Thieves and Beggars

I regret to say that this is the end. It's time. I bid you all a very fond farewell.

/shot/ who knows that reference? I think I'm off by a few lines but meh. Close enough~

But I do regret to say that this is the final chapter of Thieves and Beggars. It's been about three months since I started this series…if I recall, I wrote the first chapter in November :'D Wow, it's been so long already! Hnn. I suppose we'd better get started.

I also highly suggest having the Hoist the Colours song playing in the background when you're reading the beginning. It'll scare the living daylights out of you. That's a seriously chilling song. Another reason is because, well, the title of this fic is pretty much named after a line in the song. And as Yama has mentioned before, pirates aren't always thieves and beggars. Or at least, in this fic they aren't. I'm aware of the global issues surrounding modern day pirates, and it's not really pleasant. But still…ah, Pirates of the Caribbean. How I adore those movies…

Also: thanks for editing, Katie. And giving me deadlines. And bugging me until I finish. And threatening to—I mean. Ahem.

But seriously. Thanks, hubu.

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.

Enjoy!

Chapter Fifteen

Ten Years Later

"The king and his men…stole the queen from her bed…and bound her in her Bones. The seas be ours…and by the powers…where we will we'll roam. Yo, ho, haul together, hoist the colors high. Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never—"

"Trin!"

The little girl sitting at the docks jumped as a boy's voice called out her name. She spun around, pouting when she saw the other standing next to her, with his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

"What, Iv? I'm just singing!"

"Mama said not to sing that song out here," her brother hissed. "It's bad!"

The girl huffed cutely, staring out at the sea. "I know," she said softly. "But I just wanted Daddy to hear me sing. Mama said that Daddy can hear us."

The little boy turned to look into the distance too. "You think so?" he asked his sister, after a doubtful pause. The girl giggled, getting to her feet.

"I know so," she replied mischievously. "Race you back home!"

"Hey! Not fair!"

The boy scrambled after the girl, racing up from the sandy steps of the port and back up to the town square of Namimori Cove. If one were to look closely, they would see that the children, one boy and one girl, were both about ten years old, with identical pointed chins and tanned brown hair. There was a mysterious air about the two, and they almost looked as though they were of mixed decent. The only difference between the two kids was that the little girl had baby blue eyes, while the boy had dark onyx orbs.

The two of them had darted into the streets when they ran into a huge crowd at the town square that made them freeze in their tracks.

"What's going on here?" Iv whispered, his eyes widening in awe.

"It's a hanging," Trin replied slowly. "They're hanging pirates."

The two kids stood by, listening to the crowd talk amongst themselves, hearing the Navy's monotone sailor read out the charges and sounds of the convicted fall through the opening of the trapdoors.

"That's horrible," Iv mumbled, going pale.

"Let's get closer," Trin said, tugging her brother forwards. "Eh?" the boy stuttered. "But, but—"

However, the children had barely walked two steps when a woman cleared her throat next to them.

"And where do you think you're going, Trinity? Ivan?"

Trinity and Ivan both turned slowly, weak smiles plastered on their faces as they turned to face their mother, who was wearing her favourite red shirt and a pair of comfortable martial arts pants that made other women in lacy summer dresses stare and whisper as they walked past.

"Nowhere, Mama," Trinity replied sweetly.

I-pin rolled her eyes and said, "Of course you were going nowhere. What about you, Ivan? Where are you going?"

Ivan bit his lip, looking up with pleading eyes. "Trin wanted to see the gallows, Mama—"

"Iv!" Trinity hissed, poking her brother sharply in the ribs. Ivan yelped, jumping a foot into the air. I-pin watched in amusement, shaking her head a little.

"Don't let your sister bully you like that, Ivan," she said firmly, taking the little boy's hand and his sister's in the other. "Honestly, you two are twins, yet you're from completely different worlds!"

Ivan mumbled something and Trinity laughed before turning to her mother, "Mama, where are we going?"

I-pin raised an eyebrow. "You said you wanted to see, right? I'll walk with you."

Trinity looked shocked. "I didn't mean…I didn't actually want to see it," she whispered. "I just wanted to scare Ivan a little."

