SkyGem: Well, first, thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! You guys are all so kind~ And second, well, there's been a bit of controversy on whether Uri is female, so this is what I'll do; unless anyone can get me some real proof from the manga (I don't watch the anime) that Uri is female, then Uri will remain as a guy in this fic. Okay? Okay. Let's get on with the story now.
P.S. Some people are wondering how old the box weapons are. In this fic, they're all between four to nine-years-old, 'kay?
Kangaryuu looked down at her hands, then around at all the kids who were in the room with her.
She was a little anxious, being in a situation she was not familiar with, but she kept her face calm. She knew that some of the others (Natsu in particular) were really scared, and it was her job to keep them calm, because she was the nurse, and also because she was the oldest out of all of them.
Just as the girl was about to reassure everyone else that everything was okay, the door to the room burst open and in came Reborn and everyone's masters. Kangaryuu almost fainted with relief, because no matter how mature she was, she was still only a kid.
Before she knew what was happening, Ryohei had come to sit on the ground in front of her. "Are you okay, Kangaryuu?" he asked in a surprisingly normal voice.
The girl nodded, and he smiled, reaching out to pet her on the head. "That's good," he said, still in that soft voice.
At that moment, they were interrupted by Reborn, as he explained the situation to them, and when the hitman finished talking, Ryohei turned back to her.
"I guess it's EXTREMELY time to go home, now!"
Kangaryuu let out a giggle and took the hand he offered her.
Standing up on shaky legs, she tried to take a step forward, but almost tripped.
"Be careful!" exclaimed Ryohei, going into older brother mode again. "Take your time. You don't need to rush!"
"H-hai," she said quietly, and together, the two of them steadily made their way to Ryohei's house.
Kyoko was just about to take a bath when the doorbell rang and she went to answer it with a huge smile on her face.
"Onii-san! Did you have fun at…" the teen trailed off when she saw the little girl that was clinging to her brother's arm. "…onii-san?"
Smiling goofily, Ryohei helped the girl step in and take her shoes off, then turned to his younger sister.
"Kyoko! This is Ryuu-chan, and she'll be staying with us for a little while."
Despite being confused, Kyoko smiled at the girl named Ryuu. "Nice to meet you," she said, holding out her hand.
"Nice to meet you too, Kyoko-nee-san," said the girl, flashing a dimpled smile, and Kyoko couldn't help but squeal at the cuteness.
Turning to her older brother, she asked, "But where are her parents? Wouldn't they be worried?"
Ryohei looked as if he were going to reply, but Ryuu beat him to the punch.
"Ryohei is my parent!" she said, clinging tightly to his arm.
"…"
"…"
"Onii-san…what does she mean by parent?"
Ryohei just scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. "She EXTREMELY doesn't have any parents, and I've been taking care of her for a while now. So, I'm EXTREMELY like her parent is what she meant to say!"
Kyoko blinked when she heard this. "Taking care of her…for a while now?" she questioned. "Why haven't I met her before, though?"
Ryohei looked confused on how to answer that question for a second, but then settled on, "Because she's EXTREMELY from the Vongola!" he answered.
And with that, the subject was put aside, because Kyoko knew that when it came to the mafia, she had no business poking her nose in.
At that moment, Ryohei seemed to notice the towel that she was holding and his eyes widened.
"Are you EXTREMELY going to take a bath now, Kyoko?"
Kyoko nodded.
"Then can you let Ryuu join you to the EXTREME?"
"…Eh?" asked the girl, not entirely sure if she'd heard her brother properly.
Ryohei smiled sheepishly, and suddenly went into doting older brother mode. "She's been through a lot today, and I thought a bath could help her relax a little."
"Eh?" asked Ryuu suddenly. "Why can't I take a bath with you?"
Kyoko's eyes widened when she heard those words come out of the younger female's mouth, and Ryohei chuckled.
"Because, Ryuu, that would be indecent! You're a young lady now, which means things are different from when you were in your animal form!"
"Animal…form?" Kyoko confusedly, not at all understanding what exactly was going on.
"It's nothing! Nothing!" said Ryohei quickly in response. Then, turning back to Ryuu, he said to her, "Make sure you clean yourself properly, ne? And take off your bandages before going in. I'll put new ones on when you're done."
"Hai!" replied the girl, performing a mock salute.
For once, Ryohei just chuckled quietly instead of laughing loudly.
Pushing Ryuu's bangs back, he placed a kiss each on her scars. "Be careful, okay? I don't want to see you with yet another injury."
"Hai!" replied the girl again before turning back to Kyoko and dragging her off by her hand.
Kyoko was so surprised, that before she even had time to react, they were already at the bathroom.
As the two girls proceeded to undress and Ryuu unwound the bandages from around her forearms, ankle, and foot, Kyoko saw that she sported yet more scars where the white cloth had once covered her skin.
As if sensing her stare, Ryuu turned to look at her with a small smile.
