thanks to Kayumeee and Emrys Ivy for the reviews! it honestly completely left my mind that you guys reviewed because I remembered reading them days ago in my emails and not this site, but they made me very happy so I'm very grateful!

so... I realized I was updating too often and was running out of chapters to post so here I am on the grind to write again.

hopefully this goes well?

Iza's at Italy now, so beware the large amount of bold text! though there isn't that much cause she meets a certain someone... kek

Chapter 19: Sanguigno Decimo

"Here enters the upcoming Sanguigno Decimo, Izanami Sanguigno!"

When my dad said he was determined to make me his heir, I underestimated his resilience in doing so. As if he were afraid of me backing out of it, he immediately arranged a party to announce my new status as Sanguigno Decimo. So here I was, at this said party. But when he said he was hosting a party, I had expected it to be a small gathering of allies of the Sanguigno famiglia in a fancy Italian restaurant, not... whatever the fuck this is.

Determined not to embarrass myself now that I carried the title as Sanguigno Decimo, I gracefully strode down the grand staircase with the smile my dad trained me to wear: one that was guarded yet elegant. Essentially, I was supposed to act like I had been trained for this kind of thing my entire life, not like the sixteen year old who had just barely found out about her mafia lineage and impulsively decided to follow her dad's footsteps because she wanted to escape.

Not at all!

I maintained my smile, trying my hardest not to reveal the anxiety and panic inside of me. "Thank you for attending! I'm truly honored to have all of you here to celebrate with me. I trust that though I am young, you do not underestimate me." I attempted to make my smile appear more chilling. "For the moment you let your guard down will be your last."

Now, hearing something like that at a party would instantly give you bad vibes, right?

That's what I initially thought, but apparently things were different in the mafia. Getting a good first impression was key in these kinds of parties, and the last thing you wanted was to give off the impression that you were weak and undignified. I hated to admit it, but the mafia was full of backstabbing, lying, and deceit, especially in your own famiglia. Giving off the image that you would not hesitate to slit anyone's throat would only benefit you in the end, was what I learned.

I noted the pleased looks on the majority of the guests, as well as some amused ones. That meant I passed... for now. The music commenced, and that signaled everyone to take their attention off of me and enjoy the party. Except, again, this was a mafia party. There was no such thing as enjoying the party, only gathering information. I however was not the Sanguigno Decimo yet, so I chose to go to the refreshments table.

As I grabbed a glass of water (as I was underage) I took the opportunity to observe the ballroom that the Sanguigno famiglia apparently owned. It was decorated very extravagantly, almost as if this was a royal ball hosted by a king. I didn't know how powerful the mafia was in Italy, and just how much influence they really had until now. Coming to Italy and witnessing it myself really did make me realize what kind of world I was stepping into, but I couldn't regret things now. Not when I was already here, in a fancy dress filled with murderers and the like.

What a life I chose to live, huh?

"Pardon me, Sanguigno Decimo, but are you occupied?"

I turned to see someone I've never seen before, which made sense given my dad invited literally everyone in the mafia. I didn't see anyone from the Vongola though, but I guess it made sense given the circumstances I left in. Talk about first impressions though, this guy chose to address me by a title I had not yet received. I narrowed my eyes. "Lady Sanguigno would do, sir, for my father has yet to retire from his position."

He gave a nervous smile. "Ah yes, of course of course! It was my mistake, however I didn't want to call you Lady for fear you would take offense. After all, you are only sixteen, are you not?"

...Was my earlier warning not enough? I sent a polite smile and chose to ignore the question. "I am merciful, so I will forgive you. Did you have any business with me?"

He looked irked for a second, as if he expected me to get offended by his question, but he quickly returned to a smile that appeared to be sly. "I was simply wondering something, is all. Is the party hosted because of the current turmoil taking place in the Vongola? You are, after all, sworn enemies, correct?"

I blinked. Turmoil? What turmoil? I wasn't told of this, is something happening in Japan...?

Another voice cut in smoothly. "If they were sworn enemies they wouldn't have sent me here, would they, sir?"

The sketchy man's eyes widened and he looked like he wanted to escape. "P-pardon me, Cavallone Decimo! I was unaware you were attending, I mean, I have to excuse myself, apologies-!"

I blinked as I watched him scurry away, and I looked at the owner of the new voice. Though I also didn't know who this Cavallone Decimo was, he stood out among the rest of the guests here, considering he looked to be in his early twenties compared to the average age of the guests being forty.

He turned to me with a polite smile. "Hi there! I had some things I wanted to discuss with you, but it seemed the rat was trying to stir up conflict and I wanted to help out a fellow ally. I'm Dino Cavallone, the Cavallone Decimo and Tsuna's big bro!"

He... speaks Japanese? And he called Tsuna by his first name...? Wait, Cavallone... Cavallone... ah, I learned this! Cavallone is an ally of the Vongola. Then why'd he call me an ally?

He laughed awkwardly. "I understand your confusion. That means the Sanguigno Nono didn't really tell you much about what's going on, huh?"

