The Moment That Mattered
---
I hadn't really thought that such immensely important moments in life that would make a large impact to the future could happen in such short well planned out, but unexpected occasions. They merely just pop out, wondering if you will take the opportunity or ignore it like the rest. Sometimes, it's easy to spot them, and you reach out to grasp them in your hands, but some are like smoke, appearing just for a mere moment, wondering if they can be seen.
Or at least that is how I found it to be.
If it hadn't been for that short occasion, this future would've been like the rest.
Massacre.
Corruption.
Explosions.
No place to call safety.
Blood.
Screams and yells.
Petrified faces.
Tears.
Loss.
I flinched, feeling a pang in my stomach. My hand instantly flew to it, and I rubbed my tummy gently. Perhaps it was best not to think of it right now. I've gotten this far. I can't be stopped yet.
He's not here to lead the way, like he had always done. He trusts me - I don't even know why though, but still… I must do what I can for him while he's away.
But it was he who had probably seen this all along, whether that thought be true or not, he knew we had to meet somehow. And if it weren't for circumstances… perhaps coincidence?…No, for whatever reason God-knows-what,
If we hadn't met, though it was just for a moment, I am even scared to wonder what it could've been at this time.
Perhaps… Perhaps he deserves a thank you from me.
---
The cinemas nowadays weren't so interesting at all. So inane. Thought Shoichi Irie bitterly as he clutched on to his stomach. Nowadays it just frightened him what people could be thinking, making such vulgar and bloody mass genocides in movies. Whatever happened to the pleasant ones where they frolic through those brilliantly colored flowers and a shining sun that DIDN'T make you want to hurl your guts out? He sighed.
Yes, that movie wasn't the greatest one to jump out to him and catch his undivided attention like it did for many others; instead it galled him immensely. He wasn't able to go to sleep either, thus making it such a horrible day, he assumed already as he rubbed his poor tummy again.
He was walking to school today, if that clears up anything. He also went out early from his home, too, just to walk outside and get the fresh air into his lungs. But then again he wasn't much of an outside person, thus he waited until the sun peeked out. And he really wasn't looking forward to school either, oddly enough.
It just seriously wasn't his day.
And apparently, it also wasn't someone else's day either.
"Gosh…." A familiar voice grumbled loudly. "This is hopeless…"
Shoichi froze in his tracks. Since when did he wander here?
The house that he was most hoping to avoid since the first incident - Tsunayoshi Sawada's house.
His memory recalled vividly the random events that had happened in such few short moments just being around the corner, practically nearly killing himself. It was pretty hard trying to forget the name, but still, the memory haunted him. And he also noted that it was Tsunayoshi who was speaking just now, and by this time, he turned to face the other way.
"Oh, Irie-san." Tsuna's voice said clearly. "You are Irie-san, right?"
Shoichi blanched, a frown growing on his face and cold sweat already forming in his fisted hands. He couldn't just ignore the guy. It would be rude. But nor did he want to risk dying, or at least nearly dying again. He then slowly, cautiously, and warily turned to look at the brunette. "Y-Yes?"
Tsuna raised a brow and looked around. "Um… Is there something wrong?"
"N-No… noth-thing." The red head, shaking his head, knew he'd start stumbling over his words now.
Tsuna looked at him oddly then waved his hands in assurance. "Don't worry. It's just me right now."
"Ahah…" Shoichi was now fully facing Tsuna, gradually creeping away from the corner of an opposite wall to the gate of Tsuna's house, but still very paranoid over anything that could possibly lash out and scare the living daylights in him. It was danger zone he was entering and he knew it.
"I don't really see you often." Tsuna started. "You're in third year too right?"
"Yeah, though we're in different schools…" Shoichi was puzzled. "How do you know my name?"
Tsuna blinked, then shrugged. "You name goes around in school. I heard that you won the Regional Mechanical Competition. That's impressive."
Shoichi rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Um, thanks."
Tsuna nodded, now looking to another way. Then his face quickly changed to be full of disdain, scornful and despising. "Gah, I'm sorry to say, but I'm sorta frustrated right now.."
Shoichi's blood rushed cold. He was scared to ask why his expression turned to be so, but seems like he didn't have too.
"There's something wrong with my bike. My dad bought it for me but it's from the Occident. I don't think it's any different from our bikes here, but…" Tsuna knocked himself light with a fist. "I guess I'm just being stupid."
Shoichi raised a brow. Though he hadn't fixed a bike before, his hands surely had a knack for creating and making, building and constructing. Sure he wasn't an expertise, but the least he could do was something of a sort. "Do you know what's wrong with it?"
Tsuna shrugged. "It's weird here and there, like the wheels are oddly loose and the pedals won't budge."
"How long have you had it?"
"Eh… Like .. Two months."
Shoichi stared at him.
