Ambigram - Katekyo Hitman Reborn - Chapter 06

Summary: AU In where Tsuna and Xanxus grew up together, watching each other's back... where innocence was tainted since the start... One Miura Haru finds herself in a various precarious situation 2786/TsunaxHaru

My lack of KHR knowledge might make some things untrue or some characters OOC and I guess I'll explain some stuff at the end of the chapter, just so I won't spoil things! XD

I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn because if I did, there would be a lot more Haru loving!

Please forgive any mistakes, both character-wise and grammatically wise. lol, i still don't understand the beta system thing and I don't really have time to re-read and edit things.

---

Chapter Six: First Impressions are Important

HappyFace1886

---

“Stupid Dante-san,” Haru growled under her breath while she cursed her current situation. Unwilling to just sit around and wait for his return, Haru had searched for a way out. One was through the window, but she was in the second floor and there were no trees for her to go down through. The pipes on the wall were too thin for her to find reliable.

And so here she was, crawling through the tight air vents.

At first, she had simply wanted to crawl through it to get to the other side of the door. However, once she had made it that far, she saw a guard situated in front of the entrance of her room. The guard looked bored, as if he couldn’t believe he was forced on such a job.

Lucky her, this meant he wouldn’t notice much of how she was screaming obscenities from behind the door.

Unfortunately, if there was a guard there, then that meant if she were to jump out of the vents now, there was a definite chance that if someone were to recognize her, they would lock her up again. Speaking of which, why was Dante-san so desperate to keep her locked up that he had even gotten someone to guard her door? Just what was this emergency?

Her brown eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me it’s that pervert’s fault that Haru was locked up?” she murmured quietly. She hadn’t missed the moment of hesitation after Dante-san had declared that he wouldn’t allow her to get harmed while she was under his protection.

But why?

Was she over-thinking things?

Haru shook her head. No, the whole deal about the Vongola was strange. If this pervert truly was involved with the Vongola, why was he preventing her from discovering this? In fact, why was he hindering her from learning anything about the Vongola in the first place? Just what sort of power did he have in the Vongola?

...had to be someone of great power if he was able to silence not only Dante-san, but basically all the townspeople she had encountered thus far.

Whatever the case was, she would figure it out. But right now, she needed to get out of here and figure out what was going on.

---

“Xanxus,” Tsuna greeted coolly, a nonchalant smile on his face as he seated himself on the grand chair of the meeting room. The rest of the committee had left, leaving the two of them alone.

“Brat,” the older man acknowledged, smirking at how Tsuna’s face barely twitched. In the past, such disrespect had pissed Tsuna off to the point that there had been severe brawls. However, the brat seemed to have gotten better control over his emotions.

Hmph, too bad.

Scotch was drawn for Xaxus while Tsuna declined any beverages, opting to lean back on his seat with his elbow resting on the armrest as the side of his face leaned on top of his fist. His glowing eyes pierced through Xanxus and his hyper-intuition told him Xanxus was going to say something he wasn’t going to like. But then again, when had Xanxus ever said anything he’d like?

Xanxus unceremoniously sat on his seat, leaning back while dropping his boots on top of the table. It knocked over both the glass of scotch along with its glass container. The strong aroma filled the room and the expensive brown alcohol began to drip down onto the floor.

“Rumors travel fast, brat.”

The blank façade remained still on Tsuna’s face. The only difference was the inquisitive flicker in his eyes.

“So tell me,” Xanxus sneered. “How enjoyable is that new toy of yours?”

Tsuna’s eyelid twitched and Xanxus almost laughed in glee. So he had finally hit a nerve. Didn’t take as long as he thought it would.

Did the brat truly believe that his actions had gone unnoticed by the underground world? Various people had already spread rumors of how the revered Vongola heir was hanging around some Japanese woman.

A new toy of the week?

Hmph, if only it was that simple.

The rumors made it obvious that this Japanese woman was special. Of course, Xanxus and the others working for Vongola had squashed any rumors that could have caused any damage to them and had prevented the rumors from spreading any further. The only ones they had left alone were the ones of how the woman was simply an exotic play-thing the heir was amusing himself with. Better that than the possibility of how there was a woman out there who could have possibly actually caught the stoic heir’s attention.

