Author's Note: So that chapter seriously didn't go the way that I wanted it to. I almost considered rewriting it a fourth time, but there comes a point where you just kind of have to move on and stick with what you got. Hope you guys didn't hate it too much.

(Thank you to TheSparklyOverlord, RadioactiveInTheDark, Dustflame, Yamiroo Alice, ninjalover556, Sayonara Yasashii Akumu, Maximum Ride12345, Dolce-tasie,Kurohyou-Rin, WinterStormArt, Kage2118 for reviewing. Hope I didn't bother you guys too much with the review replies... Also, just wanted to give a shout out to the communities this story had been added to. I really appreciate the fact that you all considered it good enough to add. Thank you so very much :D)

Target Fourteen:

Final Farewell

"Here again, huh?" Gokudera mused as he strode onto the familiar grounds of Namimori Park. The playground looked the same as he had last seen it, except this time there was almost a glow to it. In the distance, hidden behind a plethora of different buildings, the sun was setting. Casting a spectrum of muted and vibrant colors through the vast expanse of the sky.

A shame you can't see the horizon from here, he noted as he lifted his peridot orbs to search for the reason of his visit. Almost immediately he spotted the blonde - sitting identical as to how she had been the last time.

Shifting back and forth on the swing Setsuna looked almost like a child... if it weren't for the grimace rested on her features that is.

Something in the back of his mind warned him that maybe this wasn't going to be the most pleasant of conversations - especially considering the one the two of them had just the night before - but he ignored it and continued on.

"Hello, Setsu-hime," he greeted, as he finally made his way over to her.

Setsuna in turn smiled back up at, but it seemed forced in a way. Which, he had to admit worried him somewhat. Not to mention she had deep, purple marks under her eyes as if she hadn't slept a wink. All of that coupled with the disheveled state of her school uniform, which she had never changed out of, raised several red flags.

"Are you okay?" Gokudera demanded instead. "You look - "

"Awful," she completed for him. "I know, but I'm fine."

The silver haired teen opened and closed his mouth, wanting to call her out on the fairly obvious lie, but ultimately finding himself unable to. "Well, if something is wrong, just let me know and I'll take care of it."

Setsuna chuckled sardonically. So much was wrong, but where the hell was she supposed to start?

Even if he knew her troubles, there was only so much he could and would be able to do for her. The current situation though, he had more of a part in it than he even realized. That, she had to admit was the hardest part about all of this. Gokudera simply had no idea what was going on.

He didn't know that his mother was a ghost. Or that her spirit was unable to rest and because of which haunted him to feel some semblance of her old life. It was miserable, not to mention tragic.

Setsuna almost considered telling him everything.

About how she could see Lavina and how his 'curse' was actually all the woman's doing. But, would that taint his memory of her? Rather than the soft-spoken, kind piano teacher he remembered, would he suddenly see her as the harbinger of many days and nights spent in isolated sorrow?

As much as the blonde wanted to confide in him and let him know that he wasn't the burden he believed himself to be, she just couldn't. Cluing him in on the misconception surrounding his family she could do. Ruining the image of his mother for the rest of his life?

That was too cruel for words.

There was a reason not everyone could bridge the gap between the living and the dead. It was quite a double edged sword.

"I will, Hayato-kun," she conceded after a suspended moment."If a problem arises you'll be the first to know."

Gokudera lowered his shoulders with relief, before easing himself into the swing beside her. For awhile the two of them continued to swing wordlessly. Occasionally their eyes would meet for a brief moment, then either Setsuna would avert her gaze guiltily or he would cough and break away awkwardly.

Eventually the tension over the swing set grew so thick neither was able to even move an inch.

Gokudera however, was the first to break the silence.

"So," he started, a little too anxiously. "What did the principal say about the windows?"

At that the blonde groaned, resting her forehead onto clenched fists.

"Suspended for several days, and an even heftier fine than before."

"I can help y - "

"It'll be fine, Hayato-kun," she grinned defiantly. "I just have to get an after school job." Gokudera looked about ready to argue again, but another pointed look his direction shut him right up.

