ChApTeR tEn – Recon 101: An amateur's guide to observation

Disclaimer:

So, I've broken the tradition of the past few chapters, by placing a definition instead of a quote. Why? Because none of the quotes I found really fit this chapter. (If you're wondering)


Observation

(ob-zur-vey-shuh n)

noun

1. the action or process of closely observing or monitoring something or someone.

Tsuna continued down the narrow road, listening to some drunkard as he loudly sang the lyrics of a popular pop song, though his voice was completely different from that of the cute, girl's group who originally sang it. Most of the bars and shops as he passed by were closing for the morning, seeing as they were open all night. "Red Rose. Red Rose" he muttered under his breath, the further he walked. Time was all he could think of. Oh, and the prospect of this 'death race'. Was his grandfather crazy? Well, crazier than usual?

This was plain suicide on his part. "Red Rose!" he shouted and he ran towards the small bar settled cosily from the hustle and bustle from the city. There was a large wooden sign with the loopy writing of 'Red Rose' with an engraved rose at the side, its thorns seemingly running down from the plank to the wall. He could see a rather muscular woman closing the sign from 'Open' to 'Close' and he knew that must be Big Aoi. He knocked against the glass door. When she turned, he took in her features. She was wearing a purple wig, wore bright pink lipstick and had an Adam's….OHHHH. She was a HE. "What do you want kid?" the man gruffly asked, taking out the cigarette from his mouth before he reopened the door.

"Jin-san sent me" Tsuna said when the man…err…woman, glared down at him, his light beard rather off putting and confusing while he wore a tight, purple dress. The glare reduced to a frown.

"Come in then" the man said and Tsuna looked inside but didn't move. "I don't have all day. Get inside" the man added and used his free hand to give him a little push. Tsuna braced himself on the wall before continuing in the bar. "Sit" the man demanded and Tsuna tentatively looked around before sitting down one of the stools near the counter. "Why did Jin send you here?" he asked as he took up the ashtray and flicked some of the ash of his cigarette inside of it.

"I need information" Tsuna said as he straightened his back in an attempt to seem tall. It only made Aoi chuckle. "I need to find Ryo so I can get to Yokkaichi" he added and Aoi studied him for a second.

"What's your name, kid?" he asked as his hip leaned against the counter.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi" Tsuna said and whatever reaction he was expecting, didn't come. The man just kept looking at him, no visible change at hearing his name.

"Alright, I'll help you but it comes at a cost" Aoi said as he stepped behind his counter. "Jin told you that I would expect a trade, right?" he asked and Tsuna nodded. He watched as Aoi bent down and rummaged around for a while, the sound of bottles knocking against each other, made Tsuna more nervous than he was. "Right, here it is" he muttered to himself and when Aoi stood up again, Tsuna gulped at the large, yellow envelope in his hand. He threw it on the counter and crossed his arms.

"Open it" he demanded and with shaky hands, Tsuna did as he was instructed. There were two pictures. One of a pudgy bald man, in his fifties wearing a suit, a phone to his ear as he stood near a sleek black car, the next was of a pretty young woman around her twenties, wearing a short pink dress, had long flowing blonde hair though she was certainly Japanese guessing from her slightly slanted eyes, had a slightly round face and a beauty mark near her right eye.

"This is what I want you to do. Listen carefully because I'm not going to repeat myself. Memorize their faces. You have five minutes before I take back those pictures. You don't need to know who they are, or anything about them. All you need to do is what I tell you to do" he said as Tsuna considered their faces.

"When you're done, I'm going to give you exact taxi fare to get to Comfortable Hotel* and back, it's not that far from here so it won't be too expensive. They'll arrive at the hotel at around 10:53 am and will stay in the lobby until 11:05 am. While you're there, I want you to use this" Aoi said placing a camera down on the counter. "I need you to take pictures for me. I need to get pictures of them, TOGETHER. Touching, holding hands, all and any affectionate or intimate touches, I want them photographed" Aoi said.

"Before I do this, I have two requests" Tsuna said and Aoi quirked an eyebrow. He had seen in the last movie he watched, how the protagonist had negotiated his way into getting exactly what he happened. Of course that was fiction and this was real life (is it now?), but he had to try. The worst he could get was a no. "One, I need a watch, a wrist watch would be better if you had one" he told him and Aoi smirked but nodded for him to continue. "Two, I need to know if you can fix this phone or get me a new one. I don't care if it's old or new, I need a working phone. Just in case, you never know" he added as he took out the phone his grandfather had left for him.

"That's it?" Aoi asked and Tsuna released a quiet 'huh'. "It's reasonable enough. I can get you that wrist watch now, but the phone will have to wait" he added.

"Exactly how much pictures do you want?" Tsuna asked as he took up the camera.

