Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! is not mine whatsoever… -sobs- Only the plot and OCs in this story are mine. This disclaimer is valid for this entire FANfiction, because I am a lazy idiot who hates writing disclaimers for every single chapter.

This story has been… UNBETA'ED. Uh-oh.

-x-x-x-

With a loud roar and a shaky bump, the plane took off from the brightly lit runway into the air. Tsuna winced when he felt the pressure in his ears release with a pop! as they adjusted to the rapidly changing air pressure. When the mandatory safety announcement started playing on the screen in front of him, he ignored it, and opted to stare out at the dark night through his window. The twinkling city lights of Paris quickly shrank underneath him, turning into tiny specks in the night as he looked on.

He wished he could see the stars.

When the announcement finished, he glanced at his watch. 11:47. He'd be back at the main Milan office by 1 in the morning, he supposed. He slumped into the seat. After a long day of negotiations with the ShimonCorp representative, he was dead tired. At least, Tsuna mused, the negotiations had gone well. Hopefully he'd made a good impression as Vongola's representative and heir. He was looking forward to working with them as business partners in the future, and French coffee with Enma had been nice as well. The image of the red-haired man he'd met today flitted across his mind. Like Tsuna himself, Enma was also the heir-in-training to ShimonCorp, so he hoped that both of their businesses would run smoothly in the future.

He leaned his chair back and finally relaxed for the first time all day. Thank god Nono insisted on only the best for him- first class seats were quite comfortable.

-x-x-x-

"How were the negotiations?"

Tsuna looked up from the papers he'd been focused on. "If they hadn't went along smoothly, I'm sure you would be holding me at gunpoint on the railing of my balcony by now," he grinned.

"Che, such cheek." Reborn's dark eyes glinted as he slowly reached a hand inside his suit jacket.

Beads of sweat started to gather on Tsuna's forehead. "A-ah, no, I mean they went along s-smoothly."

He gulped and stiffened in his chair. If not for his- stupid- witty words earlier, surely Reborn would shoot him for his stuttering- a habit that he'd almost, just almost, gotten rid of. Why, oh why, did he forget to turn off his "cool boss mode" now, of all times? The gun was cocked by a practiced hand- of course, his gun was never in safety- and Reborn was taking aim when a sudden knock at the door interrupted the scene. Tsuna shifted his eyes from the gun in his face and collapsed onto his desk, calling out a weak, "Who's there?"

"Mr. Sawada, the president is here to see you," the peppy voice that could only belong to his secretary answered.

Reborn tsked and Tsuna let out a relieved sigh as the gun disappeared back into the hidden depths of the black jacket. He got up and walked over to the large double doors, and upon their opening, found himself staring at the kind, elderly face of the Vongola CEO and his secretary, Lydia. The comely secretary bowed slightly to her employer as Timoteo stepped inside and gently shut the door behind him. The sound of heels click clacking against the smooth marble outside in the hallway faded away.

"Nono, sir, what brings you to my office so late?" he said as he glanced at his watch. It was four in the morning, and he hadn't even realized- time always flew when he had so much work to do.

"Because I knew you wouldn't stop working and rest unless I came along," he smiled, then switched smoothly from Italian to French. "Tsunayoshi, I know the official naming ceremony is coming up soon, but that doesn't mean you should be working yourself so hard. It won't do you or the company any good if you collapse anytime soon," he said, gesturing at the stacks of paper scattered all over the desk.

Tsuna thought it would be best to answer in French as well. "I know, sir, but there was so much to get done and-"

"Oh, yes, yes I know. But for now, just be proud that you did so well with the negotiations today as the Vongola heir and get some rest. I'm sure Reborn will leave you alone just for today." It was German now.

He winked, then smiled at Reborn. He knew how… Spartan the advisor and tutor could be, especially when it came to teaching Tsuna the proper ways of the heir of Vongola. After all, Timoteo himself had been the one to teach Reborn his ways.

"Yes sir," Tsuna replied in the same language, seemingly not even noticing the switch.

"Now, go back to the mansion and get some rest. And if I see you in here any earlier than nine…" Timoteo trailed off in Japanese, not bothering to finish his sentence.

Tsuna glanced at him, then Reborn, then gulped.

"I'll be going now, then." He bowed to both Timoteo and his tutor- who had been watching the entire multilingual exchange with amused eyes from beneath his fedora, and maybe even a hint of pride in Tsuna's language skills. As he walked out the door, he heard the president say to Reborn, "I'm sorry, my friend, but it looks like you will be getting even less sleep than Tsunayoshi today. Aria has called an Arcobaleno meeting…"

Tsuna shuddered as he walked away, feeling a wave of sympathy- just a tiny one- for his devilish tutor. He knew how long the Arcobaleno meetings could be, seeing as how they were one of the most important groups that made up Vongola.

