Felicità could feel the stares fall on her as they entered the restaurant. Politeness covered mouths and turned eyes away. At least her short skirt was more in fashion here than it was on the reserved island of Regalo, even if odd for formal five-star places like this. In Japan, it was her long red hair that attracted attention. She knew how to ignore them, but that didn't stop her from looking around as Luca checked their reservation.
"This way, Milady."
Felicità and Luca followed the hostess through the romantic lighting of the restaurant, weaving around the tables to reach one in particular, Kouyou and a man already seated there. He put down his menu as they approached, as if only just noticing them.
The two stood up as the Italians approached the table. "Glad you could make it," Kouyou commented, although everyone there knew the phrase was formality. "Arcana-sama, this is Mori Ougai. Ougai-dono, this is Arcana Felicità and Arcana Luca."
"Arcana-dono, Arcana-san," the boss of the Port Mafia greeted, his smile stretching wide, and he gestured for them to join him at the table. "It's wonderful to finally meet you. When I received word that your father had fallen ill, well, you can imagine how worried I was. And when he appointed a new head so soon after that... things like that make you think about your own mortality, really."
"He's doing much better these days," Felicità replied cordially as she took a seat, her eyes darting around while keeping an air of professionalism. "I'm getting married in a few months. He's overjoyed."
"Congratulations."
The restaurant had a fairly full house this night. Men and women dressed up, from semi-formal to muted formal, what looked like maybe a few teens, and a young girl seated not too far away, her outfit making her look more like a doll than a real child out for a rich dinner with her parents. No other kids. The people with food picked at it or talked over it, but she saw nobody enthusiastic about their meal.
Luca ordered a red while she went with plain water, and they both shared a knowing glance. The Port Mafia had bought out the restaurant for the night. Even the hostess couldn't be ruled out. They were surrounded.
"I believe you've come to discuss business," Mori said as the hostess walked away.
"This is all a formality." Felicità got right to the point, focusing her attention on the man across the table. "The deals you had with my father will stay the same, with a few exceptions."
"And what would those be?"
"A few updates to what is being imported, as it has been some time since those deals were put in place," she explained. "Regalo needs to catch up to the rest of the world, and while introducing everything all at once would be a disaster, I believe you can pull some strings in that department."
A server returned with their drinks. Luca took a sip of the water, paused - swishing it in his mouth before swallowing - and then he handed the glass to her, having deemed it free of poison. He sipped his wine. Felicità took her glass, but didn't drink. Mori's eyes flicked between them. Calculating.
More leaned back in his seat. "Of course, what does my side get out of the deal?" he asked. "There's money, obviously, out of the whole operation, and the strings you pull for us in the Italian market…"
That hadn't been explicitly mentioned, but went along with the deal; the Arcana Famiglia would do their part to keep the Italian side of the network of smuggling businesses safe and well. They communicated with mainland Italian Mafiosi much easier than the yakuza did, by virtue of location, although the invention of faster planes and technology had made that less of an issue.
"But since I have you here in front of me, what can you offer?"
The little girl at the nearby table giggled.
Felicità knew it was dangerous, but asked anyway, "What do you propose?"
"I want you."
Luca tensed beside her, and she grabbed his hand under the table.
"Now, don't mistake my intentions," Mori said, as if it was simply a matter of phrasing lost in translation. "I'd just like to see your ability for myself. You see, I heard that you have the ability to heal others. The one you used to save your father's life."
Felicità squeezed Luca's hand to keep him quiet. She would handle this.
"I have a subordinate with a lung condition. It weakens him, and I fear it's killing him," he explained, a whimsical tone to his voice, not actually concerned. "It's incurable… or so it seems. If you could heal his condition, I'd be very grateful. I would even agree to the changes to our trade agreement without hesitation."
But it wouldn't stop there. She knew the Port Mafia wouldn't be content with just letting her go back to Regalo if they saw she had this healing power. This one little request was a test to see if the rumours were real. Those rumours had spread out of Regalo and across the world to people who really shouldn't know.
Luca spoke up, "Milady, if you're really considering it, I offer my-"
"Luca. Quiet." She turned to Mori, pushing back her chair as she stood up. "Your subordinate. He's here, isn't he? I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do."
