The Cloud's Anchor

Sorella

Disclaimer-: I do not own Katekyoushi Hitman Reborn!......unfortunately

........(sits in the emo corner and sobs)

Alaude would have usually arrested her by now but for once in his life, he let curiosity overshadow logic and followed her through the winding alleyways. Both of them were silent, one because she had nothing to say and one because he was too busy keeping track of the path. About fifteen minutes later, the girl stopped at what appeared to be a side door and turned towards her companion. "Before we go further I need to know if you are-a) a rapist b) a human trafficker c) a spy d) a drunkard/drug dealer" she asked him. "No, no, no and absolutely not" came the answer. A smile lit up the girl's face as she dramatically opened the door. "Welcome to La Casa Orfana!"

When Alaude entered, his eyes widened. Inside children of every age, varying from barely one year old to barely adults were present. The younger ones were running around, the elder kids keeping an eye on them. There was laughter and chatter and...a lingering sadness. The kids, even the younger ones, had a kind of a haunted look about them. They all wore rags; some were in a good condition while some looked close to tearing. There was a mixture of colours and patterns and styles. He spotted a bright purple long skirt with a faded pink shirt; a pair of men's black trousers with a patterned blouse.

One of the kids running around noticed the black haired girl and called out, "Hey, Stella! What did you get?" Immediately the girl was surrounded by greetings and questions. Stella just smiled and handed over the bag containing her robberies to the kids. "Stella, huh?" the raven haired beauty turned towards him and nodded. "And before you ask, this place does not, at least legally, belong to any of us. We are just freeloaders who use and empty building as a safe house." She grinned at him at the last part.

"Why do you need a safe house?" the skylark asked with narrowed eyes. The orphan girl just shrugged, "To get away from the police." A blonde eyebrow shot up, "And yet you brought a police officer here? Not a good move." The girl's expression turned serious and she looked him straight in the eye. He was once again mesmerised by her chocolate orbs. "You wouldn't turn us in. You are not the kind of person who would do that." The cloud guardian looked amused. "And how do you know what kind of person I am?" The blinding smile returned, "Just do." Alaude was about to fire another question when a boy, who looked about twelve and had dirty blonde hair, ran up to them. "Sorella, did you find anything?" Stella just nodded and took off the too-big coat she was wearing, handing it to the young boy who just smile back, widely, and took off, possibly to show off his new coat.

"Your brother?" the skylark asked and the brown-eyed girl shook her head. "Then why did he call you sister?" The girl got a pained looked on her face and explained in a quiet voice, "We are all each other's siblings. Even though we are not all blood related, we are each other's family." "What about their real families?" Stella let out a hollow laugh and her eyes became shrouded with hatred. "Our so-called families abandoned us. Some of us had our parents killed right in front of our eyes. Some were disowned because they were the offspring of trash. We all roamed the streets in small groups, stealing and feeding ourselves. A couple of the older kids work as maids or errand boys but it is not enough. We were all separated until we took over this place. A resident of La Casa Orfana is entitled to help any other misfortunate person they see. We had some senior citizens here but they all died. The police hate us because we are not even supposed to be alive and we do not trust the Church. The only place we can call safe is this, the only people we trust are the ones you see here," her fists clenched. "And I swear on the stars that if I find those people who did this to us, again then I will end them."

The girl took a deep breath to calm down. It would not do if this stranger thought that she was some sort of revenge-hungry maniac. She expected the man to just dismiss her after the speech she had just made and forget her but what he said next surprised her. "Who are those people that did this?" his voice was low. Stella unclenched her fists as passion dissipated leaving behind familiar  helplessness and self-loathing. Her eyes looked dead to him as she spoke,

"The mafia."

La Casa Orfana= the Orphan House

Sorella= Sister

(And the the picture at the starting is how I imagine Stella. you are free to use your own imagination.)