), less kufufu’s and more Hibari Kyoya’s. There would even be an occasional “Hello.” Such a greeting would always catch Hibari off-guard, yet it somehow never irritated him. Perhaps it was because being talked to was better than being laughed at -
“Shit!” Another punch to the air. He was actually thinking about that goddamn pineapple-head! Thank goodness he was alone. It would have been too humiliating if anyone - Kusakabe included - had been there. Hibari was getting irritated. He needed something - someone - to beat up, bite, let loose all those brain-combusting thoughts. Preferably someone daring enough to fight back and strong enough to withstand a good ten minutes, at least. In fact, the best opponent right now would be one he personally resented; the more Hibari loathed his opponent, the better he fought, and the more he swung his tonfas, the more he released. He would be more than satisfied - much, much more.
And then he realized: all he could think of beating up was Rokudo Mukuro.
Fuck.
But wait! Would that not be the best way of saving his own face? Any act of relative tolerance towards the illusionist would be an unintentional confirmation of a positive relationship between them - which would only add more fuel to the fire-rumour that could as well be spreading around right this very instant. Whereas a fight between the two of them would no doubt entail a negative relationship - with that, all else would follow, and within a very short time - minutes, even - the status of their dynamic would be viewed by the whole of Vongola as simply unchanged. Yes! It was the perfect plan. With a grin (which looked more sadistic than delighted), Hibari stood from his chair and grabbed his tonfas, before heading out the door in a mild speed-walk, his black jacket swirling behind him like Batman’s cape.
Notes:
1. I was required to involve Chrome. So I did desu de gozaru.
2. My beta, pomegranate, suggested the story title for the following reason: "This is a terrible pun, but "In sights" is largely what this fic's about (it works even if you decide to discard that edit) and hints at what happens at the end -- that Hibari has Mukuro "in his sights" for a crushing, if you'll pardon the equally terrible pun. That's all I'm getting so far." You see she is very witty when it comes to puns.
3. This is a partial present for my father. Even though I forgot to tell him that I changed the pairing from his OTP (1896) to my second OTP (1869). Sorry, dude.
4. If I butchered the prompt, please accept my sincerest apologies. I can't write humour with Hibari for several reasons.
5. For more information on the Calcassa family, please read the chapter about Mafia Land, or watch the anime episode. I like the Daily Life "arc", okay.
Why had he done that? He slumped in his chair in the Disciplinary Office, balling his fists as he glared down at nothing in particular. Why, of all people, did it have to be that damned pineapple head? It was humiliating - Hibari must have been the very first predator in history to have saved a herbi -
No. It was a message, one of those so-called “sixth sense”-powered insights that the instinct sometimes sent to the consciousness. No, it told him very bluntly, Rokudo Mukuro is by no means a herbivore. You know it. You have always known it. He raised a fist and punched the air, his anger intensified at how true those words were. If anyone did, Rokudo Mukuro deserved his utmost respect. He evidently had no propensity to follow the crowd, the herd; no, he was the very opposite of those herders - grazing animals; herbivores. He held himself in high regard and stuck, like superglue, to his own thoughts. He consciously broke away from the herd behaviour found in humans - he had no need for it. For he was strong enough alone to ensure survival, as all top carnivores were, unlike herbivores. They were only strong when banded together as one single unit. They were willing to forgo their individualism for survival.
But is he really? Another question formed lightning-swift in Hibari’s mind. Unconventional as Mukuro’s heterochromatic eyes were, he still kept to himself - at times even within - a small group, but nevertheless a group, of subordinates; followers, all clad in the same uniform of military green. In a way, Mukuro needed them for survival. After all, had it not been for them, he would still be locked away in an underground tank - but no! That was the future Rokudo Mukuro, not the present Rokudo Mukuro. Still, what was the difference? They were both essentially the same being, with the same habits, the same fruit-styled hair, the same right eye, the same laugh. And while one could argue with the fact that Kusakabe and the rest of the pompadour-sporting Disciplinary Committee members, too, were followers of Hibari Kyoya, Hibari would be ready with the following argument: his committee was different from Mukuro’s posse. Hibari simply did not look out for the well-being of his mob of prefects. All he wanted from them was total loyalty, and they gave him that. Furthermore, while he did indeed encourage them to look like clones of one another (for they were weak when he first found them), he made sure not to join in on their activities. He even purposely isolated each of them when they carried their committee duties, so they could quickly grow strong alone and become less herbivorous. Satisfied with his justification, Hibari came to a final conclusion: Rokudo Mukuro, whether in the present or future, still retained a portion of the group-needing tendencies common to majority humans and therefore did not deserve Hibari’s respect.
