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Fandom: KHR
Summary: Giotto is bad at retirement.
Warnings: None
Of course, things couldn't be peaceful forever.
There'd been a few days of "Should we step inyet?" at overhearing some of the conflict; different country, different names, few different protocols, same old song and dance - some low-ranking Yakuza being threatening because people weren't doing what they wanted.
And of course, it'd be the inn they'd been staying at while they debated which direction to go, or if they should just settle here.
Giotto drew the line at them threatening the old innkeeper's daughter; one "accidental" fight full of "accidentally" proving to be more than the thugs had been expecting later, the last one still fighting had taken a pretty good hit with a broom as Miyu interrupted him trying to hit Giotto from behind.
It was a last gasp - they were already scrambling to retreat and carry the less conscious or currently mobile two out; there was just one parting shot that caught Giotto's interest.
"The Dragon will hear about this!"
Giotto blinked, processing. "Dragon - you're all from Sendai?"
There was a pause in the door, an odd look at Giotto, and the vibe of 'how did he-?'; there were some things foreigners really shouldn't know about.
"Well, then I look forward to it - I'd always wanted to meet him in person."
They scrambled off, and he heard a few mutters about "crazy gaijin"; either way, he shrugged it off, going back to normal in spite of the odd looks he was now getting from Miyu.
Just a semi-retired glassblower that decided to travel, nothing to see here.
******************
It was a different man, one that hadn't been in the village before, that came in a couple weeks later; there was the prickling as soon as he walked in that it was a mission and he was looking for Giotto. He, and Ugetsu, had been sitting out of sight of the desk in the garden, but were at least within earshot; as soon as the man had walked in, Giotto's attention had gone that way and their conversation dropped silent. They'd been expecting trouble, enough to have picked back up things like the mantle and gauntlets for Giotto, Ugetsu keeping his swords close, if covered.
He was questioning Miyu - looking for "a short blonde foreigner in a suit"; she was doing a very good job of acting like she had no idea what the man was talking about, and while slightly nervous, wasn't afraid.
Ugetsu's attention was as focused as his; this wasn't one of the normal small-fish thugs.
He stood up, quietly, and walked into the doorway. "I believe I'm the one you're looking for."
There was dead silence; now there was a pang of fear from Miyu's direction - more for his safety, while the Yakuza was looking him over. "You're the one that said you wanted to meet the Dragon."
Giotto nodded.
"He's outside, waiting."
"Then I apologize for the delay."
The other man turned to walk out; Giotto followed, Ugetsu stepping in behind him - falling easily back into the old habit, walking behind him at his left and clearly on guard. Miyu followed a little further behind, almost falling into the empty space on his right that, in a normal situation like this, would've been G's - but she was acting more on confusion and curiosity, more of such than she knew was healthy, instead of old habit.
He wouldn't have really needed a guide to pick out the people that had apparently mostly skipped any sense of decorum in dress, opting instead for "whatever was comfortable, maybe not complete", nevermind being aware that tattoos were basically a reliable marker for Yakuza.
His attention skipped the four men on guard, focusing on the one man that was dressed more normally...
Also the source of an almost tangible aura of control; another Sky user, and one that knew how to project it to make things stifling for anyone not-his-people, a clear semi-conscious undercurrent running through the air of assurance that anyone starting anything would be lucky to walk away intact.
The other Sky user looked at him, frowned slightly, and looked at his men; Giotto recognized one of them as the one that'd been less battered in the fight, and that was the one that got singled out. "This is what set you all running?"
The faint flicker of a smile crossed Giotto's face. For a half-second he just gathered his own energy, and then he pushed back, sliding his energy through and under, then up, dissolving out the heavy cloud over the area.
This area was under his control, and no-one would be flinching away in fear today.
The Yakuza boss's air of irritation and annoyance vanished, replaced with a shot of new attention, as he snapped his focus back to Giotto, wary, and now looking more closely; bits of disbelief and confusion slipped in, and Giotto did catch the man's glance falling on the emblems on the mantle's chain.
