And I'm back! This would have been slightly earlier, but I got addicted to XXXholic, so yeah... Awesome series by the way- if you haven't checked it out yet, you should! Also, I was reading other peoples' fanfiction as well, so that sucks away time.
Anyway, this time I have time to respond to you wonderful people! It was really late at night last time.
First, I just want to say thank you for being so supportive thus far!
Second. I wanted to leave Tsuna's occupation to the imagination, so you can pick anything you like!
Haru sat on the sofa, waiting for her mother to return from the bathroom. She idly traced the patterns on the embroidered pillows and finally, really thought about what Ayame had said.
She had of course acknowledged that her parents couldn't extract her from the marriage, but somehow, sitting alone in silence as dust motes floated through sun-filled air, it finally became real. No longer could she hide behind her mother's skirt or her father's wide frame.
The world was now stretching out in front of her, wide and inviting. And terrifying. For the first time, she felt truly alone- a single person being engulfed by life. No-one was going to be there for her anymore, and she felt a wave of fear wash over her at the thought.
Perhaps that afternoon, at that moment, she grew a little. Just enough to become a bit more like the woman she would someday be.
The woman that Tsuna had met/would meet in the future.
/-/-/-/
One thing was for certain, however. After the moment had passed, she had... womaned up, so to speak. Determined to... well, she wasn't clear on that yet, she set her chin and prepared to accept her fate. Perhaps, just maybe, she might try to do more than just exist to Hibari. After, two women and one... man were quite encouraging on the topic of love.
Still, that couldn't quite dampen the chills of fear she almost always got whenever Hibari was in proximity to her, except when she was annoyed or determined. Haru wasn't sure that there was even a slightly soft side to the man under his exterior. Most vexing, if she was to follow their advice.
Well, there was no need to think about that right now; she had a wedding to plan.
And dash it all, she was going to try to have fun!
/-/-/-/
"I'm back!" chirped her mother, smoothing her plaid skirt. Haru smiled up at her parent. "Haru will be fine from here on out!" "I'm glad to hear that!" "Haru and her friends need to go bridesmaid dress shopping soon- would you like to come? We can find a nice outfit for you too!" "I would love that." She smiled at her daughter wistfully.
"Relax, and enjoy every second. You never know when you'll get another chance to do this... I made the mistake of being too uptight, and wanting it to be simple since it wasn't my perfect dream. I regret it now" "Haru understands, and is going to have fun! So let's get going!"
Holding hands, they left the room. Poor Mr. Miura. When he returned, his wife and daughter were no-where to be found, and he still had trembling knees from his.. interesting chat with Hibari. After a few moments of glancing around helplessly, he gave up and sat down with a stray magazine- on weapons, of all odd things to keep in one's dainty pink parlor.
/-/-/-/
As her father was being introduced to the joys of double-sided blades if varying degrees of sharpness, Haru and her group were perusing racks of bridesmaid dresses, laughing and chatting all the while.
"How about this one?" asked Kyoko, flourishing a dress that was more a clump of orange ruffles than anything else. Haru giggled; "No, I think.. this one!" she cried, waving a tiny spaghetti strap number gleefully. Chrome blushed at the swooping neckline. I-pin squinted. "I don't have the figure for that- how about this?"
She held up a flowing peach toga. "On second thought, I can't fill that out either!" Ayame smiled at the merry bunch. "What do you think of this one, girls?"
They all turned to look at the dress she held up.
"Perfect!" Haru declared, seizing several sizes off the rack and piling them into her bridesmaids arms. "Off you go, try them on!" she urged, flapping her hand in the general direction of the change room.
The mother/daughter team smiled as the knot of girls tangled the hangers together as they tried to figure out which dress would fit whom best. Finally, they disappeared into the change rooms, thick cloth curtains obscuring them from view.
/-/-/-/
"So, aren't you supposed to have four bridesmaids? I've only seen three..." "Ah, Haru asked Bianchi, but she said that she was busy helping Reborn, who's the M.C.