"I do have something I need to talk to you about though," her smile dropped away immediately, and the one that had formed on his lips did as well. "It's about your family."

A chill traveled the length of his spine. "What exactly about them?" he wondered tentatively.

Squeezing her amber orbs shut, she attempted to gather as much courage as she could muster.

If Gokudera hated her after she told him the truth then so be it. There was literally no one else that could set things right.

"Your sister contacted me last night." Or more accurately kidnapped...

"Sister?" he repeated, the word sounding positively disgusting on his lips. "I don't have a sister."

"Bianchi?"

At the sound of her name, his stomach let out a furious snarl.

"Half sister," he corrected dryly. As he do so, all the blood drained from his face, leaving his skin a sickly green pallor.

Memories of Bianchi and him growing up suddenly flooded into his mind.

While there were some happier moments, most were fairly terrible.

He faintly recalled playing with her, always being her living doll of sorts. She constantly dragged him around, often making him her subordinate in her search for the elusive butterfly she once saw during a picnic in the gardens. But what remained at the forefront of the 'home movies' were the times she forcefed him her Poison Cooking.

If anything his stomach definitely remembered that the most. He still had a hard time eating in general because of it. As much as he hated to admit it, he actually became quite the finicky eater as a result.

"Half sister then." Setsuna assented, tearing him from his thoughts. "But she had something she wanted me to tell you."

Gokudera bolted upright from the swing, stiffening the second his feet hit the bark dust. "Whatever she said," he shook with the force it took to keep his temper in check. "Was a lie."

Setsuna swallowed roughly at the lump that had formed in her throat.

Noticing the rather bewildered, wide eyed expression on the blonde's face he closed his eyes - his face scrunching up in the attempt to calm down. At his sides his fists curled into tight balls, nails instantly biting into his flesh. After what seemed to be an eternity of this, he slumped back into the swing, letting out a strangled sound half way between a growl and a groan.

"Sorry," he croaked eventually, his voice suddenly hoarse. "I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine."

"I..."

"I shouldn't have said anything."

"No," he met her eyes for the first time in awhile. "What did she tell you?"

Setsuna blinked first once then twice.

"Are you sure you want to know?" she asked hesitantly. "I mean, I can tell you another time." Lavina just might not last that long... hell, I might not.

"Tell me," he insisted, although he kept his eyes closed. "Please, Setsu-hime."

Setsuna heaved a sigh, running an anxious hand through her flaxen locks.

"Apparently your father really did love your mother," she started hesitantly. Gokudera's lips twitched with barely controlled anger, but he kept as much of a lock on it as he could for her to continue. "He wanted to be with her, marry her in fact... but she said no."

"Bullshit," the silver haired teen spat, unable to keep quiet any longer. Surely, if his father really loved his mother he wouldn't have had one of his Hitmen kill her on the way to his birthday party. His father didn't even have the decency to be upset when Lavina died.

No, the man carried on as if things were normal.

Bianchi had attempted to feed him that shit for years, but he knew better. She was just as bad as their father.

Sensing his internal dilemma, Setsuna tried to placate him the best she could. "They didn't tell you because they didn't want you to know the truth."

"That's for damned sure!"

"No..." she said carefully. "Your mother... Lavina, she was sick. Really sick."

That deflated him rather instantaneously. "W-what?"

"After you were born, your mother found out she was dying from an illness."

Defying the usually strong urge to be amiable towards his boss's sister, his peridot orbs widened with outrage. "You're lying."

"I'm not," she retorted, her adrenaline sparking like a live wire in her veins. "You know I'm not."

Scoffing, Gokudera shot once more to his feet, but this time Setsuna followed suit. Despite the rather significant height difference between the two, the Medium stood her ground, eyes boring directly into his own.

In spite of himself, he glared back. For awhile they stood there, locked in a wordless battle of wills, neither willing to give an inch. Until of course, something occurred to Gokudera.

"Proof," he stated simply, eyes still intent on her's.

"What?"

"Prove it to me."

