BECOMING THE BOSS – A PLACE TO CALL HOME
The local airport
One month had passed since the baseball game; things had progressed smoothly. Tsuna and Dokuro continued to grow closer together and the latter has become increasingly confident around her soon to be family. Bringing a smile to Dokuro's face was a challenge that Tsuna gave himself every minute of every day and he was mostly very good at it.
Tsuna was here waiting for his boss, the 9th. Soon he would be replacing the previous Vongola boss but there were certain formalities that had to be sorted out first. One such formality was the integration of the inheritance ceremony into the wedding.
Being here on official business which included his own wedding meant that the chestnut haired man had some strange company with him. He brought along those who were relevant to the wedding, Dokuro, his mother and his father. His father was attending for two purposes, one as the father, one as the leader of CEDEF. As the leader of CEDEF Iemitsu had endeavoured to bring Basil to the meeting. Lastly the final leader of the next generation Vongola family, the Varia boss, Xanxus.
It was autumn at the moment, a beautiful season. Past the runway the leaves could be seen tumbling from the trees. A kaleidoscope of colour scattered the horizon, conditions like this always made Tsuna thankful for what he had. Peace never lasts however, 'A fight even harder than the last one will be coming soon' Tsuna thinks to himself. Before the 10th generation boss could get to deep into the thought he was greeted by the arrival of his predecessor.
Iemitsu nudged his son to indicate that he should speak up. "Welcome to Japan 9th" Tsuna greets the staff wielder.
"It's good to be here 10th" returns the 9th, smiling as he does so. It's become a habit of the 9th to refer to his counterpart as the 10th, he enjoys it in the knowledge that he will soon be relieved of duty.
"I've come to discuss your wedding arrangements" continues Xanxus father before he starts as he looks at the approaching woman. "Nana…." he begins.
"All those years ago, why didn't you tell me you were mafioso" demands the mother.
"Ah I didn't think it was a good idea" begins the 9th, "I wasn't sure you would trust me in the same house as your son, besides you know I'm not a bad person right?".
Nana harrumphs before replying, "Fine but you're on notice" she says without showing the fear that history has deemed customary when talking to a mafia boss.
"Understood" smiles the 9th.
Iemitsu laughed from behind his wife. "You got off lightly, you should have seen the scolding I got" he remarks, being on the island with Bana was terrifying but that was nothing compared to the mother of his children berating him.
"Uhm, Mr 9th" says Dokuro, trying to draw his attention.
"Yes" he replies.
"My mother doesn't know anything about us being in the mafia" she says, not wanting Hino to be exposed to the terrible world they live in. Even though her fiancée manages to make her smile it's always worth remembering this world is horrendous, Mukuro even made the claim he went to 'hell'.
"It's not a problem, we will go with the usual alias, we are all co-workers at a call centre" explains the 9th. The story has been carefully considered by many experts in the Vongola family, it is the easiest story to improvise in any situation and the roles in the centre can reflect their roles in the family. It was the Vongola's 'perfect' alibi.
"Don't answer any questions unless you are forced to" suggests the elder gentleman. Giving simple answers means you are less likely to have a contradiction in your story. "Besides, I'm sure she will be more excited to hear about her daughter's wedding".
Smiling as he turned towards his son, the 9th asked, "Xanxus, is the construction complete?".
"Yes, it's a perfect replica" replies Xanxus.
"What are you talking about" asks Tsuna, thinking he should have heard about any construction work the family is undertaking.
"We've had a copy of the Vongola mansion built in Japan" replies the 9th who has a hint of hesitation in his voice.
Tsuna's hyper intuition said that the 9th was hiding something, maybe related to his regret but he didn't quite understand what it was. If the 9th wanted it to be a secret though, the 10th considered it best left that way.
"You should be around your guardians; therefore, we are moving all major Vongola assets to Japan" explains Tsuna's teacher.
"Wow" responds Tsuna, "That's good thinking, I'm really grateful".
The group continued to discuss the logistics of moving all the Vongola assets to Japan. The 9th had put in a lot of work behind the scenes. Xanxus had been instrumental in the process it seemed, clearly he and his father were getting closer and closer, something that brought great relief to Tsuna. When they had finished they head into the city towards the apartment of Chrome Hino.
Hino's Flat
Since he had last come here Tsuna had purchased a vast array of custom made furniture to improve Hino's lifestyle. It had clearly made a big difference, the woman was looking a lot happier and a lot healthier as she brought some tea to her visitors.
"So you are Dokuro's boss at work" she asks the 9th.
