.:Chapter Two: I Have Balls and a New Face:.
Several days had passed since Vanessa's apparent reincarnation, and frankly she was quite disturbed.
If dying wasn't disturbing enough, waking up in a stranger's body was a whole lot worse. Yep, she definitely wasn't Nessa anymore; now she's an eight-year-old child by the name of Sawada Tsunayoshi. And little Tsunayoshi's parent's names happen to be Sawada Nana and Sawada Iemitsu… All of which were characters from one of her favourite anime/manga Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
At first she refused to believe it. It was all either a dream or some omniscient bastard was playing a bad prank on her.
But one can only stay in denial for so long, particularly given how blaringly realistic everything was… Besides, the fact she was now in an anime world wasn't even the most disturbing thing about all this…
As she had suspected, Sawada Tsunayoshi turned out to be one hundred percent male. Nessa on the other hand, was one hundred percent female. So now her soul was stuck in a body of the opposite gender. Isn't that just freaking hilarious? Who would have thought, right? Right? Ahahahaha!
No.
Just no.
This was so fucking wrong.
Hell, Nessa didn't even know if she was still technically a "she" or a "he" now…
The simple act of going to the bathroom was now one of the most awkward experiences of her/his life (both of them). (S)He started laughing hysterically the first time (s)he went to the toilet, which earned her the attention of a rather nosy nurse. Said nurse now throws her/him odd looks every now and then.
This also begged the question as to whether or not it would be considered homosexual if (s)he dated a girl… or a guy for that matter… Fuck, it was all too damn confusing…
It's virtually impossible to think clearly with all this shit suddenly happening to her!
It might have been a little easier to organise her/his thoughts if the bloody nurses weren't jabbing his (her) arm with needles every few hours, "You need rest" they'd say. Fuck them; figuring out what the hell's going on around here is far more important than getting rest in the form of drug-induced comas!
Goddamn nurses. No matter where you go they're all the same… Nessa was seriously getting fucking sick of hospitals; mental or otherwise…
…..
Nessa always believed that knowledge is power. Hence why she hates not knowing what's going on around her. She just won't be able to settle down until she finds every little piece of the puzzle and wraps up every loose end.
It's rather embarrassing to admit that it took her several days before she realised she was in Japan and, therefore, everyone was speaking Japanese.
Why did it take her so long? Well, aside from the fact she still hasn't gotten over her "reincarnation", she could perfectly understand what everyone was saying as if they were speaking to her in English.
Strange is it not?
Really, she only realised it wasn't English when she was sneaking a peak at Tsuna's medical charts, only to find she could only read about half of it, whereas the rest merely looked like a bunch of scribbles she vaguely recognised as being kanji. Naturally, that got the gears in her head turning as she tried to solve this highly unusual conundrum.
At first she contemplated simply filing it under "anime logic" (in which the laws of nature and common sense are completely ignored). But then she had to wonder why she could understand some kanji but not others…
After mulling it over for a time she remembered something else she's read in another manga… something along the lines of there being memories of the heart/soul and memories of the body. As weird as it might sound, she was technically using Tsunayoshi's brain (God, that's a creepy thought) and, therefore, would have access to his knowledge of the language and such…
Given Tsunayoshi's age and the fact he was known for being "dame", it makes sense that he would have difficulty remembering the more complicated kanji; hence why Nessa couldn't understand some of them.
She supposed it was kinda like how an amnesiac person can remember general information about the world, but not anything about themselves or the people that've met.
Her theory also fit in together with "anime logic", thus she felt quite pleased with the resulting solution. It felt so good to finally have one mystery solved. She felt somewhat accomplished with the small amount of progress she'd made. Now, she just had to work out the answers to the remaining conundrums and she'd be golden.
Which then leads her to the question of why she (or rather he) was currently stuck in this freaking hospital room?
She couldn't recall anything from the manga or anime that said Tsuna had been hospitalised when he was younger… And then there was the healing wound on his stomach that seemed like it had been made by a bullet… Though the wound itself had already closed and was healing nicely, it still left her feeling stiff and sore. There would definitely be a scar too…
So, what did this do to the plotline?
Heck, what about her?
Surely simply her being here would royally screwed things up, right?
And what the hell happened to the real Sawada Tsunayoshi?
She could only guess at that… and her guess was that he had already moved on… Just like she should have instead of ending up here…
And while she's on the subject, where the heck is Nana? She had half expected to see the air-headed women dozing in a chair next to the bed, refusing to leave her son's side. Yet she was nowhere to be seen… and that was odd. From her understanding of Nana's character, she was the type to worry herself sick over her child's health…
So where was she?
