Incontri le Famiglie
By The Mauve Lantern
Target 2: The Artist and his Guardians
"YOU'RE the boss of the Mestiero Family?!"
Tsuna Sawada, 10th boss of the Vongola Family, sat on a metal, blue folding chair in the band room of Namimori Middle School. Sitting across from him was Leonardo Simoni, the 9th boss of the Mestiero Family. Gathered around Tsuna were his Guardians: Gokudera and Yamamoto to his left and right, respectively, Ryohei to the far right, Lambo on his head, and Chrome a considerable distance from the group. Hibari, Tsuna's "Lone Wolf" Guardian, had declined the invitation to stay after the Fine Arts assembly.
"I have some business to take care of," he had told them cryptically. "Get in my way, and I shall certainly bite you to death."
The Guardians were not the only members of Tsuna's family attending this meeting: Reborn was there, for obvious reasons, while Bianchi had led Kyoko, Haru, and I-Pin into the room so that she might be with Reborn. Currently, I-Pin was nibbling on a meat bun, while Kyoko sat with her hands folded in her lap.
Leonardo ran his tanned fingers through his chocolate brown hair and adjusted his sunglasses. This Mafioso was clad in a costume that was reminiscent of Elvis Presley, and he certainly seemed to be the King of rock and roll reincarnate.
"Uh, yes I am. I'm, uh, Leonardo Simoni, head of the Mestiero Family. It's an, uh, honor to meet you, Decimo!" The man slouched back in his chair, obviously bored, and kicked his feet up onto the teacher's podium. Leonardo was a long, gangly man, who spoke with a Southern-American accent like the late Elvis Presley.
Tsuna couldn't even comprehend how such an odd fellow could be a Mafioso. "Aren't these people supposed to be threatening or something?!" he thought to himself. "I mean, Longchamp's not that bad, considering he's totally insane, but at least Dino is strong when he has his whip with him! How is THIS guy able to protect himself?!?"
"Leonardo, long time, no see!" Reborn, the infant hitman of the mafia, tipped his hat to Leonardo, who smiled lazily.
"Same here, Reborn; it's been a while, hasn't it?"
The 10th Vongola glanced back and forth between his tutor and the Mestiero boss. "Wait, you two KNOW each other?!"
"Of course," Reborn told his student, "I tutored him when he was your age, Tsuna."
"'Course, that was, like, ten or fifteen years ago!" Leonardo leaned further back in his chair and began to hum a little tune to himself. "I've gotten a lot better since then, Reborn."
"I'm sure you have."
While Tsuna was talking with Leonardo and Reborn, his guardians were concerning themselves with other matters. Gokudera was anxiously tapping his foot on the ground, while Yamamoto just smiled and looked around the room. After taking a look around the band room a few times, he whispered to Gokudera, "Wow! I've never been in HERE before! This is pretty cool, huh?"
The dynamite-wielding boy spun around in his seat and hissed, "Shut up, you fool! Can't you see that we're in the presence of another boss?!"
"Another boss? You mean, like another guy who plays mafia with Tsuna?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever. The point is that you have to be respectful and be calm and patient!"
Yamamoto waited a moment before giving Gokudera the "O.K." sign and spinning around in his seat. "Well," the Storm Guardian mumbled, "at least that got you to shut up…"
***
Ryohei was standing apart from Tsuna's group; not that he didn't think the boss was cool or anything, but the conversation wasn't, shall we say, "extreme" enough for the boxer. Right now, the Sun Guardian wanted nothing more than to get into the ring and punch something. Since he wasn't in a ring, however, he made do by practicing with his reflection in the mirrors on the other side of the room.
"Come on, Ryohei!" he shouted as he punched at the reflective glass, "Is that all you got?! IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?!?" Suddenly, he noticed something. That reflection…it was doing the same thing HE was doing! If Ryohei jumped to the left, the figure in the mirrors would follow; if the boy went for a right hook, the other boy would do a left hook.
