Author's Note: Thanks for waiting, I'm back! Please take this nearly 12k words (11920, to be exact) chapter as an apology.
After Mukuro was captured and Lancia alongside him by the Vendicare, Lancia didn't know what to expect. All he knew was that ever since he was freed from Mukuro's control, all Lancia felt was guilt. When Mukuro was in control of him, it was almost ridiculous how easy it was to cut someone down and not spare a thought about them.
But now, in control of his own facilities, there wasn't a moment he wasn't flooded with the acts of horror he had committed with his own hands, the shocked "Lancia?" his Family member expressed when he stabbed them in the back, his betrayal not even fully registering before they died with their eyes wide open. Lancia couldn't sit a moment in his own skin without recalling his body's betrayal, his mind screaming at him to stop as he watched himself commit acts after acts of violence, until at last, even his mind slipped and then… nothing.
Lancia waited a month for his trial and when it came, all he felt was relief. Whatever final judgement Vendicare decided to hand down - death, toture, eternal punishment, it would at least be an end. Perhaps finally then he can have some closure, make peace with himself under the judge, jury and executioners of Vendicare.
Whatever ending they choose for him, Lancia will just accept.
On the day of the trial, a Vendice wrapped their chain around him and walked him to Vendicare's courtroom. There was a slight breeze around the Vendice as they moved, despite them being underground, and Lancia's mind unwittingly dug up another instance when he experienced it, back when he was first brought to Vendicare from Kokuyo Land.
"You…" Lancia says unwittingly, his throat parched after weeks of solitary confinement and not speaking. The Vendice looked back at him, before almost gently pushing him ahead through the door.
The Vendice in the courtroom - them also vaguely familiar like a dream - glanced up when they arrived. When they walked by them, Lancia noted that the air around the second Vendice was cool compared to the ambient temperature, and recalled that Vendices moved in pairs. The second Vindice glanced at the Vendice behind Lancia, at Lancia himself, and then finally up ahead.
"It's starting," he says, his voice cold like ice but not harsh. The Vendice judge was at the desk.
The trial started and Lancia was numb. They read aloud a list of his crimes and with every one came a flash of horrible memory, causing his mind to flinch back from it until by the end, Lancia barely comprehend anything anymore, his mind so detached from his body he was barely breathing.
"Lancia Serpent," the Vendice judge said, hitting the gavel. Lancia came back with a start. From the judge's tone, he could tell it was time for the final judgement. "After going over your crimes and hearing the testimony from the Vendices, we have decided on your sentence."
Lancia could feel every beat of his blood in his neck, at his wrist, against his leg. He reminded himself that however they decide his fate, at least it would be an end.
"Although you have broken the law of omerta by your senseless slaughtering, Mukuro mind-controlled you for the majority of your crimes," the judge said, his words far away like under water. "In light of that and your cooperation with Vendicare after you were released from Mukuro's control, you'll get a reduced choice of sentencing."
Lancia's head snapped up. The judge continued, as though Lancia's world hadn't been flipped upside down, "Spend two years in prison at Vindicare… or work for Vindicare for two years and repair the damage that you have caused."
Choice , he said, like pouring alcohol over a seeping wound and letting it burn.
To repair the damages he had caused and to make amends weren't something he ever considered possible; he didn't think he would ever have choice or free-will again, and yet ironically it was Vendicare that gave it back to him in the end. It was a more generous offer than Lancia had expected for his crimes, especially given Vendicare's ruthless reputation for enforcing the Mafia laws with an iron fist, and it was way more than he deserved.
Reparation… Lancia wasn't sure if it was possible, but he wanted to try.
The Vendice judge drew up a contract for him, which stated Lancia would work for Vendicare for two years. Once the two years are up, Vendicare will wipe his memory to protect their anonymity and the people they work with, and then they'll free him. If Lancia tried to run, harm Vendicare, or share any information Lancia learned during his work, he'll get hunted down, mindwiped, and sentenced to another twenty years in prison.
Lancia bit his thumb and pressed it onto the contract after looking over it, leaving behind a thumbprint inked in blood, and then the judge stamped the contract with a seal. The seal glowed briefly and then settled into the contract in red ink, and the deal was made.
"You'll be working with these two Vendices during your time here," the Vendice judge said, gesturing to the Vendices that were present during his hearing. "If you break the agreement, we will find you through the contract." He let the words linger in the air for a moment, before finally saying, "Welcome to Vendicare. The Vendices will show you to your quarter."
The Vendices showed him to his room, which was a studio with bare necessities. It wasn't homey by any means, but it was more than he expected after being on the run as the fake Mukuro for so long.
"You probably have a lot of questions," the Vendice who felt like ice said. "We'll tell you more tomorrow, but for now, just settle in."
"We're next door if you need us!" the Vendice with the breeze piped up. "You'll have to dial for us, 'cause your room needs to be unlocked from inside and out to open the door, since you're still in probation 'til you pass the one year mark and prove you're trustworthy and stuff. You let us know if you need anything though!"
At least it was like a prison in that way. It made Lancia feel just a little better, to have some sort of restrictions after years of not being in control of himself. He wouldn't know what to do with his newfound freedom otherwise, wouldn't even know where to start.
He also wouldn't be able to kill indiscriminately if Mukuro somehow controlled him again.
Lancia nodded numbly at the Vendices, suddenly feeling the exhaustion from the day's turn of events. As they bid him goodnight, it didn't even occur to Lancia to be surprised that the Vendices, the boogiemen of the Mafia, extended basic courtesies and had such a mundane conversation with him.
He hit the sack and then he was gone.
xxx
The next morning there was a knock on the door, and it took Lancia a long time to recall he was in a studio and not in jail, and his decision to work with Vendicare for two years. It took even longer to finally roll out of bed and grope for the button that unlocked the door on his side, and then the door slid open, revealing a red-haired man bouncing lightly on his feet.
"Hey Lancia, good morning!" the red-haired man Lancia had never seen before in his life chirped. "You up, man? Let's go get some breakfast and then we can run you through some stuff!"
The door next to his whip opened and a short man with sleep-mussed blue hair stepped out. The air around them dropped by a few degrees.
" Jin ," he said, like the name itself was a curse. He pulled the red-haired man back by his shoulder and the redhead looked back, confused but attentive. "What did I say about waiting until a more godly hour?"
"It's " - Jin nudged Lancia to the side to peer at the clock in his studio, and Lancia went, befuddled by this turn of event - "seven am already, Touya!" Jin triumphantly turned back to the blue-haired man named Touya.
Touya let out an exasperated breath, before pulling Jin back behind him so he was in front of Lancia. "I'm Touya," he said, extending a slender hand out. "That's Jin," he said, tilting his head in indication, and Jin - taller than Touya almost by a foot - waved behind him with a grin.
"You're...?" Lancia asked, because that introduction answered absolutely nothing, even as he took Touya's offered hand. Toua's hand was cold, nearly ice. Something sparked in Lancia and he glanced back at Jin and then Touya, and the image of the two Vendices from yesterday overlapped in front of him. They were the same height, and they were next door. "The Vendices?"
Touya blinked at Lancia and then groaned. "This is why we wait until a more godly hour to introduce ourselves," he grouched, glaring at Jin through his drooping hair.
