AN: Set more than 10 years later in the future after the 10th generation Vongola family defeated Millefiore after travelling to the future. Please be guided accordingly. :D
TIES
Yamamoto is satisfied.
The day went well without him having to draw his weapon. It had been almost ten years since he became a part of the Vongola famiglia. Since then, peaceful days like this have become extremely rare. A Mafioso could never, ever let his guard down especially during Vongola-related missions. He had known, well, accepted for a long time that there's real danger and the Mafia is not a game.
Despite the disguised Shigure Kintoki slinging on his shoulder, Yamamoto allowed himself to relax a bit and take in the hustle and bustle of Namimori. Being away from his hometown for a couple of months surely made him a bit sentimental. Living in Italy was sure fun being it the heart of Mafia activities. But Yamamoto had to admit that he indeed missed Japan. And by chance, business activities needed the Vongola family to move to Japan for a while.
The former baseball superstar took advantage of his arrival in Namimori. He visited NamiChuu, the playground, the town river, the baseball arena and of course, his father's sushi restaurant. His father is still energetic and sharp as always. Not once had Yamamoto Tsuyoshi asked any questions about Takeshi's activities. All he did was to always firmly pat his son's shoulders and that's all Takeshi needs.
It was finally dark when Yamamoto decided to return to the Vongola base in Namimori. The illumination coming from the street lamps was the only company Yamamoto had as he walked down the near empty streets of the neighborhood. Despite his calm exterior, the Vongola Rain Guardian's senses are on their guard – the night is an excellent cloak which can be used by anyone.
Everything was normal until Yamamoto reached the forest edge which lead to the base entrance. His sharpened senses picked up the rustling coming from the nearby bushes and instinctively, he reached for his sword while moving towards the bushes. Despite the possibility that it was just probably the wind or some animal, Yamamoto is not going to take any chances. One can never be too careful.Stealthily closing in, the skilled swordsman almost dropped his bladed weapon when he discovered the cause of the rustling among the bushes. In front of him lay an infant – messily wrapped in a white piece of cloth. Yamamoto scanned the area to see if somebody else is within the vicinity. When he found none, he sheathed his sword and kneeled down to somehow properly cover the young baby girl that squirmed on the grassy floor before picking her up into his arms.
Yamamoto unconsciously scratched the back of his head and sighed.
"What am I going to do with you?"
-o-
"Ya-ya-ya-mamoto? I-is t-th-at a-a ki-id?!" was all that the Tenth Generation Vongola Boss able to say after seeing his Rain Guardian enter his office carrying an infant he had not seen before.
"Err, yeah. She's still small."
Everything that the three original occupants of the room had been discussing was completely forgotten. Directing his attention to the awkwardly grinning Yamamoto and the babe, Sawada Tsunayoshi momentarily lost all the maturity he developed through the years and couldn't hide his utter shock. And if Tsuna hadn't known Hibari Kyouya for a long time now, he would swear that he saw the latter's eyes widen at the sight as well. As for Reborn, who was also present, just glanced at the bundle in Yamamoto's arms and continued leaning on the wall behind his student.
"Whose is she? Yours?" Ignoring the silliness of his tutee, Reborn broke what he deemed the unnecessary silence that invaded the room. Reborn hid his smirk when he noticed a livid pair of eyes when he uttered his follow-up question.
A gurgling sound caught Yamamoto's attention which prevented him from answering the infamous hitman's query. Strong eyes met innocent brown ones and for a moment, Yamamoto felt something fuzzy tug within his heart. He smiled at the little girl and adjusted his arm as to carry her against his chest with her head resting on his shoulder. Remembering the situation, he let out a small laugh while the other three Mafioso looked at him as if waiting for answers.
"Ah, no she's not mine. I found her."
Yamamoto narrated how he saw the poor infant on the forest ground on the way back to the base whilst trying to comfort the said infant who moved around so much and whimpered from time to time. Tsuna listened solemnly while Reborn just hid his expression with his fedora. As for Hibari, he appeared disinterested with the recounting of events but his gaze remained on the baby within his fellow Guardian's grasps.
"Isn't it dangerous, bringing her here? What if it was just a trap against the Vongola, Yamamoto? What are you going to do?" Reborn noted after Yamamoto finished. The latter stiffened at the comment.
"Reborn!" Tsuna exclaimed. He thought Reborn can be insensitive sometimes. With the way his Rain-wielding friend held the baby, Tsuna can see the concern Yamamoto has for the abandoned baby girl. But he admits that his tutor raised some valid points.
"I am just stating a possibility, right Hibari?"
The mentioned man shot a glare at Reborn and chose to ignore the remark. He then felt another gaze fell upon him which he similarly ignored. If anybody else had dared and be snide at him, Hibari would not have any qualms in biting that person to death. But since it was the former arcobaleno, the Vongola Cloud "decided" to overlook the obvious insinuations.
Yamamoto remained silent as he run one of his hands up and down the babe's back to deliver comfort to the smaller one. He actually thought about that possibility but he couldn't bear leave the defenseless child alone out in the cold.
