STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLIED.

Note: written for Imagination: Unleashed's writing community (iu_fanfiction)'s 26th challenge || prompt: I'd like to see our roles reversed. Inspired by (well, who else? XD) neko11lover's 5986 fic, Fickle. FUDGE I'M TOTALLY HOOKED ASDLKFJLDSKFJDS!

Warning: Not beta-ed. RANDOM. And well, I'm still pretty much a beginner on this (so with that, I really want to know what you think please?). :D Hee. My first Katekyo Hitman Reborn! fic actually. (Now please excuse me as I hang myself)

"These" are for flashbacks. :D And do see the footnotes, yes?

Happy reading! :D

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Ever since that day, he, Gokudera Hayato, had sworn to detest Miura Haru, in any way he sees possible.

Don't get him wrong. He really hadn't had a full-grown hatred towards the girl – woman as she always pointed out – until now. Now that he was being threatened of eviction from his position, namely, the Right Hand Man of the Tenth Vongola Boss, Sawada Tsunayoshi.

And even the heavens knew what he'd do to those who would even dare.

At first, he thought she could actually be the same as him, seeing that they both have the apparent devotion and loyalty for the young Vongola boss. He further believed that it was nice of him to consider the fact that she was far better that the baseball idiot and his jokes (not to mention the irritating laugh he always had when cracking one), the extreme turf-head, or even the strongest guardian (as Reborn said) Hibari. For unlike the other ones mentioned, she continuously proved herself to be useful unexpectedly when the situation calls for it, such as those life-or-death circumstances during their stay in the Millefiore regime.

And although quite annoying (her everyday "Tsuna-san!" drives him to nuts, for some reason), her preppy attitude sometimes have its own good points too. A lively being she was, that would wake every existing hyped and crazy cell in a person, which made everyone love her presence, as Tsuna himself pointed out. They all took this in a good way, for even Hibari (and Uri, if he may add) wasn't an exception to this (though as usual, it would end with the Cloud Guardian going all out with "Kamikurosu" and Reborn calming him down). That was why their gatherings had been considered a normal one lately.

Also, she wasn't much of an idiot too, he noted. Comparing her to Sasagawa Kyoko, the former displayed much awareness and easy adaptation in all things they've been through, whether in danger or not. And even Reborn was well aware of this, with Tsuna disagreeing in every bit.

"If things go well, Haru might just bring out the hitman side of her."

"Reborn! Don't say those unsettling things! First with Yamamoto, and now Haru?"

"Well, I'm the world's best hitman after all."

It wasn't his intention to turn all these from good qualities to bad for him. Because after all, her being strong would lessen the family's burden and worries (especially the Tenth), which would, of course, lessen his burden and worries as well.

But, all the good things were done for as he was on for some breakfast in the base (1) one morning.

"Lambo-chan, don't move much! Haru's not done fixing your hair!"

"Ahahaha! Lambo-san choo ikemen! (2)"

"Pipe it down, ahoushi! You're destroying the morning." He hissed. He didn't want anyone, especially the stupid cow, to ruin his morning.

"Alalalala~ Ahoudera's just envy that Lambo-san's super strong to be first for breakfast nee?" Lambo started, sticking his tongue out childishly.

Oh how he'd like to strangle some stupid cow. Would it be okay to borrow some of the irritating Varia's "prince's" knives to fillet—

NO.

He was sane enough to not fall for the six-year-old Guardian's taunts. Especially not in the morning. So, he continued to stride towards the dining area, and later sat himself to one of the chairs.

And that's when he noticed that the Tenth is missing.

"Where's Juudaime?" he asked as he got himself a piece of French bread from one of the plate on the table, changing the topic to cool his head.

He wasn't expecting Lambo to answer the question he just asked though.

"Tsuna?" Lambo replied as he happily ate his share (and some of I-pin's, much to the young girl's irritation). "Dame-Tsuna left with Yamamoto while you're still snoring."

Okay. That's it. He changed his mind. He would kill Lambo. Now.

"Do you want to die, aah ahoushi?" he declared, ready to light some dynamite to permanently silence the Thunder Guardian. Or well, he could always use the Flame Missile.

"Hahi? Gokudera-san! Stop the violence!" Haru went in between them, holding both arms of the furious Gokudera. "L-Lambo-chan, run for it!"

