For this chapter, the translations for the [most likely] grammatically incorrect Italian is at the end of the "paragraph" [or sentence] at which they appear due to the mass [over] usage of the language.
Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. All rights are reserved to Akira Amano
First Contact
"I thought that ride would never end…" Tsuna sighed in exhaustion. His complexion had paled twice that of his normal tone and greened slightly. In his hand was wax-lined paper bag just in case he needed to barf. Even after several flying lessons, he still was susceptible to airsickness.
Half-alive, Tsuna scanned the faces of his Guardians that had collected behind him as if he were a shepherd guiding sheep and one dog. "Did Hibari already leave?" Tsuna asked the pair of Gokudera in front of him.
"Yeah, he left already, but don't worry about it, Tenth! He'll probably meet us at the Bucking Bronco's mansion. For now, why don't I take you on a tour of Italy? We can even get something to eat while we go around."
"What about our bags?" Tsuna asked, turning greener at the sound of food.
"I'll take them to where we're staying," Chrome offered. All eyes turned toward the quiet girl who was still clutching the trident with her life. "I feel a little tired, so I'll bring the bags."
Tsuna shook his head, but wished he hadn't as he became dizzier. "I-I don't like that idea, Chrome. If you're left alone, who knows what will happen to you."
Yamamoto raised his hand and volunteered with a smile, "I can take her and the bags to Dino's mansion then."
Gokudera opened his mouth to agree, happy at the thought of getting rid of one idiot, but the young Professor Boreen interrupted, "No. Yamamoto, you should stay with Tsuna, Gokudera, and Ryohei."
The infant looked up at the Storm Guardian, "You'll need someone with quick, trained reflexes like Yamamoto to help you protect Tsuna. Because we're in Italy, he'll be targeted heavily, especially by enemies that know his face."
Boreen turned to Tsuna, "Make sure your Guardians don't get into trouble, alright Silly Tsuna? Yuki will be following behind you guys when she's able to. After I drop off Lambo and Chrome at the Cavallone Mansion, I'll be going out for a while. I'll be back late so don't expect me to be back for any meal. Ciaossu."
Tsuna waved to the small figure that was dragging a snoring bag and followed by Chrome, who had given Tsuna a quick bow before running after the small cow-boy and disguised hitman.
"Then, let's go on that tour," Tsuna smiled weakly as his dizziness slowly subsided.
Hibari waited outside the airport for a taxi.
"Kyouya!"
The prefect felt his mood worsen at the sound of his name being called so familiarly. He glared at the direction the voice was coming from. His blond tutor came walking up to Hibari with his Family conspicuously standing behind him.
The other fliers, both the people who had landed and were about to take-off, attempted in vain to keep their eyes averted from the Mafia that had gathered in waiting of the Tenth Generation Vongola Boss and his Guardians.
"You, I've told you before, don't call me by my first name. It's impolite," Hibari glared at the man. "If you're here to offer me a ride, I won't sit in a car crowded with your precious Family."
Dino smiled, "I thought you might say that, so I brought an extra car so that you won't need to deal with sitting with everyone else. Where's Reborn, Tsuna, and the others?"
"I have no reign over them. If they're going to fool around on their first day of 'vacation' rather than recover from jetlag, then that's their problem," Hibari answered.
"Then let's go back to my place ahead of the others," the Cavallone boss suggested as he wrapped an arm around Hibari's neck. The prefect shot the "oblivious" blond man a glare, then changed the target of his cold stare to the man's hand. "While they're having their short 'Roman Holiday', you can rest all you want. Although, I was initially planning on doing a little sparring with you to assess how much stronger you've gotten."
Hibari, who had already withdrawn his tonfa to strike at Dino for the unnecessary contact smirked, the corner of his lips curled up devilishly. "I see. If you intend on insisting so much, then I'll be glad to bite you to death."
Dino smiled at the sound of Hibari's classic line. "Well then, put away your tonfa and we'll get to the mansion as soon as possible."
"Very well," Hibari agreed, hiding the steel rods in his sleeves.
(Medici Labs Headquarters, Executive Office)
Light was filtered through thin lines between window shades. The doors of the office were pushed open by two men dressed in black with eyes hidden behind sunglasses. Another man had walked in and opened the blinds completely, allowing the Italian sunlight to fully enter the office.
