For a moment I thought I'd lost this idea.

Accomplishment of the week: downloaded majority (lol) of the Fall Out Boy albums. I don't like how some don't have album artworks though, so I have to wait for optimisticpessimist22 and her treasure trove of an iTunes Library. xD

Disclaimer: Not I's!


25: The SWaF Act

Yeah, this is trouble.

In Japan, physical contact was restrained and special. You couldn't just go around holding people's hands especially if they were your age, of the opposite gender and the circumstances of your relationship didn't make it a necessity. In simple terms, you couldn't hold hands with a friend no matter who they might be to you. That was how Japanese people made their special someone felt even more special.

In America, and most western countries, physical contact showed the depth of your friendship. Heck, you could kiss someone of the same gender in the lips just to prove that they were homophobic and you two could still be friends. You could have friends with benefits and hope neither of you caught feelings. Americans simply viewed one another as one another's toys, and sharing was definitely caring. (A/N: I hope I didn't offend any Americans...)


Mark had wanted to walk Rein to school that morning. He could bargain for the bus stop, even. But when he opened the door to the bathroom, twenty minutes after their scuffle, he found the child of the moon (because of her hair) asleep in the tub, her long mane of platinum on the edge like a crystal waterfall.

He had forgotten the girl loved water.

"Sweetheart, you're late, and I can see more skin than I normally am permitted."

Rein bolted up, smacked Mark so hard he fell on his butt, wrapped her black towel around her, and stormed out of the room, embarrassed and violated. "Don't get out of there until I tell you to!" Stupid, perverted American. She had finished changing in a record time of ten minutes (it wasn't her best, and she had long hair!) and was on her way to the kitchen for a quick snack when the thought of letting the boy out of her bathroom, which probably might have still contained her delicates, slipped her mind. It was only when the sandy blond heard a door shut that he peeked out the room for a clear coast, then altogether scampered after the hasting Rein.

She was already out the door by the time he reached the kitchen.

"Mrs. Karai—" He shook his head and switched to Japanese, "Karai-sama," What? He was still learning. "Is Rei avoiding me?"

"You're just not up to speed, child," She grinned with coffee-stained lips. Rein wasn't the only one who did double meanings.


After asking for directions via phone call from Donnie, Mark finally found himself outside the Raimon gates. Classes were over, but extracurricular activities had just begun. Maybe he could walk Rei home instead.

Mark accidentally bumped into a blunette girl with glasses on her head. She looked familiar to him, really. She beat him to it. "Mark-san?" She gasped, wondering how on earth a foreigner ended up in Raimon all by himself. "Oh! I'll tell Endou-senpai you're here! Follow me!" She said in basic Japanese just to help him, and Otonashi Haruna led him to the open field that the team was using.

"Minna! We have a visitor!" She yelled excitedly in Japanese, but by the looks of Endou Mamoru, Mark figured Otonashi had just given him away. He couldn't blame her; he hadn't told her that he was going to keep a low profile and surprise Rei.

All thoughts of espionage and ninja skills left his head when he felt the full force of the soccer team tackle him to the ground. Endou grinned at him. "How you?" He tried to say in English, but at least the sandy blond understood. Ish. "Mark! Why are you here?" Kazemaru uttered to his right, in legitimate English. Gouenji was way at the back. "Where are the others?" His English was perfect too.

"Mark-saaan!" The younger years chorused.

"Okay, okay, ohisashi, minna!" He chuckled on the ground. The boys slowly got up and Endou and Kazemaru helped the victim up. "I feel short of breath, thank you," He said to a hyperactive Endou, then turned to the blunette. "I'm here because I thought I could pay a visit," After which, the blue-eyed captain locked eyes with the Japanese striker. "They're at Hotel Mido-ree-ma, doing foreign soccer player stuff."

"And you're here instead because?"

"Stupid Pinko!" A girl yelled from the field. "Call me a bloodsucker one more time and your stupid dragon's going to stay blue with oxygen deprivation!" She aimed her crystalline aquatic bow at the ball she had kicked up and fired, an action for her Lunar Hunting hissatsu that was aimed more for the only "Pinko" in the team.

"Bloodsucking vampire!" Someoka Ryuugo taunted again, a mistake he was already regretting. The arrow had split in smaller arrows and created a comet tail for the speeding ball. "Someoka look out!" Endou sprinted to the forward's place and stuck out his hand. "God Catch!"

Mark and Gouenji tore their eyes away from the near-death sight. Mark jabbed his thumb to the field. "I came for my vampire."


