Weeks passed, Dino trained under Reborn, and I trained Koge until he was no longer capable of standing day after day. Domenico (most likely under Reborn's instruction) sent me out on my very first assassination. Koge would provide directions and updates as he always did but other than his quiet voice, I would be alone.

My first assassination wasn't very eventful. It was exactly as I expected it to be compared to all the other missions. I found the man sleeping and shoved my gauntlet down his throat with one hand and pinched his nose shut with the other hand. He couldn't breathe. He suffocated to death so simply that I couldn't help but think assassins had it easy.

I snuck right back out the way I came and Koge drove me away. For the first time I noted that Koge was as young as me and Dino and I quietly asked, "Why did you try to join the Secret Services? And why did my father abandon you so quickly?"

Surprised but expressionless as ever, Koge murmured, "My father died in place of yours on a mission."

It was my turn to be surprised. I couldn't believe it. My mother had left out parts of her story.

"In place of mine…" I repeated, letting it sink in, "Do you resent me?"

Tone unchanged, he said, "You don't care. Why do you ask?"

Koge, despite his monotonous voice and lack of courage, knew me well. He was observant. It was his one true skill. He was good at reconnaissance because he was quiet and observant. He knew me well enough to know I wasn't one for sympathy and friendship.

"You're driving my getaway vehicle." I snorted, "You might be an herbivore but I don't dislike you. And I dislike how much you've learned about me during your observations despite the fact that I don't know anything about you."

Koge showed off the subtlest of smiles for the briefest of moments, "The boss to-be would be jealous to hear you take an interest in someone other than him."

"I know plenty about Dino." I declared, "He's expressive unlike some people. Don't dodge the question. Do you resent me?"

"Your father should've died that day instead of mine. Of course I did." He said simply, "But I don't resent you anymore. Your father removed me from the frontlines and eventually from his services because he has a heart despite what all the others say about him. He sent me here to meet you so I could move on."

"Meeting me helped you… move on?"

He chuckled quietly, not taking his eyes off the road even as we pulled into the dirty driveway of the Cavallone estate, "You might find it hard to believe but yes. When I heard of you, I was bitter. My mother told me you were my age and my father was so proud when you had been born. Being friends with your father was my father's greatest pride. When my father died, I hated you. I thought it was so unfair."

"But you don't think the same anymore?" I pursed my lips, not taking my eyes off Koge, "If I were in your place, I would've resented you for life."

"What's the point?" He smiled again, the glimmer just barely touching his normally soulless eyes, "When I saw your face here for the first time, I was so glad it was my father that had died instead of yours. You weren't at all what I thought you would be. I thought you'd be a spoiled little princess but you were… You're a warrior even though you're younger than me. I saw you and I thought if I had the kind of strength you had I would've gone and protected my father myself. I had no one to blame but myself."

I watched him put the car in park and turn off the engine. We sat in silence for a moment. I really let his words sink in and then I nodded, "Well… I'm-"

"Don't say anything." He said, "You don't have to. My father told me long ago that I would one day find someone who would captivate me with their strength-a strength that would make me want to follow them to the end of the earth and back. I found you."

Embarrassed by the sudden and direct praise, I was blushing intensely. Koge laughed quietly at my expense and then suddenly, we were in trouble. Dino was screaming at the top of his lungs about how we should report in if we made it back safely. He was worried about us and apparently, so was everyone else.

Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I stepped out of the car and Koge did the same on the opposite side, "Shut up! We just got here and you're being obnoxious!"

"Well, you were being… You were with Koge for so long in there! I know you didn't just get here!" Dino was whining in my face, jealousy plain on his features, "You can't do that! We were worried about you!"

I gave him a rough shove but his words were nothing but the truth. I paused when I found Domenico waiting for us. He was out of bed for the first time in months but it wasn't worth bothering with for me.

"Go back to bed." I huffed, "We killed him in silence. No one saw me or Koge."

Domenico exchanged a glance with Reborn who was perched on his shoulder and nodded, "Very well. You did well, Kira."

I snorted and ignored the praise, retreating into my room for a much needed bath.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

Koge and I were much closer after my first hit and rightfully so. Koge and I went on hits over and over. Eventually, our late night chats became a bond that rivaled the one our fathers had shared. Unfortunately, that meant Dino was growing impatient with me. He had confessed to me in the hospital after all. I never gave him a response and he wanted one.

