"Oi, Errand Boy, get me a coffee."
Purple eyes twitched at the order.
"Is there a problem, Errand Boy?"
Holding his small infant hand out, the previously bright green lizard morphed into a small bright green pistol.
"Oi Reborn. You shouldn't bully the weak, kora."
"O-Oi! I am not weak!"
"Ah. Colonello, when did you get here?"
"Just flew in now. Don't tell me you didn't notice, kora."
"Of course I did. Don't mistake me for youself Colonello."
Purple eyes twitched once more. "Oi! Don't ignore me!"
"Bullying Skull again I see…"
Reborn and Colonello turned ever so slightly at my observation.
"I told Reborn not to, kora."
"Oi."
I rolled my eyes. Those two were always fueled by pure testosterone, usually dragging Skull, Tsuna, or any poor gullible bystander into the mix. It never turned out well. Not bothering to listen to any ridiculous excuse they choose to give this time, I turned my attention to the fuming purple Arcobaleno.
"Ne, Skull, are you busy?"
Said Arcobaleno blinked a few times. "M-Me?"
"Yeah you."
"…Iie."
"You're not going to invite us Mi-chan, kora?"
I raised an eyebrow before shaking my head. "I don't want to spend the afternoon listening to you bicker about Reborn or vice versa. Besides…I want Skull to come."
Without giving them room to protest, I took Skull's hand and pulled him away from the idiots.
Narrator's Point of View
Skull stayed silent as she dragged him away from his sempai-tachi towards the Shopping District. Though he was grateful that Natsumi had rescued him from his sempai-tachi, he couldn't help wonder why she chose him of all people to accompany her.
Their pace gradually slowed until she finally stopped, almost causing Skull to bump into her. She glanced back at him with a small apologetic smile.
"I got a message from Fon this morning. He asked if I could pick up some herbs and ingredients for him but I didn't want to go shopping alone. Suman ne?"
Skull couldn't be irritated if he tried, especially when it came to Natsumi. "I-Iie…betsuni Natsumi-san."
The dark haired girl smiled before pulling him towards one of the acupuncture looking stores. The smell of herbs was strong, causing the Nuvola Arcobaleno to wince instinctively.
A frown crossed his purple stained lips when Natsumi released his hand, venturing to the old shopkeep behind the glass counter. Though he may never admit it out loud, the feeling of her hand intertwined with his felt rather…nice.
The leather clad Arcobaleno stood casually as he could by the door as Natsumi asked the shopkeep if she had any of the herbs Fon wanted.
Safe to say, Natsumi was different from any girl he had met. Dark hair, almost jet black, traveled to the small of her back, several locks dyed the color of the clear sky. Her brown eyes had a tendency to darken or lighten with her mood, a phenomenon that Skull loved to watch. She was small for her age, barely reaching the average height for a girl but Skull preferred her this way.
The Arcobaleno blinked in surprise when Natsumi suddenly appeared before him.
Natsumi's Point of View
The surprised expression on Skull's face was adorable.
"I got some of the herbs. There's another store two blocks down. Hopefully, they'll have the rest and we'll be done."
Skull nodded once. I couldn't help but smile around Skull. He had this aura of innocence around him. As we walked towards the other herb shop, I could help but take some notice of the man beside me. Unlike Reborn or Colonello, the Nuvola Arcobaleno had hair a particular shade of purple, purple eyes lined with lavender eyeliner, and purple tainted lips. Skull had a small teardrop tattoo under his left eye, starting light at the peak before fading darker towards the bottom. A chain hung from the corner of his lips, trailing to a piercing in his ear as a separate piercing rested underneath his lip, a labret piercing.
Skull practically exuded this image of a bad boy with a purple fetish. But I knew he was a softie underneath that bad boy image.
Apparently, the other herb shop did have the rest of the herbs Fon wanted. With groceries in hand, Skull and I made our way back to my place. I would get Colonello to deliver the herbs to Fon in the morning, or at least ask his eagle to.
"Ne Skull, are you hungry? There's a really nice café on the way."
Before he could even answer, his stomach answered for him, rumbling loudly enough to catch the attention of others on the street. I watched as his face turn redder by the second. Unable to help myself, I giggled. A frown crossed his lips as he tried to hide his embarrassment.
"Natsumi-san, please stop laughing at me!"
The indignant expression made it all the more funny. My giggles erupted into full blown laughter.
"Natsumi-san!"
I held my breath in an attempt to stifle my laughter.
"Hai hai Skull. Let's get some food, my treat."
It took some consoling and a few apologies, but I managed to convince Skull to eat at the café with me. It took a few more minutes convincing the Arcobaleno that he really could order anything he wanted.
"Ano Natsumi-san?"
"Mmm?"
"Eeto…never mind…"
I tilted my head a bit, confused by the Arcobaleno's actions.
"Ne Skull~"
"H-Hai Natsumi-san?"
"Skull-kun kawaii ne~"
Once more, the Arcobaleno's face turned such a pretty shade of red. He really was kawaii.
"Why are you teasing me Natsumi-san?" I was slightly thrown off by that comment. "I thought Natsumi-san was different from sempai-tachi…"
His leather clad fingers curled into fists but I placed mine over his, unraveling them.
"That's mean Skull, comparing me to those two idiots," I pouted, "Besides, I tease you because I like you Skull."
Purples eyes widened at my blunt confession, searching my own for any signs of deceit or trickery. I hope he found none. I genuinely liked this man. He was kind to me, humble, modest, determined, and he was damn easy on the eyes. Every talk we had was time I cherished, every comfortable silence we shared I treasured. Just the mere thought of Skull made me unusually warm inside and I could never keep a smile off my lips, even if I was in the middle of a mission.
"But…I thought…you and Colonello-sempai-"
I raised an eyebrow.
"…And you believe him?"
Skull didn't reply right away, his head turned to the side. So he did believe that blonde idiot. I leaned back into my seat as Arcobaleno seem to mull it over.
"Natsumi-san?"
"Hmm?"
"I…I l-l-like you too Natsumi-san."
I grinned, unable to calm the heat that seemed to rise from my cheeks or the butterflies that seemed to flutter in my stomach.