This sucks...all that energy and drive and she treated me like a chump... Naoto fumed under Sonya's humiliating hold. He clenched the sand in his hands. I was unable to stand on my own or for the others...again... Sonya went on as she explained about the flames and the guardians. Naoto quietly listened until Sonya kicked him. "Gah! Dammit, I wasn't dead I was listening!" Naoto cried out in pain as he sat up, uncomfortably due to sand being in places it shouldn't. He glared at Sonya ignoring ieveryone's questions. Naoto didn't understand why they were asking questions as if they'd already decided accept all of this. Especially if I'm supposed to be leading... Naoto cried his gaze at the thought his eyes covered by his hair.

"I don't care about all this weather stuff. The only I wanna know is...why me? Why does the guy running things now want to make me boss?" Naoto looked up at Sonya. His eyes still looked angry but more over, they were scared. "That's because of me." Naoto quickly turned to look at the boardwalk and saw his mother standing there. "Mom!? What are taking about?" Miku have her son a loving smile. "It's because the blood of Vongola runs through my veins and so, in yours too. By the way Sonya, how is my no good cousin doing? I didnt expect him to send you. Then again he's always been one to give people chances." She said to the fiery haired assassin casually. Meanwhile, Naoto felt like he was losing his mind. "This is definitely a dream..."

Sonya tried to listen to the group's questions calmly but when she heard Cyril's comment, red flashed before her eyes. The next thing she knew, she felt her fist collide with his face. Luckily, she held back at the very last second so she didn't break his nose. Dusting her hands off, she turned to the Jak who had actually had a legitimate question.

"The Decimo chose you because you eight share the same characteristics and qualities that the seven Dying Will Flames represent. Some less than others." Sonya glanced at Fionn, "And some more than others." Sonya glared at Daisuke, not forgetting his idiotic remark. She then turned to Benjamin still sitting calmly on the ground. "What you can do now is think about the news I have just given to you. I know it's a lot to take in. Contrary to popular belief, I won't be forcing you into your roles. You can decide whether or not this is the path you want to take. You, on the other hand..." Sonya looked down at Naoto, "do not have a choice." At this moment, a surprise appearance of Naoto's mother caught everyone's attention. The red-haired woman hadn't seen the older woman in ages and smiled her first smile that day.

"It's nice to see you again Ms. Miku." She greeted respectfully, "I don't question the Decimo's orders but I know he sent me for good reason." When Sonya turned back to the others, a serious look graced her face once more.

"I'm giving you until tomorrow to figure out what you want to do. If you choose to become a Guardian, then meet me at Naoto's place at 3:00 sharp. We will start training there. If you don't choose to be a Guardian, then forget everything I said and enjoy your lives. But remember this, the Decimo chose you for a reason. If you want to know why, then train to become a Guardian. I promise that you won't regret it." With those words said, Sonya turned and started for Naoto's mother.

"I hope you don't mind, but it is tradition that I stay at the future Vongola boss' home." She said as she began to walk off the beach with her in tow.

---

Abby didn't know what to think after all that. She was still half-deciding if this was all a dream. It seemed so indescribably out there. Who would have thought that she had the chance to become part of the Mafia? What would her parents think if she decided to go about this? Did she even want to be a Sun Guardian or whatever they were called?

Abby turned to the others, a confused look on her face. "What are you guys going to do?" She asked softly. If she thought about it really hard, this was the first time she was ever given a choice to do something about her life. And this was freaking life changing. She wasn't sure if her mind could wrap around such responsibility.

Benjamin pondered the whole situation until he was addressed. It seemed he had a time and place to go, if he so chose, now. But he had no idea what to do. If he should join or not. Abby asked what they would all do and he could only turn to her and say, "I have absolutely, not a clue." He stood up and dusted himself off, picked up his shoes in one hand. "But we have until tomorrow to figure that out." On one hand, he could join the Mafia. Professional crime. He didn't care much about the legality of actions, rather the morality. If he joined the Mafia, he might be able to get his father out of debt, and in turn save his mother from looming danger. If he chose to stay out of it all, he'd probably scratch out a pretty good living for himself with a kick-start from his father, which he would almost certainly get due to general guilt for not being there for Ben. He didn't know. But he did know these people, at least these Guardians were good people. From what he'd seen, anyways. He figured, since Sonya was gone, he should bail, too. He began the trek home in his bare feet.

