"I see... But, Chrome. Please don't call yourself not strong, you are stronger woman than you thought you be. I know it, because I still cannot keep up to the exercise you guys do every week. I always ended up making my butt kicked by Reborn. Just try to believe in yourself more, got it?"

Chrome felt her cheeks are hot for some reason, it's been a while since someone praised her like this besides Mukuro. Mochida blinked his eyes for a moment there before realized what he talked to Chrome, 'OMG! OMG! That was really embarrassing! Why the hell did I say that for?! I want to disappear!'

"Thank you. Just like Mukuro-sama said, looks like it's allright to trust you." Chrome gives Mochida a genuine smile before disappear into the mist just like Mukuro before. Leaving Mochida who was dumbfounded there with his mouth gaping like a fish while taking a mental note to carve that moment into his heart.

He felt like the luckiest man in the world that night.

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Disclaimer: Amano Akira

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PEOPLE CAN CHANGE IN TEN YEARS

Chapter 14

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By: Miharu Midorikawa

Beta'ed by; Dawnsty

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Mochida is currently waiting for some guy under the tree located near the gorgeous lake behind Vongola HQ. No – he is certainly not waiting for a beautiful girl that maybe wants to ask him for a date. But – don't think that he's gay just because he's waiting for a guy under a tree like a high school girl in love. Mochida shudders when he tries to imagine himself like one of the cheesy drama his mom always watch every night. He swears that he is not a gay, the sudden heartbeat he felt for Tsuna is just... some kind of... Respect heartbeat?

He doesn't even know how to call it now.

In the middle of his day dreaming, he anxiously keeps looking at his wristwatch while grumbling about how much time he wasted. A deep sigh came out from his mouth as he stared at the sun above him that keeps brighter by the seconds; sure, sunlight is good for your health. Especially in the morning, but – now? The sun is now releasing some bad lights for his skin, and it's almost time for lunch. Mochida patted his poor stomach that doesn't stop wailing wanting foods.

Suddenly he heard a painfully familiar voice shouting his name from afar, Mochida's feeling now mixed between joy and disgust. A tall man figure with plain white shirt and silk black pants now running towards him, the bright face with full energy is blasting with joy upon seeing the Vongola newbie. His face and short silver hair is glistening with sweat under the sunlight.

"YOOO! MOCHIDAA!" Shout the man while waving up his hand on the air, Mochida sighed while holding the urge to go back to the Vongola HQ building to hit the super wifi inside. But if it wasn't because of his Boss – Sawada Tsunayoshi's order, he wouldn't be here by now waiting for the Sun Guardian. Mochida wanted to play the nice guy hoping he would get a raise from Tsuna, well, even though his income now is much greater than his previous job – a salesman.

Sasagawa Ryohei turned down his pace when he felt Mochida is near him, "Why are you here? Let's run together!" Said Ryohei with full of energy, Mochida cringes with so much energy pouring inside him from the Sun guardian.

"I'm waiting you, and, no – I don't want to run with you in the middle of the day." Answered Mochida deadpanned.

"Why not? It's good for your body!"

"Yea, sure." Mochida rolled his eyes and crossed his arms while tightening it to his chest, "So, how are you feeling now?"

Ryohei blinked innocently.

"Tsuna said that you just used your flame to heal one of our members and he ordered me to check up on you." It took a few seconds for Ryohei to understand what he meant by that.

"As you can see, I'm super fine! I just need some exercise to clear my mind a bit."

"Hm, good then. And by the way, didn't you have a job as a boxer? Aren't you tired?"

Ryohei sighed deeply and let his body fell on the ground below the tree, he put up a bitter expression before he closed his eyes and feel the soothing breeze around him. Oh yes, he know where this conversation will go very well. He already tired of this to be honest, Ryohei isn't the same person as he used to be ten years ago.

"I am a professional boxer and the Sun Guardian of the Vongola." Mochida noticed that the atmosphere around him has changed, now he is simply hearing what the Sun Guardian wants him to hear, "I know that balancing the two of them sure is difficult and I'm sure that Tsuna told you to ask that to me." Mochida gulped.

"And why is that?"

