Chapter 43: Two as One

Thanks for the responses guys, they were very helpful XD

The Consulenza Esterna Della Famiglia, more commonly known under the Acronym CEDEF, were exactly what was stated in the name: External Advisors to the Family. Whilst being part of Vongola, they are not at the same time, the key word being External compared to Internal. All of their information comes from independent sources, not from Vongola, since that would make things biased and possibly inaccurate. They were the one 'Family' that Vongola allowed to spy on them, although the CEDEF's surveillance was very rarely found out. And as separated from the Family as they were, they could make more accurate, less influenced decisions for the betterment of the Family. Internal affairs inside Vongola, interpersonal relationships( both internal and external), personal preferences of the Boss and other Senior Members were all excluded and worked around when the CEDEF worked. Their advisements were purely for the Family's sake. Alliances were advised upon based on whether that Family had anything to offer, not whether the current Boss liked them or not. For sometimes, alliances with people you hate are needed.

Created in Primo's time by Primo's Cloud Guardian Alaude, just before handing the Vongola over to Ricardo, it has always stood by Vongola's side, always an ally and support base if ever times of conflict came upon them. Giotto had wanted to spread the power in Vongola about, scared that having only one person lead could be detrimental- Vongola was now far bigger than he ever suspected and no single person could possibly bear all of that power fairly, even he couldn't. As a result, CEDEF also had the power to influence the choice of Heir. With their outside point of view, once again they could decide unbiased, not affected by the personal charms, bribery or schemes of the Candidates like the Boss would be- Xanxus's uprising was a perfect example. CEDEF members were not allowed anywhere near Vongola members in terms of personal and social relationships; no becoming friends, lovers, acquaintances unless it was part of one's assignment. Why? So that the CEDEF members were not swayed by their own personal feelings.

It was one of the main reasons Iemitsu had had to stay away from Tsuna so much, especially during the boy's teen years. Knowing his son was a Vongola Decimo Candidate, he was not allowed near the boy so that his decision was not influenced. He could not make the boy the Boss simply because Tsuna was his Son. Similarly, he could not not choose Tsuna if he really was the best choice simply because he didn't want his innocent Son to be dragged into the Mafia. Sadly enough the second option had come about, and it had been decided that Tsuna really was the best option because of his innocence and untaintedness. A fresh set of eyes was needed to bring about the changes Vongola required. But no matter how much it pained him to be away from his beloved wife and unbelievably cute son for so long, Vongola sadly came first, just like anyone's job often came before family.

But that didn't mean he didn't know how his son and wife were doing. He had known about everything Tsuna had done, excluding his trip to the future (even if he really really wanted to see that), for the majority of his life. Sadly not by himself physically since he was needed in Italy most of the time. Other highly trusted members (and boy were they trusted, he wasn't going to trust his precious family to just anyone) did that job for him. He looked forwards to his weekly update every Sunday. And just like with Gokudera, it was not stalking, although he was closer to stalking than Gokudera was, just protective behaviour. However one thing Iemitsu most likely didn't realise was that with these constant updates, it seemed like he was still part of the family. If his wife ever told him a story, he would already know about it. He'd have the same information as if they were talking over the dinner table. And that was bad. It gave a false sense of closeness when in reality he couldn't be farther from them. Tsuna's attitude towards him attested to this. But now with Tsuna as official Heir (and it was official this time, there literally were no other candidates left with a close enough blood relation for the ring to accept) Iemitsu could spend slightly more time with Tsuna, but only in his official capacity of Outside Advisor. Which wasn't going to patch up their wrecked relationship at all.

So it was a good thing that Iemitsu wasn't going to be Tsuna's Outside Advisor. Basil was. He'd stick around and help Basil acclimate to his new role, but then he was going into retirement and finally spending time with his beautiful wife. Basil was almost like a son to him, and he was glad that Tsuna actually got along with Basil since a great bond of trust was needed between the Boss and the Outside Advisor. Both had to believe that the other had the best interests of the Family at heart.

Which was where the problem at the moment stemmed from.

Iemitsu was of course out gallivanting across the world on a romantic rendezvous with Nana and hadn't actually been informed of his son's disappearance. Most people feared that phone call and it had been pushed to the side in favour of other tasks- like actually finding Decimo. Iemitsu wasn't known as the Young Lion of Vongola for nothing after all. So with Iemitsu gone, Basil was in the same position as the other Guardians, specifically Gokudera.

