DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN

There weren't a lot of people that Haru let into her designer studio. For the most part this was meant to be the only safe haven that she had from her mafia lifestyle. When her friends visited she always shooed them out with the excuse that it was too messy. She unconsciously refused to let her two worlds overlap.

It was peaceful here. There was less of a worry that someone would randomly raid the place. Not that that was common. And though Haru loved the place and the people in it, there was a bit of weight that came with it. At any point anyone could knock on her door to tell her to return to her duties. Paper work, overseeing people, talking to officials, etc. A lot came with the job she had.

Here she wasn't top of hierarchy, brilliant fighter, second in command to the infamous Hibari Kyoya. She was solely Miura Haru. A simple girl that liked her cosplay and the occasional sweet.

That all being said, she would greatly appreciate it if Hayato stood still during his suit fitting! Tailoring a suit was hard enough that she didn't need this boy to make it more difficult on her. Each time she came close to him with a pin needle he would move away. As if she would use her precious work materials as a weapon.

"Hold still!"

"How can I when I know what you could do with needles?!"

"This is different! If I wanted to stab you I would have done it already." She mumbled the last part to herself.

"I heard that!"

"Well if you're this close to me then I would expect that. Now hold still!" She, unnecessarily, pulled the blazer tighter around him.

"I don't understand why we have to dress up now. You told me that the job isn't for 3 weeks. And we're going there to protect someone. Shouldn't we be hiding in the shadows?"

"Hiding in the shadows stands out more than you think. We'll be acting as fellow guests. I can't be having you run around like a hooligan either. They won't let us in if you're a mess. Looks are important in our world so a nice suit is a must. And we're here early because I have another client that I have to work with today. Might as well kill two birds with one stone. A little dress up isn't going to hurt you anyways so suck it for the sake of the mission."

He could tell that she was keeping a close eye on him since last time letting him go alone didn't work. They weren't even sure if they had Varia's members tailing them so Haru was on the edge.

"You haven't told me anything about it. Either of them for that matter. Besides that, we're going to be protecting someone this time. I only know that part because of the knife bastard. What's his deal anyways? What is the Varia? Aren't they just the Storm branch? Yet they speak like they're so much better. You made it a rule to avoid them too."

"If you stay still, I'll tell you more." He straightened up. If only he was always this easy to convince. She sighed. "The name Varia is an alias for the Storm branch. Branches sometimes have another title because it's easier for them. Sometimes saying the Vongola's something branch can be a mouthful. Not to mention gives solitaire to the branch."

"Does the Cloud have one?"

"Yeah. Though we don't use it in the Mafia setting. It's more of an undercover name but helps Vongola members recognize it."

"What is it?" She stopped to think if it was alright to tell him. Knowing a branch's name could make it easier to expose their actions.

"The Foundation." She reasoned with herself that even if he knew, he wouldn't say anything. He was already in too deep to back out without some confidentiality forming in his actions.

It took a second for him to remember where he heard that name before. "The Foundation as in the charity in Povero?!"

Branches like Storm's Varia and Rain's CEDEF rooted their actions purely in the Mafia. The Foundation based its operations in Ripartizione in order to help with the conditions here. One of them being opening up support for Ripartizione citizens. This was in the form of soup kitchens, donation centers, providing resources, etc.

It was partly because of the Foundation that Hayato's family was able to live so long. It was the biggest center from Vongola secret funding but with the amount of citizens there was only so much that they could provide. Nonetheless he was glad that something like the Foundation was a thing. It being a part of the Vongola sounded crazy.

"That's the one. I'll tell you now that the majority of the volunteers and staff are not aware of Vongola's backing. Other branches are the same with some being mixed into civilian lives. Varia works completely different as they stand as Vongola's independent assassination squad. All members specialize in that field." From the two members he met, they certainly did give off an unfriendly air.

"Now that you mention it you were confused as to why he was doing a protection job."

"It's not in their usual work that I was a bit skeptical. All his information checks out though. There's not much to say about it. The host holds a lot of valuables and has a rich guest list. We just have to make sure the hosts don't die. Simple."

"You sure you didn't miss anything? That knife bastard could have left out something. You didn't even let me talk to them. You must hate them for being the way that they are."

"I'm sure there's no hidden details and it's not that I dislike Varia. In a fight there's no one else I would have beside me. They're just hard to predict. Out of all the branches, though we are strong, Varia are the most capable of overthrowing Decimo. That's the part that makes them a bit worrisome. If I mess up it reflects poorly on Decimo and they are the only ones that are capable of truly calling him out."

"Why's that?"