Plus, apparently she has a dress that she only wears to weddings, and it's kind of a tradition with her, so... Well, I have a back up!" "Do you know her measurements?" "Er... don't worry about that... Oh look, it's Dino!" "Who's Dino?" "That man over there- he's Tsuna's friend, and he's really nice! Hey, over here!"
Haru bounced up and down, waving. Dino looked around blankly for the source of the sound, then grinned when he caught sight of her. He began to wave back while straightening up. Unfortunately, this meant he wasn't paying attention to the tie rack that he'd just been examining, and he tripped over it with a mighty, futile flail of his long limbs. He may have also let out a rather undignified squawk, but he's a mafia boss, so we don't mention things like that.
They winced in sympathy as he picked himself up, little wooden pegs jabbing into his stomach. "A..Are you okay, Mr. Dino?" "Eh, yes..Nothing really, compared to last night!' he grinned brightly "I..Is that so.." "Yep! I fell down three flights of stairs when Romario went to the bathroom, tripped over Kyoko's toes while waltzing, ran into a cactus when I wasn't looking... oh, and spilled several dozen things on all my ties! I kept changing to new ones, and eventually ran out, hence my presence here.." He gestured towards the fallen rack behind him. "I guess I'll just buy the whole rack.." he sighed, moving to hoist it up to carry it to the cashier, only to catch his thumb in between two of the dark oak pegs. "Oops... Where's Romario anyway?"
The dark-haired man appeared just then, in a trim navy blue suit. "What do you think, Boss? Too casual?" "No, it's great!" Dino loosed his thumb, picked up the entire rack in one hand, and brought it over to the dumbfounded cashier. "Er, which one are you buying, sir?" she babbled, staring at the colorful array in trepidation. Dino grinned. "All of them! Well, except for that pineapple patterned one, maybe..." Haru snapped to attention. "Hahi? Did you say pineapple patterned?" "Um, yes..?"
The brunette broke out in a grin. "I'll take that one!" The blond blinked, then shrugged. "Sure" he said, plucking it off and tossing it. It landed perfectly in her hands. "Amazing! You really can be awesome!" "Thanks!"
The flustered cashier cleared her throat nervously. "Er, sir.. It's going to take a while to ring up all these ties- is that alright?" "Sure, whatever.."
.
Just then, the sliding of curtains announced the arrival of the bridesmaids. Ayame and Haru 'oooed' and 'ahhed' at the 'fashion' show. "Hahi! You all look amazing!" "Mmhmm!" chimed in Mrs. Miura. The girls blushed- Chrome the most, of course- and spun around, trying out the flow of the skirts. Dino stared, never taking his eyes off Kyoko. "Wow.." he quietly murmured. "Hahi? Did you say something?" Dino jumped, like a child caught in the cookie jar. "Er.. Nothing!" he nervously laughed.
Haru eyed him dubiously. "Ookay... You know, Tsuna's escorting her, not you! Keep that in mind. But also remember it's only because she's Haru's maid of honor.." She winked at Dino. "Haru's sure no-one would object to you taking a dance here and there... that is, if Reborn planned for a dance... Haru doesn't really know WHAT he has in mind.."
The blond froze. "R...Reborn's in charge?" "Yes, why?" Dino swallowed. "Oh dear... I should probably go brush up on my combat... How long until you're done the ties, lady?" "A few more minutes, sir!"
Haru blinked. "Why do you need to practice your fighting?" "Because it's Reborn... need I say more?" He shrugged helplessly, and started to pace, muttering something about giant slugs under his breath.
She stared a moment. What was so scary about Reborn? He was nice, sweet- if a little strict, and had so many interesting aquaintances- such as Rebo-Sensei, etc...
/-/-/-/
After the women returned to the mansion, Reborn pulled Haru aside.
"Hahi? What is it?" she asked, cradling a shoebox in the crook of one arm. "I just need to know your favorite one hundred songs, that's all" he calmly informed her, eying the box curiously. "Hahi? That's a bit... extreme... Haru doesn't know she could name a hundred, much less order them!" "You don't have to order them, just name them." "What for?" "Oh, games and things" he replied, pulling down his fedora over his eyes, and handing her a notebook and pen.
