Title: Mask
Summary: Sonoda Suzumi was barely passing school, had a crappy boyfriend, and had sucky parents. But she was great at keeping herself at the top in popularity and standing out while blending in- until her childhood friend started to disrupt the social order. OC.
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Chapter 1: FINISH
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"Ew."
She looked like a mess. Hair spew out everywhere, her eyes were underlined with shadows, and her lips were chapped dry from her happy of sleeping with her mouth parted open.
Suzumi ran a hand through her hair, wincing as it met with odd tangles and uneven edges. It was already early seven and that meant that she barely had an hour (an hour!) to get ready, never minding the fact that school started at eight. Some students came even earlier and most later but hanging out longer around school meant the possibility of meeting more people that'd soon or later become her friends. It was also a great chance to exchange gossip with some of the trouble-makers and delinquents there- but who cares about that.
There were much more important things like getting her hair combed and curled and make-up to put on and finding her uniform to put on before the eight o' clock limit she set for herself. Suzumi grabbed her hair and attempted to smooth it out as her other hand threw the quilted blanket off her body, ignoring the sudden contrast between the warmth of her bed and the cool air of her room. Comb. There. Okay, the brunette breathed, I can do this. It was literally the same thing every freaking day, but it never got less tiring than it was the first time around. Well, that was actually probably because of her late night outings with her boyfriend and his other friends. Stupid high schoolers always trying to act cool.
Well, that's a teeny bit mean. I mean, I'm not that different those pigs. Suzumi's mouth curled up in distaste and her expression scrunched, marring the natural plainness (ugh, why do I look so normal?) and making her look very much like a villain. Once the girl caught sight of herself in her full-body mirror, she snarled at her reflection and stuck her tongue out for good measure. How the heck did Kyoko and Hana manage to look so damn perfect every day? Goshdarnit.
Suzumi quickly tied her hair up with one of the many accessories lying across the expanse of her desk. Homework was shoved aside and half-completed answers were all that was found on them. She stomped out of her room and into the one right across from hers- the bathroom- and turned on the water. She quickly stripped and jumped at the conditioner like a hungry lion, not bothering to close the door in the case of a family member stumbling across on her indecent figure.
Well, it's not like anyone was home anyways.
Sonoda Daichi worked shifts in days and came home over during vacation, weekends, or later at night- only to leave at a moment's notice. Sonoda Sakura, on the other hand, worked in Aikozawa City two hours away by car and only came 'home', like Daichi, over "vacation, weekends, or late at night."
What wonderful parents there were.
Okay, fine, Suzumi was being just a bit unfair. They are feeding me and everything, but seriously? Suzumi scrubbed at her wrist even harder where her one of her boyfriend's friend kept his arm on during the duration of yesterday's group date. She really needed to talk with Narihara about his taste in company. I love them, they love me, and others kids out there obviously have it worse, but this is totally not fair.
Yeah, she was a brat. She knew that many other students would exchange lives in an instant if offered, and she did get a weekly allowance of 2000 yen*, but can't a girl dream? It definitely wasn't a crime to want a year's worth of relatively normal family dinners and spats the last time she checked the law (which was about five months ago when she was forced to research for a project. Stupid class president.) Jeeze. She should be grateful for what she had. Her parents loved her; they sent money and gave her gifts as often as they could to make up for their absences, and they were delightful company- when they actually are here at least. Why can't people just be happy for what they had? Stupid humanity.
"Ow!" she cried. Suzumi turned to face the pouring water, but it stung her left wrist instead. Shoot. She forgot that she was rubbing at it- and with a rough sponge nonetheless! The skin was burning bright red and Suzumi hurried to turn off the water, grabbed a towel, and strutted out the bathroom whilst looking for her clothes.
Shirt, first button unbuttoned, check. Bow, slightly loose, check. Jacket, prim and proper in hopes of keeping up appearances in front of the disciplinary committee, check. Skirt, slightly shortened, check. Socks and shoes, check. Suzumi grimaced at the 'shoe' part; she always liked wearing heels and shoes that made her feel taller than the 5'3 she was. The school shoes were only an inch in height which really sucked. But she still wore it anyways for the same reason she didn't dye her hair blonde: because of the one and only prefect Hibari Kyoya.
