Date Started: Friday, August 06, 2010
Title: The Journal of Memories
Author: Gin Nanashi
Creation Type: Fanfiction
Main Rating: K+
Main Genre: One-Shot Series; Fluff, Friendship
Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman REBORN! belongs to Amano Akira; Sasaki Li, Sasaki Xue Fang, Sasaki Daisuke, Sasaki Kiyoshi and every other non-identifiable characters belongs to me (Gin Nanashi).
Summary: Sasaki Li came from a bloodline that allows her to gender-bend. Unfortunately, Li has yet to figure out how to control her ability. Fortunately, it leads to a whole bit of fun for the readers!
The Journal of Memories
Event 09: Oh! I Almost Forgot!
October 14 occurs every year.
Should it be important?
Maybe. Maybe not.
Sasaki Li yawned tiredly as he pulled on a sweater and ruffled his dark-brown spikes to rid them of his bed-head.
Mind you, it didn't do much.
Stretching out his well-rested muscles, the gender-bender grinned to himself when he caught sight of the date before making his way downstairs.
"I'm going out!" Was the first thing he told his cuddling parents as he began to walk pass them.
Thunk!
Li froze in mid-step as he crossed his eyes to look at the knife embedded in the wall only a centimeter away from his nose before jumping backwards with a yelp, "Mom!"
"What is it, honey~?" Came the sugar-coated reply along with a super-sweet smile.
Li twitched before giving a brilliantly nervous smile, "Oh, nothing much! Just wanted to greet you and the old man - err - dad with a 'Good Morning' and ask how it's been going!"
"Just fine, sweetie~! Thanks for asking and don't forget~!" Fang chirped as she turned back to the awesomely colorful and bright television.
The boy shivered at the tone and nearly collapsed out of relief before ducking under the knife and inching pass it.
Slowly…
Slowly…
Thunk!
Thunk!
Two more knives embedded themselves into the spots where Li previously was.
Luckily for him, Li had already managed to speed out of the house and, upon hearing the door slam shut, Fang couldn't help but burst out laughing as she dropped onto her husband's lap, "Oh, Daisuke! You should've seen Li's face! It was hilarious!"
"Really now?" Daisuke smiled and tilted his head, making spiky dark-brown locks sway with the motion as his grey eyes shimmered in mirth.
"Yup!" The woman chirped as she calmed down a bit and snuggled into his warmth before snickering at the oblivious-looking man's next question.
"Did Li even eat yet?"
The dark brunette gave a soft whimper while grabbing his stomach, "Mou… I was so scared of her that I didn't even bother grabbing a toast."
The empty organ gurgled once more as waterfalls of desperate tears flowed down his face.
"L-Li? What's wrong?" Came the ever-meek voice of the cutest and most adorable person in the whole of Li's world.
The gender-bender stuck out his bottom lip in a pout before clinging to the light brunette, "Tsuuuna~ I'm huuungry~!"
Said male flushed red at the close contact before stammering, "U-Um… I-I still have a-an onigiri left. Y-You can have i-it."
Li brightened up at the mention of the riceball before hugging his best friend even tighter, "You're so good to me, Tsuna-Fish!"
"C-Can't b-breathe…"
POOF!
Li hummed cheerfully to herself as she licked her fingers clean of the sticky rice before patting her stomach, "That was some good grub!"
Tsuna sweatdropped at the dark brunette's choice of words before laughing nervously, "Y-Yeah…"
He turned his gaze downwards as his smile faltered before perking up when Li jumped to her feet in excitement, "Oh! I almost forgot!"
The girl whirled around and grabbed the light brunette's hand with her clean one before dragging him with her down the street, "The circus is in town! Let's grab Shou and go see!"
With Tsuna behind the girl, Li never saw his expectant smile tip downwards.
"TA DA!" Li cheered as she threw her arms up in excitement, "It's the circus!"
"Wow!" Shouichi gaped as a few men fifteen feet tall walked nimbly by before waving his arms around in amazement, "How can they grow so… so… so tall!"
"It's greens!" The dark brunette answered while assuming her know-it-all pose, "It's gotta be! Well, either that or milk. Bleh! Milk... What do you think, Tsuna-Fish?"
The light brunette snapped back to attention before giving a sheepish smile, "Um… both?"
"…"
Li gave a deadpanned expression before a thoughtful look crossed over.
