The Bond Between the Land and Sea

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Branch

Stories of Kyouko and Haru growing into their own positions in Vongola, and the woman who helps them.

Ink Burns

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

This is a work of fanfiction, produced according to the principles of transformative fair use as put forward in US copyright law, and abiding by the custom and practice of fan-produced work in Japan, where the source texts were created. No author is in any way affiliated with any of the creators of the source texts, nor with the companies who distribute their products, nor any other rights holder, and these stories were not authorized by either the creators or the producers. Ink Burns is a fan site and the material here is freely provided for the enjoyment of fellow fan-community members; there is no commercial infringement.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 US license at the Ink Burns fanfiction archive (http://www.branchandroot.net/archive/).

"Give One Heart" published on 2009-03-02 14:46:15.

"Saints of Palermo" published on 2009-03-03 16:32:32.

"She Danced Across the Mountain" published on 2009-03-04 15:14:15.

"A Scratched Record" published on 2009-03-05 14:20:08.

Attributions can be made by author's name and a link to the archive.

This ebook edition was published on September 6, 2019 by the Ink Burns fanfiction archive.

Cover illustration is "Blick vom Ponte Vecchio in Florenz Ã¼ber den Arno" by S. Paladini, public domain (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paladini_Blick_%C3%BCber_den_Arno_1862.jpg).

Cover design by Branch.

Give One Heart

Hibari thinks it's about time someone told Kyouko and Haru a few things. Drama, I-3

Kyouya stood, arms folded, in the shadowed doorway of the kitchen and watched Kyouko and Haru move around each other in the bright room.

He remembered the point in his past, his old past he supposed he should say, when Kyouko had finally coaxed the truth out of her brother and Sawada; it had been the first time he'd thought the girl might have teeth after all. He remembered the impressive black eye and the hangdog expression that Sasagawa and Sawada had sported, respectively, afterwards; the bruise had faded sooner. He remembered the fierceness in Sawada's eyes when he'd demanded Kyouya's word that he would protect the younger Kyouko and Haru, when they came forward; only after that word was given had he, reluctantly, agreed to the whole plan.

Of course, in Kyouya's opinion, the best way to protect someone was to sharpen their teeth.

He pushed away from the door and stepped into the kitchen.

"Hibari-san!" Haru looked up with a bright smile. "Are you coming to dinner, too, tonight?"

"No," he told her, bluntly, and cast a sharp eye on Kyouko. "You've seen things, here, that haven't been explained. Sasagawa believes he does you a service by keeping you in ignorance. Sawada appears to agree. What do you think?"

Her knife paused, over the vegetables on the board in front of her, and then resumed, slower. "I already know," she said, softly.

Kyouya's brows rose.

"Not... not everything. But that they're doing something dangerous." Her eyes were fixed on the sliced roots as she slid them onto a plate and reached for a whole one. "They won't tell me why, but I've seen how they're training, here." Her lips tightened. "And I remember, now, what happened right after I got here." She finally put the knife down and looked up. "That man was trying to kill me. And Tsuna-kun, too. I don't know why, but I know that much."

Haru was staring at her. "Don't know... but... Kyouko-chan, your brother is one of Tsuna-kun's Guardians, how can you not know?"

Kyouko smiled, a little sad. "Like I said. They haven't told me why this is happening." And then she snorted softly. "Though it was pretty obvious from the start that it wasn't sumo wrestling."

Kyouya was glad to know she hadn't actually bought that particular piece of inanity. It would be a shame if the boss' wife were an idiot. He leaned a hip against the counter, watching silently to see how much these two girls could do on their own.

Haru sat down, slowly. "Kyouko-chan..." She bit her lip and then took a deep breath. "It's the mafia. Tsuna-kun was chosen to be the next boss of a big mafia Family. Gokudera and Yamamoto and Sasagawa-san and, um," she glanced at Kyouya, "Hibari-san too were chosen to guard him. To be his own family." She frowned darkly, then, with growing indignation. "I can't believe they didn't tell you!"

Kyouko shook her head. "It's all right, Haru-chan. I..." her eyes fell and one finger traced an arc back and forth on the table, "I knew enough. And I was hoping they would tell me themselves."

