Summary: (Canon compliant-ish) Takeshi had slipped into her life with such ease it's no wonder they're such good friends. It doesn't have to make sense to others, and it doesn't have to make sense for them, either – but that's okay, because labels are overrated anyway. "What kind of balls?" "Baseballs."
Note: Chapter lengths are not pre-determined and are to be posted as they are written, hence updates may be unpredictable. At present, this is to be a snapshot-like series. Storyline told in snippets. (And there WILL be a storyline!)
All recognisable appearances here are the conjurations of Akira Amano and the team behind Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Unless otherwise stated, the only thing 155cm owns is Nakamura Yukiko, and even that's debatable – she's a fairly free spirit.
Sometimes, when she's feeling more contemplative than tired she'll let her mind wander into dangerous territory. Sometimes, she can recall a beautiful smile and the scent of the best green tea she had ever tasted, can feel the pent-up energy bubbling in her veins and the feeling of continuously reaching out for something impossible to obtain.
Enough time has passed that she can't remember the exact features of Takeshi's mother, but all her feelings of nostalgia tell Yukiko that his mother had, more than anything felt like home.
Takeshi doesn't know it, but the first time Yukiko met him was many years ago, back when they were young and foolish and didn't know any better. At that time, his eyelids were red and puffed up from continuous crying, and she had tentatively reached out her hand because it hurt to see someone so hurt, so alone. They had both lost someone important to them you see, and though the kind Yamamoto was not her biological mother, sometimes she made her feel special, cherished.
He had slapped her hand away without even looking up, and she hadn't tried again.
(The next time their hands touched was years later, when she had fallen asleep on the floor. Yukiko had been feeling increasingly lethargic as the days dragged on, but he had found her and laughingly helped her up with an achingly familiar smile and friendly conversation. "I'm Yamamoto Takeshi, what's your name?")
Actually, they're still rather young and foolish. Yukiko is under no illusions. She's thirteen and she may have experienced a fair deal more than others her age, but that doesn't mean that she'll remain in the same tiny bubble for the rest of her life.
They're young and full of vitality, and they've got so much going for them it's ridiculous.
So, when a sudden commotion starts from the table next to her and her ears catch snippets of the shocked conversation going on, she can't help but to jolt up from her table in a sudden burst of speed. She doesn't pause to grab her bag as she tears out of the library with energy that she has been neglecting to expend for years, a burst of speed that's so shocking to all around her that the librarian forgets to yell after her.
"What? Look at this – Yuna says that Yamamoto-kun is standing on the roof! She says it looks like he's going to jump!"
Yukiko curses as her school shoes pound on the scratched floors of the corridor, skirt swishing against her thighs as she runs. She had left those people long behind, and even now remembers them slowly packing up their things.
"We'll meet her on the way up – do you think anything will happen?"
"Nah, I'm sure he'll be fine. The baseball coach will be upset, otherwise!"
Stupid, stupid people who don't understand. They think Takeshi's just being dramatic, that he's not going to do it. He's got so much going for him after all, what reason could he possibly have for being upset? It's not like he's a two-dimensional character, he's real and breathing and they just don't get it.
Damn bystanders, damn people who know it's wrong but won't do something to try to prevent it from happening.
A hysterical laugh threatens to escape her lips as she realises the irony of it all.
Yukiko, you do realise you're one of them, right? How many times have you passed by a kid and thought, 'he's a subject of bullying, look how he flinches the moment I look at him', and not even bothered to do anything other than smile?
She has a feeling she's not going to make it in time. The library is located in the building opposite the one which houses their classrooms and – more importantly – the highest rooftop with the best view of the baseball field. If she knows Takeshi, she knows that he's going to be there.
The terrifying is, she does know Takeshi. He isn't some random kid she'll smile at in passing, he's her friend and she'll be lost if something happens to him now.
She's not going to make it in time, but he's her friend and she owes him a debt that she can't ever dream of repaying. So Yukiko needs to at least try to make it there, and hope and pray that maybe someone else cares enough to try too.
Pounding up the stairs, not for the first time Yukiko curses the fact that their school doesn't have any elevators installed to make the run any easier. Dizziness is spinning mad circles in her head. Her breaths are uneven and raspy from a mix of hysteria and fatigue, but she won't stop.
