Paramnesia
If only I didn't let go of that rope the first time. Would I have returned to being Sherré Langlois all the way in England – or would I still have been Sawada Tsunayume here – in Namimori, Japan? Was it fate that I ended up here?
Fate? Is there even such a thing? If there was, why did I end up as Tsunayume? What purpose do I have?
I cleared my mind of this train of thoughts, but another train crashed right into my mind then next moment. Imagine what Cali, Jac, Hailey, and other people would feel right now... Well, at least it's for certain that my mother would be throwing a party when she heard that her darling daughter got her guts spilled out literally from an accident. (But fuck, that truck really did hurt like a bitch.)
Going back to the topic, Cali would be so upset at me, and probably be hitting at Sherré's grave and trying to unearth the body... Hmm, what would Jac do? Probably help Cali, but once she's calmed down she'll be helping to bury my body back. Hailey... She probably wouldn't even know I was dead, until the news said so. But it's not her fault – we drifted apart after all...
Sighing, I looked down at my small hands and grimaced. How would they feel, indeed. How do I feel, then? Am I even in the same universe as them any more? Are they in this world? Did Sherré once existed, or was it just a fluke of a memories that took over Tsunayume's old ones?
Well, this is a unique existential crisis I am having.
"Tsu-chan! Can you come down for a moment?"
Releasing the second sigh of the day, I rose swiftly, bringing all the posters of bands unheard of with me (yes, you lil bitches, you're going in the trash, all of you).
"Yes, kaa-san?"
She smiled brightly at me, her short brown hair swaying in the wind that came in from the open window. "Can you grab some tomatoes for me? It seems we are running short." The corners of my lips tilted up slightly in reply as I grabbed the wallet on the table.
"Gimme twenty minutes, kaa-san. Be right back."
"Be careful!" She waved me off cheerfully, turning her attention back to her cooking.
I shrugged on a hoodie, before stumbling my way out of the house while pulling on my sneakers. Trashing the rolled up posters in the nearby trashcan had been a satisfying feat to accomplish.
There are two more days before I have to return to school (after getting the all-clear from the doctor tomorrow), and I have sorted out most of the things I want to. Route from house to shopping district, check. Route from house to school, well, from what I heard from kaa-san, I can just follow the throng of students in the morning (or risk having kaa-san herself to bring me there, which is a no-no because I am mentally sixteen and a proud independent woman having existential crisis), but I would like to be more prepared so...
"May I have a bag of tomatoes?" I inquired politely. The shopkeeper smiled kindly and passed me one, while I thought deeply about what to do to be more prepared.
"Here!" I passed her the money, and started walking off. A pricking at the back of my neck gave rise to an uncomfortable sensation that shot down my spinal cord. I tensed, and looked behind me.
To only see the usual crowd of people milling about, doing their own things.
Huh... strange. I could have sworn that someone was staring at me.
Reborn pulled his fedora lower as the girl in question turned back onto the route, this time lightly jogging back down to the housing district. He raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued at how she seem to have sensed his stare. He kept up, weaving through the throng of people and keeping unnoticed from the general eye.
The road soon cleared as she reached the quieter roads, passing by houses and such. According to the report from Iemitsu, the girl (cute little tuna-fishie Yume-chan who can't hurt a fly to save her life), Sawada Tsunayume, was supposed to be non-athletic, weak and bad at studies, but generally cheerful and kind.
Well, he didn't see any of those traits.
Looks like someone is going to get a beating back in Italy. Reborn smirked ominously.
The hit-man watched as she dropped the tomatoes off in her house. He peeked in through the open window and studied the mother and daughter closely. Sawada Nana seem to be exactly what Iemitsu had described – naïve, never out of cheer, and has cooking skills that could best Vongola's chefs. Tsunayume, however, seem to be a little out of sorts.
"Kaa-san, I am heading out for a little while."
"Hmm, where?" She asked, slightly distracted by cooking.
"The park," Tsunayume replied hastily as she ran out of the house again, stumbling as she tried to pull on her sneakers at the same time.
"Okay, be careful Tsu-chan!"
Reborn quickly made a choice to follow the girl as she jogged slowly in the direction of Namimori Middle School. The white building peeked out from many roofs, and she kept check of it every few minutes as she took turns around the neighbourhood. The hit-man quickly marked the nearest parks around this area, but found that the girl was not heading in any particular parks.
