'Hey'- Soren
'Hey'- Narrator-San
"Hey"- Soren's OOC
'Hey'- Author-San
'Hey'- Soren's intro
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"You kicked me."
Was the first thing I heard from him the moment I walked into the Vongola infirmary.
"You actually kicked me."
What was he? A child?
Okay, quick recap. So apparently, Giotto was still salty about me kicking him in the family jewel, but can you blame me? I mean, I was technically being harassed.
That was three days ago. I've been avoiding the infirmary for the last three days. That also meant I was avoiding the rest of the Vongola Family, especially during meals (I ate in my room).
Basically, no one has seen me after I 'assaulted' Giotto Vongola.
Personally, I don't think it should take three days to recover from a kick to the groin. Seriously, Giotto, you need to be less like a delicate flower. You're a goddamn Mafia boss!
"And you pinned me against the wall." I countered, scowling a little. I was in an irritable mood. First day in the Vongola mansion and Giotto has already caused trouble for me.
Tch, how annoying.
At my words, everyone in the room suddenly stared at Giotto, mouths gape and eyes widen in confusion.
They were Asari, G, and Knuckle.
"Giotto-san, I do not think that was a wise choice to make-"
"Dammit, Giotto! Really?! To your fiancée?! Did you forget which famiglia she belongs to?! The Senva Corona! The goddamn Senva- fucking- Corona!"
"Shhh to the max, G. Famiglias should not be discussed right now." Knuckle hushed the pink headed mafioso.
They suddenly turned their gaze toward me and gave me a weary look.
What- oh. Oh yeah.
"Famiglia?" I cocked my head in confusion.
I'm suppose to be a civilian.
"A-ah, no, Hime-san. It's just a... little game... we made and still... play?" Asari said the last part uncertainly.
It earned him a few glares.
"Ah, I see, Asari-San. No worries, carry on. Also, please call me Soren. Princess is too much."
"Of course, Lady Soren."
I sighed internally. Asari is way too polite. No matter how many times I tell him to call me by my name, he reverts back to calling me Hime within another hour. I don't care if it makes fangirls jealous. This kind of nickname is way too embarrassing!
While the pleasant conversation between Asari and I are going on, we both pretended to not notice that G was slowly strangling Giotto.
"G! Calm down to the max!"
"Die, you idiot boss!"
"That is not how you should treat your fiancée, Giotto-San." Asari butt in.
"W-what?! Hold on, wait, wait. That was a mistake!"
Of course, my good mood plummeted once more by Giotto and his stupidity.
Mistake my a$$!
Casting Asari, who is so far my second best friend (because Elena will murder him if she isn't number one), an apologetic glance, I turned away, frowning angrily at the blonde boss.
This idiot! Thinking he can pin me so easily. Die!
Striding towards the door, I gave a flowery and oblivious smile and said, "Well then, you all seem very lively today. Have a good day, everyone. If you need me, I'll be in my room."
And quickly made my exit.
~*~
Out in the hallway, I shut the door quietly before leaving.
The nerve of that man! Huffing, I ranted in my head while storming down the hallway.
"... Sssssssss....."
Ren moved onto my shoulder.
"I can't believe that guy. First he's on his knees and groveling and apologizing, the next minute, he's acting like a five year old brat with some kind of multiple personality syndrome. And I really thought we could be friends." I mumbled aloud.
I stopped moving and finally noticed the large open windows in this part of the mansion. How far have I walked?
Sighing as I realized I was lost, I went to the nearest window and placed my elbow on it. I felt a cool wind pass through my face. Ren slithered on and joined me.
This place had a lovely view.
"Really," I said, continuing my one-sided conversation with Ren. "I mean, we are to wed someday soon. We are both mutual on our agreement. He doesn't love me, nor do I love him. If we were going to make this work, we could have at least held a truce and been friends."
Sighing, I watched as a pigeon flew by- wait.
"Sor!"
And in flew the pigeon.
Wow. Great timing.
The bird descended and landed next to Ren.
