Chapter 9 Not Worthy?

Russian Airspace

Onboard the private jet of the Giegue Settimo, one can find Mukuro on the phone with Chrome. "I see. Then the inheritance observation is starting?"

"Yes. It would seem that the Sentinella agents had been prepared to be the hosts of the first generation, which might be the reason why they fell unconscious for seven days. Six for Daemon-san," Chrome explained on the other line. "Have you made any progress?"

Mukuro heaved a sigh and looked out the window of the private jet, "No progress yet. We just got to the Russian Airspace, not to mention, we received a large setback,"

"What kind of large setback?"

"The annoying kind. It seems that Don Alexei has told Mother to attend an important gala first before we depart for Europe. But he assured that he has men across Europe collaborating with Sentinella to find Daemon," Mukuro informed. "Fortunately, Mother is itching to rub her Lady Giegue Settimo title in front of Don Alexei's mistress, so she'll be enjoying herself before searching for Daemon,"

At that, Chrome sighed. Their mother was a secret vindictive woman, which is mostly targeted on the mistress of her husband. Had it not been for her, however, then a future Ottavo might not have been born. So she at least had a measure of tolerance towards the woman. "Will mother be alright?"

"Oh she will. I only worry for the mistress though. She's been flaunting her son all over the allies, and had been spreading rumors of divorce between Mother and Don Alexei. It's clearly irritating," Mukuro stated. "Well then, might as well tell mother that I need to be back there immediately,"

"Wait a minute Mukuro-sama!" Mukuro was undeniably surprised at her outburst. "I think it might be wise to stay there. If the others are the hosts of the other guardians, then there is a possibility that Daemon-san is possessed by the First Mist Guardian,"

Mukuro frowned. "The traitor guardian…" he then shrugged. "Well, traitor as he may be, he's not a traitor to the family, but only to the first generation. Looking at it, he's not much of a bad guy," he commented.

"Not as bad as you were?" Chrome teased.

A smile graced his lips, "Oya, is my Chrome teasing me?"

Chrome giggled. "Not much." Mukuro heard some shuffling, "I have to go now. If Daemon-san is somewhere, we have to reinforce the security in the house."

"Of course. I'll see you soon." Mukuro said before he hung up the phone. He sighed as he turned back to the dressing room where his mother was throwing a pile of dresses through the door.

Namimori Mountain, Namimori, Japan

In one of the clearings of Namimori Mountain, two orange blurs were exchanging blow after blow. Not one was relenting, as the two figures fought with their orange flames in order to take one out.

These two figures were Sawada Tsunarumi and Sawada Natsuki.

Natsuki was having a hard time in keeping up with his sister who has more stamina than she could use. Her blows were powerful, and she was only using her gloves that were of the same material as Natsuki. His gloves were made from and by Leon, but he wonders where Tsuna got her own gloves that can withstand the Dying Will Flames that powerful. But he had to give up finding out, lest he put down his guard and risk being killed by his own sister.

Their spar ended when Tsuna managed to land him an uppercut, sending Natsuki to the other side of the area.

"Ow…" Natsuki said as his flames died down.

Tsuna towered over her brother and offered a hand, "I'm impressed. You improved this much in two months since fighting you,"

"You do realize that I didn't actually fight the real you, right?" Natsuki replied as he took the hand and stood up.

"Nonsense. You gave me a run for my money earlier than any of my past opponents. That counts for something," she commented. "Now, what's next on the list…" Tsuna said as she fished out Reborn's list. "Ah, guess there's nothing more for today,"

Natsuki huffed, running to his backpack that was hanging from one of the trees, "Glad to know. We've been up since five in the morning doing all kinds of outrageous things that Reborn could only cook up," he said as he took out his change of clothing.

Tsuna laughed and joined her brother, "Well, training you as hard as he can is a way that your tutor really is determined to make you stronger,"

Natsuki thought deeply at her statement as he placed his clean shirt on. "Do you think…I'm strong enough?"