Grinning widely, the girl patted him on the head and ruffled his fluffy hair, "You're so smart, Tsuna-Fish! I wish that I had thought of that!"
Tsuna couldn't help but blush at the compliment before the gender-bender grabbed both boy's hand and began dragging them off to a stand.
"Welcome boys!" The stand owner greeted as he smiled down at the three, "If you hit five balloons, you get a small prize. Hit ten and you get a bigger one! Want to try?"
Li grinned up at the portly man, "Sure, mister! Just one thing."
The man looked confused, "What is it?"
The dark brunette took a deep breath as the other two quickly covered their ears.
"I'M A GIRL!"
Li coughed a bit to clear her voice before shooting a cheerful smile at the embarrassed man, "How much?"
"Um… Five hundred yen but it'll be three hundred yen for one game as compensation for my mistake." The stand owner coughed before placing ten darts on the table as Li took out three one-hundred-yen coins.
Grabbing the darts, she split it in half and gave five to each boy before chirping, "Knock 'em dead!"
Tsuna and Shouichi gave the girl a look that said that she was stating the impossible but she merely waved it off.
Both sighed at the nonchalance the dark brunette showed before gulping and facing their doom - err - task.
An embarrassed blush took over both boys' face as each dart missed its target and the fifty multi-colored balloons mocked their efforts.
Li blinked before sweatdropping and musing aloud, "You guys have never thrown a dart before, huh?"
They dropped their head in shame as they were overcome by a depressingly dark aura.
Thunk!
The two looked up in surprise as Li slammed down two five-hundred-yen coins and rolled up her sleeves.
"L-Li?"
"Li-san?"
The two boys chorused as the gender-bender smirked and grabbed the twenty darts in front of her before taking her stand and narrowing her eyes in concentration.
Skillfully maneuvering her arm and wrist, Li stuck her tongue out a bit from under her left canine and threw each projectile swiftly as the three males watched on in amazement and disbelief.
Many a popping noises sounded through the air before the number of hits and misses were counted.
Hits - 17
Misses - 3
Li grinned in satisfaction before grabbing the huge lion plush and the small rabbit plush and pushing them to Tsuna and Shouichi, respectively.
Before they could protest to the gifts, though, Li was already dragging them to the next stand.
Dark-brown eyes sparkled in excitement as they spotted a stand with a giant painting of a rifle on top before their owner dragged her friends over.
"Hey, miss!" Li greeted loudly as the three skidded in front of the owner, "What does this stand do?"
The lady-in-charge crossed her arms, showing off an impressive tattoo on her upper left arm of two crisscrossing rifles with a bullet and the roman numeral "VIII" in front it, before smirking at the kids, "It's quite simple, kiddos."
She jerked a thumb over to the counter that had five air rifles attached to the surface before explaining in depth, "Basically, you use those firearms to shoot at a red star on a piece of paper. If you manage to completely destroy the star, then you get a name-plate. It costs six-hundred-yen, want to give it a try?"
Li didn't bother thinking about it and slammed a five-hundred-yen and a one-hundred-yen coin on the table before turning to the boys, "What about you guys?"
Tsuna and Shouichi shook their head rapidly, "N-No, thank you."
The dark brunette pouted a bit but didn't force them and turned to her air rifle, thanking the woman for setting out a chair to stand on.
The boys gave a sigh of relief.
The dark brunette twitched a few times as she glared at the red star that mocked her.
A few shots were scattered across the paper but only a few actually tore at the five-pointed symbol.
A tug on her sweater brought Li's glare to the timid boys.
Tsuna flinched at the dark look, making Li soften, before murmuring, "Maybe we should try a different game?"
The dark brunette pouted, "Not yet!"
Another tug was felt on her sweater, this time from Shouichi as the red-head piped up, "But, Li-san, you already tried eight times. I don't think the result is going to change…"
"I still have more money!" Li whined as she took out the correct fee and showed it to the boys.
Tsuna and Shouichi glanced at one another and back at the pouting girl before sighing simultaneously, "I guess it can't be helped…"
The dark brunette tilted her head to the side and blinked.
Shouichi grabbed the fee and placed it on the counter as Tsuna tugged the girl back to chair.
The boys left their plushes at their feet on the stand as Tsuna stood to Li's right and Shouichi stood to her left.
The girl couldn't help but blush at the support and smiled thankfully at the two boys.
"I'll help you aim," The red-head stated, grabbing the nozzle and gauging the distance.
