"Gravity"
(That's what they get when they let their hearts win.)
~K27~
It took us about two whole hours of teeth-chattering and bike-pushing before we reached the end of the 'Snow' path. The strapped rockets couldn't stand the extreme cold (pun not intended) so Gokudera-kun and I had no other choice but to march through the blizzard. Most of Gokudera-kun's lights had already gone out, and I could swear I heard him making small noises the more we struggled through the snowstorm.
Add to that, we were going against the direction of the snow.
I didn't want to speak, since my mouth is already almost frozen blue from the snow that keeps assailing us, so I just patted his shoulder as we continued.
Oh my gawd, I feel like such a manipulative bitch right now. I must be playing with Gokudera-kun's feelings. But- well, if he still thinks that we're friends, I guess it's okay to do this. There's really no harm in being close to him and all that!
Sigh, I wish that I'll get over this ASAP. I really don't want to ask him the truth, since he might think that I was already suspecting something going on between us, or I just don't want him to think about it too much to make him really fall for me so...
I should be blaming someone for making my feelings so jumbled up.
~K27~
"S-s-sh-shit..." Gokudera-kun says finally, once the snowy landscape has melted to be replaced by a bamboo woodland. They loom rather ominously, as if egging us on (I sound really delusional to thinking that way).
He's still shivering violently and now wildly removing his dynamite sticks from his body. I really have no choice.
"Gokudera-kun, here."
I offer him my parka and help him put it on.
Five seconds are what Gokudera needed before everything registered in his mind.
"T-th-thank y-y-you," he whispered as he rubbed his hands together and blew through them rather feverishly.
"You're welcome," I reply rather lamely before nudging him to get a move on. Well, really... there's nothing I can really do right now. So...
We walked in silence as we passed through our verdant obstacle. I can only hear the sound of the crushing of some small bamboo branches (eff, I know bamboo is grass but still-!) and the small noises of the bike as we continue to walk.
I know, I really want to talk to him and make things lively and ease up the slight tension between us but I can't. There's really nothing I can do for now. I mean- well- I guess I might break off the conversation again between us... and- uh- O.M.
"Looks like her illusions are getting better everyday now." Nice save, Gokudera-kun! He's starting a new conversation with a topic far from what we're in right now.
"Whose illusions?" Okay, Reborn-chan hasn't really told me much about illusions. He just told me a story of how, under the orders of a feared illusionist, me and Haru were almost acidified.
'Kay, I'm not really that informed about these Mafia business, I admit.
"Oh... Chrome Dokuro's. Has Reborn told you about her?"
"Eh... no." Wow, I sound so stupid. "Sorry." The added word made me even stupider.
"She's the illusionist of the Vongola, as well as the Mist Guardian of the Tenth!" said Gokudera-kun quickly. He sounds really happy as he tells me this. He often sounds that way when 'the Tenth' is involved. "Do you know already about the Guardians of the Vongola?"
"What the hell, I never thought the Mafia would have... guardians." I manage to suppress my snort at the sudden cheesiness of it all. Is Tsuna some kind of High Priest or something a la Curious Play?
"Ahaha. Well we do. Almost all of the families have their respective guardians," explains Gokudera-kun, not at all affronted and pushes the bicycle with more energy than before. "Well, she represents the Mist as the Tenth represents the Sky."
"So... you're a Guardian too?" I stifle a laugh.
"I'm the Storm, and Yamamoto's the Rain. Your brother is the Sun, while Hibari is the Cloud and the Stupid Cow is the Lightining."
"Wow." I never thought the Mafia would be as screwed up as this. I thought the Mafia won't take this kind of stuff seriously. "So... you're all some kind of harem with Sawada as your-" I managed to stop myself from saying something bad again. "-as someone you'd protect?"
"Eh... the Tenth doesn't need protection, actually. We're just there to give him back-up and protect the Vongola."
Sheesh, dude. Why are you still into this kind of stuff? I think they must snap out of this reality soon since it's just... almost like a kid's cartoon. Sawada must have brainwashed him and the others. I'm now almost on the verge of knowing if he's just a good at hypnotism. The things they are going through is almost toned down with the 'Guardian Thing'. I don't really find the Mafia some kind of shady organization now.
Trust me, if the Guardian stuff is real, then the things we study about the Mafia in class must be a big, effing lie.
"So... Dokuro-san is making the surroundings we're currently in?" Quickly, I steered the conversation back to where it's supposed to lead. I manage to touch the leaves to see if my hand will pass through them. They didn't and I am left to wonder at what the hell illusions are supposed to be.
"Yes. She's probably here somewhere." He saw me having a bamboozled look as my hands do not touch air as I attempt to touch the leaf from a shoot. "Amazing, right?"
