(vii)
Today was…weird, for lack of a better word.
Atsuko and Ryohei's classmates kept staring at them and whispering things - Mochida especially had the strangest expression on his face.
It was prideful and irritating, as though he had just one-upped them. But that was impossible. The kendo club had lost their last tournament and Atsuko had heard that Hibari was very annoyed with the waste of resources.
"This is getting kinda creepy," Atsuko whispered to Ryohei. The teacher had tried separating them, again, but Atsu just glared at the kid that took her seat for a bit and he jumped right out.
Ha, take that, annoying teacher-lady-thingy!
Ryohei nodded gravely. "I extremely agree. Something's going on…we should probably go find out what it is."
"But… Ryo… that'll mean…" Atsuko whimpered.
"I know, Atsu, I know, but we can do this to the extreme!" Ryohei reassured her, squeezing her hand. Atsuko buried her face in his side.
"Dealing with… people," she said, hissing out that hateful word. There was nothing worse than gossiping middle-schoolers. She had learned that well in her first life and her second has done nothing but reinforce it.
"I'll do most of the talking," he said, but Atsuko knew that that was not much of a reassurance.
"Most," Atsuko scoffed.
"You know they won't take me seriously enough," Ryohei said defensively. Atsuko didn't have to look up to see the frown on his face.
That was, unfortunately, true.
Ryohei was popular and all, but the truth was that hardly anyone truly knew him - he and Atsuko stuck to themselves far too much.
However, they did still see him. Everyone saw the way he tried to help anyone he could, the bright grins on his face and the brilliant energy he exuded.
As a result, the entire class was convinced that Ryohei was too nice for this world and kind of an idiot.
Atsuko completely agrees, but the reputation leads most people to avoid telling him about any of the nastier rumors or issues - why bother the angel with such disgusting things? What if they upset such a nice and wonderful person?
How annoying.
If it was just Ryohei then he and Atsuko wouldn't learn very much.
Sadly, that wasn't an option. Those knowing looks and whispers obviously had something to do with them (if something was about Atsuko then it was automatically also about Ryohei and vice versa - rumors hardly ever surrounded just one of them) and they couldn't just sit there and take it.
Well, Ryohei couldn't. Atsuko totally could.
"The things I do for you, Ryo," she sighed. She could practically see the answering grin on Ryohei's face.
"I appreciate them all to the extreme!"
"I know, I know -"
"If you two are done flirting," interrupted their steaming math teacher, "- then it would be much appreciated if you started to actually pay attention and do your work!"
Ryohei blinked in confusion. "But sensei, I'm not royal enough for her to be flirting with me."
"Sasagawa Ryohei, I swear to mother-freaking kami -"
The entire class sniggered at their responses and they could see something in their teacher break. Probably that bulging vein in the woman's forehead.
"DETENTION! BOTH OF YOU! TOMORROW, AFTER SCHOOL!"
"...I blame you Atsu," Ryohei stage whispered to her.
"I blame your existence," Atsuko whispered back, equally obviously.
The teacher may or may not have broken her chalk in her resulting anger. Oh well.
She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
Tsuna was challenging Mochida for Kyoko. There were so many things wrong with that image, but one thing stood out the most -
Canon.
This is canon.
As in, the first episode of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Atsuko barely recalled anything of the beginning of the series, but this? This, she knew very well.
This was bad. Very bad.
This meant that Reborn was already here, that the mafia is already here and by the gods, Tsuna isn't ready for any of this shit!
Sure, he canonically wasn't ready either, but this is Tsuna! Her precious assistant of whom still had so many confidence issues and anxiety…
Atsuko was sure that her lip would start bleeding if she bit it any harder at this point.
"I see," Ryohei said, and anyone could see the anger taking hold in his eyes. "Thanks for telling us all that."
"Um, you're welcome," their nameless (to Atsuko) classmate said. Atsuko didn't really care as to what else the person had to say, instead dragging Ryohei back to their nice, secluded lunch spot.
