I want to apologize for the late update. Life happened, you know? I got really sick, and then my teachers decided to assign a TON of work...
They held those poses for awhile, in a silent staring contest, like concrete had been plastered over them.
Kyoko was holding a book in one hand, and it began to slip through her fingers. It dropped to the floor, so loud in the silence it made them snap out of the statue state.
The concrete disappeared, and time started to tick again. However, when the woman spoke, Kyoko still flinched at the sound of a human voice, having not heard one for a while.
"Who are you?" The woman inquired suspiciously, eyes narrowed.
"Mogami Kyoko." She replied, not breaking from the iron gaze.
"Kyoko, how did you find this place?"
She dug out the amulet she had made, similar to the ones she had seen the maid hand over. She did not answer the question, thinking the token was sufficient. "I came to join you."
Her interrogator's eyes widened slightly in recognition. She asked, "Why do you want to join us?"
"For revenge." The fire, burning still, dissolved any doubt in the woman's mind. In that gaze were interminable amounts of emotion, so many negative. Strength was in those eyes, also.
"Come with me." Even though she is a Mogami... The woman thought as she began to walk away.
Those same eyes turned sparkly and delusional, and the woman was crushed in a huge hug from behind. A rush of air from her lungs and words greeted her ears.
"Thankyouthankyou! We bonded back there with our eyes! Don't you think so? You know what, we should be friends, best friends! So, what is your name, best friend?" The torrent of words finally ended when Kyoko was hit right under the rib cage with an elbow.
"Mo, who does that to people they just have met? Watch it!" She glared at Kyoko, who just looked innocently back.
"But what's your name?" The eyes took on a pleading, saddened look like a puppy hoping for a treat.
"No." There was no way she was letting that girl learn her name.
"Please? For your best friend? Don't you want to be best friends? Friends know each other's names, you know!"
"No." She once again walked away, forcing Kyoko to follow her, who currently had the face of one who has lost all hope.
They walked through the many rooms, before arriving at an eagle carved into the stone. Kyoko watched as the raven-haired woman pushed it into patterns, and then heard a click. She felt a rush of dusty, stale air billow into her face, making her cough.
The woman pushed directly into the stone, and once again Kyoko's lungs were assaulted by unclean air. Part of the wall moved in and aside, revealing a cold, dark passage that yawned cold air into their faces. Both grabbed lanterns and they started to walk down the steep, winding way.
A rat scurried over Kyoko's feet, and she willed herself not to jump. The stale air seemed to press in with the darkness from all sides, and water could be heard, dripping from some unseen crevice. No words passed between the two, the oppressive silence only filled with the slow scuffing of their feet. Kyoko mused about how they must be under the weight of Milan, and tried not to think about how heavy that was.
At last, the passage began to slope upwards. They soon arrived at another stone wall, which also had an eagle on it. The woman followed the same procedure, only this time the wall moved inwards.
Light flooded their eyes, and Kyoko shielded hers. When the initial blindness had passed, she saw a courtyard, fenced in by stone walls. An eagle sat atop a fountain, like a guardian of the mansion that loomed behind it with tall spires trying to reach to the heavens. Voices could be heard distantly, no more than whispers, showing that they were still inside Milan.
They headed towards the large arched double-door of the mansion, and opened it. The interior revealed a vast room, illuminated by light flooding in from windows and wooden chandeliers with candles burning within them. Looking at the height of the ceiling, Kyoko wondered how they were kept lit. Bookcases were everywhere, and tables held books in a haphazard manner. A large fire crackled in a crevice in a northern wall, adorned overhead by an eagle.
As soon as they walked in, a man stood up from his studies of what looked like a map, almost incomprehensible from the writings all over it. He was dressed in black, the clothes of a noble, and examined the two newly arrived with excruciating care, spending much time on Kyoko.
When he had finally turned his attention to the woman but not his eyes, there was no formality in his words, simply a gratingly direct approach.
"Kanae, tell me, who is this stranger you have brought?" He demanded, piercing gaze on Kyoko, who had begun to nervously pick at a hangnail in her nail beds.
Kanae held the gaze and without a falter in her voice, answered.
"This is Mogami Kyoko. She wants to join us."
He finally shifted his scrutiny to Kanae, and Kyoko sighed inwardly in relief.
"And why would you bring a Mogami into our organization?" Though his words were intense, his tone was not raised, leaving a question about how he felt.
"She wants revenge." Kanae stated flatly.
"Really. Explain, Mogami." The man spat out the word like poison.
The hangnail was tearing quite a bit, and Kyoko felt a warm damp gather into her cuticles.
"I want revenge on someone who hurt me." Just thinking about what he had done despite the circumstances had awakened the angry fire in her eyes.
He looked into those golden fires, but did not stop the interrogation. "And this has to do with us because...?"
"Because I will stop at nothing to take revenge on him."
He turned around, and walked to his desk, saying, "Take her through the training."
Kyoko bowed deeply, thanking him. All she got was a "Mogami, I never said you joined yet." She thanked him again for giving her a chance, and got no reply. Kanae grabbed her by the arm after they waited for a minute, and dragged her out the large room up a set of embellished stone stairs.
"Who was that?" Kyoko inquired.
"That was the Boss, Vorretti." Nary a emotion was in her voice.
However much she kept out of her tone, though, her hand on Kyoko's arm was shaking.
A special thank you to oneleggedstraycat and Interfirce (I don't know how to spell your username, sorry) for giving me information on the Italian Renaissance. It was quite a lot, but every bit helped! =D
Thank you for reading/reviewing/alerting! You guys make my day!