Disclaimer: I own the OCs, the rest is Akira Amano's work.
Fratellanza
I was nine in two months. From what the Estraneos files showed, I was born on May 7th, 1991. It was March, barely a month after Dino's fifteenth birthday.
And we were burying our father.
Dino was holding my hand tightly, my blood was probably not even circulating in it anymore, but I didn't care. It was raining and Romario was holding an umbrella for us. That was why I knew it was silent tears on my brother's cheeks and not just the pouring rain. Reborn was standing next to me, his head down in respect.
I...did not cry. I watched numbly the coffin where my father's corpse was resting in being lowered in the ground and then being covered. He was...gone.
Just like that, gone.
Then everybody at the funerals went to our house. They were drinking and eating, but the voices were still relatively low.
"Hey." I looked above my shoulder as Dino turned around completely.
"Squalo! I didn't know you were coming." He shrugged in response.
"Someone from the VARIA had to come." Dino's smile was strained.
"I see." I tugged at his sleeve. "What?"
"Can I go to my room?" He looked at the crowd and petted me on the head.
"Sure, you can go."
"Thanks." I shot Superbi a quick look. "Good to see you alive."
Once in my room, I sat on the edge of my bed and stared at the wall. I wasn't even seeing the poster of a random boyband I liked, just at...nothing.
Dad was gone, dead, buried six feet under and wouldn't…
The last thing I told him was 'thank you'.
I never said 'I love you'.
"How are you doing?" Reborn asked me, now on my bed next to me.
"Eventually, everybody die. Some people happen to die earlier than others, that's all," I said flatly, repeating what Dad had told me. "Dad told me that."
"And? How do you feel about it?"
"I mean, it's not false. We all die." I clenched my fists on my skirt. "But then why does it hurt so much when I think I won't see him anymore?"
"Death hurts more the close friends and family than the deceased."
"It's not fair." I looked at the tissue he handing me.
"You're crying." I touched my cheek. I was crying. "You have been crying since you got in your room."
"Oh." I wiped my tears away with the tissue, but they kept coming. Now I could feel the lump in my throat, so I left the tissue on my eyes. "It's not fair Reborn," I sobbed weakly. He patted my knee as I cried.
"Not a lot is in this world."
He stayed with me until I stopped crying. When Superbi knocked on my door, I was hugging a stuffed lion, sitting cross-legged on my bed, my chin on the head of the lion, giving me a double chin.
"Your brother asked me to come see how you were doing," he explained, the door opened.
"Come in." He did and sat next to me. He wrinkled his nose in distaste at the poster.
"You're listening to that shit?"
"What can I say, they make my heart go wild," I replied flatly. I sighed when he stopped talking when he usually loved doing so. Instead he was looking all around him. "It's really not the time to act so awkward so just...okay?"
"Tch, yeah I know." He crossed his arms on his chest. I raised a brow at his shoulder-length hair.
"What's up with your hair? You're not growing it out, are you?" He flushed.
"Vooiii what's wrong with that!?"
"You can't pull that off."
"I totally can brat!" he replied angrily, getting up to look at me.
"Hey, what's wrong with your left hand?" He looked at it and took off the glove. I gaped at the mechanical hand.
"I lost it in a fight."
"Sucks to be you."
"It's not that bad."
"But weren't you left-handed?"
"You get used to it!" I smiled faintly and went back to staring at my wall. "How's school?" I shrugged.
"Easy and quiet without you." A vein popped on his forehead, but he held his anger back. "And now my brother's going to inherit a Mafia Family when he's everything but ready for it." He stayed quiet for a few seconds and sighed, sitting back down.
"It's not going to be easy, that's for sure brat." There was more silence before he cleared his throat. "You were adopted, right?" I deadpanned at him.
"Isn't that obvious?"
"Vooiii shut up it's not an easy subject to talk about!" I rolled my eyes. "Don't you want to know more about where you're from?"
"What for? I haven't seen anyone looking for me." He frowned and I sighed. "Superbi, I don't know what you're trying to do but I have a family, and we are grieving so just...don't talk about that kind of shit." He stared at me for a few seconds before getting up.
"Right, I'll drop the subject."
"Forever." He stared at the ground, then at me, and left without further ado.
He was even more a weirdo than he used to be in school.
When, just a few weeks later he was here at Dino's succession ceremony, he stared harshly at the Ninth Vongola when he greeted me.
Such a weirdo I swear.
"Fuck you you fucking piece of trash I'll..." They put a piece of fabric in my mouth to shut me up, and I tapped my feet on the floor instead.
I had been kidnapped.
I was fucking kidnapped because I was Dino's sister. I could probably deal with them with my flame but...I had no idea where I was, if I was still in Sicily.
However, I knew the two men in front of me, whispering in Italian, were bad news. I pulled on the rope keeping my hands together, but nothing.
