Hi, it's good to be back. I wanted to publish this earlier, but my life had other ideas. My hardrive crashed. Everything was gone. Pictures, documents, and most of all... music. I didn't even make a master list! Ah well. Then I had writer's block... Anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn-duh.

Picture, if you will, a gorgeous marble bathroom. Oak stalls divided the self-flushing toilets from one another, and each spacious stall had its own miniature chandelier suspended in space above it.

Ryohei, however, was not taking in the nuances of the interior decorating, being occupied with splashing water on his face. Haru stood in the doorway of the restroom. "Haru will go try to find some coffee for you- stay here and get the stench of wine off you." "Ah" he mumbled. "Rinse out your mouth too" she instructed, then turned and left. The boxer continued washing, then paused as he looked in the mirror. A stall door was slightly ajar, and an eye was peeking through. "Who's there?" he called, whirling around, fists flying up to his face. The eye blinked, then the door swung open. "Relax, it's just me!" laughed Yamamoto, raising his hands. "Oh, sorry. What were you extremely doing in there?" "Hiding from Gokudera- he's still on the rampage, though I suspect he got sidetracked by an UMA." "Ah." "And you? Wasn't that Haru saying something to you? I couldn't hear much- these doors are soundproofed." "Oh, she went to find me some extremely strong coffee." "I see. You smell like a wine cellar! Hahahaha.." he laughed, putting one arm behind his head.

Meanwhile, Haru had examined the ballroom's array of refreshments. There was no coffee. Punch yes, coffee no. Also, looking at the flower arrangement, no Kyoko. The blonde girl didn't appear to be here yet, despite it being past the rendezvous time. She took it to mean it was alright to take her time as well. So, she grabbed a napkin, blueberry tartlet, and a toothpick. Working quickly, she poked the berries with the toothpick, and used the juice to write 'Dear Kyoko. I didn't find Chrome. I'll keep looking. I have to help someone out right now, though. See you later. Haru.'

She blew on the impromptu paper to dry the 'ink', and used the toothpick to spear the note to the flower arrangement.

Nibbling on the mangled tartlet, she left the room in search of coffee. Haru wandered down to the right, wishing very fervently not to run into that very scary man ever again. She paused when she spotted a familiar blonde stirring a mug of coffee with one of his ever-present lollipops. "Spanner san!" He turned to her. "Oh, Miss Haru. Fancy meeting you here. Anything I can do for you?" "Yes, where did you get that coffee?" Spanner looked down. "Oh, this? Tea room. They ran out of Japanese tea, so…" "Where is it?" she queried hurriedly, eager to be off. "Um, down this hall, seven doors down… I think…" "Thanks!" she called out, already on her way. Seven doorways later, she near about burst into the tearoom, before remembering her manners. The brunette paused to catch her breath, smoothed her skirt, and strolled in casually.

She froze again, this time not from lemon trees, but the fact that there was a very large selection of pastries, cakes, pies and the like, laid out in glistening, tantalizing displays of treats beyond her imagination. Steaming silver pots of coffee were lined up on sideboards, along with so many different shapes and sizes of teapots, each emitting its own distinct aroma, that she felt overwhelmed with choices.

Haru wandered-absolutely awestruck- through the forest of pots, searching for anything that seemed particularly strong. As she browsed, she wondered why she was so eager to get a simple cup of coffee. Perhaps it was that, in some small way, she felt as though she was helping out the family.

Eventually she gave up on her ability to find the strongest caffeine in the room, and asked a waiter-ish person which pot was the strongest. He pointed her towards a blend so thick and strong that, when she poured it, it glopped out, instead of pouring properly. She was pretty sure it would not only knock him out of his slight stupor, but it would also keep him up for weeks. In fact, its name was probably "Adrenaline" or something.

Before leaving, she sampled a chocolate éclair, since the tartlet had reminded her that she hadn't eaten in hours. Then the eager brunette hurried back to the bathrooms. Fortunately, she didn't crash into anyone this time. Just as she arrived, Ryohei and Yamamoto emerged, laughing over something involving… UMAs?

