Title: Family Business
Summary: so... Ichigo's the head of a mafia family. His mother didn't tell isshin everything.
Disclaimer: i don't own anything except the awkward concept of ichigo being italian and a mafia member. Because shit like that would happen to him.
A/N: first attempt at a multi-chapter fic! Hope i finish it...
A/N: this is my second posted fic written on an ipad, so i apologize for the capitalization issues! Touch screens are a pain in the ass sometimes...
$INFORMATION$
Fun thing! Fabiano means 'of fabius', and fabius means 'bean'.
Valentino- brave (ichigo)
Angela- angel (yuzu)
Ravenna- raven (karin)
Raimondo-wise protector (kisuke)
Gabriele- warrior of god (grimmjow)
Christianna- follower of christ (hallibel)
Fabiano- drugs and guns
Rapetti- the name of the servant family to the fabianos
Manchini- prostitution bosses
Olimpiati- gambling bosses
$INFORMATION$
Ichigo's dressed sharply, in dress pants and a button down white shirt. Polished black shoes click as he makes his way downstairs, tucking his phone and a thin purple tie into his back pocket.
Karin looks up first. "what's with the fancy clothes, ichi-nii?"
He shrugs and collapses into his seat. "i've gotta meet with someone today," he says off-handedly, picking up his bowl and bringing it to his mouth. "i wanna look my best."
"oh, my darling son is growing up!" ichigo dodges his father's attack easily, eyes not lifting from his meal.
"whatever."
"you've been going to these meeting a lot over the last few months, ichi-nii," karin remarks as yuzu takes her own seat. "are you ever gonna tell us what they're for?"
She feels yuzu stiffen beside her.
Her brother shrugs. "it's just a job, karin. It's nothing to worry about."
She frowns, but makes a small noise of assent. "if you say so."
Karin bends over her plate and watches from the corner of her eye as yuzu begins to eat, unease rolling off of her in waves.
It makes karin think she knows more than she's letting on.
Ichigo stands abruptly. "i've got to go, or i'll be late. Thanks for breakfast, yuzu. I'll be back late, so don't save me anything." waving to the rest of the family, he disappears out the door.
"something's fishy about his new job," karin says quietly. "or am i the only one to notice?"
"ah, he's probably just being a teenager," isshin says cheerfully. "maybe he's got a girlfriend, and he wants to impress her- don't you think, yuzu?"
Karin is sharply aware of yuzu shrinking in her seat.
"y- yeah, daddy, you're probably right," she says, and bright as her voice is, karin can tell it's faked. "i- oh, i think i'm done. I should go- uh, finish that thing..." grabbing her plates, she places them in the sink before bolting upstairs, leaving karin and her father staring at each other in confusion.
What the hell was that?
"and, how is your brother?"
Karin contemplates the question that is posed every time she visits the familiar shouten, and for the first time, she answers truthfully.
"i don't know. He's been disappearing off to some job for the last few months."
"job?" the blonde asks, intrigued. "what does he do?"
Karin shrugs. "i don't know. He hasn't told me and i doubt he's told dad."
Urahara notices the missing name. "and yuzu?"
"she knows something, i'm certain of it," karin admits, running a hand through her hair. "she hasn't told me anything, though." she sighs. "it's so weird. Ever since he dropped out, he's been disappearing every morning and doesn't come hime until late. And then there are times when he leaves dressed up like a businessman in a suit and tie, with these nice, shiny leather shoes. He says he's going for meetings, but it's so weird- what sort of job can a dropout teenager have that requires a suit?"
Urahara shrugs. "perhaps he's trying to impress someone- a girl, maybe?"
Karin snorts. "he doesn't like girls all that much- and i doubt he'd dress up like that if it was just a date."
"you never know." urahara's curious. Since the loss of his powers, ichigo's been Different. After dropping out if school, he flew to italy for a month or so and returned so calm, so at peace, that it was, quite frankly, nerve-wracking. What had changed in those few weeks? Why was he so honestly accepting, when before every movement reflected his pain at the loss of his power?
"would you like me to look into it?" he offers after a moment, his fan fluttering in front of his face. "i can find out what he's doing for you, and he'll never know."
