Chapter 10
The Volleyball Match, a Hypothesis Proven
The Volleyball Tournament was starting. In fact, it had been on for almost a month since, well, Friday. (What? Last chapter was a Friday, okay?) But it went as a sequence from the higher years and down, with Year 1s' matches as the last of the competition. Thanks to this, I had successfully found out our class sports people, which was a pathetic amount, even if you count me in. Let's see... There was this boy whom I recognised as Batter No. 2 and another who was probably Batter No.6. And surprisingly both Mureiko and Nariko were among the few athletes in our class. On the good side, though, our few athletes were all aggressive when it came to sports.
I'd known that there was only 8 classes in this school. Funny how Namimori was like the only school around aside from Kokuyo Chuu which was in the borderline of Namimori district, yet there was only 8 classes consisting of around 30 people per class. Even my school (again, at the other side) had 12 classes just for year ones, and each an average of 35 people. And there was another secondary school right beside it. Maybe the birth rate decrease or something (switching to geography mode).
Gah, anyway my point was, there was 8 classes, and this the tournament was held for 3 days, from Monday to Tuesday, like duh. (Finals on Tuesday) During these time, to our greatest joy, afternoon lessons were cancelled when we had match. Imagine my happiness when I knew of this news.
Using the traditional match up method, we had class A against E, B against F, C against G, and D, out class, against class H. (Find the pattern, if you can't... I think you'll need to find some IQ tests) Team members could be mixed, but I heard that other classes chose around 90% of boys, since they were blessed with extra strength and stamina. Because of that sometimes I wonder why males got all the good stuff but female had to undergo a ton of crap and yet males were deemed more significant. If you do not know what I was talking about, then obviously you're too young to known that.
Oops, I'd gone off track. Well so today was the start of the rounds, and since I was elected as the Sports Rep of the class (oh the irony! I remember I was the slowest softballer in my team), I chose the four of them, the fifth volunteered, and we were all set and ready to go.
And today's game made me give Nariko a new perspective. I mean, she was all 'Chrome'-ish at normal times, but she turned out to be a volleyball player. An aggressive volleyball player who smacked the ball so hard you could barely see the ball until it bounced and passed through the opponent's court. Then you'd known that the team had score a point. And then you'd known that your team had won.
During the break, the winning teams were Class A, F, C and us, D.
I was sure in the Anime, Tsuna's class was against 1-C, because I remembering teasing about that class. I flipped open my handy note. Yepp, it was class C. So we'd had to lose to them? My eyes drawn to the bandages on both mine and my classmates' hands and arms.
No, we'll do our best.
I figured out why Class C had won in the anime. Other than the four athletes, the rest of the class was all nerd types, and their physical level sucked. Just look at our fifth player. His fitness was okay, but there was still a big gap between him and any other players on court. I realised if I hadn't joined the class, they would have lost. Another ripple to the KHR world.
Winning the game, we once again did our class cheer. The rest of the class went home while we decided to practise a bit more for tomorrow's finals. It seemed as all the volleyball courts were occupied, no doubt all the volleyballer-wannabes were training after the match. We found a spot big enough to practise, so I dismissed them with a thought in mind.
Now, where's 1-A?
Looking for Yamamoto Takeshi, is it?
And Tsuna, and Gokudera.
I don't think they've played for their class yet. Firstly, words of a new transfer student haven't spread yet, unless their classmates are tight-lipped on it, but still, considering that Gokudera is not stationary, nor is Namimori students, plus the fact that the girl population of this Namimori school had fan-girl diseases. Thank Aladdin that you are not that infected.
Then, if Gokudera ain't here, that means Tsuna haven't played too. Sad life, isn't it?
Hey you steal my catch phrase, is it?
I did some self practise. I worked the best on my own, after all. Texting a message to my trustworthy butler that I would be going home late, I started warming up by running around the school.
The Main Building, the Labs, the Green Corner... I mused. Next is the hall.
"Nngn!" Alarmed, I paused.
Just who the hell was that?
Followed closely I heard the bouncing of balls. Not the sound of basketball's rubber, but...
Volleyball. Someone was practising volleyball in the hall.
At first glance, I hardly recognised anyone. Well, it could be any random class. However, I saw that familiar figure serving a ball.
It's him it's him itshimitshimitshim!
Yamamoto Takeshi.
Okay, I'd have to admit. I had gone very OOC whenever I find him around.