Not too concerned about the girl having possibly lied to her mother, Reborn followed closely behind, instead reaching the conclusion that the girl was to arrive at Namimori Middle School at this rate.
But why did she want to go back to her school? Teenagers at this age most probably hate to go back to school outside school hours. This peaked Reborn's already rising curiosity even more.
She stopped right in front of the school. The sky slowly turned orange, as she looked up at the school with a...wistful expression?
A little talk, Reborn guessed, wouldn't hurt.
He made his footsteps sound as the hit-man advanced on the brown-haired girl. She turned, and her eyes met his instantly, almost like she had wanted to search for his eyes.
"Good evening," Reborn started, looking up at her and finally able to get a good look at the girl. To be fair, she looks close to healthy – almost like she had just recovered from a bad illness that had her bedridden for months.
She squatted down, and tilted her head with an inquisitive look. Long brown strands fell from their places behind her ear, and the corners of her lips tilted up slightly in an enigmatic way – like she knew something he didn't.
(But of course, that was not possible.)
"Good evening," she greeted, "are you lost? Where's your guardian? Parents?"
Ah, the usual conversation, of course.
"They are not here," he replied calmly, and truthfully.
From this close, Reborn could see that her cheeks were slightly sunken in, and she was much too thin, giving her a slim and pretty look. Pretty, well, that could definitely be of use when she is to become a Mafia boss. Her brown hair hung in loose limp waves to her waist, and her caramel brown eyes seem to be able to see through any deceit. Befitting of someone with Hyper Intuition – or going to have, anyway.
"That's not good," she frowned, "why don't I help you find your parents?" She asked. Kind, check.
"Sawada Tsunayume," she jerked, turning around to face the black-haired male standing at the school gates. Reborn met his cold steel eyes, before smirking and turning away, quickly finding coverage on one of the nearby trees.
"How...do you know my name?" She asked, her posture tense as she regarded – who was it that his files said – ah, Hibari Kyoya.
"It's against school rules to loiter outside the gates after school hours," he snipped out. Reborn did not miss the glint under his gakuran's sleeves. Tsunayume stood up from her squatted position calmly, tilting her head slightly in a 'oh-so?' look, but her expression not showing a hint of that.
The corners of her lips tilted up slightly into a small smile. "I see," she nodded, "I am sorry." She turned around, probably to search for Reborn, only having a hint of surprise cross her eyes at seeing that the kid was gone. The kid in question could only smirk in amusement at her expression, which can also be deemed as a slight crack in her mask.
Mask, yes, mask, of course, it is obvious the girl seem different, even from the usual teenage girl.
Tsunayume turned back to Hibari coolly. "Sorry for the disturbance. I shall be heading back." She sketched a bow and walked away from the school, the disciplinary committee's steely eyes following her.
Hm, another thing that he didn't need to teach her. Coolness against pressure, check. But of course, that only added to the enigma that Sawada Tsunayume was quickly becoming.
Only a few paces away, that glaring boy spoke up again.
"Sawada."
I stopped, but only turned my body half-way to face him. "Yes?" Kaa-san said she's making steak with egg today...yum, I haven't had that since Sherré...
"Why did you come here?" Well, that's a peculiar question.
"I..." Uh, well, is there any need to hide at all? If the tomato-selling auntie knows about it, I bet this entire small town knows about it. "I was just checking the route to school...I am coming back to school in a few days."
A glint entered his blue-grey eyes, as if he had confirmed something.
Haha. He knows. I thought dryly to myself. Good job, self.
"May I go now?" At his nod, I walked down the road, my mind wandering to the weird kid who disappeared just now.
The sky turned dark, and I let loose a few curses under my breath, jogging down the lane. Speaking of which, is there a family rule that says no to being late for dinner? I won't mind...it's almost a sin to miss Kaa-san's cooking.
Reborn is in a dilemma.
It wasn't easy to get Reborn in a dilemma at all, he had an innate ability to make a snap decision, and the right one too. But, this time, he had to really think clearly about what to do. The wrong step would lead him right into a spring trap that will take a long of time to fix.
That said, the hit-man was trying to decide between following his plan and drop the flyer in the mailbox, or to wait a little longer and gather more information.
The original plan was made on what information that idiota Iemitsu has given. However, it might not be wise to push back meeting the girl officially (as her tutor), depending on whether it is more beneficial to observe her as an outsider or gather information as an insider.
