Chapter 1
-Trying not to falter-
...I can hear something...a melody played on...the koto?*...and the sounds of suzu* too...is it calling me?
Clover-coloured eyes blinked at the ceiling, fdotted by sunlight filtering through the patterned curtains. Swallows piped their tune as an alternative to Gokudera's silent alarm; however they ended it abruptly as he sat up on his bed. To his shock, Gokudera felt wet tears slide down his pale cheeks.
What the fuck am I crying for?
He rubbed his eyes quickly feeling embarrassed and threw the blanket off his body. On the way to his wardrobe, he unconsciously picked up his mobile and selected the envelope image on the menu screen.
Halfway through dressing, he noticed the message he was texting.
Gokudera laid his thumb on the keypad for a second and then saved the unfinished message. He slipped the mobile into his pocket, letting his charms dangle out and as he did, he opened a drawer from his bedside table. In the shelf, there was a small box wrapped with a white ribbon.
He looked at his calendar, where a red loop had been circled around the date for tomorrow. Gokudera sighed and closed the drawer with slight hesitance, before heading downstairs to the kitchen.
The usual hum of the refrigerator greeted him as he opened the door and grabbed a sliced beef sandwich he had made earlier that night. There was this month's issue of the 'S'ONGWORLD' catalogue on the table and he flipped through the pages of new artists while eating.
His hand stopped at a page featuring an artist called 'TOMOYA' who had debuted recently. The single he debuted with was called 'Eternal Bond' and had been dedicated to someone, but as to whomf, it was unknown. It featured the use of a koto, which was extremely rare and also that he had composed the song himself.
The koto...
Gokudera tugged at a fading memory in his mind but it vanished at the sound of UVERworld's GO-ON.* The small screen on the front of his mobile read 'Sawada Tsunayoshi' and he flipped it open to answer.
"Ohayo* Gokudera-kun, are you alright now?"
"I'm fine, I'm just eating breakfast."
"At this time!? You haven't forgotten...have you?" Tsuna's voice was hinted with suspicion.
It came to him a split second later and he swiftly shut the magazine, threw it somewhere while shoving down his sandwich and did a spot check of the room, to make sure there wasn't anything on that could cause a fire.
"Sorry, I'll meet you in 15-20 minutes" he told Tsuna and hung up as he grabbed his chequered house keys and locked the house, before running to the train station. Gokudera swiped his PASMO* card over the sensory device and ran down the stairs, hearing the about-to-depart train jingle.
Gokudera, hurray up! It's the jingle!
His footsteps faltered a little and it seemed as if he was going to miss the train, but seeing Gokudera, the railway signaller stopped the train for a few seconds and that was enough time to hop on. He gestured a quick thanks to the man who waved in return and then the student sat down, putting his skull headphones on.
Instead of blasting music like he usually did, he put the volume just around halfway. He was always curious about what other people had to say and just listening to people on the train was a great way of gathering gossip.
Opposite to him, there was a group of teenagers mourning about the death of…hm? TOMOYA? Isn't that the guy I read about earlier? What, he died!? But didn't it say he debuted recently? S'ONGWORLD comes out every 20th so it must be a bit before that…
Gokudera suddenly wanted to switch the mute control on his ears or more erase the memory of what he had just heard.
He turned the volume up on his headphones until it was at full blast. The people around Gokudera started looking awkwardly at him. But he didn't care. All he wanted to do was to seize every voice and noise there was in the train, scrunch it all up and shove it in a hole. But the words just kept ricocheting around in his mind.
To his relief he heard the call of the stop he wanted to get off and speedily made his way out of the train. As he climbed the descending stairs because of his impatience, Gokudera spotted the small figure of Tsuna being hassled by some older students. He sped through the card swiping area almost catching the eye of a security guard and charged towards the large bodies.
"Get your fucking hands off my friend or I'll fucking shove this up your arse," Gokudera yelled, holding sticks of dynamite between all of his fingers.
