[IC] Durante Academy

[Fiorella]

When he received a text from Tsuna saying that Reborn wanted all of them to meet at the brunette boy’s house, Yamamoto thought little of it. Having meetings at Tsuna’s house to discuss Vongola-related matters had become pretty commonplace, especially as of the last month or so. For whatever reason, Reborn had abruptly decided to gather them together once a week so that he could give them all a crash course on some of the other famiglias that were out there. Things like their names, who their boss and chosen successor was, and so on—the basics, really. (Truthfully, Yamamoto hoped that the Arcobalenco didn’t intend on testing them on their knowledge. He felt hard pressed to remember much about the last group they learned about, never mind they ones they discussed weeks prior.) When the boy arrived at his friend’s house that day, he assumed that the meeting would follow the same vein as the last few had. The last thing he would have thought Reborn would announce was that they’d be transferring to an academy meant especially for Mafioso. Apparently everything was already done too—their parents had been given a suitable excuse, all the necessary papers had been sent in, and here! He even had everyone’s letters of acceptance to give them. Poor Tsuna had nearly overturned his table as he stood up and gestured wildly, brown eyes wide in panic as he protested over this new development. Chrome, who had been seated with her back against the bed, seemed to have frozen in place, her gaze completely blank in shock. Yamamoto didn’t take the time to gauge anyone else’s reaction as he folded his arms across his chest and quietly lost himself to his own thoughts. He wasn’t entirely sure how to take the news. His main concern would have been finding a way to tell his dad, but that had already been done for him. That being said, suddenly being uprooted and sent off to a new school? That was a lot to take. He couldn’t deny that it would provide them with a good opportunity to hone their skills, and a change in scenery was always nice, but… After taking a bit of time to weigh the pros and cons in his head, the rain guardian’s tensed shoulders relaxed, the corners of his mouth pulling into a bright smile. Alright, he had come to a decision. ”Sounds like fun to me!” He laughed, reaching out to take his acceptance letter from Reborn and glancing down at it, ”So this place…’Durante Academy’, huh? I sure hope they have a baseball club.”

***

”W-wait, I…I got it? Are you sure!?” Vitalia’s hand was trembling as the sheet of paper was passed over to her. Looking up at her mother’s beaming face, she immediately dropped her eyes onto the letter, heart thrumming in her chest as she skimmed the dark ink that decorated the page. “Dear Ms. Floros, I am pleased to inform you that we would like to welcome you to—” —and that was about as far as she got before she hastily thanked her mother, excused herself, and went rushing upstairs to grab her cellphone. Though she would read the letter with more care later, those first few words were enough to get the message across: she had been accepted. Vitalia had played with the idea of applying to an international school for ages now, but it wasn’t until this year that she had actually sat down with her parents and discussed it. She had had plenty of concerns, especially when it came to who would care for her younger siblings, but both her mother and father had encouraged her to apply. They assured her that they’d find someone to babysit her siblings in her absence, feeling that the experience of attending school in another country would be beneficial for her. In the end, a large part of her motivation to apply could be attributed to Nova. The knowledge that her friend would be trying to get into the same school gave her the push she needed to fill out all those forms and get everything together. Living in dorms in a foreign country with a friend? It was like a dream come for many sixteen year old girls, and Vitalia was no exception. Needless to say, she felt the overwhelming desire to tell her friend the news—and to hopefully hear the same from her. Sitting down on her bed, Vitalia gingerly set the letter down on her lap before grabbing her phone and dialing Nova’s number. As soon as the first ring sounded, the girl grinned in excitement. ”Ahh, pick up soon, Nova!”

