Episode 25: Past meets Future from the Present
"I really hope you understand that if you wanna take my hand, then you should put yours over my heart. I promise to be careful from the start."
-"Count on You" by Big Time Rush feat. Jordin Sparks

I stared in shock at him. Did he know someone who looked like me? Why was he calling me… "Nami?" Giotto asked again. "Is that…"

"No," I replied. "My name is Najika, and I guess you've mistaken me for someone else," I continued apologetically.

The blonde walked over to me, moving for the first time, and he leaned over me. "You look so much like her, you know that?" I backed up a bit. "I guess you're the one who needs a tutor, right?" he asked, his gaze soft. "Arcobaleno." Reborn looked up. "I believe this is another reason I was summoned."

Reborn nodded. "Yes."

Smirking softly, Giotto stood up straight again. "I believe you are my charge." He put a hand on my shoulder. "I'll take good care of her, Arcobaleno." My eyes widened as I felt a shock of Flames running through my body, and then they closed, and my body felt heavy.

X Hayato Gokudera X

Najika collapsed, and Gokudera rushed to help her, but he was beaten by the Vongola Primo. The blonde boss picked her up gently and looked at Gokudera. "You remind me of him." He smiled a little as the yellow Flame engulfed both him and Najika, who was tucked away in the Primo's arms. "You two make a good couple," was the last thing he said before the Flame faded away.

Gokudera growled a little. "Najika…" He'd let her get taken by the Vongola Primo, and hadn't been fast enough to help her.

"She'll be fine," Reborn assured Gokudera. "Don't worry about her; she'll be just fine." All Gokudera could do was trust Reborn's word that Najika would be okay. "She's tougher than she looks." That much was for sure.

Sighing a little, Gokudera turned with the rest of them. Najika… be safe.

X Giotto X

He was watching over the girl in the Place of Dreams, which is what Asari had named it. Giotto simply accepted the name, however strange it seemed to the Italian Mafia Boss.

Footsteps behind her signaled the arrival of one of his Guardians. "She looks just like Nami," G. commented quietly. "I can see that history really did repeat itself."

Giotto nodded. "Yes, it really did. Did you all visit the Decimo Guardians?" he asked, turning to face his right-hand man.

G. nodded. "My… successor is a little bit headstrong."

"He reminded me of you when I saw him," the Primo shot back teasingly. He always could be somewhat immature in front of his friend, G. Giotto knew he could trust the pink-haired man with his life if he had to. "He was like you when you were younger, wasn't he?"

Shrugging, G. deadpanned, "I was never that stubborn." He paused for a brief second, then asked, "Was I?" Giotto chuckled, and G. shook his head, then looked to the girl who was lying down. "How long has she been asleep?"

Giotto replied, "Since yesterday. I guess I overdid it with the Flame Sedative." The Primo gave his friend a small, sheepish grin. G. groaned. "Now, how to wake her up…" He sat back down in his chair, gazing at Najika again.

G. sat down next to Giotto and the Primo noticed that his friend looked like he wanted to reach out to the girl. "Can I try something? It always woke Nami up." He didn't miss the pain in G.'s voice when he mentioned Nami.

"Go ahead."

Taking a deep breath, the Storm Guardian bent down next to the brunette girl's ear. He exhaled, right in her ear, and the girl jolted up, colliding with G. He grabbed his head in pain, as did Najika. "Ow…" she complained. "Who's bright idea was it to wake me up like that?!"

Standing, Giotto turned away from her. "So, you're awake." She looked up to him and gasped. "I have to go now. G., take care of her." The right-hand man grumbled, but nodded.

With that, Giotto left to watch Asari Ugetsu's trial of the Decimo Rain Guardian, Takeshi Yamamoto.

X Najika Kamiya X

The man in front of me looked a lot like Hayato. I almost called him Hayato, but then, the Primo, Giotto, called him G. I looked to G. and asked, "How long have I been asleep?"

He shrugged a little before replying, "I don't know. Maybe half a day, maybe more. Primo didn't really give any specifics." I bit my lip. "What's your name?" he asked, finally looking me in the eye.

I stared into his pinkish-red eyes. They looked familiar somehow. "Oh, um… my name is Najika Kamiya, sir, and I'm… the Decimo Wave Guardian." G. looked almost confused when I told him that I was a Wave Guardian.

"Wave Guardian?" he asked. "We've never had a Wave Guardian, why now?" G. mused quietly. I looked at him, the slightest bit of confusion in my eyes. "Sorry," he muttered, looking away from me. "I was just wondering." He looked back up to me. "Look, I know what happened to all of you, most of all, that boy, Hayato Gokudera. He cares a lot for you."

