"Wow," Tsuna breathed, pressing his face closer to the window in an attempt to widen his range of vision. "It really is different from Namimori, isn't it?"

On the other side of the glass, New York's buildings and streets were creeping by as the van inched along with the traffic. Tsuna couldn't boast much knowledge of the city, but he never imagined it would be quite so crowded and lively. The buildings stretched high above their heads, tall enough to pierce the clouds while hundreds of people bustled around on foot below. It looked difficult to maneuver, but each individual walked with an impressive sure-footedness, dodging around people and obstacles alike with their chins tucked and their eyes forward. They reminded Tsuna of warriors, despite the lack of armor.

"Oi, get off of me, Turf-Top!" Blinking, Tsuna turned to look behind him. Gokudera was sputtering angrily, sandwiched between Ryohei and Yamamoto; the boxer was stretched out across the other two in an attempt to look out Yamamoto's window.

"That one!" He yelled excitedly, the concept of volume control utterly lost on him as he pointed at a building. "It's extremely tall, the tallest!"

"Yep, looks like it!" Yamamoto agreed brightly. "It's pretty impressive!"

"What about it?" Gokudera growled.

"I'm going to climb it!" Statements like those shouldn't have surprised Tsuna anymore, but he couldn't suppress a small sound of surprise.

"Don't be an idiot," Forcing his palms against the boxer's face, Gokudera shoved him back into his seat. "Why the hell am I stuck back here with these morons while you're next to the Tenth?"

From the seat beside Tsuna, Yuri turned around to give him an impassive glance.

"Because I didn't waste my time arguing over who was more deserving of the spot. You do realize you're allowed to just take the seat you want, right? Not everything is a test of your worth and pride."

"What would you know about that? Are you planning to be his right hand man?"

"Well, seeing as I am sitting to his left…" She trailed off, suppressing a smirk as he sputtered indignantly behind her.

"D-don't kid around! Oi, Yuri-!"

"Ah. I've made it angry." She allowed her eyes to widen in mock fear as his narrowed menacingly. Reaching across the gap between their seats, she laid a hand dramatically on Tsuna's shoulder, making him laugh even though her expression remained stoic. "You run, I'll hold him off. Continue your legacy. Spread your messages. Don't let my sacrifice be in vain."

"What are you even rambling on about?" Gokudera yelled angrily, making her sigh.

"Relax. If it's really that important to you, I'll switch seats with you." Without so much as a moment of thought, the bomber began unbuckling his seatbelt.

"Well?" He asked impatiently, already standing with an expectant expression on his face.

"You're seriously taking me up on that?" Yuri asked in disbelief.

"You're the one that offered," He rebutted quickly.

"I-isn't that kind of dangerous?" Tsuna asked with a nervous glance up at the driver, who quickly tried to hide his amused smile with a cough.

"The traffic here is slower than a snail, I wouldn't say it's really life threatening. Just be quick."

"Okay, fine," Yuri groaned, releasing the buckle of her own seatbelt before standing up. The two took a moment to shuffle around each other awkwardly, stepping on each other's toes and jamming their elbows into each other's stomachs as a short string of angry curses flew from their lips.

"This is kind of fun!" Yamamoto laughed as Yuri finally flopped down beside him. "Like musical chairs – hey, Tsuna, let's switch spots too!"

"E-eh?"

"Oh, good idea!" Ryohei agreed, the two boys moving to unbuckle their seat belts as well.

"If the Tenth is moving back there, then so am I," Gokudera announced indignantly, unbuckling his own seatbelt yet again. "Yuri, switch back with me!"

"It's no fun if she goes back to her original seat," Yamamoto objected, stretching to step over her. "Here, I'll switch with you."

"Sawada! Let's make an extreme jump!"

"W-what? Wait, you aren't serious-" Tsuna could only stammer nervously as his friends had clearly set their minds to the task at hand.

"On three!"

"You're serious, aren't you?"

"One!"

"Ah, that looks kind of dangerous," Yamamoto commented with a nervous smile. "Gokudera, let's hurry and get out of their way."

"You don't need to tell me that, baseball idiot. You can do it, Tenth! I'll be waiting over there!"

"Wait wait wait! That's impossible, we can't jump over-!"

