I'm With the Mafia

Disclaimer: All rights to Katekyo Hitman Reborn belongs to its' creator Akira Amano

Summary: AU Haru Miura is a woman who's in the throes of a quarter-life crisis. Uncertain about her identity and what she wants the most out of life, Haru decides to sojourner in Italy for a year. However, instead of discovering herself, all Haru manages to find trouble. Trouble in the form of a mafia turf war… Gokudera/Haru and other pairings

Chapter One:

Breakfast at Vongola's

After her twelfth contented sigh of the morning, the woman gazed fondly out the window of her favorite café. Well…maybe 'favorite' was too soon, since she had only been here a couple of times. Still, it seemed to best capture everything Haru had been told about Italy. The laid-back atmosphere, a restaurant matron who clucked her tongue and said Haru didn't eat enough – or maybe she meant something else-, and a beautiful view of the street.

A vanilla cappuccino paired with a bagel for breakfast while people watching. Haru figured this was a vast improvement over her previous morning ritual back in Japan: Wake up, coffee, get dressed and go to work, file some papers, more coffee and so on.

At least here, she could take her coffee and drink it too, rather than choking back flavorless liquid-tar. No one really bothered her aside from the waitress coming around to refill her cup, so Haru figured she must have had 'tourist' written all over her. A pity, since her cramming of Italian phrases and simple sentences would go to waste.

Haru smirked against her coffee cup as the young woman recalled her mother's advice, 'Don't let yourself be conned by some Italian gigolo, Haru. Your father and I don't mind paying for this trip to clear your head, but we won't be paying for some freeloading lover on top of your expenses.'

"Don't worry, mother. I doubt anyone would be interested in me anyway." Haru mused quietly, wistfully staring out the window. Despite the fact that she did come from wealth, Haru didn't think she was the flashy type.

Besides…she stared down at her blouse which concealed a modest chest before frowning and pulling a plum-colored shrug-jacket closer over her shoulders. Besides, men like that tended to go for big-breasted bimbos. Haru knew herself to be too smart for insincere flattery, so she had nothing to worry about. Still, she supposed it wouldn't hurt if someone didn't at least 'try'…

As if she had summoned him with her mind (perhaps there WAS such a thing as telepathy!) Haru heard the chair across from her scrape against the floor before it was occupied.

Haru twisted in her chair to greet the newcomer with a smile, only to wind up disappointed.

"Ciao" the 'boy' said, his posture slouched in the chair and only his left eye visible underneath black bangs. Haru couldn't help but notice he was wearing a…cow-printed shirt that was slightly wrinkled and open nearly from neck to navel save for two buttons keeping it from looking indecent. He looked…cute, she guessed, but the baby-face wasn't winning him any points.

"Uh…ciao." Haru returned before pretending to be oh-so-interested in the milk foam of her drink. Maybe if she ignored it, it'd go away. Or at least find someone more age appropriate to hit on.

"My name is Lambo. What's your name beautiful?" the kid asked with a smile he probably assumed looked sexy, but kind of gave Haru the creeps since the guy had to be at LEAST ten years younger than her.

"Haru Miura" she said however was quick to point out something before 'Lambo' became too friendly. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

His 'leisure suit' composure dropped in an instant as the teenager sat up, "N-no way! How could you tell? I…uh…" he blushed before grumbling a curse word.

Haru smirked, "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

He blinked both eyes, making Haru wonder for a moment if she had butchered the Italian equalivlant of what she was trying to say.

"You're Japanese?" Lambo asked. Now it was Haru's turned to be shocked, only to feel like an idiot. Duh. Her name gave it away.

"Just now, you said something in Japanese; I'm still kind of rusty though. Haven't really spoken it since I was a kid, but I sort of understood what you said. And as for my mouth and what I say with it is my own business…ma'am." Lambo reluctantly added since Haru had already blown his cover.

The fact he was raised in Japan actually interested Haru more than his attempt to flirt with her. And Haru just couldn't let a good curiosity just walk up and leave, "Why? Were you in Japan for awhile?"

