The next day came fast and it went just as usual as the last few. However, when Socorro met Tsuna by the front gate that morning, she seemed much happier. Tsuna looked as if she was no longer hiding anything from Socorro, causing Tsuna to be much more open with her. This made Socorro feel accomplished, realizing that she helped Tsuna's life out quite a bit. She could feel their friendship getting stronger by the minute.
When lunch period came around, Tsuna did the usual routine of helping Socorro out with eating the food. By now, Socorro was getting better and not failing as much. This led to both of them finishing their meals earlier than before. They both threw their trash away and walked back to the table they were sitting at.
Tsuna then said, "Motty, come here.", in Japanese as she sat back down, gesturing with her hand. Socorro sat down next to her, interested. Using her book, Tsuna said to her: "Me teach... you word." Socorro gave a confused stare and didn't know what to respond with. Tsuna gave a response in the form of holding up her pointer finger, meaning "hold on", and took something out of her book bag.
Clasped in her hands was a thick brightly-colored magazine, with the word "Coolest" in stylish English letters at the top. The cover bore a picture of a school entryway upon the first day of classes resuming. Tsuna smiled widely and said, "My favorite magazine!" Socorro smiled back and looked at it again, knowing it was a magazine even though she didn't understand Tsuna's previous statement. Upon closer inspection, Socorro noticed a publisher on the lower right corner with the name "Kismet Publishing" on it; she couldn't read it, or anything else on the magazine cover.
After looking at the cover print, Socorro looked back up at Tsuna, who then started to use her book to explain herself. "Need learn... unformal word.", she said after a few moments. Socorro gave another confused look in reaction, prompting Tsuna to say: "Learn shorter words... that only thing... like magazines teach you!" Socorro thought about what she said and then nodded. Socorro then asked quietly, "Why that magazine?", in an effort to help Tsuna learn Portuguese better. Tsuna flipped through and said, "It magazine for... teenagers.", in a confident manner. Socorro smiled at her, proud of her improving translation skills. "Okay. I want... to learn.", Socorro said, without the use of her book. This caused Tsuna to smile wider and say: "Okay! I'm excited to show you this."
Tsuna then opened the magazine and placed it flat on the table next to her translation book, lining the two up side by side. Socorro looked over her shoulder while Tsuna began to guide her through the contents of the magazine, with Tsuna translating some of the content at a reasonable pace.
As they went through the pages one by one, Tsuna stopped at regular intervals to teach Socorro some of the phrases and slang words written in the text. She would have her understand what it meant, what it was a slang for, and have her try mixing it in her sentences with proper pronunciation. The lesson made Socorro feel better, as she was learning more and more about the language while sounding more natural at the same time. It also helped that most of the magazine's writing had a very casual, hip, and fun feel to it; "This magazine is really insightful for helping me learn this language.", Socorro thought.
The contents of the magazine itself were also very unique and nontraditional. Since the magazine was aimed at teens, it had articles and activities in it that made both of them feel understood and intrigued into reading more. Eventually, they both got off track and just straight up started to read it without lessons, mainly Tsuna. Socorro translated with her book slowly while reading. Tsuna then started to talk about the magazine while reading: "I adore this line of magazines! They used to be really popular a few years back, but have since started to decline somewhat. But I still love them! I always like how I can read one and feel like it was written just for me..." She then smiled softly and continued: "That's prolly because most of the articles are written and edited by the same person. She manages this entire magazine's writing and content. I love her work, it always has a friendly and gentle feel to it. I relate to the content quite a bit." She then stopped after she looked up from the magazine, seeing Socorro's confused yet attentive expression. "Oh! Sorry again, Motty!", Tsuna said while chuckling to herself, embarrassed about her habit of forgetting to translate once again. "It's fine.", Socorro said back. Tsuna then went back to teaching her slang after she finished laughing to herself.
They both went through multiple sections of the magazine. Going through articles about school, malls, video games, anime, and what's popular among adolescents currently. There was even a part about surveys and story reports conducted by the editor on young life, with meaningful advice and anecdotes on never giving up on dreams. This section was Tsuna's favorite, as she liked hearing motivational stuff and being inspired; Socorro could also feel touched by it, feeling the wisdom and emotions in the words.
There were also a few sections near the back with multiple activities such as crossword puzzles, word searches, comics, and a Q&A. But the last page had something that caught Socorro's eye. It was a horoscope that used astrology for readings. It gave out the readings for the day in traditional horoscope fashion. While she thought astrology was fascinating, that is not what made Socorro so surprised by the page. What was interesting was that the horoscope was credited to be made by an actual certified astrologist who provides the readings in each issue. The page didn't reveal their actual name, just a nickname that was popular, "Astrologer Flamenco", in non-Japanese text. This made Socorro surprised because she recognized the word Flamenco, it was a popular Spanish dance back where she came from. "Why would that be mentioned here of all places? This is interesting. I'll ask Tsuna about it.", Socorro thought rapidly. She then turned to Tsuna and asked in her native language: "Who is Astrologer Flamenco? Why was that name used?" Tsuna then picked up her book and began translating, eventually saying: "Astrologist... very accurate and popular! I don' know why name... used." Socorro nodded in response and thanked Tsuna, thinking: "I guess they used the name because they know something about Spanish culture. That is great! I guess there are some people who study other cultures all over the world." Tsuna and her then went back to reading and learning, with Tsuna trailing off and talking to herself very quietly for a little bit: "I'm not really into horoscopes, but I heard Astrologer Flamenco is great at readings and is getting married soon. I would love to meet her, I think she is coming here next month for the annual astrology convention held at our convention center. That would be cool to see..." Socorro gave up trying to listen and paid her no mind.