"Two! Get ready, Sawada!"

"Why me?!"

"Thr-!"

"Both of you," Both instigators suddenly found themselves lurching backwards as Yuri grabbed them by the collar of their shirts and hauled them back into their seats with an exasperated growl. "Sit back down."

"Whoa," Yamamoto laughed lightheartedly, rubbing his neck. "You're kind of strong, aren't you?"

"You would make an extreme addition to the boxing club!"

"How do you two focus on anything?" Yuri muttered, ignoring both of their comments as she pressed a pair of fingers to her temple.

"Calm down, all of you," Reborn finally spoke up from his seat up in the front. "We're here."

"Where's 'here'?" Tsuna asked with a tinge of excitement.

"Probably the best hotel New York has to offer," Their chauffeur replied as several bellhops ran out to greet them. "Important people from all over the world usually come to stay here, so their entire staff is made up of polyglots. There should be someone assigned as your personal translator waiting inside."

"W-wow," Again, Tsuna found himself slack jawed. Now that he was out of the car, he was able to see the luxurious building in its entirety.

"Wow!" Yamamoto agreed, climbing out next to him. "I can't wait to see what it looks like inside!"

As they maneuvered around the car to pull their luggage out of the trunk, one of the bellhops approached them, bowing as he gestured towards the hotel's extravagant entrance. "Right this way, please. We'll take care of your bags."

As the men and women stretched their arms out, each of the teens started handing their bags over, except for Yuri.

"No." She frowned, knuckles growing white as her fingers curled tightly around the straps of her duffel bag.

"They'll be perfectly safe, miss. We'll just be carting them up to your rooms-"

"I'm fine, I can take it myself."

"Really, it's no-"

"Do not," Her chin lowered determinedly, making her glower look all the more menacing. "Make me repeat myself."

"Uh…" The man tried to meet her intimidating gaze, but ended up bowing his head once more. "O-of course."

"Hmm," Yamamoto gave her a strange look as they walked into the lobby, leaving the bellhops to shuffle nervously behind them. "Are you alright? You've been kind of quiet and cranky the whole way over."

"Now that he mentions it," Tsuna turned around to look at her more closely. "You do look a little pale. Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine." It didn't look as though she had any intention of elaborating. Even if she did, she wouldn't have had the chance as a man in a finely tailored suit approached them with an excited greeting.

"Welcome to New York, Vongola Tenth! It's an honor to meet you in person – my name is Jonathan, I'll be serving as your interpreter over the duration of your assignment, as well as whenever else you might need me. Oh, and this must be your family!"

"Uh…" Tsuna stared at him with wide eyes for a few seconds, unsure of what to make of the man's loud and sudden appearance. "Y-yeah…I mean, um, yes…thank you."

"Of course, it's such a pleasure to meet all of you!" After bowing deeply, Jonathan sprang back upright like a jack-in-the-box, six cards suddenly fanned out in his hands. "You've already been checked in, so you can head directly up to your rooms – you've each been given a private suite, courtesy of the Ninth."

"E-each of us?" Tsuna's surprised squeak was quickly drowned out by Gokudera's own angry exclamation.

"Absolutely not! We're in a foreign country, who knows what kind of people might try to hurt the Tenth? As his right hand man, I must be there with him at all times!"

"G-gokudera," Tsuna's hands bobbed through the air nervously in a small 'settle down' gesture. "That's going a bit far."

"It may not be likely, but you shouldn't rule out an assassination attempt," Yuri's voice was accompanied by an uncharacteristically concerned expression. "I have to agree with him on this one, Boss. I'd feel more comfortable knowing someone was at your side."

"E-eh…" Tsuna scratched the back of his neck nervously as Gokudera took on a smug expression. "Well, I guess it would be fine – having an entire suite all to myself sounds a bit over the top, anyways."

"That can be arranged!" Jonathan grinned, flipping one of the cards into his pocket. "So, just five rooms, then?"

"I think I'd get bored being in a giant room all by myself," Yamamoto mused, turning to Ryohei with an outstretched hand. "What do you say, shall we room together as well?"

"That sounds extremely interesting!" Tsuna watched the two athletes shake on it as though they were making a pact, and wondered whether or not he should warn the hotel ahead of time for all the expenses in damage that were headed their way.

