A Look Through Glass
Pairing. Hints of K27 and XanxusKyoko
Rating. PG
A/N. i actually re-read this time, but with this still being unbeta'd, be warned: there be grammatical errors in these here waters, yarr.
this glimpse centers mostly on the beginning of the Varia arc, and gives a few brief hints about the beginning and the future, and also clears up some relationships. i'm definitely interested in writing more about her relationship with Tsuna, Reborn and Xanxus now.
Sasagawa Kyoko had always been a simple girl, really. She enjoyed a simple childhood with simple toys. She'd had simple, if slightly prone to spoiling, parents and she lived in a simple town. Her friends had been of her same ilk all through elementary school, and there was no reason to believe her middle school friends would be any different.
When the time came, however, Kyoko realized that the simplicity she had taken for granted would never come again. This did not mean, however, that she ran away, frightened, to her brother. Oh no, when it came to the few real friends Sasagawa Kyoko had made in her thus far simple life, she was the first to admit she was excessively protective – almost dangerously so.
Thus it was that, one sunny school day in Namimori Middle, she set to out to discover what was ailing one of her few real friends, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Kyoko was fully aware that she'd had a brief crush on him when they were younger (something about him protecting her from bullies which had only resulted in the kids bullying Tsuna instead), but in the past few months since middle school begun and a baby named Reborn had appeared in their lives, she'd been forced to re-evaluate her opinion of him, realizing that he had actually become a very dear friend of hers. And if there was one thing Sasagawa Kyoko did, was protect and worry over her close friends.
So when she noted the dark bags under his eyes and the hardening of Reborn's eyes, Kyoko knew she had to act. Powered by the dazzling smile that had made her the school's idol, Kyoko had boldly asked Tsuna to have lunch with her and then, having gained his confidence enough, got him to tell her the truth.
In all truth, Kyoko figured Reborn was right when he told Tsuna that it had been unavoidable, especially when she realized that she was actually a key player in the events around them. Having told Haru what Tsuna told her, the two girls had connected the dots and related it all to the man with long hair that had attacked them in the shopping mall. The attack and the man, they recognized in turn, had to do with the rings they all now wore (Kyoko had been suspicious of them from the get-go, but no one had said anything, and who was she to refuse free jewelry when offered to her?). Her friend hadn't exactly taken that too well – Kyoko worried for a long time when Haru confined herself to her room and didn't want to see anyone. But she had her own problems to deal with as well.
Although taking self-defense lessons with her brother made her significantly stronger than Haru, it still didn't mean she was anywhere close to being able to taken on a group of professional assassins. Her quick loss in the whole Rokudo Mukuro incident a month before was testament to that.
Kyoko was also painfully aware that, aside from those self-defense lessons, she had no weapon other than her limited amount of muscle. And, despite being strong-willed and stubborn, she was still a girl who disliked getting up-close and personal if she could avoid it. She momentarily had considered asking Bianchi for help, since she'd heard her being referred to as a well-known assassin, but instead opted for a different option.
"It's quite brave of you to seek me out yourself," Reborn told her, as he sipped his espresso languidly in his pupil's kitchen. Kyoko smiled demurely and nodded.
"I didn't have anyone else I could ask," she replied.
"Ask what, exactly? This might surprise you, but your brother would actually be a very good tutor for someone with your attribute," the infant replied. Slightly taken by surprise, Kyoko's eyes widened. Quickly, however, she managed to compose herself and strengthened her resolve.
"I don't think so – you see, I want to learn how to wield a gun," well, that certainly took Reborn by surprise. Kyoko decided to burn in the image in her brain for future reference, since she knew it wasn't often that the baby hitman was so caught unawares that he spilled his own coffee.
Reborn soon managed to get over his initial surprise, charcoal eyes narrowing slightly before a smirk settled on his features. To say he was surprised by her decision would be an understatement, but to be against it would label him a hypocrite. Glancing up and studying the young girl before him with new eyes, he seemed to be searching for something in her gaze. Something it he apparently found – whether that was a good or bad thing, it would remain to be seen.
"I suppose that'll do as well…I can't train you personally, as I'd like to, since I have to take care of your stupid Boss-to-be but...I know someone who'll do just fine…just let me make a few calls," with a grateful nod, and a promise to be around more to Nana, Kyoko left the house.
When she got home, she was greeted by another infant, this one dressed in green military clothing, blond and with a rifle strapped to his back. Kyoko would bet a slice of her favourite cake that was no mere toy rifle the kid was carrying. When he saw her approach, though, he seemed to put up some kind of childish act, pretending to be a lost kid looking for his relatives home. Kyoko smiled amiably and chuckled, before pointing out the ring to him.
