There is some G27 in this chapter because I was too caught up in 6927 myself when writing the previous chapters; I also hope this chapter will clear up a few questions.
Homecoming
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The Conference Room was ablaze with animated, excessive chatter and the Chaplain had to use the nearest object next to him – which happened to be the Prison handbook – and repeatedly thump it over the surface of his table. "May I have everyone's attention, please!" He was, however, thoroughly ignored.
Instead, the hubbub grew louder and he was sure he had never seen the majority of Commanding Officers so lively during meetings; the ones who were sitting nearest him were the ones he recognised -- Giotto-san was conversing amiably with Dino-san who was helping himself to some refreshments provided, while Lanchia-san beside him was busy drinking coffee while his austere eyes pinned firmly at the sight of Genkishi-san's eyebrows, and in response, the Commanding Officer with said eyebrows returned Lanchia's stony stare as he drank his own coffee. Meanwhile, Fon-san was busy taking care of a few fresh wounds on his arm with Shamal beside him busy sipping his own liquor from a flask he retrieved from his white coat, and Colonnello-san was engrossed in polishing his badge with a cloth. The Chaplain mumbled under his breath weakly. Argh, the new staff seemed so injudicious and young compared to the staff ten years ago. They also did not seem intent on quietening down.
Beside him, the Warden shifted in his seat, unsheathed his tonfa and slammed it hard on his table. The loud din was enough to make everyone quieten down immediately.
The Chaplain swallowed down slightly, "Erm, thank you, Hibari-san."
The Warden, however, remained deadly silent whilst averting his eyes from the Chaplain to a round, little yellow bird that had been sitting on the windowsill for the past few minutes since the meeting begun.
The Chaplain cleared his throat and turned to the Commanding Officers who were sitting in a 'U' position directly in front of his desk, which was shared with the Warden (as well as the Governor and Deputy Governor). "As you may be all aware of, we have lost a member of staff. A funeral will be held in honour of his name and services to this Reformatory, and those who wish to attend will be given their permits." The Chaplain explained, going through today's minutes.
There was a silence. All eyes were set on him. He watched them all warily in return.
"Ahem. Today, I wish to discuss Byakuran of the Millefiore, Prisoner 10027L and the number of suicides that followed his arrival to this institution." The Chaplain said, "I wish to remind you all that everything discussed here is strictly confidential and that it is an offense to reiterate any of the issues raised in today's meeting to any prisoner or subordinate."
"Yes, sir." The Commanding Officers responded in unison.
"Very well, the meeting will now commence."
Immediately, someone said, "Are you suggesting Byakuran was the cause of the suicides?" It was Genkishi. "But is there any evidence?"
"I do not doubt a dying man's words, Genkishi-san…" The Chaplain replied, "You are the Commanding Officer of L Block. Didn't you notice anything?"
"Byakuran is suspicious, yes." The man said, his eyes narrowing into slits. "Remains of a broken ringbox were found discarded on the showering unit a few days ago. It was a Mist attribute; I handed it to the Laboratory for analysis and we are expecting results in two working days –" Genkishi continued, "My Officers and I commenced multiple searches in his cell with and without prior notice. There have never been any illegal imports found. All I can suspect is that the prisoners are somehow practising ring activity under our noses, and that we should introduce stricter supervisory procedures."
"I see. What about Scarlet?"
"I was suspicious of his actions at first. He began to lag behind in work and asked the officers to fill in for him. Whenever we questioned him, he was evasive and my acquaintances had believed he may have been smuggling in the items for prisoners." Genkishi said, "However… I personally do not believe he is part of any smuggling business, nor do I believe he may have had any alliances with Byakuran."
"To be honest, I think that Byakuran guy is highly overrated and is the least of our problems at the moment." Shamal slurred out, shaking his flask when he realised it was empty, "I think what's wrong with this place are its terrible, unequal employment opportunities. There should be more women." He grinned at his own statement and chuckled, scratching at his goatee. He too, was also thoroughly ignored (and for good reason).
Fon, who had been applying plasters over his arm, paused in his action, and then promptly rolled his eyes before continuing where he left off, tending to a graze on the back of his elbow.
"Giotto-san," The Chaplain turned to the D Block Commanding Officer, "About the new recruit…"
"He was relieved of questioning earlier on. I brought along with the documents from the session." Giotto protruded out a manila folder, reached over and placed it on the folder box.
"Excellent work."