I resumed my jogging without much thought.
The first round, second, third, last round. Who'd known Namimori Chuu alone was so big. I pitied Tsuna for his upcoming days with Reborn.
Eh Tsuna? I kept my tongue to myself as I saw Tsuna staring inside the hall, gaped, then turned and walked away. I waited for him to go before I peered in. I gasped in horror-
They were pushing themselves too much. As four of them laid panting for breath, the other two looked ready to collapse. Their breathes were no doubt laboured, their sweat had drenched their shirt wet and hung on their hair like crystals glistening under the lightings.
A random person with the face of an onigiri climbed to his feet with difficulties. One of the person at the other side of the court attempted to serve, only to succumb to his fatigue and fell.
I could not bear to watch anymore. I rushed in without another hesitation to aid. One of them rejected my help by saying that he had to win for the class. I was touched, I truly was, but seeing his condition, I snapped and told him his determinations could all go and die, what he needed was a good rest to be in his best condition for the finals.
I laid them down on some mat, and proceeded to mummify them with bandages and plasters. A set of eyes never left me while I did all these, and by the time I was left with him everyone else had fallen asleep.
"Have I met you somewhere?" Takeshi asked.
I averted my eyes and pretended to examine his injuries. It was heart-breaking trying not to just upright tell him 'yes, I know you' or something along the line. If he had become friends with me, and solidify the friendship (which wouldn't be the slightest problem), Tsuna would never get himself such a good Rain Guardian ever.
I shook my head slowly, not trusting my voice.
"Then probably it's my imagination, ne?" he concluded cheerfully, but I sensed a tinge of disappointment in it.
I nodded, making sure not to gain any eye contact in case my eyes gave it away. I stood up, and trying to make the least noise possible, tip-toed towards the exit of the hall. I turned to gave him a final check.
Good, he was asleep too. Saved the awkwardness.
Little did I know, the moment I exited the Hall, a pair of hazel eyes once again glistered.
As soon as I stepped into the class the next day, Mureiko had jumped at me like a tigress would to a rabbit, and with gusto, told me the news of a transfer student from Italy.
It's episode 2! Coming up, isn't it?
I just smiled inwardly as I listened to Mureiko's rambling about how she'd go to Class 1-A during breaktime.
"Ne, ne, Butterfly. Join me will you?"
"Of course," response to her so-far invincible puppy eyes.
"Yay!"
Though, by break time news once again spread that said transfer student was Gokudera Hayato, and he was joining the Volleyball Tournament with Tsuna since two of the regulars were on Medical Leave that day. I felt a chill ran down my spine. I was sure Reborn in pizza delivery was involved in this, and at least 5 more volleyball players fell victim to him.
So Mureiko decided not to find him during break time, and instead joined our other four members for last minute conditions for the finals. She was totally a sports person. True athletes value sportsmanship more than anything.
Our eyes turned when the door slid opened, the one and only Tsuna peered in. Instantly, the whole crowd which consisted a mixture of 1-A classmates and a few other students who either came to see Tsuna's new found power cheered. I saw two cheering boards raised high.
"Go Tsuna!"
"Our invincible ringer is here!"
"Fight for it!"
I drowned out the cheers mentally, a somewhat useful skill I had acquired somewhere in the school terms. Their attitude...
Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale...
There, that's better. Thanks, Jamari.
Anytime.
Had I ever mention I hate people who just suck up to a person when they found out he's good, but tease and bully one when they knew he was a — what they call — loser? And those who bullied someone yesterday, but found out that the same person had suddenly became amazing, then had a 180 degree change of attitude, they were scum. Irony not intended.
"President, it's ready," a disciplinary prefect came to Hibari and announced.
Hibari was totally un-Hibari-like during the first two episodes, I had even doubted that he was the Hibari. What kept me thinking that he's the Hibari? I mused.
"It that so?" Hibari turned to the referee, who in this case, was the form teacher of our class. "Then, teacher, you may begin." He said with a smirk, and our poor Kawara-sensei actually jerked backward before nodding silently.
Ah yes, now I remembered, it was the visible fear that people shown whenever he was around.
"Class 1-A against class 1-D match. Begin."
With a whistle, Mureiko served the first ball, which went straight towards Tsuna, who jumped and attempted to smack the ball. Supporters held their breath, heck, even all players on court (except me and well, Gokudera) froze momentarily before the show of skills before their very eyes.
