CHAPTER 2:
Thank you for reading another chapter of 'A Not So Ordinary Life of a Background Character'. Again, this is my first story in this site and I was really confused about the formatting of a few things (like how it would erase new lines if it was empty or how the italics of some of the words just went poof!) but I've really been enjoying the reviews and comments.
ALSO I didn't know about the traffic stats until recently and I am so flattered that so many viewed this story! I love you all for checking it out!
And just to note for anyone who doesn't know the Japanese School Calendar, here's a sample:
1st Trimester: April 8 – July 20
Summer Vacation: July 21 – August 31
2nd Trimester: September 1 - December 24
Winter Vacation: December 25 – January 7
3rd Trimester: January 8 – March 24
Spring Vacation: March 25 – April 7
PLEASE NOTE that this is just a SAMPLE school calendar I found on the internet. It may not be the exact dates.
Again, please review. Any comments for improvement would be greatly appreciated.
Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn
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Natsumi should not have jinxed herself.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This line is very excited*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
It was a normal Saturday.
It was supposed to be a normal Saturday.
Natsumi went out to eat lunch. Sitting by herself in a stall at the very back of the restaurant, she was enjoying greasy fastfood fried chicken and burger with a side of fries because she's in the mood for unhealthy food.
(It wasn't because she wasn't in the mood to cook and this place was nearest to her house.)
When suddenly a wild Skull de Mort-sempai (or by Japanese standard format for names, de Mort Skull but it kinda sounded weird to her even inside her head) appeared out of nowhere and went to every single girl around his age to ask them out on a date.
The violently purple sempai (purple hair, purple eyes, purple eyeliner and stuntsuit with purple highlights) looked increasingly disheartened at every rejection.
Natsumi couldn't blame them though. Getting yelled at to go out on a date with him isn't doing Skull-sempai any favor.
By the time he reached Natsumi's stall, he looked like he was about to cry.
"Would you go out on a date with THE GREAT SKULL-SAMA?!" he yelled but the first year student was prepared and already had her hands over her ears. Perks of being at the farthest stall.
As boisterous as the purple-haired sempai's words may be, that doesn't change the fact that his eyes were shiny with tears and that his grin is faltering.
Natsumi, because she's a stupid bleeding heart, took pity on him and agreed.
.
And instantly regretted it when Skull-sempai nearly suffocated her to death via tight hug.
After getting released, Skull-sempai gave us a sheepish smile and asked, "Uh…what's your name again?"
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This line is not as excited as the line above*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
It turns out that it was a dare about being able to score a date without said date bailing midway. Natsumi felt so cheated right now. It was just a stupid dare all along.
And now, she was being dragged by Skull-sempai across the shopping district, declaring that he would shop and pay a whole new outfit for her since she agreed to go on a date with him.
Natsumi was a little scared of what Skull-sempai would choose as a good outfit. The very purple sempai was not someone Natsumi would trust with picking any part of her wardrobe.
So here she is, enduring all the stares as she got dragged around by a guy two years her senior. It was probably the thick make-up on Skull-sempai's face that drew their attention. Or maybe how she yelled at him that no, a costume/cosplay store is not a valid place to pick an outfit for in a date. So what if that dress is in a shade of bright purple that matched his hair? It's a magical girl costume not a casual outfit!
In the end, with a lot of effort and haggling from Natsumi, the only purple in her outfit was a kanzashi with a single lavender stalk as decoration.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*We apologize for the delay in delivering the line*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Natsumi was horrified that Skull-sempai actually set said date during a school day, during school hours, and on school campus. She had to threaten to back out from said date just to change said sempai's mind.
Skull-sempai bumbled about being told it was an 'auspicious day' for a date but Natsumi was not buying any of that crap. She did not want to be bitten to death, thank you very much.
They had a date on a Sunday instead, even if Skull-sempai pouted to her about it.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Fresh from the line factory*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The outfit Skull de Mort bought for Natsumi, which she actually picked mostly herself, was a pure white turtle neck, sleeveless dress with the flowy skirt reaching her knees paired with a black shoal and cream doll shoes to complete the look.
