DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN

Waking up without an alarm was not normal for Haru. She should have one by her bedside set every morning at 5: 30 AM. And judging by the rays of sun heating up her closed eyelids, the alarm did not complete its only purpose. This was going to mess up her daily schedule so much. She took in a deep breath to sigh.

Her eyes shot open, when she realized that this wasn't the smell of her room. Sitting up she relaxed when she saw it was Hayato's hotel room. She didn't expect for herself to actually fall asleep at her, technically, employee's room. Yet the moment her head hit the pillow, all the exhaustion she shouldered took over. It was the first time she fell asleep hearing someone's else's breathing. The reminder that she wasn't alone in the dark night. Even at times Vongola headquarters felt hard to sleep because of the paranoia.

Last night she couldn't decipher why he looked at her that way. His silver eyes made her want to cry in front of him. Being weak didn't feel like it was a flaw to him. He allowed her to actually speak. Recognize that she wasn't speaking her true thoughts when she couldn't herself. He read her so easily. Strangely enough, it didn't make her uncomfortable. In fact, she could only cry because it was him. The only person who made her feel this way before was Decimo.

Maybe it was because Haru knew who Hayato was. She trusted his personality to let him close. Though he was always trying his best to yank his angry kitten off his hair was not painting him in the best light. On the other hand, it was his fooling around that loosened the tense atmosphere that she tended to create. Not that he was doing it on purpose. All the time he did that. His naive behaviour mixed in to her serious one allowed her to relax.

She rubbed her eyes while holding back a sigh. She didn't want to create any sound that might wake the man sleeping on the couch. Nor the kitten that moved to nuzzle with him sometime in the night. It was such an innocent image. One that she shook herself from looking at too long.

Haru scribbled down a message on one of the hotel's complimentary notepads. She stuck it onto his weird myths book. It was bad that she wanted to laugh at his oddly innocent fascination with the unexplained entities of the world. She was getting soft around him. That was a threat knowing all that she did. How long had it been since she felt this comfortable around someone that wasn't Tsuna or Hibari?

It was a bad idea to try getting closer. She knew it all. His past, present and potentially all the paths his future could have taken. The ones that involve her would only result in misery on his part. No matter what happens, whatever their feelings, she couldn't drag him in anymore. To subject him to the world she chose to stay in, she couldn't. The blood on his hands was enough for anyone's lifetime. And there was still one person left to dye it further red.

Without knowing it, there was a single tear streaming down her face. She quickly rubbed it aside knowing that she didn't deserve to cry for him. It was all her fault in the first place. He could have continued his life. She told him from the start that she could have completed the mission without him. Yet when it came down to it, she really couldn't. Hayato's involvement was the only way to ensure that the traitor would show himself. She did everything in her power to protect him but it wasn't enough. His mom in the hospital was because of her. She knew too much. Hurt too many. It was unforgivable.

"I'm sorry." Was all she could whisper to him now. Half hoping that he would wake up. Reassure her that this was not her doing. But of course he remained clueless to the whole event.

She was in too deep for this Povero boy that was going to be in a completely different world than her in a matter of days. Taking in a deep breath, she left his suite. No matter what she thinks, they can't back down now.

Going down to the guest parking lot she was surprised to see the two Rain second in commands waiting. She casually turned her body away from them. To no avail, she was their target for the day.

"Miura-dono!" She forced a smile to her face.

"Basil-kun, Lal-san, what a coincidence to find you two this morning."

"Not a coincidence. We were looking for you, Miura. Want to tell us why you weren't in your room this morning?" Lal was a strict person. One that didn't seem to be interesting in playing games today.

"I was caught up in the storm last night that staying in a hotel was the safer option. Is there something wrong that you both had to come find me?"

"I think it would be better to tell you everything when you return with us." Haru crossed her arms over her chest. To any onlooker it would be hard to think that this group of people were close friends judging by how hard they glared at one another.

"If you're going to withhold information from me then it's wiser for me to decline this invite."

"Then we'll bring you in by force." She glanced at Basil readying himself to grab his covered weapon.

"Do we really have to do this? I don't know what charges are being put against me but I don't want to fight you two. I mean this both physically and emotionally. Please just tell me, what's this about it? If you can't tell me then call Takeshi. I'll talk to him personally."

"Takeshi-dono is missing. Since last night." That's when everything started clicking in her head. The traitor was setting her up. They were onto her. They must have been keeping a close eye on Hayato and found the easiest way to get him out of the picture was through her. She gritted her teeth at the thought that they were still one step ahead of her. But first her main problem was dealing with the Rain commanders.

