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I have such lovey reviewers, I really do. You guys are the best (I'm sending virtual hugs right now; lots of them).
To the two Guests: Thanks so much! I really appreciate the kind words! :)
Animagirl: Hibari x Takara? It might work, but it honestly isn't the pairing I have in mind. Then again the final pairing could change at any point since I sometimes get indecisive haha
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To: Yamamoto, Takara
From: Kozato, Enma
If I didn't know you I'd be worried to hear about the things you've been doing, like jumping and climbing through windows. You do all that on purpose and I do it by accident – that makes you kind of cool, I think. Especially since you avoid getting in trouble….
I don't see how Nami Middle's Disciplinary Committee could possibly be worse than Shimon's Liquidation Committee though. Nobody can get away from them.
And if you had a phone I could have told you sooner about Tsuki-chan's kittens. There are only three of them, but they're all so cute.
!
Don't tell anyone I said that, please! ….but they really are. Why don't you ever take in a cat since you like them so much?
And I'm not going to be an old cat man!
Enma
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"Sometimes I wonder if my dad opened this place just to annoy me," Hana drawled, her head resting in her hand, "Like he knew that idiot would show up."
"Oh please, you secretly love having him around," at her scowl my smile brightened, "Besides, this dojo is how you met Kyoko-chan, right?"
Hana sighed, but didn't argue. Because it was true – her father had opened a martial arts dojo some years before Hana had been born, and through Kurokawa's Dojo Ryohei had discovered the joy of boxing. And through Ryohei coming here to train, Hana met Kyoko. In a way this place had done something good and what she saw as 'bad' for her.
"He scares some of the kids every weekend," Hana flapped a hand towards the small group of kids and parents that were gathering, "Some of them never come back."
"How many? Like, two or three?" I shot her a teasing look, "Most of them seemed entertained by him more than anything."
And that, too, was true. Some of the kids had looks ranging from awe to curiosity as the peered over at the loud and exuberant teen over by the punching bags. Though once the basic self-defense class started he'd be out of sight – though not out of hearing if he decided to yell.
"By the way, Hana-chama, it's so cute that you teach a kids self-defense class. It really is. I'm sure your sparkling personality endears them to you."
Hana's dark eyes narrowed on me before she stood and smiled at the children, "Alright guys, I'm Kurokawa Hana and I'll be teaching you self-defense today. This is Yamamoto Takara – she'll be helping me demonstrate."
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"My aching body," I made a pitiful noise, "Hana-chama you've killed me. I'm dead."
"If you were dead," a wet rag landed with a splat on my face, "you wouldn't be talking."
Hana was very good at basic self-defense. Though Hana also didn't like children, so when faced with a class of them to teach as demanded by her father when he couldn't do it she got a little more violent than necessary. It was almost as if she was instinctually trying to scare them off – only they were more impressed by her than anything.
This whole situation impressed me too – and made me curious. The Hana that I had read about and watched hadn't ever fought. So did she know how? Did she do what this Hana did and teach the very small beings she disliked? Because she really was a good fighter – without a sword I would undoubtedly be creamed if she really put an effort into it.
"Say, Hana-chama," I rolled over onto my stomach and propped my head on my folded and intertwined fingers, "Will you teach me how to fight? You most precious, treasured friend?"
"Did you just make a pun with your name?" Hana's tone was a complete deadpan; very much so unimpressed, "And why would I do that?"
"Because you love me and I want to learn –"
"You want to learn how to box, Yamamoto-chan?!" My face, as of three seconds ago, was now full of a tanned face and white hair, "You should join my extreme boxing club!"
I blinked, put my palm against his forehead, and pushed, "No."
"BUT WHY NOT?!" Ryohei turned to the side and threw a few punches, "MY CLUB IS EXTREMELY AWESOME!"
Slender hands were suddenly on my shoulders and pulling me away, an irritated and resigned sigh following their touch –
"She's not joining your club, Sasagawa. I'll be teaching Taka-baka some self-defense, not boxing."
"Ah~! So you do love me!"
"Shut up."
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If I was being completely honest I hadn't been paying too much attention to dates and their significance. Just yesterday – a Sunday – I had woken up early to go to school and tou-chan had teased me and laughed me all the way back to my room. I was sure he'd never let me live it down, and Hana wouldn't either if she ever found out. But I digress – the fact of the matter is that I've been distracted.
"Did you roll around in a pile of balloons, Takara?" My dad's voice was teasing and oh-so amused, "Or is this some kind of sequel to yesterday?"
And then there was this – this being my hair. Hair that had decided it was going to stick up all over the place as if a balloon had left it full of static, and I couldn't fix it. I had tried and I had failed and I was throwing in the towel and taking a risk because I was done trying.
