CHAPTER 10: PAELLA

Two days had passed.

Mine had spent most of it training with Sanfred. It was totally different than training with the other members of Night Raid. For some reason, he was incredibly intense while acting extraordinarily composed.

While Mine specialized in sharp shooting, she was practicing with a sword this time. The scimitar that Sanfred always carried was damaged from the battle against Lubbock and Akame, but he still refused to discard it. For now, the two of them practiced with wooden sparring swords anyway.

It didn't take long for Mine to learn just how much of an expert Sanfred was with a blade. He showed her how simple movements gave way to flashy techniques. There was so much practical use in simplicity. It amazed her that his coolness translated well into his combat skills.

Mine wasn't good with a sword, and it was humiliating to be put down so much by her partner. But each time she started up again, she felt stronger. Knowing how training worked, she knew that she'd grow in skills if she kept at it. This was still an important part of her duty as an assassin since there was always room for more ways to kill someone.

"Always concentrate on your breathing," Sanfred explained during one of the breaks. "It's difficult to manage your adrenaline because you tend to surge in your breathing pattern. If you are always timing your breaths, you will never have that problem."

"How can I always concentrate on that?" she asked, trying to tone down her frustration. Even now, she was panting loudly.

"To always concentrate… you must always practice."

"Thanks," she said sarcastically, even with a competitive grin on her face.

"Your skills as a killer are without question, Rosa," he explained, kneeling before her. "But you handle your affairs far different than me. You choose to harness your anger when you open fire. Your style is not invalid, so don't get too bitter if my tactics do not fly in tandem with your fighting style."

"You really are pretty good at staying composed," she admitted, starting to get her breath back now. "But I like getting fired up during battle. It fills me with satisfaction."

"As it fills me with joy seeing you satisfied," he added on. He offered her his right hand.

She held it as she returned to her feet. Mine held him for a moment, checking on the wound. His hand was already mostly healed, thanks to the herbs. Even if it was still sore, he acted unfazed. Having a high threshold for pain was certainly a powerful advantage. "I should teach you how to shoot," she brought up. It had been on her mind all day. "It's only fair since I'm learning how to sword fight."

However, Sanfred sulked his face. "A gun does not compliment my abilities. I would be a terrible shot."

"Oh, okay. Guess you really were bullshitting when you said you would do everything you could to make this work."

"You will use this constantly against me," he said accusingly.

"You should at least try it."

"Of course, I shall," he said, relieving her. "But I will not excel. A sword is the weapon which aligns with my heart. A gun is too foreign to me."

"Time to get diverse then."

When the two of them went to shooting practice, it was an amusing scenario. Sanfred quickly determined a good technique for holding the weapon, but his aim was oddly terrible. For some reason, he could never hit a target dead-on. Mine laughed constantly, unable to resist taking joy in seeing Sanfred be inferior to her in some realm at last. But eventually, she became determined to help him improve.

After spending two hours on it, Sanfred remained as incompetent as before. "More practice then," Mine suggested. "You'll get it down eventually." Even so, she was worried that he wouldn't be interested anymore.

Instead, Sanfred was strangely motivated. "Let's try again tomorrow. I will hit the target this time. I swear it."

She blushed a little, pleased to see Sanfred fired up over a challenge for a change. By now, she realized how much of a rarity that was with him.

At dinnertime, Sanfred was given permission to cook. Of course, Tatsumi and Leone watched him closely the entire time, making sure that he didn't try to poison the food. Despite the suspicious nature of his housemates, Sanfred calmly prepared dinner for everyone without a hitch. Since he was Spanish, he decided to attempt to cook the most recognizable Spanish dish: Paella.

Mine was supposed to be handling laundry for the day, but she kept on sneaking over to the kitchen to watch Sanfred at work. Considering how collected he always was, she wanted to see if it translated well in the kitchen. After all, this was a man who lived on the road, and never really got to have a kitchen to cook in.

Despite his lifestyle, Sanfred seemed natural in the kitchen. He had a large skillet which he was using to sauté the rice, and there was a large variety of vegetables being added in, including onions, garlic, bell peppers, and tomatoes. He also mixed in saffron, salt, and pepper, although he stopped himself from pouring a large amount in. In addition to the chicken, he had shrimp and clams to place in the skillet as well.

Finally, Sanfred motioned to Tatsumi and Leone, indicating that he was ready to serve the food. Tatsumi left to go summon the others while Leone continued to watch him closely. "I'll serve the food," Leone instructed. "Just hang back and be ready to handle the cleanup."

"Aye," he replied without complaint.

With that, Leone fetched some bowls for the portions.

Bulat was quickly in the kitchen, and he ran over to stare at the food. "What is this? It's exquisite!"

From across the room, Sanfred resisted a grin. "Paella. There's no Spanish rice here, so I used the Calrose rice instead. It should still suffice."

"Never had paella before!" Sheele shouted gleefully, now in the kitchen as well.

In fact, everyone had shown up quickly, and they were all crowded around the large skillet with the meal. The tasty aroma floated in the air, drawing everyone's attention.

Meanwhile, Sanfred remained lacking in enthusiasm. "You're going to have to tell me honestly how it tastes because I lack the ability to test it myself."

Aside from Mine of course, everyone stared at him in disbelief. "You… can't taste it?" Tatsumi stammered.

"I don't understand…" Najenda added.