Basil and Gokudera were the two people being tested at the moment. What the others did didn't matter, everything came down to these two. Basil was worrying more than normal since he was the replaceable one. The Vongola Storm Ring had accepted Gokudera, as had G, so it wasn't really possible to replace him now. But Basil could be, very much so. Not until the moment he pledged his loyalty to Tsuna and kissed the Vongola Sky Ring would he be safe. At the meeting both had known that Reborn was talking to them specifically. They had looked at each other a moment afterwards and come to some sort of truce. Not that they were enemies to start with, but the thing was that Basil hadn't spent much time around the others. He'd trained with Tsuna and they had become friends, but he had never trained with any of the others before except in the future- which was nearly 5 years ago now. He hadn't seen much of them since then.

As CEDEF Rules stated, when Vongola was in times of crises- and with Decimo gone and Nono and Co leaving soon, this counted as a small mini crisis- the Outside Advisor became second in command of Vongola, which was suitable considering Gokudera had to step up and take over for a small time. He was not Replacing Juudaime, would never claim to be, nor would he claim any position that would make him sound like the Boss. That was Juudaime's position and he would never take that from him. He had tried and knew better. This time would give both men experience whilst Nono was still around (by phone and video chats) to help and advise them. Dealing with Tsuna would have been helpful to Basil, since he would be dealing with Decimo more often than not, but being able to work well with the Right Hand Man was still beneficial.

Vongola was now in the hands of a 19 and 20 year old.

Didn't sound too good when put like that, so it was a good thing that times were currently peaceful in the Mafia. There were no glaring Mafia Wars that Vongola would have to lead and preside over. Nor was Vongola under any kind of threat.

So with the meeting finished, Basil and Gokudera set about getting themselves ready. Basil was given a room close to the Guardians, around the corner on the same corridor as Fuuta, Kusakabe, Ken and Chikusa's Vongola rooms. Not that the last three ever stayed in the Vongola mansion, but the rooms were always there for them. Once that was all done, a day later, Gokudera and Basil set about reaffirming their knowledge of Vongola's current state. So for the first time since Juudaime had disappeared, Gokudera stepped into Juudaime's office- which was technically his office too, but he'd never have the audacity to claim it.

There they were met with quite a few piles of paperwork. A small brightly coloured sticky note was placed on top of the pile sat centre stage on the desk. Gokudera looked at it and saw the elegant slanting scrawl of Vongola Nono. The note told them that this was all of the paperwork they had to do since he had worked hard to get all of his done before they left- which was tomorrow. All paperwork that needed to be handled for the day to day running of Vongola would now come to this office, for they were never allowed into Nono's office without his permission.

Gokudera stares at the piles and scoffs. "Che, let's just get this done. We don't have the time to handle fucking paperwork of all things. Finding Juudaime is hell of a lot more important. The quicker we get this done the quicker we can focus on that."

"I agree Gokudera-dono. Between the two of us this shouldn't take very long at all. I am currently quite up to date with Vongola's current affairs, having handled Master's Paperwork whilst he was off with his spouse." Gokudera looked at Basil out of the corner of his eye before 'tch-ing' and walking over towards the desk. Basil, it seemed, talked normal Italian. Being his birth language, it was not Iemitsu who had taught him it and as a result, he had learnt modern Italian. However it was slightly weird not to hear the olden styled terms pouring from his lips. Iemitsu had taught Basil ancient Japanese terms of address since he had found it cute- and god knows the man was obsessed with cute. In addition, Basil's use of Japanese suffixes whilst talking Italian was a little weird too, but just put down as another quirk by the bomber. Basil still wanted to show respect, yet Italian terms of address did not quite convey the feeling he wanted to get across. Sir and Mr Gokudera were not quite right really, nor did he dare to use Hayato.