I give up. I hastily help Gokudera-kun navigate now through a thick bamboo thicket instead of unlocking the 'secrets of the illusionary bamboo shoot'.
"Don't tell me that you can do illusions too, Gokudera-kun."
He chuckled and shook his head, careful of not making the shoots tangled with his hair and the bike. Good thing I'm bringing up the rear so I can check at what he's doing in front and I'm not seeing his face for now. "I wish I could. If I did, then I could probably snare her to give up on Mukuro and stay with me instead."
I didn't stop. There was no good reason why I should halt at the surprising revelation he had.
"So you and Dokuro-san were an item once?" I asked in a much higher voice. Gokudera-kun's such a smooth liar. I shouldn't have believed him when he said he was always single!
"It didn't last more than three months," he answered casually with a light laugh as he directed the bike. "I'm a little careless with girls, and I didn't actually pay much attention to her. Plus I often get mad and say mean stuff to her. No wonder she left. Plus... well we weren't actually that close. I had my Tenth, while she had Mukuro. We sort of fell apart at the end. She was fed up with me." I'm amazed at how nonchalant he sounds as he tells me this. He's probably saying this to turn me off or something, right?
"You didn't date any girls after that?" Shucks, I sound stalker-ish as I asked this.
"Nope." He proves my guess, as expected. "I'm a little scared of having another relationship like that."
"Oh." My frown hid a somersault from my insides. So this confirms it that I have nothing to worry about. My stomach stops doing some whoops as it brings me back to earth. This also means.. aww, man. This means that he can't confess to Haru.
But still I'm really happy right now! Oh yes, I'm doing a shuffle dance in my head- oh yeah- uhuh- everyday I'm shuffling!
"You must've thought I'm in love with you or something didn't you?"
"O-of course not," I answer with a simper quickly. The shuffle dance is quickly replaced with the 'teach me how to dougie' steps. "Haha, you really thought I'd suspect that?"
"Well yeah." My eyes widened as he said those words. "You've been pretty quiet all day. At first, I thought it was because of the Stupid Hag's words but I noticed you were acting like this since last night."
"Ahaha, blame lack of sleep. I hadn't quite slept much." Gokudera-kun isn't as dense as I thought he should be. So he knew all along.
"Ah. Dammit, I'm sorry of thinking that way Kyoko-san!" We're almost out of the thicket, and I had difficulty in concentrating with helping him. He knew about it, and found out how low I think of him right now. What's he really imagining me to be? He must be telling himself that I'm kind of an evil byatch for making him sound like a fool. Darn it all.
"Gokudera-kun, everyone makes false assumptions at least once in their lives," I reply matter-of-factly. "It's okay. Chill dude."
I wish he thinks that I sound cool right then.
"Kyoko-san, what's that? You're actually telling me to 'chill'?"
"Uh, processing much?"
"'Kay. You're the best then. Chillah."
It just took a short exchange of words before we began talking like there's no tomorrow. I laugh and he chortles along. It became the same-old friendly relationship again. There's the nice-guy Gokudera-kun again and I'm glad he's not the silent dude I had hung around with since yesterday.
Not that I don't care. I just don't understand how things could easily be wrapped up like this.
~K27~
After a few hours, I still didn't see the other groups. What the fudge, and I thought we would finally see some of them by now. Mmm... they must've took the Swamp Path instead of the Snow one. Not that I'm complaining or anything like that. I guess they didn't get informed well enough to bring warm clothes or wear boots instead of chucks.
We left the bamboos hours ago and are now more on familiar territory. The forest is present again, and the bike, with the push of a button has now become our makeshift tent. The only problem though is the fire. It's already after dark and we still haven't got a blaze to keep us warm. My parka is now safely stowed in my bag in case of emergency inside our tent.
Since Gokudera-kun was busy finding something to eat (I wonder what illusionary fish tastes like... I hope my stomach handles it) I'm in charge of the fire. No person might sabotage our tent anyway and if they do try to, there're some sensors there that will turn off if they don't have the remote I gave Gokudera-kun to take care of.
I hum cheerfully as I continue to look for wood. There are only a couple of fallen branches. They're probably real, anyhow. Hm. I grasp one tightly. Damn, I wish I can make illusions like this, argh!
Once I had gotten an armful of wood, I made my way to the tent slowly. I looked up. The moon is so bright tonight. The stars are aligned perfectly above the night sky and glittering softly. It's a pretty night.
I hopped carefully through patches of leaves. I'm only a couple of yards away. I have nothing to worry about for now. I guess I should play for a little now.
As I fumbled through my flashlight and was only a couple of feet away from the tent, I heard Gokudera-kun's voice.
