Yamamoto was like a ghost the next day.
His smiles still made frequent appearances, but they didn't quite reach his eyes, which had uncharacteristically dark bags under them, and none of his laughter seemed quite as lively as usual. After he had brushed their concerns aside multiple times, Tsuna and the others decided to let the issue rest, at least until later. There were other things to worry about.
Today was the day they were meeting with the consigliere from The Commission. Reborn, thankfully, had decided to accompany them on this particular outing, while Ryohei and Yuri had opted to stay behind.
"It sounds extremely…dull," The boxer had said, clearly not understanding any of the politics involved when they had attempted to explain the situation to him. Evidently, he preferred to continue exploring the recreational facilities that the hotel had to offer.
"Someone should probably stay behind and keep an eye on him," Yuri had followed up. "Keep him from getting in too much trouble. Just tell me how it goes."
So in the end, only Gokudera and Yamamoto decided to accompany him for the meeting. Tsuna was glad he wouldn't be going alone – he was meeting an established member of the American Mafia, after all.
Reborn seemed to have more concerns, though, checking in on him as they walked down the street, "Do you feel prepared, Tsuna?"
"Eh…" Rubbing the back of his neck nervously, Tsuna glanced at the baby perched on his shoulder. "Well, I think I understand the situation pretty well. I won't be doing anything directly, right? I won't have to deal with the Trovare, just the Commission?"
"No, but you're still playing a large role. Mafia families, especially those in the Commission, take their alliances very seriously; if they've got a mole taking refuge in their territory and under their name, it's just as much their problem as it is ours. But you're still the one that's filing the complaint – you're expected to take responsibility."
"Why does it sound like they're expecting a lot from me…?"
"Because they are. In fact, they might still think you're an adult, not some scrawny teenager. Word travels a bit more slowly overseas."
"Wh-what?!" Shock laced Tsuna's voice, making it shoot up in pitch. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier? What if they think I'm faking?"
"Then you'll be punished," Reborn frowned as his student let out a familiar little 'Hiiee!'. "You'll just need to work harder to prove yourself to them. Respect isn't always handed to you on a silver platter because you're associated with a powerful name. You've got to earn it, just like anyone else."
"I…but…what if I say something wrong? I don't know anything about being a mafia boss!"
"That's why you're learning. What do you think the point of this assignment is?"
"There aren't any…classes?" Tsuna knew he sounded ridiculous before the words had even left his mouth. "Or at least, couldn't the Ninth have taught me something while we were in Italy?"
"Didn't he?"
"He didn't!"
"Think harder, baka-Tsuna. Before Italy, would you have known how to track down a corrupt Mafioso, much less how to deal with one? Did you understand how the politics work in the mafia, or to what lengths a boss might have to go to in order to protect his family?"
"Well…" Tsuna wanted to protest, but he didn't have the words. All of it was true, after all.
By being placed directly into the environment, Tsuna had come face to face with the mafia, both its good and its bad sides. By meeting Yuri, he had done plenty of things that he never would have imagined himself being capable of, though a lot of it had felt like a slap in the face – which was a lesson in and of itself. Even after everything they'd been through with the Varia, the Millefiore, the Simon family…he had still been naïve about just what the mafia was. Something told him that even if Yuri hadn't been assigned as his guide, if he had never even met her at all, he would have had a similar set of experiences anyway. That was just the kind of world they lived in, where a story like Yuri's wasn't necessarily unique.
"He could have had you sit down and study history, relations, politics, but do you think you would have understood any of that? Just look at your grades in school," Reborn continued, taking Tsuna's silence as understanding. "You learn best through first hand experiences, and you've always grown the fastest when under pressure. The best way for you to gain these skills is to just throw yourself into the situation."
Unable to come up with any retort, Tsuna simply tilted his head back and let out a low groan, settling for a simple, "At least I'm not by myself."
"We may be coming along with you, but don't forget that you're the boss, Tsuna. I fully expect you to do all of the talking here," The hitman reminded him harshly.
"Why are you even coming, then?" Tsuna grumbled, pushing his fists deeper into his pockets.
"This isn't just some test. You're on your first real assignment, so I have to make sure you don't screw it up. If you make too many mistakes, it'll reflect badly on the Vongola family as a whole," Reborn's frown deepened, showing that he was serious. "But I'm not going to hold your hand and guide you through it. These are things you need to learn to do on your own."