"You're trying to get free kiddo? Don't worry, as long as your brother is giving us what we want in the deal it will be fine," the one with blond hair said. I glared at him and he smirked at me. "You're so scary."
"Stop talking with the hostage."
"Yup, sorry!"
The time I spent there was long. They'd give me bread and water, two bathroom breaks and that was it. It could be worst, but I'd still rather be at home in bed.
"Okay, now it's time to give Cavallone an update." The black-haired one took a cellphone and made a call. When the one on the other side of the line picked up, he put on the speaker. "Cavallone, should we kill the brat?"
"Ah, I'm sorry sir, I am afraid the Boss is not here at the moment." Wait what?
As if on cue, screams started to be heard from outside. Someone completely panicked entered the building.
"The...The Cavallone and the Arcobaleno...they..." A whip caught him around the waist and threw him in the wall, knocking him out. Then, an exhausted Dino appeared at the door. An exhausted, angry Dino. I don't think I had ever seen that much anger and hatred in his eyes before.
"You," he spat.
"Impressive Cavallone." Meanwhile, Reborn had managed to come behind me and cut the ropes. I rubbed my red wrists and raised a brow at Leon.
"His tail fell."
Reborn grabbed my arm and made me fall from my chair, the blond guy being sent in the wall, knocked out as well.
"Reborn is that really Dino?" He smirked.
"I'm quite surprised as well. He lost it when he received that letter saying they kidnapped you."
I was then blinded by the light coming from Leon.
"You don't…touch my Family. Never touch my family."
I couldn't say what happened next. There was a bright, bright light and something landed in my head.
I blacked out.
I opened my eyes slowly, squinting at the beaming sun shining in the room. It was too bright for my eyes. I tried to sit, but I couldn't, my body was not following my brain fast enough.
I had a mask on my mouth, and I could feel bandages around my head. Something was pinching my finger.
"You're awake," Reborn stated, jumping on the bed next to me. I looked at him, not speaking. "Dino is okay, he is in another room sleeping. He's injured but nothing permanent."
"Di...no?" I whispered weakly. "Why?"
"Do you remember being kidnapped?" I nodded as much as I could. "Well, Dino beat one of you kidnappers quickly, but the other one threw a chair at you. It hit you on the head, so you had a concussion. Dino finished it quickly once Leon hatched and his weapons were there."
"Wea...pons?" He smirked.
"A whip and Enzio, a turtle." This time, I managed to sit up. Blood went up the drip in my arm when I moved it. "Don't you remove the mask."
"I..." I started in a hoarse voice. "I should have defended myself."
"Then why didn't you?"
"I was scared..." He looked at me in curiosity. "I...I didn't know where I was and...I wanted to be found."
"Well you were, you're safe now Luciana. It's a wonder they managed to kidnap you in your own bed," he said. Was he...feeling a little bit guilty? "Dino was crazy worried."
A lump appeared in my throat. Guilt.
If only I had fought back...or just woke up before then…
"They drugged you while you were asleep," Reborn felt the need to add.
"Still...I'm too weak...Dino has too much to care about already, he can't be worried about my safety too."
"It's my job," my brother interrupted us. I shot him a dumbfounded look. I didn't know he was awake. "Sorry, I overheard some things. I'm your brother, it's my job to worry about your safety, especially now. How do you feel?"
"Tired," I mumbled quietly. "But Dino, I can learn how to fight so that..."
"Let's focus on recovering and leaving this hospital bed first, okay?" He didn't want to hear this discussion, did he?
"I...the tests, I want to do them?"
"What tests?" Reborn jumped on my lap.
"Are you sure? They might be long." I nodded.
"It's...I want to know what's going on in my body...there could be something bad, and I am already in the hospital."
"I'll contact Shamal." Reborn left the room. Dino barely opened his mouth I cut him off.
"Hug?" He smiled faintly and hugged me. It was warm.
"Always."
Dino and Reborn were all the family I needed, and I didn't want to be a burden.
As Reborn said, the tests were long. I went in a lot of machines and lost tracks of what they were doing exactly. The only reason I wasn't scared of all of this was because Dino was here all along, holding my hand when he could.
In the end, I stayed two more weeks in the hospital and saw Shamal way too often.
"Not that I want to keep information from my patient, but are you sure you don't want to wait a few more years before I tell you?" I nodded firmly. He ran a hand in his hair. "Fine, fine. Let's start with the no pain situation. Do you know what a lobotomy is?" Dino's hand turned into fists on his pants and I shook my head. "Well, to put it simply, it's a brain surgery where the head is opened and when a part of the brain is removed." I gulped and slowly put a hand on my head. "Now, your brain is not missing any part. However, the section that usually registers pain is completely numb. From what I saw, a serum based on Sun Flames activated every cells in it for a long time until it stopped registering anything. That part of the brain is the one shutting down the body when it is in too much pain. In your case, it will not happen. However, it also mean you can't know the limits of your own body and might push it beyond repair one day." I swallowed with difficulty, Dino's hand now firmly holding mine. Reborn was next to Shamal, standing next to my feet on my bed.
