Chapter 10
That nothing is really different
Fon wakes up early as usual and quietly gets out of bed, wanting the baby to sleep in more. None of the others got up at this time. However in the middle of getting dressed, Fon takes a glance in the baby's direction and finds he's being watched. The baby was already up, yet was being quiet. He hadn't cried or anything yet. With a smile on his face, Fon puts a finger to his lips and the baby repeats this gesture, using his whole hand instead.
Silently going downstairs, he sets about making a bottle of milk as quickly as possible. He would be in trouble if he woke the others up at this time due to Tsunayoshi's crying. Holding Tsunayoshi in one arm and holding the bottle in the other hand, he feeds the boy whilst watching the sun rise over the horizon.
"Up early as usual, kora," comments Colonnello as he walks into the kitchen. Fon nods his head in hello.
"Yes, the little one was up too so I brought him down. You're up early for a day off." Colonnello had no problems waking up before dawn if practice, training or a mission was involved- more time to tease Lal with. Yet on his days off, he appreciated a lie in. Today was one of the few times the trainee had had off in quite a long time. Fon fully expected him to take the opportunity and sleep in.
Colonnello waves the comment off behind his back, since his head is currently in the fridge, searching for something to eat.
"I thought it be best if I left the house before Lal wakes up. Otherwise she'd find a way to train me even if it is my day off." Closing the door to the fridge, he places his armful on the counter and starts to prepare some breakfast for himself.
Fon gives the boy a knowing smile behind his back, and nonchalantly says, "You failed a practical again didn't you? You're off to practice so you can impress her."
To his credit, the flinch was tiny, almost unnoticeable if it was any normal person watching. He just carried on cooking as if Fon hadn't hit the nail on the head. "Haha, kora. What do you mean, kora? I passed Lal's last test just fine, kora. I'm up this early to make the most of my day off, kora. I have plans, kora." And he turns around to face Fon, spying the baby in the man's arms. "I'm having a bonding session with the boy, kora."
Fon could tell that he was right. If the flinch wasn't enough, then the addition of 'kora' at the end of each sentence was. He only ever used that phrase that frequently if he was nervous, worried or embarrassed. Hearing Colonnello's plans for the day, the baby cheers, as if it knows it's being talked about. Pushing the bottle away signifies that he's done with it.
"That'll be nice. You two seem to get on very well. I'll go find the bag and check that there are enough supplies in there for you." Fon wasn't letting Colonnello out of this. Before the trainee can even answer back, Fon is gone like the wind.
Colonnello actually doesn't mind spending the day with the baby, and was going to try and play with him anyway. The baby was just like a bundle of energy and Colonnello loved that about him. The baby was just as happy, cheerful and optimistic as he himself was. So instead of grumbling about the baby being forced with him, in true Colonnello style, he takes the opportunity and makes the best of it. If it was going to happen anyway, then why not have fun doing it. He turns back to the food and sets about making lunch and snacks for himself too. Fon would take care of the baby milk.
Rummaging in a cupboard as he eats, he finds a large bottle and fills it with water. Going into his own supply bag, he checks that the gas fire is working and had enough fuel. Chucking out any unnecessary items, he makes room in his own bag for the baby's supplies; there was no need to carry two bags in it could all fit in one. It would be a waste of space, energy and arms. When Fon returns, he puts those items securely in the bag and chucks it on his back.
"He's all ready to go. I even changed him for you," smiles Fon. Fon was always helpful like that, yet he never flaunted it in other people faces.
Both smile down at the baby as Tsunayoshi changes arms. "Ready to go little guy?" Colonnello asks with a big smile of his own. The baby looks up and gurgles happily, waving his arms in excitement. His excitement is catching, and Colonnello leaves the house with a bounce in his step.
Cutting between their house and Aria's, he heads for the thick forest on that side of the island. Once he gets to the edge, he slows his steps, going through Lal's advice from earlier that week.
"Calm down you hyper active idiot. Are you trying to be a stupid puppy that can do nothing but bounce everywhere?"
Calm down, focus the energy. Be firm and solid.
