CHAPTER 27:
WELCOME TO ANOTHER CHAPTER!
Thank you for reading A Not So Ordinary Life of a Background Character!
Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn
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Natsumi couldn't be blamed for staring, right? In front of her is a cheerful Yamamoto-kun next to a younger but still just as cheerful Yamamoto-kun. A few feet away from the pair is the ever grumpy Gokudera-kun next to a younger, hissing Gokudera-kun. Tsunayoshi-san is trying to calm down the hissing boy.
Speaking of, Tsunayoshi-san seems to be the odd one out since even Hana-chan and Kyoko-chan's younger counterparts are both females. For that matter, how did everyone suddenly have younger doppelgangers?
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No wait, Natsumi shouldn't involve herself with this.
Actually, why the heck did they even bring their doppelgangers to school?
Curious classmates eventually asked about them.
Sawada Tsunayoshi.
Gokudera Hayate.
Yamamoto Takashi.
Rokudo Kuromu.
Sasagawa Keiko.
Kurokawa Sakura.
All younger cousins from other prefectures except for Gokudera Hayate, who apparently came from Italy.
Seriously? What's with those names? The most creative one is Hana's so-called younger cousin, and the name just went from "flower" to a more specific type of flower.
No. Wait. Natsumi didn't notice anything. Haha. Younger cousins suddenly visiting at the same time and coming to school with them. Totally normal! Nothing to see here!
(Natsumi didn't really wanna get involved in whatever's happening here.)
Hana-chan would usually get up from whichever seat she temporarily occupied to go back to her classroom at the warning bell. This time, she stayed where she was at. If that wasn't a sign that something's about to happen, then Natsumi's a rock.
It didn't take long for Vongola-sensei to enter the classroom. He has a smile on that ramped up his charms to eleven. Meaning he's about to ask them to do something and not ask questions about it.
"Class is dismissed for today. I apologize for the late notice. Everyone can go home early today except for…." Vongola-sensei then began to enumerate the people with doppelgangers.
This is just…too obvious. It's too obvious that something's happening.
Natsumi and Obuchi-chan exchanged a wide-eyed look as they gathered their things. They hadn't taken out much from their bags. Most just had a notebook and their pencil cases out, so they finished fast.
Natsumi got up from her chair and gave her other friends a bit of a forced smile.
"You lucky b*tch," Hana hissed at her.
"Language!" "Language!" Double-o-Kyoko's reprimanded, causing Natsumi to snort.
The female Emiya gave her friends one last wave of goodbyes before heading out the door. She was in the hallways when she passed by sophomores from the other class who have their own doppelgangers.
Natsumi didn't know who to stare at. Younger, angrier-looking Vongola Xanxus with alarming scars on his face or the older, more unhinged Belphegor-san. That was the first time a doppelganger was actually older than the original.
In the end, Natsumi could only throw a concerned look at Vongola-kun. Vongola-kun merely gave her a dismissive hand gesture that meant, "don't ask any more questions, or I start throwing things."
Okay then…
She was on her way to the shoe lockers when an odd group entered the reception hall. It was that popular group of older students that were now enrolled in Vongola University. Each one of them was carrying toddler versions of them except for Luce di Giglio Nero. With her are two children. The older child was around ten years old and looked precisely like di Giglio Nero-sempai except for the hair and eye color. If di Giglio Nero-sempai's hair and eye color are dark gray, the ten-year-old had dark blue. The younger child, seemingly around four or five, also has dark blue hair and eyes.
There seems to be a somewhat…awkward (and slightly hostile) atmosphere surrounding them, so Natsumi immediately averted her eyes and pretended not to notice them.
On Natsumi's way to the gate, she encountered Hibari-san leading I-Pin-chan, holding onto Pinpin-chan, who was then holding hands with little Fong-kun. Natsumi exchanged a brief greeting with them before rushing away.
Whatever the f*ck's happening, she probably needs some distance so as not to get caught it in.
