A/N: Huzzah! I finished chapter two! If you look at the cover photo, you can see my drawing of Tsuri and Yara. Took me forever to fix up the lines because my $40 scanner pretty much screwed over the quality and my tablet was getting glitchy as I was fixing them. щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
But I managed to fix them up for the most part and colored them in with gimp.
Tsuri's red shawl is my own creation, it's not part of her uniform, just so you know. I kinda liked how Chiaki from Shigofumi carried a scarf around with her so I wound up making something for Tsuri.
I'm planning to upload it to my deviantart as well. I actually haven't uploaded anything there in a while...
Feel free to critique it if you want!
This chapter is actually two parts. It actually got so long I had to cut it in half...
Sorry for any errors you may see and disapprove of...
Disclaimer: I don't own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi but I do own Tsuri and Yara.
Late into the night, a little girl with bright wings elegantly lands on top of a car in a parking lot nearby Marukawa Shoten's new building. Her pastel green head jewelry and white wings turn into a tall staff before she made way for the building. Taking a deep breath and walking into the building's lobby, she finds that she's not the only presence.
Still wearing his glasses, Masamune took a double take at the sight of an oddly clothed little girl, no more than eight years old walking into the lobby with a staff. Slightly startled by her gold ringed green eyes, he recomposes himself. "Oi, little girl. Isn't it a little late for you to be out here cosplaying? Aren't your parents worried?"
"Hmmm?" Heterochromic eyes looked Masamune over. She cocked her head to the side and clicked her tongue. "Tsk. Useless."
Blinking twice, he immediately turns to her. "What did you just call me?!" He yells out. Not used to dealing with kids, Masamune could only respond as if he were talking to someone his own age.
Tsuri sighed as she shifted her eerie eyes to the right. "Just had that feeling."
He took a step towards her. As if he were a parent, he scolded her saying, "Don't be rude to strangers!" In the midst of his attempt, Masamune picked up a familiar scent of apples that seemed to emanate from the strange little girl.
Tsuri rolled her eyes. "Who cares? They're strangers." She said as she shrugged her thin shoulders, a small smile forming on her lips. She held back a chuckle as the man scowled and crossed his arms.
"Cheeky brat." Masamune muttered.
She sighed before looking up at Yara. "Yara, is he still in this building?"
"He's boarding the elevator." A chirpy voice called out.
He stared wide eyed before pointing at Yara. "… Did that stick just talk?"
Her gem furiously blinking as she spoke, "How rude! I'm not a stick! I'm a staff!" Tsuri slightly tugged Yara down to calm her down. He would've said something about her slight levitation but Tsuri managed to cut him off.
An eerily innocent smile crossed her pink lips. "Yara, calm down. There's a reason why he has to wear glasses. They must be defective though." She narrowed her sharp eyes as she snickered. "Or he's just that dense." In response, another scowl appeared on the man's long face.
"You little…"
Everybody heard a ring from the elevator.
"…" Tsuri unexpectedly clenched her teeth as she frantically said, "…I can't do it!" She yelled out a sequence of numbers before Yara's gem glowed, both of them vanishing before Masamune's eyes. Instantly looking around the lobby, Masamune stepped forward to where the girl had stood but found nothing.
"…She disappeared?"
Coming out of the elevator in his usual winter attire, a brown coat and white scarf, Ritsu's tired eyes slightly widen in surprise as he spots Masamune in the lobby. "Takano-san? I told you that you didn't have to wait for me." Hearing his voice, Masamune immediately put the strange duo to the back of his mind as he turned around.
Walking over to where he is, Masamune pulls out his keys as he informs the brunet, "I decided that I'm going to drive us home today. Don't even think about escaping. From what I can tell your hips are still… out of commission." Even though he slightly smirked, there was a flash of pain in his eyes as he realized that the rough taking of his subordinate had done more damage than he thought.
The brunet blushed at his choice of words as he looked at the floor. "Whose fault is that?"
Masamune patted his apple scented head, smiling. "Which is why I'm taking responsibility." He held back a chuckle. "Saying it like that sounds like I got you preg-"
Cutting him off, Ritsu slapped his hand away. "Takano-san!"
"Well I do like the idea of you carrying my children. If that ever happened, I'd gladly take responsibility."
"…" Not knowing what to say, Ritsu just blushes furiously. He keeps his head down as they walk towards the front door, unconsciously rubbing his stomach. A smile graced Masamune's lips when he noticed this.
As soon as they left, Yara's voice echoed throughout the empty lobby. "Why did you chicken out?! He was right there!" Reappearing, Yara slips out of Tsuri's small hand as she levitates in front of her.
