7. Sickly Sweet Smiles (1/2)
a quote once said, "the road to hell was ordered by the righteous, paid by the just, and was paved with good intentions". who would ever wonder what horrors a smile could lead you to?
"cosa nostra isn't the place for you, kid." a man sneered, contempt clearly written on his face as he stared down at the young vongola don. "you should crawl back to your filthy mother before you ev–".
the click of a gun beside the sete di sangue famiglia's don's head halted the tirade of tongue lashings on the
unet who looked as composed as ever, never noticing the tight crinkle of tsuna's smile, clearly displeased at the remark on his mother.
"roberto," tsuna warned without any heat, clearly pleased of the swift act to protect his family's honor. "do lower the gun. we don't want
ain matter to decorate the egyptian rug that yuni-chan gladly gave to us, hmm?"
"oi," the older don remarked, pissed at the threat beside his head but remaining rational enough to continue his charade. "i could take this as a declaration of war,
at." he all but spat at the teen.
tsuna, graceful and composed as he had been taught to be, only glanced from under his lashes, the angry blaze of orange bleeding through his eyes.
"you could take it as whatever you'd like, don stellino, but i don't take too kindly in hearing such foul words directed to my family." tsuna cleared out, attention fully centered on the don who dare try to sway his beliefs and moral code, not expecting his dedication to his promises and thus failing to make him commit some mistakes he'll forever regret if he acted upon it. "all of them are important to me."
"clearly, you jest." the older don sneered, the traditions of old lingering in his mind. don stellino plans to hammer the fact to the
at's face. he didn't manage to sway the wrath sky xanxus for he had feared the other's up
inging and temperament.too unstable in the head, he snorted at that.
"well, we could negotiate calmly without murder happening in this room." the atmosphere immediately dropped as another smile replaced the previous wrong-me-not one. all dark, malicious, and downright hateful as tsuna continued to gracefully sip his tea. "but if that's not to your liking then perhaps a trip to the garden would do the trick."
the mention of the famed garden of vongola set unknown yet blaring signals in the old don's mind, instincts nurtured through death and bloodshed whispered to act with utmost caution.
that one wrong move could possibly, no, it would
eak his neck. he may not even have a bone to
ing back to his lands to bury, all remaining as ashes in the deadly vongola garden.
don stellino took a deep
eath, trying to calm down, trying to steady his trembling fingers and chattering teeth as he reached out to drink the jasmine tea presented to him earlier, as was customary to guests of honor.
"fine," the older gritted out, frustration and fear seeping from his aged form.
"hmm~." tsuna hummed, drinking his own dried berry, the poisonous ones of course, infused tea. his glowing eyes both laid as a warning with how it blazed like molten lava filled with a sickening, loving smile. "alright then. roberto, please lower down your weapon."
"yes, boss." the mafioso immediately complied and stepped back to the shadows. not too near to be seen by the guest, but also not too far that he won't be able to intervene if ever shit hits the fan.
when the pressure of the gun was gone from his temple, don stellino heaved a shaky
eathe that he didn't know he was holding.
"and haru, please refrain from pointing your senbons on the guest. we don't want a dead don on the lovely sofa that you and kyoko just bought yesterday." tsuna intoned, nonchalance dripping from his tone yet the implied words only drove the older don to an early grave, or a life-long trauma if he ever gets out alive.
"hmp!" haru's scoff echoed as she remained unseen. undetected.
it made goosebumps rise from the nearly faint don's skin.
thus, the meeting went unhindered, vongola got what they wanted, and the don earned a life lesson he'll pass down to generations that would come before his death.
smiles could be disarming; could be full of pretension. it could be sweet now and deadly next. sometimes you'll have to wonder how two-faced you could be with that smile on your face.
"ne, tsu-kun," kyoko called out to the young man who sat near the balcony, steaming cup of tea held in his delicate yet strong hands.
it's such a cold spring with how the rare pile of snow slowly thaws out from the mansion's ponds and fountains. how life slowly comes alive and relish its full bloom once the snow finally melts away to give way to new life.
"what is it kyoko?" tsuna asked, never facing the young woman who felt a bit strange with how dismissive the
unet's voice sounds.
for some reason, kyoko regrets not saying yes to the young man's intention of courtship back when they we're in college – reborn pushed all of them to get a degree before settling down in the mafia – but she was just so young and naive and maybe a bit overwhelmed of the pure love tsuna exhibited back then.
it was far too late when she found the blossoming admiration and affection she have for tsuna because the lively and warm
unet never found another reason to find a partner.
he was just too swamped with work and damage control to even pay attention to the wide array of marriage proposals on his office table.
remembering the aforementioned letters, some written informally and others as formal and regal as of royalty, kyoko suddenly felt her throat close up and her mouth felt drier than the dessert. "i-i just..." her teeth clenched in frustration.
tsuna, the purest of men who settled in the clutches of the dark and dangerous world of crimes, inclined his head to the side to see how kyoko was wringing her hands on a particular well-printed letter.
'aah. it's crumpled now.' tsuna thought at the look of smeared letters. clearly, the one who wrote it is well practiced in using the traditional ink and feathers of old times. 'great. another traditionalist.'
it's more probable to think of it to be another marriage proposal or at least a private party to disguise the said proposal.
'they're all the same.' tsuna had to sigh at the thought.
"i take it that it's another of the more persistant families again?" tsuna chuckled, eye glittering in mischief and knowing and the familiar kindness and patience.
the same smile who smited even the cruelest and coldest of women to swoon on their knees was plastered on his face.
kyoko couldn't help the annoying thump and flush on her face, but also couldn't deny the creeping smile from how tsuna himself smiled. his mere presence was just that effective in changing a place's mood and atmosphere.
"well, if you chose someone to marry then all of them would be long gone." she huffed, a bit of jealousy leaking from her tone.
tsuna only shook his head in amusement, well aware of the woman's love for him but could no longer find his previous puppy love to even fake his feelings for her. he'd long viewed the girls to be younger sisters and older sisters for bianchi and lal mirch.
"you know i couldn't spare any time for someone with how things are." tsuna gently said as if coaxing a child to understand and accept reason. reborn's enough of an adviser. any more and he'd never get away from his friends' nagging and worries. "if i left my post for too long who knows what chaos the others would make up." he laughed, mentally cringing at the conjured sound of explosion and clashing metals from tonfa and trident.