Chapter 94
And Your Family Too.
I'm sorry this took so long, but my life suddenly got busy. There's a lot of stuff going on at work at the moment, a change of ownership, people leaving, so I've been working all day every day (which makes for around a 44 hour week minimum) and only getting Sundays off for the past 5 weeks (and I dare you to try and run a restaurant with only 3/4 people). I've been far too tired to do anything, had a mini-break down and absolutely no motivation to write whatsoever, nor really the time to write anything. I have to continue working full time for a little longer, so I can't say when the next update will be I'm afraid.
So once again, apologies for the long wait, but this chapter is a longer one than usual.
Lots of thanks to Erephen for help with the Varia, her emotional support and prompts to finally get me to write once more.
Credit to Kagehana. Tsukio and ForeverBlackSun for how Enma and Tsunayoshi stop the fighting going on~
How they survived a fight with Kyoya and Adelheid, Tsunayoshi didn't know. Like he'd known, they didn't like the state of the classroom because of Belphegor and Mukuro's fight and had immediately gotten around to disciplining and liquidating everyone in the room. Even those who hadn't been fighting were disciplined, 'because they didn't stop the fight' apparently. Belphegor took the opportunity during the fight to slip the robot design into his jacket, leaving a pile of ripped paper in its place so he could blame losing it on the fighting going on instead.
Eventually the fight was stopped through the amazing power of puppy eyes. When their stomachs rumbled, Tsunayoshi and Enma were reminded that it was in fact lunchtime and they hadn't eaten yet. Kyoya and Adelheid didn't seem like they were going to stop disciplining and liquidating any time soon, so drastic measures needed to be taken.
"Adel! Adelheid! Adelheid!..." Enma shouted (or at least, his version of shouting) over the noise of the fights. But her fan didn't stop swinging as she attempted to smack Mukuro for being one of the main causes for the state of the classroom.
"Big Sis Adel!" Enma tries again, this time running towards her and daring to grab her arm. If it was anyone other than Enma- her family included, especially if it was Julie- who had grabbed her arm they would have immediately been respectfully disciplined.
So when she turns and finds it's Enma, she just smiles and quite calmly asks, "What's the matter Enma?"
"Adel, it's lunch time and I'm hungry, can we stop fighting and go eat lunch now?" He asks, looking down sheepishly. When he feels her hesitate- another desk had just been smashed- he tugs on her arm and looks up at her with gleaming red puppy eyes. The girl nods, closing her fan with a loud snap.
"Shimon!" She shouts over the ruckus, "It's time to leave." The members of the Shimon family immediately stop and scramble out of the room, the prospect of lunch overriding their excitement for the battle. That and the fact that Adel was angry when mad and they didn't want fan-prints on their cheeks for the rest of the day.
Across the room a similar scene was happening. After watching Enma run off towards Adelheid, Tsunayoshi turned his attention to Kyoya, who seemed to be having a lot of fun fighting with Bel and Mukuro. But he was hungry too, and if there was one thing Luce had pressed into his head, it was that people should always eat together (Why else would all the Arcobaleno eat together at every meal? Because they liked each other that much?). And whilst everyone here wasn't his family like the Arcobaleno were, they were still all friends and he wanted them to eat together.
So he walks across the room, copying the way Luce got when she wanted things done, aka a sweet smile, scary aura and hard to argue against logic.
"Kyoya," Tsunayoshi starts, smiling sweetly at the fighters. "It's lunch time right now and I believe it's rather undisciplined for us to not eat the lunch boxes our families tried so hard to make for us. So we should stop this fighting and go eat lunch. Don't you agree?"
Kyoya paused- it was very undisciplined to not eat the food one's mother, or in some cases father, had prepared- but still this class room was such a mess that it was annoying him to no end.
"Please, Kyoya," Tsunayoshi whines, pulling out the puppy eyes that even worked on the Arcobaleno, "I'm really hungry but I want to eat with everyone."
All three fighters stopped, finding the sight far too cute to resist, and lowered their weapons. With a grunt Kyoya left, striding out of the classroom. With both Disciplinarians out of the room and the two main fighters subdued, everything calmed down and they could finally go to lunch. The classroom was fixed by a few members of the Disciplinary Committee and Mukuro's gang.