Tsuna gave him a conceited smirk. “Jealous?”

Xanxus barred his teeth. After all the shit he had gone through preventing the rumors from spiraling out of control... His dying will fire reacted to his anger and the dripping alcohol immediately burst into flames. The burning embers and the visible burn scars on Xanxus’ face turned him into a terrifying sight.

“Trash.” He snarled.

“I believe you no longer have the privilege of calling me that after our last bout,” Tsuna scorned condescendingly and knew he hit a nerve when the flames grew stronger. Their last fight had lasted several hours, but only because others had gotten in their way. However, even with the distractions, it was clear that Tsuna was the decisive victor.

Don’t get him wrong, Tsuna appreciated the damage control Xanxus had done in behind the scenes...

...but no one insulted Haru like that and got away with it.

Xanxus should be grateful that he wasn’t eating the dust on the floor right now.

With a sigh, Tsuna’s flames flared up and overpowered Xanxus’ and eventually extinguished it completely. “Now if you’re done trying to goad me into a fight, what’s the real reason why you wanted to talk to me?”

“Che,” Xanxus settled back down on the seat. It irked him how he was no longer able to get a violent reaction out of the brat anymore. It had been amusing seeing him getting lost in his emotions, fighting like a vicious animal whenever they brawled. Only in recent years had Tsuna started to calm down, becoming so unbearably boring. “Just what’s so special about the bitch?”

The flames that had taken over Xanxus’ had not faded and only grew in power. “Xanxus.”

An unbearable chill went down the older man’s spine at the cold warning in the young heir’s voice. Damn this piece of filth. He had grown exponentially strong over the years, to the point that it had stunned all those who had regarded him unworthy of the title of Vongola heir. And no matter how pissed Xanxus looked or how confident he appeared to be, his instincts were screaming at him to cower.

Hide and plead before the man who inherited the all-powerful dying will flames of the Primero.

It was only through sheer will-power and pride that stopped Xanxus from relenting to his instincts.

Scowling darkly, Xanxus looked away.

This was why he had given any hope of ever becoming the Decimo. This trash here was just too damn powerful. Now, that made things interesting what with having such a powerful man to fight against and it also made Xanxus begrudgingly respect him, but it still royally pissed him off at how he was to serve someone younger than him and of how said younger man was even stronger than him.

“You were right,” Xanxus grunted, unwilling to waste more time. He understood that the brat had no intention of fighting or amusing him, so now Xanxus wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of this suffocating room. He had always hated these meetings. They were such a bore. “The Shimon Famiglia is initiating the same plan you just proposed.”

Tsuna nodded in acknowledgement. He had known for a long time that the Shimon wanted to completely destroy the Vongola. Matters regarding territory and resources meant nothing to the organization bent on revenge. And so, what better way to decimate the rival mafia by destroying them in their own strategy? Tsuna would play their little war game and he would mercilessly annihilate them. “And?”

“They intend to hit us hard by attacking us at the Italian command center.” Xanxus replied, his pupils nearly slitting at this information. Nothing irritated Xanxus more than little shits who think they can just walk all over the Vongola, especially the Varia. Though the main headquarters of the Varia wasn’t located in Italy, it was well-known that a great majority of the Varia did spend time in the Italian facilities. The Shimon wanted to land a heavy blow on the Vongola and they intended to do so by attacking the Vongola’s top assassination unit. “So tell me, oh great Decimo, how many men you intend to deploy for the confrontation?”

Xanxus’ bait was blatantly clear, a last ditch attempt in order to rile Tsuna up, but he remained as cool as ever. “The Guardians alone will be enough. No Varia members will be expected to partake in the battle. In fact, not a single member in the facilities will be injured.”

Xanxus gave him a ferocious smirk, his eyes gleaming at the cocky challenge. “You little shit.”

The attack the Shimon would make wouldn’t be light. Though often regarded as the black sheep of the mafia world, the Shimon Famiglia was no doubt powerful. Their attempt at infiltration had the potential to create a number of casualties. Not to mention, who knows what sort of spies have already gained access into the Vongola.

It still amazed Xanxus at how much this brat has changed. He could still remember his first impression of the future Decimo, the fear that had shined so brilliantly in his eyes and the way he’d cower so easily at even the simplest remark. And now here he was, casually talking about the destruction of an entire organization.

