Gravity - noun - the force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth, or toward any other physical body having mass. For most purposes Newton's laws of gravity apply, with minor modifications to take the general theory of relativity into account.
Asuka would have loved to see Isaac Newton's face if he ever saw what was happening right now. Almost all the objects, including the human beings, in the room were somehow floating. As much as it was fun to whirl around and weighing like nothing, she had a bad case of motion sickness, and if the law of physics also did not apply to her bodily fluids, then she felt quite sorry for the inhabitants of the room, namely Tsuna. But for the sake of her brother, she held her breath in attempt to stifle the uncomfortable feeling.
Currently, the strange, floating child was ranking people, whatever that meant. Apparently, Lambo was ranked first for the most annoying mafioso, as well as being wanted by people to be killed and made into a cushion. Cruel, but understandable. And- oh, was it her turn?
"Asuka-nee is ranked first out of four people to be able to convince Hibari-nii to do something." If she wasn't so busy trying not to throw up her lunch, she would have blushed. Also, who were the other three? "She's also ranked first for being the best sister in the world." Aw, shucks. How flattering.
Asuka floated over to the bed, which somehow remained floored (most likely because of the bolts that held it down due to several accidents in the past), and took a deep breath.
"How about Kyoya? What are his rankings?"
"Mm… Hibari-nii's ranked first for being the most bloodthirsty teenager in the world so far. But he's also rank eighth for liking small animals."
"Small animals? Like.. Puppies?" That was good, she liked puppies, too.
"He's also ranked first for people most likely to become a baker when they're older."
Now that, was quality information. Information that she could use.
"Let's do Tsuna-nii's love ranking!"
Ah, Tsuna? Wasn't he crushing on Ryohei-kun's little sister? The popular one?
"Tsuna-nii's love ranking; number one is-"
What was her name again? K-
"Leon."
"... Tsuna, I understand that you may feel different in regards to love and such, but… I don't think bestiality is a good road to take."
"Nee-chan!"
"Happy Valentine's Day, Kyoya!"
Hibari lazily opened his eyes and caught the somewhat large box of presumably chocolates with little effort. He glanced at the beaming girl and the annoyingly bright smile plastered on her face. He caught sight of a filled plastic bag.
"You seem happy." Her face seemed to shine even more. How irritating.
"Well, I received a bunch of my favorite chocolates this year, so of course I'd be happy."
Hibari slowly pushed himself off the leather couch and motioned towards her bag. Asuka gave him a look, before reluctantly pushing it over. Inside, there was a myriad of boxes and bags from both males and females. Pulling out a small box, he opened it to see some decorated sweets. One whiff, and he could already taste the sweetness. Nevertheless, he popped one into his mouth, much to her chagrin.
"Ah! Don't just eat it without my permission, you-!"
Too sweet. Mint chocolate was not his favorite. He preferred extra dark chocolate (with a side of authentic green tea); the ones made by her were far better than the ones bought at confectionaries. They never did make them bitter enough. A small note was written on a piece of paper attached to the box.
'Asuka-senpai, I really like you! Please go out with me!'
"Oh, is that Kazuki-san's? He just threw it into my bag and ran away… I didn't even get to thank him. What does it say?"
"Hn."
Before Asuka could see the note for herself, Hibari ripped the note into pieces and tossed them into the garbage bin.
"H-Hey!"
A sneeze broke the quiet atmosphere in the room. A hoarse groan signalled someone's suffering and anguish. A dry cough broke off the groan and was accompanied by a raspy whine.
"Kyoya, I'm dy-voice crack-ing."
"Hn."
"I'm -sudden choking and coughing- not going to -more coughing- last very long."
"Hn."
"Te -weird voice crack again- ll them that I- hey, -painful heaving- Kyoya, don't leave me here, you sick bast -chokes again and starts to cough uncontrollably- .. This was your fault!"
And thus the empty, cold hallways of Namimori Middle sparked to life as a blasé boy was chased by a sickly girl who screamed -and failed- in frustration.
"What do you mean our dojo sign's been taken?"
"W-well, just a while ago, a bunch of people came through and beat up the juniors. Us seniors weren't there at that time, so we didn't know, but…"
A sigh escaped Asuka's mouth. It seemed that the gods have been plaguing her with misfortunes after misfortunes. Honestly, she just couldn't catch a break. She contemplated getting Kyoya to get the sign, but seeing as he was up on the roof taking his usual two hour nap, she decided against it. Calling over one of the class officers, she gave them a few instructions about her unfinished work before getting ready to leave. Come to think of it, how in the world was Kyoya so pale when he spent all that time in the sun? Was it some kind of magical sunscreen that she was unaware of? Shrugging the thought off, Asuka grumbled her way to her dojo. When she arrived at said dojo, she found quite a few people covered in injuries.
"Sawada! You're here!"
"Hiroto-san, are they alright?"
"They're going to be fine, nothing too serious at least. But could you do us a favor and get the sign back? We've got our hands full here, so.."
"It's fine, I'll do something about it."
Her senior grinned and ushered her out the dojo. "Alright then, off you go!"
Another sigh escaped her mouth. Her life was starting to sound like one of those games Tsuna played. Quest after quest after quest after quest and then a boss or two somewhere in between. 'Oh! I seemed to have misplaced something, could you possibly help me find it?' 'A few ruffians came by and attacked our town! Please defeat them!' Alas, if only she could decline, but unfortunately, life did not have such luxuries. Another sigh; where was the forfeit button when she needed it?
"Might as well get some groceries while I'm at it."
She nearly screamed in frustration when she went home and saw I-Pin chopping bell peppers on her dojo's sign.
It was a relatively quiet and sunny day. The clouds were white and fluffy. A nice breeze here and there. It was a normal day for everyone that was not Sawada Asuka.
