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Fair Maiden of the Cavallone
The warm sun danced across the now tanned skin of Yamamoto. His black hair was wet with the ocean's water. The white sand was warm but comfortable under his body. Yes, he thought as he felt a shadow cast down at his face, everything was almost so peaceful that it was criminal. Violet seemed to be back at her normal self, pulling him up from the beach and running with him towards the aqua colored waves.
"Tsuna-kun!" Kyoko giggled, throwing the inflatable beach ball up in the air and hitting it with her palms, sending it over to Tsuna. Lambo and I-pin were chasing each other around the white sandy beach, every now and then disrupting the game of volleyball. But, luckily, Tsuna was able to hit it back over the net, bumping it over to Ryohei.
"Nice one, Tsuna-san!" Haru cried, jumping up and down. Tsuna had to admit that Haru looked cute in her orange two-piece swimsuit. Her hair was pulled away from her slightly sweaty face with a huge white bow. Yes, indeed, Tsuna thought that she looked cute.
"Hoi! Kyoko, did you see that?" Ryohei yelled as he hit it over, right to Tsuna - who was still busying admiring Haru's outfit to notice the ball - and landed in the pure sand.
"Nice one, brother!" she squealed, jumping up and high-fiving her brother in delight.
Over across the beach, a bundle of yards away, Gokudera laid, baking in the sun. His Italian glow took over, pushing the pale Japanese-winter skin away. He felt truly happy as he watched the rest of the gang run around like kids. There was Chrome and her boys on a jet-ski, Chikusa driving while Ken and Chrome sat on a black inner tube, bouncing up and down over the waves. The younger kids, tiring themselves out and collapsing every so often to regain consciousness.
Tsuna, the girls and Ryohei were playing volleyball over on the other side of the beach, laughing and yelling, bringing sound to the entire lot. Dino, his sister, and Reborn where laying under a massive umbrella, talking and sipping - probably - alcoholic drinks. Hibari and Kaori were sitting under a separate umbrella, both with cracked open books, still, both mouths were moving. Yamamoto and Violet were swimming around in the ocean, splashing each other and dunking each other under the surface. It looked fun, he idly noted, but not bothering to actually get up and join them.
The world was slowly turning around Gokudera Hayato but he really didn't care. Everything seemed at ease. Yes, the world was at a perfect stand-still as the sun shown down at him.
...
"What are we going to do, Reborn?" Dino darted his eyes frantically back and forth from Bianchi to Reborn. "Look at her! She's living it up with everyone except Tsuna!"
"Calm down," Reborn snapped, rolling his black eyes, "Violet and Tsuna are going to get married, one way or another."
"How?" Dino cried, throwing his hands up in the air. "Violet won't accept anyone! She is so stubborn!"
"Like you should be taking, Bucking Bronco," Bianchi spoke up, her sharp eyes landed sternly on Dino, "If I recall, which I do, you were being forced to marry a certain girl, me, but you ran away. Reborn, dear here, had to come and drag your sorry ass home."
"We - no, that's not - I don't remember!" Dino stuttered, turning red. "That was a totally different time, we were twelve not eighteen!"
"Still, kids don't get married at eighteen." Bianchi kept her head, leveling her glare towards Dino. "Violetta has never been one to be held down, she's like me."
"Do not compare my sister to you!" Dino raged, his eyebrows shooting towards the sky.
"Oh come one, Dino, whether or not you're willing to admit it or not, Violetta is just like me!" Bianchi grinned, looking out towards the sea, towards Violet and Yamamoto fighting in the water, "She is beautiful, for one, and she has never liked being tied down and will rebel whenever given the chance."
"You are tied down though," Dino said bitterly, still not willing to admit his darling little sister had anything in common with Gokudera Bianchi.
"Yes, to the one I've finally fell in love with! Love conquers all!" Bianchi waved her hand flamboyantly, "She has fallen in love!"