[Sunflower]

It was normal for the silver haired boy to enter the Tenth's home without knocking; Nana never liked the boys to feel like they were guests. She treated them like family and well, most people called her mama. Upon entering the kitchen he was greeted by the brunette woman. Her hair had grown a little bit longer over the years that he got to know her. "Hello Hayato. Tsuna's up in his room." Nana smiled before looking back down at the vegetables she was cutting on the cutting board. "Thank you ma'am." he said with a polite bow before heading up stairs. Halfway up the stairs something - correction, two things latched onto the backs of his legs and almost knocked him off balance. He looked over his shoulder at what had grabbed him, he gave an annoyed sound. "Stupid cow!" he tried to pry the little boy off of his leg but Lambo wouldn't budge. "Stupidera!" Lambo said as he circled his arms tighter around the teen's leg. "Tell I-pin that the great Lambo is better than her!" The little girl gripping his opposite leg yelled something at the little boy in Chinese. Gokudera could only assume that it was some sort of insult, if the reaction of the boy was anything to go by, but Lambo usually blew things out of proportion all of the time so he didn't know if it was true or not. The silver haired boy wormed the arms of the children, who were too busy bickering to notice, from around his legs before heading up to Tsuna's room. "Hey Tenth!" A short time later the rest of the guardians, including the stupid cow and except for Hibari, had gathered in Tsuna's room and they were given the news. Gokudera was quiet for a few moments until it clicked in his mind that they were going to a different school. he cried as the brunette boy stood up and a babble of mixed words bubbled from his throat. For once Gokudera was pretty calm, which was rare. Next to him Ryohei was shouting. "Alright! A new school to the EXTREME! This is going to be EXTREMELY fun!" "SHUT UP TURF TOP!" Gokudera growled as he turned on the older boy next to him. Damn did he need a cigarette right about now but Nana didn't like the fact that he smoked and he had enough respect for the woman to not smoke in her home. He glared at his acceptance letter before turning his attention to the black haired Rain Guardian. Like always he seemed to be alright with everything. Gokudera was a bit excited for this new opportunity, he wanted to know about the other famiglias and he wanted them to all know that he had the best boss in the world (so he really just wanted to go there to brag about Tsuna.)

~*~

The loud, semi-annoying ring the cellphone on her nightstand brought her out of what could possibly be the best dream ever. With a zombie groan of disapproval and irritation the girl reached over and blinked a few times before answering the phone. "Mmm...'ello?" The sleepy mumble that came from the girl quickly faded into light snores for a few seconds until she perked in recognition of the voice. "Hey Vita...why are you calling at this time, It's still early you know." Never mind the fact that it was almost noon. The girl rubbed her sleepy gray eyes as she looked around the room for something to drink. She usually kept a water bottle (okay so sometimes it held juice) on hand so she didn't have to attempt to walk down stairs at night and almost trip going down the stairs. Once was enough for her to learn that bringing the liquids to her was the best solution for everyone. A simple snow colored envelope on her nightstand caught her attention. It probably had been placed under her cellphone by her mother. The girl almost slid off the edge of her bed as she reached for the envelope. She skimmed over the letter and in her sleepy state she could care less about the name of the school. "Yaaay." The sleepy, monotone zombie groan that escaped her lips was enough to have her mother knocking at the door. "Nova, is everything alright?" Her mother's slightly worried voice called from the other side of the door. Her daughter had always been a clumsy child and not a day passed that she would wind up with a bruise or a scrape. "I was accepted. Yaaay." She tossed her arms into the air weakly before settling down against the warm indent on her bed. Her mother gave a soft chuckle, "Well be sure to call your father to tell him." Nova's father was away on business for a week and a half and it was a shame that he had to miss such a wonderful event. "Did you get in too, Vita?"

[Fiorella]

