1st whisper- Strange happenings
AUTHOR'S NOTE!
PLEASE DO NOT SKIP!
Hey guys! This is Swallow! :D I'm the authoress of this fict. Just to let you know, just in case some of you are reading this for Tsuna and the tenth gen, they're coming in the next chapter. My point in making this author's note is to tell you that everyone, especially you. If you're planning to follow this story, it is really really important to read every single author's note I put up. The reason? I have to do a bit of explaining so that when you guys read the story it wouldn't be that confusing cuz I didn't really follow the flow of the anime or manga. I'll reveal more about that the next chapter. For now, enjoy the company of Giotto and his Guardians! And any use of Italian or Japanese terms will be explained at the bottom of the page. If there are many, I'll number them. Ciao! :D :D
Special thanks to my beta, silverskies87, to the extreme! Enjoy!
400 years in the past
Somewhere in the countryside of Italy…
Vongola Primo, Vongola Giotto, heaved a heavy sigh. It was the end of another strenuous day of work as he and his guardians had just completed the tedious job of playing 'peacemaker' again. The two mafia families who have been at each other necks for the past few years made many fiery exchanges and colourful words, they were restlessly thrown at both sides till his Storm Guardian and loyal right-hand man, G, blew his top and cursed in Italian at such a high speed that it put the two main cursers of the families to shame. His other guardians, who had quietly watched by the side, silently chuckled at their fellow colleague's antic before resuming their attention to the two present families. The cause of the ruckus? The position of being the head for the southern borderline's defence. Giotto couldn't help but heave a sigh as his mind wandered back to the earlier hours of the day.
Flashback to the meeting
'This cannot go on!' Leo Gardenia of the Gardenia family exclaimed,' We have already wasted enough time here bickering since the crack of dawn! I'm sure that even Vongola Primo is exhausted from watching this meaningless argument!'
Finally! Giotto mentally exclaimed, Time's being wasted while these idiots are bickering! Am I glad to know that there are some who even have a brain! But am I surprised to see that Alaude has yet to lift his weapon despite the noise!
'Which is why I propose that the Gardenia family should have control over the eastern border so that Primo would be put at ease! The weight of such a responsibility should not be given to a lazy and not to mention irresponsible man! My liege, with all due respect, I suggest that we the Gardenia family, should be given the southern borderline's defence in place of that man,'' he spat.
Giotto resisted the urge to face-palm right there. Yes, Leo Gardenia was a charming man. He had silky blond shoulder-length hair which was currently dancing with the sudden gust of wind. His peridot green eyes were now sparkling at the excitement of his task. It's clear that Leo has passion and enthusiasm needed for this job so technically speaking, his family is the ideal type, Giotto silently noted. He glanced over to the other side of the room where the other family sat. However… The head, Tonio Scarlet of the Scarlet family was comfortably situated on a plush armchair with a glass of chilled white wine daintily held in between his fingers had a relaxed and somewhat smug look plastered on his face. Tonio Scarlet was a man not to be trifled with. He who single-handedly brought down an entire mafia family with only his weapons and his ability to manipulate his opponents with words scared many families as such a feat was usually deemed impossible.
'Primo,' came the smooth but husky voice of the head,' It's getting late, so I suggest that we hurry and get this over. We don't want anything to happen to the only head of Vongola, now do we? Who knows what you may find lingering in the woods at such a late hour.'
Although this was left hanging, the air among Giotto's guardians immediately became very tense as most of them saw this as an open threat to their beloved sky.
'Are you threatening him, you pathetic excuse of a herbivore?' Alaude, his cloud guardian menacingly snarled. His usual neat platinum blonde hair was now in a messy haystack because of the impromptu nap he had taken due to the long-winded 'conversation' between both families. His former closed eyes were now open and flashing dangerously due to the threat thrown out. Icy blue orbs were now pierced at the culprit and had started to slowly narrow while taking in the stiff atmosphere. Aluade's hands were already in his pocket, ready to lash out his sleek black handcuffs to cuff whoever stood in his way. A hand suddenly placed itself on his shoulder and a tinkle of laughter was soon heard. It was emitted by Giotto's rain guardian, Asari Ugetsu, a youthful Japanese priest who was clothed in his usual Japanese garbs. He slowly stepped forward and gently pushed back the angered cloud guardian.
' Mah mah, calm down, Alaude. We wouldn't want anything bad to happen to our allies right?' was what he said but, Ugestu had already started to slowly pull out his three short blades from his left sleeve. He flashed a dazzling smile at the Scarlet head before shooting him a cold glare that could put Alaude to shame, 'As much as I hate to agree with Mr Scarlet, travelling in the night is highly not recommendable for Primo. We have business the next morning so its better if we start heading back now,' taking that as his cue, Giotto immediately cut in with his smooth and calming voice.