"Heh whatever man. I bet they're just some cheapos off a kid's party bag," the leader smirked, showing his pure white teeth.
But Gokudera just laughed mockingly. He took out a cigarette from its packet and lit it with a clear blue lighter. Some of the gang members developed sweat on their foreheads and were looking at each other as if Doomsday had come.
He took a long breathe and blew out smoke onto the leader's face, who coughed and spluttered like he had never been exposed to the smoke of tobacco. When the smoke had cleared up, the dynamites in Gokudera's hand were all dazzling away with sparks.
"You still think they're toys, huh?" He stepped closer to them with the lit dynamites and the leader hastily signalled for the others to run and take cover.
"Gokudera-kun! Hurray and throw them outside!!!" Tsuna shouted with a terrified look on his face as the ends of the dynamites grew smaller and smaller.
"It's alright; they're fakes that I made just in case we get caught in situations like this," Gokudera told the shaking student, who instantly relaxed and returned to the cheerful smile on his face.
"You had me there for a second!" Tsuna laughed but as he looked at his watch, his grin dropped. "Oh my god! It's already 10:30! We have to get back at 12 to help set up!"
The two sprinted out of the station and paced themselves down the street. Since it was a weekday, there were not as many people roaming around except for the occasional mob of high-schoolers enjoying the week off. Gokudera eyed one who had been staring at him like a retarded jackass but before the things started getting heated, Tsuna pulled him away. Soon after they arrived at a shop called 'Wa no Musou'* and both of them with slight embarrassment, entered into its domain.
"Welcome!"
They found themselves surrounded by a whole range of kimono* and yukata* in different styles, patterns and colours, as well as a favourable display of obi* and geta.* The shop itself was built modelling the architecture of a pre-classical Japanese house and it certainly didn't fail to make the customer feel almost at home, and become absorbed in the presence of an ancient history.
"What sort of colour do you want Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked as he shifted through some yukatas on the rack.
"Something that doesn't stand out too much. Like black or navy," he replied knowing that just the thought of wearing a brilliant white or flaming red yukata was enough to make him pass out. Not that he hated those colours.
Tsuna looked at what colours were offered but found that even if the colour matched Gokudera, the ornament on it didn't seem to possess a similar character to his.
This might take longer than he thought it would.
"Do you need some help?" A young man in his early 20's with deep gold hair asked politely with a warm smile. He wore a jet-black yukata with a golden dragon, trailing its tail to his back but he almost didn't need the stitching since his left arm was covered with rather 'hardcore embroidery.'
"Um yes, thank you. Well my friend here wants a yukata for the Tomoshi-zakura Hanami Festival* tomorrow but we really have no idea what colours work best and...." Tsuna trailed off, noticing the worker's name badge and wasn't surprised to see a non-Japanese name.
"Oh if you're wondering about my name, my parents are both Italian but I grew up here most of my life."
The student nodded comprehendingly. "My friend's from Italy too, right Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna turned around to him, only to find that Gokudera was gazing at the men's yukata with extreme interest and hadn't heard a word.
The worker chuckled. "Your friend's quite curious about yukatas eh? Let's help him out then."
Tsuna followed him to the fascinated-wide-eyed Gokudera who was now looking at the fine embroidery on one of the displayed yukatas. He didn't even notice them behind his back until the worker announced his presence.
"Dino Cavallone's here to help you, Gokudera-kun!" Dino said in a loud voice right beside Gokudera's ear, whom looked at him with a death stare.
"For you I reckon a black yukata, white obi and a pair of black geta. Maybe, this one?" He pulled out a yukata hidden between several other black ones. It had elaborate cherry blossom petals embroidered here and there, making it seem as though the yukata itself was dancing with the petals. He also brought a white obi which had silver embroidery of scenery with mountains and the sky, and a pair of black geta which had a silver lines on the hanao.*
"That's so beautiful! Gokudera-kun you have to wear it!"
Gokudera however felt hesitant. The pale pink petals were bothering him a little. Maybe because pink was a stereo typical women's colour or he just didn't like the idea of pink altogether.
