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I don't own KHR.
"You're ready for this?" G asked as he turned to him, his voice serious though his face was full of compassion. Hayato just stared at him for a second as he felt someone squeeze his hand beside him. The silver-haired boy turned his head and saw Tsuna sitting beside him, giving him a reassuring smile while he kept on squeezing Hayato's hand. Hayato looked around the limo, and saw all the faces of his family, who either gave him a warm smile or a supporting nod.
"No one will blame you if you decided that you wanted to come another day," Giotto assured him kindly as the other Vongola adults (Knuckle, Elena, and Lampo) that came with them looked either sympathetic or understanding.
Feeling a bit braver, a bit more ready, Hayato took a deep breath and let it out.
"I know but...I'm ready," Hayato finally replied as he turned to face G, squeezing Tsuna's hand tightly back while he kept his firm grip on the two sets of flowers in his other hand. "It's about time I've made this visit."
"Okay," G accepted with a nod of his own. Then, being the one closest to the door, placed his hand on the handle. "Then let's go."
He opened the black door with a push and swung it wide open. They all then climbed out of the car and when Knuckle, who was the last one out, closed the door behind him, Hayato looked at the new surroundings. Or rather, familiar surroundings.
They were currently on a gravel driveway and while the grass and flowers edging the driveway were beautiful and thriving, the mansion several feet in front of them was not. What was once a majestic and whole building, now had broken windows and a front door that had been split into several splintering pieces. There were pieces of broken furniture lying on the front lawn along with fallen shingles. Hayato could even see spots on the mansion where it clearly got scorched before someone put the fire out.
But despite the obvious changes, Hayato still recognized the mansion where he had spent the first seven years of his life.
"Chaos, it's about time you all arrived," Reborn said, who had been standing in front of the front steps this entire time. "You are aware that punctuality is a trait of a good mafia boss, right?"
"Oi," G protested, his lips curled into a near snarl. But before he could defend his boss and friend further, someone else beat him to it.
"But whatever happened to being fashionably late?" Giotto quipped with a smirk, which slowly evaporated when Reborn glared at him. Then he sighed. "In all seriousness though, traffic wasn't great."
"That's why you leave early Primo," Reborn just rebuked as he turned around.
"We did! Ten minutes to be exact!"
"The quickest way to the cemetary would be to go through the mansion and go out through one of the doors at the back," Reborn informed them as he walked up the stairs, apparently ignoring Giotto's defense. "And before one of you asks me yet again, the mansion is perfectly safe and what was the word G used? Ah yes, clean."
"But there's extremely furniture on the-" Ryohei was about to point out before Knuckle quickly plastered his hand over his mouth.
"Thank you Reborn," Knuckle answered as tried to kept his expression neutral as he looked at Reborn's back, his hand still on Ryohei's mouth. "For taking the trouble in making sure our path would be clear of any...ultimate obstacles."
"Yeah, let's just hope his opinion of 'clean' is the same as ours," Lampo grumbled as Knuckle finally took his hand off Ryohei's lips (who was confused before he literally just shrugged it off). "Because I rather keep the chocolate cake I had after lunch in my stomach thank you very much-whoa!"
Lampo, who had just nearly dodged a flying small piece of wood, looked to Reborn in triumph before looking horrified at the bloodthirsty grin on Reborn's face.
"Well, well, you have improved," Reborn praised him half-heartedly as he turned back around and continued walking like he hadn't just thrown a chunk of the front door at the man. "I can't wait to see just how much you have improved in our training tomorrow."
"Oh crap," Lampo whined as he came to a stop. "I completely forgot about that."
"You'll live, I promise," Elena assured him as she consolingly patted his back. Lambo, who was currently being held by Chrome, reached over to give Lampo's arm three pats. Lampo, who had looked like he had just been handed his death sentence, gave the baby a small, brave smile.
