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February 7, 2017: Betaed by Pure Red Crane

Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn so no suing…!

Chapter 10

Tsuna wondered why he was walking towards a fight he would ultimately lose. Then he remembered that Reborn had guilt tripped him. Tsuna didn't fight back, but agreed because he knew that when Reborn, with his oppressing presence, had sat on his shoulder that time, it was the only acceptable answer. Tsuna didn't liked it when Reborn made him second-guess his decisions, more like forced to comply, but the baby did and it annoyed him.

Tsuna stared ahead at the door to the gym and he paused from walking. 'I really should run away.' he thought in panic. Surely, he would be beaten to a pulp and he didn't want that, but why was he still going to that place?

("What would Sasagawa think if you ran away from this match against Mochida?")

The brunet didn't like Kyoko in a romantic way like what Reborn had implied. Kyoko was only his classmate, though unlike everyone else, she didn't mock him. She even reproached Mochida this morning, despite how unnecessary it was. It only made Mochida hate him.

Kyoko was bright, a nice young lady with an innocent face that somehow reminded him of his late mother. She was so gullible and naïve, yet so warm. Tsuna shook the blooming image of the two women from his mind, not wanting to remember when Kyoko had looked at him with distrust on her face.

("She must think I'm a coward and believe what Mochida says about me.")

Tsuna remembered his answer. He also realized that he did care about what she thought of him, her opinion. Reborn really got him this time. Now that the brunet thought carefully about it, that might be the real reason why Reborn teased him about Sasagawa Kyoko.

How Reborn even knew of his small attachment to Kyoko, Tsuna still didn't know, but the fact remained that it was used against him. It proved that he really was Dame-Tsuna. If Reborn didn't ask that question, the brunet wouldn't even have realized that he cared for her. It was irritating.

Tsuna bit his bottom lip and walked towards his doom. His stomach was churning. 'I should run away. I really should.' he thought in panic. He should turn back and run away as soon as possible. Why was he going to fight Mochida when it was a lost cause? He would lose and then get beaten to a bloody pulp.

The brunet was standing in front of the gym. He only needed to take a few steps, a few more steps toward his doom. However, he stopped.

Why was he going to a fight a match he didn't want to go to, to a fight that he was forced to attend?

'This fight wouldn't even have happened if Kyoko didn't reproach Mochida-senpai.' Tsuna immediately shot down that thought. He was fairly annoyed, but not with Kyoko, it was not her fault she is so naïve.

He clenched his fist. 'Then why am I going to this match?'

Reborn used Kyoko against him, but ultimately it is his choice. He let Reborn's actions and words deter him from what he should have done. Now that he agreed, Tsuna wanted to back out. He should have done that from the start, shouldn't have stayed in that bathroom, should have gone home and slept instead of coming to a painful decision.

'I should run away.'

Tsuna stared at the gym, taking a step backward and turn on his heels-

("What would Sasagawa think if you ran away from this match?")

-then stopped before he could even start running.

"I…" he started hesitantly. Why didn't he run when he could?

(The disappointed eyes of his mother stared at him. "Tsu-kun...")

Tsuna didn't want to fight Mochida…but... The small brunet closed his eyes in thought. 'It looks like I have no choice. I even had another delusion of my mother...' Then Tsuna opened his eyes, a resigned look on his face as he walked towards his impending defeat.

~linebreak~

"You have come, perverted stalker!" Mochida's loud voice erupted in the middle of the gym. Tsuna walked towards the center to meet his opponent. Looking around, he saw that many spectators had attended to watch the show. In the middle was Mochida, wearing his kendo gear.

On Mochida's left was his subordinate, holding two flags, a red and a white. His two other subordinates were supporting a set of matching body, head and hand gear with shinai atop it. Somewhere on the right side, Tsuna could see Kyoko with her brow furrowed downward, worry written all over her face and her hands clasped on each other as if in prayer.

