Мarie's clock rang with her father's, but the previous day was an exception.

They would never have gone together in the Mafia's Headquarters

Mori pursued his idea of keeping his daughter's identity a secret and crossing the Mafia's threshold together every morning could be the beginning of a suspicion.

He knew just a few would have ventured asking for clarification, but people could have wondered about it.

And he didn't want it.

Not now.

The time to present his daughter to the criminals of the Mafia hadn't come yet.

In addition, Marie had to go in the basement where Verlaine was for her training and any sane person would have avoided that place.

Dealing with Verlaine could turn out to be an unpleasant experience, mainly if your visit wasn't planned.

There were only three people in the Mafia who dared to head to Verlaine without invitations.

He, Mori Ougai, the infamous Mafia's boss.

The one who offered asylum to him after Verlaine had killed too many valuable elements and risked razing the entire city of Yokohama.

Evidently Verlaine wasn't in the position of complaining Mori's presence.

Then there was Ozaki Kouyou, another one of the Mafia's executives.

Surprisingly the two had successfully developed a civil relationship and sometimes the woman went to Verlaine to drink some tea.

Thirdly there was another executive that had full access to Verlaine's quarters.

Maybe the only person Verlaine loved to meet.

Chuuya Nakahara.

Verlaine's little brother.

Supposedly there could have been another one who would have crossed the threshold of that hell.

Dazai Osamu.

The ex-Mafia's executive known as the "Demon Prodigy".

The man for whom Mori still preserved a place between the executives. It was his rightfully and Mori had always refused to give it up to others hoping to see Dazai coming back to the place where he truly belonged.

Or maybe, knowing Mori, that place was vacant because he knew one day Dazai was coming back.

For the moment, however, Dazai spend his days working for the agency founded by his beloved Fukuzawa and it wasn't a problem.

The last executive, Ace, on the other side, kept himself far away from Verlaine after some unpleasant incident.

At the end there were his students, but mostly he didn't have more than one person to train.

So Marie didn't run the risk to meet prying eyes that could have linked her to him, even if Mori thought that Verlaine was going to grasp the mature of their bond.

He was curious to see how long it would have taken to him to understand.

Half an hour later also the girl entered in the Mafia's headquarters and took the way that would have brought her to her mentor, ready to be subjected to his tortures.

She could have never considered that experience enjoyable.

She couldn't wait to come back home and taking a hot shower and take some time to sew something.

Verlaine welcomed her with a cold and detached expression.

Marie noticed surprised how even that day the man was wearing a shirt, this time under a thin sweater.

Apparently, he didn't mind to train in elegant clothes.

Otherwise, he already knew he wasn't going to struggle much with her because her frail and delicate body hadn't lasted that much.

It wasn't very comforting.

Knowing to be considered heavily useless from was whom in front of you wasn't a great feeling.

"Some problems with the wound on the neck?" He asked her.

"None." She answered holding back from adding that her father, a doctor, had treated it.

It was Highly compromising.

"Perfect. We can start then. Today's schedule involves basic defense techniques. Before you learn to attack and to move like a real assassin it's good that you learn how to defend yourself."

He briefly glanced at the shoes she was wearing.

"You're so loud walking that I've heard you from the first step that leads there.

It'll be my duty to remedy to this. At the end of our training, you'll be able to walk on high heels without disturbing a soul. You have my word."

To her ears it sounded like a threat.

A death threat.

She swallowed.

Verlaine noticed her nervousness, but he ignored it.

Marie was going to have all the time of the world to get used to his person.

Or for not getting used to him.

He knew he wasn't very easy.

Showing her the first defense moves he instantly knew he had a lot of work to do.

They had a lot of work to do together.

Too much for his liking.

After the first morning session Verlaine wasn't so sure to be able to end the session in his usual time.

His student wasn't that responsive, but there was something else he was waiting to see with his own eyes.

The mysterious ability Marie seemed to have.

Verlaine was waiting for her to use it, but none of his attacks seemed of having the desired effect.

Was she trying to let him off the hook and then suddenly knock him down without him noticing?

If that was the true, she was succeeding.

His expectations about her ability were increasing daily, but it seemed they weren't going to be fulfilled.

The Friday that marked the end of their first week came too fast with no answers to his questions.

He decided to let it slide, but next Monday he was going to and for clarification.

If she really had a useful ability, there was no way she wasn't using it.

And if she didn't want it, he was going to force her.

It wouldn't be a problem for the King of Assassin to find a way to force a puny little girl.

Marie reached home completely exhausted from the long week of training with Verlaine.

When she remembered that next week, she had to train also in the afternoon she almost groaned in pain.

The only thought was enough to destroy her not only psychologically, but also physically.

As far as Verlaine kept saying he was starting light, she had considered it anything but light, rather grueling.

However, it must have been also her fault.

She had never focused om physical activity in her life and that was the result: she felt pain in parts of her body she didn't know to have.

Verlaine was exhausting her.

It would have been a miracle if next week she would have been able to survive what was awaiting her.

She wished she could avoid coming back to that monster, but she knew there were no alternatives.

Both she and Verlaine had to tolerate one other.

She was quite certain the mam couldn't stand her presence.

Even if it was difficult to try and read any emotion behind his icy irises.

And yet it didn't seem he had begged Mori to end their training, so he must think he could be able to turn her into a beautiful weapon like he said on the first day to her father.

From what little Mori had told her before delivering her into Verlaine's hands he had earned the title of "King of Assassins" before he reached the ranks of the Mafia.