Out of obligation (and also out of curiosity), she was inclined to ask the nurses where Tsuna's mama was. (Isn't it funny how in Japan no one questions it when a child refers to his or her self in third person?)
No matter which nurse was asked the reaction was basically the same…
They'd clam up, shift around uncomfortably, and pitifully attempt to change the subject. One happened to have a newspaper in her hand, which she then proceeded to try and hide behind her back. (Could you be any more obvious? Do these idiots seriously think they can lie so blatantly to her/him just because he/she's a kid? That's an insult to her/his intelligence.)
…
A woman came to see Tsunayoshi; her strong mixed floral perfume made his-her-his-her-his-her-fuck-his nose itch. She reached out and took hold of his/her hands in a comforting manner and spoke in tender, careful tone, as if she were afraid a single word out of place would break the child in front of her.
Nessa stared down indignantly at the large warm hands for a time, before silently shaking them off and hiding her (his) own beneath the sheets. She kept her tone flat, answering only in monosyllables, or simply ignoring the women altogether.
Nessa disliked the sound of Tsuna's voice. The young, high pitched, yet undoubtedly boyish tone just sounded so foreign. The words were surely hers but the voice was not… It was but another reminder of how she didn't belong here…
Still, the irksome woman would not be deterred and continued gently pressing Tsunayoshi (Vanessa) to answer. Just as she was contemplating on whether or not to toss his untouched lunch in the woman's heavily made up face, she was asked if he remembered what had occurred that day.
She opened his mouth only close it again with an audible click; pausing to consider the question again.
The cogs in his head begin turning as she begins to connect the constant presence of the police lurking the hallway, all the times when they'd pointlessly try to question him while in her semi-comatose state, the whispering of the nurses, the stares of pity and remote fear, the way they'd quickly change the channel whenever the news came on… Not that it mattered as (s)he had already seen the major news headline…
"Murder in Namimori."
A picture formed in her mind as the pieces fell into place; and he didn't like what she was seeing…
An "incident" had occurred in which resulted in Sawada Tsunayoshi's hospitalisation and the death of a young male yakuza…
Sawada Nana is the prime suspect.
For a moment Nessa is conflicted... Part of her wants to curl up under the covers and ponder over why everything is so different from the manga. Another larger, more sensible part wonders how to deal with the woman currently tapping her pen lightly on her notepad as she waits for Tsunayoshi to answer.
This woman is with the police, most likely a psychotherapist. Her mind supplies helpfully. She understands; she's been through this kind of bullshit before. The woman is trying to get evidence on the case from Tsunayoshi. She hopes to find something from him to prove whether Nana is guilty or innocent. (The verdict apparently lay with Tsuna.)
Now then, what shall she do?
She could lie; claim the mother she holds no connections to is innocent. They may believe him, but there's no telling if her story would match Nana's.
She could feign ignorance, perhaps claim amnesia, and leave Nana's fate up to chance. The trauma from his injuries would be more than enough of an excuse.
Or, she could simply remain silent and let the therapist make her own conclusions; that he is a child far too afraid of telling the truth because of the punishment that may await him. (Foolish woman, you honestly think I can't see that suspicious gleam in your eyes? That giddy smirk on your face whenever you scrawl down something you think you can use? I can see exactly what you're thinking bitch.)
"I don't remember." Nessa decides at last, speaking in a small voice, "I don't know if I'm Tsuna or if she's my mother… Everything's just so messed up! I can't even tell what's real and what's not anymore…"
The vulnerable, broken tone of his voice surprised even Nessa. She had not meant to say all that, but it just came pouring out like water from a broken tap. She pursed his lips tightly shut, lest anything else should slip past her guard (namely the hot, salty droplets forming in the corners of her eyes).
"Oh, Tsunayoshi." The therapist coos sympathetically and holds him (her) closely. She doesn't move, merely staring blankly at the pulse running through the veins on the woman's neck.
Briefly, the notion of strangling the bitch then and there flits through his/her mind.
…
It was not even a day later when another woman came to see Tsunayoshi; this time it's an attorney, an Italian one in fact. (Nessa assumed she was hired by Tsuna's father.) She had a confident stance, wore a creaseless, fashionable dress-suit, and her pretty dark red hair was clipped neatly back in a bun.
Her gaze was cold and lacked any form of false sympathy. She merely sat down, crossed her legs elegantly, and began questioning him/her in a professional manner. She was blunt and straight to the point, lacking the usual idle chatter or comforting words (s)he had come to expect from all adults.
Nessa decides she likes her.
She did not waste her breath trying to explain things in a roundabout, sugar-coated way for the sake of the child in front of her. She spoke to Tsuna on an equal plain, from one human being to another. Because in the dark world she was no doubt apart of, simply being a child is no excuse for ignorance…
It's clear this woman has done this hundreds of times before, for fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, lovers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, and for children far younger and more fragile than Tsunayoshi or Vanessa. The experience and grim honesty in her clear eyes was almost comforting.
