[fic] The Tenth Diary {sort-of 5927 mirai nikki/reborn! fusion | 1/3}
KOKIA got me writing mirai nikki/katekyou hitman reborn! fusion. that means everyone should listen to her.
also, everyone should read Mirai Nikki! because it's twisted and dark and ultraviolent and Gasai Yuno should become everybody's favorite fictional psychopath ♥ srsly. right up there with Yagami Light and Hannibal Lecter.
...i won't even pretend to understand how the diaries work exactly, although i adapted the dynamics a bit to suit the story. i just got the idea for this crossover when i realized the chars were calling each other by their diary numbers. gokudera calls tsuna "Tenth" in the earlier english translations, so it kind of snowballed from there XD
starring gokudera hayato as the girlfriend from hell.
The Tenth Diary
"Look," Yamamoto said, elbowing Sawada lightly, "Gokudera forgot his cell phone."
The way Yamamoto said this froze Sawada for a second. He only used that tone when they were discussing grave and ominous things. And this was as grave and ominous as it could get.
Gokudera forgot his cell phone.
It sat there impudently on his desk, sleek and black, absorbing the attention of the world. In the eyes of anyone else, it was an ordinary cell phone, left behind by an ordinary boy... but Sawada and Yamamoto, who were far from ordinary at this point, could not take their eyes from it.
Sawada reached for the phone, but Yamamoto was faster. He was always faster. Yamamoto held it in his hand and stared at it grimly for a moment.
Then he made a swift 180o turn and happily proposed: "Let's peek into his diary!"
"NO!" God, no. "It - it wouldn't be right! We should find him and give it back!"
The tone of desperation in that "NO" slid right by Yamamoto. "Aw c'mon, Tsuna... he was careless enough to leave his cell phone behind. He deserves some sort of punishment for that." The cheerfulness might have left his voice, but he was still grinning. It was pretty hard to rub that expression off him. "I mean, what if it fell into the hands of the Sixth? Or even the First?"
Yamamoto had a point, Sawada had to admit. The disembodied Sixth, Rokudou Mukuro, was probably everywhere, and his skills at spying and deception were no laughing matter. A careless person who didn't keep his diary with him at all times was pretty much a sitting duck for the Sixth and his wiles.
As for the First - they had to keep their wits about them. A few days ago the three of them were attacked by a mysterious figure who said he was out to bite them to death. It was too dark to see his face and he only introduced himself as the first diary holder; their only clues were the sound of his voice, and the Namimori middle high school uniform he was wearing at the time.
In fact, it was weird that Gokudera would be this reckless. He was always the one who thought things through, wasn't he? Maybe there was something in his diary that explained this major slip...
"Well," Sawada stammered, "well, okay. But I think it's best if I handled it. I mean, if he walked in and saw you - "
"Yeah, yeah," Yamamoto chuckled. "That's fine. You check it out and I'll just look over your shoulder."
"Huh?? But you... I mean..."
Yamamoto's voice dropped to a mischievous whisper: "I want to know if there's anything in there we can tease him with! Go on, take a look!"
Sawada grimaced. The odds were much higher that there was something inside Gokudera's cell phone diary that could be used to tease him.
In the end, he decided that there probably wasn't any harm in it. Yamamoto was a friend and besides, he'd seen this diary before; Gokudera had shown it to him. There weren't any state secrets in it, not even elaborate plots for taking down other diary holders, which Gokudera was known to have thought up in generous amounts.
There were, however... some very, very, very embarrassing entries.
20XX / 10 / 15
06:05
Tenth just woke up.
20XX / 10 / 15
06:10
Tenth is in the shower. In a moment he'll brush his teeth and put on his uniform and go down to have breakfast.
Newly-bought white boxers ^o^
Sawada was only too glad to ignore the casual glance Yamamoto threw at his boxer shorts area after reading this entry.
20XX / 10 / 15
06:48
Had omelettes and rice for breakfast. Taking leave of Maman and running to the train.
20XX / 10 / 15
06:54
Tripped and fell on face while running to the train. No damage. Be careful, Tenth!
20XX / 10 / 15
07:35
Tenth has gotten off train and bus and is walking to school.
20XX / 10 / 15
07:42
Tenth is entering the school gates, yawning. He's not late today.
Well done, Tenth!
"Man..." Yamamoto shook his head incredulously. "I mean, it's obvious and everything, but... even his diary's hung up on you, Tsuna."
"I KNOW." Sawada scratched his head and sighed. "I've just been thinking... maybe he's just hung up on me like that because his diary gives him no choice. We both call this the 'Tenth Diary.' It's all about me."
Yamamoto said nothing for a second. He frowned. "Doesn't that creep you out just a little? Being friends with the holder of a diary that sort of stalks you?"
"Not just 'a little,'" Sawada readily answered. "But it has its advantages... Gokudera-kun's always looking out for me. I'm hopeless in a fight, so I'm grateful he's around."
"Hmm. He's really strong, you have to admit," Yamamoto agreed. "But is he strong enough on his own? He thinks he's pretty tough, but he's still a kid like us."