They spent the rest of the lunch period reading the Coolest magazine and learning slang together. Once they started to head back to class, Tsuna told Socorro something in Portuguese before separating: "After school, come... with me. We do... somethin' cool!" Socorro then replied, "Okay. See you later!", in Japanese to practice some more. They split and trotted back to class, with Socorro feeling relieved that nothing bad happened at lunch like the other day.
…
After class ended for the day, Tsuna led Socorro out of school and headed toward the opposite side of town. They got on a bus and arrived at their destination after a 15 minute ride. The place Tsuna wanted to take Socorro was a small park on the very edge of Sakin-ku, it was a large green clearing with a sidewalk path looping around the area and going into the deep forest before coming back out, finishing the loop. The path looked like it was designed for walking around on, likely for exercise purposes. There were a few benches and large trees on the side of the path as well.
"This is Aimai Park!", Tsuna said passionately, "I love it here. It's my favorite place to walk around, explore, and exercise!" She said all of that to herself in a way, most likely getting too caught up in excitement to notice that Socorro was struggling to translate what she said with her book. Tsuna then apologized again after noticing the mistake she made, pulling out her book and saying, "This... Aimai Park.", to Socorro. She then waved Socorro over, "Come... You like this!", she said as she walked on ahead towards the path into the trees. Socorro followed, curious about what Tsuna was going to do with her. "This place is nice. It looks like a great location to exercise.", she noted while following.
They proceeded to walk along the path until they reached the section where it starts to go into the woods. Tsuna led a nervous Socorro into the forest, assuring her that she will be fine. The sidewalk continued through a somewhat lengthy narrow path past a large section of trees.
On the end of the path, an old-fashioned gray Japanese style gate stood tall in front of another clearing in the trees. The sidewalk continued past it and ended at a very large traditional-looking shrine. The shrine looked very old, with worn down foundation and faded paint on it. Socorro was amazed, she had only read about Japanese shrines in books before. "This is amazing! It looks so old and ancient. I know about how sacred these shrines are in this culture...", she thought intensely.
Tsuna saw her reaction and smiled, "Pretty,... isn't it? It very old. It called... the Alaya Shrine.", she stated while looking at her book. "The Alaya Shrine... was only thing... here in beginning. Rest... just forest. No one... know... where it come from. It kept here... safe... for sacred... values.", she explained. Socorro thanked her in response, fascinated and glad Tsuna was trying to help her out.
"But... we not here... for shrine.", Tsuna stuttered out. Socorro gave a confused look, prompting Tsuna to respond with: "We here... to play... game." Socorro thought for a second before replying with, "Game?", in Japanese with a puzzled tone. "Yep! It's called "Persona", it's a very old urban legend here in Japan. I always wanted to try it out.", she said in Japanese to take a breather, she then switched to Portuguese with her book: "The... Persona Game... is ritual... kinda like... Bloody Mary. Associated with... occult." Socorro was fascinated by Tsuna's explanation, wondering why she never heard of this activity before. "...Is this ritual safe...?", she asked with a worried voice. Tsuna spent a couple of minutes translating before replying with: "Yessy! The Persona Game... is no harm,... it is said... to grant... player's wish... and see future!" Socorro then nodded and said, "Okay. Let us do it.", no longer worried. Internally, she was skeptical of this ritual, "Can it really grant ideals? Wouldn't that be dangerous?... No. It is just a little game, and Tsuna said it was harmless. Persona might be kind of fun, even though I am not really into this supernatural stuff. I'll participate to pass time and to please her, I promised after all...", she rationalized in her mind.
Tsuna then proceeded to teach Socorro the basics of the Persona Game. Tsuna first picked a fairly open area just behind the shrine, but not an area that's too barren, with it having some small trees. Tsuna decided to use the two-person version of the game; she explained to Socorro how any number of people could play it but she used that particular version because it was the easiest to perform. She then explained the rules on how the game works: Two people stand still facing away from each other in the center of the play area, then one person walks all the way to the end of the area (with Tsuna and Socorro using the trees as markers), that person then shouts something along the lines of "Persona! Persona! Come here!" while raising their hand in the air, the second person then does the same as the first one, they both then walk 90 degrees counterclockwise while still facing away from each other, they then both shout the summoning line again at the same time, then they both repeat the previous process until they are back into their original positions, they both then walk backwards to the center of the area still not facing each other once again into the starting positions, and the game finally ends when they both say the line again and face each other.