It was no surprise to Koge when he came demanding answers one night. He was waiting in the driveway in his pajamas with his arms crossed over his chest. He was shivering as if he had been waiting a long time. Unfortunately for him, I had robbed my target of his wallet and taken a detour.

Using the cash in the victim's wallet, Koge and I had stopped for a late night snack at some drive thru fast food joint. We got out of the car with our food and drinks, curling an eyebrow at him when he gasped and huffed at us accusingly.

"What?" I demanded, glaring back at a snickering Koge, "Don't eat my fries, Koge."

He held the untouched bag up innocently and gestured back at the heir of the Cavallone Family.

"What?" I demanded again at a fuming Dino, "Foods getting cold, Dino! We don't have all night."

"Apparently, you do." Dino used a tone I had never heard from him before. It was such a stern tone I almost thought Reborn was the one who had spoken but the baby-sized hitman was nowhere to be found, "If you had time to get burgers, you're not as busy as you want me to think. What's with you and Koge getting all friendly nowadays anyways? That's not fair!"

Koge hummed, taking a fry from the bag before handing it to the boss-to-be, "It's not what you think, boss. Take this and eat with her. I'm turning in for the night."

"Hey!" Dino looked mildly offended by the gesture. I'm sure he didn't want a handout from his "rival." Conflicted, he glared at the bag for a moment before lifting it up, "Since he gave it to me… let's eat together."

I sighed, rolling my eyes as we entered the building together. The ice in my drink rattled as we walked, condensation dripping from the sides when I set it down at the dining room table.

Tearing the paper bag open to reveal the contents in their entirety, Dino took a seat in the chair beside me. He didn't speak for a while, busying himself with nibbling on a french fry and giving me a side-eyed glare.

I rolled my eyes at the immaturity, "What's with you?"

"Me?!" He nearly shouted and quieted down when I shushed him and pointed at the clock signaling the lateness of the hour, "I-I hope you didn't forget. Back at the hospital… I… I told you!"

My eyes narrowed, "Told me what?"

He was ready to yell at me but when he thought about it, he realized he hadn't really confessed. He had just done something akin to it. He thought I was feigning ignorance when in fact, I had just been asking him to be more specific about what he wanted to talk about. Either way, it became the most serious conversation we could've had about the subject at fourteen/fifteen years of age.

He took a deep breath and confessed in the most solemn tone, "I want you to marry me. I'm in love with you."

Even if I had tried, I don't think I could've hidden the blush exploding across my face at that time, "Wh-What's with you?! That's not the kind of thing you can say now!"

"Why not?" He demanded, "I'm serious! I've had the biggest crush on you for… my whole life! Since the minute I met you, I wanted to make you my wife."

"We met as little kids! How did you even-"

I don't know where this man grew the balls to do what he did but he leaned in and in one swift motion, his lips were on mine. It was an embarrassing kiss for both of us and it was clumsy beyond anything I could have ever imagined. His teeth had knocked into mine before his lips pressed onto me. My lips were so dry from being in the cold and he was trembling from nervousness.

He pulled away, putting on a brave face. He pointed at me as if he were a teacher giving a lecture, "If you felt nothing, I'll never bring it up again but if you felt anything just now-anything at all, you owe me a date!"

I'm sure my expression gave it all away. My face felt like it was on fire and my heart was pounding harder and harder each second I spent staring at that stupid crooked, faux-confident smile on his face. So, I solved my problem the only way I knew how. I shoved Dino out of his seat and stammered incoherent insults at him while wiping at my mouth.

He fell onto the floor in a heap and looked up at me as if he was a kicked puppy. His teary-eyed gaze was too much to bear.

In a small voice that didn't sound like my own, I muttered, "I... owe you a date…"

Tears fell away to a dazzling eyed smile, "Seriously?! Yes!"

From upstairs, I heard Domenico's yell of, "Shut up, Dino! Go to bed!"

But it didn't matter. I smiled as Dino danced around like an idiot for a moment. He turned, blushing in embarrassment before offering me his hand, "Um… I know I kind of messed it up earlier but… Can I kiss you again?"

"Dirty pervert." I grumbled, taking his hand gingerly, "Save it for the date."