Sanfred shrugged his shoulders, while it was Mine who spoke up on his behalf. "He was wounded in a battle years ago. He lost his senses of taste and smell. He also doesn't feel much in terms of pain."

"That could be useful in battle," Bulat commented.

"But…" Tatsumi sighed nervously. "Maybe not so good when it comes to cooking exquisite dishes."

Despite everyone's concerns, Sanfred was unfazed. "I can still see clearly. I made sure everything was cooked accordingly."

His words sounded confident, but no one wanted to be the first to try it. Finally, Mine walked over and fetched a pair of chopsticks. "Fine then. I'll be the taste tester."

"Wait," Akame said, pressing her hand on Mine's shoulder. "I want to try it first."

The two of them glared at each other, until Najenda finally came to solve the matter. "We will all eat the food together. Simultaneously." The General gave a stern gaze to Sanfred. "Let this be an example of us opening up our trust to you, bounty hunter."

He just nodded calmly. "Sounds good."

With things decided, everyone sat at the table, aside from Leone and Bulat, who divvied up portions of the paella for the hungry patrons. Eventually, everyone had a bowl of rice and a glass of water to drink. Once Najenda gave the blessing, everyone chimed in a cheer as well. And then they all began to dig in.

Mine wanted to hurry and try the food, but she couldn't resist looking around the table at everyone else first. For some reason, she was sure she'd like the food, but she was worried that the others wouldn't. It felt like Sanfred couldn't afford a single screwup with Night Raid, and that got her nervous.

The first to respond was Bulat. "It tastes amazing!" he shouted.

"Yes! Exquisite!" Tatsumi added, his eyes tearing up in joy.

One by one, the assassins contributed to the compliments. Apparently, Sanfred was a decent cook, despite being unable to smell or taste his own food.

Finally, Mine was comfortable enough to try the food herself. And just like everyone else said, it tasted amazing. Each bite was a diverse sample of flavors, with chicken, shrimp, and more fused together. After she downed several bites, she sought eye contact with Sanfred. Once he was looking her way, she mouthed 'thank you' to him and smiled brightly.

When he saw it, Sanfred smiled back, then tried to look away. He was red again.

Mine shook her head as she smiled, then she resumed eating.

Once the meals were mostly finished, Najenda began speaking. "Thank you for this delicious meal, Sanfred. Needless to say, you have shown quite the finesse since arriving here."

"Sure," he replied, keeping his words brief, although he did uphold his manners.

"You've been here for two days now," Najenda brought up. "I understand that our initial meeting was rather… hostile. I can't help but inquire as to how you are feeling now?"

"Good," he answered right away. "I feel like you guys don't want to kill me right now. It's kind of refreshing."

There were a few laughs at the table, although things were still rather quiet. The tension from two days ago wasn't completely vanished yet.

Najenda nodded and looked around at her comrades intently. "Had it not been for Mine's strong persuasion, I believe we would have gone through with our initial decision. However, it would seem that you have demonstrated a strong desire for positive growth and development. At the very least, I would hate to see it cut short, given your potential to serve the world."

"That's… kind of you." Sanfred put down his chopsticks and sat straight up. "If you'll see fit to permit me to stay, I will serve accordingly."

Mine nearly released some tears when she witnessed him speak so respectfully.

"That is good to hear," Najenda acknowledged. "I would like to once again ask the rest of Night Raid what their thoughts are. Therefore, if you would be so kind, Sanfred, we would like to speak in private for a few moments."

He understood completely. With that, Sanfred rose from his seat and headed for the door.

"Don't bother," Bulat spoke up suddenly. "We don't need to speak in private."

"Yeah," Tatsumi added.

Najenda looked around, somewhat surprised. "Really? All right then."

"He's great," Sheele admitted. "We should let him join us."

"I agree!" Lubbock spoke up.

"Yeah!" Pretty much everyone was open to the idea.

Only Akame remained skeptical. She nodded in approval, though, and didn't voice any opposition to the decision.

Mine clenched her fists, hardly able to keep it together upon hearing the others speak on Sanfred's behalf.

"Very well." Najenda rose from her seat and walked over to Sanfred, who turned back and came forward as well. "Would you like to officially join us?" Najenda offered, along with her mechanical right hand.

"I would love to," he replied, taking her hand and shaking it.

There was applause in the kitchen, and Mine rushed over. She could no longer resist, and she threw her arms around Sanfred, hugging him tightly.

"Whoa," he said with a laugh, hugging her back. "Thanks for the warm welcome."

"Shut it," she snapped.

Najenda nodded in approval, then motioned to Tatsumi and Leone. "Why don't the three of us handle the cleanup this time? Sanfred, you go and rest. You cooked a great dinner and you've earned it."

He looked over at her, nodding in appreciation of the kind gesture. "Thank you. I suppose I do need some time to digest all this food."

The entire time, Mine was still clinging onto him, already committed to embarrassing herself with the display. She really was happy. In a way she wasn't accustomed to acknowledging. It felt like she became a kid again, but she felt so good embracing it. It was such a strong feeling that she didn't care if she was mocked for it. That was how she knew it was important to her.

"All right already," Sanfred said, attempting to remove Mine from the embrace. "I'm about to go and fall into a food coma."

"I'm going with you," she said, her voice muffled from being against his chest.

"Right, I was… going to invite you." Sanfred began to shuffle toward the door, eventually getting Mine to release him. With that, the two of them made their exit.