Episode 4: Sunshine Thunder
"You had to have it all, well have you had enough? You greedy little bastard, you will get what you deserve. When all is said and done, I will be the one to leave you in your misery and hate what you've become."

-"Had Enough" by Breaking Benjamin

So, we had to fight the Varia that held our type of Ring in order to become the Guardian. The representative with the most successful Guardians would be declared the rightful successor.

However, there only seemed to be seven of the Varia, and it was confirmed that Squalo held the Rain Ring, Levi held the Thunder Ring, and Xanxus had the Sky Ring. They didn't have a member for the Wave Ring. Plus, it was very unusual that there would be a fight over the Rings, since the Kyuudaime and the External Advisor usually agreed on the candidate to be the successor.

Training the next day cheered me up. Lal and I had gone downtown, working on speed. I ran from one end of the street to the other, having to avoid obstacles along the way. Lal… she was such a great teacher. When this was over, I was definitely thanking her for everything.

I was at Namimori Middle School at eleven at night, waiting to hear what we would have to do. "I'm so sorry I'm late!" I cried, stopping short in front of the five Guardians already present. "Is everyone we need here?"

Ryohei shook his head. "No, we're missing Hibari and the Mist Ring. And we're missing those women with the purple hair and the Varia. Are they just not coming?"

One of the Cerevello replied, "They've been on standby for quite a while." All of us looked up to see them. "After an official conference, the battle order for tonight's Ring Conflict has been decided. The first battle will be between the Guardians of Sun."

That just meant it was Ryohei against that very flamboyant man with the over-sized yellow Flame. It was the same color as Ryohei's, but much bigger and much more violent, lashing out at other things.

The two competitors were put into a cage with excessively bright light shining on it. But, then I realized that Xanxus was absent from the battle. I didn't see his bright flame radiating from his body almost anywhere. It didn't overwhelm me at all, and I didn't feel the need to cry.

Even though Ryohei seemed to be confident, I was still worried. Lussuria, his opponent, was just as frightening as the rest of them, from Squalo to Levi. Ryohei and Yamamoto had us all form a circle and chant for him.

Just as the battle was about to start, I noticed that two more familiar Flames were in the distance. I blinked, recognizing the feel they gave off, but not the Flames themselves. It was like I knew them before I could see their Flames.

As soon as the Cerevello announced the start of the battle, there were bright lights surrounding the cage. Lussuria, the Varia's Guardian, clearly had the upper hand now. Ryohei was in for a tough time. I could see his confident, sunny yellow Flame going out as Reborn and Tsuna worried. If this was only the first battle, how would we be able to win the rest? Ryohei was pretty much our best and most experienced fighter; he couldn't lose!

I turned to Gokudera and whispered, "His Flame looks like it's dying. If he doesn't finish this fast, he's going to die." His hand gently took mine. "I'm so scared, Gokudera-kun. I don't want Ryohei-san to die. I don't want any of us to die. If you do, I don't know what I'll do…"

Gokudera just replied, "The turf-head is tougher than he looks. You shouldn't worry about him just yet."

That confused me. I bit my lip and shrunk away from the clashing Flames. "When should I worry?" I asked, squeezing Gokudera's rough hand.

"Not yet," was his reply.

A loud voice suddenly snapped, "Stand up, hey." It was Colonello, Ryohei's trainer, and another one of those babies, like Reborn. "It's about time. Show him your real strength, Ryohei!"

Ryohei seemed to rejuvenate with those words and stood up. His Flame was pushing back against Lussuria's and it was only a matter of time that they collided. Ryohei took a major hit to the face, but I could see his flame grow back twice as strong. He even got a hit to Lussuria, but when he hit, he wasn't aiming for Lussuria, but for the lights. I was amazed he could withstand the heat of the lamps.

From what Lussuria and Reborn said, because Ryohei was dehydrated, he began to sweat, and it evaporated from the heat. Only salt from his sweat was left, and he used it to kill the lights.

The Storm Guardian leaned over and said, "You don't have to worry, see?" I nodded, but stopped as Ryohei took a near hit to the face, and Lussuria continued to fly at him with fists and kicks. Gokudera cursed under his breath.