Tsuna and Socorro both played the game, with Tsuna starting and leading it. She shouted, "Persona! Persona! C'mon over here!", in a loud cheery voice at the end of the ritual. Socorro then said, "Persona. Persona, come here.", in a quieter and less loud voice instead. They then turned and faced each other, looking into each other's eyes.
A moment passed. Nothing happened. "Huh...! I guess it WAS just a silly tall tale after all.", Tsuna said with slight disappointment in her voice after another minute of silence. Socorro shrugged her shoulders in response. Tsuna put her hands on her sides and said, "Oh well! Life's too short to be disappointed by a children's rumor.", in a reassuring way to herself. She put her book away and said, "That fun. Motty, let's leave... now. It getting... late.", in Portuguese. Socorro then nodded and smiled at her as she started to leave the clearing they were in.
As Socorro followed Tsuna out from behind Alaya Shrine, she heard a shimmering sound from the woods next to her. The sound was like a magical breezing sound, shimmering gracefully. She then quickly turned to her left and saw something amazing for a split second: In the tree line next to the shrine, she saw a golden butterfly fluttering swiftly into the forest. It's color was not that of regular yellow seen on some normal butterflies, but it was that of a literal shining gold hue; the butterfly was glowing brightly like the sun. It left a quickly-disappearing trail of bright gold dust behind it. The way the butterfly flew was notably fast, but it almost seemed to struggle to keep itself in the air a couple of times, like it was injured. It disappeared behind a nearby tree just as Socorro was able to process what it was.
She then tapped her best friend's shoulder and said, "Tsuna!", in a loud voice, something she rarely does. Tsuna whipped her head around in shock, not used to Socorro raising her voice. "What is it, Motty!?", she asked in a concerned way. Socorro then pointed to the spot in the trees to where she saw the golden butterfly, but it was unfortunately out of sight by then. Putting her arm down, Socorro hesitated before saying: "I saw a gold butterfly over there." Tsuna managed to get the idea of what she said. "That's cool! I love butterflies! They're so adorable!", Tsuna said in response. Socorro was now blushing, embarrassed at making a fool of herself. "Don't be embarrassed, Motty! I care about what you say.", Tsuna reassured her. She then continued walking towards the shrine's exit. Socorro decided to forget about the event, dropping it from her mind. She couldn't help but think: "Why was that butterfly glowing? That shouldn't be possible... I want to know so badly! I hope I see it again."
They both exited the shrine's clearing and headed back to the bus stop. They then took the bus back to Socorro's home after leaving Aimai Park. Tsuna took the bus back to her house after she waved Socorro goodbye as she got off the bus.
As she shut the door to her room, Socorro all of a sudden felt extremely dizzy and fatigued. Her head felt light and was in extreme pain with a sense of tiredness on top of it. It was so bad, she clutched her head in pain and knelt down. "Ah...!", she grunted as it continued on. It was then gone after another moment, the pain and the tired feeling just vanished out of thin air. This made her confused, "What? That's strange... I never heard of pain disappearing this fast before. Must have been a long, busy day causing it.", she said to herself.
She proceeded to do her usual nighttime routine without any further incident. She then got into bed and, unlike before, fell asleep very fast. She was satisfied with her lengthy and productive day, learning a lot about the language and the culture for her new life.
…
When the next day of school rolled around, something unusual happened at the beginning of the class period. The principal came on the loudspeaker to announce that the school was holding an assembly. He said it was crucial to the school year and that all students must report to the gym building to attend the assembly. Everyone then left the classroom to head to the gym, including Socorro, who just followed what all of her classmates were doing, unsure of what was exactly going on.
After Socorro and the other students in her class arrived at the gymnasium, they were separated into a specifically designed section for them. Socorro realized that this meant she couldn't be next to Tsuna, who could help her understand what was going on. Socorro was put with her class into a few rows near the front middle of the student body, right in front of the stage and podium. She felt nervous and awkward, with her being next to people she had barely even seen before. She looked around to see if she could spot Tsuna. She eventually was able to spot her in the back of the right side of the gym with some of her classmates. Tsuna made eye contact with Socorro after a few seconds of looking as well. They waved and smiled toward each other, with Socorro doing it less intensely so she wouldn't draw attention to herself. They then looked away from each other, since they realized the assembly was about to start. Socorro brought her translation book with her, hoping she would be able to understand at least some of what was happening at the moment.
Principal Goto got on the stage once all of the students were put in their spots. He then stood on the podium and leaned over to test the microphone, it worked fine. "Good morning, young student body.", he began, "I'm going to be quite honest here. This school year has been terrible so far!" This caused the crowd of students to start talking loudly to each other. "What is he talking about?", one boy said. "How has it been terrible? We are still in the first week!", another one said.