"Their boss, the Storm guardian, and the girl you met, were both raised to be Decimo. But due to some inner problems, the current Decimo won the position until this day. They both are reliable allies but as enemies they are the ones to fear the most. Especially now that they are onto us, I have that much more caution around them. Being born into the Mafia... Breeds different types of people."

Haru's met a good amount of people that had nearly their entire family bathed in the blood of others. Since birth, heirs of those legacies had inhuman living expectations on them. Intelligence, physical strength, demeanor, from the moment they were born they were different. Vongola blood was an example of that. While her boss was nicer than most of his ancestors, he was still someone that wouldn't want to be messed with.

"Like you?" She scoffed.

"Not like me. A good portion of my life, yes, but I have no blood mixed in."

"Why did you join the Vongola then?" The question came out naturally. They were talking quite a bit that maybe she would be a bit more open about herself.

She scanned the room before leaning into him. "I was kidnapped."

"What?!" She backed up, laughing. "You're messing with me."

"What gave it away?" She was still smiling as she continued her work. "I was recruited by the Cloud guardian. He met me a few times before so when time came, he offered me a position. I went along with him as soon as I got it. Simple."

"So you wanted to join the Mafia?"

"Hmmm. I wanted to support Decimo. The Mafia was only a small part of it. I've never looked back from accepting it. Just like designing is part of my cover. I don't mind it so everything works out."

"Why do you even need to work? Doesn't the Vongola take care of everything for you?"

"Earning some money here and there without blood shed isn't too bad. Even I need a break sometimes. You should be grateful too that I can do this. Suit alterations would normally cost 200 euros. I'm doing this free of charge."

"More like adding onto my debt." She carefully removed the blazer after finally getting the last pins in their place.

"Same thing dear Gokudera-san. Speaking of which," She went over to grab a book off her work desk, "this is a part of your debt too."

He stared at the book cover. It was the book that he brought by himself. When Bel had showed up he completely forgot about it. "How?"

"I checked the credit card transaction. Since you were abducted I doubt Belphegor took the book too. It's the first thing that you brought so I thought you would want it back. First thing besides Uri that is."

Speaking of the cat, he scanned the room for her. She always had a mind of her own that it was expected that she would explore the new building. Haru was fine with it since she wasn't a destructive type of cat.

"If you're looking for her then I saw her go into the storage closet over there. There's a lot of soft material there so she's probably sleeping in one of them." She pointed over to one of the open doors. "If you're going to get her then get me the box labeled 'Kyoko' while you're at it."

"I'm not your worker you know." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Fine."

Hayato grumbled to himself as he put back on his sweater. Going over to the closest he took a look back at her still working. He would imagine that being a Vongola second in command was a lot of work. Owning her own business with all these clothes and customers the same. He could see that she gave both her all.

"Haru knows she's pretty. You don't have to stare." She didn't have to look back to feel him watching her. He huffed once before going into the closet.

He switched on the lights. Just as she guessed, Uri was laying in a basket on the floor filled with balls of yarn. She had been a stray kitten but she definitely had adapted quickly to the luxury life.

"Wake up Uri. The woman has another customer coming soon." Uri yawns once, curling up further in the yarn. He stepped forward so that he could pick her up when something caught his eye.

Slowly moving his head up; he didn't know what he was looking at. A furry, yellow, round body. It was bigger than him. Way bigger. He read briefly about non-animal based creatures. To think he'll come face to face with one of them so face. A red demon face greeted him.

Hayato let out a scream, falling backwards. Soon Haru came in a panic. "What happened?!"

He pointed frantically at the monster. She started laughing as soon as she saw what freaked him out. "Don't laugh! What the fuck is that thing?!"

She walked over to the costume, pulling it fully out for him to see. Proudly she patted it to show that it meant no harm to him. "It's a Namahage costume. Haven't you heard of them? They're demons that come take away naughty children. Such as yourself."

"I know the stupid out-dated tradition. So why do you have one?" She fondly smiled at it.

"Because it's cute." He looked back at the demon mask.

"You sure about that? Isn't the whole concept meant to be a demon face?"

"If you speak rudely, Namahage-san will come and take you away. Gokudera-san just doesn't know anything about it all." She huffed at her costume being insulted.

"I'm starting to think you have a monster complex. You have a very messed up idea of cute."

"I don't want to hear that from the one reading a book about supernatural creatures. Namahage-san has a history behind it unlike your delusional findings."

"Delusional?! I'll let you know that U. M. As are real!"

They heard a giggle behind them. "You two seem to get along."

