Episode 2: The Rainbow of a New Change
"So just give me one good reason. Tell me why, I should stay, 'cause I don't wanna waste another moment saying things we never meant to say… And I take it just a little bit. I… hold my breath and count to ten. I've been waiting for a chance to let you in…"
-"Breathe" by Michelle Branch

I tucked my legs into my body as I flew through the air, pushing my body more than I'd had to in ages. Working on gymnastics was more work than I originally thought. There was sweat all over my hands, face, and back. I closed my eyes and got ready to land. But I badly misjudged the distance between the ground and myself and landed with a painful thud, injuring my back and legs.

Ouch… I though, rubbing my sore back. Being blind sucks. I can't do any damn thing! I couldn't even help when my friends needed me! I picked myself up with a heavy sigh and trudged back into my house. It was almost time for school.

As I ran to school, I passed the hospital, like I did every morning. But this morning, the doors opened and I heard Dino's voice, from yesterday, called, "Najika-chan! Come in here. We need you in here for a minute."

"Sure…" Blinking in confusion, I walked inside, not without smacking into the glass doors.

I heard Dino sigh and turn to someone else and ask, "Geez, Reborn, are you sure you want her to be one of them?" I frowned, hearing the doubt and almost regret clear in his voice.

Reborn simply replied, "He chose her along with the rest of them. I don't know how he knew she'd be in Namimori, but what he says goes." I bit my lip and wondered just who it was they were talking about. Reborn then addressed me, "Najika, do you want to help your friends?"

Biting my lip, I wondered if I should be truthful or if I should just give up on helping my friends. But in the end, my selfish side won out, and I wanted to prove that I could be of some use. "More than anything!" I cried, not thinking twice about my words.

I could practically hear Reborn's smirk as he said, "Then listen. There were seven Vongola Rings. An eighth was added by the Ninth, who wanted his niece to be with him at all times, which will carry on the tradition. They only have meaning when eight Family members hold them."

I just frowned again, unsure of what Reborn was saying. I understood so little of what was going on. I was just being selfish in wanting to seem stronger.

Rings? What is Reborn going on about?

X Tsunayoshi Sawada X

Tsuna could see Najika's confusion radiating off of her in annoyed waves. He looked down at his own ring. "Six other rings have been delivered to people who are worthy of protecting the next Vongola boss, Tsunayoshi Sawada. Dino has the eighth." Najika looked up sharply.

Finally, he understood why Reborn said that they needed her. "No way! Najika-chan is not getting involved with this!" he protested loudly. Najika's face fell and she looked back down. Tsuna instantly felt a bolt of guilt, but ignored it for the safety of his friend. "I don't want anyone else involved! No more Mafia, Reborn!" he cried.

He wasn't defending Najika because he felt for her like he did Kyoko, but because she was blind. She had no way to defend herself against the dangers of the mafia world, and she couldn't very well wield a sword or anything like it. Tsuna knew that if he made Najika defend him, she'd most likely get hurt or maybe even die.

That was what he would never ask of anyone. Gokudera and Yamamoto could take care of themselves, but he didn't want them hurt, either. But Najika was more vulnerable than all of them.

Gokudera, however, seemed quite pleased, as did Yamamoto, that they were chosen to be Tsuna's protectors.

"Wait." Najika stepped forward. "Tsuna-kun, I know I'm blind. But I want to help." Tsuna saw Reborn and Dino exchange looks. "I'm sure one of you is looking at me like I'm crazy. Maybe I am. But I don't want to see anyone hurt, so I'll do my best to help! If I'm not a help at all, I'll stop, I promise." Tsuna hesitated a bit.

Reborn answered, "Very well. That's what I wanted to hear." He nodded to Dino, who took Najika's hand and placed a ring in it. "You, too, are a Guardian, Najika Kamiya." He pointed to Gokudera. "Gokudera's Ring is the Storm Ring. Yamamoto's is the Rain Ring. Najika has the Wave Ring." The Rings even looked different, which caused Reborn to explain, "The first Vongola Family had a variety of unique members. Their traits helped shape the rings. The first boss was said to be like the sky, colorful and engulfing everything, open to all things. So his ring was the Sky Ring. And the other rings were named after various kinds of weather that color the sky. The merciful shower that washes all away, the Rain Ring." Yamamoto looked at his Ring. "The turbulent gale that fiercely blows, the Storm Ring." Gokudera looked up and smirked. "The drifting cloud that is never trapped by anyone and walks its own path, the Cloud Ring. The illusion that prohibits knowledge of its true nature, the Mist Ring. The orb of fire that brightens the great sky, the Sun Ring. The thunderbolt that strikes a zealous blow, the Thunder Ring."