Karin gives him an odd look. "will you be reporting to my dad, too?" she asks shrewdly.
"perhaps, if the information proves to be dangerous."
Karin sighs. "just... Please tell me first? I'm worried, and i doubt anyone else will tell me anything."
Urahara inclines his head. "as you wish, karin-kun."
As soon as ichigo is around the corner a suspicious black car pulls up beside him. Without fear he slips inside, rolls down the window, and lights up a cigarette, eyes narrowed as the car pulls away into traffic.
Urahara watches from the rooftops, a hand on his hat and a fan in his face.
How interesting.
He follows.
The gravel driveway crunches under ichigo's feet as he steps out of the car, fixing his tie as he slams the door shut behind him. He's standing in front of a beautiful mansion, looking completely unimpressed.
Grimmjow is already waiting for him, a cigarette hanging from his lips and his suit jacket hanging open to reveal a black sabbath t-shirt.
"were you waiting long?" ichigo asks as he approaches his body guard, plucking the cigarette from the arrancar's lips and taking a long drag for himself before handing it back.
"only a coupla minutes," grimmjow says with a shrug. "i didn't wanna go in without you." he tosses his cigarette to the ground and crushes it under his boot. "from what i can tell, the negotiations are going to go fairly smoothly."
Ichigo nods once. "manchini's no fool. He knows he can't win in a situation like this." he glances over his shoulder, eyes narrowed.
"what's up?" grimmjow asks, looking over as well.
When ichigo opens his mouth, his words are in perfect, unaccented Italian.
"speak in my mother's tongue, grimmjow. We are being watched."
Grimmjow nods and in the same tongue asks,
"are they reapers?"
Ichigo nods. "it's the shopkeeper. I'll have Rocco put the wards up once we get inside."
Grimmjow smiles widely. "but Valentino, wouldn't it be more fun to let him in?" he asks, eyes sparkling with mischief. "he won't be able to understand completely, and it'll piss him off so bad..."
Ichigo chuckles. "you're a cruel man, grimmjow. Not today, but soon. After all, Even if he does understand, he'll never give away my real secrets." he's distracted by another car pulling into the driveway. "ah, there's Angela now."
Yuzu steps gracefully out of the black car, her hair down and curled and her makeup done beautifully by her own body guard. She's dressed in an appropriate blue cheongsam to her knees and heels, and somehow she looks a lot older than thirteen.
Hallibel follows behind her in a suit the color of the ocean. She bows politely to Ichigo, who offers her a smile in return.
"hallibel tells me we're being followed," yuzu says as she takes her brother's arm. "do i have reason to worry, valentino?"
Ichigo smirks. He loves when yuzu stops playing her part. She's so... Mature.
"i don't think so, angie," he tells her as he leads her inside. "but i believe we'll just have to see."
The doors close behind the arrancar trailing behind the pair, but it doesn't matter, Because urahara's in shock.
So many thoughts are swirling through the blonde's head, he's having trouble making sense of any of it. Why is ichigo with arrancars? Why is yuzu involved? When the hell did they learn italian?
Well, it's from masaki, obviously, urahara thinks, eyes narrowing as a slight glimmer surrounds the mansion. Spirit-proofing. Did ichigo notice him? How?
Too many questions, but as much as he wants answers, he knows he won't get them here.
With a sigh, he turns away from the mansion. He can still do something, like find out who owns the damn place, his affiliations and his secrets.
Anything to keep Ichigo safe.
Their hideaway isn't fancy, but it's comfortable, with four bedrooms and two large closets to split between the boys and the girls. This is where yuzu strips off her usual, childish face and allows herself to be who she likes, grown up and beautiful and far stronger than anyone but her brother and their guards know. This is where ichigo allows himself to lose control. This is where they patch up wounds, build weapons, and plot.
This is the headquarters of the Fabiano family- or what remains of it.
Masaki left ichigo a lot when she died- names, inheritance, titles he didn't even know about until his sixteenth birthday. But since he's learned about his family, his heritage- well, he's been busy.
Masaki kurosaki was born maria fabiano, a half japanese, half italian girl in america. Her father, the head of the fabiano family at the time, had three sons to succeed him. All died within the last three years. None had sons. This left him, ichigo kurosaki, the heir to the fabiano family, most of which had relocated back to italy.