Tsuna clasped his hands together and pleaded. "I know! I'm horrible with my things. I totally wrecked it and tried to fix it on my own but apparently it broke.. Again." He sighed and rubbed his temples, clearly annoyed. "I would exaggerate the story, but I think that should be enough to explain it." He didn't see the need for more humiliation.
Shoichi looked around. There really wasn't anybody coming by. But then again it was early… "Um.. Where is it?"
Tsuna pointed over to the corner of their yard, and there laid a dead bicycle, obviously spurned to live the rest of it's endearing life there. But to Shoichi's eyes, it looked like the perfect subject for remodeling.
Setting down his backpack and propping it up against the inner side of the walls around Tsuna's house, he stepped into the yard, tepidly murmuring, "I might be able to do something… you know, fix your bike."
Tsuna beamed instantly. "Really?" His voice seemed to be filled with ebullient bliss. "That's great! Ah… If you don't mind, of course…"
Shoichi shrugged. "N-Not really… I don't mind." He walked over to the bike and began analyzing its properties and characteristics. The structure of the bike wasn't too much different from the bikes normally seen around here, and also all the functions seemed to be the same, just placed in a different model and arrangement.
Tsuna plainly saw the gears crank within the fellow's brain and knew he wouldn't be able to keep up. He'd always suspected that Shoichi-san would be quite the engineer, heck even seeming to be a genius. He wasn't all too sure, but he knew what Reborn would say. ("That Shoichi Irie would be a good subordinate. His tact and skills would be very useful to the Vongola. Tsuna, make him join our family.") Tsuna scoffed. He couldn't do that, especially after seeing how Shoichi freaks out whenever him or his friends pass by. The brunette wasn't entirely sure what caused the trauma to scare the beehives out of Shoichi, but he was sure that they were involved in the whole fiasco.
"Ah," Shoichi's voice interrupted his train of thoughts. "I think I know this model." He evidently was thinking himself as he was now on his knees, looking at the bike at any possible angle.
"Heh?" Tsuna sputtered.
"Oh, this is model 3984-005 of the Occidental Models. I saw this once while surfing the internet to find a new bike for myself." Now, Shoichi smiled. "Sawada-san, could you get something out of my backpack?"
"Sure," Tsuna, who was impressed, was already headed over there. "What is it that you need?"
"There should be a little red box there…" Shoichi mumbled. "It's in the main, large pocket."
Tsuna unzipped the main pocket and found tons of papers of diagrams and grids of shapes and lines surrounded by lots of numbers and a few thick books. He then spotted the black handle of the red box and tugged at it. It was stuck. He now yanked at it and when it finally out, Tsuna realized that it was never stuck, it was heavy. "Wh-What is in this thing?" Tsuna heaved, surprised at it's weight. It wasn't immensely heavy like two ton elephants, but just unexpected heavy weight.
Shoichi scratched the side of his cheek lightly. "Hah. That's my tool box."
Once Tsuna finally reached Shoichi and plopped down the tool box next to him, he mumbled. "You carry a tool box with you?"
"It comes in handy He simply replied, opening It up to view expected tools. Pulling out a screw driver, he then said with a quiet tone of confidence, "Just give me a few minutes. I should be done by then… Now, if I remember correctly," Shoichi began mumbling to himself about random parts that Tsuna had no idea about. Well, he could make some out just by common sense, but everything else was an odd mechanical sort of gibberish.
And Tsuna nodded and smiled, deciding he should get some juice from inside.
---
Shoichi smiled proudly, wiping away the little beads of sweat that inhabited his forehead. "Ahh, I'm done."
"Haha. Good timing too." Tsuna smiled also, handing him a cup of juice. "This is on the house."
Shoichi stood, taking a sip, and picked up his tool box. "How about you try it, just to make sure?"
Tsuna nodded, but before he could get on, Shoichi stopped him with a quick grab on the shoulder.
"BUT… this time be careful." The red head frowned. "When I was fixing that thing, the damage done was really not normal. I don't know what you did, but whatever it was, don't ever do it again."
Tsuna sweat dropped but nodded again with certainty. He pushed the bike to the road and took it for a spin. Once he came back, he was truly enlightened. His hair was a mess and a smile rivaled the already risen sun. "Irie-san, you did great!" Tsuna exhorted.
"Haha. Thanks." Shoichi was packing his things up, slinging the backpack over his shoulder and standing up. " I wager that it'll take about five months until it breaks again." He was close to finishing his cup and slurped the last few drops. He handed it back to Tsuna who set it down on the wall.
Tsuna shook his head, chuckling. "Nah, not this time. I learned my lesson." His brows suddenly lifted and he began searching his pockets. Flashing out a wallet, he pulled out 2000 yen. "Here, stipend."
"Hunh?" Shoichi was baffled.
