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Target 19: Kotsu and the letters

Reborn has just seen Kotsu inside the toilet booth alone with Rinoka while his classmates are outside searching for him. "What do you think you're doing Kotsu?" the hitman asks angrily causing both Rinoka and Kotsu to have the same reaction. Whimpering a little in fear.

"R-Reborn!? T-t-this isn't what it looks like! I-I was running from my classmates a-and ended up dragging her along with me and without thinking I went in here!" He desperately explains and Reborn just glares at him.

"That isn't what I meant. I meant why're you in here hiding? You're a man aren't you. Not only a man, but one with an admirer. What would she think seeing you hiding like a coward?" He says grabbing Kotsu by the ear tossing him out of the toilet booth. The hitman looks back at Rinoka. "You're not in trouble," He adds kicking Kotsu out onto the hallway, before tossing him the fork he got from Leon which he had left at home. "Now go find your real letter," He simply says following him into the hallway.

"Y-you're kidding right!? Everyone wants to KILL me right now!?" He yells inadvertently getting the attention of everyone around him, much to his own dismay.

"That makes it easy. Everyone will come to you," Reborn simply responds and heads down the hallways where all the boys are already coming at him. Kotsu sees that the only way to go is up since boys are piling after him from both the left and right. He takes the staircase up, realizing very quickly that UP is the WORST direction to go, since you'll very quickly reach a point where you can't go any further up. He swings out at the second floor soon followed by the hoard.

He runs past Ren who's walking around with his letters curiously wondering where the real owners are. He sees Kotsu smiling, and starts running with him.

"Hey there lil' bro! What's the rush!?" He says and Kotsu just pants being crazily exhausted.

"Ren! I um… I got a letter! But it got swapped as I'm sure you know. A-and they think I'm going to read this one… so they're trying to stop me,"

Ren gets a little serious. "Well… were you?"

"NO! Why one earth would I?! I have enough on my mind as it is!" He yells and Ren pushes him into the stairwell again.

"This way lil' bro!" He says going up the stairs seeing some coming from below too. "This is kinda like a zombie-movie eh lil' bro!?"

"Yeah! But I HATE those kinds of movies!" Ren laughs as they make it to the rooftop.

"I think it's kind of cool!" He says and they run across the roof where a few people are just eating to themselves. Like… Reborn? He's just sitting and looking at them. Kotsu has no time to think as they get on top of the water tower on top as there's nowhere else to go.

"There's nowhere left for you to flee Kotsu! Just hand over the letter!" One of the boys declare and Kotsu can't help but imagine the sight of a super hero film where he's backed into a corner.

"B-but if I do that I can't get the REAL one that's meant for me! I DON'T want to read this one!" He yells back. A few girls have also started to pop up having seen all the commotion going on. Rinoka included as she was quite literally smackdab in the middle of it all.

Some of them note that Ren's with him. "Ren you traitor! Why're you with him!?"

Ren smiles putting a hand on Kotsu's head. "Well I can't let my lil' bro get trampled now can I? And I know that he'd never do something like read another's love letter," He says and Kotsu can't help but realize that Ren actually asked him if he was going to do it. "But what about YOU guys? Were some of YOU planning on reading other people's letters?" He adds and they all hold up their letters.

"Of course not! That would be wrong!"

Ren just laughs a little. "Then why would my lil' bro do it?" He asks and everyone realizes that he has a fair point. However before they can apologize there's an incredible gust of wind out of nowhere and everyone's letters fly to the wind. Every letter dangling around able to fly anywhere now!

"Oh no!" Every boy yells in unison and Kotsu gulps seeing it all happen knowing that his letter is among those. "What do we do!? Can someone get them!?" One of the boys yells and Reborn smirks taking a bite of his sandwich.

Leon transforms into a gun and he shoots at Kotsu with the dying will bullet. Kotsu falls off the water tower landing on the ground below. 'I'm dead… again?! If only I could've caught all of those letters… maybe I could've found out who actually liked me… or at least what they wrote…' He thinks laying dead with people looking on in horror. However after a second Kotsu springs to his feet, his clothes bursting off and his flame appearing on his forehead as always. "RE… BOOOOOORNNN!" He yells off the top of his lungs. "I WILL CATCH ALL THE LOVE LETTERS WITH MY DYING WILL!" He yells and before he sets off Reborn smirks shooting a couple of jump bullets at Kotsu's feet and another green bullet at his chest. Kotsu feels the strange sensation as he jumps off.