He pried her hold away. "Don't touch me, stupid woman!"

"H-Hahi?"

"You, stupid woman! Stop with the 'Hahi,' it's fucking annoying!"

And for a moment, she was silent. And he was, too.

"Let's go, Lambo-chan. This self-proclaimed Right Hand Man of Tsuna-san is going crazy."

"Sou nee, Haru." Lambo agreed further, causing the Storm Guardian's brows to crease more.

The words 'self-proclaimed' was unnecessary. His breakfast was ruined enough. "Why you bit—"

"Isn't Haru right?" she huffed, crossing her arms in front of her. "Haru even want to see our roles reversed! Tsuna-san might even like that. Haru—"

"The hell, stupid woman! Who would want someone like you to be Juudaime's Right Hand man?"

"…at least Haru is not some foul-mouthed, hot-headed and, most of all, a whiny outlaw!" she was saying. He somehow thanked the gods for him not hearing her entire outburst or he sworn he wouldn't know what he could do.

"What did you say?" but he asked her to repeat it anyway.

And repeat she did. "Haru said, that although Haru isn't as strong as you, Tsuna-san would prefer Haru to be his Right Hand Man for at least Haru is not some foul-mouthed, hot-headed and, most of all, a whiny outlaw!"

No one, in his years of existence, had actually had the guts to call him those, especially not whiny.

"And Haru's going to make you see that Haru's right!"

"Fuck you."

"W-We'll see about that!" she exclaimed, then stormed out of the kitchen, looking all red because of anger.

And that, he realized, was the start of some all-out war.

It was proven to be indeed an all-out war as they started to have some sort of contests, having Tsuna himself as the oblivious judge.

First was a simple game of soccer. Simple, just with the presence of booby traps. A lot of them.

It was Reborn's idea to have the girls, not just the Guardians, participate too (his reason was to test if the two were indeed fitted to be in the family as well. And through a game, he added, all things would be simpler to see), much to Tsuna's displeasure.

"It's just a game, so what's with that face, Dame-Tsuna?" Reborn commented almost too casually.

"You can't blame me, can you?" Tsuna, as usual, was being a worrywart in all sense. "Reborn! Kyoko-chan and Haru is—"

"Sawada's right, Teacher Pao pao," Sasagawa Ryohei, the man of many extremes, interfered. "We can't let them do extreme things like this. They're girls!"

"Oho," Teacher Pao pao let out an elderly cough. "But Chrome is also a girl yes? So I don't see why Kyoko and Haru are not qualified for this one too. Oho."

Reborn's logic was way beyond Tsuna's. "But see, Reborn, I'm concerned of—"

"Ah, I see!" Ryohei nodded in understanding, his right fist pounding on his other palm. "That's the extreme Teacher Pao pao for you!"

"Right!" Haru grinned, as though she was thoroughly prepared to kick some ass. "So let us participate too!"

"Interesting!" Kyoko's innocent smile gleamed, which mainly earned edgy faces. "So we're gonna play with fireworks too?"

"A-Ah, Kyoko-chan…"And with one last beaten sigh from the Vongola boss, the booby-trap-filled soccer game started.

They were divided into two groups: the Red Team (Hibari, Yamamoto, Chrome, Haru and I-pin) and the White Team (Tsuna, Kyoko, Gokudera, Ryohei, and Lambo), with Reborn as their referee, as usual. There was an additional rule too (since Reborn was in-charge of it anyway), that only Kyoko and Haru were allowed to put the ball on the opponent's goal, as the game was made for them.

"Looks like we're at a disadvantage," Tsuna started, as they gathered together, thinking that this was clearly one of Reborn's crazy ways of doing things. "With Yamamoto and Hibari on the other team, we're as good as dead meat!"

"Dead meat?" Kyoko interfered on Tsuna's hysteria. "Come to think of it, we haven't had a good steak last time. How about we have it for tonight's dinner?"

"Yay!" Lambo chirped. "Lambo-san really loves steaks nee!"