Her hair was in a tight bun held up by the lovely kanzashi. She put on a light make-up (which she had to practice religiously the whole week for this day, thank you online video tutorials) and a small amount of perfume. No need to sneeze and deal with a runny nose during her date.
She knew this date wouldn't be in any way what she dreamed to be a 'perfect date' but she'll try to keep it as close as possible.
It's her first date after all, however much she's regretting agreeing to it.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This line may or may not be here of its own will*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
No wonder the dare included not bailing; everything about the date just seemed to go wrong.
Natsumi waited almost half an hour for Skull-sempai to show up.
By that point, she was spiraling from anger (because he was the one who asked for a date, how dare he not show up on time?) to terrified (because what if the dare was actually bailing on the date he got and watch her wait uselessly for hours?).
But when said purple-haired sempai finally showed up, Natsumi couldn't help but be worried instead.
Skull-sempai was a mess. His outfit was rumpled and torn in a few places, there was a scratch on his left cheek and his make-up look hastily put on.
He apologized to her profusely and looked d*mn near crying.
Natsumi couldn't help but instantly forgive him.
The fast 180 on his mood when she told him that made the freshman think she might have just been tricked.
She tried not to comment on it as he dragged her inside the famous Kokuyo Land Amusement Park.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*A pineapple claimed that this line is just an illusion*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Skull-sempai was attracting a lot of attention. The negative kind of attention.
Although Natsumi and he enjoyed the rollercoaster rather immensely, the following activities were not as fun.
In the shooting booth, Skull-sempai managed not to hit a single target even after several tries. He might have kept going if the owner hadn't kicked them out because Skull-sempai managed to hit him one too many times.
In the bumper carts, the purple-haired sempai managed to piss off every other customer with his obnoxiousness that they ganged up on him. Natsumi was just thankful she wasn't with him in the cart.
When they went to get ice cream, Skull-sempai managed to spill his on her very white dress. No matter how much tissue they used, her outfit was ruined.
He then decided to drag them both into the haunted house because apparently it would be dark enough that the stain on her dress wouldn't matter. Natsumi was not sold on that logic. Especially when she was a coward when it concerns anything haunted and supernatural.
It was also not amusing to know that Skull-sempai has a higher pitched scream than her.
The brunette got so fed up with the screaming that she punched the d*mn ghost that kept following them just to torment her and her date.
They got kicked out of the haunted house but at least Skull-sempai is not screaming at her ears anymore.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*A line from a good piece of art will keep different scenes apart*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The following day, Sinclair Renato had a rather suspicious shiner no one dared ask him about.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Who cares, I'm just another line in a world with billions of lines*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Natsumi was not even remotely upset that no one knew who Skull de Mort's mysterious date was because not even Skull-sempai himself could remember her name.
Okay, maybe she is a little upset that the purple-haired sempai can't remember her name. After all they've been through and she wasn't even worth a few brain cells?
She buried the outfit the very purple sempai bought her at the back of her closet.
She placed the kanzashi on her work table though, it was cute and she rather liked it.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This line just got back from its date, it didn't go well*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
It was nearing the end of the first trimester.
Which also meant time for exams.
It was a bittersweet time for Natsumi.
Between studying for the upcoming exams, keeping up with the homework and activities assigned to them, and meeting the deadlines set by her editor, the brunette is pretty much drowning in work and is heavily wishing for more hours in a day just to make time for the sleep she was missing.
Every morning she would get startled awake by the alarm clock, go through her morning ritual, cook breakfast and lunch, eat breakfast, check contents of bag including packing her bento, and then go to school. After school, she would hurry to her favorite patisserie and get a desert, hurry home to cook dinner, eat said dinner and dessert while trying in vain to dent her to-do list, stop either on midnight or early hours to do the (crusted) dishes, review what work she had done, do her nightly ritual and go to sleep.
