Part 2! This closes the brief arc of the Inheritance! Guess what's next? :3
DISCLAIMER: I don't own KHR's characters or plot, only the idea of this story and the actual writing (took me months, ya know!).
jennifersanti: Thank you!
Lunary: Perhaps it is :3 Tsuna has what he needs to move forward :) See here! Thank you!
Amnesiac Goldfish: I don't judge! I wonder who you're planning to kill :3 Thank you!
Jaded Firerose: Thank you!
BoyishBlue: She isn't capable to :/ She was never right in what she did, but she did her best at that time, people do mistakes, she doesn't know how to fix things. She does the next best thing: erase her self from the picture. Reborn is shameless, by the way u.u Thank you!
Thank you, everyone!
DICTIONARY (because I use romanized Japanese vocabulary a lot):
Yakuza: Japanese Syndicate;
Oyabun: bosses of smaller parts of Yakuza;
Gumi: turfs in which Japan is split, each led by an Oyabun;
Kumicho: Boss of Yakuza;
Saiko-komon: senior advisor of the Kumicho;
So-honbucho: headquarters' chief;
Ryuukaze: Dragon, Wind;
Ryuuken: Dragon, Sword;
Ryuunoiki: Breath of Dragon;
Kyodai: big brothers of the Yakuza, higher-placed than the Shatei;
Shatei: little brothers of the Yakuza, basically the new recruits;
Sageo: hanging cord of the sword;
Tsuka: handle of the sword.
Sudarynya: archaic Russian honorific for Madam.
WARNINGS (read if you want some spoilers):
- Varia;
- Simon;
- Dino;
- coup;
- lunch;
- Nono and Iemitsu;
- Inheritance;
- slight 18xIenari;
- feast.
Words: 4326.
Enjoy!
28 – Inheritance Ceremony – Part 2
Tsuna sipped some more wine and eyed the door, pursing his lips. It opened, Varia was announced. He moved in front of Viper, that was about to say something, but Reborn silenced him.
"Stay behind me and do not move," he told the Mist.
Xanxus strode through and forward, looking around in distaste until his eyes stopped on Tsuna and his brothers. They slid to Viper, right behind him, and became alight with rage he was already accustomed with. Surprisingly, it wasn't the man that attacked him, but the Varia Rain.
"VOOOIII! YOU TRAITOR!"
Colonnello stepped in front of the brunet, sending the swordsman away with a Rain infused kick to his mid. The white-haired, Squalo if he remembered correctly, did a backflip to land, just beside Xanxus. That unceremoniously punched him on the head with an angered scoff.
"You idiot, don't make things troublesome!"
"Wha– Bu–" That felt like a Deja-vu.
"That's Ryuunoiki, trash. Our ally, stop with your bullshit."
Without an apology, not that Tsuna was expecting one, Xanxus grabbed Squalo's collar and dragged him away, without even addressing Ienari. His brother was looking at him, pale and shocked. The brunet just waved at him with a small smile and a shrug. This was Varia, one had to be prepared for anything.
He turned slightly to Viper, "are you ok?"
The Mist looked dumbfounded. "Y-yes… thank you…"
"You're welcome," Tsuna smiled, turning again. "Try to not end up in their same room, or at least to be with one of us when you do."
He moved back to his spot, accepting Fon's offer of more wine and checking Byakuran's reserve of marshmallows had not magically disappeared into the black hole he called stomach. Surprisingly, or maybe not so much, the candies' bag was still mostly full. Either the child was holding back or he was too stressed to enjoy his favourite food.
Tsuna looked up as he saw someone else coming to greet him and hummed in consideration. That teen was the same that had seen, although he still didn't know why, his last meeting with Nono. He'd been probably following Ienari, that had mentioned something about clearing a misunderstanding with a Famiglia, maybe? He didn't remember that detail well enough.
Was he growing old? He had to train his memory a bit. God forbid he started forgetting important and vital information.
