DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN
Haru checked her appearance in the mirror. She was always confident in her looks but this morning really took a lot out of her. Not that she didn't trust Shamal with Hayato. It definitely would have helped if they both weren't such pain in the ass. Shamal with his womanizing, lazy ways and Hayato's stubborn, arrogant attitude made the pair clash in every way. She had high hopes for what would become of her little worker at the end of the two weeks.
Right now her main concern was on her mission. She placed her ring around her neck, putting it under her shirt and hid her weapons in plain sight. After making sure that not a hair was out of place, she stepped out of the public bathroom.
All around her university students continued their way to classes and whatnot. Haru fit right in. Then again it wasn't like people were expecting a Mafioso to be among them. Even though many people knew that the Vongola was stationed in this city, it was easier to ignore that side of things.
In these parts of Ricco there was hardly anyone that even saw the horrors that Povero citizens were subjected to daily. For the most part, people didn't even acknowledge that part of the city. Unless it was to frown on people from there. So while Haru wasn't going to let her guard down, she didn't necessarily have to be super aware of things.
She went straight to the classroom that she needed to be in. She took the seat right in the center of the room. This way she could have a good sense of everything inside. Including the people. She only had a few notebooks and a pencil case since she wasn't actually interested in the class herself. She was only interested in her target.
"Um, may I sit here?" A timid voice asked her. Haru turned to them with a smile that fell fast.
"Nagi."
"I told you that I would prefer it if you called me Chrome." She huffed out as the other took the seat.
Chrome Dokuro. One of the second in commands to the Vongola Mist guardian. Needless to say that one of the girls was not happy with their relationship. The main reason was that she didn't feel that Chrome was ready for her top position. Not anything on her skill to say. Haru just felt that she had to constantly prove herself to make herself seen. Meanwhile, Chrome was so physically weak that she needed to be taken care of constantly.
No one really understood the Mist guardian's choice in picking his second in commands. One was a middle school kid and the other was a girl taken straight out of the hospital. The latter being Chrome. In Haru's eyes, she had little to no personality that would make her interesting.
It didn't help that both the Cloud and Mist guardians themselves didn't like each other either. Just because they all were all Vongola members, doesn't mean that they'll all get along.
"What are you doing here?"
"Same as you."
Haru swore under her breath. "Lambo-chan didn't tell me that I would have to work with you. He didn't even mention that I would need a Mist member with me."
"It's best this way. If Lambo-sama says he needs both of us then there has to be a reason." Haru hated that she was right. Lambo was the youngest guardian but he really knew what he was doing.
If someone met him on the streets they would think of him as a regular teenage playboy. He worked to get his recognition that no one could really question his decisions. No matter how much she wanted to. However, the Lightning branch didn't deal with too dangerous things that when he needed help he had to use the other branches' resources. That's where these girls came in.
It's not like these two haven't worked together before. They had a fair understanding of how they worked because of how many times they were put on the same mission. Not solely Haru and Chrome but the two branches almost always were put together. While Cloud handled the legal work on the surface, the Mist dealt with the underground work. They had a way of infiltrating things like the black markets and reported it back to Cloud to deal with it.
"Fine. Don't get in my way though."
"I don't plan to." Chrome was a polite girl. She had a naturally quiet voice that she rarely spoke up. Her pale complexion and eyepatch made her both stand out and blend in. Like a ghost that one would see out of the corner of their eye. It gave Haru the creeps that she was able to play with other's minds.
Though Haru was not fond of her, Chrome didn't mind her so much. She honestly hoped for their relationship to be better. Especially seeing how they were the same rank. Not to mention her relationship with the Cloud guardian meant that saw each other often.
They both turned their heads when they felt something off. After years in the business both had gotten a good handle on reading people and their presence. Their eyes watched as a man entered the room. "That's our target, right?"
"Appearance matches the given profile. Whether that information is correct is still up for debate." He walked over to the teacher's podium. He started to get himself organized, not noticing the two new girls in his class.
Right now the two girls couldn't make a move. For now they had to confirm that he was guilty of the crime that was placed on him. Haru flashed a smile to him when they made eye contact. As soon as he looked away she leaned back into her chair. "Our target is a teacher. Lambo-chan really knows how to pick them."
"He cleans himself up well. I wonder if anyone would believe us if we tell them about his side job."
"It doesn't matter if they do. Our only job is to get rid of him." Chrome scanned over Haru. It never failed to amaze her how high she held herself.