Setsuna pursed her lips, the corners twitching up into the semblance of a smile. I was hoping you would say that...

Finally breaking free from their interlocked gaze, Setsuna turned back towards the swingset. Perched behind one of the supporting metal beams was a certain family chest. Hefting it under the crook of her arm, she turned her attention back to Gokudera. Whom currently had a bewildered brow resting high on his forehead.

Before he could even ask what she was doing, he spotted his family emblem emblazoned in silver on the front.

"What is that?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"Proof."

Oddly hesitant to part with it, the blonde unwillingly thrust the chest towards him. For a second he was too stunned to make a move, but he hastily regained himself and took it from her grasp.

Setsuna pretended not to notice that his hands were shaking.

Making quick work of the latch, he soon had it open, freeing the decade long secrets from their cage.

Not that she was expecting him to understand immediately or anything, but when his eyes finally met her's once again he only seemed more confused than he was before. "I don't get it."

Setsuna attempted to look contrite. "They're love letters between your parents... Bianchi gave them to me."

Gokudera looked back down at the leafs of paper with renewed interest. Still hesitant, he carefully picked up one at random and unfolded the decrepit creases, the unyielding letter crinkling the whole way.

For what seemed like forever, he stood utterly still. After awhile he even lost track of the times he read that single letter alone. Particularly however, the last few lines:

I'm sorry I cannot marry you, my love. There are no words to tell you how much I wish I could. At night I often imagine us being a family. Just you, Hayato and I spending our days fat and happy on one of those Orchards you love so much. But alas, I know that will never come to fruition. You should come to accept it as well, my love.

Irrevocably Your's,

Lavina

Halfway through the page, for a reason Gokudera couldn't identify, the words began to smear. In some spots the cursive Italian dribbled, as if the words themselves were crying. Somewhat numbly he noted that it wasn't the words that were crying, but himself.

Remembering himself, he quickly scrubbed the evidence from his lashes and cheeks, which were suddenly quite hot.

"I'm sorry..." he choked out, folding the letter back up. "I didn't... I had no..."

Setsuna smiled faintly, her own cheeks stinging with heat. "I shouldn't have pushed you so hard."

"N-no!" he shook his head emphatically. "I needed it." Depositing the letter back to its old resting grounds, he took out something else in its place. Something rather reflective. "What's this?"

Setsuna's breath hitched as he wrapped his fingers around the present. As he did so though, something else caught her attention.

The sound of a piano.

In the hushed lighting from the setting sun, Lavina had an ethereal glow surrounding her as she materialized from behind the trees. Rather than the deteriorating state she had been in in the past few encounters with Setsuna, the spirit was back to normal. Well, as normal as an apparition could look.

Keeping her amber orbs on Lavina, the blonde eventually answered his question. "It's a birthday present from your mother... They found it in the passenger seat of her car."

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice told him that maybe he should wait to open it in private, but his morbid curiosity overruled any sense of rationality.

With deft hands, he carefully undid the knot of the bow. The years of wear made it disentangle rather easily, and before he knew it the reflective, silver wrapping paper was loose as well. Revealing a simple white, cardboard box beneath.

Time seemed to freeze as he dug his fingers between the two halves. Setsuna watched with muted anticipation and even Lavina stood utterly still as a phantom observer.

Gazing into the now open box, he read the familiar loops of Italian aloud. "Addio Amore Mio."

Farewell, My Love.

It was written at the top of what was unmistakably a piano piece. Handwritten by his mother if he was comparing it to the letter he had read moments ago. If he had any doubt left though this just utterly decimated it. Before his birthday, Lavina had known she was going to die - that her time was up and she would have to say goodbye.

Sure, Gokudera probably wouldn't have realized it at the time, he would have just thought it the name of a song, but it was her send off. He was the last person she needed to say goodbye to before she could peacefully leave this world, and yet she never got the chance.

Hell, he could have gotten her goodbye so much sooner if he hadn't been so godforsaken stubborn and actually listened to Bianchi. He was a damned fool.

Before he could berate and curse himself any further, Setsuna unwillingly tore him from his thoughts.

