When Was Gran Torino Born In My Hero Academia?

I saved the life of Don Stefano Marino of the Marino family. The moment a bullet was about to strike him, I was the one who shielded him from it. Because of the life debt he owed me, Stefano decided that I would be the one marrying him instead of my older sister, Anna Costa, in the marriage alliance. But on our wedding night, Stefano would rather drink himself into a stupor somewhere in the city than consummate our marriage with me. Like a naive fool, I thought that I'd be able to melt his heart of ice someday with my love. But it had been less than five years when Stefano brought a kid, who resembled him, and Anna back. "Anna has suffered tremendously during her time overseas while trying to raise her child on her own. I need to make it up to her." Then, Stefano passed the divorce agreement to me. "You've hogged the position as the Donna for so many years. It's time for you to give it back to her." Only then did I find out that Stefano had actually spent the night with Anna on the night of our wedding. I pulled out the pregnancy report that I had meant to surprise Stefano with, only for him to rip it into shreds. "I don't need another child." Once those icy words fell, I was sent into the operating theater by force, where I suffered from heavy bleeding afterward, resulting in the deaths of me and my unborn baby. When I woke up again, I saw Stefano, who was about to get shot. This time, I shoved Anna in his direction.

Alessandra Colombo, the Donna of the Marchetti Famiglia, is a Malvorn native. Yet, during her 35th birthday celebration, Carina Esposito, my husband's foster sister, presents her with a bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums, which actually symbolize death in Malvorn. I choose not to warn Carina about it, though. It is because in my past life, I disregarded Leone Vittorio's, my husband's, objections and threw that bouquet into the trash for the very survival of the Vittorio Famiglia. Leone binds my hands and dumps me into the dumpster after the banquet and says, "Carina cried for five minutes because of your actions, so I'm punishing you with five days in the dumpster, Valentina. You should reflect on your mistakes during this time and stop crossing Carina." I spend five days without water, feeling rats bite at me in the endless darkness. On the sixth day, Leone's Soldati force me to kneel in the scorching 104-degree sun to apologize. Meanwhile, Leone is inside the house, picking up a piece of watermelon and feeding it to Carina. I eventually die in the midst of agonizing pain. I open my eyes again, only to find out that I'm back at the birthday banquet. I silently watch Carina step forward and present the bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums to Donna Marchetti. "Happy birthday, Donna Marchetti—here's to many more!" I make no move to interfere this time around.

Because of the death of his first love, Don Stefano Giullani has hated me for eight years. During those eight years, I make every effort to please him—I broker arms deals for him, handle smuggling routes, and even take bullets meant for him. Even when he sees me barely clinging to life, Stefano only says, "If you really wanted to please me, you should have let the bullet hit somewhere fatal." I press my hand over the wound and stare deeply at him. Later, on the night our enemies surround the casino and it's raining bullets, Stefano pushes me away from him. He's riddled with bullets himself while saving me. Before he dies, he shields me and gets me safely into the car. Once the car door closes, he says softly, "In the next life, I don't want to meet you again." After Stefano dies, his Madre slaps me hard across the face. "Why wasn't it you who died? If I had known it would come to this, I would have let him marry Lucia! "It's all my fault for forcing him to marry you. You deserve to die!" She slaps me again, causing me to lose my footing and fall into the sea. Everyone just stands on the boat, watching in silence. Seawater fills my nose, and when I open my eyes again, I find myself reborn eight years into the past—to the day before Stefano and I are about to get married. This time, I will do as he wishes. I'll stop clinging to him. I'll allow him and Lucia to be together.

The day I get shot, my husband's assistant, Rosa Fontana, claims she has a headache. He diverts the medical team treating me to take care of her instead. As I lie there, rapidly losing blood, I have no choice but to beg my husband, Guglielmo Muratori. "Guglielmo, if my life is in danger, my family will never let you get away with this!" During our three years together, I've never told him that my parents are the heads of the most powerful mafia family in Sicaro. They rule the place with an iron fist. Anyone who dares stand against me would, at best, lose their life. At worst, their entire bloodline will be wiped out. Guglielmo simply scoffs. "Anna, do you really think I'd believe something like that? You're just an orphan. I let you stay by my side because I thought you were kind. "But you've been targeting Rosa out of jealousy every chance you get. If she's unwell, makes a mistake at work, and the company loses millions of dollars, will you take responsibility for that?" I reach out and grab his arm, trying to explain. He remains unfazed, leaving me with only one cold sentence. "If your family is so powerful, tell them to save you." Before passing out from blood loss, I decide to send a distress message to Papa. What Guglielmo doesn't know is that the moment that message is sent, neither he nor his family would have any place left in Sicaro.

Three years ago, Capo Marco Rossi received an order from the Godfather. He was to leave and expand the Family territory. Before he left, he issued me a command the way someone would fasten a collar onto a pet. "Until I return, you will remain at the Godfather's estate. Remember your identity. Keep your legs closed." He gripped my chin, his voice carrying that kind of condescending gentleness that felt almost like charity. "When I come back, I'll give you a proper status." For my younger brother's medical expenses, I had no choice but to obey. Three years later, he returned with the wealth he seized from the West Coast Gambino Family, and there was a woman by his side. In front of the rose bushes at the Godfather's estate, he looked down at me from above, as if inspecting a dust-covered old possession. "Mia Moretti is carrying my child. I must take responsibility as a father. You've always been sensible. Endure this for now. Continue being my mistress." I lowered my head, my hand lightly stroking my still-flat abdomen. "Is that so?" I raised my head, a provocative smile on my face. "I have no objection. If the Godfather says it's acceptable, then it's acceptable."

What was it like to grow old? Graduate college? Have a career in life? Get married and have your own family with your own kids? I am Celene Monte and I dreamt of those once maybe somewhere in my other ninety-nine lifetimes. Once the hands of the clock struck at twelfth midnight on the 22nd of April again, the day I turned eighteen, I died all over again and reincarnated to another world. And now this will be my 100th new cycle of life to live before turning 18. But I didn't knew that in this lifetime, new things would begin again when I met a crazy but famous lead vocalist of Dare, the Interhigh Academy's most famous band. And a very stubborn girl who was determined to beat Dare and dream to become the best band in the world. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wordcount per chapter excluding the Prologue: 1200-2000 words A/N: Happy Reading to all!