"So this was your home huh?" Mukuro asked him as the last of their group finally entered the mansion. Instead of answering, Hayato looked around as he quietly took in all the broken furniture, glass, and rubble that were pushed to the side of the entrance hall. It was like someone had been sweeping the floor but couldn't be bothered with a trashcan so they just pushed all the debris to the walls.
But since there was a clear path ahead of them and there were no signs of any dead bodies or blood on the walls (Hayato may be nine, but he was mafia-born. He knew what they really meant by clean), Hayato wasn't going to complain.
"Where was your room?" Mukuro continued, who had either become too impatient for Hayato to answer or hadn't been looking for one in the first place.
"It was on the third floor," Hayato answered softly, his mind in the past when his father and sister were still alive and many people had made their way through this hall.
"Oo, let's go check it out!" Takeshi exclaimed with an excited smile.
"Unfortunately, that's not possible," Reborn who was still walking ahead of them. "All the stairs are broken and inaccessible right now."
"Wow, you really did go to town here didn't you?" Lampo asked as he kicked a small stray piece of gray rubble back to the nearest wall, making Lambo cheer.
"Hey, what did you expect when you tell a lover of chaos to clean house?" Reborn commented right back as he led them through Hayato's old home.
"Nothing less than perfection," Giotto quickly appeased him before he turned to the kids. "Perhaps we can visit Hayato's old room when things are less...cluttered and broken."
"Alright," Hayato almost muttered as he just kept on walking, his eyes focused straight ahead of him. While he understood Takeshi's curiosity and Giotto's kindness, he really didn't have a desire to visit his old room. It had been about two years since he had escaped, and there was no way Martina hadn't removed any sign that he had slept there during that time.
And also...if just walking through this hallway was making him feel this bittersweet (with a slight emphasis on the bitter part) then Hayato really didn't want to experience seeing his old room again.
"You're okay?" Tsuna whispered beside him, looking seconds away from grasping Hayato's hand again. Hayato felt his face softened at his brother's genuine concern and insightfulness.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Hayato assured him with a small, warm smile. And he was. Because while it felt strange to see the place where he had many happy memories this destroyed, this wasn't his home anymore.
The next few, if not several, minutes passed by with little to no talking. Though Hayato did notice how Kyoya give Reborn the I-want-bite-you-to-death-because-you're-strong look when they passed a staircase that had a whole section missing.
Then finally, they arrived at the door that Reborn had been talking about.
"Alright, we're in the home stretch now," Reborn told them as he opened the door and walked right out. When he walked outside and saw how green the grass was and how the flowers were in full bloom, Hayato sighed as the bittersweet feeling in his heart grew a little less bitter.
At least Reborn managed to keep some part of his earlier childhood intact.
"Wow, what pretty flowers," Chrome said in pure awe as Lambo reached out towards a passing blue butterfly as they entered the garden, complete with a stone-paved path.
"Yeah, at least the Ricci knew how to hire a good gardener," Elena agreed as she bent over to sniff one of the red roses on a nearby rose bush. Hayato couldn't help but wince, remembering when the gardener had requested that he surrender himself on that fateful night.
Right at the same time that Hayato had winced at the frankly unhappy memory, Reborn, who had turned his head to the side, pulled a grimace. It disappeared as quickly as it came, but it made Hayato wonder if Reborn had an actual confrontation with the gardener. As well as what had happened to make the strongest hitman to make a face like that.
"Alright," Reborn said as he suddenly stopped in front of a stone arch decorated with flowery vines. Then he pointed at a point beyond the arch indicating the end of the beautiful garden. "There it is."
Hayato looked at where Reborn was pointing and saw a bunch of tombstones standing erect in the distance.
The time to pay his respects to his father and sister had finally arrived.
"They're right next to each other, in the front row," Reborn continued as he turned around to face Hayato. Hayato could have sworn there was some kind of soft emotion in Reborn's eyes before it vanished right as Reborn stepped aside, his small stint as a tour guide now over.
"...Do you want us to come with you or do you want us to stay here?" G asked, his voice kind yet neutral, suggesting he really was fine with whatever Hayato decided.
