Author's Note: Hellooooooooooo. Deepest apologies for the absence—I literally don't know when we'll next update, but I doubt it will take two years this time around. D: But I am looking at my reviews, and we literally have twenty per chapter, and I am honestly honored? So thank you so, so much for all your encouragement. It means a lot. *hugs*

So, thank you for reading Chapter Six of Through a Glass Darkly. We hope you enjoy it, as we certainly enjoyed writing it! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or any of its characters—that honor goes to Akira Amano-sensei. However, if there was an alternate universe where I owned Hibari, you can be certain I wouldn't be sharing him. :)

Chapter Six: Stepping Through the Looking Glass

Present Time: Kyoko

At twenty, Kyoko is still the calm at the center of the storm as the whole Family sprints full-speed into frantic crisis mode—she loves them dearly, but level-headed they are not. The boys are due to leave for Italy in two weeks, and here they are, chasing after the future version of Chrome-chan, who has hold of the ten-year bazooka, and managed to steal her brother's motorcycle, and is now gallivanting off to who-knows-where and plans on doing who-knows-what to who-knows-who.

Kyoko grins wryly as she sits in the back of Yamamoto-kun's family van while they hurtle through the streets, Gokudera-kun's frantic directions coming through Nii-chan's cell phone. All in all, it's another day with Tsuna-kun and the Vongola.

She feels a pang of the sadness at the thought, because soon it won't be like anymore, will it? Soon, all her days will no longer be predictably unpredictable, and simply turn routine instead—just her and Haru, going to school and taking exams and making friends and small talk and—

No, Kyoko tells herself sternly. Stop this. You are better than this. There is nothing wrong with routine. You've got to hold onto it while you can so you can let it go when you're ready. Tsuna-kun is trying to give you the gift of a normal life for as long as possible, and you've got to use it to your advantage—years from now, you're going to be the only normal he's got.

So Kyoko takes a deep breath and tells Yamamoto-kun when to turn left, being the voice of quiet reason as always. And if she takes the time to savor this last bit of familiar chaos…?

Well, who can blame her? Tsuna-kun and his friends have always been interesting, and Kyoko is nothing if not fond of interesting things.

They end up in front of a very familiar-looking estate: "Isn't this Hibari-san's house?" Kyoko asks, frowning.

Tsuna blinks. "I think it is."

It takes them a few minutes, but eventually they find where all the action is taking place—and yup, right on schedule is Gokudera-kun demanding an explanation and looking like he's going to turn blue from yelling so much, and there's Haru-chan coming over to hastily give them a quick rundown of the situation but talking far too fast and skipping around far too much to make any sense, and then there's older Chrome-chan with the bazooka, and there's a very angry-looking Hibari-san, and finally Tetsu-san in the corner just like always.

"What happened?" Kyoko asks Haru.

Her best friend gestures wildly with her hands. "Chrome-chan shot him!"

"Shot who?" she replies, looking quizzically around the room.

"Kusakabe-san!"

Everybody turns to look at Kusakabe-san, who doesn't look any worse for the wear. "He seems fine," Kyoko finally ventures to say. There aren't any bullet wounds, at least.

"Oh, he's quite alright, I assure you," Chrome-chan says. "At least, he should be. You were just in your office as per usual this time of day, correct, Tetsu-san?"

"Uh, yes, Chrome-sama. My past self should be fine," he says tentatively, keeping a wary eye on Hibari-san in the corner, where the Cloud Guardian is almost vibrating with rage.

Then his words register with Kyoko. "Past self?" she says in surprise—right around the same time as everyone else does, too.

"Ah, yes," Kusakabe-san answers, "I am the Tetsu-san from ten years in the future." The man bows, and now that Kyoko's paying attention, she can see the slight changes in height and the leanness of face that mark the passage of years—still, he looks remarkably identical to his 21-year-old self.

"You look exactly the same!" Tsuna tactlessly blurts out. Oh, Tsuna, Kyoko thinks fondly. Never change.