The executive of the company strolled in, stripping off his black duffel coat. He threw the jacket aside for a following bodyguard to catch and carry like a walking hanger. The man took the black swivel chair behind a dark oak desk and looked outside. His gaze transfixed on the walking figures in the streets fifty stories below.
When he heard no door close, he turned to his bodyguards with a burning yellow fire in his eyes and was greeted with another face, a face he hadn't expected nor wanted to see.
"What are you doing here? Didn't I assign you with retrieving Test Subject 0-G24?" he asked, containing most of his anger from escaping his mouth.
"The droids and the men were taken out," the man admitted weakly. "And…"
"And what?" He snapped, standing up. His palm hit the wooden tabletop. "Is there more you'd like to add to the list of failures you're building so quickly?"
"Well, the prisoner you took from Vendiche. He…committed suicide."
In a second, the papers and ornaments that decorated the desk were scattered on the floor, some in thousands of little pieces. "Why am I not surprised that your competence has allowed the prisoner to do such an action? When did he kill himself?"
The man averted his gaze from his boss's and he lowered his head, ashamed as a man that had committed sins. "Somehow, despite our scientists' precautions with the boy, he managed to escape. When Security was finally able to corner him, he jumped out the window and plummeted to his death in a million pieces on the ground."
The boss pushed his fiery hair back with a gloved hand. He heaved a sigh, trying to calm himself before he strangled his subordinate. "Did any passersby see what happened?"
He shook his head, "No, Sir. Not a soul other than your own men."
"Then everything is still fine. Find out where Test Subject 0-G24 is and report to me as soon as you do."
"Well, Sir, although we lost the prisoner and our droids and men, we did not lose the test subject's whereabouts. It would seem that Vongola Decimo has arrived in Italy recently with his Guardians. And if Vongola Decimo is here—"
A sinister smile befell the executive's lips as he finished his subordinate's sentence. "Then that would mean 0-G24 is here as well." He turned to his minion with a rather dark congratulatory smile. Then he strode by, taking his coat from the human hanger. "Well done on your compensation for your failure. Call my chauffer and tell him to prepare the car. We're going to give a greeting to Vongola's Tenth."
Although he knew his boss wouldn't see it, the man bowed with eyes closed, a smile stretching from one corner of his lip to the other. "Yes, sir." He slowly opened his eyes and rested his gaze on the exiting figure of the Medici's executive. When the doors of the office closed and left him inside, he began cleaning up the papers on the floor and neatly organizing them back into their proper spaces. Then, he rested back in the leather swivel chair, letting out a content chuckle.
He reached over the dark oak desk for the one ornament that hadn't fallen off the desk, a glass sculpture of a curled-up Western dragon. With a graceful, fluid movement, he plucked the figure glued to its spot from the tabletop, examining all sides and angles of the piece with intrigue. "Now then, Mr. Romulus Medici," he smiled as his iris flashed from a mysterious dark brown to an enigmatic red and blue and back to brown, "please give me a good show."
Tsuna walked next to Gokudera, whose mouth kept running about the history of Italy and the history of its monuments. For most of the tour, Tsuna paid little attention, distracted by the beauty and the numerous amount of people he would have considered foreigners if they were still in Japan.
"…And here is the café where the first generation family met a little before they decided to form the Vongola Family. Of course, not everyone was accounted for. The First Mist, the First Thunder, and the First Cloud did not attend this meeting. But, Primo did talk to the First Cloud and First Mist by himself later on. And—"
"Ah, Gokudera," Tsuna interrupted. Gokudera instantly stopped and turned his full attention to the brunette.
"Yes Tenth?"
The ray from the noon sun reigned down on the group of students. Tsuna's hair stuck to his forehead by a sweaty glue. His cheeks were slightly reddened from the heat and the eyes that all looked at him in expectancy. "I'm a little tired, can we get something to drink and maybe rest a little?"
"Of course!" Gokudera smiled. He started to look around for a suitable place to rest when he remembered where they were. "How about we go inside and refresh ourselves then, Tenth?"
Tsuna nodded with a smile, "That'd be nice."
"Alright! Let's go!" He started to lead the smaller boy inside, enthusiastically chattering about the history of the shops decorum.
Yamamoto and Ryohei walked a few steps behind, talking about their upcoming games and laughing about part tournaments.
"Ushishishi…Well what do we have here? Garbage clones of that little fish and his Guardians? Or the real garbage visiting in Italy?"
Gokudera turned his head first towards the sound of the laughter that annoyed him. "You're Belphegor!"
