Warning:A horribly-written action scene, a little swearing, a bit of violence, and a dash of the author's imagination goes a long way. This will take enough logic to decipher.
This can either be an epic win or an epic fail. LULZ.
"Hold my Heart"
Does anybody know how to hold my heart?
Cause I don't wanna let go let go let go, off you
Is anybody listening?
Cause I'm crying.
Is anybody listening?
(WTF. I actually heard this on Gokudera-kun's mp3 player.)
~K27~
"Tenth."
Gokudera-kun was really agitated. He's just shaking violently now. I don't even try looking at Sawada. Everything... well...
"Do you remember the day we first met?" I glance up again. He's sounding like a girl now. He's saying something mushy and so not like Gokudera-kun... as usual.
Yamamoto squeezes my arm. He suddenly moves backward. He's looking down now, his eyebrows furrowed, as if pondering.
"What of it?" Now that guy wants to hog the spotlight again with that slightly deeper voice of his. He tries to move forward, his hand ready to land on Gokudera-kun's shoulder.
But Gokudera-kun backtracks, still trembling slightly. He forces a small smile as he tries looking away.
"I- I challenge the Tenth to a rematch."
WHAT?
Eff, I didn't expect this.
Before Sawada had the chance to process the developments, Gokudera-kun was already throwing something small straight at us. Yamamoto-kun caught it; it looked like a small ring with the Vongola crest engraved on it.
Even enemy #1 didn't see this coming. Before he utters a word, he looks at me biting his lip and then back at Gokudera-kun. The- the nerve of him! This is his entire fault in the first place! Gokudera-kun must be trying to get back at him in my place for making me cry or something like that.
I'm currently gaping like a goldfish.
His soon-to-be opponent doesn't answer. He doesn't look at me again,
"N-no rings or flames or bombs, Tenth. It'll be just an ordinary fight. P-please accept."
I face-palm. Gokudera-kun, you fail honestly. You're the one challenging someone! At least act a little intimidating!
Sawada looks at me again as if blaming me for this. Tch.
"Fine." I do not see his eyes anymore, as he also throws his mittens (mittens?) and another ring identical to Gokudera-kun's at Yamamot-kun's free hand.
"The one who KO's the other, wins." Gokudera-kun's no longer trembling now. His hands are latched to his sides, and he looks at the ground as he talked. My eyes are wide, and my mouth just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I don't understand. What's the reason of fighting Sawada? Even he looks like this doesn't make any sense. Gokudera-kun's going nuts.
There's no reason to act like this. Is there?
"Shall we begin?" Why is Sawada agreeing to this? What's the freaking point? He'll just own Gokudera-kun. I'm loathing him more and more now as the seconds tick by.
"Do you want to still watch, Kyoko-san?" Yamamoto-kun's voice seems faraway now. Everything's just so messed up. Can I find a sense of coherence to the pieces falling onto me?
But I nod, almost at the same time as Gokudera-kun does. And almost after he does, he nearly ducks from Sawada's fist which almost whammed ally #4 (I forgot what his number is now) in the face. Gokudera-kun attempts to grapple Sawada, but easily another fist of his Boss finds his stomach.
I close my eyes before hearing Gokudera-kun's grunt of pain.
I open them again and find that Gokudera-kun's still on his feet. He blocks another punch as he tries to also hit Sawada, who parries it. There's a pause and before I can catch my breath everything just plays again.
Gokudera-kun wrests Sawada's arm aside and before he's able to attack Sawada counters with a kick in the shins.
This time Gokudera almost loses his balance. Sawada, of course shows no mercy and fires two more blows to Gokudera-kun's face.
Damn him.
I squeeze Yamamoto-kun's arm tighter.
Dammit all.
But Gokudera-kun remains standing. He simply bites his lip to ignore the pain and looks once more at his Boss' sneakers.
Damn it.
Sawada doesn't say anything as he launches another punch. His opponent deflects it, but another fist just flies out of nowhere and sends Gokudera-kun finally on the ground.
It's ugly. None of this is pretty to look at.
But still I am here, watching and probably waiting for something else to happen.
"As usual, Gokudera-kun's wavering."
My eyes shift at Yamamoto-kun. There is no cheerful grin on his face now. He just looks at the two and I uneasily return my gaze back at them. In just a few minutes, Gokudera-kun is trying his best to stand, with Sawada now turning his back on him, his eyes closed and one fist at the ready.
