Chapter Text
Giovanni Sakaki decided he hated being weak. He hated the fact that he had to walk home wearing this badge of shame with bitter resentment, and he hated that he couldn't retaliate against the stupid brats who put him into this mess in the first place.
He hated everything about this whole ordeal as he trudged down the road gritting his teeth. And, as he stiffly limped around the corner, he was going to plot his revenge against those brainless, no good, Primeapes.
He would see to it that they would eat dirt and suffer by his hands. So, he could feel the immense satisfaction of putting them in their place. Once he bore through the pain and trekked through the shopping district of Viridian City. Where, amidst the people walking by, he heard a set of footsteps stomping loudly behind him.
“Oie, limpy Mc’limperson. Wait up!” A kid suddenly shouted.
“Excuse me?” An eleven-year-old Giovanni said incredulously.
“Yer ‘cused, limpy.” The kid said cheekily back.
Standing in front of Giovanni was a young kid around the same age as him. A disheveled kid who had short gray hair and unusual bright red eyes. That stood out contrastingly against his pale skin and faded, torn baggy clothes.
And, upon seeing the smudges of dirt and cuts, Giovanni concluded he must be what his parents called the riff-raff. Someone who certainly wasn't worth his time deeming important. As Giovanni simply scoffed and turned to resume the grueling trek back home.
“Go away. I don't have time to entertain bored Rattatas.” Giovanni bit out through another pained hiss after jarring his bruised ribs.
“Really? Cause the way I see it, ya don't have a choice.” The kid replied, walking around to block his path with a gleeful smirk.
Even though he wasn't trapped in the wide open space, Giovanni couldn't hide the involuntary flinch towards the kid's bold advances. He knew he wouldn't win another fight if the riff-raff decided to strike first. And, even now, Giovanni hated the fear chilling him to the bone and suffocating him worse than an Ekans wrapping him to death—
“Hey! Take it easy!” The kid suddenly held up his open palms. “Ya don't have to be scared of nothin’ —”
“I-I'm not!” Giovanni hissed, trying to ignore how shaky his voice sounded. “And you're saying it wrong, idiot. You're supposed to say ‘There's nothing to be scared of’.”
“Boy…You really are something. Do ya want ta get punched?”
“No…But that’s what you’re going to do, right?” Giovanni sniffed, clenching his satchel strap tightly with bated breath.
To Giovanni's surprise, there was something akin to a guilty grimace that crossed the kid's features briefly. A guilt that he couldn't entirely hide when he sighed and shoved his hands into his torn pants pocket.
“Look…just cause I wanna punch ya doesn't mean I will.” The kid muttered. “Plus ya got beat up enough by Mark’s goons as it is—”
“I see. So, you were there when it happened.”
“Y-yeah. But it's not like I instigated it—”
“No. You just stood there and let it happen!”
“Dude. You literally called Mark a pea brained dunce. You're lucky you're even able to stand. Let alone talk—”
“Enough! Leave me alone!” Giovanni snapped, trying to shove past the kid entirely.
Without any warning there was a sharp pain that shot through Giovanni's wrist. A sudden pain that caused him to cry out and watch, through watery eyes, at how quickly the kid released him. Right when the kid looked down at the wrist he grabbed with horror filling his bright red eyes.
“Shit…I didn't…I swear I didn't grab ya that hard—”
“I don't care! You knew I was hurt, so now you're trying to break it—”
“No, I’m not!” The kid frantically replied. “I just wanna help…” He trailed off with a hint of regret and uncertainty.
By now there were some onlookers that were giving the two kids unwanted attention. Some people who had stopped walking to eye the scene curiously, and some adults who were already calling over a nearby cop.
And, while Giovanni would love to have the kid be someone else's issue, if word got back to his parents then this would only make things even more problematic. It would mean that all his efforts to persuade his dad to give him some independence would be for naught. Since his mother would use this as the opportunity, like always, to tell his father that giving into Giovanni's demands was a mistake they need to correct by metaphorically smothering him to death.
And if he wound up locked away in his room again…if Giovanni wound up under his mom's thumb again with her controlling every aspect of his life and schedule…
…Then that would be a fate worse than death if he got his father to side with her on the matter. A fate that was so bad there was only one thing to do. As Giovanni swiftly grabbed the kid's wrist and started tugging him forcefully along.
“Huh? W-what are ya doing—”
"Shut up and play along.” Giovanni hissed to the kid upon seeing the cop approach them.
