DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN

After their little training session, it was clear that they needed some medical attention. Hayato was fine for the most part. A few minor bruises but nothing a bit of ointment and rest couldn't fix. Haru, on the other hand, fell from a second level building on to hard concrete rumble with a full grown man in her arms. Needless to say she had a few more injuries than him. Again, nothing serious but in her business taking care of her body was required.

They both stayed a night at a Ricco hospital after a minor check up. They technically could have left but it was in their best interest to rest up for the day. It was already late and it was his first real fight that it took a lot out of him. Haru had to make a few arrangements so that they could sleep there for the night and check out in the morning once receiving an okay from doctors.

Hayato used the time to think about the trial that he had. No matter how he looked at it, he knew that she took him easy. The whole hologram box allowed him more time to think. To get his brain warmed up to figure out her weapons. She let little things about her get heard so that he could find the discrepancies.

It wasn't only in taking him easy. She didn't allow him to get hurt. Her needles made it so that she didn't have to resort to physical combat. His body was getting better but she years of training on him. She had speed that his eyes couldn't catch, strength to pull her own weight up without difficulty, grace to never make a mistake and to tie it all in with her brains.

The only time she could have potentially hurt him was when she dropped the dynamite at his feet. Even then she gave him enough time to react when she could have easily put it directly on him.

Then there was the fall.

If she hesitated for even a second, there was no way she could have caught him. She claimed that it was to prevent a concussion. And while that could hold true, she still took most of the impact herself when she could have easily just protected his head.

Hayato didn't know why but the idea that she was helping him beyond what was necessary bothered him. She was telling him so much but not enough for him to understand what was going on in her brain. Everything was playing into her hands and he had no way of knowing if this was going to end badly on his part.

A knock interrupted his thoughts. "Come in."

Haru walked inside in much better condition than she was the day before. Ricco hospitals apparently don't mess around with their medical knowledge.

"Doctors say we're all good to go. If you don't have any last minute concerns about your health, then I want to leave as soon as possible."

"No we can leave now." Hayato followed after her.

Before they could leave they had to fill in some sheets telling the hospital that they didn't just up and disappear. Hayato didn't expect for him to do it himself but Haru legally wasn't related to him any way that she claimed it was illegal for her to do it for him. Sure, murder was okay but filling in a paper was no a go.

It wasn't like he was even doing anything important on this paper. Haru was already aware of all of his legal information that she had filled in the majority of it. There were even things here that he wasn't aware of himself like his blood type. He was skimming through it to see if there was anything that he would need to know. Most of it was boring info about caring for himself after leaving and to contact the hospital if there was something wrong.

How much about him did she know? These papers only had medical conditions that it didn't give him much of an indication of far into his past she went into. He knew that she was extensive about her research but she never really did answer why it was him out of all people that she hired.

"Why are you taking so long?" He stopped reading when Haru finished with her set of papers.

"No reason." He signed off the acknowledgment section of the paper handing it back to the person working. The person quickly checked through both of their papers and gave them an okay. They reminded them once again to take care before sending them off.

Hayato was happy to finally be leaving this place. It wasn't long that he was here but hospitals aren't really known for being places people wanted to stay. The smell of disinfectant was strong and everyone that passed by him had some sort of problem. No one came here for the fun of it. It was a depressing sight.

He looked up to see that they were heading in the opposite direction of the exit signs. "Are we not leaving?"

"There is someone that you might want to see before we leave. Thought that since we were already here might as well give you a gift for doing well for your training."

"A gift? Why?"

"Despite what you think, I'm not a ruthless creature. I'm not too keen on letting this happen too often so take advantage of it while you can." Again. She was being nice to him. She was trying to play it off like nothing but he knew that she had something in mind.

"Are you going to add this onto my debt?"

She stopped walking, pointing down the hallway. "Keep walking straight until you reach room 162. You'll find your present person there."

"You're not coming with me?"

"Don't be such a baby. You'll be fine on your own."

"That's not what I-"

"Hayato?" He stopped mid-sentence hearing a familiar voice call out to him. He slowly looked away from Haru to the voice.

"Aniki..." Down the hallway Bianchi was just surprised to see him. She looked a lot better than the last time he saw her. She rushed up to him, holding his face to inspect that he was real before hugging him tightly.

"What are you doing here Hayato? We haven't a word from you since you left! Mom-" She pulled back, "You have to see mom."

Bianchi was quick to see Haru trying to move away from them. "Your friend Hayato?"

