OMG I just realized that I forgot to respond to my readers 3 chapters ago, sorry!
GraceHeart27: Aww thank you! Thanksgiving dinner was pretty motivating haha.
redstar504: glad you enjoy my, well, slowburn progress haha!
Lyriahart: have I told you how I loveee your Hibird (I'm assuming) profile pic?
Kurochach: thank you for the follow!
fuchsteufelswild: I'd listen to your TEDtalk speech, you're a great motivator!
Sooooo hear you go! Enjoy!
The Vesta orphanage was always open during business hours for visitors and/or potential adopters.
However, even though today was a normal January weekday, the gate latch had been tied shut by thick, rusted chains. It was alarmingly quiet: where were the younger orphans who always loved to play in the front yard despite the unfavorable outdoor temperature?
In addition, the gate's surveillance camera had been left damaged for who knew how long? This was alarmingly peculiar—Tara Fujioka would have gotten it immediately fixed to maintain the security and safety of the children.
Furthermore, no one was answering the gate bell; it also, had stopped working.
And the most surprising out of all these strange occurrences, was the sign "Property for Sale" outside the gate.
In short, the orphanage had closed down.
Ayano stood pained in front of the unwelcoming gate. She traveled for four hours only to find out that the house shut down? Why was she not informed about the situation? What happened to the unadopted orphans? Where was Tara now? Too many questions, zero answers.
Suddenly, a silly idea entered her mind.
At the age of 9, she recalled getting in trouble for attempting to climb over the gate. It wasn't easy, but it also wasn't difficult. After all, the gate was too tall for her 9-year old height back then. Now that she's bigger, climbing over the gate should be a doable feat.
So the fearless girl trespassed the premises of Vesta house—successfully of course. Upon landing on the other side, she was met with the January breeze and the sentiments of nostalgia. Bittersweet memories of her orphanage siblings chasing each other projected on the snow-covered lawn of the front yard. She walked slowly, cautious of the icy pavement, until she reached the front porch of the house. Ayano stared forward, lost in daydream as she relived the happy times she received forehead kisses from Tara, and the sad times she waved goodbyes to her newly-adopted orphanage siblings.
What am I doing? Ayano rested her forehead against the cold door, scolding herself in defeat. Then she remembered about a spare key buried underneath one of the trees on the yard. She turned her head towards the specific, bald tree that stood mighty against the winter season.
With sudden determination, Ayano almost slipped as she rushed to that specific tree. The snow was probably about three inches thick, but that didn't stop her from desperately digging. The mittens helped her initially, but that wasn't enough as the mittens became wet and cold from the melting dirt snow. Still, she dug through the ice, and then the hardened soil with her cramped fingers. She shuffled through the dirt, until she felt a small object. She ran back to the house and inserted the key through the keyhole with a deep breath, finally unlocking the front door.
The hopeful girl walked in and passed through the living room, the kitchen, the dining area, and then the second living room. There was nothing on the first floor: all furniture were gone. Then she rushed to the second floor, where she found all bedrooms to be locked.
She reached the third floor and stopped at the end of the hallway. In front of her was the room she grew up in. She grasped the knob, reminiscing the times she'd barged in and out of her room. Unintentionally, she twisted the knob, expecting it to be locked. To her surprise, the knob made a full turn, and with a little push, the door opened forward.
As expected, her room was also empty.
The scent of her room was the same as she recalled it, despite of the unknown days or weeks the house had been empty. Images of the past played in her head: nighttime stories, girl gossips, secrets, laughter, and cries—the walls have heard them all. But now, the room had nothing to witness anymore.
The space where her bed used to be situated in caught her attention. She remembered that underneath her bed was a wooden tile piece which was loose and could be propped open, revealing a small secret compartment. She crouched down, smiling to herself as her fingers lifted the wooden tile, not really expect to find anything under.
But she found something: a yellow paper.
What's even startling was that, no one else knew about the secret compartment under her bed. Which meant, that unbeknownst to her, someone had discovered it and placed the letter inside for her to discover.
Slowly, she reached for the paper, and behind it revealed a note:
"Tara Fujioka is safe. Do not seek for her, for your own safety."
Ayano's breath staggered, as if the air in the room became too heavy to breath in. Her vision blurred and immediately, tears rolled down her cheeks. Her legs lost their balance which made her fall to her side.
The message was too, familiar. Her inheritance letter echoed something, oddly similar:
"Please do not seek for me. Live a happy and normal life. For me. And for your grandfather."