"That ought to help," he says as Kotsu's improved jumping power sends him flying over the letters gently falling about. He falls grabbing as many as he can with his hands, some hitting his body somehow getting stuck to him. "The sticky bullet," Reborn says mostly to himself.

Kotsu lands on the ground all the way below the school, gritting his teeth. "NOT… ENOUGH!" He yells jumping again getting more and more stuck to his body. Upon jumping for the last three letters her gets two of them while the third ends up burning in his flame. He lands and the bullets all wear off. He blinks a few times realizing that he's alive and all the boys come running down to see him. He's really embarrassed, but leaves it for a little to hand out people's letters. Naturally he just sets the ones meant for Ren to the side since it's easier to just give them to him afterwards. In the end Kotsu's given out every letter and gotten a spare school uniform from Reborn. There's a little pile for Ren which he picks up with a slight nervous smirk.

"Guess you got everyone's letters back eh lil' bro?" He says proud of his little brother for doing the right thing and Kotsu just sighs looking around.

"But… my letter wasn't there…" He says and Ren's eyes go wide with surprise.

"What!? That's terrible! Do you know who wrote it!?" He asks and Kotsu shakes his head.

"Nope… never read it," he says as the two go back inside for the next lesson. In class he sees Rinoka shyly enter the classroom trying her best not to make any noise. Kotsu gets up and goes to apologize.

She wildly blushes seeing him approach. "I-I-I…" She starts and Kotsu just bows.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble…" He says looking up again. "But we can still be friends right?" He asks and Rinoka looks a little flustered and confused.

"S-s-sure…" She manages before running to her seat.

Kotsu sits back down noting the bag of chocolate is STILL there. He takes out a snack from it thinking it'd be pretty rude not to eat it, even if he doesn't know who wrote the letter or who made it. He takes a bite, the taste hitting him like a tidal wave. It's… terrible! Absolutely the worst thing he's ever tasted. At least when it came to chocolate.

Rinoka sees him try it and gets a little depressed seeing his face change to reflect the taste. He swallows hard to almost force it down. He pants after eating the piece. How on earth can something smell so good but taste so absolutely terrible!? As he thinks that Rinoka can almost tell and lays her head into her arms knowing she failed. However she hears the crunching noise again as Kotsu took another piece. Her eyes are wide. Why's he STILL eating it after making that face!?

Kotsu swallows yet another piece. Someone went through a LOT of trouble to make this for him. Even if he doesn't know who made it eating it is common curtesy no matter how horrid the taste.

-NII-

After school that day Kotsu is still walking around with a horrid taste in his mouth, but he ignores it going to the gate as everyone seems to be having a great time now that they've gotten their letters back. He sees Tsugemora waiting at the gate for him and prepares to be assaulted. Three… two… one… and… nothing…? He looks to see why not, but Tsugemora is eating some chocolate. You're… kidding right? TSUGEMORA got a bag? HOW!?

The young body guard spots him, putting his chocolate away before sprinting at Kotsu. "NIIIIIIIII-SAAAAAAAAN!" He yells jumping at him as expected and Kotsu moves aside making him tumble across the ground. "How was valentine Nii-san!? How many letters did you get!? NO! Silly question! You got ALL of them right!?" He yells and Kotsu sighs.

"No… just one… but I lost it before I could read it…" He says and Ren comes up behind them.

"Don't worry about that lil' bro! I'm sure she'll still be around next valentine," He simply says as they begin their walk home.

"By the way Tsugemora who did YOU get chocolates from!?" Kotsu asks almost annoyed that Tsugemora is as popular as him and he doesn't even go to school!

"Oh… I got those from Miss Niruo-sama! She said she helped Cotton make them for me," Kotsu raises an eyebrow a little. Cotton? Whatever. Anything goes in his crazy world doesn't it…?

-NII-

Rinoka looks around the corner seeing the little group walk away. "W-w-why'd you eat them…? t-they were really bad…" she asks Kotsu well-knowing that he's too far away to hear her.

"Because he's a nice guy. A klutz and an idiot. But nice," Reborn says walking past her also going home now.

"W-w-w-wha…?" She stumbles surprised almost falling back and Reborn just smirks her way.

"If you want I can give him a message from you,"

"N-n-n-n-n-n-n-no… no thank you," She finally gets out and Reborn just chuckles a little.

"Alright. I won't tell him you wrote him a love letter then," He says, confidently walking down the street and Rinoka blushes even more hearing him say that.

"T-thank you…" She says too shy to ask why he knows SHE wrote the letter. She just blushes before running down the street going the other way from Kotsu and the gang.