A/N: Its interesting on different writers' interpretations of Mochida, who is more than just a one-time show bully who disappears into never be heard again. Has anyone seen him show up again in the manga after the daily arc?
DISCLAIMER: I don't own in any shape, form or in any parallel universe KHR!
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The Crossroads that are not seen
"Kensuke! Do it again!"
Mochida scowls at his father, but obeyed into going back to the first stance.
After the humiliating defeat by the hands of Dame-Tsuna, Mochida stepped up his game to actually back up his words of being the best. He suspects that while his father never outright showed he knew about such defeat, but ever since his sessions with his father in the dojo were harsher and less warmer than before.
Between leading the Kendo club and his father's dojo, the days became tedious and frustrating for Mochida to no end. He isn't sure what to feel learning to hold back his temper from blowing up to his club members since they are the only reason he hadn't quit kendo yet. Their unwavering loyalty until it was obvious he lost that fateful match, they stayed when everyone.
Yet no matter how many praises he gets from his own team, his father is never satisfied with him. As of late, there is something that keeps nagging Mochida something isn't right at the dojo and finds excuses to leave the session, such as now.
Mochida sighs. He distantly hears the crack of a baseball hitting a bat and cheering. He notices Yamamoto laughing, but keeps eying back at the school. Probably worried for Dame-Tsuna or something. Seriously is like he became a bodyguard for that pipsqueak!
The raven haired spikey haired boy frowns. It's not like he didn't hear how the boy who fails everything getting better even if in a snail pace. It's the fact that every time he notices the other boy, he is surrounded by other dangerous looking guys (and Kyoko!) and there is something there that Mochida cannot pinpoint. Something he wants, but he doesn't know what.
The kendo captain looks up the sky and notices its getting dark, "The old man is going to be furious, I guessits time to face the music," he grumbles.
He pick up his pace, but when he rounds the corner, he froze.
"Hello, little Ken-chan," one of the high schoolers greeted him. Mochida pales. These were the people who edged him to become the person before Dame-Tsuna pegged down. An arrogant coward who cares for no one. He really doesn't want to go that path again. By the looks of them, that path meant being part of some yakuza with their wooden swords and chains. This is bad! I think I saw a gun in there somewhere!
"We hit jackpot and we are willing to give part of our share if you come with us," the leader voice sounded sickly sweet that made Mochida sick. Unfortunately he cannot say no with the undertone threat within the offer.
His grip on his kendo bag tighten. I really wanted be someone for my team to look up to, but in the end I am a failure like father says!
"Shame how Enma is in a meeting for his famiglia," Tsuna sighs to himself as he walked home alone. He was still tired from the crazier than usual training from last night. Reborn said something about how he won't be there tomorrow, which is now today, hence the extra harsh training.
Tsuna tries not to recall how he survived the night. He is sore, but happy that school is over that he can now go to bed and actually enjoy a Reborn-less day. Even now he has a sudden splitting headache.
Right then, Tsuna hears a familiar click from a gun ready to shot. The Vongola heir sighs, "Reborn! You freaking lia—"
When Tsuna whirled, he lost his words as he stared at some older boys smirking at him. In his shock, somebody grab his arms back and felt a strange heaviness on his body. Last thing he remembers before everything went dark was catching through the small gathering, a glimpse of Mochida's blank face.
"Don't worry, once you are one of us, you'll have clearance of why we do these things," the leader pats Mochida who leans away with a scowl. Some of the older guys chuckle.
"Fine don't tell me, but what are you going to do with him? You aren't going to kill him or something, right?" Mochida began to rolls his eyes, but lost the ability to breath when he caught them smile maliciously.
"Of course we are, why else we brought our best weapons?" the leader of the gang smirks. He plays with strange insignia gun, "After all, people like that boy are hard to kill."
Mochida looks around the warehouse as everyone laughed, No, I don't want this! A little push here or a humiliation there, but something final!
Mochida mumbles he had to go to the bathroom. Fortunately everyone was too busy exchanging horrid stories of past conquests or kills.
Once he felt far enough to breathe, Mochida does something he rarely does outside of kendo practice: think.