"He shouldn't even be considered a human, that Jarring King," Suzumi spat out 'king' like it was a particularly disgusting fly in her mouth. It may have been petty, but she did get a detention from him on the bloody second day of school. So not fair. But she was sucking off a senior's face in the middle of the hallways- she just didn't know that he did rounds even during break! There were rumors stating that he explicitly avoided crowded areas!
Her hands twisted the hair curling wand she got as a birthday present expertly, making a lock of hair fall into waves behind her back until it reached chest level. With the addition of hair lotion, it gave the dull brown locks a slight shine that lasted only for a few hours. Her hair really did use to shine naturally until she started using the stupid curler. Maybe she should switch to snail curlers. She grabbed another lock of hair and repeated the process in front of her mirror until a good twenty minutes had passed when she finally deemed it appropriate.
Make-up was always her favorite part. It was amazing what so little could do to change so much. Of course, she didn't use too much (especially not the face) least she damaged her skin. A little mascara and pink lipstick would do; it did wonders to her social status when she entered middle school, and it kept her at the top of the social ladder.
Two clips- one on the right side of her face to full back hair behind her right ear- and one right next to the first to pull straight bangs to the left- were used to complete off the look.
Suzumi grabbed her bag and stuffed her homework into her folder before making her way downstairs, not bothering to check the trail of dirt her shoes left behind. She cleaned up every Friday in case one of her parents came back and that was that. Suzumi took one glance at her the stack of bills left on the table for her week's worth of lunch and grabbed it, ignoring the loaf of bread left on the table for breakfast. She usually ate what was 'breakfast' during supper so her parents didn't get suspicious, telling her mom that she'd rather eat out on days they weren't home.
At least she didn't skip lunch.
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Guys were running.
Suzumi wrinkled her nose.
Correction; sweaty, sporty baseball members were running across the fields in laps. Some baseball club members were repeatedly swinging in the upper section of the field. The rest of the players were stretching on the sidelines near the benches where she was currently situated.
This. This was what she came out here for. Honda Sakura (geeze, can't parents be more creative? Sakura was such a boring and common name!), with her enviable perfect nails and not-so-enviable rough skin (too much make-up, Suzumi viciously thought, at least take care of yourself if you're going to try to begin with!) and rather forgettable short hair had called out a group of girls to come out early on this particular morning. Suzumi, of course, was the first to be invited. Since she wasn't too busy and she could spend an hour or so exchanging gossip, the brown-eyed girl agreed. Then Kyoko and Hana were invited but both rejected the offer- lucky; they never had to worry about their social status simply because they didn't care- unlike her. Brown hair, brown eyes, Suzumi's thoughts mockingly cut in again. Why are you so normal?
But ewww. She did not come here to watch sweaty pigs go around trying to strengthen their bodies. She didn't mind the determination and sports player themselves or their dedication and muscled results. But her current boyfriend, Narihara, exercised away from her and would much rather show off his body to his other female acquaintances. Narihara was lean but slightly muscular- a nice balance and especially surprising for someone who joined the newspaper club over sports. And Suzumi honestly didn't really mind those muscles. But seriously. Why the hell would people find sweaty and smelly people attractive? She wasn't going to lie to herself; the majority of the players reeked and looked worn despite the majority's good-looking faces.
"Omigosh, he is so hot," June gushed. She was a fourth American and that was the only reason why she even got to be 'popular'. Her taste in fashion was a disaster and she'd much rather spend her time in dojos looking at sweating males.
"Yeah, I mean just look at those muscle." Mina's laugh was screeching high that Suzumi was surprised her eardrums was still able to feel sounds. Well, Mina did have good taste in clothes and especially good artistic skills, so Suzumi laughed along.
"Hehe, I know, right?"
June raised a teasing eyebrow that Suzumi was slowly starting to get irritated by. It was starting to form a very unattractive unibrow which was a shame on her surprisingly pleasant face. "Aww, c'mon. Don't cha already have that hunk of a boyfriend? Nari-kun or whatever his name was?"
