Title: The Vongola Throne 3
Author: ofphenwa
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Gen
Warnings: swearing. spoilers for Varia Arc
Timoteo's Final Words
Sawada Nana was busily preparing the ingredients for a kakuni stew when the doorbell rang. She paused her knife in mid-air above the daikon in mild puzzlement. Who was visiting? She laid the ingredients aside and washed her hands in the sink. She walked leisurely to the door as she dried her hands on her apron. Nana no longer could move as nimbly when she was younger but she was grateful to live long enough to see her cute son grow up into a fine, young man. She only regretted that Tsuna-chan wasn't the man she knew he could be. Nana peeked through the eyehole of the door and was surprised to see a young child holding a plastic bag. Curious, she opened the door to greet the child.
"Hello. Are you lost?", she smiled disarmingly at the boy. He lifted his burden and childishly answered, "Tsuna-san asked me to go ahead and bring these to you. He'll be coming soon." Hearing her son's name and the news of his impending visit, Nana lit up with happiness. Smiling warmly, she took the bag from the charming boy and invited him in.
"Oh my, did he? Thank you very much! What's your name, young man? Would you like to come in for lunch?"
"I'm Reborn, madam. Ciaossu." Reborn took off his hat and bowed. Clapping her hands at the delightful show of chivalry, Nana directed him into the kitchen and told him to help himself to a drink while she prepared lunch.
She took out the bento boxes in the plastic bag and opened them to see a sumptuous spread of yakitori and sushi. Nana smiled. It was going to be a very lovely lunch.
"Madam, I have to compliment your cooking. It's really marvelous and delicious!"
Reborn flattered Nana after he swallowed the last spoonful of the kakuni stew on his plate. He hadn't eaten for ages since his flight from Rome. "May I have more?"
Nana laughed and blushed. Reborn's flattery was making her feel as giddy as a young girl, something she hadn't felt in ages. She took Reborn's plate and went to refill it with more food. The bell rang. Perking up, she put down the plate and hurried to the door as fast as she could.
"Tsuna! You're finally here! Lunch was getting cold without you." She hugged her bedraggled and confused son.
"...Mom? How did you know that I was coming?" Nana was already pushing Tsuna toward the kitchen.
"Oh, was it meant to be a surprise? Reborn already told me about you, silly! It was very generous of you to bring yakitori and sushi." In her joy, Nana didn't notice Tsuna stiffening at the name of Reborn.
"...what?!?" Tsuna shouted. True to Nana's words, it was indeed Reborn sitting at the table, finishing off a third helping of stew. Tsuna stepped forward, he was going to wring his neck! Reborn saw him and waved a spoon at him.
"Hi, Tsuna-san! I like your mother very much! She's really kind and pretty just as you said." His child act did not amuse Tsuna at all. But Nana to his horror, was already blushing and she lightly smacked Reborn on the hand in mild embarrassment.
"Oh, don't flatter me!"
"Oh. My. God." Tsuna couldn't take it anymore and sank to the floor in a deep faint, unaware of Nana's startled cry.
With a yell, Tsuna woke up with sweat beading on his forehead. "Was it all just a bizarre dream...?" Then he realized that the ceiling was different. With dread building in his gut, he recognized it as the ceiling of his old bedroom.
"...No, no, it can't be real!", Tsuna moaned and covered his head with the blanket; fervently wishing reality away. Reborn's voice, muffled by the thick blanket, said:
"Get up, Tsunayoshi. There's no point in sleeping the whole day away."
"...Fuck." Heartfelt swearings poured from his mouth as Tsuna sat up in bed and glared at the demon child before him.
"Catch." A manila envelope flew at Tsuna's face, smacking itself on his nose. He yelped and fumbled for it as it fluttered to the floor. He over-tipped and fell to the floor with a crash.
"...Ow."
"Hmm...poor reflexes and coordination." Reborn jotted something down in a notepad before stashing it away on his body.
"What's this?" Tsuna held the envelope with the tips of his index finger and thumb and looked at it with suspicion.
"I don't know. It's from your grandfather, the 9th. Open it."
"Oh, fine, fine." Tsuna flipped the envelope over and saw the wax seal embossed on the back. It was a shield with a bullet in the center and was festooned with clams. The emblem stirred an unknown emotion and faint memories in him. Transfixed by the Vongola coat-of-arms, Tsuna reverently ran his finger over contours of the seal before breaking it open. Seeing this, Reborn secretly smiled.