The rest of the school day was pretty uneventful. Apart from the end.
"Hayato, could you please read the next paragraph?" The teacher asked, looking down at the book on their desk.
"Che, no." Came the reply.
The teacher looked up, rather offended by the remark, even if it was usual from this particular student. "And why not?" He growls out, glaring at the misbehaving student.
"Because some lunatic stole it." Hayato replies, folding his arms as he glares right back.
"What?" asks the teacher angrily, not believing such an obvious lie. Although it was true that there wasn't a book on Hayato's desk.
"It's like I said, it was stolen. Why not get the lunatic to read the book instead?" Hayato points to a corner of the room in front of him.
"Ushishishi~" comes the giggle from the shadows.
The teacher puts a hand over their face. 'Oh dear, not this one. I thought I'd never have to see him again."
"Well then Prince, if you would like to return the book…" He knew how to handle this particular student, having taught him his first year. Things went hell of a lot more smoothly if he played along with the child's delusions and called him Prince.
Belphegor nodded and walked between the desks before sitting on Hayato's desk. Grinning cheekily, he messes up Hayato's hair as much as possible before turning back to the teacher. "The Prince will read in the place of his Musician." He announces.
"Huh? What's that name for, lunatic?" Hayato shouts, trying to sort his hair out. "I've never played for you." Plus he'd managed to wrangle out of playing the piano in class. It was quite a personal thing he wasn't ready to share with anyone other than his family.
"Every Royal Court needs a musician and there's no one more suited than you. The Prince knows this to be true." Belphegor replies, messing Hayato's hair up once more for calling him a lunatic. Hayato pauses, realising that the Varia's Prince was hinting that he had heard Hayato play the piano before.
Belphegor takes Hayato's sudden silence as a good sign and turns back to the class, clearing his throat loudly. "Ahem. Once upon a time there was a magnificent Prince. He was the most handsomest, the strongest, smartest, bestest Prince in the whole country, no, the whole world! Everyone was scared of the Prince and did as he said, bowing at his feet and giving him everything he desired. Then one day the Prince got bored and killed everyone. The End."
And with that shocking story, the end of school bell rang. Most of the other students sat there in silence for a few seconds, not believing what they'd just heard. Tsunayoshi started to pack his bag, more than used to such stories from the Varia. Ken, Chikusa and Hayato aren't fazed either, all coming from families of assassins. Belphegor grins at the sudden silence he had created.
"Ka-ching, no applause?" He pouts. "Well then how about this story? Once upon a time, the Prince braved the fearsome Boringlands, and came upon a certain classroom. In the classroom was Snow White and his," Bel did a quick head count, "11 dwarf defenders. The Prince plucked Snow White from his dreary cage, stealing him away before the dwarfs even knew what was happening. And they live happily ever after at the Prince's castle."
Before Tsunayoshi's friends knew what was happening, Tsunayoshi was no longer in his seat, Belphegor no longer posing on Hayato's desk, and an eerie giggle was coming from the door way.
"Bye~ Bii~"
"Haha, that was a great story. I didn't know they were in the drama club!"
"You Idiot! Tsunayoshi-sama's just been kidnapped!"
"Hahi? But didn't Tsunayoshi call him his big brother? Is it kidnapping if a family member takes you?"
"Ahh, he'll be fine, byon, don't get your knickers in a twist Hayato. Tsunayoshi-chan won't get hurt- He told us stories about those guys all the time."
Tsunayoshi just giggles and relaxed for the ride, letting Belphegor carry him through the slowly crowding corridors. He waved at the Vindice member, letting him know he was okay and not in any danger.
"Ushishishi~ Lookie at what the Prince has found!" Belphegor announces as he walks into the courtyard, in full view of the windows of the front of the school.
"About time trash. We've already been waiting half an hour." Growls Xanxus, looking bored whilst he sat on his portable throne.
"Of course the Prince's knows that. That's why I hacked into the school systems and set all the clocks an hour forwards. I wanted to take the Kitty home as soon as possible; The Prince has a brand new video game that the Kitty absolutely must try. It's a royal decree he cannot refuse." Belphegor nods his head as if that settled the matter.
