86 & MIDORI SHORT-STORY ~ TRAINING ISSUES

Requested by: Arabella A. Hilst | Topic: Something Haru centric

MIDORI MIDDLE SCHOOL, LUNCH BREAK

"Uwooow, so you're dating that guy now?! Didn't you always like the football team captain from that other school?!"

"Hum, you know, it's not that I changed heart. The truth is that I wanted some training so that I can feel more confident before going after my dream guy…"

"Training…?"

At a couple seats behind the group of chatting girls, Haru lifts her nose from her homework with curiosity.

"You mean you're dating him as training? Sounds harsh!"

"Ah no no no, please don't say it like that! You know, when he asked me out, I hesitated for a long time, but then, I remembered my Neechan's advice."

"You asked your big sis' for advice?"

"Ah well, hmmm, just a bit, because you know, I wasn't making any progress at all, and…"

A few seats behind, Haru absent-mindedly brings her pen to her chin, deep in thoughts.

It's true things with Tsuna-san are not making any progress… She tried everything she could, tried her best, but still no progress… There must be something Haru is doing wrong, or that Haru doesn't know how to do… Since Tsuna-san is her first crush, it would be normal to think she needs training, but it's not like Haru has a big sister to ask for advice on training…

"Aya, you mean this gorgeous sister of yours who is engaged to that famous alpinist? I saw her in a magazine: so pretty and confident! If she was my sister, I would be too afraid to ask her about my little tiny crush. Such a popular pretty woman would surely laugh at me, hihihi!"

"Neechan is not the type to mock people's trouble, buuh!"

"Alright, alright, we get it, we get it! So back to the topic! What did she say?"

"Yep, so what advice did your sister give you?"

"Hmmm, actually it wasn't really her advice, because you see, Neechan told me the story of her fiancé's training."

"You mean the alpinist guy? Wait, don't tell me this relationship training thing means he cheated on your sister a lot in the past…?!"

"Of course not! Buuh, listen to me!"

"Hihi, just teasing, just teasing!"

"So the training idea is from that alpinist?"

"It is! You know, when he talks about mountains, he's a bit of a maniac, but he's a good guy!"

"O…kay…? And how is a maniac talk on mountains gonna help in love relationships advice…?"

"Ah, because you see, before someone conquers Everest, they need to train and test their strength on smaller and easier mountains."

"Aah, I'm starting to see your point! So your dream guy is Everest and this new guy is a smaller mountain…?"

"Exactly!"

"Ummm, you mean to get sure to get the perfect kiss with your dream guy, you first try and train on another guy with whom it's no problem if you mess up, shishi…?"

"Kyaa, don't say it like that, don't say it like that!"

"Shishi, she's blushing sooo hard!"

At a couple seats behind, Haru has blushed a little too, her mind wandering on some distant mountains.

Of course Haru's dream guy is Tsuna-san, the amazing strong Everest she can only admire and try and gain his attention. Every time she sees him smile, it's like the shine of sun on the snows of Everest, dreamy-desu… So dreamy that now it's obvious that such a wonderful perfect mountain can't be climbed like that without preparations or training…!

But then, who would be the nearby mountains to train on…?

"So if it's not about kissing, then you mean training for dating?"

"I can get the idea about being more at ease with a guy that doesn't make your heart beat like crazy, but are you sure it's dating for real, then? You could just ask a friend to pretend, right?"

"Tut tut, of course it's not the same! If she's decided to go out with that other guy, it's because he's for real!"

"Well, because he's your neighbour, you take the same train, so you probably can date easily on the way home, right?"

"So it's all about the easy way?"

"Ah, well, it's true that I felt it when he asked me out the first time, it was just… how to say… very natural, very easy…! From all the boys around me, I think he was the one the closest to me without being a friend, so…"

"Yep, perfect as a training partner, right?"

The pen has left Haru's chin as she loses focus slowly, deeper and deeper in thoughts.