"Did Grandpa send you? Oh, you poor dear, you nearly flew by the mansion. Let me take a look. What does he wish to tell me?" I spoke to her gently, stroking her feathered head before unraveling the tiny letter that was tangled to her feet.
'My dear Soren,
I hope you are having a good time in Vongola Manor. Remember to keep in touch. Don't be a stranger. Have Sor with you. Your brothers and I and the household servants all miss you very much. They wish you the best of luck. We will be awaiting your return in three months. And don't forget, we love you, always.
From your Grandfather.'
I smiled softly. Oh, Grandpa, you're such a softy!
Chuckling, I folded the letter and placed it carefully into my pocket before lifting a finger for Sor. "Come on, Sor. I'm sure the Vongola has some leftover chopped apples and sunflower seeds you can snack on."
The pigeon tweeted her approval before hopping onto my finger and then ascending onto my shoulder. Ren crawled up my arm and wrapped herself around my forearm, keeping herself hidden from view within my ruffled sleeves.
My outfit was light and intricate. I was really into hardware today, so I chose something that wasn't exactly gaudy or revealing, but give a look of simplicity yet none simplistic. More elegant.
The three of us adjusted ourselves, well, I adjusted myself, and securely fixed Sor onto my shoulder, before walking down the bright corridors toward the kitchen.
"Soren- hime!" I heard someone shout from behind me.
"Asari?"
I saw the Japanese man approaching me.
"Ciao, Soren- hime." He said, mixing both Italian and Japanese into his greeting.
"Ciao, Asari- San. What do you need?"
"I thought you needed some company." He responded cheerfully.
I nodded, smiling slightly.
"Why, thank you, Asari. Your company is most welcome."
"Ha ha ha~ No problem, Hime. I'm glad to had helped." He japanese man paused for a moment when he saw Sor on my shoulder. He looked at her curiously.
"May I ask, who's that?"
I blinked and followed his eyes to the small pigeon. "Ah! Oh, I'm sorry. This is Sor. My messenger pigeon. She just came to deliver a message from grandpa. I was told to keep her here in case I wish to send over any messages to grandpa."
"Hmm, is that so?" Asari hummed. He then stretched his hand and patted Sor's little head. "That sounds great. Now you can communicate with your family!" He smiles cheerfully.
"Un!"
So we continued speaking animatedly, walking around the mansion as we did so. The rain guardian gave me a full, detailed tour on the mansion and he even gave me proper directions to my room, in case I get lost again. By the end of a full hour, I think we can be called very close friends.
"That reminds me, would you like to see the garden? Vongola mansion actually has one of the largest gardens in Italy. Giotto really liked growing plants."
My eyes suddenly glittered with a bit of excitement. A garden? Wait. Did he say grown by Giotto? Hell yeah! I'm in! My internal appearance was grinning madly, doing fist pumps in the air.
Outside, my external appearance nodded, smiling softly. "Alright. I'm sure it sounds lovely."
"It sure does. Follow me!"
~*~
Woah. This place is really nice.
I mean, despite the fact that it was already autumn, the flowers were still growing strong. What the hell did Giotto use here in order to get such strong looking plants? He must really love gardening.
Everything still looked really green and bright. I'm amazed.
Frankly, I still think Corona's garden is still better, but I guess Vongola comes a close second. This was very nice.
But something was missing.
You know, when I lived with Grandpa, he and I would have our daily tea time in the garden, hidden somewhere no one could come and distract us. My brothers would then join us in our meals and everyone would be happy and smiling.
We all sat inside a gazebo, covered in various plants to hide us from the eyes of Famiglia members and servants, just so we could enjoy tea in peace. It was a tradition I started when I first came here, and I became rather fond with it. I missed that.
I never had a true family in my world. Grandpa, my brothers, and the servants, they became my family. I will never let them go. I will never replace them. They are my Famiglia.
"Hime, are you alright?" Asari's calm voice shook me from my thoughts.
"Huh? Oh, oh yes. I'm sorry." I said softly.
