Chapter 4

Enter: Sawada Nana, Bianchi

Yuri watched as Nikoru, Tsuna, Reborn, and Gokudera left the restaurant. Gokudera was tagging along, saying that it was for Tsuna's safety and that his apartment was nearby. Yuri severely doubted him. The loyal lap-dog had the unfortunate hobby of treating Tsuna's word as law. Yuri wondered why they were in such a hurry. It was only a quarter to six.

"Yuri!" Yamamoto called in his jovial voice.

Yuri adjusted her position so that she was facing Yamamoto. He stood next to the staircase leading to the house portion of the building. Yamamoto was still in his Nami-Middle uniform. Yuri pondered when exactly he was going to change. Weren't uniforms horribly uncomfortable? Well, maybe for her it was…

"Yeah?" grunted Yuri impassively. She was obviously tired, and when she was tired, Yuri was irritated.

"Wanna race?" Yamamoto asked with a glint in his eyes, gesturing to the wide staircase.

Yuri smiled in amusement. At least her fatigue was gone. She didn't want to dishearten the energetic boy, so she decided to accept his offer, despite the fact that there was a ninety percent chance that she would trip. "A challenge?" Yuri questioned seriously. "Bring it!" Determination flashed through her eyes.

Yamamoto grinned and got in position, competitive side slipping through. "Ready? Go!"

And they were off. Yuri's foot accidentally slipped on one of the stairs, but soon regained her momentum and dashed after the athlete who was already several steps above her.

Yuri lived in a one-story house, meaning there was little to none stairs. So she wasn't used to walking, let alone running on them. They were almost to the top, the hallway in their sights, when Luck decided to pull a fast one on her favourite victim.

Yuri tripped on her two feet and stumbled to the clean, wooden floor. Yes, she was brilliant enough to trip up the stairs. Grumbling, she inwardly thanked whoever constructed the house that they didn't use stone instead of wood. She was also thankful for the fact that she landed face-first on the floor in the hallway, instead of the edged-stairs.

"Are you alright?" Yamamoto appeared worried, though his eyes danced with laughter. Bastard.

Yuri rubbed her nose gingerly and took the proffered hand. "Yeah, I'm used to it," she said depressingly and patted the imaginary dust off of her shirt. "I always trip over things, including invisible rocks and flat surfaces but I don't feel any pain," she explained with a blank face. Yuri saw the bewildered look Yamamoto obtained. "Is that normal?" she added innocently.

The baseball-fanatic burst out laughing, though this laughter sounded more relaxed and lighter.

"Shush!" Yuri huffed impatiently, refusing the urge to stomp her feet like a child. "It's not that funny," she grumbled along with several insults.

Yamamoto paused in his laughter and gazed quizzically at Yuri, eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"Okay," she relented. "It's a little bit funny." Yuri couldn't stop the ends of lips twitching up into an amused grin, though this grin contained less animosity than her previous ones did. "So where will I be sleeping?" Yuri decided to change the subject before Yamamoto could break out into a new fit of giggles.

"My room, I guess." Yamamoto shrugged nonchalantly. "There aren't any spares, unfortunately. It's not like you're staying here permanently, it's just until you can find your own place," he added with an assuring smile.

Yuri's eyebrows furrowed. "The living room?" she prompted. Yuri didn't mind sharing a room with Yamamoto - it's not like he would do anything perverted, and if he did, there were dire consequences - it's just that she wanted her own personal space. After all, she didn't like sharing her personal space, especially when she was partly claustrophobic…

"There's not enough room," Yamamoto smiled sympathetically.

Yuri resisted the urge to bang her head on the wall. Repeatedly. Did he have to say that right after she inwardly ranted about how she needed room?

"The couch isn't made for sleeping," he continued, not noticing Yuri's frustration. "It's hard and you'll end up with a sore back." Yuri wondered how he knew of that little detail, did he experience it himself? "Well, let's go."

"Ok," Yuri murmured, yawning. The two entered Yamamoto's room, and Yuri suddenly recalled something. Oh yeah, he was a neat freak. "Oi, Takeshi."

