A/N: I really like Rosalie. She is such a cute goth girl. And hey, you get to meet René properly too.

Chapter 4.

Mist

1987

Rosalie Valdez was born on a windy September evening in a mafia affiliated hospital in Palermo. Her parents were Spanish diplomats with connections to mafia, thus their presence in Sicily during the last months of Francesca Valdez's pregnancy.

1993

Little characters danced around Rosalie. She made them tell a story she'd been read by her nanny last week. Now she was alone with only servants in the house while her parents attended some important dinner.

1994

Her parents were busy. Rosalie was bored. She was seven years old and had been enrolled to Mafia school which was located in Milan. She was the youngest student currently and people couldn't seem to decide how to treat her. Some were condescending due her age, some tried to treat her like glass due her gender, some looked down on her in disgust due her Spanish heritage…

The girl sighed. She'd rather be invisible than around these people. The only way they were useful, was for gossip.

Rosalie snorted in very undignified manner (her mother would be scandalized and father disapproving if they were there) and got up. There was nothing new in the rumor mill today. She marched past a gaggle of preteen girls, towards dormitories. She was one of the few students living in them.

Schooling in mafia circles was a strange subject. Some children were tutored in their own homes for a reason or other. Well-off families (like Vongola) paid for private tutors while poorer ones (like Bovino) took care of the education themselves. Some children attended mafia school and were carted to and from it daily. Some, like Rosalie, resided in the dormitories either due distance or circumstance.

From her room she picked her foil (non-standard one with which she could actually cut and pierce dummies) and headed then to fencing grounds set behind the school. She had pent-up energy to release and she hadn't had a good spar since starting the school. Two years ago, she'd picked fencing as her hobby and had been allowed to continue as long as it was kept behind closed doors but now… even if there was sword-lessons offered, they were strictly for boys. And she didn't have permission slip from her parents to go on the lessons anyways. Instead, she was put on crocheting classes. Apparently, it was something 'safe for little ladies like her'.

Bleh.

Two hours and half a dozen maimed and diced dummies later, Rosalie was… not satisfied but calmer. Now… if only she could spar with someone.

A movement at the corner of her eye made her duck out of sight. Teachers wouldn't be happy to catch her since she didn't have permission to fence. And definitely not do so unsupervised.

But it wasn't a teacher. It was the crazy secondary schooler that had all the other students and sword instructors beaten in skill. The spare of Superbi family. Squalo, if Rosalie remembered correctly. She had never interacted with the boy, only watched from the windows how he demolished his opponents and grew frustrated with lack of challenge. The girl could sympathize, even if her situation was different. And skill-level. Otherwise she would've challenged the boy since she doubted he really cared about the rules.

"Voii! How long are you going to hide there?!" The loud shout interrupted the girl's musings. Rosalie pursed her lips. The boy had sensed her. Or even seen her demolishing the dummies and watched her hide. Either way, he knew her location.

The seven-year-old straightened up and brushed her skirt before stepping out of her hiding place. Her sword tapped against her hip with each step she took as she primly walked up to the boy but stopped just out of reach of his sword. The teen eyed her in amusement.

"You are Squalo of Superbi Famiglia." Rosalie stated. "Rosalie Valdez, a pleasure." She curtseyed.

"Likewise." Squalo replied, taking stock of her stature and posture and apparently finding it satisfactory. "Been taught the sword for long?"

"Only a year. I had to quit the lessons when my parents carted me here. They wouldn't give me a permission to attend the lessons here even if I were to ask for it."

"Well that's their loss." The boy snorted derisively. "From now on, I'll be teaching you. No reason to have all that potential go to waste."

"Really?" Rosalie beamed, subconsciously adding tiny stars and fluttering rose petals on the background.

"Voii! Quit with the sparkles! No girly shit welcomed here!" Squalo drew his sword. Rosalie mimicked him.

"Understood!"

During the months, Rosalie got to know Squalo and by extension his Sky, Xanxus di Vongola. Despite her age, she got well along with the two of them. But Harmonize they could not.

"Hmm… we are alike but maybe I'm simply not strong enough yet." Rosalie muttered, disappointed but not really concerned. "Maybe with age I'd be powerful enough but I'm still trying to find myself."

