Title: An Unusual Request

Chapter Title: Predicament

Author: Primal Red

Character(s)/Pairing: Miura Haru. Ninth Vongola boss. Gradual and eventual TsuHaru.

Genre: General/Drama/Romance

Rating: K+ for mostly implied background violence and language. May become PG-13 later on.

Warnings: Some mentions of crime business and slight colorful language (thanks to Gokudera).

Summary: [Alternate Universe where Tsuna moves to Italy when he's 14 and Haru never meets Tsuna] Haru needs to be married by the age of 22. Desperate, she asks for help from the Vongola mafia family's Ninth boss to find a good husband. In return for the favor, she must help the Tenth Vongola mafia boss-to-be, Sawada Tsunayoshi, improve his poor academic record.

Chapter 1: Predicament

The night air was cool and calm like everything that she had hoped for of the summer weather in Milan, Italy. She had wanted to go to Venice or Rome to study the history and look through the scenery, but the fact was that this was where the fashion capital of the world lies in other than Paris and Tokyo.

This was where she wanted to start her dreams.

This was where she had sought to study for the basis of her greatest hopes.

The room was well-furnished, and there were almost no need of considerations for packing and so forth when she first came here about a year ago. The transparent white drapery floated against the wind, flapping gently in the cool breeze like ghostly fabric and wrapping their edges around the path and direction of the wind to escape being pushed further away. In some ways, the mirrors on the sides of the room made it very picturesque due to the fact that they created an effect of reflecting the outside world into the area. It sure didn't help that the scenic view from the porch made the place exceptionally complete.

All was well, except for the dark-haired, thin figure sitting by the table on the floor, her hands trembling and her eyes moist with tears.

"I hate to say this, Haru, but…your mother and I need to make sure that you are safe and happy for the rest of your life. You can't expect to take care of us forever in our old age. And even though you wish to chase your dreams, there is at least one request we want from you to ensure us so that we won't worry anymore."

The phone lay on the ground, haphazardly placed by the side of her white skirt and seemingly left there as though the user had forgotten about its existence. It was just a moment ago when the phone call came, one of a long series of phone calls from home that sent worried messages and the same request over and over again.

"Haru-chan, you need to find a responsible, capable husband."

It was almost as though they had requested her to find a needle in a haystack.

"But, dad…Haru…Haru doesn't want to marry so soon! Haru doesn't know how to find a husband immediately!"

"If you can't find one, we will get you one. But, I think you would rather choose for yourself instead, right, Haru?"

Haru blinked, then reached for her pocket tissues and wiped her face. It was too coincidental, really. Her parents had been sending her request after request of getting her a husband, and though she had not grown up with the idea of being married so soon, she knew that she had little choice.

She was only fifteen, a Japanese exchange student in Italy, and with no proper major to study for college despite her stellar academic records.

And now, her dreams of becoming a costume designer were going out the window.

Then again, she had always known in some way that it was not an option. There was a corner of her heart that had always known that such an occupation would not only make her parents hit the ceiling metaphorically, but also would not support her well in Japan.

And, she had only two more years before she would go to college.

It wouldn't surprise her if her parents disowned her and broke off all financial aid to her studying if she refused to find a husband.

She had to find a boyfriend, and at least be married to someone by the age of twenty-two.

The problem, however, was that she didn't know how to find one. For all she knew, she was not very desirable as a girlfriend and a wife, considering her habit of pronouns and tendencies towards jumping to conclusions and other eccentricities. She also knew that the chances aren't high in finding someone good in a matchmaking business proposal, either. What was worse, however, was that she didn't know how to start dating in the first place.

She had never dated in her entire life, and now she was expected to find a boyfriend almost right away and be married.

Never mind. Needle in a haystack isn't the right way to say it. Needle in a thousand haystacks sounded closer.

She was used to the idea of having certain things set up for her, despite having tried to gain her independence from the standard Japanese society female's ideals. However, she couldn't let this be decided by others, even if those people who made the decision were her parents.

She had to do something. What it was, however, she didn't know.

Haru got up slowly, threw the used tissue into her garbage can, and walked into the bathroom. She needed to think, and carefully. If she was to make this decision on her own, she was going to make sure that her decision was a sound one.

But first, she needed a bath, and a short walk around the city. For all she knew, she might be able to find something that ways.

Haru used the knife to cut through the last slice of pizza on the plate. It had certainly taken a while for her to get used to the food here, but once she did she found that it was quite tasty. Luckily for her, her rented apartment was just a block away from the center of Milan.

It was a pity that she didn't have Kyoko-chan here with her to share these things with. The night scenery was beautiful, and the food was delicious.

