Ambigram - Katekyo Hitman Reborn - Chapter 17

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 Seventeen

HappyFace1886

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Haru sighed in relief once classes were over for the day. It had been nerve wrecking, introducing herself to the other students. Originally when she’d first arrived in Italy, she’d been bursting with excitement at the possibility of making new friends. After encountering the troublesome pervert and the Vongola, a part of her bemoaned the possibility of bumping into more dangerous people while innocuously attending school. Bianchi-san had reassured her that the pervert wouldn’t make an appearance, but that didn’t mean her penchant for getting into trouble wouldn’t happen again.

Even without the pervert around, she’d ended up meeting his subordinates (the nice tall guy with the sword and the rude loud-mouth with the cigarettes) and then there was that red head. Her face still flushed at the memory of how he’d pinned her against the wall like that, which was ridiculous after all the things she’d been exposed to because of that stupid pervert.

It made her want to mourn for her dying innocence since the pervert was literally distorting her usual mindset. Instead she was always getting angry and becoming even more reckless than before.

“Hahi,” she sighed with her shoulders wilting. Because she’d been so tense and on guard all day, she hadn’t been able to make a single friend at school. Granted, some of the students were also watching her warily, unsure of how to approach the unfamiliar foreigner, but there’d been those who’d been looking at her with amiable curiosity as well.

...not to mention, she’d spent the day being paranoid because of that stupid pervert and for his stupid perverted ways!

---

Haru pointedly ignored the eyes watching her lazily from her bed, brushing her hair in preparation of tying it into her usual ponytail. She’d woken up to arms wrapped tightly around her midsection while soft puffs of warm air was brushing against her nape as Tsuna slumbered behind her. At first, she’d remained frozen, her stunned and sleep-addled mind trying to figure out a way out of this mess, when she felt lips pressing firmly against the sensitive exposed skin of her neck. The day then began with a loud outraged shriek and a sharp elbow across the idiot’s stomach.

“I’m going to miss you, Haru.”

She ignored his light teasing drawl.

“Are you going to miss me?”

Normally sweet words like this would make any girl swoon, but after having endured everything that she had in the past few weeks, irritation filled her instead. Ugh, another thing changed about her because of his pervert. What happened to the girl who’d swoon and cheer when it came to matters of the heart?

Ah, that’s right. He’d made it all evaporate after stealing her first kiss and then doing things to her that made her realize that she couldn’t get married anymore.

“Haru,” arms wrapped themselves around her waist from behind and Haru jumped, having been too distracted by her thoughts to realize he’d left to bed and approached her from behind. Tsuna laughed and then pressed his cheek against the side of her head. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“For your information, I came to Italy to study. I’m going to be too busy with that to even think about you,” she snarled angrily, wanting to elbow him again. However, she knew better than to do that. While it gave her some satisfaction of retaliation, she knew it probably didn’t affect him as much as she’d like it to. Tsuna, noticing she wasn’t hitting him, held her tighter with a delighted smile on his face. “Let go!”

“I don’t want to.”

“I’m going to be late!” she protested while fighting against his hold on her, her hands clutching onto his wrists in an attempt to shove him away. Unfortunately, he had the grip of a determined octopus and only seemed to hold on tighter the more she struggled.

“Then tell me you’ll miss me,” he murmured into her ear.

“If I tell you that,” Haru said stubbornly, “I’ll be lying.”

“That makes me sad,” Tsuna spoke somberly, but the smile on his lips belied his true feelings. Instead, he pressed his lips against her neck as he’d done earlier in bed. He felt her stiffen within his arms, but didn’t let that stop him for pressing gentle nips against her skin, loving how she seemed to slowly lean into his arms while soft shivers erupted within her petite form.

“W-Wait, don’t do that...” Haru’s words trailed off, her breath hitching as he found the sensitive spot on her neck that made her bite back a moan.

“I’m going to miss you while you’re at school,” he whispered, his hot breath searing her damp skin with each affectionate word. “I’m going to miss holding you like this... hearing you cry out each time I touch you like this... and I’m definitely going to miss how you look each time you give in to me...”

By now, Haru was weakly clutching onto his wrist, her knees shaking while she was leaning most of her weight against him. Was it just her or was her body turning more sensitive to his touch? No, no, that had to be her imagination. She couldn’t give him any more ammunition than he already had on her.

