Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!.

"Hey, Giotto!"

There was darkness everywhere as far as the blond can see; however, the voice managed to break through the pitch blackness, creating tiny bubbles of light. The circles faded away in a matter of seconds and he was enveloped back with the murky background. This place, he noted to himself, was nowhere near his room...or anywhere in the world. Which meant one thing: he was in a dream.

"Hey, Giotto."

He focused on the voice now. It sounded so mellifluous, but nothing he could recall or remember from his string of memories. He was sure this did not belong to his parents, nor did it belong to his friends. But something about this voice made his blood boil with melancholy...and his whole body shake. Was this apprehension? Anxiety? He never felt this way before.

But something about this voice... Was there some link to that voice to him, himself?

"Hey, Giotto..."

It went from excited, to sweet, and then to downcast. The blond wondered why there was a change of emotion every time the person spoke his name. Was it that this person speaking knew of him, yet he had no idea who that other person was? But there was that slight distortion in his emotions that he was feeling, so maybe he did know whoever this voice belonged to.

The bubbles had faded to smaller circles and amounts after each say. That kind of worried the blond a bit.

"Giotto!"

The blond opened his mouth, finally realizing who the person saying his name was. But he never had the chance to speak, or rather his own voice did not reach the other person. A horrible screech filled the air, and his thoughts were no more as he was soon engulfed in a bright light.

With a disgruntled sigh, Giotto tried to reach for the annoying alarm clock but he couldn't find the machine. He slowly got up from his reclined position and ran a hand through his messy hair, realizing that he was on the floor instead of his nice bed. No wonder. Yawning and stretching his arms, the boy rose to finally shut the clock from the noise and started off his morning.

Giotto walked to the window with an uneasy face. He separated the curtains, allowing the morning rays of the shining sun to enter his unlit room. A cool, crisp October breeze made its way into the room when the blond opened the window. His elbows fell to the supporting rail of the window, watching the birds fly by and a few adults that were walking on the Namimori sidewalks.

He noted that he had a dream just now, but he couldn't remember what it was. Giotto thought looking out the window to see the peaceful nature would help him recall, but no success. No matter how much force he put his mind into the forgotten dream, no memory of it would not come up. But it was something important, that much he knew.

"I should probably start getting ready for school now," he told himself, freeing his mind from attempting to remember. "No use stressing my mind if I could never remember the dreams in the first place, right?"

His morning routine consisted of waking up from his darn clock, brushing his teeth and washing his face, going back to his room to change into his school uniform, and lastly having a quick breakfast before making his way to school. It was like that every morning – nothing more, nothing less. His everyday life was boring, but the blond was content with the way things were.

He trudged down the stairs to the dining table where his mother and father were. Why was he dragging himself? Because he was still dejected about not being able to figure out his dream. The smell of pancakes soon interrupted his thoughts, and the teen found himself quickly making his way to the source. His mother's pancakes were always the best!

"Morning, mom, dad," Giotto greeted, taking a seat on his usual place at the table. He took the syrup that was not far from his reach and pressed it on the cakes. "Thanks for the food."

"Oh, honey," a brown-haired woman said, acknowledging her son's presence. "Good morning to you, too. You all ready for school?"

Giotto took a bite of the pancakes and smiled a bit. "Duh. Aren't I always?" He looked up to his dad, who was reading the morning newspaper. "Hey, dad. Whatcha reading there?"

The man behind the black and white printed paper took a peak at his son, flashing a grin. "Nothing much. Ordinary news. I feel bad for you, son, working with all those preparations for the school festival. Everything going well so far?"

"Yeah. Nothing too stressful right now. The students are actually participating with their classes and no one is really causing trouble..." He blinked, looking up to his father. "Uh, dad, you're not in your usual flashy orange work clothes. Is something going on today?"

The older male closed the newspaper, setting it next to him on the table. He let out a sigh, shaking his head and went on to dig in to his breakfast. "No. You don't need to worry about it, Giotto. I'm just feeling a bit tired today, so I called in sick." He let out a hearty chuckle, sounding more happier. "Besides, I got to spend the day with my precious Nana once in a while!"

"Oh, Iemitsu dear! You're such a romantic!"

"I try, Nana!"

Giotto rolled his eyes at his parents' display of emotion. He stood up from his chair and placed the now empty plate in the sink. The blond quickly kissed his mother on the cheek, who put on a heartfelt smile in response. He grabbed his school bag and made his way to the door.

"Have a safe day, honey!" Nana called out from the kitchen. "Oh, and if we're not home by the time you come back, we're probably still out. If that happens, I'll leave you a note and some dinner! Bye, sweetie!"

"Oh, okay, mom! Bye, dad!"

"Be careful of cars, son."

The blond nodded, even if his father couldn't see it. After putting on his shoes, the boy stood up and turned to the shoe shelf at the side. On it was a picture of his thirteen year old self with his parents at the right side of him. However, there was a ripped section right next to his mother. It seemed like she was holding onto something since her hand formed a gentle fist. But he could never tell what it was.

He had always wanted to ask his parents what happened to the picture, especially that right part, but he would always forget. It was not like he meant to, but the thought would escape without even thinking about it deeply. But today was different.

