AN: I'm back with another update! I'm fairly new at writing Geto and Shoko, apologies for the potential OOC. Other than that, hope you will enjoy it!
Title of chapter from Hurricane by Ofenbach & Ella Henderson. The whole song doesn't fit the chapter, but the chosen line works okay as a title and theme of the chapter.
Chapter 2: Where Our Blue Is Arc: my mind like a hurricane.
When Satoru returns to Suguru, cheek still tingling from the slap, mood still sour, and karumeyaki in hand, he discovers his best friend has a dreamy expression on his face. Satoru merely rolls his eyes in response with a groan, knowing what it means by now.
Seriously? He had been gone for a few minutes! Half an hour tops! Typical Suguru, pfff!
Gojo suppresses the urge to barf.
He is thinking about his soulmate again—lovey-dovey thoughts this time instead of the angst he and Shoko have seen lately. Having been friends with the other teen since their first year, he learned to differentiate what he nicknamed "Suguru's soulmate expressions." He has many, but the most recurring are the worried one, tinged by helplessness and fear, and the love-struck one he spouts currently. He briefly wonders what brought the sudden change before dismissing it as unimportant. Time to return this lovesick idiot back to the earth from his encounter with the cupids in the clouds.
He's about to do just that when Shoko returns from her shopping, an unlit cigarette in her mouth. She quirks a brow at the boys' states — Suguru is lovestruck while Satoru looks like a cat that got scolded and he has a mark of fingers on his face.
Well, that's new.
"What happened to you?" she asks with a flash of interest on her usually passive face. "Who dared to ruin your "perfect" face?"
Satoru waves her away with a scowl. "Never mind that. Better help me return this idiot back to reality," he says irritably, gesturing to Geto. "Before I barf or something."
Shoko rolls her eyes, but proceeds to help by hitting the Curse Manipulator on the head. It works as Geto lets out a yelp, coming back to himself.
"Was that necessary?" he asks with an annoyed glare at Shoko while massaging the spot she hit.
The brunette shrugs in response.
"Satoru certainly thought so," she says nonchalantly, not hesitating to throw Gojo under the bus, which earned her an affronted look from the Six Eyes user.
Geto turns, ready to tear his best friend a new one, but his annoyance disappears when he sees Satoru's mark, replaced by amusement instead. He smirks.
"Run in with a crazy fan?" he asks. Satoru's present scowl increases tenfold.
"More like a hater," he grouses like a petulant child. "Some girl slapped me because of her bratty sibling."
"Well, I'd say she was justified to do that," Shoko says, unsympathetic. "Most siblings are protective of their younger ones. Chances are, you're the one who started the whole thing."
"Oh?" Suguru raises his brows, intrigued. "There's a girl who didn't fall for your charms right off the bat?"
"Here's Utahime-senpai," Shoko points out.
"She was charmed at first before she saw the brat," Suguru corrects. "That girl not only wasn't fooled, she slapped him; I want to shake her hand."
Traitors, both of them.
"Shut it," he flips the bird to the two of them, making them snicker as they move to sit on the bench. "You are the one to talk. Daydreaming about your soulmate again. Wedding this time?"
At the words about his soulmate, Geto's smile becomes soft. Not the typical, lovesick one, but one tampered by meeting the object of affection. They also notice he's holding a handkerchief in his hands — an expensive one at that; it's not something he would buy, that's more Satoru's thing.
Just where did he get that?
"Well," Suguru starts, happiness radiating from his entire being as he plays with the handkerchief, "I met my soulmate, actually. But…" the Curse Manipulator deflates a bit. "...she was gone so quickly that I haven't managed to ask for a name," he finishes, dismayed and sheepish.
Shoko and Satoru are silent for about a second, then burst into hysterics.
"That's hilarious!" Satoru manages through his laughing fit, clenching his sides. "Ever since we met, you spoke how you're gonna have a meet-cute with your soulmate talking our ears off, and yet when it came to it, you lost her within seconds!" Satoru howls. "You're so pathetic!"
