The Idiot who Takes Things too Seriously
Disclaimer: I don't own Hayate x Blade. Not that it matters. It's already awesome enough as it is.
Warning: It might be OoC because I wrote this without the intention of posting it on FFnet. ;P Bamboo said I should though. Speaking of which...
This fic is for you, Bamboo! If it weren't for you, I'd still be moping around. (And of course, I raise a glass to Hayashiya Shizuru, whose manga made it possible for me to get out of my depression. Cheers!)
The sun was at the peak of its supremacy, beating down mercilessly against those who dared to go out of their shelters that summery day. Underneath a huge, white umbrella, Hitsugi took a sip of her ice-cold lemon tea, the red-striped straw caressing her lips as a smug smile edged its way towards her face. Tatewaki flapped an equally huge fan, right besides Hitsugi, her eyebrows knitted together in fervent concentration, dedicating each flap to her beloved goddess. Unbeknownst to Hitsugi, Tatewaki's wishes and thoughts—her most ardent of desires—were being projected towards the fan's short breeze, as if by doing so, she could somehow channel her feelings towards Hitsugi, making her realize what a loser Shizuku was, and that, really, no one loves you like I do, Kaichou-sama, so you should just go and dump her already.
But, as most stories go, Tatewaki would only appear for a few sentences, before being relegated to the background as a discarded, unwanted prop.
Hitsugi put down her lemon tea on the table placed conveniently on her other side, and leaned against her deck chair, folding her arms with an ethereal grace that would make any woman jealous. Her eyes rested on a lone figure, practicing not too far away.
"I don't think Mikado-san is going to like it if she found out you were spying on her, Kaichou-sama," Tatewaki blurted out in an attempt to be remembered by the reader.
Hitsugi continued to watch, having forgotten what's-her-name already.
"I really think—" Tatewaki tried to interrupt once more, but the running gag had ran its course, and Hitsugi countered with her own verbal musings.
"Mikado-san's form is excellent today," Hitsugi said appraisingly. "Indeed... Perhaps it is high time that I change my shinyuu."
"W-what?" Tatewaki stuttered. Shizuku, who had just returned from some menial, clerical job for Hitsugi, gaped at her Kaichou, her thoughts running parallel in that one instant, with Tatewaki's own. You gotta be kidding me!
"Her style with that sword is truly elegant, and her speed is," Hitsugi paused dramatically, angling her face a little to catch a glimpse of Shizuku's colouring face, "remarkable I must say. Nowhere near my Shizuku's just yet, but it's only a matter of time, I'm sure." She let out a melancholic sigh, leaning her face against the back of her long fingers. "And she seems like a more capable partner as well, judging from how happy Inori-san has been lately."
Shizuku put her right foot forward, pirouetted with the mechanical grace of a robot, and stomped away.
Hitsugi blinked slowly. "Ara ara?"
Up, at the very top of the bell tower, Shizuku tied her hachimaki around her forehead and braced herself. A half-hearted thud reverberated across its immediate surroundings as head met against cool, unforgiving metal.
The more familiar goooong sound came a split second later.
Hitsugi raised an arched eyebrow delicately and snorted in a most lady-like manner that was just too mellifluous to the ear to be labelled as a snort. The object of her attention stopped what she was doing and gave Hitsugi a reproving glance as if to say, 'Why now of all times?', before storming off the field which would soon be occupied by other Hoshitori participants.
"Tatewaki, bring me my shinyuu," Hitsugi ordered, finally acknowledging the poor thing—I mean, human being—for once.
Tatewaki pouted and disappeared, only to reappear before the empress of her heart a few minutes later, dragging all too unhappily a woozy Shizuku with a bloody forehead.
"Whatever did you do to yourself?" Hitsugi asked with a hint of concern in her voice.
Shizuku looked at her sharply and groaned from the sudden movement. "I rang the bell," she muttered abashedly.
"I am well aware of that," Hitsugi said mildly. "I'm asking what you did to yourself, and not to the bell." Shizuku made a non-committal noise. Hitsugi sighed. "Well, it won't do to have all that blood ruin your beautiful face, now would it? Tatewaki, come here," Hitsugi called, her lips twitching ever so slightly at the sight of her red-faced Shizuku. Tatewaki shuffled forward, and made a belligerent yelp when Hitsugi took hold of the end of her coat and started wiping Shizuku's face with it.
For a moment, the entire scene sparkled as Hitsugi's and Shizuku's eyes met in silent, fiery passion, their love conveyed in a pair of heated glances. Then, Hitsugi placed the coat's end against Shizuku's nose and said, "Now blow your nose."
"I wasn't crying, Kaichou!"
