Light flitted in through the
curtains and Haru’s eyes slowly fluttered open. At first she was at a daze,
wondering what was going on, and then the pain in her wrists reminded her of
what happened yesterday. She winced slightly and made a move to lift up her
hands to check on her wounds when a weight on one of her hands reminded her of
the fact that her hand was currently being clutched protectively by
Giotto-sama, who was laying behind her with his other arm underneath her and
around her waist. He was holding her close to him, keeping her body practically
molded against his own.
No longer did a heavy blush
spontaneously erupt on her face. Instead, she leaned back and soaked in his
warmth, happy for the fact that they were finally going to get out of this place.
How, she still wasn’t sure, but she knew of her first goal. Well, the broader
goal was to find the rest of the Guardians, but first, she would need to fine
Giotto-sama’s closest companion.
G.
It didn’t make sense to her how
he was separated from him. G was considered to be Giotto-sama’s closest friend
and trusted right hand. It was something that had been repeatedly emphasized,
both from the book and from various people within the Vongola itself. The book
she’d read on the Vongola’s history had also stated that G and Giotto-sama were
childhood friends. If Giotto-sama was around her age right now, it was almost
too late for them to be ‘childhood’ friends... unless fourteen-fifteen years
old was still considered to be the age of children in this time period, which
she highly doubt. It would make more sense to consider people of that age to be
‘adults’.
Still, the problem was how would
she find him? Actually, where would be the bigger question. The book
Reborn-chan had given her consisted of the history of the Vongola, but certain
details had been lost due to the information having become muddied or destroyed
over time. It’d been clear, however, that Giotto-sama had created the Vongola
sometime around this age... fourteen or fifteen...
She didn’t have much time until
time got distorted... if it hasn’t already been distorted.
“Haru,” she heard the husky
voice behind her and tilted her face upward, meeting the sleepy two-toned eyes.
“You’re awake.”
“Good morning,” she murmured.
Giotto buried his face into her
hair, content at the fact that she was safe and in his arms. He whispered
against her. “Good morning.”
Haru smiled at his antics and
her hand automatically reached up to run her fingers through his hair, a
gesture she knew he found comforting. She opened her mouth to speak, but ended
up jumping when the door to Attilio’s ‘orphanage’ slammed open. Giotto’s grip
around her waist tightened and he was already sitting up, his eyes sharpening
at the intruder.
Attilio stood there with a
raised eyebrow. “Good. You’re both up.”
“Attilio-san.” Haru breathed out
in surprise.
“Get dressed. It’s almost time to leave.”
Haru
winced as Giotto gently wrapped the bandages around her wrists, the two sitting
on the chairs of the cabin they resided in. His form was taut and he was
staring intently at her wounds and while the sight of her married skin bothered
him greatly, what got to him more was the man standing behind him. “What do you
want?”
Attilio
crossed his arms and grunted. “The girl wants my help in your journey out of
here.”
“We
don’t want it.” Giotto said sharply.
“Giotto-sama,”
Haru interjected quickly, but he refused to look at her. She sighed. It wasn’t
as though she liked the idea either. Unfortunately, their chances of survival
out there were a lot higher with a proper ‘adult’ and someone with experience
out in the world. “How do you plan to help us, Attilio-san?”
“As a
priest, I have many connections to churches scattered throughout this country.
It’ll be a simple matter of providing a letter for you to carry and any place
of worship will provide you everything that you will need, no questions asked.”
Attilio began and Haru internally winced, knowing that just by saying that
alone, Attilio had proven his worth to them. “You would be a fool to reject my
offer.”
“And
what do you want in return?” Giotto’s words were still stiff, but Haru was
grateful that it seemed as though he was willing to hear Attilio out.
“Consider
it as a token of my apology.”
“Giotto-sama...”
Haru whispered.
There
was a pause before Giotto finished wrapping up her wrists. He held her hands,
picking them up so that he could inspect his work. It would feel much better if
they could go about without relying on Attilio, but the benefits were more
important than his own feelings. Slowly, he ran his fingers gently over the
covered wounds, wanting so desperately for them to disappear so that they
wouldn’t be bringing pain to her anymore, before he lowered her hands, his
shoulders sagging a bit.