"Not for another three or four years," Kyouya remarked, causing a complete halt in the conversation for several breaths.

"Four. Years." Haru's eyes glinted and she stood up. "That does it. Where are they?"

"You might want to wait on that," Kyouya told her dryly. "Tomorrow they're going to go out after Vongola's enemies. Pitiful grazers that they still are, they need every edge. You might not want to distract them until later."

Kyouko was looking up at him, eyes wide and dark. "That's why you told us?"

He looked down at her silently. "I gave Sawada my word to guard you," he said, finally. "But you should be aware to guard yourselves as well." If the schedule held, they would have to, very soon.

She was silent too for a long moment, opaque thoughts moving behind soft eyes. "All right."

Haru moved to stand behind her, one hand on Kyouko's shoulder. "We will," she said, stoutly.

He nodded and turned away. He didn't think for a moment that they could protect themselves if they fell into Millefiore's hands, but at least this should keep them from rushing to place themselves there out of ignorance. He trusted Sawada would appreciate that benefit. Kyouya imagined he would. Eventually.

A sharp, tiny smile curved his lips as he paced the halls back to his own section.

End

Saints of Palermo

The Giglio Nero boss talks to Kyouko and Haru about the other side of the mafia. Drama, I-3

A/N: The woman in this story is Uni's mother, and for an explanation of why I think they're actually the same person see here.

Unità leaned back, behind her desk, and gazed out the window.

"Are you going to do it?" Gamma asked, quietly.

"I think I probably am." She crossed her arms. "He made a very good offer."

Gamma frowned. "But what assurance is there that Vongola's Ninth will honor it? Sawada may be the heir, but he isn't the boss yet."

Unità hummed thoughtfully. "No, but he is confirmed. At sixteen, Gamma! And if they're telling the truth, it actually happened even earlier."

"Do you think they're telling the truth?"

She smiled up at him. "Do you?"

He gave her a disgruntled look for turning it around that way and she laughed. He leaned back against the window sill, one hand shoved in a pocket. After a long moment he said, "Yes. I guess I do." His mouth quirked. "The boys, well they'd agree the sky was green if Sawada said so, but the girls... no. They were telling the truth."

"They were pretty transparent, weren't they? He was smart to bring them." Her eyes narrowed. "Gamma. Did that seem... strange to you?"

"Mm." He was quiet again, which she took for agreement.

"He seems very protective of them," she murmured, tracing the line of a woodgrain on her desk as if to trace her thought with the same fingertip. "Yet he brought them here, to the heart of an un-allied Family's territory. So does he trust us that blindly or..." her voice softened, reaching the conclusion, "is it his own power he trusts?"

"After everything they seem to have gone through, I doubt he trusts blindly," Gamma answered, just as soft.

"Hm." Unità's lips curved. "Yes. Still a bit naive, maybe, but not blind. We'll take it." Gamma blinked as she straightened, and she smiled at him, wry. "Think of the things behind what they said, Gamma. In another six or seven years it seems that Vongola's Tenth will be ruthless enough to let himself be killed, gambling for the future of the world, and keep the secret from his own Guardians. I think that Sawada would still ally with us, but he might not offer us such good terms as today's Sawada." She spread her hands over the smooth surface of her desk and added quietly. "And one thing I'm sure of is that I don't want us to have to fight the man that's coming."

Gamma smiled back. "You take good care of your people, boss."

"Speaking of which." Unità reached for her writing paper. "I'll have two letters to be delivered to them."

"Two? Sawada and... who else?"

"I did mention that those girls were transparent?" She nibbled on the end of her pen. Coffee, yes, that would be... unthreatening. "If we're to be allies, I'm not letting Vongola stand around with a weakness like that hanging out where anyone can aim at it. And those boys probably won't even see it until far too late." Her lips crimped in amusement. "Men can be that way."

Gamma opened his mouth only to close it again, a faint flush rising in his face. "Mm."

Unità had to stifle a laugh when she saw who had escorted the girls to meet her and observed the way Gokudera's eyes followed the dark haired one. She welcomed the girls in and shooed the men out. "This is a discussion between women."