((It's late. Don't hate me for length.))

Jak listened to Sonya. So... she represented rain? And Naoto's Mom was a Mafioso? This is all so crazy... For a moment, Jak's brow was scrunched in thought. When she looked up again, she saw the others, all worried about the position as much as she was. Jak laughed, "Well, no good will come of thinking too hard about this right now." Jak picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "I'm gonna go home and think about it. Although... I might just accept the offer. I can't say no if I'm exactly who they want for a job." she smiled and just walked away, thinking more on the rest of the implications of the offer.
On one hand, she would be working for a mafia family. On the other, she'd be working for Naoto. Naoto seemed like a kid who had potential but never wanted to use it. Besides, he seemed too afraid of breaking the law to actually do anything illegal. She folded her hands behind her head, and stared at the sky. "Well, nothing bad can happen if I just roll with it."
With that, Jak turned into the cemetery and walked to her father's grave. She sat down and placed the flowers parallel to the grave. "So, Dad. You won't believe it, but there's a mafia woman in town and someone she knows set the festival on fire and... oh man, I can only hope to keep visiting, because it looks like things might be getting busy around here."

"You do not have a choice." Sonya stated harshly. Naoto felt trapped, yet at the same time he didn't seem to mind. "Who died and made you queen..." Naoto mumbled bitterly. Though his mouth still spout protest his expression had become calm. Maybe...this is the push I need...what would you do Kohaku? The thought brought flashes of memory and Naoto didn't like what he remembered. What an I thinking? This is nuts. Not to mention dangerous...I don't have a choice huh? But...they do! Naoto stood up and crossed the beach to the others. He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly trying to find what he wanted to say. "Listen, you heard the old hag. I don't have a choice, so before you come to my place tomorrow ask yourself something...can you really see yourself mixed up in such a dangerous world?" Naoto seemed to give off a different air when he said this. Suddenly, as he looked over everyone's faces and realized Jak and Abby were there he remembered he was in nothing but his boxers and scarf. Turning as red as Sonya's hair he bashfully sunk into his scarf. "Anyone got a spare coat?"

Meanwhile, Sonya and Naoto's mother were talking. "Of course Sonya. We'd love to have you stay with us~" Miku responded warmly. "Huuuuuh!?" Miku stopped to look back at her son who had caught up while Sonya seemed exasperated with Naoto. "S-stop joking mom...th-there's no way your really find let that devil woman live with us? Besides what about dad?" Naoto laughed nervously. "I'm not joking. And don't worry Nao-kun, I told your father about my connections to the Vongola a long time ago. In fact, he's the one who recommended you to Tsuna-kun~" Naoto's face was one of utter disbelief. Dad did this to me...? Naoto was like a zombie the whole way home, overwhelmed by the events of today.

Daisuke did not have a single clue as to what was going on.

First, the scary woman was talking about clams and fire, and another random and perhaps scary woman was now talking to the other scary woman about clams. Since when were there so many scary women in Italy?! And at some point before the second scary woman showed up, his dame started to reassure Daisuke that the first scary woman would explain it later. His attention span of a squirrel was struggling to keep up with everything going on at once, and his brain was going to explode.

"Oh-" Daisuke sputtered as he saw the group of kids begin to disperse into separate directions, wagging his head around in a state of confusion. Out of everything that the scary woman had said, he had only received the fact that he was the "Guardian of Lightning" - what did that mean? He was absolutely terrified of thunderstorms, and he could remember being almost struck by lightning when he was still living in New York! Oh well, he thought. My first breakthrough role in my acting career - the mafia!

Daisuke grinned giddily at the thought, looking to his feet. "I don't know," he said in reply to Abby rather depressed for the moment, scratching the back of his head. "But..." his face suddenly beamed up in enthusiasm, and in a second he took off down the street, following Naoto as he shouted and waved his right hand in the air, "Matte, Boss!"