Suzumi lowered her eyelashes and pretended to inspect her nails, confirming, "It's Narihara-kun. But still, like, who wouldn't take eye-candy when they can? I mean, even middle-schoolers can look pretty hot."
June grinned. "We should totally start a fanclub or something."
"You're so lucky to have a high school student as a boyfriend," Mina sighed, jealously tingling her words. "And Yamamoto-kun already has a fanclub- with you in it- remember?"
"Yamamoto-kuuunn!" Honda's broke through their conversation. Suzumi inched away from the love-struck girl before recalling her senses just before the main star attraction looked their way.
Her voice became two pitches higher than it usually was (luckily, her voice was naturally high so she didn't have to fake it during school) and joined the other present girls in the chorused chant. Kurokawa Hana would have a great laugh if she saw her friend like she currently was at present.
"Eeeek!" Yuck. Her voice sounded like a dying cat's.
Yamamoto Takeshi spared once glance and a bright grin their way before proceeding to ignore them in favor of practicing his pitches. Even that was enough to satisfy the love-starved teenagers. The other girls- Sakura especially- looked like mushes of puddles instead of solid humans. That one act upped her teeny-tiny, extremely miniscule respect she had for him (and that was saying something, considering her hate for 4/5 of the student population.)
Dim-Witted Pitcher. Sometimes Suzumi wondered if the boy really did deserve her mental nickname for him. Granted, it wasn't as cruel as the other names she had for her other classmates.
And an hour later, as he laughed the praises away (Suzumi forced herself to be near and compliment the sweaty and dirty boy who had just been literally sliding in dirt) and blink obliviously as Sakura dropped hints all over the place, Suzumi decided she really should stay way from sport freaks like the one in front of her.
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Great day it was turning out to be.
First of all, the transfer student in the classroom over from hers (he wasn't suppose to be starting school yet, she overheard a teacher, but he already got a map so might as well as allow him to get use to the school) own was a bitch.
Well, not literally, but he might as well as be one.
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Okay, that was harsh. More than harsh, actually. But he was such a brat! He crashed into her, and Suzumi had graced him with a smile and polite inquiry of "are you alright?" And. He. Just walked straight off. Her books were scattered on the floor because of him for goodness sake! And her left wrist still hurt; the pain was only made wore when it made contact with the silver haired boy's effing metal rings. She couldn't wait until he met that Jarring King. Her face was turning red and she was this close (this close!) to breaking her image and screaming at the Uncouth Delinquent before the giggles and adoring sighs of her companions broke through her thoughts. They exchanged exited murmurs over who he was, guessing up the most ridiculous of stories.
The only other two females who actually did something that didn't piss her off was Sasagawa Kyoko, who helped picked up her fallen books, and Kurokawa Hana.
"Staph being so perfect goshdarnit," Suzumi muttered bitterly and forced a smile on her face in front of the other females. Turned out she didn't even need to hide her murderous rage considering that the others were in a trance that blocked out reasonable thoughts from their heads. Hana, who was the closest person to a friend (next to Kyoko, she wasn't too bad) snorted. Kyoko just blinked obliviously and giggled.
"I think that you should worry more about the state of chivalry," Hana had scoffed, letting Suzumi's wrist down when she discovered no broken bones, far long used with the red skin, considering that Suzumi often scrubbed at her skin too harshly to be healthy. Suzumi was inclined to agree.
Haven't you heard that chivalry was long dead? Suzumi thought wryly, but giggled outwardly, waving off Hana's statement. Hana, and she suspected that Kyoko as well, had long known that she wasn't exactly "future-prom-queen" material, but rather a two-faced, fake, and utterly detestable teenager. It was a wonder why Miss Oblivious and Miss Sarcasm stood with her for as long as they did; Suzumi guessed it was because she could actually hold an intelligent conversation- at least, when the other students aren't around to overhear her.
"Oh, have you heard about Sawada's confession this morning to our School's Idol?" Hana butted in, long ignoring the love struck girls who had disappeared around the hallway's corner in an attempt to chase after the Uncouth Delinquent. Kyoko blushed brightly and shook her head wildly at her best friend. Suzumi giggled again and looked up, interest sparking in her eyes.