Such a wonderful monster the Vongola had managed to create.

What made it even better was that this was the direct descendant of the Vongola Primo.

The potential he possessed was mouth-watering, especially for those power-hungry fools who wanted to expand the Vongola’s already revered reputation.

But the progress was too fast. Even genius had its limits, but Tsuna had adapted too easily to the dark side of the mafia. It made Xanxus’ hackles rise at how dangerous this boy-no, man was now and his instincts were rarely wrong at a potential threat. And who knows what the future held for him and what sort of destruction he could cause, especially with the power he had being the Vongola heir.

Xanxus always enjoyed a challenge, especially when it came to fights. But oftentimes, the people he did fight were those who actually wanted to fight against him, who wanted to test their skills to their limit.

...but it was different with this little shit. He didn’t care about fighting and though he put up the front of making the Vongola better, it wasn’t his own desires that drove him. If anything, there was a resolute emptiness about him that always made Xanxus’ instincts uneasy around him.

What sort of future would the Vongola Famiglia have with this madman as their leader?

“Xanxus,” Tsuna spoke so abruptly, so sharply, that Xanxus almost flinched at the heaviness of his words. Instead, he stared brazenly into the brat’s emotionless eyes. “Don’t get in my way.”

“And whatever could you mean?” he asked sarcastically, though another ominous chill had shot down his spine. And for a brief moment, he wondered if his almost traitorous thought had somehow been transmitted to the brat.

“The Shimon Famiglia is mine,” the normally blank two-toned eyes blazed with a warning, his words coming out as a cold hiss. “Don’t touch them.”

His to conquer, his to destroy... if Xanxus or his people were to touch them for whatever reason, Tsuna wouldn’t be so benevolent to them...

Though there was the threat of cold sweat threatening to break out, Xanxus gave him a sharp glower. “They’re all yours, brat, Just don’t mess up. The last thing I want to do is clean up after your shit.”

Tsuna nodded, rising from his seat, indirectly dismissing Xanxus who briefly bristled at this. However, Tsuna was beyond caring. The Guardians would be arriving shortly and before they made their entrance, he wanted to have a moment of distraction.

A moment to forget all this bullshit.

And he knew just where to find such an illusion.

---

Haru squeaked as she slipped out of the air vent leading to outside the building. She landed painfully onto the ground and groaned for a bit before standing, patting herself clean of the dust and dirt. It had taken her a while, but she had somehow managed to navigate herself inside the shaft and into the vent that led outside.

And now with freedom at hand, she would discover just what it was that everyone was hiding from her. Finding Dante was out of the question, but she had heard Dante talking about an emergency. Haru then paused, wondering if this was actually a potentially dangerous situation.

She looked around the alleyway and found a large metal pipe resting against the brick wall. Haru grabbed it and struggled with the weight, but kept it close. Good, she at least had a weapon now. No scary, dangerous situation was going to deter her from finding the truth, especially if it involved her. She had a right to know and it wasn’t right of them to keep it from her.

Haru peered out of the alleyway and found the entire streets clear. It made her instantly weary since there were always a few people walking about. However, tonight, it was completely empty.

Tightening her grip onto the metal pipe, Haru took a step outside and almost flinched at the sound of her feet meeting the pavement. Okay, calm down, she was out and her goal was to find the pervert. But how was she going to do that? He was normally the one to find her, and quite randomly at that. She never knew from which direction he was coming from since he seemed to favor surprising her from behind.

No, no, it was too early to give up. Haru tried to keep herself motivated while walking through the empty streets.

She, however, yelped when she heard a loud explosion. Stumbling forward, Haru promptly dropped the heavy pipe and almost tripped over it. Instead, she pressed her hands against the wall and found her balance. Standing up, she looked around wildly, trying to find, where the explosion had happened, but the moment she stood, another explosion occurred.

And then the cries of pain filled the air.

Haru flinched at the sound and felt panic run through her. Where was that sound coming from?

There was another cry and Haru whipped her head in that direction. Without another thought, she immediately began to run towards that direction. Someone needed help! How could she just stand around and do nothing?

The explosion sounds grew closer and Haru paused for a moment to catch her breath.

