AN: Uuu…hi? OwO;; I could offer you tons of reasons that would look good and win your sympathy so you wouldn't get angry at me, but here I offer you the ugly truths: I was feeling lazy. OTL I'm so, so, sorry.
((Shoes))
When she was three, Haru remembered she had a pair of pink shoes with a cute bunny on top. It was a gift from her father, for something so simple she forgot what it was already, but she did remember how proud her parents look when she was able to wear it on her own and walked.
The shoes would let out a happy squeaky sound whenever she walked. She remembered how happy she was about it that she would run around the town park for an hour just to listen to the squeaky sounds. She cried when the shoes didn't fit her anymore, and thus she hated the fact that she grew fast.
At the age of thirteen, girls her age started to experiment with fashion, that of course including shoes. Those who tried to appear tomboy would wear sneakers, not caring whether the style is designed for boys or girls. Those who tried to appear feminine would wear cute high-heeled shoes.
Haru tried both out of curiosity, both didn't suit her liking. The sneakers are too heavy, too rough, unfit for her feet. The high-heeled shoes are too flashy, unbalanced, and more importantly, they hurt her feet. She opted for a pair of casual dress shoes with flat heels.
When she first met Kyoko (thanks to Tsuna), she checked out her shoes. It was a pair of classic style shoes with flat heels, they looked cute on her. And then when she met Chrome, she also checked her shoes. Boots, they looked too rough, too big, unfit for the girl, but Haru said nothing.
Rough shoes belong to strong people, she didn't belong in that group. Cute shoes belong to beautiful people, she also didn't belong there. Or that's what she thought.
(*_*_*_*)
"Why (pant) did (pant) it (pant) be-becooommmeee (pant) like thiiiiissss!" screamed Haru in protest as she ran away from the crowd hurriedly. Eyebrows scrunched up in annoyance, Haru was ready to explode and curse the next person she met.
At the age of twenty four, Miura Haru lived double lives, a completely normal employee in a designing section of a completely normal company; a completely abnormal employee in an investigating section of an equally abnormal 'company' called The Foundation under the name of Vongola Famiglia.
It was supposed to be a grand party. She was supposed to pose as a harmless civilian while keeping watch over another family's head and report it later on. It was easy. Or so it was supposed to be. Somehow a fight broke and Haru had a suspicion that it was her boss who broke it. And the other guests already saw them coming together, so, if there's anything, she'd also be suspected. What a lucky day! Find out where the sarcasm was, please.
At this exact time, she was wearing a pair of elegant high-heeled shoes, a gift from Chrome. As she run, Haru briefly wondered why the hell didn't she wear the one from Kyoko-chan? That one got flat heels, after all, Kyoko was kind of clumsy, and you couldn't let a mafia boss' wife fell on the ground because of a pair of high-heeled shoes right? She stopped running.
"Didn't I tell you to run, Miura?" said a voice behind her with the tone that said 'you're so slow, Miura'. Haru resisted the strong urge to growl, that would be un-lady like. He stepped forward and from the momentary light that came from the explosions on the background, Haru could see the bloodied tonfas in his hand.
"Ha-haru did!" she squeaked, yes, she was running with all her might, until one of the heels broke. Poor fragile little thing…and she kind of like these shoes, too… She mourned, looking at the broken shoe being craddled in her hands. "Hahi?" unknown to Haru, when she was busy reminiscing, Hibari already walked toward her. The young woman's cheeks were getting warm as she estimated the distance between them. Too close, too close!
"Give it to me." He said simply, referring to her shoes. Images of scene from an old romantic manga flashed through Haru's mind. Yes, the one where the hero helped the heroine with breaking the other heel so she could walk again. That one, yes.
When Haru didn't reply, Hibari quickly snatched the shoe, and threw it away. Haru immediately screamed. "There, give me the other one and you can walk just fine." He said emotionlessly.
"That's a gift!"
Moving in rage, Haru hastily took off her other shoe and threw it toward Hibari's direction. The man easily avoided that attack, but not the one behind him. Someone tried to sneak behind Hibari, and judging by the sight of his angered expression and the weapon at hand (what was that? Too dark…) he was going to attack Hibari.
The stranger's eyes twitched and flame erupted from the ring on his hand. By the time Hibari turned to fight the man, Haru was already away.
"Hibari-san owes Haru a pair of new shoes!" was the last sentence she shouted that night. A grunt was the reply.
(*_*_*_*)
The next day, a few scared store clerks were forced to assist an annoyed Hibari Kyouya in an impossible task: finding a suitable pair of shoes for Miura Haru without knowing the size. The bravest one stepped forward and told the man that it's an impossible thing to do, if it's about helping him to choose which model, it'd be easy, but the size? That's what he said, minus the trembling and occasional 'uhh's in between each words. He was silenced with a glare.