It sometimes surprised Sawada how Yamamoto could not think ill of Gokudera, even after Gokudera had tried every conceivable method to drive him out of their lives, and was quite open about tolerating Yamamoto's presence only because Sawada had accepted him as a friend and as an ally in their war against other diary holders.
Was it just because Yamamoto was the sort who never thought ill of anyone, not even when they were trying to kill him?
"Let's see what's next..."
20XX / 10 / 15
08:05
Tenth just greeted me Good morning. HAPPINESS :DDDD
20XX / 10 / 15
08:10
Classroom empty. Got Tenth to myself. Just noticed that while he thinks, he plays with the leather bracelet I bought him. Cute :3
Sawada sweatdropped. It wasn't so much "playing" as it was trying to find a comfortable position on his wrist for it. He was a simple kid who wasn't used to wearing fancy accessories... and of course, he couldn't not wear it because Gokudera - aghast at seeing his wrists unadorned - would think Sawada didn't like the designs, and just keep buying new ones.
20XX / 10 / 15
08:15
Eighth enters classroom. Tenth ignores me and talks to Eighth. Eighth is an ass.
20XX / 10 / 15
08:19
Because Tenth asked, Eighth is going on and on about his lame baseball win.
Still an ass.
20XX / 10 / 15
08:22
DAMMIT EIGHTH HANDS OFF TENTH!!!
"Ahaha look at that, he really hates my guts!" Yamamoto happily pointed out, as if saying Aw, look at the cute pit bull puppy gnawing on my leg!
Sawada wisely decided not to say anything.
20XX / 10 / 15
08:26
Teacher passing by put me on cleaning duty for swearing loudly at Eighth. Shit. Wish I could punch smug grin off Eighth's face.
Off to report for drudgery. Leaving phone on purpose. Hope Tenth gets curious and reads my diary :3
"Ah, so he left it on purpose." Yamamoto straightened up and nodded. "That clears things up. I guess you should keep his phone safe for him, then!"
With a friendly wave, Yamamoto started to make his way back to his seat. He didn't even try to look at all the other entries, Sawada noticed. Apparently, he, too, simply wanted to know why Gokudera would ever leave his phone behind. That excuse about looking for "anything to tease him with" was just his way of making light of the situation, Sawada supposed.
"Yamamoto," Sawada called out to him, before he could get very far, "while he's not here, I'd just like to - thank you."
Yamamoto looked at him again. "Hm? For what?"
"For being so... great." Sawada rubbed the back of his neck, unsure he was saying this properly to someone he only recently befriended. "You've always been in a position to take advantage of Gokudera and me. But you never do. Any other diary holder..."
At first, Yamamoto patiently heard him out. But other students were filing into the classroom, and it was not good to let Sawada continue talking.
He strode up to his classmate and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"It's simple, Tsuna. We made a promise, right?" Yamamoto flashed him a brilliant smile. "We're going to get out of this crazy game. All three of us. None of us can do it alone, so what's the point in not trusting each other?"
That's right, Sawada said to himself, this "crazy game." Only Yamamoto would call it a game of any sort, but for some reason the term sounded so apt for it - this deal with the mysterious things called "future diaries."
Once upon a time, Sawada had been just another middle high school student. Although that wasn't completely true - he had been Sawada "No-Good" Tsunayoshi, loser of the century. He was always picked last for everything, was the one who had to take the last spot in every ranking, was ridiculed and beaten up for fun - he doubted anyone could have been born less lucky.
That was how he got addicted to keeping a diary.
Lacking an outlet for his frustrations, "No-Good Tsuna" turned his thoughts and feelings into words and poured them into his cell phone. He'd had the same lousy phone for ages, and it had a diary function, so why not use it?
He realized that keeping a diary was a lot more absorbing and therapeutic than he was willing to believe. Cell phone companies should market these things as artificial tranquilizers. At first he only "blogged" about ordinary things, like getting on the train, then off the train, then walking to school and walking back from school - but the more he used his diary, the more comfortable he became with it, and later he was telling it things that one would normally only tell one's closest friend.
20XX / 2 / 13 18:21 (NAMIMORI CENTRAL PARK PLAYGROUND)
Don't want to head straight home. Might be failing all my classes. Mom won't throw a fit, she never does. But the thought of repeating a year in a school where nobody really likes me or just likes to beat the hell out of me is really depressing.
Life sucks.
20XX / 2 / 13 19:01 (DOWNTOWN NAMIMORI)
Got mugged. Actually, just got my bag swiped while typing another diary entry. Only have enough money in my pockets for the train.
Life sucks some more.
20XX / 2 / 13 20:21 (HOME)
Power's out. No TV. No Internet. NO MICROWAVE DINNER. Life sucks beyond every achievable level of suck. If not for my cell phone diary I would've killed myself long ago.
And tomorrow, another shitty day. There's a sinking feeling I'm heading for a real DEAD END.
Enjoying his introspective half-life, Sawada had also taken to dreaming up elaborate things and scenarios. He was convinced they were unimaginative and pretty lame compared to other delusional musings, but he was still glad for them because "pretty lame" kept him company.
