Now i realize i changed a lot of things about Bianchi. First in My bloody Valentine, now in this story... And also about Hayato... But I truly have no regret about it. You can blame me for this.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters." Jane Austen said in her well-known novel, Pride and Prejudice. And I may add: perhaps not universally, but at least, in the Gokudera household, it was. A principle the patriarchs of the family had always believed in from generation to generation, including Hayato's father.
Gokudera Jouji was a very imposing man: almost as wide as he was tall and with a tenor voice, he knew how to make people respect him without even raising a finger. He had that self-assurance that so characterizes rich people, the proud bearing of a Bonaparte and the derisive glance of a courtier. Hayato hated that glance of him; it gave him the impression he was nothing more than some kind of fly hovering around the man. This, of course, had never been a problem for Byakuran, the stepson and the biggest pride of Jouji. For the old man, it was nearly like he didn't have any other children apart from the white haired man.
But, to tell the truth, his first marriage hadn't been anything like a success: the first Mrs. Gokudera had never been pretty enthusiastic concerning her husband's love affairs. One amongst the others particularly drove her into despair; that was the 'escapade' with the piano teacher of their daughter, Bianchi. Especially when the woman came back nine months later with a baby Hayato in her arms, claiming the name and the same rights as Jouji's daughter for her son. Such a scandal in the family. And the last straw had been at the accidental death of Hayato's mother when the toddler still couldn't walk on his feet. At that moment, was it due to true love for the dead woman or some fit of pity, but Gokudera father couldn't find the strength to push Hayato back. With the loss of a mother, the silver haired boy inherited a name, an older sister, a luxurious house and part of the fortune of his father's family.
All of this occurred just few months before Jouji remarried with Byakuran's mother.
"Talking about Bianchi," Jouji declared nonchalantly to his old friend Ieyasu one day they were playing golf like every Sunday for aeons it seemed, "I was starting to think, lately… isn't it high time for her to find a man, to have children… Oh, you know, all that fuss."
Ieyasu stared at the horizon as the ball he just hit crossed the sky and fell further meters away, his attention barely going to the nattering Jouji. For years, the other man kept on boring him about the same subject. "Yeah, maybe," he said quite indifferently. "How old is she, again?"
"Twenty-five. Still young, I agree, but the years, you know, the years… They go by and by, and in a flash, look, you're forty. And what a shame it would be, a real shame! I tell you, my daughter is a pearl. She's sweet and beautiful; and she's smart, too. Her mother had spent fortune for her education: piano lessons, riding lessons and all that stuff, I don't clearly remember what. You see?"
The blond spotted the white little ball on the grass, hidden behind the bushes, and, striding to it, he replaced his golf club with a smaller one. He eyed at the minuscule red flag, twenty or so meters away from them. "Yeah, I see, I see."
Indeed, Ieyasu saw too much. The hell did he know how it happened, but a rumor was now circulating here and there that his boss' biological man-clock suddenly started to work. Well, it wasn't truly false, but Ieyasu knew too well it was only one of the many whims of his boss. There was no way in the world Xanxus could actually want to get hitched to a woman he had never seen in his life, and there were even less chances the guy would have enough patience to put up with the poor woman after the wedding night.
In spite of everything, it was a huge dilemma. After all, the raven indeed got advanced in years. Sooner or later, he would want to have kids, like any other men. However – Ieyasu couldn't put it clearly into words – however, the whole situation didn't feel quite right. At any rate, it was too much convenient for him that this all happened almost right after the breakup (even if Ieyasu still couldn't get accustomed to the idea of Xanxus being in an actual relationship). Even the silliest degenerate could tell the raven was doing this out of anger and spite.
"Aa…Xanxus. " He whispered. "Anyway, how do you want me to make a guiltless woman pay for your bloopers? I'd stake my car it's your fault if you guys broke up…"
"Mmh? You said something?" Jouji raised an eyebrow as he heard the other male's whispering.
"Aa, no, it's nothing. I was talking to myself."
On the other hand, Ieyasu resumed his thoughts, regardless of all his flaws (and God he knew how many the raven had), Xanxus still could be considered as a nice match. Well, he was good-looking and his situation wasn't to be pitied … Yeah, that was another problem. Now, how many gold diggers would try to assault the raven wherever he would go?… Only thinking about this was giving Ieyasu a stomach ulcer. He really was too old to play the go-between.
"Ooh, here it is, here it is, the last hole…" He beamed as he noticed the ball was already close of the hole. He positioned his club and measured the distance and the strength he had to put in his arms in order not to miss that last point. He waited, waited, then, slowly, let his shoulders fell, thus sweeping the club along…
"Ah, Ieyasu!" Jouji's deep voice suddenly raised, startling Ieyasu and making the latter miss his hit. He glared at the other man.
