#(Enma01)

[queenharumiura]

Continued from: [x] @whiskeysmultimuse

Haru had seen that he was in a tree from afar and didn’t think much of it. Possibly a cat stuck in a tree that he was trying to help. Maybe a kid had lost a toy up there and he’d climbed up there to get it out. At least, those are some of the reasons she’d climbed a tree for- and only got stuck because she belatedly remembered she was wearing a skirt. Good times, good times…

She saw him fall out of the tree, and she was worried that he’d hurt himself. Judging by the way he’d pulled his sleeve down and tried acting as if nothing had happened, she was going to guess he was embarrassed by what happened. As much as she understood that this may have been part of a guys bravado—she wasn’t going to let it pass. “Good evening, do you mind if I take a look? It would be bad if it were broken, right?” If the injury wasn’t anything major, surely they could call in a favor to Ryohei to fix up his injury? A true shame she didn’t have a strong affinity for the sun flame herself.

[queenharumiura]

“Mmmm okay, but if you ever want to vent one day or get a second opinion on something, Haru’s offer still stands.” Sometimes, you just needed someone to listen to you, and some other times you needed another opinion to get a fresh perspective on things.

Looking at his arm again, “Haru thinks you should get that checked, though. At the very least ice it later to get the swelling down.” She didn’t think anything in his arm was broken from the fall, but even a sprain can result in some bad swelling, and maybe some bruising. At that point, he couldn’t hide it easily from his family. She does make a mental note to talk to Gokudera later about the possibility that Uri is going around luring people into trees.

Enma hoped to have a friend like Haru one day. She was nice. She reminded him of Adelheid a little too. They were both caring in their own ways and looked after the boys a lot even when he couldn't do it himself. Perhaps Tsuna was the same way with his family?

"I do appreciate it, Haru. But there's not much to vent or talk about." It wasn't like they were going to change, and while it might seem odd, Enma was used to it by now and it would feel odd if they started treating him differently. That was just how things were.

[queenharumiura]

Haru gives him a smile, “Well, sometimes, you just smile through the pain because you care too much.” Even if Gokudera angered her more oft than not, she cared for him like she did for everyone else. Truly, if she wanted to be the wife of a Mafia Don, she had to learn to accept all of his famiglia, right? A doleful duty, indeed.

“Maybe it’ll help you feel better to vent about it to a stranger? Haru is good at listening.” She took a cookie from the bag and she started munching on it. “Think of it as releasing pent up stress and venting about life.” Another munch. She could complain about Gokudera being rude or about how she feels when some of her efforts go unnoticed. Maybe Enma could offer insight or advices as a guy.

He'd say he understood her pain except half the time his guardians did intend to make him cry, mainly Aoba and Julie. Nice or not, Enma had come to accept that that was how the two of them were, his desert and forest guardians weren't very nice but he still loved them as a boss should, that was still his family.

He accepted the cookie with a nod. He understood where Haru was coming from. Even though him being picked on was more common than Haru's fighting with whoever this jerk was that she spoke of, they still shared that common ground, someone picked on them. "Sometimes it's an accident though, like you said. I'm sorry you've been mistreated, though. I know how that feels."

[queenharumiura]

Haru was a bit surprised by the way he addressed her, but maybe Enma was the sort to befriend people quickly? Well, it felt weird if she continued to refer to him as Enma-san, right? "At least let Haru take a look? Haru would be worried if I just let you go without at least seeing that it was okay myself."

"Haru does gymnastics, so she sees people fall all the time. She does too, but she's pretty good at sticking a landing." She giggles, but she was being serious. "A fall can end your gymnastics career if you aren't careful."

He nodded in thanks. Enma wasn't usually talked to so kindly by his guardians. Most of them calling him a loser anyway, he couldn't let them find out about this. Julie and Aoba would never let him live it down. Adelheid would scold him. At least Haru was nice. "I should be okay, Haru-chan. Thank you." Enma supposed getting checked out couldn't hurt. He'd still be a loser anyway.

[queenharumiura]

Haru simply smiles, “Well, most of the time, they probably didn’t intend to make me cry.” It was just the circumstances that made it easy for her tear ducts to go into overdrive. “It’s not a common occurrence, if that’s what you’re worried about, Haru’s fine.” She tries to reassure him in case he had the understanding that she was often crying alone.

“It sounds like you have people who bully you,” she didn’t know what to say in regards to that since she wasn’t a victim of being bullied. “That’s not very nice of them, bullying a gentle spirit.” She noticed that Enma had a gentle and soft air about him, similar to Tsuna’s. She wondered if they’d become good friends. The air felt heavy, and she rummaged through her bag. “Do you want a cookie?” She pulled out a bag of cookies that she baked.

If those were his only options, what was the best thing to do? Enma thought for a minute, he never wanted to be in the Mafia, just to protect his friends even when they were mean. But listening to what Haru was telling him, Enma wondered who had made such a nice person cry? He couldn't cry anymore, his guardians would get on him and then Adelheid would get on them. Did Haru have someone in her life like that? "There's someone who makes a nice girl like you cry?"

[queenharumiura]

‘Eh? Why does it sound like… is Enma-kun a part of the mafia?’ Is Namimori a hotspot for mafia or something? If Haru had a 100yen coin for every mafia don she’s met… there’s Tsuna-san… Dino-san… that Longchamp fellow… and possibly Enma-kun? Uni-chan should also count? That’s 500yen! “I’m sorry to hear that your guardians make fun of you rather than supporting you. They shouldn’t be like that.”

“Let’s see… there is the option of ignoring it, playing dumb, fighting back, or crying about it when you’re alone. Those are the options Haru chooses between.” He’s being honest about his problems so she’ll be honest about how she deals with it. “Sometimes, Haru can find people to talk to if they aren’t involved at all.”

