Hello! I'm back again, with blood and fire in my wake, like any good old Yuletide god-thing. And I have part-the-first of my gift! With any luck, part-the-second will go up tomorrow (and, as a result, you'll know precisely who's behind the anonymous...ah, well.)
****
The Mating Habits of Sharks
There's a package waiting for Yamamoto when he comes home from school. He turns it over in his hands; it's light and thin and hard, and it's wrapped in plain brown paper.
His father pokes his head in from the kitchen. "That came for you this afternoon," he explains, and grins. "Looks like a CD. No return address; maybe you have a secret admirer, Takeshi?"
Yamamoto laughs. "Maa, maa. It's probably something for the mafia game -- from Tsuna, or Reborn."
"Then you'd better open it quickly." His father ruffles his hair and ducks back into the kitchen proper, but glances back over his shoulder before he vanishes completely. "Oh, are you still planning to try out for the major leagues this spring?"
Yamamoto shrugs, careless. "I'm not sure yet," he replies. "Probably. I've still got a little while to decide." He waves at his father, and darts upstairs to his room, already tearing at the wrapping.
****
The package isn't from Tsuna or Reborn.
Yamamoto can tell that much before he puts the DVD in the drive; Tsuna would have given him a note, or something, and mysterious packages that don't explode aren't Reborn's style. There's no mark on the DVD itself, just a plain silver disc. He slides it into the drive of his laptop and leans back to watch.
"'Making of the Sword Emperor', hmm?" Maybe it's Reborn after all -- the little guy likes more practical things, but Yamamoto wouldn't put it past him. Then the title screen fades away, and Yamamoto's jaw drops.
Somehow, he's not completely surprised that Squalo's sending him videos; it seems like the kind of thing a guy like that would do, for some reason. He doesn't have much time to turn it over in his mind, though, because the fight begins instantly, and he's enraptured.
Squalo's a killing machine, made for battle -- like a shark, Yamamoto thinks, and grins, remembering. The opponent doesn't have a chance. It's beautiful, in a way -- not the same as the Shigure Souen, which is the first among sword arts, but still. Squalo grins at the camera as the fight ends, bright and wide and perfectly in his element, and Yamamoto realizes his nose is almost pressed to the laptop screen.
Exciting, he thinks, and starts it again from the beginning. When his father calls him for dinner, almost an hour later, he's still there.
****
The second DVD arrives a few days later, and Yamamoto doesn't wait to take it up to his room before he rips the wrapper open. This time the opponent wields sword and dagger, Western-style, and Squalo destroys him elegantly, efficiently. It's breathtaking to watch, and Yamamoto spends that evening practicing with his blade, instead of studying. He falls asleep in class anyway, he thinks ruefully, so it's no problem.
****
When the twelfth DVD arrives Yamamoto has a biology assignment -- an essay on the mating habits of sharks. It's interesting stuff, particularly their courting behavior (practically none other than a display of physical violence, and he's not sure how the species keeps going that way) but he sets it aside; he'll finish it somehow, he always does. It's a guy with two long, curved blades this time, a blur of speed, and the fight lasts longer. At first Yamamoto thinks Squalo's having trouble keeping up, but then he sees the Varia swordmaster's grin and realizes he's playing. Or showing off, he thinks.
The more he thinks about that, the more likely it seems. Squalo's flashier than he has to be, and part of that's just him -- flamboyant and loud, dominating whatever space he's in. But part of it isn't, and Yamamoto wonders why.
He goes to bed that night late, with his essay barely done, and dreams of that brilliant shark-smile.
The DVDs keep coming, once every few days, and Yamamoto's father has taken to teasing him about his "secret admirer" again. Yamamoto laughs it off, but he's skipping practice to watch them, or practice with the sword, imagining Squalo as his opponent. Sometimes he dreams of fighting now, and sometimes he doesn't but still dreams of Squalo, and wakes up and changes the sheets on his bed.
It's coming closer to the major league tryouts, but for some reason, that seems a lot less important than it did a month or so ago.
****
The day of the tryouts is the day the ninety-seventh DVD arrives. Yamamoto's reading about sharks again when it comes; his biology class is doing a marine-life unit, and he's paying closer attention than usual. It's relevant, in a way, to his out of school interests.
His father looks at him seriously as he snags the DVD, heading for his room. "You won't have time to watch that before the tryouts, Takeshi," he comments.