Cyril was about to snort and walk away when he felt something crack against his cheek. In a matter of moments, he was on the ground with a mouth-full of sand, coughing out the particles and trying not to wince as pain washed across the side of his face. What was… he glowered back up at the people that remained on the shore. Not that many people stayed behind. Before he knew it, he was one of the only people that remained on the sandy beach. He staggered to his feet, holding his head and allowing a low groan to escape his lips. That woman hit me. I’ll get her… I swear to God I-

Yet, he noticed that now wasn’t the time to vow revenge. The lucky strike hurt much more than he thought it would, and he tasted the pang of blood. He had cut the inside of his cheek, and he was pretty sure that his cheek would bruise. The dark haired Italian let out a stream of curses from his lips as he began to stagger home, still clutching his cheek. He didn’t care a fuck about the people that were still on the beach. I swear, I’ll get her…

His eyes felt heavy and it was like the day just took all the energy it could out of him. So, as soon as Naoto's head felt the fluff of his pillow there's was no way he was moving until he slept. Mafia, the Vongola, dying will, Sonya...what should I do? I can't become Vongola XI...what was dad thinking? I'll just have to ask him in the morning...if those other people are sane, they won't come to listen to whatever other ridiculous things Sonya has to say. Naoto flipped over onto his back and let his arm drape over his eyes. He thought about what his mother told him just before he went upstairs. "Nao-kun, don't worry about being Vongola XI. Just follow your intuition and do what comes naturally. Things will fall into place." Naoto frowned. What will fall into place? Me being boss? Ugh...now my head hurts. Naoto sat up and looked across the room at his dresser upon which sat a pair of cracked goggles. "What would you do? You were the one who was always the leader...maybe you could lead me through this..." Naoto soon drifted to sleep without another thought.

Morning came like nothing had happened. The sun's rays shone in through the slit in the curtain and onto Naoto's sleeping form. The pink haired teen shifted causing his eyes to be directly hit by the light. Flinching at the discomfort his eyes opened and he turned onto his other side. Yawning, he sat up scratching his head. "Yeesh, it's alread noon..." He remembered about Sonya and everything. "That had to be a dream...I mean, I got shot in the head and was perfectly fine. Obviously just a wacky dream brought on by indigestion after all the food I ate yesterday. Ugh...I'm never eating like that again..." Naoto rubbed his stomach and got out of bed. He headed out of his room, tiredly ignoring Sonya coming out of the bathroom and commenting on how lazy he was as he made his way down stairs. Naoto's mother looked up at her son on the stairs. "Oh Nao-kun~ It's about time you woke up. All of your new friends are here." She chimed as she finished serving everyone tea. Naoto looked down at everyone, his tired expression unchanging. Then he turned and started back up the stairs. "Where are you going?" Sonya asked as he passed her on the way to his room. "Back to sleep. I'm clearly still very tired and have started hallucinating." There was a moment of silence after Naoto shut his door. Suddenly, he came bursting out and down the stairs and pointed at the group sitting at his kitchen table. "What the hell are you all doing here!? Naoto yelled, seemingly breathing fire with every word in irritation.

Benjamin had woken up uneasily that morning. He could feel a sore throat coming on from the day prior and he was still undecided as to whether or not he might join the mafia. It was all up in the air. He got dressed that morning and, taking his bag and sword and a hastily put together bagel sandwich, headed to morning fencing. He spent the next three hours sparring and taking advice from the two owners of the team. His form was flawless but he hesitated after parrying and that moment cost of hesitation him at least six matches, amongst other critical yet minor flaws. He was only a little better than the average duelist. He took an hour for lunch and silently went over all his mistakes and betrayed himself for each. He couldn't improve if he didn't fix his mistakes, his bad habits. There was no way he'd ever land a trophy. What did that say about a Mafia career? If he couldn't win enough in the one thing he took joy in, how would he win in something criminal?

Deciding to go back to practice, he knew at least two others would stay a few hours after. One of the owners would be sparring with one of the overachievers. Well now Benjamin was one of those. He let his frustration take control during the next few matches. It cost him a handful of wins but the owner picked up in the newfound drive. After pointing out one hole Benjamin's kept leaving in his defense, Ben took the fastest win any of them had seen, lashing out with the last remains of his frustration, but using it to fuel his power and not letting it cloud his thoughts. His strike was fast and precise and it slapped the owner's forehead. The victory went to Ben and at that he'd decided. After changing back into his clothes, he pulled his jacket tight and tucked in his shirt as he walked to Naoto's house, bag over his shoulder and sheathe on his hip.

