5986 SHORT-STORY ~ STOREROOM ISSUES
Mirror Chapter: TYL Vault Issues
NAMIMORI MIDDLE SCHOOL, ONE LATE AFTERNOON
"I'll only acknowledge you worthy of Tsuna if you find a way out before morning, heehee…" "W-WAIT, REBORN-SAN!" "A-Ahiii, Reborn-chan, why?!"
BAM. But the small trapdoor of the light well in the ceiling of the storeroom closes on the little hitman without any other parting words, leaving his two tested subjects behind.
By testing subjects, Reborn means Gokudera and Haru, who had had the bad idea that day of coming to him to try and be approved 'worthy of standing next to Tsuna'.
The little hitman's interest had been piqued and, for the best and the worst, he had then made them go through a multitude of trials for the entire day, just for the sake of it. He still ended up finding out along the way that their combi was probably better together than with Tsuna, just as he had always expected, but he had also concluded that the two of them wouldn't probably accept it. Thus this final trial, officially supposed to decide between them, but unofficially just needing to make them both fail.
"Damn, what is Reborn-san thinking?! He can't seriously expect us to have some Battle Royale inside and that only the strongest will emerge, right?!" "Ahiii, no way! Reborn-chan wouldn't do that, of course not!"
Gokudera and Haru make eye-contact briefly, before shaking their heads violently to make the previous idea disappear. They then shoot a glance upward at the only source of light in the narrow storeroom filled with shelves of heavy books and dusty notebooks barely leaving them enough space to stand side by side.
"What do we do if we can't go out until morning…? Pinch-desu…" "Tsk, it's Reborn-san we're talking about, so if we analyse his last words with our current situation, it must mean… that he expects us to collaborate to get out…?!"
Knowing Reborn, a little invisible arrow would be pointing at Gokudera written 'Wishful Thinking', but Reborn is always enjoying the charismatic privilege of staying beyond suspicion, except from Tsuna.
"Ahiii, what is Reborn-chan thinking?! If we collaborate and both go out, then… then Gokudera-san will also be… worthy of… Tsuna-san… Buuh, no way, no way! Haru will not help my rival succeed!" "Now is not the time for that, damn it! Wait… you said rival…?" "Humph, don't think Gokudera-san can fool Haru! It's obvious you love Tsuna-san too."
SHIN. A heavy silence falls as Gokudera tries to process.
This idiot woman loves the 10th… romantically speaking… if she thinks I'm a rival… it means she thinks we stand on equal grounds… so she thinks I love the 10th… romantically?!
SNAP. Gokudera becomes instantly scarlet with shame, smoke even coming out from his ears as he tries to hold back and not to pull dynamite out to bomb the insolent who made such a shameful assumption about the 10th's honour as a man.
"OF COURSE NOT, STUPID WOMAN! Take back your words immediately! There is no way the 10th would like men!" "Ahiiii? But of course, Haru never spoke about Tsuna-san. But you know, Gokudera-san, Haru won't make any difference no matter who is my rival so…" "SO CUT THE CRAP! I'm not your rival for THAT kind of thing! My respect for the 10th has nothing to do with your silly girlish romance!" "Buuuh, you bad liar! Love is a very beautiful miracle-desu. Don't sully it with your lies!" "What the…?! It's no lies, Stupid Woman! I don't like guys. I like girls, here, you get it?! So stop pulling sick jokes involving the 10th!" "Ahiii… for real?" "For real!" "You don't like men?" "Of course NOT!" "You like women?" "Yes, I like women. Here, happy now, Stupid Woman…?"
TILT. Gokudera suddenly stops at his own sentence, his mind having stumbled onto the two words 'women/woman' spoken so close to one another.
He lowers his eyes on Haru without even knowing why.
Now that he thinks about it, she's a woman… his boss' woman, or rather one of his prospective women… so a woman from the Vongola Family… from his Family… the Family he cares for and put his life on the line supporting… caring… protecting… yes, protecting her too…
"G-Gokudera-san…?" Haru asks after a long silence since her previous ultimatum, a little surprised to not receive any counter and even starting to feel ill-at-ease at being stared that way.
"… even if we can't go out on our own… I'll be here with you. So just shut up for now."
DOKI. Haru feels her cheeks becoming instantly hot as she gaps without a word at his green eyes less cold but more determined than usual.
