AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thank you everyone for following Haru's Resolve until the end. I am thinking this is actually a really good place to end it after all and I don't think I am going to post the epilogue—upon the massive rereading it a) gives away too much of my future plots, b) comes across really awkwardly, and c) I don't like the way it's written after all *laughs* I like this ending much better ^_^

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Akira Amano and I've been having way too much fun playing in her world for these last few months. The storyline, OCs, & such belong to me.

For all of those who have read this all the way through, thank you again and I hope you'll keep an eye on me because there's more to come. I have a holiday themed fan fiction in the editing stages, though not for KHR.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, Blessed Yule, Happy Kwanza, Happy Hanukah, or whatever your flavor of Happy Holidays is and I will see you next year (it's only fourteen days away ^_^)

Take care!

~ Yuki

Target 14: Future! Last of the Cherry Blossoms

Cherry blossoms floated in the wind and Haru rolled her shoulders a bit and turned her attention back to the principal of Midori Middle School and struggled not to yawn her way through the spring welcoming ceremony. After the incident at the warehouse, she'd managed to mostly avoid Tsuna as she prepped for her upcoming third year of junior high school, though she had helped him do some studying for his finals. She'd been attending cram schools and catching up on things that she'd missed while doing her initial training—high school was right on the horizon and she couldn't allow herself to get into anything other than the best. She'd kept her monthly self-appreciation dates with Kyoko and had been spending more time with Chrome and when she wasn't busy with school, friends, or family, she'd been going into the Underground and training with Akai and other members of the Hanatachi Clan. She knew that she was putting off the inevitable, but she needed to put all of her thoughts in order and figure out how she was going to approach these next few years. Idly, she wondered what Tsuna had been doing for his tutoring with Reborn, but yanked her thoughts back to the present when the school anthem started.

She rose with everyone else at the end of the ceremony and was intercepted by Emri and Mai and reassured them that she would be making their ramen study date that evening. They'd promised to work together to do well on the high school exams and as each of them was brilliant in a different subject it worked well. They chatted for a while longer and then Haru excused herself and headed out while the other two went to find the fourth member of their study group.

She emerged from the school gates and stopped at the familiar figure standing under one of the cherry trees that flanked the front gate. Tsunayoshi Sawada seemed a little bit taller than she last remembered and there was a serious expression on his face. "Tsuna-san!" she exclaimed. "You came to walk Haru home from the first day of school?"

Tsuna cocked his head. "Something like that," he said and held up a basket. "Mom made some food and I thought since you've been avoiding me for the past couple months we could go talk. There are some trees at the park still in bloom, but we won't draw too much attention."

Haru frowned; there was an odd assurance in his voice that hadn't been there previously. She tried to find an excuse to avoid the meeting, but couldn't come up with anything plausible and it'd been far too long since she'd been able feast her eyes on her beloved—mostly her fault. "You are free this afternoon, right?" he asked, looking somewhat guilty.

"Until eight tonight," Haru said. "The study group is meeting tonight to prepare for high school exams since we don't have cram school today."

"I have to be home before then anyway," Tsuna replied.

Tsuna caught her wrist and tugged her lightly in the proper direction before letting it go and Haru followed him uncertainly. The silence between them stretched uncomfortably, but Haru wasn't exactly sure what kind of conversation she could strike up with him, there was too much to say and she didn't even know where to start. Tsuna continued walking, shortening his strides a bit so she could keep up with him and she realized he really had gotten taller. "You're taller," she blurted out.

Tsuna stopped and blinked for a moment and then laughed. "I guess so," he said. "I didn't notice. So you've been pretty busy with cram schools and such?"

"Yes, Haru wants to get into the best school she can so Father will continue to be proud," she replied, breathing a mental sigh of relief as the conversation tread into familiar territory. "What about you?"

Tsuna flinched just a bit at the question. "I don't know yet," he replied. "I am trying to get into Namimori High School, but I barely scraped by to make it to being a third year. I don't know if I can do well enough on the high school exam."

"Of course you can, Haru will help!" Haru said.

Tsuna gave her a smile over his shoulder, having accidentally pulled ahead again. "I'm not even sure Reborn can help with that," he said wryly

"You just need a little bit more confidence, you can do it!" Haru said.

Tsuna chuckled. "Sometimes you can't escape from being 'no good'," he said. "I've started coming to terms with that. Instead, I am learning to focus on some of the things I am good at and improving there."

"You've changed," Haru said softly.