As much as she wanted to investigate the sudden demise of the Vesta orphanage, her gut wanted to trust the mysterious message. Quickly, she wiped her tears away and fixed the wooden tile back to its place. Her footsteps echoed like drums as she rushed out of the house, re-buried the key back, climbed up the gate and out of the premises.
With her orphanage mother untraceable and gone, who was she now supposed to talk to for motherly advice? Suddenly, her phone rang, and the answer to her question displayed on her phone screen. Looking up to the sky to prevent any tears from escaping, she gulped her sadness down and answered the call.
"Fujioka-san is gone, and you're the only one that I have, aunt Agatha."
It was the second week of January. In other words, winter break was over for the Namimori high students.
As for the graduating seniors, this semester marked their last. Instead of celebrating, many were on hardcore study mode because of the college entrance exam at the end of the month. This wasn't the case for the Nicolaou girl, who already received an acceptance letter from a fashion arts school in Italy and thus, did not need to undergo additional and stressful studying.
With that being said, students seemed to be early on their first day after the break. Why are disciplinary committee members lined up along the gate? Ayano mentally complained as she approached the school's shoe locker area. Upon opening her locker, she was caught off-guard by a mystery white envelope wedged between her indoor shoes.
A confession? she wouldn't be surprised if it was: she recalled receiving one last October. Unenthusiastic, she opened the flap of the envelope and took its content out.
"We will meet eventually, my love."
Baffled by the bold statement, she turned her head left and right to see if anyone was watching her reaction from a distance. But with students coming in, it was difficult to pinpoint any oddity within her vicinity.
She focused on the last line, "my love". Definitely not from him, she thought to herself, the handwriting doesn't match Hibari-san's.
Dismissing the note as a prank, she pocketed it and proceeded with her morning routine.
During her last class of the day, Ayano started to feel some abdominal pain, which she didn't blame on food poisoning. Instead, the pain was a reminder of the struggle that girls go through every month.
The painkiller must have worn off already, she sighed. Reaching deep in her bag, she shuffled as quietly as she could for a small container. Her stomach dropped upon not finding the painkiller bottle, which she thought she brought with her.
Alas, the school bell cried. After collecting her belongings, she walked out of the classroom and maintained her best front while her abdominal pain increased in intensity. She had her secretarial duties in 15 minutes, which should be enough time for her to ask around her fellow classmates for a particular medicine. Thankfully, a familiar female athlete happened to pass by the same hallway that Ayano was in.
"Mina-chan!"
"Oh, hey there girl!" Mina halted her steps.
"Do you happen to have any painkiller medicine with you?" Ayano pleaded.
"I do! It's in my gym locker though, wanna walk with me?"
"Sure!"
The two best friends eventually reached the girls' locker room. The volleyball player proceeded to switch to her gym clothes while Ayano ingested two pills in relief.
"Woah there, are you okay Ayano-chan?"
"I should be fine once the medicine kicks off."
"Feeling ill?"
"Period cramps."
"Yikes," Mina sympathized. "And how long are you going to be in… his office?"
"Until 5 pm," she paused, "actually, whenever I finished the job he's going to give me."
"He's probably going to keep you in there forever."
"Stop it," Ayano flicked her best friend's forehead.
"When you told me the story over the phone, it was like, the best plot twist I've ever heard," cackled Mina in the locker room while fixing her high-knee socks. "I bet ya'll be making out instead of working—"
The embarrassed Nicolaou girl quickly covered Mina's mouth and whispered, "don't say that, people might misunderstand!"
"Just teasin'."
"You're enjoying this huh?" Ayano playfully put her hands around Mina's neck in a choking motion.
"Kind of," the volleyball player winked. "Anyways, I have a volleyball practice, good luck today, Ayano-chan, don't get pregnant!"
Mina might have raised her volume a little too high, because the other athletes in the locker room turned their heads to Ayano.
"Oh honey, do you need a condom? I have some," one girl surprisingly offered. The misunderstanding escalated as others offered their supportive words.
"Protect yourself, don't get STD."
"Doing it on campus? I respect your bravery."
"First time? It might hurt."
"Don't forget foreplay! Google it if you don't know."
"No no no that's not it, Mina-chan is just joking!" Ayano's attempt to dispel the misunderstanding was futile once everyone clapped in unity after voicing out their "sisterly" advice. She only hoped that the girls weren't actually being serious and were just playing along with Mina's humor.