Jin grinned sheepishly. "Maybe I was too excited." He turned to Lancia, and answered, "Yup, we'll be working together for the next two years. Nice to meet ya!"
Lancia stared at them, trying to reconcile the boogiemen of the Mafia with the two in front of him. When he didn't say anything, Touya finally withdrew his hand from Lancia's and said firmly, "We'll come back at noon" and dragged Jin away, who waved cheerfully at Lancia until the door closed.
Lancia went back to bed, convinced he dreamed up Jin and Touya.
He finally woke up naturally at eight o'clock, too jittery about his new assignment to continue sleeping, and with nothing else to do and not quite used to having his own free time yet, he got ready to start the day. He was just scrolling through the internet on the laptop in the room to calm his nerves and pass time - he had access to everything but email, social media, and anything that allowed him to communicate with the outside world - when there was a knock on his door.
Lancia glanced at his clock. It was exactly noon, on the dot.
Lancia took a breath to prepare himself, and then clicked the door button on his end. The door slid open.
As it turned out, he did not dream up Jin and Touya.
"Hello, Lancia," Touya said, his voice smooth like opaque ice. His hair was no longer sleep-mussed and instead, it was slicked back, giving him a more austere look. "Sorry about this morning. Let me introduce ourselves again. I'm Touya and he's Jin. We're the Vindices that will be working with you for the next two years."
"Nice to meet you," Lancia said, and that was all he managed to get out before Jin exclaimed, "Let's eat, I'm starving," and then dragged them through the halls to the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was overwhelming. It was lunchtime and there were so many people milling about, all of which were probably Vendices out of uniform. Jin and Touya walked around the cafeteria with him, telling him about the different stalls and what they offered as they passed, but Lancia heard none of it. With every additional word, food stalls, and choices , Lancia felt himself sink into himself a little more, like he was caught in a quicksand of choices that threatened to swallow him up if he didn't act.
He wanted to choose, he really did. He just didn't know how.
Lancia locked up, not knowing what to do or how to handle this.
Jin stopped in front of a food stall and sniffed the air. "Ooh, this smells good." He turned to them. "I'll grab us something, go sit, sit." Jin shooed them towards the side of the cafeteria with the seats. "My treat," he said with an impish grin, as though at some kind of inside joke, and Touya shook his head with a small laugh as he led them to an empty table.
Lancia followed behind woodenly.
"The food here's free," Touya explained when they sat down and he mistakened Lancia's silence as confusion.
My treat , Lancia recalled Jin saying, and that surprised a snort of laughter out of him.
"You're different than I expected," Lancia found himself confessing. His body slowly unlocked from its fight-or-flight nerves. "Both you and Jin. The entire Vendicare."
Touya smiled, just the smallest quirk of his lips. "Vendicare has a reputation to maintain as the enforcer of Mafia laws. It makes our job easier when even just our reputation makes people think twice about acting out." His eyes turned dark, like flint, and for a moment, Lancia could see exactly the Vendice in him. "However, you'll find that we do live up to our reputation. Those who deliberately break our laws and cause chaos will see why, exactly, we are known for being ruthless."
Lancia thought about Mukuro's execution sentence, dealt upon him even at the age of eighteen, and banished the thought. He wasn't ready to think about Mukuro and his madness, his betrayal, how he controlled Lancia to kill his Family with his own hands even though Lancia treated him like a little brother, and how a part of Lancia still wondered how Mukuro was doing even after everything.
Lancia nodded. "I can see that," he stated. He hesitated for a second, and instead of asking about Mukuro - last he heard, Vongola struck some kind of deal for him, he asked, "How did you and Jin end up working at Vendicare? You're not prisoners like me."
"We - " Touya started, but then Jin crashed against his back.
"Hey hey, I'm back," Jin said, stepping away from Touya with a grin when Touya turned a glare on him. "There were a lot of people, so I just grabbed us all the same thing. Hope you like pad thai," he said as the plates settled in front of them. He blinked at Lancia. "Hello, earth to Lancia?"
"... That's not Flames, is it?" Lancia asked, gesturing to the something that allowed Jin to float three plates of food down to each of them from mid air.
Jin glanced to the side where Lancia gestured, befuddled, and then it was like a lightbulb went off above his head. "Oh, you're talking about this," he said, and a gust of wind warped around him, fluttering his hair and clothes. Lancia finally noticed the small horn on top of his head and the shape of his ears, which were previously hidden by his hair. The tip of Jin's ears were pointy, like an elf's. "Pretty cool, huh?" he said. "It's demon energy though, not your Flames."
"... demon energy," Lancia said flatly.
"... Oops?" Jin uttered, and Touya just dragged him down to sit.
"Can you also use this demon energy?" Lancia asked Touya, checking the top of his head, his ears, and just anything that he might have missed before, but Touya looked normal, just like any other person out there.
"Yes," Touya answered, and Jin poked him.
"Show him, show him," Jin said to Touya, poking him with every word. He turned to Lancia with a grin. "Touya's power is really cool too!"
Jin and Lancia looked at Touya, and Touya looked back steadily before he finally sighed. He held up a hand, and before Lancia's eyes, ice grew from it until it morphed into a solid glistening block of ice.
"That's why you always feel cold," Lancia said, reaching out. He looked at Touya and at his nod, he touched his hand to the ice. It felt solid; if it was an illusion, it was a good one. Out of curiosity, he summoned his Storm Flame and it danced along the ice, a contrast of pale blue and red. The Storm Flame's Disintegration characteristic didn't cause the ice to break down at all. "You're strong," he said, withdrawing his hand from Touya's, and he was treated to his smile.
"We're demons," Touya said simply, and Lancia knew he wasn't just talking about his strength.
Lancia looked between Jin and Touya, before finally down at his food. His stomach growled. He wanted to eat.
"What's a demon?" he asked, finally picking up his fork. He took a bite of his pad thai, and then another, and before he knew it, he was ravenously shoveling pad thai into his mouth. It was sweet, it was savory. The salty, nutty taste danced on his tongue, leaving behind a mild heat in their wake.
Jin grinned. "That good, huh?" he said, and wolfed down his food as well.
"Demons are people like you, but different," Touya answered Lancia, following suit, albeit in a slower manner. "Biologically, humans and demons are pretty much the same, save a few subtle genes. Unless you know what you're looking for, it's hard to spot the difference at all."
"And this difference," Lancia said in between bites. It had been a while since he had decent food, and it was good , "lets you control wind and ice?"
Touya nodded. "The same way something in your DNA allows you to manifest Flames. Humans used spirit energy once, before Flames. Demon energy and spirit energy are like flip sides of a coin. The ability for demons to use demon energy and for humans to use spirit energy - or later on, Flames - always existed, but whether it's activated and used is another matter."
"Though sometimes the differences are very apparent," Jin piped up, pointing with a grin at his horn and pointy ears that Lancia still wasn't sure how he missed the first time around.
"So there's demons everywhere living among us?" Lancia asked. He looked down at his empty plate mournfully. That was good and now he wanted a drink. It wasn't everyday he found out that the world as he knew it was not the complete truth. It was not unlike discovering Flames when his Family took him in, he supposed, though he was younger and more impressionable back then.
"Kinda? There's probably more demons in Vendicare than in other parts of this world now," Jin mused, sending out a gust of wind with the wave of his hand. A bottle sitting on the counter of a food stall floated across the room to them. When the worker there noticed her escaping drink, she traced it back to Jin and gave him a look , which Jin replied by putting his index and thumb together to form a heart. The worker shook her head fondly and went back to work.
