Disclamer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn belongs to Akira Amano. This is a work of fanfiction, not for profit.
The sun was shining brightly that day; it was going to be a long tiring hot summer day, one, which he will never forget.
A young raven haired boy ran through the lively roads of Namimori, looking at his watch, his eyes widened. 'I'm late, I'm late! He's definitely angry now!'
Gokudera Hayato stood like a guard at the door of the Sawada estate smoking a cigarette, harboring a grumpy expression.
"Hayato, he's coming; there's no need for you to agitate yourself like this." Bianchi said as she approached him.
"He's late!" The bomber growled, "We're going to miss the beginning of the game!"
Just as the older sibling was about to respond, footsteps were heard and Hayato's eyebrow twitched at the child in front of him. "Sorry I'm late, uncle Hayato!" the raven haired boy said, out of breath; Gokudera snapped, "Do you know what time it is kid!?"
"S-s-sorry!"
"Hayato stop, you're scaring Natsu," she said, cropping down next to the child, "Let's just get going already."
Natsu hurried behind Bianchi and got into the car, sitting in the back seat driver; Gokudera turned on the engine, and drove off. The young raven haired boy watched the fading scenery of his house. He opened the window and closed his eyes; the earthy fragrance after rain and the wonderful, evocative odor of mown grass was still distinguishable; the sweet scent of spring was still fresh, even though it was vanishing with the beginning of summer.
He had always wondered what kind of person was his father; Hibari Natsu did not know his parents. His mother died after giving birth to him, and his father abandoned him to the care of Bianchi and the Sawadas. Even though the young boy was surrounded by caring people, he did feel lonely.
Truth to be told, he did not hate his father. More like, he loved him more than anything else, and he wanted to know more about him, but whenever he asked about his father, they all said the same casual nice things, 'Vongola's strongest guardian.' 'A nice guy, to the extreme!' 'He used to be scary... he still is.' 'He considers Mukuro-sama as his archenemy.' 'Tch, a damn sadist.' 'He is a discipline freak, ahahahaha!'
On the other hand, his mother was described as a lovely weirdo who loved to cosplay Namahage, and this was confirmed by the pictures and videos that Reborn enjoyed showing him.
Now, at the age of seven, Natsu knew everything about his family and the mafia, but the only question he asked himself most of time was, 'How the hell did these two fall in love?' The love that his parents shared was a great mystery to him, they were nothing alike. "It just happened." Bianchi one said. That answer satisfied him.
As the car stopped, the young boy looked up and grinned; the three of them got out of the engine and Natsu ran in the direction of the benches, leaving behind him the two siblings arguing. Today was the final match of the Baseball Champions' Challenge that was held in Namimori. The loved Namimori team, whose coach was no one else than Yamamoto Takeshi, was qualified up against a skilled opponent.
Natsu walked to the V.I.P benches of the Vongola and soon spotted his aunt Kyoko and her children, so he hurried toward them; when he noticed that they hadn't seen him, he teasingly poked Tsubaki on her tights taking her by surprise. She gasped at the tickle and turned around, only to meet Natsu's grinning face.
"Natsu!" The little girl puffed her cheeks. Tsubaki was the beloved little princess of the Vongola Family, being the only girl of the Vongola Neo Primo; there was a gap of one year between them, but she acted as the older one most of the time. According to Reborn, she was nothing like her parents and resembled more her paternal grandfather.
Natsu kissed lightly the girl on the cheek, making her blush, before hugging her mother and three years old son.
Unlike his turbulent sister, Yuu, the future successor of the family, was a shy boy who always hid behind his mother. He chatted with Kyoko a little before greeting the other present family members. Gokudera and Bianchi soon joined them.
Tsuna, being an established boss with many responsibilities was absent; even though he never said it to anyone, Natsu wished to become a person like the Neo Primo whom he admired. And because of that Natsu vowed to become a strong Mafioso and stand by the next head of the family.
Uncle the Boxer, as Natsu calls Ryohei, sat with a pregnant Hana two benches below them; according to Kyoko, the day of the wedding of her brother with her best friend, everyone was full of pinch marks because no one believed that day was real.
Hana was in her last term of pregnancy; a baby boy was in her belly.
Right next to them, Lambo was sighing repeatedly at the Sasagawa who was shouting 'to the extreme' nonstop. To Natsu, the lightening guardian was the older brother he never had. Next to him sat I-pin and Fuuta; the three of them always helped him, and stood by him.
Below them was Bianchi who did not let go of Reborn since she got there. To Natsu, Bianchi and Reborn's relationship was the weirdest.
Suddenly he got an idea. Smirking to himself, Natsu said with an angelic smile, "Hey, Lambo-nii-san!" the latter raised his head automatically, and so did I-pin, and everyone else.
"When are you finally going to propose to I-pin-nee-chan? It's about time you know!"
Chrome once told him that when Lambo started dating I-pin, no one, aside from Bianchi and Reborn, noticed. She was not sure why, but she said it was probably because it felt natural, as the two of them never acted without the other since they were children.
While everyone snickered, I-pin turned pink and Lambo sighed, putting his hand on the back of his neck, "I was actually planning to do it after the game–"
His was cut short when a hit landed on his head, "Stupid cow! He was teasing you." Gokudera growled, "Who in the world spoils the surprise of a proposal to the woman in question!"