When Tsuna arrived at the center of the gym, Kyoko looked in his direction with a worried frown on her face. Tsuna idly wondered why. The sight made his lips quirk into a smile, but it was a small one, barely noticeable.

"For stalking Kyoko-chan, I will defeat you and show where a scum like you belongs." Mochida started his monologue with his shit-eating grin, shinai pointed at Tsuna in accusation. The senpai looked like a knight facing off a dragon to save the princess. It was cliché and disgusting.

Mochida huffed proudly after that declaration and the school body cheered, screamed, and yelled in support. "Go, Mochida-senpai!"

During that monologue, Tsuna didn't say a word in his defense, didn't even try to explain that it was a false accusation. Saying anything would only be meaningless. The brunet glanced at the body and hand gear. He noticed that it was rigged based on the way the two subordinates were having a hard time lifting it up. He also saw that the subordinate who was going to judge was currently smiling like a little minion for his evil boss.

Just as expected, this match was rigged against his favor. Tsuna wouldn't win no matter what.

Tsuna walked to the gear he was supposed to wear for this match, but he only took the shinai. Even the wooden sword was heavy in his hands. Mochida gave him an annoyed look when he didn't wear the heavy body gear, but he snorted, "Doesn't make any difference."

"Since you're just a beginner, if you can get one point from me, you win. If you can't then I win." Mochida started in a loud voice, his shinai still pointed at Tsuna and his left hand resting on his hips, his shit-eating grin still present on his face. "Of course, the loser will do any single command given by the winner!" Mochida declared, followed by a boisterous laugh.

Tsuna made a glanced at Kyoko and to the laughing students then back in Mochida's direction. The brunet gripped the handle of the heavy shinai. He didn't have any hope of winning. He didn't even think that he could, but he hoped that he wouldn't get hurt too badly.

"Let's fight, Sawada!" Mochida said, both his hands holding the shinai.

"We'll begin the match in…three, two, one…fight!" the judge declared.

Then the match started with Mochida charging towards Tsuna with a war cry. The senpai was obviously going to swing his shinai in a diagonal position. Tsuna tightened his grip on the shinai and hurriedly lifted it in a vertical position with both hands, albeit with a little difficulty. He managed to block Mochida's attack, but it made him take a step back at the sudden force. His body immediately protested.

Tsuna gritted his teeth and pushed back. He tightened his grip on the shinai when he could feel his body weakening from the assault. At first, he thought blocking would be alright to ward off Mochida's attack, but he was wrong.

Mochida was really strong. The senpai continued making attacks and all Tsuna could do was block until the kendo captain had finally cracked his defense. With another hit, Tsuna could feel the assault starting to overwhelm him. While the numbness that had started spreading in his hands to his arms, Tsuna couldn't help but let go of the shinai when Mochida attacked again.

Tsuna cried out in pain as his hand let go of the shinai and it fell on the floor with a loud smack. Everyone was engrossed in watching the amusing battle.

Mochida raised his shinai to hit him on the shoulder. Tsuna felt the impact of the shinai hit his already bruised shoulder. It made him groan. Tsuna's face contorted in pain and stumbled on his feet. Then Mochida hit him on the ankle, making the brunet wince. He almost stumbled again, but he managed to remain standing with difficulty.

"Tsuna!" someone yelled his name. Before Tsuna could look towards the owner of the male voice, the brunet felt another shinai thrown in his direction. He used both of his hands to catch it.

Mochida brought his shinai for another hit, this one directed for Tsuna's head, but he managed to dodge by an inch, much to his relief. Tsuna grasped and repositioned the newly-acquired shinai, holding it with both hands.

"You managed to last this long, Dame-Tsuna." Mochida said a slight hint of surprise in his voice, arching his brows, but it was gone soon after, replaced by an evil laugh.

Mochida swung another attack, but Tsuna blocked it. Due to how strong the senpai was and how weak the brunet's body was from the pain, Mochida's overwhelmed Tsuna with another swing. It caught the brunet off guard, thus he fell to the floor with a thud, and he accidentally let go of the shinai.

