Luka shoved open the enormous doors at the front of the Marciano manor, not bothering to even glance at the guards nearby, and promptly strode inside. Her every movement was determined and swift, her muscles tense as iron, but she knew that the moment she appeared before her capa all her indignation would have to disappear. For Miku's sake, the answers she was bringing were far more important than the ones she so desperately wanted to know; for now, she had to keep her newfound wrath towards the name of Marciano buried away. After all, Luka needed her Family's trust now more than ever.
The foyer Luka walked into was quiet and empty, as was normal this time of evening, but she happened to notice a servant nearby.
"Where's the Donna?" she called to him.
The man froze as he met Luka's pointed gaze. "Ah!" he cried. "Signora Megurine! Why, Donna Marciano is just upstairs, in her study, but–"
"I see. Thank you." Luka turned and immediately began marching towards the stairway.
"Wait!" the servant shouted. "She's in a meeting now, and it seemed–"
"I doubt it's anything I can't see," Luka said gruffly, her pace unchanged.
She continued up the stairs, leaving the servant fidgeting nervously in the entryway, and quickly reached the study. She halted in front of the door, taking a long moment to compose herself. It was surprisingly easy to bury away her burning grudge, if only for now; if it was for Miku, Luka knew she could endure any shame, any injustice.
Now as tranquil as she could make herself, Luka opened the door. Inside she found Lily and Kaito, who were attentively listening to a woman in an elegant black gown, her short hair a golden blonde. On the table next to her rested a small leather bag.
"Why, Luka," Lily said, turning in surprise as the pink-haired woman entered. "I wasn't expecting you to be around this time of day. Although, it's just as well you're here now."
"And why would that be?" Luka asked.
"It would seem we've found a new ally in this mess of ours," Lily replied. "Allow me to introduce Donna Rin Kagamine, capafamiglia of Casa Kagamine."
The blonde woman smiled at Luka, genuinely enough to throw her off track for a moment. But in the Donna's eyes, in the momentary hesitation of her grin, Luka swore she could sense a trace of fear, as if she was surprised at the pink-haired woman's presence.
"A pleasure to meet you, Signora," Rin said as she gave a friendly bob of her head. "I take it you are a cavaliere?"
"That I am," Luka answered, trying to keep her shock hidden away. Everything about this picture was utterly wrong, but she couldn't let the other capa know she realized that. The woman had to be up to something to have actually come here, to the very Family she had attacked, and it filled Luka with anxiety that she didn't know what exactly she was planning.
"In that case, it should be fine for me to continue, yes?" Rin asked.
"Certainly," Lily said, "but first, perhaps you could fill Signora Megurine in on what you have told us so far?"
"But of course. I've only just arrived, Signora," she said to Luka, "so this won't take long. I was just now telling these two that my Family and I have discovered the true murderer of your former capofamiglia."
Luka's eyes widened. "What?"
"Surprising, I'm sure, to hear it from another Family," Rin continued, "but I assure you, as I assured your colleagues, that I'm speaking the truth. Let me explain." She turned back to the entirety of her audience. "You see, my Family has – or, given her extended absence from us, had – a sicario who we unfortunately hadn't been keeping as close a watch on as we should have, and we've recently run into some rather... unsettling evidence concerning her. Specifically, evidence that links her to directly to Don Marciano's death."
"You mean to say one of your own familiare performed the crime?" Lily asked.
"I'm afraid so," Rin solemnly replied. "But I assure you, she was acting purely on her own will. Casa Kagamine had no part in this horrible deed – we simply have no reason to stoop so low as to murder a fellow familiare, let alone a capofamiglia."
"But why on earth would someone want to murder a capo on her own?" Luka asked. She didn't want to overplay her hand, but already this woman's story wasn't adding up; the others had to see as soon as possible that she couldn't be trusted.
"I realize this is difficult to accept," Rin said, "but this particular sicario very much had such desires brewing within her, and I can't forgive myself for not noticing them sooner. She was generally obedient and respectful, yes, but she tended to have her... shall we say, rebellious streaks. She would, on occasion, express to me incredible dissatisfaction at the fact that she was only ever assigned criminals as targets, as she found them, in her words, 'dull.' She would say that she wanted to hunt down someone who was more difficult, more prominent, and more important, and it shames me to know that now she has finally done just that."
"Are you saying this assassin hunted the Don out of sport?" Kaito asked, his tone razor-sharp.