"I heard the new recruit was recommended by Reborn." Colonnello said absent-mindedly, replacing his badge back over the front of his pocket.
"Yes, that is correct." Giotto replied.
Another voice said, "And it is not because of the Governor's wishes, is it?"
There was a brief silence, and then everyone swerved their heads to the direction of the Warden. He hadn't even shifted in his seat but was now staring fixedly at Giotto. The Warden rarely said anything during meetings. The yellow bird he had been looking at had flown off its perch. The silence persisted, and all the eyes in the room then strayed to Giotto's direction.
"No, it was mine." Giotto said, looking directly at the Warden. "I need someone to take my place soon, and…although Ryohei and Takeshi are very reserved and faithful... I needed Reborn-san for external recommendations. Tsunayoshi has proven so far to be reliable and responsible enough. With proper training, he can perhaps achieve more. Reborn has also checked his background; he's completely clean."
"I saw him this morning," Shamal said, still grinning, "When you gave him the tour of the facility – remember? I saw you guys when you went to my Infirmary." At that point, all Giotto could do was nod, "He's not ready to run, let alone walk, by the way. I'm just saying."
A few of the men stifled in a snort of laughter while Giotto merely smiled wryly back at him. Almost at once, the Chaplain cleared his throat and flexed his palms under the desk. "…Now, now, gentlemen…" He began, "The Governor has not returned yet, we can't discuss these things without him."
"Shouldn't we be more concerned about this new recruit?" Genkishi began, "After all, with his arrival…Rokudo Mukuro almost escaped and Scarlet is dead."
Meanwhile, the Chaplain was inwardly wondering when the entire staff had become superstitious. The meeting continued; they discussed more and more topics, ranging from the lack of female workers due to Shamal's perseverance in raising the matter, to the food that was being served in the cafeteria, and even to the ever-increasing amount of complaints about Window Warriors (Prisoners who yell at night deliberately). The sky was soon growing dark, and the Chaplain let out a yawn and checked the clock on the wall.
"Eleven pm. I think this has been on for quite enough now." He declared, he felt as though today was a good meeting and that something was being done already. "Meeting is adjourned."
The rest of the Commanding Officers silently left their seats and exited the room, making their way back down to the Staff Headquarters, still conversing privately to themselves.
"Wait, Giotto, I need to speak to you in private."
"…Yes, sir." Giotto remained in the room and the last one out shut the door behind him.
The rest poured back out and into the corridor. Dino was just about to step down onto the stairs when he felt an arm on his shoulder grasp impatiently. He almost leapt out of his skin, "You scared me, Hibari." He said as he spun around, to face the Warden.
"I need to talk to you." The Warden said, before dismissing his Deputy, Kusakabe, who then departed immediately down the stairs the same direction the other Commanding Officers went. Hibari and Dino returned back to the corridor.
"What's on your mind, Hibari?" Dino asked. This was certainly rare; Hibari hadn't spoken to him privately for a long time. He was on the verge of the belief that the man did not need him as his mentor anymore.
"…I didn't bring this up in the meeting. I got a phonecall. I assumed it was Byakuran's messenger." The Warden replied curtly, remembering the phonecall he received previously.
"What? W-Why didn't you – " Dino spluttered, but then suddenly stopped and calmly added, "Alright… I think you should explain this to the Chaplain."
"No, not the Chaplain." Hibari replied curtly, "…He does not need to know that the interrogation was unsuccessful."
"…Interrogation? What interrogation? Hibari, you didn't…" Dino then cried out in alarm. Seeing Hibari's expressionless face, he shook his head and sighed, "You can't keep doing this, Hibari." He reprimanded him gently, "You can't do this and expect to get away with it. Someone will find out what you're doing. We need evidence, but we can't retrieve it your way. Byakuran is smart and will not yield to the usual methods. We have to outmanoeuvre him." Dino added, crossing his arms and placing a hand under his chin. "You're not thinking – "
"The herbivore."
"Herbi – Oh, you mean Tsuna? What about Tsuna?"
When Hibari's lip curled into a smirk, Dino grimaced.
"- You can't be serious... Don't even think about it, Hibari…He's next in line to be Commanding Officer of D Block. Giotto will not approve." Dino replied disapprovinly, "… Is…Is that why you are so interested in the new recruit?"
"Hm." The Warden looked away from the Officer, "…I just wanted to see what Giotto's successor has to offer."
