Previously...

Lal and Colonnello teach Tsuna how to use weapons. A week later, the Rain Guardian and Decimo are in Decimo's office when five intruders attack...

(I copied a bit of the last chapter onto this one so it won't be as disjointed)


"It's weird," Decimo said, "Giotto told you he never shot a gun in his life." Decimo imitated pointing a gun with the chef's knife in his hand. Then he twirled it and pretended to holster it, western styled.

"And yet Lal and Colonnello already gave him a passing mark," the Rain Guardian added with raised eyebrows. "You know from personal experience how hard it is to complete training with those two."

Decimo shivered and glanced at the oven before saying, "It's good that you found him. The Puniamo was shot in the shoulder, you say?"

"Yup."

Decimo opened his mouth to speak just as the windows to his study and the one next to the kitchen shattered inward. Dark smoke began to fill the room, causing Decimo and the Rain Guardian to cough as they tried to cover their noses. The last clear image they saw was of five figures in grey, armed to the teeth with box weapons, tumbling in from the sky.

"Boss!"

"Don't worry about me," Decimo said. He activated his Dying Will Mode and began the attack. He met the first intruder head on, dodging a fist that would have caved in his face. Decimo almost opened his eyes in shock but willed himself to keep them screwed shut. He heard from his left his Rain Guardian's sword and the slicing their enemies' weapons. A second later, muffled thumps of useless metal hit the carpeted floor.

Decimo stepped around the counter. The intruder didn't hesitate to jump over the obstacle. Decimo leaned back to avoid another hit and decided to test his theory. He went on the defence and retreated to his study where he heard his Rain Guardian fighting. On his way there, Decimo tipped to the right and caught himself at the last second. He waited to hear the intruder hit the couch but the intruder only stopped and did a wide swipe with his double-pointed spear.

Decimo charged in and grabbed one of the intruder's hands. He kept squeezing until the intruder grunted—a woman's voice—and then twisted, waiting for the intruder to open her hand.

The intruder held on. Decimo heard a click and he heard a blade cut through air as it made its way to his neck. He brought up his chef's knife—it stayed on the spear for a second before it slid down to the intruder's hand. Decimo let it carry on, flicked his wrist, and sliced the woman's wrist.

The intruder howled and let go of both parts of the spear. Decimo threw his knife toward the third intruder, pinning the enemy to the wall. He held onto the one he cut and waited for the smoke to clear.

The Rain Guardian opened his eyes and looked directly at Decimo, who was scowling. The Rain Guardian grinned. "Did I just win more fights than you, Boss?"

Decimo's scowl deepened. "Careful. You're starting to sound like a certain Cloud and Mist Guardian." There was no need to let the intruders know that Vongola Decimo occasionally misplaced his gloves.

All three of his Rain Guardian's opponents were unconscious, leaving conscious only the one Decimo held up and the one who was pulling out the knife that pinned his jacket to the wall.

"Don't move," Decimo told the man. The man froze. Decimo set the one he held on the ground, trusting his Rain Guardian to take charge of the intruder. Decimo yanked the knife out and the man fell in a heap, not moving a single limb to break his fall.

"Smart move," the Rain Guardian said. "You just made Boss throw his favourite knife into the wall so he's probably very angry."

Scowl still in place, Decimo examined his chef's knife. "This is disgusting. I can't use this anymore, even if I disinfect it."

"Y-You cut me! I'm bleeding to death here," the woman said, her left hand pressed to her right.

"Then you shouldn't have made me use it," Decimo said. He paced toward the woman, who tried to stare him in the eyes but kept eying the knife Decimo still held.

Decimo's eyes flickered to the woman's wrist. His Sun Guardian should be rushing in with his other guardians soon—the woman was never in any danger of dying.

"Oh, you won't die," he said. "Don't worry. I'll keep you alive, though you'd wish you were dead. Let's start with names, shall we?"

The woman turned away from Decimo and firmed her lips. Decimo sighed and searched the clothes of the woman's allies. "Nothing. But it doesn't take much to guess where you're from." He pulled up one of the men's shirt and revealed the Puniamo's emblem.

