Summary: Daemon Spade has finally been defeated, and Tsuna has gained yet another ally with the Shimon family. The inheritance ceremony has gone on as planned, and though Tsuna is now the official heir, there are still doubts that he was the right choice. The Varia are running wild, and the Ninth hopes that by bringing them to his side, Tsuna may gain the support he needs. So the Ninth charges Tsuna with bringing them back under control, but how will Tsuna deal with a disillusioned and embittered Xanxus? Eventual X27 and perhaps some 8059 and D18 as well. We shall see.
Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn or any of its characters.
"speaking" thinking
A Family United Chapter One: Tsuna's First Assignment
Tsuna sat in the too-plush chair trying to inconspicuously squirm as far away from the Ninth as possible. Tsuna knew that the Ninth was a kind man, but he had seen how harsh and unrelenting he could be, and when confronted by the boss of the Vongola, Tsuna couldn't help but feel intimidated. Reborn had not given Tsuna any specifics when he escorted him to the fancy hotel room where the Ninth was staying. The moment they had arrived, the Ninth had excused his guardians and Reborn as well before turning to Tsuna and saying, "There are some things that can only be discussed between one boss and the next."
Despite this ominous statement, things had started off fairly normal. Tsuna was in his final year of middle school, and he would soon graduate to high school. Vongola Nono was well aware of the stress that final exams was causing Tsuna, and he kindly inquired after his studies and his friends at school. All too soon there was no more idle chatter to fill the silence, and talk turned to more serious matters. "Tsuna," the Ninth began, "I wish that I could say I came here merely to catch up on your life, but alas we have more serious matters to attend to. I'll be frank: I'm dying, Tsuna. Not very quickly, at least not yet, but dying I am. My heart is beginning to give out on me, and I cannot last forever. I had hoped that we would not need to begin your mafia education until you were well out of high school, maybe even university too, but it cannot be so.
"There is an academy- perhaps you've heard Dino mention it- that young mafioso often attend. It helps teach them the finer points of our world and prepare them for their duties when they grow up. Unfortunately, the politics within the school are nearly as volatile as the politics outside. I was hoping to avoid sending you there entirely, but our time is limited. The longer I remain as the Boss, the more strain it puts on me, and the more quickly I will do. I am in desperate need of your help, and, more importantly, the family is in desperate need of your help."
After that, the Ninth paused, perhaps to let it all sink in, and the silence stretched on as Tsuna tried to think how to respond. "So sending me to this...school...it's really the best thing for the family?"
"Most definitely. Up until now, Reborn has been your tutor, and he has prepared you in some ways. He has helped mold your strength and your character. Now this school will mold your mind, teach you what you need to know, and quickly enough that you may be able to succeed me before I die. There has been much upheaval in the mafia world of late, and the Vongola family is in desperate need of stability. It falls to you to bring this stability to our family."
"So, what's going to happen to me?"
"Once your school ends here, you will attend graduation. Then you, along with your family, will come to the Vongola Headquarters in Italy. You will spend the summer familiarizing yourself with some of the finer points of Vongola infrastructure and completing some assignments for me. Up until now, the Vongola and its allied families have seen little of you in action. They have only heard of you from afar. When you come to Italy, they will want proof of your strength, proof that the Vongola will still be the strong family it has always been. You must give this to them quickly, before I start fading. By the time I begin to lose my strength, they must already trust in you, so that they might turn to you for guidance without giving thought to any other possibilities. That is why you and your family must come to Italy as soon as possible."
"My family?"
"Yes, naturally. I do not mean only your mother. I mean your guardians, and perhaps others that you have gathered to you."
As the Ninth finished saying this, Tsuna bit down on his lip, and his brow wrinkled in that expression of worry that so often shaped his features. "You are thinking of the girls, Kyoko in particular perhaps. You are probably also thinking of the young ones, Fuuta, Lambo and I-pin. Rest assured that those three come from our world. They will have no trouble adjusting. However, you must decide for yourself what to do about Haru and Kyoko."
"I-I don't know. I don't want to put them in any danger, but at the same time, it really feels like they've become part of our family."
The Ninth laid a comforting arm on Tsuna's shoulder before saying, "It is hard to give up your first love."
Tsuna was crying now, silent tears leaking down his face. "Yes," he admitted, "It is hard. I've liked Kyoko for so long, but I've come to realize that-that we can never be together. I would always be putting her in danger, with no guarantee that I would be able to protect her, and more than anything, I'm not sure that I really do love her anymore. Still, she'll always be my friend. She and Haru both will. I don't want to lose them, but..."
