Dusk was a good time of day for a man like Prosciutto to be walking around. Less people on the streets for him to run into. He preferred that brand of quiet...only the occasional sound of doves and passing autos to break the silence. He approached the church that was to be their meeting place and took in a breath. Nariko's protige...had it really come to this? Prosciutto was not a man who often waded in the murky waters of morality, but could they really fulfill the request in that leter? She was just a child, after all...
He could hear it...the familiar psychic buzz that pervaded the air around Stand users. And his eyes fell upon her...
"Prosciutto is right. I have no intention of fighting you. Stand down," he said flatly, shooting a brief glare at his comrade for the last remark. "Yes, it is necessary."
Risotto rolled up his sleeve to his elbow, then turned his arm so his wrist was facing up. He stabbed the knife into his forearm, dragging it down to form a sizable gash. It was, of course, bleeding profusely. Small, strange beings were visible in his blood, making even stranger noises.
"This...is Metallica," he said with a bit of a strain in his voice. The gash started to slowly pull together again. "I assume you can see them?"
Kai peered at the wound with large, round eyes. It was like sewing together two pieces of cloth, only the cloth was flesh and the little things in Risotto's blood were making terrible, wet noises. She dropped both her hands down and both Sky High and the rods disappeared with a small woosh. Carefully, she approached Risotto, her mouth a very small perfect "o" of astonishment. It was both amazing and terrible, but Kai couldn't help but be drawn to it.
"Is that..." she said quietly. "Are they..." She struggled to remember the word Prosciutto had used to describe their powers. "...your Stand?" She looked towards Prosciutto for approval.
"Yes," Prosciutto confirmed, standing straight and looking at Kai directly. Now for the real bomb...
"Metallica lives in his blood. It gives him the power to manipulate iron through magnetism. This has numerous effects...one of which is camouflage. You see, this is our leader...Rissoto Nero. The man Nariko described to you as 'the man in the shiny suit'. She called him that because of his stand," Prosciutto explained, turning to Risotto.
"This is Kai. She is Nariko's protige. Her stand is called Sky High...I'm not quite certain what it does yet, but those...things would have been an indication if any."
Risotto actually liked not having to describe the powers of his Stand for once. He looked at Kai with cold eyes, looking her over.
"So...Nariko trained you? Are you prepared to do terrible things in the name of money?" His tone was clinical, as if these were the most normal questions in the world to be asking. He'd been in this business for ten years now and talking to new recruits like this was par for the course.
Kai straightened herself up as Risotto spoke to her. His dead eyes, his detachment, they repulsed Kai and attracted her, and for the first time in years, she felt the need to impress. She fixed him with a serious as a face as she could muster. "Kai helped Nariko before she went away. Helped with the 'cleaning'." She her resolve faltered slightly and she looked towards Prosciutto again before looking back at Risotto. She cleared her throat and stamped her foot on the floor hard in the hopes of sounding determined. "We will do this. We promised Nariko. We promised."
Prosciutto was quick to protest. "Don't be so quick to answer that...there's no turning back if you agree to join us. Nariko knew this...," he stopped himself before going further, lest he upset the girl...why he was doing so was beyond him. Normally he didn't care to be cold. But she was just a girl.
"Kai...we are not good men. Nariko was far more human than Risotto and I will ever be. Being around us...are you absolutely certain that is what you want?"
Risotto raised an eyebrow at his comrade's sudden insistence. He smirked slightly, putting a hand on his hip.
"She seems set on it and I don't think you warning her is going to do any good," he said with a shrug before turning to address Kai, a little more warmth in his gaze, "but Prosciutto is right. We are not good men, period. And...I imagine this apartment is better than the street, so that's a moot point."
"Nariko thought you were good," Kai said insistently. "Otherwise, she wouldn't send Kai here." Carefully, she approached Risotto, slowly inching forward, her feet making a soft padding noise on the floor. She moved her hand over the thigh to draw attention to the large knife strapped there. "Kai's not made out of glass," she whispered. "She was made hard, same as you."
Prosciutto sighed as he internally surrendered his attempts to reason with Kai. Her heart was set...In Nariko's stead, she would now follow them. Trading one mentor for another. He hated seeing someone so young in this line of work...it was disgusting...but it couldn't be helped. It was all she knew...
"I didn't think you were so fragile. Good," Risotto responded, still looking at Kai. He already knew the answer. They were shorthanded and desperate for the help.
"You're in. From this day forward, you are a member of La Squadra."
While it did bother him a bit the girl was so young, it was excellent. No one would ever suspect a young girl of being an assassin. Combining that with how untraceable Stands were? She was perfect.
Kai's heart sang. Just a few days ago she had been on her own, curled up sleeping in the shadows of Reggio Calabria's alleyways, and now, here she was, with the man in the shiny suit and Prosciutto. Not alone.