"Yeah?" Yamamoto called, voice muffled slightly as he dug throughout his wardrobe.

"Are you a neat freak?" Yuri was always a straightforward person.

"Eh? Why do you say that?"

Though Yamamoto couldn't see it, Yuri scowled in annoyance. She didn't like it when people answered her question with another question. "Well, you don't even have a trace of dust," she began lightly, all traces of displeasure gone. "Nor any porno magazines."

Yuri bit back a smirk as Yamamoto pulled his head out of the wardrobe. His eyes bulged comically and tried to get the words out of his mouth.

"Are you gay?" she questioned innocently, secretly hoping the answer would be a negative. Yuri didn't really mind if he were gay, but she hoped the rabid yaoi-loving fangirls wouldn't hear a word of it.

Yamamoto found her questions amusing, so, naturally, he laughed aloud. "No, no, I'm not gay."

"I see." Yuri couldn't help but sigh in relief. Haha, Kuraihana Yuri: 1 - Rabid Fangirls: 0. "But back to my previous question, are you a neat freak?" She sat down cross-legged on the tatami mats, wiggling her sock-clad toes. It felt strange without her shoes while still having socks on.

"Nope, I'm not a neat freak. But I'm not a slob either," clarified Yamamoto. He skilfully tossed Yuri a neatly rolled-up futon. So that was what he was looking for…

As he walked towards her, Yuri frowned in distaste. She ran her hand across the futon, feeling the thinness and texture. It seemed uncomfortable. She requested for another futon.

Nodding slowly, but smiling nonetheless, Yamamoto grabbed hold of another futon.

Yuri placed one atop of another and lay down to test how comfortable it felt. Still frowning, Yuri asked a bemused Yamamoto for two more. In the end, she ended up with seven of the flat make-shift beds atop of each other, resembling a normal mattress.

Yamamoto laughed as he realized what she was doing. Yuri wanted to sleep on something thick and comfortable, not something flat that could be easily mistaken for a carpet mat.

Tsuyoshi wandered up the stairs, calling the teenagers down for dinner. When he saw the tower of futons, he simply shook his head and walked back down to the kitchen. It had been five minutes since the girl moved in, and she was already turning things upside down.

Yuri snickered at the responses and skipped towards the dinner table - barely remembering to watch out for the stairs - and wondered how Nikoru was doing. More specifically, she was worried whether or not Nikoru's Inner Fangirl would appear and hug Tsuna to death. Ah well, it wasn't her problem either way.

oOoOo

Nikoru walked to the left of Tsuna, whilst Gokudera strolled on his right. Reborn was hopping up and down the fences of various houses. The sun was about to set into the horizon, signalling the streetlights to flicker on.

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air as the quartet travelled at a mild pace. Nikoru wasn't one to start conversations with people she just met - that was Yuri's job - but then again, Tsuna, Gokudera, and Reborn weren't total strangers to her. She inwardly thanked Yuri for making it so that Reborn couldn't read their minds. Though the magic laptop did most of the work…

"Hey, Tsuna-kun, Gokudera-san," she began, pulling the hood over her head so that they couldn't see her facial expressions.

The two boys gazed at Nikoru. Gokudera looked bored while Tsuna appeared to be relieved at the end of the awkward silence.

"Are there any people we should watch out for at Namimori Middle?" She already knew of Hibari, but who else were potentially dangerous over there?

"Ah, Shirobara-san, you'll have to watch out for H-Hibari-san," stuttered Tsuna. Nikoru assumed that Tsuna treated Hibari's name as if it were taboo, that or he thought if he said the name aloud, then Hibari would appear out of nowhere. But that was ridiculous…right? Nikoru discretely shifted her eyes around to survey any new characters appearing.

"Che, if you ask me, that bastard is obsessed with the school and beats up everyone who 'disrespects' it," snorted Gokudera. "The whole Disciplinary Committee members have weird hairstyles."

Ah, yes. Nikoru recalled the strange hairstyles that appeared as if they took forever to manage. Yuri called them pompadours or something? Speaking of Yuri, wasn't her favourite character Hibari? Or did she grow out of that stage…?