"That's the third time you dropped your pen in a span of 5 minutes, are you trying to set a world record?"
Hibari's deep voice stabbed through the flustered Ayano. She was clumsier than usual due to Mina's tease earlier, and on top of that, her menstrual cycle always arrived with a side of physical fatigue.
"Sorry, I'm just a little, uhhh… sick," she lied.
"Fever?" he raised his eyebrow.
"N… No."
"Flu?"
"No, Hibari-san," she sweated. It was strange to hear a sense of concern from him, was it because of their relationship status?
"Then, whatever illness you have, you better not get the whole school infected."
"That's not how… girls work," her voice trailed off in dismay. Her eyes met his, and she saw his hunger for an honest response. "I'm just a little iron-deficient, that's all," she muttered.
"Hn."
He seems satisfied with my answer, she mentally sighed in relief.
"Namimori seniors cannot afford to fail their entrance exams due to an epidemic illness, it will ruin the school's reputation," he added.
"You're over-exaggerating, Hibari-san. Speaking of Namimori seniors, are you graduating this year?"
Technically, he should be graduating this Spring, which would serve a perfect timing. He had been offered an interesting mission to travel and investigate the technology of box weapon and box animals. However, with the current mafia affairs that posed a threat in Namimori, he swore to protect his beloved town before fulfilling any Vongola tasks.
"I can choose the time I graduate."
"Huh? But why do that?"
"Because I can."
There was an illusion in his tone to mask his transparency, she noticed. It didn't bother her; she respected his personal privacy, and that respect was what mattered in their partnership. Nonetheless, both knew that eventually, they needed to be truthful about each other's secrets, and that they were just waiting for the right time to do so.
"I don't get it but whatever floats your boat, Hibari-san." She anxiously tapped her pen as she tried to think of a way to bring up a particular topic, but it accidentally slipped from her hand and ended up on the floor, again.
"It's obvious that you want to tell me something. Just spill it instead of foolishly playing with your pen, Ayano."
"O-okay," she chuckled at her own clumsiness. "Sooo, Uhm… I'm moving to Italy in about 5 months…"
"I know."
Of course he does. "I'm, going to attend a fashion arts school there."
"I'm aware."
"Well... then… what do you think, about it?"
"Expensive. Japan has better arts school," he yawned.
To Ayano, his answer almost sounded like a persuasion—as if he didn't want her to move to a far place.
"Sicily arts university is a beautiful school and has one of the best reputation in the world of fashion," she proudly represented, despite not having visited the campus yet.
"South Italy is infamous for mafia operations."
"Not true, you're just trying to scare me, Hibari-san."
"I stated a fact," he diverted his attention to his paperwork.
"Hm, regardless, I like the package that university is offering me. Also, I just recently found out that they allowed me to apply for a 2nd year internship, even though I'm an incoming freshman. I'm currently submitting designs and if I'm chosen, I might get to intern for a high-end fashion show," her eyes gleamed with sparkles. "Do you know what that means, Hibari-san?" Her passion was suddenly overflowing; he had never seen her in such a state of extreme happiness.
Before he could remind her of her secretarial work, she continued to spill her excitement. "It means that I get to work with well-renowned fashion designers! And I get to have the opportunity to design for famous runaway models, ooh and I hope I get to design for this particular model!" She immediately whipped her phone out to show a photo of a topless male model, not realizing the frown on her chairman's face.
"Herbiv—"
"I heard they got great tones and are super tall, I'm ecstatic about the challenges of bringing my drawings into life!"
Ayano was referring to all genders, but it didn't translate well for Hibari.
She left her seat to return a binder she borrowed from a shelf behind her. The sound of Hibari's footsteps behind her drowned from her continuous chatter about fashion.
"Anyways, which folder do I need to—"
She turned around mid-sentence and felt a presence trapping her against the bookshelf. The next thing she knew, a soft sensation on her lips encaged her unspoken words.
The office was not the best place for them to have this intimate moment, but it was gentle, and respectful of one's boundary. He was undeniably close; the scent of his cologne became prominent that she could probably get drunk off of it.
This kiss lasted 3 seconds, but it felt like a minute to her.
He pulled away slowly, yet still close. She could feel him exhale, but her eyes focused on his. They exchanged gazes, and neither seemed to want to be the first to break the eye contact.
"Male models, huh?" he breathed, his gaze now fixated on her lips while he raised her chin gently.
"Wh… what?"