"Are you…are you MOCKING ME!?!?" The boy in the mirror shouted the same thing. "So you ARE mocking me!!! Well, get ready for a beat-down, EXTREME STYLE!!!!!" He unleashed a powerful punch at the mirror, shattering the glass and spraying it around him like water.
"BIG BROTHER, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?"
Kyoko ran over to her brother and grabbed him by his left ear. "Didn't I tell you not to do stuff like this?! Now we have to pay for this!"
"Sorry, Kyoko, it's just that kid in the mirror was mocking me so much!"
"That's your reflection," she sighed.
Bianchi sauntered over to the siblings and surveyed the damage. "Don't worry about it," she told them, "Tsuna can pay for this."
Both of them perked their heads up. "Really?!" they shouted simultaneously, to which the poison chef nodded.
"Tsuna," Kyoko thought to herself while Bianchi offered Ryohei a tainted rice cake, "You are so kind…"
***
Elsewhere, Chrome was sitting in a folded chair in a corner of the room. The illusionist was twiddling her fingers, her face holding a faint blush. She still remembered when she woke up after the art show…
There was silence for a second until Tsuna shouted, "WHAT?!?" He shot out of his chair at that moment, completely forgetting that Chrome was asleep in his lap. Unfortunately, Tsuna had risen too fast, and so poor Chrome fell to the floor, which was a very bad way to wake up.
"Ow!" she shrieked as she hit the wooden floor. The violet-haired girl lifted her head painfully, her hand futilely attempting to alleviate the agony. She looked up at her boss, wondering what had caused her to fall to the floor. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep, but that was it.
"You have a good nap, Sleeping Beauty?"
Chrome looked up to find Ken and Chikusa standing over her, the latter lifting her up by her arm. Ken was smirking wickedly, exposing his beast-like fangs to the world. "You dozed off when the show was just getting started!" he chuckled.
"Re-Really?"
Chikusa nodded. "Yes. And then you fell asleep on Vongola's shoulder. I imagine it was most awkward for the boy."
When her guardian told her this, Chrome blushed heavily. She had fallen asleep on her boss's shoulder?! "Di-Did anything else h-happen?!?"
"Oh yeah!" Ken laughed hysterically. "You, hahaha, you slipped off his shoulder at the end and, hahah, you landed on his lap! HAHAHAHA!" If Chrome wasn't embarrassed before, she certainly was now.
"O-O-O-Oh n-n-n-n-n-noooooo!" she screamed in her head. "What will the boss think of me?! Does he think I was flirting with him?! What will I doooooooooo?!?"
Chikusa readjusted his glasses before telling her, "While you head to your meeting with your boss, Ken and I are going to get groceries. Be back by 7:15."
"Or we'll hunt you down, ugly girl!" Ken leaned forward with his sharpened fingernails menacingly, effectively terrifying Chrome. The meek girl scooted away from the scary man and instinctively reached out for something to hold on to. What she did grab was soft, and felt like fabric; the one-eyed girl hesitantly turned her head to what she had a hold of. It was Tsuna's leg, and his attention had finally been torn away from Leonardo, who had sauntered off the stage.
The Vongola boss and his Guardian stared at each other for a few seconds before Tsuna realized that he had knocked Chrome to the floor. "AH! Chrome, I'm sososo sorry! I completely forgot that you were asleep and I got out of my seat and you must have hit the floor and I'm so sorry an-"
Chrome blushed heavily and looked away. "I-It's okay, boss; I didn't notice…" she mumbled as she closed her eyes and tried to make herself vanish into thin air.
Tsuna reached out a hand to the purple-haired girl and gently grabbed her wrist. "Here, let me up," he said calmly, though a look of worry was still imprinted on his face. "I'll get you some ice for your head; would you go to the band room, please?" Chrome nodded slowly and felt herself rising off the ground. After Tsuna pulled her up, he smiled slightly and asked, "You're not hurt badly, are you?"
Chrome meekly whispered, "No," and cast her head down as she fidgeted with her fingers.
"I'm glad," Tsuna said as he turned around to head for the nurse's office. "Tell Reborn I'll be there in a minute!" Chrome nodded again, but she wasn't really paying attention at that point. The boss was…taking care of her? He was helping her, even though she had been the one who inconvenienced him by sleeping on his shoulder and lap???
