Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

A/N: This is for my dear xxNoblesse12, who requested a nakamaship KHR fic. I blame her for this.

This chapter is a monster. I expected it to be short and sweet, like most of my other fics, but it just kept growing against my will. Now it's a very long and intense 2 chapter fic instead of a small cute oneshot.

Warning: Mentions of death and torture.

Basil knew he was working for the man who was probably the most powerful figure in the world.

This thought scared him, sometimes. How could one man have so much power? How can the lives of millions change on one man's whims? How can the fate of the world be determined by one 24-year-old man?

But then he'd remember who the man in question was, and he'd smile. He couldn't think of a better person to be the most powerful person in the world. The world was in good hands under Tsunayoshi's guidance.

And so Basil was content to simply marvel at Tsunayoshi's power.

Basil had seen Tsunayoshi-dono do astounding (some people not from Vongola might say impossible) things in the past 10 years – things he wouldn't have believed to be true had he not seen them in person.

Basil had seen the Vongola Decimo conquer nations with a few words and a smile.

Although Sawada Tsunayoshi was a deeply moral man, he had learned cunning and ruthlessness through his dealings with the mafia.

He employed those skills for the sake of his friends and the community as a whole, yes, but he employed them.

This was just one instance of such.

Using the corruption in the countries' governments, as well as the subtle implantation of certain spies, he had slowly but steadily gained control of various countries. He had people in the United States, China, Russia, England, France, and even North Korea. All laws or persons deemed relevant were shown to him, and he had a say in determining what passed and what didn't.

Nothing occurred that he did not know of.

Using his influence, he kept an eye on the nuclear bomb threats from North Korea, aided with the immigration crisis in North Korea, made moves towards shortening the economic disparity between classes in India.

Of course, he also used his influence to ensure that no member of his Famiglia was harmed, and that all those who tried were severely punished.

The point being Sawada Tsunayoshi had asserted his claim on several countries worldwide, and Hungary would be no different.

As Tsunayoshi sat drinking tea and smiling with the King and Queen, Rokudo Mukuro almost pitied the royal couple. Were he a different person, with different life experiences (most notably not being experimented on by the Estraneo and not spending six years in Vendicare before being freed by Tsunayoshi), he would have.

They stood no chance against Tsunayoshi's charms.

The Vongola hadn't even said what he was proposing, but both monarchs were already nodding vigorously, eating out of the palm of his hand. They stared in wonder at the beautiful young man that politely sipped his tea with such refinement one might think he was royalty as well.

The Queen looked slightly drugged, flush on her cheeks and hazy look in her eyes. She still hadn't recovered from the blinding smile Tsunayoshi had flashed her eight minutes ago – poor woman, she hadn't built the necessary resistance. The only reason the guardians weren't left dazed every time was through sheer continued exposure, and even then they weren't completely unaffected– and was blushing lightly. Half in love with him already. This might have posed a problem, but one look at the King showed he wasn't far behind his wife.

Honestly, Tsunayoshi had no idea of the effect he had on people.

Mukuro chuckled where he was standing at the door, serving as bodyguard to the Vongola.

Chrome sensed her fellow mist guardian's amusement through their connection. She was working undercover as a maid at the palace, gathering as much intel as possible while 'convincing' a few other servants to report interesting tidbits to her. Initially, such a job had her hesitating. Noticing this, as he noticed almost everything, Boss had told her that she didn't have to do anything she didn't feel comfortable with. Ironically, it was these words that convinced her to do it, reminding her why she followed this wonderful man and giving her renewed confidence. She now enjoyed such infiltration missions, as she knew that she was somehow helping her Sky.

'What has you laughing so, Mukuro-sama?'

'Ah, my dear Chrome. It is laughter for joy. I am so glad that I did not take over young Tsunayoshi's body. Had I done so, I wouldn't have been able to see all these amusing things'.

That they could not imagine a world where Tsunayoshi's soul was no longer there went unsaid, but no unheard.

Back in the tea room, the royal couple had just agreed to open trade relations with Vongola and send all drafts of pertinent laws to the Decimo so that he could overlook them before they passed. His opinion was very valuable, after all. They had also assured him that none of his people would be harmed in Hungary, and would be afforded all the privileges of foreign diplomats, including diplomatic immunity. They had even thrown in an offer of marriage to their oldest daughter, a Hungarian princess of 19 years of age, which was respectfully refused.

With a last smile, Tsunayoshi excused himself. When the couple insisted he stay the night, he politely declined, citing a dinner he had to get to with the American President.

People wouldn't believe Mukuro when he said that Hungary was conquered in an hour over tea.

The civilian world was almost effortless to conquer; Tsunayoshi's gentle manners and sincerity were appreciated by the normal citizens, and his polite slyness and cunning ensured it stayed that way.

It was not the civilian world that preoccupied Basil, but the Mafia world.

He worried that Tsunayoshi's kindness would be used against him. That he would not be respected. He worried that Tsuna would offend many with his wish to disband the mafia. Basil expected trouble, especially from the more traditional mafia dons.

Basil should have known not to doubt Tsuna.

