Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! does not belong to me
Chapter 5
17 January 2015
Vongola HQ, Italy. 3:30 PM
Haru's reunion with Kyoko was not without tears. Her friend had lost a considerable amount of weight and had dark circles below the gentle eyes which had always expressed absolute naivety to the bad side of the world. Even then, Kyoko's eyes sparkled with a unique sort of determination as if she was entirely ignorant of what she was fighting for, but was fully convinced of a victory. It was pitiable and enviable all at once, and it broke Haru's heart to see it so evidently displayed in the character of her best friend.
"Ignorance is bliss," Reborn muttered on seeing the brunette's longing stare at Kyoko. Haru was currently staring down at the gang from the backyard balcony, far too preoccupied by the sight of Kyoko with Lambo and I-pin to notice the other infant approaching her. "It'll be easier for Kyoko-chan to continue the way she is now."
Haru Miura knew that. Kyoko was probably better off never knowing the explicit details of the mafia they so casually talked of in the past. Haru though, with all the love and concern she had for the friend she now grew to love as a sister, couldn't help but feel she owed Kyoko the truth. It wasn't fair for young girls like them to be whisked off to this completely unknown country, and it was infinitely worse for Kyoko because she was never given an explanation for it. Haru couldn't help but wonder: How on earth did her friends deny Sasagawa, the truth?
"Haru-chan is a very strong person," Reborn said as if he was reading the brunette's thoughts. "But not everyone can be like Haru-chan."
"Reborn…" Haru trailed not knowing how to reply to this. A part of her understood. A part of her didn't. It was confusing and clear, all at once. She glanced back briefly to Kyoko who was smiling from Lambo's childish antics. "Haru-chan just can't help thinking…that maybe, Kyoko-chan deserves to know the truth."
"But Haru-chan," Reborn remarked with an unbelievable tone of maturity. "Not everything a person deserves will do them good."
A gale of wind brushed over the features of our heroine. Kyoko and the others seemed to feel it too. Lambo and I-pin took the wind as a diversion to tackle down their older playmate in the softness of the green Bermuda grass. Kyoko laughed happily at the end of their small game 'tag' and the commencement of a miniature childish wrestling match. Haru brought her forefinger on her left eye's lower lid, never allowing a murmur of her cry to escape her lips, but failing greatly to conceal the falling tear.
Sometimes, it was these plain truths that could hurt us, simple beings, the most.
17 January 2015
Vongola HQ, 8:30 PM
Don Timoteo sat wordlessly inside the air-conditioned room which he had quietly christened as his first and last jail cell in this living world. In the privacy of his thoughts, he had sealed his fate inside this solemn chamber. He had committed his share of sins and crimes in the prime of his life, and now as he was facing the end, he was given a most merciful verdict. Through the peaceful passing days that had come and gone inside his mansion, the Don fell into a heavy nostalgic remembrance of the early years of his youth. His mind had played a montage of his most beloved memories, consisting of the countless souls who had made life less tragic.
Four faces were consistently visited in his visions—each of which, signified something great and precious in the old man's life.
The first belonged to his distant grandson, Tsuna Sawada, the future of the Vongola famiglia and the bearer of a century's worth of legacies. Don Timoteo had high hopes for him.
It would indeed be sad to bequeath innocent Sawada of his title without a formal ceremony. There would be guests, Don Timoteo was sure of it, in great numbers from even greater names. Tsuna and his guardians would certainly be dressed for the occasion—in suits, most probably, wearing their respective colors. It would be one of Timoteo's greatest regrets not to see the next generation take their rightful place. The aged Don would lie motionless inside a white casket, unmoving and breathless, before the best and worst members of the famiglia.
It was a sad thing to think of, that Tsuna should receive his office through a morose funeral, but Sawada would be crowned; and it was the only thing that truly mattered for a dying man—to know that one's life's work should not fall in unworthy hands.
The second belonged to Haruka—the angel sent to purge Timoteo of his ways only to unknowingly dig him further in the drudges of the mafia. Timoteo never regretted meeting her though. The short years she had spent under his protection had been one of the most worthy to relive. He would part willingly with all his valuables and possessions if it meant seeing her before his impending death, but even he knew opening the gates of heaven would be impossible for such a sinful man as him.
Those of Timoteo's closest acquaintances had done their best to console him of his lost in Haruka. You've done your best, they all would say, I wished I've done more, he'd reply in the silence of his restless soul.
