The cold, hard truth…that you’ll see right to…
-
Hayato tried not to let it bother him. So Chrome was abandoned by Mukuro, big deal; it was bound to happen at some point. Mukuro was a free man now, and thus, had no more use for Chrome. She should have realized this would happen.
Closing his eyes, he recalled the day she was transferred to his school, how nervous and out of place she looked in the school uniform. At the time, he was surprised to see here there, but when he saw the tears gathering in her eye, it alarmed him. Her sobs echoed in his mind and he felt the familiar anger rising within him.
He ran a hand through his messy hair, trying to once again reign in his temper before it got the better of him. It wasn’t working very well, because he found himself walking across the room, over to her desk, staring into the startled eye of one Chrome Dokuro.
“You’re better off without him.”
Chrome’s eye widened a fraction further at his blunt, straight-forward statement, misting with moisture. Hayato mentally cursed at himself for his lack of tactfulness. Well played, Hayato, well played indeed. Chrome pursed her lips together and averted her gaze to the window, watching the fall scenery. She was withdrawing back into her little shell.
“Oh, no, you’re going to listen to me,” he muttered under his breath before leaning down to grasp her chin between his fingers, re-directing her attention back to him. He ignored the shock on her face and hurried through with his out-of-the-blue ‘pep talk’.
“That bastard doesn’t deserve you OR the title of the Mist Guardian. You did more for the Tenth and Vongola than he did.”
“T-that’s not true!” she exclaimed, startling the Storm Guardian for a moment. “I was only a medium—”
“You really think he’ll come back for you, then?”
The tears gathering in her eye finally fell, streaking down her pale face and onto the desk. He felt her lips tremble beneath his fingertips. He knew he was being harsh, but she needed to hear the truth, no matter how cold and cruel it was.
“He abandoned you,” he stressed out, voice dropping to a harsh whisper, “He abandoned the Mist Guardian title. He has no more use for you.”
“Gokudera-san, please…” Chrome reached up to grasp his wrist in a vain attempt to free herself, but couldn’t do more than grip it tightly. She could only stare pleadingly into his stormy eyes.
“I know what it’s like to be unwanted. I know how it feels to be alone in the world. I know how much it fucking hurts.”
Hayato knew he should probably stop himself. He was attracting too much attention from their fellow classmates. He could even make out the Tenth’s voice in the background. It wouldn’t long until someone intervened.
“But the Tenth welcomed me into the family, just like he welcomed you. I won’t—I mean, we won’t abandon you.”
He released her chin and leaned away to give her some space. She immediately bowed her head and reached up to wipe away the tears from her face. Hayato mentally slapped himself upside the head. He knew what he did hurt more then helped. He wasn’t about to apologize, though. He meant every word. And if he ever saw that bastard again, he’d—
“…grazie.”
Startled, his eyes snapped back to look at Chrome. Her head was still bowed, but nothing could hide the small smile playing on her lips. He stared for a few moments longer and then relaxed.
“Di niente, Chrome.”
