Pairings: BernardoXGian, IvanXGian, LuchinoXGian, GiulioXGian, AobaXClear, AobaXVirusXTrip, AobaXRen, AobaXKoujaku, AobaXNoiz, AobaXBakshi, VirusXTripXGian, AobaXGian
Warning: Contains minor hints of rape, violence, extreme swearing and heavy scenes of smut.
Disclaimer: I do not own Dramatical Murder or Lucky Dog 1. All rights go to the respectful owners
Chapter 8 - Fortunate Timing
It had only been an hour since they left the hotel and all three of the CR-5 members had the unfortunate fate of listening to their stomachs growling all the while of helping Ivan with his racket. A racket was more or less a job system that was overseen by the boss in charge of the said racket. These rackets/jobs were divided into proper categories depending on the person in charge; Such as Ivan who had dealt mostly with prostitution while Luchino oversaw the dealings of drugs. Each member had their own racket and for the morning, Gian and Giulio were helping Ivan with his job.
After having helped him with some of the places of his work, the three of them quickly checked the nearby warehouses that were in the vicinity of the car when it was pulled from the water under the bridge. All of them were empty and not a single clue to point them towards the car owners. Ivan halted the search for the time being and suggested that they get something to eat before they starve.
The car they were riding in pulled to a stop outside a bar that had just started opening their doors. It acted as both a night bar and a daytime restaurant and was just opening for the morning. Gian was the first to get out after having been crammed between Giulio and Ivan in the back seat of the car.
Giulio followed after him while Ivan shot an angry glare in the blonde's direction while getting out of the car. He straightened out his pant legs as they had gotten wrinkled from Gian climbing over him to get out. Ivan pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pants pocket and stuck one of them into his mouth.
Gian stretched his arms over his head before following Ivan into the bar. "Ah! Giulio, think you can help me convince Ivan for paying for us?" Gian asked. He had a large smile on his face. Although an outsider would not have known that this innocent smile was actually good at deceiving.
They both went inside the bar and found Ivan had already gotten them a spot at a table near the bar's counter. The smoke rising from his lit cigarette traveled over his shoulder and slowly vanished into the air as they made their way over and sat down across from him. Giulio, being somewhat of a gentleman, allowed Gian to get in before him. "Eh...even Ivan can be romantic at times, right, Giulio?" Gian giggled innocently and picked up a menu that had been lying face-down on the table.
The prices of the food was cheap in comparison to the beer and alcohol that was served most likely because it was made more with care than the food. He scanned the menu until he came across the hot dogs and fries with burgers. "Hey, Ivan. You're buying for us, right?" Ivan's mouth nearly let the cigarette drop to his lap until his hand caught the end of the stick.
"W-What?! Why me?!" His voice nearly echoed throughout the restaurant and Gian put his finger to his mouth as though to shut him up. "Sorry, Ivan. But signor Gian does not have a proper racket yet so he still does not have the kind of income like we do." Giulio explained and smiled sincerely.
Ivan was dumbfounded and could only stare back at the other two in confusion. He had money but the main question that was on his mind was why he was chosen to pay for the three of them and not Giulio. Giulio had just as much money made from doing all the killings and such not to mention he was the only heir and grandson to the man who helped produce drugs all across certain parts of the globe.
In short, he was just as if not, more wealthy than he had been. "Whatever! When we get back I'm getting Bernardo to get him a job or something. Stupid moron's too lazy to be the next boss." Ivan crossed his arms after putting out his cigarette, having lost his will to smoke it.
Gian laughed quietly with Giulio behind the menu book and soon they ordered for an order of three burgers and two hot dogs, one for Ivan and the other for Gian. Giulio only ordered for an ice cream sundae. Both Giulio and Gian wolfed their food down leaving Ivan to question whether they were dogs or humans.
"So Gian, you talked to that kid? What's he gotten himself into exactly?" Gian looked up from the last of his burger, staring blankly at Ivan who had now finished the last of his hot dog.
But Gian shrugged his shoulders and finished the bit of burger in one bite. "Bernardo told you already, he's got his friends coming to town soon. All we have to do is find the bad guys and drive them out of town." Gian stated. He said it as though it were an easy task or walk in the park.
Unsatisfied with the plain answer, Ivan stared at Gian expecting the man to give more detail into what he had just said. "It's not rocket science, Ivan. Two bad men took him a few years ago and now that he's escaped them, they're looking for him here. Bernardo thinks they might have gone to enemy gangs for help." Gian was about to open his mouth to say a bit more but the pocket of his jacket began to buzz.
His cellphone had been put on vibrate and since the only one who had his number had been Bernardo, he figured it was he who was calling him now. He put a hand up as though to shut Ivan up from speaking for the time being and got up from the table with Giulio and walked a few feet away to answer the call.