"I wouldn't go there, if I were you, Hibari. You know how over-protective Giotto can be sometimes." Then, Dino laughed, "You know, I have never doubted Reborn's eye for uncanny ability. And neither should you."
"We'll see..." Hibari murmured under his breath, "We'll see."
……..
Back inside the Conference Room, Giotto took his seat back at his table and waited patiently.
"Giotto-san, I really do appreciate your services to this institution." The Chaplain said, protruding his pipe from his inner pocket and lighting it. He took one deep drag and whiffed out some thick smoke, "Even after your father passed away, you have been very loyal to the Governor. I can tell why he chose you to be his successor after he retires."
All Giotto could do was muster a coy, but affable smile towards his direction.
The Chaplain sighed and then took off his monocle, breathed at the glass and rubbed it with his sleeve before propping it back over his eye and smiling. "…Timoteo-sama told me to give this back to you." He settled down the pipe, then rummaged around the pockets of his robe. "Hmm, I'm sure I put it here somewhere… Ah, here it is… Er-hem. Since you have a new Correctional Officer under your wing, I think it's time I returned this back to you."
In response, he raised from his seat when the Chaplain held out a small velvet box, and prompted him to take it.
"This is…"
"Your ringbox."
The Commanding Officer stared wordlessly at the box in his hands.
The Chaplain smiled, "Unfortunately, he didn't give me any information on when to give you back your I-Gloves." And he chuckled.
Giotto's composed smile widened to a considerable extent. "Thank you, Chaplain. But what about the ringbox policy?"
"Ahh, well, the ringbox policy states that we are not allowed to use ringboxes against the prisoners, but doesn't mention anything about keeping a ringbox for sole training purposes. I do hope you start training again. I know the Warden has. You mustn't lose to him now. He's a good man, if not, a bit far too violent in my book - Besides, you never know what might come up these days." The old man sighed and stretched back in his seat.
"…This isn't because of Byakuran, is it?"
The Chaplain tilted his head down, peering at Giotto out of his monocle, and then shrugged flimsily and chuckled again. "…Maybe. Maybe not. All I know is…that man wants something from this place. We have to be prepared to defend ourselves when the time comes."
……….
Tsuna could not sleep that night.
Seeing a man fall to his death in front of him certainly did not ease his insomnia, nor did the echoing screams of the tortured prisoner back in the basement. Tsuna remembered how the rest of the day went – he spent hours in questioning, regarding the suicide. What did you see? Where were you? What were you doing? Did you see anyone? What did he say before he died? They'd asked that question over and over again until Tsuna practically fell asleep over the interviewing table. Then he was returned back to his cell - sorry, room – which he shared with Yamamoto and Ryohei, without any food or drink; he didn't feel hungry or thirsty at all anyway, his primitive hunger needs usurped by something else - anxiety and concern. He knew, no matter how much he wanted, he just couldn't go home.
Earlier on, there had been a strange tension between him and Yamamoto too, and now the man was in charge of tonight's graveyard shift; and tomorrow, it would be Ryohei. Speaking of Ryohei, the energetic man had been quiet for hours to mourn the loss of a fellow Officer for hours, before finally settling down into his bed to snore frenziedly into the darkness, as Tsuna lay awake, haunted by doubts and twinges of discomfort.
"…Fish….cakes…" mumbled Ryohei in between well-timed snorts and snores. He tossed to his left in the bed, his hand gripping his pillow tightly. The volume of his snoring subsequently decreased.
Tsuna looked away from Ryohei's bed, which was to his right, and towards the direction of the window. Previously, Tsuna had been sorting out the belongings in his bag but could not find the heart to pick up is cell phone and call his mother, who had left at least ten messages on his voicemail inbox. He didn't want his mother to worry about him, or what really went on in this prison. His mother had been so proud when that letter came through; informing him that he had been successful and gotten the job.
Tsuna sighed. But that's because Reborn helped me out. I didn't do anything.
"…Yeah, I know…" Ryohei muttered out blearily in his sleep again.
Tsuna closed his eyes, trying to blot out Ryohei's loud sleep-talking and snoring. This prison was strange, yes, and something was definitely wrong, yes, that too. He went 'nggh' and tossed and turned around in his bed, hiding his face under the covers and tucking himself into a foetal position. Remembering Ryohei's words from earlier on, he wrenched his eyes open, and finally sat up in bed, sweating.
I'm not a hero. I can't live here. I can't work here. I just can't do anything right!