Gamma knew well enough to do as she said, but Gokudera stood his ground. "I have a duty to make sure they're safe."

"We're allies now, aren't we?" she asked.

Gokudera glowered at her, possibly because she couldn't keep her mouth from curling at the corners.

Gamma sighed faintly and stepped forward, catching Gokudera's eye. "They will be safe here. We will guard them as though they were our own people. You have my word."

For a long moment Gokudera held Gamma's gaze, eyes dark with, perhaps, memory. Finally he inclined his head. "I accept your word."

Unità settled in one of the armchairs arranged around a low table as the two men left. "Well, now that the posturing is out of the way," she said, dryly, "come, have a seat."

The dark haired girl, Haru, laughed a little. Unità considered her, and the quieter one, Kyouko, for a moment and leaned back with a sigh.

"I doubt Sawada or his Family will think to tell you before it's too late, but the two of you have a decision before you. One that needs to be made now." As their eyes widened she folded her hands and asked softly, "Will you stay with them?"

"Of course we will!" Haru answered, sounding shocked.

Unità ran a hand through her hair. She'd been right; they had no idea. "This is not a kind world that I live in, that Sawada has committed himself to. It's a dangerous and harsh world where people die just for being related to the wrong person, if a feud gets started."

Both the girls flinched at that. They knew that much, then. They still weren't making the logical connection, though.

"You've been fairly safe up until now, because before he came to Sicily few people outside the Vongola took much note of Sawada," she told them as gently as she could. "But they're noticing now. And you've been seen with him. It might already be too late. If you leave now, though, and never see any of them again, you should be safe. If you don't... you'll be targets."

Kyouko was frowning. "Why are you saying this?"

"Because you need to choose, and I believe in giving people all the facts." And having said that, she had to add, "In all fairness, there are two sides to this. You'll be a target because the Vongola boss is very well known in our world, and very well hated by some. But it's his power he's hated for, and few people will be willing to cross his protection."

Haru was biting her lip, but Kyouko only looked down at her hands. "I understand," she said, softly.

Unità's brows rose.

"I saw, when we were in the future. I heard." Kyouko looked up with a faint smile. "Hibari-san believes in giving people all the facts, too. And even before that... I knew." She looked down again. "That isn't what makes me hesitate. It's just..." her voice got softer still, "is there anything I can really do for him?"

It looked like Unità had underestimated this one. Which, actually, suggested an answer to Kyouko's question, and she smiled. "Most likely, yes." She tapped a finger against her lips and decided to start at the beginning. "Bosses' wives do different things, you know, depending on their own tastes. Some are completely private and have nothing to do with business at all. Some do negotiations in their own right. And some," she tipped her head, "some work behind the scenes. They smile and entertain guests and do the indirect negotiations." Her mouth quirked. "Or, sometimes, just charm the other side into submission." Her voice lowered. "Is that what you want? To help him with his work?"

"I... I do." Kyouko took a quick breath. "I know I'm not like Bianchi-san, but..."

"Well, he has Bianchi to be like Bianchi," Unità murmured. "Not that it wouldn't be wise for you to learn to shoot strait and hit something hard enough to make a difference. But Sawada seems to have plenty of people with weapons already. Perhaps he could also do with someone to listen quietly and see the less obvious threats." She thought about what Gamma was to her and added, "And someone to listen to him. Even when it's not directly about work." She tapped a finger thoughtfully on her knee, considering the differences, too. "That someone will be in danger, danger Sawada and his family will put themselves at risk to guard against, and that someone will just have to bear it. Do you have the will to do that?"

Kyouko was quiet for a moment, but when she looked up her eyes were dark with calm, deep as the ocean. "Yes."

Unità smiled. She might pay money to be present when Sawada got to discover all this. "Good."

Haru was wearing a wry smile as she listened to them. "I think you're stronger than I am, Kyouko-chan. I'd go crazy if I had to do that." She glanced at Unità uncertainly. "I don't want to leave either, though."

Unità looked her up and down, consideringly, and her lips curled. "I suppose it's a good thing Kyouko is the one with the older brother, not you, so there's no one to come pound me when I suggest this. But maybe you would be good at the, ah, other path mafia women tend to pursue."