Clearly, he knew his stuff.

Her stream of thoughts was interrupted by the phone ringtone.

A message had arrived.

Her absence from the boutique had been noticed and the owner couldn't help but give the information it was given her by Mori.

Only answering that she wasn't feeling well wasn't going to work with her.

Not with Akiko Yosano.

But on the other, being Yosano of all people her interlocutor, how could she tell her the truth?

How was she going to explain her that important change in her life?

That her father had decided for her to be trained by one of the Mafia's executives with the likely goal of making her join the Mafia?

No, she wasn't ready to hold that kind of conversation.

At least not now.

Not with all the stress she has accumulated during the first week still fresh in her veins.

The only thing she could do in that moment was answering her with an excuse, a trite excuse to block her friend.

She knew she wouldn't have bought it and that Yosano was going to come back to ask her what was really going on and for that moment she would have tried to be ready.

Her only consolation was the certainty Yosano wasn't going to ring the doorbell of her house.

With the significant risk of being faced with the man who traumatized her to the point of changing forever the way Akiko used her ability.

She sighed and closed her eyes.

It was probably going to be a problem of the next week, but, for the sake of her mental health she had to deal with one problem at a time.

Next week on Monday Verlaine was waiting for her with their usual training.

The executive was training the girl like usual, waiting for her to use her mysterious ability, ready to address the issue if he wasn't seeing her ability by mid-morning.

"Marie. I must speak with you."

The gaze of the girl lit up.

"You've decided it makes no sense to train me?"

Verlaine chuckled amused.

"I'm sorry to disappoint your expectations, but no. I like challenges."

"And...so? She couldn't picture of what he wanted to speak.

The only certain thing was that it couldn't be something good.

"When Mori came to speak about you, he gave me some directives and, among many things, he asked me to help you with your ability. He didn't reveal me what's about. He argued it could have been funnier if I'd discover it myself, but... I've never seen you using it."

Frost fell in the room and Marie wondered again if her father wanted to see her death.

In what alternative reality could have been fun for Verlaine to be subjected to her ability?

She was sure if she ever succeeded in activating her ability on Verlaine, he wouldn't have hesitated to kill her in the exact moment her ability stopped working.

The training of a week was enough to witness how easy it could have been for the man to kill her.

Their first meeting was enough to understand it.

She was lost deep in her thoughts and didn't produce an answer.

What could she tell him?

That she had a lethal ability that she couldn't use or active?

Hasn't she already made a fool of herself to his eyes?

What was he going to think if he had known the truth?

He would have known why Mori considered her a hopeless case.

He would have told her the same things her father used to tell Rex.

"Marie?"

Verlaine's voice brought her back to reality.

"I'm asking you a question. I expect an answer."

He added in a more commanding tone.

In that moment Marie felt something inside.

She prayed to be wrong and just extremely agitated.

"I can't use it."

"Can't you even activate it?"

"Them you're really the worst-case Mori gave me why would he ever want someone like you with us

She shook her head.

"Then you're really the worst-case Mori gave me. Why would he ever want someone like you with us?"

Verlaine couldn't understand the Boss' intentions.

He'd always been dedicated to optimizing everyone, but what was he doing right now?

"I... don't want to be here... I was forced..."

"And why would Mori force a nothing like you to stay here?"

By this time Marie had understood she was right.

The turmoil she felt before was caused by what she feared.

Umi to Dokuyaku has been awakened.

She saw Verlaine's eyes widening and, even before hearing his piercing scream, she knew it was too late.

The worst was happening.

She looked at Verlaine collapsing to the ground in excruciating pain.

She stood still hoping the effect of her ability could end as soon as possible.

With ever-growing horror, she realized it wasn't stopping.

She panicked even more.

She bent down over Verlaine on the verge of tears.

That man was making her life a living hell, but she couldn't stand the idea of him suffering because of her.

"Verlaine... I'm sorry... I don't know how to stop it... I can't..."

She stammered while warm tears started running down her face.

Now Verlaine not only had understood what Mori meant, but he couldn't also helep but to agree with him: the girl's ability was a lethal jewel.

An ability that was worth exploiting.

From his cloud of pain, after a first moment of bewilderment, he perceived Marie's presence not far away from him, but she also perceived her tears because the pain he was feeling has immediately grown exponentially and if the girl couldn't control her powers he really was at the mercy of fate.

The more desperate she was, the more pain he felt.

And right then he knew.

If she had calmed down, there was the strong likelihood also the pain would have beenc eased.

He had to try to do something.

Enduring the pain wasn't going to help him out.

He tried to strain and rise from his knees.

"Everything's fine."

He recognized his voice was everything but convincing.

"I'm sorry." Sobbed the girl.

"It's not your fault."

"Yes. If only..."

Verlaine pulled it together and took her face in his hands.

He had to calm her down.

There was a note of surprise in her and a suddenly decrease of the pain.

Verlaine almost smiled.

He really had found the right path.

He tried to wipe her tears.

"Calm down, Marie. It's all right."

It took him five minutes to calm Marie and end the pain.

He breathed a sigh of relief feeling back in shape.

"What's your ability's name?"

"Umi to Dokuyaku. And... I'm sorry. It's... horrible... monstrous... I know..."

Marie widened her eyes feeling Verlaine's finger resting on her lips to shut her up.

"Ssh. You're ability is amazing."

13/04/2024

See you next week with a new chapter <3