However, from what he had gathered of following the girl around this day, the girl had strangely strong defences against people around her. And from what Reborn could see, she didn't spend her time texting or laughing at a computer like usual teenage girls – neither was she the type to spend all her time trying out make-up and buying new dresses with her girl friends. Tsunayume seem quiet, aloof, and withdrawn. The complete opposite of the information Iemitsu had given. Also the complete opposite of the young girl in the photos hung up in the Sawada household.
Reborn let a smirk grace his features as he made up his mind.
Information may be power on the battlefield, but this is no battlefield. Besides, gathering information as an insider would definitely be more efficient than doing so as an outsider.
Two more things to do, and he shall finally drop the flyer.
(But of course, the gourmet in him is also looking forward to the Sawada patriarch's famed cooking.)
"You're the same as him," Hibari stated in his seat, behind the table.
Reborn acquainted himself with the plush couch in the cosy room, leaning back and relaxing.
"I am," Reborn replied, "but I am not here to talk about that. I would like to know about Sawada Tsunayume." He said. Listening in to the gossip of the ladies in the district had been draining – he had never been one to like women's talk. It didn't help that he did not get anything useful. But here – an entire mount of treasure of information available (that did not involve listening to women's nitpicking about daily life – bitch, you ain't the one killing for a living – was too tempting to ignore), it is of course that Reborn had detoured here.
Hibari narrowed his eyes. "And why should I tell you, infant?"
Reborn raised the cup of coffee he had bought to his lips and hid the grimace from the substandard taste. Looks like a hunt for decent coffee is due.
"I am her tutor, or would-be. She would be the Vongola's Tenth soon, and I will be training her. How about the offer that she would be your sparring partner?" Reborn hid the smirk behind the cup as he saw a look of contemplation enter Hibari's eyes. Hibari or not, this was a tempting offer, especially to a young, wild Hibari such as he.
"...and how do I know she will be strong enough?"
Reborn pulled the fedora down to shadow his eyes.
"Are you questioning my abilities then, Hibari?"
A moment of tense silence reigned, before a sound of rustling broke it. A file got thrown on the table with precise accuracy.
Reborn did not bother to hide his smirk this time.
"Why, gratitudes to you."
The male grunted non-committally, his eyes averted. Reborn left the room with the brooding male, who definitely was feeling quite irate right now at having lost a verbal fight against someone. Especially someone he deemed 'like him' – of course, in referral to Fon.
Reborn palmed through the records on a nearby tree, making a side-note in his mind to make some secret passageways all round the school for closer observations of Sawada Tsunayume.
His eyes widened as he reached the comments of the records.
Bullying observed. Grades has dropped by 23%.
Signs of self-harm shown, self-inflicted wounds on wrists by sharp objects. Skipping of classes observed. (Article 4 on 'skipping classes' for reference of punishment.)
Car accident occurred – broken ribs, fracture – left arm, large abrasions on body, head injury, concussion. In a coma. (See medical records at end of report.)
Woke up from coma after two months. Amnesia observed.
Reborn pulled his fedora down, refusing to let out a frustrating sigh. No wonder that strange line that caught his attention – "I was just checking the route to school...I am coming back to school in a few days."
What the fuck is Iemitsu even doing?
Pushing aside the Iemitsu-fucks-up issue, Reborn thumbed through the medical records quickly. She had just woken up recently. After some therapy session (which all concluded that Sawada Tsunayume had lost all of her memories – with her speech and normal activites' abilities are left alone) and physiotherapy to get the muscles in her legs to work from their inactivity while she was bedridden, she was released from the hospital for an observation period, which will be ending in two days.
A schedule started forming in his head as he quickly headed off.
He could drop the flyer off today, then be called up as the tutor tomorrow. Acquaint himself the next day, then go with the mother-daughter duo to the hospital the day after that.
Well, that definitely sounded like a plan for his new student.
In any ways, the hit-man was excited – to see what kind of student she could be.
(Dino had been the amusing kind.)
With that, the hit-man heard the satisfying sound of the mailbox clanking shut, and of Sawada Nana moving to get the mail.
A/N: How was this chapter? Reborn is finally coming in! :D
Guys, please review and tell me how you feel about this chapter! I was like "whaaa so many people are following my story, yet nobody tells me how they feel ;;" Please at least leave a note to tell me how it's like, and how I can improve it! :o
Thank you for following this story till now! I look forward to what you have to say about it! :)
And of course, this story will have all the friendship struggle untold in the anime...and told by me. (mwahahaha)
Soo excited for when the right people comes up, but not at all planned for them lol.
Dolce.