When you want something done right you do it yourself. If you want to keep your hands clean, you hire the next best thing and make absolutely sure that they can do it. That's exactly what Haru plans to do. But what lines is she willing to cross to get it done? 5986
DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN
The city of Ripartizione. Just as the name suggests it broke down into 2 parts. The Ricco and Povero; the rich and poor. Obviously not the literal way that the government would label it. They aimed to promote the image of one true city. All lies. Anyone living there would be more than willingly to state the clear line that divided the two.
Eyes stared at those that dared crossed it. In this case, a woman. Despite being in the part of the city with those wanting to take everything from her surrounding her, she continued walking without fear. She knew exactly what she was doing by having all the attention on her. Heck, even her socks cost more money than what most of these people earned in a week's time. Those staring at her wouldn't dare approach with such a presence.
However, more attention was put on who she was following. Gokudera Hayato. Raised in Povero he didn't have any of the glamour that she had. He dressed in ripped, thin clothes that his skinny, malnourished body could be seen without any trouble. Still he had somewhat of a good figure as he was working everyday. His body was probably worked to the max with the little food he got but he made do.
"Gokudera-san. If you keep ignoring me I have no choice but to resort to more direct methods." She warned him. She had been following him for a while and he had not given her any real attention.
"How about you fuck off Ricco-woman?" He cared not for her threat. She didn't falter in following him into a run down garage site.
A fragile man came to greet Hayato when he saw her following behind. She didn't miss the quick scan that he did over her. Seeing that she was from the Ricco side of things, he immediately straightened himself out to appeal to her. "H-How could I help you?"
"Please do not worry yourself. I'm only here for Gokudera-san."
"Don't bother. I'm not listening to anything you have to say."
"There's really nothing I can say to convince you to come join us?" He ignored her, going straight to his work. She rolled her eyes. "You realize that this is a once in lifetime opportunity? I don't talk to just anyone. Especially not from this section of the city."
He doesn't say anything as he throws a dirty rag at her face. She caught it right before it hit her face. "Cute."
"C-come on Hayato. That's not a polite way to treat a lady." The man tried reasoning with him. Still trying to get on her better side.
"Trust me. That's no lady."
"I take offense to that. How would you describe me then?"
For the first time, Hayato looked directly into her eyes. Without a shred of hesitation, he answered back. "A devil."
She laughed loudly. He clicks his tongue going back to work. "Well that is actually flattering. Unfortunately, I'm not quite up to that level yet. I only do as he asks."
"Without question?" She shrugs.
"It pays the bills and," She looked around at their surroundings, "judging by your circumstances, it looks like you are in no position to turn down my offer."
"I don't need your blood money."
The man hesitantly tapped her on the shoulder. "If the boy won't take it maybe I can help. What's the job missy? I'm sure I can learn what you need."
She turned her head slightly enough that she could see him. From his face alone she can tell he's in a more desperate state than Hayato. All yellow, chipped toothed, with a lack of any show of shaving as of recent. If at all. As if the smell emitting from him wasn't enough to make one hurl up their dinner, she could see a clear outline of his face from the lack of any fat. Above all his eyes were dead. No soul from living like this for so long.
She smiled. She knew that she could easily break him. "Are you sure you're up for such a big job?"
"Yes! I can handle anything you throw at me." The man kept rubbing his hands together in anticipation. She leaned closer to him.
In his ear, she whispers, "I'm from the Vongola."
The wide smile falls off the man's face, turning to true fear. His eyes trailed down to her fingers. A simple pale purple ring with two small dashes on her decorated her ring finger. The Vongola.
Top of all of the Mafia. The name was enough to make the toughest of people pee their pants. There wasn't a lot that the public knew. Only what they wanted to show. And what they showed was death after death. There was no law that they weren't willing to break for their own benefit. No one was really sure what their main goal was. All that people knew was that they got what they wanted. If there was someone in the way of that, then kiss them goodbye.
Not only did she have a ring but one that had two dashes. It showed that she was high ranking. The amount of dashes represented that she only had 2 ranks above her. One of them includes the infamous Vongola Decimo. And from the pale purple, she was representing both of the branches she was under and her own status. Her being a part the Cloud branch made everything worse. Not that any branch was better than the other.
The man scrambled backwards. He tried grabbing at anything to defend himself. She shook her head, letting out a sigh. "Don't bother. I don't need to have Boss chew me out for killing an innocent."
She walked up to Hayato. She pushed the rag from before into his hands. "I'll leave for now but know that my offer is still open. If you change your mind, you know where to find me."
She patted his chest once before taking her leave. Hayato gripped the rag tightly when he noticed something folded in it. He pulls out the card reading it once over. He crushed the card, tossing it aside. "Miura Haru."