"What were you thinking about?"
"Ah." I gave a small, serene grin. "How about we have tea in the garden today? My grandpa and my brothers would hold daily tea times in our garden all the time and I really enjoyed those times." I paused and looked at him. "If there isn't any trouble, how about we all take a break and come out for some air?"
He blinked. Then his lips turned upward. "That sounds wonderful, Hime. When would you like to begin?"
I thought for a moment. "Can you go and ask Giotto and the rest of the guardians if then can come? I'll go to the kitchen and get some food, tea, and a blanket so we can all have a picnic together. Meet me back here in about thirty minutes, is that alright?"
Asari walked with me back toward the entrance. "Of course, Hime. I shall see you soon." Said the rain guardian. He then left to go find the rest of the guardians.
Smiling after him, I begin to make my way toward the kitchen. "Let's go, Sor, Ren. We can finally get some food for the two of you."
Yeah, I forgot to get Sor her food. Poor thing must be hungry.
I glided swiftly (hell yeah! Anime concepts allow that shit!) toward the kitchen.
"Excuse me." I said politely as I opened the door.
"Oh my!" The voice of an elderly woman suddenly cried out loud.
"Hello." I said, giving a small grin as I approached her. She was a tall woman. With brunette hair streaks with grey tied into a neat bun. She wore an apron and a large chef's hat. In her hand, there was spoon that stirred a boiling pot.
"Hello, dear. What can I do for you?" She asked. Her eyes crinkled almost in a motherly way as she spoke to me.
For some reason, I quite like her.
"I'll be holding a picnic outside with some of the guardians and perhaps my fiancée if he has the time. I would like to ask, do you perhaps have some materials, per say, a blanket and a basket?"
She thought for a moment. "Wait one moment here, dear." The woman took the pot off the stove and went away somewhere further into the kitchen, which needed to pass another door.
A few minutes later, she came back with a large, orange blanket and a big basket. "Is this suitable?"
I beamed. "Of course. It's exactly what I need!" (Though the orange blanket might be too much. Is Giotto really the Vongola Primo, or is he Naruto? I mean, there's just so much orange...)
I took the blanket and basket, and the woman packed in some food. I took some sunflower seeds as well.
"My name is Maria. I'm the head chef of the Vongola mansion. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Soren." The woman, Maria, introduced herself, smiling wholeheartedly. She was boiling a pot of tea for me.
I smiled in kind, brightly with flowers, as I added tea cups and other materials into the basket. "I am glad to meet you as well, Maria. And thank you so much for helping me."
Once we were done packing up the basket, I bowed in thanks and waved goodbye, which she returned.
Ah, I'm glad to meet another nice servant in the house. At least they're not all haughty. Yeah, I'm still pissed about that b!tchy maid (see the last chapter for reference).
Sighing, I hauled the blanket and basket down the hall back to the garden.
"Asari!" I called to the rain guardian who was waiting for me. He was standing beneath the shade of a large tree.
There were four others behind him. Knuckle, Daemon, Elena, and surprisingly, Giotto, was there also.
I went to them while smiling. "I see you found some people to join us. Were the others busy?" I asked the Japanese.
"G was sent on a... business trip to Venice. Lampo is sleeping. And Alaude doesn't really like crowding." He explained.
I nodded in understanding before setting everything down. Unfolding the large blanket, it spread and covered the area beneath the tree.
Silently, we all sat down for tea.
Ren slithered out from my sleeve (The only one who started panicking in fear was Giotto), which everyone welcomed. I introduced Sor as well, which they were also quite happy to meet.
"Elena, how are the wedding plans?" I asked, passing a teacup to her while feeding Sor and Ren.
She beamed. "Oh, it's finally going smoothly, my friend. I cannot wait to be wed, isn't that right, Daemon?"
Obediently, the mist guardian nodded automatically, albeit, very exhausted and tired. "Yes, dear." Wow, he's completely different from the anime. Must be the pressure. Wedding can be a shit to plan.