Najika sounded confused when she asked, "But waves aren't at all related to the sky, Reborn. Why is there a Wave Ring?"

Tsuna had to agree. Waves didn't have anything to do with the sky, and Reborn knew that. The baby smirked. "The waves are related to the sky. Without the waves, there would be nothing to separate the sky from the land."

She flatly stated, "That's the full ocean, Reborn." He shrugged, clearly not caring.

He continued, "With the rings that you have now…"

Tsuna interrupted, saying that he didn't want his. Yamamoto agreed, since he played baseball, and didn't want to risk his skills and time. But as soon as Tsuna said, "That long-haired guy from yesterday is gonna come after us!" everyone perked up.

Both Gokudera and Yamamoto decided to keep their Rings. Even Najika smiled and walked out, hitting the glass first, then leaving.

X Najika Kamiya X

Those Rings… I knew they'd bring trouble. But I couldn't just sit and do nothing. I had to help. I promised Tsuna that I'd do my best. So instead of rushing to school, I decided to try my gymnastics again. For two and a half hours, I fell, got up, and fell again. My legs felt like they were jelly after practicing so hard, but still failing.

Finally, I sat down and sighed. "I'm not getting anywhere like this." I leaned back, lying against my porch. "I'm horrible," I mourned, kicking my feet a little as I felt the coldness of the wood on my back.

"If you just lie around like that, you won't get any better." I sat up quickly and looked around for the source of the voice. "Hey… Look to your left." The feminine voice sighed. "Reborn was right. This girl's gonna be a challenge. My name's Lal Mirch. I'm a friend of Reborn's, and he sent me here to train you."

She sure doesn't do small talk well, does she?

I was snapped out of my thoughts by a tiny hand pushing me all over my body. I flinched; she sure wasn't being gentle. "H-Hey!" I complained, glaring as best I could.

She ignored me. "Hmph. You're not a huge eater, nor a huge exerciser," she observed bluntly. "So, let's train with guns. Seeing as you're blind, it's not gonna be easy to dodge, but maybe… do me a favor and slip on that Ring," she ordered.

I did so. "Nothing happened, Lal-sensei." She hummed for a bit and I could hear her pacing. "Lal-sensei?"

She stopped and demanded, "Close your eyes." I hesitated, but once she snapped her command again, I closed them, kind of irritated I was being ordered around by such a person.

What will closing my eyes do? I'm blind already, for Pete's sake!

"Now, give me a minute. Don't move, don't talk, just sit there, okay?" She scurried off and five minutes later, came back. "This'll allow you to see shapes of people's life forces. You'll have to see the colors for yourself." Something was forced into my mouth, and I nearly gagged. "Swallow." The foul-tasting, pill-shaped thing was hard to swallow, but I managed it. "Now try opening your eyes."

When I opened my eyes, I saw the shape of a small baby in front of me, with a bluish purple flame surrounding it. "Lal-sensei? Is that you?" I asked, not believing what just happened. The purple shape nodded. "How is this possible?"

"Mist Magic," Lal Mirch supplied. "I put some sensory power into an aspirin I found in your house. They last for an hour, so I'll make a few more for our training and for your fighting. Now, let's start." She handed me something. "This is a gun much like the one I use. This gun is able to shoot both normal bullets and bullets made out of Flames."

"Wait, what are Flames?" I asked, turning the gun in my hands. "Like the kind that you can start with lighters and matches?"

Lal shook her head. "No. Flames are like aura, the force of a human soul."

I stood. "So, what are we doing first?" Lal simply climbed up onto a post and pointed over to where I knew there was a huge Sakura tree. But instead, there were three white flame outlines. "What are those?" I asked, pointing to the flames.

"Target practice," Lal replied simply. When I looked at her, confused, she explained, "Just hit them with the lead bullets. You need aim first."