This feeling of easiness around someone, doing the same thing as him, hanging out together naturally… she has felt it before… she actually feels it often, when on her way to Tsuna-san's home, and with someone who is not a friend at all! Yes, how could she call this arrogant swearing meanie a friend…?! Well, maybe bickering all the time doesn't count the same as having an admirer, but it fits the 'close' and 'not friend' criteria, surely… If what her classmates are saying is the truth, then wouldn't that make him a perfect mountain to train before going after Tsuna-san-Everest…?

Haru's chestnut eyes lose themselves in the blurry of distant imagination.

She is wearing this strong and fluffy hiking parka and is fighting against the blizzard as she tries and climbs higher and higher on Everest. Namahage is in front of her on the snowy hiking path, pointing at the distant summit – where a big balloon in shape of Tsuna-san's head is floating – and encouraging her not to lose sight of her ultimate goal. But the trail is too slippery, the blizzard is too strong… and just as Haru is about to fall into a crevice that opened in the ice under her, a hand pulls her up.

Yes, she might be a very stupid woman, trying so hard to reach this Everest summit, but then, why is this ranting guy here to save her… to carry her away from the dangerous snowy trail… to sit her near a warm fire in a distant cavern of emerald-green ice… emerald like his eyes as he stares deep in hers to call her a badly-prepared untrained idiot…

So he's the God of another mountain… offering her his advice while swearing prodigiously against her cluelessness… offering her his protection while throwing his own fluffy coat to her face for her to get warmer… offering her a path to his own mountain while pestering her every metre to make sure she's following properly…

How come the summit balloon of Tsuna-san-Everest is getting farther and farther now, just as the weather is getting warmer and warmer, metre by metre, when following the trail leading to a sharp mountain covered with the emerald green of arduous forests in-between silver-grey razor stone… Everest looked so dazzling and shiny, strong and solid, but this other mountain looks at the same time hostile yet easy to climb up once having passed beyond the first scary impression…

How come Haru has hold out her hand to her guide to walk up towards the summit with him, even getting rid of her hiking parka along the way as the breeze is warm here, blowing hot and cold at the same time, but never managing to defeat the innate cosiness of the surrounding air… Everest looked very refreshing and large enough to welcome all, but this other mountain looks at the same time mysterious yet trust-worthy…

How come, now that the summit is in sight, that she's almost dancing and twirling under the breeze, barefoot on the soft thick emerald grass covering the heart of this other mountain. Not one Namahage but a full family of Namahage are actually playing music and throwing some liveliness onto this mountain not used to it but not unhappy with the change… Everest looked beautiful, but not as much as this other mountain, now that flowers are blowing like spring has descended upon it…

The guide himself seems to have forgotten how to frown, his genuine smile more dazzling than snow-drops peeking here and there under his foot as he is dragged in a twirl by his guest… Sun is setting, carrying its warm crimson breeze to Haru's cheeks as she gazes up into these sparkling emeralds eyes, more addictive even that this emerald mountain she climbed without even realizing it… Her own eyes are closing, slowly, as she feels her guide's hands slowly bringing her face to his…

"SAY WHAAAT?!"

BAM.

The sudden shouting awakens Haru from her day-dreaming and the elbow on which she had rested her chin slips from the table abruptly, making her face crash loudly on her desk.

But the group of girls at some distance is too much in shock to notice her misadventure.

"Say what…?"

"I said I read an article about this alpinist."

"Yes… NO! Not this part, the next one!"

"Hihi, I just said, that in this interview, her sister's fiancé said that, of all mountains he had climbed, his favourite was not Everest. He said everyone finds a spot in his heart for his own favourite mountain, and that no matter how much one dreams to conquer this or that, it's only when taking its path that we notice the most enjoyable one is not always the one we originally thought."

"…"

"If you ask me, I think love is the same. You never know if this new guy is not a better match for you than your dream guy. You might call it only training, but I think you might fall for real, hihihi…!"

A couple desks behind, Haru's nose has fallen behind her notebook to hide her beat red cheeks.