However it was Basil's turn to mentally sigh and shake his head when the Bomber and Right Hand Man did not dare to sit in Juudaime's seat, nor at Juudaime's desk where the paperwork currently was. Nope, the Acting Head of Vongola sat at his own smaller desk situated to the right and at a right angle to Juudaime's desk. Unlike popular belief, Gokudera did handle some paperwork too, generally household things that Juudaime did not need to concern himself with. This was quite often correspondence with anyone other than Mafia Bosses- a good example was the Contractors who fixed the mansion up after the Guardians had their daily fights. He took a look over contracts and most of the paperwork, deciding whether it was worthy of Juudaime's perusal or not. Juudaime had enough paperwork without having to read over contracts that were not in Vongola's interests, or pleas for help that Families were too lazy to sort out themselves.

Gokudera also sorted out Juudaime's schedule, planning Juudaime's precious time as efficiently as possible. Meetings, dinners with Bosses and possible allies, Dinner with Dino (as a big brother figure, not as Chiavarone Decimo), family time, school meetings for Lambo, I-pin and Fuuta, Haru's gymnastic meets, and one hundred other people wanted his time for things related to Family and family. After the first few months out of college, Gokudera had learnt that he even needed to actually plan time for relaxation otherwise Juudaime wouldn't get any at all. So a desk was required for him. None of the others had a desk- which Gokudera was secretly quite proud of.

As Basil walked over and behind the desk to get a look at the files, he could feel Gokudera's glare on him, silently warning him against even considering sitting in Juudaime's seat or at Juudaime's desk. So Basil wisely didn't and called for another desk to be placed beside Gokudera's. He then called for a large tank of coffee and a huge plate of biscuits and other snacks to be placed on a small table nearby. Gokudera gave him a strange look, but Basil smiles pleasantly back. "Believe me Gokudera-dono, we'll need these. As I'm sure you know, paperwork like this takes up a lot of concentration and we shall need sustenance to keep it up." Gokudera nods and sets about grabbing the first folder on the pile

"Let's just get this done." Gokudera growls. Basil nods and grabs the second file.

"Rico Paulo Corp. haven't paid us their latest protection fee. We're going to need to send someone over to speak with them. This is the third time they've been late with their payments." Says Basil a few minutes later after checking the files on the laptop. Gokudera peers over and looks at the data before frowning angrily.

"We can't accept that, it might seem like they are looking down on Vongola. If others catch wind of this they might start doing the same too. Make sure to tell them if it happens again we're withdrawing our help. Three is far too many times" Gokudera harshly pushes his glasses back up his nose and turns away from the offending file.

"Luckily enough they are small enough that Decimo wouldn't need to see them. We can send one of the others." Points out Basil. Gokudera nods before pointing to a file open on the desk before him. They'd come to mission giving later.

"Yeah. I've got the Luco Famiglia wanting to be an ally with us." Alliances were a common subject these days especially with Vongola growing so powerful. But recently, ever since it was whispered what type of person Decimo was, smaller Families had been coming to them.

"Luco Famiglia. Based in Northen Italy, have been quickly rising over the past 4 years. Most of their money comes from protection fees. No drug connections. A reasonably small Famiglia, specialising in non-fatal weaponry as a bi-source of income." Reels off Basil as if repeating a file from memory- which he was. CEDEF needed to know everything that may affect Vongola, and knowing the basics of each Famiglia, no matter how small, was a given.

"Sounds like something Juudaime would be interested in. Here, take a look at this. Right at the bottom." Gokudera grabs the letter- printed on blue tinted cream, thick, watermarked paper no less- and points to the signatory.

"From the 'Luco Vigilante Famiglia?' That's a unusual way to sign off a letter. It's interesting that they aren't calling themselves Mafia though." Muses Basil, taking a moment to skim over the contents of the letter.

"I agree, but it's this that's annoying me" Gokudera runs a hand through his hair before pointing to a symbol near the Boss's signature. It was familiar but he couldn't remember where from, annoying him greatly. He would have been ashamed to have to admit to Juudaime that he didn't know if Juudaime had asked him about it. (Not that Tsuna would have asked him since he would have recognised it immediately. He spent alot of time staring at that symbol most days when daydreaming)

"I am afraid to say that the symbol is not one I recognise Gokudera-dono. I do also believe that it is not the Symbol of the Famiglia either. Their symbol is the one on the watermark." Basil holds the piece of paper up to the lights to show what he meant.

"We'll just have to ask them to explain themselves when we meet with them. They don't seem like a waste of time, especially if they have the guts to sign their letter like that. Juudaime would definitely see them."

