It's Not Personal, Idiot — a Hayate X Blade fanfic
Glimpses into the sisterhood of Shirofuku Tonami "Nancy" Shuu and Shidou "Sid" Misako, additionally including a multichapter storyline, "How Camus and Milo Fell in Love" style. This stuff that I write instead of paying attention in school.
Storyline #0 Part 1 —Shuu and Misako's first kiss occurs in front of thirteen mesmerized children.
Tenchi Academy.
"Oi, Nancy. The kids haven't seen you in a while. You should come out with me." Shidou Sid was absentmindingly fiddling with a yo-yo, obviously thinking about the upcoming short break.
"What, you still want me around you and your family after I pushed you out of a flying goldfish?" Shuu raised a brow, although she doubted Sid saw it.
Sid gave up on her yo-yo, and punched Shuu's arm, grinning like a fool. "I won't tell them. Come on, it's a two hour ride, we'll stay just for the weekend, I'll cook. As soon as you get sick of them, we'll be out of there. Pretty please." Sid made outlandish puppy-dog eyes that she'd long outgrown effective use of.
Nancy crossed her arms, a little embarrassed that Misako was so persistent. She obviously was very looking forward to taking her home again.
"Okay," she finally caved. "But I won't be changing any diapers."
"Yusuke's already out of diapers man." Sid snapped.
"Really? When I met him he was this big." Nancy said, holding her hands apart about the size of a cantaloupe.
"I know. That's why we've got to get back there! We'll blink, and Reiyu will be fighting us for our stars!"
We, we, we, we. Something about Misako's pattern was making Shuu tingle inside.
"&#$%, yeah! We're gonna leave our homework behind!"
Break, Shidou Home.
"Nii-chan, nii-chan, nii-chan!" A choir of high-pitched voices greeted the two Tenchi students.
"You guys remember Nancy!" Sid snapped, a new habit of hers.
"Of course!" Reiyu, one of the median daughters said. "You're Misa-chan's wife!"
Nancy spun and narrowed her eyes at Misako accusingly. Misako adroitly maneuvered a barrier of children between herself and her shinyuu.
"Tonami-san, we're so glad you've come home with Misako to visit."
"Thank you for having me, Shidou-san." Shuu bowed in traditional style to Misako's mother Aikana while still main ring a glare in Misako's direction.
"So respectful," Aikana gushed as she swiped up crawling Yosuke who's wafting sent hinted at a disaster in his diaper. "Shuu-san, I'd call you another one of my daughters, if I didn't have so many of them!" she said can carried the child to a place of refuge.
Shuu would have felt flattered if not for the overwhelming smell.
"What's one more?" said 16-year-old Mareraki, throwing Shuu a small smile before replacing her nose back in its book (Divergent, Shuu saw. Ick.) On Mareri's lap was Someio, 5, flinging a thin picture book around, which Kiharu, 4, was struggling to take from his hands. Shuu watched the struggle with amusement.
Shuu looked down to one of Misako's brothers, Usui..charu? I think—that had latched onto her calf. He was disgruntling short for 12 years old—lack of nutrition? She ruffled the boy's hair, filling with warmth. Shuu only had one sibling, a soldier brother named Yuu; and he was elder. The buzz of so much life in so little space could be stimulating, to an extent.
"I thought you'd all have pink hair by now!" Shuu brightened, as she remembered how much joy being here had actually brought her before. "Sid said her hair'd grown by that age, Reiko!" Shuu lifted the pigtails of Reiyu's gap-toothed twin. Misako, showering her siblings with hugs and kisses, caught Shuu's attention in the corner of her eye.
Shuu was surprised that the Shidou family wasn't raising a miniature army of diminutive impish anarchists. It turned out that the last thing Misako was pushy; she'd even almost forgot to bring her bass before they left the school until Nancy pointed it out. She certainly hadn't wanted to hear Misako's awful strumming the whole trip, but Misako didn't even take it out of its worn leather case, just stared out the window of the train with a indistinguishable beam. The window had been slightly open and the high-speed breeze casted the locks of Misako's pixie hair into a rosé tornado. Nancy had even envisaged leaning over to sniff Misako's head as if it was a flower bed, but had quickly expelled such a absurd thought when she came to her senses. (She'd also envisaged pressing her lips to Misako's cool cheek..she decided to hang on to that one, in private.)
They were great all right, and thanks to Misako, they were family, and Shuu was uncharacteristically grateful. Before long, the sun had set and stomachs were growling in a striking chorus. The Shidou women refused to allow Shuu to assist in preparing the meal so Sid left Shuu with the 12—14-year old boys, who misgave the authenticity of her hair color.
