"It looks like your proof turned up after all, Luka."

Kaito and two sicari were standing in front of a heavy iron door, the only one in the entire Marciano estate. It hadn't originally been part of the mansion, but once the former capo had started to believe traitors within the Family were becoming a real threat, he had ordered one of the spare rooms to be modified in order to serve as a holding place for such criminals, and it followed that the way out of the room would have to be made more secure. He chose an out-of-the-way room on the lower level for this purpose in the hope that as few visitors as possible would see it, as he disliked troubling his guests with the occasionally gruesome details that his job required. Luka had only been in the actual room once before, when at a young age she had grown curious about what lurked behind the iron portal. She wasn't entirely eager about having to see that room again, as she knew she would soon have to.

"So then it really was Signor Kamui all along?" Luka asked.

"There's no question about that anymore." The young man had a triumphant smile on his face, clearly pleased with himself. "The other evening I was made aware that Kamui left the estate a bit unexpectedly, so I took a couple of sicari along to follow him. I don't think he knew we were trailing him, but he certainly made his route more complicated than necessary. If I didn't know this city as well as I do, we would've lost him for sure.

"Eventually he stopped in an alleyway, where there was another person waiting for him. They spoke briefly, and then he passed her a few papers. This looked like the perfect chance to catch them both, so the sicari and I charged in. There was a struggle, but the other person managed to get away rather quickly. Kamui sure put up a fight, though." Kaito rolled up his sleeve to reveal a few bloodied bandages. "He brought a knife with him, though I guess he was too surprised to use it properly. We had to knock him out in the end."

Luka frowned. "All that certainly is incriminating, Kaito, but that doesn't add up to treason." She crossed her arms, looking at the young man sternly. "I don't suppose you have any hard evidence against him?"

Kaito's grin grew wider. "I thought you'd say that. Fortunately, I was saving the best for last." He reached into a jacket pocket and pulled out a few papers, worn and yellow with age. "When we sprung on him, there were still a few documents that he hadn't handed over yet. I'm sure you'll notice something they all have in common." He handed the papers over to Luka, who skimmed over them briefly.

"They're all signed by the Don..." Luka said softly.

The young man nodded. "To be precise, they're all personal documents of his. We can only assume everything Kamui handed over was, too. Whatever this other person wanted with them, I know it won't be for our benefit."

"You didn't happen to see what this other person looked like, did you?" Luka asked, passing the papers back.

"No," Kaito said as he re-pocketed them. "She was wearing a hooded cloak the whole time, so I never saw her face. I could only tell she was female because of her voice. From what I could overhear, neither of them used any names, either, other than mentioning the Don once or twice."

Luka closed her eyes, humming in thought. She looked at the iron door next to her. "I take it he's in there right now, then?"

Kaito nodded. "I worked him over a little, but all I could get out of him was that he really did betray us. I was hoping you could be a bit more persuasive in getting what we need."

"Very well," Luka replied. She took off her suit jacket and handed it to one of the nearby sicari. "I can make no promises, but I'll do my best."

"Don't you always?" the young man said. He nodded to the other sicario, who unlatched and opened the door. Luka entered the darkened room, shutting the door as she did so.

The trickle of light pouring in from the hallway was cut off, what little visibility remaining now only provided by a small lantern burning on the nearby wall. Moisture seemed to disappear from the air as Luka was overwhelmed by the scent of the room, one that reeked of age and dust. Near the door hung several whips and scourges, along with various blunt instruments, the metal ones rusted over.

On the wall across from Luka stood a stood a man in rumpled clothing, shackled in place by short iron chains that ended at the stone behind him. His purple hair spilled over his face and shoulders unevenly, multiple bruises and cuts showing across his exposed skin. He looked up at Luka, smiling as she entered the room.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," he said. Another bruise under his eye became visible as he shook the hair out of his face. "Kaito can't get anything done himself, so he sends his dog to fix things instead."

"You seem to grossly misunderstand your current position, Signor Kamui." Luka's expression was cold, her eyes keenly focused on the bound man. "If you are more respectful, I can assure you that this will be easier on the both of us."