It's a few minutes, and a few cups of coffee later that Basil looks over and finds Gokudera gritting his teeth and holding the file so tightly he's shaking. "What's the matter Gokudera-dono?" asks Basil carefully, putting his own file down to concentrate better. It must be bad if it cause this reaction in the Bomber.

"You ever heard of a serial killer known as Kitty Killer?" Gokudera asks, his voice tight.

Basil's eyes turn hard and he turns to fully face Gokudera. "Yes. A killer who is known to target Mafiosi's children specifically, always leaving a toy cat behind at the scene along with a photo of her- wearing her cat mask- and the kidnapped child. Why, what about her?"

"Vongola's got new information on her. It's possible that we can catch her." Basil's eyes widen at this piece of information. She was notorious for not being found.

"Is the information reliable?" asks Basil. It was possible it was a trap, but if not...

"Yeah, it is. It's from a member of Vongola I've dealt with personally. A man called Arthur. Smart guy and quite quiet, especially compared to his nut job of a partner Clover. Fights with Knives and even protected Juudaime from Xanxus once. I'd say what he has given us is trust worthy. The information says we'll be able to catch her in three days time."

By the time they've gone through the majority of the pile (most of the coffee and all of the biscuits) they have quite a long list of appointments that need to be made. This list had sat between them and was added to by either of them as they went through the files. Some were more important than others, and luckily enough, only one had demanded Decimo's presence. This was because Decimo generally only saw Bosses, who were all currently attending the same conference Nono was. Any Bosses not attending were of small Families that the Guardians would have visited anyway.

"Hn, got the grunt work done?" asks a high pitched voice from nowhere. Gokudera and Basil jolt, Gokudera nearly spills his latest mug of coffee, Basil slightly more graceful, giving only a widening of the eyes and a straightening of the back. "Took you long enough. I'd have kicked Dame-Tsuna over an hour ago"

"Of course! Juudaime is magnificent." Says Gokudera to thin air. He'd have to try harder to make himself faster than he was now. If he got his work done faster than Juudaime, then he could help Juudaime complete his quicker. What a great Right Hand Man he'd be then.

"Um, yes we are finished." Says Basil, fingers edging towards his Metal Edge. Two pairs of eyes scan the room yet they can't see anything nor anyone.

A gun clicks from behind them and the two men spin on their office chairs, their respective weapons ready to be thrown. But there's no one standing on the bookcase at all. Nor can either man see some sort of recording device that could be producing the voice.

"So are you ready to really become Boss?" both men spin around once more (thank god for spinning office chairs, such easy mobility) and find no threat, just Reborn. Okay, so maybe Reborn could be counted as a threat, but at least it wasn't an enemy.

"Ah, Reborn, yes we are done for now. But what did you mean by 'really become Boss'?" asks Basil, handing over the piece of paper they'd written all of the appointments on.

"I'm not replacing Juudaime." Reaffirms Gokudera. Reborn wasn't playing that trick on him once again. He'd learnt the first time.

"You're not going to replace him but you are going to step into his shoes. It's your job as Acting Co-Boss. You don't want to let Dame-Decimo down now do you?" Reborn smirks and lowers his fedora, Leon rubbing his cheek against the fingers used to tilt his perch- he knew very well what his Partner was doing. He himself had fallen prey to that technique. It no longer worked mind you, but it seemed it was still effective on Humans.

Blue and Grey eyes widen as the full meaning behind Reborn's words sink in. From Hitman to Paper to each other they look, linking the three objects.

Reborn smirks a little more. This is why he liked working with these two; gullible and prank-able, yet serious and smart enough to figure out things themselves. Whilst Gokudera was impulsive, give him a moment to figure out what was going on (after he'd jumped smack bang into the middle of it in his rush to impress Juudaime) and it was hard to stop him. Basil was always calm and graceful, and extremely observant, especially during battle. He didn't need to say much for them to get the bigger picture.

The next part was daunting and neither really wanted to do it. Basil, though, knew he had to and he had to get used to it. Gokudera should too, especially if he wanted to relieve some of the pressure off of Juudaime. As soon-to-be Head of CEDEF, Basil would have to get used to holding people's lives in his hands. Whilst Gokudera might not have as much responsibility as Juudaime would, he'd have people's general safety in his hands.

That's right. It was time to assign missions.