Now, ichigo had gotten packages in the mail about a month into his stint of humanity. Within it had been all the information ichigo would ever want or need. With his future within reach, he dropped out of school, packed his things, and boarded a plane to italy, where he was rechristened valentino fabiano, head of the fabiano family.
Yuzu was the only one that knew, because she was the only one who would understand. She was the one who, at six years old, asked her brother to teach her 'mama's language', the only thing she could remember about the woman who birthed her. She was the one who listened to his frustrations without pity or prejudice as he fumed and fought against the oppressing humanity of his new condition. It was she that pointed out that their mother hadn't been normal either.
So he went to Italy, regained his Sight, learned the abilities his mother's side had to offer, and returned home to begin rebuilding. He rechristened his darling yuzu as angela fabiano, got in contact with old enemies, made a few friends, and, within four months, became the leader of one of the strongest crime syndicates in japan.
As ichigo watches yuzu curl around hallibel, a sleepy smile on her face and a sense of contentment in the room, he grins.
"what are you smiling about, valentino?" grimmjow asks in italian from his armchair. He's got the remote tonight, so they're watching trashy reality tv.
"i like where we are," ichigo replies. "we've got our excitement, our comfort-"
"the world at our feet," yuzu adds, a yawn ending her statement. "everything's perfect."
"yeah," ichigo agrees. "so whataya think of battista?"
Yuzu makes a pleased noise. "oh, i like him just fine," she says sweetly. "he's handsome and strong- wouldn't hurt a fly unless he had to..."
"he reminds me of your big friend- chad," grimmjow pipes up. "quiet, but powerful."
"and handsome," hallibel murmurs in her usual, quiet way.
"so you all approve of the match?" ichigo asks.
"most definitely," yuzu replies. The arrancar both nod.
The orangette smiles and tugs on a lock of his over-grown hair.
"good." he lights up a cigarette and takes a drag. "once you marry battista, the Fabiano family and the olimpiati family will be allied for the first time in thirty years."
"an accomplishment in and of itself," yuzu agrees, because she read ichigo's papers too, and she knows it's a big deal. "luckily, they breed nice ones."
"i wouldn't say that," hallibel warns quietly. "all of battista's elder brothers are thugs. From what i've heard, he's the only good one out of the bunch. He plans on becoming a doctor, i've been told."
"a noble profession," yuzu tells her. "do you think he'll be able to keep up with me?"
Hallibel gives her charge a rare smile. "no one but us can keep up with you, my sweet."
Ichigo lets them continue the conversation without him, and, not for the first time, he wonders how he could have been born such a lucky man.
The mansion is owned by the olimpiati family, an italian crime family settled deep in the japanese underworld. These people are mafia, plain and simple.
That troubles urahara more than it should.
Perhaps it's his position as a former teacher, or his promise to isshin that he wouldn't allow harm to come to his only son, but the idea of ichigo being involved with such dangerous people... It makes his blood boil, his stomach twist and clench.
And where does yuzu fit in with this situation? She's too gentle, too childish, too oblivious for whatever ichigo is doing. Besides, why would ichigo involve his weak sister in anything dangerous? He always did his best to make sure she didn't know about the trouble surrounding their family, so why would he toss her into the middle of a mafia headquarters?
Urahara's so confused.
How novel.
Karin's awake when yuzu slips out of bed around midnight, slips on her shoes, and disappears into ichigo's room.
She knows this because she follows her in the shadows.
Urahara's training is worth something, after all.
As she approaches the door, voices float through, quiet and foreign and vaguely familiar.
It's a different language, she knows, but it's nothing she knows, not really, anyway.
It's italian.
She hears her brother's voice, and her sister's, but she also hears a growling, challenging male voice and a deep, raspy alto that had to belong to a woman.
"manchini's not backing down, valentino," the gruff voice says in japanese after a few minutes of Italian. "he's got too much stake in prostitution."
"so do i," valentino- ichigo- points out rather calmly. "but i refuse to allow him to mistreat his people the way he does. They're women, not slaves."