The boxer was grateful for the coffee, and said it was 'EXTREMELY STRONG'.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Everyone is supposed to meet in half-an-hour at this private room. Something about meeting our host? Hahaha, 'fraid I can't remember all the details." laughed the swordsman, scratching his head. "Oh, don't worry- I'm extremely stupid too!" reassured Ryohei, as they strolled no- where in particular. Haru laughed brightly, while inwardly wondering just what sort of person openly admits something like that in public. "So, what do you guys want to do?" questioned the girl, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Ummm..."

They were interrupted by a growling stomach. Haru blushed. "Sorry, excuse me!" "No, it's fine- besides, I could go for some food- what do you say, Ryohei?" "Sounds extremely good!" "Thanks guys. So where do we go?" They paused in the middle of the hall, staring blankly at each other. "Um, there was lots of cakes and sweet things in the tearoom- but you guys aren't that fond of sweets, right? Plus it's an odd time to have them…" The boxer smacked his head. "I know I saw an extreme buffet somewhere- I just forget where it was!" "Sorry, I was too busy running away… Oh, look! Giannini!"

They turned to where Yamamoto pointed. The inventor/ weapons repairer was balancing a plate of sausage and cheese, while avoiding a… what was that thing? They stared at the metal… creature. "Ah, hi!" called Haru. The pudgy man looked up, and in that moment of distraction, tripped over his metal thing, scattering bits of meat and cheese everywhere. They all blinked, slightly stunned, then ran over to help. After greetings all around, and finding out that the thing was a robo dogpede, they got directions to the buffet.

"Wow…" they breathed simultaneously, staring at the extravagant array. "Um, guys? It it just me, or do the Mafia enjoy going overboard when it comes to parties?" "Actually, looking at those guys over there, I'd say that the amount of food is just about perfect." They peered where Yamamoto was pointing. Haru sucked in a breath. "Oookay, you're right."

The trio split up, each heading off to some of their favorite dishes- or in Haru's case, anything that looked interesting, which led to her plate being filled with…interesting… combinations.

After a while, she was almost full, and tired of rich foods, so she looked for something simple to finish off before leaving. An elaborate fruit arrangement caught her eye. She considered it thoughtfully. Why do complicated piles of fruit have to be stacked so delicately? Normally, she'd go for the oranges- she loved the flavor, but not the rind. Unfortunately, they were on the bottom of the arrangement, so she had to settle for an apple. Oh, she didn't mind them, she just liked oranges better. So it was with low expectations that she bit into the shiny red fruit. Her eyes widened. It was quite possibly the best apple she'd ever had. It was incredibly juicy, and the tart flavor was worthy of an ode. She savored it slowly, and had just finished when Gokudera came up behind her, Yamamoto and Ryohei in tow.

"Time to go, stupid woman! We'll have to hurry, else we'll be late!" Haru shot a quick look at the tower of fruit, and decided that apples this good should be shared with the world. And who was at the center of her world? Tsuna, of course! She snatched another apple, then ran after the three Guardians.

The Storm led them off to a private staircase, which wound up and around, and seemed to go on forever. Haru wondered just where exactly they would end up, seeing as the entire building was mostly one floor. One very tall floor, but one floor nonetheless.

To distract herself from the fact that she was panting a bit more than she liked, which meant she might want to consider cutting back on the cakes, she gazed at each painting they passed. Oh yes, the walls were not only gorgeously painted with swirls of gold and cream, but also lined with paintings that likely cost more than her father made in a year. Not to mention the carpet runner underfoot- it was so plush and extravagant that the golden scrollwork was likely real gold. She felt just a little out her element.

Finally, she felt a breeze waft past her, and the light of the sunset could be seen up ahead. The boys ahead of her disappeared from sight as they topped the final step and strode out onto what appeared to be the roof.

Sure enough, as she ascended the last few steps, her head came level with the floor… er, roof, and she gawked at the sheer expanse of it. Oh, she'd been on roofs before- take Tsuna's school for instance- but it could have fit at least a few hundred times onto this… place. And since when did one have a rainforest on their roof?

Later, she would blame the lovely dew-spangled trees for it.