"What kind of question is that? Of course we're going with him!" Mukuro declared, sounding truly offended. Mukuro looked like he was about to say more when Elena placed her hand on his shoulder.
"I know how you feel, but Hayato might want some alone time with his family, that's all," Elena said softly.
"She's right," Kyoya added when Mukuro looked a bit conflicted. When Mukuro's expression changed to one that suggested that he understood, Kyoya then turned to face Hayato. "We're fine with whatever you decide Hayato."
"Extremely fine," Ryohei agreed with a nod. "As long as you remember that we're extremely here for you, I'm extremely good."
"Me too," Tsuna chimed in while Takeshi and Chrome nodded. Even Lambo nodded, though whether it was because he was just copying Chrome or he actually understood what was going on, Hayato wasn't sure. He was comforted all the same though.
"...I think I want to see them by myself first," Hayato decided. "Then you guys can come over and see them too when I'm done."
"That sounds good to me!" Takeshi exclaimed with a smile on his face.
"We'll be here whenever you're ready for us," Chrome said as she jostled Lambo a bit, making the baby giggle in delight.
"Right here," Tsuna added as he nodded for extra emphasis. Hayato couldn't help but smile. There was still a part of him that was reluctant to see his father and sister's graves, like if he saw their tombstones, it would really hit home the fact that they were dead and buried. He wasn't sure what he should even say to them, or if he needed to say anything to them at all.
But Hayato also knew that it was going to be okay, because he wasn't alone anymore.
"Thanks guys, really," Hayato thanked his family wholeheartedly, causing his siblings to smile warmly at him. Then he inhaled deeply before exhaling just as deeply. "Well, here goes. See you guys in a bit."
"Right back at you," Mukuro replied as Hayato walked towards the Ricci cemetary, whose spots had been perserved for the immediate members of the Ricci family ever since the famiglia's creation.
"Don't feel any need to rush, take all the time you need," Giotto assured him while Knuckle nodded.
"Yeah...I guess I'll survive if we have dinner a little late," Lampo admitted in a low voice as he turned his head to the side so that Hayato couldn't get a good look at his face.
"Of course we can," Elena cofirmed as she placed a hand on Lampo's back, her blue eyes full of kindness and certainity as she gazed at Hayato.
Hayato just smiled as he kept walking, though he couldn't help but nod when he saw Reborn tip his fedora at him. However, just when he finally passed the arch, he heard someone walking behind him, making the nine-year-old turn around.
"I'm just going with you until we're halfway there," G assured him as he caught up to Hayato. "That way, when you're ready for the others, you can just wave to me and I can signal to them that they're good to come over."
"Oh, okay," Hayato accepted, who saw that it would be much more practical if he just waved to G versus going back to the garden to retrieve his family. Without another word Hayato continued walking, though this time with his adult doppelganger by his side.
"Um...G?" Hayato asked quietly and a bit nervously as the cemetary grew closer and closer.
"Yes, what is it?" G replied just as quietly without a break in his stride. Hayato managed to stop himself from taking a deep breath before he continued.
"It's...I'm not changing my mind or anything like that but...how exactly do I pay my respects to them? Do I tell them what has happened since they...I last saw them? Or should I just sit there? I mean, it's not like they're actually there..."
"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean they can't hear you," G gently cut in as he came to a stop. Hayato stopped as well, his green eyes focused on the man as his ears took in G's answer. "There are many things in this world that many would say were impossible, like dying will flames."
G then raised his hand a bit so that Hayato could see the red flames on his ring clearly.
"But as you can see, they do exist," G continued as his flames were extinguished. "So who says that your father and sister won't hear you if you talk to their graves? Of course, that's only if you feel the need to talk. If you feel like just sitting in front of them in silence would be enough, I'm sure they would be just fine and happy with that too."
"So...I just do me huh?" Hayato asked as he pondered on G's words.
"Yeah, just do whatever feels right to you," G clarified with a nod. Then he sighed. "Well, this is where I planned on stopping."