Naoto's mother was polite and kind, much like his own. She offered him tea and it appeared he were a tad early for their meeting. Waiting at the kitchen's table, he made light conversation with the pink-haired boy's mother and the other Guardians as they arrived.
"I'm here meeting with you and Sonya. I imagine they're here to do the same." Benjamin said after Naoto burst downstairs. "The real question is why are you still in bed after noon? With that he finished his tea and graciously accepted a second.

He couldn’t believe that he actually came.

Well, Cyril supposed that it was curiosity that drove him to come over to this guy’s house. Something told him that he shouldn’t meddle with the mafia, but… The Italian boy sighed as he sat at the table and watched as the mother of Naoto poured them tea. He didn’t like tea. He rather have coffee, if he had to drink something of the sort. He rested his arms on the table and looked down at the pale liquid, heaving a sigh. I wonder if my parents will find out about this. he thought, taking the cup and lifted it up to his lips. He was thirsty enough to drink anything at the moment, and since the tea was right there… It tasted bland and thin on his tongue. How can people drink this? he set the cup back down on the table and glanced around at the people near him. He really tried to sit away from the crowd, but believe it or not, people actually sat next to and near him. I hate this. They’re never going to be real Guardians. I hope that red haired bitch realizes it.

The yellow haired mellow kid sat closer to the rest of the people, but he said nothing as he sipped at his tea. He sat next to that Japanese guy, Daisuke. It seems that I don’t have to worry about him talking to me, then. he sighed in relief. I hope Daisuke focuses more on Fionn than me. I won’t be able to stand talking to him for much longer than five minutes.

His face still ached like hell from the day before. Cyril still couldn’t believe that he had been hit by a stranger and hadn’t retaliated. But he was near his boiling point at the moment, and didn’t want anyone to bother him. When Naoto walked downstairs, he glanced up and narrowed his eyes. This guy… he didn’t have the potential of being a boss of a mafia family. I bet he’ll die the first day on the job. he sighed, looking back down at the cup. His hands began to slide the cup back and forth in his boredom, trying to keep his temper in check. All I have to do is ignore the idiots for a little bit, right?

It took a lot of thinking and courage for Abby to bring herself to the doorstep of Naoto's humble home. After the events at the beach, the blond girl had to hurry around town to find the groceries she still needed to get to be allowed inside the house. Luckily, one grocery store was still open that day and she was able to sleep in her own bed that night instead of the shed. However, she wasn't able to get any sleep as thoughts of such a life-changing decision danced through her head. Never had she been given a choice like this. Everything was always handed to her or decided on her behalf. It was terrifying, especially since one of her choices led her to a life of crime.

By the time the rooster crowed early the next morning, Abby was already awake and doing some morning yoga. After such a stressful night, some stretches and meditation was the only thing to calm her turbulent mind. It wasn't until she was in downward facing dog stance that she finally came to a decision. She would go visit Sonya and see what she had to say. She was rather curious as to why this Vongola Decimo person wanted her as a Guardian. Was it for her money and family connections? Abby hoped not. It would be nice to know that for once, someone out there wanted what she could offer, not what her money could. It was all the motivation she needed to ask her grandfather for the address of the Alato residence and head over there sometime after a late lunch.

Mrs. Alato was very friendly and she found herself one of the last of the Guardians to arrive. A good number of them had settled themselves in the dining room/kitchen and Abby took a seat on one of the last available seats next to the grumpy brunet who had ditched her from helping some poor guy when the fire was put out. She decided to be the better person and finally let that go as she took a seat next to him. Taking a quick glance at him as Miku offered here some ice water (Abby detested tea and made sure to not get any), she noticed that a part of his face was black and blue. She suddenly remembered that he got owned by Sonya yesterday too.

"Hey, your face is still a little bruised up." She found herself saying. Before anyone could say anything, Abby grabbed a towel hanging behind her and fished out some ice from her water. She made a quick cold compress and pressed the damp towel to Cyril's face. "Did you even try to fix it last night?" She reprimanded lightly just as Naoto entered the kitchen the first time, a look of tiredness still on his face. Abby watched him from the corner of her eye leave, then come running back and shout at the group for their appearance. The blond simply giggled.