"Nice to meet you Gokudera-san's sister. I'm Miura Haru. I guess you can say that I'm his boss more than his friend."

"Miura Haru?" Bianchi repeated.

"Yes-desu!"

"D-don't worry about her aniki! More importantly about mom, how is she doing? Is she getting better?"

"You'll have to see her yourself. Her room is just up ahead." She took her brother's hand to bring him to the room Haru told him a few moments ago.

"I'll wait over here. Feel free to take your time Gokudera-san." In all honesty she really didn't want to meet Lavina. Meeting Bianchi already was too much for her. She would very much prefer to keep Hayato's life outside his mission away from her as much as possible. This was meant to be a gift without her being here.

"No please come along. I'm sure our mom would love to meet you." Bianchi didn't give Haru the chance to respond when she started walking in. She glared at him once before jutting her head for him to go in first.

There was a slight fear in seeing his mom. Since he went to Haru while she was unconscious, he never got the chance to say goodbye. And the nature of his job was so unlike his mom that there was no way she would approve if she knew. There was also fear in her condition. All his training kept his mind off his family for the most part but he never heard if she was getting better here.

"Hayato!" All of those nerves disappeared hearing his mom's voice again. He immediately hugged her without saying anything. He probably would have started crying if the smell of the hospital room wasn't reminding him of everything.

He soon pulled back to get a close look at her face. She was still pale but she no longer had the heavy bags under her eyes. Even her sunken cheeks were starting to develop some fat on them. More than anything she was okay.

"How are you feeling?"

"How am I feeling?! You disappear on me suddenly and that's the first thing you say to me? I was worried about you!" She weakly slapped him on the arm as a punishment. She didn't really put any strength in it though. He held her wrist, patting her hand.

"I'm sorry that I left you." He truly meant it. She pouted and patted him on the head.

"Then I'll accept your apology. Your sister said that you took on a job for my bills so I can't blame you. You look a lot better too. I'm glad. Is your job treating you well?"

"Y-yeah. It's hard work but I'm okay." He sneaked a glance back at Haru. Lavina took notice of her now that she was less shocked at her son's appearance.

"Oh who might you be?"

"Hello, I'm Gokudera-san's employer, Miura Haru-desu. Nice to meet you." The switch already flipped for her. Though he's seen this side of her whenever they were around other people, he still found it disturbing.

"Nice to meet you too. Though I wish I could meet such a pretty girl under better conditions."

"No no Gokudera-san already told me about your state so don't mind me. Even still I can see where he gets his good looks that I'm flattered you think Haru is pretty. I hope that it wasn't too much that I had you moved to this hospital. I have a close friend working here so I thought that it would be better for your recovery."

"No trouble whatsoever. I should be thanking you. I was really surprised when the doctors told me that I was being reallocated to a Ricco hospital. Even more when Bianchi told me that Hayato suddenly got a new job. It sounded like a scene out of a book."

"I'm reassuring you that this is real life."

"Well I can't thank you enough for taking care of him. I know he's a bit rowdy but his heart is in a good place."

"Mom!" She ruffed his hair while laughing. He tried to pretend that he was mad but in reality he loved his mom. If that wasn't obvious enough.

"I'm the one who should be thanking Gokudera-san. He's been a great help to me that I don't mind helping him get you back on your feet. I manage my own savings so this is only a small fee."

"I'm sorry, what did you say was your job again?" His sister questioned.

Haru took out her wallet and handed over her business card. Hayato snatched it out of Bianchi's hands before she could see it. "Hayato?"

"You don't need to see her business card there's nothing important on this thing-" he looked down at the card seeing it being a normal card. It had her name, phone number, email and all the other stuff that should be on it. Completely different than the one she gave him when they met.

Lavina carefully took the card back reading it over once. "Wow! You're a designer? That's amazing!"

Haru became bashful. "It's nothing too big. Haru mostly tailors costumes and clothing. Gokudera-san has been a big help."

"I thought you said you were doing maintenance?" Hayato forgot about the lie he told Bianchi.

"That's right-desu. My apartment isn't in the best condition since outside clothes I'm pretty clueless. He's been helping with making sure my place doesn't fall around me. Can't really work when something breaks every five seconds. Sometimes he even helps me with stuff like organizing or moving stuff too heavy for me." Haru was quick to come up with a believable lie. Though he hated to have to do this to his family, he couldn't imagine their reaction if he told them the truth.

"So how did you find out about Hayato?"

