"Caiossu!" the infant chirped happily, it was as if the events of the morning hadn't happened.
"What're you doing here?" Reina demanded. "Better yet, how did I get here?" she amended her first question as she glanced around.
Somehow she was on the roof of the middle school as the sun as just beginning to descend from its zenith.
"You were shot with the Ten Year Bazooka," Reborn stated with a mysterious smirk. "Your future-self came here and we were talking.
"What were you talking about?" the brunet asked warily.
"Oh, nothing," the Arcoballeno's mysterious smirk turned mischievous, "she just said something about a meeting of some kind, and then you swapped places."
"Huh," Reina was relieved that he hadn't had much time to really ask any questions. "So I was in the future?" she asked with a slight frown; she highly doubted that the technology existed to make that happen.
"Yep, ten years," the baby confirmed with a nod, "How was it?"
"Disappointing," she sniffed, wiping some dirt from her palms. "Not a single sign of a jet pack or flying car."
"And here I was thinking you didn't have a sense of humor," Reborn gave a sort of amused snort as he jumped off the air conditioning unit he had been seated on. "I hope you're not late for your meeting."
"Me too?" Reina frowned in mild confusion; what was the proper response for that?
The day was slowly waning away; it seemed like the sun hadn't moved an inch since Reina encountered Reborn. She had resigned herself to sleeping in the cropped grass of her back yard, waiting for tomorrow to come; though what she would do tomorrow she had no idea. Maybe she could play some video games… but no, there were still some things that she needed to fix around her house. She groaned and rolled over onto her side, she did not want to do any work today.
She dimly heard a car park in the street followed by a door slamming. Someone's having a guest, how lucky for that person. She bitterly reflected to herself on how she never had wanted visitors, and she was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice when a set of footsteps padded through the grass, but she did notice when a pair of grey shoes stopped right in front her.
"Putting your free time to good use, I see," a man's voice drawled with just a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Tch, shouldn't you be studying or something?" she muttered, glaring up at the man looking down at her.
If she hadn't known better she would've sworn it was Soto, the two were almost identical; almost. It was his dark brown, almost black eyes that set him apart from his father
"What're you even doing here, Yoshiro? Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Busy?" Yoshiro echoed with a scoff, "Doing what?"
"Tanning," Reina answered, settling back onto her back.
"In shorts and a t-shirt?"
"Yes, awkward tan lines are in this season. Trust me, I'm a girl."
"Well then," he chuckled, "I know better than to argue with that kind of expertise…"
"Damn straight," she grinned, "now move along, you're standing in my sun."
"Yes well," he sniffed slightly, "I can assure you that it'll be there tomorrow and for millions of years to come. I have more important things to talk to you about than your tan."
"What could possibly be more important than that?"
"Well, there's my graduation for one," he pointed out, "that's coming up in a few days."
"Oh yeah," Reina acted like she just remembered; "which one is this one? There's just been so many; I thought you were done with that phase by now."
"Well you know me," Yoshiro started as he stretched his arms above his head, "I just love to have extra letters after my name."
"And you know me," she said with a faux smile, "I just don't care."
"That's unfortunate to hear," he smiled back, "'cause you're going anyway."
"Hmm," Reina paused for a moment. "I'll have to move tea with the Queen, but I think I can squeeze you in."
"That's good to hear, because it's tomorrow."
"A bit short notice, don't you think?" she asked, getting to her feet.
"Well, I figured since you burn all your mail sometimes before you even read it sending an invitation would be pointless," Yoshiro shrugged. "Besides, I didn't want to miss the chance to see my darling little sister," he cooed, pinching her cheek.
"Don't call me that," she frowned, slapping his hand away. "I'm reasonably sure that's an insult in some cultures…"
About five minutes into the ceremony Reina had snuck out the back. She wasn't much for formal things, so she figured she would just wait outside until it was over. After standing around for two cycles of the nearby traffic lights she decided to take a walk, stretch her legs and whatnot.
The neon lights were just beginning to blink in bar windows advertising sake and food, and a light drizzle started to mist the pavement. It was always times like this that made the downtown of any city appealing to Reina. Couples sprinted through the precipitation with hands clasped tightly, and deep, honest laughter rang out from the bar doorways.
It almost seemed surreal as she waited for a crosswalk to signal it was safe to go, almost as if she was living someone else's life. She would've been the first one to step off the curb if a girl dressed in a middle school uniform hadn't darted past her, intent on scooping up a kitten shivering in the middle of the street. Tire squealed against the wet pavement as a car came screaming down the street, and time seemed to slow. It felt like she was moving at half speed as she reached out to grab the back of the girl's blouse, but the damp fabric slipped from her fingers; she was too slow.
The car didn't even brake as it came down the lane and blasted through the intersection. The girl flew through the air, leaving a spray of red, ethereal in the street lights. Then time returned to normal. People screamed, others clamored, but none moved to help the girl.
"Call an ambulance!" Reina ordered as she sprinted into the street to the girl's side. "What's your name?" she asked the girl who stared up at her with glazed eyes, she knew the girl was alive by the shallow rise and fall of her chest.
"Nagi," the girl croaked, blood bubbling up past her mouth.
"Nice to meet you, Nagi-chan," Reina said as she scanned the girl for injuries, "I'm Reina. I need you to stay with me, okay?" she said, gently wiping the blood that marred the girl's pale skin. "An ambulance is on its way; you're going to be fine."
"What the Hell are you looking at?" she snapped at the bystanders that had started to circle around them, glaring at the few who had pulled out their phones.
"Rei… na," Nagi's gurgling breath became shallower, bringing Reina's attention back to her.
"Shh," Reina hushed the struggling girl, smoothing her rain-slicked hair from her forehead. "You're going to be fine, the ambulance is almost here."
"Thank," Nagi coughed, sending droplets of blood mixed with spittle into the air. "Thank you," she whispered, her eyes unfocussed and a low, hiss of a breath passed through her lips.
"Nagi-chan?" Reina called out the girl, shaking her gently. "Nagi! ¡Joder!" she hissed, glancing around the intersection. "Where the Hell is that ambulance?"
Translations:
Joder - Fuck
