A/N: And it's the chapter three at least! It turned out to be longer than the latest one, I'm glad. Sorry for the late update, I was really busy with my study and couldn't finish and update this chapter in May, as I thought I would. At least, I was able to finish it before August, lol *embarrassed* And please, bear with my grammar mistakes or misspelling if there's one, until I upload the beta-ed version (which might take a while).
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited or alerted!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn but if did, I would write a whole arc only with the first generation of Vongola.
Important: "Speaking in Japanese."
"Speaking in Italian."
Thoughts
Chapter Three: May Thou, Never Lose Your Light?
It was a common knowledge between the people from Vongola mansion that within the place practically none of the guardians get along that well. No one knew for certain when the trouble started at the mansion; G would say it started right after Lampo and Daemon arrived but Asari would say everything was right. Even now. Some members of Vongola's servants would say that 'young' masters should behave as adults while Lampo retorted he was only a kid. But no matter what one said, no one could deny that, recently, things were getting even worse for them. Especially for a certain red haired man.
There had been a time when G could walk by the mansion and peacefully read a book without being disturbed. In the old days, there wasn't any kid near him who could possibly ask him to do stupid things such as play with him. Most of all, there had been a time when he actually could sleep instead of spending this precious time planning how to make up the mistakes of a certain kid. But unfortunately, that era, much like the expensive French vase Giotto had bought, was finished.
It was barely 42 hours since other person entered his life only to make it like a living hell. G was asked by Giotto to make sure that the Japanese boy, Tsunayoshi Sawada, felt like in home. He couldn't decline the task, even though he wanted to. They already had so many things to worry about; he couldn't give Giotto more worries.
G was leaving the room the boy was temporarily using when he heard a weak and shy wait. The brunette boy asked him, even though G could clearly see he was uncomfortable with that situation, why he didn't like him when did nothing.
Exactly! He did nothing. That was the point; the boy did nothing so far when he was absolutely sure he would. He didn't trust him after all.
G left the room without saying anything. The heavy door closed with a click and loud sigh echoed through the long corridor. He just stood behind the door, his back resting on the reddish wood, making a serious face.
The redhead man scratched his neck and shook his head in clear exhaustion. Just what was going on? The mansion was in a full mess since that kid came from nowhere. If it wasn't enough, they just had four more days until that stupid mafia party. Wait! It wasn't four days anymore. They only had three days! They spent a whole day taking care of that brat since he was too much injured.
He hadn't been given much option. Since Knuckle was there with them the whole process, they had to stand close to the boy and watch closely his breaths. The priest insisted that the unknown boy might have been through tough things and he should need not just medical care but a more friendly care. In his mind, the younger one already was their fellow just because he could feel it.
Sigh.
G pressed his temples and repeated to himself to calm down. It wasn't the end of the world, well, not yet. It would be if they didn't attend the party in less than four days. Not to comment there still had many things to be done before they go. If only Giotto knew how much he still had to deal with, perhaps he didn't give so many tasks to be done in such short time.
Incomplete missions and lot of report to do and read, take care of the intimidating part of being Giotto's right hand man and being responsible to babysit a certain green-haired inconsequential teenager – that was his life.
The tattooed man started walking away from the room and when he was sure he was far away from there, he lit a cigarette as he leaned his back on a wall. Thinking about Lampo reminded him that he should look for the annoying brat; they had a mission to attend to in the afternoon. It was an easy mission but still, in their current state they shouldn't afford to be doing such things like patrolling the city. Ah, his life isn't that easy. He was very sure he would go bald before his thirties.
G massaged the bridge of the nose and threw the cigarette out the window. He started walking right away again and headed towards the kitchen, where the snot-nosed brat could possibly be.
Asari, who was in his room personally modified for him in an old fashioned Japanese style, put back on the small table an equally small pot of tea. He took a sip of the green tea he had brewed himself. After lowering the small pot, he took a deep inhale of the tea with a pleased sigh; it was a very important ceremony to him and he gently took a sip just to savour the strong flavour. Asari closed his eyes. Ah, everything was amazingly calm and how nice it would be if it continued like that. He lowered the cup down, putting it next to the teapot.
Calmly, the Japanese man stood up, arranging the wrinkles in his Japanese clothing and walked elegantly – even though no one was watching him – to a corner of his room. Sitting on his heels he looked at his longest sword. It had been a while since he had such an opportune time to train; he should give it a try. Sure, why not?
Asari took his sword and slowly inhaled air, shutting his eyes to focus better. In an instant it seemed like he wasn't in his room anymore, but in an uninhabited mountain in his loved country Japan.
He did as many times in his life: take a deep breath and slowly exhale it...
