Once Upon a Time in Rome

Summary: [Semi AU] Haru Miura is a passionate fashion designer who works in Italy and has a simple dream of finding her true love. She was on her day off when she saw a legendary fountain that is said to made people meet the love of their life. She was pushing her luck by throwing a coin and suddenly found herself in the midst of mafia war. [HaruXGokudera, KyokoXTsuna, ChromeXMukuro]

AN: Everything in this fic will go slightly AU. I will keep using the ability, power and everything with the KHR plot. Only it would take place in Italy and 10 years after the original plot.

Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! © Akira Amano, Shuheisha, Inc.

Target I: La Fontana Dell'amore
(The Fountain of Love)

Haru Miura was a successful and passionate fashion designer who currently worked in a famous Italian fashion brand called Stradivarius, and this year was her third year working in the prestigious company. She began her passion in sewing clothes during middle school where she loved doing cosplay. She kept making costume day by day and when she realized it, she had fall in love in sewing and eager to hone her skill. At the beginning of senior high school, she decided she was going to pursue her dream as a fashion designer. She even received the scholarship to study in Rome, Italy which she delightedly accepted. She lived in Italy ever since and she loved it. Everything she had done up to that year was perfect and preceded what she ever wished. But she was at the point where love seemed like a luxury she couldn't afford.

She stretched her body while lounging on her seat in front of a coffee shop. It was Sunday and she had nothing to do that day so she decided to enjoy her time alone. Alone… How she hated the word when she saw love everywhere around her. She was fiddling with her short dark brown hair while observing her surroundings and decided that she was the only single woman presence. Everyone had their partner, man and woman, man and man, woman and woman. They were happily tattletale to each other, snuggling, and kissing every now and then enjoying the romantic atmosphere of Rome, Italy. Just across her seat, she saw two teenagers, should be around their 15, an Italian boy and a Chinese girl were bickering to each other. She couldn't really make out what they bickered about, but they were talking both in Italian and Japanese alternatively, wondering why the duality of the two languages. It's not like it's her business to know though, but being a Japanese in the midst of Italian made her feel somewhat comfortable to know somebody was talking in her mother tongue. Sighing, she lifted her coffee cup only to realize that it had been emptied for some time. Her lips quirked upon noticing this and decided to pay her bill and leave the coffee shop.

She liked her life in Italy. Her friends were all hyped up when they heard she was going to stay in Italy for study and they were talking about how Italian were all about handsome and beautiful and she proved them right. It wasn't like she never got hit by Italian guy, but she just didn't feel like she wanted to have further relationship with them more than chit chat. Her mother always complained her being picky, but she always retorted she had every right to be picky about the guy she was going to spend her time and feeling with.

Another thing her mother told her to be careful of was the mafia. She chuckled at the memory when her mother described how terrifying Italian mafia are. She had stay in Italy for seven years and she never involved with one so far. Well, maybe she happened to see one or two so far. Sometimes she saw a man sat on a couch with several men in elegant suits following him with another guy and his own pack of elegant suited men. She likes seeing men in suit, but she didn't want to have any eye contacts with them. Sometimes she couldn't help but believe they would say "Arrivederci" and coldly shot people they dislike without even think about it.

She strolled with her shopping bags on her left hand which contained fashion pattern book she needed for inspiration. She had several new projects to design the autumn collections and her spirit was burned when her boss trusted her to handle the project. She passed a fountain and heard several women talked about if they threw the coin over their shoulder, they would eventually meet the love of their life. She stopped at their track and glanced at the giggling women who threw a euro over their shoulder. She observed the fountain and finding herself instantly fell in love with the sculpture that adorned the center part of the fountain. It has two angels who seem to be lovers holding each other. The woman rested her head on the crook of her lover's neck while the man had his arms around the woman's waist and the other one pointed upwards as if they were soaring to the sky. The two lovers were staring lovingly at each other and Haru didn't know why, but the way the artist made them staring at each other send shivers to her spine. It seems like the two sculptures deeply in love to each other. The coin throwing custom originally belonged to the Trevi Fountain. Legend has it that if you throw a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder with your back to it, you would guarantee yourself a return to Rome. She hasn't proved that since she had been living in Rome ever since she entered college though.