"In her mind, I suppose it was something like that," Rin said. "She couldn't have possibly been seeking any personal gain from this, considering how difficult it would have been for her to obtain. After all, it's ridiculous to expect even an entire Family to profit from the death of Casa Marciano's capofamiglia."
"Is that so?" Lily asked. "How strange. Such a thought never occurred to us all these days of investigation."
The other blonde smiled. "Well, it's only logical, Donna Marciano. Anyone smart enough to plan an assassination so elaborate must also realize that, even destabilized, Casa Marciano is a fearsome opponent. Even if their guilt was well-hidden, surely no Family would be foolish enough to risk invoking your wrath."
"And yet for quite some time we were under the impression that one had done so."
"Please, I don't mean to offend you," Rin said, suddenly concerned. "I understand why you would have thought that way, of course. This situation is most peculiar, and to be perfectly honest I continued to question it myself. But it's the truth, and I cannot urge you strongly enough to act upon it. All I'm trying to say is that a single saboteur makes more sense, in the bigger picture. There's a clearer motivation with only one person involved, and it makes hiding one's trail much easier."
"So I assume you intend to show me this evidence you say you've found?" Lily asked. "Or do you perhaps expect us to believe you purely out of good will?"
Rin smiled again. "I most certainly would not have come to you without my proof, Donna Marciano." She reached into her bag and withdrew a sheet of paper and a small glass vial, both of which she handed to Lily. "We found both of these in the assassin's room," she explained. "They were quite well hidden, and I'm sure you'll see why."
Lily skimmed over the paper, her expression morphing into a blend of shock and confusion. "It's a schedule of our maids' duties..." she said softly.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you how she could have gotten hold of that," Rin said, "but the moment we discovered it, we realized something was horribly wrong. You see, we'd heard rumors about how exactly the Don had been killed, and it occurred to me that, in one way or another, the maids were said to have been involved."
"The assassin disguised herself as one of them," Kaito said. "She threatened one at knifepoint to get her uniform, then slipped poison into the Don's coffee. It was clearly a well-planned attack."
"Which would necessitate knowing the maids' schedule," Rin concluded for him. "And that's where that vial comes in. Do you see the bit of residue left at the bottom?"
"Yes," Lily said. "There's a bit of white powder still there."
Rin nodded in agreement. "After finding that schedule, we feared the worst about what exactly that residue was, so we contacted a poison expert. The rumors say your Don had been poisoned, of course, and we thought perhaps we had stumbled upon the murder weapon itself. And from what our expert told us, we have little reason to think we were wrong."
"He was killed with white arsenic," the other blonde said as she continued to scrutinize the vial. "And from the looks of this, I'd say this is the same stuff. It has the right consistency and color, not to mention it's almost entirely odorless."
"Which led us to conclude that she'd done it," Rin said. "There's the means, and I've already told you about motive."
"So why did you decide to search her room in the first place?" Lily asked, finally looking up from the vial. "Is that simply a routine in your Family?"
Rin chuckled. "We aren't nearly that distrustful of our familiari, no. What made this assassin's case an exception was that, as I've said, she'd left us for a little over a day now, and we decided to look for clues as to where she might have gone. Given her unusual behavior, I'm sure you can understand why we'd have had reason to be concerned."
"I see," Lily said. "Well, Donna Kagamine, as convincing as your reasoning may be, there remains one difficulty with convicting this rogue sicario of yours as the villain behind all this." She set the vial and paper aside. "Every bit of evidence you've presented to me is, for my purposes, completely unreliable. They only incriminate this particular familiare because of where they were found, and I simply have no proof that you actually discovered them there. They imply conspiracy, yes, but by themselves they do not tell who is responsible."
Rin frowned. "Surely, you don't think I'm trying to deceive you?"
"It simply isn't enough to assign someone guilt, is all," Lily replied. "I must be absolutely certain that this sicario is the one completely behind the murder. Otherwise, I risk not only killing an innocent, but letting the real perpetrator – or perpetrators, as the case might very well be – go free. To be frank, I can't take that chance on your word alone."
Rin sighed. "I was afraid you might say that. I understand your intentions completely, of course, but what I'm saying really is the truth."
"And I'm afraid only hard evidence will convince me of that. This is an incredibly grave accusation you're making, Donna Kagamine. I want to be completely confident that all your facts are correct."
