Chapter Three: My Brother, the Innocent
"What are they doing?"'
"...are they sleeping?"
"They're not moving..."
"Didn't Knuckle say that a man and a woman can't sleep together in the same bed unless they're married?"
"He did! Do you think they're married?"
"They're too young! They look the same age as us!"
"Well, look over there, Takeshi! They have a baby!"
"Dear God!""Those were my words exactly! Extreme how we thought the same again!"
"Hush, Ryohei! The girl is waking up!"
Miakis lazily opened one eye. "Who's there...? Giotto?" She mumbled, sitting up. Tsuna was gurgling happily in the cradle. Miakis smiled and kicked Hayato in the shin. "God, woman, what do you want?" He barked lazily. "Get my backpack." Miakis replied. Hayato rolled over and grabbed Miakis's knapsack. "There. Why are you getting up so early?" Hayato asked. "I think there are some watchers at the door." Miakis said. "And you know how I am...once I wake up, I can't go back to sleep." Hayato nodded and sat up.
Footsteps dashed away from the guest room as Hayato walked over to greet Tsuna. "Two sets." He said. "Two people." Miakis pulled her brown hair into a ponytail. "Creepers. Probably trying to get a look at Tsuna." She said, standing and changing out of her nightclothes and into her "work casual" – a black sleeveless sweater, black vinyl pants, and black leather boots with laces. She pulled on black fingerless gloves and picked up Tsuna. "Tsuna, are you hungry?" She cooed as Hayato got ready in his "work casual" – a red sleeveless shirt, a black leather jacket, black leather pants, and black-and-red boots that matched Miakis's.
Miakis had taken a bottle out of her knapsack and began to feed Tsuna with it. "There you go, sweetie..." She whispered softly. "There you go..." Hayato couldn't help but smile at his lover's motherly instincts. "What are you smiling at?" She asked, looking up at Hayato. "Nothing. Just one of the strongest, smartest, and most beautiful women I know bending over backwards for a boy who can't even speak yet." He said. Miakis blushed deeply. "When did you get so romantic?" Hayato's eyebrow furrowed. "I'm not romantic! You make it sound like I'm something out of those weird novels you read!" Miakis laughed. "Because sometimes you are~" She teased.
Two shadows appeared at the door and the two quarreling lovers went into battle instinct. Miakis grabbed her gun and Hayato gripped his dynamite. "Who's there? Are you here for Tsuna?" Miakis exclaimed. The two shadows came into view. They were two boys, about Gokudera and Miakis's age (17). "Don't worry; we're not going to hurt you." The black-haired boy said.
The black haired boy was a bit taller than Hayato. His eyes were a soft blue and he had a happy grin on his face. He was dressed in a black t-shirt and black jeans with ankle-cut leather boots. He carried a silver tray full of breakfast foods: croissants, biscuits, and what looked like coffee.
To his left was a silver-haired boy with grey eyes and tape on his nose. He had a scar on his forehead and looked very energetic. This boy was dressed in a yellow sleeveless shirt, a black jacket, and black pants that almost cut off at his knees. You could see some bandaging on his legs under his black boots.
"What're your names? The black-haired boy asked. "Master Giotto's been telling us a lot about you." Miakis and Hayato looked at one-another. "I'm Miakis, Miakis Sawada. A friend of Lord Giotto's is a friend of ours, I guess. This is my lover, Hayato Gokudera." She introduced. "And this little bundle of joy is my little brother, Tsunayoshi. Tsuna for short." She said. The silver-haired boy and the black-haired boy looked at one-another. "So, that isn't your child?" The black-haired boy asked. Miakis shook her head. "My brother. Hayato and I are too young to have a baby! We're only seventeen!" She laughed.
As Miakis laughed, you could tell that the two newcomers had relaxed a little. "We've told you ours, so what're your names?" Hayato growled. "I'm Takeshi, Takeshi Yamamoto. I live with my uncle, Asari." The black-haired boy explained. "I was sent here by Master G and Uncle Asari to bring you these. Ryohei over here got excited and came along." The silver-haired boy nodded. "Yup! It looked extreme, so I came along! My name is Ryohei Sasagawa! And don't worry; I have a little sister, too! Her name is Kyoko! Right now, she's with Uncle Knuckle, though, so she's safe!" Miakis looked down at Tsuna. "You hear that, Tsuna? You aren't alone! There are more little kids here~" She chirped. Ryohei nodded. "Yeah! Uncle Knuckle runs the nursery here, so your brother can play with Lambo and Kyoko all he wants to! Extreme, right?"