The Vongola Co. was a world famous company that had its branches reaching into almost everything imaginable- fashion, hotels, technologies, weapons, music, and more- and it was run by the three main groups of the company, knowns as the groups of the Trinisette. The Arcobaleno- the group that consisted of Reborn and six others- was one of the three groups. They managed the creation and production of new products and ideas. The CEDEF looked over the business portions of the company. All the stocks, investments, business dealings, lawsuits- they were CEDEF's part in Vongola.

Then, there was the big boss of them all- the CEO and his advisors. They were referred to as the Guardians of Vongola, because that was pretty much their job description. Everything had to be run by them before anything could be done. They were the big decision makers, as well as the faces and representatives of the company. And Tsuna would soon inherit the top position from Timoteo, the current and ninth CEO of Vongola Co.- hence the title Nono. Soon, Tsuna himself would be referred to as Decimo, meaning he was the tenth CEO to be in charge of the entire company. His naming ceremony would announce him to the world as the official company heir, and it was set for the day after his 24th birthday, which was coming up in just a few weeks. However, before he could become the actual CEO of the company, he needed to complete a certain task.

He had to find and appoint his six advisors, his most trusted people to run the company by his side.

-x-x-x-

The first day of his last year of middle school. It was odd how beginnings could always be the end, and the end always a beginning. He grabbed his schoolbag in one hand and his toast in the other, and flew out the door with a hurried greeting to his mother.

Turning the corner onto the next street, he crashed into a firm chest. Tsuna staggered back, then looked up to find himself staring up at a blinding grin. "Ahaha, sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going..."

The scene melted away, and Tsuna was now running at blinding speed through the hallway, away from a terrifying killing intent. When he scrambled through the doorway into his homeroom, he found himself flying through the air one moment and sprawled on top of someone the next. "Owww..." He groaned. He looked up to see a flash of silver before a hand adorned with many (painful) rings punched him off onto the floor.

Tsuna sprang up, gasping. He gingerly touched his face to make sure there were no ring imprints or bruises developing on the soft skin. It's been awhile… he mused in the silence of his large room. He sighed, then blinked as he realized through his sleepy mind how bright it was in his well-furnished room. He looked around through squinted eyes from his king sized bed and attempted to locate the source of light. It wasn't the chandelier, or the lavish lamp that stood next to his desk- a nice mahogany piece- and the lights in the adjoining bathroom weren't on either... And the large glass windows that stretched from the floor to the ceiling were lighting up the room as they let the bright sunlight in... Sunlight!? Tsuna thought with a start. That means... Oh no, what time is it!?

He scrambled out of his bed and landed in an ungraceful tangle of limbs. Hurriedly gathering himself up, he grabbed his phone- the latest prototype from Vongola Co., of course- from the bedside table to check the time. The screen showed that he was late. Very, very, very late. The only reason Tsuna didn't scream was because one could never know whether Reborn was watching or not, a fact that he'd had the unfortunate privilege to experience on several occasions.

Mentally shrieking in his head, the now fully awake heir scurried to his enormous closet- one most people would be quite envious of- and yanked down a plain white dress shirt from its hangar. Also grabbing some black slacks and his favorite belt, he hopped around as he tried to put on his pants while searching for his dress shoes. He'd just thrown them off yesterday and collapsed into his bed, but now he regretted doing so, since he didn't see them anywhere. After finally slipping on his pants and tucking in his shirt, he spotted his shoes lying underneath his desk. He rushed over and slipped his feet into them, then stood up and realized he didn't have any socks on. He hit himself on the head, grabbed a pair of socks from his dresser and his briefcase from his desk and ran out of his room into the hallway of the Vongola Mansion.

The mansion was the home of most of the members of the Trinisette and a few select people- such as the heir to the company, who wasn't really considered a member of the Trinisette. The large building was located in the forests on the outskirts of Milan, about a half an hour's drive away from the main Milan offices. Tsuna silently thanked Nono for giving him a room on the second floor- if he had to run down the stairs from the sixth floor, the very topmost floor of the mansion, he'd be an extra thirty minutes later than he already was.

When he reached the lobby, he took careful care to avoid glancing at the portraits of the seven original founders of Vongola Co.- Primo and his Guardians. He disliked looking at them because the uncanny resemblance the guardians bore to those he once knew was painful.

He burst through the doors and found his chauffeur waiting with the car at the foot of the steps, in the giant circle of pavement that led up to the mansion. He lept into the car and said breathlessly, "Drive, Thomas-san, drive!"

His chauffeur obliged, and soon they were speeding along towards the Milan Vongola Offices.

Thankfully, when he arrived, Nono was completely fine with his tardiness and Reborn was nowhere to be found- a miracle for Tsuna- so he just trudged into his office to finish the paperwork for the project the president had assigned him to.

