Hey guys,
Sorry this took so long. It's just that school's been real hectic which has become the norm lately. Plus I have my mock exams in May so I'll have even less time to write. Which is why I've decided to set up an update schedule.
So from now on, this fic will be updated on the 30th and the 15th of every month. That simple enough?
Thanks for reading this. You can move on to the story now. Enjoy!
Tsuna's morning was turning out to be much more chaotic than usual. Which was quite a feat considering he shared a room with a ticking time bomb of frustrated anger who went by the name of Hibari Kyoya. As was usual, he'd done something-the gods help if knew what-to set off the Demon Prefect of Nami-chuu and now the self-proclaimed Carnivore was out for his blood. Well, not really since Kyoya was a softie, but that will never be pointed out loud lest someone wanted to be 'bitten to death' by an enraged Skylark. Wow that's quite a few metaphors and adjectives in one small paragraph.
Oh the things that went on in his head.
The doorbell rang downstairs, providing him a favorable escape as he ran down the stairs. But of course, if escaping an annoyed Kyoya was this easy then there'd be more vacant beds in the Namimori General Hospital. He felt the steel tonfa whizz right past his head as he dodged at the last moment, the weapon missing him by a hair's breadth. And as luck would have it, his natural clumsiness chose that very moment to make an appearance.
Belatedly, he noted the lack of a 'thud' to indicate the tonfa had landed. This silent question was quickly answered as the brunette himself landed flat on his back at the bottom of the stairs. A high pitched voice distracted him from the blooming throb at the back of his head with the most peculiar greeting he had ever heard. It seems their guest didn't care to wait for him to get the door.
"Ciaossu."
~AN/- IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE AUTHORS NOTE UP ABOVE, GO READ IT RIGHT NOW! I hate to do this guys, but it's important.~
Tsuna tilted his head to spy a baby dressed in a three-piece suit complete with a fedora and a yellow pacifier hanging from his neck standing by his mop of unruly hair. So he's finally done observing. The boy though to himself. The baby-Reborn-held Hibari's tonfa loosely in one hand as he analyzed something at the top of the stairs. The brunette followed the Hitman's gaze and found a frowning Kyoya. Well, that made sense.
"Ara!" Oh great, mom was here. "Hello, who might you be?" The woman asked, smiling brightly at the strange baby.
"I'm Reborn the Tutor." Came the unbelievable reply. Well unbelievable to any normal person anyway.
"Ah! It's nice to meet you Reborn-san. I'm sure my Tsu-kun would be in good hands with you, right?"
The subtle yet desperate plea of the mother asking him to protect her son was not missed by anyone. Yet, Reborn chose not to comment and simply go along for now.
"Of course. Though I can't assure you if I could save him from his clumsiness." And just like that, the tension was gone. For now it was, anyway.
Tsuna, who was now sitting up in front of the Hitman, cried out in protest.
"Hey! I'm not that bad..."
Nana simply smiled and excused herself to finish breakfast, leaving her boys at the mercy of the newly appointed Hitman Tutor.
"So, you're Reborn. Papa said you'll be coming soon, though he didn't say when exactly."
"Sawada Tsunayoshi- age thirteen, single child, born to Sawada Iemitsu and Sawada Nana. Skilled in hand-to-hand combat without following any particular style. Fluent in six languages, namely; Japanese, English, Italian, French, Latin and Mandarin. Considered a literary genius by his teachers. Weak subjects are Maths and Physics. Has had knowledge of his ties to the Mafia since the age of seven. And finally, volunteered to take up the mantle of the Vongola Heir a month after the previous heir's sudden death." Reborn paused for a moment.
"Is all of that accurate?" He asked dryly.
"Yep. Wow you sure know a lot about me." Tsuna commented.
"Not enough. That's just about all the info your father gave me on you. I'll have to observe you closely to figure you out."
"Uh okay."
"Let's talk in your room, you have enough time before you leave for school."
