"Tsu-chan!" Came the riotous voice of Lussuria accompanied by a bone-crushing hug. Man, she hated that. But still Lussuria was the same. He was always gay. She missed him either way.

"Yo, Lus-nee. Long time, no see." She smiled at him and it suddenly faded when she saw Lussuria pulling out a handkerchief out of nowhere and wiping her eyes which were overflowing with tears. "I thought you were never coming back. It's been quite lonesome here without you."

I think I want to go back in the Vongola Mansion.

"By the way, Tsu-chan, an hour ago, a visitor came to see you. She said she's going to wait for you at the garden right beside the fountain," Lussuria informed him.

"She?" Tsukiyo asked. And much to her surprise, a visitor already? Even so, she went to meet this so called guest. She was thankful Xanxus, Levi, Squalo and Marmon wasn't in the quarters at that time. Lussuria said they were out for a mission. Or maybe, Xanxus didn't like to be in the same area with her. She shooed those thoughts anyway. If Xanxus did want that, he can kick her out of the headquarters already.

Belphegor already left him with Lussuria. He excused his self and proceeded to his room. He was tired, maybe. But then again, Belphegor was actually a lazy person. She remembered back when she cleaned his room. It was like his room was messed up by a ten thousand windstorms that she almost gave up the hard labor.

There was no one around in the garden. She looked around the place but still she can't find anybody in there. Suddenly, she heard a shot of a gun and turned quickly to its direction and what she witnessed made her body move on its own hurdling it down to the ground. There was a kid pointing a gun at her. She had a short midnight blue-colored hair and she was wearing red-tinted goggles which made the color of her eyes indistinguishable. She was wearing a dirty white cape designed with seemingly red flames at its rim.

She looked at her in surprise and stood up from her fallen position. By any chance, is she Reborn's sister or something? She side-thought.

"Not bad, but that was pure luck, Sawada Tsukiyo," she said. Her voice was strict, quite authoritative. "I'm Lal Milch. You're father might not have told you about me but I'm going to be your tutor," she added, talking excellently like what exactly a good teacher does. She was serious. She cleared, without speaking, that she wasn't there for friendly purposes. She was there just to train her.

"You're kidding, right?" Tsukiyo's thoughts slipped out. With that statement, she knew she was thrown a lethal glare from her new tutor and that made her thought if Reborn was like that to Tsuna.

"I'm not sent here to talk nonsense with you. And we are starting your training. Right here, right now. Now tell me. What do you know about your flames?"

Tsukiyo did not answer. She didn't have the spirit to tell that she knew nothing about her flames. She didn't even know how to use it nor summon it. All she knew was that she once used it to take a lot of lives and damages.

She heard Lal Milch sighed. "Then let's start with the very basic. Do you know how to call your flames?"

Tsukiyo shook her head, looking at her, giving her a sheepish grin which the latter didn't found amusing at all.

"I was speaking, wasn't I? Why can't I hear any response from you? Are you mute?" She asked in a voice hinted with annoyance.

"I'm sorry. I don't know how to summon my flames, sir! I mean, ma'am!" She spoke quickly, much to her demands.

"What's your resolve?" Her austere tutor blasted her again another question.

Tsukiyo just stared at her. "I want to protect my family," she answered in a certain attitude. She saw Lal Milch smirked.

"You're really brother and sister – Tsunayoshi and you," she commented. "However, I think that is not your resolve, Tsukiyo."

She was perplexed. If not protecting her family wasn't her resolve, then what it is?

"Why do you say that?" Tsukiyo asked. How would you even know that?

"Look at it, Tsukiyo. You have been with people who, even in a short time, became a family for you. Fiamma, for an instance, why didn't your flames show up when you wanted to protect him?"

Hearing Fiamma's name struck her being. She didn't know if it was her pride hurting or her heart and mind fighting each other saying how futile could she get. That could only mean two things. One, her so-thought resolve is not true. Two, she didn't have any will to save Fiamma.