It wasn't until Natsumi came face-to-face with Haru-chan and her younger doppelganger outside the gates that she suddenly felt left out
Natsumi knows she shouldn't feel left out. Whatever's happening, it could only mean trouble. And she doesn't like trouble, thank you. But…out of their usual group of friends, only she didn't have a doppelganger. Heck, Haru-chan is from another school, and she got a doppelganger!
It's just so hard not to feel left out, okay?!
Natsumi released a sigh and proceeded to roll into her sheets, creating a sushi effect.
She should be writing right now. She really should. Just that…after the success of her fifth book, her dear readers picked the protagonist of her sixth book. More accurately, protagonists.
The protagonists of her sixth book are the two masked assassins from two different groups. The female protagonist of her fifth book and her brother had been pursued by both groups for the bounty placed on their heads. As opposing groups, the assassins from both sides would equally attack the other as they would the sibling pair. The most troublesome, the most persistent, and the last of their pursuers were the two protagonists of her sixth book.
Natsumi had to admit that she probably set herself up by making them so interesting. Not only were the pair of masked assassins the enemies of the brother-sister pair, they were also each other's enemies. After weeks of pursuit, when only the two assassins were left of the original pursuants, the two finally decided to work together. This fresh partnership nearly one-upped the brother-sister pair who had had months of practice and experience in fighting together. The two assassins worked almost seamlessly for the next nine days of pursuit. But when one died, the other didn't even give any outward reaction.
The biggest reveal was when the brother-sister pair decided to give the two a proper burial, upon unmasking them, the assassins had very similar faces.
So yes, it was a cliché "they were siblings all along."
And yes, they died.
Natsumi didn't know which of those two points she hated more.
The first one was one of the most used plots of all time. Two siblings separated at birth and joined enemy factions. What happened after had very few variations. Natsumi should have had a better time making a plot out of this cliché, but she really didn't know how to spice things up without somehow getting sued for using a similar plot in hundreds of other existing stories.
The second one should be self-explanatory. They died. Natsumi hated killing off characters if it weren't such a good way to advance the plot, strengthen or break relationships, and deepen characters' personalities. Asking her to kill off her protagonists? It made her dread every word she added to the book.
"Mou, you brought this on yourself," was Editor-san's only comment when Natsumi went to them for advice.
Gee. Thanks.
Natsumi unrolled herself from her sushi-blanket cage and slumped down on the chair next to her study table. She opened her laptop, opened her document editor, and then stared blankly at her screen. She read and reread everything she had written of the plot so far (which is not much), and still…no idea is popping into her head.
Unable to bear the sight of the unchanged document, Natsumi not so gently slammed her laptop close.
Okay…going back to being miserable about being left out.
Should she go back under her blanket too?
Evil twins, time travel, or dimension travel. Natsumi decided it was one of those three…or somehow a combination of two or all three of those.
Natsumi ducked low behind the racks of clothes as she not-so-slowly walked away. From what she overheard, Tsuna-chan's mother had the idea of shopping for Tsunayoshi-san. Somehow, Aunt Sawada decided to buy Gokudera-kun and his cousin clothes as well. Apparently, Bovino-kun and a six-year-old doppelganger of his heard about the outing and decided to tag along. And, as with anything that involved Tsuna-chan, the number of these hanger-ons increased exponentially over time. There are now 8 members of Tsuna-chan's members plus their counterparts following along on Aunt Sawada's enthusiastic shopping trip.
Whelp. Make that 10 plus their doubles as Hibari-san and Hibari-sempai approached the group with their own doppelgangers in tow.
Just as Natsumi turned the corner, there was a resounding crash accompanied by shrieks.
Yep. Lucky her.
Natsumi decided on a take-out from TakeSushi. She shouldn't have. It should have been obvious that she shouldn't have. Alas, she was craving sushi and there was a reason no other sushi place could thrive within a mile of TakeSushi. Because the moment she walked in, she wish she could turn around and walk right out without it looking suspicious.
"Emiya-chan!" Yamamoto-kun called with a grin as he waved enthusiastically at her.
"Yamamoto-kun," Natsumi greeted back with a smile.
"Dinner too? Why don't you eat with us?" he invited. The "us" he was referring to just happens to be him, his doppelganger, Gokudera-kun, and his own double, and apparently Collonello-sempai and Mirch-sempai with their toddler counterparts. Weird combination but okay.
