11th Shot - Confrontation

"Mochida-senpai!"

Mochida stopped on his track and turn around, to find the person he has been looking for since morning running towards him instead.

"Osamu! I've been looking for you!" Mochida says excitedly after the junior ran through the garden that separated them earlier.

Osamu looked confused, "You were looking for me?".

"Yeah! You see-"

"Before that!" Osamu abruptly cutted his words, surprising the swordsman off his guard. "I want to ask you something first. This is really important!"

Mochida staring weirdly at his kouhai, only to be more confused seeing how desperate looking his eyes is staring straight at him. The Kaneda Osamu that he knew from their middle school days is the brat with seemingly endless confidence and pride to himself. So to actually see him looking this desperate, is something to keep note of.

"What happened?" he ask, already speculating that he might be in trouble or something.

Osamu's eyes getting even more sharper, as he ask in his most serious voice, "Do you know what Sawada and the others are doing to my sister?"

Mochida blinked. And once again. "...what?"

"My sister! You remember I have a sister right?"

"Well yeah…" Mochida got confused. The task to inform Osamu about his family settlements supposed to be given to him, but because all the ruckus happened by Varia first thing in the morning, he lost the chance to approach Osamu as they got driven out already. Did someone already spoke to him about the matter?

"Mochida-senpai, are you really sure this family really safe? I mean particularly Sawada and the others."

Mochida got his face hardened at that, "What do you mean by that? You do realize that I am one of the people working in here too, right?"

"I know! Of course! But, it's just that… I overheard Sawada and Hibari-san last night, and it sounds as if they're scheming something…"

"What scheme?"

Mochida staring weirdly at Osamu who started to looked restless. Fidgeting on his feet, while sneaking glance left and right, seems trying to make sure that they're safe from unwanted prying ears.

"You see, last night when I wonder around the mansion alone at night, I hear the two of them saying something about my sister being taken on custody or something. Of course I immediately called my sister to check on her, but she said it's fine, aside from our house got burnt down because of fire that happened to occur next door. And that she's now staying at her friend's house while their house is being rebuilt with the expenses paid by the other party or something. But it's weird that my sister didn't said anything about it to me until I called her and how secretive she sounded! Don't you think so?! What if she's actually being held captive or something!?"

After his outburst ended, Osamu could only gape as Mochida started laughing while holding his head, as if he find the whole thing amusing.

"Oh my God, at least that's not the worst way to find out about it," he said while chuckling to himself, not really looking at anywhere or anyone. He then turn to look at Osamu again, still being amused at how confused he is looking with the whole situation. Not that he blame him, it IS the normal reaction you would usually have in this kind of situation.

Now, what should I do? Seems like Osamu already have a lot of prove to be suspicious to Tsuna, and I understand his worry to his sister, but I don't have the authority to decide how much to tell him. But then again, how to explain it without making him more suspicious than this now that he know this far?

"Mochida-senpai?"

Mochida got called out from his thought, and looking back at Osamu "Sorry sorry, I got in my own thinking. Well, actually I was looking for you this morning to inform you about that. You told me about the trouble your family is having right now the other day, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I got news from Hibari-san that one of his underlings who is on patrol around Namimori, just happen to caught the Yakuza underlings in his scheme to burn down your store. He was then caught and Hibari-san's group took care of the whole Yakuza group, but by the time they arrived the fire couldn't be putted down anymore, but they got your family into safety. And now that the Yakuza group has gone, you don't need to worry about them bothering your family anymore."

"So you means by "custody" he means…."

"He means putting her into safety, you know how that guy sometimes using this weird way of phrasing things," Mochida shakes his head tiredly.

"I see…..but then! Why the need to report that to Sawada then? And in the middle of the night too!"

"Ah….well...how to say this? In a way, Tsuna is the one who ask him to protect Namimori?"

"Why?"

"Why, you said? His mom and dad is living there, and it's his hometown, in case you forgot?"

Somehow Osamu didn't seems to buying the reason. "So, in a way, I'm indebted to Sawada now? But why he didn't say anything about it?"

"The Boss is not the kind of person who would straight out boasting his own kindness to others. So you can pretend you didn't know that it was his doing and just continue on, if you want."

Osamu staring at Mochida as if his head suddenly having an extra head. "There's no way that would be true, right?! There's nothing coming in this world for free! I bet he would use it on me someday in the future, aren't he?"

Mochida trying to think of that possibility. As a mafia, not that it's impossible, but then again, the other party here is a civilian, so he don't think Tsuna or even Hibari would resort to that. "Nah, he's just being kind, like he always do."

"Kind? Sawada is?"