"Weird hairstyles?" Nikoru echoed. "Oh, Yuri is going to create hell tomorrow," she sighed heavily, picturing the damage her friend would cause throughout the building.

Tsuna raised an eyebrow in confusion. He opened his mouth, ready to ask Nikoru for an elaboration, but was soon cut off by Gokudera.

"Tenth, I shall take my leave now," announced Gokudera with a small smile to Tsuna. The road they were walking on was divided into two directions. Gokudera was heading right whilst Tsuna and Nikoru were heading left.

"Ah, okay." Tsuna smiled. "See you tomorrow, Gokudera-kun." He gave a small wave. Though Gokudera was facing straight, he raised a hand as a wave.

After a moment of deliberation, Nikoru plucked up her courage and bade her farewell to Gokudera as well. Gokudera's hand faltered for a second, but soon rose again.

Nikoru beamed, happy to be expected by one of the hard-headed members of the Family. The two watched the silver-haired boy leave until he was out of their sights.

"Oi, you two," Reborn addressed the teenagers, startling them. They almost forgot he was there with them. "How long are you going to dawdle for?" he asked impatiently.

"Ah, you're right!" Tsuna agreed hastily, trying not to get himself punished by his beloved home tutor. "Let's hurry, Shirobara-san."

Nikoru nodded, and after several minutes of silence - this time, a more comfortable one - they reached the Sawada residence.

"I'm back!" Tsuna called into the lively, bright house.

"Ah!" Nana cried delightedly. "Tsu-kun, welcome home. You were gone for a while," she scolded gently. Nana was carrying a basket full of laundry as she addressed Tsuna, not quite noticing Nikoru just yet.

"Sorry, Mom." Tsuna smiled apologetically. "I was at Yamamoto's."

Nikoru vaguely wondered when the two brunettes were going to notice her, not that she minded. Nikoru liked listening and observing, that was how she noticed things, though her slowness was kind of a setback.

"I see." Nana nodded understandingly, warm smile still in place. "But next time, give me a call when you're playing with your friends. It's almost 6:30."

Nikoru gazed at the clock hanging on one of the walls. It read '6:15'. Nikoru gave Nana a look of disbelief.

"Now, who's your new friend?" Nana beamed as she scanned Nikoru up and down. Nikoru felt slightly uncomfortable under her gaze.

"Ah," Tsuna exclaimed as if he forgot Nikoru was there. "This is Shirobara-san. She arrived in Namimori today and has no place to stay," he explained calmly. He probably knew that Nana would allow Nikoru to stay, seeing how she had already done so with so many others. Nikoru blinked. That was kind of dangerous when you thought about it.

"You don't?" Nana asked, perplexed. Nikoru knew Nana was wondering where Nikoru's parents or guardians were, but wisely kept her mouth shut. "Well, I can't let a sweet girl like you stay on the streets. I insist that you stay here," she welcomed warmly.

Nikoru could literally feel the love. "Thank you very much. I'm Shirobara Nikoru, please take care of me," she smiled and bowed.

Tsuna's jaw dropped. "Mom, how did you know that Shirobara-san was a girl?" he asked, bewildered. After all, Nikoru still had her hood up, covering her hair and petite features.

"It's a woman's intuition, Tsu-kun," giggled Nana.

Tsuna blanched, mumbling something along the lines of 'of course, of course' while Nikoru stifled a chuckle.

"Dinner will be ready soon," Nana announced. "I'll call you when it's time. Tsu-kun, Nikoru-chan will be sleeping in your room since the other rooms are already occupied and I can't make her sleep on the couch either."

Tsuna nodded, and motioned Nikoru to follow him towards his - their - room.

They got themselves organized so that Nikoru was to sleep on the floor with the futon and Tsuna remained in his bed. At first, Tsuna offered to give his bed up but was immediately rejected by Nikoru, saying that it was his bed. Tsuna persisted but soon gave up when Nikoru gave him her Shadow Smile, the same one he witnessed at Yamamoto's the afternoon prior.

The two conversed on various things, but were soon interrupted by a little cow-boy.