"Don't worry, Juudaime! Your rightful Right Hand Man is here by your side," With a grin, Gokudera tapped his chest proudly. He knew he was lucky that day the moment Reborn announced that he was on the side of Tsuna (Haru, on the other hand, disagreed madly. But with Gokudera on Tsuna's team, she was sure to make herself uncomfortable, so she finally conceded). "Besides, already counting ahoushi and turf-head as a nuisance, they still have more girls than us! Surely, that would be a disadvantage. Heh, added the fact that the baseball idiot is the only one who knows the sport! And…" he trailed, glancing to Hibari and to the now-embarrassed I-pin.

Tsuna didn't like this. "W-Wait, I-pin will—everyone get down!" and after another beat, I-pin was drawn out of the game, as she turned herself to an instant human bomb.

Kyoko clapped her hands with utter joy. "Wow, fireworks begun already?"

"See?" Gokudera grinned with confidence. "This will be an easy win."

"A-Ah," Tsuna, for some reason, couldn't keep up with the energy – or obliviousness, he couldn't be sure – of his group mates. "B-But—"

"That's the spirit, Octopus-head!" There came Ryohei, seconding the fire of the Storm Guardian. "Count on me to the extreme, Sawada!"

"Good luck, Onii-chan!"

Tsuna turned to glance at Kyoko, expecting a horrified or scared expression, but was stopped short as Kyoko's excitement filled his view.

"Good luck too, Kyoko-chan. A-Are you sure you'd do this?"

"It sounds fun, so why not?" As Kyoko's smile was about to start melting Tsuna out of embarrassment, he looked away. "Besides, I think we'll have a prize from Reborn-kun if we win, so let's do are best, ne Tsuna-kun?"

"Y-Yes. Of course."

Reborn blew his whistle. And the game started.

At first, the game was clearly on the side of Gokudera's calculations. Despite the planted booby traps, they all managed to make Kyoko put the goals for them (with the exception of Lambo, who shamelessly slept in the middle of Gokudera's explanation of the "strategy plan"), which made them full of confidence for themselves.

"W-We're actually winning!" said Tsuna, exclaiming in delight. "Good work, Kyoko-chan!"

'Heh, take that, stupid woman.' He was smiling, but disappeared when Yamamoto broke it.

"Should we make our turn now?"

"I…I think so," Chrome replied, still fidgeting though. "I pretty much know how this works now. I'm ready."

"Haru too! Let's, let's!"

And it was Hibari, who hates losing the most, sealed the deal close. "If we lose, I'll bite all of you to death."

And that made the Red Team have their instant comeback. It was the first time they saw how athletic Haru could be, performing numerous somersaults while avoiding the booby traps as she neared the White Team's goal. And it didn't take them a long while to turn the game's outcome upside-down completely.

"The game ends. Red Team wins!"

Gokudera Hayato, the Right Hand Man of the Tenth Vongola boss, actually lost to Miura Haru in a soccer match and was left utterly speechless as he glanced to see the girl's innocent, triumphant smile.

The next was courtesy of the elite Vongola assassination group, Varia.

There was no telling when Squalo decided to invade the base with his booming voice.

"VOIIIIIIII!" And just like that, he, Bel, Levi and Lussuria made on their merry way towards the young Vongolas.

"Ahahaha," the usual cheery Yamamoto laughed whole-heartedly, as he approached the long-haired swordsman. "Good morning there, everyone! Looking good as always eh?"

"Teme, thanks for waking me up. You're far worst than my alarm clock," Gokudera blustered with sarcasm, all the while checking if both his eardrums were still on good shape.

Tsuna got out from his room, with his ears still ringing from the frequency of Squalo's voice. "A-Aha-Ahaha! W-What brings you all here?"

"Shishishi," Bel appeared behind the noisy mafioso. "We're here to assassinate you."

"Assassinate—what?" Tsuna sensed something was surely wrong in this set-up. He somehow thanked the heavens for his mom bringing Lambo and I-pin to shopping. Such violence wasn't really a sight to see after all, especially to children.

"Well, you heard him," Reborn popped from nowhere, yet again.

And, he was right on. "Hieeeee!" Tsuna exclaimed. "H-How can you say that disturbing thought so lightly, Reborn?"

"Idiot, it's not that, you interim prince!" Squalo interjected, earning a glare from Bel, as he was sure he heard the word 'interim' along the loud swordsman's line (on second thought, who wouldn't with Squalo's pipes?). "We're here to help you assassinate some scums."