“I do
not hate you Attilio,” he murmured. “I still... trust you and believe you had
your reasons for behaving the way you did, no matter how crudely it was
executed, but if you drag Haru into another one of your games again...”
The
threat hung in the air and Giotto turned his glowing eyes towards Attilio. The
older man gave him a small smile in return.
“I’ll
keep that in mind.”
“Haru!” the call of her name caused Haru to turn around and she
laughed, embracing Adelina who pounced into her arms. “Were you planning to leave without saying goodbye?”
“Of course not,” Haru replied with a smile. If there were people out
of everyone within this village that Haru was grateful towards, it was Adelina
and Michael. Despite being so young, the two had furiously argued with the
village elders until they accepted the fact that Giotto and Haru were to leave
the place peacefully and no one was to bring up the topic of the ‘demon’ again.
Giotto will be remembered simply as the orphan who eventually left the village
along with Haru, another orphan they’d adopted. In a way, the village elders,
weary from all these years of strife, seemed to prefer this since it’d abstain
from their history of the fact that they’d taken in a ‘vile monster’.
“...you better write to me.”
Haru winced at how Adelina
stared daggers at her. All of them knew that while Haru still faltered with her
Italian, her writing was worse, and while most of the villagers were actually
illiterate, Adelina was one of the few who’d learned how to read and write due
to Giotto’s influence when she was younger. It didn’t help that Japanese was of
a completely different language from Italian. She’d probably have to ask Giotto
for help... which would make Adelina pout something fierce since Haru knew
Adelina would want details about her relationship
with Giotto-sama.
Hahi, she still had no idea what
to think about that kiss from a while ago! So many things had happened that
Haru hadn’t had a chance to even think about it! Giotto-sama wasn't helping
either as he was behaving as usual.
“You better practice then,” Adelina said darkly.
“I-I’ll try,” for a twelve year old, Adelina could be pretty
scary...
Adelina’s sharp eyes then
softened and her arms around Haru tightened. She looked away and mumbled
something grumpily under her breath. Haru furrowed her eyebrows together in
confusion.
“Hahi?”
The younger girl twitched, a
vibrant blush erupting across her face. “Stay
safe, you moron!”
Haru was momentarily stunned by
the outburst before she giggled, holding Adelina back. “I will. Giotto-sama is with me, so I’ll be safe.”
Adelina grumbled something else,
but apparently it wasn’t for Haru to hear this time as she didn’t loudly
reiterate her words. Instead, she seemed to cling onto Haru tighter with her
cheek plastered against Haru’s chest, making the older the girl’s eyes
softened. Adelina often behaved so different from that of a child that it
really made her forget that this was a young girl she was dealing with. Haru
smiled softly and murmured. “You stay
safe as well, alright?”
There was a moment of silence
before Adelina mutedly nodded, unable to look up at Haru anymore. ...something
had just gotten into her eyes, that was all. It wasn’t as though she was crying
or anything...
Adelina scowled when she heard
Haru giggling softly.
"Take
care of Giotto as well. And don't believe everyone around you! I know you tend
to trust people stupidly, but not everyone is as nice as me! Understand?" Adelina
barked, keeping her face buried against Haru so that she couldn't see the
wetness of her eyes. "Giotto is also
smart, but I sometimes thinks he can be dense as well, so you have to be the
smart one to make sure that people don't take advantage of him either!"
Actually, now that she thought
about it, Adelina wasn't sure which one she had to worry about more now. When
she was younger, her mother had claimed that Giotto seemed to have a sixth
sense when it came to whether a person was trust-worthy or not, but Adelina
didn't buy it. If that was the case, he would have known earlier that the
stupid villagers would have turned on him all those years ago.
What if these two both got
fooled by someone who pretended to be kind towards them? What if they actually
ended up kidnapped and murdered their first night away? What if-?