Tsuna sighed, knowing no amount of protesting would change the hitman's stance on the matter.
"Yeah, I get it already…" He muttered, allowing his gaze to slide over to Yamamoto once more. The swordsman was staring vacantly at the sky, as he had been doing all morning whenever someone wasn't speaking to him, a blank smile occupying his face like an 'Out of Service' sign more than a proper facial expression.
Tsuna could feel his brow wrinkling in worry as his line of sight moved on to the final member of their party: Jonathan, the interpreter that had greeted them when they first arrived. He wanted to try talking to Yamamoto again, but he didn't want to say too much in front of the stranger.
Instead, he just let out another heavy sigh and dropped his gaze to the ground – between the concern he had for his friend and the apprehension he felt with this upcoming meeting, Tsuna couldn't help feeling like the world was resting on his shoulders.
"My, no need to look so glum, Vongola Tenth," Jonathan took the silence as an opportunity to speak up as he stepped ahead of them. "After all, if something goes wrong, you can always just say that something was lost in translation – not that I plan to make such a mistake, of course."
"Ah…that's kind of you," Even though he was saying so, Tsuna balked at the implication. Throwing someone else under the bus just to save his own skin didn't seem like the best way to start creating a reputation for himself. "B-but there's no way I could possibly do that."
"Of course not," Gokudera growled beside him. "The Tenth won't make any mistakes, so don't do him any unnecessary favors. You'll just get in the way."
"G-Gokudera…" Lifting his hands, Tsuna prepared to placate bomber, but was cut off by Jonathan's lively laughter.
"Of course, forgive me for presuming as much," He gave a deep bow as he pulled the door to a small café open. It was small, dimly lit diner nestled between a much larger shop and a dank looking alley. "We've arrived at the designated location, in any case. You remember what to look for?"
"Red flannel and a baseball cap," Tsuna recited as he stepped in cautiously, "Blue bag next to the table."
"Very good, Vongola Tenth," Bowing once more, Jonathan fell in step behind him, signifying that he planned to follow Tsuna's lead.
Gulping, Tsuna turned to scan the dark building, trying hard not to look conspicuous as he peered into booths and peeked at the faces sitting at the counter. As he continued to search without success, he only grew more nervous. Had the consigliere not arrived yet? Or was he just failing this test already?
"Don't be so tense, Tsuna," Flinching slightly as an arm wrapped around his shoulders, Tsuna glanced up to find Yamamoto standing beside him with an encouraging grin. "It's just talking, right? I don't think there's much that can go wrong!"
"Yama…" Tsuna's voice trailed off as gratitude took hold of him. It was the first time the swordsman had spoken since they left the hotel, and Tsuna had assumed that he hadn't been paying attention to their conversation on the way over. Though his grin still didn't quite reach his eyes, Tsuna could tell it was genuine. Whatever was on his mind, it didn't change the fact that Yamamoto had his back. "Yeah. You're right."
Tsuna had almost allowed himself to forget why he was putting himself in this position in the first place.
Clearing his throat, he turned his attention back to the café to try once more. This time, he spotted what he was looking for almost immediately, his eyes drifting to the man of their own accord. Sure enough, he was wearing a red flannel shirt with a black baseball cap pulled low over his eyes, a blue duffel bag lying limply beside his legs.
"There," Tsuna muttered, preparing to lift a hand to point him out before thinking better of it. It was best to avoid anything that would draw attention to them. "The booth at the end, opposite from the window."
"Very good," Jonathan repeated appraisingly. "Well, let's go introduce you, shall we? Don't want to let him think you're a man of habitual tardiness."
Pushing past them, the interpreter made his way towards the table, gesturing for them to stay close. As they approached, the man in question glanced up, his eyes narrowing as he lowered a small glass of alcohol that he had been nursing. Beaming, Jonathan lifted a hand in greeting as he said something in English. Tsuna couldn't understand all of it, but he caught a few words that he recognized – something about sandwiches. Recognition flickered in the man's eyes, but his scowl only deepened as he waved them into the booth, moving over so Jonathan could sit beside him while the boys took their seats across from them.
"Hm," Jonathan hummed thoughtfully as the man spoke, reaching possessively for the drink he had set down moments earlier. "He wants us to order something before we start."
"Alright," Tsuna nodded, and the man lifted an arm to wave the waitress over. "Just order anything for us – we've already eaten."