Jin untwisted the cap to the bottle. "Soju?" he offered Lancia.
Lancia accepted the bottle and took a swig. It tasted clean, slightly fruity, though not overly strong. Everything, it seemed, tasted good when he was free.
Lancia handed it back to Jin, who passed it to Touya.
"Thanks," Touya said, tilting his head back to take a sip. When he brought it back down, the bottle had noticeable condensation on it, like it had been chilled. "Here," he said, giving it to Jin, who grinned in thanks.
"There's not a lot of demons in this world now," Touya said, turning back to Lancia. "Vendicare collects those who can't fit in, either because they manifest different physical traits like Jin or because they somehow manage to activate and use their demon energy, thereby risk exposing us to the world." His eyes turned softer. "Vendicare is like a haven for demons in this world."
Lancia thought about his childhood, how his Family was his haven from the hunger and suffering he had endured on the streets. On the streets, it wasn't easy to be young, different, and alone. He would have done anything for his Family for rescuing him, and when Mukuro came along, Lancia wanted to provide the same haven for him.
He shook away that train of thought.
"So there is actually a demon world where demons live?" he asked, recalling Mukuro's red eye and the different realms it can access. One of them was the Realm of Demons.
"There is," Jin piped up, "though we've never been and have no interest in it. We grew up here, after all. If the demons who don't fit into this world don't want to join Vendicare, they get sent to Demon World instead. There's a barrier in between the two worlds, which works pretty well in keeping Human World and Demon World apart, but a long time ago when the barrier first came down, there were still some demons in the Human World, so we're like descendants who got stuck on the other side."
Human World, Demon World, and now a barrier. It was like something out of a fantasy book. "And why is there a barrier between the worlds?"
"Uh." Jin exchanged a look with Touya, and at Touya's shrug, Jin scratched his head awkwardly. He took another long glup of Soju. "It ain't us, but our demon ancestors were eating the humans back then." Lancia stared at them. "It got kinda outta control, so they slammed a barrier between the two worlds so the human population won't go extinct." Jin hurriedly added, raising his empty plate of pad thai as evidence, "We don't eat people though!"
"... I'm glad to hear," Lancia said, absently wondering if he can take on Jin and Touya. He never fought them so there wasn't an easy way to gauge, though they were Vendices and they carried themselves the way strong fighters do. Maybe if they came at him individually, he can take them on. "This is a lot to digest."
At the joke, Touya smiled and Jin chortled, and Lancia thought, demon or not, they were going to get along just fine.
"That's also how humans came to have Flames," Touya added. Lancia wondered if this was what Vendicare counted as bedtime stories, the story of how the world came to be as it was."Have you heard of the story of Prometheus?"
The name sounded familiar. "The Greek god?" Lancia said, trying to recall. "He's the god of fire, right? Stole fire for humanity."
"Humanity always had fire," Jin said, waving it aside. "He stole Flames ." Lancia didn't know what kind of expression he had, but whatever it was, it caused Jin to grin. "Yeah, even after the barrier came down, humans were at risk because there were still some demons that were trapped in the human side of the barrier. People prayed and made wishes and then finally hatched a plan. Fourteen people raided the Spirit World for anything to protect themselves against demons. Seven made it back out, each carrying a different Flame, and that's how humanity has seven Dying Will Flames today."
"That…" Lancia said, "is very interesting, but a lot." He was beginning to get a headache. "Is there anything else you want to add?"
It was terrifying to see Jin and Touya consider that very seriously for a moment. Lancia didn't want to know what other bombs they wanted to drop on him.
"No," Touya finally said, "that's about it for now." At Lancia's relieved expression, the corner of his lips quirked. "Sorry for the influx of information. We try to be up front about these things before they present more questions later."
"I'll be sure to let you know if I have any more questions," Lancia said dryly. It occurred to him then that despite his initial trepidation, he had survived lunch and his meeting with the Vendices just fine. More than fine, even.
He wondered if that was their plan, to keep him moving so he didn't have time to panic. They even chose his food and drink so he didn't have to struggle with all the possible choices. "Thanks," he said, and he was referring to more than just the information.
"Happy to help," Jin chirped and Touya nodded. "Here, you can finish this."
Jin passed him the soju bottle, and Lancia downed the rest just because he could.
It felt good.
xxx
"I was the strongest man in Northern Italy," Lancia said into his headpiece, and it wasn't so much as a boast as it was a statement, because it was true and he would like to remind the Vendices and himself of that.
Jin laughed over the comm. "Like we said, you're not cleared to come on missions yet," he said. They were traveling, Lancia could see that from the two moving dots on the computer that he was tracking them on, but Jin's words were barely distorted. Vendicare truly invested in good technology. "Minimum, you need to know how to blend in with us in our uniform and use the Vendice chain."
"My weapon is a Steel Serpent Ball that is controlled by a chain," Lancia pointed out. "I don't think it'll take me long to learn how to use the Vendice chain."
"That, and we need to spar with you to see how well you fight," Touya said. Before Lancia could once again point out his epithet as the strongest man in Northern Italy, Touya continued, "Your weapon of choice is too unique. No one in Vendicare fights alike besides the fact that we use the Vendice chain to secure our prisoners, but the purpose of our bandaged uniform is defeated if you use something so identifying. We need to see how well you fight without your weapon."
That made sense, but… "Why did you make me the handler?" Lancia asked. "I'm not even good with computers."
Jin laughed. "That's the only open spot on our team," he said.
"You mean neither of you like tracking down the target, coordinating plane tickets, hotels, and return routes," Lancia corrected.
"That too," Touya admitted unabashedly. When there was only his voice to focus on, it was easier to hear the smile in his tone. "When we come back, we can spar and if you perform well, you can join us on the field on future missions, in addition to your handler role."
It was more work, but the idea of stretching his muscles outside was too enticing of an idea. Lancia couldn't remember the last time he let himself want , and it was within reach too. "Deal."
Lancia sparred against Jin when they came back, Lancia with Flames but no Steel Serpent Ball and Jin with only five chances to use his wind. By the end, both of them were sweating and breathing hard, and Jin won by a narrow margin.
"You're strong!" Jin exclaimed excitedly, collapsed against the floor. "We watched you fight before. You didn't fight like this against the Vongola guy, Tsunayoshi."
At the mention of that fight, Lancia's grin from their spar faded. "I was under control at the time," Lancia explained softly, also resting on the floor. "I didn't want to fight Tsunayoshi; I just wasn't given the choice."
"Ah," Jin said, because there really wasn't much to say to that. "Well, you definitely could have won against Tsunayoshi if you fought like this!" he enthused. He put his finger against his chin. "Hmm, though I guess Tsunayoshi looked like he was full of surprises as well."
"Perhaps," Lancia said, the corner of his lips unwittingly twitching up. Jin really liked fighting, not as a necessity, but as a sport.
Touya walked over with two chilled bottles of water. He passed one to Jin and one to Lancia, and both of them accepted gratefully. "Rest a little," Touya said, "and when you're ready, we can do the Vendice chain test."
