[10_orders] Afterschool Interrogations
Title: Afterschool Interrogations
Characters/Pairings: Chrome, Hibari, Hibird, Mukuro.
Prompt: 1o: Give me another chance.
Rating: K+
Word Count: 1241.
Summary: “... I had to promise to take her out on a date,” Mukuro confesses, sounding almost like he’s sulking.
“Poor nii-san,” Chrome says unsympathetically.
Author’s Note: High school!AU. Takes place a few days after The Art of a Name.
Afterschool Interrogations
[ give me another chance. ]
“Rokudo,” Hibari says, startling the girl in question and her two friends.
“H-Hibari-san,” Chrome stammers, confused and a little bit nervous because... this is Hibari-san, after all: The head prefect and all-around boss of Namimori High School.
“No crowding,” the prefect says pointedly, looking at Haru and Kyoko.
“Uhhh, we’ll see you later, Chrome-chan!” Haru says, and she and Kyoko quickly leave, though both cast worried looks over their shoulders.
“Is something the matter, Hibari-san?” Chrome asks nervously, trying to think of some rule that she might have broken. Nothing comes to mind, apart from Mukuro-nii almost putting Daemon-kun in a coma - but that was over a month ago. Well, whatever it is... Hopefully she won’t get bitten to death...
“Come with me,” Hibari replies, striding away briskly. The students making their way home give Hibari a wide berth - his dislike of ‘crowding’ is notorious, and there’s no need to take unnecessary risks, especially when Hibari’s involved.
Chrome has no choice but to follow him, clutching her books to her chest.
They end up in the Discipline Committee’s office. Hibari immediately drapes himself over the comfy-looking chair behind the desk. Chrome stands awkwardly before him. None of the other prefects are around, which doesn’t exactly make Chrome more comfortable.
“Sit down,” Hibari says, with a hint of impatience. Chrome sits in one of the plastic chairs in front of the desk.
“Herbivore!”
Chrome flinches, her gaze darting around before settling on a wire bird cage, and the small yellow ball of feathers within.
“Herbivore!” the bird repeats shrilly, then starts singing Namimori’s school anthem.
“You have a very nice bird, Hibari-san,” she says timidly. The little guy is cute! Though he looks sort of familiar...
“Hn. You have a brother, Mukuro Rokudo,” Hibari says, and it might have been a question except his tone is completely matter-of-fact.
“...Yes, Hibari-san.” Maybe this does have to do with Mukuro-nii’s beating of Daemon...
“Dropped out of Namimori two years ago,” the prefect adds, this time sounding faintly disapproving as he rifles through a file. “His grades were adequate. Why did he drop out?”
Chrome bites her lip, glancing at the bird again. “Hibari-san, that’s not really any of your, um, business,” she murmurs. Mukuro-nii has made it very clear that he doesn’t regret dropping out of school to support her, but she knows that the decision wasn’t an easy one for him to make, and that he wished there had been some other alternative. She also knows that Mukuro-nii would hate for someone to hear about any of this.
“Herbivore. Answer the question.”
Chrome turns to meet Hibari’s gaze squarely. “Did you buy the bird from the Kokuyo Pet Shop, Hibari-san?” she asks, realizing where she had seen the yellow fluff ball before.
The prefect’s eyes narrow. “... Yes.”
“Ok... I’ll tell you why Mukuro-nii dropped out if you promise not to tell anyone else, Hibari-san.”
Hibari’s eyes flash in obvious annoyance. “Carnivores do not make deals with herbivores. Know your place.”
“My place is to protect my brother,” Chrome answers, trying not to show how anxious the conversation (or to be more accurate, Hibari-san) is making her.
“I won’t mention it to anyone,” Hibari snaps.
The girl bows her head. “Thank you, Hibari-san. As for why my brother dropped out two years ago...” She pauses, to collect her thoughts. She doesn’t like to think about the circumstances leading up to and surrounding that period of her life, but it seems unlikely that she’ll be able to escape being bitten to death if she doesn’t relate what happened.
“There was an accident, three years ago. I was thirteen... Anyway, my parents, for one reason or another, wanted to abandon me,” Chrome begins, gazing down at her tightly clasped hands. “...Mukuro-nii disagreed. So they abandoned us both. Our parents left us with nothing. Mukuro-nii got a part-time job to try and support us, but it wasn’t easy. There were a few times I thought- well, I wondered if someone from Family Services would come and take me away from Mukuro-nii. Nosy neighbours - I suppose they meant well, but still - they noticed how thin I was, and they knew that no adults lived with us. As soon as he could, Mukuro-nii dropped out of school to start working full-time. Things got better, after that. We moved out of the tiny apartment and- well, our apartment is still small but it’s enough. More than enough.” She looks up, defiantly meeting Hibari’s gaze once more.
“... That’s all. You can go,” Hibari says curtly, looking down at the file again in obvious dismissal.
“Why do you want to know, Hibari-san?” Chrome asks, curious. It’s usually not a good idea to question the head prefect, but this encounter is far from usual, and Hibari-san hasn’t threatened to bite her to death yet, either...