For example, he made up a new best friend for himself: a godlike creature whom he called "Deus Ex Machina" - a black-haired, black-eyed, psychotically smiling baby who wore a fedora and a large black cape that loomed, and lugged around a pistol that he never really used.
Except for that time.
That time when, even if Sawada didn't want him to, Deus shot a bullet out of the pistol.
And the bullet was lodged inside his cell phone.
Sawada let out a cry for his poor potentially ruined diary, but it was intact. The cell phone still worked perfectly... which would actually make sense if one bore in mind that Deus wasn't real, and thus any bullet he could fire at anything could not leave a mark or actually cause damage.
But something happened that was real.
Sawada suddenly became the owner of a "future diary."
In a moment that seemed like a fever-dream, Sawada found himself standing in a magical circle, along with a number of human-shaped shadows he couldn't be bothered to even count. Deus was at the center of this circle. He was addressing everyone in his cute baby voice, telling all the shadows in the room about how they had all just become wielders of "future diaries" - logs that randomly recorded certain events that would take place within the next 90 days.
Most future diaries were cell phones, but not all of them were. The kinds of information recorded on the diaries would vary greatly. The moment when they would be updated and the way the entries would be written would depend on the personality of the diary holders, as well. In effect, Deus had taken control of all their diaries and would be updating (or revising) them as he saw fit.
And apparently, for Deus' sick amusement, all the holders of future diaries were tasked to kill each other, by destroying each other's diaries... until only one of them was left.
[The last one left standing will be my successor.]
Deus said they were all chosen completely at random. Sawada had a hard time believing it, because it seemed to him that all the people chosen to be diary holders were exceptional in some way - the Eighth, Yamamoto, was not only one of the most handsome and popular boys in school, he was also a damn good close-combat fighter... and the Fifth, Gokudera, had the brains of a rocket scientist, with 1337 stalking and mid-range exploding skills to match.
The Sixth, Rokudou Mukuro, was an illusionist of the highest order, a "soul stealer" whose powers were only limited by the fact that his corporeal body was sealed in a watery prison. Sawada, Gokudera and Yamamoto came quite close to death's door before they could team up to defeat him, and even when they were able to destroy his "Illusion Diary," they were quite sure only his body died - his spirit was probably still around to wreak its vengeance.
And the First, who had not yet shown his face, had already proven himself a strong fighter, able to take all three of them on at once with only a pair of thick, hard sticks for weapons.
In fact, it seemed like the only normal person ever to hold a diary was Sawada. Well... if underachieving could actually be called "normal." Yamamoto's diary at least foretold the future in baseball terms, and Gokudera's diary was - well - he didn't like to think about it too much.
If he was "No-Good Tsuna," this was his "No-Good Diary." The No-Good Diary only said what was going to happen within the next ten minutes. It had proven useful on more than one occasion, had even saved his life a couple of times... but still. Couldn't it at least have come with a cool talent like - predicting the identity of the next diary holder who was after their necks?
Sawada could still recall that moment - the first time he really "met" Gokudera Hayato.
Gokudera had been Sawada's classmate since the start of the school year. But they had never really talked, or interacted very much, before the whole "future diary" incident.
It was safe to say Gokudera was popular. His name made the top of every academic ranking, he received tons of gifts (mostly from girls) on his birthday, he was always chosen to represent Namimori Middle School at some science fair or another. Some teachers had outright called him a "genius." He wasn't bad-looking, either - in fact, if Sawada were a girl, he'd be saying that 15-year-old Gokudera was pretty hot, with his lean studded leather bad boy look. To be honest, Sawada thought of him as the most eligible boy in school.
There was only one thing that stood in the way of his popularity - he clearly hated other people. He never bothered to hide the fact that he did not have a very pleasant personality... although obviously, for some reason, that was a huge turn-on for the girls who worshipped him anyway.
Moreover, he did not volunteer any personal information. The most that anyone really knew about him was that he was a transfer student from Italy - as for where he lived, who he lived with, what his favorite color was, what his blood type was, and things like that - he kept that information strictly to himself.
They first "met" at Deus' circle. They were standing beside each other, and Sawada noticed him only because he realized the shadow beside him was actually looking at him, not at Deus. And when the light changed, Sawada realized that the shadow was smiling, as if by standing exactly on that spot, it had found its reason to live.
And it was the mysterious, misanthropic transfer student from Italy.
Since that time, it seemed Gokudera Hayato would not let No-Good Tsuna out of his sight, would not let anyone beat him up or pick him last for anything. For better or for worse, one of the most sought-after boys in school was now the holder of the "Tenth Diary" and totally fixated on him.
Even Sawada admitted that while this setup was often awkward, it was also... pretty awesome. Flattering, certainly. And thrilling, without exception.
And Sawada clearly remembered the moment when he met Yamamoto Takeshi, the holder of the "Baseball Diary." Sawada and Gokudera had been badly beaten up by the holder of the "Illusion Diary"... and then Yamamoto showed up, swinging a baseball bat and wielding a lifesaving sort of common sense.