Just as when he was ready to unsheathed his sword and perfectly cut down a model made of straw which was in front of him, the door was unforgivably slid to the side with a loud 'THUMP' and a noisy voice emerged, quite frightening him.
"Oi, have you seen that brat Lampo?" G asked, peeping the inside of the old-fashioned room. The redhead man blinked as he noticed that the Japanese man was static in his spot, with the sword stop in mid air, an inch of the straw man. "Just what the hell are you doing?" Inquired, elegantly raising an eyebrow.
G didn't wait for a response and answered it himself. "Forget it. It's as I can see, he is not here."
He sighed.
"Che, I have to go hurting for him somewhere else then. If he is not in the kitchen, where is he?" he wondered out loud.
With that G left Asari still frozen in his spot just like that.
For the first time in his life, Asari felt like cursing the Storm Guardian.
After looking for thousand of possible places, the hot-headed man almost gave up. He got tired of asking the servants and having the same 'I'm sorry master G, I don't know' every single time as he asked all of them. He had been looking for Lampo for almost an hour when he heard voices coming from the dinning room. He turned left and stepped in, instantly realising the presence of the lazy Lightning Guardian.
He grinned. Nice timing, just who he has been looking for.
"Found you, you lazy coward!" he yelled. His expression was clearly angry, which made his face as red as his hair. If anyone asked him to express in proper words what he was feeling right now, he couldn't explain it such was his anger. Well, he didn't really hate Lampo, he just dislike him.
When his gaze fell on another teenager in the room, he felt like rolling his eyes. If it wasn't good enough having to bear the presence of the green-haired lazy boy, he had another one to take care of. That's why he's always saying to Giotto not be deceived by people so easily! As if he would trust the brat just because his long-time friend told him to do so.
"Oh. You." he said, slightly sounding rude to the younger one.
The redhead looked sharply at Tsuna who in turn gulped. G narrowed his eyes; he didn't like it. He didn't like being in a situation like this. That boy just seemed like a carbon copy of his childhood friend, expect for his eyes and hair's colours. More importantly, at the same time the Japanese boy looked so frightened, he looked so confident in himself. No, it wasn't confidence. Was it courage? No, it was more than that. It was like resolution he had seen so many times before. And again, just like Giotto.
Interesting, that's what he thought as he grinned slightly.
In a fraction of minutes he was confused. Lampo was looking at the boy in complete amazement, as if he had just seen Giotto with a bottle full of candies in front of him. That was under-stable since they looked like a lot, but he didn't have to make such a fuss. But, what made him even more confused was Alaude's expression – since when that bastard had been there anyway?
The blond French man, heartless and another annoying one, narrowed his eyes as looked at the brunette boy. It wasn't as if he haven't done it before, but the way he did it...G could notice that Alaude was thinking about something really important and planning to do something unpleasant. Poor boy.
And again, why was that? He had to admit it, the boy really looked like Giotto but so what? It won't make him trust or like a bit the boy.
He wasn't really paying attention when the brunette boy came to him and tried to lecture him, his senses were telling him that there was another presence in the room. By looking from the corner of his left eye he noticed that Alaude sensed it too, but didn't put it in attention as much as him.
His fears were proven right when a cold voice echoed through the place as he spoke, "Nufufufu~ Why are all the little dogs gathered here?"
Just as he thought.
Daemon! He thought, gritting his teeth.
Ever since the beginning he didn't like the man, it was as if they were water and oil – they didn't match at all. Giotto once tried to resolve this problem by putting them on the same mission and it turned out in a disaster later.
This man was seriously a pain in the ass back then, he thought remembering the event in deep shame. That mission was a complete fail and became a taboo between the Vongola guardians. Well, even now.
"Oh, Primo!" Daemon called the 'boss' as he noticed an amount of fluffy hair between the red-haired guardian and Lampo. He was already heading towards 'Giotto' when he noticed something weird. Since when Giotto had brown hair? As if! Then…could it be he dyed his hair, but for what purpose? He decided to ask. "Primo, since when did you darkened your hair?"
He sensed the 'man' tense a little when he grabbed him by his shoulder and abruptly spun around to face the person who had touched him.
Both men stepped back. Daemon, because he realised that the person before him wasn't Giotto and Tsuna because he felt fear throughout his whole body. The boy defensively clenched his fists and crouched slightly, ready for any sudden attack. His feet was trembling with fear and his jaw just kept going up and down in his frustrated attempts to make any sound come out.
Tsuna gave up from his position when he cooled down his head.
His mouth that he couldn't truly feel had turned dry, and when opened it another time his voice come out a tone lower. "D-Daemon Spade!"
G, who had been quiet watching everything, decided to interferer as he sensed the strange mood between the boy and the walking watermelon – as he secretly called Daemon. It turned out to be a strange situation when G realised what he had done.