"Maybe that's why she ran off," Shoko adds in jest.
"I hate you both," Suguru grumbles, feeling his cheeks heat up due to their teasing.
He knows he screwed up, cut him some slack! He was so stunned by finally meeting his other half that he forgot everything else.
Shoko seems to pick on what he feels and stops first.
"Is that hers?" she asks, changing the topic by pointing at the piece of cloth. It works.
Geto nods, regaining his usual composure. "Yeah, she dropped it when she left. Seemed like she was in a hurry."
"Can I see?" Shoko asks. After some debating, Suguru passes her the handkerchief. The brunette inspects it carefully. "It's expensive."
"Custom made too," Satoru joins the inspection as well. He points at the initials. "Those are done by the professional, not at home, " he raises his eyes to Geto. "With these, I can pull my sources and find your Cinderella. Wanna me to do that?"
Suguru shakes his head, though he shows he appreciates the offer by smiling. "No need," he says, taking the handkerchief back and hiding it away like the greatest treasure. "We met after this long. We'll meet again."
"You are that sure about fate?" Satoru wonders, raising an eyebrow. He knows Suguru puts a lot of stock in fate but to let it go like this?
If it were him, he would have found her already. Out of curiosity, of course.
"Mm," his best friend hums, touching his mark that is bright orange now — it seems the activation of the bond was accidental just as the whole encounter. "We're soulmates for a reason."
"How romantic," Shoko chimes in drily, bumping shoulders with the taller Curse Manipulator to show her support. "That will sweep her off her feet for sure."
As his best friends bicker playfully, Satoru purses his lips, absorbed by his thoughts.
He's still skeptical about Suguru's approach, — but that's Geto's soulmate, and in turn, purely his business, so whatever. What worries him is the feelings he experiences at the revelation. He's happy for Suguru, he is! But he's also worried — the presence of his soulmate is going to shift their whole dynamic once it'll come to introductions. What if Suguru will deem his other half more important than Satoru and Shoko?
He doesn't want that.
Satoru sets his jaw, determined. That's it. Whoever the soulmate is, he won't let her ruin his and Suguru's friendship.
No way in hell.
He'll curse her first if she tries that.
Due to coming from a non-sorcerer family that ran their own business successfully — his father's family has an antique shop that his father was in charge of ever since Suguru was a child, and his mother was a well-known florist back home – Suguru always strived to be the best at everything so his parents would be proud of him, so he admits he's a perfectionist.
A little bit.
But regardless of this small vice and seeing strange monsters no one saw, he was successful in his goal — he was popular, top of his class, and rarely got into trouble, except the times when he stood up for himself and his soulmate. His parents were proud and everything was perfect.
Except for the absence of his other half and that he lacked the knowledge and means to find them. No matter how much he tried to have faith and patience, sometimes the frustration got the best of him. It got really bad during puberty when that frustration caused him to snap at his family more than once, filling him with shame afterward.
Mother was the one to come up with the solution.
"Maybe you could draw?" she suggested after one such bad day.
Suguru remembers furrowing his eyebrows in confusion back then. "But what would I draw?"
"Anything you feel," she said. "Art can be a good outlet. Just try it."
And he does try it despite his reservations. Mother's words turn out to be right – it truly helps and is a great outlet. Mostly he drew his soulmark; sometimes the monsters he saw when the burden of the knowledge became too great. But he made sure to never show these lest his family thought he lost his mind and decided to call the doctor.
All in all, art becomes his passion. Since then, he never stops drawing. He doesn't stop upon admittance to Jujutsu High either. His dorm's walls are adorned by his works, ranging from his hometown, and landscape around the school to Satoru and Shoko's portraits. When he returns from their outing, he knows another will join them.
Flowing brown hair. Kind brown eyes and a warm smile, surrounded by the branches of a peach tree in bloom. He does his best to recall every detail from the brief encounter, and once he's done, he is fairly sure he succeeds, though it doesn't hold a candle to the real deal.
