AN: Hello! The long-awaited date chapter, the biggest so far, is here. Without further ado, enjoy!
Nura Mansion.
"Welcome back, Rikuo-sama,"Kubinashi is the first to greet Rikuo at the gate as the neckless ayakashi is working in the yard when Rikuo returns. "Did the break help?" the yokai's eyes shift and he catches sight of the band aid on his Master's knuckles. "God, what happened to your hands?"
"It's nothing," Rikuo brushes off, too excited and happy to pay attention to such things. "Is kaa-san with grandpa? I need her advice on something."
"Yes, she's drinking tea with the Supreme Commander in his rooms."
"Thanks, Kubinashi!" Rikuo waves a hand in thanks before running towards the house.
"Waka seems really excited," Kappa notes as he resurfaces a little from his pond and the two watch their Master disappear inside the house. "Maybe something nice happened between him and Sawada-sama."
"Looks like it," Kubinashi smiles softly. The reason for the Master's happiness was obvious. "It seems Rikuo-sama made the first move and Sawada-sama said yes."
"I wonder if he will introduce her to the Clan," Kappa's tone is thoughtful as he says this.
"Guess we'll see," Kubinashi replies. "Nurarihyons fall fast and hard, but Waka and Sawada-sama are still teenagers. Things can change very quickly between them."
"True," Kappa agrees, and the two yokais resume their previous activities.
Like Kubinashi said, Rikuo finds his mom and grandfather in the Supreme Commander's rooms, drinking tea.
"Oh, Rikuo-kun, okaeri," Wakana sets her cup down when her son slides the shoji aside and enters the room. "How was your walk?"
"It was eventful," Rikuo replies. "Listen, mom, I need your advice."
"On what?"
"Well," the brunet begins, looking anywhere but at his mother and grandfather as his excitement gives way to nervousness and he starts to twist his fingers. "I kind of asked Tsu out, and this is my first date, so I need help," by the time Rikuo finishes explaining his predicament, his face is beet red.
"Oh my!" Wakana gasps. "You asked Tsunami-chan out on a date? To that festival, right?"
"Yes," her son replies, voice meek. Nurarihyon bursts out laughing at that.
"That's my boy!" he says, full of pride.
"Grandpa!" Rikuo whines, embarrassed. Nurarihyon simply cackles in reply.
"That's wonderful!" Wakana says, making a mental note to call Nana later to let her know about what was going on between their children. Ah, how fast children grow! "Then, let's get you prepared, so you can sweep Tsunami-chan off her feet!"
"Yes, kaa-san," Rikuo says, obediently. Due to their reaction, he wishes the ground would swallow him whole, but if he wants to impress Tsu, he must prepare.
Hopefully Mom won't go overboard, the brunet thinks before he's swept off in the hurricane of ideas that is accompanied by his grandfather's teasing commentary.
By the time Rikuo is done and ready to leave, the whole Clan knows about the date and gathers in the yard to see him off and wish luck.
"Have a nice time, sweetie! Good luck!"
"Go get her, Rikuo!
"And maybe get a kiss!"
"Don't do anything I would do!"
"Sweep her off her feet, Master!"
And so on and on. Rikuo sighs in fond exasperation. "You guys…" he mutters under his breath, but appreciates the support nonetheless. He checks the bouquet and his outfit for the last time, making sure everything is okay, and then says in a louder voice: "I'm off!"
He hopes everything will go well.
"Sodaisho," Karasu Tenguinquires carefully as they watch the young Third leave the Mansion for his date, "Is it wise for Rikuo-sama to spend time with a human when Nue is said to return within six months?"
"Karasu Tengu," Nurarihyon says, voice low. "My grandson is shaping to be a great yokai, and he's aware of the burden on his shoulders every second. However, we must not forget that he's also human and a boy experiencing first love. Let him enjoy himself for a few hours."
"As you wish, Sodaisho."
Unknown to everyone, Tsurara hears every word and is instantly overwhelmed by jealousy.
It isn't fair! As much as she envies Sawada-san she has to admit that the brunette is a nice person. But still, she was human! What she had that Tsurara didn't, for the Clan to refer to her as Sawada-sama without meeting her, and for Rikuo-sama to catch interest and now ask her out on a date when Tsurara tried to catch his attention that way in vain for years?
Like she said, it wasn't fair. And she was determined to discover what made Sawada-san different for Rikuo-sama to choose her.
With that, Yuki-Onna follows her Master, unseen.
"And done!" Sumiko proclaims as she pins her niece's hair in one spot, so the rest can flow down her back in curly waves. "You can look, sweetheart."