Haru blinked at her. "Hahi?"

Unità's smile quirked. "Wives are expected to be above reproach. Unattached women, on the other hand, have greater opportunities and greater dangers. And guns aren't the only weapons."

Haru's chin tucked down and some of the wide blankness slid away from her eyes. "You mean seducing people."

"I knew you couldn't be as silly as you were acting," Unità murmured and Haru blushed. "No, no, it's a very good act. Keep it. It will be useful." As useful, in its own way, as Kyouko's soft-voiced sweetness. "It's a sad truth," she continued dryly, "but the men of my country tend to be complete idiots when a woman coos at them. There's a great deal of information to be gathered that way."

"And Kyouko-chan can't do it," Haru finished for her. "But I could."

"Haru-chan!" Kyouko protested, sitting up straight. "I couldn't ask you to do that!"

Haru's smile was distinctly tilted. "Kind of the way Ryouhei-san and Tsuna-kun couldn't ask you to deal with their being in the mafia?"

Kyouko stopped short, mouth open for a moment before she shut it with a click. Her hands twisted together, but finally she murmured, "If... if you're sure it's what you want to do."

"I want to think about it. But..." the sparkle in Haru's eyes almost hid their sharpness, "it sounds fun. And useful," she added, under her breath, expression suddenly mulish.

Unità stifled a chuckle. "You should definitely learn to shoot straight, then. Perhaps you can ask Gokudera to teach you."

Kyouko's eyes flicked up to hers as Haru blushed and sputtered a bit, and her lips curved in a tiny smile. Yes, Unità had thought both girls had their lines of sight straight, between them. The young men were thoroughly bracketed.

"On that subject," she went on, more seriously, "Haru, you have to stop your silliness about becoming Sawada's wife."

Haru waved a hand. "It's only to tease him. I know there's no chance—"

"That's not the point." Unità leaned forward, willing her to understand. "You and Kyouko may know it's a game. Sawada will likely realize soon himself, if he hasn't already. But outsiders will see it as a weakness in Vongola's unity, and you can't ever let that happen. That's the responsibility that goes with the ability to be useful. Your games can't be played inside the Family."

"Oh." Haru sobered. "I... I see. Yes."

Unità nodded to herself, satisfied that this gap in her new ally's defenses was, if not closed, at least closing. "Indeed. I think you'll both do well."

There was a tap at the door and the housekeeper slipped in with her always-impressive sense of the appropriate moment and a tray of coffee. The tension in the room uncoiled in the delicate clatter of setting out and pouring, and Unità smiled.

"So tell me." She leaned back in her chair, cup cradled between her fingers. "What do you think of Sicily?"

Haru and Kyouko looked at each other and Kyouko nodded.

"It will make a good home," she said.

End

She Danced Across the Mountain

As Kyouko and Haru settle into their lives with the mafia, sometimes they need advice. Drama, I-3

"...and never, ever accept red flowers. All right, I think I got all that." Kyouko sat back, one hand rubbing her forehead.

Unità's lips quirked in sympathy. "You're doing very well, for someone who's never even traveled abroad before."

Kyouko's soft smile was more wry than usual. "And here I thought that, once I was done with the university entrance exams, I wouldn't be studying any more."

"You'll likely be studying this for years," Unità warned. "You have a grace and social ease that will serve you very well, but the small customs that let a woman fit in, here, take time to learn."

"I understand," Kyouko murmured, and straightened her back with a determined breath. "So. About this... this kissing thing."

Unità's lips quirked. "Well, it depends on how well you know the other person ..."

Antonio looked up with a brilliant smile as Unità led the girls into his dress shop. "Donna Unità! We haven't seen you in too long! Are you looking for a new gown, perhaps?"

"Ah, now, you know my workday clothes can't be that elaborate." Something Antonio was volubly disappointed over at every opportunity, but at least she had some consolation for him today. "Not for myself. I just wanted to introduce my young friends, here." She smiled. "They should know who to go to for the best."

"Indeed, indeed!" Antonio beamed upon his newest victims. Unità hoped both of them were taking notes on his tactics. "Friends of the Family?"