"QUIET!", Principal Goto yelled. This caused all of the students to shut up instantly, as well as frighten Socorro. "This is why! Some of the students this year are reckless and troublemaking. It makes my school look bad! We don't have any good traits compared to other schools. No good academics or sports!", Principal Goto ranted, "As you all know, I hate anyone that isn't well mannered or normal! Any student that isn't normal is a worthless person in my school. A student that is any different from my expectations is bad. That's why I will fix the order here with reformation. I used our precious time to construct a future career seminar so I can save your futures from danger and return to normalcy with hard-working students!" Everyone was shocked at Principal Goto's speech, he was never this angry and harsh before. Socorro was confused, she couldn't keep up with the principal's fast speech enough to determine what the event was about but she was wondering why he was so angry. She also noticed how the other school staff didn't do anything to stop the principal, they thought it was okay for him to talk to the students like that. She also looked to where Tsuna was standing, they both exchanged confused and concerned stares.
The principal continued his rant. "At this seminar, you will hear from multiple guest speakers about career opportunities. I want you all to learn from them to become better, normal students.", Principal Goto said harshly, "I would like to introduce our first and most important guest speaker..." He then paused and waited for the speaker to get on the stage. Principal Goto then finished introducing the guest speaker: "He is the famed young telemarketer from Tokyo. Haruto Miyazaki!"
The man named Haruto Miyazaki walked towards the podium. His appearance was unique: He was a young man of average height and weight, he was thinly built, he had fair skin, he had large blue eyes paired with black circular-framed glasses, he had short black hair that was slicked back at the front, and he wore a black business suit with a black tie and an unusually colored orange undershirt.
He then stood on the podium and took Principal Goto's place. He leaned over the mic and began to start speaking. "...Hi, I guess.", he began awkwardly, "As you heard from Goto's INTERESTING speech, I am a guest speaker for this boring seminar." This introduction caused many of the students, including Tsuna, to get wide-eyed at Haruto's eccentric speech. "I really didn't want to be here, but I needed the extra paycheck, so here I am! My name is Haruto Miyazaki, but I'm sure you already knew that, except for the stupid ones that don't know how to listen.", he said sarcastically. Socorro was able to translate some of his speech due to his slow speaking speed; she was surprised at his attitude.
"As I know you heard, I am a well known salesman in the telemarket business.", Haruto said, resuming his speech. "I assume you know what a telemarketer does, unless you are an ignorant softie who doesn't get out in the world. I sell products through phone lines, it's pretty darn simple to understand.", he said with extreme sarcasm in his voice. This caused some of the students near Socorro to whisper about him. "Telemarketers are rude and annoying. I bet he's the same.", one girl said. "Yeah, he probably scams people. It is such a useless skill...", another said.
Haruto changed the focus of the speech: "When it comes to careers, however. Make sure you choose something that you enjoy, otherwise you will hate doing it and would not be worth the money made with it." He then stopped for a moment and pulled a bright silver pocket watch out of his coat pocket. Haruto then continued his statement: "This is my grandfather's watch. It is quite old and it is a precious family heirloom I have inherited. My grandfather was very wealthy and it is my dream in life to become rich much like him. I intend to do that in order to preserve my family's heritage as well as help my family out with it." He then placed the watch back into his pocket and put his hands together in a determined motion. "However, I intend to accomplish my dream by obtaining wealth through what I like to do, not what makes the most money! So I can prove all those idiots who say otherwise, they are wrong. Follow what you like to do, focusing on just money will ruin your life!", he shouted passionately, "I chose telemarketing because I like to sell things through exciting mediums like technology, it also makes decent money, so it works for me. Even though I became popular, I just wanted to stress that I'm not like the other stereotypical telemarketers you see on TV. I try to talk with the customer to sell them the item, not shove it in their face like other fools like to do. That annoys me too..." Some students near Tsuna reacted to this statement. "He's lying. He clearly scams people, all those telemarketers are the same type of greedy scumbags...", one boy said. "That's right. Looks like he's in it for the money after all... Why does he only want money? That contradicts his main message!", one girl said in response. Tsuna was puzzled by this, she didn't understand why the students reacted the way they did. "It's like they ignored Haruto's speech and still judged him based on his job and dream alone...", she said quietly to herself.
"Take my advice seriously. I'm a certified adult, I can drink and be trusted after all! Some of you will be sensible and listen, others will be idiots who won't listen and hate life. Do whatever you wish, just think about it carefully.", he continued. "That's all I have. Thank God, I'm so done with this crap! Goodbye, and good riddance.", he finished enthusiastically. There was no applause from the audience after Haruto got off the stage, just silence and disbelief.
Principal Goto got back up onto the podium, saying: "Thank you, Miyazaki-kun! Now it is time for the next guest speaker. Come on up..." Everyone else tuned out by now, very focused on what just occurred. Socorro was in utter disbelief, she was baffled that Haruto was allowed to speak in the manner that he did, even though she was only able to translate about half of what he said. "I have never seen someone with that kind of attitude in a speech before. I think his message was great, though. I hope he achieves his dream...", she thought curiously. Tsuna, on the other hand, didn't know what to think. She didn't like the way he spoke, but felt sorry for him being judged harshly by other people who didn't even know him. They both thought about Haruto's message simultaneously as the career seminar dragged on.
…
The assembly ended after two, long grueling hours. Five other guest speakers attended, but none of them were even half as interesting as the first one. Once the principal dismissed all of the students, Socorro went to find Tsuna. They found each other shortly after and Tsuna began to explain to Socorro what the assembly was about with her book. They both talked while heading to the gym building's exit, eager to leave like all of the other bored students.