Tsuna's room, Reborn noted, was the typical kind of room you'd expect of a mature teenager. It wasn't messy but not excessively neat either. There were twin beds tucked in opposite corners of the rather spacious room and a long mahogany desk spread between the two, hugging the wall. The desk was littered with stationary, neat stacks of notebooks and a laptop on one side. The desk was also set up against a huge glass window. The last wall was covered completely by a bookshelf, which in turn held kinds of books- from mangas to classic novels and encyclopedias to computer guides.
The collection was quite impressive for a middle school boy. Or two middle school boys.
"So Tsuna." Said the Hitman, turning to the boy. "Care to tell me what it is you are hiding?"
"Uh um-" From the look on his face, Reborn knew the other wasn't even trying to hide his guilt. That was good since it meant Tsuna was willing to trust him, at least to some extent. Reborn was glad to have that, as a Tutor he needed his student to trust him enough to rely on him when the need arose.
"As skilled as your father and the Ninth are at manipulation and such, I'm not one to be so easily deceived either. I know for a fact that they're both hiding something about you. I just don't know what."
"I'm sorry Reborn, but I don't trust you enough to tell you about that. Not yet anyway. But you're way smarter than me, so I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner than later. I have to go to school now. Kyoya will get mad ad try to bite me to death if I'm late."
His newest student, Reborn decided, was quite an odd one.
Timoteo's gaze wandered over all the familiar faces, stopping on each of them for but a second before moving on. For a fleeting moment his earlier doubts made a reappearance, but the aged Mafia Boss was quick to dismiss it.
Reborn is already at the boy's side. He reasoned to himself. And Tsunayoshi isn't helpless to defend himself either. This needs to be done. If we wait any longer it could cause a great discord within the Alliance.
Emotional turmoil settled, the man cleared his throat to call the attention of his audience. It was time to begin. His closest Allies turned to him, waiting with a shared curiosity.
"My Allies, my friends, you have my deepest gratitude for gathering here on such short notice just to hear me out. I have called forth this meeting to make an important announcement. What I have to say today will be crucial in discerning all of our futures."
There was a pause as Timoteo studied the faces of his audience. Dino Cavallone looked thoughtful while Aria Giglio Nero simply smiled knowingly. Beside him, Iemitsu's expression remained stoically passive. The Corvino Boss frowned in anticipation and the young Simon Boss simply looked on attentively. On his left, Gokudera Hayato stiffened at his father's frown.
"As you are all aware, since my son Massimo's death Vongola has been left without an Heir inherit. I know there are many who see think that I will finally cave and name Xanxus my Heir and let him take up the mantle of Decimo. Those, I'm glad to say, will find nothing but disappointment ahead as far as that matter is concerned. I have decided to name Iemitsu's son, Sawada Tsunayoshi, my heir."
"I wasn't aware the External Adviser even had a son at all." It was the Corvino Don who spoke up, almost instantly after Timoteo's words settled.
"My son may have Vongola Blood in his veins but wasn't born into our world. It is only natural that I would want to protect him from this darkness as well as I possibly could."
"Indeed," The old man intercepted. "Iemitsu hid his son so to safeguard him, but young Tsunayoshi's fate seems to have caught up to him. I know most of you would already be doubting the boy by now. But have faith in me, my decision was not made on a whim. Trust me when I say, as hard as it may be to believe right now, Vongola can only grow and flourish under this boy."
"With all due respect Nono, but do you really expect that of a civilian? How do you know he would even survive long enough to inherit at all? As Decimo he would have a target on his head, so who's to say he wont be killed?"
The redhead could sure be bold when he felt like it.
"I assure you, dear Enma-kun, that my heir is no meek thing. Not to mention, the Arcobaleno Reborn has taken him under his tutelage. It would do us all well not to underestimate the boy."
"That is all nice and well." Don Corvino spoke up again. "But pray tell, what does any of this have to do with my son. As far as my knowledge goes, he isn't even a full member of any of the present Famiglias. So why is here?"
"I too was wondering about that." Ah, so Dino had decided to speak up as well.
"Ah yes." Timoteo said, turning ever so slightly towards the silver-haired genius. "Gokudera Hayato is here as a candidate for the position of the Tenth Generation Vongola Storm Guardian."
