Next morning, everyone woke up around the same hour and grabbed breakfast made by Mama Sawada. She was more than happy to have so many guests for Christmas, including her son's overseas friends. Yamamoto and Gokudera arrived just after breakfast and helped Ira with her luggage. Dino had his own car and didn't need help from Vongola, not that anyone offered.
In the end, Ira rode with Tsuna and Gokudera while the rest went with Yamamoto.
"You still don't know how to drive?" She asked jokingly. Tsuna blushed and glared playfully at her.
"You don't know either," He mumbled.
"I actually do. I took my license when I was 18 years old." She responded, making Gokudera chuckle at the wheel. Tsuna rolled his eyes and shut up for the rest of the ride.
They passed the middle and high school on the way, which grabbed Ira's full attention. It seemed like everything happened so long ago. She met the Vongola Family because Reborn wanted her to but it ended up as being more than they expected; they genuinely became friends.
"Ira-chan?" She blinked and looked at Gokudera, who was standing outside her door. "We're here." He continued, a bit confused why she was still inside the car. She turned to Tsuna but he was gone already.
Helped by the silver haired bomber, she got her luggage and walked inside the mansion. Vongola Residence was immense and she was sure the mansion was not even half of what the domain really was like.
Walking up the stairs, she couldn't help but notice how simple yet elegant it was, the outside being a beige color, with a flat roof and columns at the front door and of course, pedimented doors and windows. The parking lot was huge and instead of a fountain, in the middle was only a large V on the ground, having the four elements drawn around it. It was quite pretty and refined.
Inside, though, was simple and smell of lavender. The staircase was in the shape of an L, taking most of the hall. On the right was a door leading to the kitchen, as she understood from Gokudera, while the left was the living room. They didn't enter any of those rooms, instead Gokudera started to walk up the stairs, taking Ira to her room. The walls on the first floor were a pale pink and as they walked deeper into the mansion, she realized it was slowly changing to white. Overall, Tsuan didn't place many paintings on the walls, which made it a bit lonely.
Gokudera stopped in front of a black door and opened it widely before he entered with her luggage. She followed him inside and smiled at what she saw. Even though the mansion looked taken from the Renaissance era on the outside, it was pretty cozy on the inside. Tsuna didn't use big chandeliers and fancy furniture; everything was simple and modern. Her room was a good example with a bed in the corner, next to the window, covered with many orange pillows and grey covers; a plasma hanging on the wall, right above the dresser and a few couches here and there. There was a small door across the dresser that led to a small bathroom.
"It's pretty," She mentioned before Gokudera turned and took a look too.
"Yes, it is. Juudaime's room is a few doors down and his office is on the second floor, at the end of the hall." He was speaking calmly, without the nerves he had before.
"Hayato," Gokudera's eyes widened when he heard her call him like that. "Is everyone supposed to come to this Christmas party?"
Gokudera was taken aback. He raised an eyebrow and stared at her in confusion.
"Yes. Everyone is here, you met them." He noticed her fidgeting. "Is there something wrong?" He was genuinely worried.
"No," Her answer wasn't believable.
Ira has been an important person for Gokudera even if they only met for a few days and never saw each other again. She was everything a man involved in the mafia liked, Gokudera included. He just didn't know that she's been raised to be that kind of woman for certain purposes. The real Ira was far different than what she seemed and she was sure Gokudera only had a crush on how she was acting not who she really was.
Dinner was amazing, mostly because everyone was around the table, talking or messing around. Ira was standing on Tsuna's left while Dino was standing on his right, as they were the heads and representatives of different families. Gokudera was sitting next to Dino, as Tsuna's right hand man and Yamamoto took the seat next to Ira. Reborn was standing right across Tsuna, on the other end of the table, watching everyone and everything.
Mama Sawada cooked for the whole group and even though it was difficult, she did it with joy. She was living in the old Sawada house while her son and his friends were not even in the city for most of the time; it was getting lonely. She was genuinely happy that they chose to spend Christmas at home.
