Target Zero point Five: Decisions
The forty-year old man walked straight into the great hall, followed by a young boy no older than sixteen.
All the men around them got out of the way, leaving a path leading straight towards the huge chair at the end of the room, and the sixty-year old man sitting in it.
"It's been a long time Iemitsu." the old man said with a smile as the two in front of him bowed as a sign of respect.
"It really has Nono." Iemitsu said as he got up from the ground. "Far longer than any of us would like I believe." he smiled back at the man.
"And how do you do Basil?" the old man said, turning towards the young man behind Nazumo. The boy immediately straightened his posture while giving the old man a nervous look.
"I am just fine, Vongola Nono." he bowed 90 degrees from the waist, making his long, sandy locks of hair fly all around him face.
"Is your training going well?" the old man asked, still smiling.
"Yes." Basil said, straightening his back once again, smiling back at the man. "The master is tough but I never leave the training grounds without having learned something, he's a great teacher." the old man couldn't held but to smile at the young boy.
"He seems to really look up to you Iemitsu." he said. He looked at the boy once more before turning back to the man. "Basil... should be about the same age as your daughter, shouldn't he?" none in the room missed how Iemitsu flinched, is it possible that he didn't want to talk about his own offspring?
"Yes..." Iemitsu said, averting his eyes from the old man. "Basil is just a few months older than Tsunako, but she has yet to actually turn sixteen if that is what you're getting at." the look on his face told everyone that he really wasn't comfortable talking about his daughter, this action made all the men around them wonder just what the hell was going on. Basil on the other hand, wasn't just going to stay quiet about this matter.
"Master..." he said questionably, as if afraid to speak all together. "You never told me you had a daughter..." the old man got a wondering look.
The other men in the room turned towards one another, whispering amongst themselves.
They had heard many stories about how much Iemitsu trusted his apprentice, that he was said to have told the young boy everything. And yet, he had left out a matter that everyone in the whole mafia world knew.
Iemitsu got a dark look.
"Are you afraid that your apprentice will steal your daughter away?" the old man asked, looking at Iemitsu with a great deal of interest.
Iemitsu's hands clenched.
"Tsuna-chan is the kind of girl that you just have to love." he turned towards Basil. "Once you get to know her it's impossible to hate her." he had a hurt look in his eyes. "Every day I worry that I will get home one day and find out that she's had her heart broken by a boy that doesn't know her at all." he pierced his eyes in his apprentice. "But I'm more worried about, having a person close to me stealing her away, I know she's not the perfect little baby she used to be, but I just don't want to see her get hurt."
A long silence followed Iemitsu's words, allowing the men around them to properly absorb the information the man had just given them.
"Master..." Basil said with a look of adoration.
'Master is so caring about his daughter.' the young boy thought, his eyes sparkling with respect for the man in front of him. 'he's looking out for her even though she's so far away from him, he's truly the greatest parent you could have, I'm starting to feel jealous.' his smile widened.
"She's to young to find someone anyway." Iemitsu suddenly said, crossing his arms stubbornly.
Everyone around them sweat-dropped.
'I take it back.' Basil thought, hiding his face in his hand.
"By the way Nono." Iemitsu suddenly said, turning back towards the man. "Why have you summoned me here?"
The look on the old man's face grew clouded.
"I'm getting old Iemitsu..." the old man said. "I'm not as energetic as I used to be." he looked out over the faces of the men around him. They were all dimmed with emotions, and most of them were not so happy.
"What is it you're trying to say Nono?" Iemitsu asked, he really didn't like were this was going.
"I'm going to start the training program of the next Vongola boss." the man said as a matter or fact, making the eyes of the men around him widen.
"But... but... the only candidate left is..." Iemitsu said, unable to form a complete sentence.
"That is why I summoned you." the old man said, cutting him of. "I have thought long and hard about this matter and have come to the conclusion that the time is right, the clock has already been sent to the location and a tutor has been assigned, I'm really just letting you know since we are friends Iemitsu."
"But, don't you think it's a little early?" Nozumo asked, taking a step closer to the man. "Can't you at least wait until the candidate has turned eighteen?"
"I can't do that Iemitsu." the man said. "For it has been decided that the candidate shall partake in the official inheritance ceremony shortly after turning eighteen, that was not decided by me." Iemitsu got a horrified look. "The candidate have to be both mentally and physically prepared by that time so I really have no choice but to start the training as soon as possible."
"But... but my daughter..." Basil's eyes widened.
'The masters daughter is the candidate for Vongola Decimo?' he thought, unable to believe what he was hearing. 'is the masters daughter even able to inherit the family?' he found himself lost in thought before anyone said anything else.
"Your daughter is sixteen years old Iemitsu." the old man said, piercing his eyes into the younger. "You should know that children don't stay young forever."
"But why my daughter?" apparently, Iemitsu wasn't just about to stop fighting for his daughters freedom. "The girl has been blind since birth" he pierced his eyes into the old man, many of the men gasped at the sudden statement, and Basil's eyes widened, as well as the old man's.
The old man rose from his chair.
"Tsunako, is blind?" he asked, quite shocked.
All Iemitsu could do was nod.
"Something went wrong in her genetic code so that her pupils were never developed." the man sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Her eyes are nothing but blue all through, she couldn't read and sign a paper even if she wanted to." he looked down to the ground.
The old man sat back down in his chair, looking more tired than ever.