I did so, shooting with one hand, pulling the trigger on the gun three times for each flame, flinching at the harsh recoil that nearly threw my shoulder out from the force. The outer two turned a hot white-grey and one, in the middle, turned grey, then faded to black.

Lal made a surprised sound. "Well, you did better than I thought. You managed to hit all of them, but you hit the first and last dummies in the legs and chest area, but not enough for an instant-kill. The one in the middle got a bullet to the head." She jumped onto my shoulder. "Now, sparring. The person you're fighting is one that I'm going to make with an illusion, but I'll warn you; the wounds you get will hurt. Each of the illusions will represent one of the Varia."

I asked, "Varia?"

"The Varia are an assassin group of the Vongola Family. They're incredibly dangerous," Lal said solemnly. "They're not ones who will give in. But… your backyard isn't big enough. I'm sure that some of your friends will be up at the mountain range. Come on, let's go."

I nodded, walking off with her still perched on my shoulder. "Yes ma'am!"

It didn't take us long to get there. Lal made sure I could run without hitting anything, even when my eyes were closed. But as soon as we got there, I heard two loud explosions. "Ah. Looks like that idiot Gokudera is here," my tutor commented dryly, "and that means that that bigger idiot Shamal is here, too."

I raised one eyebrow, surprised, but at the same time, not, that she knew who the other Vongola guardians were. "So… what are we going to do? Are we going to go see what they do?" I asked dryly.

She shook her head. "No," she replied. "We're going to train near them. You're going to need to get used to the sounds of explosions. First, you're fighting a hand to hand combat fighter!" A rush of air passed my head, then jumped back with the same white flame that the dummies had. "Go, Najika!" she yelled.

A fist lashed out at my face, but I moved to the side. Even so, it swiped my side, hitting my ribcage. I winced, but pulled my gun out of my jacket pocket and shot. It missed by a mile. A kick to my legs brought me down, and the illusion hit my face again. I fell back with a cry as the flame faded away.

Lal walked over. "That was weak. You couldn't even get a hit in! You're going to have to be a lot faster than that!"

And so the training progressed. It took me four tries, but I was finally able to defeat the illusion and dodge at least half of the hits. My aim was getting better, too. I was bruised all over and I was pretty sure I had a split lip and other injuries, but I was happier than I had been in a long, long time.

I'd been able to defeat someone, and by using my own strength and will, too, a huge achievement for someone like me.

Even Lal seemed proud to gloat, "You're a fast learner! Better than most of those other Guardians, I'd bet!" I had to laugh at that. She was a great teacher, and I was ready to learn a whole lot from her.

Holding up the guns she'd provided me with, I grinned. "I'm still ready to fight! I'll be ready to learn more from you! You're a great teacher, Lal-sensei."

She scoffed. "Quit it with the 'Lal-sensei' crap. I'm not a teacher. Just Lal, okay, kid?" I smiled a little. She was a lot nicer than she tried to be. "And I'm not being nice. I'm just telling you that I'm not a teacher," she snapped. "Now, prepare to learn how to fire your Flames!" I put myself into a stance of getting ready to fire. "Okay, good stance. Now, focus your thoughts into your hand. Think about what you want most and turn those thoughts into energy." Another white flame appeared and I aimed right at it.

But I couldn't shoot. I didn't know what I wanted most. So, I hesitated to fire. If I made the wrong choice in thought, what would happen? My focus flew from thought to thought until it landed on the disappointment and shame I'd felt when I realized how utterly useless I was against Squalo.

I want… I want to protect my friends, I thought, closing my eyes. A warmth spread over my whole body. All I want is to see them safe and happy. I want them to be okay no matter what, and I want to be the one who can help them!

My finger danced over the trigger until I finally fired. I didn't hear a gunshot like I did when I fired a normal bullet. I heard a soft buzz and a whiz as something made its way out of the gun. It sounded like a sizzle of a flame. The white flame turned a dangerous grey, then slowly started to fade to black.

"I cannot believe you got that on your first try," Lal deadpanned. "Your Flame is a light blue… lighter than Rain." She paused "By any chance, did you think 'I want to protect the people I love?'" she asked.

I nodded in reply. "Yes. I was useless when Squalo attacked us. I never want to feel that way ever again." My hands clenched into fists and I growled, "If I ever see that bastard again, I'll rip his throat out, I swear."