"Ryohei-san!" I nearly screamed, seeing his Flame flare up in pain, then retreat back into his body. It showed just how much pain he was in. "Oh, no… This is bad, this is really bad." I bit my fingernails of my free hand, attempting not to worry so much.

But when I really started to worry was when Lussuria injured Ryohei's right fist, too. He wouldn't be able to fight with either of his hands now. "Okay, now you can worry…" I could see all of Ryohei's Flames dying out, recoiling back into his body. Colonello didn't even seem to notice.

"Big brother!" Kyoko had come with Hana and I-Pin. Iemitsu and Basil had come, too, and Kyoko was insanely worried about her brother. "Big brother, why? You're hurt all over!" she cried, running to the cage.

I couldn't stand hearing Kyoko's devastated cries. But that seemed to be what he needed to win. His Flames grew back, several times as strong as they were when they died. His Maximum Cannon attack blew Lussuria back, shattering the metal kneepad the Varia Guardian wore, and winning the match. But Lussuria just couldn't give up. He couldn't lose. His nervousness was well deserved; he was shot by his own teammates.

I couldn't help it; as evil as he was, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Was he going to be okay? "Lussuria-san!" I yelled, rushing to the cage. He didn't respond, and I flinched, seeing his strong Flame suddenly dying. "Guys, we have to get him help! He's not going to make it at this rate!" The Varia really was merciless… I couldn't believe that someone would want to fight for them.

I barely heard the Cerevello's announcement of the next match, but I did hear who would be fighting; "Thunder." Lambo was up next, against Levi. He wouldn't stand a chance against the older man.

As everyone left for home, only Tsuna, his father, the two kids, Reborn, Basil, and I were left. "Tsuna-kun," I began, cutting into his father's rant. He looked over at me, and I nervously said, "I'm worried about Lussuria-san. As much as he was an annoying idiot and a heartless bastard, he doesn't deserve what he got."

Tsuna nodded, agreeing. "Yeah." I fidgeted. "Dad, can you see if Lussuria's okay? I don't want Najika-chan to worry. Basil-kun, can you walk Najika-chan home?" Basil and Iemitsu quickly agreed to Tsuna's request.

"What about thou, Sawada-dono?" Basil asked quietly. "Will thou be okay to go home alone?"

A smile in his voice, Tsuna replied, "Yeah. I have Reborn and I-Pin and Lambo. I'll be fine."

Basil nodded and took my hand. "Come now, Najika-chan. Let's get thou home." He led me down from the rooftops, gently holding my hand. At that point, I was blind as a bat; one hour passed pretty quickly. "That sight of the Varia must have shocked thou."

I weakly replied, "Yes, it did, but I can't help but not be surprised by their actions. The Varia are dangerous, I understand that now. But now that I am a Guardian, I can't run away from a fight. I won't. I won't allow anyone to be hurt badly." Basil gave me an incredulous look.

Then he laughed. "Thou art quite something, art thou? I shall give my life to protect you or anyone else in the Vongola if need be. That is a promise that I intend to keep to thou." I squeezed Basil's hand gently. "I shall not allow thee to be hurt."

I didn't wish for Lambo to fight. I sighed, "Right now, I'm more worried about what could happen to Lambo-chan. If he gets hurt, I'll never forgive myself or those Varia, you know that, right Basil-kun?" He nodded.

"Let us hope that he has the strength to win," Basil agreed.

The next night, I found myself back at Namimori, Lambo snuggled up in my arms, a poncho draped over his small form. It was raining pretty hard, and I had no umbrella.

I sighed, which I found myself doing often lately. "You are such a lucky cow. To not know what's going on… I'd kill for that right about now. I only wish that you didn't have to fight."

The rain stopped hitting the top of my head and I saw Gokudera behind me, holding an umbrella over both Lambo and me. His eyes flickered from Lambo to me, then back to Lambo. "The stupid cow is a cockroach. Even if you killed him, he wouldn't die," he said. "He'll be fine."

I nodded. "Let's hope." The storm was fierce, and Lambo, in his yellow-booted glory, simply ignored the Cerevello and hopped around, singing. I watched, the hard exterior I built up for myself softening, seeing his childish innocence. "If he dies… I won't be able to forgive myself," I muttered.

Lambo stepped out onto the circuit board, with the floor shining with the lightning to face Levi. It seemed that even Gokudera was worried about Lambo. Tsuna stuck something in the little cow's hair, and watched sadly as he went off to play.