"Right away," Jonathan nodded, opening up the menu to scan the items as the young woman approached them with a pen and pad of paper in hand. After thinking it over for a moment, he looked up at her and flashed a charming smile, listing off several simple items. Thanking her, he closed the menu and passed it back to her, folding his hands neatly in front of him as she left. "I hope you like soup."
"That's fine," Tsuna nodded with a tense, but kind smile. "Thank you, Jonathan."
"Don't waste time on pleasantries, Tsuna," Reborn muttered quietly beside him. "Hurry up and get to the point."
Tsuna's brow wrinkled in slight irritation – what was wrong with being polite? But he couldn't hold onto the feeling for long. Despite all his talk on the way over, it seemed Reborn was there to help him, even if he wasn't exactly nice about it. Clearing his throat quietly, Tsuna lifted his hands onto the table where everyone could see them, keeping his body language open as he turned his attention to the consigliere. He didn't bother making sure Jonathan was ready before speaking, having already learned from Yuri that it was an unnecessary step that hindered the conversation more than anything.
"Thank you for taking the time to meet with us today," His voice was halting as he tried to figure out exactly what to say, but the words began to flow more easily as Jonathan effortlessly reflected the sentiment in perfect English. "I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, but you can feel free to just call me Tsuna. These are my companions, Gokudera and Yamamoto, and this is my…advisor, Reborn. It's nice to meet you, um…?"
The consigliere shifted, murmured something as he pulled off his hat. Even before Jonathan spoke, Tsuna could already tell that the words he had to say didn't quite mirror the friendliness of his own.
"You don't need to know my name," His eyes were cold, scrutinizing. "I've heard of Reborn – you and your 'companions', on the other hand…well, you're a strange case. I assume you're just a messenger of some sort, since there's no way you could be a consigliere. So the question is: what is someone like you doing with bodyguards like those, much less an advisor like Reborn?"
Tsuna stiffened at the words, and he could easily feel Gokudera doing the same beside him, but he did his best to maintain a pleasant expression as he replied.
"I see," He let out a small, nervous laugh, trying hard not to stutter. "Well, you're only half right, really. I guess I am a messenger, of some sort. To be more specific, the Ninth has chosen me as his heir, who will succeed him as the Tenth Vongola boss. And these two aren't bodyguards – they're close friends and core members of my family. Please treat them well."
It was clear his words had surprised the consigliere, as the man's eyes widened and scanned over him once more, as though seeing him in a new light. But that was the limit of his reaction.
"…is that right?" He finally replied with a frown, his eyebrows drawing together. "You're just a kid. You don't look like you've got even a drop of Italian blood in you. Has the Vongola lost it? I know you can't be the Ninth's kid – did he not have the sense to have a son of his own? He must be desperate if he's resorted to…you."
The words felt like a slap to the face. It wasn't the first time Tsuna had faced skepticism about his ability to become a boss, but it was the first time his face had grown hot with a deep sense of not only shame, but also anger.
"That's kind of harsh," Yamamoto murmured with a disquieted expression, while Gokudera slammed his fist into the table.
"How dare you speak to the Tenth like that," Tsuna was glad that Jonathan had decided to stop translating as the bomber proceeded to spit out a string of vile threats and obscenities. Truthfully, there was a part of Tsuna that wanted to let him continue, but he knew better than to give that part any power.
"…that's enough, Gokudera," He finally interrupted the tirade, placing a firm hand on his friend's shoulder. "I can handle this."
"But he-!" The protest sputtered out into surprised silence as the bomber caught sight of his Tsuna's face. There was no flame on his forehead, but he wore an expression that was nearly identical to the one he adopted when entering his hyper dying will mode. Even more striking were his eyes – he was furious. "R…right…o-of course."
"Mister," Tsuna's voice was low as he finally turned to address the consigliere once more. "I apologize if I'm not quite what you had in mind. But the Ninth is like a grandfather to me, and I won't tolerate and words spoken against him. To answer your question, he had three sons – all of whom were murdered. I would advise against bringing the topic up again." Lacing his fingers, Tsuna's hands clenched reflexively as he leaned forward, his voice lowering further until it was little more than a soft murmur. "And I have no reason to justify myself to you, but it might set your mind at ease to know that I'm a direct descendent of the Vongola Primo. I may not be Italian, but if you'd like to argue customs and traditions, this family is my birthright. Now, if that's all, I came here to conduct business under the impression that everyone would handle themselves professionally. If you have any further criticisms about my position, you're welcome to voice them to the Ninth yourself – he's only a short phone call away."