Decimo met the woman's eyes, then the man's by the wall. He said, "If someone doesn't start talking, I'm going to call Dino Cavallone right now. I have his number on speed dial." Decimo pulled out his phone. "Care to call my bluff?"

The colour drained from their faces.

"Oh, so you've heard of what happened," the Rain Guardian said with false cheer. "I suppose you would. After all, it happened just a few months ago. That's more than enough time for word to spread."

"I'm sure it feels like it only happened this morning to Dino," Decimo said. He tossed his knife high in the air. Two pair of eyes were fixated on it. Then Decimo caught it, the light reflecting off the knife's edge. "After all, it's not every day your only daughter gets killed."

"We didn't have anything to do with it!"

"Does it look like I care?" Decimo showed them his phone's screen. "The Cavallone Boss is just one phone call away." Decimo's thumb hovered over the call button.

"We're looking for the boy," they blurted.

Decimo raised his eyebrows. "Boy?"

"The boy who shot a Puniamo," the woman said.

Decimo rested his thumb on the edge of his phone. "Keep talking."


Tsuna rode his bicycle up the lane and braked in front of the large mansion, protected by intimidating looking gates. He got off his bike and walked a bit closer, looking through the bars to observe the beauty of the mansion. The front yard was massive and the mansion itself looked as though it was built a few centuries ago, though it still looked in top shape. He could see the white stone steps leading to the front porch which could easily fit ten people comfortably. The door itself was tall and dark blue.

He raised his arm and winced—after becoming, according to Lal, a "sufficient shooter", she decided that they could improve on his fighting skills as well, since one couldn't rely entirely on weapons. And so, his body was a canvas of colourful bruises. He was glad to have a break from them for at least a week before needing to go back for "proper training". The thought made him shiver.

It brought on his current issue. He looked at the directions written on his arm in pen and confirmed that this was the place he was to meet the Storm Guardian, his next tutor. He hesitantly pressed the button and waited.

"Yes?" an unknown voice from the intercom said seconds after.

"Oh! Hi. I'm Giotto…" He gave the camera a wave. There was a pause before the man spoke again.

"Good morning, Giotto. You are expected. Please make your way up the drive. If you continue along passing the front door, you will see a garage. You may leave your bike there and I will meet you shortly." There was a click and it disconnected. At the same time the gates opened automatically, just enough for Tsuna and his bike to get through. Seeing that it would take a while to walk there, he straddled his bike and pedalled. He slowed as he neared the front door, if only to admire the designs on it and on the architecture, and continued on slowly. As he rounded a second bend around the mansion, he saw the garage, which looked more like a one storey house. One of the garage doors was pulled up and a man in his late twenties in a black uniform was there waiting for him.

Is that a butler? I can't believe that people still have butlers these days, Tsuna thought. "Good morning."

The butler nodded and returned the greeting. "You may leave your bike here. It will be brought to you when you leave."

"Thank you."

The garage door rolled down by remote control and locked itself. "If you would follow me?" the butler said, gesturing towards the open door connecting the garage to the mansion.

Once he was through the door, it slid shut and the music he thought he was imagining became clearer. It was from a piano. The hall they walked through was bright and cheerful with a blue carpet laid out for them to walk on. They approached the music and Tsuna smiled sadly, wondering who was playing such a wonderful piece, despite the sorrowful tone it had taken.

The butler began to walk up a set of stairs but Tsuna paused as he heard the music coming from a nearby room. He looked around and saw an open door. He could just make out two people sitting in front of a grand piano. The pianists were a girl and boy a few years older than himself. They both had the same hair and figure. If he wasn't sure of himself, Tsuna would have thought that he was still suffering from the mild concussion Lal had lovingly given him a few days ago.

"Ah. I see that you've noticed our young master and lady of this house. Twins. They love music in all forms. Come along. You may speak with them at a later hour. Our destination is the library, on the third floor."