"What do you mean?" I ask hollowly, as I hear another curse escape from Gokudera-kun's lips as he finally lands his knees only to collapse again.
"Don't you see it, Kyoko-san?" There's a little nonchalance in the tone of Yamamoto-kun's voice that it pisses me off. Gokudera-kun wobbles back up, his chest heaving lightly.
"What I see is this!" I hiss angrily. "There is no point in all this! Gokudera-kun's just letting himself get hurt because of this useless fight."
Sawada is once again face-to-face with Gokudera-kun. I hear Yamamoto-kun chuckle.
"Then you see it. Gokudera's still not able to fight his Tenth seriously." I hear a slight crack as Sawada counters with a punch to the ribs. "He still can't punch him by will. Look, even Tsuna notices it."
I now obey at Yamamoto-kun and etch Sawada's facial expression in my mind. His eyes are half-closed and I actually feel it latch shut as he hits Gokudera-kun. His mouth is curled slightly into a small frown. He's actually cringing.
"Gokudera's still cannot choose between Tsuna and you." Yamamoto continues. Sawada unleashes another uppercut again, and makes him fall onto his knees.
"I don't like it." I whisper, and the more that I look at these two guys battling it out because of something like that... what good am I?
"Gokudera-kun has to choose whether he really wants to be his Boss' Right Hand man or just a Mafiosi having someone else to fill something here." He points at his chest as he smiles bitterly.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I lie. I can't take it. I don't want to hear the truth. But sooner or later it has to come at me and slap me in the face for running away from it.
"If he can fight Tsuna seriously, then it proves it. It proves that he-"
"SHUT UP BASEBALL MORON!" Gokudera-kun bellows as he hails Sawada with punches. I know once some of the blood is gone from his face that he's "_"-ing.
"SHUT UP- SHUT UP- SHUT UUUUUUPPP!" Blood and saliva is spewed as he blocks whatever Sawada's throwing at him now.
"Gokudera's such a scaredy cat!" Yamamoto laughs as Gokudera continues to redden.
"I- TOLD- YOU- TO- SHUT. UP!" He continues to blindly try to hit Sawada only to be countered by a right straight followed by a 45-degree kick.
"Man, that's just what the bomberhead needed to get worked up." Yamamoto-kun says happily.
Sawada just remains silent at the charade we concocted up and headbutts Gokudera-kun.
He falls for the third time.
"Gokudera-kun, stop this." I say, finally talking to him. "It's not worth it. I know already."
"Well I don't, Kyoko-san!" he snaps. He tries to claw his way up and coughs a little more blood as he bites his lip intensely. "It's hard! It's fucking hard because I... I..." He clambers as he tries to root his feet back at the ground and catch his breath.
"Put a damn lid on it, fool." I retort, now also getting irked at his stupidity. "I don't need you to fight a battle you'll eventually lose." This time, forgetting that Yamamoto-kun was gently nudging me to stay out, I stomped my way between them. Silently cursing Sawada for making Gokudera-kun a friend in the first place I held out my hands like a freaking idiot.
I never felt so mortified in my seventeen years of existence, even in the presence of merely three people.
"Stop this nonsense," I say, trying to imitate a movie character in vain. I fail big time. "Gokudera-kun just wait for me. I'll be back at the tent and get my phone to call my brother to..."
"Don't." That one word was enough to interrupt me. I just froze up when he said that. It wasn't like I was too worried that he was bleeding at the mouth, it was because-
-well because his hand is now at my shoulder, and at the same time, he was grinning at me with closed eyes. He looked a little grotesque, but he looked nice all the same.
"This is not your problem, Kyoko-san. You heard me. I want to face my feelings. I want to face the Tenth, and you with a decision."
He stands and his hand leaves me. He slowly makes his way forward, past me and back to Sawada. I do not look back.
"Let's go, Tenth." I hear him say. I try to cover my ears and scream inside of me 'I, SASAGAWA KYOKO, AM ONE BIG FAT BLOCKHEAD!' as I try to turn my head at their direction.
It all seemed to happen like one Matrix sequence. Sawada was about to hit him in the face when Gokudera-kun aimed a punch to Sawada's cheek. Flesh met flesh as their fists landed on their target at the same time.