Lambo scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, sort of. I grew up in Japan, even though I was born here. It's a long story."

Haru was about to ask more questions, but was interrupted by ringing of the bell above the café door. In walked a very angry looking girl wearing a white blouse and plain navy skirt, her hair in braids.

"There you are!" she exclaimed, sounding a little out of breath before walking up to Lambo who froze like a deer in headlights.

"I've been looking for you all morning, Lambo" the girl began in Japanese. "We have school today, in case you 'forgot'. Again."

Lambo sulked, sinking in his chair and looking – at least to Haru- like he was afraid of the petite girl standing before them, "As if you'd let me. Look, I've got a good excuse this time! Boss said he and the others were meeting here today, so I wanted to wait for them. That's not a crime, is it I Pin?"

The girl seemed to think it was. "Lambo, you know they'll only turn you away and send you onto school anyway."

"Well if that happens then I'll just be late. In case they do let me sit on the meeting, I don't want to miss a thing."

Haru tried her best to intervene between the bickering teenagers, since the girl was blushing and looked like she was trying very hard to hold in her anger.

"You should go to school, Lambo-kun."

This earned her an angry glare, "You're not my mother…" he looked to the girl, "And neither are you, for that matter. Stop bugging me about school, I Pin."

Before she could retort, Lambo stood up and left the café. He didn't go far though since Haru could see him walk over a couple steps away from the door leading in.

The girl, I Pin, frowned then fidgeted anxiously before apologizing. "I'm so sorry you had to see that. Lambo is…he's a dear friend and I want to make sure he…"

"Stays on the straight and narrow?" Haru offered in her native language to counter I Pin's switch to Italian. Brown eyes blinked, "Oh…so you understood everything" the girl blushed more.

"My apologizes…for being so rude. You were sort of dragged into our argument."

The brunette shook her head, "It's okay…I Pin is it?"

The girl nodded, so Haru introduced herself feeling it was only fair. "I'm going to be here for a little while longer. If you want me to, I can keep an eye on your friend and make sure he goes on to school."

I Pin waved her hands, "Oh no! I couldn't ask you to. It'd be such an inconvenience."

Haru smiled warmly, "Not at all, but you need to hurry or you'll be late too."

I Pin jerked a little, eyes going right to her wrist watch, "You're right," she bowed once more, "Sorry for all the trouble."

Before Haru could assure her once again that it really hadn't bothered her at all, she was actually pleasantly surprised to find a few people who could speak Japanese; I Pin was already outside the café and running down the street.

Lambo remained outside, leaning against the brick wall of the café and looking down the street as if waiting for someone. Haru sighed a little from the other side of the window. Oh what had she had gotten herself into?

She had only talked to those two for a few minutes and now Haru found herself agreeing to babysit a teenage boy. Well, it wasn't much different than her always volunteering to babysit for neighbors and family friends. From a young age, Haru had a soft spot for babies and children, so she supposed this was just history repeating itself.

'Sad. I would like kids of my own one day. Probably never going to happen since no one wants a woman nearing her thirties.' She thought while taking a sip of cappuccino before it got cold. Just as Haru batted away the 'old maid blues', a long black car pulled up to the curb just outside the café; then out of said vehicle was…what she could only describe as a parade of eligible bachelors dressed in suits.

Okay, so she didn't know if they were ALL single, but…damn. Haru swallowed a gulp of cappuccino just as the group entered the café. Right away, Haru found herself sizing them up. The tallest also had the broadest shoulders, short white hair and…bandages wrapped around his hands.

'What's up with that?' Haru wondered. Maybe he was some kind of athlete…or got some really bad burn marks from a hot stove. Who knew for sure though? Following him was a man with tan skin but by his facial features was so obviously Japanese, a little scar on his chin that looked pretty deep if not recent. He was smiling and joking with the man in front of him, even calling the other gentleman 'senpai'.