"With who?" Dino jumped up, his face - and ears - red with anger.
"My brother of course!"
"No, not him!"
"Yes, of course it's him! Did you see them last night?"
"They didn't even dance together!"
"They were staring at each other all night!" Bianchi paused from the heated yelling match, "They probably even did something afterwards…"
"Shut up!" Dino cried childishly, storming off to no direction at all.
...
With sand pouring out of his ears, Tsuna made his way up the staircase to change. His red nose hurt every time he exhaled. Damn the pale skin, he thought angrily as he carefully peeled off his beach clothing and traded them in for a fresh outfit.
Three knocks was all it took for Tsuna to get to the door. Opening it up, Tsuna came face to face with Gokudera Hayato, his right-hand man. His own hair was wet and scented a soft smell of cigarette smoke. Tsuna never liked the smell but Gokudera always had a way of masking it. He always liked that about him too.
"Can I come in, Juudaime?" he asked eagerly.
"Of course, Gokudera-kun." he let him in, moving aside and following Gokudera into the core of the room. Being in the others' room, he noticed that his was the largest compared to the rest. He felt slightly embarrassed letting Gokudera into the room.
"I actually wanted to ask you something," Gokudera nervously looked around the room.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Well, in town tonight the wine festival starts -"
"The wine festival?"
"Yeah, actually I used to go all the time when I was younger. I thought that you'd like to go," he shrugged, "it's different from the Japanese festivals. I'd bet you'd like it."
"Sure, why not." Tsuna genuinely thought it was a good idea. "Is Yamamoto coming too?"
"I-If you'd want him to," Gokudera said, a tone of bitterness in his voice.
And so, it was planned, tonight at eight sharp, the three would take off to the small town just a few miles away from the residence.
Gokudera, clad in a pair of black trouser and white shirt, lead the pack once they got there. The smell of fresh basil and tomatoes met their noses once they exited the car. The setting summer sun felt cool and good against there sun-kissed skin. Tsuna enjoyed the music and smells as they browsed through various things at the festival.
Coming to the plaza, the three met the seductive gazes of a group of women dressed in almost completely sheer outfits. Yamamoto laughed nervously as one of the women came out from the pack and wrapped her black scarf around his neck. Gokudera was holding back an evil cackle while Tsuna was blushing and trying to look away.
As the sun finally went away, the three retired to a table and eat a small dinner of tortellini and a glass of grape juice.
"Haha, this is fun!" Yamamoto grinned, taking in their surroundings, "All of this is so much different from Namimori, huh Tsuna?"
"Yeah," Tsuna sighed contently.
Gokudera sighed along with Tsuna, lighting a cigarette. "So what do you want to do next? The wine crushing doesn't start for another hour, so we got one to waste."
"Let's go dancing!" Yamamoto laughed, "I wanna practice for the next ball-thing at the Cavallone's!"
"Shut up, you baseball idiot," Gokudera snapped, rubbing his temples, "Plus, I'm sure Violet hates the way you dance…"
"She has never said that," Yamamoto chuckled.
"She told me," Gokudera flashed his own grin over to Yamamoto. "She has also told that she loves the way I dance."
"Right, Gokudera." Yamamoto couldn't help but to laugh.
The three finished their dinner in a comfortable - at least for Tsuna - silence before rising and making their way over to the plaza. After sitting around the huge bin of grapes, the three surveyed their surroundings. Around them, the lights shone brightly against the purple night sky and beautiful Sicilians danced around to the small band playing the seductive tango and salsa music. Gokudera tapped his foot to the beat, secretly wishing that he was out there dancing like he use to.
"Tsuna-san!" Haru's high-pitched squeal broke through the calm night air. The three heads snapped over to the right, resting their shocked glances on four women and one little boy. Bianchi sat, an amused expression spread across her face, her strawberry-colored hair was pulled away from her strong features, showing her gorgeous Italian heritage. Haru and Kyoko were both dressed in red dresses and dancing shoes. I-pin was all dolled up, looking like she was about to go and dance the flamingo while Lambo looked as if he was her partner.