Ryohei's yelling made Tsuna a little scared, and he began to cry a little. "Nice job, Ryohei, now you made the little one cry!" Takeshi scolded. "I didn't mean to! Honest!" Ryohei defended. Miakis chuckled. "It's okay. Whenever voices are raised, Tsuna thinks there's arguing. He's such a little pacifist." She explained. "If he doesn't like fighting, you should keep him away from Kyoya and Master Alaude." Takeshi warned. "Note taken. Thank you, Takeshi." Miakis said. Hayato frowned. "So, why are you here? You've done what the redhead asked you to." Takeshi blushed a little and looked down. "Well...um...you see...I wanted to know if you would allow me to see the baby." Miakis smiled. "Sure, Takeshi."
Miakis picked Tsuna up and shifted him in her arms so he faced Takeshi. "Hello, little one~ You can call me Uncle Takeshi!" Tsuna chuckled a little. "Looks like he likes you, "Uncle Takeshi"," Miakis laughed. Takeshi smiled. "He's going to be very powerful; I can tell." Miakis smiled. "I already know."
After a bit of talking, Takeshi had dragged Ryohei out of the room. Miakis gave Tsuna a teddy bear to cuddle with as she set him in the cradle. "Well, weren't they nice." She noted, sitting on the bed and patting her lover's leg. "I don't like them." Hayato growled.
"Ah, Hayato, your face is red. Are you jealous?" "Wha-no. I don't get jealous." "Liar! Are you jealous of Takeshi?" "..." "...Hayato?" "You two got along too well." "Hayato, I'm not going to leave you, if that's what you think!" "...I'm not too sure." "Need a reminder?"
Hayato looked down at Miakis, who was giving him a sultry grin. "I can always remind you~" She smiled, pouncing on him. "M-Miakis!" Hayato exclaimed, cautious. "The d-door is open!" Miakis frowned. "Ah, take a chill. I'm not going to take you now; are you stupid?" Hayato flattened his lips into a straight line. Miakis leaned down and whispered in his ear. "There was the time in Papa's barn... that was our first time, ne? And then in your bedroom when your family was asleep." She teased, making her lover blush. "...and just before the attack, when I thought you had to go to war..." With a flick of her tongue across his ear, he was indeed turned on. "So, with all of those, do you really think I'm going to leave you? And trust me, Hayato, we're young...there's more to come." Hayato pushed her off of him and into the floor. "Ah, Hayato!" She exclaimed. "That hurt! Kiss it and make it better?" Hayato rolled his eyes and helped Miakis up, walking out of the room.
"What's gotten into you?" Hayato asked as Miakis desperately tried to take his hand. "I'm your girlfriend, Hayato! I'd like you to show some emotion to me, if that's okay!" She pouted. Hayato turned to face her and arched an eyebrow. "Some emotion, eh?" He looked down at her and dipped her, as if they were dancing. Miakis giggled like a little girl as he kissed her.
"No public displays of affection in public places like this, plant-eaters."
Hayato, shocked, dropped Miakis and she fell to the ground with a thud. There, standing in the hallway a mere two feet from them, was a raven-haired boy with a black jacket on. "And who are you?" Hayato asked, crossing his arms. "Kyoya. Kyoya Hibari. I'm the lead of discipline in Vongola Manor, and it's inappropriate for you two to show romantic contact in this public place. There are children here." Miakis stood up and arched an eyebrow. "You said your name was Kyoya? We were told to stay away from you." Kyoya chuckled. "Don't break the rules and I won't see you, gladly." Miakis put her hands on her hips. "Well, aren't you rude?" She hissed. "I'm not rude, just mature." And with that, Kyoya exited the hallway with a flourish of his jacket.
"So many weird people and it's not even nine in the morning yet!" Hayato growled. "Weird? More like freaky..." Miakis agreed.
The two of them walked around, looking for Giotto or G or maybe Valora. "I wonder where they are..." Miakis said, opening the door. "No! Miss, don't!" A voice exclaimed as two little kids ran under their feet. "Lambo! Give that back to I-Pin!" "GYAHAHAHA! NEVER!"