Touya had Lancia capture inanimate targets at different distances with the Vendice chain, which he did easily enough. The difficult part came when he asked Lancia to immobilize Touya one time while he was in motion. Touya was nimble and fast, and however adequate Lancia was with the Vendice chain, Touya was better at reading and dodging it.
After eight minutes, Lancia finally managed to corral Touya into a corner. Touya realized the trap almost immediately, but by then, Lancia had already swung the Vendice chain around him.
"I finally got you," Lancia huffed.
Then, the Vendice chain iced over and shattered. Before Lancia could react, Touya darted forward and Lancia found himself on his back against the ground.
"I give," Lancia said immediately, dropping the remainder of the chain that hadn't shattered. What was he going to do with the chain when faced with Touya's hand iced over into a sword and poised above his throat? Touya blinked at him and Lancia blinked back, before Touya finally realized he retaliated against Lancia for trying to immobilize him.
"Sorry, instincts took over. I didn't mean to attack you," Touya said. He got off of Lancia and helped him up. "You did well; you passed."
Jin drifted over to them. One day, Lancia would get used to it.
"Touya might not look like it, but he hates losing," Jin mock-whispered to Lancia. He had a wide, amused grin on his face.
"Shut up," Touya said, his face just slightly pink.
Lancia didn't know how he could be so fond of two people he met not even a week ago. "Does this mean I can go on missions with you guys now?"
"Yup," Jin chirped, and so it was decided that Lancia would start going on missions with them, in addition to his handler role.
Not using his weapon and using the Vendice chain, wearing a black cloak and even the top hat, Lancia could handle. But the bandages…
"I feel like a mummy on Halloween," Lancia said, struggling to twist the bandages in place so they'd stay. From his seat on the bench, Touya made a valiant effort not to laugh, but Jin was just full out cackling near the ceiling, so much that he created a mini wind storm whirling in the middle of the locker room. "This wind storm is not helping," Lancia said, grabbing for the flailing end of the bandage and missing. The wrapping he had already done around his arms was unwinding. "Why are bandages a thing?" he bemoaned.
"Our predecessors wore them," Touya said. He stood and walked over to Lancia. When he held his hand out for the bandage, Lancia more than happy gave it to him, grateful that Touya took pity on him. "Unfortunately, the look stuck and now people associate Vendicare with it, so it became our uniform."
"It does look intimidating," Jin said, finally getting his laughter under control. He stopped the mini wind storm and came down from the ceiling, settling against the locker in front of Lancia. "When done right, of course," he said with a wink, unable to resist poking fun at Lancia one last time.
Lancia couldn't even get annoyed, because Jin was right. Together, Jin and Touya got to work and wrapped the bandages around Lancia. They did it so deftly in a record of time that Lancia wondered why he even tried in the first place.
xxx
Over time, Lancia learned how to better bandage himself to prepare for missions. He also learned that despite Vendidcare's fearful reputation, they usually only go after people beyond saving and who had caused a lot of harm. Their line of work was interesting and they fought a lot of people who were strong, something Lancia enjoyed, but it was also sometimes incredibly bleak.
On their third mission, they went to Southern Italy for the don of a small Family who was running a brothel of street kids with Flames. Don Roberto was a portly grandfather-type; he reminded Lancia of the don of his former Family. When Roberto saw them coming through the front door of his estate, he met them at the foyer.
"So Vindicare finally came for me," he said, like he had been waiting for them and their arrival was a relief. "I'll go with you," he said, and true to his word, he didn't resist when Lancia wrapped his Vendice chain around him
As they led him out, a kid no more than twelve peeked out from the hallway. "Grandpa Roberto?"
Lancia froze.
The kid looked at Jin, Touya, and Lancia - all three of them dressed in black coats and bandages - and at the chains around the don she called grandpa. She walked up to them with the innocent confusion only children possess and tugged on Roberto's sleeve. "Where are you going?" she asked. She glanced up at Lancia with big wide eyes and said with a child's piercing perceptiveness, "Where are they taking you?"
Roberto knelt down beside the kid, the chains around him clanking.
"Don Roberto," Touya said, a threat in his voice, because none of the Vendices forgot for what crime, exactly, was Roberto being taken in for.
"Grandpa Roberto's going away for a little while," he said to the kid softly. "Be good, alright, Rosa?"
"When are you coming back?" she asked, and Roberto inhaled shakily. It took him a moment to speak.
"Grandpa Roberto made a mistake," he said, instead of answering. "I have to go." He stood. "I'm sorry. I love you, passerotta. "
There were tears in Roberto's eyes when they left. As they headed back on the plane, despite probably breaking protocol, Lancia couldn't help but ask, "Is she - ?"
The girl Rosa looked about Mukuro's age when he joined Lancia's Family.
Roberto cut him off. "She's my granddaughter," he said, as though unable to bear to hear the rest of the accusation. "You must think I'm a monster, but despite everything I've done, she's my family. I'd never hurt her." He closed his eyes. "She doesn't know anything about what I did."
"Then why?" Lancia asked. "All those kids…" The thought made Lancia sick.
Roberto looked at him. "I'm the don of a small Family threatened to be swallowed up by a much bigger and well-connected one," he said. "I don't expect you to understand, but I'd do anything to protect my Family." His eyes hardened, even as they became sad. "Even if it means becoming a monster."
Roberto's words followed Lancia days after. Lancia's former Family in Northern Italy was by no means small or weak, but they were troubled financially. Their Don was a kind man who constantly took in orphans, just as he took in Lancia and later Mukuro, and the mouths they had to feed were constantly growing. Whenever Lancia asked about their finances, the upper echelon always told him not to worry and just to protect the Family, and they'll take care of the rest.
And now, however much it felt like betrayal to even consider, Lancia couldn't help but wonder if in their attempt to handle their finances, his Family did something to Mukuro. Lancia never found out why exactly Mukuro annihilated Lancia's Family - he was too busy processing his grief and guilt at their deaths by his own hand and later on, from being controlled - but he always assumed it was from Mukuro's general hatred of Mafia after being experimented on in his youth. But what if Mukuro had a reason to hate Lancia's Family specifically, and Lancia was just blinded to it because of his loyalty to his Family?
"You're distracted," Jin said, after he knocked Lancia down the third time in the sparring room. He cocked his head to the side. "Something bothering you?"
Lancia pushed himself off the ground to a sitting position. "I…"
"I don't expect you to understand, but I'd do anything to protect my Family." Roberto's eyes hardened, even as they became sad. "Even if it means becoming a monster."
"I want to visit Mukuro," Lancia blurted out. He needed, needed , to know. Did his Family hurt Mukuro in some way and that was why he attacked them?
" No ." Touya, watching them on the side of the sparring room, stood. "Why?" he asked. "Why would you want to see him again after everything he's done?"
"I just want to understand -"
"There is nothing to understand," Touya said, stalking forward. Goosebumps raised on Lancia's arm. "It wouldn't change what he had done."
Lancia looked at Jin. He'd never seen Touya so vehement before.
"Hey," Jin said softly, stepping in front of Lancia to intercept Touya. "Touya, look at me."
Jin waved his hand at Lancia behind his back, gesturing to him to slip away.
"He shouldn't," Touya said, his voice breaking. He sounded so distressed that Lancia felt guilty for ever bringing this up. He wanted to comfort Touya somehow, calm him, but Jin was waving his hand even more urgently now, so Lancia reluctantly slipped out of the sparring room instead.
