The Arcobaleno

Chapter 11 - Obscure Revelations

"What is this?"

A sharp rustling of paper drew Reborn's gaze away from his cup of coffee. Dark eyes taking notice of the iritated girl in front of him and the slight crackle of magic in the air. Slowly, the man gulped down the last of his drink before he spoke. "It's a newspaper, you know the one people read every morning."

"I know it's a newspaper Renato." Anastasia said through gritted teeth. "What I want to know is about what's written on the front page."

Moving forwards slightly, the girl pushed the papers towards the man. A finger tapping at the large headlines of "Italian Massacre; Mafia Troubles?".

Reborn simply stared back at her with unreadable eyes. "And I play a part in this how?"

"Really, Renato?" Anastasia stated, rubbing at her forehead tiredly. "We all know that you and the others did this. Just yesterday in fact."

The hitman shut his eyes briefly, but they opened they looked like ice. "And?" He drawled out, leaning on the armchair; looking every bit as dangerous as he really is. "What do you want me to do? Go to the police and say it was me? Apologize for what I did?"

The girl stared back at him unflinching, despite the cold stare. "You know that's not what I mean." Crossing her arms over her chest, the girl leaned back slightly to look straight at his dark eyes. "This was a stupid move and you know it."

Reborn's eyes narrowed, and a snarl formed at his lips. "A stupid move? This was a stupid move? No. This is a statement."

"A statement for what?!" Anastasia finally yelled out in frustration, hands unconsciously tugging at her dark locks. "It does nothing but bring attention to you, to me, to all of us!"

"It's a statement to the world!" The man retorted, his own voice rising as he stood. "It's a statement that no one hurts what's mine without facing consequences."

This finally caused the girl to flinch, her entire body trembling ever so slightly. "I am not yours, Renato. A contract does not work that way."

The man simply prowled towards her with a deadly grace. "But you are mine. The symbol on our arms proves it and so does that feather hanging from your neck"

Grey eyes widened, and instinctually her right hand twitched. There was a flash of movement and before she was aware of it, her wrist was grasped by a larger hand. A thumb gently swiping over the black raven mark and her gaze flickered from the hand clasping her wrist to his face.

"A contract does not make me yours, Renato." Anastasia retorted, wrenching her wrist away forcibly.

The girl took several steps back, as if to distance herself from an incoming attack. "Don't." She intoned forcefully once he began to move towards her again. "Just don't. I need time to think."

With those words, the girl turned and disappeared in a swirl of orange mists.

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Leonora watched as the most elusive and feared hitman of the current age stared blankly into space. The man sat in his usual armchair, a cup of coffee in hand like always. However, his usual air of cool aloofness was replaced with barely reigned panic.

"Okay, what's wrong with you?" The woman questioned, carding a hand through her purple locks.

Reborn spared her a short glance, "Nothing. I'm fine."

"That's complete bullshit and you know it." Leonora snorted, lightly crossing her arms as she leaned back against the kitchen island. "You're mood scared Collonello away from the house for 3 days straight."