Chapter 8 - Travel Plans
----
It took an enormous amount of personal restraint for Xanxus to not crush his cell phone when the device suddenly began ringing, disrupting him from his brooding. With most of his subordinates relocated to other facilities, somehow all the annoying paperwork that Xanxus usually dumped on other people to do all navigated back to him. There was nothing that Xanxus loathed more then paperwork. And with no stupid shark around to kick and throw things at, Xanxus was left to vent his pent up frustration on the poor soul who dared to call him now. Digging the noisy contraption out of his coat pocket, he told himself several times that destroying yet another phone would not make him feel any better, it would in fact only frustrate him further in the future when he'd go to replace it (Xanxus currently held the record for most broken phones within the Vongola, at 37. Ryohei is in second with 23). With an audible growl, Xanxus flipped the phone open.
"If this isn't important, I'm hanging up and you're fired. You have 10 seconds."
"B--boss! I'm..I'm sorry for disturbing you, I wasn't sure who else to call. I can't get a hold of Captain Squalo, or anyone else for that matter, and I really needed to- --" The timid voice of a subordinate on the other line babbled as he was completely caught off guard by Xanxus actually answering his phone.
"6 seconds" Xanxus cut in, his voice not hiding any of his annoyance.
"Ehhhh!…Ummm..This--This is Dario from Captain Squalo's squad stationed in Japan. We have a situation -"
"3 seconds." Seven seconds wasted and Xanxus already hated the guy. Since when did the Varia recruit babbling idiots?
"Someone is targeting Varia members!" The subordinate finally blurted out, wanting to at least voice his message.
This apparently was enough to get Xanxus's attention, because he didn't immediately hang up. Waiting a few more moments, the subordinate took this as a cue to continue.
"Within the last week, at least 4 Varia members stationed here in Japan have been assassinated. Each incident was different, with one being caught in an explosion, another drowned, and the other two shot execution style. We haven't got a single clue as to who's responsible." Dario explained timidly over the phone, trying to speak clearly yet getting all the important facts out before his boss decided to end their conversation short.
"We're working on trying to connect the killings together, but without a captain's orders, and the chain-of-command here in Japan being picked off, we're not quite sure how to proceed." Dario finished slowly, trying not to sound as helpless as he really was.
Xanxus grumbled irritably, and pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to sooth the headache that was already building. Why did all this shit happen whenever Squalo wasn't around? Xanxus hated babysitting idiots. "Fuck this, why now.." Xanxus more mumbled to himself then to Dario.
"Uh, B-Boss, sir? Where…Where is Captain Squalo? If I could get in contact with him I wouldn't have to bother you…." Dario tried to offer, hoping to not piss off his hot-tempered boss and end up losing his job, and possibly his life.
"He's at boy scout camp." Xanxus bit out irritably, reminded exactly why his second-in-command wasn't here.
"Eh!?" Dario exclaimed, not entirely understanding Xanxus's answer.
"I said he was at boy scout camp! Now shut the fuck up while I think!" Xanxus snapped, dangerously close to breaking his phone in two. He was seriously tempted to just tell the fools to suck it up and fix the situation themselves, but given the circumstances, and the idiots he was dealing with, that probably wasn't the best idea. The targeting of Varia members could mean several things, from declaration of war, to another family's attempt at hiding whatever they don't want other families to know. Any such situation requires a certain level…of delicacy, and Xanxus had little trust in his bottom-feeding subordinates in handling such a situation. The only question now was, what to do?
An idea struck him. "I'm coming to Japan. Sit tight until then, and try to at least stop acting like school kids and stay alive, trash." Xanxus didn't wait to hear the other's reply, as he closed the phone shut with a satisfying click, cutting off the connection.
As of late, Xanxus had been feeling irritable and restless, like a caged lion. He blamed it entirely on the young Vongola boss. The strange anxieties and new emotions that kept cropping up around the boy was entirely new to Xanxus, and it made him uncomfortable. He didn't like new and different things he couldn't control, let alone predict. He needed to get away. The phone call about the Japan squad's plight was the perfect excuse. It'd give him time to get away, recollect himself, and possibly kill something to relieve his tension. Tomorrow couldn't get here fast enough.
