Update as of [12/16/2012] – I suggest that EVERYONE rereads this because I've decided to completely revise this series.

"Tsuna and his guardians speaking" – also manga scenses.

"Giotto and his guardians speaking."

Chapter 3

~~Decimo's Intuition.~~

After the first few days of being forced to wear me around his neck, the slender Decimo wore me hidden under his white shirt. The thick chain was cold, colder than it should have been. I swung as he strode shakily around to his classes, and to his school. It was a different experience than I had had with the other descendents of mine. Decimo was young, fifteen when he inherited me. Meaning he was a middle school student? So I was able to follow him around school, which was very curious indeed.

When Decimo was around his guardians, I would watch from his ring. I was always warm when I was around his guardians. The chain, so cold and steeled against the happiness of Decimo would warm instantly, like the sky opening up after a storm, just like the clean feeling after it rains. That could have been because I was suspended from the silver chain links that hung by his heart, or because I was closer to my own family when the rings came together. But I felt warmth hotter than the sun.

"Juudaime!"

"Tsuna!"

"Gokudera-Kun, Yamamoto! O haiyou!" he'd call to his two closest guardians.

He'd light up so much when he spied his two friends. No matter how cold, how angry, how sad, how scared he was his two friends being there helped him. My guardians believed I was exaggerating when I told them how the Decimo reacted to his guardians, but it was true, just seeing their faces made Decimo happy, it made him feel something he hadn't felt since the appearance of a certain tutor; he felt safety.

For some reason though, I'd feel an equally cold, dense rush over Decimo when his guardian's approached him hidden in the warmth. This interested me greatly. The warmth had such a shadow to it. As if Alaude had swept by, or as if Daemon had walked over my grave. That was the sensation I got when the initial warmth was lost.

Later I think I categorized this cold rush as worry, or maybe it's more suitable to call it a foreboding. Decimo loved his friends, even if he would not admit it, to know they wore their rings- with pride at that- and knew they were willing to play this 'game' with him made him inherently worried. He knew one day he would be the reason his guardians never saw another blue sky.

For the oddest reason this made me frown, or as Knuckle would tell me 'extremely pouty'. I felt like a child who had just been told he wasn't allowed something or had his newest toy taken away. I felt scolded, which was such a strange sensation for me, and it was all caused by the strange child called 'Decimo'.

During the day I could manifest. However, I could only manifest if I stayed extremely close to Decimo. So I did. As I did I realised just how similar to me he was. It's curious really. I also saw many similarities in Decimo's rain guardian as my own. Asari agreed with this too.

"Well they do call the tenth generation our reincarnations Primo. Of course we'd be similar." Asari would laugh at me when we finally did see each other during the rare instances our counterparts were close.

My meetings with my guardians during days such as these were brief. Asari, and occasionally Knuckle would stay with their Decimo counterparts, however, most of my guardian's chose to reside in the rings of their Varia counterparts, most believed until the very end that Decimo's friends were trash to the Vongola name. So when I did catch a glimpse of Asari, it would be a single, fleeting instant where our thoughts, our feelings, and our fears would overlap and we'd speak, without uttering a single word.

Asari had always been the tranquility to our family. I suppose, when I think about it, I gave each of my guardians their elements because of these personalities. It only happens that Decimo's guardians were the first people to truly personify these original ideals of mine. Asari always calmed us down, he kept Alaude and Daemon from killing each other in their minutely squabbles, and kept Knuckle from joining in the 'EXTREME sparring matches' the two guardians put on. Decimo's rain guardian was no different.

"Ma Ma Alaude, put the cuffs away. Daemon, don't you think the snakes are a little over played? Try something else." Asari would laugh to them. He'd sling his robed arms over their shoulders with the widest grin on his face. Of course, in his hands his blades would replace his flute, and I was sure that every time his arms slung over their shoulders, Alaude and Daemon would shiver as they glimpsed the true nature of the rain behind Asari's blue, chromatic eyes.

Decimo always grew warm as his right, and left-hand men appeared in the morning -every morning- and he would grown glacially cold, worried, sick to his core as he saw them wearing their half-Vongola rings.

Even if it were quick, hidden behind his shout of ear-splitting protest, I sensed anger. I felt a true hate for the family who were dragging both himself, and his friends into the blood-soaked world that none of them had any business being in. That anger, that true loathing, actually made me worry for the nature of the Decimo. Hate was always more powerful than any pure emotion.

"Maa maa Gokudera. I was only greeting Tsuna." the rain guardian would hum at the guardian of storm.

"That's the problem yakyu-baka! You address Juudaime too informally!"