I caved. "Do you know if Tsuna is okay? And Takeshi? What's going on with the Vongola? Is that affecting Tsuna, since he's the Decimo? Is something wrong?"

He blinked, and then smiled. "How about we talk somewhere more private?"

I blinked, feeling eyes on us, and nodded. "Sounds like a good idea."

We both agreed to go to the balcony, and luckily it was empty. After I shut the balcony door I felt all my nerves spill out and my shoulders relaxed.

He laughed at me. "Do you trust anyone who speaks Japanese? This would be dangerous if the person standing here wasn't me, Izanami-chan. Ah, I can call you that, right?"

I shrugged. "Go for it." I looked at the sky. "Even if you weren't someone with good intentions, I wanted to know what was going on. Besides, I'm confident in my abilities. I could probably take you."

He chuckled. "No wonder Reborn and Iemitsu wanted you as the Lightning Guardian." He leaned against the rails, deep in thought. "To sum things up for you quickly, Tsuna is now battling someone for the seat of Vongola Decimo. You need both the Vongola Nono's and the External Advisor's vote for the next Vongola boss, and Vongola Nono suddenly changed his vote to his son, Xanxus."

I frowned. "Isn't that a good thing? Better that this Xanxus guy get it than Tsuna, who never asked for this kind of life in the first place! This way all of Namimori can return to being a peaceful town, and I can-" Ah... I can't return anymore. I need to stop doing this, I need to stop doing this-

Dino's gaze turned dark. "Xanxus is no merciful man, Izanami-chan. He has already killed all of the other Decimo candidates, he won't spare Tsuna even if Tsuna gives up his position. And it won't just be Tsuna... it'd be his entire famiglia, too."

I bit my lip. "So he has no choice then. He has to fight for a position he doesn't want, because otherwise he's going to die and get his friends killed with him." This is why Tou-san didn't tell me anything, shit! I shouldn't have left, I shouldn't have left-!

"Which is why I'm talking to you right now, the next Sanguigno Decimo."

I blinked. "What do I have to do with this?"

Dino turned to me with a determined gaze. "Right now, the Vongola and the Sanguigno are on bad terms, what with the extreme hatred between the External Advisor of Vongola and the Sanguigno Nono. However, once you and Tsuna become the respective bosses, you can mend the strained relations!"

I frowned. "What if the new External Advisor is someone I can't get along with?"

He blinked, and gave a nervous laugh. "Ah... I'm positive he's not."

"What, there's already a potential candidate or something?"

Dino grinned. "Yeah, it's your boyfriend!"

I deadpanned. "But I don't have a-" My eyes widened. No... No way. There's no way he would agree to something like that!

"I know what you're thinking! But trust me! I have a flight to Japan in a few hours because I've been tasked with the role of training him! Once I can convince him to take part in the battle, I'm sure I'll find a way to get him to agree to the role!"

I didn't want to tell him that I didn't think highly of Hibari at the moment, but at least it wasn't to the point where I despised him or anything! ...Maybe a little, I mean I had hopes that maybe he would reciprocate some sort of feelings but that's besides the point-!

I tried to change the topic. "But this is something that won't be happening for years now. Instead of this I could've just helped out by being the Lightning Guardian thing, that means I fight for Tsuna right-?!"

Dino shook his head. "If you had become the Lightning Guardian, you would essentially be throwing away your last name and your familial relations, immediately becoming a member of the Vongola. Your father wouldn't just stand still and let this happen, and a war between the Sanguigno and the Vongola may break out. Both Iemitsu and Reborn were dead set on risking a potential war so that they could have you on Tsuna's side, but as someone who's more of an outsider I think this is the better option."

...A war...

"Now I feel like my reason for choosing to be here is a bit stupid."

He blinked. "Why did you choose the Sanguigno over the Vongola? You spent a majority of your life in Namimori with all those people, right? I heard you were basically family to the Yamamotos as well..."

I pursed my lips. "I... wanted to escape. The Namimori I grew up in wouldn't be the same anymore, and I couldn't bear to witness that change. If I left, I could keep my precious memories of Namimori and not have the illusion broken, I guess." I clenched my fists. "Such a selfish reason, yet it was the right choice to make in the end. Who would've thought?"

Dino pat my head. "There's nothing wrong with being a little selfish. Not everyone is selfless like Tsuna, after all." He laughed. "I'll exchange information with you, if you want. Updates on their results and stuff."

"...Can I ask for a selfish favor?"

He smiled. "Of course."

"Can you just send me one text?"

Two weeks passed after the party, and a single text was sent that made me relax instantly.

They won.

the time skip was lazy on my part, I'm sorry -w-

I figured that she wouldn't really have much of an important role during the arc anyway because she's in Italy so... what can you do?

anyways, hope all of this made sense. I'll admit, this was kind of an excuse to write a chapter in a ball room with an extravagant party, but I didn't really use it for much other than pure setting cause she just talked to Dino anyway. oh well.

hope you enjoyed!

ally