"Tsuna, you do not have to decide this instant. It is quite likely it will not be you that decides at all. You will not be able to hide your going from them, and I suspect they will come to a decision themselves. From what Reborn has told me, something similar happened when you were fighting Byakuran in the future. They made up their minds then, and I expect they will do it now."
Tsuna nodded disconsolately before wiping his eyes and sitting up straight again. I must be strong. He thought. I have committed to the Vongola family. Now, I must protect my family. I knew I would have to leave Japan eventually. I can do this. I have to do this.
"Tsuna, I know this is a lot to take in. You will have arrangements to make. I have already explained things to your father, but you will have to think of a way to explain things to your mother and your guardians. I have burdened you with much. Go now, speak to your family. Perhaps you will find some consolation in their strength."
"Yes, thank you." With that, Tsuna stumbled bleakly out into the hall where Reborn was waiting to take him home. Tsuna did not speak to Reborn during the journey home, but he could tell from the look in the Arcobaleono's eyes that he knew.
xxxxx
The next day Tsuna called a meeting with all his guardians to try to explain the situaiton. He found that explaining things to his guardians was surprisingly easy. They all knew this day would come, and though some felt reluctant to leave Namimori, they all understood it had to be done.
As for Tsuna's mother, Bianchi offered to explain things to her for Tsuna, and Tsuna gratefully accepted. Bianchi had explained that the news would probably come best from another woman, and for his part, Tsuna couldn't possibly agree more.
The only real snag, then, was Ryohei. Tsuna was nothing short of shocked at how well the boxer took the news that he would have to move to Italy. The sun guardian actually said that he was "thrilled to the extreme" that he would not be forced to finish high school. Apparently his grades were such that he was in danger of failing his first year. Tsuna did not mention to him the possibility of Kyoko coming too, assuming that Ryohei would speak to her about it in due time. In actuality, the possibility of Kyoko wanting to come did not even occur to Ryohei until after she had forced him to explain the reason for the oh-so-secretive meeting between Tsuna and his guardians.
Once she had been informed of the situation, Kyoko merely nodded in understanding before saying, "I'll have to speak to Haru. It's going to take forever to figure out what the two of us need to pack. We'll have to figure out what to tell Mom and Dad, too. I'm sure they'll be more than a little suspicious if their children just up and leave with no warning."
"What? What are you saying? You are extremely not coming to Italy!"
"Oh yes I am, and you cannot stop me."
Upon hearing this, Ryohei immediately dashed out of the Sasagawa residence and back to the Sawada's house at full speed. He then barged through the door, headed straight for Tsuna, and knocked him out with one spectacular right uppercut. By the time Kyoko arrived (having an inkling of where her brother was heading) Ryohei was shaking Tsuna's limp, unresponsive body and screaming furiously that this whole thing was "extremely your fault, Sawada!"
After Kyoko at last calmed her brother down and it was ascertained that Tsuna was not dead but had instead been rendered temporarily unconscious, the siblings left the Sawada residence and headed back to their own home in a much more orderly fashion than when they arrived. In the end, Ryohei was unable to change Kyoko's mind, and the giant purple bruise that decorated Tsuna's chin during graduation was all for naught.
Reborn had already explained to each guardian's family (for those that had concerned families) about the fabulous overseas exchange program with a very prestigious school in Italy that their children had been invited to take part in. When Tsuna asked Reborn why he thought they would listen to a baby Reborn replied, "because it will give me a chance to dress up in my new professor costume."
Tsuna just sweat-dropped and thought: I don't see how that matters. That wasn't want I asked at all, but he said nothing.
The day after the middle school graduation, the whole family was packed on a private jet bound for Italy. It was a long flight, and the entire family was delighted to discover that Lambo was absolutely terrified of flying, so much so that he spent the entire flight screaming in hysterics until Gokudera accidentally (or perhaps not so accidentally) knocked him unconscious. When they at long last arrived in Italy, Tsuna wanted nothing more than to go to sleep and forget that the entire thing happened. It seemed that, for once, the universe was willing to comply with his wishes. A limo waited to pick them up at the airport, and they were escorted without too much fuss back to the Vongola headquarters, where they were each given rooms in the Northwest Wing with nice comfy beds that they could finally collapse upon in complete exhaustion.