"Pssst, Xanxus." A voice whispered from behind him. Xanxus turned, and immediately regretted it. Speak of the devil.
Tsuna was peering out of a doorway, waving for Xanxus to come closer. Xanxus told himself to just walk away, and not even bother. But then his feet suddenly started moving forward. He blamed it on curiosity, and not that Tsuna probably had weird powers over him.
"What?" Xanxus grumbled, trying to project as much annoyance as possible. Tsuna, either immensely dense or incredibly brave, ignored it and promptly pulling Xanxus into the room, closing the heavy door with a soft click behind him. "What the hell are you doing?"
"You're going to Japan, right?" Tsuna asked, looking around the room like a paranoid cat. Xanxus idly realized this was the same room where Tsuna had snapped and all but turned his seasoned warriors into a pile of pathetic goo just by looking at them. He started to wonder if he himself was safe.
"What?" Xanxus asked, trying to play dumb.
"Japan. You're going there soon, right? I overheard you talking on your phone." Tsuna asked again, now turning to look straight at Xanxus. He didn't look angry, but Xanxus knew better then to judge by expression alone. The incident in the office taught him that.
"Uh, yeah. Something came up. I'm leaving tomorrow." Xanxus avoided looking at Tsuna, instead settling his focus on the room. He noticed the TV hadn't been replaced yet.
"Take me with you."
Xanxus's attention snapped back to Tsuna. He didn't show any outward signs of surprise, beyond a curious arc of an eyebrow, but he half questioned if he had heard right. "What?" He was getting sick of saying that word.
Tsuna bowed his head a little, his lip caught between his teeth, where he chewed on it slightly. An expression of annoyance and frustration crossed his face, and he folded his arms across his chest like a child pouting. "I need to go to Japan to attend to some business matters, but I can't leave. Enrico won't let me."
Ah, yes. Xanxus knew of Enrico. He was the Vongola Mansion's butler, of sorts. He dealt with all the things that didn't pertain to the family's business, such as the staff, arranging flights, inventory, replacing damaged furniture, arranging meals, etc. He pretty much keeping things in smooth working order. And he did this, with an iron fist. It is rumored that he was hand-picked by Reborn himself, which made him even more a man to fear. But, actually preventing the Vongola boss himself from leaving his own home was something that he shouldn't have the authority to do.
"That doesn't make any sense. It's your plane, how can he prevent you from using it?" In an act to further add security to the young Vongola boss, Tsuna was given his own small jet. No airport security, no additional passengers outside of the Vongola, no issues. Xanxus was still working on getting his own.
Tsuna let out a lengthy sigh. "It's because none of my Guardians are available to go with me. Apparently it's a huge security issue for me to leave anywhere beyond the town, on my own." Tsuna said this last part with a roll of the eyes. "I'm not sure if It's just because of me, or if it was like this with every previous Vongola boss, but I can't go anywhere without a security escort!" Tsuna concluded his rant with a dramatic wave of his arms. "Enrico gave strict orders to all the staff, to not to let me leave. My own house! It's ridiculous! Guh, if I'd known it would've been this much trouble I'd never had sent Gokudera and the others away…."
"Can't you just order Enrico to let you go? You are the damn Vongola Decimo. Throw around that authority of yours a bit." Xanxus couldn't quite withhold all his contempt for actually admitting Tsuna's title, but he was getting better.
Tsuna just gave him a flat look. "You think I haven't tried? But Enrico won't change his mind. He says he's already under Reborn's orders, who overrides me in this situation." Ah, now that made more sense. If Enrico, or anyone for that matter, was under Reborn's orders, they did what they were told.
"So can I sneak with you to Japan? I have some urgent business to attend to, and it'd look pretty stupid if I didn't show up because my own butler wouldn't let me." Tsuna pleaded, throwing at Xanxus the full force of his 'cute puppy' look. Xanxus winced, and looked away, already feeling his willpower crumbling. He half wondered if Tsuna even knew what that look did to people.