"Come on, the change rooms are over there. I'll help you put it on," the worker grinned but Gokudera seemed to take it into different terms.
"No way in hell am I changing with some random guy who I've known for 5 minutes!!!"
"10 minutes, but hey 10 minutes, 10 seconds, it's all the same. Quit complaining and come here." Dino dragged the shouting and flailing Gokudera to one the spacious change rooms. For a second, Tsuna looked a little worried but in less than 3 minutes they were out again and Gokudera looked as if he had come out of a pro Kabuki* performance group minus the inches of make-up. Dino turned him round to face the full body mirror and Gokudera couldn't help but look surprised.
This isn't too bad...I actually quite like it...
"Do I see a smile on that furrowed brow face of yours?" The worker smirked in a satisfying manner and Gokudera tinged the slightest red and looked the other way. There was something different about this yukata, this person and place. It made him feel like all the wounded memories were becoming scabs and that he didn't have to control the bleeding. It just stopped the moment he came in this shop and for once Gokudera felt like he was talking with his own voice.
"It's alright I guess. I'll take it."
"An alright for you is a fantastic for me. Great! I'll put it on the counter. Did you want a yukata too, Gokudera's friend?"
"How in the hell do you kno-" Gokudera started, his good thoughts about the worker completely vanished and was replaced by thoughts about shotakon.*
"Yes I do so could you please help me?" Tsuna interrupted, already foreseeing Gokudera's reaction with an inner sigh of weariness, as much as he liked Gokudera being happy.
"Your wish is my command. Now let's see." Dino eyed the small student almost analysing him up and down, side to side and every angle he could. But he seemed as if he were staring past Tsuna, past the form in front of him, but into the crevices where only Tsuna should be allowed to pass. His heart started to crack the whip and become faster; anxiety pushed heavily upon him as if a 1 tonne anxiety weight had fallen from the sky and smashed onto Tsuna's back.
He felt relief when Dino stopped peering into his heart and asked a question.
"What's your name boy?"
"Sawada Tsunayoshi."
Dino rested his chin between his thumb and index finger. "Tsunayoshi-kun. Tsuna-kun?" The worker liked a short, choppy name. His tongue worked well round them. Not like they knew what happened when he made a long speech; the audience by the end looked as if their brows had been permanently wrinkled.
"Everybody calls me that, but please call me whatever you like."
"Ok Tsuna-kun, I think I know what the perfect combination for you is."
"Already?" Tsuna found it incredible the way people could work out what suited a person just by looking at them a little, but in this case, Dino seemed to do more then just look at his appearance. Now, Tsuna too agreed silently with Gokudera that they had to be careful with this person but knowing himself, he would forget about being cautious in the next 5 seconds.
"Because you told me your name, I was able to fully work it out." Dino stated as if it were the most normal comment that a normal person could make.
His eyebrows rose up in surprise again. "Are names important in choosing a yukata?" It was a strange question to ask, knowing that the yukata would usually depend on the body shape and skin colour of a person, not their name. Though he couldn't deny that it was a strange question because it was coming from a person, who let out a strange aura of puzzles and cryptic, under the veil of the cheery smile.
"A name tells me a lot of things. You could tell me the story of your whole life but I would know more with just your name." To Tsuna, he could see those sienna eyes burning with truthfulness and unconsciously let his cautiousness waver.
"He's just bluffing, don't listen to him." Gokudera remarked purposely in a loud voice, so the worker wouldn't miss a word. Dino pretended not hear what Gokudera said and went off to the other side of the shop. He again, pulled out a hidden yukata and took out an obi and pair of geta from the glass display.
"Here we are, a light orange yukata with white swallows on the front and back, and a dark green obi with gold embroidered maples, and to finish it off a pair of polished wooden geta." Tsuna totally let his cautiousness levels drop below zero and enthusiastically went with Dino to the change rooms. When he came out, the wide grin on Gokudera obviously showed that it greatly suited him.
