My Sweet Affinity

Prologue

Florence, Italy
February 14, 2012

Tsuna observed himself in the mirror quietly. His brown hair was even more disheveled than usual, most likely due to the lack of brushing this morning and the following rough treatment he'd endured. His face was blank, carefully drawn into a practiced poker face. His body was relaxed, no obvious tension or nervous fidgeting. Good. If the situation was as bad as he thought it was, he'd need to appear calm.

The mirror was both a blessing and a curse, he decided. On one hand, it took the edge off of the boredom, staring at himself that is. The corner of his mouth curled into a smirk. Well, it's not like I need to remain humble in my own head.

He knew he was handsome, alright? Sue him.

In all honesty, though, he hadn't had a chance to look at his appearance at all recently, considering how busy he'd been. So yes, the four and half hour wait gave him the opportunity to check himself out, and decide that he needed a haircut.

That was the blessing.

The curse, however, was the unnerving certainty that someone was on the other side of that glass. And while that someone was currently invisible to him, he was very much visible to them. That didn't quite sit well with him.

Tsuna resisted the urge to sigh. This wasn't turning out to be a good day.

The door clicked open.

"Are you Tsunayoshi Sawada?"

"Yes, sir. That's me."

The man who sat down across from him was decidedly not the interrogator he had been expecting. He was old, late 50s, early 60s, well dressed in a tailored gray business suit, and completely lacked the aura of training IOC agents tended to walk around with. Which left the brunet more than a little confused, considering he'd been arrested this morning.

The man smiled at him, "Hello, Tsunayoshi. Do you know why I'm here?"

Tsuna remained silent for a moment, quickly reminding himself to stay calm despite the unforeseen chain of events.

"I do not. Although, I'm more than a little certain that my co-workers breaking into my apartment and arresting me this morning has something to do with it."

"You would be correct." The man said with a laugh, "I truly apologize for the rough treatment and the long wait. The situation's a little delicate at the moment and we didn't want to arouse suspicion."

The brunet raised an eyebrow. "If I say you're forgiven, do I learn the reason behind the so-called delicate situation?"

"Indeed, you do."

"Then my forgiveness is yours."

"Thank you very much." The man paused. "Firstly, my name is Timoteo di Vongola."

Tsuna's eyes widened in shock.

"V-Vongola?" He stuttered out.

"Yes, but you may be more familiar with me as Vongola Nono, the ninth head of the International Office of Criminal Investigation."

He didn't need the mirror to know that his poker face was completely gone as he stared at Timoteo, speechless. The expression he was making must've been funny, considering Vongola Nono burst into a hilarious fit of laughter.

"Vongola Nono, sir!" He managed, "I am so sorry, I didn't recognize you! Had I known it was you I'd have never––"

"It's alright, my boy." Interrupted Timoteo, leaving Tsuna to fall into mortified silence. The man smiled at him kindly before continuing. "You're not in trouble. Quite the opposite, in fact."

"The opposite?"

"Yes. I'm here to offer you a promotion." Nono explained.

Tsuna's brow furrowed. But what sort of promotion requires the director to make an appearance? Or warrant a kidnapping...

"Don't worry. I'm about to explain." Nono said, "I'm here personally because the position I'm asking you to fill is newly created by myself and the board."

"It's new?"

"Yes. We had begun to notice the number of crimes that remained unsolved. Serial killers, mob hits, terrorists. There are people that we just can't catch, who keep getting away. We needed something to change that. We started legal work to authorize a new unit. We needed a special team to be able to handle certain important cases."

The brunet nodded in understanding.

"The situation with your father solidified this belief."

He tensed, scowling lightly.

Nono smiled sympathetically, "This special team will be working on normal cases like the other profiling units. The difference is that when a high priority case presents itself they will be the go-to unit. They'd also need to be able to understand and then later explain and teach their understanding of the criminal mind on another level–"

"Hold on a minute." Interrupted Tsuna, "This new unit you're creating, they'd be solving normal cases, and high priority cases?"

Nono simply nodded.

"And they'd be working to improve our understanding of human behavior?"

"That is correct."

Tsuna stared at him for a moment, "Isn't that a bit much?"

Nono chuckled amusedly, "Don't worry, my boy, as far as developing the art of profiling goes, not much would be required of them. Just an annual presentation to certain groups in the IOC explaining the notable cases worked on, how they were solved or how the perpetrator got away. Seem more manageable?"

"A bit." The brunet agreed with a smile.

"So as I was about to tell you, the Behavioral Analysis Unit will be a team of highly intelligent criminals."

Tsuna stared at him.

"Are you serious?" He asked faintly.

"Very. Who could understand the unlawful better than lawbreakers themselves? The only issue is the board and I don't have the time nor the correct abilities to find people who are suitable and monitor their training. We've opted to select a leader who will then be responsible for putting together the team, with the proper approval, of course. That person is you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

They stared at each other.

Maybe this isn't such a bad day after all.

"With your background, you have the understanding necessary for this job, but on top of that, we know that we can trust you. And you're certainly a capable profiler. You're one of our best agents stationed in our main office. What do you think?"

Tsuna stared at him silently for a moment as a grin crept onto his face.

"I think you should tell me when I start."

___

Cool! The first chapter with many more to come... Please let me know what you liked/didn't like in the comments!