Episode 26: Finding a Resolve
"Lord knows dreams are hard to follow, but don't let anyone tear them away… Just hold on, and there will be tomorrow, and in time, you'll find the way…"
-"Hero" by Mariah Carey

It'd been four days since I came here. I still didn't know where I was, in the truest sense of the word, but I found myself growing close with the Guardians I'd met, even Alaude. He helped me train, allowing me to spar against him.

Asari and I were still having lunch together every day, and I spent a lot of time with G. and Giotto. Lampo demanded I make lunch for him every day, but I wasn't complaining.

As for the tests, from what I heard, Takeshi had passed, Lambo had passed, Hayato had passed, and both Hibari and Ryohei had passed. I sighed. Who was going to test me next? Giotto, or G., or one of the Guardians I hadn't met?

Who was left? I'd already met the Sky and the Storm, and had been tested by the Rain, Thunder, and Cloud. I still had to meet the Sun and the Mist Guardians. I sighed and looked around the gardens. Asari and the others had to go somewhere, even G. They left a few hours beforehand, and I was left alone in that huge mansion on a road that lead to nowhere.

Picking myself off the ground, I walked into the mansion through the door on the porch leading into the kitchen. Sitting at the table was a man I'd never met before. He had black hair, and for some reason, reminded me of Ryohei. I guessed that this man was the Guardian of Sun.

"It's nice to finally meet you, ultimate Wave Guardian!" he exclaimed, albeit politely. I nodded. "I'm Knuckle, Giotto's Guardian of the Sun." He stood and looked at me, his eyes boring into mine. "I'm here to give you your next test."

I nodded a little. "I understand. What do I have to do?"

"Let's sit." We sat on the twin couches, Knuckle across from me. "Okay, this is the ultimate test, isn't it?" he asked happily. "Well, we're going to do visual training now. It's a lesson, but it's also kind of fun. Close your eyes." I closed my eyes, my vision going black. "Now, envision your enemy." Byakuran's face was the one that came into my vision first. "Okay, so you've just won against your enemy, and they're asking for you to let them go, that they've learned their lesson. What do you do?"

I thought for a minute. "I… I'm not sure. I guess if that person was really such a bad person, I don't think that I'd let them go that easily, but… I've killed people without thinking, so I guess it depends on the extent of their crime."

Knuckle made a noise of approval. "Hm… okay, imagine you're in a tournament. You just defeated your opponent, and the rules are anything goes. Would you kill that person?"

"No!" I burst out. "Of course not! If this person hasn't done anything wrong, then- I mean, I just don't think that I'd be able to look someone in the eyes and kill them like they're game. I've killed people, yes, but if I didn't, they'd stand back up and attack my friends."

The Sun Guardian said, "Open your eyes." I did, and he looked rather pleased. "You pass, and with the ultimate grade! A+++++!" I laughed nervously; was there such a grade? "You really did a great job with this challenge!" His hand lit up with a bright Sun Flame and he wrapped it around my Ring. Another Flame down, which left only four Flames to collect.

I stood and bowed to the Primo Guardian. "Thank you, Knuckle! So I this means that guess Ryohei-kun passed his challenge?" I guessed, looking back to the black-haired man.

He nodded. "Yeah, and he did it with the ultimate skills!" I laughed a little. Of course, Ryohei would pass the Sun test with little to no problem; he was as bright as the sun, in terms of personality, after all. In terms of brains… I'd think more the dark side of the moon. "I think that your friend Chrome Dokuro is being tested tomorrow." I looked up sharply. "We think you should come with us, after-!"

"Now, now, Knuckle, are you speaking about me? I'm flattered." I looked up to see a blue-haired man who looked much like Mukuro. "Hello, Najika-chan. My name is Daemon Spade, the Guardian of Mist."

I nodded. "It's very nice to meet you, Spade-san."

He chuckled. "Call me Daemon, Najika-chan. After all, I am going to be testing you now."

"Daemon…" Knuckle warned. "You'd better not mess with her, you hear me?"

Daemon sent a challenging look at Knuckle. "Or else what?" he challenged. "You'll hurt me? I remember you taking a vow to never use your fists to harm people ever again after you killed a man in the boxing ring."

