Work Text:
Chiaki was always happy when her dad would come back home from work.
Every time she heard the clink of the keys and the rattling of the door, she would run down the stairs of the house, eager to finally receive her daily hug from her dad.
“Daddy!”, she’d yell with enthusiasm, and then she would immediately jump into the strong and muscular arms of the man. On his part, he would always show her a big smile and, after kneeling to reach her child’s height, he would hug her tight. For Chiaki, that was one of her favorite parts of the day, as she loved to listen to her dad’s beating heart. She would hide her small face in his warm chest, closing her eyes and breathing in his scent, which for her simply meant “home”. For Chiaki, his father’s arms were like an indestructible fortress, where she felt immediately safe, and protected from everything and everyone – from that kindergarten classmate making fun of her, from Bowser hiding under her bed, from the little ghosts that, at night, would come out of her Pacman game and haunt her in her sleep to eat her. For Chiaki, his dad was the hero of her games, and she was his little princess.
When her dad came back home, usually her mom would enjoy the view from the hallway in front of the entrance, tenderly smiling at the two. When dad noticed her, he would pick up Chiaki, giving her a little twirl, and then he would go to mom to greet her with a smile and kiss her. That was another one of Chiaki’s favorite parts of the day: mom was tired very often, as she also worked during the night, when dad was out with his motorbike gang. Even in the morning she always had eyebags around her eyes, but she always gave her best to stay in shape and be ready to satisfy every need of her little girl. Nevertheless, every time that dad came back home from work and kissed her, her face would light up with a bright pink on her cheeks and her hazel eyes would shine with happiness.
When Chiaki was born, mom decided to take some time to work at home even during the day in order to spend more time with her child. Sometimes, while Chiaki played videogames, she would hear her parents talk in the next room. Dad would tell his wife that, if she wanted, she could go back to work, while he could stay home with Chiaki more often. However, mom would often answer that he didn’t have to worry, as she’d “arranged her work area” at home and that “it was not necessary to work in an office to develop and refine her softwares”.
But, this was just grown-up talk, Chiaki thought. She didn’t understand much.
That Friday afternoon, when her dad finally came back home, little Chiaki had something new in mind – something that she was sure he would really appreciate: she would have finished her plans before his dad went out with his motorbike gang, that evening. After her long-awaited hug and his dad’s kiss with her mom, he gently put her back down on the floor and ruffled her pink hair with his big hand. Chiaki didn’t lose any time and immediately got in action.
“Daddy?” she said, barely holding back her enthusiasm.
“Yes, princess?”
The lavender eyes of her father looked at her affectionately. Mom often told her that, unlike she could ever think, people were afraid of her dad, as he had a menacing look and a hot-tempered personality; Chiaki was the only person able to melt the hardness of his face and soften his voice and impetuosity like that. Mom also told her that he would never be able to say “no” to the sweet, adorable face of his little girl. Chiaki was extremely proud of this.
Hence, she had no qualms about her request.
“Can I braid your hair?”
Initially, her dad’s face muted with a big frown of surprise – bigger than Chiaki had imagined. Next to them, even her mom looked particularly astonished, but she also seemed to be very curious about her husband’s answer. Chiaki noticed how both her parents quickly exchanged looks without a word – and then, for her relief, his dad’s surprise turned into a kind smile.
“Sure, little one.”
“Yey!” Chiaki cried, not holding back anymore her excitement.
“I’ll go take the camera, then…” her mom giggled, walking towards her workroom.
“Chihiro, darling-“
“No ‘buts” Mondo!” her mom’s voice echoed from the hallway. “I need to capture this moment!”
Chiaki burst into laughter after seeing the funny face her dad made. That afternoon, him, her and her mom would have so much fun.
Daddy’s friends will be so jealous when they will see his hair!
III
On the way from home to the meeting point with his motorbike gang, Mondo arranged his hair so that the braids Chiaki made with so much effort at his mullet wouldn’t get spoiled with the wind. Chihiro had a lot of fun taking all those pictures – he was so sure she would show them to Ishimaru as soon as she’d meet him, and he sighed at the thought. On another note, Chiaki’s satisfied smile on her round face reminded him that those braids made him an extremely proud dad.
When the members of his gang saw him, the reactions among them were different. Some veterans of the group showed themselves completely neutral – they were very careful not to mess with Mondo – while others had a slightly astonished look after noticing the new hairstyle of their boss. The new rookies, clearly not knowing very well the Gang Leader, had little smirks on their faces.
Mondo’s aggressive gaze didn’t spare anyone, much less his fired-up temper.
“I’m going to fucking kill anyone laughing here, understood?!” Mondo growled viciously, making everyone’s skin crawl with fear. “I won’t let anyone laugh about my daughter, you morons!”