"I am not Lela Starfield," Saya said, touching her lips as she realized she could speak again.
Knuckle said nothing, but stepped closer with a sincere, merciful smile. "I cannot say much, but in the name of our most honored guest of all time... and as a servant of God, I see the great trouble ahead. When you seek help, both Vongola and its allies will answer. Forgive my rudeness, but may I ask for your hand?"
Saya hesitated, but Knuckle gave a resigned smile and placed his hands on her shoulders and forehead.
"In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit... I, Knuckle, the First Generation Sun Guardian, grant the temporary right to wear the Sun Bangle to Lela Starfield for the purpose of healing and saving this honored guest. It is a right to wear only; the power of Vongola cannot be borrowed. She shall wear it until the healing is complete."
A yellow light glowed around her before vanishing. Knuckle looked relieved. "There is much I wish to discuss, but I am merely a will remaining within the ring," he said, his eyes tinged with a sad farewell, though he kept a wide smile. "Good luck, Lela. God bless you."
Everything turned white before Saya felt someone shaking her. A distant voice grew clearer—it was Ryohei. "Saya-chan! Saya-chan!"
"Ah, I..." Saya was still dazed as everyone looked on with concern.
Shamal and Gokudera rushed to her side. Shamal listened to her heart with a stethoscope; her vitals were normal. "Are you alright? No symptoms?"
"I'm fine," she said, looking at the Sun Bangle on her left arm. It glowed with a steady yellow flame and showed no signs of breaking. "Everything feels normal."
The excessive hair growth had stopped. With Ryohei's help, she stepped off the bed and found she could walk perfectly. Everyone watched as she stepped out of the room, still anxious about what might happen next.
"Let's try another patient," Shamal suggested. He led her to an elderly man with a broken leg. Saya gently touched the cast. Within moments, Shamal checked and gave a thumbs up. "The bone is fused."
Saya was stunned. As the others cheered, her eyes filled with tears of joy. Shamal patted her head. "Well done."
"Are there... more patients I can heal?" she asked, her voice trembling with happiness. "I want to go to every bed."
"There are," Shamal smiled. "I'll take you myself."
As Shamal led Saya away, Tsuna and Dino pulled away for a private talk.
"Dino-san, I have something to ask," Tsuna began. "When the Sky Flame came out, I felt Saya... and her voice. You felt it too, right?"
Dino nodded. "I don't know what happened, but I heard her voice inside my head. It felt like being in a vast galaxy. I sensed a massive presence and tried to stop her from reaching out, though I didn't understand why. For a split second, I felt another presence connected through her."
They thought of the sharp, piercing eyes that had looked at Saya. Neither would ever forget that chilling aura.
"...Byakuran, right?" Tsuna said. Dino nodded. "That's why Reborn had to investigate personally."
"We'll know the truth soon," Dino said. "Whatever he's planning, we have to stop him."
The Rain Flame manifested the following afternoon. Shamal forbade Saya from going to cheer for Yamamoto because her flames were still unstable.
A light drizzle fell as Squalo entered the room, his Rain Flame reacting. He immediately gripped Saya's hand for nearly thirty minutes to stabilize her.
"Another sub-element," Fon noted. "So she has three innate flames so far: Sky, Sun, and Rain."
Once she was stable, Fon left to train I-Pin. Squalo sat across the room sharpening his sword, while Lussuria sat nearby knitting a scarf. Saya picked up a book to pass the time. Her bedside table was stacked with books: Every Day by David Levithan, Coraline by Neil Gaiman, fashion magazines from Kyoko, and various manga like Jujutsu Kaisen.
"Do you need anything, dear?" Lussuria asked.
"No, I just wanted to see Yamamoto-kun's match."
"There might only be replays for the youth league," Lussuria said, as Squalo tsked in annoyance.
"He's obsessed with baseball and his swordsmanship is slipping. Now he's distracted by a girl. Infuriating," Squalo grumbled. His words stung Saya, making her grip her blanket tight.