"That's not really the way to put it either!"

"Oh, you mean like a practice game? What are the rules?"

And that single statement of the baseball idiot, in the person of Yamamoto Takeshi, instantly brought them all to a wide shooting field.

And there, they spotted a man on a couch, looking as bored as ever.

"X-Xanxus!" All of a sudden, Tsuna started to worry for his life and to think of how bad are all these for his heart. "What are you—"

"Damn lazy boss! Are you gonna sit there all day?" Squalo greeted with a frown, cutting the young Vongola's question short.

Xanxus, on the other hand, remained slouching unperturbedly. "You're late, trash. And here I thought you did some girly shopping."

"Why you—"

"Maa, maa, boss and Squalo. We're wasting our time fighting instead of teaching these babies some shooting!" Lussuria, being the self-proclaimed 'mama' of the group, halted the two fighting mafioso (with the other still slouching of course).

"Babies?" Oh how Gokudera detested hearing that. "Do you want some beating?"

"G-Gokudera-kun! Wait!"

He considered Lussuria lucky for having the Tenth himself stop him. "W-Well, if you say so, Juudaime. Anyway, who told you to teach us? We can do it ourselves, you know," he continued, crossing his arms.

"I did," interrupted Reborn. "And if you may, Varia, teach these two girls to handle a weapon too."

"Reborn!" Tsuna called out, raising his voice a little. "We already have weapons. And, involving this two might—"

"Why? It might actually be fun. And I want to try something new too." Reborn replied with his infamous smirk. "Besides, can you even hold a gun? I doubt it."

"I-Is holding a gun even necessary?"

"Of course. You're in the mafia after all."

Reborn's logic. Again. "Ahhhhhhh mouu, Reborn!"

"Isn't this good, Juudaime? If this works out it would probably end your worries!" Gokudera thought that this might actually be the time to show off some of his skills to everyone, at the same time proving Haru wrong about him being unfit to be the Tenth's Right Hand Man.

Right. Two birds with one stone. A perfect plan.

"I-It'll make me worry more actually."

"Gokudera's right, Tsuna," Yamamoto agreed. "We haven't really seen how these girls put up in a fight, so why not?"

Xanxus huffed, seeing the situation was as boring as how he imagined it. "We're actually going to waste our time for these scums? No, I'm staying here."

"VOIIIII! Damn boss, why am I doing all the work for you?"

"Maa, maa, Squalo, let's just start this eh?" Lussuria, after calming their Rain Guardian down, coughed then started to explain the rules. "Now, each one of you is given a target board, and a box of weapons to use. The one with the most hits on the bull's eye target within thirty minutes wins. Pretty easy eh?"

"Can I use my fist as a weapon? It's my most extreme weapon after all," the extreme Sun Guardian asked.

"No. It would just be the weapons from the box. Otherwise, you'll be disqualified. Using the weapons two or three at a time wouldn't be a problem though," Lussuria continued with his explanation. "Ah, before I forgot, everyone except the girls gets an eye patch. And, no dying will bullets, yes?"

"Che, extremely depressing."

And, it was no small deal. Guns of different calibers were on their view in an instant, same with bows and arrows, knives and even needles, as expected from the impregnable Varia quality.

"Hiiiiiiieee!" Tsuna then officially started to fear for his life. "We're using these?"

Haru gulped. "Hahi? Dangerous desu!"

"Right! It's dangerous ne? So it's better if we would just—"

But, Kyoko's innocence was long proven to be severe. "Wow, are these all toys? Interesting!"

"Ahahaha, they're all really well-made eh?" And with Yamamoto to top it off, Tsuna was sure these wouldn't be good for his heart.

And, just like that, the shooting contest begun.

Kyoko's choice of weapon was the bow and arrow. Almost random actually, as she sees the activity as one of their many games the strongest Arcobaleno had prepared. Reborn commented that it was indeed a good one, all the while telling that the weapons choose their masters (earning another deflated sigh from Tsuna).

On the other hand, Haru anxiously scanned the box. And there, she tensely picked a stray gun, as though it would explode the moment it touches her.

"Give it up, stupid woman," Gokudera started with much certainty. "You're not going to be Juudaime's Right Hand Man even if the Star Wars IX was long released the Apocalypse st—" but was stopped short as the other threw him a glare. And a fatal one at that.

