Chapter Text
Blatant child-soldier trafficking aside, the car ride was pleasant so far, although I was still holding out for a car crash just in case.
Despite his grim introduction, Valentino turned out to be a rather chill driver, having not spoken once since leaving our adviser behind. From what I could determine through the vibrations in the air, he was a good-looking man with facial features leaning towards the dark and handsome category (which was quite fitting given his profession). Even sitting, I could tell he was extremely tall—about 6 feet give or take. From the way sat while driving, to the way he held the steering wheel, the man radiated big dick energy and made it his brand.
"Yuri, Nikandr, Aleksandr." Valentino's Japanese was just as smooth as his Russian and just as direct.
Evening Jewel, Victory of Man, and Defender of the People. Well, look at that, pretty lofty names. It'd be pretty funny if he stuck to the Russian origin; being named 'farmer' would probably send Koji into a rapid fit.
"Those are your names as of now. Twins, I don't care who chooses what."
I could feel Koji's burning gaze branding the side of my face in question but I didn't bother looking up; instead, I leaned closer to the boy and whispered. "He's giving us our names to use for our apprenticeship. Your's is Yuri, I'm Aleksandr, and my brother's Nikandr."
"Eh? But, Bratishka, I wanted to be Aleksandr." Squishy whined, leaning on my shoulder to press his cheek into mine.
"Fine, Brat. Then I'll be Nikandr and you'll be Aleksandr." I corrected myself, playfully nipping his cheek; his teeth nipped back with a grin. On the right of me, Koji frowned with annoyance (let's be real though, when is he not?) and rolled his eyes at our behavior.
Now, back to the task at hand.
Namely, mapping out the city by ear.
In the past fifteen minutes, we've passed a large market square, three museums, and five gambling halls fronting as corner stores. In the span of those fifteen minutes, I've mentally drawn a map covering about three-fifths of the city. By the time we reached our supposed destination, my ears mapped out the city and noted some interesting monuments to take a crack at later in the possible future.
Elegantly lighting a cigar, Valentino inhaled deeply before puffing out a ring of smoke. "Get out, we're here."
"Here" was a decent apartment that was located above a bakery. Clicking my tongue, I surveyed the building. The bakery itself was a rustic quaint thing, filled with the scent of pastries and flour and pleasantly warm from the constant work oven in the back. The owner was a portly elderly woman with her hair fashioned into a singular braid that curled at the ends and eyes marked with crow's feet. My twin whispered informed me later that she wore a white apron over her plain dress and a headscarf to pull back any stray hairs.
At the sound of the doorbell ringing she turned around and eyed us with reserve outlined in suspicion behind the counter: a foreign group of children made up of purple-haired twins and a glaring Asian boy with the aura of a rabid porcupine was not on her list of expectations when her new tenant informed her of the hosting program he was a member of. Her eyes softened at Squ—Aleksandr's (gotta get used to our code names, maybe use Sasha instead) wandering gaze, observing the amazed looks he gave her pastries under the display case with a hint of pride. Yuri just gave everything a bland glance before looking at the owner.
"Buongiorno, Signora Celestina." Our current guardian greeted the woman suavely with a dulcet tone, lifting his fedora out of respect. "You look even more enchanting since last I saw you; has your skin been getting smoother?"
That pulled an amused bark out of Celestina as she threw the towel she was wiping her hands with over her shoulder. "You saw me just an hour ago; if anything, your sight seems to have worsened."
"You wound me, Signora. And here I thought I was your favorite customer."
"I don't play favorites, and even if I did, you sure as hell wouldn't be near the top hundred." She rolled her eyes and nodded over at us. "Well, are you going to introduce the brats?"
"Of course," Valentino purred good-naturedly. "You'll have to excuse their Italian, they just arrived yesterday."
Seeing his come hither motion, the three of us lined up—more like Sasha dragged us forward—in front of Celestine. Feeling the return of the drilling look at the side of my head, I mentally nudged Sasha to quickly explain. The boy scoffed at the explanation but kept quiet.
