Summary: There was a reason why Reborn got Haru involved with the Mafia. Even if she was useless to them in fights and even if she couldn't provide as much emotional strength as Kyoko, she was vital and without her, there would just be no Vongola. G86/GiottoHaru
My lack of KHR knowledge might make some things untrue or some characters OOC!
I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Please forgive any mistakes, both character-wise and grammatically-wise. I don't have time to re-read or edit things.
AU: Erm... At first, Giotto felt a little OOC compared to the previous chapters, but in the end, I think it felt right. We don’t know his true personality, after all, since he’s had limited interaction with other people. 8D Also, this is a very, very rough chapter since I figured you guys would rather have a chapter now instead of waiting longer.
My lack of KHR knowledge might make some things untrue or some characters OOC!
I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Please forgive any mistakes, both character-wise and grammatically-wise. I don't have time to re-read or edit things.
Genesis: Chapter 26
HappyFace1886
Leaving
the village wasn’t a simple matter.
Haru was
more than aware of this, especially due to her special circumstances. She wasn’t
sure what sort of world was out there and for all she knew, leaving this
village was a big mistake. There might be dangers out that that she couldn’t
even dream of. However, the thought of Giotto-sama wasting away in such a
horrible place helped her maintain her conviction. He wasn’t meant to be
trapped in a place like this.
“Haru, stop dazing about and help Adelina with
the linens.” She heard Adelina’s mother call out.
“Yes, ma’am!” Haru called out before
rushing towards where Adelina was folding the mountain of laundry that had been
washed and dried today. Without the convenient usage of modern equipment like
washers and dryers, there was work to be done every day. “How are you feeling, Adelina?”
The
younger girl’s eyes were puffy as though she had cried herself to sleep, but
there was a look of relief that softened her normally hardened features. “I’m fine. What about you?”
“Me?” Haru asked, looking confused.
Adelina gave
her a look. “You’ve been daydreaming all
day. Did something happen between you and him?”
“Him?” Haru echoed, her bemusement only
going.
Adelina
looked around before leaning closer to her, whispering in a tentative voice. “Giotto.”
Haru
smiled. “No. We just talked and went to
sleep.”
“Is he... Is he okay after what happened last
night?” Adelina asked, busying herself by folding a long bed sheet by
herself. The speed she was moving in was amazing and it was obvious that she
was moving robotically.
“He’s doing just fine.” Haru reassured,
brushing her arm against Adelina to comfort her. “What about you?”
Adelina
scowled at her. “I told you, I’m okay.”
“That’s fine if you are, but if not, you can
tell me anything.” Haru said patiently, knowing the girl well enough to
know that Adelina had a hard time expressing herself. “But you should know, I won’t always be here.”
At
first, Adelina seemed puzzled at what Haru was saying before her eyes widened
in realization. She dropped the shirt she had been folding before grabbing Haru’s
hands, causing Haru to drop the clothes she herself had been tending to.
Adelina looked up at Haru with hopeful eyes. “Are you... Are you-?”
Haru
nodded. “Yeah.”
Adelina’s
joy couldn’t be contained as she sucked in air quickly before launching herself
towards Haru. The older girl giggled and held Adelina back before spinning in a
circle. Adelina pulled away slightly, still holding onto Haru. “When? When are you two going to leave?”
Haru
chuckled sheepishly. “About that... we’re
not sure yet.”
“Why?”
“It’s not easy to leave just like that.”
Haru explained with a sigh. “We’d need to
figure out how we’d survive out there. I’m trying to get Attilio-san to help,
but...”
Adelina
snorted. “The Father may seem chaste to
the people, but I don’t trust him. He’s probably the last one you should rely
on.”
“Attilio-san does care of Giotto-sama.”
Haru protested before looking at the ground hesitantly. “He may appear to be listening to the villagers, but I believe he takes
care of Giotto-sama in his own way. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have taken
in Giotto-sama for so long.”
Still,
Adelina stubbornly frowned. “If he really
did care, he would have taken Giotto out of here years ago.”
Haru
smiled. “I suppose... but if he did, I
would have never met Giotto-sama.”
Adelina
paused and her scowl seemed to deepen even more before she let out a heavy
sigh. “Perhaps you’re right. I’d rather
you be by Giotto’s side than that man.”
The two
smiled at each other, happy that for once there was a way to change the past
that had hurt everyone so much. They chatted with each other enthusiastically,
folding the remaining laundry with a newly brewed vigor... completely unaware
of the shadow that stood behind the door with hands tightly clutched into
fists.
Giotto
sat in the open field, closing his eyes as he inhaled deeply. The air was so
cold, but he didn’t mind. Though he felt the changes of the seasons, he wasn’t
as sensitive as the others when it came to the changing temperatures. A
fortunate thing, he supposed, since it helped him survive the winters all those
years ago.
He
tilted his head back to see the sky and couldn’t stop his smile.
Finally,
he’ll find freedom.
Just
like the sky he’d watch with such intense yearning he didn’t know what to do
with himself at times...
And he
owed it all to Haru.
To others,
it would have been a simple matter. Leave the place that did not want him.
There was no point in lingering.
But
where would he go? The village was all he had right now and they had, at one point,
showed him compassion and treated him as one of their own.