He was saying that he'd had his eye on the scoreboard; he wanted to observe who was going to kill who and how. But with the number of innings that Gokudera and Sawada were losing, he realized that the fighting wasn't "fair," and had to step in to rescue the underdog team.
Thanks to the unique combination of Yamamoto's athletic skill and Gokudera's strategizing, Rokudou Mukuro was defeated. His diary was found and destroyed, and in the process his captive body was destroyed as well.
Since then Yamamoto had been hanging out with them. He liked the idea of ganging up to defeat the other diary holders and, being a true team player, he decided that having friends along for the whole morbid ride was the best way to go. Sawada wasn't exactly sure if Yamamoto was always with them because he actually liked them, because he somehow thought they could keep him safe from other diary holders, or if he just found it fun to annoy Gokudera. He seemed to be the sort of guy who could find enjoyment in the simplest things.
Yamamoto Takeshi had been Sawada's classmate since the start of junior high. Sawada remembers making a few diary entries about him - entries like The popular boy said "Hey" to me in the boys' bathroom and In front of everyone, the popular boy laughed and told me it should be easy to get the basketball into the hoop. EMBARRASSMENT!! But those were very ordinary entries, just a few of the many self-pitying sentiments he'd put down for posterity. The very sight of "the popular boy" used to depress Sawada and made him realize exactly how much of a loser he was.
But now that Yamamoto Takeshi was his friend - and he could comfortably say that now, having proven Yamamoto's loyalty and thoughtfulness - things were different. He didn't feel like everything was against him. He was a lot more comfortable in his own skin.
Gokudera never tired of announcing his intent to "protect Tenth at all costs." He was hostile toward Yamamoto for reasons that were clear enough to Sawada - he still couldn't trust the newcomer. And if he ever found out that Yamamoto had read the all-important diary that he'd trusted Sawada to find...
Gokudera's phone beeped. A new diary entry? Sawada looked at it:
20XX / 10 / 15
08:42
SHIT. FUCK. !@##$!!#%! I'M SO STUPID.
Tenth will show Eighth my diary for sure!
EIGHTH SHOULD NEVER GET HIS HANDS ON IT!!
PLEASE DON'T BETRAY ME, TENTH!!!
Hmm. Sawada checked the time: 8:32 AM. Apparently, this clever realization was not going to hit Gokudera for another 10 minutes.
It would, however, take only 3 minutes for Gokudera to sprint from the second floor bathroom to the fourth floor classroom where Sawada waited with his phone. The guy wasn't only smart like a mad scientist and protective like an iron maiden - he could also run as fast as the wind if he had to.
Gokudera's phone beeped again.
20XX / 10 / 15
08:43
I live for you. Only you. You hold my life in your hands. Please...
Sawada fought a shudder. Why the heck did Gokudera's diary have to sound so... needy? Not that the real Gokudera wasn't overtly needy, but he wished the diary would at least cut him a little slack...
Also, it made him feel guilty that Gokudera put so much faith in him, and he had very flippantly allowed Yamamoto to view the contents of the diary. Sighing, he pushed himself off his chair. Gokudera was returning to the room in a bit, he might as well meet him halfway to return the cell phone just to feel a little better. The teacher was late and class had not started yet, anyway.
"Oh! Tenth!" Gokudera greeted right after almost smashing into him round the bend in the hallway. His cell phone beeped in Sawada's hand, and Sawada had to fight the urge to check the latest diary entry.
Sawada held out his phone. "You, um, you left this in our classroom... you should be more careful, Gokudera-kun. You know how important this is."
Gokudera's face was flushed. He was breathing heavily. His skin felt hot, where it touched Sawada's skin by accident. He must have been really worked up, Sawada said to himself. Poor guy...
"Tenth," he said in clearly relieved tone, "why don't you hold on to that for a little while?"
"Eh?!" Sawada blinked up at him. I just went through all this guilt, and you're telling me to KEEP IT? "Gokudera-kun! You can't trust me that much!"
Gokudera's smile was surprisingly timid. Even Sawada, who was afraid of Gokudera sometimes (no - most of the time), was amazed at how vulnerable he could seem when they were alone together. When there were other people in the area, he was always so cool, so aloof... but when no one was looking, how could he manage to appear this - weak?
"I already trust you with my life, Tenth," he said quietly. "But I don't want you to have any doubts about me. So, that diary is yours for now."
Gokudera's hands wrapped around Sawada's hand, the one holding the cellphone. Then he pushed Sawada's hand until the cell phone lightly touched Sawada's chest. Despite himself, Sawada had to smile at Gokudera's unexpected gentleness.
"I'll get it back at the end of the day, so please read through as much of it as you want!"
Then, with a wave of farewell, Gokudera made his way back to exile at the second floor bathroom.
Sawada waited until Gokudera was gone to regain his senses. That's right - the cell phone beeped earlier, didn't it?
Sawada checked the latest "Tenth Diary" entry:
20XX / 10 / 15
08:47
Tenth is blushing. He's smiling at me.
I think my heart is breaking.