The third and fourth belonged to Xanxus and Haru—both equally important and distant to him. Xanxus was the prodigal son whom Timoteo, regardless of all the harsh things that had been said and done, would always accept with the care and love of a father. The Don couldn't help but blame himself for his adopted son's ruin, but it was, after all, to be expected. The last days of a parent would always be centered on his child's welfare, and perhaps that was what inspired the Don to dream of a certain brunette whose mother had done him the greatest service for merely existing in his life.
Don Timeteo was a helpless man against the natural odds that came in the way of a dying soul. He held no control over the future, he would have to trust Sawada to uphold what the Vongola stood for, on the boy's own. He held no power over the past, regardless of how much he wanted to change it and bring Haruka back to life.
The present though was still within Timoteo's reach, and unlike Tsuna who was destined to the blessings and curses of the Vongola, unlike Haruka whose fate would always be regretted, Haru and Xanxus could still be saved.
17 January 2015
Vongola HQ, 10:55 PM
Colonello found it hard to swallow.
Dinner with the others had never been as challenging as tonight. The fork he held between his thumb and finger appeared unfamiliar. The taste of the cuisine, exceptional as it was with the nature of their guests, was bland inside his unappatized mouth.
Tsuna and the others had already eaten. It was ticking to eleven now, and the only ones left to dine were the adults who lived to forty and the infants who lived just as close. Several precautions were taken by security to assure the safety of the specialists. Koenig Ishmael Miura along with the newly-arrived Innocenti Henry Cervali had spent hours with the system's mainframe to ensure no identical "accidents" would ever happen again. The work was extensive. The effort was admirable. The environment that forced them to utilize the best of their talents under such limited extremes ought to earn the whole manor's respect.
Colonello couldn't help but feel small—which was ironic since he had been exhausting the newly modified ten-year bazooka.
Sitting across the famed scientists, as his normal aged self, the soldier felt unworthy and insignificant, callous and unrefined. His table manners were failing him. Meal etiquette was wanting. Twice had he dropped his spoon with an air of obvious clumsiness. On the the third, he forsook the tableware altogether, and opted for the Italian's way of dining. Conversation revolved around the commonalities, yet when handled by people of their caliber, one would think otherwise. Reborn had been talkative, which was a surprise in itself.
"You've always known, I suppose?" Koenig asked with the same tone of a teacher who had been asking the twentieth student the same unanswered question.
"On the contrary, I only knew in my recent return," Reborn replied without blinking.
The appearance of an adult Reborn had always given Colonello the chills. The mafiaso felt it proper to appear before their guests this way; the blond soldier wasn't the one to argue. Reborn, with all the glory of an Italian hitman, appeared foreign to him. It was the smile though, that accompanied the handsomely sharpened face that finally forced the blond man out of his seat. Colonello bowed like a yeoman to his royalties, and with palpable awkwardness, he excused himself from the table.
"You've barely eaten." Innocenti noticed.
"I'm already full." The ex-combusin member forced up a smile.
On the contrary, Colonello was empty. He felt himself sinking inside a bottomless pit in his stomach. The void was deep and dark. Oblivion was all that was left for the fallen. Our blond hero feared it with a child-like terror.
The farce was inhumanly cruel—how the presence of the best made the great question if they were any good.
Replies to Reviews:
Obscure stranger: Thank you! Haha. I hope you liked the newest chapter :)
Greeby: I don't mind grammatical mistakes! I hope you don't mind mine. (^_^') I'm afraid to say that I update this story irregularly since finding the inspiration to write for KHR isn't as easy as it used to be. Still though, I hoped you enjoy this!
xNightDreamerx: I love you too, man. (No Homo XD) Thanks for surviving my ridiculously slow updates. I'm not much of a HaruxTsuna shipper but I'm glad to know I did some justice in that scene. I was really scared I wouldn't get that part right so yeah, enjoy the feels. :3
icykloud: Well, all good things come to an end to make way for the better ones, right? Enjoy.
Anon: Thank you for reading. The fandom needs more badass Haru-s. XD
Guest (1): I still have a lot to learn, I'm afraid. Thank you for reading!
nevertheless: OMG, I'm flattered. XD HAHA. Romance will be icing to the cake.
Iris Irene: Thank you so much for reading. I was worried that I wouldn't get the character-transformation (if this word actually exists) part right. Hope you liked this chapter! :)
breaker 99: I'm glad to know you enjoyed it.
CordiallyYours: The reality is far more bitter than fiction, I'm afraid. XD Thanks for reading!
Anymini: Thank you! :)