O.V.E.R.T.I.M.E
Chapter 4: Pedoville
...
I spat onto the floor, not in favour of the metallic taste of blood present inside my mouth. Bruised and wounded, I found it difficult to stand still, occasionally losing my balance and having to cling onto the nearest tree.
The clarinet girl standing before me smirked, "I didn't expect you to last this long"
With half lidded eyes, I replied, "Oh shut up you old hag, quick the chit chat and brace yourself for my finishing move."
She chuckled darkly, a menacing glint in her eyes, "If you say so."
I quickly dug into the depths of my loose pockets, attempting to find the secret sack of goodies I brought along with me. Just as I found the pouch, the red haired hag blew into her clarinet once again and sent me tumbling onto the floor.
"Eurgh..." I rubbed onto my painfully aching head but promptly pulled out my sack of Ruyi (Wish fulfilling) pearls. They had been a gift left to me by a certain someone. I had refrained from touching them and even resorted to locking them up deep inside my cupboards. Upon taking them back out, dim yet unpleasant memories had crept its way back into my head.
The memories of her teaching me how to fling miniature marbles into the air with one quick flick of the fingers, the memories of her refusing to answer any of my constant questions and the memory of her leaving with her back facing us, not even looking back once.
I shook my head, blocking out the thoughts from my head. This wasn't the time to be reminiscing, I needed to concentrate. The red head was standing before me, a smirk still present on her face. Oh how I wished to wipe it off completely.
I hastily tied the pouch around my waist and got back up, hand reaching in and skilfully pulling out the ruyis, each secured tightly between my fingers.
"Now what could those be?" She questioned in a mocking tone, taking a few steps closer.
"That's for me to know and you to find out" I smirked back, a surge of false confidence flowed through my voice. I hadn't practiced for years, my skills were definitely gonna be rusty. What's more – I was desperately trying to fight back the side effects of Shamal's antidote.
The art of hidden weapons, something my mother was a practitioner of. It was a secret tradition of the Watanabe family, a form of kung fu passed down from generation to generation – though I was sure it would have stopped by mine. I had not mastered the art, barely to be precise. All I had ever succeeded in was throwing marbles; my mother had left before anything else could be accomplished.
But I was still hopeful.
I had gotten myself into this, so I will get myself out of it. If all goes well, I should be able to use a blend of my gymnastics and hidden weaponry to defeat the hag. Though they weren't actually "hidden," I didn't know how to do that…yet.
"Hmmm..come at me" She gestured, clarinet transforming into nun chucks.
"I was planning to" I dashed sideways, throwing my Ruyi's towards her, only for them to be repelled by a simple swing of her num chucks.
"You're gonna have to do better than that if you wish to defeat me…" And with that she turned and spun her nun chucks whilst charging at me. I back flipped to dodge her chain of attacks, throwing more Ruyis at her while I did and swallowing down the pain from the side effects.
A few of the last struck her on the arms; she screamed in pain at the impact but did not drop her weapons, instead, she kept up her running at me.
This time, the girl aimed at my feet, causing me to stagger and trip, but thankfully my reflexes told me to roll across the dirt ridden floor and get back up almost immediately. I then proceeded to do a summersault over her, sending a bunch of Ruyi's in her direction.
She stepped sideways to avoid those – just like I had foreseen. I landed onto the floor gently in a kneeling position and unexpectedly sent another row of Ruyi's in her direction. The girl yelped as they hit her legs, falling upon the floor while doing so. I swiftly got back up and ran towards her, snatching her nun chucks out of her hands.
"You lose" I said coolly as I towered over her body, face digging into the ground.
"I-if you could do that…why didn't you use your weapons earlier on?" She demanded an explanation.
"I was analysing how strong you were… but you weren't that good hmm" I rubbed my chin, pretending to be thoughtful. Truth was, I had been lucky to bump into this girl. If it had been anyone stronger, I probably would've died. "Now tell me where Tsuna and the gang are! OH and what did you do with Hibari?"
"Vongola..? They're probably facing off with Mukuro sama right now…heheheh.." She sniggered, "they won't stand a chance.."
I frowned, not knowing what to say. I had never seen Tsuna fight before, and no matter how bad I wanted to stand up for him..I really wasn't sure what to say. Honestly, Tsuna didn't strike to me as the type of person who would fight.
"Where are they" I asked, my voice serious and firm.
"That way" She answered willingly, as if wanting to send me to my death. I turned towards the direction she was pointing to – an old, ruined building standing behind a small forest.
Hesitantly, I walked away from her, knowing she wouldn't be able to do anything with a wound like that and the loss of her weapon.
