Chapter 20: Why should I?

To 09gemgg: I appreciate your thoughts on Kaito and Shinichi's box weapons, however, I'm not planning to let Shinichi and Kaito get their hands on one any time soon. Later on, when the time is right, I may let them, and I'll certainly use your examples as a base. They fit rather well with their personalities I think. But thank you very much for the suggestion; it was very kind of you.

This is both the End of the Introduction arc and the Start of the new Arc.

It's time

Those two words seemed to say everything and nothing at the same time.

"Kaito, Shinichi, where are you going? Aren't you interested in this?" shouts Gokudera down the corridor, headless of the time.

Shinichi keeps on walking, and Kaito waves a hand behind him. "Nah, we were expecting it sooner or later. Seems like those pictures were just in time." And they enter the elevator and leave.

"Tsuna," says Reborn sternly. "It's time" and it seems even worse to hear it from his tutor's mouth.

Tsuna raises his head up sharply, tears running down his face. "But I don't want it to be!" he shouts. The others all take a step backwards at the force in Tsuna's voice. "I don't want to do this. I don't need to do this. That's why I've never told the others. I don't want it!"

Gokudera thinks back to all of the hints others have said. Basil and Oregano mentioned it, as have Kaito and Shinichi and even Reborn. They all knew that some big event was coming up. But Tsuna had kept it from them, on purpose. What could be so bad that Tsuna didn't want to do it? Okay, there were a lot of things under that category, but it was important enough for people like them to mention.

"I'm not going to do it, and I'm not letting them do it either!" Tsuna cries, slamming a fist on the table.

"Herbivore, I'll decide that" warns Hibari, not liking that Tsuna is placing limits on him.

"Kufufu, however much I hate to agree with him, he has a point. Who are you to decide if we can do this or not?" asks Mukuro leering at Tsuna. Tsuna stands up, runs around his desk and gets right in Mukuro's face, eyes sharp.

"Because I'm-" and he stops. Finishing that sentence with 'your Boss' would counteract what he was trying to say. Those were the last words he needed to say at the moment. He deflates and looks down. "Because I care about you, all of you" he mumbles.

"Juudaime, this is what those others have been hinting at. This is what you shouted at me over… Isn't it?" asks Gokudera, looking at Juudaime's back. Tsuna's hands ball into fists.

"Shut up Gokudera!" Tsuna retaliates, body snapping to look at him, eyes like fire. Once again Gokudera looks shocked. As do the others. It's rare for Tsuna to get angry like this. "I've had everyone tell me this is my destiny. Everyone assumes that this is what I'll end up doing. And I'm fed up of it. Has no one thought of what I want?"

That phrasing clears the problem up for Mukuro, and he laughs. "Kufufufu kufufufu, ahfufufu. That's what you are worried over? Pathetic." And Tsuna spins around and slaps Mukuro. Mukuro doesn't flinch nor retaliate. "I'm not going to intervene with this. I'm not going to be on your side and stop this from happening either. I need this if my plan is to succeed." Tsuna grows even more enraged and slaps Mukuro again. Mukuro laughs once more "Oya, normally, I'd use my illusions and give you a nightmare. But I can see you are currently living in one. So I'll let real life torment you. You can't escape from that." He turns on his heels and leaves the office. Chrome stays, still not understanding what's going on. Plus she wants to be there for her Boss, just like he's done for her.

"Tsuna just… slapped Mukuro… and got away with it." Gabbles Yamamoto. There were too many things wrong with that sentence.

"Tsuna-nii, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" asks Lambo daring to lay a hand on Tsuna's arm.

"I don't want to subject you all to this, especially not you Lambo" whispers Tsuna as he picks Lambo up and hugs him.

"Sawada, tell us what's wrong. I'll sort it out to the EXTEREME for you!" offers Ryohei, wanting his little bro to feel better.

"Dame-Tsuna, just do it already." Orders Reborn, getting tired of Tsuna's tears. Whenever something new appeared, or more training was involved, then Tsuna always cried and whined. It pissed the hell out of him. Tsuna needed to lose that, and fast. "Or I will."

Tsuna tightens his hold on Lambo, not wanting the truth to be laid bare.

Reborn didn't care that there was no answer. If Tsuna wanted it that way- "What Dame-Tsuna isn't telling you is"

"Operation X"

Reborn looks over, surprised at Tsuna. Lambo is on the floor, cowering behind Gokudera.