The blonde paused a few seconds, apparently deep in thought. "You said the assassin changed into a maid's uniform, correct?" she finally asked. "Were you perhaps able to recover the uniform she used?"
"We were," Kaito replied.
"So you still have it with you, then? And you haven't had it cleaned or otherwise tampered with?"
"It's vital evidence," Lily said. "We haven't altered it in the slightest from the moment we discovered it."
"Then, could you get it out, please?" Rin asked, a smile again growing on her lips. "I believe there you'll find the final proof of my words."
Lily and Kaito shared a momentary look of puzzlement, until the blonde finally nodded a confirmation to the young man. He walked over to the nearby wardrobe and brought back the uniform in question, its fabric still wrinkled and worn.
"So what exactly should we be looking for on this?" Lily asked.
"Well, the assassin must have been wearing that for a good while," Rin explained. "Look more closely: she should have left a small trace of her having been there. Perhaps it would help if I mentioned that she has long, teal hair?"
Luka's eyes suddenly grew wider. No. She couldn't mean...
Kaito turned his attention towards the uniform, intently scanning over it. Finally, he picked a single thread of off-color hair from the collar, nearly invisible even under his scrutiny. His brow furrowed in near disbelief as he examined it.
"It's... teal," he said.
"And I assume that couldn't have been from the maid who originally wore that uniform, yes?" Rin asked.
"No," Lily answered. "No, it couldn't have been."
"So you see I must be telling the truth. Of course, if you're still not convinced, I can let you go over the physical descriptions of all our familiari. You'll see that only this particular sicario could have fit into that uniform and left that hair behind."
Lily raised an eyebrow. "You'd actually be willing to share that with us?"
"Of course," Rin replied. "Consider it an act of good will. I wish to be as open with you as possible in this matter, Donna Marciano."
The other blonde smiled slightly. "Well, thank you, but that can happen later. For now, I just want to know who exactly this sicario of yours is."
"Certainly. I have with me a picture of her, though I can also provide a more detailed verbal description, or whatever other information you think will help in tracking her down." Rin reached back into her bag and produced another sheet of paper. "Her name," she said as she handed the page over to Lily, "is Miku Hatsune."
Luka's felt herself take in a sharp breath of air, her prior control over her expression eradicated. If only to seal any doubt she had left, she leaned over Lily's shoulder to take a look at the paper. Her blood ran cold as ice: a sketch of Miku, her Miku, was blankly staring back up at her.
"All right," Lily said. "Why don't you go over any further details about her with Kaito? He's the one who'll be leading the actual search."
"Very well," Rin said. "Would the next room be fine then, Signor?"
"Absolutely," Kaito said in a near growl. "I want to know everything I can to find this scum."
Donna Kagamine gave another smile. "After you, then," she said, and Kaito led her out of the room.
The door gave a small click as it swung shut, and Luka immediately turned towards the remaining Donna.
"Lily," she said, desperation surging its way forth in her words, "she's lying."
The blonde looked confused. "What makes you say that?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Luka said, more loudly than she would've liked. She took a deep breath, using the spare moment to think: she wasn't sure how much she could reveal just yet. "There's something wrong with all of this, I know it; her whole story rang of lunacy. Why would anyone ever kill a capofamiglia on their own?"
"It's strange, certainly, but not impossible," Lily replied. "It isn't as if there aren't Families out there who have their less stable members. This Signorina Hatsune simply appears to be one for Casa Kagamine."
Luka felt her nails dig deep into her palms, her hands quivering against her will. Countless impulses screamed at her to avenge the insult, but she restrained herself.
"But she didn't prove anything," she argued, as coolly as possible. "For all we know, none of her evidence could be real."
Lily frowned in bemusement. "I think she showed that it was quite genuine, Luka. The schedule was correct, and I can tell the vial had actual poison. Disregarding even that, there's simply no possible way that Casa Kagamine could have planted false evidence on that uniform. Don't you think you're being overly suspicious?"
"I'm simply exploring all the possibilities. You certainly didn't trust that woman at first."
"That was until she proved she could back up her claims."
"But even if all that's real, there's nothing to prove she actually found the evidence where she said she did."
"What are you saying?" Lily asked, bewildered. "Someone had to have had that schedule, Luka, and someone had to have used that vial. If not this assassin, then who?"
"Perhaps Donna Kagamine has something she's hiding from us."