Both boys straighten their backs and turn even more serious than before. This was going to be one of the biggest tests they had, they really needed to pass. If they failed, it wouldn't just be them in harm's way, it would be whoever they had sent also.

"First things first, decide what order these need to be dealt with, and also by what level of person. You don't only have the Guardians at your disposal, but also the normal level Mafioso. Those Mafioso also come in differing types, like spy, assassin, or office based. By utilising the different levels and types of person you can get the best and most efficient outcome. Of course you must take into account each Mafiosi's previous experience and personality. This is especially true when creating teams to complete missions."

"Indeed Reborn, this is why Vongola's mission efficiency rate is so high; Bosses like Nono and Decimo really get to know their people and as such can suit them to the task much better than the majority of Bosses who don't even know their Family members' names. Oregano made sure I learnt that one" Whilst not as outright physically sadistic as Reborn was famous for being, Oregano was still a harsh taskmistress. Luckily enough he had met every member of CEDEF- being in it for as long as he can really remember helps- so he didn't have to go that far, however she still made him read over each person's mission history and makes notes on who would be best for what type of mission. However the Vongola and CEDEF mission sets were slightly different. Vongola was far more forward and upfront, approaching an enemy directly rather than hiding in the shadows. Alternatively, it was CEDEF's job to be discrete, collecting information without being caught, removing threats by making it look like an accident, and of course collecting as much data about Vongola as possible. It was their job to make sure that Vongola was seen favourably, and removed any rumours about Vongola that were harmful and simply not true. Of course some rumours helped, but not all of them did.

Handing out orders was an area where Basil had more experience- having helped and watched Oregano do it instead of Master- but that didn't happen too often. CEDEF generally went on long term missions and didn't take up a new one until it was complete. The majority of their members never came back to the CEDEF Tower regularly since they were in deep under cover missions as informants.

Gokudera had been furiously scribbling down every word Reborn had said, grateful for the advice from someone like him. Although both found it strange that Reborn was being so helpful and straight forward with the information. Maybe it was because there wasn't really a safety net to fall back on?

"First step" says Reborn, hand outstretched. Leon jumps onto his hand, transforming in the process. Before the pair can barely recognise what is going on, Reborn is in mid-air, a Leon Hammer aiming directly for Gokudera's head. The Bomber scrambles out of the way, ducking and covering his head from the attack. He hadn't done something wrong already had he? There is a bang and then a rattle of metal. Gokudera peaks out from behind his arms to see his chair, dismantled and squashed, in a pile on the floor. Reborn immediately switches targets and Basil's chair meets a similar fate. "Get better chairs. Do you think Dame-Decimo sits on a throne because of some king complex?" Images of Xanxus sitting on a throne flash through the pair's head- that was a type of power complex. However Tsuna sitting on a throne gave off a different feeling. But still a very Boss and powerful like one. Both men shake their heads.

Basil hits the intercom and asks for some grander looking chairs. He apologises to the men who come and replace them. The men are actually confused by the state of the chairs- they weren't black, singed and releasing smoke which usually accompanied anything the Bomber had broken. Meaning he didn't break them. Of course no Mafioso ever suspected Reborn of doing something like that. When the males sat on the new chairs, they felt a little out of place. They kind of felt like schoolboys once more.

Reborn looks at the pair and wants to roll his eyes. "Hn, even a puppy is more intimidating that you two. Who's giving the orders, you or the subordinate?" He smirks when the embarrassed, almost blushing Gokudera is immediately replaced with the Smokin' Bomber.

"Che, they can try all they fucking like but I ain't letting any little shit tell me what to do" Juudaime didn't come under that category and as such was excluded. In his look was also the silent submission to Reborn himself, which never had to be verbalised. The return of the 'bomber' means that Gokudera had automatically spread his body posture out: a wide gap between his knees; a slight slouch; shoulders pushed back and the signature chin raise and curled lip. One arms rested against the side of the chair, elbow on the back almost level with his mouth, helping to cause the uncaring slouch. Reborn doubted that Gokudera knew it consciously, but a cigarette was currently being spun between the fingers of the other hand.