"I couldn't agree more," Jonathan flipped another card into his pocket, laughing lightheartedly. "So, four rooms?"

"I think s-" Tsuna cut himself off as he looked at Yuri. Her expression (or rather, her distinct lack of one) gave nothing away, but he got the impression that she was feeling anxious. Was she feeling left out? Or, taking what she said about assassination attempts into consideration, perhaps she was nervous about spending the nights on her own?

"If everyone is pairing off, it might be easier for Yuri and I to do the same – I don't exactly take up much space." Reborn suddenly offered, and Tsuna had to wonder if the hitman had reached the same conclusion. "If you don't mind, that is."

"No," As Yuri shook her head, Tsuna could practically see the tension leaving her shoulders. "That's not a problem."

"You've managed to turn six rooms into three!" Jonathan flipped one last card into his pocket before handing the remaining three out to them. "As expected of the Vongola! Feel free to head right on up; I'll take care of the changes at the front desk. You'll find the room numbers on your cards."

Tsuna thanked him once more, his face growing red as the man bowed with a small flourish of his white-gloved hands, looking more like an ostentatious magician than a translator. Once they had all piled into the elevator, waving at Jonathon with strained smiles, Yuri allowed herself to grimace freely the moment the doors slid shut.

"No one should be that happy," She muttered with a frown. "It's unnatural."

"He gives me the creeps," Gokudera agreed quickly.

"Really?" Yamamoto, ever the optimist, didn't seem so sure. "I thought he just looked excited!"

"A man must be extreme about his passions!" Ryohei nodded with fire in his eyes.

"What's your feeling, Tsuna?" Reborn asked, hopping up onto his shoulder.

"Me? Um…I guess he's…eccentric?"

"You're being too kind, Tenth," Gokudera growled in response. "I don't like him."

"You say that about everyone, though!" Yamamoto laughed, gaining an angry glare.

"You'll only have to interact with him a few times, he's only necessary for the assignment itself," Reborn placated as the elevator came to a stop with a pleasant little 'ding!' that signaled the doors to open. "For now, just get settled in and catch up on your rest if you need to. This is more or less an extended vacation at this point, you may as well enjoy yourselves."

"Extended vacation?" Tsuna repeated absent-mindedly as they walked down the hall, scanning the doors for their room numbers.

"Your summer vacation ended nearly a month ago, Dame-Tsuna. We've called in the unexpected extension, but don't expect to get a free pass out of all the work you're missing."

"…W-what?!" It took him a moment to roll the words around in his head, but an appropriate level of panic gripped Tsuna as they sank in.

"Did you think I had stopped being your tutor? I'm still responsible for your grades, you know."

"B-but…there'll be so much…"

"You'd better really enjoy your vacation, then," With an unapologetic smirk, Reborn hopped from the shocked boy's shoulder onto Yuri's as they finally found their rooms. "It looks like we'll be staying across the hall from you."

"And we'll be your neighbors!" Yamamoto added brightly.

"Just knock if you need anything," Yuri said as she unlocked the door, holding it open to allow Reborn and Leon inside first. "I think I might lay down for a bit."

"Ah, okay," Tsuna let his lips curl into a relieved smile. She really wasn't looking very well. He had noticed before that the dark circles under her eyes never seemed to go away, but they stood out much more prominently against the pallid color that her skin had taken on since their arrival – she probably needed the rest. "Take it easy, okay?"

"Yeah," She nodded with a small, strained smile of her own before stepping in behind the tutor. Yamamoto waited to speak up until the door had clicked shut behind her.

"May as well see what they look like!" He was holding open the door to his own room, where Ryohei had already entered and was now yelling his catchphrase over and over. Judging by the way his voice was moving, the boxer was probably running in circles. "See you guys later?"

"Yeah, feel free to knock whenever you want," Tsuna replied. "Have fun!"

"Ah, I'll be sure to!"

"Tch! Excitable morons…" Gokudera muttered in annoyance as the Swordsman disappeared into the room, leaving just the two of them in the hall.

"It is kind of exciting, though," Tsuna replied with a broad smile, moving to unlock their own door. "Why don't we get settled in?"