Finally, yes. She's at the roof. There're a bunch of bodies in front of her though, and were it not for the crowd and the buzz of anticipation, she'd have no method of verification for her suspicions.
But he is here, and so she pushes her way through the crowd, ears registering as set of voices growing louder and louder from the centre of the group of people. Finally, she makes her way close enough to peer into the centre, and she can't help but to pause slightly at the sight before her.
Tsunayoshi is speaking.
The murmuring of the people around her renders his words inaudible, but that doesn't matter. So long as he keeps talking, so long as he keeps stalling, she can get there in time.
Then Tsunayoshi does something ridiculously stupid.
He turns away.
"Idiot!" she screams, but her voice is caught in the breeze and the terrified shrieks of the people around her, because even as she's yelling and leaping forward, Takeshi's falling backwards in surprise, having lunged forward to grab for Tsunayoshi.
A horrible metallic clang sounds, and the chain-link fence vibrates dangerously.
Yukiko's moving forward, even as the fence inevitably gives way and mirror looks of surprise form on Takeshi and Tsunayoshi's faces she doesn't even think, body moving on autopilot as she lunges forward.
I'll save you this time, Takeshi. She thinks furiously, mind swimming back to years ago and all the regrets that she's been housing under a façade of boredom and disinterest.
Her hand reaches out, and Takeshi's eyes widen… but he's not looking at her, his eyes are trained on Tsunayoshi who's suddenly there, and even as Yukiko falls she watches as Tsunayoshi reaches out, and does what she cannot; he grabs Takeshi, and holds him tight.
Something grips onto Yukiko's leg.
She's being pulled up, up to safety whilst her terrified gaze watches Tsunayoshi and Takeshi plummet to the ground.
(Everything explodes, she lands on something solid, and she thinks she's hallucinating when she sees a green something scurry away as her eyes fall shut. Then, no more.)
When she awakens, her mind is so groggy, so delirious that she thinks she might've imagined the whole thing. She's back in the library, seated at her usual table and slumped down over her work that thankfully has not been drooled on.
Goodness, her head hurts. It's like someone has rammed her head into the side of a brick wall, and her memory continuously darts away from her attempts to mentally probe at it.
It would be nothing but a nightmare, were it not for the fact that she has woken up on the wrong side of the table.
(No one but Takeshi – and perhaps, the librarian - knows this, but she always moves seats when she wants to nap afterschool.)
Gingerly, she peels herself from the table, head swooning as she sits upright. Yukiko grabs her bag, sends a scowl at her belongings scattered on the table and sends it all into her bag with a few unceremonious swipes of the arm. They all belong to her anyway, and she doesn't care if her homework isn't in pristine condition.
Yukiko has risen from her seat. Determination is etched onto her features for the second time that day because she knows Takeshi and knows that he'll need someone after what has happened today. Because she knows that Takeshi doesn't joke about what truly matters, and Yukiko has gotten good at reading his expressions. Today, she came very close to losing a dear friend and that's not okay.
Entirely out of habit, she glances out the window. Her gaze is torn from the setting sun as she watches three figures stumble towards the school gates. Even from her vantage point, she can see the joy emanating from the group as one of the taller ones slings an arm across the short brunet's shoulders.
Takeshi's grin is so wide that Yukiko can't help but to smile briefly in response.
As if he can sense her gaze, Takeshi looks up at the window. Yukiko doesn't stick out her tongue this time, but instead raises her eyebrows. Takeshi's bright grin transitions to a smile that's different, a little more subdued, but it's more than she thought he'd be able to accomplish and she can't hide her surprise as he nods at her, answering the unspoken question.
Frowning slightly, she watches as he turns away to answer a question that someone – probably Tsunayoshi, she can tell that the Italian transfer student isn't that happy he's there – had asked, before shrugging and turning her attention back to her things.
So, she'll be walking home by herself today.
Once outside, she turns her gaze to the sky and can't help but to ask. "Am I doing the right thing, Yamamoto-san?"
a/n:
What's this? PLOT IN THE THIRD CHAPTER?!
If you thought this was going to be mindless fluff, you thought wrong c: (so did I, for that matter!)