Three Petals: Enma, Kyoko, and Haru
When Enma first laid his eyes on Tsuna in second year of middle school, he had thought he found a comrade. There in front of him was a mirror image of himself: unconfident, weak, easily controlled by others. So when he saw him being harassed in the hallway, Enma reflexively ducked inside an empty classroom, not wanting to be the next target. He listened to the one-sided conversation outside, feeling resigned.
"I-I'm sorry. I'll make sure not to bump into you a-again."
"You wrinkled my uniform, Dame-Tsuna."
Enma rolled his eyes, recognising the voice of Kensuke, a delinquent who hardly attended school. He knew the tyrant didn't even give a second glance to his own uniform. He slightly opened the door, curious to see what Tsuna will do. When he saw him only shiver in fright, Enma closed the door and his heart.
He was a coward.
When the noises outside were gone, he opened the door again and saw Tsuna wincing on the floor, holding his right cheek. Seeing no severe injury present, Enma released a sigh of relief, to his own confusion. The two had never talked before, yet he found a strange attachment to the other boy. It was probably because they were the same, he thought.
Enma finally stepped out and hesitantly walked to Tsuna, who wasn't aware of his presence. He gingerly laid a hand on the brunet's shoulder which made Tsuna jump. "Here." Enma handed over a bandage, because he knew the other must be sick of the infirmary too, knowing the number of times he had to go there.
Tsuna looked at him in shock but immediately replaced it with gratefulness. "Thank you, Kozato-san," he said.
Enma smiled. Tsuna was definitely a comrade.
They began hanging out together, and Enma laughed and never felt so happy at having someone by his side, someone who could understand what he had been through. Tsuna was really a spitting image of himself, and it made Enma secure. He wasn't alone.
But Enma soon realised how different Tsuna was to him. For one, he initially had no clue why Namimori's idol was close friends with Tsuna. Tsuna was a great friend, Enma knew that, but other people didn't see that. Kyoko would sometimes join them whenever they go out, or Enma would join Kyoko and Tsuna when they would hang out. He was at first suspicious of Kyoko's intentions, but he eventually relaxed when all he could see was her kindness and warmth.
Two, his floral hobby. He didn't mind helping Tsuna with gardening duties, a duty he later was told wasn't a requirement. It was only because Tsuna wanted to out of love. One day he had asked Tsuna why he liked flowers so much, to which he replied with, "There are people who aren't good with words and there are people who aren't patient enough to listen. But," he paused, "sometimes flowers are enough." Enma wondered if he was really talking to a fourteen-year-old middle schooler.
The deal breaker was Tsuna's actions. The two had been doing a great job in avoiding their tormentors since a month ago when they first talked. On the day they were finally cornered by three goons Enma didn't even bother to remember the names – because, really, all bullies were the same to him: black silhouettes leering at him – he knew it was a mistake to say Tsuna was the same as him; it was practically mockery against his friend.
"Don't you dare insult Enma-kun. He's way better than you three jerks."
Enma couldn't understand why Tsuna was doing this: standing up for him instead of keeping quiet and accepting whatever was to come, or to stand up for himself – an act so absurd. He could see him trembling from fear and his words didn't make sense. He finally remembered the names of one of the goons: Mochida, famous captain of the Kendo Club. He was strong and Enma could imagine him easily snapping their necks and arms, or whatever his impulse dictated. Enma was a mere ant compared to this person, physically and mentally.
Enma didn't have the time to feel any more ashamed and confused, because in the next moment, he heard Kyoko shouting at the end of the hall. "Oniichan, over here!" Their tormentors fled without another word. He looked at Tsuna who looked at him in return.
Tsuna broke the contact when Kyoko approached them, asking, "Where's Ryohei-san?"
Kyoko smiled. "In the gym."
Tsuna laughed and it was immensely contagious because all Enma could do was laugh.
They weren't the same. One was a selfless hero and the other a shameless coward.
-x-
Kyoko didn't understand why someone as kind as Tsuna was being made fun of. A person's value shouldn't be dictated by numbers on papers and physical prowess. Tsuna wasn't academically smart or physically blessed, but his heart was so pure that Kyoko was certain he could make anyone fall for him, if they gave themselves the chance to watch or listen to him without bandwagoning on teasing him.
On the first day of their first year in middle school when introductions were being made, Kyoko strained her ears to listen to Tsuna as he barely managed to introduce himself, what with all that stuttering he did. She could hear the others snickering at the boy. Kyoko sighed in vexation, hoping this form of teasing wouldn't last.