I looked down and twiddled my thumbs. "I knew that. I just… I want to… I…" I trailed off, not knowing what else to say to the Storm Guardian. I only knew which Guardian he was because of his Flame, which was powerful and violent in nature. "I'm sorry, I think that I just need some sleep…"

He sighed. "But you just slept, idiot." He slapped my forehead gently. "You care a lot for him, too, don't you?" I nodded. "Good. Don't lose that in yourself, okay?" he asked, standing. "Ah, Primo!" I followed his gaze to see the blonde Vongola Primo with a man in a traditional Japanese robe and a hat.

Giotto nodded to G. and walked over to face me. "Wave Guardian, this is Asari Ugetsu, the Primo Rain Guardian. He will be giving you your first bit of training." I looked up at him, confusion coming back to me. "We will all be training you, one by one. He has a bit of a break before he tests Takeshi Yamamoto once again."

Asari sent a small smile at me. "It's very nice to meet you, Kamiya-san."

I bowed to him and replied, "Same to you, Ugetsu-sama, and please, all of you, call me Najika." Giotto nodded and G. scoffed, turning away. "I have to ask though… did Takeshi fail his test?"

The Rain Guardian sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. He struck me down without a second thought. He went against his nature to win." I gasped a little. That was nothing like the Takeshi I knew. I guessed that Choice changed him. "Now, I have a question for you." I looked up into his smiling face. "If you were fighting, and the opponent that you were going up against was using hostages, would you continue to fight that opponent, even if there was a slight chance that your opponent would use those hostages against you?"

I thought for a minute. "Well… I guess that if a fight couldn't be avoided, I'd try my best not to hurt the hostages, but if I didn't have to fight, I wouldn't. I'd try to get the hostages out of the way before I did anything else."

"Is that your honest answer?" I nodded. "Ah… I guess you don't need my help then! You already have a sense of when to fight and when to agree."

I blinked twice. "Eh?"

Asari smiled once again. "Not everyone has that instinct. You really don't need my help, but if you ever need me, I'll be there to help you in any way I can." He raised his hand and a Rain Flame appeared in his palm. He took my Ring in that hand and I felt the spirit and power of the Rain Guardian surging into the Ring. "Now then, I should go. Your friend Takeshi Yamamoto still needs a second chance."

X Giotto X

So, that girl had Asari's keen sense of what to do in a fight. Giotto watched as she busied herself reading a very old book in his collection. She seemed to be very mature for her age. She was kind and sweet, but determined, too. Her only downfall, however major it was, was probably that she was always too hard on herself. He knew this from seeing her past.

Her training when the Varia came was… insane, for lack of a better word. It was like if she didn't keep getting stronger, she'd die. Even when she was in the past, she didn't stop unless she was eating or trying to figure out how to get stronger. She had to keep moving forward, or she wouldn't move at all.

He sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. "Najika." She looked up from the book, and Giotto noticed it was one of Nami's favorites. "It's late. You should get some sleep." She bit her lip and looked down at the book wistfully.

"But… I wanted to finish this chapter," she pointed out sadly. "It's the best one in this story…"

Giotto looked down at her. "You've read this before?"

She nodded happily. "Yeah. It was one of the first books I'd ever read. It was watered down, true, but it was still one of my favorite stories. I love how the story ends, even though it's so sad…"

The Primo moved around the couch and sat down next to Najika, gently removing the book from her hands. He pushed her down and covered her with a blanket. "Sleep, Najika. You've been working too hard again."

It was true; she'd been training with her "Box Weapons" as she called them, mostly trying to master a huge sword. Even Asari seemed shocked at her determination to master the huge weapon. She only came in to make herself something to eat and to ask for details on Takeshi Yamamoto's test.

It'd been two days since Giotto brought her there, and Takeshi Yamamoto had passed his test when the second trial came.

He stood back up when he saw her sleeping, visibly worn out from all of her training. Moving out of the doorway, he saw Lampo, Asari, and G. all watching him. "Is it time for Lampo-kun to do as he wishes?" Asari asked cheerfully.

Giotto spared one last look at the sleeping girl. "She won't like what she sees, but it's what must be done. Let's go." They moved out of the room, save for Lampo, who walked in and sat down next to Najika.

X Najika Kamiya X

I opened my eyes and looked around. Why was there the sound of guns and yells? I gasped at what I saw. I was standing on what looked like a chessboard. Around three squares to my left was Hayato, and four to my right were Chrome and Lambo, who was crying. Hayato had his Flame Arrow out and was shooting away. In the last row behind me was Tsuna, looking worried.