But upon inspecting the calling number, he saw it was not Bernardo at all and that Luchino was the culprit. He was skeptical for various reasons as it could easily have been a G.D. member pretending to be him. He took the call anyways and was surprised to hear Luchino sounding quiet for a change instead of his high-beat self.
"Luchino? Did Bernardo give you my number?" The man on the other line chuckled. "How else do you think I got it? That aside, the men who are after Aoba...might have done something traumatizing. He's getting worse and so far the only cure for these strange headaches are some sort of pill. Bernardo wants me to look into them but..."
Luchino stopped talking as though he were thinking how to properly say his next few words. Some time passed before Luchino finally finished what he was originally saying. "This drug or pill or whatever seems to have only been made secretly and is not on any records on their island so it doesn't sound like it's easily manufactured anywhere else. On a plus side, it sounds as though those guys looking for him might have some on them. But whether they do have some or not, we won't know unless we find them. Are you done with your girls-night-out?" He mocked.
"Ivan treated us girls out to some food. We should be back in half an hour. Ah! I gotta go, Ivan is trying to make out with me." Gian quickly hung up the phone and stuck it back into his pocket. He liked to keep people guessing as to what it was he was doing and liked keeping people on their toes.
Giulio, who had been standing next to him this whole time did not look as happy as he was earlier when eating his sundae. Gian smiled knowingly at him and swung an arm around his shoulder despite the height difference. "Just kidding~" He joked and looked over to Ivan who was now getting ready to leave the bar.
"Come on you dogs, let's get you home to your master." Ivan said in a sarcastic tone and quickly left the store with both Gian and Giulio tagging along behind him.
After they got back to the hotel, Ivan got the complete update on Aoba's condition from Bernardo and Luchino. In the meantime, Giulio and Gian were told by Cavalli, an elder member of the CR-5 that once again, the hotel had run out of separate rooms and would have to share one between them. It made the most sense as he got along much better with Giulio than he had with the other three.
Although Giulio's strange habits scared him just a bit, he was considering on another option and somebody else to room with. But at the same time he did not want to end up on his hit list either. The old man told them to think it over and talk it out with the rest of the group. "Thought the whole idea was to get enough money for more rooms for this dump!" Gian glared at the floor while gripping the sheet of paper in his hand.
It was a pairing sheet for the room setup and was made in mind for the new guests that were there. Aoba already had his own room so that left only nine more rooms left, five on the floor that the telephone room was on and four on the floor beneath them. This meant that some of them would need to be paired up. "Signor Gian, y-you may t-take the room if you'd like..." Giulio's face grew red and his hands were fidgety.
Gian relaxed a little and thought the plan through. He remembered all of their personalities; Giulio being of the embarrassed and flustered type while at the same time, had a switch that turned off and on when it came to killing or to him. Then there was Bernardo, a man who never usually slept in his own room and mainly passed out in the phone room but that did not mean he would not sleep in his own room.
Ivan and Luchino had almost the same type of characteristics but were also complete opposites to each other. Their love for women was what frightened Gian in being alone for too long with either of them. He looked at the sheet of paper again.
It had been laid out in such a way that it was on point and within logical thinking. The first pair was Luchino and Koujaku despite the three new guests who were still on their way and had not arrived yet. Ren had been paired up with Ivan while Bernardo and Noiz were paired together. Mink and Aoba were technically already set as a pair since Mink seemed the most reliable.
And then finally, he and Giulio were paired up with Clear. Gian was not unhappy with the pairing sheet but at the same time he had been hoping for his own room. He looked up from the paper and realized Giulio had been staring at him this whole time. "W-What is it...?" He shoved the paper into his pants pocket and stared back at Giulio.
The other man did not say anything and continued staring at him, smiling. Gian gulped. He knew what Giulio thought of him and seemed as though he worshiped everything he did or said. "If I could take the room, Giulio, I would. But the stupid paper says there's going to be three of us. Man...this isn't lucky at all..." Gian explained and sat down on a sofa in the lobby of the hotel in defeat.
Giulio sat next to him. An awkward silence hung in the air between them while Gian thought up ways to start a conversation. He had always felt a bit of a wall with Giulio and found it hard to keep a conversation going. Before he could start anything however, Ivan was back downstairs but with Aoba's arm entwined with his own. This was a sight that Gian had never seen before and probably never would except for today.
He jumped up from the sofa and practically bounced toward the two of them in excitement. He had meant to poke fun at Ivan for doing something so out-of-character but he also did not want to be mean in front of Aoba. "Gee, Ivan, I didn't think you were the boy scout type!" Gian giggled and took Ivan's other arm.
Ivan pulled his arm back on reflex and shouted at Gian. "Stupid! Bernardo told me to do it. Besides...he needs fresh air." Gian said nothing and could only watch as Ivan escorted a fully dressed Aoba, out of the hotel. It was one thing to see him angry but it was certainly something to see when Ivan was acting like a proud parent or at least nicer than he usually was. Gian smiled slightly and soon found himself pulling Giulio with him outside of the hotel and following after Ivan and Aoba. This was something he did not want to miss.