"You fixed my bike." Tsuna insisted by pushing the money out to him. "The least I can do is give you my allowance."
Shoichi blinked and waved his hands. "Oh, no. This is nothing. You don't have to pay me."
Tsuna frowned and continued to insist. "I won't be able to live with a good conscience if you don't accept." Shoichi read the look on his eyes. He undoubtedly meant those words, and with sore defeat, he accepted, seeing the smile of victory form on his face.
"Th-Thank you…" Shoichi mumbled, handling the money as if it was glass.
"You deserved it." Tsuna shifted his bike a little and checked his watch. "Ah, this is not good."
Shoichi looked up from the money. "Hmm?"
"It's almost 8..."
Shoichi froze on the spot. "WHAT?!"
Tsuna chuckled guiltily. "Heh.. I'm sorry." He then pointed to his bike. "How about I take you to your school? It's not that far right?"
Shoichi nodded with a frown. "Yeah, it's just a few blocks away, but it's from the opposite of Namimori… You'll be late."
Tsuna nodded, realizing that fact, but he shrugged. "It's alright if I'm late. I'm normally late anyway."
"B-But… that Disciplinary Committee…"
Tsuna coughed, feeling his skin go cold at the thought. "Ah… I - I think I could handle it..." He quickly slung on his backpack and hopped on to the seat of his bike. "Hop on. We don't have much time to waste. Unless you want to be late of course?"
Shoichi blinked and sighed, walking over to the recently fixed bike and balancing himself on two specially made steps on the either side of the back wheel. He lightly took hold of Tsuna's shoulders and they zoomed off on the road, heading for Shoichi's school. Though, Tsuna didn't really know the way to his school so Shoichi had to call upon his directional skills, which was unsurprisingly not failing.
Once Tsuna had slowed down to a stop, Shoichi still had five minutes before the morning bell rang.
He got off the bike and turned to look at the other, bowed slightly. "Ah, thank you for the ride.."
"Well, we wouldn't have made it without your effort, so thank you." Tsuna replied simply.
It was then at this moment that both had this odd mutual feeling that silenced them both. It was unexplainable, the far polar opposite of déjávu, but the same eerie feeling. Though they wouldn't have even noticed, but they subconsciously knew that this little meeting in its own little way had taken a big impact.
This future has changed.
And Tsuna chuckled. "I hope we meet again, Irie-san." He waved a hand and left.
And until the brunette passed the corner and was out of sight was when Shoichi was able to move again.
---
It was truly torturous irony that got to me. Now being 25 and recalling this all flooded my mind with all sorts of thoughts. It was a pain. And it totally screwed with my mental and physical stature.
But for some odd reason, I couldn't help but not mind.
If it was his super intuition or just sheer whim… No, to me and perhaps everyone else who has encountered him, the Vongola boss didn't seem to be one who relied on whim, but even so…
Whatever it was that led to such circumstances and made Tsuna call out my name, I was truly grateful.
But now all I can do is wait and fulfill the plans that the Vongola boss laid out for me to do.
And also, to find that here he stands before me again. Well, sort of.
He's just a tad bit shorter now, with bigger eyes that flamed with more passion than before, and obviously, has never met me in his life (or at least acknowledged me; I have met with him several times, but every time went unnoticed).
And he surely wasn't too happy considering his expression.
After all, I can now remember in his youth that he had made a huge, gapping hole in the middle of my base.
Should I say thank you now?
---
Why is it that I try to humor myself at the END of the story? Perhaps to brighten the mood? … Even I don't know (which is sad). So yeah, I will tell you that this one-shot was NOT supposed to be all that flashy. I just wondered how it was when they first met.
This is basically where I got the idea and decided to elaborate on the subject:
If my information is wrong, do please correct me, but I clearly remember somewhere in the manga that Shoichi had told them the only reason why "this" future was the only future to defeat Byakuran was because they (Tsuna and Shoichi) had actually and officially encountered each other when Shoichi had to fix Tsuna's bike (or at least I remember that it was the reason, but it may contain some other events too.. =.=). I tried finding it again, but alas, my search of repeatedly going over the expected chapters to where it may be located failed. So some information may be off and thus improvised with using my little conniving noggin.
But anyway, even if I am wrong, this is fan fiction, so let's just assume so, and yes, the two characters do not belong to me, but the bike does. ^^ TEE HEE. Also, I did this to study my vocabulary words for English; some of the words are in there fo sho!
- Do Jo
P.S. - if there was anybody who had already thought of this, I apologize and say that you are awesome to have made the story before little ol' me. Kudos.
Reviews and Faves greatly appreciated; flames will be exchanged for Dying Will Flames so I can roast Marshmallows (in my hand!). Trust me, it adds to the marshmallow Dying Will Flavors… X]