They were in the sparring room for an hour before Jin finally slipped out. He didn't look surprised to see Lancia still waiting outside.
Lancia stood from his seat on the floor. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah, Touya's fine now." Jin scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that, by the way."
"No, I'm sorry," Lancia said immediately. "It was my fault, I shouldn't have -"
Jin shook his head. "No, it's a reasonable request, given your history with Mukuro. It's just…" His shoulder slumped. Lancia had never seen Jin look so tired. "Touya was a prodigy with his powers. He was different from everyone since he was young, and I" - Jin gestured to his horn and pointed ears - "stood out also. We didn't have a pretty childhood, and Touya never really forgave the orphanage for how it treated us and how it let others treat us." Jin smiled mirthlessly. "'specially me, since my difference is more obvious."
Jin leaned against the wall and stared into the distance. "Touya let loose his power very badly once, 'cause these people were hurting me and he couldn't get them to stop with words." His eyes lowered. "So he stopped them permanently. It brought us to Vendicare's attention and they took us in shortly after, and then we learned about demons and stuff. It's fine being different here, so we always considered it as some kind of haven for us."
Jin let out a breath and turned to Lancia. "You need a pass to see Mukuro, since he's in the lowest level of Vendicare. I'll ask for you." He glanced at the sparring room, where Touya was in. "Touya meant well. He was just worried about you, since you're different from the other prisoners in Vendicare. Working with you was his idea."
"If he'll be mad at you for helping me..." Lancia started. He didn't know what he'd do. For his own peace of mind, Lancia wanted to know why from Mukuro, but Touya was right. Regardless of the reason, it didn't change that fact that Mukuro used Lancia to murder his Family, and Lancia would never be able to forgive him for that. Lancia didn't want to risk his friendship with Jin and Touya over something that could never be changed, and moreover, didn't want to risk Jin's friendship with Touya.
Jin shook his head. "It's fine, I talked to Touya," he said. He was silent for a moment, before confessing, "I used to want to know why too. Was it something I did? If I changed the way I behaved, would things have been different? Or was it just the way they were and it had nothing to do with me, that if Touya and I weren't there, they would have found other targets anyway?" Jin looked at Lancia. "I don't know and I can't ask anymore, but it doesn't matter to me now." He rapped his knuckles lightly against Lancia. "But it still matters to you."
"Thank you," Lancia said, and those two words couldn't encapsulate everything Lancia felt - for trusting me with your past, for caring about me, for understanding, for letting me go through with this - but he tried. "I'm sorry about what happened in Touya and your past."
The Touya and Jin he knew were so kind hearted and strong and caring; it broke his heart to imagine anyone was ever cruel to them. He thought about Touya's usual composure cracking in the sparring room, about Jin's current subdued behavior in contrast to his normal energetic self, and understood a little why Touya never forgave the people in their past.
Lancia wasn't sure he could either.
"It's okay," Jin said. He was smiling, small, softly but present. "We're fine now." He stepped forward and enveloped Lancia into a hug. "And you will be too."
xxx
As promised, Jin got a pass for Lancia to see Mukuro.
"He's held in the highest security of Vendicare," Jin said, giving Lancia the pass. "This means he'll be in a column of medicated water to keep him immobilized and unconscious, so he wouldn't be awake for you to talk to him, though you can still see him from afar." Jin fidgeted. "Also Touya and I will have to go with you, since you're still on probation, so you can't wander around yourself."
Lancia looked at Touya, who although still treated Lancia cordially and interacted with him, felt a lot more distant ever since he raised his request to see Mukuro several days ago.
"Is that okay?" Lancia asked Touya. "I don't want to force you to go with me."
Touya turned away, and Lancia tried to pretend that didn't hurt but failed. "Let's go," he said, arms crossed. Touya didn't look pleased, but he didn't necessarily look angry either.
Jin tapped on his shoulder, and Lancia turned around. "Sorry, one more thing," he said apologetically. He held up a black cloth that Lancia realized was a blindfold. "Just precaution. We'll remove it once we get you downstairs."
"It's okay," Lancia said, leaning his head down for Jin to tie it around his eyes.
Lancia didn't realize how ridiculous his request was until this moment. However friendly Jin and Touya were, they still worked for Vendicare, and Lancia - mind-controlled or not - was still a past accomplice of Mukuro. What was he thinking, asking them to let him see Mukuro? It was too easy to perceive that as an excuse to locate Mukuro for a prison break, so much that Lancia was surprised Vendicare even allowed this visit in the first place. Lancia couldn't imagine the hoops Jin and Touya had to jump through to fulfil his request.
"It goes over your eyes and ears," Jin said, hovering above him with his feet off the ground. "You can't hear anything after I put this on. Tap me three times if it's not comfortable or if you need something."
Lancia nodded, and then darkness descended over his eyes and the world fell silent. Lancia could still feel Jin - or at least, someone - next to him, but he could no longer see or hear, just as Jin warned.
Lancia's heart rate doubled in his chest.
A hand settled over each of his own. They each felt different. Jin and Touya.
Lancia squeezed their hands, grounding himself with their presence. It's okay , he could almost hear them say. There was a moment of motionlessness, where they waited to see if he'd squeeze two more times to indicate discomfort, but he stood in place and held still, breathed and reminded himself that Jin and Touya were there with him, and that calmed him.
Someone tugged lightly on his arm. Lancia took a tentative step forward and then another. There was a breeze on his right and a cool chill on his left. He thought they might be flaring their powers on purpose for him, and it was working. Lancia followed the breeze and the chill, their hands in his own, confident they wouldn't lead him astray.
"Thank you," Lancia said at one point, or he thought he said, except he wasn't sure since he didn't hear it. There was an answering squeeze in each of his hands though, so he guessed Jin and Touya heard at least.
Time seemed to stretch when two senses that Lancia relied on heavily were removed. It might have been fifteen minutes, it might have been shorter, before they finally came to a stop. The chill on his left caught him when he almost tripped from the extra step he took.
They waited not long in place and then they stepped forward again. Lancia assumed they were in an elevator and it was confirmed when he felt the floor he was standing on descending. It still startled him that he squeezed Jin's and Touya's hand reflexively, and it was infinitely reassuring when they immediately squeezed back.
The elevator came to a stop and then the breeze on his right moved to stand in front of Lancia.
"... here," Lancia caught Jin saying as he removed the blindfold, and then light and sound flooded his senses again.
The elevator walls were an industrial reflective silver and there was a low humming noise coming from above.
It took Lancia a moment to adjust.
"You okay?" Jin asked, hovering in front of him.
Lancia nodded. "Thank you," he said, and realizing that he was still holding onto their hands, belatedly let go. "Thank you," he looked at Touya and said again, recalling how he helped him despite the fact that they weren't on the best of terms right now.
Touya looked vaguely uncomfortable. He was crossing his arms again. "Jin and I need to tap our ids and you need to tap your pass to the elevator sensor for it to open," he said. His expression darkened a little. "Mukuro is just beyond."
Lancia nodded and took in a measured breath as Touya and Jin tapped their ids against the elevator sensor. They looked at him expectantly then, waiting for him, and abruptly, he was grateful for their presence.
He wasn't sure he could do this if he was alone.
"Thank you for coming down with me," he said, looking Jin and then Touya in the eye, willing them to understand the immense depth of his gratitude. "I know I said it a lot, but I really do mean it."
