Galina's face was stone, hard and impassive where her foolish heart had not been. She did not flinch when Souma leaned forward, glaring at her with something very like disgust in his face. She would not allow a moment of this time to escape her. Galina knew she needed the memory of Souma's face, the contempt he did nothing to hide, seared into her mind's eye.

Her dark eyes no more than cold chips of onyx, she watched Souma rise, her gaze never once falling away as he spoke. She listened intently to each of his words, every last one falling like a razor-sharp blades on what was left of her tender, aching soul.

She hoped they would scar, every last slice of those cruel blades. Galina must learn this lesson, and let the scars serve to remind her should she ever be tempted to such girlish, ridiculous foolishness again. She needed these scars. She needed to run the fingers of her mind over them, again and again, ugly and gnarled, and [i]never[/i] forget the true price of naivete.

Galina took the cup of [i]sake[/i] in her hand, downing the newly-filled contents of the drink with a swift, sure tilt of her head before setting it down on the tray once more. A slow, wide and magnificent smile slid across her features, a heartbreakingly beautiful sight that, unfortunately, never stood a chance of thawing the dangerous black ice of her eyes.

"I see. You are [i]quite[/i] right, Takahiro Souma." Galina's voice had never been more spectacularly melodious, the grace and poise as she rose to her feet a lyrical feast for the eyes as she moved. "What you do not know about Russians is [i]vast."[/i]

Slowly, sedately, she walked to the door and then looked over her shoulder to Souma. Still smiling, the perfect arch of one dark eyebrow rose expectantly as she nodded toward the presumably locked door. "But have no fear," Galina continued with an ironic bow very like she had seen Goemon give to her so many times at dinner, "I can certainly be as good a messenger as[i] any[/i] you might employ. Word. For. Word."

"My father is a [i]most[/i] reasonable man. I cannot imagine any other course, but he would take your message for a thoughtful notice, [i]entirely[/i] in the spirit I am sure you intend."