They turned around to a new guest in the room. Hayato was a bit surprised that neither of them noticed her beforehand. This must have been Haru's other client for the day.

"I wouldn't say we're that close. And please knock next time before coming in, Kyoko-chan."

"Sorry my bad. I heard someone scream so I thought I should come in. Didn't think you would be showing off your Namahage costume."

"I wasn't showing it off. His cat just happened to wander in here so he saw it." She brushed past Hayato to grab the box of fabrics. Uri walked up to Kyoko, meowing once in greeting.

"Cute! It's nothing like Natsu. He's such a fraidy cat with strangers. What's its name if you don't mind me asking?"

"Uri. Do you have a cat or pet as well?" She crouched down to pet her. The two of them noted that the cat had a clear preference in gender.

"Well technically no. Natsu belongs to my fiancé. Sometimes we joke and say he's a lion rather than a cat since he has a lot of fur around the neck like a mane. Oh? Uri has a scar on her neck? Multiple scars actually. Is it possible that she was a stray?"

Hayato was surprised. "Yeah, how did you know?"

"Multiple scars show that she's been through some rough times. And she seems like a kitten but from mobile skills, she's an adult. Must have not had a lot of food as a baby. Ah, my brother is a doctor so I know a thing or two about general health. It was either she was a stray or you abused her. I doubt it's the latter since you don't seem like that kind of person. Haru-chan can vouch for that I'm sure."

"He has a bad personality but he's deeply in love with Uri."

He glared at her. "What do you mean by bad personality?"

"Exactly as I said. Hear this Kyoko-chan, he doesn't find Namahage-san cute! Not only that but he wouldn't stand still during his fitting. Even children behave better than him."

"You shouldn't say that about your customers Haru-chan."

"Yeah!"

"And you, sir, should listen to your tailor properly. She has a lot of work on her plate so please don't make more trouble for my friend." Haru held back her laugh at him being scolded. "Now shake hands and make up."

They both glared at each other. With Kyoko's very pure intentions neither of them could yell at her or tell her that they won't argue. So they shook hands while not looking at each other. "See that wasn't so hard was it?"

"Whatever. And it's great that you two are getting along but dress fitting isn't a fast job. Kyoko-chan, you can go to the first change room. Your dress is already there. You, please go over to the waiting room after changing out of your suit in the second room."

"It was nice to meet you but it sounds like I'm needed elsewhere." Kyoko bowed to the boy before going over to where the designer directed her to.

Haru gave one last look at him, mouthing for him to stay. He assumed that it was because it was either her needing to talk to him or that she didn't trust him to be alone outside. At least he got the book he wanted. Before going to retrieve it, he glanced back at the creepy Namahage costume. He closed the door with that image clearly in his head.

Haru started setting up everything that she needed while Kyoko went to change into her dress. "You seem to be getting along with that silver haired boy. Does he come here often?"

"More recently, yeah. He has an upcoming party so I'm tailoring a suit for him. I could do without his attitude."

"It's cute though. He even brought his cat with him. It's sweet that he picked up a stray too. Not many people would consider it since they can be thought of as dirty or hard to take care of. You'll hardly see that with people here. The people that do take them in ultimately can't properly take care of them. I hope he can handle it."

"A shame really for those people. I believe he only had Uri for a short period of time. You'll see that their bond is really close already." She refrained from mentioning that she was in charge of taking care of Uri's bills. It was better to just keep Kyoko thinking he was a random customer. He was ultimately the one who picked Uri up despite her scratchy temper towards him. She'll give him that good point at the minimum of his good points.

"It'll be nice if Natsu could meet Uri. Maybe it'll help him be more comfortable around strangers and other animals."

"I would like to imagine but you've only seen Uri's nice side. Something tells me that she'll completely destroy poor little Natsu." She didn't need Hayato meeting Tsuna yet. Kyoko was risky enough. Good thing she doesn't know his name. She learned from that mistake. Though it was true that the timid lion-like creature wouldn't stand a chance against the roughen former stray.

"That's- yeah that's a good point." Haru chuckled.

"Nevermind all that. Is the dress fitting okay?"

"Yeah I just need some with the back zipper."

"I'll help; come out." Kyoko opened the door. She held onto the ends of the long, white dress, carefully stepping out. Haru was absolutely in awe of how it looked on her.

Going with Kyoko's simple, cute style Haru suggested that she went with the traditional A-line, white wedding dress with one shoulder strap. But after a bit of tinkering Haru mixed in a bit of light blue tinted fabric underneath to make it appear brighter. To add on was the sequins and small flowers trailing down the bottom that sparkled beautifully when she walked. Even without the makeup or work done on the hair, she was already picturing how the bride would look on the real day.