The man laughed. "Even as a torturer, you're so formal!" he said. "Why don't you just call me Gakupo, Luka? There's no need for this uncomfortable politeness now."

"Your level of comfort is no longer a concern of mine." Luka took a few steps forward, now standing immediately in front of the prisoner. "I come here only to offer you redemption."

Gakupo rolled his eyes. "Somehow, I had a feeling you'd say that."

"Then you've already taken your first step," Luka said. "It is not the place of the Family to forgive you for what you have done, but you have the power to cleanse yourself of your sin. If you help us in atoning for your crime, then you may be redeemed." She leaned in closer. "All you need to do is tell me who you've betrayed us to."

The shackled man chuckled. "You're just asking me to betray two Families instead of only one. Funny way to atone, I'd say."

Luka closed her hand into a fist and quickly struck it across Gakupo's face, his eyes widening from the sudden pain. "It's disappointing that you choose to make this so difficult," the pink-haired woman said as she wiped the traces of blood and saliva from her knuckles. "I would have hoped that by now you'd know your duty is to Casa Marciano above all else."

"My duty is to my own family and to my homeland," Gakupo said, still wincing slightly. "This band of thugs never mattered to me."

His breath was cut short by a fist driven into his stomach. "You're too stubborn for your own good, Signor Kamui," Luka said. "For your own sake, I suggest you learn more quickly."

"Don't you even want to know why I did it?"

Luka paused, a small smile forming on her lips. "That's better. Please, enlighten me."

"You probably want to think I did it for myself, so I could profit from the Don's death, don't you?" The prisoner chuckled again. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, but all I wanted from the start was to bring Casa Marciano down once and for all."

The pink-haired woman's smile dissipated. "Why?"

"If you could look past your zealotry for even a moment, you wouldn't need to ask that," Gakupo said. "Do you honestly think this Family is doing anyone any good? Half the country is starving, and your monopoly only drives wheat prices up. It's the one crop we still manage to produce in a decent amount, and Casa Marciano forces families to scrape together everything they have just to afford a loaf of bread!"

In one swift motion, Luka gripped the man's face, and slammed his head against the wall. Gakupo grunted softly as the impact was made, struggling to hold back the burning agony that was sweeping through his skull.

"How dare you even insinuate we do not care about the suffering of our fellow citizens." Luka's voice had dropped to a low, icy growl. "Our very code is to serve and protect this land and all within it. Our business is not exploitation."

"Well, your results certainly speak for themselves, don't they?" Gakupo lifted his head up from the crimson stain left on the stone behind him. "All this Family's done is make a bad situation worse. You'll never be free until you see that."

"And who are you to speak of freedom, Signor Kamui?"

The shackled man laughed. "My chains may be more obvious than yours, Luka, but believe me, they're a lot lighter."

Luka stared at him a moment, the prisoner not even flinching under her cold glare. "Yet you still refuse to rid yourself of them. How unfortunate." She drove her fist into Gakupo's jaw, and then into his ribcage, striking every weak point she could think of with as much force as she could muster. With every punch, the shackled man let out only a small grunt, as if to deny his tormentor the satisfaction of his pain.

After several minutes, the pink-haired woman finally stopped, nearly out of breath.

"Have you decided to see the light yet, Signor Kamui?" she asked. "All you must do is say one name, and you can reclaim your former dignity."

Gakupo slowly brought his head up, giving only a lopsided smile in response.

Luka's expression hardened. "Very well." She turned around, making for the door. "I hope that the next time you are given such a chance, you will be more willing to cooperate."

"What's the point?" Gakupo asked. "I'm as good as dead whether I tell you anything or not. La Oltranza always claims her foe in the end, after all."

The pink-haired woman looked back at him, an eyebrow raised in surprise. "And how did you learn I carried that little nickname?"

"You just told me." The bound man rested his head back against the wall, grinning. "It's funny how you higher-ups keep that even from the sicari. Haven't you ever wondered what your superiors are keeping from you?"

Luka frowned in disbelief. "What do you mean?"

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me," Gakupo replied.

Luka stared the man down another moment. "Just remember one thing, Kamui: no matter how badly you may want to, you won't die a hero, because you will not die with honor. No one who brings harm to Casa Marciano ever dies with honor."