(tbc)
---------------------------
i hope that wasn't too confusing. had to get the fluff out of the way.
because honestly? things get a LOT worse from here XD
Part 2 is here.
also, everyone should read Mirai Nikki! because it's twisted and dark and ultraviolent and Gasai Yuno should become everybody's favorite fictional psychopath ♥ srsly. right up there with Yagami Light and Hannibal Lecter.
...i won't even pretend to understand how the diaries work exactly, although i adapted the dynamics a bit to suit the story. i just got the idea for this crossover when i realized the chars were calling each other by their diary numbers. gokudera calls tsuna "Tenth" in the earlier english translations, so it kind of snowballed from there XD
starring gokudera hayato as the girlfriend from hell.
The Tenth Diary
"Look," Yamamoto said, elbowing Sawada lightly, "Gokudera forgot his cell phone."
The way Yamamoto said this froze Sawada for a second. He only used that tone when they were discussing grave and ominous things. And this was as grave and ominous as it could get.
Gokudera forgot his cell phone.
It sat there impudently on his desk, sleek and black, absorbing the attention of the world. In the eyes of anyone else, it was an ordinary cell phone, left behind by an ordinary boy... but Sawada and Yamamoto, who were far from ordinary at this point, could not take their eyes from it.
Sawada reached for the phone, but Yamamoto was faster. He was always faster. Yamamoto held it in his hand and stared at it grimly for a moment.
Then he made a swift 180o turn and happily proposed: "Let's peek into his diary!"
"NO!" God, no. "It - it wouldn't be right! We should find him and give it back!"
The tone of desperation in that "NO" slid right by Yamamoto. "Aw c'mon, Tsuna... he was careless enough to leave his cell phone behind. He deserves some sort of punishment for that." The cheerfulness might have left his voice, but he was still grinning. It was pretty hard to rub that expression off him. "I mean, what if it fell into the hands of the Sixth? Or even the First?"
Yamamoto had a point, Sawada had to admit. The disembodied Sixth, Rokudou Mukuro, was probably everywhere, and his skills at spying and deception were no laughing matter. A careless person who didn't keep his diary with him at all times was pretty much a sitting duck for the Sixth and his wiles.
As for the First - they had to keep their wits about them. A few days ago the three of them were attacked by a mysterious figure who said he was out to bite them to death. It was too dark to see his face and he only introduced himself as the first diary holder; their only clues were the sound of his voice, and the Namimori middle high school uniform he was wearing at the time.
In fact, it was weird that Gokudera would be this reckless. He was always the one who thought things through, wasn't he? Maybe there was something in his diary that explained this major slip...
"Well," Sawada stammered, "well, okay. But I think it's best if I handled it. I mean, if he walked in and saw you - "
"Yeah, yeah," Yamamoto chuckled. "That's fine. You check it out and I'll just look over your shoulder."
"Huh?? But you... I mean..."
Yamamoto's voice dropped to a mischievous whisper: "I want to know if there's anything in there we can tease him with! Go on, take a look!"
Sawada grimaced. The odds were much higher that there was something inside Gokudera's cell phone diary that could be used to tease him.
In the end, he decided that there probably wasn't any harm in it. Yamamoto was a friend and besides, he'd seen this diary before; Gokudera had shown it to him. There weren't any state secrets in it, not even elaborate plots for taking down other diary holders, which Gokudera was known to have thought up in generous amounts.
There were, however... some very, very, very embarrassing entries.
20XX / 10 / 15
06:05
Tenth just woke up.
20XX / 10 / 15
06:10
Tenth is in the shower. In a moment he'll brush his teeth and put on his uniform and go down to have breakfast.
Newly-bought white boxers ^o^
Sawada was only too glad to ignore the casual glance Yamamoto threw at his boxer shorts area after reading this entry.
20XX / 10 / 15
06:48
Had omelettes and rice for breakfast. Taking leave of Maman and running to the train.
20XX / 10 / 15
06:54
Tripped and fell on face while running to the train. No damage. Be careful, Tenth!
20XX / 10 / 15
07:35
Tenth has gotten off train and bus and is walking to school.
20XX / 10 / 15
07:42
Tenth is entering the school gates, yawning. He's not late today.
Well done, Tenth!
"Man..." Yamamoto shook his head incredulously. "I mean, it's obvious and everything, but... even his diary's hung up on you, Tsuna."
"I KNOW." Sawada scratched his head and sighed. "I've just been thinking... maybe he's just hung up on me like that because his diary gives him no choice. We both call this the 'Tenth Diary.' It's all about me."
Yamamoto said nothing for a second. He frowned. "Doesn't that creep you out just a little? Being friends with the holder of a diary that sort of stalks you?"
"Not just 'a little,'" Sawada readily answered. "But it has its advantages... Gokudera-kun's always looking out for me. I'm hopeless in a fight, so I'm grateful he's around."
"Hmm. He's really strong, you have to admit," Yamamoto agreed. "But is he strong enough on his own? He thinks he's pretty tough, but he's still a kid like us."