"Haru often goes to Povero. One time I went to one of his workplaces when he caught my eye. I gave him my business card purely out of my own interest. I was overjoyed that he took on my offer. Having an extra pair of hands around is nice." He could hear the way she was slipping in little details of how they met that were honest. It made it easy to follow along in the case his family ever asked him stuff.

"I see. I'm glad that he was able to help you. You really appeared when we needed you. Almost like a miracle."

"I'm honoured that you think that way of little ol' me. I just hope that she recovers well-desu." Maybe it was his imagination but it felt like there was a tension between the two of them. Bianchi was always protective of her brother that he assumed that it was due to that.

Haru didn't show any sign of breaking her cover though. With each question her smile didn't fall and without hesitation she answered all her questions. He couldn't believe she was making things up on the spot. Nothing she said suggested anything malicious going on behind the scenes. His mom was none the wiser.

"Really Miura-chan we can't thank you enough. Please is there anything I can do to repay you?"

"Actually there is one thing," he tensed up, "Gokudera-san tells me you are a pianist! There's a piano in the lobby if you're well enough to perform a song."

He released his held breath. For a quick second he thought she was going to wrap her into this mafia mess. That was going to be below what he knew about her though. It didn't even pass by him that he never told her about his mother's career.

"I would love to play you something. I saw the piano the other day but I wasn't sure if we could use it. Let's head there now." Lavina happily got up from her bed. She almost lost her balance from suddenly standing up. Haru was fast enough to catch her before she hit the floor. "Sorry about that."

"Please take it easy. We're in no rush." Bianchi came to her mom's side. She leaned on her daughter as they all slowly made their way to the lobby.

Haru and Hayato walked behind them so that they knew that they weren't going too fast. Watching his mom from behind really showed how weak she was. She held tightly onto Bianchi with careful steps. They were small steps that barely put distance each time. It reminded him that though she looked better, her body was still in a bad condition.

If this was the result of over 2 weeks of treatment, he hated to imagine what would have happened if they remained in that other hospital. The facilities there were way worse that it was highly unlikely that she would have gotten better. In Hayato's eyes the time away from his family was going to worth it seeing her healthy again.

It took some time but they eventually reached the lobby with the piano. Bianchi led Lavina towards it when Hayato started to slow down a little. Haru turned back seeing him fall behind. "What's up?"

He tried to avoid eye contact while rubbing the back of his neck. "I... Thanks. For not telling my mom and aniki. And for talking with them I guess."

"Nothing else you want to thank me for?" She leaned in with batting eyes.

"Shut up." She giggled getting out of his space.

"Fine, don't thank me for paying for your mom's bills. I'll be giving my thanks when you complete your mission. That's all I really need in the end."

"Why are you so insistent on me killing this dude anyways? What did he do?" He regretted asking the moment he saw her eyes sharpen. He's never seen her mad before. Most of the time she was playful or annoyed but never mad.

"He committed the worst kind of crime there is. I don't care how many people get in the way. I'm going to kill him."

"Ah Hayato!" The two of them snapped out of their conversation hearing Lavina call over her son. "Come play with me!"

"Me? I don't even think I remember how to play!"

"Nonsense! Come here!" He was going to deny again when Bianchi came to drag him away.

Haru stayed in her spot, not finding a need to get closer. With this distance she could see how much of a happy family they were. Lavina may have been deathly ill but she kept up her cheerful attitude that made it look like she had no troubles. It almost felt like Haru was intruding if she did try to get closer.

She watched the two of them get settled on the tiny piano bench. Hayato noticeably more on the edge of the seat to make room for his mom. She cracked a smile seeing the rough boy act like such a gentleman to her. It was even more fun seeing him being unable to fight back against his mom's request.

"Is that you Haru?!" Haru turned her head to the loud voice in the distance.

"Onii-san!" Sasagawa Ryohei ran up to her giving her a short hug.

They had grown close given their jobs and how often she hung out with his sister. No, she wouldn't really hang out with him specifically but they got along well. He understood that she was a serious woman that liked to stand for herself but he was by her side to remind her that she could always fall back if needed. She even called him brother because he treated her like family.

"What are you doing here? Are you hurt?"

"Only a little check up. I'm actually here to check in on a friend." She could have lied to him and said that nothing was wrong. Or at least tried to. He may have been a loud, boxing athlete but he was still Vongola's Sun guardian. Lying to him was something she would like to avoid.

