I walked out of the car and into the entrance. Yakyuu-baka still wouldn't give up, "Hayato, why don't we just come back in the morning?"

The lack of my reply seemed to have answered the question. Yet, being Yakyuu-baka, he tried again, "At least, can't I go with you?"

I snorted and cursed him aloud. One good thing about Yakyuu-baka is that he respects other people's wishes. He'd wait for me to come out till the next day if needed, sure. But he wouldn't go as far as tailing me if I were to say I don't want him to come along. There had been exceptions for this behavior, of course. Our first fight with Gamma was one, but nevertheless, I was pretty sure this is not one of them. His fluffy, soft heart wouldn't dare to interfere with my sudden -suspected to be emotional- decision to visit my late wife's tomb.

The walk towards Baka-onna's grave was unexpectedly full of surprises.

For one, I didn't think that I'd remember the way to her grave. I didn't even notice how I made it here. I felt as if one supposedly similar branch of every intersections and T-junctions of the cemetery complex always stood out somehow.

I was also surprised, well, not much, though, that the grave was well taken care of. The blanket of grass covering the mound was evenly trimmed, as if someone regularly come and cut it. On top of it, there were layers of varying breed of flowers. It was evident that visitors have been constantly arriving, most likely Aneki and Baka-onna's girlfriends.

I was well aware that, judging from the amount of petals, of all the people expected to visit and spread flowers on Baka-onna's grave more than just at the funeral, I was probably the only one that haven't fulfilled the deed. It was my first time here since.

Sasagawa Hana and Chrome Dokuro must have already came, at least once. I-pin and Aneki are most probably regular guests at this graveyard. Sawada Kyoko would surely go through typhoons in order to satisfy her newly found ritual to routinely offer her resting bestfriend a few minutes of company, but even the saint-like wife of Juudaime wouldn't think of expressing her sincere affection by paying her respect this late at night.

So my jaw dropped to see him squatting beside Baka-onna's grave, and past midnight, too! I raised my voice in suspicion, "What in the world are you doing at my wife's grave at this hour, Aho-ushi?"

The currently hornless, stupidest cow brat in the whole mafia world turned his face at me with his flat, sleepy expression, "Gokudera?"

"Did you get lost or something?" I started worrying, he didn't even call me Aho-dera tonight, "Are you okay? You must have hit your head again playing with the new bazookas the Bovinos sent, didn't you, Aho-ushi? You idiot.."

Lambo sneezed.

I-pin blinked, "Lambo? Are you sick? I told you not to eat too much shaved ice, didn't I?"

A pout grew on the young man's face as he reached for his cow-print handkerchief, "It wasn't too much. I ate just as much as I usually did."

The couple argued some more in front of the fireplace lighting their room at the Vongola Mansion.

My bandage has turned red, begging to be replaced. I removed it absentmindedly. I felt blood gushing through my veins as the firm band loosened with every loop I pulled off. It didn't take long until a thin stream of blood formed from the opening in my scarlet-stained forefinger.

"You're bleeding," Aho-ushi stated.

I rolled my eyes, "Obviously."

"Not really," Aho-ushi spoke back, "Not for you, anyway. Ever since you were a kid."

I halted, "What the hell are you talking about, Aho-ushi?"

"Your wounds," the babbling guy pointed a finger towards Baka-onna's gravestone, "They were not even close to obvious in your eyes, before she started making you notice them properly."

"Hahi? Hayato-kun? Are you injured?"

Her concerned voice sprung from the back of my head.

"That's not good, Hayato-kun! If Tsuna-san sees you like this, he will be worried, desu!"

She was.. the one who made me see the obvious?

I stroke my hair, battling an emerging fuzziness. I didn't predict that coming here would affect me this much. As I dragged my body to lean on the cold marble tombstone, my eyes unintentionally caught the sight of Aho-ushi again.

Obvious?

Were there other things that are obvious to everyone but me?

"Hayato's not fine at all, is he?" Tsuna's voice was as gloomy as the raining sky outside.

The beautiful woman across his desk shook her head, "Isn't that obvious?"

Tsuna sighed heavily, hopeless, "Where is Shamal, anyway? He's already two hours late. I can't wait much longer," he checked on his watch, "I have an appointment with Hibari-san later."

Bianchi shrugged grumpily, "I couldn't reach his phone."

"By the way, Tsuna," the other man in the room wiped the hilt of his sword with a cloth as he spoke, "It has been bugging me. Why did you send Hayato off on a mission immediately after the funeral? I just don't get it."

The boss of Vongola seemed confused, "I did what?"

"The mission," the wiping stopped, "The one that gave him the cut?"

"I.. wasn't the one who gave him the order. Actually, I recall that Hayato had already completed all his compulsory missions from before the day Haru was murdered. So the week after the funeral I just didn't assign him any new mission to allow him some time to grieve," Tsuna's eyebrows fell, "I thought the mission that got him into this mess was an urgent request from Ryouhei-senpai? Nobody else were available since a week's worth of Hayato's workload had to be split between us all, and it took me, Senpai, and Hana cooped up in the mansion the whole week to just get Kyoko to smile again. It was brutal."

Yamamoto shook his head, "No. I asked around. That's why I was sure that it was you."

"Hiee?" the Don squeaked, the habits of his younger self resurfacing, "Then who made him did it?"

"Didn't my little brother write you a report? Details of the mission should be in it, right?" suggested Bianchi impatiently, "Haven't you read the report, Tsunayoshi?"

Tsuna gulped in fear, "We-well, I was panicking over his finger, so I-"

"Just look for it already," Bianchi groaned a groan that made even Vongola's number one man pray for the safety of his meals.

"Yes ma'am," Tsuna abruptly dug his horrifyingly tall mountain of unread files. His rain guardian walked over to help him.

"Got it," announced Yamamoto after half an hour of flying papers and frustrated sobs. He waved the brown folder to Bianchi and Tsuna, then he opened it on the way to his seat.

"Finally!" Tsuna threw his body on his chair, relieved, "So.. Who asked Hayato to do the task, Takeshi?"

Bianchi put her teacup down, her gaze fixed on her brother's sworn rival, "And who would be such an urgent target anyway?"

Not a word went out of Yamamoto's mouth.

"Takeshi?" Tsuna called, his hyper intuition tingling.

Carefully, Yamamoto handed his friend the report, "The mission was to kill Miura's-" he shook his head, "I mean.. Gokudera Haru's.. kidnapper and murderer."

Bianchi's eyes narrowed, "What?"

Yamamoto's face was as white as a sheet, "And Hayato requested the revenge hunt himself."

A/N - Glossary:

Aneki: big sister, the way gokudera calls bianchi

Aho-ushi: stupid cow, the nickname that gokudera made up for lambo

Aho-dera: stupidera, the nickname that lambo made up for gokudera