"Snap out of it, Najika!" Hayato yelled. "We've gotta buy the turf-top and the baseball idiot time to get to Byakuran!" I noticed Takeshi, with his sword, edging along the side of the chessboard, Ryohei opposite him.

Someone was missing… "What about Hibari-kun?!" I asked, pulling out my gun.

Hayato shrugged. "We just have to protect Juudaime. If he does down, it's all over!" I bit my lip. "Hibari… that bastard. He launched an attack as soon as we got into the game. Got disqualified the first move."

I knew it. Hibari wasn't the type to sit around through a game. I looked around and saw him restrained by several chains around his arms, legs, and middle. He was angry, his rage visible from the demonic look on his face. He tonfas were at his feet, bent and useless.

"Najika!"

When I looked back to Hayato, I saw him looking over at Ryohei, who was on the floor, now also restrained by chains, with the Cloud Funeral Wreath, Kikyo, standing over him. Zakuro and Bluebell were in chains on Byakuran's side. The Millefiore Boss was watching with narrowed eyes. Ghost was nowhere to be found, and Daisy was hiding behind Torikabuto.

I took aim and fired at Torikabuto, who burst into smoke. It was only an illusion. The Flame-bullet continued and hit Daisy, sending him flying back. Chains flew from where he landed and wrapped around him. Poor guy looked about to cry in terror. I bit my lip. Then Takeshi yelped and a sword clattered to the floor. I looked over to him to see the real Torikabuto standing over Takeshi's form. It didn't look like Takeshi was breathing. I bit my lip even harder to try and keep from crying.

Chains restrained him, too. Not that they had to, Takeshi was done fighting either way. Hayato grimaced. Byakuran, Kikyo, and Torikabuto were left on the Millefiore side, and we had Hayato, Tsuna, Lambo, Chrome, and myself.

I bit my lip. No… This wasn't happening… I kept trying to hit Torikabuto, who just kept dodging or blocking. Soon enough, Chrome and Lambo were also taken out. I almost lunged at Kikyo in anger. He hurt a child! I fired off another shot, this time at Byakuran. Torikabuto blocked it with his own body, taking him out of the game. It was down to just Kikyo and Byakuran against Hayato, Tsuna, and me.

"Argh!" Hayato cried out in pain, clutching where Kikyo had punched. Smirking, the Millefiore Cloud kicked Hayato right off of the chessboard. Only Tsuna and me left, and I was sure Kikyo would go after me. I held up my gun, but Kikyo went straight past me and snapped his fingers. Bellflowers wrapped around Tsuna and pulled him down.

A feeble hand reached out and Tsuna's voice begged, "Najika-chan… help me…" The bellflowers wrapped tighter and Tsuna was cut off.

"Tsuna-kun!"

Byakuran stepped in front of me. "This game is over. We've won. You can either leave and save yourself, or risk having the same fate as your friends." He smiled, almost kindly, but there was something sinister about it.

I knew that I probably should've left, but my stubborn streak kicked in and I shook my head. "No… I'm not leaving them!"

Something poked my forehead. I closed my eyes, waiting for the worst. "Bang," a lazy voice said. I looked up to see someone that looked like the fifteen-year-old Lambo, only with green hair. "Hm… Nice to meet you, Wave Guardian, Najika Kamiya. I'm Lord Lampo, the Primo Thunder Guardian."

"What?"

The lanky looking Guardian looked away. "You know, part of battle is knowing when someone is done for. You apparently can't let go. Look around," he stated flatly. Everyone… "You're the only survivor. You should've left when you still had the chance, because you've lost, and the Vongola has been destroyed."

I looked down. Lampo was right; if I was the only Vongola left, if there was even one, the Vongola still survived. "I…"

"What've you learned?" Lampo asked. I bit my lip. What was the lesson? He sighed. "You've learned that it's necessary to be selfish sometimes. Save yourself for once."

So… "So at points, to best save the Vongola, I have to make sure that I survive?" I tried, standing up to face Lampo.

The Thunder Guardian grinned a little and nodded. "Yep. Anyways, I guess I have to give you this." Like Asari, his hand lit up with a green Flame and he wrapped his hand around the Ring. It was sparking a little from the powerful Flame of the Thunder Guardian, but I could feel the acceptance of the Flame that the Ring gave off. "Later." He faded away, the surroundings following.

