This is the harsh story of how Yamamoto received his facial scar and why Haru cut her hair . Their bond in the Vongola famiglia is severely tested and they must decide whether they really wish to continue in the world of Mafioso. Please be advised, the chapters depict brutal mafia violence and tactics similar to real life. Sometimes, the good guys win but they still receive wounds.
*Chapt. 1*
Japan in late September was charming this time of year. Crisp morning air combined with warm sunny days and the barest hint of yellowing grass on the sides of the sidewalks. A woman could get away with wearing a light cardigan and yet still wear a skirt. A man could still work outside in short sleeves and work up a sweat. Schools were into the fall semester and the peak season of test anxiety was still a few weeks away so large crowds of uniformed students still lounged at the cafés and shops after school before the cram days cloistered them inside. Japan was peaceful…well, peaceful except for one house.
"Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap! I am so late!" Haru Miura hurtled out of her front door. Cramming the rest of her breakfast into her mouth and chugging a bottle of orange juice she dashed down the street.
"Haru wait! You forgot your lunch!" her mother's words trailed after her.
"No time for that! I'll buy it at school!" Haru called over her shoulder and tossed her orange juice can into a passing receptacle.
If she was lucky she would only get a tardy and not an absence on her card. So much for her years of attempting to get the perfect attendance award. She had kissed THAT particular prize goodbye long ago when she had missed all that time being stuck in the future with the rest of her Vongola family.
Many months had passed since then they had come back, and yet she still missed living with Kyoko and the boys. Perhaps that was why she was always so late to school in the mornings? Compared to the future, she had nothing to do now; no meals to prepare, no errands to run, no one counting on her to get the house or kids ready each day, no dangerous enemies to run from. Honestly, nothing to do so she just slept in.
Once again, she had become plain old Midori High school student Haru Miura, who spent her days at gymnastics club and visiting cake shops.
Since she went to a different school than her Vongola family, she had been feeling quite isolated. Of course, before the future trip she had been in the same situation, but it had not been much of an issue at that time. Now, however, she missed them, and being aware of her role in the mafia, she felt safer when they were all in a group.
Being alone, even at school she felt exposed. Who knew when they could be attacked next? She had begged her parents for a transfer, but they had flat out refused. Her father especially had been against it. He said he had worked hard at getting her into such an elite school like Midori and Namimori High, where everyone else went, was definitely not an elite school.
With a deep sigh Haru finally arrived at her building of learning and slid in through the gate just as it slammed shut.
*Back at the Miura household*
"Honey, what are we going to do?" Mrs. Miura mumbled to her husband. They sat at the kitchen table with a small stack of money in front of them.
"This isn't enough, they won't accept it." She continued.
"I KNOW!" her husband slammed a fist on the table, "Dammit, I need more time." He raked a hand through his hair. Mr. Miura looked defeated in his rumpled suit that stretched across his generous midsection. Deep stress lines stretched under his eyes making his fat face look haggard.
"I don't know what to do…we've sold practically everything. The stock we had in your company, the car, the computers, even drained Haru's college fund and it's still not enough." His wife said nothing and just looked at her hands.
"Maybe we can beg them for a few more months until you get that raise at the University." She suggested. Her husband looked crestfallen.
"We're going to have to. They get more violent every time. We'll have to play on their sympathies if they have any." Husband and wife looked dejectedly at each other before standing up and leaving for the corporate world.
*At Midori High School*
Haru gnawed at her pencil, not paying attention to the teacher. It was her last class, and having propped her book up in front of her, she was too preoccupied with texting on her phone to listen.
