I'm having some problems with Internet, sorry for keeping you waiting. ;_;
Chapter 7: The Bakhtin family
This guy is a suspect? Gokudera wondered, startled. He wanted to punch the man in his front, to kill him, to erase his existence. The idea that his Juudaime had gone under such misery because of that stranger made Hayato's blood boil. But he had to stay calm. Maybe that man wasn't the culprit, but knew who was. If he killed him, his boss could be attacked again. I can't let this happen, I must protect Juudaime this time.
"What do you have to tell us?" The guardian of the storm questioned, keeping his mood under control. Boris smiled discretely at him and replied:
"My sister, Catharina, is the person behind the attack against the Tenth Vongola. Her power is said to be the strongest occurrence in our family's history."
"What sort of power would that be?" Bianchi asked, coldly.
"To put it simply, for centuries our family has had the ability to manipulate and control people's minds." Boris told them. The eyes of the siblings were wide in shock and they couldn't say anything, so the young man continued. "The Bakhtins used to be one of the richest noble families in Russia. Our powers granted us a lot of power, even the czar couldn't fight us. Unfortunately, we weren't able to control many people at once at that time. When that revolution took place, the Bakhtins lost everything. Few of us survived and neither had enough power to gain everything back. My sister and I were born in a little city in Siberia. Soon enough, we had realized just how powerful she was."
"What do you mean?" Bianchi asked.
"When we were 8 years old, she killed our father and took control of the entire city." Boris stated, horrifying the others.
"Why are you here? Why are you after Juudaime?" Gokudera couldn't keep his calm any longer.
"Obviously, we wanted his power. To control him and the Mafia World was the plan Catharina and I created-" Boris didn't have the chance to finish talking. Hayato had jumped to him and punched him hard. If Bianchi hadn't stopped her brother, the Russian man could have died.
"I'm no longer helping her," Boris stated, getting back to his feet, "besides, she doesn't seem to have interest in the Mafia's power anymore."
"So she's going to leave Juudaime alone?" Gokudera questioned with a bit of hope, which vanished due to the dark look the other gave him.
"She's obsessed with Sawada Tsunayoshi in a way I never thought it was possible. She wants him only for herself and she'll kill anyone, including me, that becomes an obstacle. I didn't have any other choice than coming to you. I'm willing to help Vongola and I'll accept any punishment." Boris said, bowing apologetically. Gokudera couldn't believe him, but a voice coming from up stairs caught his attention. Reborn and the Tenth were looking at them from above, going down right after being noticed.
"He's telling the truth." Tsuna said in a strange calm tone, which make the storm guardian shiver. Boris smiled at the young boy in a way that Hayato found suspicious. Something is wrong! His own intuition was screaming. Tsuna turned himself to his right-hand man and gave him a sorrowful look.
"Gokudera-kun, I didn't have the chance to apologize earlier. I-I'm so sorry." The young Vongola's voice almost cracked as some water appeared in his brown eyes. Hayato felt his own heart being strangled as he saw his beloved boss like that.
"What are you apologizing for, Juudaime? You did nothing wrong! Nothing wrong at all!"
"I almost killed you, Gokudera-kun. I'll never forgive myself, I'm so sorry." The tears began to fall from Tsuna's eyes as he covered his mouth with his hands. Hayato didn't know what to do; he couldn't see his Juudaime like that.
"It was not your fault, Juudaime. If it was for you to break free, I wouldn't mind-"
"HAYATO!" Bianchi yelled. "Don't say unnecessary things, do you want him to feel worse?"
"It's not unnecessary, Aneki! Juudaime should know it! He should know it already that his life is much more precious than mine!"
Reborn kicked Gokudera on the chin, knocking him down.
"You're the one who should know it, Gokudera," the hitman said in a terrifying tone, "Dame Tsuna is not the kind of boss who does not value his men's lives."
Of course Gokudera knew that, but knowing that didn't make him agree with that point of view. The Tenth was a wonderful person who cared about everybody and hated to see others suffering. It was a beautiful thing about him that Hayato truly loved. But in a situation in which his boss had to choose between saving himself and saving his right-hand man, the Tenth should know that his life was the most important thing. Everybody should know that nothing was more important than Judaime's life. However, at that moment, Hayato knew that his protectiveness was only hurting more his boss.
"I'm sorry for making you sad, Juudaime."
"Gokudera-kun, I need you to promise something."
"Anything, Juudaime."
"Please, promise me that next time you won't put yourself in such a dangerous situation for my sake." Tsuna said, trying hard to hold back his tears. "If something were to happen to you, I don't know what I would do."
Gokudera felt something strange inside of him. It was some sort of urge to embrace his boss tightly and never let go. He tried to shake that idea off, since it wouldn't be dignified to the great Vongola Juudaime to have someone like him, Gokudera Hayato, doing such things. But he wanted to comfort Tsuna so much, he needed to make his boss feel happy and safe again… and smile like he used to. Not even the stars or the moon shone more than Juudaime's smile. But how could he promise that? He would be just lying to his boss. It was impossible not to do anything necessary for his boss's safety. Gokudera would be willing to walk through the valleys of Hell if it was for Juudaime's sake.
"I can't promise you that, Juudaime." He finally managed to say, for Tsuna's unhappiness. "But I promise you that I'll always be there for you, so I can't die and leave you alone. Is this enough?"
Hayato bowed and hit his forehead on the floor. And then, small and delicate hands lifted his head, so he could see his boss's face. He was still sad, but this time was smiling.
"It's okay, then. Thank you Gokudera-kun."
Hayato felt his face getting warm. That soft touch was making him want to cry. To be so close to the Tenth's face, to notice every detail of him… Hayato felt so many strange things that he became a little frightened.
"Are you all right, Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked, innocently. Startled, Hayato went back to his feet in a hurry.
"S-sure, Juudaime. I just need to investigate that girl's power, I need to look for some books and movies." The guardian of the storm said nervously, without understanding what he was feeling.
"You can know anything you want from me, Gokudera-kun." Boris offered, smiling widely.
"I prefer to do things my own way." Hayato replied, rudely. He couldn't trust that man. Although his heart ached by leaving the Tenth behind due mostly to his selfish confused emotions, he needed to go. Reborn-san is there, it will be okay.
"I should go after Gokudera-kun." Tsuna said, worried. Boris, however, caressed the boy's chin gently and dissuaded him. "Just let him be, Sawada-san."
These guys haven't realized yet what I have done, not even the arcobaleno. Too bad the poison scorpion didn't leave her brother alone at any time. If she had, I could have influenced him too. Anyway, my victory is almost certain.