With a wide grin on display, my twin went first as usual. "Buongiorno, Signora Celestina. It's very nice to meet you. My name is Aleksandr, but you can call me Alek." Gesturing to the scowling boy on his right, he continued, knowing Yuri would do a shit job introducing himself. "And this is Yuri; you'll have to excuse his silence, he doesn't know the language very well. Despite his looks, he's a nice person inside."
Picking up on the jab, Yuri gave the boy a level 7 glare.
"Deep, deep, inside." He added pointedly.
Celestine lifted a brow, unconvinced at the display. "Is that so."
With a look as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, he nodded. "And this is my younger brother."
"Marrone—!" Flinching in surprise at the sight of me coming from apparently nowhere, the old woman pressed a hand against her chest to calm down her wildly beating heart. "Where'd you come from—nearly gave me a heart attack."
Tilting my head in a sheepish way (and ignoring the unreadable look Valentino aimed at the back of my head) I apologize. "Mi dispiace, people say I'm too quiet for my own good. Looking up at Celestina, but not exactly at her face where her face was, I politely introduce myself. "My name is Nikandr, I'm Sasha's younger brother. It's very nice to meet you."
There was a moment of silence when Celestina leaned closer in curiosity to wave a hand in front of my face, shooting a look at the man behind us when I didn't react, and receiving a nod in answer.
(Sasha was internally giggling while Yuri visibly bristled.)
"You lose your walking cane on the way here or something?" Her tone was neither kind nor sympathetic, just direct.
Going along with her assumption, I nodded. "Something like that: someone stole it on the train ride here."
Humming in thought, Celestina glanced at the closet before bringing her eyes back to me. "I see...well, I'll only warn you once, but the steps are steep so be mindful of the stairs."
"Thank you, Signora Celestina, I'll keep that in mind."
"Don't mention it, I just don't want another dead body under my roof." She grunted, pointing to the door located in the corner, she shooed Valentino to go. "Get going, pretty boy; the sooner you're out of my hair, the sooner I can get back to work."
With all the sass she threw back, I don't doubt she'd hold up well against my grandmother. She'd get along with her like a forest on fire in California with a backbone like that.
"So you admit I'm pretty," Valentino egged on, smirk on his face as he tossed over a room key to Sasha and nodded for us to get going. Hand in hand with my twin, I followed his lead while he playfully nudged Yuri toward the door, ignoring the death glare he received in turn.
Smacking his hand away, Yuri took the lead and stomped his way there. Harshly opening the door, he made his way up the stairs with us following after in amusement. Unlike his aggressive door opening, I gently closed the door behind us and walked up the stairs easily, stopping the blind charade. Despite the door efficiently blocking off the conversation the adults were having, my ears still picked up everything clearly.
Back in the bakery, Celestina snorted with wry amusement, "Please— as if you need me to tell you that." Choosing to end the conversation, she turned her back to him and went back to work.
"Make sure to feed those boys, they look like a weak wind could knock them over."
"We'll do, Signora. Speaking of boys—"
"And the blind one," Celestine interrupted. "He'll need a white cane; I've got one of Ernesto's lying around here, once I find it, give it to him will you?"
"Of course—"
"And I fully expect you to make sure your home isn't a death trap; that means actually cleaning up the space and getting rid of any dangers you hear me."
"Signora Celestina, the boy's not going to die from a random object on the floor—"
"Do you hear me?"
"....Yes, Signora." Valentino sighed, reluctantly giving in to the woman's matronly nature.
"Good boy."
Now in front of the corridor nearing our room, Sasha put down his violin case and fiddled with the key, slotting it into the keyhole. But before he twisted the knob, we shared a look. There was no denying the sudden adrenaline surging through our mental link. With a knowing grin that immediately put Yuri on guard, my twin winked at me and twisted the knob eagerly. With Sasha in the front and Yuri and I behind him, I stopped tuning in on the conversation below us, but not before hearing the sudden shift in conversation coming from Valentino.
"Oh, that's right. He returned a couple of minutes before—"
"Merda—" The man cursed in realization and spun around and sprinted to where we were. "I knew I forgot something."