Mochida was dragged into a small group of deliquents when he was a lost, angry first year in Namimori Middle. There were older kids who claimed they saw his potential. It was little things such as messing with a weak quiet kid, getting their lunch money to be listen to through fear and power. During that time there was always a distant voice that told him this was wrong, but he was someone important and respected when at home he was ignored and forgotten.
Then those who believed him graduated, they just forgot about him and ignore him. Fearing for their lack of "support", Mochida practice hard to become captain of the Kendo club. He became someone important and loved the power he had over the members. He taught them to ve strong too and eagerly practice and follow his silly commands. All was left is capture the heart of Kyoko.
Then Dame-Tsuna Incident happens.
He became a laughingstock to his classmates and dread to even step into the kendo club room. Mochida may have lost his dignity, but he isn't is a coward. To his surprise was his team bowing down in apology in easily betraying him in giving a point to Dame-Tsuna to all people.
Mochida was speechless. His fists shook and there was a lump in his throat threatening to come out as a whine, but Mochida looks up, staring them in the eye, "If you wished to stay in the club, practice will be longer and harsher. When we are at our best, it means we are not! We are The Kendo Club of Namimori!"
This only made them more determined.
Now watching his old "friends", he realized power isn't everything. Especially if you are caught up at with the other end. These were working only themselves and no loyalty is there, only convenience.
Maybe there would have been a time where he would gladly beat up Dame-Tsuna, but seeing knocked out and tied up in an open room, by a mob. Mochida feels the uneasiness again.
Looking at the unconscious form of the younger year student, Mochida glared, but for once there was no heat behind it, "What is so fudging special about you that every time you get into my life, weird stuff happens?"
Mochida sighs and walks away. He ignores the shifting chains behind him.
Tsuna comes around and felt restrained. He looks down at the metal bands strapped on his wrists. He can feel his strength and the constant hum of his flames diminishing, I need to get out of here!
He looks around the old warehouse for any escape routes, but as seconds pass by, the number of exits were diminishing as the older boys began to surround him. That is when his eyes made contact with Mochida's. The older boy looked conflicted and looked away first. This made Tsuna wonder before quickly looking around and almost screamed when the older boys jumped him.
To his surprise, Mochida steps in front of him. He distantly hears a shot and Mochida crumbles to the ground to everyone's surprise. For a moment there was silence when suddenly an explosion of storm and lightning flames came out of Mochida.
ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS?! Tsuna grips his hair in horror. It's a little disturbing to be in this side of watching someone else going into dying will mode for a change. For crying out loud, the guy is in his underwear!
Fortunately he didn't do the screaming reborn thing that Tsuna usually does when Reborn shots him. Instead, Mochida growls deep, "You will not touch him."
"Oh, yeah? You're one traitor and got nothing on us—" who seems the leader began, but Mochida in a blur attacked. Sparks and explosion were left with each attack. Tsuna shook off his surprise and tried to look for Reborn, only to find that one of the dropped guns from the mob of yakuza wannabes had some familiar bullets.
No way! How did these guys get hold of Dying Will Bullets?!
Too soon, Mochida's flames died off. Worse, reinforcements came in and one of them was an older man who glared furiously at Mochida.
"Father?!" this successfully completely shook off Mochida's Dying Will mode and another shock to the weakening Vongola heir.
"So you are allied to our target? That is a shame," the older man scoffs.
Tsuna fought the urge to face palm. Then he notices his phone was in front of him. His hands were shaking too much and his legs crumbled under him as he reached for his phone.
"Oi! Dame-Tsuna, this is not a good time to pass out on me! We have to get out now—"
Once Tsuna dialed, he spammed and passed out. Fortunately, the strange fire caused by Mochida's flames, light up some strange liquid that was spilled from the fighting (or one sided fight by Mochida) creating a split between the two boys and the large armed mob.
"Juudaime! Where are you?!"
Mochida groans, "Are you freaking serious—? You know what, forget it!"
The kendo captain taps the phone to put it on speaker before slipping it into Tsuna's uniform jacket. Then the kendo captain quickly carries the Vongola heir on his back.
"Haha, is Mochida-sempai calling you?" Mochida by then able to found a room and pulled down a metal bar over it. He is so glad after many grueling practices, a little tiredness is nothing on him.
Once he takes the phone out Tsuna's pocket, Mochida hears on time for Gokudera complain, "Argh! Don't you know it's rude to hear someone's phone conversations—?!"