"Kozato Enma," Reborn whispered in his ear, breath tickling his neck. "Tenth Boss of the Simon Famiglia. They're old acquaintances of Vongola, but a betrayal was staged long ago. Your brother fixed that mistake recently."
Golden information, but what was their nationality? How was he supposed to address him? Something told him Reborn had withheld that detail on purpose.
The teen was escorted by a tall woman with raven hair in a high ponytail. He stopped a good way away from him and bowed, Japanese-style. Very well. Byakuran trembled behind him, probably trying to hold in his laughter. He could imagine the child pranking all these teenagers and becoming the bane of their existences. Fortunately, the Sky was in his care, no one else's, or the world would have suffered greatly.
"Good morning, Kumicho-sama." Tsuna felt his heart beating slightly faster at the proper manner of speech and addressing from such a young man. "You probably do not know who I am, but we've already met."
Ryuunoiki tilted his head in greeting. "Yes, in Japan. My name's Ryuunoiki, as such I'm referred to."
The teen nodded, "as such… I'll call you. It's my pleasure to talk to you, I am Enma Kozato, Boss of the Simon Famiglia." He lifted one arm to welcome the woman in the conversation, "she is Adelheid Suzuki, one of my Elements." She bowed deeply. "Ienari-san mentioned you're aware of how Flames work."
Tsuna hummed, "he did and, though being bonded by blood means I can wield this power, I try to not use Vongola's trade-mark fighting ability." Thanks to that darn meeting and the untold in his sentence, the teen nodded, looking down, understanding what the brunet was conveying.
"Yes, right…" He cleared his throat, straightening his back as he had slowly hunched over. "Uhm, I hope to meet you again, Kumi– Ryuunoiki-sama. Until then…" He tilted his head, to which Tsuna answered in the same kind, and left.
But, just as he was relaxing in the relief that no one else would have disturbed him anymore, he saw a blond, tall man come over, accompanied by an older man with shaded glasses and black hair. He sighed in his glass and Reborn hunched over his ear again.
"Dino Cavallone, my ex-student." Tsuna recognized the younger version of the man he'd met in the future.
"Good morning, Ryunnoiki-sama. My name is Dino, Boss of the Cavallone Famiglia here in Italy. We're old allies of Vongola and will support Decimo as we've already had during his training as the rightful heir. I like to consider him my friend," he smiled, a woman would probably be fawning over that.
This seemed like the Mafioso was applying for a job. He pursed his lips and ignored his lover's face-palm.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Don Dino," was his polite answer, at least the blond had been taught well, of course. "Do your words mean to say that your Famiglia did not… appreciate, to be delicate, Don Timoteo's actions and decisions, as of lately?"
The blond's smile slowly disappeared. "We didn't. Don Timoteo may have had the reasons, but his way of resolving the issue was wrong and disrespectful for two of the most influential families that rule over our world." Tsuna suddenly liked the steel in the brown, small eyes.
He nodded, "my opinion is biased, I fear."
Dino Cavallone raised his glass, letting the brunet clink it with his own. "With all your rights," he nodded and sipped the wine. "I'll leave you to your Elements, Ryuunoiki-sama. It was an honour to finally meet you and I hope this may happen again."
That said, he and his thug left. "Peculiar friends my brother has," he commented when he saw the Simon Boss almost falling on the floor in pure relief and the blond, as soon as the older man left his side, started making a fool out of himself. "At least, they seem allies that inspire a bit of trust." He took a deep breath, absently noticing his lover was chuckling, and looked around. "I guess the Australians aren't coming."
"We dealt the blow, back then." Skull yawned, for real this time.
"Then, we only lack one chess piece."
"Yes, but first…" Reborn took Leon, that turned into the green gun, "it's showtime."
Tsuna sipped his wine, enjoying the chaos, for once, and making sure Byakuran stayed behind him. Usually, it was his duty to defuse it. He eyed the bullets on the floor in front of him, the three butlers and two maids held down by some of his and Ienari's Elements and sighed.