Mochida stood on top him in a menacing manner, Tsuna on his back as if merely waiting for the inevitable attack he would receive. The brunet was too tired to move, the pain proving too much. Mochida smiled, knowing that he would win. With this, the senpai brought down his shinai for one last clean attack towards Tsuna's head.

"Go! Sawada-san, do your best!" Kyoko's sudden words of encouragement made both young men in stupor. Tsuna glanced at Kyoko and saw her looking at him determinedly. Then he glanced back at Mochida, who still had his arms raised upward, holding his shinai and still looking at Kyoko in frozen shock.

Tsuna took that chance to surprise Mochida by pushing him away, making the senpai lose his balance. Tsuna's opponent took a startled step back, granting the brunet a safe distance. Tsuna leaped towards his shinai with a wince, and then he grasped the weapon again with both hands, breathing deeply through his mouth and nose.

Tsuna took a big gulp of breath through his mouth. His knees quivered in pain. Tsuna wished to sleep once this was over. His body was drenched with sweat and his brows furrowed downward as he gripped his shinai tighter. He knew he wouldn't, couldn't, win. The difference in strength was too different.

The outcome of this fight was obvious, yet Tsuna still fought back fruitlessly. Maybe because Kyoko had cheered for him, as strange as it sounded.

Tsuna warily observed his opponent. Mochida was looking annoyed, mostly because Sasagawa Kyoko had cheered for Dame-Tsuna instead of him. "I'll win this match for Kyoko-chan's sake!" the senpai bellowed, adjusting his grip on the shinai and looking at Tsuna with focus.

Silence descended among everyone at that declaration, many thinking that Mochida was going to unleash his final attack to end the show. On the other hand, Tsuna readied himself for another bout of pain and bruises. It seemed defending wouldn't save him from Mochida's attack from now on.

"I'll defeat you, Sawada!" Mochida said in a deep and loud voice. With that sentence, Mochida leaped and attacked Tsuna furiously. The brunet winced when he felt that Mochida's attack was stronger than before and his hands were getting sore from gripping the shinai in defense. Tsuna's knees were growing weaker by the second, and his arms were growing heavier.

It would have been easier to let go of the shinai and accept Mochida's attack. Tsuna should let go then it would be all over. He knew that, but he still didn't do it. Tsuna curled his lips into a smile to what would be the result of this match and Mochida let out a growl of annoyance at the sight before him.

Mochida glared at him in irritation before hitting the brunet's shoulder, unknowingly hitting the bruised shoulder again, making Tsuna let out a groan of pain. The agony made Tsuna falter and, with his defense momentary gone, Mochida rapidly backed him into a corner.

Tsuna hissed in pain when Mochida smacked his hand, forcefully making the brunet let go of the shinai. During that moment, Mochida had unleashed his next attack and smacked him squarely in the head again, making Tsuna buckle on his feet and groan in distress. The brunet fell on the floor with that final attack.

"And the winner is, Mochida-senpai!"

Tsuna heard the obvious result from the judge, followed by the loud cheering from his schoolmates. The noise grated on his nerves. Mochida's attack on his head was so strong that it caused a throbbing pain on his skull. It made him want to sleep on that dirtied floor right there and then. But he didn't.

Tsuna remained like that, wheezing for air, and already waiting for the fact that the words Mochida would utter would make his coming days worse than before.

The cheering noise wouldn't subside and Tsuna slowly got up from the floor with a wince and a gasp of air. Tsuna almost stumbled back when his knees suddenly buckled when he attempted to get up too fast.

'I want to sleep…' he thought distractedly.

"I protected Kyoko-chan from Dame-Tsuna!" Mochida declared. It was followed by laughter and snickering.

Tsuna snapped his attention to that. Mochida's obviously triumphant declaration boomed and the cheering voices suddenly grew even louder with that bold statement.