"Kyoko-san." I'm in shock, in delirium, and in near-tears as I see Gokudera-kun moving his heavily-pounded face to my direction with a small smile. "I can finally say that I like you."
Just like that, his flame finally goes out.
I smile. To my astonishment, Sawada does too as he catches the now-unconscious Gokudera-kun.
His knees buckle at Gokudera-kun's weight, and he slightly staggers as he supports him by the shoulders. Carefully, he puts Gokudera-kun's near-lifeless left arm to his shoulder.
"Well done, Gokudera," he whispers, and I now notice the bruise on his right cheek that had connected with Gokudera-kun's fist. He now ignores me completely as he carefully drags him to Yamamoto-kun, who of course now runs and helpfully puts Gokudera-kun onto his shoulders. With that big size of his, of course he can do this with ease.
"Find Chrome and Ryohei-san then hand them Gokudera-kun," Sawada orders simply. With a quick wink and salute, Yamamoto throws back Sawada's things and marches onward under the dark canopy to our left.
And, obviously, only I and Sawada-kun are now left in this leafy space (I know, I can't describe things properly).
After that much drama, my legs give in to the fatigue and I finally sit down. Still mad at him for letting things escalate to this, I simply command my eyes to stare back at the pathway that Yamamoto-kun retreated into.
"You changed Gokudera-kun." The rustle of more leaves indicated that he was now walking to my direction. Finally I hear the final traces of movement as he moves to my left side.
I do not answer, and I remain silent as I try to focus all my anger on my pants and fumble through them angrily.
"It's the first time that he had fallen for someone. It's the first time that he actually gave me a second thought."
Eff him. So he thinks that I'm going to talk to him? Does he really think that- that this one moment of alone time will be enough to mend all the things he did to me? To Haru?
"I envy him, honestly."
Serves you right. You never truthfully cared for Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto-kun anyway.
"He has a choice, and he really chose to be normal for once."
"What does this choice have to do with you?"
I still do not look at him. I had gritted my teeth as I asked him that.
"I'm his Boss."
"Well, duh. You think I'm stupid?" So I wasted my time to let him blab. Forget this! I stand up and walk back to the direction where I left the imaginary firewood, my fury almost at breaking point. I have enough. From this moment on, once we finish this race I'll probably ask Reborn-chan that I switch classes. I'll ignore him completely. I'll probably let my grades drop and focus more on my part-time jobs. I don't care now if he wins all the awards. There's no point in me going after him anymore.
There's no point in hating him.
"How can you be so dense?" he thunders at me. I move my head and let my eyes meet his.
"Then tell me first why you still can't do something right," with no words more left to say, I turn my back on him. This will be the last time I'll ever be in contact with him ever again.
My tears continue to fall and all I can do now is wipe them silently as I run to get the wood. I do not understand why I am welling up again. I hate looking so weak at times like this. Dammit, I just want to get some peace. I just want to go to college and get a decent job and finally be independent of my brother once the time comes. Once this race is over, I'll be able to finally work to that road. No more Mafia crap to haunt me. No more.
And his hand is there on mine before I can break off my mindcrap.
"Because I really like you. I love you, Kyoko-san."
This is the second time he said my name.
This is the first time that I actually hear the voice I remember three years ago.
Those words, those shell-shock words were enough to numb me. I barely notice it as he pulls me in, and then draws me close in his arms. I can just stare at his chest, as his own tears fall in my hair.
"I'm so, so, so sorry that I'm still Dame-Tsuna," he murmurs. I finally then see that there on his chest...
...there it hung, my tattered tea-shaped charm, painstakingly sewn together but due to the extreme damage, it's still not outside danger-zone.
So still... still... I...
I really am dense when it comes to stuff like this.
I now let my own arms encircle his. I hear him heave more as I gently let my right hand run through his back.
"I'm sorry..." he apologizes more. I don't smile. In the end, Yamamoto-kun was right after all. No matter how I see it, both of them really spoil me.
They let my denseness take over, to create fiascos like this.
"I'm sorry too, that I still made you act this way." I close my eyes and just embraces him tightly.
So this is how difficult they have to choose.
Eff.
I actually hate love now.
~K27~
By the time I return back to the tent, with him escorting me (and helping me light the fire), I see a girl with Yamamoto-kun on our camping place. The girl was very beautiful, with shoulder-length hair and one alluring eye. She had a trident far too large for her to carry in one hand.