"Sorry," Tsuna said and hurried up the stairs. He didn't get to see much more of the house, since they only had to walk a few paces before reaching the doors leading to the library. The butler knocked and opened them.

"Sir, Giotto is here."

"Thanks, Vito. You can leave us now."

The butler closed the doors and Tsuna was left to gape at the large library. The doors were soundproof and blocked the music from entering. There was a cool breeze, keeping the library at a constant temperature. In front of him was a large and empty desk surrounded by a dozen chairs. On either side were rows and rows of shelves that seemed endless as he walked towards the voice of the Storm Guardian, somewhere to the left of the library. His shoes were muffled by the carpets and he winced when he heard a page flip noisily.

Finally, he reached the end of the shelves and was met by another large table that was situated a few paces from an unlit fire place. On the other end was a large window which allowed sunlight to enter, though none of it hit the books on the shelves.

Tsuna focused onto the man sitting on a couch with a book in his hands and waited nervously near the table.

The Storm Guardian closed his book and stood to meet him.

"Right, so I'll be teaching you about flames."

Flames? Is he crazy?

"Over the course of this week, you'll learn where they originated from, how to use them, and how to recognise them. It's the most modern form of fighting in our world at the moment and it's important that you keep up if you want to survive a battle with another person who's as knowledgeable about flames as the Vongola."

Not knowing what else to do, Tsuna nodded and followed the guardian to sit at the desk.

"Since I'm told to condense things for you and to not make your life complicated, though I don't see how I could ever do that," he muttered the last part, "I've already taken out the books that you'll need to use for information, though most of what I teach you will also come from my lecturing, based on what I know and you practicing how to form your flame. Do you understand?"

"Y-Yeah…" What the hell are you talking about!?

"Then let's get started."

For the rest of the two hours he spent sitting in the library, the Storm Guardian made Tsuna's head spin in confusion from having theories and terminology pounded into his head. They went through history of the rings, the rings themselves, box weapons, flames, flame types and colours—everything.

"Now," the Storm Guardian said, "I want you to take these and put them on."

Tsuna opened the box that was set before him and picked out one of the seven rings. They were all simply in design and had a precious stone embedded into the band. Each had a different colour to represent the different flames.

"Put them on," the Storm Guardian urged and tapped his fingers against the table, waiting for the boy to do so.

Tsuna quickly placed three of the rings onto his fingers: Mist, Cloud, and Lightning.

"Show me your resolve."

My resolve... He thought hard and long of what made him do what he does but nothing happened.

"Try on the others," the Storm Guardian said and gestured towards Tsuna's other hand.

On went the Sun, Rain, Storm, and Sky rings.

Tsuna pondered his resolve. "I don't know if I have the right resolve or if it's good enough."

"It is whatever you feel strongly for. It can be anything as long as you care for it. Try again!"

"O-Okay, okay!" This time Tsuna thought of the other people who lived where he did. He thought of Diana, the girl he occasionally greeted, though it has been a few months since he saw even her shadow. She was always walking around making sure that the people who lived in Cavallone's territory were safe.

Come to think about it, no one has ever died of starvation or otherwise in our neighbourhood. She always helped them before it go that far. And Tsuna realised that he wanted to help her. He couldn't live for himself. There were people who were in worse conditions than he was. All those men who attacked him for his money or food could find it in less violent ways, as long as there were people willing to help them. He could be one of those people.

He put his heart into it and imagined his resolve turning into the flames. He gritted his teeth so hard that his jaw started to ache, but the ring remained unchanged.

The Storm Guardian sighed. "Keep trying. Lots of people need months to light a ring. Once you know, come back and tell me what your flame is. And don't lose any of those," he warned. "Especially the Sky ring."

Tsuna furrowed his brows and held the box of rings close to him. "What if they never light up? What if I don't have a flame!?"

"Don't be ridiculous! Haven't you been listening? Everyone is born with one!"

"Hiiie—O-Okay! I'll keep trying," Tsuna said and rose from his seat quickly, almost knocking it over.