"Just who are you, SS?" he muses to himself tracing the initials with his fingers when he hangs a drawing on the wall. The question obviously hangs in the air, but still, Suguru can't help but ask, smiling at the portrait.
He can't wait to get to know her.
After leaving the white-haired idiot behind, and texting everyone that Lambo is safe and they meet at the rendezvous point, Tsuna falls silent. Lambo shifts in her hold, guilty.
"Tsuna-nee," he sniffs, still a bit upset over the whole thing. "I'm sorry for running away. Please don't be mad."
"I'm not," she assures tiredly. Honestly, she should be — he ran to get sweets without informing anyone, even though he told her previously that sweets are not the point of the trip, — but between meeting her soulmate and that dumbass, she doesn't have the energy to even scold him thoroughly. "Just tell me, why did you do it?"
"I wanted to cheer you up," her youngest Guardian tells her, "Since you work so hard. Karumeyaki is your favorite, but that baka beat me to it," his bottom lip trembles again.
Tsuna, for her part, feels her heart melt at the words. For all his bratiness, Lambo does care. The fact fills her with warmth.
"I appreciate the thought, Lambo, thank you," she kisses his forehead. Her hand goes to her skirt pocket, "Now let's dry your tears"— she trails off when she doesn't find her handkerchief. Her eyes widen.
Lambo's eyes also grow large at the discovery. "Your handkerchief!" he exclaims, upset anew. "I'm so sorry!"
"It's fine," she must have lost it when she bumped into her soulmate and hadn't noticed it in a hurry, the future Decimo notes to herself. He must have it now if he picked it up from the sidewalk.
"But it's a gift!" Lambo insists.
It had indeed been a gift — Reborn got it for her last year as a birthday present, — but its loss is a small price to pay in exchange for knowledge of Lambo's safety.
"It is," she tells him as such. "But you matter more. I can get thousands of gifts, but there's gonna be only one Lambo."
Overwhelmed due to her words, Lambo hides his face in her chest.
"Love you, Tsuna-nee," the words are muffed, but she hears them clearly nonetheless.
"Love you too," the brunette says into black curls. "Just don't do it again, okay?" she feels him nod. "Now, let's meet others and go home."
"And do karumeyaki?"
"And do karumeyaki" Tsuna confirms.
They reunite with others. Tsuna nips whatever argument was gonna spout when Hayato opens his mouth in the bud, saying she's tired and wants to go home. Hayato relents, only shooting a glare in Lambo's direction.
Afterward, they board the train. Everyone notices her subdued mood, and though they share a concerned glance, they leave her be. She's grateful for it as she tries to make sense of what happened.
So. She knows now what Hyper Intuition meant by upcoming change — she met her soulmate by bumping into him after since so long giving up on finding her other half. Should she be happy? He's her destined one, after all. Should she be indifferent since he's practically a stranger in spite of the bond?
She doesn't know what to feel. Her world was turned upside down by the single electric shock.
And then there's that Byakuran-wannabe.
In all honesty, she acted on impulse. Usually, she ignores such assholes with ease, but the way he flirted with her without regard to her feelings and his condescending attitude towards Lambo reminded her too much of Byakuran of the erased future. They even shared the hair color and arrogant aura of someone with too much power that made them think they were gods above everyone. Coupled with her worry for Lanbo and shock at meeting her other half, it's no wonder she slapped him.
Nor does she feel sorry about it for that matter. He completely deserved it.
All in all, save for these thoughts, they return home without further accidents. As they fill Mom and the rest of the household on how the trip went, Tsuna corrals her siblings into doing karumeyaki as per promise to her Lightning. She almost forgets about the whole "soulmate bond" thing amongst the chaos until Mom points it out:
"Tsu-chan!" she gasps in wonder and shock. "Your mark!"
"Huh?" Tsuna casts a fleeting glance at it before she understands the reason of her mother's surprise. "Ah, yeah. It activated today."