"Lal-san, Basil-kun, I know how this looks-"

"Stop. Any excuses you give us now are only going to be deflected. I repeat, we will use force if needed and you won't be on the winning side. You know that's a fact, not a threat. We don't want to fight any less than you do. Sawada wouldn't want us going at it in the streets either. Come with us. Now." Haru dropped her head and raised her arms.

There was no use in fighting back right now. Out in the open like this was too dangerous. Hayato sleeping in the building behind her was dangerous. As much as she trusted the two, they didn't feel the same for her if he were to make an appearance. Haru just had to follow their orders for now.

Walking up on his own accord was unusual for Hayato. For the majority of his life he would have smashed an alarm clock before going off to work. Nowadays it was Haru barging into his suite to start his training for the day. Today it was complete silence.

As he was willing himself to get up, he remembered everything from yesterday. He shouldn't have offered to let her stay with him for the night. He barely slept through the night. Light already broke through the curtains when he remembered finally feeling tired. Especially after the past 2 days, he knew that his body was ready to shut down.

He wasn't even sure why it was so hard to fall asleep. The couch was still better than his room back in Povero. Back then his mom, sister and him shared a room. Sleeping on three separate mattresses on the floor with a weak fan above them. His mom would always mumble or fiddle in her sleep. Bianchi would love to sleepwalk/sleep crawl into either one of their beds to cuddle with either of them. Despite those conditions, he could sleep no problem.

Yesterday though, Haru was the opposite. Even in her sleep, she didn't make a noise. A ghost remained not too far from him. Though he couldn't hear nor see her, he was greatly aware of her presence. Like his brain was keeping him up all night to make sure she didn't leave. Or it was tricking him into believing that she would stay all night. After telling her he hated her, he didn't once check up on her.

He wanted to convince himself that it was all okay. That he was only living his life. A normal job that just so happens to accommodate him with a hotel due to the distance. His mom and sister were back home. A home that didn't have a leaky roof or bad ventilation. Where none of them had to fear for their lives every time they stepped outside. Not that this last condition was any better here. Again, at the fault of his employer.

Finally sitting up, he turned his head to the bed. Empty. As expected. Not a single wrinkle or hair strand on the cover to show that someone slept there. But Hayato knew. She had stayed the whole night. As much as she wanted to erase her traces, he knew. Now he wished that he didn't fall asleep despite how much his sleep deprived brain hit.

"What the fuck is wrong with me?" He groaned out. Looking at the wall clock it was around 1 in the afternoon. It was late. Normally Haru would have started training by now.

Scanning the rest of the room he found the note she left. 'Gokudera-san when you wake up, and I haven't returned yet, then make sure to get breakfast. However, given that your ability to make choices is limited to what you are familiar with, I want you to go downstairs to the breakfast/lunch buffet. Try something new.'

Ending it off with a simple smiley face. A short message that was extremely formal. It suited her. Yet it bothered him knowing that it was another front she liked to put up. The real Haru was more energetic. One that only perfected her friendly persona because it was still her.

Hayato shook his head. There was no use fretting over his emotions. Once he finished his mission, they were splitting ways. She brought too much strife to his life to think any more.

After refilling Uri's bowls, he got himself ready for the day. Heading down for breakfast for the first time. He still had to listen to her regardless of everything else. As long as she didn't poison the food there too.

He hated to admit it but he did have difficulty willingly experiencing new things. Room service was one case. At least that gave him time to think about what to order as well as giving a few pictures of what to expect. Best of all was that he was only in the company of Uri. Maximum 5 seconds of interaction with another person. He learned that he enjoyed room service and hated human interaction.

This thing Haru called a buffet, was very overwhelming. A combination of a variety of people that would not come together if not for the complimentary food. People were having fun. Living their lives. Half asleep or talking about their day's plans with excitement. He just wanted food.

Mixed in with all the noise, on the other hand, was the warm smell of multiple unknown foods welcoming him. Putting up his hoodie and pulling on its strings helped him to focus. He could see and hear less people with his side vision slightly blocked. More concentrated on the trays in front of him. Carefully taking a bit of everything that appealed to him. Just in case he didn't like one thing, he had more options without having to get up again.

One more thing he learned about himself was that he was a shit cook. The same for his sister. Hayato missed his mom's cooking. None of these high class food matched what she was capable of creating with the little scrapes their family had. He missed her cooking. He missed his family.