"Of course, Tenth! I'll get your things!"

Opening his mouth, Tsuna let out a long groan. The blood rushing to his head made it feel like his skull was about to explode from the pressure, but he remained unmoving. Instead, he just turned another page sluggishly, emitting another bored sound.

"Tsuna, you look like a tomato!" Yamamoto laughed, twisting around in his seat to mimic Tsuna's upside down position, letting his head dangle over the edge. "Wow, you're able to read like this?"

"T-tenth, shouldn't you…get back up?" Gokudera asked in worry as his boss's face began to take on a shade closer to purple than red.

"It's more comfortable this way." Tsuna lied. He honestly just felt too lazy to move. The bomber looked doubtful, but he wasn't one to question Tsuna's actions.

"T-then, I'll join in too!"

"Uh…" If he had been right side up, Tsuna's mouth would have fallen open as Gokudera flipped over onto his own bed and allowed his head to hang off the side as well. "Well, if you really want to, I guess-"

They were interrupted by a knock on the door, prompting another groan from him as he reluctantly rolled over onto his stomach and clambered off of the bed with all the grace of a walrus.

"Hey, Gokudera, let's see who can last longer in this position!" Yamamoto laughed as Tsuna made his way towards the door.

"Is that a challenge, baseball freak?"

"I guess so!" The swordsman laughed, making his face redden more quickly, but Gokudera had already achieved an even brighter shade. "You look like you're already getting a bit light headed!"

"As if I'd ever lose to you!"

Doing his best to ignore the competitive noises coming from behind him, Tsuna went ahead and opened the door.

"Oh, Yuri," The tone of his voice betrayed his surprise; he had been expecting Ryohei to be on the other side of the door. "You're up?"

He wasn't the only one who looked surprised. She had clearly been preparing to greet him, but her eyes drifted over his shoulder to the strange scene behind him, returned to his own flushed face, and her jaw closed with a small click, cutting off whatever she had been about to say. Instead, she just opted for a simple, "…What." It wasn't even a question, so much as a general statement of confusion.

Behind them, Yamamoto was craning his neck to see who was at the door. The action made him lose his grip, and he ended up sliding down onto the floor with a small yelp. Seeing this, Gokudera let out a victorious laugh, which only served to land him in a similar position.

Watching the scene unfold, Yuri just shook her head slowly and gave Tsuna another confused look.

"We're bored," He explained with an embarrassed laugh as he invited her in. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Nice enough," She murmured with a passive shrug as she offered a hand to Yamamoto, helping him get to his feet while Tsuna did the same with Gokudera. "I didn't really sleep, but the rest was sufficient."

"What about Reborn?"

"Out like a light as soon as he set up his little hammock. I think. He sleeps with his eyes open, it's…strange." Tsuna chuckled at her disturbed expression, knowing all too well how she felt. "He was still asleep last I checked, but I thought I'd come see what you guys were up to."

"Ah, we just thought we may as well take a look at the primers since there's not much else to do."

"Primers?"

"The Ninth gave us several, each on a different subject. There's one on the American Mafia, something called The Commission, New York, as well as one on America in general, and several others that we haven't even glanced at yet. I thought we'd just try to get a better idea of what our assignment is, but it's a lot of material to work through, and it's…not very exciting."

"Any way I can help?"

"Pick a primer," Tsuna sighed, gesturing at the large pile of packets on their desk. "There's more than enough to go around."

"Where's Sasagawa?" Picking up a packet, she flipped through its contents briefly before tossing it back onto the desk and moving onto the next one.

"He found out about the fourth floor."

"What's special about it?"

"It's the recreational area. I think he said there's a full gym and an indoor pool among other things. He may have already moved on by now, though, I think there are even more activities out back."

"How luxurious…" Yuri muttered, skimming over another primer with a frown before throwing it back down and turning to them. "You'd be better off trying to organize these into relevant and irrelevant piles, rather than trying to read through everything at once. How long have you been at this?"

"A couple hours, maybe?"

"Why don't you guys take a break as well, then? I can head down to the lobby and see if I can get some snacks or something."

"Oh, good idea, I'll go with you!" Yamamoto offered. Nodding, Yuri turned to lead the way out.