But she was intrigued to give a shot on this one. She put down her shopping bags and opened her wallet to get her coin. She held her coin with her thumb and point finger and flipping in around. She turned her body around and took a deep breath before internally stated her wish, "I wish I could meet the love of my life this year." She smiled, "Here goes nothing." She threw the coin over her left shoulder and turned her body around after she heard a small plop on the water, smiling satisfyingly when she saw her coin made it in. She wasn't that desperate on finding her true love, but as foolish as it may look, it wouldn't hurt to try, right?

Just when she was about to take her shopping bag, she heard a deafening sound of explosion roared around the place. Chaotic jumble of voices followed by frantic cries and created a vociferous atmosphere behind her. She widened her eyes when she heard saw people started running all around the place to find themselves a safe place to hide. She attempted to make an escape herself when another explosion happened and she immediately crouched and put her hands around her head. She could feel small pebbles hitting her body. Fear started to mustered inside her lungs and she found it hard to breathe. Is there any terrorism going on?

She covered her head again when another explosion occurred. She felt too scared to move right now. She opened her eyes a little and noticed two shadows behind the billowing smoke. Two figures of men were fighting behind it and Haru could only see the movement of a man punching the other one. The smoke dissipated and revealed behind the veil of smoke was a silver haired man with the sharpest green eyes she ever saw. He was wearing a black elegant suit with red colored shirt tucked inside his suit. He threw one of his dynamite to the other man.

"Hahi!" She screamed when another explosion occurred and this time didn't go unnoticed by the silver haired man. He widened his eyes and scoffed when the other man started open fire at him. He ran towards her and hoisted her on his shoulder while throwing dynamite at the other man. She startled when she felt her body lifted up and the next thing she know the mysterious man had run away while carrying her. She tilted her head to see him, but she could only saw his back.

"W-wait! Where do you want to take Haru!?" She spoke in Italian.

"Shut up for now, woman! We have to get you to safe place first!"

Haru never expected the man would reply her in Japanese. "A-are you Japanese!?"

"Which part of 'shut up' you don't understand, stupid woman!?" He growled.

"Who are you calling stupid!? Let Haru down this instant!" She punched his back, attempted to release herself from his grasp.

"Stop that, stupid woman!" He stopped abruptly and threw her. Haru yelped when she landed on something soft and opened her eyes to realize he was throwing her inside a car, sitting on the passenger seat. He walked to the other side and sat on the driver's seat. "Buckle up your seatbelt, woman." He said as he did the same.

"Hahi! What are you doing? Where do you want to take Haru!?" She tried to open the door but he had locked it. "Let Haru go!"

"Too late for that, stupid woman." He turned the car wheel and drove the car backward until it hits a garbage can. Haru yelped at the impact caused her body to jolted forward. Fortunately for her she had buckled up her seatbelt. He glanced back and scoffed when he got pursuer so he hit the gas and drove the car with maximum speed. Haru was literally hanging on her life, she was holding everything in the car and screaming every time the man made a sudden turned or speeding in a narrow alley.

"Oi, woman! Can you stop screaming!?"

"Haru didn't ask for this! Haru just ask the fountain for the love of her life!" She screamed.

"What the hell are you talking about woman!?" He inquired with an aggravated undertone while glancing at her.

"HAHIEEK! DON'T TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE ROAD!" She shouted when she saw a dead end.

Gokudera shifted his eyes back to the road and cursed when he made an abrupt turn on the last second. Haru didn't feel like her heart could take it anymore so she shut her eyes and internally beseeched the God to protect her life, hoping the sin of breaking her colleague's sewing machine and pretending not knowing about it wouldn't take her straight to the hell. If she made it out alive after this, she swore she would confess all her sin in St. Peter's Basilica.

Her eyes fluttered open when she heard the man doing something with the screen on the car and noticed he wore several weird rings on his fingers. He clenched his fist and pointed the ring on his middle finger to the hole that shaped exactly like the ring. She yelped when the car slightly jolted and saw an underground path opened before them. The man speeding the car until it reached a big cave. Haru couldn't see anything but the blue lights that illuminated the cave until he stopped at some point of the cave. Haru felt like she finally exhaled the breath she had been holding ever since the commotion started, but couldn't hide her perplexity when she observed her surroundings.