Instantly, his entire expression changed. Kyoko suddenly found herself staring directly at the rifle, before the child moved it to press against her biceps. As if nodding to himself, the baby grinned in a way that Kyoko could only describe as sadistic.
"Your muscles aren't that bad, hey," he said, "from what Reborn told me, you want to learn to play with firearms, but a strong body is always good to have anyway,"
Kyoko nodded, face turning serious as she listened dutifully.
"My name's Colonello, and I'm going to make your life a living hell for the next few days, so try to keep up, hey," Colonello grinned ferociously once more. Kyoko could only grin back in response, a dangerous glint surfacing momentarily in her eyes.
"Sasagawa Kyoko, it'll be a pleasure working with you,"
(Unknown to her, the hellish training she underwent with Colonello would pale in comparison to the one she'd eventually receive from Xanxus and, in due time, Reborn himself.)
When she stepped forth to meet Lussuria, her opponent from the Varia, she had a pair of handguns around her waist and a rifle strapped to her back. Although she was good with the weapons (she was told later on in her life that she'd gained Xanxus' interest from that very first fight), she still lacked the technical finesse and ability that she would come to be associated with as the Vongola Tenth's feared Sun Guardian.
In this first conflict, her speedy training had served its purpose, and she was able to successfully (if narrowly) win the first fight for the Vongola (when her brother asked about her injuries, she explained her grade was entering an acrobatics competition and they were practicing til late, so she'd fallen when she got too tired. Her brother was concerned and told her not to try too hard. She smiled sweetly and nodded. This small lie would soon come to mean 'Mafia Affairs' for the rest of her life).
As life continued and the Varia were defeated, Kyoko momentarily thought the simplicity of her life had returned, only to be rudely awoken to face the crude reality of the Mafia when they were sent ten years into the future.
A future in which her brother, Tsuna and Reborn were all gone. A future in which they were hunted down, a future she desperately wanted to avoid at all costs. A future in which Haru was the stronger one of the two for once – something which Kyoko was quick to fix when Reborn and Tsuna approached her separately. Kyoko grinned and swallowed the pain, determined, in Tsuna's case, to remain the same cheery, strong girl he'd always known so they could defeat this Byakuran fellow and return home to avoid this horrible, horrible future altogether. In Reborn's case, she found herself craving to be accepted under his tutelage.
(Somewhere along the way, Kyoko actually found herself enjoying the strength that came with training – the idea of no longer relying on her brother for protection while still retaining her humble personality and consequently catching all who tried to do anything to her unawares. She was as excited by this prospect as she was frightened by it, since with it came a growing satisfaction at watching others fall before her because they underestimated her – a wolf in sheep's clothing, as Xanxus had said more than once. Her bloodlust having woken, she set out to use it in the interests of the people important to her. And with more power, came more protection, for which she needed more training, and after Xanxus, Reborn was really the only one left.)
Sasagawa Kyoko was still a simple young woman ten years later, the people at her middle school reunion would say. They did not know that she considered wielding two handguns, a grenade and an army rifle just as simple. They did not know she viewed wrestling a tiger into submission so he'd become her box weapon simple, or that she considered harming others just as simple if it meant protecting her Family. They did not know that she found it simple to retain the same bright, sunny disposition and ignore the sound of breaking bones whenever she had to interrogate someone from an enemy family.
They did know that Sasagawa Kyoko was a simple girl, with a simple childhood and the simple dream of peace in her life. Since she could not have that, however, Kyoko simply took the next best thing: her family.
A/N. of the two girl's, Kyoko's always seemed the more in tune and at peace with the whole Mafia thing. considering she's set as Tsuna's love interest, and will someday be the wife of a powerful Mafia boss, i figured she must have quite the backbone and determination. i gave her guns and firearms, because despite her Sun flame and her Guardian position, she doesn't strike me as a close-range fighter, but rather as a girl who enjoys eating cake and being girly, yet deceptively aware of her surroundings and protective. instead, guns seemed much more in tune with the personality of a sweet, idolized schoolgirl (the fact that Reborn is the Sun Arcobaleno and also uses a gun helped me make the decision as well – the Arcobaleno break all stereotypes when it comes to associating personality-types with flame-types, and i love them for that). i figured making her fiercely protective to the extent that it awakened her bloodlust worked in nicely with the characteristics i've picked up from Kyoko: her concern for her brother, her stubbornness to find out what was going on and finally her calm, if somewhat worried acceptance of what was going on around her.
remember, concrit, flames, reviews are all welcome here! especially for Kyoko's characterization in this one - it took me a while to flesh her out like i wanted to, and i'm still not too sure.
EDIT (July 15th, 2011) : Changed Kyoko's box weapon animal after thinking about it for a while, and changed a few words for the sake of pacing and whatnot.