"Congrats!" sweet I-Pin says, smiling. It falls a second later as she sees the lack of reaction from her older sister. "Or not?"
"You don't seem happy," Bianchi observes.
"I don't know how to feel," Tsuna says honestly. She sets the plate of the ready karumeyaki down. She's no Kyoko or Mom who are pros at cooking and baking, but she's decent. She hopes the sweet tastes good as she sits down. "I spent years without the bond and suddenly it's here. It's a lot to take in."
"Understandable," Reborn says, taking a gulp of his evening coffee along with the piece of karumeyaki. He hums appreciatively which means he likes it. "What are you planning to do?"
"I'm thinking about breaking the bond," Tsuna says. She thought about it on the ride home and it's the logical step to do. For all she knows, her soulmate is a civilian, and she refuses to drag another one into her world or build a relationship on lies like Dad did. So best to sever the ties before they develop feelings for each other.
Her proclamation is met with deafening silence.
"But why?" Mom speaks up at last. Her sweet kind oblivious mother who continues to love her soulmate despite everything. Which he doesn't deserve in Tsuna's opinion, but that's the matter for another time because currently, everyone stares at her as if she spoke in a new foreign language. Which is… fair. Breaking of the bond is rare and considered extreme among the soulmate society. "He's your soulmate!"
"Who I don't know," Tsuna replies calmly. She doesn't view him with rose-tinted glasses anymore, unlike Mom who's romantic at heart on top of her constant forgiveness of Iemitsu's fuck ups. "I don't want to drag him into the mafia or lie to him about it. Plus, he may hate me for the constant worry I put him through-Itai! Reborn!" she exclaims, glaring daggers at her tutor. "What the hell, Reborn?"
"Because you being stupid, Dame-Tsuna," in true Reborn's fashion, he used Leon — who stayed with him after the breaking of the Curse — to forcibly and painfully end her self-deprecating spiel. "You're making assumptions. About the person that you don't know, as you rightfully pointed out. He waited for you for years. The least you can do is explain your reasons behind your decision if you're set on it. Don't ghost him."
Tsuna thins her lips. As much as she doesn't like it, Reborn is right and regardless of her stance on her soulmate bond, her other half deserves an explanation at least.
God, why is this so hard?
Feeling more tired than before, she stands up. "Can I think about it later? Today was eventful."
"Sure," Reborn gracefully allows her to retreat to her bedroom. She takes it, and escapes feeling the eyes of her family all the way to her room.
Once in her sanctuary, Tsuna breathes out a sigh and flops on the bed, her hair spreading like a halo. Her eyes examine the mark as she outstretches her arm towards the ceiling.
The previously colorless dragon is white now — she flinches a little remembering Byakuran's Box Weapon — and has yellow eyes with a green-blue maw. Although… Tsuna narrows her eyes as she twists the arm. The dragon isn't completely white: if light hits it right, the dragon shines with rainbow colors. Tsuna hums at the discovery.
Rainbow Dragon, huh.
At least it isn't a replica of Byakuran's dragon. She doesn't want a connection between what is — supposed to be — her "happiness", and the scariest period of her life, no matter her mixed feelings on the soulbond. And hopefully, there won't be any more surprises — the day has been a whirlwind already, and she's exhausted. So it's no wonder she falls asleep rather quickly despite her inner dilemma.
And later in the night, she dreams of violets — her favorite flower — and primroses among the snow.
It's a serene dream.
AN:I decided to add the theme of floriography into the story, so small trivia time about violets and primroses!
According to the site I found, violet means virtue, modesty, and humility. It's also the name of the "Shrinking Violet trope" Tsuna has in canon. Primrose generally symbolizes youth, young love, and everlasting existence. Both are also February birth flowers, and you know who has a February birthday.
Oh, and before I forget! teen Tsuna has a face claim now. I like to imagine her as Kurokawa Akane from Oshi no Ko with her s2 look, but with brown hair and eyes, but you're free to imagine your own look.
That's all, trivia time over. See you next time!