Mori smiled and gestured to another table. "Akutagawa. Come here. Let Arcana-dono take a look at you."
A pale young man came forward to stand beside the table. His hair hung limp and frayed around his face, his black coat well-worn. He stared at her with dark eyes and a sour expression.
"Luca," she started, grabbing his hand, pulling specifically at the glove a bit so he'd get the message. They expected ability users. This could be one of them. "Hold him in place." They didn't want him trying anything.
Luca pulled off his gloves, putting them in his pocket. He circled around the younger man, and put his hands on the man's shoulders, anchoring him to that spot.
Felicità approached the young man, her mind racing on how to do this. Mori and Kouyou watched closely, their eyes boring into her, and she was sure other eyes were on her as well. She took a deep breath.
She met Akutagawa's eyes, then looked him up and down. She circled around Luca and Akutagawa with a hand to her chin, looking over the sickly guy as if looking at something in particular.
"Take off your jacket," she said. Immediately there was hesitation. Her eyes went to Mori. "You bought out the restaurant. Didn't you, Ougai-dono?"
Akutagawa glanced back to Mori, who nodded. Luca moved his hands slightly to allow Akutagawa to remove his long jacket, but he still had some trouble before it fell to pool on the floor.
Felicità pointed to her neck. "That thing, too." She didn't know how to say cravat in Japanese. Her books hadn't covered that kind of clothing accessory.
With a glare that held a hint of constrained panic, Akutagawa removed that as well. Kouyou covered her expression with her sleeve. Mori was entranced in whatever she was doing.
Felicità focused on her work. Pretending to be analysing something to do with this man's health. After a moment, she placed her hand on his chest and closed her eyes. Calling on Gli Amanti, she looked into his heart. Even if her shirt hid the glow of her Arcana mark on her chest, maybe they would see her using an ability and believe she was attempting to heal him.
Panic hit her. Akutagawa's thought were a jumbled mess, struggling to understand why he couldn't use his ability. Murderous intent cut through the chaos, directed at the two of them. Felicità was glad Luca was there holding him by the shoulders. That much provided some reassurance that no ability was about to spear her through the stomach.
Felicità pulled back her hand, opening her eyes. She sighed as the world fell quiet, to the dull hum of the restaurant.
"I can't heal him," she said, stepping back from Akutagawa, keeping her voice steady. "Like you said, it seems like it's incurable."
"So it seems…" Mori made a hand gesture, and Akutagawa gathered his clothes up before slinking over to the wall. Now identified, he didn't care to return to his table.
Luca took his place beside her again. Felicità kept her eyes on Mori, but he had to be on high alert. They needed to be careful; she now knew they planned to attack the two of them before the end of his meeting. This endeavour no longer felt so neutral.
Mori sighed, breaking the tension. "I guess it can't be helped. Instead, would you be willing, Arcana-dono, to give Arcana-san over to the Port Mafia?"
Felicità's eyes widened at the unexpected request. "I'm sorry, but he's not for sale."
"Why not? I'm sure I could come up with a price for your bodyguard there," Mori said with a chuckle.
It was then that Felicità realised that the restaurant had fallen silent. A tilt of Mori's head, and Port Mafia members stood up in a quiet wave spanning across the restaurant, no person left seated, metal glinting in the low lights.
"Or, the trade agreements could be called off completely and I take your bodyguard anyway," he threatened, offering it like a suggestion.
Felicità pulled out her gifted knife. "Why do you want Luca?"
"After that display, I thought that would've been obvious. His ability to neutralise other abilities would be indispensable in my organisation. But I'll spare the details. I can see you're not interested in haggling."
They got no more warning than that. Luca must have seen something before her, because he tackled her to the floor. In seconds, attackers were on them, eager to be praised by their boss.
Luca took on the initial wave of attackers, working defence as she got to her feet. Once he spotted her grabbing an extra knife off a table, he took the offensive, slashing for debilitating points.
Felicità fended off the ones that came at her trying to snipe at her weak points. Unconventional weapons came for her, a few boosted with abilities she didn't want to find out about. She hesitated to put as much murderous intent behind her fighting style as Luca was going for.