"You seemed to be interested about that male model on your phone."
"That… oh no. NO, it's not what you think... he's a gay model, Hibari-san," warmth crept up her cheeks as she finally realized the misunderstanding she caused.
"Oh? Yet you have a topless photo of him saved in your phone, how should you fix that?" his smirk dominated her flustered face, but she wasn't going to let him corner her with his words.
"I'll replaced it with yours if you want," she rolled her eyes to the side with her sarcastic dare. Realizing how scandalous that sounded, Ayano pushed his face away in panic, "I am totally joking Hibari-san!"
This woman, Hibari grabbed her palm away from his face, surprisingly amused that she had the strength to push him back, despite claiming her iron "deficiency".
"Shameless, aren't you," his voice was low, yet deafening. "Also, what is this?" he held up a paper that slipped out of her pocket.
While recovering from her embarrassment, her gaze followed the note in his hand. It only took a second for her to recall the note she found in her locker this morning.
"That's… someone slid it in my shoe locker." Recognizing his skeptical gaze, she waved both her hands in denial, "I swear, I don't know who it's from."
"A secret admirer then. Suddenly I have someone to bite to death later," he crumpled the paper and tossed it to the trash bin. He walked towards the couch and lay down in a blink of an eye.
"Your over-the-top speech drained my energy. I'm taking a nap, you better not disturb my sleep."
Unbelievable. She traced her lips and mumbled loud enough for the chairman to hear, "so we're not going to talk about what just happened, huh?"
"Is there a problem? I'm allowed to do that, after all."
"Ri… right."
Returning to her seat, Ayano re-evaluated her life choices. Falling in love with Hibari was a new puzzle that destiny challenged her to solve.
And it was a challenge that she was willing to fight for.
By 5pm, the sun slept early, and the crowd of clouds prepared for their next snowfall. After a series of misunderstanding and two stacks of paperwork completed, Ayano left the office with the still asleep skylark. Her 25-minute walk home—albeit how exhausting it sounded—actually helped with lifting her mood. Something must be in the fresh air, she entertained herself, then tripped on a block of snow upon remembering the kiss earlier.
Brushing the dirt off her knees and skirt, the Nicolaou girl resumed her walk and mentally listed her plan for the night. With no homework due the next day, she fancied the idea of self-care time: she'd cook herself a nice dinner, take a warm and relaxing bath, put a face mask on, and play her favorite Disney movie while she sipped a big mug of hot chocolate milk.
Her night should start off great. Or so she thought, when her face turned sour upon the sight of a particular toddler standing by her house gate.
"I prayed every day for you to never show up," she reached for her gate key in her bag while the hitman remained unbothered. "Obviously my prayer wasn't answered now that you're here."
"How friendly, Ayano-chan."
"Let's cut to the chase, you want my answer, right?" she huffed a breath that looked like smoke in the almost sub-zero weather. "What's in it for me, Reborn-san?"
"Just like what we discussed; Your secret hobby is safe with me, and I'll work on dismissing your mother's case."
So he still doesn't know my family's connection with GM-san… she reassured herself.
"Fine. You win. What do I do next?"
"Good answer. For now, just keep a low profile."
"I hope you don't put me in a combat field," Ayano held her key card on the gate sensor, her impatience growing as the sensor refused to respond.
"I won't do that to you. You want to attend a fashion arts college, right?"
"You seem to care about my education, so why pull me into your crazy mafia world?" she didn't want to hear from him anymore; she pushed the door open as soon as the sensor lit green and disappeared from Reborn's sight without saying goodbye.
"Hm, I guess she hates my guts now." Nevertheless, Reborn took off with a satisfied smile. "With her moving to Italy, maybe I can convince the stubborn cloud to accept the mission of investigating box weapons?"
From a distance, two unknown figures had been watching the short interaction of the Nicolaou girl with the toddler.
"She seemed unhappy when talking to that toddler," a feminine voice hummed as she stalked behind her binoculars. She zoomed in, noting the confidence on the toddler's face. Recognition dawned upon her face, unsure whether to be amazed or terrified. "Goodness gracious, what is an infamous Italian hitman doing in Japan?"
"Should I follow him?" the male figure cocked his piston.
"Don't be silly, put your gun away." She chewed a hard mint with eagerness. "Come on, let's go back to our hotel. We have some research and change in plans to do, Pip."
"Yes, boss."
This fic is 80% done, oh my my.
What an adventure with ya'll.
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