"Er, Haru'll try... What about Hibari?" "Already asked him." "Oh?" she asked, barely glancing up as she scribbled titles down haphazard. "Yes, what about it? Ah, mind the ink- it'll soak through if you press too hard.." The brunette shot a quick sideways glance at the short..man.. baby.. Was he grinning? Likely not. She dismissed it, and returned to crossing her 't's'.
"Nothing much.." she continued on absentmindedly; "I was just wondering what type of music he likes, that's all... just curious.. Feel free to keep it a secret if it's yet another odd custom here..." "It's nothing of the sort, so don't worry about that." "Oh.." she murmured, trying to recall exactly what the name of that song was... 'Ka'.. something. Oh, right! Her lips curved into a triumphant smirk as she scrawled down the title, ink flowing out thick and bold. "They shall never it coming.." she giggled.
"Are you alright?" "Oh, perfectly peachy! Only ninety more to go!" she declared, as though it was some incredible feat she had accomplished single handedly.
"... Classical" "Eh?" "Classical. He likes classical music." "Hm, is that so..." Her eyes slid off into the distance, and a faint smile played her lips.
"Haru?" "What?" "You're more spacey than usual. It doesn't improve your charm points, as Fuuta would put it." "Oh, okay.." Haru replied vaguely, staring past the ink patterns blankly. "Er... Leon would like to kiss you." "Sure..." "Alright, off to bed with you!" "Wha...Hey! Didn't you want Haru to write out a list?" "Write it after you rest. Your busy day is starting to catch up to you. Take a nap before dinner, write after you eat and don't overwork- the bride can't collapse of exhaustion, now can she?"
Despite her protests, Haru ended up swathed in a large creamy pink patchwork quilt and wedged into one of the ends of the longest sofa in the room. She would've protested more, except the fact that her eye lids were becoming heavy overrode her dignity.
/-/-/-/
Haru woke to the setting rays of the sun, a tantalizing whiff of fresh pasta in the air, and her fiance sitting at the opposite end of the couch. Wait, fiance?
"W..Why are you here?" she shrieked, slightly disturbed by the fact that he'd probably watched her sleep.
"Simple. A few questions. First, why do you seem to be enjoying this so much? Did you actually intend to engage yourself to me?" Haru blinked away the remaining bits of sleep, tucked her loose hair behind her ears, and put on her very best "You-are-an-absolute-idiot/ I-am-angry" face.
Considering her usual deportment, it wasn't very convincing. Instead, it served to make her look like she'd smelt a rancid cheese.
"Very intimidating" he remarked, staring her down. "Hmph! Haru decided that while Haru may not like the person she's marrying, she may as well have a little fun planning- a wedding is most girl's dream, you know!" "I am glad not to be female." "Hn! Anyway, Haru'll probably never have a wedding again, so she wanted to make it good- like how her mother wanted her own to be." She shifted, and fidgeted with the zig-zag stitching on her blanket. "Of course, you don't know about that..." Her voice trailed off thoughtfully.
"...I do." "Hahi?" "When you first began trailing around behind that herbivore, I ran a background check. Common sense."
"..That is creepy." "Oh? It was common sense." "Hmph, your sense is anything but common" she muttered. "Pardon?" "Nothing!" she gasped, realizing what she'd said out loud. "Haru..Haru should change for dinner.." She threw off the blanket, noting with satisfaction that in fell in between them, thus aiding her escape. "Goodbye!" she called, rushing off.
"Do not forget that I must accompany you to dinner." he instructed in her wake.
"Great. Lovely." she stated, opening the door.
"My thoughts exactly."
Yay, Haru's womaning up, just like Himeno does! (Can you tell which magical girl anime is my favorite?)
Reviews are loved, and re-read!
Oh, almost forgot! On my profile page, I put up a bit of a poll to see what sort of story people might be interested in me writing after this one is done.
So, if you feel like it, by all means drop by and take a look!