Weapons of War
This all can be blamed on the Meet Me In the Pit Crew on Discord. We started talking about AUs and our neglect of them, and it spiraled out into me recalling a fic I had planned way back for Daniela reincarnating as Haru.
Dedicated to @onceabluemoonwrites, @nightmare-aoife, @adelmortescryche and @i-w-p-chan, who shamelessly poked and encouraged me to do it like the bunch of brats they are.
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Daniela di Vongola should be dead. This, she knows without doubt. She did her part; fought in WWII, carried an entire legacy of dead men and their issues on her back like a pack mule for nearly seventy years before she finally put down that pack on the shoulders of her son, and let herself slip away with the rest of her Guardians into the fog.
She knows she saw Giotto and the others there on that platform, burning bright in eternal remembrance. She knows because she was one of them. Still should be.
But she isn’t. She’s here, in the body of a girl she doesn’t recognize, with memories that aren’t hers right alongside her own. She knows her name is Daniela Vongola Miura Haru and she’s eighty-five fourteen. She lives in Namimori, Japan with her mother and father, and she likes cute clothes, making cute clothes, and Tsunayoshi.
And it is here that Daniela’s mind stumbles sharply, because all at once she is made aware that the Vongola live on, and they’ve chosen a civilian for their cause. Tsunayoshi speaks so freely of what used to be a secret, it makes parts of her cringe even as the teenager continues to think it’s some kind of romantic drama they’re playing out. She dreams of being a mafia wife, of being pretty and loved and dolled up.
She doesn’t dream of being dead, of being raped, of being harmed or held against her will because her husband is Vongola Decimo. Miura Haru has never thought of those things before today, but Daniela knows the stories all too well, and she knows this girl-child will not survive long with such thoughts in her head.
Just like her son’s sons did not survive. Here, Haru’s knowledge provides answers she never would have gotten otherwise. Because Sawada Tsunayoshi is the son of Sawada Iemitsu, a scruffy man Haru has seen once, but does not like. Daniela knows the Young Lion well, even after all this time.
So she knows that his son would not be marked as a candidate unless all of Timoteo’s own bloodlines were blacked out. Iemitsu himself should have been on the throne, but he’s always been a coward - Daniela told that to Timoteo herself years ago, and he ignored it then, is evidently still ignoring it now.
There is a child on this throne, an ignorant one, and the Vongola is the weakest it’s ever been. As confused and startled as Daniela is, she isn’t so out of it that she can’t adapt and keep going.
Her first order of business is to find Tsunayoshi, and determine what he knows, what he needs to know, and how far this has all gone in her absence. Damage control is important, fundamental now that this house of cards is in the shitter. Timoteo can’t be trusted, and neither can Iemitsu - she loves her son, but he’s an idiot, and she knows his flaws even after all this time. He’s proud, and of the belief at times that his ways are the best, even when they aren’t.
She’ll need to get Tsunayoshi to trust her, to understand she’s not against him. Doing that is going to be tricky, but she’s done more with less. She can work with him, build a relationship with him, serve him and guide him in things he might not learn otherwise.
Then she’ll have to test the Guardian candidates, get them up to speed if they need it. With any luck, he hasn’t chosen yet, and she can help him pick the ones that will help him survive, not merely serve him.
It’s a small battle plan, a lot of it hinging on ‘what-if’ or ‘what might be’. But it’s all she has going for her right now. She needs time to understand where she is, what her purpose here is, and what kind of damage she’s looking at.
As it turns out, the first step of establishing trust between herself and Tsunayoshi is easier than she imagined. Up close, the boy looks tired, weak and delicate in all the wrong ways. The exhaustion comes from being over-worked, most likely, and from stress. The weakness is something that can be burnt out at a later date, and the delicacy is probably hereditary - nothing that can be touched. But it can be worked with, incorporated into his image. Even the most delicate flower can be toxic to the touch.
She draws close, bag slung over her shoulder, uniform on, and opens her mouth to give a greeting, only to gasp sharply as her Sky Flames erupt into existence, Tsunayoshi’s mimicking hers a second later. Instinct has served her longer than it has him, and so it’s easy to snatch him and hold him firm as she presses one Flame against the other. She feels faint wisps of Guardian bonds, newly forged, and ignores them in favor of showing Tsunayoshi exactly who and what now lives beneath this girl’s skin.
To his credit, he fights her only until she identifies herself. Then he sags into her grip, letting the older Sky hold him up and teach him things he never knew. When it’s done, she lets him go, and he crumples to the ground like a doll, murmuring nonna, nonna, again and again like a prayer.
She shakes her head to dispel the Flames, and slowly crouches down. “Are you alright?” she asks, because she is not unkind. None of this is his fault.
He looks at her, and there are tears in his eyes. He knows the weight of what they’ve chained him to now, knows that he is trapped in a fate he would never want. “Why me?”
She pinches her lips, reaches out and smooths a lock of hair out of his face. He trusts her touch enough to let her. “Because your father is a coward,” she says softly. “And because my son is a fool.”
@hraap *gives a bratty, bratty grin* *and then beams with the power of a thousand suns and GLOMPS YOU*
‘‘ There is a child on this throne, an ignorant one, and the Vongola is the weakest it’s ever been. As confused and startled as Daniela is, she isn’t so out of it that she can’t adapt and keep going.’‘
*Squeals* Throne imagery AND Daniela being badass. Is this my birthday? Because it sure feels like it!
‘‘ she loves her son, but he’s an idiot, and she knows his flaws even after all this time. He’s proud, and of the belief at times that his ways are the best, even when they aren’t.’‘
*HUGS THE FIC*
The weakness is something that can be burnt out at a later date, and the delicacy is probably hereditary - nothing that can be touched. But it can be worked with, incorporated into his image. Even the most delicate flower can be toxic to the touch.
The use of ‘’burned out’’ feels SO DANIELA and the TOXIC SENTENCE
“Are you alright?” she asks, because she is not unkind. None of this is his fault.
*SOBS AT THE UTTER BEAUTY*
AND THAT ENDING! It’s so vulnerable and strong at the same time, and how could I not read this and just... *forgets how to English* *clutches fic and Hraap both to her chest* YOU LOVELIES