"He was…so…warm," she mumbled to herself as she remembered her peaceful slumber earlier. While she was sleeping, the quiet girl had felt something like a warm breeze that encompassed her entire body, leaving her at ease and peaceful.
"What is this feeling?" she asked herself, though she hardly knew the answer. Before she could delve any further into the mysteries of her heart, however, the jocular baseball player that worked for the boss walked over to her.
"Yo!" he said as he waved his hand in greeting. "You're Chrome, right?"
The young girl nodded and whispered, "I am. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Yamamoto."
"Hahaha! There's no need for formalities! You can just call me Yamamoto if you want!"
"…Very well then, Mist- Yamamoto. Could you…could you show me which way it is to the band room?"
"Sure thing!"
So here she was, curled up into a ball on the far side of the Namimori band room, alone, like always. It wasn't that Chrome did not WANT to join the group; it was more like she did not know HOW to join. After all, what was she supposed to say? "Hello, I'm your new Mist Guardian, and, oh, by the way, I have a telepathic link to the man who tried to kill you one time. No hard feelings, right?" Chrome placed her head in her hands and choked back a little sob.
"I shouldn't have come," she mumbled to herself. "They'll hate me when they learn who I really am, I'm sure of it!"
"Hate you for what?"
Chrome lifted her head from her hands to see who was talking to her. It was some brown-haired girl, with slightly slanted eyes and a school uniform that was different from the boss's and the other guardians. She seemed to be Chrome's height, or maybe she was a little taller; the purple-haired girl could not tell. This girl seemed to be concerned about Chrome.
"Hi, we haven't met! I'm Haru Miura, Tsuna's bride-to-be!" She extended a hand to Chrome in a gesture of friendship. "You're one of his Guardians, right?"
"Y-Yes," Chrome said in a soft voice, "I'm Chrome Dokuro, the Mist Guardian for Vongola Decimo."
"Nice to meet you!" There was a small child with Haru, who was dressed in a gi, and had black hair pulled into a braid. "This is I-Pin. Can you say 'hi', I-Pin?"
"IT'S A PINEAPPLE MONSTER!" the vision-impaired girl screamed in Chinese before cowering behind the leg of Haru. Chrome was taken aback by I-Pin's comment, even if she couldn't understand it.
Haru lifted the Chinese girl onto her shoulders. "Sorry about that! I-Pin doesn't really know any Japanese yet."
"That's…that's okay," Chrome said, her voice a little louder than before.
"Come on, join the group! I think that Leonardo guy's about to say something important!"
"I-I-I don't want to be a burden!"
"Nonsense!" Haru exclaimed as she grabbed Chrome's hand and tugged her along to the center of the room. "Reborn said that everyone needs to be here to listen, so you should be over here as well!" Chrome did not put up much of a fight as the excited girl pulled her over to the boss and the other guardians; she was still in shock that someone had tried to initiate a conversation with her.
"Is…Is this what it's like to have friends?" the violet-haired girl asked herself as she quietly sat down in a chair that was just behind the boss.
When Chrome sat down, Tsuna turned around in his chair and asked her, "Is your head feeling any better, Chrome?" This question made the meek girl remember that the boss had given her a bag of ice earlier; she hadn't used it, but just held onto it.
"Y-Yes, boss," she replied quietly, with several quick nods of the head.
"Easy there," Yamamoto chuckled as he placed his hand lightly on Chrome's, in an effort to get her head to stop bouncing up and down. "You do that, it'll be your NECK that hurts!"
"Sorry, Yamamoto…"
Gokudera snarled a little. "As you should be." In response, Ryohei punched the boy in the face.
"NEVER ABUSE A LADY!" the white-haired boy roared. "I'll show you how to talk to a girl! EXTREME COURTESY!" Ryohei bent down so that he was seeing eye to eye with Chrome, who had scooted back in her chair as the crazy boxer drew closer.