Thankfully it seemed like the kid wasn't as dumb as Giovanni initially thought. As the kid, who Giovanni learned was named Nanu, easily followed suit with Giovanni's lies about how “two of them are friends who were just rough housing and having a bit of fun”.
Yet, despite how Giovanni suspected this was one of the corrupt cops on his father’s payroll, he knew the lies would at least buy him enough time to ward off the interrogation that would await him at home later this evening. He could use this time to tend to his injuries in private before his parents found out, and all he needed was a believable story before the dreaded meeting. Now that Giovanni was on a ticking time limit to think of ideas during the trek that was getting steadily shorter.
“Yo, Gio.” Nanu abruptly broke the blissful yet stressful silence. “Ya mind tellin’ me what’s going on?”
“No.” Giovanni replied tersely. “I really don’t—”
“Oh, come on.” Nanu ran faster to walk backwards in front of Giovanni. “We both know ya could have stood there and done nothin’. So, why’d ya do it?” The kid tilted his head curiously at Giovanni’s glowering scowl.
“I did it because I don’t want the police talking to my parents.”
“Eh? Why not?”
“Because I’ll get in trouble, idiot. My mom will find out and I won't allow you low life's to ruin my life.” Giovanni said, shoving past Nanu to arrive at the gates of the Sakaki Mansion.
Even though this was his home, the metal gates seemed much more intimidating in comparison to before. The height loomed over him to the point where Giovanni was standing obscured beneath its shadow, and, through the bars, he could already see some movement in the windows.
He could see the signs that his mother was already home with how nervously the house and groundskeepers were scurrying about to keep everything the epitome of perfection. And, with that knowledge weighing heavily on his mind, he didn't know what the best option was to avoid an early confrontation.
He didn't know what to do if he tried going through the door and saw his mother standing there. All but ready to tell him off about what an ungrateful son he was to disobey her and be nothing but a disappointment—
“Hey…” Nanu suddenly interjected. “Are you okay?”
“What do you think?” Giovanni bit out angrily, blinking back his frustrated tears and hating how tightly he was gripping his satchel strap. “My mom's home and my plans are ruined. So, go ahead and put me out of my misery—”
“Woah! Hold on.” Nanu said with a worried frown. “If you wanna avoid her then all ya have to do is sneak inside.”
“Sneak in? From where?”
“Uh…I dunno. Maybe through the garage or some other door?” Nanu asked, peering through the metal gate.
Fortunately, Nanu's suggestion for sneaking in through the garage wasn't a terrible idea. As Giovanni knew the garage would be the easiest access point to get in when he persuaded security to let Nanu in under the guise as one of his “classmates” from the Viridian City Academy.
However, before they could take a foot inside, the two boys heard some footsteps thudding behind them on the driveway. The sound of gravel crunching beneath polished leather shoes that were accompanied by a growling Houndoom. Once Giovanni turned around and saw the head of security, Roland, striding towards them with a black tie and suit.
“Master Giovanni.” Roland said impassively. “I heard from my men that you brought an unidentified guest?”
“Yes…I did.” Giovanni replied. “His name is Nanu and we're here to work on a school project.”
“I see. Unfortunately, your ‘friend’ will have to come with us—”
“Wait! That’s not necessary!” Giovanni eyed the snarling Houndoom uneasily. “It’s my fault for not following the rules. So, let him go and I'll speak to father—”
“Oh? Is that so?” An older man rasped from the entrance to the garage. “And here I thought you were going to keep the ruse going a bit longer.” He said while hobbling over with his walking cane.
Even in his older age, Luciano Sakaki was still a man who could demand respect in any room he entered. His footsteps held weight and power beneath them amidst the cane’s loud clatter against the concrete floor, and his eyes were still sharp despite his haggard features. As Giovanni's father stood before them and cleared his throat to hide the incoming cough.
“You there. Boy.” Luciano glimpsed down at Nanu. “Tell me who you are and why you're here.”
“Father, he's—”
“Quiet. I asked the kid to talk not you.” Luciano said with a strict glare directed towards his son.
Knowing that he's on his first strike, Giovanni bit his tongue and lowered his head in resigned defeat. He hated how all his plans had gone array on what felt like the worse day ever. And now, seeing how quiet Nanu was, he hated how his fate rested in the hands of some no good lousy riff-raff. He never should have bothered to even bring along—
“Who, me? I'm Nanu. I'm here ta help yer son.”
“Oh, really now?”
“Yeah. We made a deal where I teach Gio how ta fight.”
“Hah! Of all the lies you could come up with, that's really the best you got?” Luciano said with a raised eyebrow.
