Chapter 11 tells of the creation of Vongola familgia
"I swear that I'll shove dynamites down that stupid cow's throat and blast him off to the moon! How dare he keep foiling our plans at the last moment? Does he even understand what he has done, and the danger that he placed Juudaime in?" Gokudera grumbled angrily as he stormed around the room.
He was beyond furious.
Reborn had told them to assemble a little while before and informed them of the damages Lambo did to the time machine and the changes it would make to their original plans. After hearing the news, Gokudera had immediately whipped out all the weapons he had in stock and imagined how to slaughter the cow kid brutally with each of them.
"Now now, it's not the time to start thinking about how to murder Lambo right? We have to find out about the dangers that Tsuna is in while he is in the past, right?"
Gokudera rolled his eyes at Yamamoto's statement and glared down again at the book in is hands. "Are you stupid? That's what I've been doing for the past two hours – research! Besides, I would have done this even if Reborn didn't tell me to!"
The silver haired teenager handed Yamamoto the book in his hands, opened up to the exact page he wanted the other to read. "It says here that this is a true account of a kid who went back about two centuries into the past. He stayed there for about two months and when he finally returned home, he came down with a high fever and died several days after."
"Isn't that already proving that Tsuna is in a critical situation? We should inform Reborn immediately!" Yamamoto was genuinely freaking out. This wasn't like him. He was supposed to be calm and composed no matter what the situation was – the tranquil rain that washes everything away.
"Not yet. We need to collect more information to make sure that this isn't just a one time thing. We need to make sure if all the time-travelling jerks all fell ill or this was just a one time thing," Gokudera insisted and brushed his fingers past the spines of numerous books placed on the shelf, randomly pulling a few out to check the contents.
o0o0o
Giotto yawned and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He had been up the entire night, taking care of Tsuna. It had been difficult trying to deal with paperwork and remembering to change the towel on Tsuna's forehead all the time. Thanks to his own hard work, it seemed like the brunet's fever had went down completely.
"Don't forget that there's the meeting with the others in fifteen minutes time. It's high time that we tell them of your plans to convert this vigilante group into a part of the Mafia. "
The blond slumped against the wooden desk as G came over to collect his work. Hopefully, G wouldn't mind several water stains on the papers – he hid them in the middle of the stack. Well, it wasn't like it was totally his fault.
He really didn't want to face was was next. There was no doubt that his friends might not forgive him for making this decision all by himself beforehand. Even though Cozart was eager to accept and implement the suggestion the blond made, Giotto was sure that the others will not.
Call it a gut feeling, sixth sense, hyper intuition. Anything is fine.
And back to the discussion which was scheduled to take place in a few minutes time, they had to discuss about moving to the new Headquarters that Lampo's father was willing to provide for them. Also, Lampo had sent in the details about their first job. They had to murder an old man who, according to the data Lampo gave them, controlled the sale and trading of salt in the area.
It was a simple job and vital information had already been provided to them. Also, G was successful in gathering all the other information that they might possibly need. The real issue was when they would start the Real Operation tomorrow. Would everyone want to take part?
Especially since it contained an intended assassination attempt.
Yet he knew that he couldn't blame anyone who wanted to withdraw. But he had already made up his mind that he would be the one to kill the man – he wouldn't allow anyone else to bear the burden of taking another person's life. He was the Boss, this was his responsibility.
Tsuna opened his eyes slightly and reached a hand out, which the blond grabbed and clasped tightly. "How are you feeling?"
Tsuna beamed up at him while removing the piece of cloth still on his forehead. "I'm fine already. Thanks for taking care of me, Gio-nii."
Giotto chuckled and ruffled Tsuna's hair lightly. "I'll bring lunch up now. Just rest for a little while more,okay?"
Tsuna sat up in bed when the door closed and sighed. How much had he been sleeping for this past few days? He felt like he could skip sleeping for three full weeks!
o0o0o
"Is there really no doubt about this?" Reborn asked himself as he glanced through the books Gokudera passed him. He felt like there was hardly a need to ask, since he already knew of the answers. No matter how many times he stared at the pages, nothing was going to change. Those biographies and autobiographies were not going to become any kinder.
According to the books, the people who went to the past stayed there for a period of time – the longest for almost three months. It seemed that those who stayed there the longest died the quickest. And Tsuna already stayed in the past for about a week already.
"The symptoms of the body being stressed out is sudden illnesses, such as fevers. And then the body would slowly be destroyed from inside out without the host's knowing. It's a scary and unpredictable way of killing. We need to make sure that we have the necessary medicine to cure all forms of stress from Tsuna's extended stay in the past," Reborn clarified the issue.
Gokudera nodded and took the notebook Reborn handed to him. It contained numerous phone numbers and Gokudera understood that Reborn wanted him to call up each and everyone of them to ask about the medicine. Damn, it looked like it was going to be a long night.
o0o0o
The inn was closed for business today. Everyone staying in the inn had taken a day off from work and were gathered at the lounge. Giotto had just finished speaking what he wanted to. The room was dead silent for a short moment before everyone suddenly started protesting.