"You told me to protect them, and that's what I'm doing Reborn." He says, voice deep. "I'm protecting them from that horrible future. If that happens, then they are going to get killed. I won't let that happen"

"Protect them" scoffs Reborn, not fazed by the gloved hand pointing his way. "How are you protecting them? All I'm hearing is I'm not, I don't want, what about me? Have you thought about what they want? They would be dragged into this anyway. They are Vongola, and the 9th can use them as he sees fit. You don't have the right until you are Boss."

Those words hit Tsuna quite deeply, and his flame flickers off.

"Juudaime, you have been acting a little childish" comments Gokudera carefully.

"Maa, maa Tsuna. Don't go making decisions without us. We're a family, we'll do this together." Sooths Yamamoto, not realising that's making it worse.

"Boss, you can't be the one to take all of the strain" says Chrome.

"No" whispers Tsuna "None of you need this. You don't know what we're talking about. I'm not letting you harm yourselves. I will protect you"

"Protect them?" Reborn scolds again "You want to protect them? Then get your ass down to Italy."

Now the others all understand.

It's THAT time.

Now Gokudera sees why Shinichi and Kaito left immediately. They could see clearer than the others, and knew that something like this would happen eventually. It was something expected in Gokudera's mind- something he knew would happen, so had dismissed it completely. It was something so natural that Gokudera didn't even think that it was the cause of Tsuna's worries. But he was Mafia-born. And the others couldn't be considered mafia without it. What Tsuna and the others were doing here could hardly be called Mafia. They were running a company at the moment. Perfectly legitimate, no blood in sight. That's why Mukuro walked out. He couldn't care less about what's to happen, he's killed more people that anyone else here but Reborn- well, none of the others had even killed yet.

Hibari walks out too, a hungry expression on his face. Finally things were going to get interesting. He'd had enough of the so called delinquents here in Nanimori. It would be better to go to Italy, where there were lots of people breaking the rules. Lots of people to discipline, to Bite to Death.

Gokudera, Yamamoto, Ryohei, Lambo and Chrome all watch Hibari walk out, pitying the next person to cross Hibari's path.

Chrome too now understands, and sees why Mukuro-sama left earlier. He had told her stories of the next step. She hopes that the Vongola version is easier than the Estrano version. But what's to come is so against Tsuna's nature, that it is easy to see why he's making a big deal of this. In fact, it was the exact opposite of him. And he was being forced into it. She walks over and hugs her Boss. Tsuna freezes, not expecting the sudden contact, and from Chrome of all people. She doesn't say anything. Everything she needs to say can be communicated entirely through this embrace.

Seeing that Chrome doesn't plan to let go any time soon, Gokudera starts to talk. "Juudaime, I think you are making too big a deal of all this. We all knew that this would happen." Lambo makes a noise of agreement. Even at his age he knew that all Mafiosi went through this. He himself is still too young, but the others are old enough. Some people even went through it at a younger age. But again, he was Mafia-born. From his time before living with Tsuna, he had been told it was a test of courage, where one finally became a man. It was something to be celebrated and revered.

"Lambo agrees too" sensing this was not the time to puff himself up, he left the honorific off. "We are part of a Mafia Family. It would be weird not to go through this."

"But you know what the first thing they'll make us do is. They'll make us harm people. They'll make us kill people. And I'll be the one calling the shots. I don't want to be God, and decide who lives and dies."

Finally, Ryohei and Yamamoto definitely know what's going to happen next. And now they can sympathise with Tsuna more. They had heard very little about this next step, only rumours, and whatever they have coaxed out of Gokudera when he was drunk. It seemed to them that Reborn and the Mafioso staying with them tried their hardest to keep any Mafia influence away from them. They really only had their imagination or movies to go on.

"Tsuna, I know that this will be hard, but we are prepared for it." Comforts Yamamoto, placing a hand on Tsuna's shoulder, the opposite side to Chrome's head.

"Little bro, you need to remember what our goal is. This is purely a step to get there." Reminds Ryohei, not shouting for once.

Tsuna bursts out laughing, startling the others, but this laughter is close to tears. "Ha. That's right. I'm going to be the one to change the bloodiest Family in Mafia history into a sweet and innocent Vigilante group. I'm going to save the world from the Mafia. Me, Dame-Tsuna. I'm not some messiah, I'm not a genius like Gokudera. I'm not strong like you Ryohei. I don't have a reason like Mukuro. I could barely pass school. I run from every fight I see. I am the last person to be able to do that."

"Guys, leave the room" orders Reborn, sounding far too normal to be true. Chrome squeezes tightly before letting go. They file out of the room and Gokudera closes the door behind him. Tsuna stands there, dejected, in the middle of the room.

