The Runaway Girl's Lifestyle

For a couple years now, she lived in Tokyo, Azabu-Juuban as a beggar.

She gets kindness from passing-by people leaving restaurant shops, enabling her to buy food, and she sleeps at the park. She was also evading the police in fear she'd be sent back home if they found out she wasn't an orphan.

She was able to buy food and some cheap clothes off second-hand stores.

But in winter or rainy seasons, she would sleep in abandoned buildings and share makeshift heaters with other hobos.

They group together and work together somehow as a makeshift family of sorts. She lives with old grannies who've been in the streets due to losing their houses and such. They could cook, she could not. So in return for food and teaching her how to read and write, they cook food for her and 'everything else' as she was their breadwinner as they could not beg due to frailty.

She also dresses like a boy for better warmth and the only time she ever wears dresses is when its summer. However, she has to stain her clothes with dirt after washing sweat and body odor off them from public laundromats in order to still appear as a beggar. But she COULD take baths to look clean, its only 500 yen in public bathhouses!

She lived well for a beggar, her only problem was the weather itself. And because her education was lacking, she can't read beyond hiragana and katakana originally but learns kanji through manga by seeing small hiragana above the kanji and by reading picture books and such, enabling her to broaden her vocabulary and reading skills. From picture books and manga, she went to Encyclopedias and school books that she was actually way beyond her year level in all subjects save for Math(beyond Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division and other easy things) and Computers.

But she learned a trick in order to actually absorb what she was learning.

She has to do it slow. The slow kind how adults teach words to a toddler to her indignant chagrin, but it works.

Walking normally causes her to trip over nothing, so she walks slowly and it comes out as normal speed. But in running? She's outta control so she avoids running whenever she could...unless its one thing she hates: dogs. And doing things by normal standard makes her horribly clumsy but doing it slow comes as normal. She was able to live a normal life by being slow.

So somehow, she gets an education by going to the public library and got a Library Card. But for computers, she asks the librarian to teach her how to use the computer and the internet.

As a beggar, she earns up to 30000 yen a day(in the form of very loose coins) because she could appeal best to people leaving from restaurants, while she gets little everywhere else. That's one successful beggar.

For 30000 yen a day, she buys condiments and rice that last for a lengthy period(thus buys them once a week), and then buys vegetables and tofu every day. Meat is too expensive she wouldn't touch it even if she had enough money for it. She'd sooner buy fish and scallops! As for fruit, she only buys bananas and oranges for her group.

The grannies would joke that she was 'the most successful beggar' because with the money she earns, they could eat well when before, its hard to get by. They were the 'healthiest beggars' thanks to her.

But one by one, the grannies are taken from her that at age 12, there's only one granny left because the winter is hard on the elderly. But even then the last granny, was dying of illness and told her to leave lest she catch whatever she got and doctors are too expensive for them. So reluctantly, she left, but still brings food to the granny by konbini bento until eventually, she was dead.

Sawada Chikane knows full well the pain of being rejected, not belonging anywhere, loneliness and abuse and now, add loss to her list of hardships.

She lost her granny family to winter thus hated winter.

She was all by herself since and living for herself.

Because while Chikane can cook, she needed to move around effortlessly thus left her old things behind while looking for an ideal shelter she can use for years.

She was terribly lonely she could only hope and dream.

Her wish was to never be lonely ever again, gain acceptance and find a place to truly call home with people who truly loved her.

One day, while she slept...a golden streak of light was visible from the sky that made its way to Juuban...to where she took shelter for the night.

'...I have seen many dreams...but I can only go to the protection of a beautiful dream...I have no time left.'

There were two beautiful dreams. The most purest of pure...and one was more pure than the other despite the power its owner possessed.

It was a pure, but sad dream. A sad dream of a sad girl.

He took shelter in her dreams.

And maybe, he can give her hope.

xxx

That night in her shelter, an abandoned hospital...

13 years old Sawada Chikane dreamed.

She was in the streets outside...her old home.

'This place...!' she swore as she remembered memories she wanted buried.

But she heard the neighing of a horse. "A horse?" she followed the horse's calls as she ran past a street she knew...and she found herself in a forest straight out of fantasy books.

The neighing was loudest here...and she found a lake surrounded by crystal formations.

"Weird...its currently night...but it's so bright like it's morning." she mused as in the middle of the lake, was a winged horse with a golden horn. It was beautiful. "A beautiful dream after nothing but nightmares...nightmares of pain and loneliness...is this all real?" she croaked out, tears pooling in her eyes and flowed down her cheeks.

Its very real, young maiden. a kind voice spoke to her...and the winged horse looked at her. I will be with you in the world of dreams. Your heart will guide you to your only wish as long as you don't let your pain define you. You will meet those who can heal your heart. Until the time comes that you meet them...you will find the home you seek...my maiden.

Who are you? What are you doing with my descendant? another man spoke as within the dream, was a handsome foreigner with spiky blonde hair in a cloak over his pinstriped black suit. His eyes glowed like hot poker and his forehead was on fire.

I am one who watches over dreams. Beautiful dreams of the people...in order to keep the mirror world, Elysion alive. said the horse. Elysion is the mirror of this world. If humanity lost their ability to dream...they lose the will to live...and perish. But Elysion is in danger thus I need to borrow this young maiden's power...the power of her beautiful dream.

Her dream?