My eyes opened again. It was only a dream…

X Giotto X

So, she passed Lampo's test, too, even though he had to explain it to her. She learned a valuable lesson from the Guardian. Giotto stared at the dark blue sky, his hands gripping the railing of the balcony. He heard the footsteps of one of his friends behind him. "How did it go, Primo?"

He turned to face G. "It went better than I expected. At points, I was scared that Lampo was going to kill her, or she'd break down in terror. He used the worst memory of hers."

"He used their current roadblock?" G. guessed, moving to stand next to his boss. Giotto nodded, eliciting a sigh from his right-hand man. "Typical Lampo. Taking the easy way out…"

Giotto looked at his friend's face. "Do you care for her?" he asked lightly.

Looking down, G. replied, "She reminds me of Nami. She shouldn't take the same path, but she's just like Nami." He looked back to the stars above the balcony. "I just… think this is a way that Nami's been given another chance, you know?"

He nodded and followed G.'s gaze. "I understand, G. She was my friend, too, and I miss her."

"But she was responsible for your death!" G. exclaimed.

"I know that. But she was tricked. You haven't seen the future of Najika, have you?" G. shook his head. "She was lead down the same path as Nami. Only this time, it was all according to plan, except for her death." G. looked back down, biting his lip. "I know why you care about her so much, G."

G. scoffed and turned around, leaning against the railing. "Yeah, I figured you'd find out. No less from Vongola Primo." Giotto noticed how bitter his friend's voice was. "I don't really care who knows. As long as she doesn't find out."

"You have my word."

X Najika Kamiya X

Lampo came in the next day and told me that Lambo had passed his test, but was still as immature as ever. I simply laughed and told him that Lambo was five, so he shouldn't have expected anything else. Who was next?

It was the fourth day since we arrived back in the past. Takeshi passed over the course of two days, and Lambo passed, too. On day four, who was next?

I bonded with Asari, who helped me finish off with Frusta's Cambio Forma, and mastered it. It only took half a week. I'd mastered the scythe, which was rather easy to use, and the shield, which took practically no skill to fight with. Lampo was always hanging around, and I assumed the other Guardians and Giotto were still watching their designated Decimo Guardians.

That's when I noticed that G. was missing. He was usually here at this time. I was in the gardens with Asari, having a type of tea that wasn't really made anymore. Surprisingly, it was still fresh. "Hey, Asari-san?" I asked. The blue-eyed man looked up from his instrument. "Is G. watching Hayato for his test?"

Asari sighed, putting down his flute. "Well, yes and no. He believes that your friend Hayato Gokudera isn't fit to become the right-hand man of the Decimo, and he's going to test his resolve."

I bit my lip. "Hayato won't like that very much. He doesn't respond well to criticism and doubt, and is stubborn and short-tempered. But he has a good heart, and is really loyal. He just has to control that temper of his, but other than that, he's a great right-hand man."

"Are you saying that out of your love for him or your belief in what you say?"

I replied firmly, "Neither. I know that Hayato is a good right hand man, and if anyone questions his resolve, he'll stand up, and prove them wrong. He'll go against them to meet and rise above their expectations."

Asari smiled. "It's good that you believe in your Family that much." I nodded happily, taking another sip of the tea.

"This is really good, Asari-san."

"Thank you."

At sundown, G. returned from his trial.

He collapsed on the couch, sighing heavily. I placed a cup of tea in front of him that Asari had just made and sat down. "Are you going to ask about his trial or what?" G. asked.

Looking to him, I replied, "Well, I was hoping you'd tell me, but I also want you to rest. It looks like you've had a long day."

G. shrugged, picking up the cup of tea. "I've been gone since… well, before you woke up, that's for sure. And man, that boss of yours." He shuddered. "He reminds me of Primo when we were your age."

Confused, I asked, "Isn't that a compliment?"

"No way," G. deadpanned. "When Giotto was Decimo's age, he couldn't do anything right. He was, to put it lightly, useless, but after some hard training and one or two life-or-death situations, he became the guy he is today." He spared a glance at the door. "Don't tell anyone I said this, but your friend Hayato Gokudera? He was just like me when I was his age."

My eyes widened. "Seriously?" He nodded. "And?! Did he pass?!"

G. smirked a little. "Yeah. Kid's got some work to do, but he's going to do just fine as Decimo's right-hand."

I knew it.

"G." The pink-haired man stood up and faced the man in the doorway. "I have an assignment from Giotto."

G. sighed and stood up. "Yeah, yeah, Alaude. I know, I have to leave now, right?" I tugged on his sleeve a little. "Oh, right. Najika, this is Alaude, the Primo Cloud Guardian," he recited flatly.