Reborn sighs. "What am I going to do with you?" he asks, hopping onto Tsuna's shoulder.

"I'm sorry to have wasted your time Reborn, but there is no way I'm going to be able to become the person you want me to be. I really can't see how me and the person everyone described in the future are one in the same."

"Didn't we have this talk in the future?" asks Reborn, gently thumping Tsuna's head. "You are no hero. Like you said, you aren't the genius that Gokudera, Shoichi and Spanner are. You aren't good at sports like Yamamoto and Ryohei are. You aren't strong like Mukuro and Hibari are. You aren't famous like Shinichi and KID are. You are better than the Idiot Cow though. I'll give you that."

"Geez Reborn, way to cheer me up. Just demote me now why don't you." Grumbles Tsuna. But Reborn's not done yet.

"But that is why you are the only one who can do this. It's your normal and innocent view on life that Vongola needs. It's time the bloodshed ended, and with the way you are, you can make sure that happens. There is a reason that Primo gave you his inheritance. He believes that you can fulfil his wish"

"But surely there is someone better than me for this job Reborn" whines Tsuna, sitting down at his desk.

"There are no more heirs left Tsuna." Reminds Reborn, jumping off Tsuna's shoulder to stand on the desk.

"Let Vongola collapse then." Rumbles Tsuna. He doesn't care one bit. Surely letting Vongola collapse will solve the problem. Didn't Primo say he could decide? To let Vongola rise or fall?

"Do you know what would happen then?" asks Reborn calmly. "If Vongola disappeared, firstly there would be an increase in rogue Mafioso. More people would be harmed by them. If not, then they would join other Families. And without Vongola at the head of the Alliance, there would be no guiding force. There would be a war to decide the next head, Families would choose sides, and the most powerful would win. But most Families aren't like Vongola. We might have the bloodiest History, but a lot of that is keeping the rest of the Mafia inline. More people would die, more civilians would be subjected to the will of the Boss. Businesses would lose money, gangs would rise, the rate of crime would be uncontrollable. Many people would be harmed if this were to happen."

"You know me better than that Reborn. You even said it yourself in the future. I don't care about them. I'm not someone to bravely fight on behalf of the World, or Japan, or for people who I don't know; I can't empathise that far. 'Many people will be harmed' just doesn't equate to anything in my head." Tsuna counters.

"I know, so let's focus inwards. You won't fight for the World, nor for Asia, nor for Japan, and maybe not even for Nanimori. But what about people in this house? What about Kaito and Shinichi? Would you fight for them? Shinichi is facing an organisation that even the FBI are having trouble with. But Vongola could help. Shinichi has practically placed his life in your hands, as well as the lives of everyone he cares about. His life has changed dramatically recently. He's not living with the girl he loves, he's not going to school with those children he cares about. He's even stopped handling his beloved cases. He's had a fight with his best friend. All of this for you. In belief that you can help him. Are you going to let him down?"

Tsuna rests his head on the desk, thinking things over. Reborn doesn't get a response, so he continues.

"And what about Kaito and KID and the Magician? His father died by the hands of the Organisation and he became KID. He risks police capture every time he does a heist, all to get justice on those men."

"But he found Pandora. He doesn't have to do heists anymore" debates Tsuna.

"Wrong." States Reborn, giving Tsuna a kick. " Those men don't know that. Those men will continue to terrorise people until they find it. And now that Pandora has become the Star and Moon rings, there is no way for Kaito to prove that he has found Pandora. If anything, everything has gotten worse for him."

"All KID needs to do is announce that he has found it and disappear. He told me that those men who are after KID don't know who he or his dad was, so they can't track him. He could put away KID's cape and never pick it up again. There is no need for him to join the mafia." Combats Tsuna, not looking at Reborn at all.

"Well, you haven't known Kaito nor Shinichi that long, so you are less emotionally attached to them. Plus, I suspect they could sort their own problems out themselves. So what about Haru and Kyoko?"

Tsuna's cheeks blush at the mention of Kyoko, like they always did. He wishes so much that he could be anywhere but here, with her at his side.

