Ambigram - Katekyo Hitman Reborn - Chapter 15

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 very precarious situation 2786/TsunaxHaru

My lack of KHR knowledge might make some things untrue or some characters OOC!

I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Please forgive any mistakes, both character-wise and grammatically-wise. I don't have time to re-read or edit things.

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Chapter Fifteen

HappyFace1886

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“Are you sure you’ll be alright here?” Bianchi inquired, leaning against the door while watching Haru shuffle about her room. After the incident with Mukuro, Bianchi had decided that it might actually be safer for Haru to stay out of the Vongola headquarters. The dangers brought by the inhabitants of that damn place far outweighed what protection the place could provide for her. Still, to actually leave her all alone here...

Haru smiled tentatively at her. “Haru will be fine. I have Dante-san and he’s apparently working for the Vongola as well. I’m sure that means he has other men roaming around here.”

“Right,” Bianchi relented before eyeing Haru carefully. “But, no more late night adventures.”

There was a flush that spread all over her face before Haru nodded quickly. “Yes, definitely no more late night adventures! Haru promises!”

A smile teased Bianchi’s lips and she couldn’t help but reach out to ruffle the younger girl’s hair. The browned eyed girl stared at her in confusion and Bianchi chuckled in response. “If you ever need anything, feel free to give me a call.”

“Yes ma’am,” Haru said while lifting her cellphone up for reaffirmation. She then lowered it, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. “Also... after everything that has happened, I sort of forgot that the reason why I’m here in the first place is because of school. I’ll probably be too busy to dig any deeper into knowing more about the Vongola now.”

“Hm... school...” Bianchi mused to herself.

“The pervert isn’t going to make an appearance there, is he? I-I mean, being a mafia leader and stuff, he wouldn’t make an appearance of a private school of all places, right?” Haru stammered out nervously because -who was she kidding?- of course he’d do such a thing if given the right motivation.

“No,” Bianchi shook her head, amused at the flustered look on Haru’s face. “It’s unlikely that he’ll enter the school like that. Not to mention, as you’ve said so yourself, being the future leader of the Vongola, his face is too known. It doesn’t stop him from roaming the streets, but the police often make a show of attempting to catch him, if only to write in their reports that they’re doing something about their mafia problem.”

Haru almost groaned at this information. Well that certainly explained how they met in the first place. Her mind then quickly caught onto the fact that that meant there really should have been no reason for the stupid pervert to have used her like that! It was all a sham! Not to mention, with all their fancy powers and abilities, he could have gotten away easily!

Wait until the next time she saw him!

“Besides,” Bianchi continued, though the words seemed to be more for herself than for Haru. “I’m sure he’s busy with other priorities right now.”

Haru was about to say something, but closed her mouth instead. She could still hear Mukuro’s words in her mind. How could she not, when it seemed as though he had intentionally said those words for her to hear. Haru was no idiot. If Bianchi-san didn’t trust him, then that meant she should be wary of what was being said by him.

“So when does school start?”

Brought out of her thoughts, Haru gave her a weak smile. “It should be the day after tomorrow. I remembered after seeing the calendar. Haru was afraid that she’d be too busy having fun to remember and so, marked it on the day she arrived to Italy.”

“And?”

Haru looked at her in confusion. “And?”

“How has it been so far?”

The question brought about a pause as Haru wasn’t sure if Bianchi was joking or not. However, there was a careful glint in those pretty pale eyes that made Haru shift her gaze to the side, one hand clutching tightly onto her arm. “It... It wasn’t exactly what Haru was thinking of.”

“It wasn’t?” there was a faint teasing lilt in Bianchi’s words. “Are you sure? From what I’ve heard, there are many girls who dream about going to a foreign country and being swept away into the arms of a dangerous, yet cunning boy like the idiot.”

Her failed attempt at praising the pervert made Haru giggle. “No, really, I chose to come to this country because my Otousan recommended it to me. He studied here before and told me that I’d learn a lot during my stay here... of course... he never mentioned the part about knowing anything about the mafia.”

“Your father...” there it was again, that pensive look on Bianchi’s eyes. Though she hated to admit it, Haru recognized the look. It was the same type she had seen on most of those involved with the Vongola, be it Dante-san to even the likes of the pervert. They were the eyes of someone who knew, someone who was more aware of the situation that she would ever be.

Calculative. Cold. Always so alert.

Her mouth clamped shut, silencing any and all questions that were desperate to make their way out of her throat. A part of her wanted to ask so much, but after what she’d been through, Haru had learned the consequences of her overt curiosity the hard way. Granted, in the past, it had gotten her in trouble as well, but never to this extent. This time, if she wasn’t careful, she’d be lucky if the only thing that happened to her was that she’d gotten killed in between all the gunfire.

Still... was the silence worth it?