“Yup. It ain’t a lie.” Nanu replied, shoving his hands into his pants pocket.
Even as Nanu did his best to look back at Luciano Sakaki unafraid, he still couldn't hide all of his nervous tells. His foot kept twitching like Nanu wanted to fidget anxiously beneath Luciano's scrutinizing gaze, and Giovanni could only imagine how tightly he was clenching his fists to keep them from visibly shaking. When Luciano suddenly, after what felt like an eternity, curled his lip upward and chuckled through his cough.
“Heh, alright then Nanu. How about you come inside and chat in my office. We can go over this…deal you made with my son in further detail.” Luciano said while leading the way inside.
With Roland and his Houndoom following behind them, it left Giovanni and Nanu no choice but to comply with his father's demands. The walk to his father's office felt nerve-wracking with each step he took, and Giovanni noticed Nanu was barely keeping it together.
He saw Nanu's red eyes were focusing straight ahead without paying attention to any of the paintings or rich decor furnishing the hallway, and Giovanni could tell the kid was walking as stiff as a board. Until they eventually entered through the doorway and were told to sit down in front of Luciano’s rosewood office desk.
“Right.” Luciano coughed, sitting down and motioning Roland to shut the door. “So, now that we’re here, let’s start from the beginning. You said your name was Nanu, correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. And what’s your last name?” Luciano asked, watching as Nanu tensed considerably in the wooden chair.
“It’s…Kuchinashi.” Nanu squirmed uncomfortably after hearing Luciano’s bark of disbelief.
“Kuchinashi? Oh, how convenient. I didn’t know Eileen lent her name out to orphan street rats.”
“We’re her kids.” Nanu replied hotly. “Eileen’s our mom and I’d appreciate it if ya show some respect.”
"Oh? And what if I don’t?” Luciano challenged, leaning forward. “What if I go ahead and say no to that ‘kind’ suggestion?” He asked watching the anger flicker fiercely in Nanu’s eyes.
From what little Giovanni knew, the Viridian City Orphanage was a children’s home run by an elderly woman named Eileen Kuchinashi. She founded it nearly fifty years prior to help the orphaned children in the aftermath of the Kanto war, and she’s been under public scrutiny for how she ran the orphanage ever since.
With Giovanni’s mother being in the forefront of her verbal complaints about how the Viridian City Orphanage only contributes to the growing riff-raff and homeless problem. And, while Giovanni never deigned it important enough for him to form an opinion on the matter, he realized that the orphanage might hold a lot more meaning to Nanu, who was one of many kids that lived there. Right as Nanu took a deep breath and clenched his hand tightly into a trembling fist at his side.
“Fine. Go ahead and be a fuckin’ dick then.”
“Heh. You sure got a mouth on ya, kid. Does Eileen know you swear like that?”
“Only when I want to eat a bar of soap.” Nanu quipped, hearing Luciano’s chortle.
“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Luciano leans back in his chair with a silent nod. “But, putting that aside, how about you start explaining how this came about.” he gestures between Nanu and Giovanni.
“Oh. I saw Gio get the shit beat outta him earlier.”
“Hmm. So, you saw it happen and only stepped in after the fact?” Luciano inquired watching as Nanu grimaced uncomfortably beneath his probing stare.
“I…I’m on thin ice.” Nanu mumbled. “If I get into another fight then Eileen says I’m in big trouble…”
“Trouble with her or with the law?”
“I…dunno, sir.” Nanu admitted honestly over Luciano’s coughing fit.
Despite how Luciano was almost keeled over, he still waved off Roland’s attempts to approach the desk. As Luciano, who was coughing more violently as of late, simply hacked into a handkerchief he threw into the trash with disgust. Before he wiped his mouth and directed his attention towards Giovanni’s pensive form.
“Well, is what he said true?”
“Huh?”
“Did you really make a deal with this brat to learn self-defense?” Luciano rasped, watching as it was Giovanni’s turn to squirm slightly in his seat.
Given the current situation, there were only two options Giovanni had at his disposal. The first would be to simply refute Nanu’s asinine lie. So, he could salvage what little pride he had in-exchange for his father taking Nanu away and deterring him from ever coming back by any means necessary.
However, seeing the fear flickering through Nanu’s faux bravery, was enough for Giovanni to reluctantly squash the first option. For him to swallow his wounded pride and admit defeat by going with the second choice. Despite how Giovanni silently hoped Nanu better damn well appreciate his well-intended sacrifice.