Haru giggled as she could
practically see the thoughts running through Adelina's mind. Adelina was so
sweet sometimes. "Don't worry. We'll
be fine."
The reassuring tone made Adelina
look up and Haru's warm smile seemed to be what broke the younger girl as she
could no longer handle all the intense emotions running through her. She broke
down crying, smacking Haru a bit on the arm as she wailed. “You really better learn how to write back to
me, you idiot!”
Haru wiped the tears from her
own eyes as she walked away from the village. The rest of the villagers had
also solemnly said their goodbyes, though most of them lingered in the back as
though afraid to speak to her. Adelina's mother had been stiff with her at
first, but like her daughter, seemed to break down when she saw Haru smiling
cheerfully at her. The older woman, like her daughter, had smothered Haru with
hugs and sharp words before giving Haru the exact same lecture about not trusting
random strangers and to take care of herself. It was a bit mortifying to think
that so many people believed she'd just gallivant off with random strangers
since Haru had seen more than a handful of the villagers nodding in agreement
with Adelina's mother from behind her. But what got to Haru the most was when
Adelina's mother, with no small bit of hesitation, quietly told her to tell
Giotto to take care of himself as well... and that also included more than a
handful of villagers nodding in agreement behind her.
It wasn't with all of the
villagers, but it was a start. What made her even hopeful was the fact that
they were willing to change, to believe in the unknown. The villagers weren't
all bad. It was just unfortunate that fear seemed to dominate them more...
which was why it was even more uplifting that they were willing to try.
Her eyes lit up when she saw
Giotto and Atillio down the road. Since they had no one to really bid farewell
from the village, they'd been waiting for her a ways down the path that led
outside. The two were waiting beside two
towering horses and Haru almost faltered at the sight of them. She hadn't
really thought about how they'd be traveling!
“Haru,” Giotto greeted gently,
vividly concerned as to how her meeting with the villagers would have gone. The
worry evaporated when he saw her gentle smile and instead held out a hand for
her to take. To his surprise, she took it tentatively, her eyes still trained
on the tall creatures. “Haru?”
“Giotto-sama,” Haru whispered,
her eyes positively glowing as she took in sight of the horse next to Giotto. “What's
his name?”
From across from them, Attilio
snorted.
Giotto blinked, taken aback by the
question, before chuckling. “I believe his name is Bambino.”
Haru bit back her squeal and
instead held out her hand towards the majestic steed. "It's nice to meet
you, Bambino-chan. We'll be counting on you on our journey."
“Let's
go. We've wasted enough daylight,” Attilio ordered while
smoothly getting on top of his own horse. The older man had always been quite
tall, even amongst the other villagers, but it seemed as though he'd grown
another ten feet when mounting his steed.
Haru paused, as though realizing
just what it meant when using horses to get to their destination, and her face paled
dramatically.
Uh-oh...
She'd never ridden a horse
before and it was now very clear that riding one meant she'd be sitting on the
back of an animal that had a mind of its own. She didn't want to accidentally
hurt the horse or cause him any discomfort! Not to mention, if the horse got
angry, he could easily hurt her by kicking her off or sending her flying off to
some stratosphere!
Arms wrapped themselves around
her and she felt Giotto's warmth emitting onto her back, his breath brushing
against her cheek as he whispered into her ear. “We'll ride together, so don't
worry.”
The reason behind the fluttering
of her heart changed, but at the same time, it warmed her to have Giotto's
reassuring presence. How typical of him to take notice of what was worrying
her. Though they'd only known each other for a few short months, she relaxed
and almost leaned back against him for support. Instead, she tilted her head so
that it was leaning against his shoulder and murmured quietly, a small smile
playing on her lips. “Let's go.”
Giotto held Haru tightly, his
eyes glazing slightly at the fact that this was really happening. He was
finally leaving this place. The village had been his home for so long and while
it would be a lie to say that he only had fond memories of this place, he couldn't
deny the fact that the village had, at one point, provided him peace and
security. They'd comforted him after his losses and made him feel whole again.
