The final week was now drawing to an end, as everyone restlessly anticipated Nero's imminent arrival. Vero in particular had honed his sword skills and was finally ready to take his uncle head on, and the guardians were ready to protect their base too.

Tonight was the end of the calm before the storm, but instead of mentally preparing for the battle ahead, Vero's mind was travelling down memory lane. As he closed his eyes, his mind journeyed back to a carefree six year old life…

"Momma!" Vero exclaimed while entering Rosetta's office.

Upon hearing her son's entrance, she turned from her work to him and asked with a bright smile, "Well, where have you been today my little adventurer?"

"I was in the library momma," her son answered obediently before pulling out a photo. "I found this when I was looking through the picture books."

He handed her the photo and the two kids she saw standing beside each other brought her way back to her childhood. "Oh my…" she uttered, as a nostalgic expression appeared on her face. "It's been ages since I've seen this photo…"

"Who are the kids in it?" Vero asked suddenly, bringing his mother from her memories.

"Well, believe it or not," Rosetta answered as she sat her son on her lap so they could look at the photo together. "That's your father and I, when we were about your age."

"Really?!" Vero exclaimed as he gazed at the photo, trying to comprehend that his parents were once his age. He paused, and then continued with another question, "Momma, can you tell me how you and daddy met?"

"Of course I can!" Rosetta replied with no hesitation as she started to tell her son of how she and Dino first met…

….

It was a beautiful sunny summer day, perfect for spending at the beach or amusement park, which was exactly what the five year old Rosetta and her family were doing at Mafia Land*. Although, her father had to leave to take care of some important business. So he left his wife to take care of their children for a few minutes…

"Mom, can I ride that one?" Nero asked as he pointed to the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the park.

"Hmm…I don't think you're tall enough for that one yet…" his mother, Annalisa replied after gazing at the ride with concern.

Annalisa Mezzanotte is about five feet seven inches tall with green colored eyes and shoulder length black hair in a half updo. She was currently wearing a lavender sundress with matching sandals and a white straw sunhat.

She turned back to her son with a smile and continued with, "Maybe you can ride it next time Nero."

"But you told me that last time Mom!" her son complained with his arms crossed.

"Oh dear…" Annalisa muttered half to herself before realizing that her daughter wasn't anywhere in her sights. "Nero-honey, did you see where your sister wandered off to?"

"Beats me." He replied with a careless tone in his voice, signifying that he was still upset about the roller coaster.

Knowing that Rosetta's older brother wasn't going to be any help, Annalisa commenced to call out for Rosetta. Her daughter then promptly showed herself a few minutes later with a blonde boy looking to be a couple years older than her trailing behind.

"What did I tell you about wandering off on your own Rosetta?!" Annalisa asked with worry and anger, ignoring the boy for a moment.

"This boy was crying Mommy," her daughter explained before her companion complained that he wasn't. "He lost his dad."

The mother's expression remained unchanged for a moment, and then softened as she then turned to the boy with tears in his eyes.

"Hello, I'm Annalisa, Rosetta's mother. And this is Nero, my son and Rosetta's older brother." She told him gently with a smile. "May I ask what your name is?"

The boy hesitated for a moment before he replied softly with, "Um…I'm Dino Cavallone…"

Annalisa's eyes widened with realization for a fraction of a second before she rose with a warm smile on her face.

"So are we going to help him Mommy?" Rosetta asked.

"Of course we are!" she answered with determination.

"Yeah!" her daughter exclaimed. "Let's go find your dad, Dino!"

He wiped his tears away and agreed as the three of them started their search with Nero following calmly behind them. They all enjoyed themselves greatly, riding rides and seeing the sites as they looked for Dino's father.

Although he was a little shy at first, Dino quickly opened up, and was almost sad that they found his father when they were having so much fun. And they found the man having coffee and chatting with none other than Rosetta's father.

"Hey Daddy!" Rosetta exclaimed as she ran up to her father, disregarding her mother's urges to wait until the men were finished. "Are you done with your work now?"

Her father Xaviero gazed upon his expectant daughter and smiled warmly before he answered with, "Well, I was just telling my good friend here about you and my wonderful family, so it's good that you just showed up."

Xaviero Mezzanotte, the boss of the Mezzanotte family, Annalisa's husband, and Rosetta's and Nero's father, stood at about five feet eleven inches with clear blue eyes with the Mezzanotte star in his right eye. He also had dark reddish brown hair that he had loosely slicked back and ended at the nape of his neck. His sideburns extended to a slightly scruffy beard that curled up at his chin. He was currently wearing a crisp white button up shirt that had the collar upturned and the sleeves rolled up to the elbow. He also wore dark grey slacks, black dress shoes, and a belt with silver oval buckle. On the buckle it showed a starry night sky – complete with crescent moon.

Xaviero then turned to his friend and started with the introductions "Signor Cavallone, may I introduce to you my daughter Rosetta, my son Nero," he said, motioning to each of them. "And of course, my beautiful wife Annalisa."

"Cavallone?" Rosetta uttered immediately after the introductions. "Are you Dino's dad?"

"Why yes I am." The boss of the Cavallone family answered with a smile before glancing at his son. "And I see that he has found a friend in you my dear."

"Friend…?" Rosetta asked, as she became a little sad. "I don't know…People who usually become my friends usually end up leaving me because they find out that I'm…different…"

"Well, Dino isn't all that different from you then," the Cavallone boss explained. "You see, Dino hasn't opened up to anyone since his mother passed away." – he smiled as he gazed at his shy son – "That is, until today."

"So will you be Dino's friend Rosetta?" Xaviero asked expectantly.

For a moment she thought, uncertain on what to do. Then she realized what it must feel like to have no friends, as opposed to even having friends for even a little while. She then gazed at Dino, who blushed and evaded her stare.

At that moment, she knew her answer, and gave it with confidence. "Okay, I will." Rosetta replied…

...

"And ever since then, I would come live here temporarily every summer to spend time with your father." Rosetta finished with a smile.

"Wait, so dad was a crybaby when he was younger?" Vero asked curiously with disbelief.

"No, I was just a little overly shy, that's all." Dino answered from his place at the doorway.

Vero was surprised that he was there, but Rosetta was unfazed as she asked, "You were there this whole time, weren't you?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Dino replied with a grin. "Am I really that predictable?"

"I think I'll leave that question unanswered…" was all Rosetta had to say with a smirk.

Vero just grinned, happy that his parents met and had him together, for if they didn't, he wouldn't even exist…

A loud blaring alarm suddenly woke Vero from his light sleep, as he jolted up just in time for a large gaping hole to appear when Hibari was thrown into the room, hitting the wall.

"Hibari-san!" he shouted as he ran over to the Cloud Guardian. "What's happening?!"

"I can't believe you slept through the alarm…You are indeed your father's son…" Hibari uttered with a smirk before becoming serious. "It's your uncle Nero…"

"He's here then?!" Vero asked further. "How are the other Vongola members doing?"

"We tried to hold him off, but he's determined to come to you…"

"So they're probably hurt too…" Vero stood up with an uncertain determination apparent on his face. "I guess it's time…"

"Yes indeed my nephew…" a malicious voice said from the gaping hole behind them. "It's time to finish this, once and for all…"

* If you didn't already know, Mafia Land is an island established by the pooling of all of the Mafia family's money to build a place where they can all go to enjoy themselves and get a well deserved rest. Just thought I'd let you know in case you already didn't know.

And that's the end of that chapter! Sorry for the lateness, but the SanJapan comic con set me back a little… Now we're down to the final showdown between uncle and nephew. Who will win? You'll just have to wait until the next chapter! XD