…
I reluctantly manoeuvred through the forest and was content when I was shown the exit. Upon entering the old building, I noticed broken stairways and the everlasting eerie aura I was shrouded in.
Still feeling exhausted from the battle before, I held onto the walls for support. What was I planning to do now? I didn't know either. Finding Tsuna was a start, but what if I became a burden to them? Perhaps I should not have come in the first place… but curiosity drove me on.
I frantically paced around the place, searching for any sign of life besides my own. As I walked onwards, I heard sounds of explosions in the distance. The noise was soft, meaning I was quite far from the origin, yet I was still thankful that I at least was not alone. The explosion was most likely caused by Gokudera.
Trying my best to move faster, I scurried along the narrow corridors of the building and towards the source of the noise.
The closer I got, the more smoke evident around the area. Soon, I could even hear shouting.
"G-GOKUDERA?" I called out as the sound of another explosion was heard, no response was given. I coughed as more smoke seeped through, "GOKUDERAA?"
"….Watanabe?" His deep voice asked, it sounded weary and worn out, "fuck..not this again."
A foreign voice spoke before I could, "Kaki-pi! There's another one here!"
As the smoke began to clear, I recognized one of the figures to be Gokudera's. He was squatting on the floor with one knee.
"Gokudera!" I rushed to his side, realising he was hurt.
"Why are you here?" The boy's tone was a mixture of anger and concern, "Shit..I be this is gonna end up exactly like last time!"
"W-wait Gokudera I can –"
"You two quit your talking" The blonde tooth fairy from last time appeared, except this time he was bulkier and had the face of a gorilla…
"Whoa" I remarked.
"You take the girl, I've still got things to settle with that one over there.." The barcode boy from the shopping district incident also appeared, pointing at Gokudera.
"HEY! Why do I get the girl?" The gorilla complained but to no avail, the other boy had already begun charging at Gokudera.
"NO!" I called out, rushing in front of the tako-head and stretching my arms out in attempt to protect him. I knew he was already too injured to fight.
"YOKO MOVE!" His agitated voice called out from behind but I refused to listen. Even the fact that he was calling me by my first name seemed to just sweep past.
The barcode boy pulled out his red yoyos as he ran, firing rows of needles at us. I quickly reached into my pouch and flicked Ruyi's back at him, missing some of the needles which ended up spiking me on the chest and arms. I held back a groan.
"How did you do that?" A surprised Gokudera asked, not noticing my bleeding wounds.
"Later…"
I couldn't last long against the yoyo guy, not to mention, gorilla boy was here too. I prayed to god for a miracle while checking my pouch and realising my Ruyi's had almost ran out. The last gift from my mother…gone?
"Kaki-pi! Lemme at her!" The gorilla barked, storming towards my direction. I knew the ruyi could not pierce his skin, so instead I chucked the last of them at his feet, making him trip.
The barcode boy glanced at his companion on the floor before attempting to attack once again.
"I'm out Gokudera…sorry." I could only apologise as I saw my life flashing before me.
"Che you've done enough" I turned around, surprised to see a small smirk on his face, "you've held them up long enough for me to realise…" He pulled out a few dynamites off his belt and threw them in the direction of a wrecked wall that seemed to have fallen in.
The explosion provoked another loud bang that caused all in vicinity to stop and stare at the up roar.
"It's up to you now…" It didn't take me long to realise Gokudera was not speaking to me, but the figure cloaked behind the smoke.
I squinted, wondering who on earth it could be before the sound of a high pitched voice singing our school song gave much away. A miniature, yellow bird flew across the smokes, singing and flapping its wings, completely unaware of the grim situation we were in.
"Hibari…?" I whispered softly to myself, inching closer towards the shadow behind the veils of smoke.
A few seconds of silence entered before the figure spoke. "Herbivore...what are you doing here?" He demanded, getting off his feet and pulling out the usual pair of tonfas.
"You're alive!" I shuffled towards him, trying my best not to topple over as I did but failed to do so when I ended up falling face down towards the floor. Gokudera's eyes widened as he saw a small puddle of blood emerge beside me.
"OI YOKO!" He rushed beside me and held me in his arms, shaking me as he shouted.
My vision was beginning to cloud up and my chest throbbing in pain. Fear was basically screaming in my face… the fear of death.
I tried to speak but only managed to cough up small specks of blood so gave up the effort.
"Stay here" Gokudera said as he put me down against a wall, "we'll come back for you so don't die." It sounded more commanding than comforting.
"You herbivores are going to be bitten to death" I heard Hibari threatening the two Kokuyo guys in the background; his tone had become angry and frightening.