In two seconds, the entire air of the confrontation changed.
"Vongola Primo." That was accompanied with a slight bow - not quite the usual courtesy, but enough to show recognition. And then, he switched to Italian, if very accented Italian. "My apologies for the altercation; if I had known you were coming, I would've arranged a proper welcome."
He returned the bow, albeit with more normal formality. "The fault is mine; I had been intending to go un-noticed."
More wariness, more caution. "What brings you to Japan?"
"Retirement; I was looking for someplace quiet, and had grown attached to the peace of this village. I do apologize for the encroachment, I meant no threat to your territory."
Some of the wariness relaxed; it had been an honest answer - he wasn't looking for a fight, or trying to take over. "You honor us with your presence, then." Still cautious; parts of it were awkward in Italian - concepts and courtesies that worked very differently between the two cultures. Of course, the rest of the Yakuza there were completely lost, but it was clear the leader had enough control that they were sitting on it until later, staying quiet and out of the way.
"The honor is mine; I admit, I had been impressed with your generosity in our letters, and how you'd handled my occasionally strange requests, and it had influenced which direction we went on arrival. As much as I planned on getting away from things, I thought, if I had to end up dealing with someone in the underworld here, I preferred you." Granted, it was "I know you" vs. "I don't know anyone else", but the long-distance contact had been amiable.
The Yakuza leader's gaze flickered over Ugetsu; it was, at least, getting less tense by tiny increments. "Is this the man you'd spoken of?"
Giotto nodded, and caught a brief flicker of Ugetsu glancing at him and putting pieces together. "Yes; your help was much appreciated - he's one of my most trusted people, and I thank you for the help in repaying that loyalty." Well, he hadn't planned on ever explaining how he'd managed to get some things from Japan to Italy for Ugetsu; at the time he hadn't even been thinking in terms of having contacts no-one else in the Vongola would know about - he was just trying to finagle a surprise that would help with the homesickness. "Your man in Spain did you much credit, as well."
The Yakuza leader nodded in acknowledgment, but Giotto could catch the edges of what would probably be going for a stiff drink after this. "It would seem that the slip here is partly mine; what would be an acceptable apology?" It wasn't quite as straight of an offer as it sounded - a call to the bargaining table, testing the waters.
"I ask little; all I want is peace and quiet. As long as your men aren't disrupting that in this village, I have no quarrel with them, and in fact, would have every reason to be concerned if someone else less understanding were to move in." Don't bother him, don't bother the villagers, and if some other gang moves in, he'd help drive them out.
There was a moment of weighing before a nod of agreement. "That is a perfectly reasonable arrangement; we will abide by that."
"Thank you; you've been very generous with my interruption." Giotto bowed again, slipping into Japanese with that; the confusion in several directions - Miyu and the Yakuza both - was just about tangible.
"It's nothing; there won't be any further disturbances here. I regret not getting to meet you under less awkward circumstances." The confusion ranked up a bit more at the confirmation in a language the others understood that yes, there was prior knowledge of each other.
"I wouldn't mind a chance to fix that, one day." He smiled; from everything he'd gotten, the boss of Sendai was someone that he'd have likely allied with, had they been in the same nation when Giotto was still in power. The slipped in comment that the few villagers still out and Miyu would've understood - that there was a truce and the Yakuza were backing down - hadn't missed his notice.
"Let me know when you're in Sendai, and I'll show you the city." Now they'd really lost everyone except Ugetsu.
"That would be appreciated - but I've already taken up too much of your time today, and I'm sure you're quite busy without my impositions."
"We will be seeing you, then; be well, Vongola." There was an exchanged bow, and the boss gesturing to his men to leave; the open square was dead silent and still until they'd passed around a corner out of sight, with Giotto well aware that he had a good bit of the attention of the locals.
Which, of course, was the cue to go back to the inn as if nothing had happened, with Miyu sitting on a mess of things behind him until they were back inside and away from other people overhearing.