'My rain guardian is correct. Let's do it this way. There is a town located near the southern borderline. It's called Città del Sud. Whichever family is able to win the townspeople's heart, will be the one to protect them. However, do note that we will be sending out several people of our family to check whether you have used fair methods to win them over. The time limit will be two months. In the meantime, Daemon Spade who is my mist guardian, would be the one in charge of that area. Therefore, if you have any problems or questions regarding that town or its structure,' Giotto flashed a smirk at them,' Please, by all means, do not hesitate to ask for help.' Daemon could be heard evilly chuckling in the background and the temperature surrounding both families dropped to zero. The rest of the guardians mentally sweat dropped at their boss's antic but mentally gave their thanks to Ugetsu for stepping in to make an opening for Primo.
'With that, I call this meeting to be adjourned.'
Flashback end
Considering the fact that the trip from Giotto's mansion to the meeting place took three hours and being informed that both families have been at it since the early hours of the day did not help to ease the headache that was starting to act up in his head. Giotto groaned at the thought of having to monitor their progress for the next two months. As much as he despised finding suitable heads for such positions, it was necessary for them so that the collecting and gathering of data will be easier for them and technically speaking, it was suppose to lighten paperwork load.
'Giotto?' Giotto looked up and saw his sun guardian, Knuckle, looking at him with a concerned look forming on his usual calm and serene face,' You alright? You've been extremely sighing and groaning for the past few minutes. Are you extremely not feeling well?' G who was sitting on his right, immediately slapped his hand on Giotto's forehead while making him wince in pain at the amount of force inflicted on his forehead.
'G~!' Giotto whined. G's ruby reds eyes flashed with concern at Giotto's sudden outburst. His pinkish almost red hair lapped over his forehead as he placed his hand on his own head to compare temperatures.
' Giotto! You're heating up!' was the first thing he yelled before launching into a (long) rant about Giotto not taking care of himself and working too much. Knuckle signalled for him to shut up and leaned forward to put his on hand on Giotto's forehead.
Come to think of it, Giotto thought, I felt slightly dizzy this morning and it felt warmer then before… Maybe I'm really coming down with a fever.
Giotto closed his eyes as he heard Knuckle yelling at the driver to drive faster as 'The Primo' was 'not feeling extremely well'. Alaude wordlessly fished out a white satin handkerchief and silently watched Knuckle who gladly accepted it. Someone, he assumed it was G since it was the person on his right doing it, shifted him until he had his head laid on top of his right-hand's lap. A few minutes later, he felt something wet place itself on his forehead. It felt better and the buzzing in his ears that had started earlier on during the meeting had suddenly turned softer.
' Nufufufufu~,' Giotto heard Dameon softly chuckle,' It seems that our dear Giotto has gotten a fever. Should I cast an illusion around us to prevent any nosy watchers from knowing our situation?'
Ugetsu? Or was it Knuckle? Said a quiet,' Please do,' to him. Everyone was concerned about their dear Primo suddenly falling ill on them and kept silent so that he could rest. Even Lampo, their lightning guardian who was also the youngest amongst them, was not spouting even a single complaint.
Well, that's a first, Giotto mentally grinned, I should fall sick more often so I can enjoy this tranquil silence. Giotto was rudely interrupted from his thoughts as he suddenly launched into a frantic coughing fit. It also didn't help that it nearly made all his guardians terrified.
'Hey you stupid priest! Can't you do anything to make him feel better?'
'I'm already doing my extreme best already Pinky!'
'Mah mah, let's all calm down shall we? After all, arguing in a cramped carriage with Giotto-san's head on your lap really isn't the best option.'
'Hey hey, ore-sama sees a ball of light heading towards us!'
'All you herbivores shut up before I cuff you to death!'
'Nufufu, for once I actually agree with the skylark.'
Silence soon fell onto the group as they tried to digest the fact that Daemon and Alaude actually agreed on something while Giotto grunted with appreciation and tried to shift into a more comfortable position. G noticed this immediately and told the person next to him, who happened to be Lampo, to jump over to where Daemon was sitting.
'Ehhhhh! Why should I!' Lampo loudly exclaimed.
Alaude, who was sitting next to him near the window seat snapped. He immediately fished out his handcuffs from his pocket and cuffed Lampo's hands. A piece of cloth was swiftly pulled out from under the carriage seats by Daemon and was stuffed into the youngest guardian's mouth. Alaude grunted his thanks while Daemon creepily smiled.
'Nufufu~, I suggest you lower your voice as our dear Primo is currently feeling unwell. So, be a good little boy and keep quiet from where you are, nah?' Daemon flashed Lampo an evil smile before starting to softly chuckle like the lunatic he was. Everyone openly sweat dropped at this scene before turning their attention back to Giotto. G moved over to Lampo's seat while slowly shifting Giotto upwards so he felt more comfortable while lying down. Alaude pretty much kept his poker face intact as G sat next to him.