"… y-you can't… Haru is… promised to… Tsuna-san, you… can't… ahiii…" "Aah? What are you talking about, damn it? You're the one worried we might not get out until morning…!" "… n-no good… no good, morning is no good… a night with… Ahiii, no-good-desu! I need to get back to Tsuna-san's side… back to Tsuna-san's side… not betraying him… Haru is not betraying him…" "… Oy!"
BAM. Haru feels her back bump with strength against the wooden shelf, cornered as Gokudera's narrowing eyes come to stare closer and deeper into hers, closing in on her with a suspicious scowl.
"What's this big idea about 'betraying the 10th'...?"
Haru suddenly feels scared at being stared down by these cold green eyes that look like nothing she's opposed before… maybe the pounding in her chest from before is not helping her thinking straight… maybe the dim-lit darkness of the storeroom is also playing on her nerves… but damn it, having these eyes staring coldly yet so closely at her feels so aggravating…
"… Haru doesn't want to betray Tsuna-san by falling in love with another guy, so don't make Haru feel crazy like that, aho Gokudera-san!"
SHIN. Silence falls as Gokudera's eyes relax into their normal frown while his brain is trying to process Haru's answer.
The wavering glitter in her chestnuts eyes as she doesn't avoid his eyes is slowly sipping into him together with her words as he gradually realises how close he's actually from her.
"… W-W-WHAT THE H*** ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, STUPID WOMAN?! Don't mess with me!" "You're the one messing up with Haru!" "Whaaat?! Not even in nightmares, Stupid Woman! As if I would bother with something childish like lov…" "It's not childish, and you said you like women!" "Don't bring that up again! It was in general, IN GENERAL!" "… so you never liked a girl before…?"
TILT. Gokudera's eyes widen at the reproof, not understanding why Haru's tone sounds so suspicious, but it's not like he would lie to shut her up, so he just pulls away from her while looking away with a low tsk.
"… Haru knew it… so you like men after all!" "STOP THAT F*** NOW!" "You do!" "I don't!" "YOU DO!" "I SAID I DON'T!" "BE HONEST, YOU STUPID RIVAL HOMO-GOKUDERA-SAN!" "DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH, STUPID WOMAN?!"
GRIP. GRAB. BAM. The petty fight having turned physical, the lack of space claims its due right, and both of them bump into the shelves with force, shaking them to the point they start tumbling forward like dominos.
BADABAM. They barely have time to grab onto another to try and escape from the rain of bound paper falling on them, that the shock makes them see black.
When they blink their eyes open again, it's only to realise they are now on the floor in a wonderful messy acrobatics, and that they can't even find a way to stand anymore, stuck one on the other in the limited space oppressing them. Countless trials and falls again and again drain their stamina at speed light, and they give up on trying, barely pushing away a couple of hard books dug in their ribs or under their arms.
"Sigh… forget it… It looks like the sun almost finished setting too…" "G-Gomen…" "If you're sorry, then go on diet to try and not be so heavy, Stupid Woman…" "Ahiii, so mean! Haru is very fit!" "Exactly what part of you is fit, tsk… anyway, forget it… our damn loss, I guess…" "…"
Gokudera sighs and throws his head backwards to gazes at the ceiling wearily. As he gradually closes his eyes, Haru can only pout with a sorry expression her victim can't see anymore, trying her best not to rest too heavily on the chest of the one under her, while obscurity soothes everything into nothingness, night falling in complete silence, blurring everything.
On morning…
"…" The cupboard door opens on the silent greeting of the old school concierge and his morning duties.
"… tsk…" "a…hi…" The ray of sunlight awakes the two people who have fallen asleep one onto the other slumped against the wall of the cupboard.
"It's morning." The concierge's calm remark seems to awaken them completely.
Gokudera and Haru snap in synch, pulling from the other at light-speed before trying to stand up, tumbling on their numb legs and not managing to hold on without the support of the doorframe.
Somehow, they can't manage to make eye-contact with one another, and the old concierge doesn't insist except about:
"I advice you two to fix all of this before the Disciplinary Committee arrives, you know…" The old concierge smiles wearily with a knowing glance for the messed up storeroom.
SNAP. Gokudera and Haru instantly break into cold sweats and rush to collect books at light-speed, too exhausted to consider facing the dangerous aura of someone threatening them to 'bite them to death' for having messed up the order at Namimori's Middle School…