"Can you put me down now? It's not nice staring at the floor the whole time." Tsunayoshi whines. Since Belphegor doesn't want to, Lussuria has to grab the poor child instead. Now finally able to talk to everyone face to face, he gives them a confused look and tilts his head. "But why are you all here? I know that Skull is too busy today to pick me up, but I was expecting someone more like Aria to pick me up, not you guys." Then, before they can take offence, Tsunayoshi quickly adds, "Not that I don't like the fact you've come all this way to pick me up, I'm just curious that's all."
The students flooding out of the school doors all pause at the sight of such scary older people- they must be from the high school across town, or the last years of the middle school, it was unusual to see such older people coming to this school. Those still in their classrooms look out the windows and spot the scene, like a lamb infront of a pack of wolves, and call to their friends to watch. Some people recognise the little boy as the one who dared to talk to the Vindice, as the one who could control the three gang leaders with a threat about a bag, the one who didn't incite Byakuran's sharp tongue. The girls of Tsunayoshi's fan club watch on worried that their little cutie was about to get beaten up by those big mean looking people outside. The whole school held its breath, waiting for the slaughter that was sure to come next. Wasn't anyone going to save him?
Xanxus grunts and stands, spinning on his heels to walk towards the school gates, not wanting to waste another second in such a weak place. He'd done enough time in those walls at his Father's behest, he wasn't spending another moment if he could help it.
And that's when Tsunayoshi spots something glinting in the light as Xanxus turns. His eyes widen before he quickly looks at the others.
Yes, yes, yes, yes!
They were all wearing the keychains he gave them for Valentines, in public, just like he asked them too! With a joyous giggle he jumps on the person closest to him. Squalo.
"VROOIII, brat, I'm not your personal bouncy castle." he complains, trying to pull the child off himself.
"But I'm really happy!" Tsunayoshi sings, smiling his thousand watt smile.
"Whatever for?" Levi asks. Sure their baby bro was usually happy all of the time, but not usually this much.
"But you're wearing them!" Tsunayoshi explains, waving a hand in their direction.
The Varia members look between themselves, seeing what they were wearing- nothing strange, just the high school uniform.
"You know, them!" Tsunayoshi waved his hand again, still grinning like a lunatic. In the background his fangirls were torn between squealing in joy at his absolute cuteness or gasping in fright for his careless behaviour in the presence of such dangerous and bloodthirsty people (what mafia child did NOT know of the Varia? Only the most sheltered ones, maybe. And the rest just got the idea from their looks.).
"What the-" the fangirls all hissed in the background, no such coarse language where their precious Tsunayoshi-chan can hear! Although they needn't have worried for Tsunayoshi's reflexes kick in and he smacks Xanxus's wrist with the usual admonishment. "-are you talking about, brat?" Xanxus growled and plucked the child off Squalo before the swordsman erupted and carelessly spouted something that might endanger Mafia Row or the little brat. Tsunayoshi squealed and allowed himself to be held by Xanxus, tugging gently on his fluffy ornament.
"Oh come on, where's that famed Varia Quality?" He asked, smiling up at the scary scary teen. Xanxus growled and (lightly) threw him at Levi, who caught him and let him sit on his shoulders. "You should know! Oh oh! I know!" A blink and a smile showed that the child got an idea. "You just won't say anything because that would make others notice them and they'd think you're not that scary or maybe someone would try to steal them and they are so precious to you and-"
"And the Kitty has to breathe, the Prince orders him to~" Bel chimed in, a bit startled by the chatter.
"Che! You think you can assume anything, brat?" Squalo snarked, stalking after Levi and glaring around to make the onlookers understand this kid was one not to mess with. "VOI! Where's the damn car, we'll talk at home!" He grumbled, but made sure his keychain was secure at his belt. Other members did so as well, but nobody other than those really perceptive noticed this small detail. After all, Varia Quality was the highest in the world for a reason.