"Good afternoon Naoto~! I thought it would be interesting to come by. I've never had ties with mafia before, even though I'm sure New York has it's fill of thugs." She stated, placing her free hand on her chin thoughtfully. Sonya simply sighed and shook her head, mostly in exasperation of the Undecimo. She was glad to see almost everyone had appeared without much of a hassle. She wasn't sure if any of them would come back. Luckily, more than half did. The lack of the Mist Guardian candidate was a little disappointing but easily remedied with a call to Vector. Sonya wasn't particularly good with the illusion flames of the Mist anyway and would leave it to the older man to find the perfect candidate.

The red-head averted her attention back to her supposed 'protege'. "Hurry up and put some suitable clothes on. I suggest something easy to move in." Sonya then turned to look at the rest of the candidates. "Once Naoto's ready, we'll be heading to the backyard. I want to start your training immediately."

Jak woke up that morning undecided. She went to go practice throwing baseballs undecided. Then she took a brief reprieve from working hard to go back home and sit on her couch undecided. She hadn't decided anything until the moment she realized that her mother was probably upstairs and doing absolutely nothing for the seventh day in a row. The question didn't really become wether or not to join the Mafia at that point, it became whether or not to stay in this holding pattern of doing absolutely nothing.

So Jak found herself a little early, waiting for the others to show up at Naoto's. They all tricked in until, at last, Naoto showed himself. She looked confused for a moment, then replied to his question. "We came because I think that we didn't know what else to do. Plus, it's you, so whatever this Mafia is going to be doing can't be that dangerous." Jak smiled and rested her hand on her cheek.

Then Sonya said that she wanted them to start training immediately, and Jak was doubting her words. Sonya was different class of person altogether. She held herself in a way that said she was in charge, and Jak didn't doubt it. In fact, if she wasn't in charge then Jak would be surprised. She hoped Sonya wouldn't be too crazy about their training though, they were just a bunch of kids from middle school. "Okay, miss Sonya." Jak said in reply to her order to be ready.

Strangely enough, she didn't mind any of this weird situation at all. She was somewhat looking forward to it, actually.

His head cradled within his arms as it laid atop of the table, Daisuke felt like he had had the most eventful night of his entire life.

After his attempts at trying to sleep over the Boss' house failed, Daisuke had not relented; he had stayed directly outside of Naoto's house until the night came and shoved the sun out of its sky. Disappointed that there was no change in all of that time, the Japanese boy had walked home in shame, but he knew that Miss Ottavio would have been frustrated that he would return at such a late hour. And so, began the game of cat and mouse in this boy's mind.

Hugging the outer wall, Daisuke's squinted eyes scanned the vacant street as they looked to the front doorway of his house, seeing that the coast was clear. He grunted and, with his back hunched and his body partially crouched, he slipped through the gate and onto his yard. He looked to his left and right, stopping at the entrance and wrapping his sweaty hand around the knob. He slowly twisted it until the door clicked open, and he inched inside.

Ah.
His house creaked silently with the night as his eyes quickly adjusted to the very dim light. Kneeling beside one of the remaining crates that contained some piece of furniture, he began to think of a complicated and strategic method of reaching his room without being discovered by Miss Ottavio.

After five or so minutes, Daisuke concluded that he was prepared to initiate Operation Rolling Pineapple, the sheer cleverness and awesomely uncompromising plan with a 100% completion rating. He intended to put full use into the highly-prestigious military roll maneuver to reach his destination of the staircase, to which he would begin crawling up the steps like a Jesus Christ Lizard traveling atop of a body of water. But first, there was one factor that prevented him from executing this successfully; his shoes. He had come to the conclusion that his shoes would indeed be a detrimental factor towards the succession of Operation Rolling Pineapple, and so, he had to remove them.

Daisuke bent over slightly to begin untying his shoes, removing his left one first and setting it to the side where he usually kept them. He then moved on to the last one, and just as he removed his foot from it, his knee buckled painfully and his body was sent forward. Crap, it starts now! He nearly landed flat onto his face before his arms had come up just quick enough for him to regain control of his body and managed to preform the roll successfully, stabilizing himself at the middle of his living room.

