SOMETHING NEW IN ITALY – WE'RE NOT TOGETHER!
The Vongola Mansion, Just Outside Rome
When the weather is beautiful most people enjoy sitting outside, some enjoy bathing in the sun, some enjoy walking in the rain and some enjoy chasing thunderstorms. Unfortunately for the 9th Boss of the Vongola family, his mist Guardian, Bouche Croquant is not such a person. The sun shines brightly in the sky outside but the two of them await their successors in a dark and poorly lit room with no windows.
"We could have sat outside" says the 9th, clearly irritated at his associates choice of room.
"The police might have seen me" replies Croquant, "I imagine a few of them would recognise me by now".
"That's your fault, I told you not to break the law" criticises the 9th.
Croquant only smiles at that though, it has always been the duty of the mist guardian to do the unpleasant but necessary things needed to protect the family. 'That's why we're having this meeting', Croquant thinks to himself, 'I've heard this Rokudo Mukuro is even worse than I am, I wonder what he is like'.
A smile appears on the face of the 9th, "Tsuna is here" says the boss as he rises to his feet.
Croquant jumps to his feet as well, "You can even sense his power now, he is quite special isn't he, Sawada Tsunayoshi".
"Yes" agrees the 9th, Tsuna is special, the first leader of the family to earn the approval of Vongola 1st, to earn the approval of every arcobaleno. The door opens and in walk the two 10th generation figures. There is a noticeable difference in confidence between them, a surprise to the 9th seeing as 5 years ago both Tsuna and Chrome suffered from being nervous. Tsuna looks comfortable in his suit, his greetings are coherent and appropriate, Chrome however gives off the aura that she has never before worn a suit.
Croquant processes the image of this woman, 'the purple haired one, he speculates, is she a representative of Mukuro, she doesn't seem very confident'. Unlike Croquant though, something very different is running through the 9th's mind.
"CONGRATULATIONS TSUNA" yells the 9th with vigour and enthusiasm.
"Huh" Tsuna automatically responds, "What are you talking about 9th" he asks with confusion.
The 9th adopts a cheeky smile as he replies "You've finally found a girl, that is fantastic, great news for the family".
In keeping with their levels of nerve, Chrome blushes heavily at 9th's assumption while Tsuna moves to calmly correct his predecessor.
"It's nothing like that 9th, the two of us are merely..." says the brown haired young man before he is interrupted.
"Ah, that means you will finally be able to become boss, congratulations Sawada" interjects Croquant. Croquant has no interest in the personal life of Tsuna, he has even less in the personal life of Chrome however he does have interest in retiring and giving his job to the next generation.
"We should begin wedding preparations right away" the 9th concludes, escalating the situation as quickly as possible.
"I'm actually the mist guardian" explains Chrome, the situation is making things between her and her boss very awkward.
The 9th sees Chrome trying to sabotage his plan, 'I won't let you get off that easily Chrome', "That's great, the mist guardians are... hard to control" he mentions as he looks at Croquant.
Croquant is not caught off guard by the remark though, as he looks up to the ceiling fan in the dark room he replies, "Would I have such charm as this without my free spirit, boss?".
Chrome wants to stay on topic, she has no plans to marry her boss, "The boss and I aren't dating or anything".
'You're persistent Chrome, I will give you that', 9th thinks to himself. "Oh come now, you don't have to be embarrassed, I'm really happy for the two of you".
Sawada Tsunayoshi has only watched this argument from the side-lines up until now, he knows it is a simple matter to close, well it would be if a certain set of circumstances didn't occur. Those circumstances did occur, a certain man enters the room, the only man who can truly talk down to Sawada Tsunayoshi, Sawada Iemitsu.
"Stop being so modest guys, I've seen you together lots of times" he teases as he winks to his son.
'Dad, what are you saying', thinks Tsuna, he knows his father also has dreams of retirement, he never knew that he would go this far though.
Just as Tsuna is about to speak Croquant suddenly carries the conversation away from him again, "So you two have been together a while now have you?" he asks despite knowing they haven't.
Tsuna has finally been given a chance to speak, a chance to put this matter to rest, "You guys all know we..." he starts, but he is interrupted, interrupted by the last person he expects, Chrome.
"Yes we have", Chrome smiles as she takes hold of Tsuna's hand, playing the part to the best of her ability. There is a silent sigh of relief from all the 9th generation Vongola in the room, thank you Chrome, thinks the 9th, at least one of you is willing to play along.
