AUTHOR'S NOTE: Welcome to chapter 6 of Flowers in Namimori. As is my habit I do tend to jump around in PoVs, but hopefully I'm doing a good enough job of separating them this time so it doesn't get too confusing. I'm working on that *laughs*

Anyway, I promise I'm not jumping my ships in this story (though I have been somewhat in an 8086 mood recently), but it kinda just wrote itself out and, after rereading it, it'll stay because I kind of like the way this is developing though I may have to go overhaul my outlines again.

Next update will drop around February 28th.

Thanks for reading (and reviewing) if you get a chance ^_^

Target 06-04: Sakura Storm

The bell rang and Takeshi Yamamoto glanced around the classroom. Chiharu Ishida was seated at her desk next to the window, but there were three conspicuously empty seats in the classroom for the third day running. "Akagi-san, Dokuro-san, and Miura-san are absent again today?" the teacher said glancing up from the class roster and over at the black-haired girl.

"Yes, sir, I will take the class assignments to them as I did yesterday," Chiharu said.

The teacher locked gazes with the girl from Kyoto and then inclined his head. "Very well."

Yamamoto frowned, but turned his attention to the board. The teacher announced they would be separating for group assignments and he got up and immediately made his way to Chiharu. "Do you mind if I join your group today?" he asked.

The petite girl glanced up at him and he was startled for a moment by her vivid purple eyes and realized he'd never gotten that close to this transfer student despite the fact that she was living with Haru. "I would not object," she said and glanced beyond him. "Tanaka-san, Nowaki-san, Yanagi-san I think we should team up with other partners this time around to expand our horizon and look at things from a new perspective."

Yamamoto recognized the names of Chiharu's usual group partners. He didn't see the girls' reaction behind him, but he heard the quiet affirmations and listened to them retreat. "Please have a seat. Sensei, may I reserve the other spots in my group for Miura-san, Dokuro-san, and Akagi-san? Even if they cannot be in class, it will be easy to communicate with them about what we're doing."

The teacher agreed and Yamamoto settled down next to her. "I take it you are concerned about Miura-san's attendance?" Chiharu asked him.

"What's going on?" Yamamoto asked quietly.

He'd been properly introduced to Chiharu as a member of the Ishida Clan not long after she and Haru entered into an accord of some kind, but he wasn't sure he entirely trusted her. "They haven't told me," Chiharu said.

Yamamoto could hear resentment boiling under Chiharu's cool voice, but her face and eyes didn't reflect it. "We will discuss it further when we've received the details of our school assignment," she declared and turned her attention to the board where the teacher was writing out the parameters.

They received their handouts and the groups were dismissed to sit outside and discuss the project. Chiharu led the way through the halls and Yamamoto listened to the greetings thrown her way. Silently he analyzed what was going on around him and came to the sudden realization of just how much Haru had shouldered. Yamamoto traced over his memories of the brunette from the time she joined the 'mafia game' with the determination to be Tsuna's wife to after their return from the bleak future to now. He realized that he'd watched Haru go from the happy, carefree girl whose only concern had been cultivating her homemaking skills to be Tsuna's wife to the almost sixteen-year-old girl who'd become the representative of a crime organization neither knew nearly enough about.

"Yamamoto-san?"

Chiharu's voice cut through his contemplation and he glanced at her. The tone of her voice sounded like she'd been trying to get his attention for a little while. "Sorry," he said.

"What are you thinking about?" Chiharu asked. "You let your mask slip."

"What?" Yamamoto asked his brown eyes widening at her observation.

"Your smile slipped and you looked quite frightening for a moment," Chiharu said.

"I'm not sure what you mean…" Yamamoto said.

Chiharu laughed though there wasn't a whole lot of humor in it. "Masks are my specialty, Yamamoto-san, I've worn one my entire life and I've learned to recognize them when I see them. Is here fine to sit and discuss our project?"

Yamamoto glanced up at the cherry tree overhead and realized that the cherry blossoms on it were finally starting to bloom. "It's late this year," he said quietly.

Chiharu followed his eyes upwards. "Yes, they are late," she agreed. "It's been a cold winter though. The rainy season is going to be bad this year…"

She settled on the ground and Yamamoto settled next to her. "Where is Haru?" he asked.

Chiharu shook her head. "She hasn't been home for the last two nights," she replied. "Dokuro-san was there just long enough last night to collect clothing for herself and Miura-san and reassure Miura-sensei that all was well. She said nothing to me of what was going on. Haru doesn't trust me enough to tell me what's happening. I can't fault her on that, my mother taught her well. I get an e-mail from her letting me know that she's dealing with business, but nothing more."

"I haven't even gotten those," Yamamoto scowled.

Chiharu cocked her head and then smiled softly. "Do you know what the Lightning Guardian does?" she asked.

Before Yamamoto could speak Chiharu answered her own question. "Drawing damage to themselves and away from the rest of the Famiglia, serving as a lightning rod. She's trying her best to let you and Sasagawa-san continue your lives as normal while she deals with the world that's falling apart."

Anger flared through Yamamoto and he surged to his feet.