Lussuria just smiled to himself over the personalities of his teammates, already knowing exactly what their dear little Tsu-chan had been talking about. It was sweet to see the little cutie get so excited over the Varia wearing the animal keychains he had gotten them for Valentines. And he already had a good idea as to why each member got the animal they did, he had been rather pleased by the peacock he had been given. An angry Liger, a ferocious shark, a mischievous sneaky mink and a hovering manta ray, they were all representations of the Varia themselves, not just because they looked nice.
"Tsuuuu-chaaan~ Let big sis Lussuria make you a snack when we get home~ I'm sure you must have had a hard day at school today." He shouts, fluttering behind the others on their way out of the gates.
"Children, your homework for this week is to write about your mummies and daddies and other family members and then be prepared to stand infront of the class and read it out loud. I expect it to be ready by Monday…"
"OOII, what was that Kakii-pii? Want to say that again?" Growls Ken, standing nose to nose with Chikusa, hands on hips as he growls like an annoyed puppy.
Chikusa just blinks quite calmly at Ken, yet doesn't move away. "You obviously heard me the first time." He retorts. That just makes Ken angrier, lips peeling back to show off his fangs just like an angered wolf.
"YAAAHHH! Of course I heard it, and I'm telling you I was offended by it!" Ken shouts, pulling at his hair because of how infuriating Chikusa's response was. Smart ass.
"Ken. Chikusa." Mukuro says in a normal tone, yet still the boys hear it and are quiet, turning towards their older brother. Mukuro lifts a hand from where it has been resting on Chrome's shoulder and points to the ceiling.
Now that the pair weren't arguing with each other, they could hear the faint sounds of the piano upstairs playing. The piano wasn't something they heard often, but it was still a good indicator of Hayato's moods. All four listen to the song, realising just how beautiful and calming it sounded.
"That one must be for his mother." Mukuro remarks, going back to stroking Chrome's hair as they continued to listen to the music. "Talking of, aren't you two supposed to be working on your homework?"
"Heh, I never get how you can tell all that stuff just from what song he's playing." Ken scoffs, turning his nose up.
"Because I'm more sophisticated than you." Mukuro smirks.
"Hey! That's mean," Ken whines as Chikusa pulls him away, shaking his head as he did so. "And anyway, what are we supposed to write for this stupid assignment? That our parents loved us so much that they threw us away the first chance they got? That they were so in love with the Family that they'd hand their children over to scientists and never even check up on us. I don't even know if I can remember their stupid faces anymore." He growls in the back of his throat in distaste, moodily crossing his arms. Chrome curls up closer to Mukuro at the reminder, hugging Mukurowl tighter.
"Oya? You still consider them family? How pathetic." Scoffs Mukuro, turning his face away from Ken.
"Who are you even talking about?" Chikusa asks, showing his opinion on the matter- those people didn't even exist to him anymore. "I'm going to write about us, and Lancia, Fuuta, Tsunayoshi, Luce." Lancia smiles from where he was sat in the kitchen, feeding Fuuta his afternoon snack. It was nice to know the children saw him as more than their keeper. He was quite touched to be written about as part of their assignment.
"That's correct. So off you go then. My dearest Chrome and I can't wait to hear them," Mukuro teases, flicking his hand in a dismissing gesture. With the pair of boys gone, Mukuro and Chrome go back to listening to the breath-taking music coming from upstairs.
"I wish I had the words to describe you," Hayato mutters to himself. "But I don't. Mere words can't describe you as well as this song. But I don't want to play for them. I'm… I'm not ready for that yet. I still get nervous just knowing that the others are listening. W-Which they probably are now, the sound travels around the house, or so I'm told." Hayato stops playing and picks the blank page back up, pen poised to write something… but once more nothing comes.
He sighs, lowering the page and the pen. "Maybe I should start from somewhere else?" He wonders to himself. Although the thought of writing about his father made him recoil in disgust. Sure there were the nice moments, moments of kindness and attention, but they were marred by the all too frequent bad memories, of being ignored, of the looks of pain and disgust. Neither could look at the other anymore, Hayato hating the man who killed his mother and his father seeing a child that looked far too much like the woman he had loved and been forced to kill. Hayato wasn't going to write about Bianchi's mother either. She had been nice enough, ignored him unless in social situations, showing him off as a prodigy pianist. She didn't go out of her way to be mean to him at least, nor had tried to push being a normal family.