"Wow, the yukata is stunning," The student commented from the bottom of his heart, with a beaming smile. For a moment, he thought he felt one of the swallows tickle his back.
"No, your stunning Tsuna-kun," Dino grinned. "No matter how ornate and beautiful a yukata may be, if the right person doesn't wear it, it just doesn't work." Tsuna couldn't help but blush a little in embarrassment, since he wasn't used to people calling the 'no-good-Tsuna' anything above satisfactory.
"Thank you, um Cavallone-san," Tsuna quickly flicked his eyes to the name tag.
"Just call me Dino," the worker said to Tsuna ruffling his hair, so it stuck up at all angles possible.
After a bit of rustling in the change rooms, the two gathered at the counter. Everything was neatly wrapped in white tissue paper and popped into a bag with the shop's name and logo of a dragon biting its own tail. Gokudera brought out his wallet studded with criss-crosses but Tsuna pushed his it away, shaking his head.
"A one day early birthday present Gokudera-kun," Tsuna flashed a smile.
"What! No, I couldn't! I'll-'
"Gokudera-kun please let me buy it. I really wanted to get you something nice for your 15th," Tsuna had no intention of backing down for once against the usually scary-scary-Gokudera and pleaded.
"But, it costs so much together with all the obi and pairs of geta!" He wouldn't back down easily either. After all they were just high school students and money didn't pour down as rain (as much as wished for it to happen sometimes.)
"Excuse me there, can I say something?" Dino asked. The two of them realised they had forgotten about the worker's existence. "Since it's your birthday tomorrow Gokudera-kun, you can take a whole set of a yukata home for absolutely...nil."
"Really!? " Tsuna couldn't believe that the word 'nil' had really come out of Dino's mouth. "You would actually do that for us Dino-san!?"
"Of course I would! I really want you young'ns to go to the festival anyway, especially you Gokudera-kun," Dino pointed at the frowning student with a knowing expression. Like a cold piece of glass, Gokudera felt something slip into him and though he didn't feel sick or anything, he could tell that it was a foreboding sign.
He really didn't like this guy full stop. Not just because of his annoying nature but because this guy seemed to be controlling the two like marionettes confined onto strings.
"Well then I'll pay for Gokudera-kun's yukata set," Tsuna stated with absolute resolution but Gokudera remained silent; there was something not right. It felt like when do up your buttons and realise that they are all out of place.
The paying was done smoothly and Dino farewelled them at the entrance of the shop, at the same time attracting whole swarms of high school girls. "I'll see you there at the festival tomorrow! If you have trouble with your yukatas come a little earlier and I'll help you!"
"Thank you Dino-san!" Tsuna waved at him. Gokudera and the worker met eyes for a split second before looking away.
Dino watched the figures become smaller and smiled, a different smile. "You need to go to the festival to meet him, Gokudera Hayato."
Notes:
*Koto: written as 「琴」or 「箏」and is a traditional Japanese stringed instrument
*Suzu written as「鈴」and is a bell
* UVERworld - GO-ON : a great song^^
*Ohayo : written as 「おはよ」meaning 'Good morning'
*PASMO : a smart card used in Japan which is contactless and rechargeable
*Wa no Muso : written as「和の夢想」(Original)
*Kimono : written as 「着物」and is a traditional Japanese garment worn by men, women and children
*Yukata : written as 「浴衣」and is a Japanese casual summer kimono
*Obi : written as 「帯」and is a sash which is worn with the kimono or yukata
*Geta : written as 「下駄」and are traditional Japanese footwear that resemble both flip-flops and clogs
*Tomoshi-zakura Hanami Festival : written as「灯桜花見祭り」(Original)
*Hanao : written as 「鼻緒」and is cloth thong that passes between the big toe and second toe
*Kabuki : written as 「歌舞伎」and is classical Japanese dance-drama
*shotakon : written as 「ショタコン」and is an attraction to young boys
[Info from Wiki]