Leaning back, Tsuna gazed at the man levelly, desperately hoping his bluff wouldn't be called. In truth, he had no idea whether or not the Ninth could be reached at the moment, much less whether or not the Vongola was his "birthright". But he had to sound confident.
To his immense relief, the consigliere's mouth quirked up into an amused smirk as he let out a small laugh through his nose, crossing his arms and leaning back as well.
"Alright, you've made your point. It would seem looks can be deceiving, as I've obviously misjudged you. Forgive my audacity, Vongola Tenth. It's an honor to meet you." Letting out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding in the first place, Tsuna sunk back into his seat, the tension draining out of him as the potential conflict was successfully averted. He could hear Reborn letting out a small chuckle beside him.
"Not bad, Tsuna." He couldn't help but smile slightly at the praise, even if it was short.
"Well done, Tenth!" Gokudera whispered gleefully beside him. "He has no right to speak to you that way – you really put him in his place!"
"That was impressive," Yamamoto agreed, eyeing him closely. "And a little bit scary!"
"I-it was nothing, you guys," Tsuna replied quietly, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I honestly just made it up as I went along…"
"It's not a bad skill to have," Reborn added, knocking his small fist lightly against Tsuna's skull. "You're not done yet, though – pay attention."
"A-ah, right," Straightening back up, Tsuna brought his focus back to the consigliere, who was now rifling through the contents of the blue duffel bag.
"So, to begin, there was-" Just as the consigliere was about to start speaking, the waitress arrived with several bowls of soup in hand. Taking advantage of the pause in the conversation, Jonathan caught Tsuna's eye and offered a quick wink before turning his attention back to the young woman. Once she finished distributing their utensils and napkins, she slid the bill onto the corner of the table with a small smile before leaving them to continue the conversation.
"As I was saying," Clearing his throat, the consigliere pulled a thin file out of the duffel bag. "There was an overwhelming amount of circumstantial evidence to back your claims of the Trovare's treason once we looked into it a bit, so The Commission is more than willing to support you in this matter. The Trovare is a small family with less than five hundred total members, who originated from Sicily as far as we can tell, and immigrated to the states about twelve years ago. They're an information gathering family, so they don't have much in terms of strength or combat ability…under any other circumstances, this would be a fairly easy open-and-shut case. We could overpower them in the blink of an eye, ideally with minimal casualties."
"Under…any other circumstances?" Tsuna echoed, cutting his relief short. "So there's a complication?"
"Mm…" The consigliere nodded slowly, rubbing his chin with a pensive frown as he continued to flip through the file's contents. "What they lack in brute strength, they make up for in intelligence. Though their numbers are small, each and every member is one of the brightest men and women you'll meet in this field, and they're not renowned as an informant family without reason. They're the best of the best when it comes to espionage – setting up surveillance, wiretapping and planting bugs, shadowing and tailing…rumor is, not a single one of those five hundred members has ever been caught while spying. They have a good track record and provide good results, so a lot of families will protest against their, er…disbandment."
"So they might take sides?"
"Oh, it's not a matter of 'might'," He chuckled, lifting an eyebrow in amusement. Tsuna quickly bit down on his tongue as he realized he had just slipped up, allowing his naiveté to show. "They'll definitely take sides. That's just how these things go."
"Are you saying this could turn into some kind of…war?"
The consigliere laughed openly at that, "War? Like taking the fight out onto the streets of our good city? That would make for a thrilling little tidbit of history in future textbooks, but no. We're going to face a bit of opposition, but it's nothing we can't handle. You'd do well not to underestimate our families right off the bat, Vongola."
"I-I'm sorry," Tsuna apologized quickly, dipping his head as he realized he must have said something offensive. "It wasn't my intention to do so…a-at all. I just…I'm afraid I'm not quite getting your point."
"Well, that's probably because I haven't made it yet. The whole reason I was telling you about their proficiency for espionage was to illustrate just how good they are at what they do. They know how to stay hidden, how to cover their tracks, when to move and when to hunker down. There's only one thing they do better at than gathering information, and that's not being found if they don't want to be found."
"…" It took a moment for the words to sink in after their translation, but Tsuna soon found his jaw slowly dropping. "You mean…?"