Just why am I trying to protect him?
Unknown to him, Alaude analysed every move each one of them did with attentive eyes. A sudden curiosity lit inside his chest and his skin burst with an unimaginable excitement; it had been ages since he felt that as intensely as now. It was getting even more interesting as the seconds passed by.
He silently excused himself and spun on his heel.
Daemon narrowed his eyes as he studied attentively the teen. How unexpected they had a visitor in such difficult time, and more than that, most probably was Giotto's relative.
A discomforting mood spread around the room as the aristocratic man took a step closer to the younger one, graciously taking a lock of his brown hair. It was weird enough to make you think crazy things by anyone's standards.
Needless to say, Tsuna was already freaking out having to put up with such discomfort for the sake of his stay in the mansion. In the time being at least. If not for this and other reasons such as 'This Daemon knows nothing' or 'You can't interfere the history as you please', he wouldn't be so reckoned as he was being.
Little he knows that someone was actually having some fun with the whole situation. It was pleasant that after a tiring mission Daemon found a new pet to toy with. The scared lion cub in front of him, or at least it was how he was seeing Tsuna as, looked like he was ready to cave a role on the ground to hide himself. There wasn't a better thing than deceiving people, and after all, it was his role as the Mist Guardian.
"Oya, you are not Primo," he stated the obvious as he stared straight at Tsuna's honey brown eyes.
The brunette widened his eyes at that statement and his whole body started shaking again. Oh, it really was pleasant toying with people. Daemon's eyes narrowed even more menacingly at the thought and a creepy smile danced in the corner of his lips.
"You…who are you?"
Giotto was having a very strange dream.
His eyes shot open and he stepped out of bed barefoot. His vision still was hazy and blurred, strange forms dancing in the corner of his eyes, making him wonder if he was still sleeping but with his eyes open; he had done it before while filing his paperwork. It wasn't a very good experience because G hurried into his office room screaming about responsibility. At the time, he was still sleepy, and frustrated because he couldn't remember what the dream had been about, which made G explode in fury.
G was always a little explosive than him and he always gave him lectures such as don't be so naive when dealing with people. Honestly speaking, he had a certain pleasure in taking forward and says what was right and what was wrong for Giotto, just like a parent would do. More like a big brother though, he pondered.
Good times. Although much time has passed, he still remembers their wonderful time together as kids. No excessive worries or mafia and its danger. There were only kids play and sometimes helping people in their poor town.
The mafia boss smiled a little as he felt a good feeling of nostalgia when he remembered the old times. He stood before the door and recalled what happened seconds ago.
Panting, Giotto leaned forward to hang his head down toward his knees, feeling the hot breads of sweat rolling down his face. Although he could feel his whole body burning hot, his hands and feet were cold like stone. It had been a while since the last time he woke with his heart pounding too hard in his chest. His hands were shaking and there was a weird urgent to drink water invading him.
The blond young man buried his face in his hands and suddenly slapped himself in the face, as if to wake up from a bad dream. Actually, this was a bad dream. In his very inside he feared it could come true and he somehow wanted to do something about it. Perhaps he could confide that dream with someone; it was a good idea after all.
More than exhausting himself about some unreal, he had lots to do and one particular thing to deal with. He couldn't blame Tsunayoshi Sawada, a Japanese boy who just happened to come from nowhere and refused to say anything. Although he recalled to have said he didn't want to force the boy to tell him the truth, he was curious.
Giotto was curious to know how did the kid got those wounds, why did he came to Italy and with who. He wanted to know something about his background, because he could even help him depending on what happened.
The dream still continued fresh in his mind as his hand reached the doorknob and turned it slightly to the right.
Giotto walked quietly through the corridors of the mansion he acquired a few years ago and yawned sloppy – after having ascertained that there was no one around looking at such a particular moment.
He scratched his head and gave a little laugh when he realised the state his clothes were; he was so stunned when he woke up and rushed to get out of the room that did not even realise he had to change clothes.
"I think I'm still an air-headed person as G says I am."
After changing himself, Giotto looked through the window and put a hand under his chin. It was suspiciously quiet; not the outside of the mansion, the nature was as lively as ever, but the inside of the mansion. Usually at this hour of the morning could be heard plates crashing, explosions in one of the nearly reformed rooms and yells. But it was unusually quiet: not even a drop of water falling down in the kitchen.
"Something is definitely happening down there," he sighed.
And definitely was.
"Will you answer me or keep staring at me like an idiot?" Daemon raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. The brunette kid had been staring at him for already a minute and said nothing. He wasn't expecting that kind of treatment of the person he thought to be Giotto's relative, the boy should be respectful to the adults and answer when they asked something.
G stepped forward before Daemon could say anything else.