Was this the emergency that had been mentioned? Was someone attacking them? It was possible since Dante, who was most likely a part of the Vongola, was called out. But what sort of organization was the Vongola that warrant attack? Whoever was attacking couldn’t possibly be attacking the civilians for the fun of it.

Italy was under the Vongola’s protection, but Italy had no need for protection from some random organization. They had their own army and armed forces for such incidents.

That meant that the streets were protected by Vongola... because this was Vongola territory. Then whoever was attacking were enemies of the Vongola.

Haru’s mind immediately raced with the deduction. The only problem was she wasn’t able to understand just what sort of organization the Vongola was. Were they business or some sort of public vigilante committee? The book she had been reading earlier had stated that they were powerful and revered, but for what reason?

She shook her head. She would find all that out in due time. Right now, she needed to help the people in trouble! Haru began to run once more when from the corner of the next building, she ran smack into another body. Judging by the hardness of the figure, it was definitely a man.

Falling backwards, Haru landed on the ground with a loud yelp. This was not good for her butt since this was the second time today she had landed painfully on it. Wincing, Haru looked up and immediately tried to apologize when her eyes zeroed in at what was before her.

Her eyes were immediately blinded by the bright shade of red hair. There was mud all over the red tresses, an attempt to cover the brilliant color, but Haru could see just how noticeable the color was.

And then there were the person’s eyes, a shade of dark maroon. They were sharp and cold, thought tinged with surprise and confusion at the sight of her. However, they immediately darkened with a heaviness that made Haru flinch. Still, she didn’t let that deter her. Instead, she got up and held her hand out for him.

“I’m sorry for bumping into you,” she spoke in Italian. The man stared at her hand suspiciously and for a minute, she was afraid he would lash out of her. Stupid, how could she have just run around like that without thinking? She didn’t even feel offended when he didn’t take her hand, standing up on his own. Instead, she felt more mortified. “Hahi, I didn’t mean to! I was just too deep into my thoughts because there was an explosion and people crying and-! You should hurry and get out of here before you get hurt too! I don’t know what’s going on but there’s some sort of attack going on and it sounds like people are getting hurt-!”

“This way!” a man’s angry snap was heard and Haru saw the man’s shoulders tense up. “The bastard couldn’t have gotten far!”

Haru remained still, dumbstruck at what she heard.

No way.

She looked at the man she had just bumped into once more, her eyes widening ever so slightly.

No way.

Too stunned, she didn’t even yell out in surprise when he suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into a nearby alley.

No way!

She was shoved against the wall with her hands pinned onto the side of her head, held tightly against the wall by strong, firm hands. Warm lips were pressed against her and she gasped as her mind finally caught up to what was happening.

Not again! No!

Her body went into autopilot and she began to fight against this mysterious man who, in retaliation, shoved his knee in between her legs, lifting her off the ground. With no support of her own, Haru instinctively tightened her legs around his knee while clinging onto him so she wouldn’t fall. Her eyes clenched shut and she whimpered at the cold kiss. It felt so strange, nothing like those warm feverish kisses the pervert normally gave her.

This man, on the other hand, felt so estranged, as though he was touching her with no emotion behind it at all.

His lips were pressed against her and he had her pinned on the wall, but he was doing nothing other than that. There was just a mere illusion that something was happening. His hands did not wander and his leg merely kept her afloat. The only other movement he made was once he saw that she was silent, his lips trailed down from hers and onto her neck. His face buried itself against her throat and her hands clenched over his shoulders, uncertain of what he was planning.

However, Haru’s eyes widened and a vibrant flush immediately bloomed over her cheeks when she realized that he was ripping the buttons of her blouse with his teeth. What the hell? How was he even doing that? No wait, what the hell was he doing?

Haru was about to shriek when she saw the shadows at the entrance of the alley.

Then did she scream.

“Don’t look at me!” she automatically yelled, keeping the mysterious man close to her so that the new strangers wouldn’t see her state of undress. Her yell was in Japanese, her mind automatically sticking to her native language in her moment of panic. In fact, Haru’s arms were now wrapped around the man’s neck so that he wouldn’t move away from her.

