CHAPTER 13: SOME SPACE

Night Raid went through a few changes in its dynamics in the upcoming days.

Although it didn't come too easily, Sanfred was ultimately given trust by every member of the crew. Even so, he continued to keep most of his thoughts to himself, as if he were afraid that things would resort back to the way they were before in a heartbeat.

With each passing day, Mine grew more irritable. The teasing was practically endless. The questions, the inquiries, the jokes, the mocking… all of it. She had no idea how to balance it, given how things had been for her before now.

Mine knew that she had never been a nice person. Her nastiness became something of her trademark, and part of what had always enforced it was how content she had been with her independence. But now, all of that went out the window. The jig was up. Everyone knew that she was sleeping with Sanfred now.

As she thought it over, she didn't think it was worth getting upset over. However, there was no denying that it made her uncomfortable. Having such an obvious hidden side was unbecoming of her reputation.

Sanfred was a good man. She was proud to be associated with him. But this was a separate issue. Part of it was that Mine had never really cared about keeping her personal life secretive… but that was because she buried all her secrets in the past and left them there forever. It was easy to be an open book when you limited your transgressions. This all tied back into her past, where she had been miserable. Her youth had been encompassed with misery. Those emotions weren't so far in her past that she'd forgotten them completely. In fact, she was remembering what it was like to be humiliated routinely. It was an awful feeling.

It reached the point where Mine stopped going to Sanfred's room for a while. She was convinced that Leone, and possibly even some of the others, were spying on them when they had sex. Maybe they couldn't see through the door, but they could be listening just outside. Mine needed things to simmer down, and so she started to distance herself.

At first, she expected Sanfred to bring it up. Instead, he was quiet about the whole thing. He did often return to the kitchen to cook, sharing the duty with Akame, Tatsumi, and others. Sanfred was more conversive at dinnertime, since apparently it came easy to him.

Meanwhile, Mine was the one growing more distant. She felt alienated eventually.

One day, Sanfred intercepted Mine in the hallway. "Hello," he said, making sure to stand in her way.

"Hello to you," she replied. "Why are you blocking me? Don't you have to go cook today?"

"I am taking a break from duty this time," he explained, motioning his hands in the other direction. "It is my intention to have dinner alone with you."

"What?" Mine hadn't expected that. "Where?"

"Outside." Suddenly, he revealed a box from behind his back, apparently containing food.

"How did you hold that behind your back?" Mine squinted in astonishment.

"No time to explain. We must be going."

"Whoa, whoa." Before she could object, Sanfred was suddenly in a rush, carrying the box of food with his left while taking Mine's hand with the right. In truth, she was pleasantly surprised at the gesture, so she went along with it.

They ended up outside, under one of the smaller trees. The sun was preparing to set, but for now it was a nice display of bright colors melting. Mine studied the sky for a few moments, and the peaceful cool air helped her start to calm down.

While she relaxed, Sanfred set out a sheet on the grass, then he began to pass the food around.

"When did you prepare bento?" she asked.

"I had time after lunch," he replied, checking each box carefully. "There's salmon. Chicken. Beef over here."

Mine smiled, hardly able to believe she was being treated to an impromptu picnic. "Right, um… salmon."

"Coming right up." Sanfred passed her the appropriate container, along with some soy sauce.

"Not too much," she protested with a smile.

"Too late." He unleashed a torrent of sauce over the plate, while Mine glared at him humorously. "Oh. You were serious?"

"I thought you were better at determining my degree of seriousness by now," she brought up. "But since you were so thoughtful, I'll forgive you."

"Good for me, right?" he said with a grin.

They dug into their food, enjoying a peaceful dinner together. It wasn't necessarily one of conversation, but they coped well with silence while they ate. Then again, this was the first time they were enjoying a meal alone since Sanfred's arrival here.

Eventually, Mine was full, and she watched Sanfred continue to stuff himself. "You never used to eat so much," she mentioned. "Especially considering you don't taste any of it."

"It's still like a good feeling," he explained between bites. "Eating still fills me up. Besides, I didn't want things to get too quiet, so I'm providing ambience."

Mine nodded as she enjoyed a deep breath of cool dusk air. "You've… become pretty close with everyone around here. Looks like you're fitting in well."

"Maybe."

She sighed as she looked away. "I'm happy for you…"

"You trailed off, though."

"Huh?"

Sanfred set the chopsticks down and postured up while he remained kneeling. "Something is bothering you. Please tell me."

"Well…" She sighed again, unsure of how to word it. "Look. I really like you. But lately… the others have been giving me so much crap. They're always intruding on my privacy. It's really difficult for me to deal with."

"Oh. Got you." Even so, he remained unsure of where she was going with this.

"Maybe you don't mind if people are aware of your sexual capacity," she explained as clearly as possible, "But I just want privacy. It's too weird having my friends constantly harass me for details. I would like a break from all that."

"Hmm. Seems like you've become deprived of privacy."

At least, he seemed to empathize with her. "I would like to take a brief break from our… late nights. I just need some space."

"It was never my intention to burden you," Sanfred said, holding both hands up. "Have your space."

"Thank you," she said, giving a slight bow to help assure him that she meant it.

Even so, Sanfred had more to say. "Are you already bored of me?"

"Of course not," she insisted quickly. "Why would you think that?"

Sanfred briefly scratched his moustache, then seemed to lose his will to instigate. "Forget it. If space is what you need, have it. I do not wish to upset you."

Somehow, hearing it from Sanfred's mouth hurt Mine. She had been so caught up in her own feelings that she'd neglected her man's. After all, they were a couple now, which meant they both had a say in what happened. Therefore, it was selfish of her to make this decision.

"Wait," she brought up. "Forget what I said. It was wrong of me."

Sanfred raised an eyebrow. "It most certainly was not. Take the space that you need."

"But…" She wasn't sure what to say now.

"It is fine if you need room to breathe. I am not going anywhere. When you are ready, tell me. I'll be ready then as well."

Just like that, Mine received a second pleasant surprise that day. She nodded, accepting the decision. After staying out together to watch the sun go down, they carried the supplies inside to clean up. When it was time for bed, they went to their own rooms.