The blond assassin's lips tugged downward as he was handed his gelato. "That's Prince Belphegor, brat," he corrected. He turned to his companion who stood next to him. "Hurry up, Freshman. We don't have a break that lasts forever and I still have things I need to do."
"Yes, sir," the smaller boy next to him replied blatantly, fixing the black casket hat atop his green hair. "Uno 'dolce di latte' gelato per favore." [One 'sweet milk' gelato please.]
"Che taglia vorresti?" the clerk asked. [What size?]
The boy turned to Belphegor expressionless. "How much can I get?"
"Just get the smallest size or it'll all go to your head and let's go."
Again the boy looked up at the clerk with an expressionless countenance. "Piccolo, per favore." [Small, please.]
The clerk took a pink translucent cup and began scooping the sweet gelato into a cup. "Va bene, un 'dolce di latte' gelato piccolo." [Alright, one small 'sweet milk' gelato.]
"Grazie," the small boy took the cup and began eating as Belphegor paid for both of their treats. The 'Frog' started eating and looked up at Belphegor in expectance. [Thanks]
"Go wait outside for a bit and don't get into any trouble. I need to talk to this bunch of brats for a bit."
The boy clicked his tongue, but his face remained impassive, "Yeah, got it." Then he followed his senior's order and left the shop.
A smile crossed the prince's face as he took a spoonful of gelato. "Why are you brats in Italy?"
Ryohei opened his mouth to tell the tale, but Gokudera stopped him and answered in his stead. "The Tenth felt like learning a bit of history about Italy," the silver-haired Storm Guardian responded. "And why is someone of the Varia hanging around in a café? Shouldn't you be working for the jerk-boss of yours?"
"Even the Varia get lunch breaks and I was stuck babysitting the newbie," Belphegor answered disdainfully. "I don't recall hearing about you guys coming to visit from the Vongola though."
"It was sort of last minute planning," Tsuna explained with a nervous smile and a small laugh.
"Whatever then," Belphegor left after hearing the poorly presented answer.
"I didn't expect to see that guy here," Gokudera mumbled glaring at the doorway as if Belphegor's presence still lingered like the Cheshire Cat's smile.
Yamamoto laughed, "Isn't it more fun this way though? Unexpected meetings are always great."
Gokudera's gaze remained fixed on the spot a few more seconds before he turned away. "Still…" he sighed, "I don't like the idea of meeting this guy here…It feels like a bad omen."
"Just fight away the bad thoughts to the extreme!" Ryohei exclaimed.
Tsuna stared at his friends, who were still energetic even after the flight. "So…" He decided to change the topic. "What do they have to drink here, Gokudera?"
"Let's see…They have orange juice, sparkling water, lemonade, tea, coffee, cappuccino, mocha, latte, and some sparkling juices."
"What do you suggest?" Tsuna asked.
"I think the latte would suit Tenth's tastes best," he answered.
"Then I'll get that. What about you guys?" Tsuna turned to his companions.
"I'll just get some milk or something," Yamamoto smiled. "Do they have that, Gokudera?"
Gokudera scoffed at the baseball fan's question. "Of course they do. How else are they supposed to make lattes if they don't have milk?"
"I'll get lemonade," Ryohei interjected after reviewing the list of the selections he actually remembered hearing Gokudera name.
The brunette turned to the half-Italian. "What about you, Gokudera?"
"I'm getting black coffee," he answered.
"Black coffee?" Yamamoto let out a short laugh, "No wonder you're so short, Gokudera."
Gokudera glared at Yamamoto, "Shut up baseball-freak!"
Tsuna laughed nervously as a few eyes looked up at the attention-gathering duo. Soon after he laughed, a high shrill sounded off from a group of teenage girls in the corner of the store. The brunette stole a glance behind him and saw the heart-throbbing teenage girls stare at Gokudera and Yamamoto.
"Buone!" One of the girls squealed as Yamamoto and Gokudera turned so that their whole faces were revealed. [Nice!]
Gokudera glared at the group before returning his attention back to Tsuna. He scoffed in disgust. "Why the heck are girls always so weird? It doesn't matter where, they just always are."
Yamamoto laughed as if everything the silver-haired teen said sparked his signature smile. "Come on, girls aren't always weird. Sometimes they're just really nice."
"G-Guys, let's not get into a fight and just make our order, okay?" Tsuna suggested sheepishly.