Behind them emerged a shorter man who actually seemed a bit nervous. His brown hair stood up and appeared messy yet retaining some kind of style. 'His eyes are kind of wide, pretty though.' Haru mused.

Bringing up the rear was a silver haired man who was snarling and literally pulling Lambo in by his right ear while muttering darkly to the disobedient boy.

Haru could only pick up a few words, yet cringed nevertheless at the over all tone. While it wasn't a good habit to develop, Haru felt truancy didn't warrant this kind of belligerent scolding.

Maybe it was the motherly instincts within her, but Haru had half a mind to walk up to the stranger and start verbally assaulting him! See how he felt about being dressed down in such a degrading and public fashion.

The group of five didn't wait to be seated; instead they combined tables and rearranged chairs to suit their needs. 'Huh, guess they're frequent customers.' Haru mused since no one else in the café blinked.

…wait. When did she become the only other customer? Looking around, Haru was amazed to see a bunch of people hastily paying for their coffee and baked goods at the counter and leaving in a hurry.

"Odd…" Haru said aloud. This was the first time she had seen a formerly full café suddenly clear out. In the back of her mind, Haru wondered if it had something to do with these men suddenly coming in. But, that couldn't possibly be the reason.

"Miss, do you want to take a refill of your drink to go?"

"Hahi?" Haru uttered, only to remember herself and smile at the waitress, "Actually, if it's all the same to you I'll stay."

The young woman cringed in response before whispering, "I wouldn't advise it since we're going to be closing the store for a couple of hours."

Okay. Now she was curious. "Why?" she asked, gazing wandering from the waitress to the new arrivals.

"It's uh…difficult to explain…" the server replied. Haru pouted a little in disappointment. Curiosity was getting the better of her, but she also didn't want to pester the hassled waitress with more questions.

Instead, Haru smiled sweetly and asked for one more refill. No, she'll remain seated and couldn't be persuaded otherwise. Once the server walked away, Haru tried to covertly observe the five men. Lambo was complaining about his ear hurting in his native language, but everyone else seemed to be conversing in Japanese.

Haru couldn't help but wonder why the duality in languages. First, Lambo-kun and I Pin, now these sharply dressed men seemed to switch between Japanese and Italian at the drop of a hat. She was more than a little bit jealous how fluent they were in both, she was struggling just to talk normally and catch everything people were trying to tell her.

"You should have called us sooner, Boss" the silver hair man started, in the middle of lighting cigarette.

"We would have rallied around the base in an instant if we had known, especially since it concerns Kyoko-chan." The man wearing the bandages said.

The man everyone was calling 'Boss' finally spoke. "It was pretty nerve wracking for awhile, but everything worked out in the end. Kyoko is safe and back in Namimori for the time being. Besides, Yamamoto and Lambo-kun managed the issue well enough…"

"Oi, Boss. When am I gonna be allowed to go with everyone else on missions?"

"Idiot! Don't interrupt the Tenth or change the subject" the smoke puffing man snapped. His hand reached over to smack the boy in the back of the head, making Haru see red for a moment. If Lambo were a bit younger, that'd be considered child abuse! Just because he was a teenager didn't give the guy an excuse to smack a poor kid around.

She was still seething when the waitress returned with her drink and didn't even see the woman leave because the whole time Haru was glaring daggers at the back of that man's head. And it didn't take him very long to notice, because in a few moments Haru saw the man turn in his chair, facing her.

What struck her first were his green eyes. He wasn't just 'staring' at her either. Oh no, it felt more like she was being seared under such intensity. 'He'd look very handsome if it weren't for the scowl.' Haru observed, actually feeling her pulse jump a little.

A very handsome man, too bad he smoked, hit teenagers and seemed to have a huge chip on his shoulder. He uttered a 'tch' before turning back to his comrades. Haru saw him leaning towards the 'Boss' and whispering something. This caused their table to become silent.

'Uh…maybe sticking around wasn't such a good idea after all.' Haru wondered. She didn't want to get into any trouble since her Italian vocabulary was very limited, plus Haru knew she could never lie or talk her way out of trouble. Actually, come to think of it; often it was her mouth that got her into trouble in the first place. Gradually their talking resumed, but in lower tones.