"ARE YOU OKAY?!?" he shouted at the top of his lungs, "DO YOU NEED MEDICAL RESISTANCE???" Chrome didn't respond, as she was a little more focused on the spittle that had landed on her face. Luckily, a kind girl, who she knew as "Kyoko Sasagawa", came over with a handkerchief in her hand.
As she gently wiped off Chrome's face, the girl scolded her brother. "Big Brother, how many times have I told you not to get so close to people when you're talking to them?"
"Sorry, Kyoko…"
Before anything else could happen, however, a gun went off in the room. That gun belonged to Reborn, whose face was neutral and stoic. Normally, this meant that he was furious, and this was no different than any other time her had to rope in the bozos that composed the next generation of the Vongola Famiglia.
"If you are all done," he said as he put the gun down, "I believe Leonardo was going to tell us a little about himself. Unless you guys want me to shoot Tsuna here, you will sit down and pay attention."
"WHY DO I HAVE TO GET SHOT?!?"
"Quiet, you." Reborn smacked the young boss with the pistol to silence him. He raised his head slightly so that everyone could see his stone-cold eyes. "Anyone else?" he asked as he tapped his gun against his tiny hand.
At that moment, Lambo woke up from his position on Tsuna's head. "What're you guys talking about?" the little assassin asked, "Poop?"
Reborn hit the Bovino child in the face with a mallet as he said, "Shut up, you moronic cow!" The child went flying out the open window, leaving everyone to wonder if he was all right. Kyoko and Haru both ran out of the room to go retrieve the small child, while I-Pin followed with Bianchi, who had a first-aid kit in her hands. This left the Tsuna and his male guardians, Chrome, Reborn, and Leonardo alone in the band room.
"Now that that's out of the way," Reborn turned to Leonardo, "I believe you wanted to introduce us to your guardians."
"That's, uh, that's right." Leonardo rocked backwards in his chair as he scratched his chin with his finger. "'Course, I'm wondering if they'll, uh, come or not."
"They should come," Reborn told his student.
Leonardo smiled and nodded his head lazily. "You're right." He then pulled a guitar out of nowhere and began to strum out a few notes.
"There," he said as he set the guitar down, "They should be here in a, uh, few minutes."
Reborn glanced at Tsuna, who seemed a little lost, and answered the question that was plaguing the boy. "Yes, Tsuna, there are specific guardians for each family in the Mafia."
"Are they all like ours?" he asked.
"No, they aren't; in fact, most families follow a different selection process then ours. The idea, however, remains the same: the strongest members of the family, and the most loyal to the boss."
"Are the Mestiero family's guardians like ours?" Tsuna looked back and forth between Leo and Reborn, not exactly caring who answered.
It was Leonardo who said, "Sorta. We have, uh, guardians that represent the various forms of art. So they aren't, y'know, like weather."
A high-pitched voice exclaimed, "You make it sound so simple, Leo!"
The Vongolas turned to the door, where a young girl now stood. She had a petite and limber body, and she seemed to be no taller than Tsuna. Pale blue hair fell in curls around her face, and she had a dazzling smile, with lavender irises in her eyes. A white blouse covered her torso, though the top two buttons were open, revealing a pink tank-top beneath, and there was a flowing, rose-red skirt wrapped around her waist. Soft, white shoes adorned her feet, and they made nary a sound as she glided along the floor.
Leonardo pointed with his thumb towards the girl and said, "Everyone, this is my Balera Guardian, Gianetta."
"Hiiiiiiiii!" The pale-haired girl wiggled her fingers in greeting, and danced over to an open chair that was placed next to her boss. She was very poised in her posture, and she had her hands folded in her lap.
"What's 'balera' mean, Leonardo?" Tsuna asked, although he had a hard time taking his eyes away from Gianetta.
Before the Mestiero boss could respond, Gianetta sprung out of her chair. "I'll SHOW you!" she cheered as she tore away her blouse and skirt, which caused the Vongola boys to all develop nosebleeds. Underneath her clothes, as it turned out, was a pink leotard, which featured a pair of white wings on the front. She carefully balanced on the chair with one leg, then leaped through the air effortlessly, spinning around several times before landing gracefully amidst the broken glass that was left behind from Ryohei's punch.