"…Geez…Stop complaining…You look fine..." He heard Ryohei growl out; he could even hear Ryohei's eyebrows knitting together into a frown.
Tsuna sat up in bed. God, what on earth did Ryohei dream about? It seemed to correspond to Tsuna's thoughts (which actually scared him to some extent). He clambered out of bed and trotted to the window, pulled back the curtains. It was such a nice view, he thought bitterly to himself - He could see the sky, and that was about it. Over the horizon, the thirty-something foot high walls blockaded what might've been a beautiful landscape scenery consisting of trees and shrubs and bushes, but all he could see was grim barbed wire and those miserable signs, he could also see weird spotlights zipping along around the ground, all from the security tower at the West Division. Then he could hear the sound of dogs barking the distance, maybe guard dogs – and then he saw something else. Something… strange.
There was more than one.
They were identical to humans in term of shape, but also not. Standing at least seven foot in height, the strange human-shaped figures lumbered around clumsily yet silently, stopping in their march to slowly twist their heads left and right, before a whiff of steam ejected from their 'pipe mouths'. Then they commenced their patrol once again. Tsuna yelped out and scrambled away from the window. What on earth were they??! He ran out of his room and into the dimly-lit corridor, rushing blindly down the path when –
He bumped into someone. "S-Sorry!" He yelled out, as he bounded backwards until a strong hand on his arm pulled him back to stand on his feet.
When he looked back up, stammering out his thanks, he realised it was none other than Giotto, who had apparently been returning back to his room. They stared blankly at each other, and then, Tsuna glimpsed at his own arm, with Giotto's hand over it. The Commanding Officer let go, and Tsuna's arm stopped tingling due to contact. Giotto cleared his throat, and said, "Are you alright, Tsuna?"
It seemed everyone had been asking him that so many times today. Tsuna didn't even know how to answer to that anymore. He looked down at the ground, "……….N-No. Nothing's alright. This whole day has been…"
"Overwhelming? Too much for you to handle?"
He whipped his head back up in surprise. "How did you…?"
"…It's your first day, Tsuna. It's okay if you're feeling a little homesick."
"Oh…Yeah, I guess I am." Tsuna muttered out weakly, rubbing at the back of his bare, scrawny elbow. He just remembered that his pyjamas consisted of a white shirt with a Tuna-fish embroidered on it (courtesy of his mother's sewing skills) and grungy, dark blue pants which he hadn't outgrown since he became eighteen years of age, and here was Giotto, in a polished, black nightrobe with an emblem of a lion stitched on the front - and Tsuna was curious to see everyone's pyjamas now. "Well, I-I better go back…You just had that big important meeting and you're…going to sleep now, right? Sorry to bother you…"
"It's alright, I was just going to get something to drink." Giotto said, he held up his (apparently empty) coffee mug.
"H-How was the meeting?"
For a moment, Giotto hesitated to reply, then he said, "Good."
"Ohhh, it was… good. Okay. Good to, er…hear."
"Tsuna, is something…troubling you?"
He wanted to scream 'YES!', but alas, his dignity and character forbade him to (as well as a lot of other things Tsuna didn't have the courage to do – like ask Kyoko out on a date). There were lots of things Tsuna still did not understand, like what he saw regarding Yamamoto and that inmate, the basement encounter, why that man ended his life earlier on, and he even wanted to know more about Mukuro Rokudo, as much as he did not want to admit - but he knew he couldn't burden Giotto, especially not at this ungodly hour of….1am. Tsuna cringed as soon as he looked away from the clock on the wall. And when did his shift start? 7am? …Knowing Tsuna, he believed he'd have to drag himself out of bed again. "I saw…I saw these weird things outside my window, they were all down at the wall – "
"Ah," Giotto chuckled good-humouredly, "The Mosca. They are robots that patrol the perimeter of the Reformatory at night."
"'Mosca'? Oh, right…" Tsuna said, musing to himself for a moment, he decided he'd ask about the 'Mosca' later. "Giotto-san, I also have something else to tell you…if-if you don't mind."
"Sure. We can go into the staff kitchen to talk instead of standing around here." The man suggested as he looked around the dark corridor, "You can also get yourself a hot drink. This way, please."