In his mind, the theme song of Mission Impossible began to play, and a sly grin painted across his face. It's showtime, Daisuke thought as his grin was replaced by a stone-cold expression of confidence, and he began to stealthily make his way to the stairway.

Though it took almost half an hour of first rolling to the kitchen to grab a pudding cup and rolling back to the staircase, Daisuke now stood at the base of the stairs, a spoon of chocolate in his mouth. Just as he lifted his right foot to take the first step, however, was when a shadow emerged from behind him, a voice scaring the Japanese out of Daisuke.

"Daisuke," Miss Ottavio spoke into his ear, sighing. "I've been watching you roll around from the couch the entire time. What the hell are you-"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPIST-" Daisuke screamed from the top of his lungs as the spoon fell from his mouth and his hand fiercely crushed the pudding cup in its grasp, splattering chocolate over his hand and to the ground. He dropped it as his arms flailed in the air and he sprinted out of the house, running down the street as he continued to cry out for an adult.

On that morning, Daisuke somehow found himself lying behind a bush in Naoto's yard, with a chocolate stain across his shirt and on his left sock. And so, there the boy was, now inside the Boss' house, his head dug deep into his arms sprawled across the tabletop. Just as the exhausted Daisuke prepared to fall asleep, the scary woman announced that she would be taking them to his yard where they would begin training.

"Ughhh. Whyyyy-" Daisuke whined, his eyes wide and bloodshot from the restless night. He blinked rapidly at the cup of tea in front of him, completely zoned out as he watched the small waves across the surface of the liquid.

Naoto was completely befuddled by the fact that everyone showed up. He wanted to make more of a protest but he was at a loss for words. These people are insane...especially the one with the temper. I could've swore he didn't want any part of this...ugh my head hurts again. He looked at the Spanish boy. "Well, fighting fires, getting shot in the head, brawling with a mafia witch, and learning that you're the future had of a criminal syndicate really takes it out of ya, ya know?" Naoto answered Benjamin's question sarcastically.

Naoto jumped a little when Sonya spoke up monetarily forgetting she was there. Miku smiled. "I washed your soccer stuff. Work hard Nao-kun~" Naoto started up the stairs having no energy to argue. I'm surrounded on all sides. I was hoping that if none of them showed Sonya might-and that's one hell of a might-stop all this. So much for that. Not to mention my own parents are condoning me becoming a mafioso! There's no way out! Naoto continued to his room mumbling his discontent in irritated Italian. He joined everyone shortly wearing the track sit he usually did for soccer practice, the pants rolled up to just below his knees. He started stretching and seemed like he was getting into this. "Well, if I have no choice I might as well take it on like a challenge."

Fionn sat beside the sleepy Asian boy, frowning at his lack of energy. He was dirty and looked like he hadn’t had a drop of sleep the night before. Had he been up playing video games, or..? He sipped some of his drink as he continued to watch him. Daisuke isn’t that bad of a guy. he thought, tipping his head to the side. He seems to be one of the better people on this… team… or whatever we have. he glanced around at the rest of the people. The Rain Guardian was calm, he supposed, and the one that was supposed to be the Sun Guardian was tending to the black haired boy’s face. He thought that the boy, who was named Cyril, was going to snap at her, but he remained calm. He did nothing other than grumble under his breath. He supposed that it was kind of cute… kind of. Not very much so.

”You didn’t get a good night’s sleep?” Fionn asked softly, his voice jittery as he addressed the brown haired boy. ”I couldn’t sleep much either. It’s too hot here. That, and I couldn’t sleep with… well, this in mind. My name’s Fionn by the way. F-Fionn Breckenridge.” he held out his hand for Daisuke to shake. Maybe he hadn’t heard his name being called out by the lady. Sonya, was it? ”It’s nice… to formally meet you.”

”That’s enough,” Cyril snarled as he pulled away from Abigail. He wasn’t used to being touched, especially by a stranger that was tending to his wounds. There was a flustered blush on his features, and recognizing that it appeared across his cheeks made him more frustrated. I hate it when this happens. he rubbed his cheeks, hoping that no one noticed. Naoto appeared and said something about taking the training like a challenge. Well, wasn’t that just nifty?