-x-x-x-

Tsuna nervously drummed his fingertips atop his office desk, unable to keep his nerves back. The heir-in-training would soon be the official heir in just six days, so therefore, whenever he had the time to think to himself, he became increasingly nervous at the thought. It was real. It was happening. He was going to be the official heir to the most successful company in the world.

And he still didn't have a single guardian by his side.

He was so screwed.

In past generations, the heir always had at least two or three trusted advisors- sometimes all- by the time the naming ceremony came around, so of course Tsuna would be the one to ruin that tradition by being a total loser. Who didn't have any friends outside of the company.

His life sucked.

And what's more, he'd always had in mind the people who he knew would make perfect guardians, right from the start.

But they'd never want to do it. They hated him- after all, he was the one who had left them and vanished without a word. He had no right to bring them back to his side, after all those years. He broke his promise, and now he was paying for it.

Before he could spiral down into more depression, he was snapped out of his thoughts by the voice of his secretary. "Mr. Sawada, sir, the ceremony prep team is here," Lydia called out from the other side of the doors.

"Send them in," Tsuna replied, immediately straightening up in his chair and emptying his mind of all thoughts except for business.

The ceremony prep team was a select group of leaders who would help him prepare everything he needed for the naming ceremony. From the reception to the official ceremony proceedings to the press- everything was to be decided and arranged by him and the team, as tradition stated. The final decisions were made by him- the CEO now didn't really have a choice in the matter, since this was considered the heir's first official project.

The double doors opened and five people, all dressed in fine business suits and skirts, strode in and halted in front of Tsuna's desk. They bowed in unison and Tsuna nodded back. He gestured at the various chairs and couches laid out in an orderly fashion in front of his desk. The five arranged themselves onto the seats, then Alfonse, a sturdy, middle-aged man addressed him. "Mr. Sawada, we have several items which need your confirmation. First, the reception…"

Alfonse nodded towards the two women of the group, who stood up and opened up the files they had in their hands. Janet, a woman in her late twenties, read a list of the food courses that Tsuna could pick from. Her hazel eyes shifted from the paper to Tsuna's as she walked over and handed him a copy of the list.

Scanning the foods, he was unsurprised that the Vongola chefs had listed their top foods as his choices for the reception. "Hmm…" he mused aloud, then sighed. "Janet, could you just pick a culturally diverse selection for me? Honestly, the food is not something I'm worried about- the Vongola chefs will do an amazing job with it as always, I'm sure."

Janet, who was also the vice president of Vongola Co.'s restaurant branches, nodded in appreciation with a smile gracing her features. Julia, who was in charge of the entertainment for the reception, spoke as Janet settled back down onto the couch.

"For the evening's entertainment, I've gathered a list of skilled musicians and performers to entertain the guests. Several of them are here now, so I was hoping you could approve of some of them?" she said questioningly.

"Of course," Tsuna smiled, his charisma flowing freely throughout the room.

"Then I'll start sending them in one by one, sir," she bowed as she walked briskly out of the office.

Just a few minutes later, a knock resounded at the doors, and Julia walked back in with someone trailing behind her.

As soon as he stepped through the doors, the person bowed deeply and said in a rough voice, "It is a pleasure to meet you, sir! I am honored to have been considered as a candidate to perform at your ceremony!"

Tsuna, who had frozen upon seeing the silver head of hair as soon as he'd walked through the doors, had the color rapidly draining from his face as soon as the bowing figure lifted his head.

Julia said, "Mr. Sawada, this is-"

"Haya-" he cut himself off and tried again, "Gokudera-san," Tsuna said weakly, his face bearing an expression of disbelief and shock.

Gokudera's expression morphed from one of excitement, to extreme shock, to controlled rage, which surprised Tsuna. He's changed… Matured… But of course he has, it's been almost ten years…

-x-x-x-

Anddd CUT! The first chapter of this story ends in a (kind of) evil cliffhanger!
Wow.. 3,000 words. I was aiming for 2,000 and I ended up with this…
Warning: slow development ahead. Be prepared for some major drama and.. stuff. Don't I have wonderful vocabulary, people?
In case anyone is confused: CEO and President and Nono (the number titles) are all used interchangeably here. The titles CEO and President refer to the same person in business, and writing this didn't feel right without the use of Nono (or the other number titles, like Decimo). And I know that you might think that calling CEDEF part of the Trinisette is a little weird, but trust me, you'll understand when we get a little further into the story. And besides, it's my plot, so I can do what I want. –evil laughter- If anything else confused you, feel free to leave a review or pm me! And if you see any mistakes, please let me know!
Or just leave a review, you know, be nice. Maybe I'll update faster and kill the suspense a little quicker. –wink-