I did say that I was going to like writing some of these later chapters for this story. Mua ha ha. I'm all excited now.

Along with me being pretty excited for this stuff, I'm also

Disclaimer: The only people that belong to me are the baddies. Other than that, none of the characters belong to me, and instead belong to their creator Akira Amano.

Chapter 9- Waiting Is Cruel Punishment

Haru was sitting in class staring out the window blankly. She couldn't focus on class and just nothing could keep her attention for very long. It was hard because she was too worried about Dino, just like everyone else.

It was easy to see how worried Tsuna was because he looked more exhausted every passing day and he was looking more pale. He also had less energy. Gokudera however, was full of energy and was worried over his boss.

This only bothered Tsuna more because Gokudera was being more overbearing than normal but he didn't say that.

Yamamoto was a bit quieter than usual, which goes to show that everyone was affected by this. Dino was always there to help them if they needed it and he specifically asked to not bother in his affairs. It didn't seem right.

Though they all understood how he felt. It was his famiglia and he wanted to deal with it all on his own. Also, he couldn't possibly risk the Vongola getting hurt because of him and bring a huge change in the mafia world.

It's already been 3 days since Dino left. Haru felt a bit of movement in her desk and she brought a finger to her mouth and whispered a 'shhhhh' sound.

Enzio was getting very restless having been separated from his master for a full 3 days. He's never been away from Dino this long and it made him nervous.

He would constantly cry when he was left alone in Haru's room so she had no choice but to bring him to school with her secretely- of course she got permission from Hibari. It was tough but somehow she managed to get him to agree. She had Reborn's help.

The school week was almost over and perhaps they would finally get some word back on Dino's situation. It made her so worried that she just couldn't do anything.

She couldn't sleep, she could barely eat, and even cakes didn't seem all that appetizing to her right now. Yes, Haru Miura did not feel like eating cakes. The world was surely to end tomorrow.

The school bell rang and students rose to bow to their teacher before they all filed out of the classroom.

"Hey Haru, are you okay? You're not looking very good. You taking care of yourself?" Yamamoto asked her as she was carefully sneaking Enzio into her bag.

"Ah, Yamamoto. Haru is... fine. She's just very worried is all." She said.

Yamamoto nodded his head understanding how she felt since he was worried as well, but still he was still able to take care of himself.

Tsuna looked tired as well but he was still eating. After all his mother wouldn't let him get away with not eating.

Haru had lost some weight, and she wasn't smilling anymore. AH! It's not like he paid close attention to her weight on purpose or anything! He just... happened to be able to tell if anything about her changed.

Since he was watching her every day.

"You... are really concerned about Dino-san aren't you? You haven't been eating recently have you?" He asked.

Haru was about to fight back but then she tried to remember her last decent meal and nothing came to mind. She probably hasn't been taking very good care of her body now that she thought about it. She had nothing to say in her defense.

Yamamoto shook his head and sighed. He reached into his bag and tossed her an onigiri that was wrapped up in plastic. Probably one of the kinds you can get at a convenience store.

She looked at it inquistitively and noticed Yamamoto smiling brightly at her, "You can have one of my onigiri. You better eat it on your way home, alright? I'll get angry if you don't eat it."

Haru smiled and nodded her head. Yamamoto was so sweet, always looking out for his friends. "Thank you Yamamoto-kun."

Yamamoto shyly rubbed the back of his head, laughing happily. The smile on his face turned into a small frown, a nervous one.

He dropped his hands to the side and looked down at the ground, looking as if he was unsure if he wantd to say something else.

"If you want to say something, you can." She tried to coax him to say something.

Yamamoto opened his mouth but then closed it again.

He was debating with himself whether or not he wanted to ask what was on his mind.

"Y-you... ah... how do you feel about Dino-san? Do you... like him? Like... like-like him?" He asked.

Haru was shocked by his sudden question but she thought long and hard about it.

What exactly did she feel for Dino? When she thought about him it made her mood shoot up instantly and sometimes her heart would beat very fast.

Seeing him smile made her feel like she was the happiest person in the world, and this probably only meant one thing. She loved him.

Or at least, had a big crush on him. Which ever.

"I do." She answered.

Yamamoto looked down at the ground once more, looking as if he wanted to say something.

"So it ca- never mind. Well, I gotta go off to practice. I'll see ya around, Haru." Yamamoto flashed a smile at her quickly before running out of the classroom.

Haru couldn't help but think that his smile seemed fake, but she didn't think too much of it and she walked home.

AH HA HA HA! I'm a jerk. I know. Sue me. I'm sorry Yamamoto. I really do love you, but teasing and tormenting my favorite characters is so much fun.

I swear i'll write a happy fic for you one day. Really.

-Neospice21