Giotto's gaze lingered on the photo for a longer while. There was something about today that was...off. He felt strange, as if something was going to happen on this certain day. This feeling scared him, yet the blond could not help but want to find out why he was troubled. Ever since the dream he had, his mind had been going in circles.

He was frustrated for forgetting the dream, but at the same time he wasn't. He thought if he remembered the dream, then he would end up feeling...messed up. He did not want that. No. No way...

. . .

As mentioned before, Giotto is helping out with the school festival. After all, he was the president of the Student Council of Namimori Middle. As president, he had to help with every event that each class planned out. Fortunately his class was not doing something that big – just a dance that was going to take place at the evening hosted by them.

He was excited for the day the school festival took place. It was going to be fun for everyone, and that's what everyone deserved after those long days of work and lessons. He wanted to make everything perfect, if that was possible. He would do his best, of course. After all, everyone was counting on him to make the whole thing a success.

A lot of girls were already going up to him, asking him out to the dance. Giotto declined every single offer. It was not that he was crushing on someone. He wasn't. It was just that he wanted to have a special moment with a special someone. His parents' romanticism was rubbing off on him. He wondered if he was going to participate in the dance event, though. It was only a week away.

Giotto shook his head and turned his thoughts to this morning. It was an...uneventful morning, but there was so much to think about. Like, what was his dream about that made him fall off his bed and not even notice until he woke up? The blond never really tossed and turned and he usually remembered his dreams. It was just this one that he could not recall. So either it must have been insignificant or really important. He decided on the latter, being that it bothered and frustrated him to no end.

Then, there was his parents. His dad not going to work all of a sudden? Iemitsu was a dedicated man to his job. He wasn't sure what his father worked as, but he never skipped out on a work day as far as the boy could remember. So, what was with the sudden day? Giotto knew that Iemitsu's spending the day with his wife was no excuse. There must have been more to the story, but he knew he couldn't get it out of his parents. They were great at keeping secrets.

Their sudden plan caught him off guard. Giotto was rarely left alone at the house when dinnertime approached. What was so important that they had to do? A dinner date on their own? Maybe, but the teen was skeptical on the thought. His parents would have mentioned that, but his mother was so cryptic about it. Sure, her tone seemed casual but Giotto knew she was hiding something.

And "be careful of cars"? His father never said that to him. Ever. So what was with the sudden caution? Though he did feel safer knowing that Iemitsu was trying to keep him safe, Giotto could not help but feel so...anxious. Why were his parents suddenly acting like this? Something was different and...fishy.

The boy, himself, was acting weird. He usually smiled at the picture on the shelf before heading off to school. But, today, he frowned. The ripped outline was bothering him greatly today for some reason, but Giotto couldn't figure out why.

"Today is...Monday, October fourteen," he told himself. "What's so special about today?"

He hadn't noticed that he was already making his way up the hill to Namimori Middle. He always hated going up the stairs, but he was already halfway up. The blond lifted his head up to take a look at the school he was approaching. It was always nice looking up at the building when no one was around. Because he was president of the Student Council, it was always his duty to arrive first and get everything planned out for the day. The autumn leaves also looked more beautiful when there was no person blocking the whole view.

But, like he had been thinking during the whole walk, today was different. Unlike the other days where he was by himself in the area, there was one more person today.

That person, who looked around twelve or so, was sitting at the top of the hill, on the top step. That person was looking at the light blue sky with a smile on his face. The smile wasn't just any smile, Giotto noticed. It was a lonely smile, one that could pull your heartstrings the moment your eyes caught the expression.

The fall breeze played with the other boy's brown locks. Everything about that boy looked so serene and innocent, qualities that the blond first thought of. And the eyes...were honey-brown. It was a cute and beautiful color that Giotto couldn't take his own eyes off the other's.

Just who...is this boy?

. . .

Giotto couldn't concentrate at all. He would space out while helping others, not even realizing that so many people were around him by the time he was sent back to reality. Thank goodness classes were not taking place the whole week or Giotto would have found himself getting detention for having his conscious not on Earth. Many times he scolded himself when he was looking absent-minded in the air, but that didn't help much.

He let out a long sigh, plopping himself on the concrete floor of the school roof. Luckily the lunch break appeared since he had a long day today just thinking about everything that was going on – the dream, his parents' strange behavior, and...that boy.

The blond looked through the student profiles, trying to see if he could match the mysterious boy with any picture that turned out to be the same. After at least an hour or two of searching, Giotto found nothing. None of the students of the school matched with the young boy. He figured it was something like that being that this his first time meeting with a brunet with that lonely smile.

Giotto wondered what made the brunet put on a sad expression like that. He seemed like a happy boy with so much to look forward to, and yet to pull of a contradicting smile... It was depressing. That lonely smile stayed glued in the blond's mind and no matter how hard he tried to stop the mental image from distracting him, it was no use. That younger boy was all Giotto thought about today.

"It's like those romantic shows where the hero falls in love with the heroine at first sight," he said to himself, chuckling at the thought. "Alright, that's stupid."

"Eh, is it? Why don't you tell me more?"