Haru smiled sadly. She had sent Kyoko a letter in the last few days, though she wasn't quite sure how to explain her current situation so easily. If there was one thing she knew that she was worried about, it was making a misunderstanding and scaring her only best friend away. Though she knew that Kyoko wasn't so flighty and quick-tempered as she herself was at times, she still felt unworthy of the bright-haired girl's friendship nevertheless.

And, to top it off, Kyoko was currently dating, some boy who was well-known and popular at Namimori High. In a sense, her friend probably knew at least about how to find a good boyfriend.

Haru sighed. She shouldn't bother her friend about such things. She could ask for advice, but she had to do that in a way of not making the question a burden for her closest comrade.

"Grazie, young miss. Here's the receipt."

Haru looked up, and noticed that one of the Italian waiters in the store was talking to her. "Oh. Grazie, sir," she answered in Italian.

"Haha…your welcome. A young lady like you shouldn't need to be so formal."

Haru smiled apologetically and continued in Italian. "I'm sorry. I'm so used to formalities in my homeland that sometimes I forget."

"No problem."

"I have a question, though…why are the streets here so quiet at times like this? I thought that this was one of the busiest places of Milan."

"It is, for most of the day. During hours like these, actually, the Vongola family comes to check the safety of the area."

"Vongola family?"

"Er…yeah."

"…oh…" Haru blinked. "I guess they're good people, then."

"…yeah. They never fail to fulfill a request that they take. In a case like this, people pay them for the safety."

Haru watched as a small bead of sweat flowed down the young man's brow as he took her payment, turned away and walked back to the counter, and bit on her lip. What was so terrifying? Was this so-called Vongola family so scary?

And, what's this about taking requests?

Wait a second…

The Vongola family took requests…and according to the waiter, they never failed to fulfill them when they took them.

And, if that was the case, they might even take her request if she asked them of something.

Haru stood up. Maybe this Vongola family could hear her request out. Silly as it was, if they could take her request, she might just be able to fulfill the last request her parents wanted her to take.

All she needed to do now was to find this Vongola family and get them to help her.

His grades were no higher than usual.

And at this rate, he would never be able to attend the business school that he was arranged for.

Timoteo, the Ninth boss of the renowned Vongola mafia family, was beyond worried. Despite all his efforts, his successor Sawada Tsunayoshi was at a point in time that made it exceptionally difficult. Despite all his work and Reborn's tutoring to make him an efficient and capable mafia boss, the teenager was still doing badly academically.

And it was likely that his successor had best avoid finding any random tutor; had the world found out that the Tenth Vongola mafia boss was incapable of doing well academically, it would be a disaster for the family. There could be a spy sent in disguised as a tutor, and though Tsuna was quite capable already as a mafia boss-to-be, it would not do to have him deal with even more problems than he had now.

It was unfortunate, really, because the Vongola currently was at a time when there were many family members who couldn't be trusted with such a task. The Ninth boss knew that there were many more-than-capable people in his great family who can be up to the task of helping Tsuna academically, but the fact was that these same people could also be loyal to his adopted son Xanxus—a man in his twenties and already hoping to gain the Tenth status despite his defeat at Tsuna's hands—or worse, an outside enemy mafia family.

And, to top it all off, Tsunayoshi was only sixteen. Capable of leadership and fighting and taking down criminals and destructive psychopaths already, but still inferior in regards to his study and testing skills required to get into the business school that all the previous mafia dons of the Vongola were required to go to.

The six other Guardians that Tsuna was with are not in any position to help, either. The Tenth Storm Guardian, in particular, was excellent in studying academically, but he had too little time on his hands due to preparations in regards to being the right-hand man in the mafia world. Business was difficult to maintain, and though he knew that the boy wanted badly to help Tsuna with such matters, the financial strains that the Vongola had recently been dealing with were occupying his time completely. If he were to take on the role of the tutor, he would be overworking himself into a vicious cycle.

Timoteo knew that he needed to do something about this. And fast.

"Boss, there's a girl who wants to see you."

"What? A girl?" He blinked. What was going on?

"She says she has a favor to ask."

Timoteo stopped, then nodded. "Send her in, please."

The doors opened, and the Ninth boss of the Vongola found himself face-to-face with a tense-looking fifteen-year-old Japanese girl.

Timoteo blinked. What was a girl from a protected place doing trying to ask a favor from the Vongola family in the late evening for? He glanced at her warily from behind his desk, cleared his throat, and spoke in Japanese.

"Good evening, miss. How may I help you?"

The girl bit on her lip, bowed politely and fidgeted with a bit of unease. "Um…Haru has a request to make of the Vongola family."