In her mind, she saw the flicker of those two-toned eyes. They were so monotonous and distant, holding a sharp razor edge that kept everyone at arm’s length. Those eyes were so different from the playful, teasing ones she had gotten accustomed to. She didn’t think she could ever forget the tightly reined in rage that blazed behind those powerful orbs as he held her in his arms, staring down at the man with the glowing pistols.

This was the life they led. The violence and the cruelty... the betrayal and the hatred... it seemed like a never-ending cycle that only led to more pain.

...was this truly something she wanted to involve herself in?

---

Tsuna sat at the head of the meeting room, his Guardians seated down sides of the long narrow wooden table. He leaned back against the seat, sitting so casually as though he wasn’t surrounded some of the most lethal individuals in the world. Not that it mattered to him. As the heir, as he’d learned after carefully watching Xanxus and learning things the hard way, he needed to demand attention, he needed to show that he wasn’t afraid or worried about anything anyone would throw his way.

It didn’t matter if it was before even his most trusted Guardians.

He stared at all of them, completely at ease.

Everything about this was now second nature to him.

“So what have you all gathered so far?” he smoothly inquired. “Any suggestions on how we shall go about dealing with the Shimon Famiglia?”

“Based on the past and present intel gathered so far, it doesn’t seem like they’re the most well-connected people in this world,” Gokudera started while flipping through some of the papers within the black folder he brought with him. “Actually, it almost feels as though they’re bordering civilians with their ancestors maybe having some ties to the mafia. Somewhere along the way, the Shimon Famiglia fell off the radar and became... well... normal.”

“But that wouldn’t explain why they’re suddenly so strong,” Yamamoto murmured softly. All of them had heard of the reports regarding the Shimon Famiglia’s transgression. It almost seemed random, how they had suddenly attacked one of the Vongola’s bases. There had been no warning and the intention was also unclear. If anything, it was as though the only motivation for the attack was for the sake of a slaughter. “There weren’t any survivors from their first assault and the facility actually had some capable fighters in there.”

Ryohei spoke with his eyes downcast, obviously still conflicted by what exactly they were going to do about the situation. Tsuna noted it mentally, watching the older boy with careful eyes. “They’re motivated by revenge. It should be no surprise how exactly they go about exacting it.”

“Revenge or not, it should be impossible for someone to grow so powerful out of the blue,” Hibari added in monotonously, obviously uninterested in this little meeting of theirs. The best method was to go and hunt them down, right now and in person. Talking won’t get them too far. “I’m sure they’ll give us all the answers to your silly questions once we’ve bitten them dead.”

“The Cloud Guardian is right,” Mukuro chimed in, his smile growing when he saw the look of irritation flash through Hibari’s eyes at the sound of his voice. “What’s the point of having this little meeting when we’re all simply going to crush them? After all, that’s the sort of thing the mafia does best.”

Ryohei flinched and gave him a fierce scowl. “We’re not going to just beat them to death! We’re trying to stop them from slaughtering our people!”

“Ryohei,” Yamamoto lifted a placating arm, but was promptly ignored as the hot-headed Sun Guardian tried to reach out and grab Mukuro by the collar. The only reason why he failed was because Lambo was in between them, crying out in surprise after being rudely woken up from his little nap on his chair.

“Hey! How dare you interrupt the great Lambo-sama’s nap?” he demanded and slapped Ryohei on the shoulder, shoving him away.

“I wasn’t trying to-!”

“Enough,” Tsuna silenced the cacophony of noise with a quiet whisper. All eyes turned in attention towards him. “We are here to discuss potential plans on how to deal with the Shimon Famiglia... though I’m not surprise you all find this pretty pointless. I’m sure the moment the opportunity arises, most of you will go about doing whatever you want.”

Gokudera looked as though he wanted to protest this conclusion, about how all of them were utterly loyal to the great Decimo, only to shut his mouth at the realization just who it was that they were surrounded with. Hibari, Mukuro, and even Ryohei would probably just charge off and do their own thing the moment the opportunity arises. Hell, knowing Lambo and his luck, either he’ll run away and succeed or he’ll run away and cause a bigger mess. He held back the urge to groan and dig his palm into his face.

“Then why bother with this stupidity?” Hibari inquired coolly.

“Just a little reminder.” Tsuna’s eyes became hooded as he stared at them with a gaze that was bordering lazy. “What is our top priority?”

“The survival of the Vongola?” Mukuro hazard a gaze, looking amused by this development.

“No,” Tsuna said, “the utter obliteration of the Shimon Famiglia.”

Seated on either side of him, Gokudera and Yamamoto straightened their backs. After having spent so much time around Tsuna and being his left and right hands, they knew what it meant when he had that tone of voice. It was a bit rare these days, but it was akin to when Tsuna started... changing... when he’d started to turn into the young man he was right now. Yamamoto unconsciously tightened his grip on the hilt of his katana. His eyes, on the other hand, remained still and unchanging. Gokudera, on other hand, didn’t bother hiding the somewhat troubled look on his face.

