Chapter Text
The clock read one fifty-nine. In the next minute, their new teammate would be officially two hours late.
As the second hand ticked away on the clock, Prosciutto's impatient footsteps matched its speed. When it came to most things, Prosciutto was a patient person. When he first met Melone, he managed to avoid killing the guy and to his credit, Melone was still alive. There had been a few close calls but there had been a "few close calls" for all of them when it came to Melone. Though, Risotto did have the lowest count on that ranking.
Regardless, when it came to patience, Prosciutto wasn’t bad in keeping calm. Professionalism, however, was an entirely different manner. So when the hand struck two, the expected inevitably happened.
"Two hours..." he hissed. "This asshole was supposed to arrive on twelve sharp and it's been two fucking hours!"
"Hey, maybe he had the runs and had to stay at home."
"Don’t pull this bullshit on me now, Melone. You’re on thin ice yourself."
Melone only snickered at his reaction. He got exactly what he wanted. Before Prosciutto could lower their member count by one, Risotto quietly stepped between his two teammates. Melone's previous bright smile quickly turned downcast as he failed to return his Capo's glare.
"Sorry."
Risotto only sighed in reply. It wasn’t like he didn’t understand his teammates' feelings. He was just as annoyed as everyone else after all. Their previous teammate meetups hadn’t gone so smoothly either. When the team first formed, he almost killed Sorbet and Gelato had almost killed him. Prosciutto had tried avoiding them all together and almost died because he underestimated his first target. Melone didn’t arrive late but his introductions had been rocky. Turning into a chair wasn’t a pleasant experience even if it was for medicinal purposes. Of course, when those medicinal purposes were because of the his Stand, Melone had no excuse. Risotto barely managed to stop Prosciutto from killing the idiot afterwards.
That was why this meeting was set up in the first place. It was planned. It was timed. It was simple. Nothing could possibly make this meeting a hassle. But if that were the truth, they wouldn’t have been waiting for two hours.
Gelato and Sorbet had made the smart decision when the teammate failed to arrive in the first hour. Instead of waiting with the rest of them, they went to get lunch at a nearby restaurant Sorbet had discovered. Apparently the prices were decent, though, they had yet to check the quality.
Ding dong.
Their attention was on the door immediately. Was this it? Was this the moment they’ve been waiting for? Stealing a glance at Prosciutto, Risotto determined he would have to prevent another Melone. Just as the door swung open, their anticipation reached an all time high only to be dashed just as quickly.
"So have they arrived yet?" Gelato asked expectantly. Prosciutto's curses at the heavens answered his question quite quickly. "I’ll take that as a no then."
"Jeez, what the hell is wrong with this guy. It’s been two hours, right?"
"You would be correct, Sorbet. It has indeed been two whole hours..." Maybe at this point, he wouldn’t stop Prosciutto after all.
That’s when he caught something. Melone's expression had suddenly changed. While before his attention was on Prosciutto's cursing rant, his eyes had shifted towards the mirror.
When he originally moved into the apartment, he had bought the mirror on impulse. It had a nice oriental framing and the price for it was fairly cheap. Of course, when he brought it into the apartment, he had no where to put it so he just stuck it in the living room. When Melone took the guest room, he had offered to move it to his room but he had refused so there it remained. Over the course of three months, Risotto had discovered Melone's disdain for mirrors and while he never asked about it, for his attention to be on it now seemed suspicious.
"Is anything wrong Melone?"
The room's attention focused in on Melone and while he was momentarily taken aback by the stares, he managed to recover well enough, "Uh, I just thought I saw something weird in the reflection."
"What exactly?"
"I don’t...It’s going to sound kinda stupid but it thought I saw a guy."
As if a fuse had gone off, the tension of the room quickened. As Gelato stepped away from the mirror, Sorbet took a few paces towards it. Prosciutto followed suit and soon the edges of the mirror were crowded by their reflections. After a minute or two, the both of them stepped away from the mirror.
"Nothing seems to be wrong with it."
"It was probably your imagination Melone."
"Hey, no need to turn this into a jabbing contest Prosciutto," Melone sneered.
Prosciutto huffed, "What else do you want me to say? It was a trick of the light or some shit? Don’t test me especially with whatever the hell is going on today."
"Hey now. I think we could all use a break from this anyway. I’m guessing you guys skipped lunch, right? How about we all go out to eat or something?"
"But we just went out to eat-"
"You’re not helping Sorbet."