“What the hell?” the voice was familiar, sounding exactly like the man who had yelled earlier searching for the ‘bastard’

“Go away! Pervert!” she screamed in mortification. No, no, no, she was not going to let someone see her like this! The alley may be pretty dark, but not dark enough to hide everything! If they came any closer, they would see her. “Please, go away!”

“It’s just a tourist,” another man grunted. “They don’t know the rules of the area so this happens time to time. It doesn’t matter. We have to find the bastard before he gets away.”

“Shit, that’s right!”

There were no more words as footsteps began to exit the alley entrance. Their loud stomping steps were heard for a few more seconds before fading away completely. Haru, meanwhile, was still clinging to the mysterious man, near tears because of how this was the second time she was stuck in this situation. Not to mention, a second time that she had been about to seen in such an embarrassing state.

Actually, forget near tears. She was in tears!

Haru sniffled, unconsciously clinging onto the man’s warm body, rubbing her eyes to wipe away the tears. Her trip to Italy was supposed to enrich her life while giving her valuable life experiences and yet, she had been basically assaulted several times... harassed by a pervert... and she still didn’t know anything about the Vongola!

She remained in this position for quite a while, stuck in a moment of self-pity, when she felt the man’s leg shift slightly. Her eyes widened and she almost screamed all over again. Instead, she immediately pulled away from the man, pressing herself against the wall and pushing away from him.

Oh gods, what was going to happen now?

Though stuck in a moment of terror, her mind sarcastically began to wonder if life was going to mock her some more and make her have a ‘pervert number 2’ following her around all over Italy.

The thought could have been amusing, but Haru was in no condition to laugh. In fact, she felt like crying all over again. She clenched her eyes shut and remained clinging to the wall, too mentally tired to actually fight outright. Though if he even considered touching her again, she was going to bite and scratch every piece of skin she could get to.

“...I’m sorry.”

The words spoken were soft, almost timid, but there was no doubt that it had been spoken in Japanese.

Startled, Haru’s tear filled eyes looked up and saw the maroon eyes staring at her with regret. He also appeared lost, as if he didn’t know what else to do to show how much he felt sorry for what he had just done. And then, as if realizing something, he quickly whipped off his jacket and held it out for her. His eyes were downcast towards the side and there was a light dust of pink on his face. Haru stared at the jacket blankly before yelping in realization as to why he was handing his jacket to her. She snatched the jacket and wrapped it tightly around her, the mortification clear on her face.

“I’m really sorry!” he rushed, giving her a deep bow. He seemed ready to say something else, when he suddenly narrowed his eyes. Distantly, Haru heard people talking and the sound was approaching fast. The mysterious red haired man gave her one more look of regret and apology before leaping upward, landing onto the rooftop with no other aid than the strength of his legs.

She stared at the roof agape at what she had just seen. How had he done that? No human should be strong enough to land on the roof of a three story building like that! Was he some superhero? Or super criminal? But there was no time to ponder on it anymore as the voices were now in front of her.

Haru clung to the jacket, but wearily got to her feet. There might be a possibility that she would need to run.

“Aha, I thought I heard someone speaking in Japanese.” A warm voice suddenly pierced through the emptiness and Haru’s tear-stained face jerked towards the direction of the familiar language. And then, as if noticing her state, concern appeared in his tone. “Are you alright?”

Haru shrunk away from the outstretched hand. “Who are you?”

Through the darkness, Haru saw a sincere smile on the face of a Japanese man. He was tall with messy black hair, a kind gleam shining from his eyes. Standing next to him was a silver haired man with a deep scowl, his sharp eyes observing the area around him as though searching for clues that would help deduce what had just occurred here. “Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you. What happened?”

“I-I’m fine,” Haru murmured, trying to regain her composure. There was no need to lash out at someone who was trying to help her. She inhaled deeply and tried to find some inner peace. “I just want to go home...”

“Maybe it’ll be better if we walked you then, miss,” he said politely. “The streets are dangerous, after all.”

Haru almost laughed bitterly, he was a little too late for that.

“I’m fine, I can get home by myself.” she really regretting running off by herself, though she really had no one to blame by herself. She sort of knew that the area was in danger and yet she had still blatantly run off by herself. And even with the explosions, she had actually dared to run towards the danger instead of away from it.

Smooth move, Miura Haru.