Jin smiled at him encouragingly and Touya nodded, and that gave Lancia the strength he needed. He took a breath and tapped his pass against the elevator sensor, and the door slid open.
The lowest level of Vendicare, containing many columns of water prisons and prisoners floating within them, was blue and sterile. They were actually on the second to last floor, since the controls for the water prisons were on the lowest level, and Lancia wasn't allowed there even with Jin and Touya escorting him. The second to last floor had glass walls that overlooked the lowest level. Even without Jin and Touya leading, Lancia found himself walking unerringly towards Mukuro's water prison among all the other identical ones, like a compass homing north.
Lancia let out breath when he finally spotted Mukuro. He was suspended in water, Vendice chains wrapped around his body, a thick metal collar around his neck, and a mask covering his face. There was a tube connected to the mask to help him breath underwater and to medicate him as necessary. His left eye was closed as though he was asleep, and his right eye - the one that allowed him to use Six Paths of Reincarnation - was sewn shut.
Lancia didn't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't this. Mukuro always seemed so indestructible that seeing him like this twisted Lancia on the inside until he didn't know what he should feel.
He just knew he didn't want this for Mukuro, even after everything.
"Came here to gloat?" a voice said directly into Lancia's head, and he startled.
"You okay?" Jin asked. He exchanged a look of concern with Touya on Lancia's other side.
"Lancia," Touya started, a small frown on his face.
"Tell them and they'll whisk you away," Mukuro said, sounding half-threatening and half-amused at the idea. " And then you'll never find out whatever you came here for."
"I'm fine," Lancia said, and immediately felt guilty. He didn't want to lie to Jin and Touya, who had only ever treated him well. "It's just" - he gestured vaguely in Mukuro's direction- "a lot." He looked at them. "Can you two give me a moment here?"
Jin and Touya looked at each other.
"Yeah," Touya finally said. "We'll be down the hall," he said, gesturing to the end of the straight hallway a few feet away. It was far enough to give him some privacy but still close enough to keep an eye on him.
"I appreciate it," Lancia said, and that was the truth. If Mukuro could still talk directly to him in his mind, he was still in his head in some ways. Lancia wanted answers, but he also didn't want to be controlled again. Touya and Jin were strong. He knew they could stop him if anything.
Touya nodded. As they walked by, Touya's arm brushed against Lancia's and Jin gave his shoulder a squeeze. He watched them settle down at the end of the hallway, before turning back to Mukuro.
"How sweet of the Vendices," Mukuro said, and Lancia stiffened at the reminder that Mukuro witnessed their exchange through Lancia. Mukuro had already taken his Family from him before. "Should I be jealous of your special treatment?"
"If you touch them, " Lancia snarled, barely resisting the urge to punch the glass wall in front of him. He stared hard at Mukuro's body floating in the water prison, trying to drive his point across, though it did not have the same effect as meeting his eyes. "Do not touch them. Do I make myself clear?"
"Or?" Mukuro asked, amused.
Or I'll make you regret it , Lancia wanted to say, but he thought back to the little boy he cared for, his wide smiling face, his love for chocolate and hate for spicy food, his tendency to always end up in Lancia's vincindity even though he swore up and down that he wasn't following Lancia around, and what came out was, "Or I'll never forgive you."
There was a long moment of silence.
"You already don't forgive me," Mukuro said. Lancia thought he sounded peevish and just a little sad. "I manipulated you into killing your Family, remember? What is one more offense to that?" Mukuro laughed. "And why should I care about what you think?"
Why should he, indeed? Except something was nagging at Lancia.
"Mukuro," Lancia said, watching him intently. "Did my Family do something to you?"
If Mukuro reacted at all in his water prison, Lancia couldn't tell.
"... Is that what you came to ask?" Mukuro said, mocking and disbelieving. "After I held you prisoner for five years, it finally occurred to you to ask?"
Lancia flushed, grappling to recover. "After you killed my Family and held me prisoner for five years," he said, a hard edge to his tone, "the least you can do is answer my question."
There was another long moment of silence.
"Why ask?" Mukuro finally said. "Does it really matter? It's been so long."
"It matters to me," Lancia said.
"Say I tell you," Mukuro said, "what do I get in return?" Before Lancia could speak, he continued, "What will you get in return? It doesn't change anything that happened. You'll lose more than you gain no matter what, Lancia."
Mukuro's tone was almost soft by the end, when it touched Lancia's name.
"Lancia, Lancia," Mukuro used to call out, struggling to keep up with his longer strides. Lancia would always wait for him to catch up and then swing him onto his shoulder, Mukuro's shrieks of delight ringing out.
How much of that was real? Did Mukuro ever suffer under Lancia's supervision without him knowing? He thought of Roberto and felt sick.
"Tell me," Lancia said, and couldn't help the break in his tone.
He took a deep breath.
"It's not as bad as you fear," Mukuro finally said. He chuckled, and Lancia knew he snagged some of his memory and thoughts. "Definitely nothing along the lines of Roberto, though I hope he rots in prison." Mukuro was silent for a moment, before he finally said quietly, "Your Family was smuggling Possession Bullets."
"What?" Lancia said, startled. "But Possession Bullets were outlawed -"
"Yes," Mukuro said, his tone bleeding with anger. "The great mighty Mafia persecuted the Estraneo Family outwardly over the Possession Bullet and their many inventions from human experimentation, but how many other Families secretly coveted their power?! The Mafia, hypocritical to its core. It drove the Estraneo Family to deep ends, and then fought over its remaining inventions among itself!"
"I…" Lancia struggled to process the information. "My Family was situated at a trading hub and our community was close-knit, so we had a great front." Lancia could see how it pieced together, even if he didn't want to. "We were selling for the Estraneo Family, so when you annihilated them, the demand for their inventions went up. And we probably still had some inventions in stock that we didn't sell yet."
"Your Boss' bleeding heart," Mukuro crooned. "Oh, to save so many orphan kids like myself on the backs of many of the same tortured and murdered kids !"
"I -" didn't know , Lancia wanted to say, but it was an excuse. It happened right in his Family, how could he have not known? He just didn't want to know, and when the upper echelon told him not to worry about it, he took that as the excuse he needed to turn a blind eye to it. He knew the large amount of money they were coming in with couldn't have been clean - they were Mafia, after all - but Lancia never expected this.
"Lancia!" someone called, and he realized he had fallen to his knees. "Hey, you okay, man?" Jin asked, skidding to a stop and immediately kneeling in front of him.
"How does it feel, Lancia , to finally know the truth that you desire?" Mukuro asked, driving each word in. Lancia gasped mid-sob, feeling his world crumble around him, everything that he had ever known and thought to be true. Mukuro's tone might have softened, but Lancia didn't notice as Touya pressed him against his chest, holding him. "I told you you wouldn't like the truth."
"Lancia," Touya said urgently. "Lancia, breathe." And Lancia tried, but he couldn't.
Mukuro sighed. "Sleep," he said, and darkness tucked him under.
xxx
Lancia didn't know how he got back, only that when he woke up, he was in his room with dried tear-tracks on his face. He sat up with a sniffle, and Jin and Touya stirred in their seats.
Jin was the first to blink awake. "Lancia?" He shook Touya upon seeing Lancia up. "Touya, Lancia's awake!"