"Watch out!" Tsuna shouted, but she ignored him. Gianetta shut her eyes and nimbly leaped between the scattered shards avoiding each and every one. Finally, she removed herself from the field of glass with a magnificent leap, which brought her back to her chair. She crashed down into the chair, and pulled a rope, causing a cascade of water to fall on her.
"Amazing!" Ryohei howled.
"That was something else!" Yamamoto exclaimed as he clapped his hands.
"B-B-Beautiful!" Chrome whispered, a glimmer of awe and envy in her eye.
"Not bad," Gokudera grumbled, his eyes, which were wide with shock and recognition, betraying him.
"Where did the bucket of water come from?" Tsuna asked, though his question went unheard amidst the praise.
Gianetta shook her hair, sending water all over the place. "Graci, graci," she said to the Vongola guardians, "Thank you, though that isn't my best routine. I can do-"
"Save some for the presentation, Gianetta!" Leonardo slipped a hand over the girl's lips. "We don't want to spoil the surprise, do we?"
"You mean the special performance, boss?"
In strolled another girl, though this one was older than Gianetta. She had tanned skin, and long, black hair that ran all the way to her hips, though it was tied back in two ponytails. The young lady wore green pants that went to her mid-shin, and a tight, yellow top; she had no shoes on. Her eyes were covered by a pair of black glasses not unlike the ones that the ladies from Cervello were made to wear. A long, dusty cape flowed behind her as she strode in. It was the guitar case that she was carrying, however, that made her recognizable to Yamamoto.
"Ah! You're that blind girl from earlier!"
"Sí, amigo, I am Selena Perez, the Musica Guardian of the Mestiero Famiglia." The girl bowed, then rose up again and coolly walked over to Leonardo's left, where she took a seat. She pulled her guitar out of its case and played a few notes on it.
Gokudera looked at her and asked, "Aren't those the notes that Leonardo played earlier?"
"Sí," she replied, "but he's so bad that the others aren't going to know what he meant."
"Darlin' why do you have to hurt me like that?" Leo asked, a mocking frown on his face. Selena just smiled and bashed him in the head with a flute that she pulled out of her back pocket.
"Hi Selena!" Gianetta screeched.
"Yo, Gianetta."
Leo looked around the room for a moment before shouting, "Come on out, Brian!"
A young man, who seemed older than the gathered Vongola boys, dropped down from the ceiling and readjusted his glasses. He wore thick, horn-rimmed glasses, a dark-blue sweater, and brown khakis, with brown shoes on his feet. In his pale hands were a pen and notepad, the latter of which was filled with words and scribbles.
"How'd you know I was there, Simoni?" the boy asked, brushing away his messy, black hair. "I was stealthier than ever!"
"I could spot you there from a mile away," Leonardo responded. "Besides, it's rude to spy on our guests without telling them!"
Brian turned to the Vongolas and his face turned stoic. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Brian Griffin, the Lettertura Guardian."
"You're a writer?" Gokudera asked as he sat in his seat, "Seems kind of weak, no offense."
"The pen is mightier than the sword, Smokin' Bomb Gokudera. After all, I have enough information on you to fill a book!"
"Making threats again, Brian?" asked a light, musical voice.
The writer turned to the door and scoffed. "What if I am, Yvonne?"
The newest addition to the room was a girl with honey-colored hair, who wore a black dress that went all the way to her heels. Her hair was pulled back from her face, revealing two lovely, blue eyes and a charming smile. When she spoke there seemed to be a melody to it.
"That wouldn't be very ni~ce!" she exclaimed as she flew through the room her arms spread wide. "Catch me, Brian!"
"Are you nuts?!"
She stuck her tongue out at the writer. "Just kidding! Relax, seriously."
Tsuna leaned over to Reborn and whispered into his tutor's ear, "Reborn, are you sure these guys are mafia?"
"Absolutely. Yvonne is, in fact, a deadly spy and assassin, who uses her voice to affect the tide of battle."