It sometimes surprised Sawada how Yamamoto could not think ill of Gokudera, even after Gokudera had tried every conceivable method to drive him out of their lives, and was quite open about tolerating Yamamoto's presence only because Sawada had accepted him as a friend and as an ally in their war against other diary holders.
Was it just because Yamamoto was the sort who never thought ill of anyone, not even when they were trying to kill him?
"Let's see what's next..."
20XX / 10 / 15
08:05
Tenth just greeted me Good morning. HAPPINESS :DDDD
20XX / 10 / 15
08:10
Classroom empty. Got Tenth to myself. Just noticed that while he thinks, he plays with the leather bracelet I bought him. Cute :3
Sawada sweatdropped. It wasn't so much "playing" as it was trying to find a comfortable position on his wrist for it. He was a simple kid who wasn't used to wearing fancy accessories... and of course, he couldn't not wear it because Gokudera - aghast at seeing his wrists unadorned - would think Sawada didn't like the designs, and just keep buying new ones.
20XX / 10 / 15
08:15
Eighth enters classroom. Tenth ignores me and talks to Eighth. Eighth is an ass.
20XX / 10 / 15
08:19
Because Tenth asked, Eighth is going on and on about his lame baseball win.
Still an ass.
20XX / 10 / 15
08:22
DAMMIT EIGHTH HANDS OFF TENTH!!!
"Ahaha look at that, he really hates my guts!" Yamamoto happily pointed out, as if saying Aw, look at the cute pit bull puppy gnawing on my leg!
Sawada wisely decided not to say anything.
20XX / 10 / 15
08:26
Teacher passing by put me on cleaning duty for swearing loudly at Eighth. Shit. Wish I could punch smug grin off Eighth's face.
Off to report for drudgery. Leaving phone on purpose. Hope Tenth gets curious and reads my diary :3
"Ah, so he left it on purpose." Yamamoto straightened up and nodded. "That clears things up. I guess you should keep his phone safe for him, then!"
With a friendly wave, Yamamoto started to make his way back to his seat. He didn't even try to look at all the other entries, Sawada noticed. Apparently, he, too, simply wanted to know why Gokudera would ever leave his phone behind. That excuse about looking for "anything to tease him with" was just his way of making light of the situation, Sawada supposed.
"Yamamoto," Sawada called out to him, before he could get very far, "while he's not here, I'd just like to - thank you."
Yamamoto looked at him again. "Hm? For what?"
"For being so... great." Sawada rubbed the back of his neck, unsure he was saying this properly to someone he only recently befriended. "You've always been in a position to take advantage of Gokudera and me. But you never do. Any other diary holder..."
At first, Yamamoto patiently heard him out. But other students were filing into the classroom, and it was not good to let Sawada continue talking.
He strode up to his classmate and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"It's simple, Tsuna. We made a promise, right?" Yamamoto flashed him a brilliant smile. "We're going to get out of this crazy game. All three of us. None of us can do it alone, so what's the point in not trusting each other?"
That's right, Sawada said to himself, this "crazy game." Only Yamamoto would call it a game of any sort, but for some reason the term sounded so apt for it - this deal with the mysterious things called "future diaries."
Once upon a time, Sawada had been just another middle high school student. Although that wasn't completely true - he had been Sawada "No-Good" Tsunayoshi, loser of the century. He was always picked last for everything, was the one who had to take the last spot in every ranking, was ridiculed and beaten up for fun - he doubted anyone could have been born less lucky.
That was how he got addicted to keeping a diary.
Lacking an outlet for his frustrations, "No-Good Tsuna" turned his thoughts and feelings into words and poured them into his cell phone. He'd had the same lousy phone for ages, and it had a diary function, so why not use it?
He realized that keeping a diary was a lot more absorbing and therapeutic than he was willing to believe. Cell phone companies should market these things as artificial tranquilizers. At first he only "blogged" about ordinary things, like getting on the train, then off the train, then walking to school and walking back from school - but the more he used his diary, the more comfortable he became with it, and later he was telling it things that one would normally only tell one's closest friend.
20XX / 2 / 13 18:21 (NAMIMORI CENTRAL PARK PLAYGROUND)
Don't want to head straight home. Might be failing all my classes. Mom won't throw a fit, she never does. But the thought of repeating a year in a school where nobody really likes me or just likes to beat the hell out of me is really depressing.
Life sucks.
20XX / 2 / 13 19:01 (DOWNTOWN NAMIMORI)
Got mugged. Actually, just got my bag swiped while typing another diary entry. Only have enough money in my pockets for the train.
Life sucks some more.
20XX / 2 / 13 20:21 (HOME)
Power's out. No TV. No Internet. NO MICROWAVE DINNER. Life sucks beyond every achievable level of suck. If not for my cell phone diary I would've killed myself long ago.
And tomorrow, another shitty day. There's a sinking feeling I'm heading for a real DEAD END.
Enjoying his introspective half-life, Sawada had also taken to dreaming up elaborate things and scenarios. He was convinced they were unimaginative and pretty lame compared to other delusional musings, but he was still glad for them because "pretty lame" kept him company.