The Vongola Decimo utterly dominated the cruel mafia world.

Yamamoto couldn't help thinking it was good to be on Tsuna's team. They always won.

Not that he'd change teams even if they always lost. He couldn't imagine following anyone other than Tsuna.

But moments like these made it especially worth it.

Tsuna had just cowed an entire room of Mafiosi into silence.

Throughout the night, Tsuna had been presenting his charming and compassionate side, making allies and subordinates and life-long obsessive followers through pleasantries and kind smiles. As well through a tad of Vongola seduction. He seemed to be the center of attention at the annual Vongola ball. No one could take their eyes off of him.

Many of the older Mafiosi were not at all impressed by his behavior, however. They had heard of Tsuna's mercy, of his reluctance to use violence, and thought it was a sign of weakness.

This show of charm only consolidated that opinion. Every genuine offer of help, every selfless move, every kind smile was considered a weakness. They thought it meant that Tsuna could be easily controlled. That he'd gotten to become the leader of the greatest Mafia syndicate in the world through sheer luck and circumstance. That the rumours about his power were exaggerated, if not completely invented.

How foolish.

Even Takeshi, with his poor grades and dense nature, knew better.

Then again, that wasn't fair. He was one of the few who had the honor of truly knowing Tsuna and seeing what an amazing person the brown-haired man was.

Takeshi had to control a savage grin of satisfaction that threatened to appear at the thought. All the guardians were very lucky. Very lucky indeed to have Tsuna in their lives.

Several of the foolish Mafiosi that mistook Tsuna's kindness as weakness had concocted a plan to kidnap the youngest of the Decimo's guardians and use him to demand things of Tsuna.

Takeshi thought them even more foolish than before. They really shouldn't have chosen Lambo. He was the one Tsuna was most protective of.

When the six would-be kidnappers were caught – and of course they were caught. How they expected to succeed was beyond Takeshi. Everyone knew Hibari oversaw these parties and wouldn't allow anything he didn't approve of to occur – they had seemed entirely unconcerned.

Lambo, still 11 years old at the time, was crying and had been sent to bed with Kyoko and Skull for company. Once Lambo was outside of the ballroom, Tsuna had asked for an explanation from the criminals in front of all the guests. The leader of the group, a Benito Porello, mafia don of the American Porello Famiglia, stepped forward.

Benito smirked, confident that he'd be able to get out of this situation. The Vongola Decimo was a wimp, after all.

"Please forgive us, Vongola Decimo. We were just having a bit of fun".

"Oh? Fun?"

Tsuna's expression was so kind and understanding, one would think he truly sympathized with the kidnappers. Before Benito could say anything, Tsuna stated,

"Well, I can't fault anyone for wanting to have a bit of fun".

If possible, the leader's smirk grew more pronounced.

"After all, I also like to have fun. We here at Vongola love having fun." The sentence started to sound distinctly ominous, and some of the members of the group started to get a little worried. "Xanxus?"

The Varia leader seemed to suddenly materialize before Tsuna, a rare grin on his face.

"Yeah?"

"The Varia have had a week long break since your last mission, isn't that right?"

Tsunayoshi didn't wait for an answer. He already knew it.

"Well, I wouldn't want you to get bored. I can't go hog all the fun, can I?"

Xanxus's grin seemed to grow wider, stretching the scars on his face.

"Then here is your next mission: The destruction of the Porello Famiglia, as well as…" He looked over at the five men hiding behind Benitto. Ah, he knew them. Reborn wouldn't allow him to not know any mafia don by face. "The Marcello, Lanza, Cerrito, Dragna, and Smaldone famiglias. Be sure to enjoy yourselves and get rid of all your destructive tendencies while you're at it. Perhaps then I won't have to spend so much money repairing the Vongola mansion".

"Heh. You wish, brat". Was that a fond tone Xanxus was using? Surely they were hearing things.

Immediately after, Xanxus ran off, gathering the Varia members present at the ball and promptly disappearing with them. Tsunayoshi didn't have to say anything else. The Varia knew the rules. Announce the reason they were present, make sure their victims knew why they were doing what they were doing, then cheerfully annihilate them. Take away all their assets, destroy their bases, kill those that tried to attack them but leave those that didn't unharmed. Not everyone should pay for their boss's foolishness, after all.

In front of Tsuna, the members of the opposition were sweating profusely. They quickly went down to one knee before the young Decimo they had previously mocked, bowing their heads in submission.

"P-Please don't!"

"Have mercy, Vongola Decimo"

"Where is your legendary kindness, Vongola?"

Tsuna laughed at their pleas.

"Oh my, did you think I was done?"

The members of the group took a collective step back. They were suddenly overcome with the need to escape. They looked for the numerous exits in the ballroom, only to find that each one was being guarded by the rest of the Vongola Guardians and the Arcobaleno (who had been returned to their adult form through Tsuna's efforts, and loved the young Decimo as family).

"This isn't nearly enough for trying to kidnap Lambo!" Tsuna snarled.