Yes. A great evil threatens Elysion. The maiden who has the purest, but sad dream...could help me. the other man looked at Chikane worriedly.

A sad dream?

'...your...descendant?' Chikane choked out. 'You...care for me...when nobody ever did?' she stammered out weakly, utterly incredulous of the notion. The man did a double take at her broken disbelief as he placed his hand over her head...before looking upset moments later.

I...see...Chikane...you've suffered enough. said the man softly. Your dream is pure...and the most meaningful of all yet sadly, taken for granted. Pegasus! he called out to the horse. Protect my descendant well. But I need to borrow a bit of your power. I wish to make it clear to a few fools...how upset I am. he growled. And very, very disappointed in the family. I will release Chikane from her suffering as well.

Pegasus used its horn to generate a bit of its power in the form of an energy ball to give to the man that took it...and used some of it on Chikane and absorbed the rest himself before vanishing.

Chikane too, sported a flaming forehead...and knowledge she was sure she didn't have before...

'That man...was my ancestor...?'

And she woke up at around eight in the morning.

By her side she saw a light-orange heart-shaped handle with golden starry ornaments, and a gold bell with orange gems. Beside it was a blue and gold...something with red jewel accessories.

She knows how to use them too...and she's not lonely anymore, knowing she has two people with her now.

xxx

Italy...8 hours behind Japan, it was midnight there when Mafioso slept.

Timoteo and Iemitsu dreamed the same dream.

They dreamed of the day he sealed little Chikane on his Advisor's request when she awakened to flames out of fear from falling off a tree on the man's visit they both witnessed.

They were powerful, worthy of an heir but the father feared her in their bloody world, wanting her to stay safe with his wife.

However, life for Chikane after that, was appalling that they saw the effects of sealing on her and what happened that led to her running away, location unknown. She became a street kid reminding Timoteo of what Xanxus used to be. She was also adopted by homeless elderly women that looked after and cared for her and she loved her grandmothers...but lost them one by one through the bitter cold of winter and disease, lonely and heartbroken, convinced she's forever alone having no one since her own family didn't want her, convinced of it given how her mother talks about her failures.

They could not see where she was in Japan. All they could see, is that she was inside an abandoned building where she took shelter in...and there are millions of abandoned buildings in Japan.

Then everything vanished...and all they could see was Primo and Vongola Ottavo...and how disappointed they looked at them.

'Primo...mother...!' Timoteo gasped out.

'Your carelessness and laxness caused the deaths of my grandsons, unjustly mistreated Xanxus who was understandably hurt and angry upon learning the truth behind your deception and now made Chikane's life a living hell...not exactly a good record of parenting, isn't it?' Daniela spoke coldly. 'Timoteo, Iemitsu, there is a reason why Sealing is a forbidden technique. Reserved only for traitors of the family. How did a child warrant its usage on her?!'

'I-I didn't know it was for punishment...I only wanted to keep her away from the Mafia...' Iemitsu choked out defensively.

'It accomplished nothing, fool.' Daniela told him coldly. 'Due to your arrogance, laxness and carelessness that saw to Enrico, Massimo and Federico's deaths...and Xanxus being adopted into the family thus cannot inherit, Chikane, our last child will be dragged into this bloody family anyway, imbecile!' Iemitsu flinched at the scolding. 'Not only did you fail in security, you also made the last two suffer unnecessarily! Tim, you WILL unseal Xanxus or else! And he has every right to his rage!' she cried angrily. 'You deceived him and led him by the nose while the poor child did his best, only to see it was for naught! You treated him like donkey led by a carrot!'

'You two by far, are my most disappointing descendants.' Giotto shook his head. 'I have answered the grief and plight of my last child and healed her. I will watch over her as you certainly did a poor job over our children. You will not know where she is.'

And when they woke up from that nightmare, they felt they lost something though their flames are active...and Timoteo cried in pain when his ring heated up that caused him pain he had to quickly take it off he wound up with scalded fingers.

'...I have to earn their forgiveness before they let me wear the ring again...'

xxx

When morning came, Iemitsu flew home to his wife, swearing at while his wife was sweet and kind, she has her...moments of oblivious insensitivity and tactlessness while staying cheerful about it but while it can be passed off as a weird dark joke, for Chikane who was hurt by her school took it as despair and hopelessness that she was all alone in a town that hurt her and fled.

When he came home, the house was empty...save for a letter on the entryway pinned on the floor with a slipper.

He picked up the envelope, opened it and read the letter.

His wife called the police for help about their missing child and they could not find her at all. She was worried and frantic as Chikane was clumsy and no-good 'she probably forgot how to go home' but after a year, the police couldn't find their daughter.

Upset and unable to face him for her failure in finding their daughter, she left home to live with her parents.

He checked police records about Chikane's case...and found records.

They indeed failed to find Chikane but blamed Nana for reporting three days AFTER her daughter was gone, and was suspected of 'delusional insanity'. They also checked her school for clues and what they got was appalling that as there's no criminal activity in Namimori thanks to the Hibari Family that ruled the town with an iron fist, they thought Chikane ran away from it all, unable to take it anymore.

And leaving the safety of Namimori...anything can and will happen they feared the worst as they never saw her again.

Iemitsu's only consolation was his daughter was alive and managing somehow but his family...was destroyed for good.

He had no idea how to handle this at all.