For all his complaining and bargaining, everyone—even Tsuna himself—knew full well that the young Vongola Deicmo wasn’t getting anywhere with Reborn. Once the baby hitman decided on something, there was no changing his mind. Even if they had decided to go for the democratic route, from the looks of things, it seemed as if the majority of the guardians were taking the news surprisingly well—rather positively, in fact. The room was a cacophony of yelling and laughter, with much of the latter coming from Yamamoto. He always enjoyed how lively things were when they all gathered like this. If anything, it would have made him feel more unsettled had they been having a quiet, collected discussion right now. The last few times he could remember being a part of such a meeting had been during serious times of dire danger and stress. Because of that, he had come to associate all this noise with times of peace, since they didn’t have room to be so carefree otherwise. Noting that a certain bomber was looking at him, Yamamoto turned to grin at the other boy. ”So I guess that was what those lessons Reborn gave us were for, huh?” Lifting a hand, he sheepishly scratched at the back of his neck before continuing, ”To be honest, I’m having some trouble remembering a couple—”—correction, all—”—of the families we discussed so…I’ll be looking to you for guidance.” He let out a laugh, feeling no shame in admitting that he had pretty much forgotten everything. He was sure that Gokudera had retained more of the information than any of them anyways. At that point, Tsuna finally gave up with trying to argue with Reborn. When the boy slumped down beside Yamamoto with a groan, the rain guardian cheerfully pat his friend on the back. ”Cheer up! Think of it as a school exchange or something! It’ll be fun!” He chirped, ever the beacon of positivity. Beside them, Lambo threw his arms up in the air and yelled that he was going to conquer his class and make them all his subordinates. Although it didn’t look like he had fully grasped the lightning guardian’s words, Yamamoto’s smile spread even wider. ”See? Lambo is excited too!” *** Vitalia perked up with her friend answered, only for the other girl’s greeting to startle a laugh out of her. To be completely fair, she knew the feeling of sleeping until noon all too well, and always relished in being able to do so. ”Haha, sorry for waking you up! I just have some exciting news to share is all!” She bounced a little on her bed as if unable to contain herself, but she remained silent when she heard shuffling noises from the line. Wondering if she should wait until Nova was a little more awake to discuss this, she cocked her head to the side at the flat, slightly drawn-out “yay”. It wasn’t until a moment later—after she heard the faint voice of Nova’s mother—did she realize what the sleepy exclamation must have been in response to. As soon as her hunch was confirmed, Vitalia’s lips curved into a smile. ”Yes, I did!” She replied, glancing down at the letter in her lap and running her fingers over the page, ”I’m so glad that we both got in! I definitely think that I’ll be a little homesick, but I should be okay since you’ll be there with me, and—” She suddenly fell silent as she forcibly stopped herself. Sucking in a deep breath, she held it for a few seconds before letting it out with an audible “woosh”. Feeling a little more collected now, she ducked her head and let out a short, embarrassed laugh. ”Sorry to be so rambunctious when you’ve just woken up. This has just really made my day.” Though now that she knew they had both gotten in, Vitalia realized that there was a lot of planning that had to be done. Packing, buying things they’d need, letting the necessary people know that they’d be leaving—a new list of responsibilities had materialized as soon as she had read her acceptance letter. Ever the stickler for planning things, she immediately reached for the notepad and bed on her bedside table so that she could jot down a list of things she would need to buy and to do in preparation for leaving. ”Mm, I really don’t know what to expect. This will be my first time living in a dorm. You too, right, Nova?”

[Sunflower]

Gokudera's cheeks heated in the palest of pinks at the dark haired boy's words."Of course! What kind of right hand would I be if I couldn't remember anything about the families?!" Gokudera held up a fist and growled. He was proud of the fact that he was smart. He was proud of the fact that his tutors in his younger years taught him the importance of having a good education since it meant benefitting the family as a whole. Although he never spoke or acted like it, he did love this mismatched, patchwork family that Tsuna and Reborn had created. He patted Tsuna on the back as the boy slumped in defeat and he gave a few encouraging words that had been interrupted by Nana, Bianchi (who was wearing a pair of large sunglasses) and I-pin. Nana was smiling gently as she set down the food she had been making, Bianchi brought the plates and cups and I-pin brought the napkins. They were laid out on the small table in the middle of Tsuna's room. "I thought we could all eat lunch together." Nana said in a soft voice. She was straining to keep her voice in check. Gokudera caught the tone and the look in her eyes while almost everyone seemed to skim past those little details. The food was passed around and soon things grew lively again. Even Gokudera was laughing. But Nana's strained smile was still there.