On the other hand, Haru was making her way back to the cleaner side of the city. She could hear her short heels clicking on the hole filled road. Looking around she found disinterest in the abandoned portion of Ripartizione. Like most of those that lived in Ricco, the well being of those in Povero was not any of her concern.
The streets were littered with anything imaginable. Except money and drugs. Those were the two things that the citizens here were able to sniff out like bloodhounds. It was the only thing that the citizens needed. With money one could buy drugs. With drugs one could get money. A vicious cycle that kept the citizens here alive. If anyone can really call this living.
She stopped walking. "I know you're following me. Come out before I take it as a threat."
A tall man walked out from behind a building with a katana strapped to his back. She relaxed seeing that it was a friendly face. "Oh it's you Takeshi. How long have you been following me?"
"Since you crossed the border. Thought I would need to provide you with some back up." That was a lot longer than she thought. As expected from him. "Who was the boy? I don't remember Tsuna saying that he wanted to recruit anyone recently. Don't tell me Kyoya is going off on his own again. He may be on his mission but it doesn't even feel like he's left."
"As if you would forget anything that Tsuna-san asks you. But no, he's someone I want to recruit myself."
"A Povero boy out of all things. That's a risky move." The both of them knew this. Recruiting anyone for Vongola was dangerous enough as it is.
Although they had a bad reputation the top thing they prided themselves on was loyalty. It was beyond the rule of Omerta. Any thought of betrayal was out of a question, no room for exceptions. When they were hated and feared by so many there weren't a lot of people that they could trust. If they did put trust into someone they had to make sure that no holes were present.
The problem with those from Povero was that they were easily swayed by money. It was a matter of every person for themselves. Pay them to do the dirty work; not to join. Joining means giving them information and protection that they did not deserve. Not to mention that most were pretty much goners with how they were raised. Weak bones, weak minds, weak morals. All of it. There was no hope for them. It was overall better to avoid them unless they wanted a scapegoat.
"I'm aware. Think Tsuna-san will mind?"
Takeshi thought about it. "Tough to say. He was never one to judge based on status. But he is one to base off of actions. What has that boy done before to garner your attention?"
Haru knew that he was trying to get more information out of her. As the right hand man to the head of Vongola, he was always looking for opportunities to make sure that the family was safe. She wouldn't allow him to pry just yet though. Not until she had Hayato.
"Please Takeshi. You said it yourself. He's a Povero boy. Nothing special about anyone from these parts. Why do I want him? Let's just say that he piqued my interests."
"You sure you know what you're doing?"
"Trust me. I've been thinking about this a long time." Haru smiled innocently at him. He knew her well. She wasn't the type to do things carelessly. It was a bit strange that she was suddenly recruiting a new member for herself but he knew where her loyalties lied. She wouldn't turn her back against Vongola. Or Tsuna for that matter.
"I do trust you. It's the boy I don't trust."
"You don't even know him yet."
Takeshi looked back in the direction that they left. "Something about him is throwing me off. I don't like it."
She paid no attention to it. Right now it was a game of their wits. Who would slip up first between the two? He was at a disadvantage in this category against her. She may look weak but her true strength lies in her intelligence. Pushing further wouldn't help him nor get him any answers. For now, the best move for him was to let her do her own thing. If that turns to bite him in the butt, then that will be on him himself.
Haru linked arms with him. She batted her puppy eyes at him. "Awww Takeshi are you jealous of him already?"
He couldn't help but smile at her cute side. Even if it was mainly an image that she put on to get what she wanted, it didn't change the fact that it was rare to see her so happy. He intertwined their hands. "Just watching out for you."
"And Tsuna-san." She added on. He didn't comment on it telling Haru all she needed to know. She was aware that his orange-blue ring was on the hand she wasn't holding. To him, her and Tsuna were on completely incomparable levels. "Are you going to tell him?"
"Is that what you want?"
"No. I want the honour of doing that myself. Give me time?"
"If he joins."
"When he joins." He looked at her as she added a slight skip in her step. Not that she noticed it herself.
Haru sat at the bar with a glass of red wine in hand. She listened to the classic music playing quietly in the background. It has been a week since she tried recruiting Hayato and still no word. She wasn't in any rush though. She wouldn't have tried for him if she didn't believe that she would succeed.
"Boo!" Up from behind her an orange haired woman popped up behind her. Haru was going to get mad when she saw who it was.
"Kyoko-chan!" The two of them hugged. Kyoko took a seat on the bar stool next to her. She ordered herself a quick cocktail. After a few sips she let out a satisfying sigh.
Haru rested her elbow on the bar, propping her head. "You only drink when you want info. I doubt I have anything you want but ask away."
"A little birdie tells me that you went to Povero." Kyoko wasn't like Haru. Kyoko was more on the side of gaining intel. How? She did with her pretty, innocent looks. For the most she acted like she was a spoiled daughter and/or date just looking for a good time. No one would believe that she could tell a lie when she had the image of a deer. Getting alcohol in her system made her seem more approachable even though it didn't have much of an effect on her.