Granted, he had only been a child and so, after the tragedies he'd faced, had
clung onto any kindness that'd been imparted towards him... which was why it
had hurt even more to be denied and rejected for something he himself didn't
understand.
Still... he understood why the
villagers had reacted in such a manner. It was to protect themselves and their
loved ones. In a cold, dangerous world such as the one they lived in, 'normal'
was what allowed them to remain safe. The status quo prevented any dangers from
befalling them.
But in the end, it had allowed
him to gain something even greater.
Giotto closed his eyes, greedily
soaking in Haru's presence within his arms. “Yes, let's go.”
Haru tightly held onto the reins
while she stiffly leaned back against Giotto, tentatively peeking between her
eyelids at the breathtaking sight around her. One would think she'd have gotten
over her fear of heights after the many dangerous climbs she'd been with
Giotto, but she was quickly learning that it was a whole other ballgame when it
came to being somewhere unbearably high and was moving at the same time!
...still, the scenery around
them was beautiful and was what kept her eyes slightly open. It was still quite
cold as winter lingered around them and Haru knew they wouldn't survive a night
out in the woods. However, despite the dangers, the sight of the snow clinging
to the normally vibrantly green foliage was pretty and if Haru was in her own
timeline, she'd probably try and take pictures of everything.
Giotto sat behind her, keeping
her warm and protected from the elements as his arms remained wrapped around
her, his hands holding onto the reins as well in order to properly guide the
horse. It'd surprised Haru that the horse hadn't started struggling against
them due to how tense she was, but she assumed it was because of Giotto-sama's
reassuring presence. Of course even animals would flock towards him.
“W-Where are we going?” Haru inquired carefully after a long bout of
silence. Attilio remained ahead of them, guiding them towards their
destination. She quickly took notice of how Giotto seemed to tense up behind
her. “...Giotto-sama?”
“To a place I’m sure Giotto will
hate me for because he doesn’t want to go back,” Attilio supplied with a slight grunt,
keeping his eyes trained before him. Haru tilted her head slightly towards
Giotto, her forehead instinctively pressed reassuringly against his cheek. He
seemed to appreciate the gesture, leaning against her as well, but the tension
didn’t leave his shoulders as Attilio continued to speak. “His hometown.”
“W-Where?” Haru stammered in surprise before pulling slightly away
from Giotto in order to look at him. “You remember your
hometown? Why did you never return to it then?”
Giotto’s eyes became hooded.
“...because there’s nothing waiting for me there.”
Attilio rolled his eyes at that,
though it was missed by the two who were too enraptured with each other. “A lie. Your grandfather is there.”
“He would not want a reminder of
his losses,” Giotto said sharply, shooting a glare at Attilio’s back. “Not to
mention, because of what I am... he would be better off believing I’m dead.”
Haru’s eyes widened at the
implication of his words.
“A demon,” Attilio said derisively. For some reason, Haru felt
disgust emanating off the older man. “Do
you still truly believe yourself to be one?”
“What else would I be?” Giotto shot back. “These
abilities of mine don’t belong to a normal human being.”
“You are a fool if you believe such things.” Attilio tilted his head
back this time so that the two would have a clear view of his sharp green eyes,
the disapproving frown on his face as he continued to speak. “There are many things that people are
unaware of in this world. Close your minds to the unbelievable and you’ll find
yourself swept away with what is to come.”
“...you are not a demon,
Giotto-sama,” Haru spoke up softly and reached out to press her palm against
his cheek. They’d become far too comfortable with each other’s touch,
instinctively aware of the unspoken messages each caress and stroke would give.
She didn’t even think much whenever she reached out to touch him like this,
unconsciously knowing that it would provide him with some reassurance. “The
villagers said that because they didn’t understand. They were afraid of what
they don’t know. Adelina actually called you an angel because she believed you
to be someone who protects.”
“What about you, Haru?” he
reached out to place a gloved hand over her own, desperately wanting to peel of
the layers so that he could feel the warmth of her bare hand against his skin. “What
do you believe?”