Lily stared in disbelief. "Are you saying you think Casa Kagamine's actually behind the murder?"
"They're far more logical a suspect than a supposedly bloodthirsty sicario," Luka said. "Might I add she didn't have any evidence for this familiare's supposedly 'rebellious' behavior? There's no reason to believe this 'motive' we've been given is valid."
"Just as there's no reason to believe Casa Kagamine had a grounds for killing my father."
"They could have just been interested in moving into our territory, Lily. That was reason enough for us to suspect Casa Rinaldi."
"But everything Donna Kagamine did here today disproves that," Lily said. "If she truly were behind my father's death, she never would have been this open with us. What murderer would turn over evidence of her guilt to her pursuers? What capafamiglia would betray one of her followers?"
"Don't you see it?" Luka asked, her desperation again taking hold. "She's just using a scapegoat to try to save her own skin!"
"But where is your proof, Luka? Do you even have some kind of hunch for what you're saying?"
"There's no way Miku could have killed the Don!"
The room went silent, and Lily's stare slowly grew a sharp edge of accusation. "'Miku?'" she repeated. The name left her mouth like ink billowing out in water, a growing black cloud of pollution that poisoned the air. "You seem strangely... invested in this assassin, Luka. You've been defending her so vehemently, and now you've even used her first name."
"I don't see what you find suspicious in it," Luka said, glancing away. "This is simply the most logical of conclusions."
"Really?" Lily asked. "I'd say this is the least rational I've ever seen you. It's as if you're personally offended by these accusations."
"All that's offending me are the lies that woman spouted so easily."
"Lies you've still done nothing to disprove."
"Miku couldn't have done it!" Luka cried. "And I know that because..." She hesitated, gathering every bit of her courage to say what had to come next. "...I know that because I love her."
Lily's eyes widened. "What are you saying?" she said. "That's utterly impossible, Luka. How could you have even met her? You're... you're being ridiculous. You've been seeing that girl you've been telling me about, how could you possibly be in love with that assassin?"
"Do you really not see?"
"Of course I don't! It's simply not possible, you're not thinking straight!"
The pink-haired woman looked downwards. "I told you her name before," she said quietly. "The name of that girl. Do you remember it?"
"Yes, you said it was..." Lily's expression froze in realization. "...Miku." Her voice began to rise in a near panic. "No. It can't be, you don't mean–"
"I do," Luka said. "It's her."
Silence stretched on, heavy as lead, while the Donna's disbelieving stare tore through Luka's skull.
"And, you never knew?" Lily finally asked. "All this time you've been seeing her... you only now realized this girl is a familiare?"
"I found out last night," Luka said, not looking up. "Her Family had sent her to kill me, but she wouldn't do it. She admitted everything to me, Lily. She's not our enemy."
"Did she say why they wanted you dead?"
"It was part of their plan," Luka explained. "She was told to frame the murder on Casa Rinaldi, to finally convince us that they were the ones behind the Don's death. Casa Kagamine has been planting evidence against them this entire time."
"And what makes you believe her?"
"I trust her. Besides, do you really think something this big could have been set up by one person?"
Lily hesitated. "You really trust her that much? Do you truly believe Casa Kagamine's actually behind all this?"
"It's the only way that makes sense!" Luka cried. "Think about it. They're a young Family, and they're probably out to secure a better place for themselves in the city. They must have thought they could achieve that by killing the Don, and then tried to implicate Casa Rinaldi to give us a fake target. Now that we know Rinaldi's innocent they're afraid we'll come after them, so they just gave us another false lead."
"But you don't have any proof of that, do you?"
"Where proof is absent, logic prevails. Do you really think it would have been possible for one sicario to have convinced that poison dealer to lie to us, or to make Kamui think it was safe to betray us? Only a Family could have held that much sway over them!"
"Perhaps Signorina Hatsune is just especially persuasive. For all we know, she could have fabricated everything she's told you."
"How could she be smart enough to do that but not be smart enough to dispose of the evidence of her crime? I have no absolutely no reason to distrust her."
"You're only saying that because of what you feel towards her."
"My trust of her is where those feelings came from."
Lily let out a sigh. "All right, fine," she conceded. "I'll admit, that makes sense."
"...Really?" Luka asked, hope daring to edge into her voice. "Then, you'll pursue Casa Kagamine instead?"
"You've made a good case, Luka," the blonde said. "Really, your explanation is far more reasonable than the one Donna Kagamine gave. But that doesn't mean Signorina Hatsune is innocent."