"-dammit I can't take this anymore! Damn it! Damn it all!"
"Ssh..." I look through my surroundings and treaded carefully through the leaves, intent on not making much noise as they crush softly underneath my feet. Sure enough, to my right, I hear voices. They didn't seem far. I turned off my flashlight three minutes ago. Skipping through some leaves, I found two trees surrounded by some bushes and crawled my way through them, my wood safely stowed through my vest. I'm just five feet away from the voices.
What the... O.M. I feel like a stalker now. Why should I listen to what he's going to rant about the world? This ain't the time for me to listen to his thoughts when he's not telling me directly but...
"It's a good thing our camps are far. Otherwise if Miura-chan sees you- Not that it matters but still- for you of all people to act gentlemanly in the wrong place and time-"
I freeze. This is the first time I'm actually hearing Yamamoto-kun talk with Gokudera-kun, much more to hear him chide Gokudera-kun like this...
"So that's what you fucking want? You want me to fucking stand there and not give a shit about what's happening? AM I THAT KIND OF MORON?"
"But you already know that Tsuna-"
"I know. I'm not an idiot. But still... for him to do something so despicable..."
"Then fine. I admit that both of you were wrong. But still..."
"It's better if I just took the blame. The Stupid Hag and I never got along well anyway. It would be more peaceful for me to not waste my breath arguing with her instead."
"This is what I hate about you and Tsuna. You both like to spoil the people you like."
My mind suddenly goes blank. What does Yamamoto-kun mean?
I then hear a soft rustle of something falling. I then hear that same sound of something squashing some leaves. Both must've sat down.
"Don't you both realize that you're both close to breaking point right now?"
"I- I just didn't want her to get hurt, that's all."
"She just inflicted it onto herself. You didn't like Miura in the first place and still you- you are such a desperate guy. Feeling close, really?"
"Shut your trap, baseball moron."
He... said last time that he liked Haru. So... Gokudera-kun lied? He never actually...
He's just jesting. He must be.
"The Tenth... I don't like what's happening with me. He said before that the real reason we returned to Japan was just to see her. I shouldn't have interfered."
"Well you're not actually interfering. You're still not making a move. And don't worry. You know that you can't suppress this feeling, no matter how hard you try to fight it."
"Is that from experience dude?"
"Almost. But I still haven't confessed to her. I'm a little afraid. You already know that we're leaving after the Summer Festival and this time..."
"-We're not going to return. And there's no point, seriously. That's why I'm not going to say anything and only told you."
"Just admit it in your chest. You can't stop something you don't want to stop, Gokudera."
"The Tenth... What will the Tenth say about this? Godammit, I don't want to not gain his trust on me. I want his happiness more than anything."
"Sometimes you know, it's better if you follow your heart once in a while. You're never going to be happy if you don't."
"You just said something cheesy, fool."
"Better than not having any words to say to a person who needs them. You have to choose between him and her. Personally, I'd want you to be happy."
"But the Tenth! You already know that he came here to-"
"Tell her about it. I know. He gave his best effort to just admit his feelings. But I've already told him that what he's doing is too much. He just doesn't say it and get over with it."
"But still he made the most effort and for me to suddenly swoop in out of nowhere and ruin his-"
"So what? If he's really friends with you, he'll understand. He told us that."
"I hate this."
"Gokudera, keep your chin up. You can just admit your feelings now."
"Stop the noise. Tch."
"You like Kyoko-chan, don't you?"
There was barely any sound coming from the two humans as one struggled in his own embattled thoughts. Woodland creatures hummed their noise in small, hushed voices.
I... admit to anticipate his answer.
I wait, patiently and without fear as I brace myself for the worst. Gokudera-kun is feeling the same way as me. He's torn between two things, and I know that if he chooses the wrong one, then he'll be suffering a very big blow.
Yamamoto-kun was right. All this was my fault. If I understood his feelings instead of taking action in my hands then probably, none of this would have happened. I will forever be oblivious of the trap I have been closed into.
"Is there a signal here?"
"Of course. We need to call the kid if we get lost, don't we?"
"I know, idiot." I hear a soft click and a beep. Gokudera-kun must have opened his hand phone.
"You're shaking."
There was a low hum of the tone on the other end.
"I have to sort this out fast. After all no matter how good my grades are, I'm not the wisest of the lot."
There is a soft mechanical click. The phone has been picked up.
"Good luck then, idiot."
Yamamoto-kun's tone was encouraging. I imagine Gokudera-kun putting up a small smile in response.
"Yes?" Even from the crackling of static, I can make out Sawada's voice.
"Can you access my coordinates as of now?" I can hear the slight nervousness in Gokudera's speech.