"So, you never responded to my question," Dino started towards Ira. She couldn't remember him asking her anything relevant, truthfully. "How did they pass you on the inheritance?" Dino craved for that for most of his childhood so of course, seeing someone who got lucky enough to be passed on felt like he got fooled into being the boss.
"I-" She started but couldn't find a good response. Unconsciously, she turned towards Reborn, who was eating peacefully. He didn't even look up from his food and just stuffed his face while she was having troubles. "I have been recruited forcefully and dragged away from my family." Reborn snickered when he heard her answer, which was pretty much the truth actually.
"Really? But even so, the family's successor is usually the first born; you. Yet, the head of your family is your younger brother." Dino continued, growing more curious than before.
"Ah, Dino-" Tsuna was curious as well but he didn't want to pry into Ira's personal life. "We shouldn't-it's her business-" The young boss stuttered.
"No, no. Dino is right, Tsuna. Please, tell them the truth, Ira." Reborn interfered, staring at the French woman with sly eyes.
She couldn't believe he was encouraging her to say what happened and why she had never been taken into consideration as a possible successor.
"When I was ten years old, I was kidnapped by a man who had a sick obsession with my mother." She started. That immediately gathered everyone's attention. "He gave her presents and confessed repeatedly and her marriage didn't matter. When she got pregnant, that man started to threaten her that he will either kill her or the baby. My father restricted the personnel from walking out of our house and protected my mother and me. However, while I was playing in the park, someone snatched me and locked me in a tree house for a week."
Even Dino was taken aback by her back story. Tsuna was confused why she never told him that while they have been e-mailing each other over the years.
"Thanks to my father's connections, they found me quickly but never caught him. He left a message for me. He said he will come after me at the opportune moment and he won't let me escape like he did before. That was the moment my parents called Reborn and asked him to teach me how to protect myself." She continued while glancing at her former guardian. "But Reborn had bigger plans and he took me with him to Italy, where he started to teach me more than I needed to know. He made a deal with my parents before he took me, though. He asked them to take me out of the succession list forever. That was his price." With that, she finished her story and made everyone turn towards the hitman.
"Why? I don't understand why he would want you off the list. It's your right isn't it?" Yamamoto mumbled a bit confused.
"Anyway, what about the stalker? Where is he now?" Kyoko changed the subject, knowing how uncomfortable Ira was feeling.
"I don't know. I have never seen him after that day. I moved to Italy and lived a content life." She chose her words carefully since her life with Reborn and Colonello wasn't exactly the happiest.
"Wow~" The girls were trying not to talk about it afterwards but she could see them glance at her with empathy. That was the main reason she didn't want to inform everyone of her past; she didn't need empathy when the past already passed.
After dinner, they moved in the living room where a huge Christmas tree was taking most of the center. She noticed presents under it and remembered that she only bought a few on the run. Hibari suffocated her with work for the first part of the holiday and hardly let her leave the building. He was a horrible boss and wasn't really doing anything for his school. God knew what exactly he was working on.
Exchanging presents had to be done that night because some of them had to go to work the next day. Besides, they spent the Christmas night sleeping instead of singing carols and being chatty. Or maybe that was just how Ira used to spend her Christmas in Europe since Japanese weren't as excited for the holiday as Europeans are.
She didn't expect to get presents but she did. The others took turns and each of them was surprised by the pricey stuff she bought for them. The most expensive present was a wrist watch for Tsuna. Even Reborn got something that looked like the prototype of a gun; the drawing she did in the Art class. He was surprised and pretty happy with that because he folded it neatly and placed it in his pocket instead of throwing it. The girls got clothes and accessories while the guys got guy stuff.
