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 4

~~Controlling Dying will and Trainging.~~

Such peaceful days, where Decimo would be lulled into sleep by the sounds of his guardians sleeping just off to his side, where he had no worries other than his Spartan Arcobaleno tutor, or his crush on the girl in his class, I whole-heartedly wished -though I shouldn't have- that he could have spent more of his time worrying about these things… however, I knew those simple worries would come to a end quickly.

His days often went by like this before his training. Going to school, screaming, demanding someone re-think their decision in making him the candidate for Decimo of Vongola. I'd watch. I wouldn't see G or any of my other guardians. They stayed with Xanxus most of the time. They didn't believe in the young Decimo's ability, even Asari and Knuckle has started to lose faith by this time. Decimo had shown little, if any desire for the title, and even less proof of his strength and resolve. Of course I saw this resolve. I had all the faith in him my body could hold. I didn't know why though. Maybe it was that warmth I felt, that orange flame I had seen during out first meeting. Or maybe it was my selfish desires for my family. I didn't want it to fall into corruption, not again, not like it had so many times before.

As his battle for the right to run Vongola neared, his tension escalated. His training grew intense, and with everyday that passed I could feel his pain and his resolve. What amused me greatly about the Decimo were his reactions to something that was becoming greatly normal to him. When really I don't think he minded it at all, he is so much like his rain guardian; hiding behind the weak mask.

His screams still echo in my mind now, such ear splitting calls. They called his training something, 'controlling the dying will' I believe, that was when I realised I actually hadn't seen Decimo in a true fight. Another reason my guardians didn't take to Decimo well, they hadn't seen him in a real life-or-death fight before. Not that any of them actually wanted a child to be plunged into the sea of blood.

I remember him screaming at the boy named Basil, one of the members of Vongola's CEDEF. He kept insisting that he was going to die; even now I pale at how much of a wimp he was.

During the first attack by Basil, when Decimo was thrown into the solid wall behind him, it is an understatement to say I was shocked. Even I would have found the impact hard to get up from, so when Decimo's tutor only smirked -smirked- I was angry. I was furious, this Reborn character hadn't grown on me at all in the time I had watched Decimo, he was certainly talented, I would be lying if I didn't say he is probably the best Hitman of the time, however, I despised his ways of teaching, I especially didn't like the way he treated Decimo.

Of course what shocked me more, left me speechlessly gawking at my descendent was the fact he got back up, sat down, and complained about how it had hurt when he hit the wall. How can such a scrawny child, with very little pain tolerance, not pass out with shattered bones after hitting a solid stone wall? I questioned myself many times as I watched Decimo. I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I almost missed the exchange of bullets through Decimo's skull as his Dying will was ignited in the harshest way I had ever seen.

Of course, his dying will mode was, for lack of a better word, slightly disturbing, half-naked, and scrawny, the teen was fighting a cool, calm, and obviously experienced fighter with hyper-dying-will. I can't honestly say I wasn't worried one of these two -namely Decimo- was going to come out of this 'training' with loss of limb.

I was really stupid during my time watching Decimo. I was growing to like the boy, he was tenacious, his tutor made sure of that. I had no place to 'like' him, he was my descendent, that was all, just like all the eight others before him, it wasn't even my job to judge him, yet, like always, I broke the rules and judged him. Still, watching him get beaten black and blue by the young boy named Basil did set my teeth on edge. At the time I put it down to my distain for Decimo's weakness at such a critical time, not being able to control his dying will would one day kill his family, kill our family.

When I started calling Vongola 'our' family I don't really know. It was probably when I finally realised Decimo was trying to be different, trying to be a new type of boss. Maybe it was when he started progressing in his training, and I realised he was trying to protect his friends.

Decimo's father and his tutor were almost as curious to me as Decimo himself. It was a conversation they were having that most intrigued me, it sent my dulled hyper intuition into overdrive, I must admit, it gave me quite a headache.

"The hyper dying-will mode uses more of a person's spirit, so it's really important to be able to control it."

What they were saying was true, dying will being the most basic, animal instincts can only last five minutes, and blocks all instinct of self-preservations, it's fairly dangerous really, and the time limit helped no-one. However, hyper dying-will mode is more dangerous if not controlled properly, it is calm, and every piece of intellect, planning, strategy is combined with the raw physical power to make a deadly combination. Also, as long as it is controlled, it lasts much, much longer than simple dying will ever could.