Touya lifted his head, and Lancia could tell it took him great effort to open a single eye. He blinked sleepily and closed his eyes again, before finally scrubbing his face with both his hands, messing his hair in the process. Finally, he seemed to register Jin's words and the sight of Lancia sitting up. "You're awake," he said, a little confused and awed, like a little kid, and Lancia smiled just a little.
"I'm awake," Lancia confirmed, swinging his feet off the bed. "How long was I out for?"
"Two hours," Jin answered, standing, and Lancia winced. He wandered off to the kitchen area. "How you feeling?"
"I'm fine," Lancia said, and both Jin and Touya shot him with doubtful looks. "I feel better," he amended, and they nodded their acceptance at that answer.
"What happened?" Touya asked, straight to the point, and Lancia hesitated. Touya looked at him with piercing eyes, before finally saying, "He was in your head, wasn't he?"
From the kitchen area, Jin hissed. In any other scenario, Lancia would have been amused that he sounded like an angry cat sprayed with water. Instead, Lancia let out a breath and nodded, eyes on the floor.
Touya stood. "I'll inform Vindicare's lowest level guards," he said. Lancia's head shot up. "They'll increase his medication and -"
"No!" Lancia exclaimed, and Touya stopped. "No, it was my fault. I just had a bad reaction because he told me something I didn't want to hear. He didn't mess with my head, he just talked to me, as I requested. He doesn't deserve to be punished for that."
"You can't really know that, can you?" Jin said, walking back with a cup in hand, and Lancia shook his head.
"He was in my head for five years. Trust me, I know." Sleep , Lancia remembered Mukuro saying in his deepest moment of grief, and he knew even if he told them, they wouldn't believe Mukuro tried to help him. "He told me my Family smuggled Possession Bullets, and I didn't react well to that."
Jin and Touya exchanged looks.
"You knew?" Lancia asked, and then laughed. "Was I the only one who didn't know?"
"It was in your Family's file," Jin said carefully. He passed him a cup of warm water, which Lancia took a sip of.
"Violence is an intrinsic part of the Mafia," Touya said. "Vendicare wouldn't step in unless we think someone acted overboard and for that reason, we have files on pretty much all the Mafia families out there and their major players."
"I didn't know," Lancia said, staring at his cup. It was his reflection in the water, but did he really know him?
"Hey," Jin said softly, covering his hand. Lancia looked up. "You'll be okay. This doesn't change anything."
"I should have known." If he knew, would things have ended up differently?
"He never told you he was part of the former Estraneo Family until afterwards," Touya said. "And just because he had a reason for annihilating your Family doesn't make it right." His voice softened. "Nor does it make what he did to you okay."
"You're not responsible for what he did, Lancia," Jin added.
"I know you're both right," Lancia said. He lowered his head to his hands. "I know."
It was just hard to accept, to believe.
Jin and Touya stood by him, as he shed tears one last time over the little brother that he once had.
xxx
Two weeks later, on Lancia's way from his room to the cafeteria to meet up with Jin and Touya, a woman in a lab coat stepped into his path. She had tan skin, webbed ears, and a tail that matched the mint-green of her hair.
"Hello, you're Lancia, aren't you?" she said, extending her hand. "I'm Juri."
Lancia took her hand, bemused. "Hello," he said, "how can I help you?"
"I'm part of a team trying to gather information from Mukuro," she said, and Lancia blinked. He did not expect that, but it did make sense. Mukuro had a lot of knowledge, some no doubt from people he possessed, some from his Six Paths of Reincarnation, and the rest by means only he knew. "Unfortunately, he's not cooperating with us despite our many attempts, so we're wondering if you'd like to help us."
"What makes you think I can help you?" he asked. He had resolved to put his thoughts about Mukuro at rest.
"I understand you spoke to Mukuro two weeks ago," she said, tilting her head to the side. Her bangs fell just a little over her eye.
"Oh," Lancia said blankly. His mind suddenly became really clear. "Can I ask how you know that?"
Touya and Jin promised him they wouldn't tell anyone about Mukuro speaking to him. The rush of anger that rose in him nearly drowned out Juri's answer.
"Visiting records isn't a secret," she said, looking at him over her clipboard with shrewd eyes. "And every floor where we house prisoners have security cameras."
"Oh," Lancia said again, his anger leaving him in such a rush that it left him off-balanced for a moment. Of course Jin and Touya didn't say anything. "Then you know I didn't leave that day unscathed. I have no advantage over Mukuro." Lancia took a step forward. "Excuse me."
He didn't want to keep Jin and Touya waiting.
As Lancia walked by her, Juri said, "He asked for you," and he stopped. "Well, his brainwave showed interest when we mentioned you," she amended. "It was more than what we could get out of him all week. He won't talk to us, but maybe he'll talk to you. He had already, once."
Lancia turned back to her. "Mukuro can't be controlled," he said. "I won't be able to get him to part with any information he's not willing to part with, any more than you can."
"Sure," Juri agreed easily. "But it doesn't hurt to try. Maybe Vendicare's Mists can get through his defense while he talks to you."
Lancia thought about Mukuro easily mind-controlling him for five years, and smiled mirthlessly. "I doubt it," he said. Mukuro was the strongest Mist Lancia knew; he'd never seen anything of the like.
Juri wrapped her arms around the clipboard and shrugged with a self-deprecating grin. "You're probably right," she said. "But like I said, it doesn't hurt to try. You're our last resort, so if even you can't get anything out of him, we'll just give up. We wouldn't have bothered you unless we're out of options; we knew Jin and Touya probably wouldn't like it."
"Jin and Touya?" Lancia said. He didn't know if he should be annoyed or flattered that Juri and apparently her team took special consideration of Lancia because of them.
Juri nodded. "Jin's sweet and Touya's a little scary, so no one really likes getting on their bad side. They're also one of the earlier members of Vendicare, so they're friendly with quite a lot of higher ups."
One of the earlier members of Vendicare, she said, except Vendicare had existed as long as Lancia remembered and way longer than he was alive. "Just how old are they?" he murmured to himself.
"Oh!" Juri covered her mouth guilty. "I thought they told you."
"That they're demons, yeah," Lancia said, before it occurred to him maybe that was the crux of it. "How long are demon lifespans?"
Juri looked at him for a moment, before a smile slowly crossed her face. "I'll tell you if you help me with Mukuro."
Lancia looked back at her, before he also smiled. "I'll ask Jin and Touya," he said, walking away.
"Wait, wait, wait," Juri said, immediately jumping in front of him. "I was just kidding, jeez. Demon lifespans are definitely longer than humans'." She tapped a finger against her chin, humming. "I think Touya and Jin just broke through triple digits a few years ago."
Triple digit… They looked like they were in their twenties! It seemed like it was impossible to tell age with demons.
Lancia stared at Juri, who blinked back at him in bemusement. "How old are you?"
"Oh." She covered her mouth with one hand and peered at him through her eyelashes demurely. "You can't ask a lady that," she said with a laugh, hitting his back a little harder than strictly necessary with every word.
Lancia winced. "Sorry." It did not occur to him at all that he shouldn't have asked her.
Juri grinned at him. "It's okay," she said, dancing backwards. Lancia recognized it was a retreat, but he didn't realize why until she continued, "You owe me one. Remember to come down to the lowest level tomorrow at one!"
