Date: Thursday, February 03, 2011
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 34: Waking From A Dream.
"Itai!"
"Gomen!"
Li winced as an ice pack, courtesy of Tsuna, was pressed against the rather large bump on her head.
Why was there a rather large bump on the gender-bender's head?
The reason is behind one name - Fang.
Yup, none other than Li's oh-so-lovable mother.
"I~tai!"
"Gomen, Li!"
Tears pricked at her eyes as the light brunette shot her an apologetic look.
"Fang-san hit you pretty hard today, didn't she?"
"That's a HUGE understatement, Tsuna."
Li huffed and glared at a random point in space before wincing again when the ice pack touched her bruise.
"Speaking of Fang-san," Shouichi started as he raised a brow, "What exactly did you do to make her mad?"
Cheeks puffed out and lips jutted in a pout, Li sulked, "I didn't do nothing!"
Green eyes deadpanned at the gender-bender with traces of amusement, "So you did something?"
"Shou~!" Came the irritated whine as Li retorted, "Stop being picky!"
The redhead poked the dark brunette's forehead, "Li-san, proper grammar is key to understanding."
Another whine left her lips before she turned to Tsuna.
The light brunette shrugged helplessly.
Another pout rested on her lips before she sighed.
"Fine… But I didn't do anything!"
Shouichi raised a brow at the declaration before whispering to Tsuna, "A box of pocky says she stole Fang-san's treats again."
The light brunette coughed in an attempt to hide his laughter.
"SHOU~!" Li pouted at the redhead's face of innocence, "Stop picking on me~!"
He tilted his head, keeping up the facade, and asked, "How am I picking on you, Li-san?"
She opened her mouth to explain when movement caught her eyes.
Tilting her head towards the object, her vision was filled with the color green.
She crossed her eyes as her nose twitched before-
"Ha~ kyuu!"
Thump!
-Li sniffled and rubbed her nose whilst on her back as a single leaf fluttered away, moving with the wind into the surrounding forest of Namimori's park, as she heard light laughter from the boys.
Dark-brown eyes followed the leaf for a moment before catching onto a light that glinted farther within the grove.
"You okay, Li?" Tsuna asked, noticing the way her attention began to drift away.
Tilting her head faintly, the gender-bender rolled onto her stomach and narrowed her eyes.
"Li-san?" Shouichi piped up, trying to follow her gaze but seeing nothing of particular interest.
Dark-brown eyes narrowed with a mischievous glint.
Sunlight shined off of a silver-colored object.
Lips quirked into a cheeky grin as Li jumped to her feet, shouting-
"NOT IT!"
-and dashing into the forest's shadows, leaving behind two baffled boys before-
"Not fair, Li, you're cheating!"
"Li-san, this is not how you play tag!
-they pursued their distancing friend.
Hiding behind thick shrubs, Li covered her mouth to keep her snickers to herself as her friends ran pass her hiding spot.
Once they were out of sight, the gender-bender turned her attention towards the direction of that strangely shiny spot.
Her eyes sparkled with interest as she proceeded with her plan.
She mentally listed off the procedure.
Stomach flat against the grass - check.
One arm in front of the other - check.
One knee in front of the other - check.
And one cheeky grin?
Certified check.
Li was crawling towards that interestingly shiny thing - ARMY-STYLE!
Her grin continued to widen as she began to hum to herself.
'Da dum… Da dum… Da dum, da dum, da dum~!'
Ignoring the fact that she was singing the theme to Jaws instead of the more appropriate Mission Impossible (or, even better, the theme song of James Bond 007), Li inched closer and closer to this mysterious thing.
Her heartbeat quickened upon approaching this interesting object that was partly buried.
Strangely enough, for something that was buried, it didn't look all that old and treasure-like.
Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized it: part of it was round while another part was relatively straight.
Still, she was unable to decipher the thing and so she went a step further.
Her right hand reached out and brushed away some stray leaves before her eyes widened.
'Trap…!'
She jerked backwards.
The metallic danger snapped upwards.
"AH!"
POOF!
White smoke filled the area.
"Ah…!"
Tsuna clutched at his right forearm, wincing as a painfully tingly sensation played at a particular spot.
Hearing the sharp gasp, Shouichi turned around with a concerned expression, "What's wrong, Tsunayoshi-kun?"
Tsuna pursed his lips and removed his hand, expecting to see the area affected, but his arm was unblemished.
Confusion seeped into his being as he returned the worried expression.
"I don't know..."
A low whimper resounded through the forest.
Beads of beautifully red blood seeped through his trembling fingers.
Li's arm was still intact luckily.
However, he wasn't without injury.
His hand clutched tightly at his right forearm where a deep gash throbbed painfully.
He bit down on his lower lip, trying to blink the tears away but still they trickled down his face.
Another pained groan left his throat as he applied pressure to his wound, hoping that it would stop bleeding.
He casted a weak glare at the bear trap as it continued to glitter in the sun, taunting the gender-bender with the sight of his blood on its jagged teeth.
The leaves rustled as Li tensed, head snapping upwards to see a shadow briefly pass.
Dark-brown eyes widened as his heartbeat quickened.
'Danger…!'
Past training kicking into gear, Li threw himself to the side as a katana embedded itself into the soft dirt ground.
