"Now, before we proceed, we would like to have the new company head say a few words concerning her plans for the future of the company to open this presentation. We would appreciate it if-"
Reida's shoulders stiffened slightly as DiCaccio's words pricked at her ears. When he had first starting speaking, she'd been listening rather intently, excitement bubbling in her stomach as the time for her to rise slowly approached. However, as his introduction continues on, her eyes had drifted to the audience. For some reason, she spark of excitement in her stomach had grown less and less pleasant until it melted into nervousness, though she couldn't really figure out the reason. Sure, she was about to give her very first public speech, and as the new head of the Vongola, no less, but she couldn't understand why she'd suddenly start to feel heavy from that. There was something else bothering her, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
Her head turned from side to side as she looked over her Guardians, wondering if they were feeling the same paranoia that she was, but she couldn't seem to read their expressions. They were probably focusing on DiCaccio, after all.
"And now, may we all direct our attention to the honorable Eleventh Vongola head, Reida Sawada."
Her attention was quickly redirected to the front as the applauds of the audience echoed off the walls of the gymnasium. DiCaccio's voice had blurred out to her for a moment as she searched for an answer to her nervousness, taking her a second to realize it was time for her to stand. She unintentionally hopped out of her chair, causing the seat to move backward a couple inches, but she made a fast attempting at regaining herself and gave DiCaccio a smile and a nod before making her way to the podium.
Standing there, she waited for the clapping to die down before clearing her throat and opening her mouth to begin her speech, the words on the paper she had written skimming through her mind like a movie reel.
"You've all come here today to learn about the new, revolutionized tools that will improve humanity as we know it. Before I go into detail of this technology, I'd like to first say a few words as the head of the Vongola Company. To have my father pass down his title to me was an honor far greater than any trophy or medal. For him to intrust me with the company that my late grandfather, Sawada Tsunayoshi, started was something I never expected, but even as a child I made a promise to both my father and the previous Vongola Head that I would move this company farther than either of them could imagine. As the young adult I am now, I still intend to keep that promise."
The nervousness that had been pricking at her before had nearly vanished now, her mind too focused on the words she had written down. Though she also felt a slight nudge of disappointment as she spoke. Here she was speaking greatly of her father, but he hadn't bothered to show up to the ceremony or even send her message. Come to think of it, she hadn't heard from him since he told her he was going overseas on business three months ago.
She paused for a moment, somewhat to redirect her thoughts and somewhat to add a little dramatic effect into her speech.
"I can't keep such a promise on my own, of course. My grandfather wouldn't of brought the company this far without the help of his closest friends and subordinates. As such, I take great pleasure in introducing my very own personal team."
She took a step back and turned to the side, angling herself in a way so she was still mostly facing the audience.
"Yamada Akio has confidence that exceeds even my own, never letting that confidence falter no matter the situation. Kuromaku Rosa is always aiming for the best possible outcome, never accepting anything less than perfect, her confidence easily matches Yamada-san's."
As she spoke each of their names, she signaled to them with her hand to let the audience know whom it was she talking about. It felt a little strange calling them by their last names, but she decided to do so since it made her look more professional.
"It takes creativity to come up with the most interesting ideas, which is the role of Takumi Troy. Sawada Trevor, the youngest member of my team and also my adopted brother, has medical capabilities that match those of high-ranking doctors. Ai Shaji is never unprepared, always being ready for whatever the future may bring. Vongola Vincenzo even wears the name of the company as her own surname. She's level-headed and intelligent to no end."
She once again turned to face the audience head on as she continued to speak. "It's quite clear that both my team and I are young and still gaining experience, but with this youth comes endless possibilities for the future. With this youth comes the determination and imaginative thinking that the Vongola Company needs to reach it's most successful peak since it first came to be."
Taking in a breath at the end of her personal speech, she waited a moment as the crowds applauding started up once again. She felt warmed up now, prepared for the long explanation she would give next to finally introduce the Box Weapons, or rather tools, to the public. However, as the clapping slowly began to die down, Reida's eyes had locked onto a certain individual. The eye patch was the first thing that she noticed, along with the rock that had dropped into her stomach and had begun to make her feel slightly ill the moment she laid eyes on him. Something about him wasn't right. It wasn't right at all.