"Takeshi told you?"
"You can't cross over from Ricco without someone noticing. Especially not when you're wearing your ring. Those things stick out like a sore thumb when everyone around here knows we're stationed here." Kyoko fiddled with her ring. She had a mix of an orange and yellow and 2 dashes.
She was a rare case where she had orange mixed in since only the top guardians had that. So even though they had the same number of dashes, there was an unspoken ranking that put Kyoko above her.
To Kyoko, she wore the ring to protect herself. No one messed with the ones bearing the orange colour. She could have gotten a ring that was pure yellow to represent that she was under the Sun branch. However, with their relationship, Tsuna was insistent on the orange.
To Haru wearing the ring was an extra. It was a hassle to wear everywhere but it was an easy way to get people to hear her. So while it would have been more practical to take it off when crossing to Povero, it made everything much more interesting to her.
"I went to recruit someone. And before you ask, no this was not because of Tsuna-san nor Hibari-san." Kyoko stopped herself from taking another sip.
"You? You went to recruit someone? You don't usually go out looking for people to join you. Someone outside Vongola nonetheless. Does Kyoya-kun know about this?" Haru mainly worked solo. It was easier that way. The only time she really had someone help her out was when it absolutely needed it.
"You and Takeshi overreacted. I'll tell Hibari-san when he returns. He's not too keen of conversations over phone anyways. I want to recruit him out of interest."
"That reason could work with your boyfriend but not your best friend. So tell me all the details. Is he someone on the run? A sad worker for Ricco but lives in Povero?" Kyoko looked at her as she held up her wine glass.
Haru slowly swirled the drink around. The light from the bar made the red liquid sparkle ever so slightly. She watched how it was moved so much but didn't spill out. Red wine. "Haru-chan?"
"He's handsome." She mumbled.
"What?" Haru downed the rest of the drink.
"He was handsome. That's it." Kyoko chuckled, pushing her friend's shoulder.
"Better not let Takeshi hear that. Though I don't approve of your recruitment methods, I do think that there's something you're not telling me. I hope that I can meet him in the near future."
"You'll get the chance soon." Kyoko raised her eyebrow.
"You have a plan? If he didn't take up your offer right away he's probably not interested. Never met a Povero that didn't take on money right in front of their face. Though I guess anyone would be reluctant to join us."
"He will join. One way or another Gokudera-san will join us." As soon as Haru finished her sentence there was a loud crash at the entrance. She smirked, setting her glass down. "He's early."
Hayato held tightly onto the small amount of bills in his pocket. A habit that he picked up from living here. He had to cherish every cent that he made or else someone else would come take it. Even if they were dirtied and ripped, money was money.
That being said there was a limit to what he would to gain money. Joining the Vongola was one of them. The ruthless criminals didn't deserve any of the money that they earned. Hayato only heard rumors but now that he met one of them his expectations were met.
They were nothing but heartless fugitives that waved their money around like nothing. He wasted his life trying to gain anything he could but they pull one trigger and money falls into their lap. Anyone could do that. 'If you change your mind, you know where to find me.'
Hayato bit his inner cheek. Miura Haru. He couldn't help but laugh at the idea of him joining Vongola. There had to be an ulterior motive for her. Why else would a high ranking Vongola member come to him? He had no background to his name, no reputation, nothing. How she found him was another question entirely. How long had she been watching him?
Regardless, he didn't plan on accepting her offer anytime soon. It's been a week since they met and she hadn't appeared again. He didn't state it out loud but he hopelessly prayed that she got his direct message.
Hayato walked up the steps into the run down apartment door. He didn't even bother with the elevator knowing that it hasn't worked for years. He sighed once in front of his door. He knocked two times letting his family know that it was him. Another habit he had. Crime wasn't a surprising thing here that his family created this system to warn each other. He waited a few seconds. When they didn't answer back he knew that something was wrong.
Hayato quickly unlocked the door, rushing in. "Aniki! Mom!"
He went straight to the main section of the room where they should have been. Instead of finding them he only found a note. He took it reading it in his sister's shaky handwriting. "Hayato. Mom suddenly collapsed. I took her to the hospital. I'll watch over her for the time being and let you know as soon as I can. Bianchi."
He cursed himself for not realizing it earlier. His mom has been weak recently but he didn't think it would be to this extent. He knew that Bianchi said that she would let him know but he couldn't wait.
He ran to the closest hospital as fast as he could. It was times like this that he wished that his body was stronger. When he arrived he caused a scene until he managed to locate his family. His mom was placed on a gurney in the middle of the hallway with his sister standing beside her.
"Hayato!" He ran up next to her, looking over their mom. All colour was lost from her skin. She was asleep but she still looked like she was in pain.
