A/N: Hi-ho! Yes, with this update, I officially declare that I'm still alive and continuing my stories hehe. Anyway, it has been forever since I open this site at all, for the reason, you can check on my profile hohoho, not that it's important though X3. Anyway, enjoooy! XD
P.s. edited a BIT, credits to Drika-Veras: I was also a bit troubled when I was about to publish it for the first time, since I share the same feeling with you, but the sense of urgency increased drastically because of your review. So, thanks a lot for the feedback and I hope this one can be better than the last one! XD
Disclaimer: I don't own KHR
Summary: It all started with simplicity. Nobody questioned about the accident happened thirteen years ago. But it was about to make a dark entry to the world, especially a certain blonde and brunette. And the worst penalty was not just about death— it's another love snatched away. GiottoxFem27! AU
Warning: fem27, AU
Later: the Caution and the Prevention
"It's better not to know at all, rather than know a partial."
- Unknown
Previously…
Then a rustle nearby—something that's pretty creepy when you're at night, alone, with only a broom as a weapon. She literally jumped and shivered. Then it resonated again and this time she forced herself to look behind her. The bushes were unmoving when her eyes landed on it— before it started to shake the next second. Tsuna spontaneously shrieked and even fell down to her bum when she tried to back away.
The movement of the plant starting to get even wilder and she hoped that she's only imagining things when she thought there's a shadow leaped from behind—
"H-HIIIII!"
Thud.
Tsuna woke up with a heavy feeling and a growing headache. The light slipped inside her room had forcefully woke her up. She groaned as one of her hand tried to block the light from her eyes. Growing restless and annoyed, she tried to sit. When she did, however, she swore that she felt something was thumping her head. Cringing, she clicked her tongue at her bad start—then she noticed something.
Right by her bed, on her small end table, there's a fresh roll of bandage and a small white, crumpled note. She then took notice of the tight bandage on her head a tad late. Both her hands were soon busy trying to figure out what happened to her head. After figuring that there's an injury right by her side, she promptly took the paper to find out who's involved with it.
When she unfolded the paper, however, she only saw the neat handwriting saying, "Stai attento". Her eyebrow tilted in reaction, especially it's a handwriting she never seen before. How strange… she thought, and then tried to recall what exactly happened the last night. She remembered that she's scared to death when there's a noisy rustling of the bushes… then something hard knocked her head and she's out.
'Now that I think about it… what happened then? And… who carried me here…?' she wondered and looked down. Her clothes were the same as when she passed out, and from the looks of things, it's not Luce's doing. If it was her, then some things in her room would've changed position. Like the small plushy bear on her desk. Luce has always insisted to put it on her end table. She pursed her lips. Considering all the probabilities, there's no one else but Luce… isn't it?
A few minutes later…
"Hey, Tsunahime! Good morning!"
Said person wanted to gape, but her lips somehow find its way to form a smile, despite it almost twitched into a reluctant frown.
"Err… Cozart… -san," Tsuna whispered the suffix. "Why are you… Umm… *ahem* Are you here alone?"
"Oh, yeah," Cozart grinned. "G and Giotto were going somewhere, but I thought I'll just stay back this time. And when I think about what I should do, I figured that I'll come and visit you."
Tsuna heard his perfect explanation and end up gaping. From her posture, she was definitely confused and felt a bit weird of meeting him without Giotto around. Nonetheless, she nodded and smiled. "Wanna come in?"
"Sure, thanks," Cozart grinned and stepped inside when Tsuna opened the door wide for him. It was still early in the morning, and he's guessing it correctly that the children were still asleep. "I guess I did come too early, didn't I?"
"Well… you're pretty early," Tsuna agreed as she placed some plates carefully on the table.
"What happened to your head?" Cozart asked. In his tone, there's reluctance. Tsuna's lips formed an 'o' and she touched the bandage softly.
"Oh, I guess something knocked me on the head yesterday. Must be the kids," Tsuna shrugged. Cozart nodded, but she didn't saw it. Returning to what she's doing, she said, "I was just about to make breakfast, so all I could prepare for you is… well…" she went to the cupboard and lifted two different boxes. "Tea or milk?"
Cozart went silent for a second before he smiled. "Tea, I guess?"