For the first week, the future tenth boss and his family were asked to do nothing but eat, sleep and recover from their terrible jet lag. Gokudera seemed to be the one to recover most quickly, since he had experienced the problem several times before. He insisted that Tsuna and the others use their time studying up on Italian. Ever since the Inheritance ceremony, it had come to Gokudera's attention that no one spoke Italian. Most of the other families did not speak Japanese, and Tsuna had been completely unable to chat with any of the families that had come so far to see the next Vongola boss. So, the torturous tutoring had begun. Though no one's Italian was completely perfect, they had certainly improved a lot. Gokudera hoped that they would all be able to perform their work without any major lingual missteps. Much to everyone's surprise, Tsuna and Yamamoto both picked up Italian incredibly quickly. Though Yamamoto's proficiency had not shocked anyone, it came as rather a surprise to everyone that Tsuna had such a knack for languages, since he had never shown much promise with English in school. Indeed, the only one who seemed to be having any real trouble with Italian was Ryohei who kept throwing in an Italian "extreme" in the worst possible places of a sentence.
In this way the week went by quickly, and soon Tsuna was called to meet with Vongola Nono in his office. Tsuna had only just begun to understand the layout of Vongola HQ, and he did get lost twice before actually arriving at Nono's office. After he knocked and heard a gentle "come in," Tsuna opened the door, sheepishly scratching the back of his head and saying, "Sorry I'm late. I got a little lost."
"That's quite all right" Nono assured him. "The layout of this place can be quite confusing at times. Perhaps I shall ask someone in the housekeeping staff to draw a map. I can't tell you how many visitors I've found wandering around in the oddest places, but this is all beside the point. I've called you here to discuss your first assignment as a member of the Vongola family.
"I told you last time we spoke that there is some doubt among our allies and even within our own family that you are the best choice for heir. Convincing them that you are must be our first priority. Now, ordinarily you would have to move away when you begin attending school in the fall, but thankfully the school is quite close to Vongola HQ, so you will be allowed to stay here at all times. This is well, because this assignment has many different aspects and is likely to take quite some time. Now, the first logical step in securing your position is to eliminate the competition."
"Um, excuse me, sir, but what competition? I thought...well...I didn't think there was anyone else."
"It's true that there is no one else but you worthy of becoming Vongola Decimo, but some are beginning to remember Xanxus' power again. The Varia have been performing their assignments flawlessly and they have been stirring dissent about the idea of some foreigner taking charge of the Vongola. Xanxus is beginning to look like a desirable candidate."
"Xanxus? But I thought he couldn't become the heir, because he doesn't have Vongola blood. The rings rejected him. I saw it."
"It's true that he isn't my son however..."
"He's descended from Secondo isn't he?"
"Your hyper intuition serves you well I see. Yes, Xanxus is related to Secondo. He may not be legitimate, but we have confirmed that he has the Vongola blood nonetheless."
"But the rings, they rejected him."
"Yes, but not for the reason most people suspected. They rejected him not because of his blood, but because they looked into his heart and did not like what they saw. The rings are the will of the first generation. They reflect the desire for a family that aims to protect, not destroy. They did not see even an inkling of this desire within Xanxus, and so they rejected him."
"If they rejected him, then how can he lead the Vongola?"
"Some believe that there was a mistake, that perhaps if he was given a second chance, the ring would not reject Xanxus again. There are more however that believe Xanxus would still be the strongest leader of the Vongola, rings or no rings."
"So what? You said eliminate the competition, but I will not kill him. There is good in Xanxus. I have seen it."
"Then you must draw it out."
"What?"
"This is your first assignment, Tsuna. You must get Xanxus to work for you, to listen to you. Assassinations are cheap. Anyone can kill off the competition, but if you can get Xanxus to work for you, then you will not only get his backing, but all of his supporter's backing as well. The Varia are a powerful force in the mafia world. With them as your allies, you can have some hope of protecting your family. This, then, is what you will do. On Saturday, three days from now, Xanxus and his team are scheduled to return to their Headquarters, about an hour's drive from here. I have scheduled a meeting with Xanxus. You will go in my stead. I leave the rest up to you. Understand, Tsuna, that in this you cannot fail. There are political forces at work here that could rip our family apart. Believe me when I say this is of the utmost importance. You must bring Xanxus to your banner, or you risk open war within the Vongola and its allies. Do you understand?"
"I understand, sir."
xxxxx
a/n: That's it for now. I will have chapter two up some time this week. Please review and let me know what you think. I will do terrible, terrible things for reviews.