"We'll be back in a few minutes, then."

"Ah, thank you!" Tsuna called out as the door shut behind them, before turning back to the pile of primers. "She may have a point, I think only a handful of these have anything to do with the assignment itself."

"That's a given," Gokudera grumbled. "Yamamoto managed to get his hands on a baseball primer, after all."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Tsuna asked with a small snort of laughter.

"It's just a summary of the local teams, I think. In any case, you're exactly right; most of this is useless information. Unless we're supposed to be taking a test on New York's history and culture at the end of this trip, I don't understand why the Ninth would even give you half of this. It's like he's trying to test your information gathering skills more than-" The bomber cut himself off as the realization seemed to hit them both.

Tsuna slapped a hand to his forehead.

"I'm an idiot."

"T-that's not true, Tenth! None of us put it together either…I'm sorry, I should have realized it sooner!"

"No, that's alright," Tsuna replied with a small sigh. "I mean, better late than never, right? Why don't we just start organizing them like Yuri suggested while we wait for them to get back?"

"Of course, Tenth! I'll take care of this half."

For the next twenty minutes, they worked quickly and quietly, flipping through the first several pages of a primer before throwing it into one pile or the other. It wasn't long until they had worked their way through all of them, having trimmed the relevant pile down into a neat and manageable number.

"That went a lot more quickly than I thought it would," Tsuna said with a satisfied grin, lifting his arms above his head to stretch. "And I think we have a general idea of what we're doing here, now."

"Even the baseball freak and Turf-Top should be able to understand it," Gokudera agreed, piling the rest of the primers back onto the desk. "It shouldn't take too-"

For the second time that afternoon, they were cut off by a knock at the door. This time, though, it was a loud and heavy enough to startle them both, as though someone was trying to kick the door in.

"What the hell is their problem?" The bomber growled, bending down to pick up the papers that had scattered around him.

"I'm not sure," Tsuna muttered with a confused expression as he went to open the door. "What's-?"

Turning the handle, his question was cut off by a strangled scream as he came face-to-foot with the bottom of a shoe.

"Tenth?!" Gokudera immediately leapt to his feet, bombs in hand, but stopped himself from lighting them as he took in the scene.

Yuri and Yamamoto were standing in the doorway, each holding an armful of snacks. Having been unable to free up a hand to knock, Yuri had apparently opted to balance on one leg and simply start stomping at the door.

"Food!" She exclaimed simply after a moment of confused silence, holding out the pile of snacks for Tsuna to examine.

"And drinks!" Yamamoto added, struggling to do the same with several cans of soda and bottles of water and juice.

It was Tsuna's turn to declare his confusion, "…What."

"We just asked for some snacks, I swear," She explained quickly, shuffling in as the small packages began to fall out of her arms. "But they just kept coming and coming after that, and I really don't know how this happened."

"We're apparently getting room service for dinner, too," Yamamoto added, laughing as Yuri gave up and simply dropped everything on the floor with a frustrated sigh.

"I…I see…" Tsuna was still staring at the pile of food with wide eyes. "Do…do we pay for all of that?"

"Apparently not," Yuri shook her head, pulling something out of her back pocket and displaying it between her index and middle fingers. It looked like a credit card, but it was black with an intricate gold design on it – Tsuna's eyes widened even further as he recognized it to be the Vongola crest. "We're supposed to use this for any transactions we make while we're in the city, I guess."

"W-wow…"

"The driver said this was just a high class international hotel, but I think it's affiliated with Vongola, possibly even owned by them. We were definitely getting some sort of special treatment as soon as the manager gave us this card…not to mention the fact that we're living in luxury suites on the top floor of the building."

"Is that possible?" Tsuna wondered as he helped pick up the food. It wasn't difficult to believe that they had the best rooms the hotel had to offer. Each one had a massive bedroom with two king sized beds, a large living room with several couches and a flat screen television, as well as a kitchen, two bathrooms, and a wide outdoor deck. It would be more suitable to call them small houses rather than rooms.

"I didn't think the Vongola had this much pull this far West. I'm impressed," Yuri mused, hopping onto one of the couches and tucking her legs underneath her. "In any case, it looks like you've made some progress on those primers."