Sparkly eyed and smiling like a doofus, Dino nodded vigorously, "Oh! You're definitely right. I'll be so romantic, you just wait and see!"

Watching him run away to plan our future date, I smiled to myself.

This is the one world out of a billion parallel worlds where Dino and I are still friends at this age. Furthermore, this is the one world out of a billion where Dino has successfully confessed and received a positive response from me at this point in our lives. The pieces are falling into place.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

I lost count of how many hits I went on but Reborn decided he was satisfied with my progress. I was on "vacation." It was called a vacation but I still went to school. I still did my daily workout and I sparred with Koge relentlessly.

Turns out, I was sent on vacation because Reborn wanted to see if Romario and Koge would be able to fill my shoes if I were to stop existing someday. I shrugged and let him have his fun but I'm pretty sure if I stopped existing today, this family would fall right back down to the terrible state it was the day I arrived here.

Either way, a short vacation was welcome. Maybe the world forgot but I did take permanent damage on my first mission out with Dino. A bullet to the wrist that wasn't fully repaired meant that my wrist ached if I went on too many missions night after night without rest. Fortunately, I was young and I was blessed with good recovery genes. It was common among members of my family to heal faster than expected of normal human beings.

I planned on skipping my workout regime on just the first day of my vacation so I could rest my hand. As fate would have it, that was the right choice. The minute the school bell rang, I was gathering my things to leave and Dino was waiting for me.

"Today's the day." He said to me, grinning when I looked up at him with my notebook halfway in my bag, "I figured we could walk home today and take our time since Romario's going to be briefed on his job for tonight. You know… our date?"

I shoved the notebook into my bag sharply and glanced around to make sure no one heard him, "Quiet."

"Don't be embarrassed." He offered to carry my bag but I was not having it, "I'm not too bad as a boyfriend, am I?"

"B-Boyfriend?" I glanced around again thankfully, no one was paying attention to us.

"Yeah! I'm not taking you on a date as just your friend. You're not planning on dating anyone else, are you?" He pouted at me so childishly.

"Why would I?" I hissed, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and yanking him out of the classroom, "We're just walking home."

"No way! I planned this out." He took hold of my hand, pulling it from his now-crinkled shirt, "We're going to stop for ice cream and walk through the park before we go home!"

I sighed but followed along. I promised him a date and I gave him a date.

Clumsy Dino didn't fall once during the whole walk to the ice cream parlor but the minute we had our cones and left the store, he fell on his face. I laughed at his expense. Thankfully, the ice cream fell on the asphalt and didn't get on his clothes. He picked himself off and dusted off, embarrassed.

"We can share." I told him, blushing at the touched expression on his face, "I don't like ice cream that much anyways!"

He chuckled gleefully, taking the cone I offered him. Sharing ice cream was the most childish thing. He would lick the ice cream and then wait for me to lick it and then go and purposely lick it in the same place. I laughed when I realized he was doing it and he turned so red I thought he would explode.

Somewhere along the way, I was holding his hand. When I realized it, I turned colors. We blushed like the children we were and I glanced around only to find that no one cared if we were holding hands. I gave his hand a squeeze, rendering him a blushing mess as he had been nearly the whole way through anyways.

Our date, if you could even call it that, was cut short when Dino's cell phone rang. He scrambled to silence it, warily glancing at me.

"Who is it?" I demanded, "If it's Domenico, you have to answer. He's our Don."

He hesitated but he answered, "Dad?"

His expression grew dark the more he listened. Something bad happened. The sun was just starting to set. Romario must've slipped up. After hanging up, Dino took my hands in his and said, "Please help me… They took Romario."

I took my hands from his with a scowl, pulling my phone from my pocket. I knew the person I was calling would answer no matter what and he did in just two rings, "Koge? I need you to pick me up. Bring the gauntlets. Dino and I are at the park near the school."

Koge's voice was the same monotonous tone and it calmed me, "So you heard about Romario? I'm already on my way."

"We're waiting for you. You can fill me in when you get here."

"Will do, boss."

I stared blankly at the phone after Koge hung up. He had just so casually called me "boss." Had I become Koge's boss? I snorted. No, he just calls everyone that.