Tsuri's mouth slightly hung open as the adults' conversation replayed in her mind. "He… he really has grown up." A rare blush crosses her face as she holds her hands to her small cheeks. "Talking about having kids…"
Clicking the floor with her tip, Yara yells, "Snap out of it, Tsuri! Remember the reason you came here!"
Snapping out of it, the brunette slaps her cheeks. "R-right!"
Grabbing Yara, Tsuri bolts out of the door. The cold slap in the face whisks past her, slightly lifting up her wavy locks as she momentarily looked around for the two men. Knowing that the two men have most likely left, Tsuri yells out a set of numbers. In turn, Yara turns into luminous wings and pale green head jewelry, allowing Tsuri to fly off.
….
Landing at the apartment complex, the duo swiftly board the elevator to the twelfth floor before they make it to Ritsu's front door. "So this is where he lives." She takes a deep breath before she goes forward.
Ringing the doorbell, it comes off as a surprise when the door opens to reveal Masamune. This time with his glasses off, he scowls when he sees the two in front of him. "You again." Clad in a black long sleeve shirt and blue jeans, Masamune crosses his arms as he glares at her.
A mischievous smirk graced Tsuri's lips as she batted her long eyelashes. "The pleasure is all mine."
"Huh? What's wrong Takano-san?" Coming by his side, wearing a white button-up shirt and brown pants, Ritsu raises an eyebrow when he sees Tsuri at the door. "A child?" Seeing him, Masamune lifted an eyebrow when he saw the little girl fidgeting with an envelope.
Blushing, she stutters out, "Y-you're Onodera Ritsu, correct?"
"Ah, yes. That's me."
"I came to deliver a letter." Already having the letter in her hand, Tsuri stretches her arm out towards him, hiding her face beneath the rim of her large hat. However, Ritsu didn't take it as he tilted his head in confusion.
"A letter? I haven't been expecting one."
Exasperated, Masamune pinches the bridge of his nose. "Chibi, aren't you a little young to be working as a mail courier?" The man was obviously getting on his last nerve as he looked over the strange girl.
Slipping out of her awkwardness, Tsuri shifts her voice to a professional tone. "There's no age requirement for delivering the Shigofumi."
They both raised an eyebrow. "Shigofumi?"
"A letter from the world of the departed. In one word, Shigofumi. "
"It's the final words of the person who died addressed to you." Looking down at the letter, she slightly furrows her brow. "Well, it's been put on hold for a long amount of time, but it was at the sender's request. Though I do apologize in her place for the extended period of time."
The furrow in Masamune's brow deepens. "Little girl, you should stop playing these games. Is this part of your cosplay? Last time I checked, dead people can't write letters."
"Onodera?" Not saying anything, the brunet steps forward and lifts the large hat off Tsuri's head, showing her hair wavy cinnamon locks parted in the middle.
Stepping forward to get it back, "Don't just take my hat!" She reaches for it but is too short. Tsuri furiously tries to jump for it but Ritsu ends up keeping it over his head, impossible to reach. All Masamune did was snicker at the sight until he heard the brunet speak.
Ritsu blinked twice as he looked her over. "Is it… is it really you?"
She stops and plops her arms to the side. "…" Not able to look him in the eye, Tsuri looks away.
"See?! I was right!" Ritsu didn't react to Yara's voice as he stared at the little brown haired girl before him.
"You haven't aged a day…" Tears start pooling at his emerald eyes. He fell to his knees and swiftly put his arms around her thin shoulders. "I'm not dreaming, am I?" Sharp heterochromic eyes slightly widen as Tsuri felt her shoulder become slightly wet.
By reflex, she shouts out a sequence of numbers before Yara glows green. The contours of Ritsu's body follows suit as he slouches to the side. "Onodera?"
"Onodera?!" He hits the floor with a thud. "Oi!" Rushing to his side, Masamune holds him in his arms. The brunet's tears trailed down his cheeks as they led to his chin, dripping off down his exposed neck. His mouth lay parted as Masamune tries to awaken him.
Looking at the unconscious brunet, Yara yells at Tsuri. "Why did you make me knock him out?! You can't give him the letter if he's unconscious!" In frustration, she repeatedly clicks the floor with her tip.
Tsuri fiddles with the sides of her robe as she looked down at the floor. "I know. I just panicked…"
"Onodera!" Masamune called out as he shook Ritsu's shoulders, not responding.
