Family Ties [Gio/Athena - Morning]

Akira had taken her time to get to the spot of interest, planning on meeting up with two of her friends for the day. Of course she had to move very slowly due to her heart defect, but it didn't bother her. She left an hour early to make sure she made it there without doing anything drastic. She barely went outside, but these were her only two friends in the world, so it wasn't like she couldn't risk it to see them. What else did she have to live for if she couldn't even have a bit of a social life. Both of them agreed to meet her in the food court at the same time, so she didn't have to travel too far and stay out too long just to see them both before she had to leave town for a few days. This time she was going to the doctor's in a few towns over to make sure that she could get the proper medicine to make sure she didn't die in her sleep. Taking a few steps forward, she'd slowly make her way to an open table, sitting down as softly as possible. She was surprised she had made it there, but in the end she knew somehow it wouldn't hurt to make it this far. These two people had only met her through her family business, Gio was visiting with his family during a meeting and Athena worked for her family. They both just seemed to be perfect fits for Akira's friends, so she took them on before they could say no.

Even though the Science and Development building wasn't near Athena's house her father offered to give her a ride so she could see her friend, Akira. Akira was a special girl, Athena was never given any details about her friend's medical condition her mother had once told her that she was sick, she has a weak heart were the words she used, but that was all she knew and she was too polite to ask her for details. Athena didn't have a strong connection with Akira and she probably wouldn't have met her if she wasn't the daughter of her mother's boss, on the other hand she was fun to be around and more interesting than the other kids of her neighborhood. The other guy she was meeting with, Gionatan, was almost unknown to her. She only knew a few things through Akira, he was older than both of them and he was from a wealthy family from Italy, perhaps their common Mediterranean blood would be enough to build a connection between them, though Athena doubted that.

It wasn't hard to spot Akira in the crowd once she reached the cafeteria. The girl's perfect curls were like a trademark of a successful company.


She said as she waved her from afar, she tried to keep her voice down to avoid scaring her. She walked closer to the table and lean closer to her ready to kiss her cheek when she recalled that this kind of greeting wasn't very popular in Endymion. "Ah pardon me...I keep making the same mistake." She said as she pulled back only to sit next to the girl. Athena's accent wasn't as strong as her parent's but it wasn't completely gone either, she hated that greek accent always sounded so stupid when it was used for a different language. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting."

Despite their families having met in the past, Gionatan didn't really talked much to Akira, so it was a surprise when the girl invited him to hangout with a friend of hers, despite the scarce interactions the boy accepted the invitation, he just had to keep an eye on the clock, it wasn't everyday he got to visit other countries with his family.
"So this is the place..."He muttered to himself upon arriving the food court, he strolled around for a few moments until he finally found the two girls. Akira didn't had changed much since their last meeting, and the other girl... she had pink hair, it was quite distracting but Gionatan could diverge his attention away from it."Buongirono."Then he'd take his hand out for handshake, should they accept they would notice he had a very firm grip contrary to what his slender build might indicate.

The kiss on the cheek didn't phase her, instead Akira hugged the female a bit. "Oh that's fine, it's your customs I understand. And you didn't keep me waiting long." Both of them lived different lives; mostly because one of them was stuck at home most of the time and the other was a young girl who could basically do whatever she wanted. "Gosh, I haven't seen you since your mom came to the company picnic." It was hard for her really, and she couldn't even live a normal life because of her weak heart. One sprint could land her in the grave faster than anything ever could. The boy approached, and she smiled at him. They weren't the best of friends, but he was one of her only ones in the world. And since he was in town, she thought it would be good to hang out with both of them. "Kon'nichiwa Gio-san." She took his hand and shook it. What he would notice is that her grip was very weak, and her hand felt like it could be broken if he squeezed a bit harder. "You haven't changed since the last time I saw you. What has old Gionatan been up to these past few months?" She looked past him, noticing a few men in black suits and ties standing around the area. Who would let an heiress to an technology empire walk outside without a bit of protection? Especially one who couldn't defend herself otherwise. She'd gesture to Athena and then to Gio as she spoke. "Gio-san, this is Athena. Athena this is Gionatan." Athena was one of the only people that she didn't use honorific suffixes on, mostly because she had known her for a very long time.

"Hello there, Gionatan. It's a pleasure to meet you. Akira had told me a lot about you." Athena said as she shake his hand, the boy even though lanky had a firm handshake. She could see the men with the suits with the corner of her eyes, she expected Akira to have bodyguards and she had seen them plenty of times already when she visited the estate, still it was an odd feeling hanging out with someone who was guarded. Athena wondered if one day she would be important enough to have her own bodyguards. "I have never been to Italy but my parents had. They told me Rome and Florence are the best cities of Europe. Which part of Italy are you exactly?" She asked the newcomer, at the very least she wanted to look nice to a person she just met. "Maybe we should visit Italy together, Akira. Once your condition improves that is."

"Not much, Akira, my parents are finally on vacation."The male teen's voice was calming and made him sound like a very relaxed person"What about you?"He asked as he raised his left eyebrow."It's a pleasure to meet you too, Athena..."GioGio said with a calm and friendly smile on his face, after a few seconds in silence he spoke once again"...Or should i call you Minerva?"The sentence was followed by a short chuckle"They are indeed beautiful cities."A smirk grew on his face when the pink haired girl talked about the two Italian cities"But answering your question, i'm from Naples."He once again made a brief pause"If you two actually make a trip to Italy someday, consider yourselves invited to my home."