"Kyoko-can, Haru!" Tsuna stood, running over to them.
"Tsuna-kun, we didn't know you would be here!" Kyoko gently placed her hand on Tsuna's shoulder, "Then again, you three all left at the same time so…" she giggled.
"Haha, it's so funny that you guys are here," Yamamoto came around one side of Tsuna and greeted the group. "Bianchi did you bring them here? Gokudera said he use to come to these all the time, did you?"
"Hayato would always runaway to these," she corrected then shrugged, "I always went to get him so he wouldn't get in trouble," she smiled, "I always ended up dancing though, it was so much fun."
"Gokudera would run away?" Tsuna smiled lightly, looking over his shoulder to glance at his right-hand man - who was sitting alone and scowling.
"Let's dance!" I-pin squealed as Yamamoto spun her around and around.
"Come on Tsuna-san!" Haru chanted, tugging at Tsuna's sleeve. The group move into the plaza's cobblestone dance floor, swinging to the beat, not dancing in the tradition Sicilian manner. All seemed to go smoothly as the swung and twirled to the beat.
...
Gokudera watched in a slight disgust as he watched Tsuna dance with Kyoko. He had always wondered what Tsuna saw in that girl but never had the courage to ask him. And plus, if Juudaime wanted it, then he would have it. Wait, Gokudera stopped himself, did that mean Tsuna wanted to be with Violet…?
"Hayato?"
It was like fingers on a chalkboard.
"Violet, I got the impression that you were banned from coming here anymore."
It was true, almost five years ago, Violet was banned from coming to this festival. Dino thought it was dangerous especially since the huge mafia wars were going on then. He had said that Violet was no longer to come to the wine festival, even though he had been taking her since she was two. But looking at her now, it was obvious to Gokudera that Violet would never follow any rules, especially rules established by her brother, the Boss of the Cavallone Family.
"We are wine people, I can't stay away from my heritage, Hayato," she smirked, brushing her hair back over her shoulder.
"I'm telling."
"Shut up you little -"
"Violet?" Yamamoto's cheerful voice rang out excitedly. "Violet is that you?"
"Takeshi!" Violet cried happily, running over to him, now ignoring Gokudera. "I wasn't expecting to see you here!"
"Gokudera asked me and Tsuna to come and check this place out," he smiled down at her. Their black hair blowing gently in the wind, it truly looked like a scene from a romantic film - it sickened Gokudera a little.
Sweat slicked Yamamoto's brow from all the dancing, the little break was refreshing, notably since Violet was the one greeted him for his break.
"Why are you here?"
"A long time ago, believe it or not, the Cavallone's were wine people. That's how we started in the mafia: wine!" Violet laughed gently, her gaze pacing Yamamoto Takeshi and landing on the scene behind him. Tsuna and Kyoko were dancing together, a soft sway hit their hips and their eyes were locked on each other. Everything seemed to be perfect between the two, they seemed to be in a separate world.
"Ladies and Gentleman!" a loud low Italian voice rang out through the crowd, stopping the chatter and music. "I welcome you to the Barlonni Wine Festival! We'd like to open the ceremony with the traditional wine dance to celebrate this season's fruitful harvest! Step forward heads of families, and please help me with welcoming Violetta Cavallone, our special guest!"
All uproars and shouts filled the plaza, claps and encouragement filled the air as Violet stepped forward, her shining aura spread through the whole area.
"Come on, Violet, get your husband-to-be and dance with the rest of the young couples!" the prompter shouted into the mic.
Violet didn't seem to mind the little challenge. It seemed that everyone knew that the Cavallone daughter was getting married. The whole community depended on the Cavallone to protect and guide them for the future, so it clear that they would know when the princess of the Cavallone would be getting married.