Rein wasn't normally agitated by stupid Pinko on a daily basis, but maybe today he'd gotten a bad score or was menstruating and took it out on her, and now she was tired from practice. Sure she was glad Mark had come to get her, but that meant she didn't have time to entertain her thoughts and hormones. "You really didn't have to, you know," Because really, he never should have.

"Oh, come on," The blond glanced at her as they made another turn. This wasn't the way home… "It's Saturday tomorrow anyway. I thought I could at least get toured around by someone I'm familiar with."

"Wouldn't 'Donnie' do?"

"She's always busy; in fact, while I asked her for directions she sounded so preoccupied with another person."

"So if she wasn't busy, you'd go for her?" Rein really should've put a leash on her words. Then again Americans were dense so she didn't really think much of her almost slipup. The red-eyed Japanese felt a light pat on her back and flinched at the sudden contact. "Even if you were busy or not, I'd take you out any day." Mark smiled at the road as they crossed. Hotel Midorima was a few more blocks away. "And in case you were wondering, this is where the boys are," The hotel sign passed over their heads as they entered the five-star building. "We've missed you, y'know?"

Rein rolled her eyes. Americans and their honesty.


"ReiRei! It's been so long!" Out came one shout. "Reinbow, where've you been?" And another, "Took the Reinforce long enough!" A third laughed, "Yami-tan! OMG!" That one was Dylan. Beside her stood a laughing team captain. "Stay the night? We'll all sleep on the floor so it doesn't hurt your Japanese conservativeness."

"But there are three beds!"

Mark glared at the voice.

"And get no sleep because of rowdy Americans?" Rein stepped into the suite and plopped herself on one of the beds; these things could fit almost five people! "Maybe one night." She settled for a smile at Mark, who grinned back at her. Dylan opened a can of pre-shook soda and aimed randomly. "Time to get the party started!"


Rein was the mother hen of Unicorn; it started only last year, around the same time she had finally agreed to befriend the boys her age. Once upon a time they had been recruited to a major soccer program but needed a name. The sole Japanese female suggested the mythical creature as the boys were bugging her to help them, and until then the title stuck.

And since she was still the mother hen, Rein forced the guys into a movie marathon of Mission Impossible (oh, how the Americans just loved Tom Cruise) while she prepared for bed. It didn't matter how early it was or whether she was going to miss dinner, but the pale girl was exhausted.

There was a knock outside the bathroom door as she tied her hair up. "Rei? Don't sleep in the tub again, okay?" The addressee rolled her eyes and feigned a long snore in response. "I guess I'll have to take watch again, just to be su—"

"There will be all kinds of snares waiting for you as you open the door," She tried; she didn't actually bring anything but her soccer ball and shoelaces. "Would you like to chance it?"

"With you, who wouldn't?" Stupid flirtatious American kept leading her on.


Seven of the boys had managed one bed, another three settled on the floor (Dylan, in this category), and four had hogged the second bed. Mark was still by the bathroom door, but he had told Unicorn to lay off the third bed, which was for the sole girl's use. When Rein exited the bath, Dylan and Billy immediately tackled her to the bed. "What's the code?" Billy yelled, threatening her with a pointed finger. Tom Cruise had gotten to them. "Don't hurt her!" Dylan sat on the platinum-haired girl's legs as he pointed his finger gun at Billy.

"The code is black which stands for that's all you'll see if you don't get off!" Both hyperactive balls of energy obeyed, and Mark and a map of Inazuma Town took their place. Rein groaned; she was too tired for anything, even the apple of her eye

"So I was thinking we start from your house because I got lucky this morning," The sandy blond plopped on his stomach beside her. She rested her back on the headboard and struggled to listen. "Tomorrow we go to the famed Endou's riverbank, then his training ground in the mountain," He looked up to see if she was still following; the red-eyed beauty nodded. "Then you lead me to Sherry's and then Teikoku."

"Good night, Mark," But he ignored her and kept talking.

"I also want to see the borders," He pointed to the map again, "And we have to go shopping at the biggest mall here. Then I want to eat—" The American found traces of silver hair intercepting with the routes, and followed the trail that led to a sleeping Rein, who had fallen to one side in her exhaustion. He managed a smile.

Meanwhile, the team continued their ninja stealth and remained quiet in the background, watching the two intently. They learned awesome Japanese moves from the best, if you were wondering, and obviously mother (hen) knew best.

"Good night, vamps," He teased, pulling up the covers.

You couldn't have blamed him for falling asleep right beside her.


I'd love to tell you what SWaF means, but you gotta wait for the next chapter. Or guess! Teehee. Don't you just love this tandem? This chapter? This OC? I'm particularly very pleased.

1700 words? Ay caramba! *q*

Reviews, complaints, suggestions, flames? :3

-Strawbeariiis