They were sitting in Xanxus's new office in the castle that housed Varia. Last month Squalo had beaten Tyr of Varia for the title of Sword Emperor and in due process had gained the leadership of Varia itself. Which he'd handed over to Xanxus. The rest of the month was spent in cleaning up the place, familiarizing themselves with things there and avoiding second in command of the Lighting users, Leviathan, who was downright worshipful towards Xanxus.

"You considering joining Varia then, tiny trash?" Xanxus asked.

"…Maybe. Like I said, I'm still finding myself."

1995

Next year went on, with Rosalie irregularly but frequently 'kidnapped' to Varia Headquarters and the terrible duo running the show there. During the year Xanxus picked the rest of his Guardians: Lussuria for Sun was already a Varia, Levi got a promotion to Lighting Officer, Prince Belphegor of Storm was picked almost literally from the streets after he'd massacred his own family and Arcobaleno Mammon took the Mist Guardians place.

Rosalie was a bit miffed at the last one but understood. She had no way of beating an Arcobaleno in strength and experience. Even if she was unsure what to think about the fact that Belphegor who was a year younger than her was strong enough to be Xanxus's Guardian. What did it say about her own strength?

Her ponderings almost led her to avoid the castle and the company of her tentative 'friends'.

Almost.

In the end it led to Xanxus showing up at school and dragging her with him instead of just sending a mook to pick her up.

Well, at least her skills with sword and illusions were progressing.

1996

The Cradle Affair happened. It wasn't hard to guess who had blabbed to Vongola Nono about Xanxus's plan. And even concealed the true purpose of the 'coup'.

Rosalie frowned heavily at Ottabio whom she'd bound to a chair in the middle of a driveway to Vongola Mansion, the Iron Fort.

"Enrico di Vongola, the Heir, was killed last year in a gunfight." The nine-year-old girl spoke. "His Guardians were poorly matched and only for the sake of political alliances. The security provided by CEDEF has also been lacking. Nono is complacent in his power and position. Other families are clamoring for a piece of Vongola, especially when Nono has refused to officially name anyone his heir and thus let go of even a fraction of his power…"

She had been eyeing the trees around them before her eyes snapped back to her captive. It had been surprisingly easy to snatch him on his way to Iron Fort and it would be quite a while until Nono's men would start wondering about the delay.

"Nono needed to wake up." Rosalie said flatly. "Xanxus was going to make him realize how lacking his security was. Not… Not try and snatch the crown that now rightfully would belong to Massimo. So just what were your motives? Getting the leadership of the Varia? You knew you couldn't beat Xanxus in a fight so you set Nono to clear the way for you? Too bad he is too soft-hearted to be proper 'cleaner' or he would've wiped out Xanxus's Guardians too."

"You… You little… bitch…" Ottabio spat out blood and let out a wheezing cough. Rosalie blinked slowly. The stab wound on the traitor's chest from her foil was bleeding sluggishly.

"It that all you wanted to say?" The girl asked. She raised her sword. "And I prefer to be called tiny trash."

Ottabio was found an hour later, having bled out from his wounds long since. Rosalie had been spirited away by Mammon who'd been looking for her. The girl was trembling in rage at the dead man and horror of her own actions.

"Get me to Squalo." She had said once back at the Headquarters.

"Mu, that'll cost."

"Doesn't getting rid of that rat put you in my debt?" The girl asked idly, wiping the blood away from her sword and then binning her ruined gloves.

"We didn't ask for it." The Arcobaleno protested without any meaning behind it as they floated behind the girl making her way to the training rooms.

"All the sweeter."

The double doors were banged open. Rosalie strode in and drew her foil. Squalo met her with a resounding clang of their swords.

1998

Rosalie was only mildly interested when she heard about Massimo di Vongola's death. Apparently Nono and CEDEF had not learnt from their mistakes yet. Well, there was still Federico. But the fact that he was not announced as the next Decimo concerned her. Nono wasn't getting any younger.

Oh well, there was more important things for her to look into. Like the new student René Fontaine, son of the French information dealer Angelina Fontaine. Born and raised at Mafia Land but moved two years ago to France and now to Mafia Academy's dormitories. The ten-year-old had powerful Sun Flames and was quite the good shot. Though it seemed he preferred using darts and playing cards as throwable ammo. Well, one card deck provided 52 projectiles plus Jokers and any possible info cards. Cheap and compact.