Hayato, and everyone that had the ability of sight, suddenly turned their attention to the woman strutting into the restaurant. She was beautiful yet very loud in her expression through clothes. Or lack of clothes to say. Her colourfully bold crop jacket and biker shorts barely covered anything. The tiny sunglasses doing the same as no one needed to see her eyes to notice her staring straight at him. She walked with full confidence. The little murmurs of her fashion style making her smile. Standing in front of him, he didn't know what to say.

"Gokudera Hayato?" She didn't wait for his response, swiveling the chair around to sit on it backwards. Everything about her was uniquely loud.

"Who are you?" She didn't say anything as she leaned forward on the chair. He was extremely uncomfortable with the way he could feel her eyes roaming over him. "What do you want?"

She smiled. She leaned back, tilting the chair back until it almost fell. Catching herself one second before crashing to steady it once more. "You're a lot cuter in person."

"Wha-"

"Too bad my boss will probably chew me out if I act out on my own. I love him with all my heart but he can be a bit on edge at times. Especially nowadays."

"Boss?" He scanned her over for any sign of a ring. Nothing. Though he briefly remembered that Haru told him they weren't technically required to wear them. With her lack of fabric cover her, there was hardly any place she could have put the ring without him noticing. She didn't seem to have one on her.

"I'm going to need you to come with me." He felt like he was missing a huge part of the conversation from the way she kept jumping all over the place. Not giving him any room to move himself. She was Mafia for sure but he didn't feel threatened. If anything his confusion overshadowed all else.

"Who the fuck even are you? What do you mean come with you?"

"I'll jump to the chase, as of last night, Yamamoto Takeshi has been declared missing."

"Missing? Last night?" Hayato was with him just yesterday. "You think I'm responsible?"

She laughed. "Yamamoto-chan can be a bit of an idiot at times but you're still an untrained Povero boy. There's no way that you could take him down alone."

He didn't like that she implied that he wasn't alone. She could see the gears turning in his head. Reaching over she snatched a berry off his plate. Taking her sweet time eating it, not addressing the look he gave her. The constant misdirections made him unable to say anything. "The Rain second in commands detained Miura-chan this morning."

"What?!" He slammed his hands down on the table. Pausing his anger when he heard someone drop their utensil. The clear sound made him realize that he silenced the whole restaurant. Too much attention was on him.

He sat back down with a lowered head. Glad the hoodie was still covering his head. "What do you mean she was detained?"

"Exactly as I said. Yamamoto-chan had raised a lot of hesitation about her. No doubt he had confronted her at least once. Now, he's missing. Without any good reason as to what she was doing, she left the second in commands no choice. They arrested her."

"She didn't have anything to do with it. I don't know what he did but why aren't you guys considering that the traitor did this? The woman may be strong, calculating, manipulative, a liar, scarily perfect," he digressed, remembering the way she ultimately reacted to the break up, "but she's also just human. One that protects herself from everyone. I'm sure she didn't do this. Not to him."

The mystery woman swore in her head. Hayato was completely under Haru's control. She would have to take in a different method if she was going to get him to come peacefully. And, annoyingly, her boss wanted minimal damage to him prior. Though she had no doubt she wouldn't be able to take him out by herself.

"Then why don't you testify this?"

"What?"

"I told you, I'm here to bring you in. Yamamoto-chan put you in the clear. He was only cautious around her because she was doing things behind their backs. But if you, her employee, said something perhaps we can figure out what's the truth."

"The truth is that she's trying to catch the traitor herself. Why don't you people trust your own allies?"

"Like she trusted us?" He reeled himself back. For the second time since talking with her. He didn't like the way she spoke to him. Not only condescending but always pushing him into a corner. At least when Haru did it, it was behind his back.

"And you think that playing her game is better. You're probably no different than the traitor."

"Then prove it. Show the Rain commanders that she and you are innocent." She was awfully pushy. Desperate to get him to go with her. It didn't sit well with him.

"You're on Decimo's side, right?"

"Of course."

"Then I want to see a ring." She smirked.

"Miura-chan really taught you well." This mysterious woman in front of him didn't feel dangerous but it didn't feel right. Everything was too aligned perfectly. If his experience with Haru so far showed him anything, it was that nothing ever goes according to plan.

Imagine his surprise when the woman took out two rings from her jacket pocket. For a moment he was too stunned to speak. Both were null rings, one mixed with blue and the other with orange. Clearance from both Rain and Sky. If what she was saying was true it was expected that Takeshi, or one of the Rains, gave her that ring. It was strange that they were both null though. In a time where the traitor was not a Vongola member, he would have thought that they would avoid nulls. Then again, Hayato counted as a null.