"Never the less..." the man spoke after a moment's silence. "One of her guardians can read the papers for her, and a special stamp of approval can be forged to aid her in her work." he looked up at Iemitsu who looked even more furious by the minute. "And the training she will be given will enhance her balance, speed and strength." the men around the old man nodded in understanding and agreement.
"Tsunako-chan is not cut out for this type of business!" Iemitsu suddenly yelled. "She's small, fragile, a beautiful angel that is easy to injure, I will not have her become the successor of this family."
'I have never seen Master this angry'.Basil thought, backing away from the man.
The old man looked like he was about to snap as well.
"You're daughter is the direct descendant of Vongola Primo, her very blood allows her to become an even greater boss than I am and the fact that you said that she's someone you're unable to hate once you get to know her, shows just how perfect she is for the position even without the training I have prepared for her."
Iemitsu fell to his knees.
"Damn you primo..." Basil heard him mutter.
"Master..." Basil finally found it in his heart to speak, making the man in question turn towards him. "What's your daughter like exactly?"
It was as if every trace of misery washed away from Iemitsu's facial features, instead, his face now had a gentle smile that calmed the spirits of everyone around him.
"The last time I saw her, she always had a gentle smile on her face, no matter what I did it never left her pretty little features." his eyes sparkled with adoration for everyone in the room to see. "She's never once allowed her handicap to hold her back, in fact, she insist that it doesn't bring her any trouble at all." this made the men confused. "She managed to talk Nana into allowing her to go to school and she's actually doing pretty well for being blind." he chuckled to himself at the thought of his daughters stubborn expression. "She's really oblivious though, she can allow anyone close to her without thinking twice about it, the girl has to big a heart." he sighed yet again. "Perhaps that comes with being blind, since you can't see what others look like."
'Master really does care for his daughter.' Basil thought, smiling at Iemitsu. 'Kind of makes me wish I could meat her, but Master would kill me if I ever asked.' he pouted slightly, but returned to the gentle smile before anyone could see it. 'I'm sure I'm going to meat her one day so I'll just have to suck it up for now.'
"She's as far from the ideal Vongola boss as can be." Iemitsu finished, he had been ranting on and on about how his daughter was a perfect little angel for about fifteen minutes but they had been listening to every last word he had said.
"But it's the fact that she's so different from the other bosses that makes her so perfect." the old man said, smiling once again while silently thanking Basil for making the raging parent calm down, and now they have a lot of valuable information about the behavior of the candidate, her tutor will be pleased.
"What do you mean?" Iemitsu asked.
"Your daughter thinks exactly the same as that man." he didn't need to say more than that for everyone to understand just who it was he was referring to. "She just might be able to turn the family into what he always wanted it to be." he smiled again.
"Now that you mention it..." Iemitsu muttered.
"Master." Basil said, placing a hand on Iemitsu's shoulder, making the man turn towards him. "Your daughter is already under the protection of the family, so there is no reason for her not to be safe, and if she's trained she'll be able to protect herself, don't you think you should at the very least allow her to be trained to make sure she's not assassinated in near future?" it was a very likely possibility considering their business.
"I never thought about that." Iemitsu was suddenly on his feet again. "Tsuna-chan needs to be trained to protect herself, that I will allow Nono." he once again turned towards the old man. "But when the time comes, I want her to be able to choose if she's going to take over the family or not, is that alright with you?" he asked.
The old man seemed to be deep in thought, going through the possibilities in his head over and over again in order to come to the right decision.
The men around them had started to talk among themselves.
Talking about how it would be like to have a female as a boss.
Talking about how it would be like to have a man-magnet as a boss.
Talking about how it would be like to have a blind boss.
Talking about how it would be like to have a boss that is as gentle as the flowers that were currently blooming outside in the mansion gardens.
Talking about how it would be like to have IEMITSU'S DAUGHTER as a boss.
The old man cleared his throat.
The room fell silent.
"I agree with your terms Iemitsu." he said. "When the time comes, Tsunako will be given the choice to either take over the family as the new boss, or continue with her life like a normal girl, but we will not look for a new candidate until she makes her decision."
"Thank you, Nono." Iemitsu bowed to the man.
"You are dismissed." the old man said.
Iemitsu and Basil turned towards the door immediately, walking down the length of the carpet on the floor.
As they walked, the other men in the room filled the empty space they had previously cleared when the two had walked into the room, making it appear as if they had never even been in there in the first place.
Once the door closed behind the two, the old man suddenly collapsed in his chair.
"NONO!" Some of the men yelled, running up to the man.
"I'm okay..." the old man said, sitting back up. "I'm just not suited for these intense situations anymore."
"Then why did you agree to let the girl choose?" one of the men asked. "if you're not going to choose a new candidate until after she's chosen."
The old man smiled.
"The tutor I have chosen will make her decide on taking the family, I'm sure of it." the old man smiled his victory smile. "I'm positive I don't have to choose a new candidate when I have such a perfect one within reach."
On the other side of the door, Basil turned towards Iemitsu.
"You did well Master." he said with a smile.
Iemitsu had a clouded expression on his face, looking at the ground as if he wished it to break underneath his feet.
"I can't believe he's actually going to make her do this." he muttered.
"Master..." Basil muttered before they continued walking.
'I hope this will all work out in the end.' he thought to himself.
A/N: I had this one prewritten for another story I had, so I just changed some of the names, added and deleted some of the lines and TADA! The new chapter.
Do tell me what you think, your opinions are always welcome.