“...I’m going to be late,” she tried to speak nonchalantly, but knew her voice had a small quiver in it that she couldn’t hide. Not to mention, the heavy blush her cheeks. Her eyes remained downcast, unable to look at the pervert in the eyes, causing her to completely miss how his eyes darkened as they took in their joined appearance on her vanity mirror.

Tsuna smiled and murmured gently against her neck. “Don’t be too busy thinking about me too much today.”

---

At first, Haru had been gobsmacked by his arrogance. As if she’d think about him at all! But then she’d realized what he meant right after he’d leaped out the window to do whatever stuff the Vongola Decimo was supposed to do.

The pervert had left a mark on her neck! A bright shiny red one at that! It was positioned too high for her to cover with the collar of her uniform and was quite noticeable from the front and the back. There was no hiding it at all! There hadn’t even been time for her to cover it with make-up before rushing to school. He’d already made her late as it is.

Fortunately, if anyone at school had noticed, they hadn’t said a word. If the teachers also didn’t remark on it, then she should be in the clear.

Ugh, the stupid pervert had been right in the end. She had thought about him all day and, of course, the several dozen ways she was going to murder him for ruining her first day at school. Other than being nervous that the pervert would make an appearance, she’d been too busy trying to hide the mark from being noticed!

-

From afar, maroon eyes watched cautiously at the sight of the brown haired Japanese girl walking down the streets. He’d seen her going to school and had waited until the normal time classes were dismissed. And now, finally, she was alone.

But what now? Why exactly had he even bothered to track her down like this? There was nothing that could come out of this. He didn’t even know how to approach her without looking like a weirdo and after how they first met, he’d be lucky if she didn’t immediately scream for the polizia to arrest him.

Enma ran his hand through his hair in exasperation.

What was he even doing? This was a waste of time. He should be preparing for the battle that was to come. Not... Not stalking innocent young woman who’d dong nothing wrong! Granted, it was unusual how a known assassin had escorted the girl back home, but it didn’t feel as though there was anything special about her. There was nothing to be wary about and Enma still remembered how tiny she felt when he’d pinned her against the wall.

Guilt ate him up at the memory of the incident and at the same time, his face flushed when his body reminded him of how soft she felt pressed against him.

Okay, so he found her physically attractive. He’d seen plenty of pretty girls before, though he’d never approached him -with his unusual bad luck, he’d probably have hurt himself at least four times before being able to introduce himself-, so why was this situation any different? What did he have to gain from approaching her at all?

No... that wasn’t completely true either. There was a rumor floating around about that scumbag Decimo of Vongola fooling around with a foreigner. It was said that he had some sort of fondness for the woman, but Enma knew better than to kidnap her to use for bait. Bastards like the Vongola would probably just drop the girl at a moment’s notice the moment things start getting too hot.

A flash of the girl’s teary brown eyes came up in his mind and Enma’s hands clenched into fists.

That’s right... that’s exactly what that scumbag would do to her if she was taken by the enemy. Enma wasn’t trash like him and he wouldn’t resort to something so heinous. When he fought the Decimo, it was going to be a fair fight...

And he was going to obliterate him.

A horrible thought then went by Enma’s mind. What if... What if the girl wasn’t exactly willing in all this? A random foreigner suddenly catching the attention of someone as influential as the Vongola heir? It just didn’t make sense. Not to mention, since she’s a foreigner, the brown haired Japanese girl shouldn’t even know just who she was getting involved with. It would also explain why the Poison Cooking master had escorted her home. Perhaps the Decimo had ordered her to do so, to make sure that the girl kept her mouth shut and didn’t do anything stupid.

The mere possibility of this made Enma’s blood boil.

Decision made, he turned around and leaped to the next building to follow her.

-

Haru tensed as her instincts prickled. Was she being followed? She’d never been that sensitive when it came to her sixth sense, but now, it felt like goosebumps were forming on her skin. Was she becoming sensitive after all the things she’d recently endured?

She bit her lip, resisting the urge to look around the entire street to see if there was anyone suspicious. Thankfully, there were some people milling about the street, so it was unlikely that she’d be attacked in broad daylight... right? Italy and Japan were two completely different places. She didn’t have a good grasp on what the status quo here was just yet.

Clutching tightly onto her book bag, Haru walked faster to the direction of Dante’s store.