But these people weren't of Regalo, she had to remind herself. It was just her and Luca, defending themselves against people outside of their jurisdiction. Either they went down, or they took Luca. She saw the guns holstered on the people running at them, fists flying and blades in their hands; they were aiming to take them alive, even if the cuts they left stung and were just inches from being serious.
She dived down to take cover from something flying through the air. A blast echoed on the other side of the room where it had landed, and shouts in the restaurant protested someone's plan to blow her up outright. Tables shook from the blast, and something fell to the floor, shattering and splashing her. She flinched, thinking it another attack, but realised it was just Luca's glass of wine. How a trip to reaffirm old trade agreements had turned into a disaster so quickly was a mystery, and she was afraid that it would soon turn into a murder mystery if they didn't find an escape soon.
When they knocked down one attacker, another ran into the fray to try their hand at subduing the two. Something black and sharp came flying towards where she hid under the table, and Luca snatched it out of the air with his bare hand. It turned into limp cloth. An ability.
"Milady, you need to get out of here," Luca told her in Italian.
It looked like they had a moment to breathe, and Felicità wasted no time getting back into a fighting stance. They kept their eyes on the Port Mafia members. Kouyou watched from the crowd, a soft smile on her blood-red lips, her flowing kimono making her seem like she had walked straight out of a dream.
Mori and that little girl had disappeared when the fighting started. That eased Felicità's mind a little, that the young girl hadn't stuck around.
"Not without you."
"It's me they want. Get out, get safe. Call the Family. You're the boss and the woman I love. I can't let you stay and fight any longer."
Still, Felicità hesitated. She could handle herself. Luca was always protecting her over the years. This was her turn to protect him.
Felicità ducked under another thrown - was that a lemon? - and turned around to make her thoughts known to him-
-in time to see Luca fall to the floor, having taken a chair to the head.
"Luca!" She rushed to his side, but a black curtain sliced in front of her, making her stumble back. The young man in the black coat and cravat, his being almost seeming to glow red, stood there in the way as the black melted into his coat, now spiked with black tendrils like blades threatening to come for her.
She raised her blade and silver knife, ready to defend herself. Akutagawa took a step forward, and despite her resolution, she took one step back.
Luca lied motionless on the ground, his hat a few feet farther away, eyes closed. Just a few steps out of her reach, but Akutagawa stood like a wall between them.
She shouted out when someone stepped over to haul him up, but they didn't pause. As Luca was removed, grins spread over the remaining faces. Coloured glows added to the atmosphere as deadlier abilities activated.
Felicità swallowed, but kept her ground. Without Luca to cancel out abilities, they could come at her without pulling any punches. She wasn't sure if they were still going to let her stay alive. Those grins didn't promise anything but pain.
Steadying herself, Felicità swept her gaze over the slowly approaching Port Mafia members, all waiting to see what she would do now without her precious bodyguard.
She bolted for the door.
The PM were no amateurs; two men blocked her way, something sly dripping from their lips. She didn't try to translate it.
She jumped on a chair, then a table. Taking the high ground, she would have taken that advantage to throw her knives - but she had just one and had to keep an iron grip on it. She didn't go for the windows. Instead, she dashed into the kitchen and snagged a sharp knife on her way, leaving her stolen table cutlery behind.
The cooks screamed. Obviously, they weren't part of the Port Mafia's overwhelming presence overtaking the restaurant. The real enemies followed her into the kitchen, but she found nobody in her way out the back door, and burst out into an alley.
Felicità dashed past the fragrant restaurant dumpster for the crowds of the street. She promptly got herself lost in the crowds, trusting no one as she ran as fast as she could, swerving through and around pedestrians. People protested, alarmed and upset with her pace, but it was a small price to pay to get away.
When she felt the adrenaline fading, leaving her legs feeling like jelly, Felicità finally slowed. It looked like she had put enough distance between her and the restaurant, and the ever-busy Japanese city had large throngs of people in the streets even at this late hour. She leaned against a store window, letting herself catch her breath.
After a moment, she pried her fingers off the knives and tucked them away in her jacket, something wet staining her shirt. How long had she clutched them? She must have looked like a madwoman, sprinting with weapons in hand.