Slowly, it came Ira's turn and she got shocked that everyone remembered her and bought her something, no matter how small it was. She didn't really need anything material so she accepted everything with a wide smile on her face. Mama Sawada made hot chocolate and Bianchi put mistletoe here and there – in hope that she and Reborn will get stuck under one, probably. Unfortunately, Haru and Gokudera got under one and none were happy with the outcome. Hana and Ryohei got under one too but the outcome was definitely different than before.
Overall, the night went amazing and passed in a blink of an eye. In no time, the guests started to leave for the night, going home or going in their rooms. Ira was on the stairs, going to sleep when Reborn appeared out of nowhere and dragged her into Tsuna's office. The Vongola was already there, looking over some documents.
"Take a break, Tsuna. It's Christmas," She whined, being fully aware that Reborn gave him something to work on.
"We have a problem," Reborn muttered before shoving her softly –if that was even possible- towards Tsuna's desk. "It's your problem, as well. Your brother can't control the families around Paris and he got in over his head with the police." Reborn continued
"He called for help two days ago but I told him that you're not here." Tsuna responded, his eyes all over his desk.
"Why didn't he call me?" She wasn't happy with how things turned out in France after Ren became head of the family. She knew he wasn't exactly the type to give orders and not question those orders he gave afterwards.
"Because you vanished." Reborn responded coldly. He was still angry that she ran away and Ira wasn't in the mood to give him detailed explanations.
"Fine. Give me the papers and I will personally take care of everything." The tone and attitude she suddenly took was the one of a leader and Reborn knew it. He knew he made an unfavorable deal with her parents and it will probably cost them some money and investments but she had the talent to be more than a leader.
While Ira grabbed the papers and went to a corner to take care of it, Tsuna got on his feet and walked next to Reborn. The young Vongola leaned against the desk and watched her talk on the phone in French.
"Why did you take her away from that world? She thinks and acts like a leader," Tsuna mumbled, trying to keep his voice down so she wouldn't hear.
"That's exactly why. She would have become a leader just like you and Dino." Reborn's response was like always; more confusing that anything.
"Having another family backing up the Vongola would have been good." Tsuna continued his point of view.
"Not her family. Francois Dubois is French but her mother is Russian. That stalker she talked about was an ex KGB agent." Tsuna's eyes widened. "Her mother's name. I'll let you to find out what it is." Reborn finished and smirked before he left the room.
Tsuna rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. Reborn changed his side but his personality was the same. However, Tsuna couldn't help but follow Reborn's advice. He really wanted to know who her mother was since it seemed to have a connection to what happened to Ira twelve years ago.
The problem that Ren got into was not at all trouble; more like he couldn't handle aspects of having spies inside the police and other families. Spies were important in that line of work but they were humans and they were part of the clan so Ren was obliged to protect their lives and their families. He wasn't good at keeping secrets when he was young and he was very abd at lying. In the end, she called Paul and told him exactly what to do and how to teach Ren some sneaky tricks to keep everything under control.
"Are you sure it's going to work? Why don't you tell him everything directly?" Paul asked in that thick French accent.
"Because he's an idiot. And because I don't want him to know that I'm getting involved. Last time I went home, he was a bit frustrated." She could still remember how people were coming to her and asking her if something went wrong with the succession. Ren got really angry and they fought. She left before they could make up and that probably added fuel to the fire.
"He's frustrated all day long. Maurice is getting sick of Rene and your parents aren't helping either. Like, I'm serious. They let Rene do absolutely everything he wanted and it hasn't been very beneficial for the business." He was complaining a lot.
"No one was born with knowledge, Paul. Maurice is big enough to know what he has to do without getting orders. Besides, you and Adilene already know the basics."
Paul whined for another hour until he finally went to bed. She was exhausted and she fell asleep when her head fell on the pillow.
Next morning, two soft knocks were heard in the silent room yet no response. Gokudera raised an eyebrow and opened the door to check on her. She wasn't inside and her bed was carefully made, like she didn't even sleep on it.