So maybe he should start with Bianchi? The idea made him shiver and his stomach swirl horridly, but still, she was his sister and did like him. She didn't seem to realise that her cookies were poisonous. Someday his words about her using her poison cooking unconsciously would get through to her. But until they did, he'd still continue writing that list of excuses. After all, it had been as embarrassing as hell to have fainted in front of Mukuro and his bunch when Bianchi arrived unexpectedly one day. They'd teased him for ages about it- although he had gotten a few good punches back, so they were even. However he had the sneaking suspicion that she used him as an excuse to see Reborn more often…
Thoughts of Reborn lead him to thoughts of Tsunayoshi and he looked up fondly at the half-written song sitting on the stand. There was no way he could leave Tsunayoshi-sama out of this assignment. He couldn't count the number of things Tsunayoshi-sama had given him. The other Arcobaleno too. Skull was exasperating but meant well enough, Reborn , Lal and Bermuda were just plain scary, Fon annoyed him, Colonnello too, Verde and Viper were amazing, and Luce… Luce was… she reminded him of his mother, her kind touch and soft caring words. Lancia cared about them a lot too, a good enough guy, understanding when Hayato wanted space and time alone, the little baby Fuuta was interesting… when watched from a safe distance. And Mukuro and his bunch, infuriating didn't even start to cover it, from the girl's quietness to Mukuro's twisted tongue and Ken's confrontational loud manner… Chikusa was alright actually. And he supposed he had better add Shamal to that list, his first male role model, someone he admired yet would never admit it. He was cool, powerful, his own man, a feared assassin that even the Varia had tried recruiting long ago. Shamal was his teacher and more a father than his biological one. After all, here in the Mafia, bonds counted for far more than blood and biology did.
Before Hayato knew it, he had a whole page written. After realising that maybe he did actually have a family, he finally felt confident enough to write a final few lines about his mother. He wondered if she liked the family he had found?
"Heya Mum, me again. How are things in heaven?" Takeshi asks, smiling as he sat down in the grass. "Me and Pops are doing well, as are all the chefs too. Oh, they say hi by the way. They miss you. They're always saying 'Remember when she did this?' or 'How about that one time when-'. It sounds like you all had a lot of fun together. Although I bet you're having just as much fun up there, right?" He takes the flowers he had been holding and exchanges them for the old stems sitting in the holder infront of the grave stone.
"Pops reckons that my batting average went up again. Once I'm old enough, I'll join the baseball club at school and I'll finally be able to tell you for sure. Although I did hit a ball last week and it went zoom zoom straight down the other end of the garden and woosh over the wall. That's the furthest I've ever hit a ball before, haha." He puts a hand at the back of his neck as he thinks about that achievement. Yeah that had been a good hit. "School's great too. It's so much fun every day! The Dean just appears randomly, like bam and he's there. The girls keep on screaming. Enma does too. But funnily enough Tsunayoshi never does. He still reckons that the Dean is Reborn. As if! Reborn's too cool to be seen looking like that. The girls there call me cool too. They follow me around and give me lunch boxes, isn't that nice of them?"
He rummages around in his backpack before pulling out a small box. "This is from Sakura and Mai. They said they'd come and see you when they get the chance. They take really good care of me and Pops, so you don't have to worry. Plus we never have to pay for clothes either! Haru, Kyoko and Ryohei are doing great too. Haru came up with a new costume the other day although she's still working on her Namehage one. She wants to give it flashing lights, which would be cool. Ryohei beat someone three years older than him in a boxing match last month. You should have heard his shout afterwards, I'm sure the whole of Namimori could hear it."
He sighs, looking at the other thing that was in his backpack: a book and a pen. "I'm supposed to be writing something about my family, the whole class has to do it and then we tell each other about it next week. I'm hoping that I can come up with something awesome about Pops. I can't wait to hear what Tsunayoshi writes, he's always telling me something amazing or funny about the Arcobaleno. If I didn't know them personally I'd swear it was all made up!"
"Spanner! No one will believe you if you say our family consists of transforming robots!" Shoichi shouts, having just read what Spanner had written. "If you're going to make stuff up at least make it believable."