Koge's arrival was long awaited when he did finally arrive. Dino had fallen into silence after the phone call. He was extremely worried about Romario and there was nothing I could say at that point that would relieve the feeling of concern but now, it was time. In the backseat of the limo Koge had arrived in, Dino and I suited up.

In the meantime, Koge filled us in on the details. Romario had gone on a mission much like the ones I went on. Comms had failed them and Romario ended up in a situation where the enemy had captured him. According to details barely picked up on the radio still cutting in and out while on Romario's person, he was still alive but he was being tortured for details on who sent him and why.

Armor over my hands, I was ready to go the minute Koge arrived at the location. We didn't have much time. Romario might break and end up revealing dangerous information if we didn't save him. With full authorization from Domenico to decimate this family if we could, Dino and I went in with our resolve blazing.

Koge's voice was in my ears, guiding me into the depths of this rather large base. Dino was close on my tail as I flung men through windows on our way into the main part of the building. I lost count of how many people I killed. A punch to the throat was a crushing blow and while they struggled to recover, I twisted their necks and left them for dead.

Rescuing Romario was way too easy for me. Surprisingly, Dino was more than holding his own. He was furious about the whole situation and he wanted to see Romario to safety with his own strength. I was proud of him. The shadow of that herbivore who refused to fight and train was no longer there. He had become a protector.

My monstrous strength and Dino's perseverance brought us right to Romario. His captor was entangled in Dino's whip in a split second and I was on him, snapping his neck just like I snapped all the others. It was too easy and I frowned as I released Romario from his confines. The gap between Romario and my strength was too big. Romario wouldn't be able to protect Dino like this…

As Romario slumped onto Dino's back, I glanced back and noticed there was another captive, "Hey… Is this one of your guys?"

Dino noticed who I was referring to and shook his head, "I don't know him… I'm… not sure."

I clicked my tongue at him in annoyance and released the second prisoner too. I heaved him onto my back. I didn't have time to complain but this guy was definitely heavier than me! We took our leave, hoisting both Romario and the second man into the back of the limo as Koge did the clean up.

He poured gallons of gasoline around the perimeter of the estate and tossed a lit match into the liquid before hurrying back to us and taking the wheel. The estate went up in flames behind us. We had erased this family off the face of the earth.

We took Romario and the mysterious second man to the hospital and left them in the care of the doctor. Dino called into his father and let him know we were successful. Sitting out in the waiting room with his head in his hands and his chest bent over his thighs, Dino properly looked like a worried family head.

I resented Romario for his failure. This only proved two things. Romario was too weak to protect Dino as he is now. He had to train. And Dino would keep protecting his family with his life from now on.

On this day, I developed a strong, unbending hatred for those who fail miserably.

When the doctor finally emerged from the operating room, Dino shot to his feet with an anxious look on his face.

Thankfully, the doctor had good news for us, "Neither of them have any life threatening injuries. They'll make full recoveries."

Relieved, Dino's knees buckled and I laughed.

Holding him up, I said, "Get it together, Dino. You're their boss, not their mother."

Embarrassed, he gathered himself, "My bad… But honestly, they're my family, why shouldn't I worry?"

Because they're weak and expendable.

But I couldn't say that to him. He cared too much. He sympathized with them because they were weak. He was weak.

Something felt so wrong. My heart was unsettled at the thought of Dino being okay with having a future right-hand man who was weaker than him. Mafia rules dictate that the subordinates protect their boss. An unprotected don was a sitting duck… with a dozen hunters targeting it. Dino should be grateful that the Cavallone Family is too weak to have prominent enemies.

The doctor gave us permission to see Romario and the mystery second man once they were conscious but as it would seem, only one of them woke up completely. The minute we entered, Romario gestured at the man in the bed across from him and said, "He's not one of our guys."

Annoyed, I glared at Dino who cowered away like a kicked dog, "Then who is he?"

"Claims he doesn't know." Romario answered gruffly, "I say he's crazy if he thinks we believe him."

His eyes were blank as we accused him of lying. He was as expressionless as Koge when he looked up at me but this was not the same kind of presence-less expression. This was the expression of someone who lost everything and yet nothing. He couldn't remember a thing. He didn't even know if it was worth being alive.

For a brief moment, I wondered if that's how Koge had felt when he lost his father. This man also lost his guidance. But that's none of my business. My job is to eliminate him if he becomes a threat.