Gokudera turned to Tsuna. His countenance reflected worry and seriousness. "Is something wrong, Tenth?"
"I-I don't know," Tsuna answered as he felt a shiver roll down his spine. "I just feel like there's something wrong here…"
Gokudera looked up at Yamamoto, whose facial expression was almost a copy of the Storm Guardian's. They exchanged glances and gave a small nod to each other, understanding what each other meant without words being said.
"Tenth, I think we should go now. If you don't feel right, then it's best we leave." Gokudera turned to Ryohei, who was distracted by a wall of newspaper clippings of great reviews and pictures captioned in Italian. "Hey, Lawn-Hair!" he called out, instantly snapping the boxer out of his trance.
"What is it, Octopus-Head?" he asked.
The silver-haired teen bit down his lip as he calmed himself down before continuing. "There's been a change in plans and we decided to go to Dino's, but we also need to protect the Tenth on the way there. The baseball-nut will take the front, I'll be behind the Tenth, and you'll be in back of me. That's the plan, do you understand?"
Ryohei nodded, "I'll do my best to memorize this strategy to the extreme!"
Gokudera let out a sigh, "Now that the plan's settled, let's start the operation." He notioned to Yamamoto to lead, "Go on."
"Got it," Yamamoto nodded as he took the front, his wooden sword case in hand.
Tsuna wearily followed after the tall black-haired boy with Gokudera trailing close behind and Ryohei not too far from his Storm Guardian.
"Do you still have that feeling, Tenth?" Gokudera whispered, casting suspicious glares left and right at the people surrounding them.
"I think—" Tsuna stumbled backwards into Gokudera, who managed to catch the brunette without falling back. The messy haired heir rubbed his head, which he had managed to injure and collide with a pillar despite having Yamamoto in front of him.
Gokudera's green eyes glazed over with worry, "Tenth? Are you okay?"
"Mi scusi!" the 'pillar' apologized. When he received a glare from Gokudera, he apologized in English, "I'm sorry, please forgive me, I didn't see the boy in my rush to get to the café!" [Please excuse me!]
"Sono in grado di parlare italiano…" Gokudera growled, "Se si desidera scusarsi, si prega di farlo in giapponese così Decimo in grado di capire." [I can speak Italian…If you want to apologize, please do so in Japanese so Tenth can understand.]
The man blinked confusedly at the young pair. "Giapponese?" [Japanese?]
"Sissignore…" [Yes sir…]
The man knelt onto one leg and took one of Tsuna's hands, kissing the back of it. The brunette, who watched the scene in shock, felt his face turn red at the embarrassment of the scene that was being made and the contact that he wasn't used to. Gokudera, who was less amused by this 'formality' glared at the strange fiery-haired man.
"If he only understands Japanese, then please allow me to extend a formal apology to you, young boy," the man smiled, lids covering yellow eyes. "My name is Romulus, I'm sorry for bumping into you in my rush."
"T-That's—"
Gokudera pulled the man's wrist away from Tsuna's hand. His green eyes grew stormy and angry. "Look you, keep your lips and your hands off of Tenth…"
"I'm sorry," the man apologized again, holding his hands up as if Gokudera was pointing a gun at him, "I meant no offense! I forgot that things were different in Japanese culture! Honestly! I sincerely—"
Bang!
A bullet skimmed past Romulus's nose and hit the sidewalk harmlessly. The bystanders dispersed at the sound and ran from the scene, screaming and panicking. Tsuna, Yamamoto, Ryohei, Gokudera, and the man all looked up at the direction the gunshot came from.
"You…Step away from him!" a women growled. Her dark hair was pinned up in a loose, wavy bun against her head and a pair of shades covered her eyes. When no movement was made, she fired another shot. This time, it grazed the man's hand. "This is your last warning. If you don't drop that weapon you're hiding in your jacket and back away from the boy, I will kill you."
The fiery-haired man smirked as he took two steps backwards with one hand at the level of his eyes. The other withdrew a gun from a hidden holster in the folds of his black duffel coat and dropped the armament to the floor. He kicked it over to the woman. "There. Is this better?"
"Drop the other one, too," she ordered.
The man clicked in tongue and disdainfully unarmed himself of his guns entirely.
"Now then, what's your name?"
The man swallowed his growl and replied coolly, "I believe I've said it before."
The woman's eyes narrowed behind her sunglasses and she walked over to the man, her heels clinking against the floor with each step. "I didn't hear it." She muttered as she prodded the man's forehead with the open end of her gun. "What's your name, signore?"