Knuckle froze. "Wait, Daemon… I'd really just like my test," I told him softly, putting a hand on his arm. "I mean, I don't want you guys to fight." It probably couldn't be helped; they didn't seem to have a good relationship either way.

He let out another chuckle. "Well then, my dear Najika-chan, I must tell you that… I have no test prepared. But I will pass you, as you are the Guardian of the Wave, and you remind me so much of my dear friend Nami. I just have one piece of advice to give you." He glared at Knuckle, who huffed, but walked out slowly, closing the door behind him. Daemon leaned down to my ear. "Sometimes doing good requires a lie to the person who trusts you most." My eyes widened and he stood straight again.

I managed to ask, "Are you saying that I should go behind Tsuna-kun's back to do what I think is right?" He chuckled once again. "That's not funny! I… Tsuna-kun trusts me, and I don't want to betray his trust."

The Mist Guardian replied, "Nami did it. She went behind Giotto's back, and we became stronger. She died for it, but she made the Vongola strong." I gaped at the older man. "You must think badly of me now, don't you?"

Biting my lip, I looked to the floor. "Only a little. I really believe that I can do good for the Family without having to deceive my friends."

"Maybe, maybe not." He shrugged. "Good luck either way, Najika-chan." His hand lit up with an indigo Flame. "I'm sorry if I seem to be in a rush. I do have things to do, after all."

X Giotto X

Knuckle was standing outside the living room door, his ear to the wood. "What are you doing?" G. asked, walking over to the Sun Guardian. "Who's in there? Najika and…" He cut himself off and looked around. Giotto saw G.'s face freeze. "You didn't leave her in there with him, did you?" he demanded harshly.

"It was his test," Knuckle tried weakly.

G. turned on his friend and spat, "You left her there, knowing what he's capable of!" Giotto was even surprised the amount of hatred dripping from his right-hand's voice. "Damnit, it's locked! Daemon, you bastard, open up!" G. began banging on the door before finally kicking it down.

Giotto swept in, cutting off his Guardians. Daemon Spade was nowhere to be found, but when the Primo looked around, he saw Najika, breathing heavily, lying on the couch, curled up into a little ball. "Giotto?" G. asked uncertainly. "What'd you find?" He walked around his boss, but stopped dead when he saw Najika. "Fuck you, Daemon Spade…" he growled.

Pushing past the Storm Guardian, Asari knelt next to Najika and asked, "What happened? What did he do to you?"

She opened her eyes weakly and replied, "I… I just…" She stopped and pulled away from Asari's grip. "I don't want to do this! I want to go home!" she cried, a few tears slipping from her eyes. She grabbed onto Asari's sleeve and begged, "Please don't leave me! He… he said that to make the Vongola stronger, the Decimo would have to be weeded out."

That's when Giotto stopped, too. "What?" he managed.

"He said," Najika continued, "that the Decimo wouldn't make Vongola stronger, and that it was unacceptable to have such a… 'useless little brat' as a boss."

Giotto's fists clenched and he grounded out, "Let's go. She's going to be tested soon." All of his Guardians nodded. They knew the "she" that their boss was talking about. Najika struggled to sit up, Asari and G. on either side of her, supporting her weak frame. "You should come, if you feel up to it," Giotto directed at her.

She nodded determinedly. "I won't let him hurt them."

G. cleared his throat as Asari helped Najika stand, even though her legs looked like they wouldn't support her for long. "Giotto, you said that he'd stay with her, too. I don't think that's a good idea."

The blonde nodded. "I understand, G. Let's just get Najika to her friends."

X Najika Kamiya X

I gripped G.'s shoulders tighter, as I still wasn't ready to stand yet. We were all outside of Kokuyo Health Land, where Chrome and Ken and Chikusa were bound to be. I bit my lip a little. Everyone but Daemon Spade was outside. A shiver ran down my spine at just the thought of the name. "You okay?" G. asked, looking back to me, looking slightly worried.

I nodded, resting my head on his shoulder. "Yeah, but I'm a little tired. I don't want to sleep, though… I'm too scared." His eyes softened a little. "Daemon Spade… I don't know what he's capable of, and I don't really want to find out what he could do to me and everyone else."