She talked with Yamamoto-kun and him with a clear and high-pitched voice. I wave at her. She looks down and reddens before leaving in a tornado of leaves. She was Chrome.
Once I went back inside, I see Gokudera-kun sleeping soundly in his sleeping bag and covered with some bandages.
I pat his head before I snuggle into my camping bed and sleep.
But I can't. I'm just too stressed at the two. Probably by now, I'll just ignore the competition with Sawada and... and what?
I don't really know now. There's just too many things in my head right now and it's putting me in a bad mood. I don't really find much relevance in winning the race now. I'll be too conscious with Gokudera-kun now. Haru will probably forgive him if he tries to date me. But still...
I pull my hair. Screw this.
~K27~
But still, I'm holding onto my bike now as Gokudera-kun and I slowly made our descent at the cliffs. Good thing that our bike has a parachute and we're light enough for it to hold us. Once we descend, we'll be at the finish line. Someone actually had gone there first now. I don't care now if it's him.
O.M. I still can't say his name.
"Watch out Kyoko-san," Gokudera-kun says as he steers me from one of the jagged precipices. He now sounds less stutter-y than before. I'm a little uneasy about the change. He's also a little moodier and less the chatterbox type of Gokudera-kun. He's still unable to look at me since he found out that I was sleeping beside him at the tent (he nearly broke his leg running around).
"Thanks," I whistle and laugh as I concentrate on balancing my weight between the pedals and the seat. I know, I still can't explain it properly of how we do it.
We're only four feet from the ground now. I grip the handlebar tightly.
"Get ready Gokudera-kun." I say earnestly. He smiles as he pushes a button. Sure enough, I hear a slight squelching noise as the parachute was sucked into its compartment. We continue to pedal as we slightly made a fail landing. My buttocks hurt, seriously.
It's just a few more yards to the finish line. I inhale the smell of the beach. There's the majestic sunset, a splendid array of fire and gold dissipating in purples and pinks. Chalky clouds cluster the purples, and like a rippling mirror the sea reflects this. Wow, just awesome.
Before I can fully enjoy this though, something immediately cuts past us. Sure enough, I notice the razor-like bicycle of Hibari-san's and his.
"See you later!" He calls out as they continue to pedal with inhuman strength. The gap just keeps getting larger...
"Hold on tight, Kyoko-san!" He pushes the button for the rocket launcher.
Sure enough, I just smile and enjoy the adrenaline seeping through me as we were now neck-and-neck-
Then as we were just feet from the finish line Sawada gives me a thumbs up.
I stick my tongue out. Meh, better than a thumbs down.
Then the finish line just came past us. I laugh and raise my arms in victory.
Reborn-chan is there at the left side, along with the winners who were...
Haru-chan and Yamamoto-kun?
They continue waving at us. Haru-chan hurriedly goes down and I am drowned in her arms.
"Hey, hey Kyoko-chan I apologize. Don't know what got into me. I'm really one stupid girl." She giggles. I simper and return the gesture.
After three minutes where I almost suffocated of the hugging, she now walks up to Gokudera-kun.
Her hands are now on her hips. She glowers at Gokudera-kun and purses her lips.
"Hm. Good luck with Kyoko-chan. Bet you can't make her like you." She now aims a half-hearted kick at his shins before shuffling back to Yamamoto-kun.
"Damn baseball freak... why of all people will he tell the hag?" he mutters under his breath. When he catches me looking at him, he turns away and places his hands on his pockets a la Tsuna-san.
"Hey." Sure enough, he comes to my direction. I fold my arms and raises my eyebrows as he approaches. "We won."
"Like I care," I say matter-of-factly. "Dude, you're just second."
He sighs and just ruffles my hair. "So what? At least I beat you- AGAIN."
No need to point that out.
"If you do that again you'll lose the points I already gave you." I egg him. He now sweats a little.
"F-fine." He now turns back to Hibari-san. So this is how easy it is to control him? Well, well, well... hehe. I guess I'll be Sawada-free when I want it.
"Oi!" I call out to him. He immediately turns his head. I point at my chest (not in you-know-what, kay?). "Don't lose that, okay?"
He understands and just waves.
Once he turns to Hibari-san, a tonfa flies straight to his head.
Owned.