Haru wrinkles her nose and says, "Well, actually, if you really stare at him, you can tell his hair's—"

"Who cares about his hair?!" Gokudera shouts. "You!" he says, pointing straight at Chrome-chan. "What the hell are you doing, going around shooting people? Are you insane? Hey! Answer me, wom—"

"Tetsu-san, we unfortunately only have fifteen minutes to plan, probably closer to ten now," Chrome-chan says, ignoring Gokudera altogether. Kyoko realizes she's been scribbling on a piece of paper the entire time, a paper she now hands to Kusakabe-san. "As per our original understanding of the timeline, I will be stranded here for two weeks. Now, as you may have guessed, that puts our precious—"

"—project," Kusakabe-san interjects hastily, shooting another worried glance in Hibari-san's direction.

Chrome blinks. "Yes. Our project. Good thinking, Tetsu-san; too much knowledge of future events may throw us out of the stable time-loop and endanger the project's existence, which is completely unacceptable," she says, her face hardening in sudden determination and not a little menace.

"Of course, Chrome-sama," Kusakabe-san says. Wait a minute, did just he say Chrome-sama? Kyoko looks from one to the other, thoroughly confused. What kind of top-secret project was this? It was obviously important to the Vongola Family if a Guardian was in charge of it, and probably to the Foundation, as well, if Kusakabe-san was involved.

Chrome nods, face still set in concentration. "Now, I was currently stationed in Safe House Four, the address of which you will find on that paper—I don't want you having to waste time tracking me down. I have also written a quick letter explaining that my past self should entrust you with the project and stay in your care for the next two weeks—if she hesitates further, please feel free to tell her that you know of our original name. In addition, please ask her to keep a daily log recording the…project's progress, as well as detailing the rest of her time in the future. I would hate to be caught unaware on my return. Of course, I will do the same for her—in fact, I think I can just copy the letters that my future self—I mean, that I have already—or rather, the letters that I will—" Chrome presses her lips together and furrow her brows. "Oh, you know what I mean. Regardless, if at any point in time my past self does anything to jeopardize the project, you're under orders to ensure the project's safety at all costs. Understood, Tetsu-san?"

"Yes, Chrome-sama!" the man says, beginning to fire off a salute before Hibari-san suddenly rises to his feet and says, "No."

Everyone turns to look at him, including Chrome-chan, who merely stares at him impassively. "Hibari-san," she says, "ten years from now you will understand the importance and magnitude of this project. Please believe me when I say that while Tetsu-san is acting under my orders in this instance, the project is a joint effort and you would order him to do the same under similar circumstances." She bows gracefully.

"No," Hibari-san stubbornly repeats, glaring at her and Kusakabe-san both. "Tetsu, you are under orders to disregard everything this woman has said, and I order you to return to my side immediately."

"Uh…your future self would definitely want me to follow her orders, though, Kyo-san," Kusakabe-san says, ill at ease.

Hibari-san's eyes narrow dangerously. "Obviously my orders trump his, Tetsu."

Kusakabe-san frowns. "I'm relatively certain that's not how it works," he says, apologetic.

"I am absolutely certain that my orders trump anyone else's, including my future self's," Hibari-san positively growls.

Chrome-chan gently steps in front of Kusakabe-san. "With all due respect, Hibari-san, the ten-years-later you is…well, he's more threatening. I do my best not to make him angry, and I'm sure Tetsu-san does the same. This isn't an insult to you, though—think of it as a compliment instead. You're only going to get more fearsome as you age," she says with a polite smile.

Hibari looks as if he's about to violently disagree and make his displeasure known—probably with his fists—when a cell phone rings, leaving everyone to stare at each other in sudden confusion.

Haru tilts her head. "Kusakabe-san, I think it's coming from you?"

Surprised, the man rummages in his suit pocket and fishes out the device. "Hello?" he says uncertainly, bringing it to his ear. He obviously has no idea why it's working, either. He listens for a few seconds, a frantic tinny voice coming faintly from the speakers, then his eyes widen and—"What do you mean the tracking device has been triggered? That would only happen if—"

"If the project was heading into enemy territory," Chrome says, going absolutely white.

Future Time: Chrome

Chrome blinked. She was standing in an unfamiliar kitchen in an unfamiliar house with her hands immersed in soapy water, and she took a second to be grateful that at least she wasn't in the middle of a battlefield or out on a mission. Or, well, it didn't look like she was on a mission. Curious, she moved past the doorway into what seemed to be…a normal living room. Very clean, very organized, not very cluttered. Comfortable and blandly tasteful furniture dominating the space. A purple throw blanket tossed over the back of the sofa. No pictures on the wall or mantle.