“The Vongola will survive regardless of whether I’m alive or not,” Tsuna continued rather blandly, waving his hand in emphasis of just how miniscule he was compared to the workings of the real world. “The Shimon Famiglia, however, cannot be allowed to continue their attacks like this.”

The silence seemed to grow louder with each word he spoke.

“I don’t care what you do. I don’t care how you do it.” a spark of flame almost erupted in the middle of his head, his words pouring out with the apathy that could only belong to the mafia heir. “Crush them.”

---

Haru shivered at the feel of the cool breeze that brushed against her cheek. Her hands tightened around her blanket and she wrapped it tighter around her. Funny, she’d remember closing her windows before going to sleep. Mumbling something unintelligible, she snuggled into her pillow and fell back asleep.

A hand softly brushed the knuckles against her cheek, marveling at their softness. She did not stir this time and the hand, almost reverently, trailed upward against her hair to entangle the fingers in those brown locks briefly before pulling away.

There was a sharp poke on her cheek and her eyes flung open.

“Hahi!” she yelled, throwing the covers towards whoever had the nerve to poke her like that. After having been pestered endlessly by the pervert, her sense of danger had apparently been distorted. Instead of fear of having a possible stranger in her room, she was filled with rage at having been disturbed. “Who-?! ... oh... it’s you.”

Tsuna smiled charmingly at her, but it only seemed to raise her hackles even further. If anything, in her eyes, it was a condescending sneer on his face. Grumbling under her breath, Haru grabbed her fallen pillow and wrapped it around her.

“What do you want?” she turned her face away from him and decided it would be better to actually turn her back towards him, clutching tightly onto the edges of her blanket as she stared at the wall. “Here to have some more fun with your little ‘Japanese whore’?”

She stiffened when she felt arms wrap around her from behind and shot her elbow out in reflex. To her surprise, he didn’t stop her and her elbow collided hard against his stomach. She felt the wind being knocked out of him, but the jerk didn’t move his arms around her. Instead, after the initial rush of pain faded, he relaxed and buried his face into her nape.

The two sat in silence with Haru wondering what the heck he was doing and Tsuna quietly drinking in her presence.

She felt so soft and warm within his arms and he couldn’t help but tighten his grip, pulling her closer to him. Just being near her was comforting and the tension on his shoulders weakened. He felt a shiver run through her when he brushed his lips against her skin and couldn’t stop his small smile.

There was a whisper... and it was faint... in fact, she’d felt the hesitant, but sincere words brushing against her skin more so than she’d heard it.

But it was enough.

Briefly, Reborn-chan’s words resurfaced into her mind, just as it had when she was contemplating on leaving the Vongola manor or making her way towards the library.

“He’s the same age as you, Haru. Take a moment to consider that fact.”

Her hand tentatively reached out to touch the hands of the arms clutching firmly around her midsection. She felt him still behind her before he relaxed once again, more of his weight falling onto her shoulders at her acceptance of his apology.

Dangerous.

She was becoming way too dangerous and too quickly.

Originally he hadn’t questioned it, hadn’t even dreamed of wondering what exactly it was that drew him towards her like a mesmerized moth to a hazardous flame. Just a simple, cute girl with a penchant of getting into trouble. Her responses to his touch had been exhilarating and fun, both physically and verbally. There was no dishonesty when it came to her. She was open to the point of it being a fault. It was simply because she was a novelty that drew him to her. Not to mention, she reminded him of home... of the childhood he’d left behind.

But this... this was different.

Tsuna paused when he felt her lean back against him instead of squirming away as usual. It made his eyes slightly widen at her sudden trust, her willingness to actually leave herself vulnerable to him. Of course, when compared to him, she was as defenseless as a newborn child... however, now she was freely leaning against him and especially after he’d laid such a cold insult on her back at the manor.

“Don’t you dare do anything other than this,” she snapped warningly.

The smile she did not witness was a lot brighter, almost akin to a much simpler time when most of his worries consisted of school bullies and getting a certain sister of his Guardian to notice him.... Tsuna nuzzled into her cheek and murmured slyly. “But I’m sure you’d enjoy it as much as I will.”

There was another sharp jab of her elbow and Tsuna grunted while she struggled to get away from his octopus grip. “Let go of me you pervert!”

There was a chuckle before Tsuna tilted her face, pressing his lips lightly against hers. She stopped flailing her limbs out of shock before she realized what he was doing. Without mercy, she used two elbows this time and it was enough to at least break the kiss. With flushed cheeks, she glowered angrily at him.

“Get out!”

“Aw, but Haru-.”

“GET OUT!”

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::tsuzuku::

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AU: Yay, a little longer than usual. Sorry for the delay folks! Haha, a little normalcy after all the chaos they've been through.

Chapter 14
Chapter 16i