Tsuna nodded and put the milk back to its place. There's a soft sound of water as she poured some hot water to the cup. Tsuna half-whispered, "If you're wondering why we only have tea and milk, is because the kids weren't allowed to drink other stuff, except for special occasions. And we always make juice ourselves and never buy it in the market, so…"
"I get it," the red-head nodded. Tsuna smiled along, taking her time to prepare the cup of tea. More birds started to chirp outside, and the sun's rays start to penetrate the windows. She breathed in the fresh scent of mornings and relishing the warm feeling on her fingertips when she touched the cup.
"Here it is," she carefully put the drink in front of him.
"Thanks," Cozart said and blew the steam from the cup. He slurped a bit and hummed, "It's really good, Tsunahime."
"Thank you," Tsuna paused from walking around the kitchen, taking the utensils and ingredients one by one.
"I'm sorry for interrupting you at such a busy hour, though," he apologized heartedly, after watching her going here and there swiftly. "Do you need some help?"
"Nah, it's just a normal routine; I could manage. And for the former, I'm really happy that you're here today," Tsuna smiled at the older teen. Cozart cocked an eyebrow, with a somewhat content smile on his face. He's truly glad that his best friend met someone like her, instead of some girls that wanted to be with him for only his looks or intelligence.
As he sipped his tea, he caught his own reflection on the calm liquid. The expression on his eyes turned serious when he remembered his discussion with Giotto and G last night.
Flashback
"So… it's true huh? I can't believe that something troublesome actually came up," G crouched down near the unconscious figure. Both of his companions were watching carefully, with serious looks in their eyes. Thanks to Giotto's intuition, somehow they made it in time to help Tsunahime, who, by the time they've arrived, was already targeted. The trio, unfortunately, couldn't capture the suspect before he/she ran away. Cozart slumped his shoulders.
"What G said is right… we have to deal with it as soon as possible. I mean, the festival was near, too…" Cozart told Giotto anxiously.
"It's what they targeted in the first place, I bet," Giotto's eyes sharpened. He sighed, "I never thought that it'll appear again, after all these years…"
"The last time it ever happened was around eighteen years ago right?" Cozart asked and was given a prompt answer from G.
"Yup, the last time it happened, it was so chaotic and dangerous that the festival was even canceled," G remembered.
"Or rather, it was forced to be canceled right?" the other red-hair tilted an eyebrow.
"Whatever the case, we shouldn't let the same thing happened again," Giotto kneeled down, too, carefully slipping his arms under the brunette's small figure. She moaned when Giotto softly adjusted her position in his arms. He carried her carefully, as if he's holding a fragile baby, before he stared at both of his friends. "It has ever happened once before, so it shall not be repeated a second time."
"Umm, that's right huh," both Cozart and G nodded in agreement as they, too, watched the blond closely.
"Anyway, we should take some countermeasures for precautions," Giotto glanced at G. "G, we should call them tomorrow first thing."
"Okay, I got it," G nodded.
"And Cozart," Giotto looked at the red hair, who hmm-ed questioningly. "Sorry, but could you do me a favor?"
"What? Since it's pretty rare for you to ask me something, I would do it for you," Cozart smiled casually. Giotto smiled, too, but a bit strained.
"Well… I was a bit worried about something… so can I ask you to accompany Tsunahime tomorrow?" Giotto asked, dropping the familiar '-chan' because of the heavy atmosphere. His blue eyes looked deadly serious that it taken both of his friends aback. Cozart scratched his cheek confusedly.
"Aah… sure, I guess," he half-muttered. At that reply, a calm smile immediately replaced the stern expression seconds ago.
"Thank you, Cozart. I'm counting on you."
Flashback end
'Hmm, no matter how I think about it, Giotto acted a bit strange indeed,' Cozart thought solemnly. He swallowed a big gulp when his tea has cooled down a bit more that it was tolerable for him. It was rare for Giotto to ask him or G, or anyone in that matter, to be a personal bodyguard for someone, especially someone he just met. 'Could it be… G's suspicion is really true?'
"Umm, Cozart," she softly called, startling him from his thoughts. "Do you want me to make you a breakfast too?"
"Ah," Cozart noticed the delicious scent of omelets and sausages from the pans. The sizzling was the only sound that's loud enough to fill the room. He regained his composure quickly and shook his head. "It's fine, Tsunahime. You don't need to go through all that trouble."