"Don't you see he's scared of you? You appear like that, out of nowhere, and start asking him questions out of the blue!" he wasn't sure why he was protecting the boy since he still was unsure if he should accepted him at the mansion, but it wasn't right let him feel scared because of Daemon. The mist guardian didn't do anything that could give him the sure he wasn't in their side, actually, Daemon loved Vongola and its purpose. The problem, however, was only one: he was a fool in love.
"Sometimes I have the feeling you don't like me so much, you know?" Daemon asked the other guardian. He sat on an armchair and crossed his legs. His eyes wandered the dinning room and stopped on one particular spot. "Wasn't Alaude here?" he wondered out loud and shuttered. "Never mind. So, young boy, are you Primo's little brother or something like that?"
Tsuna opened his mouth but only to be interrupted when a voice came from behind him.
"I was thinking where everyone was, so…are you two having a friendly chat with Tsunayoshi boy here?" Giotto appeared in Tsuna's side and smiled to the two guardians. For a second, Tsuna thought he had seen a sad expression appear in G's face, but as soon as it appeared, it faded away.
"Something like that," Daemon answered, smiling.
Smiling. Tsuna had just seen Daemon Spade smiling to Giotto. It wasn't a smirk; it was a real and friendly smile. So it was true, Daemon didn't go against Primo right from the start.
"I was asking the little boy here who he is, just that," he completed and looked at G, rudely pointing at him. "But your watch dog over there, overreacted like always."
A vein popped in G's forehead and he slowly turned to face the other.
"And I was just saying you were scaring the kid because of your face, which is, undoubtedly scary."
This time Daemon decided to stand up and walk straight to the other guardian, stopping right in front of the red haired man.
"You have a ridiculous red tattoo on the right side of your face," he said slowly, and this time, he smirked.
G narrowed his eyes and bit his bottom lip. He opened his mouth but nothing came out; he was out of ideas. He internally cursed and began to think of new insults. This battle Daemon had won, but not the war.
Tsuna blinked. Was it a hallucination or Daemon Spade and G were quarrelling like kids? It was completely childish, and quite funny. He took a hand to his mouth and laughed a bit, drawing Giotto's attention to him. Giotto shook his head and placed a hand on his shoulder for a moment and squeezed, giving him a small smile right after.
"They've been like this for quite a while now," he justified the other two men's actions and looked at them with a light in the eyes. In truth, rather than childish their way of quarrelling, it was peaceful to watch. It gave a feeling of real family, in which you could have a support whenever you needed. And the most important: it was way better than the family the 'future' Daemon wanted to built for the Vongola.
Tsuna felt himself smiling at the scene as well.
"But it's better this way, right?"
After a disastrous lunch with all the Vongola guardians, and Giotto swore that it happened every single day, Asari took Tsuna to a walk in the garden while Lampo and G prepared their things to go to the town.
It was three o'clock when G and Lampo went out of the mansion for their mission. They walked through the city and greeted the civilians from time to time. After doing everything they were supposed to, they stopped at their third destination that day, a tailor, and entered in. The small bell above it, at the same height as the door, rang melodiously as they passed by the doorway and waited at the entrance of the shop. There was no one to be seen and G even wondered if there was anyone in the store, but of course, the owner couldn't have left it open.
Someone cried out from the back room that he would be there in an instant and they waited, much for the impatient Lampo, who already complained of hunger. Moments later an old man, in his sixties, dark hair and some gray locks, went through a door and pulled up the sleeves of his white shirt and greeted them with a bright smile.
"Mister G and young mister Lampo! What a pleasure to have you two here!" the old man turned around the counter to observe them better. "Young mister Lampo has grown up to a noticeable young man!"
G raised his right eyebrow and swallowed the laughter.
A noticeable young man? Is that even a compliment? He thought in amusement.
"And mister G is as charming as ever."
G coughed awkwardly.
"Thank you."
The man clapped his hands and looked expectantly to G and then Lampo. The younger remained silent, and with a bored face on. The teenager didn't get why he had to do such boring things along with the red octopus head. If Giotto wanted to punish him for breaking the expensive French vase from the nineteenth century, he should have done something a little unpleasant.
The old man cleared his throat.
"So, to what I have the pleasure of your visit, may I ask?" he asked. "But please, forgive my rudeness. Come on in."
G nodded and followed the man to a second back room, with Lampo following suit.
"I presume you, Mr. Franco, has received our request for new suits and I just came to make sure that they will be ready in time." G informed in a professional manner.
"Oh, yes!" Mr. Franco gestured wildly to the next room, his studio, where all requests were made and stored, and returned to look at the red-haired young man. "Your new suits will be ready promptly. Please, do not worry. I'll even take them to your mansion."