"Hayato-kun," the blonde whispered, her own voice hitching slightly. "If there was anything you could say to your mother right now... what would it be?"

Gokudera paused, so overwhelmed with his own emotions he momentarily lost the ability to speak, but somehow he sensed it was important that he say this now.

"I would say..." he trailed off, his chest constricting as if someone were squeezing his heart in the palm of their hand. "That the memory of you is always warm."

Setsuna glanced pointedly at Lavina, then respectively at her son.

It was such a shame they couldn't spend any more time together.

But Lavina needed to be set free... and so did he.

"Thank you," Lavina said with a slight grin, sounding at peace for the first time since the blonde had met the spirit.

Not caring that Gokudera could see her, Setsuna mouthed back 'you're welcome'.

Then as she had seen many spirits do before, Lavina shone brightly, as if completely swathed in a white light. Which intensified until all the blonde could see was the outline of the woman.

With one last brilliant flash, any trace that the ghost ever existed disappeared - revealing nothing more than the shadowed trees that dotted the edges of Namimori Park.

With a shaky laugh, Setsuna slid to her knees.

It was over.

Finally over.

For a moment, she was so caught up in it all, she didn't notice that the constant throbbing that typically lingered beneath her bandages had dissipated until there was nothing but calm in her limbs.

"Setsu-hime?" Gokudera demanded suddenly, rushing over to crouch beside her. "Are you alright?"

In response, the blonde beamed from ear to ear. "Yes, I actually am for once."

Emotionally drained himself, he plopped down on the ground beside her. "I don't know if I am," he admitted, somewhat begrudgingly.

"You do believe me though... right?"

To his merit, Gokudera stifled a chuckle. "Obviously," he deadpanned.

As much as she tried to look reproachful, Setsuna couldn't help the giddy feeling that bubbled to life in her chest.

"I'm sorry," she apologized after a beat.

"For what?"

"For all of it... I mean, I'm sure you didn't want me butting into your business in the first place, but I did anyway. Not to mention bring up some serious... shit and force you to deal with it. If you want to hate me now, I guess I can understand. After all, you're more Tsuna's friend anyway..."

Gokudera shifted somewhat uncomfortably. "I consider you my friend too, you know, Setsu-hime?"

The blonde regarded him skeptically, looking just as awkward.

"I mean it," he insisted. "Especially now."

When she still didn't seem convinced he went on. "You made me see something I refused to for years now... You woke me up." A sudden blush dusted her cheeks, and once Gokudera noticed, one rose up his neck as well. "I-I mean, you really h-helped, okay?"

"Okay," she finally agreed.

While Gokudera wasn't really sure if things between him and the rest of his family would ever be resolved at least he knew the truth now.

"I am sorry though," the silver haired teen admitted, focusing his gaze anywhere but the blonde's eyes. "I lost my temper, but I shouldn't have with you... If it's not too much to ask... can you not tell Juudaime about this?"

You act like we talk anyway... she replied to herself bitterly, but nodded her head all the same.

Gokudera grinned at her then, and she had to admit that in that moment the storm that usually raged on inside of him seemed subdued - if even for a moment.

"I've been living a lie,

and I'll give it a try.

I've been living a lie,

but I'm better now."

- Fox Stevenson

-Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ-

Author's Note: Don't know about you guys, but I kind of had to take a break from writing this chapter because it actually made me start to tear up a bit. You guys are probably all sitting there with dry faces being like "what the fuck is wrong with you that wasn't emotional at all you idiot!" but whatever. I can cry at my own story, okay? Hope the ending for this arc was alright. Don't know if Gokudera was too OoC or if the chapter itself seemed anticlimactic but I hope you enjoyed it regardless.

(I actually can't believe the first arc is over. I know it probably doesn't seem like much to you guys, but as someone who rarely if ever completes stories this is a huge accomplishment for me. It makes me excited for future arcs... fingers crossed I'll get through those ones as well.)

Thank you to everyone for sticking with me so far.

Your support means more than you know.

See you next chapter!