She looked at him in surprise
before smiling warmly at him. “I believe Giotto-sama is just Giotto-sama.
You’re perfect the way you are.”
There was a pause before Haru’s
face turned a brilliant shade of red, steam practically emanating off of her
cheeks due to the cold air that surrounded them. This was all Giotto-sama’s
fault! She was now hugging and touching him as though there was nothing wrong
or embarrassing about it! And now, she was saying stuff with no filter! His
bluntness and tendency to say embarrassing stuff like this without blinking an
eye is obviously rubbing off on her... at least she was lucky in that it was
only happening with him. She couldn’t find herself saying embarrassing stuff
like this to others... at least she hoped she wouldn’t.
Haru was forcibly brought out of
her thoughts when she saw the tender look in Giotto’s eyes and of how he tilted
his head so that he could press his lips against the palm of her gloved hand.
Her heart fluttered and skipped a beat, especially when he, still keeping his
mouth covered by her hand, turned his gaze towards her. There was an intensity
behind them, one even stronger than during the earlier stages of their
relationship. She didn’t understand it and... and a part of her was a bit
afraid to really know what it was.
Unable to bear it any longer,
Haru bashfully turned her eyes away.
“If you two are done flirting,” Haru almost fell off the horse at
the sudden sound of Attilio’s voice breaking the tension that’d emerged between
her and Giotto, “we’ve arrived at our
first stop.”
Blushing furiously, Haru looked
in front of her in confusion. They’d only been riding for a few hours, but they
were going to stop already? There was a small cottage in front of them, one
covered heavily in snow due to the snowfall they’d experienced the night
before. She shivered a bit as the cool air gently blew by and Giotto wrapped
his arms tighter around her, shielding her from the cold. “A-A house?”
“One of the many temporary refugees we’ll be taking advantage of due to
the cold. You can consider it as a bit of a safe house for those within the
order,” Attilio said with a shrug as he slipped off his horse. “There will likely be snowfall tonight as
well, but the weather should improve by tomorrow morning. If not, this place is
generally stocked with enough food and resources to last us a week if needed.
We’ll also be moving slowly for the sake of our horses. And besides... you’re
probably too sore to continue any longer.”
Haru squeaked at the pointed
look he gave her, especially since it was true. Riding horses for long periods
of time was a lot more painful than she’d expected. Her legs were hurting and
honestly speaking, she wasn’t even sure how she was going to get off the
horse... let alone walk.
“Here, let me help you down,”
she heard Giotto murmur behind her before he slipped down as well. Haru
shivered, immediately missing the warmth he emitted, before sliding off Bambino
with a small yelp as she clumsily fell into Giotto’s arms. The two remained
holding each other for a moment longer, Giotto holding onto her tightly, before
he carefully helped her onto her wobbly legs. “Are you alright?”
“Just a little sore,” she bit
back a whimper while leaning against him for support. God, how were they
supposed to travel when she was so useless like this? Perhaps this was one of
the reasons why Attilio wanted to set out of the village so soon despite the
treacherous path caused by the snow. The other reason, she knew without being
told, being that he probably wanted to keep Giotto separated from the
villagers.
Haru warily eyed Attilio as he
began guiding their two horses to the nearby shed. She still didn’t understand
Attilio-san’s role in all this. She didn’t understand why he behaved the way he
did back at the village and she really didn’t understand the reason behind his
actions. He almost seemed as though he wanted to hurt Giotto, but in the end,
he was trying to help as well. Little actions like this, taking Giotto away
from the place he knew hurt him, seemed to imply that Attilio did truly care in
his own way.
...but why?
“You two get inside and start a fire,” Attilio barked from the shed.
Haru hobbled into the cottage
with Giotto’s help, but the feeling of dread still didn’t leave her. She knew
nothing about Attilio and his presence was never even hinted in the Vongola’s
history despite his obvious strong influence within Giotto-sama’s early life.