Repeat until the actual exam days.
It goes to say that when it was finally over, Natsumi was just happy to go back to her usual sleep schedule.
When the checked papers were returned, Natsumi was proud to be the top female student in their class. The actual top of their class when it comes to test scores though are shared between Vongola Xanxus, Belphegor and Gokudera Hayato, who all got perfect scores.
Natsumi was not surprised, those three were geniuses.
If she could keep her grade up like this, the only reason she'll take top spot in their class is because of the three's work ethic.
They're d*mn lazy.
Natsumi instantly stiffened when three glares were shot at her direction.
How the heck did they know she was insulting them in her mind?!
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*A sleepy line*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The trimester finally ended.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*ZzZzZzZzZzZzZ*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
There was some sort of beach party.
Apparently Natsumi was required to attend because of her top spot.
That's why she had to shop for a swim suit in the mall. She didn't know whether to be happy that her swimsuit last summer had become tighter in certain places or be sad that it might actually be because she was getting fat.
(Hibari Fon-san's cakes are to be blamed. They're too delicious not to try every day.)
She chose a sky blue one piece swimsuit that actually covered her stomach even though her back was too exposed for comfort. The others had weird cuts in places though and this swimsuit actually covered the most skin among the options.
Sawada Setsuna, Sasagawa Kyoko and Kurokawa Hana entered the swimsuit shop just as the Natsumi paid for her purchase.
She thanked her stars when she finally left said shop while Sawada-san's fan club entered 'discretely'. She tried her best to walk casually away and not be recognized as she exited the shop.
Wait…was that Hibari Alaude-sensei getting dragged in by Vongola-sensei?
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Well, adding him to the list of men in Sawada Setsuna's Fan Club then.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*A watermelon-devouring line*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
It was a rather normal beach party at first.
There were watermelons and ice cream getting eaten and there was a beachball getting passed around in the waters. Sawada-san, Sasagawa-san and Kurokawa-san were lounging around under the large parasols giggling about something. Yamamoto-san was laughing while destroying his competition in beach volleyball. Gokudera-san was furiously yelling at any male that looked anywhere near Sawada-san's direction.
Everyone was just thankful that both Vongola-san and Belphegor-san found gatherings like these beneath them to attend.
And then the other members of Sawada Setsuna's fan club started arriving one by one.
Natsumi immediately gathered her belongings and decided to evacuate to the other side of the beach.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This line is out of ideas*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
How the heck did their antics all the way to where Natsumi is?!
Natsumi watched wide-eyed as they somehow found jetskis and are now racing each other while simultaneously trying to impede each other.
Via baseball bats, dynamites, bullets and…were those food emitting purple aura?
Scratch that! Did said food just melted dynamite?! That doesn't make any sense!
Maybe Sinclair-sempai's garishly bright yellow and orange swim trunks were making her see things?
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Yep. That must be it.
.
Maybe she should go home and get some rest. It's probably the heat getting in her head.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This line is diagnosing you with denial*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Nothing else special happened to the rest of her summer vacation.
If she ignored the stories of Sawada Setsuna and her fan club's antics hard enough.
It didn't happen to her after all even if it happened somewhere near her residence.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Hmm…this line seems to be ignoring the author for some reason*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The start of the new trimester was everything Natsumi had expected.
Including the wailing fan girls and fan boys.
Their cries of finally being able to see 'the love of their life' almost every day of the week was a bit hard to ignore because of the high volume of it, both in terms of number and loudness.
But she'll live…
Oh wait, most of those 'love of their life' is in her class.
Natsumi was very, very sad to find out that said fan girls and fan boys were already crowding the door to their classroom.
It was going to be a b*tch and a half to navigate through them.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*A confession from this line, it is Alaude's fan*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
It was in the middle of the second trimester when their class was required to self-produce a play.
Natsumi could already feel the headache this play is going to produce.
She was drafted as a stagehand.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This line would do anything for love*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Natsumi was not a happy stagehand.