Unfortunately for her, as she was busy eying the veritable jungle, she took the last step. This might not have been a problem in and of itself, but she wasn't paying attention to her feet, being engrossed in the scenery and the fact that Tsuna was looking at her and smiling as she made her entrance, and also that Chrome was there, violet-indigo lace dress and all, and that Kyoko was standing next to Dino, blushing, and that Dino seemed to be growing out his hair and didn't he seem to look more like the Dino she had met in the future and everyone looks so grown up and…

Just one more step… one more…

But the step wasn't there.

She fell.

Later, she would recall how it felt like the chains of fate were wrapping around her ankles, pulling her down… or maybe it was a hallucination. That would be nice.

Unfortunately, her fall was very real- and also the fact that as she fell, the apple slipped from her fingers and flew in a graceful arc through the air. Huh. Too bad she couldn't be that graceful…

And now it was falling back to earth, down towards the family, down towards… Oh shit…

It fell towards the scariest guy she knew- Hibari.

She winced in advance as she hit the ground. Try as she might, though, she couldn't help following the descent of the flying fruit that was soooo going to get her bitten to death, as soon as it hit him on the head. With any luck, it would knock him out, so she would have time to obtain political immunity or… did political immunity apply to people from the same country as you? And, come to think of it, she was surrounded by mafia members- they could protect her from his fiery wrath, right? Right?...

Hibari was not having a good evening. He was surrounded by a crowd again. Not to mention his tonfas had been forcefully confiscated after his little death match with the Varia boss was broken up. Very forcefully confiscated. It may have involved him fighting off several dozen security guards before being begged by that herbivore to stop making a scene. He'd complied, grudgingly.

So it was understandable that everyone was giving him a wide berth. His face as of the moment could rival Medusa's in its ability to stop people in their tracks. So when he sensed something falling towards him, he sullenly considered the possibilities.

One. Attempt to freeze the object in midair with his glare. Alas, the laws of physics still applied to him, though he was working on that.

Two. Block it with his tonfas. They were confiscated as of the moment.

Three. Step aside. Too late for that.

Four. Catch it.

He extended an arm above his head, and something round fell perfectly into his palm.

Everyone who had paid attention to the mini-drama unfolding before them stared.

Hibari hadn't even looked up.

Haru sighed a breath of relief as she rose shakily to her feet. It didn't appear to have angered him. At least, not yet.

The stunned silence surrounding the group was suddenly broken by clapping.

An old lady hurried forward towards Haru, beaming happiness and good-will, clapping all the while. She grabbed Haru's shaking hands and pulled the girl towards her, clapping her on the back. "Good job!" she whispered into Haru's ear. "I declare, I would never have been so daring back in my day!"

A flurry of red velvet and dazzling diamonds, she whirled about, dragging Haru in front of her, to present her to the group.

"Everyone, let us congratulate the happy couple!" she proclaimed, loud enough for everyone on the roof to hear.

Everyone stared. Tsuna blinked. "Um, pardon me, Madam Anastas, but what happy couple?"

"Oh, you must not have seen!" She raised her voice still higher. "Everyone, this lovely young lady, Miss Miura, has just proposed to dear Sawada's Cloud Guardian, Hibari Kyoya. And he accepted."

Everyone stared. Then the words sank in. The entire group swung around simultaneously to Hibari, who glared at them- but mostly at Haru.

She could feel her life shortening every second.

"Please, dear, will you let me host your wedding here? I do so love organizing parties! Don't worry, we can have it by the end of the week! I have all the best caterers on speed dial, we can fly your family in on my private jet, and I'll get in the world's best seamstresses! You wouldn't believe the connections I have! Please, say yes! Weddings are the most fun of all to throw, you know!" Haru stared at Madam Anastas eager face. "Um, I wanted to marry Tsuna…" she whispered, unable to raise her voice out of fear of disappointing the obviously incredibly powerful lady. "What's that? You want to marry with Tsuna as the best man? That can be easily arranged! Oh, I'm so happy! A party and a wedding, all in one week! Come now, let everyone offer their congratulations to you!"

She dragged the wilting brunette over to the stunned assembly.

Reborn watched Haru pale as people questioned her. He pulled his fedora over his eyes contemplatively. Fong hopped up into the tree beside him. "Are you sure about this?" Reborn sighed. "Who knows. It's set in motion at any rate…"

Poor Haru... anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Reviews are welcome, but not necessary.