Giotto jumped, not expecting someone to hear him. He got up from his lain position and turned around to see who the newcomer was. Fortunately it was his best friend, G, and not a stranger. That would have been more embarrassing, not like the blond wasn't embarrassed right now.

G walked over to his friend, sitting down on the space next to the blond and handed him a can of soda. "I was wondering what was wrong with you. See, I'm so considerate and nice that I even brought you a drink to help you with your little problem."

"Oh, thanks," Giotto muttered, taking the drink and opening it. He took a sip, which felt great being that he was tired from all the running around. "So, what brings you here? I never told you where I was going to be during break. Or is it that you stalked me?"

"Shut up. I figured you would come to the roof since you always end up coming here when you need to think about something. So, as your best friend, care to tell me what's wrong?"

The blond hesitated for a moment, before letting out a sigh. It would be best to talk the problem out instead of keeping it to himself. That's what friends were there for, right? Besides, he was not looking forward to letting this eat his mind off and trouble him. Maybe G would say something, like advice that would help him with his over-thinking.

"It's stupid, really," Giotto started off. "I was walking to school early in the morning, like I usually do, and enjoying the view. But that's not what. There was...someone else sitting on the top of the hill. It was like...he was waiting for someone. He had this lonely smile and was staring at the sky and for some reason, I can't get his expression out of my head. That's all I've been thinking about..."

G snorted. "Sounds like love."

"It's not!" The blond put on a playful glare. "I don't even know him! I've never met anyone like him in my life! It's so weird. Today, especially. Like, my parents are acting kind of strange. My dad's off of work and my mom sounds like she's hiding something. They're both going to be out the whole day, which doesn't really happen. More like it doesn't happen at all."

The red-head put his hands behind him and leaned back. He enjoyed the light wind before answering. "Well, sounds a bit complicated. First your parents are acting weird and then you meet a boy that you've never seen so I'm assuming he's not a student here at Namimori Middle... Hm, maybe I know that boy. Can you describe how he looks like?"

"Well, he had a small frame and...oh! He had honey-brown colored eyes, which really fit him for some reason. He's a brunet and his hair style looks kind of similar to mine with all that spiky brown locks and - "

Giotto paused, turning to his friend's sudden running off. "Hey! G! Where are you going?"

He never got an answer since G was already out of the roof and running down the stairs. The blond blinked to himself in confusion, wondering what the heck just happened. He ran his hand through his hair with a puzzled look and picked up the soda that G left on the floor.

"That's strange. He loves soda, yet he never bothered to finish this can..."

. . .

When he returned after the school day, the boy wasn't there.

It's not like Giotto hoped for that brunet to be sitting at the same spot for all those hours – no, not one bit. Okay, he was lying to himself. The blond wanted to know more about the boy, even get into a small conversation perhaps. But what would he say? "Hi, I know this is the first time we met, but I want to know more about you because you're all I thought about today during school." ...Nope, on second thought, cross the talking part out.

In the end, Giotto decided to just observe him from afar (or up close)...if the same boy was going to be there the next day.

G never came back ever since the lunch break. They always walked home together, being best friends and all, but it turned out the red-head left school right after he ran off. The blond wondered what was going on, especially since G ran off when the looks of the brunet were mentioned. ...They couldn't have known each other, right? It's not like Giotto was jealous or anything!

Anyway, the whole school day had been a mess. Giotto found himself being distracted during every task and he believed some respect for him fell when he constantly started to mess up. But it wasn't his fault! Anyone who sees that brunet would be all into him, too, at the first glance! ...Who was he kidding?

The sun was setting down and now there was no one left in the school. Giotto tidied up the stack of papers one last time before putting on a content smile. As the president, he had to do all those extra paperwork for the success of the school festival. He would have finished earlier, but then again there was that strange boy. Not strange; more like...angelic.

Giotto took off his glasses and placed them on the top hem of his shirt. He stood from his arm chair and walked towards the window. The school yard looked glorious, basked in the golden rays. The outside looked like a whole new world when the sun shown its fine, orange colors. The sky looked more magnificent, though. The sight was simply wonderful.

And just when he was thinking those thoughts, his eyes widened considerably. His pupils dilated as his hazel irises shown huge shock.

He ran out of the room, to the back side of the school without a second thought. There...was someone present in the school yard. That person was shining, the rays of the sun being his spotlight. The earth was a stage to him, and all Giotto thought of was going to that person. There was only one person that he had to be: the mysterious boy from the morning!

The blond's speed never decreased, only increasing with an accelerating rate. If his celerity was shown on a graph, there was be a exponential curve that continued to rise. Not only would that curve delineate his rapidity, but also his immense wanting in seeing that brunet. His heart rate started rising as each step was taken. Was it because of his running or...did it mean something else?

Giotto arrived at the middle of the school yard in a few minutes, panting heavily. He was never the type to run a marathon, yet he managed break a record that would make every runner out there devastated. He stared at the middle of the yard, not doing or thinking anything else. All he could do was look where that person was standing, who was not there anymore by the time he arrived...

He closed his eyes, not wanting to believe that there was no one. He only imagined that the brunet was staring beyond, his back facing the blond. That's what Giotto was hoping to see, anyway, since he was hoping for a confrontation in this luminous light that signaled the day's end. And then the said brunet would turn around with the most beautiful smile and say a greeting with a loving, caring voice.

Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen now. So, in defeat, he opened his eyes. And when he opened them, he gasped.

There was a younger version of him not far away from where he was. His younger self could not be there, of course, since he, as in the present self, was still here.

The younger counterpart of him seemed to be patting in mid air to something...or someone. But there was nothing there. Younger Giotto then seemed to make some ruffling motion of some sort. And then his kid-self starting talking.

"Isn't the middle school pretty?"

There was a pause following the question. After a few seconds, his younger self laughed gently, like in response. But to what? There was no one else there except him – both versions. But Giotto felt as if there was someone else. His younger self was talking to someone because this seemed to be a vision of his past or something like that, and he had a strong feeling he and his other person were not the only ones.

"I know! It's only going to be a year for me to starting attending middle school, but you have to wait at least three more years. Don't worry, though! You'll make it soon!"

Another pause. So, this seemed to be the time when he was about to go to middle school. But why couldn't he remember this? ...Was this even a memory? Did this happen before? Giotto could not recall anything that was related to this scene he was currently watching.

Unconsciously, the older blond stepped back a few feet. He could tell there was someone approaching him, even if he could not see that person. It was that person who his younger self was conversing with. He wanted to see that person, so badly. If this was a memory, why couldn't he see everything going on? Was it taunting him that he forgot? This was uncalled for, however.

Giotto was a smart person. He remembered many things from his life, from his childhood. ...Then again, now thinking about this, it was...weird. Though he remembered many details, he felt like he was missing some others. As if...some memories seemed to be "distorted" in space. Purposefully disappeared, maybe? Now he was confused. There were missing links. Missing details.

Watching his younger self laughing like that made him feel so...sad. Who was he talking with? Why was he feeling all these mixed emotions that made him clench his shirt tightly with so much force? Questions like these boiled uncontrollably in his mind. He wanted to find out. He wanted to know. Badly. And there was his new resolution.

The boy – that brunet – was somehow connected with this, Giotto figured. He would solve this mystery.

"I'll always be with you..."

The word after that was mouthed out from his younger self's lips. Giotto fell to the floor on his knees with his clenched fist gripping tightly on his shirt where his heart was. This feeling... He felt so vulnerable, lost, and conflicted. His whole body burned with intense sentiments that seemed to destroy his insides. Steadily, he was losing himself to this austerity.

If I know you, please tell me... Please tell me what I am missing, because I want to know. Who are you? If I know you, come tell me. This hurts so much, but I'll do anything to find out no matter how badly I feel inside... A missing link in my life... That's what I'm getting. If you know what it is, I plead for you to tell me... Please.

"...I promise. No matter what, I promise to be with you."

. . .

Just like his parents mentioned, he was alone at his house by the time he arrived. The sun had already set while he was on his way home, so the first thing he saw was complete darkness. Giotto took off his shoes and flicked the light switch near the...family picture. That photo inside of the fancy frame was still giving off some weird vibe, if that was possible.

Giotto went to the kitchen, starting his mission in finding his dinner. And as his mother had said, there was some food wrapped with plastic and the note next to it. Disregarding the small paper for now, he put the plate inside of the microwave and waited a few seconds for it to heat up. The wait was not that long and the teen commenced eating on the dining table alone.

Everything was quiet around him. He wasn't used to the silence being that his parents were always home by this time enjoying the dinner with him. This was the first time in a long time since the boy was left alone.

Come to think of it,Giotto started thinking, when was the last time I had dinner by myself? Was there even a time? I do remember my parents leaving at rare times, but it never felt like I was alone... I'm getting that feeling right now, too. It's as if...someone should be here...with me. My friends? Naw. No one like that. But...someone important.

Giotto shook his head, letting out a sigh. This day was too odd for him. He had never felt so many upsetting emotions anytime in his life for as long as he could recall. His physical state had deteriorated thanks to his emotional conflicts.

The blond had taken a long time eating his dinner since he only ate with small bites, too focused on nothing. Not even a single thought rushed to his head while he was eating, which was strange since there was so much to think about concerning today. He was tired from all the previous daydreams and thoughts enervating his body. When did he last feel this tired?

...Wait, this is another feeling of deja vu. I'm getting that a lot, today.

He stood up to put the plate in the sink, deciding to wash the glass later. Making his way outside of the kitchen connected dining room, Giotto noticed the note that his mother left sitting there. Thinking it was best to throw it out, he took the paper into his hands and slowly walked to the garbage can while reading the words.

Instead of words, there were numbers.

Numbers? Is this some kind of address? it looks like it, but there's no street or anything on it. Wonder why this is here instead of the dinner note mom left. Well, maybe this is where they were supposed to go and mom mixed it up with the note she was supposed to leave. She is a klutz, so that makes sense. Ha-ha. I should go give it to them when they come back.

Giotto stuffed the small paper in his school uniform pocket for now. He made his way to his room to start his homework and work on some additional student council matters. Because he had been distracted a lot today, there was much to make up. He had no time to fool around if he wanted to wake up early the next day, as well. Therefore, he took out his books from his bag and started to work.