These daily, completely normal conversations would happen whenever the three pillars of the Decimo family gathered together. Of course. As much as G would hate to admit, he shared many 'charming' qualities with the tenth guardian of storm. As we soon learned, many more than we first expected.

It was during these first few days that I truly saw changes taking place in the 'Dame-Tsuna' and his first guardian, a change that, to an outsider, maybe even to the rain guardian, would seem like a single grain of sand on a beach. However, to G and I it was as substantial as the water to the sea.

Out of all of the guardians that Decimo had started to gather, and even once he had gathered them all, Gokudera Hayato was our greatest fear. Reckless, juvenile, ignorant, arrogant; his main traits were those that no one could ignore, they described him for all the wrong reasons.

Of course, being me, I chalked storm's attitudes, and his… way with words… to the fact that he was young, my guardians on the other hand left it down to his mongrel blood and his pride that didn't allow him to learn.

Decimo would watch his storm closely. His rain wasn't a problem; he knew he would be safe, he knew he was extremely strong. Even with his Hyper intuition in its infancy, Decimo felt that he had to protect the storm brewing in his care. Rain cleansed the sky. Storm could destroy it all.

Gokudera worried him. Whenever he declared his dying loyalty to Decimo, whenever he bowed to him in the morning, Decimo's hands would become clammy, his eye brows would furrow- even if it was internally- and his heart would grip painfully in his young chest. Such a pain, I knew it well. It was the pain, the understanding, that before you was someone willing to die for the sake of your life continuing. For someone yet to be fifteen, the burden must have been excruciating.

One day, not long before the true battles were to begin, was the day Decimo actually believed he would lose his newest friend; his trusted guardian. It was the day his heart tried to rip from his ribs, and the flames of Dying will he- at that time- barely knew burned with some of the strongest, purest resolve he has yet to experience.

What I find laughable is how much of an idiota the storm guardian was, his ignorance only proved to aggravate both G and I, Decimo was another story. He watched his guardian, hidden in the canopy of trees, and restricted by the arms of his guardian's teacher.

"Guys like him who can't improve should be left alone"

Those words, those simple words 'be left alone' made Decimo angry. An anger I hadn't felt in him, he was actually… disappointed with Gokudera's teacher. He watched from the forest, I watched from over his shoulder. His hands clamped shut, his knuckles paling as his grip grew tighter, and tighter still. His teeth grinding together, creaking under the forceful strain of his jaw as he watched his friend stagger around half killed by his own ammunition.

I leant against one of the many trees surrounding Decimo. Manifested from his strong emotions, I started to feel my old intuition through the young child before me. He was such a curiosity; I wanted to know what he was feeling. I wanted to see how strong, how pure his resolve truly was. Alas, I had to wait, the agonizing, useless wait.

"Primo, you are getting too attached. You must be unbiased. You are becoming soft!" G appeared next to me.

That surprised me almost as much as Decimo did. Gokudera was on the opposite side of the clearing, it shouldn't have been possible. For G to appear next to me, nonchalantly leaning on a tree, would take vast amounts of energy. As I was about to protest against my storm's appearance he pointed, half-heartedly to Decimo. G's face was both uninterested, but also smug.

"This child?" I questioned not quite believing my storms silent statement.

"This idiota child might be promising after all. His emotions towards that idiota over there have pulled me towards you." G scoffed.

A smile pulled at my lips. G looked at me with a shocked expression at the pure exhilaration on my face; luckily I was able to hide the pride seeping onto my expression. For Decimo to pull one of my guardians through his own ring from another takes two things; one is an incredible amount of resolve, second is an indestructible, trusting bond between himself and said guardian.

"Why do you keep turning down Gokudera-kun? You already came all the way here…"

Decimo's anger finally exploded from him in a way that made me want to slap myself, he sounded desperate, scared, maybe even on the verge of tears. I had hoped with my entire being that Decimo would have screamed, that he would have used that anger -that disappointment- and made it his power. That way he wouldn't be weak. If he had just used that anger I would have been assured he would make a good leader for our family.

"I'm not so sure that would be true." this time G interrupted my loose thoughts, when I spoke to Asari about them when I saw him again, he completely agreed with G; truly a rare occurrence.

"What do you mean G? If he used that anger he could have strengthened himself!" I exclaimed at my guardian incredulously. How could he say it wasn't true? Looking at the Secondo it was easy to see the strength of Rage.

"Giotto, think back to Secondo, and Xanxas…that young boy wouldn't be able to handle it if he used his hatred as power… you should know that! Hatred only destroys the heart faster. How could you want that for your descendent?" of course G was right.