G. looked down, his eyes shining with hatred for the man named Daemon Spade. "He's capable of killing someone with no remorse. Giotto trusted him, though, so we decided to trust him, too." I sighed a little, burying my face in his shirt. "Nami trusted him, too. They'd been friends forever, and they joined the Vongola together. She never doubted his loyalty, not once."

Closing my eyes, I muttered, "He sounds a lot like someone from Tsuna-kun's family, but I don't think he'd betray us now… But now that you've told me that, I know that we have to help them."

"We're not allowed to interfere with an Inheritance Test," G. replied apologetically. "But this is just taking it a step too far, even for that bastard."

Giotto walked up to us. "Najika." I looked up from the ground to see over Giotto's shoulder. Tsuna and everyone… were running inside. "Maybe it's time to put your training to use. I'll give you my Flame, and so will G. You have to help your Family."

G. put me down, but quickly replied, "No way. She's been tortured enough by Daemon Spade."

"No… I'll do it." All six of the Guardians turned to me, some worried, some almost proud. "I'm not going to stand by and let my Family get hurt."

Smiling, Giotto ruffled my hair a little. "You really are like Nami. I'm very proud of how much you've grown, even in just a few days." His gloved hand lit up with a bright orange Flame and both his and the Storm Flame hit the Ring around my neck. "We'll make sure nothing happens to you."

I nodded determinedly and looked once at the purple covered building and back at the Guardians. All of them, even Alaude, gave me a look to go on. Running into the Mist, a few feet behind my friends, I don't think I'd ever felt so scared in my life, not even when I was faced with death. I think I was more scared then because I knew how dangerous this man was, and how horrible he'd be to my friends.

"Daemon Spade!" I yelled once I got inside. "Where are you, you bastard?!" Looking in both directions, I listened for something, anything, that would tell me what he did to my friends. I bit my lip again and prepared to wing it when I heard a chuckle.

A familiar blue-haired man materialized in front of me. "My dear Najika… I think you're very much mistaken. I'm only doing what's best for the Vongola."

I glared a little, slipping my Ring onto my finger. "You… you're destroying everything! The Vongola is fine as it is!" He simply laughed again. Lighting up my Ring, I quickly opened the Vongola Box, Nove landing on my shoulder and the rest of my boxes appearing around my waist. "I won't let you destroy this Family."

X Giotto X

G. grumbled a little, looking at the empty space that used to hold the Kokuyo Health Land. "Are you sure about staying out of this?" he demanded, turning to Giotto. The boss was silent. "Hey, Primo." Giotto looked down a little as he remembered what Daemon had done.

It was a long time ago. So many were dead, including Nami. Nami… she died realizing what she'd done and had sacrificed herself to save Giotto from a Mafioso. G. was on the ground, cradling her body in his arms. "Why, Daemon? Why would you do this?" Giotto asked, stepping forward.

The Mist Guardian was holding his arm, injured from the fight. "Why do you ask?" he replied. "You should already know the answer." He looked up, scratches decorating his face. "Along with my plans and my true desires…"

Giotto closed his eyes. "Primo, you don't need to be upset about what happened," G. tried to assure the boss.

Knuckle agreed, "He was marching to a different beat from the very beginning."

"But Daemon is one of my Guardians." G. grumbled more, and Giotto looked at the Vongola pocket watch that every single one of the Primo Family had. "Daemon's time may also have stopped back then… Just like this watch." He slipped his hand into his pocket, fingering the eighth watch that had once belonged to Nami. "I only hope that Najika won't make the same mistakes."

Nami's eyes were wide with horror at what she'd done. "I did this?" she squeaked uncertainly. Daemon' s smirk grew bigger. "No…" Giotto was so taken with his friend that he didn't notice the soldier behind him. But Nami did. "Giotto, look out!"

Giotto didn't even have time to react as the brunette girl tackled him to the ground and a gunshot rang through the building loudly. Nami's body landed on top of him and he gently pushed her off. That was when he noticed the blood. His eyes went wide as he put his fingers to the gunshot wound in her chest.

She was getting paler and paler by the second. She didn't have any more time. His eyes narrowed and he called, "G." The pink-haired Storm Guardian turned his head, but once his gaze landed on Nami and Giotto, he ran over and knelt besides his boss and his lover.