When her mind stopped whirling and her legs felt steady enough to support her, she looked around, realising that this area of the city was familiar. In fact, staring at the kanji on the windows behind her, she was leaning against the small cosy bar she and Luca had stopped at earlier that day. She still had the phone she had bought that day in her pocket.
Her hands shook, but she could still type in the numbers to call home. Regalo. She couldn't remember the time difference between the two countries, and she sighed in relief when somebody picked up. But the voice that answered her put her back on edge.
"...Jolly. This is Felicità, I bought a phone here. I- I need help, Jolly." She took a deep breath, the image of Luca lying on the restaurant floor at the forefront of her mind. "Can you get Dante?"
"He's not here right now," Jolly replied. "What happened? You sound shaken up."
"Luca was kidnapped."
There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment. Then Jolly chuckled. "So he got himself in some trouble. Good luck with that one. I wouldn't worry about him so much."
"Jolly-!"
"Come back home, princess. Don't run into any danger on account of him."
Click.
Felicità redialled the number, but nobody picked up after that. Jolly was probably gone, leaving the phone ringing in an empty room. She sighed, frustrated, and hit the back of her head on the wall. "I can't believe this…"
She stared out at the street, watching lights burn on in the late evening. Luca, kidnapped by people she had thought were her allies, and miles away from home, from where nobody was going to send reassurance.
Felicità brushed a tear from her face. She was in over her head here. But she couldn't just stand there idly, even if she knew she had outrun the Port Mafia. For now, at least. She took a deep breath and went inside the bar.
The chime and smell was just as comforting as it had been this morning, but it wasn't as buzzing. The time for coffee had passed, and a few patrons drank at the bar while others ate a quiet dinner.
Felicita stepped in feeling oddly alone and out of place. Back in Regalo, Fukurota was a constant companion, and Luca was always never far away, ready to wait on her hand and foot at a moments' notice. That dynamic of him acting as her attendant had changed slightly with their engagement, but she was still trying to break him of those habits to take time for himself. Luca had been by her side in Japan since the moment they stepped off the plane.
But tonight, she sat at a table alone, her hands trembling. She hid them under the table, out of sight, smoothing down her skirt.
She sat there, staring at the table. Plans came sluggishly, dragged through the molasses that was her thoughts of Luca, tinged with fear and sadness. She had to get Luca, somehow. He had been a part of her life for so long, and she still wanted him to allow himself to feel his emotions for her, to not be so temperate and restrained. She almost didn't hear the girl standing there with a notepad, asking her a question.
"What? Oh, sorry." Felicità found herself staring at the girl. A ginger like herself, which was a rarity in Japan. From her outfit, it looked like she worked here. "What did you say?"
The girl pursed her lips, eyeing Felicità. "Well, I was asking if you were okay, but I think you should head upstairs instead. Go to the Armed Detective Agency. They're just upstairs. They'll help you."
"The Armed Detective Agency…?" Felicità stared, the name sounding familiar.
"They do a lot of charity cases, so don't worry about money. Tell them Lucy sent you."
The girl walked away, leaving Felicità to her thoughts. She couldn't go back to the hotel. The Port Mafia had booked that hotel room for them; that was as good holding the keys above her head. That was no longer a safe refuge, but booking an early flight out of the country was out of the question. Jolly had been clear that no help was coming, but she had to get Luca back somehow. She couldn't just leave Japan without him. He couldn't do everything himself.
She looked around and stared at the door swinging open at the end of the bar, leading to a set of stairs. After a moment, she made her decision, getting up from the table and walking that way. She went through the door, letting it shut behind her, the sounds of the bar shutting to a muffle. She took the stairs one step at a time. Everything had happened so fast.
The Agency, surprisingly, was clearly labelled on an office door, as mundane as any rented office space above a restaurant can be. The name made her imagine something a little more dangerous.
She hesitated at the door. These were ability users; outlawed on Regalo unless they had a tarot contract. But she couldn't go to the police with this… so she knocked. Money could smooth anything over if things didn't go well with this private agency. After hearing someone call out in reply, she stepped inside.