The pair's first interaction was when Kyoko saw him after dismissal from the third floor attending to the school's yard, watering the flowers and removing the weeds. It had only been a week since school started and there hadn't been any discussion about gardening duties. She became worried. Did someone force him to do it? Putting her hands on the window sill, she looked down. "Sawada-kun."
Tsuna looked from left and right before looking up, surprise etched on his face at seeing the person who had called him. "S-Sasagawa-san? Did you need something from me?"
Kyoko opened her mouth to speak but stopped when she became aware she didn't know what to say. "The poor flower's going to drown." That wasn't what she wanted to say. He blinked before shrieking upon noticing the watering can he held was still tilted on a flower. "Could you wait for me? I'll just get my bag." Receiving a confused nod, she took a few steps but returned immediately, recalling something missing. "Do you have your bag with you?"
Tsuna was blatantly bewildered at her course of actions. "No, but—" Kyoko didn't let him finish and left for the classroom to get their bags.
When Kyoko was still a fair distance away from the boy, he jumped and turned his head towards her direction, an act which surprised her. Was his instinct extremely good, or was this a conditioned response from how the others treated him even from the past? Raised with a brother who fiercely protected her and upheld his set of values thoroughly, she could not help but worry. She closed her eyes, remembering all the times Ryohei defended her from even the tiniest peek of threat.
"I'll help you, Sawada-kun," said Kyoko.
Standing up, Tsuna said, "T-thank you, but it's okay. I'm done for the day. Um," he stared at his bag on Kyoko's shoulder, "I'm sorry for troubling you."
Kyoko smiled. "Don't be silly. It's no trouble at all. We can walk home together." She frowned at how Tsuna's eyes widened.
"M-m-me? With me? Are you sure?"
She tightened her grip on their bags. "Yes, I'll wait by the gate." Tsuna flashed her a suspicious look which quickly melted into that of confused happiness. As he left to wash his hands and return the gardening tools, her thoughts flew back to Tsuna. It didn't seem like he was forced to do this duty; rather, he looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself, smiling happily as he removed the weeds and fixed the soil.
"Sorry for making you wait, Sasagawa-san." Tsuna opened his palm, on which Kyoko put the strap of his bag.
"Do you like gardening, Sawada-kun?" she asked as they started walking.
"Yeah, I really love flowers. They're calming and beautiful and emotional." Tsuna grinned. "Do you know the language of flowers? Isn't it great how these pretty things can convey so much? It's amazing really. I've been growing some of my own at home after watching and learning from my mother. When I was a kid—I'm rambling, aren't I?" He flushed.
Kyoko shook her head. "No, no, go on. I'm really interested."
Tsuna was still red when he continued. "W-when I was a kid my parents got into a huge fight, but one day my dad came home with this huge bouquet of roses and just stood in front of my mom. I was wondering what he was trying to do, because how could plants stop a fight that has been going on for days? But without either of them saying anything, my mom just hugged him and everything became okay again. I was just, wow!" He waved his hands vigorously.
Kyoko smiled, knowing full well what he meant. "When I was a kid, my brother Ryohei would pick up a wild flower and give it to me whenever I start crying. I didn't even know what to do with it, but all I knew was to stop crying and hug him tightly. They're really calming, aren't they?"
She never forgot the smile Tsuna gave her that day.
But she frowned the day Enma entered the picture.
He reminded her of Tsuna's first day, stuttering and awkwardly introducing himself. She glanced at Tsuna who was worriedly looking at the redhead. In the subsequent days, Enma proved to be amazing at avoiding people, more so than Tsuna had been. Sometimes, however, she would see him staring at Tsuna with an emotion she couldn't read.
When the day came and the two boys started hanging out together, Kyoko was happy. Sometimes she would leave the two alone in order to make Enma more comfortable, noticing how wary he was of her. Soon, she joined them when they hung out, when Enma started lowering his guard against her.
Like Tsuna, Enma was kind. When the three of them walked home together, it was Tsuna who would first separate from the two, and Kyoko took this opportunity to learn more about him. She had noticed that, before three had interacted, Enma would often hide by himself and stiffen at the very sight of someone approaching him. The act reminded her so much of Tsuna that she simply wanted to punch anyone who dare hurt those two.
Enma loved kids, she concluded, and he was good with them. When they had to detour around due to construction work, they walked past a park and saw a little boy crying alone; from a distance, there was a group of kids. Without hesitation, something Kyoko had rarely seen from him, Enma approached him with a soft voice. "Hey there."
Feeling she shouldn't interfere, Kyoko stayed put, muffling her laughter when she heard the boy reply, "S-s-s-stranger danger!"
