Title: Blood Red against Pure White

Author: Primal Red

Characters/Pairing: 6986 (Rokudo Mukuro and Miura Haru)

Genre: Angst/Romance

Rating: PG

Warnings: Major angst galore! 6986 and 1896, mentions of could-have-been 2786.

Summary: She was beautiful, but it was all that she had.

A/N: Okay...so, basically, this is what I would call a somewhat 6986 fanfic, with a very dark side to it. And for anybody's information, I love Haru to bits, so for anyone who thinks I'm pairing her up to make her miserable, you've got that wrong. I'm writing this to prove a point in terms of how something in life can go wrong, even with my favorite characters. I just hope that this fanfic is in-character with her and Mukuro (damn you, Rokudo Mukuro, for being so difficult to write!)

"Twisted and insane...

We are holding onto nothing..."

-By Agnelli and Nellson in "Holding Onto Nothing"

She was beautiful.

Haru held back a mental sigh and stood by her partner at the party in the Vongola mansion. She had promised herself to be careful with showing her emotions lest she wanted Tsuna-san to know how she felt. Not that she could hide everything from him forever, but it was still worthwhile doing so because of the trouble it could cause.

"Kufufufufu…Haru-chan, you look so lovely this evening."

The dark-haired woman blushed. "Thank you, Mukuro-kun."

Her dancing partner smiled wryly, knowing all too well what was on her mind.

"What do you think of this gathering tonight?"

Haru blinked at the question. "It's…okay."

"'Okay?'"

"…yes."

She knew that it was useless to keep her façade up in front of the Mist Guardian, but it was still worthwhile the effort to show that she hasn't given up.

"…how about you, Mukuro-kun?"

The illusionist chuckled. "I have the most beautiful fiancée, the envy of every gentleman within the Italian mafia world. What more can I ask for?"

Haru smiled hesitantly. "I'm…glad that you think that way."

"No regrets on your decision?"

She felt her heart skip a beat, knowing all too well what he was referring to.

"No. No regrets."

She said this with the same conviction that she had to defend her friends on the day when Tsuna told her about the mafia. She said this, even though she knew that a part of her would always want to be with Tsuna, because she didn't have the heart to choose the consequences of that decision.

Because had she chosen Tsuna, she would have brought grief to Kyoko-chan, angered Gokudera-san (and heaven knows that they dislike each other already), and had brought Tsuna's life to shambles at the hands of the man before her now. Had she chosen Tsuna, she would have made an irresponsible choice that would have ended up destroying the lives of her beloved friends. And had she chosen Tsuna, she would have never been able to prevent this dangerous man from ruining the Vongola.

There were several regrets that she did have with this decision; had she not walked down this path, she wouldn't have fallen for the Mist Guardian in a way that could never be undone. She had walked straight into the trap in order for others to never be able to step into it in the first place. That, and she could never be with Tsuna in the way she always wanted to.

Haru smiled regretfully and allowed the illusionist to pull her into a dancing posture, as she let her thoughts drift.

She knew, though, that it was still possible for her to take back her decision and ruin everything.

She had grown to be quite beautiful—as she definitely was this evening—so much so that she had become the envy of the entire mafia scene in Italy. Even Tsuna, who supposedly had all eyes for Kyoko-chan, had looked at her with an appreciative glance that could have made her heart die had she not torn her eyes away from him this evening. Gokudera had supposedly glared at her in a disbelieving manner, and Ryohei had smiled and commented on how she looked extreme. The only man who had not looked her way was Hibari, and that was only because she knew that he was with Chrome and felt nothing but dislike for most women in the first place due to his tendency to see them as herbivores.

It didn't help that Mukuro was among the handsomest of men in the Vongola, and that he was dancing with her right now.

NO. She couldn't do that to them.

She was going to ensure that she finished the story her way, painful as it was, to ensure the survival and happiness of her friends by sacrificing her own. By giving her heart to this dangerous man before her who would probably tear her heart to shreds and leave her once she was no longer of use to him, she would ensure the happiness of Kyoko and Tsuna and everyone else in their little group of friends who deserved so much. She was going to walk down this road until she finds herself unable to turn back to anything.

She was beautiful.

So beautiful, yet so vulnerable and alone.

"As the walls are closing in
And the colors fade to black
And my eyes are falling fast and deep into me
And i follow the tracks that lead me down"

-By Sarah McLachlan in "Black"

-El Fin-

Review, if you wish. :-)