'Mmmhmmmhmm!' all eyes (except for Giotto) turned to the gagged man on the floor who was trying to tell them something with his muffled shouts and the bulging of his eyes. Knuckle as usual, pitied the small boy who was on the receiving end of Alaude and Dameon's wrath (again), removed the gag but immediately regretted it as everyone was deafened by the loud shout he emitted.
'Ore-sama is trying to tell you that we are in big trouble!' Lampo loudly exclaimed, ignoring the obvious winces of pain on his fellow guardians faces. Alaude growled loudly while the volume of Daemon's chuckling suddenly started to get louder.
'Nufufufu, what are you trying to do, Lampo? Didn't I say already? Our dear Prim-'
'I'll cuff you to death,' was the only thing Alaude said. The temperature surrounding them suddenly dropped drastically, a dark and devious aura was slowly flowing out from Alaude as he evilly glared at Lampo. He internally smirked at the sight before him. Lampo, was trying to hold back his tears and put up a brave front as he slightly trembled before the angered cloud..
'Ga, ma…..Waaaaaaahhhhhhhh!' everyone was soon scurrying to cover their ears. G even went to the extent of tearing some of the cloth that was used as a gag and plugged some into his ears before putting some into Giotto's ears. The other guardians soon followed his lead, minus a certain melon-headed mist guardian. Ugetsu, sensing the feeling of another argument between the cloud and mist guardian about to break out again quickly poked his head out of the carriage's window just to check whether Lampo had mistaken the identity of whatever he saw. But the sight outside the window made him do a double-take which surprised Knuckle.
'What's wrong, Ugetsu?'
Ugtsu sheepishly laughed before saying,' Uh, guys? I hate admit it and as crazy as it sounds but…Lampo's right,' Ugetsu was soon met with the blank stares of the other guardians, minus Lampo who was earnestly shaking his head in agreement.
'Huh?' was the only thing that G gave. Ugetsu resisted the urge to face-palm himself as he continued seeing the blank looks.
'Look out of the window,' was the only thing he said. All of them are going to freak out, Ugetsu could not help but grin at the thought, this is going to be interesting. True enough, everyone's jaw (excluding Giotto, Lampo and his) dropped. It was actually quite hilarious, but considering the fact that it was a serious problem, Ugetsu tried his hardest to keep a straight face while looking at Alaude straight in the eye as he was the first one to recover from the shock. Not that Alaude would let it show on his face that he acknowledged Lampo was correct.
'Well?' Ugetsu questioned,' What are we going to do?'
'Knock it out of the sky to the extreme!'
'Cuff it to death.'
'RUN AWAY!'
'Nufufu….'
Scratch that, Giotto thought, even with the handkerchief on my forehead, this really isn't working. The buzzing sounds in his ears were getting louder and the increased volume of all the shouting and swearing wasn't really helping. A sudden wave of pain suddenly hit his head making Giotto snap. He had enough with all this nonsense. 'All of you SHUT UP!' Giotto suddenly yelled,' I have a splitting headache and all of you shouting isn't, really, helping!' he heavily panted after shouting out the last word before groaning again, slamming his head back onto his right-hand man's lap.
'Oh my *!**%#!#%#!'
'WAAAAAAHHHHH! ORE-SAMA DOESN'T WANT TO BE EATEN!'
'Amen.'
'Ah ha ha ha…'
'…'
'Nufufu.'
Giotto had enough with the noise and opened his eyes to once again reprimand his guardians. To his horror, he was greeted by a sudden burst of orange light in his face. Giotto could hear the other guardians shouting and yelling. G suddenly grabbed him and tightly embraced him to his chest, as if believing, that alone was enough to protect the Primo. I think I'm going to sleep for awhile... was the last thought in Giotto's mind before he blacked out. It was that exact moment when the meteor hit them.
BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!
Salmon orange smoke suddenly burst out from nowhere. Within it, was the driver, unconscious but not dead. The carriage was destroyed. Splinters of wood flew everywhere, striking several trunks of trees, surprising animals that just so happen to past by. The most puzzling thing was that, after the driver woke up and got help, they could not find Giotto and the rest of the guardians. Even digging through the broken carriage and combing the entire forest did not help to cease their search. It was also reported that no bodies were found so it was concluded that they had not died. If so, what happened and where did they go?
Swallow- That's it folks! Updates will most probably be every two weeks. And now, I would like to introduce my awesome beta to the extreme, Silver! :D :D
Silver- Mwahahahaaa, cliffie! I wanna say hi! I'm silverskies87 (if we got any PoT Thrill Pair fans out there (unlikely) you might've heard of me), and I was the one to visciously abuse this chapter with my certified beta-chainsaw-of-grammar (seems legit). Wish Swallow luck! She'll need it with me around!
Swallow- I love Silver to bits for helping me beta! ^^ Although it was quite painful to see my work shredded to pieces, it was worth it after correcting all the mistakes! :D:D Please support both Silver and I from now onwards! Thank You! :D :D
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Footnotes:
Città del sud- City Of The South