"I don't know how to phrasing him in other word, if you remember all my doings to him and where I'm standing now," Mochida chuckle bitterly. "Even now, I feel like I'm too good to be standing here, but he convinced me through it and now I don't have other intention than to be under him as long my blood still flowing. So my advice is, just accept the fact, and even if you don't acknowledge it as his doing, that will be fine too."

Mochida can see Osamu still mumbling something about not believing, but he just sigh through it. It's not easy to acknowledge something you don't want to, especially something that you have believed in for so long. In this case, his view towards Tsuna. But he can't do anything but let him getting through it by himself.

"By the way, are you still doing Kendo?"

Surprised by the sudden turn of topic, Osamu took a while to answer, "Since the whole trouble, I haven't properly went to the Dojo. But I still do swings sometimes."

Mochida grins at that, "Great! We are in front of the dojo anyway, how about some spar before dinner?"

"I thought you said we're going to Venice today?"

Tsuna turn around from talking with the bus driver towards Goro. "We are. Well although not exactly today."

"But," Goro looked around once, as if making sure he get it right on what place they're in right now. "We're in train station right now though. I thought Venice gonna take hours unless we take plane?"

"Oh~ You're well informed aren't you?" Tsuna smiling happily. "That's true. That's why we're gonna make a detour first on the way and continue to Venice tomorrow! This is the best way to enjoy Italy!"

"Ooh! That sounds fun!"

"Okay monkeys, now gather up so I could explain our trip," Hana took over Tsuna's position as everyone gathered in front of a really antique and expensive looking train, in a platform separated from the public and busy part of the station.

"I figures we won't be able to keep track of you anymore after we got in the train, so I'm going to explain everything now so listen up," Hana said already looking annoyed. "This is the private train that we will use for the next 4 days trip. From here, we will heading to Roma, and spend the night there. Tomorrow, we will head to Milan, have a short trip, before continue to Venice where we will spend the night, before going back home the day after. I already give you all the time schedule, so when we stopping in transit city remember the departing time or we will leave you behind."

"Hahaha, no need to be so strict about it Hana-chan! We could wait a minute or two!" Saya Yamamoto.

"I'm not going to wait for someone who can't keep the time," grumble Gokudera. "Train schedule are really sensitive, if we don't move according to plan, it will disturb the schedule for other public trains too."

Tsuna chuckled, "Well, as you all heard. We already have the luxury to be moving privately, so the least we could do is not making problem for other people. I hope everyone could understand."

A chorus of "okay!" Could be heard from everyone, and Tsuna smile even brightly at that. By this time, somehow all of them seems to be immune to it already, with the most happen is only nosebleed.

With the whole train consist of 6 car excluding the locomotive, they are all separated to 4 groups with the foremost car is exclusive for Tsuna and his group. The second car is functioning as common space, with restaurant, entertainment space and so on in it. While the rest 3 cars are 2 story sleeping cars, where each room can accommodate 2 people, and not some crampy sleeping capsule like they all imagined at first, it's a small room with 2 single bed, complete with small table, television, and bathroom, like normal hotel room. The best part of it all are the big window every room have, making sure they will have complete view of the scenery as they are moving.

"Why do you feel the need to have a whole private train?"

Some people who are currently hanging around the lounge area, including Tsuna, Yamamoto, Gokudera, Kyoko, and Ryohei, turned to Goro for his sudden question.

"Isn't it more practical to just using the plane, these days?" he ask further, when being stared at confusedly by almost everyone in the room. They're in the middle of playing trump card game, when Goro suddenly asking that out of the blue.

"Well actually, this is something that my family has been having for generations already, and looking how cool the locomotive is I just don't have the heart to lock it away," Tsuna answered casually as he pulls out another card.

"Hahahaha, I agree! Isn't this cool?!" Yamamoto added from the bar counter chair where he is sitting with Aki beside him. He never one who is good with card games, and with Aki on board, he prefer to keep her company.

Goro rolls his eyes at their answer, "I don't understand the way of thinking of the rich." He said as he pulls out king card to outwin Tsuna's Jack.

"You need to remember that almost all of us here didn't born rich, stupid," Hana hissed as she throws out her last card out, the Joker. "My win. Again."

The other boys as her opponent groans as Hana keep winning the game 3 times in a row since they started playing.

"As expected from Hana-chan!"

"Ck, you just got lucky! I'll beat you next stupid woman."

"Hah….so even my instinct couldn't beat your wittyness."

"I'm not sure if instinct got anything to do with card game, Sawada."

As the rest of the boys continue on after Hana's win, Goro suddenly realized something he's been wondering for a while. "By the way Kurosawa-ah wait, you're Sasagawa too now huh."

"You can just call me Kurosawa, if you worried you might confused calling me and Kyoko," Hana cutted him as he making herself more comfortable on the sofa. Being pregnant is making her keep feeling restless some of the times.