Tsuna does. She's dressed in white turtleneck sweater, with a peach-colored skirt that ends at her knees and white shoes with a small heel. There's a minimum of make up, only to make her eyes stand out, her aunt said, and a bit of lip gloss. The finishing touch is a hair pin in the form of white lily in her locks.
She can hardly believe it's her, and yet it's true. It's her, more feminine than ever. Sure, she dressed up from time to time, but it was mostly for Vongola business, not for a simple date.
It's a strange feeling to say the least.
"So, how is it, Tsu-chan?" Kana asks, patiently awaiting the verdict with her mother.
"It's wonderful, I like it," Tsuna says, feeling like she can burst from gratitude towards her aunt and cousin for their help as she averts her eyes from her reflection. "Thank you so much, Sumiko-ba-san, Kana-chan."
"You're welcome, sweetheart," her aunt says.
"Rikuo-kun won't know what will hit him," Kana giggles and in that moment, Ichiro calls them:
"Girls! Come down, Rikuo-kun is here!"
"Coming, just a sec!" Sumiko calls back. She quickly snaps a photo of Tsuna on her phone.
"For kaa-san?" Tsuna says, already knowing the answer.
"Of course," her aunt confirms with a smile. "Nana would like to know that her baby girl is all grown up and on her first date. Now, let's go and save Nura-kun from your uncle."
Tsuna nods, trying to still her wildly beating heart. The warmth from the Vongola Ring on her finger helps a little - thank you, Grandpa - and after taking a deep breath, they go downstairs. True to her aunt's word, Uncle Ichiro was in the middle of giving lecture to uncomfortable-looking Rikuo:
"Now, I like you, Rikuo-kun, you're a good boy, but if something happens to my niece, you will answer to me, understood?"
"Y-yes, sir," Rikuo says, gulping nervously. Ienaga Ichiro was a pleasant man, but when it came to his daughter and niece, he was intimidating. Not to mention it was Rikuo's first shovel talk ever, so it's understandable that Rikuo is on edge.
Thankfully, Tsuna's aunt comes to his rescue.
"Ichiro!" Sumiko scolds as she comes to stand at her husband's side. "Stop, you'll scare the poor boy off."
"Just covering the bases, dear," Ichiro says, kissing his wife on the cheek, and wrapping an arm around her waist. "So, there's the lady of this evening?"
"I'm here, Ichiro-oji-san," Tsuna says quietly and all eyes turn on her.
"You look beautiful," Rikuo says, voice full of awe. Tsuna looked very regal in her simple yet elegant outfit.
"Thank you, you look handsome too," she says, blushing from the compliment a little. Like her, Rikuo chose a simple shirt and jeans, plus jacket. Kind of similar to what he wore most of the days, but this time he had a bad boy look to it due to his slightly disheveled hair. It suited him.
"Thank you. Oh, this is for you," he hands her a bouquet, which Tsuna accepts.
"Thank you, it's very lovely," Tsuna says, inhaling the flowers' fragrance. She notes it's made of white lilies and pink orchids.
If you give white lily to a woman, it represents her sense of gentleness and elegance. You can also give her any number of them to let her know she's unique, Tsuna recalls the description of the meaning of white lily in the bouquet she read together with Haru, Bianchi, Kyoko and Chrome in the book on the flower language once. If you give her a pink orchid, it means you see beauty, and strength within her,
Tsuna's blush intensifies. So that's how Rikuo-kun sees me? Beautiful, gentle, unique and strong?
Judging by how her childhood friend's eyes sparkle when their gazes meet over the flowers he knows she got his message.
"Glad you love it," Rikuo says, relieved to know his research on the flower meanings paid off, and Tsuna seemed to know them as well, judging by her flustered blush, so step one, success. "Shall we go then?"
"Yes."
"In that case, one last word, kids," Ichiro says as his niece passes the bouquet to his wife and takes Rikuo's offered arm. "No funny business and bring her back before dinner, Nura-kun. Other than that, have fun."
"Yes, Ichiro-san," Rikuo agrees, both of the teens blushing at the mention of "funny business" before leaving the house with a goodbye.
"Time sure flies fast, doesn't it?" Ichiro says as the three of them watch the young couple leave for their date. He sighs with nostalgia. "It seems only yesterday that Nana was having her first date and now it's her daughter's turn."
"Yes," Sumiko agrees, sending Nana a message about Tsuna's date and a photo made minutes ago. "Rikuo-kun seems to fare better than Iemitsu though."
