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The months counting down to May are rife with tension. Shamal spends the entire time sending second glances over his shoulder, trying his hardest to stay aware of everything and everyone he comes into contact with. Honestly, he might even be developing ulcers from the stress.
Ancile spends her time collecting bird feathers and cataloging them in a lovely little book a fisherman down at the docks had gifted her.
Okay, so maybe it's just a bit more stressful for Shamal than it is for Ancile but can you blame him?
Besides fretting over his little sister and her worrisome future, he's spent a lot of his time establishing himself in his career. It took quite a bit of needling and promises to get Renato and the rest of the Vongola off his back but he managed to carve out some time for him to come up with a real escape plan.
As unlikely as it is, he's going to try his damndest to stay away from the mafia.
Which makes his current mentor all the more ironic.
Giorgio Faletti is his name though he's most commonly referred to as Anguis (and no Shamal definitely did not scoff when he heard the name). His medical know-how and ability to develop snake venom as medicine has established him as the most sought after doctor in the Italian underworld.
Shamal's not sure exactly how Anguis managed to find him, though he does think that the favors he owes Renato are starting to add up in a dismaying fashion.
He likes to think he's been sneaky enough to get away with his "secret" meetings; sure, a lot of the locals know what's been going on but he's positive Ancile has no idea.
She's more than aware of what's going on.
Ancile knows that her brother is incredibly intelligent. One of the smartest people she's ever met and she's not just blinded by familial loyalty. He's genuinely very smart.
So she's more than a little surprised that he seems to have forgotten that she enjoys walking around town and eavesdropping on the gossipping citizens. She's known about this snake guy for far too long and she doesn't like the idea of him at all.
Sure, he's super established and powerful and yada yada yada. What's most important to her, however, is that he's not flame active.
Now it's not unheard of for the mafia to employ people that are flame passive but to be in such a high position without any? She doesn't like the idea of her brother spending so much time with someone so dangerous.
The irony of the situation is completely lost on her.
The trill of a kingfisher catches her ear and she looks up just in time to miss seeing it.
With a dejected sigh she continues on her way home though she's quickly distracted by her neighbor calling her over for some sweets.
Five minutes and a mouthful of chocolate later finds her in her entryway, staring at her brother with a sheepish smile.
"You're home early." She says as she moves to the couch. His medical training has been keeping him away from the house most nights, leaving her to rely on her neighbors for food and the like.
"There wasn't much to do today." He doesn't mention that he specifically asked if he could come home early. There's only two days until the start of May and he doesn't doubt that Fon would show up at midnight, claiming that they had agreed on May but never specified a date. "I made dinner."
"Okay," she chirps from the couch before going to wash her wands.
Dinner is spent telling each other of what they got up to during the day. Ancile's recollection is bright and enthusiastic, detailing all of the birds she saw and the flowers that have started blooming. She even tells him about the local gossip she overheard while running away from the bratty kid down the block. Shamal's is almost infuriatingly vague. No names are given and even descriptions are bereft of adjectives. All she really gets is boring medical jargon that she doesn't have a hope of understanding.
The rest of the day is spent in companionable silence. Shamal is pouring over the medical files of his most recent patients and Ancile is lounging around, trying to drum up the energy to get a second helping of food.
Her eyes droop one too many times though causing Shamal to quickly usher her off to bed with a promise that the food will still be there tomorrow.
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May 1 comes and goes without any unexpected visitors.
Shamal doesn't quite know how to feel about that. The ulcers feel like they're about to burst and he's positive his lifespan has been halved at this point.
He spends the entire day riddled with anxiety. He makes so many mistakes that Anguis almost tries to kill him, sending him home early before he actually does anyone in. When he gets home and sees Ancile lazily conjuring flames on their couch, complaining loudly about the boy down the street, he almost bursts with joy.
Dinner that night is loud with jokes and laughter - the liveliest their home has ever been.
He goes to sleep with a smile on his face.
He wakes up on May 2 exceedingly somber. Sure, Fon didn't show up yesterday but there's no guarantee that he wasn't caught up on some business. How does he know for sure that he won't show up today?
With a groan, he gets out of bed, determined not to let this ruin his day. Anguis had business to attend to in Sicily giving him two days off. He hadn't told Ancile yet, wanting to save this as a surprise. He knows that she's been feeling dejected lately though she's done an admirable job of hiding it. He hasn't been able to spend a lot of time with her, something he's genuinely torn up over, but between giving the mafia the run around and studying, he just didn't have any time to spare.
It's a lame excuse, one he can't ever hope to stomach completely. When she's gone somewhere halfway across the world from him, he knows he'll be kept up at night thinking about all the what if's. She's young now, but Shamal hopes that she'll understand one day.