“What were you doing out here in the first place?” the silver haired man suddenly spoke, surprisingly in Japanese. “All civilians were told to remain indoors. Even if you’re a tourist, the hotels would have told you to stay inside.”

“Gokudera,” the Japanese man said disapprovingly.

“Shut up,” the silver haired man snapped. “Have your years in the mafia taught you nothing? Just because she’s a girl and all teary doesn’t mean she’s innocent.”

Mafia? Haru froze at the word. Did this man just say that they were in the mafia? The Japanese man must’ve noticed her expression since he tried to reassure her by raising his hands up to show that he was defenseless.

“Don’t worry, miss, we’re not going to do anything. We just want to make sure you’re alright.” He explained quickly before turning towards the one named Gokudera.  “Regardless of whether she’s dangerous or not, the Vongola values are to protect people. If she’s dangerous, we’ll handle the situation.”

“Che,” Gokudera grumbled, looking away while muttering under his breath about ‘wasting time’ helping ‘stupid crying woman’ when they should be finding the ‘Decimo’s enemy’.

“Did you say... Vongola?” Haru asked almost timidly.

The tall Japanese’s eyes lit up at this, maybe she had heard of the Vongola and what they do for the community. “Yes, we’re a part of Vongola. Perhaps you’ve heard of me? My name is Yamamoto Takeshi.”

“And... the Vongola... is the mafia?”

At this, the smile on Yamamoto’s face slightly dimmed. “I won’t lie to you miss. That’s the truth, but that doesn’t mean we indiscriminately hurt people. We-.”

There was no chance for him to complete the thought as Haru promptly fell forward, her consciousness disappearing with this overload in information and due to the stress of tonight’s incident.

The Vongola was a mafia organization?

The ones protecting the streets were part of a dangerous, illegal group?

Then that means that pervert... and Dante-san...

...just what did this all mean?

Those thoughts lingered as Haru fell forward, her vision covering in black as she promptly fainted. And, fortunately, into the arms of Yamamoto who caught her before she could land on the ground. He sighed in relief when he realized she had just lost consciousness, not because she was injured.

“Tell me again why you decided to help her? You could have just called someone else to check on why there was a scream.” Gokudera grumbled, watching Yamamoto stand up with the woman in his arms.

Yamamoto chuckled good-naturedly. “Well, it was mostly because she was yelling in Japanese.”

“And?”

“And I had heard something about Tsuna meeting a Japanese girl around here. There aren’t any known Japanese tourists or residents around here right now.”

Gokudera’s eyes widened. “Shit, don’t tell me that she’s the one Decimo is fooling around with?”

“Maybe, maybe not, but either way, we should get her home.”

“Do you even know where he home is?” Gokudera asked sarcastically.

Yamamoto pondered on it for a moment, before giving Gokudera a carefree smile. “Not a clue.”

“...idiot.”

“Well if she is friends with Tsuna, I’m sure he won’t mind if we took her to headquarters. There’s plenty of room there, after all.”

“Are you kidding me? We are not letting outsiders in!” Gokudera yelled, apparently outraged that Yamamoto would ever consider such a thing. “Just-Just take her to a nearby hotel and pay for a room or something!”

“But that’ll be pretty rude. Not to mention, she’s a foreigner here.” Yamamoto reasoned. “She’ll probably be scared when she wakes up and won’t understand what’s going on. It’ll be worse if she wakes up in a foreign environment.”

“You-!”

The conversation continued, bouncing back and forth as the two made their way towards Vongola headquarters. However, too consumed in their conversation, the two didn’t notice that on the inner collar of the jacket Haru currently wore had the vibrant and intricately designed crest of the Shimon Famiglia.

---

::tsuzuku::

---

Chapter 05                                     Chapter 07

AN: I don’t mean to make Xanxus sound like a wuss... just trying to emphasize that THAT’S just how damn powerful and scary Tsuna is. Oh and even though these two grew up together doesn’t mean they like each other. They begrudgingly respect each other and will always have each other’s backs, but that didn’t mean they were friends. They also didn’t really see each other THAT much during their childhood. Xanxus was being groomed for the Varia while Tsuna the Vongola, thus they had separate teachings with the occasional get-togethers where they beat the crap out of each other. 

Also, seriously long post! Yay!