"But Mini-Mosca Alpha is part of the family." Spanner mutters, ripping the page off forlornly and scrunching it up. Sure it wasn't much more than a modified remote controlled car made to look like a robot, but it was still their first ever robot and was important to him.
"Oya? Did you hear that Kikyo? We're all transforming robots. Did you know that?" Byakuran says mischievously, looking up at the other male.
"Oh-ho, so you finally found out. I'm sorry to have kept it from you for so long Byakuran." Kikyo replies, bowing in Byakuran's direction.
"If we're all robots, is that why it doesn't hurt when I get a cut? Do you think so Bubu?" Daisy asks his bunny, holding it up infront of his face.
"Of course not idjit." Zakuro growls. He would give Daisy a bop on the head if his hands weren't busy trying to keep a hold on Bluebell.
"Guys! I'm serious here! Spanner actually put that his family were all transforming robots! It's not a matter to laugh about!" Shoichi shouts, worrying and all in a panic. He even unfolds the piece of paper and shows everyone. That finally makes the Gesso Family burst out laughing; there had been drawings and everything.
"Look, Zakuro gets lasers coming out his eyes."
"Bluebell gets hydro cannons for hands."
Byakuran and his family are in tears, laughing so hard at how much effort Spanner had put into his work. It was hilarious yet very endearing at the same time. "We've got to put this on the fridge. I don't care, we're keeping it." Byakuran announces, wiping a tear away from his cheek. Spanner waves his lollipop in the air and grunts in acknowledgement.
"So, what are you two actually going to write about?" Asks Kikyo, interested.
"Well, I'll write about my dad of course." Shoichi supposes, looking down at the piece of paper on the desk. "I don't know about the rest of my family. All Dad said was that he had a fight with my mother and left one day, taking me with him. My sister stayed with my mum. Since I've been here all of my life, I don't even know what they look like."
"What does it matter that he left your mother? Women are annoying anyway." Zakuro grunts.
"Hey!" Bluebell shouts indigently, smacking Zakuro before pounding on his shoulders.
"Your dad is a great man." Byakuran says seriously.
"Indeed. The computer programs he writes for the Gesso Family are one of our biggest incomes. That means he pays for all your little pet projects." Kikyo informs with a soft reassuring smile.
"And for all my marshmallows." Byakuran sings, popping one into his mouth.
"And his video games are fun." Daisy comments, Bubu nodding along.
"And the same is true of Spanner's grandfather. His advanced weaponry keeps the members of our small Famiglia safe." Adds in Kikyo. No one mentions about Spanner's parents, simply because he didn't have any. He had been raised by his grandfather and was brought into the family when his grandfather was. The whole family had learnt Japanese from Spanner's grandfather, since the man loved anything to do with that particular culture and both shared a love of Japanese robotics. It helped immensely when they went to school in Japan.
"I hope you're going to write about us too. I'd be sad if you didn't." Byakuran pouts, giving one of his scary scary smiles. Shoichi shivered, feeling his stomach twist.
"Of course! Of course!" He placates. "I wouldn't dream of not including you guys!"
"That's a good Sho-chan," Byakuran says, patting Shoichi on the head before turning away and walking towards the door. "Come on guys. We need to refuel before our engines shut down~."
"Not funny!"
"Hey, what's got you all laughing so much?" Cozarto asks, walking into the living room of the Shimon mansion. The children had been laughing very loudly, louder than usual. He expected that even Giotto next door could hear it.
"Cozarto! You've just got to read this! It's Enma's assignment!" Koyo shouts, waving the piece of paper in the air. Enma makes a feeble grab for the paper, but Koyo holds him away easily with one hand.
Interested, Cozarto walks over and takes the piece of paper. "You shouldn't steal Enma's homework, especially something like this." He chides, but continues to read the piece of paper anyway. He was rather interested in it, wondering what the shy boy would have written about the others. They weren't the nicest brothers and sisters after all.
What was written was actually a heart-warming account of their rag-tag family, keeping to the bare details. Enma had generally skipped over the reasons behind them becoming orphans, just simply stating that their parents were all dead. Although this was common for children in the Mafia. The red head had painted Cozarto as more than just their guardian, but as a loving father. And whilst the boy could justifiably show his brothers and sisters in a bad light, he hadn't even touched on that, somehow finding all their good qualities and focusing on them instead. It almost made Cozarto want to cry. He was actually very proud of it.
