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Thanks to TargetFailed, Fruitful Action, and xenocanaan for reviewing!

This is more filler than anything. Takara does make some friends though.

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Taking that first step towards learning how to handle a sword was… easier than expected, I suppose. And what I mean by that was getting tou-chan to give me the okay – which was a rather daunting thing, despite what one might think. He had stared at me with this unreadable expression for a little bit, one I'd tried to fend off with a mega-watt smile – complete with the ever-cute nose-wrinkle.

In the end he'd given me a half-smile and said okay, and I was fairly certain he didn't think I was serious about it, or that I would stick with it. Which I didn't blame him for, since I'd tried out soccer for about a year when I was seven and promptly quit, then I'd stayed in gymnastics from then until now, so it wasn't really much of a longshot to make a guess that kendo wouldn't be a permanent thing for me.

But, it had to be.

Not that he knew that.

Not that I wasn't still unsure about my future.

And let me tell you, kendo was kind of intense. Not just in the physical sense, but in the mental. There were many terms and the like that needed to be learned for one to become competent and ready for competitions – not that I was even planning of competing.

Though there was one term – or rather, practice – that I'd latched onto.

Zanshin – a continued state of spirit and mental alertness and physical readiness. It was a practice of having a relaxed alertness, and though it was only really meant for competitions, there was no way I wasn't going to learn that state and learn it well. Because that world – my world – was full of Mafioso and yakuza, and if I wasn't aware then, well…

"Yamamoto!"

If I wasn't well, then I would get yelled at. Like now.

"Ah! Haaaai, shishou?"

Some of the other kids snickered, but shishou just scowled before jerking a thumb towards one of the older kids who was here to help us practice –

"Kiri-kaeshi*. Now."

"Ah, haaaai~!"

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All throughout primary school I hadn't interacted enough with other kids to really make friends. Sure, there were a few girls from when I was in gymnastics – but those had fallen apart quickly once I'd quit. And no one had really tried to really get to know me well – sure, they approached me since I was friendly enough, but I suppose there was never really any effort to make it a permanent fort of thing; not on my part, anyways. So it was a bit of a surprise when a girl came over at tell me to, and I quote, "Get your ass up and sit with us. Stop living in your own world."

At first all I'd done was blink up at her, my head tilted and my bangs itching my face –

"Ehh? My own world?"

"Well, yeah," the dark haired girl deadpanned, "You're all smiles and happy and nice and everything, but you don't really have any friends, do you? You just float around."

That… was a rather astute observation. And was also rather true, and I'd blushed at the realization before laughing awkwardly.

"I'd never really noticed."

And I hadn't, because I'd been too deep in thought about, well, everything.

"Exactly." The girl jerked a thumb behind her, "So move it, Yamamoto."

So, I did – what could it really hurt, making some friends? Though, after catching a glance of the other girl I felt like I'd been bricked. Because how utterly ironic was it that the blunt girl who'd pulled me over and the girl sitting at the table were none other than Kurokawa Hana and Sasagawa Kyoko. Was this some sort of sign from the universe that I'd be involved in the plot one way or another?

Then again, while friendships might be made, they didn't always last through the years.

And there was the fact that if I was associated with these two, Tsuna might never seriously consider me to act as a guardian. If not because I was a girl, but because of Kyoko. But…

"Oh, Yamamoto-chan! I hope Hana-chan wasn't mean to you?"

"Mean? Please. I'm not mean."

My lips turned up into a smile and I laughed, "Just call me Takara."

"Then you can call me Kyoko, Takara-chan! And Hana-chan, Hana!"

"Oi, Kyoko-chan, don't make decisions for me. But yeah, whatever, just call me Hana."

My nose scrunched as my smile widened, "Righty-o, Kyoko-chan, Hana-chin."

"Chin? What are you, five? Don't call me that."

"Alright, Hana-chama."

"I hate you."

…Maybe it wouldn't be too bad, being involved with them.

Plot, or no plot.

For now, anyways.

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Shishou was a harsh man, but that made it easy to learn from him. He didn't care if you were seven or sixteen, or if you were male or female; you were his student, and his students listened and learned. He'd already scared off a couple of kids with his harsh ways; one had even ran out crying and yelling for his mother. Of course, shishou hadn't really said anything about it and had assigned a load of practice orders on anyone that did.

Bullying was not allowed in his dojo.

It was something aside from kendo itself that he seemed really passionate about, and he swore that if he ever caught any one of us using what we learned to bully someone then our arms would be numb for weeks.

So, it was kind of ironic that I'd ran into some bullies one day after shishou had made one of those 'no bullying' speeches. Apparently they thought it would be fun to try and take a little girl's money.

"Oi, oi," the boy was slouched, hands in his pockets and a sneer on his face, "I bet 'chya got some allowance money on ya, don't ya?"

My only response to this was to blink, because – kick to the shin, elbow to the gut; punch to the gut, elbow to the head; kick to the groin and run; kick to the knee or just above the knee as he approaches. They were all very viable ways to handle these guys… one on one. Though I was sure the other boy would be too stunned to properly react once I got through with the first.

"Hey, little girl," the shorter on stepped up next to his friend, "You listening? Allowance. Hand it over."

Really, where did these two middle-schoolers get the idea to harass a ten-year-old kid? As one of them made to move forward and I started to ready myself, the problem was taken care of for me.

How?

A yellow blur shot past and bowled them over. Said yellow blur also had white hair and a blindfold on and had yelled out, "I APOLOGIZE TO THE EXTREME!"

Sasagawa Ryohei had unknowingly saved me from bullies (Once again, universe, are you trying to tell me something?). It was an amusing thought, a thought I was pulled away from as one of the boys groaned – apparently he'd hit them hard enough to knock them silly, or they'd just hit the sidewalk really hard. With a shrug I moved on – home meant food, after all.

Though I might have accidentally stepped on a hand and/or stomach on my way.

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*Type of practice involving striking the left and right men target points in succession, practising centering, distance, and correct technique, while building spirit and stamina.

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The universe just wants you to know that plot is coming to the extreme, Takara-chaaaan~.

Eventually.

I can honestly see Hana and Takara being good friends, not so much Kyoko though (not that they won't be friends.). Also, I think I did okay with Hana...? Because I like a somewhat snarky Hana, I really do.