The Mafiosi had never been so terrified in their lives. The man they had thought to be weak-willed and easily manipulated had morphed into a fearsome being with fire in his eyes and venom on his tongue. The Decimo had suddenly turned into this immensely powerful and intimidating being they could do nothing but bow to. But no, there was no transformation. Too late, the Mafiosi realized that Tsunayoshi had always been powerful. He was kind for the sake of kindness (a strength in and of itself), and not because he was too afraid to get his hands dirty. They had just been too blind to see it.

"I don't usually do this, you see, but these are unusual circumstances. You tried to take away my guardian from me. You tried to take away my family. You tried to take away a part of me".

Takeshi wondered if it was strange that this statement made him flush proudly, overwhelming him once more with the love he felt for his leader. He decided that the answer didn't truly matter. Tsuna accepted him as he was, with or without the strangeness.

"So let me take away a part of you… Should it be a finger? A hand? An eye?"

At the renewed cries for mercy from the Mafiosi on the floor, Tsuna shouted,

"SILENCE!"

The room went quiet. All eyes were on Tsuna.

"Did you think my mercy would save you now? Did you think my compassion would somehow allow you to escape unharmed after HURTING ONE OF MINE?"

Tsuna gave a short laugh that sent chills down their spines.

"No, I believe you must be punished. Let it serve as a lesson".

He paused, looking towards Takeshi.

"Takeshi, I think we should show these gentlemen some old-fashioned Vongola hospitality".

With a smile that suddenly seemed almost maniacal in nature, Yamamoto caressed his sword.

No Mafioso ever thought the Vongola Decimo was weak again.

That day remained with all the guests present, and the Vongola Decimo quickly gained control of the Mafia World.

But Tsunayoshi's power didn't end there.

Not only did Tsunayoshi have power over the earthly realm, he also had an influence over the supernatural.

Basil not a religious man, but was half convinced Tsuna was some sort of fallen angel or god. A being both pure at heart yet immensely powerful, ruthless in protecting the people he considered his.

Although it couldn't be proven for sure, Basil was positive that Tsunayoshi had some form of power over death. The laws of nature didn't apply to him, and even death retreated in the face of an irate Vongola Decimo.

Basil stood speechless as he watched Gokudera Hayato's body fall to the ground.

The world seemed to slow down. Basil could see the bullet pierce Gokudera's back – and it had to have hit a lung, grazed the heart. A mortal wound that could mean instant death – as the Vongola Decimo's right hand man jumped in front of his boss, serving as a human shield.

The thud of his body hitting the pristine marble floor, now morbidly beautiful decorated in blood-red, was loud.

The world stopped for a second. No one could believe what had happened.

And suddenly, a voice commanded their attention.

"Ryohei. Kyouya."

The two guardians immediately acted.

Hibari quickly dispatched the twenty enemies surrounding him and ran towards the source of the gunfire. The bastard that had tried to shoot their sky, and succeeded in shooting their storm, was going to die painfully.

Sasagawa attacked six of the enemy Mafiosi with renewed vengeance. But it would take him precious moments to beat them and rush towards Gokudera to heal him, moments that the silver-haired man didn't have.

Tsuna turned to face Gokudera, calmness in his outer demeanor that belied the fierce tempest raging within.

"Hayato, look at me".

Gasping, dying, Gokudera manage to look up at his boss.

"Ryohei is coming. You just have to hang on until then. He'll heal you, and then you'll be going back home with me. And then we'll go back to training you on how to avoid getting shot".

His tone was calm and his face was devoid of emotion, but there was desperation in his orange gaze that only his guardians could detect, a skill born out of years of looking at and studying Tsuna.

Seeing Gokudera like that was breaking him. He could see Death trying to lay claim to his storm, trying to take him away from him.

And that was unacceptable.

With command in his tone that left no doubt that this was an order, Tsuna barked,

"I forbid you to die. You are to live! This is an order, Hayato, DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

And Hayato had never disobeyed an order from Jyuudaime in his life.

This was no exception.

Basil had seen Tsunayoshi conquer the civilian world, dominate the mafia world, and cow Death into obedience.

But none of the above truly compared to the miracle that was the Vongola Decimo's greatest accomplishment – something Tsunayoshi himself did not fully understand he had accomplished.

The undying devotion Tsunayoshi inspired in each of his guardians.

The Vongola Decimo didn't realize the power he held over these amazing people, the loyalty he commanded.

It was present in the little things.

The way Chrome always prepared his morning coffee.

The way Takeshi was never more than a few steps away from him unless on a mission.

The way Lambo referred to him as brother.

The way Ryohei became even more extreme around him.

The way Mukuro's usually cruel eyes would always soften whenever he was within sight.

The way Hibari always kept coming back to him.

The obvious way Gokudera worshipped the ground he walked on.

The deference with which they all treated him.

And it was present in the big things as well.

The very big things.

The kind of things no one in the mafia would ever forget.

A/N: There will be a second chapter depicting these one of these very big things. I had planned it to be like the other flashbacks, but it rebelled against me and now it's 7 pages long and getting longer. How troublesome.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! More will be coming up soon!

What do you think the "very big thing" will be?