Basil counteracted Gokudera's physical intimidating posture with one a lot closer to Tsuna's: knees together, arms on each of the arm rests, chin up but not arrogantly so like Gokudera, making him look ever so slightly down on the subordinates- not visible to the naked eye, but certainly subconsciously. Basil looked attentive and confident but not overpowering- Oregano and Iemitsu had taught him well it seems. However Basil was also like Tsuna due to his control over his Dying Will Mode. Since he had given the pills over to Tsuna, he had actually been the first to learn how to control his flames without them. Dying Will, Hyper Dying Will and normal Flame control all worked differently. Normal Flame Control was what the Guardians had learnt how to do, physically manifesting their Flames and charging their bodies. However the effects were not as strong as Dying Will Mode. Since Reborn had used the bullet on Tsuna, the sudden release of the external limiters had produced such a Flame Energy Shockwave that his clothes had disintegrated, all happening so fast that a second image was created, making it seem as if Tsuna burst out of his own skin. Hyper Dying Will- currently only used by Tsuna, Basil, Nono and Iemitsu- removed the internal limiters. Like Tsuna, Basil could enter all three modes freely through having experienced the forced modes. Being subjected to pills and bullets just Like Tsuna, he had felt how the Flames were released and used and eventually learnt how to control his Flame that way himself. As such, he could also bring his Flames to just under the surface- plus Blue eyes hid the gleam of Rain Flames. This brought about a psychological effect in the subordinates- the Flame Pressure was unseen but felt, almost like an aura, making Basil seem far more powerful than he was. So whilst Gokudera was Physically intimidating, Basil was Mentally so. A very good pairing. Xanxus had both in spades- his own Flames of Wrath baring an intimidating aura- and Tsuna was still working on being physically intimidating. However Reborn wasn't worried about that- it was part of Tsuna's charm to not be intimidating and often worked for him against people who were used to dealing with Physically intimidating people, which the Mafia was full of. It made Tsuna different and was often an advantage.

Now that was better.

Reborn smirks, glad with the change from just a few words.

"Now remember not everyone's the same. You need to treat them differently too. Decide which one of you would be best dealing with each type of person. We don't want you wimping out and losing control" he looks as Basil here. Basil was less likely to hand control over than Dame-Tsuna was, but some very dominant personalities might be able to. "Nor do you want to be arguing all of the time." This meant Gokudera with his infamous storm personality and little patience.

"You're still missing something" comments Reborn, not to himself, but directly and challengingly to them. Both men look around and at each other, trying to figure it out. "Return to your previous positions" orders Reborn, so they do so. Reborn makes a flicking gesture with his wrist, telling them to figure it out now… But still nothing from the smart pair. They never knew there was so much prep work for handing missions out. How did Tsuna (Dame-Tsuna of all people) manage to remember to do all of this?

Through Reborn's Spartan training of course.

With a lot of help from Leon!

When it is clear that the men have no clue what they are missing, Leon runs around Reborn's fedora once before simply throwing himself off. A glowing iridescent sphere whizzes over towards them and stops between their arm rests. Slowly getting greener, Leon spreads out and engulfs the wrist of each boy. Finally he solidifies and returns to his chameleon green colour. They were now hand cuffed together.

"Reborn, sir… What's the meaning of this?" Basil was so shocked that respectful Italian terms of address slipped out of his lips. Gokudera was in a spluttering silence, not knowing what to think.

"You are Boss" says Reborn, as if that told them everything. Leon tightens his hold for a moment, contracting to bring their hands closer together. Knuckles bash against each other causing the pair to look down and check they were okay. "Repeat after me" says Reborn patronisingly, as if talking to children. "We are Boss"

"W-We are Boss" the pair say. That was kind of obvious at the moment.

"Now instead of saying it, actually mean it." Guides Reborn. Leon contracts even more, forcing the back of the boys' hand to press against one another. "Unlike Dame-Decimo, the both of you are Boss, not either one of you. So if it looks like you don't trust each other, that you don't think the other has your back, you aren't going to get anywhere, nor demand the respect you will need. So you'll be spending the rest of the day together." The males look at each other and it becomes clear that their trust isn't perfect. Although it never was to begin with, even when they were at the meeting yesterday. Both had respect for the other, but lack of contact and social interaction over the past few years hadn't built up any sort of bond between them.

When they look away from each other and back to Reborn for more instructions, the infant has disappeared, as has Leon, leaving a normal silver pair of handcuffs where he used to be. Luckily for Basil, it was his left hand that was cuffed to Gokudera's right. Gokudera was ambidextrous, so could continue to fill out the last of the paperwork using his left hand.

