Chapter 9: Week 2 : Day 2-1 (morning to evening) : Yamamoto : Sword Song, Baseball, Boxed Lunch and Forgetfulness (Past 1)
Since Fong left, both Gokudera and Saya couldn't look at each other the entire night. Gokukera had to excuse themselves to sleep on the couch.
When she thought about it, Saya was surprised that she almost let Gokudera kiss her so easily, even though they weren't anything yet.
Her slender fingers gently touched her own lips, and then a flash of the scene appeared in her mind, causing her embarrassment to soar. The young girl quickly jumped back onto the bed, covering her lips before falling asleep from exhaustion. Meanwhile, Gokudera, who was sleeping on the couch in the living room, was no different, but it was he who couldn't sleep nearly all night.
The next day, she went to school with Gokudera as usual, not mentioning anything about the previous night. Since the wind element's flame wasn't extinguished yet, other elemental flames didn't show up.
"Uh... Saya-chan," Gokudera said while walking to school. "Do you feel alone when you've living by yourself?"
Saya blinked a few times while looking at the silver-haired boy. She could clearly tell Gokudera was trying to hide his embarrassment. Saya smiled gently and lowered her head, feeling warmth in her heart. "Are you concerned about me?"
"W…Well, a girl living alone at home," he said before pausing. "It's dangerous... W-what am I saying?" The girl chuckled at his antics. Gokudera shouted, "It's just a piece of advice from me as the Judaime's right-hand man!"
"I'm glad you're concerned," Saya replied, making the boy stop in his tracks. "Normally, Gokudera-kun always looks so serious and frowns when you're around me."
"L...Let's just leave that behind!" he said.
"I got it," Saya raised one hand to cover her mouth, smiling. "Actually, living alone can be lonely. And since I'm learning to do many things by myself, unexpected incidents happen often."
"Unexpected incidents?"
"Like, in the beginning…I just lived in this city and I couldn't cook and ended up putting an entire raw egg into the microwave... about fifteen eggs."
Gokudera stopped walking and looked gloomy, but Saya continued, "...It exploded and broke the microwave. At that time, my neighbor had to call the police to came check my house."
Gokudera never thought someone living in a bought or rented house would be an ordinary person, but He didn't realize Saya would miss the basics like internal and external pressure.
Gokudera looked at Saya, whose expression darkened as she recalled the incident. Saya had to lie for a while to cover up the fact that she lived alone. Luckily, the real estate agent that Saya had paid to was able to act as a fake guardian to resolve the issue, or it wouldn't have ended so easily.
"Anyway, I'll consult with the Judaime about this," Gokudera cleared his throat. "Safety is important, after all."
"Yeah," Saya replied with a faint smile, unsure if his statement referred to a threat or to her personally, or perhaps both. "I guess I'll be troubling everyone again."
"And today, I have part-time work, so I won't be able to look after you," he said. "Reborn-San should send Fong to take care of you instead."
"The one from last night?" Saya recalled the baby who looked like Reborn but wore a red Chinese outfit the night before. "He seemed very polite."
Gokudera looked at her before speaking. "Are you always so kind to everyone? Don't you know you should be careful?" Then, he added awkwardly, "You should be careful of me too."
"...Okay," Saya responded briefly, and they didn't speak again until they reached school.
In the evening, Fong, I-Pin, and Rambo came to pick her up from school. When they got home, the two children ran around so much that the house became a mess. It ended with Rambo tripping and causing the things on his head to scatter everywhere. A loud bang echoed, followed by pink smoke billowing out, turning the two children into teenagers from ten years in the future.
"Saya-nee!" Rambo ran up to hug her, who was still stunned by the events. "You still smell the same!"
"Saya-nee, sorry! But I have to hurry and deliver the noodles to Uncle Kawahira!" I-Pin, from ten years in the future, appeared as a young girl in a white dress with an apron, her black hair braided in two pigtails. She ran out the door holding a silver noodle box. Before Saya could say anything, she was left in confusion, not knowing what to do.
"Sigh... Kids still are the kids" Fong, having seen everything, could only sigh before clearing the situation for Saya. In the end, everyone, except I-Pin, helped clean up.
"Ah-choo!" Saya sneezed violently, her clothes covered in several kinds of flour mixed together, nearly turning her into a Japanese ghost.
