A little something that popped into my head a while back.
I hope it's good enough.
Lots of love, Two-Faced Procrastinator.
The Courage of Bravery
To be brave meant to have no fear of what was in front of you.
To be courageous meant to be able to face your fears without hesitation.
Put those together, and you get the courage of bravery.
To love someone unconditionally.
Ever since she was little, Sawada Tsunahime had been living with Reborn.
The hitman was somewhat of a father figure to her, someone she learned to trust and knew what was best for her. Sure, he didn't show his real emotions most of the time. But she was the same, except she almost never talked. Her form of communication was body language, in which Reborn replied with normal speech, as if nothing was wrong with it.
But unknown to others, they also had a special bond.
He taught her all sorts of things she needed to know in order to survive society, and she taught him how to be human. Well, all she was doing was reminding him that he had a heart, but it was a mutual understanding that it meant a lot to him.
She relied on him to have a reason to keep on living. He relied on her for the sake of keeping his sanity intact.
They were each others' mental support. Neither of them remembered their actual families, if they had any at all.
Reborn had told her that her last name was real, but she didn't go out to find her mother or father. She didn't feel the need to. Reborn was enough of a family for her.
Many times, he would come back to the apartment room they shared with blood on his suit, the same suit that she had scrubbed clean over and over again without a single peep of a complaint when she was old enough, and the thick smell of gunpowder lingering on his skin.
But she wouldn't say anything.
Not a single thing.
Instead, she would simply go to the bathroom. He would silently follow – he always did – and then she would proceed to take off the dirtied clothes without embarrassment at seeing his bare form. She felt no such attraction to him, and she knew that he didn't think of her that way either.
And while he would take a shower she would wash away all the grime in the suit by hand, because washing machines just didn't seem to be able to do it, no matter how many times she repeatedly tossed it in, no matter how much detergent she poured. Doing it personally seemed to work better, and it saved electricity and water. Reborn had always told her it wasn't beneficial to waste.
Her arms would be sore and her back would ache and her legs would be asleep by the time she was done, but seeing the clean state of his suit would be more than enough make up for the pain, and she endured it with contentment. Then she would iron it until it looked brand new, which took so long that even Reborn had once told her that it was a waste of time. But he only said it once, because she had smiled and told him that it made her happy to see him wear her hard work.
After that he had never brought it up again, and simply let her do as she pleased.
When her tenth birthday came around, her present was the privilege to go grocery shopping.
It may have sounded arrogant of Reborn to give her such a ridiculous 'present' to others, but to Tsunahime, it was absolutely wonderful. All her past 'presents' were the same, such as being taught how to shoot a gun or learning how to read, speak, and write another language.
Receiving the right to shop for food meant that Reborn trusted her with the importance of money and believed that she was able to face the outside world – which she had never ventured out to by herself.
Over time, she learned what brands were better than others, what was healthier, whether or not to buy items on sale, and the significance of nutrient intake in one's diet. She asked the people behind the counters about the ingredients they were selling, always tried the samples, and never failed to pick up free recipe cards, taking new ones every time she saw them. She would show them to Reborn, and either he would pick one, or ask for a repeat of a meal she cooked in the past if he was in the mood.
At first, Tsunahime wasn't all that good at cooking. Her dishes were just barely passable. She didn't know if it was just hunger or gratitude that compelled Reborn eat them at all. But over time, her sense of taste and smell developed, and eventually she was able to create food that was fit for good eating. However, her young taste buds weren't all gone, and once in a while she would make something light for the sake of her tongue.
Often, she wondered why she was like this.
Doing all that she could to support him, and never wanting to cause him any trouble. The strange satisfaction with the relationship she had with Reborn, and not liking those who were outwardly nice to her. Her dislike for talking and loud noises. Her preference for solitary company and silence, her liking to tight spaces, her habit of climbing to tall heights and admiration of natural weather.
If she were someone that lived in a normal environment, she knew that she would have been bullied for her weirdness, or shunned by those around her. Her uncommon way of thinking was not seen in children her age, and would be considered a disorder.
But Reborn – the man that was practically her father – had said something different.
"You're Tsunahime, aren't you? The girl I raised and learned from? What do other people have to do with it?"
It was strange, really.
The way she had smiled, the happiness that bubbled deep within the part of her heart that she thought was dull and unmoving.
The part of her heart that had craved love from the ones she had come from.
Then, she realized something. No matter who her real parents were, no matter how well they knew her, no matter how much they loved her...
No one could replace the part that Reborn had made his. He had created a little niche, and stuck a bit of him inside it permanently. It was pleasantly warm, something that would always be special to her.
It wasn't until he had shown her the official adoption papers that she realized that she had done the same to him.
The name she had unknowingly clung to had no more importance.
"Sawada" was no longer a part of her.
She was Tsunahime, and there was nothing else she would ask for.
A/N:
I've always wanted to feel that way with anyone in my family.
It's a wonderful feeling, really.
But it seems that I'm only able to have that feeling when I'm alone and sleeping without trouble.
Thank you for reading until the very end, and please point out any grammar or punctuation mistakes.
Lots of love from me. :')