Tsuna pouted and put her hands on either side of her hips. "Honestly! You and Giotto-san always say things like that! It wasn't a trouble at all, geez!"
There was a look of astonishment on his face before he suppressed a laughter in. "Oh yeah, I forgot to ask you… but are you Japanese, by chance?"
"Eh?"
"Ah, no… it's just that your name… it's so Japanese-like right? And you called Giotto with the prefix '-san' too…" Cozart smiled. "I didn't notice it at first, but then I was reminded of how one of my friends speaks when I keep hearing the way you called Giotto."
'Again?' Tsuna's eyes twinkled in amazement. "Giotto-san also said the same thing. And yes, I used to live in Japan, but I moved here because of some certain circumstances and end up here."
"Hmm," Cozart responded and didn't press anything about the issue. From the way she explained things and from Giotto's careful actions towards her, he could guess about her correctly at exceptional measures. "So, should I call you 'Tsuna-chan' like Giotto? From what I heard, it's how girls are called right?"
"More or less, yeah," Tsuna smiled brightly. "Then… can I call you, Cozart-san?"
"Sure, though I don't think I suit formalities," Cozart smiled.
"Aah, okay," Tsuna smiled. She had somehow expected such a thing. She also agreed wholeheartedly that he doesn't suit formalities as much as G or Giotto. "Then…" she looked at the clock. "It's almost eight o'clock. The children will be up anytime now. I have to pick up the pace."
Cozart nodded before she quickly flipped the pans and start to make the next menu.
Meanwhile…
Giotto leaned his back leisurely to the walls behind him, while looking out to the window. It was still very early, and he, G, and Cozart had barely enough sleep last night so he was pretty uncomfortable and sleepy at the moment.
"How is it, G?" Giotto asked as soon as said person walked out of the room.
"Tch, as expected… I will never get along with that guy," he muttered angrily. Giotto could understand and pat him on his shoulders. G sighed loudly and looked at the blonde, "So? How about at your end?"
A half-smirk emerged on the blonde's face. He pulled out a still-tightly-closed envelope from his pocket. An official stamp decorated the front side of the envelope. "Perfect."
"Hmm… when I spend time like this, it makes me realize that I really have a lot of free time," Tsuna sighed silently. In front of her was Cozart, who had invited her to come to his house a good half an hour ago. She carefully pushed the branches and leaves from her path. 'I wonder why we didn't take the main road though…'
"This path to my home is the best right? Nothing like the fresh feeling of nature!" Cozart's exclamation answered all her question. 'As expected…'
"Umm, is it still far ahead, Cozart?" Tsuna asked, cringing when she failed to avoid a sharp branch that stabbed her leg lightly. She was a bit annoyed. After all, she's not the adventure-type.
"Nope, we're already near, just a few minutes away," Tsuna heard him said. She sighed in relief. All she's seeing was trees and leaves. There's no empty space anywhere; which make her wonder how the teen in front of him didn't get lost. "Ah, speak of the devil, there it is!"
"Ooh!" Tsuna was pretty amazed by the house. It wasn't exclusively big, but it's true that it's located near the outskirt of the town. It was peaceful and quiet, just like any part of the town, and there's a neat small garden in front of the house. In the middle of the plants, an old woman was watering her roses. Somehow the sight has sent a refreshing feeling to her chest.
"Ah, that's my grandma," he stated. "Her cooks are very delicious! I bet you two will get along well."
"I hope so," she smiled as they exited the forest-like place and walked towards Cozart's place.
"Grandma, I'm home," Cozart announced as soon as they arrived at the front fence. The elder turned around slowly and she wore a confused expression as soon as she recognized her grandson was the one who greeted her.
"Eeh? Didn't you just left, Cozart?" she asked and approached her grandson. Now that Tsuna thought about it, Cozart's grandma has the same red hair… not to mention the same eyes color.
"Well, yeah, but I invited a friend to come along," Cozart moved aside so that his grandma could see Tsuna, who's standing behind him the whole time. Suddenly she felt nervous.
"A-ah! Good morning!" she bowed politely. Cozart's grandma smiled and nodded.
"What a good opportunity; I just baked some cookies. You should have some while it's still hot."
"Un, thank you very much," Tsuna bowed in gratefulness.