"No need," G shook his head. "I myself will be here to take them. You don't need to risk yourself being seen delivering something in front of our mansion."
The old man green eyes shone in pure admiration and he took G hands, shaking them fervently.
"Mister G is kind as ever. Thank you very much, sir!"
G simply shook his head, giving a small smile in thanks.
"Still speaking in business. Would you send one of you assistants to our mansion? We have an unexpected visitor who needs to take some measures."
The older tilted his head and raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"An unexpected visitor?" Mr. Franco echoed.
"Yes," answered G sighing. He still hadn't accepted the current situation. "The person…he will be most likely be staying at the mansion for a while."
After that, Lampo and G went on a patrol around the city when they heard screams coming from not so afar from where they were. Both guardians looked at each other and silently agreed in coming, even though Lampo was more interested in what was in that direction – a delicatessen.
The screams were getting louder when after five minutes running to the ends of the city, which lead to some poor houses and a mountain.
"Someone, help!" A woman's voice screamed.
The two Vongola guardians stopped running when they entered the longest shopping boulevard in the city. There were dozens of shops and bars throughout the area, as well as florists, confectionaries and bakeries. That was the local where almost everything happened. Unfortunately, there was no such thing as wealth or anything that could make you think of plenty. It was a poor town, like most cities of the Italian Kingdom.
The largest class of people in the nearly unified Italian country at the time just happened to the poorest – the farmers and the labourers. But even those who were a little richer were having bad times in the last years. The poorest still lived in small houses with probably one room, without running water and proper meals during day. Nevertheless, that was an area considered abundant, rich, compared with the rest of the city. There still was some colour in there.
After getting some air, G ran his gaze down the street. There was a group of people gathered in front of one of the most popular bars known in the region; G was one of the regulars of the place in the past. He realised that people were not having a normal conversation. One person, a woman, whose hair was terribly messy, was speaking desperately pointing to the mountain.
"Let's go there." G informed walking towards the confusion.
"Why would I, the great Lampo, follow your orders and come along with you?" the teen asked reluctantly going too.
The other didn't give much attention and just continued running.
"Look! It's mister G and mister Lampo! They are coming toward us!"
When G stopped in front of the group, the young lady who was talking to the people in front of the bar, raised her hand to her mouth and blushed. She had heard of the guardians of Vongola, a mafia group who protected the town, but never had seen one of them in person. She was new in town, since she only came because her younger sister was getting married. Her heart calmed down after she remembered she had a husband, who was good to her.
"Apologise me for interrupting your conversation like this but, may I ask what is wrong?" G asked the group after Lampo stopped at his side.
The younger one rolled his eyes. He didn't know what pissed him off the most, if it was when G yelled at him through the whole mansion just because he haven't done his simple missions in a more satisfactory way or if it was when he acted like a educated person if front of others. Hypocrite.
A man in his barely thirties stepped forward. He had good clothes but they were too big for him, which is why it gave him a much younger appearance, and his shoes were scuffed and muddy. A few strands of his brown hair were stuck on the forehead because of the sweat in his face and he was unshaven. His slightly tanned skin made his green eyes even more enhanced. When he spoke, G was sure he had less than thirty years – most likely he was a 25-years-old man.
"This young lady," the man pointed to the woman with dirty blond hair who blushed when G looked at her. "She just said she heard noises, loud noises, coming from the mountain. Minutes after she saw men in black running after a boy with strange clothes."
G looked suspiciously at the woman one more time before his eyes fell on Lampo.
"Men in black? And moreover, a boy with strange clothes?" He wondered out loud, a hand under his chin. Suddenly an idea popped inside his head. He should have thought about that sooner. G looked up and gave a small smile to the people staring at him with hopeful eyes. "I'll deal with this problem. Please, stay at rest."
"Let's go," he said to Lampo, who even reluctantly, agreed and started running in a fast speed.
They climbed the steep hill silently, listening to any sound that might indicate a sign of struggle. The hills were growing steeper and the leaves scattered in the wind. In the distance, three hundred feet below them, the sun glistened off a small lake. The poor lighting where they were, in the middle of the forest, made it hard to search for any kind of clue that would indicate that people had been there not long ago.
"She saw men in black running after a boy with strange clothes." G remembered.
"Why do I have this bad feeling?" he voiced his thoughts unaware of the glares he just received from Lampo. The younger one had kept his eyes on the other after he noticed the silence. Normally, G would be complaining about how he hated when unexpected things happened, mostly after a tiring mission they just had.
"Did you say something?" asked the younger in his always-bored tone. Maybe the other man was just unusual quiet.
G looked at him in surprise, ashamed he had just been found out talking to himself out loud, and looked other way. Lampo could see a tiny flash of red growing in G's cheeks, though.