-

Having stewed in his thoughts for too long, Enma quickened his speed as he realized that he was trailing a bit behind her. If he didn’t hurry, he was going to lose her. He could still talk to her tomorrow, but he wanted to meet her now, to satiate his curiosity that constantly prodded at him to approach her.

He just wanted to talk to her, to see if she was being coerced to do something she didn’t want. If she was, then... then he’d protect her. He refused to sit around while the bastard heir of the Vongola did as he pleased.

-

Her heartbeat quickened as she turned to the next alley. She had to be careful not to take so many odd turns. If she did, she might accidentally get lost and that might be worse than being stalked by a potential attacker. At least right now, she had a way home.

Perhaps just another circle around the area and she’d go to Dante’s place.

-

Enma’s eyes caught sight of the familiar brown hair and he moved to jump down from the rooftops, making sure to land in an area devoid of people. He was breathing hard slightly, though it was more from anxiety than fatigue. Shoot, please don’t let him make a fool of himself when he finally talked to her.

-

Haru heard footsteps behind her and quickened her speed, nearly jogging down the pathway that she knew would lead to Dante’s home. Gah, maybe it would have been better if she hadn’t detoured at all. If Dante-san was a part of Vongola, he probably knew how to defend himself as well. She’d probably be safer if she’d gone home already!

Knowing it was too late to berate herself anymore than she was already doing, Haru decided to just make a run for it. If her life was on the line, she’d rather not risk it.

-

Enma saw the girl running down the streets and immediately looked around, trying to see if there was someone chasing her. Or perhaps she noticed him and was running because she was scared that he was there under the Vongola’s orders? He scowled at that possibility and then scanned the area again, finding a pathway that would eventually intercept the Japanese girl. Finding a suitable one, he immediately took off for it.

-

Haru panted, somewhat slowing down as her book bag weighed her down. She wasn’t too far away from Dante’s place, but due to her detours, it would take around ten minutes to get to his place. She just had to exit this alley and turn the corner. After that, it was just walking in a straight line and she’d be safe!

-

Enma entered into the alleyway and almost sprinted through it, knowing once he turned the corner, he’d stop right in front of her.

-

Haru wobbled slightly as her heavy book bag threw her off her balance when she quickly swerved the corner.

-

He spun on the ball of his heel to not lose momentum and turned the corner.

-

Haru’s eyes widened and she gasped, actually jumping backwards in surprise at the familiar face that smiled cheerfully at her. “Y-You’re....”

---

“Got you,” a hand firmly grabbed onto Enma’s shoulder, preventing him from exiting the alley. The red head slowly tilted his head, his gaze meeting the sharp piercing eyes of the leader of his Guardians.

“...Adelheid.” he whispered.

Her eyes turned somewhat gentle while she loosed her grip on him, though it remained on him so that he wouldn’t take off again. Adelheid spoke quietly, almost motherly. “We need to talk.”

---

“Yamamoto-san,” Haru greeted in surprise.

The taller young man grinned at her, holding his hand up in salutation. “Hi Haru-chan. Glad to see that you remember me.”

“Of course Haru remembers you,” how could she forget when he was the one, along with the rude silver haired boy, who took her to the Vongola? The organization she’d been trying to learn about for so long? Not to mention, it was a relief to see that she’d just been imagining things and there wasn’t some creepy stalker or kidnapper after her. “What a coincidence to run into you!”

“Actually,” his smile turned a bit rueful. “I thought we could stop by a café or something. There’s one nearby that has some awesome gelato.”

Haru’s eyes nearly sparkled at that. “Yes, let’s go!”

He laughed as he pointed in the direction of the café and while Haru began walking ahead, he glanced behind her. His instincts pointed that there’d been another person or two following her, but he couldn’t sense them anymore. Yamamoto shrugged and then continued after Haru. He couldn’t help but laugh when he saw that she’d already found the store, the sparkle in her eyes intensifying as she cheerfully pointed out all the delicious flavors in front of her.

“I didn’t know this place existed and so nearby,” she almost whimpered at the delicate flavors bursting in her mouth as she and Yamamoto sat on the nearby available seats outside the store.

“Really? I’d have thought Tsuna would have taken you to a place like this by now.” He remarked, leaning back while taking a bite of his own frozen treat. Yamamoto mentally added that Tsuna knew basically all the hotspots that the ladies would enjoy and then felt his smile widen at the realization that Tsuna probably hadn’t taken Haru to any one of those spots.

