Disclaimer: I do not own Ib or any of the elements in the game. They belong to their respective owner, Kouri; I am merely using them for my own creative amusement.


Tukorsima

(adj.) lit. "as smooth as the surface of the mirror"; describes a still water which has unbroken surface, neither by wind nor by some object or animal (Hungarian)

She gazed at the boys who wrecked her snowman, as they laughed like hyenas that had cornered their prey. Looking back at the mush of snow and stones, she was suddenly pushed to the ground with jeering and sneering. She fisted the snow, her small hand crushing it into a roughly spherical shape.

Her expression did not change, calm and collected as before.

"What's wrong with you, Tachibana?" the leader screamed at her. She knew he hated her, forever picking on her and trying to rile her up. "Aren't you angry? Scared?"

"Not really." She stood up and brushed the snow off her coat with her other hand before the boy suddenly grabbed her by the fringe, pulling her close to him.

"Are you scared now?" Finally, her eyes widened a fraction, but her overall expression did not change.

"Not really." He snarled at her, his other two friends looking at each other nervously.

"Hey man, do we really gotta-"

"Oi." A young man with purple hair suddenly appeared, towering over the leader, draped in a bright rainbow scarf, "Get your paws off her."

The boy grabbing her hair visibly paled, his grip instantly loosening. Ib stepped back, righting her dishevelled coat and scarf. The tension between the man and boy was tangible, the frown on the man's beautiful face thickening the air with disappointment and disapproval. The leader of the boys took in a deep breath, arching his back to look at least menacing.

"O-Or what? You gonna tell me mom, huh, old man?"

"Old man…?" He took a step forward, cracking with knuckles with a loud pop.

"S-She don't care! And neither should you!"

"Oh?" Ib could tell how that one syllable frightened all the boys, their shaking hands having nothing to do with the cold. She watched in wonder as the boy quickly scooped a snowball into his hand and threw it at the man's face.

A gloved hand brushed off the fine powder from his nose and a demonic eye peeked out under the long fringe. "Oh? Are you begging for a snowball fight?"

"Y-yeah! I can beat you a-any day!"

"Good. I'll give you a snowball fight." The man kneeled down in the snow, scooping up armfuls of the frosty powder. The boys all took several steps back, arms held up defensively at the tall man's next move. Looking up, he smirked, displaying his left hand to them while continuing to shape a massive boulder with the other. "I'll give you a 5 second head start."

They ran for their lives.

They didn't survive.

Lying on the snow, the boys panted in exhaustion, white flakes and dust decorating their bodies. Ib waited patiently on the playground see-saw when she saw the man shakily walk towards her.

"I-I'm-" He panted out harshly, "S-Sor-"

Ib blinked up at him, realising that despite the cool act that he put up, the man was too tired from chasing the boys to even speak. She nodded, letting him catch his breath.

"I'm terribly sorry," he finally continued, breathing much more levelled, "for my nephew and his band of merry men. I'll make sure he apologises as soon as he gets up."

"Thanks for the rescue," Ib bowed, and when she looked up she found the prettiest smile on the man's face.

"It's cool, Ib-chan. Sorry for all the trouble."

She blinked, not quite as calm as usual, "You know my name?"

"You're the Tachibana's daughter, I believe?" She nodded. "I'm your dad's PA, and he talks about you a lot. So does my nephew."

"I see."

The man went to sit down on the other side of the see-saw and Ib lurched forward to grab the handles. She floated and stayed in mid-air, the man looking up at her grinning. She looked away shyly.

"Say, why didn't you fight the boys back, earlier?"

"I had a snowball in my hand."

"Oh?" His voice was teasing and light now. It was amazing how many different emotions that single syllable could hold.

"If you hadn't come in, I would have fought them off myself."

"Oh. I see." The hint of pride then nearly made her blush, wondering just how he had crushed her wall of reservation with one word. She hid her face with her large scarf, completely calm to the outside world, yet completely gleeful inside.


AN: It's been a while uv u I hope everyone had a lovely holiday with their friends and family, and that you're safe from the bitter cold C: Be prepared for the... swift incoming updates because I have been hella procrastinating like mad, and yet I want to finish Eventualities off before the new year C: See you in a few hours time.