"It was obvious that I would win this match!" Mochida laughed boisterously, while the student body agreed on his statement and loudly snickered amongst each other.

Tsuna remained still, his face closed off, not even wincing from being insulted from other students. He listened about how Dame-Tsuna had the nerve to stalk their dear Kyoko-chan and tainting her with his filthy presence, how it was laughable that Dame-Tsuna even had the nerve to ask Mochida for a fight and Dame-Tsuna being dame. Some of them were even murmuring to each other about what Mochida's command would be to Dame-Tsuna since the brunet couldn't do anything remotely right. Considering his life was full of mistakes, Tsuna silently agreed on the last part.

"Since I obviously won, Dame-Tsuna should obey my command and that is…" Mochida started with an evil smile directed at Tsuna. The brunet already knew what that command would be. It was very obvious. There was just no way someone could be blind from Mochida's intentions. "Dame-Tsuna should never ever talk to Kyoko-chan from now on and apologize right now for having perverted thoughts about Kyoko-chan!"

Loud booming laughter followed, cheering and even talking about how Dame-Tsuna had no shame for even thinking about their dear idol, Kyoko-chan.

Tsuna noticed that it was two commands instead of one. He didn't really agree to that term before the fight started. Tsuna could argue that he didn't agree to this in the first place, but that wouldn't really help him. He inwardly sighed. It seemed he didn't really have any choice in the matter. Not like he would even argue in the first place.

Mochida was looking at him with smug expectancy.

"I…" Tsuna started in a show of hesitancy, biting his lower lip and averting his gaze towards his left where he saw Kyoko. Tsuna saw her shake her head once she caught his gaze, her lips pressed into a thin line, looking displeased over something. Tsuna idly wondered why Kyoko was looking at him as if telling him to disagree with Mochida's words and why she was displeased about something.

His mother would often have that same look on her face when he came home, dirtied from being pushed around… Tsuna's eyes widened slightly in stupor at that sudden thought. The brunet inwardly forced down that thought, 'Mom and Kyoko aren't the same. Of course, they wouldn't be, so why…'

(His dear mother looked at him with a displeased look on her face, but not for him. It was for his bullies.) The image overlaps with Kyoko.

Tsuna blinked sharply to get rid of the sudden image forming on his mind and faced Mochida with a closed off expression.

"I apologize for having any perverted thoughts about Sasagawa Kyoko." Tsuna said, his head bowed down towards Mochida. He made unnecessary pauses in that sentence. His body kept wincing from the pain he suffered from his idiocy.

"Apologize to Kyoko-chan! Not to me, Dame-Tsuna!" Mochida yelled in a put off tone, not expecting Dame-Tsuna to apologize immediately after being told to. The senpai didn't realize that the protest would contradict his previous sentence. Tsuna lifted his head in confusion.

"But you said not to talk to Sasagawa-san." Tsuna didn't want to look at Kyoko. It would made him think about his mother and the similarity between them. He didn't want that.

"Don't be smart with me, Dame-Tsuna. Just apologize to Kyoko-chan now. Then never ever talk to her!" Mochida said with an irritated huff when he realized that Dame-Tsuna had outsmarted him. It didn't seat well with his manly pride.

Tsuna bit his bottom lip and faced Kyoko's direction, not looking at her face then he bowed down. He opened his mouth to apologize, only for it to snap shut when he heard her interrupt him before he could even begin.

"Tsuna-kun."

Tsuna slowly lifted his head and saw Kyoko looking at him with a determined look on her face. Gone was the displeased look, now replaced with determination. Tsuna realized that the student body had become silent, but it was thrown out of the window when the school idol's next words passed her lips.

"Can I call you that?" Kyoko still looked resolute. Tsuna idly wondered why she was acting like this. She was supposed to listen to her friends, so why was she acting so friendly towards him, despite everyone's insults?