"Ehh, Dame-Tsuna again? What did he do now?"
Only to be utterly furious once the news reached her ears.
"What the hell?" It wasn't really a question, but ehhhh.
Sawada Tsunayoshi (or more commonly known infamously as Dame-Tsuna) who was barely an inch less than her total height without the assistance of shoes, cowered, making himself look even shorter than the raging girl. The brunette looked away from raging murky eyes and instead looked at the ungodly boxing club's poster half-hanging, half-falling, form the nearby wall.
"Tsuna!"
The boy jolted and squeaked, jumping up. Suzumi narrowly dodged and avoided a forehead collision. The boy withered again from her burning glare.
"I really, really, really didn't mean to!" Suzumi flicked her hair over her shoulders. "I, well, I kind of-"
"Spit it out, you- you- Tsuna!" Argh. Her childhood friend was the one and only boy at school who she didn't want to give a nickname considering that she was already used to the one she was currently using.
Tsuna looked amused for a second, almost seemingly forgetting his situation, before a whip shot out and tripped her friend (should I even call myself his friend anymore? Suzumi wondered) and then pulled him upwards, somehow managing to make Tsuna hang upside-down from the ceiling. Suzumi shot the brunette a look that conveyed just about what she thought of the situation.
"What the hell?"
"Ciaosu," the baby greeted. Baby. Again, what the bloody hell. "Sonoda Suzumi, single child to salaryman Sonoda Daichi and hairstylist Sonada Sakura, formerly Koahashi Saukra. Both are often away at work. Class 2-B. Also known as the girl-most-likely-to-become-prom-queen." He then looked up and smiled eerily. "I'm Reborn, Dame-Tsuna's tutor."
Suzumi blinked once and sniffled. "Wonderful taste in tutors, Tsuna."
The baby's small custom-designed suit was expensive and his fedora hat didn't do anything to help his image in the thirteen years old's eyes. Her voice was vicious and disbelieving, and her stance only fueled Tsuna's fear- with, of course, reason as Reborn kicked the girl down. Suzumi fell on her butt with a small cry of pain and turned her glare to the baby, deciding to keep her mouth shut. Her glare, however, did not die down; it actually turned darker.
"Dame-Tsuna here really did confess to his long time crush. I've been watching over him to make sure he conducts himself as a mafia boss should."
Tsuna cried out from his embarrassing position. "Only in your warped brain! I'm a loser! Can't you leave me alone?"
Suzumi gaped instead. "A mafia boss? What the heck did you get into this time?" Her voice ended on a higher note as she turned towards Tsuna accusingly.
"Matters aside," Reborn cut in, cocking what Suzumi formerly thought was a toy gun (she wasn't too sure anymore) towards Tsuna's forehead. "Die."
Everything seemed to have happened within an instance. The bullet was shot and Suzumi gasped in a silent scream. His clothes were ripped off into pieces as if it was paper instead of actual cloth, and a flame burned bright orange on Tsuna's forehead. Just. What. The boy sped away towards the gym and his declaration of war could be heard even from where Suzumi was standing. The girl could feel her mouth dropping open in a very unseemly gape, and she found herself feeling very grateful that no one was around to witness that unsightly picture. Ha. She just saw her childhood friend become crazy and she still worried about her appearance.
Suzumi turned her gaze on to the baby only to find empty space before she finally realized she was alone. A groan broke out of her mouth and the brunette quickly picked up Tsuna's surprisingly still-intact clothes and made her way towards the showdown.
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Hana waved at her, amusement twinkling in clear grey eyes.
"Looks like Sawada actually managed to stand up for himself this time around."
Kyoko, who was right beside her best friend, had joined in the cheers for Tsuna. Suzumi, despite hurrying, had miss just about the whole fight, but even she could draw conclusions from the way her senior and Kendo captain Mochida Kensuke was lying bald on the floor.
"I thought Kyoko-chan was going out with him?"
Hana's mouth pulled down into a scowl and Kyoko, overhearing the conversation looked back to greet Suzumi.