"What?"
"Have I already told you about my son?" Jouji continued without perceiving the exasperated tone in Ieyasu's voice.
"Hayato? Yes, you have. He's in the same university as my son, wasn't he? I often see him when I pick Tsuna…"
"No… not that one. I was talking about Byakuran." Jouji's chest swelled with smugness. "He came back home few days before. I heard he's doing very well in your company…"
The irony was obvious in that remark, but Ieyasu just brushed it away. He had more serious problems to deal with aside from Gokudera Jouji's vanity. Where the hell did the ball go again…
"Wait a minute…" He suddenly paused. Jouji's vanity, Ieyasu thought… He stared at the other man who was looking at him inquiringly. Bianchi, huh? He didn't recall when the last time he saw her was. All he could remember was the image of a young and cute girl, smart and gracious, of long and straight hair and a kind smile. At least, with her own family's wealth, she wasn't a danger. Frankly, the most frightening part in that deal wasn't even the fact she was Byakuran's half-sister (the white haired man didn't truly look like the family type), rather the fact she was that man's daughter. But in any case, he was sure Bianchi wasn't that unwise. "Can we have a little talk?"
…
"…And that's why, mio Bianchi," Jouji harangued his daughter at suppertime, "I heard a rumor… that soon I'll have to call my daughter Mrs. Xanxus Vongola-"
"Father. Stop talking nonsense, please." Bianchi cut drily without even giving a glance to her father. She took a sip of wine. "It's already late and listening to a joke now isn't fun at all."
Apart from his sister and his father, only Hayato was sitting on that table in the middle of the vast dining-room where father and children had always took their meals. The room, like every day, was silent, oppressing. Apart from the clinking of the forks and knives and glasses, no sound was disturbing the everyday scenery but only, from time to time, a servant approaching them to refill Miss or Mister's glass.
"You're the one talking nonsense." Jouji protested violently by knocking his fist against the table and making the vaissellerie trembling. "Is that a way to talk to your own father?"
Bianchi wiped her lips before replying. "Perhaps not. But it's sure a way to talk to someone who has lost their mind. My poor father, I knew you were a lunatic. But I'd never thought you would go as far as to prostitute your only daughter…"
"Weigh your words, Bianchi, before I seriously decide to shut your mouth!"
The silence came back. But not for long. Hayato had listened patiently to his father's earlier words with his fists clenched, his tongue bitter in his mouth. He had particularly never had any kind of faith or esteem for his father, yet the boy had to admit, this time he was going too far!
"You… Don't you feel ashamed?..." the silver haired boy hissed at his father.
Bianchi raised a hand. "Hayato. It's alright."
"It's not alright! Just how far is that old geezer going to use people around him as if we were nothing better than toys in his hands?"
"Ashamed, you say?" Jouji had a low chuckle, ignoring his daughter's intervention. "Why should I? That's why you kid shouldn't nose about in adults' business. Think about this, boy: I got her to wed one of the richest and most powerful men in the world. What's wrong in this? What a great service she would do for her family, even for you, Hayato! You two may find this revolting now, but come back ten years later and dare say I hadn't been right for doing it, you ungrateful children!"
The ginger's eyebrow twitched. Hayato brutally rose up from his seat and threw his napkin on the table. "I've had enough of that crap!" He yelled and left the diner-room under Jouji's furious stare.
"Are you proud of what you did?" Bianchi stood up. "I'll talk to him."
She followed the silverette in the corridor, then climbed the stairs to the first floor. There, she walked few seconds in another hallway before reaching a half-open door. When she opened it, what she saw behind was Hayato sitting right on the floor of a dark bedroom, back against the leg of his bed, his shiny silver locks falling on his eyes and forehead, making it impossible for the young woman to tell what the boy was thinking about.
"Now, now." She sat next to her brother. "You're too old to cry over something like this, aren't you?"
"I wasn't crying, damnit!" Hayato glared at her. His eyes were completely dry.
Bianchi smiled. "I know."
She knew a lot of things about the silver haired boy. In the end, she was the one who raised Hayato until that day. She knew the boy started smoking secretly at the age of thirteen, she knew his uncommon passion for UMAs and the fact that he was afraid of slugs… and she knew he never cried in front of people, may they hit him, call him a bastard or whatever, he never. That was her tough little brother Gokudera Hayato.
"You…" The boy uttered rapidly. "You're not seriously considering what that old geezer had been talking about, aren't you?" Bianchi remained silent. She only kept at staring at the silver haired boy. However, before that quietness, Hayato got flustered. "Hey, you aren't? Tell me you aren't!"
"Why are you freaking out?" The smile didn't fade from Bianchi's lips.
"You're the one who should freak out! That's common sense! That old geezer tells you you're gonna marry some guy you've never talked to, you never saw, and you're okay with that shit?"
