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Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any characters and/or familiar plots in this fan fiction belong to Akira Amano. Anything unfamiliar with the audience belongs to me.

Chapter 3, Omake

Age: 6

"Haru-chan?" I blinked back into awareness, vaguely confused and startled at spotting Shiro suddenly next to me.

"Eh?" I mumbled, blinking rapidly to bring my mind right side up. "Shiro-kun? What are you doing here...?"

Last I checked, he was supposed to be at aikido practice... Daichi isn't with him...

He frowned, lavender eyes searching my face. The expression caught me off guard, since it wasn't one he wore often, and my sleepy mind wasn't interpreting it very well at the moment. "I came to see you off..." He said slowly, seeming serious yet curious at the same time. "What were you looking at, Haru-chan?"

Thump thump. The question was simple and shouldn't have had my heart racing as fast as it was. But I was nervous—

—because I had been seeing black butterflies out of the corner of my eye a lot—and I didn't know whether they were hallucinations and whether I was the only one who could see them or not—

I didn't know... if I was going crazy or if it had something to do... with me being...

"A butterfly." I answered quickly—maybe too quickly, I realized, judging the way he continued to stare at me. Before he could question it any further, I turned to face the older boy fully. "You came to see me off Shiro-kun?"

He still carried that serious expression on his face, and it was slowly morphing to something that resembled worry.

I was getting scared. I didn't know whether he was going to push the topic, or whether he had something tragic to say.

Does he think I'm crazy? Has he had enough of me? Does he not want to be friends anymore? Or is it his parents? Have his parents finally had enough of his skipping? Have they found out where he goes during his practice hours? Are they going to tighten his leash? Are they going to take him away from me?

I just want that expression of his to stop.

Which, I belatedly realized, may be a dangerous thing to feel—

"Ne, Haru-chan..." He grabbed my hands, the motion not uncommon but strange when paired with his current look.

Thump thump thump— "You..." thumpthumpthum— "are coming next year too, right...?"

I exhaled, glad that the topic wasn't as serious as he was portraying it to be and mildly mortified that I had exaggerated so much.

"I..." he continued, grip on my hands tightening, "Really like this new Haru-chan..."

For a split second, fear shot through my heart. The fact that this boy, who had probably only seen Miura Haru once or twice (considering he had only started playing with me this year), had managed to notice that there was something different about me scared me.

It meant, the people close to me had to have noticed too.

For a brief moment, I feared for the reactions other members of the Miura family might have gotten after seeing me this summer.

Could they tell that I had changed? That I wasn't the Miura Haru they remembered?

"Un." I nodded, forcing myself to act casual. I tilted my head to catch his lavender eyes, smiling at him to reduce any concern he currently held; he looked worried. "I'll see you next summer. We'll play lots when I come back." I promised.

I really liked him. Enough to want to continue being friends with him.

We were... strangely similar in a way...

Ran Shiro was the only child of Sado island's two prestigious families. He was a neglected child two years my senior who liked to boast I was his best friend with a large grin on his face. I don't know why he suddenly approached me, considering he had had chances to approach Miura Haru before, but his insistence of us being best friends only made it more difficult to interpret.

Ran Shiro liked the new Miura Haru.

But why?

He grinned, a familiar expression that was beginning to become comforting to me. "Ne, Haru-chan?" He said, voice more characteristically bubbly.

"Hm?"

He leaned forward, the lack of space between us not comfortable, just sudden. His white bangs settled on my forehead, and I grunted in curiosity at his action.

"Shir—?"

"A going away present." He grinned, pecking me on the lips.

I blinked, confused and mildly shocked at what he had just done. "Eh? Shiro? Why did you...?"

He pulled farther away, looking like a satisfied cat and damn him for looking so cute—

"Daichi once told me," He began, tilting his head in speculation, "that kisses are for people I like. So I kissed you."

Eh?

He said it so matter-of-fact-edely that I was confused for a moment.

"Daichi said..." I mumbled, picturing the graying butler, "for people you like..."

He kissed me... because he likes me...?

Ah!

"Pft!" I pulled Shiro closer to me, suddenly filled with caring and affection and love for this boy as I understood. "Kisses on the mouth are for people you love romantically, Shiro-kun." I said, grinning in fondness. "We're friends, ne?"

"Un!" He nodded vigorously, "Best friends." He added, almost like a correction.

"Kisses between friends are on the cheek." I continued, watching as his expression morphed from a befuddled one to one that resembled an alert cat. "Like this." I stood on my toes, kissing his left cheek in a hauntingly familiar motion that reminded me of my mother and sisters that were no longer with me.

That reminded me of family.

He looked at me, an expression of rapt attention on his face, seeming to try and memorize the words I had just spoken. I loved that expression; so much so, it made me want to kiss him in affection again. I smiled at him, trying to convey my feelings through the action—but I think it came out a little sadly, because Shiro's eyes sharpened.

He kissed me on the cheek, and the action made me feel better. "I like you, Haru-chan." He said.

I grinned, wanting to laugh in mild happiness. "Un. I like you too, Shiro-kun. I'll see you next summer, okay?"

"Un. I'll miss you."

This time, I did laugh. He was so honest and blunt it always surprised me. "I'll miss you too," I admitted.

"Haru, it's time to go." Emi Incubo's voice drifted from the front of the house, and I knew she and Miura Kazuo were finishing loading up the car. "Have you said good-bye to your grandparents, yet?"

"I gotta go, Shiro-kun." I kissed him one last time, this time for sure: in farewell. I squeezed his hands in reassurance before letting go. "Take care of yourself, and don't forget to send me those letters you promised, okay?"

"Un!" He agreed, masking his emotions fairly well. But I knew, by the way he let his hands fall to his sides and the way he watched me back away—that he was already missing me.

Was it strange...? That I felt guilty?

Omake: What He Was Thinking

Ran Shiro had a vague memory of Daichi (the family butler) telling him kisses were for people he liked. So when Miura Haru looked at him with large brown eyes framed by long eyelashes that made him think, Haru-chan's really pretty…, he was certain that this was what he meant.

He had leaned in, watching attentively for a reaction. Yet she had none to give. Her lips were slightly chapped due to the changing weather, he remembered her saying, but the confused expression on her face only made him cock his head and re-evaluate his feelings.

Yup. I like Haru-chan.

But kisses on the mouth are for people he loves. And kisses on the cheek are for friends and family.

And although he understood, he didn't like it.

He watched her walk away, already missing her and the warmth of her hands and mouth on his skin.

He hummed to himself, finding the silence suddenly boring.

I want to kiss Haru-chan, again.

May the audience please note Ran Shiro's feelings were anything but romantic.

Yet.

Thanks to:

10th Squad 3rd Seat (yeah, thanks a lot!), KiraLoveless (hm...don't know about that. here's that update!), DaughterofDemeter123 (yes! i understand completely! as for femininity conflicts...we'll see about that ;), Dustflame (haha), Not-Gonna-Update (what do you think, now?), JollyLoser (haha, here we go, then)

Haha, the Omake's last line made me laugh. So? What do you think? That was my first time writing anything but first person. I hope that was good.

I've got a lot of things planned for this. I hope you all will like it.

Please review!

—prince