"Wait!" Lancia called out, but she chose the spot to ambush him well. She had a head start and quickly disappeared around the corner before he could do anything else.
Lancia sighed at the empty space where Juri used to be, and scratched his head.
When he finally got to the cafeteria, he explained to Jin and Touya what happened.
After he finished speaking, Touya put down the fried chicken wing that he took a bite out of. "You don't have to go if you're not comfortable."
Jin nodded his agreement behind his bowl of soup noodles.
"I mean, it's not like I'm not comfortable," Lancia said, trying to sort out his feelings. "More like I don't feel the need to go back?" He ripped a piece of naan and dipped it into his lamb stew. "I don't think I can help as much as they think, either way."
"Juri won't really get mad at you if you don't," Jin added, slurping up the last of his noodles. "That was probably her last ditch effort more than anything else."
Lancia popped the piece of naan in his mouth and chewed, thinking. "It wouldn't really hurt me to go," he finally said. Or at least that was what he wanted to believe. The only way for him to actually prove it to himself was if he went. He looked at Jin, who upturned his bowl to drain his soup, and Touya, who was meticulously pulling every last bit of meat off his chicken wing. "If I go, will you both go with me?"
Touya smiled and Jin grinned. "Of course."
Lancia smiled back. "Alright," he said, before another thought occurred to him. "Moreover, why did you tell me demons and humans are mostly the same?"
Jin looked confused. "They are..."
"Both of you are over a hundred years old," Lancia stated, pointing at them with his naan. Fond exasperation welled in him when they still looked confused, before Touya abruptly brought his hand to his face. He narrowly missed transferring the grease from his fingers to his face.
"Sorry, it slipped my mind," Touya said, his face flushed. Lancia chuckled. "I assume Juri told you."
"She approximated," Lancia confirmed, taking another bite, "but she couldn't tell me how old you guys really are."
"We lost track of our birthdays when we were young, so we just chose one for ourselves and kept counting from there," Touya said, wiping his hand on a wet towel. "We're both approximately 102."
Lancia's eyebrows raised. Just broke through triple digits a few years ago indeed.
"How old are you, Lancia?" Jin asked, confused. It seemed like it really slipped Jin's mind how fast humans age relative to demons. Lancia could already tell this was going to be fun.
"Twenty-five," Lancia answered with an amused grin.
Jin's exclamation, like a startled cat fallen into a water fountain, shook the cafeteria.
xxx
"Welcome!" Juri greeted them at the elevator when they arrived the next day. "I'm so glad you decided to come after all, Lancia." She looked over next to him. "And hello Jin, Touya." She didn't seem surprised to see them accompanying him.
Lancia nodded at her, trying to adjust to a world with images and sound again. He had worn the blindfold on his way down again and Touya had taken it off not long ago in the elevator.
"Heya, Juri," Jin said, as Touya said, "Juri."
"Come," she said, gesturing at them and already walking down the hallway. They followed. "Since Mukuro was able to speak to Lancia from here last time, we figured we won't fix what isn't broken and just keep it the same again."
She stopped them at the same spot Lancia stood two weeks ago, when he learned the truth behind Mukuro's annihilation of his Family. "We have people down there" - she gestured to the lower level, where a group of scientists in white lab coats just like her and some Vendices dressed in their uniform stood. The Mists, Lancia surmised - "but don't worry about them. They're just there to monitor Mukuro's condition."
She showed Lancia her clipboard. "Here's a list of questions we want you to ask Mukuro, if you get the chance."
"Don't bother," Mukuro spoke into Lancia's head. Despite anticipating it, Lancia still startled. "I won't answer any of their questions."
Juri glanced down to the lower level. "Oh, what's happening?" she said, stepping closer to the glass wall to peer over. On the lower level, the group of scientists gathered around a monitor, excited. "Mukuro's brainwave changed."
"Do you take pleasure in startling me everytime?" Lancia asked, annoyed.
Mukuro laughed. "Yes," he said. His tone turned darker, more mocking. "Look at them, so excited over a little reaction. And the other Mists' attempt to invade my mind - pathetic."
"Is he speaking to you?" Touya asked Lancia. He nodded. "Let us know if you want to leave," he said, squeezing Lancia's hand. Lancia met Touya's and Jin's serious eyes and squeezed their hands back with a small smile.
Then, he let go to face the glass wall and Mukuro's body floating in his water prison. "Why react at all when Juri mentioned me then?" Lancia asked. In the reflection of the glass wall, he could see Juri trying to reach him, but Jin shook his head at her while Touya stood at his back like a physical barrier.
Lancia waited out the following silence, and he was rewarded when Mukuro said, "You weren't going to come back." It almost sounded accusing, if only he didn't also sound resigned. He already knew the answer.
Lancia confirmed it anyway. "No, I wasn't."
In front of Mukuro's water prison, the scientists made another excited gesture over another monitor. Heart monitor?
"They're annoying," Mukuro said, grumbled, really. Lancia thought he was just annoyed because the heart monitor gave him away. "Shut up."
There was more pressure in his head and then Lancia's jaw snapped shut on their own accord, yet he wasn't afraid. He knew Mukuro wouldn't really do anything.
"Don't have too much faith," Mukuro said, a little darkly. "Don't forget who I am, what I am."
"If you could have really controlled me, you would have last time," Lancia said. He could feel every slow beat of his heart. "The fact that we need to be this close for us to speak mentally also tells me the medication in the water severely limits your power."
There was another moment of silence, before Mukuro chuckled. "You'll be fine on your own," he said.
I'm not on my own, Lancia wanted to say, but then the southern wall of the lowest level collapsed.
Lancia jumped back, grabbing Touya and Jin with him, as the glass wall in front of him cracked from the force of the collapse on the lower level. It thankfully didn't shatter. The glass in Vendicare was reinforced, probably bulletproof.
"Shit, are you okay?!" Jin exclaimed.
Before any of them could reply, water and glass burst out from Mukuro's water prison. It knocked down and swept away the scientists and the Vendices who stood right in front of it.
Lancia's heart went to his throat as, through the spiderweb cracks of the glass wall, he watched Mukuro's body fall from the sudden change in pressure. A pair of arms caught him before he hit the floor. Lancia followed the arm back to a man with short black hair, who ripped the tubes and chains off Mukuro like they were nothing, and then heaved Mukuro's body onto his shoulder.
Then, he stopped, and there was a moment of stiff, robotic stillness that Lancia would have recognized anywhere.
"Mukuro!" Lancia shouted, running forward. He slammed his fist against the glass wall, just as the man raised his head and looked straight at them. The glass wall shattered and through the falling pieces of glass, Lancia could see the man's brown eyes - one of which red was receding from - widened.
Behind him, Jin gasped in recognition, as Touya hissed, " Yusuke! "
"Goodbye, Lancia," Mukuro said, and then the man - Yusuke - stepped through a slit that appeared in the air. When it closed again, they were both gone.
Author's Note:
Lancia! Jin! Touya! Juri! Did you expect that? I had such a blast writing them, though I think it's going to have to be an one-time thing. I don't have much plans for them that'll require a whole chapter dedication after this...
Also lol, I've been wanting to write the prison break scene for so long. At least Yusuke managed to make a 10 second cameo here. The next chapter will be all about Yusuke and Mukuro, I promise.
