He stood at one end of the long table, by the side of the Ninth. Feet pacing impatiently against the marble floor, a scowl was deepening above his brows by the second. The Ninth could only watch with a helpless smile whilst shaking his head in exasperation at his External Advisor's stubborn behaviour. By the sides, the other Mafia bosses gathered exchanged similar weary looks.

The silence in the room was heavy. In the corner of the room, Dino eyed Iemitsu nervously, worried for his little brother's safety. Deciding that calming him down right now, before Tsuna came in, was the only solution, Dino braved up with a cough, "I-iemitsu-san."

Almost immediately, Iemitsu turned and glared at him, skewering him with his sharp, piercing eyes. Dino jumped in his seat, biting his tongue to hold in a frightened shriek. The other Mafia Bosses watching sweatdropped. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Iemitsu turned and resumed pacing around the room impatiently.

"Now, Iemitsu, I'm sure the Decimo has his reasons for being late," one of the oldest Mafia bosses attending the meeting said with a kind smile. The rest of the Mafia bosses instantly broke into nods and murmurs of agreements. They had only known the boss-in-training for a few months but he had long won their hearts.

Ignoring the fact that the man was one of the oldest Mafia bosses, Iemitsu fixed him with a dark glower, "And what excuse would a soon-to-be-boss have for being late for one of the most important annual meeting between the Allied Famiglias?"

Right before the man could answer, the door creaked open. Relieved smiles made their way to the faces of the various Mafia bosses at the sight of Tsuna standing by the door with his right-hand man by his side.

Tsuna gave them an apologetic smile. He opened his mouth to speak only to be cut off by Iemitsu as he hissed darkly, "You're late."

Tsuna paused, tilting his head at him slightly as he crossed his arms, as though waiting for him to continue speaking.

Iemitsu paced back and forth like he had done previously. His leather shoes clicked against the ground briskly as he kept his arms crossed. "This is one of the most important meetings for Vongola," he growled, glaring straight at his son. "Don't you have any proper time management? Don't you know that many of the various Mafia Bosses view this as one of the most important meeting?"

The various Mafia Bosses blinked. They then exchanged glances. We do?

Without waiting for a reply, Iemitsu continued, "How do you expect us to be willing to place Vongola in your hands when you can't even be on time for a simple meeting? Do you really have the resolve to take over as Decimo? The Mafia is not a play thing! Do you understand just how dire the situation might be if you were late in a meeting with an enemy famiglia? They could get upset and wage a war on Vongola for all you know!"

The Ninth blinked. He then scratched the side of his cheek awkwardly. Technically, no famiglias would be stupid enough to do that against Vongola..

"If you're not prepared to be the Vongola Decimo, then get the hell out of the Mafia!" Iemitsu snapped, eyes blazing with anger.

Everyone exchanged glances. '...'

Tsuna, however, was completely unfazed. He glanced towards Gokudera who stood by his right nonchalantly, "Hayato, how late was I?"

Gokudera bowed his head respectfully towards him, "Exactly 14 minutes, Jyuudaime."

Iemitsu turned sharply as he prepared to glare at Tsuna once again at the reminder of how late his son was, "Fourteen minutes! Fourteen minutes! Do you know how bad that is in times of an attack-"

"For someone who has been late in my life for fourteen years," Tsuna drawled out, raising his voice slightly as he fixed his father with a dull look, "You sure have a lot of crap to say about a mere fourteen minutes."

This time, the different mafia bosses couldn't help but flinch. A temper losing Iemitsu, they had seen more than enough times. But an angered Tsuna was definitely the first. Even Dino couldn't remember the last time Tsuna had gotten angry at someone. And the spark of Dying Will Flames in his eyes was more then enough to tell them that the soon to be Vongola Decimo was not pleased.

"Wha-" Iemitsu protested, obviously surprised by the sudden change of topic. Tsuna rolled his eyes as he cut his father off once again, "Time Management? Resolve? Ah, that's right, I haven't learnt any of these at at all."