"Will you two love birds shut up!" Mochida flinches as another hit pounded the weakening door. He ignores the protests and laughter at the other side of the line and shouts into the phone, "Dame-Tsuna is with me right now and is not doing so good—"
"Open up you filthy traitor! Don't think just because I am your father, you're off the hook!"
"Sempai?"
"You can beat me up later, you bodyguard failures, but right now I am not coping well with the fact my body exploded with weird red and green fire like some kind of Christmas fireworks, Dame-Tsuna is wanted dead by some ex-classmates of mine with my father leading them and –oh sh*t there's fire demons too?!"
Luckily Mochida sees a window in his panic. The young man proceeds to throws himself and Tsuna out of it.
After more explosions, which by the way rather familiar with the ones he often hears in Namimori Middle as of late, Mochida rubs his sore back from the harsh landing with Tsuna on top of him. He was somewhat surprised of his classmate who also is boxing captain loudly shouts at him once he checks over the now conscious Tsuna, "ARE YOU EXTREMELY OK?!"
Mochida was suddenly deaf, shouted back, "What do you think, you freaking idiot?!"
He didn't like his classmate give him a disapprove look that made him shrink back. The guy isn't his mother (may she rest in peace)!
"Mochida-sempai!" Tsuna look at him, which fortunately or unfortunately, Mochida can now hear, "I'm sorry I couldn't do much help!"
"I seriously didn't know what exactly those guys were up to, let alone…" Mochida trails off as he eyes his father, who completely ignores him as he was being dragged to a questionable black vehicle with a large insignia of an old shield with bullets on it that screams suspicious.
"Still, thank you," Mochida looks back at Tsuna and was bombarded by the boy's smile. He quickly looks away and happens to catch Yamamoto's amused eye.
"Whatever," Mochida grumbles, "Don't know what am I going to do now. I have to probably ask one of the regulars to let me crash in their house until I can find a job or something."
Suddenly Tsuna leans forward as if someone kick him. When he straightens up, there was a familiar baby on his shoulder, "Dame-Tsuna! You should face responsibility and help your subordinate!"
"I'm his what?!" "Reborn, no way I want him involved!"
"Wait, involved in what? You are not in the yakuza are you?" Mochida narrows his eyes at Tsuna.
"Haha," Yamamoto wraps his arm rather protectively over Tsuna's shoulder, "Are you going to join our team for the mafia game, too?"
"Yamamoto-kun!" Mochida had to fight the urge to look away the sudden sharp eyes of the happy-go-lucky baseball player.
"Psh! As if I approve this guy! He's from the yakuza," Gokudera gives a condescending look at Mochida.
"I didn't know my father mix up with them," Mochida grunted out. He was disturbed when Tsuna gave him an understanding look, "Whatever, I'm out!"
"Onii-san! Tsuna-kun!" Mochida froze. It was the sweet voice of the idol of Namimori, Kyoko Sasagawa.
The young girl sighs in relief when she see the mentioned people and then looks at Mochida in surprise.
"Mochida-sempai, what are you doing here?" She then looks questioning at Tsuna and Reborn when Mochida only stares at her like a deer in front of headlights and couldn't answer her.
"He's going to be part of Tsuna's famiglia. He passed his initiation in flying colors by saving Dame-Tsuna!"
This snaps Mochida out of his shock, but not enough to talk.
Kyoko frowns for a minute and then beams at him, "I knew there was kindness within you!"
Mochida lost at Kyoko's smile aimed at him. Him who had offended her earlier in the year (has it been that short, funny it felt longer).
He faintly hears the weird baby shouting something about famiglia meeting tomorrow before school begins.
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And if tomorrow comes and Kensuke grumbling how he found another place to stay that happens to be neighbors with Gokudera, or talking to Ryohei ("We must extremely set a good extreme example to our younger years!") about possible new training regiments for their respective clubs, on his way to school without the shadow of not living up to someone's standards, no one can exactly blame him for the small hint of peace on his face.
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A/N: Summer vacation has been on for a while, but it's not the same as it was when one was say elementary; only worry about was catching up on cartoons and a couple of chores. I wish everyone a great summer either going on trips or just chilling at home.
LaniAhava out!