"BAHAHA! You can't catch Lambo-san!" Lambo boasted as he ran around the room.

Nikoru watched blankly as Fuuta and I-pin soon arrived, running around the room. Tsuna got a hold of Lambo and began scolding him. Apparently, Lambo stole Fuuta and I-pin's candy and ran around the house with it, again. Nikoru frowned lightly, Lambo reminded her of her annoying little cousins back home. Correction: her annoying, spoilt, sadistic cousins.

"Tsuna-kun," she spoke up once Tsuna let the kids run free. "Can I take a shower?" She felt dirty and oily, it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"Ah, sure, it's across the hall, two doors down."

"Thanks." Nikoru got up and took one step before recalling something crucial. "Um," she stalled, shifting nervously, it was too embarrassing to say.

"What's wrong?" Tsuna asked, concern seeping through his doe-like orbs.

Nikoru knelt back down and leaned close to Tsuna, whispering in his ear.

At first, Tsuna blinked at the sudden closeness and need for hushed whispering, but soon reddened at what Nikoru told him. Nikoru's embarrassment was transferred onto Tsuna, replacing his previous confusion. Even Nikoru was blushing lightly.

"EHH?" Tsuna screamed, surprising Nikoru with his lung capacity. The kids looked questioningly at the two before running off downstairs. Tsuna rubbed the back of his head like he always did when he was nervous. "I-I'll ask around."

Nikoru nodded and followed Tsuna. They stopped at the room closest to theirs, which happened to belong to Bianchi. Nikoru let Tsuna knock on the door and waited patiently for it to open. Soon enough, footsteps were coming closer and Bianchi opened the door gracefully. She left it ajar so that her body could lean against the frame without revealing the contents of her room.

"Yes?" Bianchi eyed their lightly flushed faces with mild interest.

"Bianchi," Tsuna smiled, "this is Shirobara-san and she'll be staying here for a while. She needs, er…" Tsuna trailed off, mumbling nervously.

"Say that again?" Bianchi raised an eyebrow.

Nikoru noted that Tsuna was too timid to say it, so she took his place. "Uh, I was planning to take a shower but then I remembered that I didn't have a change of clothes including…panties." Nikoru blushed once more along with Tsuna. How much blood did the small boy have? It was strange how such a small body could contain so much blood.

"Oh, I see. I'll be right back." Bianchi went back inside and closed the door firmly.

Nikoru assumed she liked her privacy. She never saw her room in the Reborn! series. As Nikoru attempted to recall if they showed anyone else's room besides Tsuna, Bianchi came back holding a white tank top, black shorts, and a pair of black panties, however…

"Why are they lace?" Nikoru blinked and tried to remain in her calm façade. Inwardly, she was crying her eyes out theatrically.

Tsuna attempted to hold his nose-bleed in but soon failed and fainted from blood loss. Fortunately, not much blood was spilled - which Nikoru was grateful for.

"This is my only spare. The others are in the wash, not including the one I'm wearing." Bianchi explained in an emotionless tone, smiling at the almost imperceptible twitch forming under Nikoru's eye.

Nikoru sighed lightly. "I see. Thank you," she smiled appreciatively. Nikoru bowed her head and almost missed the warm smile Bianchi gave. Though small, it was still a genuine smile. Bianchi closed the door gently and returned to her business.

Nikoru turned so that she received full view of Tsuna's pale body. Was he okay? Nikoru inched forwards to the body, but was dismissed by a smirking Reborn.

"Don't worry," he assured her whilst trying to stop his sadistic smirk for growing. "I'll wake him up," his eyes flashed deviously. "You go take your shower now."

Nikoru bit her lips worriedly, but soon relented. Reborn's word was law, after all. Nikoru turned towards the bathroom door, thinking that she had some blood on her pale skin. She tensed up once the rust-like smell of blood wafted towards her sensitive nostrils. Suppressing an involuntary shudder, Nikoru hastily began breathing through her mouth, trying her best not to inhale the scent of blood.

Shirobara Nikoru never liked blood.

Edited date: 23-08-10, 16-11-10, 09-12-10