Just as Socorro exited the gym and was met with the beautiful spring day outside, with Tsuna following behind, an unpleasantly familiar face connected to an all too recognizable person leaped out from the side of the doorway into Socorro's vision; it was Yurikan, with an evil-looking smile of mischief on his face.
"Finally found you!", he yelled as he jumped in front of them. This scared Socorro very badly, who yelped a bit and was breathing very heavily now. Tsuna was shocked to see him again so suddenly. "Ha! I got you good, you motherfucker!", Yurikan said while laughing at Socorro. He probably waited there for a long time for Socorro to come out. Tsuna then started to chastise him: "Stop actin' immature!" He then stopped laughing and said, "Shut the fuck up! Both of you, you damn pair of Scissors!", in a very prejudiced way. "Stop it! I told you for a long time to stop callin' us that, and don't pair her with me! It's 'cuz of you that I get bullied so heavily...", Tsuna said sadly.
"I told you to shut up, Scissors!", he retorted, "Anyway, I heard that Principal Goto got really pissed off at fucking fools like you, rat! Even though I didn't attend the assembly, he's right, I must get rid of abnormal freaks like you!" This made Tsuna call Yurikan out: "You're not "normal", either! YOU are more of an issue than her! You didn't even go to the seminar under the principal's orders, so you can't say anything."
Yurikan replied: "Shut your whore ass mouth, Scissors! Ms. Shorty The Fucking Dark Rat here is the leading problem in this school! She violates the fucking principal's goddamn values!" Tsuna then made the comeback, "She's got a name, ya know! Use it! It's Socorro Mota.", after hearing his immature insults. "Are you fucking nuts!? She's a parasite to this beautiful nation, she doesn't deserved to be called by her god awful terrible name!", he said in a blind rage, "Let me give you a more fitting name for a fucking dark-skinned act against nature! You are now called "Monkey" by me!" He then backed up a little from Socorro and started doing impressions of monkey motions and sounds. "Ooh Ooh! Aah Aah! I'm a stupid goddamn monkey!", Yurikan shouted while saying the same thing over and over again, his horrific racism wouldn't cease its immature run. By now, a lot of students have gathered around the three of them; they all just stood there doing nothing once again, except for Tsuna, who was furious now, and she yelled at him: "What's wrong with you, you racist piece of human garbage!? Don't you dare speak to Motty, or hell, even anyone like that! You are makin' everything worse and causing the suffering of many others, I just know it!"
Yurikan ignored her righteous speech and continued doing his mocking expressions. Socorro was now tearing up, she recognized the word and impression of what he was trying to mimic, she had never been so offended and upset at an insult in her entire life. She managed to work up the courage to say to him, "...Y-Yurikan,... please stop...!", in clear Japanese while trying not to lose her composure. This made Yurikan instantly stop cold, and be silent for a second. "What...?", he said in a confused neutral tone.
That's when a bomb then suddenly went off in his head. "HOW DARE YOU, CUNT!", he screamed as loudly as he could muster. He then reached for Socorro's necktie, and yanked it as hard as he could, throwing her to the ground in the process. She fell on her stomach hard, knocking the breath out of her. "I can't fucking believe you have the nerve to use my given name! You're supposed to use the family name when addressing some you jackass, especially someone who's older!", he continued loudly, "If that wasn't shitty enough, you didn't even use the motherfucking honorific! You're always supposed to use one regardless of who it fucking is! That's the most disrespectful thing a worthless fucking monkey like you could do to the beautiful Japanese language! I hate you so much more now!" He then paused and said, "...And if you don't like it, go back to your own damn country!", once again forcefully.
Socorro was barely able to get back on her hands and knees. She was having a panic attack now, something she hasn't had since she was a little kid. She was hyperventilating and shaking uncontrollably, having trouble breathing while at it. Tsuna then came rushing to her side: "Motty! Are you alright, you sound terrible! Can you breathe!?" She then tried to make Socorro less anxious by rubbing her back and talking softly to her. As she tried to comfort her, Socorro's mind was a mess trying to gather her thoughts. She was in a panic internally, unsure of how to react to anything. She all of a sudden felt the same head pain from the day before and heard what sounded like a barely audible voice calling out to her. "...No... ...-on't... ...-ccep-... ...this...!", it seemed to say in fragmented muffled sounds. Socorro tried to process it more, but swiftly lost focus on it after Yurikan went off again on her. "For your punishment... I'm gonna kick your fucking ass!", he shouted. He then grabbed Socorro's shoulder and prepared his fist. Tsuna quickly jumped back onto her feet and shouted: "I won't let you! You will not hurt her, you bully!"
"Get the hell off of her, Setsuji!", a very deep voice shouted from behind a couple of other bystanders. The students parted out of the way as a very tall boy approached Yurikan with intimidation in his walk. He had a very unusual appearance: A beefy body with some parts of him appearing a little chubby such as his torso, a slightly more tan skin color than everyone else, his light brown hair was short and messy except for his bangs, his hair was also noticeably very thick and silky, and the male uniform he wore was the same except that the coat was tied around his waist and the necktie was missing. When Socorro looked at him closer, she was surprised at the most unique parts about his body; his arms and face.