To be honest Chrome has never really seen Haru relaxed. Granted they didn't meet up on good terms. Even knowing what her weapons were and who she was, it was hard to picture her as a Mafioso. It was only in her eyes that she could see that she was constantly scanning the room that one could tell that she was never at ease.
This time it looked like she had something on her mind. "Is something wrong?"
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing. Never mind." Chrome didn't push further knowing that they were not close. Regardless of what was going on with Haru's personal life, she wouldn't let it get in the way of her mission.
"Alright class, let's all settle down. We're picking up from last class about the cost benefit analysis." Haru would have questioned Chrome more when their target called everyone's attention to the front. She already had her plan fully in place that she couldn't have Chrome ruining anything. She only had 2 weeks to complete this.
Haru's plan was very simple. She had to get him alone so that he would reveal his true intentions. In order to do that she had to gain his trust and keep others away when she was. The easiest way was visiting office hours. University students are easy to understand. For the most part they were fine with talking to a professor after class since there were others around. Actively going to their office hours was seen as too intimidating
Not for Haru. In cases they did go, it was a short meeting that wouldn't interfere with her plan too much. It worked in her favour that there weren't any assignments or tests coming up so that there was less of a chance anyone wanting to speak to him. Office hours could only do so much though. He knew that she existed but he wasn't taking any of her baits.
"He hasn't made any moves in the past week." Chrome informed her as they walked side by side. They spoke at their normal volumes to avoid attention on them for being secretive.
"You don't have to tell me the obvious. They're probably aware that they're in our eyes and are trying to lay low." Haru took a sip of her coffee.
"We may have to storm regardless of the proof. If your sources are right that's enough to get him now."
"He could also be a pawn in a bigger plan. We have enough to say that he's guilty; not that he is the exact person we're looking for. We can't risk the real ring leader getting tipped off more than they already are."
Though they were on a time limit they couldn't afford to make any mistakes. Every person that they are sent after deserves the worse kind of punishment. This teacher was no different. They were to follow the plan because it was the one that would give them the best results.
Haru felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She paid no attention to Chrome casting her curious eyes to her as she took out her phone. Her eyebrows furrowed a bit in confusion reading her messages.
"What is it?"
"Nothing." She didn't tell her temporary partner that it was a credit card transaction from the card she lent Hayato.
The reason why it was so strange was that for this whole week he didn't buy a single thing. Now the only transaction was cat food and vet bills. She did say that he could use it for anything. She didn't expect that he would get a cat of all things. Actually since there was no purchase from a pet store, she had to assume that it was a stray.
Haru, not looking where she was going, bumped into someone else. She spilled her coffee all over them. Then it dawned on her that it was their target. "Sensei! Haru apologizes."
She took out a handkerchief from her pocket to pat down the dripping coffee. She could see him bite down the inside of the cheek before smiling at her. "It's fine Miura-chan. Not the first time that coffee got on this suit."
She stepped a bit closer to him. He didn't make a move to get away from her. "B-but I feel bad. Let me compensate in some way-desu."
"Please don't worry Miura-chan. If anything I should be glad that it wasn't hot coffee." He placed a hand on shoulder. She almost slapped his hand away as he rubbed his thumb on her.
"T-thank you. Sensei really is a nice person." She raised one hand to somewhat cover her face. This way he could only really see her clear eyes and not her biting her lip in frustration.
"Don't mention it." He patted her once more and took his leave. The moment he was out of sight she picked up her fallen coffee cup with a loud groan.
"Great. Now I have to buy a new cup." She threw it into the closest trash bin.
"Was that a part of your plan?" She scratched the back of her head in frustration.
"Do you mean my nice act?"
"I mean you crashing into him. Didn't you sense his presence?"
"Of course I did." She didn't. She should have though. If she wanted to bump into him on purpose she would have saved her coffee. This time she was too distracted by her phone.
Chrome wasn't buying her bluff for a second. She knew how the other worked. The phone's message came out of the blue. Everything that Haru does should have meaning to it. She never wasted any movements. The fact that she was pissed off at her spilling her coffee said everything the Mist member needed to know.
Haru knew that her lies weren't reaching her. They were both too sharp in reading each other. "This gave me an idea. Ask Giannini-san for a listening and recording gadget. Preferably one that I can clip onto my clothes. And prepare you makeup kits."
She started to walk off. "Wait. Where are you going?"
"To get more coffee. I'm going to need it if I can't drink on job."
They were cutting it close. Time spent at this university gave them attention. They only limited themselves 2 weeks because they couldn't leave any sort of presence. It was better to not get any unnecessary people involved with them. Decimo rules, if it can be avoided, innocent civilians are to be untouched.