"No. I did not," he said faking his shame in a professional manner of lying. He was an expert already. When dealing with younger people, G just happened to learn that. It becomes pretty useful in times like that. "You're just hearing things, like an old man."
Lampo widened his eyes at the comment. He was about to say something but G didn't give him time to complain about how mean he was being and just continued running with all his strength.
The sun was setting when they heard an explosion from the west. G quickened his pace and ran towards where the sound had come from. With the help of his sharp hearing he could say that there was four people struggling.
"Let's hurry!" G shouted to Lampo.
The explosions were getting louder as they got near to the place. The rocks and thick roots above the ground made the running even more difficult and the drizzle falling on their heads did not help at all. Lampo was ready to complaint about his sore feet when a shot passed an inch from his face, going straight to a tree. Coward as he was, the teenager fell down and he winced. G looked in all directions, looking for where that bullet had come from when his eyes captured two figures coming towards him. A third person could be seen in a clearing.
"Who are you people, shooting without warning?" G asked in pure anger.
His eyes scanned the area and found the fourth person, lying on the ground, with blood running out of the mouth. He was smaller than him, a boy with around 16-17 years, barely a kid, with several injuries all over the body. The blood stained in his shirt, that was white before, was fresh which meant that people made it.
"Trespassing the Vongola family's territory, causing such commotion without a previous warning, and furthermore, hurting weak people like this? It is unacceptable."
For a moment he thought he sounded like Alaude and mentally rolled his eyes. That wasn't the right moment to try to sound cool. He took his gun out; since that wasn't an official mission gave by Giotto to him, there wasn't a reason to use his bow and arrow on such people. The three men seemed surprised for a moment but did nothing.
"I assume you know the price for it?" he asked in a soft voice, though his expression was as cold as it could possibly be. He glanced at the boy lying on the ground at narrowed his eyes. G was pretty much satisfied to see the men flinching from the corner of his eye.
The green-haired teenager, who was still sat on the ground, slowly got up to his feet and stood behind G. The red haired man gave a quick look at the younger guardian and immediately turned his gaze to the troublemakers. He had seen those three men somewhere around the city a month ago, but couldn't seriously remember any more than that. G just had the feeling he couldn't involve Lampo in that fight.
"Hey, I need you to do something for me. Go back to the mansion and report what's happening here," he explained in calm voice, taking a step forward. "Quick!"
The younger seemed frozen in his spot but as soon as he head the other hurry him, he started running downhill without saying anything.
But the plan couldn't be perfect.
"Oh, not so fast! What made you think you're going to run away, boy?" a man with a red haired beard, but brown hair, shouted and started shooting in Lampo's direction. The lightning guardian squeaked and quickened his pace. In an instant, G was in front of the man blocking his way to shot.
"And what made you think you'll have the time to think about that brat?" he smirked.
Ten minutes later the three men were lying on the floor. G didn't kill them, but they won't wake up for a while, and it will be time enough to take that kid out of there.
He walked towards the boy and crouched beside him, verifying his state. The boy was alive; a few scratches in his pale face and despite the amount of blood in his shirt, he hasn't lost much blood. He didn't have many injuries. At least not fatal ones.
The younger one was leaning on the ground, coughing blood from his mouth. When he finished doing it, G cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the boy to himself. G caught a glimpse of the boy's face, which was partially shaded because of the hair.
"I will help you, so don't worry," he assured the youngster. It was not his habit to smile to strangers, even more in a situation like that, but he made an effort and gave the other an awkward smile. "I am not a suspicious person."
G was aware that saying you're not a suspicious person could make people think you really are a suspicious person, but it wasn't the time to think about those things.
This voice…! the boy thought, widening his eyes.
He made an effort to sit down and looked up. Sunlight sparkled on his light hair. G blinked repeatedly and tried to keep his eyelids half-closed to minimize the light from entering his eyes. Although the boy's hair was wet because of the drizzle, he still could see the exact hair's colour. It matched perfectly with the boy's eyes.
The silver-haired boy with emerald eyes glanced at him with veracious eyes that could send him a shiver down the spine if he wasn't only a boy.
"Is this some kind of a bad joke or am I bad dreaming?" he asked in a hoarse voice, although his question was more for himself than to the other. He had instinctively spoke in Italian.
The boy scratched his neck and looked around.
I must have gone insane, the boy thought, bringing his hands up to his head in despair. What's he doing here? This can't be real. He must be an U.M.A.!
G became alert by the boy's actions and stretched out a hand to help. The boy harshly refused his help to stood up and leaned on his left bow. He closed his eyes for some seconds and when he opened them, they were full of confusion.
"Are you alright?" G asked in concern.