"I'm afraid we didn't have your case filed as a very high priority, and I'll admit we probably could have been a bit more subtle with our investigation."
"You…you let them find out?"
Even Reborn, who wore an unimpressed scowl, had to speak up, "From the sound of it, these Trovare have eyes and ears everywhere, which you've been perfectly aware of. If anything, this was a case that should have been treated with more care than usual. Are you saying you did the exact opposite?"
Rapping his fingers against the tabletop for a few moments, the consigliere pursed his lips and heaved a large sigh, closing the file as he finally lifted his head to look at them.
"Not many people will follow my lead here, but yes. I admit, we made a mistake – a pretty unprofessional one, for which I apologize. We didn't think there was much merit to your claim, so we didn't put the requisite amount of time, effort, or caution into the matter."
It was easy to see that the apology was sincere, but the small hitman wasn't moved. Instead, a shadow fell over his face and his scowl only deepened.
"Do you think the Vongola would try to waste your time with claims based on paranoia?"
"We – no, I – didn't think at all. I was careless."
"Is that supposed to fix this?" Tsuna couldn't help flinching as Reborn's tone grew more severe, recognizing it from the numerous times he had been unforgivingly chastised by the tutor. "Now there's a family that poses a threat to not only our family, but yours as well, running loose with no reason to keep themselves in check anymore. If that's not bad enough, you let this happen while the Vongola Ninth's heir is visiting. You've put him, as well as his family, in danger. And you're speaking as though an apology is enough – you call yourself a Mafioso, much less a consigliere?"
"R-Reborn…" Tsuna cut in hesitantly, practically quaking in his boots. Even if Reborn was in a good mood, he had no way of knowing how the hitman would react to his interruption. "I don't think scolding him will get us anywhere."
"No, please let him continue, Tenth," Gokudera growled beside him. "This bastard's carelessness is inexcusable – I won't forgive anyone that puts the Tenth in harm's way."
"Even so," Tsuna replied, raising his voice slightly. "That doesn't change the situation, does it? What's happened has already happened, so shouldn't we be focusing on what to do from here instead of getting angry? A mistake is a mistake – they happen, so why don't we just let it go?"
"…Tch!" The bomber turned his head away stubbornly as he crossed his arms and sunk further down into the seat. "You're lucky the Tenth is so forgiving, I ought to shove a bomb down your…"
Reborn let out a similarly irritated sound as Gokudera descended into indecipherable mutterings.
"For once, you have a point, baka-Tsuna. I'm sure his family will give him a more suitable punishment than I can, under the circumstances."
"J-just…calm down, both of you," Tsuna murmured pleadingly, turning back to face the consigliere. To his credit, the man was maintaining an impressively calm expression despite all of the harsh words. "How recently did they go missing?"
"Just three days ago."
"So not much time has passed; that's good news, right?"
"We certainly aren't planning to give up or back down anytime soon. They've personally insulted The Commission as a whole with these cowardly tactics. I assure you, they won't be getting off easy."
"That's a relief. Do you have any leads?"
"Dozens. As we speak, there are men scouting possible locations where they may have set up a base. It isn't a matter of not knowing where to look in this situation, but a matter of narrowing down a huge list of possibilities that we want to keep from growing even larger. The moment we realized they had gone into hiding, we stationed people at every airport, train station, dock, and so on. It should be impossible for them to get out of the city through any mainstream means of transportation, and if they're on foot, we're certain to catch them. Five hundred members seems small compared to many other mafia families, but it's not a number that can be easy to conceal. They're bound to make a mistake sooner or later."
"I hope so," Softening, Tsuna offered a friendly smile. "It sounds like you're doing all you can to fix the mistake. Can I assume you won't let something like that happen again?"
"Of course."
"Good. Then that's settled, isn't it? You're working hard – since we are technically the reason for that, I can only assume it'd be fair for us to do the same. What can we do to help?"
"Ah, er…" From the way the man was stuttering, eyes growing wide, it was clear that he hadn't expected Tsuna to offer something like that. "Well…nothing. It's not that I don't appreciate it, but this is still under the Commission's jurisdiction. If you take any action yourself, it'll be viewed as infringing. You'd just cause trouble."
"How dare you," Gokudera snarled once more. "After getting yourselves into this mess, you've got the nerve to suggest-"
"Boy, you've got one hell of a temper. Please don't misunderstand; I'm not saying that I think you'd get in the way. It's just the way things work around here."
"You-!"