"Oh yeah, grandma, have you seen Mami?" Cozart rested his hand on the white-colored fence. She pondered a bit, looking upward.
"Let's see…"
"What about me, brother?" a female voice asked, which make both Tsuna and Cozart turned around. Her eyes widened when she saw a little girl with short red hair standing behind them with a basket full of vegetables on her right arm. Her bangs were kept together with two butterfly-shaped clips. She looked pretty… similar? "What, you're home already? I thought you just gone a few hours ago. And aren't you with Giotto or G?"
"What's wrong with me coming home early, Mami," Cozart shrugged nonchalantly. "And for your question, Giotto and G unfortunately didn't tag along this time. We'll probably rendezvous later though."
"Hmm, that's too bad…" Mami looked down a bit before she looked at Tsuna. "And she's…?"
"Ah, I'm Tsunahime, an acquaintance of Cozart, G, and Giotto-san," Tsuna introduced herself. "Pleased to meet you."
"'-san'…? Oh, sorry, I'm Shimon Mami, nice to meet you," the little girl bowed slightly. "It was very rare for my brother to invite a girl home personally, so I was caught a bit off-guard."
"Geez, what are you talking about, Mami?" Cozart grinned as he walked toward Mami. He suddenly ruffled her hair playfully, "You should've trusted your brother a little more."
"Sheesh, brother!" she tried to stop the hands but almost seemed like a futile effort. She looked pretty annoyed, but was not angry. Tsuna couldn't help but smile; she didn't even realize that she's feeling a twinge of envy and longing for such gesture.
"It looks like that you two get along very well, huh," Tsuna commented.
"Ah, I guess," Cozart stopped his hand. "She's my precious little sister after all."
At such a mentioning, Mami blushed a little and pouted. But Tsuna can see a faint smile on the edges of her lips. Tsuna couldn't help but smile. Mami sighed, "I hope that my brother could be a bit more mature like Giotto though…"
"What are you saying, Mami? Don't you know that Giotto can be more childish than me sometimes?" Cozart protested. This has caught both Tsuna and Mami in surprise, or rather, they were absolutely shocked.
"That's impossible!" Mami whined. Tsuna wanted to help Cozart but she, too, think that Mami's answer was far more reasonable. Really, that Giotto is…? Well, Tsuna pursed her lips, it's not like Giotto's extremely mature or anything, but at least he's very well-composed.
"Now, now," finally, Cozart's grandma interrupted calmly. "How about discussing it inside? It's not proper to have a guest waiting for the hosts to finish their argument outside right? And besides, Enma was home too, Cozart. Ah, and Tsuna, do make yourself at home."
The last bit was directed towards her and Tsuna nodded with a smile. "A-ah, yes!"
"Then, let's go inside, Tsuna-chan," Cozart said as he opened the wooden door.
With G and Giotto…
G's eyebrows have been twitching for quite a while now. His veins started to pop one by one, and his grip on the phone was getting stronger. At the last beep that came to his ear, he almost slammed the phone to pieces.
"That… JERK-!" he shrieked the last word with potent irritation. "Gosh; he didn't even pick up his phone! Tch, we don't even need his help, Giotto!"
"Well, don't say that, G," Giotto sighed. "We certainly need him, especially at these times. You know that best, right?"
"Tch, there are plenty of skilled fighters that can easily come here and help us!"
"But there are almost zero percentage of them that we can utterly trust," Giotto said determinedly. "That's why we need him."
"… Agh, geez," G picked the phone and once again press the same buttons he has repeatedly did for a while. "Just one more time, you hear me, Giotto?"
"Sure, G," Giotto said with a smile. Well, the pink-hair has been saying the same thing for at least six times… Giotto closed his eyes and suppressed a chuckle. Looks like he can be reassured on that part.
Meanwhile, with Tsuna…
"Ah, Enma, it's rare for you be home at this hour," Cozart smiled when he saw his brother came down the stairs. Said person, Tsuna noticed, looked a lot like Cozart, only that he's shorter and somewhat have a shy aura around him rather than the outgoing one that Cozart radiated.
"Ah… brother…" the boy, Enma, acknowledged. "I thought you won't be back until evening."
"Why did everyone keep saying that?" Cozart sighed then make a gesture at Tsuna. "Something came up and I wanted to invite her to come by, you see."