It was
too frightening, too lonely, to do at the spur of the moment. And out of all
things, the thing Giotto feared the most was being alone.
Perhaps
the fear was due to a lingering trauma over the violent death of his parents...
and of how he had waited by himself for so long, crying and longing for the
warm arms of another...
Giotto
closed his eyes. It didn’t matter now.
He had
Haru.
That was
all that mattered.
He
opened his eyes when his instincts pricked of a stranger slowly making their
way towards him. Giotto stiffened and stood up. How foolish. After what
happened last night, he had given into the temptation to venture to the area he
and Adelina had once played years ago. However, that area was close to the
village. It would be easy for him to accidentally meet another and if that were
to happen, his chances of leaving with Haru might be hindered.
Giotto
quickly pivoted on his heel to run into the forest when he heard a voice call
out to him. A part of him wanted to ignore it, but another part of him heeded
that he listen.
“Wait!”
The two
sides warred into Giotto before he settled on hiding behind a tree, to at least
determine who it was that had called out for him. If it was one of the village
heads, the elders, or the adults, he would leave. Associating with them would
bring nothing but trouble for him.
He
peered over the trunk and felt his eyes widen slightly at the sight of who it
was. Years may have passed, but Giotto never forgot anyone he had interacted
with in the past. “Michael?”
Brown
eyes peered at him cautiously before he looked away, unable to handle staring
at those unnerving two-toned eyes any longer. However, he tightened his fists
and marched towards Giotto determinedly. He stopped a few feet away from him. “It... It’s been a while...”
“It has.” Giotto agreed. Though Giotto
had often seen Michael, he and the boy had not interacted as often. Michael
would shy away and watch from the distance. It was a good trait, Giotto had
determined, for someone who would take over the village. Michael wasn’t simply
staying away because he was shy, but because he was watching and observing what
was going on. Even as a young child, Michael had been the precocious type. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“I know.” Michael said, breathing deeply
to calm his fried nerves. Whether or not Giotto was truly a demon or not, one
did not simply forget the words spewed by people who truly believed. The conviction
and fear they had in their voices could not be easily disregarded.
“...and yet you are...”
Michael hesitated
and stuffed his hands into his pocket, his right hand touching the checkered
bandanna Adelina wore. Finding strength, he lifted his head to speak. “Adelina said that you weren’t a real demon.”
Giotto
stared at him, keeping silent.
“...I... I want to know the truth about
everything. I-I want to know what really happened that day, from someone who
was actually there.”
“There were other villagers there that day.”
Giotto said hollowly.
“Still, I-.” Michael stammered.
“What do you hope to gain by knowing? It
would-.”
“Adelina said she was the demon, not you!”
Michael yelled, unable to hold it in. When Giotto didn’t reply, Michael took
that as a sign to continue talking. “She
said... She said that she turned you into a demon... and I wanted to know what
she meant by that.”
There
was no reply and for the longest time, Michael wondered what he was doing here
in the cold. He was probably going to get in trouble by his father for venturing
out without permission and for returning with muddied boots. Was this a fool’s
quest? Was this all for nothing? Was this-?
There
was a soft chuckle and Michael looked up in confusion. He then saw Giotto laughing
quietly to himself, hands clutching onto his stomach. Michael’s face flushed
and Giotto looked at him in amusement. “You
still care for Adelina, I see.”
The
flush on Michael’s face deepened. “I-I...
you... that’s not the point!”
“You’re right, it’s not.” Giotto conceded.
“But this is also Adelina’s story. It’s
not my right to tell you anything.”
“Adelina won’t tell me anything. And... And I’m
worried about what the elders might be planning. I don’t want Haru and Adelina
to get dragged into anything dangerous... and... and if you truly are innocent,
I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you as well.” Michael replied
honestly, fiddling with Adelina’s bandanna while he kept his eyes to the
ground.
Giotto’s
eyes softened slightly. “Why would you
care whether or not I am innocent?”
“Because it wouldn’t be right!” Michael said,
sounding surprised that Giotto would even ask such a thing. “Since I was only a kid and... and Adelina
had returned with horrible injuries, it was easy to just assume that... that
you were the cause... especially since that’s what all the adults were saying.
But I always thought it was weird that Adelina had vehemently denied it at
first, saying you saved her. Everyone said it was just the devil tempting
Adelina and that she was just a confused child... but the way she spoke... she
sounded so desperate and scared.”
“But why now? Why try to find the truth now?”
“Because things have changed.”
There
was no need for Michael to expand on that. Giotto already knew what he was
talking about. The elders were starting to move because Haru was now in the
scene. Adelina, after what happened last night, must’ve changed as well. For
someone as observant as Michael, he would have noticed everything.
“I could lie in order to make myself appear
innocent.” Giotto remarked.
Michael clutched
onto the bandanna. “I’m willing to take
that risk.”
Giotto
gave Michael a small smile, one that took Michael by surprise. “We should sit down then. This might take a
while.”
::tsuzuku::
AU: Erm... At first, Giotto felt a little OOC compared to the previous chapters, but in the end, I think it felt right. We don’t know his true personality, after all, since he’s had limited interaction with other people. 8D Also, this is a very, very rough chapter since I figured you guys would rather have a chapter now instead of waiting longer.