"It's in the past," I mumbled to myself, "just memories, bad memories."
"There is a chance your asthma comes from the experiments too. Anyway, the project you were a part of against your will aimed at making invincible soldiers, ones that would just get back up after fatal injuries. The phase one just ended when the lab was destroyed." Shamal looked at me above his papers. I was fine.
I was fine.
I was with Dino, I was fine.
"Physically speaking, you are fine. Your concussion is healed and the experimentations didn't do anything to the organs, bones or epidermis. However, the serum I mentioned earlier is in your blood system and by now, 'infected' your entire body."
"You've been talking about flames, what..."
"Dying Will Flames, they are a little like your own," Reborn explained. "I am a Sun Flames users. It has the Activation attribution, usually used to heal people faster."
"Oh. Why don't you use it in hospitals then?"
"It's a Mafia thing, if civilians knew what it's starting to be more and more used in fights in the Underworld...it would be chaos." I blinked. Sure, but a lot of people could…
Whatever I guess?
"It's faint, very faint, but the results show the serum will do the same thing to your body than it did to that part of the brain, but much more slower. In the brain, it was concentrated in one part. Here, it's taking more time. It will over activate the cells in your body to the point of no return."
"What does it mean exactly?" Dino asked him harshly as I stared at Reborn, who lowered his head.
"I am going to die?" I whispered. Dino turned his head to me so fast his neck could have broken.
"What? No, you're not! Right Shamal!?" Shamal pursed his lips as tears were prickling at the corner of my eyes.
"Not right now, but you will probably not live past thirty, if not twenty-five depending on what you do." I snorted loudly.
"But I don't want to die." I felt Dino hugging me tightly against my chest. "There must be something you can do Shamal!"
"For now, no." I bit my lips, resisting the urge to cover my ears. "However,medicine still has the time to evolve and we can still find more information about the experiments and how to reverse their effects. We have time." I took a deep breath. We had time. I was not buried yet. "I have to talk about your flames."
"That again?"
"Seeing your Flame of Wrath, it is not difficult to guess you were born a Sky."
"It's the rarest type usually found in Boss only," Reborn added with a smirk.
"But because of the experiments, it is slowly changing too. I would say to the Cloud attribute, but I am not sure. You also have Mist Flames. Not a lot, but you have them."
"So I am like...going to be powerful?"
"You already are just with the Flame of Wrath," Reborn reminded us. I smiled a little as Dino hugged me tighter.
"Everything is going to be okay, I promise," he whispered, and I wondered how many times he repeated it.
I wanted them to find something.
I didn't want to die. I wanted to stay with Dino and be happy.
"Play with me!" I whined at Dino. He smiled apologetically at me.
"I wish I could Ana, but I have homework and paperwork, so not today." I puffed my cheeks at him. "Don't pout!" I picked up my football ball and left his office.
He didn't have any time for me since he became a Boss and I was in the hospital. I was fine. I was...worried about my future, but as today, in the present time, I was fine.
"You look bored."
"I am bored Reborn," I replied pouting. "Everything I do here ends up being boring."
"You get bored fast. It happens with smart people." He looked up at Dino's study window. "Come with me." I raised my brows and followed Reborn in the woods behind the manor. I stopped in my tracks at the other baby with Reborn. His pacifier was red and not yellow though. "Let me introduce you to Fon, an old acquaintance of mine. As you might have guessed already from the expression on your face, he is an Arcobaleno, like me."
"One...of the Seven Strongest, right?" They both nodded. "Why…?"
"You said you were too weak, didn't you?" I tilted my head on the side. "Fon is an expert martial artist who knows more than a hundred martial arts." I stared at the cute little baby with wide eyes. He sighed, although there was a small smile playing on his lips.
"Reborn, maybe you are overdoing my introduction." Reborn smirked.
"Am I?" I rolled my eyes at exchange and looked away when I felt the dangerous glint in the hitman's gaze.
"From what Reborn told me, your name is Luciana, you are nine and a half and possess the Flame of Wrath, correct?" I nodded stiffly. "It has a huge destructive power. My Storm attribute does too. If you would like, I could help you control it and teach you how to defend yourself."
"You would? Really?"
"That is, if you have the potential required." He jumped in the tree of a branch. "Although you do not have training, I will give you one hour to catch me. These woods are not big, so it will be the chasing field. Are you ready? Lichi will stay with you. If you had to find me too, it might be too hard." I looked at the monkey who cheered at my feet before narrowing my eyes at the baby.