"The number doesn't matter. It's the content that I want. Wait right here" Aoi said and he disappeared in the back once more. While Tsuna tinkered with the camera, examining it like he would a test paper, Aoi came back out with a bland leather wrist watch. "There you go hot shot" Aoi chuckled as he placed it down on the counter with the taxi fare.

"Thank you Aoi-san" Tsuna said as he placed the camera down before he took up both the wrist watch as well as the money. He separated the money he had for the death race with that from the money he got from Aoi.

"I have a friend who will look into this. If it can't be fixed, I'll get you a new one" Aoi said as Tsuna studied the pictures. "You ever did recon work in your life before kid?" he asked.

"Oh, this is recon?" Tsuna asked and Aoi's eyes widened. Was he serious?!

"You're kidding right?" Aoi asked and Tsuna just innocently blinked. "You're not, are you?" he added with a sigh.

"No, I'm not" Tsuna said as he strapped the camera around his neck. "Wish me luck" Tsuna added with a happy grin on his face as he moved to the door. He had no clue as to what he was going to do, but all he knew was that he had to get this done.

"Wait, wait, wait" Aoi called him back. He looked at Tsuna for a minute before he sighed again. "One second" Aoi said and for what felt like the third time, he disappeared. Tsuna looked down at the wrist watch. 10:00 am. "Here you go" Aoi approached, a little white book in his hand. "I can't believe Jin sent me a green horn" he muttered as Tsuna looked down at the neatly written words of 'Guide book'.

"Is this a manual about recon?" Tsuna asked flipping through the pages. Aoi nodded and looked at him. "Who wrote it?" he added when he didn't see the name of the author.

"I did" Aoi said and Tsuna's eyes widened. "Don't ask me why or how. Just get going" Aoi barked and Tsuna nodded before he was out of the door once more. "Soke-sama, what are you even thinking letting a kid like that into this race?" he muttered, watching as the boy as he left, a huge grin on his face. Aoi smirked as he caught sight of familiar tuft of shimmering whitish gold hair that shot him a secret grin. Huh….that was why…. "You sneaky bastard" he chuckled.


Sitting in the warm backseat of the taxi, Tsuna opened the book Aoi had given him. 'Recon 101: A rookie's guide to accurate observation'. Tsuna almost smirked. He flipped to the first page that was written in perfect hand writing, almost similar to that of his mother's.

"What does recon even stand for? Do you know?

Of course you don't know, because you're a rookie and that's why you're reading this.

Recon is short for reconnaissance.

What does that mean?

It means that if you're on a recon mission, then your task is to obtain information.

How do you do that?

You obtain your needed information from observing your target or area. Through the powers of observation, you will be able to successfully gain vital information.

So, how do you observe your target or area?

Through visual methods or deduction methods, but for now, we'll remain on the visual portion of observation.

But hold on~

How are you going to perform such methods?

Why, through the planning process of recon, of course!

Wait…what is the planning process?

Well, I'm glad you asked, the planning process is where…." Tsuna stopped reading. This book, it was kinda schizophrenic.

"You're kinda young to be travelling on your own" the driver made small talk. Tsuna politely smiled and nodded before he continued reading.

"…each person should create a list for their recon. For starters, you must ask yourself: Who or what is your target? Do you have it?

Yes?

Good!

Secondly on your list, you should do some preparatory investigation!

OOOOH, what is that?

Well, that is the part of the planning process, where you should get some background information on your target or target area.

For example, if you're dealing with a person, you should pay special attention to their schedules, like their daily routines, places that they frequent such as their favourite restaurants. You know information that would prove imperative in the long run, seeing as it helps with your recon.

"Thirdly, you should watch over your target first-hand, also known as scouting!

PS: Be as discreet as possible! Don't let them see that you're following them!

But wait, why should you observe your target?

I'm glad you asked!

Looking over your target, gives you the opportunity to take visual evidence.

Like what?

Like pictures of course! Photos help with creating a plan!

Please note: When taking pictures, please choose a non-conspicuous place, one where you can take them without drawing attention to yourself. It's about discretion, remember that!" Tsuna looked up from the book when he felt the car stop.

"We're here" the driver said and Tsuna unlocked the door. "Be careful, boy. The world out there isn't a nice place" he added with a kind expression on his face. Tsuna nodded and without another word, he exited the taxi. He stepped forward and checked his watch. 10:47 am. He had six minutes to find a 'non-conspicuous' place to snap the pictures of the man arriving with the woman. He stood outside the hotel, and looked around the entrance.

There was a steady string of people entering and exiting, though none paid too much attention to him. Visual observation. Directly opposite the main entrance was a beautiful view of the ocean, a place that seemed to attract a flow of tourists (around five to six people for the most). There was a large mat with the logo and words "Comfortable Hotel: Stay with us, stay with Comfort", underneath the large, automatic slide through doors. Leading inside, as soon as one stepped through those doors, there were around three women and two men sitting behind the large C shaped desk, who served to greet the guests. One of the women was subtlety looking at him and he knew then that he was starting to look suspicious so he walked off.

