KHR: Children of the Sky
Target 0.3: Kotaro Miura
"Koe, come on." Haru sighed as she looked at the young boy who was sitting in the car. The two had just arrived in Italy and were in front of the huge mansion. After five years, Haru wanted to come back to check on her friends and her late BFF's children. However, the seven-year-old boy was not having it.
"I hate it here! Let's go back home!" The small version of Haru yelled as he hugged the stuffed fox she made him. "Everyone here sounds funny and I hate it! You even start talking like them and it's weird! I hate this, Mom!"
"Hahi! What do I do…?" She looked at the driver who only gave her a small, yet unsure smile. Since this is his first time outside of Japan, he wasn't used to hearing the Italian language.
"Haru-nee!"
The woman blinked at the voice and turned to see two familiar faces. "Ah, Takashi-san, Lambo-kun! Long time no see~!" She smiled as the smaller teen rushed to hug her. She looked at the boy, seeing his fluffy hair made her melt with emotions and memories from their past. Haru even looked at Takashi and he looked more muscular and taller than what she remembered. "Hello, Takashi-san. Have you been well?"
"Yeah, I see you grew even more beautiful these past years. "He grinned. "Someone is in for a big shock."
"Eh?" She blinked, but her attention went to Lambo who pulled away from the hug. "Do you agree, Lambo-kun?"
"Yeah, it's been a way too long-ack!" Lambo let go of the woman and fell back into Takashi's arms. Little Koe had jumped and kicked Lambo in the face, the boy looking very upset. "What's with the brat?!"
"Don't touch her!" The boy glared at the two men before them. "Don't touch my mom, you two perverts!"
"Hahi! Kotaro!" Haru rushed to her son's side, holding him back. "You can't do that and don't call them that. These two are Mama's friends." She looked at the two men and smiled. "Koe, this is Takashi Yamamoto, my classmate in high school. And that's Lambo. I used to take care of him when Mama was in middle school."
"Haru, he's…" Takashi asked, speaking Japanese so the child could understand. "Is he by chance his son…?"
"Takashi-san, Lambo-kun." Haru looked at them seriously. "This is my son, Kotaro Miura." She told them in Italian, shocking them both. "His father abandoned us, so he is no longer in my family. I am his mother and his father."
"Haru-nee…" Lambo blinked and then hid behind Takashi when the boy glared at him. "What's with him…?"
"Why are you all still here at the door?"
"Eh?" Kotaro blinked as they looked behind the two guardians to see a silver-haired man approaching them with a cigarette in his mouth. He felt his mother's hand tighten on his shoulder and looked to see her heartbroken face, shocking him. "Mom…?"
"Hayato-nii, we were just catching up and meeting Haru-nee's son," Lambo explained as Takashi rushed to grab the luggage. "He's a bit aggressive but he's not a bad kid, maybe."
Hayato looked at Haru, who had picked up her son in her arms and held him close so he wouldn't see her face clearly. He saw the boy's face and nodded. "Good. He doesn't look shit like that asshole of a father he has."
Kotaro blinked at the comment as the man took out the cig and let out the smoke. "You knew my father…? He's not here?" He asked, shocking Haru.
"No, and if he was, I would kill him." Hayato dropped the cig and stepped on it. "Come on. It's getting late."
"U-Um, Hayato!" Haru rushed to grab his sleeve, getting his attention. "Well, I…" Stuck with her words as her cheeks began to burn. Shaking her head, she looked at him and smiled. "Tsuna-san, is he okay?"
The silver-head man only closed his eyes. "No, no one is okay. It's been a rough five years. Let's go." He walked away and her grip on his sleeve loosened as he walked away.
"Yes…" Haru sighed. She looked at her confused son and smiled. "Koe-kun will sleep with Haru, right?" she asked him, smiling.
"Yeah." The small boy replied. "I want to protect Mom, so I'll sleep with her."
"Thank you, my little fox."
…
"Mom, do you like that Hayato guy?" Koe asked as his mother dried his hair. It was the next day and the boy had just finished his bath. The two were sharing a room with a private bathroom for them to use. The small boy was surprised by the luxurious building and rooms, but he was unsure about the trip. After all, a man had mailed his mother a letter that made her want to come here. He thought it was to meet his birth father at first but now he thinks it's for another reason. "Is he going to be my new father?"
"Hahi?!" Haru almost dropped the hair dryer and blinked at her son, her face red. "Wh-What?! No!" Looking bored, the boy turned to his mother and stared. "Hahi! Stop that! Who taught you these things, Koe?!"
"Grandpa." He replied as if it was a natural thing to say.