"How about you, Soren? Are there any thoughts on your own wedding plans?"
I suddenly froze stiffly, choking on a mouthful of tea. I saw Giotto do the same.
"Uhh..."
"It's going fine." Giotto said in a clipped tone.
I saw his ears suddenly steaming. Eh? Is he angry?
I chuckled awkwardly. "Yes. We're not ready to be married yet, so for now, it's best for us to stay friends."
As I spoke, I suddenly felt a depressing aura. Across, Giotto was surrounded by dark, gloomy illusions while Asari and Knuckled patted him in the back.
Did I say something wrong?
"Soren!"
"H-hai!" I automatically responded.
"Next month, I'm taking you to visit the slums." He declared.
There was silence.
I looked at him weirdly. "Um, okay..."
Above us, I thought I heard a crow in the sky cawing out "... Aho~ aho~ aho~..."
It became really awkward for everyone after that.
Giotto's POV:
In my office, after that embarrassing picnic, I sat with Asari, Daemon, and Knuckle surroundings my table.
"Have you befriended her?" I asked Asari.
The man chuckled cheerfully as always. "Yes. The Hime-Sama is actually quite easy to talk to." He explained, but then, suddenly frowned. "Giotto-San, I understand your suspicions against her, but are you sure she's a threat? I mean, I can tell she's a civilian just by how ignorant she is of the Mafia. We can't keep lying about this."
I shook my head. Asari was starting to get attached. "No. Remember our goal, Asari. Soren Corona may not be who she says she is. That woman has shown her true face after she was named the new heir. Remember how stupidly arrogant she was from before? That was all an act to fool us. I cannot feel safe until we confirm whether she is a true threat or not."
Knuckle spoke, his speech lacking any Max. "Giotto, don't you think you're being too cautious? From what I observed, the Lady Soren has treated you with nothing by cheerful indulgence,"
If you can call assaulting me in multiple places indulgence, I thought gloomily.
Knuckle continued. "I can't see her as someone who would strike us in the back. And don't forget, I can tell you also like her true personality."
Yes. Soren's true personality. Not the so-called man-chasing facade that she claimed she had kept for her safety as the heir of the Corona Corporation.
Most of the time, my 'fiancée' speaks about business. Nothing Mafia. She's very oblivious. Wait, let me rephrase, she is extremely oblivious. If there were firearms, she just thinks it's for the army. Does she even know she's basically the mastermind of all arms dealing in Italy?
But what if she does...?
My hyper-intuition spoke.
See, this so what's making me so cautious. Soren Corona, my fiancée who I have hated with a passion, and then suddenly became 'friends' according to her, cannot be so simple.
With the way she speaks in riddles, do things that make me confused, drive me up the wall, gives warm smiles, smells really nice, has really pretty, violet eyes-
Goddammit! No, Giotto! Do not go there!
Just thinking about this new person makes me seethe in anger. But for some reason I'm turning a bright shade of red. Must be the anger. Yes. I'm angry. I told myself.
I looked at my guardians and sighed. "We'll see once I take her to the slums."
Author's POV:
While Giotto sat with a steaming face, looking down at his table like it was the most gorgeous thing he has ever seen, his guardians looked at one another.
They each smiled knowingly (in Daemon's case, smirked), before nodding. They'll let their boss figure it out sooner or later.
Soren's POV:
I sneezed, sending spittles flying into the page I was reading.
Was someone talking about me?
Shrugging, I wiped off my germs from my book, Inferno, and continued reading, ignoring whatever fight Ren and Sor were currently having on my bed.
Eh, they can duke it out themselves.
What I'm worried about is having Giotto with me. He says he's taking me to the slums next month.
Would this be considered a date?
~*~*~*~*~
Finished! Okay, what did you all think? Any suggestions? I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter. Tell me what you think! What will happen next? Will Soren and Giotto's visit to the slum go peacefully, or will something interfere? Than again, luck was never on either of their side. Who's to say it ever was? Anyway, don't forget to vote, comment, and share!
Ciao!