For example, he made up a new best friend for himself: a godlike creature whom he called "Deus Ex Machina" - a black-haired, black-eyed, psychotically smiling baby who wore a fedora and a large black cape that loomed, and lugged around a pistol that he never really used.
Except for that time.
That time when, even if Sawada didn't want him to, Deus shot a bullet out of the pistol.
And the bullet was lodged inside his cell phone.
Sawada let out a cry for his poor potentially ruined diary, but it was intact. The cell phone still worked perfectly... which would actually make sense if one bore in mind that Deus wasn't real, and thus any bullet he could fire at anything could not leave a mark or actually cause damage.
But something happened that was real.
Sawada suddenly became the owner of a "future diary."
In a moment that seemed like a fever-dream, Sawada found himself standing in a magical circle, along with a number of human-shaped shadows he couldn't be bothered to even count. Deus was at the center of this circle. He was addressing everyone in his cute baby voice, telling all the shadows in the room about how they had all just become wielders of "future diaries" - logs that randomly recorded certain events that would take place within the next 90 days.
Most future diaries were cell phones, but not all of them were. The kinds of information recorded on the diaries would vary greatly. The moment when they would be updated and the way the entries would be written would depend on the personality of the diary holders, as well. In effect, Deus had taken control of all their diaries and would be updating (or revising) them as he saw fit.
And apparently, for Deus' sick amusement, all the holders of future diaries were tasked to kill each other, by destroying each other's diaries... until only one of them was left.
[The last one left standing will be my successor.]
Deus said they were all chosen completely at random. Sawada had a hard time believing it, because it seemed to him that all the people chosen to be diary holders were exceptional in some way - the Eighth, Yamamoto, was not only one of the most handsome and popular boys in school, he was also a damn good close-combat fighter... and the Fifth, Gokudera, had the brains of a rocket scientist, with 1337 stalking and mid-range exploding skills to match.
The Sixth, Rokudou Mukuro, was an illusionist of the highest order, a "soul stealer" whose powers were only limited by the fact that his corporeal body was sealed in a watery prison. Sawada, Gokudera and Yamamoto came quite close to death's door before they could team up to defeat him, and even when they were able to destroy his "Illusion Diary," they were quite sure only his body died - his spirit was probably still around to wreak its vengeance.
And the First, who had not yet shown his face, had already proven himself a strong fighter, able to take all three of them on at once with only a pair of thick, hard sticks for weapons.
In fact, it seemed like the only normal person ever to hold a diary was Sawada. Well... if underachieving could actually be called "normal." Yamamoto's diary at least foretold the future in baseball terms, and Gokudera's diary was - well - he didn't like to think about it too much.
If he was "No-Good Tsuna," this was his "No-Good Diary." The No-Good Diary only said what was going to happen within the next ten minutes. It had proven useful on more than one occasion, had even saved his life a couple of times... but still. Couldn't it at least have come with a cool talent like - predicting the identity of the next diary holder who was after their necks?
Sawada could still recall that moment - the first time he really "met" Gokudera Hayato.
Gokudera had been Sawada's classmate since the start of the school year. But they had never really talked, or interacted very much, before the whole "future diary" incident.
It was safe to say Gokudera was popular. His name made the top of every academic ranking, he received tons of gifts (mostly from girls) on his birthday, he was always chosen to represent Namimori Middle School at some science fair or another. Some teachers had outright called him a "genius." He wasn't bad-looking, either - in fact, if Sawada were a girl, he'd be saying that 15-year-old Gokudera was pretty hot, with his lean studded leather bad boy look. To be honest, Sawada thought of him as the most eligible boy in school.
There was only one thing that stood in the way of his popularity - he clearly hated other people. He never bothered to hide the fact that he did not have a very pleasant personality... although obviously, for some reason, that was a huge turn-on for the girls who worshipped him anyway.
Moreover, he did not volunteer any personal information. The most that anyone really knew about him was that he was a transfer student from Italy - as for where he lived, who he lived with, what his favorite color was, what his blood type was, and things like that - he kept that information strictly to himself.
They first "met" at Deus' circle. They were standing beside each other, and Sawada noticed him only because he realized the shadow beside him was actually looking at him, not at Deus. And when the light changed, Sawada realized that the shadow was smiling, as if by standing exactly on that spot, it had found its reason to live.
And it was the mysterious, misanthropic transfer student from Italy.
Since that time, it seemed Gokudera Hayato would not let No-Good Tsuna out of his sight, would not let anyone beat him up or pick him last for anything. For better or for worse, one of the most sought-after boys in school was now the holder of the "Tenth Diary" and totally fixated on him.
Even Sawada admitted that while this setup was often awkward, it was also... pretty awesome. Flattering, certainly. And thrilling, without exception.
And Sawada clearly remembered the moment when he met Yamamoto Takeshi, the holder of the "Baseball Diary." Sawada and Gokudera had been badly beaten up by the holder of the "Illusion Diary"... and then Yamamoto showed up, swinging a baseball bat and wielding a lifesaving sort of common sense.