Gokudera-kun merely nodded at her, his counterpart completely ignoring her unlike Yamamoto-kun's doppelganger giving her a wave and a grin. Meanwhile, the other two pairs didn't even greet her, too busy arguing among themselves. If one could call it arguing since Mirch-sempai is turning really flustered…like her toddler counterpart. Hopefully, Natsumi would be out of the sushi place before Mirch-sempai metaphorically and literally explode in embarrassment.
Natsumi privately wondered if Mirch-sempai's toddler counterpart has the same tendency.
"I'm getting a take-out. I can't stay long," Natsumi replied, sounding appropriately remorseful. Then she suddenly felt a little bit guilty and needed to give a reason. "I gotta make a call." She nearly smacked herself in the face. Really? A call? She could just call here! "Through my landline." Good. That's good. "To my brother, you know, overseas." Great. That sounds more believer. Awesome fib, Natsumi!
"Aw, that's too bad," Yamamoto-kun remarked.
Thankfully, Natsumi got through ordering, waiting for her food, and walking out of the sushi place with no other incidents. Involving her anyway. She was pretty sure Yamamoto Tsuyoshi-san should be stopping Yamamo-kun and Yamamoto Takashi-san from sparring instead of giving them kendo tips as it happened.
Natsumi was on her way home when she saw a familiar blur with pale hair, this time twinned. She pressed herself against the decorated cement wall of someone's front yard as two figures blurred through the sidewalk.
There was a distant but still very loud yell of "EXTREME COMPETITION."
There was an email from Vongola-sensei saying their classes are canceled until further notice with several attachments of exercises and self-study guides for all subjects. Yay.
With nothing to do, Natsumi opened her document draft once more. And stared. Just stared.
She minimized the document and opened her browser. Whelp. Maybe cat videos would help inspire her a little?
"Natsu, can we cancel this afternoon?" Kikyo asked over the phone, sounding a bit stiff and hesitant.
"It's alright," Natsumi reassured even though she was a little disappointed. This is the first time Kikyo canceled on their weekly Tuesday afternoon dates. It probably won't be the last. "Is everything all right?"
There was a few seconds of silence on the other line. "We'll see."
"Ah." Natsumi didn't know what to say to that. "Good luck on that?" She grimaced when her tone came out doubtful.
There was a hum at the other end of the line. "I love you. Bye."
"Love you too. Bye."
Natsumi blinked.
There's Byakuran.
And then there's an even crazier younger Byakuran.
She slammed the door on their faces.
Well…tried to. Byakuran stuck a foot and prevented the door from closing. Maybe Natsumi should invest in a surveillance camera directed at the front door? Or maybe install a peephole?
With a flat expression, Natsumi slowly opened the door widely. "Come in," she felt as done as her tone implied and she barely interacted with the double Byakuran.
Younger Byakuran didn't even bother introducing himself and just swaggered in like he owned the place, much like Byakuran really. "So…is your mac and cheese really as delicious as le olde one crows about?" the younger albino asked as he sprawled on her couch.
"Yep," it was Byakuran who answered, "And so are her homemade marshmallows."
The younger white-haired teen perked up at that. As expected, any Byakuran would be more interested in the prospect of marshmallows than mac and cheese.
Natsumi just shot her best friend a look. "You do realize that I made the usual amount of marshmallows and that by bringing him here, you'd have to share?"
Byakuran's grin froze. The younger Byakuran slowly sat up from the couch. The two made eye contact for two seconds before Byakuran bolted to the kitchen, followed closely by his counterpart.
Natsumi pinched the bridge of her nose when she heard what sounds like bodies hitting the floor followed by a loud bang. "Rule still applies! You break it, you replace it!" she yelled at them.
The first time Byakuran broke one of Natsumi's appliances, it was the microwave. The albino insisted it wasn't his fault so he wasn't paying for anything using his roundabout nonsense logic. She gritted her teeth and nodded.