"They would be killed" emphasises Reborn. Tsuna stiffens and finally looks at Reborn. "If you don't become Decimo, then one of two things would happen; firstly, they would be killed for the knowledge they hold; alternatively, they would be inducted into the Mafia and kept inside the circle, forced to go through what you are trying to escape. As would your friends and Guardians. Lambo would go back to the Bovino's, Mukuro would go back to Vendicare, Gokudera would be an outcast again and would need to find a new Family. And you? Well, you would be dead and buried far below the ground." Tsuna's eyes widen. "You know too much Tsuna. You know about Primo and have learnt how to use your flames. The ring has bonded itself to you. You would need to die before it would come off your finger and accept a new master. Would you fight to give them a future? Would you fight for your own future?"

But before Tsuna can reply to that, his Sky ring lights up, and a flame appears next to him.

"Wise words there, Reborn" Comments Primo. Reborn tips his hat in acceptance of the praise. "I'll be borrowing Decimo again I'm afraid."

"Hm? But I talked to you yesterday," comments Tsuna, before his eyes close

Tsuna opens his eyes, back in the clear Blue Sky.

"Well, It's not only me this time." Remarks Primo. Tsuna looks up and sees the other Vongola Bosses standing around him. Oh boy.

Vongola Secondo kicks Tsuna in the stomach, sending him flying across the sky. "Trash, show some backbone" the man growls. Tsuna coughs before sitting back up.

"Ricardo that was uncalled for" scolds Primo, but not moving to help Tsuna.

"The brat needs to grow up. He's an adult, and adults can't get what they want." Ricardo grumbles. Ottavo walks over to Tsuna, offering him a hand.

"Decimo, stand up" Tsuna grabs her hand and hauls himself up onto his feet. He looks at the woman, and vaguely remembers that this is the 9th mother, Daniela. The woman takes a few paces backwards, before a crossbow appears in her hands. She lifts it up, aiming straight for Tsuna. "Why is a Boss of Vongola so weak?" she shouts, and shoots a flaming arrow. Tsuna Heeii's before dodging the attack.

"Where is the resolve you had earlier?" she asks, still firing. Other Bosses hum in agreement. "Or should I kill you here?" who knew Timoteo's mum was like this?

"I say you kill him here" agrees Ricardo, grabbing Tsuna by the collar of his pyjamas. The letter had arrived early in the morning and none of them had changed before coming to the office.

"Guy's you're not helping. You're going to scare him away at this rate" warns Giotto. Daniela sighs and drops her crossbow, letting it return to flame.

"Look, Tsuna, you've had the resolve before to stand and fight. Why not now? How is this any different sweetie?" Wait, what? Sweetie?

"But, I'm going to be harming people on purpose. Nono will be sending me out with orders, and I will know that I've got to harm them. They won't have done anything to me, but I'll still have to do it." Replies Tsuna.

"We never harm anyone without good reason Tsuna" she tells, purposely not looking at some of the more violent Bosses. Now that the crossbow was out of her hand, she seemed just like any other mother. If it weren't for the Tattoo, she would be just like any other well off Business woman.

"Actually Tsuna, they wouldn't have harmed you yet." Clarifies Primo. "Maybe it's better to think of it as a corrective measure. You spank a puppy when it does something wrong, this is similar, and the punishment is fitting the mistake. The mafia aren't a group of killers. They are purely out for the pleasures in life, whether this be drugs, sex or money. So when they go too far to obtain their wants, we smack them back into their correct place. You would be protecting your Family, the people around you, and as a result, you too. Harming them means that no one you love will get harmed. But you shouldn't be talking to me about Mafia. I created a Vigilante group, not a Mafia Family. It's the Big Bad Wolf here you need to talk to" says Primo, chucking a thumb in Ricardo's direction.

"Protecting everyone around you is fine" he admits "I'm not against that. I protected my own as fiercely as any other. But unlike someone, I wanted more action, something exciting. And the Mafia seemed like the best place for it. I could show off my strength and get rewarded for it. No one was going to step on me ever again." Tsuna sensed a back story there, but decided now was not the best time to go into that.

"Yes, yes, we know. You started to make Vongola into the Powerhouse it is today. That still doesn't tell little Tsuna here why he should be Decimo" comments Ottavo.

Secondo blinks out of his reminiscence and turns hard eyes on Tsuna. "That's right, you little Shit. What was with the bitching and whining from before? What are you 5? Accept the challenge like a man." The Bosses sigh at this reaction.

"Look Decimo" starts Quinto- light brown hair and a white cape like coat- "You are only focusing on the name Mafia, and all the connotations that go with it. But you've never experienced it, so how can you know what it's like? And if you don't like what you see, then change it until you do. This could be the power to change the world around you. Look at all of the good you can do with these men at your disposal." The Bosses smile and nod in approval- well most of them.