Chrome felt vaguely disappointed. If this was her house—and that seemed to be the most logical option—it wasn't very…home-like. The only indication of personality was a vase with perhaps day-old tulips resting on the coffee table. Glancing out the window, she noted the house was in the middle of a quiet neighborhood, probably somewhere in Japan considering the landscape and street signs. Maybe this was a safe-house, and she was lying low after a mission? She briefly considered the possibility that she may have entered retirement and was now living a nondescript life to avoid reprisal from the Vongola's enemies, then dismissed that as unlikely. Why would she ever leave the Boss? Even after Mukurou-sama was freed, Chrome thought she would still stay on with the Vongolas—they were her family as much as Ken, Chikusa, M.M., and Mukurou-sama were. No, she probably just had a mission in Japan, and would soon fly back to Italy to support the Boss and the others.

She glanced at the clock—only a few minutes left before her time ran out. She decided to go back to the kitchen and wait there, so her future self would be as little disoriented as possible upon her return. She debated whether she ought to wash some more dishes for her, then chose not to on the off-chance the reversal happened while she was putting one away, potentially breaking a dish. Instead, she sat down at the table and gazed around at the pretty if impersonal room—it might be nice to live in a house like this, raise a family. She wondered wistfully if her future self had managed to find a husband; probably not, thinking about it, though maybe she had a cozy little cottage in the Italian countryside that she could retreat to every once in a while, someplace to call her own, and no doubt she had comfortable, well-loved rooms in the Vongola mansion. Kyoko-san had probably married the Boss by now; perhaps there were children for her to be an honorary aunt to, Chrome thought, brightening at the possibility. Hmm. She wondered if her suspicions about Bianchi-san and Dino-san were confirmed here in the future, then spared a thought for Gokudera-san's reaction and giggled. Lambo-kun and I-Pin-chan would almost be adults now, Sasagawa-san had probably already gone on his grand tour of world fighting styles, Yamamoto-san was sure to have joined the Japanese Major Leagues, Haru-san was most likely putting her mind to good use and swimming happily amongst the lawyer-sharks, and the Boss…well, he was probably still the Boss and as warm and caring as ever, much to Reborn-san's mingled pride and exasperation…

She took a moment to regret switching with her future self when there was nobody else around—no doubt it was less complicated this way for everyone involved, but it would've been nice to see how everyone was doing here in the future they'd made for themselves, even if she was destined to forget it once she returned to her own timeline. She sighed, glancing at the clock to see how much time she had left, then blinked.

That can't be right, she thought, standing up, nonplussed.

She waited a few more moments, anticipating the burst of smoke and sudden confusion that accompanied a return to her proper timeline, but nothing happened.

She waited another minute. Still nothing.

She waited two more minutes. Five. Ten. Still nothing.

"Oh, dear," she said out loud, biting her lip. Perhaps Lambo-kun's claims of a specialized bazooka weren't quite as unfounded as she and Gokudera-san had assumed. She could only hope that this wasn't like the last time she'd been sent to the future, and that no apocalyptic events were forthcoming. Maybe it would wear off in a day or two? She wished she knew what her future self was doing here; hopefully it was nothing time-sensitive, since her best bet was to stay in place until they switched back to avoid any detrimental effects on her—their—life. Not to mention her future self's effect on the past—what if she accidentally changed things? Or let slip something she wasn't supposed to?

She mulled it over, deciding her future self could probably handle things just fine, maybe better even. Oh! She could even help the move to Italy go even smoother, having years of experience living there! She could reassure the Boss and everyone else that everything was going to be fine—that wasn't giving anything too important away, but it would help calm things down. Chrome smiled, pleased for a second, before letting it fade again, glancing anxiously at the clock. Despite the possible benefits, she still really, really hoped things would go back to normal soon.