She turned back to the door, opening it and then stepping back out into the hallway. Kaito gave her a hopeful look.

"Any luck?" he asked.

Luka sadly shook her head, taking back her jacket from one of the guards. The young man sighed in response.

"Fine then." He motioned to one of the nearby sicari. "Give him a once-over, use whatever you like. There are a few tools on the wall inside."

The sicario nodded and opened the door, stepping into the darkened room. Kaito shut the steel portal behind him and walked down the hallway, Luka by his side. Any noise that might have been coming from inside the room was muffled by the closed iron door.

"...and that's all that we have at the moment," Kaito finished.

Lily was sitting in an armchair, taking in the information the two cavalieri were explaining to her. "So it appears Kamui was stronger than we thought. Shame we couldn't have made better use of him before he turned." She brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Still, I can't help but admire his resilience. It will be short-lived, but it's impressive nonetheless."

The blonde rose from her seat, walking over to a nearby wardrobe. "Although, it is entirely possible we won't need his help at all." She opened the door and pulled out a maid's uniform, its edges torn and ragged. "It appears our assassin was not as careful as we expected."

Luka scanned the dress from afar, examining its every detail. There was no question about it: the uniform belonged to Casa Marciano. The design was slightly altered from that of a normal uniform, the apron barely shorter than average and the sleeves frilled in a unique manner. The Family emblem across the apron's middle appeared genuine, though it would've been the easiest part to forge. Nevertheless, there was no possible way for it to not have been from the Marciano estate.

"It was found in an alleyway, not far from Via del Passero," Lily said, tossing the uniform to Kaito.

"That street's not far from Casa Rinaldi's territory," Kaito said. He examined the dress a moment, then handed it to Luka.

"It's most definitely the real thing," the pink-haired woman said as she ran her hands over the fabric. "How did you manage to come across this?"

Lily took the uniform as Luka returned it to her and put it back into the wardrobe. "A few sicari were out patrolling, when they saw a young man pick a gentleman's pocket. They pursued the rogue, and he ended up leading them in between a couple of buildings, where the dress was lying in a crate."

"Sounds reasonable enough to me," Kaito said.

"But it doesn't add up," Luka said. "Why would an assassin capable of killing a capofamiglia and leaving no evidence whatsoever behind make such an obvious mistake? Why not just take the uniform back to a home somewhere and dispose of it more effectively?"

"Maybe she was just overconfident," Kaito offered. "In any case, it doesn't seem as if she picked a bad hiding spot. A random alleyway near another Family's borders should've been nearly invisible to us."

Lily nodded. "Indeed. There's no reason to send sicari out where another Family patrols, after all. We only stumbled upon the uniform out of sheer luck."

"That still doesn't guarantee Casa Rinaldi is behind this," Luka said. "For all we know, it was put there to throw us off."

"I don't know," Kaito said. "Planting evidence in another Family's territory is pretty dangerous. Someone caught stuffing a maid's uniform in a crate is bound to look suspicious to a familiare that might pass by."

Lily sighed. "In any case, Luka's right that this isn't definitive. But at the very least, it's another lead." She returned to her chair and sat back down in it. "I want you both to continue your investigations, and to keep an eye out for anything that might point to Casa Rinaldi."

The cavalieri both nodded and turned for the door.

"Actually Luka, could I talk to you a moment?" Lily asked.

The pink-haired woman turned back to her, surprised. Lily gestured to the chair next to her and Luka sat in it.

"Are you really all right?" the blonde asked.

Luka sighed. "I told you already that I am, Lily. I wish you'd accept that."

"It's just…" The other woman paused, thinking. "You seemed a little distracted just now. Is there something on your mind?"

"Nothing in particular, no."

"Are you sure?" Lily's voice was patient. "If there's something you want to talk about, I'm right here."

"I appreciate it, but there really isn't anything worth discussing right now."

Lily looked quizzical. "Really?"

"Really. Well, except…" Luka glanced down, searching for the right explanation. "I suppose there was something that happened the other evening."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I was taking a walk, as usual, and I ran into a girl chasing after a thief," Luka said. "He'd stolen a loaf of bread from her, so I caught up to him and got it back for her."