Instead of panicking, Enma laughed. "That's good. You should always keep that in mind, but I won't hurt you. I promise."
The child sniffed. "Whatever. You look weak anyway."
This time, Enma looked at Kyoko with wide eyes, unsure how to feel. She giggled. Enma gave a wry smile and faced the boy again. "Why were you crying?" When the boy seemed offended, he quickly added, "You can trust me. I won't tell anymore. I'll tell you a secret," he whispered. "Last week I tripped and ended up crying."
"You cried just by tripping?" The boy snickered. "Well, you also look like a crybaby." He smiled smugly then deflated. "B-but it hurts, doesn't it? We were playing soccer and I got mad and pushed Saki-chan. She got hurt and now everyone's mad at me." The boy looked at the girl sitting underneath a tree with another girl beside her, watching the rest of the kids play.
"Did you say you were sorry?"
The boy bit his lip and slumped his shoulders. "I-I was mad because they were shouting at me and panicked, so I—I mean, I haven't."
Enma looked around then stood up when his eyes brightened. He walked a few steps away and bent down to his knees, picking up one of the wild flowers on the grass and handing it to the boy. "Give her this and apologise."
"Flowers are girly and icky." The boy scrunched his nose.
"Flowers are for everyone. She'll love it, I promise." Enma gently smiled. The boy stared at him for a while and hesitantly took the flower.
"If this doesn't work, I'll make you cry," he said. Without another word, he ran to the two girls and spoke to the one with short hair.
"Tsuna-kun's influence," said Enma absent-mindedly when Kyoko walked to stand beside him. Together they watched the scene unfold before them: the girl accepted the flower and the boy sat down beside her.
-x-
Haru met Tsuna in her third year of middle school when she supposedly almost drowned. She had only been looking for her hair clip which she accidentally dropped in the river, when she slipped and landed on her bottom. Annoyed at now being thoroughly wet, she was about to stand up but heard someone yelling. A brown-haired boy was running towards her, followed by two other people. She raised an eyebrow and stood up, wondering what the commotion was about.
"Oh," said the brunet as she approached them. "I thought you were drowning."
"Tsuna-kun, you've lived in this town for so long and you don't even know how deep the river is," said the redhead.
Tsuna flushed. "I-I forgot!"
"I've never seen you before. Are you new here?" asked the girl with them. "But before that, you should change out of your uniform. There's still time before the opening ceremony. I have a spare uniform at home, if you like."
Haru shook her head. "My house is just a few blocks away." She grinned. "I'm Miura Haru. I just moved here a week ago. By the way, thank you for worrying, Tsuna-san." She said the last part in a questioning tone.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi, but Tsuna's fine."
"Kozato Enma." The redhead handed her a small towel from his bag.
"Sasagawa Kyoko." The girl smiled.
Despite the rough start of the day, Haru was ecstatic to already have friends. Since they were heading to her house, she led the way with Kyoko beside her and listened to the conversation of the two behind them. How adorable, she thought when their topic remained on flowers.
Haru soon found out how doubly adorable the boys were when they kept viciously protecting each other from bullies. It was their blindness towards their own selves, however, which made Haru run her hand through her hair.
"It's frustrating, isn't it?" asked Kyoko. The two boys had just finished recounting their experience of running away from Oda and went to the cafeteria to buy food. "But it was really bad when they were alone. They usually just accepted the beating as if it was normal, that it should be normal," she muttered darkly. "They have each other now, though. When one's in danger, the other will swoop down and save them." Kyoko's face softened.
"Do you remember when I first met you guys? Tsuna-san was rushing to save me yet he doesn't know how to swim." Haru wanted to laugh but couldn't. How could someone so warmhearted fail to see himself? "They're brave when it comes to others, but when it comes to themselves—" She stopped, attention shifting to Tsuna and Enma as they entered the classroom, each carrying a juice box and sandwich.
"I still can't believe you hit him with a broom," said Tsuna as they sat down.
"He was about to punch you!" Enma narrowed his eyes.
Tsuna retorted, "Yeah, but now you're injured because of me. That's not good."
"Oh, please, Tsuna-kun. You let Kensuke land a hit on you just so I can run away last week."
"Which you didn't do!" Tsuna scowled but immediately grinned. "But what you did afterwards was awesome. Did you see his face when you threw the bucket of water at him? It was hilarious."
Haru closed her eyes, hoping that one day, someone will pry the two's eyes wide open.
"Hey." Haru finally spoke. "Exams are coming up. Want to come over to my place to study?"
She giggled when she heard groans.