Yeah, the skill of clumsiness, isn't it?
Don't interrupt me!
Well, err, to put it bluntly, as all of you here have known, Tsuna did a full swing of his right arm, in hopes that he might, just might, hit the ball. Only to miss by a huge gap and the volleyball landing on his face. His fell on his back with an audible "THUD" and another softer "thud" as the volleyball landed beside him.
There followed a complete silence when neither the supporters nor players moved a muscle. Then, there was a chorus of groaning coming from the crowd. Some of my teammates smirked, one chuckling at the scene before him. There was a few murmurs of "still Dame-Tsuna" and "clumsy" among the crowd, and I scrunched up my nose. What, a few seconds ago, you were all worshipping him like god, now he failed, and you left him.
Some people are just asking for sticks to be shoved up their asses, isn't it?
Right.
"What are you doing, Tsuna?" Takeshi asked, but it was not a question. Disappointment was smeared on his face as clear as ink on a piece of white paper.
"What ugliness have you displayed?" Huffed a certain Gokudera Hayato. He stood towering the fallen figure of Tsuna, the light against him such that his bangs slightly shadowed his eyes.
How dramatic, I rolled my eyes.
"Don't mind, don't mind. We'll get the next point." In an instant, Takeshi looked like his cheerful self again, smiling cheerfully as he encouraged Tsuna, who was probably thinking about ending the match faster or something.
As a hardcore KHR anime lover, my anime intuition (yes, I invented that up already) was always perfect.
As our team served once more (someone whispered to him to serve to Tsuna), I risked myself as my eyes lingered on 1-A volleyball players. Unsurprisingly, besides Gokudera and Tsuna, every single one of them was covered in different shades and sizes of bruises and cuts, some covered with bandages and plasters. (I recognised the few plasters that I had used because I bought those with white bunnies on it, and it was biting me back now.) I did not see Onigiri-Face. Did he fall victim to his own injuries or did Reborn poison him?
My eyes trailed to Takeshi for a while longer as I realised the ball had gone out of court and rolling out of the hall. His eyes were not focusing one me, which was a good thing. If there was anything that I was scared of, it was eye contact. And I was definitely scared of important figures gaining eye contact with me when I was just with... Myself.
I torn my gaze off Yamamoto, and decided to concentrate on the game until Tsuna decided to wake up and get shot by Reborn. It was kind of sad our team was fated to lose, and technically the other team cheated, but we would give in our best.
I watched as Tsuna again and yet again made clumsy and quite impossible mistakes, and I heard the crowd of supporters died down. I followed my team as the first set ended. I saw the incident happened, Tsuna giving his excuse, but shook it off when he saw all the injuries and bandages which covered some of the worst up. His eyes widened as he recalled what he had saw yesterday, and conflict passed in them. Then, a new air seemed to blow around him. He was determined.
I would have missed Reborn if not for my anime senses tingling again. I saw Reborn lowering his gun, took out the red bullet —Dying Will Bullets — and replaced them with two blue ones.
Our eyes met for the briefest of seconds before I turned to my teammates. The next set was starting.
All of a sudden, Tsuna fell backwards, giving a "Haaa", startling everyone on court.
I noticed his legs emitted a very faint glow before it faded.
"Tsuna, anything happened?"
"Is your leg okay?"
As Tsuna waved them off, I knew our game was now set.
The game ended in, as all of you might have guessed by now, 1-A's favour with Tsuna's *cough* signature move (what a great sacrifice). However, the surprising thing was that none of my classmates was sour about being in second, we were, instead, satisfied and glad, a happy class nevertheless.
I quietly snuck out through the back door, away from the attention, and to my mission of 'accidentally witnessing' the fight between Tsuna and Gokudera.
"What is it that you want to tell me, Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked timidly. The height difference between them wasn't doing any good either.
"If a pinprick like you becomes the Decimo, the Vongola Famiglia will be finished," he stated with an air around him.
I winced mentally. I had been seeing Gokudera as the loyal puppy-dog with the shining in his eyes whenever his 'Juudaime' was around so much that it was kind of hard to adjust to the present Gokudera. Well, I didn't need to, anyway. Soon, this Gokudera would turn into the puppy-dog that we all knew.
"Huh? How do you know about the family?"
Ignoring the last comment, Gokudera continued,"You're a nuisance. Die right here."