"…seems harmless enough. I talked to her earlier."

"Yeah well you're not exactly the best judge of character."

"Hey, don't be so rough on him Gokudera."

"Shove it, Takeshi. If Lambo had his way we'd be taking in…uh…Boss. Boss? Where are you going?"

Haru was startled to realize the one called 'Boss' had stood up from the table and was approaching hers. Unlike how Lambo went about talking to her, as if he had been out to seduce Haru; this man smiled warmly and extended a hand.

"Hello, my name is Tsunayoshi Sawada."

"Ah!" Haru exclaimed, "You're Japanese too! I suspected as much, but I couldn't be sure. Oh uh…I'm Haru Miura by the way. It's a pleasure to meet…" The young woman stopped just in the middle of her introduction because Tsunayoshi reached across her table to Haru's refilled coffee cup.

"Sorry. I'll make this up to you, but…" he tilted the cup down and poured it into a nearby potted plant on the window sill. "I suggest you leave here quickly."

Haru blinked wide eyes, "I…what?" she breathed, confused as hell.

The man flinched, but continued with his rather cryptic warning, "I don't want another innocent life to get caught in the crossfire. That's why we had the staff close the café then ordered them to leave."

Dumbfounded, Haru searched for the right question to ask. First off, who the hell did this guy think he was? Clearing out a café, telling everyone that worked there to go home, and now demanding SHE remove herself?

Just as Haru took a deep breath and was ready to give him what for, someone shouted from across the room, "Boss, the window! Get away from the window!"

Next, Haru heard glass shatter. She was about to duck, only to find herself already on the floor, Tsunayoshi bending over her body like a human shield. Then in the next second, she and Tsunayoshi were surrounded by the four other men. Two of them had guns out, another with a katana, of all things, drawn and posed for a fight.

The last one, Lambo-kun, first offered a hand to help his Boss up then did the same for Haru.

"Lambo-kun, you need to get her out of here. And then find your way to one of the safe houses. I'll have Gokudera get you when it's all clear."

"Right" the teenager said, before looking to Haru, "Follow me." Before Lambo took her hand and yanked Haru along, she noticed Tsunayoshi was cut along his left cheek and hands from the glass.

"He saved me?" she asked aloud. "Why…would he do that? We only just met and…"

Lambo shrugged, "It's just Boss's way. You'll have to go out through the kitchen, since they might have someone waiting at the back door." He motioned to Haru to come closer before opening the door to what looked like a pantry. Lambo walked in and shoved his right shoulder against a fake wall so that it opened into a staircase below.

"This should take you out to the street if you just keep going straight."

"Wait! What about you?" Haru asked. Lambo grinned, "Aw, you shouldn't worry about me, Haru-san. I'm pretty tough, plus I can't look bad in front of everyone else."

With that, he waited for Haru to descend the short trio of stairs before closing the door. Haru squinted against the dimly lighted passage way, feeling around the cracks in the brick wall. For a few terrible minutes, Haru wondered if there was even an exit. And what would happen if she didn't 'walk straight' as Lambo told her. This all could have been some elaborate trap to kidnap and extort her for money.

However, Haru was relieved to find her worst nightmares were not about to come true, because after ten minutes of walking she saw a door with a cracks of light coming from underneath and the sides.

Throwing open the door, the young woman took in a deep breath of fresh air.

Now that she was out of the café and into the sunlight, Haru glanced over her shoulder and back to the door.

"What just happened?" Haru asked herself.

Notes: In case you couldn't already tell, I'm going a slightly AU route with the KHR plot, namely setting it in Italy with everyone as adults – or nearly there in Lambo and I Pin's case.

Plus, there won't be any magic bullets, Dying will flames, or other improbable stuff while still trying to get the storylines and characters 'pretty much' the same. This will be mostly Haru –and GokuHaru- centric but don't worry the other characters will get their time in the spotlight too.