The door swung open with an ominous creak, letting in bright sunlight into the hall, illuminating the dark space and bringing some warmth to my bare skin. Accompanied by the welcomed warmth was the familiar sound of a trigger going off.
Four things happened at that moment.
- The two of us ducked down. (Yuri not a second later.)
- A total of three consecutive bullets sunk into the wallpaper behind us.
- Valentino impressively made it up to the corridor in three steps.
- Someone jumped the gunner. ( Hint: His name starts with Ko- and ends with -ji.)
Wow.
That was gonna bruise like a motherfucker.
The blood rushing through the broken vessels underneath the skin of the boy's eye was pulsing like crazy as he pressed the ice pouch to his injury. Despite his unbothered front, I could hear every minute twitch he made when pressing too hard.
Over by the opposite side of the room, Yuri sat on a worn-out couch nursing a similar Australia-shaped bruise on his cheek (creatively gifted via a thrown lamp.) As expected, he glared daggers at the gunner, chin tilted up proudly at having gotten the first hit. Feral child that one.
The fight was savage and destructive, Yuri spared none of his pent-up rage, glad to have been able to finally direct his anger at something. Aside from the broken lamp, they broke the couch, busted a painting frame, and put a foot-shaped hole in the wall, as well as displaced every piece of furniture and knick-knacks in the living room.
All in all, pretty tame compared to what I expected.
Of course, since we are going to be living here for the time being, Sasha and I had to step in and tear the two hellions duking it out in the kitchen away from each other.
With a sigh, we stepped forward and silently crept up behind the two, dodging a randomly thrown lamp—to be mourned later, I'm sure—and dropping our luggage by the black loveseat on the way.
Exchanging wavelengths—him, excited; me, exasperated (albeit a bit amused)—we nodded and held out one of our hands in a fist, shaking them three times. By the third shake, he revealed his rock, and me, my scissors.
Sasha giggled at the results and patted my back. "Good luck."
I clicked my tongue and rolled my eyes; it was already hot enough just standing, and now we had to add physical restraining to the mess. Nevertheless, I loosened my tie in preparation. In sync, we quietly stalked toward the scrabbling brats to pull them apart. Sasha had a laugh at the surprised noise the boy made from the sudden grip on his arms, forcing them behind his back.
Over on my side of things, things went a little rougher knowing how Yuri was........Yuri.
Our height difference meant nothing to me as I easily brought him down to his knees with a swift jab behind his legs. A snappy swing my way was halted by a gentle hand that twisted the offending appendage behind his back at an angle that screwed up the boy's face in annoyance concealing the probable discomfort he was feeling.
Over by the entrance, Valentino—without a sign of being winded—whistled at the easy takedown. "I guess that's one less thing to worry about."
"Boys, this is Renato, my apprentice. You'll be learning alongside him, so I expect you to work out your differences—or not, I don't really care, just make sure it doesn't interfere with my work." Valentino explained, apathetic about our relationship and more invested in making sure he has an actual apartment to come back to.
Nodding in unison, my twin and I agreed easily. "Yes, Sir."
Sasha gave a pointed nudge to Yuri who scoffed. "Hnn."
"....fine." Renato seethed, glaring daggers at the two of them. And thus, started the cold war between the two of the most dangerous children this side of the continent.
Valentino had one arm up against the fireplace, bourbon glass shimmering darkly in his hand. (I don't know whether to question how he got the glass or be more concerned at how close his blazer was to the fire)
"Right," Valentino gave us a cool glance over his drink. Finishing the glass, he exchanged it for a cigarette case (this man went through cigarettes like a pack of firecrackers) and brought the pack up to his lips to take a stick. "There's only one bedroom available, so one of you'll room with Renato here. Any volunteers?" He asked indifferently, ignoring the blazing glare his apprentice gave him.
It seemed Renato was in the complete blind regarding the program. Poor guy—not that I have much sympathy for the boy who open-fired on us in the first place unprovoked. "But—"
"No buts," Was the immediate cut-off, Valentino's tone allowing no chance for rejection as he walked over to the kitchen. "Now choose quickly; I'm a very busy man today."