The hope died just as easily as it had come. "What?"
"It makes perfect sense that Casa Kagamine would send out a scapegoat, certainly, if they realized we no longer have any reason to suspect the Family they'd tried to frame. But they didn't hand an innocent over to us, Luka. The just gave us the assassin who carried out their plans."
"Lily, please, she couldn't have–"
"Did she ever tell you who actually killed him?" Lily interrupted. "If she knew so much about her Family's plans, surely she would know who my father's assassin was."
"...She said they never told her that," Luka softly answered.
Lily almost smirked. "A clever response, isn't it? If she'd done it, no one would have had to tell her that, would they?"
"You don't understand!" Luka shouted. "She didn't want to work for them! They were using her the whole time, exploiting her! She couldn't have been behind a hit this important!"
"Then explain this," Lily said as she shoved the maid uniform in Luka's face. "Explain why everything we've just learned points straight to her. Explain why she could tell you everything you wanted to know about this murder except who the murderer was."
Luka's throat was a silent desert. She looked anywhere but at Lily's burning gaze.
"I thought so," the Donna said. She set the uniform back down, giving a soft sigh. "She had to have done it, Luka. It's useful that she told us who else was behind it, and we will see that Casa Kagamine is punished, but that doesn't mean we can let the assassin herself escape. We're all responsible for making sure she sees justice. You know that."
"She doesn't deserve to be treated like some kind of criminal," Luka murmured.
"And why is that?" Lily demanded. "Because of what you feel towards her?"
"She's not just some–"
"I don't care what you think she is," Lily snapped. "All I need to know is that she killed my father. That's more than enough reason for her to die, Luka, for me and for you."
Luka's mouth twisted into a snarl. "You're one to speak of murdered family, Lily."
The blonde's glower momentarily faltered. "What are you talking about?"
"I know what he did, Lily," Luka said. Her restraint had finally broken, and her eyes were ablaze with a quiet rage. "I know what the Don did to my parents."
The fury in Lily's stare suddenly dissipated. "I... I don't know what you mean."
"Enough with your lies, Lily. I know why I'm a part of this Family, the real reason: I know he killed them."
"Luka, please, you don't know what you're saying–"
"Don't you dare try to deny it!" Luka shouted. She pulled out the papers from inside her jacket and thrust them at the other woman. "Here. I have even have proof this time."
The Donna's eyes widened. "Those... Those are..."
"Exactly what you didn't want me to see. Am I right?"
Lily slowly took the papers, her lips almost trembling as she read over them. "How did you get these?"
"I think you have far more explaining to do than I."
"But don't you see, Luka?" Lily cried. "These are the papers Kamui took! You getting them is just a part of Casa Kagamine's plan! They want to drive you against your Family!"
"Does that change what's written there?" Luka demanded. "I know those papers aren't forged, Lily. Everything there is true. Isn't it?"
The blonde hesitated. "Yes," she finally admitted. "Yes, it's all true. I wish you didn't have to find out like this, but... well, I guess we can't change what's happened, can we?"
Luka's muscles tensed. "So you knew."
"I only found out a few years ago, Luka," Lily said. "Before then, I had no idea it had ever happened, I swear." She let out a long breath, looking downward. "I'm not sure my father ever really wanted me to know about it, to tell the truth. One day he had asked me to organize some of his old documents, and I happened to find those very pages. If it wasn't for that, maybe I never would have known." She looked back up at the other woman, her voice becoming more and more distraught. "When I found out, I was horrified. I had always believed just what you believed, Luka, I thought it had been just another break-in. The truth practically crippled me: my father killed my best friend's only family, and knowing that... knowing that was more than I could bear.
"So I confronted him about it. I told him just how disgusted with him I was, how ashamed I was to be his daughter. He was angry with me, of course, but he still told me his side of the story. Those papers only tell so much, Luka. You have no idea just how desperate he was back then, you don't know just how badly he needed that money. If he didn't do what he did, this Family wouldn't be standing today. Can you even imagine this city without us? Can you even begin to consider the crime, the chaos? I wish it could have been some other way, I truly do, but what my father did was for a greater good."
"Is that really what you tell yourself?" Luka asked, almost growling. "Is that what keeps your guilt at bay?"
"You make it sound like a delusion," Lily said. "It's the truth, Luka, the cold, hard truth. I don't like it any more than you do, but it's the only reason this Family is still here."