"What happened?" he choked out, putting a hand around the back of her neck and around her waist, holding her close to him. Giotto shook his head. "No… no, Nami, you can't leave me… Not you."

She weakly said. "I'm sorry…" But those were the last words she said, and she didn't breathe again. Giotto didn't know what she was apologizing for. To most, it'd seem that she was apologizing for leaving G., but Giotto knew that she was apologizing for her betrayal.

He never blamed her, and he never would.

X Najika Kamiya X

The illusion had changed the rotting building to a courtyard of stone pillars. Frusta, in his Cambio Forma, collided with the floor as Daemon dodged. "Too slow," I heard him behind me. I turned around and Vento attacked him from the side. It allowed me to pick up the sword and take another shot at Daemon.

He chuckled a little and raised his fist, slamming it into the side of my face and sending me flying. I cried out as I hit the pillar. "Damn," I muttered. Frusta and Nove, who were now separated, whimpered. Vento was on the ground, too, beaten. I opened all of the boxes and put them back in. "I guess my fight's over, huh?" I spat out a bit.

"It would seem so," Daemon replied softly. "Be lucky I went easy on you." His face beamed in and out of my vision, and I groaned a little before rolling onto my side and collapsing.

X Hayato Gokudera X

The illusionary space broke, allowing the baseball idiot, the stupid cow, the turf top, and Hibari to join them. It faded away, revealing Daemon Spade on the stage of the theater and the girls in an illusion next to them. The illusion around the girls shattered thanks to Chrome, and she knelt a little in pain. Gokudera looked around for Najika.

His eyes widened as he noticed her, unconscious. "Najika!" He rushed over to her and knelt down next to her. "Are you okay?" he asked. She groaned a little. "Thank God."

She pushed away from him and put her hand on the wall to stand. "Daemon Spade… you bastard… I won't ever let you ruin the Vongola," she spat venomously, sending a hideous glare at the Primo Mist. Gokudera looked down to see the pool of red and white Flames surrounding her feet. His eyes narrowed in worry and he looked back to see Juudaime battling fiercely against Daemon Spade.

As Juudaime was preparing the X-BURNER, an illusionary mist covered the entire room. Gokudera held Najika's hand, waiting for the mist to clear. She was clearly upset, and insanely pissed off.

Suddenly the mist cleared, and an X-BURNER was flying towards Chrome and the other girls. Juudaime looked up in horror. Gokudera blinked, and the flame was being deflected. A familiar blue-haired illusionist was standing in front of them, and Chrome was gone.

"Mukuro."

X Najika Kamiya X

I didn't bother to listen to any of the conversation between the three colliding forces of Tsuna, Daemon, and Mukuro. I was listening to the instructions in my head, given to me by a very familiar voice.

Giotto?

"Close your eyes, Najika." I did so and saw the face of the blonde Primo in my mind. "Now, do as I tell you. Your Flames are wild and out of control. You'll collapse if you use them too much."

I grimaced. I know that.

He chuckled a little. "This will be my test of you. Focus… and feel the core of your power." I stopped thinking for a moment and I felt my pulse racing faster than a normal human's should. "There. Now, concentrate the Flames and slow your pulse down."

How the hell do I do that?!

"Focus…"

Eventually, my pulse was going back to the normal rate. Now what, Giotto? I asked, my eyes still closed. No one answered. Giotto? Why wasn't he answering?! Was he leaving me alone here?

I opened my eyes and saw my friends, but no one else. Daemon was gone. My eyes narrowed. "I know you're there. Show yourself, Daemon," Tsuna demanded.

"Good grief." In a burst of indigo fire, the Mist appeared in front of us. "Such noisy children. I no longer intend to fight, since it appears that anything I have to say would be wasted on you." My hands, which were clenched into fists, relaxed a little. I knew that Daemon was a liar, but he would usually never back down.

I stepped forward as the threatening words between Mukuro and Daemon ended, and Chrome reappeared. "Daemon…" Another presence made itself know.

Giotto… "Primo."

He looked at Daemon, his amber gaze almost a glare, and said, "Daemon. I appreciate your help in evaluating the Guardian of the Mist Ring."

"There's no reason for you to thank me. I simply acted for the sake of my ideal Vongola." Cocky son of a bitch.

