Title: On the road side

Summary: Kyoko Sasagawa was like a flower on the road side. Everyone could see her, but no one cared enough to stop for a while and appreciate its beauty. Rokudo Mukuro, however, didn't mind being the only one that did. 6995 with mentions of other pairings here and there. TYL setting.

Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn or any of its character.

AN: Uuuhm…For those who've read my fanfic "Smile, Smile", you could think of this chapter as the prequel, and the next chapter(s) as the sequel. *slapped* E-even so, you don't need to read the other fanfic first to understand this one. :)

Chapter 1 : Found

[One time I found a flower on the road side. Whoever planted it, no one wonder.]

That day was not the first time Rokudo Mukuro saw her.

A red haired woman was walking aimlessly, shying away from the crowd and kept walking on the road side. She carefully avoided a group of laughing teenagers, and staying away from flirting couples. Just from the way she walked, it was clear to him that she didn't want to be noticed. But he did anyway. Because he didn't care about how she felt.

That day was not the first time he saw Kyoko Sasagawa.

He did use her as a tool to threaten the Tenth Vongola's boss once, after all. But he wasn't interested in her. A tool was a tool, it had to be thrown after it served its purpose, otherwise they'd pile up after a while. He didn't even know what prompted him to look at her way that day.

It couldn't be the way she dressed, because she was dressed just like how she usually did. Was it the hair, then? No, it was still that same hair do, nothing special. It might be because she was the only familiar face in that place. It might also be the wind, forcing him to look her way for the sake of avoiding dusts flying into his eyes. It might also be something else, something completely different. Something like fate.

Not that he cared, thought.

And it definitely was not a caring gesture when he decided to follow her. Not because he cared for her enough to make sure she was safe. It was boredom that beckoned him to do so.

That day was not the first time he saw her.

Ever since Chrome stayed at the Sasagawa's place, he'd seen her for more times than he cared to. Every time he needed to see the eye-patched girl, he would run into the red-haired one instead. Still with the same smile, the same style, the same pretty face that slowly turned into that of an adult.

He once wondered why she was still alive. After all, her live was ruined ever since she was indirectly involved in the mafia business. In this hard world, what was her purpose? Even the man who once loved her, the man – that somehow Mukuro knew, through the gossips passing from this person and that person—who she once loved was gone, choosing to marry another woman within the next two days. What could be her reasons to stay in this messed up world?

This definitely was not the first time he saw her.

Mukuro stopped walking as he saw the girl stopping before a bunch of flowers. The petals were starting to wither, and the –probably once vibrant—color was dirtied by dust and smoke that it gained from the vehicles that passed on the road. Being surrounded by the equally dying bushes, it was almost pitiful, for those who cared.

Carefully hiding himself behind his own illusion, he watched as she bent down toward the plants that he didn't even realized exist before that day. He quirked an eyebrow as he saw her mouth opened and moved, and ended with a smile gracing her face. Mukuro was not an expert in reading someone's mouth movement. But he somehow knew what that was about.

"Stay strong," she whispered, "it's alright," she added, "surely, there're reasons for us to exist." She finished with a smile.

That act might be her way to calm herself, Mukuro thought. Because he could see it from her eyes, the look that surface on one's eyes only when they're troubled. He seriously didn't think he would be surprised if she committed suicide.

That day was not the first time Rokudo Mukuro saw Kyoko Sasagawa.

They were alike, Mukuro thought. Kyoko Sasagawa and that flower, he decided, were the same. Both were living, staying on the side, watching as the world spun. Both existed, trying to make the world better by simply being there. Both kept their silence as the world threw dusts and dirt their way. Both were trying to be strong in their own way, while fighting against the harsh wind in their own unique style.

Kyoko Sasagawa was like a flower on the road side. Everyone could see both her and that flower, but no one cared enough to stop for a while and appreciate their beauty. And both were pitiful, enough for him to keep watching over them.

That day was the first time he noticed her. The first time he noticed she existed.

That day was when he found her.

The woman started walking, leaving those flowers. No one saw, and no one cared. The man, however, didn't mind being the only one that did. He saw, and he started to care. Because he was not 'everyone else'. He was Rokudo Mukuro.

He was the one who found her.

His illusion dissolved, and he mingled with the other passerby. He walked faster, tailing the woman. His long feet made it easier to do and by the count of seconds he was already behind her.

"Kyoko Sasagawa," He called, making the woman a few steps away stopped in her track and turned to face him.

He didn't know what prompted him to look at her way that day. He didn't know what made him followed her. He also didn't know what he wanted to achieve by calling out for her.

And he didn't even care.

The woman turned to face him. A look of surprise was drawn on her face, taking over the clouded and gloomy expression that previously resided there . She waited for him to reach her, and smiled out of politeness. Mukuro knew she was wondering about what he possibly wanted from her. That knowledge somehow made the man smirked slightly.

"I found you, Kyoko Sasagawa." He said, his smirk widened as he detected the confusion on the woman's face. From gloomy, to surprised, and to confused. Mukuro found a new feeling akin to enjoyment as he continued looking at the different expressions that she showed him. His smirk fell as the woman started giggling.

"You're a weird person, Rokudo Mukuro-san." She replied, and he could see the trace of sadness in her eyes was covered quickly, expertly. "Well, you did, I guess." She continued and smiled brightly.

And as their walking pace somehow fell into a rhythm, he could only wonder if that day was also the day when she found him. But he didn't care enough to continue wondering about that.

They might've had found each other.

[How pitiful it is, I'll pick it up, before it wither.]

(*_*_*)

AN: Auuh….I started this before the latest chapter of KHR was out. And as happy as I could be from seeing both Kyoko and Haru on the colored cover, I was afraid that Tsuna would choose Kyoko, because then my hope for it to be 6995 would be crushed. ;A;

Btw, the word in […] was the translated version of an Indonesian song called "Bunga di tepi jalan (Flower on the road side)" by Sheila on 7, which I also didn't own.

Please do forgive the grammatical error, and the ooc-ness of the characters. Review, please? :3