"Geez, Dad!" Haru sighed and then looked at her son. "Listen, I came to check up on a friend of mine. I'm not coming here to get married."
After staring in silence for another minute the boy looked away. "Too bad. I liked that guy." He mumbled to himself and then looked at his mother who was fanning herself. "You apparently like him too." He sighed and then thought about her words. "So, who is this friend you're checking on?" He asked in a louder voice.
Haru looked at her son and smiled. "Let's go see him." She extended her hand for him to grab and they walked out of the room.
As they walked she remembered when she discovered her pregnancy. She was in her last year in college and her boyfriend at the time was surprised to hear the news. He shocked her when he said he wasn't ready for a baby and left. Seeing that she was the only soon-to-be parent, many told her to not have the child. However, Haru hated the thought of losing her baby and decided to have him. Her child, named Kotaro, became her new reason to live. However, she was still heartbroken from her ex and scared that he would come to take her son away, so Haru asked Hibari to cut her ex off from her life, gaining his protection. At the time, Kyoko was there to help her with the heartbreak and even the pregnancy since she had experienced it before, having two sons of her own.
Actually, Kyoko was the one who would call her every day to check on Haru and the baby. She sent many gifts and hand-me-downs for baby Kotaro. Haru's father, Haruyoshi, was happy to know his daughter had amazing friends to help her. Kyoko and Tsuna were her biggest supporters, but then… the accident happened.
"Kyoko…" She whispered and the small boy blinked at his mother.
Kotaro didn't know Kyoko too well since she passed away when he was small, but every time her name was mentioned or even when his mother was doing household work, she would look sad and sometimes cry. However, if he asked her about it, she would smile at him and put on a brave face. Knowing this, Koe could only hold her hand and pretend not to see her sadness.
"Yes?"
The two Miura's stopped walking at the sound of a girl's voice. Koe turned around and blinked at the small girl standing behind him. She had short honey blonde hair in a short bob. Framing her face were two longer bunches of hair that were tied with a bow on each side. She had chocolate brown eyes and a smile that made her look innocent. Behind her was a Chinese-looking girl with long braids.
"No, Kiyomi." The teenager got down to the girl's height and smiled. "She wasn't calling for you." She looked at Haru and smiled. "Haru-nee, long time no see."
"I-Pin!" Haru walked over and hugged the teenager. "How have you been. You look so cute now."
"Thank you, Haru-nee." The girl giggled. "This is Tsuna-nii's only daughter, Kiyomi. She's a good girl and I'm acting as her personal guard."
"Hahi! You have such an important job now." Haru chuckled and then looked at the small girl. "You're Kiyomi, right? You look just like your mother." She patted the girl's head and smiled at the small girl. "I can't believe I'm meeting you like this. I'm Haru Miura, your mother's best friend."
"Are you here looking for Kyoko?"
"Eh?" Koe blinked as the girl smiled at his mother. "What?"
"Ah, do you mean her grave? I already went yesterday." Haru smiled. "You all put some pretty flowers there. Huh, Kiyomi-chan?" The woman blinked as the girl removed the bows from her hair.
"Haru-chan~!" Kiyomi smiled at Haru and made the two oldest shudder. "How have you been? I've been doing great lately. Yesterday, Takeo was covered in mud and Tsu-kun tried to clean him up but ended up getting mud all over himself. In the end, Takeo and Tsu-kun just ended up playing in the mud together. Reborn-kun was mad at Tsu-kun for being late for a meeting, but…" The girl continued the story and reminded Haru that what the girl was saying was from Kyoko's letter she had sent her days before the accident.
"Kiyomi-chan…" Haru blinked as she tried to make the girl stop. "That's enough, so please can you tell me about yourse-!" Kiyomi's next words made her whole body shiver.
"But never mind that, how's Kotaro? Aww, I want to see him so badly and pinch his cheeks." Kiyomi recited. "You said in your last letter that he started to walk more comfortably. I can't wait to see him. Tsu-kun and I are planning to fly over there this year for my birthday. By the way, we decided on a name for her, Kiyomi. Tsu-kun came up with it and it's so cute. What do you think? I wonder if she'll get along with Kotaru when she's born. I hope he can watch over her for us."
"Stop…" Haru began to tear up.
"Remember when he slapped my hand over and over when he thought I was going to take his toy fox away?"
"Stop… This isn't right…"
"Ah~! His pout was just too cute that I had to pinch his cheeks~!"
"Stop!" Haru hugged herself, stepping away from the girl. "Please!"
Kotaro ran over and slapped Kiyomi's cheek, making her stop. "Quit it! Can't you see that my mom doesn't like what you're saying?!"