“Yes, father…I want to learn how to protect myself so it won’t happen again.”
“Hmm. Well, for starters, you could always learn to shut your trap.” Luciano pointed out with an amused smirk. “But I see you got too much of your mother in you to do that, huh?”
“No. I’m not anything like mother.” Giovanni said, a bit bemused by Luciano’s laughter.
“Oh, you naive fool. Remind me to save this for prosperity when that comes to bite you in the ass.”
“Huh?”
“But, never mind all that.” Luciano waved his hand dismissively. “What’s important is that you apparently hired a street rat to do what Roland and his men could teach you in a fortnight—”
“No. I don’t want to be trained by your men.” Giovanni replied hotly. “Roland and the others would just hold back.”
“Probably. But do you really trust this brat to keep his word?”
“I…don’t see why not…” Giovanni muttered hesitantly, glimpsing over at Nanu who merely stared at him incredulously with visible disbelief.
“…”
“What?” Giovanni asked defensively.
“I…I can’t believe yer actually goin’ for it.”
“Huh?! What do you mean?!” Giovanni hissed. “You’re the one that said it!”
“Well, duh. What else am I supposed ta do? Yer dad looks ready to kill me!” Nanu hissed back.
“You—You’re such an idiot!”
“No, you are!” Nanu said over Luciano’s barely restrained laughter.
“Oh, Arceus…you boys are truly hopeless. I can’t believe one school week is all it took to make my son dumb as a rock.”
“What?! No, I’m not!” Giovanni exclaimed at Luciano’s elated grin.
“Hey, calm down. I didn’t mean it as an insult, son. In fact I think this…distraction might actually be good for you. As long as the orphan brat agrees to stick to the deal?” Luciano stared intently over at Nanu’s disquiet form.
“I…I don’t mind helpin’, sir.”
“But?”
“But, if I do, can you send money to Eileen?” Nanu muttered, glimpsing up shyly at Luciano’s pensive demeanor.
“Hmm. I don’t see why not.” Luciano said, leaning on his folded hands. “Although, a word of advice, is that you should still negotiate some form of payment for yourself.”
“Oh…I thought the payment was I get ta live…” Nanu said nervously at Luciano’s wry smile.
“It is. However, I’ll be nice and say you and Giovanni should come to an agreement about your pay. Right, son?”
“Yes…of course.” Giovanni cleared his throat, turning in his chair to sit up straighter.
Surprisingly, even with Nanu’s nervousness, he certainly wasn’t as much of a pushover as Giovanni initially thought. He was smart enough to point out logistical reasons as to why ₽1000 was too low and he never negotiated anything outrageous in his counteroffers. Nothing that Giovanni couldn’t reasonably afford to spend from the weekly allowance he received from his parents. Which was the reason why Giovanni reluctantly shook Nanu’s hand to agree on a ₽5000 weekly payment.
“Well, would you look at that.” Luciano said, walking around the table to clap a hand on Giovanni’s shoulder. “There goes my son making his first official deal all by himself.”
“I…learned from the best.” Giovanni hissed, failing to hide his pained wince.
“Huh…You know, amidst all this, I almost forgot you’re probably bruised to all hell and back. Do we have someone here to take a look at him?” Luciano asked Roland.
“I have a few men with decent medical training.” Roland replied. “However, bringing Master Giovanni to them unnoticed might be difficult.”
“Eh? Now why do you say that—”
“Luciano, you son of a bitch! Where are you?!” A high pitched banshee shrieked through the hallways.
“Bah. For fuck’s sake. I thought I paid those blasted gardeners to keep her busy for several hours!”
“You did, sir. But those several hours have already passed.” Roland pointed out over Luciano’s dismayed groans.
“Yeah, no shit they have.” Luciano grumbled. “But, seeing how much of a perfectionist she is, I thought she’d be reaming their asses for much longer.”
“Father? What did you do?” Giovanni asked, a bit afraid to hear the answer.
“Well…you know those rose bushes your mom loves?”
“Yes…”
“I…may have paid some workers to fuck em’ up during out chat.” Luciano admitted with a careless shrug.
It’s at this point where Giovanni decided his father had truly lost his mind. Or at least the plea of insanity would explain why Luciano decided to hand himself a death sentence in the form of his mother committing possible murder. And yet, despite the fear of death looming over his head, Luciano merely ordered Roland to escort Giovanni and Nanu out of the office.