There wasn't much of a debate to be needed. Sasha would get shot from talking too much, and would probably get in deep shit in less than five hours for pressing too many buttons. He was too loud, too happy, too nosy, and too....him for someone as trigger-happy as this human porcupine.
Yuri was just....no.
So the only viable option out of the three of us would obviously be....
Checking where our bags were, I raised my hand before the others could argue about the placement. "I'll take that spot if you don't mind, Sir."
Predictably, I felt a spike of jealousy from a certain pouting boy, to which I returned with gentle reassurance.
It's okay, we'll still share the bed.
Satisfied, Sasha calmed down albeit still keeping the pout. Possessive boy he was.
Unfortunately, someone didn't want to get with the program.
Yuri.
It was Yuri. Yuri didn't want to get with the program.
"No. I refuse."
Yeah....that's not happening
I almost cracked a smile. Was that fear I heard in his voice? I could almost imagine Yuri holding himself back from flinging himself at me to choose differently. Some bodily harm was of course expected should he ever hear me phrase it that way though, so I kept those thoughts to myself.
"I refuse your refusal." Was my diplomatic answer as I stood up to get my belongings, brushing my fingers against my twin's on the way. He grinned.
Don't tease him too much, he might explode.
Hello, Pot. You know what to do.
"Hold on," Sasha starts, grin widening into his signature Cheshire as he brings attention to himself. "Yuri," Yuri bristled at the name and his familiarity, weary of his next words.
"Don't call me—"
"—doesn't that mean we're gonna be roommates!"
The boy froze, the weight of the situation finally hitting him like a container of bricks. I could hear Yuri breathe out a horrified 'No' to himself.
"Yes!" The menace squealed menacingly with a shit-eating grin, having also heard. "We're gonna have so much fun together, Yuri. I can feel it. "
Quickly (with a dash of desperation) he turned around towards me with a threatening glare. "Komori. If you leave me with him, I will kill you in your sleep."
"Coward. Do it when I'm awake; if you're gonna kill me, at least make it exciting."
"Where is your honor!"
"Hm, honor? What's that?"I quietly countered with a teasing head tilt, nodding at Sasha to keep him occupied.
With a loud snicker, Sasha wrapped his arms around the feral child in what constitutes as a child lock. To which he answered with an elbow to the gut that my twin easily evaded with a giggle. "Aww, don't be so bummed Roomy , I'm sure we'll have plenty of fun together."
There wasn't much else to do for now except prep. Walking around would help a bit so I picked up my things and walked over to the still glowering boy left brewing in the chaos. Politely silent, I stayed pleasant and distant while waiting to see what he would do. The best combo when it comes to tension....most times.
Seeing no way out, Renato clicked his tongue and got up; his shoulders were tense and his fists clenching before he forcibly contained his anger and smoothed out his features into a blasé mein. I could hear him count under his breath before releasing a long exhale accompanied by a hand smoothing his hair back. Without a word, he got up and walked past me; to our room I supposed.
Well, at least he's not throwing books at me.
With a salute goodbye to my twin, I turned around and caught up behind the brooding boy.
A hand holding a teacup to lips freezes.
Eyes immediately dart to the source.
"Donna? What's wrong?"
Placing her cup down with a delicate chink, she ignored the servants and guardians fluttering around her as they fussed. Something happened. It was so subtle she barely felt it. Just shy of a blip on her mental radar really, and yet, she did not foresee it.
Something was preventing—
"Mama?"
Identical Cobalt Blues stared innocently at her from her lap. Really, her family line had a penchant for birthing clones. Give it a couple of years and her daughter would be the spitting image of every other woman in their family years past. Her including.
"It's nothing, Luce. A strong breeze just caught me off guard; it's windier than I expected." Picking the girl up, the Donna of the Giglio Nero made her way back inside, her men and servants following after without a word.
Luce looked up at the sky; where it was previously clear and bright blue, the color shifted into a dark and ugly thing, the once beautiful sky was covered by dark turbulent clouds rolling in from a distance. It was an ominous thing, darkening the once peaceful land with its shadow. Frightened, she tucked her face in the crook of her mother’s neck, close enough to hear her murmur.
"I fear there may be a storm coming."