"Now now, Gokudera," Yamamoto interrupted quickly, speaking openly for the first time during the entire meeting. "It's fine isn't it? I think it makes sense."
"That's fair," Tsuna agreed with a light cough, trying to be subtle about the fact that he was completely ignoring the interruption. "We're on your turf, after all, so we'll follow your rules. I'll leave it in your hands." Suddenly feeling drained of energy, he propped his chin up against his knuckles. "Is that all, then?"
"It is." The consigliere confirmed, and Tsuna nodded, shifting so that he could stand.
"Good. Again, thank you for meeting us, since I'm sure you're busy. We'll be waiting for your call – I look forward to hearing what news you have for us."
"And I look forward to having news to give. I'll do my best to ensure that it's good." Matching Tsuna's movements, the consigliere stood and reached out for his hand. Assuming he was initiating a handshake, Tsuna was more than a little surprised when the man dipped his head and pressed his lips to the ring on his finger. His mind raced in circles for a bit before coming to the realization that it wasn't some sudden proclamation of love, but one of deep respect. "It's been an absolute honor to meet you, Vongola Tenth."
"You were incredible, Tenth!"
"I think I'm going to puke."
They were finally back at the hotel, and now that Jonathan had parted ways with them in the lobby, Tsuna no longer felt the need to maintain the guise of a strong, respectable mafia boss. Leaning against the wall of the elevator, he let out a long sigh as all of his nerves and the tension from the meeting caught up to him at once.
"I thought you did well," Yamamoto said with an encouraging grin. "You really were impressive!"
"Hmph," Reborn wore his signature smirk, a familiar gleam in his eye. "You held your own, Tsuna. Not bad. You'd better start getting yourself ready for the next time, though. I won't tolerate any mistakes after this."
"I'm going to puke," He repeated as his only response, wobbling out of the lift as it finally reached their floor. "I'm going to puke and then I'm going to take a very, very long nap."
"Don't say that, Tenth!" Gokudera cheered, sidling up beside him with a grin so bright it could blind someone. "You dealt with that incompetent fool amazingly well. I knew you could do it!"
"I was terrified," Tsuna muttered, pulling out his keycard as they reached his room. "I didn't think-"
He froze midsentence as he suddenly registered the fact that there were voices coming from inside. It seemed Gokudera had noticed it sooner, as he was already positioning himself between his boss and the door.
"Please let me, Tenth," He whispered, gently taking the keycard from Tsuna's fingers. "Stay behind me."
"Do you think it's the Trovare?" Yamamoto asked quietly, pulling the Shigure Kintoki from his back as he took up a position opposite Gokudera, the two of them flattening against the walls on either side of the door.
"I'm willing to bet," The bomber growled. "Damn bastards are probably trying to catch the Tenth with his guard down. I'll make them regret it – Tenth, please stay back."
"Eh…?" Tsuna's brow furrowed as he was pulled along, forced to flatten himself against the wall as well. "But you're using my key, so the door hasn't been tampered with-"
His reasoning fell on deaf ears as the bomber threw the door open and rushed inside, three sticks of dynamite in each hand as Yamamoto followed him in, sword held low but ready to strike at any minute.
"Okay, I'm serious, you need to stop running off the edge of that cliff! I've already taught you how to jump three times now, it's not that difficult!"
"Extreme men don't jump over obstacles!"
"Unbelievable. A massive hole in the ground is not an obstacle, it's a massive hole in the ground. There's literally no getting around that fact."
Though he was sighing, Tsuna couldn't fight the smile that took hold of his face as he stepped in behind his friends, peeking over their shoulders at the scene inside. Ryohei and Yuri were in the living room, both seated on the floor just a few feet away from the large television, and they appeared to be playing a video game.
"Extreme men don't jump!" The boxer was adamantly repeating, fire in his eyes as he tried to launch his character across a wide gap with nothing but momentum.
"Okay, maybe this will get through to you," Yuri, on the other hand, wore a bored and mildly exasperated expression as she simply pressed the buttons on her controller at random, as she couldn't advance unless he came with her. "Extreme men do extreme jumps."
"Oh! That makes much more sense!"
"…unbelievable." Gokudera and Yamamoto watched in stunned silence, apparently still trying to comprehend the fact that there weren't any hostile spies in the room, as Ryohei attempted to advance his character past the gap once more. "Whatever. That means you're going to jump, right? I'm actually following you this time…jump. Oi, Sasagawa, I said jump!"