Giotto turned to look at Chrome, who was now on the ground with Kyoko and Haru. "However, you tested them and deemed them worthy. You fulfilled your duty." Daemon looked angry, but Giotto was still smiling towards his old Guardian.

With that, Daemon deemed Chrome worthy of the Inheritance of the Mist Guardian. I smiled a little, but a bright red Flame behind me drew my attention as Daemon disappeared. My eyes widened as G. stepped out and nodded to me. "You did good, kid."

I smiled widely at the man. "Thanks, G. But… you still haven't tested me yet." His gaze turned to confusion. "Even Giotto gave me a test, although I'm not entirely sure that I passed, but you didn't yet."

He shrugged. "You already passed. Here's how I'm going to show you." He pulled something out of his pocket and picked up my hand. Placing the object in my hand, he explained, "This was Nami's. I want you to have it. We're all in your heart now." I smiled a little. "I'm sorry for this."

"Eh?" His face was the last thing I saw before the Flame engulfed me. "Wait, where are we going?!"

"Namimori Shrine. It's night already, and everyone else is waiting."

When I opened my eyes again, I smiled. Knuckle, Asari, Alaude, and Lampo were already there. Two more Flames behind G. and me appeared, and Daemon stepped out of one, walking the other way, and Giotto from the other, and he walked towards me. "Najika… you've matured so much in just these few days. We've all deemed you worthy of becoming the protector of the Vongola. Your Inheritance is in your Vongola Box, when you need it."

I looked at the turquoise box. "Thank you so much, Giotto. For everything. And all of you. Asari, Knuckle, Lampo, Alaude, G… and Daemon." The blue-haired man's head snapped up from where he was staring at a watch. All of them had one, and they'd all stopped at the same time. "Thank you all!" I bowed to the Primo Family.

Giotto smiled gently and ruffled my hair a little before looking to Daemon. "You still carry that on you? The words on the back of the lid…"

"A vow of eternal friendship… was it?" Daemon asked, almost quietly.

The Primo looked down towards me, and he replied, "My feelings haven't changed." I knew they wouldn't; he wasn't the kind of person to hold a grudge.

Daemon scoffed a little. "Forever a fool." His words weren't venomous at all, even as he snapped the lid shut with enough force. "That was why you disappointed me in the end. I doubt our paths will ever cross again." He began to fade into his Flame, and I gaped. They were going to say goodbye soon… "Farewell, Primo."

Sighing, Giotto hung his head, but looked up when he heard footsteps behind him. The rest of his Guardians were behind him. I smiled and walked off to the side, allowing them a few moments with each other. "Good work everyone. Now, let's return to the Rings."

He looked up, but I looked down. I didn't want to say goodbye just yet… there was still so much I needed to know! "Najika…" G. was glancing at me. "Before we go, we just wanted to say how proud we are that we got to tutor you."

A small smile slipped back onto my face. "I'll miss all of you. You were some of the greatest tutors I could've asked for. Even Daemon." G. smirked and nodded. Then, in a burst of six colored Flames, they faded away. It was time to say goodbye to the Primo Family.

"Goodbye, everyone, and thank you."

No, Najika. Thank you for everything you've done for us.

I looked up to the sky and raised my Ring above my head. It was shining with the seven colors of the seven Flames. I smiled a little, then remembered that I still had something clenched in my hand. I opened my hand to see a golden watch with the Vongola Crest engraved in it.

Inside were the Flames that decorated the hands and the inscription on the lid.

"Givro eterna amicizia."

I pledge eternal friendship.

I smiled at the words. They'd entrusted this to me. I would always have some part of the Primo Family with me. I felt a warm liquid making its way down my face. Even though they were already dead, I was still crying.

I couldn't help it; they were going to have eternal friendship, even Daemon, who betrayed the Vongola. All I could hope was that I, too, would have the same friendship with the Decimo Family.

I'm so sorry for taking so long, and really, thank you all for the support. Knowing that people support this shit storm of a story makes everything worthwhile. To be honest, I wondered if I should go on, even with all the support, but I went back and watched this arc again. It inspired me even further to keep going, so really, thank you all! I really appreciate all of you!

Please keep supporting "Rainbow Shooter" as I hope to get better and better with my writing. You all mean so much to me, even the haters.

Much love, Aki~