Katekyou Hitman Reborn! - The Fate of Ai {Hibari Kyoya X OC}

Cinquantuno

Mai managed to sneak back into the house thanks to Hibari being preoccupied with his Foundation work. 

He was still working with Kusakabe when she got back - trying to trace calls and messages, identifying some of the men in Namimori, things like that. She didn't want to disturb them, especially since it would be from selfishness, so she sat on a pillow in one of the empty rooms. A member of the disciplinary committee, or the Foundation now, tended to her; got her tea, snacks, and a book; and she was content just hearing the low voices nextdoor. She read about five chapters, finished two cups of tea, and ate a couple rice crackers, before the clamour turned quiet. 

She didn't know what they were doing. They were searching through files, both physical and virtual, when she peeked in on them the first time.

"Kyo-san, I've just been told that Mai-san has been reading in the room beside us for about an hour or so now." Kusakabe reported, noticing he had a message on his phone - in code for safety. It was sent a while ago but he'd been so busy with the profiles that he didn't notice.

"Mai? Why am I just now being told..." Hibari didn't sound impressed, he was somewhat happy Mai was back but annoyed that he missed a good hour of Mai-time. What a great assistant Kusakabe - informing him so late. If this was the Hibari of five years ago Kusakabe would already be facing the tonfa; Mai-time is precious time. 

"I've just received the message, my apologies sir," Kusakabe bowed, "I can finish here. Mai-san is probably waiting for you." He smiled on the inside - since if he showed any form of emotion to Hibari it would be a cue for the tonfa to come out again. And when he hasn't faced them in so long... he preferred not to be on the receiving end again. 

"Hn." Hibari was thankful but he wasn't one to express that. There was a lot of work to do and as much as he wanted to go he wouldn't have if Kusakabe didn't offer. He walked out of the room with a little urgency, Mai deposits needed refilling. 

Not being sneaky or quiet, he slammed open the shoji doors and stepped inside, watching as Mai almost spilled her tea from the shock of hearing such a loud noise. Her book dropped from her lap as she jumped, losing the page she was on. 

She hadn't looked at him yet probably thinking he was a subordinate or something. Busying herself with cleaning up the little droplets of tea that fell onto the tray and fiddling to find her page, she finally looked up; dropping the book again - thus losing the page once more. 

"Kyoya!? Aren't you working?" She questioned, turning around to face him - who had just gotten a pillow to sit on. He threw it down in front of her and sat resting his head in his hand. 

"You weren't here when I got back." He spoke, questioning her on where she was. Admittedly, it took a while after meeting Hibari to get used to his way of asking questions. 

"I was catching up with Chrome-chan and I met with the other Kokuyo people. It got a little loud and so we went into town for a while, I was just returning from the last cafe we visited." Mai lied through her teeth. It was excruciatingly painful to lie straight to Hibari's face; not that she was any good at it.

He didn't believe her. Obviously she saw Mukuro although leaving that out was probably for the best but his mood still soured. 

Was he going to be this protective in the future? Come to think of it, that little trip she had to the future before she recalled Hibari waiting outside of Tsuna's office for her... Can he not have a serene peace of mind without her being beside him? I mean it was Tsuna's office, probably the most secure place there. Not that protective Hibari was annoying, it was far different from that, it was adorable. 

Anyway, enough about future problems because there was a giant one right in front of her. 

"Kyoya...?" Mai had turned away from him, she wouldn't be able to ask what she wanted if she were to look into his eyes as they'd swallow her conscience whole. "What would you do if I suddenly left one day?" Perhaps he wouldn't go on a rampage if she gave him hints? And doing it this way made everything so much more dramatic.