The light brunette smiled shyly at his best friend before placing his hands on the handle, "It seems like it's hard to keep the rifle still so I'll help…"
Her red cheeks returned to their original color as Li grinned gratefully at the two.
"Thank you!"
The stand owner watched as the three children worked together.
The sound of the rifle going off filled the air every few seconds before it was exhausted.
The tattooed woman walked up to the paper and raised an eyebrow.
In the direct middle of the paper was a star.
An empty star.
She smirked to herself before pulling out a paper from her pockets and placing it in front of the kids, "Nice going, kiddos."
The three perked up at the compliment.
"The name-plates are going to take a few hours to complete so print your names on this paper."
The red-head looked curiously at the paper before writing his name and passing it off to the other boy.
"I'll keep one-half and you guys will take the other half."
It was then passed off to the only girl in the group before one-half of the paper was returned to the woman.
"When you come back, just show the half to that guy over there."
The woman jerked a thumb to the bald buff man relaxing in a hammock behind her.
"He'll give you your name-plate."
The dark brunette squealed in happiness as she glomped her two friends, shouting "Thank You" continuously, and making the boys flush red.
After basking in the excitement, the girl collected the plushes and dragged the boys off again while shouting thanks behind her to the woman.
The stand owner glanced at the paper before smiling to herself, "Irie Shouichi, Sawada Tsunayoshi and Sasaki Li, eh? Maybe they'll become great in the future."
She then swiftly turned and kicked the sleeping man off of his hammock.
"Hey! You've got work to do, baldy!"
Three stomachs gurgled in unison as the kids stopped walking and blinked at each other.
Li gave a sheepish grin, "What do you guys say to some grub?"
Tsuna rubbed the back of his neck, blushing, and nodded, "That sounds good."
Shouichi coughed in embarrassment, "Yeah. It's been a few hours since breakfest."
"In that case…" The dark brunette started before she dragged the boys off again.
"We'll eat and then hit the other places!"
Leaving three kids to decide what a good lunch consists of isn't always a good idea.
Especially when all they chose to eat were hotdogs, pretzels, cotton candy, chocolate bars and soda.
Needless to say, they had an upset stomach and were forced to retire for a while.
Luckily, kids tend to bounce back pretty quickly.
So, after about twenty minutes, the three were wandering around again for some excitement.
The "Dunk-A-Victim" game was pretty amusing considering the fact that all three managed to hit the target and force the scowling man to take one dunk after the other in a row.
Of course, Li hit the target on purpose but the boys actually hit the target by pure luck (someone smacked into Shouichi and sent the ball flying while Tsuna closed his eyes and threw it as hard as he could).
Then came the strength test where the player had to hit a button with a hammer so that the indicator would hit the bell and make it ring.
The hammer was quite heavy for one kid so the three banded together and combined their strengths.
Sadly, they all missed the button and hit the owner's foot instead (which led to a panicked chase around the large park).
To escape the deranged man, the three dived into the "Mirror Fun House" where they soon forgot about their previous adventure and began to examine the many mirrors (which, in turn, led to their turning skinny, fat, short, tall, wriggly and many more before finally leaving the semi-dark place).
They wandered around some more, snacking on other snacks and rushing off to the restroom, before they finally reached their last destination.
It's time for the Big Tent.
Entering the dark tent, the three kids continued to hold hands as they took their seats in the front row.
They were just in time for the show.
Loud, preppy circus music played in the background as the ringmaster appeared in the middle of the stage with an exaggerated bow.
Li jumped up and waved wildly at the man before pouting a bit as she was pulled back down by the two boys.
With a wave of his hand, a part of the cast skipped, rode, jumped and what-not onto the stage.
With another wave, all but the acrobat troupe dispersed.
Flips, jumps, catches and swings were performed before they disappeared in a burst of purple smoke.
The burst caused Tsuna and Shouichi to jump a bit though they still managed to knock into the peanut man and spill a few bags.
As the smoke dissipated, large figures were seen as the stilt walkers came onto the scene while tossing balls to one another.
Below them were shorter jugglers manipulating objects varying from balls to pins to knives to sticks of fire which made the kids look on warily.
A bright golden flare bursted throughout the stage as everyone blinked away the light to see three large elephants with their handlers along with a group of dogs and their trainers.
Li was the only one of the three brave enough to pet the trunk of the elephant though she did try to force the other two to do the same.