"Oh yes," Unità murmured, laying a hand on Kyouko's shoulder. "The Vongola Tenth's young woman, and her best friend." She nodded to the girls, eye crossing Haru's briefly. "Antonio has a great many customers from our world, so you can relax here."

Haru's eyes widened a hair, recognizing the implication, and she turned to Antonio with a sparkling smile of her own. "Oh, how wonderful! I was so hoping to find someone who would really know about fashions here!" She clasped her hands, eyes wide and entreating. "Are we dreadfully out of style? Tell me the worst! I can take it!"

Antonio enfolded her hands in his, clearly delighted at finding a kindred spirit. "No, no, you do very well!" He stood back and cast a professional eye over her outfit, and Kyouko's. "A bit young, perhaps..."

Haru now had a definite gleam in her eye. "So, what would you recommend?"

Unità firmly suppressed her amusement. Haru was already well on her way to a contact that would give her a wide window onto the world she intended to move in.

Kyouko had caught on too, and her shoulder was tense under Unità's hand. Unità guided her over to a chair while they waited for Antonio and Haru to finish their heart-to-heart. "Would she be any happier waiting at home beside you?" she murmured. "I can tell you already she wouldn't actually be any safer."

Kyouko sighed silently. "I suppose not."

"She's a natural," Unità observed, dispassionately. "Let her run and find her place."

Haru's bright, open laugh wound through the shop like a silk scarf.

"It's for you, boss." Gamma held out the phone. "The Vongola's wife."

Unità stretched, behind her desk, redirecting her thoughts from negotiations with the Barassi to the reasons why her sort-of-protégée might be calling her this evening. "All right." She tucked the phone against her shoulder. "Kyouko?"

"Unità-san, what is the... the... acceptable thing to do when the boss of another Family suggests I sleep with him?"

Unità pursed her lips, wondering who had been foolish enough to try that. "What did you do?"

"I pretended I didn't understand what he was talking about." Kyouko's voice was tight.

"Perfect! Well, no, perfect would have been pulling out a gun and shooting him." Unità grinned a bit at Gamma's expression. "Unfortunately we can't always achieve perfection."

"I wanted to," Kyouko said fiercely.

Unità softened her tone. "I know. But to keep Sawada's face for him, to keep it the mafia way, you need to let him do that when it's in public."

Kyouko sighed. "I... don't think that would have been a good idea either. At least not this evening."

"And that's why acting like you didn't understand was perfect. You left no openings at all."

After a long moment Kyouko murmured, "I was a little afraid you'd say that. That means I have to keep on doing it."

"Yes." Unità had nothing to offer that would soften that necessity. She could hear the deep breath Kyouko took, over the line.

"All right. Thank you, Unità-san."

"No problem." Unità smiled wryly as she hung up. "Oh, stop looking like that," she told Gamma. "I'm sure Kyouko wouldn't actually shoot anyone." After a pause to let this obvious truth sink in she added, "Haru probably takes care of that."

Gamma's snort at this reminder of the feisty girl his counterpart was so explosively courting made her laugh.

"Have a seat, Haru." Unità waved at the straight chairs in front of her desk as she signed and sealed the letter to the Girasole for Tazaru to carry. "There. Now, what did you want to see me for?"

Haru was fidgety today, as she sat, smoothing her skirt, crossing and recrossing her ankles. "Well." She nibbled her lip, which, Unità observed, she had learned to do in a downright charming way. "I wanted to ask, because I thought you'd know the real answer. If I'm somebody's... if I'm with somebody, can I still flirt or would that be... unacceptable?"

Unità firmly stifled a chuckle; it was about time those two came to some understanding. "Flirting is still acceptable as long as you don't mind being thought a fluffy airhead who can't control herself. As long as you're careful never to go beyond flirting, your overflowing feminine sex-drive will be a cause for congratulations to Gokudera."

Haru made a horrible face. "I thought so! Honestly, there are times when I just want to—" she broke off and settled back in her chair. "Well."

Unità raised a cautionary finger. "That's among the lower ranks and at the very top, mind you. The hitmen usually have sharper eyes." They usually had to. "So if you're working among them, be very careful."[?]