Just the sheer volume of props the actors break on a daily basis made their budget and Props Manager weep.
Thankfully, Kurokawa-san was assigned as the 'Production Manager' and 'Director'. If Kurokawa-san wasn't there to reign in the boys, there would have been more damage.
Natsumi didn't think her own temper and sanity could take that.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This is a tree dressed as a line*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Their class' play was a hit.
Even if the script was barely stuck to and everything devolved into chaos in the end.
Everyone loved the 'action-adventure'.
It was supposed to be a romantic comedy.
And do not get her started on the 'actors and actresses' that suddenly appeared out of nowhere to further twist the storyline.
Most of those weren't even their classmates.
And now she's hauling all the props she and her fellow stagehands had worked on for several sleepless nights to the nearest trashcan.
They were all carelessly destroyed and she was rather upset about it.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*A broken line*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
There were rumors of Sawada Setsuna and Vongola Giotto dating circulating around the campus.
Natsumi nearly choked on her drink (a bottled tea she saw from a commercial and decided to try out) when it finally reached her.
She knew it, Sawada-san's fan club is bad for her health.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Caffeine-powered line, go!*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
(Natsumi was not happy to find out that the Demon Prefect could get worse.)
Natsumi was pretty sure all five troublemakers that vandalized the school walls are going straight to the ICU after this.
She winced when she heard a bone break all the way to where she was hiding from the prefect's sour mood. Behind a tree.
Maybe she should go find a more effective hiding place.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Ssshh, this line is hiding*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
(Natsumi was not happy either about the fact that Vongola Xanxus' mood could get worse.)
Vongola-san threw a desk at a silver-haired sempai for no other reason than existing.
Okay, maybe said sempai was being loud…and shouting 'VOI!' all the time…and called Vongola-san a 'sh*tty boss'…and started brandishing his sword around…and his really long hair hit Vongola-san in the face when he turned his head a bit too fast.
Okay, maybe getting hair-slapped would make anyone angry but did he really deserve to get hit with a desk in the face?
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This line thinks therefore it is*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
(The less said about Belphegor, the better.)
Natsumi carefully ignored the wall full of silver knives.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This line is a ninja*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
(Gokudera Hayato was sulking, Natsumi absentmindedly noted.)
She would sometimes see Gokudera-san send glares at Sawada-san and Vongola-sensei's direction. Sometimes it was a kicked puppy expression that had Natsumi wanting to cuddle and coo at him until he feels better.
She doesn't though because she doesn't want to die via dynamite to the face.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This line is scared of spiders…and emus*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
(Yamamoto Takeshi's smile was strained again.)
Natsumi was watching Yamamoto-san closely for any signs of depression. She did not want a suicide happening in her class.
That way laid a horror story waiting to happen.
Natsumi may have also hinted something at Tsuyoshi-san so he could watch his son as well. She was sure the sushi chef was still rather shaken about the fact that the baseball player tried jumping off a roof.
With Tsuyoshi-san watching the tall teen at home and her watching him at school she was sure at least one of them would be able catch any signs of depression before it could get worse.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This line offers a consoling, sympathetic smile*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
(Sinclair Renato's glares and glowers could probably make the bravest of men soil themselves.)
Natsumi definitely did not want to meet Sinclair-sempai on an empty street even at broad daylight. Just passing by him in the hallways made her want to mold into the walls.
Poor, unfortunate soul that didn't move fast enough out of the way for the black-haired senior student. He promptly burst into tears and collapsed bonelessly on the floor.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This line is too depressed to care*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
(Cavallone Dino was seen walking aimlessly around campus with a kicked puppy expression.)
Random females were rumored to have broken down in tears at the sight of Cavallone-sempai's 'sorrow-ridden' face.
Natsumi was entirely sympathetic though. If Gokudera-san's face made her want to hug and coo, the blond sempai's face added to his worsening clumsiness made her want to wrap him up in bubblewraps and protect him from…from the world in general, maybe? She just really felt like protecting him for some reason.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This line would like a minion please*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Natsumi stared slack-jawed at the 'CLOSED' sign on her favorite patisserie's door.