That, however, gave birth to another problem. Everyone saw. Soon, predicted Hibari in disgust, word that Vongola’s strongest guardian had saved his foresworn enemy would travel like wildfire from ear to ear within the family. What made it worse was the fact that Hibari did not belong to that family. He was merely an associate; they gave him hordes of herbivores to bite and he left their boss - who was, he had to admit, more omnivorous than herbivorous, for when that Sawada Tsunayoshi bit, he bit sharp and hard - alone. Technically Mukuro was not part of the deal - in fact, he too did not belong to the Vongola (which meant Hibari could still get away with butchering him. Hypothetically.) - or so he claimed. It was not difficult, decided Hibari, to piece the puzzle pieces together: Mukuro must have been bribed into allying with the Vongola. Whether it was money for both him and his entire posse or financially free lodging (up to this day, Hibari still avoided Kokuyo Land as if it were the plague - besides, so long as they lived out of Namimori, he would be at peace - enough peace, that was, to keep relatively calm whenever that pineapple showed up during battles), one thing was certain: without whatever Sawada’s father promised him, Mukuro would continue to be a threat to the Vongola.
Or would he? Chrome obviously fought for the family. And Mukuro treated her with more than enough affection. It was not a necessity, for he was completely free from the Vindice. He had no use of her body anymore. He could throw her aside and even express disgust for her emotional involvement with Sawada Tsunayoshi and his family. Yet he did not. He still stroked her hair and smiled tenderly at her. For such a ruthless killer, his voice was amazingly solicitous when he spoke to her. How could he possibly act in such a way if he continued to hold a grudge against the Vongola and all its family members? In fact, once Hibari thought about it - really thought about it, dug into the core of it - Mukuro’s attitude had changed (though not by a lot) around him as well. There was less fighting and more talking, despite their conversations being at most sixty seconds long and often about fighting each other somewhere in the near future (only now did Hibari remember the number of fights Mukuro still owed him: eighty-seven since he “defeated” Daemon Spade - the moment before he became an owl, to be more specific), less kufufu’s and more Hibari Kyoya’s. There would even be an occasional “Hello.” Such a greeting would always catch Hibari off-guard, yet it somehow never irritated him. Perhaps it was because being talked to was better than being laughed at -
“Shit!” Another punch to the air. He was actually thinking about that goddamn pineapple-head! Thank goodness he was alone. It would have been too humiliating if anyone - Kusakabe included - had been there. Hibari was getting irritated. He needed something - someone - to beat up, bite, let loose all those brain-combusting thoughts. Preferably someone daring enough to fight back and strong enough to withstand a good ten minutes, at least. In fact, the best opponent right now would be one he personally resented; the more Hibari loathed his opponent, the better he fought, and the more he swung his tonfas, the more he released. He would be more than satisfied - much, much more.
And then he realized: all he could think of beating up was Rokudo Mukuro.
Fuck.
But wait! Would that not be the best way of saving his own face? Any act of relative tolerance towards the illusionist would be an unintentional confirmation of a positive relationship between them - which would only add more fuel to the fire-rumour that could as well be spreading around right this very instant. Whereas a fight between the two of them would no doubt entail a negative relationship - with that, all else would follow, and within a very short time - minutes, even - the status of their dynamic would be viewed by the whole of Vongola as simply unchanged. Yes! It was the perfect plan. With a grin (which looked more sadistic than delighted), Hibari stood from his chair and grabbed his tonfas, before heading out the door in a mild speed-walk, his black jacket swirling behind him like Batman’s cape.
Notes:
1. I was required to involve Chrome. So I did desu de gozaru.
2. My beta, pomegranate, suggested the story title for the following reason: "This is a terrible pun, but "In sights" is largely what this fic's about (it works even if you decide to discard that edit) and hints at what happens at the end -- that Hibari has Mukuro "in his sights" for a crushing, if you'll pardon the equally terrible pun. That's all I'm getting so far." You see she is very witty when it comes to puns.
3. This is a partial present for my father. Even though I forgot to tell him that I changed the pairing from his OTP (1896) to my second OTP (1869). Sorry, dude.
4. If I butchered the prompt, please accept my sincerest apologies. I can't write humour with Hibari for several reasons.
5. For more information on the Calcassa family, please read the chapter about Mafia Land, or watch the anime episode. I like the Daily Life "arc", okay.