A few days after that, Byakuran decided to raid her fridge and was horrified to see it empty of the usual snacks and desserts. When he confronted her about it, she answered she was saving up cash to buy a new microwave. Byakuran looked like she slapped him with a fish.
The next day, a brand new microwave neatly packaged appeared on her front door "mysteriously."
After that, Byakuran would replace anything he broke. In fact, he became rather careful with her things after that.
With that in mind, Natsumi let the two wrestle in her kitchen as she climbed back up the stairs. She still has a few exercises and several "reaction papers" to do.
She wondered how long it will take for them to remember they could just ask her to make more marshmallows.
When Natsumi went back down, the kitchen was surprisingly intact. The living room on the other hand…
She glared at the two heads of white hair. "What were you both thinking?!"
She made the two sit in a seiza position in front of her, surrounded by the chaos they made. The couch and armchairs were overturned. The coffee table was smashed right in the middle. The TV's screen was cracked. The old lamp was on the floor on its side, the bulb broken. The indoor plant was uprooted for some reason, soil now dirtying the floor.
"That you need the kitchen to make lunch?" the younger Byakuran answered her while blinking innocently at her.
Byakuran hit him in the back of the head.
Natsumi directed her glare at the younger albino, "What's your name again?"
"Byakuran," the younger one shamelessly grinned at her.
"Right. I'm calling you Shiro."
"Creative," was the snarky reply.
A glare had him clamming up real fast. "So, Shiro…any other reason why you thought you could just smash up my living room?"
Another innocent blinking, "Because he'll pay for it?" He then pointed a thumb at his older version.
The older albino facepalmed.
Natsumi gave Shiro a bland smile, "I think you forgot one important detail."
Now the blink looked confused.
The smile on her face turned into a grin, "That the place had to be cleaned up first before any replacing happens."
Realization dawned on the younger's face while the older albino glared at his counterpart.
"Thank you for volunteering your time, Shiro, Byakuran. The cleaning supplies are in the storage closet upstairs," she cheerfully informed them. She had started walking towards the kitchen when she stopped and looked back at the two, "And oh, you could have just asked me to make more instead of wrestling around like undisciplined toddlers." She didn't wait for their reaction and continued.
Natsumi wasn't entirely heartless. The marshmallows waiting for the two white-haired teens were triple the usual amount instead of just double. The two albinos fought about them anyway, even when she portioned the marshmallows into perfect halves.
Sometimes she felt like her time in the orphanage was just training to deal with Byakuran.
Or well…Byakurans.
(Heavens, was she sure the apocalypse hadn't happened while she wasn't looking?)
It was well into the night and Natsumi was just done. She had been trying to kick out the two menaces for some time now to no avail. Even when she was no longer being polite about it and outright pointed at the door and shouted for them to leave…nothing. It was like she no longer had any power over them after feeding them the marshmallows.
Somehow all the things they broke had been replaced without her noticing while she was washing the dishes. This includes the TV, which the two now wholeheartedly give their attention to even as Natsumi told them plenty of times, it's 9 PM already.
She wasn't even being polite anymore. She just wants them out. She literally told them so to their faces. They just…don't really care about her feelings in the matter.
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I got a finger on my dominant hand injured, nearly affecting my whole hand's mobility and general usefulness. I've been told it was my own fault because the injury wasn't initially as worse as it is now. Just that I ignored it in favor of my busy schedule.
Also, apparently, it's depression if you tried to kill yourself? Who knew? *awkward laugh* Anyway, I'm in therapy about it and recently have been getting back on my feet. My first clue is probably that I began writing again, even in increments. It was awesome opening that word document knowing you have the motivation to write about an idea, or that you had any idea at all.
I had to offload a couple of things like my earning my Masters and having lesser responsibilities at work but at least my therapist isn't threatening me with forced hospitalization, right? Right? Right?
So yeah…these past few months just tested my tolerance, patience, sanity, and apparently continuity.
Anyway, I just wanted to share this chapter. I don't know when I'll be "okay" enough again to continue writing this story. My days are still a hit and miss, and I've never been more thankful for my accumulated leaves.
Stay safe everyone. And well, if the pressure becomes too much, don't hesitate to offload.
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END OF CHAPTER!