Levi stepped from the shadows, but then neither made a move. Lambo simply ignored the man in front of him, and he ended up getting electrocuted after touching the circuits under his feet. But Lambo, being Lambo, only began to cry violently. He apparently had "Electric Skin," as Reborn put it.

"Lambo! Do your best!" I cried, cheering the child on as best I could. I sent a deadly glare in Levi's direction. If I wasn't blind, or if looks could kill, Levi would be over six feet under by then.

Levi, however seemed more ready to crush the tiny assassin than ever. He hit Lambo, who flew back, and then prepared to hit him again. But, despite, Tsuna's warning, Lambo used the 10-Year Bazooka.

A fifteen-year-old Lambo decided to show up. He seemed much more calm and collected than the Lambo from ten years in the past. I was glad that he had decided to fight. He had a set of horns on and was struck by lightning. He charged, but apparently Levi's swords were all umbrellas that could shock Lambo with more voltage than even the cow could handle. He collapsed onto the floor, crying his eyes out. The adult Lambo ran to the 10-Year Bazooka and shot himself once again.

An older, much more mature, and even calmer Lambo appeared. He caught the Ring and prepared to fight. The twenty-five-year-old Lambo was much more determined than ever to win. He spoke as a dependable and responsible person. Levi Volta prepared to strike again, but Lambo took the attack, and withstood it with no problems to the adult cow. He even took the charge and reversed it on Levi, who was now excessively upset.

Basil and Iemitsu showed up, and Basil quickly rushed to my side and asked, "How is he doing?"

I replied, "He's doing fine, now that he's used the 10-Year Bazooka twice in a row, but… I'm worried about the side effects of doing so. I wonder if he's ever actually done something like this before."

"True," Basil admitted, eying the battle as well..

Something caught Lambo's eye and he knelt to pick it up. It was a pair of tattered old horns, which was what Tsuna had stuck in his hair. Levi charged at Lambo, who dodged using the horns. He said something about having been looking for them, and they were revealed to be the ones that our Lambo used. Lambo's Flame was even more confident, and he charged at Levi with a charge of lightning. It looked like Lambo was going to be winning after all.

As it turns out, only five minutes had passed since fifteen-year-old Lambo had been summoned. That was why twenty-five-year old Lambo had been called back into the future, leaving the child Lambo with us against an even angrier Levi. I gasped.

Now what do we do?! Lambo-chan will be fried if this battle continues!

All of us rushed to help Lambo, but we were warned that we could be disqualified. I'd seen enough when Levi shocked Lambo. Tsuna didn't even bother to care about his Ring, only his will to protect the small, helpless cow. "Tsuna-kun! No! You're the boss, let one of us go!" I yelled. Tsuna only looked back and gave me a helpless look. "… I guess that I can't stop you. Save Lambo!"

Levi was about to finish Lambo off, but Tsuna's intervention allowed Lambo time. He was in Hyper Dying Will Mode, and boy, were his Flames angry. They were bigger than I'd ever seen them before. I could see them licking at Levi's suddenly retreating green Flames, threatening to swallow them whole. He really was the one worthy to be the Tenth. Even Squalo's Flames were flickering a little in surprise.

I smiled; this was Tsunayoshi Sawada, the Vongola Tenth. Tsuna stated, "No matter how important you tell me it is… Vongola… To be next in line for boss… I can't fight for things like that." Tsuna's Flames quickly died back to their small and weak form. "But my friends… I don't want my friends to be hurt!"

I felt Xanxus's Flame as Tsuna was knocked down. I ran to Tsuna's side. "What are those eyes?" Xanxus growled. "You don't think you can actually defeat me and become the successor, do you?" I knelt next to Tsuna and tried to help him up, but those words…

X Tsunayoshi Sawada X

"Shut up." Everyone turned to see Najika, next to Tsuna, with her hair covering her eyes. "If Tsuna-kun can't be the boss, you're much less likely to become the Tenth. He's so much more than you'll ever be." Her eyes were revealed as she looked up at Xanxus. "It's not just the strength in your blows that counts, but it's also how much you're willing to sacrifice for your friends' safety!" she yelled, her eyes burning with anger at the Varia leader.