"Now everyone, start!"

For Gokudera, it was a pretty much decided contest.

Aside from Kyoko animatedly drawing the bows out from its bag, and later making it fall without even letting it hit the target board, and Ryohei randomly testing different weapons that would suit his taste (and "extremeness," in his words), Hibari, Chrome, and Yamamoto proved themselves to be worthy Guardians (which was expected since he wouldn't know what he would do to those who wouldn't reach his expectations, that being his duty).

And that left them with Tsuna, Haru and him.

"Hiiiiiieeeee!"

Despite everything, he always expected Tsuna, the Tenth, to be superior in everything he does. Well, why not when it was one of the many duties of a Right Hand Man?

Then, it was the thought that made him think of the possible consequences if he let the stupid woman do his work for him.

Haru was hesitant and weak. And he knew that. Never was she the type to submit to violence, all the more when it was for the sake of fun, which makes it her weakness, just as he presumed.

'Hah, easy win,' he sneered, already claiming his victory. He was about to start showing off, when again, Yamamoto just had to cut it all off.

"Guns and knives? Ahahaha! Awesome!"

He decided to look where the baseball idiot's eyes are into, and was stunned to see Haru putting the bullets to the poor target board's bull's eye one after another with the gun on one hand, and a knife on the other. And it didn't take him another beat to see Xanxus, Varia's lazy boss, standing not too far from her, seemingly giving her instructions in full volume.

"HAH! She even made that damn boss get out of his seat. What the hell is that?" Squalo grumbled, itching to give his boss a piece of him later that day.

"Ehhh, she'll make some crazy mafioso," Lussuria commented as he was observing Haru now throwing knives, all the while making them hit the center of the target board.

"Shishishi. Not bad," Bel said, seconding the other's comment while tapping his chin. "She's actually better than the octopus here."

"Octopus?" Levi's brows creased. "Can you repeat what you said, Bel?"

"Repeating myself is not really my hobby, so no."

"Maa, maa. Levi, Bel-chan…"

"As expected from the strong Varia quality," Reborn's curled his lips to a smirk. "They might actually bring out the hitman side of Haru."

There was no way in hell he would believe this. Reborn and the Varia actually complimented Haru. Praised her, even.

And for the second time, Gokudera Hayato was left speechless.

"I'm sure you'll do well, Haru," a voice, which he recognized to be Tsuna's, resounded through his entire room. "Well, you did too. Just now."

He didn't like this…this feeling. The Tenth, of all people, was praising her. And worst was, he was hearing the entire thing, and that he admittedly thought it all to be true (On the side note, he didn't remove the possibility that said girl left the Tenth's room opened for him to purposely eavesdrop to their conversation).

"Aww, you praise Haru too much, Tsuna-san! Haru is just a beginner to all of this," he could imagine Haru flailing her arms while pretending to be all shy and embarrassed.

"But you're good! You actually caught me speechless."

"Mou, Tsuna-san!"

"Are you sure you don't want this? I'm all for it."

He gulped hard. Was the Tenth really serious about putting her as his Right Hand man?

He wanted—no, he needed to stop this. But for some reason, he was rooted to his spot, as though Tsuna's words made him paralyzed.

"H-Hahi? Tsuna-san, I'm sure you're—"

And the next thing he knew, he flew the door open, revealing himself to be guilty for severe eavesdropping.

"Eh? G-Gokudera-kun!"

"Hahi? Gokudera-san!" The other two said in chorus.

"Are you alright?" they said further, worry on both of their faces.

"I'm fine," he replied with a nervy smile, supporting himself to sit.

"Do you need me for anything?" Tsuna asked, still worried.

"A-Ah, no, Juudaime! I was…" he trailed, still too occupied of what he heard to think of an excuse.

"You were…?"

He coughed. "I was… scanning your house for enemies," he couldn't believe he had actually said something stupid for an excuse. "I'm sorry, Juudaime," he apologized, bowing continuously with his forehead continuously hitting the floor as well.

"Oh, you are?" Haru inquired warily, her worried face now replaced by a suspicious smile.

"Shut up, stu—" he was cut short as he saw Tsuna looking at him intently.

