Summary: (Canon-AU; this will be a 'parallel reality')(Slow friendship-romance) 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. Still though, secrets will come out sooner or later and what doesn't break a friendship, only makes it stronger... "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.

"N-Nakamura-san! Please help!"

"Hm?" Squinting at the sky, Yukiko lazily props herself up on her elbows, material of her light yukata soft against her skin as she shifts. It's cherry blossom viewing season here in Namimori, and she has found the perfect spot to take a nap, skilfully ignoring the rambunctious noise of the other nature appreciators.

Ah, there's Tsunayoshi, along with Hayato and a bunch of other people Yukiko doesn't recognise. Takeshi isn't with them, which she isn't surprised about – after all, she had dragged him off to spend the day with her after days of watching him come dangerously close to being blown up by various assortments like cow-children, purple gunk masquerading as food and the like.

As if on cue, Takeshi approaches from the other side, expression puzzled as he holds something small, flat and metallic in his grasp. "What is this, a frisbee?"

"It's an UFO, baseball idiot!" Hayato's bark carries effortlessly despite the distance, and Yukiko wants nothing more than to lie down and pretend that this entire thing is just an annoying dream.

Takeshi laughs, "but it looks like a frisbee to me!"

"Giannini-san is not a UFO or a frisbee!" she thinks she hears Tsunayoshi's dismayed whimper, but it's drowned out by the loud, boisterous laughing of the children running in circles around the odd group.

"Oh well, it doesn't matter!" Hayato's tone is exasperated, and she has to hide a smile at how easily he has caved. Ah, if only Takeshi were more aware of his powers of ignorance, she could teach him to wield them more effectively… "Just throw it here!"

"Throw?"

Oh no.

Takeshi's eyes sharpen dangerously, and as the metallic object flies past her, she swears she hears a tiny, high-pitched scream.

Turning to the side, Yukiko almost wants to scream herself. In frustration, that is. Tsunayoshi and his entourage are settling down beside her and Takeshi's spot, and she can practically see her peaceful afternoon skipping merrily into the distance.

Still though, she holds her tongue and simply attempts to scrounge up an attempt at a polite smile in greeting – Takeshi's laughing with (or at?) Tsunayoshi and Hayato about something or another, and he looks happy enough that she thinks she'll be able to deal with the disruption.

Laying back, Yukiko slips her eyes back closed.

Just as she's slipping into a peaceful slumber, she's woken up by a tap on her shoulder.

"Are you his girlfriend?"

The smooth voice sounds from her right, and Yukiko's eyes snap open to stare incredulously at a pinkish-haired teen lounging comfortably beside her.

"Are you talking to me?" she asks, tired mind foggy and thoughts incomprehensible as she props herself up once more.

She nods. "You seem close, did we interrupt your date?" Her eyes grow inexplicably wide, and it as her expression grows panicky as she makes as if to get up.

"What? No way," Yukiko's tone is dismissive as her eyes slip shut once more. "We're not dating."

She can practically hear the frown in the unknown teenager's voice. "You're lying, I can clearly see the love between the two of you."

Yukiko tries, she really does, but she can't help but scoff derisively. "Don't know what kinda eyesight you have, but any love between us is platonic, I assure you. Relationships are weird." Sure, she'll admit to loving Takeshi as a friend, but being in love with him… hah, that's ridiculous, a thought she won't even bother herself with entertaining.

There's silence for a time, and a sense of foreboding creeps up on Yukiko as she has a feeling that she has just offended the other in some way. Her eyes snap open, and she thinks she sees something purple before the other is yanked away by someone she doesn't recognise and Takeshi comes into view.

"Yo," he says, plopping down in the space that has just been evacuated, distracting her from the conversation in the background, "I bought you your fairy floss." He hands over a stick. Around it is spun a massive cloud of pink and sugary goodness.

"Why thank you, kind sir. What did I do to deserve such a treat?" She accepts the stick, smiling.

Takeshi frowns playfully at her. "You sent me off to buy it. It was on the other side of the park!"

