My Sweet Affinity

Chapter 5

Florence, Italy
June 30 2012
1:45 PM

50 feet.

They were only 50 feet away from the gray SUV, but somehow that small gap managed to feel miles long.

Tsuna sucked in a breath, swerving to avoid a car that hadn't gotten out of the way fast enough. He pressed down the gas pedal, accelerating faster– 90, 100, 110 mph.

They were lucky to be on the highway now. All open space without the risk of pedestrians. At least they would be if these people would get out of the way.

"Fuck!" Tsuna swore, spinning the wheel to follow the SUV into the oncoming lane of traffic.

"You're gonna need to go faster," Reborn told him tensely.

"Yeah, no fucking shit." He snapped back.

He focused on the back of the SUV, trying to ignore the cop cars buzzing around them.

The SUV's tires squealed against the concrete as it made a 180-degree turn and shot up the exit ramp.

Tsuna yanked the wheel to the left as far as it would go, gritting his teeth as the car lost traction for a moment, stalling.

"Tsuna, go!"

"I can't fucking help it if the car won't move, Reborn!"

They flew up the ramp after the SUV, trying to close the 80-foot gap.

80 feet.

They could do this.

"Faster!"

"Would you like to drive?" Tsuna snarked at his companion, "Because I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem if I pulled over so we could switch."

"Well, it wouldn't be a problem if you weren't such a bad driver!"

"Yeah, well, none of this would be a problem if you hadn't put us here in the first place!"

– 2 hours earlier –

"Agent Sawada."

Tsuna looked up and immediately regretted it.

Section Chief Itsu Kawahira was an unpleasant man, with an equally unpleasant face. He was responsible for the administrative work of the teams he supervised, and was bloody good at it, but had no idea what it was like to actually be in the field. Which, combined with his patronizing personality, made him notoriously hard to work with.

So, of course, he was Tsuna's direct superior.

"Chief Kawahira," Tsuna greeted, trying for a friendly smile, "How can I help you?"

"Where's Agent Sinclair?" He asked, ignoring the brunet's question.

"Um, he's finishing up his field assessment. Tsuyoshi took him to the shooting range to get approved to carry a firearm."

"I see." Kawahira fell silent, eyes falling on the case file Tsuna had open on his desk.

Tsuna raised his eyebrows, "What can I do for you, Chief Kawahira?" He tried again.

"Word came in that one of the– ah," The Chief paused, face twisting in distaste, "people of interest that you've flagged have been spotted by the local police. They're waiting for you and Agent Sinclair to arrive before they make a move."

Tsuna shot out of his seat, "What? Why didn't you say so?"

He grabbed his gun and jacket and ran out of the room. He flew down the stairs, and down the hall towards the shooting range.