Red eyes closed as he nodded his head. "Yeah, my guardians. Aoba and Julie would both probably make fun of me for being Loser Enma, a klutz again." He didn't understand how people could pick on someone as kind as Haru. She kinda reminded him of Adelheid, just not as terrifying. Adelheid would still have his back sometimes and get the others to knock it off and at least listen to him.

"People laugh at me for all kinds of reasons, Haru. How do you deal with it?"

[queenharumiura]

Haru makes a face of concern, “People would laugh at you if you injured yourself that badly?” Enma-kun needed better friends and stat. Haru liked to think she was just your average person and there wasn’t anything particularly patient or kind about her, but from how it sounded his general company was… maybe she was the weird one.

She heard that Tsuna-san’s classmates could treat him the same as well. Maybe this is just the lawless ways that Co-ed schools behaved? Terrifying-desu. At the question, something comes to mind, but she’s not sure if it counts as being picked on if she always fights back. That’s right, she’s thinking about you, Gokudera, you JERK. “Haru doesn’t really get picked on to her face. People talk behind her back, sometimes.”

"Oh thank goodness. I'd be a laughing stock if the others knew I'd injured myself that badly." Enma admitted. Aoba and Julie were ruthless with him, he was just lucky Adelheid stood up for him once in a while. "do you get picked on too?" He wasn't sure what made this girl be so patient and kind to him, but Enma was thankful for Haru.

[queenharumiura]

Haru hums in thought as she started inspecting his arm, feeling around the joints and the muscles. It wasn't like the words didn't get to her, but she chose to act like it didn't until she was alone to feel sad about it. "It takes strength to ignore things, but it takes a different kind of strength to reach out to others when you're hurting."

It was a strength that Haru wasn't the best at as she had a higher tendency to pretend nothing was wrong as to not bother anyone with her problems. "To Haru, it looks like nothing is broken, maybe a light sprain?"

The Simon Boss nodded. Haru was a nice girl who seemed to be in the same situation he was. Well not entirely the same, but similar in the fact that most people made fun of her too. In his case though, even his own guardians were cruel. "You're very strong, not letting it get to you." Enma admitted, that was something admirable in her already.

[queenharumiura]

"Hahi? People may laugh if Haru fell funny..." He was being made fun of? It sounded like Enma needed better friends, but Tsuna came to mind since he was in a similar situation.

"As for Haru, the kind of things people make fun of her for isn't when she's clumsy." It wasn't like she didn't know people would pity her or make fun of her for trying so hard to catch the eye of a person who wasn't looking her way. "Haru tries not to let it get to her, or else they'll have power over her. Haru doesn't like that."

Enma didn't know much, but he felt he could trust the girl. She'd been so polite to him, unlike some of his own guardians. He slowly held his arm out, trying not to cry at the pain. His family would never let him live it down. Loser Enma would be a laughing stock. But he wondered how Haru was so calm about it? "Do people make fun of you too when you get hurt?"

[queenharumiura]

"Ha... hahi," she looks him over again, "that's no good. Hopefully it's just clumsiness and nothing else." She can think of a person in particular who sometimes gets hurt because of his clumsiness, and another who usually gets hurt because he annoyed the wrong person and he was being bullied for it. She makes a mental note to carry even more band aids and ointment with her- for just in case.

"You're very welcome. Haru's sure that we'll cross paths again, so you don't need to be a stranger next time." Haru was always ready to make a new friend and she was fine with having Enma be a new friend of hers. Somehow, she felt that he'd get along well with Tsuna-san. Similar vibes, and all that. He said that he'll be fine, and she felt this was her cue to give him his space... "Haru will see you around. See you again-desu~" With a little wave, she trots off.

“Mmmm okay, but if you ever want to vent one day or get a second opinion on something, Haru’s offer still stands.” Sometimes, you just needed someone to listen to you, and some other times you needed another opinion to get a fresh perspective on things.

Looking at his arm again, “Haru thinks you should get that checked, though. At the very least ice it later to get the swelling down.” She didn’t think anything in his arm was broken from the fall, but even a sprain can result in some bad swelling, and maybe some bruising. At that point, he couldn’t hide it easily from his family. She does make a mental note to talk to Gokudera later about the possibility that Uri is going around luring people into trees.

[queenharumiura]

A kitten with flames on its ears? She could only picture a certain feline named after a melon. If so, she may have to bring that up later that Uri was luring people into trees. That couldn’t be a good thing. She looks up in the tree and doesn’t see anything, so the cat (most likely Uri) had ran off before it could get caught and subsequently scolded. “Looks like it ran away. What a shame, I’m sure it would’ve been very cute.” If it WAS Uri, then there was no doubt the kitten was adorable.

“Still, Haru insists that we get you checked. We should make sure you didn’t break anything at least.” Haru was worried about his well-being after having watched him fall out of the tree. “Hahi! Haru’s sorry. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Enma-san, Haru’s name is Haru Miura, but you can just call her Haru.”

Enma didn't want to be a bother, but even more he was embarrassed about the reason he'd been in the tree to begin with. He'd seen an adorable little kitten with leopard-like spots and he wanted so desperately to pet it. But when he reached out, the cat ran up the tree, leading him to try to climb the tree and catch it. Though the little flames on it's ears were cute, it was different from most of the cats he'd seen in the neighborhood. The girl was being kind to him, and Enma felt no shame in telling her the truth. He was a loser anyway, it wasn't like this was going to help his image much. He'd never let Julie find out about this. "I-i'll be fine. I was just trying to catch that kitten in the tree. It looked like it had flames on its ears. I'm Enma by the way."