He suggested that Nanu hide out in Giovanni’s room until nightfall. When there hypothetically might be lax security for the kid to climb out the sakura tree next to Giovanni’s room to escape. And, even hours later when Giovanni had his injuries tended to by Roland’s men, he could still hear his mother screaming Luciano’s ears off. He could have sworn he felt the ground shaking from the most recent one-sided argument, and he wondered if Luciano would still be alive by the end of it. Right as he heard Nanu low whistle from where he was sitting on Giovanni’s bedroom floor.
“Boy, Yer mom sure runs this place with an iron grip.” Nanu said through a mouthful of bread he swiped off Giovanni’s dinner tray.
“Yes, she does.” Giovanni hummed in agreement, twirling his fettuccine alfredo. “But I will say this is father’s fault.”
“Nah. Your dad’s pretty badass in my books.”
“Is that so? Then you’re lucky he’s in a good mood.” Giovanni remarked after taking a bite of his pasta.
With the next bite, Giovanni couldn’t help but notice the soft brace adorning his badly sprained wrist. The same wrist that Roland advised would take weeks to heal along with the other various bruises and minor injuries he’d have to continue hiding from his mother. And, while his father did say he’d take the heat off Giovanni for what happened, there was still a small part of him that couldn’t help but wonder what would happen next.
He wondered if his mother would see through the lies enough to pull him out of The Viridian City Academy. So, he’d become a prisoner back in the house for several more long painful years until he’s maybe old or dead—
“Yo, Gio. Earth to, Gio. Are you there?” Nanu asked, unable to hide the slight worry in his voice.
“Yes…I’m just thinking how I’d like to enjoy my last moments.”
“Eh? What do ya mean? I thought you dad said he had this.”
“No, he doesn’t. She’s going to get her way and make things worse.”
“Nah, no she won’t. Don’t mom’s want what’s best for their kids?”
“Have you met her?”
“No. But I’m sure yer gonna be fine if ya just talk ta her.”
“I highly doubt it.” Giovanni scoffed, pushing away his half-eaten food that no longer looked appetizing.
With a weary sigh, Giovanni leaned back from his desk with his right hand covering his eyes. He already hated that he needed to blink back the blurry vision that was already forming, and he closed his eyes simply wishing for something or anything to break through the now awkward silence.
The same silence that forced him to listen to his parents arguing downstairs, and one that left him almost giving into the urge to cry. That was until he suddenly heard muffled footsteps tentatively approaching the desk he was sitting idly at.
“Look…So, what if things suck? At least ya have people who care.”
“Like who? The hired help?”
“No. Like…friends and stuff…” Nanu trailed off upon hearing Giovanni’s scathing snort.
“Nice joke. I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“No, that’s not—I ain’t jokin’. Ya really don’t have any friends? At all?”
“What do you think?” Giovanni scowled, wishing the ground would eat him up.
Before Nanu could utter a comment, there was a loud crash they suddenly heard downstairs. A crash that was followed by very loud thudding footsteps climbing the stairs towards Giovanni’s room. Where, over all the noise, they heard the muffled voices getting steadily louder.
“Oh for Arceus’ sake! Camilla slow down and let’s talk about this—”
“No! Clearly it was a mistake listening to your half-brained feeble excuses.” Camilla’s shrill voice echoed throughout the house. “And at this point I want to see what permanent damage you did to my son—”
At this point, there was only a few seconds for them to act. Mere moments for Giovanni to frantically get up and watch as Nanu dived towards the open closet he then closed behind him. Just as Giovanni’s bedroom door swung open to reveal Camilla’s well kept voluptuous figure.
“Giovanni, my poor baby. How are you doing?” Camilla asked, flipping her dark brown hair over her form fitting red jacket. “I heard from your useless father that he had his men rough you up?”
“Yes…” Giovanni said, watching as Luciano finished climbing the stairs whilst bent over out of breath and coughing. “But I’m fine now—”
“Preposterous.” Camilla said, thinning her red lips. “You’re far too young and delicate to be fighting against grown men. Which is why we need to disregard these silly notions once and for all.”
“Now you see here, woman.” Luciano coughed. “As the patriarch of this family—”
“Please. You already have one foot in the grave as it is. And clearly the stupid chemo is killing what little brain cells you have left!”
“Mother, wait—” Giovanni tried interjecting.
“Quiet you.” Camilla glared at Giovanni with disappointment. “You’re already on thin ice. If you had just followed my tutelage—”
“Then what? You’d have him locked in a trophy case next?” Luciano groused. “Cause I’m telling you right now the kid isn’t going to learn shit unless he gets some real life experience!”