She shifts. "How was I meant to know it was on the other side?"

"You scoped out the park yesterday." Takeshi reminds her.

Ah, she's totally guilty. It's not her fault that Hibari Kyouya had claimed the original spot she was originally aiming for – as soon as she had seen the prefect, she decided that she was going to park herself on the other side of the place, far away from any possibility of even encountering the guy.

Then, on the way home she had passed by a young woman loaded down with a cute kid dressed in red and a bunch of groceries, and in a fit of goodwill had helped her carry her things home whilst chatting amiably about what a lovely day the next day was sure to be.

(This is of course, ignoring the fact she had taken the lightest bag of the bunch. In her defense, it wasn't that light.)

At the end of it, Sawada Nana had offered for her to come inside and have some refreshments, but Yukiko had declined before going on her merry way, sending Takeshi a text telling him to free up his plans for the next day 'cause it was perfect cherry blossom viewing season.

"No one needs to know." Yukiko intones dramatically, before handing over the remains of the fairy floss to Takeshi (he had been staring, and she is a kind, gracious friend), lying back down and closing her eyes.

She thinks she hears someone yell something about 'Vongola Family tradition' in the background, and though the name rings a small bell she doesn't have time to think about it before falling deep into slumber.

When Yukiko arrives home, she kicks off her wooden geta, flipping on the main light before carefully navigating to the kitchen in her tabi-clad feet.

There's never a yell of "I'm home" in the Nakamura household, nor is there ever an answering call of "Welcome back". It's a habit which used to occasionally get Yukiko in trouble on the rare occasions where she visited the home of someone else, but nowadays she's quite good at following along with a subdued whisper of "I'm home", even if it's a beat late and it falls off her tongue so awkwardly it's as if Japanese isn't her native tongue.

Carrying a box of Takesushi's finest in her hands along with a small container of leftovers from the impromptu group picnic they had earlier, Yukiko carefully sets both in the fridge before swinging her purse onto the table, pausing only to snatch up her phone as she bypasses the sticky note pad on the table in her path towards the door. It'll say the same thing as always, anyway – out working late, eat dinner, prepare for school tomorrow. If a stranger waltzed into her room and declared themselves to be one of her two absent parents, she wouldn't be surprised if she believed them.

Yukiko sleeps away so much of the day that her dreams begin to intersect with reality. When she sees the smiling faces of her parents in her thoughts, she doesn't know if the image is a figment of her imagination.

Honestly, she dreads the truth.

She's sleepy, but she strains to keep her eyes open as she works her way through a sheet of worksheets she had pestered a senior at school for. Squirreled under her duvet, her torch is aimed at the worksheet and her small hands grip stubbornly onto a stubby pencil. Suddenly, her door opens and the light flicks on, bathing the entire room in a bright glow.

"What are you doing? Go sleep!" The stern tone of her mother never fails to bring a quiver to her lips, and she tries to shove the worksheet under her small body before her mother notices.

Too late.

"What's this?"

Hope blooms in her heart. Maybe her mum will praise her for working hard?

Rip.

Her mouth hangs open in shock as the paper falls to the floor in pieces. "This isn't schoolwork, what are you doing? Go to sleep, stop wasting your time."

Slap.

It's not a hard backhand by any means and the physical sensation of pain is already fading, but the mark it leaves on her heart makes her want to shrivel up into a ball.

The light flicks off, and her door slams shut.

Counting to five, she hears a set of footsteps fade before another door slams shut.

a/n:

I was angsting over how much of her past I wanted to reveal at this stage, but it's kind of important and I don't believe in filler chapters.. well I do, but I'll still include plot points in them, so! nyeh!

One more sliver of her past will come out next chapter, then we're moving on! So so excited c:

Apologies to any dodgy wording in this chapter - as one of the readers is aware, I kind of slept super late... responded to the review at 4:30am, but I slept at 5:30. Hahaha please don't do that you'll regret it when you wake up, trust me! Stay healthy, boos!