I-pin raised an eyebrow, careful to hide her knowing look. "Listen, Trinity, Ivan," she said quietly, getting down on one knee in front of her children. "Executions like these aren't something to be made fun of. Those people up there are people. No matter what the Navy says, they're not scum, trash, or filth. They're humans, just like you and me."

"Mama," Ivan asked, "Does that mean I'm a pirate too?"

"Only if you want to be," I-pin smiled.

"But if Daddy and Mama are pirates, doesn't that mean that Iv 'n I are pirates too?"

"Trinity Elena Cavallone. Nobody in this world can tell you what to be except yourself," I-pin said in a serious voice. "Do you understand?"

"Aye, Mama!" Trinity beamed, saluting. I-pin smiled and stood up. "That's my girl," she said lightly, taking their hands. "Come, let's go down to the market and buy some pasta, shall we?"

"Why pasta?" Ivan asked. Trinity made a face at him.

"Don't be dumb, Iv! Daddy's coming home tonight! Daddy loves pasta!"

"Yes," I-pin said, smiling fondly. "Daddy's coming home tonight."

Ivan flushed hiding his face into his mother's side. For a ten year old, he was incredibly shy. "At least Mama didn't have to use my full name!" he yelled at his sister. Trinity turned red at that, and for the rest of the way down to the market, the entire street heard the young girl's voice yelling, "Ivan Fon Cavallone is bildge rat!"

Shopping was faster than I-pin had expected it to be, save for the part where Trinity tripped over virtually nothing and knocked Ivan into a barrel of pickled herrings. Honestly, she couldn't believe her daughter had inherited her husband's clumsiness.

They were walking home and were passing the gallows when she saw something that made her stop dead in her tracks.

It was a boy. A young boy of about Ivan's age was standing among the persecuted, trembling slightly, but made no sound. If anything else, the boy with the dark brown dreadlocks and a matted, dirt covered shirt held his chin up proudly, blazing green eyes staring out into the sea beyond the port.

"Mama, that's a boy," Trinity whispered, looking stunned. Ivan whimpered and shrank back.

"I know," I-pin growled, clenching her fists. How she ached to walk up to the executioner and snap his neck…or even better, unleashing the Bakuren Shippuuken on the entire Navy squad and level the place, but it would be too much. And she would most definitely give herself away…

"Damn it," she whispered as the masked man walked to the end of the platform, where the lever was. This wasn't right.

"Stop him," Trinity sobbed, wiping her eyes furiously. "Mama, stop that bad man!"

I-pin's heart pounded in her ribcage. The fact that the boy up there was just about her own son's age made her want to run up at once, but—

The lever was pulled.

Trinity screamed.

And in that moment, the entire platform made an odd creaking noise, and collapsed onto the ground in a heap. The prisoners yelped in shock as they landed on their feet, desperately untangling themselves from the ropes. The young boy scrambled to upright, looking around in confusion. I-pin gaped at the mess before her. What on earth…?

"Maa, maa, look at the mess you just made."

"Che. Don't be stupid, herbivore, you're the one who ran up the minute we docked without even waiting for me!"

I-pin eyes widened. Was that really who she thought it was…?

Little Ivan's shout of joy quickly confirmed her thoughts.

"Uncle Kyoya! Uncle Takeshi!"

Walking up through the terrified crowd was none other than the two most infamous Pirate Lords known to mankind, casually strolling into the Navy's prime territory without a care in the world. Well, actually, it was Yamamoto who was doing more of the strolling while Hibari stormed furiously up the pavement, radiating enough bloodlust to promise a good bloodbath.

"Ahoy there, Ivan," Yamamoto grinned, ruffling the boy's hair with a good-natured smile on his face. "Didn't expect to see you here!"

"Uncle Takeshi!" Ivan said in delight. "Are you here to save these people?"

"Aye," Yamamoto smiled, tapping his sword. "That seems like a good idea."

"When did you arrive?" I-pin asked her brother, unable to keep the amused smile off her face.