"...Who are you?" There wasn't any reproach in the question, but there was a great deal of bits and pieces that didn't match up with what she'd gotten used to.
Summary: Giotto is bad at retirement.
Warnings: None
Of course, things couldn't be peaceful forever.
There'd been a few days of "Should we step in
And of course, it'd be the inn they'd been staying at while they debated which direction to go, or if they should just settle here.
Giotto drew the line at them threatening the old innkeeper's daughter; one "accidental" fight full of "accidentally" proving to be more than the thugs had been expecting later, the last one still fighting had taken a pretty good hit with a broom as Miyu interrupted him trying to hit Giotto from behind.
It was a last gasp - they were already scrambling to retreat and carry the less conscious or currently mobile two out; there was just one parting shot that caught Giotto's interest.
"The Dragon will hear about this!"
Giotto blinked, processing. "Dragon - you're all from Sendai?"
There was a pause in the door, an odd look at Giotto, and the vibe of 'how did he-?'; there were some things foreigners really shouldn't know about.
"Well, then I look forward to it - I'd always wanted to meet him in person."
They scrambled off, and he heard a few mutters about "crazy gaijin"; either way, he shrugged it off, going back to normal in spite of the odd looks he was now getting from Miyu.
Just a semi-retired glassblower that decided to travel, nothing to see here.
******************
It was a different man, one that hadn't been in the village before, that came in a couple weeks later; there was the prickling as soon as he walked in that it was a mission and he was looking for Giotto. He, and Ugetsu, had been sitting out of sight of the desk in the garden, but were at least within earshot; as soon as the man had walked in, Giotto's attention had gone that way and their conversation dropped silent. They'd been expecting trouble, enough to have picked back up things like the mantle and gauntlets for Giotto, Ugetsu keeping his swords close, if covered.
He was questioning Miyu - looking for "a short blonde foreigner in a suit"; she was doing a very good job of acting like she had no idea what the man was talking about, and while slightly nervous, wasn't afraid.
Ugetsu's attention was as focused as his; this wasn't one of the normal small-fish thugs.
He stood up, quietly, and walked into the doorway. "I believe I'm the one you're looking for."
There was dead silence; now there was a pang of fear from Miyu's direction - more for his safety, while the Yakuza was looking him over. "You're the one that said you wanted to meet the Dragon."
Giotto nodded.
"He's outside, waiting."
"Then I apologize for the delay."
The other man turned to walk out; Giotto followed, Ugetsu stepping in behind him - falling easily back into the old habit, walking behind him at his left and clearly on guard. Miyu followed a little further behind, almost falling into the empty space on his right that, in a normal situation like this, would've been G's - but she was acting more on confusion and curiosity, more of such than she knew was healthy, instead of old habit.
He wouldn't have really needed a guide to pick out the people that had apparently mostly skipped any sense of decorum in dress, opting instead for "whatever was comfortable, maybe not complete", nevermind being aware that tattoos were basically a reliable marker for Yakuza.
His attention skipped the four men on guard, focusing on the one man that was dressed more normally...
Also the source of an almost tangible aura of control; another Sky user, and one that knew how to project it to make things stifling for anyone not-his-people, a clear semi-conscious undercurrent running through the air of assurance that anyone starting anything would be lucky to walk away intact.
The other Sky user looked at him, frowned slightly, and looked at his men; Giotto recognized one of them as the one that'd been less battered in the fight, and that was the one that got singled out. "This is what set you all running?"
The faint flicker of a smile crossed Giotto's face. For a half-second he just gathered his own energy, and then he pushed back, sliding his energy through and under, then up, dissolving out the heavy cloud over the area.
This area was under his control, and no-one would be flinching away in fear today.
The Yakuza boss's air of irritation and annoyance vanished, replaced with a shot of new attention, as he snapped his focus back to Giotto, wary, and now looking more closely; bits of disbelief and confusion slipped in, and Giotto did catch the man's glance falling on the emblems on the mantle's chain.
In two seconds, the entire air of the confrontation changed.