“Get out,” the prefect responds flatly.
“Herbivore!” the bird adds cheerfully.
“Have a nice day, Hibari-san,” Chrome says, collecting her things. She doesn’t know why that makes Hibari stiffen and glare at her, but she doesn’t stick around to find out, either.
---
Mukuro-nii is waiting for her when she gets home, which is a bit of a surprise - she thought he had a late shift today.
“Welcome home,” he says, his eyes crinkling up in the corners like they always do when he teases her. After all, it’s usually Chrome who says so to her brother when he gets home.
“You’re home early,” Chrome answers, acknowledging the tease with a smile as she toes off her shoes.
Mukuro shrugs. “Miura and that other girl you hang out with-”
“Kyoko-chan.”
“-...Kyoko-chan, yes. They stopped in at the cafe.”
Ah. They must have told him about her strange meeting with Hibari-san.
“Oh..?” Chrome tilts her head and looks up at her older brother innocently. He can see right through her as easily as she sees through him, though. “I don’t see how that leads to you being home early, Mukuro-nii.”
The bluenet scowls. “I told M. M. I had to leave early today, so I could go pick you up from school.”
“And she just let you go?” Chrome asks sceptically.
“... I had to promise to take her out on a date,” Mukuro confesses, sounding almost like he’s sulking.
“Poor nii-san,” Chrome says unsympathetically.
“Enough about me, why were you talking with Hibari?” the bluenet demands impatiently.
“Hibari-san wanted to ask me about... nii-san,” Chrome answers.
Predictably, her brother’s eyes narrow. “What about me?”
Chrome bites her lip, but she always intended to tell him. She just isn’t sure how he’s going to react. “Hibari-san asked me why you dropped out, Mukuro-nii. And I told him.”
Mukuro’s scowl deepens; others would probably be very intimidated by the frown on his face, but not Chrome. She knows his anger isn’t directed at her; and more than that, she knows nii-san would never hurt her. “Did he threaten you?”
Chrome shrugs. “No more than he threatens everyone else. You’ve met him.”
“Presumptuous- Hn.” Mukuro paces around for a few moments, then stalks back to the door. “I’m going out.”
“... Ok, Mukuro-nii. Please don’t stay out too long,” Chrome replies, gazing at his back worriedly.
“Don’t stay up,” the bluenet say shortly.
(Chrome stays up until Mukuro-nii returns at 3 in the morning, bloody but pleased.
The next day, the school is quietly abuzz about how someone got into an epic fight with Hibari-san, and actually beat him.)
Characters/Pairings: Chrome, Hibari, Hibird, Mukuro.
Prompt: 1o: Give me another chance.
Rating: K+
Word Count: 1241.
Summary: “... I had to promise to take her out on a date,” Mukuro confesses, sounding almost like he’s sulking.
“Poor nii-san,” Chrome says unsympathetically.
Author’s Note: High school!AU. Takes place a few days after The Art of a Name.
Afterschool Interrogations
[ give me another chance. ]
“Rokudo,” Hibari says, startling the girl in question and her two friends.
“H-Hibari-san,” Chrome stammers, confused and a little bit nervous because... this is Hibari-san, after all: The head prefect and all-around boss of Namimori High School.
“No crowding,” the prefect says pointedly, looking at Haru and Kyoko.
“Uhhh, we’ll see you later, Chrome-chan!” Haru says, and she and Kyoko quickly leave, though both cast worried looks over their shoulders.
“Is something the matter, Hibari-san?” Chrome asks nervously, trying to think of some rule that she might have broken. Nothing comes to mind, apart from Mukuro-nii almost putting Daemon-kun in a coma - but that was over a month ago. Well, whatever it is... Hopefully she won’t get bitten to death...
“Come with me,” Hibari replies, striding away briskly. The students making their way home give Hibari a wide berth - his dislike of ‘crowding’ is notorious, and there’s no need to take unnecessary risks, especially when Hibari’s involved.
Chrome has no choice but to follow him, clutching her books to her chest.
They end up in the Discipline Committee’s office. Hibari immediately drapes himself over the comfy-looking chair behind the desk. Chrome stands awkwardly before him. None of the other prefects are around, which doesn’t exactly make Chrome more comfortable.
“Sit down,” Hibari says, with a hint of impatience. Chrome sits in one of the plastic chairs in front of the desk.
“Herbivore!”
Chrome flinches, her gaze darting around before settling on a wire bird cage, and the small yellow ball of feathers within.
“Herbivore!” the bird repeats shrilly, then starts singing Namimori’s school anthem.
“You have a very nice bird, Hibari-san,” she says timidly. The little guy is cute! Though he looks sort of familiar...
“Hn. You have a brother, Mukuro Rokudo,” Hibari says, and it might have been a question except his tone is completely matter-of-fact.
“...Yes, Hibari-san.” Maybe this does have to do with Mukuro-nii’s beating of Daemon...
“Dropped out of Namimori two years ago,” the prefect adds, this time sounding faintly disapproving as he rifles through a file. “His grades were adequate. Why did he drop out?”