"Okay," Hayato accepted with a nod as he started to walk away but he only took a few steps before he was overcome with a desire. Quickly deciding to just give in and that it was the least G deserved after he had done for him, Hayato swiftly went back to G and hugged him. Tightly.
"Thank you," Hayato muttered, his words muffled since he was currently digging his face into G's chest. A second passed before Hayato heard a sigh and felt a pair of strong arms returning the hug.
"No problem kid," G replied warmly as he patted Hayato's head. They stayed like that for a second before Hayato let go of G and stepped back. After a nod towards a smiling G, who nodded back, Hayato turned and continued his trek to his father and sister's tombstones.
When he arrived at the family cemetary a few minutes later, Hayato went straight to the front row after a few more seconds of carefully searching, he found them.
They looked just like the other gray stone tombstones in the cemetary, but while his father's tombstone just had his name, his birth and death date, and a short epitaph (beloved father and Don), Bianchi's had flowers etched onto her tombstone (her epitaph was just beloved daughter).
Hayato gazed at them for a few seconds before he knelt on both knees in front of them, his heart full of emotion. He then reached forward and placed a bouquet of flowers in front of each grave. After he sat back, he sighed.
"Hey," Hayato started softly as he gripped his knees slightly tightly. "So...sorry that I couldn't come earlier but Martina was in control until very recently and we had to wait until Reborn and the Vongola were sure that the Ricci famiglia had been totally demolished. And then we had to wait until I was better and when I finally was we had to decide whether we should visit Takeshi's dad's grave or you two first. I...we debated about that for a little while, I was willing to let Takeshi go and visit his dad because his grave was closer but then Takeshi argued that I should go since I almost died and since Asari had stuff to do anyway...I relented."
"Not that I didn't want to visit you or anything like that," Hayato assured them quickly, a bit afraid that he might have offended his father and sister, if they really were listening. "I just...I don't know...was just trying to be a good sibling. Like you were Bianchi."
Then Hayato gripped his knees tighter.
"Bianchi...when I first heard that you had...I...was so angry. At Martina, at the Ricci famiglia, at the strangers I overheard the news from, the world, and...and you. You said that you were gonna be okay, that the worse that was gonna happen to you was being grounded. But...you died. You died because of me and I hated myself for that. I hated myself for not going back that night, for leaving you to die, and for wishing that I wasn't alone because I thought that after everything, being alone was what I deserved."
Hayato wiped some stray tears away from his face before he continued.
"But then I got caught and sent to the orphanage which is where...I met Tsuna. He saved me. Then I met the others and they saved me too. They all made me realize that I do deserve to live and be happy and...that it was okay to have a new family. It hasn't exactly been easy, definitely not at first but...it was all worth it. Now I'm safe, my family is safe, and we're with people who are willing not only to protect us, but also to care for us. So..."
Then Hayato bent forward so that his forehead and the palms of his hands were touching the ground.
"Thank you. Thank you for loving me and for protecting me. Thank you for making me swear that I would live, for telling me that you were glad that I was born. Because..."
Hayato then lifted his head, with a new fresh set of tears in his green eyes.
"Because I am so grateful to be alive." Then with a watery but grateful smile, Hayato sat back up and wiped his eyes once again. Feeling very warm and peaceful inside, Hayato then turned his head and when he saw that G was looking in his general direction, waved at him. When G consquently turned around and waved his arm, Hayato faced the tombstones again.
"So if you don't mind, which I doubt, I want you to meet them. My new family...no, the rest of our family. You're gonna love them. I just know it."
Oh Hayato...they already do.
So I have to warn you...the next chapter is gonna be the last official chapter. I will explain more what I mean by official in the next chapter but yes, this story is coming to a close. Kind of. Again, I will explain more later.
Now with that out of the way, what did you guys think of this chapter, which was the end of Hayato's story arc? Please leave me your thoughts in a review on the way out and I will update shortly. Until then, see ya and have a good day or night! And stay safe!