Title: Late Realization

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Pairing: Mukuro Rokudo x Chrome Dokuro (6996)

Character(s): Main characters are Mukuro Rokudo and Sawada Tsunayoshi. Chrome will be mentioned and only will be appearing in the flashback.

Theme: #41- Tragedy

Rating: T for heavy angst.

Warning: Character Death.

Note: Taken place in 5 years after the current time.

His mix-matched orbs stared at the empty room emotionlessly. There were no signs of a certain illusionist busily doing her paperwork as usual. The girls had never roamed around the room again as well ever since the horrible incident.

He lowered his head, hiding his pain expression as he let out a bitter chuckle. He doesn't want to believe about it, but he knows that he must face the reality one day as well.

'Mukuro… accept the reality. Chrome… she… is no longer here already…'

He balled his fists when he recalled those words said by the Neo Vongola Primo. He remembered how he tried to deny the truth when he saw her unconscious body lying on the medical bed. The doctors had told them that they had done their best but still, she couldn't be cured. She couldn't be saved. She was as good as dead now, he knew. But to accept something like this isn't what he wanted the most.

Mukuro didn't look skinny, but his face was definitely turning paler day by day. Tsuna didn't want to see his mist guardian crumbled down, or worse, die on his watch. He gazed at the starry sky through the window of his office room as he remembered the day he had his conversation with his other mist guardian.

Tsuna almost dropped the lunch box in his hands as he came to view of Chrome who was struggling to stand up from the bed. The nurses tried to stop her, but the purple haired illusionist was struggling and begging them to let her go. He immediately placed the lunch box on the night stand and held the mist guardian by her shoulders. Chrome looked up at her boss with tears brimming down her pale face.

"B-Bossu…" she called out weakly. Her face was in a mess and Tsuna widened his eyes when he heard the next word she said. "Please… let me get out of here, bossu. M-Mukuro-sama… I wanted to see him, bossu. I want to see him… even for the last time…"

"Why… Chrome… after all those horrible things he had done to you and even when he had been playing around with your feelings, why would you still want to see him...?"

Chrome flinched at her boss's question before a weak smile slowly quivered on her lips. "It… really doesn't matter to me. I… am glad that I was able to serve for him in these five years, I really am. I'm willing to sacrifice my life for him and that's the reason why I had gone to eliminate the Estraneo family without letting him know. I love him… and that's all I need on why I'll continue followed after him, even when he doesn't need me anymore."

Suddenly, the heavily injured girl started to feel dizzy. Her eyelids were refusing to open as her strengths leave her body, but she was still able to fix a smile at her boss.

"B-Bossu… please tell Mukuro-sama that I wanted to see him… I wanted to see him… for the last time…" she whispered with her last breath before her eyes fluttered close, her breathing was growing short and her vision slowly came to a blur. The only thing she could see was a blurry image of her boss calling out her name before everything turned dark for her.

The blue haired man jolted awake as he tried to catch his breath. He had been resting his head on his folded arms while resting on the bed. Hot tears unconsciously slipped down his face as he lifted his head and stared at the unconscious girl in front of him.

'So… that's the reason why Sawada Tsunayoshi was yelling in such a pathetic and angry tone when he called me. He was there, with her. But why am I dreaming it when I'm not even there? Are those... Perhaps her last memory...?' He pulled out his hand and caressed the other illusionist's purple locks. "I never knew how you felt for me. You love me… even longer than any of those women I went out with before. I'm sorry… for not realizing your feelings for me, Nagi… "

He held his other hand out and caressed her cold cheek. "If you can hear me… please wake up, Nagi. I know it's impossible, but please let me have a second chance. I felt so stupid… pathetic… and horrible for always pushing you away whenever you tried to confess your feeling for me. If you wake up, I swore that I'll never let you fight alone for me again. I'll love you… more than anything in this world… more than myself. But I won't able to do so if you continue staying like this forever…"

At this moment, he clutched the fabric of his shirt when he felt an aching pain striking inside his body. He winced in pain as he knew that the endless and pointless wait would soon kill him. He gazed at Chrome and all the pains were being forgotten. Because of him, he couldn't bear to live with his fault that led the woman who had always loved him to this state. She was the only thing in his mind right now.

The End.

Ending Note: Did I manage to make anyone of you break down and cry? :) Because that's the goal I had set for myself in this story. Ah, and don't worry. You'll soon know what had happened to Chrome in the next chapter as the next theme I'm going to work on is theme #4- Lost Scene (This theme sounded like it's going to be perfect for me to write the prequel for this story. :)) Anyway, don't kill me for killing Chrome, okay? ^^" Every 6996 fans out there do know that Mukuro had to stop being a tsundere and admit that he LOVES Chrome. =3=