AUTHOR'S NOTES: KHR doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Amano-sensei. This story line, the original characters, etc. are products of my overactive imagination.

Please enjoy the story. Next update will happen around October 2nd.

Thank you for taking the time to read (and review if you've time) the story ^_^

~ Yuki

Target 19-02: The Friendship Gamble

Tsuna heard the explosion behind him and whirled around but the girls were already lost in the smoke and the rubble as the wall fell down in between them. "NO!"

"Keep moving, Tsuna," Reborn ordered grimly. "There's more trouble ahead than behind."

"But—" Tsuna began, torn between going back after Haru and the girl who'd become a constant companion to Haru and knowing that his friends were up ahead and in even more trouble.

Reborn hopped down off of Tsuna's shoulder, landing lightly on his feet. "I'll go back and check on them," he said. "Go!"

Tsuna paused for a moment longer and then nodded sharply and headed in the direction they'd been going.

Reborn watched Tsuna go and then turned towards the rubble that lay between him and the two girls. "You're not ready for this yet, Haru," Reborn said. "You shouldn't be here. It distracts them too much."

Leon shifted forms into a jackhammer and Reborn started to pound through the rubble hoping the girls on the other side were okay.

Tsuna burst into another room and his eyes landed on the pile of men and then to the three that were tied up in their own jackets by the door. "Judaime!" Gokudera gaped. "How—"

"What do you three think you're doing?" Tsuna asked, anger creeping into his voice. "You knew this place was going to be crawling with enemies and you didn't tell me, much less anyone else that you were going to be here. You can't stay alive like we promised if you're running into situations like this."

"Maa, maa…Tsuna…" Yamamoto began.

"If something like this has to happen we do it together," Tsuna stated, moving forward and finding the knots in the jackets to free his friends. "If you all insist on doing this type of thing then to keep me from worrying you need to tell me about these things and we'll do it together. This isn't a game."

"We know that, Tsuna," Yamamoto said, standing up and collecting Shigure Kintoki.

"It was our fault they got the rings it's only right that we get them back," Ryohei said, his voice was much quieter than Tsuna was used to.

Tsuna sighed and straightened as he finally finished untying Gokudera. "The rings aren't worth your lives," he stated, glaring at each of his inner core of Guardians. "Who tied you up?"

"Hibari," Gokudera said and rubbed his wrists. "Did you find us because of your hyper intuition?"

Tsuna blinked for a moment and then shook his head. "Haru got wind of what was going on and told me," he said.

"Haru's here?"

Gokudera paled and his eyes flew in the direction of the explosion had come from earlier. "She's outside, right…waiting for you?"

"She and Akai-san helped me break through to start with, we were separated in the corridor," Tsuna said. "Reborn's going to make sure they're okay. We have something else to take care of right now since we're here."

There was a grim purpose in Tsuna's voice that his friends weren't quite used to hearing and then they realized what was happening. "You really are becoming the Boss," Yamamoto said slowly. "The one we heard about ten years into the future."

Tsuna said nothing and turned his orange eyes to the next corridor. "We need to get moving," he said. "Let's go."

Tsuna moved away and Yamamoto and Ryohei immediately followed him, but Gokudera hesitated, green eyes looking back the way that Tsuna came. For the first time in his life, he was torn between his desire to be at Tsuna's side acting as his right hand man and his need to go back and check on Haru. Tsuna glanced over his shoulder at Gokudera. "Gokudera?"

"Judaime, I—"

Something almost like a smile curved Tsuna's lips. "You want to go back and make sure she's all right?" he asked and nodded. "Let's go."

Gokudera set a trap in the door that would lead to the next portion of the base and the four turned back.

"What are you talking about Emri?"

Haru's words fell between her and her childhood friend as she put herself between Akai and Emri.

"You were my best friend first," Emri snarled. "We've been best friends since we were in first grade, how could you choose them over me? If you wanted the Mafia life so badly, you could have gotten into it with me. I know you best; these people have only known you for two years. They didn't see your devastation when your mother died. They never watched how hard you struggled to come back from your sadness and learn to smile again. They weren't there to comfort you when you lost the gymnastics tournament by one point. You are my best friend and I won't let you turn your back on me anymore. I wish they had killed that girl…"

"Emri!" Haru gasped in horror.

The dark-haired girl smirked, her brown eyes cold. "Did you think it was chance that Kyoko got caught in that blast?"

"Why?" Haru whispered.

"Because you abandoned me," Emri snarled.

"I did not—I…" Haru trailed off. "No, Emri, I never abandoned you. You were busy with things too and life just started getting in the way."

"Yeah, your stupid crush on that weakling Decimo and the new friend you made who replaced me just like this one is replacing her," Emri said.

"No, Emri, all of my friends are irreplaceable, don't…"

"I'll take that girl from you too, I will take them all from you so you're alone again and all you can rely on is me," Emri said, she pulled a gun and leveled it at Akai's unconscious form.

Haru immediately put herself between the gun and Akai, hazel eyes meeting the crazed gaze of the girl who'd been her closest friend since they were six.

"Don't hurt anyone else, Emri, please?" Haru said. "I don't care if you've been in the Mafia since we were children; you're not the type to do something like this."

"And how would you know that?" Emri smirked. "Do you think you know all of my secrets Haru?"

"I have a pretty good sense about people," Haru boasted, desperately wishing that she could call Tsuna or some of the others back, but she could hear the static buzz in the ear piece and knew that it wasn't going to be good for anything right now.

She took a step forward and the gun swung towards her. "Don't take another step closer, Haru," Emri snarled. "I can see that dart in your hand. You think you can take me out with knock-out drug? You're just a baby hitman; I've been doing this since we were ten. You can't beat me."