"He better continue to do so or I'll be having words with him," Ichiro promises darkly before turning to his daughter with a grin. "So, daughter mine, now that your cousin left for her first date, it's your turn, ne?"
Kana sputters as she blushes in reply to such question. "T-tou-san!"
Her parents merely laugh at that.
The last time Tsuna visited a festival, the mafia just came into her life. Reborn made her work as a challenge while Hibari and the Disciplinary Committee lurked in the corners, and her friends spread chaos, and while she recalls it with a laugh now, it was still a nerve-wrecking affair a year ago.
Now she's at the festival again and it's nerve-wrecking too, but for a different reason because she's on a date with the boy she likes.
Oh Kami-sama. There's hope nothing chaotic will happen.
"Sorry about Uncle Ichiro," she apologizes when they arrive as a way to get rid of the slight awkwardness they both feel. "He got overprotective a bit."
"It's understandable," Rikuo waves apology off. "You're his only niece and it's your first date, so no surprise he turned the overprotectiveness on."
"He wasn't the only one to do that," the brunette grumbles. "My friends found out too and freaked out, so to speak."
"Yeah?" Rikuo glanced at his date with a smile. He has an idea that those friends said, but asks out of curiosity anyway. "What did they say?"
"Teasing and threats to "have a talk with you" if you hurt me, mostly," Tsuna rolls her eyes at the memory. "They even wanted to come and play chaperone."
She expects Rikuo to get scared or laugh nervously at that tidbit of the information. While Rikuo is a patient and understanding person - proven by how he helped her to study for school many years in a row, considering her Dameness back then - few could handle the craziness and overprotectiveness of her friends. But to her surprise, all he does is laugh, sound warm and free.
"Then, if they show up and decide to kill me for touching their hime, we best have fun until then," he winks at her, and it's such a Yoru move that she imagines said yokai boy in his place. She blinks, chasing the vision away. First, red eyes, now this. Clearly, her mind is playing tricks on her. Or maybe not, remembering her Intuition's whispers. She'll think about it later. For now, she wanted to be an ordinary girl enjoying her date.
So she nods and says, "Sure! Where to first?"
And for a while things are calm. They hold hands, play games - they win a prize each, which they exchange as a keepsake - take photos and eat food.
Right, until the atmosphere is broken.
She is laughing at the story of one of many Nura Clan shenanigans when her Intuition flares and she catches sight of a familiar black jacket.
Oh God. Don't tell her her Guardians-!
"Tsu?" Rikuo calls cautiously when Tsuna goes silent abruptly and stops dead in her tracks, eyes wide. "Are you okay?"
"I am!" the girl of his dreams assures him hurriedly. She smiles nervously at him. "It's just, remember I mentioned my friends wanted to chaperone? It seems they sent someone especially when I told them not to."
"Same here," Rikuo says, glancing discreetly to where he feels Tsurara's yoki coming from. At first, he thought it was just paranoia, but it wasn't. Yuki-Onna is really here. "It seems we need to deal with this. See you in a few minutes?"
"Sure."
And the couple went their separate ways.
A Disciplinary Committee member just breathed a sigh of relief at having escaped detection to a alley when a voice speaks up behind him:
"And just what are you doing out of Namimori, Watanabe-kun?"
Watanabe Satoshi jolts in shock. He turns around and pales in a second at the realization that he was caught by the person he is supposed to watch over.
"Tsunami-sama," he bows instantly before the girl. She was the president's equal, someone he listened to and protected, and he would be very displeased if she wasn't respected and addressed properly. The Disciplinary Committee learned that in short order when she began hanging around the president more frequently, and with time all of the DC saw she's worth the respect and loyalty, Satoshi included, hence the bow and the choice of suffix even if she was uncomfortable with it sometimes.
"Rise, Watanabe-kun, we are not in Namimori," the future Donna tells him and Satoshi does so, meeting a narrowed amber gaze. He shivers. When she had such a look even the leader backed off because it meant her anger and displeasure. "Well? Mind explaining yourself?"
"The president mentioned that you were having a date and sent me to make sure there are no… unwanted advances since he couldn't be here in person himself," Satoshi explains with a wince, recalling that conversation. That was no fun, and he did not wish to repeat anytime soon.
Tsunami-sama merely sighs in response, sound full of exasperation with the president's actions and the others outside of DC that supported him.
"Of course he did," Tsuna says, pinching the bridge of her nose. Seriously, that lot. She should have known Chrome wouldn't be enough, and they would pull something like this behind her back. She looks at Satoshi. "Go back to Namimori and tell Kyoya I will be having words with him and others about this."