His eyes narrowed distinctly and his hand lit up with fire. "You… how dare you speak to me like that! You're all nothing but trash!" Xanxus's voice didn't sound angry or upset, simply amused.

She drew her gun from the holster on her leg and growled, "Do your worst, you son of a bitch." Tsuna's eyes widened. He'd never seen Najika so angry, so violent. He thought she'd really resort to shooting Xanxus at that moment in time.

Xanxus's eyes narrowed even more and he reached out to fire his gun at the blind girl. But he stopped as he saw her glassy eyes. "Your eyes. You're blind, are you not?" She nodded curtly, and the man laughed cruelly. "Vongola must be desperate to appoint a blind girl as a Guardian! Which one are you, girl?"

Her voice was wavering a little as she answered, "Wave."

"Waves are weak. So are you," Xanxus sneered, his grin sickening and cruel. "Now, woman, continue."

The Cerevello continued her speech. "I will now announce the results of the match." Tsuna didn't need to hear it to know what it was.

X Najika Kamiya X

Damn… not only did the Varia get Lambo's Ring, but Tsuna's, too! Even though he didn't step onto the field, the Cerevello still took his Ring.

I growled at the over confident man named Xanxus. I could see his Flames being boosted just by putting the Ring on his finger. And apparently, Xanxus had attacked the Kyuudaime, too. No one knew for what reason or what he did, but Iemitsu was determined to find out what he'd done.

And it looked like Gokudera was up next. "Remember what you told me yesterday, Gokudera-kun." He turned to me. "You're tougher than you look. We won't worry about you until you tell us to. But I believe in you, and I know you'll do just fine. Just promise me that if you're forced to chose between the Ring and your life, you'd chose your life?"

Gokudera turned to Tsuna, who nodded. "I promise." I held my pinky up for him to swear on it, and, although he grumbled about it being childish, Gokudera swore that he'd choose his life. "Now… can we go home? I'm anxious about my match…"

I turned to see the Varia watching us. "You can. Go, and get Lambo out of here. I've got something to say to these people…" They all left, some warning me to be careful. "You have some nerve, targeting a bunch of kids, Xanxus-san." He only laughed. "I'm serious! Why would you try and kill a bunch of teenagers? It's of no use; besides, Tsuna doesn't want any of us to get hurt. I'm trying not to worry him."

"You're stupid, especially for staying up here alone," someone's voice appeared next to my ear. How did he get there? "You're cute, though… I could have some fun." It was Gokudera's opponent, Belphegor. I turned to hit him, but he grabbed my wrist and held me to him. A cold object pressed to my neck. "You're feisty, too!"

I spat, "And you're sadistic."

He chuckled. "Be nice… unless you want to die." I struggled in his grip, but when I felt the blade press into my neck, I stopped. "Good. What's your name?"

Glaring down, I replied, "Najika Kamiya."

"Well, Naji-chan! I hope to see you again soon~ My name's Belphegor, by the way." He licked the side of my face and chuckled when I squirmed. "See you tomorrow night, Naji-chan~"

That boy knew how to make me upset. But he was a Varia member, and I was his enemy. I was ready to help Gokudera when he fought the next night. I would help him… even if it cost me my life, I would help him. He couldn't lose this match. He just couldn't.

CHAPTER EDITED AS OF 6/15/13

Atogaki-

Well, there's really not much to say about this one. It's pretty straightforward, and introduces the relationship between Bel and Najika. I have to say, it's one of my favorites to write, and my friend Erica, who read this earlier, asked, "Are you sure it's not a Bel and Najika romance?" After reading one of the chapters I wrote. I laughed so hard, and told her, "Read the freaking epilogue!" She did so, and was like, "Oh."

I used the title for obvious reasons and the song because it fits the sort of... feel of this chapter, and it's like Xanxus's theme. "Greedy little bastard" is so Xanxus, just saying.

Next up? Storm and Rain.

YAY! 59B! For all you yaoi fans, it's the epic and hot match of the century! Maybe second only to Hibari vs Bel... B18! Naw, just kidding. I'm not much of a yaoi fan myself, especially for all these sexii bishies. Like my Dera-kun! It's just a thing... I don't understand putting random bishies together, so feel free to get on my case about it, but none of them actually seem gay to me... maybe Lussuria, but yeah, that's rather obvious.