"Vongola Primo." That was accompanied with a slight bow - not quite the usual courtesy, but enough to show recognition. And then, he switched to Italian, if very accented Italian. "My apologies for the altercation; if I had known you were coming, I would've arranged a proper welcome."
He returned the bow, albeit with more normal formality. "The fault is mine; I had been intending to go un-noticed."
More wariness, more caution. "What brings you to Japan?"
"Retirement; I was looking for someplace quiet, and had grown attached to the peace of this village. I do apologize for the encroachment, I meant no threat to your territory."
Some of the wariness relaxed; it had been an honest answer - he wasn't looking for a fight, or trying to take over. "You honor us with your presence, then." Still cautious; parts of it were awkward in Italian - concepts and courtesies that worked very differently between the two cultures. Of course, the rest of the Yakuza there were completely lost, but it was clear the leader had enough control that they were sitting on it until later, staying quiet and out of the way.
"The honor is mine; I admit, I had been impressed with your generosity in our letters, and how you'd handled my occasionally strange requests, and it had influenced which direction we went on arrival. As much as I planned on getting away from things, I thought, if I had to end up dealing with someone in the underworld here, I preferred you." Granted, it was "I know you" vs. "I don't know anyone else", but the long-distance contact had been amiable.
The Yakuza leader's gaze flickered over Ugetsu; it was, at least, getting less tense by tiny increments. "Is this the man you'd spoken of?"
Giotto nodded, and caught a brief flicker of Ugetsu glancing at him and putting pieces together. "Yes; your help was much appreciated - he's one of my most trusted people, and I thank you for the help in repaying that loyalty." Well, he hadn't planned on ever explaining how he'd managed to get some things from Japan to Italy for Ugetsu; at the time he hadn't even been thinking in terms of having contacts no-one else in the Vongola would know about - he was just trying to finagle a surprise that would help with the homesickness. "Your man in Spain did you much credit, as well."
The Yakuza leader nodded in acknowledgment, but Giotto could catch the edges of what would probably be going for a stiff drink after this. "It would seem that the slip here is partly mine; what would be an acceptable apology?" It wasn't quite as straight of an offer as it sounded - a call to the bargaining table, testing the waters.
"I ask little; all I want is peace and quiet. As long as your men aren't disrupting that in this village, I have no quarrel with them, and in fact, would have every reason to be concerned if someone else less understanding were to move in." Don't bother him, don't bother the villagers, and if some other gang moves in, he'd help drive them out.
There was a moment of weighing before a nod of agreement. "That is a perfectly reasonable arrangement; we will abide by that."
"Thank you; you've been very generous with my interruption." Giotto bowed again, slipping into Japanese with that; the confusion in several directions - Miyu and the Yakuza both - was just about tangible.
"It's nothing; there won't be any further disturbances here. I regret not getting to meet you under less awkward circumstances." The confusion ranked up a bit more at the confirmation in a language the others understood that yes, there was prior knowledge of each other.
"I wouldn't mind a chance to fix that, one day." He smiled; from everything he'd gotten, the boss of Sendai was someone that he'd have likely allied with, had they been in the same nation when Giotto was still in power. The slipped in comment that the few villagers still out and Miyu would've understood - that there was a truce and the Yakuza were backing down - hadn't missed his notice.
"Let me know when you're in Sendai, and I'll show you the city." Now they'd really lost everyone except Ugetsu.
"That would be appreciated - but I've already taken up too much of your time today, and I'm sure you're quite busy without my impositions."
"We will be seeing you, then; be well, Vongola." There was an exchanged bow, and the boss gesturing to his men to leave; the open square was dead silent and still until they'd passed around a corner out of sight, with Giotto well aware that he had a good bit of the attention of the locals.
Which, of course, was the cue to go back to the inn as if nothing had happened, with Miyu sitting on a mess of things behind him until they were back inside and away from other people overhearing.
"...Who are you?" There wasn't any reproach in the question, but there was a great deal of bits and pieces that didn't match up with what she'd gotten used to.