Recomposing herself as she looked at the two men, "Well, you were right. He did cry." She shrugged and slightly chuckled. "Looks like the crybaby part of him is still there even after all this time."
Yara just sighs at the sight in front of her. "So much for a touching reunion."
Finally remembering Tsuri and Yara's presence, Masamune asks, "What did you do to him?"
"I put him to sleep." Tsuri said with a straight face.
Noticing the man's worry from Tsuri's poor choice of words, Yara assures him. "Don't worry! She didn't mean it that way. He'll only be asleep for a little while." After moving Ritsu's unconscious form to the living room's couch, Yara continues. "You should apologize when he wakes up."
Tsuri puffs up her cheeks before looking at the floor, childishly muttering, "… Don't wanna."
"You should!"
Tsuri clicked her tongue as she crossed her skinny arms. "You're just like a bickering mother, Yara."
"Sheesh, why are humans so abnormal?"
"You should be asking yourself that, talking stick." Unable to help herself, Tsuri started snickering. Angry, Yara floated up to Masamune's height, "My name is Yara!" She yelled.
"Tsu- oh, the next person on the route is coming up on the elevator."
Snapping out of her fit of laughter, Tsuri shrugged as she looked at Ritsu's sleeping form. "Well, it can't be helped. I might as well deliver the next one while he's knocked out." Taking the hat off the table, Tsuri grabs Yara and heads out of the living room, her footsteps softly padding away.
Masamune furrowed his eyebrows as the sound of the front door opened. "What the hell is she talking about?" Following her out of the apartment, Masamune stands at the door as he watches an old, tired looking woman coming off the elevator. Recognizing her, he realizes that she's a fellow tenant that usually had a cheerful disposition so seeing her weak eyes came off as a shock.
Tsuri steps forward. "You're Kimura Shoudou's mother, correct?"
A shadow cast over the woman's red rimmed eyes. "…Ah, yes."
"Here's a letter for you."
"A letter?" Slightly confused, she takes the letter off Tsuri's hand and slowly opens it. Reading the lengthy letter, the woman's eyes widen in surprise as she gasps.
"…!" The elderly woman holds a hand to her lips as tears pool at her tired eyes and stream down her face. Shou-chan… he…" She slightly slouches forward as she hiccups. "Thank you… thank you so much."
By surprise, she gave a genuine smile and slightly bowed, chocolate locks tickling the sides of her face. "It was my pleasure. Have a nice evening."
As soon as she goes back to her own apartment, Masamune steps out to approach Tsuri. "… What was that?"
Looking down the hallway where the woman went, Tsuri gave a far-away look as she told, "Her son passed away five days ago. She was the person he chose to send his letter to." She tucked a curl behind her ear before gently rubbing the side of her head, murmuring to herself, "Ah, this again…"
Not hearing her murmur, he asks, "Are you serious?"
"Of course!" Yara floated up to Masamune's tall height. "We have been this whole time. Are you that stubborn to believe us?"
"Of course." Masamune blankly said.
Tsuri sighed. "They're letters of the departed. They're the people's last chance to say what they couldn't when they were still alive. That makes them all the more valuable to the recipient." Right after she told him, she walked back into Ritsu's apartment. She frowned as she noticed that Ritsu was still knocked out. "He's still knocked out…" However her nose twitched as Masamune neared.
"Eh? This scent…"
"Oi! What are you doing?" Grabbing his black sleeved arm, Tsuri started sniffing at it. He was about to yell at her to get her hands off until she started.
She narrowed her moist eyes. "Takano Masamune." He slightly flinched at the mention of his name as she continued, looking up at him. "You're his lover, aren't you? Your scents are all mixed up." He flinched even more as the tone of her voice wasn't one of disgust but more of an innocent, straightforward questioning one.
"Hmmm? Smells like you two went at it like bunnies!" Yara chirped as she floated up to Masamune's eye level. "No wonder your skin is so shiny!"
Masamune blinked twice at the realization. "You don't care that we're men?"
Tsuri tilted her head as she looked up at him. "Why should we? If it's love then something like that doesn't matter."
"…Just who are you? Even Onodera seems to know who you are. How do you even know my name?"
Scoffing, Tsuri crossed her arms as she looked to the side. "Not telling." His response was a glare that went unnoticed as Tsuri walked toward and kneeled next to Ritsu. "Just how tired is he? He should've woken up by now."
Tsuri's eyes immediately softened as she gently patted the brunet on the head. "Ritsu…" She barely whispered. Looking him over, she slightly frowns at the sight of his slightly pale skin.