"This wasn't some kind of sacrifice. My parents were murdered."
"And because of that, the city is safer. I can't defend the act itself, Luka, but the results were still meaningful. Besides, now their murderer is dead. How can you still hold a grudge?"
"Maybe because I'm still being asked to serve in his name."
Lily's expression filled with a cold wrath. "You took an oath to serve this Family just as I did. Are these revelations really enough to make your vows meaningless?"
Luka didn't answer. The Donna sighed, her face becoming more tranquil.
"If you truly can't serve in my father's name, then serve in mine," she said. "Surely you trust me enough for that."
"Perhaps. But not enough to do what you're asking of me."
"You know we can't let that assassin live."
"She doesn't want to serve her Family anymore!" Luka protested. "Please, Lily, for my sake, let her go. She's innocent in all this."
"No one who harms Casa Marciano is ever innocent," Lily said. "Surely you know that."
A thousand more protests surged forth in Luka's mind, though she knew each one was utterly futile. For once, the truth was no longer on her side. She finally let what was left of her resistance fade away.
"I do," she softly answered.
"And you know what you'll become if you interfere with our efforts."
Luka swallowed, the hideous label blazing forth in her mind and finally forcing its way onto her lips. "A traitor. Yes, I know."
"I'm sorry it had to be this way, Luka," Lily said. "But an enemy of the Family can never be anything but an enemy. If we forgive them, then everyone is without guilt."
"Of course. I understand."
"Good." She rested a hand on Luka's shoulder, looking deep into her eyes with a purposeful stare. "Please, don't make this any more difficult for me. For my sake, for the Family's sake, you have to put aside your feelings. I don't think I could live with myself if I had to be the one to hunt you down."
Luka's empty expression didn't change. "Would you really have to?"
"Traitors can never escape us, Luka. For the sake of our reputation, and the sake of our honor. You know that." She brought her hand back down. "Speaking of which, now that we have the name of our enemy, Signor Kamui doesn't really serve us any purpose anymore, does he?"
"No," Luka said. "I suppose he doesn't."
"Then you know what to do."
"Of course." She turned for the door. "I'll take care of it."
Lily finally smiled. "Glad to hear it. And don't bother with anything special – at this point, we just need him dead."
The cavaliere gave a final word of understanding and left the room, leaving the Donna alone in the suddenly oppressive silence.
"Please, Luka," she said quietly, a sudden wetness rolling down her cheek. "For me. Please..."
The sole iron door of the Marciano manor creaked open, spilling light onto the shackled man on the other side of the cold, stone room. He blinked back the sudden illumination until the portal slammed back shut.
"Well, well, what have we here!" he said, smiling at the pink-haired woman as he watched her approach. His voice was hoarse and strained, as if every syllable he spoke was painful. "Back so soon, Luka? I should've known you hadn't had your fill of me."
"It's been days, Signor Kamui," Luka said. "I'd hardly call this 'soon.'"
She stepped in closer, and the wounds, burns, and bruises that covered the prisoner became visible. Some were old, some were still fresh and bleeding, but they appeared all over his skin, the marks an elaborate painting on the canvas of his flesh.
"Has it really been that long?" Gakupo let out a low, gasping chuckle. "Time certainly flies down here, I must say. Really, I've been having ever so much fun just standing here, counting the stones in the walls. I'm even lucky enough to have company from time to time – though, I'm sure you knew that already."
Luka turned her head away, the sight of the man's injuries finally proving too much for her. "Don't you even want to know why I'm here?"
"Oh, I already know why," the prisoner replied. "You're here to kill me, aren't you?"
"And how did you figure that out?" Luka asked. She wasn't shocked or even impressed by the answer. If anything, it was something of a relief to hear him say it instead of having to herself: any satisfaction in this act was dead and buried alongside her unswerving loyalties. Now it was just another cross for her to bear, a duty and nothing more.
"After everything they've already done to me, I'm pretty sure you all think there's nothing more you can do to make me talk," Gakupo answered. "And you're right. I'm not going to let you have that victory over me – you've already taken too much. Killing me is just your way of giving up, and that's enough to make this all worthwhile."
"I suppose you're partly right," Luka said. "The truth just doesn't seem to want to leave you, Signor Kamui - although it appears that we can't beat your arrogance out of you, either." She let out a long breath. "But that's not why the Donna wants you dead. I'm here because we have no further use for you."