Even though he knew he shouldn't be thinking about other things, the thoughts came rushing back to him. However, there was one thought that overruled all the rest.

God, this is too quiet.

. . .

Tuesday, October fifteenth. That was what he first thought when waking up the next day.

He checked the clock, seeing that it was still too early to get up. Around thirty minutes too early. Nonetheless, the student still rose from his bed and started his daily routine of cleaning himself up and packing his stuff in order get ready for school.

By the time he was ready and down at the dining room table, no one was there. He figured that his parents were still sleeping since he heard them coming back home late at night. They were probably taking their time off today or something. Giotto decided that it was best if he ate cereal today instead of a big breakfast. He could always eat at the cafeteria, too, instead of having his mother pack him food like usual.

I wonder where they went, though, that caused them to be out all day. They usually don't go far unless dad needs to go somewhere for his work. But he usually is out a couple of days when he does go on a business trip, and that happens rarely. Oh, well. I could always ask them some other time or after school ends. Speaking of school, I really hope I don't mess up as much.

He gathered his belongings and walked to the door. After putting on his shoes, Giotto stood up and looked towards the picture at the side. Once again, he didn't ask his parents about the ripped picture. He wondered why it was only yesterday it bothered him so greatly. He could feel his hands forming a fist and sweating huge drops of liquid. Just by looking at one picture, a vortex was forming inside of him.

What was the missing part? It was hurting him more than he thought.

"Hm, I wonder if that boy will be there..."

. . .

The boy wasn't there when Giotto was walking to school.

Giotto figured that this would not bother him. It was only a one-time meet, the blond decided. He was thinking how that brunet was there to meet with someone else, like an older brother or sister. Therefore, any thought with the mysterious boy should not have been bothering him, but it still was. No matter how busy he was or how hard he tried to erase him, the brunet was still there.

G did not come to school either. As his best friend, Giotto was very worried. G did look like the type of person to cut school and not give a crap about it, but he was a dedicated student who was very smart in every subject. G never skipped school, and this was the first day out of his three years in middle school that he was absent.

Giotto would have gone to visit the redhead, but he had no clue where his friend lived. If G came back to school, then the first thing the blond would do is ask for his address.

On the bright side, the preparations were progressing greatly despite his diverted attention spans. Students were walking around everywhere from one place to another while setting things up. Giotto knew that their school fall festival was going to work out. If this kept up, then this would probably be the best festival yet. He was really looking forward to having fun with everyone.

Speaking of the festival, anyone was allowed to come: parents, friends from other schools, foreigners, adults, etc. The students were already inviting their friends and family to come. Giotto hadn't asked his parents if they could come, but he sure hoped so. But, then again, his parents would probably be going around themselves being all lovey-dovey.

...Maybe he could ask that boy if he could come, if he ever saw that boy. Hopefully.

But that would be weird. Imagine a strange spiky-haired blond going up to you who you have never met asking you to go to a school festival with him. That awkward moment when a stranger asks you to go out with him to his school event and you have no clue who he is. Yup. Definitely awkward.

But I could always try to get to know him, right? Giotto questioned to himself. Then it won't be too awkward between us. Wait... I don't even know his name and I'm already thinking about asking him to accompany me to Namimori Middle's festival. Why am I so bothered with him? Ever since I first laid my eyes on him, I've been feeling all gooey inside.

Giotto sighed. I cannot believe I could feel like this after only meeting someone for the first time, and it's only been a minute that I saw him. I'm already thinking about asking him to places when I don't have a clue of what kind of person he is or just anything about him in general...except that he has such cute hair that fits him and such captivating eyes.

He shook his head. He could not be distracted again...even if those thoughts kept invading his mind. The blond let out a sigh and turned his head to the window. The school yard was there and all he could be reminded of was yesterday's incident. Though it would be weird to suddenly speak with that brunet, Giotto knew he had to. All for that strange happening yesterday. There had to be a reason why he was feeling like that.

After all, no one witnesses a scene of themselves that they can't recall.

. . .

It was a long day at school. There were only about five more days until the festival so things had to be fully prepared soon enough. Giotto looked at the setting sun with a small smile. More work meant going home late, but Giotto always enjoyed looking at the orange-colored sun. The sight always gave him a gentle feeling of nostalgia.

A sudden twig-snapping noise startled him. Without bothering to look around, the boy dropped his bag and sprinted towards the closest tree with his arms outstretched. He fell to the floor with an aching thud after that, but he was glad when he felt the weight dropping to his arms. The blond automatically knew there was a person that was about to fall.

What he didn't expect was who the person was.

The brunet boy hesitantly opened his eyes. Giotto figured he was most likely wondering why he didn't make an impact with the ground. He chuckled when the brunet gasped with shock.

"I-I'm so sorry!" the younger boy squeaked, scrambling to get off of Giotto's arms. "I didn't know I was going to fall and you were there and I fell on you and... Hiieee...!"

Giotto couldn't help but laugh. The brunet was too adorable. "Don't worry about it," the blond reassured. "You're just lucky I was around the area, huh?"

"Y-yes...! U-um, please excuse me!"

The brunet ran with sudden celerity that Giotto did not anticipate.

"A-ah, wait!"