"That is correct" replies the mafia boss.
"Pleased to meet you, I am her mother, Chrome Hino" says the wheelchair bound woman as she bows slightly.
"It's good to finally meet you" agrees the 9th, "I am here to discuss your daughter's wedding" he smiles.
"Oh the wedding, I'm really looking forward to it" replies Hino. Having only met him a few times Tsuna had improved her life immensely and clearly her daughter loved the young man. Naturally Hino was delighted they would be wed soon.
The 9th hands Hino a very expensive looking envelope, "This is the invitation he says, please check to make sure the venue and date are appropriate".
As Hino opens the invitation she never loses her smile, "This is all fine by me, the location is very fancy, you're very lucky Dokuro" she tells her child.
"Yes" replies the mist guardian.
"Hino" says Nana to get her attention, "We're Tsuna's parents, I'm Nana and this is my husband Iemitsu, it's good to meet you". Nana and Iemitsu took turns shaking Hino's hand.
"I'm pleased to meet you both as well" says Hino, "You've raised your son very well, he seems like a lovely young man".
"Thank you" replies Nana, pleased as always to hear that her son was no longer being thought of as no-good Tsuna.
"So does your daughter" Iemitsu compliments. "A young woman that is, she's not a man" he continues as he stumbles over his own words.
Sensing his master's awkwardness Basil changes the subject. "Mrs Chrome please look at these detail" he requests as he puts some documents before Dokuro's mother.
Hino's mood continues to improve as she reads through the documents, "My-my, is this the house you are going to be living in Dokuro, it's amazing" she comments.
"That's not it Mrs Chrome" Basil interrupts, "This is the house you're going to be moving into".
"Me" asks Hino as her expression changes from joy to shock, never did she expect these people to sort out her living arrangements.
"Tsuna and Dokuro are going to succeed me as the people who run the company" explains the 9th, "Of course we look after relatives as well, I hope you enjoy your new home".
The moment is emotional enough to cause Hino to cry, "thank you so much" she sobs as she can't hold back her own tears.
Dokuro hugs Tsuna, she knew in advance that this had been arranged for her mother but she is still incredibly grateful. "Thank you" she whispers in his ear while she continues to cling to him.
A few moments pass before she reminds her soon-to-be husband, "Don't you have an important meeting soon".
"Oh yes, I better go, I will leave you to discuss the rest of the arrangements" yells Tsuna as he runs from the apartment, not wanting to be late.
A Restaurant
It was at the restaurant Tsuna had chosen to meet his colleague. The second strongest mafioso in the Vongola family, Vongola Bana. It had always been noted by Kyoko that Tsuna looked very similar to Vongola Primo, therefore the resemblance between Tsuna and Bana was significant to people sat around them. Some people looked down on Bana for 'bleaching his hair' unlike his twin.
'Can't they see I'm of European descent?' Bana questions in his head.
"So how are your guardians doing" asks Tsuna.
"We're OK" his subordinate replies, "except…".
"Kyoko and Haru" guesses Tsuna.
Without bothering to confirm the guess Bana continues, "The evil part of my personality got to the two of them most of all". This confirms Tsuna's fears, it meant that the guardians relationship with Kyoko and Haru would be truly difficult to mend.
"But what strikes me as strange is that your people confirmed them dead" explains the blonde haired man, "That must have been some kind of setup".
"Yeah" agrees the 10th. "Perhaps the people Mukuro was trying to warn us against".
Bana nods to his boss. He partly feels guilty, while he had no recollection of their faces and doesn't associate with those who created him anymore, he is still a being of their design, of their creation. While Primo was the source of his good half it would seem these people were the source of his evil.
"So what are you doing about Kyoko and Haru" enquires Tsuna.
"I'm encouraging them to meet old relations" he explains, "Kyoko seems to be quite violent towards her brother but they are getting somewhere".
"And Haru" prompts the elder of the two.
"She and Gokudera scream at each-other a lot" he comments with a vacant expression on his face.
Tsuna laughs, "That's alright, that's all they did before".
"Yeah" mutters Bana, he guessed as much, "Haru struck me as a strong willed person the moment I met her".
Tsuna looks his new found friend in the eyes, "You can ask me if you need help with anything you know".
"Ask for help?" questions the younger.
"No matter what crime you have committed, no matter what atrocities you have performed, you are still Vongola" Tsuna comforts Bana, knowing that the latter feels guilty about everything that has happened between the two. "In a few weeks I will be your boss after all".
"Thanks" smiles Bana, "You're not a bad guy Tsuna".
"Nor you Bana".