"You do not think we have angered Reborn do you Gokudera-dono?" asks Basil slowly, still staring at the sliver adornment to his wrist.

"Of course not. This is just Reborn's amazing training style. We are honoured to have it, usually only Juudaime receives training like this." Assures Gokudera, stars in his eyes. How much longer those stars would stay there was debateable. "So let's grab another coffee and get the last of the work done."

Easier said than done, and they suddenly learnt a lot more about Personal Space. Gokudera liked his personal space, hence why he hated it whenever Yamamoto got touchy and decided to lean on his shoulders… or Juudaime's shoulders.

"So now we need to order these according to importance. Well, Kitty Killer has a time limit, we don't want her to kill again after all." Gokudera nods at Basil's statement.

"We've got two options on who to send after her" starts theorising Gokudera. "We could send members of CEDEF since your lot are better at sneaking around, and could track her better. Or we could send the Yakyuu-baka and his Rain Decina. Out of all of us, he's the best one to blend into the crowd and track her discretely- since according to Arthur's information she'll be leaving… a hair salon." Gokudera re-reads that file just to make sure he remembers that correctly. Yes, the killer would be leaving a hair salon.

"I believe that Yamamoto-dono can handle this one. I can ask for CEDEF to be around just in case though" Gokudera nods at that suggestion from Basil- it was better to be prepared.

"Next would be dealing with the man who wants to see Juudaime. Whilst not a Mafia Boss, he is the Boss of a company that has high influence in the normal world. He's one of the few outsiders Juudaime would see." Says Gokudera, brow furrowing in concentration and thought. "We can ask her to help. Better her than him. I've never liked him, even now."

"I believe that would be a great way to solve the problem." Smiles Basil gently.

"Ryohei and Lambo can go see Rico Paulo." Comments Gokudera, a shark's smile on his face. Basil suddenly felt sorry for the company. However Basil could see the sense behind Gokudera's choice, as devilish as it may be.

They continued to sort out the assignments, keeping a careful eye on who was where at what time so they didn't double book anyone. Of course with the number of people Vongola had, this was rather easy not to do. However they still had slight issues with creating the teams. Even though they 'had been part of' Vongola for over 5 years now, they hadn't been in Italy all that long. This would be a breeze if they were creating groups for the Japanese Vongola members, yet they currently didn't know the Italian members that well. Somewhere in the back of his mind, there was a whisper that told Gokudera that Shinichi and Kaito would be good at this. If Kaito was here then they could create groups with a balance of Flame types, which would balance out personalities and have a better success rate of being a functional team. Shinichi would have been able to deduce which people worked well together. He quickly bombed that part of his mind, warning it to shut up. It wasn't worth wishing for things that weren't going to happen any time soon. Actually, he didn't even know where Shinichi was at the moment. Two days ago he was in England. Yesterday he was in America. Today, he didn't have a clue. He knew that Kaito was with Shinichi. He hadn't suspected anything about the V.F Manager that had gotten on stage, except that it was weird for one of their Japanese members to be with Shinichi in England. Just as his brain was working out that something was wrong with that deduction, both Manager and Shinichi had disappeared in a very familiar cloud of white smoke. That gave it away that it was Kaito, solving the Japanese issue. Mukuro still had not come back, nor had made an appearance on screen to denote he was with Shinichi, which was perfectly fine with Gokudera.

Finally time came around for Dinner. When Gokudera and Basil walked into the room- luckily the first to arrive- they started to walk down different sides, taking their rightful places on either side of Juudaime's seat. That plan was foiled by the sliver metal linking them together. One plan was to sit at the head of the table together, there was enough room. However that was Juudaime's seat (or Nono's if you were at the other end of the table) and as such off limits. So when the rest of the family came to dinner it was to find Gokudera and Basil sat on the right side of the table, at the centre.

"Gyahahah! Bakadera's been naughty and finally gotten locked up! It was time someone sent you to prison!" laughs Lambo, getting right into Gokudera's face.

"Ahoshi!" shouts Gokudera, annoyed by the cow as usual. He moves his hand to grab the damned cow and throttle him into apologetic silence, yet his hand is jerked backwards by Basil and forcefully placed back on the arm rest. Lambo grins widely and turns around, smacking his bottom in a taunt to Gokudera.