Oh come on!
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This line would like to be your right-hand man*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
It was a very dark month in Natsumi's short life.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This line lost a flashlight with a whistle and a compass built into it, have you seen one?*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Natsumi was actually surprised about the news of Sawada-san and Vongola-sensei's break-up. She suspected it was because of family intervention though she had no way to prove it.
Sawada-san was surprisingly tight-lipped about the reason for the end of the short-lived relationship. Not even their pushiest classmate got a single word out of her until Kurokawa-san finally had enough and shooed them all away.
Natsumi released a sigh as she sat and looked out the window. From there she could see several leaf-less trees looking quite lifeless and dull.
It's looking to be a rather cold and lonely winter.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Anyone lost a weird looking flashlight? - This line*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
It was not even snowing. The temperature was high enough that no snow formed.
But it was really windy and that little fact made all the difference.
Natsumi shivered as she tried to wrap the thin coat around her body better. She picked her outfit that morning to account for the fact that the temperature was nowhere near low enough for thicker materials.
She did not account for the freezing winds that came out of nowhere when she got out of the mall. She contemplated on going right back in to buy something thicker when she rationalized she didn't need more thick coats as she already had several of them.
It was on Natsumi's way back home that she encountered Sawada-san who seemed to have made the same choice of thin coat as her.
Except Sawada-san had been given a thicker coat by Sinclair-sempai, the black-haired senior not minding the fluffy-haired brunette's refusal and merely wrapped said coat around the younger's shoulders. Skull de Mort had followed suit and wrapped his own thick coat around the amber-eyed kohai's shoulders, atop his yearmate's own coat.
Feeling a small twinge of jealousy, Natsumi turned around and fast-walked home, sneezing all the way.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This line is cold and is asking for a hug*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Natsumi fell miserably ill.
Living alone, she had to buy her own medicine when she didn't notice she had run out of them.
Natsumi remembered being able to buy said medication.
She did not remember getting home.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Out of Stock - Line Factory*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Natsumi woke up to a very unfamiliar ceiling. It was a neutral white color unlike her room's light blue painted ceiling.
It said something about her priorities that the first thing her mind did was thank the heavens she had no history of doing embarrassing things when sick.
(That she knew of.)
In any case, the room was almost bare and only contained the necessary amenities. It was pragmatic and distinctly masculine in the choice of furniture.
Natsumi only needed to turn her head to the right to see that out the small window is the sight of her own house.
At least she did reach near her house and was found by her neighbors across the street.
And then Natsumi remembered just whose house was across from hers.
"Awake?" a male voice asked. She didn't even notice the d*mn door opening.
Natsumi turned to her left and saw Hibari Alaude, her History teacher, by the door holding a tray with a bowl of soup and a glass of water. She was thankfully coherent enough not to spat out the 'obviously' at the tip of her tongue.
"Sensei," she managed to reply though her voice sounded like she gurgled glass for a whole hour before screaming all night at a rock concert.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Until further notice, a mimic would be here instead*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Natsumi had promptly shoved at the very depths of her mind how the most terrifying sensei of her school had to assist her through a glass of water and a bowl of soup.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Yep, still a mimic*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Natsumi was happy to find out she was in her own clothes even if it wasn't the one she wore going out to buy medicine. It was probably not that hard to find her keys (which are in her coin pouch) and retrieve a few items for her to wear.
And then she suddenly realized someone would have had to change her into said set of clothes.
This fact gave her a great urge to go back to her home and out of the Hibari residence as soon as possible.
Which is the reason why she is trying to sneak back to her house.
She failed miserably when she encountered the full set of Hibari brothers eating their dinner when she took a wrong turn.
Hibari Fon-san will be hated for the rest of her lifetime for laughing at her explanation as to why she looked so spooked finding them at their own house.