Then, two sticks of dynamites was found on his hands. Sometimes I wondered if Gokudera had secretly invented something similar to Doreamon's 4-D pocket. Probably.
"Dy-dynamite!" There went Tsuna.
"You're earlier than I have expected," a new voice joined in. Guess who? Three tries and the first two doesn't count. The newcomer came out from a tree. Specifically, the lift inside a tree trunk. I wonder how did that that even worked. I mean, wasn't the whatever xylem and phloem essential for plant survival? If so how could the tree looked exactly like a living tree with a lift right in its trunk? Not to mention how the hell would there even be electricity in the plant?
Should be anime logic.
Oh look Butterfly! Show's on!
To my horror, I realised I had zoned out for a good 5 minutes, and Tsuna was already dodging random dynamites sent to his way.
"Anybody! HELP!" Shrieked Tsuna as he sprinted for his dear life.
Unfortunately for him, it was just natural that when you were in a chase, you would ran into a dead end. Anime physics.
"The end of you, Juudaime." Gokudera growled underneath his breath. "Disappear!" He exclaimed, flinging the explosives he was holding in his hand at Tsuna. Another anime physics that I didn't quite get: How could Gokudera light up the dynamites without using any lighter?
As if it wasn't bad enough for him, I walked into the scene like a Yamamoto partially because I was feeling sadistic that day and greeted him. "Yo, Tsuna."
He paled visibly, and once again when he noticed the incoming dynamites his face became white... Quite literally.
"HYAA!"
In desperation, Tsuna flung himself onto the ground to meet the dynamite and tried to extinguish the lit flames with his bare hands only to yelp and jump back when the pain told him that hadn't been a good idea the hard way.
"Fight with your Dying Will, Tsuna!"
Following that, a gun shot and a red bullet aiming with dead accuracy at Tsuna's forehead. It was one thing to look at it through an anime, another thing to witness it over a distance, but a whole new experience when it was just in front of me, unfolding itself before my very eyes.
It was amazing, the Dying Will Bullet. Halfway through, the bullet shell had split open with a red beam and dropped onto the ground. However, the said ball of red (...was that Dying Will Flames?) travelled all the way to Tsuna's head. Under the impact, Tsuna was jerked backward, body hitting the concrete of school grounds with his eyes wide open staring at the last of the world (technically, he died, so there) in shock. If I hadn't known any better, or if he had stayed on the ground a few seconds more, I would have assume Reborn had just killed him. Well actually he did, but Tsuna was going to rip out of his clothes in a few seconds later, and he was going to rock.
And so Tsuna ripped his clothes to shreds. I wondered how many sets of uniform he had to purchase at the back of my mind.
"Reborn! Extinguish all the dynamites with my Dying Will!"
And I watched with amazement at its purest state as Tsuna started teleporting around extinguishing dynamites. Long abandoning the question if 'Was that even possible?' I settled for "Just another anime physics".
"Double Dynamite!" No use.
"If that's the case... Triple Dynamite!"
Gokudera seemed to be struggling with holding all of the dynamite in his hands… and then one tipped onto the floor. His arms sagged, and suddenly the floor was absolutely littered with his lighted dynamite.
"The end of me?" He murmured. Why the hell didn't he run away?
Give me a hundred years and I'd still not understand anime logic.
"Extinguish! Extinguish extinguish extinguish extinguish extinguish extinguish extinguish!" To the upmost surprise/amazement/whatever-emotions-you-choose-to -put-here of Gokudera, Tsuna began working on the dynamites around him too.
And just when the last bomb was done, Tsuna's Dying Will Flame on his forehead died down. He half-squatted and heaved a sigh of relief, a breath he had been holding was finally released. He looked at Gokudera's direction, seemingly wanting to check whether he was okay...
... Only to have face masked in horror as Gokudera dropped to his knees in front of him. "I was mistaken! It is you who is fit to become Juudaime! I'll follow you to the ends of the earth, command whatever you want of me!" The silver-haired guy said with adoring eyes.
Here comes the evolution of Gokudera Hayato. Man, he's like a pokémon.
What's a 'pokémon'?
Just another show, never mind.
I zoned out at the part where Gokudera explained that he had never wanted becoming the Tenth Vongola boss in the first place, stating that he just wanted to see if Tsuna was capable of being the next head of the family. Then Reborn add-on explained the mafia rules and what not.