Letting out a grin, Yamamoto eyed Reborn before holding a firm eye contact with his long-time friend. "I'll take responsibility of her, Tsuna. Let me keep her. If anything happens, I'll protect her. I'll protect the Vongola."
For a moment, Tsuna was at a loss for words. This is a different Yamamoto speaking to him. Simply looking at his Rain Guardian's eyes, Tsuna understood. He glanced at his long-time tutor before speaking.
"I'll leave it to you then, Yamamoto."
"Haha, thanks Tsuna." When Yamamoto let out that laugh, the baby in his arms also let out a giggle which surprised her carrier.
"Do you know her name?" Tsuna inquired.
"She has nothing with her aside from this white cloth wrapped around her. So no, I don't have any idea what her name is," was Yamamoto's reply.
"Why don't you give her a name then? Since you'll be her, uhh… guardian now." Tsuna was about to say 'father' but he didn't really feel that it is in his place to presume.
"Haha, I haven't really thought about that," Yamamoto lightly replied. Then he noticed the distressed noises coming from the child in his arms. As realization dawn, he almost jumped out of his seat which amused Reborn.
"I forgot, I don't have baby supplies yet. Sorry, I think I'll go ahead."
"Ah, I'll just send someone to get them for now. It's quite late for you to go out and leave her without company," Tsuna assured his previously alarmed guardian.
"Oh," Yamamoto grinned, "Thanks Tsuna. By the way, where are the others? I didn't see anyone aside from Giannini and our other men on the way here."
"Gokudera-kun and Oniisan are still on their mission. The ladies went to Kyoko-chan's house earlier while Lambo and Fuuta are with Okaasan. I'm not sure where Spanner and Shouichi are but most likely they're at the technology development labs." Reborn just eyed Hibari while Tsuna answered Yamamoto's question. Hibari is obviously curious, if not fascinated, with the manner the other guardian securely held the newfound baby. Reborn couldn't help but smirk at his discovery.
When the baby's face started crumpling, Hibari coldly commented to no one in particular, "can't we proceed back to the more important business at hand?"
"Ahaha! Sorry for interrupting your previous discussion. We'll take off now, Tsuna, Kid. It's nice to see you too Hibari." And with that, the baby burst out into tears. Expertly, Yamamoto adjusted her in his arms and headed for the door while creating faint hushing sounds. "Later."
The three other adults in the room heard Yamamoto comfort the kid saying something like "Don't cry, Hibari is not mad at you". This made Tsuna to blink twice, Reborn adjust his fedora and Hibari's eyebrows to furrow.
"Uhh… someone will drop by your room soon to drop off her necessities," Tsuna called out to the retreating figure of his Rain Guardian. To this, Yamamoto waved his hand in acknowledgement and stepped out of the office.
Upon the door closed, no one spoke a word for a moment.
"Yamamoto sure is full of the unexpected," Tsuna finally let out through the silence.
"Heh," glancing towards the certain tonfa user, Reborn then said, "Interesting."
The Vongola Boss looked at his tutor and asked, "What is?" which was answered by silence.
"Can you not waste my time and continue with business," came an icy remark from the obviously impatient Hibari which reminded Tsuna of his earlier dealings with his Cloud Guardian.
"Ah sorry, Hibari-san. Please continue with your report. I will just send this message for the procurement of the things Yamamoto and his baby will need.
Reborn's observant eyes simply didn't miss the slight twitch of Hibari's lips.
Definitely interesting.
-o-
Apparently, Yamamoto's newfound baby cried because of hunger instead of Hibari's remark. He realized this when he offered her milk upon the arrival of the baby supplies Tsuna promised to send earlier. She immediately stopped crying and greedily sucked from the milk bottle as he groomed and dressed her properly into a onesie. He suddenly became thankful for the babysitting experiences he had for Lambo and I-pin years ago. Yamamoto couldn't help but chuckle when after finishing the milk, she fell fast asleep.
He slowly laid the sleeping child on the bed and observed her. He tried figuring out how old she is but in his mind, all babies are small so he gave up on that. Gently stroking the faint black hairs on her tiny head, Yamamoto smiled when he remembered that she had the same eye color as his. Her pinkish, chubby cheeks made him want to pinch them but he held himself back. Then, he remembered something.
"Ah!" scratching the back of his head, "I haven't given you a name yet," he told the small sleeping figure near him. Lying beside her, he raised his head with his arms underneath and continued to ponder on a name while gazing at the said infant.
"Maa… I didn't know that coming up with a name can be this difficult," Yamamoto said as if the baby can hear him. Thinking back to their meeting, he suddenly breathed, "Tsukina."
"Well, Tsukina it is," smiling, he leaned closer to the newly named baby and placed a light kiss on her forehead.
"Goodnight Tsukina."
IceSpirit: Hi there! That was the first chapter of my first attempt in writing a KHR fic. I was so itching to write about 8018 loves then this idea popped in my head.
Comments are lovely!