Episode 11: The Meaning of Family
"There's nothing you could say, nothing you could do… There's no other way when it comes to the truth. So keep holding on… 'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through…"
-"Keep Holding On" by Avril Lavigne

The next day, when I woke up, the first thing I remembered was that it was over. It was all done… Finally.

But… I still had to apologize to everyone. For everything I'd done to hurt them, from betrayal to harsh words. A knock on my door caused me to pull on my clothes quickly and answer.

"Good morning, Najika-chan." Tsuna. What was he doing here? "Um… well, apparently there's a party at Yamamoto's sushi restaurant. Would you like to come?" Apparently, my hesitation worried him, because he quickly amended, "I mean, if it's not too much trouble for you! After all," he paused, "you are the Wave Guardian, right?"

He wanted me to stay as his Wave Guardian?

I smiled. "Tsuna-kun… if you'll still allow me to be your Wave Guardian, even after all I've done, I'd be happy to do it." I bowed to him as he quickly nodded his head. "Well, lead the way… Boss." I laughed as he sputtered something about not calling him "Boss."

At Yamamoto's, everyone had turned up except for Hibari and Chrome. Everyone was laughing and smiling, joking around like nothing had ever even happened. It was like the day that Squalo had turned up and started all of this. I couldn't remember the last time that I smiled so much. I felt safe again, just by being around so many people that I loved.

At one point in time, Dino came up to me and said, "Hey, Najika-chan. I should apologize about saying those things." He gave a sheepish, apologetic grin. "You're stronger than you look."

I shook it off and replied, "I should be the one apologizing to everyone. I'm so sorry! I mean, I betrayed all of you, but Tsuna still took me back as the Wave Guardian. Honestly, I don't think I deserve such great friends." Dino simply laughed and patted my back.

I spent most of the day with Gokudera and Basil, staring at the white glint of the Wave Ring around my neck. Today was a day for fun and friends. Even though I tried to apologize for everything to the rest of the Family, no one would allow me to say how sorry that I was. They only said that they were glad I was back.

How did I get so lucky with my friends? Everyone's antics made me laugh. It was like we were all back to normal.

Even Lambo was normal again, running around, being loud, and teasing poor Tsuna. Having all this time with each other reminded me of before the whole Ring Conflict happened and the Varia began to attack. The day that Squalo came, all of us were like this. I was happy.

My happy mood was immediately killed when Tsuna came up to me and explained, "Basil-kun and Lancia-san are leaving. I know that you're good friends with both of them, so would you come with me to say goodbye?"

I nodded. "Of course, Tsuna-kun."

We both took off down the street, Reborn on Tsuna's shoulder. They'd left quite a while beforehand, so it took us a good few minutes to catch up to them. "Wait!" he yelled as they came within our line of sight.

"Najika-chan, Sawada-dono! Reborn-san!" Basil exclaimed. I stopped first, letting Tsuna speak.

He panted, but asked, "Y-You're going home to Italy without saying a word?" Basil apologized, saying that he was summoned and that he didn't want to ruin anyone's mood. They both gave Tsuna something to keep, even though he said that he couldn't accept anything.

I stepped forward after Tsuna gave me a look. I quickly hugged Basil, squeezing him tightly. He hugged me back as I buried my face in his shoulder and said, "I'm going to miss you, Basil-kun. You're the brother I never really had."

His arms wrapped around me. "I'm going to miss you, too, but I got a cell phone while here in Japan. I already have everyone else's contact. Here, put in yours." He pulled away and handed me his phone. After putting in my e-mail and phone number, I noticed something.

"You're not speaking like you used to," I commented. He laughed sheepishly and, but only shrugged. "I like it. Keep speaking modern Japanese, Basil-kun. It suits you," I teased, hugging him quickly. I turned to Lancia and smiled softly. "I never got to thank you for taking care of Sakkaku-kun for all those years. I know what he did to you was awful, but he's Family to me."