The prisoner's eyebrows rose. "Oh, really? So I suppose you found your enemy on your own?"
"That we did," Luka said quietly. "Casa Kagamine. We've found all the evidence we need against them, even without your cooperation."
"Well, I hope you're pleased with your answer."
The pink-haired woman's expression was dark, but without a trace of fury. "There's no need for your ambiguity anymore, Signor Kamui. The facts are all in place, and the Family you sold us out to is about to face its retribution. You might as well confess now."
"And ruin everything I've worked up to?" The shackled man gave a long laugh, until he was cut off by a fit of wheezing coughs. "No, Luka, I'm not saying anything one way or the other. I didn't endure all this just to quit in the end."
Luka shook her head slightly, sighing. "Fine. It doesn't really matter, I suppose. I can't say I really expected anything more out of you."
Gakupo frowned. "How curious. You seem so sullen, Luka. What could possibly have you down at a time like this? You've got a capo to avenge, perpetrators to pursue, and a traitor to execute. What more could you possibly ask for?"
"You make it sound as if I should be thankful."
"But normally, you would be. This is everything you asked for last time you were here, and now that you've gotten it, you're completely ungrateful. It's almost as if..." The shackled man's confused look morphed into an enormous grin. "Why, you saw the pages, didn't you? The ones from the Don's diary - am I right?"
"Yes, yes you are!" Luka snapped. "Don't consider yourself some sort of prodigy for figuring that out, Signor Kamui. I know those were the papers you stole."
"Then you must know I read them, too," Gakupo said. "Believe me, I know exactly why your loyalties are failing you now, Luka. Didn't I tell you they were keeping things from you? It's little wonder why, isn't it?"
"I know this is all just a part of your plan," Luka snarled. "You might as well enlighten me as to what else we might run into when we wipe your group of belligerents off the face of Italy." Though she was no longer angered by his crime, Luka wanted to show the arrogant traitor commitment and strength, not the hesitation and ambivalence in her that he was making all too apparent. This is for Miku, she again reminded herself; even if it was in the venomous name of Marciano, Casa Kagamine couldn't be left standing, and that meant she had to know everything the treacherous Family had planned.
The shackled man only laughed. "I know I'm dead either way, Luka. There's no reason at all for me to help you wage your little war." He leaned forward slightly, a smile still plastered across his lips. "But I must say, it surprises me you'd even bother asking that. I'd have thought by now you'd be ready to leave this band of cutthroats to their fate."
"I have my reasons to stay," Luka said.
"Really? And what would they be?"
"Reasons enough to serve even the Family that murdered my parents. That's all you'll ever know, Signor Kamui."
"'Murdered?' So you acknowledge the act for what it was?" The man's smile became almost approving. "Good, very good. It seems you're learning after all."
"There's simply no other word to use."
"It certainly isn't what the Don liked to call it. 'Re-appropriation' was his preferred term, I believe. It was all over the later diary pages. Or did you not get those?"
"What are you getting at?" Luka growled. "If you have something more to tell me, then say it."
"Oh, there isn't much more to tell, really," Gakupo chuckled. "I'd say by now, you know most everything you need to know. But now that you're not so shackled anymore, perhaps you can see your old experiences with new eyes."
"Meaning what, exactly?"
"Meaning that you'll finally be able to know this house of murderers for what it really is." His smile slowly faded into a dark scowl. "These people you work for are no better than the criminals they get rid of, Luka. They are a leech upon the people of Italy, and they won't be satisfied until they've drained their host of all her blood. They must be destroyed, for the sake of both the dead and the living."
Luka hesitated, not even finding the will to open her mouth. She wanted to retort, to condemn the traitor's words as the extremism they were, but somehow, she couldn't form a single protest. It was as if she didn't want to stand her ground against him anymore, as is she no longer had any need to.
"You know, you and I share something, Luka," the prisoner continued. "In fact, it's something that links you and I with countless others: the Don killed both our families, our real ones. Only, with mine, he didn't even have the courtesy to hide behind a couple of hired guns." His expression grew darker still. "They starved, Luka. That's how they went, one by one, they starved. I was the only one in the family who could find work, so they let me have most of the food. No matter how much I protested, they wouldn't take more, they just kept saying that I was their only hope now. I needed my strength, they said, so I could still have an income once the food prices finally went down. And so, one by one, my mother, my father, my brothers... they all died away, with less dignity than beaten dogs."