They panicked when the elephants picked up several scattered peanuts near them and would've fainted if it weren't for the fact that it was too loud to conk out.
The dogs twirled and hopped and performed other varying tricks before leaving as smoke began to blow at one of the entrances.
A loud roar nearly shook the audience to their core as three tigers prowled out followed by their handlers.
At this sight, both boys clung tightly onto the overly excited girl as she tried to jump up and into the ring but was held down.
Along with the wild cats was the ever-popular strongman who lifted weights and dared to put his head in between the carnivores' jaws.
This group soon left as a tiny car beeped and drove onto the scene.
The boys looked at it curiously as they released their death grip on Li who froze and paled at the vehicle.
The door opened as twenty-one clowns of varying sizes and colors popped out one by one (except for the last two who got stuck and started making a fuss).
The girl paled and squeaked before clinging onto the light brunette and burying her face in the crook of his neck.
The red-head sweatdropped at her actions and Tsuna's red face when one clown suddenly popped up in front of them
Shouichi gave a loud yelp (though it was still drowned out by the music) and clung to the other two as Tsuna fainted from shock.
Guess that they were all afraid of clowns to some extent.
Exiting the Big Tent, Li breathed a sigh of relief as she stretched her arms before smiling brightly at the boys, "That was pretty awesome!"
"Maybe for you." Shouichi sighed as he held up the weak-kneed light brunette, "I nearly died of a heart attack because of the clown!"
The dark brunette paled a bit at the mention of the make-up covered men before shaking her head to rid herself of the thoughts.
"A-Anyway!" Li continued as she knelt down in front of the boys with her back turned to them, "I'll carry Tsuna-Fish!"
The red-head blinked before giving a worried look, "Are you sure?"
The dark brunette gave a grin and nodded before Shouichi placed the unconscious brunette onto the girl's back.
POOF!
Make that, onto the boy's back now.
Shouichi waved away the white smoke nonchalantly, having gotten used to the transformations by now, and stepped back as Li stood up.
The dark brunette shifted Tsuna a bit to a more comfortable position before the two conscious boys began to walk again.
"So, what now?" The gender-bender mused aloud.
Green eyes glanced at Li before their owners wondered, "It's been about three hours now so I think that we can pick up your name-plate now."
Dark-brown eyes sparkled in remembrance, "Oh yeah! I forgot about that!"
"Let's go!"
Walking back to the group of stands near the entrance of the circus, the trio stopped at the familiar, but empty, stand.
"Hello~?" Li called out as he peered into the stand.
Shouichi frowned a bit, "Did they leave already?"
"Eh!" The dark brunette yelped before his bottom lip quivered a bit, "No way…"
The red-head tensed and waved his hands in front of him at the sight of Li's upset face, "Or they just took a break!"
The gender-bender perked up a bit at that.
"Hey…"
The two jumped at the sound of a gruff man's voice before sweatdropping as a bald buff man loomed over them.
The two gulped and took a step back before Li spoke up, "Um… Hi?"
The man stuck out a fist making the kids flinch before they looked on curiously.
He opened his hands and three silver chains dangled from his grip, "Here."
Li grinned widely and nearly dropped Tsuna in his excitement but managed to keep one arm around the other brunette as the other took the name-plates from the man.
"Thank you so much!" The gender-bender chirped happily before giving a confused look, "But… We only won one game so why…?"
The man shrugged and left without saying another word.
Li blinked and held the name-plates up to see as Shouichi called out, "T-Thank you again!"
Tsuna stirred a bit at the sounds before yawning and blinking blearily, "What's going on…?"
Li grinned again and shook the prize he received, "We got our name-plates!"
The light brunette blinked before grinning back as excitement seeped in, "Really?"
Li nodded vigorously before he nearly dropped the boy again when Tsuna yelped and flushed red at their close contact.
The gender-bender couldn't help but laugh at Tsuna's adorably embarrassed face before allowing him to slide off and handing the plates to their respective owners.
Glancing down at his own plates, Li couldn't help but smile and reminisce the teamwork they showed as he traced his name on the two identical plates before slipping the chain over his neck and grabbing his friends' hands.
"Let's go home!"
With that, they pranced off - err- made their way home as the sun began to set.
"Um… Li?" Tsuna piped up as he stood in front of a house that was very familiar to him.
"Yes, my darling Tsuna-Fish?" Li responded quite cheerfully as he dragged the other boys to the front door.
"Why are we at my house?" The light brunette deadpanned but allowed himself to be dragged.