Violet danced her way over to Tsuna grabbed him out of the isolated pack of Kyoko and Haru and dragging him over to the grape pit. She smiled at him as they climbed the fence and started to dance around. At first, Tsuna was awkward and lame but now, as Violet guided him with her smooth movements, it seemed so natural - like breathing.
"This is fun, isn't it, Tsuna." Violet said after explaining to Tsuna why she had come to the festival. "I never thought I'd see you here, or I'd never think Hayato would take you."
"It's fun," he agreed, blissfully ignoring the other question. He didn't know why but he felt more comfortable around Violet then before. Something small had changed about her, he was sure… but he couldn't tell what…
As Violet spun him, for a moment, he caught the eye of Kyoko-chan. She sat with her eyes locked onto him and Violet. She looked slightly hurt, her features turned down in a frown. Tsuna tried to looked over at her again but Violet wouldn't turn around for him to see her. Haru, on the other hand, as he saw a moment of her too, seemed completely at ease with the situation, but he didn't know why… they had just found out, from some strange man, that Violet and him were getting married…
"They just found out we're getting married!" Tsuna gasped, grasping at Violet's smooth shoulders. He couldn't help but to sharply stop dancing and turn, just to stare at Kyoko and Haru.
"What is it, Tsuna? What's wrong?" Violet followed Tsuna's gaze and the realization came to her also.
"They never knew…" Tsuna trailed off, his eyes never leaving the Kyoko's.
"Tsuna, does it matter?" Violet's harsh words brought him out of his trance, "What I meant to say was, we really aren't getting married right? So it doesn't really matter."
Violet tried to smile but she just couldn't over the fact that Tsuna was thinking about these two girls who seemed completely useless to the Vongola. Now, she Violetta Cavallone, could be a real help with the Family. She already had the background needed to be the wife of the most powerful boss in the world. She had the street smarts that could take her far, she wasn't weak and didn't want to stay home with the kids - not that she ever wanted kids -, she wants to be out on the battle field, protecting her Family.
"I need to go and talk to them…" Tsuna left the ring, in a daze, traveling across the plaza to where Kyoko and Haru sat, however, once he arrived, the two had already left with Bianchi, I-pin, and Lambo.
...
The sun peaked in Tsuna's windows the next morning; he felt like crap, to be blunt. He slowly pulled himself out of bed, trying to remember where it all went wrong. He finally decided it was time to talk to Reborn. Alone.
"What is it, no-good Tsuna?" Reborn asked, his hat lay lopsided on his head, his wild hair poking out in every direction.
"I can't hurt Kyoko-chan like that! I can't marry Violet," Tsuna sighed, defeated already, "She and I just aren't connecting."
"Why do you think that is, Tsuna?" Reborn didn't wait for an answer, "You are waiting for Violet to step up and declare her undying love for you but it isn't going to happen like that. You must step up and be a gentleman, however blunt and straight-forward Violet seems to be, she is really old-fashioned in the love department."
"Huh?"
"She loves a gentleman," Reborn sighed, "Why do you think she is so drawn to Gokudera and Yamamoto? Because they treat her like a queen, they treat her with a respect that couldn't be broken."
"Gokudera doesn't -"
"He may not now but what about five years ago when they were together twenty-four seven? And, really Tsuna, do you think that Gokudera and Violet have just forgotten about those feelings and emotions and memories they've shared? No, of course not."
Tsuna stayed silent.
"Tsuna, no matter how much I hate to say it, but I have to," Reborn looked Tsuna square in the eye, "You are competing with Yamamoto and Gokudera to win over Violet - and she isn't won over easily. She has a past that must be broken and a heart that must be thawed in order to get to her. She isn't going to get give up and marry anybody - not you, not Yamamoto Takeshi, and not Gokudera Hayato - even though that one is more likely then you and Yamamoto…"
End of Chapter Ten
Thanks.