"What's wrong with her?" She held onto the older woman's rough hand that had an IV drip stuck in her.
"Doctors think that it's a mix of stress and malnutrition. They are doing a few more tests to make sure." Hayato placed his hand over her's. He could hear the fear in her voice.
Besides each other, they only had their mom. And she was an amazing mom. She worked hard everyday since they were born in order to provide them with everything they needed. She never played with the devils that lurked Povero. There was nothing she did to deserve this.
"Is now a bad time?" The siblings turned around to face a doctor.
"H-How are the results?"
"Uh well it is as we expected. The effects of living in your... conditions. We've seen this kind of case many times. Now, and I hate to say this, but her body is showing signs of shutting down. I'm afraid that if she continues like this, soon an IV-drip won't be enough to sustain her. You should have made sure that she was well rested and received a well balanced meal everyday. When this bag finishes, we'll have to re-examine her before she can leave but be aware that this will most likely not be the first time. After that is up to you how she recovers. It would probably be best to take her to a hospital with better conditions than keep her here."
"No shit you dumbass." Hayato grumbled under his breath. Bianchi held onto his arm to hold him back.
"Thank you doctor." They bowed to them before they left to attend to their other patients. Once they were out of hearing range Hayato exploded.
"Now what do we do?!" If they could have given her the food she needed they would have. Not to mention now they had to add on hospital bills.
"Calm down. She'll be okay. We have a bit saved up and we can ask a bit around. A lot of people like mom that we can try finding someone that will help out. I have some friends that can help out as well."
"Friends? Our savings? That's not going to be enough! What if after she gets released from the hospital she collapses again? There's no way this ONE little IV drop is going to change years' worth of damage!"
In many older pictures that they had of her, she was beautiful. Now she was lying so lifeless. It broke both of their hearts to see her like this. He reached into his pocket. He didn't even need to count the few bills to know that this wouldn't be enough to do anything.
He hated that his mind resorted to this but he really had no choice. His family meant everything to him. "Aniki... What if- what if I had a way to gain money? Fast."
"Hayato? What do you mean?"
"I got a job offer a while ago... It'll mean that I have to go somewhere for a little while. It pays well though. I didn't want to take it at first but now-" She suddenly hugged him.
"I'm so glad! I would hate to throw this pressure on you but if it pays well then I can take care of mom. What would you be doing?" He hugged her in return. Hearing and seeing how much this gave her hope, he couldn't tell her the truth.
He wanted so badly for her to not encourage this. He hated that this was the only option. People like Haru, people like the Vongola were nothing but scumbags. They were blatant criminals and took pride in that. Ricco looked down on Povero when they were the ones to owe all of their luxuries to. Yet people like his mom did nothing wrong and she was punished by the world for not having enough of a certain type of paper.
Hayato didn't want to be associated with the line of work that the Vongola did. He worked hard just as she and his sister did. All of that going down a drain in one day.
He bit the inside of his cheek hard, forcing a smile onto his face. "M-maintenance. Nothing too big. Trust me."
"I do trust you Hayato. Leave mom to me." Holding her in his arms, he realized how boney she is. She was shaking. He tighten his hold on her, almost wanting to cry himself. But now it was on him in the way he could.
"You can't be entering here!" Security guards held back Hayato thrashing around. He grabbed the closest one, stealing the gun off their belt. He pointed it at them causing them to arm themselves.
"Miura Haru! Where is she?!" No one moved at that moment. With all these guns put into the mix no one wanted to make a wrong move.
That's when they heard someone clapping. "Now now Gokudera-san there's more civil ways to handle things."
He still pointed his gun at her while she gestured for the guards to put theirs away. They hesitated until she glared at them. Haru walked up to him with no fear. "Changed your mind?"
"You said that you would pay me. How much are we speaking?"
"No, how are you? No, how was your day? Are you in some sort of rush?" He didn't say anything. She chuckled. "I can provide more than your wildest dreams can imagine."
Hayato slowly lowered the gun. He gritted his teeth knowing that there was no going back from this. "Fine. I'll join you."
Haru held out her hand, looking straight at the gun. He slapped it into her hands. She inspected it over and laughed. In one swift movement she removed the safety and cocked it next to his head. He froze on the spot. In that moment he remembered that she was a professional.
"I want to make this clear from the start so forgive this position. I may be the one bringing you in but you will be representing the Vongola name. Any sort of treason against Boss and," she flicked the gun upwards as if it went off, "Bang. Understand?"
The two of them stood close to one another for a few more seconds. Hayato was breathing heavy from the adrenaline running through him. Haru was having the time of her life watching him. He couldn't care less for the Ricco woman in front of him. With a gun to his head his only thought was of his mother and sister in the hospital. "Yes."
Soon she backed off, tossing the gun back at the guards. "Welcome, Gokudera Hayato-san."