Enma had been looking down at the floor as Cozarto read, remaining silent. He knew he wouldn't be able to get that paper off of Cozarto, but he was embarrassed about what he had written there. He didn't want the others reading it, but they'd forced it off of him as usual. And then they had started laughing. Cozarto was going to laugh too, he knew it, any second now… Jumping, he looks up when a slender hand ruffles his hair.
"I loved it." Cozarto says, smiling down at Enma. "It's nothing to laugh about. And I'm sure the others appreciate what you wrote about them, even if they don't show it." He hoped that when he returned to the past and had children, they were as adorable as Enma was. He leans forwards, whispering into his descendant's ear, "I'll give you some extra dessert tonight once the others have all fallen asleep. How does that sound?" Enma blushes and nods, a small smile creeping onto his lips.
Standing back up, he looks down at the children he sees as his own and grins. "Alright then, who's up for a game of hide and seek? If I can't find you all within ten minutes then I'll do all the chores tonight myself."
"Tsunayoshi-dono, it is strange to see thee by thyself. Are the Arcobaleno too busy to play with thee?" Basil asks, sitting down on the swing next to Tsunayoshi. They were in the playground set within Mafia Row Central, a place for children to play whilst their parent were at the restaurants, gym or tailors.
Tsunayoshi looks up, startled by Basil's sudden appearance. "Oh no. I came here for some peace and quiet to think." Tsunayoshi explains. He hadn't wanted to find somewhere in their large garden simply because last time he had gotten lost. It was far simpler to come here instead.
"To think?" Basil asks. What would a child like Tsunayoshi have to think hard about?
"Yeah, it's for my homework. I have to write about my family. The others were being pretty loud so I came outside for a little bit. I can think about them better when they aren't shouting at each other." Tsunayoshi laughs. "Ne, Basil, what are your family like?"
Basil pushes his feet, setting the swing in motion as he stares up at the sky. "I am afraid to inform thee that I actually do not know my parentage. My Master hast told me that I was the only survivor of a CEDEF raid. Being a baby that could not even walk or talk, they decided I was no threat and took me in. My Master is a compassionate man when the Family is not in danger."
"So Mr Iemitsu isn't your daddy?" Tsunayoshi asks confused. They looked suspiciously similar, Tsunayoshi had assumed that Basil was his son.
"No, My Master is not my father. Although I do see him as such. He hast taken great care of me, as hast the rest of the CEDEF. Therefore I do not worry about my heritage. I have never known them and therefore can't wonder about them nor worry about them. The CEDEF are more than sufficient for me."
"You, Oregano and Turmeric always look happy together." Tsunayoshi adds with a smile. Even though Oregano wasn't an adult she always seemed like one because of how grown up she was. She made a very good big sister for Basil. Turmeric was always fun to play with too.
Basil nods in agreement before stopping the swing from swinging. "So, hast thou decided further on what thee shall write? Thou must surely have a lot to write about, with thy family being as large as it is."
"That's the problem, I don't know where to start!" Tsunayoshi whines.
"I can see the dilemma. But for thy safety I doth believeth that starting with Lady Luce would be the best option." Explains Basil, a worried smile on his face.
Tsunayoshi nods rapidly. "Yes, you're right. Luce would want to be first. Thanks Basil." He smiles brightly before quickly starting to write.
"You are most welcome Tsunayoshi-dono. Do not stay out too late or the Arcobaleno shall worry for thy safety."
"Don't worry I won't." Tsunayoshi assures, smiling at Basil as he left the park.
As Basil walks out of the park, he hears a loud "Yosh! Let's do this!" behind him, and can't help but smile. He was sure that assignment would get done in no time now.
Next time we cover Fran and Tsunayoshi~ Look forwards to it!
And thank you all so much for over 2,000 reviews! It means so much to me, and everyone gives such wonderful reviews too. It really cheered me up over this stressful time.
Phantom Hitman 1412
First Published 27 May 2013