"What's the matter, Gokudera-kun? Did…did the enemies happen to pass by?" Tsuna asked, almost choking.

"Gokudera's actually worried about Haru being your Right Hand Man," Reborn popped from somewhere, surprising the two.

"E-Eh?"

"Hahi?" both Tsuna and Haru's face were now filled with surprise.

"I'm sorry, Juudaime. It wasn't my intention to eavesdrop. Actually I heard about what you're talking about, and—"

"Oh, right!" Tsuna conceded, making himself aware that he indeed lost track of time. "We're about to call everyone about this actually."

And this was exactly what Gokudera was afraid of.

"Gokudera Hayato-kun, I'm removing you the title of being my Right Hand Man. And with that, I announce Miura Haru as your replacement."

"Hahi? You think too highly of me, Tsuna-san! But, I accept—"

"NO!"

"Gokudera-kun?"

"A-Ah…?"

"We were asking you if you want to play with us. You don't like err…Mafia Wars? Well, Haru's surprisingly good though," Tsuna smiled nervously, as he raised his game controller. "Reborn called out Yamamoto and the others. I think…we're doing formal matches on the base later," he explained further, glaring at Reborn for thinking the formal-matches-on-the-base-later idea.

"Gokudera-san is the epitome of violence, Tsuna-san. Haru doubt if I can beat him in this," her statement made the hair on Tsuna's nape prickle. But then, the other didn't budge and continued staring at the screen. "Anyway, isn't Lambo-chan good at this, too?"

He froze. 'So you mean it wasn't about being the Right Hand Man at all?'

"Is there a need for one, Gokudera-san? Doesn't he have you?" his surprised expression betrayed no one, as he realized that he had just spoken his thoughts out loud. And as he was about to apologize (especially to the Tenth) for his misunderstanding of the situation, he spotted the two both serious and enthusiastic on their 'rematch.'

"…so, want to join, Gokudera-san?" Haru invited, her eyes not leaving the screen.

And again, Gokudera Hayato was lost for words.

"Gokudera-san! Wait!" a voice called out. And without looking back, he knew exactly who it was.

He wasn't in the mood for talking, or fighting…and definitely not for the Mafia Wars formal matches at the base. But he stopped on his tracks and turned to her direction anyway. "What?"

Haru bowed, with her face apologetic. "I…I want to say sorry for the other day. Haru just can't seem to take children being bullied."

Bullied. Right. What a great way to put it. "Ah, that. No problem. And, I didn't mean to say things like that to you too. Ahoushi's just being way too irritating for his own good."

"Hahi? Gokudera-san! Didn't we just—"

He stopped her outburst midway, making her look to his eyes. "By the way, I know just a place for you in the family."

And to her surprise, his expression lightened, causing a thin line of pink on her cheeks. "H-Hahi? My role in the family? If…if it's to be Tsuna-san's Right Hand Man, then—"

He put his index finger on her lips, silencing her. "You'll know soon," were his last words before he turned his back to her and left.

Now it was her who was lost for words.

'Heh, serves you right, stupid woman,' and, he was surer that she would be wondering what those meant for the next days.

~fin

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FOOTNOTES:

(1) - And by base, I meant something they would have after the Inheritance ceremony (and prolly after the hospitalization of Yamamoto too?), somewhere in Namimori too, basically similar to the Vongola base on the Millefiore Arc, but not entirely the same (assuming they gather there when something's up. Even if that something is not worth it at all. XDD). Since Giannini designed that eh? And when they were back in the past, Giannini in their time was, to put it simply, fail. *shot* Pardon me if that just sounds so wrong.

(2) - "Choo ikemen!" can be loosely translated as "super handsome." (I guess?) Yes, because Lambo's way of saying things is cute. *shot x 1247498335378*

*hides* I wonder how Reborn would punish me for this crap fic. (SORRY! MAFIA WARS WAS THE FIRST GAME THAT GOT STUCK INTO MY HEAD! ;o;) I wanted to put humor, but…I most probably failed. And…really, I'm still not used to Gokkun using the F-word (I hope I used it just right?). Um, a-anyway, I just want to pass something (though it's impossible for me to win the Moleskin) for the writing comm which is currently lively YAY (I'm more than stagnant in writing lately)…so, tell me what you think? :D