"Squalo, it's necessary!" Lussuria snapped. "She is Vongola's honored guest!"
"A burden, you mean," Squalo continued. "A swordsman should dedicate his life to the blade and victory, not a girl acting like a ladybug clinging to him."
"SQUALO! That's too far!" Lussuria stood up. "Don't you understand she needs help?!"
"Hmph. Natural selection," Squalo sneered. "The weak are consumed by the strong. The weak should just die!"
THWACK!
A pillow flew directly into Squalo's face. He stood up, stomped over to Saya, and grabbed her by the collar, hoisting her up. Saya was terrified, but her anger had boiled over.
Lussuria tried to pull Squalo's hand away. "Stop! She's the mission! If something happens to her...!"
"I am weak!" Saya shouted. "But I don't like how you talk to me! Is it wrong for me to be angry and talk back?!"
"Ugh! It's wrong because you're weak!" Squalo shoved her back onto the bed. Lussuria rushed to Saya as she coughed. Squalo glared at her in frustration before storming out. "ANNOYING! VOI!"
"Are you okay?" Lussuria used his Sun Flame to soothe her.
"T-thank you, Lussuria-san. I'm sorry."
Lussuria shook his head. "Squalo is just like that. He worries about Yamamoto in his own way, but he was far too harsh with you."
"What happened?" Yamamoto entered with Tsuna, carrying trays of sushi. Seeing the state of the room and Saya's disheveled clothes, they knew. "Squalo, right?"
As Yamamoto turned to leave, a cold shiver ran down Saya's spine. She instinctively grabbed his wrist. He froze, then turned back with a forced smile.
"No... it's nothing... really, Yamamoto-kun," she whispered, her heart racing.
Lussuria and Tsuna were surprised by her reaction. Yamamoto looked at her for a moment, then at her trembling hands.
"I see," Yamamoto said, his voice dropping an octave. "It's nothing, then."
Saya nodded, trying to smile naturally. "You brought sushi? I was still craving the Amadai."
Lussuria adjusted his glasses, his expression turning serious as he followed the path Squalo had taken.
After dinner, Ryohei came to help Lussuria look after Saya. Tsuna had to go home to speak with his father, Iemitsu, who had just returned.
"Alright, Shamal gave the okay," Gokudera said, entering the room. "We can go to the baseball field now that it's empty. Go relax. Tenth, don't worry, I'll protect Saya with my life!"
"I'm counting on you, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna said.
They headed to a nearby field. Saya, Ryohei, and Yamamoto ran around under the bright stadium lights while Shamal and Gokudera watched from the side.
"You really worry about her," Gokudera said to Shamal. Shamal was yawning from exhaustion, but his eyes never left Saya.
"I'm afraid if I look away, something will happen," Shamal admitted.
"How so?" Gokudera lit a cigarette.
"It's... the feeling of a big brother, or maybe a father," Shamal said. Gokudera choked on his smoke, and Shamal cuffed him on the head.
"I still can't believe what she's been through," Gokudera muttered.
"A girl whose own mother went insane and tried to have her killed," Shamal said grimly. "When the plan failed because the father threatened to cut off the money, the mother used her for fame instead. The father realized she was 'special' and kept her alive just to see if he could use her power. When she didn't show the power he wanted, he neglected her. To them, she was just a tool that became useless. I'm just glad he hasn't done anything worse... or maybe he's still planning something."
"If that trash father finds out she's this powerful now, God knows what he'll do," Gokudera said, looking at the fragile girl running on the field.
"The Nocturna Family is moving strangely, too," Shamal added. "If someone discovers what she is, it could spark a war—just like the one she described in the future. Maybe I should have let her pass away peacefully back then..."
"Is that why you 'killed' her? Because you knew this would happen?" Gokudera asked.
"I didn't know the future, I just knew she wasn't normal. I took a job from a crazy woman to keep my own life simple... but you should be grateful. Because of me, she's alive to meet you."