They stood behind one of the university buildings so that no one would see them. Haru clipped on the listening device to the back of her collar as Chrome was doing the finishing touches on her make-up. She retracted her hands to look over the final product on Haru's arms.
"Are you sure about this? I know that we're short on time but we can always extend it."
Haru sighed, pulling her sleeve over the makeup without looking at them "Are you doubting me?"
"No. I'm only telling you to exercise more caution. You've been acting strange this time around."
"Mist members always have such an active imagination. If you think it's possible for me to fail a mission, you are the strange one." There was a moment that Chrome could clearly see the switch flip for her. "I'll go now. Do your side of the job properly."
Down to the finest detail in her gait and speech, everything was put into consideration. Chrome wasn't sure how long she was in the Vongola. From how she held herself, Chrome saw the product of years' worth of training. No matter what she completed her mission.
Haru stood in front of the target's office door. This was going to be the last chance they got. If she messed this up, they were going to have to potentially give this up. Decimo prioritized his members over jobs that they had to respect his rules that kept them safe.
She knocked lightly on the door. "Come in."
Once given permission she slowly opened the door as if she was cautious. She looked around the room despite knowing where he would be and that it was empty. Her partner could be the one to thank for making sure that no other person would be in the room while they spoke.
"Ah Miura-chan! How can I help you?"
"I know that it's almost the end of your office hours but Haru has a few questions about last class. Should I come back another day?"
"No no. Please come take a seat. Anything for my students. You haven't visited at all this week. I was starting to think that coffee incident scared you away from me."
She pouted as she went to sit by his desk. "Please don't mention that anymore sensei. I feel embarrassed at the memory-desu."
"I'm only joking, Miura-chan. Though if that's not the reason I hope that means you're understanding the content."
"Actually..." She fiddled with her fingers. He took the bait, shuffling his seat a bit closer to her.
"Is everything okay?"
"To be honest sensei I don't have time to review my lecture notes. I have a small part time job to pay for all my bills that most of the time I'm too tired to do the homework or don't have time to do it. Haru's sorry that she has to bother you so often." She wasn't sure when she started to speak in the third person. It became a habit when she was on the job or in a good mood. It was a simple change in her speech that implied a childish and stupid attitude. Whether she spoke to her target or a random outsider, no one really knew the true her.
"You work part time? As what?"
"A cashier at a convenience store. Since I have classes mostly in the morning and afternoon I usually work the night shift. Oh but you don't have to worry! I know how to take care of myself."
"That's still not good Miura-chan. A young lady such as yourself shouldn't be working in an unsafe environment." Chrome was right about him cleaning up his act. If Haru wasn't smarter she would have fallen for his caring teacher act.
"I-It's really fine. Haru's a lot stronger than you think." She slightly tugged on the cuff of her shirt. The teacher didn't miss it. He roughly took her arm revealing the fake bruises Chrome gave her earlier.
She pulled her arm back so that he couldn't look at them too closely. Mist members did have great make-up and special effects but she didn't need more attention on them. "Miura-chan what was that?"
"N-nothing. I'm just clumsy."
"Is this why you have a part time job? To gain money to escape your living conditions?" Abuse wasn't uncommon even in Ricco. Human nature was evil that even the sanest of people could snap if given the proper push.
"Yes." She softly told him. He wrapped his arms around her. When he wasn't looking she gagged at how much cologne he doused himself in. He soon pulled away so that they would be face to face.
"You are not the first student that I've met that lives like this. If you want I know some people that can help you. If you let me." An illusion of choice. She was use to seeing this kind of technique. People like him bet on the fact that people in her position had no one to turn to. That their one ray of hope was supposed to be him and him alone. Faking that they had a choice.
"I d-don't know."
"How about this? You meet one of my friends tomorrow to give a trial run. If you don't like what you see, then we'll find another way to help you." He smiled. She wanted to punch him in the face.
"If it's s-sensei's friends then okay. I trust you."
"Good good. Now normally I wouldn't allow this but I'll be a bit more lenient on marking your tests. So don't worry too much about my class. You can go home for today." He finally gave her room to breath.
She stood up, bowing to him a few times. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
He wouldn't stop grinning at her as she quickly left the room. Chrome waited for her outside the building. She unplugged her earbuds that let her listen and record in on the entire conversation. Haru soon walked out to her.
"He invited me out. That's proof of his involvement. Your men and mine will track his movement tonight. Tomorrow we'll get our results." She took off the listening device. "That's it for tonight. I need to shower his stench off of me before I throw up."