"I know, I know." Yamamoto shrugs, the carelessness false to an attentive observer. "....maybe next year."
His father holds his gaze for a moment, then nods, and comes over to ruffle his hair.
****
Yamamoto's alone in the house when he gets the hundredth DVD, and he can't shake the feeling it's deliberate. He puts it in and watches Squalo move, that elemental purpose. He's fighting one of the Giglio Nero's warriors, the Phantom Knight, and some of Yamamoto's attention goes to that, but most of it's on Squalo-in-video.
He lets the DVD end, and turns toward the door, casual and relaxed. "Maa, you shouldn't sneak up on a guy like that."
Squalo snorts, leaning casually on the doorframe. "If I was an enemy, you'd be dead, katana braaaaat!"
"You're not," Yamamoto points out reasonably. Honestly, he's a little surprised that Squalo'd managed to stifle himself for that long -- he'd obviously been there for a while -- but after all, the Varia's sword emperor was a pretty amazing guy.
Squalo disdains to continue the debate, brushing it aside with a flick of his hand. "Learned anything?"
Yamamoto thinks about that, then stands up, crosses the room in a single stride. "Hmmm, I think so."
Squalo blinks at him, suddenly close. "What are you doiiiii--mmmmmmmmmmf!"
Yamamoto's read that if you wanted to get a shark to back down, you couldn't show hesitation; you had to smack it right between the eyes and get away while it was confused. He's pretty sure that he didn't want to get away, but the principle still applied...well, sort of. Kissing isn't exactly the same, though maybe for a shark it might be. The dazed look on Squalo's face as he pulls back suggests that it works.
".....fine," the sword emperor finally says, too stunned to elongate his syllables. "But I'm topping."
"Okay," Yamamoto grins, and the click as his door shuts is like a sword coming home to rest in its sheath.
Yamamoto isn't expecting the hundred and first DVD at all.
He stares at it, blinks, checks it over. It's exactly the same as the others, as far as he can tell. Only one way to work this out, he muses, and takes it up to his room.
It is another DVD, titled "Secret Bonus Disc: The 101st Battle". Yamamoto opens it up and pops the DVD in...then falls back on his bed, laughing, letting the first moments of the fight play in the background.
He turns the case upside down, and two silver-wrapped condoms flutter to the bed.
Re: EPILOGUEcfud_anonDecember 24 2008, 00:21:56 UTC
Ho ho ho! Glad you liked it; Santa's just sorry it didn't get done a week ago. Part the second is still on track for later tonight, assuming Santa gets some inspiration, which is likely.
****
The Mating Habits of Sharks
There's a package waiting for Yamamoto when he comes home from school. He turns it over in his hands; it's light and thin and hard, and it's wrapped in plain brown paper.
His father pokes his head in from the kitchen. "That came for you this afternoon," he explains, and grins. "Looks like a CD. No return address; maybe you have a secret admirer, Takeshi?"
Yamamoto laughs. "Maa, maa. It's probably something for the mafia game -- from Tsuna, or Reborn."
"Then you'd better open it quickly." His father ruffles his hair and ducks back into the kitchen proper, but glances back over his shoulder before he vanishes completely. "Oh, are you still planning to try out for the major leagues this spring?"
Yamamoto shrugs, careless. "I'm not sure yet," he replies. "Probably. I've still got a little while to decide." He waves at his father, and darts upstairs to his room, already tearing at the wrapping.
****
The package isn't from Tsuna or Reborn.
Yamamoto can tell that much before he puts the DVD in the drive; Tsuna would have given him a note, or something, and mysterious packages that don't explode aren't Reborn's style. There's no mark on the DVD itself, just a plain silver disc. He slides it into the drive of his laptop and leans back to watch.
"'Making of the Sword Emperor', hmm?" Maybe it's Reborn after all -- the little guy likes more practical things, but Yamamoto wouldn't put it past him. Then the title screen fades away, and Yamamoto's jaw drops.
Somehow, he's not completely surprised that Squalo's sending him videos; it seems like the kind of thing a guy like that would do, for some reason. He doesn't have much time to turn it over in his mind, though, because the fight begins instantly, and he's enraptured.
Squalo's a killing machine, made for battle -- like a shark, Yamamoto thinks, and grins, remembering. The opponent doesn't have a chance. It's beautiful, in a way -- not the same as the Shigure Souen, which is the first among sword arts, but still. Squalo grins at the camera as the fight ends, bright and wide and perfectly in his element, and Yamamoto realizes his nose is almost pressed to the laptop screen.