"Why do you have an orange one if the baseball freak sent you?" He supposed if she really was trusted then Decimo would easily give her a ring to prove it. Was Decimo aware of all of this then? Giving this woman a ring to assist her instead of Haru? The proof was in front of him. Still, he couldn't understand why he didn't fully believe in her words.

"Because you wouldn't believe me if I only had one." True enough, he wouldn't have. He didn't trust anyone besides Haru. While Takeshi was okay in his books, he easily placed her over him. Hayato couldn't care less about Decimo but both Takeshi and Haru did. He had to trust in the rings given.

"Fine. I'll go with you."

Waking up twice a day wasn't planned. Hayato didn't even remember falling asleep. Not in the dozing off way until he actually fell asleep but he genuinely didn't remember trying to sleep. He remembered agreeing to go with the weird woman. Going back to her car, he got into the back seat. She started driving when a wave of tiredness washed over him. Now?

He raised his head and opened his eyes. Panic replaced all his confusion. The first thing was Takeshi. He was covered in what he hoped to not be his own blood. He was bandaged up but it didn't change that he was badly injured. And being tied up surely wasn't helping. Not that he was conscious of the danger they were in. Trying to rush over to him, Hayato found that, while he wasn't tied up, his ankle was cuffed to the wall. Far enough that there was a clear distance between the two.

The two were in a jail cell. Facing outward to see that they were in some sort of warehouse. Of course he was stripped of his weapons that would have easily freed them. The near dead man didn't look like he had anything on him either.

"Psssst! Oiii!" He yelled in a hush tone. Takeshi didn't move. It was hard to even tell with those injuries if he was still alive. Hayato had to find some other way to free them both.

He tugged on the handcuff that had some sort of high tech padlock. He couldn't pick it nor did he know the traitor enough to think of a code. He didn't even know the traitor at all. Besides that weird woman he sent was one of his lackeys.

Hayato felt so stupid. His instincts told him not to trust her. That the whole situation was off. Haru wasn't even on her way to rescue him if what she said about her being arrested was true. Which probably explained why they chose to capture him now. No Haru that knew about them, no Takeshi that was tailing after them, and now no Hayato to bother them. They were always watching them. Knowing exactly when to strike and how to do it.

He was out of his league. His only chance was to wake up Takeshi. Surely Vongola would have some sort of hostage or lock picking training. Screw with being secretive. He needed the other to wake up if they wanted to live.

"Oi you baseball freak! Wake up or I'll blow your head off!" No response.

"Straightforward method. Very you like." No response from Takeshi to clarify.

Hayato turned back to the bars. Still an empty warehouse. "Who's there?"

"Take a wide guess." A robot voice echoed the concrete walls. Nothing in sight. Clear enough to tell that it was mocking him. Loudly so. The situation feeling oddly familiar.

"You're the one who is revolting against Decimo. The traitor."

They scoffed. "I hate the way you say it. Decimo. Call him by his name for once in your life."

"I don't know his name. You've observed us. I'm not a Vongola member."

"Ah right. You don't know anything. You were only brought in by Haru-san. Perhaps we should wake Takeshi then? Let's see if he can provide some answers." Hayato didn't get a chance to say anything before Takeshi started screaming. The underlying sound of electricity ringing in his ears.

"You bastard!" He once more tried reaching for Takeshi. The cuffs only digging into his skin. Takeshi's body fell limb with the cease of electricity. A weak groan coming from him.

"What? I was only waking him up like you wanted. Anything for my special guest."

"You're actually sick in the head."

"Yeah and so is he. None of us are saints. If you ask me, I think the right hand man to Decimo is only getting what he deserves. He was the one to butt his nose into my business."

"Fuck off..." Takeshi mumbled out. The traitor gave another small shock. He was fully capable of killing him in this state and it didn't seem like he was going to regret it.

"Oops wrong button." He sang. Hayato gritted his teeth. He had to be careful with his actions or Takeshi would suffer more.

"What do you want from us?"

"Well that's easy," He focused on the sound of their captor's light footsteps, "I want Decimo's demise. What better way than to ruin his wedding. Starting with his best man and... the man that is supposed to defeat me. Haru-san is really thorough in her research. Luckily the Rain second in commands took care of her for us."

Hayato wasn't the only one feeling like an idiot here. Takeshi was so focused on convincing himself that Haru was the enemy that he failed to see the real one. His false deduction put everyone's lives in danger. If he only trusted her, this wouldn't have happened.

He could have been the ally that they needed. The one she needed in this confusing time. Instead he was being watched and used. No wonder she turned to a complete stranger for assistance. People that barely had any trust put in them can never betray you.