I was appalled at my own behaviour. I was becoming anxious over the actions of the young boy who seemed so unworthy for position as Mafia leader, yet who at the same time, had all the makings for the greatest leader yet.

"Ahh… Watch out!"

That yell shocked me to say the least. I wouldn't have been too shocked to hear something along the lines of a shrill, ear-splitting 'Hiiiiiiie' from my infant-like descendent, but an actual warning to his guardian wasn't something I was prepared for. I turned from G, who was also staring incredulously at the brunette boy before us, my azure eyes watched as his face contorted.

Pain. Excruciating, heartbreaking, tear-jerking, and I don't just mean for Decimo. I watched on as the smoke and fire lifted towards the sky, then back at the Decimo whose face paled in such a fearful glaze that I wanted to do something for him. In that instant I felt colder than I ever had before. It made me grip my chest in fear my heart would break. Decimo truly cherished his guardian. Taken back I watched on as Decimo fought to keep himself in place, thought he didn't trust the man before him in the least, he obviously trusted his guardian. Though, in the eerie light of the explosion, as the red and yellow furious light washed over the foliage, a thin sheen of fearful sweat brimmed on Decimo's entire body. His ring glinted with a sadness that even affected the ever controlled G to my right.

"How can a man protect another if he cannot protect himself?"

Those words made Decimo flinch. His eyes were slightly dulled with the pain but glinted with hope, and something else. Something I couldn't really understand.

Decimo's eyes lifted and searched the black, thick smoke for his guardian only to find him on the floor- in a hole- more specifically with a member of Vongola; Decimo's father.

Decimo grew outwardly confused; it masked his hope for an instant, but as he spied the silver haired bomber in the hole, his face contorted in grief, his eyes widened and his heart picked up its regular pace. In an instant I felt that same warm flicker of the boy we first met. For an instant I had hope for the continuation, and restoration of my family.

"What I couldn't see… was my own life?"

That was when I truly saw the change. G scoffed, a prided scoff, he looked at the idiota and smiled a smile that suited his scarred, tattooed face the fool finally saw the truth. G's crimson eyes watched me as he walked back towards his counterpart and disappeared back into his ring.

"He's thinking about Decimo." that made me smile.

Decimo ran towards his guardian, tears again pricked in his chocolate eyes. He knelt by his side and I could feel the relief rolling off his shoulders, his ever muscle twitched with the jumping of sobs he wanted to release. "You idiot, Gokudera, what would I have done if you had died. You Idiot!" that is what Decimo wanted to do, he wanted to scream at the storm guardian, he wanted to cuss and cry. He didn't, he held it in for the sake of the 'new' guardian.

That was the first time I had truly seen the 'dying will' in Hayato the bomber's eyes; a clear, burning, red shadow that shimmered and passed over his hues of green quickly. To those unfamiliar with the flicker, especially to Decimo, it was unnoticeable. However, I knew Gokudera was getting serious. His first thought after his realisation of his idiocy, was Decimo. He completely realised, even if only for an instant, Gokudera Hayato realised how much suffering he had put his boss through because of his recklessness.

In the time I had watch Decimo and his gang of friends, I had seen Gokudera Hayato the bomber, become very serious only twice. Both those time, I actually feared for those poor, incompetent fools who received the glaring green orbs that seemed the writhe and thrash with the oncoming cyclone. Gokudera was dangerous, unruly, and unpredictable. He was a storm of information and tactics, yet of kindness and compassion. He was like a switch, he would sense true danger and change, for his friend, for Decimo he would become the Mafioso so many of my guardians doubted he would ever become.

An instant. That was all he needed, an instant, and his enemies would be no more. His mind was complex, it was muddled; it was perfectly organized. Yet, at such a juvenile age, Decimo completely understood it; I think he even understood it better than its owner. Decimo acted distraught and useless; a 'brat inutile' G endlessly called him. Yet, I've always had a feeling that was because he knew he could be distraught and useless. Gokudera was there, the organized storm -Decimo's G- and Decimo knew, even if it was subconsciously, that he would be safe at the mercy of his storm.

Those days before their true battles, where they'd walk to class together- Decimo and his guardians- I truly enjoyed such days. Simple pleasures are said to breed from simple minds, however, not even Daemon had ever been able to decipher my thoughts, so could I really be called simple minded, even though I enjoyed simply watching over Decimo? I certainly had trouble even scratching the surface of Decimo's complicated workings, so does that make him simple minded?