Hahi! Even the part about Giotto-sama having endured his early childhood as an
outcast and a ‘demon’ wasn’t even mentioned!
She and Giotto-sama were finally
free to find the other Guardians and set course for his true destiny, but what
other unknown dangers and problems lurked ahead?
What did she need to do to
protect him right now?
Haru’s fingers tightened over
Giotto’s and he glanced at her, seeing the stern frown on her face. He helped
her inside of the cottage and immediately directed her to the nearest chair,
ignoring her protests as they both knew she was fairly useless right now due to
her inability to walk by herself. The moment she sat down, he bundled her up
with the small blanket he’d pulled out from their pack before heading towards
the fireplace to start the flames. He worked swiftly and had a fire roaring in
minutes.
Giotto then turned towards Haru.
She didn’t seem to notice him, having returned to whatever gloomy thoughts that
were plaguing her. He walked over to her, stopping right before her as his arms
reached out to wrap themselves around her. There was a muffled squeak of
surprise from her end when he pressed her face against his stomach, but she
didn’t fight against him.
“G-Giotto-sama?”
“Don’t worry,” he murmured, the
white puffs of air escaping his lips decreasing as the fire slowly warmed up
the room. “I’ll protect you.”
There was no immediate response
from her before she tentatively raised her arms to wrap them around his waist.
“...but I want to protect you as well.”
Taken off guard by her reply,
Giotto merely stared down at her from above.
“I don’t want to be simply
protected. I... I want to help Giotto-sama too. I want to be your strength.”
She grumbled a bit, her grip around his waist tightening due to her
frustration. Their journey had only begun and she was already hindering them.
It was as though there was just one problem after another. She was also only
growing further agitated by her uncertainty towards Attilio and the fact that
even if he was some sort of enemy, she had no idea or way of dealing with him!
“I... I’m going to be useless for a while, but I’ll get better. So please... be
patient with me.”
Giotto pulled back a little,
their arms stilled wrapped around her each, and looked down at her. “You’re
never useless, Haru.”
“No,” she replied firmly. “I am.
But only for now. I promise.”
He looked about ready to protest
further when the door to the cabin opened. A rush of piercing cold air blew
into the room and the two instinctively held each for warm, peering at the
entrance only after the door was slammed shut. Attilio stood there, unwinding
his scarf from around his neck. He gave them an indifferent glance before
tossing the scarf to the side.
“You,” he gave a nodded at Giotto, “tend to the horses and bring the rest of the bags inside. It seems like
we’ll be staying here longer than just tonight if the clouds above mean
anything.”
Giotto gave him a look and
reluctantly pulled away from Haru. His hands lingered on her shoulders and for
a moment, it appeared as though he wasn’t going to leave, but Haru laid a hand
on top of his and gave him a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine.”
“Yes, yes, there will be no more foolish fake kidnappings and threats
this time around,” Attilio spoke dismissively. To Haru’s surprise, however,
Giotto merely tightened his grip around her, the look on his face growing more
severe. Attilio returned his gaze coolly, a smile growing on the older man’s
face. “Yes... you’re getting better at
this.”
“G-Giotto-sama?” Haru looked at
him in confusion, but he pulled away instead.
“I’ll be outside,” he murmured.
“Yell for me if he does anything to you.”
“O-Of course,” she looked
uncertainly at the two. It was true that she had her misgiving towards Attilio,
but the way Giotto was acting was too odd. Was there something else between
them that she wasn’t aware of?
Giotto passed by Attilio
wordlessly. However, the look they exchanged with each other seemed to be
enough. The biting cold air briefly entered the room before the door was
slammed shut once more, leaving Haru alone within the dark room illuminated
only by the roaring fire against the wall. The sunlight from the outside
through the window was heavily muted due to the incoming dark clouds that were
slowly covering the blue skies.
“Attilio-san?” Haru spoke almost
timidly, startled by the piercing emerald eyes that seemed to study her.
“Haru...” there was an odd lilt
in his voice, one that made Haru’s eyes widen slightly. “Let’s have a talk,
shall we?”