A black-haired man with a resemblance to Ryohei sighed and approached the couple. "Sorry about that." He said, picking a child up in each arm. Miakis grinned. "It's quite all right. And you are?" The black haired man chuckled loudly. "I'm Knuckle, the priest who runs the nursery, along with Lampo. These little heathens are I-Pin," He said, gesturing to the little girl with the braided ponytail, "and Lambo, Lampo's little brother." Lambo struggled in the pastor's grip. "You two are the people that Master Giotto found in the barn? With the little boy?" Hayato nodded. "That's us." Miakis replied. "I'm Miakis, Miakis Sawada, and this is my lover, Hayato Gokudera." Knuckle blinked two or three times before speaking. "You two are married?" Miakis and Hayato looked at each other. "Noooo..." Knuckle paled. "I-I should be going... LAMPO! PLEASE COME OUT HERE!"
There was a groan and a green-haired boy approached the door. "Father Knuckle, the awesome me is too awesome to take care of the little girl anymore." He whined. "Just take Lambo and I-Pin. I'll take my niece." The green-haired boy, Lampo, did the exchange quickly and the two ducked back into the nursery.
"More weirdoes..." Hayato noted, finally giving up and holding Miakis's hand.
"ALAUDE, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" "V-Valora! Please, can we keep everyone alive today?" "Giotto, you wouldn't BELIEVE what the man did!" There was a sigh. "What did he do, Valora?" "He raided my closet because my "clothing was inappropriate for public wear" and I was "breaking dress code"." "B-But, Valora, that's just Alaude!" "LOOK AT ME, VONGOLA! LOOK AT ME!" "You look cute!" "Cute? I'm not supposed to be cute! I'm supposed to be sexy, bold, daring, threatening! I'm the Guardiana Primo, for God's sake!" "Well, what did G think?" "He hasn't seen me yet. I've been avoiding him. He'll laugh!"
The silver-haired woman stormed off, wearing a knee-length gray pleated skirt, a white long-sleeved, frilly shirt, and one-inch heeled shoes. Her hair was up in a high ponytail. The blonde-haired master of the mansion chased after her in a desperate attempt to calm her down. "V-Valora, please calm down! You can't go kill him like that!" He pleaded with her.
"I'm trying to work! What is all of this noise?" Valora and Giotto froze in their tracks. The seventeen-year-old couple watched with anticipation as the red-headed right-hand man walked out of his study. He froze and stared at Valora, blushing the same color as his hair. "See, V? He likes it!" Giotto said, elbowing his best friend in the side. Valora chirped with happiness and skipped to her boyfriend. "Do you really like it, G? Really?" She queried. G grit his teeth and looked away. "He likes it!" Valora chirped, hugging her boyfriend.
"Can we say bi-polar disorder?" Miakis mumbled, walking away with Hayato. "More weirdoes..."
"At least Tsuna's gotten a good day of rest." Miakis said at the end of the day, walking back into their bedroom. "Unlike us..." Hayato mumbled. "It's okay, though. Remember what you said, Hayato?" Miakis smiled.
*Two months previous*
"Hayato, I can't run anymore!" Miakis complained, clutching her little brother to her chest. "Okay, okay. Look, there's a cottage... I don't think anyone's home. Let's go check it out." Miakis nodded and followed Hayato obediently.
"There's a note on the door." Miakis said, plucking it from the entrance. "I hope you got as much use out of it as we did. We've been waiting for you. –R. Who's R?" She asked. Hayato shrugged and opened the door. "Unlocked?"
The two walked in. The ice box was completely filled with ice, the beds were made, and two un-burnt candles lay on the table next to a box of matches. "Someone was being expected here." Hayato said. "We'll need to be on the lookout for the owners, but now we can rest for the night. I'll watch Tsuna; you sleep."
Without much argument, Miakis crawled into the twin-sized bed and quickly fell asleep due to exhaustion. Hayato sat and watched Tsuna squirm on the blanket-pillow setup that Miakis had thrown together for him. "I will always protect you, Tsuna. If this heart goes out, I will always be by your side. If these hands lose their strength, I'll still draw. If these eyes wear out due to the horrors of the world, I'll still guard you like your sister did... I love you just as much as she does." Tsuna gurgled happily and Hayato smiled, sticking his finger for Tsuna to grasp his little hands around.
And up on the bed, the raven-haired girl smiled.