"G-good afternoon…" Tsuna greeted politely and bowed. Enma's eyes widened, before he, too, take a bow.
"Good afternoon…" he replied almost with the same way Tsuna did.
"Meow~" that sweet voice immediately perked her ears up and she instantly looked around for the sound. It didn't need to take more than three seconds that she saw a little grayish cat hiding between Enma's legs. There were sparkles and glitters on her eyes, 'Cuteeee!'
Noticing how excited she was, Enma sweat-dropped and lifted the cat on his arms. "Umm, do you want to hold it?"
"Ah, can I?" the timid way she spoke was long gone. Enma nodded and handed her the cat carefully. As soon as the cat was secured in her cradle, she can't help but squeal again. "H-how cute!"
"… You really like cats, do you…" Cozart, Enma, and Mami stared with a sweat-drop. She nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes! But since there are some children in the orphanage that's allergic to its fur, we never have one," Tsuna explained, nuzzling the cat. The cat purred in delight and its tail swayed casually. Both Mami and Enma immediately glanced at their oldest brother when she mentioned the word 'orphanage'. Cozart threw them a knowing smile and shrugged. Letting her freely pet the cat, Mami suddenly got an idea.
"Now that I think about it, it's almost time for some milk right?" Mami looked at Enma meaningfully. He looked confused at first, but then reluctantly nodded.
"U-un, that's right," he smiled.
"Milk?" Tsuna asked.
"Yeah, wanna tag along?" Mami offered the brunette and there's an immediate light shined down her face.
"Absolutely!" Tsuna immediately trailed behind Mami and walked to the kitchen. Cozart and Enma, who also followed along behind them in a slower pace, watch them in a strange sense of ease and familiarity. 'Be a bodyguard heh… Giotto?' Cozart thought with a smile.
Later…
Tsuna breathed out a long sigh and sat down with a thump. Opening her eyes, she saw both Enma and Mami putting all the utensils they've used back to its place, while she pour some water unto the cat's bowl. It's almost dark already, and sweat has started to drip from her forehead. The afternoon earlier, after letting the cat drink some portion of his milk, they decided to go outside when Tsuna offered to teach Mami how to make flower crowns.
Now, everything has settled down and everybody decided to stay indoors until dinner. Looking at her skin, she realized that it's slightly tanned from all the sun. She smiled inwardly, though, liking the fun and exciting moments. Even the shy Enma was very nice to her. It could only be better if Giotto and G tag along. As soon as she thought of that, she looked behind her shoulder and saw the front door. It was open, and she saw Cozart standing by the doorframe.
Curious, she stood up and walked to him, "Are you waiting for Giotto-san?"
"Yes," he grinned and nodded. "He's pretty late."
"… You two must be very close huh?" Tsuna smiled. "I could tell from the way Giotto talks about you."
Cozart laughed wholeheartedly. "Really? He did?"
She nodded. "Mm-hmm... Ah, now that I think about it does G-san and Giotto-san also have siblings?"
"Hmm, G also has two siblings, like me, but Giotto is an only child."
"Heeh…"
"Yup, that's why his grandpa got protective over Giotto frequently," he chuckled. "Oh yeah, I want to ask you something too."
"What?"
"What do you think of Giotto?"
"Eeeh?" a hue of red immediately spread on her cheeks.
"There's no reason behind the question… but I was just curious after seeing the way you two acts around each other," Cozart explained. However, seeing her discomfort and embarrassed posture, he decided to retreat. "Let's see… do you consider going to the festival with him?"
"W-what?" Tsuna nearly gasped. What Cozart possibly meant was the festival dance; it's a very simple and small dance, but it was the best interest for couples and that's why it's not strange for teens to try and find their dance partners for the night. Tsuna, every year, decided to just stuff herself with food and snacks with the children rather than participating in the big circle of dancers. "N-n-no! I can't even think of it as a possibility!"
"Heh? Why?"
"Well… there are many other girls, better than me, competing for his attention. And besides, I never even danced before," she pouted. "And lastly, I hate crowds. It would be very embarrassing if I make a fool of myself in such a public place."
"But you know what?" the edge of Cozart's lips quirked into a smile. "Giotto, too, has never participated in the dance."