Cyril got up from his chair and walked over to the pink haired boy, his eyes narrowing in annoyance. ”This isn’t a challenge, you know. This is serious business, not some stupid soccer game.”

Fionn simply blinked at the two, a frown on his face. Why did he just snap at Naoto for no reason? Oh well, I better keep out of it…

((Ben: *rests and elbow on. Fionn's shoulder* "It's quite simple, actually, Fionn. Cyril is just a giant prick!"))

After spending a few minutes watching the group, learning a few things, Benjamin stood up and said, "Thank you for your tea and hospitality Mrs. Alato. You have a lovely home." He took his bag and sword, currently in it's scabbard, to the back porch and set his things down on a nearby chair, seeing as Sonya instructed them to report to the backyard. He just wanted to be able to keep track of his possessions. He frowned momentarily as he looked down at his clothes. He didn't exactly come prepared for work. He was in finer clothes, leather belt and shoes and silk shirt, all. He figured he could change into the under layer of his fencing garb if they were going to be doing much physical training that day. He didn't know what she had planned and he hadn't known what to expect. What were they training for, anyways? Was being Mafia so physically intensive?

"Ms. Sonya." He said, looking over his shoulder at the red-haired woman, "If you don't mind me asking: what exactly are we doing today?" He half expected her to say We're training. just to screw with him.

"Geez, you guys. Why are you so serious about this? It's not like something bad will happen right away. Besides, unless Naoto acted like a mafia leader, I doubt anyone would believe him. Pink hair isn't exactly menacing." Jak quipped, a playful smile on her face. "But, uh, it's not so bad so far. I mean, if we get into trouble, Sonya can just do that werid bullet thing she did the other day and Naoto can go after them. Don't worry so much, Naoto. It'll be fine."

It wasn't like they all had anything to lose by coming. If they couldn't stand the idea, then they simply didn't come. If they did come and changed their mind, then they could just leave. In the end, they hadn't changed anything, at least not yet. Jak pulled out an ice cream bar she'd packed earlier and laid back in the seat. It was her favorite flavor, so she was slow in eating it.

Not to mention, she had time to look around and see who all was doing what. It looked like that pale, blonde kid was Fionn. Interesting name. It looked like they also had an angry kid that might know more than he was letting on about the whole business. The spanish kid, Ben, Jak remembered, was asking what was going to happen. It looked like the nutty kid from yesterday didn't sleep much, and was trying to fall asleep on the table. In all, it was ragtag group of high schoolers that had barely hit puberty. Not much for a mafia group, in all honesty.

Jak reflected on the whole mafia part. Would she get guns to shoot people with? I hope not. Although... it's not like anyone else will get any non-lethal weapons either. I doubt it though. We're pretty young. Why would you hand someone who haven't ever used a real weapon to defend themselves or otherwise and think that they could kill a person with a deadly weapon like that? a momentary frown crossed her face. No, that's stupid. Whatever happens, it'll all be fine. I just need to relax. Unfortunately, it looks like the others might not be so ready to lay down and see what happens.

"Anyway, I hope Miss Sonya won't go too hard on us. I'd hate to be knocked down on the first day of training." Jak guessed that now she'd said that, she'd be the first to be knocked down. Oh well, there wasn't any helping it. Sonya looked tough, acted tough, and looked like she kept no prisoners. Jak broke off an edge of her ice cream, and chewed on it while waiting for a response.

Abby pouted when Cyril snarled at her, but said nothing as she put the wet cloth on the table. If he didn't want her help, then fine. It's not like she was the one with the messed-up face. Her irritation was soon forgotten when she was distracted by the departure of Ben. Not wanting to hang around a certain rude brown-haired boy anymore, Abby stood up to follow him just as Naoto walked downstairs. The blond saw a glimpse of a confrontation beginning as Cyril suddenly got in Naoto's face but it was soon dissolved when Sonya stepped in between them. The red head first glared at Cyril, then at Naoto.