“That’s what I’m giving him!” Camilla spun around angrily. “I’m clearly the only one capable of looking after Giovanni’s well-being and, if you didn’t cave to his childish whims, he’d still be thriving through my advanced curriculum!”
“Really? Then what are all the Pokèmon types?”
“…”
“What are the three main types he chooses from out of the three starter Pokèmon—”
“That is irrelevant information.” Camilla crossed her arms. “He doesn’t need to know such trivial nonsense.”
“See? And you wonder why the kid came begging me to enroll him in the damn school, you bullheaded Tauros!”
“Enough.” Camilla snapped with a frigid tone. “As long as I’m here there won’t be any mention of Pokèmon in my house.”
“Really? Then how are you going to enforce that if I’m in charge and alive?” Luciano retorted with his own simmering anger.
If the silence was bad before, then the one which blanketed the room now was a million times worse. With the air feeling so thick Giovanni struggled to breathe normally through the tension that felt like it wanted to devour him whole. That was until Camilla eventually conceded by giving Luciano a venomous glower.
“This isn’t over.” Camilla hissed. “We will talk more later and…why are there breadcrumbs on the floor?” She asked irately upon lifting her red heels and turning to Giovanni for answers.
“I…dropped the bread.” Giovanni lowered his head in feigned contrite.
“Hmm. Dropped it because it wasn’t satisfactory?” Camilla asked, noticing the unfinished dinner sitting on Giovanni’s desk.
“No, it tastes fine—”
“Nonsense.” Camilla walked over to grab Giovanni’s food tray. “It’s clear the chef isn’t performing his responsibilities optimally. So, let me take this disgusting mess down to the kitchen.” She said in passing after walking briskly out of the room with tray in hand.
Once they heard Camilla descend the stairs, both Luciano and Giovanni released the breaths they were holding. Giovanni felt like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders, and it seemed he wasn’t the only one feeling the same sentiment. As Luciano coughed and shook his head in slight exasperation.
“Damn. Why does she always have to be like this every damn time…”
“I don’t know. Shouldn’t you know the answer?” Giovanni remarked, a bit bemused by Luciano’s bitter chortle.
“Yeah…I guess I should, huh.” Luciano hummed, turning to climb down the stairs. “But never mind all that. I’m going to leave you and the rat to have a private chat. Make sure he keeps his trap shut, got it?”
“Sure thing, father.” Giovanni replied after closing his bedroom door.
With Luciano’s departure, there was now an unsettling silence that blanketed the house. There was no further noise downstairs to indicate his parents were nearby anymore and, with the coast being clear, it was the signal Nanu needed to slowly open the closet door.
“Man…your parents sure are weird.”
“I guess…” Giovanni sighed, walking over to sit on the edge of his bed. “But, if you speak a word of this to anyone—”
“Nah, I won’t. My lips are sealed.” Nanu mimed zipping his lips.
“Good…Then go back and hide—”
“Wait. I wanna talk more ‘bout the earlier stuff.”
“What stuff?”
“The one about you not having any friends. Is that true?” Nanu asked, furrowing his brow.
The fact Nanu was fixated on the whole friendship conundrum was…odd to say the least. Not because he looked to have any ulterior motives to hold it over Giovanni’s head. But rather it’s because that weird look was back on Nanu’s face. The same one he had during certain points throughout the day whenever he asked Giovanni if he was okay.
And, even now, Giovanni couldn’t for the life of him figure out what his deal was. What scheme he was trying to pull that he could use against him in some way. Once he saw Nanu reluctantly rub the back of his neck and avert his gaze.
“Look…how about we start over?”
“Why?”
“…Because. It’s none of yer business. Now are you gonna shake on it or not?” Nanu decided, holding out his hand.
Staring down, Giovanni noticed all the various cuts and callouses covering his hand. He suspected the kid hasn’t washed it since coming here and there was even dirt beneath his nails to prove it.
And yet…it’s clear from Nanu’s tentative smile that his offer was genuinely earnest. It was not coming from someone trying to curry favor or garner attention because he was a Sakaki. Nor was it coming from someone his mother would force him to interact with publicly to help secure or strengthen their social connections.
This offer was coming from a nobody. Someone who had no clue who Giovanni was when he first started talking to him, and someone who, even now, doesn’t know a thing about the Sakaki family name.
It was something being offered to him simply for being himself. Which was enough reason for Giovanni to swallow his pride…to cast aside his disdain and superiority…just this once…
…So, he could silently reciprocate the handshake that marked the beginning of something new and special.