Skidding to a stop, Li scrambled to his feet but trembled as if a weight pressed onto his shoulders just as the shadow dropped to the forest floor.
Confusion became evident on the gender-bender's face upon seeing the unknown clothed bundle, barely larger than himself, before his vision blurred briefly and fear began to seep into him.
The enemy grabbed the hilt of the weapon and raised it, poised for an attack, as light glinted off of its metal.
Suddenly, that weight intensified.
The heavy pressure was forcing him down.
Wide-eyed, Li fell to his knees.
Sweat perspired.
His heart raced.
His breath came in short puffs.
He flinched and closed his eyes, bracing himself for the attack, as the person was about to spring forth when-
Tweet~!
-a sharp whistle echoed through the seemingly empty forest.
Snapping his eyes open, Li found himself alone once more in the silent forest.
Doki doki.
He breathed shakily, slumping over.
His small form trembled viciously.
Blood continued to trickle down from his wound.
His stained hands gripped the grass below.
Tears trickled down his closed eyes.
His jaws clenched tightly.
Coldness encompassed his very being.
And his stomach finally emptied.
"Tsunayoshi-kun...!"
Shouichi caught the light brunette and allowed the younger boy to lean against him to regain his balance.
"Did you trip over something…?"
The redhead trailed off upon seeing the pale face of the other.
Tsuna rubbed his forehead and murmured, "Just a bit… dizzy. That's all."
Shouichi gazed worriedly at the light brunette as his own thoughts trailed towards a memory.
"I had a really weird feeling before and I thought someone got hurt."
'Li-san…' He mused apprehensively, '… had premonition-like feelings before. Does Tsunayoshi-kun have them too…?'
His grip tightened on the smaller, preoccupied one as his lips tightened.
'If so… Please be okay… Li-san!'
The forest swayed gently to the breeze, almost as if nothing terrible had happened earlier.
And one would've thought that nothing happened if it weren't for the soiled trap and disrupted setting.
"Nngh…"
Li grimaced as he wiped his mouth, having spent a while coughing and spitting to rid himself of the bitter taste of bile.
'What…' Came the wispy thought, '… was that…?'
His body shuddered upon remembering the cold feeling - that dreadful pressure - as he bit back another whimper.
'Kowaii… honto ni… kowaii.'
He gripped his shoulders and trembled, tears beginning to form again.
'Mama… Papa… Fratello...!'
Little crescents marked his skin before-
Rustle~ rustle~!
-he jerked up at the sound.
He couldn't react as he was swept up.
Warmth engulfed his shivering being.
The faint scent of lavender wafted.
His eyes began to burn with tears again.
His hands clutched desperately around the soft yet hardened body.
His lips moved rapidly but there was only a choked sob.
His body felt numb.
His head felt light.
Soon, everything faded to nothing.
The child's body fell limp in the safe embrace as red lips pursed into a tight line.
Strong arms tightened around the little one as raven-black hair fell messily onto rounded shoulders.
Dark-brown eyes narrowed at the chaotic area, taking in the blood and mess, before landing on the trunk of a tree.
There, carefully concealed to unskilled eyes, was a single black card on which was a unique design.
It was the image of a silver dog bursting forth from a white quarter mask.
Fang swallowed thickly.
'They've caught on.'
(Extended Ending)
"LI!"
"Li-san! Fang-san!"
Tsuna ran towards the two Sasaki, nearly tripping, before skidding to a stop, bumping lightly into the tall woman, as Shouichi followed in a less clumsy manner.
Their wide eyes gazed worriedly at the unconscious form of their best friend before turning to Li's mother.
Fang took in their expressions - expressions pleading for an explanation and a confirmation of their friend's safety.
Her heart clenched but she forced the pained expression from surfacing and shrugged carelessly, "Kyuu-chan just fell asleep."
It wasn't a complete lie.
The boys glanced at one another, unconvinced, when they spotted another walking towards them.
"Daisuke-san!" Tsuna called out as the gentle man stopped next to his wife.
The male Sasaki glanced over at his child, a frown flickering across his lips, before he smiled lightly at the boys, "I'll take you two home now."
"But-!"
Their protests were silenced when Fang glared at them as a knife appeared in one hand whilst her other hand held onto Li.
Shouichi gulped, taking a step back before firmly standing still, as Tsuna hesitated briefly before bristling stubbornly.
Before the youngest brunette did anything, Daisuke clamped a hand on his shoulder and murmured lowly, "You two can come by tomorrow to check up on Kyuu-chan, okay?"
The boys paused before their shoulders slumped in reluctant acceptance, "Okay…"
Daisuke smiled apologetically before nodding to the ravenette.
Nodding back, Fang placed her knife away and held her child gingerly in her arms.
The man quickly ushered the kids away but one thought remained.
What's going on?
Author's Note:
Ugh, this chapter was short and horrible - I just couldn't get into the mood of writing it; luckily, I somehow managed.
Anyway, the next chapter's the last one so... yeah.
Thank you for reading/reviewing/etc-ing The Journal of Memories~!
(Now I'm off to hide just in case anyone's pissed off at me.)
Loose Translation:
(1) Itai! - Ow!
(2) Gomen! - Sorry!
(3) Mama... Papa... Fratello...! - Mom... Dad... Brother...!