"W-where are we?"

The man scratched his head in exasperation. "Our secret base."

What did he say? "S-secret base? Why are you bringing Haru here? Who are you exactly? Are you kidnapping Haru!?" She blurted the questions that started to pop on her mind when she finally managed to calm herself a little. But she couldn't hide the consternation from her tone.

"Geez, woman! Can you save the questions for later!?" He impatiently snarled at her.

"No it can't wait! Please tell Haru who you really are and what the hell is going on here!?"

The car slightly jolted and sound of machine whirring echoed all around them when the platform where they parked the car slowly descending. The man still remained silent while rubbing his temple so she pressed again. "Are you going to keep silent about this!? Tell Haru!"

"Fine woman! We are mafia if you desperate to know!" He glared at her.

Haru widened her eyes and she could feel her blood slowly left her face. "M-mafia…?" Her lips trembled, but her eyes never left the man before her. She slowly looked down and her imagination started going on a wild slide where she imagined how they would execute, sell or use her for their pleasure. She grabbed his arms and pleaded, "P-please don't kill Haru! Haru promised she would never tell anyone about your hideout or anything! But please don't kill Haru!"

"Who said I'm going to kill you, stupid woman!? I was the one who saved your ass back there!" He said as if he had stated the obvious.

She slammed her hands on her thighs, "If you want to save Haru then tell Haru why are you bringing Haru here!?" Her eyes went blank for a moment and gasped when she remembered something.

"W-what is it woman?"

"Haru's new books! Haru leaves it back there! We have to go back!"

"We are NOT going back for some stupid books, stupid woman!" He drawled.

"Why are you calling Haru stupid!? Haru is not stupid!"

"Stop 'Haru this' and 'Haru that'! That's annoying!"

Haru finally stopped retorting him and sobbed, "Why are you so mean towards Haru? Haru is… Haru is…" She finally cried hysterically.

The man bit his bottom lip when she cried. He took a deep breath before sighing and slowly bumping his head on the car's window. He was fiddling with his necktie, opening and closing his mouth simultaneously while trying to find the right word to console her. "Look… woman… Or should I call you Haru?"

"H-how do you know Haru's name?"

He rolled his eyes upwards, "You kept referring yourself in third person. Didn't I mention it before?" He tried to modestly retort her but failed to hide the irritation implied in his voice when he realized how air-headed the woman was

She gasped at this, "H-Haru mentioned her own name in front of mafia!? Haru is… Haru is so stupid!" She covered her eyes with her hands and cried again. There was too many unexpected things happened on her supposed ordinary day and she felt like she couldn't handle anything more than this.

The man slamming his head against his seat when he felt his blood surged to his temple, starting to get irritated by the woman beside him. "Okay, can you stop crying, Haru?"

"Haru will if you let Haru go!" She stated.

He sighed and shook his head. "I can't. I should bring you to meet our boss first before deciding what to do with you."

"But Haru is a victim! Haru know nothing about this mafia thing!"

"Well, it's not up to me to decide. They had seen me bringing you. I'm afraid they thought you're one of us now."

"So it's your entire fault to begin with!" She glared at him.

"Didn't I get a thank you for saving you!?"

"What's the difference if you end up keeping Haru here!? Your boss might have a funny idea about what to do with Haru!"

He caught her chin and glared at her, "Stop saying bad things about my boss!"

She was trembling when she saw his eyes glaring at her and sobbed again. The man's expression went on a speedy transition from rage to remorse when he saw her crying again. He slowly released her chin and patted her head, "I'm sorry…" When she didn't stop crying he finally wiped her tears with his thumbs, "This might be a hard day for you, but I assure you our boss isn't like that. So… please don't worry about that. This place is safe for you."

Haru stunned by his sudden kindness and stared at him. It was on that very moment she realized that he actually really handsome. She could smell a faint scent of tobacco from his hand and his eyes held something she couldn't really explain. She felt both scared and attracted to the emerald orbs. They were staring at each other for the longest time, not realizing the car had been safely descended to its place and stood before them was a small figure wearing black fedora were watching them, smirking, "Well done, Gokudera. It seems you finally found yourself a woman."

"Re-Reborn!"