'No.' Xanxus told himself internally. He was going on this trip to get away, to free himself from Tsuna's strange influence. Not to kidnap the brat and go on a mini-vacation with him in tow. It would be miserable, torturous and he could not see himself spending any more personal time with him then he'd already had.
"Fine." His mouth, however, had other plans.
"Really!?" Tsuna's mega-watt smile of relief temporarily blinded Xanxus, and he turned around quickly, turning his back to Tsuna.
"I'm only doing it to piss of the Arcobaleno. You need to learn to grow a little backbone and stop following him like a damn puppy all the time." Xanxus growled, using a valid excuse. Pissing off Reborn was great fun.
"I'm leaving in the morning, so you'd better be ready, or I'm taking off without you." Xanxus turned back towards Tsuna, who was walking towards the door.
Tsuna nodded in agreement, then stopped when he remembered something. "Oh! I have one more quick request." He turned and smiled innocently at Xanxus. Xanxus hated that look. "Bring civilian clothes!" And with that, Tsuna dashed out the door and was gone.
'Wait, what?' It took Xanxus a moment to process what exactly Tsuna had said. 'Civilian clothes? What the hell?'
So much for Xanxus's trip to relax.
-------
The next morning, the halls of the Vongola mansion were quiet and peaceful, with everyone else either gone or in bed. Tsuna was fast asleep in his own room, having stayed up to at least midnight finishing up some preparations for his stealth trip to Japan.
That was until his door was quite suddenly and noisily kicked open, with a loud bang like a gunshot. "Get up brat! We're leaving!"
Tsuna shot out of bed with lightning reflexes. Or at least tried to, if it wasn't for his sheets that were twisted around his legs and torso, making standing vertically quite a challenge. Tsuna soon found himself meeting the floor, landing on it with an audible yelp of surprise followed by a low groan of pain.
"Whaa tiem iz it?" He mumbled, still foggy with sleep and sore from his face hitting the ground. A blearily peak at his window confirmed it was still dark out.
"It's morning. Now you've got five minutes to get downstairs, or I will leave you behind." Xanxus, who had been standing in the doorway watching Tsuna's amusing flop out of bed, answered. He turned and slammed the door, startling Tsuna out of his grogginess. He promptly untangled himself from his sheet, and raced about the room to get ready.
At the front door, Xanxus stood, watching his wristwatch tick with intense interest. The moment five minutes hit, he was gone. However to his dismay, four minutes and fifteen seconds later, Tsuna came stumbling down the stairs, dressed and suitcase in hand. "That was fast." Xanxus half mumbled to himself, surprised Tsuna actually got read that quickly.
"When you grow up with Reborn's antics every morning, you get use to it." Tsuna yawned, covering his mouth with one hand. "But you didn't say anything about leaving at four am. The sun isn't even up yet!"
"Morning to me. Now let's go before that vampire Enrico shows up." Xanxus grabbed his own suitcase and headed out the door, Tsuna following behind, laughing to himself about the vampire comment.
Oh god, this chapter killed me. I rearranged, re-editted, rewrote the thing atleast ten times, if not more. It just didn't want to be brought into existence. I ended up beating my head against the keyboard, hoping it would write itself. Which it sort of did. I think I hated it so much because nothing happens. Which I appologize for. It was nessecary though. One of those chapters that gets the characters from point A to point B, and sets everything up. There was going to be a little bit more, for when they were on the plane, but then it just ended up being awkward and didn't fit well with the rest of the chapter. The next chapter will be a hell of a lot more interesting, I promise.
GOOD GOD!?!? 171 REVIEWS!? 129 FAVORITES AND 183 ALERTS! 23,500 HITS!! ........ I love you all.....
LETS SEE IF WE CAN HIT 200 REVIEWS! *dance dance*
Next chapter: The boys arrive in Japan, Xanxus gets behind the wheel, and casual visits are made.
(and everyone's favorite Cloud Guardian may-or-may-not appear for an epic showdown.....I need to check my notes. ....if not the next, the one after that. It will happen, eventually. )
So, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for everyone who's been with me thus far. It's coming along, slowly but surely! I hope I don't disappoint! Keep up with the reviews and feedback! Let me know how I'm doing and what you'd like to see changed/added!
-Kou Tora