Naturally, the time comes for Tsunayoshi to present what (s)he knows about Nana and the case.
At this point, Nessa had to assume everything she knew about Nana from the manga was false, and thus went with her previous story; she knew nothing of what happened on that fateful day nor could she recall much about her "mother". But she still felt somewhat obligated to at least attempt to defend Tsuna's mama.
So she made a point of mentioning that from what he could recall, Nana did not strike her as the type of person who was capable of harming a living creature, intentional or otherwise (though, not in those exact words for obvious reasons).
His/her opinion was noted and (s)he was then given instructions to follow over the next few weeks. People would be coming to question him over the next few weeks, and no matter what is said to her, he just has to stick with her story. Since they cannot legally interrogate a child, they will be forced to give up eventually and she will be left alone.
Nessa simply nods as it had been her intention from the start.
Then the Italian woman saw fit to present him/her with a summarised version of the events that occurred that day. To which, Nessa was grateful to finally have some answers.
Nana and Tsunayoshi had been walking home quite late in the afternoon and had taken a shortcut through a quiet alley. It was there that they were assaulted by three unsavoury characters threatening Nana to hand over her son. Said assailants have been identified as low ranking yakuza members of an organisation widely known for its illegal drug network and human trafficking ring.
Two shots were fired; the first was aimed at the mother who refused to comply with their demands, but it was intercepted by the small child in her arms. The second shot was fired during the resulting struggle between Nana and the armed man, ending in the man's death. At this point Nana's finger had yet to touch the trigger. Naturally, people were drawn to the scene by the noise and the remaining two men made to flee with the bleeding child.
It was then that Nana picked up the gun and fired blindly at the men, and the two were forced to abandon their endeavours and fled empty handed. Shortly thereafter the emergency services arrived and the rest is history.
It was a sound story and made sense as to why a civilian women with a spotless record would suddenly become a suspect for murder. It was only natural to see her as the victim not the villain in this case.
Whether or not the story was true would be a question for another day…
…..
Night had fallen. The Children's Ward was silent as the last of the energetic youths were tucked in and the lights all switched off. But in the dark private room belonging to one Sawada Tsunayoshi, there was movement…
Tsuna (or rather, Nessa) was still wide awake, slowly, carefully pacing around the room. She flexed his fingers and toes one by one, stretched and tested every little muscle of his body, felt every little movement and analysed it all carefully. She found this body was not as weak as everyone made it out to be.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi. Tsunayoshi… Tsu-kun… Tsuna…" She murmurs quietly, testing the name on his tongue. Tsunayoshi… it was a good name, a nice name, she quite liked it. "Tsuna." She repeats the name a little louder, a little more confidently.
The sound of his voice is not so bad after all. Not so bad…
She catches the sight of his reflection in the window, clearer now in the darkness than during the day. Until now she had been avoiding his reflection, not wanting to see the face that was not her own reflecting back at her. But this time she stepped forward, staring at the face reflected back at her in mute contemplation.
Fluffy sienna brown hair, chubby childish face, pale-ish skin, small, scrawny body, Tsuna looked pretty much the way she remembered him from the manga… if not for his eyes…
They were not the wide, doe-like, chocolate brown eyes she was used to; they were a golden-orange and slightly more narrowed. They weren't quite as sharp edged as they would be Hyper Dying Will mode, but not nearly as round as they were normally. It was like his eyes were somewhere between Hyper Mode and normal mode (or something like that).
Nessa briefly pondered if they were always like this, or if it had something to do with her being here. She supposed it didn't matter, they were quite pretty eyes after all.
"Tsunayoshi." She repeats again offering his (her) reflection a small smile. It's not so bad. She thinks. It's not bad at all…
She closes her eyes, bows her head slightly and bids one final goodbye to Vanessa Smith.
Vanessa died on that cold snowy day. And now it was Sawada Tsunayoshi's turn to live.
She raises her chin proudly and opens her blazing golden eyes, "I am Sawada Tsunayoshi." She announces firmly, proudly, resolutely…
Her breath leaves her lungs at the sight of the bright orange flames that suddenly burst to life in her hands. She raises her hands, admiring the way the flames dance over her palms and up her arms. It feels warm, comforting, and safe.
Her broad smirk and fit of maniacal giggles, did not suit that sweet childish face… or maybe it did, it was her face now… and the face of a future Mafia Don.
Screw the plot.
This was her story now.
I don't really have much to say here. Reviews are loved~
Until next time, NyanNyan-suru