She drew his attention over to Lavina and Hayato starting to play. They were far enough that they could hear the melody echoing off the walls but not close enough to hear anything they said to each other. The same could go for Hayato not realizing that Haru was talking to someone else.

From a distance Ryohei could already tell who of the two was the patient. "She's a friend of yours? How do you know her?"

"She plays at a bar that I visited often. Such a beautiful lady in a broken down bar I felt almost bad for her. She recently fell ill and so I recommend bringing her here. I know that the doctors here would take the utmost care of her that I even offered to pay the bills."

"Well what got her sick?" She hesitated in telling him the truth.

"Poison." His mood instantly soured. Ryohei was someone that, despite his looks, studied medicine thoroughly.

Poison was a category he hated working with. Everything had the ability to be labelled as such. It was only a matter of how they got. When people get poisoned it could mean they just barely got a dose or they barely survived. With chemicals it was an iffy game they were playing with. Would giving them a treatment weaken the body more? Would leaving it up to the body to handle make it worse?

There were many solutions to helping someone but in the end even the best antidotes were once poison themselves.

"How bad is it?"

"Hard to say. Her body was already weak that it only made things worse. I'm sure she's healing well here."

"Was there a reason why she was poisoned? They look like a regular family."

"There's a lot of bad people out there. People who will do anything to get what they want. You and I know that best."

"Still, it must be hard on them. Is that her son playing with her?" Family was another thing that meant a lot to him. Whether it be the Vongola or his blood family, no one was left behind. Out of all the guardians Ryohei was the one that made sure that every single person was cared for.

"Yeah. He's helping me out with a few things in return for payment. I wouldn't talk to him much though if I were you. He's touchy about his mom's situation that I don't think your type of attitude sits well with him." She had to put the idea in him to leave Hayato's family alone in his head. It was a big risk bringing Lavina to this hospital but it was the only one where Haru could play the role of puppeteer to make things go her way.

"I'll have to be careful around him them. But I can see why you like her so much. They play beautifully."

Most of the time the piano was left untouched. Occasionally a few kids would play simple songs while messing around but very rarely did professional players test it. Now there was this mother-son duet that caught other visitors' attention.

It has been so long since Hayato touched a piano. He doesn't even remember the last time he had played one. But his fingers danced along the keys with no problem. And with his mom by his side he felt her warmth just adding to the way he played. She kept giggling at him whenever their fingers jumped over each other causing him to smile as well.

The two Vongola members, and the other hospital visitors, could hear it in the sound only. The playfulness made others feel like they were kids again. Just laughing and dancing randomly without a care in the world. It made the potential of getting caught worth it to see Hayato act so happy with his family.

"Huh? That girl." Haru looked at the woman Ryohei was pointing at. Good thing he was so focused on Bianchi that he didn't see Haru flinching. She made sure to keep her calm.

"That's the daughter of the family. Is there something wrong?"

He crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his head. "I feel like I've seen her somewhere before. Does she look familiar to you?"

"Maybe around the hospital? She's been her mom's main caretaker so she's been here for a while. Perhaps you ran into her a few times passing in the halls."

"That makes sense!" She mentally thanked him for being the dense boxer that he was. It was technically a possibility he passed her before. Probably not the reason she looked familiar though.

"Onii-san is it really okay for you to be talking to me like this? Shouldn't you be busy with other hospital work?"

"Ah you're right, you're right. I shouldn't be messing around too much or my second in commands will scold me again. It was nice to see you again Haru."

"Likewise Onii-san. Tell Hana-chan and Kyoko-chan I say hi."

"Will do!" He started walking away when he turned back. "Oh yeah I'm sure Kyoya would have told you later but Tsuna called for an emergency meeting this morning. He wants to meet with all guardians so obviously you second in commands are expected to come as well."

This made things complicated for Haru. She hadn't expected her boss to be coming back so soon. He wasn't supposed to come back for another three weeks. But if it was an emergency meeting no more than two days and he'll be back whether she liked it or not.

"Thanks for telling me. It must be pretty serious if Tsuna-san is calling-" she paused, "did you say all guardians are meeting?"

He grinned a bit. "Yeah. Our Storm is coming home after 3 years."

Fuck.

kazorashi: I love Uri's dynamics so much! Definitely fun to write since I won't be having box weapons here. Slowly Gokudera's "smartness" will catch up to her that we'll see who Haru really is. I'm excited.

Foxamine: Now my story is a type of addiction that I can approve of hehe. Hopefully I met your expectations with each chapter.