"Besides, if he can't do that he won't be able to master that technique."

This is what piqued my inertest in the two men watching the boy get beaten. What was 'that technique'? Somehow it gave me a very, very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, as if one hundred bullets were rattling inside me. I knew Decimo was training, and I knew it was needed, but somehow, the fact that he had a certain technique to learn, the way the men spoke about it, it just made me want to run in front of Decimo and demand they give up on him becoming Vongola Decimo immediately.

Of course, Decimo wasn't the only one training; I learned later that his cloud guardian was also being 'trained' by a Vongola ally who was close to Decimo. Of course, you couldn't truly call it training when the aloof, fairly violent guardian didn't believe that's what it was.

He was irritated by the blonde boss' presence- that was obvious from his body-language. His will was strongest of all Decimo's guardians, if not for a reason different from the others'. However, this young Chiavarone boss seemed to know what he was doing, which was a blessing for Decimo, it seemed only an experienced sky knew how to capture and tame clouds.

Alaude has always had a certain distantness within our 'family', he's always despised Lampo's idiocy, and has hated Daemon even more, he hated the closeness of the family, and whenever we gathered he'd be the furthest from the activity, while keeping a certain closeness to me. However, when he started watching that boy with raven hair and eyes, who was proclaimed Decimo's cloud guardian, I saw a change in Alaude. He would tell me he wasn't interested, that he was simply 'gathering information' as he always did, though I knew my aloof cloud better.

"He is interesting. He could be strong if he weren't so weak."

He's wander between the rings; he didn't like the Varia's cloud guardian at all. "He never wears the ring." He'd told me. However, that wasn't the most threatening surprise, Alaude would send me messages when Decimo was in close proximity to his cloud that, of all the times the Varia's guardian actually did wear the ring, he couldn't get a reading on him, and that, he didn't like.

"There isn't a single piece of information I do not know, he's breaking the laws, and I shall arrest him."

Alaude's statement shook me; the fact that my cloud guardian, the leader of the information bureau, couldn't get a reading on the Varia's cloud guardian was worrisome to say the least.

Still, Alaude's attitude towards this Hibari Kyouya was interesting, I laugh at it now, he'd get this flash across his face, an instantaneous thing that even I didn't believe I saw, something no-one but I seemed to notice. The emotion was excitement. True, uncontrolled excitement and excitement in Alaude looked like a murderer sighting his next prey. He wanted to fight him. He truly wished he'd been born four hundred years later so he could have taken the tenth Vongola guardian of cloud on in a life-or-death battle.

Hibari Kyouya, one word to describe him is, indescribable. He is aloof, violent but also loyal beyond belief. Many people looked at him and scream in fear- Decimo being no exception- however, when Decimo needed him, or when his school was in danger, he was the first to attack. He certainly was someone to fear, he couldn't be told what to do, he did his own thing and didn't allow anyone to hold him down. I think he believed at first that his ring was tying him down, that if he wore the ring of Vongola on his finger he'd never be free. Though, over time, and experience with Decimo, I think he realised that Decimo would never bind him, that, as long as he did what was best for the 'famiglia' he would be free to do as he pleased. Hibari was, and still is today, the aloof cloud that cannot be caught, he wouldn't hesitate to strike down Decimo, or one of his enemies if they got in his way. He is a reckless fool who I believed would be the death of either Decimo in an attempt to save his cloud's life, or the famiglia in a thoughtless act of arrogance. His recklessness was to be feared, even when it was on your side. Untameable, unpredictable, like the clouds in the sky, very much like my guardian.

He was so much like my guardian, he even had this tenacity to make people angry with him, but where he could make anyone angry with a single word, he could make others laugh at the anger in the other.

"If you don't fight seriously. I'll throw away this ring."

He was unbelievable, almost the exact same line as my guardian, all those years ago when he decided to become the unchained cloud for the Vongola. Sometimes I wonder how the real sky holds the clouds in its grasp, never mind the mafia families who follow in the sky's examples.