Fuchiko snuck up on Shuu and pulled that very hair, prompting Renji to defend her and wrestle him. Soon the four boys forgot she had ever been in their house.
Shuu was preoccupied: Prepare something nutritious for me, please. Prove me wrong.
They eat a simple dinner of mixed wild greens, Sagara Farms reject potatoes (which were few and far between, as Sagara Michi would argue to any naysayer), as well as Mellark bread, a special purchase for the students' arrival. The gratuitous expense for her presence made Shuu bristle and blush.
Shuu was satisfied to help out with putting the youngsters to bed, and then share polite chatter with Aikana, Hanaakae, Urikai, Yurikaede, Mareraki, and Misako. Aikana wanted to know about Shuu's grades and family whereas the girls had Shuu promise to share all of the details of the Shirofuku life the next day.
When twelve of thirty-four eyes remain open.
"You can sleep in my bed and I'll sleep on the floor." Misako weakly pointed at her bed which was littered with papers and dirty animal stuffs from an earlier era (?)
Shuu looked down at the seemingly cold, seemingly insect-trafficked concrete floor.
"What? Don't be ridiculous. We can sleep together." she said, dropping her suitcase by the door.
Misako's jawed fell, but she snapped it shut and gestured to the broken-spring bed like it was the dais from Aphrodite's bedchamber (as if she actually knew what that meant; Shuu restrained herself from snickering). That bed was one thing Shuu had not missed since coming here, back after she and Misako had been shinyuu for half a year as second-year Middle schoolers and she was invited home to the Shidou's for the summer break to uncover their state of near poverty. From that moment, Shuu had been struck with the selfless impulse for all of her winnings to be give to them—knowing for a fact, unfairly, that all of Misako's Hoshitori winnings went to her tuition. Misako waved her off, claiming independence, Shuu had protested, they'd argued; Shuu settled the matter by surprising Misako with a new bass their first Christmas. It was the same one that Misako still annoyed Shuu to death with to the day.
She sighed and pulled out her silk pajamas. Her father's dog tag hung over her collar.
"Whoa, sweet chain, Nance! Totally punk!"
Shuu wonder sometimes if Misako had been born unable to speak in a room-level, logical pattern. Clearly, she needed help if she put the Valley word "totally"—accent and all—and "punk" in the same sentence. Shuu suspected the unbreaking loud speech may be due to growing up with so many competing voices. And perhaps her mother had been a punk in her day, and it was her eldest's turn.
"It belongs to my father." Shuu said, holding the tag in her thumb.
"Oh, that's cool." Misako said awkwardly. Her dad worked endless hours at a factory..Shuu's father was off in the army. She was unsure which was harder.
"Turn," Shuu said and Misako quickly complied.
Shuu finished dressing, and left the room to retrieve her boots. She returned with them and removed the dual knives she always kept hidden within them: a standard stiletto as well as a carefully polished Swiss Army Knife, a gift from her brother. Misako watched her, trying to be inconspicuous as she remade the bed with slightly less ratty sheets.
"Sorry, I should have done this earlier." she said, disliking the silence.
"You didn't have the chance, don't apologize." Her apparent fondness with unplaceable to Misako. She slipped the knives into her suitcase in a non-obvious hiding place.
"Do you remember where the wash is?" Misako asked.
"Uh huh, it's not like this place is a maze." she said, venom-less.
She went with toothbrush brandished in her hand like defense against the dangers of Shidou's home. She came back a few minutes later. Misako was already in bed.
"I put the rest of the kids to bed while you were in there. Do you wanna sleep now?" Misako said through a yawn.
"Yeah, I'm tired. I need to readjust my energy around these balls of light." Shuu sat on the edge of the bed and Misako moved her feet out of the way, and Shuu braided her red hair. Misako admired how the strawberry locks shined under the dull light of the single lightbulb among them. When she finished, she hit the lights and climbed in.
She faced Misako and fluffed her pillow, and snuggled under the covers. Misako shrank against the wall, absolutely uncomfortable. "This quilt is nice," Shuu sighed, picking her ear.
"My mom's handiwork," Misako muttered. "Punk dreams, Nance."
Punk dreams, Shuu smiled into her pillow.
End of Chapter Bonus Scene~
*all of Misako's siblings attempt to squeeze in bed with them*
"This is not what I meant. What are you all doing in there?"
"We heard that Onee gets to sleep all night with Nii-chan, and that's not fair!" Kidamara, the 6-year old girl said.
"Go to bed," Nancy said.
A/N: Review please! I hope you enjoyed it! There's a lot more to come.. ~Akke