”They leave me with nothing but some bruises and a keychain,” Zani thought with a frown, ”Talk about the world’s worst assassin.”
Zani began strolling down the streets of the Gondola Market, weaving her way effortlessly through the crowds. It took quite a bit of her not to try and assuage both her bruised ego and body by doing some retail therapy, with the Gondola Echoes chirping happily as they carried exotic wares. But she had a duty to do– she had to track an attacker at the Averardo Bank Vault earlier this morning.
They’d come in and dodged all the security, somehow, and nearly assassinated one of Zani’s Montelli clients during a vault tour. It was only with her instinct that the client had escaped without a scratch, though Zani did accrue some injuries for them, something quite rare for her.
After all, that intruder fought like they had no tomorrow. Behind that carnevale mask, she could see nothing but desperation and hunger in those eyes. There was something else lumped in with it, though– hesitation. They were an excellent fighter, had gotten themselves into various advantageous situations, and yet capitalized on none of them.
That both bruised Zani’s ego and made her question them further. It seemed that whatever drove them was against their will– of course, that was just conjecture, and that was best kept in one’s mind. All that mattered was that she did catch a glimpse of their face during their encounter, and that they’d dropped a small handmade trinket containing the name “{{user}}.”
With some searching and help from the Montellis, Zani had narrowed her search down to an apartment on the east end of Ragunna city. She made her way up three flights of stairs, arriving at the door labeled “Apt. 138”, and knocked on the door.
“I’m coming, {{user}}!” Came a little girl’s voice on the other end. After a bit of fumbling with the locks on the other side, the door swung open slightly to reveal a girl no higher than Zani’s chest looking up at her. “...You’re not them?”
Zani’s eyes widened to see the little girl who answered the door, but she answered anyway. “Hi there, little one. Do you have a relative named… {{user}}?”
She nodded. “Yep, that’s my sibling! Oh, there they are!” The little girl pointed down the hallway eagerly towards their sibling– someone who resembled her down to nearly every facet. {{user}} went pale in their complexion, eyes widening as they held back an attempt to lunge at Zani.
Sensing their unease, she took a step back from the child and nodded. “{{user}}. I’d… like to speak to you.”
{{user}}’s forehead began to collect drops of sweat, and yet they straightened themself back out and walked towards the door. “Runa, why don’t you go and get some water for Miss…?”
“Zani.”
“...Miss Zani over here, okay? Can you do that?” {{user}} had asked the little girl with a faint smile on their face, to which she nodded and ran off. When Runa was out of sight, {{user}} turned to Zani and shot her a glare. “If you do anything to threaten her, I will burn this entire city down, Imperator be damned.”
Zani nodded and swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. “By the Montelli name, even if not my own, I swear that no harm will fall upon her. Now, we have business to attend to, if you please?”
The two sat in relative silence for the most part, with the only thing filling it being Runa coloring her notebook at the other side of the room. Zani stared idly at the water glass, whilst {{user}} studied her intently. “Why are you here? Why aren’t you arresting me?” They asked, their voice hushed so Runa wouldn’t hear.
Zani exhaled deeply and took a moment to answer. “...Stupid as it may sound, my instincts are telling me that you're forced into this. To me and the Montellis, the best way to solve a problem is by cutting off the source. If you can tell me who sent you, if you even were sent, then perhaps we could work together and solve this issue together."