"If you don't believe me, then let's give your so-called resolve into test," she heard Lal Milch. She tossed a long blackish metallic staff to her. "Hold that. Think of your own resolve. Concentrate. The challenge for you here let the flames flow onto it."

Tsukiyo stared at her in incredulity. "But that sounds impossible."

"How would you know if you don't try," her tutor replied back, shrugging her shoulders.

Tsukiyo did as instructed. First, she relaxed and cleared her mind. Taking some deep breaths, she tried to concentrate deeper but there was nothing, not even a spark. She was staring intently at staff but it was a futile act. No evidence of flame.

"Hey, I haven't seen my flames for quite a long time. Maybe, I had lost it already," Tsukiyo said her opinions to her. Suddenly, the kid jumped onto her shoulders, slapping her in the face.

"What was that for?" Tsukiyo asked, holding her cheeks which Lal Milch attacked.

"Punishment, Sawada Tsukiyo. If I know that your flames disappeared then I shouldn't be here, training you now, you got the point of that?"

Tsukiyo blinked. The kid had the point. But still was there a need to slap her? That freakin' hurt.

"That's it for the day," Lal Milch said. "I can't train you properly without your flames, Tsukiyo. Find your real resolve first." She emphasized the word 'real'.

And then she left Tsukiyo who took a few steps to take a shade under a tree. It was near noon but Tsukiyo didn't spend time to be aware of the moment. What she was busy about was thinking of her resolve.

Not to protect her family? That's new wasn't it? That's the only resolve she can think of. Nothing more.

"Shishishi. Having a hard time, Tsu-chan," she heard the familiar voice breaking into her jam of thoughts.

"Oh, so you noticed?" She asked in a mocking tone. She sighed. Every now and then, Belphegor was seemingly popping out of nowhere. Oh well, she was used to it.

"Bel, what's your resolve?" She asked him, hoping that his answer might give her a clue.

"I don't need those," he replied haughtily. Tsukiyo wanted to hit him for that wonderful answer but she restrained herself.

"Then let me rephrase the question, mister. Why are you still alive, until now?" She was still gazing at him. Surprisingly, Bel stared back at her intently and then he turned his back taking a seat on the grassy ground near her. After which, he lied down, his hands at the back of his head serving as his cushion from the ground.

"You…" There was a long pause at his answer, that if Tsukiyo wasn't aware of Belphegor's attitude, she might take that statement in a different manner.

She raised an eyebrow, but she can't stop the flushing color on her cheeks.

Geez, thanks, Bel. You're really a big help. She thought to herself sarcastically.

"…you'll never know," he continued.

She sighed at that. And she looked above her to the leaves protecting her eyes from the blinding lights of the sun.

"…who cares about the world? Sometimes, you just need to be selfish. That's the way of living. Without selfishness, there is no charity." She remembered Fiamma told her.

"Without selfishness, there is no charity," she repeated to herself, and eventually heard by Belphegor.

"You're right at that," Belphegor agreed. "Tsukiyo, be honest with yourself. If you do, you'll find your resolve is. No matter how awful your resolve is, remember they can be changed."

Tsukiyo stared at Belphegor. Now, he was the one to talk but for him to say something like that was pretty novel. It was unlike him.

She just smiled at his napping position. In a way, Belphegor was becoming way cooler than before.

"Honesty, deviance and resolve," Tsukiyo uttered. "Those words don't go together."

"They don't," Belphegor approved. "However, life's really that twisted. You'll never know what really are well-suited for something."

Tsukiyo was silent, her thoughts drifting to a deep shape.

"Frankly, Tsukiyo, what's your resolve?" She heard him asked.

"You're a genius, aren't you? Weren't you just helping me finding what my true resolve is and you have the guts to question me that."

"Shishishi."

In a deep thought of hers, Tsukiyo looked for her real reason, obliterating all other confusions amalgamating inside her head. She closed her eyes leaning uncomfortably on the tree trunk.

"Besides, why would I tell that to someone who doesn't want to talk about his resolve?"

Resolution can be changed, right?