"Maybe," Tsuna shrugged and then gave her a direct look. "So have you. We're here."

Haru stopped and looked up at the huge cherry tree Tsuna had stopped at and he grabbed the blanket from the basket and spread it out on the ground. Haru reluctantly settled on the ground, setting her bag beside her while Tsuna pulled out the bentos. He checked them over very closely. "I just want to make sure Bianchi didn't accidentally get a hand in them," he explained and relaxed a bit, "looks like they're safe."

"Thank you," Haru said and opened it and couldn't help but clap in delight at the cuteness of it. "Your mom outdid herself, these look so cute! Tell her thank you for me!"

"Of course," Tsuna said and silence fell as they both began to eat.

Finally, Tsuna looked up at her. "Why?" he asked.

She could hear hundreds of questions in that one word and finished chewing the tamagoyaki she was eating. "Mostly because I didn't want what I saw then to come to pass," she replied. "You and the others were fighting so hard and doing your best, but you were constantly worrying about Kyoko-chan and me and I wanted to do something to help."

She clenched her hands in her lap. "I asked Reborn-san to help me at first, but he turned me down," she said. "He said that you wouldn't want me to step foot on this particular path."

"He's right," Tsuna said. "You shouldn't have to put your life on the line—"

Haru shook her head fiercely. "You may not realize this about me, Tsuna-san, but I am not one to simply lie down and let everyone else do things that I am perfectly capable of doing for myself," she stated. "I can't always let you get hurt while you're worrying about Kyoko-chan and the rest of us…"

"Wait, I—" he began.

"Even if you say that you want nothing to do with the mafia and everything that goes with it, you've drawn the attention of people because you had to choose to defend your friends and family," Haru said. "No matter what happens in the future that's going to remain the same and from what I've seen there's no way you can escape it. Even if you do absolutely nothing right now, somehow, someday, someone is going to come along and challenge you again and they may or may not use your friends to get at you. The second anyone other than you is drawn into it, you're going to take action and the cycle is going to keep on going. It won't stop."

Tsuna visibly slumped and Haru saw a glimpse of the boy she'd originally met so long ago. "I didn't want this," he said softly.

Haru dared to reach across the blanket and place her hand on the fist in Tsuna's lap. "You didn't want it, but it came," she said. "Remember what you said about focusing on the things you're good at and working on them? I was there that day when you had all of those people there, I couldn't say anything at the time because I hadn't told you yet, but I could tell all of those people were extremely powerful and I know that some of them really didn't like you, but they came and they followed you. I don't know what in all was happening then, but I know you were all fighting again."

Tsuna looked guilty and Haru squeezed his hand, having not removed hers yet. "You, Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto-kun, Sasagawa-san, and that scary man, Chrome, and Hibari-san have your own challenges you need to face. I think it would be easier to face them, knowing that somewhere in the heart of your family there is someone who can protect them," she said.

Tsuna started and looked at her in surprise. "I want to protect Kyoko-chan, I-Pin-chan, Lambo-chan, and everyone too," Haru said, "that's why I became Dani's student, that's why I have worked very hard to learn things. I want you to be able to take care of what you need to take care of, Tsuna-san, and know that someone else is going to be there to protect them if worse comes to worst."

"Haru…" Tsuna began.

"It's okay, Tsuna-san, Haru chose this particular path for herself," Haru said firmly, smiling. "Haru will protect Tsuna-san's heart while Tsuna-san protects everyone else. My intention is not to be on the front line; my strengths will best be used closer to home, Haru can and will defend everyone."

Tsuna fell silent at her words and took a deep breath. "You're going to insist on this, no matter what I say otherwise, aren't you?" he asked.

Haru grinned. "Probably," she said. "Haru is part of your Family too."

"I still don't want anything to do with any of this," Tsuna said crankily.

"Haru knows," Haru said, "but you'll do it anyway if you have to in order to protect everyone, won't you?"

"Yeah," Tsuna said reluctantly.

"Then let's work hard together, Tsuna-san," Haru said. "One day Haru will make you very proud."

Tsuna turned his hand and caught hers and Haru's heart skipped a beat. "I already am," he said, his brown eyes earnest. "Thank you."

Tsuna released her hand and they began to gather the remains of lunch, a comfortable silence stretching between them. Haru caught Tsuna's wrist, drawing the boy's attention to her. "Good luck," she beamed and then dashed off down the sidewalk, she needed to get to the house and make dinner for her father before she met the other girls at the ramen shop.