So, almost ready to move. Almost. Since it's going to be a few thousand miles (with only two soccer-mom-style cars as transport), I've been having to do a lot of organization and even more downsizing. The parents are helping with the move itself - thus two cars instead of one - and have offered to send up things such as books that won't suffer for being left in a box for a while (unlike my pet rabbit, who is going to hate the drive) and also aren't going to be needed immediately, like clothes and such. Then I will be unpacking, settling in, starting up a new job, and possibly getting married. Possibly. Since, you know, large part of the reason I'm moving is that my fiance lives where I'm headed. (We've been best friends forever. Or twelve years, as the case may be. The 'engaged' bit happened without a 'dating' bit ever cropping up, but it works so far, although we're going to wait on wedding plans until after we make sure we won't want to strangle each other in close quarters for extended periods of time.)
Anyway, fair warning, it'll be a bit before I settle in enough to have a schedule, so updates will be spotty. (There is Mythos planned from this, but not yet decided up. Who wants Viper/Mammon POV and who wants Colonello? Or Kuro, I suppose. And possibly either Mammon, Bel, or Travail on left-behind Varia-panic for the Mardyakowr part II?)
Zeal
(or 'overzealousness', as the case may be)
"Huh," Colonnello commented out loud, eying the international news broadcast in Mafia Land's 'security break room', which was really more a news lounge with several different television stations running subtitles around the room and a number of newspapers stacked neatly by region and language. (Sound was generally kept off unless or until someone turned one on, to keep down noise confusion.)
He hopped up to smack the volume knob, and the newscaster's voice immediately caught the attention of the three others also in the room.
"-have been completely without communications for over six hours. The borders to both North and South Korea have been locked down and all air-travel through the area has been redirected or cancelled. Cell towers, landlines, sattelites, and even handheld radios and walkie-talkies are incapable of sending or receiving a signal within either of the Koreas at this time. No one seems certain what is happening or why, but for the moment it seems all anyone outside the country can do is wait."
"... is that possible?" one of the newer security guys set his coffee down, eying the screen dubiously.
"Has to be, if it's happened," the head of the ferry screening knocked back the last of his juice—the guy never drank anything but orange juice on the job—and stood up. "Hell if I know how, though. Got anything, Colonnello?"
"It's not military," Colonnello informed. He'd been very good about keeping up-to-date on military capabilities for every major country in the world, and a number of the smaller ones, besides. "It doesn't sound Mafia, either, but Verde could probably manage something like it. Flame tech can pull off things that normal electrics and machinery can't. Might be a Geondal* experiment, or something like North coming down on South again. Won't know until we either hear more or send someone to check it out."
Most interesting thing to crop up on international news in years, and it had to be something they hardly knew anything about. Damn reporter inefficiency.
(Colonnello found out more the next day, when Viper called him to complain. Viper.)
xxxx
Tsuna loved his people. He really did. He loved them with the same unconditional ferocity with which a mother bear loved her cubs, and with several times more potential for mass destruction in their defense.
That did not change the fact that they were sometimes a bit… overzealous on his behalf.
(Tsuna was starting to get the distinct feeling that he shouldn't leave them unattended.)
He was going to have to explain that, no, conquering countries was not appropriate, no matter how much they wanted the research that was rumored to be there somewhere.
(Reborn was silently laughing at him. Just for that, he was getting to help with the paperwork that would inevitably come of this.)
"… you weren't kidding about them being a bit too enthusiastic about getting you things," Xanxus observed, sounding like he wasn't sure whether to join Reborn's soundless laughter or bang his head against the nearest wall.
Tsuna groaned, letting his head thump down on the rather nice desk of the formerly unused office he'd appropriated. "I still have all of Shī's 'newly conquered' to organize. I have to start sorting out the mess that is Vongola tomorrow. I don't want to rule Korea!"
Xanxus plucked the papers that had arrived less than an hour ago out of his loose grip and started flipping through them, his eyebrows creeping a little further up his forehead with each page. "… Korea wasn't one country two days ago," he observed after a few moments of shuffling papers.
"I know," Tsuna informed the hardwood.
"The Koreas dropped out of international news for one day," Xanxus continued, picking his way through the kanji. "That should not be enough time to restructure countries and put in a new government."
"I know," Tsuna repeated, pushing himself back upright as he mentally resigned himself to having his workload for the next few months tripled at least.
"You are the legal monarch of a newly restructured country," Xanxus lowered the papers, a certain level of incredulous disbelief in his voice.
"I know," Tsuna groaned, letting his head bang down on the desk again.
"Have you ever even been to Korea?" the Wrath asked.
"No," Tsuna growled, raising his head to glare balefully at the papers in Xanxus' hand. "Kuro-san and the Sora are grounded. I do not need more work! I have enough to handle right now as it is!"
Reborn's laughter stopped being silent.
"Keep laughing, Reborn," Tsuna offered him a smile that actually did make the laughter cut off as Reborn stilled warily, "I'll put you in as regent until I have time to deal with it."
Xanxus snickered, but since it was at Reborn's expense Tsuna decided to let it go as he dug out clean paper and started writing.
Reborn drooped, and Tsuna took pity on him. He wouldn't really make Reborn handle it on his own; that would be mean. However, he trusted Reborn more than he trusted most of his idiots with something like this, so he'd still have to oversee—he'd at least be good about keeping himself and Tsuna updated on what was actually going on with his new country. (Gah! New countries were not something middle school kids were supposed to have to worry about! New crime syndicates were bad enough!)
Tsuna promptly dropped a list in front of him, with notes on the people, resources, government assets, military, and civilian things he needed to know about and a second list of people in the Sora and Triads who had to help clean up the mess they'd decided to go and acquire. There was no way the Sora had managed on their own, but Shī had better not have endorsed it, or he was more grounded than Kuro! (Shī, at least, should know better.)
(Reborn eyed the list and went from drooping to an evil smirk. He'd be fine.)
"All right," Tsuna stood up, deciding to ignore his smaller Sun, "How much still needs to be taken care of on the security front?"
Korea later. Security now. He very much doubted Korea was going anywhere—at least Kuro had gotten a basic governmental structure set up. Just because Tsuna was going to have final say didn't mean they couldn't handle themselves for a day or three.
(And after that, Reborn could handle them for a while.)
xxxx
Skull picked his way around stacks of paper in Squalo's office—he was obviously the glorified secretary of the Varia—hopped up onto what might be considered a visitor's chair, and politely waited until the Inverted Rain finished growling his way through a report and acknowledge him properly.
"What is it, mini-Cloud?"
Skull passed him four more folders, each with a target dossier inside, "We can't have these overlooked."
Squalo flipped the first one open and made an interesting face, "Yeah, no. I'll sort out an extra security detail with Kuro and Shī, and let the Vindice know if they don't already," he groaned, rubbing a hand over his face, "Who the hell knew announcing the Decimo would be this much trouble?"
Skull grinned, "Anyone who's lived with him for more than a month," he informed, deliberately chirpy just to see Squalo scowl.
Tsuna was bad for his sense of self-preservation. (Then again, none of Tsuna's would knowingly cause true harm to another of his, and since the Varia leader was Tsuna's, so were the rest of them. Skull had nothing to fear in these halls.)
xxxx
*geondal or jopok are names for Korean organized crime gangs as opposed to kkangpae for unorganized street gangs/thugs, according to Wiki. (I am fully aware of the dangers of using Wiki as a source, but since I'm citing it...)