While the three of them began suggesting restaurants, with Sorbet suggesting Chinese food again, Risotto's attention did not sway from the mirror. While it was far fetched to believe something was actually in the mirror, he wasn’t quite ready to dismiss the idea yet. Melone seemed to agree with this notion. Although instead of keeping a distance, he could practically kiss the thing at his range.
And that’s when something changed. Rising from behind one of the couches, a figure appeared. While Melone squinted in confusion, Risotto quickly turned to the couch the person appeared from.
No one was there. It was still the five of them. Alone. As the figure drew closer, his thoughts flew into a frenzy. This was a Stand Attack and right now, they were all sitting ducks. He needed to figure this out fast before anything could happen. But even now, the person kept walking forward towards-
He honestly should’ve seen this coming in hindsight.
As realization flashed across Melone's face, he barely had time to see his own reflection as the man reached out to grab him. However, just as quickly, he was shoved aside. While his face met with a fist full of carpet, Risotto disappeared into thin air. He would’ve preferred some time to get over his tumble but Prosciutto was quicker on the draw. As he rose in the air, he found himself much farther away from the mirror but just in the same amount of danger with an angry and possibly scared Prosciutto staring right at him. Sorbet and Gelato were not far behind either.
"What the hell just happened?!"
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
The first thing he noticed was that he was still alive. While most people would be ecstatic, Risotto hadn’t gotten this far as an assassin to be overjoyed just yet or at all for that matter. The overzealous laughter of the person in front of him told him as much.
"Ha ha ha. So you’re the first to fall, huh? Taking the hit for your teammate. How kind. Of course, you've only saved them momentarily. Soon they will all be joining you..."
He figured as much. Wherever he was, it definitely wasn’t the apartment, not entirely at least. His furniture was still here, albeit reversed, but otherwise in the exact place it had been. The only difference between the two rooms was the people in it. Instead of the five of them, it was now just him and whoever this asshole was. Of course, soon it would only be him.
To the other's credit, his rant had continued, "...Of course if you plea for your life now, I might consider-"
"Before anything else happens. Name."
"Hm? I suppose introductions can be made. I know you have a theme but honestly using food is so—bleh— so I go by Illuso-"
A swift hook to the face shut him up really quickly. While "Illuso" recovered from the initial shock, his probable Stand instinctively rising by his side, Risotto looked down on his opponent with as much disdain as he could muster.
"Good. Now I know what to report when I kill you. Be happy I even bothered making conversation with your garish ego."
While a familiar aura surrounded him, Illuso only returned his threat with a devilish smile.
"I’m sure Man in the Mirror can handle you just fine."
Illuso had expected shock. While he had only faced a handful of Stand Users in the job so far, his first encounter had been a very educational experience. Like everything he brought into the mirror world, things were always in his control. What person was welcome. What object was allowed to pass. Anything that came through the mirror was on his accord. Even Stands were subjected to this rule. The faces of his previous targets flashed inside his mind. Each one wore a similar expression. One of fear. While his current opponent was supposed to be a skilled assassin, he knew nothing would change.
Technically, he was right. It was one of shock just not the one he was expecting.
As his eyes dulled, Risotto's gaze dropped to the floor. His footing staggered back and forth, each sway a potential collapse. His breath came in short spurts but the pain he felt as air escaped his lungs suggested an end. If he stopped breathing maybe it would go away.
This was only the calm before the storm, however.
In one swift motion, Risotto fell backwards as blood spewed from his mouth. As he laid on the floor dying from the same pain he often inflicted on others, Illuso could only focus on the other's eyes. If Risotto was aware of what was happening, he made no sign of it. His gaze was already lost in space.
The quiet dying Risotto quickly took second stage to the commotion outside the mirror world.
"The the fuck is that shit!"
"Hell if I know?!"
"I think I’m going to puke..."
"Wait-! Not on the carpet Melone!"
"Hey, isn’t that...Metallica! Risotto, where are you?!"
"Fuck, you’re right! But isn’t Metallica usually in Risotto's bloodstream?"
In an instant, Illuso realized his mistake. Well, it wasn’t like he knew this would happen. How was he supposed to know how this guy's Stand worked. He only figured it was magnetism within the week he was spying on all of them. They hadn’t given him much time for researching. Besides, how was he supposed to know his Stand was tied to his bloodstream. Honestly, it was their fault.
Of course, pinning the blame didn’t really solve the issue at hand. And if he had heard right, this was supposed to be his boss...
What the fuck had he gotten himself into?