Lal looked up. "You really are like a wave. Waves are kind and gentle, but when they're upset, a wave is rough and destructive." I looked up. I'd never thought of the wave like that.

I smiled. "Wow. I never actually thought of that. So why don't we just practice some more. I don't want to be destructive or rough, but I do want to be strong. I want to be strong enough to defeat anyone who threatens my friends." I took aim at nothing, and faked shooting the gun.

Whistling, Lal shook her head. "Kid, you're gonna need quite a lot of work to beat everyone who threatens your friends." My face fell, as did my spirit. "But, it's not impossible. You're gonna need to work hard. Are you willing to do that?" she asked, completely serious.

I hardened my expression and nodded. "Yes. I'm ready."

"Then let's get cracking."

The days passed, and during the ten days we had to train, I became so much stronger than I ever imagined I could've been.

My Flames were strong and lethal, and I was now able to dodge a ton of attacks, but not all of them. My body had become super flexible and I finally managed to do a back flip and a whole bunch of other moves, not to mention my speed had improved quite a bit. My Flame-Sensing ability was pretty good, too. I was finally able to see white outlines of inanimate objects, however faint they were.

School was a lot easier than usual. I wasn't as clumsy as I used to be, and I didn't run into things as often as I did. I actually had friends, now, too, and I stayed by Tsuna, Yamamoto, and Gokudera at all times.

Gokudera was nicer than he seemed, and even though he said that he was only looking out for me because Tsuna had told him to, he was still kind to me. I spent a lot of time playing with Lambo, I-Pin, Fuuta, and Tsuna after school, and even went shopping with Kyoko and Haru on the weekend.

I was finally being treated like a normal person, and it felt… good. I was accepted by someone for once in my life, and more than one person, at that.

In fact, Lambo and I-Pin were like my own little kids, and Fuuta was my little brother. Even Tsuna and the others were like my family. They'd accepted me after only knowing me for around eleven days, which meant a lot more than they probably realized to me.

Over the days, I also met and bonded with Basil, who was really kind to me. He spoke really formally, but was a very sweet person. I spent a full day training with him to battle a Flame user, which was really helpful.

"Come on, Najika-dono!" he teased lightly, jumping away from a bullet. "Thou can hit me! Keep trying!" I fell back, panting and cursing. Basil was faster than he seemed, and his Triangular Blade kept hitting my side. I was pretty sure I was bleeding badly. "Art thou tired? Should we stop?"

I sighed, moving my legs and fidgeting a little. "No, Basil-kun. We can keep going!" I flew at him with increased speed, before he could even react, and knocked him to the ground, stepping on his Blade. "Dead." Basil looked up to see my gun in his face.

I stepped off of him and he got up, laughing. "Well, looks like thou has bested me! I knew you could do it." Basil bowed and laughed again. "You're very good with a gun now, art thee? I shall hopefully be able to face thou one day when both of us are even stronger."

Smiling slightly, I replied, "Same here, Basil-kun. And you know, you don't have to call me anything formal. Just call me Najika-chan!" My smile grew wider at his confused and shocked feelings. "You don't have to speak formally all the time."

He laughed a bit. "It's a bit hard for me not to. It is how my master taught me how to speak. I appreciate it though… Najika-chan." The fact that he called me Najika-chan instead of Najika-dono really made me smile. It was a kind gesture that he would call me what I'd asked him to. "I do hope thou art ready for thy battle against the Varia. They are very talented fighters, so I hope thee shall be all right."

"I'm sure I'll be fine. Now, don't you have some training to do with Tsuna-kun?" I asked jokingly, trying to mask my nervousness at the situation. "After all, I have half a Vongola Ring, and I have Lal Mirch as my trainer. There's no way I can lose this battle," I assured him, trying to sound confident.

Basil nodded. "I hope so. I wish thee luck, Najika-chan."

I nodded to promise him that I would win. I just hoped that I'd be all right. Shaking my head, I tried to clear those thoughts from my head. I'll be just fine. My friends will be by me no matter what. Right?