"Re-really?!"
"Oui, monsieur Vongola!" Yvonne now stood over Tsuna and had a most serious scowl on her face. "I am the Voce Guardian of the Mestiero Family, and don't you forget it!"
"Y-Yes ma'am!"
While the Mestiero Guardians were fooling around, another woman entered through the door, though she was more different than the other three. This girl was more, shall we say, full-figured, and had a softer, fuller physique than the others; not that she was fat, just a little curvy. She wore a gray, hooded sweatshirt and a pair of blue jeans that had several paint stains on them. A pair of glasses rested on her nose, and her peach-colored face was framed by her auburn hair which fell down on both sides. In her hands was a cup of coffee bought at the shop across the street. A pair of dingy white sneakers was wrapped around her feet, and she had a slightly sour look on her face.
"Tch, fooling around again? I swear, you guys are like something out of a manga or something."
Leonardo glanced over at the door and smiled. "Ah, Marie, so glad you could join us! Won't you take a seat?"
"Go to hell, Simoni."
"Already there, darlin'."
The young woman casually strode over to the group and gave a weak wave toward Tsuna and his friends. "Yo, what's up? I'm Marie Gogh, the Arte Guardian according to this bozo here," she said as she gestured to Leonardo.
"You're the bozo who accepted, y'know."
"And I've been kicking myself ever since then."
Yamamoto looked back and forth between the two and asked, "Do you two always do this?"
"No," they both replied at the same time.
"Of course they do!" Gianetta launched herself at her boss and Marie and embraced them both in a hug. "That's how they show that they love each other!"
"Gianetta, you're, uh, stranglin' me, darlin'."
Marie sighed and turned to Ryohei. "I'll give you a thousand dollars if you kill me right now."
"Why would I do that?" the boy replied.
The painter slapped herself in the face and groaned, "I'm surrounded by idiots…"
"That's not nice, Marie!"
Leo looked to the door and managed to gasp out, "Hallelujah, it's Marilyn, the Interpretazione Guardian!"
Standing in the doorway was a girl that looked very similar to Gianetta, except her hair was darker and was incredibly short. Marilyn was clad in a green tube-top that stop just above her navel, and had a small white coat over that. She had a pair of black shorts that barely covered her rear end and a pair of teal flip-flops underneath.
Marilyn smiled and waved to the Vongolas before screaming, "GIA!"
Gianetta screamed, "MARI!" and released Leo and Marie from her grip as she charged at Marilyn and embraced her in a hug. "Ohmygawd, I haven't seen you in…what, two hours?"
"Too long, I know!" Both girls giggled ecstatically and bounced up and down, with all of the Vongolas watching with interest, save for one.
Chrome sniffed in jealousy and turned her nose up at the two girls. "Look at them," she thought to herself, "flaunting their bodies about. It's sickening!" Ordinarily, Chrome would not have been bothered by such trivial things, but for some reason the combination of all these girls in one place set her off and made her feel envious. She wrapped her arms around her own, noticeably thinner, body, and curled up into her chair.
Tsuna, meanwhile, took a look around the room at the gathered Guardians: Gianetta and Marilyn were bouncing up and down excitedly, Brian was perched in his chair, recording everything that transpired, Marie was leaning against the wall, her paint-stained hands tapping against the wall, and Selena was playing on her guitar while Yvonne sang along.
Leonardo returned to his chair and asked Tsuna, "So what do you think, Vongola?"
"It's very, um, eclectic, I guess."
The Mestiero boss laughed. "That it is, I suppose; that it is!" Then he leaned back in the chair and kicked his feet up onto the podium. "By the way, uh…"
"Yes, Leonardo?"
"Can we stay at your house?" the boss asked sheepishly.
"WHAT?!?"
Marie got off the wall and firmly planted a hand on Leo's head as she said, "The "Renaissance Man" forgot to book some rooms at a hotel, so we've got nowhere to stay. Think you can put up with us for the night?"
Again, Tsuna looked around before sighing and putting his face in his hands.
"Why me?" he groaned as he felt a migraine coming on.