"That doesn't sound like enough to bother you."

"It didn't. What's bothering me, I guess, is the girl herself."

"How so?" Lily asked.

Luka bit her lip in thought. "I know that I've never seen her before, but she seemed… familiar."

"Well, what about her, exactly?"

"Her name, for one thing. Miku, she said it was." The pink-haired woman paused, trying to plan out her next sentence. "I realize there's nothing especially peculiar about it, but it sounded like... like a sort of echo in my mind, I suppose."

"Didn't she tell you her last name, too?" the blonde asked.

Luka shook her head. "No, she was quite shy. I think she might've been a little nervous about telling it to a stranger."

"So, was it just her name that stuck out to you, then?"

"Well, there was also her appearance, I think. The long, teal hair, the innocent, round face, those big, shining eyes… Also, her voice. It was so melodious, almost musical. Then there was also her figure-"

"Is that what's bothering you so much?" Lily interrupted. A huge grin had grown across her face.

"What do you mean, 'that'?" Luka asked, confused.

"Oh, come on, Luka. You like this girl, don't you?"

The pink-haired woman's cheeks colored a bit. "Wh-What?"

Lily laughed. "You were practically glowing just from talking about what she looked like! Really, it's all over your face right now."

"That's absurd," Luka managed to stutter out. "I was only being objective."

"I don't think anyone mentions someone's 'big, shining eyes' in an objective description, Luka," the blonde said, still laughing.

"I'm telling you, it isn't like that."

"So?" Lily asked, calming down. "Did you actually talk with this girl, or was it just love at first sight?"

"I did speak with her, thank you very much," Luka said. "Although, it wasn't about much. We introduced ourselves, she asked my about my sword, and that's about it. She didn't seem very talkative. She didn't even say anything as I was walking her home."

Lily forced back another laugh. "You walked her home?"

"Yes. She was nervous about there being more thieves, so I escorted her back to her neighborhood to make her more comfortable." Luka crossed her arms. "I don't see what more you're reading into this."

"It's pretty romantic, wouldn't you say? Keeping your beloved safe as you both journey back home…"

"She asked for help and I gave it to her," Luka protested. "I would've done the same for anyone else."

"Certainly," Lily replied, "but this time, you enjoyed it, didn't you?"

Luka frowned. "I'm not sure what you're getting at."

"It's just that you're the protective type. You've always been so ardent about defending things, and now along comes this sweet, adorable woman who's completely vulnerable. If an army had come to kidnap her, you probably would've tried to fight them off."

Luka readied an objection, then hesitated. She thought a moment, and gave a reluctant nod. "All right. You've got me there."

"So, you do like her, right?" Lily asked.

The other woman's eyes were full of uncertainty. "It's just… hard for me to say for sure. This whole ordeal is so confusing…"

Lily blinked. "What, because it's a girl? It's not like that sort of thing's uncommon, Luka. I've seen plenty of young ladies that I wouldn't mind having a romp on a mattress with."

"Lily!" Luka cried in shock.

"All I'm saying is that you shouldn't let that get in the way," the blonde said. "If you're still unsure about this, maybe you should try meeting her again."

"I don't think it's worth that sort of effort, Lily."

"Are you sure?" The capa's eyes had grown more inquisitive, almost piercing.

Luka let out a sigh of frustration. "I don't know. I'm not very comfortable with this, is all. I don't even know this woman, yet… yet I feel so drawn to her. It makes me feel so uneasy."

Lily smiled. "Well, what's the harm in talking to her again? You could just got to her house and get to know her better, couldn't you?"

"I never actually saw her home, though," Luka said. "She told me it was fine to just leave her in her neighborhood, so that's what I did."

The blonde frowned, thinking. "How odd…" Her face brightened up again as she looked back at Luka. "Well, I bet if you just looked for her, she'd turn up sooner or later. Who knows, maybe you two were destined to be together!"

"I never saw you as one to believe in that sort of thing," Luka said.

"I'm not." The blonde leaned back in her seat, sighing dreamily. "But it still sounds wonderful, doesn't it?"

A small smile grew on Luka's lips. "If you say so, Lily."