"Buenos dias, señor Fontaine." Rosalie greeted the boy, sitting down next to him at the cafeteria. It was a round table so she was more like seated at ninety-degrees angle but next to him nonetheless.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle Valdez." René smiled back. "I was wondering when you'd approach me."

"Oh, how so?" She arched an enquiring eyebrow.

"There's a… flavor and shape to your flames that I'd wager to fit the same Ring than mine."

"Ring?" That was a new term.

"The one who taught me to shoot, told be about other types of groups that Flame users formed. Sometimes with and sometimes without a Sky. This school teaches exclusively about the full set that great Skies collect around them, thus painting an image of an idyll only few and far between the flame users can achieve… Ring, is a term for a full flame group without a Sky."

"And you must've met another Flame Active in order to recognize the 'flavor and shape' required. Even as a Sensor you must have something to compare my flames to."

"True. I met a girl last year in Nice. She was a very strong Cloud with a Sky secondary. I'm not sure if she is strong enough to Harmonize but the quality was fitting to my flames. She said she also had Rain, though Latent…" René mused. "I'm still in contact with Adi if you'd like to get to know her. I've a feeling you'd like her."

It's a strange topic to talk about. Very confidential, but Flames don't lie. René trusted Rosalie with the knowledge of a Heavenly Cloud and her Rain with whom they'd probably form a Ring and thus achieve a balance. It almost sounded better than Harmony in an actual Sky set (Starburst, René called the shape).

Rosalie took a leap of faith and with a bit of Mist-direction ensured no one listening in, she shared a little but secret information from her flame bonds.

"I tried to Harmonized with Xanxus di Vongola three years ago." While people at school knew she kept disappearing and that she was acquaintances with Squalo and Xanxus, the true extent of their… friendship was a secret. "I failed, since my flames weren't strong enough. And I suppose the flavor was wrong too…"

"Oh… But it was a close call though, right? Isn't it sort of amazing anyways? Almost bonding with a Vongola Sky? If the strengths are too far apart, the weaker of the link simply slides out of perception and the Sky doesn't even notice the attempt."

"Well, some people simply don't know their etiquette and go throwing themselves at Skies without even introducing themselves. You should've seen the tizzy this place was in when the Cavallone Heir went active two years ago. His tutor, Sun Arcobaleno Reborn, withdrew him soon after."

"Hitman Reborn… Have you met him then?" René asked, odd gleam in his dark eyes.

"Not met. I did see him from afar. With Constantino Cavallone tripping every third step he took, I decided to stay well away from that mess." Rosalie flipped her dark locks over her shoulder.

"I see…" The boy hummed. She eyed him suspiciously.

"Why the interest?"

"I was born and raised at Mafia Land."

"Yes, it's one of the few things that the rumor mills here agree on."

"My mother was very laissez-faire when it came to childrearing. She loved me dearly and had wanted a child for a while but didn't really know what to do with me. She could cook and clean, she paid attention to my needs, but she was also terribly busy with her job as information broker. So she didn't really have time to really know what I did on my free time… Anyways, I found someone else to look after me and keep me occupied during days. The Rain Arcobaleno Colonello." René explained. "And he said once that it was a great irony that I was named René while having Sun Flames and unerring aim."

Rosalie waited patiently for the punchline even though she had a feeling where this was going.

"René is after all just another way of saying 'reborn', being derived from the Latin name Renatus."

Oh, how interesting.

1999

René told Rosalie that "Adi's" Rain was missing after going to Italy. Rosalie paid handsomely to Mammon to find out if the girl had been pulled into mafia. She was found in CEDEF, under the codename Thyme.

"Shall we scout her out and see if she has the correct quality flames?" Rosalie asked the boy.

"Yes, when she has a mission outside Italy."

It took them many months later to Monaco where CEDEF was conducting an observation mission for two of their rookies, Thyme and Basil. René distracted people at poker table while Rosalie messed with people. Mammon was with them since they were bored and promised them a cut for whatever winnings René managed to acquire.

The Rain was Misty too and quite compatible. It was a pity she was in the confines of CEDEF but the situation could potentially be turned into an advantage too.

Varia, CEDEF, freelance information broker, and unaligned drifter… Yes, it was starting to look quite promising grouping.

A/N: Thank you for reading, I hope you leave a review as you exit. :)