Out of past experiences, the storm guardian grabbed a bomb from his jacket and surveyed the place. He didn't expect the door to the bathroom to open and see his childhood crush walk out in only a towel. His face became red like a tomato and his whole body froze. He couldn't help his instinct to check her out; he was a man after all.
"Are you really not going to turn around and let me change?" She was bemused by how shocked he was. Once she told him to, Gokudera spun around and closed his eyes.
"I-I didn't see anything!" He shouted, just in case. He heard her moving around and clothes rustling before she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's alright. Why did you barge in the room so early in the morning?" Ira changed the subject quickly, making Gokudera sigh in relief.
"Right. Juudaime has a business meeting tomorrow, in China. We're leaving in an hour. The girls will be around and the house will be left in-" Gokudera couldn't believe he was saying it out loud, making it even stupider than it was. "-Sasagawa's care." He finished, his eyebrow twitching ever so slightly.
"Kyoko?"
"Ryohei." Gokudera got out through gritted teeth. He couldn't believe his boss when he said that everyone was going with him yet not the extremist guardian.
"Oh," Even Ira was surprised how much Tsuna trusted the sun guardian. He was leaving the whole domain in his care with a reason and she hoped it wasn't what she was thinking about. "Had Reborn left?" She asked, just to check up if she was right or not. Gokudera's nod lifted the pressure off her chest.
"That stupid Cavalone is still here but you can avoid him," He added in a gruff tone. "Anyway, I have to leave now. Juudaime will be back tomorrow night." Gokudera mumbled a short goodbye before he left the same way he entered: in a hurry.
Ira knew exactly what she wanted to do and didn't need a babysitter. She watched through the curtains as the Vongola guardians got into their vehicles and left for the business meeting before she grabbed her coat and walked down the stairs. She put on the gloves and wrapped the muffler around her neck right before she walked out, into the cold weather.
It's been snowing for a while before she arrived in Namimori sicne there was so much snow covering the ground. She was happy even if people were mostly ignoring her and doing their shopping or playing in the snow. Ira's eyes softened at the sight of joyful children. She couldn't help but feel jealous when she saw parents playing with their children, like nothing was wrong in the world. For them, life was simple and their responsibilities had nothing to do with weapons or fights for supreme control over ones clan. Ira was very jealous on those people.
"For how long can I lie to them?" She wondered. It wasn't like she wanted to but she promised Colonello to stay away from the mafia, no matter what kind.
Yuu was quite smart when he told her that she had a connection to mafia even if she wasn't part of it. Ira wasn't a proactive member of any clan but with the changes in France and the fights for power in Mexico, it was hard not to feel the need to protect her family.
Ira rubbed her hands and pulled he muffler closer to her face. It was getting colder yet she couldn't turn around without getting to her destination. That took a while by foot but she got there, in the end.
Namimori Middle School. It's been so, so long but nothing changed; the building was the same.
Instead of staring at the building while reminiscing, she stared at the street. That was the place she met Tsuna for the first time. She could still see the fourteen years old Dame-Tsuna, trying his hardest not to look intimidated by the sixteen years old French girl. He was standing right in front of her while the girls were standing on his right, Ryohei and Yamamoto on his left and Gokudera in the back, blushing. Reborn was on Tsuna's shoulder, giving details on their battle and Lambo was in Kyoko's arms, making weird noises. I-Pin was down, staring at Ira as if they met before.
There was one person missing; Hibari Kyoya. Just like she did back then, she turned her head towards the highest window, where the prefect used to stay and watch the students. Ira frowned when she saw the shape of a person walking past the window.
"No way," She muttered. Her intention was to go check it out but the big, and real, version of Reborn sneaked behind her.
"Walking down the memory lane, aren't we?" His smug and confident tone was annoying; she got used to it but it was still annoying.
"For a moment, I thought you left."
Reborn raised an eyebrow and walked past her. She tilted her head t the side, in confusion. He didn't seem in any hurry –even slowed down his pace- which only meant he was waiting for her to follow him. She sighed and walked after him, not the slightest interested why and where.