"How is Italy?" she punched in the letters…
"Awesome! Reborn, Tsuna, Gokudera, and Ryohi have meetings all day with the Italian bosses so Bianchi and I are sightseeing."…
"Really? What are you doing?"…
"We're eating pastry's right now at Ciuri Ciuri near the coliseum. Its amazing! Wish you were here. Its even better than the cake shop in Shibuya"…
"Im so jealous!"…and Haru meant it. Tsuna had invited Kyoko to accompany him on an official Vongola business trip to Italy along with most of the other boys. The only ones left in Japan were Yamamoto and Hibari who had remained behind as the rear guard. Haru had not been asked to go and it still stung. She didn't think she'd been intentionally left behind…she had just, well, not been thought of. Besides, her parents would NEVER have allowed it. Haru knew Kyoko was still Tsuna's first choice when it came to female companionship, and she had grieved deeply in resignation. She had known it was coming because she had seen the evidence in her room when they had visited the future. Among the expensive cosmetics, clothes, and perfumes she had found in her house, was a group photo of her Vongola family with Tsuna wrapping an arm around Kyoko. It had been inevitable but it still made her sad.
The bell rang and school finished and finally the long, tedious day ended.
*On the Streets*
Haru meandered down the avenues of the busy shops, not really in the mood to do anything. Home had not been such a pleasant place since she had come back from the future. Her parents had been very distant and distracted, they barely acknowledged her presence anymore. She felt like she was in the way so she didn't want to be at the house much. Right now she felt bored and lonely.
As was often the case when she was alone, she allowed herself to put on her ipod headphones and slip into daydreams. Future dreams of costume making, eating food, and maybe one day getting a boyfriend. She was so lost in her fantasy that she didn't even notice that someone was yelling out her name from the side of the street.
"Yo! Haru!" a boy cupped his hands and shouted out to her.
"Hahi?" she snapped to reality and jerked her head to the shop beside her. A tall, darkly handsome young man with the physique of an athlete waved a hand at her and grinned widely.
"Yamamoto-kun. What are you doing here?"
"Haha, what do you mean? This is where I live." Haru looked around and realized she had wandered farther than she thought because the shop, Yamamoto Sushi, was in front of her in all its raw fishy glory. Yamamoto was standing outside wearing an apron and holding a tray of maki rolls.
"Do you want a sample? Dad's making me hand these out to attract customers."
"Sure. Wow! These look good." Haru helped herself to a piece and licked her lips. "Mmmmmm, Your dad makes the best sushi in all of Tokyo." She gushed. Yamamoto looked pleased.
"Just for that you can have another if you want."
"Thank you!" she reached for another roll when her eyes were drawn to a side by an epic looking sign that appeared to be covered in frosting.
"Wait a minute! You have a cake shop next door now?!" and indeed there was. A ferociously pink storefront poked out from the building inviting all passersby to come inside and indulge in confectionary.
"Yeah. That opened last week. Dad doesn't like it, says its too frilly and pink, but it brings customers by so he's grudgingly allowed its presence." Yamamoto started explaining but trailed off when he saw Haru wasn't listening. Stars glistened in her eyes and a bit of drool on the corner of her mouth.
"You could go in if you want…" He grinned and gestured towards the door. Haru didn't even acknowledge him but allowed the magnetic pull of the sweet tooth to draw her in.
The display cabinets held a dizzying array of cakes. Many she recognized, many she didn't and she couldn't wait to spend her allowance trying them out.
"So Haru, which one do you think I should get?" Yamamoto's voice piped up beside her.
"Hahi?" she answered automatically. She hadn't expected Takeshi to follow her.
"Well…they all look so good but I don't eat sweets much so I don't know what's good or not." He laughed a bit sheepishly. Haru put a finger to her chin and looked over the selection.
"What kind of flavors do you like Yamamoto-kun?"
"Hmmm…I like caramel and melon flavors." Haru made a face. Strange combo of preference.
"Of the ones Im familiar with from other shops, the 'sweet monster' cupcake is a really good caramel one and so is the 'brown river' if you want ice cream mixed with your cake. I'd recommend either of those." Yamamoto turned to the expectant clerk and ordered the monster cupcake. She handed it to him and he took a massive bite. His eyes lit up and he gave Haru a thumbs up.