Sighing, she walked over to the cupboards, rummaging around until she found a pot and several packets of tea, setting some water boiling on the stove while she finished up the dishes. Her future self seemed to have just gotten started, not that there was a lot to do; reaching into the opaque, sudsy water, she could only find a few pans and plates, some chopsticks, and an electric blue sippy cup—

Chrome froze, staring down at the brightly colored plastic in her hand.

A sippy cup. Like a baby would use. A baby. Her baby—?

She dropped the cup back in the sink, hastily drying her hands on her clothes as she ran out of the kitchen down to the hallway adjacent to the living room. She threw open the first door—restroom—the second—guest bedroom, perhaps—and behind the third—

The third room was painted in soft violets and blues, accented with cream-colored curtains at the windows and and a white rocking chair in the center of the space. She could see glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, and stuffed animals and small chairs scattered around the floor, but all this paled in comparison to the wooden crib that's situated in the corner…

…a crib holding a small, sleeping form with hair as dark as Chrome's own.

Before she knew it, she was kneeling beside the crib, a hand pressed to her mouth to muffle her sobs, tears running down her cheeks even as she felt her smile would split her face in two.

A baby. A baby girl. She had a baby girl.

She couldn't help herself. She reached into the crib and pulled her baby out as gently as possible, trying her very best not to wake her—

And then her heart plummeted through the ground.

The baby in her arms in her arms was the most beautiful baby she'd ever seen—dark hair, smooth skin, a snub nose, a rosebud mouth—and she looked exactly like a miniature Hibari-san, right down to the furrowed eyebrows and stubborn chin.

Not her baby, then. Hibari-san's.

For a second or two, she tried to pretend that it was just a coincidence—maybe her eyes were tricking her. Maybe it was just the lighting. Then the baby opened her eyes, and, no, that was definitely Hibari-san's glare, though the irises were a different colr, closer to violet than dark gray. Chrome and the baby stared at each other for a second or two, the baby looking both irritated and mildly puzzled before reaching up to pat Chrome's face; then her expression evened out, and she snuggled closer to Chrome and promptly went back to sleep, apparently having sorted the situation out to her satisfaction. Chrome breathed out, her mind racing—why was she taking care of Hibari-san's baby? Where was Hibari-san? Where was Kusakabe-san, for that matter, and why wasn't he here? Where was the baby's mother? Did the baby even have a mother? Did Hibari-san have a wife? That was a strange thought, but no stranger than Hibari-san having a baby. Wait a minute—Hibari-san had a baby, and she didn't? How was the even possible? That wasn't any kind of fair; the man was a heartless, bloodthirsty demon and he still managed to procreate, while here she was, looking after a baby that wasn't even her own—unless it was her own. Could it be—?

Chrome sucked in a startled breath, feeling hope rise within her. Maybe this was her baby, maybe she and Hibari-san—no, no, what was she thinking? She and Hibari-san? Having a baby together? He forgot she existed half the time! He'd never look twice at her, much less do… that…with her. Not to mention she wasn't very interested in him, either; she wanted someone…someone…well, she wasn't entirely certain what kind of man she wanted, but definitely someone who wasn't Hibari-san, that was for sure.

Still, that left the question of why the baby was here with her. Perhaps Boss had instructed her to make sure Hibari-san had appropriate help from the Family? He could probably be trusted to raise a child, judging by the way he treated his animals, but having that child be any kind of normal was a different story. Hmmm. Maybe she and Hibari-san were partners on a mission, and she volunteered to look after his child while he was out wreaking havoc. She loved children; looking after this baby girl would have been no hardship.

Staring down at the sleeping face, she felt her heart soften. Maybe she wasn't Chrome's, but she was still small and beautiful and in need of her protection, and Chrome silently promised to do everything in her power to keep her safe. This baby was Family, and the Vongola looked after their own; she would watch over this girl until her future self returned. She would probably need help, though, just in case something happened—someone ought to know that her future self was in the past.

Frowning, Chrome considered her options. Contacting Hibari-san's people was probably the best choice, but how to do that…? She hadn't seen a phone in the living room or anywhere else, for that matter. Hm. Troublesome. If Ken and Chikusa were in the area, they'd let her borrow a phone and provide intel.

"Alright," she said to the baby, holding her tighter. "Kokuyo it is."

Endnote: And that's chapter six, folks. Thanks for reading!

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