"What?" Tsuna unconsciously asked with a bewildered look on his face. He was tempted to snap back, that she already called him that, but that sentence made his throat stop working. It was as if she uttered magic words that made him lose his voice.

"Kyoko-chan, you can't be serious! That's Dame-Tsuna, a pervert!" Mochida protested. Just like a domino effect, everyone started yelling in disagreement to her words.

If Tsuna didn't know any better, he would have thought that Mochida was forcing Kyoko to take back her words with peer pressure, but the honest surprised look on Mochida's face was real. The honey haired girl shook her head.

"I want to be friends with Tsuna-kun." That sentence wasn't uttered in a loud voice, but it silenced everyone. Then the silence disappeared, replaced with enraged words by everyone, not for Kyoko, but for Dame-Tsuna.

Accusations were thrown around about how Dame-Tsuna must have done something to manipulate Kyoko-chan, how Dame-Tsuna should stop acting so that Kyoko-chan would stop pitying him. But those accusations were unanswered as he stared at the naïve girl in front of him. Tsuna's eyes were wide with disbelief and his gaze never left Kyoko.

"Tsuna-kun isn't like that!" Kyoko said with pitch. It was as if she was personally offended that Tsuna was being slandered. That sudden loud voice coming from the school idol immediately interrupted everyone.

"Tsuna-kun isn't like that…" she said with a frustrated quality to her voice emphasized by the look on her face. Everyone was shocked. It was the first time she acted like this. The Sasagawa Kyoko they knew always smiled, talked to everyone nicely, even to Dame-Tsuna, much to the ire of everyone else. She never raised her voice. She always used her sweet, angelic voice. For Kyoko to suddenly raise her voice and look frustrated was a first. No one could ever think of her like that.

Tsuna wondered why she believed that he couldn't be like these accusations. Kyoko looked at him with distrust on her face, after all. This might be some kind of manipulation on her part, make everyone the bad guys and her the angel, but that thought was immediately squashed from his mind when he realized that the brunette expression couldn't be faked.

There was no way it could be like that, but it was and it bewildered Tsuna even more. Why was she defending him now…? It only served to confuse him.

Kyoko walked towards Tsuna, making him take a startled step back. In a way, it was his sign for her not to walk towards him, but she continued on her path. Everyone could only look at her with varied looks of surprise.

"Sorry for addressing you in such a manner, but it's alright for me to call you that, right?" Kyoko said in front of him. She had that worried yet determined look on her face. Tsuna could only stare at her in silence. He never thought that this naïve and gullible girl wouldn't listen to everyone else.

"Then you should call me Kyoko-chan." She had a smile on her face when he didn't answer. One would think his silence was an agreement, but it was not.

Tsuna didn't want to call her that. It would make them look like friends. It made him wonder when and what made her become like this. They weren't friends, so her defending him now, despite everyone else words, confused him. The girl he knew would succumb to peer pressure.

But Kyoko defending the brunet now would only result in more pain and he didn't think he could handle any more for the afternoon. And her presence would only make Tsuna compare her to his mother too.

Tsuna shook his head in response. "I…don't…" 'Don't call me that.'

"The disciplinary committee is here!" Someone cried out in distress. With that warning, everyone immediately scattered in different directions. A few students yelped in panic and some were even cursing aloud. They would be beaten to death if they were caught crowding by the scary president of the Namimori Disciplinary Committee.

With mass panic, Tsuna immediately dashed away, taking his chance to get away from everyone else.

Meanwhile, Reborn gazed at his dame student with unreadable eyes then to the small girl who had defended Tsuna from her peers. The brunet wasn't able to use the Dying Will Bullet, but with the active presence of Sasagawa Kyoko in Tsuna's life, Reborn could now start with his plan. Though there was still his side project for Dame-Tsuna.

His lips curled upward into an amused smirk.

He would just have to wait and see if Tsuna would take the bait, and with a few more push in the coming days, Tsuna would take it willingly.

To be continued…

A/N: Kindly leave a review… *insert pleading puppy look here*