As word of the other guardian's progress reached me I grew more and more convinced that Decimo's guardian's were in-fact our reincarnations, however, I also grew increasingly worried that their advancements both physically and mentally would end up throwing them off their initial path, and inevitable towards corruption. That their power, coming too soon, would end up bringing enemies to wipe them our quicker than they could recover. That was my fear when Decimo and his friends started gaining power, with power comes jealously and hate, these emotions would most likely drive enemy families to extremes, and I feared that Decimo's family would be wiped out before ever knowing what had happened.

But I didn't know Decimo at the time, I didn't know how advanced he was, how so thoroughly suited he was to be a sky. While he grew and his guardians grew he kept them in line, he pointed and poked them in the direction that he wanted and needed them to go. I didn't realise that Decimo was protecting his guardians even before he knew himself.

The sun guardian. He was so much like Knuckle used to be, before his accident in the ring where he killed his opponent that is. Knuckle was very much like Decimo's sun guardian. Very bright, like the sun. He would always smile, even when he was sad, his smile was certainly infectious. After his accident it wasn't so infectious. In-fact I worried for his sanity; he had always been such a happy, rambunctious person, very, very much like the sun guardian of Decimo. However, as soon as he used too much strength, and took the life of a worthy opponent, all his joy vanished and he became empty. It was terrifying; I had never seen him so black, so dark. It was like a solar eclipse, Knuckle wouldn't look at us, and even G was worried. Lampo made an effort to joke around with my Sun, yet, it didn't seem to work. So when he found his place in the kingdom of God I was beyond joyous. He got the sun back into his eyes, he was much happier than he had ever been before, and he was still willing to fight for me, even when it was against his ideals.

Decimo's sun guardian was very, enthusiastic, he was willing to learn anything, and he was good at it too. I can honestly say he wasn't the smartest of the group- that would have to be the guardian of storm- but he was one of the most loyal and willing to give up everything for Decimo.

"But I think I grabbed a hold of something… something that'll let me shoot a strong shot."

When I heard Knuckle comment on the sun's seriousness I scoffed it off. I had seen him a few times, and I knew he took things as a joke. He was an athlete, and I stuck to my first instinct that he was nothing more than a weak minded man who could only fight under the right situation, with rules. Battles have no rules. I made a mockery of him when I saw most of my guardians, he and the rain guardian too, that they were athletes. When Knuckle and even Ugetsu commented that I was being too harsh I shot down their excuses immediately.

"When you were an athlete Knuckle, things were different, we still had wars and fighting, these children have grown up safely, their sports are simply ways to exercise, in a real fight they'd lose their lives."

However, Knuckle implored me to watch his training, and I saw how serious the sun guardian, Ryohei, could become. When he finally grasped the control of his newest movement, and his face relaxed, his eyes shone with a resolve equal to Decimo's, he was a collected body of energy, he didn't yell, or scream, he spoke normally, and for some reason, that made me shiver with fear that I'd have to face him one day.

I was taken aback by two things. The first was Knuckle. He was never usually one to implore anything of me. He was a man of simple pleasures, he was happy at my side; I don't think I had ever seen him with such a look in his eyes. He was desperate for me to give the sun guardian a chance. So I did. And I must say I wasn't disappointed. The young man was going to make something great of himself one day, I wish I could apologize to him, though I still think he is only a very strong athlete, he earned enough of my respect to realise how serious he was about being Decimo's guardian. The second thing was the guardian of sun Decimo has chosen. He was an amazing young man, he was an idiota, a complete fool, it would take multiple tries, from insurmountable angles for him to understand the simplest strategy, yet, he was the most willing to die for his virtues. He learned quickly under the regime of 'practical learning' and was soon as versed in combat as the natural killer hidden in the rain was. He shocked me with his resolve. It is as simple as that.

However, my joy, though I never admitted it at the time, for Decimo's guardians' growth was short lived. I often checked up on Xanxas, at the time I has convinced myself it was to judge both candidates fairly, now I know it was because I truly worried for Decimo's death. At the time Decimo and his guardians were preparing, Xanxas and his guardians were too, they were preparing for the worst case scenario.

Xanxas and his family were preparing to obliterate Decimo's guardians, therefore guaranteeing their places as Vongola's tenth generation.