Target 37: Kyoko's Heart Revisited
"Now, Sawada!" Tsuna nodded in light of Mochida's exaggerated announcement, if only because he was certain of what it signified. "This day is gonna be recorded in Kyoko's History," Mochida claimed proudly, with a hand grasping his chest area as if from the sheer intensity of the circumstances. "This shall be the day Tsunayoshi Sawada takes initiative once and for all and begins to worm his way into her heart, only to eventually crush it until it learns never to trust men again!"
Tsuna proceeded shake his head then, realizing he somehow was not fully aware of Mochida's thought process. "That's not—"
"No more excuses, Sawada!" Mochida countered, "It's go time, and that's final! You didn't forget your lunch this time, did you?"
Tsuna sighed. "Not this time," he responded, though with a grimace, wondering how he even was disappointed by the obvious. He's still thinking about getting revenge on Kyoko-chan...
"Good! We wouldn't want a repeat of last time, after all! Anyway, since we're walking more or less by the same time as yesterday, Kyoko is bound to show up right around..." Mochida paused as he surveyed his surroundings, only to spot the light brown hair characteristic of his vengeance target. He pointed in her direction, and glanced Tsuna's way with a sly smile. "Now. Are you ready, Sawada?"
"Y-yeah," Tsuna weakly stated, "I am."
"Like I said before, there's no way she'd ever reject you now, so it's no use chickening— Wait, you're ready?" Mochida blinked in surprise. "That was faster than all the last times. What happened?"
Noting Tsuna's hollow gaze the moment he started processing Mochida's question, Mochida frowned in confusion. "With Squalo's latest way of training me, I guess I'm just starting to realize how fleeting life is..." Tsuna muttered in a surprisingly matter-of-fact fashion, warranting a concerned look from Mochida.
"Just what the hell is that maniac doing to you? You're sounding like an old man," he said, crossing his arms as he pondered on Squalo.
"To be honest, I don't wanna talk about it," Tsuna responded in the same strangely apathetic manner, only to remind himself of the current situation quickly, and gulping. "Anyway, I still don't really know if I'll make it in talking to her, but I've got to at least try, right?" Besides, I've been improving in other areas, so it's not like I can even be called No-Good anymore. There's got to be hope for me now... Maybe.
Tsuna's apprehensive, though now honest gaze warranted a smile from Mochida, who could perceive the gathered courage of his underclassman to reach that moment. "Well, I can't say you're wrong there," he said. "I'm not gonna pry on whatever your weird tutor's doing with you, but don't go overdoing it, alright? Now, get going, my apprentice...!" He pushed Tsuna just like last time, but Tsuna was prepared for the gesture, and seemed almost as though he slid for Kyoko from the unnecessary, albeit friendly push.
While misguided, Tsuna did appreciate Mochida's support; distraughtly so. He wryly frowned as he reminded himself he was ultimately trying to help an upperclassman have revenge on his crush, even if he wasn't truly planning on turning her down if a miracle happened and Kyoko confessed to him. Rather, it was saddening Mochida's earnest attempts had such a demerit, and Tsuna shook his head, so that his resolve would not wane. Tsuna's steps towards the girl of his dreams were faster, along with his heart rate, which he was managing to ignore at a level he himself could not believe. Normally, this would be really scary, Tsuna thought, grimacing as he thought back only to yesterday: Squalo's threatening voice pushing him forward, Ryohei's genuine support, and his own apprehension in carefully picking each place to grasp; Tsuna rose his head high, walking even faster than before. But it doesn't compare to the kind of fear I felt trying to climb that mountain on my own...
... Already picturing Kyoko's face, however, Tsuna slowed down. It's not like I'm going to c-confess to her or anything like that. I'm just gonna greet her. It can't go that wrong... He took a deep breath, and found his heartbeat steady with every step. He watched out for his distance from Kyoko, and precisely before he could be at arm's length from her, he momentarily closed his eyes, if only so he would not be as affected by his surroundings. "G-good morning!"
. . .
"Huh?" Due to the unknown voice, Tsuna immediately opened his eyes. "Were you talking to me?" The girl who had stopped upon being greeted had turned around with a frown, but her eyes were smaller comparatively to the Kyoko Sasagawa Tsuna knew. Furthermore, her voice was a few octaves lower, and from her facial structure, it was clear the only things she had in common with Tsuna's crush was the hairstyle and color, beyond the fact that this is also a Namimori Middle School student. Tsuna reluctantly stepped back, and briefly glanced behind him, towards Mochida.
Said upperclassman lay flat on the ground, as though unable to stand simply from the incredulity of the result of this try.
... Immediately, Tsuna regretted all of the resolve he'd built up for the situation.
Author's Notes:
Since the last target, this story's gotten 3 more favorites and 3 more followers; thank you very much! Yet again, the quest for Kyoko's heart begins, never mind the fact Tsuna hasn't even said good morning to her yet, hahaha. I think the best part about it is how much Mochida's trying his best and is all invested in the results of each time Tsuna tries and fails. This time, though, Tsuna finally just goes on his own! It was nice writing Tsuna like this, being affected by his experiences and now trying his best; hopefully things will keep going well on his end and he'll finally go up to Kyoko?