"Yeah, real grateful," Gokudera grumbled.
On the field, Yamamoto was laughing, throwing the ball with Ryohei. But when he looked at Saya, his eyes softened. "Are you tired, Saya-chan?"
"Yamamoto-kun... why did you become a mafia member?" she asked. "You don't seem like one. None of you do."
Yamamoto caught a ball from Ryohei and stood still. "...I just wanted to protect what's important," he said. "Squalo once asked me to choose between baseball and the sword. And... I made my choice."
He tossed the ball to Saya and pulled out his baseball bat. With a slight smile, he swung it—and it transformed into a blade. Saya's eyes widened. "It's something like that."
For a moment, his eyes were razor-sharp, devoid of his usual playfulness. It was as if he wore a mask of cheerfulness to hide the hitman beneath. Saya felt a heavy weight in her chest. For the first time, she felt she couldn't stand on the same ground as them.
"...If possible, I didn't want you to enter this world," Yamamoto said softly. "Being mafia isn't easy, Saya-chan."
"What... what do I have to do to become mafia?" she asked.
Yamamoto stepped toward her and handed her the sword. His eyes remained sharp and intense. Her slender hands gripped the hilt as he slowly let go, letting the weight of the steel transfer to her.
"This is the weight of the sword," he said. "Try swinging it."
Saya tried to remember what she had seen in documentaries. She gripped it tight and swung, but it was clumsy.
CLANG!
The sword flew from her hands and slid across the ground, reverting to a baseball bat. Yamamoto picked it up and swung it again, the air whistling with the force of his strike. The grass bent under the pressure.
"You have to swing... like this," he said, his voice returning to normal. "To protect yourself." He swung again using the back of the blade. "And you need this much force to take down an opponent without taking a life."
"Yamamoto..." Ryohei whispered, sensing the gravity of the lesson.
"This world is crueler than you think, Saya-chan," Yamamoto said, his eyes now gentle again. Saya looked at the sword, then gripped it again. Yamamoto closed his eyes. "I'll take that as your answer."
"I'm sorry, Yamamoto-kun," Saya smiled. "But I want to share the joy and sorrow with everyone. It might be too soon, but Vongola is the place I want to be."
"HEY! WOMAN!" Squalo shouted from the stands. He had been watching with Lussuria. "What Yamamoto is trying to say is that this world is PITCH BLACK! Do you think a civilian like you can handle the pressure?! The blood?! The killing?!"
Saya blinked, which only frustrated Squalo more. "VOI! That innocent look is the worst! He means you'll have to kill to survive! The weight of the sword is the weight of a life on your shoulders! A weakling like you can't handle it! The one who stands beside Vongola's sword... YES, I MEAN AS A WIFE!... Oof!"
Lussuria jumped up and covered Squalo's mouth. "Squalo! If you aren't going to woo her, don't ruin the mood for the others!"
"I'M NOT WOOING THAT WEAKLING!" Squalo roared as he and Lussuria began brawling in the stands.
Yamamoto laughed and took the sword back, turning it into a bat. He took Saya's hands, frowning when he saw the red marks from her struggle with the hilt.
He held her hands in his and ignited his Vongola Gear necklace. He touched the pendant to her hands to soothe the pain. "We need to treat these, Saya-chan."
Suddenly, Saya saw a vision of a man in traditional Japanese clothing smiling at her in a beautiful bonsai garden.
In my name, Asari Ugetsu, the First Generation Rain Guardian... I grant the temporary right to wear the Rain Necklace to Lela Starfield for the purpose of healing and saving this honored guest...
The vision faded, leaving only Yamamoto. He smiled, his eyes sparkling with a mix of joy and something deeper. "Seeing you decide like this... I don't know if I should be happy or sad."
"Why?" she asked.
"It just... gives me a little more hope," Yamamoto whispered. He didn't explain further, but took her hand and led her off the field.
"Let's go back, Saya-chan."