The younger just shook his head and looked up at the so familiar red haired man. G nodded with his head and decided to ask more.
"Where it hurts? Do you have a broken bone?" his voice was quieter than usual. Normally, he would not be as helpful to someone he barely knew.
The boy repeated the action and shook his head again.
"Hm, I don't have any," he answered, carefully touching with a finger to each of his injuries. G was sure the boy was lying; he possibly couldn't be fine. But the younger one suddenly got up, surprising the other.
G frowned and raised an eyebrow.
"Where are you going?" surely the boy couldn't be thinking on walking with all those injuries. Although they were not that serious, still, they needed to be treated. "You're not in the condition to push yourself too hard! Let me take you to a place where you will have this injuries cleaned up and bandaged."
The silver-haired boy reluctantly agreed after seeing that he couldn't walk straight without any support.
"By the way, what's your name brat? I think I'll have to go to your parents later and tell them you're fine."
The boy's eyebrow twitched by being called a brat, but did nothing because he didn't have much energy left.
"Hayato Gokudera," he answered with a proud expression, puffing his chest. He smirked a little, that old man was the same back then, when they met him in their own time.
G placed Gokudera's left arm on his shoulder and pushed him up.
"Nice, another Japanese," G complained under his breath and started walking with the boy. "Mine's G, only G, pleasure."
Yeah, I already know, Gokudera said to himself in thoughts and rolled his eyes.
It all happened very fast. Gokudera caught a glimpse of a shadow behind them and only had time to warn the older guardian.
"G!"
Tsuna turned around and looked to the city's direction. He was sure he just heard a familiar voice, but there was nothing to be heard expect for the sound of nature and the sound of the city.
"What's wrong, Tsunayoshi-kun?" Asari asked when the boy suddenly turned to the other way with a confused expression in his face. "You're pale! Did something happen?"
"I-It's nothing," Tsuna shook his head and smiled a little. They started walking again and Asari pointed to the tea tables, asking him if he would like to drink some tea. He agreed, smiling again. He was almost sure that anything was wrong; it was just a trick his mind was playing on him. It had to be it.
G strongly pressed his left arm that had been shot and cursed under breath. They had taken a long time to get out of there and the 'rebels' had already waked up. The three men were pointing their guns at them, smirking evilly. He was sure now, he had met those three men before, and it had be a hell of a meeting.
He was caught off guard when Gokudera stepped forward and made a cold expression as he looked at the men.
"I will take them down!" he bravely shouted.
G almost laughed, that is, if they were not in a dangerous situation. Somehow, he found the boy much like himself, not just by his appearance, but mostly by his personality. The boy was, or so it seemed to be, impatient and didn't like to depend on others. Always willing to take the lead. But that wasn't the time for a boy of his age to go acting all cool.
"Hum?" He muttered looking at the barely conscious silver-haired boy in front of him. "I'll acknowledge that you've got some guts, brat."
For a moment Gokudera thought G had agreed with his suggestion, but just for a moment. He knew the man wasn't that weak.
"But, no. I will do it myself," he completed, smirking at the younger. "Like a hell will let you take the front and have all the fun for yourself."
Gokudera coughed twice before saying, "Hah? What are you saying, old man? Wa-Wait!"
The bomber coughed one more time, trying to stand still.
"I have…I haven't lost yet! L-Let me defeat him…If not, Juudaime will be in danger! You didn't hear what they said before, but I did!"
Gokudera was with his whole body shaking, supporting himself with his bloody hands on his weak knees. G sighed and shook his head in disbelief. He wasn't expecting such an idiotic act coming from a serious boy who seemed value this Juudaime guy life.
"Give up, you idiot!" he said, turning his back to the poor boy, who was still with his body shaking. "This stupid fight is nothing worth dying for." He walked to the enemy looking at them in expectation, but Gokudera grabbed his right arm. "Get off me, brat!"
The grip on the sleeve of his shirt became tighter. Gokudera didn't give a damn about G's advice, he did what he thought to be the right at the moment; he looked up at the first Storm Guardian with his emerald eyes filled with determination and gave him a grin.
"Idiot! It's not a stupid fight, old man!" G's right eye twisted after being called an old man. How rude of that brat, he was in his nearly twenties!
"It's my duty as a right hand man to throw away my life for Juudaime!" He shouted unaware of the angry look in G's face.
G spun on his heel just to face Gokudera with a serious face, and despite the circumstances, that was what caught Gokudera off guard and made him step back.
"Is this Juudaime guy worth putting your life at stake?" G asked narrowing his eyes in a dangerous way. But before Gokudera could answer, he continued, "Is him really worth to you die for him with no hesitation?"
Gokudera grinned his teeth. Such stupid question.