"Is there something wrong, Kyoko-nee-san?"
"E-eh?" asked Kyoko, snapping out of her reverie. "I-it's nothing….just…where did you get those scars?"
Upon hearing her question, Ryuu looked down with furrowed brows, as if only just noticing the scars which were marring her otherwise flawless skin.
"I've had them for quite a while now…" she said quietly, then smiled reassuringly, "but they stopped hurting a long time ago, so don't worry!"
Now it was Kyoko's turn to furrow her brows. "If they stopped hurting, then why do you wear bandages?" she asked in confusion.
"Because it hurts Ryohei to see them…" replied Ryuu quietly.
"…Nani?" asked the older female in a shocked voice.
The younger brunette smiled painfully, saying, "Ryohei seems to blame himself for me getting these scars, no matter how many times I tell him it wasn't his fault. So, I thought that if I covered them with bandages, maybe he'd stop making that hurt look every time he sees them."
Upon hearing this, Kyoko couldn't help but resent the girl a little. Ever since she had been young, her older brother had protected her; he had been like a substitute for the parents that were never there. The way this girl talked about him though…
"You two seem really close," commented Kyoko as she rubbed shampoo into the sun attribute's hair.
"Of course we are!" said Ryuu immediately. "He's my master, of course! It wouldn't make sense for us not to be close!"
Kyoko had to hold back a grimace. Despite her being so nice, she couldn't help but dislike the girl who seemed to be taking her older brother away from her. Normally when Ryohei came home, he would ask her about her day and make sure nothing had happened to her, but today, everything had been about Ryuu. For the first time, Kyoko actually felt jealous of someone, and she didn't quite know how to react to it.
"Close your eyes now," she said quietly to the girl before pouring water over her to rinse the suds out of the girl's hair.
After that, there was only silence for the next five or so minutes until they got out, wrapping towels around themselves.
The moment they were out of the bathroom, Ryohei poked his head out of his room and smiled broadly.
"Kyoko!" he called, claiming her attention. "Ryuu EXTREMELY doesn't have any other clothes, so can you lend her some of yours?"
"But mine are too big for her," said Kyoko in confusion.
"I EXTREMELY kept some of them from when you were younger! Give those to her to the EXTREME!"
"H-hai…" she said quietly, leading Ryuu to the other room.
Wordlessly, she threw on a pair of pyjamas while Ryuu just stood shivering in her room. Then, when she was done, Kyoko rifled quickly through her closet, looking for something that would fit the younger girl.
In the end, the only thing she could find was a pair of shorts, and a baggy t-shirt that was a few sizes too big for Ryuu.
Ryuu squealed in delight when she saw the clothes; apparently, she loved them.
Quickly throwing them on, the eight-year-old ran to Ryohei's room to show them off.
Kyoko slowly followed behind her and when she arrived at her older brother's room, she Ryuu spinning around in front of Ryohei, showing off her new clothes.
The boxer smiled broadly, then beckoned for her to sit down.
When she obeyed, he took a hairbrush out of the drawer of his bedside table and began gently teasing the knots out of her hair, talking to her quietly about something.
Kyoko stood at the door, looking at them with envy written clearly in her eyes.
When Ryohei finally noticed her, he looked confused. "Why are you EXTREMELY standing there Kyoko? Come inside!"
The fifteen-year-old merely shook her head and forced a smile onto her face, saying, "I'm sorry, onii-san, but I'm not feeling so good, so I just came to tell you that I'll be going to sleep early.
Kyoko thought she saw a flicker of worry cross her brother's face, but the next second, it was gone. "Have an EXTREMELY good night, then!" he said cheerfully, not noticing the emotions that were hidden underneath his younger sister's smile.
And with that, the sun guardian turned back to brushing the younger girl's hair.
As Kyoko turned to go, she heard something that almost made her freeze in her spot.
"Can I sleep in your bed tonight, Ryohei?" asked Ryuu with that innocent voice of hers.
Kyoko silently willed her brother to say no, but it didn't work and instead, the boy said, "Of course!"
A downcast expression on her face, Kyoko turned and walked back to her room.
She had never before felt so left out, and the next day, when she met Chrome in town, it was the same. The purple-haired girl seemed only to be thinking of the boy with her, Kuro-kun, and Kyoko couldn't help but dislike him too, because he'd taken away one of her friends. And when she found out that Tsuna and the others were also taking care of kids, she instinctively knew that they would be the same as her older brother and Chrome. Kyoko silently wished that the kids would leave soon so that she could have her brother and friends back.
SkyGem: Haha, sorry this chapter was so late! Anyways, what did you think? I know that Kyoko's a bit OOC, and sorry for that. I haven't really written her before for more than a few sentences, so I'm not too good at it. Add to that the fact that I really dislike her, well, you get the point XD. Anyways, please do leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne?
Chapter 4: Roll