Two girls sat at a desk, apparently having been looking at something on a laptop together. Their casual peace was swiftly disrupted by Felicità's arrival. One of the girls screamed at the sight of her. The other girl was quick to jump up and say, "Okay, calm down! We have a doctor here. I'll go get her. Naomi will answer any questions you have."
"What- Haruno! Don't leave me-"
But the brown-haired girl ran to another door despite the panicked protest, already on her way.
Felicità stared, puzzled by the reactions. She had to look down at herself before it clicked. She suddenly understood. As well as why the girl in the restaurant had sent her up here. She clutched the switch blade in her hand and a dark red stain covered her chest. The wine was still damp, but she had barely noticed, and it looked like blood in the office lighting. Those reactions, in hindsight, were perfectly reasonable.
"No, I'm fine! This is wine, not blood," she burst out when Haruno returned with someone - a doctor, presumably - fast behind her. "I was attacked, but I'm not hurt." Aside from a few cuts where blades had nicked her.
That slowed them, bringing the three women to a stop. Both Naomi and Haruno breathed identical sighs of relief.
That didn't stop the resident doctor from marching up to her with a more convincing analytic stare than Felicità had given Akutagawa earlier. She leaned in, examining the stain spread over her shirt and the smell that lingered on her.
"...that's alcohol, all right," she finally said. "And you said you were attacked? How long ago?"
"I- ten minutes ago, I think?"
The woman guided Felicità deeper into the office. Before she could take in other faces she saw, a few scattered persons through the place, the doctor sat her down in a chair in a small room set up like a clinic.
The doctor closed the door, blocking out the curious faces. "My name is Yosano Akiko," she introduced herself. "You're in shock, so just sit tight for a few minutes. I'll take care of you."
Felicità stared as Yosano moved around the room to pick up a few small supplies before returning to her side.
"Can you take off your top? I need to bandage those cuts," Yosano said, taking her time.
Felicità tensed at the idea, and looked down at the lines that went through her sleeves. They were small cuts, inconsequential compared to what Luca was probably going through. "My fiancé was kidnapped," she blurted out.
Yosano paused. "We can talk about that. But can you let me tend to you first? It'll be easier to explain once you've calmed down a little."
After some hesitation, Felicità reluctantly took off her jacket and shirt. Yosano began tending to her injuries, cleaning and bandaging the wounds, and the words started tumbling out of her mouth, recounting the encounter with the Port Mafia. She left out the part that they were from Regalo and the Arcana Family, leaving those details rather vague. The detail that the Port Mafia obviously valued Luca's ability another that she left out.
Instead of letting her put her stained shirt back on, Yosano gave her a soft clean yukata to wear.
"Stay here," Yosano instructed. "I'll be right back. I'll have to talk to my colleagues about it, but I have a feeling they won't turn down your case."
Felicità nodded and watched the door. It opened briefly for a small girl to peek in, her outfit striking Felicità as a red version of Kouyou's kimono. Then the door closed again.
The next time the door opened, it still wasn't Yosano. In stepped Kunikida, the man from earlier in the bar.
"Felicità," he greeted with surprise, but his eyes hardened with something she couldn't tell between sadness and anger. He closed the door, a notebook and pen in hand. "Arcana, I presume?"
Felicità nodded. There was no point in hiding it any longer.
Kunikida pulled a chair over so he could sit and face her. He cleared his throat before switching to Italian. "I'm sorry about your fiancé. But I promise that I don't hold anything against you and that we're going to get him back."
Felicità stared at him. Then, slowly, she said, "Thank you."
"Okay. I just need to ask a few questions, just to get a good idea of things. You're welcome to stay the night, if that will make you feel more comfortable."
Author's Notes
So many characters made an appearance in this one chapter, and somehow I've made it work.
The -dono and -sama were a little confusing at first for me. Kouyou uses -dono with Mori in canon. Both -sama and -dono are honorifics of respect, but -dono is more like showing respect while also acknowledging that they are equals, so Fel gets -sama from Kouyou (bc she's deferring to Fel as a family boss while she's basically Mori's right hand) and the -dono tag from Mori, while Luca, perceived as also part of the family but not as Fel's fiance, is given -san. The -dono is also apparently mostly used in business settings in today's Japan.