CHAPTER EDITED AS OF 6/15/13

Atogaki-

I'm actually very disappointed in this chapter. It wasn't as amazing as I thought it'd be when I planned this in my head. I wanted to show a real development in the Basil/Najika relationship. Gokudera/Najika really takes a backseat to plot in this story. I didn't want to just have a romantic feel to this story, which it's currently lacking. This chapter is named "The Rainbow of a New Change" for obvious reasons, and I chose the song "Breathe" because it's a song that really describes Najika's thoughts in this chapter. I know, I fail...

I believe that there are quite a few characters introduced in this chapter, namely Lal Mirch. I understand that she and a few other characters, namely Hibari, Belphegor, and Byakuran, will be out of character. I purposely did that to show that either they had a good past with her and care a lot about her, or that they simply treat males and females different. Lal and Hibari are seen interacting with Kyoko, Haru, Chrome, and Yuni. (Only in the extras for Hibari and Haru.) Hibari seemed kinder and more calm when he was speaking with Haru and Chrome, and instead of threatening Yuni, he gave her a calm look and only walked away. Lal also seems more calm and less harsh with the girls, instead being almost an older sister to them.

As for Bel and Byakuran, I got bored and thought it'd be fun to mess with them a little. Don't worry; they'll still be the characters you love to hate. (Or love, in Bel's case. I actually really like Byakuran, so... I just stuck with it.)

I may also be cutting certain characters out and then sticking some where they don't belong. I believe I cut Giannini out of a few of the Future Arc a few times, and minimized Daisy and Torikabuto's parts. Gamma also gets a smaller part, and in this Arc, I really shrank Dino's part and Squalo's part. Xanxus... I think I clipped a few of his lines, as well as the Cerevello. They just creep me out.

Character Introductions (Ch 1 & 2):

Najika Kamiya, age 14. A current second year in Namimori Middle. She transferred from Kokuyo Middle around three months ago. She holds the Wave Ring.

Tsunayoshi "Tsuna" Sawada, age 14. A current second year in Namimori Middle. Also known as "Dame-Tsuna," or No-Good-Tsuna. He is the next in line to become Vongola Decimo, or Vongola Juudaime. He holds the Sky Ring.

Hayato Gokudera, age 14. A current second year in Namimori Middle. He transferred from an unknown school in Italy, and is aiming to be Tsuna's right-hand man. He holds the Storm Ring

Takashi Yamamoto, age 14. A current second year in Namimori Middle. He is the school's baseball star. His father runs a sushi restaurant. He holds the Rain Ring.

Basilicum "Basil," age 15. A CEDEF operative, under Iemitsu Sawada. He has a Rain Flame, evident from his Dying Will Flame. He is currently helping to train Tsuna and Najika to face the Varia.

Lal Mirch, age unknown. A CEDEF operative, under Iemitsu Sawada. A failed Arcobaleno, holding the Rain, Mist, and Cloud Flames. She is currently Najika's tutor for the Ring Battle.

Reborn, age unknown. Also known as the "Hitman Home-Tutor Reborn," or "Katekyo Hitman Reborn." He is living in the Sawada house, and is tutoring Tsuna.

Dino, age 22. The Cavallone Decimo, also known as "Bucking Bronco." He has a Sky Flame, and is utterly useless if his men aren't around. He was formerly Reborn's student.

Fuuta de la Stella, age 9. Also known as "Ranking Fuuta." He has the power to tell the ranks of anyone he meets, and quickly attaches himself to people.

I-Pin, age 5. A young assassin from China who came to "kill Tsuna." She is badly nearsighted, and is the holder of the "Pinzu-Timed Super Explosion" and "Gyoza-Tempo."

Lambo, age 5. A young assassin from the Bovino Family who has a rivalry with Reborn. He's very arrogant and childish, and usually uses the 10-Year Bazooka when upset or hurt.

Haru Miura, age 14. A second year in Midori Middle who has a huge obsession with Tsuna. She cares very much for the children, namely Lambo. She dresses up in Cosplay often.

Kyoko Sasagawa, age 14. A second year in Namimori Middle. She is Ryohei Sasagawa's younger sister. She seems to care for everyone, and is very close with Hana Kurokawa.

Superbi Squalo, age 22. The Rain Guardian of the Varia. He is a swordsman, who has no left hand, as he cut it off when he decided to face the Sword Emperor. His left hand is actually a prosthetic.