'No,' he reminds himself, 'today is our day together. Stop thinking like that.' Shaking himself loose, he quickly gets ready for the day. He gets the rolls and jams out, brewing a single cup of coffee for himself. Footsteps pad lightly down the hall signaling Ancile's arrival. A smile lights up his face when he sees her clad in the pale purple onesie their neighbor gave her. Her hair is completely mussed from sleep and a fist is rubbing furiously at her eye.
She looks every bit the five year old girl he knows she won't be allowed to be.
"Come on sorellina, you'll need your energy for today." He smiles at her confused pout, turning around to pour his coffee into a mug.
Their breakfast is filled with him trying to keep her from dropping face first onto her plate. She's never been woken up at breakfast by him before so he understands why she's struggling. That doesn't make it any less hilarious, though.
While he's not exactly a morning person it's nice to see someone who's even more of a grouch.
A half an hour later finds them strolling down the street towards the bus stop. Ancile is at his side regaling him with a story she recently read. He doesn't have the heart to tell her he already knows it.
"Where are we going?" She asks, taking a quick sip from the water bottle he hands her.
"Well you said you've never been to a fair, right?" She nods slowly. "I heard Soverato has the best one in all of Italy."
"Really?" She's nearly vibrating with excitement. He nods in response, reaching out to ruffle her hair when she slams into him.
Wrapping her arms tight around his waist she nearly screams, "Thank you thank you thank you, caro."
He quirks an eyebrow at the endearment, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Admittedly, taking her so far away from Squillace is not his best idea. He's willing to risk it, though, just for the sake of her smile.
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Ancile's chattering at lightning speed to the boy sitting across from her. He's a year younger with pretty blonde hair and dark brown eyes. She's more than a little upset that his Italian is better than her's but she's trying her hardest to move past it.
It's the first time she's met a boy that's actually willing to talk to her (she easily excludes Shamal from this list what with him not being a real boy and all). At least the first time she's met one that wasn't trying to kill her.
She's still not sure about Fon.
(She definitely thinks Renato is out to get her.)
He's visiting from northern Italy, a small town by the name of Como. It's his first time in the south and she tries very hard not to preen at the thought that he prefers it here.
Shamal had muttered something under his breath before disappearing a few minutes ago. The boy's chaperone - his dad?- had followed him shortly after. She was a little suspicious about what they were up to but then a stick of cotton candy was shoved in her face and she forgot all reason.
"-I can't go on the ferris wheel though." He's just finished telling some rousing tale and though she has no idea what he was talking about, she does a great job pretending.
She paints a sympathetic smile on her face, nodding her head along with him.
"Let's go on the bumper cars then!" She grabs his hand, tugging him out of his seat. He nearly trips on his shoelaces but manages to catch himself at the last second.
The line is surprisingly short and the two soon find themselves crammed into a shared bumper car that smells far too much like stale soda and powdered sugar. They're on the smaller track for kids so there's not much wiggle room but Ancile makes it work.
She's an absolute demon behind the wheel.
Honestly he's never been as terrified as he is in the moment that Ancile jerks the wheel ferociously, fishtailing them and slamming the end of their car into two others in the process.
(He'll never admit it but he might have peed a little when she started cackling madly.)
Feeling the cotton candy making a return to his mouth, he urges his new friend to pull over, there's a limit to how many sticky things he can tolerate having on his shoes.
A pout worms its way onto her face but she obliges him, going back to the designated wait area.
"Oh, done so soon?" The ride attendant asks in a bored tone.
He opens his mouth to agree but her voice, pitched high in indignation cuts him off. "Of course not! We're just taking a break!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." The scowl on her face is enough to give her wrinkles. The mental image elicits a few chuckles out of him though he flinches back when she turns her ire on him. Hurry up is clearly painted on her features and he scrambles, trying desperately to follow through. Dry heaves rattle his body, causing a few parents to throw concerned glances his way. He rights himself quickly though and nearly lunges for the car in an attempt to get out from under her piercing stare.
"You good." She doesn't even bother inflecting as if it was a question, jerking the car into the path of another, grinning widely at the resulting collision.
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Ancile waves wildly at her "friend", beaming at the look on his face. "See you later caro!" The boy weakly waves back, hand fisted tightly in the pant leg of his guardian.
"Did you have fun?" Shamal asks wryly, casting a furtive look around.
"Oh yeah! Though the boy I was playing with was kind of a baby." She pokes at a loose thread on her shirt.
"Did you get his name?" Her sheepish smile is answer enough, though he just rolls his eyes at her thoughtlessness.
"Anyways, caro, let's go get some ice cream." She clasps her hand in his, tugging him harshly in the wrong direction.
"Say, sorellina, when did you start calling people 'caro'?" He loops his arms through hers, gently correcting their path.
"Well Nonna Cosetta says it all the time and I guess I just picked it up."
"Hmm, really?"
"And you say it sometimes too." She mumbles into his side. A smile blooms across his face regardless of how hard he tries to stop it. He probably looks a bit demented right now but that's nothing in front of the affection that's probably pouring out of him in waves.