"Hai, Tsunami-sama," Satoshi bows again, turning to leave. "Sorry for interrupting your date."
"Don't be, I know how Kyoya can get. And oh, don't forget to tell him you are off limits for this, so no biting to death. Now, shoo."
Satoshi nods and takes his leave. Tsuna also goes back to the place where she and Rikuo separated, grumbling all the while.
Stupid boys and nosy Guardians. Unwanted advances, hah! What nonsense!
Meanwhile, Rikuo was having a similar conversation with Tsurara.
"What is the meaning of this, Tsurara?" he asks sternly. "I thought I asked not to follow."
"I know, Rikuo-sama, but I was worried! And I-I wanted to be near in case there was danger!"
He would have believed Tsurara if not for the way she avoids eye contact and twirls her fingers nervously, so no. This isn't about the danger or even the protection of his identity as a yokai. It was something else. And he will find out what. But later.
"The thought is appreciated, Yuki-Onna, but I know it isn't the truth. And we'll talk about that later back home."
"Hai, Waka," Trurara mumbles, lowering her gaze as Master reprimands her. Her idea backfired and she will have to confess her reasons, disappointing him even further. And she had no one to blame, but her jealousy of Sawada-san.
Just great.
"Good. I'll see you later, Tsurara," he says as a goodbye, and leaves Tsurara, not seeing the look of hurt she directed at his back.
When he returns, Tsuna is already here.
"Hey. Chaperones dealt with?" he asks as he comes to her side.
Tsuna huffs at the question. "Yeah. It was one of the DC members. Can you imagine? Kyoya sent him in case of "unwanted advances".
"Ah," Rikuo nods as a mischievous expression appears on his face. "Big bad Hibari Kyoya sending lackeys to protect your virtue. I see how it is."
Decimo snorts at the playful jab. "If he was here, he would have bitten you to death for such tone."
"Well, lucky for me, he's back in Namimori, so no being mauled to death for me!"
"True," she agrees with a laugh. "So, who was your secret spy?"
"It was Tsurara."
To the brunet's surprise, Tsuna's expression wilts. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"You know… Maybe you should go back to her."
"What?" he says dumbfounded. Where did it come from and what has it to do with Tsurara? "Why?"
She looks him in the eyes and there's sadness in her gaze. "I know I'm a dear person to you, Rikuo-kun. You never let me doubt it, not even once. But I also know I don't compare to Tsurara and—"
"Woah, wait for a second!" Rikuo interrupts the self-deprecating spiel before it could continue further. Did… Did Tsuna think he likes Tsurara that way? If so, he needs to clear the misunderstanding if he wants to make his intentions known.
With that in mind, he moves, so they are face to face, inches apart. Thankfully, she doesn't move away, holding her breath instead. "Tsu. It's true, you don't compare to Tsurara. But not because you are inferior or anything like that. But because you are one of a kind for me."
"What…" Tsuna's breath hitches. It can't be what she thought about, can it? "...are you saying?"
"I'm saying I like you, Tsuna. As more than a friend, and did so for years."
"Rikuo-kun…" she whispers at a loss for words. He has just confessed that he liked her. Her, Sawada Tsunami, and did so for years. She can barely believe it, and yet, the look in his eyes said it all.
It was the truth.
"Of course, if you don't feel the same way, I'll understand and back off," taking her hesitation as a possible rejection, he offers her a way out, though it's obvious it breaks his heart. To further prove his words, he starts to pull away, but Tsuna stops him by the shoulders. He blinks in surprise.
"Tsu?" he breathes, not daring to hope. Tsuna blushes in response.
"I…" Come on, Sawada, you can do it! "...Like you that way too, Rikuo-kun. I just don't understand. Why me?"
"Is it not obvious?" Rikuo asks her softly, taking her face in his hands. "You are kind. Selfless. Strong. Beautiful inside and out. Caring. You are Tsuna, and I love you for it. Have I made myself clear?"
"Crystal."
"Good. Now back to the previous topic," at that Rikuo's expression turns sly, reminding her of Yoru once again. "Your friends spoke of "unwanted advances." Would they consider a kiss such an advance?"
"They would," Tsuna nods. She smirks, suddenly feeling brave. "But who says I will?"
Rikuo laughs at her reply and bends to kiss her, taking the hint for the permission it was. Tsuna kisses back, both of them uncaring what it was in the middle of the festival, full of people.
At the moment, only they mattered. Them and the feeling of love that made their hearts soar.
AN: Well, here it is. I'm not the best at the love scenes, but I hope it didn't feel rushed. If it did, please tell me so.
Until next time!