Gokudera walked back to the battle after taking one more concerned glance at me. I slowly shut my eyes, feeling a little useless yet relieved knowing that Hibari was here now.
…
This is a dream right? The emerald plain, the gentle breeze…it all feels so real…
"Oh? What a complex mind you have…" I snapped out of my gaze and spun around.
"W-who are you?" A tall navy blue haired boy with mis-matched eyes stood before me, a smirk present on his face.
"Kufufu... that goes for you too, I can't seem to peek into your mind…" A creepy smile crept onto his face, "I am Mukuro Rokudo, and now who might you be?"
"Dude, I ain't telling you my name, you might be a child molester for all I know" I said, also noting how scary his pedo smile was.
"Kufufu, is that so? Do I really look like a child molester?" The Mukuro guy seemed to dim down a little.
"Sorry to disappoint, but yes. And how did I get here anyway? Wasn't I in an abandoned building just then? Wait a sec – are you the last stage boss? Why is your hair like that? Bad taste much."
"… You have a lot to ask" He tilted his head.
"So I've been told, NOW ANSWER MY QUESTIONS!"
"Kufufu..if you explain yourself first"
"Explain what? And dude even your laugh is creepy.. YOU HAVE TO STOP."
He brushed off my comment, "Explain why your mind is sealed, I try to see but the mass amount of chains and locks prevent me from doing so, even when I did manage to get a glimpse of it, all I saw was a massive maze."
"What? What der hell are you on?" This occasion deserves another raised eyebrow. Ever since I met Tsuna and them, the number of weirdos I have been exposed to drastically increased. Drastically.
"Hmm you'd better stop pretending.. I'll have to go all out on you after the battle"
"Battle? What battle? OH MY GOD, THIS IS SO FRIGGEN CONFUSING, CAN YOU JUST PLEASE DO SOME EXPLAINING? PLEASE?"
"You'll see..." His creepy smile grew wider, and with that he vanished.
…
Instead of falling back into oblivion, I ended up regaining consciousness. The pain in my arms and chest struck again, lingering around and throwing me back into agony.
I lifted my head, hands pushing against the cold floor for support and was surprised to see an unconscious Hibari beside me.
"..Hibari?" Not getting an answer from the figure laying beside me, I decided to shake him on the shoulders. "Hey..don't scare me like that!"
I was freaked out, this is similar to one of those scenes in the horror movies where the lead character shakes her friend's limp body only to turn the whole thing around and find this really retarded freaky face… YOU KNOW WHAT I'M GETTING AT?
"Watanabe don't worry about him, he's alive" I heard Reborn's clear, high pitched voice speak.
"Reborn?"
"Did he force you to wake?" He questioned before I could.
"You mean Mukuro? Well he did tell me to see for myself but personally I THINK I'D RATHER FALL BACK ALSEEP RATHER THAN EXPERIENCE THIS HORRIBLY AGONISING PAIN." Upon my little rant I decided I should analyse the rest of my surroundings.
I noticed Fuuta and Bianchi's body nearby…and also Mukuro's?
"Hey you guys defeated that evil tard! Party at my place!" My effort in attempting to sound enthusiastic slipped once I fell back onto the floor. "Eh Reborn… mind if you call an ambulance? That'll be nice."
"Mukuro has not been defeated, Tsuna's still fighting" The baby glanced towards a certain direction, I squinted my eyes to see the four figures battling in the distance. A brunette with a strange orange glow on his head against two green uniform guys and…Gokudera?
"Gokudera and Tsuna? Why?" Shocked, my eyes landed back onto Reborn for an answer.
"He's been possessed by Mukuro, so has the other two…but oddly enough he hasn't made an attempt to take over your mind, perhaps your wound renders you useless?"
"Actually…he has, but apparently mine is sealed or something. Hey isn't that cool? I'm special beheheh…"
Reborn stared at me for a while before saying, "For an injured person you have a lot of energy to spare, Watanabe. Tsuna is nearly done, I can tell. The ambulance will be here soon..and so will the Vendicare." With that the baby took off back towards Tsuna's direction.
My eyes trailed after his figure, shifting its gaze back onto Tsuna. Was that really him? He looked so different, too different… And just what exactly is that flame burning on his head? It's friggin defying logic.
I was feeling sleepy again. It seems that Mukuro's magic had taken its toll. Believing in Reborn's words, I drifted back into Dream Land.
…
I hated hospitals. The white, enclosed walls, that funky smell of medicine, DEATH AWAITING IN THE CORNERS. All that and many more not yet to be listed.