The sun starts to set not too long after they finish their ice cream and though it's going to kill his wallet to do this, he rents a small room for them to stay in for the night. Ancile is absolutely ecstatic. Even when she lived in Naples, she had never stayed in a hotel.
She gets so excited about it that she actually manages to completely wear herself out. The moment they step foot in the room, she falls right asleep and is dead to the world until the next morning when Shamal pulls her out of the bed.
They leave Soverato under the cover of dawn, sleepy and content.
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The trip back is almost painfully uneventful. Something that manages to put Shamal on edge. Though he tries not to grow too paranoid it's unbelievable that they would run into the mafia at the Soverato fair of all places.
Even the beach would've been more understandable!
Thankfully, Ancile is blissfully unaware of all of the dangers that she's barely managed to avoid. Instead, she's pressed against his side, drooling onto his favorite shirt. He pushes her head away with his hand, a grimace twisting his face.
How she manages to be such a nuisance even in her sleep is beyond him.
A half hour is how long he spends propping her head up on his hand, away from his shirt and all he has to show for it is the steady stream of drool dripping off it. The disgust is clear on his face as he wipes it off on the back of her shirt. Even the dramatic loss of her head support doesn't rouse her. Grumbling, he pokes her repeatedly in the side, attempting to tickle her awake.
He's rewarded with an arm to the face not a minute later.
"What's happening?" She asks around a yawn, completely unaware of the murderous thoughts running around her brother's head.
"We're almost home." He nearly growls in response. She blinks at him in confusion.
As far as Shamal's concerned, she completely deserves the noogie he gives her.
Their walk home is spent constantly ribbing each other. There are a few physical attacks as well, but that clearly benefits Shamal with his spindly limbs. Nonna Cosetta is outside as usual, airing out her sheets though she does look a bit worried. The smile she sends their way is stiff, completely unlike her normal, cheery self.
He brushes it off, thinking she was probably just having an off day. Or she got into a fight with her husband.
He really should've asked.
Ancile opens their door, completely ready to collapse on the couch when she freezes. Her entire body goes completely stiff, knuckles turning white on the door handle.
Dread pools in his gut as he steps up behind her, setting a hand gently on her shoulder.
"I apologize for my tardiness." Sitting on their couch as if he belongs there is Fon in all his red and white and gently smiling glory.
(They're both so wrapped up in their shock and horror that neither of them cast a second glance at the curiously green vase on the coffee table.)
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I don't think I have anything to translate this time around but if you guys need anything to be, please let me know! Sorry not a lot happens in this chapter but I was dying for some Shamal sibling fluff before they're separated for 10000000000 years.
Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know what you think!
Also I don't want to admit this but I am a lying liar who lies and I had said that I wasn't going to go crazy with canon divergence but well what can I say? A lot of the canon timeline just doesn't make sense. I'll still try not to go too wild with it though.
NamineRae: I'm so happy you love Ancile. I know sometimes she can be an absolute brat but she's my baby so it makes me happy to hear other people love her as well. But that's nothing in comparison to how happy I am that you liked Fon's and Reborn's characterization. It's something I've been really worried about esp with the fact that Reborn is one of the main characters of the show. Thank you so much for the review! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
H: I'm swear I almost cried when I saw your review. 1k words! Unbelievable! Your reviews are so unbelievably motivating thank you so so so much. I, too, wonder if the arco are the reason that everyone's so chill with children being super smart but him and ipin being in the same class even tho they both should be labeled geniuses and they're just chilling with other 5 year old's makes me think it's just a thing. but also! i might be completely wrong, who knows?
haha i'm so happy you liked the fon's apprentice plot. i was a little worried it was a bit predictable but the fact that you were surprised by it really tickled my pickle...i'm never going to say that again. also that restaurant scene is so totally fon i'm screaming. i wonder if i can just rip them off and recreate it here...
you managed to cover quite a few important plot points in ur review i'm cackling. her personality and how it relates to her flames and how they manifest and what they manifest towards becomes SO IMPORTANT later on so i'm really happy you're already on that track of "now wait just a diddly darn minute" hopefully the way i plan for it to progress doesn't disappoint! also lmao! i literally have the scene where the 7 meet ancile written out already! it's one of my favorite interactions i've written out and i'm so excited for you to read it! (though it comes much later)
fon's employer is actually a casual mention to the triads! shamal was being intentionally vague abt it so as not to freak ancile out. he really didn't think it through.
last point i'll respond to otherwise this'll end up longer than the actual chap: the vongola sending fon and ren is definitely a power play, both to show the antonelli (who're getting a bit big for their breeches) and the world that the vongola is super powerful and the giglio nero are allies. along with a couple of other issues but that's honestly super long tho i might make it a side story if i ever decide to write those out?
again thank you so much for your review! it's so motivating! i hope you enjoyed this chapter!