"Why the mafia? This was different from what you first promised!"
"That's right! Weren't we supposed to fight against the mafia? So why are we joining them now?"
"Bastard, you lied to us from the very first day right? You just wanted us to join you in your silly little game and was laughing at us when we participated without suspecting a damn thing, didn't you. Asshole! Do you even know the pain of losing someone you lov-"
"SILENCE!" G's fist came crashing down on the counter, and the wood splintered under the force. Everyone turned to stare at him.
G exhaled sharply. It wasn't like he blamed them for saying so much - he made quite a fuss the last time too - but there were some things that were not supposed to be said. He glanced briefly at Giotto from the corner of his eye. The blond's eyes were downcast and he looked miserable. There was no doubt that he was recalling his father who died saving this town.
How was it possible for that imbecile to think that the son of a man who loved this town so much that he would even die for it – would be so heartless to tear down every single thing that his dad cared for. Could they even imagine what it was like when Giotto saw his father dying right in front of his eyes? Or perhaps how difficult it was for Giotto to get over his sorrow and resolve to protect this town like how his father did? One wrong step and it was possible for him to end up hating and destroying everything!
Enraged, G glared darkly at the insolent fool who muttered those hurtful words without thinking. "Idiot. There's no one in this room who didn't lose someone they loved because of the mafia. Everyone here hates the mafia - and that's why we'll join it. To destroy it from inside out. This is the only way we can be certain that we brought it down."
o0o0o
Tsuna leaned against the door lightly, making sure that the door didn't creak under his weight. Judging from the noise level, he could already guess what just happened. Giotto was telling them of his decision to join the mafia. However, everyone there hated the system and it seemed like they were going to reject Giotto's offer.
This was, without a doubt, the turning point that Tsuna was waiting for. Whether Giotto will be able to convince them and thus create the mafia familgia Vongola, or fail and allow Vongola to disappear from the past and present forever. Every step taken was crucial. One mistake, and the entire future would change.
Tsuna wondered if he should help out. This situation might not have anything to do with him. But for all he knew, he could have already created a time paradox when he arrived in front of Giotto, or when he told the founder of his situation.
All of this could be his fault.
Tsuna sighed and suddenly all the noise downstairs disappeared. Anxious and curious, the brunet peeked out and spotted everyone in the lounge sipping away at the beer in their mugs.
Had they accepted Giotto's suggestion?
Suddenly, one of the men stood up and Tsuna noticed that he was trembling. Without hesitation, he threw the mug at Giotto and the porcelain cracked against the mop of blond hair, the liquid spilling out. Giotto bent to pick up the broken pieces.
"I'm leaving. I can't forgive those bastards, let alone join them. They robbed and killed my wife and my unborn child. If you guys want to join the mafia, by all means. I'll be sure to take revenge even if I'm alone. Just make sure you guys don't grovel at my feet and plead when I come to take your lives!"
Giotto paused but didn't say anything when the man left. Tsuna recognised his voice as the man who spoke right before G shouted. Slowly, a few men from around the room stood up and followed as well.
With eyes as cold as ice, Giotto stalked to the middle of the room. "Who else wants to leave? This is your last chance to break free. You don't have to continue to stay with us if you don't want to."
The remaining people in the lounge stared at Giotto like he was mad. They had never seen Giotto like this before. Everything about him was foreign, cold and unfeeling – his eyes, voice, posture – and it reminded Tsuna of the times when he saw Giotto's will from the Vongola ring. The brunet shivered in fear.
"I'll stay. I promised you that I will support you from the very start."
"Me too! Even if there's only despair left, I'll accompany Vongola because I believe that it's the only hope left in this cruel world!"
"I'm... leaving... I don't want to kill anyone. Who knows what they might tell us to do when we join the mafia? I don't want to kill anyone!"
Giotto cringed at the claim and turned away. The people who wanted to leave dashed through the open doorway and those who wanted to remain swore loyalty to Giotto.
This was the turning point of Vongola and only twelve others, out of the original thirty people remained behind.
Author's notes: I'm only revealing a little of the reason behind Tsuna's illness here and also about Giotto telling the others of his plan to turn Vongola into part of the Mafia. Then, there's the split whereby some people join Giotto and others couldn't accept his plans and chose to leave instead.
I know that the story is proceeding a little too slow ever since Tsuna got that fever, and I will speed things up a little from the next chapter onwards. I'm sorry for the really short chapter this time round (not that the previous chapters were long either). I've just been discharged from the hospital two days ago – had this ridiculously high fever – and although I recovered a few days ago, the doctors refused to let me leave or even let me hold a pen. They were like: "Rest. You need it." And, I was bored to tears. And I obviously hadn't finished this chapter before I was admitted in. But now, I'm completely revived and will obviously continue writing.