Giotto directed Tsuna towards the kitchen, which was just through another corridor past the Commanding Officer's headquarters. The place was large, and empty - with the interior of a common kitchen – a fridge stood squat in the corner, beside it, was the sink and a trash compactor. A kettle was sitting on one of the kitchen counters, then a hot drink machine with beverage choices ranging from hot chocolate, latte to hot milk. A few rounded tables and chairs littered the rest of the space, and Giotto pulled out a chair at one of the corner tables, and Tsuna did the same to the chair opposite him. "So, what would you like to discuss?"
He thought twice about recounting the equipment room encounter. He didn't even have to think twice about what he saw regarding Yamamoto. If he mentioned anything, he'd probably get Yamamoto in trouble. But, the guy he was with was an inmate! Should he be worried? Suddenly, Tsuna found himself reluctantly dry of thoughts, and now he didn't even know the real reason why he wanted to talk to Giotto in the start. Why did he run out of his room like that, too? And why was the first place he rushed into, was the Commanding Officer's headquarters? He had been running towards the direction of Giotto's room, too! Tsuna flushed and began to sweat in his seat.
All he knew was…He just wanted to see him.
Tsuna looked back up dejectedly. Well, he's here. And I'm looking at him. Now I don't know what to say. He's going to think I'm an absolute idiot. "...A-About the man… who killed himself…"
"Scarlet?"
Tsuna nodded, "He was…an Officer from L Block, right? What he said about Byakuran – "
"The prisoners and officers here have all sorts of complicated relationships and alliances. Prisoners won't harass Officers, because they are aware of the consequences. We've had plenty of cases of prisoners getting harassed by other prisoners. They form gangs and even make their own contraband weapons. We have to keep reminding them that the authorities are in charge the Reformatory, not them. But you really have to watch yourself."
In response, Tsuna nodded vigorously in accord to Giotto's word. "Of course."
"Did you notice anything?" Giotto then suddenly asked. "…When you were with Takeshi?"
"...H-Huh…??" Tsuna squeaked out, his eyes widened to the size of plates. Maybe Giotto knew something. No, he couldn't tell him just yet, right? He didn't want Yamamoto to become one of his enemies. He should talk to him – yes, that's right – he should talk to Yamamoto about what he saw earlier on. Maybe they could work something out. Giotto was still waiting for a response; Tsuna shook his head abruptly. "N-No, I didn't notice anything. But I-I wanted to speak to you about…Well…Everyone's been…calling me a 'hero'. But I'm not." He said, "All I did was let Mukuro take me hostage."
Giotto's face fell, and Tsuna wondered if it had been a good idea to bring up Mukuro in front of him in the first place. "…Tsuna, you managed to keep a situation like that under control without getting anyone hurt in process. And it was also your first day. You had no prior training or experience whatsoever. Don't you think that's very impressive? Even for yourself, since you call yourself 'No-Good'?"
"I…I didn't think about it that way."
"Tsunayoshi, how could you call yourself 'No-Good'?" Giotto uttered and Tsuna blushed slightly. "There's no such thing as being 'no good'. Perhaps you just haven't discovered where your true talents lie yet."
"Probably." He replied, "If I died back then…I...I thought… No-one would care."
"But you saved Nagi; I'm sure she cares for you. And Reborn cares you. Dino cares for you. Takeshi and Ryohei care about you. I care about you." Giotto let out another chuckle, "And I'm not saying that to make you feel better. I'm saying that because it is a fact. All the staff members here look out for each other."
At that point, Tsuna looked up, blinking meekly. Yeah, except from that crazy tonfa man, he thought. But he couldn't help but blush at Giotto's words. A smile then crept its way slowly across his face, which then grew into a wide grin.
Giotto noticed and smiled back at him in return, "I'm going to get some water. Do you want a drink?"
"Ah…um…hot chocolate, please…Oh, and, er, thank you…" Tsuna piped up at the Commanding Officer, still flushing embarrassedly to himself. He could tell why he felt so at ease whenever he was with Giotto; the man had a way with words and Tsuna liked his kind and gentle demeanour. It was surprisingly nice, for someone who was like that in a place like this. And he had been worrying that all prison officials were spiteful, malicious beings.
Giotto got up from his seat, but then paused. He sat back down.
"What's wrong?" Tsuna asked anxiously.
He threw a glance to the side, then back. "…I want you to promise me now, Tsuna."
"Yes?"
"You have to promise me that you won't investigate Scarlet's death, alright?"
He nodded. "…O-Okay. I promise."