In a spasm of pure delight, she let out a squeal and pounced on Prosciutto, catching his torso tight with her thin arms. She squeezed hard, feeling her cheeks burn red with the threat of tears. "I promised Nariko I'd find you," she said quietly. When she looked up at Prosciutto, her eyes and cheeks were wet.
If Prosciutto was a crueler man, he would have smacked the child and shoved her onto the floor. He did that quite a bit when Pesci displayed such overt acts of affection. But there was something a tad more endearing about Kai when she did this...that and he knew the girl had gone through the loss of Nariko. They all had...so against his better judgment, he allowed her to remain there.
"Crying doesn't suit you...not that I can claim to know you that well," he said in a voice that made attempts at being unaffected but fell just short.
"Shall we give her her first mission, Risotto? We've got some minor hits being requested."
Risotto choked back a laugh when Kai clung to Prosciutto. He was expecting the girl to wind up on the floor like Pesci always did. "Call him 'aniki' - he loves it." The normally stoic man couldn't help but make a joke at Prosciutto's expense.
"And yes. Your cleaning work starts tonight, Kai."
Embarrassed at her sudden outburst, Kai pulled away sharply. "Sorry," she mumbled out of the corner of her mouth, hiding her face as she wiped at her cheeks and eyes. Smoothing out her clothes, she stood up straight. Cleaning meant work and work always meant business. She tried her best to emulate Nariko's expression whenever she went to work. Strength and beauty and cool detachment. It was something that didn't come natural to Kai, but she persisted despite her awkwardness.
"I'm ready," she said sternly and nodded her head once.
"Good," Prosciutto replied with equal seriousness, pretending like the previous outburst never happened (in spite of the slight tear stains on his jacket). This girl had the talent, that was for sure, but this would be her true test.
"I'll be accompanying you. Be ready to go at night. For now, make yourself at home. Claim any room as yours, the others won't deserve them when they get back," he said with a grumble.
He began to walk off to his own room, intent on working the books and other such paperwork. He turned to Kai with a smile, "Welcome home, Kai," he said before disappearing.
He could hear it...the familiar psychic buzz that pervaded the air around Stand users. And his eyes fell upon her...
"You are Kai, correct?"
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Risotto rolled up his sleeve to his elbow, then turned his arm so his wrist was facing up. He stabbed the knife into his forearm, dragging it down to form a sizable gash. It was, of course, bleeding profusely. Small, strange beings were visible in his blood, making even stranger noises.
"This...is Metallica," he said with a bit of a strain in his voice. The gash started to slowly pull together again. "I assume you can see them?"
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"Is that..." she said quietly. "Are they..." She struggled to remember the word Prosciutto had used to describe their powers. "...your Stand?" She looked towards Prosciutto for approval.
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"Metallica lives in his blood. It gives him the power to manipulate iron through magnetism. This has numerous effects...one of which is camouflage. You see, this is our leader...Rissoto Nero. The man Nariko described to you as 'the man in the shiny suit'. She called him that because of his stand," Prosciutto explained, turning to Risotto.
"This is Kai. She is Nariko's protige. Her stand is called Sky High...I'm not quite certain what it does yet, but those...things would have been an indication if any."
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"So...Nariko trained you? Are you prepared to do terrible things in the name of money?" His tone was clinical, as if these were the most normal questions in the world to be asking. He'd been in this business for ten years now and talking to new recruits like this was par for the course.
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"Kai...we are not good men. Nariko was far more human than Risotto and I will ever be. Being around us...are you absolutely certain that is what you want?"
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"She seems set on it and I don't think you warning her is going to do any good," he said with a shrug before turning to address Kai, a little more warmth in his gaze, "but Prosciutto is right. We are not good men, period. And...I imagine this apartment is better than the street, so that's a moot point."
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"Very well...Risotto, it's your call."
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"You're in. From this day forward, you are a member of La Squadra."
While it did bother him a bit the girl was so young, it was excellent. No one would ever suspect a young girl of being an assassin. Combining that with how untraceable Stands were? She was perfect.
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In a spasm of pure delight, she let out a squeal and pounced on Prosciutto, catching his torso tight with her thin arms. She squeezed hard, feeling her cheeks burn red with the threat of tears. "I promised Nariko I'd find you," she said quietly. When she looked up at Prosciutto, her eyes and cheeks were wet.
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"Crying doesn't suit you...not that I can claim to know you that well," he said in a voice that made attempts at being unaffected but fell just short.
"Shall we give her her first mission, Risotto? We've got some minor hits being requested."
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"And yes. Your cleaning work starts tonight, Kai."
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"I'm ready," she said sternly and nodded her head once.
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"I'll be accompanying you. Be ready to go at night. For now, make yourself at home. Claim any room as yours, the others won't deserve them when they get back," he said with a grumble.
He began to walk off to his own room, intent on working the books and other such paperwork. He turned to Kai with a smile, "Welcome home, Kai," he said before disappearing.
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