Lancia chuckled a little. "I remember you now. You were that girl that Mukuro always brought with him. He called you 'Kanari-chan,' right?" I nodded. "I always liked you. You kept all three of those idiots in line. Keep up the good work, okay, kid?"

I saluted the tall man. "Right, Lancia-san! Have a good trip home, both of you!" I exclaimed, looking from one Flame to the other.

A familiar female voice called, "Hey, kid!" Lal? What was she doing? I remembered finding a note in Braille that she'd left, saying that she was going back to Italy for a little. "Nice job in the Sky Match. Reborn told me what happened. Glad you're okay, though." I smiled and dropped to my knees in front of her. "It was a nice run, kid. I'm only here to take these two home. I'll see you 'round, though."

I nodded, but then remembered. "Ah, Lal-san, I made something for you. It's not much, but…" I handed her the small picture keychain with a photo booth picture from one of our days together inside of it. "I'm going to miss you."

She laughed a tiny bit. "See you."

I stood next to Tsuna as we watched all three of our friends leave. But I'd see them again. I knew I would. Nevertheless, Tsuna and I went back to the party, and we were immediately greeted by Gokudera, who was in a state of panic when he discovered Tsuna was gone.

Over the next few days, my sight got better and I met with the rest of the Guardians, who all seemed to be all right, and watched as strange, yet entertaining and funny, things kept happening, thanks to the deceiving nature of Reborn.

During the "test of courage," I was paired with Chrome to scare Tsuna and Lambo, since everyone else wanted to scare people. Gokudera was paired with I-Pin, Haru with Kyoko and Bianchi, and Fuuta, Yamamoto, and Ryohei.

Honestly, I think Chrome and I would have won if that stupid ghost, Romeo, didn't interfere. We had it all planned out; we were going to wait until he ran the opposite way from Yamamoto and his team, and then Chrome was going to use one of her illusions to make me look like I was dead.

Instead, we jumped Tsuna and the rest of them when it was all over and they were departing the graveyard, using an image from Vampire Knight as a display. I was getting attacked by a "vampire," then "the handsome hero" came and saved me. To say that everyone had freaked out was an understatement. Chrome was a genius, and she was now my best female friend.

I bought her a cell phone and allowed her, Ken, and Chikusa to move in with me, since I was living alone in an empty house. She didn't come to school with the others, but during lunch and in between classes, we were always texting.

Reborn came in 2day as Tsunas parent! LOL, it was hilarious. -^o^- Lambo and I-Pin joined them. LMAO.

Hha, sonds lke fum! :)

I giggled at Chrome's bad spelling attempts, but she was getting better. I was probably the only student who didn't have my parents come. Even Gokudera's sister, Bianchi, came in.

Speaking of Gokudera, he was popular, which actually surprised me, given his rough exterior. Several girls asked him out each day, but he said that he wasn't interested in them.

When he broadcasted that we were dating, boy, was I an unpopular person. Several girls threatened me that day, but Gokudera's glare scared them all off, sending them scattering around the school in order to avoid becoming his next victim.

Yamamoto, Ryohei, Tsuna, Hibari, and Chrome found out about our relationship and they all seemed to approve. Tsuna, Ryohei, and Yamamoto would give us space whenever we were all together, but they would tease Gokudera when it was just the guys. He kept complaining about it whenever we were together. Some of the comments made me laugh.

Chrome told Mukuro, who gave Gokudera the classic, "hurt her and I'll castrate you" big brother talk, but still approved of my choice. Even Hibari, who hated PDA in the hallways, ignored whenever Gokudera snuck me tiny kisses or held my hand. It was nice they were trying to help us.

Gokudera was great, too. He took me out every day and we just walked around town, talking about everything from the weather to our futures. We didn't speak about our relationship in the future, since we were pretty sure that we were going to stay together, if not romantically, then as Guardians and friends.

