Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
Summary: Emotions are strange, complex things which body and mind must work in concert to unravel. Whether or not the owner of these particular emotions approves of the results is another matter.
Miura Haru had never wanted to fall.
It had never been intentional, just routine, how she would find herself plagued by thoughts of him. As she aimlessly wandered the streets of Namimori, Tsuna's house would somehow always come into view. Not one to pass up an opportunity to see her future husband, she would let herself inside and join the boys in an afternoon homework session. As was routine, something she did or said would almost immediately incite a particular individual's wrath.
"You're explaining it all wrong, Stupid Woman," accused an angry Gokudera. Of course, she wasn't one to stand meekly in the corner while someone called her Stupid Woman. No, she fought back.
"Who are you calling stupid, Gokudera?" Haru shouted, matching his volume.
The nervous appeals of Tsuna and the amused laughter of Yamamoto would fade into the background as the blood rushed to her head. Soon, her entire world consisted of only her adversary; her entire purpose revolved around besting him.
It was during these battles that she realized Tsuna's apprehensive splutters weren't nearly as endearing as she pretended. It was during these same battles that she discovered she had, indeed, pretended. Perhaps not at first, but certainly it had gradually become more difficult to focus on the squealing brunette when the silver-haired teen always hovered nearby, drawing her attention.
It wasn't deliberate. Without meaning to, every night her thoughts would turn to him. His derisive remarks echoed in her mind while his arrogant countenance haunted her vision. At some point—she didn't know when—the balled fists and clenched teeth his caustic personality evoked had changed. The rapidly beating heart and swoops of joy her stomach performed, when had those started taking their place?
When you spend all of your time thinking of one person—voluntarily or not—the result can be unexpected. The condescending look in his green eyes could become impassioned and fierce. The dark scowl ever constant on his face could begin to appear endearing, captivating. What began as animosity may become... attraction? Love? Obsession? She didn't know. The perplexing emotions were hard to untangle and even harder to interpret. Could she simply be misinterpreting her own feelings?
Inexplicably, the brunette found herself looking forward to further verbal disputes with the ill-tempered teen. Any contact with him was relished, and if arguing with the quarrelsome boy was the only way to elicit that contact, then so be it.
"Don't listen to him, Tsuna. Haru knows an easier way to do the problem." She began to re-draw the diagram and figures.
"Idiot! Don't show the Tenth your stupid way of doing things," Gokudera immediately interrupted.
"You were just making the problem more complicated," Haru retorted.
He was so easily aggravated, she hardly had to try. It was child's play to get him to acknowledge her presence. As always, she allowed him the first move, the first insult, before she returned it in kind. If anyone paid close enough attention, he would see Haru wearing a small, almost triumphant smirk—for only an instant—before her face became set in a frown and she entered the fight with gusto. All the while, Tsuna's homework lay discarded on the table, unsolved and forgotten.
Once they had engaged in the assault, the same anger she had felt from their first fights would course through her body. It wasn't gone, nor was it diminished. It was there and as strong as ever. Perhaps it was just that—the fights. Perhaps she enjoyed the fights so much that she looked forward to them every week and went so far as to intentionally provoke them from her constant opponent. That had to be it; she was only in it for the adrenaline rushes. After all, she still disapproved of his negative attitude; his volatile personality consistently put them at odds. And yet, after the clash had ended, there was still that flutter of her stomach, that pounding in her chest. She still found herself thinking of him.
It was too late. She was no longer in control. She had been tricked by her own body and mind into falling, but Miura Haru had never wanted to fall... not for him.