Haru nodded seriously. "I understand." A bit of her accustomed sparkle returned to her eyes. "With them I usually rely on my brain anyway, and it just seems to amuse them that they get to see what nobody else notices." Contemplatively she added, "Arrogant bastards."

Unità burst out laughing. Kyouko was more to her credit as a mentor, in many ways, but Haru was certainly finding her own feet in their world, even the rough parts.

Kyouko toed off her shoes and curled her feet up under her in the armchair. "Haru hasn't heard anything, so I wanted to ask you. Some of the other bosses have been looking at me a little oddly, lately."

Unità took a long sip from her coffee cup. "Oddly?"

Kyouko frowned a little, fingers only toying with her own cup. "They don't pay all that much attention to me. I'm used to that. But now... they're not talking to me but they are looking at me. Only..." she made a frustrated sound. "Not the usual way. I'm not describing this very well, I'm sorry."

Unità thought for a moment and finally tipped her head and suggested, "Looking at your waist instead of your breasts?"

Kyouko blushed and Unità stifled a chuckle; even having been married for years, Kyouko still seemed so innocent sometimes.

"Well, I suppose that could be—" Kyouko broke off abruptly, eyes widening. She straightened in her seat and stared at Unità. "They... they're watching for that?"

Unità shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised."

"But why?"

"Some of them probably want to know whether they should start grooming a son or a daughter." Unità's mouth quirked at Kyouko's wide eyed look. "Vongola is a very powerful Family, after all. There are plenty who would like to have blood ties to you." And more who would prefer that Kyouko never live to deliver, but she thought, by now, Kyouko might be able to reach that conclusion on her own.

"Oh." Kyouko looked down at her coffee, fidgeting with it again.

Unità's brows rose. "You won't have to think about marriages for your children for years, you can put the early starters off pretty easily."

"It isn't that." Kyouko chewed her lip for a moment. "It's... Tsuna doesn't want to try for children, yet."

"He doesn't think you're too young, does he?" Unità asked, startled. She wouldn't have thought it, but maybe in Japan...

"Oh, no, it's not that." Kyouko managed to laugh, though it sounded stiffer than usual. "My mother was younger than I am now, when she had my brother. And Tsuna's mother had him younger, too. No, it's... he doesn't..." she sighed. "He wants to wait until it's safer."

Unità nearly choked on her coffee. "Safer?" For the wife of the tenth Vongola boss? She rubbed a hand over her forehead. "Boy has his head up his ass again, I see," she grumbled.

"He's just worried for me," Kyouko defended her husband, instantly. "And I don't want to push him, when he's already concerned about the whole Family."

Something would have to be done about that, but clearly today wasn't the day, and Kyouko wasn't the person Sawada would have to hear from. Unità sighed. "He's a good boss," she allowed, and smiled. "Seems to be a good husband, too."

Kyouko smiled softly. "He is." She looked up, suddenly inquiring. "Do you..."

"I don't have a husband, no," Unità said dryly. She watched Kyouko's sidelong glance, hesitant and curious, and added, "Nor children. There are," her mouth twisted just a bit at the double meaning of the words, "issues with that, for me."

Kyouko's eyes were wide and stricken. "Oh. Oh, I'm so sorry."

Unità shook her head, taking herself in hand. "Don't worry about it." She chuckled. "My people have enough of a handful just dealing with me. And I'll leave enough to this world of ours, as it is, without adding children." She would leave a legend, in time, she suspected. Or, at least, her own personal installment of the longer legend.

Kyouko's eyes on her were still curious, and a little thoughtful, but she let the subject lapse with the grace she'd learned so well. "How is your Family doing, lately?"

Unità leaned back and crossed her legs, smiling. Business was easier to talk about, yes. "Very well, especially since that new partnership in Monreale..."

A scuffle outside her sitting room caught Unità's attention and she went to the door in time to hear Haru's voice clearly.

"I can walk perfectly well, you know, there's no need..."

"The boss concerns herself with you. That's all the reason I need." That was Gamma, and a breath later he turned the corner and she saw them.

Haru was scooped up in Gamma's arms, being carried and clearly fuming about it. She was also bruised, lip split, dress torn, one of her high heeled sandals missing. Unità's lips thinned and she pulled her door all the way open. "Bring her in, and call for what we need," she ordered.