Tsuna suppressed a small laugh as Ryohei waited a second too long to push the right button, forcing Yuri to try and backpedal despite the momentum they had both built up. With an odd little screech, she managed to leap off of his character's head only to fall just short of the other side, sending both of their pixelated personas falling to their death.
"Unbelievable." She repeated for the third time, untucking her legs from beneath her to kick wildly at the screen as large block letters flew out to spell a condemning GAME OVER.
"That's unbelievable?" Gokudera growled, finally coming to his senses, the sound of his voice making Yuri's head snap around toward them. "What about this? What are you doing in our room?"
"Oh, you're back?" She replied, ignoring his reprimands as she got to her feet, the frustration of the game already forgotten.
"Oi! Pay attention and answer my question!"
"Welcome back!" Ryohei greeted loudly, his jovial tone completely drowning out Gokudera's irritated one. "Did you have an extreme meeting?"
"We did, actually!" Yamamoto replied, already laughing good naturedly in response to the shift in mood.
"How did it go?" Yuri asked immediately. "Is the assignment done?"
"Not…not exactly." Making a point to shuffle towards the bedroom, as he hadn't been kidding about that nap, Tsuna's reply was broken by an uninvited yawn. "It took a bit of a different turn than we were expecting."
"But he was incredible!" Gokudera added quickly. "As expected of the Tenth, of course!"
"Of course," Yuri agreed, though she looked slightly confused. "I feel like I'm missing some exposition, though."
"Tsuna was great! I had no idea he could be so good with words…or quite so intimidating." Tsuna grumbled quietly as Yamamoto chose to elaborate.
"Oh? Am I just going to get an update, or a full-blown story? This sounds interesting."
"Just…come here," Tsuna waved her over from the bedroom, where he had already flopped back onto his bed. "I'll fill you in on the important stuff, but I'm not getting up."
"Oi!" Ryohei protested. "We haven't finished this level yet! This time I'll get the extreme jump for sure!"
Glancing between the remote in her hands and Tsuna, the girl let out a conflicted noise, torn between duty and obligation. After several seconds of watching her silent internal struggle, Gokudera stepped forward with an irritated sigh, presenting her with an open hand.
"Just give it here," He grumbled. "Can't you learn to say 'no' in the right context?"
"I'll leave it to you, then," Somehow, the fact that she handed the controller over without so much as a millisecond of hesitation made it worse. "Hang in there, and don't blow up your room. I'm not sharing mine with you."
"Can't you at least pretend to be grateful?"
"I owe you," She took a moment to clap her hands together and bow quickly before turning to join Tsuna. "I'll come rescue you as soon as I can."
"Like I need you to-! Ah, whatever, damn woman – just don't waste too much of the Tenth's time!" Yamamoto laughed, his hands loosely clasped behind his head as he followed after Yuri, making the bomber scowl. "Oi, where the hell do you think you're going?"
"We have to make sure someone tells her how it really went," He flashed another wide grin, though it didn't even begin to touch his eyes. "You don't really think Tsuna will tell her the important parts, do you?"
"Wha-? But that should be my job!"
"Oi, Octopus-head! If you don't hurry, I'll start without you and beat you to the extreme!"
Yamamoto continued to laugh as he joined his friends in the bedroom, easing the door shut behind him as Gokudera descended into incoherent grumbling and starting a yelling match with the boxer while lively music blasted from the television once more.
"I'd better make this quick if I want to keep the hotel in one piece," Tsuna muttered, pushing himself up into a seated position while Yuri perched on the corner of the bed opposite him.
"You work hard," Yuri murmured. "I won't keep you for long – you look exhausted. Just tell me what went wrong."
With a small groan, Tsuna launched into the explanation, recapitulating the events of that afternoon as accurately as he could. Every now and then, Yamamoto would jump in to illustrate with a quote and a nearly flawless impression of Tsuna, right down to his expression and tone of voice. Though Tsuna wanted to bury his face in a pillow as Yuri chuckled, he could tell that she was just as impressed as the others.
"You did well," She praised once they finished. "It's unfortunate that you have to deal with this in return."
"That's true…but I meant what I said," Tsuna replied with a small sigh. "I trust them to fix it. I'm actually glad we don't have to deal with the Trovare – they sound kind of scary."