"Kagami and Atsushi are coming with the mastermind, kora."
He tilted his head, noticing Ienari had other bullets on the floor, deflected by Vongola Guardians. Good. He nodded to his brother, that swallowed and took matters in his hands.
"Hayato, bring them in the dungeons. Kyouya, the new recruits. Dear guests, I apologize for this inconvenience, it seems someone tried to kill me and my trusted ally. Please, follow my Mist to the dining room, where we shall have a peaceful lunch."
One by one, the slightly shocked or severe-looking Bosses filed through the side door and took place on different tables the new butlers and maids were guiding them to. Tsuna lingered in his spot until the door was closed and at least the Cloud was in there, to check no one tried something funny.
He entrusted his glass to Viper and walked up to Ienari. "Are you ok?"
"Ah, yes, nii-san… what about you?" He had deflated, looking again like a teen and not like a Boss.
"I've been better, but no damage done." Colonnello, Skull and Fon re-joined him as the traitors were brought away.
Ienari made to say something, but the door to the entrance of the mansion opened again. Atsushi and Kagami entered without an announcement, carrying a man with handcuffs tied to a chain. They nodded to him and threw the man on the floor. He was the eldest butler, which wasn't a surprise.
"He's all yours, Ienari. See you on the other side."
"Thanks, nii-san."
"The Kumicho allying with a fake Decimo… where will Mafia end."
Tsuna turned his head, not stopping in his strides, to the butler and slowly smirked, eyes warming. "It will end with us, hopefully."
The shock in the wide eyes satisfied him, the door closed behind them and a dark-skinned butler led them to a round table in one corner, on the right of an empty one. No more neighbours, which suited him just fine. His brothers made to stay standing, he pushed them to sit through Flames alone. They were not thugs, they were his brothers, they better accepted that soon. Reborn didn't need that, anyway, because he sat at Tsuna's right just after pushing the chair under the brunet. And promptly opened the wine bottle to pour him some.
"You'll spoil me."
Reborn gave a dark chuckle, but no more. Tsuna silently sipped the beverage and wondered when his lover would stop feeding him Sun Flames to try getting him drunk. He didn't despise the idea, even if getting drunk meant being uncomfortable the day after. He would like to see where things could go, how he would act as drunk, with Reborn. Maybe shed away some more blockades? Byakuran put the bag of candies on the table, sat at the brunet's other side, and checked if there were any juices to drink. Kagami came to his aide by producing a bottle and pouring it to the young Sky.
"Thanks, Kacchan!"
Ryuunoiki tried not to laugh at that epithet. It was a monstrosity born from his brother's surname and the honorific Byakuran liked to abuse. A vowel more and, well, the joke wasn't lost on anyone in his family.
The door opened again and Ienari came in… followed by his Guardians and Vongola Nono… escorted by his father. Joyful.
The room became cold. Tsuna pushed down his own hatred to cover his Elements with his Sky Flames, effectively making them relax a bit. Kagami was the most expressive out of them, his snarl couldn't quite be repressed. Atsushi was as still as a rock, but his grey eyes were as stormy as Fon's. Colonnello busied himself with playing with cutleries, probably longing for his rifle by the way he held them. Skull exchanged one glance with Verde and both sighed, one with sadness and the other with a pinched nose's bridge. Viper took out his laptop and started typing. Reborn sneakily caught Tsuna's hand and squished it as if the brunet could disappear any moment.
Ienari stopped at the empty table and sent them an apologizing smile before regarding Nono, with eyes cold and almost foreign on his brother, and clapping his hands once. Tsuna felt strange at almost recognizing himself in him. Until then, the similarities between them had been very small, look aside. But, apparently, their protective streaks were the same. Go figure.
"You told him to not hold back, didn't you."
Reborn turned to him with a smirk, one hand on his chest in mock-hurt. "I wouldn't."