"That bastard," Ryohei muttered. "It's like he thinks Kyoko's some kind of a prize!"
"That's because he does, Ryo," Atsuko sighed. That son of a bitch… not only was he going to hurt their Tsuna, but he was also objectifying their baby sister! "Motherfucking asshole…"
Ryohei stayed silent for a moment, processing the whole fucked up situation. "I'm going to punch him," he eventually decided.
Translation - I'm going to break his pretty little face so badly that he'll never be able to open his mouth and talk to Kyoko ever again.
Okay, well maybe that translation was a bit extreme, but Ryohei's serious punches were like that. It was like he was constantly unconsciously Activating them...actually, he probably was.
Stupid Sun Flames…
Atsuko wondered what her Flame type was, actually. Even if she refused to learn hand to hand combat, which she did, she still wanted to learn to use Flames.
May as well not be totally useless…
"I'll kick him in the balls," Atsuko said in agreement. "Eliminate the chances of another one of these things being produced anytime soon and all."
"Extremely good idea, Atsu," Ryohei said approvingly. "One is more than enough."
No one messed with their baby sister and got away with it.
"Why thank you," she responded, gleeful at the thought of Mochida being in any sort of pain. Fuck him. Not literally. Ew. "So, what are we going to do?"
"Find him and set him straight," her best friend responded confidently and Atsuko froze.
She may not exactly remember what happened, but she did know that Tsuna did in fact succeed in beating Mochida.
This, inadvertently, probably led to Tsuna gaining more acceptance amongst the student body and a decrease in bullying, which Tsuna desperately needed.
The club couldn't be there for him twenty four-seven, after all. And it wasn't quite so well known that Tsuna got dragged to the Disciplinary Committee office by Hibari for minor paperwork stuffs here and there either quite yet…
"I dunno about that, Ryo," Atsuko began unsurely. "Maybe we should just let this happen?"
Ryohei looked at her incredulously. "But Tsuna -"
"Shh, Ryo, listen to me here," she interrupted, taking a deep breath. Fuck secrecy and insecurity. "Tsuna isn't defenseless. Tsuna is badass. Tsuna deals with his royal highness on a semi-regular basis and survives! Mochida's got nothing on Tsuna."
Ryohei gave her a strange look. "It's a kendo match. Tsuna's never even held a shinai before. Mochida's the captain of the kendo team! Do the math!"
"I did do the math!" Atsuko insists. "And I think he has a good chance here!"
"Atsu, just how long did you stay up last night watching anime? There's, what, a two percent chance of him winning this? And that's only if Mochida fucks up to the extreme!"
While normally Ryohei is the type to be of the opinion that anyone can do anything if they try hard enough, he isn't stupid. And Atsuko had to admit here, he was probably right.
But, canon.
"For your information, I only stayed up until three," Atsuko sniffed. "And -"
"I woke you up at five, why didn't you say anything?"
Cue the concerned look. Atsuko felt a bit guilty - he was always so worried about her well being but she could never quite bring herself to care about herself. She had Ryohei, Kyoko, Tsuna and the rest of the boxing club to care for - why bother with someone as relatively unimportant as herself?
"It didn't matter -"
"Of course it extremely matters, you said you were going to bed at eleven!"
"But it was Panty and Stocking!" Atsuko whined. It wasn't really an excuse. And maybe she was trying to hide her guilt behind a facade of shamelessness. Maybe.
Ryohei wasn't fooled. "Dirty jokes aren't a reason to lose sleep, Atsu. Even if they are extremely funny - you need to actually take care of yourself."
Atsuko sighed. "I'm sorry…"
Ryohei shook his head in disappointment. Atsuko felt an uncomfortable pang in her chest. "If we didn't have something to be doing then I'd let you use me as a pillow for a nap or something…"
"Yeah, so, about that," Atsuko said, returning to the previous subject. "We don't need to do anything yet."