We even were named as Bianchi and Reborn's Best Man and Maid of Honor, and Chrome granted me illusion sight for the day. Damn, did Gokudera look good in a tux. Even though the groom was a robot for most of the wedding ceremony, and there were a few odd times with said robot, we still managed a few dances. The best part was that even Dino and Chrome, who was escorted by Ken and Chikusa, came.

Bianchi gave up, and Nana and Iemitsu were put into the roles of bride and groom once again, all for a photograph.

Mostly everyone danced when the whole mishap with the robot was over. Even Ken and Chikusa danced. Not with Chrome; she didn't dance, neither did Lambo or I-Pin. Kyoko and Tsuna danced for a few songs, then Haru stole Tsuna away. I still didn't know who he was going to end up with. Ryohei danced with Hana, much to my surprise. I danced with all my friends, but mostly Gokudera for the slow songs. It was fun. Save for Yamamoto's stupid remark.

"So, when's the wedding for you two?"

I had never blushed so hard in my life. Everyone else seemed to find it funny, though. Gokudera looked almost ready to kill Yamamoto. It took Dino, Ryohei, and Tsuna to stop him.

It took two days for everything to go back to normal afterwards. Even with all the excitement, with Tsuna catching pickpockets and thieves, we still had time to be normal.

"Um, Hibari-kun, where do you want these?" I asked one day, holding up the stack of notebooks. Gokudera, Yamamoto, Tsuna, and I were all on clean-up duty for the day, and, seeing as how Hibari hated the other three, I had been asked to take the detention notebooks to the Reception Room.

He replied, "I'll take them." Footsteps echoed across the room and I felt the weight of the books lifted from my hands.

I smiled a little, shaking my arms out from the sudden shift in weight. "Thanks, Hibari-kun." I don't know why I called him something so familiar. It just sounded right to me. "Um… I don't mean to pry, but aren't you sixteen? Why are you still coming here, to Namimori Middle? You should be in the high school by now."

Hibari dropped the books onto his desk and sighed. "Don't ask that." I blinked, but nodded. "It's nothing worth telling."

Nodding again, I told him, "I understand, Hibari-kun. I have things I don't want anyone to know, either. I won't ask anymore, so I'm sorry to have pried. I'll see you later." Walking out of the Reception Room, with a wave, I felt the prefect's confused stare on my back.

As I opened the door to the classroom again, I was greeted by someone taking my hand and dragging me out the door. "Gokudera-kun, what's wrong?" I asked, knowing the feel of his hands on mine.

He stopped and replied, "We're going out for ice cream! Is that all right, Najika-chan? I mean, you're not too busy to come, right?" I shook my head. "Great!" I must've still looked worried, because Gokudera assured me, "I'd tell you if anything's wrong. Maybe not at first, but I'll tell you."

I deadpanned, "It's about Tsuna-kun and the science test tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah." I heard the Storm Guardian sigh. "Juudaime is really worried. So I told him to he could go home and study, and that we'd be over to help him. The baseball idiot left for practice."

As it turns out, Tsuna had a right to worry. Our science teacher hated us. I was doing pretty well on my test. It actually wasn't too different than the others, and I ended up getting an 89. However, poor Tsuna got a 26, and, to make it worse, Mr. Nezu, our teacher, showed the entire class the test. I exchanged a look with Yamamoto. Where was Gokudera?

Of course, he was late, and after Yamamoto and I stepped in, we were in danger of being expelled. I shrugged. Not like I cared. Gokudera's score was 100, and Yamamoto's was 60. Of course, Mr. Nezu simply accused all of us of cheating. I sighed and looked calmly out the window.

"Mr. Nezu," I started, "I'm blind. My test questions were different than the others, so there was no way we could've cheated. Gokudera-kun sits at the front, while Yamamoto-kun is in the way back. Tsuna and I are in the middle. There's no way we could've told each other answers without turning around or being caught."