"...hmm, the blood of the Vongola Famiglia runs thick in him."
Inside the envelope, there was a single sheet of ivory-cream paper. Tsuna gently slid the paper out and unfolded it to expose its contents. It was blank except for the embossed gold family crest that glimmered with a mysterious light. Puzzled by the lack of words, Tsuna accidentally touched the edge of the golden embossing; triggering a reaction.
To his shock, a brilliant blue flame burst from the Vongola crest and quickly consumed the entire paper and his hand before he could drop it. Then Tsuna realized that the flame wasn't burning him or the paper and was warm. He thought that the warmth was very familiar and comforting. Then before his amazed eyes, the blue flames started to form words in calligraphic script and sinking themselves indelibly in black, glossy ink onto the paper.
The Will of Timoteo Di Vongola
I, 9th Don Vongola, hereby declare Sawada Tsunayoshi, direct descendant of the 1st Don Vongola to be the next Don. He is to be tutored by my right-hand man, Reborn, in the ways of the Mafioso. Tsunayoshi shall take his rightful position as the head of the Vongola Famiglia when Reborn deems him ready.
When Tsunayoshi reaches adulthood at the age of twenty-one or in the event of marriage, all my estates and wealth are to be under Sawada Tsunayoshi's name. He is to be informed of all matters pertinent to the Vongola.
Lastly and most importantly, my Sky ring, currently in possession of Reborn, should only be given to Sawada Tsunayoshi when he has unlocked his Dying Will.
This is my final will.
The flames flickered briefly; denoting the end of Timoteo's will. Then they flared strongly again; turning from cold blue to a warm honey colour. The words that soon appeared were shakier and untidy as if the author had difficulties placing his thoughts onto the paper with both physical and emotional obstacles. It was a personal letter from a grandfather to his beloved grandson.
Dear Sawada Tsunayoshi,
I cannot say how much I deeply regret for placing this heavy burden on your shoulders. Yet, I feel supremely confident you will be just fine. The first time I laid eyes on you when you were a wee babe; small enough to carry in my old hands, my intuition told me that you would be the greatest and strongest Don to exist in the long history of the Mafia ever since the 1st Don Vongola. My intuition has rarely been wrong about such matters.
Actually, when you reached your adolescence, I had planned to send Reborn to you so you would be enlightened and trained to be the Vongola Don. However, this did not come to fruition as the Vongola clan was going through turbulent times which required all my attention and strength...I only wonder how different things would have been if not for my illegitimate son, Xanxus...
As Reborn should have informed you by now, the Vongola has fallen into the unworthy hands of Xanxus. It is my terrible mistake that I refused to see Xanxus's hand behind the chaos in the Vongola Famiglia past my guilt over his mother's death until it was too late. It is not easy for me to even contemplate the task I'm going to ask of you, much less write it.
...Would you execute Xanxus for his trespasses against the Vongola in order to prevent the destruction of our family? Too much is at stake here.
However, despite all these tragedies, my deepest regret is that I never got to see you grow up from the charming little baby I held in my hands into the young adult you are today. You are my beloved grandson, though not of my blood but through the common Vongola blood that binds us together. I love you, Little Tunafish.
Timoteo Di Vongola
The honey flames burned around Tsuna's fingers, caressing them with warmth and evoking faded memories of a fond grandfatherly smile in a wrinkled face and strong hands that held him carefully as warm laughter lulled him to sleep. With a shuddery sigh, Tsuna was surprised to feel tears dropping from his eyes. He was awed by the depth of faith and love that his grandfather had in him. The flames slowly died out, leaving Tsuna with a sense of determination.
"Reborn?" Tsuna's hand that was not holding onto the letter, clenched into a tight fist. In a strange voice that did not seem like his own, Tsuna unconsciously echoed the words of the previous Dons before him;
"I will take what is my right, the Vongola Throne."
Reborn slowly smiled.
Dear readers & reviewers,
Thank you for taking your time to read this little story of mine! I have been quite encouraged by your reviews and they give me the extra motivation to keep on writing:) However, like you guys, I also have my own real life so I might not be as frequent with the updates as you like. I'm deeply regretful about that. However, please stay tuned to "The Vongola Throne" and continue to give your support!
Sincerely,
Ofphenwa