"…Kyoya-san?" called Kusakabe, who felt foolish standing in between racks of women's shoes. "Do you want me to investigate about…" started with an uneasy tone, then paused because the lack of better words to say, a cough to clear his throat then, he continued, "about Miura-san's…shoe size?" He finished his offer, and Hibari stared at him.
An awkward silence erupted.
The awkwardness of the awkward moment was prolonged.
"That would be creepy." Was Hibari's answer he then returned to glare at the racks of shoes, as if they would provide him some answer.
A soft voice caught the man's attention, Hibari lazily turned to the owner of that single voice. Shorthaired, no. Pineapple, check. It's Chrome Dokuro. Nervously, she pointed toward a pair of shoes nearby and said,
"That one is the same size with Haru-chan."
"And why are you telling me?" eyebrows twitched, lips set in a frown.
"B-because..ah, there's a message from Mukuro-sama…um..he said…" a nervous glance to the side, "It's funny to see you get this frustrated because of a woman, it's pitiful, Hibari Kyoya…." The girl's mouth twisted into an annoying smirk, and Mukuro's trademarked laugh came out of her mouth.
By the time Hibari brought out his tonfas, the girl vanished already.
(*_*_*_*)
The doorbell rang and Haru immediately rinsed her mouth after she brushed her teeth. Her mother's out buying groceries and her father was taking a light jog with the uncle next door. The woman slipped and fell on the bathroom's tiled floor and got up with a pained groan.
She ran toward the front door, whispering prayers about how she wished whoever it was still got some patience in their heart. She yanked the door open, panting slightly.
"…Miura-san? Are you alright?" A nod was the answer. "Ah, that's good, I'm here for the delivery, please sign here." He said, offering Haru a clipboard with paper on it.
'Delivery? That's rare…is it from grandma?' was exactly what Haru thought. The woman smiled and signed the paper, eyes darted around, looking for the thing that's being delivered.
"Please wait for a while, Miura-san, I'll get your things." With a nod, he turned and walk toward a car parked before the house. While Haru was busy checking her nails (oh, they've gotten long, she had to cut them later), the sound of tires gliding on the ground and Haru lifted her head.
Boxes of different colors were piled upon a metal trolley and Haru felt sorry for him, because the expression on his face told her the thing's heavy. With a pained smile, he put down the box one by one.
"There you go, Miura-san. Have a nice day." He said finally, nodded once, and walked toward the car once again, pushing the trolley with a hunched back. Haru was left with staring at the boxes around her feet. With a sigh, she bent down and took the box one by one. They're light, so maybe the trolley was the one that's heavy, she thought.
Once she was done getting the boxes inside, she began opening them from the one nearest to her. Light yellow shoes. Light brown shoes. Dark brown.
….
…
…
…
Why?
Did…did Haru unconsciously ordered this much from the online shop?
Had Haru's mother gone mad and was in the mood for being stylish?
Was…was this a prank? Yes, this got to be one. Someone's trying to make Haru scared. Alright, Haru, breath. In, out, in, out. Okay.
A paper fell out of the box when Haru decided to turn the thing around, looking for a hint.
'I owe you nothing.' Was what written on it, and Haru shivered.
(*_*_*_*)
"Yes, this is Sawada's household, Kyoko speaking, how may I help you?" a cheerful voice answered.
'Kyoko-chan…thank you for the prank….though Haru didn't recall we ever declared the prank war…' a trembling voice replied.
"….?" Silence.
'Hahaha…Kyoko-chan really got Haru there…Haru thought they were from someone else…those shoes…how did Kyoko-chan know about them?' a nervous laugh.
"….Haru-chan? Did something happen? Whatever it is, I had no part in it, you know? Ah, speaking of shoes, Kusakabe-san called me yesterday to ask about…hello? Hello? Haru-chan?"
The line went dead.
That morning, Miura Haru went to work wearing her old, beaten sneakers. Too afraid to even touch the shoes she got, she left them on the doorway and was scolded by her mother because of it.
That evening, seeing the shorthaired woman didn't use any of those shoes, Hibari Kyoya went to the company that took care of the delivery to 'ask' something.
That night, Sawada Tsunayoshi's wife got an idea about a new prank for Haru.
In the other part of the town, Miura Haru was unable to sleep until dawn.
((Author Note))
Uuum….so, yeah, June the 30th is getting near…I'm nervous….anyway, when I said proposal at the previous chapter, I didn't mean they're going to marry that soon, you know? :O
Thank you for being so patient with me! See you! Ah! Uuu…sorry for all the errors, ok? :3