"not everyone thinks like you do, valentino," the woman points out. "not everyone has a sense of human rights."
"then let's look at it selfishly," yuzu pipes up. "abused women won't sell for as much- they're damaged goods, and men want pretty. He'll start trying to go into other families' territories. What happens when they try to take out our labs and take hisoka because they want to profit on narcotics? We have the best, and manchini's just going to try and take it."
"well, the only way he'll be open to any alternatives we give him is if there's wedding bells," the man says rudely. "and i really doubt you'll bring in karin just to marry her off to one of his kids."
Ichigo growls. "i would never allow her to be put in a situation like that."
"i know. I'm just saying."
"it's better if he doesn't find out about our sister," yuzu says firmly. "he's going to find out about my marriage with battista soon, and if he knows you have something to offer, he's going to dig his heels in until you give him what he wants."
Karin's heard enough. How can her siblings talk so casually of drugs and prostitution and- for fuck's sake, an arranged marriage for her sister!
She turns tail and hides in her room.
The cameras urahara installs are helpful, and within three days he learns more about ichigo than he ever thought he would know- not that he thought ichigo was one-dimensional or anything, but it's strange To know he's quite as... Knowledgeable, as he is.
From the various visits from Grimmjow, Hallibel, and Yuzu that occur during the nights he spends at home, he knows not only Italian, but Russian, German, French, Arabic, and Finnish, none of which urahara has ever studied closely. Not only that, but he knows every crime boss in Karakura, every major mafia member in japan. He's got fifteen different guns in his bedroom, a large array of knives, and a few different types of explosives hidden in a secret compartment in his closet- all inactive, of course.
Urahara found the fact that ichigo was an inventor even more interesting than anything else. He made all sorts of things in his freetime- little robots, acid crayons, potions that urahara wasn't quite sure of. And whenever urahara felt particularly frustrated with whatever he couldn't figure out about ichigo's habits, ichigo just smiled wider, as if he knew.
But the best part was when he finally managed to translate all the conversations, particularly this one.
"So, what are we all doing here tonight?" grimmjow asks without much interest, leaning back against the bed uninterestedly. "nothing bad's happened, right?"
Ichigo shakes his head with a small smile. "no- i just wanted to inform you that karin is having me watched." he says this in italian, but thank god for subtitles.
"how do you know?" yuzu asks uncomfortably.
"ah, well, i gave her a kiss goodnight today, didn't i?" ichigo shifts slightly. "she's the one who got Urahara on us. She also suspects you, which is probably why she hasn't spoken to you."
"so, what, is urahara sitting outside the window?" grimmjow asks.
"even he's not so stupid," hallibel says boredly, and urahara takes offense to that.
"no, no- even better." ichigo smiles widely. "he's set up cameras in my room."
Yuzu laughs outright, and even hallibel offers a quiet snort of amusement.
"and the worst part is- he put them in the most obvious places in my room. Stealth force my ass."
He then Goes on to point out every camera in the room, explaining in detail the flaws of the position and the lack of creativity.
"i won't be taking them down, of course," ichigo says after a thorough beating of his teacher's mental capacity. "because i want to see how long it takes him to understand me." he pauses, smirking. "perhaps i'll make it a race, and get karin to overhear a conversation of ours. She is standing just outside the door."
"who will figure us out faster, i wonder?" hallibel murmurs.
"but what happens if they tell isshin?" grimmjow points out. "you'll never get custody of angie if he finds out too soon."
"karin's quiet about that sort of thing- she won't say anything about anything until she's certain she's got all the facts." ichigo stretches quite leisurely. "she'll approach me eventually- that or my angela."
"most definitely," yuzu says with a nod. "shall we begin tonight's business? Any news on manchini?"
As if on cue, Grimmjow reverts to Japanese.
"manchini's not backing down, valentino."
"i'll see you later, battista-sempai!"
Karin's head whips around to see a large boy ichigo's age wave serenely at a group of boys a year or so younger. Loose, wavy brown hair falls about his face rather attractively, and his blue eyes are dark and thoughtful.
She feels her face go red with rage.
"you!"
Battista looks around, confused. "'scuse me?" he's got an accent, which for some reason makes her angrier.
