Thorned Daisy
Updated 22/2/2014
Disclamier : I do not own KHR. Otherwise, it wouldn't end like that (;_;)!
Summary : He confessed his undying passion to her, but she rejected him. Five years later, she disappeared, leaving her only daughter, Midori, in his care. Her identity was supposed to always be kept secret, but after twelve years of practically loveless and cold relationship with her father, the blissfully ignorant adopted daughter decided to find out about her hidden past and the unrequited love between her father and a mysterious woman who no one dared name. Pairing 2795/ Kyoko's daughter
* This is a semi-mystery fiction. Midori would try to trace her real identity after overhearing something her father said. But in process she would also happen to find something incredibly important to the survival of the Vongola family. Not so mystery-ish in this first chapter. I intend to write it as a background and a prologue.
Enjoy!
Chapter 1
— Relics —
A sleek black limousine, a rare sight in a lesser-known town like Namimori, was gliding through the unusually unoccupied highway from Narita to the town's border.
Inside, there were a chauffeur before the steering wheel, a silver-haired man on the other front seat and...
A good-looking brown-haired young man in a suit who observes the scenery from the window with excitement and nostalgia.
It was five years since Tsuna had moved to attend a high school in Italy, where he would receive more training in leadership skills, the Italian language and combat tactics.
Certainly, throughout these five years, he did miss something in the idyllic town, such as his mum's food and some of his cheeky classmates. Yet, since he friends also went to Italy with him, there were not many things of Namimori he longed for much except...
Sasagawa Kyoko
Despite the tough, busy five years that had passed, his passion for Kyoko was never whetted.
Instead, the distance made his heart grow founder of her.
In fact, she was the sole reason for his relentless begging for a short vacation in Japan
in order that he could accomplish his lifelong ambition...
to confess his love to Sasagawa Kyoko!
All these past few years, there were several times when Tsuna felt discouraged and sometimes even suicidal. But whenever he though about Kyoko, he could continue moving forward again.
Her sunny smile which would always be cherished in his memory invariably served as a light of the dark, horrid life of the underground world.
He did not want to involve her in the mafia, though. However, he only wish to express his unwavering passion to his angel... at least to make a confession!
He had phoned her a few days before, saying that he would like to meet her again at Namimori park at night, and she agreed.
The brunet held the dazzling rose bouquet tighter, an almost imperceptible display of his intense nervousness in his mind. Years of leadership coaching instilled him not to exhibit his emotion unnecessarily.
Tsuna smiled bitterly as he thought about this. Had he become a heartless robot serving as a vessel for his family? How contrasting with her compassion and vivacity!
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• Around 9 PM •
— Namimori's public park —
A handsome brown-haired man was waiting patiently alone on a bench juxtaposing a lamp post, which seduced the moths with there brilliant glow.
The pitiable moths wold all die by its own restless attempt to reach the fire...
Then light steps could be heard...
"Sorry, Tsuna-kun! Did I keep you waiting?"
Tsuna was overwhelmed to hear the gentle and lively voice, though having deepened with puberty, and rendered speechless as he raised his face only to meet with an earthly Venus.
His infatuation had grown her orange logs to mid-back and developed more feminine features.
However, the charming lady suddenly flinched when she saw the man's face more clearly and bowed apologetically.
"Excuse me! I mistook you for my friend!" she said in a hasty tone.
Tsuna was slightly flabbergasted by this reaction before realising that his looks and persona must have changed drastically these last few years.
"Kyoko-chan! I'm Tsuna!"
Kyoko raised her head, blushing a little in front of a prince-like young gentleman who smiled brightly back.
So Kyoko decided to sit on the right of the mafiaso.
"It has been a while, Tsuna-kun!" she said cheerily.
"Yeah..." Tsuna said shyly, which was quite out of character for him in these past few years.
Tsuna sat tensely, his hand diving into his trouser pocket for the ring box when Kyoko abruptly bombarded him...
"How were you all these past five years? How was Italy? Did you find any love of your life?"
"Erm... Ah... Ne..." Tsuna blushed madly and stuttered, almost reverting back to his Dame self
"You know... I found th—"
"Kyoko-chan!" Tsuna suddenly interrupted
"... yes...?"
Tsuna finally managed to summon up his courage to confess to her!
"Remember the first time I confessed to you?" Tsuna said with his face facing the ground.
"Yup! What a funny prank you made then!"
"No, I was serious!" retorted Tsuna almost harshly, startling Kyoko.
A deafening silence pursued for a while before Tsuna finally apologised embarrassedly.
"s–sorry..."
"..."
"The truth is Kyoko-chan..."
The girl only nodded back in response.
"Please take me seriously this time. We are all adults in twenties now, so I won't be joking you this time..."
"..."
"Every moment even after that confession and my staying in Italy these past few years... my love for you never wavered... I–I—I..."
"..."
"I love you, Kyoko-chan!"
Taken aback, Kyoko immediately turned her face away from Tsuna's after processing all the confession from her childhood friend.
Both uttered no words for an excruciatingly long time before Kyoko broke the silence by saying...
"Sorry, Tsuna-kun! But you are just too good for me!"
Tsuna felt his heart cracking upon hearing that...
"Also, I already have a person I like..."
His heart broke into two...
"I cannot accept your feelings! Find a better woman than me!"
Tsuna's heart shattered into two.
Kyoko turned and fled from him as soon as she finished, leaving the heartbroken boss-to-be alone in the deserted park.
Tsuna's eyes trailed to the lamp post, where a moth finally dropped to the ground from fatigue of chasing after the light.