His eyebrows slightly twitched as he turned towards Tsuri, not waking up. He lightly snuggled his head towards Tsuri's small hand. "Nn… oneesama." He softly murmured, a smile gracing his lips.
"…!" She immediately withdrew her hand as she stepped back.
Masamune lifted an eyebrow. "Oneesama? He had a sister?"
"He didn't tell you?" Yara asked, floating beside Tsuri.
"He told me he was an only child." The amber eyed crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at the sleeping brunet. He distinctly recalled the brunet saying he was an only child so he couldn't understand why Ritsu was dreaming about a sister.
Since her back was turned, Masamune didn't notice the flash of pain that went across Tsuri's eyes. "… It looks like he'll be asleep for the rest of the night." Walking to Ritsu's bookshelf, she slightly blushes in wonder as she looks up. "So many books…"
Masamune narrowed his eyes. "What do you think you're doing?" He watched in confusion as Tsuri crouched down and tilted her head as she looked at the titles.
Starting off with the bottom row, Tsuri's delicate fingers glide across the bindings as she reads the titles on them. "Until my job is done, I'm not leaving him." A smile crossed her face as she noticed that some of the books belonged to her favorite authors. "Reading through some of these will pass the time until he wakes up."
"Shouldn't you be at home in bed? Not reading in a stranger's apartment in the middle of the night?" Masamune pointed to Tsuri's messenger bag. "Can't you just leave that letter here?"
"Not until he takes it." Yara told him, levitating next to Ritsu. "That's one of the rules." The tall man rolled his eyes at the mention of 'rules'.
Masamune pulls out his phone and walks up to Tsuri. "Give me your parents' number and let me call them to pick you up."
Taking out a book, she flips through it. Her wise eyes not leaving the turning pages as she spoke, "Are you in such a hurry to take advantage of him while he's unconscious?" Looking up, she gave a daring smile. "Hmmm?"
Crouching down to her level, Masamune forces a smile as he tells her, "You know, I'm this close to throwing you out along with the talking stick."
"I'm a staff! I know you're human but how dense can you be?!"
She puts the book back on the shelf. "Apparently pretty dense if he thinks he can get a man pregnant." Taking out a stack of books, Tsuri ushered them over to the low table.
Remembering the conversation he had with Ritsu back in the lobby, Masamune raised an eyebrow. "You heard us?"
"Of course, we were invisible, not deaf." Blinking twice in surprise, Masamune momentarily stared at the two before he sighed.
Walking over to the table, Masamune sits on the hardwood floor as he props his elbow on the table, supporting his firm chin. "A girl your age knows where babies come from?" He asked as he looked over the young girl reading the back of one of Ritsu's books.
Not looking up, she answered, "Yep. But it looks like a man your age doesn't." Smirking as she knew that the tall man would definitely get riled up.
She was right. "You-" He was interrupted when Tsuri immediately bolted up, her long cape momentarily flapping. Running back to the wooden bookcase, she squealed. "Oh my gosh! He has English books! Why didn't I notice this?" Taking out another stack, she goes to put them on the table. Spreading out the pile, Tsuri's sparkly gaze washes over the books as she genuinely smiles. "He has very good taste, dare I say."
Looking over the foreign titles, Masamune slightly tilted his head in surprise. "I didn't know he read English books." He stopped himself when he realized that Tsuri was reading one of them. "You can read English?"
"We just transferred from England."
"Transferred? You're a foreigner?" Looking her over, he realizes that it explains the coloring of her eyes and hair.
Tsuri lightly shook her head as she continued to read. "Nope. I was born here but I left the country when I was older. I'm part Japanese."
Masamune held a frown at the thought of a young child doing so much moving between countries. "You're so young though."
"Pfft." Snickering, Tsuri held a hand to her mouth as Yara started giggling.
He raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"It's nothing." Calming down, Tsuri went back to her book as Masamune just stared at them in confusion.
Sighing at the realization that the odd duo is going to be sticking around, Masamune stood up and made for the door. "I'm going to my apartment to grab a few things. Don't try anything funny."
The moment they heard the front door click shut, the wavy haired girl immediately stood up with a mischievous glint in her rare eyes. "Tsuri…"
Ignoring Yara's warning, Tsuri made way for the kitchen. She did a double take when she opened the brunet's refrigerator to reveal, "Energy drinks and water?" She dodged her head up and low to see if there were anything else beside the beverages on the barred shelves but only found a few wrapped up packages of fish. "How can he live off this?"