He was saying that he'd had his eye on the scoreboard; he wanted to observe who was going to kill who and how. But with the number of innings that Gokudera and Sawada were losing, he realized that the fighting wasn't "fair," and had to step in to rescue the underdog team.
Thanks to the unique combination of Yamamoto's athletic skill and Gokudera's strategizing, Rokudou Mukuro was defeated. His diary was found and destroyed, and in the process his captive body was destroyed as well.
Since then Yamamoto had been hanging out with them. He liked the idea of ganging up to defeat the other diary holders and, being a true team player, he decided that having friends along for the whole morbid ride was the best way to go. Sawada wasn't exactly sure if Yamamoto was always with them because he actually liked them, because he somehow thought they could keep him safe from other diary holders, or if he just found it fun to annoy Gokudera. He seemed to be the sort of guy who could find enjoyment in the simplest things.
Yamamoto Takeshi had been Sawada's classmate since the start of junior high. Sawada remembers making a few diary entries about him - entries like The popular boy said "Hey" to me in the boys' bathroom and In front of everyone, the popular boy laughed and told me it should be easy to get the basketball into the hoop. EMBARRASSMENT!! But those were very ordinary entries, just a few of the many self-pitying sentiments he'd put down for posterity. The very sight of "the popular boy" used to depress Sawada and made him realize exactly how much of a loser he was.
But now that Yamamoto Takeshi was his friend - and he could comfortably say that now, having proven Yamamoto's loyalty and thoughtfulness - things were different. He didn't feel like everything was against him. He was a lot more comfortable in his own skin.
Gokudera never tired of announcing his intent to "protect Tenth at all costs." He was hostile toward Yamamoto for reasons that were clear enough to Sawada - he still couldn't trust the newcomer. And if he ever found out that Yamamoto had read the all-important diary that he'd trusted Sawada to find...
Gokudera's phone beeped. A new diary entry? Sawada looked at it:
20XX / 10 / 15
08:42
SHIT. FUCK. !@##$!!#%! I'M SO STUPID.
Tenth will show Eighth my diary for sure!
EIGHTH SHOULD NEVER GET HIS HANDS ON IT!!
PLEASE DON'T BETRAY ME, TENTH!!!
Hmm. Sawada checked the time: 8:32 AM. Apparently, this clever realization was not going to hit Gokudera for another 10 minutes.
It would, however, take only 3 minutes for Gokudera to sprint from the second floor bathroom to the fourth floor classroom where Sawada waited with his phone. The guy wasn't only smart like a mad scientist and protective like an iron maiden - he could also run as fast as the wind if he had to.
Gokudera's phone beeped again.
20XX / 10 / 15
08:43
I live for you. Only you. You hold my life in your hands. Please...
Sawada fought a shudder. Why the heck did Gokudera's diary have to sound so... needy? Not that the real Gokudera wasn't overtly needy, but he wished the diary would at least cut him a little slack...
Also, it made him feel guilty that Gokudera put so much faith in him, and he had very flippantly allowed Yamamoto to view the contents of the diary. Sighing, he pushed himself off his chair. Gokudera was returning to the room in a bit, he might as well meet him halfway to return the cell phone just to feel a little better. The teacher was late and class had not started yet, anyway.
"Oh! Tenth!" Gokudera greeted right after almost smashing into him round the bend in the hallway. His cell phone beeped in Sawada's hand, and Sawada had to fight the urge to check the latest diary entry.
Sawada held out his phone. "You, um, you left this in our classroom... you should be more careful, Gokudera-kun. You know how important this is."
Gokudera's face was flushed. He was breathing heavily. His skin felt hot, where it touched Sawada's skin by accident. He must have been really worked up, Sawada said to himself. Poor guy...
"Tenth," he said in clearly relieved tone, "why don't you hold on to that for a little while?"
"Eh?!" Sawada blinked up at him. I just went through all this guilt, and you're telling me to KEEP IT? "Gokudera-kun! You can't trust me that much!"
Gokudera's smile was surprisingly timid. Even Sawada, who was afraid of Gokudera sometimes (no - most of the time), was amazed at how vulnerable he could seem when they were alone together. When there were other people in the area, he was always so cool, so aloof... but when no one was looking, how could he manage to appear this - weak?
"I already trust you with my life, Tenth," he said quietly. "But I don't want you to have any doubts about me. So, that diary is yours for now."
Gokudera's hands wrapped around Sawada's hand, the one holding the cellphone. Then he pushed Sawada's hand until the cell phone lightly touched Sawada's chest. Despite himself, Sawada had to smile at Gokudera's unexpected gentleness.
"I'll get it back at the end of the day, so please read through as much of it as you want!"
Then, with a wave of farewell, Gokudera made his way back to exile at the second floor bathroom.
Sawada waited until Gokudera was gone to regain his senses. That's right - the cell phone beeped earlier, didn't it?
Sawada checked the latest "Tenth Diary" entry:
20XX / 10 / 15
08:47
Tenth is blushing. He's smiling at me.
I think my heart is breaking.
(tbc)
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i hope that wasn't too confusing. had to get the fluff out of the way.
because honestly? things get a LOT worse from here XD
Part 2 is here.