"We won't be able to let our guard down…not exactly what I'd call a vacation. It'll be a bit stifling, but you should probably have at least one of us by your side at all times. I'm glad you're rooming with Hayato. He may be reckless, but he gets the job done."
"Y-yeah…" Leaning back on his elbows, Tsuna tilted his face to the ceiling and let out a low sound of distress. Suddenly his head snapped back up, his eyes wide. "Ah! That reminds me – what about the party?"
"Oh." Yuri frowned. "This does make that plan a bit more complicated."
"Party?" Yamamoto stared at them blankly.
"Yeah, a surprise party," Tsuna clarified. "Yuri told me Gokudera's birthdate during the flight. I felt kind of bad, since we've never celebrated his birthday before – I didn't know when it was, even after having known him for so long, and we just missed it again, so I thought we might try to throw him a party while we were here."
"That sounds fun!" The swordsman grinned. "I bet he'll appreciate it, especially if he knows it was your idea."
"It'll probably be impossible for me to get away from him for long enough to do anything now that the Trovare are an issue, though," Tsuna mumbled. "I don't feel like I can take any credit if I don't help out."
"Don't worry, we'll help you! It can't be that hard make up an excuse; and besides, he's not the only person that can act as a guard. I'm sure we'll come up with something."
"Yeah…" Tsuna tried to mirror the optimistic smile, but all he could see were the shadows under his friend's eyes. "Um…by the way, I've been meaning to ask-"
"Do it right, Turf-Top!" Gokudera's angry voice suddenly blasted through the door, as though he somehow knew he was a topic of conversation.
"Your explanations are extremely confusing!" A certain boxer yelled back, easily surpassing him in volume.
"Tsk, forget it, this is useless! Find someone else to play with, you idiot."
"OI, SAWADA!"
"Y-you seriously-! Don't bother the Tenth with your nonsense!"
Tsuna flinched as the volume only continued to grow.
"I'd better do something about that," He muttered, sliding off the bed and opening up the door to break up the fight.
"They always keep things lively, don't they?" Yamamoto chuckled, getting ready to follow him out. Though it was clear Tsuna had been cut off midsentence, the swordsman was acting as though nothing had been said at all.
"Yamamoto," He froze mid-step, glancing over his shoulder curiously as Yuri stopped him. "…you're okay, right?"
"Hm?" He donned a confused, blank grin. "What do you mean?"
"Don't do that. Don't pretend you haven't been acting off all morning. I may have only just met you compared to how long those guys have known you for, but even I can tell something's bothering you." His grin grew awkward as she fixed him with a stern glare, a drop of sweat rolling down the back of his neck. Though he was perfectly aware of the fact that they had all seen right through him, he felt as though he'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "If you don't want to share, fine, but I need to know whether or not you're going to do something reckless. We're all concerned, but Boss…he worries. He really worries. You can tell that, can't you?"
"…A-ah…" Rubbing the back of his neck, Yamamoto dropped his gaze to the ground, unable to stand looking her in the eye for a second longer. "I don't mean to…I mean…" Letting out a long breath, he dropped his hand and lifted his eyes to meet hers once more, an openly pained smile twisting his features. "Yes, I'm alright. I won't do anything rash – I'm really sorry to have made you worry, but you don't need to. I'll be fine."
"Then tell him that yourself," She replied in a clipped tone. "He, of all people, deserves a straight answer, don't you think?"
"Yeah," He agreed solemnly. "I do."
"Good." Apparently satisfied, she finally got up off of the bed and made her own way to the door. "Let's get out there, then – sounds like we've got a few tactical meetings of our own ahead of us."
"Yeah," As they stepped out to join the others, Yamamoto effortlessly slipped his cheery mask back on, adding his carefree laughter to the mixed cacophony of voices.
But even though he was with them physically, his mind was miles away, trying to decide whether or not he had just lied right to Yuri's face.
A/N: Wow, this one took longer to write than I thought it would. Even though I don't feel like a whole lot happened, it somehow still ended up being fairly lengthy! In any case, I hope I didn't keep you all waiting for too long! I let myself take a significant break over the holidays, and I hope you guys did the same! I'm looking forward to dedicating a good chunk of 2015 to this story, and I really hope you guys will come along for the ride :) As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read this little fic of mine, and for taking the time to leave such kind and encouraging reviews! You have no idea just how much it makes my day when I get the chance to read your thoughts and opinions of my work. Thanks for sticking with me this far, guys, and happy new year!