"Where are you going, Yamamoto-san?" Chiharu asked.

"To find Haru," he stated flatly. "Please excuse me, Ishida-san."

"As you wish," Chiharu said. "I will put together something to show the teacher for when I go inside."

Yamamoto looked at her and suddenly realized something else. "You want to move too, don't you?" he said.

Chiharu looked momentarily surprised and then inclined her head. "Perhaps, but I don't know enough of the current situation to be any more than a hindrance to them."

Yamamoto nodded sharply and then took off at a run.

###

"You are dealing with this a lot better than I thought you would be at this point, Chiharu-sama."

Chiharu leaned her head against the trunk of the cherry tree; she'd known Tomotsu was there long before the man spoke. "Mother championed my cause to Father for very specific reasons, Tomotsu," Chiharu said. "I created a mess of it the first time around. I'm lucky that Miura-san was kind enough to give me a second chance… She still has a lot to learn doesn't she, Tomotsu?"

Tomotsu came around the side of the tree. "Will you truly do that?" he asked.

"I will show everyone that I am not a flower to be protected. I'm a carnivorous bloom the enemy needs to watch as closely as my sister," Chiharu replied. "If I gain Miura-san's trust she will be my gateway to Judaime."

"Yamamoto-san isn't the only one that let their mask crack," Tomotsu murmured.

Chiharu glanced over at him. "It was purposeful," she said. "Yamamoto-san may just be my way to Miura-san. I will accomplish my mission here without fail."

"Just be careful dancing too close to the flame, Chiharu-sama," Tomotsu said. "You may wind up getting burned."

"Time will tell."

###

Yamamoto stopped in briefly at Take Sushi and changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He made sure Shigure Kintoki was in the bat bag that rested across his back and made his way through the restaurant where his father was preparing for the day. On his way in, he'd spotted a couple Vongola agents lingering around the restaurant and relaxed a little knowing his old man wouldn't have to worry about things too much. He headed for the Underground entrance and followed the dark passage down. He was met by Marco.

"It's about time you came," the man growled.

"Is something happening?" Yamamoto asked as the mafia agent dialed in the code to open the door to the machinists' shop.

"We haven't gotten any information about it yet, but Miura-san has been spreading herself thin between the Broken Butterfly and HQ," Marco replied.

"I will see what I can do about that," Yamamoto said grimly.

"Yamamoto-san?"

There were a hundred questions in the syllables of his name. "Don't worry," Yamamoto said. "I'll watch out for her."

"But—" Marco began.

"Trust me."

Yamamoto could hear the flatness in his own voice as he shoved his rising anger at Haru into a box for the time being to deal with the immediate problems.

"Okay," Marco said. "I'll make sure no one followed."

Yamamoto nodded and passed into the machinist shop and Giannini glanced up from the machine he was working on. "Yamamoto-san, I didn't expect to see you today," he said.

"Is she at the Broken Butterfly or HQ?" Yamamoto said not bothering with pleasantries.

"The Broken Butterfly most likely,"Giannini said. "She's been through here a lot over the past few days. Oh…I have something for her…can you wait a moment?"

Yamamoto reluctantly nodded and Giannini vanished into one of the store rooms and emerged with two items. "This is a tablet so Miura-san can have easy access to the charts and information she's been gathering. This is something Haru-san requested…"

Giannini handed Yamamoto a heavy metal fan that hummed under his touch. "It channels the Dying Will Flames, specifically Lightning Flames but can be adapted to the use of other flames," he said. "It's a gift from my father."

Yamamoto accepted them and then headed out the door by pressing the Rain Ring to the reader. The door opened and he stepped out following the familiar path to the Hanatachi store.

"It took you long enough."

Akai's voice echoed as she stepped onto the sidewalk in front of him. "Is she there?" Yamamoto asked, he never bothered to ask how the Hanatachi hitman seemed to appear out of nowhere anymore.

"Yes," Akai said. "Do you know what's going on?"

"No," Yamamoto said, "but I'm going to find out."

Yamamoto caught Akai's startled look. "I don't think I've ever heard that tone to your voice before," she said.

"What tone?" Yamamoto asked.

"That cold, calm tone that feels like the hush before a storm," Akai said.

They arrived at the shop and Akai caught his arm and directed him around the back. "This way," she said.

Yamamoto followed her silently and as soon as he entered the council room Akai directed him to, his eyes went to Haru whose face seemed to pale when she realized he was there. He stalked up to her and caught her wrist. "Pardon my intrusion," he said. "I need to talk to her for a moment."

Madame Cho looked at him and Yamamoto noticed the red eyes around the room and one of the chairs draped in black. "I will bring her back shortly," he said. "Haru, come with me."

"Yamamoto!" Haru protested.

He didn't let her go as he pulled her out of the room and into one of the other small rooms. He slammed the door behind them and trapped Haru against the wall. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

He saw something that could've been fear flicker across Haru's face, but couldn't be bothered to care about it for the moment. "Yamamoto…" Haru began.

"I don't know how many times I need to explain this to you Haru, I've tried to be kind about it and it doesn't seem to get through," Yamamoto said. "You. Are. Not. Alone."