"This isn't right. He shouldn't be here. He's not supposed to be...why do I feel cold all of a sudden?"
Though she hadn't noticed yet herself, her fingers had begun to trace the notch on the back of the podium. It had been set up early that morning, with her weapon concealed inside in case of emergency. She became aware of the movement of her fingers when she realized the crowd had been standing in silence for a good few second now as they awaited her to continue. She swallowed dryly, trying to move her focus back onto the explanation she was supposed to give.
"That's enough about myself...I'm sure..you're all ready to hear...the real reason why this ceremony was.." She was speaking slightly quieter than usual, her voice hesitant as wavered on and off as the words left her lips. Her eyes had becoming completely drawn to the large, dark-haired man that had slowly started making his way through the crowd, growing closer and closer to the stage.
"This is..."
Her eyes moved frantically over the crowd, wondering if anyone else had sensed the aura coming from him. The majority of the crowd only looked confused as to why she had suddenly silenced her speech. Had her Guardians noticed? Had DiCaccio? If she looked back at them now, it would only cause more confusion, but she couldn't ignore this feeling.
"This is wrong!"
Though it was quiet, nearly silent to her hear, she heard the faint sound of a finger snapping. In that same instant, she ripped open the small door that had been carved into the podium and grasped her nunchaku. In another swift move, she turned and reached for her brother with her free hand and took hold of his own hand. A threat had made it's way into the gymnasium, and not one person who was posted to make sure such a thing wouldn't happen had realized it.
"I need everyone to get as many people out as possible!" she said to DiCaccio, a hint of fierceness in her tone. She wasn't asking, this was an order given by the 11th herself. "Now!" This time she directed her order towards her Guardians, all of them except for er brother whose hand she was already gripping. By the time she was able to give this order, the voices of the crowd, surprised and afraid at the events that were now taking place, had grown loud and jumbled into an inexplicable noise.
She practically jumped down the stairs, kicking off her heels as she did so, and pulled her brother behind her as she sprinted towards the exit. She had no time to explain her reason for leaving the gymnasium while it was under attack. Anyone could assume that she was running away and leaving her subordinates to take care of the danger, but in truth she had made a single error before leaving her room earlier. Her box weapons had been placed in a nice black shoulder purse that she was supposed to take with her, but in her rush earlier she had completely forgotten it, leaving it on her bed. Normally she wouldn't be so concerned with retrieving them, but right no she knew she needed to get to them at all costs, though she wouldn't be able to explain how she knew.
Halfway down the hall she halted. The outfit she had on was much too difficult to move quickly in, and the tights over her feet were slippery on the floors of the building. She released Trevor's hand and first pulled on her tights, ripping out the bottoms so her feet could show through. Next she pulled on her skirt until the side had ripped up to the middle of her thigh. It was a shame she had to ruin such nice clothes, but she honestly couldn't care less at the moment.
She looked at Trevor, ready to grab his hand and start running again, but she suddenly felt a little guilt for pretty much dragging him up to this point. She couldn't afford to move any slower though, as she needed to get back to her brother to safety and then back to the other Guardians as soon as possible.
"Sorry, Trevor," she said before wrapping her arms around him and lifting him off the ground. She then proceeded to sprint down the hallway carrying the blond boy in a cradle-like fashion.
It was convenient that her assigned room was only a four-minute sprint from the ceremonies location. So far it didn't seem like any enemies were following her, but she held her brother tightly and kept every one of her senses on edge despite that. It had been drilled into her to never drop her guard, even when you believe nothing can go wrong.
Reaching her door, she came to an abrupt stop and, letting Trevor back onto his feet, hastily turned the knob and hurried her way in. The black bag that contained her box weapons were right where she'd left it a few hours ago. With no time to lose, she pulled the strap over her shoulder and stepped back out into the hallway.
"I have to get back to the gymnasium," she said, hesitating a moment before crouching down so she could be eye-level with her brother. "Please find yourself some place to bunker down for now, and no arguing with me either."
To be honest, she felt kind of bad saying these things to him. Hopefully he wouldn't get upset with her treating him like a child. He was a child, after all, but he was also the appointed Sun Guardian. Still, she would see him as her brother before thinking of him as a subordinate, and as a sister she had to make sure he was going to be safe.