Yamamoto was not here. If I was not wrong... Maybe the reason of Tsuna wanting to defuse the dynamites was because he had someone to protect. I knew that in the manga, he extinguish them because he was shot, but it didn't make sense. He could have run away from the scene, or anything. Plus. Why would he regret dying?
Under the cover of the lack of attention directed to me, I crept away from the scene, knowing very well what would happen, anime or manga.
There was some things in the anime that the manga covered up (like Takeshi suiciding, no way he could have just joined the mafia and risk his life just because of a volleyball game. Friendship, sure, but putting his life on the front?), and some in the manga that the anime covered up (like the events today). I took out my notebook and wrote the piece of information down.
Even though I knew everything which would take place soon, as well as the results... I still couldn't help but pray for the best to come.
After last chapter, I decided to add 2 new stuff inside my fanfic. Firstly, as all of you may have guessed, is the questions. The second... (Drum rolls) is the OMAKES! Well I think I had a crush on Omakes already. It's going to be like the 'Chibi-talia' of Hetalia, like a side story to the main story. Of course it won't be happening anytime.
A Semi-serious OMAKE:
In which Ellenia was transported into a different time zone (Part 1)
I wasn't sure what had happened, my eyes were closed shut as body reflexes to the blinding light.
Just what the hell did that Genie did to me? Wait... What's that smell?
As my eyes were still momentarily blind as an after effect, it was just natural that my other senses were sharper for the time being. But this smell... It made my nose twitch in irritation and I felt like throwing up. It was terrible, but not a complete stranger to my nose. Kind of like the raw chicken meat that I found rotting in a corner last time when I went to the wet market. But worse. Much worse.
As I waited for my eyes to adjust to the surroundings, wanting to know what was going in. My vision was slowly clearing up, patches of the surrounding scenery revealing itself. Though, when I finally got a hint of where I was, I wished dearly that I hadn't seen anything. The place I had somehow got my ass into was almost completely dark, frightening sounds rattling around me. The air was dense and thick and it made me hard to breathe. The limited lighting, which was almost none, slipped in through the cracks of the covered windows and broken splinters of wood on the walls and roof. It wasn't a place where I wanted to be not in a million years.
I racked my brain of where I could have been. Some dangerous anime? And surely I had just wished for being a World Jumper, not getting transported into a random anime. Worst case scenario would be landing in a dangerous anime or manga series where I had absolutely not read or watch about it before.
Taking a step forward, I felt my feet splashing into something and blinked in response to it (I wasn't wearing any shoe to begin with). Peering down, I squinted his eyes to try and make it out, but it looked like some sort of liquid that was dark in color or maybe that perception was because there was no light to reveal the color. Familiar sounds of chains rattling and gears turning were picked up, but regardless of those sounds, it was dead quiet. If I listened carefully enough, he could hear some sort of dripping, like water was falling, not too far ahead and he went towards it since there was nowhere else for him to go. The rotting odour was much stronger than before and there was another smell that was mixed in, copper. As my eyes adjusted to the lighting, my eyes widened in pure shock.
Blood. Blood blood blood bloodbloodblood! So much BLOOD!
Darkness dug into my vision once again as my brain shut down. However, before I felt myself collapsing, I thought I heard voices and felt a strong pair of arm around me.
So, the OMAKE. As I had stated before, this is definitely irrelevant to Grandchild of Aladdin. But anyway, how do you like that? However, to demolish all of your hopes that I would end the OMAKE story fully, it's an OMAKE for a reason. I'll try to write as much as I can but of course I'd be focusing on the main story more. Either OMAKE Ellenia just any-how use her second wish and then use the third wish to go home. Or anything.
CrimsonSkyTamer: Oh lol, another Hibari fan. But as you can see, I don't really support romance, so I won't be pairing Ellenia with anyone.
LemonGoddess: Hey *wink wink* You very funny lah~ but I kinda agree with ur 2nd wish.
Answer: My first wish would be able to travel around animes (ahahaha lookie at my first chapter) secondly, to be able to travel through time within the realms of the anime (eg. Go to Giotto's time or the time of Arcobaleno Curse) third wish I'd use it on emergency, cuz anime world's are dangerous desu! Nobody can predict what would happen. And if everything fails, use the third wish to get home.
Question: Which Arcobaleno do you like most and why?
That should be all, and Evan here, signs out!