"Awesome!" he mumbled with his mouth full.
He really was cute with crumbs all over him…wait…cute? She blinked a few times at the sudden realization that she found her friend attractive. Then she ordered her usual favorite-strawberry shortcake.
They plunked down at an outside table and dug into their treats. Haru took a forkfull of her cake. Ahh, bliss, nothing could brighten her up like whipped cream and berry sauce. She watched Yamamoto devour his cupcake with amusement. Sure he was cute, she admitted it, but she had never thought of him that way before. It wasn't a bad thought, not only did he have a delightful personality but she always felt very comfortable and free in his presence. The exact opposite of Gokudara. She smiled and giggled a bit to herself. Sure, she still liked Tsuna but she could enjoy Yamamoto's presence if she wanted.
"Here do you want a bite of mine?" she offered.
"Sure!" and he took her fork and dug in. "So, how are you doing these days? I haven't seen you much."
"Well, since Kyoko and Bianchi have been gone in Italy and the kids have been with Dino, I haven't really had a reason to hang around much. Its not like Hibari loves my company either.
"You should come around more. Come by the restaurant anytime and I'll have dad make you some food. It's on me since you're family." Yamamoto winked.
"Hahi? Really? That sounds great, I love your dad's food. Definitely, I'd love to." Haru brightened.
"Great. You wanna come over for dinner tomorrow? I'll take you back home on my motorcycle after we eat."
"I'll ask my parents. Thank you Yamamoto-kun."
"Oh, and you can drop the honorifics. Call me Takeshi. We're family now. We never call you anything but Haru anyways so you can return the favor." He took another big bite of her cake. Haru reddened a bit but looked pleased.
"Oh, ok then, if you say so. Takeshi…it feels weird on the tongue but I'll give it a try." She smiled broadly at him. Yamamoto's cheeks pinked a bit. He liked her smile a lot and her cheerful ponytail was always cute. He briefly imagined what she would look like in a baseball cap and sports jersey like some of his teammates' girlfriends who cheer at their games. He liked the thought immensely. Maybe he could convince her to come to a game of his and wear one? The girl did love dressing up in costumes a lot, so surely she had a baseball jersey somewhere.
"Takeshi! What are you doing? You're supposed to be giving out samples, not associating with the pinky cake people!" a voice gruffly called behind him. Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, proud and tall in a white chef's hat, leered over his son's shoulder with his hands on his hips.
'Yo dad. What's up?" his son grinned, lifting a hand in greeting.
"Hi Mr. Yamamoto." Haru waved.
"Oh, Haru. Nice to see you again." Tsuyoshi realized her presence. "Takeshi, you should have told me you were on a date."
"Hahi!?" Haru reddened.
"No, no, dad. We're just hanging out." Yamamoto laughed, not even missing a beat.
"Then get back to work slacker!" Tsuyoshi smacked Yamamoto lightly on the back of his head.
"Yes, yes…Im going. Sorry Haru." Yamamoto smiled and got to his feet and put a hand in front of his face apologetically.
"No. I should be going now too. My parents probably want me back by now." Haru stood up and deposited her tray at the receptacle.
"Bye Takeshi!" Haru flounced away waving.
"Don't forget to ask them about dinner tomorrow!" He yelled back.
"Dinner?" Tsyuoshi asked.
"Yeah, I asked her to come eat at the restaurant tomorrow night if her parents give permission."
His father folded his arms and nodded vigorously in approval.
"Cute, sweet, polite, good-natured. Yup, I like her. She'll be perfect for both you and the store. Maybe I'll aks HER to hand out the maki rolls next time. We'd attract better business."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Yamamoto questioned, innocent as always. Tsuyoshi just laughed mysteriously, gave a thumbs up, and entered the restaurant.
What Haru didn't know at that moment was that her parents really DIDN'T want her coming home.
*Tune in next chapter to enter Haru and her parent's nightmare. Will Yamamoto be shot before he knows what's happening?