Corvino hid his bafflement as Hayato slipped him a smug grin, as if he had just won a bet. The Ninth Boss of Vongola wondered why this was all so amusing to him now when he had been a mass of nervous agitation just minutes ago.
"Tsuna was right, Reborn called Gokudera to Japan."
"Iemitsu I must say, your son is quite something. To be able to accurately predict the moves of someone like Reborn is more than commendable."
"I suppose." The subtle coldness in his tone was not missed by anyone. "Now if you would excuse me, I'll be on my way. I have a room full of paperwork and an angry Lal to attend to."
"Of course. Iemitsu-" The blond stopped short, hand hovering over the doorknob. "I'm sorry I forced your son's hand."
There was no reply as the other man simply walked out the door. It seems that his External Adviser's forgiveness was something Timoteo would have to work for.
But considering the sacrifices Iemitsu had made to prevent his son from getting into the very situation that the boy was in right now, that much was to be expected. Alas, gaining the CEDEF Boss' forgiveness was something he would have to worry about later. He too had work to get done.
As he turned to sift through the pile of unfinished paperwork though, his thoughts wandered off to a conversation he'd had with the Sun Arcobaleno just before his departure to Japan. They had discussed at length the matter of the Guardian and while the latter had agreed to give Tsuna the final say, he had been vehement about getting to pick candidates. The Hitman had even subtly hinted at the slight prospect of him having a shadow of an interest in one Gokudera Hayato and Timoteo had witnessed Tsuna's prediction come true.
Just like that, the drifting cloud of thought carried him back in time and a memory struck him unbidden...
"So you wish to seek an alliance?" It was hard to keep the shock out of his voice as he spoke into the phone.
But then who wouldn't be shocked if the ever-elusive Caelum himself came to them, asking for an alliance of all things? Not that Timoteo was complaining, far from it really. If the vigorous pursuit of the seemingly non-existent mystery that was Caelum, wasn't enough to show how valued an asset the boy was, then nothing could ever be. The offer was far too convenient and profitable to pass up. Which was what made him so suspicious.
"What's the catch?" There was a tense sigh on the other side at the query.
"That Vongola Intuition sure is something, Timoteo-san. Your assumption is spot on. Indeed I do require something in return from you. Protection."
"In your short but prominent time in the Mafia, you have never once come seeking for so much as a temporary alliance before, let alone protection." The comment, though dripping in blatant suspicion and scrutiny, was not ill-meaning and Caelum seemed to understand that.
"It's not for myself, you see. In return for an alliance I would like for you to partially integrate Gokudera Hayato into the ranks of Vongola. As much as I hate it, being associated with me puts him in quite a dangerous position."
"I suppose it must. Well then, I agree to your terms."
"On his desk, the computer beeped indicting a new e-mail."
"Not the most friendly of gestures, not to mention I hate bringing bad news, but this is an important issue. I stumbled upon this information while preparing for a raid on a research facility connected closely to the Estraneo. I was only looking to see if they were conducting anymore experiments on children and well-I figured you would want to know. I hope you don't take this the wrong way. Till we speak again."
With that the call cut short, leaving the Mafia Boss decidedly confused.
A thorough look at the file attached to the e-mail was enough to wipe away the confusion. Yet, it wasn't until he'd went through it exactly five times and checked and re-checked the data again and again that the realization finally settled in. Along with came a mix of dread and fury in the pit of his stomach. Making his decision on the matter, the man picked up his phone again and dialed a familiar number.
"Reborn." He began, voice grim and furious. "Federico is up to something no-good. I want you to look into it and tell me exactly what. But stay under the radar. I don't want anyone so much as getting a hint of this until I've decided how to proceed."
"Understood." Came the quick reply and just like that the call ended.
Timoteo took a deep breath and rubbed his face with his palms. He would leave this to the able hands of his most trusted Hitman for now.
And done! Phew, that took real long. Let me know how that was. And seriously guys, I'm looking for constructive criticism so if you see any mistakes or find something you think is wrong in here TELL ME so I can fix it. Okay? Good.
Well, I gotta go now. I'm exhausted, it's late and I have school tomorrow.
Till next time!
-Jahnvi ^-^