"Tsuna, where would you be without the Mafia? What kind of future would await you?" asks Primo looking more serious than before.

Tsuna opens his mouth to reply, but nothing comes out. Where would he be? Without the Mafia, there would be no Reborn. Without Reborn he wouldn't have been targeted by Gokudera, saved Yamamoto from committing suicide, dragged Ryohei to school using a dying will bullet. Hibari would be nothing more than a scary prefect. Without the mafia he wouldn't have met Mukuro, or Chrome, or the rest of their Gang. Without the influence of the Mafia he wouldn't know anyone. He would have remained friendless No Good Tsuna. And his future? He wouldn't have one, at least not one worth mentioning.

Primo smiles. "See, it's not all bad. And think of the future you'll have with your Family. Tsuna, you can do something with your life, do something worthy and worth remembering. You'll no longer be No-Good Tsuna. You can proudly present yourself to your classmates and say I have made a difference. You say you can't empathise with anything that doesn't affect you directly right. Well, you'll be protecting what's important to YOU. YOU will be giving them a life of pleasure. YOU won't have a life than means nothing. YOU will have friends to laugh with, you will have people to be around and be happy with. YOU will make more friends, fall in love, have a family. YOU can have a life of pleasure where you can have anything you want." None of the Bosses commented that Primo was sticking to the good life. They didn't mention that Primo ignored the killing, the heartache, the pain, both mental and physical. He didn't mention the stressful nights waiting for your Family to return home safe.

Of course it's Ricardo who decides to add in some reality "Without becoming Decimo, your friends will die. You won't have a future. There will be no one there to have fun with, no one to live the rest of your life with. You will be the one subjecting them to a pain filled life- so what? But can you bear the burden knowing it's you that placed them in that position. Surely it's better to do something with your hands than watch and regret."

"Do it with your dying will" All 10 Bosses say.

"That's what Reborn told me. I don't want a life like that. I want to be there with everyone. I want to protect them with my own hands. I don't want to be alone and useless anymore. I couldn't go back to that life. And now with the power I've gained, I can't see a wrong doing taking place and not do something about it. My conscious won't let me. So even if I disguise it as self-satisfaction, I still have the desire to protect everyone around me. So if it's between my Family getting harmed and harming someone else, I think that I might just be able to do it. I'm still not happy about it, but we'll see. For the future you described, I'll work hard. We will obtain peace. My friends won't die in the battle."

He takes in a deep breath, closes his eyes and leans his head back. "I will do it!" he shouts.

"That's a good boy Tsuna" says Daniela happily. She pats him on the shoulder. "Be sure to tell Timmy hello from Mummy won't you" Tsuna looks at her disbelievingly. "What? I'm a woman and a Mafia Boss, what do you expect. I need to be as hard as any man to survive, even harder just because of my gender. But I'm a woman too, I have my girlish side. But as you know, business and pleasure are two different things. So if I need to smack a subordinate into next week, I will. If I need to fix a broken friend, I will do that too. And I'm a mother, so I worry about my children." She ruffles his hair before taking a step backwards. "Keep this resolve in your heart Decimo. It will take you through some tough times. Protect those around you."

"Throw yourself into the Family Decimo" states Sesto. "It'll make you happy. Do everything in the name of the Family, for the Family, and everything will be alright. You'll never be alone again, you'll never be No Good."

Tsuna smiles, and senses that his time here is ending. "I can't promise anything. Until I'm there, I won't know if I can accept it. But I won't turn back."

"For we are the Sky that accepts all. That means anyone, anything, any situation, we'll take it in our stride. We create a home for everyone else."

Tsuna opens his eyes again, back to the real world. He's back in his chair, in the Underground office. He leans up and stretches, noticing a weight on his leg. Looking down, it's Chrome, sleeping with her head on his leg. Hearing a mumble, he looks to his right. Gokudera is asleep too, leaning with his back against the arm rest. Lambo is sprawled over Gokudera, using him as a pillow. Hearing a giant snore, he turns to the left. The snore belonged to Ryohei, who is on his back in the middle of the carpet. Yamamoto is closer, his back leaning against the bookcase on Tsuna's left. On the table infront of him is a cup of coffee, still steaming, along with some sweets. A small card holding a KID doodle and a magnifying glass reveals the mysterious benefactors.

Reborn smiles from his position on a sofa, and thumps a book closed. "Did you find the answer?" he asks quietly

Tsuna nods. "Yeah, I did. For the future we are going to have together, I'll do it. No Pain no gain right" he laughs nervously.

