Idolitrine for the Imbeciles | Calandra | Sacred Days | Kazuko
Calandra is the opposite, we shall say. No great fire burns in her breast, nor does the icy dispassion. No what she holds for Kaz-chan is rather simple. And rather obvious, just from watching the Mafia daughterâs body language.
âYou are a toy to meâ
âMy my Kaz-chan! Donât you have a sharp tongue? Iâm only trying to amuse myself! Arenât you doing the same now? Its important to keep your mind working, Kaz-chan⊠its probably the only part of you thatâs actually worth anything~! Though⊠I suppose if you wanted to sell an organ or three, I know a Herr Smidcht who is in deep with one of those Euro Organ-legging outfits. Lovely man.â
Justice⊠whatâs all this nonsense about justice, hrm? Calandra has nothing for Justice, the Blind Idiot. She has plenty, however, for Justice, the Made Man.
âJustice, Kaz-chan? Justice is slow and inefficient and the very fact that my cousin Jackie isnât in jail is proof that Justice is a failure. At least, your justice. Do you know what Justice works, Kaz-Chan? The Familyâs. When a man comes to us and says 'My daughter got beaten by assholes, she canât walk anymoreâ we go and take care of it for him. Soldato go and shoot the assholes who did it in the head, sell the bodies to a chop shop and hurl their guns in the river. The capo gives the girl a nice wheelchair. Her daddy knows what weâve done for him and respects us⊠Respect. Vendetta. Thatâs justice that works.â
Justice is not a blind woman with scales and a sword. Swords are dull and heavy and old, scales can be falsified tipped every so easily by pieces of silver. Justice is a man in a dark suit with a 9mm (The numbers scrubbed off it earlier by a Czechoslovakian arms dealer) who finds the ones heâs told to and puts a bullet in their brains for crossing the Law. Omerta.
Calandraâs smile doesnât waver, her face is a serene mask compared to the sneers and arrogance of Morishige Kazuko-hakase. Perfectly controlled.
âI must say, I donât know how in Hell and Earth you manage to be a good prosecutor with such a terrible personality, Kaz-chan. Donât you know? You have to make the jury like you. Or do all those senior prosecutors give cute little Kaz-chan really easy cases so her big puffed up ego doesnât burst like the balloon full of hot air that it is? You know, to actually put me in jail, youâd have to prove that Iâve actually done anything wrong at all. Do you know how a Consiglerie functions, Kaz-chan? Or are you too wrapped up in yourself?â
With that bit of nastiness aside, Calandra turns on her heels and looks up towards the sky, her patterned hands gently clasped together behind her back. Count the clouds. See the hearbreaking blue. Try and think, find a responsible partyâŠ. Nothing. Nothing yet, from the mightiest of criminal minds.
âWe havenât been taken by the Russians, or the Yaks, or the Koreans. And no Greek could actually afford this kind of thing, way their economyâs been going. So⊠It must be someone without a syndicate, hrm? Someone with a lot of money and a lot of stupid, to take me of all people. Iâll enjoy having them shot.â
âIâm afraid Iâll have to decline your mag-fucking-naminous offer, jukeisha. I think youâll find what you call my sharp tongue is merely you being unused to being treated the way you deserve to be treated. Youâre used to people being scared, or charmed, or interested in you. Youâre not used to the way Iâm talking to you, jukeisha, because the world hasnât managed to get the message through your thick skull that you. Are. Nothing.â
The hatred is at once very obvious and yet completely contained. Kazuko is truly excellent at reining in her emotions, only letting the sheer volume of the loathing she feels for Calandra come across in the subtle touches, in the clench of her fingers, in the twitch at the side of her mouth, in the intensity of her gaze.Â
âDonât you fucking dare talk to me about justice, Jeggare-jukeisha. Revenge is not justice. Eye-for-an-eye is not justice. Fucking respect is not justice. Justice knows no respect. Because justice doesnât care who you are. Justice comes to beggars, and kings, and killers and saints.â
As she starts talking about justice, her demeanour changes slightly. The hatred and loathing and disdain for Calandra and the situation and her surroundings and the world in general arenât gone from her tone and posture, but theyâre playing second fiddle to a sense of completely and utter conviction. Â Â
âJustice is the strength of the many triumphing over the weakness of the few. Justice is the flood, washing away the filth of society. Justice is the fire that cleanses us of sin and evil. Justice is the destruction of those who are too weak to create for themselves, and must take from others, at the hand of the strong. And your family, Jeggare-jukeisha, just like any country... your family are those weaklings. Scum. Parasites, who take what they can without earning it. Those are the sort of people who cannot stand before the righteous tide of justice. So donât come to me, jukeisha, with your pathetic philosophy of petty vengeance and dare to sully the name of justice with it.â
And as quickly as that conviction and assurance appear, theyâre gone, and sheâs back to the carefully composed, icy mask that barely hides the seething hatred.Â
âAnd let me tell you a fucking secret, Jeggare-jukeisha. I can make people like me if I want to. But the justice system isnât about being liked, jukeisha. Sure, you can charm your way out of the shitty excuses for courts youâve played childrenâs games in. Iâll give you points for that. But youâre talking to the centuryâs greatest prosecutor. Letâs see what good your familyâs money and your pretty face do you in a real court, with a real opponent, hmm?â
âAt least, again, once this fucking farce of a kidnapping is over. Tch. What the fuck do you think this person even thinks theyâre going to accomplish? I imagine itâs some sort of billionaire. A disgusting fucked-up pervert or something, maybe. Canât imagine any other reason to kidnap high-profile teenagers if youâre not going to even fucking make it look like the thought of ransoming them has at least crossed your mind.â
Oddly enough, considering the tone of the conversation, Kazuko seems to be almost inviting Calandra to insult their kidnapper alongside her, in what might be an attempt at camaraderie were the hatred not still so clearly there. Â