"Now now Lambo-dono, Gokudera-dono has not been naughty, he has been working really hard. We are handcuffed together as a training exercise by Reborn." Calms Basil. Lambo sniggers once more but generally lets the subject go. He does try to annoy Gokudera more than usual, making use of Gokudera's 'keeper'.

Once dinner is finished, the Co-Bosses nod and stand up. "Yamamoto-dono, it is possible to have a word with you?" asks Basil politely, noticing that Yamamoto had finished his meal also.

"Che, you don't have to ask. This is official stuff, we can just order the idiot to come" mumbles Gokudera. Basil shakes his hand, forcing the handcuff to chafe Gokudera's in silent punishment for the statement.

"Haha, of course I can come" says Yamamoto, standing up too. "What's it about?"

"We have a mission for you."

"HEEEEIIIIII"

There is a growl from by his feet, and something- he thinks a tail- whacks his shin. He can't really tell since he's staring at the ceiling and can't seem to move his head… or the rest of his body. It's all being held down with restraints. Clicking of nails on a tiled floor can be heard before another growl resonates around the room. A few moments later footfalls can be heard. A door behind him opens- Tsuna can feel the breeze generated- and quickly shut.

"I do hope you don't always wake up like that. Although brain scans do show you were having a nightmare. A mild one admittedly, but I suppose that could be the cause for that unnaturally high pitched squeal. You do know that it is unusual for males of your age to be able to speak with that pitch, correct?"

"Heeii! Oh no! oh no oh no oh no. This is just a dream, just a dream, just a really bad dream"

"Hn, I'm afraid to inform you that this is not a dream. I can show you the readings to prove it if you do not wish to believe me."

"*sigh* no that's alright. I believe you. My brain wouldn't be able to come up with most of this stuff anyway"

"I believe the better term would be 'imagination' Vongola."

"Sorry. Can you undo these restraints? I'd like to be able to see you when I'm talking to you. It's weird talking to the ceiling"

There is a small laugh "I suppose I can do that, there's no harm. Third button on the left please"

"Um, I can't feel any buttons"

"I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to my Partner."

"O-oh, hehe sorry. I didn't realise there was anyone else in here with us."

"Well you must have some sort of hearing problem then Vongola. Do I need to do a physical check-up before continuing? I highly doubt that your high pitched squeal is connected to the hearing problem, but medical conditions could affect my data."

"A-ah, no! I'm fine. Perfectly fine! The only other sound I heard was a growl. Ohh~" It suddenly clicks "He's like-" the constraints are released, being pulled back into the table he was laying on.

"Yes he is" cuts off the other in the room before Tsuna can say his rival's name. "He's a far better Partner than some Homo Sapiens. He's not going to answer back, tell me he thinks he known better when very few other people do, nor steal my research and call it his own."

"So you love him" Tsunayoshi is surprised by the look on his captor's face at his latest statement. A look of confusion and shock, as if he's never realised it himself.

"Hn, a silly emotion caused by hormonal changes in the brain all based around the mating instinct. It is not possible for us to mate, for many reasons, therefore it is not love."

"Whatever you say. I still believe you love him. I- ah! Heeiiiiiii! W-w-why can't I move?"

"You can move. However I've given you a drug to remove the majority of the energy from your cells. I've left enough to keep you alive, and for basic brain function, hence why we are having a conversation. However, I suspect your limbs feel rather heavy, leading to you believing you cannot move them."

"W-W-why? What was that for?" asks Tsuna, dumbstruck.

"So the experiment can begin"

I found writing about the CEDEF rather interesting actually. I didn't even know I thought most of this stuff. And I've managed to find a way to make Iemitsu's actions seem acceptable- ie, it's not his fault he can't see Tsuna. Those who have read Mafia Row know what bashing I gave him there, so this new point of view was a surprise.

Little bit more of Mafia Italian here. You all remember that Capo meant Capodecina meaning Captain of a squad, well take off the Capo and you are left with Decina, literally meaning group of ten, or squad. So it's Yamamoto's men.

Oh yeah, who do you want to see next time? Yamamoto, Ryohei and Lambo,Tsuna or 'Her'?

See you all next time!

Phantom Hitman 1412

First Published 25 July 2012