His arms were exposed, unlike the other students, due to the sleeves on his white undershirt being rolled up to his elbows. The arms had a lot of hair on them, and a lot of scars; the small scars appeared to be on his frontal arms and wrists, they appeared to be what looked like severe burns from fire on his left arm and cut marks from a blade of sorts on both arms. His hands also had a few blade scars on them, and they sported unusually long clean fingernails. His face was also notable: With very uncommon naturally thick, red lips. There was also another slice scar on the right cheek, this one being much bigger than the others. His eyes were the most striking thing about his appearance, however. He had fairly big violet eyes with extremely long-looking eyelashes; they were very beautiful and thick as well, all straight and black in color. Socorro was captivated by his unusual appearance. "His eyes are pleasant-looking! It looks like he has makeup on. His appearance is very unusual, but it's interesting to look at. He looks quite threatening and intimidating, but I sense there is more to him than meets the eye...", she thought as he reached her and Yurikan.
"Oh. It's you, Hatsura-kun! I figured you would come after me eventually.", Yurikan said with satisfaction in his voice. Yurikan then started throwing insults: "Of course, a fucking delinquent like you LOVES making trouble!" "...Look who's talking.", the unusual boy said, "...I don't bully others for no good reason, unlike you. I also have better grades and I actually attend class all the time, unlike you..." This made Yurikan angry again, "No, bitch! You are worse for actually sticking up for shitty freaks like this!", he said defensively. "Besides, everyone in the whole town knows about your past! You can't escape it!", he continued angrily, "For all we know, you are still fucking assailing cops and terrorizing your family! You are an evil piece of shit!"
"...My past has nothing to do with this...", the unusual boy said with a sentimental expression, "...I'm just trying to stick up for what's right. You call me evil, yet here you are preying on an innocent student just because of her ethnicity, you are the cause for all of this trouble..." Yurikan responded in a evil way: "I don't fucking care, I'm still going to discipline people for the rest of my time here! She is at the top of my list!" This caused the unusual boy to grow a very enraged expression on his kind-looking face from before. "...Since you maintain the so-called "discipline" of this school, then I will maintain the justice!", he said fiercely, "...Get away from the transfer student! I will not let any terrible injustice occur in front of my eyes...!" The boy then stood in a defensive position ready to take down Yurikan if anything terrible happens to Socorro. "Are you fucking seriously going to try to fight me!?", Yurikan said, trying to hide the fear in his voice. The boy responded back seriously: "Do you want to try? I can fight fairly well... You don't look like you have it in you to fight back. I can sense your hesitation..." Yurikan then sighed heavily, showing signs of defeat. "Fucking fine! I'll back off right now, I was tired of playing with the monkey anyway.", he said with annoyance. He then said once last rant before running away out of fear from the unusual boy: "You're not safe, damn rat! You never will be... I will keep finding you and I will fucking hurt you when I get a chance. You'll never escape from me! I'll make your life a living hell, for talking back and embarrassing me in front of my school! It's my oath and I will hurt your friends too, they can't protect you forever. And there's not a goddamn thing you can do about it...!" After Yurikan took off, the boy yelled: "I won't ever let you...!" The whole body of students were silent for another moment, before they started leaving and whispering to each other one by one. The boy, Tsuna, and Socorro were the only ones left by the gymnasium.
Tsuna and Socorro were in shock, with Tsuna being very worried for Socorro's safety. Socorro herself didn't understand exactly what happened, she just knew that Yurikan bullied her and he was probably going to come back. Tsuna then spoke up nervously: "H-Hey, Seitaro...? What should we do? I think we might wanna call the police! This is serious..." Seitaro then replied: "...You can't trust cops. They'll abuse their power... They aren't going to care about a foreign kid, unfortunately... Besides, Goto won't allow anything to happen in his school. Even though he's a massive, judgmental hypocrite. He ruined the own point of his speech..." This made Tsuna feel even more conflicted, "But we have to try somethin'...!", she said with a shaky, fearful voice.
Seitaro said nothing, instead deciding to pull Socorro up off of the ground. Socorro was no longer suffering from a panic attack, she felt better after Seitaro chased Yurikan off. After she was back on her feet, Socorro with Japanese said, "Thank you...!", to him in a very nervous yet truly thankful tone. He then gave a surprisingly wide and grateful smile, saying "...No problem!" in the process, contrasting with his serious and scary look. Seitaro then went back to being serious, by saying: "Look... I don't know if you can understand me right now..." He then turned to view both Tsuna and Socorro. "But both of you need to watch your backs for Setsuji... He could strike at any time, I don't want either of you to get hurt. Other than that, leave him to me. I'll make sure he doesn't hurt anybody...", he said seriously. Seitaro then gave a bow to both of them before walking past them and back towards the school, his job done.
