Crusader of Life III: Tales from Passione

Invisible Touch

"Ah, you're back!" Nadia chimed as Lucio and Emily opened the door. The girl looked down at the floor with a grim expression on her face.

"We are, and all in one piece," Lucio chuckled. "Plus, we have some info about the death of Mista."

"Really?" Nadia raised an eyebrow. "Well...?"

"I should... probably let Emily tell you," Lucio's grin immediately faded. "She's the one who got the information in the first place."

Oh, gee, thanks, Emily thought to herself. She picked her head up, and took a deep breath. "There was a letter in the bushes," she answered. "I forgot who was put down as the recipient, but I remember one line of it."

"Where's the letter?" Nadia asked. "And what did that line say?"

"It's not with us," Emily sighed. "I'll tell you more about that later. But I do know that the letter said that whoever killed Mista was on a mission to take Gionna's life, and was instructed to kill anyone else in their way."

The room suddenly became very still. Everyone turned their attention to Gionna, who was sitting at a table by herself. The girl was halfway through clipping a nail, but she was completely frozen at the moment.

"Why is everyone looking at me like that?" Gionna asked as she continued her nail clipping. Her voice was wavering the slightest bit. "I'm fine. I've dealt with this before. Nothing new." Once she finished the nail, she got up and started walking down the hallway.

"Really?" Lucio asked. "You're shaking pretty bad."

Gionna stopped and looked down at her arm. Sure enough, it was trembling violently. She looked back up at Lucio with a glare. "I thought you were a bodyguard, not a therapist," she snapped. "Mind your own business and go flirt with some girls, or something."

As she stormed to her room and slammed her door, Lucio shouted back, "I flirt with boys, too, you know!" He looked over to Nadia and Marco, both of which were giving him looks of disapproval. "Can you believe that girl?" he continued. "Being Don Giovanna's daughter really gets to her head."

"I know she's not a perfect little child, but everyone's a little... bratty at her age," Nadia replied. "And you really should apologize, since you did hurt her feelings."

"I'm not apologizing," Lucio huffed. "I said what I said and I don't feel bad about it."

"Then I'll go apologize for you," Nadia said, and left for Gionna's room. "It's not wise to make an enemy out of the boss's daughter."

"I'll come to apologize, too," Emily said. "This is kind of all my fault."

"See, Lucio? This is what you should do," Nadia called back. Once they reached Gionna's door, they lightly knocked on it. "Gionna? Can we come in?"

No answer.

"If you don't answer, I'll have to assume you might have been taken away, and I'll have to come in to make sure you're safe."

Still no answer.

Nadia sighed, and slowly opened the door while Emily peered in from the side. The room was very dark, and the only sound was short, staggered sobs coming from a lump underneath the covers in the bed.

"Oh, poor girl," Nadia said. They sat down at the foot of the bed, while Emily stood right beside the door. "I'm sorry about Lucio. He doesn't mean any harm, he just doesn't think before he speaks."

"I'm sorry, too," Emily added. "I didn't think about you when I announced that. I'll be more mindful next time."

"Go away," Gionna mumbled.