"Nothing. It just... I already told Tsuna that I'm fine and satisfied with the choice I made years ago. Boxing and being the Sun Guardian is the most important thing in my life and I can't choose between them – I know the risks very well. I didn't regret my decision and never will. So, don't worry! I'll be fine!" Ryohei gave Mochida the brigtest smile he got before he got up from the ground and continuing his run.

"See ya." Said Mochida with a smile while waving his hand slowly towards Ryohei.

"See you later, Mochida!"

...

Three knocks on the double mahogany doors with Vongola emblem carved on it seems to be his daily task these days, not even a second passed, he already got permission to enter the room. Mochida shook his head while thinking that his Boss' super intuition is sharp as ever. Then he opened the door without any hesitation.

"Yo, Tsuna."

The tenth boss of Vongola turned around to see the man he gave permission to enter his room, "Ah, Mochida. Come here." Said Tsuna with a smile while waving his hand slowly and let his body succumb into the comfy chair he always sits on. Mochida walks towards the brunette.

"So, about Ryohei."

"Mm-hm, how was he?"

"Well, he's energetic as ever." Mochida paused for a second, "So I thought that there's not a thing you should be worried about, why? You should've known him better than me."

Tsuna shifted his body a bit on the chair only to find a better position, "Look, I asked you because I knew that Ryohei won't fully open himself to me. He would always put a cool face and unwavering smile. But I won't ever know what he truly feels about it."

Mochida nodded.

Those mellow chocolate caramel eyes became darker and sour just like his expression, "Ten years has passed and I still feel guilty for dragging Ryohei into all of this, he could've live a normal life if he didn't follow me into this dangerous world of Mafia and be a professional Boxer."

"Isn't he's a Boxer now too?"

"He is. But he can't give his all to it, he still has to spend half of his time to be my Sun Guardian. If he had to choose between the two I hope he chooses boxing over me." Tsuna smiled bitterly.

This was one of the rare times Mochida saw Tsuna like this.

"He's even helping the medic team no." Mochida wrinkles his eyebrows, "That what's bothering me. Why Ryohei helping the medic team? I know Vongola has so many talented doctors and nurses, but – why him?"

Tsuna shifted his position again, "Because the wounds we received don't always the normal wounds like you've been received until now. Sometimes it involved dying will flames, so we need his Sun Flame to recover that wounds and Ryohei's flame is the trongest among us."

" I see..."

Tsuna slowly reached his hand to grab the abandoned coffee on his desk and sipped the lukewarm liquid, his expression became bitter just like his coffee tasted. Sure, he knows it better than anyone else that Ryohei is giving his best for him and his own dream. No matter how much Ryohei gave him an answer, it's still not enough to completely erase the guilty feeling inside him. Tsuna wish that he could go back in time and fix all of this – only, if he hadn't met Ryohei...

SLAM!

Tsuna flinched at the sound of his door being slammed hard and by the time he looked up, Mochida wasn't there anymore.

...

Mochida was walking around the building looking for a certain Sun Guardian, he met Gokudera and Lambo on the way but looks like they don't know where the man he's searching is. Mochida keep looking with an irritated feeling while stomping his way loudly. He's somehow mad. No, of course not towards Tsuna. He just can't stand it when his Sky put up that kind of face in front of him; he felt he has to do something to Ryohei first to take Tsuna's smile back.

'I still haven't checked the first floor yet...' he silently cursed the building for its humongous size. He let his eyes wander around the main entrance only to find another Vongola member chatting and working on their jobs. He scanned the area only to let out a big sigh, when he turned around –

"SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP!"

Everyone including Mochida whipped their heads towards the source of the voice.

There are five men who are trying to save their comrade who are badly hurt; Mochida could see the trail of blood coming from the main entrance until the hall. Many more people crowding around them, trying to help the injured man. Since this is the first time he saw this kind of scene in the Vongola HQ, he couldn't stop his hands from trembling hard since the first time he saw the amazing amount of blood.

It was chaos.

"WHAT'S WRONG?!" Ryohei said as he running from somewhere and trying to get past the crowding people in front of him. His eyes winced when he saw his subordinate lying on the floor surrounded by his own pool of blood; he crouched and slightly touched the wounded chest. There's some kind of dagger buried deeply on his chest and it was covered by bursting cloud flame.