"I still need to remove the make-up off your arms." She revealed the fake bruises on her arm that needed to be cleaned. Haru frowned at them, covering them again.
"I know how to take off make-up by myself. Don't take up my time with useless actions."
"It's not useless. Flaunting these bruises around, even if fake, is an insult to those that actually live through the pain. Boss wouldn't approve of us making a pity case out of them. You're being impulsive this time. I don't know why but you keep putting yourself in a dangerous position. Rushing in, getting personally involved with the target, none of this is your style."
"You know nothing about me Nagi. Don't pretend that we are close just because we worked together. And you can tell that to gorilla boy listening in on us." Haru stormed off as a Mist member came out of his hiding spot. He walked up to Chrome watching Haru leave.
"She managed to sense me. Isn't that good enough-byon?" Chrome wasn't convinced. Even though she managed to sense and identify Ken, there was still something that bothered her about how she was acting.
Last week Haru couldn't hear the professor before she crashed into him. Yet today she could hear Ken even while talking to her. The only hint that she had was the sudden text message. That was the only thing she could pin point to distract the Cloud member. She didn't know what the other was sent but it was enough to throw her off of her game. This was not the member Chrome knew.
The next day, as promised, the teacher brought Haru to what seemed like a regular building. It didn't stand out from the other office type buildings in Ricco. However, from the outside no lights could be seen. One could assume that there was no one was in. People were still walking in and out though. These two facts contradicted one another but anyone passing by wouldn't think twice.
"Here we are Miura-chan. Let's go in." Instantly walking in all of the warning bells went off in her head. She could hear both screams of pleasure and pain muffled by the concrete walls around them. The lights dimmed but she could still make out a ton of used condoms and cigarette butts thrown all over the floor.
Haru glanced at the hand on her shoulders. Since arriving on scene he didn't remove his grip on her. It was a way to make sure that she didn't run away the moment she was suppose to piece together what this place was.
"S-sensei where are we?"
"Don't worry Miura-chan. This is only where we're meeting up with my friend." He stopped in front of one of the rooms. He fetched out a key with his free hand without even noticing that the knob had been tampered with before.
He opened the door letting her walk in first. She scanned the room while he tried to silently lock the door behind them. There was a single bed, a standing table with 2 glasses and a wine bottle and a bathroom door in the back. A simple room with a clear purpose.
"Oh my friend is a bit late. P-please make yourself comfort while I try to contact him." She almost laughed seeing him starting to panic. He took out his phone, scrambling to find where his so called friend was. Too bad the Cloud branch already intercepted them before they came.
"Can Haru use the washroom while we wait for your friend?"
"R-right. Go ahead." He turned his attention away from his phone to point to the only other door in the room. Haru went over to the bathroom glancing back at him once still frantically trying to contact his client.
She locked the door and took out her phone. Her most recent message was from Chrome. The two branches had already cleared out the current room that Haru was in and was moving forward with the rest of the place. Just as Lambo had suspected the teacher was only using his occupation as a cover up.
She flushed the toilet and turned on the taps as she was reading through the information the Cloud branch had gathered. Luring students and others into places like this to sell their bodies for profit. Recording said actions without their knowledge and selling those. Taking funds from parents in hopes to get their child into the university. All of that money going back into this 'business'. Or even his own pockets for the most part.
From what she can guess this trial meeting could go one of two ways. Either the person they were meeting could be incredibly welcoming to make her come back to the teacher. Slowly they would break the victim by gas lighting them if they ever thought to disobey. Case two, they broke her right on the spot and instil fear that she will not be wanted anywhere afterwards. That she would end up in the slumps of Povero where the monsters roam.
Haru read all of it with a straight face. This is what Vongola dealt with. This is what she signed up for. People can call them devils for being at the top of the Mafia all they want. In the end they were still better than scumbags like this.
Chrome requested that she keep the teacher busy while they cleared out the rest of the building. As the ringleader to it all, he was the one they wanted in the end. Haru sent a confirmation that she'll stall as long as she could.
She turned off her phone, closing the tap at the same time. She rolled her shoulders back to release the tension that built up during her 2 weeks. Once this was done she could go back to training Hayato without any more disturbances.
It didn't take a second for her to put on her fake persona. She opened the bathroom door stepping back out. Suddenly she found herself tackled to the closest wall. She kept up her image as she cursed in her head for not sensing that he was waiting for her.
The teacher pinned her hands above her head and placed his leg between hers. Haru was strong physically but in terms of pure strength she was weaker than him. The teacher put his full weight on her so that she didn't have any space between her and the wall.