Tsuna was taken aback by his question. Normally, Natsuki would just take it in a stride, but she guessed that ever since she had exposed herself to them, Natsuki had been questioning his own worth as the Vongola Decimo. Reminds her of someone she knew very well.

"You know, you sound like Sawada Tsunayoshi," she mused.

At the declaration of the name of his sister's alternate self, he blanched. "What? Isn't it…you know, impossible for you to meet your other self?"

"It is," Tsuna admitted. "But someone gave me an insight of what he is." She looked up at the sky, "He is the sky that accepts all, and understands them. The other elements lay down their lives to protect him and the people he cares about," she said with a small smile. "But before all of that, he was a No-Good student who always thinks that he is not strong enough to protect those he wanted to protect. But in the end, he finds the strength to do it, and in turn, made him a good person."

"Did he ever accept being a mafia boss?" Natsuki dared ask.

He was surprised when Tsuna laughed, "Ha! He refused the title until he was in college. In the end, he still became the heir apparent of the Vongola, taking up the mantle at age twenty-six,"

Natsuki knew at the back of his mind that there are things that his sister was privy to. But to share what she knew of her other self was something else. Remembering the two Lambos of different worlds where he didn't exist, it made him feel a little uneasy again. If he hadn't been born, then his guardians would have followed Tsuna instead.

But that leaves the question on whether Sentinella existed or not. It had been gnawing on his mind. Had Tsuna been chosen as the Vongola Decimo, would she still be noticed by the former Regina, Anna? Or had she not been chosen, would it be possible for her to live as an ignorant civilian had Sentinella not existed?

The possibilities were endless.

He sighed in contemplation. Whatever goes on in his sister's life right now, Natsuki didn't want to know all at once.

Reborn had told him once before that Sentinella doesn't just consist of spies good in hiding their appearance and knowledge. They were also hitmen. Just like the Sun Arcobaleno. Hitmen who would do anything to accomplish their jobs, and erase those who needs to be erased, even if it means getting rid of a former client or a family member.

He was afraid of the day when someone in Sentinella deems him unworthy to live, and he would be killed by his own sister's men.

"Nee-san, do you think I have what it takes to become the Decimo?" he asked. Instead of being given an answer, he was whacked on the head. Hard. "Ow!"

Tsuna frowned as she stood in front of Natsuki, angry eyes on the ready, making him flinch. She's never done that before. "Listen here you idiot. You stop thinking about that right this instant! If you think I acknowledged you as the Ventesima Regina has been biased, then you are wrong." She said. "What happened to your head all of a sudden?"

"What? Nothing!"

"Don't 'nothing' me young man. When did you assume that you are not worthy of becoming the Decimo all of a sudden? Because of you learning that I was one in another world?" she questioned.

Natsuki looked away in shame, prompting Tsuna to guess she was right. She sighed in exasperation. "Natsuki. Listen to me." She said, "Learning things from another world is not supposed to enlarge your self-doubt. It was supposed to make you into an even better Vongola Decimo. So what if my male self was the Decimo in that world? What difference does it make? Ninth chose you for a reason, and I was bypassed for a reason. I told you this before. Even if I was chosen, I still wouldn't want to be the boss of a family that our father valued more than us." Facing him at eye level, Tsuna poked his forehead, "And you were chosen to become the mafia boss that everyone will fear and respect. I just know it. With Reborn at your side, there is nothing in this world that you can't accomplish."

Natsuki found himself believing in her words, and somehow felt something inside him stir…

And then he noticed his ring glow.

The twins looked at the Vongola ring with interest as the ring spat out a tiny sky flame. It landed on the floor and quickly got bigger, until it formed the astral projection of Vongola Primo.

"Primo." Natsuki addressed.

"It's time for your own trial, Vongola Decimo."

The blond's eyes widened, "What? But I thought I was going last,"

Primo simply smiled, "Do not fret. This test will last as long as your guardians are still under the testing of mine. And it might help you gain insight on what it means to become the Vongola Decimo." He stated. "Find the secret of our generation, and bring back what was once lost in its history…"

Just as fast as he appeared, he was once more engulfed in flames and disappeared.