"Outside, now." She ordered, pointing to the door leading towards the back that Benjamin was already walking through. She didn't wait for either boy's response, knowing that they would follow. And if they didn't, it was their loss. Except Naoto of course; she'd have to drag him by that pink hair of his.

Once outside, she saw that Benjamin, Abby and Jakki were all lined up already. Benjamin asked her a question upon her arrival and she just gave him a small smirk. "Before I can do training, I first have to know what I'm working with," She began as she walked over to the middle of the back yard, "so I'm going to assess each and every one of you."

"How?" Abby asked.

"The best way I know how: through a one-on-one fight of course. You can come at me with anything, either with just your fists or whatever you've brought with you today." Sonya looked over at Benjamin's fencing bag as indication, "I will fight you bare-handed and will only fight you until submission or your surrender. I'll do my best not to knock any of you out. Also, if you want a weapon, I have brought a few for you to try out." She pointed towards the back wall and Abby spun around to see a large, rectangular container about 7 feet tall and 5 feet wide. She briefly wondered what kind of weapons the tutor had brought as she turned around to face Sonya once more.

"Just in case you need some incentive to fight, I will grant you one wish if you can defeat me. My standing in the Vongola famiglia has given me a hefty amount of leverage, both in monetary form and connections. I can, in a way, grant you whatever you want. Even for me to leave." This time, the red-head eyed Naoto for a quick moment before focusing on the entire group. She then cracked her knuckles and gave everyone another, much more sadistic smirk.

"So, who wants to come up first?"

Definitely not me. Abby thought as she looked away from the terrifying woman. As much as she wanted to go back home to New York, she didn't know if it was worth facing Sonya in a battle. She knew she would have to eventually for this day to end, but it would be better to have another person start this round of fights.

Sonya got between the two boys, not even allowing Naoto to reply and defend himself. That really ticked the Italian boy off. Cyril just saw the to be Eleventh Vongola Boss as someone that didn’t have a backbone. He whined and complained but he didn’t see him do anything else but that. His eyes narrowed at Sonya, glowering at her back as she walked outside. Believe it or not, he followed, sighing and crossing his arms in front of his chest. What was she going to do? As he walked outside, he heard something about an assessment. Assessment? he tipped his head, his brows furrowing roughly. Sonya continued to explain as he joined the others.

So, they were supposed to fight her? And whoever beat her would get a wish? That certainly was alluring. Cyril could beat her, and ask for her to leave him and his aunt alone. No one seemed to want to step up and fight her first, so Cyril took the liberty of walking up to her and shoving his hands in his pockets. ”I’ll fight you first. And if I beat you, you leave my aunt and I alone. Understand?” he questioned roughly, his eyes watching her coolly. He supposed that she was an honorable woman. She had the appearance of someone that should be trusted. Well… besides that sadistic smirk.

Cyril didn’t know much about fighting face to face. He almost always lost in hand to hand combat. It was as if he were overwhelmed by fighting in such close quarters. But he knew that this time would be different. This was because he was fighting for his safety and peace, not because some kid insulted him one too many times. He figured that he should have waited until someone else stepped up to base before he just rushed into battle, but he was filled with frustration and anger at her. I need to get back at her for what she did.

”So, Miss Sonya. I’m ready when you are.” Cyril said, taking a few steps away from her and getting into an offensive stance. ”Unless you’re scared.”

Naoto glared at Cyril as he decided to tear down the teen's way of coping with the situation that had been forced upon him. Sonya got in the way before he could respond and announced the first part of their so called training. As she did Jak started on about how things would be fine. Naoto looked over at her. "You're disturbingly calm about this. I wish I could think like you. .....Hey, what was that crack about my hair!?" When Sonya mentioned the wish reward she caught Naoto's attention.

Naoto was ready to jump at the opportunity to get out of all this, even with the low chance of success. Cyril beat him to the punch though. Naoto watched walked out to face Sonya and he noticed that Cyril had the same idea in mind-to wish himself out of his position. Which made Naoto wonder. Yesterday he said he didn't want anything to do with the mafia. Not only that Sonya said that none of them were being forced to show up...unlike me. Yet he came and then he acts like he doesn't want to be here and starts in with his ill tempered loner routine. What a confusing guy. Naoto sat down in the ground with his legs crossed.