Chapter 3

A few days later…

Rosario had all but forgotten about the conversation by now. She was too focused on solving the fairly long algebraic equation in front of her. She tapped her eraser against the table, thinking about what step she was to take next.

Mattia on the other hand, hadn't been able to put it out of his mind. He was doing his work at a slower pace than normal. He just knew that the Boss was talking about him. But who was the girl that they mentioned?

"x=12!" Rosario interrupted Mattia's train of thought. He returned his attention to the multiplication problems in front of him.

"x=12. I know it!" Rosario repeated.

"Are you sure about that?" Reborn glanced up from his book.

"Yes."
The pencil Reborn had sitting beside him flew threw the air, and hit his student squarely in the head.

"I don't see why you have to abuse us or something every time we get an answer wrong," she winced and rubbed the spot where the pencil landed.

"I believe the word you're looking for is discipline." A smirk played at the corner of his mouth.

Rosario grumbled in reply, and looked over the problem again. For another minute, the only sound that could be heard in the room was the sound off pencils scratching on paper.

"Okay, x=8." She pressed her lips together waiting for Reborn's reply.

Their tutor looked up, but not in the girl's direction. He stared over his shoulder, an expression that looked almost, dare she say it, shocked plastered on his face.

"Mr. Rebo—"
He quickly shushed her. Rosario sank in her seat a little, biting her lip. This broke Mattia's concentration once more.

Reborn stood up and snapped his head towards the children, his actions a bit unnerving. "We're under attack," he dashed towards the door "Don't move."

"Wait, what?" Mattia squeaked, but the hitman was already gone. Through the stillness of the room, the sounds of gunfire and explosions could be heard. The fight definitely was not far from the mansion. The indigo-haired boy scooted closer to the girl. "We'll be fine, Mattie," she assured him. Her tone said otherwise. In all of their years, neither had seen a battle break out on Vongola property. Uncertainty hung like a thick fog in the air.

A violent explosion broke the hushed atmosphere. The wall opposite the two was blown away. Rosario jumped, screaming. Mattia was too paralyzed with fear to move. More explosions. Before they could comprehend what just happened, they were pinned down by rubble from the ceiling.

A force grabbed Rosario's wrists, and pulled her upwards from the rubble. "Where's Mattia?" she asked. Rosario's vision was a bit fuzzy, but as everything around her came into view, she was met by a woman with orange hair pulled back into a bun. Her bright pink eyes peered at her behind black rimmed glasses.

Stranger.

Always be weary of strangers.

Rosario and Mattia had learned this from a very young age, which is exactly why she tried to turn and run.

"Stop! Please!" the strange woman took a hold of her wrists again.

"Let go of me!" Rosario tried to get away, only to have the grip on her wrists tighten.

"My name is Oregano. I'm a CEDEF officer. Reborn sent me," she had to raise her voice over Rosario's scared cries. She stopped, turning her head towards Oregano.

There was something genuinely good in the woman's eyes that made Rosario stop her escape attempts. She didn't utter a word, but continued to stare.

"Do you know where Mattia is?"

Rosario's mouth opened, but no words came out. "P-please don't hurt us…" she finally managed to whisper.

Oregano was now visibly annoyed. She hung her head and sighed. "I won't. I'm here to help you."

There was something truly genuine in the woman's eyes. It made bile rise in Rosario's throat at the thought that she was falling for something sentimental like that. She was stronger than that, and she knew it. "Fine," she reluctantly replied. Oregano let go of the girl's wrists. "Mattia was right next to me when the ceiling collapsed. He should be around here," Rosario gestured.

"Rosario…?"

No sooner had she finished speaking, did Mattia's small voice sound. The blonde was quickly on her knees, prying her friend from the debris. "Please tell me you're okay," she pleaded, helping him to his feet.

"I'm fine," he stated, and looked up. He too, was taken aback by the presence of the unknown woman.

"She's not going to kill us," Rosario groaned.

"But the enemies will if we don't get going," Oregano began to nimbly step over the fragmented pieces of wall and ceiling, motioning for the children to follow her. "We've wasted too much time. We have to leave now."

Mattia shot Rosario one last look of insecurity.

"She's our only option. Do you want to stay and get blown up?" she snapped. She didn't hesitate to leave him standing there, bewildered as she walked away. It took him a minute to make the decision to follow the two.

'If you're wrong, we're dead either way…'

I lied. This chapter sucks, too. Hell, the whole thing sucks now that I look at it. I'm not motivated enough to go and fix it, though, so you'll have to live with it. OTL

… Why am I saying this? Nobody's read this fic. lol