"A minute ago," Hibari grumbled, reaching down to pick Trinity up. His niece clung to his neck, beaming. "I wanted to see my carnivores first but this idiot just had to go see what was going on up here."

"Uncle Kyoya! We have to see if that boy's alright!" Trinity cried, pointing. Hibari raised an eyebrow, but walked forwards to the boy standing amidst the shattered remains of the gallows. I-pin shook her head at her brother's odd choice of description for her kids (carnivores, seriously?) while snickering at the sight of the Navy officials frozen in their spots while they watched the most bloodthirsty Pirate Lord carry his ten year old niece over to see if the convicted boy was fine.

"You okay?" Trinity asked, extending a hand to the boy when Hibari put her down. The boy looked up, a bit shy, but determined to keep his pride at the same time.

"Aye, miss."

"What's your name?" Trinity asked, shaking the boy's dirty hand firmly. The boy seemed thrown off a little by the girl's fearless attitude.

"Jack. Just Jack."

"Nice to meet ya, Jack," Trinity grinned. "You a pirate?"

"Aye," Jack said, tossing a gold coin into the air. "That I am, miss."

"Good manners," Hibari grunted, shoving Jack and Trinity back over in the direction of I-pin. "Go away now. Yamamoto and I have business to take care of."

"Bye, Uncle!" Trinity waved, running back to her mother.

I-pin gathered her children together and called after them, "Don't be too long! And don't make a mess! Next time, try to stay out of trouble long enough to drop by for dinner, won't you?"

"Next time, then, I-pin," Yamamoto said apologetically.

I-pin laughed, waved, and was on her way back down towards the villas when her brother's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"It's supposed to be a surprise, I-pin…but he decided to visit early. He's at the docks already."

The young woman looked up, hardly believing her ears. Hibari hid a small smile, knowing the exact expression on his sister's face when she was silent like that.

"You should go see him."

Pressing a hand to her mouth, I-pin started running down the pathway towards the harbor, her kids running after her, giggling and shouting with their new friend Jack in tow.

"Where are we going, Mama?"

I-pin wiped away her tears, a huge smile on her face. "To see your father, kids. Daddy's home now!"

"How sweet of you to ruin Dino's surprise," Yamamoto said cheerfully, unsheathing his sword.

"Tch. Shut up or die," Hibari snapped, pulling out his tonfas from the folds of his jacket. Ten years had added longer hair and a strong jaw to the raven's face and a scar to Yamamoto's chin, but neither of them had lost their wits or skill in their trade. If anything else, age might have turned them into even more deadly pirates of the Seven Seas.

"They're such herbivores," Hibari complained. "Just let me bite them all to death already."

"It's rude to mock someone when they can hear you, Kyoya," Yamamoto smirked, clearly not caring about the other's lack of manners. Casually, he strolled up to where the Navy was, and the guards instantly turned their bayonets at him.

"Stop, pirate, or we'll shoot you where you stand!"

"Tell me," Yamamoto called out, but he wasn't addressing the sailors. Instead, his eyes looked over and he spoke to the prisoners standing by the walls, waiting in line to be executed.

"Who does the seas belong to?"

There was silence. The prisoners stared at each other, blinking. They all knew the answer, yet they were hesitant to answer.

"Don't be like that, mates," Yamamoto grinned. Suddenly, Hibari appeared at the dark-haired pirate's side and sung quietly, his voice reverberating around the silent courtyard,

"The seas be ours…and by the powers…where we will we'll roam."

"Yo, ho…"Yamamoto continued.

"Haul together," Hibari sung.

"Hoist the colors high," the prisoners chimed in slowly, voices overlapping and singing in unison the words that had they had known since their childhood.

"Heave ho, thieves and beggars,"

Yamamoto raised his sword. The singing grew louder.

"Damn it! Attack!" one of the sailors screeched, firing off his pistol, and everything turned into chaos. Yamamoto and Hibari sprinted off to the sides, hacking shackles loose from all those who had been arrested by the navy. Freedom was theirs. The prisoners cheered and rebelled instantly, grabbing anything near them to fight with as weapons. The Navy was helpless and stunned at the sudden uprising of the inmates they had complete control over moments ago. Fortunately for them, the prisoners weren't interested in a massacre. Instead, every man, woman, and child whose wind had been taken out of their sails for too long were running down to the port, heading for the sea.