The president sighed when the younger boy made no sign of stopping. He ran a hand through his spiky hair, laughing a bit to himself. That boy was too cute and shy, much of which Giotto already figured that boy would be like. Also, this was a first meeting he could never fathom. Was there ever an incident when he caught a person falling from a tree like that?

A lightning strike flashed into his mind. All of a sudden, there was not just him but another person was there. There was his younger self, carefully climbing down the tree he just saved the brunet at. The younger version of him gracefully landed on the ground and rushed to a spot under a bulky branch, cupping his hands to his mouth.

"Let's go home, now!"

Similar to the first vision, his younger self was talking to someone. Giotto looked up to direction where his younger counterpart's voice was directed to, but there was nothing there. No one present. However, his intuition was telling him there was indeed someone sitting on the branch. He also had a strong feeling that the "invisible" person was too frightened to go down.

There was silence following his younger self's shout. Giotto silently watched the smaller one scratching his head in thought. He watched the other pointing his index finger to the sky, signaling that his younger version figured out an idea.

The elementary self of him stretched out his arms with a broad smile. "Jump down! I'll make sure you won't fall! I promise...!" The word after that was silenced; Giotto definitely saw the form of the word, though he could not tell what the word was.

His heart was hurting again. The blond was starting to shake once more, similar to the previous day. That's exactly how he felt, actually. Why was it that whenever he watched these scenes on the sidelines, he would start battling with emotional pain? It hurt. This pain was nothing that a swathed bandage could fix, and this pain was nothing compared to a wound.

Giotto's younger self fell in the same way he had caught the falling brunet just moments ago. It was...the exact same. His child self was now laughing with merriment and...so much joy. The older Giotto should be smiling at the picture, but he found himself tearing up. His present being was contradicting his past being. Everything was confusing, and everything hurt.

He never noticed a tear sadly hitting the ground.

. . .

Nothing seemed touched in his house, as if his parents never came out of their room.

Giotto lazily dropped his stuff off by the staircase and went to the kitchen, fixing up a small dinner for himself. He got his utensils, cup of water, and anything else that he needed and settled on the dining table. Saying the usual "Itadakimasu," the boy started to eat his dinner.

Seems like I'm eating by myself again, the blond mused. I wonder what happened to them. I don't think I recall seeing them so...upset or downcast. Or maybe I do since this atmosphere doesn't feel old. Something happened to them... He sighed. Why do I feel like this is related to my cute brunet problem? It's weird how I'm getting the same kind of emotions for both my own problem and my parents' problem, whatever it may be.

"Maybe I should go check up on them." He nodded to himself.

The teen cleaned up his mess, washing the dishes and using a wet rag to wipe the table. He grabbed the bag he laid besides the stairs and walked up the steps. He stopped by his parents' room first, dropped his things, and knocked on the door hesitantly.

Once. Twice. Thrice.

There was no answer.

"Are they sleeping?" he questioned to himself. He turned around, grabbing his bag and started making his way to his own room... He stopped and turned around to the brown door he was just in front of. Giotto dropped his bag in front of his room door and walked back.

Without knocking this time, Giotto grabbed the doorknob and twisted the metal. The room was dark; he guessed that his parents never bothered to turn on the lights or anything. He could see a two bumps coming from under the thick blanket. Deciding that he had to make sure they were okay, Giotto walked towards the bed with light tip-toes.

He was now next to his mother's sleeping figure. Once again, Giotto was wary and thinking about turning back. It wasn't that he was doing a bad thing... It's just that he was scared of knowing what their expressions would be like. Of course, they were sleeping. There was a high chance Nana's face would show her usual calmness, but he was leaning towards the low chance that she would have a troubled one.

Now or never, he told himself as he gently lifted the blanket.

A sharp gasp escaped his mouth and he let go of his hold on the blanket. He immediately regretted looking at his mother's face and he ran out of the room without bothering to close his parents' room door, all the way to his room, closing his door with a loud slam.

Once he was inside his room, Giotto slid down the door until he was in an upright fetal position. Tears started coming in huge drops. The image of Nana's expression was burned in his mind. The look was something any guy or girl would cry over right away. He was enveloped by a pointed ache that stabbed him like how a thousand needles would stab him.

It was probably because this look was on Nana that made it sting so much. If this was on others, he probably would not have this tear-jerking affliction. He was sure of that. He had never seen such a look on her face, and yet Giotto got that nagging feeling that he had seen it before.

Nana had a troubled face on that expressed so much agony and misery. He knew she had been crying just before she slept and she was tightly holding onto Iemitsu for comfort. Just seeing all that inflicted on her made Giotto feel the same way.

"Mom, are you okay?"

"...I would be lying if I told you I was, Giotto."

. . .

Wednesday, October sixteenth.

Giotto was walking sluggishly to school. His morning had been...saddening. His parents weren't in the kitchen just like the previous day, so he had to make his own breakfast once again. The blond had a feeling this would go on for a few more days; he had never seen his parents acting like this, after all, and they would feel worse if he brought up the topic of why they were acting this way.

For now, Giotto decided not to inquire his parents about the matter and just continue on his school life for the week. As much as he cared for his parents, they looked like they needed some time for themselves and alone. Pestering them would do no good. Besides, he had his own problems.

