“A sudden blow, a clean pierce of a sword, and a successful strike. The blade seemed to hiss as it slid from the shield. His enemy, incapable of putting up with his agility. The hero placed his sword on the ground, and leaning on it, he smirked. ‘Is that all ya got? I assumed you wanted to have a good time kicking my ass the way you threatened my kingdom.’ The dullahan...” A sound of mashing keys followed, typing out a jumble of letters. I have no clue where I’m leading this plot at all. Come on, Tsuna, think! Your future depends on this!

Tsuna Tachibana, a twenty-one-year-old man who lived with his mother in the peaceful area of Yanagawa, Japan. Desperately writing a manuscript to get the attention of a big manga label. With this as his goal, he thought it’d make sense to be familiar with many manga and even show his love for them. His room covered in posters to the point not even a bit of his wall shown. A stack of manga and light novels near his bed.

He dried his sweaty head as he stretched across his bed, then grabbed his shirt and shook it around to circulate air. He noticed at the corner of the laptop sitting on his waist reading 16:50. About an hour left. Tsuna leaned back, grabbing onto the wallet on his nightstand and opening it to view something identical to his progress. Nothing. Damn it, I hate being broke! A sentiment anyone could relate to.

The sound of a turning doorknob and faint music made him glance toward the door. A young woman in what he would consider her normal attire—a red tank top that read the words “Rock On!” with sweatpants and earbuds. Her golden blonde pigtails were bouncing around as she danced into the room. Emiko Sawano was her name, twenty-one years old, Tsuna’s childhood friend and girlfriend.

“Am I original? Yeah. Am I the only one? Yeah.”

A wave of his hands caught her attention. She pulled out an earbud, leaving the wanderlust world she was in. “How many times are you going to play that ancient song? It’s like twenty years old!” he asked her, certain she’d respond. Until I die.

“Until I die,” she declared as she collapsed on his bed, pushing the replay button, and improvising the lyrics, “Tachibana! Rock your body! Tachibana! Rock your body right!”

After taking a deep breath, Tsuna perched straight. He stroked his palms through his nappy hair, then moved next to her and started singing with her. What could it hurt? It’s funny when she gets bubbly. “Oh my God, we’re back again!”

The two of them alternated cues in singing the lyrics. Tsuna peered over at her as she finished the song. She cracked a smile in between the notes, her eyes closed. “Backstreet’s back, alright!”

As soon as the music ended, she opened her eyes and curved her gaze toward him. Those lovely green eyes. She closed them again, and before Tsuna could react, her lips found his. He slipped into a trance that overwhelmed him with lust. He drew her tight, caressing her blonde hair and stretching his hands around her back. A thought occurred to him. Wait, she’s in my house. He pulled back. “How do you keep getting in here? Is my mom home?”

Emiko smiled childishly and winked. “I let myself inside.”

A mix of frustration and confusion swirled in Tsuna’s eyes. He realized that yelling at her was useless, so he tried logic. “Stop just appearing in the house. You know Mom hates when you’re here without her knowing beforehand.”

“She hates everything! She hates what I wear too and thinks I should be ‘proper’ and put on more ‘fitting’ clothes, but that’s annoying. I love my loose clothes!” She looked him in the eyes and a slit grin formed. “Is that what you want, Tsuna? For me, to be a common Japanese girl? With a yukata and everything?”

“Mom’s just stuck in her traditional ways. Unlike the two of us, she’s 100% Japanese. So, for you to act out is okay to me.”

She closed her eyes and bowed at a ninety-degree angle. “Yes, Mr. Tachibana. I shall adjust my conduct to your liking. Do you prefer tea or miso soup for your supper tonight?”

“Cut it out. That’d be a shitty dinner.”

“I understand, during our next session of intimacy, I will cut ‘it.’”

“Now, that’s just lewd banter.”

His response made her giggle. “That reminds me! It’ll be our one year in a few days, Tsuna.” she grabbed his hands. “What should we plan for our anniversary? Oh! I’m thinking of a theme park! Or the beach! I just got this new bikini I can’t wait to show you.”

Tsuna’s eyebrow raised almost instinctively. “What’s a single year to the twelve we’ve known each other? Just saying ‘one year’ downplays everything that we’ve been through over that time, my dear Emiko.”

“It has been twelve years since we met.” She blinked twice. “My dear? Are you being poetic again!”

“I’d say we’ve been dating for far more than a year if you want to get technical. How everything started and rose to form what we have now. The drama of rising tension and fallouts! Worthy of a novel!”

“Quit trying to sound smart, dummy.” She gently placed her hands on his neck and shook him. “You’re pointing out that we’re getting old more than anything else!”