With his eyes looking straight at G and answering as much serious as the red-haired man, he replied, "Of course he is! Juudaime's freaking strong, he's the best person I know and I'm willing to die for him!"
G frowned deeply. For a moment he thought he had just seen a replica of himself, but of a few years ago. He recognized he still was hot headed when it comes to Primo's safety, but he had to restrain himself a bit. And that boy was the same; he was willing to die for someone else's sake without thinking about the consequences.
"I am not asking you if you're willing to die for him, I'm asking you whether that guy would be willing to die for you as well!"
Gokudera frowned.
"Wha-?"
That simple, yet complicated question pissed him off. No one had the right to subjugate his boss. Not even the first Storm Guardian of Vongola.
"That's beside the point!" He shouted angrily. His blood was boiling, still remembering those words said by G; Gokudera wasn't even thinking straight when he answered, "Even if Juudaime doesn't die for me, I can still die for him!" With that said, he coughed again. They were so engrossed in the discussion that didn't even realised that the enemies were preparing themselves to run away.
G walked towards Gokudera, grabbing him by his collar as he sent him a pure cold glare. Gokudera vainly tried to get out of the strong grasp but failed. The other man was much stronger than him and probably he had been in more battles than he. It was useless to try something in that deplorable state while he did not even know how strong G was.
"IDIOT!" G yelled, making Gokudera close his eyes in fear. He was shocked, of course. "How can you say something completely idiot without thinking! There are no such things as useless or unimportant lives! If there is a fight where life is at risk then they should risk their lives equally!"
He paused, getting some air. He remembered that no much time ago he did the same thing and that he would never forget the expression of pain and anger in Giotto's face. Most of all, G couldn't let that boy do the mistake as him.
"How do you think this guy would be if he knew you have sacrificed your life for his own wellbeing?" Gokudera was speechless while his surprised look widened as he heard G's words. He was only trying to get rid of those people who could go after his boss, his first friend, but he could only end up hurting this person doing so. "You might think it's manly to throw away your life that easily, but it is not! You're only being a fucking idiot who's lazy enough not to come up with a good plan!"
Gokudera tried to say something but not a single word came out from his mouth. But G continued lecturing him.
"You might think it's good as long as you protect him with the enemies but it's only an unthinkable act!" He continued, yelling these words, which cut Gokudera's heart and was making him tremble even more. "But you're only protecting yourself of seeing your boss hurt! Did you get it, you asshole!" G released Gokudera's collar and sighed, calming himself. "I'll say it again…who do you think will be more hurt if you die? Well, that's it if this person is as you say he is."
Gokudera widened his eyes in realisation. His mouth trembled and he gritted his teeth, both his hands closed into fists. He was so absorbed with the idea of not letting anyone lay down a hand on Tsuna that he had not even realised that he would be the one who would hurt him more in the end.
"J-Juudaime…Juudaime will…" he answered, looking down, completely ashamed to look at the other man.
G smiled slightly and put a hand on Gokudera's shoulder making him look up at him.
"That's right and that's why you should valuable your own life, not throw it away like a priceless thing." Gokudera knew from the very start that Tsuna wouldn't like to see him dead, he knew he would be the most hurt for his death and that he would blame himself for such happening. And most of all, Gokudera knew that even though G had angered him, the red-haired man was right. "It's the same thing for me. My friend, Giotto, wouldn't like to see me throwing my life so easily because of him. He would like to see me fighting with all I have."
"Yes," Gokudera muttered and gave a small smile as he thought how happy Tsuna would be when he meets him. If he wasn't mistaken, then he will surely meet the brunette. "Juudaime's the same kind of person as Primo-san." He said this last past inaudible, so G didn't listen it.
G sighed tiredly and stretched out a helping hand to the youngster. Gokudera accepted the offered hand and was sharply yanked to his feet by the other. He took a second looking at his surroundings, a sly smile curving up the corner of his mouth as he came to a conclusion. So, it all ended well.
"And speaking of Giotto, he might be worried by now," he wondered out loud, looking to the direction in which the mansion could be. G shook his head, smirking. "He's such a sentimental man."
Meanwhile, in ten thousand yards away, a sneeze was heard in the office room of Vongola Primo. The blond young man wiped his nose and sighed, a chill had just gotten down his spine a second ago and the window wasn't even open. He pulled his winter coat closer to his body and went back to signing some papers.
"I think I'm getting a cold."
Keep in mind that I cannot tell you what's gonna happen in the next chapter, tell you what's the mystery behind Giotto's sadness or even tell you how Tsuna time travelled or even tell you when it supposedly happened. All that questions will be answered when the time comes, I assure you, so keep reading. And thank you Sylvia-san for pointing out my mistake in the last chapter, I fixed it already.
Please let me know what you think about this chapter :)