Taking in a deep breath, he takes his first step into the forest, walking across the twigs and leaves that have fallen on the ground. Keeping his focus, and Lal's admonishments running through his mind, he makes it the majority of the way to his destination without his feet making a noise. Tsunayoshi is mostly quiet too, hands chasing the trails of flying birds and falling leaves. He looks around at everything, taking it all in with a child-like fascination.
Pleased with his achievement, he loses the concentration he had, and a twig snaps beneath him. Colonnello sighs at that, but Tsunayoshi's comforting pat on his chest brightens him right back up. It was hard for him to remain sad usually, even without the child's help.
Reaching their destination, he drops the backpack in the middle of the clearing. Grabbing a blanket, he lays it out and flops down on it, staring up at the blue sky through the leafy canopy. He'd been so busy lately, and between missions and Lal's demon training, he had very little time to relax. All he had done for the past month was train and sleep. Colonnello was amazed that he had even had time to meet the baby and bond with him on the first day. Since then he had spent any spare moment he had trying to see the baby, but those times were fleeting and always on a time limit.
So now was his opportunity.
Walking silently through a forest wasn't the only thing he wasn't top notch at. But after listening to Reborn's story of how he found Tsunayoshi, Colonnello thought that the baby might enjoy this training too. If anything, it would be fun and no longer boring. Sometimes it took a different approach to learn new skills.
However it seems that the baby is one step ahead of him already. Colonnello laughs as he looks at the baby covered in mud. Whilst it hadn't rained recently, this area was near the source of the river and was rather damp. Whilst he had been gazing at the blue sky above, Tsunayoshi had gotten bored and found a patch of wet mud near where Colonnello had placed him. With wiggles and manoeuvres that only a baby could produce, he had managed to pull himself closer to the inviting patch of brown goo. Once there, it was just too tempting, and the little baby had stuck his hand in it. Once his hand was nicely covered, he decided to draw mindlessly on the blanket wrapped around him. When that was brown enough too, he started on his own chest, and eventually moved onto his arms. Colonnello just watched as the baby had fun drawing pattern-less lines on its own body, but he had to smile. The baby was having too much fun not to smile at him.
Crawling closer to the baby, he lays on his stomach. "What you got there?" he asks Tsunayoshi. The baby turns and waves his hands in the air in glee, chucking the mud everywhere in the process. "Are you having fun?" The baby's answer to that is to stick his hand back into the mud and introduce it to Colonnello's face. Colonnello blinks and goes cross-eyed, trying to see the patch of mud on his nose. He laughs and goes to rub it off, but Tsunayoshi makes a disgruntled noise and gives him a look. A rather stern look that said 'if you dare to clean that off, I'll scream and cry'. Slowly Colonnello takes his hand away from his face, holding both hands away to show he wasn't going to do it again. In a flash the baby's expression does a 180, and he couldn't look happier. Placing his hand back in the mud, Tsunayoshi adds another splotch on Colonnello's cheek.
Camouflage was actually the other thing he had come out here to train for. He just couldn't make it seem believable, it always looked fake. Which of course it was. So when Reborn had mentioned that the kid liked to paint- even if it was with blood- Colonnello decided to take the baby out one day and give it a shot. Like he said earlier, it couldn't hurt. So what else was there to do but to lay his head on crossed arms and let the child do what he wanted? Closing his eyes so that no mud got into them, he just left the child to its own devices, whilst letting the sun warm his back. It was rather therapeutic and relaxing actually. So nice that he nearly fell asleep, if his instincts would let him. Yet every twig snapping was an enemy, every rustle of leaves was a sniper, every brush of the wind was someone sliding through the trees.
So when the baby finally stopped he was both sorry and relieved. Opening his eyes, he sees the baby staring back at him before it bursts out into a joyous giggle. Placing a hand into his bag, he pulled out the mirror. Piercing blue eyes gleam sharply through the mess of brown mud, green grass, and a mixture of leaves. Not even part of his hair had been spared, although the leaves in his hair did look like they were purposely placed in a line, almost like a crown. Closing one eye, he even sees that the baby covered that area too. He did vaguely remember the baby being gentle with his eyelids. But without the piercing blue to give him away, the image left really did look like the forest floor. He even noticed that the baby hadn't stopped laughing the whole time. It certainly had had fun painting his face to look like this.
