Kyuuketsuki

I awake with the alarm clock screaming in my ear, a shrill annoying noise to assure that I have to get up to turn it off. I grumble and roll over to smack the snooze button and end up knocking the clock off of my nightstand and across the floor. 

"Five more minutes.." I mumble and cover my head with the pillow to drown out the obnoxious sounds. 

I hear the sound of a door creaking open and footsteps approaching the bedside. A hand grabs the pillow on my head and yanks it off, making me groan in disapproval. "Master Tsunayoshi-kun I suggest you get up to begin your daily tasks. We can't have our leader being so lazy now can we?" He chuckles and goes to turn off my alarm which is still going off even after that beating. 

"Good morning Sebastian." I smile at the butler whom I've become best friends with in the short time he's worked here. He stands and places the clock back on the nightstand giving me a warm smile, brushing his gray hair back. 

"It is a fine morning indeed Sir, now if you please.." he gestures at the bedside where he has laid out my suit for the day.

Sliding out of the bed I try and make my normally messy locks a little less messy. "Thanks so much Sebastian, please do tell the guardians to meet me in the dining room for breakfast."

"Of course Sir." Sebastian bows as he closes the door and leaves me in privacy. I look back at the suit on the bed and give a resigned sigh. Being formal all the time was giving me a headache, maybe I'd instate a casual Friday every week...

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After getting dressed and tidied up I make my way to the dining room where my wonderful guardians await me. As I attempt to straighten my tie, I'm still not very good at tying them, I round the corner to face the long dining table in the center of the spacious room.

"Juudaime! Good morning!"

"Hey Tsuna! Sleep well?"

"Can we eat now Vongola? I'm so very hungry..."

"SAWADA! GOOD MORNING!"

"Don't be so loud herbivore or I'll bite you to death." 

"Kufufu such a lively croud this morning..."  

"Morning...bossu..."

I look up to greet all of my guardians with a genuine smile on my face. It is always such a wonderful way to start the day, with my best friends.  "Good morning everyone! I hope you all had a good nights sleep." I make my way to the head of the table still fumbling with my annoying tie that just does not want to cooperate this morning. 

"Do you need help Juudaime?" Gokudera sitting to my right, (since he's my right-hand man), stands from his seat to offer to tie it for me.

"A-Ah...I'm sorry I'm still not very good at this sort of thing." I could feel an embarrased blush spread across my cheeks and scratch my head, an old nervous habit. 

I hear chuckles from around the table and laugh myself. Gokudera finishes the tie and smiles at his handy work. "Thank you Gokudera-kun" I smile warmly at him and he mutters how it was no big deal, his cheeks flushing from the complement of his boss. 

"Now, who's ready for some breakfast?" I grab the bell for the kitchen and ring it three times, the sound echoes through the room.

After eating a hearty breakfast and enjoying some time with my friends we all meet up in the conference room for mission briefing. I take the papers stacked on my desk and sit in the large chair while everyone else lounges around the desk, besides Hibari who of course hates crowding. Glancing through all of the files I find that I'm being sent on a single mission by myself on the outskirts of town while everyone else is paired up and sent to other missions. It's a little disheartening to know I'll be separated from my friends, but I must do what I need to for the sake of my family. Gokudera will no doubt be against the idea...

"Alright everyone this is how it's going to go. Hibari and Yamamoto will be going on a reconosance mission for the group of bandits we captured and put away last week, there seems to be another disturbance in the area and you'll need to check it out. Gokudera, Lambo and Ryohei will go to the construction site on 4th and 56th street to make sure that no one gets hurt and to help the passerby. Mukuro and Chrome will be assigned to scope out the Echisen Bridge and report any strange things you may find, our resourses state that there has been some activity in that area." 

As I finish the reports I notice my guardians staring at me as if expecting me to say more. I give them a questioning look. "What's up guys? Is there something wrong with the briefings?" 

"You seem to have failed to include yourself in any mission herbivore." Hibari glances at me from his place against the wall by the door.

"Yeah Tsuna, aren't you paired up with any of us?" Yamamoto gives me a questioning and conscerned look.

"Juudaime, I thought maybe we would have the same mission assigned, or at least have you monitor us..." Gokudera states with a somewhat sad look on his face. 

"A-ah...well the thing is..." I scratch at my cheek and avoid eye contact with any of them, I was too nervous to say it out loud. 

Mukuro appears in front of my desk without warning and snatches the papers I have piled in the center to see for himself. Looking over the papers a small frown appears across his face. "It seems Tsunayoshi-kun has a mission of his own."  

I make a nervous laugh and scratch behind my head. "Well, yeah. It's the first time I've been on a mission alone so I'm a little nervous but I'm sure that I'll be fine."  

"B-but Juudaime I cannot allow you to go somewhere dangerous on your own! I must protect you at all costs!" Gokudera grips the edge of my desk until his knuckles whiten. 

"Ma ma Gokudera-kun it's alright. I need you at the construction site for now, they'll need your intellegent mind to keep things running smoothly." Reasoning with him seems like the only way I'll get him to give in to me going alone. I can see the confliction across his face and hope that he sides with what I'm saying so that he won't be involved with whatever mission I am about to take on. It almost seems like a set up...my hyper intuition is telling me that something is a little off, but I don't need to put any of my friends in a potentially dangerous situation. 

He turns away from the desk, seeming to be resigned in going with my suggestion and holds his head up before turning back to me with a smile plastered across his face. "Leave it to me Juudaime, I won't let you down."

"Thank you Gokudera-kun."  I look around at all my guardians and stand from my desk, taking the papers back from Mukuro and handing them their missions. "Please everyone do your best and most importantly.." I feel my face tense into a serious expression. "Come back safely." 

A hand claps me on the shoulder and I see that it's Yamamoto smiling at me in such a heartwarming way. "Ma Tsuna, of course we will. But you must promise us this." He squares my shoulders with his and grasps each of my arms. Looking into my eyes with a serious expression he states "You must come back safely as well."  

I can feel the tension in the room as if everyone is resonating agreement with Yamamoto's promise. Glancing around the room I see each of my guardians staring at me with a worried expression, I even catch Hibari looking conscerned for a split second. Looking back at Yamamoto with serious eyes I know that they depend on me as much as I do on them. And that's what makes us a family. 

"I promise."