The Storm Guardian's phone rang with the ringtone of calming ocean waves, a ringtone Tsuna didn't expect the man to use. To his surprise, the Storm Guardian shot to his feet and answered the call immediately. "What's the emergency? What? You have to be joking! In broad daylight?"

The Storm Guardian started for the door. "Oh, Giotto: we're finished for now. You will be going to someone else tomorrow."

"I thought I was with you for a week. You finished teaching me everything already?"

The Storm Guardian scowled. "There's nothing more to teach you until you can show me a flame on a damn ring! I'll send you the address for tomorrow's location," he said and ran, leaving Tsuna standing without a clue as to what happened.


~EO!~

"…There!" Tsuna shouted and threw a powdered ball towards the Mist Guardian who was concealing herself using illusions.

She reappeared with a white spot of powder on her shirt. She smiled at the teen. "Very good. I think you're getting the hang of it. What gave it away?"

"There was something off about the colour of the wall you were standing in front of," Tsuna said.

"Good. Did you notice anything else? Ah. Here is where we need to improve. You can't judge where something is hidden only by the colour difference. That colour difference could simply be because the walls were painted that way.

"I also left my shadow behind while I concealed my body—"

"What! I didn't even notice that!"

She smiled patiently. "You must look at everything."

"He's really good with illusions!" Yamamoto exclaimed.

Chrome jolted and righted herself with her wings, which appeared at her command. "Takeshi, you startled me."

Yamamoto laughed sheepishly and apologised. "I thought you heard us coming."

Chrome looked beyond Yamamoto but didn't see anyone else. "Who else is with you?"

"Eh…Well, I accidentally…actually, never mind that. Mukuro is hell bent on finding me and I ran here. I must have lost him along the way!" he said, sounding astonished at his own luck.

"Why is he trying to find you?"

Yamamoto gave a smile and a silent shrug. "A-Anyway, I should get going. I'm sure he'll think to come here. Tsuna has been training for a week, hasn't he?"

Chrome straightened at the sudden change in topic. "Hai…Boss has gone through training with Lal—that, you know. He also learned about flames and illusions. I think he will be finished soon, once he finds out what his resolve is."

"He's taking a while, isn't he?"

"It seems so," Chrome said softly. "I just hope that it isn't because of something else that is causing him to not light the rings."

Yamamoto frowned, knowing what she was talking about. Angels who had their blood awakened could not wield flames. No one knew why, but they believed that it was because their own powers as an angel disrupted the flames that coursed through a human body.

Yamamoto grinned. "I'm sure Tsuna just hasn't found his resolve yet!" He glanced over his shoulder, sensing his other friend. "I'm off now. See you later. And keep me posted!"

Chrome watched him go. Minutes after, Mukuro landed hard on the ground, dispelling the layer of clouds surrounding them.

Mukuro wasted no time in asking, "Have you seen Takeshi?"

"He left…" Chrome blinked owlishly. "Mukuro-kun, why are you after him?"

"He let Katsuro get away," he said with a smirk. "Kufufufu…That bastard dared to accuse me for siding with the Fallen Angels. Just when I was about to teach him a lesson for mistaking an ally for an enemy, Takeshi stopped me. So I thought I'd go after him since I was in the mood."

"Mukuro-kun…" Chrome sighed at her friend's reasoning.

"Kufufufu…I'll be right back."

Chrome raised a wing to fan away the clouds disrupting her vision and went back to study her boss' movements.

~EO!~


One week later…

"Ciao, Giotto!"

Tsuna gaped at the Rain Guardian, who was the one he was to meet inside the office. The Cloud Guardian had given him the location and he had dutifully arrived at the memorized hour, not expecting to see the Rain Guardian again so soon. He was expecting another one of the guardians, after his encounter with so many others.

"C-Ciao," Tsuna said and closed the doors.

"Here, sit down. How did your training go?"

It was torture, not training, Tsuna wanted to cry out. "It was hard, but I learned a lot from them. But I'm still having trouble with getting a flame to appear." He raised his hands, which were still decorated with the different rings, just in case he came across a strong resolve while he was training.