Oh, he sure would, the jerk. Tsuna hid his amusement behind the wine's glass and refocused on the Inheritance that was about to take place in the silent room. Ienari spoke to the guests in a dignified but cold manner, welcoming them once more and thanking them for their attendance. Nono cleared his throat, fake kind smile nowhere to be seen, and officially announced Ienari as Vongola Decimo with a solemn voice that, thankfully, left no space for protests. He caught the saddened glances towards the butlers he could not recognize anymore.
Ryuunoiki glanced briefly at the other guests as Nono took Don Vongola's hand to place the Sky Flames' blessing on the Sky Ring. The Americans were wearing varying degrees of smiles that hinted they were very pleased by this outcome. They probably thought Ienari was going to be easily manipulated, which was not the case but they would learn that on their skins the exact moment they tried it. He would gladly assist, though he knew he wouldn't be there to. De Guignes was batting her eyelashes while giggling, surrounded by many well-built bodyguards… Tsuna's opinion of that woman was worsening by the second, but, if the look on the Cloud's face was anything to go by, even she would learn how to behave. Hamilton and Marks were at the same table, whispering between themselves with hands in front of their mouths, nodding repeatedly. Zhao was right opposite of Tsuna's table, nursing a glass full of wine while looking around.
But Russians…
Sobolevskaya was oozing disappointment and hatred all over the place. She was nervously tapping a fork on the tablecloth, jaw clenched, fist tight around the clean glass. Oh, Tsuna was going to enjoy the war. On another note, she was not.
As Nono left, striding through the room and progressively looking older and weaker, as if the power he'd held during those years as Boss was literally dissipating, the brunet hummed to himself, ignoring the other retreating figure, and planned some small things. He was ready to bet that the Vongola Rain would volunteer as the first to come with them, maybe with Vongola Sun tagging along. He left the glass and intertwined his fingers under his chin, elbows on the table. He wasn't expecting a declaration of war or something alike. Instead, in true Mafia fashion, he expected a surprise attack in his turf.
Now, his borders were well-guarded and any entrance from Russia was checked but that was not enough. They could get in by changing flights, which was too wide a search to do. Also, there still were Oyabuns that didn't like Tsuna and what he was doing, so they could be plotting something behind his back. They were being monitored by undercover brothers of his, which was assuring and a great source of information. He had a lot of things to take care of once he returned home, first of all helping Nara's smart detective.
Anyway, his forces were training well and most of them were ready for the many missions that would need to be taken care of. His brothers were itching for some raids and he could feel that his Elements wanted a good pastime that could destress them. Redirect their anger towards Russia… it was a good idea but, somehow, Tsuna thought it would backfire. Not exactly against his own objectives.
He suddenly feared what Russian civilians would go through. He also pitied himself because of how much paperwork he would have to fill because of this major scuffle. Well, his brothers would get their fun, that comforted him. Small joys.
"Penny for your thoughts, Ryuunoiki?"
Tsuna looked up at Fon, untangling his fingers and sipping again his wine. "Do all of you like fighting?"
"They're all crazed fighters, but not me. I prefer my lab."
"Because you're weak, kora."
"And you're the pot calling the cattle back, Bakanello."
"I'm surrounded by idiots… I'm not counting you, Ryuunoiki," Viper started tapping faster on the laptop. "And, anyway, I don't fight if not strictly necessary. I take care of Illusions."
"I like fighting! Especially on my motorbike! They don't stand a chance!"
"I enjoy overpowering my enemies, but why the sudden question?"
The brunet chuckled under his breath. "Because there will be a lot of fights, in the next months."
Reborn leaned back in his chair and drummed his left fingers on his crossed thigh, reading the label of a closed wine bottle. He hadn't known it could be that important or interesting to do.
"Do you refer to the incoming conflict of interests or to the affairs in Japan?"
He looked at Verde, that was still noting down lip-read information. "Both," he sipped his wine. "If you don't want to fight, there's more to do."
"I volunteer," Viper lifted his hand, as if in class. "But, if my illusions can be helpful, I'll join the fight."
