oh, geez.

i'm such a horrible author.

i should be really updating my other stories, seriously.

i'm sorry, guys.

after i get this out of my head, i'll work on the others.

thank you for those that are waiting for them!

i hope i'll stick to updating them later.

-.-

lots of love, Two-Faced Procrastinator.

[inspired by the vocaloid song composed by 蝶々P and sung by VOCALOID2 01 Hatsune Miku Append DARK.]

【心拍数#0822】

My heart

in one minute

seventy times

it shouts

"I live."

But when I'm with you

it runs fast

and one hundred ten times

it shouts

"I love."

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Just because she was a girl didn't mean that she was let off of the spartan training Reborn made her go through.

As Vongola Decimo's younger sibling, she was told that being a frail little girl would be his downfall. The least she could do for him was not waste his time in protecting her from other mafia families that try to use her against him.

That being said, Giotto's former tutor was passed onto her, and thus began her torturous regime into becoming stronger than her presently pathetic state.

Reborn was quite intimidating. He screamed danger, and the air around him demanded respect. Everything about him said "dark" - his pristine black suit, his spiky black hair, his piercing black eyes, his frightening black aura.

But upon seeing his heart, her fear of him dissipated immediately.

It was a sort of...talent of hers, to see what others' hearts were like. What it seemed to be made of, the degree of pain it was in, who it represented. She could know someone inside out by reading their hearts. The heart held a person's deepest, most horrible secrets, and she could know them all, if she wanted. Nothing could stop her.

But doing that without their permission was like a terrible crime. All she did was read. If there was a door that said 'keep out', then she would. And she didn't want to learn such private matters anyway. Carrying someone's problems was heavy, suffocatingly so.

Her hitman tutor may be the greatest and strongest in the world, but inside, he was the same as everyone else that was human. He got hurt, he cried, he laughed, and he loved. Just like every other person.

Reborn's heart was as hard as stone. Hard and nearly unbreakable. Nothing got in, and nothing got out. The ultimate fortress to guard the unbelievably tender core that held so many memories of hurt and immeasurable tears. She didn't know how bad those experiences were, but she wasn't going to pry. She wasn't about to go against her self-promise any time soon.

It was that part of him that was able to feel, to be human, that made him so much less scary to her.

She was finally reaching her one-hundredth lap around the entire town of Namimori. She was sweating buckets, her throat hurt from dehydration, her breaths were shallow and raspy. Her whole body shook with overexertion. Her legs felt like molten lead, every step sent sharp spikes of pain up her thighs and calves. Her ankles ached from the weights attached to them, and the swollen soles of her feet probably had blisters.

It hurt everywhere, but the thought of all the pain inside Reborn's heart made her feel ashamed of herself and propelled her forward, shutting out her body's cries. What she was going through right now was nothing compared to his past experiences.

Despite her soreness, she felt proud of herself for actually finishing one hundred circles around Namimori. She hadn't really believed that she could do it, and after just five laps she was expecting her body to just drop. But ninety-five of them later, she was still going. It made her smile, although it was shaky because even her facial muscles were exhausted.

But, oh, was it worth it. The sight of the disbelief and shock on Reborn's face was worth it. For once, she had done something beyond the expectations of both herself and someone around her. She found herself waving despite her body's weeping protests.

She stopped in front of the Sawada house, heaving with all her lungs' capacity. Rivets of perspiration streamed down her skin, soaking her clothes and making her vision slightly blurry. Her body was numb now, she couldn't feel anything, but it didn't matter at the moment. She was so darned proud of herself that it overwhelmed everything else she was feeling.

She couldn't focus right, her head was spinning and buzzing, but her tutor's words were sharp enough to be heard.

"You... you didn't really do one hundred laps... did you?"

His tone was doubtful. She looked at the world's greatest hitman with far-off eyes, and held out a trembling hand. He reached out to check her pulse, and she weakly grasped his wrist. Slowly, clumsily, she guided his hand to where her heart was. It was pounding away, and she couldn't remember when it had beat this fast.

Her fingers fell between his, and she felt the roughness of his skin. Being this close, she could smell gunpowder and cologne. It was a strangely comforting, and she inhaled much of it. She felt the drumming of her red organ through his hand, it was that intense.

Reborn didn't say anything. He just stared at the fourteen-year-old girl in front of him, for once in his life utterly speechless. He could feel her heart working furiously underneath his hand, its palpitation resounding all throughout his body. They reached his own heart, and blended until they were beating as one together.

And then she smiled.

It was full of pride, satisfaction, and... happiness?

Reborn swallowed, and blinked rapidly to clear away the daze in his dark eyes. His mind was whirring at high speeds. Why was she smiling? Wasn't she dead tired? Why wasn't there any bitter blame towards him? Why had she taken his order seriously? Why hadn't she quit at the first few laps? Why wasn't she complaining?

He couldn't recall when he had so many questions. The hitman scrutinized the brunette that could hardly think straight anymore from the exhaustion.

Her previously softly spiked mocha-brown hair was now plastered to her forehead, and it looked deflated. She was sweating so much that he was alarmed at how low the moisture content her body must be. Her sneakers were beginning to fray at the seams.

The weights he had tossed to her earlier in the day were rubbing her ankles a painful-looking red, and he was shocked that she actually wore them. They were each ten pounds, he hadn't really expected her to run with them the entire time. It didn't take a genius to know that the ligaments in her ankle were strained harshly during the grueling task.

From what his former student had told him, Sawada Tsunayoshi was a quiet, invisible girl that didn't speak unless spoken to. She was a wallflower, and didn't try to do anything that was beyond her capabilities. She's a nice kid, but she gives up too easily, was what Giotto had told the hitman last.

Looking back at their conversation, the blond's description of his sister didn't match with the proud, smiling girl in front of him, holding his hand to her heart.

"This..." Her voice was quiet, barely audible. He leaned closer to listen better. "This... hurt, that I... feel... is nothing... to what you've... went through..." She took a breather, not seeing how his eyes had widened, and continued. "So... while I was running... I said... to myself, that... I'll... I'll..."

He didn't get to hear the rest, as right at that spot, she collapsed.

Only Reborn's honed reflexes and quick movements saved her from hitting the ground and giving her more pain. As he lifted her limp body in his arms, unconsciously cradling her closer to him, he didn't hear the gates of his stone heart creak open to grant entrance to another heart.

The smile didn't fade away even as she was let down from his clutches, the slow beats of his heart echoing inside her and synchronizing with her own.

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A/N:

okay, so, um, yeah.

kinda awkward, b/c i'm so used to making Reborn a parent figure than a romantic one.

but, um, i'm going to try.

(maybe a hundred laps was overkill, but i've seen it happen. so it's not stretching it that much.)

i'll see you guys next time. :D

lots of love, Two-Faced Procrastinator.

Please point any grammar and punctuation mistakes, if there are any. Thank you. :')