While Bianchi fanned a red I-pin who looked like she was about to faint, Lambo sighed for the nth time that day, "Guess you're right."
The little commotion ended with the arrival of Dino and Romario, who sat next to Natsu after greeting everyone. Natsu smiled noticing the younger guardian and the Chinese's hands entwined.
Dino Chiavarone was Natsu's godfather and the closest person to his father. Dino loved to tell him stories about his parents, the bucking horse once told him about the first date of Kyoya with his mother and how it all ended happily when his father bite to death some guys who tried to flirt with Haru.
The two of them engaged in a heated conversation as the youngster spoke about his daily training with Gokudera; at some point, the blond pouted childishly saying how jealous and sad he was for not being able to spend a lot of time with his godson. Feeling a warm hand patting his head, the raven haired boy looked up and smiled upon recognizing the person standing.
"Dr. Shamal!" he exclaimed, getting up and hugging the man, who chuckled in response. "Am I imagining things or did you get taller?" Natsu broke the hug and responded, "And stronger!"
"That's good to hear."
"It's good to see that we are not the only ones who came late!" A grinning blond, accompanied by his wife, said.
"It took you long, though, Iemitsu." The hitman said, eyes hidden by his fedora.
"That's how he has always been; I don't think he will change." Dr. Shamal snorted, and Leon laughed.
"Thank God, mama is there to keep an eye on him." Bianchi added, never letting go of Reborn.
"You've just hurt my feelings..." he faked a tear.
While Nana hugged the younger boy, the signal of the game's debut was heard, and the last person arrived.
"I hope I'm not late!" a feminine voice said; Kyoko stood up with a smile welcoming the last comer. "Chrome-chan! Welcome." She said helping her friend to sit down. Taking a deep breath, she looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms and smiled.
Aside from Tsuna, Natsu noted that someone else was absent; Chrome smiled at him and said, "Mukuro-sama is not coming, he said that he will be with the Boss." Natsu pouted; the illusionist had promised him the other day to attend the game. He made a side note in his head to get his vengeance later on.
Everyone sat watching the game with a smile; Natsu took time to study all of their faces, they looked nothing like the teens he saw in Reborn's pictures, yet they were still the same with that familiar glittering in the eyes.
The game was thrilling, and at last, the Namimmori team won. The crowed stood up and cheered happily for the winners who were group-hugging their coach. The Vongola Family's member stayed long after the presentation of medals, to personally congratulate the winners. The stadium was almost empty, the only ones left were few journalists and others.
"Today's round is on the house!" Yamamoto exclaimed, punching slightly one of his team players.
Everyone grinned, even Gokudera, much to Natsu's surprise. The young boy knew of both Yamamoto and Gokudera's history with his mother, Chrome had told him stories, and Natsu was a sharp boy. He walked toward the two men and held them by the arms, pushing himself upward, smiling with all his teeth.
"Then I am going to eat until my stomach explodes!"
The two guardians looked at each other and smiled, "Just make sure you don't throw up on me like last time, kid." Gokudera smirked.
The sun was already sitting and for a moment everyone stood still feeling the harmony of the orange scenery as a light breeze passed by.
"The spring faded with summer." Chrome muttered.
The silence that followed was heavy. Natsu noted once more that the wounds his mother's death caused were still fresh in everyone. He smiled bitterly, not quite understanding his own conflicted feeling.
"But summer is as good as the spring, don't you think?" A voice said.
Kyoko gasped and her eyes widened, just like everyone else. She never expected him to show up this soon, he was...
"It took you long." Reborn smiled, lowering his fedora.
A faint 'hn' was heard and the man stepped forward facing the little boy who was stuck between the two guardians.
Natsu looked at the raven haired man in front of him with wide eyes; he stiffened in his place not able to move. He felt the world turning around him, but he was soon brought back to reality when the arms he was holding broke free and gave him a small push on his back. Raising his head he saw Gokudera and Yamamoto smiling, their eyes were saying 'give it your best.'
His eyes lit up.
Everyone was waiting for his reaction.
The renowned cloud guardian, his father, Hibari Kyoya was standing a few feet away from him with a smile plastered on his face. Natsu felt hesitant; what was he supposed to do now?
"Hahi! Natsu must know that even though papa is not good with words, he is very loving -desu! Papa and Mama love you the most!" Natsu watched one of the video tapes Reborn gave him; his late mother was talking happily holding a Namahage costume in her hands.
Hot tears gathered in his honey colored eyes as he ran toward his father who outstretched his arms in response, giving him the tight hug he had always been longing for.
He was happy.
And surely his mother was happy too.
'You know mom, even when spring faded away, it was never forgotten.'
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A/N:
Sorry for the long wait! Finally, here comes the last chapter. Thus, I would like to thank everyone who liked, followed and reviewed this story, writing this was amazing, thank you!
I hope this last chapter was satisfying (it was longer than I expected it to be!) and that you guys enjoyed it. As known, Natsu means summer, that is why Haru said 'summer will come right after it.'
As for the children of Kyoko and Tsuna, I named the girl Tsubaki on a whim and Yuu on Kanda Yuu from D.G-M. I left the baby girl of Chrome and Mukuro nameless on purpose, giving you guys the freedom to pick one you like :)
Not beta'd.
Please look forward to my future KHR projects which are in the process of being written!
Again, THANK YOU!