〖JJBA - EN〗- Last Judgement

Chapter 84: Traitor.

Naples, Italy. April 6th, 2001.

"And you were planning to lie to me for a long time still?"

Barely back, (Y/N) had pleaded guilty to Narancia's accusations. She hadn't tried to deny anything, even less to lie to try to get out of it. And tied to a chair, she no longer dared to look at anyone. Eyes glued to her shoes, she shrugged slightly.

"... I could always explain why I had to lie, but I guess that wouldn't make me less guilty?

- Not in the least," Bucciarati replied in a cold, oh so cold voice. "But please explain."

The young woman's breathing was shaky. Because there was no worse situation than the one she found herself in. She tried to find a more comfortable position in her chair, but the ropes binding her hands together only made her wrists a little more sore. She groaned in pain and frustration, before finally looking up to look at her companions in the room. They weren't all there. There were only Bucciarati, Fugo and Mista. But it was already too much. It was as if their accusing gazes were piercing her from all sides. Mista looked terribly disappointed, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration. Fugo was doing his best to contain his anger inside, tapping his foot nervously, leaning against the door. And Bucciarati... She didn't even dare look at him. And she wouldn't look at him. Because she could only imagine how betrayed he felt. She cleared her throat.

"... I would like to speak with you directly, Bucciarati.

- I trust my m-

- Alone."

Silence. And after a while without getting any response, she slowly looked up at Bucciarati. He was glaring at her. And if it wasn't already, the young woman's heart was now in pieces. She tried to pull the bonds on her wrists, in vain.

"Bruno, please..."

She didn't mind calling him by his first name in front of the others in such a situation. But Bucciarati gritted his teeth. And then after a more than heavy silence, he signaled to his men to leave. The door closed behind them. And (Y/N) heaved a frustrated sigh.

"... you remember when I left, don't you? Ugh, of course you remember... 1988, for Japan. Then for Egypt. I lost-... whatever. What matters is that when I came back, after risking my life to save innocent people, I was never banished from Naples. Lie number one. You... Can you untie me?

- No."

In his seat, his legs gracefully crossed and his chin up, he looked like a prince. No, a king. And it was his royal judgment that she was undergoing. She had no right to fail, or she would die for sure. So she gulped, looking away to cheer herself up.

"... to verify my loyalty, the Boss put the worst team in the organization in my hands: la Squadra di Esecuzione. 1989. I became a gang of assassins' capo. And believe it or not, these guys have become my family. And Passione had hurt them all more or less, that's why they were there. But I was a sister, a mother to them. That's why, one by one, they all trusted me. 1996. Simple routine mission: to assassinate an old brothel owner who'd tampered with his funds. Simple routine mission, until I found you. You know very well what happened afterwards. And I've never been anyone's escort. I was behind that murder. Lie number two."

Bucciarati remained silent, his face like stone. The only expressions he deigned to show were those that betrayed his immense disappointment. Inside, he was slowly breaking down as she spoke.

"1999. An old friend from my trip to Egypt recontacted me to go to Japan to help solve a serial murder problem. I owe him a lot, I couldn't refuse. You called me one fine day, I couldn't tell you exactly where I was or what I was doing, I just said that I was overwhelmed with work. Not really a lie, but I'll count it anyway. Lie number three."