Both Ivan and Aoba stopped their slow walk upon hearing the hotel's doors re-opening and shutting closed. Ivan gaped in shock upon realizing that Gian followed them. His grip on Aoba's hand where it rested on his arm, tightened with each step Gian took, bringing Giulio behind him. "W-What the hell do you two want? Go away! Shoo!" Ivan glared at him and then turned his head away in a disgusted manner, quickly pulling Aoba along with him.
"We wanted to see the great Mr. Ivan helping people. Boss Alessandro would have loved to stay behind just to see something like this." Gian said and quickly stepped towards Ivan and Aoba and took Ivan's free arm with his hand while still holding on to Giulio's hand.
Ivan's balance was off because of the added weight but he kept still and stood straight so as not to fall backward. Aoba cautiously tried to take his arm away from Ivan to see if he could try standing on his own but his body was weak and felt as though he could collapse to the ground with just a nudge. He didn't want to be a burden though either and the options in his mind were beginning to cause him to feel dizzy.
"Moron. The boss doesn't need to see something as stupid as this!" Feeling the shift of weight, Ivan quickly pulled Aoba's arm back to its original place. "And you, don't let go, you'll fall." Gian laughed quietly after seeing Ivan be kind to another human being that was a male. The only time he was kind was during rare situations such as helping women in need or his fellow underlings.
The weather was a bit on the gloomy side and left no room for the sun to shine through at all, but a nice warm breeze made the dreary weather durable to endure. Aoba looked around, taking in the surroundings of the hotel. The driveway to the hotel was a giant loop hole that a few cars were parked in and ready to be driven.
Ivan waved his hand to one of his men who had just gotten out of a conversation with someone else. He had offered to open one of their car doors for him but he explained that they would not be going for a ride this time around. They slowly and carefully made their way over to a couple of nearby bench tables, each pair sitting on either side of the table across from each other.
"Hey...are you sure you should really be up and walking just after being so sick the other night?" Gian asked Aoba. He had witnessed for himself the sort of health problem that he had and wondered what had been going through Bernardo's mind to be sending a sick person outside for fresh air.
Aoba meekly shook his head. "Clear managed to find some left over pills in his coat pocket just this morning. He says he has no idea how it got there but I'm certain my granny must have slipped it in before he left the house." It was certainly showing on the man's face that he was feeling quite a bit better than last night.
Running out of topics to bring up, Ivan had kept quiet and found himself focusing on the streets of Daivan. Gian also did not know what sort of topic to bring up as he had not been used to someone outside of a mafia family except for police and the random citizens of Daivan. Giulio whom had been studying Aoba's bruises and scratches on the back of his hands, finally spoke up.
"They...look like they hurt. Does it...?" Giulio kept staring while Ivan frowned at the question as did Gian. It was a subject that they both knew would interest Giulio as he was the only one in their family to enjoy killing or at the very least, enjoyed seeing blood. Despite his strange habits, he was still a good man but just with a bit of baggage from his childhood.
Aoba looked down at his hands. There were indeed many little scratches here and there along with some bruises near the tips of his fingers. He vaguely remembered where it came from and what he had been put through during that time that it happened. There had been so many things that had been done it was hard for his brain to keep track of it all. The worst of the experience had been when he was locked away in a fridge-like cell with no windows and only one way out that was locked from the other side.
He turned his hands over so that his palms were facing up instead of down. There were a bit of bruising there as well but not as bad as the back of his hands. He remembered a time he had been locked away by Virus and how the man told him that until he was properly willing to listen to everything he said, he would let him out then. But for Aoba it felt like he had been in the cell for a good week before Virus came back to check on him. But in reality, it had only been a day. That day Aoba had banged at the door and even clawed at it trying to get a reaction from the man but it did not do him any justice.
He exhaled after realizing he had been holding his breath this entire time of thinking on the memory and looked up. Giulio was now fidgeting with his hands while Ivan and Gian had concerned looks on their faces. "Sorry Sorry, please don't mind Giulio, he just has...odd tastes...ha..." Gian scratched the back of his head nervously while trying to put on a big smile as though to reassure him.
"I-It's fine. I just remembered something from what Virus had told me." Ivan stared at Aoba as did Gian while Giulio refused to look up from his hands. They seemed interested in the elusive man who had been causing them all the trouble.
Aoba felt his eyes sting from the water that started to form. He rubbed them both until they began to turn red from the constant friction of his skin. Then Ivan did something that Gian or Giulio had never seen him do before. The man had placed his hand on top of Aoba's head while pretending to be looking elsewhere.
They sat in silence after that and just continued to stare at the area around them.
A/n: This chapter is actually shorter than the rest minus the prologue of the story. In the next chapter well...that would be spoiler alert for sure! So don't fret I'm making these every other day.