That brunet... The school president really wanted to know the name of the young boy instead of referring to him as "the brunet." Maybe if he saw him today, then he would ask. Hopefully that boy would be on top of those stairs leading to school, like he was two days ago. Giotto wanted to ask him so many questions – basic like questions and about...why he was feeling so close to the brunet.

But, of course, he could not ask the latter.

His heart suddenly skipped a beat when he looked up. A light gasp breathed out from his lips because of what he found himself staring at.

That boy...was there...sitting on the cement step at the top, right in front of the school gate... He was really there, staring at the cloudy sky with a soft smile. Those curious honey-brown eyes of his looked longingly and sadly to the drifting clouds that began to come together and form joined masses of wet water droplets.

Giotto then found himself panicking. He wondered if he should go talk to the brunet and make some small talk or whether he should just pass the young boy and go on his merry (not) way to school and pretend he was not sitting there... He was getting closer now as he progressed up the steps!

What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? Um, I think I should just pass him and pretend he's a ghost I can't see. Yup... That sounds less awkward for the both of us. Or maybe I should ask him if he's okay from the fall yesterday. But then what would I say after that? I don't want it to seem like I want to talk to him because that will just make things more embarrassing for me...! I...

"The weather is beautiful today, right?"

...don't want to make a fool out of myself! I'll just continue walking and go inside like any normal day since he won't even talk to me and...

Giotto blinked, stopping in his tracks, right next to the sitting brunet.

Wait. Wait a moment. He just talked to me. What did he say? Something about the weather being beautiful? He looked up to the cloudy sky with the sun being covered by the gray and rolling clouds. Beautiful? What's so beautiful about this?

"Not really..."

The brunet let out a soft laugh. A light blush colored Giotto's cheeks, making them rosy red. He scratched his head with his index finger, looking sheepish.

The once-sitting boy now stood up, smiling towards the embarrassed male. "I waited here for you to say thank you for yesterday. I haven't told you that, right? It must have been very rude of me to just leave so suddenly like that. I'm sorry about that, too."

"You don't have to be sorry," Giotto replied, waving his hands in front of him. "Don't worry about it, really. I just noticed quickly that you were going to fall. I would have done that for anyone, and... Um, you're welcome..."

"Hehe, you're a very nice guy."

Giotto nervously chuckled, shrugging his shoulders in response. And then...the conversation died down, bringing up an awkward silence. The blond wasn't sure what to say first; his mind was jumbled with many words swimming in his brain. He wanted to say something, but didn't want to at the same time. The words weren't forming sentences, so all Giotto did was look at the ground absentmindedly.

Well, Giotto figured he could ask what the brunet was doing at the morning like this when he did not even go to the school. That was a good first question to say, right?

The younger boy jumped all of a sudden and he started making his way quickly down the steps. Giotto was surprised by the sudden action. Right when he wanted to say something, the brunet decided to leave. Was it because of the awkwardness?

"I have to go now!" the brunet called as he rushed down the stairs. "I'll be here tomorrow, too! Goodbye!"

All Giotto did was nod and wave, though the young brunet boy had his back turned. He continued watching the brunet until he was out of sight, which was right about when a familiar green-haired student was making his way to the stairs.

"Hey, Giotto, hold up," the green-haired male called from the bottom of the steps.

He lazily walked up the concrete stairs while Giotto playfully shook his head and made a mocking hand-to-watch motion. Apparently, this caused the one-eye-closed student to pout and quicken his pace.

Giotto rolled his eyes once his friend got close. "You sure decide to take your time, huh, Lampo?"

Lampo shrugged. "Well, I am the great Lampo-sama," the teen said. "As a great, divine master, I should be the one to decided how fast I go. It's seriously not fair, how someone like me has to walk up those stupid steps. I should have others carrying me up the hill."

"Haha, whatever you say, Lampo. What are you doing at school early, anyway? You're usually the latest one to arrive at school with your laziness and all."

"Oh, shut up," Lampo said, sighing tiredly. "I made sure I came early today so none of my classmates yell at me for being late and not contributing to the darn festival. Stupid traditions. I shouldn't have to do anything and let everyone else do the work for me." He shook his head. "Anyway, Giotto, what are you doing here outside? Shouldn't you be at school around this time?"

"Well, I was talking to someone just now."

The green-haired boy raised the eyebrow above his opened eye. "Someone? Do I know this person?"

Now Giotto copied Lampo's action by raising one of his own eyebrows. "Um, you just passed him when you were at the bottom of the stairs. The brunet that was rushing off. You know."

"Never saw anyone. I guess I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings when I was thinking about how I have to come to the dumb buildin – ...Wait, did you say brunet?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Lampo grew silent for a moment, looking down to the pavement below him. His green curly hair was in the way, making it hard for Giotto to take a look at Lampo's opened eye. The blond was wondering what Lampo was thinking. There were many brunets in the world, so what made Lampo emphasize the word? After a while, the lazy student rose his head and shook it.

"Nevermind. Let's just get to school."

Skeptically, Giotto nodded. The rest of the short walk to the building was quiet. Lampo continued to ponder about whatever he was thinking about, which was a bit weird for Giotto. Lampo was never one to dwell on a matter so curiously like this since he would just be apathetic about many things that had nothing to do with him. That was Lampo's nature.