Tsuna narrowed his eyes at his father, "After all, my father had his ass buried under Mafia Matters in Italy the whole time when he was supposed to be teaching his son Time Management."

Tsuna placed on his sweetest smile, venom stinging in his voice, "Right? Otou-san?"

Everyone flinched. Iemitsu could only stare shell-shocked.

Deciding to take matters into his own hands, the Ninth coughed, catching everyone's attention. He gave Tsuna a reprimanding look, "Now, Tsunayoshi-kun. You shouldn't be using such a tone against you father."

Tsuna regarded him for a moment, the spark of flames in his eyes unfaltering. He then crossed his arms, leaning back against the wall. "Be it be taking over as the Decimo or accepting any sort of training you've arranged for me, I'll accept them all, Grandpa."

"However," Tsuna's eyes were flashing orange by then, showing that despite his calmness, he was nowhere near being pleased, "I would appreciate it greatly if you would respect my dislike for touching certain subjects. Especially subjects regarding my Father."

The Ninth's eyes had widened by a fraction. This was the first time Tsuna had spoken back against anyone ever since he moved to Italy. "Tsunayoshi-"

Flames were threatening to lit itself on Tsuna's head by then. He forced a smile onto his lips as he glanced at his grandfather-figure, "Need I remind you who's fault exactly it was that my father had to stay in Italy through my childhood days, Ninth?"

It was the Ninth's turn to flinch. He'd felt guilty all those years, but this was the first time Tsuna had openly expressed dislike for him because of Iemitsu.

Tsuna heaved a sigh, pressing his hands against his forehead, obviously regretting his actions. "Sorry," he breathed out shakily, "I'm just a little stressed. I didn't mean that."

The Ninth kept silent. The others could only watch quietly. This was obviously a family matter by now. They had no right to interfere.

Tsuna softened his eyes, "Don't take my words to heart, Grandpa. I know you're not to blame."

He moved towards the other end of the room where his sit was and sat down. The Mafia bosses began to relax as the kind, genuine smile that was always on Tsuna's lips returned. He glanced at all of them, sending apologetic smiles one by one. They all returned his smiles without taking any offence. Even the oldest of the attending Mafia Boss could tell that Vongola Decimo would be powerful one day. Far more powerful than even the Ninth. But more than powerful, he was also the kindest and most caring Mafiaso that they had ever met. They held no fear towards this man. Only respect and anticipation for what he could one day do.

"Now, why don't we restart this meeting?" Tsuna suggested with a smile, crossing his arms on the table as he leaned forward slightly. Meetings with old Allied Famiglias were always what he enjoyed most. Everyone knew each other well and opinions could be pointed out without fear of offending any. It was also times where he could openly show his disbelief and exasperation towards certain issues occurring. Being the kind bosses they were, the others were always interested and amused by the view he held. They were also all too willing to correct his view and set him on the right direction whenever he made a mistake. It always felt like he had gained another Family.

Everyone nodded. Some of the younger Mafia Bosses like Dino was grinning.

Tsuna turned around and gestured towards Gokudera with a smile to leave. Gokudera nodded, but instead of leaving instantly, he leaned down and whispered something into his boss's ear. Tsuna's eyes widened slightly before a chuckle escaped him. He gave him an amused nod and Gokudera left, a mischievious grin playing on his lips.

"Before we start," Tsuna smiled, leaning back against the chair comfortably, "I would like to apologise once again for my tardiness. I was out, busy puchasing a present for my mother's birthday that my father obviously forgot, you see."

Iemitsu's eyes widened from where he stood at the corner of the room.

"Show these bastards whose the boss, Jyuudaime!"

~ Fin

I got this random idea after having a fight with my dad. I bet he was freaking out when I was totally grinning at him while he snapped at me.

Daddies are such nice things to have sometimes eh?

Raita.