"Nice to meet you, Alaude." I held out my hand for him to shake. He did so, somewhat reluctantly. "What are you teaching me?"

He replied, "You let your emotions take control of you in yesterday's trial. You refused to leave because of your love for them, and when they get hurt, you didn't want to believe it."

I shot him a half-glare and retorted, "You talk like that's a bad thing."

Alaude returned my half-glare and sighed. "This girl isn't worth my time," he grumbled. "Do you know why I speak as if it's a bad thing?" he asked slowly. I shook my head. "Emotions get people killed."

What the fuck?

He continued, "Just don't think about anyone else in combat. It's just you and your opponent. Nothing and no one else matters. Unless someone innocent is about to die, you don't get involved."

I burst out, "I'm not the Cloud, damnit! I can engage with other people!" Alaude only looked slightly taken aback. "I have to stay strong for myself and my teammates. And maybe you're right, maybe fighting with my emotions gets in my way and keeps me from being my best! I'll try harder, but I refuse to cut myself off and watch my friends die."

The Primo Cloud was silent. At this point, I really wanted to bitch slap him so he'd feel it into next Sunday – no, wait. Make that two Sundays from now. "Fine. You pass," he spat out reluctantly. Thank God. Another five minutes, and one of us would be badly hurt, that one more likely to be me. Alaude's hand lit up with a purple Flame and, unlike the others, he shot it into my Ring instead of placing it around the Ring. "See you, brat."

He reminded me of Hibari. Stoic, cold, and always wants to prove his superiority. Come to think of it, Giotto reminded me a lot of Tsuna, too, as did Asari with Takeshi, Lampo with Lambo, and G. with Hayato. It wasn't just their looks; it was personalities and their way of speaking that really reminded me of the Tenth Generation of the Vongola.

X Giotto X

Giotto was speaking with G. about how the test of the Storm Guardian, Hayato Gokudera, went when the door to his office flew open. His Cloud Guardian stormed in and ignored G. when he glared at him. Putting his hand on Giotto's desk, Alaude all but demanded, "Who is that girl, and why does she look like her."

G. froze, which didn't escape his boss's notice. "Her name is Najika Kamiya," Giotto replied. "She didn't have an Arcobaleno tutor, so we were asked to take her in for the week."

"That still doesn't explain why she looks like Nami," Alaude shot back.

The Primo sighed and looked down. "Even I don't know why she looks so much like Nami. She acts like Nami, too." The Cloud Guardian's gaze narrowed, but he nodded and left. Giotto sighed, resting his head in his hand. "He's so stubborn. Well, at least she passed his test. I thought he'd fail her for sure."

Chuckling, G. leaned against the wall. "He never changes, does he? The Decimo's Cloud Guardian is a lot like him from what Najika says."

Picking his pen back up and continuing to write down the details of the Storm Test, Giotto asked, "Have you been talking to her a lot?" G. nodded in reply, turning to look out the window. "… G." G.'s gaze switched back to his friend. "You can't feel for her like you did Nami."

"I won't, Giotto. I just want to know who she is," G. quickly retorted.

"She doesn't know who she is."

G. sighed again, letting his head fall back and hit the wall. "I know that. I'm going to help her so she doesn't feel like she's alone." Giotto opened his mouth to say something, but G. continued, "I mean, even when this whole thing is over, I want to watch over her."

At this point, Giotto stood and put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "We're all going to stay with her, even Alaude."

"And him?"

He nodded. "And him."

I apologize for not only the delay in the updates, but also in the shortness and horribleness of this chapter. I feel less connected to Najika than I used to, and I feel like once I finish putting this story up, I may leave this site. Just... vanish. Here's why:

I'm scared.

Yeah, that's really it.

I feel like this story was something I used to be proud of. I'd connected all the dots and made sure everything made sense - to me, anyways. But really... if you think about it, it doesn't make sense at all. To me, it feels like a jumbled mess of ideas written by a girl with the writing skills of a six year old and the mind of a three year old. It doesn't feel at all like the things I've been writing as of late.

So, yeah, I'm scared.

I feel like I'm disappointing people, because I'm a slow writer. I can only write when I feel inspiration, and I rarely have time to update anymore.

I'm asking you, my readers, for help. Because I need to know if you like this, if you hate it, or if you think I suck and I should kill myself, because I have gotten reviews for some of my former pieces that have told me to kill myself. It discouraged me a little, but I think I'm handling things a little better now that I've matured more.

But because I've matured more, I also feel like I'm letting you guys down. If I am, please say so, because I don't want to stick around if I'm disappointing anyone.

Thanks, guys.

-Aki