"I know the area unlike you." He smirked.
"We'll see about this. Reborn?" I followed his eyes to find Reborn, holding a timer Leon in his hand.
"Go!" Fon jumped in the leaves above and disappeared.
"Alright then," I looked down at Lichi, "I hope you really are with me." He made a sound of approval and I could almost see the determination on his face.
I ran after Lichi. Fon was on a rock in front of us. I sped up and jumped forward to tackled him on the rock. However, he jumped, bounced on my head and vanished in the bush as I landed harshly on my stomach. The landing literally took my breath away for a second.
"This will leave a bruise," I groaned as I slid down on the ground. "Okay Lichi, we can't go blindly, can we?" He made a sound to approve. "We need a plan." Another sound and I sat on the ground.
A plan to catch an Arcobaleno…
I didn't know how long it was until we finally got Fon where I wanted him to be. It was a small clearing surrounded by a lot of trees, but the branches and leaves were so dense he wouldn't be able to just jump in them without looking for the exit first. Lichi was waiting for Fon to go his way.
"Where did Lichi go?" Fon asked with interest. I smirked.
"I wonder." Bring him toward Lichi by shooting my flame. Of course, he avoided each time. Then Lichi jumped on him out of nowhere, from the only easy exit of the clearing. He seemed surprise and dodged too, just for me to catch him from behind when he was falling. "I win!" He smiled serenely and jumped down, Lichi going back on his head.
"It would appear so." I grinned, proud of myself, but Reborn appeared out of nowhere and forced my inhalator in my mouth. "But you should be careful of how your body responds to your actions." I pressed the button of the inhalator and inhaled the medicine with a deadpan.
"I got too excited." Reborn sighed. Last time I got too excited, it was when I was riding my bike down a hill way too fast to Dino's liking and I ended up having an asthma attack. Reborn hit him after he gave me my inhalator because he was panicking too much.
"There were fifteen minutes left if I am correct?" Fon asked him.
"Yes," Reborn answered, rising his head to look at me. "Getting Fon to the good location took more time than the actual plan, didn't it?" I rolled my eyes.
"Way more time than I thought."
"But you succeeded. You quickly understood you would not really be able to 'catch' me, so you made sure to make me go to you instead, using your knowledge of your surroundings. You have potential."
"I told you she could use her brain," Reborn pipped up. "Luciana, do you want to follow Fon's training?" I nodded immediately. "I should add it is in China, and for a couple of years." I widened my eyes.
I would go to Chine for a couple of years? But...But Dino was here and…
"Did Dino even agree?"
"I didn't ask for his opinion on the matter. He doesn't even know Fon is here." I sweatdropped.
"I...Reborn, you shouldn't do that kind of things behind his back, he'll get angry." Reborn smirked and jumped on my head. It was fine now, I could handle Reborn too.
I was not very sure of what Dino's reaction would be.
"Ana, I told you that..." He dropped his pen and got up at Fon's sight. "What's another Arcobaleno doing here?" Fon smiled softly and bowed.
"My name is Fon, Reborn called me here to test your younger sister, Don Cavallone." It was still as weird as ever to have Dino be called 'Don Cavallone.' Speaking of which, he frowned and glared at Reborn.
"To test her? Reborn, who do you think you are to..."
"I'm your tutor you idiot. Luciana was kidnapped once and it might happen again. You won't be a good Boss if you focus on protecting her all the time, she needs to learn how to defend herself." Dino opened his mouth and I went in front of him.
"Dino, I need to learn that, please consider it."
"I have already considered it," he muttered and shot a look at Fon, "but I know that if I accept you won't stay here and I don't want you to go God knows where alone with someone I don't know." Fon sighed. "Why don't you train her Reborn?"
"My hands are full with one idiot already." Aouch. Dino's face fell. "China for a couple of years, and I know Fon. He is trustworthy and the only one who could teach her how to control her flame."
"But China!"
"If I may," Fon spoke up, "if it is possible, please let me stay for a couple of days. That way, you can decide if you trust me enough with your sister's safety, and I can see what kind of person she is to give her the best training plan possible." I looked at Reborn on my head as I could.
"It sounds better than what you do." He stayed quiet, settling for taking Leon and changing him into a stick. "Wa...wait I take it ba..."
"Too late Bakana!" He hit my head with the stick, jumping on the floor in the process.
"So would you like to give me a chance?" Dino stared at Fon for what felt like an hour until his eyes went to my face. He ended up sighing anyway.
"Fine." I ran to hug him around the waist, but he barely hugged me back. He probably felt he had his back against the wall and didn't have a choice but I…
I couldn't have his back like Dad asked me to if I couldn't defend myself first.
I would protect my brother like he protected me, end of discussion.
Fratellanza
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