"Prepare the operation room quickly. Ares, please call the rest of medic team to treat the other four." A tall red haired man who's standing beside Ryohei nodded firmly while adjusting the place of his glasses before dashed out from the hall. Finally the stretcher arrived; the injured man was brought to the operation room immediately.

Mochida who was curious but scared as fuck slowly approach the crowds, sure, his stomach felt weird when he saw the pool of blood on the floor and he winced at the smell. But that was the first time he saw Ryohei put that serious face.

...

"..."

Mochida could hear his own heartbeat while clenching his fist tightly; he wondered why was he inside the operation room with Ryohei now. He's now sitting on a small chair on the corner of the room, observing the medic team working on their job including the Sun Guardian. Oh and of course he's wearing the fitting attire, a mask, gloves, hairnet and green robe. But he still feels uneasy from the various smell of medicines goes through his mask; drops of sweat fell from his face.

And he started to think.

How the hell did he get here from the first place?

Mochida tried to remember – after he joined the crowds watching the chaos, Ryohei somehow noticed him standing not far from here. From there Mochida remembered vaguely his body being dragged away from the hall up until the operation room. After Mochida was helped by some professionals to put on his robe and such.

"You're a strong guy, I know it. So, hang in there." Said Ryohei with a serious place while helping the other doctors with his glimmering sun flame. Sometimes his assistant wipes away his sweat and Ryohei would thank her. Not long after, they successfully extracted the dagger from patient's chest that's still bursting with cloud flame. Mochida sharpened his eyes when saw that dragger which is covered in red blood mixed with purple cloud flame.

'How could a flame still exist for a long time...'

The dagger was placed on a silver tray and someone immediately carried it to another room for examination. Then it was the time where Ryohei uses his flame, he slowly opens his other weapon box and revealed a medium sized scalpel. The he gripped his firmly and closed his eyes, a warm and bright sun flame appears from the tips of the scalpel. Even Mochida who's sitting quite far from them could still feel the warmth of his flame; Mochida closed his eyes and breathes calmly.

'So this is Ryohei's will...'

...

Due to the skills of Vongola's medic team.

The operation was done in four hours.

And when Mochida tried to stand up from the chair he's sitting on, he almost fell to the floor because his legs was really stiff from sitting on a same position for a straight four hours. The injured Vongola member was brought to the ICU safely, everyone including Mochida could finally sigh in relief.

The boxer and Sun Guardian of Vongola takes off his mask and breathes deeply, "You're alright, Mochida? Can't move your legs? Hahahaha."

"Ye-Yea, I guess... ouch." Grumbled Mochida while massaging his sore legs, then without he noticing it Ryohei slowly goes behind him and slaps him hard on the back,
"OUCH! What the – " The silver haired man put his arm over Mochida's shoulder with a relieved face, the other man could only sigh in defeat and let Ryohei do whatever he wants.

"Thank god..."

Mochida smiles.

...

Knock knock knock

"Come in."

Tsuna averted his gaze from the documents he's reading regarding the alliance famiglias, he's quite surprised to find Ryohei is walking towards him, "So, how was it?"

Ryohei searching around his blazer's pocket before finally brought up a small glass container and put it on his Boss' desk, "This is the fragments of weapon I've found from the body earlier." At first it looked like a normal piece of metal, but it's still emitting a quite amount of cloud flame. Tsuna sighed deeply before let his back touch his beloved chair.

"We have to prepare for the worst."

To Be Continued

A/N:

Hello everyone, Miharu is here, I am very very sorry for the wait. It's almost one year huh? Sorry there were many problems in my life and I hope I still have the skill to write. And FYI, this chapter hasn't beta'ed yet, I couldn't get in touch with Dawnsty since last April when she congratulated me for my birthday.

I will replace this chapter immediately when I got a reply from her, thank you very much.

And my life has been busier these days, I got a very very important exam coming and... Lately I joined a scanlation group called Yaoism801 as a translator. Feel free to check our website for scanlations.

If you want to chat feel free to send me a message through here or FB (MiharYuu Kräftig)

Danke! I love you all!