"you- you're the one setting up to marry my sister!"
The older boy's confusion only grows. "wha- who are you?"
Karin growls and grabs his arm, pulling him into an alley behind the school.
"i'm yuzu's sister, and you're that battista kid who's gonna marry a thirteen year old girl!"
Battista blinks. "you mean angie has a sister? You?"
"an- angie! She's yuzu, you idiot, you don't even know her name?"
Battista smiles awkwardly. "well, yeah- but she doesn't go by that anymore, does she? Angela's been Angela since her and Valentino came back from Italy." he Pushes his hair out of his eyes with a hand. "they never said they had another sister."
Karin feels a lump rise in her throat and a terrible sense of exclusion, but she swallows it down with another angry growl.
"they wouldn't." she pushes him away gruffly and crosses her arms. "what are they doing with people like you?"
Battista blinks and suddenly looks sympathetic.
"it's not my place to give away their secrets," he tells her gently. "and they're just trying to protect you."
"i'm i'm not the one who needs protecting," karin says, pretending she doesn't sound petulant. "i'm just as old as yuzu, anyway."
Battista whistles. "twins, huh? Cool." he sobers. "it isn't about age, what they're keeping from you. It's about heritage." he shrugs. "they probably didn't think you cared enough, and didn't want to pull you into something you didn't have a stake in."
"they're my family," karin says shortly. "of course i have a stake in it."
"well, that's always good to hear." battista gives her an encouraging smile. "go and ask them. They're the only ones who will tell you anything." when she doesn't respond, he gives her a small nod. "well, i'm going home now. Good luck." he pats her on the shoulder and lopes off, surprisingly graceful for such a large boy.
Karin bites her lip and goes home herself.
There's the quiet slide of the shouten door opening and the sound of a leather heel clicking against the wooden floors.
A familiar face with an unfamiliar expression appears in the doorway, and urahara smiles.
"ichigo, fancy seeing you here," he says by way of greeting. "how are you?"
Ichigo's changed so much, more than urahara had seen on the tapes. When he left the shouten for the last time, he was a veteran, with scars and war wounds that would never stop hurting. Now, he's standing tall, strong, and absolute.
Since their last real meeting, his hair's gotten long- long enough to put back into a low, loose ponytail and still have it trailing down to his hip. His bad eye- the one that was blinded by a wayward (possessed) shinigami- shined milky white as he smiled at the blonde, dressed in a sharp black suit with a thin blue tie.
When he grins, urahara notes sharp white teeth, and when he speaks, there's a slight accent.
"very good, urahara-san." ichigo glances around the shop cheerfully.
"no one's here- you must be bored. come with me?"
Urahara pauses. "where?"
Ichigo chuckles. "don't be coy. To the olympiati's of course." he leans against the door frame, arms crossed as he gazes at his former mentor. "grimmjow has some business to take care of for me and it looks bad for me to go without a guard." he shrugs. "i figured you'd be a good choice."
"not to mention you know i'm... Intrigued, by what you do in your freetime," urahara adds evenly, eyes meeting the teen's.
Ichigo just smirks. "of course. So come along; you need to get ready."
"you know, he really is quite handsome," yuzu says to her brother as urahara allows hallibel to pull at his new outfit and flatten any wrinkles. He's dressed in a deep green shirt with the top three buttons undone and white pants, his hair pulled back in a tight ponytail and his hat noticeably absent.
"of course he is," ichigo replies easily, confident in their conversation because even hallibel doesn't know Gaelic. "you know i've always been good at finding beautiful things."
"will you keep him?"
"perhaps."
Finally, hallibel steps back. "finished."
"oh, aren't i different," urahara remarks, looking himself over in the long mirror.
"yes, but you're not complete." ichigo steps forward and offers him a thin, flat strip of liquidy metal. "may i?"
Urahara nods his permission and ichigo touches it to his neck, where it wraps snugly around the twitching skin.
"kinky," urahara says, straight-faced, and ichigo grins at him.
"it's a language modulator," ichigo explains. "today, you'll be able to speak and understand italian and russian for our purposes. Enjoy."
The blonde's fingers come up to stroke the warm metal. "you made this?"