The room goes silent for a moment, the relief of the majority, the anxiety of Chrome, the shock of Tsuna, everyone has an emotion that is keeping them from speaking, only the gentle turning of the ceiling fan is saving them from total silence.
"I will tell our sun guardian to begin preparations" informs Croquant as he stands up and makes for the door.
"What about the meeting?" asks Chrome.
Iemitsu places his hand on Chrome's shoulder to reassure her, "Don't worry, we can consider that after you have taken over, right now your wedding is far more important", he explains to justify his colleague's sudden disappearance.
"Tsuna, Chrome, come with me, I think we better have a talk" requests the leader of CEDEF.
"Yes I think we better", replies Tsuna as blunt as he can manage, he may hold back with others but his father will receive no special treatment from him.
As she walks down the corridor alongside Tsuna, Chrome can't help feeling slightly guilty. Although she knows she is doing a service to the Vongola family by going along with this facade, she also recognises that Tsuna has bad memories of talk about marriage, his fiancée died on him, it's a hard topic for him to be impartial on. Iemitsu realises this even more than Chrome, he is Tsuna's father, he was there first hand to witness his son's devastation following Kyoko's death however he has his job to do and right now his job is to ensure a successful transition from 9 to 10.
The three Vongola arrive in a small living room and Iemitsu sits down on a comfy leather sofa, "Please have a seat" he gestures to his two juniors.
Chrome takes the seat opposite Iemitsu but Tsuna is not in the mood for formalities.
"Cut the crap father, we all know that the two of us aren't a couple", Tsuna says, cutting to the bone of the issue right away as he angrily stares at his father.
"Listen the 9th is under a lot of pressure to allow the new boss to take over, pressure from the Varia, even pressure from my department, this is it, a way to make you the boss", Iemitsu tells Tsuna.
The young Vongola sighs, "All these stupid rules about getting married. Sorry to have dragged you into this Chrome", Tsuna apologises to Chrome.
"It's fine", Chrome says in an attempt to put Tsuna at ease.
Tsuna sets aside a moment to think about the consequences of marrying Chrome, "I bet Mukuro would be pretty angry with me" he muses.
"Mukuro and I aren't a couple" retorts Chrome, surprised by Tsuna's assumption.
"You're not?", the father and son pair question at the same time.
"OF COURSE NOT", Chrome yells at the Sawada duo.
This news is music to Iemitsu's ears, "Then couldn't the two of you at least attempt to be a couple...". Tsuna glances sideways at Chrome, 'Chrome as my wife, I've never thought about her this way before, I guess she is cute', he thinks to himself, complementing his new fiancée.
"Tsuna, you're not going to find a girlfriend much more attractive than that", Iemitsu says as he points at Chrome, lacking any sense of subtlety that you would expect from a mafioso.
'And the magic has died', Tsuna says in his head, "Dad don't be so blunt, you'll put her off this whole idea", he tells the CEDEF leader.
Iemitsu changes his approach, using a new method to push the two together. "Do you enjoy being with Chrome?" he asks with a directness that has become commonplace in this debate.
"I think Chrome and I would be friends but the two of us haven't had much of a chance to talk".
That's a small but steady compliment, something Chrome can handle, she nods as she replies "Yeah, I agree with that".
"That's a good start", Iemitsu mumbles, he pushes his son in the back, "You're in Rome, take the lady out for a meal" he instructs Tsuna.
"You're so pushy", moans Tsuna, however he is moaning with a smile, "It's a good thing you are part of this family, otherwise I wouldn't be so forgiving".
The mood in the room has lifted, previously Chrome was anxious about Tsuna's potential reaction to the subject of marriage but Iemitsu handled the situation well, the sun flickers through the blinds on a nearby window and the occupants of the room are basked in it's warm glow.
Tsuna approaches his mist guardian with a confident walk, "Chrome, would you care to go out with me for a meal?", he asks with charm that now seems appropriate to his character.
"I would like that", Chrome smiles as she takes Tsuna's arm. Tsuna looks at Chrome as he concludes in his head, 'I have no idea what to talk about, this is going to be awkward'.
Iemitsu was left smiling as his son walked his date out of the room and towards one of Italy's finest restaurants, 'perhaps this is the next step in Tsuna's life, go have fun kid'.