"Because~!" The dark brunette said in a sing-song voice before Shouichi clarified for him, "We left something here."
Tsuna looked confused but nodded.
After all, the two came over a lot so it wasn't a surprise if they left something.
The light brunette shook his head and unlocked the door as the other two stood behind him before pushing it open.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TSU-KUN!" Came the loud and (maybe) unexpected greeting.
Tsuna gave a strangled scream as he clung onto Li in fear making the dark brunette and the red-head laugh.
The birthday boy blinked as he recognized his mother, the ever-kind Nana, along with Fang, Daisuke and an older boy with spiky black hair and almond-shaped grey eyes.
Li grinned at his startled friend before ruffling the boy's fluffy hair and hugging him close, "You didn't think that the circus was just for fun, did you?"
Tsuna stared at the youngest gender-bender with wide-eyes and gave the most intelligent response ever, "Huh?"
Shouichi quieted his laugh and patted the boy on the shoulder, "We needed to keep you away from the house so that everyone else can finish preparing."
Needless to say, the smallest boy gaped in shock as the grey-eyed boy stepped forwards and placed Li in a head-lock, "Which, by the way, you did an awesome job of not forgetting, Xiao Li."
Li scowled at the nickname before pulling on his big brother's cheek and smirking, "Of course, Kiyoshi! After all, I was the one who came up with this plan of distraction."
Fang slammed a fist into her youngest son's head, "Don't get a big head, Kyuu-chan. You still need to work off your debt."
The dark brunette nearly fell over before sulking to himself as tears of distraught made their way down his face, "I know…"
The red-head sweatdropped and waved his hand, "A-Anyway, we should continue this inside, right?"
"Of course~!" Nana cooed as she ushered everyone in and locked the door behind her, "Come, come. The cake's ready!"
With that said, the evening passed joyously as Tsuna made his wish, ate cake and received his presents from the older ones before he was dragged upstairs by Li and Shouichi for theirs.
Li giggled to himself as he dropped to his stomach and crawled under Tsuna's bed, "The best place to hide something-"
"-is in plain sight." Shouichi finished as he sat on the floor before the gender-bender pulled himself out along with an orange-wrapped present.
"TA DA!" The dark brunette chimed happily as he presented the gift to the stunned birthday boy who stuttered out his thanks.
Carefully unwrapping the box, despite Li's complaint that he was taking too long, Tsuna lifted the lid and blinked at the object inside before pulling it out delicately.
It was a long red string with many paper cranes of varying colors and patterns attached to it.
Li's grin turned a bit sheepish, "Shou and I were planning on making nine-hundred-ninety-nine of them but it didn't really work out that way…"
At the boy's confused face, Shouichi explained, "I heard from my big sister that if you make a thousand paper cranes, then something good will happen to you. We were planning on letting you make the last one but…"
As the red-head trailed off, Li continued on, "We only got up to ninety-nine."
At this confession, both the dark brunette and the red-head blushed in embarrassment before the gender-bender hurried on, "A-Anyway! Will you make the hundredth one? Even if it's not a thousand, it's got to count for something, right?"
Tsuna stared at the two before turning back to the box to see a single orange and white striped paper square.
He gave a small smile as he held up the paper before blushing and asking shyly, "Only if you guys help me."
Shouichi smiled back and nodded enthusiastically as Li glomped the boy with a squeal, "Of course!"
The faint dusting of pink can be seen across the dark brunette's cheeks.
He then leaned forward and whispered in light brunette's ear, almost shyly.
"By the way, Happy Fifth Birthday, Tsuna!"
Author's Note:
This chapter has been my longest (and fluffiest) yet (I think).
Proof-reading it was a bit of a pain, but I'm glad that I did because there were quite a bit of errors and the wording had to be corrected.
Now, I know that it's not Tsuna's birthday in reality, but I thought that this chapter would be a nice way of revealing a bit more of Li's personality and family life.
Some of the details that I put into this chapter will become important later on, but I won't reveal too much of it.
I hope that this chapter was up to par with my other writing and that all of you enjoyed it.
Please stay tuned for the next event!
(Updated: August 15, 2010 8:36 PM, Eastern Time)
I uploaded my drawing of Tsuna and Li during the childhood arc on my DeviantArt account!
My Pen Name is Kira-Tsume but the easiest way would be to go to my homepage on my profile.
I found it cute and I hope that you do too!