"of course." ichigo checks his watch. "angela, will you and hallibel go to the car for a moment? I need to finish a few things."
Both women nod and make their way out, yuzu dressed in a flowered kimono and hallibel in a purple suit.
Urahara watches as ichigo moves around the penthouse, grabbing this and that, a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
"so what's with the names?" he asks casually. "angela... And valentino."
Ichigo chuckles. "when i was in italy i told them about my family. They gave me the ability to initiate them into the fabiano family as i've been. An important part of that is your name." he lights to cigarettes and offers urahara one, who takes it after a moment's hesitance. "once me and yuzu move out, we're going to initiate hallibel and grimmjow as well. It's a status thing here, to have a proper name." he sighs and checks his watch again.
"always be ready to stop a blow coming for me, the way hallibel does for yuzu. let's go."
Urahara follows him wordlessly out the door.
"you killed one of my men!"
Ichigo looks unimpressed at the Fat man yelling at him from across the table, his face red with fury and high cholesterol.
Ichigo sighs. "signor manchini, i warned all present at my first meeting that anyone who harmed my people would die. It's not my fault you didn't inform your streetwalkers."
Manchini's face goes purple. "if one of my men killed one of your whores, she had it coming to her!" he spits. "my men command respect, and obviously she didn't have the brains to give 'em what he wanted!"
He tries to take a swing, but urahara stops him easily, twisting his arm painfully before pushing back, his emotions hidden behind a serene smile.
Ichigo's eyes narrow a fraction and he says, quite evenly,
"don't piss me off, manchini."
Manchini visibly flinches, but ichigo continues.
"my prostitutes are my property, and my profit. Killing one takes money out of my pocket, and i don't like that. Did your man damage my product? Yes. Did i rip his head off for it? Naturally. As a gift to you, i'll give it back."
He waves his hand, and hallibel tosses a leathery, shrunken head in manchini's direction.
Urahara watches with a slight clenching of his stomach as ichigo chuckles darkly.
"i shrunk his head myself- i thought i ought to follow through." manchini is turning slightly green as he sits back as far away from the head as he can manage.
"i don't play games, manchini," ichigo says simply. "don't fuck with me." he glances around the table and asks innocently,
"next topic of business?"
Ichigo's never approved of slavery, but if a woman is willing, he takes her on as one of his Girls.
He sets it up like this:
He owns six blocks of property devoted to brothels and escort services, small compared to manchini's thirty-three blocks. Every girl has a three year contract, a house, a bed, and food for herself and her children. If she wants, after the contract ends she can renew it, or he can find them respectable jobs in one of his shops, his labs, or, if they're particularly inclined, he'll give them an education.
This is much better than manchini, who buys his Girls from the Black Market, scared little chinese fisher girls who can't speak a lick of japanese. He has them all promptly hooked on drugs, and punishes them With whips and cigar burns.
There's a reason they don't get along.
"so... The mafia."
Ichigo nods once. "yes."
"you're a criminal."
Ichigo chuckles. "not quite, kisuke." how easily he slips into the use of the older man's given name, and how it warms the blonde.
"my family is mainly narcotics," ichigo explains. "but everything we sell is non-addictive, won't show up on a tox-screen, and doesn't have any lasting effects. They're the ultimate party drug for any casual drug user."
"not to mention they help fight withdrawal from other drugs," yuzu adds as she sets out plates. "that's a big selling point, too."
"they're cheap, they're harmless, and they're available," ichigo sums up. "a family friend of ours, Hisoka Kyoraku, uses his abilities and combines them with szayel's medical abilities to create our profit."
Urahara's eyes widen in surprise. "kyoraku?"
"yup. He's byakuya's half-brother. Apparently his mom and shunsui had a thing. Whatever." ichigo sips his sake delicately. "so, yeah. What do you think?"
Urahara pauses, thinking. "... You've done well for yourself," he admits. "but is this to make up for, well, before?"
Ichigo smiles. "perhaps in the beginning, but now, i'm more powerful than even yamamoto. So's angie. We aren't so worried about attacks anymore." he sighs and stretches.
"if i'd gone to italy when i was younger, there never would have been a winter war," he states thoughtfully. "but alas, it didn't happen. So, are you going to stick around? Keep an eye on us?"