She then almost got 'bitten to death' by Hibari Kyoya-sempai for 'being a stupid herbivore' via gleaming tonfa.
Fon-san thankfully rescued her from such fate and was promptly forgiven for the earlier offense.
Natsumi was then invited to eat dinner with them and she gratefully accepted, still blushing and a tiny bit wary that Hibari-sempai would suddenly attack her.
When she got around to explaining what happened, Hibari Alaude-sensei was unimpressed with her reason as to why he found her unconscious in the middle of the street with a 40°C fever.
She probably should have just bought the extra coat.
The brunette found herself apologizing and thanking the Hibaris repeatedly while wishing for the floor to swallow her and just end her misery.
Her wish was never granted.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*The last mimic was fired for trying to eat the author - newly-hired mimic*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
When Natsumi finally found out the date for that day, her brain promptly short-circuited.
Backtracking on the day she got it in her head that walking around with a high fever is perfectly safe, she lost about three days in between.
Three. Whole. Days.
She was pretty sure she didn't stay unconscious since she was not rushed to the hospital.
Natsumi was torn between asking just what the heck happened and pretending it never happened.
.
It never happened.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Happy to announce that we are back on business – Line Factory*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
When Natsumi was finally pronounced well enough to go back to her house the next day, she was entirely too happy to finally be released.
"Thank you Hibari-san, Hibari-sensei, Hibari-sempai," she exclaimed for good measure like she hadn't been thanking them repeatedly earlier that morning.
The response she got respectively was a serene smile, a small nod and a scoff.
That's probably all she was ever gonna get and left with a wave and a smile.
She never got the courage to ask whose bed she was using the whole time.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This is a pretty rushed and lame line*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Natsumi had to answer a few questions from a nosy*cough*concerned neighbor about why she had stayed over in an all-male residence for the better part of the week.
She answered in complete honesty and left the woman to spread whatever gossip-worthy tidbit the hag got out of it.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*An admittedly substandard line*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
That weekend, Natsumi definitely wore a thicker coat when she went out to buy some take-out.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*The author is currently filing a complaint against the Line Factory – a mimic*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Thankfully, Hibari-sensei must have informed the staff that Natsumi was sick and were given copies of the worksheets and assigned homework she had missed during a week of absence.
It was late nights for the rest of the week but she was just happy there was no looming deadline from her editor to top it.
She managed to do all the assigned work before the end of the week.
Just in time to the exam week to hit her like a train that very next week.
It was like a repeat of the last time where every student was panicking about the exams in varying degrees.
Natsumi looked around at her classmates frantically negotiating about borrowing notes for this subject at so-and-so day/s.
Then she spotted Sawada-san looking forlornly out the window.
That was a difference from last time though, Natsumi thought.
Because this time there was an air of sadness in what should have been a prelude to a very cheerful and colorful holiday.
Well…cheerful and colorful as long as they survive the exams.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*The line is busy at the moment, please try again later*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Natsumi was the top female student again.
Sawada-san's grades seemed to have dipped from its usual average ones.
Cue reassuring statements/actions from Sawada-san's friends and fan club.
Even if most members of her fan club were rather…awkward with their reassuring acts and words.
And then the weirdness multiplied when they tried to cheer the amber-eyed girl up.
Natsumi stared while Gokudera-san and Yamamoto-san was happily telling Sawada-san how they are now getting along very well, even having their arms over each other's shoulders. Their silver-haired classmate sounded so strained and their grips looked too tight to be comfortable on each other's shoulder.
Then Natsumi's eyes were drawn to Belphegor-san juggling his knives.
Then Vongola-san gave Sawada-san an awkward pat on the back.
Oh, Cavallone-sempai just offered Sawada-san to go horseback riding with him.
Uhmm…who's that blue-haired (and pineapple-styled) guy? Err…he's trying to console Sawada-san with the fact that he'll be transferring into their class next semester? Was that consoling? Did they know each other?