"Huh? That's impossible! I thought…" Tsuna wanted to continue her sentence with a 'he's one of the most sought-for boy in town' but somehow her lips sealed themselves. She, instead, urged Cozart to continue what he meant. Instead of giving an answer, the red-head just grinned and patted her head.
"If you want to know the reason, you'll have to ask Giotto himself," he told her mischievously. "Although this year it might be different."
"…? I really don't understand…" she mumbled with a displeased tone.
"Ah, speak of the devil…"
She saw the two teens walked down the path toward where she and Cozart were standing. The two of them eased their conversation as soon as their eyes caught sight of both Cozart and Tsuna. Cozart walked out until the front gate, "You're really late."
"Sorry, got caught in something unexpected," Giotto smiled sheepishly. G rolled his eyes and muttered, "Yeah right."
"I can imagine pretty much what happened," Cozart grinned understandingly, which was appreciated by the two. Tsuna decided to go to the front gate as well, rather than standing idly by the doorway. Hearing the conversation, she smiled too, despite not knowing anything they're communicating about. She almost jumped when Giotto's blue eyes fell on her.
"By the way, Tsuna-chan, there's something I want to ask you," he smiled.
"W-what?"
Giotto's smile softened. "Do you want to go with me to the festival dance?"
"Eh?" she blinked. "Eeeeeeehhh?"
A/N: You might think the same thing like I did, "Oh my gosh, when is the romance gonna develop?!" and I'll have to say, along with that, that I will add one more chapter than I originally planned. At first, I think I that I could wrap it all up at five chapters, but as expected, I need more chapter for the romance not to be rushed or something. Hehe, but don't worry, it won't go as far as ten chapters or something (I fully realize the horrible duration of just one single update…). Anyway, despite all that, I hope that you enjoy this chapter! And yes, I decided to insert Enma and Mami. Why? Because Cozart is such a cute big bro and without Enma as one of his siblings in an AU fic is just incomplete hahahahaha.
Well, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter! As I've mentioned at the first A/N, there will be a few more updates in these few days, so I hope you'll also be expecting it X3. Thanks a lot guys! See ya! XDDD
Questions you might ask as a reader (or I will if I'm one)
Q: What's keeping Giotto and G so busy? What are they doing exactly?
A: Something mysterious. Hehehe, it'll be revealed in the next chapter. But to clarify some stuff, Giotto was trying to get an official stamp to send a letter to someone. While G was having problem when he's trying to call someone. Hehehe
Q: Hooh… so… Tsuna already feel 'something' towards Giotto? Vice versa?
A: Hmm… maybe a little… but I think it'll start to develop a bit later.
Q: … Why is Cozart so cheerful here? I thought he's also supposed to be a bit more mature?
A: Hmm, I was thinking of the same thing as I typed it. But when I truly think about it, the chapter's already done. And when I re-read it, well, I changed it a bit… so I'm sorry if there's still some parts that you think 'too cheerful'. Because honestly, I think that he's a very outgoing and friendly guy who's playful and kind to his siblings and friends. Maybe a bit too jolly in this fic huh… what do you think?
Q: Festival dance… huh. There sure a lot of events for a small town and a small festival.
A: Well… hahaha *rubs the back of my head* On a more serious note, however, when you hear the word 'festival' in a vintage place like this fic, I can't help but to think of a dance, too, somehow. Haha
Q: How come Giotto never participated in the dance? Does that meant Cozart and G, too?
A: Well, it'll be explained on the next chapter :3
Q: Every character was confused about the Japanese prefixes…
A: Well… I don't know what I was thinking of when I was re-writing this fic, but then when I think of a vintage Italian town… I just can't help but feel a bit out of place for the people to communicate with '-kun', '-san', '-chan', etc so naturally, so I make a quick intro on the characters. Of course, I was a bit troubled too, because there are many situations that we (well, we watch and read anime/manga which is in Japanese format) find strange without the prefixes. Actually, I was wondering if there are ways to call an older figure in Italian, too, since in my country there's a special way to call them (and I think every country have too) so I'll have to apologize if I don't use the correct Italian format. Hehe, do tell me if you know, though :3
Q: So, who's the Japanese friend that Cozart and Giotto mentioned about?
A: Huh, I don't think I even need to ask this huh? ;3