Urahara collects himself rather quickly from the 'more powerful than yamamoto' bit and offers ichigo a bright smile.
"do you expect anything else?"
"yuzu, can i talk to you for a minute?"
Yuzu knows what's coming, and after sharing a look with ichigo, she nods, smiling brightly. "sure!"
She follows her sister into their room and closes the door behind herself.
Karin's all business, eyes narrowed and lips pinched.
"so i talked to a guy named battista yesterday."
Yuzu's eyes widen fractionally in surprise. She found battista? How interesting.
"he said that all the stuff you and ichigo aren't telling me is for my own protection, and if i wanted to now what was going on, i'd have to ask you." she takes a deep breath. "so i'm asking. What's going on? And no lies, please."
The blonde sighs and lets her mask fall away. This was what they were waiting for, after all- the questions.
"ichi-nii and i are currently heads of the fabiano family," yuzu tells her. "we run most of the drug business in karakura and a small prostitution ring."
Karin blinks. "so, you're thugs?" she says faintly, because really, how is yuzu involved with this? "but you can't handle a spider on the wall." ichigo she understands, he's always been a street kid, but yuzu? Really?
"i never said i could handle spiders," yuzu points out dryly. "but stupid boys with guns are very easy to dispatch. And don't call us thugs, for christ's sake, we're professionals." she pauses. "you believe me?"
Karin swallows. "well, i overheard you a few nights ago," she admits quietly. "talking about drugs and battista and manchini."
Yuzu gives here a severe look, even though she had known her sister was listening that night. "you shouldn't eavesdrop on other people's conversations, nee-chan."
"i was worried about you," karin ays defensively. "and with all the time i spend with urahara, it's an instinct at this point."
Yuzu's eyes turn calculating as she looks over her sister, an interested gleam in those bright globes.
"well, regardless." yuzu tosses her hair and lays back across the bed. "so, any questions?"
Karin pauses.
"just one."
"i'm listening."
"why?"
"mom," yuzu says simply. "we got everything from mom."
"so, the real question is, do you want to be a fabiano?" ichigo is reclining in a blue armchair in headquarters, his eyes on a hard-eyed karin.
"i want to," she says firmly. "i want to help you, and the best way to do that is join the family."
Ichigo's silent for a moment, pondering Her response with a sort of thoughtful frown.
"i understand that you overheard our conversation last week," ichigo tells her casually. "you understand that this situation will put you in harm's way, should i initiate you."
Karin scoffs. "an arranged marriage isn't enough to scare me, nii-san." she sobers. "besides... I want to help. I know i can be of some use, perhaps as a spy, or..."
Ichigo leans forward slowly, eyes narrowed as he looks karin in the face.
"kisuke wasn't lying when he said that he'd been training you as a stealth force member." his eyes gleam with possibility as he calculates all the things she could be useful for. Then he smiles and sits back.
"good. Yuzu, if you'll get the knife? We'll go through the naming now."
"and tonight, i'd like to introduce the newest member of the fabiano family, ravenna." there's a spatter of clapping and a wolf whistle from grimmjow, and it makes karin blush.
"thank you," she says softly, smiling warmly at her family. Her tongue is still a bit clumsy when it forms her mother's language, but it'll soon disappear, just like it had with her sister. "it means a lot."
And, surprisingly, it does. She didn't realize how bad the naming would fuck with her emotions. It's as good as a binding, what with the blood and the inability to turn on the family.
Not that she ever would, anyway.
As she takes a seat at the long table between her sister and urahara, across from hallibel and grimmjow. Ichigo sits at the head and folds his hands across his chest.
"With the addition of a new family member, it's only proper she gets her own bodyguard," he informs the group calmly. "grimmjow, you'll be taking that position."
Grimmjow grins. "sure thing, val."
Ichigo smiles. "good. Now, as you know, i was planning on joining you all into the rapetti family when yuzu and i moved out," he starts slowly.
("rapetti family?" karin asks yuzu quietly.
"the supplementary family to the fabianos. They've been serving our family for centuries.")