Hibari-sempai doesn't seem to like the unknown guy though.
Whoa! Natsumi finally got to see the guys face and he had heterochromatic eyes! One blue and one red. It looks quite awesome in his (admittedly) handsome face. What's with the 'kufufufufu' laugh though?
And then Sinclair-sempai entered their classroom with a smirk.
Natsumi left the room with her bag in tow as discretely as she could.
Thankfully, she wouldn't have to deal with them again until after winter break.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN NATSUMI'S BACKSTORY YOU MAY SKIP THIS SECTION*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Christmas Dinner was lonely with an empty house.
Natsumi's older brother, Emiya Tatsuya, could not make it home. He often travels for work so it was a bit expected.
Their parents had migrated to the US for work and the siblings were born and raised there. Their parents died in an accident on Tatsuya's first year in college. Natsumi, being seven years younger, was still in 6th grade. Thankfully, he was already of legal age and easily got custody of Natsumi.
They also moved back to Japan and back to their parents previously abandoned house because frankly, rent is one less thing to worry about.
Tatsuya had to stop attending college and had to find work because the money left to them would not be enough to tide them through his college even with part time jobs.
Their first year alone together was horrible. Without college education, Tatsuya couldn't find a decent job locally and had to look for it in Tokyo two hours away, with more competition that mostly had better educational attainment than him. Natsumi was practically deadweight trying to adjust to Japanese education standards because she didn't get exempted from things like language studies and Japanese history. She wasn't there as an exchange student but a permanent one. And there were times when they just want to quit on each other due to stress and frustration.
At least, until Natsumi got lucky and had a book of hers published.
The royalties she got back then weren't that big but it was enough to add to what meager amount Tatsuya got from numerous odd jobs here and there and they were okay again.
Then another year later Natsumi's books became unexpectedly popular and the royalties became enough and then she did something utterly b*llsy.
The envelope Tatsuya never had the courage to mail when their parents were still alive, the envelope he had thrown away after their parents death, the envelope Natsumi recovered and tried her hardest to fix into something presentable again, the envelope containing a letter and sample photographs, the envelope addressed to a world-renowned wildlife photographer, the envelope Natsumi mailed in secret received a reply.
A positive reply.
She proudly presented it to her brother.
Tatsuya fainted.
Of course, after he woke up they had a long conversation about it. The amount Tatsuya would get for the apprenticeship would only be enough for him and he'll be an apprentice for five years. But Natsumi countered by saying even if the royalties she received from her writings suddenly decreased she could always just dip into their emergency funds (a.k.a. the money left by their parents) until it became okay again.
If not…well…emergency funds until they're okay again.
In other words, Natsumi was the one who pushed Tatsuya to chase his dreams.
So if he wasn't home frequently because of said job, she really can't complain can she?
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*END OF LENGTHY BACKSTORY*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Emiya Tatsuya made it home for the turn of the year.
Natsumi was ecstatic her brother actually managed some days off for the special occasion.
She had happily babbled about everything that had happened between now and the last time her Tatsu-nii was able to come home.
He was never told of the 'Sick Week Incident'.
Instead, the female Emiya demanded a detailed description of the places the male Emiya had been to on his latest travels.
It was a good day.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*This is a restricted line space, unauthorized personnel please leave*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
It was too short of a day since Emiya Tatsuya left the day after.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*A short line*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
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About the reviews…I replied to them individually through PM and now I can't actually remember what I wrote there.
Still! Thank you aspiderlife, Glassed Loner, tsuyume1 for the reviews!
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P.S. I found the story I had been looking for. It turns out that fem!Tsuna's name there is Tsunayumi. As expected of months old memory. I barely recalled anything right and had been mixed up with other VongolaHigh!AUs because I binged on it for weeks following the discovery of that awesome story lol *tries not to die of shame*.
But the amazing story was still my inspiration for starting my own and all credits should be due :)
Lovely Madness! by Shiirakis
Please check it out. It is a lovely story that should be shared 3