Shaking her head, "I bet if mom saw this she would cry…"
Walking back into the apartment with some paperwork, Masamune lifted an eyebrow as he saw Tsuri going through Ritsu's bag. "What are you doing going through his stuff?" Ignoring him, she manages to pull out a couple volumes of shoujo manga.
Tsuri's gold flecked eyes momentarily sparkle at the feel of more books. "Is this manga?" Holding one volume over her head, Tsuri curiously twists and turns it around as if it were a foreign object. "I've heard about it, it's basically stories being shown through a sequence of illustrations. It's apparently a large industry in Japan from what I've heard." Masamune gave her the, 'Did you live under a rock?' look.
Flipping open the first page, Tsuri snickers to herself, "Pfft. Ritsu can draw better than this."
Reading through a several number of pages, Tsuri furrows her brow as she goes on. "… Why do these love stories seem so unrealistic? Even the background seems off. The mixture of sparkles, the main character's hair shifting in tones, and the nonexistent wind blowing the characters' hair around even though they're indoors completely baffles me. Perhaps it's for the sake of appealing to the audience it's meant for? To go to that extent is so weird."
By the time she puts all of his books back, Yara had already set herself in the corner and goes on stand-by mode. Masamune has already nodded off so Tsuri finds it as a good opportunity for more exploring.
"So this is his room." Looking around, the little brunette spots that there's not much in the room besides the bed, bureau, and a nightstand. She tilts her head in confusion as she looks at the deep blue sheets of the bed that are overrun with a large pile of neatly folded clothing.
"Why are there so many clothes on his bed? Shouldn't they be in a closet?"
"…" She slightly fidgets before she jumps on the surprisingly soft bed, slightly bouncing back up as some of the clothes are displaced. She slightly rolls from left to right as she presses the cool pillow to her face. Taking a large sniff, she jumps back off the bed, completely red in the face.
"I saw that." Her wavy chocolate hair slightly out of place, she looks up at direction of the voice to find Masamune standing at the doorway, smirking. "…!"
Looking away, she blushed as she twirled one of her cinnamon locks. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Do you have a crush on him or something, chibi?"
The blush disappears from her face as she looked up and frankly asked, "How stupid are you?"
The smirk disappears as he stomped forward. "You little…"
Spotting something in the corner of her eye, she crouches over and looks under the bed. "A box?" Lying against the floor, Tsuri steadily reached for a black and silver box underneath the brunet's bed. Masamune lifted a black eyebrow when he realized that even though he helped to clean out his subordinate's apartment, he had never seen this box.
"Oh, you two are in here. He's about to wake up soon." Hearing Yara's voice, Masamune immediately turned towards the doorway. "Tsuri? What's wrong?"
Hearing the familiar name, Masamune turns to Tsuri in surprise. "Tsuri?"
Lifting open the hinged cover, the little brunette gasps as she pulls a rabbit doll with blood stains all over the right side of its small body. "This rabbit…" A few tears sprung to her jewel-like eyes. "He kept it…" Masamune lifted an eyebrow when her body immediately jolted and she put a hand to the side of her head. "…!"
She fell to the side with a thud.
"Oi!"
"Tsuri?!"
…
It lightly snowed down on the small town. Trees and foliage lined the small streets of the dark village. The smell of the crisp night air wafted throughout the streets of the town. All the lights of the houses were already off with the exception of the lampposts. The night sky eerily glittered with stars that all seemed to stare at the village below.
A cold breeze slowly went by, slightly lifting up a small brunette's locks.
Lying in the middle of a gray street, she was on her side. Flecks of snow landed on the brunette's small cheek as she lay on the cold pavement. Melting away, they almost seemed like tears as they streamed down her pale face. Gold flecked eyes were dimming as the little girl was losing the feeling in her body.
"So heavy… so cold…" She weakly whispered.
Finally noticing the puddle of cooling blood beneath her, she slightly twiddles her fingers in the sticky redness. "Blood?" By her side, she had a white rabbit doll facing her, soaking up her blood. Barely able to move, she could only grab then end of its tube-like arm between her small fingers.
Her little ears momentarily twitched at the sound of a familiar voice.
"Onee…sama? Oneesama?! Oneesama!" With some feeling still in her body, she could tell she was being held in small arms.
Through the blotches of her vision, she could make out the figure looming over her. "Rit… su?" A little boy with large emerald eyes worriedly looked over her as she struggled to reach her hand up to him.
A heavy set of footsteps approached followed by a click.
She could barely speak. "Run…"
…
A/N: So, the truth is revealed about Tsuri, for the most part. I hope you guys like her character, even though she loves to push Takano's buttons! :D
Please Review!