He was self conscious about the accessories and took them off whenever he went to school or work.

"That might be a problem," the Rain Guardian murmured. "Although only a few Mafia families know how to use rings and box weapons, it's slowly becoming something that the smaller Mafia families use as well. Though they are still a minority, you might encounter them."

"I-I might?" Tsuna squeaked.

The Rain Guardian raised his eyebrows. "Yes, I was thinking of having you help us as a bodyguard in the future. We are paying you, after all."

Tsuna's jaw dropped. "B-But I thought you were only paying me to just be trained."

"We were. But now, your training is mostly complete. You've learned the basics of all but fighting with rings. All that's left is practice. And so I ask you: would you like to work for me? It means working for the Mafia."

"I've met a lot of Mafiosi since I've met you," he told the Rain Guardian. "I actually like them. They might be rude, violent, or just—" Tsuna's eyes widened when he realised who he was talking to. "I'm sorry! I don't mean to be rude! That's not what I mean. What I meant was…well, it's just that they're nice!"

The Rain Guardian chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "It's alright! But you like them. That's a good thing. Just remember that there are a lot more of us who aren't as…nice. But I didn't ask you to come here just to chat."

Tsuna gave him a wry smile. "Are you going to train me in something else as well?"

The man roared with laughter. "Oh really? What gave it away?"

"Every time I'm told to go somewhere else, it's for training."

The man shook his head. "No, Giotto. We won't be training. You're here to meet someone. He's—that should be him," he said when someone knocked on the door. "Come in!"

"Hey," the man said once the doors opened and he saw the two occupants. "You're Giotto, aren't you?"

Tsuna gave the man a hesitant smile. "Y-Yeah. That's m-me."

The man stuck his hand out. "I'm Vongola Decimo."

Tsuna gasped and gave the man another look. He was tall. That was the first thing he noticed. And he was dressed casually with two rings on his outstretched hand.

This is the boss of Vongola? He's the tenth Vongola Boss?! Tsuna thought. Holy crap, am I supposed to do something? Why is he meeting me in the first place?!

Tsuna quickly shook the man's hand. Vongola Decimo's hand was warm and rough. He could feel several calluses when they shook hands and thought of his own hands which were soft in comparison.

"Are you two going to remain standing?" the Rain Guardian asked with a raised eyebrow. He himself had moved from behind his desk to sit on the couch.

Decimo laughed and gestured for Tsuna to sit.

"He finished his training," the Rain Guardian told his boss.

Decimo nodded satisfactorily. "Then I have something you should know about, Giotto. Do you remember the woman you shot in the market a while back?"

Tsuna shivered. "I remember." I'm not sure how I'm supposed to forget that.

"Okay. That makes things easier. She's after you."

"WHAT?!"

"It's fine. Just sit down," the Rain Guardian said reassuringly.

Tsuna looked at them both and collapsed into his seat. "Please tell me you're playing some sort of prank on me."

"It's not a prank," Decimo said. "I'm telling the truth. I'm afraid you're going to have to leave here for a while."

"L-Leave?"

"I gave you Vongola's protection, meaning that none of the other Mafiosi will hurt you. And they haven't. But now, I'm afraid one family in particular might risk angering the Vongola in order to hurt us."

Tsuna clutched his head. "What are you talking about?" he exclaimed. "What family? Why now?"

While the Rain Guardian did his best to calm the boy down, Decimo remained silent, wondering how much he should tell the boy. The boy wasn't close to anyone at all. He didn't have any family or close friends, from what his guardians had told him. Considering everything, he didn't have loyalties toward anyone.

"Giotto," he said. "Will you join the Vongola?"

"—and what happens if—what?" Tsuna stared at the boss. "Will I join the Vongola…?"

The boss nodded, watching the boy's facial expression change from confusion to comprehension and to hesitation. He was thinking it over.

"Are you seriously asking him now?" the Rain Guardian asked.

Decimo looked surprised. "Should I have waited?"

"…He's panicking over something that was brought on to him by the Vongola and you're asking him to join us."

