Summary: (Canon compliant-ish) Takeshi had slipped into her life with such ease it's no wonder they're such good friends. It doesn't have to make sense to others, and it doesn't have to make sense for them, either – but that's okay, because labels are overrated anyway. "What kind of balls?" "Baseballs."
Note: Chapter lengths are not pre-determined and are to be posted as they are written, hence updates may be unpredictable. At present, this is to be a snapshot-like series. Storyline told in snippets. (And there WILL be a storyline!)
All recognisable appearances here are the conjurations of Akira Amano and the team behind Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Unless otherwise stated, the only thing 155cm owns is Nakamura Yukiko, and even that's debatable – she's a fairly free spirit.
"Relationships," she declares on a rare afternoon when she's in a particularly talkative mood, "suck balls."
So comfortable in Takeshi's presence is she, the thought had slipped out from her lazy thoughts as easily as if she had been speaking out-loud the whole time. It's a testament to their strange relationship – and Takeshi's own perplexing mentality – that allows him to not prod her for an explanation for her sudden declaration.
"What kind?" he asks instead, turning to face her from where he had been staring out the window, chin propped in his hand like a statue. A thin, boyish one, but a statue nonetheless.
"The romantic kind." She wrinkles her nose in disgust.
"No," Takeshi shakes his head patiently. "I meant, what kind of balls?"
"Oh." Here, she pauses. She knows what answer Takeshi wants, and decides she's in a good enough mood to humour him. "Baseballs." Her tone is grave as she announces this.
"Baseballs." Takeshi's tone is equally as solemn.
For a moment, the two are quiet as they stare out the window together, eyeing the sun and the last remains of stragglers exiting the school. The afterschool clubs are winding up, and for a moment it feels like they're the only ones in the entire place.
"Do you wanna go play some baseball?" Takeshi finally asks.
She grins. "Thought you'd never ask." She says, rising from her seat and grabbing her bag with the same fluid movement.
Oh, don't get her wrong. She isn't speaking from personal experience – in fact, in all her thirteen years of life, she's never been in a single relationship. Neither interested nor disinterested in dating, she simply had never grown close enough to anyone to even consider it. Sure, she can freely admit someone's attractive – like Takeshi sometimes, in the right lighting and when he's not doing something stupid, which is rare – but that doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things.
She may not be seeking romance, but that doesn't mean she's not a romantic at heart. When – if – she falls for someone, she wants it to be for more than just the shallow basics of typical young flings. She wants something deep, a connection that runs as more than a jolt of lust at their physical appearance. (Though, it would be nice if they were at least somewhat pleasing to the eyes… okay, so she's a little picky, but who isn't?)
Anyway, the point is that Nakamura Yukiko has no experience in relationships of the romantic sort. None whatsoever. So, why did she declare relationships to (figuratively) suck balls – especially baseballs?
It all comes down to the library. Namimori Middle School's library, whilst somewhat pitiful in content (as is the norm, for a nondescript school like Namimori Middle) is an amiable enough place once you get to know it a little bit. She knows that there's a sort of convoluted stereotype about the sort of people who hang out in the library – the bookworms, the shy ones, the bullied ones, the ones escaping from reality to a realm of fictional knowledge and conquests and historic breakthroughs… but really, the simple crux of the matter is this; she's easily bored, and the library is the perfect place for her to nurse her boredom quietly amongst the hustle and bustle of school life.
So, picture the scene being painted. There's a typical Japanese school girl slumped on the table in a standard 'I can't be bothered doing anything' position on the table, the kind of position that's guaranteed to give one future spinal problems if one remains in the position for long enough. Her head is turned to her left so as to better stare out the window, which is – surprise! – situated to that side of her table. Eventually, her neck grows stiff, so she turns her head to the other side. Here, we come to a complication; there's a couple making out in the aisle directly in her line of sight.
Yukiko is very certain that the only thing they're going to be studying here in the library is each other. She's just thinking that maybe she should cough or something, encourage them to get a classroom (or the janitor's closet… sue her, she reads a lot of trashy romance fiction. She spends time in a library, for goodness sake!) when there's a complication of sorts.
Picture this. Couple making out, a bemused schoolgirl staring blankly at them wondering what the world has come to, and then another schoolgirl turning the corner, phone in hands as she stares stupefied at the scene before her.
The phone clatters to the floor. Before the narration continues, Yukiko wants to announce she's not a busybody, the screen of the phone is just so bright you can't help but to turn your attention to it—but anyway, she looks at the screen.
Toshio is making out with Yuki in the history section! Come quickly!
Oh, man. So someone else had noticed the eyesore going on in front of her.
Yukiko, naturally disinterested in the sight before her promptly turns her head back to face the window, ignoring what's going on around her. Or at least, trying to.
"Toshio-san."
"What is i—Yuna?"
"That's Takahashi-san to you, Toshio."
"No wait, I can explain-"
"There is nothing to explain. Please continue with whatever you were doing. By the way Yuki, I see you moved on quick from your last boyfriend. Tell me, did you break up right after your date last night?"
"You have a boyfriend? You told me I was your first!"
It's a lovely scene indeed, one that Yukiko is very well-acquainted with. One would be surprised at all the drama that can go down in the middle of a school library. It's a quiet area, a place that no one consciously avoids yet still, it miraculously remains devoid of people because no one ever has much of a reason to be there save for desperately printing out assignments due the next day.
In any case, at this point Yukiko had noticed Takeshi walking and chatting with some of his baseball teammates. He had probably just concluded practice for the day – and will be making his way up the stairs to bother her, like usual.
She doesn't mind too much. After all, her homework has been sloppily completed, she has taken a solid ten-minute nap, and best of all she didn't have to pay a single cent for some quality trashy romance drama.
Takeshi had looked up, and coincidentally (or not- he knew she was always in this seat at this time) had met her even gaze. Then, he had smiled, she had stuck out her tongue, and she had happily spent some time scheming over how to not-so-spontaneously create a quirky conversation-starter.
a/n:
y'all have no idea how terrifying it is posting for the first time in eons I made a new account for this cause my old one is embarrassing oh no
fun fact I pulled Takahashi, Toshio, and Yuna out from nothing I had no internet or I would've googled "popular Japanese names" and avoided the ones already in use in KHR, but alas it was not to be