"Ah, yeah!" Tsuna grinned, picking up the packets. "We managed to narrow it down to just five or six."

"So, you know what we're doing here?"

"More or less," The grin refused to leave Tsuna's face as he started flipping through the pages, still feeling giddy over the small victory. "I mentioned The Commission earlier, right?"

"Briefly."

"Well, it's apparently the governing body of the American Mafia. It's made up of six family bosses, and basically any major actions involving families that fall under their jurisdiction have to be approved by them."

"Okay," Yuri nodded, smiling slightly in thanks as Yamamoto offered her a bottle of water.

"One of those families is called the Trovare. I guess they used to be in Italy, but relocated to New York for some reason. Actually, probably because of this – they've been allied with the Vongola for years, but there's a lot of evidence that suggests they've been selling information on the Vongola to other families."

The news was apparently surprising enough to make Yuri choke on her water, sending her into a small coughing fit.

Beside her, Gokudera wore an expression of confusion and mild alarm as he simply stared at her doubled over form. It wasn't until Tsuna gave him a pointed look that he hesitantly raised a hand to pound her firmly on the back, as though punching her spine would dislodge the water from her lungs. She put an end to that quickly, turning to smack him angrily several times as the fit died down on its own.

"That's…" She coughed a couple more times before finally being able to speak, her voice hoarse. "Amazingly stupid. They're practically digging their own graves."

"They must have a moron as their boss, having the nerve to betray our family like that…" Gokudera growled. The words came out muffled and slightly butchered as he tried to open up a bag of potato chips with his teeth; his other hand was occupied, holding Yuri's wrists hostage until he could be sure her little attack was over. "When do we take them out?"

"W-we won't be!" Tsuna replied frantically, trying to get the idea out of the bomber's head as quickly as he could. "Like I said, everything has to go through The Commission; but the bosses don't meet each other – or anyone else, for that matter – in person anymore, so we'll be interacting with them through a…a Con…"

"Consigliere?" Yuri supplied, wrenching her wrists free with a quick kick to the bomber's shin, which gained her a hissed curse and an elbow to the ribs.

"Ah, yes! They'll be relaying messages back and forth, so we'll probably have to do it several times."

"Well, that doesn't sound too hard or dangerous. I guess this really is a vacation," Smirking at the thought, Yuri reached over to steal a chip out of Gokudera's bag, drawing a grumpy protest out of him. Ignoring him, she snatched the entire bag and held it out to Tsuna. "Do you want any, Boss?"

"That's fine, I can get my own," He laughed as Gokudera swiped it back with a scowl, making her frown and cross her arms with an annoyed sigh. They really acted like a pair of siblings whenever they were together. It was a nice sight compared to just less than a week ago, when she had been a crumpled mess in the corner of a dark cell.

"Eh? What's that, Yamamoto?"

"Hm?" The swordsman glanced up in surprise as Tsuna passed him to get to the snacks, before looking back down at the thick book in his lap. "Oh, this? It's just a phonebook."

"Was that already in the room?"

"Nah, I asked for it when we were down in the lobby," He laughed as Tsuna tilted his head in a way that reminded him of a confused puppy. "I just thought I'd try looking for the number of an old friend. He was one of my seniors that played on the same Little League team as me when I was in grade school. We were planning to join the same baseball team together once I graduated, but he had to move with his dad right before I entered middle school – I just remembered on the way here that they had moved to New York."

"Wow," Tsuna murmured as he popped open his own bag of chips. "That's quite a coincidence."

"What are the chances, right?" Yamamoto laughed brightly, and Tsuna could tell the boy was excited. "I wasn't sure I'd find them in here, either, but here they are!"

"Really?" Peeking over the swordsman's shoulder, Tsuna blinked blankly at where he was pointing. He had never been very good at English, and the page just looked like a mess of symbols to him. "Are you able to read these?"

"Nope! I asked someone to write it out for me so I could look for a match."

"Y-you've been going through that letter by letter?"

"It took longer than I thought it would!" Tsuna grimaced as Yamamoto simply laughed the task off, unable to imagine doing something so arduous. "Anyways, I figure it's worth trying to give him a call before it gets too late – do you mind if I use the phone in here?"

"No, go ahead."