"Hayato." She said drily. "This is how adults' world is working. How many times did I tell you that? I'm as repulsed at this as you are." The sudden graveness in her look was immediately replaced by the usual kindness. "Anyway, why are you worried about me so much? This finally had nothing to do with you."
"I wasn't worried, you moron…" Hayato's cheeks turned a deep shade of red. He started fidgeting on his seat. "B-but I've always believed you were interested in Sh- Ouch!"
Bianchi was pulling harshly at Hayato's ear. Her smile turned dreadfully cold. "Don't you dare pronounce that name in front of me. Never more."
"G-got it…"
…
How could one picture a first date? Most of time, people would answer a long ride in a coach along the river under the moonlight, a picnic in the park with nothing around you but flowers and birds, or a romantic dinner in the most romantic restaurant in town…
Well, Bianchi did have the diner in the restaurant (but not exactly the most romantic one; from the outside it looked more like a basement), but what she could very well have done without was the presence of her whole family (it wasn't as she ever considered Byakuran as part of her family) on the same table as Xanxus Vongola and her. No, to tell the truth she could very well have done without the dinner itself.
They were there, Bianchi, her father and brother and the raven, sitting around one of those few tables in that small windowless masculine room abundant with red and gold. The ceiling was very low and the place abnormally silent. It was as though people were too embarrassed to talk. Such a harassing ambiance. The noisiest table was surely theirs: when the few customers sitting around them were all trying to eat and talk as silently as possible, Bianchi's father kept on gabbing and gabbing and gabbing while Xanxus was practically devouring steak after steak, not once paying attention to the old man.
Said steak was indeed the real aim of that dinner: that restaurant, despite its humble appearance, was famous for cooking the best steak of the world. The aberrantly long waiting list was a consequence enough of that fame. Without the promise of making the raven taste the juiciest meat he had ever eaten, the latter wouldn't have even attended such a mundane display of social life.
"Hey, sis'…" Hayato, who was sitting right next to Bianchi, murmured at her. "Why the fuck did I have to go too?"
"No swearing at the table." The young woman scolded with boredom. "Can't you see your new brother-in-law is right before you?"
"Yeah… This man…" This sentence had been uttered with spite mixed with disappointment. But Hayato was right: it was a saddening sight to see that old man licking the raven's butt whilst deafening him with the story of his father and his father before him and so on till he really went back to the Great Flood. "For crying out loud! This isn't how you want your life to end up, is this?"
"Of course, this isn't. Was it too much to ask to have at least one discussion with my fiancé before my wedding?"
"Bianchi, sweetheart," Jouji all of a sudden called at the young woman with a cheerful laugh. "You know what I mean, you were there. We were all on that headland when you fell from that old horse. It was so funny!"
"Yes, father." Bianchi spit bitterly. "I do remember now, thanks to you."
The silver haired boy sighed. At least it wasn't all as bad as what he first imagined. His father was, true to form, loud and boastful, Bianchi was quiet but distinguished as always. And Xanxus was… He didn't know how to describe that man. Hayato knew what other people knew about him. No more. Plus it wasn't easy to read on that guy's face. The raven didn't talk; he didn't look at anything else but the dishes the waiters were putting before him. Was that man that indifferent to his surroundings when they didn't imply food? Finally, Hayato gave up on his inspection. It was merely a waste of time. Quickly getting over with that diner became everything that mattered for the youth.
The dessert came. It was a good thing they chose a small and cozy place for that gathering. For once, no scandal to fear from neither party. At long last, everything was starting to get boring. Hayato was leaning on his chair and tapping a finger against his leg, his coffee fuming on the table. He wanted to get out and have a smoke. The non-stopping flow of words from Jouji was irritating, that was true, but the shut-in atmosphere was also exasperating. Hayato began swinging slowly on his chair, back and forth. From where he was seated, the young silverette could spot another part of the restaurant he hadn't seen before, hidden behind a wooden partition. There, other customers where eating peacefully, too. However, as he was leaning more and more on the back of the chair, Hayato noticed a familiar detail behind the sliding doors.
Hayato paused a little. "Um? I already saw this before" He mumbled. "…Ah."
"For God's sake, Hayato!" Jouji fumed. "Stop acting like a kid and behave! And just what are you looking at?"
"Nothing." The boy frowned. "I just saw someone I know, behind the sliding-doors. A professor in the university where I'm studying at. I think I've already talked about that psycho guy, Superbi Squalo -"
Hayato hadn't finished his sentence when Xanxus, without warning, got on his feet. Not a single word came out from his mouth, but his ruby eyes sure were betraying his trouble. In an instant, he was at the other side of the room and opened violently the sliding-doors, hence drawing all of the customers' attention to him, including both the older silverette's and his date's.
TBC