~*~

"Uh-huh. I've stayed with my cousins before in hotels when we'd go travelling so I guess it'd be something like that." Nova rolled onto her stomach as she reached for a picture of her cousins that she kept on her small night stand. Her mother's sister, her aunt, was very dear to Nova and they used to visit all of the time when she was younger but when her aunt died unexpectedly things changed and for a little while they didn't visit as much as they used to. "We'll be able to meet all sorts of people." She kept in touch with her cousins and almost every summer she and her parents would travel to visit them. The last few summers became harder as her cousins grew up and branched off to do their own things and she couldn't visit them for long. Nova sighed before placing the picture back on the night stand. She rested her chin on her pillow and a small smile came to her face. "And we'll be able to learn so much about other countries and we'll make all sorts of new friends." Nova was excited but her heart was thumping nervously in her chest. There was a tiny part of her that wondered if her mom and dad would be okay. She was an only child. There would be no one here to keep her mom company when her dad was out on business. Her mom was a quiet woman with a few friends who all lived in different countries. "What about your siblings. Have your parents found someone to watch them?"

[Fiorella]

Gokudera’s confident reply earned a loud, relieved laugh from the rain guardian. ”Oh, good! Then I’ll rely on you for that, Gokudera-kun!” He grinned, setting his hands flat against the ground and leaning back, ”It sounds pretty exciting though, huh? Getting to meet other families sounds great!” They were already acquainted with a pretty good number of families—in fact, the number of allies the Vongola had gained since Tsuna first met Reborn was pretty impressive—though their initial meeting with some of them had been a little…rocky. Their relationship with the Shimon Famiglia in particular had been quite the uphill climb. Yamamoto grimaced as the location of his past wound—courtesy of one of Shimon’s guardian—seemed to throb at the memory. He definitely held no ill will to the other boy for the attack, but damn. Those had been some harrowing times. With Nana’s arrival, he focused on having lunch with everyone instead. Moving to sit around the small table, the boy merrily chatted with (or rather, at) the still-sticken Tsuna about their upcoming trip. Unlike their keen-eyed storm guardian, Yamamoto was not immediately aware of his friend’s mother’s distress. He had been too distracted to notice that the woman didn’t seem quite as bright and cheerful as usual. Eventually, however, his gaze did momentarily flicker towards her. For his friendly and seemingly dense disposition, the boy really wasn’t as thick as some people tended to assume. Perhaps he could be a little oblivious to certain matters, but not when they concerned other people and their feelings. Perking up at the realization that Nana’s smile appeared strained, the excitement on his face flickered for a moment before he directed a grin towards her. ”Thank you for all the food, it’s as delicious as ever! We’re definitely looking forward to having it again once we’re back, haha!” *** At the mention of hotels, Vitalia let out a little hum. She had only gone on trips with her family before, so she supposed she couldn’t liken her own hotel stays to what it’d be like to live in a dorm. For a teenage girl, living with friends was completely different from living with one’s parents or her younger siblings—it was a completely different experience, and one that she was really excited to see for herself. ”Yeah! I hope we’ll manage to make a lot of friends there too.” She could just imagine all the people they’d meet. She wanted to learn firsthand about different cultures, and she as sure that someone at their school would be interested to learn about where they were from as well. They wouldn’t only be given the opportunity to further their studies at this school, but they’d get to broaden their world knowledge as a whole. By the time they came back, she was sure that they’d be much more mature and knowledgeable. …Er, hopefully. That was the ideal, anyways. At the mention of her siblings, Vitalia’s shoulders drooped slightly. ”Ah…yeah. They did manage to find someone! I just feel a little…weird going off and leaving them alone, you know?” Setting down the pen that she had been absently jotting notes with, she let out a sigh. This was followed shortly after by a dry laugh. ”I kind of feel like a mom whose kids are leaving the nest for the first time, only it’s the mom that’s leaving in this case.” She knew that her parents would be there as always in the evening to take care of her siblings, but still. At the very least, she’d definitely miss them a lot. Trying to shake off the layer of melancholy that seemed to have draped over her, the girl forced herself to brighten up again. ”But hey, let’s go out together and buy some stuff we’ll need, okay?”