Tsuna hummed. "Illusions are useful even outside fights…" And he could think up many ways of using them to his advantage.
"I have devices that can be used remotely, but I'm more useful in a lab than on the battlefield."
Ryuunoiki tilted his head. "Devices… Can you describe me some?" Reborn tellingly face-palmed.
"I'm perfecting robots that can be controlled remotely. They can be used in battles, no need for humans to stay inside. I've recently finished working on shoes that can be used to fly, though they need to be tested. I have devised a… device that can measure Flames' power, I'm planning to make one smaller for easier usage, like a watch or a bracelet. Would be more comfortable," he mumbled, nibbling at the pen's cap. "This world also lacks weapons that require Flames to be used, that's what I want to focus on next. Rings, yes, there are many that channel the Flames, but what else can they do? The Flames' usefulness stops at that? No, there is a way."
"Such as?" Tsuna enjoyed his lover's glare and hid a smirk behind the glass, knowing the answer.
"The boxes," Verde started taking notes again, but on a topic different from info gathering. "I have trouble grasping how to squish something bigger in the box, but some experiments with Flames should do the trick. The attributes of each type can be useful in discovering how to build them. Of course, for that I will need many samples and a steady influx from donors. Flames are expensive and hard to find in such quantities…" He stopped, blinking up at Tsuna. "I'm not asking for funds."
The brunet tilted his head, "You don't need to. You'll have what you need."
Verde nodded at him. "Thank you."
The door opened again, a stream of butlers and maids with food filing in to serve their lunch. He checked his watch, a bit soon for a meal but no matter. He observed how they behaved and compared them to his manservants. There were differences, of course, considering in Japan traditional meals were served on low tables, but he could tell that they were well-trained. The plates made no sound as they were put on the tablecloths, their steps were also soundless and it was as if they were not there at all. He guessed the Vongola Cloud had done a great job. Also, the fact that there weren't only old people or white people was a choice he could agree with. His own brothers were not of the same race, what with men and women saved from trafficking rings and that decided to join the family.
Everyone began eating, Tsuna took his fork, longing for chopsticks, and did the same. The starters were typical Italian products, cheeses, mozzarellas, raw ham, salami, bresaola… There were pieces of fried dough among the neat composition. He didn't like dirtying his hands with food, even if others did, so he did his best with his cutleries and was surprised to see that even Skull was being careful.
He munched on the bit of raw ham around mozzarella and swallowed it down. "Skull, you don't need to." The Cloud blinked up at him. "Eat however you like, don't kill your personality." He slightly lifted his fork towards another table. "There's a lot worse."
Marks and Hamilton were completely uninterested in even trying to not use their hands. Tsuna knew there were cultures in which eating with hands was the normal, but he couldn't come to like it. He liked his hands clean, blood didn't count.
Skull, however, just smiled, "I don't want to… look like that."
The brunet held back a chuckle, sipping more wine. He felt a bit warmer.
"So, you've stopped."
Reborn smirked at him. "I want to see your endurance. Don't worry, I'll keep you in sight."
He sighed, "I do hope."
Just as everyone finished with their appetizers, the butlers silently gathered the empty plates and, as soon as they left, Ienari and the Vongola Storm stood to check that the guests were enjoying themselves. Tsuna was a bit bored, but the wine kept being refilled so he had that. The quiet fight between Colonnello and Reborn was a good background, even though they were fighting about who was the dumbest of the two. The brunet had a guess they were well-levelled, but kept it to himself. A look to Skull's barely repressed laughter made him understand that his thoughts were understood and shared.
A note was passed to him from his left, Verde nodded at him and resumed taking notes. Tsuna eyed the scribbled words, lip-read from the Russian table where only Sobolevskaya was sitting, surrounded by her bodyguards. Well, someone was as cocky as to think she didn't need to hide her lips. This was very interesting and useful. He passed the piece of paper to Kagami, that folded it after reading the contents and took his phone to probably inform Nara.