"Thank you!" Having already copied the number onto his palm, the swordsman closed the phonebook and hopped onto one of the beds, reaching over a pile of pillows to get to the phone. "Let's see…I wonder if he'll remember me…" He mused, punching in the numbers and lifting the phone to his ear. He was smiling, but Tsuna could see that his knee was bouncing nervously as it began to ring. "It's been three years now, he might not even-"

With a small choking sound, he suddenly slammed the receiver back down.

"W-what's wrong?" Tsuna asked with wide eyes, startled by the sudden change in attitude.

"Haa," Yamamoto let out a small sigh of relief. "That was close…"

"Did something happen?"

"No, I just thought of something – what if someone else picks up? I don't speak English, they might think I'm some sort of…I don't even know what someone would think in that situation!" He laughed, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, though his eyes snapped back open in horror as another thought struck him: "What if he's married?!"

"Is he that old?" Tsuna spluttered, choking as he tried to take a drink of water, though he managed to avoid a repeat of Yuri's recent experience.

"Ah, well…I guess he would be eighteen or nineteen now. Hm, that does seem a little bit farfetched, doesn't it?" Yamamoto chuckled. "Still, maybe it's better if I don't call."

"Well…it's up to you, but I don't think you should let that stop you."

"But if someone else answers, they won't be able to understand me."

"Just try saying his name over and over? I imagine that should get the point across."

"What if he forgot how to speak Japanese?"

"I don't think he'll…" Tsuna couldn't help chuckling – it was kind of funny to see the swordsman acting so uncharacteristically flustered. "If that happens, we have a translator. It's a chance to see an old friend, right? I think that's something worth taking a risk for."

"But…" Biting his lip, Yamamoto glanced down in thought. After a moment, his face lifted back up, his grin back in its usual spot as he turned to pick the phone back up. "I guess you're right – I'm being pretty silly right now, aren't I? Thanks, Tsuna!"

"Fight!" Tsuna cheered supportively, lifting a clenched fist as his friend dialed the number again.

"FIGHT!"

Nearly everyone dropped what they were holding as Ryohei barged into the room, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"F-fight!" Gokudera stammered, determined not to be left out of whatever his boss had just initiated.

"…fight?" Yuri repeated meekly, not sure how she was supposed to respond to that.

"Ah…" Tsuna sighed with a weak smile. It was almost sad how this wasn't even an unusual occurrence for him anymore. Almost. "Wait, Onii-san, how did you get in here? You don't have a key."

"I have one right here!" The boxer replied, holding up a slightly bent strip of plastic. "Your door's broken, though – I had to push extremely hard to open it!"

"What?" Tsuna squeaked.

"Oi, Turf-Top, that's your room's key, you idiot! You just broke the door!"

"Are we just going to ignore the fact that he literally bypassed high class security through sheer force of will?" Yuri murmured, curling up with another bag of chips, as though she were settling down to watch a show with a bag of popcorn. "That's actually kind of impressive."

"I extremely don't understand…but that's not important!" Ryohei interrupted. "Who's fighting?"

"Ah," Sighing heavily, Tsuna sat down and pointed at the bed. "Yamamoto's calling an old friend."

Suddenly remembering what he had been doing, Yamamoto dove for the phone on the ground where it had been dropped.

"Ah, h-hello?!" He yelled frantically, hoping they hadn't hung up already. As he lifted it to his ear, he could hear the person on the other end jerking away from the sudden noise. "Sorry," He apologized quickly, adjusting his volume quickly before continuing. "Is…is Nomiya Kazuo there?"

"…You speak…who is this?" Yamamoto sighed in relief as the other person replied in his native tongue.

"This is Yamamoto Takeshi, I'm a-"

"Oh!" It was Yamamoto's turn to jerk away from the phone as the loud exclamation threatened to shatter his eardrums. "No way! Takeshi?!"

"…Sempai?"

"Whoa!" Yamamoto couldn't help grinning widely as laughter filtered through the receiver, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear it. "It's been way too long! What have you been up to? How have you been? I haven't heard from you in years, what's the occasion?"

"Ah, well, I'm in New York with a few friends, and I thought-"

"You're in New York? That's incredible! I have to see you in person, how long are you here for? Are you free any time soon?"