"Thanks for the help...", Tsuna said in a disappointed way. She then turned to Socorro to ask if she was okay. Socorro nodded in reply, then pulled out her book to ask Tsuna: "...Who that?" Tsuna pulled her copy of the book out and started to answer: "He name is... Seitaro Hatsura... He a third... year student. But... he dangerous... stay away from... him." Socorro gave a confused look, prompting her to say, "...But he... seems nice. He... protected me... from Yurikan...", in Japanese back. Tsuna gave a sad look, saying: "I know... but he have... shady past. He... attacked policemen and..." She paused with a grim expression, before continuing: "...killed his... dad before..." Socorro gasped and pondered about the possibility, "No way! He really did that? But why? I know that a father is loving... Why would he kill him...? There has to be a reason...", she thought hard.
"Why would he help me, then?", she asked Tsuna. Tsuna translated the question, then answering: "Seitaro... probably did it... to make... heself... look better. Everyone in... town... afraid of him... no one... likes him, too. What he... did was... right, but... it better to... stay away... from him. His advice... right, but... can't trust him... even if... safe. It for... the greater... good." The answer made Socorro start to doubt the rumors about his past, "He seems nice and supportive. He also has a strong sense of justice, he does not seem like a bad person...", she pondered once again. "Let's just... follow... his advice. It will protect... from Yurikan.", Socorro answered after using her book for a few moments. Tsuna then closed the book and said, "OK!", while giving a thumbs up. She was happy once again, so was Socorro.
They both then realized they were late for class, sprinting back to the main building as fast as they could. Tsuna went back to class, looking forward to seeing her best friend at lunch. Socorro also went back to class, thinking about Seitaro and Yurikan's argument and the entire event the whole time...
…
When it came time for lunch, Tsuna decided to choose somewhere else to eat with Socorro. She wanted to be in a more open area, so she could detect if Yurikan was coming. She then decided to eat on the bench next to the statue at the center of the courtyard. She led Socorro there after they both got their food.
Then, they both sat next to each other on the bench, enjoying the nice change of scenery from before. Socorro took in the gorgeous sunlight from the pretty courtyard while she ate, still improving on using the chopsticks. Tsuna ate quickly, wanting to tell Socorro something.
"Motty...", she said as she finished. "You... fine? Yurikan... cruel...", she said gradually in Portuguese. Socorro then stopped eating, and looked at Tsuna. She still felt a little upset about the bullying, deep down. She sighed and said, "I am... okay. It could... be worse.", in Japanese while staring down at her unfinished meal. Tsuna then grunted, "Mmm...", in response.
After thinking for a moment, Tsuna perked up and asked: "Y'know... I always talk to you about myself. But I barely even know anything 'bout you. I know I'm more of a talker, and you're more of a listener. So... Is it OK if I ask some stuff about you, Motty...?" Socorro used her book sitting next to her on the bench to translate Tsuna's question. She then hesitantly answered: "...Just a little..." Socorro didn't want Tsuna to figure out about her past, so she was cautious about revealing too much to her. "If I tell her too much, she will hate me like everybody else back in Salvador...", she thought pessimistically. Tsuna replied, "Sure thing! Now let's see...", in Japanese with a delighted and thinking expression.
Tsuna then proceeded to ask Socorro an important question in her native language to help with Socorro's listening: "What I gotta ask is... Why did you move here to Japan if you don't know the language or culture very well?" Socorro translated it quicker than last time, thinking and forming a response fast as well. "...Unfortunate incident. Family problems...", she said solemnly with a gloomy face. Tsuna reacted with visible surprise at this answer. "Oh dear...", she said sympathetically, "...What kinda family issues...? I know what that's like."
Socorro spent a lot of time thinking before acknowledging her statement. She said, "Just something... personal. I... no want... to talk... about it...", after translating with a self-doubting voice. She didn't dare mention what happened to her father, "Tsuna would not believe me if I told her about Father, no one except for myself... I don't want to lose another friend, it is for the best...", she thought sadly to herself. "I understand. I won't be nosy. Just let me know if I can do anything for ya, Motty!", Tsuna said respectfully in response. She then patted Socorro's shoulder, showing that her response was truthful. Socorro nodded and smiled, glad that Tsuna understood so quickly.
Tsuna then asked Socorro a bunch of smaller questions about her life for the rest of the lunch break. The bright sunshine glowed over both of them as Tsuna learned about Socorro's previous school, home, hobbies, and interests. She kept asking her about her life until they parted ways for the second half of the school day, to meet again after classes.
…
Socorro and Tsuna met up with each other after class like they usually do. They chatted while they participated in cleaning time. Once that was over, they both put away their supplies and started to leave the hallway they just finished cleaning.
As they reached the corner of the hall where it leads into the stairwell, a surprisingly familiar person appeared swiftly from it. It was Principal Goto, he appeared to be enraged at something. He was speed walking, moving at a fast pace with very frustrated body language. This scared both Tsuna and Socorro, who stepped out of his way quickly, barely avoiding hitting him. He looked at the two of them as he passed by them. "Damn children! Always getting in my way... Those abnormal students are always causing trouble, with fights and arguments! I swear, I will use my new power to reform them to my liking...", he mumbled loudly to himself. Principal Goto then continued down the rest of the hallway, until he reached his office at the end and went inside. He shut the door forcefully behind him.