"I thought I would try and start a new trend," I snatched my bento from his hands, "You know me, tou-chan; I'm always making fashion statements."
He laughed, "You're always making some kind of statement alright."
With a wave and one last call of goodbye I stepped out the front door and pulled out a grey knit beanie – the aforementioned risk. Risky because hats of any kind were against school rules, and if you broke school rules you crossed Hibari. But I wasn't going to school with "static hair." That wasn't going to happen, even if it meant dodging the Disciplinary Committee all day.
"You have a death wish," Hana smirked as I fell into step beside her, "A certified death wish."
"Oh, I'll be fine," I waved a hand in dismissal, "I just have to dodge the goons and suck up to the teachers."
"Why are you wearing a beanie anyways, Takara-chan?" Kyoko turned her head to glance at me, "You don't usually break the rules like this."
I made a face, "When my hair is a static-y mess I do."
"Oh! I have some static-free spray in my gym locker!" Kyoko clapped her hands, her voice filled with extra cheer, "I can go get it so you won't get in trouble!"
My arms wrapped around Kyoko and I twirled her around, causing her to giggle, "You're the best, Kyoko-chan! And don't worry about going to get it – it'll save time if I just go do it. I'll meet you guys in class!"
It was really too bad that as soon as I stepped past the gates the two Disciplinary Committee members seemed to zero in on me immediately, as if they had some mysterious detectors that locked on to those breaking rules. And considering Hibari, that might have not been too far off. But the fact was that I had to pompadour-ed goons staring me down now, and they did not look pleased.
"Hats are against school rules –" One started.
The other finished, "– rules which you have broken."
"Right," I shuffled in place, "about that…"
My hands flashed out that next second to grab the bat one held and I used the momentary surprise to my full advantage by slinging him into his fellow DC member, leaving me just enough time to take off in a full sprint towards the gymnasium.
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To say that I had expected to get off without some sort of repercussion for this morning would be a lie – to say that I wished and hoped that I could do just that wasn't a lie. So while I had avoided any more wrath from wearing a beanie – courtesy of Kyoko's no-static spray – I had not avoided the wrath brought upon me for pretty much assaulting Disciplinary Committee members. At least that's what I assumed from Hibari's sudden appearance in the doorway the second almost everyone had funneled out of the room for lunch.
"You again, Yamamoto Takara," Hibari's eyes remained firmly targeted on my face, an armed raised with a glinting tonfa clenched in his hand, "Herbivore, you broke a school rule and assaulted Disciplinary Committee members."
"In my defense," My hands shuffled over the contents of the desk behind me, "I was trying to solve a problem and they were hindering me."
Hibari did not look amused, to say the least, "For breaking Nami Middle's rules, I will bite you to death."
And then, very much so like an apex predator from those National Geographic documentaries, he lunged. And as he lunged, I moved, my hands snatching a thick book from a student who let out an affronted yelp. There was a muffled sort of crack as Hibari's tonfa slammed into the book, snapping the spine and hard cover, and I pushed the book towards him, sending some papers flying as I turned tail and lunged for a conveniently open window –
"While you might find biting kinky, I do not. So, I'll be stepping out now, Hibari-san! Byebyenow."
The familiar crunch and feel of bushes greeted me as I rolled across the ground, my feet quickly working to get my body back upright. But before I could take off my eyes connected with another pair of large black ones – eyes that belonged to a fedora wearing baby in a tree.
I couldn't dwell on that though, since Hibari was now making his way through the window. An awkward laugh bubbled through my lips as I took off sprinting around a corner –
Dear lord. Today is the day shit starts going down.
And I really am in Hibari's shit list, aren't I?
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To: Kozato, Enma
From: Yamamoto, Takara
Me? Cool? I'm laughing, Enma. You can't see me, but I'm laughing.
And your Liquidation Committee would shrivel up and die in the face of our Disciplinary Committee – trust me. No one, and I mean no one crosses the local Disciplinary Committee Kami-sama.
Tsuki-chan had her kittens, huh? I'm sure they're adorable, but nowhere near as adorable as you getting flustered over such trivial things. I can see it now – the blush on your cheeks as you stare down at those cute little kittens as they stubble around on weak legs.
Or as you read that.
So are you?
Did I make you blush?
Did I?
As for getting a cat… my kaa-chan was allergic to them, actually. So having a cat at home would be like a constant reminder to us that she's gone. Plus, a cat in a sushi chop doesn't seem very sanitary.
The girl without a phone,
Takara
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The emails aren't necessarily going to be in-time with the story itself, as of right now anyways. They're more just to show how the two communicate.
And what did I tell you about the running gag?
Takara is doomed to never use doors again (not really, but hey).
Also, what do you think?
Did Enma blush?
DID HE?
THE WORLD MAY NEVER KNOW.
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