So, why was this "brunet" thing bothering Lampo?

Oh, I never got his name.

. . .

Lunch time arrived soon enough, and though Giotto ate a small breakfast, he was in no mood to go grab lunch at the cafeteria. Once the lunch bell rang, the blond walked to the vending machine not far from his classroom and got a single orange juice.

Orange juice wasn't his favorite drink, but he was suddenly craving for it. He wasn't sure of why he had wanted the fruity drink randomly...or was this random? For some reason, Giotto felt the drink was connected some way to...all these problems coming up these past few days. Orange juice having a connection to his parents' thing as well as his own love dilemma... How weird.

A clank noise broke Giotto out of his thoughts. Looking to see who the newcomer was, he noticed his other friend, Asari Ugetsu, coming towards him with a fresh green tea can and a bright smile. The student council president put on a smile of his own.

"All alone?" Asari asked, which Giotto responded to by nodding. "You seem like something is bothering you, Giotto. Want to talk about it? Haha."

The blond sighed. "I don't even know where to begin. I guess I'm having some problems that has nothing to do with the school festival, but they're small." Giotto was then reminded of something. "Oh, actually, I just remembered something. Have you seen G since two days ago when he left school early? It was October fourteen that day."

"October fourteen," Asari repeated, eyebrows burrowing a bit. He was silent for a moment, similar to Lampo's silence, Giotto noted. Asari then shook his head. "I...haven't. Maybe you could go to his house? He could be sick or something."

Giotto was glad for his intuition, a sixth sense of his that came handy to him when he wanted to see strange behaviors of people. Right now, Asari was definitely acting kind of suspiciously, judging from his hesitation.

"Tough luck," Giotto said, running his free hand through his hair. "Thing is I don't know where he lives. Weird for a best friend not to know his friend's house location."

The Japanese student chuckled. "Yes, that's a bit ironic." Asari's laughter died down as he put on a solemn look. "Maybe..." He paused, thinking whether he should say the next words or not. He decided to. "Maybe you should check the student records in the principal's office."

Giotto never thought of that idea. "That's smart, but how would I do that? The principal wouldn't let anyone get near those files. Not even anyone a part of the student council."

"Hm, you do arrive to school early, right? The principal arrives later then you, usually when other students start coming to the building. And I do recall you saying how you had a key for many of the school building's rooms. Surely you have a key to the principal's office, hm? You could sneak into his room early in the morning when he's not there."

The blond thoughtfully nodded his head. "That's not a bad idea. I am worried a lot about G that I don't really mind going through this. I guess I could do that. Thanks, Asari. I'll do that tomorrow morning."

His friend smiled. "I wish you luck, Giotto."

Giotto could tell – though Asari had said the sentence with a smile and with genuineness, there was some sadness to it. A sadness that reminded Giotto of Lampo's unusual behavior, G's running off, his parents...and mostly the brunet.

. . .

Giotto had a feeling that his parents weren't still feeling all that great, so he decided to make his way to the convenience store to buy an instant dinner. He had no energy to make anything at home after all those festival preparations and thinking about the oddities of the two days that passed.

He really was thinking too much. He was bumping into people along the way, not giving any attention to anything around him. There was just...too much in his mind, mostly the mental sufferings plaguing his head. Those had the greatest impact on him right now, so of course he would act all dead and out of it.

And he would have been dead if someone did not pull him in time from the street.

The driving car that was about to hit him beeped crazily; the driver was probably thinking how crazy Giotto was for stepping into the street when the light on his side was red.

Meanwhile, Giotto was sitting down with shock and had his eyes widened. The light reflected in from eyes shone in many different spots in the few seconds going by, really emphasizing the infliction that burned his heart. He felt like he was choking since he was breathing irregular, forced breaths. No, he was not acting this way because of how he was almost hit by a car.

It was because he was watching another vision...

On the other side of the street, he saw the same younger version of him reaching out towards the middle of the street with teary eyes. His past self had the expression he had right now – shocked. The younger Giotto's lips were trembling violently, as well as the fingers of his extended hand.

"No... No, no, no... It can't be... This just did not happen...! No...!"

Giotto was crying now, along with his younger counterpart. The pain of disbelief that his younger version was going through was seeping into him, his present self.

"!"

The two syllable word that his younger self screamed out loud was not heard. Giotto desperately wanted to know what the word was, as he found himself drowning in his own waterworks. His own tears.

A/N: Hi, guys. This is part 1 of 2, I believe. G27 is love, yes? Of course!

So, in this AU, Giotto is Iemitsu and Nana's son. Mmhm. And he's the most awesome student council president. The other Primo Guardians will come out soon, too!

I'm so sorry for my lack of activity. I promise I'll update this real soon. There's only one more chapter after this, anyway, haha! Really. I'll get to it real soon. I know what will happen, so yeah. Don't worry. Everything will be clear once the next chapter comes out! ^^ Promise! But, so far, Tsuna and Giotto don't even know each others' names. They will get more interaction, soon!

Thanks for reading! Look forward to the chapter, and don't forget to review! :)