"Yes, we extremely do."
"No, we don't. Think about it! Mochida's an egotistical idiot! And he'll underestimate Tsuna, of whom is obviously much more lithe and agile than he'll ever be."
Ryohei quickly connected the dots in his mind. "So you're saying that Tsuna can win pretty easily just by dodging?"
"Yup."
The boxing club's game of dodge-tag had quickly become a regular thing for Tsuna's sake (plus, it was really, really fun) and Tsuna was a very fast learner.
He's a pro at avoiding things now- whether it be muscle-headed idiots or stupid kendo players. Mochida wouldn't stand a chance.
"And besides," Atsuko continued, "- if he wins, then the social acceptance he'll gain will be unbelievable. Mochida needs to be taken down a few pegs, so why not let it be done by the arguably wimpiest kid in the whole school?"
Ryohei frowned thoughtfully, running the chances through his head for a few moments before reluctantly agreeing. "I guess that makes sense."
Atsuko grinned. "I know, I always make sense."
"You wish," Ryohei teased. "You make sense...maybe a quarter of the time. Maybe. But that's kinda pushing it too…"
"Hey!"
Ryohei laughed, sitting down on the ground and patting his lap. "Get some sleep, Atsu. If you're going to be kicking Mochida in the balls after Tsuna makes him look like an idiot, then you should at least be alert enough for it."
Atsuko nodded seriously, laying down next to him and resting her head in his lap. "Yeah, yeah, I got it. Though, I'm sure that I'd be perfectly alert if someone didn't like jogging at five in the freaking morning. I swear, it's like you're trying to bring me closer and closer to my sweet, sweet death…"
"Where're Tsuna and that spray bottle when you need them…?"
Oh my fuck.
Hell.
No.
Mochida was cheating.
First, he started off by attacking without giving Tsuna a shinai. It was only when Yamamoto interfered and tossed one over that Tsuna gained any semblance of a chance.
Points to Yamamoto for that one, but I still can't trust him quite yet.
"That coward," Ryohei hissed. There were very few things that Ryohei truly hated in this world and liars and cheaters were amongst the top of the list.
"I can't believe this," Kyoko muttered with wide eyes. Atsuko could practically see any respect Kyoko had for Mochida draining away. "That, that bully… if only my classmates hadn't held me back earlier… I could have at the very least broken his arm!"
Kurokawa patted her back consolingly. "Don't worry, Kyoko-chan. You can get him after this."
Ryohei nodded gravely. "After I break his face."
"Once I get to kick him where the sun doesn't shine, of course," Atsuko added.
Kurokawa shook her head. "Nooo, that's not how you really make him suffer! What you should do is break his shinai in front of him slowly and loudly so that he can practically hear his pride breaking into tiny little pieces. Then you should jam the broken pieces into his face and ruin those misplaced good looks of his - seriously, monkeys shouldn't be that hot -"
Ryohei and Atsuko stared at her. What the hell, since when was Kurokawa that sadistic?!
"After that you guys should just leave him there to cry like the pitiful baboon he is, but that's not actually the end. Once you guys are done, I'd go around spreading rumors about him having an STD or something - the power of popularity and all that. Then both Kyoko and Sawada will be avenged."
Atsuko looked at Kurokawa in awe before turning to Ryohei and quietly hissing "marry this woman."
Ryohei's eyes widened comically. "Atsu!"
"Marry her."
"But!"
"Marry. Her."
Kurokawa gave them a strange look. "What're they hissing about?"
"Something that I completely agree with," Kyoko replied, her eyes never leaving Tsuna's clearly terrified form.
From the very beginning, Tsuna had been at a disadvantage because he had been caught off guard. Even if Mochida was a total douche, he was the captain of a sport based heavily in honor.
How was Tsuna supposed to know that Mochida didn't even know the meaning of that word?
Mochida was chasing Tsuna around the gym at this point and Atsuko highly doubted that this was anything like what kendo was supposed to be.