"-so due to the circumstances, i will be joining you today." he glances at urahara. "your staff may move in to this apartment whenever you like, once you've been named. Angela, ravenna and i will be taking the other apartments on the floor, as will grimmjow and hallibel. Are there any questions?"
"just one." urahara folds his hands on the table and leans forward. "what are the chances that my staff will be added to the family?"
"if they wish it, so it shall be," ichigo tells him simply. "they are guests until they wish to become something more."
Urahara nods and sits back again.
Ichigo glances at yuzu.
"shall we begin?"
"gabriele rapetti, stand."
Grimmjow stands dutifully, head bowed.
"christianna rapetti, stand."
Hallibel obeys.
"raimondo rapetti, stand."
Urahara stands.
"will you respect and obey the command of the fabiano family?"
There's a quiet murmur of 'i will' and suddenly the dark, oppressing mood of the room lifts.
"then it is done." ichigo smiles at the three. "welcome to the family."
"gabriele?"
The arrancar looks over at his charge from his position on the windowsill. He's smoking, but karin's still too young be inhaling it all the time.
"yeah?"
"how did you meet my brother?"
Grimmjow snorts. "i tried to kill him."
Karin cocks an eyebrow, disbelieving. "really?"
"i was the sixth in aizen's espada," grimmjow explains. "your brother and i were basically born to fight each other."
"but you two seem to get along pretty well," karin points out.
"now, maybe." the bluenette shrugs. "but yeah, i tried to kill him."
The girl shifts a moment, then pulls herself out of her chair, moving to take a seat beside grimmjow.
"gimme one," she orders, and grimmjow pauses, giving her a calculating look.
"a cig?"
"yeah."
"your brother will get mad."
"he'll get over it. Now, gimme."
Grimmjow grins and passes her the pack.
"gabriele's got a thing for ravenna, you know."
Ichigo smiles lazily at the statement, eyes finding urahara in the shadows of his room.
"i've noticed, yes." he takes a long drag from his cigarette. "i'm hoping for his feelings to be returned."
"so you can tie her up within the family," the blonde murmurs thoughtfully.
"and make her untouchable to manchini," ichigo finishes. "a pact like that is respected, or bad things will happen- which reminds me, have any shinigami come into contact with you or the rest since you moved?"
"besides yoruichi and your father, no." the blonde shakes his head. "are you certain your father will sign off on everything with angie and ravenna?"
Ichigo shrugs. "if he doesn't agree with me, i have other ways of persuading him."
"that sounds sexual," kisuke informs him bluntly.
The orangette grins. "well, sexuality is a fabiano's greatest weapon, raimondo," he says, something in his voice turning dark with promise. "after all,
everything i do is based on the physical touch of another."
Kisuke swallows hard. "you're not going to try and sleep with him, are you?"
"gross!" ichigo wrinkles his nose. "no, i'm just going to make him sign the papers. I don't have to do anything else, and it's not like i want blackmail material."
Urahara nods carefully. "i suppose." he glances out the window. "and until gabriele and ravenna actually get engaged?"
Ichigo shrugs. "we'll just have to hope manchini isn't as stupid as he is," he says simply. "if he touches her, i'll kill him. If his sons touch her, i'll kill them and him."
"... Practical, i suppose," the blonde says thoughtfully, and ichigo shoots him a surprised look.
He'd been expecting a plea against too much violence.
Urahara notices.
"i was in the stealth force, valentino," he reminds his master softly. "death isn't something i'm unused to."
Ichigo makes a noise of understanding and sighs, rolling his shoulders tiredly.
"i'm seventeen," ichigo says after a moment. "eighteen in a month. Once i have custody over ravenna and angela, i'll be able to take over their education and keep them home. I'll be able to sign the papers and have angie married within two months and hopefully ravenna won't be too long after. With one sister allying us to the olimpiati family and another heading covert operations, i'll be able to bring the entire italian crime syndicate to their knees in japan."
"and once you've done that?" urahara inquires carefully.
Ichigo grins.
"then, raimondo-chan, we'll be going global."
Urahara hears the slow, sure threat in the orangette's voice, and shivers despite years of training. The world will bow to him, he's sure of it.
Now, he just wants to know why, exactly, ichigo wants this.
He supposes he'll just have to wait and see.