No attention to yourself, remember that Tsuna. He walked to the railing, blending into the tourists who chattered around him. "Eureka moment" Tsuna thought to himself as he twisted his body to the hotel. He lifted the camera and zoomed the lens in. "Bingo" he whispered to himself and he smirked before lifting his wrist watch to his face. He had two minutes to spare before the man and woman got there. He even had a great view of inside the quaint lobby with modest seating arrangements, the one he knew they would go to. He knew he couldn't just walk into the hotel without a reservation. But what if he had to go inside? What would he do? Damn it. No use in worrying now, if it comes down to that, you'll have to improvise.

"Hello there little boy" a pasty woman said in English. "Are you lost?" she asked as she got into his personal space and Tsuna tried not to flinch at her hot breath fanning across his cheek.

"No, I'm waiting for my parents" Tsuna replied with rather broken English. Even if he could read the other language, didn't mean he could speak it fluently. The woman though unsatisfied with his answer, left him alone anyway. Just in time too.

The sleek car arrived in front of the hotel. He had his camera ready before he positioned it to the frozen sea. He glanced at the car, when the driver got out to open the door. He twisted his body forty five degrees. Not towards the sea or the hotel, but just in between. He pretended to take pictures of the people there. Blonde hair.

He turned and snapped pictures of the woman as she stepped out the car, her hand tightly wrapped around the man's hand. He was wearing a suit again, though it was a blue one that time. The woman on the other hand, wore a sleek red dress that fell to her ankles, a white fluffy jacket around her, and the same color as her white ear muffs. She looked like a beautiful princess while the man looked like slippery frog.

Frog-man as Tsuna decided to call him, leaned in to whisper something to her and she coyly placed a hand over her mouth as she giggled. He smiled and he snapped a picture as his hand slid dangerously to her lower back. He stopped snapping pictures of them and turned around to his environment, to make it seem that he was taking pictures of the walkway.

He could feel the driver's gaze on him. He watched from the corner of his eyes as they entered the main entrance, said hello to the five persons at the desk before they disappeared down the one hallway, Tsuna had no visual of. Shit. He checked his wrist watch. Check down thirty seconds, he told himself as his leg bounced up and down. When his count was finished, he headed towards the hotel.

"Ano, excuse me" he said. The woman who had been watching him, looked up, a sneer already on her face. "Can I use your bathroom, please?" he asked with a pathetic look on his face.

"Are you staying at our hotel?" the woman asked with a nasal voice. He nearly snickered. "If you don't have a reservation here, you can't go in" she told him. He crossed his legs and the others looked over at him as he tapped against the counter.

"Please, I have to go! I'm waiting for my parents to come, I've been waiting for a long time….Please~" he clasped his hands together.

"Come on, don't be such a hard ass. He's just a little kid" one of the other girls said to her and Tsuna nodded at them. Come on, let's get this under way.

"Fine" the girl relented and pointed to exactly where the man as well as the woman walked. "Go down there, it's on the right. If you're not out of there in ten minutes, I'll come look for you myself and kick you out" she snorted and Tsuna bowed, thanked her before he ran down the hall. His eyes darted everywhere in his desperate search, when he finally spotted them. They were sitting in one of the secluded and cosier ends of the lobby. He looked both left and right. The coast was clear. 10:58 am. He had seven minutes worth of picture taking.


"You did it" Aoi said clearly surprised. He looked through the pictures, a satisfied expression brushing over his stern facial features.

"Like I told Jin-san. I have a sister counting on me, and I'm not going to let her down" Tsuna said as he sat down. Aoi glanced at him. What a mature thing for a ten year old to say. But then again, he was Soke-sama's grandson and the famed Blue Angel's son, so he could imagine just what hell they placed him through. They were a rather sadistic duo, Aoi knew that.

"A little sister, huh?" Aoi hummed as he placed the phone on the counter. "My friend took a look at your phone and wiped away the virus. All data from before was lost, but its clean and workable now" he said and Tsuna took it up with thanks clearly written in his eyes.

He took out the cigarette from his mouth and watched as Tsuna gently placed it back in his pocket. Tsuna was going to unwrap the strap of the camera from his neck, when Aoi held his hand up in the air. "You keep it. You're going to need that more than I do" he said and smirked when Tsuna deeply bowed. "About the second end of our deal. Information on Ryo-kun" Aoi addressed and Tsuna shot up. "Right now, from what my contacts say, he'll be at Chita-Handa Station. Apparently he has some business there. If you want to hitch a ride to Yokkaichi from Ryo-kun, you're going to have to board a train from Rinku-Tokoname station to Chita-Handa station" Aoi said and slapped a train ticket on the counter. Tsuna's eyes widened. "Cough it up" he said opening his hand. Tsuna got out his money and counted what he believed what was the right amount before placing it in Aoi's outstretched palm.