"As if you believe in that" taunts Reborn, before jumping over and snatching the drink. "Hmm, Shinichi has good taste in coffee." Noticing Tsuna's wondering eyes he comments "They were worried about you. But because of how early in the morning it is, they couldn't stay awake."

"I'm going to do it, to be able to keep them by my side" Tsuna smiles, before laying his head back down and drifting back to sleep.

The next few weeks went past in a blur for the Guardians. First of all there were parties to celebrate Shoichi's and Chrome's Birthdays.

Shoichi had a full blown Vongola-styled Birthday. Tsuna was sure that Reborn insisted on the tradition purely to torment him. So, after the presents were handed out, Shoichi was given the seat of Honour, and the others all provided entertainment for him. This was something new for Kaito and Shinichi, and they couldn't believe that something like this was a mafia tradition, but with this Family, it was hard to know. Kaito, of course, was happy to provide, and gave the Magician full reign to do what he liked. Shinichi thought long and hard to decide what his mechanical friend would like to see. Inspiration struck when he was watching Kaito practice some tricks of his own one day. So when it finally came around to his turn, he pushed a table infront of the others, and laid out lots of bottles and beakers. Everything went quiet as the others wondered what Shinichi was going to do. Shinichi worked fast, but concisely, pouring liquids and powders into the large beaker in exact measurements. Finally, he walked over and turned out the lights, before lighting a Bunsen burner (He had managed, with Spanner's help, to find all of the equipment and supplies he needed either in their lab, or ordered it in). Placing the burning flame under the beaker, he waited and hoped. Eventually a reaction started to occur, and the liquid started to change colour. There were Oohs and Ahhs from the audience as the liquid went through a full range of colours and back again. As the liquid started to boil, Shinichi added in one last powder, and bubbles formed, leaving the beaker to float around the room. Lambo and I-pin started to chase them around the room, seeing how many they could catch. Shinichi turned the burner off and packed everything away. Shoichi thanked Shinichi for the wonderful display. Kaito even complimented Shinichi's show.

"Might have to take that for a Heist someday" he said with a wink. Shinichi wasn't sure if he liked the idea of contributing to a heist, but at least it was harmless. It wasn't as if the bubbles could eat through the glass or anything. Helping KID prove a point to Vongola was one thing, but helping with a full on criminal heist was something else.

For the first time in 5 years, Chrome agreed to an actual party. But everyone still took care with how much they pushed her. The girls were ecstatic to finally have an actual party for their quiet friend, instead of the usual get together they had had in the past. Reborn even allowed them to forego the Vongola-Styled part, much to Tsuna's relief. That way, Chrome wasn't the centre of attention when giving the others points. Shinichi too was glad to forego the Vongola-Styled part. Whilst Kaito seized the moment in his usual flashy style, Shinichi didn't have a clue what to show off. Finding something for the Mechanic's party was hard enough.

The rest of the next few weeks were spent in planning and packing, trying to decide what to take to Italy with them. There were of course the basic like clothes, accessories, suits, toiletries. But then there were other things. This would be an extended stay, for how long Tsuna didn't know. But it would be best to see Italy as home for now. That meant deciding to take certain trinkets, favourite stuffed toys, all thievery and magical tools, reading material, favourite training equipment, and a whole lot of other things with them. It was like moving house, but wasn't at the same time. Plus, none of them even knew what their rooms in Italy would be like. And Reborn was being skimp with the details.

The atmosphere in the house couldn't be more conflicting at times. Once they arrived at mid December, the Christmas decorations went up. The children were all over the house, helping to put up decorations, to decorate the tree, to help decorate cookies- and if a few went missing in the process, well, there were less to decorate. The Guardians were running around trying to buy presents for everyone as well as buying things they needed for their trip. Tsuna and Gokudera were run off their feet trying to be everywhere at once. Eventually the Head Housekeeper and Head Butler stepped in and told the boys to let them handle the house instead. Both protested, but were defeated- Vongola servants were harder to deny that ordinary ones. It was both a blessing and a curse for the pair; it meant less to work on, but more time to worry about what was to come. But once the majority of the packing was done, and the girls came to visit for the holidays, everyone had no choice but to revel in Christmas cheer. For them Christmas could be used as the calm before the storm.

So all that was left was Christmas Day itself.

It's nearly time for us to get serious now. I want to thank everyone for reading this far, and for all the inspiration and ideas that everyone has so kindly provided.

Please continue to read onwards. *Bows*

Phantom Hitman 1412

First Published 25 Feb. 12