𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 | 𝗫𝗮𝗻𝘅𝘂𝘀 𝗱𝗶 𝗩𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗮

03

I made a strange companion.

The idea of having another acquaintance that wasn't from the mafia was difficult. She has one acquaintance that invited her over to her house. Rosella didn't know what to expect. Should she bring weapons? "A pie would be great for a friend," she remembered.

As she removed the bread from the microwave oven, Rosella had forgotten to wear stove mitts. This resulted in her screaming over the high temperature of the baking pan. She could patch up her burns when she was in the Mafia. They weren't perfect, but she could still survive.

Civilians' houses were often plain and not guarded enough. They have no backup electric fences when creatures would sneak into their residence. Or when she rang the doorbell, her neighbor easily let her in. "Welcome to my house, Rosella-chan!"

It shocked her when she saw the piles of textbooks on the coffee table. They weren't what she would normally learn about, but they were mostly about cooking texts and recipes. "You read too?" She asked. Their first conversation!

"I enrolled in cooking class this summer. I don't know how to cook. Either I burned them or they were inedible," Akane-san pouted. This reminded her of Sawada-kun. They couldn't cook and relied on the girls to survive in the kitchen. But to learn that not every girl learned to cook is fascinating.

"I could help you cook," she said with a slight smile on her face. Rosella received a smile in return as Akane-san busied herself arranging her workspace in the kitchen. She watched as the younger girl tried to follow her instructions while cooking simple pasta.

Her name is Akane.

Rosella found out that she was quite clumsy. They were hanging out on the sofa, then the next second, she broke another coffee mug. She doesn't notice how it happened, but she took it herself to remove any sharp objects from her house.

Akane asked her, "why do you not laugh much?" Rosella was tight-lipped, but she diverted the topic elsewhere. But one time, she trusted Akane-chan enough. "I loved a guy. He was the sweetest person in my life, but he wasn't mine. I gave everything to him, but he didn't even notice all my advances. And when I tried to leave, he chased after me with his girlfriend," she said with a slight grin.

"I cannot laugh or smile that much anymore. But I liked it that way. It was too exhausting for me." Rosella didn't expect Akane-chan to cry at her. Civilians were usually distractions in the mafia, but they were good at comforting someone.

She was clumsy.

These days Akane-chan never left her side, even if they were neighbors. Rosella didn't know what to do when she would barge into her home like it was hers. It took a couple of uninvited visits to her house to adjust to being a new person in her own personal space, but she found out that it was warm. She didn't need to expect any danger from her or give something to her.

Everyone else expects something from her. Tsunayoshi wants to be friends with her, and maybe hide him from Reborn. Her brother wants her to feel something about leaving him in Italy when she was chased by assassins. Yamamoto wants to play baseball with her. Hibari wants to fight with her. Mukuro wants to tease her. Chrome wants to be friends with her - she is friends with her. Reborn wants her to be part of Vongola in some ways.

But she doesn't get it. Akane-chan wants to be friends with her, but there was something different. She didn't force her to be friends with her. Akane just slipped into her life like an adorable little sister. "Rosella-chan! Look! I bought a new dress!"

Rosella smiled and patted her head like she always does. She found out that Akane appreciates being with her even if she doesn't talk that much. "Why did you let him die!" Akane wailed as she clutched her newly published book.

"It was bound to happen," she said as she enjoyed the pudding while reading a new romance book. "They finally escaped the scientists, but why did you make him die!" Akane wailed even more, and Rosella was this close to putting duct tape to her mouth.

"Read something else then," Rosella retorted as she enjoyed the last bite of her pudding. "You're so mean," Akane pouted as Rosella merely ignored her. "If you want, I could put you in a book. Akane, a bright person journeys to find who killed her husband with her partner, a handsome detective-"

She paused as she looked at her hopeful eyes of hers. "Who the detective later finds out that she was the one who killed her husband." Civilians were curious, but as they say, curiosity killed the cat. "Hey!"

However, she cares for me.

Nightmares were normal for her. Rosella would always see the last faces of the bad guys she was supposed to kill or how their screams would fill the shallow dream. When she was at a 'sleepover', Rosella found out that Akane is genuinely concerned for her.

"Wake up!" Her soft voice was an escape for her every time she would encounter an inescapable dream. When she opened her emerald eyes, she was met with worried hazel ones. "The nightmares are gone," Akane chanted as if a spell that helped removed her shaking. "What did you do?"

Rosella asked Akane since it would take her an hour or so to stop shaking from the usual nightmares. "I was just beside you. My mother often says those words to me whenever I have a nightmare. Then poof! It was gone. Besides, I'm glad you trust me enough as a best friend."

A civilian is weak, but they could be a great friend. "Best... friend?" Those terms were unfamiliar to her where betrayal was common like breathing air. But to her, this was like how she treated Tsunayoshi before. "Really? You won't betray me or even sell my information to anybody?"

"Of course, you're my best friend!"