Ryohei's hands were clenched into fists, hard enough that Atsuko knew that she would have to bandage them up later. She didn't blame him either, this was nerve wracking as all hell.
Atsuko was so, so tempted to just run over there and take whatever hits Mochida had for Tsuna. It was painful watching their fluffle getting beaten down like this and the crowd wasn't helping him at all, what with their jeers and laughter.
This isn't funny, for fuck's sake.
Her only consolation was the presence of his majesty - she knew that he was probably here to observe Tsuna and see how he behaves under pressure, Hibari was thorough with the people he was interested in like that. But it was more than obvious that Hibari was quickly getting more and more pissed off as the battle went on.
The chances of Mochida retaining his position at the end of the day was nil.
But still, Atsuko would rather die than just sit here and watch Tsuna go through all this and she knew that Ryo, Kyo and the other boxing club members currently present agreed - but they were too nervous themselves, for Tsuna, to do so much as cheer.
It was like being frozen in place - unable to do anything as the anxiety crept over their hearts, ready to jump in and carry away their beaten assistant manager.
Kyoko was the first to snap out of her reverie, as Mochida was readying a harsh-looking blow upon the much smaller boy.
"Go, Tsuna-kun!" she shouted. "You can do this! Take down that bully!"
The reaction was immediate - Tsuna's eyes widening as his head swiveled over to stare at her, as though he couldn't believe that she would ever support him.
One by one, all of Tsuna's other friends began to vocalize their support as well.
"Come on Tsuna, you're better than that jackass!"
"We believe in you!"
"Go, Assistant Manager-chan!"
The cheers went on, others eventually joining in once Yamamoto did. There were tears in Tsuna's eyes - ones of joy and amazement, in spite of the situation.
Mochida on the other hand, snapped.
With a loud battle cry he advanced on Tsuna, bringing down his shinai for what could have been a devastating blow.
That is, if it hadn't happened.
One moment Tsuna was on the ground, about to get hit by the wooden sword and the next he was up again, a crazed look in now-burning orange eyes. His clothing literally burned off of him and a brilliant Sky Flame lit up upon his head.
Atsuko's breath hitched.
Dying Will Mode.
The rest of the battle was a blur, "surprisingly" ending in Mochida's defeat.
Atsuko shot Ryohei a grin, mouthing I told you so and receiving an ever-more brilliant smile in return.
The boxing club carried Tsuna up over their shoulders to the other gym, where a change of clothes and celebratory refreshments were waiting. Atsuko stayed long enough to watch Hibari beat up Mochida and strip him of his captain's position.
It would have been perfect, if not for the fact that she could practically feel herself being watched and something told her it was a pair of beady black eyes that were doing all the staring.
Shit.
A/N
Okay, so, couple of things that I want to address.
Firstly, I received a pretty negative review from a "frustrated guest" that quite honestly pisses me off a bit?
The review essentially points out and criticises all of Atsuko's purposeful character flaws and choices from the second chapter without considering that there might be psychological reasons behind them.
Atsuko is fifteen. She also died at fifteen. However, that does not make her thirty years old. She was never treated as anything beyond her own age and doesn't have any real adult experience - so why should she be expected to behave with any sort of maturity beyond that of a fifteen year old? Sure, she's morbid and all but again, she is not an adult and her judgement is flawed.
There is also a reason behind why she doesn't want to learn hand to hand combat. She doesn't know it herself yet, but it is there and it will be addressed later on.
I think that about covers the review's criticisms?
I realize that this person probably won't read my response, but I figured I may as well reply for my own peace of mind.
Someone also requested that I take a look at a list of fic prompts and wow...a one-shot that I just so happen to be writing is on that list. While I won't say which one, I hope you enjoy it! I really appreciate all the reviews you leave on my work, they make me smile whenever I see them.
Actually, all reviews baring that particular one make me smile. Keep em coming!
Okay, that's enough out of me. Ciao!