Damn that Mr. Nezu. He simply shot down my reasoning as "defending delinquents." I grumbled and looked away, crossing my arms and shooting the science teacher a glare.

Next thing I know, Ryohei walked in and started yelling at Mr. Nezu. Even Kyoko came in and practically begged Mr. Nezu to allow us all to stay in school. Mr. Nezu allowed Tsuna a second chance, but if he didn't pass, we were all expelled, including Kyoko and Ryohei. He expected us to teach Tsuna all the material in one night. Wondrous.

I sat on Tsuna's bed, going through my notes. Haru, Kyoko, Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei were all trying to teach poor Tsuna all at once. It wasn't really helping poor Tsuna. I knew this was going nowhere, so I left to go make dinner for Chrome and the boys.

When I got back, everyone was asleep. I gaped a little, then propped them all up comfortably. It didn't look like they got a single thing done. Poor Tsuna… As I cleaned up, I realized why Tsuna's grades were so bad. He was trying, but his brain didn't absorb as well as the rest of ours. Piling the papers up, I stacked them so they were in order of date, and then maybe Tsuna would be able to understand them.

Morning came pretty fast, and I realized that Tsuna had missed the test. I rushed up to the Reception Room and flung the door open. Where was Hibari? He could get all of them out of this mess. Most all of the prefects were there, but not Hibari. I figured he'd be on the roof then.

When I got up to the roof, I looked down. Tsuna? What in the world were they doing? I walked over to where I saw Hibari sitting. "Hibari-kun, what the hell are they doing?" I asked, looking down at the group in confusion.

"Digging for a time capsule," he replied. "One from fifteen years ago." Another one of Mr. Nezu's schemes?

I groaned. "Wonderful. So I'm guessing that Mr. Nezu told them to find it or they're expelled." He looked over to me. "I hope you don't mind that they're digging up the school."

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

A comfortable silence overtook the two of us. I probably should've been helping, but I had a bad feeling about the digging. "Do you want anything? I have food in my bag, if you're hungry. Ken and Chikusa can take care of themselves and Chrome for a little."

He shrugged. "Whatever." Smirking, I pulled out a hamburger that I was going to bring home and handed it to the prefect. "… Thanks." How did I know that Hibari's favorite food was hamburger? I don't know, just the fact that whenever I actually saw him eating, that's what he ate. Although, I'm pretty sure that he only ate once a week…

It didn't take long for the sun to begin to set, and a visit from Reborn put everything into motion. I giggled. Reborn and his Dying Will Bullets… Tsuna began to dig up everything, finding pretty much every time capsule buried there. I knew he'd find the one from fifteen years ago, so I waved goodbye to Hibari and ran down to the courtyard.

"Did you find it?" I asked, walking up behind them? Gokudera began to relay the story to me, including how Mr. Nezu had been lying about his education. When Tsuna was dragged away by Reborn, I looked up to see Hibari, with Hibird on his shoulder, looking down at all of us. "Gosh, he's so OCD," I grumbled, raising one eyebrow at Hibari. "Time to clean up, I guess."

CHAPTER EDITED AS OF 6/15/13

Atogaki-

Hibari ftw. That's all I can say. But really, this chapter was used to mostly strengthen relationships.

Chrome/Najika
Hibari/Najika
Tsuna/Najika
Dino/Najika
Gokudera/Najika

So yeah, that's it. "Keep Holding On" was used because it was kind of a song that really describes the relationships between the KHR Gang, that they're always there for each other. "The Meaning of Family" was also chosen, because this chapter was used to strengthen relationships and such. I was originally going to use "To the Promised Land" which is also known as "Yakusoku no Basho e," but soon decided against it. It was too abstract, so I decided against it. I was also going to use "The Sky's Family" and "The Meaning of Waves" but since the chapter doesn't focus on Tsuna or on what Waves mean, I also decided against that.

I hope you enjoyed.