Giotto opened his mouth to speak again, but then decided against it and got off his seat once more. Tsuna watched him worriedly. Giotto walked up to the hot beverage machine and plucked off a polystyrene cup from its stand for Tsuna. He pressed on the button and waited for the cup to fill up, before remembering he had forgotten to ask if Tsuna had wanted extra sugar or milk. He left the cup and his own mug sitting on the countertop, and returned back to their seats, where Tsuna was now sprawled over the surface of the table.
"Tsuna?!" He yelled out in alarm, rushing back to the boy's side and kneeling down, only to realise that Tsuna had merely fallen asleep with his head lying over the tabletop with his arms spread out, now drooling slightly from the corner of his mouth. Giotto blinked, then slowly stood back up, watching the sleeping boy. Then, he let out a low chuckle, brushed a hand through his hair.
He looked around for a brief moment, then reached over, and picked Tsuna up. He was not-so-surprisingly light in his arms, and Giotto hoisted the boy over his back, letting his knees slide over his arms and Tsuna's arms to wrap around his neck. The boy almost strangled him, and he had to loosen the grip; Tsuna seemed to comply regardless when he got back up, adjusting to the extra dead weight on his back, and smiled, when Tsuna had now automatically buried his face into the crook of Giotto's neck.
"Alright, Tsuna, hold on to me tight. I'll take you back to your room…"
"MmMMmmm, oh yeah, yeah… sure…" Tsuna mumbled out groggily under his breath, grinning sleazily, still salivating from the side of his mouth. But his arms tightened around Giotto's neck.
Giotto took one step forward slowly, and then another, in case Tsuna fell off. The boy stayed put, still with his arms slung around his neck, attached to the older man instinctively. They made their way out to the corridor slowly, passing Dino on the way out – the man had just come out from the shower, as he dried his wet blonde hair wet that were plastered to the sides of his head with his turtle towel (1). He abruptly stopped in his tracks, and stared at Giotto, with Tsuna perched on his back. "Giotto, what are you - ?"
"He's asleep."
"Oh. Newbie jetlag. That's cute." Dino mused as he lopped the towel over his head, while leaning against the wall, giving way to Giotto and his extra passenger. "He'll adapt."
"Where's his room again?" Giotto asked, a little sheepishly with a helpless smile playing on his lips.
Dino grinned, and pointed down to the Officer's quarters. "Down there, second door to the left."
"Thanks."
"No problem. See you in the morning."
Giotto and Dino separated ways, and once he arrived outside Tsuna's room, which he shared with Ryohei and Takeshi; he inched an arm out and jerked on the doorknob. He stepped in; hearing the loud snores of one of his subordinates fill up the entire room. So noisy… Giotto wondered how Yamamoto put up with it, then ultimately realised that Yamamoto was doing the graveyard shift at the moment so he generally avoided sleeping in a room with Ryohei altogether. Wise move, perhaps, as he glanced over his shoulder at Tsuna.
He scanned the room - then spotted one messy bed, with the covers kicked off and the pillow askew, and realised this was probably Tsuna's bed. He walked over, and then let Tsuna slide off him – which proved a handful as he had to peel Tsuna's tentacle arms off from around his neck. Once the boy had plopped down over his bed, he had impulsively wiggled over to his pillow and clutched it to his chest, smacking his lips and rubbing his cheek against the soft material.
Giotto watched Tsuna then organise himself into a sleeping position, and even pull the covers over him, then briefly wondered if the younger man had even been asleep the entire time he carried him to his room.
Amidst Ryohei's loud snoring and droning, Tsuna muttered out blearily, "Goodnight, Giotto…"
At first, he didn't know whether to reply or not and could only gaze indifferently at Tsuna as he writhed around until he eventually buried himself to a comfortable position on the bed. But then - "Goodnight, Tsuna." He muttered softly, returning to the doorway and closing the door behind him. And suddenly, Giotto was hit with a pang of guilt.
I'm sorry there was no 100 x 27 in this chapter either :( I have the feeling that I have triggered more questions than provide answers o_O Lol Byakuran is like Hannibal Lecter, ne? Poor Chaplain became Clarice Starling for the moment there xD Indeed, Irie will have a role in this story; if you are curious, Timoteo is the Governor, and the Chaplain was actually meant to be Simora (lol). I don't want to give everything right away though; it's only Chapter 7.
(1) This part was a bit pointless, but, Dino has a turtle towel in this story. A tribute to Enzio. It is basically a light green towel with a turtle stitched on it.
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