When the baby pulled on his sleeve, he absentmindedly moved the arm flat, still fascinated with the job the baby had done. He didn't notice the cold or wet feeling. He did notice the warm press of skin against his hand. Looking away from the mirror to the baby, he could see that the baby had dropped his hand into the small patch of mud and had brought a finger to his own face. Looking up hopefully, the baby also shakes the finger he has hold of. Colonnello gets the picture and drops the mirror to concentrate on his new task. When Tsunayoshi realises Colonnello is going to play games too, he lets go of the finger and laughs.
Dipping his finger back into the mud, he starts to draw circles on Tsunayoshi's face. The baby giggles as if it tickles, but stills stays relatively still. A smile crawls onto his face as he works, and before long, he's laughing along with the baby too. He focuses less on the job at hand and more on having fun. Before long, the baby is covered in flowers and leaves and bits of grass just like Colonnello himself is.
He stops and looks blankly ahead for a moment, causing the baby to go silent in concern. But after a moment, a shark's grin crawls on his face. "Do you want to play a game?" he asks the baby. Tsunayoshi nods his head and claps. "We've got to be quiet then," he warns the baby, placing a finger over his lips. Quickly he picks the baby up, stuffs the blanket in the bag and dives into the nearest bush. Laying down low, he places Tsunayoshi on the ground next to him.
Army booted feet walk into the clearing before stopping in the middle. "Where did that damn student of mine go? He's usually here."
"Now I can follow the Queen of the Forest all day and admire her beauty, kora," says Colonnello into the clearing, grinning like a cat. Colonnello tries not to laugh at her flustered reaction and immediate switch to angered and frustrated. Lal was amazing at swapping between the two. Seeing a flustered Lal was a sight to behold; she looked softer and more like a woman like that. So Colonnello spent every moment he could trying to draw out that reaction from her.
"Oh, so someone finally learnt how to paint did he?" she asks mockingly, looking around for him. She would have missed him since his eyes were the same blue as the flowers from the bush. It was that flirtatious smile that drew her in, allowing her to target her shot. Within moments, she has her riffle out and aimed directly at him, sending a shot flying in his direction. Grabbing Tsunayoshi, Colonnello scrabbles up off the floor and away from the bullet. With trees to his back, into the clearing is the only way to go.
She looks between the pair and laughs at the baby. "Did the brat try to do his own?" she scoffs. Colonnello pouts and raises the baby up higher in his arms, settling him in more comfortably.
"Actually, that was my attempt, kora. Tsunayoshi did mine, if you must know." She stops laughing and considers the job the little baby did. She then gives the baby a considering stare, respect gleaming in her eyes for the briefest of moments. Striding over to Colonnello, she grabs his ear and starts to drag him off.
"Even a new born brat can do better than you. You should spend less time flirting and more time practicing. At this rate, you might as well have a huge target painted on you for all the use the camouflage will do!"
Her grip does loosen as she realises he's no longer making a sound through the forest, but she still lectures him all the way back to the house. Colonnello and the baby exchange looks.
Maybe some things never change.
There were a few strange looks when Colonnello and Tsunayoshi sit at the table, faces still covered in mud. But occurrences like that were common, especially with him. However, everyone praises Tsunayoshi's work on Colonnello's face. Once dinner is over, Reborn kicks the both of them into the bathroom. He always was one to be clean and neat. Whilst in the bath, Colonnello makes bubbles with the soap to please the baby, who sneezes whenever one pops in his face. After the bath, they play a little longer until it's time for bed.
Changing into his usual shorts for bed, Colonnello looks at the sleeping baby. Lal's got her eye on him already. He better be ready when he grows up. I know how much of a handful she can be. But if anyone can break through Lal's masks, I'm sure that he can.
Only one more chapter to go until we can meet the rest of the residents of Mafia Row!
I'll meet you all there, kora. I love Colonnello's kora too. I say it whenever I want attention at my house, or whenever I walk in the door. My dad, who is the only other one to have watched Reborn, koras back. It's fun. And kora is easier on the throat than Voii ;]
Phantom Hitman 1412
First Published 02 April 2012
Edited: 27 February 2013