On these peaceful, somewhat nostalgic days, I'd follow the three pillars of Vongola Decimo. They didn't know this obviously, it would defeat the purpose of my scouting if Decimo noticed me. Which was my only fear. His Hyper intuition was terrifying. Even if he had yet to learn of it, he would wake on a morning that I had visited, and his thin brow would furrow in faint worry. He knew I had been there, the fact he hadn't woken up seemed to worry him more than my actual presence in the room. But a quick kick from his tutor all but silenced the young Vongola into his usual, late-morning routine. On morning where I'd follow the Decimo and his young guardians around their school, I'd listen to them talking and Decimo would ask his guardians serious questions when no-one was around.

I can't lie to anyone; I cannot truthfully say "Decimo's worry for his guardians' wellbeing was promising". I cannot honestly say that seeing his brow furrow, and his eyes plead made me a very happy leader, because it only made me fear and worry more. Such a fear didn't make me shake with anticipation; it didn't twist my stomach with butterflies, and didn't make me tremble with honest excitement. It made me fear for the destruction of my family. Weak hearts lead to weak minds, and eventually lead to weak bonds therefore leading to the death of loved ones.

"Are you two really ok?" Decimo would ask his storm and rain. Everyday he'd ask them, even if they hadn't fought the night before. I chalked it down to his hyper intuition. Asari and Knuckles laughed at me.

"Maa maa. Have some faith in our descendent Primo." Asari was one of the guardians who lost his faith in Decimo's guardian's long after everyone else did.

"He's right primo. Decimo and his guardian's are truly one unit!" knuckle was another of my guardian's whose opinion of Decimo was higher than G's.

Naturally, G's opinion of my two guardian's, because of their false hope wasn't exactly the highest. "Idioti totali," he'd call them after a declaration of their trust in their 'reincarnations'.

"Of course we are Juudaime. Why wouldn't we be?" his storm guardian would ask with honest confusion at his boss' questions.

"Yeah Tsuna, I haven't been better."

Decimo would take their answers, but his fist would clench around his ring and his emotions proved he knew his guardians better than they thought. His raw hatred for me and my guardian's shook me. Though, I suppose 'hatred' was the wrong word. He didn't 'hate' us, no; Decimo was incapable of such sinful, black feelings. He certainly disliked us; however, he disliked even more the way his friends' lives were being uprooted for his sake. So when his friends denied that anything was wrong, when his rain guardian, Yamamoto, put up his fake smile, Decimo couldn't help but come close to true hatred. He's seen that grin before, when he'd see Yamamoto with the other popular people in the school, he knew even then, when he had never truly talked with the boy that it was fakery for tricking people into liking him. A trait Decimo had always wished he had.

Asari was similar when we weren't trapped in our rings, and even now he stays true to this nature, he gave up many things for me, his life, his traditions, his cherished emotions. So, whenever I felt there was something wrong, all his walls would fly up and he'd smile, laugh, and play my favourite song on a flute I had bought for him many years ago; all of this just to protect me. This aspect of him made me smile, and curse his good-tempered nature; he didn't deserve to have been dragged into my 'mafia game' and despite his natural born promise -which reflects in Decimo's guardian- his place wasn't truly at my side.

During the days leading up to their battles, and their training, the two guardians closest to Decimo staying over his house in the evening grew more and more frequent, meaning my guardians and I had time to catch up, not that G enjoyed sharing his space with the brash storm guardian.

"Primo, I'm worried about these children." Asari was usually the first one to speak, yet, it wasn't in his usual, happy-go-lucky tone. It was with a cold, glacially frozen tone that was misplaced on his tongue.

"As am I Asari… Yet,"

"Yet, you have such hope for them. You can see ourselves in them." G interrupted me as I spoke. His usually cold eyes were warmer than before. "But remember primo, they are children you may see yourself in that young boy, but he is many years younger than you were…"

"I know G, and that is exactly the problem!" I would pace the boy's room in between his sleeping guardians. That was the problem, they were so similar to us, yet, they were so very, very different also.

Decimo had such warm eyes, he had been raised a good life. Yet, he held the same values as my guardians and I held- he was willing to give up everything for the lives of his friends. Everything.

"Maa maa, G. Think about it for a moment, they may be children right now… but you remember that flame we saw when we first met Decimo." Asari looked on as his counterpart rolled over and mumbles incoherent words in my sleep, his hard eyes traveled to Decimo, who was sleeping less than peacefully and they softened into pity.

"I remember well Asari Ugetsu. You don't need to remind me. His flames, his flames gave me hope. They gave me warmth I haven't felt in a long, long time."