"Who are you? A police officer?" She held back a cough. He smelled of cigarette smoke mixed in with the smell of alcohol around them. Oh how Haru hated those smells. No wonder he needed to much cologne at school.
"W-what are you talking about sensei? Is something wrong?"
"Don't play dumb with me! My clients have never been unresponsive. You must have done something to them." She dropped the act giving him a low chuckle. Now that the cat was out of the bag, she could have some fun.
He tightens his hold on her hands even going as far to dig his nails into her skin. He bared his teeth, breathing heavily onto her. "What did you do?"
"You can ask me more questions when we meet in hell." Before he could snap back at her she spat into his eyes.
He immediately leaned back in disgust. This gave her enough space to duck herself and head-butt his chin. She still had her hands in his hold. She placed her arms behind his neck, pulling downwards to knee him in the stomach. His grip finally loosens. She punched him near the ear.
He harshly fell down on his side. He held the side of his head and took out a gun from his jacket. "You bitch!"
"A gun. How original." She said sarcastically. She could see the fear all over his face. She was at the clear advantage.
Fortunately, even though Haru's weapons weren't that effective against firearms, she knew how to resort to other methods. There wasn't much in the room that she could use. Instead she picked up the wine bottle from the table as it was the closest thing. It was unopened giving it a somewhat heavy weight. Not the best thing but she can make it work.
In one swift moment Haru chucked the bottle at his face. From his tight hold on the trigger it wasn't surprising that he shot once at random in fear. She let her body easily moved to avoid the stray bullet. She was faster than he could cock his gun, kicking him in the chest. He held his chest with the gun dropping out of his hands.
She didn't give him a second to rest. She grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back. "If I knew that you would be spooked by a wine bottle I would have chugged it beforehand."
She hooked her foot around his ankle, knocking him face first into the wine puddle mixed with glass shards. She kept his one arm under her knee while she removed her short's belt. She looped the knot around his neck like a leash. She pulled it back. She couldn't win with their body size difference that she had to restrain him as fast as possible. While still keeping him alive.
With his one free arm he stretched out to the fallen gun. She had to give it to him that he had a fighting spirit. Haru pulled the belt up higher with one hand while the other hand grabbed a large piece of shatter glass. She held it firmly in her hand before stabbing it into the teacher's forearm.
Blood started to soak his suit fast. He let out a straggling scream. He thrashed his body around in both pain and as an attempt to break free. She let go of the glass shard, moving to the back of his head. Releasing the belt, she grabbed fist full of his hair to slam his face into the ground. His body went limp.
She waited a few seconds seeing that he wasn't moving anymore. She let out a sigh, standing up. To be extra sure that he wasn't faking it she gave him a hard kick to the stomach. No reaction. "That's it? If you're going to do something illegal at least be a bit more prepared for the consequences sensei."
No sooner the main door was busted through. Chrome quickly came in with a few Mist members behind her. "Good timing Nagi."
"Is he-"
"He's still breathing. Blood loss is going to be a problem though. I may have given him a concussion too."
She nodded. "I'll handle the rest here. The entire place has already been cleaned out and the documents they had on clients and victims are secured. I'll send a report back later. You should take care of that hand first."
Haru looked down at her hand dripping in blood. It must have been when she stabbed him. With the adrenaline still pumping through her she didn't realize the glass had cut her that deeply. Looking closer she could still see the indents he made with his nails when she was pinned.
She gripped the end of her shirt to apply pressure and soak up the blood. It wasn't the most effective method but it wasn't like this would kill her. As long as it didn't leave a scar, she couldn't care less about the blood leaving her body. She'll take care of it later.
Chrome ordered the members to remove the unconscious teacher and start cleaning up the area. "Ah Na- Chrome I do have one favour though before I go."
"A favour?"
Thank you to everyone reading so far! Today (May 3rd in my time) is Haru's birthday. So why not a Haru based chapter :)
Kazorashi: I'm glad the way I explained the Vongola was understood since it was such a block of text. I love the Haru's smart trope as well. I feel like a lot of the KHR girls are misunderstood but I love them all. Also yes that was a problem with Gokudera where he only really cared about Tsuna's life over his own. This time I just changed it to be about his family and Uri. It was the first lesson that Shamal taught him in the anime/ manga so I'm happy you recognized that.
DistanceIsKey: Thank you for reading even with the serious theme. Haru's playing a dangerous game but she is smart so we'll see what exactly she has up her sleeve with time. Whether it works is up to Gokudera. Don't worry I have plans for Yamamoto, that sounds ominous so let's see how that plays out hehe.