Gamma set Haru down carefully on the couch and nodded to Unità, the same grimness she felt turning his eyes hard.

"Haru." Unità crouched down in front of her and caught her hands, hoping to capture her focus, too. "What happened?"

Haru's eyes were bright and a little glazed. "It was at the bar. At Tommaso's. Some of the Donnola were there, making a delivery, and you know we've been trying to figure out why they're suddenly so cozy with the Scoiattolo. So I chatted them up." Her mouth twisted and then she winced as it pulled the cut on her lip. "Bad timing I guess. I was just getting somewhere when some other men came in. I didn't recognize them. They came after the Donnola men and shoved me aside..."

"More than shoved it looks like," Gamma noted, coming back in with a glass of water and another of something Unità was pretty sure was much stronger, trailed by her house doctor, Renato. He handed the smaller glass to Haru while Renato made disapproving sounds and started cleaning her cuts. "Tazaru says it was the Scarafaggio," he added.

Haru swallowed the alcohol in three gulps, gasping a little. "Thanks."

Gamma handed over the water, one corner of his mouth curling up.

"There were six of them," Haru continued. "They... they shot three of the Donnola before the rest of the bar jumped in and they ran." She was breathing deeply, tiny shudders shaking her.

This might be the first time Haru had seen death that close. Unità stroked her hair back. "All right. That's all I need to know, Haru. Just catch your breath."

Haru nodded, jerky, hands tight around her water glass.

"Haru!" Gokudera was through the door before anyone quite realized he was there, and pushed Renato aside. He stopped short before catching Haru's shoulders, hands hovering. Finally he settled for taking her arms, gently, where there weren't any bruises. His voice was hoarse. "What happened?"

"She got caught in the middle of the fight with some Scarafaggio at Tommaso's tonight," Unità supplied, briefly. "They weren't careful."

Gokudera's first expression was relief, but it turned colder and colder as his eyes tallied up Haru's injuries. He stood. "Thank you for informing me."

Haru caught his hand, eyes wide. "Hayato, don't be an idiot...!"

The intensity of his eyes didn't change, but the ice turned hot for a breath as he knelt down in front of her again. "Haru." He leaned in and kissed the uninjured corner of her mouth, very gently. "I'll be back soon, okay? Don't worry."

Haru's eyes were wide and dark, watching him stalk back out the door, and she opened her mouth again.

"Don't." Unità took Haru's face and turned the girl to look at her. "You have to let him do this, Haru."

"But...!"

"I know." Unità sat on the couch and gathered Haru close. "I know. But an injury to you is a dishonor to him. He has to avenge it."

As Haru shivered and silent tears soaked into Unità's shoulder, she wondered if, perhaps, she had misled Kyouko. Maybe she was giving daughters to her world after all.

Unità sat in her study, watching the stars come out through the tall window. She had attended Cavallone's wedding that day and watched the Vongola allies mingle, watched her family laugh and stand proud, watched Kyouko, with Haru shadowing her, pass through the gathering unnoticed offering a smile here, a word there, charming the argumentative and separating the drunk, leaving all Sawada's eagle-eyed bodyguards nothing to do.

Watched Reborn watching her. Knowing.

She sighed. She'd thought to have a little longer, but it seemed not. She would just have to hope she had done all she needed to do for the next little while. She told herself that firmly and scrubbed her sleeve across her eyes.

"Boss?" Gamma tapped on her balcony door and held out two cans of beer temptingly. "Want to come take a breath of fresh air for a while?"

She took a breath and pushed herself onto her feet, stepping outside. "What is it, Gamma? I don't really feel like playing around, tonight."

End

A/N: While in real life, to the best of my knowledge, a hitman generally is part of the lower ranks, in Amano's world they appear to be a caste of their own, and a middle-high ranking one at that. I have gone with Amano's worldbuilding in this case.

A Scratched Record

Kyouko and Haru meet Uni as she's introduced to Tsuna, and get a shock. Drama, I-3

Kyouko pressed a hand to her lips as Tsuna stared at their visitors.

"She's... dead?" Tsuna repeated, softly.