Tsuna smiled sarcastically and bitterly at the sight before lumbering unsteadily towards an opposite direction to her...
Rain suddenly poured from the pitch dark sky, blending with the tears trickling dow the brown-haired gentleman's face. The man continued walking aimlessly without opening his umbrella, not caring about falling ill or getting wet. Indeed, the downpour was like a consolation to him.
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• Five years later •
—Vongola Headquarters, Sicily—
A giant mahogany door was gently knocked. The knock was responded by a tender voice allowing the silver-haired man outside to enter.
At the centre of the room was a flamboyant brunet, immersed in signing his paperwork.
The right-hand man bowed politely before placing a letter on his boss's oak office desk.
The boss finally raised his face from the demanding work and took off his glasses.
"What's it, Hayato?" asked the boss kindly with a slightly wistful smile. Ever since the incident, the tenth boss of Vongola had been despondent.
The man who was addressed as Hayato was hesitant to start explaining the situation for a painful three minutes before he could pluck up his courage.
"Mrs Yamada,...formerly know as Sasagawa Kyoko..." then Gokudera paused.
Tsuna twitched and frowned at tge name as all the hurtful memories were brought back to him. Still, he gestured his right hand to continue.
"She pleaded, in her will, that you adopt her only daughter, Miss Midori Yamada."
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• Three days later
— Doujou Centre Orphanage, Namimori, Japan —
"From now on, you will be under the custody of Mister..."
"Sawada... Sawada Tsunayoshi," a brown-haired young man in a newly-cut suit added.
"Yeah, Mr. Sawada. So behave yourself, ok?" the old lady then continued her lecture.
"Ok" a honey-brown haired girl of barely three years of age promised.
But before the girl was let to follow her new 'papa,' the said papa was led by the old lady to the balcony for a talk.
"Sawa...da-san, you are well aware of the girl's conditions, right?," the older woman started.
"Yes. No relatives. Father killed in a drug dealer feud. Mother disappearing...," Tsuna paused a little," with 2 million-yen debt," replied Tsuna with a deadpan face and voice.
"Correct. Now, don't get me wrong. Only a genuine concern from an experienced old lady. I should remind you that the request from the will us not compulsory, and we're always pleased to raise this debt-ridden kid up for you..."
"No, thank you. I shall clear up all her debt in full and bring her up as my own," said Tsuna politely and resolutely before turning back to hold the child's hand and leading her back to his ivory Mercedes-Benz.
The girl looked at the man with wonder and curiosity after being sat on a cashmere cushion just beside him.
Then she broke the ice by unwittingly asking him eagerly
"you — my new papa?"
The question was like a stab to Tsuna's heart. Yet, he replied politely but indifferently,
"... you could call me that..."
The little girl suddenly crept up and sat comfortably on the man's lap, "Where is mama?"
Those eyes, Tsuna recognised, were exactly like hers, filled with innocence, childlike inquisitiveness and life. But they were more painful than delightful, unlocking all his memories he tried and tried again to blotch out...
"I don't know!" Tsuna shouted back coldly, losing control of himself temporarily, beckoning the attention from the front seat silver-haired passenger and the chauffeur.
After Tsuna realised what he had just done, he looked at the poor cowering girl, a petite replica of his old love, and apologised
"I'm sorry..."
A small fickle of beautiful orange-tinted flame was lighted on the brunet's index finger. It is tenderly pressed on the crying girl's forehead.
"Forget that you used to have a mother and another father... Forget what I have just done to you..."
After the flame was eventually put off, the girl fell asleep gently on the mafia boss's lap.
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"!"
A honey-brown haired girl started from her nightmare only to find herself in her usual elaborately-decorated bedroom and one of her closest maids standing grumpily in front of her.
"Midori-sama! I attempted to wake you several times, but you wouldn't budge! Dear, I though you were dead!"
The said Midori-sama laughed sheepishly and then yawned, asking "what do we have for breakfast, Rose?"
"Salisbury steak..."
"Salisbury steak! Isn't that..." interrupted the young lady with sheer excitement and expectation.
"Yes, Decimo-sama has come here to celebrate your 14th birt—"
"Hurray! Hurray! Haven't seen Papa for ages now!" cheered loudly and nearly unsuitably.
"Gotta dress up now! Will be down in a moment!," sang the teen happily hopping off her giant bed.
As Rose was about to exit, she suddenly recalled her young mistress's horrified expression after her eleventh attempt to wake the young lady up.
"Erm... Midori-sama..."
"Hmm...?"
"Did you just have a nightmare. I saw you sweating after finally getting up."
"Um..." the young girl pondered pensively and then shrugged, "no idea what it was about now... Anyway, let's hurry! Rose, help me with the zip!"
— At the same time, in the dinning hall of Vongola's seaside mansion —
"You must choose a wife, sir!" an elderly man suggested impatiently to his 'boss,' a younger brown-haired middle-age gentleman who was sitting nonchalantly at the head of the table.
"Yes, you need an offspring!"
"We need a candidate for Vongola 11th!"
"To guarantee the survival of our Vongola family!"
"SHUT UP!"
The said boss lashed out with fierce fury, almost burning the table into ashes had it not been flame-retardant.
Since having his heart broken, Tsuna was so distraught that he decided to remain a confirmed bachelor, never seeking another soulmate or woman to fill his lonely nest.
The three men shuddered in fear of the boss's ire before excusing themselves out of the room.
The boss signed irritably and looked at the grey sky through the massive glass window just across him.
Even the sky seemed to be snickering at him.
END/ chap 1/ Thorned Daisy