Both of the best friends were perplexed by this. "...What?", Socorro said. "I don't know.", Tsuna replied back. Socorro reached into her bag and opened her book. She asked Tsuna, "Why has... Principal Goto... been... like that?", with intrigue still in her mispronounced Japanese voice. Tsuna then thought for a moment, before starting to speak at a slow and steady pace. "I'm not entirely sure, but I heard some weird rumors about him in my class after I got back from lunch.", she stated while having a bit of skepticism in her voice. Socorro got interested while translating, further asking: "Rumors...?" Tsuna then gave a response: "Yeah, they just started spreadin' very recently. According to rumors, Principal Goto has joined a strange cult a couple of days ago..."
Socorro was wide-eyed now, being super interested. "...What... cult?", she asked in a genuinely confused tone. Tsuna proceeded to give a lengthy answer. "It's this cult that's been risin' up for the last few months. I can't remember its name, but I know it has been popular on the internet lately. I heard it has hundreds of followers and is composed of over a dozen central members. Apparently, Principal Goto has just become one of the central members, leading people to assume he's on an angry power trip.", she explained. "...I don't think people should blindly believe rumors so easily. I mean, look how fake they all sound! It's ridiculous and too crazy to believe. Especially since this cult is supposedly in the government as well. That's nuts! There's no way a cult could ever control any part of the government! It'll probably just fall apart like all other cults in the end. Ha ha!", she finished while laughing.
Tsuna then stopped laughing, got her book copy out of her bag, and said: "...Sorry, Motty. Didn't mean... ramble." Socorro nodded and said, "It did not bother me.", in Portuguese. She didn't understand all of Tsuna's explanation, but she understood enough to know about the cult. "I am getting better at listening and translating!", she thought excitedly. Tsuna then closed her book and said, "Let's not worry about the rumors! How 'bout we just go home instead?", in an optimistic tone. Socorro nodded, despite not entirely comprehending what she said.
They then finally left the hallway and went downstairs out the door, exiting the school. They said farewell to each other and split off for home. All Socorro could think about when going to her street was: "A lot of strange events have been happening recently..."
…
Socorro did her typical nighttime routine and attempted to go to sleep. But it seemed like no matter how long she tried to fall asleep, something would prevent her from succeeding. The primary obstacle in her way was her anxiety that was making her nervous.
Every time she would try to drift off, some painful or scary thought/memory would come hammering back into her head. She would think about her father, which made her sad and worried about his safety. She would think about Principal Goto, which made her confused and uneasy about his unexplained recent angry behavior, fearing that he would target her next. But what really made her unable to sleep was Yurikan, who made her terrified to go to school the next day. She knew that he was after her, and that he wanted to make her life harder by beating her up and bullying her. She was terrified of him, always expecting to see his evil face when she goes anywhere now. She thought about it intensely: "What would he do to me...? Why does he hate me so much? Will he ever stop? I hope he doesn't try to do anything to me in front of the other students, but it is Yurikan, so who knows? I hope that Seitaro person was serious about protecting me from him. I do not know if I will be fine from here on... I hope he does not hurt Tsuna,... or Seitaro..." The anxious thoughts made Socorro feel worse and have even less luck sleeping.
Her thoughts were then interrupted once again by the same searing headache from the last two days, but it was worse now. The pain was almost unbearable, it felt like her forehead was going to split open. Socorro sat up lightning fast in her bed and grasped her forehead with her hand while leaning downwards. The pain didn't recede, it only got worse. Her head was throbbing now and she was sweating like crazy.
She suddenly experienced something strange: Her vision was engulfed by a white flash of light that briefly turned all the colors in her sight inverted, before returning to normal a second later. This caused her head to pound harder than before and caused her heart rate to accelerate. Socorro still held her head, with both hands now. She couldn't think clearly or focus on anything. But her mind was unexpectedly jolted back to some sort of conscious thought process, when she heard something familiar reach her ears. A quiet and acoustically monotone voice, the same as earlier, rang out from within Socorro's mind. "Do not worry...", the voice spoke, much more clear and less broken than before. "Our time is nigh... Soon...", it said poetically.
The pain and voice unexpectedly dissipated after that. Socorro felt no more anxiety and oddly relaxed as well, as if the voice soothed her soul. "What was that!?", she said out loud. She attempted to rationalize it, but couldn't. "Have I gone insane...?", she said. "Maybe I should try resting now, I oddly feel better. Perhaps that voice is my way of the brain trying to comfort me, I suppose I should let it rest. Something feels off about all of this, however...", she thought conclusively.
She then decided to follow her body's orders. She reluctantly lies back down into bed, trying to sleep once again. She was still confused, but decided to write it off. "I am likely hearing things. I don't think I'm getting enough rest. It has been a long, brutal day after all...", she thought sleepily. Socorro was able to drift off after another few minutes of therapeutic rationalization. Before falling asleep, her last thought was wondering what the future had in store for her next...