Gamma's mouth tighted and he nodded silently. "I hoped it wouldn't..." he swallowed whatever he had been going to say and drew a slow breath. "Her daughter is the boss of Giglio Nero, now." He opened his hand at the girl standing next to him, watching them all quietly.

Tsuna swallowed himself, looking a little sick. "Is that really... I mean, a child..."

Gamma straightened and repeated, flatly, "She is our boss."

The girl tipped her head, regarding Tsuna, and smiled. "Hello." She stepped forward, light and easy, drawing all eyes to herself. "I'm Uni. I'm very pleased to meet the Vongola boss."

Tsuna's eyes were dark, but he managed to smile back at her. "Hello, Uni. I'm glad to meet you, too." He sat back and sighed. "If there's anything we can do for you..." he trailed off, eyes going back to Gamma.

Kyouko swore the girl's mouth quirked as she slipped to the side, letting the two men focus on each other again.

"We don't need men, but a Vongola presence at some negotiations coming up would probably be wise," Gamma admitted, gaze checking Uni before settling on Tsuna.

Kyouko kept half an ear on their planning as she stepped forward herself, but only half. The least she could do for Unità's daughter was offer some comfort while her Guardian was occupied with business. She held out both hands. "Hello, Uni; and welcome. I'm Kyouko. I knew your..." her voice faltered as the girl turned and she met dark, knowing eyes, deeper than any child's should be. Eyes she recognized. "...mother...?"

Haru slipped up beside them. "Kyouko?"

Uni blinked and then smiled, a flicker of mischief showing through the darkness of her eyes. She held a finger to her lips. Stunned, Kyouko just nodded.

It wasn't possible. Gamma himself had said Unità was dead.

Uni came and took Kyouko's hands, looking up at her intently. "It's all right," she said, softly.

"But how...?"

Haru was frowning now; she turned a little to place herself between their conversation and the men's. "Kyouko? What's wrong?" She glanced sharply between the two of them.

Uni smiled at her wryly. "I suppose it would have been smarter for me to be introduced while you weren't here, but I don't imagine Kyouko would have kept anything from her right hand anyway."

Haru stared. Kyouko couldn't blame her. That was, from words to tone to the tilt of the head, what Unità might have said to them.

Abruptly Haru's mouth snapped shut and her eyes narrowed. "Your necklace," she murmured, as if casually. "Is it your rememberance of your mother?"

The quirk to Uni's mouth turned a bit sour. "Exactly."

Kyouko looked down at the pendant, puzzled. She'd seen it once or twice before, though Unità usually wore it under her clothes. It was an odd shape, she remembered...

And then her heart nearly stopped as she really looked at it for the first time.

"Exactly," Uni repeated, smile just a little sad, now.

Kyouko drew a slow breath. "That's a very personal thing, of course," she murmured.

"Thank you." The rueful twist was back in Uni's lips. "My Family sees the body, so this doesn't usually occur to them."

Kyouko looked up at Gamma and suddenly frowned. His face was drawn tight and there were shadows under her eyes. She looked down at Uni again, disapproving.

The not-girl sighed. "I know. I do my best to show their hearts that I'm not gone." She touched the orange pacifier briefly. "But for the ones who love me like he does... I would be lost to them just as much if they knew. I believe, I hope, it's a little simpler for them this way." Wetness gleamed in her eyes for a breath before she blinked and it was gone.

Kyouko bit her lip. She wasn't at all sure that was really the best way, but it was Uni's Family and Uni's choice. She considered the slim girl with the old eyes standing in front of her, and the nearly visible cord of awareness running between Uni and Gamma, and sighed. "I'm sorry." She opened her arms, the way she did for Haru when she got back from doing something she refused to talk about.

Uni looked up, child-wide eyes suddenly unguarded. And then she stepped forward and buried herself in Kyouko's arms. Kyouko held her tight and gave no sign that she felt the tiny tremors or the faint hitch of Uni's breath.

Gamma and Tsuna both fell silent a moment to look over at them with open relief. Kyouko smiled back at them, serenely, stroking Uni's straight, soft hair.

If her smile turned a little sad as the men turned back to Family business, no one was watching but Haru.

End