Heading for home.

Watching the dramatic scene unfold atop a nearby cliff were three women, all with amused looks on their faces. There was an elderly woman in her late fifties, skin soft with wrinkles that made her face sparkle when she smiled, a woman just above forty with long black hair that was just starting to show grey and a teenage girl of about nineteen, face full of youth and freedom. When they spoke, their voices were soft and as distant as wind chimes clinking together on the lightest breath of wind.

The last of the seven shall reunite
Under the oath cast in stone to gather and fight
Beyond the green hazed horizon the fate-bound two shall depart
Deliver their Seas to the future, and into the next world new life shall start.

The two elder women turned away at the last line, walking back down the little paved path amongst the tall grass, disappearing silently into the shadows of the trees. Only the teen remained, smiling to herself as she gazed fondly down at the sight in the harbor of Namimori Cove.

"Until next time, Uncle Yamamoto," she said softly before scattering into dozens of dandelion puffs, drifting away in the wind…disappearing until the next prophecy was to be said.

"I told you this would be a mighty good idea!" Yamamoto grinned, sprinting along with the crowd.

"Pull another herbivore move like this again and I'll kill you," Hibari threatened, making Yamamoto burst into laughter and grab Hibari's hand so that a simple silver band on both their ring fingers flashed brilliantly in the sunlight.

"Aye, Kyoya. As you wish."

The Black Sun was waiting dutifully for them in the waters, her black sails billowing out proudly in the full wind. A little further away, the could see the outline of the Spade anchored in the light waters as her captain came to visit home after ten long years.

"Hoist the colours!" Yamamoto shouted out to the crew on the deck of his ship.

"Aye, Cap'n!"

"Hurry up, the Navy's gaining on us," Hibari grumbled as they ran down the length of the docks, hearing the sailors dashing after them.

Hand in hand, the two of them sprinted straight to the end of the port.

Heave, ho.

"Jump, Kyoya!" Yamamoto grinned, leaping off the wooden surface, right into the sparkling sea.

Thieves and Beggars.

"IDIOT TAKESHI!"

Never shall we die.

End

I'm done. We're done. This story is done.

Is anybody feeling as sad as I am? D; Maaaaan, this ending. DINO'S KIDS. YAMAMOTO AND HIBARI FINALLY GETTING MARRIED. THE NEW PROPHECY. I'm just setting myself up, aren't I? Ha, ha. I didn't get a chance to write about the rest of the character's endings in the final chapter, because let's face it, if I did that, that would be another 5k words or something. And a short, simple ending is always good. But for those who like to know the small facts as much as I do, here it is:

-The original crew of the Black Sun, Gokudera, Ryohei, Mukuro and Lambo remained to sail with Yamamoto and Hibari. Giotto and Tsuna, however, decided to leave behind the world of pirates and are currently enjoying some quality time on dry land.

-Reborn and Yamamoto are now on slightly better terms with each other, but they still despise each other's guts. And their crew members won't stop competing against each other. During most of the past ten years, Reborn had remained in his territory, the North Sea.

-The other Pirate Lords lost touch with each other after the war like they always do, but are alive and well.

-Nobody told Dino, but Xanxus has seen Trinity and Ivan. Yamamoto and Hibari had brought the twins to see their 'grandfather' when they were only babies. Contrary to popular belief, Xanxus did know how to handle kids (obviously, since he raised Yamamoto by himself), but for the sake of Dino's sanity, everyone decided to spare him from the knowledge that Squalo spent a good hour or so tossing a delighted Ivan into the air while Xanxus allowed Trinity to nap in his arms.

I guess that's all, right? Did I forget anybody? Welp, welp. I hope not. So. This concludes my longest story thus far. Thank so very much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this as much as I liked writing it, and your comments, feedback and encouragement were a wonderful source of plot booster. Thank you for your time! Until the next story, everybody~

-BlackStar