"Okay then Kurosawa. I was wondering, you are here because you married to Ryohei-senpai right? Are you working too? I always have the image of you as the working woman that couldn't stay quiet just at home."

"Hah! You got that right. Never even thinking of making this woman stays at the mansion for even a day, even when she's having a baby like this," Gokudera spats while staring hard at the remaining 2 cards in his hand and glancing back and forth to the cards remaining in Tsuna's hands.

When his hand started leaning forward to pull out new card, Tsuna make a noise and smirking at the panicked Gokudera.

"Unless it's part of your strategy to win, don't even think to giving yourself handicap to make me win, Gokudera."

Gokudera sweat dropped a lot as he pulls in his stretched hand again, "O-of course not Jyuudaime!"

Tsuna make a smile at Gokudera before he turn to face Goro, "Hana is working for me too as our personal lawyer and law advisor. She's the second to none in this field, even in Italy."

Goro made a whistle at that. "Wow, somehow that image suited you perfectly Kurosawa-san. I see, so you even have your own lawyer huh?"

"Well being working in a lot of fields, we always in need of power and knowledge in almost every different fields out there. Be it law, technology, martial arts, medical, you name it all."

From how his eyebrow suddenly make a rise, Tsuna can see that Goro somehow got his interest piqued.

"Even martial arts?"

Tsuna nodded. "Even martial arts. Can never have too much manpower around, right? Well of course we always made sure that those who working under us is proficient in their field, and someone with the same ideal as us."

Suddenly, Goro got quiet at Tsuna's answer. "The same ideal…."

Looking at how his face expression suddenly fell, Tsuna got reminded of Ryohei's words the day before their departure.

"He's 100% healthy?"

"Yeah, I casually made contact with his body to have a check, and my flame says he's extremely healthy! Not even a scratch, or any disease! Extremely no problem at all!"

Gokudera frowned, "Than that means the check-up result was a fake to trick him into something, huh?"

"You mean the Cordola famiglia, right Hayato?" Yamamoto guessed. "I'm not even surprised if they're trying to trick him into saying he got a threatening injury and then somewhat manage to heal it to make him feel indebted to them."

"Huh, for once you could even use your brain, huh?"

Yamamoto laughed lightly at the spicy taste praise, "I hate it the most when people messing around with athlete's injury. Making them thinking it's the end of their career is the worst of all."

"But then," Tsuna cutted them. "If we just tell it straight to Goro-san and Cordola famiglia manage to found out about it, they will definitely be even more suspicious, and Goro-san's life will be in threat instead."

Ryohei nodded, "I'm exactly in the same thinking as you, lil bro! That's why I want to personally recruit him in my division so that he would have our protection!"

"Wait a minute lawn-head! We don't just invite ANYONE in the famiglia!"

"No worry, I can extremely testimony for his extreme fighting skill!"

"That's not the only problem here you stupid! By law, he is still a civilian right now! You can't just invite anyone into being mafia!"

Tsuna sighed, "As much I have the same feeling with you Onii-san, I agree with Hayato. We can't just pull him out from his peaceful lifestyle in the cover of protecting him, when it's my fault to begin with."

Yamamoto's eyes sharpened at Tsuna's words, and so too the other two. "Tsuna, it is not YOUR fault," he says calmly, but with pressure that even make Tsuna's shiver in his head.

Tsuna chuckle, as his guardians glaring at him angrily. Not because they're angry for him made any mistake, he knows that much. "I know, I'm sorry. I won't say that again. But still it is true that he got into this in the first place because of Vongola. So as long as he could still be given a choice, I don't want to rob that freedom of him."

"And how do you extremely plan to do that, lil bro?"

"Hmmm…." Tsuna turn his office chair around and staring at the bright sun on the vast blue sky that's paints the scenery on his giant windows that day. "For now...let's just see what he himself wanted to do."

Hello? It's been….what? 2 years? Wow time sure flies. Last time I updated this story, I just arrived in Japan, and now I'm entering my second year working in here already. I don't have any other excuse for my long absence except how life is such a struggle for me, physically and mentally. Being living all alone in foreign country is not an easy thing. But all the fandom I'm in has been such a booster for me. Not to mention how it's KHR 10th year anniversary, and how the release of their many goods and stuffs has been killing my wallet the past few months *insert bitter laugh here*

I realized I have been lacking in my writing skills again now, and it took quiet a while for me to re-remember the plot I've been planning for this story. But seeing how new people still somehow discovering this fic, and the comments and messages I received for this story, I have been planning to reviving this sleeping fic from this year. So here I am.

Please be kind to me while I re-surfacing my writing skills (not that I'm any good in the first place anyway).

Btw, if you also reader of my other story "Because We Walk Together", please do tell me if you have any side or back story that you still curious to know! ^^

Jya, adieu~~~