Akira laughed a bit, but coughed soon after. "You both know I won't ever be well enough to leave here. Gomen" She smiled slightly, looking towards Gio. "It's just my heart that doesn't work right, and it's not something that can get better over time." She made the gloomy statement, but it didn't seem to make her smile go away. "Besides, I'm okay staying here for the rest of my life; it's not a bad place to live in." Sure she wondered what the outside world looked like, but it didn't bother her too much at this point. She had learned to accept it by this point. "Enough of that. I'm more curious how school is going for you both." Public school fascinated her. She had never even stepped foot in one, let alone gone to one. Mostly her mother taught her everything she needed to know, and while basic English and history helped, she mostly learned about computers since it gave her mother hope that one day she would take over.

Athena stared down at her feet in order to avoid eye contract with Akira or Gionatan, it was her words after all that have created that awkward scene, her mother was a bright scientist but even her brilliance wasn't enough to come up with a machine to help Akira lead a normal life. During the seconds of silence Athena reminded herself that she shouldn't get too attached to the girl, the chances of her surviving to adulthood were very slim after all, such a pity. Akira's cheerfulness did not falter even after the bleak subject, she asked about their schools with a smile at her face, a gesture Athena mimicked almost perfectly. 'It's very nice so far. The teachers aren't too strict so they don't mind me dying my hair, my hair color might be excessive but it's kind of my trademark, I feel like it makes me special somehow." She said as she caressed her long hair, they felt soft on her arms. "I also joined the Volleyball team, I'm the manager of the boys team and it's very interesting, turns out I'm good at organizing things." She added proudly.

Just like Athena, Gionatan remained in silence when the topic shifted to Akira's heart condition, it must be harsh to live like that, on the bright side she is wealthy enough to treat it, but the awkward silence didn't last too long once again the topic had changed, this time it was school, Athena was the first to speak, she sounded happy with her school"Volley ball, huh?It's good to take part in extracurricular activities, it's a good way to meet new people."He commented"As for me, i'd say things are normal, the school requires a lot from me but i'm managing to balance it with my social life."

She smiled more, fixing her curls slightly. "My sister actually said she would start to live stream he school day, but my mother said it would distract me from my own studies at home, so we couldn't do it." She didn't stop smiling, as if she wasn't saying sad things. Maybe it was cause she was used to this, and it didn't phase her anymore. "I think if I ever go to public school, I'm going to try and create a computer club, or join one at least. I'd be cool to meet other people who can do at least a few things my family can do." Out of these two, Athena was the only one that probably knew Akira's sister wasn't human, but she wouldn't be able to know exactly what she was. All the researchers were sworn to secrecy, but Athena always had dinner at their house, and Stria never ate ever. There were a few things that would also come off as strange about her, but for the most part, she acted very human.

"It's really not as exciting as it sounds. I'm certain your sister is envious of you, your mother is considered a genius among her peers." Athena replied to Akira, she never considered school to be something interesting or fun, it was just a way for her to acquire knowledge, even though she doubted she was going to need most of them later in her life. "Maybe you can create something similar to a computer club from your home. You can create your own blog on the internet and post staff and information about computers and electronics. I'm certain your parents wont object to that." Akira wasn't going to live long but at least she could have some time while she could. Her parents seemed to care about her, they have spent millions on finding a cure but nothing ever came out of it, at last they settled down with Stria a girl meant to replace their daughter. Athena wasn't stupid, she knew something was up with Akira's sister, she was close to the family after all. She had asked her mother plenty of times but she always refused to reveal Stria's real nature, a behavior that did nothing but increase her suspicions. "Do you do any sports, Gionatan? With your height you could easily join a volleyball or basketball team."

"School can be very boring, yes."Countless hours sitting down and listening to someone giving you a lecture about a subject that more often than not you have no interest in, while he thinks seeking knowledge is important, forcing a kid to learn something will only make them develop an aversion to studies"A blog could be a good hobby, yes."He added

"Hm?I have played soccer a few times, but it was just a match between friends."Gionatan wasn't really into sports that much, with the exception of soccer but he'd much rather watch a match"I'm not really a sports guy, i guess you could tell by my appearance..."

"School is really fascinating to me honestly, I wish I could go and meet new people. But I guess I shouldn't complain about things I can't change" She smiled looking up at the sky. "But a blog does sound nice, it's just a matter of if my parents agree to it. I don't really know if they would, since I'm supposed to spend at least seven hours a day trying to study the innerworkings of Uneo Tech's databases, then I have normal studies for our hours and the rest is for sleep and other things a normal person is supposed to do. So squeezing even thirty minutes to run a blog would be very hard to manage." She thought for a few seconds before smiling. "But I'm sure if I'm determined enough I could do it." She smiled a bit, laughing at the comment Athena made. "If I remember correctly, Gio-san is more into fashion than he is into sports." She'd look at Gio, seeing if her answer was right or not.

'I'm sure your parents will approve." Athena reassured her. "You just have to present them in a certain way, tell them that a blog will help you use your knowledge in technology on a more practical filed and it will also improve your writing and social skills. Those are traits the heiress of Uneo should have, no?" Athena was thankful her parents were looser than Akira's she couldn't endure the pressure the girl had to deal with, then again Athena had learned how to manipulate her parents into doing what she wanted from a young age. 'I too like fashion... though I wish cute clothes weren't so damn expensive. It takes me months to amass enough money to get the clothes I want with my allowance." She complained, surely neither Akira nor Gionatan knew the feeling of having to save money to get something.

"Good luck with your blog, Akira."Gionatan himself rarely used the computer, but he understood why most people used them for long periods of time, you could say he is old fashioned, he likes to own physical copies of what he is reading or buys the cds of the bands he enjoys instead of downloading it somewhere."I wouldn't consider myself a fashion expert, but what a person wears is important, it tells the observer a bit about their personality, or that's what i like to think."He replied"You don't have to buy expensive clothes to look good, you just have to be creative with what you have."