Kiyomi looked at the boy, holding her cheek as I-Pin rushed to her side. "What…?" Ignoring the two women talking, Kiyomi looked at the boy. "She didn't like it?"
"Of course not!" Koe told her. "My mom hates it when I read her letters from Kyoko so don't read your mom's letters!"
"But… I don't know her." The small girl began to tear up. "How am I supposed to be the New Kyoko if I don't know what she's like? I need to read everything she wrote, listen to her voice in videos, and smile like her in her photos."
"What?" Koe blinked as the girl looked at the ground. "Why do you need to be your mom?"
"Papa won't play with me because Mama left, so if I become Mama then Papa will be happy and play with me and my brothers." Her words made Haru realize how lonely the girl was.
"I-Pin?" Haru looked at the teenager who only looked pained. "What does she mean?"
"Tsuna-nii hasn't been caring for his children since Kyoko-san left this world." I-Pin held her hands. "Somewhere, Kiyomi-chan got the idea if she became Kyoko, then her father would look her way. I don't know how to help her and Tsuna-nii hasn't given me orders about this."
"Then who cares about your Papa!" Kotaro spoke up, shocking them. He reached over and took the ribbons from Kiyomi's hands and tied the girl's hair as she had it. "I don't have a dad and I don't need him. If you need a papa then my mom can be your papa." He smiled at the girl. "Mom will like you if you're you. Being you is easier than copying a person that isn't here, right?"
"Koe-kun…" Haru blinked at his words.
"Plus, I think your Mama would want you to smile because you're happy." Koe patted the girl's head and then held her hand. "So let's go eat some tasty food and then play all day!"
"You'll play with me?" Kiyomi asked, shocked.
"Yeah!" Kotaro smiled. "I'll play with you until your Papa comes to play with you!" He wiped her tears, making her feel warm inside. "So don't cry. I don't like crybabies."
Haru almost cried herself as the girl gave him a smile that resembled her father's old smile from when he was in middle school. "Yeah! Thank you, Onii-chan!" Kiyomi laughed.
"I-Pin," Haru smiled at the teenager. "I'm going to go get a certain Dame-Father real quick."
Four Years Later:
"Koe, the train is taking off soon. Are you sure you don't need anything?" Hayato asked as he looked at the young boy who was sitting on the train with his window down. "You haven't even said goodbye to the Young Miss." He sighed.
"Kiyomi already knows I'm leaving." Koe smiled at the gray-haired man. "Hey, when I come back, will my name be changed to Gokudera?"
"Hah?!" Hayato blushed. "Don't be stupid! Your mother is the Tenth's Second wife!"
"Ugh, what a suck-up." Koe sighed, getting the man angry. "I know you two like each other. Just hurry up and fix the whole thing so my mom can be happy with the guy she likes."
"Your mother is happy where she is." Hayato sighed, wondering where the boy came up with such thoughts. "Besides, I've taught you what you need to know on how to control your flames so you aren't my student anymore."
"Can I be your son? Adopt me~!" Koe reached out his hands to the man that slapped them away.
"Listen to me, Brat!" Hayato sighed and then looked at the brunette, seeing that resembled his mother. "You're going to be training under Mukuro now. He's different than me, so be careful."
"Yeah." Koe smiled and then he jumped at the sound of the train horn. "Ah, it's time to go."
"KOE!"
Both males turned to see a girl that looked younger than Koe, running toward them. She was wearing a blouse with a dark brown skirt that had gold embroidery. Her shoulder-length hair was down and she had a white ribbon as her headband.
Koe started to regret not being able to talk to her before he left and wanted to, but the train began to move. "Kiyomi!" He reached for her hand and grabbed it, helping her run along the moving train. "Sorry, I just didn't want to see you cry!" He explained.
"Koe!" Kiyomi tried to speak as she ran. "I got nominated… to be Vongola… Eleventh!" This news shocked him. "So… when you come back… I choose you… to be my Storm!"
Tears flooded his eyes as he tried to wipe them. "Yeah… I'll become stronger so I can protect you and control these flames! I will never ever hurt you ever again!"
"Promise?" Kiyomi asked as she began to lose to the moving train, using her pinkie to grab his pinkie finger.
"Yeah, promise." He smiled as their pinkies slipped. Seeing her trip and fall, he gasped. "Kiyomi!"
The small Vongola got to her feet and showed the boy a face filled with tears. "You promised, okay?! You will definitely come back for me, Koe!" She yelled as Gokudera and a couple of other men from the Vongola household came rushing to her side.
Kotaro sat in his seat and was shocked when he saw everyone cheering for him in the cart. Blushing, he closed the window and opened his book. "Kiyomi… I will get stronger… and I'll never, ever make you cry like that again. I promise… I will become your guardian."