Above you and below you (la squadra x fem!reader)

31- deer in headlights

the walk home with risotto was a peaceful one, the soft song of crickets filling your ears as you trekked through another thicket of trees, cutting through them in hope of getting home sooner. this was the same forest you and amelia parted through to get her frog, only to be interrupted by the club, which you ended up sparing in exchange for information.

you held onto risottos hand tightly, guiding him through the trees you've been through before a few times, taking in the soft sounds that echoed around you. one of those sounds happened to be a gunshot, its loud sound ringing through the trees. the sudden sharp blast startled you, making you flinch harshly while risotto pulled you  into him. assuming the fire was directed at the both of you, risotto crouched down and held you against him in a protective hug, making sure he covered you the best he could. "hello~?" an echoed voice called out, its tone rough and sketchy.

risotto put a hand to your mouth, a serious expression twisting his face as he looked in the direction of where the voice came from. he looked down at you, examining your 'are you shitting me' look. you've been in these situations plenty of times before, so why would risotto feel the need to protect you, especially when you're the one that could end his life in a second! "hello~? i know you're out here, doll.." the voice called again, getting closer.

it was strange, almost. you didnt hear any footsteps crunch in the leaves, or any twigs snap under weight, so how could something be getting closer to you without making any noise?  "i want to bring you back to the boss without you getting harmed. of course, i would love to blow a bullet into that pretty little face of yours, but the boss wants you alive. on top of that, diamond made me a bet saying i couldnt bring you back unscathed, and if you dont cooperate, he might be right."

Risotto shuffled you both to the side, positioning you on the opposite side of the tree while making minimal noise. you held your breath, desperately trying to pick up on any audio ques on where the voice was coming from. "you'd think because im not human, that my first desire would be wanting to know what love is, just like any other cliche you've heard.. but no, i wish not to know what love is, i want to know what fear is. true fear." 

now, the voice came from your left, allowing you to hair its grainy tone. "do you know what it is? spade told me its the hard lump in your throat when youve been caught, or the fast beating of your heart and high of adrenaline. i dont have a heart, nor a throat or brain, so i dont experience any of those things."

'ah, so its one of those guys from the deck..' you internally sighed.

"well," the voice came from your right now, almost convincing you the enemy was somehow teleporting. "ive tried torturing people to feel their fear, but i guess i would need to understand sympathy for that to happen, right? maybe even pity?  they all ended up dying from one thing or another.... caused by me, of course.."

"now," the voice hummed, this time from the opposite side of the tree. "why dont i introduce myself?"

a large figure stepped out from the other side of the tree, staring down at you with a piercing red gaze. it seemed to be human, though this thing made it very clear that it was anything but that. you could see it had a humanoid figure in the dim moonlight, its body type resembling that of a half man, half machine. it wore a white button up that had the sleeves rolled to the elbows, revealing metal arms with wires neatly folded in the crevices, a few sticking out around the wrist and on the knuckles. its face was a rubber material, and from behind its ears and 'hairline' was a clear glass dome that showed off wires and fuses, making you wonder if this thing was a robot.

on top of the button up sat a brown tuxedo vest, leather pants of the same colors hugging the legs, being held in place by a black belt with a silver buckle. they wore heavy leather boots, brown gloves, and a large western cowboy hat, a heart embellishment on its side. to top off the look, a silver shotgun hung over their shoulder, held in place by a pig skin strap. "i am, if you didnt already guess, apart of the deck of cards, a team of hit men organized by none other than mr. snow, our boss."