Miss Oblivious (or maybe not so much?) sighed. "He called me a prize."
"Pig," Miss Sarcasm added.
"Gross," Suzumi wrinkled her nose before taking a deep breath. The girl threw herself against the railing and joined in the cheers with the others, her need to blend in pushing past her confusion. "Great job, Tsuna!"
Almost immediately, an embarrassed face turned over to her direction, and two pairs of brown eyes clashed. Tsuna looked vibrant, smiling like the way he was.
Suzumi's smile nearly dropped off her face and felt a strong sense of pride overwhelm her.
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The pride, as it turned out, didn't last very long. It turned into guilt very quickly. Suzumi should've expected this. She was the one who threw everything away for the sake of a nice and easy life. Despite how many times she forced herself to admit this fact (she'd much rather lie to others than to herself) it never got any less painful.
"I am the suckiest friend in the world," Suzumi spat out.
"But definitely not a sucky girlfriend," a voice drawled out behind her. Suzumi spun around, plastering a smile on her face. Narihara's odd choice in hairstyle and strange hair and eye color just demanded attention- attention that she would willingly give. His hair was cut rather normally in the front- bangs and shoulder length hair- but there was a few long locks of hair tied back at the nape of his neck. Both his eyes and hair were a dark, murky mix of green that somehow fitted his features. "Friendship problems?"
Suzumi giggled, fluttering over to her boyfriend's side. She noted, "Are you using a new perfume? It smells great~"
Narihara chuckled, easily taking in the surprised, envious, and admirable stares from the other middle school students as he wrapped his arm around Suzumi's thin waist. "Thanks, babe. Thought you'd like it."
That was a lie in itself, and Narihara knew Suzumi knew it. In fact, it was the only reason why they were actually still dating for as long as they were. Narihara had a long case of affairs and something of a no-girlfriend rule (until he met Suzumi, at least) while Suzumi never actually cheated on her former boyfriends; she just flirted around. They both had their problems and the number one unspoken rule of their six-months relationship was that neither party should interfere with the other's life unless allowed. Suzumi shrugged.
"Yeah, some problems here and there." That was the answer to his first question. She didn't elaborate and Narihara didn't question her any further. Suzumi did speak with Tsuna often like on shopping trips where they coincidentally met or when they walked to school together away from pondering eyes. Tsuna knew Suzumi well and that she'd do nearly anything to keep her popularity in place, but somehow never blamed her. Knowing this made the guilt worse.
"Suzumi, I got a few friends going to a bar tonight. Wanna come?" Narihara asked casually. He never forced her to do anything and kept her away from his conversations with his own group of friends in order to prevent her from getting into some unwanted illegal issues. She liked that about him.
"Sure," Suzumi winked. "I'm free tonight; lemme just get dressed."
"Don't wear anything that'll get too much attention; I'm a jealous man."
Says the guy going off with a different girl every party they ever went to.
Suzumi grinned as she disappeared into her house. "Anything for Narihara-kun!"
Everything about Sawada Tsunayoshi and his so-called 'home-tutor' was pushed back in her mind.
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Italics: Emphasis, sometimes thoughts
Bolded: Another language, most likely Italian
Underline: Speaking through electronics/writing
A/N: I SWORE I'D KEEP AWAY FROM DOING THIS AHHH. Ha. Well, I started sketching out Suzumi and I fell for her sassiness and (for lack of a better word) bitchiness and I kind of lost my will to fight the urge to write this. Sorry? (btw Suzumi is a total role model for all heroines out there haha no I was just kidding no don't she's copyrighted to me guys) (and also don't worry bout June, Mina, and Sakura. I had to give them names and some semblance of a personality considering that most side classmates in mangas are never named. Narihara [her bf] isn't gonna suddenly be paired up with a canon female either and he isn't too bad either probably) Little to no romance and follows canon. If you want a non-canon story with Hana as the main character, check out BOF instead.
Notes:
•2000 yen= About 20 US dollars
Psst I don't bite. So here's a question to interact with you guys:
What kind of OC where you expecting to encounter when you saw my summary?