"Making her your enemy is going to be your downfall." Hayato didn't lose hope. She already knew who the traitor was. All it takes is for her to spill the beans and the entirety of Vongola would come to their rescue.

He recognized that her fear came from her love for the Vongola. There was always desperation that came with her actions. She wanted to give her family and friends the answer that wouldn't hurt them. In the end, that didn't exist. Their way of life didn't have a simple solution. For the girl that found out who the traitor was, hired a Povero boy, dealt with Varia, dated the right hand man, Hayato believed in Haru to see this. To rely on more people and win against the man that resorted to backhanded methods.

"Making you her ally is going to be your death."

"You're scared of her. Of Decimo. That's why you hide behind the idea of being an ally. You kidnapped the two of us to use as hostages. Because those that can bring you down won't attack with us here. They don't need to resort to this low of a method." He heard a switch flip. Bracing himself to hear Takeshi scream again; only to be the on to be met with pain.

His handcuff burns his ankle's skin directly. Biting down his lip to suppress his screams. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of hurting him. "You only know how to inflict pain from behind the scenes!"

"It's a lot more fun this way." Hayato couldn't stop the yelp that came when an electrical current joined the heat. Falling to the floor that only made the traitor laugh. Still, Hayato was determined to not show weakness.

Takeshi, on the other hand, couldn't handle seeing this happen. The boy wasn't a Mafioso harden with training. It was cruel to put him through this purely because the Povero needed money.

"Stop this nonsense! He's an innocent that doesn't know anything!"

"Doesn't know anything? You're the one that doesn't know anything Takeshi! Going on a wild goose chases after Haru-san because you're so desperate for answers you never even found. Everyone knows about your personality. Stupid Yamamoto Takeshi that devotes himself to his best friend with a bright smile. As if he wasn't roped into our dark world. Believing in the illusion that this was all a game! Real lives are at constantly at stake! Being taken everyday! This is the life Decimo rules. It's only right that for once he suffers the same pain he causes others."

"And here we thought you were from an alliance family. Because if you really met my boss, my best friend, you would know that he's not that kind of person."

"Shut up!" There was a slam on wood followed quickly by the sound of glass falling. Then Hayato saw it, a piece of glass bouncing onto the floor. It came from the, supposedly, empty space of a warehouse. He grinned, ignoring the burning metal on his skin. Instead he forced himself to drag his fallen body to the bars. There was a chance for them to get out of this.

The action only enraged the traitor more. "What are you smiling at?"

"You. You're even more of a coward than I thought. Do you feel powerful hiding behind fake face? A projection screen?"

The traitor fell silent as did the heat from his cuffs. This was the same as when Haru was training him at Kokuyo land. A holographic projection that put an image in front of them to cover the fact that the traitor was right in front of them all along. It let them keep a close eye on their hostages. See their pain in the first person perspective.

That was the key to this all. To Hayato, the traitor was nothing more than an insecure person. They never put themselves out there. Same as Haru. Scared of something bigger than themselves. They got others to do the hard work. Hiding his true colours under an alliance. Behind a projection screen. He may be completely crazy but Hayato wasn't scared of someone that was the same as the girl who shed tears for a loveless relationship.

"I'll say it again, you're scared of the Vongola. You won't even show your face."

The traitor took this as a challenge. He wasn't breaking either of them like he wanted to. Yet he knew that if he revealed himself to them both, Takeshi and Hayato would break. He was only holding out his reveal to give a final blow. After all the pain and betrayal he's shown, finally putting a face behind it solidified his goal.

The traitor turned off the projection.

"You're-" Takeshi's words fell short seeing the holographic display fall. The traitor was in front of them in the flesh. Accompanied by a shatter photo frame of three boys by their feet.

Now everything was making sense. How the traitor had no one suspecting them. Why they were given access to such high class technology. How he let his guard down to get attacked to this degree. Finally, it made sense why Haru couldn't say anything about them without concrete proof. She was doing it all for Tsuna. Just as she said.

Hayato was the same. He couldn't believe who was standing in front of them. That he knew that face. The traitor was supposed to be the big bad guy. Ugly down to the core for betraying Decimo and involving Hayato in all of this dirty mess. Instead, he found an old friend. One that wouldn't hurt a fly had hatred burning in his eyes. Hatred that didn't fester overnight.

"Why are you..."

"Say it. Who did Tsuna betray? Whose family did you kill? What is my name?!" The traitor ran up to them, grabbing Hayato by the collar. Pulling him hard against the metal bars. Shaking him to make him look directly into his eyes. His red eyes.

"Kozato Enma."