Chrome bites her lip, glancing at the bird again. “Hibari-san, that’s not really any of your, um, business,” she murmurs. Mukuro-nii has made it very clear that he doesn’t regret dropping out of school to support her, but she knows that the decision wasn’t an easy one for him to make, and that he wished there had been some other alternative. She also knows that Mukuro-nii would hate for someone to hear about any of this.
“Herbivore. Answer the question.”
Chrome turns to meet Hibari’s gaze squarely. “Did you buy the bird from the Kokuyo Pet Shop, Hibari-san?” she asks, realizing where she had seen the yellow fluff ball before.
The prefect’s eyes narrow. “... Yes.”
“Ok... I’ll tell you why Mukuro-nii dropped out if you promise not to tell anyone else, Hibari-san.”
Hibari’s eyes flash in obvious annoyance. “Carnivores do not make deals with herbivores. Know your place.”
“My place is to protect my brother,” Chrome answers, trying not to show how anxious the conversation (or to be more accurate, Hibari-san) is making her.
“I won’t mention it to anyone,” Hibari snaps.
The girl bows her head. “Thank you, Hibari-san. As for why my brother dropped out two years ago...” She pauses, to collect her thoughts. She doesn’t like to think about the circumstances leading up to and surrounding that period of her life, but it seems unlikely that she’ll be able to escape being bitten to death if she doesn’t relate what happened.
“There was an accident, three years ago. I was thirteen... Anyway, my parents, for one reason or another, wanted to abandon me,” Chrome begins, gazing down at her tightly clasped hands. “...Mukuro-nii disagreed. So they abandoned us both. Our parents left us with nothing. Mukuro-nii got a part-time job to try and support us, but it wasn’t easy. There were a few times I thought- well, I wondered if someone from Family Services would come and take me away from Mukuro-nii. Nosy neighbours - I suppose they meant well, but still - they noticed how thin I was, and they knew that no adults lived with us. As soon as he could, Mukuro-nii dropped out of school to start working full-time. Things got better, after that. We moved out of the tiny apartment and- well, our apartment is still small but it’s enough. More than enough.” She looks up, defiantly meeting Hibari’s gaze once more.
“... That’s all. You can go,” Hibari says curtly, looking down at the file again in obvious dismissal.
“Why do you want to know, Hibari-san?” Chrome asks, curious. It’s usually not a good idea to question the head prefect, but this encounter is far from usual, and Hibari-san hasn’t threatened to bite her to death yet, either...
“Get out,” the prefect responds flatly.
“Herbivore!” the bird adds cheerfully.
“Have a nice day, Hibari-san,” Chrome says, collecting her things. She doesn’t know why that makes Hibari stiffen and glare at her, but she doesn’t stick around to find out, either.
---
Mukuro-nii is waiting for her when she gets home, which is a bit of a surprise - she thought he had a late shift today.
“Welcome home,” he says, his eyes crinkling up in the corners like they always do when he teases her. After all, it’s usually Chrome who says so to her brother when he gets home.
“You’re home early,” Chrome answers, acknowledging the tease with a smile as she toes off her shoes.
Mukuro shrugs. “Miura and that other girl you hang out with-”
“Kyoko-chan.”
“-...Kyoko-chan, yes. They stopped in at the cafe.”
Ah. They must have told him about her strange meeting with Hibari-san.
“Oh..?” Chrome tilts her head and looks up at her older brother innocently. He can see right through her as easily as she sees through him, though. “I don’t see how that leads to you being home early, Mukuro-nii.”
The bluenet scowls. “I told M. M. I had to leave early today, so I could go pick you up from school.”
“And she just let you go?” Chrome asks sceptically.
“... I had to promise to take her out on a date,” Mukuro confesses, sounding almost like he’s sulking.
“Poor nii-san,” Chrome says unsympathetically.
“Enough about me, why were you talking with Hibari?” the bluenet demands impatiently.
“Hibari-san wanted to ask me about... nii-san,” Chrome answers.
Predictably, her brother’s eyes narrow. “What about me?”
Chrome bites her lip, but she always intended to tell him. She just isn’t sure how he’s going to react. “Hibari-san asked me why you dropped out, Mukuro-nii. And I told him.”
Mukuro’s scowl deepens; others would probably be very intimidated by the frown on his face, but not Chrome. She knows his anger isn’t directed at her; and more than that, she knows nii-san would never hurt her. “Did he threaten you?”
Chrome shrugs. “No more than he threatens everyone else. You’ve met him.”
“Presumptuous- Hn.” Mukuro paces around for a few moments, then stalks back to the door. “I’m going out.”
“... Ok, Mukuro-nii. Please don’t stay out too long,” Chrome replies, gazing at his back worriedly.
“Don’t stay up,” the bluenet say shortly.
(Chrome stays up until Mukuro-nii returns at 3 in the morning, bloody but pleased.
The next day, the school is quietly abuzz about how someone got into an epic fight with Hibari-san, and actually beat him.)