"And you blame Casa Marciano for that?"
"Of course I do. Do you know why I was the only one who had work, why everyone else in my family was so mysteriously unemployed?" Gakupo broke into a joyless smirk. "We were farmers, Luka. Wheat farmers. We didn't make much off what we did, but it was enough to feed us all. And then came the Don. He wanted us to sell our crops to only him, even though he offered us prices that were far below what we normally sold at. When we refused, he threatened us. And when we still wouldn't give in, do you know what he did?" His smile again faded. "He set fire to our fields. That was how he responded, Luka, he just burned away any competition he might have faced. We lost every bit of our crop that year, and because of that, we couldn't afford to pay for the next season's seed. He condemned us to death, all because we wouldn't help turn him an extra bit of profit. Tell me I'm not right to seek revenge."
"I've no interest in arguing you, Signor Kamui," Luka said. "I'm not sure I should have let you live even this long."
"Oh, I know you don't mean that," Gakupo replied. "You wanted to hear every word I've said. Admit it: you're just as driven against this Family as I am. We both know they need to pay for what they've done."
"Do you really think I'm foolish enough to work against them?"
"No matter what you think now, Casa Marciano will reap the fruits of its sins, just like the rest of us. I'm certain of it." He leaned back against the wall, almost comfortably. "That's why I'm not afraid of you or the hereafter. I've played my part in this dance, and soon, you'll play yours."
"I have matters more important than aiding your delusions of revolution," Luka said. She had no need to tell him what, who.
The prisoner laughed again. "You really don't have any choice in that anymore, Luka. After what you've learned, you can only either work for this Family or against them: they'll leave you with no other option. After all, the only escape from a Family is death. Familiari will always remain familiari, even to the ends of their lives."
Luka looked off. "Perhaps you're right," she murmured. "But perhaps there's more to my existence than this life." She took a long breath and slowly drew her rapier. "I believe it's time we ended this, Signor Kamui."
The shackled man's eyes shone with a dreadful calm. "Then go ahead, Signora. Hasten yourselves to your ruin."
Wordlessly, Luka readied her blade. No one who brings harm to Casa Marciano ever dies with honor, she remembered herself saying once. Now, the words felt lifeless and without meaning, yet they swarmed about in Luka's head like flies over carrion, haunting her.
With a single, swift motion, she drove the pointed steel through the prisoner's chest, tearing his flesh like paper.
Night had finally fallen as Luka hurried back home, the few gas lamps that littered the streets giving a bit of illumination in the tyrannous dark. The skies were cloudy enough to block out most of the stars, along with the shrinking moon.
She at last reached her home and immediately began to rush through its halls, opening every single door she could find in a desperate search for the only face in the world that could wash away her dread, her anxiety. If felt like time itself was breathing down her neck, and every empty room she revealed only made its presence heavier. Though she had no idea what would come afterward, right now she knew she had to find Miku, to have her here, with her, if only to get rid of the nauseous feeling of ineptitude that her absence was bringing about. The girl had to be here, Luka knew, somewhere in the manor, but as she threw open more and more doors a pestilent tinge of doubt inside her grew and grew.
As she neared the end of yet another hallway, a passing maid caught Luka's eye.
"Have you seen Miku?" she called to her. "Please, you have to tell me."
The maid blinked. "Oh, do you mean that teal-haired girl you brought today? Why, yes, I believe she just went out, Signora."
Horror spread through Luka like a plague. "Did she say where?"
"I'm afraid not, Signora. She was in an awful hurry, though – I'm not sure you'll be able to catch her, to be honest. Perhaps you'd best wait till she gets back."
"I can't do that."
"Why not? Is it really that important?"
"Can you at least tell me which way she was going?" Luka asked, her words tense and panicked.
The maid thought a moment. "It looked as if she was going the same way you had left, Signora - or at least, it did at first. Perhaps she had wanted to find you?"
"I see," Luka said. "Thank you."
Without another word, Luka ran for the door, ignoring the maid's shouts of confusion. Every muscle in her body was aflame and her heart pounded in her ears louder than canon fire. Fear and adrenaline flowed through her veins like a poison: she was all too aware of what would surely happen if she rested for even a moment, if she was the one who found Miku last.
Luka pushed the doors of the manor back open and dashed out, again entangled in the still of the night.