"I can ask Reborn. Why? Are you lost?" He must've noticed it too because there's concern etched in his manner of speaking
"No. Can you come here, please? I just need to straighten something out."
"I'm on my way. I'll tell Hibari to keep watch here. Wait for me."
"Thank you, Tenth." Gokudera-kun hangs up. "You want to stay?"
"Uh me? If Miura-chan wakes up then-"
"I'm not talking to you."
Oh sh-
Don't tell me that Gokudera-kun...
"The Vongola can trace their bullets. Next time, I suggest you to not bring your vest with you if you want to spy on us."
Yup, he saw me.
Still having an ample amount of dignity left, I raise myself up, leaving the firewood on the bushes.
"I'll stay." I reply, trying to sound nonchalant. My voice quavered a little as I tried. Epic fail.
"Mm... me too," says Yamamoto-kun and then places his left arm on my shoulder before patting my head affectionately.
"Have you heard everything?" I now walk along with Yamamoto. Gokudera's looking serious now. His eyes are now narrowed as he stares me down. I admit to close my eyes.
There's no point lying.
"Almost all. Especially the last part." I look at my shoes as I answer. I can't look at him straight in my shame.
"Then you must know I lied to you all this time. I'm sorry."
I suddenly look up at him and before I knew it, he holds up his hand. I am stunned. I thought he was going to hug me but what the effin gawd-?
I shake it uneasily. His hand is warm as always.
"Shoot. What has Sawada got to do with your feelings?" I blurt out and suddenly "_". Gokudera looks at me queerly before grinning widely.
"Dense as always, haha..." he rubs his head as he chuckles lightly.
Before I can let out a retort, Yamamoto ruffles my hair.
"Kyoko-chan~" he purrs as he continues to pat my head. "Tsuna will be coming soon. It's better if we hide now or..."
"No need."
Even now, I am still awestruck at his gaze as his gloves flicker by the light of Dying Will Flames. He suddenly comes out of the shadows in flight and lands like a trapeze artist, in time for his gloves be put away, and his orange eyes to melt into chocolate once more as he walks past me, still in his jogging pants and jacket from earlier. His eyes meet mine for a second before turning away and going to Gokudera-kun.
Yamamoto-kun tugs my sleeve and before long we move backwards until we're just three feet away from them. Their Boss now comes face to face with Gokudera-kun.
"What's up then?" he asks immediately. His Storm instinctively bows his head...
...and then looks at me one last time before answering.
~K27~
Next Chapter: The winner of the race will finally be proclaimed.
Guys, thank you for the support! Oh yeah, I reread the 'disaster chapters' 10 & 11 and I found them really unhelpful in clearing up stuff. It turned out, that Gokudera actually had a bag, and I didn't insert it in the other chapter. I forgot. Lolz.
This chapter was just typed last night. I'm so sorry guys. I have a tight schedule to keep. Plus, the things I want to put up in isn't much clarified. :(
Reviews Corner:
EK12: Er.. thanks... I'll try to update ASAP though. I intend to wrap this up soon, so I can move on with my other projects. I need to finish them so I can finally move out of FFn and concentrate more on school! S-sorry.
Minuit Chanson17: S-stop it girl you're making me blush! Ahaha, I'm glad you liked the developments, and hell no chapter 10 sucked because it was freakin short! I was supposed to condense their bicycle trip into one chapter so I feel stupid for not doing it and dividing it to make the story drag. I hate dragging so I'm currently banging my head right now, lol.
Taira-keimei: Ah... ok. But it's my fault, since I didn't ask you sooner. Sorry. Eh... I can't do that. I had been avoiding him for a year now though. Lol, it doesn't help we're stuck as classmates for 4 years.
CeruleanAndGray: He didn't show up that much because he really wasn't that needed. Lol, you're really favouring the 5995 moments. DON'T. Ahaha, this story will forever be 2795. I just want to see Gokudera's heart break. Yay!
I'll try to update soon. Just not this time and next week because of the reasons I gave you on FB. xD
Hi Hikari No Kaze: Er... thanks for the advice. WTH you think the writing style is good? Nah, it's probably because my vocab isn't as wide as it used to be, which sucks bad since it takes me now more than a minute before I can write something. I don't know now how to manipulate words, which is very unfair. Ahaha, I hope you like this chapter though, since I put more effort this time typing it. And, you're really good at reviewing now. :D
Worry not, I don't like him now. I just posted that a long time ago AND FORGOT to take it out. :/
Yup It Is: Hmm... I already said everything I want to say in the PM. Okay, this chapter is for you. Thanks for the additional reviews!
Aviann Te: Thanks for the help seriously. BTW, we won the best name tag, thanks to you. :D