Haru started, realizing that she had pulled one of her darts out with the drug on it without realizing it. "Emri. Please, stop. I'll do whatever you want, just please…"

"Whatever I want, Haru?" Emri asked coyly.

"Whatever it takes," Haru said quietly.

"Then drop all your weapons on the ground and come to me," Emri said, "Renounce every tie you have to the Vongola Famiglia and to the Hanatachi Clan. You're my best friend; I belong exclusively at your side and you at mine—like when we were kids."

Haru's breath caught and the rocks blocking the passage suddenly burst apart. Haru saw the rubble flying and sprang, knocking Emri to the floor to protect her as the remains of the wall skittered across the floor.

The gun the girl was holding had fallen from Emri's hand when Haru had knocked her down and slid a bit away and Haru breathed a sigh of relief; she hadn't even initially thought about the gun. "This won't end it, you know, Haru," Emri said coldly. "There's no way in hell any of these guys are going to get through this alive without their rings. There's too many of us. In the end, they'll all die anyway—overwhelming power can be overwhelmed if they're hit by too many at once."

"Emri…"

"I can stop it all Haru. The Trabuchet Family rests in my hand, they'll do whatever I say," Emri said. "If you don't listen to me, they're all going to die. We wouldn't want that now, would we?"

Haru froze and Emri's smile deepened. "Get off of me Haru."

Haru rolled away and rose to her feet along with her friend who brushed the dirt off her skirt.

Emri's eyes went to the suit-clad toddler who'd emerged once the dust had cleared and she smiled. "What an unexpected honor, Reborn. If you come one step closer than that I'll have this one and the one over by the wall killed by my men who are watching us from the control room."

There was a mechanical whir and two turrets lowered out of the ceiling, the muzzle of the guns moving to target the girls and the former Arcobaleno.

Reborn hesitated and Emri's eyes turned to Haru. "The rest of the defensive matrix is now activated too; the Vongola will be overwhelmed by numbers and firepower. I've made some improvements to the base over the years and especially since your last visit with that silver-haired cretin you're chasing after now that the Vongola Decimo shattered your heart. By the end of today, the legend in the making that is the Tenth Generation Vongola will be destroyed before it can truly take root, unless…"

"Unless what?" Haru asked.

"Well, I said it before, if you were to come to my side and renounce all ties with those who are here, I could probably bring myself to swear I won't hurt any of them anymore," Emri murmured. "The Vongola Cloud Ring is almost in our hands and we've already got the Sun, Rain, and Storm rings. I'm sure if we were to injure the others enough, I won't need Kyoko to get the Sky Ring from him. Your famiglia is outnumbered and outgunned and I'm afraid it's about to get rather hopeless…"

Haru's eyes went to the injured Akai and over to Reborn who had stopped in his tracks, she could hear the calls down the hall and recognized the voices of her friends—her boss and the Vongola Guardians.

"They're about to walk into a rather messy ambush," Emri said. "While your boss was freeing them I was able to move my men into an advantageous position and with the defenses now activated, it's only a matter of time. Come with me, Haru, I'll make the nightmare stop. I'll order my men back and they won't harm them."

Haru swallowed heavily and then very quietly began to drop all of her weapons, the items landing on the ground with a clatter. She pulled the kanzashi out of her hair and the elastic holding her ponytail broke and her hair tumbled down around her shoulders as she watched Emri. The other girl smiled brilliantly and moved forward, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards one of the doors like she had when they were children and she was really eager to show her something.

Gokudera surged ahead of his boss and the other two Guardians as the sound of the rocks tumbling and burst into the hall just as he saw Haru being led into another room by the girl she'd called Emri.

"Haru!"

Haru's head snapped in his direction for a moment and then she lowered it and turned away, following the other girl through the door that slid shut just as three other doors opened and several men flooded the halls.

"What's going on?" Gokudera demanded of Reborn as soon as he spotted the Arcobaleno.

"Death."

Haru followed Emri through the room beyond the door and the girl led the way to another door and dialed in a code that Haru didn't quite catch, but looked very similar to the other girl's favorite combination. "I have to get to the control room so I can give orders," Emri said.

Haru nodded, following her and trying not to slump as the weight of what she doing hit her, but if it was going to save her friends, she could deal with the consequences. Her eyes moved to Emri's back and she listened as her childhood friend hummed a favorite song and Haru's hands clenched into fists. She would do this.

They reached the end of a short hall and the door slid open and Emri led the way in and gestured at a metal chair next to a table full of communications equipment. "Sit down, I'll send out orders and then we'll have tea okay? We can talk about old times," Emri said.

Haru reluctantly settled in the seat and Emri moved to the computer and hit several keys. The walls of the room were viewing screens and they all lit up. Haru's eyes widened as she saw all of the men still in the compound even after the ones that Tsuna had taken out.

Her eyes focused on the center screen which depicted the Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei drawing up back to back as men flooded into the hall and closed in.

"Emri!"

"Of course, I'll give the orders now," Emri smiled and hit a button. "This is the Lady, all my forces please withdraw and leave the intruders alone, and we will cause them no further harm."

Haru started to relax and then she watched as only a few of the men that surrounded her friends put down their arms.

There was a hiss and two metal cuffs secured around her wrist and her eyes flew to Emri who settled in the chair across from her with a wicked glint in her eyes. "Did I mention, by the way, that only about a third of the men here are under my command? The rest are under Claude…and he won't be showing any kind of mercy…"

"You're over Claude right, they called you the Lady, surely you can…" Haru began

Emri smiled angelically. "I'm afraid…I can't do that Haru," she said. "Claude has orders from our Boss. The Tenth Generation Vongola must die."