Haru scowled. “That pervert only wants to...” she trailed off, her face flushing at the realization of what she’d been about to say. Yamamoto politely coughed and looked to the side.

“So how do you like it here so far? Bianchi-san told me that it was your first day of school today.” He said, easily changing the flow of the conversation. “You must be really smart if you’re actually attending a school that doesn’t speak in your native tongue. Generally international students, especially if it’s not in America, try to go to international schools where the lessons are spoken in their preferred language.”

Haru ducked her head bashfully. “Haru isn’t that smart. I-I just thought it’d be interesting to come to another foreign country for school before I go to university. Otousan actually studied in Italy for a brief moment and he said I’d probably enjoy it here.”

“Your father,” Yamamoto mused more to himself.

“Do you know something about him?” Haru inquired with a slight frown. Bianchi-san had shown the same reaction when she’d mentioned him.

Yamamoto laughed lightheartedly and rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, it’s hard to say. Not a lot of Japanese people in the Vongola, so you’d think I’d remember anyone with the last name Miura. But honestly speaking, I still don’t know most of the members here. If anyone would know, it’d probably be Tsuna.”

“Him?” she blinked in surprise at him.

“Don’t underestimate him, Haru-chan,” Yamamoto smiled at her. “I don’t know what sort of impression you have of Tsuna, but he’s more than what you think. Though I’m sure you’re somewhat aware of that by now. I heard you and Xanxus ended up bumping into each other.”

Haru shivered at the memory of that frightening man, which was then followed by the memory of how the pervert had basically been glowing. A mesmerizing orange flame had surrounded him... “I remember...” she stared forlornly into her dessert. “But... Yamamoto-san... I still don’t understand everything that’s going on. I-I tried looking a bit more into it at the Vongola library, but it’s like there are bits and pieces of information missing.”

She’d looked into the mysterious Shimon Famiglia as well since it’d come up at the beginning part of the Vongola’s history. It’d been an additional interest while in the midst of her research about the Vongola, but she’d found it odd how there was no further information regarding the Shimon after a certain period of time. Even when she’d skipped ahead to more present times, there wasn’t much concerning the Shimong Famiglia in the Vongola’s more current history... it was a bit unusual. And then there was that creepy Guardian guy with the hairstyle that reminded her of a pineapple... his words had sounded so foreboding...

“Well, I can’t say much about the founding of the Vongola, but I can talk about the present one.” Yamamoto began softly, his sharp eyes easily taking in every flicker of emotions that went through her expressive features. “After all, I was present for when the current one was being made.”

“...how old were you when it happened?”

Yamamoto seemed surprised by the question before he spoke with a gentle smile. “How old are you right now, Haru-chan?”

“Seventeen...” she trailed up, unsure of whether or not she wanted to hear what he had to say. Yamamoto looked to be around her and the pervert’s age as well, but there was something about him that felt so much older. It was as though, just like the pervert, they’d both seen things that changed them, made them grow much faster than what would be considered normal.

“Tsuna became a part of the organization when he was around eight years old. He lived in Japan, but received formal training while there and eventually moved to Italy when he was around eleven. Due to the protest of some... others... about how he needed to have some stability or familiarity so that he wouldn’t lose his mind, he’d frequently move back and forth between Japan and the other Vongola bases outside of the country.”

“L-Lose his mind?” Haru’s eyes widened. “I don’t understand.”

“I’m not surprised,” his smile grew wry. “I didn’t completely understand it either when I first became a part of this place. I was around eleven, I think, when I first bumped into Tsuna and Gokudera. Gokudera had also just recently met Tsuna and was determined to be his right hand. I thought it was just a game at first. Even though it was dangerous, it never felt like I was part of something as big as the mafia.”

“You too?” the information had been provided so blithely that it was hard for her to wrap her head around the fact that children were basically taken into the mafia to become one of them. Her fingers tightened around her spoon. Surely the Vongola didn’t make them do anything dangerous while they were young, right?

Yamamoto appeared to have read her face correctly as he chuckled. “Whatever you’re thinking about, Haru-chan, don’t think that it’s impossible. This is one of the oldest and most powerful organizations in the world.”

“But...”

“Well, I can’t say I had it easy, but like I said, I thought this was all a game at first.”

“When did you realize that it wasn’t?”