Exciting, he thinks, and starts it again from the beginning. When his father calls him for dinner, almost an hour later, he's still there.
****
The second DVD arrives a few days later, and Yamamoto doesn't wait to take it up to his room before he rips the wrapper open. This time the opponent wields sword and dagger, Western-style, and Squalo destroys him elegantly, efficiently. It's breathtaking to watch, and Yamamoto spends that evening practicing with his blade, instead of studying. He falls asleep in class anyway, he thinks ruefully, so it's no problem.
****
When the twelfth DVD arrives Yamamoto has a biology assignment -- an essay on the mating habits of sharks. It's interesting stuff, particularly their courting behavior (practically none other than a display of physical violence, and he's not sure how the species keeps going that way) but he sets it aside; he'll finish it somehow, he always does. It's a guy with two long, curved blades this time, a blur of speed, and the fight lasts longer. At first Yamamoto thinks Squalo's having trouble keeping up, but then he sees the Varia swordmaster's grin and realizes he's playing. Or showing off, he thinks.
The more he thinks about that, the more likely it seems. Squalo's flashier than he has to be, and part of that's just him -- flamboyant and loud, dominating whatever space he's in. But part of it isn't, and Yamamoto wonders why.
He goes to bed that night late, with his essay barely done, and dreams of that brilliant shark-smile.
Reply
It's coming closer to the major league tryouts, but for some reason, that seems a lot less important than it did a month or so ago.
****
The day of the tryouts is the day the ninety-seventh DVD arrives. Yamamoto's reading about sharks again when it comes; his biology class is doing a marine-life unit, and he's paying closer attention than usual. It's relevant, in a way, to his out of school interests.
His father looks at him seriously as he snags the DVD, heading for his room. "You won't have time to watch that before the tryouts, Takeshi," he comments.
"I know, I know." Yamamoto shrugs, the carelessness false to an attentive observer. "....maybe next year."
His father holds his gaze for a moment, then nods, and comes over to ruffle his hair.
****
Yamamoto's alone in the house when he gets the hundredth DVD, and he can't shake the feeling it's deliberate. He puts it in and watches Squalo move, that elemental purpose. He's fighting one of the Giglio Nero's warriors, the Phantom Knight, and some of Yamamoto's attention goes to that, but most of it's on Squalo-in-video.
He lets the DVD end, and turns toward the door, casual and relaxed. "Maa, you shouldn't sneak up on a guy like that."
Squalo snorts, leaning casually on the doorframe. "If I was an enemy, you'd be dead, katana braaaaat!"
"You're not," Yamamoto points out reasonably. Honestly, he's a little surprised that Squalo'd managed to stifle himself for that long -- he'd obviously been there for a while -- but after all, the Varia's sword emperor was a pretty amazing guy.
Squalo disdains to continue the debate, brushing it aside with a flick of his hand. "Learned anything?"
Yamamoto thinks about that, then stands up, crosses the room in a single stride. "Hmmm, I think so."
Squalo blinks at him, suddenly close. "What are you doiiiii--mmmmmmmmmmf!"
Yamamoto's read that if you wanted to get a shark to back down, you couldn't show hesitation; you had to smack it right between the eyes and get away while it was confused. He's pretty sure that he didn't want to get away, but the principle still applied...well, sort of. Kissing isn't exactly the same, though maybe for a shark it might be. The dazed look on Squalo's face as he pulls back suggests that it works.
".....fine," the sword emperor finally says, too stunned to elongate his syllables. "But I'm topping."
"Okay," Yamamoto grins, and the click as his door shuts is like a sword coming home to rest in its sheath.
Reply
He stares at it, blinks, checks it over. It's exactly the same as the others, as far as he can tell. Only one way to work this out, he muses, and takes it up to his room.
It is another DVD, titled "Secret Bonus Disc: The 101st Battle". Yamamoto opens it up and pops the DVD in...then falls back on his bed, laughing, letting the first moments of the fight play in the background.
He turns the case upside down, and two silver-wrapped condoms flutter to the bed.
Reply
Reply
YOU MADE MY FRICKIN DAY.
HOLY CRAP. THANK YOU SO MUCH SECRET SANTA-CHAN \o/
Reply
Reply
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