Thinking about the raven, he would bet the man was sleeping in the beasts' nest, cushioned by soft fur. Well, maybe he should take a souvenir for the detective, it was so easy. He caught Kagami's attention before he could send the message.
"Go to him. The den. Snatch a photo and send it to me. And take Byakuran with you, this will be very boring from now on."
The red-head nodded, sliding the phone back into his pocket, and excused himself from the table, taking the child like a sack of potatoes and confidently striding to the back door, where an hidden butler opened the way for him. Byakuran was holding onto his bag of candies and bottle of juice. Tsuna hummed under his breath and, only a few minutes later, a very cute image reached his device. He showed it to Reborn, that frowned.
"Why?"
"A present. I can't let my relationship with benefits with tantei-san decay."
"Sounds like a scandalous secret."
Tsuna turned golden eyes to his lover, smiling behind the empty glass. "Jealous?"
"What if?"
He wanted to roll his eyes. "And yet, my scandalous secret is right at my side, proudly showing itself to the world." He smirked, "I don't seem to be opposing that."
Reborn wisely shut his mouth and pouted into his own glass, the lightest blush on his left cheek. It was very endearing. His lover could act childish, at times. Every little thing Reborn showed him only made Tsuna fall more in love. Heh. To think he had fallen, in the end. How many times had he rejected… given up the idea? Marry a woman trained to be the wife of the Kumicho, that had been his fate.
He was lucky.
Tsuna refocused on his brother, that had just stopped at Dì èr's table. The atmosphere, there, seemed to be friendly and safe. But, as soon as Ienari approached the Russian woman, it immediately changed to a tense and unwelcoming one. His brother held the curt conversation without showing weakness to it or her open challenge. Small, untrue pleasantries later, Decimo moved over to where De Guignes was chatting one of her thug's ear away. She immediately turned to Ienari, batting her eyelashes. Tsuna felt more than saw another Vongola get to that table and then blinked at the Cloud's determined, threatening steps resounding through the room.
Ienari only slightly turned his head to his Element, perplexed. He seemed to call the teen's name, confused but holding the woman's shocked gaze. Tsuna patted Reborn's arm and left his hand there, catching his attention to redirect it to the strange thing happening on the other side of the room. Even Atsushi turned to look at them. Hibari Kyouya stopped right in front of the table, at Decimo's side, glared at De Guignes, making her tremble – Tsuna didn't know how she kept holding onto the almost shattering glass in her hand with how much she was shivering –, and took Ienari's hand… to place a kiss on its back. That done, he turned to the door and left.
Tsuna observed the dark blush on Ienari's cheeks. His brother followed the Cloud with his eyes before refocusing on the woman, that didn't stop trembling, and moved over to the next table. The brunet then turned to his lover, that was looking at him with crossed arms on his chest, as if accusing him.
"It's not my fault," he pouted, drinking his wine.
"No, right, and you did not push Dame-Nari in his arms."
"That was because their Bond was weak…"
"It's a weak excuse, Tsuna, and you know it."
"Says the one that showed him how to stake a claim, in the other room," he frowned.
"That had class." This time, Tsuna did roll his eyes.
"At least he's grown up a bit," Atsushi said, sighing to himself. "It's progress."
Ryuunoiki nodded and let his lover refill the glasses with wine. Ienari slowly but surely made his way to their table. The blush resisted, though lighter. He smiled, more relaxed by knowing the tour was near its end.
"Nii-san, how is it going?"
Tsuna smiled at his brother, "quite fine. The food is good and I'm afraid we'll finish the wine's stock." He took his glass, that was promptly refilled by his lover.
Ienari chuckled. "That's ok. We have plenty."
"Congratulations on your Inheritance," he lifted his glass.
"Thank you, nii-san." Decimo slightly bowed. "We won't see Nono again, after this."
"Hopefully." Tsuna sighed. "But we should enjoy this feast now, right?"
Ienari nodded with a smile. "Yeah, we should."
Let me know what you think! See ya!