"A request?" Now, this is strange.

"Um…yeah." More nervousness, as well as fear and shyness. Timoteo watched as the girl unwittingly clenched her hands together, as though she would fall apart if she didn't.

"What sort of request?"

More silence. The girl was deathly pale at this moment, and something seemed off about her due to the sense of awe and fear she had at that moment of him and the Guardians in the room.

Timoteo glanced carefully into her eyes, and immediately noticed that she was looking everywhere except at him and the others. And yet, something told him that it wasn't because she had anything to hide, that she was a bit afraid of being laughed at for her request. For all he knew, his intuition had yet to prove him wrong in this aspect.

"Miss Haru, what sort of request brings you here to seek the Vongola family's aid?"

"…Haru wants the Vongola family to help her find a good husband."

What?

Timoteo blinked. Did she just say what he thought she said? He glanced to the side at his Guardians, just to make sure that he had heard her right. To his amazement, they all wore the same expression that he had on his face.

A good husband? Was that really what she wanted? Timoteo allowed his glance to fall back on the girl sitting on the other side of his desk. She seemed so small at that moment, as though she wished the ground would whisk her down into the earth and make her disappear. Her cheeks were so red, they seemed to be burning in a way that made him realize something else.

She wasn't lying.

"What's your full name, Miss Haru?"

"Miura Haru."

Timoteo nodded, then thought for a moment. "Miss Haru, I think it is safe to say that we are surprised of you to show up with such a request."

He watched as Haru looked down into her hands. "Haru knows. Haru thinks it is a strange request as well."

"Then…why this request?"

"Because…Haru has to get married by twenty-two. Or else…she will shame her family."

"Oh?" So that was what it was. Though he rarely went to Japan, the Ninth knew that the customs of said nation were grounded in a way that made it particularly difficult to change. Such was proven, as he knew, from many people he knew from there. His successor, Sawada Tsunayoshi, for instance, insisted that he speak in Japanese with his Guardians and close friends when not in public. "Why, though? Aren't you near the age of going to college?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, Haru can't go to college because she doesn't know what major she is yet. Haru's dreams are not very useful, either, because she can't help her family's financial state with an occupation of being a costume designer. Haru hopes, though, that her husband will let her continue studying so that she won't have to be just another housewife."

Timoteo blinked. So, she was thinking ahead in the short term as well as in the long term. Good for her. Such was a skill that he hoped Tsuna would learn someday in a sense. He stopped and glanced at Haru's records, and noticed immediately that the girl was an exchange student at a neighboring elite school not far from where Tsuna attended his classes.

Just another smart girl with big dreams and a difficult situation.

Timoteo stopped to think for a moment. Considering her history—and considering her boldness in approaching him with such a strange request—she was most certainly not someone who understood the rules and decorum of the mafia world. That meant the girl was not affiliated with any mafia society or criminal organization the Vongola knew about or had dealt with whatsoever. In such a way, she was as normal as any girl on the suburban streets of Japan.

He paused to look through her grades. She was most certainly excellent at doing well academically—given that she was near the top of the class almost all the time—and though she didn't do as well in certain aspects of being a sociable young lady, he heard that she had a friend who she hung out with in Japan. Such was probably a difficult time for her, considering that she didn't know who to ask for help.

Timoteo felt himself blink as his mind reached a conclusion. Wait! Now why didn't he think of this before?

"Miss Haru, we are honored that you have come to us to fulfill such a request. However, the mafia usually does requests based on payment and so forth…"

"Hahi? But…but…Haru doesn't know how much it costs, and she isn't sure if she can pay immediately here…"

"That's alright, Miss Haru. A request isn't always worth the same thing as a payment, right? Now…I have an idea. If Miss Haru isn't against it…given your excellent academic record, would you mind tutoring someone affiliated with the Vongola family for six years in exchange for our family to fulfill the request that you have given us?"

Timoteo watched as Haru widened her eyes, and chuckled. Such an expressive, interesting child he had found.

"Er…is the person who you want Haru to tutor dangerous?"

"Not quite. He is a capable fighter, though."

He watched as Haru bit on her lip, and realized that she was slightly worried about the arrangement due to her fear of the mafia and its people to an extent. "Miss Haru, I assure you. He will not hurt you in any manner as long as I am here."

"…r—really?"

Timoteo smiled calmly. "I give you my word, Miss Haru."

The girl blinked, then nodded weakly. "…okay, then. Haru accepts."

"Alright. We shall see you again and discuss this matter here by Saturday in the afternoon. I believe that is when you have a bit of time off from Accademia di Machiavelli, right?"

"Yes."

To be continued…