“It’s just my way of saying that at this point in our lives, I know with no doubt in my mind that I love you.” Emiko froze. It was the first time he’d said that to her. It had been on his mind for far longer, but knowing her past, he didn’t want to scare her.

Her cheeks turned as red as her shirt, her hands sliding down to her lap. “I love you too.”

Tsuna released a breath of relief, his heart beating in his throat like a drum. Sweat leaked from his hands. She said it back. Why am I sweating? An interlude of silence passed between them. Then a poke on Tsuna’s cheek snapped him from his daze.

Emiko now wore an enormous smile, adjusting her hair and fully turning towards him. “Your birthday is coming up too. We should plan for that. Do you want more manga? I know you’re always reading these days, lazy butt.”

“I’ll have you know that I may not be as active as I used to be, but that doesn’t mean I’m lazy. Mom was even suggesting I do kendo again, but I don’t think I’d be welcome. We’ll worry about the birthday when it gets here.” He gave her a wink.

“My dad would often say that we should try to stay fit at our age.” She stood up, stretching her arms. “He’s pretty old now, but he’s as active as he was in the military.”

The feeling as if a sharp object pierced his chest paralyzed him. He took a deep breath and pecked her on the lips as he strolled towards the door. “Too bad, I couldn’t hear those kinds of things from my old man.” A wipe of his head reminded him of how sweaty he was. “Alright! I need to take a shower before work. We can’t make any plans tonight since I’m staying late to clean up Mr. Amagi’s storage. In return, Mr. Amagi is going to help me find a cheap place for us. You should work out something, so your day doesn’t drag, instead of lying here and waiting for me to get home as you always do.”

“Hey! It’s not as if I just stand by for you! I have my karate classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, too. Today is Saturday, but the instructor is just going to make me clean since I’m ahead of everybody else, and I don’t wanna.”

“Your company is welcome for sure, but I would’ve gotten a fish if I wanted something to just stare at me.”

“You stared at me all the time two years ago! Don’t make me sound like the bad one!” Now on her toes, she worked herself up. “I’ll be honest. I love seeing you work in your nest. You should notice how cool I am until ‘A wild Tsuna appears.’ then goes off onto his laptop and observes ‘How to write better’ videos!”

Tsuna couldn’t help but laugh out loud, knowing that there was validity in what she was saying. Shit, that kind of hurt, but that’s no surprise. She’s blunt and so energetic, like an anime character, but that’s how she’s been since I met her. But… is what I want? Would we live happily together if I married her? Would life work out financially? He thought back to his wallet. I need to carry out things for that to happen, but I still need help. Tsuna gulped hard, rubbed his clammy hands together, then reflected for a moment, turning away from the door. Emiko turned her head to him curiously, noticing him swaying as if he wanted to address something. Tsuna opened his mouth, then asked a question in a manner that didn’t sound overly aggressive—but firm enough to show he was serious.

“Hey… not trying to shatter the atmosphere or anything, but do you plan on getting a job soon?” The question provoked a blaze in her eyes as her mood shifted. Before he’d realized, she had clutched the front of his shirt and flung him away from the door. Tsuna shifted his weight backward, tumbled, then pressed himself off the floor and planted his footing.

“What’s that supposed to mean!?”

She charged at him, aiming a right hook for his head. He took a step to the side, evaded her punch, and plucked her up by the waistline. “Relax! For the last month I’ve been searching for a place for us to live, and my working alone won’t pay the bills once I do.”

Ignoring his plea, she grumbled. “I could knock you on your head right now!”

“And I could drop you on yours.”

She let out an irritated sigh, showing that he had defeated her. “You wouldn’t dare! Now let me go! I’m just tired of my parents saying that same thing. Going out to town still bothers me. I feel like eyes are on me and I don’t feel comfortable.”

“Now that I think about it, that must be why you always suddenly appear here, isn’t it?! It makes sense now! Your old man had bloody noses so regularly and I couldn’t put the pieces together sooner,” Tsuna said as he lowered her.

Emiko chuckled as she lowered her guard. “That’s not it! He helps me practice my self-defense. He’s not quite over what happened either.” allowing Tsuna to grab ahold of her hands and drag her closer, eying the sweat reforming on his forehead. “But I’ll always have you to protect me, right?”

“Why’s that even a question? I’m not going anywhere. Except to take my shower now, so I can get going.”

Emiko’s smile changed into a pout. “Wow. Ass.” She let go of his hands to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. Tsuna lifted her up from the floor. He leaned forward and gave her a smooch.

“Don’t wait the entire night for me this time. Let my mom know you’re here too before you piss her off again.”

As he placed her on her feet, she let out a groan. “The rest of the day is going to be dull without you, Stinkibana.”

“Then go to karate!”