"I don't think we'll be doing anything until the end of the weekend, so I should be!"

"Fantastic! How's tomorrow sound?"

"That soon?"

"Why not? The sooner the better, right?"

"I can't argue against that!" He could hear a small chuckle from the other end of the line.

"You haven't changed at all, have you?"

"That's not true – I got taller!"

"What?" Yamamoto laughed at Kazuo's shocked tone. "No way!"

"Yep! You missed my growth spurt!"

"Oh, now I've definitely got to see you for myself. Ten O' clock tomorrow morning, Central Park, at the carousel – can you get a map?"

"Probably!"

"It's a plan, then! Oh, and feel free to invite your friends, too!"

"Ah, I'll be sure to! We'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Yep! Don't be late, kiddo!" There was a small click, and the line went dead before Yamamoto could even protest at the nickname, but his grin only grew wider as he put the phone back. It had been three years, but it felt like neither of them had changed. Lacing his fingers behind his head, the swordsman turned to face his friends with a small laugh.

"I guess I'll be going out to meet him tomorrow! He said you guys were invited, do you want to come along? I think you'll really like him!"

"Sure," Tsuna replied with a smile, glad to see his friend acting so happy. "It sounds like fun!"

"Exploring America to the extreme!" Ryohei added, and Tsuna couldn't tell if he thought America was confined to New York, or if he actually planned to explore the entire country.

"I go wherever the Tenth goes," Gokudera responded predictably, while Yuri just nodded.

"The hotel's nice, but I wouldn't really want to stay cooped up here," She murmured, twisting the ring on her finger idly.

"Ah, this is exciting, I can't wait to introduce all of you!" Yamamoto grinned as he slid off of the bed. "I'm going to head back over to our room to grab a few things. Let me know if dinner comes so I can join you!"

"Wait up!" Ryohei leapt to his feet, jogging after him. "I'm in extreme need of a new change of clothes!"

"I'll come knock on the door if the food gets here first, then," Tsuna spoke up as they stepped out into the hall. "We won't start without you."

"Ah, thank you!" As the door slowly eased itself shut, they could see Yamamoto turning his attention to Ryohei as the boxer attempted to unlock their own door.

"Why won't it open?!"

"I'm pretty sure you broke the card too…"

"WHA-?!" The door clicked shut just in time to reduce Ryohei's exclamation into an indiscernible mumble.

"These rooms must have incredible soundproofing if they're able to muffle his obnoxious voice," Gokudera muttered with an air of surprise as Tsuna laughed nervously.

"This is going to be…" Yuri muttered, trailing off as she searched for an appropriate word, "…interesting." She finally decided, and Tsuna doubted he could have phrased it any better. With this group, the trip was bound to be stressful and nerve-wracking to say the very least…but then again, when weren't they?

Tsuna had come to accept the fact that they were more lively and adventurous than your average teenagers – they wouldn't be suited for the mafia otherwise – but without those traits, they wouldn't be the family that he had come to know and love. They were in a place that he had never imagined he might be able to visit, doing things he never imagined he might be able to do…and it was all thanks to them. True, it was more likely than not that they would wreak havoc in the city and probably break a few dozen things, but Tsuna couldn't possibly force himself to resent the fact. It was just who they were, and he couldn't imagine being able to live without them.

Tipping his head back, he let out a small, resigned sigh and let the corners of his mouth stretch out into a wide grin.

"Well…at least we won't be bored."

A/N: Okay, mission Edit The Hell Out of This Chapter: somewhat successful. I'm still not entirely happy with it, but it no longer leaves me wanting to bash my head repeatedly against a wall every time I read it, so I'm labeling it as an overall success. With any luck, most of you didn't get the chance to see the sorry state it had been in before I took it back down, and I just have no idea what I'm talking about right now. (Long story short: I commit grievous literary crimes when I try too hard to force my way through writer's block very very late at night.) Either way, I hope you enjoy it, and I promise to reincorporate that strange concept we call a 'plot' back into this story soon enough! Until then, stay well! If you celebrate it, happy Fourth of July (belatedly)! And if you don't, I hope you had a lovely weekend all the same! As always, thank you for all of the feedback and support!