Tsuna whistled as she looked at the now empty spot, "Any idea what he meant?" she asked him.

Natsuki nodded. The moment Primo mentioned the secret of the first generation, he knew immediately what he needed to do. "A history lesson and investigation." Natsuki stated. "The Vongola Primo and his guardians retired in their prime because of a circumstance that got his cousin, the Secondo, to gain the title of Vongola. Rumors have escalated regarding it, and no one is certain which is true." He stated.

In all his years in Italy, Reborn had all but drilled in all the history and rumors regarding every Vongola Boss that ever lived, including the Ninth himself. At least Natsuki actually liked the mystery of the history of the Vongola. The First Generation has always been a mystery that he would do anything to solve, especially now when he has a reason to figure it out without the risk of being reprimanded. The least he could do was to prevent outsiders from finding out.

Taking out his phone, he dialed an Italian number and waited for an answer. Four rings later, it was answered.

"Buon Giorno, Signorino Sawada," a gruff voice answered in Italian on the other line.

Natsuki frowned at the address. He really despised being called that, especially by the youngest guardian of the Ninth. "Ganauche. Do you still have the soft copy of the books that my father banned me from reading?" he asked.

"Oh? Defying your old man finally, Natsuki?" Ganauche asked with amusement.

"If you're going to say something else, then I might as well turn to Visconti instead. He is the one with the most intel in your group." He threatened. Ganauche always harbored some sort of complex regarding the Cloud Guardian. Both he and Visconti were the Ninth's source of information during their prime, and it was no secret that Ganauche always tries to one-up his senior guardian. As the youngest, that could really rile someone up.

"Ha, you won't be able to threaten me with that when that's concerned. Visconti and I have been researching the Vongola history for years, and we still barely scratched the surface of Primo." He informed rather smugly.

"Glad you got along in one aspect of your one-sided competition." Natsuki teased.

"Watch it brat. Do you want me to send it to you via email or courier?" Ganauche asked, all the while, Natsuki could hear some papers rustling. Must be the mountain of never ending paperwork.

"Anything that can be sent via email and anything that can be sent via courier."

"Both then. I'll tell Visconti in case he goes ballistic when he sees some of his books gone from his personal stash." Natsuki winced. The last time something went missing from Visconti's book collection, he nearly flipped the entire castle upside down until Coyote confessed in taking one of them for some light reading. Suffice to say, the training room was pretty much trashed afterwards.

"Thanks. When can I expect it?"

"At the latest? Tomorrow afternoon, and it will be at your front door."

"Alright. Thank you Ganauche."

"Anything for the Young Master."

With a scowl at the teasing addresses, he hung up. He turned back to his sister who was browsing at her own phone while waiting for him. "So?" Tsuna asked, not turning away from her screen. "How did it go?"

Natsuki kept his phone, "At the latest, I can get what I need by tomorrow afternoon to begin my research," he stated as he grabbed his bag to get out of the mountain. "Let's go,"

Tsuna watched as Natsuki left the clearing. She heaved an exasperated sigh as she grabbed her own bag and looked at him, "Not worthy? I don't know if he's clueless or just plain stupid. Not worthy of becoming the Decimo? He clearly doesn't understand what he's capable of doing…" she said as she walked to catch up to his clueless little brother.

'He has the allegiance and support of the Ninth Thunder and Cloud Guardians regarding his current endeavor, and saying the right words to please them. He also has the necessary sources of reliable information in his arsenal with them. I don't know what he does to assess himself and conclude that he is unworthy, but he is more than capable of becoming the Vongola Decimo. Don't you agree, Primo?' she thought.

'I couldn't agree more, Ventesima.'

TBC

Again, one of the shortest chapters in this story.

I'm sorry for my rash behavior last month guys. I've been quite confused with where I'm going with this fic, added to the personal stress I had, and the sudden springing of my plot bunny of 'I'll Be Here When You Need Me.'

This will be updated less frequent as the fic I mentioned, but rest assured, I will finish this even if I can only manage two thousand words per chapter. I'm still constructing the scenes, but please be patient!