"I—" Haru started.

"Stop it," Yamamoto interrupted her. "You are not Tsuna, Haru, and even he knew that he wouldn't be able to do it alone. He relied on us to do what we needed to do. He trusted us. Why don't you?"

Haru's eyes went wide. "I do trust you," she said.

"Do you?" Yamamoto growled, his hand on her wrist tightened.

"Yamamoto, you're hurting me," Haru said.

His grip didn't loosen. "You're hurting us," Yamamoto stated. "I don't know why you've gotten it into your head that you need to handle things on your own, but it stops. Now."

"But I'm not alone there's Akai…"

"Who is not even Vongola, Haru," Yamamoto bit out. "Chrome is the only Vongola who has your confidence."

"No…" Haru trailed off.

"Yes," Yamamoto said and leaned down his face only a breath away from hers. "Do you know how I found out there was something going on? Chiharu told me. You've sent her e-mails that at least state that you are taking care of business. Where are the mails to me? To Ryohei? Do you even bother to inform Tsuna and Gokudera?"

Haru swallowed. "You don't understand…"

"No, Haru, I understand very well," Yamamoto said.

He abruptly released her wrist and stepped back from her. "This is it Haru. Either you stand with us and you keep us informed of what's going on or I will be sending a report to Tsuna and Kudaime if needed. You think you're protecting us, but what you're doing is putting yourself two steps closer to your own grave every time you try and take this on alone. Do you think Tsuna will be happy with that?"

"I just want you to have an enjoyable high school life filled with baseball games, classes, and everything that goes with that," Haru said.

Tears welled up in her eyes and Yamamoto felt the first tremor in the towering wall of anger that surged through him after speaking to Chiharu. "Haru, we're mafia hitmen," Yamamoto stated flatly. "This is something we chose to do ourselves. This stopped being a game a long time ago."

He reached out and yanked the silver chain around Haru's neck bringing the Vongola Lightning Ring into the light. "This is a symbol of the Famiglia's trust in you. Do you think you will keep the right to this if they find out that you're going outside first to deal with Vongola problems? We are right here, Haru. We are here to help you in any way we possibly can. We are Vongola. You are our leader, start acting like it and utilize the resources at your disposal."

"Are you done?" Haru asked, her expression had gone cold when he'd yanked out the ring.

"No," Yamamoto stated quietly and leaned in and kissed her. "Let us be what we're supposed to be, Haru, because every time you go out and do things on your own, I'm afraid the next notification I get on my phone is going to be that you died and I'd never forgive myself for it."

Haru's hand went to her lips and she glared at him. "Why did you do that?" she demanded. "Gokudera and I…"

"I know," Yamamoto said, "but he's not here right now and someone has to get through to you somehow. I don't care if it is entirely one-sided affection on my part, but I like you Haru, probably a lot more than I should. Let me support you, let our Famiglia support you. I know we're not at the level of the Hanatachi and Ishida Clans right now, there are a lot of things we need to take care of, but we do take care of our own. Let us do our jobs. Don't leave us out anymore."

Haru's cold expression suddenly crumbled and she flung herself into Yamamoto's chest and he felt tears soak through his t-shirt. "Why do I screw everything up when I'm trying to do my best for everyone?" she sobbed.

"You haven't screwed it up," Yamamoto said quietly arms wrapping around the sobbing girl. "You've just been trying to take too much of the burden on yourself. You're a high school student too, Haru, and you deserve a happy high school life just as much as the rest of us, but it's not going to happen. We don't live in that world anymore and we haven't since that first fight with Varia."

He felt her fingers tighten in the material in the back of his shirt and hugged her closer.

Eventually, Haru's crying slowed and she wound up pulling back. "I've gotten your shirt all wet," she said.

Yamamoto pulled one of the towels out of his bat bag and handed it to her. "It'll dry," he said. "What happened three days ago, Haru?"

Haru wiped her face and took a deep trembling breath, lifting reddened eyes to meet his. "Sakura-san was killed. One of our Vongola agents was found last night, two blocks from Judaime's old house with his throat slit. We don't know who did it or who their next target is."

"That puts them within four blocks of your house Haru," Yamamoto frowned.

"Someone doubled the Vongola guard around my house in the past two days," Haru said. "I didn't give the orders and I'm not sure who did, but I will find out."

"And do you plan to tell the guards to go away?"

Haru's gaze dropped. "I—"

Yamamoto caught her chin in his callused hand and tilted her face back up. "Don't, Haru," he said quietly and touched the ring that was still hanging on the outside of her shirt. "You are the Vongola right now and you need the protection."

"But we have so few men as it is…" Haru trailed off.

Yamamoto dropped his forehead against hers. "There's an easy way to fix that," he said. "Call for reinforcements."

"But they'll think that I'm incompetent and…"

"No, they won't," Yamamoto said. "Part of being a good leader is knowing when to ask for help."

"I'll submit the report after we finish this meeting," Haru said quietly.

Yamamoto nodded and stepped back. "I'll make sure you follow through on that, Haru. Shall we go back?"