"Thank you for all that you've done for me, Aoi-san" Tsuna said as he placed the ticket in his front pocket of his jacket.

"Word to the wise kid, secure your things. There will be people ready to pick pocket you and if you lost all your money, you'll be in deep shit, you know" Aoi said as he secured the pictures he got from Tsuna under the counter.

"What does Ryo-kun look like?" Tsuna asked and Aoi smirked. He did not like that smile.

"Oh, you'll know when you see him. He's not hard to miss" Aoi said and Tsuna gulped. "Good luck in getting to Yokkaichi. Maybe that silly guidebook of mine will help you" he added and Tsuna bowed once more.

"Thank you Aoi-san. Now I must be on my way" he said and Aoi shook his head as the kid waved at him before storming out of his café. He was surely a weird one. But he had potential. Aoi had to give him that.

"Let's see how far he goes" he said to himself before he looked down at the pictures and ran a knife through them. He had pigs to slaughter.


"Do you think that maybe you should've held back a little?" Kaito asked the boy as he calmly examined the writhing body on the filthy floor.

One of the candidates, some nobody who actually believed he would pounce on Soke-sama's grandson, was whimpering where he was slumped on the ground. His right hand was limply placed behind his back, the bone pushing through skin and clothes from where the other boy had broken it.

Kaito one of the overseers of the race, knew that the crying boy hadn't broken any of the rules, but he had moved in hopes of hurting Tsunayoshi-sama and that was why the other boy had intervened. The boy with platinum blonde hair that bordered on white, bent down. Huh, so he was the one who Soke-sama instructed to…Kaito smirked behind his kabuki mask.

"He Is OfF lImItS" the boy hoarsely said in a voice that was as unintelligent as that of a toddler's. The boy with the broken arm rapidly nodded and the other one got up.

"How much has it been since the race started?" Kaito asked, watching with boredom as the kid wiped away blood from his knuckles.

"SeVeN" the boy crooned and turned to smile at Kaito who whistled. He had known about some of the other's disapproval of Tsunayoshi-sama but seven at the start was a lot. It seemed like their parent's discontentment of Soke-sama's grandson travelled to their kids who were allowed entry into the race. That had to be one of the reasons why they even thought about hurting Soke-sama's grandson. Or it could be that maybe, Tsunayoshi-sama was easy pickings for people like them….. "He Is NoT WeAk" the boy said as though reading his mind. His eyes never left the boy's back, the one who crawled out of the alley with his broken hand and crushed ego.

"I never said he was" Kaito refuted but the blonde just snorted before looking at Tsuna who walked past them, unaware as usual. He couldn't help the softening of his eyes as the boy disappeared down the street. "To our missions" he saluted and the boy nodded at him before leaving. "You poor, poor bastards" he whispered as he looked up at the grey skies. They thought Tsuna was going to be an easy target. How wrong they were.


A/N: So who exactly is this delightfully deranged guardian angel? Well….that's one of the answers you'll get in the future chapters.

*There is a real Comfort Hotel in Japan, but I decided to create a fictional hotel based on that one. That also means that the actual kilometres from Chubu Airport to Comfortable will be completely different from the real Comfort hotel and thus the time to get to the hotel will differ as well.

Information found in this chapter was found off the internet. If there was any contradictions, as I've said before, ignore them.

Things to note:

1) When I said that the boy who had his hand broken was a 'nobody', I was referring to the hierarchy of the Matsuoka clan that will be revealed in time.

2) Just because they're shinobi, I do not plan to use the ranks that we see in Naruto (genin, chunin….) as that hierarchy.

3) We'll see that within the clan, there's some who don't want Tsuna to succeed in both the death race and as the heir. As a result some are for Tsuna, while others are against him. Therefore resulting in a sort of strife in the clan.

4) What does the Soke has to do with the boy referenced in the final paragraph of the fic?

Again, you'll have to wait and see.

To Yuki: Thank you as always for your review.

Huh….I can see it now. XD Well, I was going for mysterious, but I totally didn't have that Kaito in mind when I created my Kaito.

To Hi7807: ^.^ I would so love to see that poster lol. As for Tsuna's grandfather….he can be both bad and good. You'll see.

To LordGhostStriker: Pfftt. You can keep your salty bucks, kind sir.

You'll see what I mean when the story rolls around. I won't spoil anything, but nah….you'll see.

To thecatleader: Your name is just adorable…Thank you for your review \O/

To Hedybear: *bows* Thank you.