He smirked, glaring up at his terrorist with equal hostility, "You'll know soon enough, signorina…"
More gunshots sounded and a machine gun fired aimlessly. The woman jumped away from the fiery-haired man and covered the wide-eyed brunette with her back to the flying bullets.
The man stood as a black car pulled up to him with guns pointed toward Tsuna and the black-haired woman protecting him. "I'm in a bit of a hurry so I apologize for not giving you a formal greeting, Vongola Decimo," he apologized with a sinister smile as he entered the interior of the car next to him. "You have something that belongs to me, so I'll be coming back to get it later. But for now, please enjoy what little time you have before I take it back. Arrivederci…"
Then, as quickly as the car had come, it sped off. Its only evidence of existence at that scene was the black tire marks it left in its wake. The woman who had shrouded Tsuna and Gokudera stood up and strode to the two guns lying on the floor. She picked them up and examined the identical carving on both guns: a western dragon with its head tucked over its hind legs and its wings folded behind it.
"Y-Yuki-san, it's you, r-right?" Tsuna asked. His voice was softer than it had been for a very long time. Fear bubbled out from his gut and poured over him in a cold sweat. He trembled as he pushed himself away from Gokudera and tugged at the woman's dress. "Y-Yuki-san?"
"Yes, it's me," she answered, not turning to face the brunette. Gokudera stomped up to the two, angered by their familiarity and worried from Tsuna's shivers. He grabbed one of Yuki's wrists and examined the acquired weapons in her hand.
His green orbs narrowed and he instantly withdrew, trying to pry Tsuna away from her by the shoulder. "Tenth! Get away from her!" he growled.
Tsuna didn't move his legs and stayed by Yuki's side. He did, however, turn his head to face Gokudera. "W-What's wrong?"
"It's like I've been saying all this time. That woman…she's with the Medici! It's not safe around her! We can't trust her!"
"You're wrong, Gokudera!" Tsuna snapped. Yamamoto, Gokudera, Ryohei, and even Tsuna himself were wide-eyed in disbelief. He averted his gaze from his silver-haired friend and Storm Guardian. "Y-You're wrong, Gokudera. If Yuki-san were part of the Medici, she wouldn't be having nightmares, she'd be making them. If Yuki-san were part of the Medici, my heart and my mind wouldn't be screaming at me to defend her. Yuki-san isn't a bad person. She's just like you…She's trying to protect me even though she's only known me for a short time. Gokudera…I know you may not trust Yuki-san, but I do. So please…" His vision started to be blurred by a screen of water. As hot tears streamed from his eyes, he wiped them away with his arm. "Please don't say she's not safe. Please don't say we can't trust her. Please…she's not with the Medici. She isn't evil. I can tell."
Gokudera's gaze softened and he extend his hands out to Tsuna, gently placing them on Tsuna's shoulders. "Tenth, I'm sorry…I didn't mean to offend you—"
"Gokudera," Tsuna placed his hands over the taller teen's, a soft and pained smile on his face. "If you're going to apologize, please apologize to Yuki-san, not me."
The green-eyed boy swallowed his pride and averted his gaze. "I'm sorry, Me—I mean—I'm sorry, Yuki-san. I was being rash and let my emotions get the better of me."
"It's fine," she responded, closing her eyes. "It happens to all of us." She turned around and gave Gokudera a pat on the shoulder. "I understand that you really care for our boss, just like G. and I were to Primo. There will probably be many more times in the future that you let your emotions control your actions, but I know you'll get a hang of it someday. And that'll probably be before me."
Gokudera glanced up at Yuki then back down at the floor. He swatted her hand off his shoulder. "I got it already, so stop touching me!" he growled, with a light pink haze on his cheeks.
Yuki smiled, "I'm glad."
A siren rang in the distance and the group looked in the direction of the noise.
"We should probably leave before the police get here," Yamamoto suggested with a smile. "They might not like us playing our mafia game in the streets."
Gokudera turned to the tall baseball player, "I told you! It's not a stupid game!"
Tsuna laughed awkwardly. "Here we go again," he sighed.
End Chapter Seven
Thanks for waiting for this update, everyone!
It was a bit difficult for me to have time to work on this with all my exams. _
But please forgive me if I left you hanging on the last chapter. I swear it wasn't my intention…Anyways…
Reviews are still welcome!