"Oh. Sorry." Decimo looked sheepish as he addressed Tsuna. "I was just thinking about it and thought that I should ask. I'm supposed to ask."

"I think you should explain what's happening before you ask him to join us."

"What is happening?" Tsuna wanted to know. To be honest, he thought that he was already part of the Vongola, since he was training with their guardians already. He didn't know that it had to be made official. It made him wonder if anyone really had a choice in the matter, since from the movies, if the Mafia wanted you, they'd get you. No questions asked.

"It started a while back, when the Puniamo kidnapped someone who was allied to the Vongola. Her father was a friend of mine and everyone took it personally when she was taken. And when we finally received a tip of where they left her…" She was beyond help. Dead, Decimo thought, clenching his fists. "From then on, our ally vowed vengeance on the Puniamo and the Vongola supported them.

"A week ago, we received word that the woman you shot was back on her feet looking for you, the shooter. They found out that you were part of the Vongola, officially or unofficially, it didn't matter to her.

"When you were travelling from one location to the other, she attempted to ambush you but we were ready for that and intervened, taking her and her accomplices."

"The Puniamo are itching to do something against us," the Rain Guardian said when his boss showed no indication of continuing the story. "And we're afraid that they're planning on targeting you again. The Puniamo isn't a small Mafia family. They have a lot of power, though still not as much as the Vongola and our allies. They make up for it with their ruthlessness. We thought—and we hope that you agree—that you would be safer overseas away from all of this. You can still continue your education, though it might be more challenging. You can treat it as a vacation as well."

Tsuna took a moment to digest all that was said. First, there seemed to be something that sounded a lot like the start of World War Two—or was it one?—and then he was tossed into it thanks to them using him as bait, and now they were after him. Again.

That word echoed in his mind. How did he miss it before? They said that they were ambushing him but he neither heard nor saw anything while he was biking away. Tsuna shivered.

But it can't be too bad...it's a bit...exciting, Tsuna thought. He would be able to get away from his life here and start another one somewhere else.

"Where do you plan to take me?" he finally asked.

"Japan. You'll be in the town called Namimori, to be specific, attending Namimori's middle school," the Rain Guardian said with an easy smile. "And you're supposed to be my nephew."

"Wait—Namimori? In Japan? The tiny island?"

"There is no other Japan or Namimori," Decimo said. "Are you agreeing?"

He looked helplessly around as he thought of his options. None of them looked very good. And something told him that it would be alright to trust the Vongola. He had trained under them and lived to tell the tale, hadn't he?

"Alright, I'll go."

"Excellent. You'll be known as Sawada Tsunayoshi—First name Tsunayoshi, last name Sawada," Decimo said.

"I'll have the paperwork done by tomorrow. It's best if you leave as soon as possible," the Rain Guardian said.

"Why can't I keep my name? I like my name," Tsuna protested.

"Then you can name your son Giotto if you like it that much," Decimo retorted. He clasped a hand to Tsuna's shoulder. "Good luck. I know you'll have fun in Namimori. It's a nice place. I can sincerely say that it's peaceful there."

"Giotto, is there anyone you'd like to say goodbye to before we leave?" the Rain Guardian asked.

"We?" Tsuna repeated.

"I'll be going with you," the Rain Guardian said with a laugh. "Do you think I'll just ditch you after all this?"

Tsuna smiled at the Rain Guardian. "I'm not sure what to think. Thanks. Um, I think there's only one or two. I'll have to talk to my tutor, my employer and probably the school…"

"I'll deal with the school," the Rain Guardian said. "You can handle the others on your own. Do you need a ride?"

"I brought my bike."

"Okay. Then I'll have a car pick you up tomorrow at four."

Tsuna gave him a thumbs up and left the room while the Rain Guardian pulled out his phone.


A/N: Thank you so much for the favourites and follows! I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter. What are you thoughts on the story so far? The fighting scene was definitely fun to write. It has been a while since I wrote one.

I hope you're all ready for some Elgan Order stuff! See you in the next chapter. Bye!

Updated 2016-04-03rd


-LLM