~K27~
Happy belated birthday Hi Hikari no Kaze! This chapter is for you. I hope you like it, even just a little.
It sucks right? Darn it.
Reviews Corner:
Taira-keimei: Lol, I don't want to talk about it, actually. Even when we're just alone together, I'm too scared at talking to him. I wish though we'd be able to be friends again before graduation.
And... I'm not that keen on posting a PM. Just friend me on LJ instead.
EK12: Er... thank you! I thought you'd hate the draggy plot. I admit that I never liked the developments so far since I want more 2795. Dx
Yup It Is: Understandable? How so? Lol, if I didn't continue, then I'd be moping in a corner of how I quit a fic for my selfish RL reasons. Your welcome, girl.
avian te: I'll repeat. I never got the chance to repay you for the thing you did for me. Give me a chance. Seriously. And good luck too! :3
Minuit Chanson17: OM, I need more Tuna appearances. I can't make him MOE, DAMMIT! Characterizing him from cool dewd to cute Tunafish is ultra-hard. ARGH. Thanks for the review. THANKS A LOT.
CeruleanAndGray: Lol, I'm serious. I mean come on! Why the hell are they fighting for rings and boxes? Are they really not asking themselves F*** you Amano! We're not gay. On a side note, Kyoko needs a whack on the head. But then again, I love Kyoko. She's just too ashamed to admit SHE LIKES SOMEONE. That someone is definitely me. Lol.
long live marshmallows: I remember you. You never said thanks when I explained to you what happened at my other fic about 95.
Anyhoo, thanks for the review. I love characterization. I used to love plot, but then again, the readers (especially on an FF community) love to sympathize characters. And hell no, they aren't amazing. They're just OOC, since the original fandom can't develop them and put more emphasis on arcs. I just made Tsuna act cool (even when he's not, orz I fail) and made Kyoko act less girly (AND WAS NOT IN MY ORIGINAL PLAN). I never read much shoujo manga too, since almost all of them are boring soap operas and have cheesy lines and situations that make me puke. I love Nana and Reaching You though. They don't suck!
To those who put this on their Alert and Fave stories list, I'm still hoping you'll review. As you already know from the authors, they love reviews more than favourites/alerts. I'm okay even if you submit one full review. If you don't, I will be a little sad, since the story is ending and I'm a little irked because even after a year, none of you posted a word of encouragement. But no pressure.
IMPORTANT A/N:
Guys, before any of you complain about the ultra-slow update this time, I'll give you an explanation. I published this earlier at 10.16, am I right? Actually, the next Sunday happened to be my exams. I went to the city on Saturday and had my exams taken during 3 in the afternoon until 7 PM. I was there at 1 PM. Once I'm free, I'll probably post my experience at LJ. xD
After that, were my MIDTERMS. I DID NOT REVIEW AT ALL/DID NOT PREPARE FOR IT. At Monday, we had to take an eight-hour journey back to my place. I managed to cram a session in reviewing. It's tough, because on Tuesday onwards I had to take four days of examinations. What's worse, my Physics and Chemistry sessions are to be taken come November 3. So... lol.
OTL, the early birds of this fic probably knew that it took me two months before I posted the second chapter and the 3 chapters after that. The reason is because I was busy with the school paper. I was free this year, until our former SPA (school paper adviser) cornered me on Wednesday and told me of how we'd still have a chance in the DSPC despite having no school paper. I told my classmates who were my former staff mates. OMG, the day after, we approached the SPA and told her we liked to join.
Well, she accepted and there were catches to hinder our plan. One: We need to find people to fill up the places of the other seniors of last year. Two: We were consistently the champion for 16 years and we had to uphold that. Three: Time was against us. Four: THE CONTEST WAS ON FRIDAY. Meaning, it took us just one day to train. It usually takes weeks before we get ready. Five... well...
We had to make a paper if we want to go to the Regionals. In other words, 'Namesake' will be put in an indefinite hiatus.
Lol, I know, I know. Most of you are probably out there to get me now. I thought that I'd be able to finish this fic by November so I can work with my other fics. Dang, looks like it'll take awhile.
I'm so sorry guys. Despite the fact that I hate the paper because it ruined my grades, my social life, and almost every aspect of my life, it gave me a sense of maturity.
What I hate though, is I might turn as an EIC. It's not my style.
Just check my LJ if you want to know more. :p