Weddings, and specifically dresses, always carried powerful emotions behind them. Since Haru was more of an independent tailor/ designer she didn't get to work on many traditional wedding dresses. But seeing one of her closest friends stand in front of her now almost made her cry of happiness.

"Haru-chan, you can't start crying now or I'm going to." She walked up to the bride while fanning her face.

"I'm sorry but you just look so beautiful. Haru is moved-desu."

"If you're like this now then I can't imagine what Onii-chan will be like." They both shared the image of the boxer bursting into tears on the wedding day. He had already done it once when she announced the engagement. Going on and on about how much she grew up and such.

Haru felt the same way. The two of them met when Tsuna was officially titled Decimo. Maybe it was their love of cakes and that their status was the same that allowed them to become so close. She would like to say it was because Kyoko was a good person that people naturally wanted to get closer to her. And treat her well. Getting to design and make her dress was an honour that she held onto.

With the confirmation that her wedding would get pushed forward to draw out the traitor, Haru felt guilty. She wanted to settle everything quietly but with the traitor's messy trail it wasn't hard for them to be found earlier than she wanted. It came with both positives and negatives given that she had less room to move around but there was a lower chance that someone would get hurt which was the main point she valued.

"Haru-chan?" She snapped herself out of her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Sorry you just seemed out of it. Are you okay?" She moved to her back so that she could zip up the zipper that gave the bride trouble.

"I was- I was thinking about your wedding. And- well you know. The whole ordeal."

Haru didn't get to see the look on her friend's face. "Yeah. It's unfortunate but what can I do?"

There was a brief moment of silence between them. It wasn't like they could switch from this serious topic to about how their day was. It created this sad atmosphere as they both thought about the event. "Who told you first? Tsuna-san or Onii-san?"

"Both, actually. After the meeting we stayed behind to talk about it."

"And how are you feeling about it?" She gave a fake smile that would have fooled anyone but Haru.

"I'm fine with the decision. Though it is a bit sudden, our lives are on the line. Besides, it's just a wedding. I'll still be married to him if the plan goes well. As a don's wife and my brother's commander, I have to take responsibility if anything goes wrong. Our family is more important."

"Kyoko-chan, it's still your wedding. You have a say in what happens. If you're sad about it you should tell them."

The bride held onto her friend's hand, making her stop working. "Thank you Haru-chan. Having you as a friend and as one of my bridesmaids is more than enough for me."

Kyoko was so strong. It wasn't that she was willing to give up such an important day because everyone told her to. She rationalized the best outcome for everyone. It wasn't ideal that her special wedding day turned into a potential mass murder scene but she was aware of the possible outcomes if she didn't follow through with what the guardians thought of. She decided on her own that this was the best option to keep everyone safe and alive.

"Alright! Leave everything to Haru-desu! As a Vongola member I'll keep you and everyone else safe. As your bridesmaid I'll make sure that everything is beautiful so that you'll forget all about that traitor."

Kyoko smiled at her. "I'll leave it up to you then."

"But before that I have one more thing for you to look at. I know we said that we would keep it simple but I couldn't help but spoil you a little." Haru moved to open the box she got from the storage room. Turning back around to Kyoko she presented a small corsage with fake orange and yellow mixed petals flowers and a few green leaves. She held it out for the bride to take before she would have to pin it on.

"Oh Haru-chan... Did you arrange these yourself?" She gently held onto it as if it would break apart.

"I did. Do you like it?"

"I love it. I couldn't ask for anything more. Can you help me put it on?"

"Of course." Haru took the flowers back, pinning it onto the shoulder. Once that was done they both looked into the full length mirror. The two of them didn't think that the dress could be more beautiful until the corsage was on. Perfectly representing the Sky and Sun elements to her with the pure white clothing.

Haru filled with an immense amount of pride seeing her work on her friend. The only thing that would make it better would be the whole wedding environment. Imagining all their friends watching the event, the vows being told with their sincere voices, and sealing the deal with the kiss that movies always play out. Followed by a massive party where the majority of people will get wasted drunk for fun. They could only hope that everything goes right.

Outside of the main dressing room Hayato was fully immersed in his book. Nearby, Uri had taken up a chair to have her afternoon cat nap. Occasionally they'll hear a laugh coming from the room's closed door. It was a calming sound for Hayato. He would be lying if he didn't like the awkward tension between them after she picked him up from the Varia's headquarters. Maybe hanging out with a nice citizen like Kyoko would bring her back into a good mood.