It started when Tsuna's friends came over for some reason. A classmate of his and another girl, Kurokawa and Haru. Everything was fine, and she went up to his room with some snacks and drinks. But the moment she entered the room, Asuka felt something hit her and suddenly, she was enveloped in pink smoke. Judging from Tsuna's scream of 'Nee-chan got hit by the 10-Year Bazooka!', she assumed that she, defying all laws of physics yet again, was somehow in the future.
When the smoke cleared up, Asuka found herself sitting in a rather fancy office. Doing paperwork even in her twenties, such a sad life she led. When she tried reading the papers, she found that the writing was not limited to Japanese. Neither were the books on the shelves, or the text on the computer.
'So the baby wasn't lying after all.'
However, something felt wrong. Looking down, she found herself dressed in a white dress shirt with a black suit jacket and slacks. Her hair felt lighter, and there were strange accessories on her person. Her mind went blank for a moment, and she wondered if she'd need some therapy after this. Obviously, she wasn't in her own body, at least the one from her time. But if there was one thing she noticed in the foreign room, was the various names and signatures that all said 'Sawada Asuka'. So not only had she defied all laws of physics by traveling to the future, she also broke the universe by becoming her future. How exciting.
Looking around, Asuka debated whether to explore or sit still for who knows how long. A little inspection wouldn't hurt, would it? So she stood from the seat and walked towards the intricate looking door. A hesitant hand reached for the door handle before opening it to reveal an immense, ornate hall. Kudos to the architect, and even more kudos to the people who built this place.
"Signorina! Il padrone ti ha chiamato in ufficio dieci minuti fa!"
She nearly jumped when someone called out to her in a foreign tongue. Italian, perhaps. Probably. Across the hall, she saw a woman -maid?- pacing towards her.
"Sono in attesa per voi per pianificare il matrimonio; è necessario affrettarsi e via!"
Unfortunately, though her future self seemed to be well-versed in various language, Asuka could only manage a meager conversation in English at best. So she allowed herself to be led towards another large, ornate door.
"I maestri sono all'interno. Vai avanti."
Assuming that she was to go inside, Asuka slowly opened the doors, hoping that there wasn't a creepy old man on the other side. To her relief, there was no such thing. But there was a group of rather familiar people in the room.
'Oh my lord, that's-.. I-... '
In the large office were two couches. Situated in the two couches, were Tsuna's friends, Ryohei-kun, Lambo, and an unfamiliar girl. They looked so… old. Asuka didn't know if her face was shocked or blank or whatever, but the moment that she saw and heard him, her little, cute brother, speak, she was sure that she probably looked as if she was going to cry.
"Ah, did Lambo use the bazooka on you? Strange, it almost never hits you."
Tsuna was, to be honest, physically blessed. Tears almost welled up in her eyes. The years had been kind to him, perhaps in compensation for his no-goodness. Time had been kind to his friends also, as they looked healthy and fit. Gokudera greeted her no different from the past, still with the embarrassing honorific. Yamamoto had given her a grin and wave. Lambo seemed half-asleep, but greeted her with a smile anyway. Ryohei-kun screamed in her face. The girl, on the other hand, seemed shy and just gave a small nod.
It was only when Tsuna glanced behind her, that she noticed a presence near the shelves. When she turned around, she nearly fainted. Before her, was a tall, no doubt handsome, full grown, Kyoya. Time had not just been kind. It had been outrageously generous with him. Unfairly so.
"K-Kyoya?"
"We need to continue."
"W-what?"
Tsuna smiled. "We were just talking about the banquet and the ceremony. The future you wanted us all to help plan everything, so you called us together for a meeting."
"W-wait, what are you talking about?" Behind her, Kyoya let out a small breath.
"Your hand."
She looked down-
. . .
-and promptly fainted.
She didn't return to the future until a while later.
An strange occurance, as she wasn't anywhere near Lambo. She was walking home alone, when suddenly, pink smoke surrounded her again, and she found herself in an unfamiliar place. It wasn't the mansion, or the office, or Namimori.
After a bit of wandering, she found herself in a large room, much like the one in the mansion, resembling a living room. Upon seeing a figure sitting on an armchair with their legs crossed on the table, she immediately tensed and put her guard up. The stranger was intimidating, downright frightening. Inwardly, she cursed her future self for being in such a place. She didn't move a muscle when they began to speak.
"This world is full of scum. Don't trust a single one of them."
She didn't get to ask them what they meant as she found herself back in the past.
She was walking down the streets one night. It was eerily quiet. Not her type of atmosphere.
Ever since the attacks on the students and prefects, Namimori Middle had been on lockdown, and students were advised to stay home until further notice. Kyoya was on the verge of trampling down anything that talked to him, while she was stressed from all the work that had piled from the incidents. Maybe the stress was making her paranoid.
"Stop following me."
A pause, and the footsteps indicating someone's response to her command. Perhaps she wasn't paranoid.
"...Sawada Asuka?"
"And who are you?" The stranger didn't even bother replying, instead releasing a volley of what seemed to be needles. "...How rude."
. . .
The next day, when Asuka showed up to school with bandages on her arm and a cut on her cheek, Kyoya flipped.
The wind came across the mist.
A mysterious, reclusive mist
'Why are you hiding?', asked the wind.
'I am not hiding.', replied the mist.
Despite its words, the mist continued to grow
Shrouding itself in its own entanglement of hypocrisy and lies.
'There is no reason to hide from yourself.'
A breeze, gentle but commanding, dispersing the mist, leaving nothing but itself
'There is nothing to hide. You are beautiful.
You simply cannot see. Because you hide.'
yay for foreshadowing woohoo i wonder who that scary dude was. 8/8