"The bandages feel really uncomfortable" I told the brunette who was sitting on the stool beside my bed.
The boy scratched his head nervously, "Can't do anything about that Yoko chan…I'm just glad you're safe. You shouldn't have followed us in the first place!"
"If it wasn't for me you would have gotten your ass whooped!" Tsuna sweat dropped, speechless, "Okay fine but you know you liked my presence Tsuna, don't deny, oh no no no~!"
"Uhm Yok-"
"Oh no no no~ Baby don't leeeeeeeeeeeeeeave mee, OOOOH~!"
"Y-yoko chan!" Tsuna interrupted by little sing song.
"Hm, Yah?"
"Reborn told me about your encounter with Mukuro. What happened?" He asked, suddenly serious upon reaching the topic of Mukuro.
"..Well. There was a really lush meadow with a few trees..yeah that's where we were..in a dream." I began, "He wanted to know about me I think, apparently my mind was guarded or something so he couldn't see what was in it."
Tsuna listened intently before asking, "Do you know why?"
"Nope" I shook head, "maybe it's just sheer awesomeness hoho"
The boy smiled at my lame joke before taking his leave, "I'm going to check on the others now, take care Yoko-chan."
"Mmmh, you shouldn't be walking around too much yourself!" I called out to him just as he left the door, sending another quick smile at me.
Being the person I was I couldn't stay put for too long. I needed to move my god damn legs.
"TO HIBARI!" I shouted as I abruptly got of the bed, hurting myself in the process, "Oww.." I muttered a few swears before heading out the room and checking the ones next to mine. Luckily for me, I didn't have to travel much; Hibari's room was right next to mine.
"Hibari~!" I cooed as I stepped into his room which was not much different from mine. The boy was sitting up back straight on his bed, lower body covered in sheets and gazing out the window. He turned towards me upon my call.
"What are you doing here, herbivore?" He shot me a glare but I doubted he would enforce any sort of violence. I also noted a fluffy, yellow bid perched on top of his head.
Ignoring his question, I asked my own, "Oh my gawwd Hibari, where did you get that bird? Can I keep it? Pleaseee?"
"No." He stated firmly, before lifting the bird off his head and cradling it in his arms. I concluded that he really liked the animal.
I walked up closer towards Hibari and sat on the chair beside his bed, "Then...can I touch it?"
"No." He repeated, shuffling closer towards the window.
Aww, he's acting like a little kid! "LEMME TOUCH THE BIRD!" I whined and clutched onto his sleeves, "PWEASEEEEEEEEEEE?"
He shook me off in disgust, "Just get out of my room."
"N-O" I repeated his words, a realisation hitting me as I did.
I really enjoyed annoying Hibari. That might just become my life's ambition. Annoying Hibari Kyouya. Maybe I could drive him insane and then I'll like –"
"Get out." The angry skylark threw a fist at my head.
"OWWW. NO HIBARI, YOU DON'T ABUSE THE INJURED LIKE THIS, OKAY?" I dug my throbbing head into his bed sheets.
"And you're abusing my personal space, get out I'm suffocating."
I pouted before getting up and trudging towards the door, only to be stopped by the same voice who told me to go.
"Wait" He said, "Why were you at Kokuyo?"
"I'm part of Tsuna's family so why not"
"You can fight?"
"Kinda" My mind was brought back to my encounter with the red haired girl.
"Wao" A mix of surprise and interest was present on the prefect's face, "Why don't you fight me then?"
"HEY HOLD ON A SEC, I AINT FIGHTING YOU! And anyway, it's not like I'm really pro at it or anything, I just depended on reflexes and gymnastics" And a little experience from the past, I noted to myself.
"Hm. Peel me a mandarin" He glanced at the basket of fruit sitting on the table beside his bed. I wondered who had given those to him, then again, it was probably just Kusakabe.
"Wow mood swings much" I rolled my eyes, "first you want me out and now I'm supposed to peel you a mandarin? Nuh –uh, not happening."
"…I'll let you touch the bird" He lifted up the cute ball of fluff in his hand.
Did he really need someone to peel his mandarin that bad? Maybe he's never had anyone peeling his mandarins before.
"Fine, but I get to hold the bird too."
Is the story moving a lil too fast? Tell me if it is please. :3 But yeah the plot's starting to unfold! By the way, Ruyi's are kinda like throwing knives but they're like balls with spikes on them or some shit. Basically Yoko's weapons are like those hidden throwing thingos you see in old Kungfu movies... YERH.
So anyone up for Hibari X OC X Gokudera? Review please, I love all my babies out there ~! Imma marry you all ohohoho