"When I was little, I was a bit mischievous, too, Saya-nee," Rambo said apologetically while vacuuming up the flour dust from the tempura that had spread across the floor. Meanwhile, rice was scattered everywhere, and the overturned microwave had caused the front door to break.
Although Saya was angry when she looked at the mess, she couldn't scold Rambo when she saw his face looking like he was about to cry. All she could do was sigh deeply.
"Next time... just be careful when you come to play at the house," Saya said. "Be careful with those bombs or bazookas or whatever... it's dangerous, you know?"
Rambo looked at her with eyes that were nearly filled with tears, making Saya startled. Then, he burst into tears and hugged her again. "Saya-nee! You're too kind! Even after making such a mess, you're still concerned about me!" Rambo stammered while wiping his tears. "Marry me, please! I want to be the perfect groom in your dream wedding!"
"...Huh!?" Saya blinked rapidly before being hugged a second time. This time, she regained her composure quickly and pushed Rambo away, but he cried uncontrollably, hugging her so tightly that it was hard to breathe. "R-Rambo... I can't breathe..."
"Kids are like this, you know. Rambo, please calm down a little, okay?" Fong wiped the table with a cloth while Saya, who was being hugged, began to faint due to a lack of air. Then there was a popping sound, and the pink smoke disappeared along with Saya's body, which fell to the floor with little Rambo sitting on her stomach.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha!" Rambo laughed joyfully before getting up and turning to Saya. "Hey, hey, I want to drink hot chocolate now! Saya, make it for me, please!"
"...Mr.Fong, please... take care of the rest," Saya said before her consciousness temporarily left her body. She regained her awareness when she found herself lying on the couch, as Tsuna rang the doorbell.
"You're a ghost!" Tsuna screamed when she saw Saya, who was covered in flour, causing the girl to smile bitterly. Tsuna then came in to check on her house, which Fong had tidied up. The only thing he couldn't fix was the broken microwave, while Rambo was still peacefully lying on the small couch.
"I'm sorry, Saya-chan," Tsuna said, but Saya just shook her head.
"Rambo is just like that," Saya replied.
"I understand," Saya said. "Even though it's a bit chaotic, the house isn't lonely anymore... And the microwave can be replaced, so don't worry about it."
Tsuna smiled faintly and then sat down on the couch opposite Rambo. "Actually, I already knew that you were living alone, Saya-chan. As your boss, I should have been more attentive. I'm sorry."
"I chose to live alone, so I also accept the risks that come with it," she replied, letting out a breath and smiling. "But I've installed some cameras and have emergency contact numbers for the police."
"Even though I'm just the daughter, at least I'm the daughter of the famous model Mikasa Tomoe. That alone guarantees the importance of my life to some extent, but it's not always safe," she added.
"...Saya-chan, you seem so mature," Tsuna remarked.
"No, not really," Saya replied softly. "It's just... it's something that has to be thought about. To others, it might seem strange that I bought a house and live alone without any servants."
"I can understand that. That's why I've been thinking that, besides controlling the fire within you, should we be intruding into your private space?" Tsuna asked, his brown eyes showing a hint of concern as he awaited her response.
Saya nodded, understanding. "No, it's fine. The fire inside me is a secret in the mafia world, isn't it? As far as I know."
Tsuna nodded. "Honestly, I don't want you living alone like this. I want you to go to our house or to a house of an ally who could protect you. Or we could use one of the safehouses the Vongola has. Even though you have guarantees in the normal world, in the underworld... anything could happen. But in another way, your feelings are also important to me."
This was another time that the young girl was surprised, but Tsuna's gaze was sincere and honest, making her feel truly grateful. "Thank you, Sawada-kun. I'll seriously consider it."
"Thank you, Saya-chan."
"Hot gyoza!" Fong entered with a plate of gyoza filled with fragrant steam that woke Rambo up, and the food battle began.
After Tsuna took Rambo back, he stayed to control the fire for her throughout the night. Before going to bed, Fong also made Chinese sweets and tea for Saya to eat, and they talked until it was time for sleep.
This was the first time a stranger had entered her house, cooked for her, and talked to her like a friend, offering advice with reasoning like an experienced adult. Most importantly, Fong's delicious Chinese food, with its perfect taste and warm temperature, spread throughout Saya's heart.