Though the conversation they had before she came wasn't too bad. He found out a bit more information about her and the Vongola. Earlier he even found a clothing donation basket from the Foundation giving some evidence that she wasn't lying about that part. He never would have imagined that the charity would be on the same level as the group of crazies in Varia. Then again Shamal did say that the Cloud branch played a big role in police work so they really were all over the place. Must have been a lot of work for the second in command.

Then she had to train him and do her designer stuff. Since she must have had to maintain a professional side to her, he could only imagine how much that could drain her. In some way he could picture her messing with him as a means of dealing with all her work. She definitely had fun with that part of their relationship. Not that he didn't take a bit of fun in their arguments.

Soon after the two girls came back out. They didn't come by the room he was in but he could hear them saying their happy goodbyes out the door. He popped his head out just as the door was closing behind the customer. In Haru's eyes it was like a shy child wondering if their parents' guests had left their home.

She walked up to him. The way she stood showed that she was going to be serious about whatever she said next. "So what did you think about my friend?"

"She was nice. Seemed smart too from figuring out that Uri was a stray." He assumed she was asking as a means to see his observation skills.

"Anything else?"

"No?"

"She wore a yellow and orange ring with two dashes. What does that mean?"

He thought about it. Since she didn't look dangerous, he didn't think to scan her for a ring. "Wait wait, she's the Sun's second in command?! That girl?! Wait, what does orange mean?"

"It means that they are, in some way, related to Decimo. In her case, she is his fiancée." He took a good second to process the information. He couldn't believe that such a nice girl was a Vongola member. Decimo's fiancée to add on!

"Fiancée?! Like she is going to marry the Mafia don? The one with a cat that is scared of strangers? Are we talking about the same person? But she's so nice!"

"You act like you haven't seen me switch demeanor before. Though I do have to say that Kyoko-chan is a bit more genuine about her kindness than I am. I wanted you to meet her today because your main mission revolves around their wedding."

"Don't tell me that you want me to kill the bride?!"

"No you idiot!" She let out a sigh. "There's a traitor in the Vongola's alliances. The guardians think that they want to kill Decimo. Not too far off I would say but their real target is the bride."

"Why didn't you tell the guardians this?"

"Because I know them and Decimo. I, also, know the traitor. They're smart. If I tell everyone who the real target is then they'll focus on protecting her. When that happens the traitor knows that we know and will not show. We can't have them run away. This wedding is the only chance we have for sure to capture them." He remembered how comfortable she was around the bride. It didn't look like a fake relationship. It was cruel that she was using their wedding as bait. She didn't tell them, putting it all at her risk.

"Were you faking it? Being friends with her? If that's the case, then you're heartless." Haru didn't move. For a second he thought he said something wrong.

"Maybe I am." She whispered. This wasn't like her. He didn't think she would react that way. Before he could say anything to take back his comment she roughly turned around. "And what about you? You act like you're so high and mighty because you aren't officially a part of the Mafia. In reality you're still doing my dirty work. You're the one hiding it from your family because you know just as well as I do that what you're doing isn't humane. I have my reasons for acting the way I am and you have no place to comment on that you Povero."

Suddenly his wanting to try to make things right disappeared. She said that she wouldn't judge him based on his status. That comment told him that that was a lie. It was an underhanded comment that he didn't want to take from her of all people. But he had nothing to refuse her claims.

He was a hypocrite criticizing her for keeping it all a secret when he was doing the same. Everyone had their dark shadows. To join the Mafia, she had a past too that he knew nothing about. Heck, her hiring him made him feel like there was something he didn't know about himself.

Haru gently closed her sewing box despite wanting to slam it down. "I'm not faking a friendship with Kyoko-chan. I will protect her wedding. With or without your help. Meeting her, do you believe that she deserves this happening to her?"

"N-No-"

"Then shut up." She wanted him to stay something more. She planned for them to meet today. She knew what was bothering her too. However, she couldn't calm herself down to talk properly. "I practically finished your suit. Go for a run now."

He was surprised by the sudden demand but didn't argue back. He didn't question whether it was okay for him to go out alone. At best he knows that the Varia will probably be off his back this time. Hopefully he'll take a few extra laps to give her more time to cool off.

When he left, Uri approached Haru. She scratched the little cat's head. It was comforting that Uri couldn't talk back. Maybe if she could she would tell Haru that she was the one to make a mistake.

"Uri do you think I'm-" She couldn't find herself finishing that sentence. Taking off her ring around her necklace she held it close. What she was doing may not be the best answer but it was her only option. In her mind at least.