He stared at her, a bit taken aback by her directness before he shook his head, getting an idea of what it was about her that drew Tsuna to her. Never shying from the truth, facing head on no matter how frightening it may be. Even now, wary as she may be about what he had to say, she was thinking clearly and calmly. In a way, it reminded him of... her... “I suppose it was around when I realized that the only reason why I was never formally introduced to the Vongola was because Tsuna made it that way.”

She looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Japan was Tsuna’s haven away from all the mafia craze and I was one of those friends he’d made in Japan.” He continued with a careless shrug, though there was a slight bitterness in his eyes. It had taken him so long to realize the truth. How long had he allowed his Decimo to suffer while he remained in oblivious happiness? “He shouldered all the burdens to make sure that his place of refuge didn’t change...”

Haru stared at him, unable to respond, and found that she couldn’t even think of a response anyways when his gaze suddenly turned to hers.

“I suppose I don’t need to exactly spell out the stuff he had to do in order to protect that, do I?” he murmured gently.

“Why are you telling me this?”

Yamamoto laughed lightly, stretching as he leaned back on his seat. “Well, yesterday there was a meeting with the Guardians and after that, Tsuna disappeared. While others probably think he went to patrol or something, the Guardians are supposed to be able to read their chosen Sky well... and we all know where he really went.”

There was no flustered twittering or flustered yells this time. Haru stared down at her melting treating, no longer having the appetite for it.

“You’ve taken a little more than a step into this world, Haru-chan.” Yamamoto continued softly, as though he was speaking to a cornered animal that might lash out at any minute... one that may not be aware that if it did, it would only be ruthlessly put down by the predator that had it pinned. “But it’s still not too late to back out. You need to find what it is that you want... and go forward at it with a dying will. Because if you’re in too deep and you hurt him, I don’t think there’s any recovering from it this time around.”

---

Chapter 17 Extra Scene: (Wanted to add this in, but couldn’t find a place to put it!)

Yamamoto casually strolled down the streets with his hands in his pocket when he looked to see the latest baseball magazine issue in a corner stand. Though his phone had access to any relevant news online regarding his favorite teams, there was always something more exciting about lazily fumbling through the pages. Besides, he needed a distraction after that eventful meeting with Haru-chan. The gelato was settling uncomfortably within his stomach after that conversation.

He picked up one of the magazines and began flipping through them. “How long do you plan to follow me, Gokudera?”

There was a small crackling noise as a match was lit, soft plumes of smoke coming from the other side of the building. Gokudera leaned against the wall, releasing a small puff of smoke from his mouth as he stared grimly at the ground. “What the hell are you playing at?”

“You didn’t approve?” Yamamoto inquired, amused.

“That stupid girl should just stay the hell away from the Decimo.”

“I find it unfair to pin everything on her when it’s Tsuna who chased after her in the first place.” He chuckled. “Besides, I thought you were supportive of the idea of telling everything to her. Maybe it’ll chase her off.”

“Or maybe she’ll stupidly think that she can make a difference.” Gokudera gnashed his teeth together, the cigarette dropping to the floor before he hastily stubbed it with his foot. “If she does to him what that bitch did to Decimo, I’ll kill her.”

“Don’t blame her either,” this time, Yamamoto spoke sternly. “Not to mention, you’ll make Ryohei lose his temper if you say something like that about her.”

“Shut up.”

Yamamoto shook his head, knowing there was no placating that stormy temper of his. Besides, there was nothing else that they could do about this. Tsuna would definitely disapprove if he’d heard that his Guardians had acted out like this, but it was the duty of the Guardians to have their Sky’s back. All they could do now was subtle hint in the direction that would hopefully lead to a less miserable ending and wait for the events to unfold. 

Besides, he thought a bit fondly, though Haru had refused to look up at him till the very end, he had still seen the volatile, determined emotions behind the tear stained brown eyes... and that gave him hope.

---

::tsuzuku::

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AU: Not really satisfied with this chapter, but decided to post it anyways.

Haru’s maturity is based on how she reacted after being told the truth about the mafia in the TYL arc. Sure she was scared and crying when the arc began, but she matured so much when Tsuna told her the truth. I was so proud! xD Such a strong girl. And she did her best not to make Tsuna worry about her as well. I’d like to think that she’d mature to be something like this, at least in this story. We sometimes forget that in the manga, the characters were basically 14-15 when all the crazy stuff happened.

Chapter 16i